Real Life is Just Around the Corner

The last four weeks have flown by and we have been on vacation the entire time...real life is about to hit me like a ton of bricks.  Gregg and I made the most of our short summer.  Since August 10th, we flew to wedding in Virginia, spent a few days bumming around in Atlanta, had a Labor Day stay-cation, and now we're in Destin with the Van Splunder crew.  Next Wednesday we'll be back home in Mississippi and eating at the 'Bee and paying for babysitters and suffering through the last few dog days of summer.  But in the end, Gregg is home, and that makes everything so much better.

I guess I will pass the time until the holidays by throwing myself into planning one-helluva-first birthday party...

On the Lam...Again

Atlanta Aquarium Penguins

Ginny's 2nd Brewery Tour

Ginny = Almost as big as a keg

Van Splunder Crew

Ginny LOVES Uncle Wink

11 MONTHS OLD!?!?!

Chompers

Hanging with Oma and Opa

Not loving the sand

Oma Love

Still not lovin the sand

Miramar Beach 

Wake Up Uncle Wink!

Daddy!Daddy!Daddy!Daddy!

In less than one week, Daddy will be home!  Obviously, I am thrilled for me.  I see lots of sleeping in my very near future.  I am  even more thrilled for Ginny though.  While I try to entertain her as much as possible with trips to the pool on base, various play dates with older boys who beat her up, swinging in the backyard, etc...I have to admit that I have gotten lazy.  I know I don't have to tell most of you but it just takes SO much energy to get her up from a nap, changed, fed, cleaned up, and out of the house...by the time I sit in the car, I am exhausted and we haven't even gone anywhere yet.  Perhaps this could have something to do with the fact that I've been glued to my television watching the Olympics until midnight every night.  I've gotten my second wind lately with the promise of help arriving in less than a week.  We went to the pool this week, got a new walker to play with, spent lots of time on base with other kids, went to a birthday party, went to the gym every day...all in all, it was a great week.  I plan on spending some time today on making signs to bring to the airport next week to welcome him home / embarrass him.  Ginny will not help though, her artwork is just awful.
Last night, I installed her new carseat.  I swear, this thing will protect her against through a nuclear winter.  It is beefy and it looks comfy enough for me to want to sit in.  I wish they made them in my size.

At Jack's Sesame Street Birthday Party

On the Lam Through the Dog Door

Ernest's Uneven Bars

Trying on a Balance Bike for Size

"I staunchly support the LGBT community!"

Hazards of being surrounded by *almost* potty trained  toddlers - you can step in poop almost anywhere

A diva doesn't wear sunglasses

Walker?  They should call this thing a runner!  Move it or lose it Mom!

Yeah, it's a John Deere bonnet.  Go ahead, say something. 

Ahem

There are lots of things that I will probably hem and haw over as Ginny grows up.  Like cell phones for instance.  In my mind, Ginny won't have any use for one until she legally obtains a driver's license.  Realistically though, I already realize that at some point earlier than 16 years from now, she will use her advanced powers of persuasion to convince me that every other 10 year old has an iPhone 14 (which will not be used just to play Angry Birds but for teleportation to and from middle school - after all, it will be 2022).  There are other things though that I just won't be ok with.  And one of those things is drinking kitchen cleaning chemicals.  I know that the bottles are a beautiful bright green but no matter how 'natural' they claim to be, you still can't put them in your mouth.  Sorry Ginny, this is not something I am going to budge on.  Drinking cleaning chemicals is bad for you...period.  End of story.
She is so very mobile these days that cleaning while she is awake is just out of the question.  Unless she is strapped in (to a jumper), tied down (to a highchair), or suspended (in her walker), cleaning is impossible.  And now that we are less than a month away from Gregg coming home, who cares?!  I just won't clean!  To hell with those filthy bathroom tiles and tufts of black cat hair that are just barely out of reach during a mediocre vacuuming effort.  Seriously, ask Oma (my mother-in-law), I have all but given up.  The most important thing now is to keep the animals and the baby alive and Gregg will be thrilled to be home and thoroughly impressed with me, no matter what the condition of the house is.

A quick account of Ginny's latest party trick:  we talked to Auntie Jilly last night over FaceTime and towards the end of the conversation, Jill coughed.  Then Ginny coughed.  And coughed.  And coughed.  Smiling all the while.  At first, I thought something was wrong.  And then we realized that she was mocking Jill.  Now she fake coughs every time someone else does.  It's really funny although I am not sure I should encourage it...it seems too "boy who cried wolf."

9 MONTHS!

Meeting the Glenboski's in Birmingham

She's a climbing fool 

I miss the Keatings SO much

Hey CAMERA!

Oh Oma!  Hooray! (with an illegal, on base, 4th of July sparkler)

Trying on some minivans for size...yeah, I think this one will do

Watching a Chick Flick at 10 pm with ALL the girls

If you squint and take out all the red ant hills, it almost looks like the PNW

You don't like my driving?

