virus monsters!

-an adaptation of birthday monsters (by sandra boynton).
sadly, based on true events from last night...

virus monsters!

you're not awake. it's 2 o'clock.
you hear a cry.
you hear a COUGH COUGH.

you hear the cough turn bark--
THE VIRUS MONSTERS ARE IN TOWN!

five virus monsters barge right in
and yell, "IT'S NIGHT TIME!
LET'S BEGIN!"

they rush the parents awake
before we're ready

& use our adeline as a germ factory.

"OH LOOK!" they shout.
"IT'S 2:08!
YOUR 911 CALL
CAN'T WAIT!"

they've brought the illness
they like best.

adeline gets blue lips
from coughing without rest.

"AND NOW,"
they say,
"IT'S MEDIC'S RESPONSE!
YOU ANSWER THE DOOR
& WE'LL MAKE HER SCREAM!

we find an EMT who's great.

we listen & wait,
listen & wait.

we realize 20 minutes later
we're being sent to the
hospital-ator. {sorry about the poor rhyming, lol}

"IT'S TIME FOR A RIDE!"
the monsters shout.

"SO HURRY! GET THE CAR OUT!"

we close our eyes
& make a wish,
& look upon...
...a wheezing-adeline-petri dish.

"AND NOW, GOODBYE!
IT'S BEEN A THRILL!"

and out they go. the car is still.

they took our sleep.
they scared our daughter.
they made us call 911 then drive to the ER.
there's nothing more that could go wrong.

and then
DEEP BREATH.
and then
SING SONG.

one last surprise is here for you--

THE VIRUS MONSTER RECOVERY CREW!

they fix!
they sweep!
they scrub the lungs!

the airways are open!
they're out the door!

and on your kitchen counter
you find

the medicinal things
they've left behind.

THE END.

*YAWN*

what a night. addy has croup...again. this was the worst that we have ever heard! yes, her lips did turn blue b/c she was coughing for 5-10 minutes without stopping or catching her breath. then when she did stop, her breathing sounded like a cough. i called 911 b/c of the blue lips & when the lady heard addy's breathing & asked if it was her cough & i replied that it was her breathing, that's when she sent the squad...anyway, long story short, she was given some steroids by the er doc & hopefully will do better today & tonight. she does sound like a raspy, old smoker, but she's still kicking & giggling, so...

what a night. & here i thought addy was the healthy one out of all of us! wrong again.

sorry, all who were at the bbq with addy yesterday...i hope the virus monsters don't visit you b/c of her being around you & your kids. so sorry if they do!!!

just the two of us

strawberrys delight& what is that picture of these delightful strawberries about? well, those are our first ripe berries of the year!

that would be amelia & me, the mama. we stayed at home while daddy & adeline go off to a bbq party. *sigh* the joys of being ill. this cold has really kicked the bottoms off amelia & i. i was hoping yesterday was my worst day of the illness, but as i woke up this morning i knew that was wrong. maybe today is the worse (or would it be "worst"??) day? yes, carol, as you said in your email, having a cold when it's not cold outside is just wrong! maybe b/c in the winter, when sick, you don't feel so shabby staying inside in a near comatose position all day? but during the warmer months, particularly a spring holiday weekend...being sick just plain sucks.

anyway, blah blah blah sickness.

so wes & adeline left around 3, leaving me with the millie monster (who is the cutest monster ever). after her nap, we played peek a boo with laundry (yes, why am i doing laundry when sick AND holiday?!), read books...then i would sort of zone out on cold medicine & find amelia crawling on me frantically trying to get my attention. it was fun to just hang with the wee one, but i do wish we could've also gone to the bbq! i was looking forward to this for the past few days, hoping my cold would go away by now. i just feel so bad taking sick kids somewhere, ya know? well, apparently adeline had a wonderful time playing with the bunch of boys & another wee but tough toddling girl. (why is it that nearly all our idaho friends are having girls & nearly all the ohio friends have boys?!).

amelia is finally able to read books without older sister disruption & book swiping.

