OBX!

We were lucky enough to visit the OBX for a few days last week. It was glorious, even though we were all sick :( I miss the area sooo bad (I spent a semester in Manteo my senior year)

This was Emily's first beach experience. She was not scared to go close to the ocean, but as soon as the water washed over her feet, she hated it! She did however, enjoy the sand (she even ate it, ugh!) and finding shells. She was able to see crabs, porpoises (there was a whole pod right past where the waves were breaking!) , pelicans (she really liked watching those fly over) and of course a few dogs that people had brought down to the beach.

We took a trip to the aquarium too, and she enjoyed looking at the fish and reptiles. She also got to see some otters playing and brought home her own stuffed otter!

Winding Down

This blog has mostly run its course for me. I probably won't be updating it very often, as you may have noticed already. I'll save it for big stuff, like pics from trips and videos that I think are too adorable not to share.
I don't have anything to offer today though, sorry!

"It's been a while.."

Not a whole lot happening other than the normal cuteness.
E was sick pretty much the entire week last week- She came home from DC Monday afternoon with a fever and it didn't go away for good until Thursday night. There's a weeks worth of tuition down the drain. Not to mention I selfishly am bummed that I didn't get any Mother's Day present since she wasn't at DC to make anything :(

The fever was actually kind of scary because it had gotten up to 104 on Tuesday night. One bit higher and we would have had to head to the ER. But luckily she woke up and I was able to get ibuprofen in her, which seemed to start bringing it down pretty quickly.

Other than that she has enjoyed playing outside and accumulating a TON of scratches and scrapes on her sweet hands and legs. She insists on walking on the rough sidewalk rather than the soft grass and therefore falls and skins herself all up! She hasn't cried about it at all, but it is really bothering me to see the blood and marring of my baby's soft skin!

Also, we are back to crying it out at night. Wonderful...as if it wasn't hard enough the first time. She did much better last night, only taking about 5 minutes of crying. But that was night 4 or something... I am losing count in this seemingly never-ending battle. Even when this works itself out again, I am resigned to the likelihood that I will not be getting an uninterrupted night's sleep for, oh, another few years. She just will NOT stay asleep during the night and wakes 1 to 3 times.

Sorry there aren't any pictures, but I honestly don't think I have taken any in about 2 weeks. Bad, I know.

The wobbles and other cute stuff

Here is a quick little video of Miss E's walking skills. She is still pretty wobbly and it's just adorable.




Next up is a picture showing one of Emily's favorite things to do. Whenever she finds a bag with handles or a purse, she loves to put it on her arm and walk around. She gets excited and yells all the while- a lot of times she even walks to the door like she is ready to go out shopping or something. I think she is going to be a purse lover just like her mommy! This is Aunt Lydia's purse and I think it is just a little bit too big for her, don't you? I was surprised that she didn't try to get into it at all, she was just interested in carrying it around. (Please don't judge the flooring too much, this is the same stuff that my parents have had since the 70's and I know my mom would LOVE to get rid of it if she could! haha)


And lastly, I would like to submit this video as evidence that a little girl with lots of hair is not always fun (for her mommy at least, she seems to be enjoying it)

Baby Steals

I am not sure if everyone has heard of this website, but Baby Steals is like a treasure trove! Every weekday they have a different "steal". It is some baby related item that is usually at least 50% or more off the regular price.
I have only gotten one of the steals, but have been so tempted on others and have missed out on a lot too. They only have a certain number of the item available, and sometimes they sell out in minutes!
Every day at 11 am you have to race thousands of other mommies to see what the day's steal is and if it's a good one, hopefully you will be one of the lucky few who gets to purchase it!
I'm waiting for a cute style of robeeze to come back around, but you have to be super fast for those! "See" you at babysteals tomorrow!

The Zoo

Saturday, Emily and I met Grandpa at the Zoo. We got there right after it opened, and I definitely recommend getting there at this time, as it is so much less crowded and you can get better views of the animals. Not to mention it hasn't got as hot yet in the morning!

