Tooth #7... and Abba

Penelope got tooth #7 in today! Usually she gets them in pairs, so tooth #8 will hopefully be in soon too. I can't wait for teething to be over!!!

Yesterday (I think). We were all hanging out together and Bryan and I were trying to get Penelope to say "mama". We'd ask her, "Penny, can you say mama"? And she would go "Abba".

It was pretty funny. Apparently I'm a Dancing Queen. Or something.

She didn't take an afternoon nap today. Well, she did but it was only a half an hour. This means that tonight will not be fun and I'm not looking forward to bedtime... especially since Bryan has a softball double header and so won't be home to give me an extra hand. She's already a bit of a pill, but we're at my parent's right now so they're helping me out.

Other things that are currently incredibly frustrating:
*biting - I haven't decided if she's at an age where biting her back would be effective in getting the point across. Is 10 months too early for that? I know it's because she's teething...
*hair pulling - one of the many reasons I keep my hair up all the time.
*obsession with the cable box - I'm tired of hearing myself say "No Penny, that's not for babies". I could get a gate, but it would have to be huge and it would be a major pain in the @$$ for Bryan and I. Oh well, she'll eventually learn (and then her sibling will be all over the stuff).

Things that are super awesome:
*crawling - I love crawling. She can get around, come and get me, chase the dogs, throw the ball and then go after it... crawling is awesome. Rug burn is hilarious, it's almost baby-leg weather so that will help.
*big kid food - she eats what I eat. With the exception of uncooked fish (which I can't have now anyway), peanuts (and other nuts), and shellfish - she and I share everything.
*routine - even though we have our "off" days, P is pretty much on a routine that she fell into without much prodding. Night time is 8-6:30, morning nap is around 9:30, and afternoon nap is around 2:30. This is our schedule 85% of the time. That's pretty good (I think) and I'm very happy with it. There are some days (like today) when she'll skip or shorten a nap, but such is life. Overall our routine works pretty well and it's nice to have.

Alright, time to pack her up and go home... bedtime is fast approaching. Hopefully it will go better than expected.

All about the pregnancy

Just some pregnancy info for those who are curious...

How far along are you? 11 weeks, 2 days

When did you find out? At Tazz's wedding :) We didn't tell anyone (except Liz & Megan who were there when I told Bryan) because we didn't want to shift the focus of the celebration and we were still in shock.

Will you find out the sex? Nope, this will be our last baby and we want this one to be a surprise.

Do you have any feelings about the gender? Well, we both think it's a girl. We'd be happy with either and don't really have any sort of preference. We just want a healthy baby.

When will you post ultrasound pictures? We're only getting one ultrasound at about 20 weeks. Last time we got 4, and after having read a ridiculous amount of articles and studies, we decided to do as few ultrasounds as possible. Technically we don't need any since this is a low-risk pregnancy, but I like having the 20 week ultrasound to make sure everything is developing ok... if we find out that something is wrong at the u/s then we can reevaluate where we give birth.

Will you have another homebirth? Yep, with the same midwives. This is for 2 reasons, 1- I loved Penelope's birth and 2- our current insurance does not cover maternity. Hooray for crappy private insurance, right? Who needs reform when we have this! (rolls eyes)

Do you have names picked out? We have a couple boys & girls names - but there's 29 weeks left so we have a lot of time to change our minds. I might do a poll later one so people can weigh in, but it wouldn't make us change our minds anyway... and you know me, I'd pick the name with the least votes just to be ornery.

Are you excited? Well, not at first... we certainly weren't planning this pregnancy. And the timing will cause some bumps with school, but nothing that can't be overcome. Such is life, right? The further along I get the more excited I become, but it's hard to be too excited when you're chasing after a 9 month old and nauseous all the time.

How are you feeling? Nauseous. Very, very nauseous. It's very similar to my pregnancy experience with Penelope only more intense... probably because I have a lot more on my plate this time around. I'm hoping that the second trimester brings some relief (it did with P).

Are you showing? Yes, a little. Pics *may* be posted later.

Anything else? Our next appointment (we'll get to hear the heartbeat for the first time) is Oct 15th, the same day as my cousin Jodee's wedding! My due date is April 15th (tax day).

Mostly random

I just finished chewing my cranberry supplement, 2 Flinstone vitamins, and 2 Iron supplements. The cranberry is to prevent bladder infection (which I tend to be prone to get especially during pregnancy), the Flinstones are for Folic Acid (I have regular prenatal vitamins but swallowing pills makes me throw up), and the Iron is for my anemia. All chewables, and all pretty darn tasty.

