Oh my goodness, the talking!

Tonight she was helpful and sweet. As I was cleaning the table and floor after her dinner, she took a wet wipe and started wiping down her chair! So she does pay attention when I'm cleaning up after her. It was awesome and actually helpful! She chatted the entire time.

She also chomped down her broccoli with Ranch dressing at dinner, which was impressive.

She talks almost non-stop. It's the cutest thing ever. Paul and I just look at each other and laugh. Sometimes we ask each other: Did she really just say that?

Sorry, it's just that even 19 months later I'm still new at this and amazed.

Wait, I thought they said "No Halloween?"

Do you remember the shoe incident at Anna's daycare (click here, if you need a refresher)? Jac-o-lanterns are too representative of scary, satanic halloween apparently.

So imagine my surprise as I got a peek into their art room as Anna and I were walking down the school's hall this morning when I saw wicked, scary halloween witch pictures all laid out for the pre-K kids to color and paste for art class! If that's not traditional scary halloween, then I don't know what is. Anna's little pumpkin shoes look like nothing compared to this!

Note to self: ask the school director what their real intentions are for halloween dress since it's not clearly laid out in the parent hand book. Not to be confrontational, just to be clear.

Weekly Highlights

New favorite songs: Chuga-choo-choo from a Parents "When I grow up" CD and Choo-Choo Soul's main theme song. Also Rock-A-Bye Baby, strangely enough. That's one we just never used when she was actually a baby. Also her latest favorite: "Clementine". That one is REALLY cute to hear her sing.

She sings her heart out, very seriously, and even the eyebrows mean it. It amazes me that she can sing this well at this age, really. It's so adorable and she is so serious. She has learned her ABC's this way and can almost count to 10 because of it. She shouts at me in the car the titles of the songs she wants to hear: "Bus! ABC! Puppy! Quack Quack! Bumble Bee! Twikle Twinkle!" and back and forth I go between the songs, even when she's changed her mind as the song starts. When she's cranky, we sing. We sing when she's going night night, and sing during diaper changes. We sing in the tub and on the potty. She will look right at me with those deep grey-green eyes and sing her heart out with me. It's the sweetest thing ever. I keep trying to record her singing but I never get a good one. This singing stuff is something I know I'm m going to miss after she gets older.

Right now everything she does is for real. I love this age because she doesn't fake anything.

She's learned the word, "tickle" (tee-kil). It took me awhile to figure out what she was saying but then I got it. I think it's something SpaceDaddy must have worked on her with. Otherwise, she's heard it from me but not with much emphasis. She will say "tee-kil" and we know we're supposed to go tickle her. It's hysterical.

She's getting better about wanting a bow in her hair. I'll put it in, with her consent, and when she does pull it out later, she'll exclaim "UH-OH" with concern until I put it back in.

And latest achievement: she is trying to HOP. Everywhere. Especially down the stairs. I am also learning that this new skill can also disrupt their sleep habits. So we're in a rough patch. She really squats down low and tries to hop. She can *almost* get both feet off the floor together, and she may have done that at the Little Gym this morning, actually. Mostly, she just leads with one foot and jumps up while the other foot follows. And she is very proud of this. I don't know what started the hopping, but she's digging it and apparently on schedule with that skill.

She can count almost to 10. She can do 1, 2, 3 and then lags until 7, 8, 9, 10! It's really cute. We count the steps on the stairs as she goes up. Today's Little Gym class was all about numbers so that was a fun bonus for her.

When you ask her if something's funny, she'll laugh. She knows what "funny" means.

She LOVES to help with chores around the house. It's fun, though it can slow us down sometimes.

I am sure I'm forgetting something so I'll have to update this again later...for now I have to go plan the meals for the week. I hate that.

To teethe or not to teethe?

OK , really, we *think* we're seeing red, swollen gums on the bottom where her canines will be coming in soon. We *think* this would explain her recent clinginess (I mean, super clingy...I can't even put her down without a fit...or leave the room before she comes running while whining my way. You get the idea). We *think* this would explain the all-night party she had with us last night, which started at 12:15 am, and was NOT coughing-induced. We *think* this would explain the cranky-pants attitude for the past few days.

