Teething...

So on top of everything else, L is getting a new tooth. For the last couple weeks, I knew that she was going to get a tooth b/c you could see the top left tooth bulging through the the gum, but you couldn't actually see white or anything. Well yesterday I saw that you can finally see the white tooth through the really thin layer of gum so she should be getting that tooth any day now. :)

Her rash seems to be healing nicely so hopefully it will be gone by the time we leave...tomorrow it will be the 10 day mark of when it's supposed to be gone but I'm not sure it will be by then. She did start eating everything again on Sunday so I'm guessing her mouth ulcers are all gone. I'll be really glad when she's all well again since my hands are so raw from washing them hundreds of times per day. ;) Plus, it will be nice to hug and kiss her again!!

sleeping and falling...

Yesterday D installed black out blinds in L's room. We're hoping this helps her sleep later since she's been waking up earlier and earlier...we think b/c it's been getting lighter out earlier and earlier. Anyhow, we're not ok with a 6:20am wake up cry on the weekends (or weekdays for that matter) instead of her normal 7:20-8:00am so we're trying this.


L's playing the drums and scratching her nails against the ribs of the steps on the stepladder.

Here's pics of L from today after she bumped her head on the chair (that's what we figure since we were both standing there and only heard her scream afterwards) and then a half hour later she fell out the door onto the really rough doormat (dave ran out the door to get his burger off the grill and left the door open and within less than a second L was out the door and crying).

and you can't even see the massive bruise on the right side of her forehead...

opening doors and cupboards

This week L discovered how to keep the cupboard doors open after she opened them and how to keep the door open so she could crawl through. Previously, she could open the door but she was more interested in opening and closing it then trying to crawl through it. She also used to open cupboard doors and try to pull things out but didn't know how to get the door to stay open. Well she's figured that out now and now has full reign of the entertainment center cupboards, etc. It also means we now shut doors completely behind us lest she escape. She loves to crawl into the dining room and living room to play with my shoes ("no, L...those are dirty") and to open my hutch with all the china. So yesterday I tied the hutch doors together with twine (i tried all the baby contraptions but none of them worked) so she can no longer open them and the risk to my china has now decreased tremendously. :)

She also loves getting up on her knees anywhere, but particularly around the couch to see if we've left anything in her reach so she can pull it off the couch (like my newspapers, laundry, etc.). She also makes a bee-line for the dishwasher when it's open...she likes to get on her knees and hold onto the bottom rack...and a bee-line for the pantry door when it's open (we've had to close it every time for a few weeks now). She also likes to pull anything off the bookshelves so our magazines and books are always at risk. And she particularly likes the cords behind my pc tower and the cords to the printer. We haven't figured out how to block them or make them less appealing.

Last night, L woke up around 2something and wouldn't go back to sleep :( so D ended up sleeping in a chair with her which obviously didn't help his cold or him feeling better so he stayed home sick today. I tried to sleep but couldn't sleep b/c i felt guilty he was in there and not me until at least 4am...then i heard the birds chirping at 5 something...was still awake at 6 something...the alarm went off at 6:40 and L woke up at 7:20...so not much sleep for this tired mama (or dada for that matter). :( She refused to take her morning nap but she did take her afternoon one which meant i got one too! :) She's a little on the cranky side and needing more attention than normal but she's way better than she could be with this disease. I have a friend whose kiddo had it last year and he refused to eat b/c the ulcers in his mouth were so bad. L's eating less than she was before she got sick but still eating well for being sick. The biggest pain with this whole thing is her not sleeping and the risk of contamination for others and ourselves. I have been told though that the risk to adults should be less since we've built up antibodies/immunity over the years. Let's hope so!

our 10-month-old: Week 2

Your baby is mastering motor control — both "gross" motor skills, like crawling and standing, and "fine" motor skills, such as picking up objects between forefinger and thumb. It's especially important to keep choking hazards out of reach when your baby has these new pickup skills (and still likes exploring things with his mouth). Coins, buttons, small toy parts, and food that falls to the ground are all potential problems. Consider vacuuming more often at this stage.

Finger talents
Your baby's fingers are becoming more agile. By using her pincer grasp — which lets her pick up small objects between her thumb and forefinger — she may be able to pick up a piece of cereal or other small object without having to rest her wrist on a solid surface. (Now that your baby has graduated to solid food, expect plenty of cereal underfoot!) **we're tired of stepping on cheerios she's thrown on the floor!**

She's intrigued by tiny things and is still likely to taste-test them. This is fine as long as they're edible and not so small that she could choke on them.

