November was a busy month!

October flew by, with Halloween and Brick or Treat at Legoland being the highlights of the month. And November was a packed month with events. I also took Emi out of daycare about once a week to have a day of fun, since she should be able to take advantage of my maternity leave, too!

I took Emi to see a helicopter, since she loves Harold the Helicopter from her Thomas books. One of the moms in the group was a firefighter, and she arranged for us to go see her friends who man the one that scoops up water and drops it on fires. I thought Emi would love it, since we were allowed to get in and sit in the cockpit. But the noise of it landing scared Emi, and she didn't want to go near it. But we got some cute pictures of her wearing the helmets!

We then went on a road trip to Perris, near Riverside, to ride and see Thomas the Train. Emi still loves Thomas, and The Crack in the Track is still in the nightly bedtime routine. Scott says that he has the entire thing memorized, and can recite it without having to look at the words anymore.

And the highlight of the month was going to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live. Emi is absolutely obsessed with Gabba (she was DJ Lance for Halloween), and there are days when we watch 8 episodes or so throughout the day! Our seats were on the balcony and on the edge, and it was a little spooky to be up that high with Emi, but I think she had a good time. I think Emi was more in awe of the show than anything else, since she sat on Scott's lap the entire time with her eyes wide, and mouth slightly open. She didn't want to dance, but given how high up we were on the balcony, that was probably a good thing. For the next 2 weeks, Emi kept on asking if we were going to see Gabba Live again, so we keep telling her that we'll go again next year (if she thinks they are still cool by then...).

For all these events, Hana came and slept through them all. See, what did I tell you - easy baby! December is going to be a packed month, too. We already put our lights up, picked out a tree, and Emi helped decorate it. This weekend we are going to see Santa, we have a friend's bday party to attend, cookies to bake (Emi is taking after her dad and likes to help cook), and we'll end the year with Xmas and a visit from Theresa and family. Whew, here we go!

3 months already?

Time has been flying by since we had Hana, and I feel guilty for not updating. First, I want to say that having a second baby is not easier (as everyone says it will be) because you already know what to do. Breast feeding and lack of sleep is always challenging, no matter how many kids you have. We got off to a rocky start with feeding, and it was a similar experience to Emi's first weeks. Hana lost over a pound in the first 2 days, and milk supply seems to be an issue with me. But after weeks of wanting to quit, we finally got into a good groove and feeding is going well. BUT, things are going so well, Hana does not want to take a bottle now (as Scott found out on Friday when he was at home with 2 kids). The other big challenge was that Hana did not poop, and the longest stretch we had was 14 days. Everyone I tell that to falls out of their chair, but we are on track in that department now, too!

Hana is also a very different baby than Emi was. I thought they would be identical, for some reason. But fortunately, Hana is very laid back and relaxed, and she hardly cries (although the past 2 days have been a little off for her). She was sleeping about 6 hours a night in her 6th week or so, and now sleeps from about 9pm to 5am. Since I am staying up at night to pump, I am not getting as much sleep but I hope to phase that out in the next few weeks.

I go back to work at the beginning of the new year, and find myself trying to think of any and all options to either not go back, or keep Hana home with me. Maybe it's because Hana is an easier baby to take care of, but I am finding this transition much more difficult than it was with Emi (maybe because I was flying solo at that time, and the financial aspect also weighs on me). But it's looking like there is no way I can not work, so we are looking into how we can keep Hana at home for the first year or so.

I mainly came on here tonight to see when Emi rolled over for the first time. I see that she did it at 3 months and 2 days. Hana rolled over for the first time on Monday, and she was 3 months and 1 week. But, Hana rolled over from her back to her tummy, and then from her tummy back onto her back. It's neat to see that both girls reached that milestone at about the same time.

I can't wait to see what else Hana does in the next months, and I'll try to be better about updating, in case anyone other than Scott is reading :-)

Welcome Hana Rae

Dear Hana,
Your first name means "flower" in Japanese, and that is a name that both your dad and I knew you were going to be named since we found out you were going to be a girl. Something about it just clicked with us, and we knew that was your name. Your middle name is one that we both liked and thought flowed nicely with Hana.

We met you on Saturday, August 27th, 2011 at 1:26pm. I started feeling something that morning at about 5am, and actually thought it was just gas pains. The feeling was very low in my pelvis, and didn't feel like the waves (aka contractions) that I felt with Emi, so I figured this was something different. I started timing them, and they were anywhere from 15 minutes apart to 8 minutes apart, so nothing consistent. Emi actually came into our room a little after 5am (which is early for her to wake up), so maybe she had a feeling you were coming before I even knew! Your dad decided to take her back to her room, and since I was wide awake I decided to start packing a bag to head to the hospital since I figured you would come this weekend sometime.

