Details

Well, most of you guessed it from my not-so-subtle hint in my last post. Here are the details:

Due date: 3/10/08

Sex: Unknown at this point but we will be finding out in November or December

Hailey's Age at Birth of Sibling: Close to 3

Baby Heartbeat: YES

Mommy's Physical State: Nauseous, tired, cranky (that's a physical state these days)

Mommy's Emotional State: Ask me in a few minutes as I'm sure it will change.

Hailey's Choice of Brother or Sister: Neither, either, or TV instead, depending on when you ask her

Daddy's Favorite Question: "Hailey, what's in Mommy's belly?"

Hailey's Response: "Baby in belly"

Hailey's Understanding of Response: None

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAILEY!!!!

Birthday Bath This Morning

Hailey Opens a Few Presents after Breakfast

Disney Book with her Favorite Stories!

Another Book...

A Special Book from Mommy and Daddy

Cool Learning Game from the Palmisanos!

Hailey had a fun birthday morning. She's going to be having a party with mini-cupcakes at school today too. We're saving her biggest present for later tonight. Plus, we're taking her to get a real big girl bed later this week. What a fun second birthday!

Ode to Manipulation

Last weekend when my doe-eyed child looked up, held her arms out and said, “My Mommy,” I unsuspectingly swooped her up in my arms and said “Of course I’m your Mommy, and I love you very much.” That was the beginning of the end for my independence this vacation. Every two seconds, we were dealing with “My Mommy” or “My Daddy,” which was used as a demand to be picked up immediately.

This became increasingly troublesome any time Hailey approached a sandy area (which was the entire island!). If our little angel had shoes on, the sand made her freeze immediately in place. Then, she would cry, “rocks in my shoes” because apparently when you’re almost 2, fine sand particles have the same effect as having shards of glass in your shoes. God forbid she take even one step on the sand. Nope, better to cry “My Mommy” and hope that your easily manipulated Mommy will save you from the torture.

Belize or Bust!

Hailey, Luke and I are off to Belize tomorrow. We will be staying in Mom and Harry’s condo on Ambergris Caye. We are very excited to go away even if it’s only for a week this time. We all need a break! I’m sure that Hailey is going to love the beach and the pool. Hopefully, I’ll come back rested and with lots of fun pictures to share. Have a wonderful week!

Song Breaks Out at Snack Time...

Translation..."If your name is puppy, jump up and down."

Crossing Over

Let me start by saying that I am not a gadget person. I am not an electronics person. Technology for me is just something that is there and hopefully works. When it doesn't work, then it's highly frustrating, and I pretty much swear it off (at least until Luke fixes it). My husband, on the other hand, lives for technology. It's what he does for a living for crying out loud!

This brings me to my conversion - "crossing over to the dark side" I like to call it. It all started with my first iPhone. I didn't even want it, but Luke insisted. I'm sure that he had some rationale. I can't remember what it was. It doesn't matter now because I loved that damn phone the minute I got it. I didn't do anything with it other than take pictures, text, and use the phone. I don't even think I had music or videos on it (well none that I put on there).

You may realize that today the new iPhones came out. I really could not have cared less, but for some reason we had to have them. Here's where the dark side comes in. Where do I find myself at 7:45am this morning (Luke got there at 6:05am)? You guessed it...waiting out in front of an AT&T store with all of the serious geeks. The morning came complete with a near riot when someone tried to cut the front of the line, announcements of inventory shortages every half hour, and the entire system crashing before we could activate anything. In the end, we could only purchase a phone for me (because I got the smaller version), while Luke had to order his. Haha! Sorry...I had to throw that in because how ironic is it that I'm the only one in the family with the new toy now?

Anyway, you might wonder how I have time to write this what with my new gadget and all. Here's why...because I haven't touched it since "I" got it. Oh wait. Hold the phone (literally)...I have it! I have it in my hand! My husband has turned it over. Just kidding. He just wanted me to see something. He took it back. Apparently, I need some apps...whatever those are.

Happy iPhone Day!

