The Third Day

Diana's leg in the morning after scratching. Ouch!

Left hand healing up.

 Today we decided that it was extremely unlikely that Diana was allergic to oatmeal. (Who's allergic to oatmeal?) We added that back in to her diet, but after Joseph reminded me that his family had sensitivities to artificial colors, we made sure to take out anything with artificial dyes. Despite being incredibly itchy in the morning, Diana spent 10-15 minutes on the potty again without scratching! She ate things like meat, corn tortillas, oatmeal, grapes, beans, orange juice, but still didn't scratch at ALL when I changed her into her PJs for nap time. The rest of the day there was only some occasional light scratching.

Some healing on her left leg. 

Ankle is looking a little better.

Right leg. It's better than it has been.

Day 2

Diana's trouble spot. Despite her lack of itchiness on Day 1, her skin condition actually worsened.

Ankle healing up.

Diana was very itchy when I changed her this morning. Come to think of it, she's very itchy EVERY morning. As we saw over the course of this diet, her itchiness doesn't really correlate with her skin quality. Sometimes it is more closely related to boredom, anxiety, habit, and in the case of scratching in the morning, probably dryness from not being moisturized or hydrated all night.

Diana's diet was basically the same as yesterday since we had leftovers: corn flakes, fruit, meat, and rice. She'll still scratch when her clothes are off, but it's much less than normal. She also still scratches when she's upset. Unfortunately, I stayed over at girls' night way too late with the kids and Diana became a tired, weeping mess, so there was LOTS of scratching when we got home long past her bedtime. There was so much crying that I forgot to even get pictures of her skin.

Allergy Diet Day 1

Diana's leg on Day 1. This is before she really got to scratching it.  She was very itchy.

Diana's ankle on Day 1. This is about as bad as it gets. She scratched it until it bled.

Backs of Diana's knees. This isn't as bad as it gets.

Diana woke up and like most mornings she was VERY itchy. She scratched her legs until they were bleeding in just the time it took me to change her diaper. Incidentally, this is why it's taken so long to potty train. I can't just sit her down on the potty for 10 minutes because she'll ruin her skin in that time. With the exception of one random day last year, there has never been a time since she was three months old that she hasn't taken the opportunity to scratch exposed skin. I'm not exaggerating. She can't wear shorts or dresses in the summer because her knees are "hot spots."

It's not that hard to find foods that are wheat-free, or dairy-free, or even nut- or egg-free, because they're common allergens. But it turns out to be nearly impossible to find food that don't have ANY of those ingredients. Even gluten free products have egg or dairy, or egg-free products have nuts, etc. We basically put Diana on a diet of meat, rice, vegetables, fruits and her multivitamins.

That morning, Diana ate some corn flakes, an improvised stir fry ("meat and rice") of jasmine rice and roast beef, a multivitamin and her orange juice. After her nap, she had a baked potato, some grapes and a rice cake. Then she sat on the potty for some potty training and SHE DIDN'T SCRATCH HERSELF. It was miraculous. For 10-15 minutes she didn't scratch. She just sat there talking and reading books like any other kid. I suspect that even if she isn't itchy, she has been scratching herself for so long that it's just a habit, so the fact that she didn't even feel the need to do it out of habit was incredible.

That night for dinner I made gluten free corn dogs that she ate with rice and grapes. Some of the oil from the fried corn dogs got on her face and made her itchy, but after a bath she was good as new. In fact, she miraculously DIDN'T SCRATCH HERSELF again! Not at all! It was absolutely amazing!

Diana's legs before bedtime on Day 1.

The Allergy Diet

Let me share with you some things that I dislike:

Country music, homeowners associations, speed bumps, wet socks, drippiness, cooked fruit, swearing, the entire American medical system.

You read that right.

That's only a partial list, of course.

I know modern medicine must do some good. I suppose I never got polio as a child and I can thank my vaccinations for that. I've never had a doctor tell me something that wasn't common sense in the first place and the part I hate most is that it is SO EXPENSIVE. How on earth can everything be so expensive?? Insurance is a player (one that I also loathe), but that can't be all of it.  I had a friend who had her baby in the hospital and it's a good thing she did- she developed preeclampsia and the labor was risky. Her insurance ended up paying roughly a quarter of a MILLION dollars to the hospital for that baby. She was only in there for about three days. There was no surgery required. Do you know her HOUSE didn't cost that much? That's partly why, if I can help it, I don't want to see a doctor unless there's a very good chance they could save me from dying. It's also partly why I try to have my babies at home.

