sisters

bailey ~ 1 month 14 days

shea ~ 1 month 7 days

I can kind of see the resemblance.

bailey update 11 and 12 months

11 months - 20 lbs. 5 oz.

12 months - 21 lbs. 14 oz. 30 inches

Hi Bailey,

Well you turned 11 and then 12 months. Time sure has gone by fast. You have changed so much in the last 2 months. It's amazing. You're suddenly becoming an actual little person, with opinions and everything. Well kind of...you're mostly still our baby.

signing dog.

I recently mentioned how you had picked up a couple of signs here and there. Shortly after that post, you started signing all kinds of stuff. I think it was like 4 or 5 new signs in one day. So crazy. Daddy and I were trying to figure out how many you know now, I think it's at least 2 dozen....possibly even more. I'm amazed at how quickly you keep learning more and more signs. It's so wonderful to be able to communicate with you. Although I will admit that sometimes it gets confusing. Some signs require a little more dexterity than you have at the moment, so several signs look the same. Sometimes it takes some guesswork but we can understand each other for the most part. I love that you can tell me when you want out of your crib (you sign "all done" when you're ready after naps), or when you're tired (you sign "sleep"), or hungry, or want milk, or want to read a book....to name a few. It's so cool! (Signs you know: dog, frog, monkey, bear, horse, duck, fish, giraffe, mom, dad, baby, car, bus, boat, milk, eat, cereal, cracker, water, ball, book, bath, socks, clothes, shoes, doll, all done, wash hands...)

signing and saying dad.

You have also started to communicate with words...you say "da" while you sign dog, "ba" when you sign ball, "buh" when you sign book, "sh" when you sign fish, and "sss" when you sign cereal. You say "da" for dad and "ma" mama. It's unbearably cute. It's also amazing how much you understand...in English and Spanish. I love that I can ask you for something and you know what to hand to me or what to do. Not that you do it everytime, but I know you know what I mean.

walking.

On another note, you have become a lot more mobile. You started taking a couple of steps around 11 months. You'd walk across the living room from couch to couch or from daddy to me. You kept getting better and better as weeks went by. And I guess I can say it now, you are a walker. The other day we were at my brother's house for the 4th and you walked across the entire backyard to me...on grass! It was awesome! You even went around some people and chairs. We were all amazed! Of course now that you can walk, you want to walk everywhere. You try to squirm out of my arms and even are reluctant to ride in the grocery cart (something you used to like). Although yesterday you rode in it just fine because I was feeding you strawberries the whole time.

lunchtime with food all over your face.

Speaking of strawberries, I think they are your favorite food at the moment. You absolutely love them. You would eat those for every meal if you could. And actually on some days, that's all I can get you to eat...that, cereal and crackers. You have definitely gotten pickier these days. You inspect everything that goes in your mouth and if you don't like it once it's in your mouth, you take it out and throw it on the floor. In fact, you throw stuff on the floor all the time. We're working on that. You have tried a bunch of different foods though...the most recent being corn, blueberries, whole wheat pasta,millet, brown rice, toast, and watermelon (from what I can remember). You've started trying more of what we eat too. It sure makes it easier when we go out to lunch. The three of us went out to lunch the other day, and you were actually content sitting in the high chair munching on some bread from my sandwich. It was fun.

not feeling so hot.

You had your first real sickness the day before your birthday...it lasted through your birthday unfortunately. You spiked a really high fever and eventually we realized you had roseola. We spent a few days at home while you got better. It was hard to keep you happy the whole time...we read lots of books and played with all of your toys. At one point I even tried turning on the KPBS children's channel for you to watch...you were not interested at all. You just don't seem to like television unless it's your "Signing Time" DVD's. The other day we had people over and the TV happened to be on most of the day, I don't think I saw you look at it once...even while the other kids were watching it.


Another thing...you don't seem to like sweets either. I made you a birthday cake and you would have nothing to do it with it. I don't know if it was because you weren't feeling well, but you spit it out and started crying. The next day at your birthday party, Daddy gave you some of that birthday cake and you spit that out too. It's funny because you absolutely love fruit and sweet veggies...I guess you're just not into the processed sugar stuff.


