Belated DWTS ouster comment

I apologize, my faithful DWTS readers (all two of you!), for not posting after the uber -boring results show the other night. An encore of the mess of a group dance, some river dance, and the Pussycat Dolls? And the elimination was the least disappointing ever, I thought. I mean, way to go Cloris for making it past the halfway point at age 82, but the fat lady has been singing for you for a while!

And I totally agree with Lissa that Lance was the only non-pro who was making that group dance happen. Maurice and Warren were doing passable jobs, but you could see Lance's years of training in learning hip-hop choreography coming out! Worst dancer in *NSYNC = best dancer on Season 7 of DWTS. Although I'm still a fan of Cody and Julianne, but really, more because of their personalities than anything else.

Next week will likely be another no-brainer elimination: The Head, who we saw this week actually has no rhythm whatsoever. It must be a tribute to her partner, Tony "Glo-Teeth" Dovolani that we somehow haven't noticed that yet!

Good times!

And Claire rocks her beanie, Brad Pitt style!

DWTS business

I think Carrie Ann got out her Halloween costume a little too early--the witch is in! Oh no wait a minute, that's Carrie Ann every week! I'm exaggerating I suppose; I just thought her comment to Cloris was AWFUL! I mean, it's one of those, "Everybody's thinking it, but nobody is allowed to say it" kind of things! In case you missed it, Carrie Ann told Cloris, "I just think it's kind of sad that we lost Toni last week, and got that instead." No critique, no overall judgment of the dance, just the elephant-in-the-room comment that she had enough gall to blurt out!

Anyway, my other major impression from this show is, Julianne is SICK! Did you see the way she was hunched over after her dance was finished, like she was hurting? And then there was another time when the camera panned by her, and she looked like she was just gasping for breath. Julianne NEVER looks like that! If she's out of breath, she's grinning and talking right through it! I'm praying for her this week! AND Samantha Harris does it again! Her follow-up question to Julianne announcing she has endometriosis and is undergoing major surgery the next day: "Cody, are you looking forward to dancing with Edyta next week?"

Also, yes Lord of the Dance is a famous dancer, but is he credentialed in any way in ballroom or Latin dances? I thought of him as strictly river and Celtic dancing. I think he pretty much gave the everyman's opinion tonight, in a bit more dignified way than say, me.

General dance comments:

Warren: Finally, New Guy comments on the fact that Warren's dances actually don't have that much dancing in them! Yeah, he's got style, he's got charisma, but can he sustain an entire serious dance (i.e., not the hustle)? I'm not so sure. How dare you compare him to Emmett, Carrie Ann? Yes, he's big, black, and bald, but I don't think he has near the level of skill that Emmett had.

Lance: Listen here, poor, pathetic little boy. Look yourself in the mirror and repeat after me: "I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggone it, people like my dancing." I hope his puppy-dog self-esteem got a lift this week from that awesome jive! I also like how Lacey followed the judges' advice from last week by sitting in the audience for the first 15 seconds of the dance. I thought Lance was going to go solo for a second!

Cody: Love his energy, but I kind of agree with Bruno that there wasn't much hips in that dance for a Latin dance!

Susan: I have become convinced that Susan has no skills when it comes to anything besides ballroom. Give her a dance that doesn't look good when it's stiff and slow, and she does it stiff and slow anyway. Did you see that train wreck in the hip-hop dance?

And speaking of the group dance, that was a train wreck in general! I saw the pros look awesome, and the stars look like they hadn't had enough time to learn the choreography! Every shot I saw of Susan, she looked totally lost! As far as group dances go, not the best. Usually, it has a whole storyline, and lots of crazy lifts, and plenty of chances to see the personalities of all the dancers. Maybe it was the fast camera work, but I didn't get any of that, except for I suppose, Warren's cool little shoulder move and Brooke and Kym's half-hearted catfight. You really need Edtya for a good DWTS catfight. Also, did Cloris even learn the choreography? I'm pretty sure she and Corky stood on the platform by the band the entire time with Corky acting his usual fool and Cloris looking confused.

My votes went to: Everyone but Cloris and Susan. Two each for Lance & Lacey and Cody & Julianne, my faves.

Encore prediction: Lance and Lacey

Ouster: Cloris and Corky (*fingers crossed*) (I can say it, but Carrie Ann, you can't!)

