Life with our Cutest Baby

Happy Memorial day!

2010-05-29T21:10:00.001-04:00

Great, great weather, and a great day!

Easter picture

2010-04-08T20:11:00.004-04:00

Yes, yes I know. Seriously slacking on the posting.

17 months old just before Easter.

Easter was a beautiful, beautiful day. So we were outside playing for a great deal of it. And although she looked super cute in her dress, she was hard to pin down for a photo op.

Videos to keep you somewhat up to date on my utube.

http://www.youtube.com/user/1alliew24

No promises to be better with the posting, maybe though, maybe.

Getting Spoiled thinking it is summer!

2010-03-19T20:10:00.003-04:00

March? Really is it only March?

60's Friday, 60's Saturday, 50's Sunday and then Monday? SNOW?!?

I suppose we will be grateful for the weather while it lasts!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T08:39:00.001-05:00

Aww!

She loves flowers! Especially from her Daddy!

Ice Skating Party

2010-02-06T22:05:00.004-05:00

We took a couple years off, but our (apparently semi-annual) ice skating party took place today. Cold Cold Cold was the theme.

It wouldn't have been too bad, except for the wind!

But we had 30+ people who braved the elements to hang outside!

And now we are ready for summer!

15 months old!

2010-01-27T13:29:00.004-05:00

She's come a long way in 12 months.

Today, 15 months old, and 1 year ago, 3 months old!

12 months ago she had to be propped up to stay in the chair for the photo.

Today, she sits all by herself, but we need bribery to get her to get her to remain seated and not jump off and go play somewhere more fun.

Therefore, she gets to play with our old video camera...taking the lens cap off and on, off and on...who needs toys?!?

Getting so big so fast!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2010-01-21T22:14:00.001-05:00

Both the kids are in the present opening action!

Who is #1?

2010-01-17T21:28:00.003-05:00

J-E-T-S

JETS

JETS!

Matt has been a life long JETS fan, which is a tough road, since no one can lose a game like the JETS!

-BUT, what a game tonight!

We haven't seen Daddy this happy in a long time.

And he had his favorite little cheerleader with him the whole time!

We will celebrate now 'cause I don't know if they have a chance against Peyton next weekend!

Snowman!

2010-01-10T21:04:00.002-05:00

He's bigger then me Mom!

Hanging with Grandpa over the holidays

2010-01-09T21:26:00.004-05:00

We are lucky to live close to both sets of grandparents. I grew up far away from all of my relatives, and so I am happy that a lot of our daughters extended family is less then 30 minutes away!

Merry Belated Christmas

2009-12-30T08:41:00.002-05:00

Good holiday, busy holiday.

We are still trying to dig out from beneath all the new toys.

Visit with Santa!

2009-12-12T09:31:00.003-05:00

No way were we sitting on Santa's lap!

We were lucky to get this close with mommy holding her!

November 8, 2009

2009-11-08T21:55:00.003-05:00

60 degrees plus.

Felt like spring.

We wish it were spring.

We had enough winter.

Sadly, we have not yet even started the season...

Halloween

2009-11-06T20:58:00.001-05:00

Hmmm...a week late....but we had a little bunny at our house!

One!

2009-10-27T15:40:00.005-04:00

One year old.

Wow, the time has gone so quickly.

One year ago, a little screaming swaddled bundle, and today a walking (running), talking, little girl.

We love you peanut!

How old are you going to be?

2009-10-17T08:57:00.004-04:00

ONE!

(as shown with two hands!)

Brr....

2009-10-13T12:19:00.001-04:00

Did I blink and summer ended?

It is not really THIS cold out yet is it?

So sad...

Walking!

2009-10-08T20:17:00.001-04:00

First solo steps taken last Sunday!

OK Ma, If I smile will you go away with the camera?

2009-10-07T17:44:00.001-04:00

Already an attitude and not even 12 months old yet!

11 months old!

2009-10-01T16:00:00.003-04:00

Big girl turned 11 months a few days ago!

Now the count down to ONE whole year is ticking away.

Aww, where has the time gone?

Almost...

2009-09-28T19:51:00.001-04:00

Not quite walking solo, but almost!

She cruises the furniture with ease, practically running while holding on. She will go between to objects as well, letting go from one, and grabbing the other as she moves between them. She can also let go, and just balance and stand by herself and has just started being able to stand up without pulling or pushing up from anything other then the floor. She is not quite ready to let go of something or someone and walk completely without support just yet. But she walks really well if you hold her hands.

So it probably won't be too much longer before the craziness begins!

Diaper Count

2009-09-24T20:00:00.002-04:00

We were in size 3 diapers for the past 19 weeks, and are still using them, but I thought I would update the diaper count as we get closer to 11 months old.

During those past 19 weeks we used ~826 size 3 diapers.
19 weeks = 133 days, so that works out to be an average of a little more than 6 diapers a day!

Total diaper count thru the present day (~10.75 months) = 2166

Two?!?

2009-09-20T19:56:00.002-04:00

Babies are not supposed to play with cell phones.

Somehow, this one managed to get her hands on two.

Looks like something fun to eat to me! Shiny AND hard!

I have no idea what we have been doing...

2009-09-18T21:34:00.006-04:00

But I guess we have been busy, 'cause labor day (last post!) was a long time ago...

Well, sadly, one thing we did do was an emergency trip out of town last weekend to attend a funeral.

But in this picture the little one is sucking on a red bull, so maybe we've just been chasing her around as she bounces off the walls, and that is what has been keeping us busy...

The weather is changing, so maybe we'll do better with the blogging once it gets too cold to be outside anymore!

Happy Labor Day weekend!

2009-09-05T09:34:00.005-04:00

Our weekend - part 1:

Friday, Mommy, Daddy and baby wound out the summer at the Saratoga baby pool. Our little girl loves it, she can play in inches of water or deeper water, and splash her little heart out!

Today we are hosting a picnic and tomorrow attending one, then on Monday we rest (hopefully!).

The weather is great! Have a wonderful weekend!

10 months old!

2009-08-28T13:23:00.002-04:00

So big!

10 months old with eight little chompers ready to bite into whatever she can get her little mouth on.

She's still not crawling in the traditional sense and I don't think she will anytime soon. She scoots on our floors and moves so quickly there is no need to modify the operation now!

