Crazy Dancer

This guy makes me happy!

Orchestra

Rehearsals started tonight with a guest conductor.  We were about a half hour late so I am sure he was impressed by that! 

I took Ara swimming at my Mom's house today and she had so much fun.  She reminds me of myself, I just love to be in the water.  Last summer I bought her a life vest to help her float but I always held her to keep her face out of the water.  Now she is so confident in the water she complains if I try to hang on to her.  She really understands how to move in the water to propel herself and to keep her face out of the water.  I keep thinking she will be a little fish by the end of the summer! 

This is going to be an exhausting 5 days with rehearsals and/or concerts every day.  It's hard on all of us.  We have to drive to my Dad's to drop Ara off, then back track 30 minutes to get to the rehearsal.  Immediately afterwards we zip back up to get her and by they time we can finally relax and get Ara in bed it is past 11pm.  Ara's regular bedtime is 7:30 pm.  Every concert cycle A and I wonder if it is worth it.  I hate having to impose on my family to baby sit 5 days in a row until 10:30 at night.  I hate keeping Ara awake that late and dealing with grumpy-girl all the next day.  On the other hand, I miss playing and this is my little sparkle of time to do something for myself.  As tiring as it is, it somehow feeds my soul and makes me feel important for something other than cleaning and driving and answering the constant "momma!" call of duty.  I need that for myself and so every time I ask "is this worth it?" the answer is the same.  That doesn't mean I won't complain though!  I just need a live in nanny. 

Seriously though whenever I day dream of what I would do if I were to win a lottery or casino jack pot I think I would like one of those adorable houses in the old neighborhoods.  With a charming courtyard and a shady spot to put a swing in a garden.  I don't think I would actually have a nanny because raising my daughter is my job!  I would however, like to have a maid, driver, and cook!  Can you imagine having all the time you usually devote to chores and grocery shopping and errands to do with as you please?  Ara and I could have a room devoted to painting and someone to clean up after we get a little wild.  And now I feel guilty!  The life we have now is a dream come true in itself so I will pull my head out of the clouds and look around and be thankful! 

I need to get to sleep, it's 2 am and the madness starts again in 6 hours.

Giant Update

I've been unable to post to my blog for so long I don't know where to begin. 

First off, we moved into the other side of the duplex we were living in.  It's so much nicer than our old place but there is still a little part of me that aches about leaving the house that was Ara's first home.  I finally have cupboards with doors and cooling/HEATING that comes through actual vents.  We have 2 bedrooms now and tile throughout.  I will post some pictures another day when I am not so tired.  I wasn't able to leave any sort of message about moving my blog on fluteloop.com so I doubt anyone will be reading this.  I imagine Ara reading this someday and I enjoy writing so I will continue. 

Ara has grown so much these past few months.  She can hold real conversations now and her curiosity knows no bounds.  She can spin like a real dancer and her new passion is My Little Pony. 

I went to California with Ara and my family at the beginning of May.   We drove and I tried to prepare myself for the most horrific road trip of my life and I was pleasantly surprised.  The kids were really good and they entertained each other.  I do really hate long car rides though and I hope to avoid them for a long time.  The visit was very nice.  We visited with my Dad's family and they all met Ara for the first time.  She declared that she did not like most of them.  I want to stop her from telling people that but at the same time I think she is entitled to her opinion.  I just encouraged her to say it in a nicer way! 

<unknown relative> ARA!  Aren't you a pretty girl!?

<Ara> I don't like you (furtive glance at mother) No thank you please!

That's how it went down the line of loud and adoring Filipino aunties until we went to visit my great grandmother (93 years old).  Ara's great great Grandmother looked into her stubborn little face and giggled!  Ara smiled and started to laugh.  It was a wonderful moment.  I took about 1000 pictures on my Sister's camera but I haven't brought them back to my computers yet.  We were able to spend a lot of time with my Grandmother Regina, and that made my heart ache a little.  I miss her so much and I wish that she could be a regular part of my Ara's life.  I wish that I could watch over her and make sure that she had eatable food and her house was in better repair.  I am glad that we went, I didn't really want to go but this was probably the last chance for Ara to meet her great great Grandma.

