Just stuff and pictures

Last night she was playing her little xylophone thing to the beat of "I Know You" (still stuck on sleeping Beauty).

Me: Great job, Anna!

Anna (I swear, this is what I heard): I ammakin musik!

Me: You're making music?

Anna: Yeah!

Me: Did you just say what I think you said?

Anna: Uh-huh!

Well, you can take it for what it's worth. I know what it sounded like...

We went into Walgreens to buy diapers. A quick stop. $30 later, she's learning Christmas songs with her new pals. I am such a sucker. Pre-baby I thought this stuff was just space-wasters. I still think they are, but they make Anna happy and so have a little more purpose.

I did the mid-nap pat down!

Her teachers told me yesterday in her new class that she woke up from her nap about an hour into it and they patted her back for a few minutes and she went back to sleep.

Lately she's been doing these 1hr 20 min naps at home...ticks us off because we know she usually will sleep for 2-3. She wakes cranky and tired with a shorter nap.

So today at home, at 1hr 20 minutes into her nap, she stands up and cries. I can see her on my monitor. Time to try the pat down. It's worth a try.

One round of "I Know You" and a few minutes of back-patting, baby's back down! Maybe I'll get another hour out of her!

Woo-hoo!

Pringles

When my pregnant officemate pulls out a can of Pringles at 10AM, I am tempted. Oh so tempted. It's even worse when she does it at 9AM ;)

Honestly, she's a good gal.

Exhausted Dr. Ruttley questions karma

Last night I had lots to write but I was too tired. And these stories below should come with photos attached if I were any kind of real blogger. So expect them shortly. I promise.

Anna's first day in her new class was a big hit. No need to slowly transition over. Once they placed her in there, there was no looking back. She met up with her old friends and seems to like the new teachers lots. She drank from a non-sippy cup (no lid, which she loves to do at home when we're feeling daring), played on the bigger-toddler playground, went to the library, did some art work, and even slept on the mat without a paci for 2 hours. These teachers are of the mindset of helping to get these little addicts off of the paci. So I told them to try whatever they wanted. They say she didn't ask for the paci all day. That is, till I showed up. She knows mommy is a sucker. Besides, I suspect she was good and distracted all day yesterday by her new surroundings, and it won't be long till the paci rears its ugly head for naptime in her new classroom. I guess we'll see! I really like her new teachers, and the classroom has so much fun stuff to play with. Comparing that to her previous classroom, yeah, this new classroom is where Anna belongs. This morning when we walked in, K was playing with dinosaurs. How cool is that? The didn't have dinos in the other room. On the wall, the alphabet is displayed, as well as fruits and stuff that Anna knows and likes. There's a play kitchen and a big rack of books that Anna's going to drown herself in (baby loves books). The kiddos have their own coat hooks right outside the door, like little big-kids, as well as their own cubby. They go to the library (which they say Anna enjoyed yesterday) and they even start learning Spanish (though eck, I admit I'd prefer French). She did art work that required them painting her hands and they said she was amazed by it.

Note to self: I guess it's time to start doing some structured activities with her like this at home? Like this weekend when Paul's working so we're not bored to death.

They will even start working on potty training in this room if we ask.

Yeah, it's definitely the room Anna should be in. Her old teachers will miss her, and likewise, but she is fitting in well here. This new environment is exactly what she needs. She was EXHAUSTED when she got home yesterday and said she had fun. So YAY!

******

In other news, I met with Dr. P, the prof who usually teaches the undergraduate Human Physiology Class at the local university. I'll be teaching that class in the Spring. That's right, finally a group of 50+ people will be calling me Dr. Ruttley. That will seem strange at first but I imagine I'll get used to it. As at sat in the meeting with Dr. P yesterday, I was reminded over and over again that I was finally the one on the other side of the table. The prof who is going to be teaching a super challenging course to a bunch of students whose futures could depend on how well they do and what they learn. If you have a sucky instructor, a challenging course will also suck. To be hated forever.