& yesterday we ventured to cinnamon lake (ohio) for my twin niece's birthdays! they're two, which is baffling to think about. i think i finally rid my brain of connecting their names with the vision of them as ohsotiny babies & now i have to add to their brainfile (a term i am now saying is a real word) that they are two!

so this is leila (my sister in law) & her grandma behind her, then chloe & zoe while we are singing happy birthday (which they were so happy to be sung to. heart melting moment, folks).addy running with a stick. brilliant. (where are her parents? lol)

chloe & zoe playing in/around/near my brother's new compost bins/piles. they are mighty spiffy & put ours to shame, sadly.

last week i finished "the book of ruth" (not the one from the bible) by jane hamilton. & i can't get it out of my mind. i have a very hard time watching violence on tv (law & order/ncis/heros/etc can give me nightmares & sad awake thoughts for days). anyway, i bought this book years ago at the vineyard bookstore, thinking it was a devotional or something of that sort. not so! & before i read it now i didn't really know what it was about...until the end. darn it! hate it when that happens. i sorta thought it was similar to "zippy" & "she got up off the couch" by haven kimmel (which are two books i highly recommend, btw, as is her "the solace of leaving early" novel). anyway, this book of ruth ends with a brutal murder (of the mother of ruth) & the wife/mother being beaten nearly to death while pregnant by her mentally unstable husband. (sorry, if i just ruined this book if anyone was going to read it. i do recommend it, if you can handle the violent end; this author has a way of writing in a midwestern dialogue, which made me laugh).

some may know, some may not know, but i was in an abusive relationship in high school (for 3 years! egads) & it just really pains me to even read a fictional account of abuse. but it has made me pull closer to god & wes & hold my girls a bit tighter .... knowing what i know, hopefully i can help them not get into the same situation i was in. but it's not really my choice, it's theirs, which is very hard to let go of. anyway, these are the thoughts that are plaguing the sickly mama right now.

& now, to bed!

our day, in reverse!

why don't the pictures upload in order?! grrr.
so i guess we are showing you our day, in reverse. deal with it *smile*

SO! here is amelia in her new car seat! she was STOKED. she smiled & giggled & flapped her arms & legs the entire 5 minute car ride.

we laundered money by buying gift cards at giant eagle (a grocery store, for all you idahoans) & being part of their 'card club' gives us money off of gas. last week i filled up the tank for FREE! just for buying gift cards for things we already buy. does that make sense? anyway, we call it the gerbickian money laundering scheme. brilliant. ANYWAY.

amelia seems to have suddenly grown up this past week. it's amazing to see the differences. i think we're just more shocked than sad at this point. she is fully mobile on all fours, but you knew that already. she's pulling up on things & you knew that. but what you didn't know is that today she started to toddle around! you know, by grabbing ahold of something, like an ottoman or the water table (outside plastic sink-ish thing that i highly recommend getting for a preschooler & toddler). then she's putting a spoon in her mouth (with nothing on it, of course...but this is a purposeful move on her part). she's holding her own bottle if given the chance (meaning we flail our hands around & sing "you hold it, amelia, i can't hold it. then she looks at me very closely & puts her wee hands around the bottle). i won't go into any more detail, but the gist is: amelia is ready to grow up. "enough of this baby stuff"

slide! (notice the tongue sticking out; for concentration?)

me looking chipper (btw: i found this dress last night at ann taylor loft for $25! oh yea)

swing!

is this not a cute kid?!

sneeze!

& why is addy sneezing? well, our luck has ended. all 3 girls have come down with a cold. a nose-dripping, sore throat-burning, super-sneezing virus. UGH. amelia has it the worse by far. poor wee one, teething & sick. addy wouldn't give me a goodnight kiss tonight b/c of the kleenex stuffed up my nose (at least my nose isn't dripping all over the place, which was happening just prior to the kleenex nose plugs).

this is a memorial in a park down the street (where we took the 5 minute car ride to). it has a flag for each military person who is/has been from westerville. or at least that's how i understood it! anyway, i think there's around 2,000 flags flappin' around.

it was pretty impressive to see this, esp when you drive by it. so many flags. when we walked through them tonight, i started to get a bit weepy reading the messages on some of the cards attached to eat flag, naming the service man/woman who it represents. more than a dozen or so that i read were about those killed while in combat/deployed (some going back to WW1, but still!).

as some of you may know, i align myself more with the liberal view of things...but one thing i am very adamant about is supporting the military & soldiers. (not that liberals don't, but it seems that is the idea going around by some...*ahem* my brother, lol!). my view of the military just may have something to do with my brother, who was in the army special forces & deployed to iraq for 18 months! but i also think what these soldiers give up--possibly their life--is amazingly brave/heroic/awe-inspiring. sometimes i just stop during the day & think to myself that there is a war going on right now (two wars?) & here i am, doing my daily thing.