Well as far as big updates that is all I can think of for now, I have a lot of time to make up for!

Movable Words

I can't post to my fluteloop.com website because it seems my FTP information is wrong. So... I've decided to move my blog back over to Blogger's site until I can figure that situation out. I may just keep my blog here and use fluteloop.com for design and pictures. Anyway look here for more updates!

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This is a test... I can't seem to update via my Window's Live Writer.

My domain expired on the 10th of this month and I hadn't talked to Jaime about renewing it so I kept expecting it to be gone... but it's not! Thank you once again Jaime you always have my back!

S.T.R.E.S.S (help me!)

Moving is such a hassle!  Even when you are only moving next door to yourself.  Our deadline is this Saturday and it is sandwiched in between concerts and rehearsals and general life-ness.  I pulled something in my right elbow yesterday, I keep lifting things that are too heavy but if I don't this effort will never be finished.  We still have SOOOO much to do.  The biggest problem is that the new house has less places to stash things.  More bedrooms but less storage and wall space.  So we have the new house set up all pretty and non-cluttered and the old place is sitting there full of clutter.  We have purged a good amount but more will have to go. 

Today has been crazy.  I had a morning rehearsal at the Fox Theatre so my Mom helped me out by taking Ara to the Children's Museum so I could be at rehearsal for at least the Debussy and Tan Dun Pieces.  I left early, picked them up, did A's bank errand, picked up lunch, dropped off my Mom, and came home.  Ara was in need of a bath but I cannot get the pilot lit on our water heater.  I know nothing about water heaters and until today I have never even really looked at one.  Ours is in an outside shed that is full of spider webs and other scary things.  I read the instructions and turned the knob things and pushed the pilot lighter and sort of jabbed the lighter at the thing I thought looked like the ignition spot.  It's amazing that such expertise did not produce results right?  I WANT HOT WATER.  So I put Ara's little bathtub out on the porch and she went "swimming" in it.  Then I put her to bed and I was really looking forward to a little down time but it was not to be.  Ara filled her diaper with poop then got out of bed and took off her diaper.  After everything in her room had a nice coating of poop she called me in.  So I spent the last hour re-bathing her, hand washing all her bedding, and scrubbing her rug and tile floor.  I also got to call A's Mom to ask her if she would come to our house earlier.  He called me from work twice to tell me to call her, his excuse was that he didn't have time to call her.  So I got to be the bad guy and listen to her silence and sighs.  Yes, she was THAT dramatic.  You know I feel buried in life right now and I feel guilty that my brother, dad, and sister have taken the brunt of watching Ara until late 3 days this week.  I just don't know who else to ask for help.  But I DO need it.  I had a dream that I was in labor and I had forgotten the phone number of the birth center and A wouldn't help me.  He just sat at the computer.  Actually in the dream he was talking to some girl on the computer but he doesn't do that in real life so I don't know why I would dream that.   Anyway between moving and all the rehearsals I feel stressed and just in desperate need of someone to vent to and to lean on and to lift heavy things for me!  

Saturday is tomorrow and the impossible task is looming.

Ara Update

I haven't really posted about Ara's development lately so I thought I would just put up a list of sorts.

• She has been able to count to 1 1 in English and 10 in Spanish for a while now.
• She has mastered all the basic colors.
• When she draws she has amazing control.  She drew two small circles and told me they were glasses. 
• She can build impressive structures with legos and blocks.
• She is very communicative with her feelings.  When strangers talk to her she usually tells them that she is a little scared and that she is shy!
• She can tell you her name and age.
• She knows the words to several songs and sings constantly.