Diana's doctors have been moderately helpful when it comes to her eczema. Her pediatrician recommended using scentless laundry detergent without softener and her dermatologist recommended diluted bleach baths once a week to keep the inflammation down. But the rest was two long years of trial and error: trying countless soaps and lotions on her and having to throw them out every time they gave her a new rash, trying antihistamines, experimenting with all my cosmetics to find brands that wouldn't affect her skin, introducing new foods while watching for allergic reactions, keeping her constantly clothed so she couldn't reach her "hot spots." And you know something else I hate? Watching my child in agony. It's annoying that she can't wear cool, fun shorts and dresses in the summer, but it kills me when she sits down and scratches (tears, really. It's vicious.) at her skin until it bleeds, crying the whole time because she can't stop. I hate having to try to get her to stop something as natural as scratching an itch. (Once she starts, the scratching just makes her itch more.) She begs me to let her scratch sometimes and I feel so bad for her. Her pediatrician and dermatologist prescribed antihistamines, but none seem to be more effective than just keeping her skin covered up. They gave her 2.5% hydrocortisone (ineffective), then a "moderate" steroid (also ineffective), then a "stronger" steroid (effective for a short time, but made her rash appear more strongly in new places). Because we were just treating symptoms, I wanted to get to the bottom of things and tried to make an appointment with an allergist. I talked to our insurance provider and the allergist's office. For an initial consultation, it was going to be somewhere between $200-$700.

Is this normal? When people say they took their kids to a specialist, do they routinely pay hundreds of dollars per visit? If I felt like I had no other options and an allergist could most likely help my kids, we'd definitely do that. But as our pediatrician verified, a blood test is most effective in kids older than Diana. Instead we decided we'd go back to basics and look at what the pediatrician and dermatologist both told us was the most likely cause of children's allergies: food.

My family is blessed to not have any real food allergies. And though I love Joseph's family, they collectively have allergies to everything under (and possibly including) the sun. A lot of Joseph's siblings grew out of their allergies. However, Diana has aunts and cousins with allergies to dairy, peanuts and artificial dyes. Whenever Diana eats uncooked or undercooked eggs (like runny scrambled eggs or cookie dough) she throws up, so we suspected an egg allergy. She also has a peanut sensitivity (not allergy, thankfully), so we never give her anything with any tree nuts, just to be safe. After running it by her pediatrician, we decided to put her on a diet that excluded major and known allergens. For Diana, that meant no nuts, dairy, wheat or oatmeal. During that time, we kept a detailed record of what she ate, her skin condition, and how itchy she was. We also took pictures of her trouble spots (ankles, backs of her knees, insides of her thighs, and hands) every morning and evening so we could record changes in her skin. Since Liam has some eczema problems on his cheeks, I went on the diet with her. Eating the same foods also gave me an accurate gauge of how hungry she actually was. (It turns out you can eat rice cakes forever, but they'll never be as satisfying as some cheese and crackers.) We stayed on the diet for a little over a week, and for those of you dying to know, I'll post the daily logs HERE!

To see the rockets!

The Association of Experimental Rocketry of the Pacific (AeroPac) holds several high-powered rocketry launches every year from a launch site in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. As long as I've known him, Joseph has been seriously interested in space and rockets, and a couple of years ago he was introduced to Bill Earls, a high-powered rocketry expert who made the trek to Black Rock every year to set off some BIG rockets. He invited us along in 2011 and we had a great time, so we wanted to go again in 2012... even though we had a toddler and a baby. It was, predictably, an adventure. Luckily, I kept a journal, so even when my mind blocked out the terrible parts I forgot all the good stuff, I have a record of what happened. It went something like this:

Sunday

Diana "driving" the RV.

Joseph and I managed to only get 3 hours of sleep thanks to work (he was desperately working to release an iPhone app) and packing, but we still got on the road by 8:30 AM. We were riding along in a palatial 35-foot RV that Bill had rented. Absolutely the first thing I did when I stepped on this beautiful giant was BREAK IT. I tried opening the fridge and ripped off the water dispenser instead. Great start.

