11 Months

   So much has changed in the last month, I feel like I have a whole new baby!  She is a speedy little crawler, and she could get into anything if I'd let her.  Our house is officially Baby-Land, with gates, corrals, outlet covers, toys and cheerios everywhere.  She is constantly moving.  She can walk one-handed and stand up on her own.  She cruises around everything and she has even taken one step on her own (although I think she might have just lost her balance).  Her newest thrill is dancing.  Whether standing or sitting, as soon as she hears music she bobs up and down or back and forth.
   She has also started "putting away" and sharing her toys.  I have found her filling buckets, bread pans, orange cones and shoes with toys.  She loves to move things back and forth and fills my lap with toys.
  She has a growing fascination with her feet.  If she is standing, she likes to pat things with her feet or she will put her feet up when she is sitting at the table.  She loves when I play with her piggies.
   She is becoming so goofy, and I think she has her parents' strange sense of humor.  Sometimes she will laugh just because of the way I look at her.
   I can't believe that this is my last monthly post before her first birthday.  Every day I wish that I could just press Pause on her and keep her from growing just a little while longer.  Just long enough to catch up.  I don't think I'm ready for her to keep growing and I'm so afraid that I'll miss something or that I'll forget the most beautiful little moments.
   It makes me sad to know that she won't remember this time.  She won't remember all the cuddles and story times, or how she fits so neatly between my arms, pressed against my chest. 
   People might make fun of moms for being cheesy and emotional, but there is never any time that I have been more happy and fulfilled and full of love than when I'm holding my child.  I never understood that before I had her, and I never would have.  That's also why moms have ladies retreats and go to Mama Mia together.  We need to be around other people who are the same kind of crazy.

  Emotional mommy stuff: CHECK
  Up next: BRAGGING

Cool stuff she can do:
   crawl
   walk while holding one hand
   stand alone (while clapping, too)
   dance
   make monkey and elephant noises, and woof
   fill things with toys and share
   drink from a cup
   wave hello
   play peekaboo and hide and seek

Favorite things of assorted varieties:
   wheeled push toy
   blocks
   pictures of people, especially babies and people she recognizes
   tomatoes, asparagus and cheerios or any food on the floor
   emptying the dishwasher and the pantry
   kids
   being carried on our shoulders
   being tickled by feet
   streaking

Tooth count:
   Two on the bottom, two more on the way on the top
  
 

I Love Easter for Sentimental Reasons

Easter is my favorite holiday, and I'm pretty sure it always has been.  As a kid I felt like everyone had Christmas, but Easter was just for me.  My parents used to make baskets for each of us kids and hide them around the house.  When we woke up in the morning there would be a trail of chocolate eggs, a different color for each kid, starting at our pillows and ending at our baskets.  This is one of my most exciting memories as a kid and a tradition I can't wait to continue with Little.





I'm sure a big part of why I love Easter so much is because I love spring.  I love how it feels to walk out into the warm spring air after the snow melts, and feel like it's the first time I've ever had sun on my face.  I love taking off my shoes for the first time and feeling the mud squish between my toes.  I love the tiny green buds of leaves and the smell of wet grass, the tulips and daffodils showing off the first colors of the year.





Easter is a day filled with love, for me.  I get to be with my family, without obligations or distractions, knowing that at that moment there is nothing more important to do than to simply be at peace with them.  I don't have to do anything but let the joy of my family fill my heart.  At church, everyone is rejoicing and thanking God for his love and his salvation.  Easter is the one day out of the year that I never question God's love or faithfulness. 

 



This year, Easter was a day for a quiet drive through sleepy suburban streets, teaching Little to smell the flowers, picnicking by the river, and playing with blocks with the spring air blowing through the house.

Easter was a day for peace.






 

A Chronic Case of Preggo Brain

The first time anyone ever suspected I was pregnant, I was at work.  I commented that I was feeling generally weird and loopy.  While this may not have made anyone who knows me think twice, my co-worker immediately joked that I was probably pregnant.  We both chuckled a little and went back to our headsets and air-pots, but in my head, sirens, lights and alarm bells were going off.