Pics from the 4th

Timeline of the Tantrum

For some reason, everything is a battle these days. Little Miss Independence does not like to do anything when she is told to. It's very frustrating. The middle of the tantrum is by far the worst part because my stubbornness starts to wear off and I start thinking that maybe I should give in. Still, when you suffer through a tantrum and come out on the other side, it's a little bit invigorating because you know that you are both better for having played your respective roles. Without further ado, here is the basic timeline that applies to virtually every tantrum...

Time	Hailey Behavior	Mommy Thoughts
:10	Stubbornly refuses to do something she’s been asked to do	What is the problem? You do this every day. Why is it an issue all of a sudden?
:30	Continues to refuse with a pouty face now	Ok. Let’s lighten the mood. Perhaps a distraction or two will be enough.
:45	Head down on the floor and/or commence with the crying	Are you kidding me? Do we really have to do this right now?
1:00	Screaming persists and/or elevates	Fine. We have two choices now: 1) I will ignore you or 2) You will sit in timeout. Maybe we need both!
1:15	Possible flailing about or just a continuation of screaming	I feel like screaming now to. This is not the end of the world. Why are you making this so difficult?!?!?
1:30	Possible shrieking interspersed with some calls for Mommy	You brought this on yourself, and I will not be bullied by your bad attitude. I guarantee that I’m more stubborn than you are.
2:00	Keeps it coming	All you have to do is what I asked you to do and life would be much easier. AHHHH…My ears hurt!
2:30	Some more	Will this ever end? Ok. I’m not going to lie, my stubbornness is waning. I feel the call of the Mommy to console you.
3:00	Hasn’t tired yet	Don’t do it! It can’t be much longer, right?
3:30	Starting to cooperate with some whimpering	What? Are you actually learning your lesson. You mean it worked? I win. I win. I win.
4:00	Cooperating	Excuse me. I meant to think, “see the important lesson that you learned here.” Also, Mommy wins.

Boom!

There’s nothing like sitting with your child while she watches fireworks for the first time. Hailey was fortunate enough to watch the fireworks with her friend Corbin at a park in Nashville. She was so enthusiastic about it that she insisted on adding her own “Boom!” to the end of each, as if the actual noise wasn’t quite loud enough. She was pretty mesmerized by the entire affair.

All in all, she had a wonderful weekend in Nashville! Unfortunately, our camera was out of batteries, but our friends captured the highlights on their camera. Now, I just need to get the pictures from them. I guarantee that there are some great ones!

Hyper- Hypo-Chondriac and Her Mother

Over the weekend, Hailey started drooling like a geriatric patient without teeth and sticking her fingers into the back of her mouth. I figured she was teething, but a quick Google search revealed that she isn't scheduled to get any teeth at 24 months. What the heck could be wrong with her? At dinner tonight, she would put a piece of food in her mouth and then just start crying. This made me a bit nervous so I asked her:

"Does your mouth hurt?"
"Yes"

"Does your throat hurt?"
"Yes"

"Does your tongue hurt?"
"Yes"

Hmmm....that's no help. I started thinking that maybe her tonsils are red and irritated OR maybe her adenoids are inflamed (are adenoids in your throat?) OR perhaps, it's actually her uvula which is swollen to twice its size (your uvula is in your throat...you don't forget a word like uvula).

Ok. Time to pull out Mommy's secret weapon - the miniature flashlight. Why I insist on pretending I can see down her throat is a mystery to me!!! Regardless, after much coaxing, she finally opened her mouth and let me take a look inside. What is the cause of all of her pain and misery? A teeny, tiny cut on the tip of her tongue!

First Night!

Oh Boy! Hailey’s first night in her big girl bed (which is just her converted crib) was fairly uneventful. In fact, she got up only once when I put her to bed, but she waited right at the door of her room. She also woke up at 2:30am, but I just stuck her binky back in her mouth. Not too bad! Tonight we are taking her to see the new animated movie Wall-E. Luke has been showing her little clips on the computer for weeks. It will be her first movie in a theater. I can’t wait to see how she does. I bet she says “again” when it’s all over…just like at home.

