summertime

Summer has arrived...it was almost 90 degrees today here. Yesterday we tried the little pool again. She still wasn't too excited about it, but she did get braver in the grass. When I first put her down she stood on her toes and just stayed in one place. She's not a girl who likes to be still for long, though, so she ventured out into the yard a bit, tentatively taking a few steps, lifting her knees up really high. Eventually she walked the full length of the yard, back to the swingset. I couldn't believe she was willing to go that far! Then she walked back to bring Mommy the ball (which, incidentally, she calls a "daw.")

She got in the pool briefly, but wanted out almost immediately. Because she was wet and I didn't want to get myself too wet, I sat her on my leg (I was sitting on the ground outside the pool). From there she could dangle her feet into the pool, which she discovered was GREAT fun because she could kick and splash her feet. I think she's deciding maybe the pool isn't so bad after all!

After her "swim," I changed her out of her swimsuit. The outfit she had been wearing was covered with her mess from lunch, so I put a clean outfit on her--a new sunsuit/dress Grandma got her the last time she was here. I just couldn't help taking pictures because it was too funny and cute.

You can't really see it all that well, but you get the idea--plus I think the expression on her face is priceless. And these next pictures I'm including just because she smiled so well for the camera, which she doesn't often do.

Thanks to those of you who wrote a comment or emailed me in support of my last post! It was kind of hard to write those things when I don't know who reads this, but it was nice to get those feelings out, too. I'm feeling better. It was just a rough couple of days there last week.

This weekend is my little brother, Jack's wedding. I'm a bit nervous about the travel, being up late with lots of new people, staying in the same hotel room with our little one (Will she go to sleep in a totally new place with her two favorite people still awake in the room with her???? It's questionable.)..... I'm thinking that I'll probably stay at the reception with my extended family and Daddy will bring her back to the hotel and put her to bed, since the wedding is rather late. We'll see. I'm excited about seeing my family, especially my older brother and his family who have been in North Carolina on sabbatical all year (but are moving back in-state next month! Hooray!).

That's what's going on here in my world. Happy wedding day to Jack and Megan!!!

the other side of the coin

I usually write about the cute or funny things she does and the happy parts of motherhood. Today I don't feel like writing those things. Just like no one ever seems to tell you how hard marriage is and that it's not all hearts, romance, and happily ever after, you often don't hear about the rough spots of motherhood, either, so I think I'm going to share some tales from the other side....the not so pleasant stuff, just so you know that my life isn't all a bowl of cherries. I'm not sure I want to do this, but I suppose I want this to be real and authentic and not just the happy stuff, so I'll give it a try.

All I've ever wanted is to be a stay at home mom. We waited so long to have children so we could prepare financially for that to happen. But it's far from the perfect job that I always thought it would be. My biggest struggle? It's lonely and isolating. Especially when your husband's gone most of the week and you have no one else to talk to but a 13 month old, who basically understands, "NO!" "Don't Touch!" "toys," and "Want to go outside?" This week I hardly saw my husband at all, and most of the time, when we saw each other, we were too exhausted to have much of a conversation. He was really busy with work and now he's gone on a campout with middle schoolers from church. When he's gone so much that means I have more work taking care of you know who, so we're both more worn out. Grandma was here this week for a day and a half, so that helped a lot, but the other days have been hard.

Yes, it's lonely. My friends almost all work. I always had pictures of going to parks, meeting for lunch, etc. etc....I don't think I've ever met anyone for lunch in the last 13 months (once for breakfast, though), and I've met a friend at a park only a couple of times. It's just so hard to make schedules mesh--naps, meals, etc. Everyone is on a different schedule. It's a huge ordeal to go ANYWHERE with everything you have to take with you. And when something is planned, something almost always gets in the way--usually sickness. I can't tell you how many times that has happened to us in the last year--either I'm sick, she's sick, or whatever friend I meet or her child is sick!

In addition to being lonely, it can be rather monotonous. The same toys, the same games, the same chores (if I actually work up enough motivation to clean), the same TV shows (she watches "Baby Mozart" over and over and over and over and over.....I know every song by heart and what comes next, and could probably reinact the whole DVD for her!--"Why don't you put something else in?" I hear you asking. Well, I've tried, trust me. Nothing else calms her down and keeps her interest like this one does, so I keep using it...only when she's fussy and nothing's making her happy. It works like a charm.)

