Happy Independence Day! Let's wave our flags (and wear our patriotic gear) that were made in China.

We went to this great little zoo today. Free admission, about five acres of wonderfully cared for animals--it's the perfect place for little kids to go enjoy.

( Animals and us... )

We bought the baby a sippy cup to play with (empty) while we eat, so she can get an idea of what it's all about. Well, she figured it out straight away...



Maybe in a few weeks we'll add some of my milk to it for giggles so she can learn to tip it up :) Speaking of giggles--ah! She laughs so fantastically now! It's become our mission to hear that great uncontrollable chuckle. Art's mom came over, held Lily, and the dog wouldn't stop kissing his mom's face. The baby thought it was the greatest thing ever and laughed non-stop the entire time. And it was a repeatable comedy skit; she'd do it over and over every time the dog came back and gave more kisses. I can sometimes do a peek-a-boo "baby in the mirror!" routine that elicits the same response. And sometimes Art just has to talk and she bursts out with audible happiness.

Watching babies grow is fun!

I'm thinking of chopping all of my hair off. Like, really, practically all of it. Pixie cut? Y/N?

Edit: Hair dresser recommendations? I've been going to Asha every few months for pampering, but a short cut would require more upkeep, and I can't afford Asha on a regular basis.

Edit again: ( Photo examples )

I was browsing a toy website, thinking of the future for Lily, and I saw these...

http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/category.cgi?category=search&template=search&templatehead=&templatebody=&templatefoot=&match=pattern&limitcategory=&type=store&searchtype=and&query=zubels&searchfields=sku|brand|model|keywords|description&&filter_brand=Zubels

My aunt designed these! She works for a very small baby clothes design company and these adorable dolls are their latest venture. Lily already has a small kitty and a medium bear (that didn't make it to production, so it's one-of-a-kind). It's just exciting to see these getting sold; they're high-quality and so cute to boot :)

( Adventures in Toy Land )

Exactly one year ago, practically to the minute, we were finding out I was pregnant. I remember just about every emotion of that day, and here we are a year later with the most perfect daughter in the world.

On Art's drive home from work last night his car started acting funny; his alternator was going. So, after dinner, we decide for us both to drive--me to follow him--to drop off his car at the repair shop so that they could start work on it first thing in the morning. On our way there, guess what? My car started acting funny; the alternator is going. Well, shit. I called my parents who live 5 minutes away from the shop, but they were out. They turned around and drove the 30 minutes back to pick us all up. It was 9:30 at night and me, Art, and the baby were hanging out outside the closed mechanic shop with a pile of stuff from our cars (diaper bag, car seat...) looking homeless in the middle of the industrial park. My parents picked us up, but their van is broke as all get out too and the side door doesn't open, so we had to load in the back doors, climbing over the backseat. You would think my parents have no money, but they just don't care because they don't have to use the side door. Ah, well, anyway, they dropped us off at home and now we're having family day on a Thursday with no where to go as we have no means to get there. We might walk to Fountain Square Park if it doesn't get too freaking hot today, but we'll see.

I really don't like summer. I hate being hot and sticky. Hate, hate, hate. And that's a really strong word for me to use, but it's true. Summer is yucky and icky and makes everyone and everything smell bad. Chicago gets one week for spring, one for fall, and the rest is a freezer or a sauna. Yuck.

Why the hell didn't the mail lady deliver my package? I was home, and instead I got a pick up notice. In the time it took her to write the damn notice she could have come to my door. But nooo, now I have to wait until tomorrow and go to the post office. Stupid postal service.

Who cares if amber necklaces are effective for teething pain or not; they're darn cute. I keep wearing this one as a bracelet...

Acronyms I read in my head wrong, but still understand what they're supposed to say...

On lab forms at my old work we'd have to check off boxes to give information about the patient: IF for intact female, IM for intact male, SF for spayed female, and CM for castrated male. Only I would always read CM as circumcised male. Thank goodness it was only in my head.

Pregnant lingo for "yay, I got a positive pregnancy test!" is BFP for big fat positive. Only in my head it's always big fucking positive. And I wonder why everyone has such a potty mouth.

I'm sure there's more too, but that's all that's coming to mind :)

These two topics have been circulating my head since becoming pregnant, but they were both brought to a head by a single little "Attachment Parenting" meeting this morning. I decided to go since "AP" ideals are closest to my own, and due to the ridiculous thunderstorms it turned out just being me and the group leader. But it was nice to talk and watch her interact with her five year old son, who I must add, played. He played with such a fantastic imagination I was so relieved to see. Most of the little kids I know have very little play skills, which I think has to do with the level of television being watched and the types of toys provided. Anyway...

Consumerism and marketing to children (starting scarily at infancy!) is horrible. I'd observed it, as it's obvious in watching any amount of television, but I also watched the documentary 'Consuming Kids' and the actual facts are just plain sad. How do you keep your kid from being exposed to it? Ban television? Movies only? But movies are filled with product placement now. The computer offers absolutely no refuge either. Does sheltering your kids from marketing during childhood leave them more vulnerable to it later in life? Or does not shielding them set them up to be dedicated consumers from cradle to grave?

School--oh, school. Public school seems to be failing in so many ways, particularly with the 'No Child Left Behind' placing so much emphasis on standardized testing. But public school is all I know; I had a few cousins go to Catholic grade school, but that's the extent of alternative schooling options I have personal connections with. I love what I've researched about Waldorf schools, but there are none closer than an hour drive from here. I also like Montessori schools, but it seems more commercialized; I wonder how many are true and not just coining the term to attract attention. And the tuition for ANY private school beyond kindergarten is more than likely out of our price range. What about home school then? But is that really the answer? I don't know that I can offer enough knowledge and experience to be adequate. Can public school offer it all though? Ah!

The meeting was great though and I'm looking forward to setting up a network of like-minded families. "Gentle discipline" is a new thing I need to start looking into. I've got some time before I need to worry about those sorts of parenting subjects, but I want to start getting a feel for where I stand on the discipline spectrum. I know I'm far, far away from anything physical, but how far do my ideals reach into the opposite side? I need books.

I think I need a pen pal. I love getting mail, but don't get anything good unless I buy something, and I can't keep buying things just to make the mail fun. Where the heck do you get a pen pal these days? Any takers?

These are the March/April/May babies between me and my cousins...


Lily - 14 weeks, Addison (right) - 10 weeks, and Tyler (middle) - 6 weeks

Okay, trying to use bra size calculators is ridiculous. Over bust - 35.5", around - 38.75", under - 31.5 ". And I've gotten everything from 38A to 34E as a result. Um, that doesn't make any sense.

I never thought I'd ever have a picture like this. Four generations: me, my daughter, my birth mom, and her mother. How crazy! And to follow, another four generations picture: me, my daughter, my mom, and my busia. ( Photos. )

The baby has discovered that she has control of her hands. She hasn't perfected it by any means, but sitting in her bouncer this morning she was methodically moving her open hands around the dangling toys, watching them move. She even managed to pull on the frog that makes the music play, but I think that was more luck each time than anything else. It's amazing how much can change so quickly! Just yesterday she was only flapping her arms around in the bouncer, accidentally hitting the toys in their path, and now today she understands that she's in control.

Lily says, "Hey, Chicago, I'm ready. Where's summer?"

Do I really need three separate phone calls to tell me I should have/need to keep the baby warm? Ugh. Never telling them anything again.