Story Time

Did I mention that Hailey can recite the entire book Where the Wild Things Are? Of course, she won't do it for the camera, but if you listen carefully, you can hear bits and pieces. The clearest part comes when she's supposed to be reading Peter Pan at the end. Oh well. Close enough!

Big Girl Bed

On Monday night, Hailey made a startling revelation at bedtime – she wanted to sleep in Mommy’s bed. After much confused and garbled conversation, I discovered that she didn’t want to sleep in Mommy’s bed, she wanted to sleep in a big girl bed. Where is this coming from? I blame Luke because he let her lay all over the big girl beds at IKEA a few weekends ago. Still, she didn’t demand one at that point. Now, all of a sudden, she wants a big girl bed.

This comes at a particularly bad time for me because I had just won an argument with Luke that she should NOT have a big girl bed yet. I won on the premise of three key points: 1) She loves her crib; 2) I don’t think she’s ready; 3) we haven’t completely kid proofed her room yet; and 4) he’s not the one who will have to get up with her in the middle of the night. Do you see how Hailey’s sudden change of heart kind of negates my first two points?

Here’s what I was thinking last night… Ok, let’s not panic here. Maybe by tonight she will have forgotten that she wants a big girl bed. Guess what? She didn’t! She asked for it again! Eventually, she gave up and reluctantly climbed into her crib, but those days are numbered. Within the next few nights, we will have to do the conversion.

Monkey See...Monkey Do

Hailey Reading a Book at Barnes & Noble

Hailey is so easily influenced by what she sees these days. As an adult, I rarely see someone doing something that makes me think, “Oh, I gotta try that.” Hailey, on the other hand, wants to do everything that other kids or adults are doing. Sometimes that works to our advantage and sometimes it’s, well, a disaster. Take two examples from the past week.

First, Hailey watches a little boy learning to float on his back in the pool. She decides that she wants to try it too. When you put Hailey on her back in the pool, it’s kind of like trying to knock over a weeble wobble toy. She always bounce back the front, and she floats about as well. Still, it was good to practice because they say learning to float is the best way to keep kids safe around water.

Episode number two involved Hailey watching an older boy hang from this strange playground apparatus at our park. She decides that she absolutely must hang like that, and she cannot possibly receive any help climbing up the 6 ft high equipment. When Mommy would not let her do such things by herself, I was left with a tantrumy (but safe) little girl.

Oh, as a bonus monkey see episode, I should share with you Hailey’s first gymnastics experience. We had the gymnastics Olympic trials on TV over the weekend. Completely unprompted, Hailey got down on the floor and started to do forward rolls, only she can’t quite do the roll part. So, she basically stands there with her head on the ground until she falls over sideways. If we try to help her flip, she gets angry…Little Miss Independence!

Meltdown...Hers not Mine

Yesterday, Hailey was diagnosed with Roseola which is a fairly common viral infection characterized by a high fever for a day followed by a rash that lasts a few days. Thus, we were home all day together where she learned how to put on her own clothes (kinda…see picture).

In the evening we decided to take a ride up to a local shopping plaza where we went to Barnes and Noble. While Mommy was looking for coloring books, Hailey had a little altercation with an older boy who proceeded to rip book after book out of her hands while his father looked on and did nothing. Luke managed this situation quite well, but it still resulted in Hailey laying face down on the floor screaming bloody murder. Ok, clearly it’s past her bedtime at this point. Meltdown #1.

This morning she woke up as usual in a good mood, but things quickly soured when I put her in her seat for breakfast. For no reason at all, she just started scrying (that’s a combination of screaming and crying. You know it well if you’ve had a toddler). The scrying just went on and on all morning. She wouldn’t eat, didn’t want to get dressed, didn’t want to get in the car…you get the picture. It was rough. I pretty much let her carry on, but Daddy was the weak one this time (usually those roles are reversed). It was just so clear that she was in high manipulation mode. Either manipulation or she’s sick with something else now, but I can’t stand the thought of that possibility.

Anyway, I really just wanted to share this funny picture with you. Notice the shorts on the head and the two legs through one leg hole of the other shorts. Hysterical. Almost makes up for the multiple breakdown morning...ALMOST!

