Tickle Me or Kill Me?...

A furry red monster has moved into our home. Rather, he's INVADED it.

Tee Jay and I do not like the idea of sitting Casey in front of the TV on a regular basis, so shortly after she was born, we moved our living room set to the basement. We gave up our obsession with DVR'ing and canceled our cable subscription, and then when the bunny ears and digital converter box began to fail, we renewed again - but this time for the bare minimum basic package. (Meaning that for about $6/month, we can tune into ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and PBS. And that's about it, folks.)

However... we're big fans of the computer, so as she grew, Casey became more interested in doing Mommy and Daddy things. And when she tried to use our keyboard and mouse, we figured we'd find something fun to show her online.

By plugging "Sesame Street Celebrities" into youtube, we stumbled across this cute little number (four!) by Fiest:


Casey seemed to enjoy herself, so we added a couple of different alphabet songs (Elmo with India Arie - and lots of monsters with Miles) and fun spinoffs (Norah Jones lamenting for the letter "Y," the Goo Goo Dolls singing to Elmo about being proud, etc.) to our repertoire.

Granted, we knew that Elmo starred in a couple of these videos. We knew his name was mentioned a few times. But we never said to Casey, "Let's go watch Elmo!" We'd just occasionally pull her into our laps for a quick song when she was bugging us about our time on Facebook. (She obviously wasn't asking us to get off of Blogger, since... we never post! Sorry!)

So, imagine our surprise one evening this week when I was at the kitchen sink telling Tee Jay something about our nephew and Elmo, and from her high chair, we heard a clear, perfect "EL-MO." Tee Jay said, "Did she just say Elmo?" "Uh, I think so." We both turned around to look at Casey, who repeated "EL-MO" and then put up her little palms and shrugged her shoulders, as if to ask "Where did he go??"

To make the connection more complete, she then craned her neck to the left and turned around as much as possible, pointing into the living room at the computer. "EL-MO." And Elmo it was. We rewarded our girl with three, four, or maybe five video viewings that night.

However, her thirst hadn't been satisfied and the requests haven't stopped. Casey asks for Elmo anytime the computer is in her view (we've even started closing the rolltop desk, hoping that "out of sight - out of mind" works), she asks for Elmo while getting ready in the morning, and she asks for Elmo in the car driving home each evening.

How is it, that no matter what, this furry red monster always seems to steal children's hearts??

Thankfully, I don't find Elmo as annoying as other kids' obsessions (like Barney - oh, shoot me if she ever learns who he is...). We don't watch Sesame Street and we don't own Elmo's World videos, so our limited exposure is in the cute mostly-sung-by-famous-folks internet videos.

We headed to Target tonight as a family in search of something "EL-MO" for Casey, so that the computer is not the only way to fulfill her. Though her Daddy thought it was fun to make all of the talking, walking, shaking, tickle-me, and whatnot Elmo dolls do their thing (talking, walking, shaking, tickle-laughing, etc.) in the toy aisle, I'm pleased that we brought home the ever-quiet Elmo coloring book, Elmo waterproof bathtub book, and a little red furry, huggable, lovable, no-batteries-necessary stuffed Elmo.

It amazed me, walking out of the store, that Casey has her first real character "lovey." Is she really that grown up?? I wonder what comes next...


(And there are no pictures yet, as the kiddo will NOT keep still with her new Elmo items!)

Mood Swings...

I miscarried a baby in May, and I’ve thought several times about letting my teeny blogging world in on the news (though I don’t know if anyone still reads this thing, since I’ve been the slacker-as-always), but just never got around to it. Never had the right words. I didn’t need sympathy. I didn’t want words of encouragement. Our miscarriage was just another step along the way in my life, through our marriage, and for our family. It wasn’t an easy process, but it wasn’t the end of our world, either. I have an amazingly supportive husband, and together we have faith.

This morning, I laid in bed for a few extra minutes, not quite wanting to get up and start the day, when I thought about a friend who has recently become pregnant. I realized that not once since I heard her news have I felt anything but thrilled for her, her husband, and their first child. I’ve been excited that they’re adding to their brood and happy that there’ll be another wonderful baby for me to admire and visit. As I ignored the alarm clock and smiled about my friend’s good fortune, it dawned on me that I must really be doing okay with my miscarriage.

However…
Casey’s best friend at day care is a little boy named Lucas. When the two of them see each other in the mornings, they run to one another and dole out HUGE hugs (which caused them to fall on top of each other and bang heads yesterday morning!). I wrote about Lucas in Casey’s baby book one night this week, mentioning that he’s her first “real” friend that she made all on her own. Because there’s a space to include a picture of the friend, I made a mental note to ask Lucas’ parents’ permission to take a shot of the two together. I don’t see his parents every day, as our dropoff and pickup times don’t always correspond, but I figured I would get a chance soon enough.

