Day 121 - April 30

*sigh* Last day of my birthday month. Sad. And since I'll be busy with a small baby next year and probably won't do another 365 project, it's the last you'll all have to hear about my birthday! (Unless we're friends on FaceBook, in which case, there are only 11 months until I get to talk about it again!!)

Anyway, summer has returned to the Gulf Coast after a nice break last week. We hit a high of 91 in town today, so the pool saw some action! Between noon and 3:30 this afternoon, the pool temperature went up 2 degrees, and the kid was more than happy to play in the water. Daddy took her swimming for a little while before he had to go into work tonight, and thankfully, she was done swimming by the time he had to head in to change, so I just had to sit outside with her (I did my swimming this morning and was NOT putting a soaking wet suit back on. Ick.).

In a stroke of Mommy-genius, though, I managed to keep her occupied with water by filling up buckets and letting her play next to the pool while I sat in the shade. I think she might have a new favorite past time, and I think we need to go buy a few more outside buckets so I don't have to sacrifice my tupperware-like containers!

And I have no idea how this happened, but she looked right at the camera, and she gave me an actual genuine smile. This NEVER happens!!!

Day 120 - April 29

Sunday brought a trip to the zoo in New Orleans. We really enjoyed it last year and we weren't disappointed this year, either.

It was pretty warm out yesterday, so thankfully the child has the attention span of a gnat and we were able to cover the whole zoo in about an hour and a half. She was a sweaty mess at the end, and Mommy's back was about to give out, so it was the perfect pace to get through it!

Of everything we saw, this gorilla just cracked me up. He sat like this for quite a while, just checking out the crowd. Later, he shifted position and sat on a log, leg crossed, head in hand again, watching what the other gorillas in the exhibit were doing. I couldn't help but wonder what these higher order animals must think when they see all the humans looking at them over the wall....

Day 119 - April 28

Even though it was technically my birthday week (and weekend away in New Orleans), Saturday was pretty much about Michaela.

The long-awaited Fresh Beat Band concert was finally here and we couldn't WAIT to get her there! We told her about it on Friday night, but I'm not sure she really understood what we were getting at. She seemed excited to see the Fresh Beats, but I don't know if she knew how she'd be seeing them.

Of course, the concert was during nap time, so we were prepared for a possible melt-down due to that, but our really bad night on Friday night didn't factor into our plans. The kid fell asleep in the car on the 20 minute ride from the hotel to the venue, so we didn't really start off on the best foot. We were a little concerned when the show started and she seemed really unsure of what was going on.

We didn't need to worry!!!

About ten minutes in, she got up off her seat and started dancing (her favorite twirly cherries dress helped that cause along), and didn't stop until the show was over. And the second half was even better because Daddy braved the lines and got her the "light fing" she kept asking for (along with her first concert tee shirt!), and the light "fing" quickly turned into the world's best microphone.

The quality of this picture is terrible (I stupidly followed the rules on the arena website that said no cameras were allowed so I only had my phone), but I think the "microphone" hint will help you figure out what you're looking at! If I'm not mistaken, she was singing her favorite song, "Rock Star" at the time this picture was taken.

Day 118 - April 27

It was my birthday!!! (Now that it's Monday and I'm finally getting to this....)

I woke up stupidly early (which means before the kid) and Jason left a little late for work so he could drop the dog off at the kennel for the weekend, so when I walked out to the living room, I was greeted with a, "Happy Birthday!" and the best flowers I've ever gotten.

They came from our front yard and he did such a good job of putting them together! It definitely started my birthday off the right way!

(It did not end the right way.... there's a whole long story about the kid not liking her toddler travel bed (or being too excited to sleep), a swap to a pack n play over two hours after bedtime, a nightmare just after midnight, and then a toddler being the only person to actually sleep in the king size bed the rest of the night! But I'll focus on the positive.)

Day 117 - April 26

Tonight's picture is just for my friend, Abbie.

I can't pack without a list. Ever. Not even for a weekend trip. Actually, that's not true. When we went over to the Eastern Shore at the beginning of March for a night without the kid, I did not make a list to pack. But it was one night. Add in a second one, and it throws me into a tailspin to not have a list. This is made even more true when the kid is coming with us. She comes with a lot of stuff. A lot.