when my brother was deployed i was working some crappy call center job (during college, ya know?) & i had been sick on & off that summer so i took most of my sick days & vacation days (b/c i was sick with strep throat nearly constantly! ugh). so when i asked to have a non-paid day off to see my brother off to iraq, the wouldn't give it to me! i had to just call it off, risking getting fired (thankfully my supervisor really liked me & talked the higher-ups out of it). my point is that it seems a good majority of americans don't even think about the losses military folks go through. not just death, but the actual missing of a family member for so long. the anxiety that goes along with being in a war, then waiting for your loved one to call/write, then coming home...there's so much that non-military folks don't think about & if you've never known someone close to you who's been deployed, you may not understand. but we should!

i guess what i'm trying to say is that especially during a war time, shouldn't every day be memorial day? veterans day? do we have to be reminded?

amelia playing in the water table.

today wes & i were trying to put our mulch out & adeline was being very very naughty & spent nearly half of her life this morning in time out. i couldn't take it anymore, so off we went to babies r us to buy a water table. & her AND amelia are smitten with their new toy.

i also purchased them a bubble blower machine-thingy. very snazzy.

the two girlies getting along! playing with each other! amazing.

amelia followed me wherever i went in the yard. under the swing, through the dirt & grass. around dog poo. everywhere.

gazing at the fluttering bubbles. pure childhood joy.

is amelia floating away? :o)

& that is our smarty-pants trying to eat a bubble. her face said "gross" once she caught it.

& this is the first day for bathing suits this year. although, i couldn't find (until just 2 minutes ago) addy's from her first summer--meaning amelia's now-- so we squeezed millie into this 2 piece 0-3 month bathing suit. poor kid, i thought her head was going to pop off.

amelia found our basket of pine cones (from christmas! i know, i know, lazy) & she was ecstatic about this discovery & made a very big mess indeed. at least it forced us to do something about the basket of pine cones, eh?

& this was only one day! we have two more parties/bbq's to attend this weekend...should be fun!

& now wes & i are going to have a home brew under the hop hut (his version of heaven-on-earth, my version of being eaten alive my mosquitoes *smile*)

birthday post #2: becky parsons!

today is also my dear & far away friend, becky's, birthday. if i was in idaho, i would take you out for lunch, becky-friend! (asiago's?!)

for those who don't know her, becky is in the middle.


let me tell you, folks, this is maybe the sweetest friend i have. sweet, as in, nice, kind, thoughtful, calming, positive, etc etc. becky is like a vortex that you just get drawn into, if that makes sense. you will just want to hang out with her, get to know her, have her on your side.

i have a few stories about becky to share!

the first one just recently happened. so i'm sure everyone, if you are a long time reader, remembers the hell of the gerbick family winter of illness, right (which is what i have titled last winter)? well, on one particularly bad week, a package was delivered to our door. 'hhmm, that's odd, i thought, i didn't order anything.' i open it up to see a ginormous round of cheese & a note in the invoice says something so SWEET from becky & her hubby bill; something along the lines of "you've had such a rough winter, i wanted to let you know i'm thinking of you & hope this helps make your day better"...i immediately starting to cry b/c how amazingly sweet, right?! but this is just becky. she is so-so-so kind & thoughtful. btw: the cheese was from bill's alma mater, which i don't' remember right now! egads! anyway, it was a sweet basil monterrey jack & was DELICIOUS. i savored every single bite of it...it was hard to share with addy, who also loves cheese. good with grapes, in quesadillas, on sandwiches...i could go on & on. it was so yumma-lo-so.

she also sent me a birthday card last year. wow! (to put this straight: my parents hardly even get birthday cards from me...so friends, i'm sorry, sending out cards is not my strong suit, *frown*). anyway, this lady is simply amazing. she is a mom of all moms, holding her wee girl close to her so she is safe & loved. she is a dear friend who loves on those who have even moved 2,000 miles away. she is a rockin' wife who makes a beautiful home for her family & husband (including amazing food, did i mention what a great cook & baker she is?!!!). & now i also know that she is pretty buff from all her work at the gym (if you don't know becky, she is a WOW petite knock-out)...i see a friend who knows things; like how she feels about politics, life, children, god, truth, honesty, friendship, beauty. she may be petite, but the might of her is powerful & large; a beautiful, sweet force to be dealt with.

