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Journal Key:

Green = Steve | George = navy | Janet = Purple | Evelyn = Black

11/1/07 (Thursday)

This morning Cara made no protest when I took her out of her kitty sleeper, which was nice. We did have an interesting breakfast. Cara did not like her bread, which was a slightly different kind than usual, and was sure that what would make her happy would be if I "put cheese all over it!" I humored her and sprinkled grated parmesan cheese onto a buttered piece of cinnamon raisin bread. After a couple of totally confident bites, Cara realized her mistake.

She wandered out of the kitchen and looked at the downstairs room. "Where's my candy?!" Last night when she had gone up for bed, the floor had been littered with her Halloween take. I explained to her that her candy was in a safe place and went on with my breakfast. I believe it was Cara calling me for help which convinced me to go downstairs. Cara had gotten down into the basement and found our leftover candy, which had been dumped into an infant carseat. She was attempting to drag the entire carseat off of its perch, and presumably out of the basement. When I nixed this idea, it was wailing time. I decided to comfort her by taking her upstairs and showing her the tupperware container where her Halloween candy was. She tried to take it--I said no--more wailing.

On a nearby counter, she found one of her lollipops from the night before (still mostly wrapped up), and I gave up and let her have it. It kept her happy all the way to Susan's. PJ, who had been looking hard for his Diego backpack, arrived with some fig newtons, but immediately wanted a lollipop like Cara's. This is why Susan does not let them have candy. As I left, Cara was being divested of her lollipop--hopefully without tears. I washed my hands of the whole thing; though, as you will see, I had more discussions with Cara about candy later in the day.

Susan reports that, despite the lollipop incident, Cara had a great day! When I got home Cara was already enjoying an early dinner of leftovers, and had little kitty temporary tattoos on each hand (I think they came in one of her trick-or-treat goodie bags). One of our kitchen chairs was without its cushion, which had had a cup of water dumped over it by Cara. First she had spilled a little bit, then righted the cup. Then she purposely dumped the rest of the cup just to see what would happen. Our cup-using skills are still developing.

I heated up some other leftovers, which we shared (Cara spontaneously insisting that she get to eat her pizza out of her Wiggles bowl), and Mommy went off for an appointment. Cara and I watched Diego. Or rather, Diego was on while Cara wandered about the house. I had to do some things on the computer, but she amused herself independently fairly well. She had a new cup of water which she did at one point intend to pour out onto a tiny washcloth that was spread on our coffee table. I strenuously advised against this. Instead she draped the washcloth over the top of the cup (casting occasional side-long glances at me, to see if I was going to object), "To keep it from spilling."

She did wander back down into the basement, and came up with a mini-bag of M&Ms. I told her that she could have this one bag of candy if she wanted, but that was it. She ate the bag very quickly--usually she holds onto M&Ms so long that they actually do melt in her hands, not in her mouth--and came back up the stairs with a second bag (fortunately she was unable to open them without my assistance). I told her no. More wailing.

(Tonight, after Mommy came home, we sneaked down into the basement and carefully hid the leftover candy in an undisclosed location. Cara still has her own tupperware container, up on top of the microwave, from which we will hopefully be able to control the candy flow.)

We managed to overcome this issue and had an okay rest of the evening. I was able to get Cara to clean up her Chutes and Ladders game, and she helpfully gathered a pile of books for us to read. We read a few and I was just telling her that it was time for bed when we both heard the screen door open. "Mommy is coming home," said Cara. I agreed. Cara gave me her sippy cup. She tried to get more books for me to read, but I said it was time for bed, so she quietly went over to her crib and started climbing up the side. "I get in myself."

11/2/07 (Friday)

Cara and I had a lovely morning on Friday. Her Mommy was very nice and made pancakes before Cara even woke up. When I got her up, the first thing she did was point to the Chutes and Ladders game, which was piled up from the night before. Once I put her down and she had uncovered the game pawns (Dora, Backpack, Diego, and Boots), she was satisfied. "I need a new diaper," she said to me. The rest of our morning went very smoothly.

Cara's Grandmama picked her up from Susan's, and she had a nice late night on Friday.

11/3/07 (Saturday)

Like many of us who live it up on the weekend, Cara slept late into the morning and didn't come walking into the house until after 9. She had a new set of stringing bears, exactly identical to her counting bears except that they have holes drilled through their middle and can be strung on a lace like beads. We had a short amount of nice playtime, during which we established that what Cara really wanted to do was stay at home and play. Unfortunately we had to go out because Mommy's car was sick and needed to go to the doctor (you know--the Sunoco repair place).