So now I have a "weekend trip with the kid" excel packing list to add to my week away (flying) and week away (driving) lists. I embrace my type-A dorkiness, in case anyone wondered.

Day 116 - April 25

I'm breaking the rules all over the place this week. I've got three pictures today. When you see them, you'll understand why. It was just too hard to choose, and I actually could've used at least one other one, too.

So as to not make the thumbnail on FaceBook about my birthday again, I'll start with the pictures of Michaela and finish with my birthday week stuff today.

First thing this morning, Michaela hauled out her Olivia "trunk"out to put on her dress up stuff. That stayed a theme throughout the day (when she wasn't at school or asleep), and she greeted Jason with, "Look at my arm warmers!!" as he walked in the door tonight. Then she put his boots on. You'll note in the picture that she's holding something red in her right hand and a telescope in her left. Those are the other parts of the dress up kit - she wanted to make sure she had it ALL.

Later, after dinner, she put it all back on again and somehow ended up in the laundry basket (her car). I don't know how that all went down, but it made us laugh and made for good 366 pictures!

And finally, in celebration of birthday week, Jason (and Michaela) sent me some chocolate covered apple slices from Edible Arrangements. Mmmmmm.... DELISH!! (Just like you've always said, Mom!!!) And don't worry, it's almost my actual birthday, so you won't have to hear about it too much longer!

Day 115 - April 24

I have two pictures for today, and they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. Seriously. Nothing.

But I want to use them both anyway, and it's my blog, so I'm going to.

For those who don't come to this blog via FaceBook, you haven't seen my excitement about it being my birthday month (I posted that on April 1) and, more importantly, my birthday week! I decided the celebration for my birthday week would start just 4 days before my birthday this year (usually it's exactly a week out) because we're going to New Orleans this weekend and will continue to celebrate for a couple days after my birthday, so I had to adjust accordingly. So my birthday week officially started yesterday and will continue through Sunday.

Thus, it was completely appropriate - and appreciated! - that I got three birthday cards in the mail today! YAY!! Not only was it fun mail (i.e., not bills), but it was all for me!!!

Expect more about my birthday throughout the week. And consider that your fair warning. I like my birthday. A lot.

And then on a completely unrelated note, I have decided that there's pretty much nothing cuter than a toddler wearing jeans and flip-flops. Since it was cool enough for jeans today, but not so cold as to need to cover toes, I got my chance to get a quick picture of M's jeans and flops before we headed out for an unplanned dinner at Moe's (courtesy of Jason's night flight being cancelled and my only "plan" for dinner being to feed the kid whatever she asked for). Tell me that jeans and flops on a toddler isn't the cutest thing in the world!!

Day 114 - April 23

Sometimes a slide is just a slide.

Sometimes it's a roller coaster.

I bet our neighbors enjoyed listening to the screaming that must accompany any roller coaster ride in Michaela's world.

Day 113 - April 22

Since I have the picture already, I figured I might as well get this up a little earlier than usual so I'm not trying to get it done while I should be going to bed.

Meanwhile, fun is trying to get a good picture using an iPhone and the Hipstamatic App. I think I succeeded today, thanks to my beautiful day lilies that have been blooming for weeks and the way the late-afternoon sun was hitting this one.

Have I mentioned how glad I am we spent the money to have our landscaping done last summer. SOOO much better than what was there!!

Day 112 - April 21

I have two pictures for today. I probably could've done a third, but in the interest of sticking close to a picture a day, I'm just going with two.

Although Michaela is featured prominently in both these pictures, it's actually more about Jason than her.

Specifically, it's about the two very different sides of Jason. There's the side that builds things using power tools. And then there's the side that paints his daughter's fingernails.

Many thanks to whoever it was that posted the PVC pipe sprinkler on Pinterest originally. I think it'll be a HUGE hit on a day when it's not cloudy and 72 degrees out.

And many thanks to Bella's mom for doing a Girl's Day Out birthday party this morning, at which my daughter didn't want to have her nails done. Because then she wanted to do them this afternoon and she got to have a daddy manicure instead of one at the birthday party, thus providing me with a great picture opportunity for today!

