Cate loves to hang out in her diaper, but to be honest I never really remember that until I've already got her clothes on her. The other day I remembered and it was particularly warm that day so I decided that as a special treat Cate could sleep in just her diaper for her nap. She's never done this before, and this is what I found when I went in to check on her:
I think she liked my idea.
Finally, Cate in her tropical dress with her current favorite toy, Polly the Parrot:
And now for two quick snippets before I hit the sack.
I think she liked my idea. Here is Cate is her "Grandma Sweater" and a hat my mom sent her from Cannery Row in Monterey. We just love this girl's serious looks:
Finally, Cate in her tropical dress with her current favorite toy, Polly the Parrot: 
And now for two quick snippets before I hit the sack. First, on strollers: We are thinking about getting a jogging stroller so that we can take longer walks and not wear out the stroller we have, which is really not made for the three- mile route my post-pregnancy bum really ought to do every day. I’ve found strollers to be the only thing I don’t love about being a mom. I got so frustrated with one of ours this week (yes, we have two and we’re thinking about a third) that I very uncharacteristically almost broke it in two with my bare hands. Really not my style, which I think probably says something about the ongoing sleep deprivation, the poor engineering of the stroller, or both. Cate, for the record, was not in the stroller at the time.
Second, on a mother's instinct: Dogs are my second-to-least favorite animals, right above mice/rats/other short-haired rodents, which are my least favorite. This week, I was visiting someone from church who I know has a black lab. I’ve been over to this house before, and the dog and I have not really spent any time together because when people come over they put the dog in a bedroom. As we were visiting, Cate got squirmy and I asked to put her on the floor in the front room where we were visiting. I laid out Cate’s blanket and down she went with her rattle. I assumed the dog was in its usual place until, all of the sudden, the front door opened and in came my friend’s husband and her crazy, cantankerous, slobbery 70lb. lab, which lunged immediately for my sweet Cate. I have lived to tell you that I have never, ever in my life moved as fast as I did to pick Cate up. I grabbed her, her little body jostling, and held her so close to me I couldn’t believe what I’d done. Cute girl, she didn’t even cry. When I told Sam about it that night the only way I could describe it was sheer instinct. I told him I could never re-enact it. Sometimes I wonder if I would really “do anything” to protect Cate the way people say a mom will, but in that moment … I knew that I would. So did the dog.
Adios for now ... if you got this far, there are two more posts from tonight below.
Nancy, I LOVE your blog. it's a big fresh breath of no BS in motherhood. And Cate is a cutie. Love her smile! I have a BOB stroller that I love more than words can say, and if you follow Baby Cheapskate on FB, they'll let you know where/when you can find deals on them. Currently waiting to see if I can get a deal on a double. I've also looked at the Bumbleride joggers--they're much cuter than BOBs. A little more expensive than BOB, but their price includes car seat attachments and some other accessories--you have to buy all those separate if you get a BOB. I've looked into other brands, but it sounds like the quality is fairly unreliable, or that the stroller is so very heavy that it sort of defeats the purpose of the jogger design in the first place. Apparently Schwinn models have big problems with the front wheel falling off while in motion. Yikes! Anyway, I read customer reviews on Babies R Us and like places, to see what other moms say.
ReplyDeleteWe have approximately 17 strollers which we trade off for different purposes/activities. It's ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteIf you're planning on having more children, spring for a sit-n-stand double. It's my favorite. It's built like a tank and the older child can sit or stand according to how energetic they feel. We take ours to the zoo and traipse all over the miles of trails loaded with kids and gear without thinking about it. It also folds up well for carrying around in the car.
I'm not a big fan of jogging strollers that can't be steered.