Today Ara said the most hilarious thing!  She said she had "diaper crash"!  We are working on potty training and she is wearing the pull up diapers.  The pull ups are significantly more expensive than the regular kind and Ara likes to take them off for no reason and throw them away.  Last week she took off her pants and diapers, put on her dress shoes and a santa hat and came walking into the living room as proud as she could be!

 

We are in the process of moving and Ara is very excited about her new room.  I just hope she will sleep in it!

Hot Water

  Ara and I had a play date today at a wonderful park.  We met my friend Renee and her daughter who just turned one.  Renee suggested the park and I had never been so when we got there I was in awe.  It was beautiful. 

"A unique 101-acre park with a perennial warm spring flowing into three large ponds, The water source has attracted a wide variety of waterfowl and other wildlife species. Human habitation has been found to date back about 5,500 years. The site makes for a perfect place for a picnic or day hike."

The water is as clear as glass and the fish are surprisingly colorful and exotic looking. 

Ara fed the ducks and the fish and was one happy little toddler. 

I enjoyed getting out to try something new, it was so much nicer to go to this nature preserve than to our main park with it's artificial blue water and creepy guys walking around.  It was also nice to have some adult conversation whenever Ara would let me!

Lights Out

Piccolo Concerto!~

It's OVER!  I feel such a sense of relief that the concerts are over. 

I had fun, I really did and it was a good experience.  I got to give the world premiere of a strange and wonderful piece.  I felt honored by my fellow orchestra members and that was amazing and surprising.  They were all very supportive and through it all I felt more like one of them then I ever have.  I met and worked with the composer who has led a fascinating life.  He was trying to talk A into playing his trumpet concerto next year!  Lol. 

The first performance was tense.  I was so nervous and the crowd was so full and CLOSE to me.  I don't like it when people are so close!  Megan, Pat, and my Dad all came to see me and it really meant so much to me that they were there.  Afterwards I was invited to a reception and so many people came up to me with smiling faces to say that they enjoyed the performance.  I admit I was really insecure about the audience liking it.  And me for that matter.  So unless they were lying (if they were thank goodness they are good liars) they didn't hate it. 

The second performance was last night in an adjacent town.  It was HOT the air was stuffy and I couldn't swallow my mouth was so dry.  Strangely, though I was so much more relaxed and I felt it was a good performance. 

On the way home I had several random Highway thoughts:

Driving one of those Semi(?) trucks seems like it could be kind of cool.  What a life, driving along all alone for days on end.  Every day would be a road trip day!

I wonder why Europe is always more environmentally conscious than we are?  I mean my city used to have a trolly that ran down town but other than that the public transport is a fleet of stinky polluting buses.  Why have we never considered electric buses? 

I have to drive down there again soon for a quintet performance, so I though here is an opportunity for me to car pool and start living more green.  Then I thought about how much I enjoy my alone time, which is almost exclusively in the car.  Or sometimes in the bathroom but that is no guarantee.

Then I thought about how my friend Brandon used to live near there and how he is gone now.  Then I thought about my old quintet and I missed late night goof ball rehearsals before competitions. 

There were a couple University people who played on this concert.  I exchanged numbers with the Flute player.  She was nice and she had a very pretty sound.  I think about her like she lives in another world.  A world I used to live in but now it seems so strange and far away.  I am a Mommy now and I can't relate to people who can devote 7 hours to playing flute anymore.  I felt a twinge of regret and longing when that thought hit me.  I wish that I could be the player that used to practice that much.  I felt so much more confident and brave back then.  That's not to say that my playing hasn't grown since I have been out of school.  I think my teaching has helped me to grow and develop in different ways.  But there is no substitute for regular practice.  Regrets, sure but really I would not change anything about my Mommy status.

 

Ara is a diarrhea factory since yesterday.  There is a Mommy perk you all could have gone without hearing about I bet!

Blog or Pensive?

I am sick.

This week has been stressful.

Renee lent me her piccolo, so I won't have to play on the rented student model I currently have.