I was still feeling the "gas pains" at 8am, so we decided to skip Emi's swim class that morning. I had a list of things to get at Costco, and your dad had a Men's Warehouse credit certificate that expired that day (I was not going to let a $100 free cash certificate expire!), so I told Scott and Emi to go out and run some errands and then check in on me to see how I was doing. Maybe that was not the best idea, but your dad got 4 very nice ties without spending any cash!

After they left, I decided to lie down on the couch and try to rest and watch some TV. I downloaded a contraction timer app for my phone, and was noticing that I was having irregular waves, anywhere from 8 minutes apart to 4 minutes apart, and that they were all about 45 seconds long. After about an hour on the couch and not being able to take a nap, I decided to take a shower. Once I stood up, I noticed that they got a bit stronger. Every time I had one, the most comfortable position for me to get into was to bend forward and lean on something (the bed, the sink, my knees, whatever there was to lean on) and gently rock side to side. I didn't think I needed to put in my Hypnobabies CDs yet, and each time I had one I just said "Relax" in my mind, and rode them out until it was done. I am guessing it was about 11am when Scott checked in, and I told him to come home right away, and that I was calling my parents to come over and watch Emi for us.

Your dad got home all stressed out because there was construction traffic and it took twice the amount of time that it usually takes. He called my parents to avoid that street, but they forgot the cell phone at home and got stuck in it too. In the meantime, I paged the doctor on call (Dr. Zaid, who also delivered your sister) and told her what was going on. I still didn't think I was in labor, and she said we should go to the hospital and they would call her if she needed to come in. Once my parents got here, we loaded up the car and left for the hospital.

I put my Hypnobabies CD in for the car ride there (with earphones), and closed my eyes and tried to listen and relax. With my eyes closed, I could still follow all the turns and pretty much knew where we were, but it seemed like a quick ride and was actually surprised when Scott said "we're here" and helped me out of the car. We walked into the L&D wing, and as soon as we walked through the doors, I had to lean on my knees and ride out another wave. A doctor came out of a room at that time, and was up at the registration desk when we got there. I gave them my name and told them that I was having waves about 3 minutes apart, and he looked at us and smiled and said "Sounds like it's coming soon!". Duh. We checked in at about 12:15pm.

They put us into a room, and found that I was about 8cm dilated and that the baby was very low. They called the doctor to come in. I told them that I was starting to feel "pushy", and they said to just breath through them. I had my earphones in and was concentrating on relaxing and breathing, so the majority of this is what your dad described to me. While we were waiting for Dr. Zaid, the nurses said that you would be here very soon. When he asked for a more specific description of "soon", they said probably within the hour. At this point, I was having waves every 4 minutes, and they were about 2 minutes in length. It didn't feel like they were that long, it still felt like they were only 45 seconds long. Dr. Zaid arrived and started setting things up. I told her that I really felt like I needed to push, so she checked me and said it was ok, and to follow what my body was telling me to do, and she started putting her gown on. She also said that you were in a position that would be better if I rolled onto my right side. As soon as I did that, I felt the next wave come and you crowned. The nurse said "Doctor, there's the head, you better hurry up!". With the next wave, you were born. You had your hand up by your cheek, and that's how you joined the world, and I still see that's a favorite place for you to put your hand. Your were born at 1:26pm, and I am shocked and amazed at how fast your birth was. I am also in awe of the human brain, and that I was able to do all this drug free, without constantly listening to my Hypnobabies CDs (like I had to when Emi was born). I didn't even have time to switch to the Pushing Phase track!

After your birth, they put you on my chest and you looked at us and eventually fell asleep. We held off on weighing you and giving you a bath, but we later found out you were 8 lb, 2 oz. I'm glad you came on your own, one day after your due date. The doctor was guessing that you might be 9 lbs when you got to be one week overdue, so maybe you knew this and decided to just come now (if so, thanks!). Plus, I could finally stop the high protein diet I got put on at 36 weeks to keep you from putting on too much more weight.

As I write this, we are home and you are sleeping in your pack and play next to our bed. It's the middle of the night, and I can't sleep. It's cute to listen to you breath and the little noises that you make while you sleep. I can't wait to see you grow up, and see how you and Emi are similar and how you are different (you look just like she did when she was born), and I hope you two become the best of friends. I wish the very best for you, and a lifetime of love, smiles and happiness.