As my pregnancy moved along, my brain started to feel more and more like it was filled with air, or water, or some other non-intelligent substance.  I lost orders, barely avoided crashing my car, left produce in my car to freeze, and usually couldn't remember what day it was.

Once I left my management position, my head seemed to go somewhat back to normal.  I thought reduced stress had cured me, although being in a car still caused general pandemonium.  I'm not sure if I really did get some of my conscience back or if I just got used to being a numb-scull.

I realize now that during social situations, I'm really not all there any more.  When I'm having conversations with my friends or family, sometimes I drift off into space while they're talking.  When my boss is telling me important stuff, sometimes I realize later that I was paying no attention whatsoever, and I have to use a mixture of sub-conscience investigation and common sense to figure out what she said. 

When I was visiting with one of my best friends over Christmas, I asked her the same question at least twice.  I could tell she was a little irritated.  Later I had to ask David to recap the conversation with me.  Seriously, my husband knows more about my best friend than I do. 

Certain things you can get rid of after a birth of a child, like daily emotional breakdowns, buffalo wing cravings, balloon feet and strangers telling you that you're HUGE.  Other things stick around just to remind you of that wonderful time you brought a beautiful human into the world, like stretch marks, cellulite and the uncontrollable urge to say "Aaaaaaaaaaaw..."  when you see a kid do something cute or a husband do something sweet.  Aparently I need to add pregnant brain to that list, too because here I am, approximately fourteen months after contracting pregnant brain, I'm still looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.  I think I may be doomed to a life of loopy-old-ladyness forever more.

Someone please tell me there's hope, or at least let me know I'm not alone.

Annora: 6 and 7 Months

Little turned six months old while we were away for Christmas, so month six is getting thrown in with month seven.  So much has happened in two months!

 

 

 

Little's Discoveries and New Behaviors:
Sitting.  Her best friend Adeline taught her this one
Eating Cheerios.  She invented her own sign for "more" by slapping her tray.
Banging on things with a stick.  Or a spoon, or fork, or her hand.  Just banging in general.
Screaming.  David's favorite.
Moving towards things that she wants by rolling or diving.  Next lesson: gravity.
Elephant noises.  This one kills me.
Standing while leaning or grabbing something.  Little Miss Independent picks out her own toys now.
Bouncing.  Or the Flipper flap, depending on how you look at it.
Drinking from a sippy cup.  Or holding it while milk dribbles down her neck.

In Progress:
Supporting herself on her hands and knees while doing the Flipper Flap and saying "UhUhUhUhUhUhUh."

 

  

My favorite part about seven months is how much she loves me.  She loves to cuddle and hug and chew on my face (I think that's supposed to be kissing).  Whenever anyone else is holding her she makes a Kamikaze dive into my arms.  I love having a Momma's girl.

Her favorite things:  Elephant noises, flying upside down, mirrors, Mommy, her sippy-cup, oatmeal, cheerios, her feet, empty boxes, playing Pop Goes the Weasel and dogs.

5 Months

See my new skirt?

I'm watching you, Sophie...

The little Princess, looking over her kingdom.

Guitar solo!