Ara has been sick for going on 5 days now, she even threw up again on Tuesday at the park.

Joey had spring break this week so I watched him on Tue and Thurs.  He was really good but this week has just felt so crazy.

The crazy week isn't over until next Monday night.

I have completely fallen off the healthy eating wagon and it's no wonder I have no energy.

Rehearsal tomorrow (A's Mom is coming over to watch Ara)

Pic Lesson on Saturday.

Rehearsal on Saturday.

Performance on Saturday.

Easter.

Performance on Monday.

I need to remember to cancel my Saturday students ack, totally spaced that.  I think I might cancel my lesson too.  I really wanted to run that by Kashy but the rehearsal is later than I thought and it's all too much I think.  At this point it will either go well or it won't I think.  There isn't much point to cramming.  Except on the cadenza which I have been ignoring! 

 

I read this poll in my Parents Magazine asking if people thought it was ok to put videos of their children on You Tube.  67% (ish) said no and the quotes from parents were alarming.  They basically were saying that putting your child's images online was inviting weirdo's to target them.  My first reaction was fear, I immediately thought about taking down all personal information and images I have of Ara on my blog.  Then I started thinking, why is it that we fear the internet so much?  If Ara's picture came out in the Newspaper I think my Mother in Law would be thrilled and proud.  But the very idea that I would put her son or granddaughter's images on the internet terrifies her.  Is it because the internet is worldwide?  Is the fear based on sheer numbers of possible views?  If so why should that be something to fear?  I'm not even saying I don't feel the same on some level, because I really really do.  I am just trying to understand it.   Somehow, someone far away seems more menacing than a neighbor.  If I took Ara to a mall, hundreds of people could see her but that isn't scary is it?  If it was... I think I would be blogging about a different topic, right? lol.  The truth is, and when I say this I sound paranoid but the truth is that the people living close to us shouldn't be considered more or less of a threat than people we  can't see and don't know on the internet.  I like blogging because I can speak my mind and be personal but to the general reader I am basically anonymous.  I don't know, I certainly don't want Ara's beautiful pictures to fall into the hands of a freak but on the other hand I love that this is a place to express myself.  All of myself , including my love for my daughter. 

Transformer Phones!~

So I recently replaced my wireless phone and I chose a phone that has video and photo capabilities (and it plays Mp3's but whatever right?).  I am excited to have a phone that can take pictures but at the same time I keep thinking that we expect too much from our phones.  Why does everything have to be multipurpose?  I have an Mp3 player and a digital camera so I felt that having those functions on my phone were more of a novelty than anything else.  Especially since the phone is only the best at being a phone.  My iPod and camera put it to shame in the categories of photos and happy musical playlists.  Soon we will want our TV's to be refrigerators and wouldn't it be nice if my kitchen sink could cook dinner and wash the dishes!  Yeah!  Anyway, sarcasm aside I have really been seeing the convenience in the camera phone.  Being the geek mother that I am I usually do carry my camera but there have already been several times when something photo worthy was happening and the phone was much closer at hand than the camera.  So I am convinced.  All tiny electronic devices should have many purposes! 

 

P.S. If someone could tell me an easier way to get the pictures from the phone to my computer that would be great, thanks!

Fairy Princess

I put on my solo dress today and asked Ara if she thought I looked pretty. She nodded and said that I looked like a princess! My eyes welled up and I gave her sniffy kisses all over her face!

Then I performed my concerto for her.

Half way through the piece she yelled, "Momma stop playing picc-low NOW... pweeze".

Lol.

My new practice technique is to run out of the room playing whenever a high note passage is coming so that I only ruin my own hearing. I will be going to the UA to practice again tonight and I have earplugs this time so I feel sorry for all of the people who will be within earshot of me. I hope I find a practice room door open again!