Love, Mommy

Growing up, and the big girl bed

I never thought of myself as a sappy person, but these days I can't help but look at Emi and realize that she's not a baby anymore and get all emotional about it. I see her talking more, starting to understand the world around her, and wanting to do things by herself without my help. She sits in booster chairs at restaurants now, rather than a high chair. She knows the dogs are not supposed to be on the couch and tattles on them when they get up there. She know that cars can go "crash" (that's a Scott related story for another time - no worries, not his car), that the stove is hot, and that the juicer is loud. She's in a big girl bed.

Knowing that we'll need the crib for Baby Z2 in a few months, we decided to get Emi a twin bed. We let her pick out her own sheets (she wanted Thomas the Train), and we set it up on Saturday. I was expecting it to be a long and sleepless weekend, good thing it was a holiday!

Saturday night, we put her to bed, and she didn't want to go to sleep. I'm sure it was strange for her. She cried for about 15 minutes, and when she was asleep for about 15 minutes we left the room. At about 11pm, Scott and I were downstairs watching TV. We heard a big thump (Emi falling off the bed), then little feet running, then another louder thump (Emi running out of her room and smack into a wall). When Scott ran up to see her, she was lying in the hallway holding her head and crying "owie, owie". Am I horrible to think this is funny? Emi, when you are old enough to read this, I'm sure you'll be laughing, too.

The following morning, she woke us up at 6am by coming into our room (this is the part I dreaded) and was ready to play and start the day. That day, we went and got a bed rail. The rest of the weekend wasn't bad, but she does seem to have a wacky internal clock that has her coming into our room at 6am on the dot.

On Tuesday night, she fell out of bed, even with the bed rail. The instructions say that you have to leave a 9 inch gap at the top of the bed (where the pillow normally is), but she managed to fall out of that 9 inch gap. I put her huge Pooh stuffed animal there to catch her, and Wed night she was very concerned about Pooh being in just the right place to catch her. I also stuffed a blanked under the sheet in that corner to hopefully prevent any more falls. No falls last night, but she did wake up on and off all night until about 1am and came into our room every time.

Hopefully she'll be in a routine in about a week, and we can all start sleeping through the night again. But for now, I'm glad that she still wants to cuddle and sleep with her mommy and daddy. At least she still needs us...

Baby Z #2 - first trimester thoughts

We had an inkling that I was pregnant in Dec, and mid-Dec I took a test and confirmed that I was pregnant. So we got through the holidays not telling anyone, and I only took a sip of wine here and there so that no one would think I was acting odd and call us out on it. Xmas week, I got sick with a cough, sore throat and a runny nose, and it was hard not being able to take any medication. So the cough stayed with me for what seemed like 3 months (ohoh, whooping cough thoughts definitely entered my mind). I felt pretty horrible, and don't really know if it was just from being sick, or if it was pregnancy related at all.

This second pregnancy so far treated me worse than the first (again, I don't know if it was just because I was sick and it lingered so long). But I didn't feel like eating anything at all, all day long. I felt bloated, had cramping, and actually felt nauseous the majority of the time (but no sickness, thank goodness!). I knew I had to eat something, so i felt like I was forcing myself to eat every day. The only thing I felt (after the cold went away) was drastically thirsty all the time.

Given that I felt differently this time around, I started to think that maybe it was going to be a boy - "This boy is already making me feel miserable, and it's not even born yet." But in the back of my mind, I think I was hoping that it would be another girl. I liked the idea that there would be no surprises. We already have a girl, and know what the first year is going to be like. I know, everyone says that personalities are drastically different and you won't experience the same thing - but at least I won't have to buy an entirely new wardrobe for the baby, and I won't need to buy the peepee teepees if it's a girl! I think that's what I'm scared of the most - changing boy diapers, getting peed on, and cleaning IT. But just to be on the safe side, I started buying Emi all gender neutral colored clothes/shoes, and even looked at blue and brown PJs with footballs on them for her (but didn't buy the PJs because I realized I getting extreme).

Scott went with me to the first trimester screening, and everything looked right on track. The only item that we had to watch was the location of the placenta, which was low and covered a bit of my cervix. In cases like this, you normally have to have a C-section, and I would have to have an amnio to make sure the lungs develop fully. My doc said that 99% of the time it corrects itself, so she wasn't worried and said I shouldn't either. This was also the cause of the cramping that I was feeling (whew, at least nothing really serious was causing it). We'll just check again during he 2nd trimester screening.

