Baby Dentures?

Amelia is now over 8 months old - the oldest kid in her class - and the ONLY kid without teeth. I didn't think anything of it when I just thought she was a little late. But, the ONLY kid?!?! I don't want her to be the last kid unless it's the last girl to get a boyfriend, the last to ask her dad where babies come from, or maybe the last kid to get their driver's license. So, Amelia has roughly a month to get some teeth or else I am going to start contacting dentists to get some tiny dentures made. That's pretty normal, right?

No Moms Allowed

Tonight was another Mia and Daddy night as Meggan had to work. She basically has to work two nights a week for most of the fall. So, these nights are not exactly few and far between. Normally, Amelia finds at least one or two things on each of these nights to become extremely fussy about. However, tonight was a really good night. I had a feeling I was in for a treat when she started bouncing up and down smiling the minute I walked into daycare. This reaction, which I have seen on a few occasions, is easily one of the highlights of my life. She decided the whole ride home would be a good time to talk. I tried to catch up on how her day went. She mostly kept saying mamamamama. Once we got home, we got to play with our third partner in crime, Sophie. Sophie doesn't really allow for the option to NOT play with her, so you might as well embrace it and invite her have fun with you. After working up a healthy appetite practicing standing, we feasted on turkey and vegetables. I can't actually verify that it was turkey OR vegetables, but that's what the jars said. Next came the only slight mishap of the night. I was making myself a sandwich when I heard an all too familiar sound...a baby grunting as if she was trying to give birth. I looked over to see this poor little girl with a face as red as a candy apple. I was not looking forward to what occurred next. A sound came from her diaper that sounded like I put a Christmas ham down the garbage disposal. I don't know what the hell happened in that diaper, but I kid you not....Mia started speaking in tongues. So, after I tended to that little dumpster fire, we were back on track. It was decided that we should get back to the play mat for a serious crawling practice session. We all played so hard that the she was falling asleep before bath time...and I'm just referring to Sophie. We left Sophie rest up (which she clearly has done because she is absolutely doing work on a rawhide bone right now) while we went upstairs for a bath. All bath time routines went without a hitch. I was able to fend off all of Amelia's efforts to turn on the shower while the bath water was running. Eventually, I'm going to let her learn that lesson the hard way. But, tonight I was ill prepared to answer to mom when she got home and found out. After our bath, we slipped on some pajamas and had a tasty bottle. Amelia loves to snuggle up to your neck as she falls asleep. Seriously, for those of you who don't have children, rent one, borrow one, steal one, whatever. But, you have not felt a more therapeutic feeling than a warm baby snuggling up to the crook of your neck. A few seconds later, she was fast asleep. To no surprise, Amelia, Sophie, and I had survived another night with no adult supervision.

What's in a name?

Mia is 8 months old and over that time, she's probably been called by her real name, Amelia, seemingly 3 times. I started thinking about all the different nicknames I have heard her called over that span and it is growing increasingly long, and increasingly inexplicable. Here is the list from the top of my head....and no, these are not approved nicknames, nor are most of them to be perpetuated.

Amelia
Mia
Mookie
Milly
Mimi
Miss Fussypants
Monkey Joe
Mookiepants
Pickle
Mook Mook
Baby
Tootie
Pookie
Mookie Pantalones
Monchichi
Kermit
Babygirl
Poopidoo

So, to summarize, her name is Amelia. I view Mia as the only acceptable nickname. Clearly, nobody gives a damn about what I find acceptable.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Amelia and her grandpa were either really bored with taking pictures or they were just trying to do their best American Gothic impersonation...

Attack of the mushrooms

Our yard has recently been taken over by mushrooms. I'm not sure what brought this on as they didn't spring up last fall. However, tonight I went out and began pulling them out of the ground. This was definitely one of those situations in which you continue to pull them up for 10 minutes, look around, and swear there are more than when you started. So, you pull for 15 more minutes and you check again...even more. By the time I was done, I had pulled TEN POUNDS (I weighed them) of mushrooms from my yard. That is a lot of mushrooms considering they don't weigh much individually. So, somehow, in the week since I last cut my grass, I have grown enough mushrooms to fill up nearly half of a garbage bag. I don't really grow grass well. All of our plants seem to meet their maker. However, mushrooms, those must be my thing. If they come back, I'm going to have to find out what is causing them and what I can do to stop it. Either that, or I'm just going to grow more to at least make it look purposeful.

The Great Pumpkin

We took Mia to the pumpkin patch today in preparation for her first Halloween. Overall, we had a pretty good time. However, to my surprise, she was not as thrilled about the pumpkins as I thought she would be...

Once Bitten

Well, it finally happened. I've known this day would come from the day we found out Meggan was pregnant. It really shouldn't surprise anyone given their animosity on this blog. Tonight, while Meggan was at work and I was watching Amelia and Sophie, we had our first biting incident. Amelia was sitting on the floor playing with her toys while Sophie kept bringing her a dog toy to play with. Regardless of how many times I removed the dog toy, Sophie kept bringing it back. Each time, Amelia would do her best to grab it and I would intercept it. If you have ever been around Sophie, you would know she does this tirelessly attempting to get you to play tug with her. Obviously, she doesn't realize Amelia isn't strong enough for that game even if she were to get the toy. So, on this fateful attempt, I was sitting about two feet from them when the bite occurred. Sophie brought her toy, Jack, over to Amelia. This time, Amelia got a really good bear hug grip on it. Just as I was reaching to remove this toy before Amelia could get "doggie germs", Sophie went in for her toy. This all happened in slow motion for me - inching closer...crazy look in eyes...closer...mouth starting to open wide...closer....bite on the neck. Poor girl, I don't think she ever saw it coming. She couldn't have. It all happened too fast and she didn't even make an attempt to get out of the way. She didn't even move during the bite, she just sat there in stunned shock. As soon as I was able to separate them, I picked Amelia up and told her she would be in big trouble if she ever bit Sophie again. Sophie ran under the couch, no doubt more a function of the hair pulling rather than the wet, toothless gumming she just received. I know her pain well, as it is Amelia's new thing when I lay down next to her to yank my ear, lean over, and bite it. Most people have to worry about their pets and their children. However, we actually have to protect Sophie from our bully. Considering I'm not even sure Sophie knows how to bite, her only defense would be to bark Amelia to death...a feat she has tried many times.