More, Please

More milk? Great.

More crackers?  Ok.

More crab legs?  Oh no!

It was inevitable.  Following in her Mommy (and Daddy's) footsteps, Hailey has taken a strong liking to crab legs.  She tried them for the first time last last night at our Father's Day dinner. She couldn't get enough of them.   I can feel my wallet getting thinner as we speak.  

I Scream, You Scream

Back to School

Today is Hailey's first day back at school after her little virus. We kept her home for two days after the fever broke just to give her a chance to recover and build her immune system back up. She was very excited to see her teacher and her friends. While she was out, she moved into the 2-year-old classroom. This classroom has a higher student-to-teacher ratio, but we absolutely love the teacher. Plus, her room gets to take 2 field trips a week during the summer. Oh, and they also start potty training in that room. I can't wait to not be buying diapers anymore!

It's Over...I Think

Hailey's fever broke last night (I'm pretty sure). When she woke up at midnight, she was drenched in sweat, but had no sign of a fever. She's also been waking up pretty consistently at 3am but not last night. We're going to keep her home today to watch her and get her on a good eating schedule, but I'm pretty sure that the fever is gone!

Change

When your child gets a cold or even the flu, you don't really wonder if they'll be the same after their illness as they were before. When your child has a fever and is sick for 8 days, you wonder how different they'll be when they are finally well again. I find myself wondering that now that I feel Hailey is finally getting better. Don't get excited; she still has a fever! However, she has eaten more today than on any other day, and she has a bit more energy. However, she doesn't talk nearly as much as she used to, she doesn't sing, she hates medicine and doctors (shocker!), she clings to Mommy as if Mommy is going to disappear forever, she wakes up 10 times in the middle of the night, and she just seems more insecure and whiny. I'm sure that this is all just the fever, but it made me pause today to wonder if she will be the same toddler that I remember when she finally does get better. I just don't know how parents handle having a truly sick child. I have always counted our good health as one of our many blessings and will continue to do so knowing that when this fever finally subsides, I will still have my beautiful child to hug no matter how different she is.

PS: It is with great reservations that I will be going back to work tomorrow and leaving Hailey in the loving and capable hands of her Nana. I am not worried in any way about her being home without me; I am more worried about me being without her. Wish us both much luck!

5 Hours, Countless Tests, No Answers

We just returned home from 5 hours at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (our children's hospital). After consulting with our doctor this morning, we decided that 8 days of fever was worth further testing.  So, we took her in at about 11:30am.  We had been trying to avoid going to the hospital because we knew that it would require a series of uncomfortable and intrusive tests.  Unfortunately, we were right.  She had her throat swabbed, her chest x-rayed, her temperature taken rectally, her nose swabbed, and was generally poked and prodded.  It was completely miserable.  After all that, we are absolutely no closer to understanding what is wrong with her.  What we do know is that she does not have an ear infection, strep, pneumonia, mono, or a ruptured appendix.  Their best guess at this point is that she has some type of viral infection which can not be treated.  We are supposed to keep her hydrated and manage her fever until she can give another urine sample tomorrow.    

A Fever of Unknown Origin

In a few hours, Hailey will officially have had a fever for 7 days. The number of days, apparently, is important in the medical world because nobody worries when it's 5 days or less. Well, we're on 7 days, and some of us are starting to worry. The fever started last Saturday night, but we really started monitoring it on Sunday. She's been to the doctor and does not have an ear infection or a UTI. She has virtually no symptoms other than the fever, which also causes lethargy, lack of appetite, thirst for milk and milk only, and apparently, waking up at 3am. The doctor has told us not to worry; that she's not at risk for anything without having other symptoms. She thinks that it's just an infection that will clear itself up. I really have no idea what to think. I feel terrible for my suffering child. I'm glad that our doctor is not overreacting and ordering a bunch of unnecessary or painful tests. Still, every day that goes by, that sense of fear in the depths of my stomach grows stronger and my patience grows thinner. I can only hope that she wakes up tomorrow miraculously cured.

Does Anyone Else Detect a Southern Accent?

