The latest and greatest adventures of Inara Grace

Before I started this blog, I scrolled through and read some of my previous entries. I realized something, besides the fact that I can be long-winded, I gush a lot about my daughter. Some of the stories get so mushy sweet. Guess what? I love every word of it. I want to gush about my daughter to everyone I come in contact with. Wanna know why? The girl rocks! I seriously think she is the coolest chick I've ever hung out with. Sorry to all my girlfriends past and present, but seriously, she is the greatest girl in the world. This has made the discussion of when to try for another baby a rather difficult subject. It's hard to imagine loving another baby as much as I love Inara. She is so darn cool! How could a second child be as cool if not cooler than her? I know this may sound silly, but it's the honest truth. I even told Shawn we shouldn't mess with perfection because Inara really is perfect. Yes, I know that I've had many really rough days in the past, but they've all lead me to this awesome stage with her and I'm so grateful for them. Plus, I absolutely love getting to spend so much time with her and watching her grow every day. I worry that once I have another child, I won't have the same one-on-one time and relationship I have with her that I love so much. I want to give her my undivided attention as long as possible, so when is the right time to have another child? Let's all face it, I'm not getting any younger and starting to hit the high-risk pregnancy stage, so if we're going to have another baby, we really should start trying soon. But I hate the idea of only giving Inara half of my time when right now I love giving her everything I've got. Yes, she's spoiled and I'm damn proud of it. She's worth it!

As always, I have to share some of the funny stories with all my readers. Yeah, all 5 of you I'm sure, but even if nobody reads this, I have to throw these stories out there in hopes that some day Inara will get to read them when she's older.

So the other day Shawn, Inara and I were shopping at Sports Authority. Shawn was looking for some new shoes, and I was trying to keep Inara busy walking around looking at things so as not to disturb Shawn too much. I started walking back to the shoe department with Inara in tow talking away to her as usual. I said, "Where is daddy? Let's call him. Daddy. Where are you?" Like the obedient daughter she is, Inara cupped her hand around her mouth and started yelling out for him too. But she didn't yell Daddy. Instead, she yelled Shawn. I turned around, flabbergasted that I heard her call him by his name for the first time. Shawn, two aisles away, also heard her, came around the corner, and asked, "Did she just say Shawn?" The two of us cracked up. The rest of the time we were in the store Inara proceeded to call him Shawn as he kept correcting her, "NO! It's Daddy!" Obviously she hears me call him by his name. Good thing I've refrained from calling him some of the others names I have for him in her presence. That's all I need is for her to walk around the store calling out for Butthead or other colorful names.

Inara is quickly learning the art of negotiation. She can be heard throughout the day saying, "One more." This can be in reference to pretty much anything: one more french fry, one more glass of chocolate milk, one more episode of Curious George, one more book before bedtime. It's so hilarious that she tries to get her way by asking for just one more of something she wants, which of course is followed by several more rounds of "just one more" until Shawn and I say no more.

I keep telling myself that now that I'm a mom I need to come up with a million dollar invention for some gadget moms can't live without. My all-time favorite right now is the crazy monstrosity shopping carts that have cars attached to them for kids to sit and play in. Whoever invented this is a pure genius! For awhile there, shopping with Inara was a total nightmare. Several times I was tempted to leave her in the middle of the store as she proceeded to scream at the top of her lungs. I swear I'd never do it but on several occasions, I grabbed an item off the shelf, opened it, and gave it to her. At least it was only crackers and string cheese, but still, I was so embarrassed to do it, but anything to get her to quiet down. Well now the girl has a grand old time driving around in the car shopping carts. The second we step foot into the grocery store, she asks for the car. She loves it! Yes, I agree they are obnoxiously large and impossible to maneuver through a store, but I don't care. Whatever I have to do to get my groceries in some peace and quiet, I'll do it. It's hilarious to watch her play in the car too. She turns the steering wheel, honks the horn, goes VROOM VROOM, and waves at people as we "drive" passed them. We have gotten many a smiles and chuckles from passers-by. I mean really, how can you not smile and laugh as a 20 month old drives pass you and waves? It's a beautiful sight to see.

One thing that has been hard for me to adjust to these past 20 months is the fact that I'm not working. I loved teaching and have struggled at various times adjusting to my stay-at-home status because I miss the classroom. Recently though, I've fully embraced my new role as a full time mommy and am more at ease with myself. Even Shawn has noticed my new relaxed demeanor. And there are certain moments that I get to revel in the fact that I'm a stay-at-home mom. Last night we went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. There were two ladies in the booth next to us. I heard them talking about Inara several times during our meals. As we were getting ready to leave, one of the ladies asked how old Inara is. When I told her 20 months, she seemed shocked and said, "Wow. She's got a great vocabulary and really does understand a lot for such a young age." I could do nothing but smile. It made me feel so good to hear such great compliments about my daughter. I think it has a lot to do with me being home with her to teach her. I know she really does thrive in a one-on-one setting and might get lost if she were in a daycare with a handful of other kids. On several occasions, even Kristi has commented that she wouldn't be surprised if my kid was the one reading before she was 3. I love comments like this because it offers me rewards that no other job has offered. I love to see Inara thrive in such ways. She's starting to learn her colors and her letters, which I think is impressive for a child under the age of 2. All of this is because I'm home playing with her and trying to offer her learning opportunities whenever I can. Yes, this means you can hear me talking away all day long, in the car, while walking through stores, on walks, everywhere. I've gotten many a funny look from people as they hear me talking away to her, but I don't care if it means she's having fun learning something new every day. True, I might not have a paycheck job, but now after 20 months, I wouldn't change my job as a mommy for anything in the world.