I wish I were certain. At least we'd know what we're facing. When I took a good look while doing the usual hold-Anna-down-while she's-screaming-because-tooth-brushing-is-non-negotiable routine this morning, I was relieved and excited that this time I'd swear those gums are red and swollen. But there's not much drooling (yet) or much hand biting/finger sucking (though some this morning). So I kinda second guess myself.

Trust me folks, this clingy, cranky child is not our Anna. I can see little glimpses of her here and there, though. Like through the Motrin, which I broke down to give her his morning before summing the energy to take her to the Little Gym today.

She has been napping for the last 45 min. And now she's just coughed herself awake. She's sitting up. Crap. Please go back to sleep...Lord knows you need it, kiddo. OK, there she goes...whew.

Anyway, last night was a fun flashback to months and months back during her previous teething bouts, though I can say she really wasn't all that bad in the sleep disturbance area with teething. Waking every few hours to cry and then go back to sleep was her usual practice during teething. But other sleep challenges included the time she learned to roll over in her crib in one direction and then called for help to get turned back over. Or when she learned to pull up in her crib...that was a neat new trick she liked to try at 2am, and again, she'd call for help because she didn't know how to get back down. Or when she started learning to crawl. Or started learning to walk...making the inside perimeter of her crib. All the major milestones have come with some kind of sleep disturbance, which is not unusal.

The best investment we have EVER made in the baby equipment area was a video monitor. We can see what all the fuss is about without her ever knowing we are peeking in. So we can't ever get busted. It's wonderful, wonderful, and like watching an addicting reality TV show, only better. We have come to know her sleeping patterns and preferences. We can see if she's safe while she's screaming for us. We can see if she needs help or if she's thrown all her stuff out of the crib in anger. We can see if she really needs us to interfere. We can see what time she really falls asleep and wakes up in between playing in her crib. We have been able to watch her sing to herslef while playing with her feet. Now I can see if she's sleeping on her hands, or if she's in a good position for me to go up and clip those fingernails she fights me on when she's awake. If you're reading this and you're about to have a baby, or have a young one right now, go and invest in the video monitor. It will buy you HOURS AND HOURS of comfort and entertainment :).

You can do that??

Yesterday I took an hour and a half off of work to get my hair cut and highlighted. I've always thought I was lucky to have a job that allowed me the freedom to come and go like this because there's no way I have the nerve to bring Anna with me and expect her to fully cooperate the entire time. Not even for a quick haircut! How can I chase her around with my hair cape flying in the wind? Talk about an uneven cut.

So you can imagine my incredible AWE when I witnessed this woman pleasantly getting her hair colored, while her 14 month old and 3 year old sat patiently for around 2.5 hours!! I mean, no fussing no fighting, no running, no screeching. This woman even had the nerve to have calm, fun conversations with her stylists as she was getting her scalp massaged and hair washed in the seat next to me.

Me to my colorist: I know you're only 20 but do you comprehend the magnitude of what's going on over there? Let me explain why I thought this kind of thing didn't happen in this universe. Where do these kids come from?

My colorist: Yeah, actually that's impressive.

Me: Well if she's a SAHM I guess she just has done it lots of times before because she had to make it work, so these kids just must be good at behaving themselves?? Just used to it?? It's the double edged sword I have with Anna. I have anxiety about taking her out when I need calmness or patience or I need to think. So she usually stays home with Daddy or I do this stuff by taking off of work! Do you think this mom knows how good these kids are being? It's amazing!

Colorist: I have a two year old brother...blah blah blah....

Later I got close to the mom and had to snoop. It's something I've taken to since Anna's been born. Normally I'm not a talker :)

Me to mom: your kids are amazingly well-behaved!

Mom: Yeah, I'm really shocked! I've never done something like this so this was a test to see what would happen. I was so nervous about this!

Ah...OK so some moms do just take the plunge and try it. Even with tin foil in their hair, knowing they can't get up and chase their 3 year old when she decides to run off. Even when she has to sit under the hair dryer for 15 min.

Surely her 14 month old must be down to one nap per day? Or surely she can nap in public in her stroller (unlike Anna)?

I am a fully accomplished, intelligent, motivated, respected individual. Bringing my 19 month old to a place where I myself have to be still and good is a challenge beyond my comprehension. Even though Anna's not a difficult toddler...she's just: A TODDLER.

