Fun with Food

So tonight I let Penelope play with her dinner... she hasn't been interested in putting things in her mouth and I wanted to let her experiment a little with things I know she likes. It didn't really work as planned - she didn't put anything into her mouth. But she did make a mess.

Penny cried when Daddy left for work

This was the first morning that Penny cried when Bryan left for work.

So sweet... and a tad annoying :)

Edited: Cried is probably the wrong word, more like voiced her displeasure at a decibel that can be heard from space. "MAH!!! (pause) BAAAHHHHH! MAHH! (pause) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

Pool Party

This actually happened yesterday...









I think it's safe to say that Penelope likes the pool :)

Sad news

Pablo passed away today. He will be missed, even by those that never met him... I will never forget you little P!

Eating, Sleeping, and TV Confessions

A couple of days ago we upped the amount of solid foods that Penelope gets. We're now doing breakfast, lunch, and dinner with bottle "snacks" in between. So in total she eats 6 tbsp of oatmeal, 2 jars of veggies, and 1-2 jars of fruit. She seems to really like the new feeding schedule. I sometimes worry that she's not getting enough because she's not growing as fast, but that's just FTM (first time mom) paranoia, she's full, happy, and having enough wet & dry diapers. Her growth slow-down probably has to do with the fact that if she didn't slow down then she'd be 6 feet tall by the time she was 5.

As for sleeping, it's been pretty consistent... which is nice. She usually goes down by 8ish, is up at 3 or 4am for a bottle, and wakes up for the day around 7:30am. We occasionally get a night of 8pm-6:30am (like last night) and those are SUPER awesome.

And now for my TV confession... I really like the show "What I Like About You", Amanda Bynes is hilarious. I know it's meant for teens, but it's totally my guilty pleasure.

Pablo

I know I've mentioned this before, but one of my friends is a nanny for a very special little boy down in Los Angeles. Pablo has been battling cancer for over a year, but unfortunately the cancer is winning. I've followed his journey through the blog his parents have set up (http://getwellpablo.blogspot.com/)... Pablo's story and his spirit have touched my heart. I wish him and his family peace and joy in his last days.

Tomorrow I will be donating to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Pablo's honor. I know that times are tough for everyone, but I encourage everyone to do what they can, working together we can find a cure.

First Word

Well, not really. But I was posting on my baby board and I remembered something I wanted to post.

Penelope's favorite "word" (using quotation marks since it's not associated with any thing/person/event) is "woah". As in "Woah, Nellie!" It's actually pretty funny.

Some other favorites:
Da, Ba, Gr, Gah, RR

I also think she's trying to day "doggy" and "kitty" since she loves, loves, LOVES the dog. She loves Harley-Quinn as much as she loves Bryan and I... possibly more.

A whole mess of stuff

The word count webpage I use to keep track of my count on papers for school is down. This makes me very, very sad. My word processing software doesn't have word count, and I refuse to pay out for Microsoft. Hopefully it will be up again tomorrow. This means that I can take a break from writing and blog :)

There is a ton going on with us right now, but nothing super exciting - so I haven't really had much time to blog and even if I did I wouldn't have much to talk about!

School is going well, I have a 4.0 so far (three classes) and I'm hoping to continue the trend. So far nothing has been what I would call 'hard', just 'annoying' and 'slightly pointless'. Oh well, that's par for the course. The last time I was really challenged in school was my Senior Seminar class for my Bachelor's Degree. It wasn't really hard, but it required actual effort on my part. Of course, I was fascinated with the subject (hence my major) and so it was easy to make the effort to do well.

Bryan is still thinking about going back to school, but it's a little daunting. I know he'd do well, but we would all need to be better about time management. We'll see... I'm crossing my fingers it all works out.

