Happy Birthday, my 21 month-old

Happy 21-month birthday, baby! Tonight we finished decorating the tree and daddy even got some lights put up in the front of the house, even with his fever. This time last year you were learning to crawl, which I think you hated because you'd whine while you did it. All the other babies in your classroom were crawling. Even the ones younger than you. You'd rather sit there and watch or else have us tote you around or hold onto our fingers while you "walked". But you showed those other babies, next month you got into walking on your own, as well as pulling up in the crib, which disturbed everyone's rest when you'd practice in your sleep then freak out because you couldn't get back down. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This year, you're saying "Christmas Tree" and "Santa Clause" and "OH MAN!" every time you see a house with lights on it. You ask for "moe" when you want the new train in the tree that daddy bought you to go round and round again. You're learning Jingle Bells and making Christmas art at school, which you bring home daily. In decorating the tree this year, we came across the ornament with your baby picture in it that you made at school last year. Fantastic! You're learning to jump and drinking from a regular cup and going to bed with books and songs before lights out. You are helping me do laundry and dishes, instead of pulling them all out of the cabinets and licking them.

Like last year, though, your nose is still runny. Tis the season.

This year we don't have our kitties. This will be the first Christmas in about 22 years that we don't have cats that eat the Christmas tree needles. It's just the three of us. They both passed away last year over the holidays, within 2 weeks of each other.

This year you'll get egg nogg instead of soy formula! Bring on the goodies!

The girls' play day

Bummer Spacedaddy had to work all weekend. We missed him so much.

But we couldn't sit home without him, bored. It is Christmas season, afterall. Festivals everywhere you look! After a make-up class at the Little Gym again today, and another fabulous Anna nap (not me, I surfed the net and cleaned the house), we ventured out to the League City Christmas on the Creek festival.

On the way, she asked for her paci. Of which I had cut the tip off with scissors, since I've heard stories that it's worked (I know about the safety warnings in doing this too...disclaimer). Interested to see what she'd do. In the car:

Anna: Paci? Paci?

Spacemama: Here's your paci, baby! (watching her reaction)

Anna (pulling the paci out her mouth): Paci boke! Paci boke!

She threw her paci down to the floor and told me the entire way to the festival that her paci was BOKE BOKE BOKE! She wasn't upset, just adamant that I knew it was broken (boke). And I also heard in there that paci's are for babies and yucky. I asked her a few times if she wanted it back and she said no every time. Hmmmm...could it really work this well? Time will tell...

In the meantime, Anna rode her first ferris wheel, and played her first carnival games. She won them all and even negotiated an extra prize :) She also watched the band play Christmas music, and played on the playground. But we did miss Paul.

On the ferris wheel

She won! No sympathy for the 5-year old challenger

Pick up the duck, win that prize. Don't drink the water.

On the way home, she proceeded to remind me her paci was "boke." Nor did she want it.

Exhausted back at home, we started decorating the tree till we all got too tired to go on. And it was early. Paul is running a fever, Anna was pooped from hard play, and I was tired from the whole weekend.

Helping to decorate the tree



In the Christmas Spirit

In bed tonight, Anna reminded me that her other paci was "boke". This one was apparently OK. Night-night, baby.

Look what I learned to do today

After a few years of owning the camera, I am starting to play around with its capabilities. As I suspected, it can do some cool things that I have just never had time for, nor thought about investigating. It would have been good to know these things to have used them as Anna's growing up. She's so beautiful. I only wish she didn't have a snotty nose :)

Oreo Smiles

Motivated

If they can do it, I can do it. Here's my first day of attempting pigtails.

OK so they're a little uneven but eh. It worked. The first one went well. The second was a scene that resulted in lots of squirming, fussing, and scissors. I think my hands were even shaking in the end from the anxiety (yes, I am astronaut material, everyone). Her hair survived, and she even let me try it again. So all in all, YAY for us!

Anna, smile big for mommy (she's learning to smile before the flash goes off)...

Fake smile that resembles Paul's fake smile

Take II: practice makes perfect

Paul's working at the hospital this weekend. So it was just us girls. We started out at the Little Gym, had a good nap, and then I took her over to the Sagemont Church's Christmas festival. I saw it this morning in the Space City Parent when I was looking for stuff to keep us from getting bored all day... It was FREE and consisted of a petting zoo, real snow (made from machines), air jumping things, and games and face painting. Apparently I looked like I needed help in life (?) so some happy Sagemont volunteer sucked me into sitting through about 5-10 minutes of discussion about Jesus as my savior while Anna sat and stared patiently while littering her nice table with sticky dried fruit. As I sat there I did listen intently to see if I could at least learn anything. I figured that it was a free festival so I guess I will pay for it by being on their mailing list ;)

Here's a shot I got of Anna right around the time a mom next to me was loudly reminding her apparently-5-year-old that she did not want him eating snow because people have been standing in it. Pish. Try telling that to a 21-month-old.

Now that I think about it, I bet some of those shoes had been in the petting zoo. I hope it doesn't make for an interesting diaper... At least we tried to go for the clean-looking snow...heh...

I didn't take pics of the petting zoo because I was by myself and had my hands full. Besides, we have tons of pics of Anna's baby- and toddler-hood in different petting zoos. This one was really cool, though. All in one area were ducks, pigs, bunnies, a lama, goats, deer, sheep, chicken, a little cow, and a horse...all running around with the look of toddler-fear in their eyes but patiently accepting their destiny.

Spacemama: Anna, look at that donkey! What's the donkey say?

Anna: Eee-ooonnn.

Somebody's smarty-pants booger-eating 6 year old: It's not a donkey, it's a horse!

Yeaahhh...what does the horsey say? Who cares?

We ended the day with dinner (and play) at Chic-Fil-A with Paul, and then we picked up our Christmas tree (only real trees for us). She shouted Christmas tree! over and over and over while touching each one. It was only the Home Depot parking lot, but man was she having fun! I think she gets the idea because she's already seen a few other decorated trees so she knows what's coming. We picked up a little train to go around the tree, too. She had enough excitement for one day that ended in a bubble bath and quicker-than-usual bedtime routine, so we'll be decorating tomorrow night after Paul gets home.

Now I'm off to go clip her toenails in her sleep. Baby is growing some claws.

Have I mentioned how much I love her new teachers?

The girls in Anna's new class actually line up to get their hair done in pigtails or ponytails! I can barely get Anna to sit still at home when I attempt it, but at school it seems to be the fun thing to do. Isn't that right?

This is what I came to pick up today at school. How cute is this?

This is the first time she's ever had pigtails. I've never even attempted it. It would be like getting her to sit still for TWO ponytails that have to also be evenly distributed.

By the way, that bottom picture is a result of "show mommy your teeth!" She only always smiles after the flash goes off. So it's either this, or the look of "huh?"...

This is way far out there...

Seriously, how cool is this? This is worth finding a babysitter.

http://www.nmfh.org/

Thanks, ommom!

What's missing from this picture?

I'll give you a hint:


Her paci.

Anna asleep today at school

This confirms my suspicion: Spacedaddy and Spacemama are such suckers.

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.