When spring came it got a little better. We started spending more time outside and there were new things to do. But even now that is getting dull--she walks around and picks up sticks and stones, while I follow her saying, "Don't eat that! Yucky!" and pull everything out of her mouth. I push her on the swing. I blow bubbles and she chews on the extra wand. We go for a walk around the neighborhood. That's the extent of our outdoor activities.

I find myself looking forward to the days of play doh, crayons, finger paint, tape, stickers, dress up, making tents, playing with dolls, and so forth. I guess there just aren't a lot of things to hold her interest right now, and it's frustrating. I can only chase her with the toy vacuum for so long (I got that at a garage sale last weekend--it's her new favorite game. She doesn't want to play with it herself, but she brings it to me over and over and has me chase her).

I don't want to keep complaining. I guess I've just had a long couple of days and I needed to vent. It's been cold and dreary out and the last few days and we haven't gotten out much. I really do love staying home and wouldn't want it any other way. It just has its ups and downs, just like any job, I suppose.

So here are the ups....just to remind myself!
--her huge smiles when I get her up from bed
--her big, wet, whole mouth kisses
--her little dances she does whenever she hears music
--when she plays peekaboo with me while she lays on the changing table and pulls her pants over her face
--the way she tries to move her fingers to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" whenever I start singing it
--the way she goes right to her highchair whenever I say, "Are you hungry?"
--her new trick of sticking her tongue out and feeling it
--watching her giggle when she sees herself in the mirror
--her belly laugh when she gets tickled
--holding her and giving her her bottle in the morning when she wakes up and she's still a little bit sleepy and wants to linger on my lap (the only time of day she's ever a tiny bit snuggly)

Okay, it's making me cry (joyfully) to think about all of these....and I could come up with so many more. She's so sweet. I guess I can't stay on the other side of the coin for long!

going for a swim

Yesterday was really hot, so I thought it would be a good day to break out her new pool. It's just a tiny blow up pool, so I blew it up in the morning, put water in it, and let it sit in the sun to get warm. Later in the afternoon, after Grandma arrived for her visit, we put her bathing suit on her for the first time and took her outside. First of all, she had never been in the grass before with her bare feet, and that was HILARIOUS to watch. She didn't like it at all and kept trying to lift her feet off the grass. She realized that wouldn't work, so she stood on her tip toes and reached up to one of us to pick her up. When we had ahold of her she'd lift both legs up so they wouldn't be touching. It was so funny. When we sat her down in the grass she even picked her feet up, so her bottom was in the grass but her feet were up in the air. What a funny girl.




Here she is testing out the water (notice she's on her tippy toes!!)


She didn't really like the pool, either. The water was warm, almost like a bath, but she just didn't want to stay in it. She played a little bit with some stacking cups, but mostly she'd stand up and lift her arms up to be picked up.



So swimming didn't last too long, but Grandma and I sure had fun watching her! We'll have to try again another day.

happy mother's day

I had a nice Mother's Day. I was especially glad because we were all feeling better. We've all three been sick this last week, so it was nice to have everyone feeling fairly well again. I was disappointed, though, because my mom was supposed to come down on Saturday after a wedding shower for my sister-in-law-to-be (to which I was supposed to go as well, but didn't because I was sick), and be here on Mother's Day, but she decided not to come since she didn't want to get our germs and risk being sick for my brother's wedding in two weeks. So both Mom and I were sad to not share our mother's day together, but she's coming down tomorrow instead, so at least we'll still get to see her.

So my Mother's Day was a nice, quiet day with my little family. First thing in the morning Daddy and daughter brought me a card, flowers, and Krispy Kreme donuts. Yum! I had already received my gift, which was a zoo membership, mentioned in a previous post. Then we went to church and our little one graduated to the toddler room. She did well with the big kids, surprisingly, and it was SOOO cute to walk in to get her and see about 20 little 1 and 2 year olds sitting at a table in tiny chairs eating cheerios together!! Even our little girl sat there very still and had her share. She's growing up! (pause, while I wipe away a tear!)

