Munch and I are back in LA after a wonderful trip down to SD. It was a blast to get all the cousins together to play. We discovered a rather troubling fact, though. It appears that Leina is a toy hog. Yes, my sweet little daughter appears to be one of those annoying kids who always wants whatever toy the other kid is playing with. I can just see her kindergarden personal file… does not play well with others. She also appears to enjoying picking on those who are younger than her. Mainly, Sammy.

Poor little Sammy. He has just learned how to sit up and grab stuff. Only problem was, every time he managed to finally wrap his cubby little fingers around a toy, Leina would lean in and snatch it from is grasp. Unperturbed, he’d work on picking up something else. Once he succeeded, he’d only have a few seconds to revel in his accomplishment before Leina swooped in and snatched it from him again. Even funnier is when she gives him a push and he topples over. I have a hilarious sequence of photos showing this action and will post them once I get back home.

Kevin has been a busy beaver during my absence. He’s managed to quit his job and find new employment. Starting in May, he’ll be an engineer at Novellus. It’s located just south of Portland so it looks like when I get back home I’m going to have to start house hunting.

And, as if this isn’t enough change, the end of a Terry era has occurred. Yes, that’s right, my parents finally put Big Bear on the market and it sold in one day! They have been threatening to sell BB for years now and the timing was finally right. I will always remember hanging dry wall, installing showers and toilets, and reading books while sitting on ceiling joists while listening to mixed tapes made by my boyfriend. My dad also claims he will never forget those mixed tapes either since I forced him to listen to them over and over and over. Ah, the joys of youth!

So I’m treating my time here in PV as a vacation because I have a feeling once I get back to Portland, I’m going to have to kick it into high gear. Just the thought of packing gives me the willies. But Kevin will be making more money (a good thing) and be working less hours (a even better thing) so I’m pleased.

Well, munchkin and I have safely arrived in LA and are settling in nicely. Leina is getting an obscene amount of grandparent lovin’. I don’t know if she’ll ever want to leave.

I’ve called Kevin and he sounds so sad and lonily with only Artie and those pesky cats to keep him company. I knew he was going to miss the munchkin. On our last night at home, I drew up the bath for Leina just like always and Kevin took her into her room to get nekked for bathtime. The water was ready and the towels laid out but no munchkin was in sight. I popped my head into her room to find our what was the hangup and I found Kevin sitting in the rocking chair, holding a totally clothed baby girl. He was just snuggling her and rocking her while she perched in his arms talking up a storm. Poor poppa.

Don’t worry Kev, we’ll be home soon!

Presenting the latest graduate of the Jedi Preschool Academy for Cuteness:

Fresh from a stroll where she used her Baby Jedi Powers to foster happiness and spread cute-ness where ever she went!

Kat called yesterday and made my day. She said only two things but they were like breaks of sunshine through overcast skies.

First, after listening to me grip about by mucusy, crabby, sicko baby, she offered to take her off my hands for a while so I could nap/rest as needed. Now, that’s a good friend!

Second (and more importantly), she gently reminded me that all kids get colds. This is the way of the world. And although it may seems like Leina is suffering and ungodly amount, in reality, she’s just going through normal baby trials. I guess being a mom and spending all day listening to her cough and sneeze, after a while, I’ve convinced myself that she has the world’s most deadliest cold and is on the edge of no return. Having a sane person gently suggest that maybe, just maybe, Leina is a normal child with a normal cold blew my mind.

After talking with Kat, I threw munchkin in the stroller and headed to the park during a sunbreak and what did I find? Every kid there had a cough just like Leina. Every kid there was using their sleeve as the world’s most convient tissue. Even more amazing, all the parents seem unfazed by all of the sneezing and coughing of their child. They were acting like it was normal!

That’s when it hit me. Ok, Leina is sick. Ok, she’s teething. But you know what? She is also OK and so am I.

