26 Week Check-Up, The Joys of an Almost 2 yo, and an Eye

I had a dr.'s appointment today and it was a long one.  I had the glucose test, regular checks of weight (I've gained 12 pounds total,) bp (120/68,) baby's heart rate (160,) and belly measurement.  Plus, I got the ro-gam shot.  Afterward, I went by the hospital to pre-register and got to tour a room in the women's center. 

I got in the car to come home and was overwhelmed with fear.  The hospital is so different than Conway Regional - older and smaller and darker.  But, the staff was nice, and hopefully by the time I'm ready to give birth I won't really care!  I seriously have already started praying for the nurses and doctors who will care for me and the baby.  I was never this scared when I was pregnant with Langley, I guess it's just all the "new" we have experienced in the last year and all the "new" we have yet to encounter.

When I got home Josh was helping the UPS man unload the new glider!  I love it!  It is super comfortable and it makes me so happy!

Langley has  been very quick to anger all day.  She is challenging me on every.single, thing.  She responds to correction and direction with screaming, hitting, and/or pinching and pull at my clothes.  I'm surprised my bp wasn't elevated!  This has not been my daughter's best day.  I am ready for her to talk so she can express emotion with words rather than these outbursts.   Lord, help me.

Sunday Langley appeared to have an eye infection.  Her eye was red, watery, and oozing white stuff from the inside corner - I'm sorry I know that's gross!  I was sure she would wake up with a matted eye and full-blown pink eye.  However, Monday morning the eye was much better.  No more oozing.  She never ran fever or rubbed her eye.  I went ahead and called the doctor's office.  They called in some antibiotic eye drops. 

Since her eye was so much better, I was nervous about using these.  I've only given her 2 doses in the one eye - and I'm supposed to do it 3 times a day in both eyes.  I just still don't know how to proceed with this.    Both of her eyes are totally normal as of now.  Mommy worries and "Mommy Guilt" never ends.

I'm super glad that I have dinner in the crock-pot, because I just want to lay on the couch and watch paula deen for a little while!

Is It March Yet?

There are 2 reasons for the title: 

#1 I realized I never posted about my childs First Birthday Party last March.  I'm not sure how I neglected to do this, but with her 2nd birthday fast approaching, here are pictures from her first birthday party.  We had a family party at our church, I made all the food and did the decorations, and we celebrated the most awesome little girl ever born!


I didn't get many pictures on my camera that day...here are some of Langley and some of her guests.

The food and decorations...

Eating Cake...

And Opening Presents...

Reason #2 for the title:  We are are the part of basketball season where I'm am so over it.  Whether we have 0 losses or 20, about this time of the year I am just over it.  Over being a single parent, over the emotional rollercoaster of wins and losses, over not knowing what to say after a loss, over answering the question "where's daddy" 1,000 times a day. 

Don't get me wrong.  I love my husband, and do like being a college basketball coach's wife, there are just certain times that it is really hard and lonely.  I am ready for March.  Anything can happen in March:  A bad season can be erased by a good run in post season,  dissapointments can be over and the excitement of recruiting takes it's place, I get my husband back win or lose, we can look forward to continuing to build a program at our new school, and the list goes on. 

We are still at only 1 conference win this season.  Most games have been close, some we have blown, some were hard fought.  I didn't have many expectations for our first season here.  It takes time to establish your system, find players that find, and learn your new opponents.  However, I will always hate to lose and be Josh's biggest fan.

With all of that, I've said to myself many times this week, "Is is March, yet?"

Dress Up

It was cold and rainy outside so we spent all day inside.  We did puzzles, colored, watched some TV, conquered a mountain of laundry, took naps, and discovered dress-up.

Langley kept getting into her dresser and randomly coming back with boots and a hat on, so I decided to get the halloween costume out and found a fun tutu.  She had fun!  Her costume stayed on until dinner time.  She makes me laugh!

Chillin'

This is how she watched Sesame Street this morning.  She never even knew I was taking her picture.

Today we went to the library with our neighborhood playgroup.  Instead of trying to clear all the shelves today Langley was much more interested in coloring and bossing everyone around.  Normally (especially in this group) Langley is very passive and doesn't stand up for herself.  Not today.  Today she was the one who wouldn't share and who told everyone "no" constantly.  I was so tired from correcting her, showing her how to share, and trying to make positive statements rather than negative.  (Example:  turning "Langley do NOT ______________! " Into " Langley there are plenty of coloring book and crayons, we are going to share with ____________.")

My daughter has said the word "NO" approximately 257,000 times today.  I think this has to do with being in MOPS yesterday.  There must be a little stinker in her class that influences her attitude. She has used the Word no as a universal word today.  No has meant yes, no, ok, etc.  I'm over it.  My tactic has been to start singing "YES, Jesus loves me!"  when she starts having a "no" meltdown.  It's worked a few times.