Claire's Vocab

Claire is learning new words every single day, it seems. Today, she started saying "tractor"! I took her over to Jay's giant lawnmower (we don't really have a tractor) and we sat on it for a while, me reading and her jerking the steering wheel, pulling levers back and forth, and removing and inserting the key. Good times! Then when Daddy got home, she said tractor (tactor) to him, and he took her for a ride on it, and then on the four-wheeler! She went to bed early tonight!

Other words in her vocab:

• "airplane" (when she hears the rumbling in the sky, or sometimes when she hears a lawnmower)
• horse ("orse")
• orange ("orsh")
• blue, red, yellow (wah-woh) when we practice colors with her crayons
• attempts at counting to five (she points to things and says "two", "five," "four")
• apple (all round fruits are apples)
• Bible
• Shadow (sounds a lot like yellow--dah-woh)--She's taken to following him anywhere outside--sniffing out mice, out to the edge of the fence to do his business, over to the neighbor's fence to say hello to their dogs. I'll tell her to come back over, and she always responds with "Wah-woh," and points to Shadow, as though he's watching her.
• lots of names: Stuart, Mary, Cassie, Amber, Gigi
• Her favorite word is defintely "No." Although her real answer is sometimes "yes."

Yet I still can't get her to say anything but bah-bah for paci. It's a little confusing come naptime or bedtime.

0 for 2 on DWTS Predictions!

Toni, I hope you can un-break your heart. Isn't that kind of ironic that was the title of her hit song, and then turns out, she has a heart condition? She literally had a broken heart. Deep thoughts with Kim Mauck.

I cannot believe Cloris has such a strong fan base that she wasn't even in the bottom two! I would certainly have put Susan and Toni down as the next two getting the boot after Cloris, but I really thought tonight would be a bygone conclusion, and the fat lady had sung for the old lady.

Also, I re-watched Lance and Lacey and Cheryl and Maurice, and I totally agree with Lissa's comment on my last post that Lance did just as much dancing if not more than Maurice! Lance had several cute solos and that cool little hop thing when he shoved off of Lacey's leg. Maurice's main attraction was that incredible back bend. Although I must say, I wasn't too pleased with Lacey's comment in the hallway that "The judges don't know West Coast Swing." Watch the sass, Miss First-Timer!

And I'm so glad I was wrong about the encore perf! Yay Cody and Julianne! That jitterbug was great! But I'm hoping that wasn't Cody's peak--that dance was perfectly suited to his energy, but I hope he can tame it discipline it and keep it coming!

Fun times on DWTS and Sweet Deals on Little Tikes!

Okay, first off, for you non-DWTS fans, let me get the personal stuff out of the way. We had a great fall break with family, even though none of us are directly affected by fall break anymore! My almost-14-year-old cousin Holly spent the night with us Thursday night after we, along with my mom, Uncle Mike, and Aunt Betty, went and saw the movie City of Ember. You probably haven't heard of it unless you're familiar with the best-selling YA novel. Well, Mom and I had both read the book and were dying to see it, but were a bit disappointed. Examples of how Hollywood messes up a wonderful story:

1. A 12-year-old character is played by a real-life 24-year-old.


2. A giant, man-eating mole is added to the story for no apparent reason. (But at least it gave me the opportunity to movie-whisper "Holy Moley!" and get a good laugh from Mom.)


3. A narcoleptic old man who served primarily as comedic relief is suddenly The One Who Sacrifices His Life for the Main Characters.

The story was still good, but Hollywood has a weird idea of what it has to do to entertain us.

Friday, Holly, Claire, and I went shopping. Fun times! Toddler girl clothes are so fun to shop for!

Saturday, Mom, Claire and I went to Norman to visit Amanda, and on the way back, we stopped at this swap shop in between Norman and Noble. Wow did we find some sweet deals on Little Tikes stuff! I got Claire a play kitchen, doll carriage (which she likes to ride in, too), toddler trike, and dolphin swing for $50!! After hosing and bleaching them down, they're as good as new! Claire has been having so much fun!

As you can see, she got a lot of satisfaction from moving the baby from the floor to the carriage. For some reason, this baby likes to drink its bottle from the floor.

I moved the kitchen inside after Shadow kept trying to make off with various pots and pans or food items in his mouth. Claire likes to go around with a plastic hamburger patty or hot dog weenie in her mouth, so I didn't think it was a good idea for them to share chew toys.

Okay, now for my faithful DWTS readers!! (The rest of you can roll your eyes and move on to something more important.)

