Bitch and moan, rinse, repeat

You know, I've never pretended to have the sunniest of dispositions, but I never thought I was a whiner. I mean I bitch and moan with the best of 'em, you know, and I can throw a MEAN pity party, but for the most part? I'm a happy camper.

You wouldn't know it by reading my blog, though, would you?

Bah humbug.

I've considered turning a leaf and not blogging unless I'm in a Mary Poppins mood, but those moods are better spent with the people I live with, bless their hearts. Not that those moods are few and far between or anything -- happy camper! HAPPY CAMPER!! -- but, you know, you never know when the well is going to run dry, and when it does, I want them all to remember when I was sweet and pleasant, which may make them hope I'll go back to that, and thus not leave me in a panic.

Hi! My name is Jeannie, and I'm a Happy Camper! (hi Jeannie!)

Okay, okay, really. Enough.

So, news on the Kiki front. Kipp's been teaching all KINDS of new tricks. She now sticks her tongue out and wiggles it. She shakes her head so hard she falls over. And she's back to babbling! And now if you stick your finger near her mouth, she'll yell so you can do the "bluh bluh bluh bluh" sounds against her lips. She LOVES that, and she vocalizes up and down in octaves while you do it until she collapses in giggles.

We're still doing the Your Baby Can Read videos, though not nearly as religiously as I'd like. Confusion has set in on a few points. While we watch the video, when the word "mouth" comes up, I bring her hand up to her mouth to reinforce it. "Mouth". You understand.

Well, this has wreaked havoc with the kiss blowing. I think the combination of learning "mouth" and getting tired of smacking herself in the face so hard (she gave herself a black eye once blowing kisses) has made her cautious. Now when you ask for a kiss, she brings her hand up fast, then slows it down as it reaches her face, then settles all of her fingers right in her mouth, and keeps them there with a little smile. It's like she's teasing you. "You want kisses? Okay, here's a kiss... no, just kidding! I'm keeping it ALL TO MYSELF!"

Her fourth tooth is coming in on top, right next to her Surprise Tooth. Ohh, and if you stick your finger in her mouth (to, you know, dig someting out that shouldn't ought to be there, for example) she'll clamp down, really really lightly, and her eyes will bulge out, and she'll make a Hulk face like she's going to TOWN on your finger. It's kind of alarming until you realize she's barely touching you at all.

And then she laughs. Because everything is funny!

And oh, she loves balloons! It's too bad the dog thinks they're alien invaders and won't stop skulking and growling when it's in sight.

No new pics. I mean, I have them but haven't had time to get 'em off the camera. *sigh* Soon! No, really. Okay, kind of soon. Maybe.