We flipped your carseat around to face forward a couple of weeks before your birthday. The first time you rode in it, you seemed to love it. We thought that was the end of your hatred for the car. You just don't seem to like it at all and get fussy after only having been in it for a couple of minutes most times. Unfortunately it didn't work and you still get very cranky. You're usually okay for a little while if you have a book or something to munch on....but that doesn't last long and eventually you start throwing everything we hand to you. We're hoping you outgrow this. Maybe you'll be more entertained when you're little brother or sister is sitting next to you. That should be interesting...

You're still napping quite well. It's gotten to where we can lay you down with your bottle at naptime and you just pass out right after it's gone. At bedtime, we read you a story while you drink your bottle and then put you down...that seems to work too. Of course there are those days when you're fussy and it takes a little more effort on our part, but that's not very common. Sometimes I can't believe how far we've come on this whole sleeping thing. I still remember those days when I thought you'd never nap.

cute birthday girl.

We had your first birthday party a couple of days ago. You had a great time even though you weren't feeling great. There was cake, a bouncy house and even pinatas! We had a Curious George theme since you love him so much. The cake was made of cupcakes in the shape of Curious George's face (made by grandma of course) and one of the pinatas was Curious George himself! Which actually proved to be a problem when it came time to hitting it. You had no problem when people were hitting the pinata shaped like a number one. In fact when I held you up to it for your turn, you hit it a little. When I put up to the Curious George pinata, you wouldn't hit it and instead you kissed it. And when people started hitting it, you totally flipped out. You started crying and I had to take you inside, away from the chaos. Mental note, next year we can only get inanimate object pinata. All in all though, the party was great fun.

touching Curious George.

Well baby, I can't believe you're already one whole year old. You've grown up so much in such a short time. It's been a whirlwind of a year and I've loved every minute of it. I can't wait to see what next year entails. I love you so much sweetie pie.


Love,
Mama

bad dreams?

Bailey has become pretty easy to put down to sleep for the last couple of months. For naps we give her a bottle and she pretty much passes out once it's gone. Nightime, we read her a story while she's drinking her bottle and then put her down...she usually goes right to sleep. It's pretty rare for her to cry, so when she does we know something's wrong.

The other night, we had put her down and were having dinner, when we heard her crying. We flipped open the computer to see her on the webcam...she was just laying there, crying. We gave her a minute, because sometimes she does this and then just goes right back to sleep after a couple of seconds, but it just kept getting worse. I went in there and picked her up, and she instantly cuddled into my chest and stopped crying. I wasn't really sure what was going on...she seemed to be okay. I tried putting her down for a second to see if something was physically wrong, but she just screamed. I ended up sitting in the rocker with her on my chest (a feat in itself given my growing belly) and just rocking her. She ended up falling asleep while I rocked her. I haven't done that since she was tiny. And really, we've never really done that. She's never been into being rocked....always nursed to sleep. It was so sweet to have her just cuddle and fall asleep on me.

Anywho, she ended up staying asleep after I put her down and didn't wake up until the next day. Maybe she just had a bad dream? Which brings up something else, what do babies dream about? What would be a bad dream?

signing

We're still working on signing with Bailey. So far, she's only picked up a couple of signs...a few that she likes to do all the time. She learned "dog" pretty quickly, probably because we have one. I didn't really think about it, but everytime I signed "dog," I would also say "woof, woof." She does that now! It's too cute. Of course, she's also been signing "dog" for all animals. We were at a midwife appointment yesterday, and she signed "dog" when Thunder showed her the cat. She also signs it and says "woof" with all of her stuffed animals...monkey, giraffe...you name it.

Another sign she does often is "all done." She uses it for a bunch of different situations which is kind of funny. She'll do it when she wants out of her crib, out of the stroller, when she's just over something, and sometimes just to do it. She's still clapping for "more," which makes it confusing at times since she also claps for "yay." So we don't know if she's happy or wants more of something....but it's a start.