As for Penelope, she's doing quite well. She tried to throw up in my mouth the other day - that was fun. My mom had her and I was sitting next to them on the couch. P and I were playing "Mommy's gonna getcha!" and she burped, then turned to me with her arms wide and her mouth open (this is how she gives kisses & hugs, it's really cute). Anyway, I leaned over to kiss her back and BAM! puke all over. Luckily I had my mouth closed or else she would have landed it right in my mouth. Ew. That's a story I look forward to telling when she starts dating :)

She gets closer to crawling ever day. I think it's still another week or so off, but it's coming sooner rather than later. Which is more than I can say for teeth - she's been working on the top teeth since she got the bottom ones in... almost 2 months ago! They're still nowhere to be found and she's still chewing on her fingers like mad.

She's not big into chewing on much else though. She likes to munch on her bib or her L'Elephant, but she doesn't really put toys in her mouth. She loves to play with them, but she's not a mouther...

Oh! Today I booked out flight and hotel - the Rodgers family is going to LA! We're planning on seeing fellow baby mamas Meg & Kristen (along with their December babies) and my cousin Wade, his wife Jennifer and the twins (Luke & Ava). I'm really excited! We're also going to catch a game while we're down there (of course). The Angels are playing the Yankees, so I'm going to root for the Angels. No Disneyland this trip, P is too small... what is admission nowadays? Your firstborn? No thanks, I kinda like her :)

What else? Bryan's new Sunday night softball team starts up this week. It's a for-fun team and there will be some other new dads on the team (as well as my Dad & my brother). It should be a lot of fun, I'm looking forward to going to games with P and rooting them on.

We also got a new rug for the livingroom to cover the tile for when P starts crawling (did I already mention this?). I heart it! It was pretty expensive, but it was 84% off the original price, so we totally scored. Gottshalks is going out of sale and the rug was originally almost $4,000. Sweet.

I wish I had some new pictures to post, but I've been lax about taking pics recently. I'll try and get better, but it's hard to remember when you're so busy!

We may take her to the pool this weekend, so I promise that if we do I'll get pics.

Ok, time to get a little more work done on my paper before B comes home from his softball game.

Happy First Father's Day Daddy!

Here's to the best Daddy and baby could ask for (and one kick-ass husband). We love you Bryan!

And now for a weekend update!

Friday Penelope spent the night at my parent's house so Bryan and I got to sleep in a little this morning. It was nice to get some extra sleep, but it just didn't feel right to wake up without Penny. Her morning smile makes my day, and we both really missed her. We're going to try and make overnights with my parents a monthly thing so Bryan and I can have date nights, clean the house, or just sleep in. Next month she'll be staying at my parents for the opening of the Harry Potter movie so we can see the midnight showing :D

This morning we went to Gottshalks and bought a new (and bigger) rug for the living room. It's prettier, larger, and much more plush - so it will be good for crawling, which Penelope will be doing any day now. She rocks back & forth on all fours when I put her on the floor. She really want to crawl! She also really loves to stand, but hasn't mastered solo standing yet. I don't think I'm ready for her to walk right now!

I'm sure there's a lot more I could talk about, but I should probably get to my homework and then go to bed since it's my night to wake up with P at 4am.

Working on it...

We're working on standing up:



This lasted for all of 5 seconds, but it was a super cute 5 seconds :)

We're also working on crawling:



And at some point I'll break out the video camera so y'all hear Penny "talk"

Oh! Here's a series of pictures I like to call "What a difference 4 months makes"
Penelope and Linden (who is 3.5 months older) in February:


Penelope and Linden (who are now 6 months and 9 months respectively):

Quick update

So we had Penelope's 6 month well baby check up today! No big surprise, she's over the 95% in height and weight. She's 29 inches (my guess was off by a half an inch) and 21 lbs 2 oz (my guess was off by 4 oz). So the average size of a 12 month old. Her growth has actually slowed, she only gained a half inch in the last month and a half, so I'm hoping this means we'll get some wear out of her 18 month sized clothing.

