Holiday Rule #1: Celebrate anything you want

Pancake Day in this case!
Who doesn't love an excuse to make crepes and macerate strawberries?!
We always celebrated Pancake Day growing up. I had no idea about Mardi Gras until I moved to the States - such an interesting difference in interpretation there, no? We'll be sticking with pancakes in our house I believe.

Sleeping Rule #1: Take pictures?

I read somewhere once that you shouldn't take pictures of people when they are sleeping because it violates an intensely private situation. The thinking being that if you are witnessing someone else sleeping they obviously trust you and you'd be violating that trust to take pictures of the drool spilling across their pillow.  I am undecided though. For only one reason - Jo falls asleep with me much less than she used to and I know one day she won't fall asleep with me at all. And I want to remember this perfection:

Appearance rule #1: Don't be fooled

So that's technically not my rule, but we all know it's true. Here's another proof of it.

You might look at this dog and think - "Huh, there's one of those silly little lap dogs who are kind of lame, sitting around on fluffy pillows and generally being ridiculous"

But you would be wrong, because this dog is a genius. 

A genius I tell you! 

Turning 30 Rule #2: Get Something You've Always Wanted

In my case, I have always wanted an ice cream cake. No one gets you an ice cream cake when your birthday is in January and everyone wants hot chocolate on account of the brass monkey weather.

We used to go to volleyball night with at church when I was younger. Afterward we would sometimes go to Baskin Robbins. They had a book of ice cream cakes there. I can still remember some of the pictures.  A rabbit and a clown (don't they know about the general clown/creepiness situation?)  were at least two of the options.

Anyway, for months before my birthday I was coaching Adam that the one thing I really wanted was an ice cream cake.
I got one.  A delicious Coldstone chocolate ganauche confection of many wonders. With my name written on it even.

And I violently hacked it apart with a large knife apparently.

There's no need to be alarmed. Irene clearly wasn't.

Illness Rule #1: Don't give it to the baby

Take any measures necessary.

Even if the baby looks at you funny. 

Turning 30 Rule #1

I took pictures on the last day of my twenties. It was a regular old day for the most part. Nothing spectacular. But something told me I would like to remember this particular little window into my life at some point in the future so I carried the camera around for chunks of the day. I can't remember why I took some of the pictures and I wish I had taken many more, (like maybe on of myself....) but this was life on January 29th 2013 when I was 29.

Jo woke up very early so I feed her and put her back to sleep. Sometimes she will sleep until 6:30 at which time I am prepared to start the day albeit begrudgingly. She usually wakes up between 4 and 5 and that is a time that no one should have to face regularly so I do all I can to convince her to go back to sleep. She usually catches the vision.
Adam got up and went to work at the Utah Data Center. His alarm goes off at 5:20 and he is out of the house by 6:05am. Barbaric.
On days that she wakes up early she will then sleep until 7:30 or 8. It's amazing. Today was one of those days.
Jo woke up.

And from the looks of things she is planning mischief.

Getting a bum change, talking to Des in the rocker, (Jo loves it when I call him and he comes down the hall to see us, she looks in his direction and waits for him to come) followed by morning toy time (in Mummy's bed while she tries to convince herself she really does need to spend parts of the day vertical) segue into floor toy time while Mummy sorts the laundry. 

The kettle goes on, Des goes out to the yard where it is snowing - his biggest love, and we grab the homemade laundry soap to put a load in. 

 

We put the load in and run upstairs to let Des in and turn off the boiling kettle.

The old man loves the snow.
He's always so polite and waits to be asked in. Then we have to wipe his feet. A white kitchen floor was the worst idea I ever had. Who does that?!
Jo plays with the pots and pans from the cupboard while I make our breakfast.

Oatmeal with raisins for Mum and oatmeal with peaches for Jo. 

I know you can't believe how delicious this looks

Dirty adorable baby face leads to bathroom clean up. (Sole picture featuring even part of my face all day)

Then it's time for a nap. 

