Liggettisms

My daughter hates grass.

Why, you ask?

I really don't know.

For example, if her hand strays beyond the boundaries of the blanket and happens to touch just ONE blade of grass, she recoils as if she's just touched molten lava.

If I put her down right on the grass she'll begin to cry and won't let her feet touch the ground.

I guess it must feel weird or something.

Well, if you've spent your entire life on carpet and hardwood, I could see how grass would be a little overwhelming. It's kinda prickly and, uh, green? Hmph.

In other news, last Thursday K.T. pulled herself to standing for the first time. Now, she can't seem to stop doing it. Her bookshelf, the couch, kitchen chairs, laundry baskets, the dishwasher...all of it is good pulling up territory.

Yesterday, I went for my very first ride on my bike - OUTSIDE. I rode a total of 6 miles. I was really nervous about my clip-in pedals, but it all worked out fine.

On the way back to my house I had to climb up this big-ass hill, and I DID IT. I didn't stop. Not once. I was so proud of myself.

"And here comes Chiodo round the bend up and dancing on those pedals! She's tapping out an absolutely ferocious rhythm. Look at that face! Sheer concentration. My goodness me, Chiodo has caught the big bunch by surprise. She looks back to see who's chasing....and the answer is NO ONE!"

Sigh. So, I only went up the hill at 6 miles per hour. People could probably walk up the hill faster than I was riding.

A girl can dream can't she?

This is Post # 100

K.T., Huzbend and I were looking at a book the other day and I pointed to a picture of a pig.

Me: "K.T., what says 'Oink, Oink, Oink?'"

K.T.: "MA, MA, MA, MA, MA."

Ha ha. Very funny, kid.

Dia De Las Mamas

Happy Belated Mama's Day to you all!!

First things first. I never understood the true meaning of Mother's Day until becoming a Mom myself.

I knew that the day was set aside to appreciate your Mom and all that she does for you. I mean, you know that Mom gave birth to you, she loves you, she fed and clothed you, she taught you and put up with your shtuff for many years. As a kid (and even up to last year), I took all this stuff for granted. It was just what a Mom did.

But, really, it goes beyond that. When I had K.T. I changed. Forever. I realize that there is never again going to be a moment in my life when I don't think about her. Even when she is grown up and out making her way in the world, I will always be thinking, "Is she okay?"

She will always be a part of me. As she strives to seperate herself from me in the coming years to become an independent person, I will still feel connected to her in the deepest of ways.

This realization is scary and yet fulfilling at the same time. We'll be there to experience all of K.T.'s triumphs and all of her disappointments. Her life will take its twists and turns and yet, we will always be there - Mom and Dad. The foundation of her world.

Wow.

I found out that Mother's Day is not just about appreciating Mom and what she's done, but also about respecting Mom. Without her, and Dad too of course, you wouldn't be the independent, strong, resourceful and downright swell person you are today. So kudos to Mom.

To my Mom, I want to say thanks. Thanks for everything. Thanks for worrying about me and asking me to call when I "got there". Thanks for teaching me to put twenty bucks in my bra in case of emergency. Thanks for saying "Hmmm. What else is new and exciting?" every time I'm on the phone with you. Thanks for your potato salad. And a sincere thanks for putting up with all of my crap.

I got exactly what I wanted for Mother's Day. Blueberry pancakes. And, they were DAMN GOOD.

After pancakes, we went for a hike to see a gorgeous waterfall. Then back to a friends house for some lasagne and cookies. It doesn't get better than that.

Huzbend got me a rubber wristband (kinda like the LIVESTRONG bracelet) that was purple and had K.T.'s name on it. I love it.

Do you know what K.T. got me for Mother's Day?

Boogers. Lots and lots of boogers.

She came down with a horrible cold on Friday. I'd have to say this was the worse cold yet.

Again, she wouldn't sleep and just cried for what seemed like hours on end. That meant no sleep for Huzbend and I. We actually had to instigate split shifts at one point so that we could each get 4 or 5 hours a sleep in order to function the next day.

Last night she actually made it through the entire night in her crib with only one crying fit at 4:00am. There is light at the end of the snot covered tunnel.

All dirty tissues aside, my first Mother's Day was awesome.

Howdy, folks! Welcome to Baybee K.T.'s Monthly Round-Up.

Today's episode is brought to you by the letter "C" and is sponsored by the number "2".

"C" being the first letter of the word "C-R-A-W-L" and "2" being the number of teeth I have.

Here is a quick selection of photos from the past month.

Lion and I had a throwdown the other day. Needless to say, I showed him who was boss. OHHHHH, yeah! The K-Rock brought it. Take that, sucka!!!

An example of my wickedly awesome fine motor skills. Will ya take a look at that? I can grab STRING. Wow. I bet you're impressed.

What do you mean this isn't edible?


Paging Dr. K.T.. Dr. Bay-Bee K.T.


Uh. A little help here.

CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!

After months of research, I have finally determined the most comfortable sleep position in the entire universe. See my demonstration below. Feel free to give it a try.

....................................


What is wrong with him? I am really related? It's a joke, right? Right?!


What took you so long? I've been awake for, like, a hour. Jeez. I was just about to make a break for it.

Does anyone know what time it is?


It's video time!!!!

I have THREE videos this time around. I know. I'm getting out of control. It's just easier to see what I'm up to using videos. Pictures just don't do me justice anymore. You want the real deal, right? Well, here you go!





See ya later, alligators!!!

XXXOOO

Playgroup

K.T. and I hosted playgroup yesterday.

I hid all of Beaners favorite toys, did a quick clean and vacuum, laid out some store bought cookies and some box made brownies and then hoped for the best.

