No Tears Needed

I figured out something really neat this morning. I don't have to cry to communicate to mommy that I need her. I dirtied my pants at about 4:30 this morning and I talked to mommy until she rolled out of bed. I can't use words yet, but anyone that's heard me knows that I can talk very, very loud. It made mommy less stressed out. She laughed at me, changed my pants, gave me a little to eat, and then put me back to sleep with some music. I slept a few more hours and then I told her when it was time to get up again. Mommy loves it when I don't cry or whine.

I'm looking forward to seeing a little more of daddy this weekend. He has a party on Saturday so I won't get to spend all day with him like usual, but I'll get to play with him on Sunday. He'll be done with neurosurgery on Monday and will go back to oral surgery for a few months. He's also taking lots of vacation in April so I'll get to see him on a regular basis for long periods of time. That will be fun, especially since I've gotten good at giggling.

Earth Girl

I got back home yesterday afternoon. We had such a wonderful visit with family. I was incredibly easy during vacation. I slept well, ate well, and entertained everyone with my smiles and noises. Mommy's energy and spirit are renewed. Daddy surprised us and got home an hour early. That was fantastic! I didn't sleep very well last night because I missed my grandmas, but I'll try to do better tonight.

Mommy had me giggling for about 5 minutes straight this morning. She sings so funny. Grandpa D calls me sweat pea and I have a theme song. "Oh, sweet pea. Won't you dance with me? Come on, come on, come on and dance with me." I liked it when grandma sang it to me, but it makes me laugh like a crazy girl when mommy sings it. The poor thing really can't carry a tune.

Here are some more vacation pictures. This first picture was taken while I was getting a bath in the sink at Grandpa and Grandma H's house. Grandpa had to assist because I haven't quite mastered sitting by myself.

Here I am on Easter. Can you tell Grandma D loves me by the twinkle in her eyes? I feel asleep when she held me after dinner.Here I am with Great Grandma W. She was laughing at my noises. We had a nice visit on Tuesday afternoon.Here I am with Cousin Milo. He gives the best kisses! I always turn my face towards him and can't get enough. Mommy and Aunt Emily played Memory with him Monday afternoon and he beat them soundly. He's super smart!Here I am snuggling Uncle Matt. He knows just how to hold me. You'd think he likes babies or something!
Here I am with Hailey and Macy. They love to hold me. I fell asleep for a long time when Hailey held me. She's so calm and relaxed like mommy.Here I am with my bling baby carrier. It says fabulous in rhinestones. You can tell mommy thinks highly of me. I like it when mommy holds me close and walks around. She makes it even more snuggly when she spreads the shoulder straps over her shoulders. If anyone is interested in baby wraps, here's the link that mommy used to make the wrap (thanks Grandma H) and learn how to use it: baby wearingI fell asleep while mommy was eating supper.That's all for now. I can't wait for my next adventure!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone!
..or maybe not an entirely Happy Easter

I had a wonderful first Easter overall. I got to be with lots of family. However, I missed daddy since he had to work. Here are some of the highlights of the day. Mommy decided we should blog because daddy probably misses his girls.

-I came in to church right before the choir and managed to delay the service for everyone by a couple of minutes. See, the world does revolve around me. I need to get my act together before I attend my first wedding or Grandpa D will be very disappointed in his sweet pea.
-I liked church at first. Mommy even sang along to keep me happy. That's an event in itself. She usually only sings for me and daddy.

-I decided to poop (somewhat loudly) during the sermon so mommy took me out to change me. Cousin Anya came with and helped out. She's very entertaining. She sure jumped away from me when I pooped the second time. Mommy was in the process of taking this picture when it happened. If I could talk, then I would have said, "Take that, Anya!"

-We hung out in the nursery for the remainder of church and Anya showed me all sorts of fun toys.

-I slept during breakfast and then mommy changed me out of my beautiful dress for the ride home. I wasn't comfortable in my carseat with my dress so mommy decided to sacrifice fashion after she got enough pictures taken

-We went and had lunch over at Grandpa and Grandma D's. I got to see all sorts of family and got to meet Great Grandma R. I watched a movie while mommy ate delicious food. After that Grandma D got me to sleep. She's fun to snuggle! Here I am with great grandma. Isn't she pretty?