Overall, four very lively dances! Definitely a great night of DWTS. Some particulars:

The Head strikes again. All three judges finally comment on the fact that yes, Susan Lucci does get the moves right, but she moves so carefully. Isn't it obvious she has to move carefully to avoid tipping over from the weight of that massive cranium?

I just wanted to cry for Lacey tonight! She is quickly becoming one of my fave pros, and the judges gave her what has got to be the very worst thing for a pro to hear: that they're hogging the spotlight! I don't get this at all! I mean, I can't take my eyes off Julianne or Edyta when they dance for all their whirling and kicking, but Lacey does some tricky West Coast Swing moves, and the judges throw a hissy! They definitely deserved better scores, I thought.

Warren is freaking awesome! What a fun hustle to watch! BUT I don't get how the judges rave about him, don't give him any kind of criticism, and then give him 8's!

Maurice finally got some judge love. He deserves it. And way to speak out on the judges being unfair! No need to take that sitting down (although he was in the rehearsal room).

The jitterbug was totally a cartoon dance, and so much fun to watch. Although it seems very similar to the jive, except crazier. I even noticed some of the same moves (i.e., the ever-popular grab your partner's ankle and twirl while looking out to sea). I'm VERY TICKED though, that Cody and Julianne didn't score at least as high as Miss Perfect (aka Brooke). C&J's routine had way more tricks, jokes, and precision, in my opinion. Brooke and Derek's was great fun, don't get me wrong, but C&J's was the whole package. That Cody Linley is slowly winning my heart! He just seems so earnest and sweet!

Toni, Cloris, what can I say? BO-ring!

My votes went to: C&J (3), B&D (1), Warren and Kym (1), Maurice and Cheryl (1), Lance and Lacey (1)

Encore prediction: Probably B&D, even though I wish it would be C&J

Ouster: Cloris, it is TIME!

One for two on DWTS predictions (and some family stuff!)

Well, I called the ouster, but missed the mark on the encore. Duh! That's who I would have LIKED to see do the encore--Lance and Lacey's tango literally gave me chills of excitement both times--but for some reason I was hypnotized by Brooke's provacatively dangling golden sequins that she somehow twirled in perfect circles before my eyes...

And I must say most of those political ads were dumb and cheesy, but Cody Linley's was my fave! "He says he's a man...but he's actually a baby!" *cartoon paci pops in his mouth* Which one made you laugh hardest?

And, you know it's hunting season around here when Jay's bow is at the kitchen table. This year, Claire decided he needed some help.


















Also, Claire and I got to hang out with our cousin Allie for a few hours yesterday while her mommy went to the doctor. We made cupcakes, played with toys and watched TV, dug in the rocks in our front "flower bed," had a picnic, and went for a wagon ride. But of course, I got pictures of NONE OF THIS! I do have some good Allie quotes though:

When we were on our wagon ride, Allie was riding with Claire, and a couple times, Allie said, "I think I need to flap my wings a little bit," and then hopped out and jogged beside the wagon, flapping her arms.

When she was eating her applesauce at lunch, and I asked her if she liked it. Her response: "Ummm, it's kind of ooey-gooey." Pause. "What does ooey-gooey mean?"

On our wagon ride, Allie was collecting special things: flowers, rocks, and leaves. Every few feet, she would shout, "I see something special!" and hop out and go get it. A couple times, it looked like she was deciding what was special after she got out of the wagon, and I asked her something like "What did you see, Allie?" While she was deciding what to pick up one time, she said, "There are special things all around. You just have to pick one up!"

When were sitting in the flower bed, I was telling her why there were bits of black paper showing through the pebbles (Ranger dug at it). She said her cat Gizmo sometimes digs things up in the garden, too. She said, "But he digs up weeds, because he's helpful." She used that word helpful several times, and always with special emphasis.

I could probably think of more; she's just a laugh a minute!

DWTS Costumes

Was it just me, or did costumes take center stage tonight on DWTS?

Cody kept a straight face and frame for an entire dance, except he got tangled in Julianne's gaucho pants repeatedly (have gaucho pants ever looked so sexy, by the way?)

And I can't get over Brooke and Toni's bods, toned and voluptuous enough to pull off the sequins-and-strings costumes regularly (barely) worn by Edyta and Karina. Tonight was a stunning display of their curves and abs, with Brooke's yellow bikini top with sequined strings hanging from her bosoms and Toni's pseudo-strapless ensem with multi-colored strings of pearls being the only accessory separating her from wearing nothing but a teeny bikini.