Then there's the signs I know she understands, but she just doesn't do often or at all, "milk" for instance. I'll do the sign and she gets all excited and practically starts hyperventilating because she wants milk, but she won't do the sign. Actually, the other day she did it after I had done it, so maybe she's getting the hang of it. "Ball" is another one she knows but doesn't really do. There are a bunch of other ones we do with her that we're not quite sure if she understands yet. I'm sure one of these days she'll have a signing "explosion." And soon she'll know even more signs than we do from watching her favorite show ever "Baby Signing Time." You just have to mention that name and she starts dancing and wants to watch it. It's cute...for now. I'm sure it won't be once she starts asking for it all the time. I've heard that happens.

books

Bailey's really been getting into books lately. There are usually a few in her "toybox," and she'll grab one and hand it to me so I can read it to her. It's pretty awesome... Recently though, she's been getting really mad if you don't listen to her when she's handing you a book and starts grunting/yelling. Earlier today, I was putting something in the trash can in the kitchen and I heard her yell. I went to see what was the matter and she was sitting in the middle of her room holding a book up. Apparently I didn't get there fast enough.

nine in, nine out

17 lbs. 1/2 oz.

Hi Bailey,

You're 9 months old today! I can't believe it. It's all gone by so fast. Before we know it you'll be running all over the place...seems like just yesterday I was carrying you EVERYWHERE in the sling. You sure loved that thing. I can hardly keep you in any carrier now. You love being in my arms so you can see out. I think that's why you like the stroller so much. Of course I should make it clear that you only like the regular stroller and not the jogging stroller. I'm not sure what it is, but you get very angry if you're in the jogger for too long....and by too long I mean more than 15 minutes. We hadn't tried it in a while, so today I thought we'd give it another shot...mostly because it's much easier to maneuver in our neighborhood. Sure enough, you had a fit. I guess we'll have to wait and see if you grow into it.

On another note. You have all of a sudden become quite the dancer. It started out that you would only do it when you heard the music from one of your toys. Then it was when you heard music. Now you just do it all the time...music or not. It's awesome. Unfortunately I think you've inherited your father's dancing skills...you can complain to him later.

Your interest in food this month has skyrocketed. You've always been a pretty good eater. I was actually surprised that it was so easy to introduce you to solids at 6 months. I guess you were just ready. You'd been doing really well...eating at least one meal a day. This month though, it seems like you're alway starving. I don't know how you're little tummy can handle so much food. You eat three big meals a day. And still nurse all the time. The funny thing is that you're not really gaining that much weight...you're just getting taller. The doctor had mentioned you were tall for your age...I guess I don't notice because I see you everyday.

Speaking of...you had your first doctor's appointment this month. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it went. You were totally fine as long as you were sitting on my lap. Luckily the doctor did most of the exam that way. And it turns out you're healthy in every which way. Yay! Maybe we're doing something right after all.

We bought you a sippy cup several weeks ago. You knew exactly what to do with it the minute I helped you put it in your mouth. Of course you weren't too fond of the water in it initially. You've grown to like it though and actually prefer water to any kind of juice we've tried. Apple, pear, prune. They're all gross according to you. The other day you were taking a drink out of your sippy cup and then offered me some. It was so neat that you wanted to share with me. Of course now you want me to try everything...your toys, food, whatever it is you put in your mouth.

We started signing with you this month. You still haven't signed back, but I'm sure that will come soon enough. In the meantime, daddy and I are learning all of the signs. Pretty soon we'll be having conversations! I can't wait!

Well I know I've been lagging in these posts for you....we've just been keeping ourselves so busy. This Saturday we take you to your first swim lesson! I'm so excited!

I love you so much baby,
Mama

she's looking more like thunder everyday

Surprisingly, I took this picture with my phone. I love it...the lighting was just right. And of course it helps to have such a wonderful subject.

bailey - 6 & 7 month update

Hi Bailey....

You turned 6 months and then 7 months and I have yet to write your monthly update...mama lags. Actually that's only partly true. I started working from home and have been using any spare moment to work. So much for surfing the internet...I mean getting any housework done.