For some reason, I'm not as excited to be pregnant this time around. One day, as we were talking about a possible work trip in July, I forgot that I was pregnant. Scott had to remind me that I would be 8 months pregnant in July, and probably couldn't go. I guess it's because the experience isn't new anymore, that the giddiness isn't here. I am not researching baby things on the Internet 24/7, and not telling everyone on the face of the planet that I am pregnant. AND, I felt like I started showing in the second month and started wearing my maternity jeans (it might be holiday weight... but hey, at least there is no guilt about pulling out the pregger clothes and feeling obligated to go on a diet!). I did have a little apprehension but the possibility of a miscarriage. I don't know why, but the thought was always in the back of my mind (don't pick heavy things up, don't exercise, just in case...). Maybe that's why I didn't really want to tell anyone that I was pregnant, at least not until we get past the first trimester.

So, Baby Z #2, coming in late August. My guess date is August 26th (hmmm, Emi was July 26th and she didn't come till August), so I am thinking it's going to be a Sept baby. We'll see!

What a difference a year makes!

Sorry I haven't written in so long. I can't believe the last time I wrote was August. It seems like such a long time ago, yet really nothing significant has happened since then.

I had a girl's weekend in San Antonio in October.
We dressed up as garden gnomes for Halloween.
Emi took her first trip to Vegas in November. She didn't do too well at the slots, but Scott did!
We had a great Thanksgiving and Xmas, with a lot of face time with Scott's family.
We had a very uneventful New Years, with me falling asleep on the couch at about 9:30pm. Scott woke me up at midnight, and then I promptly fell back asleep.

What I couldn't help thinking tonight is what a difference a year makes in the life of a baby. Last year, Emi was too young to really appreciate Xmas. This year she was still a tad too young (I think next year is going to be a fun one), but she was at least able to play with toys and really enjoyed the cookies that Papa made. Last year she was eating baby food, and this year she is almost eating everything we eat (although she is a picky eater). Last year, getting her to sleep was pretty painful with lots of rocking and singing and crying, but now it only takes a few minutes to get her to sleep. She might cry a little bit on a rare occasion, but after 5 minutes she's usually fast asleep. And the biggest difference is that she's walking, and running, and trying to communicate (in the form of whining mainly).

The one thing that strikes me is how little she's gotten sick this year (knock on wood, since it's still the middle of winter). Last year, it seemed like we were at the doctor and on antibiotics almost every other week. This year, she got a runny nose and seemed pretty congested prior to Xmas, but other than that she's seemed really healthy. Even with molars coming in this fall, she did great.

Parenting has not gotten easier, but I think Scott and I are more comfortable with it. Everyday is something new, and right now the excitement of all the positive changes (I can't wait until she talks clearly!) outshine the negative (like when applesauce ends up all over the dogs after a bowl chuck).

So we had a pretty good 2010, and I look forward to a fun and exciting 2011. Happy New Year!

Emi's new haircut

Previous haircut:
















Meet Emi Ray Cyrus (mom and dad's attempt of a haircut):



Today:














Background: About a month and half ago (I think), Emi started pulling her hair out. It started out with just a few strands here and there, and then we noticed the receding hairline across her forehead. Then it turned into a completely bald spot spanning almost 1/4 of her head (the left front quadrant). We asked the doctor about it, and she said it was probably a bad habit that she has developed along with sucking on her finger. As she pulled the hair our, she kept going back further to find more long hair to pull. After a bunch of lab work to make sure she didn't have a mineral deficiency or anything else, the recommendation was to shave her head to break the bad habit. I didn't want to completely shave the kid bald, so we tried a half way solution. Not good, and we chose not to go with the hari krishna look either. So meet the new Emi, bald for the first (and hopefully last) time in her life. I think in about 3 months she'll have the head of hair she was born with...

Goodnight

I'm not sure why I am feeling so sentimental tonight. It might be because it's so quiet in the house tonight, or that things have settled down a little earlier in the evening than normal, or because I just finished watching a relatively intense episode of "The Closer". But I can't help but think that life is short, and that it if you are not careful it can pass you by faster than you could ever anticipate.

As I turned the TV off, prepared bottles for daycare tomorrow, turned off the lights and headed upstairs, I had to fight the urge to pick Emi up and just cuddle with her for the rest of the night. If I am lucky, I will have a very long time to hug her, to show her I love her, to get to know her and hopefully become friends with her. I think about my parents and how lucky I am to have them as such a big part of my life. They are some of my favorite people in this world, and I am fortunate that our relationship has blossomed into what it is today. I hope that I am as lucky as they are. I hope I get at least 35 years to know my daughter, to see what she becomes, and stand by her every milestone in life.