Other than the ride up, during which E absolutely screamed for the last 40 minutes (and probably would have continued indefinitely since she only stopped when we got parked) the day was great and Emily really got a lot out of the experience. She might not necessarily remember that she went to the zoo, but she had a good time in the moment!

We decided to only do one "side" of the zoo, which is broken into 2 areas- Africa and North America. The animals that we saw included zebras, giraffes, ostriches, elephants, red river hog, lions, chimps, gorillas, baboons, some type of monkey, flamingos and a scarlet ibis. Now there were a few other animals that were out, but they were either too far away for E to notice (the hippos and antelope) or just not really interesting enough to catch her attention (poison frogs and some other reptiles)

Her reactions to seeing each and every animal was pretty much the same- sometimes it would take her a while to realize that there was an animal we were pointing to, but as soon as she did, she just started squealing! She would also kick her legs (if she was being held) or pull herself up in the stroller.


She even waved at most of them :)


Here is the video I took of the gorillas, you can hear her squealing in the background. That was pretty toned down, because it was a minute or two after she had spotted them for the first time.






If you want to see pics of the actual animals and more of Emily, all the photos taken are on her photo website
www.swansonbaby.shutterfly.com
but here is a nice one to leave you with!


We also got a year-long family membership so we can see the rest of the animals and Daddy can come too!

Big News

We officially have a walker, and stay tuned for a review and pictures from our trip to the zoo!

Better watch what you say!

It might not be long before we have to start spelling things to each other that E shouldn't hear!

Last night she was playing in the kitchen and got a plastic bottle with Spike's treats in it. She was having a good time shaking it like a little maraca. Then I said "That's the kitty's food" and a minute later she had crawled over to his dish and was trying to shake some treats out of the top into it!
I swear she has never seen us feed him out of that container- poor bugger doesn't really get treats very often, haha.

I know she understands common things we say to her, like "do you want to read a book", "do you want to walk" and of course "where's the kitty!?", but I guess it was a little surprising to see her comprehend and act on something like that.

In other news... E has been wanting to play outside in the evenings after we get home from daycare. This playing generally entails me holding her hands while she walks all over the place and picks up sticks or investigates flowers and those oak pollen things.
Of course there is also playing with the dandelions!

Photos are already up

I was presently surprised to get find an email from Christy this morning saying that the pictures were ready to be viewed!
There are some cute ones, but as evidenced by one of the "action" shots, E was actually not in one of her best moods the morning of her photo shoot, so there aren't as many and variety as I was envisioning. Oh well, I am sure that I will spend more than enough money on just what is there!

So without further ado, here is how you can check out Christy's work:
www.christyjohnson.com , click on clients and enter the password, emily0409.
The gallery will be up for 2 weeks and for any family that wishes to purchase pictures, you are free to interact directly with Christy (email is on her site) and remember that she is offering us 50% off her print prices!
I hope you enjoy- let me know which ones you like best!

She's still a big girl!

E had her one year pediatrician visit on Thursday. She got all the recommended vaccinations and so far no adverse effects from that, although the Dr said that about 10% get a rash and fever approximately 10 days after the shot- so we still have that to look forward to...

The doctor said she looked great (other than a slight ear infection which she is taking antibiotics for) and we started giving her milk the day after the appointment. Right now it is half formula/half milk in her bottles, and she has taken straight milk out of her sippy just fine. I am not concerned at all about the transition to all milk- it's the dropping of bottles that I'm kind of wary of.

The doctor said- Oh it's simple- you just take all the bottles away and use sippy cups! ha! I tried dropping one yesterday by pushing her second bottle to about 2:00 (when she would normally be getting up from a nap at daycare) but 12:30 and 1:00 rolled around and she was NOT having it. A major fit ensued. I thought it was probably the bottle that had her so upset, but I was worried she wasn't feeling well or something, so I went ahead and made the bottle early. That did the trick though.

I guess technically I was a success yesterday, because she did only have 3 bottles rather than her usual 4, but I am worried that her being that needy of a bottle will disrupt nap time at daycare. Plus it is forshadowing a problem with getting completely get rid of them- yikes.