Day 111 - April 20

I've been playing a lot of catch up lately. To be honest, I'm having a hard time staying motivated to keep up with this blog anymore. What keeps me going is that it's a somewhat easy way to record what goes on in our daily life and, if and when I ever get around to getting each year published in a book, it'll be fun to be able to look back at it. If it weren't for that, I think I'd quit.

At least I'm still taking a picture every day. I just might not get it up on the right day. So here's yesterday...

Michaela wanted to play with Fred. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn't. Yesterday, at least for about five minutes, Fred felt like playing, too. So they rolled the ball back and forth to each other. And, yes, Fred uses his mouth to roll the ball back. It's hilarious to watch and has been keeping us entertained for about six or seven years now.

Michaela thought it was great that he was really playing with her. Until he gave up about two minutes after I took this picture and laid down completely.

Day 110 - April 19

This tomato needs to turn red.

This is a solo one on the "regular" sized tomato plant. Its friend, the cherry tomato plant, has about a gazillion baby tomatoes on it, but this one just has this one tomato.

And it's big and it won't turn red!!!

Day 109 - April 18

Michaela is honing her skills in the game of catch. She's had quite the arm for a while, so the throwing part is easy for her. But catching hasn't been her strong suit.

We fixed that today with a giant, easy-to-grab beach ball. She was doing a great job of actually holding onto it, and not just letting it land in her arms like she does with a smaller ball. Daddy was very proud!

Day 108 - April 17

Jason has a new appendage.

Her name is Michaela.

She hasn't left his side unless she's had to since he got home Saturday. This morning, I had to quell a panic attack when I went in to get her from her crib instead of Daddy coming to get her (he had yesterday off, but was back to work today).

So, as soon as he walked in the door this afternoon, she was done with me (after being curled up on my lap for an hour or so), and only wanted to get Daddy to play with her, sit next to her, etc.

Lucky for Daddy, part of the playing this afternoon was making him look pretty.

Day 107 - April 16

Menu planning was TERRIBLE today. I just couldn't come up with a week's worth of meals to save my life, let alone something for tonight.

But then Michaela asked for "little pasta" and I remembered a meal we had from Gina's Skinny Recipes about a year ago, and thought I'd go with that. It's just a simple pasta and asparagus dish that I mostly had the ingredients for already, but I thought I'd mess with it a little more and beef it up a bit.

So I did baby shells, asparagus, canellini beans, and some ground turkey. For completely throwing it together as I went along, it came out pretty good!

The only down side was that I learned that "little pasta" apparently means angel hair, not small shells. Go figure.

Day 106 - April 15

We took a leap of faith yesterday and purposefully planned to allow Michaela to skip her nap. The annual Strawberry Festival was going on over across the bay and we didn't want to miss it. We would've gone on Saturday morning, but Jason didn't get back until dinnertime and I couldn't take her by myself since I can't go on any rides.

So we chose to come home from church, grab a quick lunch, forego the nap, and have fun at the Festival.

It even mostly worked. We only had a few cranky moments when she wasn't doing exactly what she wanted, but she was pretty good. She crashed in the car on the way home, so it was touch and go at actual bedtime last night, but, overall, we learned she can hang.

(This is valuable information because she has to skip a nap to see the Fresh Beat Band in two weeks in New Orleans, so it was good to find out in advance that it won't be a complete disaster.)

The Strawberry Festival is a smallish fair, perfect for a toddler who doesn't love lines and having to wait in them to take her turn on rides. And they have a "roller coaster" and a carousel. What's not to love?

Day 105 - April 14

Daddy's home!!!!!

And there was one happy girl cuddled up next to him in the booth at dinner tonight!

Day 104 - April 13

One of my least favorite things to do is give Michaela a bath. That's normally Daddy's job. Of course, with Daddy gone for two weeks, it's not like I could just let the kid get stinky.

Today was finally the last bath I'll have to give her for this trip. After having to bribe her with the chance to play with her new play-doh to finally get her IN the tub, she didn't want to get out. Well, that's not entirely true. She just didn't want me to wash her hair, so she kept asking to play longer.

The result of that was the world's wrinkliest bath hands. I took this picture about 20 minutes after she was all dried off and everything, and yet she was still a prune.

The good news was that at least letting her play for that long meant she didn't cry when I rinsed the soap out of her hair. Yay for small victories.