35 years sounds like a very long time, and hopefully it will turn out to be much longer than that. But right now, I just feel like Emi's first year has flown by. If the remainder of the years pass at this pace, it might make 35 years feel more like 35 seconds. I can only hope that one day I will be old and gray, and Scott is by my side and we can look at the daughter that we created and know that the world is right. But right now, I just feel like I want to hug Emi and not let this moment, this age, this day, this overwhelming love I feel for her go.

July, already?!

I sometimes see Scott going to this blog to see if I have updated it lately, and he sees that nothing has changed and goes onto the next surfing site on his list. Of course the guilt has set in, and I am now updating things so that he has something to read next time he checks. I am still convinced that he is the only person that reads this...

Emi has started walking up a storm. We definitely see her walk now; every day, all around the house, up the entire flight of stairs (ok, that's more crawling), and right out the back door. She seems to prefer being on her feet now, and her balance is getting better every day. She can walk the entire circle of our living room and kitchen without falling, and we can sit on the couch and listen to the sounds of her heavy footsteps on the floor as she disappears from sight on one side and comes back on the other side of the kitchen. It's the cutest thing.

We had a nice 4 day 4th of July holiday. I packed it full of activities, and maybe it was just too much because I got sick on the last day of our holiday. We went to see The Last Airbender, took Emi to her first Padres game, saw Avenue Q, and met with friends. Emi did great at the Padres game, and I think she really enjoyed it. She ate almost an entire pretzel, and bounced every time the music played. She even took a nap through the 8th and 9th innings.

I have been sick since that weekend and spent almost this entire past weekend in bed. Scott was a lifesaver and took care of Emi and let me get the rest that I needed. It seems like we didn't have quality time with each other this past weekend, which really sucks and it's going to make this week feel very long until he's home again on Friday.

All in all, things are great, and I can't believe that the summer is already half over. Where is the time going? Next things we know, Emi will be 1 year old (I am a little sad about that) and it will be fall.

Mom and Dad are the last to see things happen

On Friday, I picked Emi up from daycare, and they asked me what I had been practicing at home. I'm sure I had a confused look on my face, and they explained that they thought I had been practicing walking with her because today she took 3 steps, and yesterday she walked a little, too.

So that's the trouble with daycare. Your kids will most likely take their "firsts" when you are not around to see it happen.

All weekend we watched and waited, and urged Emi to walk. No luck. She stood up on her own (a first for us, too), but no walking.
UNTIL, Sunday night when grandma/pa were over for dinner. Upstairs, grandma and I were getting Emi's PJs on, and she walked a few steps towards grandma. Then downstairs, she took a few steps in the living room. Yay!

As much as I have been waiting for this moment, it's a little sad now that it's here.
My baby is growing up so fast... I look at some of her newborn pictures and think "who is that baby, you look nothing like her anymore".

Guess how much I spent for this?

Scott says I have a new obsession (this time I agree, unfortunately). But it is saving us a boat load! I paid $3.58 for all of this: 11 boxes of pasta and 4 roma tomatoes.

I always clipped coupons, but I was the person who looked through them every 5-6 trips I made to the store only to find that they were all expired. I have started following various coupon websites and blogs, and have started matching up sales at the store with my coupons. The trick is to try to get multiple coupons (mom saves the adds for me from the paper, I print them off the web, etc).

I must give credit where due:
The Krazy Coupon Lady
Money Saving Mom
The Coupon Queen, who may have a weekly column in your newspaper (she does in mine, and started this craziness for me!)


Above, Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta sells for $2.49 a box. They had them on sale for $1, and I had 11 $.75 off coupons. Each box only cost me 25 cents! And those who know me well know I love pasta, so this will eventually all get eaten.

Now, I need to hunt around for some sauce on sale and I'll be all set!

Socks!

The other day, Scott said that I had a sock addiction. I think it's completely normal, you have to buy what your child needs, right?

Last week I noticed that she outgrew all her plain white socks. All the socks that she had were colored or striped, and didn't go with some of her outfits. So we went and got the 6 pack of plain white socks at Target.

Here's a pic of my sock score this past weekend. Since she's starting to stand up on everything, and Bema thinks she's going to walk soon, I figured I should stock up on socks that have the little rubber grippies on the bottom so she has some traction. It's a tile floor at daycare, and regular socks can get awfully slippery! They had a sale going on, so I figured I would also buy the next size up, to take advantage of the sale. I also found the cutest knee high socks to make more legwarmers for her. It's getting to be summer (and her old legwarmers are getting a little small), so she'll be in onesies and creepers more, and needs the legwarmers to cover her knees for all the crawling that she does.