After church we went to lunch at a restaurant on the reservoir--it's the closest we can get to waterfront dining here! We've been wanting to try it for some time, but hadn't yet. When we got there it wasn't open yet, so we walked around the garden store next door for a half hour looking for plants for our evolving landscaping. It was a beautiful day and so nice to enjoy it outside. Finally it was time for the restaurant to open, so we went back and got a seat at the window by the water. We didn't know if the little one would make it through dinner--she had missed her morning nap--but she did really, really well. She seems to really enjoy being out because there is so much more to look at. I had steak, which I rarely have, and it was overdone, but still good. They offered to take it back and make me another one, but I knew that she wouldn't stay quiet while we waited for another steak, so I said no thank you, so they offered me free dessert, instead! So I brought some dessert home with me and ate it later in the afternoon, which was a nice treat.

While she napped in the afternoon I went to JoAnn's to get some scrapbooking supplies I had been wanting, and it was nice to get out a little on my own and browse the scrapbook aisles at my leisure, not worrying about her getting fussy, like I normally do while I'm there. It was fun.

And last night I went to our church's new church plant, which meets on Sunday nights, because my best friend's son (who is only 2 1/2 weeks older than our daughter) was being dedicated during their service. I was glad to get to be there, and also to experience their new church. I also got to see a few friends from our old small group, who I don't get to see so much anymore since they're at the church plant. Daddy did dinner, bathtime and bedtime for me while I was gone, so it was nice to get a little break from the routine on Mother's Day.

So there's my Mother's Day in a nutshell. Here are some pictures (after she'd already had her clothes changed from her cute little dress, unfortunately!!!). We couldn't get one where we both looked good....when she was smiling, my eyes were closed, and when I looked decent, she wasn't smiling or looking at the camera! Oh well....you get the idea.

long time, no post

I know it's been awhile. With the nice weather I'm not inside as much and not online as often. We're enjoying the sunshine and warmth, swinging, blowing bubbles, picking up sticks, eating rocks...you know, the things everyone does outside! She loves carrying things around--anything she finds on the ground is fair game. The other day I found her carrying a dead earthworm she found on the driveway. That's my girly girl, huh (at least she didn't get it as far as her mouth!)

Mostly she just enjoys walking up and down the sidewalk. Give her a straight path and she'll go forever. The other day she saw someone walking a dog and took off after them, practically in a run! She's very social, and anytime she sees other people she breaks out into a huge smile, points to them, and takes off in that direction. There's no such thing as a stranger at this point in her life.

We've been working on landscaping. We've lived here for nearly four years and have yet to do anything to the landscaping, even though there's been plenty we've wanted to do. So finally we started. This past weekend we ripped out two dead cedar trees and another tree that was growing out of control and leaning into the garage. We transplanted about 10 bushes and planted some rose bushes and a very small tree. We're hoping we didn't kill everything in the transplanting--neither of us has a very green thumb. We have lots more to do, and at the moment it looks quite bare, but I'm anxious to see what it looks like when we're done. Our little one loves to "help!" She was out with us for awhile on Sunday and loved carrying around clumps of dirt, climbing over them, and falling into the holes we dug. She was into everything, but loving every minute of it. She's definitely not one afraid to get dirty. Maybe we have a tomboy on our hands.

a trip to grandma's

We're at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Tomorrow we're throwing a bridal shower for my sister-in-law-to-be (my younger brother is getting married on Memorial Day weekend) so we're here without Daddy for a couple of days (we miss you, Daddy!).

Grandma's house is a whole new world to explore, and LOTS of things to get into! She first discovered the vertical blinds hanging at the sliding glass door in the TV room. She pulled them down within seconds. Now a no-no. Then she discovered the garbage can with the paper shredder on top, and pulled out many tiny pieces of shredded paper. Another no-no (and we had to turn off the shredder so her hand wouldn't get caught!). Next it was the swinging door between the kitchen and dining room. We had to put a chair behind it so she couldn't push it open (Grandma had just had the carpet cleaned in that room and we didn't want her getting wet by going in there). My goodness...I'm realizing how thankful I am that our house is fairly baby proofed!!!

Here are some brief updates:
1)The OT appointment was earlier this week--everything is fine. I'm coming to the conclusion that she's just little.
2)She's sleeping more--instead of 7pm to 7am, she's now sleeping 7pm to 8am or later. Her naps are two hours long or more....where has this sleep been for the last year??? I guess she's recovering from all of this new discovery that she's doing!
3)She's eating better. Still picky....likes yogurt one day, turns her head from it the next, but I think part of it is also just her toddler independence starting to peek through.