Anywho... You turned 6 whole months right after Christmas...half a year! I can't believe you're halfway to a year. Where has the time gone?

16 lbs. 14 oz.

This month you figured out that you could roll to places. And you have become quite the roller. It's strange that you're somewhat mobile. I can only imagine what it's going to be like when you're walking...or should I say running? Luckily you still don't go very far and are pretty content staying in one general area.

We've been putting you in the shopping cart when we go to places now. That has made grocery shopping so much easier. You seem to enjoy it as long as you're in a good mood. You love all the attention you get from sitting there. You smile for anyone! Oh and you love kids! Maybe because they're your size? Regardless, you scream with joy every time you see one. Most laugh with you, but there are time when you freak some of them out. You're just so excited! It's comical.

We didn't wait long after you turned 6 months to give you your first solids. Actually I think we did it right on the day. You had sweet potatoes and were not fond of them at all! Well you ate some, but made a face every time. We'll have to try some more and hopefully find some you like.


You experienced your very first Christmas this month! That was exciting...mostly for us. I don't think you had any idea that it was a day unlike any other. You weren't really into any of your presents...but you sure did like the wrapping paper...and the bows! You would have been happy playing with some wrapped empty boxes...actually even just boxes. Ah...the simple joys of life.


And soon after this you turned 7 months....

17 lbs. 6 oz. 27 in.

This month we continued on our quest for some solid foods that you might like. We discovered that you LOVED bananas. You couldn't get enough. Unfortunately that did not help your digestive system....so we had to cut back. We also had you try avocados...I don't think you're sure about those yet.


At the beginning of this month, you started doing this thing where you nod your head yes for everything and for everyone. It's hilarious. But then all of sudden you started shaking your head no. And now that's all you do. Sometimes as I'm getting you ready to nurse you just started shaking your head... I don't think you know what it really means because you nurse anyway. Maybe it's just fun?

You started crawling recently... When it started out, it was more of you throwing yourself in the general direction of where you wanted to go. It wasn't pretty or fast, but it got you there. It slowly started evolving and now you basically crawl. You're still not quite coordinated enough, so it's somewhat slow. But you can definitely get to places now. We had to buy a media stand to put the DVD player and cable box because you kept heading for them...and they were bound to fall on you eventually...it wasn't much of a stand. Now you like to head for our DVDs and knock them all out of the shelf. We should really babyproof.


You pulled yourself up in your crib the other day. I walked in while you were supposed to be napping and there you were....standing. Ever since then, you've been trying to pull yourself up everywhere. Luckily I'm always there to catch you since you're not very good at it yet.


These last couple of months have been really exciting. I can't believe you're actually crawling! Our little baby is growing up!!

I love you,
Mama

"crawling"

01.15.2008

Happy New Year's!

2007 was a crazy, crazy year for us! Our lives were turned upside down and we couldn't be happier. 2008 is only going to be better.

bailey's first christmas

Christmas was fun this year...albeit a little tiring. Actually a lot tiring. It seems that the little one doesn't care what time mommy and daddy go to sleep...she wakes at 6 regardless. So having gone to bed at 130am on Christmas Eve, waking up once around 4 and then finally at 6, we were really tired Christmas morning. Regardless, we had a lot of fun seeing everyone. We spent Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with Thunder's. Luckily we got to my parents' early in the afternoon so they could actually hang out with Bailey on Christmas Eve...no one else in my family got to see her since she was asleep by 6 that evening. Maybe she'll be up a little later next year...

On another note...Bailey got all kinds of presents from everyone. She sure is spoiled! I mean loved. Hehe. She of course was more interested in the packaging then the actual presents. I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing. It was fun to watch her get excited about the bows and wrapping paper.

sleeping

Bailey's been napping on her own for the last 2 weeks. I haven't wanted to write about this for fear of jinxing it.... Suprisingly enough, it all started when we were out in New Mexico. So nowadays I have at least 2 free hours everyday...sometimes even 4! The first couple of days I didn't know what to do with myself. The house would be cleaned, dinner made and it would only be around 3pm. Luckily I started consulting for my old job last week...that's given me more than enough to do with my "free" time. I guess it couldn't have happened at a better time. What's funny is that I kind of miss holding her while she naps. Go figure.

