new favorite snack......

ok i have to admit this post has nothing to do with casey.......just needed to get it out there.......my new found favorite snack (ok it's not that unusual, just never had it before) is frozen grapes......my mom gave me this enormous bag of red ones, and since steve doesn't like the red ones and i literally would have needed to eat them 24/7 to get through the whole bag before they went bad, i froze them......popped a frozen one in today and much to my surprise they're delicious!!......mmmm.....

a breath of fresh air........

ah, obama is officially president now.......it already feels so refreshing.......during inauguration day yesterday i saw him give at least 5 different speeches on tv (and that wasn't even 1/2 of the ones he gave i'm sure), and they were all relevant, intelligent, reflective and eloquently delivered......he actually flubbed up the inauguration oath itself, but even that made him just look more human and nervous, not dumb and uneducated like the flubs our last president made on a minute-by-minute basis.......i was proud we as a people elected him.......i am proud as an american to be led by him.......i'm hopeful for better days for americans who are now living under dire straits.......so i wasn't there in dc to wish him well, but i took this great photo of our tv!.......good luck mr. president!.......

she's got legs......she knows how to use them......

so bathtime has become a free for all......EVERYTHING in the kitchen gets soaked during bathtime.......i walk through the kitchen hours later after i thought i mopped up all the wet areas and my sock will be soaked after stepping in a puddle i missed......casey's totally figured out how to create tidal waves of water.......she was doing it so much i gave up trying to stop her and just took a picture of it......

officially standing.....

so tonight was the first time casey stood on her own for longer than 2 seconds......probably about 15 full seconds not holding onto or leaning on anything.......it was awesome......we were so excited we were clapping and she kinda looked at us like what's the big deal guys?.......i was psyched steve was there to see it......

yay me.......

so casey's doing this HYSTERICAL thing lately......every time she successfully gets one of those cereal puff things from the table into her mouth, she immediately claps........as if to say, "yay i got it in, yay me!".......i crack up every time she does it.......which is pretty much all day long......of course she also claps after baths and diaper changes too, so she spreads around the appreciation to the bather and the diaper changer as well.......

meat eater......

today was casey's first day of meat!.......because the chicken only baby food jar really gross me out, she had a gerber vegetable chicken dinner......she gobbled it up......she does love her veggies, but i don't see a vegetarian in this one's future......

casey loves her mommy......

so we've reached the point where clearly mommy's the favorite over daddy......i know it's a natural side effect of me staying home with her......good on one hand because i know i'm doing a good job of the stay-at-home mom thing if she's that comfortable with me......but not so good on the other hand when she constantly looks at me (if i'm in the room) or for me (when i'm not) when steve's holding her.......steve's really great about it but i know it bothers him - his "boy casey really loves her mommy" comments say it all......clearly casey loves her daddy too, just she's not quite as used to him as she is me......i know the day will come when she's all about daddy and mommy's not as cool, but until then, i do feel somewhat guilty......it is completely awesome and very humbling though to be loved that much by someone......

reminiscing on '08 and looking ahead to '09

2008 was such a great year for us.......starting the year off pregnant with all sorts of baby hopes and dreams......having a not-to-bad-pain-wise labor.......giving birth to a beautiful perfect little girl to join our family......living in a place that allows you to have 3 months off (even if some of it wasn't paid) to spend with your newborn......having such supportive and generous family and friends who took time to come visit us and bring the baby all sorts of gifts.......finding a good daycare fit near where i worked.......getting laid off and being able to spend the last 4 months of the year with casey.......having a husband who breaks the stereotype and really wants to be a part of every part of casey's life......the great gift of my grandparents' health that they got to meet casey and be part of her life......

of course 2008 did have a few blemishes......one of our goldfish, richard, who had been with me since 2000 died.......one of steve's cousins, paul loring, died young......my grandfather had some health set-backs and spent a good part of the year in a rehab facility......one of my good friends is having a lot of trouble getting pregnant.......an accident caused us to rush casey to the hospital and spend a night at childrens' hospital with a possible skull fracture.......my mom lost her job.......

but overall it was a definite year of overwhelming pluses......and 2009 will be another year with casey and hopefully by the end of the year baby #2, so i know it will be a good one too......

i'm looking forward to being in the pregnant club again although i'm a little worried how it'll affect casey......will i be able to do all the things physically that i want to - run around with her, carry her around, etc?......then there's the whole concept of if i'm capable of loving anyone else as much as casey?......ridiculous questions like will i love kid #2 less? will i love casey less when kid #2 comes? and more rational questions like will casey feel hurt/left out when i have to feed/focus on a newborn? will casey's awesome sleeping through the night trend be totally shot to hell when there's a screaming newborn in the house? float around in my head.......i know it's good for casey to have a sibling and having 2 kids is what steve and i want......it's just these little pesky doubts that get me sometimes.......but i have faith that when baby #2 comes along everything will fall into place and will work out......2009 will be a great year........