I guess you could say it was a success. Nothing was destroyed.

The 13 (now 14) month old did his best to try and make as much of a mess as he could. He had his hands all over EVERYTHING. He tried to get to our video games, he had his sticky fingers on our big screen (he actually might have licked it at one point), he played with the nobs on the stereo receiver, he pulled on our blinds. Ugh. I wish we had one of those dog crates so that I could've just locked the kid up.

My consolation was watching him take about a dozen nose dives off of the step down into our living room. He kept forgetting it was there. Bwa-hahahahahahahahaha!!

I'll tell you, toddlers are amazing creatures. Everytime he fell, he would just get back up and keep trucking. No tears, no nuthin'.

K.T. didn't know what to make of all the kids playing with her toys. Again, she spent most of the time within arms length of me. When she did venture away, she would turn back after a few moments and reach out to be picked up.

All of the kids in playgroup are a little older and much bigger than her. They make her look so petite.

I set up a tower of blocks for K.T. to crawl to and knock down (a favorite game). K.T. is still working the kinks out of her crawling technique so she moves pretty slow. As soon as she started towards the tower, two 10/11 month olds plowed her over to get to it. In the end, the 14 month old ran over all three of them and knocked it down. K.T. just sat there pouting.

I kept having to remind myself: Must not be angry. Must not be angry. They are only babies. They are only babies. They don't know any better. They don't know any better. 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6......

K.T. ended up going down for a nap before everyone left. I guess she had had enough. Who can blame her? I wanted to escape too. There is only so much you can take of OTHER people's kids before you just want to run away screaming.

There was one puke incident and a bunch of Goldfish crumbs.

Other than that, the only thing I can say is that we survived.

Karma is a B....

Ak!

Must.....beeeee......gooooood.......

Nice Karma! Nice Karma! Me lovey da Karma.

Okay. I get it.

As soon as I posted that thing about the ugly kid, K.T.'s bright red face rash came back. I'll try to be nice.

The key word in that last sentence is "TRY". You gotta cut me some slack, Karma. A blog just ain't no good unless I can speak my mind, ya know.

Now that that is outta the way, we can get on to more important things.

Time for some more hating.

I saw this celebrity on TV this morning. I guess she just had twins a couple of months back. They were asking her all those predictable 'morning tv interviews recent celeb-mom' questions:

How are the babies? Answer: They are just great. I look at them every morning and think to myself, "I am your mother. You are my daughters." It is so beautiful.

Aren't they just the most adorable things ever? Answer: Every time I look at them, I am just awestruck at their beauty. It takes my breath away.

You look wonderfull! How did you get back into shape? Answer: Ooooohhh. Come on! (chuckles) I don't look THAT good. It was soooooooo hard. Phew.

How is the Dad holding up? Answer: Oh, he is just the most patient man. He loves the babies dearly.

Isn't being a mother the greatest thing you've ever done? Answer: Oh yes. Definitely. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

How lame.

Every celeb-mom answers the same way. It just sounds so scripted. They get on TV and make parenthood seem like the easiest-breeziest thing in the world. As if you can just pop out a kid and then things go right back to normal.

Calling all pregos!!! Don't believe the hype!!

Here is how I would answer those same questions:

How are the babies? Answer: She's great. She figured out how to crawl the other day. It's an absolute nightmare trying to get her to lay down to go to sleep. I'll lay her down, she'll roll over and get stuck in a sitting position in the corner of the crib. Then she cries. It happens, like, a dozen times. I'm, like, "DUDE. If you would just lay down, you could fall asleep." Oh yeah, this morning, she picked her nose and ate it for the first time. Man, I wish I had the camera!

Aren't they just the most adorable things ever? Answer: Well, of course she's adorable. She IS my daughter.

You look wonderfull! How did you get back into shape? Answer: Um. Are you talking to me?

How is the Dad holding up? Answer: Yesterday, the baby discovered that Daddy had arm and leg hair. She then proceeded to grab and rip. After that, she zeroed in on his adams apple. I hope he's okay...

Isn't being a mother the greatest thing you've ever done? Answer: Yes. But, it's also the HARDEST thing I've ever done. Do you mind if I take a nap on your couch? It's pretty comfi and I only got about 4 hours last night. Man, that kid of mine can wail. Thanks.

There. Doesn't that sound more normal?

Not Nice

We went to playgroup today.

There's an 11 month old in our group. He crawled over to investigate K.T. and began jabbering away at her. She took one look at him and began to bawl.

It happened twice.

All the other kids, when put down onto the floor, crawl away to play with the myriad of toys strewn about the room. K.T. is pretty much always within arms length of me. If she thinks that she is too far, she'll reach out for me to pick her up. Which, of course, I do.

Am I setting her up to be a 'Momma's Girl'? Hmph. Who knows.

Okay. Time to be NOT nice.

One of the kids is ugly.

There. I said it.

The kid is Ugly, with a capital U.

The kid is so ugly that I didn't even want it to touch me.

Breath smelled too. Ugh. It was bad.

She also sneezed a couple of times and had to have her nose wiped twice. Jezzum crow! K.T. is chowing down on ALLLLL of her toys and this kid has a runny nose. For cryin' out loud!!! All I need is for K.T. to come down with ANOTHER cold.

On a good note....K.T. can crawl. She crawled for the first time on Monday before bed. It's the cutest most petite crawl you've ever seen.

All day yesterday, I couldn't get her to do it. But, today, she crawled to get a toy.

Then, at playgroup, when she got anxious about being too far away she crawled to me. Needless to say, I gave her a gigantic hug for her effort. She impressed all the other moms. I was so proud.

My daughter rocks, AND she's cute.