The Little is not just an infant anymore, she's a real Baby!  Before she was born, five months seemed so old and so far away, but we're already here!  She's traded in so many aspects of her infancy.  She has replaced her slender figure with soft and delicious little rolls of fat.  She no longer needs to be snuggled to sleep, but will go to sleep on her own once we kiss her good-night.  She can entertain herself with almost anything without any help.
We recently started using Parent Directed Feeding, which keeps your baby on a constant rotation of eat-play-sleep.  Now she naps for 15 minutes before every feeding, and seems a lot happier lately.  She also goes to sleep easier, I think because she knows that's the expectation.
We finally moved her crib out of our room this week and into the living room.  I'm hoping that she'll sleep longer during the night without us around to disturb her sleep.
She loves to touch everything, and inspect things with her hands.  She always wakes me up in the morning by touching my lips and my nose, and when I open my eyes I see a very inquisitive little face looking back at me.  If you give her toys, she'll whip them around in the air until they fly off into the distance, then she'll marvel at her little hands wondering where her toys went.  She likes to inspect everything from mirrors and windows, to the carpet, couch upholstery and bedsheets.
While most of her jabber still consists of lip buzzing, she is slowly building up her repertoire of sounds.  Just this morning she looked over at David and started shouting, "Dadadadadadadadada!"  You might say it's coincidence, but I'm pretty sure I've got my very own child genius.
I'm starting to make this a little too long, but there's still so much to say!  So bear with me, because Little is about to start CRAWLING.  eek!  Last night, David and I watched as she pushed her chest up off of the floor and spun in a circle trying to play with every toy within arm's reach.  My heart jumped out of my chest, partly from pride and partly from fear because we haven't BABYPROOFED yet! Again, eek!(!!!!)  This is especially scary because only two days ago, she couldn't even do half a push-up, now she's a baby yoga master!  Lord, help me!
She's also eating cereal now, and that's so entertaining, it might even warrant it's own post.
Her favorite things this month include bouncing (especially to the tune of "Prim, Prim, Prim"), being tossed in the air, watching Mommy dance, hearing Mommy sing gospel choir songs, kisses, Peekaboo, being naked, having her fingers and toes nibbled on, and sponge-baths.
And her least favorite thing this month is pooping.

 

P.S.  Congratulations to my favorite Baby Blogger, Melissa.  She's having more!!!!  Yay!  http://dearbabyblog.com/post/2083026766/dear-everyone-this-is-a-letter-from-us-there#disqus_thread

Dear Katy

I was inspired by this post, and I immediately knew I had to participate. 
This is a letter to my pregnant self just before the Little was born.

Dear June Katy,
I'd like to think I know you pretty well, and if I remember correctly, you're at home making a chicken.  Don't do it.  It will end up being left out for days and you will have a swarm of flies in your kitchen when you get home.
I know you're feeling a mix of fear and excitement right now, but it's going to be a lot easier than you expect.  I also know that you haven't been thinking much about your little girl, whom you are about to meet.  I don't blame you.  You've had so much to worry about, it's hard to picture her tiny little face when there's so much on your mind.
I think you realize how little you know.  I think at one point it will occur to you that you don't know how to take care of a baby, or how to parent.  Relax.  You were made for this, and even when you don't know what to do, God will. 
I know you've heard that you will instantly fall in love with your baby, but that's not always true.  And you're not a bad mother if you don't.  When they lay your little girl on your chest, red and screaming, you'll desperately want to feel that hormonal rush,  but you won't.  It'll be later, holding your baby to your chest, watching her innocent expressions as she nurses, feeling the warmth of her body as she sleeps that you'll know she's yours.  It won't be right away, but it will come.
Soon you are going to have to nurse your baby.  I've never heard anyone say it was easy, so don't blame yourself if it doesn't go well right away.  You will be extremely frustrated sometimes, but just have patience and be understanding.  These will turn into the most precious moments that your little girl will share with only you.
Patience and Understanding.  You are always praying for this for yourself, but you will need it so much more than you could imagine.  There's nothing that can prepare you for this sudden change.  Your baby will constantly need you and want to be with you.  She will cry a lot, and sometimes there's nothing you can do but hold her and keep telling her you love her.  When you get frustrated and think you can't take any more, just pray for an extra helping of patience and understanding.
This will seem like the hardest thing you've ever done (because it is) but it's the most rewarding and meaningful thing you'll EVER do.  Your little girl loves you, she wants your closeness, care and love.  I know that you'll give her more than she could ever need.  You just need to remember (and believe your husband when he tells you) that you are doing great.  Soon, your heart will be filled with so much pride and love that you won't be able to think of enough ways to express it.  You will give your daughter everything she needs and you will be the best mother for her.  You're not a bad woman for being frustrated, you just need the foresight and the patience to follow through to the good part.  I know that you have all of these things, or I would not be writing you this letter today.
Your heart will explode to an unimaginable size and you will eventually be the best mother possible for your baby, so don't get down and remember to soak it all in.
Take your time, pray, and trust that God will show you what to do.
You truly,
October Katy