For the Record: Words?

We think Leah has been trying to say some words the past couple of months.  I don't think we can count any as "first words" yet, but it's fun to watch her imitate us.  So far, here's what we think we've heard:

• Wetbar (I swear I heard it once)
• Touchdown (after we practiced with her for months)
• Thank you
• Sfoot (what a genius...making up her own words)
• Dumb (which she said emphatically about 2 inches from BA's face while staring at him and waiting for her bottle to heat up...thanks Leah)
• Big girl
• Uh-oh (well, more "uh" than "oh" but still)
• Where's Nana?
• Peek-a-Boo (ok, it's more of a grunt when she's peeking at us from around the kitchen door frame, but it's cute, so we'll take it)
• And she's been trying to sing with AA, which is pretty funny.  She's been practicing the Queen's aria from The Magic Flute.  Good luck with that, Peanut.
• We think she also tried to say "blog."

So if you've got a spare 3 minutes on a Friday and you want to see a smiley, flirty, happy, curious, clapping, tissue-pulling, diaper-wearing, just-another-day-hanging-out-at-home, grunting-when-I-concentrate Peanut, then enjoy this clip.  And listen for "blog" about halfway through.

Maybe She's Irish?

Leah is sick.  She woke up this morning hot, with fever, and spent the day moaning in pain (she's now in bed, moaning there too).  She took almost no naps, would burst into tears randomly, and refused to eat most of her dinner.  I finally got her to eat puffs and rice krispies after she refused her sweet potatoes and veggies with pasta.  I think she just has a nasty cold and is having body aches.  In any case, today I got barely 1 hour of study time in, and I had planned to spend at least 5 hours working.  And because she had a fever today and is feeling so miserable, I won't be able to take her to daycare tomorrow.  While I love the opportunity to spend quality time with my little snuggle-munch (I've already planned tomorrow out - a walk in the park and a family lunch with daddy at the Chick-fil-A near his office), I'm stressed over all the Bar studying I'm not doing.  I lost two days to pink-eye a couple weeks ago, and now I'm losing two more to this cold.  And if the amount of moaning/crying she is doing now is any indication of what tonight is going to be like, I can kiss sleep good-bye. 

So we called in the Reserves.  Nana is driving two hours from South Carolina tomorrow morning to watch/cuddle/console my little sick baby and I am going to study.  God Bless Nana! 

On a lighter note, we've learned that Leah's favorite genre of music is Irish pub songs.  My dad (Leah's Granda) was recently featured on an Irish CD sold at the pub where he bagpipes (do you realize that there are very few people in this world who could write a sentence like that!)  He sent us a copy and Leah decided she liked a couple of the songs. When I want to get her away from something in the other room, I  just turn on one of her favorites and she'll instantly stop whatever she was doing and crawl to the speakers.

Here, her Granda is singing in the chorus on this one, her favorite, "Rosin the Beau".

BA's Corner: Don't Read This

Have you ever realized how many song titles start with the word "Don't?" Why is it that we are always trying to stop people from doing something? Is it because we've done something stupid and we don't want others to do it too? Or are we just being bossy?

For instance, instead of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (by The Police), why didn't they write a song titled, "Go Stand Over There?"

And rather than "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" (by James Taylor), why not "Come Hang Out With Me Tonight So I Don't Polish Off This Tub Of Ice Cream All By Myself?"

And when Willie Nelson wrote "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys," he should have considered the more appropriate and specific title "Mamas, Make Sure Your Babies Will Be Doctors, Lawyers, and Trombonists." Come on Willie!

Don't you think? (Yep, I just had to say it).

If you don't believe me (there I go again), here are the others I could come up with on the fly (and on my ipod):

Don't Stop Believin' - Journey

Don't Stop the Carnival - Jimmy Buffett

Don't Know Why - Norah Jones

Don't - Jewel

Don't Ask Me Why - Billy Joel

Don't Chu Know - Jimmy Buffett

Don't Come Around Here No More - Tom Petty

Don't Cry For Me Argentina - Evita

Don't Do Me Like That - Tom Petty

Don't Drink the Water - Brad Paisley

Don't Go Breaking My Heart -Elton John

Don't Interrupt the Sorrow - Joni Mitchell

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Yusuf

Don't Let Me Down - The Beatles

Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - Elton John

Don't Lie - Trace Adkins

Don't Miss You At All - Norah Jones

Don't Panic - Coldplay

Don't Phunk With My Heart - Black Eyed Peas

Don't Think I Don't Think About It - Darius Rucker

Don't Waste Your Heart - Dixie Chicks

Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds

That's 25. Are you surprised? Don't be.

