It was my Mom's birthday on Monday -- she is 60 years old. As what is commonly said, she said she doesn't really know what 60 feels like. Frank had made her a rainbow cake and as far as I know that was it. I still need to buy her a card and send her a present. She said that she wanted fairy stamps. Ugh. I hate contributing to her mighty collection of crap but if that is what she wants then I'll find it. But wow...60. I wonder what it will be like when I turn 60. I hope that it's a big deal for my family. Let's see, how old would Morella be then..she would be 28 and Crouton would be 26. Wow. I also sincerely hope that I still have friends at that age.

Since my Mom has so few friends I grew up thinking it was normal for an adult to not have any friends -- that is what you have family for right? But, I don't want that. I want friends, which is why I work hard at keeping up with people, even if I don't seem them all the time or hardly ever -- it's that once or twice a year effort that makes a difference (For out of towners). My Dad has friends -- thank goodness. They come and and check up on him, play a game of horseshoes etc. My Gaga had friends too, but clearly by the end of her life there were fewer and fewer... :(

I took a bath with Morella this morning. It wasn't my original intent really. I wanted to take a shower, but as soon as she saw me getting ready to do it she wanted to take a bath. I offered shower but she ran out of the bathroom buck naked and into the office where she slammed the door until I came to my senses. Hence, a bath. And it was cold! I like steamy hot showers or baths -- not this better than lukewarm business. Then again, should I be cold taking a bath in SUMMER!? No. Likely not. After the bath, she ran into her room, closed the door as much as she could and went into her crib. I got dressed and then went in there to put a diaper and some clothes on her. She threw the biggest fit all week about it!

She has been signing "more" for anything she wants to do. Tim thinks she is losing language... I think she is just getting lazy and we need to be consistent in showing her the signs for what she wants and sticking with them. Especially since she had learned "yes" the other week and now uses it in affirmation of things she wants when we ask her. She clearly understands what we are saying much better than before. I am looking forward to when she actually starts talking and verbally telling us what she wants. But despite all that incredible babble she puts out, she still has very few words. Maybe it will be like when she learned to walk. She didn't show any real interest in it until a week or two before she started walking and then one day...she started walking and was very, very good at it. Besides, the doctor did say they start doing more of that talking near the the two year mark. I still think of Morella as a one and halfer.

Anyway. So she threw this huge fit and I signed her sign for bed and put her in it, and said she was going to take a nap. It then the crying and whining turned into full on rage. I shut off the light, threw out the cats and closed the door. She howled for about two minutes and now she in there sort of laying around talking to herself. She has been spending a lot of time in her crib the past couple of days. It's nice that she can climb in there by herself, but I wish she could also climb out. You know? I do and I don't. I would have to really baby proof her room for her to be in there by herself unsupervised. Maybe that should make my list of goals I want to accomplish.

It's another rainy overcast day. Except, unlike yesterday where it was dry and sort of sunny in the morning, today it is not. Morella slept in until 8 and we made it to 7.15 before the cats started bothering us.

She is crying again. It is too early for her nap especially considering she slept so late....hm. I'll wait until she does it again.

Crouton is really moving up a storm right now. I had my final ultrasound for her on Monday afternoon. No cute pictures were given to me, and I didn't' even get to see her face. It was all business this time. Crouton is measuring right on target for 33 weeks and some change but it still took a long time to get the measurements because babies are big at this stage. My back seat ultrasound reading saved the day when I noticed that one of the measurements for the head was off putting Crouton at 26 weeks...instead of 33. I pointed it out the technician who took a few minutes to understand what i was saying before she corrected it. She thanked me twice afterward and said the doctor would have caught that and then we would have been there a lot longer. As it was it took an hour! Laying on my back for that long was difficult because it's so hard to breath then.

I rearranged the bedroom so that we can accommodate the cosleeper. I still need to work on fixing up the joint and making all magazine spread nice. I don't know if that will ever happen, but a girl can dream right? I have high hopes for the office too. And the kitchen. Oh speaking of which, the dishwasher is awesome! Not having dirty dishes around and the big drying rack for them really makes our counter space look down right generous. We have used it twice now and both times it has cleaned the dishes. Woo! Now I just need to make emptying it every morning part of the daily routine, sort of like making the bed. Now I always make the bed at least 1 hour after getting up, if not right away. It makes the room look so much more tidy when the bed is made.

Oh there is some more complaining from Morella's room. I better go.