Okay, off to do some exploring at Grandma's house!

to the zoo

EDITED TO ADD PICTURES:

If you know either my husband or me, you know that we're definitely NOT animal lovers. It's something we agreed on very early on in our relationship--we wouldn't go to the zoo on a date, and we would never have a pet.

But we decided that we can't deprive our little girl of the chance to love animals if she wants to, so we should take her to the zoo. Today was a gorgeous day so we decided to enjoy it outside together and we went! It had been forever for either of us to set foot in a zoo. My early Mother's Day present was a family membership, so now we can go anytime in the next year. We figured it would be a nice thing to do as a family sometimes on the weekends, or I can go with a friend and our little ones during the week sometimes.

Well, of course, everyone in the city decided to go to the zoo today, too, because it was such a beautiful day, so we did a lot of waiting--wait to get in the parking lot, wait in line to buy the membership, wait to get in, wait to see the animals, wait to get out of the parking lot.....BUT, we had a good time. Our little one enjoyed being outside and especially loved it when we'd take her out of the stroller and let her walk around awhile. She found every stone, stick, and leaf on the ground and taste tested them.

We saw elephants, a lepoard, a lion, penguins, flamingos, a rhino, some monkeys, lots of fish....she like the fish because she could actually see them moving....the other ones were either sleeping or too far away for her to see. We sat and watched the carousel and she clapped her hands while listening to the fun music.

food fights

Every meal seems to result in a food fight...but not in the traditional sense of the word. She's not eating, so the fight is to get her to eat...and to find something she's willing to eat. It's become very stressful for her mother, who wants very much for her daughter to be healthy and to gain some weight. Every meal I sit in hope that she'll eat the whole...whatever it is...whole piece of cheese, whole graham cracker, whole dish of applesauce, etc. Rarely does it happen.

At her doctor appointment last week she had dropped to the 5th percentile for weight. I keep trying to tell myself that someone has to be in the 5th percentile, and that she's happy and developmentally doing well, so her weight isn't a huge problem, but I still stress about it all of the time, particularly at meal time when she eats a few bites, fusses, and declares, "Ah dah!" (baby speak for "All Done!"--the only two words she can say!)

The doctor is sending us to an occupational therapist to try and help her. I'm not quite sure what she'll do, but I'm supposed to take food with me that she likes to eat and food that she won't eat, plus utensils, bottles, sippy cups, etc. She's going to evaluate her eating and then give me some tips on how to get her to eat better. I'm willing to try anything. Eating has been a battle since day one, when I couldn't get her to nurse for days. If anyone can help me, I say, bring it on!!! I'm getting tired of this battle. We go next week.

sippy success!

Some of you know that for months now I've been trying to get her to drink from a sippy cup, without success. I have almost every type of sippy cup there is...all except for one, which I finally bought yesterday. AND IT WORKED!!! I SO wish I had bought it months ago, but they're expensive and you have to buy a pack of two. Since I didn't know if she'd drink out of it or not, I didn't want to spend the money or get two of them, but yesterday I broke down and did it. They're the Avent Magic Cups, or something like that. The tips fit into her Avent bottles that she's always used, so I gave her a bottle of formula with that tip instead, and since she was really hungry, recognized the bottle, and wanted her milk, she was willing to make the effort to drink from a different type of tip. She did great!

Today I just gave her the regular cup, not attached to her bottle this time. It had water in it, and she drank it like a pro!

Who knew it could be this easy with the right cup???

then and now

I meant to put this in the birthday post, but I forgot.

April 9, 2006

April 9, 2007

What a difference a year makes, huh?

the birthday girl!!

Yesterday was her big day....It was a fun but busy day. When she woke up in the morning Mommy and Daddy both went in and started singing "Happy Birthday." She didn't know quite what to make of it--she was crying because she wanted her bottle and didn't appreciate our musical talents. But she cheered up and had a happy day. Here she is posing in her monthly birthday chair pose, but this time she got to wear a crown (it says "fun to be 1") and a button that says, "I'm one year old today."

