Happy birthday to me??? Really??? Yes, indeed...

I've contended for at least 34 years that a child will always find a way to be sick on my birthday. At least one will. There's something about me having a birthday that just invites sickness! I'm beginning to become a little paranoid. Maybe it has something to do with me.

So, going from one kid to another kid and the last episode with a granddaughter, I'm convinced I just won't celebrate birthdays anymore. I'm declaring birthdays are off limits for me in the future. We'll only celebrate Ground Hog's Day in the future.

Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday Mommy had jury duty this year, on my birthday, since she begged off earlier last year. It was out the door by 6:48 a.m. so we could beat the traffic and be at their house by 7:30. We made it. Exactly at 7:30. Mommy had a deadline of leaving by 7:45 because she had to be there by 8:15. She was running a few minutes late, but I assume she got there on time. I never asked.

Annabelle was still in bed asleep when we got there so we let her sleep until around 9:00, since she has had a very rough few days lately. I asked if she wanted something to eat and offered her some oatmeal which she said she did want. She really didn't want it after the first bite so I offered some grapes. She ate about 9-10 of those and that was her breakfast.

Her diaper was not very wet this morning because she hasn't been drinking much juice/water lately. It was my mission (in her mommy's eyes) that I should make sure she drank plenty of liquids today, whether she thought she needed it or not. That included forcing it down her with a medicine spoon or medicine dropper. Right. Liquid goes easily down sealed lips and clinched teeth. It became a power thing. She had the power and I had none.

We tried the medicine spoon thing, the medicine dropper thing, bribery, threatening, begging, pleading, how about a popcicle, thing, still no more than a few sips and only 1/2 sippy cup gone. In the meantime her mommy would sneak moments to call and harass me to see if I was getting liquids down her.

We even played the game of her deciding that since she had to drink the liquid, it was only fair that I should have to do the same; therefore,she would bring my drink over to where she was drinking hers and together we would drink. It was probably a good idea because I was failing to drink my drink also.

But that game got old in a hurry to her and we were back to the old stuff again.
I even suggested that since she wasn't drinking her drink maybe she was just ready for naptime. She didn't agree with that but still didn't want to drink anything else.

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." I could have written that all by myself, especially after today. She did get at least 1 2/3 sippy cups down before I put her down for naptime. I don't know how much Mommy got down her after we left, but I suspect she wasn't very successful, either. But I may be wrong.

After lunch I was so very sleepy and since Granddaddy had been napping all morning I asked him to watch Annabelle while I caught a quick nap. Just as I was about to lapse into a nice sleep I was awakened by a thud, right on top of my chest. A big black cat had chosen my chest to rest on while she begged for attention. That would be fine except she gets those nails caught in my sweater and I don't like for her to try to get loose and think I'm preventing it and then scratching me. And she's good at that.

She forces you to pay attention to her, as I said above. She will not be ignored. She bites your finger with a little added pressure if you fail to love on her. I loved her for a few minutes and then made her get down because of the sweater thing. But she wasn't happy, so I tried to put a pillow on top of my chest before she got back up again. She sat there for a while letting me love her and then she turns and sticks the back side right in my face! How dare she diss me after I've taken nap time to give her a little attention.

I made the comment that I didn't think anybody ever loved her around that house or she wouldn't keep aggravating me every time I come and especially when I try to sleep. Annabelle was still sitting in Granddaddy's lap doing her little "see if I can fall on my head from Granddaddy's lap" when I heard her say, "Me loves Chadow, Grandmomma!" And she does. Her Mommy says she says it all the time that she loves Shadow. It was just a funny little thing that happened today.

Annabelle has a pair of teddy bears that interact with each other wirelessly. You push the hand of one and the other starts a conversation about singing the ABCs with the other. Very cute. I knew she had gotten them for Christmas from the couple her mommy and daddy had met on a cruise a few years back. They are from Boston and have kept in touch with each other and visited each other on several different occasions. Of course, since Annabelle came along they like to make at least a yearly visit and always remember her with some pretty lavish gifts on different occasions of the year.

Annabelle has begun singing her ABC's lately. She is such a funny thing. She gets them right most of the time. I assume she must have used these teddy bears as part of her learning experience. I have to say they are very, very cute.

When we read one of her books that has Humpty Dumpty, and several others, I read them to her and end the line with a different word, such as Humpty Dumpty sat on the floor, or Rock a Bye Baby in the tree branch, or Hey Diddle Diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle, the cow jumped over the sun or rooftop, etc. just substituting different words and totally messing with her little mind. She catches it everytime and tells me "Nooo!" and corrects it. She knows her nursery rhymns and tells me the word that goes there instead of my silly word.

Also, while she and I were playing on the floor everytime I would put one of the toys where I wanted it she would pick it up and move it somewhere else after saying, "Nooo." Finally, just to see what her reaction would be, I commented something along these lines, "That's not fair! You move my person. You're taking my creativity away! You're changing my imagination! That's not fair." To which she sat for a second, then reached over and returned my little person back to the place I had it in the first place, even though it wasn't where she really wanted it in the first place. I'm sure she had no idea what my "creativity" meant or anything about what I meant when I mentioned my "imagination." But it was lots of fun watching her making her decision about maybe making me feel left out of the game or whatever she had rattling around in that little brain. I just love her so much! She's so much fun.

Granddaddy decided that after we had our blessing at lunchtime he and Annabelle should sing Happy Birthday to Grandmother so she finally joined in singing and she would say, "Happy birthday to me and Grandmother, Happy birthday to me and Grandmother," all the way through the song. It was all about her and Grandmother! And why shouldn't it be? What a hoot she is!

What better way to spend a birthday than with a sweet little grandchild? I can't think of anything more fun except having them well. Get well, soon, Little Princess, we're all ready for you to.