Tiny, Sharp, Nasty, Mean Teeth

Ginny has always chewed on everything so when she actually began teething, I barely noticed a difference.  Until last night that is.  She was up three times before 10 pm crying in pain.  My poor girl is usually such a good sleeper but she just couldn't get her shit together last night.  I finally gave in and got her out of bed to lay her on my chest and watch the final few episodes of 'Weeds'*** that I had been dying to see.  Within a few minutes, she had fallen back to sleep on me and I didn't dare move her.  With images of raunchy sex and drug dealing in the background, I was mentally transported back to the first few days she spent with us at home where I would hold her all hours of the day.  That's a very rare occurrence these days and I feel like it is almost too soon to miss those times...but I do.

On a lighter note, it is my distinct pleasure to announce to the internet world that Ginny's buddy Hansen is potty trained...well, mostly, because as he says "pooping in the potty is HARD!"  I babysat the Han-man today for a few hours and it was seriously the cutest bathroom moment ever when Ginny went pee in Hansen's Elmo potty while he was on the big-boy potty.  They were both very proud.  Well, Hansen was anyway since he gets three jelly beans (as I was eagerly reminded)...Ginny could have cared less and immediately crawled naked towards the dog bowls to try and choke herself on tiny things.

***This is for all you 'Breaking Bad' fans out there...try 'Weeds' if you haven't already.  It gets old after a while but Gregg and I flew through the first few seasons, pre-Ginny.  Now it takes me a full lunar cycle sequence to watch an episode.  That might be a slight exaggeration. 

Auntie Kerri came to visit!

Pondering the Meaning of Life (and why it is so damn hot in Mississippi)

On the Crapper Reading My Magazine

Her eyes get bright red when she's tired...just like her dad

What?  I'm licking the spinach off my feet...

Growing Up...Up...Up

The time is now.  She's standing.  I am becoming increasingly obsolete.  She no longer needs me to support her to sit or stand.  She no longer needs me to help her eat.  She no longer needs me to talk to...she's got stuffed animals for that.  Pretty soon she'll be paying rent in some shitty, big city, downtown apartment and calling me from 2000 miles away to ask how to keep cockroaches at bay.  Sigh.

Anyway, she's 8 months old now.  The animals were slightly more cooperative this month.

We have started doing something a little, admittedly, crazy.  Let me preface this admission by saying that I spend a lot of time with Ginny.  Like...a lot of time.  We are together every waking minute of most every, single day.  With that said, I have learned to read her pretty well.  I can tell when she's hungry, when she's bored, when she's sad, or when she's just tired.  I can also tell when she has to go to the bathroom.  And in the past few months we have been battling an incredibly stubborn rash that did not respond at all to prescription ointments, standard barrier creams, or any super-secret pink pastes mixed by shady apothecaries.  Several months ago, I was turned onto the book, "The Diaper Free Baby."  After exhausting all of my diaper cream options, this book was my last resort.  I lolled myself to sleep for the last few weeks reading about "elimination communication."  Anyway, it's a terrible read but it has been a life changer for us.  Since last week, we have been putting the book's principles into practice and gotten some major results.  Yes, in short, I am potty training an 8 month old.  She has peed and pooped, on command, in the toilet, every day for the last week.  She hangs out without a diaper while she is awake and, while there have been a few accidents, the mess has been manageable.  The rash is on the mend due to the coconut oil I have been slathering on her crotch every time I put her in a diaper (nap times, outings, and night time).  I could not be more pleased with the results.  Seriously, if you're a new mom, read this book.  It's the latest fad in trendy parenting ;)

Everyone just smile and pretend to like each other - 8 MONTHS!

Trouble...

Ginny the Attack Chicken

New Swing on the Back Porch

Bikini Babe 

Gizmo makes this look easy

A Run Down

We have been traveling a lot lately and discovered it to be nearly impossible to keep up with blogging while on the road...so I just didn't.  Here is the month of May in review.  In short, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo, took some pics of Ginny's 7th month out of utero (too many animals out here!), visited friends and family in Destin, discovered that Ginny is allergic to Mississippi (or at least the grass), went to Disney (oh yeah, again) with Gramma, visited more friends and family, and played some serious games of peek-a-boo.  I am not a liar, I finally caught it again on video and the file is not corrupted this time.  I hope. 

And tonight, Ginny showed signs of trying to use the crib as leverage to stand up and potentially fall over the edge.  I did not want to take any chances (more like I didn't want to drive to the ER at 4 am), so I lowered the crib mattress.  Let the backaches and strained hamstrings begin.  This 18 pound ham isn't easy to haul out of bed in the morning...

Happy Mexican Independence Day

...NEIL TRAP

Too Many Animals

Much happier with just one...

We're all red from running in 1000 degree heat

Hansen:  "I hold Baby Ginny?" 

Ginny socked Auntie Dani in the Eye (kidding...it was an unfortunate surf board accident)

How we made a baby this cute confounds me 

With Gramma and her Minnie Mouse dress

Met the Weinstein Clan at Disney 

Played SO much PEEK-A-BOO