Update on Miss M's progress

We went to the doctor for Miss M's 9 month check up. The appointment went fairly well. She was 17 pounds and 5 ounces which is still on the low side of what the doctor would like to see as it's in the 25%-50% percentile. She is 28 inches tall which keeps her in the 75%-90% percentile.

The doctor proceeds to ask questions regarding Miss M's motor skill progress Is Miss M crawling. Nope. Is she getting to a seated position on her own. Nope.

Apparently based on these two questions she is failing. So she writes a prescription for a physical therapist to come to the house to see if she is progressing appropriately. I decide Miss M is fine and talk to various people and decide not to call the physical therapist for a few weeks.

Well, in the days and weeks since we went to the doctor's office Miss M is working hard on her army crawl. Yesterday she sat up by herself twice. I have also found a certain little girl standing in her crib when I go to get her after her nap! I am so proud of her. I shouldn't be happy that she's standing in her crib because it's not yet low enough but I don't care. Silly doctor. My girl is just fine.




Per the doctor, crawling is considered her gross motor skills. Piking up food with her fingers are her fine motor skills. She's ahead of the curve on the fine motor skills because she loves to eat (the dr. did not say she was ahead of the curve - I am giving her extra credit to make up for failing gross motor skills). She can get her O's out of her snack trap and into her mouth like a champ!

Disregard that her O's are on the floor. And she does like to eat O's 4, 5 or 6 at a time. She doesn't think one at a time is sufficient.



So all in all Miss M is right on track!!!


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Christmas 2011 Tour

Miss M celebrated her first Christmas. It was a fun and special time even though she didn't really know what was going on most of the time. I think her favorite part of each celebration was the food...she is her father's daughter!

She enjoyed throwing tissue paper more than opening presents.









One of her new bibs...perfect for every family get together...



Miss M received so many presents it was unbelievable. She is enjoying having new stuff to play with at home now. I enjoy it too since she doesn't want to spend all her awake time on or near me but now she plays a little more.

Aunt Lynne made Miss M and I matching aprons for when we start cooking together!



I don't remember what was so funny but something was certainly funny.







Family Christmas photo for 2011





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Christmas round 1

We celebrated Christmas with Auntie Nessa Sunday. Miss M opened her presents and went to bed then the adults had dinner and opened presents!

Miss M likes to eat paper but isn't too sure about the ripping to open process. It was fun though.

Aunt Nessa did an amazing job buying presents for everyone (like usual). There was one gift that was my absolute favorite. Aunt Nessa made an 'I See Me' book which is personalized. It is the sweetest book and the personalization makes it that much sweeter. I cried reading it. Miss M isn't allowed to touch it until she stops destroying books and eating paper.

I made my first brisket for dinner. I have some work to do before I can serve it to non-family members. It was good but could have been better. The mashed potatoes were excellent though!

Christmas round 1 was a lot of fun. I am anxious to celebrate Christmas 2, 3, 4, and 5. Christmas #5 isn't until January so we will have some time to recover a little!

She likes new clothes...what girl doesn't!





The bigger present didn't scare her off...she tackled it with determination!







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Miss M is 9 months old

Miss M is 9 months old which is getting pretty stinking close to one year. I have made no attempt to plan a one year party yet. It's possible I will think about that after the holidays. It just seems like there is a lot of other things to think about and do in the next three months!

Miss M is a happy girl and prefers her momma over anyone. It's sweet but at times exhausting. I try to remind myself there will be a time when I am not her favorite anymore and to enjoy the love now!

Miss M is not crawling. She barely army crawls. She doesn't rock back and forth as though she's going to make an attempt. She doesn't really get her belly off the ground. Apparently she's not interested in going anywhere for now. Oh well. Everything happens with time, right!?! In our small group, which has been meeting weekly since May, Miss M is the last to crawl. She isn't the youngest either. Grandma D says someone has to be last. People say life isn't the same once they start moving. Therefore, I am just going to enjoy life without worrying whether the bookshelf that isn't anchored into the wall is going to fall on her when she starts moving.

I tried to take an official 9 month picture today but the few I did take did not turn out well. Then she ruined the outfit she was wearing so I gave up. Here are pictures from last week sometime.












She likes the Christmas tree. She laughs at it and likes to touch the ornaments. She has very little interest in the presents even though she eats a fair amount of paper each day.

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Spending - time and money

We have been busy ladies spending money shopping for Christmas presents and spending time with Grandma D and Aunt Callie, Uncle Nick and the girls.






Miss M sticks her tongue out a lot these days so it's fun to get pictures of her doing the silly things she actually does.

Every time I think we are almost done Christmas shopping it seems like we have a lot left to get still. Therefore we bundle up, load up and head to the stores! Miss M is a relatively good shopper. She just likes getting out of the house so for now it's not really a chore to take her shopping.

