All the rainbows in the sky/ Start to weep and say goodbye...

I have a bib on my head and I'm crazy!

FYI Hattie: Your dad likes to do silly things to you when you're asleep!

Hey! It's Nana Kay

This is Hattie's Nana, who is also my mom as well as Hattie's personal seamstress.

The countdown is on...

This is my last week off from work. I have to go back next Monday. Hattie's face sums up how I feel about it. Yep, pretty sucky.

Chris Issak in Pendleton

Familiar with Chris Issak? Remember "Wicked Game?" Well I do- I think I was 20 years old when that song came out, but I'm not sure. At any rate, Daddy and I had a blast watching Chris Issak at Wildhorse Casino this weekend, along with dear friend JD and his mom, Jean. Here is Chris singing "Love Me Tender" to throngs of women of a certain age. What I mean by that is, women who know who sang that song originally and found Issak's version to be stunning!

Good Morning!

This weekend we went to Finn's 4th birthday party, met our new friend Bate Richard (born May 25) and visited with our 20-pound friend Elijah Joseph. Think we're worn out? OH NO! Mommy may be moving slowly, but Hattie has been kicking and flailing for over an hour! Check out the intensity on this little face. Here's to the start of another great week!

Etienne

Have you met our friend Etienne? If you have, you probably have the scar to prove it. My Etienne (ett-tee-NNN), who sprang from humble beginnings (runt kitty from a rented prefab on Mahan St.) is just one of those cats. The kind that are born violent. Unlike the shy and reclusive Oktobriana, and the outrageously outgoing Clarence (RIP), Etienne is just, well, different.

As a young kitty, Etienne enjoyed biting photographs and mini-blinds; climbing the wall in the kitchen doorway and sliding down, ruining the paint; attacking visitors' ankles; and scratching the s%*! out of my arms. Along with his cohort Clarence, many a rug got ruined and many vet visits ended with scowls from the staff. Etienne looks like an angel, with his inviting "pet me" gaze; but like many men I've known, he'll rip you to shreds the first chance he gets.

Naturally, I worried how the Kitten Boy and Baby Girl would interact. I registered for and received the "crib tent", a protective barrier designed to keep cats out of cribs. We banned him from the sectional. We never leave the cat and the baby alone together. Imagine my surprise when I realized that jealous, spoiled, cranky, entitled Etienne showed a strange protectiveness toward the baby. When she cries, he rushes (slowly, due to the burden of his cat flesh) to her side. If I'm not quick enough, he'll bat my legs as if to say, "Mom, you better hustle." He sniffs Hattie as opposed to murdering her. So far, I'm very relieved.

I couldn't resist recording one of those moments today.

My gripe with Graco

Lugging an infant car seat around has given me a new perspective on life. Specifically, what a pain in the ass it must be to have an arm in a cast, use crutches or a wheelchair, or be physically unable to open a door by yourself in general. When you don't have to haul your 11-pound kid around in a contraption that weighs nearly as much, you don't appreciate the convenience of doors that open automatically and you probably don't see the value in holding the door for another person. Well, I have been enlightened, and I have the Graco Travel System in "Kasbah" to thank.

Luckily, I was already an empathetic and polite person to begin with, so maybe I didn't need the lesson in gratitude that my lovely "travel system" has taught me. But for anyone who is oblivious to the sight of a mom trying to maneuver the fold down stoller while attempting to click the car seat into the base while holding packages and trying to close the trunk of the car while her kid sleeps- I have news for you. Go look for another frickin' parking spot because I'm going to be awhile and you are only going to further aggravate both of us, so get over yourself.

When people see me coming with my gigantic brown-and-cream stroller that looks like a booth from a 1980's-era McDonald's, I'm not sure if their faces are reflecting pity or annoyance. Older women are willing to give me a knowing look and hold the door for me, as well as other young moms, whereas most people seem content to watch bemusedly as I push a door open using my butt and carefully pull this frickin' spaceship of a stroller through with one hand. I'm not asking for royal treatment, people; I'm asking for a different stroller. This thing is ruining my back, and I need my back, because when I'm not lugging Hattie in a car seat, I'm lugging her in my arms.

So the other day as I was attempting to fold up the stroller and hoist it into my car, I dropped the damn thing on my foot. &^&&^@$! Because it's freaking heavy, if I haven't mentioned that previously. And as I cursed my lovely "travel system," I remembered speaking to a legally blind woman the other day at my eye doctor's place. This woman was BLIND and yet she could see me coming with the hugamongous car seat. "You girls are lucky today. We didn't have anything like that when my kids were younger, and I had nine kids." NINE kids?! Could you imagine what she would look like if she had to carry her children around in safety-approved kid carriers? Not to mention that she wouldn't be able to transport them unless she had a horse and buggy or maybe a school bus. My response to her comment that I was "lucky?" "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Another customer piped in. "The only carrier we had for my son back in those days was a laundry basket." A laundry basket- now that I can handle. Not only is it lightweight, it doesn't cost upwards of $200 like my "travel system." But his point was well taken, along with Blind Lady's too- it's about the safety. They think I'm lucky because my kid is safer than theirs. And I guess that is the point of this crap we're all forced to buy these days. It's safe. But I can't say I wouldn't trade my car seat for a lighter one, if it exists. OK, rant over.

Another darling smile for Grandpa!

This is Hattie's Grandpa Jim. What a priceless photo!

The elusive Hattie smile revealed!

Undoubtedly one of the CUTEST photos ever taken! Here's Hattie with a great big smile; naturally, it's for Daddy, her favorite dude in the universe. And is that not the neatest rock n' roll onesie you've ever seen? Oh right- it's not, because her Blondie onesie wins. But you'll have to wait for 9 months for that pleasure!

Hattie Jane at Two Months!

Remember this dynamic duo? We visited our good friends Karen and Randy the other evening and met up with Elijah Joseph, who is now 3 months old and wearing 6-month sizes! Check out cutie Eli and darling Hattie with Big Joe and our favorite dude, Fast Eddie.