I am amazed at the whole show that went on there yesterday. Truly amazed and it's just a reminder of how all kids and families are just different. It also again makes me question my perception of what I think is difficult about having a 19 month old. Maybe it truly isn't as hard as I'm making it in my mind?

My colorist and I agreed to bring Anna next time just to see what would happen. But oh yeah, with SpaceDaddy in the waiting room for back-up. Ha!

Nice shot, SpaceDaddy!

Going through the camera pics today, I found this one. I'm usually the one to really take pictures around here (thus I am virtually absent from photos of Anna's life), so I examined closer.



Looks like SpaceDaddy thought to bust me on Anna's video monitor while trying to clip her fingernails while she slept last night. I always thought it might be humorous for him to watch me sneak in and run away, flashlight in mouth, everytime she made a single movement. Last night I ran in and out of that room so much I gave up after getting only her THUMB nail clipped. I guess I'll have to try again tonight.

Pray for me.

BTW She hated the honey

Eighteen dollars and 3 different bottles of honey later (leading to Buckwheat), the child would prefer to take actual cold medicine over the taste of honey. She looked right at the dose, went to drink it, and turned away and said NO! We dipped it into her paci, and she reluctantly sucked on it. Then she proceeded to gag and actually almost vomited! She hasn't "almost vomited" at anything since she was a newborn!

She was repulsed. Amazing. She will drink the cough medicine straight up just for fun if we let her.

She has a 2:40 doc's appt today, likely for them to tell me she's got a cough, let's wait it out, thank you very much for the $20 co-pay. She's had the cough going on 2 weeks and it's bad a night. No snotty nose...only chest congestion. I guess we'll see!

At least she's napping without a fight.

No Halloween

My mom (Nanna) sent Anna-Marie some pretty cute jac-o-lantern halloween "crocs" in the mail yesterday. Anna loved them right away and this morning wanted to wear them to school. They come off kinda easy for a kid hard at play at school, but it's her half-day there and so I just brought along a back-up pair for when she does yank them off or trips onto her face and her teacher's had enough of them.

When I got her to the classroom I explained why I brought back-up sandals. She explained it's a good thing I brought back-ups because the kids aren't allowed to wear anything that is representative of halloween to school...huh? She said jac-o-lanterns are not allowed because they're scary. But Anna can wear a shirt with a simple pumpkin on it. She can't wear a shirt with a scary cat on it, but a regular happy black cat is fine. I think I got a quick mental reminder that Anna attends a Luthern day care/school. Ah-ha!

Anyone remember your witch trial history?

I am reminded to go review my history. Especially Pagan/Wiccan.

In the meantime we need to filter her halloween attire for school...

Pee pee and Buckwheat Honey

This morning both SpaceDaddy and I went up to get Anna ready for school. Isn't she one lucky toddler to have BOTH parents greet her upon wake-up? Talk about some valuable timeshare there...

She was cheery and sweet but as usual, refused to get out of her crib. Then it dawned on me: "Anna, do you want to go sit on the potty?!" She said yes with a nod and we were off to the bathroom. SpaceDaddy credited me with creativity and as I left her sitting on the potty with her daddy nearby, I hear him shout: "pee-pee!" Coming back to the bathroom, she was pretty proud, exclaiming that she just made "pee-pee!" I was happy to be there this time to give her lots of cheers and high-fives! After she wiped (she wiped her hands, folks...I gave her a wipe for the fun of it and she just wiped her hands...wiping her butt is a new one I'll have to learn how to do with this potty stuff), she got up and flushed! She thought that was fun so she flushed again. Then we declared "All done, YAY for pee pee on the potty!" And she laughed and laughed and SpaceDaddy got her dressed for some breakfast before school. She earned eggs and toast with honey and apples/bananas. I am not sure if we're on a roll here, and I understand from those friends who have potty-trained before me that it comes in waves and ebbs...sometimes easier than others, so we are just enjoying the moments and letting them be what they are for now. No pressure.

In the meantime she has this nasty, stupid cough. While I realize coughing has a purpose, I can't understand what use it would have at night when the cough should know that the body needs its rest if it's going to fight off whatever's going on in there. So it bugged me (maybe more than it bugged her) that she had another coughing fit around 2am (no assistance from me required) and then this morning on her last hour of sleep. She was a little more tired than usual on the way to school.