Day 103 - April 12

It's only taken almost 3 years, but maybe, just maybe, Michaela and Fred will turn out to be friends after all.

Day 102 - April 11

On FaceBook over the past month or so, I've mentioned my two favorite things about being pregnant: eating more than an actual 1/2 cup serving of ice cream (though I'm still buying the slow-churned light stuff... no need to go crazy), and feeling the baby move around.

I don't know if I've mentioned my least favorite part. It is heartburn.

I had it with Michaela, too. But I think it started way earlier this time around and I seem to be getting it for no apparent reason. I'm pretty sure water and ice cream are the only two things that have not triggered it.

Today's picture is, fittingly, a nice shot of all of my choices for heartburn relief. Tonight I chose to go with some papaya juice (first time trying that) and ice cream. I don't know if ice cream actually works, but I like to think it does. And it's the most delicious choice. The jury is still out on the papaya juice, though the papaya enzyme tablets seem to work ok on a not-so-bad heartburn day.

Only 15 more weeks (or so) of this. Ugh.

Day 101 - April 10

It's not pictures of Michaela!!!!!

We went to Bellingrath Gardens to wander around, and, of course, I had a camera with me. Armed with a macro lens. FUN!!!

The roses were absolutely stunning to see and the rest of the gardens were beautiful as well. Definitely worth the trip over there this time of year!

Day 100 - April 9

Day 100!!!

We had a lazy day, doing not a whole lot of anything except getting a short swim in and heading out for dinner.

"Auntie" Erin let Michaela play with her phone at dinner while we waited for our food. She's got an app on there where you can play with and dress up a cat. Michaela thought it was the funniest thing in the world! And she thought the cat needed a chip!

After finishing her rice (because who needs to actually eat your quesadilla when you have rice?), Michaela enjoyed a lovely after-dinner lemon slice.

Day 99 - April 8

Happy Easter!!

I have three Michaela pictures for the day. Mostly because Jason missed the holiday and probably wants to see how his daughter enjoyed it.

She started the morning with finding her basket as she turned the corner into the living room. The Easter Bunny didn't realize that the only thing that needed to go in the basket was a slinky. Along with that, though, she got some new coloring stuff, a sticker book, a Veggie Tales movie and a Peter Rabbit DVD, more stickers, and just a few pieces of candy.

After having some jelly beans (and other real food) for breakfast, I got Michaela dressed in her fancy, twirly dress. Believe me when I tell you that this child LOVES a dress that twirls! And apparently she also likes to not stand still, but to be a silly poser.

The fun started shortly after we got to church. We had a quick brunch in the parish hall and then the kids headed outside for an egg hunt. The egg hunt at church was FAR more successful than the one at school, and it proved why the Easter Bunny only brings a few pieces of candy for Michaela's basket. She definitely got MORE than enough candy at church!!

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. "Auntie" Erin (one of my best friends) is in town visiting and brought a bag of fun Easter goodies for Michaela. So she spent part of the afternoon seeing how many bunny stamps she could get on herself (thank goodness for washable ink!!), and then we enjoyed a yummy ham dinner and a cake that mostly got stuck in the pan and made me grateful that I wasn't hosting a huge crowd!

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter!

Day 98 - April 7

I'm not sure I can remember back as far as three days since I'm just now getting to this on April 10!

It's another Michaela picture, though. I figured out why I'm Michaela-heavy in the last week - Jason isn't home so she's all mine and we're spending a LOT of time together!

We headed to the park on Saturday morning, along with most of Mobile, it seemed, to get some energy out before having to come home and finish getting the house ready for a friend flying in Saturday night.

After hitting up the swings, and while waiting for the tire swing to open, M spent a little time in her ticket window, giving out tickets (wood chips). And making faces.

Day 97 - April 6

I feel like the only thing (person) I've taken pictures of lately is Michaela. I'm sure that doesn't bother the grandparents that follow the blog, but I'm starting to feel like maybe I need to branch out a bit.

I did take a picture of my grilled cheese sandwich at dinner tonight... only because I found it funny that I was eating grilled cheese for dinner because it was requested by the toddler when I was doing my menu planning this week. You can tell it's just the two of us by our menu!