A good rule of thumb is to avoid letting your baby have anything that won't dissolve in water, like a raw carrot or a whole grape. Cooked veggie pieces, cheese, and peeled and cut-up fruit are great foods for little fingers. **no diary for L until she's one**

More mobility
By this week, your baby will probably be able to crawl well on her hands and knees, with her trunk parallel to the floor. (Many babies try to crawl before, but master the skill only now. Some babies bypass crawling altogether and go from scooting to standing.) She may even be able to crawl up stairs. **i think last week she started crawling again and now she quite proficient at that**

At this age, your baby can sit confidently and may even walk while holding onto furniture, possibly letting go momentarily and standing without support. She'll take steps when held in a walking position and may attempt to scoop up a toy while she's standing, too. **she doesn't walk or pull herself to standing yet but she pulls herself up onto her knees very well. she's extending her reach a lot and can grab things off the couch or shelves that were previously safe.**

Those magical first steps toward independence — and lots more exercise for you! — are just around the corner, if they haven't arrived already. Most babies take their first steps sometime between 9 and 12 months and are walking well by the time they're 14 or 15 months old.

hand-foot-and-mouth disease...

sounds gross! yicky! ...and my daughter has it :( :( :(

so some not-so-nice person gave it to my beautiful daughter :(

read up on it here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hand-foot-and-mouth-disease/DS00599/DSECTION=1 or http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/enterovirus/hfhf.htm

The short of it is that the incubation period is 3 to 6 days and you're contagious for 2 days before and 2 days after the rash...and since the rash can last for 10 days, you're contagious for a really long time. :( (She got the fever on Monday and the rash started Tuesday.)

So be praying D & I don't get it since L & I leave for CA in exactly 9 days!

Cranky baby is SO much fun!!

temp of 103.3

So this morning L woke up pretty early (5am) and was whining off and on until she started screaming around 7am. Dave got her up and thought she felt pretty warm but thought that she was just warm from being under her blankets. While he was eating breakfast, he noticed that she was just sitting there and wasn't playing with any of her toys. She wouldn't even go after the fridge or dishwasher when he opened it, which she normally makes a beeline for. He thought she still felt warm too so he took her temp with the forehead thermometer which we just bought. Well it said her temp was normal. I then picked her up and said she's not normal...she's really hot. So i got out the underarm thermometer and took her temp (twice) while I was nursing her. Sure enough, she had a temp...of 103.3F. So I called the doctor and they said not to worry...give her Motrin, etc. So when she still had a temp of 103F four hours later, I called the nurse and she said I could alternate Tylenol and Motrin every 4 hours...so that's what we've been doing. She's definitely not herself but she's way better than when she had a fever 6 weeks ago. She's just a lot more cranky and irritable, but she did play with her toys tonight. It took Dave about an hour to get her to sleep tonight which isn't normal, but she's been sleeping for about 1.5 hrs now so that's good. Oh, I spoke too soon...now she's crying again. :( Pray she sleeps through the night since I'm already tired! It takes a lot of energy to take care of a sick kid! :)

In other news, we were driving down our street yesterday when we drove by our neighbor's house and Dave said, "I think that's my new coworker." I made him get out of the car and walk back there and, sure enough, it's his new coworker. She lives like 3 houses down on the other side of the street in the same model home that we do. Weird!

I'll try to post some pictures later. I always seem to run out of time!


Today after the Motrin/Tylenol kicked in. :)

Eating with a fork

Elodie ate her bananas with a real fork today. I have to put the banana on the fork but then she takes the fork and puts it in her mouth on her own. Sometimes she gives me back the fork and sometimes (more often) I have to pry it out of her fingers. Then I put more on the fork and we repeat the process. She gets really upset if she can't have the fork. It's really cute. Here's a video of her eating with the fork...unfortunately dave didn't catch it when she was doing it totally on her own, but that's our constant battle with the camera...

Oh, and Elodie's 10 months old today. :)

10 months old today...

our 10-month-old's development: Week 1

Your baby may still only babble, but don't underestimate how much he understands. Babies pick up on the meaning of words — and tone of voice — before they learn to speak. Your baby may even respond to simple requests or words of discipline such as a warning "No!" Talk to him often about what you're doing, where you're going, and the names of the foods he eats, and say his name. Try to taper off the baby talk so he hears plenty of real words during the day.

Talking to your chatterbox
Your baby is just beginning to understand many simple words and phrases, so it's more important than ever to keep talking to him. Give your chatterbox a head start on good speech patterns by repeating his words back to him using adult language. If he asks for a "bah-bah," for example, gently reinforce the correct pronunciation by asking, "Do you want a bottle?" At this stage of the game, it's best to try to avoid the tendency to use baby talk — it's fun, but hearing the right words is better for your baby's development.

Though it may sometimes feel silly, having conversations with your baby is a great way to encourage his language skills. When he rattles off a sentence of gibberish, respond with "Oh, really? How interesting." He'll probably smile and keep chattering away.

Soon you may notice some words or gestures you actually understand, as well as other forms of communication, such as pointing and grunting. It's important to name the objects he points at — or point out objects of your own — to help him learn the names of things.

Give your baby a play-by-play description of what you're doing — whether you're dicing onions for dinner or folding the laundry. As you put him in his stroller, say, "There you go, into your blue stroller. Now, let's buckle you in and get you comfortable. Okay, we're off to the park."