Everything else looked good. The Ped said her runny nose is leftover from the ear infection and should clear up in a couple of days. He also said he thinks she'll be walking by 10 months! So Bryan and I have about 4 more months of peace :)

She's still not rolling, but our Ped isn't worried. She's sitting unassisted (and has been for quite awhile), is standing with just a little assistance, and has got the crawling position down pat - some of these are 9 month markers (and others are 6 month) so he says that skipping rolling is just fine.

She's also been SUPER chatty lately. Adding in more consonants... "g" is currently her favorite, but she also makes the "b", "h" and occasionally "p" & "d" sounds as well. Still no "m" :( We're pretty sure "hi" will be her first word.

So that's pretty much all that's new in the Penelope front.

Taking advantage of a late nap

It's almost 6:30pm and Penelope is asleep... this means that she won't go to bed on time. Which means that we won't get as much sleep tonight. Oh well. I'll wake her up in 10 minutes or so and hope that means we stay on track for tonight.

Anyway, tomorrow is her 6 month appointment and I'm so excited. I know it's silly, but I love having her weighed and measured. I don't love the shots (and neither does she) but necessary evil, right?

My guess, 21.6 lbs and 29.5 inches.

Oh, and poor baby rolled off the changing table last night. Long story short, we've fixed the clip that holds her in so it won't happen again. She was more scared than hurt, and Daddy was probably more upset than she was - he had nightmares about it last night.

And what is up with this crazy weather lately? Chilly, windy, rainy? Is it October?

Playing catch up

I've been really bad about posting lately. Life has been super busy though, especially with a sick baby. There was some blood in her snot today, which I'm not too terribly worried about since that happens with both Bryan and I when we have colds - but we're keeping an eye on it.

Last night she started off in her crib and then I brought her into bed with us at 2am - she wasn't falling back asleep in her crib after the 2am feeding and I was exhausted. So she played with our faces and fell asleep right next to me - which would have been sweet except she's a freaking bed hog and I almost fell off the bed. What we are concerned about is her breathing... it sounds like the congestion is in her upper respiratory area (as opposed to just her sinuses). We have an appointment on Tuesday.

Funny story, this morning I was changing P's diaper and I asked "Is that carrots?" Bryan almost gagged - grossing him out is easy AND fun!

Today my mom and I are going to a Zumba class and Bryan, my Dad, and my brother are going to the batting cages. This summer they're playing on a for-fun softball team called "Baby Daddies" (the name was my idea, it's silly but I love it). Which reminds me, Kim if you're reading this then Matt & Bryan need to exchange phone numbers so B can let him know about practice and glove shopping :)

Penelope has just decided that my Foundations of Education text book sucks, and ripped out a page. I can't disagree with her, but I still need it to do classwork. This is what I get for letting her sit on my lap while I type. She's pretty fascinated with the computer though!

Ok, have to get ready for the day.

Oh, and Penny hates fruit. She'll eat her veggies, but gags on all fruit.

tHERsday

Does anyone else remember when The Daily Show had tHERSdays? It was for the ladies ;)

Anyway, not much change on the Penelope sickness front. Although we've set up the humidifier in her room and I hope that will help her sleep in her own room tonight. But if she needs to come sleep with us in the middle of the night then that's ok too.

Oh, real quick - shoutout to my Aunt Jody who have baby #4 yesterday! Chloe Strong Rorie was born at home and Mom & baby are doing well. She was in the 6lb range and 19 inches long. We can't wait to meet our newest cousin!!!

So I'm in the middle of yet another ridiculous assignment for Grad School. Although I admit that I would probably find MOST assignments ridiculous. This is a timeline... really? A timeline in Grad School? Insert eye roll here.

You know, I had a lot I wanted to talk about, but it all completely escapes me. When Penny won't nap tomorrow I bet I'll remember everything I wanted to blog about.

Sick.. sleep.. summer

Penelope is sick... and not just the ear infection (which I'm 99% sure is gone). Her nose is running, she's sneezing a ton, watery eyes, and she's congested. I'm thinking it's a cold and there's really nothing we can do :( I've administered some saliene nose drops (which she HATES) in the hopes that it helps either the runny nose or the congestion, and we're suctioning her nose as well. That plus the antibiotics means she now hates us. Luckily we get to stop the antibiotics after Friday.