But then, after dinner, the toddler got in her pj's and we headed out for a pajama walk. The dog NEEDS a daily walk and hasn't been getting it while Jason's been gone, so I took advantage of the after-dinner light we're getting now, the fact that the kid didn't need a bath tonight, and the fact that the temperature was perfect for the hairy beast (Fred), and headed out for a short one.

Michaela thought it was totally cool to go in her jammies with no shoes, and didn't even argue about having to be in the stroller (though you totally can't tell that from the look on her face). Score one for Mommy!

Day 96 - April 5

Today was a much better day than yesterday, so I got around to editing a picture from yesterday.

I picked this one because it is the epitome of the opposite of how I felt our day was.

Michaela had her Easter party at school. She was so excited about it - especially the egg hunt. Seconds before the kids were let loose in the Narthex area of the church (it had to be inside due to weather), I walked away from her to try to get pictures from in front of her, and she FLIPPED out. Like, FLIPPED out.

I could not get her to calm down and pick up eggs that she was standing right next to, no matter what I did. So as all the other kids filled their baskets, she sadly scooped up less than a dozen eggs, sobbing hysterically the whole time. It broke my mama heart like few things have in her short little life.

When the hunt was over, we walked away from the crowd and found a quiet spot where we both cried and cuddled for a little while. She sniffed a bit and then asked to go back to the group so she could open her eggs. But she still wasn't 100%.

To say we're having some issues with Daddy being gone on a trip would be an understatement.

A plate full of lunch and yummy treats (Cheetos) cheered her up a bit, though, and that's when I managed to get this smiley picture.

The rest of the day wasn't much better than the egg hunt, with crying before nap (for both of us!!), rounds of, "I want my daaaaaaaddy!!!" at every turn, a bad trip to the dog park, and more crying before bed. Oh, and I almost forgot the disappointment at not being able to go to the nursery during the Maundy Thursday church service because the nursery staff either didn't show up or were late, so I made her sit through church with me (though she did REALLY well with that!).

*sigh* I am SO glad that Jason's trips are short, and they are few and far between.

At least out of all the bad that was yesterday, I got this picture of my girl, though!!

Day 95 - April 4

I love what 75 cents can get me.

We hit the mall just a little before dinner tonight because I needed something I could only get there (as a general rule, I avoid it like the plague). As we walked in, Michaela, of course, immediately noticed the cars/helicopter to ride in. A savvy mom keeps things like that in her back pocket to get good behavior from her child, though. Which is what I did.

Just one, "You can ride on the car, but first Mommy needs to go do her shopping," was all it took to get her to walk nicely next to me, act mostly appropriately while we were in the store (she pretended to try on clothes at Motherhood, complete with pulling the curtain closed in the changing room), and then stay right near me again as I got change from the Target cafe to pay for the ride.

Of course she picked the ride that was 75 cents instead of only 50 cents, but I'll take it. She rode in the car with the dog and the vet and thought it was the greatest thing ever. It saved me from having to walk all the way to the carousel for the $2 ride, too!!

Day 94 - April 3

Want to see what it looks like when a Type-A mom lets her kid play with modeling clay that specifically says "may cause staining" on the back of it?

This.

(And, for the record, it DOES cause staining. At least on the splat mat it sat on for all of 5 minutes.)

Day 93 - April 2

Mimi and Papa sent a box of stuff for Easter, which Michaela was all too happy to rip into when she got home from school today.

Included in the box was 3D sidewalk chalk. I don't think she understood the concept of how to make the chalk look 3D, but she had fun with it. And with the glasses.

I wonder if she has a future ahead of her as a chalk outline person on crime scenes (she's tracing her foot in this picture). If not, she can always just be the goofy person in the funny glasses. I don't know what that person does, but maybe that can be the identity that hides her super-hero persona (she told me the other day that she wants to be a super-hero when she grows up). She DOES like some crazy glasses!

Day 92 - April 1

It's April! Do you know what that means?

Here in Alabama, it means it's pool weather!

The water temperature finally climbed above 80 (82, exactly), which is my threshold for putting more than my feet in. And with an expensive maternity bathing suit sitting in my dresser drawer, I HAD to take advantage of it. I figure if I use it every day until the baby comes, I'll get my money's worth!

So this should be my view for the next few months - at least when I'm not actually in the pool.