Then we went to the library! Cara had been unenthused at the prospect of going there, but once we arrived she was thrilled. Cara and I got to go onto the computer there and do the kid games, which I had heard described but never gotten to play with before. We had a nice time creating different colored birds with various patterns on their bellies and different hats and shoes. Cara could have made me go on doing this for hours but there were other kids who wanted to play, so we went and looked at books also. This is not all the library has to offer for kiddie entertainment though: there are also crayons and puzzles, and a display with cardboard stars which Cara tried to stick back onto the wall. There was even one of those head-through-the-hole cutouts--next time we go to the library, we'll have to remember to bring a camera.

It was a nice trip, and then we came home and had some lunch. Cara had orange slices and green beans, but then lost interest before the chicken fingers and tater tots got out of the oven. Mommy put her down for a nice nap.

After nap time we had to hurry and get ready so that we could go and wish Aunt Claire a Happy Birthday! I wonder if Cara was confused at all at having left her grandparents' house in the morning only to end up there again in the evening? Anyway, she had a wonderful time as usual running about the house. She seemed particularly concerned about Schmutz the cat's welfare, and periodically claimed that he wanted to come inside even when he was nowhere in sight. She emptied a basket with various baby accessories and came across a pacifier, which she promptly popped in her mouth and chewed on for a while. This was a tad disturbing to us parents, who thought we had safely gotten past the point of the "popper." But she was divested of it at the end of the night with no problems.

11/4/07 (Sunday)

My favorite part of the morning was when Cara for some reason remembered that she had candy and wanted some. I explained to her that she could have just one piece, and she may have understood. She selected a peanut butter cup. We wanted her to stay in the kitchen, so I got a book to read to her, Tacky and the Winter Games. It's a library book about a misfit penguin who gets roped into participating in the penguin Olympics, though why anyone would want him on their team I cannot imagine. It seemed a little bit long and wordy for us, but we tried it anyway. About the time that Tacky's ski jump attempt failed because he warmed his feet at a fire while wearing his frozen-fish skis, I looked down and realized that Cara was so wrapped up in the story that what was left of her candy, about half, had become a goopy mess in her hands. After Tacky finally won a medal, we went and washed up.

Most of our day was spent on an experiment. We let Cara wear underpants instead of a diaper. Every half hour or so, we popped her onto the potty. She did not pee on the potty once. She did ruin three pairs of underpants. We put a pull-up on her for naptime. She did not nap, but instead spent a few hours playing happily in her crib. Overall, it was a pleasant and unproductive day.

The most surprising thing that happened was Cara stealing pieces of our salad at dinner. She's never actually eaten lettuce before, as far as I know.

11/5/07 (Monday)

Today was Mommy-Daughter Day! I have the week off from work, and Cara had an appointment at the pediatrician, so we spent the day together. First we spent a couple of wild hours downstairs playing. I put on the Playhouse Disney CD, and Cara danced a lot. That means that she spun around and jumped up and down a lot, often with her hands in the air. I was surprised when Cara asked me to get out the snow. I had forgotten that we had ever done this, but we had a small white blanket that I draped over her little armchair. The bears wanted to slide. Cara got out her old stacking cups, which became sleds for bears. We carefully sorted the bears into the appropriate sleds, by color. We did that months ago, and I don't think we did it more than a couple of times.

Around nine thirty, it was time to head for the doctor. I packed a diaper and a couple of books as well as a snack trap and a cup of water. We got there a little before ten, having stopped at the bank, and waited for a few minutes before a nurse came out and called, "Carolyn." Cara obediently headed over, not waiting for me! I had to gather up my bag, our books, and our coats and trail behind.

In the examining room the first thing Cara did was to sit down and take her shoes off. She explored and found the toys while I answered a few questions, but then it was time to strip. I helped her with her shirt, and then she got the pants by herself, to general approval. She was starting on her socks, but we let her keep them. She stood on the scale like a big girl: 30 pounds. To get her height, we decided to take her into the hall, even in her bediapered state. The nurse picked her up and put her down in front of the big ruler, then brought the thingie down on her head: 37 inches! Back we went. Just one more challenge. This may have been the first time anyone took Cara's pulse; she stood and let the nurse hold her wrist and count.

We got to play with blocks while we waited for the doctor. They were nice plain wooden blocks. We found one that was car-shaped! We kept ourselves amused by driving it around on a track of other blocks. Interesting information: Cara's weight is average, and her height is about the 75th percentile. This indicates that she will be about 5'6"! The doctor used a stethoscope on Cara and examined her belly and looked in her eyes, ears, and throat. Cara was very obedient and calm. It turned out that we only needed one shot today, for flu.

We played with blocks more while we waited for the nurse. When she came back I pulled Cara's pants down and sat her on my lap. I held her hands, but I don't think I needed to. The shot went very quickly, and then Cara got a really nice pink sticker. We packed ourselves up, cleaned up the blocks, and got Cara's shoes back on, and then we held hands and headed for the cashier's station. We got lots of compliments on Cara's behavior today, and she certainly earned them. She had done whatever we told her, she had let people do lots of things to her, and she had even said a friendly, if quiet, good-bye to the doctor and nurse. Not only that, she didn't cry or while at all, even when she got her shot!