Last night I read a few articles on how honey is better for night time cough than even cough syrup itself. Most people who like the natural cures probably would have tried to encourage me to try it awhile ago, but this is the first time I've heard of a real clinical study for myself (maybe I'm behind here), just in time to offer an alternative to over-the-counter cough syrups that haven't been shown to work in children Anna's age, and could do more harm than good. Granted, the more harm part is caused by idiotic (albeit hopeful, helpful, desperate) parents who feel like the cough syrup isn't stopping the cough so their child must need more. Thus the overdose scares, giving OTC cough syrup the negative spotlight. It's painfully simple. Give your child the dose on the bottle, people. If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work. You don't give more. You try something else.

I sent Anna to school with a dose of 8-hour cough suppressant today. Don't know if it will work, but I went to the local nutritional store and picked her up some Buckwheat honey. According to the research, 1/2 teaspoon 30 min before sleep should help do the trick. And buckwheat honey is the best for all of its good stuff (like antioxidants). HEB had no buckwheat, though they had every other flavor and variety! Apparently buckwheat honey is produced in states along the upper East coast, and not Texas. So it's a little tougher to find. Anyway, I brought it over to the school with instructions for them to give just before Anna's nap. One of the administrative assistants had heard the same study. Another I talked to was surprised and skeptical. I guess we'll see... granted Anna does still have the cough suppressant in her system.

Hopefully the honey will help with her nap.

She's fighting her nap because she has to pee...?

A frustrated SpaceDaddy just called me about a little friendly toddler who is 2 hours awake past her nap time. Is she looking for mommy? What's her deal?

He did say that as he was trying to get her to sleep, she pointed at her bottom and said, "potty?" So he put her on the potty, and a few minutes later, we have pee-pee! She even said, "pee-pee!". She even flushed. Definitely pretty cool.

But she still won't nap!

I think she missed me

I have been away all weekend so I missed her from Friday till just yesterday when my plane came back in time to pick her up from school. I got a big hug, which is usual when I pick her up, but I think this one was a little longer :) I had to hold back the tears because her teachers didn't know I'd been away: geeze, long day lady? When I got home, SpaceDaddy already had dinner started and we played and ate till bedtime. At bedtime, she didn't want to let me go so she and I snuggled awhile and sang ABC's till she finally gave in to sleep. She woke at 2:30am in a coughing fit and when I went in to help, she had a hard time letting me go again. I hate that cough. Last year it lasted from October to January. Look at that, it's right on schedule. I am NOT letting this one go until Jan. No way, no how. I am giving it one more week before I intervene.

She seemed extra happy this morning, like the pre- "Up Yours" Anna. We are pretty sure her bottom right gums are red where her canine tooth may be coming in.

I got extra hugs and smiles and kisses this morning. Ahhhh...

She has learned more words since I left. And she is starting to put two words together. I was only gone for 3.5 days! This morning she was repeating EVERYTHING I said, much more clearly than ever. Plus she helped make her breakfast. She likes to help to do everything, which is a blessing and a curse. Mostly it's cute. It's the talking that kills me because it's really cool. What a little person she's becoming!

She sang her heart out on the way to school. I mean LOUD AND CLEAR. She cried when I left her but it actually wasn't her worst and it ended before I opened the door to leave, which was nice. She only has half a day, and it includes music class. The afternoon is with SpaceDaddy. I'll get her on Thurs afternoon again.

I am glad to be home!

Yes, I did tour a grocery store

Yes, people. This is my life. I actually went on a grocery store tour last night.

It was sponsored by the JSC nutritional office (we get free nutrition counseling here at NASA, which I might add, is actually pretty cool). We met as a group at the local HEB. We were there to learn how to read labels and just look for stuff to watch out for. I didn't learn anything new, to my surprise. So I guess I know how I'm supposed to eat. But what was surprising was the fact that HEB has a whole bigger selection than the Kroger I have shopped at the last 6 years. PLUS the organic/good for you versions of food are on the shelves right next to the crappy versions so I can find what I want without cruising the "organic/healthy" aisle only.