This morning, Lucas and his mom drove into the day care’s parking lot just after Casey and I. We walked over to their car, and Casey waved excitedly at Lucas while waiting for his mom to hoist him out of his car seat. While Lucas’ mom was leaning into the car to get him, I noticed that she had a stylish, cloth band at the top of the back of her jeans and thought, “That’s cute – and funny, in a way – I had a pair of maternity jeans like that.” Once we got inside of the building and I actually saw the front and side of Lucas’ mother, it hit me like a truck… “Ohmigod, she IS pregnant.” She had the most adorable belly and had probably ‘popped’ just recently.

I was so completely taken aback by this realization that I couldn’t utter a single word. I didn’t ask Lucas’ mom about taking a picture of our kiddos, I didn’t ask her about being pregnant (because I didn’t want to be rude), etc. I just signed Casey in, dropped off her towel and change of clothes/shoes (Fridays are Splash Days! yea!), and gave her a big kiss good bye.

I walked out to my car feeling ANGRY. I was sooooooo pissed off, thinking that Lucas’ mom is probably due around the same time or just slightly after I would have been due with my “Baby Bou Too” (our pre-miscarriage pet name for the baby). And if we would have had our second children around the same time as one another, they could have gone through Chesterbrook together and been best friends just like Lucas and Casey. I felt consumed with jealousy and anger, and had a churning stomach about my misfortune. I couldn’t help it.

I arrived to work feeling completely sorry for myself and oh-so-upset about this “what if” missed opportunity for my next child’s supposed new best friend (seriously, how crazy were my thoughts?). Before I could even get settled at my desk, however, I was confronted by a coworker with good news – her cousin, who had been trying to get pregnant for QUITE some time (and had been a topic of our conversations and hopes) was finally expecting a baby.

My heart leapt in excitement. “Really????? No way! Ohmigosh, I’m sooooo happy for her!” I gushed. And I meant it. And, sheepishly, I realized that up until that point, I hadn’t felt happiness for Lucas’ growing family. Talk about a wake up call…

Since this morning, I have thought about what I’ll do the next time I see Lucas’ mom and how I can honestly tell her how joyous I am for her. I have thought about how I don’t like that I had a miscarriage – but that I know in my heart if Baby Bou Too had been born, our next child (should God bless us with another) wouldn’t have existed, because the timing wouldn’t have been exactly what it will be when it happens.

I may not be able to fully avoid a future knee-jerk jealous reaction… but if I have one, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to squelch the anger and envy quickly. And I’ll remind myself to just dwell on the fact that I’m exactly where I need to be, and so is my family.

The Proof is On The Counter...

When my countertop looks like this, it can only mean one thing... the in-laws are here!

A Belated Congratulations...

My sister "erin e" (also known as the beloved Auntie Erin) graduated this past December from Washington University with a Masters in Human Resources Management, and she chose to walk in May at the main commencement exercises.

We flew out for the events (Casey's third and fourth flights in her young life), and it was absolutely WONDERFUL to not only celebrate her Auntie Erin's accomplishment, but also to introduce Casey to the many aunts, uncles, and cousins who live here in St. Louis. Best of all, Casey met (and really warmed right up to) her Great-Grandpa Ruegg.

It was just a glorious long weekend of love, family, and fun!

(click on photos to enlarge them)

A Few Changes and A Lot of Growth...

Over the past few months, many changes have been taking place in Casey's schooling. Not earth-shattering ones, mind you - I mean, we're still at Chesterbrook (and paying a boat load! smile). But shortly after her first birthday, Casey transitioned from the Infant to the Toddler-A room.

The transition was deliberately lengthy. First, we started by giving Casey my pumped milk in a sippy cup, then pouring the leftovers into a bottle. She did well and drank exclusively from a cup during school hours not long thereafter. Then we began introducing cow's milk into the cup, and pretty quickly, though she noticed a difference, she didn't seem to mind the change in flavor (or temperature, as the milk isn't heated like her bottles had been).

Next, Casey began visiting the Toddler-A room for short periods during the day; an hour here, a couple of hours there. When she was finally in the "grown up" area at pickup time, I noticed a marked change in Casey. She was still excited to see me and dropped everything to crawl, walk, or climb straight to Mama. But when she arrived in my arms, she loosened her grip, would point to things or friends in the room, and pronounce "Dahhhh!" (her word for most things at that stage). It was as if she were showing off this new, fun environment.

