Double digits!!!

SHAME ON MOMMY. She missed my 9 month birthday! Grr. Okay, well, coming here for my 10 month is better than nothing!

I am 10 months old and loving life! I am full of energy, spunk, and joy. I weigh about 15 pounds, still a peanut, but crawling like a champ and pulling myself up on every surface I can find. Mommy bought me some shoes that keep falling off. Mommy thinks that maybe this is a good thing, since it will delay the inevitable next step--WALKING!

Here is what I love right now:

Eating: I love tiny pieces I can pick up with my fingers. Rice, shredded cheese, peas. I am a carb fiend! Besides rice, I love pasta, saltines, Ritz crackers, and bread. I love my cup, too. I'm getting pretty good at drinking out of it! Even though I'm getting to be a big girl with my food, I still love to cuddle up to Mommy and eat like I used to when I was very little. Mommy is so sad that we will be doing this for only a couple more months.

DADDY!!! My face breaks into a grin whenever he comes into the room. We are best buddies.

Jumping! My Jumperoo is the best! Even better was the Jolly Jumper at Grandma P's house that hung in the doorway--not only did i get to jump, I got to spin! I even jump when someone is holding me!

Toys! My blocks are fun because I get to knock them over when someone stacks them. Anything small, that fits neatly into my hand, is a favorite--my little plastic sea creatures for the bathtub, the little Lego guy I swiped from Grandma P's house, my little stuffed Elmo I got from Daniel's birthday party. And of course, things that aren't really toys--measuring cups, spoons, Mommy's glasses! Especially Mommy's glasses, much to her dismay.

Playing with my friends at daycare! The big kids like to make me laugh and sometimes even give me kisses. Thomas and I cruise all around and get into mischief.

Splashing like crazy in my baby bathtub, and trying to eat the soap!

Throwing things while I eat. Mommy is trying desperately to discourage this. He he, you should see the floor and walls around my highchair!

Here is what I DON'T like these days:

The big bathtub. Even though I love my Elizabeth-sized tub, the big bathtub freaks me out. Mommy just dumped me in it a few weeks ago to see what I would do. Hello?? Of course I was terrified! i screamed and screamed as Mommy scrambled to get me clean. Tonight, Mommy put my little bathtub inside the big bathtub. It was marginally better. Hmph. I still cried, a little.

Getting teeth. I've been very behind on my teething, and I'm just now getting my first 3 teeth--all at the same time! No fair!!

Diaper and clothes changes. Especially when Mommy dares to put me on the changing table! Who am I kidding--that hasn't happened for weeks ;)

That goofy sleep sack Mommy wraps me in to sleep at night. At least she finally bought me one that fit--silly Mommy had me in the one the hospital gave me when I was born! Duh!!! But, don't tell Mommy, I think the sleep sack DOES help me sleep. I've been giving Mommy a break for the last several weeks--only waking up once a night, tops. Mommy is thrilled :)

Okay, Mommy, the holidays are here, and soon after, my birthday. Don't you dare get so behind in the blogging during this period!

Aaaahhhhh!!! Where have I been?

Yikes...so where HAVE I been?

At work, sitting in meeting after meeting or testing an adorable rugrat...or just barely making it to work, running out the door with bags and more bags and a bundled-up baby...folding mountains of laundry...scrubbing the kitchen walls and cabinets of flung baby food...visiting relatives for Thanksgiving...

No excuses. I've been spending WAY too much of the little free time I do have completely wasting time. I need to concentrate on documenting my daughter's rapidly-speeding little life. I was ready for bed, exhausted after the long holiday weekend, and then, ridden with guilt, I forced myself to sit at the computer at 11 PM on Saturday night. Okay, go!

Things are still pretty crazy around here, now that I am back at work, but every day gets easier and I think we all get more and more into the groove.

It's hard to stay stressed, though, because our Peanut has just exploded with personality and amazement. She is such a miracle to behold, and my heart just sings every time I see her.