For example, I found some really yummy peanut butter that's kosher/vegan/organic/all-natural/no preservatives, etc (http://www.ilovepeanutbutter.com/) right next to the crappy Skippy we usually buy. So I bought the good stuff. And when I got home I was surprised at how GOOD it actually is. Everyone knows natural peanut butter isn't that great tasting. But this stuff had raisins and cinammon in it. And I also got the dark chocolate version. Hello, even the same calories, close price as the Skippy and zero trans fat.

I also didn't realize HEB = Central Market. So now I know there's a place that I can go when I need to buy "good for you" and "not-so-good-for-you" groceries all in the same place.

I didn't realize it was that easy to eat better. SCORE!

Am I really posting about a grocery tour? Sigh....

It looks like we get fall back

The weather today has been beautiful!

Anna is back at school. I hope it went well...I mentioned her latest oppositional behavior stints to her teachers and they just looked at me like, "yeah, and...?"

Did I mention I am new at this?

Just in case, I left them with a new bottle of Children's Motrin :)

A Letter to my 8 month old

I found this on my computer...a letter I started to Anna on her 8 month birthday. The intention was to write letters like this monthly. That was almost a year ago and not another letter since...but lots of photos and the start of this blog. Anyway, here's the letter. It jogged some memories.

Nov 8, 2007:

Good morning, Anna! Happy eight month birthday! Sorry it has taken me 8 months to start writing to you. I hadn’t thought to do it, really because I’m just not a very sentimental person that way! But I thought now even though it’s late, it’s something. I can give you a quick rundown of your first 8 months, though.

The first night we brought you home from the hospital, you screamed for almost 2 hours, inconsolably! Nanee was here and tried to help but was stumped. Daddy ran out at 1am to the drug store to get some Mylicon! Not sure if it helped but you calmed down shortly after. We tried all kinds of pacifiers that night, and you hated them. I tried nursing, but it didn’t calm you. So we just bounced you and tried to shush you. That screaming episode carried over for about the first 3 weeks of your life, each night getting earlier and earlier. It made Daddy sad to hear you so upset so I would stay up with you, trying to soothe you. Nothing really worked, except lots of bouncing, so that’s what I did! Plus I made up a silly “everyone loves Anna” song to sing to you, even though I don’t really think that helped either! We just had to wait it out with you every night. At your 4 week doctor’s visit, you were diagnosed with acid reflux. That explained all of the crying, which became much more frequent, the choking during feeding, and arching the back while feeding. Those things stressed me out! But you were a beautiful, dark-haired baby, very alert, and gave lots of fake smiles along with little sighs you’d breathe while you nursed. You were sweet and loved to be bounced! You hated the swing but loved the rough bouncy seat, a rough stroller ride, and you’d love for mommy and daddy to stand with you under the noisy vent hood over the stove. That was the one sure way to get you to calm and sleep. We lived under the vent hood for about 2-3 months! Amazingly, though you were a horrible napper, you started sleeping through the night from 9 or 10pm till 5am very early, probably around 7 weeks old. I remember the first time you slept 7 hours straight was when we were visiting Nana in Austin. We were all surprised. I also remember the first time you let me put you down to play without crying to be picked up…that was around 7 weeks as well. You were fussy and so I put you down, which made you happy! Before that night, you didn’t like to be put down because you liked to be comforted from the reflux pain. But the Prevacid we were giving you was finally starting to work and you learned about a whole new world of floor-play! That night also was at Nana’s in Austin. You had so much fun there, then when we got home you were fussy again so I thought you must hate your home! Speaking of first times, I remember the first time you smiled and meant it, probably around 7 weeks old. We were having a horrible morning and I was leaning over you in tears. Then you smiled at me! What?! I smiled back, even with the tears. That is the same smile that still makes my day everytime you do it!

