Seriously?

Uh, so Jane is being more touchy and fussy (although at first I thought it was because I've had a headache all day) AND has started to drooling again today, so I convinced her to let me feel her gums and she's got another molar coming in...this will be tooth number 11, third molar, that is trying to make it's appearance. And hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.

Jane's Birthday Part II

...better late than never?

birthday morning wearing her "walking harness" mommy made

strangely, we don't have a shot of her traumatized-by-the-cake face...just the what is it? look

In her defense the cake really didn't taste very good (not that she even tried it). We threw it away after Eric tried to get a few bites down...The frosting was good, though.

Now, PRESENTS! and COUSINS! That's what Jane liked!

I was amazed by how she opened her own presents, so careful and intrigued, she even started looking for the tape to pull off by the end.

We celebrated Jane's birthday with her cousins the morning after they flew home (they got in around 2:00 am and this photo is around 9:30 am or so, I think they look pretty great considering)
Jane also got a used Little Tikes bike that was in OK shape but dirty. Amazing what soaking it in the bathtub for a few days did ;-) So far, she just pushes herself backwards on it, but she does like to be pushed and climb on it.


and last but not least a very dim video of us singing happy birthday...(we also have an 8 minute video of Jane's actual birthday party on her birthday that we can't get off of the camera (too large?) which meant we got NO pictures of Jane's actual birthday, just a long, useless video (hence my comment at the end of this one) that I can't upload (any ideas anyone?). I guess that's one of the risks when you give up control of the camera...)

Cooking and Falling

A friend of mine has started a cooking blog that I joined. She and others (and occasionally me) have been posting awesome recipes and I just posted one today that is fantastic, at least to me. The weather is turning and I find myself all of a sudden in a fall mood (yesterday I was protesting it), so I made some potato chowder. Jane even helped! I've figured out that for the most part, she just wants to be doing whatever I'm doing (duh!) So even though it slows me down, I can get a few things done if I let her "help." She stood on a chair and "helped" me scrub potatoes. Then she "helped" me chop them (i.e. she tried to eat the cubes raw...) Then while I was making the rue she sat on the counter and put all the plastic silverware into my water cup and back out, then the salt shaker in my cup then back out then she tried to drink out of it, etc, etc, etc. I don't know that I could have made the chowder without her...

Anyway, if you want to check out the recipe AND see tons of other great ones (my friend is awesome, she did a demo on chili rellenos the other day that made me swoon. I LOVE chili rellenos...I can't wait to try it), go to http://ourownfoodnetwork.blogspot.com/

I also posted Eric's new favorite, Zucchini Lasagna (which is a crack up because he doesn't really like regular lasagna all that much and he strictly doesn't like zucchini...) so you can check that out as well.



In other news, Jane fell out of her new high chair this morning. Luckily the pointy table leg caught her fall...right on the side of her face. Doc says she's OK, I'll have to post a picture of the sweet bruise...

Day 10 of the Tyranny

It's amazing how fast a sweet, giggly, cutey, widdle baby turns into a tyrannical toddler. I really hope it is just the teething and the interrupted sleep. I think I have said "be nice" at least a few thousand times today. When Jane starts that really grating whine of hers, I say "Stop (she usually stops for a second). Be nice (she rubs her tummy for "please"). What do you want?" And then we play twenty questions, interrupted numerous times with whining and "Stop. Be nice." I had no idea I had so much patience. All though when she pushed her water away a little vigorously this afternoon, I admit I pushed her hand back a little too vigorously, which broke her heart. But then, these days it breaks her heart if I sit on the couch instead of on the floor with her, or if I am out of eye sight for a second, etc. etc. etc.

And yet, she's sleeping sweetly in her crib right now, she was very sweet when I rocked her before bed and even cuddled on my shoulder for a few seconds (which she never does), and I find myself missing her. Yep, parenthood is a mental disorder because I'm nuts. What's that syndrome hostages get, you know where they start to love their captures? Mush-something?
I mean, LOOK at this picture! It makes you mush-something just looking at it, right?

Crankypants

Jane is teething again. Molars. They are a terror. They started to surface a bit back in June but went down. They've done a little up, a little down since, but nothing too noticeable.

Until now.

Dun, dun, dun.

Add that to Eric going back to school and the both of us missing Daddy and we've been a bit sad here lately. The GOOD NEWS is that the top right molar seems to have broken through. It seemed to have broken through on Friday, but was encased in swelling Saturday only to reveal it's bony points today. Here's hoping. She's so sad that she's been waking up and crying every hour or two. She goes back to sleep but clearly isn't sleeping well. Neither is mommy!

So I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed lately, or at least, I'm not so much in a blogging place lately.

MRP

My family has a (usually) weekly email/newsletter kind of thing that we (usually I) send out called the MRP. We update each other on our lives and we also include writing prompts to spice things up a bit. Not everyone writes every week, but usually at least once a month. It's been a fun way to stay close and in on each other's business. I actually haven't written in a while, probably because I had SO much to say, but I wrote in this last one. Often, I really enjoy writing. I love the process of picking words and images that fit together in fun ways to describe an event or a feeling or whatever. Occasionally I will read over something I have written and smile at myself. Usually there is more surprise than pride in that smile. That smile means "that's good!"

I wrote tonight's MRP after working on a new-ish piece of fiction with a very sassy protagonist. I think she comes out a bit here. So, as a means of spreading my smile and catching you all up a bit on the goings and comings of the Ludlows, here is my MRP (sorry family, you can stop reading now):

Life has been a wee bit nutty around here lately with the move and school starting again and Jane getting her molars in...(ask Jena who said, after watching Jane for me the other day, Jane is "ornery, ornery, ornery"). That said, we LOVE our new apartment. Even in the post-move chaos, it feels so much more homey. Even with bare walls and boxes and homeless stuff and clutter, this apartment totally kicks our last apartment's butt.
We also hit the state fair labor day weekend. After seeing several sleeping children in strollers, and after I lamented that Jane has never slept in her stroller, she fell asleep. All it took was shading her eyes with Lizzy's new bonnet, Eric gently rocking the stroller and the sweet, soft sound of a chain saw. No kidding. We hit the potties, Carlos went off to get some deep-fried cheese curds, and we watched the chain saw sculptor demonstration. I should have tried that at naptime today!

Although, Jane had good reasons for once to cry her eyes out at naptime--the blueberry sized swelling on her bottom right molar and the two marbles I found in her diaper after nap. Seems Joey let Jane play with the marbles the other day when he was over...

In other exciting news, I locked my keys in the car on Monday. Seems that Jane hit the lock button while I was loading the groceries. Did I mention that Jane was also in the car? That was a fun thirteen minutes. Jane knew almost immediately that something was wrong and howled hard the whole time (which is why I know how big that swollen gum is! Perfect view from where I was standing outside the car). Possibly even more humorous where the women that stopped to console me (and scare, I mean distract, Jane with Peek A Boo) and tell me how they'd locked their kid in the car 12, 18, and 24 1/2 years ago. Three women in thirteen minutes!! If that's not a comment on the faulty engineering of car locks and the sleep deprivation of mothers everywhere...outrage! Indignation! Injustice! Someone tell Obama to do something about this!

Whelp, that's all the excitement for now. I still haven't properly blogged about Jane's first birthday. Stay tuned!!! I plomise!