Article Published

The article that I wrote about The Toddler "No" Phase was published in Atlanta Baby this month! See page 16. I've been so busy that I just took the time to check, and there it was.

Ouch, Mommy

Hailey’s hair has been long enough for pig tails for some time now. She comes home from school with elaborate pig tail arrangements, such as the one in this picture. Apparently, she lets her teacher do whatever she wants to her hair, but she screams bloody murder when I come anywhere near her head. It’s ridiculous! Even when it’s time to take out the rubber bands, she insists on ripping them out herself, which looks like it hurts terribly. I try to use the more humane method of untwisting them, but that just doesn’t suit her. Nope. She wants to pull them out herself, taking about half of her hair with it. I remember when I was little that I never wanted my Mom to do it either. What is with that???

Please see the Flickr link for new pictures.

It Was Bound to Happen...

My daughter loves wii. In a few months, she'll be better than me!

A Little Dip

Sorry for the lag in the blogosphere. I’ve been running a bit behind after being out all last week. I’m back now with all new stories and Hailey adventures. My favorite occurred last Sunday when we were visiting Grandma and Papa Harry in Virginia. Luke and I decided that it would be fun to take Hailey on her first canoe ride. Little did we know that Josie, our dog, also wanted desperately to come with us. We tried to leave her on the shore, but she kept trying to swim out to us. Finally, we relented and let her in the canoe as well.

Once we were a good distance from shore, Hailey decided that she wanted to paddle with the oar all by herself. So, Luke let her play with it for a while. When it was time to head back, he took the oar away from her. She, however, decided that she could still paddle by leaning over the side of the boat to paddle with her hand. Do you see where this is going? Yup, Josie shifts, Hailey slips, and she goes head first into the water. Luckily, Luke, with his lightening fast reflexes, grabbed one of her legs on her way down. So, there he is plucking her out of the water by one leg. She was about half way in for maybe a second. She was pissed!!!!! Oh, there was screaming. I watched the whole thing from the front of the boat and found it absolutely hysterical. Oh wait, I mean, I was completely distraught and concerned for the safety of my child. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to say?

One Step Forward

Hailey is learning how to go up and down the steps without holding on to the railing. She’s very careful and deliberate about it, but it makes me exceedingly nervous. She especially likes to do it at the park where she going up and down concrete steps without a railing. Of course, she doesn’t even want me to go near her while she is making these attempts. So, I’m relegated to the bottom while she goes up and down about 20 times. I guess we’re just lucky that she’s so cautious about it.

On another note, isn’t this the cutest picture you’ve seen of this child? Oh my goodness! I hate to brag, but she’s pretty damn cute…wouldn’t you say???

Hailey Meets Worms

Yesterday was our first day without Daddy, and I have to say that it went very well. As much as I complain about her terrible toddlerness, she’s actually a really good kid. I think that the key is just to keep her really busy, and yesterday we were!

When we got home from work, we went straight to the park, then picked up dinner at a nearby restaurant, ate quickly at home, and then headed to our new garden plot. Since this is our first year in the community garden, we decided to purchase some worms like many of our neighbors. The garden ordered 1,000 worms, and I got 100. So, how do you pick out 100 worms? Well, that’s where Hailey and a shovel come in. I first just scooped up what looked like 50 with a shovel and dumped them into my plot, but that wasn’t very fun for Hailey. So, I picked one up with my hand to introduce her to the concept. She touched it reluctantly and said “slimy” and “soft.” I decided to give her the important job of picking up the worms one by one and carrying them to our garden plot. Now, she didn’t do all 50, but she did really enjoy it. Then she decided that the worms needed to be dug into the garden with a trowel AND a hammer. It is clear to me that I better build her a garden of her own, lest she dig up my plants all summer long! Here are some shots of her escapades with the worms.

Put Your Game Face On!

I have a problem. It’s a major discipline problem. It could potentially make me a bad parent. Here it is – I cannot discipline my child without eventually laughing at her. If you could see the ridiculous and adorable faces she makes, you would understand. It’s like disciplining Cindy Lou Who with those big, expressive eyes. I’m not trying to make excuses for my bad parenting; I’m just trying to give you a sense of the situation on the front lines. The problem is that she knows that I’m weak. That is why she listens to Luke and not to me. That is why she will sit in timeout for him but not for me. Ugh…it’s so frustrating.