The drive is something like 10-15 hours, depending on who's driving, but Diana was a great traveler. 

Last year, because I was traveling with a bunch of men, no one bothered to get exact directions to the launch site, so we ended up driving around the completely flat, dusty desert in the dark for hours while a tired, hungry, 9-month-old Diana cried and then finally we just gave up and camped out for the night. This year, because I was traveling with a bunch of men, no one bothered to get exact directions again, but miraculously we managed to find the launch site while it was still light.

After dinner, Joey took Diana out to expend some energy. They took glow bracelets (yeah, I'm going to let a wayward toddler wander off for literally miles in any direction without being festooned with bright lights), which Diana LOVED. "Pretty!" "Magic!" she said. She loved them so much we decided she could take one to bed with her. While we were getting everything arranged for the night, I heard "Mommy, Diana make magic water!" Sure enough, the bracelet had snapped and sprayed all over. When we turned the lights out, Diana looked like a creature from the movie Avatar. Her hands, hair, blanket, etc. were all covered in a spray of glowing liquid. 

Monday

Diana and daddy ready to watch rocket launches!

We had one of the worst nights of sleep in recent memory. Most people slept in the RV, but we were in our own little lightweight travel trailer so we could have our own space and not disturb everyone else. Probably weirded out by the change in surroundings, Diana woke up around 1 AM and didn't fall asleep until Joseph climbed into her bunk around 3:30. By that time, it had started to get down into the 30s outside and Liam woke up a little baby popsicle. I snuggled and nursed him back to sleep. 

The desert wrecked the kids' skin. Diana was very rashy from the heat (mid-80s with a light breeze during the day) and Liam's skin was so dry his little lips cracked and his cheeks were cracked and oozing. Poor kids. Our highest priority became keeping both of them very well hydrated.

Joseph helped Bill with rocket assembly. During the day, a rocket came down not far away from us and Diana casually wandered out past the flight line to inspect it. Too cute. At night, Joseph and I talked outside under the stars and saw some shooting stars. I have never seen all the stars in the heavens more clearly than out in that desert. It's breathtaking. 

Tuesday

Diana flying her kite in the morning.

Everyone got at least seven hours of sleep! Unfortunately, the sun is incredibly bright and the glare off the flat, white playa is incredibly strong, so when I opened the door in the morning, Diana may have gotten some sun directly in her eyes. She whimpered and rubbed them for a while and appeared unable to open her eyelids fully for several minutes. From what little she could open them, I could only see the whites, like her eyes had rolled back and she couldn't fix them. She recovered after a few minutes, but seemed sensitive to light after that, so we made sure she wore her sunglasses all day every day.

Joseph helping Bill put the GPS unit in the nose cone.

Diana was an incredibly sweet and helpful girl. She appeared to have accepted her bunk in the trailer as her "safe place," which she called "Diana's little house," and that helped her calm down. Joseph and I both got to read and relax during the day and Joseph and Diana got to fly her kite a little bit when the wind picked up.

I took a spartan shower using the equivalent of probably half a gallon of water. It was awesome.

Wednesday

Happy Liam in his silly safari hat.

Because the nights were freezing and the trailer was cold, Joseph slept in the top bunk, Diana slept in the bottom bunk, and I snuggled with Liam in the convertible bed/dining area. It turns out babies are TERRIBLE bunk mates. Liam snuffled and wiggled all night long. I don't know how co-sleeping moms don't lose their minds. Thanks to juggling two active kids, not sleeping, not exercising, and being trapped in a small, messy trailer nursing all day, I was a wreck. Joseph watched the kids while I took a 20 minute bike ride out into the desert. It was exactly what I needed. It was completely and absolutely still and quiet. It's amazing and calming to be pressed upon by utter silence all around you. I could only hear myself breathe. Absolutely incredible.

Thursday

The only positive thing about Thursday may have been that Joseph's dad and two youngest brothers arrived. This was their first time out to Black Rock and his entire family has such great attitudes, it's fun to share things with them. 

Our part of the camp. Bill's RV, our trailer, Diana's bike.