If you can think of others, why don't you leave them in a comment? (Ok, this is getting out of hand).

First Day of Christmas Break

Well I finished my finals. And now the Christmas season can officially begin for me.  Since this is my last Christmas with an official break where I don't have any work responsibilities to worry about, I've decided to make the most of it.  So, I spent my first day of vacation at the jail, and riding in an elevator with a convicted felon.  Gasp.  Okay, I'll stop being so dramatic.  The jail was to get fingerprinted for the Bar Exam, and the felon wasn't even at the jail - he was at the doctor's office - and I only know he's a felon because he's also a celebrity.

I woke up on Friday expecting to clean the entire house.  Did not happen.  Instead I played with Peanut, picked up lunch for BA and me (yummy BLT's with avocado), and wrapped presents.  I did normal Christmas stuff that I'd been dying to do all during finals and could finally enjoy now that finals are over.  Then in the afternoon we went to a doctor's appointment for BA.

As we were walking into the medical building, there was a black Cadillac Escalade idling at the entrance.  I hate when people just park their cars in the middle of the road, as if they are too important to be bothered to use the parking lot.  I'm a lady with a stroller, let's move it, folks!  The passengers had just gotten out of the car and the driver wasn't moving out of the way fast enough for me.  So I glared into the drivers window to make my irritation known and looking back at me was this young guy with a huge handlebar mustache.  That struck me as odd, what kind of chauffer has a handlebar mustache, but I was so focused on making it to the appointment on time that I didn't bother to see who got out of the car.

We followed the passengers into the lobby and waited for the elevator.  At this point BA was already thinking that the man might be someone famous.  I guess I'm desensitized to L.A. celebrities because all I remember seeing was a guy with baggy grey jeans, boots, a huge silver chain and cross around his neck, and tattoos on his arms.  No big deal - millions of regular people look like that out here.  Well, as it turns out, he was the rapper and actor DMX.  The elevator came and since it was such a small elevator and there were 4 people in front of us, including DMX, I was planning on waiting on the next elevator.  DMX turned around, looked at us, and said, "come on in, there's plenty of room."  BA said at that point, when he heard DMX's voice, he had pretty much figured out who he was (never mind the fact that my husband is able to recognize rap stars from the late '90's).  I didn't think anything of it, except that it was nice for that man to insist that we get on the first elevator and that it was indeed a small elevator.  I actually didn't know it was him and it wasn't until we arrived in the doctor's office lobby that BA said to me, "was that DMX?"  I said, "who?"  BA said, "he's a rapper and he sings, 'ya'll gon' make me lose my mind, up in here, up in here..."  I said, "oh yes, of course I know that song.  That was him?"  A quick Google search on our phone confirmed that it was.

Anyway, what I can say is that DMX was very nice and polite, and he looked exactly like he does in pictures online.  Turns out DMX has several convictions for various felonies and is probably on probation right now.  Whoo-hoo!  Needless to say his music or his past are not exactly family friendly, but Leah made friends regardless.  She always does :)

After our little celebrity run-in, we went to the jail.  Where you would expect to see convicted criminals.  But didn't.  And that's it for my jail story. 

So that is how I spent my first day of vacation.  Today we did our final Christmas shopping of the season and mailed a bunch of packages.  Leah had a teething episode this afternoon which quickly turned into being over-tired and she's spent a good deal of the past hour screaming her pretty little head off.  Poor baby.  But I'm not in school, not taking finals, Christmas is a week away, and there is a bottle of wine with my name on it, and an automated baby swing with Leah's tushy in it, so we'll make it through.  

Leah's response upon hearing that she met DMX, "DM who???"

BA's Corner: For the Record

I'm starting a new series on the blog titled "For the Record." These will be short, informational pieces designed to document little things as they happen...things that might be interesting to know down the road.

My adorable little Leah.... A couple of nights ago (10/17/11) was the first night we had to drive you around town to get you to calm down. So from 8 to 9:30 p.m., I drove you up and down Ventura Blvd. I think you were actually coming down with a fever.

