Quality (and quantity) time

Eric offered a comprehensive update in the last post, so I'll just second that Mid May-Mid June marked a successful month for all. Apart from the early mornings, that is. Particularly given my recent graduation to third trimester (i.e. the return of exhaustion), the lack of nighttime sleep has been a bit tough... Good thing Lizzie's cute enough to get away with it. Two items of note that Eric failed to mention. 1. At the ER, Lizzie got a popcicle, which was a BIG hit. She had another at VA beach, and it was again a smasking success. She will not, however, touch ice cream. She signs it and says "iiiice..." grinning excitedly, but when it's offered - spoon, cone, whatever -- she says her little "noh" and shakes her head. Item 2. The terrible bruising all around Lizzie's backside that I discovered after the ER visit. I was horrified (though also relived, since a bruised bum indicates less time spent bumping down the stairs on one's head and more via the caboose) -- the bruises were uniformly distributed around her tailbone and sacrum and a deep grayish purple. Eric was much less concerned. You see, he had changed the afternoon diaper that day, and had witnessed the impressive extent for blueberry staining. Sure enough, after 15 minutes in the bath, the bruises started to fade (but only just). Kid likes her "bibbies".

We're now in day 2 of the Mommy-and-me marathon. It's been great fun to be home with Lizzie, but I have to admit I don't know how single moms (or dads, or just generally parents with spouses in absentia) can do it. Hats' off to them all! Not trying to sneak in work during naps and after Lizzie goes to bed would make things marginally easier, of course, (as would not being pregnant) but even then... it's just go-go-go. At least when I have the whole day home with Lizzie (rare, admitted), I can hand her over before the bedtime routine for a few minutes of solace (otherwise known as dishes and cleaning up, but still...). Or when she wakes in the night, I can nudge Eric (his side of the bed is closer?). When she wakes before dawn, we take turns -- my day, your day, etc. Now, however... hmmm.

I'd planned a few afternoons at the pool, but unfortunately, the weather refuses to cooperate. It's been near one hundred for 3 days in a row (with little sign of breaking apart from a short respite tomorrow with a high of 92...). With those temps, it's too hot to play outside, too hot for mom to push the stroller (recall my girth), and too hot to get in the car to go anywhere. So by midday we're grounded.... Booo....

Yesterday, as expected, we were up at 5. Eric had headed out the door (very very quietly) around 5am. Lizzie was boucing in her crib yelling "gi-up" (get up) by about 5:05. So we were at the park by 7:15 (had to twiddle our thumbs until full light), and had finished grocery shopping by 9:30. Nap was early and short -- about noon-1:30 -- and then we were back on with our day. Lizzie was great throughout, but she has a LOT of energy. One new first: corn on the cob. She loved it, but ate nothing else for dinner (novelty factor). I tend not to worry about light meals, as she's a great snacker. She'd had about a pint of blueberries in the afternoon, so the tank was near full already... (More "bruising" today...)

Today Lizzie was up at ... drumroll ... 4:30. BOO. She settled for all of 15 minutes when I went in to explain that it was still sleep time. (She wags her head and says "noooo nooo...," cries a giddy "gi-up" (with one foot dangerously close to the top crib rail -- future ballerina) and tosses everything out of the crib. We were at Target around 9:30 (we waited for the morning traffic to calm) then back home to play with a new toy (a magnetic drawign board -- etch a sketch with a pen. She LOVES it. She had a great lunch of huge kidney beans dipped in hummus (weird kid -- the hummus was for the cukes, but okay...) and went to bed around noon. She's still napping. I'm delighted, though perhaps she's just saving up for a 4:15 wake tomorrow.

Anyway, that's all the news for today. Here's a pic from last week in case you haven't made it to the Picasa site lately.