First, she's movin' and groovin'! The crawling appeared pretty suddenly, a couple weeks ago. As summer wound down, Elizabeth would "assume the position" whenever I placed her on her tummy, but would soon get ticked and cry until I rescued her. Then, she started scooting backwards. Then, all of a sudden, one day she was scooting her little back end behind her as she lunged forward on her arms, getting gradually more and more coordinated until now, when she is officially crawling. That girl can cover a lot of ground--we'd better watch out!! Babyproofing needs to begin in earnest. She is such a joy to behold as she buzzes along the floors. I can tell how proud she is of herself. She knows she is on an exciting adventure and she just can't wait to see what will be around each new corner. (I just need to keep my floors clean...darn dog hair...)
She has become the little scientist, constantly experimenting with her surroundings. Her latest favorite method of exploring her environment is banging anything together that she can find--a pot and spoon (a wonderful kitchen amusement when she hangs out while I cook), toys against one another, her own little spoon against the high chair try, sometimes objects against her head--really :) She focuses on the tiniest details of things. Like spinning little parts on her toys, or poking at the spout on her sippy cup--all the while looking completely and utterly enthralled.
She is SO busy and excited these days that often she refuses to slow down. This past weekend, the girl took a grand total of an hour of naps on Saturday, and a HALF HOUR on Sunday. It was ridiculous--she just would not settle down. Also within the last couple weeks, for the first time in her entire 8 months of life she occasionally refuses to nurse. Many times lately when I put her in position, she starts screaming and writhing. Interestingly, this has only happened on weekends. My peanut has gotten wise to the fact that weekends are her time with Mommy and Daddy--and darned if she'll stop for even 5 minutes to eat!

As cheesy as it sounds, the more Elizabeth interacts with her world and shows her delight in it, the more I fall in love with her. This little person who started out as a helpless infant who slept and ate, has turned into an enormous personality for all her little 14 and some pounds. She is beyond incredible. We can't get enough.

8 is great!

These months are flying by! Here I am again on another birthday!

It's been a busy month since I hit 7. We visited my Grandma and Grandpa Schneider, and my Great-Grandma O, in Illinois. Then we went to a reunion with my Phillips side, where I met my 6 great-aunts and LOTS of second cousins and cousins-once-removed or something like that. Then Grandma and Grandpa S. and Aunt Katy came to MY house. Today I went to my "first" birthday part for my friend Daniel! Oh yeah, and I'm back at daycare, too. I missed my pal Thomas! Yikes. 7 months was pretty exhausting, but I'm sure ready for 8!

I love to:
EAT. Although I still need to gain much, much more weight. More to come from Mommy in her next post.
SPIT my food out, too. Usually when it's orange and Mommy is wearing white.
Take a bath! Mommy has dumped all my tubby toys in, finally! It's fun to try to catch them when they float away.
Play with the doggie! I LOVE to watch him run to catch his Frisbee. He even sometimes lets me "throw" something to him, too.
Try to move! I'm getting there! Today I scooted all along the bottom of the coffee table.

I'm not a fan of:
Getting my diaper changed or getting dressed. Please, I have WAY too much to do to bother with being pinned down.
Sleeping long stretches. Oh, Mommy--sucks to be you! ;)

I'm learning new tricks every day. I still "squish" on occasion. Today I found what a funny noise I make when I slap my arm against my mouth while I talk. I like to make the "babababa" sound now too. Oh, and now Mommy calls me a "Drama Queen" when I get upset--I make a sad face and go "eh eh eh." Yeah, I probably am hamming it up a bit ;)

8 is great! I'm sending a subliminal message to Mommy to get her silly self in bed because I will be waking up soon, to be sure.

Balancing...again.

I have been pretty delinquent lately about keeping up with this blog. 3 weeks ago I returned to work for another school year. It was a glorious summer--Elizabeth and I got to know each other so well! And just when I felt we were getting on a pretty good schedule, everything changed when I went back to work.

I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I do enjoy my job--even now, when pretty much every day has been CRAZY. Our middle school absorbed many students from a recently closed school, we inherited two new high-needs classrooms, and referrals for special ed evaluations are already coming out of the woodwork...BUT, I thrive on the hectic pace and the days go quickly.

It's too much, though. I feel I hardly get enough time with Elizabeth. Things might improve once our weekends quiet down; every weekend since I went back to work has been packed with family events and/or traveling.

And on the homefront...oy. My boss has an analogy she likes to share with us about the crazy multi-tasking nature of our jobs: It's like we are juggling many balls, some are plastic, some are glass. We have to make sure we don't drop the glass balls. I'm definitely juggling over here, and fortunately haven't shattered any glass balls yet...I did double-book myself for 2 doctors' appointments tomorrow, so Oops there, but easily fixable :) My house constantly looks like a bomb went off, and it's taken me 4 days to get laundry put away.

