It has been a long time, I know. Life is just a lot busier with a toddler and if there is anything I have learned this year is that you have to appreciate every moment because it goes by FAST!

I am losing my baby. She's becoming more and more independent with her own mind about what she wants to do. She gets everywhere. She's not walking, but I am totally sure it's entirely due to desire. She crawls fast and can pull herself up on stuff (or without help if she wants) and can stand and balance on her own, but learning to walk is too slow. She wants to MOVE!

She has been in very good health for a baby. I say this as we have just gotten over her head cold that turned into double ear infections. This is her first ear infection, and my pediatrician said "she's due." Now Dan and I are fighting off her cold. Haha.

Since the weather has been so warm, I took her outside and let her play on the lawn. She didn't know what to make of it. She was fine if I broke off an individual blade of grass and handed it to her but was freaked out by so much at once. She's slowly warmed up to this outdoors thing the more often I do it. Last night she stretched out of my lap to see why the clover patch looked so different. Too cute.

( Plush Chuthulu and Tofu frohawk )

It has been forever I know. The baby has been really getting around. She's not walking yet, but I think it's because she crawls so fast! There is no incentive to walk when she can get there twice as quickly on all fours.

I'm pretty sure we're getting into toddler territory even though she isn't walking and hasn't said words. She likes to test limits and has been playing me! When she's doing something she's not supposed to do I tell her no and she will turn from what she's doing to give me a big pout and cry. When Dan tells her no, she'll turn from what she's doing and do something else without complaint. I'm being played!

It makes me really happy she is growing so strong and so smart that she CAN be able to play me like that. Hahaha. Also she's able to get down for naps without boobie time. I'm going to try to keep nursing until she's a year old, but it's nice to have just a little bit more of independence.

Here is a stupid fact that I wondered about when I discovered they made a Spanish language version of Dora the Explorer. If English version Dora speaks Spanish, does Spanish version Dora speak English? The answer to that is yes she does.

Alright, time to go get a shower or eat or something for living like a human being.

No time for a real update. Baby is mobile. Life is good.

I forgot about this video I taped recently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeS3Ub-Ds7E

Baby and I both have light colds. Must be the change in weather. House of sniffly noses. Bleh.

Sorry for those who wanted an update on this. Baby has gotten more mobile, so I have gotten more busy.

So far she knows how to crawl backwards, roll, and rotate. She is STARTING to figure out the forward crawl but still hasn't quite mastered it yet.

She has also started to babble. Usually it's just "Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba Da Da Da Da" repeated, but it's still cute.

( Pictures~ )

I have some really great neighbors where I live, and it's not uncommon for me to walk across the street, knock on their door, and be welcomed in for some conversation. This is great for a socially deprived new mom. Aaanyways. One of my neighbors likes to tell me that when you have kids, you lose your identity. You are no longer you. You are mom.

It's true. When I see my sisters it's not "Oh hey Erin. How ya been?" It is "Where's the baby! I want to play with the baby!" When I get together with my friends, what do we talk about? Our kids. I mean even this journal is proof of the transformation.

The funny thing is, I don't mind it at all.

( Only one picture. C'mon, I gave you a long movie last post. )

Also, I have a big baby. For her four month well-visit, the pediatrician told me "she looks great, keep up the good work." Well, she is in the 90th percentile for weight and 95th for length. I haven't had definitive biceps quite like this before, or calluses on my hands in these place (from carrying the car seat around). "Minor superpowers" one of my parent friends likes to call them. Stuff like folding laundry one handed or identifying your baby's cry from a couple rooms away or carrying a load of groceries along with a car seat and 16lb baby. Minor superpowers.

She has been fussy about her vaccinations, but has been better than the last round. I think it is just that I have improved in the art of distraction (minor superpower). Also, this time I remembered which thigh the tetanus one was and try not to hold her with that one. I figure tetanus hurts adults, so no wonder why my baby would be fussy.

So I haven't done a fandom rant in a while, mostly because I don't really have time now a days. My time doing fandom type things happens while watching whatever I can get streaming on Netflix during any breastfeeding sessions. Babies really keep you busy. Oh, and I have been reading fic while she is asleep in the morning to just give myself a good wake up, chill out, mommy sanity time. I love mommy sanity time.

In light of the new Avatar series (which makes me super excited), I have been rewatchinig the old series. Fun fun. I also made the mistake of watching the movie. I was smart enough to stop after 15 minutes however. It was just that bad. For the rest of the day, I couldn't get out of my head about how bad it was and why. I figured comparing it to the series isn't a good enough foil. Let's try it against something potentially as bad.

My analysis: Avatar the Movie vs. The Ember Island Players

For special effects, the movie wins. I will admit that I think they did a good job on that. The Ember Island players were still pretty athletic though and gave it their best for "current technology". An almost draw.

For casting, the EIP win. At least everyone looks approximately the same, even if you changed the costumes. I would have had no idea that Katara from the movie was actually Katara if you had changed her costume. I will give props to Aang's tattooes though. I think those were done pretty bad-ass-ily. That's a word.

For acting, the Ember Island Players hands down. There at least is an attempt to keep some characterization (ambient very exaggerated ones). In the movie, Katara has no teeth. Sokka has no humor. Aang is...quiet. Zuko...well Zuko is still a prick but not because of insecurity but more because the actor just didn't have much emotion to him either. This was my biggest grievance towards the movie. I watch the series for the characters. Watching them grow and change from sheltered and confused kids to wiser and more well rounded almost adults. It's like reading Harry Potter for the magic or to see if Voldemort dies. NO, you read Harry Potter to watch these confused sheltered kids be faced with huge amounts of responsibility and struggle to overcome it in their unique ways. Movie: THIS is why you truly suck.

Conclusion: The Ember Island Players did a better job at portraying the story than the Movie did. I don't need to explain why this is sad.

My little monkey is starting to teethe. No teeth sprouting yet, but there is drool EVERYWHERE, and if she can manage to get something in her mouth she will bite down. (Not very fun for me as a breastfeeding mom.)

We just got back from a week up at my grandmother's, her great-grandmother's, house. It was fun, but we had all sorts of grand plans for the week. We never did any of them however because it was just SO HOT! It was dangerous for my grandmother and also for my little girl, and I need to avoid the sun anyways. So it was a whole lot of lounging around in her central air home and playing with the baby. Very nice visit. I really have a huge amount of respect for my grandma. She has had a tough life and is tough as nails to match it. But she is still such a generous and sincere person with so much wisdom. Definitely a very nice visit.

( What you really read my posts for )