Neglecting a blog is like losing touch with a close friend or family member. The longer you put off calling or visiting, the harder it is to pick up the phone. It's like you don't know what to say and you don't know how to excuse the fact that you've stayed away for so long.

Hi, blog! How've you been? I'm so sorry I've been a stranger. You know...life..ummm...so busy..er...I just never have the chance...uh..anyway, How've you been? Did I already ask that?


I'll just give a little recap, since I don't really know what to write about.

Scout:

• Says : "Daieee" (daddy), "Beebee" (baby) "Bad dah!" (bad dog), "Dah" (hat, light, and sock), "Tseecsh" (cheese), "Bah!" (bye), "Hieeeee!" (hi), "Ahhhow" (uh-oh), "Bawoh" (ball) and "Bayeee" (belly). She hardly ever says "mama". Hhmph.

• Doesn't really know the different parts of her face yet. When I ask her to point to her eye or her mouth, she always points to her cheek or her ear. She does point to her nose when asked, on occasion. She pats the top of her head if I say hair or head....or if she sees someone with a hat on.
  

• Thinks that all bare skin is "Bayeee" (belly)...so she will often point to my leg or her foot and say "bayeee!"
  

• Signs: drink, eat, nurse, bath, more, mommy & daddy (although she uses the same made-up sign for both), sleep, baby, hi & bye (of course), "I don't know", and ball.

• Doesn't show much interest in being read to. She likes to thumb through books herself, and sometimes will sit with me while I point out and name things in picture books, but she won't just sit on my lap and while I read her a story. She's WAY too busy for that!

• Loves her afternoon stroller ride through the neighborhood. If she is having a cranky day, it's almost like hitting a "reset" button.
  

• Is VERY attached to DH lately. When she gets up in the morning and he's not here, she often says "Daiee? Daieee?" while shrugging her shoulders and opening her palms upward. I'm not sure how much she understands, but I always tell her, "Daddy went bye-bye in his truck. He went to work, but he'll be home later. We will see him tonight." It's probably a longer explanation than what she needs, huh?
  

• Hits things/people when she is very angry. It's hard for me not to laugh when she gets frustrated over not being able to fit a toy into a specific place and then gets so angry that she punches her teddy bear as hard as she possibly can while grunting and making a mean face. It's not quite as funny when she does that to my face. We're working on that.
  

• Is generally a very happy little girl (above mentioned little frustration outbursts aside). I know you may think I'm just saying this because I'm her momma, but she seriously lights up a room with her smile and "Princess Diana wave" (as one friendly cashier called it). She says "Hi" to every single person we pass when out in public. No joke. Every. Single. Person. And she will keep waving and say "Hi" louder and louder until they acknowledge her. We recently went out of town for DH's job training and Scout liked one of the hotel employees so much, that she lunged for her with outstretched arms, demanding that the woman hold her. She doesn't know a stranger. Which, I suppose could be both a good and bad thing.

• Has been sleeping through the night from about 9 PM to 8 AM about 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time, she only wakes up once or twice during the night and goes right back to sleep within 5 minutes of nursing her back down. I'll take it.
  

Unkempt Mommy:

• Has a really hard time keeping up with household chores. Some days I try soooo hard to tidy things up a little and keep the kitchen clean and just generally make our house NOT look like a nasty pig sty. But most days I fail. Miserably. Scout keeps me so busy. I honestly feel like I spend all day every day following her around the house, playing with her, and feeding her. (Which isn't all bad, by the way. I really do enjoy it most of the time) DH says he doesn't mind that I don't keep the house as clean as I would like. But I still feel bad that he has to come home to a big mess every day.
  

• Has been sewing a little more lately, which has been very therapeutic. I am going to split a vendor's booth at a local craft fair with a friend of mine in October, so I'm gearing up to spend the Summer creating baby clothes, bags, aprons, slings, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I'm not sure where I'll find the time, but it's an outlet I really enjoy and hope to make it into something lucrative someday.

• Still has a giant storage tote FULL of cloth diapers to sell. Uuuughh. It's been looming over my head since January. I just can't make myself spend Scout's nap time (oh, how precious nap time is!) on the tedium of writing descriptions and listing used diapers on swap sites. I know that I need to, though. It HAS to be done.
  

• Feels all ga-ga in love with DH. I mean, I always have. But I guess that "new love" feeling has made a resurgence lately and I'm enjoying it. It's probably due to a combination of factors, one of which is the crumble of our very close friends' marriage. Seeing the state of their relationship and the pain they are going through makes me even more thankful that DH and I have such a healthy marriage. It makes me thankful that we are honest with each other, we communicate, and we are each other's best friends.

DH:

• Has been pretty stressed about money lately. I feel awful that he bears the burden of our finances all on his own. He pays all the bills and balances the checkbook. I am completely oblivious to the state of our budget most of the time. Maybe I should step up and offer to handle the bill-paying. Maybe I should be the one handling the finances. But I'm not sure how that would work. We've always done it this way and I'm sure it would be tough for both of us to change.
  

• Hasn't had much time for music lately, which is his passion. Again, another thing I feel bad about and wish I could help with.
  

• Sold his scooter so we could pay off some debt. Have I ever mentioned that I am married to the most responsible, practical man in the world? I know a lot of gals married to guys who spend tons of time and money on big-boy toys like motorcycles, boats, four-wheelers, fishing gear, paint-balling gear, etc. I know everyone needs a hobby and I think it's good to have an outlet like that, but you know the kind of guys I am talking about. The ones that put their recreational toys before everything else. I feel thankful that DH is NOT one of those guys.
  

Labels: baby sleep, cloth diapering, dh, family, finances, firsts, friends, scout talking, sign language