The baby gates have to be closed because she can scoot over the lower bar if they are not fully secured.

She has mastered pulling up on furniture (-and more important the getting down without falling!), and is just starting to "cruise" the furniture. Today I was holding her up standing and let go and she stood all by herself in the middle of the floor for a few seconds before gracefully sitting down.

She is pointing at everything, and giving kisses and hugs (when she feels like it!).

She babbles constantly and sometimes says "hi dada" to Daddy.

She protests when we take away a toy (or something she has/wants that is NOT a toy) and is generally into everything she can get her little paws on!

She shows no fear about launching herself off of the couch or crawling/climbing up on coffee tables. We see Trouble with a capital "T" looming ahead.

She never sits still.

She is cuter then ever

We are looking ahead to starting to plan her first birthday party - it is going to be a bunny theme!

Diva

2009-08-26T08:35:00.001-04:00

Just getting out of the pool, please, no photo's...I'm not camera ready...

So big! In her baby pool!

2009-08-24T09:33:00.001-04:00

Yep - she does "so big"! And cracks Mommy and Daddy up every time with it!

So here she is "so big" in her baby pool on a hot August day!

1st Ice cream cone!

2009-08-22T10:30:00.000-04:00

And not so sure about it!

She was much more interested in seeing all the other ice cream eaters then eating her own!

Blurry, but still good...

2009-08-17T08:28:00.001-04:00

Mean mommy...put down the camera and pick me up!!!

Can't you see I AM UPSET?!?

(I e-mailed this photo to Daddy at work and HE got upset...I quote..."Why are you sending me sad baby photo's at work??"...because I think it is cute (and a little funny...mean mommy)!

In explanation...I was already taking her picture, then she turned around, then turned back and was starting to cry, so I took one more photo....and comforted the poor little thing...

Best Friends

2009-08-14T09:26:00.004-04:00

Bad habits start at a young age.

We do not feed Jack from the table. However, it looks like the little one is not adhering to our rules...

Slacking...

2009-08-10T20:22:00.003-04:00

Sorry....yes, bad with the slacking...

weather is too nice to write during baby naps, and, the garden consumes the hours after the baby bedtime...

But football season is coming...and the little one is ready!

9 Months Old!

2009-07-28T12:25:00.003-04:00

Still no crawling...just a lot of scooting around. She covers quite a lot of territory that way though, she can follow me from room to room - and protest when I close the baby gate in her way!

Dr's Appointment tomorrow!

What is it?

2009-07-22T15:04:00.004-04:00

Mom! What is this crazy flashing silver box you constantly have shoved in my face??

(Sorry sweetie...it's a camera and truthfully, we've gotten better as you have gotten older...we don't take pictures of EVERYTHING anymore...just every OTHER thing!)

Swing!

2009-07-17T12:42:00.002-04:00

We Love to swing!

Amazing how swings these days come with a 5-point harness. Not to sound old, but harness? What is that? Swings in my day had a zero-point harness.

I can only imagine what swings will be like when this little girl has her own little one...They probably won't be "swings" at all...it will be a virtual reality thing, where you don't ever really even move off the floor!

A beautiful Summer Day...

2009-07-12T20:41:00.003-04:00

So we had lunch on the deck...and our first popsicle!

Look what Daddy did to my hair...

2009-07-12T20:39:00.003-04:00

It is very difficult to...

2009-07-08T13:15:00.004-04:00

...OK, nearly impossible to...
Wipe the runny nose of an 8 month old who wants nothing to do with it.
Yes, the poor little girl and I both have colds. Neither one of us is enjoying it too much, although, thankfully, I think I have it worse then she does.
Apparently, we partied a little to hard this 4th of July weekend. Or rather we partied a little too close to someone who got us sick. I have theories of who that person might have been, but we did see a bunch of people this weekend so...oh well, baby girl has her first cold. I suppose we should be thankful it wasn't until 8 months that she got it. She did have a minor runny nose around 6 months old, but that seems like nothing compared to these past couple of days. Poor kid is a faucet. And like I said, she does NOT like me wiping her nose (which needs to happen, oh, about every 2 minutes). And that blue suction thingy for the nose...well, that just might as well be a torture device for how much she enjoys it. It does become necessary however, and then we have an all out screaming/wrestling match.
Hopefully we have turned the corner and the colds will be going away soon. It is after all, July!

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T20:09:00.001-04:00

And so the party continues....

Happy 4th of July!! (Early)

2009-07-03T22:00:00.003-04:00

Our celebration weekend has started...we have guests over tonight, are having guests again tomorrow afternoon/night, and are attending a party on Sunday. So we are party people this weekend, hoping to have a great time, and hoping everyone else does too!
It is summer! Yipeeee!!

Teeth!

2009-07-02T10:34:00.001-04:00

8 months old, with 5 teeth and counting!

3 on the bottom, and 2 on the top!

Looks like two more on the way for the top...but that leaves us wondering where is the matching one for #3 on the bottom?

(oh yes, that is a blanket on her head. A blanket her two grandmothers worked together to make for her...very nice and pretty!)

8 Months old!

2009-06-30T10:00:00.007-04:00

How time flies!

She's getting so big, and cuter by the day!

Well, if you consider, biting, pinching, hitting and hair pulling cute I guess!

Yeah, she's a real treat at times. We tell her "No" firmly and stop her from whatever she is doing, but then she just looks up at us and gives us her big baby smile. Little terror in the making I think...

So at 8 months, still not quite crawling. She does do quite a few face plants from her sitting position as she attempts to crawl. But she gets around pretty well without crawling. She scoots on her bottom when she is sitting, as well as rotates around and around. And when on her belly she also can rotate in a circle, as well as slide herself backward. So between all that and the rolling, she covers some ground...(and gets stuck under furniture)!

Dr's Appointment next month!

A Million and a half

2009-06-25T17:58:00.003-04:00

That is how many degrees it is outside today.
Well, maybe, slightly less then that, but with the humidity - it feels like it.
And we love it!
I hate winter, so I will take this any day. Now we just have to get the little one in swimmin' and we'll be all set!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T12:14:00.003-04:00

We were supposed to have a BBQ this weekend....but the weather had other plans for us...so we are celebrating the holiday in 2 parts.