-When we got back to Grandpa and Grandma H's house I got to see the rest of the family. All of my cousins gave me lots of attention. Milo gave me kisses on the lips and I couldn't get enough of them. Here I am getting admired by Anya and Hailey.-Mommy ate more yummy food and I got passed around to snuggle everyone. I actually enjoyed it this time. Aunt Claudia gave me a nice massage. She's even better at massaging than mommy. I liked using Aunt Emily's baby bump as a shelf. Too bad mommy forgot to keep taking pictures by then because it was cute.I also experienced my first Cyclones game yesterday. The Cyclone women played basketball in Des Moines and they won. Go Cyclones! It was way too loud for me and the game was during my naptime. Mommy wasn't too thrilled when I had a blowout up to my shoulders either. Oh well, they have to start Cyclones young. Lynelle is a wonderful snuggler too.

And last, but not least, here I am with my first boyfriend. Gavin insisted on holding me on his lap as soon as we got to his house. Mommy and daddy won't be surprised if he keeps that up when we're older. It's a good thing that he's their godchild or daddy would be cleaning out the rifle!

Gone Baby Gone

I'm heading out of town tomorrow so I might not get to blog again until Wednesday or Thursday of next week. I'm going to my first Cyclones game tomorrow in Des Moines. Mommy has a whole outfit ready and waiting and I'm sure she'll take some pictures. Maybe daddy will take some pictures so everyone can see mommy too. After the game we're heading to visit family in FD. Daddy has to go back home since he has to work. Mommy and I will stay in FD until Tuesday or Wednesday and visit family and friends. There are a few important people I haven't had a chance to meet yet either. Have a great Easter everyone!

Friday Night Fun

Now we're experimenting with quality. Let's see if this looks better.

I don't know what to do to make it not skip between segments. I wonder what Uncle Jason knows about Nero Vision Essentials...

Test Videos

Here I am hanging out with mommy. This is what we do while daddy is at work. It's a tough life!

What do you think? Will I be a movie star someday?

Adventures in Jumping

I played in the jumperoo this afternoon and mommy took a whole series of pictures since we still can't share videos.

Hmmm...this looks interesting. I wonder what I'm supposed to do.

Maybe I should chew on this. Yes, I should definitely chew on it.What was that noise? Was it a wild jungle animal?Can you see me through the jungle?Crikey! It's a smiling baby in the jungle. Quick, snap the picture before it's too late! She's a beaut.It's decided. I like the jumparoo.Okay, now I'm tired. Get me out.I hope you enjoyed my little adventure! I'll see some of you in a few days.

Camera Happy Mommy

Mommy has been taking more pictures of me this week. My life is being chronicled in so much detail I'm surprised she isn't taking pictures of my nails growing. Here I am on Monday in my Bumbo. I can hold my head up well. Mommy can't resist taking pictures of me in my Baby Legs. It was early in the morning so I was still sleepy.

Here I am with daddy once he got home. My undershirt kept riding up so mommy and daddy took advantage and kissed my belly. Tell me you could resist it if you saw it in person.

Here I am getting a bath. Mommy hadn't taken any recent pictures at bath time and I'm quickly outgrowing the infant bath. In a few weeks I'll be sitting and not using the hammock anymore.

Neck Strain

It's pretty funny that mommy is scared to put me to sleep without my bouncer chair when I can sleep in just about any position. This is a picture from my nap yesterday. Mommy was upstairs doing something and saw this when she came downstairs. She started laughing.

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This weekend daddy solved the mysterious episodes with the ceiling light. This summer daddy installed a ceiling fan with a light in my nursery. It came complete with a remote control. Anyway, when the switch was in the on position the light turned off and on at random. Mommy and daddy figured it had the same frequency as someone else's light or garage door opener. They kind of forgot about it until mommy left the switch in the on position a few nights ago. We all woke up at 2:30 in the morning because the light came on. Daddy decided to fix it and changed the frequency of the remote control. So far, so good. He's quite the handy man. Daddy also installed a DVD drive in our computer so we're one step closer to sharing videos with you all.

Happy Days

Hello everybody. I'm so happy today, even though I look so serious. I slept for 9.5 hours straight last night. Aren't I such a big girl? Plus, I look pretty cute in my jeans. Mommy was practically glued to the green chair while she was healing and she's finally feeling good enough to give me a turn in her chair. It IS pretty comfortable. I'm glad she's not hurting anymore.We've had some good times since my last blog entry. I went grocery shopping for the first time and I particularly enjoyed the bakery section. It was very bright and colorful. I was awake and alert the entire time we were at the store, but I was very content. It was such a beautiful day that we went for a walk afterwards. Mommy took Euclid with and he was an extremely happy camper. We went around the pond near our house and mommy had to blaze a trail through the snow. All of the jostling put me to sleep. It was very good exercise for mommy since she had to off road it for a while. It reminded her of the time she went disk golfing with my friend Gavin in his stroller (in the woods, no less). Silly mommy, she never learns!