Today we bought a memory foam mattress pad for Penelope's crib. Well, we bought one for a full sized bed (the smallest they had) and will cut it down to fit. For the last 4 months or so we've covered her mattress (which is a highly recommended, very nice mattress) with two thick blankets in order to help her sleep. She does NOT like hard surfaces. Last night the blankets were in the wash (the cat peed on them - not while they were on her mattress thank goodness) and she would NOT sleep in her crib without them. We brought her into bed with us (our bed has a memory foam pad) and she slept all night - mommy & daddy didn't however. Hence today's purchase.

Our "new" game is called Eat Your Face. This is where I tell P I'm going to eat her face and then she tries to eat mine first. It sounds odd (ok, it is odd) but it's hilarious and a lot of fun. I was covered in baby drool this evening.

I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting :)

More pictures

These have been on Bryan's iPhone for awhile, it's time to share!


We love the swing!


Mommy & baby


Raspberry anyone?


Reading with Granny K

9 1/2 months, 10 1/2 weeks

Penelope is 9.5 months old and I am 10.5 weeks pregnant.

New Penelope things:
*Turning books right-side up. If you hand her a book upside down she'll turn it and then "read" it. She rarely, if ever, plays with her books upside-down. 99.9% of the time she turns them, it's pretty cute.

*Crawling faster and faster! By the time I get big and slow (pregnancy wise) she'll definitely be able to out-run me.

*Pulling up, she was just pulling up on Bryan and I, but she's started pulling up on just about everything. And getting into everything... she's currently raiding the x-box & wii accessory box but I'm too lazy to go over there and tell her to stop.

*Sleeping - she occasionally wakes up in the middle of the night, but she more or less sleeps from 8-6:30 and stays in her crib all night. This is good (this is more than good, this is awesome) especially since she's a bed hog and neither B or I sleep very well when she's laying horizontal in our bed, kicking me and punching Bryan.

Now for pictures! She loves, loves, loves music - and she loves, loves, loves her Daddy:

The bedtime battle

For the last two nights Bryan and I have had to put on our battle gear when bedtime rolls around. Naps have also been incredibly difficult lately... we disagree as to the cause, although we agree that teething is likely one of many possible causes. I'm convinced she's getting her first molars, she takes her paci and shoves it as far back in her mouth as she can and goes to town.

Teething tablets and infant motrin take the edge off, but even so she still gets pretty upset. I can't blame her, it must be super uncomfortable... but it doesn't make the sleepy-time battle any easier for mommy & daddy. Have I mentioned I hate teething?

I had a lot more to say, but I'm exhausted. Time for bed!

9 month visist

Penelope had her 9 month check up today! I always look forward to her appointments, mostly because I'm curious to see how much she's grown - and the people watching in our Peds office is pretty spectacular.

Here are her growth charts, she's about the size of an average 15-18 month old (25.1 lbs & 30.5 inches):





She's crawling, pulling herself up, cruising (with assistance), babbling, doing Jedi mind trick waves (which are *hilarious*), eating whatever mommy eats, recognizes a whole host of words, and doing more and more each day. I cannot wait for her to walk! Everyone says I'll regret saying that at some point, but I'll say it anyway - you try carrying a 25 pound baby around all day! Walk Penny, Walk!!

Interestingly enough, her Ped did not recommend the H1N1 vaccine for Penny - but insisted that I get it. He did want P to get the regular flu shot and wants all 3 of us to get the shot. We'll see, I need to do some more reading. I didn't get the flu shot last year when I was pregnant with Penelope, but I'm in a slightly more complicated situation this year... so we'll see.

More later (maybe). I don't seem to have much time for blogging these days!

Somebody loves her Daddy

Not only does Penelope cry when Bryan leaves for work, but she lights up whenever he comes home - and then wants absolutely nothing to do with me.

Amazingly enough, this does not hurt my feelings. I mean, I agree with her, he's pretty awesome and I miss him when he's at work as well. Plus, by the time he gets home P and I are pretty tired of each other - we spend all day playing, running errands, and having fun. She enjoys our daily activities and I know she loves me a lot, so whenever she pushes me away to rush to Daddy I don't feel at all upset. I actually feel a little relieved, Mommy gets a break!

Here are a few pictures - some are from the baseball game we went to on her 9 month birthday. I'll blog about it later, we had a good time. I think that she looks more and more like Bryan the older she gets..

Pictures, a movie, and other random things

So last night Bryan and I went to see Inglorious Basterds as Penelope was at a sleep-over with my parents. More on the movie in a bit (and spoilers), but fist here is a picture:


This is my Dad with Penelope in the Ergo, so cute :)

Anyway, the movie (spoilers). I really liked it even though parts were a little... gross. It was the scalping that really got to me, ewewewewewew. Although the end climactic scene where Hitler dies was pretty satisfying. Graphic, but I didn't mind it then - after all, it was Hitler.