My Stress-Out List

• Concerto!!!
• memorization
• accompaniment
• dress
• child care during the MANY rehearsals
• I need a place to practice where I can blast the high notes!
• Car registration (it is still smoking so I doubt it is going to pass)
• Car accident today
• Quintet rehearsal and music right smack in stress week
• Jury Duty

Solo

I had to make a list of all the things stressing me out right now because I feel like if I write them down maybe they will be easier to handle.  I used to carry around this stress about performances when I was in school, I thought I had outgrown it but here it is and here I am.  I think it is due in large part to the fact that this is a piccolo concerto and I have never soloed on pic, let alone on my sad little Artley that has been in need of repair for years.  I have found that I am very reluctant to have any of my instruments repaired.  I know that is strange, and don't tell my students because I regularly lecture them on this very subject.  I guess I am superstitious and/or lazy.  I don't want anyone messing up my instruments.  How is that possible since there is actually tape holding together my foot joint?  Don't look for logic here, there is none.  Now that I have typed that out I see how stupid I am being and I will make an attempt to track down someone who can do the work.  I already know I am going to be half hearted about it lol.  I am secretly hoping someone will save me and lend me their awesome piccolo for the performance and that I will magically be comfortable on it.  Let's leave that topic alone, I stress myself out!

 

I talked to my old professor today and he is going to see me in a week or so when he gets back into town.    I think having his blessing will help my confidence.  Although if he is horrified with my playing, that will not help lol!

I bought a dress last week at Ross!  I recently discovered I love that store lol.  So, I found this dress that I loved and it was $25 which is a fraction of the other dresses I have been looking at and I loved it for a week.  Now, I'm not sure.  I need to find some sort of little shawl thing to wear with it and that seems hard.  Also it isn't floor length it's mid calf which makes me feel less fancy than most of the soloist I can remember.  I don't know.  We will see how I feel next week.

 

Car Accident

Ara and I were rear ended today as we made our way home from a long list of errands.  We were approaching the railroad crossing when the lights suddenly started flashing.  The road approaches the crossing from under an highway overpass so I had no warning visually that a train was even coming.  I had to stop suddenly and BAM the car behind me slams into us and pushes the car ominously close to the tracks.  I try to reverse but I have no room and I am gesturing wildly to the car that hit us to back up as the mechanical arm slowly descends onto the roof of our car.  I don't even have to turn my head to know that  a train is racing towards us, the nose of the car is still too close to the tracks.  At this point I am in reverse and I am prepared to move the car behind me with force if she doesn't wise up!  She inches backwards and Ara and get to watch a train wizzing by close up.  The force of the wind rocks the car, the sound is deafening, I am shaking and asking Ara over and over if she is ok.  She on the other hand is thrilled to be so close to a train. 

I have always held people who get hit by trains in contept.  I would always say, "how can you NOT see a train is coming?"  Now I know and I am truly sorry. 

My back, neck, and abdomen hurt but Ara seems completely unaffected.  I am having trouble letting go of all the "what ifs" though and I am back to cringing every time I watch a car approach in the rear view mirror. 

 

Jury Duty

I can't believe they are sticking me with jury duty AGAIN!  I have never known someone who gets called as often as I do.  I think there is some lazy government clerk out there who keeps choosing me because my last name starts with an A!  He is too lazy to turn to the next page when he "randomly" picks people (notice in my scenario the incompetent is male).  I am going to actually try to get out of it this time, I never have in the past but I have Ara and I cannot be on some jury for a week.  Besides, I have small faith in our 'system' anyway.  Sorry punks that is how I roll.  I freely criticize and do nothing towards correcting.  Bite me.

 

I can't find a comfortable way to sit or lay, my back is crack-y.

Pictures with very few Words!

Ara and her reflection as she gazes at the lion enclosure at the zoo.


...

A day at the park! Ara has no fear and can go down even the tallest slides without any help!

Ara Mp3

purplecar.mp3

I have been recording Ara talking while she sits at the table doing art.