Other random updates on Langley-
-  talks constantly with proper inflection and tone, but we have no idea what words she is saying.
-  will watch tv and play independently without getting into anything for an hour - so I can shower!
-  has come a long way with being able to use utensils.
-  hardly eats any vegetables, so I started buying those pouches of baby food and she loves them - little does she know there are veggies in there!
-  has started singing. Current selections are Jesus Loves Me, Deep & Wide, and the Freshbeat Band song.
-  she also says "miska, mooska,"  from Mickey Mouse and calls him Meeka.
-  started saying He-Hee for Henry.
-  calls me "mommy' instead of momma.
-  is still very social and gets over any stranger anxiety pretty quickly.
- understands and follows simple directions.
- can put on most of her shoes buy herself.
- asks about the baby and kisses my belly many times a day.
-  is getting more interested in coloring.

* I haven't had much to blog about this week.

* Let's see, I have had a cold, we've been home all week except for 2 playdates, 1 basketball game, and a trip to WM, and I've spent a lot of time lamenting in the fact that it's basketball season and it's really hard to be "new" where we live.  Dont' get me wrong everyone is very kind, but this is extreme small town life.  You people in Arkadelphia have NOTHING to complain about.  NOTHING.

*Langley took all of her clothes off one night and I laughed my head off when I got her up that morning.

*I hosted a diaper shower tonight for a neighbor who is having her 5th little girl!  The theme was "Another Little Sweetheart."  This has been good for me to work on, using some planning skillz and creativity this week. My friends and nieghbors Jill, Maranda, and Cathy helped hostess, we kept it very simple since this was planned in less than a week (baby is due any day.)  We just did coffee and dessert since the shower was from 7-830 pm.  It went well, we had 11 people drop by which is about half of who we invited.  I didn't know what to expect since I don't really know many people, but everything went well and we had fun!  I hope everyone else was as blessed by it as I was.

*Also, Josh got me a rose today and did some talking to people-in-the-know-who-have-influence-in-this-town about a part time preschool program, why no business owners here utilize the internet making it very hard to get information, and about how we would like to be involved in the community or at least like it but the lack of (all kinds of)communication and use of technology make this very very challenging to be "new in town."  It made me feel good that he is hearing me and actually tried to help the situation!

*This has been the kind of week where every time someone asked me how I was feeling I wanted to respond, "it's the middle of basketball season, i'm pregnant, trying to be a good mother to a toddler, and I feel like I live in a foreign country alone - I'm doing as well as can be expected."  Of course, I don't actually say that - ok so I said that to my mom :-)

*  Here is my little sweetheart before the shower.  Josh was gone for a game, so Langley got to join all the ladies.  She had a ball - the center of attention no doubt.

More Kitchen Fun

Langley was all about playing kitchen first thing this morning.

She fed her animals, then made me some breakfast.

My favorite picture from the morning.

She also has been singing a song from the Freshbeat Band.  I believe we have watched that show a total of 3 times, but they end with the same song each episode and apparently it is the first song my child will ever sing.   She was using the baguette as her microphone.

I'm glad this occupied her for a while because it has been miserably windy today.  As in, keep you from moving forward when walking outside and knocking toddlers down with each gust.  It's probably worse here since we have no trees or mountains or hills or buildings or anything to stop it.

On an unrelated note, Josh tried to get a picture of Me and Langley before we left for church yesterday.  Every Sunday morning is a challenge in some way, you can tell by the picture -

In Which I Start with Puzzles and End with the Potty

*  Langley got some puzzels for Christmas and she is so good at them!  I showed her how to do them and praised her big time when she would get the right piece where it supposed to go a few times, now she does puzzles all by herself!  She was even playing with a puzzle when we picked her up from the church nursery.  I guess I'm so impressed because I'm terrible at puzzles.  I have NO patience for anything above 50 pieces.

*  One of our players scored his 1,000th point and earned AMC player of the week.  Read more about Kyle's accomplishments here. 

*  I ordered the new baby's crib, dresser, changing table, and rocker - AND a double stroller yesterday!  I am so excited!  I am actually nesting this time and planning this stuff way earlier than I did with Langley.  I can't wait to meet her!

*  Langley picked up and put away every single toy in her room yesterday after I said "let's pick up."  I watched in astonishment/amazement/awe.  I wanted to write about because it will probably be years before she willingly does it again.

*  Finally, I have potty training on my mind.  I haven't done anything potty-related with Langley except identify the potty and if someone is using the potty.  She will tell me when she's pooped, but other than that nothing.  I've never even tried to sit her on the potty.  My plan is to wait till her birthday, then dive in - you know make a big deal about her getting her own potty, stock up on m&m's and laundry detergent, etc.  I dread it.  Absolutely dread it.