We started listening to Brahms 2, then switched to Yo-Yo Ma playing the Prelude to Bach Cello Suite #1. This was one of the songs we played to you in the womb, hoping that once you were born, hearing it would calm you down. It seems to work (a little). I played that one over and over again. I played Rachmaninoff's Elegie also, then landed on a classical guitar CD, which worked pretty well. I came home mid-way through, but you woke up. So we picked up your mother and headed back out.

Of course, as soon as we walked in the door at 9:30, you started wailing away again.

Just for the record.

BA's Corner: This

Sometimes a song says it best. Here's one that really strikes home for me lately. Not all of the lyrics apply to me, but many do.

"This" by Darius Rucker

Got a baby girl sleeping in my bedroom
And her mama laughing in my arms
There's the sound of rain on the rooftop
And the game's about to start

I don't really know how I got here
But I'm sure glad that I did
And it's crazy to think that one little thing
Could've changed all of it

Maybe it didn't turn out like I planned
Maybe that's why I'm such, such a lucky man

(Chorus)
For every stoplight I didn't make
Every chance I did or I didn't take
All the nights I went too far
All the girls that broke my heart
All the doors that I had to close
All the things I knew but I didn't know
Thank God for all I missed
Cause it led me here to
This

Like the girl that I loved in high school
Who said she could do better
Or that college I wanted to go to
'Til I got that letter

All the fights and the tears and the heartache
I thought I'd never get through
And the moment I almost gave up
All lead me here to you

I didn't understand it way back when
But sitting here right now it all makes perfect sense

Repeat Chorus
*****
If you think about it, things are so close to being completely different.  As for me...

• I could have grown up in the sticks of Eastern N.C., and I'd still be there.
• AA's parents could have decided that Louisiana was a far enough drive and not made it to Florida.
• I was so close to going to UGA.
• AA was close to going to NYU.
• I could have played the trumpet.
• We could have said that the distance was too tough, many times.
• AA could have said "No."

But we didn't, and it led us here to this....

Baby Dance Party

I woke up at 4:30 this morning to a dance party in my belly.  Lately the little peanut has been moving around big time.  I don't know what songs she was cutting a rug to last night, but here are some of her favorite songs to do her daytime calisthenics to.

• The obvious Mamma Mia hits 
• "Ice Ice Baby" - BA memorized the entire rap when he was about 10 years old and he's never forgotten it.  So I like to have him rap to the baby belly - I actually don't know if the little peanut likes it or not, but it sure is entertaining for me!
• Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" - this has become our mantra these days.
• Phish's "Bouncing 'Round the Room" - Peanut loves this one ... although I'm pretty sure she thinks they are saying "bouncing 'round the womb" which is more applicable to her anyway.

Margaritaville

BA and I went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries for lunch on Saturday.  Now just being able to go there and eat a cheeseburger was a huge step for me, because just 1 month ago I couldn't stand the smell of the place.  While we were eating, the Jimmy Buffett song "Margaritaville" came on the radio.  It's always a treat to hear Jimmy Buffett because for some reason they don't play him very often in California.  Growing up in Florida, I heard Buffett practically everyday, all day.  And I really miss hearing those classic Jimmy Buffett songs out here.  So "Margaritaville" came on and it made me think, naturally, of margaritas.  I love margaritas, especially the ones my Granny D. makes - they are super strong ;)  But of course, I haven't had a margarita in over 3 months and it got me thinking about what foods and drinks I miss most.

Believe it or not, I don't actually miss alcohol.  I know some of you out there find that hard to believe based on my past love of mojitos and margaritas (and I do love them), but really, I don't miss the hard liquor.  Back in early November BA's parents came to L.A. to visit us.  We went out to eat a couple times over the course of the week and I kept coming up with silly excuses not to order a drink (like, "I need to do some studying when I get home so no wine for me.")  I didn't know I was pregnant then, but I knew it was a possibility so I was playing it safe.  Apparently, BA's mom suspected that something was up because after we announced the baby news at Christmas, she revealed that she suspected I might be pregnant because I wasn't drinking back in November when they came to visit!  I'm impressed at her attention to detail, but slightly concerned about my reputation as the "family lush" (my words, not hers).  I'm just kidding, I actually got a good laugh out of it. 

So what do I miss?  I miss the occasional glass of red wine with dinner.  I miss sushi.  I miss Italian food (haven't been able to bring that back into the mix yet).  I miss regular Coca-Cola (although I sneak some every now and then).  And I miss Jimmy Buffett!