Me: So, um, are there any rules on exam grading, extra credit, grading on a curve?
Dr. P: Here are my thoughts...but it's anyway you'd like to work it. It's your class

Me (to myself): Really? I can torture these students with all-essay exams questions? I can make them write their answers upside down for extra credit?

Wait, this is way too much power.

I am honestly surprised I was just hired by the university to be an adjunct and for all they know I could be a psycho bitch with a tendency to take it out on other people. Specifically students. Shouldn't I like practice or something? An intense interview to decide whether I'd be a good teacher? But I guess it wouldn't be too long into the session before they figured that one out ;)

Here it is all laid out: I am a little freaked out that I am going to teach such a super challenging course to a bunch of students who are basically sitting where I was at their age (different University). I had kick-ass Physiology professors who made it fun, even though the tests were super hard. I am a little freaked out that they'll all be looking at me on the first night with expressions that indicate they're sizing me up, wondering if I'll be a hard-core bitch or flexible and friendly. Here's a hint: it'll be somewhere in-between. I remember being a student, and all that was a stake in these classes. I remember what worked and what didn't. So hopefully it'll be enough. In the meantime, how cool is it I get to be the boss here? On the other side? Heh heh heh. Even cooler is the fact that my good friend, ZCM, who also got me this position, is teaching the lab part. So here we are, Tara and ZCM, running UHCL Human Physiology.

This is going to be super sweet. Or super challenging. Am I nuts?

There's just one little catch to all of this: ummm, I really need to go and review my Physiology. I'm a Neuroscientist/Engineer. It's been awhile since I learned how hormones are made and targeted, much less remember the basics of a cardiac cell. Ha! I have till Jan 21, the first night of class.

***
And to end an exciting day, a story revolving around Karma.
Paul's truck was broken into yesterday when he and his office manager, C were at a medical billing seminar in Austin. In the parking lot of the Double Tree hotel, his back side window was smashed in, and doors wide open when he found it. The glove box and center console ransacked, all that was apparently taken was Paul and C's overnight clothes, toiletries, and make-up (thank goodness it was only one night's worth). They were too stupid to realize that the business checkbook and credit cards were in a binder in plain sight. They had even picked it up from the back seat and moved it to the front but took nothing. They didn't even take Anna's DVD player or the CD's. Honestly my first thought was please tell me they didn't take the Britax car seat! The cop laughed and said these guys didn't know what they'd missed by not taking the car seat.

Either they were:
- really stupid; or,
-caught in the act and fled before they could get the good stuff; or,
-just needed clothes

Either way, this is not our karma. This is not our energy. This kind of thing doesn't happen to us. Though yes, bad things do happen to good people. So I think this is not about us, but about the thieves. They must have some real soul issues going on and I'd hate to be in their shoes. Or maybe this is a lesson to Paul that he should stop leaving his valuables in plain sight!!! Karma has given him a second chance by sparing all of his financials. How lucky is he? I hope he gets this concept. Take your valuables out of the car, people. Especially you people (Paul, I'm calling you out) whose little family's financial security rests on your good judgement. Don't leave your valuables in the car. Please. This affects us.

In the meantime, Paul and C had to drive home to Houston in a cold front with wind and rain. We're going to investigate insurance claims and all that good crap. What a pain. What will we (or have we) learned from this? We'll figure it out. On the drive home, I could tell in Paul's voice on the phone that he was already feeling better and upbeat about it all. You can't help but feel violated, though. Negative people with their sick energy touching your personal stuff. Ick. But he was upbeat because there's a reason for it, and because the people at the hotel were really caring and interested and helpful, and will pursue this on their own, including reviews of the surveillance tape. Plus the Austin cop was responsive, friendly, and went the extra mile. Even tried to get fingerprints, but could not get any good ones. All of that help and caring really goes a long way to counter the negative situation. So in the end, our financials are safe, Paul and C are safe, and the truck is usable. What's left is nuisance. We're grateful for that.

Wait, what? Already?

Paul picked up Anna from school today and in her cubby was a letter saying she's met all her milestones or something and she's moving up the Toddler ladder to the next room. The transition will start in December.