Part 1 was Saturday at our house. A dinner for my family.

We had a good dinner, some great dessert and plenty of cute baby moments.

Photo is of our little girl with her Daddy, her Grand-Daddy and Great-Grand Daddy.

Today is Part 2 of Father's day celebration, with Matt's family.

If we can get the little one to take a decent nap this afternoon, we should all have a good time!

Happy Father's Day to all the Daddy's out there!

1 year later...

2009-06-17T13:31:00.005-04:00

Today, 1 year ago, Matt and I were on a Caribbean cruise celebrating our 1-year anniversary. I was ~22 weeks pregnant and just days before we left we had our 20 week ultrasound and found out we were having a baby girl! So on this particular day, our port of call was Puerto Rico and we did some shopping for our little girl. Among other things, we bought this little shirt. And now, exactly 1 year later, here she is wearing it!

Amazing how fast time goes!

I Like to Chew on Velcro!

2009-06-11T09:12:00.002-04:00

Off of a toy from her play mat....

must be tastey!

The Kids

2009-06-08T08:06:00.003-04:00

At least they are both looking at the camera...even if neither one looks especially happy about it!

No Need for toys....

2009-06-05T13:27:00.002-04:00

Just empty water bottles!

It is her favorite play item.

I often put her down with a small box of toys next to her. She reaches in and grabs the one she wants. Inevitably they all end up on the surrounding floor at some point....but the very first thing she ALWAYS takes out....the water bottle!

Great-Grandpap's Birthday

2009-06-03T08:29:00.001-04:00

Last weekend we headed back down to my parents house for a birthday celebration for my grandfather. He turned 83, and is the only great-grandparent our little girl has.

We had a little BBQ picnic, enjoyed the nice (a little windy...) weather and everyone had a good time. Hopefully there will be many more of these celebrations in our future!

7 months old

2009-06-01T07:53:00.001-04:00

These months keep flying by! She's getting so big!

No Doctors appointment this month, so I can't say how big for sure, but I remember when those hands were so tiny, and now those long fingers are into everything!

Smelly Baby!

2009-05-29T09:04:00.001-04:00

No, No, she is not smelly - she is just smelling everything!

Just started this week. It used to be that everything she picked up with those very active hands went right in the mouth - now it goes right up to the nose and she smells it. Pretty funny.

And even better is when she tries to smell her food! Instead of opening her mouth when the spoon comes near her face, she now lowers her head and tries to sniff the food. So she ends up snorting all sorts of food- veggies, fruit, cereal...then she sneezes, 'cause nobody likes that stuff up their nose, and then there is a big mess...

So while the smelling phase we are in right now has its cute moments, hopefully we will move on quickly before she snorts up anymore peas!

Avocado's

2009-05-27T09:27:00.001-04:00

Yep! She eats avocado's.

They do make a lovely colored mess!

She also likes prune's - surprisingly she likes them quite bit!

They make a lovely dark brown colored mess.

I have no idea what a prune actually is...it is a dried ?? something!

I'm off to google it now! (What ever did we do before the Internet?!?)

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-25T07:15:00.001-04:00

Holidays like today remind us to always keep close to our hearts and minds those who have served our country. Those who, by their service, have helped to make this country a wonderful place for us all to live in, work in, and raise our children in.

Regardless of politics, and how you might feel about our current national situation, we must remember to honor those who have sacrificed so much for those of us left behind.

Today, and all other days, we strive to remember you, and we thank you.

Memorial Day Parade

2009-05-24T09:08:00.001-04:00

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

It is pretty nice weather wise here in upstate NY.

We currently live about 30 minutes from the town where I grew up and where my parents still live.

So, we decided to kick of the holiday weekend with a visit to my old hometown for a flashback to the past and the town Memorial Day Parade.

This is a parade that I either watched or participated in for most of my 18 years living in the community. In fact, mostly I was in the parade. First as a kindergartner, then as a sports team member (various throughout the years) and finally as a member of the band for my high school years.

Crazy memories.

But so, we decided to take our little girl to her first parade. It was during nap time, and full of loud noises (which she hates) but she held up quite well, and was very intrigued with all the new sights and sounds.

So her first parade was a success!

One Memorial day parade down...17 to go...

Weaning off Swaddling Weeks 2-3

2009-05-22T08:04:00.001-04:00

Hmmm...

Where to start...

Poor little girl has such a hard time with her sleeping.

She is super stubborn and can stay awake for HOURS despite being so, so, so, so tired. You may not believe that (she has to fall asleep eventually...RIGHT? um...NO...apparently not)...but it is true.

I'll spare you the details, but we have given up the weaning for now. She's back to being fully swaddled and loving it.

We will have to try again sometime...just not sure when.

With her Tree

2009-05-20T08:24:00.001-04:00

Daddy loves to plant trees.

Might sounds strange, but the man does love to plant trees.

So of course he planted a tree for our daughter. Right outside her room. It is an almond tree (I think!). We often call our daughter "peanut" but Daddy said since peanut trees do not exist he went with the next best thing!

This is Daddy and Daughter at ~6 months old with her tree!

Baby whistle's

2009-05-18T08:30:00.001-04:00

I always say "we love those baby smiles!"

Nothing like after those sleepless first few weeks, and then your little baby looks up at you and smiles. And the smiles get bigger and better as time goes on.

And then you get baby laughs, and baby talking, both of which are hilarious and super cute.

But now we can add another to the list - baby whistles.

I wrote last week about the "ooo" face, and the baby whistles come as a direct result of that. She was making the "o" face quite a lot, and then one day I heard a whistle come from her crib - she did this by accident, of course. But since then, I will, on occasion, whistle at her. Mostly during diaper changes.

And it is the cutest thing in the world when she looks at my lips whistling, and then does the same with her lips and blows. Mostly just air comes out, but she's trying to hard, and is so intent, it is just adorable!

So now, we love those, baby smiles, baby laughs, baby talk, and baby whistles!

Opening a Mother's Day present

2009-05-15T08:31:00.001-04:00

My mom was away for Mother's day (in sunny FL!).

So when she came back, her favorite granddaughter helped her open her gift!

Baby girl loves paper!

This year for her birthday? Wrapped boxes. I don't think there needs to be anything in the box, the wrapping paper will be enough!