the other story is from my going away night out with the boise-gal crowd. it was a week or so before we were moving. i was sad to be leaving this group of friends i had...so party it up we did! i was still nursing addy at this point (she was around 8 months, i think) & hadn't had more than a few drops of alcohol for, geez, nearly 18 months?? so the girls took me out. we got fake tattoos (i am SO terrified of needles) & after just one round of drinks, i was tipsy. anyway, we were hanging out in the boise downtown (which totally rocks, btw, so much better than columbus, sadly) & were at my favorite restaurant, asiago's. i ordered a bottle of wine & as it was poured all around, becky turned hers down, quietly. all eyes were immediately on her b/c becky is in no way a lush, but she does drink wine, right? which could mean only ONE thing: pregnancy?! the smiles & goo-goos erupted & becky meekly says 'yes, i'm pregnant!' & then the congrats are flying & becky of course accepts them...then she turns the focus back on wes & i leaving. i was astounded! she is so thoughtful to not want all the attention on her during my going-away party...which i totally was willing to share the spotlight (remember: heidi is shy?!). anyway, at the end of the night, i totally could not drive & this was only after 2 1/2 drinks! so i had to be driven home by another friend who lived close to me, but we had to get the car seat out of my car so we could come get my car the next day (with adeline in the car, so car seat was needed). we COULD NOT get it out?! i don't remember exactly why, but i think it has something to do with all the ladies being a bit tipsy *smile* so i thought up a not-so-brilliant-but-seemed-brilliant-at-the-time plan: have becky sit in the car seat so that would loosen up the straps --somehow--??? but she did it & she even fit in it! seriously, but it cracked us all up, let me tell ya. didn't work, though. i forget how we got the car seat out...but i do remember the sigh of becky sitting in the car seat; that i will never forget.

another way to describe becky: determined. there is this glowy memory i have & it involves becky's herb garden tour. she had the tiniest chives growing from seed in her soil/garden by her house. & she was going to make them live! i loved it. not that i haven't had dozens of plants die, trust me, i've killed off more than my fair share...anyway, she was so excited about them. i guess her joy just made me so excited for her & bill, in their new house that was perfect for them.

i dunno what else to say. i miss you?! i'm so glad we were able to share some memories. i often think that if i still lived in boise, we would have 3 little girls playing together at least once a week & that makes me sad that they are missing out on that, as are we. anyway, happy birthday, my friend! i hope your day is filled with good things.

birthday post #1...my father in law!

happy birthday, bruce!

one thing i know for certain about my father in law, is that he is very dedicated & loyal to whatever he makes a commitment to, especially family. i have never seen a son treat his mother as continuously kind & soft as bruce is with his mom. (well, okay, except for how my hubby is with his own mom, lol). he also does this with his grand babies & sons...if there is anything he can get to help make our lives easier, bruce will be there with it.

& once his first grandchild arrived, you could see the interest growing in the newly titled grandpa bruce...he now does everything except change the diaper! & when we are able to visit them in avon lake, addy is oh-so-excited to jump out & give her grandpa bruce 'grinders', something that he came up with while his sons were little...it is a neck tickle of sorts. anyway, addy really enjoys playing with her grandpa & already she associates him with motorcycles (when one goes by she sometimes yells out "GMPA! OOOHHH"). i just hope there's not a story that goes along with it somewhere, like "my grandpa bruce took me on my first motorcycle ride at the age of 18 months" sort of story *wink*. which would probably be similar to the 'grandpa bruce gave me my first sip of lemonade at the age of 3 months' which is a true statement that nearly made me fall off my chair when it happened...but now makes me only laugh. i don't know if adeline likes lemonade after that attempt *smile*

during my first year of marriage (with wes, of course!) i was astounded with bruce's generosity & interest in not only our cars (which he sold us, as he is a car dealer), but also in our jobs, plans for the future, vacation habits, & also our yard (somehow the dandelions always seem to pop up right before he comes for a visit, lol). not that my parents & father aren't like this!, but bruce has such an earnest desire to ensure we are on the right path...in a good way. he has done everything in his ability to give his sons opportunities in life, even if that included him working 60-70 hours a week for nearly 2 decades.