I got the idea last night- stupid or brilliant, we will see- to replace the nipple on the bottle with a sippy cup lid (yes, they are interchangeable b/c we have avent brand for both) to see if that will be enough to gradually get her tired of the bottle. Wish us luck!

Oh, and I almost forgot to update her stats (the whole reason for the post title!)
25 lbs 5 oz
30.5 in
don't remember the head circumference but it is about 89% while height and weight are about 92%.

Just a little sneak peek

We met Christy for a photo session again this weekend and she has put up a couple of pictures on her blog. Now I just have to wait another two weeks for the rest!
Enjoy! http://christyjohnson.com/blog/?p=226

Happy Birthday Emily!

One year... so cliche but so true, it really does fly by. After the LONGEST day in history on the day she was born, this year has been so short.

Her party was on the 4th (Saturday) and despite some issues, she seemed to have a blast!

So many different people to walk her around the house. TWO fingers is a must, she gets mad when you only offer her one...

She got great presents!



And had an awesome cake (If I do say so myself :-p )

Happy Birthday to our sweet n' sassy little girl!

Yakkety Yak!

E is in love with talking on the phone already. Her daddy and I just can't wait for the time to come when she spends her whole evening on the phone with girlfriends after spending all day with them at school... hmmm how do I know this?

At this age though, anything can be a phone. Your hand, a plastic bottle, even a graham cracker!

Baby talk

How do you really know when a baby says their first word? They are saying dada and mama from so early on. Sure, sometimes they babble it, but other times you swear it is in reference to mommy or daddy. So I don't think I really want to count either of those as first words.
Also, there is the issue with not understanding what in the world a baby is saying even when they do start to talk. Maybe they have been "talking" for a long time, only you are too dumb to understand what they are saying! It just all so subjective, and it kind of stresses me out that I am expected to put a little "first word" sticker on a calendar to mark the momentous event.

Here is what prompted this post:
Last night, E and I were sitting on the floor. She went over to her hippo and started taking balls out of its mouth. Then she would hand them to me, one by one, saying "datzzzzz" each time. Now, she is obviously saying something because it was very deliberate. If she thinks she is saying an intelligible word, does that count? I am thinking she probably means "got" or "that", but she could be saying zebra or monkey for all I know!

Megan Grace

Megan Grace is a sweet little babe that hasn't even been born, yet she is already in the hearts of so many. Her mommy is an acquaintance on a local message board where we all share our ups and downs and questions and concerns. Well, Megan and her family are facing a really hard and heartbreaking battle.

At their 20 week anatomy ultrasound, Megan's parents, Amber and Steve, were given some distressing news. They found out that their baby likely had some form of dwarfism and made another appointment with a specialist the next morning to see what Megan and her parents would be facing. The diagnosis at this appointment was severe skeletal dysplasia, which means that little Megan may not be able to survive outside of her mommy more than a few moments.

I can only imagine how this news must have hit Amber and Steve, but they are remaining strong and going to give little Megan the chance to receive one of God's miracles. Amber is going to carry Megan to term and at the very least they will get to meet and hold her, and with God's Grace, who knows what may happen beyond that.

Please keep this family in your prayers and if you have a moment, check out the Blog set up for little Megan. There are going to be updates on her condition as well as ways that we can help her family.

She is just so dang cute!

Every day E just gets more and more...amazing... and we have found ourselves saying she is so- cute, smart, adorable- about a hundred times a day lately. It is so fun to just sit around when she has gone to bed, or while we are on the phone during lunch breaks, and tell stories back and forth about her. Just marvelling at what a sweet (and sassy) little girl she is becoming is one of my favorite parts of the day!
We love to find out what new thing she is doing each day and seeing her advance skills she already has. What a wonderful time in our lives!

Not the newbie anymore

Emily's little friend Lily has joined her in the Toddler I room. I don't feel so bad that E got forced up now that another baby has been too! She is probably right around 6 weeks younger than E, since they started daycare about the same time, but E was 12 weeks at the time rather than 6.
I hope she is adjusting OK- but at least now there are 2 babies that are crawling and cruising but not yet walking.
Which reminds me. E has been standing and balancing for a few seconds at a time recently. Her teacher says she has been doing it a lot when she is over checking out the book case. I think the key is to get her interested in a toy or book so she doesn't realize she isn't holding on to anything!
It would be really neat if she was walking by her birthday, but she has to get moving if that's going to happen :p

This time change thing might not be so bad...

