No baby yet!

Hey everybody... still no Stagglet. That's about all there is to say. I have been nesting furiously, there's ridiculous amounts of food in the house and I have been vacuuming daily, all the ironing is done, laundry's clean, bills are paid, etc. The only not tidied portion of our household is the yard/garden. It's really hard to bend over and Bitty needs near constant watching outside - she's either destroying plants, turning on the hose and soaking herself, or escaping and running away.

The Weekend

We had the most lovely weekend. After a week of being severely grumpy, with a virtual meltdown on Friday, I decided to adjust my attitude.

One must simply be patient, rushing the arrival of the Stagglet certainly is a futile effort and pouting about the baby's insistence on a little more time to cook, was making me (and everyone else in my house) miserable.

Once again, not a lot of photos, but here's a few. Saturday was GORGEOUS weather and I gardened, as best as I could, most of the day. In the late afternoon, we attended a BBQ at our neighbors and that was a great distraction. On Sunday, we went to Bob & Trudi's and she prepared a divine brunch, we came home and did yard work, Bitty took us on a walk (more about that in a minute), I made a great dinner, and we ended the day chatting away in bed, after munching on ice cream and strawberries from our garden. Yesterday was perfect.

GARDEN WOES...

Our beets & spinach have been attacked by leafminers, nasty wormies that get in between the layers of leaf and eat all the good stuff, killing the plant. We purchased some neem oil and insecticide soap, hopefully that will kill the rotten things.

A close up of the damage... poor beets!

Spinach, rendered inedible by a stinkin' leaf miner. Gross.

Also, when I took the hot-houses off my peppers, the leaves got a sunburned and Eric was convinced they would all die. Since then they have recovered and begun to flower!

Bitty foolin' around!

One of her silly faces. This large horse trough she is playing in is, in fact, the birthing tub! Ha. Eric says "... brings a whole new meaning to dropping the calf, huh, baby?" That's nice dear. Shortly after this was taken we sanitized and readied it, it is now at the foot of my bed. Can you believe we're birthing this baby at home - you better!

Adelaide, being a total imp, never holds still. Sunday, she was not feeling real well and so she was a snuggler. You know something is wrong with your child when they have gotten into the habit of proclaiming, "no touch me Mama!," and then out of the blue insist on being held, snuggled, and even having her backed rubbed. She also slept until 8:30 am, first time ever.

By late afternoon, she was back to herself. She grabbed the dog's leash and insisted that we walk Atila. It was raining, which was of no concern to her, we relented and let her decide the route. The little weasel - she led us directly to the park/playground, coyly deflecting any attempts on our part to direct the walk elsewhere (we had no idea what she was doing, until the park came into view, Eric asked her where she was going, and she responded, "just walking... (pause) THE PARK, silly Daddy!!!"). The kid is a card!

A Bitty Story

I don't have a photo of this, but...

Yesterday, Trudi came over to help me clean the house and mind Bitty while I caught up on some Eric Stagg Construction book-keeping. Well, Miss Bitty got very angry with Gammy over some nonsense and ran to her room, slammed the door, and yelled, "GOODBYE GAMMY!" She then ran to her closet and shut herself in, which was pitch dark and must have been very scary. She started to whimper and cry, when Trudi opened the door she had a terrified expression and was holding herself and had pissed herself (she refused to wear a diaper yesterday and peed in the toilet all day). I almost fell over laughing upon hearing this! Just desserts, kiddo.

As for myself and the Stagglet, last night I thought that I was going have the baby. But, it turned out to be a preparatory false alarm. I began having contractions at 10:30 that intensified and built until 3:00 am and then totally fizzled. BUMMER DUDE! I was so ready for it to begin. It appears I am in for some "hurry up & wait."

Stagglet Update

Well... I have been feeling (and looking as those of you who've seen me recently know) VERY pregnant as of late and have been ordered by my midwife & hubby to take it easy. Advice that I did indeed follow in the last week and I feel so much better. I was sore, real cranky, and exhausted. As a result of not trying to cram so much in, I have nothing to post and no pictures. All that I have done is play with Bitty, laundry, cook, and take naps. This weekend, I will try to get Eric to take some belly photos.

The weather this May has been absolute crap. It has rained everyday here for two weeks straight and the temp hasn't really risen above 65. My garden is at a standstill, everything is wet, and I think we might start molding if the sun & heat doesn't show itself soon. Eastern Washington, classified as an arid desert, seems to have joined the gray, rainy ranks of the Seattle area. YUCK. However, it has been conducive to staying inside, relaxing, and snuggling up for naptime!

Kristin (the midwife) came for a visit yesterday. She said that I have dropped, but the Stagglet has not yet engaged in my pelvis. I am having TONS of Braxton-Hicks contractions and a few real contractions as well, but nothing that makes me think I'll kick into labor immediately. What do I know? But, I don't think it will happen for another week, at the very least. I'll keep you posted!

Playdate

My pal, Dana, and her daughter, Salome, came for a visit/playdate. I forgot to post pictures... here they are!

Bitty & Miss Salome snacking away, notice the chipmunk cheeks on the pair of them. It was as if there were a contest over snacks.

Playing with rocks seems to be a favorite and, Lord knows, I really enjoy cleaning them off the patio and out of the lawn!

Chasing. bubbles

Run!!! The bubbles might get you.

Thanks Aunty Staci

These are not very good photos, but they get the point across.

Room decor... here's Bitty's favorite photo and a card that Aunty Staci made her. She thinks it's her in the photo and not Aunty Staci as a little person.

My half-starved looking child and her new pictures that, OF COURSE, Aunty Staci made. They are hung a little to high to be perfectly aesthetically pleasing, however this keeps her from dragging them off the wall and onto her head. She loves them.

... and... the ever-talented Aunty Staci made this string of letters and picked out these photo frames for Bitty's room as well. Bitty looks at them & says "Tanks, Lettahs, Aunty Staci."

Stanley, Nana, & Bitty

Mom had a horsey show this last weekend when we visited. Adelaide and I drove over to visit. The Bitty was enthralled.

Nana & Bitty

This is Dillin, MaryJo's horse. Mom is trying to hold Bitty and the horse and failing miserably.

Here we are at Nana's trailer. Bitty is thoroughly enjoying herself.