Her end-of-the-day greetings then transitioned to wanting a hug, but immediately pulling away to go back over to her friends or whatever activity she'd been involved in before I opened the classroom door.

Nowadays, she'll often run over and say "Hi" to me, but she's not quite ready to leave Chesterbrook as soon as I arrive there.

This isn't upsetting to me in any way. There are brighter colors, more toys, and lots of noise in the Toddler room, and it's quite obviously geared towards her maturation. I love seeing her so happy with friends and teachers (oh, the kisses she gives and gets!), and each day is a testament to the growth she's experiencing in the day care setting.

Of course, nothing in this life is perfect...

A minor complaint (if I could even call it a complaint) is that Casey comes home MESSY! Big t-shirts are worn at lunch (instead of bibs), but when the air was still cold enough for long sleeves, the ends of them were usually covered in spaghetti sauce or some other delicacy. Playing outside, interacting with other kids, working on real projects (versus the cute, barely touched "art" from the Infant room), etc. all lead up to less-than-pristine shirts and pants at the end of the day. It may mean more OxiClean for us, but it's also a nice indication that our daughter is having fun, fun, fun!

And - here it comes - our little doll has been BIT (bitten?). It's happened three times over several months (twice within a week of one another by the same child), but not at all for awhile. We've been reassured that this is somewhat normal for her age-group, and though seeing the first-time mark on Casey's arm was disconcerting to us, one of our major concerns was that she'd learn how to bite back! (We so don't want to be the parents getting the report that our daughter hurt someone else.) Thankfully, we haven't received such word yet. We've been told that Casey occasionally participates in the bad behaviors known by her age group (hitting, eye-poking, etc.) but that she is a real sweetie and not at all a repeat offender.

She is learning so much at Chesterbrook that we can barely keep up with what she now knows. She has MANY words:

Mama, Daddy, hi, buh-bye, kitty, dog, woof (usually followed by puppy-like panting), moo (responded when asked, "Casey, what does a cow say?"), more-more (always said twice in a row along with the sign language for "more"), diaper, row-row-row (almost exclusively stated in threes, as in "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"), yeah, and baba (for "baby").

Until recently, she loved pointing to her nose, and we were so excited that she finally knew a body part. Now, however, she will NEVER touch her own schnoz, but loves to rest her finger upon ours. She was looking through a book a few weeks back and saw a picture of a baby's ear. She showed me the picture and then grabbed her own ear, and I exclaimed, "Good girl - EAR! Great!"

Well, it's always nice to get attention, so Casey then showed us, upon our asking, her arms (waving them up in the air), hands (think "spirit fingers"), legs and feet (patting them with her hands), head and hair (a little too much pulling on it for her own good), mouth (she drums it with her fist while saying "ahhhhhh" - much like we non-politically-correct folks did to imitate Native American Indians when we were kids), and a new favorite: her BELLY! Warm weather has ushered out the use of onesies, so Casey's stomach is always accessible for a peek or poke! We had no idea that she already knew all of these body parts.

She can walk up and down the stairs while holding onto railings or our hands (but also likes to crawl and use knees), empties the dishwasher with Daddy (a favorite pasttime), and is getting quite skilled at making real music come from the many flutes and pipes we have lying around the house. She is also becoming very interested in (and good at) simple puzzles.

Casey has a new obsession with dogs - she loves hearing, seeing, and pointing at them. They're totally the "it" thing right now for her, made complete by a new dalmatian stuffed animal (named Doggy) from my cousin Matt.

At her doctor's visit last week, Casey measured 33 inches tall and weighed 22 pounds, 3 ounces. Her hair is getting longer (and in her eyes!), but she refuses to leave ponytails or barrettes in it (and Mommy refuses the first hair cut just yet). She has 10 teeth (8 in the front and her 2 top molars), and her doctor could feel the bottom molars just under the surface of her gums.

She seems, in most ways, more like a "kid" now than a baby. We are helplessly in love and constantly shocked by how fast this is all going!

She's Gone and Done It...

So, Casey decided to forgo her nap today (normally from about noon-2:00PM), and we kept waiting (and watching and trying for) a sleepy moment to arrive, assuming we could help her sneak in a few winks in the late afternoon before dinner.

But no nap came for this obstinate child, so she went and did what I've heard so many other parents describe...

Casey fell asleep right at the dinner table:

Warm Weather, Here We Come!...

Seeing this kid wear little shorts is absolutely the highlight of my day...