Grandma and Grandpa (Mommy's parents) came in the morning and Grandma helped Mommy get ready for the party. Here are the decorations and the cakes I made. She loved her balloons!

Granny and Papa (Daddy's parents) came later in the day with cousin Ashley and they played awhile. Around 5:00 two of Daddy's sisters came with more cousins and the party began. We had dinner, then cake, ice cream, and presents. She liked hearing us all sing happy birthday to her! She wouldn't keep her crown on, though, so that's Mommy's hand trying to keep it on in the picture.She had a little cake of her own and she dug right in. It was pretty funny to watch. After awhile, though, she finally had enough and started rubbing the icing in her hair!

She had no interest in her presents--just the ribbons on the packages. So Mommy unwrapped them all! Every once in awhile she'd come over and look and play with something, but she always went back to the ribbons!

She was such a good girl and even though she was up well past her bedtime, she was smiley, playful, and having a good time. It was exhausting, but a fun day. I can't believe our little girl is one.

happy easter

Here are some shots of Easter morning. She enjoyed her basket--especially the maracas. Her Easter basket has been Mommy's Easter basket her whole life, so it's nice to continue the tradition. She was an angel in the nursery, the ladies said--quite a change from the usual separation tears for the last month or two.

goodnight moon

Goodnight moon is her favorite book. How do I know? She brings it to me every night before bed. I even hid it behind some other books to see what she'd do. She found it and brought it anyway! Smart girl, huh? I guess maybe she's ready to turn one....



...But that doesn't mean I'm ready for it. I can't believe that in four days she'll be a year old. Where has the year gone? Where has my tiny baby gone? She's every inch a toddler now. Every stage is fun, but I am already nostalgic for her infanthood.



Today was picture day for her birthday. I know it's four days early, but I figured with Easter coming up this weekend, it would be really busy with people getting their kids' pictures taken. I wanted to avoid that. The whole day was centered around making sure she was happy and ready for her 11:00 photo shoot. It didn't work very well. She has a bit of a cold, so she was fairly fussy, clingy, whiny, and not very smiley. But actually, that made my decision much easier! I didn't want to give into temptation and buy more than the package I had already planned on, and this made it easy! There was only one picture with a really good smile, so that's what I got, and I wasn't tempted at all to get anything else. Hmm....maybe I shouldn't worry so much about making her so happy on picture days after all!? Anyway, here is the result. Sorry for the white space around it....it has to do with the size of the picture and the size of my scanner, but I don't know how to fix it.

we all scream for ice cream

It may only be spring, but we've had a few days of summer weather. On one of those days we decided to make a trip to DQ for our almost one year old's first ice cream cone. Here are the yummy, but very messy results!

these shoes were made for walking

She finally has some walking shoes that fit. I first tried the inexpensive route of finding a really nice pair at a consignment store. They were so cute, but her feet were just too thick to fit in them. Then I went to Stride Rite and had her sized and she tried some on, but I couldn't bring myself to pay their prices when she'll grow out of them in a couple of months. So I shopped on ebay and found the exact same shoes she tried on, brand new, for a third of the price!

They finally arrived yesterday and she's wearing them today. She doesn't quite know what to make of these big things on her feet. She's lifting her feet really high off the ground, almost like marching. It's really funny, but she's walking more normally as the morning goes on, so hopefully she's getting used to them.

spring has sprung!

And to honor the first day of spring, here she is....Miss Cotton Tail herself:

I know it's a little early for Easter, but her overalls have little bunnies on them, and I knew if she didn't start wearing them soon she wouldn't be able to wear them, since Easter will be here soon, so what better day to don the bunnies than the first day of Spring!? And once the bunny overalls were on, I couldn't resist trying on the bunny ears, too.....

I know, 12 years from now she'll be looking at these pictures saying, "Mom, what did you make me wear???" Oh well. She can't voice her opinion yet, so until then, I'll dress her to make me happy! :)

We had great weather today to inaugurate the new season. It looked kind of iffy this morning, but as the day went on it got brighter and eventually the sun came out and it was at least 70 degrees! We ate dinner outside on our deck (where our little one tried to eat leaves from the bushes for her dinner) and she got to swing in her swing some more.

more outdoor adventures

I thought Sunday was beautiful...well, today is even better! Not only is it sunny and gorgeous, it's SEVENTY FOUR DEGREES!!!! My parents are in North Carolina visiting my brother and his family, and I was a little jealous that they get to enjoy the warm weather, but not anymore! We have our own North Carolina right here today!