I offered Cara her options, and she decided we should go have soup and play trains at the book store. When we got there she rubbed her belly and announced that she was "very hungey!" so we walked down for soup first. I love walking with her and feeling her little tugs on my arm as she looks around and notices things! I figured that she had been so good that she had earned a reward, so I got her a bottle of pink soda to go with her soup. We brought home a leftover sippy-cup-full. Apparently it was good. I didn't try it; it was very pink. As usual, we enjoyed our soup.

We discussed our shadows on the walk back to the book store. We played trains for a while, and then Cara went and carefully took all of the stuffed animals out of a basket. Then I got her to put them all back. It was exciting. She wanted to bring one or two home, and I said no. "Because it's very expensive!" she said, or something to that effect. I do not personally remember using that line on her. I think I usually just tell her we're not. The next thing the picked out was a Sesame Street sticker book, which looked very good. It was cheap, too, so I asked her whether she wanted to bring that home. She did.

On the way to the cash register, Cara helped me hold the book. On the way home, she started reading it in the back seat. She took out a sticker and had nowhere to put it. She had to hold it until we got home and I could come help! We got that one and a few more before nap time.

After nap I read Cara some books and we did some art. She missed her daddy, who got home late. Before he was even due, she was claiming to hear him. When he did get home, he was the center of attention. She even invited him to sit in my place on the couch.

The book we have in the bathroom now is Pig William. Cara is very fond of it. I heard her talking about it during her bath. Soon they called me to get her out, and as soon as she was in the towel she directed us to put her on the potty. We did. Was this all a ruse to get to see Pig William? Yes, she said. Well, I read it. After a few pages, Cara peed! It's a miracle!

11/6/07 (Tuesday)

I got to drop Cara off at daycare this morning. I didn't want to tell her outright that we were going to Susan's, so I hedged for a while and then finally, when we were in the car, told her she would get to play with PJ, Casey, Emma, etc. She was pleased. "I am going to play with all my friends!" she told me. When we arrived, she climbed out of the car and almost ran in, then took off her shoes and took off.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home, and Cara amused a woman shopping near us by announcing, "I need some diapers!" As a special treat, I let Cara pick out a few toothbrushes. She wanted "the mermaid one!" It's actually got a little Barbie doll on top of it, so I suppose it does look like a mermaid. She doesn't have any legs. She's wearing a pink shirt, so we couldn't pass it up. We got a similar Hello Kitty one and threw in a regular Dora toothbrush, too. Cara was very particular about it. The one in front had Dora as a ballerina in the picture on the handle, but the handle itself was green. We took the purple one, which didn't have such a nice picture. I guess I've been selecting them based on the wrong priorities.

We put on our Playhouse Disney CD again. I have found out that there is a point past which one simply cannot run in circles any more. It's just no longer possible. Unless, of course, one is a two-year-old.

When Cara was done with dinner, I let her down. "Shake, shake, shake!" she said. She wiggled her hips and shook herself, brushing off whatever spaghetti was left.

Dr. Spock said that babies are scientists. Cara is currently studying liquid dynamics. She really seems to enjoy spilling. She and Daddy used a blanket as a tablecloth and Cara set a lovely table in her playroom. She wanted water in her teacup, so he got her some. She spilled it, and the blanket repelled enough so that it ran down onto the floor. I got paper towels and Cara really had a blast cleaning up. She blotted a lot of water, then spread out the paper towel on the little chair. I'm not sure what she was doing, possibly cleaning it. She kept the wet towels when she was done. She put a plastic hamburger into a bowl, then wrapped it up in the damp paper towel, "for later." Her first pretend leftovers! We played like that for a while, and then it was time to head for bed.

Cara went up to the kitchen level on her own, then didn't want to go up any further. She ran off into the kitchen, heading under the table, calling, "I'm too fast for you!" Unfortunately, she was wrong. As I explained to her, while I carried her giggling up the stairs, I'm still too fast for her.

11/7/07 (Wednesday)

Strangely, Puma got up with Cara today. Usually he sleeps much later, but today he came downstairs with us for breakfast, got his tail into Cara's pancake syrup, and ended up in the high chair by himself with a sippy cup of water and couple of pretzels. Then Cara went to sit with him and feed him. I know he appreciated it.

For ever, it seems, I have been Mommy. Just a couple of weeks ago, I became Mom, too, some of the time. Of course, Cara started calling me Mom and Steve Dad a lot more once she heard us mentioning it to other people. Today, inexplicably, I've also been Mama. I'm pretty sure it started as soon as she got up in the morning, so it's difficult to determine any external sources for the change. This evening, Steve was Dada. I do find it charming, and I think Cara knows it.

