Still waiting on that MOTY award

And from the looks of it, the wait will be long. 

The lovely mark on her forehead?  Obtained out walking with mommy and daddy earlier this week.  I was singing a song to get her to hurry up a little because it was getting dark; I had a hold of her hand, but she tripped and I couldn't grab hard enough fast enough so down she went.  Do you know what it sounds like when a little one's head hits the sidewalk?  I do.  It's awful. 

Thankfully she seems no worse for wear, as evidenced above.  I am still bothered by it, but she clearly is not.  Unless a side effect of a head injury is suddenly asking "why?" to everything.  Today when I picked her up from school, I put her in the car and our conversation went something like this:

Me:  Did you have a good day today?

Her:  Uh-huh!

Me:  Good!  Let's go home and watch Gabba...

Her:  YAY!

Me:  Then after nap time we're going to go to the grocery store.

Her:  Why?

Me:  Because we need food.

Her:  Why?

Me:  Because we have to eat, silly!

Her:  Why?

Me:  Because you get grumpy when you're hungry.

Her:  Why?

Me:  Because I get grumpy when I'm hungry too.

Her:  Why? 

Me:  Oh look, we're home!

Her:  Why? 

I know every kid goes through this.  Somehow though, I wasn't expecting it until she was a bit older.  I guess I can just hope that we're getting it over and done with early... and also hope that this little phase doesn't rear its ugly head again later on. 

Ohhh back to school

This week I took a leap that I wasn't completely certain I was capable of.  I registered for two online classes.

Don't get me wrong, I still think I'm the poster child for what not to do... Like people point and whisper, saying "that's the girl who just registered at the local community college to get an associates degree.  Oh, don't be fooled by her looks, she's almost 30." 

[Side note: that comment about my looks isn't just my vanity talking.  A few years ago I was working part time at a grocery store to help pay for our wedding.  Maybe it was the fact that no one I worked with was over 18, but no one believed me when I said I was recommending a wine from experience, and yes, I was really old enough to drink.]

I'm not proud that it's taken me so long.  I'm not happy that it took 5 years in a dead end job to finally get me off my duff (in my defense, it only became a true dead end this time last year).  I wish I could follow my heart and what I think my true career path should be, but we just aren't there right now.  I'm also not celebrating - I'll do that when I'm done.  Hopefully that will be next December.

So - as if my writing wasn't sporadic enough, it may be even more so starting later this month.  Classes begin 8/22 and finish up 12/16.  It should be an interesting few weeks.  Wish me luck. 

Toddlerhood at its best

Busy times in the house lately... I've been running non-stop everywhere except where I should be - on the elliptical.  It's been a tough week, but hopefully I haven't set myself back too far.  Work has been insane... I am so sick of driving all over the state and crawling around in dusty basements and labeling boxes.  Then when I finally get back to my desk, I have so many projects going on that I hardly know where to start. 

Kayla on the other hand, is doing everything she should and more.  She's really picking up a lot and saying more phrases every day.  She loves to talk, and has finally started opening up at daycare.  She says "please" and "thank you" pretty regularly.  She's counting to 10 with no help, and we're still working on letters and colors.  She loves to sing songs, and do "this little piggy" on her feet. 

She's very opinionated and has a sense of style that's all her own.  She no longer lets me pick her outfits in the morning - she has to have a say in that matter.  She discovered her Babylegs in her top drawer and loves to pull them over her arms like sleeves.  She loves to have her back scratched and her feet rubbed.  If you start one of those, don't plan to stop... 

The latest thing that has me worried is her tendency to go all kamikaze out of nowhere.  She loves to climb onto her chair and then tumble off onto the floor and giggle.  She runs full bore around the house and occasionally takes a spill.  She usually handles it pretty well, but we've had our share of tears as well. 

So that's the latest and greatest. What's going on with you right now?

She melts me

Tonight Kayla was a real mess.  She threw a fit when we tried to get her to have dinner.  She cried all but non stop for nearly an hour.  Finally I managed to get her to eat some grapes.  When she had emptied her bowl she held it up and asked for more.  As I was cutting them for her, she came over and wrapped her arms around my leg and said "thank you, mommy."

I think my heart is still laying in a melted puddle on the kitchen floor.

My little lady

It's hard to describe the stage Kayla is at better than my mother in law did the other day.  "She's really starting to put things together."  She does much more than repeat what she hears from us; words are becoming phrases and questions.  She knows her family members inside and out; right down to my dad and step mom's dog.  She can count to 5 on her (my) fingers and to 10 while looking at her number puzzle.  She's smiley and adorable yet moody and tantrum prone all at once.  It doens't seem so long ago I was wondering who she'd be.  Now it seems we're starting to see it. 

It really does go so fast. 

We are all alive and well

So once again it looks like I've fallen desperately behind on both blogs.  Last week I was dying of strep throat.  This week we are temporarily without internet while we redo our office and assemble our new desk and hutch.  I promise I will be back next week!

Things to come:

*Christmas cards are sent.  I need to give the one going farthest away (Colorado) some time to get there, and then I can share the amazing Shutterfly card that we made this year.

*I have the weirdest toddler on Earth.  She actually WANTS to wear a hat and mittens. 

*This weekend begins the Christmas festivities in our house.  I plan to document with lots of pictures. 

*Working on the 2010 recap… hope to have that posted soon.