Then Rocco and Karina take the "go big or go home" mentality on costumes, going for the gimmicky removable ruffles and pulling out John Ratzenberger's "drum the hot girl's stomach" trick--Is Rocco really that bad?

Then we have Lance and Lacey making ballroom goth with the black rose, corset and shredded dress, and eye make-up and purple hair (on Lance!). Except for Lance's make-up and hair, I thought their outfits were fabu though. Lacy actually seems to show a surprising amount of restraint when it comes to showing skin in her costumes. I'm liking her more and more. But does she have Lance brainwashed or what? Ever since the beginning, Lance has talked about "our style". You don't have a ballroom style! You're a choreography-learning puppet, just like back in *NSYNC days! It's Lacey's style that has obviously needed some adjustment, not yours Lance.

And the appearance of our first and second afros with Maurice and Cheryl's super-cute retro dance, that the judges again didn't like for no reason! And I cannot forget Maurice's hilarious impression in the red room, but I'm only vaguely sure he was doing Jackie Brown....anyone? It was funny, whatever it was.

Other notes:

Cloris--too little, too late.

Brooke--finally a little fun to watch

Susan--the tango is the older woman's dance, so obviously her best. I think it's a cougar thing. I would be a little scared if I were Carrie Ann when Susan said, "No one has ever called me timid, in any area of my life." Also, Tony's cameo on All My Children--hilarious!

Samantha, just don't even try! She is obviously not part of the red room hilarity. Every time she tries to join in, she falls flat on her face (as with trying to prompt Derek's gyrations). I want Drew Lachey back for backstage commentary!

My votes went to: Maurice and Cheryl, just b/c I think the judges are being way too hard on him; Lance and Lacey, because they really did step it up a notch on technique this week, I thought; and Brooke and Derek, solely because of Derek's hilarious entrance into the red room. I watched that three times, laughing like a ninny the entire time. That boy cracks me up! It also cracks me up that Juliane was guffawing louder than anyone back there! Gotta love that sibling affection!

Encore prediction: Brooke and Derek

Danced their last: Rocco and Karina

Family Fun (despite OU loss!)

You just can't keep we Pannells from having lots of fun and eating lots of food when we get together, even if our beloved Sooners can't pull out the win against Texas. Boo. We had a wild weekend going back and forth between here and Coleman, but not near as wild as our Indiana and Kansas Pannells' weekend of two six-hour or 15-hour drives!






Claire discovers she can work the Sit 'n' Spin by herself. Everyone is amazed.












Claire plays school with Ms. Jenny, Mattie, and Tyler during the OSU game later that night. (If you like her adorable maribou feather bow, you can order one from Audrey's Etsy shop, Lady Jane Bowtique!)











Sunday after church, we try in vain to get a pic of all the cute little girls: Molly (four months), Emma (two and a half), Claire, and Allie (three and a half).

Other highlights from this weekend include:

1. Aunt Michelle's honeybun cake (YUM!).
2. Watching the first hour and half of the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice with Dani Rose.
3. Seeing Claire go to Uncle Matt and Uncle Danny for the first time (In her defense, she's only seen Uncle Danny twice, and Uncle Matt is a bit scary. He was responsible for many of my nightmares as a child, what with his scary stories about a bear eating the head off a child, trying to force me to eat a licorice rat, biting my heels mercilessly, and being accused of stealing his Acutane.)
4. Learning all the dirt on Barack Obama that FOXNews has dug up, courtesy Uncle Matt, who in turn received a hearty scolding from my mom on his taste for imbalanced media.
5. Mine and Aunt Penny's caramel corn (YUM!). Will post on coooking blog--it's another Paula recipe, and it's SPECTACULAR.
6. But my favorite has to be visiting with everyone, especially my long-lost cousin, Lissa, a super-mom, flutist, composer of fantastic musical programs, music teacher, private flute instructor, marathon runner, happy cooker, blogger, and all-around Christian gal!

Pumpkin Patch Torture Session!

Claire and I went with the other Kim Mauck, her daughter Katelyn, Kim's sister Krista and her daughter Briley, and two of Krista's friends to a pumpkin patch in Celina on Wednesday. I thought it was fun, but I kinda think Claire thought it was torture. At her age, it's hard to take that much in.

As soon as she got used to the goats...

...it was time to move on to the pumpkin picture sessions, where she thought it was her job to try to steer her way out of the pumpkins blocking her way.

Then she spied the little tractor, which she loved:

We tried a photo op with she and Katelyn, but this didn't last long. Claire was so focused on getting a hold on that steering wheel that she was scooting Katelyn off!