Oh yes, she is wearing a hat indoors. We were testing it for fit since the hat she has been wearing on chilly days for our evening walks is getting a little small.

Of course, we do hope summer will be here soon...

Diaper Count

2009-05-14T14:22:00.007-04:00

Onto size 3 diapers!

We were in size 2 diapers for the past 11 weeks. During that time we used 2 big boxes of 228 size 2 diapers = 456 total diapers.

11 weeks = 77 days, so that works out to be an average of almost 6 diapers a day!

We've moved into size 3, not so much for the weight requirement (she could gain almost 2 more pounds and still fit into size 2's according to the directions) but rather it seems to be her height which doesn't work for the size 2's anymore. I'm not sure why exactly, except that the size 2's don't fit so well, so onward we go!

Total diaper count thru the present day (~6.5 months) = 1340

The Belated Hello

2009-05-13T08:49:00.001-04:00

So I've noticed, when you have a new baby, you often get a belated hello from your family. Not the baby mind you. The baby gets the must effusive greeting you can imagine. It's the parents who get the belated hello. Not that I'm complaining, it's just funny.

It probably has something to do with the fact that this is the first grandchild on my side, and the 2nd on Matt's - with grandchild #1 turning 16 this summer. So neither family has a lot of babies around.

So we show up to a family get together, the baby is greeted and immediately scooped up and passed around. And a few minutes later, Matt and I, the parents, are acknowledged with a greeting. Like, "Oh, you guys are here too, good. Didn't see you there..." Oh you mean us? The one's carrying the little princess in?

Too funny.

But we are happy that she is so loved by both her extended families.

Even if Matt and I have dropped in the ranks. She's worth it.

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T08:24:00.004-04:00

Holidays are tiring!
For Mother's Day we hosted dinner for 7 adults, 1 teenager, 1 baby (ours) and 2 dogs (1 ours, 1 not).
It was a good day, although due to high winds, we were forced to be inside all day.
Food was good, baby was good, and everyone enjoyed their gifts, so I think we were a success.
Although, we were all exhausted by the time everyone left at 7pm!

Mother's Day Photo Shoot

2009-05-08T15:34:00.001-04:00

I'm not a big flowers person. Bring flowers to our house, and they are for Matt. Luckily, he likes gardening, and planting trees and flowers. Otherwise, if left up to me, our yard would be grass.

So, for Mother's day, I requested a photo shoot of our little girl. This was her second portrait sitting. Her first was when I took her at 10 weeks old, as a surprise for Matt's birthday. The photo's came back super cute and Matt loved his birthday present from Daddy's little girl.

For this second shoot we went back to the same place, and were once again successful. We managed not to spend a fortune, either. Although it was tough because I really liked a lot of the prints.

But, with a few frames, we have Mother's Day gifts for both Grandmothers, her Godmother, and Mommy, that I know everyone will love.

Mommy definitely does!

(thank you JCPenny Portraits!)

Swaddling- Weaning Nights 3-7

2009-05-07T09:12:00.005-04:00

Night 3 - Once again, one arm in, one arm out. Placed in crib tired but awake, with crib aquarium on. She was quiet for about 10 minutes, when she started to cry off and on for about 5 minutes. Then she REALLY started to scream. That lasted about 10 more minutes, when she fell asleep. She slept until 1am when she started SCREAMING again. I went in, swaddled both arms in, and she went back to sleep until 5 am, when she decided it was time to start the day

Night 3 = Better then night 1, not nearly as good as night 2. My rating = Neutral

Night 4 - Same as night 3, only, when she REALLY started to scream, it did not stop. So I re-swaddled both arms, and she went to sleep.

Night 4 = Failure.

Night 5 - Same as night 3, only she was pretty much asleep when I put her in her crib, and I did not turn on the aquarium. She slept for about 20 minutes, then woke up, cried, somewhat quietly for about 2 minutes, and then was pretty good for the rest of the night. There was some fussiness on the monitor at different points throughout the night, but she did wake up in the morning just as she went down in the night...one arm swaddled one arm out, and so we can call...

Night 5 = Fairly successful!

Night 6 - Very similair to night 5. She again, was pretty much asleep when I put her in her crib, and I did not turn on the aquarium. She slept without crying at all. So, once again, fairly successful, although for the past two nights she has gone down very much asleep, instead of "tired but awake" as I would like...so we're not there yet.

Night 6 = Fairly successful!

Night 7 - Ditto night 6. There was some minor fussing and crying a couple times during the night, but not much at all.

Night 7 = Fairly successful!

I knew this would likely be a long process...she is a stubborn baby in many ways. But I'm thinking these updates are going to have to be weekly, 'cause daily is going to get old...

The "O" Face

2009-05-06T08:55:00.000-04:00

Growing up I didn't have a lot of babies in my world. My brother is almost 3 years younger, and although he was my favorite doll growing up, I can't say I really remember many of his "baby milestones." I was likely too busy with my own milestone's.

And my parents friends all had kids within a year or two of us, which made for great times playing at parties and picnics, but once again, no babies.

My cousins, who are a few years younger then my little brother, lived out of state, so even those baby times were hard to come by.

But interestingly enough I did just flashback and remember one thing. It was my cousin Angie, who is about 6 years younger then me, and as I said, lived in another state. So by the time we saw her for the first time, she was already around 7 months old. And all I can remember is she did the "O" face all the time, and said "ooooo" constantly. And being the grown-up 6 year old that I was, I thought it was hilarious and super cute. But somewhere in the years since this visit, I had, not surprisingly, forgotten this baby phase. Until, yesterday, when my daughter started to do the "O" face and say "oooo" constantly. It is now her favorite sound, and when you look at her, she often has her lips in an "O"...until, she breaks out into a baby smile.

But I did manage to get a picture of the "O" before the smile!

What ever did we do before digital camera's?

Pears!

2009-05-05T14:05:00.001-04:00

Fussy eater we have here folks.

Everyone was always like, "Have you started solid food yet??"

Well, solid food is a pain in the rear end if you know what I mean. I would be in no big hurry to start solid foods, if I were giving the advice.