Thursday was mostly notable for being one of the worst nights for sleep in my life. Earlier that evening, the water pump had stopped working, but we figured we'd just look into it in the morning. Diana woke up crying around midnight. We spent about an hour sweetly telling her to go back to sleep, giving her hugs, ordering her to be quiet and stop screaming, etc. Nothing worked. Meanwhile, Joseph was dehydrated and had a splitting headache and felt sick. Once Diana had finally gone back to sleep, a loud beeping alarm started going off. It was the propane gas detector. We couldn't smell gas, so we deliberated sleepily for a while. We were both tired and felt sick, which made us worry that there really was gas. I noticed the alarm light was blinking red and green, a code that meant it needed the battery changed. So I pulled the detector off the wall and found- batteries? No. Two wires going into the wall. How are we supposed to change the batteries IF THERE AREN'T ANY? I called Joseph down from his bunk, and by that point he was fed up with life and anything that got in the way of sleep. He became angrier at that stupid blinking machine than I've probably ever seen him. He's got a pretty even keel. He tried prying the detector apart with two butter knives and when that failed, smashing it into oblivion with a flashlight. Diana very happily watched the whole thing and thought it was great fun. Ultimately, Joseph ended up cutting one of the wires. He went straight back to bed and after I settled Diana in, I noticed the fridge had an alert light blinking. I HATE dealing with people who are already feeling grumpy, but I decided it was better to wake him than have all our food go bad halfway through our trip. When he turned on the light to investigate the fridge, it was very weak. Somehow we'd been unplugged from the RV and our batteries were dying. We turned everything off and went to bed. I couldn't sleep for worrying about everything. It got so cold in my half of the trailer that I moved myself and Liam into Diana's half bunk where I got no sleep thanks to worry, having a child on either side of me, and having my feet hang off the bed in the freezing cold. In addition, Diana didn't take her afternoon nap. Oy.

Friday

Joseph helping Bill assemble his Patriot rocket.

Some small dust storms brought lost of dust into the trailer and camp, but everyone slept pretty well. (Thank goodness!) Thanks to lots of encouragement, help, and sometimes hassling by Joseph, Matt and Thomas, Bill launched his Patriot rocket which was dedicated to his parents who had passed away earlier this year. Unfortunately, it arced shortly after takeoff, the fins and fin section blew off, and it exploded and tumbled to the ground. At least it got up! 

Diana didn't take an afternoon nap and was a handful all day, but we were both a little crazy from mostly being in the trailer. 

Joseph, Matt, and Sean carrying Patriot out to the high-powered pad.

There were high clouds in the evening, so it was hard to see if the 'chutes opened on the rockets or if they were coming in ballistic. In addition, there happened to be a handful whose chutes didn't open, but no one could tell where they were coming down. Did the threat of being pinned to the desert floor by a wayward ballistic rocket stop anyone from launching? Of course not! That made dinner exciting.

I had a shower. It rocked.

Saturday

Diana hanging out while Daddy worked on rockets.

Another truly terrible night. Shortly after Joseph and I went to bed, Diana started coughing and screaming. We let it subside, but when it started again, we found she'd thrown up most of her dinner all over her bed, PJs and blankets. Meanwhile, Liam was bellowing because it was time to eat. One screaming, still-coughing and drooling toddler, one bellowing infant, a small, dark trailer, the smell of vomit, and mom trying to clean and calm both while dad changes the bed was surely the depths of the parenting experience. After Diana calmed down, we found she was breathing very fast and with a lot of effort because her lungs were full of rattly junk. (She'd had bronchitis earlier in the year.) We didn't know if it was an allergic reaction or an illness of some kind, so we gave her a half dose of Benadryl. She seemed in good spirits, so we weren't too worried, but we knew from her bronchitis episode that she could change very quickly. She coughed some more junk up so hard that she threw up again. Her breathing was still so fast and labored that we were afraid we'd have to drive her to a hospital in Reno or Life Flight her out of the dessert. Joseph boiled some water to turn the whole trailer into a humidifier (it was 2:30 AM by then) and I took her up to the steamy top bunk to sleep with me. After some initial fussing, coughing and hard breathing, she fell asleep and by the time she woke up in the morning, she was back to normal. PRAISE GOD!

Despite getting FAA clearance to make the launch site a no-fly zone (for obvious reasons), in mid-morning shortly after a rocket launched, an F-15 flew in low overhead over the launching range, with another two circling around the playa from either side. We think they were just playing around, but it was still really cool! 