b/c of bruce, i was finally able to go on (two!) cruises to the caribbean with wes & we were also able to see wes' brother & sister in law get married b/c he knew we couldn't afford it, but that we should be there. sometimes i chuckle & think of bruce as the "don of the family" sort of thing--which may be true, now that i think of it, as he is sicilian, hhmm??--& he sits in front of the tv, both watching the tv & then also knowing exactly what is going on in each of his kids' families' lives, helping & giving advice & always being there asking if we need anything, how things are going...lol, but he is not scary, folks.

then there's always the 'homemade vacation movies' to watch...oh my. they are helpful when it comes to getting a general idea of what their most recent vacation was like, but at times it seems we see the ground more often than the sights? they are classic, though, & are a good timeline of their lives.

one more thing to say about bruce: he's a walking tv guide! it's truly amazing.

uuuhhh, what?

that's what i thought this morning as i sat amelia on my lap, "uuhh, what?" as in, why is my lap soaking wet? all morning i have been noticing these spots of wetness on the floor. they are smeared a bit, so i just assumed they were griswold's spots where he lovingly licked the floor of something dog-worthy. but this wet spot on my lap was unavoidable & odd. i then assumed that amelia had again peed out of her diaper & started to wonder if we were giving her too much liquids b/c she keeps peeing her diaper full, then peeing her pants totally wet, etc. so i put her on the floor to investigate the diaper situation & this is what i find:

yes, that would be amelia WITHOUT a diaper! lmao!! my dear hubby is a great daddy & husband. he got up with amelia this morning just a few minutes before 6 a.m. (her wake up time for the past week) & i'm not sure when the diaper change took place, but when i checked this is what nearly 9 a.m. amelia was soaked, from toes to her chin. even her bib smelled like pee! poor kid!
i then called wes & told him & as he was cracking up laughing i also told him that he should expect the mop to be waiting for him at lunch time (b/c all those 'griswold lick spots' are actually 'amelia pee spots'), yes just another day in paradise with another story to chuckle over.

wait, another milestone amelia has hit: pulling herself up! she did it for wes this morning, bright & early. then she did it again for me on the ottoman (right before i discovered the no diaper morning), & then she nearly rocketed herself out of the crib. thankfully i was near the door & my memory was instantly attuned to the sound of a baby rattling the crib, ready to launch from addy's days in the crib. sure enough, i open the door to see amelia trying desperately to pull herself over the crib rail (she was standing & the railing hit her about waist high). egads! she is growing up like lightning. addy took forever to grow up & amelia seems to be on the fast track...i think i'm ready for it. below is a picture wes took right after amelia pulled herself up to explore the slide.

addy reading her new favorite book (garage sale find for $.25!!) "going on a bear hunt" & when we read it the story is usually accompanied with a beat of slapping our hands on our legs. i remember doing this in preschool, actually, & have sung this to addy before. but now, NOW we have the book! & it's her favorite this week.

amelia, learning from her friendly dog, griswold ("amelia, if you are using all 4 paws, just stick it in your mouth to carry something. mouths are so useful"). if you look closely, you just might see some pee streaks trailing behind amelia. lol.

adeline, the brave one, sticking her fingers in amelia's mouth to feel her new tooth. i can see it now: CHOMP! crying. "addy has a boo-boo".

self explanatory.

what other news? addy has somehow managed to get 4 boo-boos in the past two days, including her first splinter. i am not about to dig it out quite yet...i remember the first time i dug out my own splinter for the first time. i was so proud & ran to tell my dad "i pulled out my own splinter!" & he responded with an appropriate amount of enthusiasm (maybe b/c he didn't have to sit there & dig it out for me, as i cried & writhed around?). anyway, addy & boo-boos don't go well together. it seems just this week she has discovered that these boo-boos hurt & blood trickling down your leg/arm/etc isn't necessarily a funny thing anymore.