So this morning we got ourselves packed up and with a minimum of trauma headed down to Lina and Sarah's house. There, the kids played inside for a few minutes while Shannon and I installed a car seat in the back of their van. We all piled in, and we headed off to the zoo! In the car, the girls played. Cara and I sat in the "way back," behind the twins, and they turned around to see us. The kids all stuck their tongues out at each other, and Sarah and Lina tried to "get" Cara's feet.

The first animals we saw were the bats! Sarah and Lina are big fans. They (the girls, not the bats) tend to go through the displays slower than we do, because they take more time to really look at things. Cara, of course, wants to go, go, go. We ended up doing some doubling back. Our next stop was the reptile and amphibian house, where Cara was more excited, at first, about a statue than about the actual animals. She liked some of them. We got to see a big snake move! The king cobra came right over to Lina and Cara, who waved and said hi as it reared up two feet in the air. I got a good picture of Cara waving her little mittened hand at the snake.

We saw the lions pretty well, but Cara really didn't want to stop in the little shelter and look at them. I'm not sure whether she was scared or just more excited about seeing the movie. We got into the building where the movie is shown, and Sarah walked right up and plopped herself down in the front, much closer to the screen than I have ever cared to be. She looked back and called the other girls, and so the three of them sat in a row and watched the movie. They talked and laughed throughout. I thought that the parts where the cats attack animals might be disturbing, but they all, especially Cara, started bopping along to the faster-paced music and laughing uproariously. It was the funniest part.

They were all hungry. Cara had told me she wanted a hot dog soon after we got there, and now they were definitely all really ready for food. It was the first hot dog I've seen Cara excited about in a while, and I am disappointed to report that she ate it normally, including the bun, instead of having the bun peel away like a banana peel as she ate.

The tree house, of course, was fabulous. It was almost empty, too, so we could do almost anything we wanted. Cara just ran all over, usually yelling with enthusiasm. She did watch the twins and copy them a little. After they got their picture taken in the frog, Cara got in and ribbitted for a while. We climbed up the steps in the tree, but the steps down were closed. Cara was devastated and barely hopped at all as we climbed back down. The big news was that they have gotten a new caterpillar, which matches Cara's old friend but is much bigger, longer, and newer. After we got a picture of the three girls together on it, Cara and Sarah discovered a nest of dinosaur eggs. They sat in it. Nothing hatched.

We managed to see a lot more. We found the giraffes, the polar bear, a brown bear, and the monkey house. There, we saw some monkeys but Cara found the stairs more exciting. We went up and ran around and went down and ran around and went up and so on. Upstairs we did see some golden tamarins, and Cara stopped to say hi and wave when we were up again.

It was a long day! In the gift shop, Cara found Puma. We decided we didn't need him again. She found a tiny plastic zebra. He made her happy. Sarah and Lina picked out big plush bats! Linda wanted to get Cara something bigger than the little zebra, so she suggested several things and finally took Cara over and found bigger, plush zebras. Cara lit up. It was a very nice, though unnecessary, gift in thanks for using our membership to get in. Cara loves her zebra. He is very much like Puma in size and material, but, as I have heard Cara point out several times, he is black and white. She loves them both. She was a good girl and said thank you.

When we got back, I sent Cara in to play while Shannon and I got our stuff out of their van. Of course, we ended up staying for another hour. It's fabulous just to hear them talk to each other and interact. They mainly all get along. Cara loves their toys, in addition to loving to play with them! I just couldn't see a good reason to take her away, when they were all so happy. Ironically, by the way, Cara, who likes to keep many of her girls undressed, was very distressed because she found some naked dolls. "Where her dress?" When it was time to go, Cara was not happy. I had to take her out crying. The promise of seeing Buster and Shelby was not attractive. Going to the car to see her new zebra meant nothing. We promised them all they'll get to play together again soon.

Cara didn't mention the TV when we got home, but soon enough she went upstairs and got out the afghan and wanted to be covered up. I put on Winnie the Pooh and got her her zebra and Puma and covered them all up together. She looked like she was going to fall asleep (which she had not done in the car at all). She perked up again in a little while, and when PJ and Casey came over she was herself.

Now, a grammatical note. An oddity. In the past couple of days, Cara has begun to add "don't" superfluously to her sentences. This morning she told me "I don't want to go downstairs. I don't want to play with my toys." She meant that she did. At the twins' house, Cara told me "I don't want to stay here. I don't want to play with these toys!" Did she want to go home? I asked. No. This evening, PJ was playing with Cara's old dinosaur. He made it roar a lot. Cara ran into the kitchen to tell us she was scared. We discussed with her the fact that this was just her own old dinosaur, and she ran off saying, "I don't want to play with PJ!" She sat down with him and asked him to play with her. Strange.

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