Here's a picture from when we were out shopping recently. Quite the outfit. The yellow thing in her hand is a noise clapper I picked up from the store for $.99 which is cheaper than a toy.

She's sitting in a child's Hawkeye bag chair. It came home with us. The headband is a new winter accessory she received as a gift. And we bought new boots to keep her feet warm as the socks aren't cutting it for winter warmth. One might wonder why we aren't worried about keeping her legs warm as her pants look too short but they aren't too short. It's just a bad picture.






While we were at grandma's house Miss M developed a cold. She's still struggling to get over the snotty nose but we are managing. The unfortunate part is we can't do anything social like music class, play dates or babysitting at the gym as they all prefer/have policies that you keep sick kids at home. Thus we go to Target!

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Keeping busy

Before Miss M was even a thought I kept myself busy with working out. Andrew always worked/studied later (even on a good night) so working out filled my time so I wasn't sitting on the couch watching mindless television and hanging out by myself.

Miss M came along, and while I am not technically alone I am sitting around a lot and watching plenty of mindless television. I have been into a little bit of everything trying to find something I will enjoy for more than an evening or two.

I got the bike out but that gets boring and painful quickly.







I thought I would make Miss M headbands since I need one for her Christmas dress and reds are hard to match when buying online. They kept me busy but there are only so many headbands I can make.







The headbands required the use of my free sewing machine. When I brought it home there was some doubt I would ever use it.

I feel comfortable making straight lines. And that's about it. So I thought I would make curtains for Florida. And that's what I did tonight. I opened a bottle of wine and made some curtains (well one curtain). They aren't perfect and sadly I am not sure they are long enough but for my first time I think they look pretty darned good.








I needed to display them to see how they looked and the stocking holders worked perfectly. You can see part of my Christmas decorations. I don't have much but our place isn't very big. I did, however, decorate a tree and Miss M likes it. She smiles at it when she sees it. And thankfully she can't crawl so it poses no threat. Yet.









Please note the presents under the tree. They are wrapped. I know people already have all their shopping and wrapping done by October. But I am not one of those people so this is huge for me. Huge!

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Random pictures from Florida

There were quite a few pictures taken in Florida so I will post a few more!

The girls went kayaking for two hours. I complained the most. It wasn't easy.




We solved our bathtub issue thanks to the quick thinking of Aunt Nessie. We put her rubbery-plastic placemat in the sink. Perfection!





Other than when Uncle Craig put Miss M in the corner for being fussy, Miss M liked playing with Uncle Craig (note to all grandma's - this picture was staged).




One of the best parts was that the Pod, which transported all the furniture, was unloaded when we arrived so it was all play and no work. Thanks Pod-unloaders!!!


Spending time with daddy since he's been working a lot lately.



And spending time with family.

Look how much taller Uncle Craig is than Grandpa. Either someone is growing or someone is shrinking.



Although we see her at home we like seeing her in Florida too!


Miss M did not go without lots of kisses and lovin.


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Thanksgiving

This year we are most thankful for Miss M.



Miss M celebrated her first Thanksgiving with a morning 5k Turkey Trot. She strolled while Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Jessie pushed her.


After working up an appetite from our morning workout we went home and cooked a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Miss M ate just about everything but I think her favorite was the beef burnt ends! Delicious. And mashed potatoes came in a close second. There isn't a food Miss M won't eat so far. The joy of Miss M learning to feed herself and eat food is that she puts her hands in her mouth (while the food is in there too) and then rubs her head.
The result is one messy but adorable girl.

You might have to zoom in to see that the food is everywhere on her head.



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Miss M and the pool

I am happy that I didn't spend the money to do baby and mommy swim classes. Miss M was not big on the pool when we first got in. She would curl and pull her toes up as soon as she felt the water.



Luckily, by the end of the week she wanted to go in. She was neck deep in the pool and laughing. And yes she is in her clothes and not swim ware.







The big kids liked the pool too. There was lots of frolicking going on. We bought pool toys and had ourselves some fun.

Pretzel anyone! The yellow floaty is the cheese cup! You can't have a pretzel without cheese! Really the yellow is Miss M's floaty toy that she wanted nothing to do with.



Serious game of pool tennis.



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Travels

We traveled to Florida for Thanksgiving. Some people might say that I have a lot of anxiety without a child but Miss M certainly magnifies my anxiety! Flying on the plane makes me worry about a bunch of stuff that I really can't control. Miss M was a pleasant flyer on the way to Florida but was a bit difficult on the way home. Three hours is a long time to entertain a child in the small confines of one's lap especially since we all know airplane seats are barely big enough for an adult.

Thanks to Gramma D we discovered baby puffs. They are essentially rice crackers that dissolve in your mouth. She loves them. If there were any substance to them at all I would worry about how many she consumed. Miss M can definitely be pacified with food. She quickly figured out how to pick them up with her fingers and put them in her mouth. It's fun to watch the wheels turn as she tries to figure out how to get them in her mouth.