What? Already? She just started her current Toddler room this Agusust!

She's finally learned all her buddies' names, talks about them, and loves her teachers and doesn't even cry at drop off anymore. She walks right up to the door, knocks, and goes right on in. Very happy. She's happy and at home in that room!

Here we go again!!! GGGrrrr...I mean yeah I know our baby is brilliant and all, but really, how's she going to adjust to her new classroom? She got moved up early last year too, right when she hit 1 year old. And like now, I was feeling torn about it, like she wasn't ready. But she was and she did fine.

She's not ready to sleep on a mat.
But she did.

She's not ready to eat at the table.
But she did.

She can't even walk fully yet! She's going to be trampled!
But she wasn't trampled and actually walked quicker.

She won't sit still for storytime!
But she did, right along with her peers.

She seems to be in some weird developmental time warp between classrooms.

Part of me is happy for her: I know she's a little more advanced than her current buddies, so the rational part of me agrees it's time to move up. The room that she's moving up to has a bunch of her old buddies she hung with from March - August so I know she has fun friends there. They're just a few months older than her and they liked Anna too and even ask about her. I like the moms as well and still say hi in the halls. Maybe they will be able to help with potty training in this new room? Maybe they'll do fun stuff with letters and numbers, which Anna really loves right now. Maybe they'll learn colors, which we haven't worked on with her a whole lot yet (because she prefers animals, numbers, and letters at this point). There's also a window that looks out onto the playground in her new room. That's kinda cool. Natural light, what a concept. She'll be able to see rain. That's kinda neat.

I do feel like sometimes we have a little two year old.

I don't think I'm ready for the bad habits she's going to learn from the older kids in her new class.
I don't know how old the oldest one is.

What if they push her around or bully her?

What if she starts crying at drop off again?

Seriously, the rational side of me realizes that she's grown up alot in the past few months, and the child has surprised me with how well she's taken to situations of change. So maybe she'll be fine. I am sure she will. Just because her mommy didn't like change until about the age of 21 doesn't mean she'll have change issues too.

OK apparently I still have some issues with change, but who doesn't?

I am proud of my little "developmental milestone achiever". I have high hopes for this new classroom. I guess I'll start transitioning myself into the new classroom as well!

Thanksgiving then and now

For Anna's first Thanksgiving last year in 2007, we were at Paul's family's place in Arkansas. Anna was about 8 months old at the time.

This year we were at my mom's place in Austin. Look how far we've come!

I do remember last year she was teething pretty badly and just didn't sleep well overall during our trip, even though the 8 hour car ride was pretty easy. This year, she was teething but it wasn't bothering her, and she slept beautifully. She had so much fun with her Nanna, who adores and spoils her wonderfully, and Aunt J and S and her cousins (above) and Aunt K and Uncle K. She played so well with everyone, when we got her back home she was obviously bored.

Like we predicted, the late evening car ride was kinda painful. She just wanted to sleep on her belly, butt in air, in a bed. She did sleep for the last hour, which we were thankful for, but not without some protesting and struggle. I'd tell her to go night-night and she'd out her head down on the car seat, close her eyes, and TRY. But she just didn't get it. So she fussed till she passed out. The ride home was a little better because it was earlier, but she was bored (even with the DVD player) and I had to actually sit in the back to entertain her. I figured I may as well sit back there with her, or else I'd get a strained back from constantly reaching back there to entertain her! No entertainment = fussy, struggling toddler wanting OUT of the straps. I can't wait till she outgrows it (another 6 months? Year?) Or at least understand me when I tell her to chill out and knock it off.

She ate great on T-Day, so much so it made diaper changes more interesting than usual. Happy Holidays!

She slept all night and napped well, and kept up with the pace. She was happy and eager to do stuff all the time. Plus Nanna had some fun decorations all around the house for her to play with. This includes an inflatable turkey that tripped her while she was innocently walking by... She proceeded to tell it off and Aunt K let her beat the crap out of it as a form of toddler therapy. That seemed to get her past it all. What's T-Day without a toddler tripping over an inflatable turkey?