Completely normal, right?
BTW - I am still so irritated that all girl baby clothes (and socks) are always pink! What if we don't like pink? How about some cool colors like magenta, or black, or leopard print?

Our new normal - for now

It's been a while since I've updated this, so I wanted to get something out here since we've had a lot going on lately.

Scott:
On March 18th, Scott graduated! Emi and I went to DC, and both sides of our families were there to help him celebrate. We all flew home from DC together, and after a few days off, Scott reported to his first day of work in LA. It sounds like he's starting to get settled in, doing a lot of admin "new guy on the block" kind of work, but hopefully he'll be getting some exciting assignments soon. Until we decide what to do with our living situation, Scott is staying at Eric's place Sun - Thu night (thank you Eric!), and coming home on the weekends. His commute from the office to our house is about 2.5 hours, and his commute from Eric's house to the office is about a half hour on good days.
On April 10th, Scott had a birthday (the first birthday as a father). I didn't get him a card (oops), but we were together and had a great weekend. Happy Birthday, honey.

Emi:
Right before we went to DC for Scott's graduation, Emi started crawling. She is now all over the place, and the little bugger is fast. She seems to love the dog's bowls, and has more than once put her hands in their water bowls and made a mini-mess. We got her a jumperoo, and that thing is her favorite toy. I try not to put her in it too much (don't want the novelty to wear out too soon), but when she does go in, she can jump and play for about an hour. That's plenty of time to get things around the house done without having to chase Emi. A few weeks ago, Emi started pulling herself up. She can stand herself up in her crib, on the coffee table, on Bear, on us, pretty much anything. And I guess we are lucky that she also knows how to plop herself down again. I've heard stories of kids standing up in their cribs in the middle of night, and cry because they don't know how to let go.

Colette:
I've become a pro at flying with Emi (ok, maybe it's her that's become the pro). I've also gotten in a pretty good routing with work, daycare, and taking care of Emi. Things at work are pretty busy, and I'm also trying to squeeze in a bit of quality personal time during the week with Emi, with friends, and getting out of the house for errands and shopping. This past weekend we splurged and decided to get the BOB stroller, and it's great. Hopefully now I can work some exercise time into mix. At least now there is greater incentive to walk to daycare! Last week, we had an earthquake which we all felt. We were in the kitchen, and Emi was in her jumperoo. That was the most exciting thing to happen in a few weeks!

Our new normal feels pretty good for now (after Scott being gone for 5 months, this is a big improvement). I know he's sad to leave every Sunday night (it must be so much harder for him than for us, since we get to stay in our house each week), but things will work themselves out and we'll end up where we are supposed to be in a few months. Overall, the Z's are hanging in there!

Commando Crawling

Emi can now sit up on her own, and she is getting very close to crawling. It's getting to the point where you can't really take your eyes off her anymore (and unfortunately, I have to vacuum a lot more!) She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks as if she's about to take her first crawl any day now. When she wants to get from point A to point B she will do her "Commando Crawl".

6 months - how time flies

I can't believe my little girl is 6 months old. At our last check up, she didn't gain any weight or grow at all, so the doctor said it's time to really pick up the amount of solids that she's eating. She is getting cereal twice a day (once at daycare, and they said she's doing great with it) and veggies at dinner. I'm going to start giving her fruits in the morning, too - so she'll be eating 2 full meals a day along with all the milk that she normally gets.

So far, she has had (and loved): rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, squash, sweet potatoes, pears, carrots, and apples. I am trying my hand at making baby food, and I have made her the carrots and apples. Hopefully I'll be able to make most, if not all, of her food. The challenge is finding containers to store them all in. I bought little baby food containers, but the batch of carrots made so much that only half of what I made fit in all the containers. I am keeping the Gerber containers that she finishes, and I still had no place to put the rest of the carrots. Mental note: don't make so much at once, and don't throw out the ice cube trays that come with the fridge next time (no matter how much I think that I will never use them since we have an ice maker).

She also was diagnosed with an ear infection at her last doctor's appt. So she started another round of antibiotics, and she seems to be feeling much better. She still tugs a little at her ear (she finished the medicine about a week ago), and I'll have them check her ear again at her next appt in 1.5 weeks.

