The Doll Who Pooped

Here at the Wheeler household we've begun the unenviable task of potty-training. Since that moment, our conversations seldom progress beyond the topics of poopies and lollipops (the reward). I thought we'd share our most recent adventure in the treacherous realm between diapers and panties.

So last week I walked into our bedroom and was horrified to find Brooklyn standing buck naked, peering down at a chocolate brown poop on our beige carpet. Next to the poop was her baby doll, likewise having been stripped of any all raiment. Hearing my gasp (and impending scold), Brooklyn looks at me and explains that the baby doll did it.

I'd post a picture, but it wasn't pretty...

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

A few pictures of our girls at their best and worst moments:

Brooklyn was absolutely terrified of the candles on her birthday cake. However, after finally settling down and realizing that her mommy wasn't about to burn up, she downed more than her fair share of ice cream cake and loved opening presents. Now she regularly looks up at us and says with imploring eyes, "Happy Birthday Party?", desperately hoping that she'll have another birthday within the next day or two...

Talia's First Smile

Talia first graced us with her beautiful smile on Christmas Day. We thought you might enjoy a picture.

Talia Lily Wheeler

At long last, we have a name for our sweet new arrival: Talia Lily Wheeler. We hope you like it. If you don't, well, to be completely honest, we hope you won't tell us. Perhaps it will grow on you.

Here are a few of the reasons it's grown on us, just in case you're interested. (By the way, we take no responsibility for any inaccurate meanings--if they're wrong, blame the baby name books. With 55,001 names to sort through, we didn't take time to verify.)

- In Hebrew, Talia means "Dew from Heaven." The arrival of our beautiful girl certainly seems like dew from heaven, both in her sudden appearance as well as her consideration in coming on her due date. With Mommy in graduate school full-time, she couldn't have picked a better moment.

- In Greek, Talia means "blooming." The son of a horticulturalist, Jason likes the idea of having a blooming lily around the house.

- A second Greek meaning is "golden." We think that fits our baby blonde.

- In Latin, Talia means "birthday"--kind of appropriate when you're playing the naming game.

- Talia could go by Tallie as a nickname. We like that because it reminds us of her blonde Aunt Callie who wishes she could live closer. She could also go by Lia, or even Tal (in honor of the Spackmans.)

- We think trying to say Talia Lily Wheeler three times fast is quite amusing. Try it sometime...

Anyway, we hope all is well. More pictures coming soon!

Speedy Gonzalez

Well, Anonymous is finally making a blog post... I figure after all that Kara went through yesterday, this is the least I can do to contribute.

The day started off like any other with me making my mad dash for the bus in the morning in order to make it to class on time and Kara getting Brooklyn ready for the babysitter before heading off to classes of her own. Despite being the scheduled due date for our little "Jasper-it", the day proceeded as normal - after all, tired mommy and I hadn't seen the slightest indication that the baby was coming any time soon.

After my morning class, I picked up Brooklyn from the sitter's, then met Kara at Christie Clinic for her weekly check-up with the Nurse-Midwife. They attached Kara to the monitor to track the baby's vital signs for 15 minutes or so just to make sure all was going well. While being monitored, Kara had two contractions... Little did we know what we were in for.

After the appointment, Kara went to her phonology class, then we swapped Brooklyn and I headed off to Studio. Lousy weather was beginning to beset the Champaign Urbana "metropolitan" area, with strong gusts of wind and cold, pelting rain. After studio I braved my way through the freezing weather and the crowded bus and finally made it to the safety of our home. Kara happily greeted me and informed me that her afternoon had been "interesting..." Apparently he contractions hadn't stopped after the doctor's appointment, and were even becoming more regular. "Cool," I thought. "Maybe this baby will come before Thanksgiving after all..."

A couple hours later and with an increasingly uncomfortable Kara, I finally suggested that maybe we should think about going to the hospital. Christy and Ben were over visiting for the evening, and with Brooklyn already in bed they had no qualms about staying the night. So at 9:40, Kara and I loaded up the car and ventured out into the dark and stormy night.

Arriving at the hospital, we found the front door to be locked with little indication of where to enter the building (I guess I shouldn't have been so stubborn about not taking a hospital tour...). We tried checking a couple other entrances, but with Kara's mobility rapidly decreasing, I finally picked up the emergency phone in one of the doorways and called for help. It was a good thing too... we hadn't been in our room but a few minutes when the baby decided it was time to come.

So, at 10:44 pm last night, Kara and I became the proud, happy, surprised parents of a beautiful baby girl. (Stats: 6lbs, 14oz, 19.25 inches) All we need now is a name for our new bundle of joy.

How about Speedy Gonzalez?

And a Few More Pictures

October Fun

Despite being busy, October was a great month for us as we enjoyed a visit from the Andrus family. Grandpa Kay and NomiAnn Cathy came to visit for the weekend, along with one of Cathy's former students, Lily. Lily, originally from China, is looking at attending graduate school at the University of Illinois. We hope she comes, as we're always in the market for great babysitters.

Here are some photos of us at Hardy's Reindeer Ranch and hanging out at home. Brooklyn was the star of the show as she modeled the adorable Halloween costume Grandma made--coined a "sheepoodle" by Aunt Callie. Whether puppy or lamb, Brooklyn was the hit of Halloween. She absolutely loved trick or treating, and made everyone smile as she crawled from place to place.