So because it's so nice we went outside again...several times. First we went out to get the mail. I sat on the front step to read it in the sunshine and she sat down on the sidewalk at my feet and played with the things she found on the ground--leaves, pebbles, dirt...whatever she saw. I only had to say "yucky" twice this time! Mostly she just played with them. When she decided to crawl to the flower bed and get dirt on her hands, I decided it was time to go in.

A little bit later we went out to the swingset in the back yard. The last few times she's been in it she hasn't been sure she likes it, but today she loved it. She was in it for about a half hour, just looking around, listening to airplanes, birds, cars driving by, and finding our shadows on the ground and talking to them. She liked that part best, I think. Toward the end her eyes started getting heavy and I could tell it was close to nap time, so we went in.

After naptime we went for a walk with the stroller. I put her new spring hat on and tried to get her to wear her sunglasses....no such luck. She couldn't wait to pull them off and chew on them. But it was quite funny to watch!


What are these things, Mommy?

I don't think I like them.....

But hmmm....they're fun to play with and chew on....

...but I think I like it just like this instead...just my pretty face!

Oh yes, she has an ear infection...we went to the doctor yesterday. I'm glad I took her in. She hates her medicine, though. I thought all kids were supposed to like the pink stuff??? She can't stand it, so the battle to take it twice a day for the next 9 days will not be my favorite part of the day. Yuck.

a whole new world

What a gorgeous day it was yesterday! Sunny, 50ish...beautiful. We all three went for a walk around the neighborhood. She loved it--just looking all around, "talking," and leaning back in her stroller, relaxing, enjoying the ride. She loves being outside, and I think the added motion of the stroller just made it even better. She hasn't been for a real walk outside since last fall when she was still rather little, so I'm sure it seemed like a new experience for her.

After we got back home we didn't want to go inside just yet, so we took her out of her stroller and let her experience walking outside for the first time. She didn't have her walking shoes on, but the sidewalk was dry, so I figured it would be okay for a little bit. She discovered a whole new world of rocks, dead grass, leaves, and holes in the pavement.

And as part of discovery, of course, she wanted to eat everything she encountered. Oh boy, we've got our work cut out for us now! "Yucky!" I must've said about 50 times, as I swiped something out of her hand as it was headed for her mouth. It was a fun afternoon watching her explore.

Sadly, I think she's sick again. I'm going to call the doctor when the open in a few minutes and see if they'll see her. Another cold and possible ear infection--that's why I want her to be checked. She's been rather fussy, which isn't like her.

So the World of Weed (and daughter) has just gotten bigger to include outdoors. I'm so glad--I've been having cabin fever for a month or so now, and can't wait to get back outside in the sunshine.

Oh, and here are a couple of pictures from her 11 month birthday on Friday. I can't believe her real birthday is only a few weeks away! What a grown up girl!!!

a new look

I finally updated to the newer version of my blog, and in doing so, I made some changes. I hope you like the makeover!

We have a bonafide toddler in the house now! She's literally "toddling" all over the place now, holding onto things less and less and walking on her own more and more. This morning she saw a toy on the floor that she wanted, walked over to it, bent over and picked it up, and stood back up and continued on across the room. What a big girl. What happened to my little baby girl?

a walk around the room

She started walking on Monday and already she's tearing around the house. Well, tearing probably isn't quite right....stumbling is more like it. But she's really taken off and is becoming more and more brave. Yesterday was the first time she went after something besides Mommy or Daddy. She saw her snowsuit across the room (that pink thing on the floor...lazy Mommy didn't put it away) and wanted to get it. She made it all the way across the room and only stopped walking because she bent down to get the snowsuit.

Later she saw her toys across the room and headed toward those. She seems to do better when she has something in her hands/mouth. Otherwise she has to think about it more.... "Hmmm...do I really want to make the effort? Is it worth falling down?" she seems to ask herself. With something in her hands she's too busy thinking about that to contemplate the risks involved! (She's a pretty advanced almost 11 month old, isn't she to be contemplating ANYTHING?) Here she is coming toward Mommy, block in hand.