I must put an end to this Mommy abuse. I must be stern and strong and firm when I am disciplining her. Why am I contemplating my incompetence at this point? Because Luke is going away for 4 days and leaving me at home alone with our angel-faced demon-child. The test begins on Wednesday. Will I fail miserably or step up to the challenge? Only time will tell.

Funniest Picture

I think that these are the funniest pictures that I've ever taken of Hailey. After her nap (thus the hair), she was all ready to go help me in our new garden plot. The boots, unfortunately, were 3 sizes too big so she couldn't make it all the way to the garden without significant assistance. That didn't stop her from demanding to wear the boots for the rest of the day!

Full Sentences

While Hailey’s parrot-like behavior is still a constant, she’s now coming up with her own sentences. For example, at breakfast on Sunday she said “Josie is funny.” This morning she said “Go upstairs. Wake Daddy up.” That was my favorite so far. It’s really strange to know what she’s saying without having to translate it in my head.

It’s been pretty rainy here lately. Due to the drought, we try to be grateful, but it is difficult to have a pent-up toddler. On Sunday, we took a little trip to the Children’s Museum. Here’s a shot of Hailey painting. She loves to paint and what better place to do it than someplace where I don’t have to clean up the mess!

Evolution of a PlayDoh Fish

New Taste Sensation

I remember when I was so excited to feed Hailey solid foods, so excited that she could eat on her own. Ha…what was I thinking???? Meal times are becoming a struggle between what I am serving and what Hailey wants, which is almost always one of three foods – grapes, yogurt, and quesadillas. Since when does she know what she wants to eat?

She’s also enthralled with anything that is a dip – mustard, ketchup, salad dressing. This morning I was making sandwiches while Hailey ate her oatmeal. Not a minute later, she was demanding mustard on her oatmeal. So, she had mustard oatmeal for breakfast. Sure, I could have not given her the mustard, but what fun would that be?

Easter Surprise

Yesterday the Easter Bunny brought us the miracle of our first poop on the potty. Just thought you should know.

Pictures from Hailey's first Easter Egg Hunt are forthcoming.

Toddler Translations

Eating ketchup with a fork...mmmm.

Hailey's language skills are improving exponentially everyday, but in the meantime, we still have to do a little interpretation when she speaks. Here are a few of my favorite Hailey phrases along with their adult translations:

"I spilled" - Mommy, while you stepped away for a second to grab a diaper, I took the opportunity to pee on your carpet. Please spend the rest of your morning cleaning it and me up. Thanks.

"Up, up, up" - Actually, I'd like you to put me down in the middle of this crowded store so that I might run away from you, pull things off the shelves, and throw a tantrum when you ask me politely to stop.

"Poopie potty" - Please take off my clothes and my diaper so that I can sit on the potty to let out one tiny toot.

"Bubbles" - I would like you to hand me the bubbles so that I can turn the bottle upside down, take the cap off, and watch the bubble stuff spill all over my legs.

"Brush teeth" - Please put some water on my toothbrush so that I can suck the water out without the brush ever touching my teeth.

"Tub" or "Shower" - I would like to get in the tub or the shower so that I can play with my toys in the water. Do not, however, attempt at any time to wash my body, let alone my hair. The consequences for this will be dire (and wet).

"Mine" - Whether or not you are holding the object or I am holding the object is inconsequential because that object is now mine. Whether or not you've owned the object for your whole life or five minutes is also inconsequential because that object is now mine, and the most important possession I've ever owned.

"Clean up" - I've dumped many rubberbands, crackers, letters, etc on the ground. I will now sing this song as I pick up two of them, hand them to you, and then leave the rest for you to clean up yourself. You can thank me later for teaching you how to clean up.

"Dip it" - I would like you to squirt a huge dollop of ketchup onto my plate so that I can dip my fingers in it and suck it off. Do not try to trick me by squirting anything else, like mustard, on to my plate. I will sit here and refuse to eat until this task is complete.