We also took a hay ride, which she seemed to enjoy, except she kept trying to jump over the side to get to the pumpkin patch. When we got to the pumpkin patch, she caught sight of the tractor pulling the trailer full of hay and kids, and started fussing and pointing to get back on there! Then, the first pumpkin she sees and walks up to is surrounded in an ant bed! Another mom and I had to rake and rake at her pants, take off her shoes, and roll up her pants to pick every last one off.

But I think Claire enjoyed Chick-Fil-A and Target afterward, as always.

I watched a whole hour for NOTHING?!

Seriously, did DWTS just wait until the LAST FIVE MINUTES of the elimination show to tell us NO ONE would be eliminated? What the heck? I guess they figured most viewers would be like me, who, although hard-core, would not watch if there wasn't an elimination at the end of the show. Because really, who really needs to see Kool and the Gang perform or a mostly scripted package of what each non-pro thinks his or her special strength is? (Where the heck is Kenny Mayne's DanceCenter?) HOWEVER, I am kind of glad I watched, b/c I did enjoy the Jennifer Hudson/Derek and Julianne duet! Flowed like butt-ah!

Also, how cute was Maks and Edyta's jive? And I've never seen a schoolgirl skirt show butt cleavage, so that was interesting. I have a feeling Edyta had some changes made from Misty May's costume, such as the addition of her new fave kind of leg-warmers, the floaty ones that don't warm her legs at all.

The lowest combined score belonged to Rocco and Karina, the second-lowest on the judges' leaderboard. Not surprising, and even less climactic since he will actually live to see another week of cheesy food analogies (pun intended!).

Thanks to my sister, who alerted me to the fact that Susan "The Head" Lucci (Lissa's nickname, ha!) did NOT have the lowest score. I don't know why I thought she was lowest! Sorry guys, and please correct me when I'm wrong (although I'll try not to be from now on!).

DWTS Shocker!

Finally, DWTS has actual breaking news, and they drag it out until the end of the show! Because they kept saying Misty May will be here to give us more info, I thought, "Oh, she'll be back next week like Christian did last season with his wrist or they would tell us at the beginning." Nope, it was a bombshell they put off until the end of the show. I guess it might have put a damper on all the other dances. Poor Maks! Actually, no poor me for not getting to watch Maks! However, where the heck was he in the video of Misty struggling with the pain? I'm betting he was telling her to walk it off. Does this mean the season will be one week shorter? It seems like they shouldn't eliminate anyone this week, just to be fair.

However, I wouldn't mind seeing Cloris go. There's a certain degree to which I enjoy seeing an entertainer who is physically incapable of technique almost make up for it with entertainment. Marie Osmond, Adam Corolla, they were passable and good for a laugh. But I really feel more scared than entertained when I watch Cloris dance. What's going to break? What's going to slip? Will there be a wardrobe malfunction? Seriously, with all of Edyta's skimpy outfits, I never feel as frightened of a wardrobe malfunction as I do when I watch Cloris. Tonight, we had one, albeit not a scary one: her wig came off. Also, she showed her bloomers to the world by raising her legs in the air while lying on her back for an unseemly amount of time. But I tell ya, she keeps me laughing with her red-room antics. I loved when she appeared from off-camera when Cody Linley commented that older women have been telling him they liked his rumba.

Okay seriously y'all, is Brooke Burke really that good? The judges drool over her, acting like she's the best non-pro they've ever seen on the show. I don't know, to me, she's lacking the entertainment factor. Kinda like Donald Braswell, a singer who got fourth place on America's Got Talent: yeah, he's got talent, but when he's on stage, I just want to go to sleep!

I'd much rather watch Warren Sapp, who the judges have also adopted as their pet, or even Maurice Greene, who I think the judges are unnecessarily hard on.

Lance and Lacie, coming in this week with the disrespect to the elders! Geez, lay off Len and Cloris already! Is it just me, or are they a little too huggy-kissy? I suppose gay guys think they have license to PDA girls all they want since there's no danger of leading them on.

I still don't see why the judges are so hard on Rocco! I suppose there's a little thing called technique that I can't judge based on my experience of watching the show for five seasons.

Cody, keep your tongue in your mouth.

Susan, make another facial expression beside Stepford-wife smile while you're dancing.

Toni, you're awesome. I, too, was the girl the kids argued over which team had to take her today. Loved the outfit.

New feature of my DWTS write-up: My votes and predictions!