At 2 months old, you finally took a paci! Thank goodness! One afternoon you were fussing yourself into a nap and daddy tried again at one of the several different paci’s we’d tried in the past, but this time you took it, and fell asleep right on the floor all by yourself! Since then, it has been very helpful in getting you to sleep or better enjoy the car ride! Also, when you were 8 weeks old, you came to mommy’s PhD graduation ceremony, and then the next night you went with mommy and daddy to see Gwen Stefani in concert in the Woodlands. You did really well! We danced and you slept J. Also at around 2 months old you started to enjoy your swing and actually take long naps in it. You don’t use it at home anymore because by now you nap in your crib like a big girl. So we are about to put the swing away for good, even though you do still nap in the swings at day care. You started sleeping in your own crib upstairs like a big girl at 2 months old. At 10 weeks old, we took you to the swamp camp in Morgan City. Your first boat ride! You did really great! I remember you slept through till 5am and I was shocked. Also you played by yourself a whole lot in the Pack-N-Play when we hung colorful towels over the sides for you to look at. You were really happy. Again, I was stunned you played by yourself for so long! Aunt Kristyn and I took some great pictures of you playing in there. You were soooo pretty. By the way, you are known for being a pretty baby…no, beautiful baby. And it’s true…I’m not just saying that. Everyone says it, and they always qualify it as, “and I really mean it, not all babies are this pretty. Yours is REALLY pretty.” It’s the eyes you got from your daddy. I think you have my mouth, though! But everyone sees you as looking like your daddy, which is OK. I was hoping you’d have his eyes J But we never expected you to be so pretty, really!

At 3 months old, you started day care at G D. Johnna and Joy were your teachers. Mommy didn’t cry when I left you for your first day because when I left, you were playing and happy. Daddy had some tears J . They had so many fun things for you to do! Since you were happy, I was happy. Plus I was ready to begin life back in the real world J. You have done really great with G D since then. They moved you to Infant II when you were about 5 months old. I thought you were too little to go but you seemed to like it in Infant II. At 3.5 months old, you started waking up in the middle of the night…no more sleeping straight through! And you started going to bed earlier and earlier, until eventually you settled on a 6:30pm bedtime! Also at 3 months, you rolled over from tummy to back. A few weeks later, you rolled from back to tummy. Since then, even to this day, you are better going from back to tummy than from tummy to back. You still get mad when you get too tired to bother turning off of your belly and we have to do it for you. Sometimes you just get lazy! Tummy time was never your favorite thing, but you started enjoying the exersaucer Tami gave us. At 3 months old, you also got Ducky, which is a big yellow duck you picked out yourself. He goes with you to day care and you sleep with him at night.

At 4 months old, we started to feed you baby food. You started to like it, but then got a really bad cold, and then hated it from then on. Even day care was surprised you hated solids! It’s OK, solids were just for fun. But mommy had already stocked up on over $100 worth of baby food, thinking you’d dig in! The good news is that I got all that for $5 since I found some really good Target coupons! So we ended up donating it all a few months later when it looked like you’d never take to pureed baby food!

At 5 months old, you got better at going to sleep all by yourself at night, without needing daddy to help you. By the way, it was daddy who helped you get to sleep. He’d place you in your crib and “ssshhhhhh” you while stroking your hair and you’d cuddle your face into Ducky. You were usually pretty restless, but by 5 months old, you figured it out and went to sleep without much help from daddy, and without much flip-flopping around your crib. However, at this age you started waking up in the middle of the night realizing you were on your tummy and we’d have to go in, turn you over, and give you the paci or bottle to get you back to sleep J. At this time, you were usually up around 10pm for a paci, midnight for a bottle, and 3:30am for a bottle. Daddy had the shift till 2am, and mommy had 2am-wake up. That worked out well!

At 6 months old, mommy and daddy took our first trip away from you to Chicago so mommy could accept an award and give a speech. Nana came to stay with you and you must have had fun with her because when we got home you didn’t seem to have missed us! 6.5 months you also came to Colorado with us so mommy could speak at a CSU student conference. You were teething on that trip, but did a really great job other than the occasional crankiness with that tooth (although you were most cranky right before mommy’s presentation)! You did really great on your first airplane trip to Colorado on Southwest Airlines and even sat in the cockpit! You slept through your first boarding and take-off on mommy’s shoulder. You sat in daddy’s lap for your first landing. You enjoyed Colorado, and we went to all the places mommy and daddy used to go while we were students there. We were excited to show you everything! You even went to Estes Park with us and got to go inside the Stanley hotel and Rocky Mountain National Park. There, you got your first touch of a Colorado creek. We had so much fun with you! 6 months was the best month so far because everything was funny to you and you were sooo full of smiles. Even the first 2 teeth didn’t ruin your happiness! During that time, Nana was staying with us because daddy has just opened his physical therapy clinic and Nana was helping with that and with you! She had so much fun with you for the 6 weeks she was here. You used to make each other smile! You also started sitting up at around 6.5 months. Also during this month, you got such fluid build up in your ears from congestion that you lost your hearing! Mommy and daddy and your teachers were worried until the doctor told us it was just fluid build up, and 2 weeks of Benadryl cleared it up! Whew! It was such a busy month for you!