Lucky Stars

The extent of our damage. Our downspout is now a horizontal spout.

This is the house diagonal to ours. I took this from my porch.

Damage to a business near our house.

Lots of windows smashed out all around us.

As you may have heard on the news, Atlanta was hit with a series of tornadoes last night. Living so close to the city, our neighborhood also experienced some serious damage. Luckily, our house only lost a downspout, although we haven't gotten on the roof yet.

Just to recap, we heard the locomotive noise typical of a tornado at around 10:00ish. Luke and I were on the ground floor when he said that I should run up and grab the baby. I ran up the two flights of stairs, but was trying to carefully lift her without waking her. As I was lifting her, I heard him on the ground floor yelling for me to hurry. The noise outside was getting louder, the house was shaking, debris was hitting the windows, and I was struggling to see down the steps as I raced down with Hailey in my arms. In the meantime, Luke had opened the front door only to realize that he could barely get it closed even while throwing all of his weight against it. The three of us (plus Josie) crammed into the downstairs closet which Luke had quickly cleaned out. We waited for it to go by, but didn't understand the extent of the damage until the next morning. What struck me afterwards was just how little time we had from the time we figured out what was going on to the point at which it was really dangerous. If we had been watching tv and heard the warnings, it would have been different. GA might also consider investing in some tornado sirens.

Several houses in our neighborhood lost their aluminum chimneys, but the real damage was sustained on the streets that have older homes and trees. About 5-6 of the houses on the street directly across from us were crushed by trees, some of which had been completely uprooted. The damage was extensive, but I believe there were no injuries. Here are a few shots we snapped while driving around in the morning. We didn't get many of the houses because that road was basically shut down. Now that we have power, I thought that I would drop a quick blog to let everyone know just how lucky we are feeling today.

First Day of Pig Tails

We're already losing them by this point, but you get the idea.

She likes eating dry tortillas, don't ask me why!

Ok maybe "day" is an exaggeration. It was more like pig tails for 3 minutes on the side that Mommy did and 6 minutes on the side that Daddy did, but it was a start! Of course, we had to resort to plopping her in front of the TV watching Little Einsteins while we deftly maneuvered the microscopic rubber bands into place. At least she was sitting on the potty the whole time. I call that multi-tasking at its best. So, here are the fruits of our labor or what's left of them about 2 minutes into it.

Hitting a Nerve

Hailey and Josie snoozing on the way back from Nashville

Hailey "washing dishes" at the Children's Museum

Trip to Target

We do not hit Hailey – no spankings, no swatting her hand, no light swats on the butt, nothing. We do not hit each other. We do not hit the dog or the cat. So, where in the world is my child learning to hit????

For Hailey, it’s becoming a natural way to emphasize her disapproval; for me, it’s becoming a painful reminder of my failures as a parent. Ok, maybe it’s not that bad, but she is starting to hit whenever she disagrees with a current Mommy policy. She clearly thinks that it’s a game. I put her in timeout whenever she does it, but she doesn’t really understand the whole timeout concept yet. Any advice on how to stem this hitting before we get too violent?

Oh, here are some pictures from the past few weeks. I should have some from our weekend trip to Nashville on Flickr soon.

Car Sick

From time to time, our little angel baby gets car sick. It’s happened maybe four or five times, usually while driving on winding roads or with a coat on. Since Luke, Hailey, and I carpool every day, I knew that at some point, we’d have an incident. Surprise…today is the day!!!!

I’ve often thought that I should put some towels in the car so that I could be prepared, but I never did find the time. I paid for that today when the inevitable happened all over Hailey, the car seat, the car, etc. I guess that there was just a lot of starting and stopping this morning due to the rain and the ridiculous Atlanta traffic.

All things considered, it wasn’t that bad. She recovered very quickly, Luke and I changed her into her extra outfit at school, and life went on as usual. Well, except for the stench that is stuck in my nose, on my hands, and in my car. Oh well just one more adventure in parenthood. Thank goodness Luke and I were together or I might have had a little meltdown, but Daddy is great in these crises.