Emi and I went to DC to visit Scott for President's Day weekend. I came down with some sort of stomach thing the day before our trip (I blame the Chick Fil A that I had that night), but was feeling well enough to travel. I didn't take a stroller, and checked the car seat in, so it was a very easy flight with nothing more than the baby in the Ergo carrier and the diaper bag to carry. She did great on the flights, and even ate dinner on the plane (sweet potatoes) on the way home. It was a short but great trip, and of course it was wonderful spending time with Scott. We got to visit with family and friends, too.

Six months has really flown by with Emi, and I still can't believe that I am a mother and I seriously still feel like I am learning about Emi and how to take care of her every day. I guess that feeling will never go away, huh? As soon as I get use to something and we get into a good routine, she starts to do something new and we have to adjust again. Oh well, I take it one day at a time, and I love every minute of it (most of the time :-P )

Firsts (cont.)

At Emi's 5 month check up, she weighed in at 14 lbs, and 26 1/4 inches. The doctor said she is definitely teething, and that she's ready to be started on rice cereal. Wow, my baby is growing up!

Firsts

Emi went through many firsts, in the span of just 2 weeks.

First cold
First sinus infection
First antibiotics
First plane ride
First trip to DC
First Christmas
First New Years

Minus the sickness, we had a very nice xmas. The trip to DC was actually easier than I thought it would be. Flying with Emi wasn't bad (she was only a little fussy on the last 2 hours of the flight home). The biggest hassle was all the stuff that we traveled with. Next time, I plan to check the car seat in as luggage, and not bring the stroller. I'll just bring the Moby wrap, or borrow or buy an Ergo Baby, which I hear is the best baby carrier around.

Scott's parents drove to DC to spend New Years with us. Scott spend all xmas day and half the following day in bed - but that's the price he paid for having his sick family in town for the holidays. Even through the sickness, I'm sure he thinks it was a small price to pay for having us with him (at least I hope that's what he thinks!). Seeing him over the holidays made me miss him even more once we got home.
I've already booked my flight to be in DC for President's Day weekend.

Hopefully 2010 is a great year, and I have a feeling it's going to fly by.

Those darn kids!!!!

I hate the kids in my neighborhood, and I completely blame them for the fender bender that I got into yesterday. There are a lot of elementary-plus age kids in our neighborhood, and they like to run around in the middle of streets, taunt cars, leave bikes lying in the middle of the street, and go zooming into the street without looking for cars. I secretly hope that someone runs over one of their bikes one day, just to teach them a lesson. And the worst part, is that the parents are no where in sight. If one of them ever got hit by a car, I bet the parents would never know unless someone knocked on their door to tell them. Irresponsible!

Yesterday, I was on my way to pick Emi up from daycare, and the kids seemed to be hovering around the area by our houses. It's strange, I didn't recognize any of them, and the girl from across the street was not out with them. What are they doing in front of my house! They were zipping back and forth on their bikes and scooters in the middle of the street. I then saw a black SUV come down the street, and turn the corner by the dead end. I put the car in reverse, look both ways, find the stupid kids (who are on the sidewalk directly across the street) and back up slowly. Then BUMP. I hear one of the damn kids squeal. OMG - I hit a kid! I am freaking out! I look behind me, and I backed right into my neighbor across the street, who was also backing out in that black SUV (our butts hit). First - I guess we were both in each other's blind spots. Second - what's he doing in this black SUV?

This is a neighbor that I have never talked to, but he was so nice. We exchanged info (he told me it's his daughter's car that he's watching over the holidays), and we agreed that we hate the kids. We were both watching for the stupid kids, and not looking at the driveways. What a way to meet your neighbor, huh?

So, normally I drive about .5 miles a day (to daycare, and back from daycare). And go figure, I get into an accident. They do say that accidents happen close to home - who knew it would be in my driveway? And why is it that every time Scott leaves home, I get into an accident (this makes 4!). I really am a good driver, I swear! I think this is the world's way of telling us that Scott and I should never be apart, what do you think?

To single moms out there, I salute you...

And I thought being a mom was hard. I have a new respect for single moms.

When Emi was born, I related to and respected all moms out there. Being a mom is tiring, and it is hard work. Stay at home moms definitely have a "job". But I grew to like being a stay at home mom. I remember when Scott went to Iraq, many people said "well, at least you don't have kids so it won't be too bad". I actually think it was harder when he was in Iraq. I was depressed and lonely. But Scott's absense isn't as bad this go round (granted, I am not worried for his safetly and his well being). I have a reason for getting up in the morning, a daily distraction, and I have company (not that Bear wasn't a great best friend for 8 months). But, like I said before, being a mom is hard work. Every day is unpredictable (becuase Emi doesn't have a routine yet). I don't know if she'll sleep through the night, what time she'll get up in the morning, if it will be a good day or a fussy day, if she will take any naps, nor what time she will go to bed. But the giggles, the smiles, and the fun that we have together is worth it.