bailey - 4 months

15 lbs. 1 oz. - 26 inches

Hi Bailey,

So this month you've REALLY started teething...last month was nothing compared to what you're going through now! I so wish I could make you feel better...sometimes it just seems like you're miserable. But as they say, this too shall pass. Which is good because hopefully once it does, we'll all be getting more sleep around here. And really I shouldn't complain...I've heard some pretty horrible sleeping stories about teething babies. You just wake up a couple of more times then you did before. Okay so you went from once to about 3 or 4, not bad...I know. Now if only I would learn and go to bed earlier. And speaking of sleeping...you still don't like napping alone. The minute I even start to put you down you open your eyes and look at me as if to say "what do you think you're doing?" And so I sit back down and you go back to nursing and then back to sleep. The few times that we actually make it all the way to your bed, you usually last about 5 minutes, give or take, and then scream to let me know that it's not okay to lay you there. What was I thinking?? These times kind of suck for both of us because you can't usually fall back asleep after getting so upset. So you don't nap and I don't get any kind of break...that puts us both in quite a grumpy mood. We'll keep working on this napping thing though, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon enough.

On another note, you sure are interested in EVERYTHING these days. The days of having dinner while you nursed and dozed off are over. We now spend the whole meal trying to keep you from knocking our dinner on the floor or from grabbing anything off our plate. Taking a drink out of a glass, yea thats nearly impossible too. Of course this newfound desire to grab anything within your reach is pretty entertaining for us, and you I assume. I think sometimes even you're surprised that things are all of a sudden in your hands! The other day you even grabbed your foot and put that in your mouth!


Unfortunately, you can't quite sit up or move around on your own yet, so sometimes you end up on your face as you go to reach for something. Or you'll end up in a spot you don't want to be in and get really angry about it! Patience is not your forte (I don't know where you get that from).


You've also become quite the talker, even more than you were before! Some mornings we wake up to your babbling and I must say, it has to be the best thing to wake up to. But yes, the talking! So, so cute! I think you have the best conversations with that baby in the mirror, now if only it would talk back! Sometimes you swat at it as if to say, "Hey you! Say something!" It's quite the scene.

Well, I'm typing this with one hand as you lay on me nursing/sleeping and you're starting to squirm.



I love you!
-Mama

Edited to add that I wasn't upset at all in the first part of the post. Your daddy read it and thought it sounded like I was complaining. Oops!

playtime

I was folding laundry when I realized she'd been quiet for a while. I turned around to look at what she was doing and saw she was laying there completely still with this on her face. I even had enough time to get my phone and take her picture. That's a REALLY long time for her!

birthday party disaster

So I went to my niece's birthday party today at the park. Just Bailey and I went since Thunder had previously made plans to go to the Stone Annual Beer Festival with some friends. I figured one afternoon out with the baby, how hard could that be? Anywho. So we get there and we're doing alright...my dad's carrying Bailey from the car to the park. About two seconds later the crying starts. I put her in the sling and try to get her to nurse/sleep. It works for like 5 minutes...maybe. I then try putting her in the stroller, which I honestly don't even know why I tried that since she's never really liked it. Anyway, so I put her in the stroller and go on a long walk thinking that might put her to sleep. That didn't work...she cried the WHOLE time. I take her out again and put her back in the sling. That works for a little while. After waking up, she's okay for a tiny bit, but then all hell breaks loose again. Back in the sling. That time she actually napped for a while, which was nice. But I swear, anytime she was awake and someone even just looked at her, her bottom lip started quivering and she just broke down. Agh! I felt so bad. My mom couldn't even hold her! It was just a really stressful day... And seriously I almost broke down in the car. I mean this was one freaking day...I can't even imagine how it'll go for one whole week when we're out in New Mexico for Thanksgiving. I guess she'll be older, but still... Anywho. Had to get that off my chest.