Little girl will eat mostly anything, with a lot of fuss. But she doesn't seem to really LIKE anything. She does prefer some things over the others, but does she gobble anything up? Nope! Whether its peas or applesauce, she's mostly indifferent. Despite both grandmothers claim of "why don't you give her applesauce? She will LOVE applesauce!" Well, no she won't!

She has a bite or two of something, then gets fussy. With some effort she'll eat a few more bites, but I really think she enjoys chewing on the spoon and bib more then anything, which makes a lovely, huge mess for mommy.

That is, until we tried pears!

Finally...I've seen her eat like I've heard baby's can eat. She did, in fact, gobble them up...and there was even a little lip smacking going on too!

Hmmm....if only she could survive on pears alone....

I suppose not, so we'll keep working on the rest!

I can't win!

2009-05-04T07:56:00.000-04:00

So the other day I go into a store solo. Daddy and baby are waiting in the car.

The following is a conversation between myself and the store clerk scanning my purchases:

Clerk: "Oh I like your shirt, I've never seen one like that."

Me: "Thank you. It's actually a nursing shirt"

Clerk: "Oh, so you have a baby."
Me: "Yes, I do"

Clerk:"Oh, you are a little young to have a baby"

Me:"Well, I am 30"

Clerk:"Oh, you don't look it. Your first child?"

Me:"Yes"

Clerk:"So you waited a while before having kids then?"

I couldn't win with this lady! First I'm too young to have a baby, then I tell her my age, and suddenly I'm too old! Sheesh!

Swaddling-Weaning Nights 1-2

2009-05-02T21:25:00.002-04:00

So we're starting the weaning off the swaddling with bedtime.

Night 1- I decided to start with one arm out, one arm still swaddled (the slooow wean...) She was sooooo tired when I put her down (awake) in her crib and yet she SCREAMED (yes, that loud) constantly for 20 minutes. I'm not sure when she breathed, because it was a constant scream. After 20 minutes, Matt told me if I didn't go in and rescue her, he was. So I went in, and swaddled both arms, and she went to sleep.
Night 1 = failure.

Night 2- Once again, started out with one arm in, one arm out. Once again, placed down in crib tired, but awake. This time, I put on her crib "aquarium" with lights and music. She just got this for Easter, and we had never used it before (she was sleeping fine swaddled silly Mommy...) but I was hoping the distraction would be enough for her to fall asleep. She cried off and on for about 30 minutes, but not really too loud, and it was sporadic. She then fell asleep, still with the one arm in, one arm out. She then slept fine for the rest of the night.
Night 2 = Moderately Successful

And thus the saga continues...

What a little ham!

2009-05-01T21:17:00.003-04:00

Take a picture of me Mommy! I am soooo cute!

See my two little bottom teeth!

Taken last weekend in the unheard of 88 degree April day in upstate NY! Love it - and hoping for more of the same!

Swaddling- Introduction

2009-05-01T13:25:00.006-04:00

Our little girl has been swaddled to sleep for almost all of the past 6 months. In the very early days, we did not swaddle her (she hated it!), and she did not sleep. I mean, hardly at all. You wouldn't think a newborn could go hours and hours on end without sleeping - but she could and did. There was a 36 hour period where she slept for about 45 minutes, 3 different times in the 36 hours. And she pretty much was the unhappiest baby in the world the rest of the time. She needed to sleep - we needed to sleep.
So one of my friends, with two little boys of her own, said we should go back to trying the swaddle, and to make sure it was TIGHT.
So we did, and she slept.
It didn't work like magic, but it did help her that once she fell asleep, she stayed asleep longer then 30-45 minutes, and thus we got our first "hours" of sleep since we got home from the hospital.
And she has been swaddled for naps and nighttime ever since. She never grew to really liking the swaddle, she would fight to get her little arms out, and when, on occasion, she did get her arms out, she would immediately cry - endlessly- until I swaddled her arms back in. So she has never proven to me that she is ready to be unswaddled for sleeping, and thus, she is still swaddled at 6 months.
But now, crazy Mommy has it in her head that I need to wean her off the swaddle. For two reasons, one, I envision having to swaddle a 5 year old to get her to sleep. I realize this is not very likely, but still, this is my thought. Secondly, the weather is changing, and it's going to be getting hotter for sleeping, maybe too hot to be swaddled. Although, again, I could use A/C and probably keep her room a similar temperature to what it has been this winter. But I've got to stop the swaddle at some point- right?
I have been waiting until she could turn over at will. For a while there she would get stuck on her tummy sometimes and cry, but now, she can turn over with no problem. So that leaves me ready to try and wean her off the swaddle. I'm hopeful, but realistic, and know that she is super stubborn, and we are probably in for some long nights. And of course, if the going gets too tough I may just take pity on her (ok-pity on myself) and give up.
It wouldn't be so bad to swaddle a 5 year old would it?

6 Month Dr's Appointment

2009-04-30T07:05:00.006-04:00

97th percentile for height! I knew she was getting tall. When I'm feeding her and put her up to burp on my shoulder, we have to bend her knees so she fits! And her weight has jumped up to the 50% which is good.
And the Dr. was very impressed with her ability to sit without supporting herself with her hands.
So although we were at the Dr's office forever (1.25 hours!) we got a clean bill of health and a see you in 3 months!
Then we had to get two shots. She did well, although, since we had been there so long, she was very tired (totally missed nap time) and also starting to get hungry, so boy did she scream. Poor little thing. But I got her calmed down and she was happier by the time we got home and saw Daddy.
Then she fell asleep eating...
Busy day for a 6 month old!

6 Months old!

2009-04-29T08:34:00.005-04:00

Our little girl is getting so big! She turned 6 months old a few days ago!

At 6 months she can sit up unsupported, turn over from belly to back and vice versa at will, and suck on her feet if she wants!

She's trying so hard to crawl! She's just starting to push up with her hands and legs, while on her tummy - she just doesn't do them both at the same time yet!

She loves to smile at Mommy and Daddy, and is loving her walks outside when the weather is nice!

Dr's Appointment is this afternoon - so we'll find out if she's still tall and skinny or if she's getting a little baby fat on her!