Armed with the sudden insight, I felt my chest relax and my stomach unclench a little. I think we’re going to make it after all!

Oh yes, I’m sending out more Ofotos of the munchkin enjoying Cheerios. This one was my favorite. I bet you didn’t know that to truely enjoy your O’s, you must first place a few on your shoulder. This enhances their taste. Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself and see!

So what’s worse than a baby getting in a tooth?

A baby who has FOUR teeth coming in at once.

What’s worse than a baby with four teeth coming in at once?

Having a mom who’s sick with the flu while her baby has four teeth coming in at once.

What’s worse than a baby with four teeth coming in at once with a mom who’s sick with the flu?

Having a baby with four teeth coming in at once who is also sick with the flu with a mom who’s sick too.

What’s worse than a baby, with four teeth coming in at once, sick with the flu with a mom who’s sick with the flu?

Having a baby with four teeth coming in at once who is also sick with the flu with a mom who’s sick too and having the dad have to go to work on the weekend while they are home sick.

What’s worse than a baby, with four teeth coming in at once, sick with the flu with a mom who’s sick with the flu and a dad who has to work during the weekend?

Having a baby with four teeth coming in at once who is also sick with the flu with a mom who’s sick too and the dad having to go to work on the weekend while they are home sick and when the dad comes home at 5pm from work on Sunday realizing that your sewer line is backed up and water is running from your kitchen sink down into your basement and into your electrical box!!!!!

So that was Sunday.

Today, things were moderately better. Kevin called into work and told them he was taking a day off. After much cursing and exclaimations of disgust, he managed to unplug the sink line and we have a kitchen sink. However, the munchkin spent the whole day in our arms screaming and/or coughing with mucus running out her nose at an alarming rate. She was inconsolable. I spend much of the day curled on the sofa trying not to cry myself while my own nose ran and my lungs were racked by a wicked cough.

Tomorrow Kevin has to go back to work and I don’t know if I’m going to make it on my own. I suppose it really depends on how good of a sleep I get tonight. Munchkin was up most of the night crying last night and when I wasn’t trying to calm her down I was lying in bed listening to her sobs.

Please, can someone fast forward through this week to the weekend? It’s only Monday and I’m already hanging on by the utmost tips of my fingernails…..

I’m going to have to find time to blog more often because I have so many stories of Ms. Jane. She is growing so fast and doing something utterly amazing every day it seems. Gone is my little blob. Instead I have a real live kid on my hands.

First off, she is still miserable and teething. The second tooth has finally popped through only now I see yet another on the way in. Now, all my baby books state that teeth come in pairs which makes me shudder to think there may be a fourth lurking somewhere just waiting to torture my poor girl. What does she need all these teeth for?!?! All she eats are Cheerios and she can pretty much gum those to death in under 10 seconds. As you can see, she loves her O’s!

Yes, she’s a reacher. She is also a contortionist which means I have learned to put things out of her reach by at least 3 feet. Otherwise, she somehow manages to get her hands on it. Case in point, over the weekend I upgraded her to 6-9M clothing even though it’s a little baggy looking. She was wearing new sleeper and the arms are way long. So where the sleeve ends, you can’t see her hand ’cause it’s hidden up in the sleeve.

So I’m making breakfast Sat morning and puttering back and forth between the table and the kitchen. Fry the egg, put it on the table. Butter the toast, put it on the table. Pour the coffee, put it on the table. I headed for the fridge for some creamer and when I turned around, my heart stopped. Leina was leaning out of her bouncy chair and had just plunged her hand into my hot cup of coffee. I yelled and lurched to the table to grab her poor little hand. Leina, oddly enough, looked up at me and laughed!

My first though was “my goodness she has a high pain tolerance”. Upon further inspection, I realized that her hand was, in fact, hidden up in the sleeve of her sleeper and she had only managed to dunk the end of her sleeve in the coffee. Needlees to say, I was THIS close to having a major heart attack. I’m telling you, she’s Trouble!