Antidepressants, Anyone?

So my emotions have been all over the place, which is normal when you're cooking a baby in your oven. Everything is either hilarious or so sad I cry for hours. I feel like a crazy person and poor Katherine must think her mom hates her because she leaves her shoes on the floor and then I flip out.

I saw a commercial a month or so ago (before we told anyone we were having a baby, which is why I'm telling this story now) and it made me cry. Not just a quick sniff and a teary moment, but I was completely blubbering. This commercial is on all the channels practically all the time, so whenever I see it, I have to change the channel. Anyway, Katherine saw me and my fire hose impression and she came over to console me. She put her little hand on my knee and looked purposefully into my eyes. "It's all right, Mommy. Cymbalta can help, because 'pression hurts."

You know, she DOES want to be a doctor when she grows up, so she's on the right track I guess.

10 things you probably don't know about me

10.) I am allergic to squid.

9.) I'm named after my dad.

8.) I am a compulsive msn games player. Love that Bubble Town!

7.) I am not left-handed, oh wait, yes I am! So that also means I kick, bat, throw, crochet and open pickle jars left-handed, too.

6.)I am (very slowly) writing a novel. I have seven pages!

5.) I eat cranberry sauce straight out of the can, even when it's not Thanksgiving.

4.)I only have one dental filling. That single cavity was a souvenir of my pregnancy with Katherine.

3.)I can't curl my tongue.

2.)I have a toe ring that I've worn for 10 years. I even have a ring-shaped dent in my toe.

1.) I am pregnant! Baby number two is due May 2010. Surprise!

Discipline

So, this morning Katherine wonked her head on the wall and (this is a shock to nobody) was unhappy about it. After she calmed down enough for me to understand what she was saying...

Kirsten: So, what happened?

Katherine: The wall bite me!

Kirsten: The wall bit you? Wow that's serious. What should we do? (At this point I was expecting a response like, she wanted a hug or wanted to go play or something.)

Katherine: Wall needs a time out! (then she started waggling her finger at the offending bit of wall)

I think the wall might still be in time out. Katherine is a strict parent.

Compassion

Yesterday, Casey had a long day at school and so he called to let us know he'd be home late. I was putting dinner in the oven so I switched on the speaker phone and handed it to Katherine so she could tell Daddy about her day while I was finishing up. Somewhere along the line, Katherine dropped the phone on the rug. She seemed quite flustered and hollered into the phone, "Daddy, are you ok?" It's nice to know that she worries for her father's comfort when she drops him on the floor.

For the Benefit of Katherine's Aunt

In all its festive glory, I now present to you, Katherine's pumpkin-carving experience and her Halloween costume. She's dressed as Thumbelina or as she likes to call it, "Bumblebee-nah."

Silly me, I forgot to buy a candle for the jack-o-lantern, so I used my "Tropical Breeze" scented candle. So trick-or-treating at my house was an aromatherapy experience! Too bad we didn't get any trick-or-treaters. More chocolate eyeballs for me, I guess.

I am SOOOOOO old

Well folks, as of three weeks ago, I am the parent of a three-year old. For some reason, in my mind age three is the end of toddler-hood and marks the beginning of childhood. I have mixed feelings over this birthday. On the one hand, Katherine now mostly understands me and it able to carry on a conversation (except when it's time to clean up and she suddenly doesn't speak English anymore). It's also a lot more fun to buy birthday and Christmas presents for her. Baby toys are just not as fun to shop for as Barbies and Legos. But on the other hand, my cute sweet little baby is getting that much closer to adulthood and that makes me old. And on the other other hand, it's frustrating because she ought to be using a toilet by now, which is another post entirely.

But even though Katherine is a child and doesn't really resemble a baby anymore, I have decided that I'm not going to change the nicknames I have for her. I am calling Katherine "my baby" until one of us dies. She's just going to have to deal with it.

I looked out the window....

More of Katherine's repertoire

That's right. She's saying, "Popcorn popping on the K-Mart tree"

Why did I film her in the hallway, you ask? It just so happens that the acoustics are the best in the hallway. Actually, it's the only part of the house not currently covered in a fine mist of toys.