Beautiful Weekend

2009-04-26T08:36:00.005-04:00

Shorts in April, I love it.
It is in the 80's, with low humidity and blue, blue skies.
If there is someplace on earth where this is the weather every single day, then that is where we need to live!
We all love the weather this weekend.
Matt got to be outside the whole time, as did Jack.
Little baby girl got her bare feet in some dirt and grass and loved it!
And I just like to see my family happy.
Oh yes, but I did get stung by a bee. Haven't had that happen since I was about 5. It was lovely.
But, I'll take it, since the rest of the weekend is so great!

Dr's Appointment check list

2009-04-24T08:45:00.001-04:00

We have forms we fill out for our doctor visits. Next week we have our appointment and the 6 month check list is as follows:

Does your 6 month old-?

Move objects between hands-Check- Yep! Those hands are quite the little active suckers...it's amazing what she is able to reach when I think I have secured things far enough away!

Sits breifly while leaning forward on her hands- Check –She can even sit for a while without supporting herself with her hands...and she gets better at this every day!

Turns her head towards sounds- Check - It is so funny to see her hearing things off in the distance and trying to look and see where the heck is that coming from? For example, we had her outside on our back deck, and our neighbor was out using his chainsaw. Everytime he got it going, she would turn her head and try and figure out what is that noise??

Brings feet up to her mouth- Check- She can suck on her big toe like a champ!

As with her 4 month check up...So far so good, we can only hope she is healthy and happy!

Food count

2009-04-22T08:08:00.001-04:00

Baby's food checklist (in the order she tried them):

Rice cereal - not sure a hit, but tolerable

Oatmeal - better then rice cereal, but seems to like it less and less (I think other stuff tastes better)

Sweet potatoes - probably the favorite so far

Carrots - less popular the sweet potatoes, but ok

Green peas - I thought these were pretty gross, but she seemed ok with them.

Green beans - by far the least successful. On her first try with them, She did choke them down, but when I gave her a bite of oatmeal right afterwards, she gagged up pretty much all the green beans. Nice. Very pretty.

Fruit (the good stuff!) coming soon!

Bye Bye Bassinet

2009-04-20T09:00:00.001-04:00

Aww....we took down the bassinet this weekend. Little peanut hasn't been sleeping in it for a while now, but it was always nice to know that if she had a rough night (hasn't yet since moving to her own room) she could sleep in our room if needed.

But, since I'm pretty sure she's now over the weight limit (15 lbs) and it does take up an awful lot of room in our room....we took it down.

She's getting so big! Sitting on her own, trying like heck to crawl, and no more sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's room...

She's not even 6 months old, but now I understand why you might want to have a few dozen of these...the time goes so quick!

Sitting Up!

2009-04-17T19:01:00.004-04:00

She cannot yet come to a sitting position all by herself...but when we put her there she can maintain it by herself...for a little while anyway!

Good enough to eat!

2009-04-16T07:12:00.006-04:00

Although she discovered her feet with her hands weeks ago, I had yet to see her try and get them in her mouth. But last night, I left her in just her onsie, and within minutes she had those feet in her mouth. I guess she just never wanted to eat socks or sleeper feet - bare feet taste much better!

Floor time

2009-04-14T08:38:00.003-04:00

This is what happens when I put blankets on the floor to cushion it against falls....YUM!

Easter Day

2009-04-13T08:38:00.005-04:00

We left the house at 9:45 am, and got back aout 6:45 pm.

During our time away we went to church, and visited with both sides of the family. We saw both sets of Granparents, Great-grand-pap, and Aunts, Uncles and cousins!

Overall we did good!

Yum Yum

2009-04-10T09:28:00.001-04:00

Baby had her first bites of solid food last week. Rice cereal - yum. (notice the lack of ! after the "yum" - baby girl was not too impressed)

First feeding, I think most of it ended up on the bib. But she has done a little better each time, although I don't think she really likes the taste much.

She likes oatmeal slightly better, although either way ends up a gooey mess 'cause she likes to "help" me feed her, by grabbing the spoon and putting it in her own mouth (along with her hand).

Soon we'll be trying actual flavored baby food...so instead of drooling colorless stuff, she'll be drooling out green and orange baby food - now that will be quite the picture!

Ralphie

2009-04-08T13:19:00.002-04:00

From "A Christmas Story"

This is what Grandma does when she babysits.

Poor Kid.

Uncle Jeff's Birthday

2009-04-05T08:28:00.002-04:00

Last night we celebrated Uncle Jeff's Birthday. Baby girl was pretty good for a party starting at 5pm (evenings are not her best time).

She entertained her grandmother by pulling on Noni's hair, glasses, nose, cheeks - whatever she could get her little hands on really.

She gave everybody big baby smiles.

She took a little nap, had some food, and melted down about 7:30pm.

Right on schedule since that is bed time around our house. So Mommy and baby left the party and left Daddy and Jack on their own.

All in all, I'm happy with how the evening went.

Not that this was baby girl's first family birthday party.

No, no.

At just over 5months old we have already celebrated Uncle Andy's Birthday, Daddy's birthday and both grandparents on my side. So, including last night, that is 5 birthdays in 5 months. So we are regular party machines! And then next weekend we have 2 Easter parties (potentially 3, but that is probably going to be too much), followed closely by Popi's birthday (Matt's Dad)...

Busy busy busy!

Photo is of her in her party outfit!

The Easter Bunny!

2009-04-03T08:44:00.004-04:00

We went to see the Easter Bunny yesterday. It was our first venture of this type since we decided to skip Santa last Christmas since our baby wasn't even two months old yet. The Easter Bunny trip was successful in that there was not all out screaming while sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap. The Easter Bunny trip was not successful in that there were absolutely no baby smiles. No baby smiles for the Easter Bunny, the crazy lady taking the photo's, nor for Mommy or Grandma. She was not going to smile while sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap! However, once off of the Easter Bunny's lap and safely back in her stroller, she smiled like crazy at Mommy and Grandma. Therefore we have a photo of an unhappy baby with the Easter Bunny for Easter 2009.

Matt looked at the photo and said, "I thought the Easter Bunny was a white bunny?" This comment was followed by, "I don't blame you for not smiling kid, the Easter Bunny looks like a gerbil."

'nough said.

5 Months old!

2009-04-01T13:35:00.009-04:00

Our Little Girl turned 5 months old last week! (Yes- this post is a little overdue!)

And with the 5 months came a new talent - screeching!