While in Florida I left Miss M with the family for less than 30 minutes and return to find these pictures of Miss M grabbing the puffs and getting them into her mouth.











Eating puffs from grandpa's tongue. Talent.

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Purple monster

I have been perplexed about how to appropriately dress Miss M for the winter to ensure she's warm enough when we walk places.

I went shopping for a new coat for myself and ended up with a new outfit for Miss M. Typical.

I think it's pretty cute and absolutely hilarious. I bought it because the hands and feet fold over so they aren't exposed to the weather. And because it's cute...and funny.

She seems to like it.







Such a cute purple monster.

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Miss M is 8 months old

Miss M turned 8 months old on Saturday. We and a great day hanging out together.

It is harder to take her picture because she doesn't sit still so we don't have great photos this month...we will try again later.

She's saying baba, mama, dada regularly. She has six teeth with a seventh on the way. She doesn't crawl but she likes to stand up and jump. She eats almost anything which does include chocolate cupcakes and doughnuts! She's getting enough hair that we have found ourselves noticing her hair is messed up! She's sleeping through the night! And lots of other exciting things.








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A party for a princess

We did celebrate Miss M's 8 month birthday on Saturday, but Monday we celebrated Aunt Nessie's birthday.

Aunt Nessa is our princess and Miss M is our 'princess in training'. Aunt Nessa brought Miss M a present with a onsie that states she is the 'princess in training'.

Well a princess party requires the following:

- princess plates
- princess napkins
- princess wand
- princess pin stating she's the birthday girl
- box wine (but not for the princess in training, of course)
- streamers, lots and lots of streamers
- meatloaf (because what princess doesn't want meatloaf)
- and chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles and princess candles

Let's just say that there isn't a shortage of princess stuff at the store.

We were excited to throw a party and spend such a special day with Aunt Nessa. Thanks for letting us spend your birthday with you. We love you!!!

The birthday princess



The princess and Drew (I looked like a hobo so we are not posting those pictures)




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My girl

I love my girl. She just makes me happy.

We won't talk about yesterday because she didn't make me happy. I think she's cutting yet another tooth and has a bit of a cold so she was a bit more needy than usual.

Hopefully this makes you happy too.












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Bath time dilemma

I feel as though we have a dilemma on our hands.

Miss M still takes a bath in her infant tub in the kitchen because it's easier for me but she's getting kind of big for it.

Miss M is trying to pull herself up these days. In her infant tub she can just about escape if you turn your head for a second.

Our bathtub/shower is too difficult to use because the ledge is too deep. It makes it hard to get her and she's still not stable enough and those little buns slide easily when she goes lunging for stuff.

So tonight I decided I would just try to use the sink. Oh dear. I think the problem isn't the place where I bathe her but rather the fact that she is a woman who wants to be on the move.

The sink wasn't fun either because she kept slipping and almost whacking her head into the ledge of the sink.

I think we will stick with the infant tub a little longer!




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Grinding

Miss M has begun grinding her teeth. She has four of them with a fifth coming through.

I don't know how she's so good at grinding her four front teeth but she does it throughout the day.

I find the grinding to be a horrific sound. I can't stand it. It's like nails on a chalkboard.



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Sleep revisited

On Saturday night we decided we were physically, mentally and emotionally ready to let Miss M cry it out.

We went to bed with a game plan. Sort of. She woke up at 1:21 am. We let her cry for a bit. We checked on her after 30 minutes and then she was quiet. We laid there waiting. She woke up again. She didn't ever cry hysterically rather she just fussed. And fussed she did for quite awhile. I made a decision to check on her at 3:10. This decision was made at 3:07. I like multiples of five. The clock struck 3:09:30 and the noise was finished.

Sunday night. Same game plan. She didn't wake until 3:45. I think she cried for 20 minutes. She fell back to sleep without being checked on.

Monday. Repeat of Sunday.

Tuesday. Repeat of Monday.

Not too bad.

We will see how it continues to go.

Hopefully she stops screaming at 3:45 am but I think we have made progress.

I remember when I wasn't sure she was ever going to sleep.

Those days stressed me out.




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Socks

I think Miss M has an aversion to socks when she sleeps. She doesn't wear socks to bed at night, but each time I get her up from her nap she has taken her socks off.

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Halloween take 2

We headed over to a safe halloween with Aunt Nessa and met up with some friends.

We do have two Halloween costumes. I am happy to say we didn't pay for either of them. We got a new costume from the lady who lives downstairs.

A happier peeled banana!






And of course we used the tiger outfit again






After meeting our friends, we learned they wanted to take a picture of the lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! And Miss M was the star tiger!








The bear was bigger and saw Miss M as his toy. He wasn't very nice to her and so he got separated from the group.







Overall it was a fun day spent together with family.

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