I love her fun attitude and flexibility. She's a hoot! This was a great Thanksgiving! I'll post more pics in my Flickr stream on the top right side of this blog.

Spacemama's Time Out

Hey everyone, I guess it's time for a post like this. The cautious and private part of me has I guess subconsciously veered this blog into one that has become focused on my thoughts as a first-time mom. But most of you know I have other stuff going on too.

Those of you who know me know that I am very career-oriented. Specifically, that career of NASA. Specifically, that career of being an astronaut.

It's no secret that all my life I've wanted to be an astronaut. It's not something I go telling everyone about because people judge you for having such lofty dreams, but most of you who know me well know that's my ultimate goal. Here I am at NASA, really close, being so lucky to be a NASA engineer, loving it.

But since no news is bad news in the astronaut application process by now, it is apparent to me that astronaut corps does not need my skill set this year. Maybe they'll consider me during their next cycle, which could be as early as two years from now. Even though the last time they selected astronauts was five years ago. So for those of you who are curious, or have been wondering about my whole "astronaut thing," I can officially tell you that it won't be this year. Despite my stellar resume and my super-clean and awesomely wonderful personality and stuff. :) The thing is that I am actually OK with it, though the one thing that bugs me is that it's tough to get past the realization that there are other folks I know of who are being considered with way less credentials. So that part is hugely confusing for me. It makes me ask so many questions that I'll never get answers to, but my good friend LW reminds me what is probably the closest to the truth: they just don't need a Neuroscientist PhD/Mechanical Engineer NASA employee with the initials TMR for this cycle for some reason. That is all I can think of too. Even though, seriously, people, I do kick butt. Just google me sometime and you'll only get 1/4 of my professional accomplishments.

If sound like I'm bragging on myself, here's a reminder that it's my blog and I'm working through my thoughts on what the heck the astronaut corps could be thinking this selection cycle. I'll never know, but maybe I will be able to rationalize my thoughts based on the final people they do decide to select. This year, those folks will be about 12-15 from an applicant pool of 3,500 people.

I will keep saying the same thing as long as I'm happy here as a NASA engineer: I am fine with waiting if it takes the astronaut corps time to realize they need me on their team, as long as I am a happy and productive NASA engineer. I am super lucky to have the job that others dream about. I told Paul the other night that it dawned on me that here I was, sitting at the NASA 50th Anniversary Gala with my NASA friends and family, and I was one of those people who belonged there, just kinda taking it for granted, almost not going at all. The Tara of 10 years ago would have KILLED to be in that room, wondering what it took to become one of them.

I am not an astronaut, and who knows if I'll ever make it, but I'll keep applying every year they're taking applications. It seems future is no longer the International Space Station, or the Space Shuttle. It's now Orion and the moon and Mars. This is the type of skill set that will be needed in the next several cycles.

We'll see where this next year takes my career. For the past 7 years here, I have been a leader in the International Space Station biomedical engineering hardware effort. My peers are slowly moving on to Orion and advanced concepts. I have been comfortable with producing biomedical engineering flight hardware until the last year or so. I was waiting until after this astronaut selection cycle to decide that it may be time for a career change within NASA. Looks like that time has come.

Stay tuned.

Pre-Thanksgiving Day

This morning she watched me make eggs with much amusement! After a good breakfast, brushed teeth and hair, we were out the door to day care with no problems. Right now she's trying so hard to get her own socks and shoes on, so giving her a head start on that task gives me some good free time to get myself together in the mornings since Paul's been out early all week. She is getting easier and easier right now to get ready to go in the morning, as long as I include her in the details (how about THIS shirt and pants? How about eggs? How about we go brush your teeth, yay!). You get the idea.

Once at school today I was mortified to learn that only my daughter and one other were actually there today. I guess the other parents took off and took their toddlers with them so out of mommy guilt I told them I'd pick Anna up after her lunch today. More than anything else I could tell already that Anna will be bored without her buddies. I don't have much planned today at work so I'm flexible. But it's Paul's schedule at his clinic that is requiring us to stay later before heading to Austin tonight for Thanksgiving at my mom's. His last patient is at 4pm and then he's got to pack up all his junk that's required to fry a turkey and who knows what else. So I imagine we'll actually get out the door tonight at 7pm.