Yesterday I made a couple of new friends. Mommy's friends Jenny and Natalie came for a few hours. They've been friends since they lived on the same floor in college. I got snuggled up and then mommy went out to lunch and left me to hang out with daddy. Speaking of daddy, I hope he gets home soon. I have some giggles saved up for him.

Mommy Training

Mommy's friend Cori has it right - mommy is in training and I'm her trainer! She tried the EASY method for one night and it wasn't too great. Her back hurt from picking me up and putting me down over and over again. She decided to go back to what we were doing because it worked. Why fix it if it ain't broke? Excuse my bad grammar. Anyway, last night she fed me right before bed until I got sleepy and then I slept for almost 8 hours. After she fed me again, I slept another 3.5 hours. Thanks mommy for doing what I want instead of what that stupid lady recommended!

In other news, I'm a bit of a TV addict. Yes, mommy did her research and knows that TV is not recommended in any amount for kids under the age of 2. However, Baby Mozart allows her to cook and eat supper. My attention span is great and I can be entertained for a very long time. They shut off my video after a while and I was fine with that as long as they entertained me. Later on I fussed until daddy and mommy moved me into position so I could watch American Idol with them. I had the same blank look on my face that daddy had. We were both tired.

Daddy is trying to figure out the video dilemma. The problem is that their computer doesn't have a DVD player in it so they can't just pop the DVD into the computer. They might have to make a small investment in order to share videos. Don't nag them quite yet since they are trying to get videos figured out. It will be worth the wait because I'm very entertaining these days. Mommy talked to Aunt Emily this morning and I was talking up a storm. I make the cutest noises according to mommy. I reserve giggles for daddy though. He's the funniest.

All Comfy and Cozy

Mommy put me in the most comfortable outfit today. She took a few pictures (of course).

What else is new, you ask? Mommy is reading Secrets of the Baby Whisperer and I think it's making her a little crazy. It teaches the E.A.S.Y. approach and mommy isn't finding it all that easy. The strategy is to have a routine for me to help everyone in the family get more sleep and make life more predictable. You know how mommy likes to think ahead and try to control things. Yes, you can roll your eyes. Anyway, I'm supposed to eat, then do some sort of activity (diaper changes, playing, bathing, etc.), then sleep, and then it's time for you (or mommy and daddy in this case). I prefer E.A.E.S.Y. I don't like to fall asleep unless it's right after I've gotten a belly full of milk. I guess that's bad because it could prolong the 3am feedings that mommy isn't that fond of and it doesn't foster independence which mommy is very fond of. Sometimes my Y stands for yell. Yesterday mommy tried to put me in my crib for a nap and it just didn't work. I prefer to take naps in her arms or in my swing. She'll probably try something really nuts like taking away my bouncer chair at bedtime soon. Maybe she'll wait until she knows she'll have reinforcements coming so she can take a nap the next day if needed.

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However, mommy found out that there are some things that she and daddy are doing "right" according to the book. They treat me respectfully by explaining what they're doing for me. They talk with me and listen when I talk to them. They let me soothe myself back to sleep (sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't) instead of jumping up and taking care of me right away. They're also pretty good at interpreting what's wrong when I'm crying. They were pleased and not surprised to find out that I'm a cross between an easy and textbook baby according to the author.

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Mommy is trying to not let Tracy Hogg get to her because some of her advice about breastfeeding was just plain wrong so she's definitely not perfect. Mommy reads these books to get kernels of wisdom, but hasn't found a book yet that she fully agrees with. If you have any recommendations, feel free to share!

Bumbo

I'm getting to be such a big girl. I wore jeans for the first time today. Daddy and mommy discovered that they're much harder to put on than my other pants, but they're so cute! Daddy exercised me after we got home from shopping and mommy took some pictures.

Here I am standing with daddy's help.

Here I am in my bumbo. I liked it, but got sick of it after a while since my neck isn't very strong.
Here's what I look like when I watch TV. Mommy and daddy put on Baby Mozart while they ate spaghetti for supper.Mommy is determined to figure out the videos this week so nag her if she doesn't have any videos on here by next weekend.

