Nostalgia, sniff, sniff.

It really has surprised me, this weird, wistful nostalgia as Bitty Girl grows and passes milestones. We don't want another baby. Not even a little bit.

It's just the thought of never having another baby in the house seems so odd and final. And while we (meaning dear husband) love to get rid of baby things we won't ever use again, it gives me a twinge of the heart to say goodbye to them forever.

And I spend so much time thinking about how much easier some things will be when they're older, that I surprise myself when I get caught thinking that I love some things just the way they are. Or the way they were.

Bitty Girl was riding her trike today, and I guess it's been a while since I've seen her on it. Somehow she can get on and off by herself, reach the pedals, back up, and lean precariously off the side without falling.

Yes, I fixed her helmet after the picture.

Here's a little cycling action. Just because you can reach pedals doesn't mean you have to use them. Look out Lance Armstrong!

Maybe it's the big girl bed that's making me all sappy. She loves it, and has slept wonderfully in it from the start. She does say that she misses her crib sometimes, and I think, "So does Mama." I love being able to lie down and snuggle with her, but it's a BIG GIRL BED.

(updated picture with less obnoxious purple comforter coming soon)

And she wants to walk everywhere by herself. Which is good--30 pounds is heavy to lug around. But it's such a big girl thing to walk up the stairs at the Y or out in a parking lot. Lucky she still likes to hold my hand.
And eat big sandwiches. No crusts, please.

Just kidding. She still lets me cut her sandwiches. This was just one time she asked for the big one.

Did we watch?

Yes we did!

Are we excited?

Yes we are! (click the photo to see what excited looks like up close)

This is what hope for the future looks like. But usually she has neater hair.

And her Daddy hopes that the future brings a bigger television.

Speaking of moments...

This one will never come again.

Sweet little piggies sticking out of the bars of her crib.

Because tomorrow we put up her big girl bed.

Yes, I know we really should wait until she crawls out of her crib on her own, or take the front railing off the crib first. But we found a bed we liked, she's excited about it, so we're going for it.

She's excited about it. Not quite sure if Mama is ready for this. I can't help myself--I've been sneaking in to take pictures of her while she's sleeping. "Last Days in the Crib" photos. I keep waiting for her to wake up and ask what the heck I'm doing.

Sick, I know... But she's so snuggly.

She'll probably need these as proof for her therapist to explain the weird dreams and fears of flashing lights at night.

I am excited for the matching blankets thing. Looking at the mishmosh color combos in these pictures hurts my eyes. Maybe if I turn off the camera and leave her to sleep in the dark, the colors wouldn't bother me so much.

sniff, sniff. Stay tuned for the Big Girl Bed update. We hope excited about the bed = will sleep in new bed as well as in crib.

Excuse us while we have a moment.

To you, it's nothing special, but it made me cry the other day.

This music box has been with us for six years. It's part of the infant mobile set we got when the Boy was born.

At first, I thought it was completely obnoxious and that it would scare him. Plus it didn't match his nursery decorations very well. But it got great reviews, so we tried it.

My mom put him in the crib under the crazy mobile at about 6 weeks and he was completely transfixed. The love affair continued until he was old enough to roll up onto his side and grab it, and then again after a brief pause and crib mattress-lowering.

The music box was the best part. Because after he was too big to have the mobile hanging over his crib, we kept the music box around for bedtime music. It was calm, soothing, and lasted 15 minutes, way longer than the wind up mobiles. We took it to Grandma's house, and on vacation with us. It was a part of the family!

I still remember the day he said, "Mommy. No music. Take it out of my room please." He was about 2 1/2.

So we packed it up until Bitty Girl came along. Somewhere along the way the mobile stopped spinning around, so she mostly just got the music box. But we loved it, for 2 1/2 more years. Then one day, she asked for it to come off her crib, and for "no music please." But she still wanted to play with it, so it soothed her dollies to sleep for a few weeks.

But now we decided it's time to pass it on to another baby. And I got a little sad. And cried.

Since Bitty Girl is the last one, there are a lot of "lasts" coming up with her.

We thought about keeping it, but you know, a 36 yr old with a baby music box on her dresser is just a little bit weird.

Mini Martha

On our last visit to see my mom, Bitty Girl started what I hope is a life of being a better party-thrower than her Mama.

Her first big step was asking if she could go over and play at Auntie Caff-rin's house by herself. (Auntie Catherine's house is another unit in cohousing, about 500 feet from my mom's unit, just a walk down the path)

She said, "Mommy, can I go to Caff-rin's house?

I said, "By yourself with Catherine?"

She said, "Yes!"

When I said ok, she ran over to my aunt and said excitedly, "My mom said I can go!!"

A little while later we received a phone call from Bitty Girl, inviting us to her party. The Boy was busy with Papa Steve, building something in the shop, but they agreed to stop by. Daddy and I walked upstairs, but left Nanny at her place, thinking Bitty Girl wouldn't care. Oops.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the Hostess with the Mostess, apron and all. Who was in no mood for a photo shoot, let me tell you--she had a party to throw!

The party was set for eight, and the menu consisted of raisins, baby carrots, bread, crackers, oranges, and water. (She kind of sprung the idea on Auntie Caff-rin, who didn't have much time to shop!)

The one minor snag was when she realized my mom wasn't coming up. Very sad pouting, very large lower lip. A quick phone call to DEMAND Nanny's presence remedied the situation, and up she came.

The Hostess seated us all and commanded us to eat.

(Added to the Very Bossy list: Very Bossy Dinner Party)

She was very gracious, hugged each of her guests and thanked us for coming.

But I think she left the dishes for Auntie Caff-rin.

Noooooooooooo!

At least two inches tonight.

I've never wished so hard for rain.

Note to white frozen stuff falling from the sky:

You are no longer welcome here. On my mat or anyone else's. We need a break. We need school. We need our routines back.