the baby is chewing on my toe

It has been another long winter day.

It seems like life was easier when it was spring, summer and fall with this baby.  The back yard barbecues with daddy, going to the farmers' market, walking along the river trail--it was easier.  It certainly tasted better.  Chicken thighs, fresh off the grill, donut peaches, white nectarines--I digress.

Our winter activities are much more limited.  Most days, the extent of our adventures is to go to the grocery store in the car.  I would probably be more adventurous, if I were not pregnant.

My nine month old just learned to crawl, so we spent a lot of time today playing "chase mommy".  She is starting to book it down the halls now, making little squeals of excitement as her arms and legs work together like little pistons.  She is also obsessed with pulling herself up to a standing position and attempting to walk, using various items as support (otherwise known as "cruising").  When she gets tired of falling over and crying, she crawls under the computer and pulls daddy's headset down and plays with it.  I got a great twenty minutes of quiet when she discovered a piece of tape.  Ooh it's stuck to my finger!  Ooh it's on the carpet now!

Now she's trying to pull herself up, using my foot, which is dangling off the couch.  That failed, she is chewing on my toe.  Poor baby.  She has at least five teeth coming in at once.

I also worked hard trying to hang the framed art on the walls.  It was harder than I thought.  Wide expanses of blank wall do not look good with one small framed item on them.  You have to do clusters of similarly themed frames.  I guess?  I am still not sure it looks that good.

Also, who knew that hanging framed art could be so hard?  If you do not secure it properly, it falls down and breaks, or maims a small child for life.  I still am not confident of the 25 pound mirror hanging above the couch, but the D-rings are hanging off heavy duty wall hangers, one of which is nailed into a wall stud, so I do not know how much more secure I could make it.  When I was single, it hung off a nail on a wire for a year without falling, so it is probably just mommy paranoia.

This pregnancy has been notable for its many and strong food aversions.  I cannot stand gum, coffee, herbs and fish, among other things.  I used some butter-flavored Pam to scramble my eggs this morning.  The spray with the eggs filled the kitchen with a mangy wet dog smell.  I have no idea if it would smell that way to a non-pregnant person, but unfortunately I am stuck with the olfactory senses I have right now.

Daddy is gone skiing tonight.  I am glad he went.  I bought him a pack of Stevens Pass lift tickets for Christmas, my way of saying "I give you permission to leave me with the baby for five nights". So, it is a lonely night, but I am going to take advantage of it and watch some talky British miniseries that would drive him crazy to listen to.

Hopefully, I will be able to finish the home remodeling and decorating soon.  I would like to focus on cooking and exercising again, and maybe getting to church once or twice a week in the morning.