Playgroup today was at Miller Park, basically guaranteeing that Caroline will be getting sick very soon.

Emma is pushing the stroller as Caroline straps herself in.

After a late night due to the Little Gym, Caroline woke up today at 6:15am, about an hour before normal. She was all smiles and energy until she decided it was outfit time - apparently, outfit to her means only her favorite pair of jeans. She cried and cried until I put back on her pajamas over her shirt and jeans, and then she promptly laid down on the couch and fell asleep about 9am. I was looking forward to taking an afternoon nap with her, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen now. Maybe I should have shared some of that liter of coffee I drank this morning.

After a morning house inspection where Caroline got to really explore her (hopefully) new backyard, she took a 15 minute nap to set up a really crabby afternoon. We went to the Children's Museum with Emma, Alanah, and Aaron; although Caroline had moments of coorperation and good behavior, she also spent quite some time stealing others' carts at the mock Food Dog and fiercely defending "her" station on the mock Krispy Kreme donut assembly line.

Today Caroline was a little crazy. Whenever she didn't get her way, she'd collapse on the floor and weep, or shake her hands crazily while saying "NO! NO! NO!". There were times when her commands were in direct opposition to her communicated wishes. I suppose it has something to do with her approaching two; however, I, too, share her ability to have no clue what it is that I want Jay to do while yelling at him while he figures it out. These "terrible 2's" should therefore be smooth sailing for Caroline's dad.

I've been slack on the picture taking, so here are two from this evening. Caroline and I never got out of our pajamas, as the outside temp never got over 50. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, so hopefully there will be some park pics to post.

Caroline was a gem tonight at my school's student charity auction. We only made it through dinner and a few items before it was time for bed, but as usual, she was quite the little lady.

After some tears, Caroline decided to accept some new shoes this morning. Her previous favorite, the rhinestone moccasins (likely because she could easily slip them on herself) are now too small and very smelly. I've coveted the pink shoes she's wearing here ever since one of the playgroup kids got a pair. Thanks to frigid weather, we've been forced to find indoor activities. This afternoon we went to the Children's Musuem with Alanah, another happy owner of the sweet pink shoes.

A few months from now, Caroline might be moving here, her third residence in a little over two years. Hopefully Cheryl and I won't have to move again until Caroline's out on her own, and we're moving into her place so she can take care of us.

Caroline's been getting close to counting to ten with minimal help, although I'm not sure if she understands the concept of numbers. However, this afternoon she pointed at two cars coming our way, said "cars" and then said "one, two" so maybe she does.

Caroline gets very upset if we try to put her in anything but jeans. Just like me. Although she wore overalls yesterday morning, she wasn't happy about it; as soon as we changed her diaper in the afternoon, she refused to get back in them.

Caroline at playgroup.

We went with Emma, AJ, Ben and their moms to the zoo today. I tried in vain to get a good shot of Caroline and the ocelot. We scored a plastic ocelot at the gift shop (sadly, they were in the clearance bin - no one cares about the plight of the ocelot) to forever remember this trip.

Beth, AJ, Nicole, Emma and Caroline are pictured here, searching for the uncooperative otter.

Caroline and Emma planned the trip on Saturday, hanging out in Caroline's stroller, while their parents played some competitive karaoke on the xbox. Caroline is one lucky kid - her parents are so cool that they not only invite others over to sing competitive karaoke, but then they brag about it on her blog. This post pretty much guarantees that teenage Caroline will pretend not to know us in public.

Caroline's eating habits continue to confuse and astound me. Tonight she ate some macaroni and cheese and a lot of butter for dinner. I think she would eat an entire stick of butter if I would let her.

Caroline acted as an inhibitor for Emma's speedy escape attempts at lunch this afternoon. Caroline is slower, but the real reason she's not leashed as well is that her dignity harness has gone missing, and I think I know who the main suspect is.

Despite overt fatigue, Caroline protested for over an hour when we tried to force a nap on her this morning. She eventually surrendered, and slept for well over two hours. This afternoon, with the weather breaking into the 60s again, the three of us (except for Cheryl) were excited for a park trip. Despite the forecast for fabulousness, it was gray and windy, so we left after less than hour. It didn't help that no other kids came out to play. This is a photo of Caroline being asked to smile.



Also, we don't think the meningitis is contagious any more; so after skipping a week, Caroline will be returning to playgroup tomorrow.
Update 3/9 - Apparently diaper rash (or diaper dermatitis) is not the same thing as meningitis. My bad. Caroline is OK.

Faced with another long, cold, Emma-less day, we took Caroline to Chuck E. Cheese this morning to get her good and tired for an afternoon nap that she refused to take. Cheryl and I were spent after the trip, and really could have used that nap.

We went to Aaron's house for an Oscar party. Caroline and Aaron had a great time playing with his toys while we enjoyed the show. The adults had a contest to see which couple could pick the most winners - the winning couple would get a free evening of babysitting. Caroline will be spending some more time at Aaron's house sometime this week, without us.

The temperature didn't break 50 today, so other than a trip to the Little Gym, we didn't leave the house. We did cook some baked ziti tonight, and Caroline showed it who's boss.

It was a bittersweet Polo Park trip for Caroline and Emma this afternoon, as Emma will be leaving tomorrow for a spring break trip up north. After getting sufficiently dirty and sweaty (it was nearly 80 degrees), we were forced to cut our trip a bit short when a very conspicuously sick child decided to play too closely with the girls. He was clearly at the wrong park.
Before going home, the group of us went to check out the house that Cheryl and I are considering bidding on; the girls seemed to love it, especially the stone benches in the front yard.