And the Ultrasound Says...

It's a girl!

We're excited. Truth be told, I kind of wanted a girl. I wanted Afton to have a sister. I will admit, though, that this second girl puts me in unchartered territory: I grew up in a house full of brothers.

I also worry that Tony will be a tad overwhelmed by a house overrun by females. (Even our cat is a girl.) But he is excited too. It probably helps that Afton currently worships Tony beyond belief. She does a dance of joy every night when he comes home by running around the kitchen, smacking the cupboards at least three times.

So, there you have it. We'll get the full fledge introduction to girl #2 in July (and hopefully not any sooner).

Free Fare Day

Afton is obsessed with buses. "Bus" was one of the first words she learned, and it is still one of maybe six words she can pronounce in a way that people (besides me) know what she's talking about. Since there is a bus stop in front of our house, we do spend a portion of our day doing this:
standing at the window, watching for buses to go by. It gets pretty exciting after 2:30 or so. Not only do the regular city buses drive by, but there's a number of school buses that make an appearance too. Ooooo...

Last week, our local transit authority declared a free fare day. We couldn't resist. A-baby and I hopped on to go see Tony at his office.
Don't let her somber look fool you. She was stoked. In her bus exuberance she has accidently flagged down a couple buses a time or two. It has left me trying to explain to a bus driver that we are not trying to get on the bus, that my little girl just really likes them, and that she was just excited to see it.
On this ride, she alternated between yelling, "Bus!" and yelling, "Daddy!" (The people on the bus thought it was cute for the first few minutes.) Did I mention that she's waved at a couple buses enough that the drivers will honk at her in return?
So the maiden bus voyage went well. The only downside was that we had to leave "Daddy" to go back home. She sobbed. At least Tony knows that she likes him more than she likes the bus.

Moo and meow

Afton and I recently took a trip to visit my parents. I think it's safe to say that it was a hit with Afton, minus the airport... but we'll stick to the good stuff.

Aside from their charming personalities and abundant love, my parents have two things going for them in terms of Afton's adoration: cats and cows. Not long ago, my parents picked up two extra cats. These cats are part lap cat, part mouser, and part sheepdog (or so the cats like to fancy themselves). One of the cats, Boots, is so friendly that it would jump on Afton's lap looking for attention. I think it's safe to say that this was quite the role reversal for Afton. The only progress she's made with our cat is that it will hang around in the same room with her for 4 seconds before it bolts. Afton, on the other hand, has made oodles of progress as she no longer grabs the cat's tail, but will nicely pet it and (generally) quietly speak to it. At any rate, the "kitties!" provided A-Baby with hours of entertainment.

Even my parent's old cat, was good for something. It's too tired and arthritic to move, so Afton could admire it up close while pointing to its "Ah-ees" "Noose" and "airs" (translation: eyes, nose, and ears).

Then there were the cows, or shall we say, "MOOOOO!!" as Afton calls them.

Afton helped her grandfather load up hay... or should I say, she supervised her grandfather loading up hay while she snacked on a granola bar.

Then, each day I'd bundle her up to help her grandpa feed the cows. I went the first couple days, but then I just started giving her the boot out the door. Too cold. And let's be honest, my dad really just cared about Afton being there.

Aside from all the animals, Afton enjoyed staying up WAY past her bedtime with her grandparents and the extra attention. We can't wait until the next visit.