I don't want to jinx it, but it looks like we may have lucked out with the time change. I was really worried Sunday when I was fighting just to keep Emily up until 6. Recently she has been sleeping 6:30pm to 5:30-or earlier, but she went down at 6 and slept 'til after 7 am. It was restless sleep, but at least she didn't get up even earlier than usual.
I thought we would try our luck last night and put her to sleep at 7. She got pretty fussy towards the end of our routine (bath, bottle, snuggle) but she went down easily and woke up around 6 am and drifted in and out of sleep for about an hour until I went in and got her at 7am.
I hope we can keep her bedtime pushed back so that I will get more time with her in the evenings and we can get in the routine of feeding her supper before bed! But like I said, this is only 1 1/2 days in the making, so she may just be adjusting to the new time and will go back to her old ways.

Oh the joys of wandering clueless down the path of parenthood!!

Is it spring yet?!

It sure feels like it! It's been so beautiful the last few days, and it would be a shame to get cold again. But NC weather is so schizo, that it might been snowing again in a week!

E and I took advantage and went out to the park where we met Callie and Mr Nate for some play and exercise!

E really enjoyed the swings :)

The old switcheroo

This weekend E faked us out. She went left while were looking right and totally snuck in an extra tooth! We have been waiting and waiting for her final front tooth to come in, and we thought we were already there on Saturday, but it turns out we couldn't feel it yet, just see the white outline. Then on Sunday night while getting nekkid for her bath, Michael calls me in and tells me I have to see something. Her top right incisor was poking out very clearly! We were so obsessed with her left front that the teeny tiny tooth totally fooled us. I am happy to report however, that her front tooth was through this morning and now the other kids in her class only have twice as many teeth as her, rather than three times as many!

Celery, how I love thee

When Michael and I went to E's valentine's "party" last Friday, she showed us one of her favorite toys. A plastic celery stalk. Daycare has a play kitchen and a bunch of plastic food, and she chooses the celery, surely she is not my daughter.
When we commented on how much she seemed to favor the celery, her teacher said that she is always playing with it! And sure enough, as soon as I sat her down this morning, she stuck her little hand in the food bin and out it came! So cute :)

Fun stuff

Sick House

We had a good run there for over 3 weeks, nobody was sick, and it was great! (Except that E was teething some during this time)

However, since the beginning of February, E has had a variety of cold symptoms, with a low grade fever since this weekend. I am thinking her right top tooth may be the culprit there, although there is a bunch of illness going around in her classroom apparently. I have had a horrible stomach bug (unluckily for me it didn't only last 24 hours) and cold symptoms. Michael was complaining of a sore throat this morning... Even spike our kitty had to go to the vet! He has been on antibiotics for the last 1.5 weeks for a urinary tract infection.
I am feeling better, and hopefully all the other members of my family soon!

Since I haven't posted in so long, I think I will just put up some pictures and video and be done with it :)

This post is brought to you by the letter "E"

Susan tagged me back with another game. She chose the letter "E" for me, and I have to come up with 10 things starting with that letter that have to do with me!

1. Emily: obviously that's going to be #1 one, my sweet (not so)little babe :)
2. Elizabeth: my first name and E's middle name
3. Edy's ice cream: specifically Edy's Girl Scout Samoa cookie ice cream, my favorite ice cream
4. Environmental Science: my major in college
5. Environment and Natural Resources: the department I work for
6. Eighty-one: year I was born
7. Earrings: I have 2 holes in each ear, but only ever wear earrings in one of them. And I had my cartilage pierced for a few years before I let it grow closed. Miss E won't be getting any holes until she is at least 8 and asks for it done.
8. Edward: this is my brother's middle name and my grandfather's first name, but that is not why it's on the list. Any of you Twilight readers will know what I am talking about, mmmm.
9. Every flavor beans: I am trying my hardest to come up with something related to Harry Potter because I love it so...But I am coming up blank besides Berti Bott's Every Flavor Beans- which I think sounds like one of the most gross candy I could think of!
10. Ehh.. I can't think of any more

I will only tag one person because I am lazy- so Miche, when you get some time, your letter is "B"!

