16 to 18 months

It was around this time when Laura was becoming more cognizant that this event occurred. I was trying to potty train her and at this stage, she was going through a long stretch of constipation so it was always readily apparent that she had to go number 2. She would hunch over and start straining and make a gutteral noise at which point I would pick her up and sprint to her potty. I would make it to her potty maybe 30% of the time. She would then get up and point to her masterpiece and say "doo doo". I'd put it in the toilet and flush and she would say "bye bye".
Anyway, on one of these nights, her belly is distended after eating dinner and I assume she will have a poo. She only has a small one. Alas, not wasting any time, I threw her in the tub. After scrubbing her down, I let her play in her little tub while I went to her room to get her towel. I came back and she was holding something in her hand. She said "Mama, doo doo." AAUUUGGGHHHH! She was holding a large turd in her hand and the entire tub was filled with poo. Hard, soft, floaters, sinkers, CORN! Horrible. I took her out and had to scrub down the tub then rebathe her. Hubby was working that night and I told him the whole horrid story in which he asked, "did you get a photo?" Huh?! Okay, let me just run down and get the camera while she's holding a big turd in her hand. Uh, NO! (did you notice the appropriate picture of her eating corn above the bath picture?)

Feb 18th. My sister comes to visit with her boyfriend and she brought back my cat, Kato. She kept her for about a year and a half b/c I just couldn't deal. Kato was always a skittish and high strung cat. Hates men and has a pissing problem (when she gets pissed, she pisses). My sis couldn't take her anymore so she brought her back to me. Laura just became entralled. She was very hesitant at first but after a while, she became much more comfortable with Kato. She would wake up in the morning and look for her. "Dado?" she'd call. So, moving into our new home, Kato adjusted very well and seemed very happy, actually hanging out in the open instead of hiding out in the closet. Kato and I had a serious talk and I said, buddy, you get 1 chance. You can live here and be happy but one false piss and you are going bye bye.

I'm not much of a green thumb but I transplanted my old Christmas cactus with one that a friend gave me (both of which has not bloomed in years) and voila, this year, they bloomed. Gorgeous.

Laura continues the sickness trail of 2 wks sick, 2 wks healthy and we both follow. It's a miserable winter. Overall, mild with only a few not very hearty snow storms but still cold (to me).
Hubby goes through some dental work this month (February) and it's not pretty.

Most of Laura's activity revolve around going to the "Treehouse" at our gym so she can run around or to the Atrium mall where there is an indoor playroom which is infested with germs (every time she goes, she ends up with a new cold)

A rare nice day (Sunday) after a daytrip visiting hubby at work for lunch.


April 2, 2006. We are invited to go to the Big Apple Circus with Laura's little buddy, Thomas. (Or as Laura calls him, "AhMi")
I didn't know why she was so scared. First I thought it must be the loud music. She was clutching onto me for dear life. She was a little better in the middle of it and then when there was another clown act, she turned around and clutched me again. Hmmm. Weird.

April 5th. Typical snow in April.
Laura is sick AGAIN with fevers. Call in sick.

A new toy from Uncle Wonton. She loves Sesame street. The MP123 player with the likes of Elmo rapping to the Bingo song. Laura loves it.

April 13th. My mother has a green thumb.
Took a couple of days off and visited my folks in Philly. When I picked up Laura from daycare on Wednesday, I took her to the playground b/c it was a bit chilly but sunny out. Her eyes were swollen. They were swollen for most of the weekend. Hmmm.

Philly is warm: mid 70's. Trees are blooming, grass is green. It's gorgeous. I don't even need a jacket. Laura takes a while to warm up to my parents. She's having separation anxiety. (She hasn't seen them since Thanksgiving). Whenever my mother tries to pick her up, she has a fit. Plus the whole puffy eye thing (allergic rx to something?) doesn't help. My sister arrives on Friday and Laura warms up to her pretty readily.
We go to Minhado restaurant and then Assi grocery. Laura sees a mixed asian boy and calls him "Ahmi". By the end of the weekend, Laura is clutching onto my sister as if she was her MOMMY!
April 17th: Patriot's day.
I work for the federal government so they don't recognize this holiday since it is only a New England thing. Last year, I forgot and showed up to daycare and found that it was closed. I had no choice but to bring the child to work since hubby was already working. I distinctly remember driving to daycare thinking, WOW, the traffic is sooo light today. I wonder what THAT's about.
This year, a patient of mine REMINDED me that there was no daycare so that I would not make the same mistake again. Luckily, my hubby was not working.
April 22nd. I take my first trip away from Laura to NYC to visit my sister. She needs help purging all of her goods for spring cleaning. This is an EVENT that is so fantastic that I must take the voyage. I get first dibs on all her stuff and boy did I score. I only leave Laura for about a 24 hr period. I call regularly and find that she is AGAIN, very sick but hubby is taking good care of her.
I feel free. It is good and bad. Guilty but delicious. It's a crappy weekend, cold and rainy but I don't care. We go to 'Iron Chef' for sushi then walk around and get drenched to get baklava and then to an local Indian restaurant for dinner. The freedom is remarkable. I mean, I love my child but it was the first time in 18 months that I felt free. It was a good weekend. I leave 7am Sunday morning.