This 7pm departure time means cranky Anna in the car ride because this child will not sleep in her car seat. Occasionally she'll nap mid-day if absolutely necessary but as far as night trips go, she just wants to be in her own comfy bed. No sleeping sitting up for this one. So this will be such a fun car ride tonight!

Pray for us.

Bathtime!

I watched her play in the tub for a good 45 min tonight I think. Her water got cold and we filled it up again. The bubbles went away. What most kids found out about at age 7 months or so, Anna really discovered tonight: the joys of laying in the tub and mega-splashing. Like big waves at like 2 Hz so that the amplitude was large enough to slosh water out of the tub! Terrific! She's splashed occasionally in the past, but tonight I had to cover myself with a towel :) And then I watched her pretend play something or other in the water. I wondered what she was pretending to do. I couldn't tell. She'd put her hands into a cup full of water, put her hands in her mouth, then rub her hands up and down her legs and feet. No clue on my part!

This evening while at work, Paul and Anna called me. She sang to me over the phone her ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle. And "I yuv you mommy!". I have been waiting for those songs over the phone for 20 months. Ahhh...

So much is going through my mind when I watch her play and sing and talk to us. You can see the neurons making their connections in her little brain. She is fun to watch. I wonder what features of her face will remain constant as she grows and how much will change as she gets older. She's so happy talking to me I can't imagine that she will fight with me on a regular basis when she gets older (even though we have our moments even in toddler-hood). I am fully aware when I watch her that what people swear to me is true: enjoy it all now and let it all sink in now because it goes by fast.

CS said she saw Anna and her class at day care today, playing on the playground. Lots of laughing and screaming and running and playing! One day I've got to take off of work to go see that!

This morning I was on the phone with Disney World, firming up our travel plans for Jan. On hold, Anna's favorite night-night song came on: "I know you" from Sleeping Beauty. Yes, I know that song by heart. Over and over every night. Hearing it on the phone made me think a few things:
-Awww, that's my baby's song!
-Wow, wait, really...not just my baby's song, but other people's babies' song, huh?
-Hmmmm....Disney sure knows what they're doing, don't they? I was NOT A DISNEY FAN before Anna was born. Ask Esther, I hated Disney. They just make movies that revolve around the tragic death of the mother of some poor little deer or lion or cat or dog or whatever. Sad crap. Sleeping Beauty is still the only classic I've seen and I haven't seen the whole thing thanks to a toddler with a limited attention span. But I digress...

The point is that when I heard that song on hold, that means other people's kids love it too, and I came to understand the basis for gazillions of dollars Disney takes in every single day. Yep, I'm about to be one contributor.

Quick Hits and Bragging Rights

WARNING: First time mom bragging to follow. I can't help it. It's my blog and I love her and she just amazes me everyday. I am trying not to turn into one of those moms who thinks every little move is just adorable but it's tough when she's been so happy and helpful the past few weeks.

On sunday morning Anna chose to wake up at 6:45 instead of her usual 7-7:15am. We are certain this has something to do with the fact that mommy and daddy stayed out till 1am at the NASA 50th Anniversary Gala in Galveston. That will teach us to sneak away while she's asleep! This is why parents of toddlers don't stay out late, people (unless you are one of those strangely blessed parents whose toddler sleeps late...TJ maybe?)

This weekend, Anna looked right at me during lunch and said, "pacis a fu babies!" Daddy is telling her that paci's are for babies. She likes the phrase, but only somewhat gets where we are trying to go with this. She will also happily say "Yucky paci!" and throw it down, then proceed to ask for it again later. She still gets her paci in the car and during sleep. She will take it out of her mouth when we ask her to. That's a start. But she is still teething her 4 canines and with the holiday travel approaching, we're lightening up a bit. We figure we're going to have to use reason rather than force.