I left the door open because it was such a lovely evening and all three of us were in the kitchen. Ara looked out the door where she could see our car sitting there and she said, "the purple car is sad". I think maybe because the car was outside and we were all inside, either way I just thought it was adorable.

What mothers are really worth?

Every weekend A and I have the same problem, he feels like his days off should be more relaxing and I feel like I never get days off.  Yesterday we had a short argument.  I was mad because he is always conveniently missing when diapers need to be changed, nap time is approaching, meals need to be prepared, or Ara needs a bath.  In fact I would say he has given her a bath on his own probably twice in the past year.  That is not to say that he hasn't sometimes helped wash her hair or watched her while I ran to get something.  This is the norm though, I am in charge of all of Ara's basic needs all the time.  I basically run every single aspect of our lives.  I can't say I don't empathize with him when he has had a hard week, like he had last week and he wants some R&R time.  Of course I understand I want some down time too!  I have on several occasions noticed he looked tired and short tempered and offered to take Ara on outings to give him time to himself.  The weekend before last I took her to my Dad's while I taught and then spent the day there.  Alex had more than 8 hours of alone time.  I can't even explain what I would give to have eight whole hours to myself. 

I love that I am raising my daughter.  I love that Ara smiles when I say she is in Mommy school.  I know that everyday I spend with her I am making a difference. 

These are important things to know.  I have in the past struggled with our decision to keep her out of daycare.  I have struggled with my own feelings of self worth.  This is probably something that every person goes through.

Being a first time Mom I still feel like I am in the Novice levels and there are a lot of aspects of stay at home Mom-ing that surprise me.  Not the least of which is a significant number of people I interact with (including my Mother-in-law) give me the impression that they think I do nothing all day.  Perhaps raising children is a mystery to parents who have not done it 24/7.  How could the booming childcare industry get away with charging parents over $100 a day if this were an easy job?  That's right, $110 for 6-8 hours of childcare.  I am on call 24 hours a day.  I am only physically apart from Ara for 4 hours on Saturday while I work.  I don't get sick days, vacation days, or overtime pay.  

I don't mean to sound like this isn't my choice and that I don't feel lucky to have this opportunity.  I also don't care if those people give me condescending looks when they ask what I did all day.  What I want is some effort and appreciation on A's part for the role I play in our family.  During our argument yesterday day he pointed out that we ate dinner out a lot last week and that he felt that was giving me a break.  I pointed out that he left work at 5 pm and asked him when he felt my job ended?  It's nice to eat out and not have to worry about cooking and cleaning but why is that my sole responsibility?  Didn't I put in my 8 hours of work the same as him?  Didn't I already prepare and clean up after 2 meals during the day?  The world needs to get wise.  Mother's work damn hard and we are the toughest most passionate people around.  I should have the final say in all things including but not limited to physical pain (hello drug free birth), emotional pain, love, sleep derivation, frustration, and joy. 

I looked up Stay-at-Home parent on salary.com to see what my current market value is the following is a quote:

"Based on a 90-hour work week, Salary.com has estimated that a fair wage for the typical stay-at-home mom would be well over $90,000 for executing all of her daily tasks. Factor in overtime, and the appropriate salary takes a leap of around $25,000."

I have vented and I feel a bit better.  After our argument I felt frustrated and impotent.  I stay at home and in the eyes of society at large and A that is something small and insignificant.  But, in the eyes of my daughter that is everything.