sleepy, sleepy

Bailey's napped the last couple of days on her own! Big, big step. We've been putting her down in her bassinet after she falls asleep in my arms. Usually shortly after nursing. She then only stays asleep between 5 and 15 minutes on her own. Or at least that's been the case for the last 4-5 weeks. Anyway. So she wakes up and lays there for a bit, and then a short while later she starts crying. This week we've left her there and let her cry...just for a couple of minutes. And get this, she's been falling asleep after that. Crazy! The first day she only slept for like 40 minutes and just today it was for almost 2 hours! It's so exciting. I think we're onto something here. Oh and we tried the same kinda thing for the middle of the night. She usually wakes up once. Sometimes it's been hard to get to her to stay asleep. So the last couple of nights I've changed her, nursed her, and then put her back down (she's usually asleep by that point anyway). She's been kinda half crying for a few minutes and then just passes out again! Weird! I don't know why but it's working. Of course now that we're figuring something out, it's all going to change again. But for now, we're pretty stoked.

yay for AC

It's been so ridiculously hot these last few days. Bailey's been extremely fussy...and I don't blame her! Poor thing. Today we finally decided to have lunch at the Panera by our house. OMG, AC is wonderful! Bailey actually hung out for a bit and was happy! Weird! Okay so it was only for like 15 minutes. But she was tired and ready for a nap anyway. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

On another note. Bailey took a nap on her own two days in a row! Yesterday for an hour and today for 40 minutes. I know that's not long but can we say improvement?? Maybe this is the beginning of something...

bailey - 2 month update

Bailey turned 2 months old on Monday. I can't believe it's been 2 whole months! She's grown quite a bit too. She's 12 lbs. 2 oz. and measures 24.5 inches. Actually she weighed that on Monday. I weighed her yesterday and it said 12 lb. 6 oz. Oh and the 24.5 inches are somewhat accurate...she was squirming a lot when I was trying to measure her. Anywho...she's somewhere around there. She wearing size 3 months in most stuff!

This month she's decided that she no longer wants her pacifier...not that she was ever too fond of that thing anyway. It was always more like a game, she'd spit it out, I'd put it in.....out, in, out, in. It was great fun. Luckily she's also recently found her hands. Hopefully in time those might interest her more than my boobs....which as I've mentioned before, is her favorite place ever.

On another note...she's started smiling a lot and can almost roll over! Well, from her tummy to her side. We think she'll be all the way over in no time. She's also started to sleep between 6 and 7 hours in a row most nights. That almost makes up for not wanting to nap during the day. We'll work on that napping though. We also started going to a playgroup this month. Both Bailey and I love it. I can't wait for her to be able to play with the other kids!

Bailey, I know sometimes it seems like I don't know what I'm doing....and I guess I really don't. But we're figuring this out together everyday. We love you so much sweetheart...I can't imagine our lives without you.

i'm not good at titles

so pre-pregnancy weight does not mean pre-pregnancy shape. my old jeans still don't fit. i guess it's a good thing i started running. of course it is a little discouraging to have to start from square one. but you have to start somewhere and i am definitely stoked to be out there again. that part feels great. i can't wait until bailey's old enough to go with me. the jogging stroller was the first baby thing we bought! i wonder when she'll be old enough to use it?

~bailey update~



so she's 6 weeks old tomorrow. i can't believe it...it's gone by so fast. i don't know how we've done it! she's sleeping pretty well through the night. wakes up once or twice. and just yesterday we decided that she can no longer use me as her pacifier. so far it's not going too bad...i expected a lot more crying. but then again it's only been half a day. wish us luck.

i typed this post with one hand

never thought i'd be one of those mommy bloggers...but the more i think about it, the more i realize that it's the easiest way to keep everyone up to speed on what's going on. anywho. we got our nifty baby scale yesterday. found out that bailey weighs 10 lbs. 8 oz. now! thats almost 2 and a half pounds more than when she was born 5 weeks ago! holy crap! i'm going to develop some crazy cool biceps from carrying her around. on another note. i think i've lost all my baby weight. give or take a couple of pounds. don't really know how that happened since i'm not really working out. weirdly (is that a word?) enough my wedding rings still don't really fit. explain that one to me. oh well.