Month 7 came with a happy baby, but more opinionated baby. Nana went back to Austin after 6 weeks, and mommy went to Las Vegas for the weekend with some friends. Daddy called mommy telling me he was having tummy pain, and he was a little worried because nobody was around to help if it got serious. When I came back home, daddy went to the hospital to have his appendix removed! He was there for 4 nights, and we missed him lots. But you and mommy hung out and got through while daddy recovered. In the meantime, you were sprouting 2 new top teeth. Not everything was as funny anymore, and you demanded to be carried face-out instead of on my shoulder like I was used to! You also preferred to bear weight, which always made you most happy. You got better at sitting and playing on the floor with different toys, and putting them all in your mouth. We also realized that since you hated baby food, maybe you’d like grown up food. And we were right, since you attacked daddy’s home-made chicken noodle soup! So you started eating off the school menu at day care during this time and you’ve enjoyed everything from pizza to pancakes. We love it! Also at 7 months, you went to Louisiana for Aunt Kristyn’s baby shower and you had a horrible virus that caused terrible diarrhea for like 7 days, including while we were in La! But it didn’t make you cranky at all, thankfully. It just resulted in some diaper rash and lots of dirty diaper changes! YUCK!

And now we’re in month 8. Sorry the previous months are just a blur written on this page! Today’s your first day as an 8 month old. You passed out so early last night because of Day Light Savings Time change. We fell backwards last weekend, and you were already an early bedtime baby and now it’s worse J. You’re usually ready for bed by 6:30 but last night you barely made it till 6! Last night after your bath, you fell asleep on the bottle and I couldn’t keep you awake. You woke up at 4am for a bottle, then went back to sleep till 6:40. Wow! Daddy got home just 5 minutes after you went to bed and was sorry he missed you so he went upstairs to kiss you goodnight. These days you are starting to say mamamama, and I think you may be starting to mean it. You still say dadadada, which you’ve said since our vacation in Estes Park, CO in September (and you didn’t mean it then). You are enjoying to splash more and more in the bathtub, and you’re really enjoying your bath toys. There is one octopus in particular that you like when I use it to squirt water into your mouth! The first few times I squirted you with it, you laughed. Now you just want the water so you open your mouth and stick out your tongue. But really I think your favorite toy is still Temperature Ducky, even though Nana bought you a few other yellow rubber ducks. Out of the bath, you’re getting better about not fussing at me so much! You used to hate the drying and dressing part, and I don’t know why. But you’re doing better about it now. Speaking of dressing, you hate, and have always hated, getting dressed! Specifically the part of getting your hands into the sleeves. It’s even worse when you’re tired. We try little tricks to distract you, like giving you toys or sitting you up to put your sleeves through, which sometimes work. For now during changing time, you like to try to roll onto your belly and reach for the diapers and wipes. The wipes are your favorite, probably because they make a crinkly noise when you play with them. I always try to make you laugh to try to get a look into that silly mouth of yours. We noticed yesterday that you’ve got a 5th tooth coming in, on your bottom right. I knew something was going on in there because you’ve been cranky lately, but Daddy found the actual white bumps and he showed me this morning. Good girl! I know tooth pain really hurts! You are doing great with it, though! You get pretty cranky at school with Miss Polly, Kathleen, and Denise, but at least it doesn’t affect your sleep at home at night J. In the meantime, you’ve got this terrible cough that has lasted about 4 weeks now, and I am about to call the pedi to see if there’s something I should do here! You’ve also had a runny nose and you HATE it when I wipe it! Boy do you fuss me!

3 miles solo this morning

...and at my pace, it takes awhile. Darn you daylight for waiting to show till 7am! That is much too late to get started on a longer run. And I still have many, many miles to build! I am soooo looking forward to moving the clock backwards at the end of this month.

Also, judging from the horrible heat and humidity of this morning, it looks like our brief fall is over. Rats.