My votes this week: Rocco, Maurice, and Warren
Predicted encore: Brooke and Derek. *head nodding, eyes drooping*
Danced her last DWTS dance: Cloris

I could say so much more, but really, would you read it? And really, aren't I just procrastinating doing more important things? No and yes.

Great weekend!

We had a great weekend of OU football, family, and relaxation. Saturday we went to Nana and Grandad's house, where we got to see Dani, Luke, and baby Molly! It was so fun!

Dani Rose and I and two friends of ours started an online book club on Yahoo! Groups. We started with Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the wildly addictive Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year, you've probably heard of it, since the third book bumped Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from the Number 1 spot on the bestseller list, the fourth book caused a media frenzy, and a movie version of the first book is coming out in November. Anyway, the Twilight series was what got all of us talking about books and recommending books to each other and stuff, so we decided to start a book club to do it in a more organized fashion. Now we've made the somewhat drastic leap to Pride and Prejudice, but actually, believe it or not (which I actually don't), Stephenie Meyer says P&P actually influenced parts of Twilight. A modern-day, teenage vampire love story and P&P? Not seeing it! Regardless, Dani and I both LOVE Jane Austen, so we're having so much fun talking about it as we read.

Anyway, since we started the book club, every time Dani and I see each other, we end up talking about our book club book and getting way ahead of our online discussion. We're going to begin watching the six-hour BBC version of the book this weekend, maybe--Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy! Swoon!

One of the reasons I love fall is OU football, and not because I'm particularly a football fan, but because my family is! That means most Saturdays, there's some kind of family gathering in Coleman for the game, which for me, means family and food more than it means football! I'm so excited for OU/Texas this weekend, when Pannells from Blanchard, Kansas, and Indiana will be gathering to watch the game!

Claire is learning so much lately! Just this weekend, she started recognizing and saying orange ("orush") and horse ("orse"). I watched Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (a series I'm reading along with the book club books!) the other night, and she actually sat still for any part with a horse onscreen, pointing and saying "orse"! Also in church this morning, she pointed over to a good friend of our family, Ike Miller, saying "Ike"! He was on the other side of church, too! We are working on getting her to be quiet during prayers; she seems to think this is her time to shout one of our names at the top of her lungs.

She is developing a very strong will, and starting to throw some full-fledged temper tantrums! I had to take her out of church the other day b/c she was trying to walk outside the pew, and I pulled her back (gently!) by her arm. You would have thought I snatched candy away from her or something!

Anyway, we love watching her grow and change, and we know this push and pull of our wills is totally normal. It's just a little embarrassing when it directs an entire congregation's eyes to you!

I better hit the sack b/c I'm supposed to be in Calera at 8 a.m. to head down to a pumpkin patch in Texas with Kim Mauck #1 and her sister. Yikes!

I thought you had her! I thought you had her!

Uh-oh, we had one of those moments last night! I was folding laundry while watching the DWTS results show and Jay was working in the office. I heard water running in Claire's bathroom and though, "Hmm that's nice, Jay's giving Claire her bath tonight."

I finished folding, picked up the living room, and watched Kim K get the boot. Water ran continuously for a while, and then came on and off in spurts, and I didn't think anything of this, as Jay likes to give Claire whatever she wants, and she often requests more water while in the tub.

Then I hear Claire saying "Mama, mama, mama," like 10 times in a row. I figured Jay was still trying to bathe her, or he would get her out if she got really distressed, and didn't answer. Then she started up again. I finally said, "Claire, it's okay baby, Mama's in here." She got quiet for a few seconds, and then started up again! By this time, I was getting kind of ticked at Jay, thinking, why doesn't he finish the bath and get her out, she sounds pretty distressed? Then I thought, I bet he's wanting me to come in there and finish bathing her (he doesn't like washing her hair; he's so afraid of getting soap in her eyes). So I just said, "Claire, you're okay, Mama's in here," again.

Then she started up again, so I switched from mommy voice to wife voice and yelled, "Jay, why don't you get her out and bring her in here?" He said, "Huh?"

Uh-oh.

I ran to the bathroom to find Claire perched on the edge of the counter beside the guest bathroom sink. She had climbed up on top of the toilet, then up on top of the counter! She's climbed on top of the toilet seat a couple times before, and leaned over to run water from there, but never climbed up on the counter! She was wet and a little scared, but not scared enough to cry.

Bragging mom alert: I was pretty proud that she just called for me and didn't try to get down or panic.