A Sunday Afternoon~

Library

Story time:  Every Thursday Ara and I head to the library for Toddler Storytime.  The conference room is usually packed full with 2-3 year olds and their grown-ups.  The grown-ups are mostly Mom's but there is always a smattering of Dads and Grandparents.  We all sit on the floor and enjoy a half hour of singing, dancing, and yes even a few stories.  Ara still has a very hard time sitting still.  You can see she is bursting with excitement and anticipation of her favorite songs and sitting still is almost more than she can take.  As adorable as I think this is I worry that I am not teaching her how to behave in certain situations.  When I say that I feel like such a prude.  Why shouldn't a 2 year old be boisterous and bouncy when in a room of her tiny peers?  It seems natural.  I hate that I always have to be the advocate for conforming!  I am like the borg (nerdy trekie reference sorry).  I feel self conscious about it because I look around at a the majority of kids sitting on the grown-ups laps looking quite content.  What is expected of me?  Should I force Ara to sit with me while she squirms and screams?  Is the fact that she squirms and screams a sign that I have already failed to show her how to act?  One of the teachers at the parent class told me that I need to tell Ara that "we" sit still at storytime and if "we " can't then we should go.  I tried that, the problem is that she is half way across the room before I have finished the sentence.  So I tried prepping her ahead of time.  The day before, the morning of, in the car on the way.  It boils down to the one unavoidable truth: it's my fault!  For every undesirable behavior your little angel exhibits you share the blame.  What could I have done to prevent this?  What should I do in the future?  How can I help her to understand?  My problem is that I also struggle with the "why" I have to stop her from being her.  I love that she is creative, spontaneous, enthusiastic, and out going.  I don't want to take that out of her.  I also don't want her to miss out on an important lesson that would help her in the future.  Maybe I missed an important lesson when I was growing up.. I seem to lack the ability to make up my mind!  I want what is best for Ara and overall I feel good about taking her to these things and I feel good about the progress she is making.  She talks about her friends at the library with a huge smile and that makes me feel like a good mom!

Making-ed a snow man!

Ara has been on a mission to prove to us that our baby proofing efforts no long apply to her! 

In her room she has a dresser for her clothes and a second plastic dresser for pajamas and diaper changing supplies.  Last week I put her down for a nap and after about a half hour of silence I hear her adorable little voice singing songs.  She does that sometimes to fall back asleep so I wasn't concerned I let her sing thinking she would be a sleeping angel again in no time.  I was wrong so very wrong.  She did quiet down, but instead of sleeping like I assumed, she was exploring her room in the dark. 

She called out to me about an hour later and as I opened the door I was surprised to find her standing there.  I reached out to her before turning on the light and when I touched her hair I recoiled!  I flipped the light switch and saw a strange sight.  I said, "Ara, what is this all over you?".  Then I looked into the room... the first thing I noticed was the pile of cotton balls on her bed.  Then the pile of wipes next to her bed.  Then the diaper drawer standing open with a smattering of diapers around it.  Finally I noticed the diaper cream tube at the center of a very gooey white mess.  I looked back down at Ara and she smiled. 

She looked proudly at her work and told me, "Making-ed a snow man!". 

She was absolutely covered in diaper cream, her hair was stiff and sticking straight up, her arms were white, even the inside of her nostrils!  I guided her to the kitchen sink where I started to undress her, all the while trying (unsuccessfully) to not become covered in white myself.  When I pulled down her diaper I discovered that it was full of poop and that the containment barrier had broken!  So there I am, my shirt covered in diaper cream, my hands smeared with poop.  My daughter is in an even worse state and I just had to laugh a little.  What amazing havoc a small person can cause. 

I washed her hair 5 times, it still felt all stiff and weird and smelled very strange.  She complained loudly while I cleaned it out of her ears and nose.  The cream itself refuses to come out of her clothes and the smell is probably permanent in her bedroom carpet. 

My only regret is that I didn't take a picture.

And, yes we did remove all diaper related items from her room!

She also recently discovered that toy boxes can be emptied, turned over, and used as ladders to reach things up high. 

She can climb anything but she especially likes to climb all of the ladders (otherwise know as bookshelves) around the house.

She can open doors now.

She can reach all of the old places we use to put things she shouldn't have!  So now those things are so high even I can't reach them half the time!

The list goes on and on.  Sometimes I long for the pre-crawling days where she would stay right where you put her!  Mostly, though I am in awe at her development and although I try not to show it, I am amused by her catastrophes.