change

Don't let this grin fool you.

We've been talking about the bottle and the process of getting rid of it. I talked to the day care lady, who said she went cold turkey with her kids. I thought that was a great idea. She thought it was great that I thought it was a great idea and suggested I try it this weekend. Oh, no, I said. We'll try it on her birthday! (The part I didn't say out loud but thought in my head was, "because this is why I pay you.")

Then she started backpeddling. "But she doesn't take them very well from us." Funny, I said, since she takes water from it just fine for me in the afternoons. I was sure she'd do fine if offered no other options. Day care lady agreed.

This morning I dropped baby off at day care with two emergency bottles in her bag. I thought about her at least every hour and wanted to call to see how it was going, but didn't want to be "that mother". I mentioned it to several people at work to get their reaction. One of them looked at me like I was a fool, they'd call me if they needed me. Another one told me that one call doesn't make me "that mother". The third one was convinced that I should have called already. I decided not to call.

When I picked her up this afternoon I was met at the door with, "well, that didn't work." I asked, "What do you mean that didn't work?" She answered, "Well, we tried it. After she ate her cereal I gave her the sippy cup and she threw it in the floor. So I handed it to her again, she touched it to her lips, then threw it in the floor and SCREAMED." I said, yeah, she's a screamer. She said, "No, genderist, you have no idea. This was unlike any scream she's screamed for us." So they gave her the bottle.

Today at day care my daughter learned that if she screams enough, she will get her way. I learned that it looks like it's going to be a really long weekend for us.

Today is baby's first birthday!

When baby was born someone told us that this would be both the fastest year and the shortest year of our lives. The Hater and I totally agree with this. In some ways it's hard to believe she's a year old, that a year ago tonight we were watching Sports Center and waiting for the cue to start pushing. In some ways it feels like I've aged three years. (Not that I've "matured" three years, but just flat out aged that much due to chronic sleep deprivation.)

Looking back it's been a fantastic year. We wouldn't trade one single moment, and we're eager to see what year two holds for us. Some of it we can imagine, as baby is already arching her back, flinging herself backwards, and screaming her head off to show us exactly what traits she inherited from The Hater. She's developing own agenda, walking around without us into empty rooms, and giving wet open mouth kisses to pictures of kittys in her books.

Bye bye!

(kinda sorta, but not really)

As the parents of a new generation we have many of the same challenges that our parents and their parents faced, things that are inherent to parenthood and guardianship. Although many things are the same, like safety for example, we are faced with a nuance of protecting safety in a more technologically advanced society. In light of this, The Hater and I have decided it's time for us to stop posting pictures of baby on this blog.

Don't be sad!

The blog is not going away. My hope is that it'll turn back into the random narrative of Uglyhoma goings on, the joys of raising an independent toddler, and general life musings. Old school blabbering, minus the pictures of baby.

This by no way means that I'm going to stop taking pictures of baby. We have too many grandparents out of state who would throw their own tantrums if that happened. I will continue to upload pictures once a week to the picture webpage like I have since baby has been about a month old. Also, if you'd like sneak peeks of the best of the best, email me and I'll send them to you directly, hot off the camera upload.

Thanks for going on this journey with us. We may not know what's around the bend ahead (or from which cup we'll be drinking), but it's nice to know that you're our virtual copilot.

FYI: Today is also Peyton Manning's birthday. I will continue to randomly post pictures of him because he is the greatest QB of all time. :)

PS: If you do not have the web address to the picture page, email me and I'll send you the link.