She finally liked hanging on the bars at The Little Gym.

This weekend she pee-peed on her little potty when I did :) She was so proud!! So were we. She will actually tell you when she's gone in her diaper if she thinks about it. Awareness! That's on the right path!

She is being extremely cooperative and happy still ever since we got back from Colorado. Is this another phase or can I attribute the awful attitude of the previous weeks to ear infection, cold, and teething? I don't know but she's a super cool toddler at this time. Even brushing her teeth has become fun for her.

When we go to get her from her crib after she's woken, she has lots to tell you! Usually it revolves around her paci and I'm not entirely sure what she's saying but she is loaded with inflection and exclamations!

She will list off the names of her friends at school, and then add "book!" as if it were one of her friends. SHE LOVES BOOKS. When I pick her up from school, she's always sitting on the floor looking at a book and she immediately runs up to tell me the story and show me the book. Every night before bedtime, story time is a a real treat for all of us because she is so involved and just loves to name stuff and point stuff out.

And baby can count to 13. If you ask her to count something, like the ducks in her book, she will point to each one and assign it a correct number..."one, tooo, steee, fou, hive..." it's the coolest thing I have EVER heard.

She is now singing songs outloud all by herself for you if you just ask her to. The other day we got rounds and rounds of Itsy Bitsy Spider out of nowhere so then we asked for Twinkle Twinkle and ABC...OK the words aren't PERFECT but she loves to sing for us and we are just amazed. She is very serious about her singing.

A quick reminder that we are new at this parenting thing and therefore have the right to be amazed! Paul and I just look at each other like: ARE YOU HEARING THIS TOO? Last night at story time I wish we'd have had a video camera running. Maybe we'll set one up because we were just rolling with laughter.

She helps me cook her breakfast, loves waffles, and knows that fire, the fireplace, the oven, and the toaster is hot. When the water runs hot as she's washing her hands, she will tell me: HOT! If her food is too hot, she will tell me HOT. She blows on it to cool it but she's been doing that for a few months now. She knows that ice is cold.

She likes wearing a jacket when it's cold outside.

She's alsways had this "uh-uh-uh" high pitched, urgent almost whine. I swear ever since the day she was born. As a newborn, it was an indicator that a full out scream or cry was forthcoming in just a few seconds. As a toddler, I can see it heading down the path to habitual whining so we are nipping this in the bud this instant. When she starts that we tell her to stop that whining and "tell mommy" or daddy or "show" us what she wants to say. Most of her response is Anna-talk with some key words in there we can pick up on so it's helpful and I think actually working. At least she knows to stop, look at me, and talk to me.

MY GOD THE CHILD IS A BOTTOMLESS PIT LATELY. Do they really have growth spurts, or is this just another wive's tale? Because baby has been putting it away in piles and I am getting concerned! She's not fat or overweight, but geeze I feel for the child if she keeps this up because if she's inherited both her daddy and mommy's genes for the love to eat, she doesn't stand a chance! She will taste ANYTHING you give her but then spit it out if she doesn't like it. At least she's open to trying it out first. She will go around her plate and name all the food on it.

There's so much more I should post that she's doing but ofcourse I can't blog it at the time and then I forget. I'll get better at this. She's just growing up, fast.

They said she likes to dress up

While Paul and I were in Colorado a few weeks ago and Anna was staying with Paul's parents, they dressed up all the grandchildren in matching outfits and took pictures. No small feat I'm sure but they said it was fun! The pictures prove it...she does clean up nicely!

Our thoughts were that we hadn't seen her in 4 days and from the looks of these pictures, we came home to a two year old! My did she grow when we were gone?

She's Smart AND Beautiful

Astronaut!

Last night we went to the 10th anniversary party of the International Space Station. Ten years on orbit is a really long time. Good for us for controlling our processes such that it's still safe and gunk-free (for the most part). It still seems new to me!

While sitting in an auditorium waiting for a series of speeches from the world's space agencies, our beautiful toddler shouts out, ASTRONAUT! Not just once, but over and over. We got comments, "how cute! how sweet!" She was proud of herself!