Jo sleeps. It snows outside and I read. 

Jo wakes up. I am usually alerted to this development by feet thumping on the side of the crib. 

I love a sleepy eyed, warm cheeked, messy haired baby. 

We play in her room for a little while, Des comes in and sits on the rug, safe from the horror that is hard wood floors. Then we get Jo dressed for the day. We are firm believers in layers. Leg warmers and sweaters are donned. Jo hasn't figured out the sippy cup but it keeps her entertained enough for me to put pigtails in her hair! 

Then it was my turn to get ready. Jo hung out in the stander to wait for me. There's only so long she'll endure it, but it's long enough to get clean and almost long enough to get dressed too...

Then it's on to the living room to play and generally enjoy ourselves. Currently Jo's favourite toy is a piano she got for Christmas. I hear the songs it plays in my head while I fall asleep at night. She also really likes to try and eat the rug. Sometimes the most expensive toys are not the most favoured I suppose.                              

                     

Then it's time for the afternoon nap and I grade as fast as the internets and my fingers will allow me. The current key to long naps is to make as little noise in the hallway as possible. This means collecting ALL THE THINGS you might possibly need into the room you are and never leaving it again until the munchkin has awakened. It also means you try to convince the dog to stay right there with you too. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we don't. Oh fate! 

Jo wakes up and we start making dinner (can't be done while she's asleep because the kitchen shares a wall with her room) in preparation for......

Daddy's home! They plan in the living room while I finish dinner.

Daddy feeds Jo dinner. Because she is sick of me feeding her anything by this point in the day.

 Everybody's tired when it's over

Once Jo went to bed I apparently was done with documenting my day. Win some, lose some, at least I got the large portion of the day in....

Baby Rule #2: Write Stuff Down

Remember that one time I had a baby?
Yup, I did that.
Almost nine months ago.
What just happened to my life?
I will be honest and confess I have not written anything down. I did start writing a birth story but I was writing it. Pen and paper, old school style.
So one day when Jo asks me where the first nine months of her life are, what it was like, what we did, I will just have point to my noggin where those memories reside. Let's hope the contents stay sharp enough long enough for her to ask me.
I may jest, but I am quite downhearted to think I haven't written anything of the sheer perfect, magic, unbelievable, challenging, life-altering, confidence shattering, amazing last nine months. And so we sigh.
But, such is life, as Sister Nonnarath used to say. Such is life.

So we will start with today.
Today I captured Jo waving to me while sitting on my bed. It's one of her newest skills.  She waves by flapping her whole arm, then she scrunches up her face in a darling grin. She's impossible to resist like that.
Today I had to search the "things that are too big" drawer for items we can use now because the 6-9 month clothes are starting to get too small.
Today Jo tried her hardest to get to the baby in the mirror. She loves waving to that baby.
Today Jo took two naps. She'll be waking up soon I am sure (4pm).
Today Jo ate oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast and giggled when her hands were wiped down with a warm cloth afterward. She complained about any bite that didn't contain a blueberry.
Today I started to think that Jo doesn't like potatoes - she will not suffer them long for any meal.  Three bites in and she's had enough.
Today Jo used 'ma,' 'ba,'blah' and 'da' over and over and over. She just added 'da' last week. She also grunted at us. A lot.
Today Jo looked right to his kennel when I asked her where the dog was.
Today Jo took great joy in having her back tickled after she got up from her morning nap.
Today Jo pulled her book toward her so she could feel the texture of the bunny, the kitten and the puppy.
Today Jo smiled and slapped her thighs when I pulled out her Peppa Pig nursery rhymes and songs book.
Today Jo let me run my fingers over her face while I cuddled her before her nap.

The list goes on and on and on and on. And I want to remember every single little thing. I wish I could capture it all and bottle it for later. Because even now we sometimes say "remember when she used to......" and there are so many darling little details and moments I've forgotten. So many things she simply doesn't do anymore.  
But now she's up from her nap.
Such is life.