Lovely! Yes, she has discovered something new to do with her voice, and it is a screech. She seems to make the noise for no reason most of the time, just because she can, although, at times it does escalate into screaming. But I guess baby milestone's are baby milestones...even the loud ones!

Gone voting - again!

2009-03-31T09:00:00.002-04:00

Our little baby girl was barely a week old when we took her to vote in the November 2008 election. All the women at the polling place loved it. They said, "You've been out of the hospital less then one week and you came to vote? Well, no one else should have an excuse then, they should all come out to vote."

True True.

They also said we should bring her back the following year when we could take her in the voting both with us and she could really see what we were doing. We didn't know then that we would be back in the voting booth about 5 months later.

So we're off to vote in the special election - because if you don't vote then you don't get to complain about the way the country is run - so we vote!

On the Move!

2009-03-29T20:47:00.008-04:00

Today, our little girl completed a roll. She rolled over for the first time, when she was 3 months a 1 day old. She surprised me, and herself- I think, when she rolled from her tummy onto her back. She did it three times that day, and then, forgot how. Over the next 2 months, she would, on a rare occasion roll over again, but it wasn't very often. She did spend a lot of time rolling herself onto her side and staying there. But today, at just over 5 months old, she did a complete roll, many, many times over the course of the day. We'll see if she forgets how tomorrow....but for today - she's on the move!

Baby Laughs

2009-03-25T09:00:00.002-04:00

I always say, "We sure do love those baby smiles" - and we do! Nothing is better then coming around a corner, catching baby girls eye, and seeing her break into a big smile for Mommy!
But, equally as good are baby laughs and baby talking. I have baby talking on video, but the stubborn camera won't let it go (for some reason I am unable to download it to the PC- we are working on it!).

But we do have some little baby giggles on video, taken as we played the other day. Too cute- and we love it!

Hey! These arms are good for something other then chewing on!

2009-03-24T08:50:00.001-04:00

While I think our little peanuts legs are very strong, (she has been supporting her own weight with parental help since about 3 weeks old) her arms haven’t been put to much use up to now. Other then flailing them around and gnawing on them that is. But she appears to be starting to use those chicken arms for something more productive. When I prop her up to sit- which she is doing better and better at and needing less and less support- she has started reaching her hand down to the floor and then bearing an ever so small amount of weight on her arm. I suppose this is a pre-cursor to sitting on her own and even crawling. It will be fun to play with her once she is sitting on her own, but we know that once she starts crawling – watch out! She has so much energy now, and you can tell she is ready to get up and get moving! I only hope Mommy can keep up!

Hey! I have Legs!

2009-03-22T14:23:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, our little girl discovered her legs with her hands.

She always has moved her legs and arms quite a bit, but recently, during a diaper change, I noticed her grabbing at her legs with her hands, which is new. My mom noticed the same thing the following day without me mentioning it to her previously. It is so neat to watch her day after day, and she does the same things for a while, and then all of a sudden, a new day brings something new. She’s been kicking her legs, and even supporting her own weight on them when we hold her up for months and months, but just now, she puts two and two together and grabs her own legs with her own hands. Crazy how we learn!

Happy Spring!

2009-03-20T09:18:00.001-04:00

Or as we like to call it....Welcome to Mud Season in upstate NY.

Live your whole life here, and you know it as the season between Winter and Spring. Yes, technically Spring begins today, but to us, it is Mud season and will be for probably a month or more.

Our dog normally gets a bath every two weeks. During Mud Season he could use one every day. Two weekends ago (the REAL beginning to mud season ~March 7th) he got a bath both Saturday and Sunday. The past weekend, he got a bath Saturday, and we kept him inside most of Sunday because he had an injured paw, otherwise he would have needed one Sunday too. He went out Monday night, and went chasing two Muskrats in the neighbors pond. Yes, he went in the pond. The pond which had ice in it two days previously. He got a bath Monday night too. Mommy's getting tired of giving Doggie baths. He makes the tub, much, much dirtier then my little cute baby. I can only imagine next years Mud Season when that will likely not be the case, and they will both make the tub equally as dirty. I can't say I'm looking forward to it. Yuck.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T10:13:00.003-04:00

Today is a double holiday for us. It is not only St. Patrick's Day, but also my Mom's birthday! This photo was taken Sunday at the dinner we hosted for both my parent's March birthdays of my Mom and her favorite little grandaughter.

As for today, our corned beef and cabbage is cooking away!

Bye Bye 3 month clothes

2009-03-16T09:20:00.002-04:00

Last week, at ~4.5 months old we packed up the 3 month clothing to be put away. She outgrew most of the 3 month clothing long ago, and has really only been wearing the last 3 sleepers that still fit for a while now – I was trying to get my monies worth from them before moving on. But the time has come to move into our 3-6 month clothing as well as our 6 month stuff. She is quite tall for her age, so some of the smaller 3-6 month stuff is already pretty tight.

You’ll note from my picture the way we keep organized. Although she has a dresser, all her clothes are in boxes in her closet labeled with the size and contents (ex. 3-6 month, sleepers, 3-6 month pants outfits, etc.). When she outgrows a box it goes down to the basement. This is the only way that I could be sure not to miss outfits. She grows rather quickly and to put them all in drawers mixed together did not make a whole lot of sense to me, so we use the boxes, and will probably continue to, until about 1 year, and then maybe we’ll move to drawers.

So far it is working great!

Back in her own room

2009-03-11T09:32:00.001-04:00

This photo was taken of our little girl in her crib one of the very first days we were home from the hospital. She looked impossibly small in the big crib back then, and although she's grown over 5 inches since this photo was taken, she's still a little peanut to Mommy!

However, today we are making the switch for the little girl to go back to sleeping in her own room. She slept in there a little in the first few weeks, and on a rare occasion took a nap in there, but for the most part, she has been sleeping in a bassinet in Mommy and Daddy's room.

But tonight, we're going to try the transition back to her own room.

I don't know how it will go or who it will be harder on, baby or Mommy. Mommy likes having her right next to me sleeping, so I can just look over and make sure she is ok.

But, it is probably better for the baby in the long run to get used to her own room. And this will just be the first of many times that Mommy has to learn to let go and do what is best for the baby, despite what Mommy herself wants.

