Is anybody reading this? I think I have sufficiently diminished my audience to the always supportive girlfriend and obligatory read from the husband. You know who you are. So the pressures off and I will post when I darn well please. Actually that's not true at all. My desire is greater than one would think if only I could get the toddler to go play for a good half hour while I struggle to put a few cohesive, semi-interesting notes about her on the screen.

The little one is displaying more independence of late and it's bittersweet for Mom. The thought of my helpless little baby who depends on me for all life substance morphing into the head-strong, do-it myself little person breaks my heart a bit. Then I get over it, especially when the reality sets in that I just had my morning cup of coffee uninterrupted and washed all the dishes without a little person attached to my legs. And just when I think she can't get any cuter...sorry, I'll stop right there.

A favorite in the house right now is the Hulabaloo band. It's actual parent tolerable kid music. Although, with repetition all things become tired and so this CD is no longer met with the parent enthusiasm as it once was. Time to buy their other CD. It's funny that kids are the opposite. The more familiar and repetitive, the more attached they become.

The little one has mastered operating the play button on her CD player and thus has discovered new freedoms. We will be contently playing downstairs when out of the blue she says, "music (pause) on" and marches upstairs to her bedroom. When I don't hear from her for 10 minutes or so my curiosity brings me upstairs to find her laying on her floor or reading a book while swaying to the sounds of She'll be Coming Around the Mountain. Then she'll look up at me and say "whoa back" and "hi babe" and I just wish someone else was with me to share the moment.