Some sporadic and some giant, towering, sun-obscuring dust storms and incredible wind blew through starting mid-morning. Good for Thomas's wind racer, bad for us since it was dust in her lungs that led to Diana's episode the previous night. The wind was probably around 20-25 mph.

Diana and Liam waiting in our trailer to see the rockets.

After a lot of work on everyone's part to get the last rocket ready, the range closed JUST after they got it out there. So frustrating!

Diana began to cry whenever she wet her diaper. I suspected the beginnings of a bladder infection. Just what we needed. We spent the rest of the day playing drinking games with her- rewarding her with mini marshmallows for drinking all the water in her cup, drinking out of a straw, drinking out of a big-girl cup, etc. to keep her hydrated, but we could only do so much.

Sunday

Diana and Uncle Abe watching rockets from the RV.

The hope was to get Bill's rocket launched first thing in the morning and head home by mid-morning. The launching range opened around 8 AM, but Bill didn't end up launching until around 10 AM. It went straight up. It was a beautiful flight. But no one could see a chute open up. His rocket was pretty enormous, so even though no one else seemed worried, I was slightly concerned about losing sight of it. A few seconds after we lost sight, there was a sound like a jet flying overhead, which was apparently a rocket segment breaking the sound barrier as it plummeted to earth after the chute failed to open properly. The men-folk managed to locate it, but the fin section had buried itself about four feet into the rock-hard playa floor. So that took a while to extract. We probably ended up leaving around noon. The long trip was a little tougher for the kids on the way back and we got home around 11 PM or midnight. We were all so exhausted, dirty and happy to be home!

Black Rock Desert playa 2012

Hey, look what I found!

Look at you!

It's been a LONG while. But look at you, you loyal few. You keep on keeping on even when I'm not keeping up with the writing. 

And obviously there are some cobwebs to dust off in the writing department. 

But now that I have found my way to this place again, you are in for some excitement. Here's a sneak preview:

• We took an infant and toddler to the Black Rock Desert to watch rockets. For a week! In a travel trailer! During that time, we did not have to go to the hospital OR the looney bin, though at times we thought we were going to have to do both. 
• Only TWO WEEKS LATER, we took an infant and a toddler to EUROPE. In two weeks, we went from Vienna to Karlsruhe to Bad Peterstal-Griesbach to Rouffach to Paris. It's a good thing we had help from two of Joseph's sisters.
• Diana turned two! And it wasn't terrible!

And anything else that pops into my head. Liam is six months old now and has a sleeping schedule that's mostly in line with his sister's, so I do actually get free time to write. Until now, I've just been using that time to, you know, catch up on six months of lost sleep, keep us all from dying under piles of laundry, counteract the constant chaos machine that is a curious toddler, and post pithy status updates on Facebook. So, important stuff.

Expect actual updates soon! Like before Christmas. 

Two months

After Liam was born, I spent a week recovering from giving birth, another week recovering from mastitis, another week fighting thrush and horrendous nursing problems, one week being the sole caretaker for the kids because Joseph came down with a nasty cold, another week taking care of a sick Diana and recovering from the cold myself. So if you didn't hear from us for about five or six weeks after Liam was born, that was why! Things have only been really "normal" for a week or two. Here's what's been going on with the kiddos:

Liam looking around and waving his arms.

Liam loves his daddy.

Two month old Liam!

Liam

Liam and "Wondrous Sister" Diana

Liam continues to be an incredibly sweet and reasonable baby who just loves people. He's even started to replace the all-purpose crying with different vocalizations. Instead of crying, he'll do a little yell or two to indicate that he's awake and wants to be fed. He really loves looking at people and smiling and practicing his cooing and talking. He is already laughing. He likes just interacting with me so much that he'll stop nursing just so he can gaze up at me, practice his giant charming smiles and coo and babble at me. He resists when I try to put him back on- he'd rather be talking and smiling at each other instead! Liam is completely in awe of Diana. We call her "Wondrous Sister," because he is just so completely amazed by everything she is and does. He has some of his biggest and most immediate smiles for her when she comes close or notices him. I think she is a big part of the reason he is starting to vocalize earlier than she did.

Diana goes to bed at 8 and his bedtime is at 10, so I basically spend the last two hours before his bedtime nursing him, snuggling with him, giving him a bath, nursing him again, smiling and talking with him, nursing him again... no wonder he doesn't want to go to bed.