Now, I have found that being a single mom must be 1000 times harder than just being a mom. I consider myself a 70% single mom right now. I at least have the luxury of being able to talk to Scott daily, to vent to him if I need to, and the comfort of knowing that this is temporary and he will be home in 4 months.

I am not enjoying being back to work. It has been a busier week than normal (covering for people who are out, new high maintenance and demanding clients, year end rush), but regardless, I dream of going back to being a stay at home mom. At least I can dream about this, and if we really wanted to sacrifice a little and make that a reality, it's an option (well, maybe). Single moms have no choice but to work in order to support their family. I imagine life is a constant juggling act, with many sacrifices and compromises. Single moms need strength, endurance, and motivation. I think single moms are amazing.

Emi's first week at daycare was hard, and probably harder on me than on her. The mornings start very early. And now that she is sleeping through the night most of the time, I hate waking her up in the morning (especially on those night that she does not sleep through the night). Every book says that sleep is so important for a baby's development, I feel like I am short changing her on development time. But we will eventually get our mornings into a routine, and things will be better.

Dropping her off wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be (I fully expected to cry). But I was concentrating so much on not getting emotional, that I completely forgot to say goodbye to her (bad mommy, bad mommy). I got back into the car, looked in the rear view mirror and saw her car seat without her in it, and got a little teary. I was so anxious and concerned about how she was doing, that I went to pick her up early. As soon as I walked through the door, I could hear crying and could tell that it was her. When I walked in the room, there she was; wrapped up in a blanket in the arms of Miss Garry in the rocking chair. When I picked her up she calmed down, and the first question Miss Garry asked was "how do you get her to take a nap?" I knew this was going to a problem. I also remember thinking that she smelled different that day - strange, I know, but it kind of got to me. We chatted a little about what she likes, and I took her home. I had to do some more work, and fortunately Emi took a nap when we got home, probably exhausted from her day of crying. The evening consisted of my trying to bond and make up for the lost hours in the day with Emi, washing and preparing bottles, clothes, and mentally getting ready for tomorrow.

The next day, she was not crying when I picked her up, but she looked puffy like she had cried a lot. We got home and she took a nap. Daycare was not getting any easier yet.

Each day for the rest of the week seemed a little better. By the end of the week she was staying a full day (no more lunch time pick ups), and they said that she wasn't crying as much and that she was starting smile and giggle during the day. I think Emi got used to it a lot quicker than I did. I still hate waking her up in the morning, and hate being away from her for such a long time.

Everyone says this will get easier - but for now it's sad, it's tiring, and single moms amaze me.

Back to work, Happy Thanksgiving!

This title says it all. It was a busy week - back to work, Scott's trip home for Thanksgiving, and Theresa's visit.

I started back at work, and I fully realize that you cannot get anything done with a child at home. I managed those three days with the help of the mute button on the phone, rising before the baby wakes up (gotta love those 6am meeting with the hope that the baby will sleep until 7am), and trying to get as much done during nap time as possible. Bouncing a baby on your knee makes for a lot of typos when trying to create documentation and send emails...

Scott came home on Thursday, and it was great seeing him. Emi and I went to the airport to pick him up, and she was completely asleep when we got there. I took her out of the car seat to meet him as he walked over to the parking area, and I handed her over to him as soon as we saw him. Unfortunately, (I blame it on the sleepiness) Emi took one look at Scott and started to cry. It was not the reunion we had planned for - but Scott and Emi were back to their old playful antics after an hour or two. Since it was Thanksgiving afternoon, and just the three of us, we decided to have Thanksgiving at Tip Top Meats. You can't beat the huge meal that we got for $8.99 a person. We need to go back and try some of their other platters, they all sounded so good. We then headed home for some quality family time.

The next day, Theresa and the family came to visit. It was good seeing them. The kids were so big, and it seemed like it was a very long time since I've seen them all. Scott's trip was way too short - he flew back on Saturday afternoon. Theresa stayed one more night, and headed back to Texas on Sunday. Then, another night of dread - getting Emi ready for the first day of daycare.

The night consisted of getting bottles ready, setting aside a package of diapers and wipes to take, laying out her clothes for tomorrow morning (there will be no decision making at 5:45am), and putting a bag of 3 extra outfits to keep at daycare together (went the easy route with sleep and plays). A quiet and sad ending to a busy week.