I need to center myself and focus on what is truly important. I ache with guilt that I take so many fewer pictures of E. these days...and what I have taken, it takes me eons to get them loaded on the computer, much less Facebook, much less this blog! And my sleep is seriously being sacrificed. Every night I tell myself I WILL be in bed by 9...and here I am, well past 10, blogging away. Elizabeth wakes up at least twice a night (sigh, another post for another time), so I'm running on fumes. I'm fighting my second cold in 3 weeks. Sheesh.

So...we're all adjusting to the new routine, and it WILL be okay. I try to make the verse from Philippians my mantra: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything through prayer and supplication make your requests be made known to God." I can do this. We will do this. Elizabeth is happy, healthy, and well-cared for each day. Right now, that's all we need to get by.

The big 7

I'm in the second half of my first year! Mommy and Daddy can't believe it!

At 7 months, here are my favorite things to do:
*Eat! I love trying new foods. My favorites are apples, pears, carrots, squash, and just plain oatmeal. Peas? Eh.
*Take a bath! Remember back when I was very little, I wasn't so sure about it? Now, I think it's just great. I'm still in my baby tub, which sits on the bathroom counter, and Mommy wonders how long that will last before I get too wiggly. I can see myself in the mirror from my seat in the tub. I think that's the greatest thing--I love to smile at my cute self! Splashing is a ton of fun, too! Mommy needs to break out the bubble bath next.
*Take walks in the Baby Bjorn--still. Mommy dreads the day I get too big!
*See other babies! My friend Aaron came over (we are born 2 days apart, although he's gigantic compared to me); our mommies sat us on the floor and we couldn't stop staring at each other. I got tired of him, though, when he got in my space and stole my toys!
*Blow raspberries! Especially when I eat something very colorful, like carrots. Mommy needs to wear a bib, too, when she feeds me. Or maybe a poncho.
*Talk, talk, talk. My favorite sounds are "mamamama" and "dadadada." Mommy and Daddy are trying to get me to say them to the right person!

Not so much:
*Sleeping longer than 3 hours at a time. He he he.
*Getting my diaper changed or dressed. How I HATE lying still for Mommy! I scream, arch my back, and try to propel myself off the changing table. Fun times.
*Getting in my carseat. At least once I'm in the car, I'm pretty okay.

Go 7!!!

Calorie Fest!

Elizabeth has been a peanut since Day One, when she was born at 6 pounds 2 ounces. At all of her weigh-ins at the pediatrician since, she has been in the lowest percentiles, but always following her curve.

At her six month appointment last month, she was falling a bit off her curve, so I was told to bring her back in one month for a weigh-in. That was last week. The peanut was even more peanutty than I had thought; she'd only gained 5 ounces in one month. Yikes! What had happened: When I started giving her solid foods, it just wasn't enough. I had followed the advice of Dr. Sears (who gives somewhat "earthy" advice; my sister-in-law follows him and she's raising three healthy kids), among which tidbits were that babies did not really *need* solids until 6 months, and that when they did, a fist-sized amount of food was enough for tiny tummies. Also, Elizabeth's cousins have a history of food allergies (although we think it's on their other side of the family), another reason I wanted to delay.

Anyway, despite all my good intentions, Peanut just wasn't getting enough calories, between the small amounts of solids and what has probably been low breast milk production. I was told to really pile on the calories! So, over the last week I've added an extra feeding of solids into her day, and do NOT stop feeding her them until she's clearly done. I add some formula in between breastfeedings, too. And today we went for her weigh in and she had gained 7 ounces in a week--more than she had in the last month!

Part of me feels really guilty that my poor baby was so hungry. I'd had no idea; she's a very happy kid, and has been meeting her milestones well (she sits like a champ!). For all my good intentions at introducing foods, it just wasn't right for E. I guess that's what parenting will be like for the next 18 years (see my previous post called "The Great Experiment"!). But I'm shaking off the worry and just having fun feeding her--it's pretty entertaining for both of us! She loves her pears, applesauce, bananas, carrots, and prunes (have yet to introduce the "grosser" veggies, like peas...) She gets a kick out of "Puffs", the baby cereal that helps her practice using her pincer grasp to self-feed. (And I get a kick out of finding the random Puff that hasn't made it into her mouth...stuck to her legs, or inside her diaper!) Best of all, the insanely crappy sleep patterns of the last several weeks (literally awakening 2-3 times a night) have subsided into one wakeup, when I go in to feed her. Bliss!!! (I'd better not speak too soon...)