Despite Liam's Very Reasonable nature, we've begun sleep training. Liam still likes to spend a lot of time sleeping, but he'll only go to sleep if he swings to sleep or is nursed to sleep. We think it's important for babies to be able to soothe and comfort themselves. So at 10:00, all the lights go out, his fan goes on for white noise, and after making sure all his needs are met (he's completely fed, clean, and burped), we put him down in his bed. If he's yelling (which he usually does, since he doesn't like to be alone), we check on him every 15 minutes to burp and change him if he needs it. Usually this is daddy's job. Mommy means food and snuggles, daddy means business. When daddy gets Liam at night, he knows he'll be taken care of, but that it's not time for more nursing and snuggling. He has to wait for at least two hours (since night time is time for sleeping!) for his midnight feeding. He's welcome to yell for those two hours if he wants. After only a couple of nights, our very smart boy has already reduced his yelling when he's put down for bed. Mostly he complains for about 30 minutes and then falls asleep. Tonight, less than a week after we started sleep training, he started dozing off while nursing around 9:30, rubbed his adorable chubby face a few times after I put him down and fell very soundly asleep. YES.

Adorable Liam taking a break from eating.

Despite all the problems of only nine weeks ago, breastfeeding Liam has become a joy and is completely easy. Joseph has observed that I've moved to the next level: "ninja breastfeeding." I can stealthily nurse Liam in restaurants, in bed. I can walk around while feeding him or get Diana another bowl of applesauce. My mom often asks me, "Aren't you glad you stuck with it?" Yes! I have been through the valley of the shadow of quitting. I often wondered if the breastfeeding wasn't actually more painful than the childbirth itself. I personally believe that breastfeeding is best, but I absolutely wouldn't judge anyone who decided to formula feed their babies, because I was so, so close to deciding to do that too. But I was stubborn enough to stick with it and now it's wonderful (and convenient!). When Liam is very hungry, he snuffles around, gives a little roar, and uses his baby abs to hurl himself face-first at the right spot. When he first latches on, his mouth works wildly and his eyes roll around in his head like a little tyrannosaur, as if he's daring anyone to take away what he's rightfully gotten in his mouth. When the let-down comes, his eyelids flutter and his eyes roll back in his head dreamily. It's so funny and heartwarming to watch. He's such a little character. Very Cespedes-like. ;)

Diana

Diana is growing and learning so much. Excuse my stream of consciousness style, it's the only way I can remember it all: 

Charges various objects to be "careful." (Maybe I say it too much?) "Careful, cup. Careful, shoes. Careful, outside. Careful, man."

Has learned "booger" and "toots." Now enjoys saying "mommy toots" repeatedly, regardless of veracity. I'm so glad I taught her these things.

Very fond of saying "good job!" I was awarded full-tuition scholarships as well as some private scholarships, I completed undergraduate research in bioengineering and oceanography, I wrote and defended a thesis, I worked three jobs in college, I presented research at a major conference, I graduated college, I traveled the world, and the most significant achievement in my life currently is using the potty like a big girl, a feat which amazes my daughter and elicits a "good job, mama!"

Does well with identifying colors and is surprisingly good with recognizing numbers. For example, she can identify when there are two zebras in the book we're reading and can recognize the number 3. If I say "two," she will follow with "three," and if I say "six," she'll say "seven."

Silly girl just had to sleep with her sunglasses.

We've read all her board books dozens of times, so we're starting to move on. She enjoys  P.D. Eastman's books, like "Go, Dog, Go!" We've also started to visit the library regularly. It's like a wonderland to her. She runs around plucking out books at random. I feel like I should be leaving tips for the librarians to repay them for all the reshelving that needs to be done after Diana has made her rounds.

Beginning to add imagination to her play. She will put rocks on a chair and call them "food" and pretend to eat them. She also has a giant stuffed lion that she carries around. When she lays it down, it is taking a "nap" and she will even give it a blanket.