Instructions

Who says babies don't come with an instruction book? Check out this website for more very helpful parenting tips. Mommy and daddy did a combination approach for me this afternoon. I had a huge booger that was stuck so daddy used the bulb to get it out, but then it got stuck. Mommy isn't afraid to get her hands dirty so she had to work it the rest of the way out. I just stared at them while they laughed so hard mommy almost peed herself. The more I stared at them, the more they laughed. We're having a wonderful day since daddy has the day off!

Last night we went out for dinner and I slept the whole time. It was daddy's first experience dining out with me so I wanted to impress him. Mommy was relieved.

Daddy has been exercising me today. Here's a picture of him making me sit up (kinda blurry because the sun was so bright). We also tried out my bumbo this morning and I didn't mind it at all. My neck is getting pretty strong. Soon enough I'll be able to play in my jumperoo!

Mommy tried to get a picture of my pout yesterday, but this is all she got. Don't I look terribly upset? Hahaha...next time she tries to get a picture of my smile, maybe I'll give her the pout. I can stick my bottom lip out soooo far and it makes mommy laugh. It's really not very nice of her.

Mommy and daddy really need to figure out how to transfer some videos of me onto this blog. They film me every now and then and I'm sure you'd like to see me in action.

My Favorite Things

Overall, I am a very happy baby and a joy to my parents. Sometimes I post about the problems I give my parents so I decided to devote a post to all the things I love and make me happy.
-I love mylar balloons. Grandpa and Grandma D bought a balloon when I was born and mommy tied it to my changing table. I really started to show interest in it at the time it was going flat so mommy bought me a new one. I love to watch it move when the ceiling fan gets turned on. I also like it when it gets moved close to my face.
-I love the radio in the morning. Mommy gets up when I tell her it's time, feeds me, then brings me into my room where she puts on the radio and changes my diaper. She also dresses me and talks to me. Most of the time she sings along and dances for me. I love it when she shakes her milk makers. :)
-I love it when daddy talks to me and uses big words. Apparently he used to do the same thing for cousin Hailey and she liked it too. Last night he talked to me while mommy was folding laundry and he made me giggle out loud. For some reason mommy and daddy got very, very excited about that.
-I love to take a warm bath. Mommy and daddy pour water over my tummy and it feels so good. After the bath, they put me in front of the fireplace and I get a nice massage before bedtime.
-I love my new kicking toy. I sit against my boppy on someone's lap and kick like crazy. After I kick enough times, it says either "peek-a-boo" or "hello baby" to me. I love the security of being on someone's lap while I play.
-I love mommy milk. Anyone that looks at me can tell that! I look up at mommy while I'm eating and smile. Sometimes I play with my food and it makes mommy laugh. There are times when mommy milk is all that I want in the world.
-I love my vibrating bouncer chair and I think mommy and daddy love it too. I sleep in it every night. Mommy puts me in it in the bathroom while she showers and sings silly songs. Last night I sat in it in front of the TV and watched a cool DVD with puppets and toys and Mozart music. Mommy and daddy ate an entire meal together that way instead of taking turns.
-I love my fish swing. It puts me to sleep. I especially like it when people talk to me and sit in front of me while I swing.
-I love all the funny noises that my parents make to entertain me. My favorites are doggy noises, anything silly with the tongue, and the rolling of r's.
-I love to have my legs touched. I don't care if it's bicycling, massaging, or tickling. I just like the touch and the undivided attention.
-I love to take naps while being held. Daddy and mommy are so comfortable and I know they love me so much. I like them to hold me as much as possible. Afterall, I can't be spoiled yet, right?
-I love my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. They give me so much attention when they visit! I can't wait until I'm bigger and can run around with my cousins.

That's all for now. I need to get something to eat.

Vitamin D is Yucky!

My mommy started giving me vitamin drops today and they are YUCKY! I spit them out and made a mess and cried most of the morning because of them. However, by this afternoon I was happy and tired. We went shopping and I was extremely well behaved. Now mommy and daddy are trying to figure out if I really need to take the vitamins or not. Also, mommy went crazy buying me more toys. I got a piano that plays music when I kick it and a jungle soother for my crib. Pretty soon mommy and daddy are going to kick me out of their room so they're trying to make my crib a nice place to be.

I had a good weekend. I wasn't sore past Friday night from my shots. I got to see my daddy and we played together. Mommy took a picture because we were both awake, which is a miracle. All last week we had an extra dog to take care of. Here's a picture of me keeping him in line.


Mommy and daddy are planning our first family vacation. We're going to San Diego in April. It will be the first time that I get to see an ocean and the first time that mommy gets to see the Pacific Ocean. Now we need to figure out our itinerary. So far we just have the plane tickets.