This has messed up her sleep. We were hit with some crappy sleep during the crux of the ear infection, and now she won't sleep in her crib at night. She'll sleep just fine in bed with B and I though... but hey, she's not feeling well and at least everyone is sleeping, right? Well, mostly everyone. Miss Bed Hog leaves little room for B and I to sleep. Oh well.

This summer has begun with a whimper, thank goodness. I'm not a fan of the summer heat and am quite glad that it's been delayed.

I should post more, but Cranky McSickypants needs to go to bed...

6 months!

So this post is a little late seeing as Penny turned six months on Friday. But life is busy with a 6 month old.

Anyway, that day we took her to Sears for some portraits with my mom & grandma. Here are a few of them:

This is my personal favorite of P & I:


Four Generations:


Miss Penelope:


Cutest fricking baby on the planet:


SO almost ready to crawl!


More of an update later - although for those who are curious, her ears are doing much better. She's sleeping a bit better and her appetite is mostly back to normal. We go in for a follow-up appointment next week!

Feeling better

So even though Penelope woke up 5 times last night, it was a pretty good night (for her, not for Mommy & Daddy's sleep). She went right back down after either being fed, changed, or getting ear drops. At 5am I brought her into bed with us and she slept until almost 10! Her fever is gone and she's smiling and happy... still not eating all that well, but I can imagine it's not fun to eat when your ears hurt. The drops seem to be managing the pain pretty well tho.

Oh, and she weighed in at 21 lbs yesterday - did I already mention that? She's about 29.5 inches long, so the Jolly Green Giant continues to grow :)

We missed Brandon's 8th grade graduation this morning, and mom's group, but I'm just glad she's feeling better. I promise Brandon that I won't miss his high school graduation!

So hopefully today will be a good day. I'm optimistic.

Double Ear Infection

Boo!

So the Ped says it's viral, but gave us a prescription for antibiotics anyway (wtf?).

I know I should give them "time" but they suck and she HATES the meds with a burning passion... she sobs whenever she sees the bottle/dropper.

So we went to Whole Foods and picked up some homeopathic ear drops... 15 minutes later she's happy, eating, and NOT screaming bloody murder when I lay her down to change her diaper.

Home Remedies 1, Modern Medicine 0

(This is not to say that we don't believe in modern medicine because there is certainly a time and a place for medical intervention. Heck, if we didn't believe in modern medicine then we wouldn't have health insurance for her, get any vaccinations, or call a Pediatrician when we have concerns... and if the home remedies stop working then you can bet your @$$ I'll be back on the intervention band wagon. But if low-intervention strategies are working for her, then why up the ante?)

Thankful

We decided to take Penny in to the Pediatrician, our appointment is at 2:30 (although if the fever breaks then we may cancel).

Anyway, just being able to call and make an appointment without having to worry about taking time off of work, copay costs, or one of the other hundred reasons that some families don't have access to healthcare makes me incredibly thankful that we are able to afford coverage for Penny. There are so many children without coverage - who lack preventative healthcare, whose parents can't afford to take them in unless it's for dire emergencies, or whose copays are so extraordinary that families have to make decisions about feeding themselves vs. seeing a doctor... it's really quite tragic.

It makes me all the more supportive of universal coverage, especially for children. Healthcare isn't a privilege, it's a right.

A new first

Last night we got our first real fever. 102.5

Now she's had a fever of 100 before, but it quickly went away and was possibly operator error when it came to the digital ear thermometer. Last night's fever was no error, poor Penelope was SO hot to the touch and unable to sleep. Bryan and I took shifts, so neither one of us slept well (but at least we slept a little). Regular doses of Tylenol have dropped it down to 100.5 so I'm not going to take her in to the Pediatrician (I did call the on-call Ped last night and she didn't seem too worried, but told me to watch and monitor her).

If it spikes back up then we'll go in.

We're all so exhausted this morning...