She wants to know names for everything! I can't even begin to estimate the number of times I hear "wha dat?" each day. After I tell her, she very carefully repeats the word, sometimes several times, until she has it almost exactly right. It's pretty adorable. She also wants to learn the names of people, and has a surprisingly good memory for faces and names. This will be useful to her as she has four grandparents, ten aunts, ten uncles, and ten cousins. That's assuming I didn't forget any. She also uses pronouns and possessives "my tummy," "my bag," "I'm here!" "I'm stuck," sometimes with a little bit of a British accent from watching too much Kipper.

Imitates things that we say, especially those that we don't realize we say very often. "Do you mind?" "I got it! (I can do it)" "Excuse me." "No no, Diana! Ohhhh, Diana..." She'll also imitate other people, which is why we have to officially stop watching grown-up shows around her. We like a variety of TV shows: The West Wing, The Office, Community, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation. Of all those, Parks and Rec seems to be the "friendliest," in that the characters are generally happy and don't spend most of the time yelling at each other in what might be a very unsettling way for a toddler to watch. So if mommy and daddy want to watch something around Diana that isn't Kipper (her favorite cartoon), we watch Parks and Rec ("Leslie show!"). However, this morning Diana stumbled over a toy and very softly but very definitely said "dammit." What a shock for a parent to hear from her precious little toddler! Especially since she's not exposed to swearing in our house or anywhere else that I can think of. The only thing I can imagine is that it came from TV, so we'll have to stop that while she's around.

She very much enjoys imitating our actions, especially mine. She knows that I put on makeup most days and wants to hold my "mas-cara" and dab it on her eyes. She'll use cylindrical blocks as lip balm, "like mama."

She loves to help. She carefully observes (and usually gets in the way of) everything we do, but the best way I've found to get Diana to stop being a nuisance is to get her involved. She helps me unload the dishwasher by handing me the silverware and some of the smaller plates. I'll fill up Nova's food bowl in the garage and let Diana carry it back inside the house. She helps me prune flowers, make pancakes, sweep, mop, change Liam's diaper, and anything else I'll allow her to do. I can expect a certain amount of mess whenever she helps, but she is just so thrilled whenever she's allowed to help me that it's definitely worth the time it takes to clean up.

Joseph's mom rightly observed that Diana was quite the naturalist. She loves being outside. It makes me feel bad that we don't go outside more often since we don't have a fenced-in yard. Our back yard is currently a giant exhibit of all the native weeds of western Oregon, so she mostly runs around in the front. She likes sunshine and running (and rolling) around in the grass, smelling and picking flowers, watching bees, and picking anything berry-like off plants. Parks are her favorite thing in the world, especially if they have playgrounds. She has, terrifyingly, learned to scale ladders to giant slides, so we need to keep a close eye on her. I can't believe that this is the same girl who was just learning to sit up a year ago!

We've begun potty training. We've begun potty training. I read a blog post by a woman who potty-trained her 18 month old in a week and used that as my inspiration. Admittedly, the toddler had an older brother who set an example for her, but I figured it still might work for us. Basically, she gathered as much potty-training material for her daughter as she could find at her local library, made her daughter familiar with the potty and what it was for, and stayed home for a week allowing her daughter to run around without a diaper. We've had mild success. When coupled with mommy enforcing potty time every 15 minutes or so, Diana can "hold it" long enough to do her business in the potty. (Hooray!) However, if I leave it completely up to her discretion, sometimes disaster results. Keep in mind that this method is already difficult because Diana's eczema is so bad that whenever she has bare legs, she will attack them and savagely scratch them until they bleed. I had to cut the toes off a pair of Joseph's soft dress socks and put them on her legs. Yesterday she came out with me to get the mail, a fashion plate in Joseph's dark dress socks and her too-big orange dress, and she made a slight detour to run around on the grass. She bent here to look at the grass, she squatted there to look at a bee...or so I thought. I told her it was time to come inside, she obediently ran to me and then completely nonchalantly dropped a pookie on our sidewalk, right there in front of me, the good Lord, and the whole world. I was speechless. So was she. I hesistatingly explained to her that she'd made a mess outside instead of in her potty and that pookies belonged in the potty. It didn't appear to really sink in. When I went outside to clean it up, it turned out the dog had helpfully slurped some up, making my day doubly gross. Things I never expected to deal with as a mother...

Overall, we have two fantastic and healthy kids and it is easier every day to be a family of four. I really need to get to bed, but next time I post, I'll include more about recovery, adjusting to motherhood, and our travel plans for the fall!