FINALLY!

Whew! I swear E has been teething her top 2 teeth since Christmas. Her top right finally popped through a little bit yesterday. Hopefully the left will be only a few days behind and we can get a little teething break for a while! And I can stop giving her ibuprofen every night to go to sleep...

Updates

First off: The sleeping situation...
I don't think I mentioned earlier, but we started sleep training using the Sleepeasy Solution almost 3 WEEKS ago. I think that E has the stubbornness of Michael and I COMBINED! Good grief it is taking forever. A little bit of the problem is that she is soooo close to having her top two teeth come in, that there are some nights where she is probably a little uncomfortable from that. But all in all, I think we just waited too long and she is becoming more stubborn by the minute :-p
Last night was a good night. I don't think she will ever completely stop crying when I put her down, but this time it was only for about 2 to 3 minutes and she stayed laying down rather than pulling up in the crib and stading there just wailing. Oh and she didn't wake up and bawl for 45 min during the middle of the night either- nice! I'm not ready to claim victory yet though, b/c 3 nights ago was a good night too, followed by a horrible night after that.

On to the next news

E moved to her new class in daycare last Friday. Other than the first day they say she has gotten in almost a 2 hour nap each day. And boy oh boy is she getting all kinds of new things to eat! Up until last week the only solids she was eating were rice and oatmeal cereals and pureed jar foods. Now she is eating all kinds of fruits and veggies, cinnamon toast, waffles, banana bread, the list goes on and on! And the peas and peaches that she spurned from the jar? Apparently she LOVES them in "real" form! I had a feeling this would be the case.

She still seems a little awed in the mornings when we go in there, because the activity level is just racheted up way beyond what there was in her infant room. They say that she is happy all day (except when she gets tired) and is having a blast. My only concern is that all this extra stimuli is just a little too sudden and too much and she will just crash soon. Hopefully not though, b/c I really want this to work out for her!

ME ME ME!

I was tagged by Miche over at Coordinated Chaos, so I guess that means you will have to learn a little about ME!

I am: a full-time working mom and wife

I know: I USED to know the periodic table.

I won: a HUGE bunny (like 6 ft tall) in a drawing when I was in elementary school- that is seriously like the only thing I have ever won. Guess I am not very talented or lucky!

I want: Emily to be able to fall asleep on her own, without having to cry for an hour first

I have: 1 sweet and sassy little girl (almost a year old!), a husband and a crazy cat

I hate: (I'll steal Miche's answer and say...) people who litter. It bugs the crap out of me!

I miss: My Manteo friends

I feel: ok. I usually either feel ok or bad!

I hear: the air handler blowing

I smell: Nothing right now, it doesn't help that my sinuses are still messed up!

I crave: another cookie like the one I just ate!

I search: for good deals on CDs

I love: my family and friends

I care: about my appearance, even though you probably couldn't tell b/c I look like crap most of the time!

I always: spell restaurant wrong! (well a lot of the time anyway, I got it right this time)

I believe: in God

I sing: very off key and off tune (is that the right term?)

I write: very messily. I have very embarrassing handwriting

I lose: my grocery lists pretty much every other week.

I never: eat seafood.

I listen: to mix and oldies stations. Apparently I have already turned middle-aged...

I am scared of: something happening to Emily or to me and therefore leaving her

I need: to be less stressed out and anxious!

I am happy: when E is happy

I guess it is my turn to tag: you're it Nate's Mama and Susan!

Tiptoeing into the world of cloth diapers

I have been contemplating this off and on for a while, but with the ability to only do it part time (can't CD at daycare), I didn't know if it would be worth it. After all, a big part of CDing is the cost savings aspect- as long as you can control your urges to buy every little cute cover, bag, etc out there and just stick to the basics!

