Nine

8:22 and counting ... (now 8:55!) ... (ultimate wake-up time: 9:05)

Avery is still asleep at 8:22!  Any wake up time in the 8's is very, very unusual for Avery, even when she goes to sleep later than usual.  She went to sleep immediately after the GGs (how's that for confusing since I usually reference the Gs?) left around 9:15.  Avery had the best time playing with Henry last night.  I don't know how many laps those two ran around the house, but she was just plain tuckered out.  At one point, Avery was totally unclothed, but Henry still had his clothes on.  Avery was fast and Henry was fast, but not his usual lighting quick speed.  Then Henry took off his clothes and his running pace must have quadrupled.  There you have it, folks: Olympic runners should run unclothed!

Poll results

The results are in.  100% of voters said that it is acceptable to use TV on the iPhone to bribe Avery into her car seat during this oh-so-challenging phase.

D and I discussed it and we came to the agreement that it's OK to use it to prevent a car seat fit, but not to stop an in progress one.  I am getting to the point where I can see in her general demeanor when a fit is going to happen and when it will not, so I am somewhat optimistic this will help.  We'll see.  I need to download a few more TV shows/segments.

Waffles

This morning, Avery and I picked up some waffles and headed over to Christie's for a playdate with Henry.  Amber joined us sans Josie (shhhh - don't tell Josie or else she'd be quite upset she missed it).  At one point, Henry came into the dining room where we adults were chatting.  He asked to take his shirt off, at which point I knew Avery was somewhere with all her clothes already off.  My little nekkid-obsessed girl. When she saw Henry's bits and pieces, she said, "Henry need to go poopy," because anything hanging off one's body must be poop in her mind.  We corrected her and explained boys' parts and girls' parts, at which point both toddlers set about examining their respective parts.

Diet Coke

Last Monday morning, I just stopped drinking Diet Coke everyday.  It wasn't planned.  It just felt like the right day to start anew.  I had a Diet Coke for lunch on Friday, then one on Sunday again, but I haven't drank any in the house.  That's key for me.  I'm not sure what my goal with giving it up is.  Is it to eliminate all together?  Is it to just eliminate it from the house?  Ultimately, I guess it's just to get some control over my Diet Coke obsession.

While I think the sweetener in Diet Coke does make me crave more and more sugary/sweet things*, I lean towards another reason it's not good for me: it seems to be my gateway to loss of control in multiple areas of my life.  It's like when I let myself drink it whenever I please, I also start to lose control of my eating, my adherence to good routines (daily dog walks), and probably other minor areas I'm unaware of.  It's almost like controlling the Diet Coke consumption keeps everything else in check. 

We'll see.  So far today, no Diet Coke.  One day at a time.

* This is the rationale a nutritionist gave to D several years ago when she was explaining why he should give up his Diet Coke habit.