Like a good toddler, she behaved herself as long as she could but we had to leave in the middle of the speeches because men speaking in boring blue suits in a language she doesn't understand doesn't hold her attention like Mickey Mouse does. She rathered digging through the diaper bag or getting up and down off the seat. Several times she shouted out: "MEEOOOWWW and MOOO!!!" as she was thumbing through her board book.

I guess Paul and I were expecting a little more exciting display with photos and movies but it was mostly about content of the speeches. The kids next to us were also getting bored. Even the ones who came in excited for what they were about to hear/see. Excited about the space program. They ranged from 2 to about 9.

While it's impossible to cater to that age group in a speech, I couldn't help but feel, as a parent, that NASA kinda missed an opportunity to capture some of the kids in the crowd with a little more "oomph". I suppose Pre-baby Tara would have sat and listened carefully to all of the leaders tell us about the wonders of the acheivements of the ISS and the NASA team. Post-baby Tara was sort of relieved Anna was antsy enough to have to get up and walk out. Or maybe I am just getting more and more cynical that I feel like NASA sometimes doesn't do enough in the public relations area, when they really could do so much more. Last night was a great effort but for some reason I just wasn't feeling it. Granted, they're not Disney, but they are NASA.

The rest of the party at Space Center Houston included a band and food. The band wasn't playing much while we were there. Where were the astronaut autographs and photo ops? Where was the anniversary cake? Balloons? Did I miss all of this and just give up too soon?

The up-side was that Anna danced a little bit when the band played, she got to see "spaceships" and "astronaut" mock-ups, and on the way out we got a goody bag that contained some pretty could space stuff. Inside the bag, there was a little foam astronaut.

"ASTRONAUT!" as she played with it all the way home.

Contagious fist bumps

Anna has been skipping, smiling, and running to her classrooms in the morning. It's the sweetest feeling to watch her haul it down the hallway, holding my hand, and smiling up at me occasionally like, "are you as excited as I am?"

This morning when we entered (she likes to knock first), I heard, "Anna!" And it wasn't from her teachers, but from a little buddy Walty. How wonderful! We applauded Walty and he got all shy and silly. These guys are growing up!

Speaking of growing up, she just flat out walked away from me today, and straight over to Miss P. This is the second day in a row for that! She gives Miss P a fist bump, me a snotty kiss, and bye-bye! This morning when she fist bumped Miss P, Rocky came over and fist bumped Miss P. Then one by one they all came over for fist bumps. Hardy-har-har. I left her with a smile and not a care in the world.

I am so happy the crying at drop-off is behind us. It's a very liberating feeling to go to work confidently knowing your baby is happy to start her day. YAY!

Again, what's with the pee-pee and nap-fighting? I'd prefer sleep.

Well it's Tuesday...Spacedaddy's day to be home with Spacebooger (Anna).

At 1:44pm I check in with a phone call:

Spacemama: Why do I hear our baby in the background?
Spacedaddy: Uh-huh, she only napped for 30 minutes today. Woke up crying hard!
That's not our usual, happy wake-up Anna. Yep, the hallmark of teething...4 glroious canines. Or wait, could we facing another ear infection maybe? She HAS been pulling at her ears... No, no...not again...not the confusion and guessing. It's CLEARLY teething.
Spacemama: Hon, I am soooo sorry! Are you able to get anything done today with her up?
Spacedaddy: I am forcing her to play on her own.
He is managing to get SOME things done...
Spacemama: It's the teething...I am sorry, hon!

At 3:30pm, Spacedaddy calls me:

Spacedaddy: Anna, tell mommy what you did today?
Anna (over the phone, promted by daddy): Peepeeonapoddy!
Spacemama: You pee-peed on the potty?? What a BIG GIRL! Daddy, did you give high fives and YAY?
Spacedaddy: Lots of high-fives and yays!

She's hanging with Spacedaddy some more tonight while I tend to a personal matter with good friends. Hopefully his pudding concoction adds ibuprophen to the mix, which she refused him earlier today. If only she knew it was for her own good...