Would using cloth be worth it only overnight and on the weekend? Well, I don't know. But I have finally decided to give it a shot anyway, and will be getting a variety of goodies in the mail over the next week or so.

I decided to get several different types including prefolds (which are the most cost effective), all in ones, one size pockets, and a couple of one size fitteds. Throw in a couple of waterproof covers, some doublers for extra absorbancy, and a few other little accessories, and I really hope we are all set for quite a while!

The good thing about only doing it part-time is that the amount of laundry is greatly reduced. I know people say that diaper laundry is not as bad because there isn't a lot of sorting or folding involved, but I will still be greatful not to add another load every other day to the rotation.

Another great thing about CDing is that (as gross as it may sound) there is definitely a large market for used cloth diapers, so if this doesn't work out for us, or even if it does and they are still in good condition, there is a very real possibility that some of this money will be coming back. You definitely can't say that for disposables!

Wish us luck!

Snow day!!!

Tuesday was the first real snow that E has gotten to experience here in NC. We didn't take her out in the snow in NY while we were there for Christmas.
I would say the word that best describes her feelings about the whole situation is "underwhelmed". Why did she have to "put on this ridiculous ting" (My Cousin Vinny reference there) and go outside to look at wet white stuff? She didn't see the point.

But HERE is the point! PHOTO OPS!

On the move

Despite my protest, Emily will be moving into the Toddler One class at her daycare. Apparently there was some big baby boom in Garner and they need room for more infants. Great for those parents who get a spot, but what about us? E shouldn't be moving up for another 3 months.

The main concern here is her naps. Until a year or later she should technically be getting at least 2 naps a day (only staying awake for 2.5 to 3 hours at a time). On the weekends she is definitely ready for a nap after that amount of time. Unfortunately, the madhouse that is the infant room isn't very conducive to her nap schedule, and when she moves to the older room, they have a daily nap that usually begins around 11:30.

I have been assured that they will work on her naps and she will do so much better in the toddler room, because it is so much more calm and quiet and that she will take awesome naps, etc etc. I know how crazy the infant room can get, so I definitely believe that the atmosphere will be more favorable. So now I just have to trust that they know what they are talking about from many years experience and thousands of kids; rather than just covering their asses b/c they promised so and so a spot in the infant room.

I'll choose to be optimistic for now. Fingers crossed for an easy transition next week!

Our Little Reader

Obviously, Emily can't read... But it warms my heart that books have come to be one of her go-to "toys", rather than just something to chew on. She loves to sit and turn the pages, working her little fingers so skillfully now, and sometimes stopping to scratch at a picture to see if she can get it off the page. And I love when she picks a book up and rolls over onto her back to start "reading" it. She looks so content and I can only hope she continues to love books throughout her whole life!

9 month appointment

E had her 9 month doctor visit on Friday. She is still a big girl, with an average size noggin :-p

She is up to 29 inches and 22 pounds 2 ounces! If her legs catch up with the length of her torso she will be wayyy long! Or maybe she will be a female Michael Phelps with weird proportions especially good for swimming...

I can't believe she has already been here for 9 months! When I was pregnant it seemed like that was such a long time, but now she has been in the world for longer than she was baking- crazy. And it also means that I have less than 3 months to get a birthday party figured out. I am an obsessive planner, so that probably is just the right amount of time :) Hopefully April isn't too early for a party in the park!

The talents of others

I just wanted to show off the precious growth chart that I had made by Pami (www.bypami.blogspot.com). She used the quilt that came with our nursery bedding so the chart is the perfect addition to the theme of the room.

Crawling... for real this time!

I really thought E was going to skip this. It's been almost 2 months since she started getting on her knees and rocking. And since then, she has kept on getting better at the "army" crawling and is now standing herself up and has cruised the furniture a little.

So I was a little surprised to see her actually doing some REAL crawling on Saturday!

Sweet Scene

I came upon this while we were in NY over the holidays. My mom and I had gone out to run errands and left E with her daddy. I wanted a picture, but was afraid the flash would wake them up. But of course the phone rang about 2 minutes later so they woke up anyway!
Oh, and E was ecstatic that my grandparents had a kitty that let her pet it!