& i need a hair cut something fierce!

stories from the 'hood

in response to judy's blog post ( http://judycrawford.blogspot.com/2009/05/bikeseat-and-bambinos.html ) requesting a blog picture dialogue of gardens, i have gobs of garden pictures to share. i am really into getting a blog 'dialogue' going, so even if you don't know judy, go ahead & do it! i hope lots of folks do this...i am curious about gardens, i guess. & i really enjoy gardening & looking at the flowers, blooms, veggies, & wondering when i can dead head the dying blooms. maybe i even enjoy working in the gardens more than looking at them? i do know that when i get to walk outside, pick something from the herb or veggie gardens & then take it inside to eat...i feel very satisfied with our work & also the food.
the one problem i have with gardening is that i can't remember names of plants very well. or not at all? i have some stored in my mind, but most of those in my flower beds, well i have no clue half the time. even the veggies...i can tell you what it is, but not what breed or however you would say it.

so this first one is of a flower...but what is it? anyone know?! it sprang up this spring.

corral bells, love 'em.

greens in the odd shaped bed.
mint in the triangular bed.
lilies, irises & lavender in the side patio bed.

this is a repeating bed of corral bells, brown-eyed susans, forget-me-nots, phlox, & some ground cover that i really don't know the name of (most of these are from my mother in law...thanks, sue!)

our main veggie garden. tomatoes, 3 types of onions, peppers & marigolds to keep some pesty animals out (worked so far in this bed). past the veggies would be my lilac tree/bush that hardly blooms anything...grrr. & more iris/lilies.

strawberries!

azalea, random odd stuff (garlic chives? wild flowers?) a few rose bushes, hop hut with 6 hop varieties.

asparagus! we planted 15 crowns & so far 17 shoots have come up! yum yum.

my 3 tiered herb garden filled with the basics: lemon verbena, thyme, parsley, catnip, bee/lemon balm, chamomile (mine hasn't taken over at all like judy's...), 3 types of basil, cumin, chives, garlic, egyptian walking onions). i think that's it...

side of the house 3 tier garden with vine veggie plants. too many to tell! this is the garden that the varmint ate most of the starts. wes replanted with seeds...but he's still sad. *frown*

side of the front flower bed with lamb's ear & hostas, & an assortment of smaller things. also in there is the bird bath i bought wes last year. the lovebirds, of course, represent wes & i! of course!

the work-in-progress-flower bed. *sigh* this is in the very front of our yard & it smacks up to our neighbor's BEAUTIFUL garden. *bigger sigh*

hostas & sweet woodruff.

allysum, shasta daisies, rhododendron, grasses, etc.

in case you haven't noticed, we are doing an all white & green front yard...it is much more difficult than anticipated, but when we do get it filled in, i'm envisioning stylin' front yard gardens!

clematis! this is one of my 10 favorite plants. i love it!

the front with clematis, white violets, grasses, a grape tomato plant in a pot, mums, hollyhocks, roses, & some other things my mom just recently gave me (all with white or green blooms). & there's a few plants in there that i don't know the names of. yeppers.

& that is the gerbickian gardens. i hope you enjoyed your tour.

******

so if you read judy's comment from yesterday's post about addy's toilet issue yesterday...i totally forgot! here it is: adeline, amelia, & i were in the family bathroom at the polaris mall, which is great b/c it's just one big bathroom with a wee toilet, adult toilet, wee sink, adult sink, & then a very large changing table area. so adeline had just peed in her toilet & i in mine & poor little amelia was crawling on the bathroom floor b/c remember i had forgotten the stroller--wait, that was the first time we went to this bathroom. this time amelia was still in the stroller. still, the had crawled around that nasty bathroom floor...what was i to do? ICK! (what they are missing in this family bathroom is the child restraint seat. ah-ha!). anyway, i was washing my hands & changing amelia's diaper & pants b/c somehow she was totally soaked (okay, not somehow...she had peed so much her diaper was leaking, yea, bad mom alert one more time, lol). anyway, i look over just as addy was leaning into the adult toilet seat, her hair falling into the water. i screeched for her to STOP! & she just kept going, peering into the toilet bowl b/c it kept flushing b/c it was the automatic flusher kind. anyway, she basically gave herself a swirly in the toilet water. really gross, eh? & come to think of it, since i totally forgot about it, she didn't get her hair washed last night & continued sucking on her hair (her new habit, hair sucking/chewing) yesterday & today. yuck. & we wonder why our girls keep getting sick? lol!

also today, amelia crawled from our living room, through the hallway, into the dining room, & went to her favorite spot: in front of the sliding glass door where she proceeded to bang bang bang on it until i noticed that she *apparently* wanted to go outside. it just shocks me how well she's crawling right now. & her top left tooth is in...yea! now one more to go & hopefully we will have some time off before the next set start. can you say s-l-e-e-p is needed here?