I wonder how long it will take for this movie to be so ingrained into our cultural background that people begin to believe it was how the war actually ended. It wouldn't surprise me if it eventually happened, although it would sadden me - I can't decide if it's because people (in general) are really gullible or just really stupid. It amazes me how many otherwise intelligent people can't name the President who delivered the Gettysburg address, the one IN office when we landed on the moon, or who don't know what women's suffrage means - yet these same otherwise intelligent people can tell you the cast list for Lost. Sad. Sad sad sad sad.

Alright, back to baby stuff. She's with my parents all day today and they're going into Old Town Sac for Goldrush Days - I'm sure they'll have fun. Bryan and I are going golfing with friends (clarification: Bryan will be golfing, I will be driving the golf cart). We may even take a nap before we go - we live such an exciting life, don't we?

New stuff: Penelope gives her Daddy high fives! She's getting better at walking, and doesn't need as much support as she used to - she may be walking unassisted by her 10 month birthday (which is what her pediatrician predicted). Oh! She turned 9 months on Saturday - happy belated birthday baby!

Alright, must go get some coffee and lounge in front of the TV :) I miss my baby, but I am thoroughly enjoying the morning off!

A plea to my CA family and friends

So recently I mentioned how Penelope and I attended a rally at the Capitol to support a bill called SB-797 which would ban BPAs from baby products. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a synthetic and estrogenic chemical that has been linked to everything from early onset of puberty to breast cancer(3). Minnesota and Connecticut already have BPA bans protecting children. Canada and Japan have implemented similar safety measures. (Please note: All these places have formula and toxic-free food containers for babies!) Here's some more info on BPAs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A):

Recent studies suggest it may also be linked to obesity[22] by triggering fat-cell activity[23] and have confirmed that bisphenol A exposure during development has carcinogenic effects and produce precursors of breast cancer.

We need to get this stuff out of our children's products. There are alternatives on the market, but it is very difficult for low-income families to get access to BPA-free bottles, sippy cups, and other products. ALL children deserve access to safe plastics - and the BPA ban would help ensure that.

There are some in the Legislature who are undecided on this issue. Below are their names and office #'s. I'll be calling to let them know I support the ban and hope that they will as well - I strongly encourage any other CA resident to call and help us get BPAs banned. (More info below the phone #s)


Marty Block – 916-319-2078
Wilmer Amina - Carter 916-319-2062
Joe Coto - 916-319-2023
Felipe Fuentes- 916-319-2039
Warren Furutani- 916-319-2055
Isadore Hall- 916-319-2052
Jerry Hill- 916-319-2019
Alyson Huber- 916-319-2010
Ted Lieu- 916-319-2053
Tony Mendoza- 916-319-2056
Manuel Perez- 916-319-2080
Norma Torres- 916-319-2061

More websites:
1.) http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0751-0800/sb_797_cfa_20090602_121819_sen_floor.html
2.) http://www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog/2009/08/what’s-in-your-baby’s-bottle-fight-to-ban-toxic-chemical-heats-up/
3.) http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=2638145&tr=y&auid=4891721

(A lot of the info on BPAs in this blog post was written by Melissa Walthers with the Breast Cancer Fund).

Another quickie...

I wish I had time for more, but life is super crazy.

Penelope turns 9 months on Saturday, and the countdown to her birthday begins! I haven't really decided if we're going to have a big party or not. Part of me does, and part of me doesn't really want the hassle - I mean, big or small, she's not going to remember it. And I don't want to feel like I need to one-up myself every year. BUT she's turning 1! How could we NOT celebrate??

I have three months to figure it out.

In the meantime, here's a picture of some quality father-daughter time:



I keep forgetting to mention that for about 3 weeks Penny's been shaking her head "no" - she does it ALL THE TIME. It's quite hilarious... And she crawled yesterday, it was a single crawl but we're counting it. She'd still much rather walk, and I'm sure she'll be doing both quite well before she turns one.

Last night she had some night terrors, which are very rare for her, so we brought her into bed with us. This morning when Bryan was getting ready for work she almost wiggled herself off the bed (she was still asleep) and when I "rescued" her she woke up - so we were up early this morning. No fun for mama, but at least that means she took her morning nap early so I was able to wash bottles, start a load of diapers, and post this entry!

I still have to make our lunches and shower so we can head out to music class. Today is going to be a busy one, maybe she'll be nice to mommy and let me take a nap with her later this afternoon.