QOTD: I guess she's had enough to eat.

Charlotte:  "My stomach is packed full of food."

Spontaneous.

Had a great impromptu play session with the neighbor boys.  They are twins, 10 months younger than Charlotte, or thereabouts.  She has been really interested in them lately, and they think she has good toys (she does) so they get along great.  I also really like their mom, who is easy to talk to and very mellow.  I think if you have toddler twin boys living in a small apartment, you are kind of forced into mellowness, at least when it comes to things like Charlotte feeding them snacks from their snack traps (WTF?) or the grabbiness & mess that comes from 3 toddlers, 3 containers of bubble solution, 1 tray, and 25+ bubble wands.  Charlotte had a blast, and did a relatively good job sharing.  There was some grabbing, but no pushing or hitting, which was a big relief to me.  Granted, Charlotte has never hit another kid, but then, she doesn't really play with other kids, either, so who knows what could happen with repeated exposure?

Anyway, it was really nice to spend an hour chilling with the mom & kids, and her mom came by later ("Meemaw!!") and then Matt came home, and it was just a nice neighborhood moment.  The other mom (I do know her name, I'm just being discreet) confessed that she was really glad that we were outside and had an activity - she was having one of those days where she couldn't tell whether she was making a big deal out of nothing, or if the kids were being particularly badly behaved.  God, I know that feeling well.  It's the end of the day and you feel exhausted and worn out, and all sense of perspective is gone.  I'm so glad we could all have a break for an hour or so while our kids were well-behaved, cute, and friendly.

Meanwhile, in other mom-of-twins news (horribly segue, I know), Jane is going to be writing a memoir!  I'm excited because I've been reading her blog for a LONG time (probably around the time Charlotte was born), and I like her writing style and her stories.  Plus, her kids are cute and she lives in Massachusetts.  (I'm what you call a "homer."  I am vastly interested in anything from my home area, and that especially includes writers.)  Way to go, Jane!

Today's Doctor Visit

Sometime on Wednesday, Charlotte pinched her left index fingertip.  I'm not sure whether it was in the closet doors (bi-fold, usually blocked so she can't open them and close them) or the footstool/rocking chair (damn gliders!).  It was red on Wednesday, and on Thursday it got more and more swollen, with a little line of white next to the nailbed.  Matt was concerned on Thursday night that she might have broken it - since she could still bend it, and it only seemed to bother her when I poked it, I thought it might just be swollen.  We decided to take a look at it this morning, and then see if we could get her a doctor appointment.

It did look worse this morning, so I rushed her to the doctor's office to squeeze into the walk-in sick child office hours.  I really, really, really love our pediatric practice, Hamthrax rigmarole notwithstanding.  Dr. B took a look, and said that he thinks it is a small localized infection surrounding the injured finger, and that the white area around the nail bed is actually a pus pocket.  EWWWW.  There are really two ways to handle it.  1.  Soak it repeatedly, and the swelling should go down, and the pus will diminish.  2.  A course of antibiotics.  Or, 3. He will write a 'script for antibiotics, and if the soaking doesn't work over the next day or so, we can fill the 'script and start Charlotte on the antibiotics.  That's the option that appeals both to me and Matt, so we'll give it a try.

Also, Charlotte now weighs 34.6 pounds.  That is crazy.  She's hugemongous.

The doctor and the physicians assistant were both really impressed that Charlotte hasn't been on antibiotics before.  I admit, I'm pretty impressed with that myself - considering that I was such an antibiotic hog in my grade school/high school years with my jillion cases of strep & bronchitis, I have a lot of antibiotic-resistant-super-bug guilt.

We'll see how this goes.  Currently, soaking the injured finger is a fun activity - we'll see how patience (hers and mine) lasts as the day progresses.

ETA picture of nasty finger boo-boo

The security guard called her "Miss Hollywood"

No time to post, really, but don't like leaving such a long time between photos.  Sorry for the poor quality, copied from my facebook page since the laptop doesn't actually have storage space for new pictures.

QOTD: Charlotte on Reggaeton

"Hey, hey!  It, uh, uh, like a beat.  It like a beat...it MY beat.  Like a heartbeat!"

(overhearing the bass line from our neighbors' impromptu reggaeton party at 1 pm on a Thursday)

QOTD: One from Mama, this time

Charlotte:  That for me tattoo?

Me:  No.  You're not getting a tattoo.  You were naughty.  Naughty girls don't get tattoos.

Yup, she's 2 1/2.

That's what my sister said when she saw Charlotte get out of the car today wearing her t-shirt, capris, sneakers, elbow pads, knee pads, pigtails, and three barrettes - one right on the top of her head.

"Hey," I said, "She's discovering her signature fashion."