Sad.

We went to look at the ducks!

2009-03-07T14:39:00.016-05:00

Poor kid, one day, the weather will be nice enough to go outside without all this gear on!

We are lucky enough to live in an area that has lots of cool stuff for kids to see without ever having to drive anywhere at all. We can easily walk right out our own back door and see rabbits, horses, cows, goats, llama's and pigs. No, we don't live on a farm, but we live right next door to one, making a trip to the "petting zoo" super easy.

However, the closest animals to us, are a family of geese living in a pond right across our driveway. Actually I'm quite sure the geese are a "blended family" because they are all different colors. Right now my favorites are these dark ones with greenish-blue heads and purplish-blue butts - very pretty!

So when the wind isn't howling, and it isn't 10 degree's out, (a rarity this winter in upstate NY) we bundle up little peanut and go for a quick walk to see the "ducks". They squawk their greeting as we approach, looking for food. I think peanut enjoys it, and it gets us some much needed fresh air during this long, cold winter. This summer we will take her back to see the rest of the animals, but for now, the ducks are good enough!

Help I'm Stuck!

2009-03-06T13:48:00.011-05:00

Help me Mommy - I'm stuck!
That is what the poor baby is saying to me with her eyes!
In the process of trying to roll over, she got stuck three quarters of the way over!
She rolled over for the first time when she was 3 months and 1 day old. She surprised me when, during her tummy time, she rolled from her tummy onto her back. She did it twice more that day, a second time for the video camera and a third time to show Daddy.

But after that one day she forgot how and has only done it a few sporadic times in the past few weeks. She still has never quite rolled from her back onto her tummy, but she comes super close.

Today, she got her one arm stuck under her, and then didn't know what to do. She laid that way for quite a while, intermittently sucking her hand, and trying to finish the roll. Mommy restrained herself from intervening and the big girl finally got her arm unstuck from underneath her and finished the roll!

She's getting so big!

I'm sure the day will come soon enough when I will wish she was as immobile as she is now, but for today, we are so proud of each little baby milestone!

Tall and Skinny - Like the Rest of the Family

2009-03-03T19:05:00.004-05:00

So our 4 month Dr's Appointment just confirmed what we already suspected - we have a tall and skinny baby! No big surprise there! Matt and my combined height is about 12 feet tall, yet our combined weight is less than 300 lbs. So the fact that our daughter is in the 90% for height yet only 15% for weight just shows us that she fits right in with the rest of the family!

Bath time

2009-03-02T17:28:00.007-05:00

Bath times are not yet fun in our household. But they are no longer excruciating times that involve Mommy getting herself psyched up for throughout the evening and that send Daddy and Doggie running to the basement for cover.
No, bath times have evolved.
When we first came home from the hospital, our daughter didn’t even want to be undressed. And so the screaming began as soon as we unzipped her sleeper. It continued through the bath and the re-dressing and only stopped once feeding time began. We progressed from there, to where getting undressed was ok, but as soon as we hit the bath water, the screaming started. Then, going in the tub was ok, but as soon as she was lifted out, you could count one Mississippi, two…and the screaming would start before she hit the towel. Currently, the undressing is ok, the water and soap are ok, and so is the towel drying. No, currently, meltdown occurs in the re-dressing phase of bath time. We’re not sure why but that is where we are at. We are thankful that the screaming is no longer constant.

Not that she now enjoys bath time- nope, not really at all. The look of fear on her face while she is in the tub is priceless. She pushes her arms against the sides of the baby tub in an effort for some control or maybe a way out. Mommy tries to hurry as fast as she can, and so baths last all of 2 minutes. At least they are silent baths. Silent on behalf of baby that is, mommy does her best to sing and comfort baby during bath times. But, my off key voice might only be hurting the situation. Either way, we are looking forward to the day when the rubber ducky becomes a bath time friend, instead of just a dry land playtime chew toy.

Dr.’s Appointment

2009-02-27T21:00:00.007-05:00

We have forms we fill out for our doctor visits.
The 4 month check list is as follows:
Does your 4 month old-?
Reach for objects-Check- In fact she’s getting quite “handsie” - She grabs at everything, especially my hair when I’m trying to put her down or while I am feeding her.
Brings toys to her mouth- Check – Give her a stuffed animal and it goes right in the mouth. It is soaked in seconds.
Lifts her head and chest up when lying on stomach- Check (sort-of) – She definitely lifts her head up, she reminds me of a turtle – (a cute one!). But she doesn’t really lift up her chest too much. She hasn’t quite got it down yet that those arm and hand things might be good for something other than chewing on!
Laughs out loud- Check- And it is the funniest thing in the world and makes me laugh out loud too!
Sits propped up- Check – She likes it too – lying on your back all the time must get old!
Turns to your voice when you are talking – Check – She knows Mommy!

So far so good, we can only hope she is healthy and happy!

4 months old!

2009-02-27T20:57:00.004-05:00

Our big girl is 4 months old! In some ways the time has gone by slow, and in others, it has gone by so, so quickly. It is an interesting balance. We can’t wait for her to get bigger. For her to sit at the table with us for dinner. For her to crawl, and walk and talk. But at the same time, I want to slow time down, so that we can cherish every little baby moment. The sweet way she looks when she sleeps. The way she does her “stretchy-stretchy” face when she’s just waking up. The cute baby smiles when she sees me walk in the room. The baby laughs, and the way she cuddles in close when she’s tired. So cute, and I just want to memorize each and every little moment. Because, as I tell Matt, she’s going to hate us when she’s 13, so we’d better enjoy it now!

Diaper count

2009-02-27T20:43:00.000-05:00

In the 3 weeks immediately after we came home from the hospital we used 212 newborn sized diapers.
212 diapers divided by 21 days = approx. 10 diapers day
Then we moved into size 1 diapers. It has been 14 weeks.
672 diapers divided by 98 days = approx. 7 diapers day
So 884 diapers total in ~4 months – yikes!

I can’t even fathom being the mother of the octuplets now. You could not possibly have enough hands to change all those diapers, let alone the means to pay for them! I won’t really comment on the situation that led to their birth, but I hope someone steps up to help out those kids, because they are truly the ones who are going to need all the support they can get. I wish them the best that life has to offer.