You can also sing nursery rhymes, demonstrate actions that go with words (saying "bye-bye" and waving, for instance), and play games, such as ring-around-the-rosy, so he learns to identify key words and phrases.

He'll soon start to make the connections. Before long, he'll be clapping his hands together when you do and may begin to say "mama" when he's looking at Mom and "dada" when Dad comes into the room (though at this point he's still more likely to use the two words indiscriminately).

weight check and teeth...

Elodie went to the doctor's today. She was weighed and she's officially 18.2lbs and back into the 25th percentile. Yea!

I noticed today that her bottom left tooth is finally all the way broken through.

What the??!!

video of Elodie from today, Sunday 4/13...what the??!!

Here's a couple pictures of Elodie from today. Apparently, while we were gone, Elodie's decided to now throw her cheerios on the floor instead of eat them :( And while she's napped really well for the past week or so, she's now having trouble going to sleep at night. She also woke up screaming last night at 3am and dave had to go in to calm her down for 30min. So tonight we gave her some tylenol since our best guess is that her teeth are bothering her (she's still getting two teeth, the top left and bottom left).

she likes to scrunch her nose up now

Our weekend

dave "skiing" at copper


love the powder!


after skiing :)


on the "trail"


view from the trail to the waterfall in Steamboat Springs


the trail (i think the pavement is like 5 feet below)


dave passing the time while i take photos :)


the waterfall peeking through the snow and icicles which cover it


view of the waterfall and cascades below (all covered in snow)


the shelter...look at all that snow!


dave next to it




the pedestrian bridge...look at all the snow!


the falls from below


the happy couple :)


going back up the trail


Lake Granby to the left


center


to the right...it's that HUGE

Dave and I took a little one-night trip to the mountains for our 6-year anniversary. :) It was my first night away from L...I definitely missed her but I did okay. We went skiing on Friday at Copper Mountain. The conditions were great. There was fresh powder and it snowed the whole time, but it wasn't bad and it wasn't that cold...it was 20F when we arrived and 25F when we left. Then we drove to Steamboat Springs. There's two (mountain) passes on the way into Steamboat that were pretty hairy (see video here). It was almost whiteout conditions and the white car in front of us didn't have their lights on. We could really only see the car b/c the back windshield was dark. Anyhow, we arrived ok and then had a pricey dinner at a steakhouse. On Saturday we took a couple hikes (totally about a mile) in the snow to some waterfalls...which were mostly iced over but it was still pretty cool. Then we headed out of town because it was still a 3 hour drive home and we didn't know how bad traffic was going to be coming down the mountain with all the skiers (for most resorts it was closing weekend). We wanted to be home by 4pm so I could feed L and not have to pump again...plus have time to get to a dinner party by 5pm. We were planning on stopping for lunch in Granby or Grand Lake, but as it turns out the towns were REALLY small and didn't have any chain restaurant or fast food. It was already close to 2pm and we knew Dave needed to eat. We ended up driving up to Grand Lake (15 mi. out of the way, each way) and eating at a restaurant. I was frustrated b/c they took forever to get us our sandwiches (how long does it really take to make a sandwich??!!) after we had already told them we were in a hurry. However, it was neat to see how HUGE the lake was and with the exception of a small part, it was frozen over and had snow all over it. After lunch, we drove through more mountains, including passing Winter Park, and got home around 4:45. I fed L and changed really quickly so we could get to my playgroup's dinner party. It was a crazy scene with at least 16 adults plus all the kids. Needless to say, I'd never volunteer to host. I'm just too much of a neat freak! Anyhow, it was nice to see everyone and meet a couple new people.

Cute Cadence & Sara

from last week



Sara (my sister katie's daughter) and Cadence (my sister amanda's daughter)
TOO CUTE!! :)

updates

I updated the 4/5/08 post with a video of Elodie crawling.

our 9-month-old's development: Week 4

Your baby is probably beginning to cover more territory, whether by scooting and crawling or cruising upright, or maybe even trying a few tentative first steps. At this point, you may be wondering whether he needs shoes. Well, you needn't bother until he's really walking well. In fact, experts believe going barefoot indoors helps a baby's foot develop properly and promotes better balance and coordination.
**that's nice if you live someplace warm, but here in CO it's just too cold for that! her feet are like little icicles if i do that!**

Blooming personality
Your baby's personality is really emerging now. She may be very social, granting broad smiles to everyone she meets, or a little more shy, hiding her face when well-meaning strangers try to engage her. Your baby may charge ahead boldly or assess the situation carefully before accepting others. She might be even tempered or switch her moods quite dramatically. **she's all over the map. sometimes she's all smiles to everyone...and sometimes she just stares straight-faced**

She'll gesture for your attention and may even wave goodbye when she sees you head for the door. She's also developing a mind of her own, which you may run up against when you try to put her in her car seat or stroller. **she's a very strong willed child and has started hitting us or scratching us if she doesn't get her way. she also shrieks in the high chair if you aren't paying attention to her (she eats so slow!)**

She's getting bigger..

I weighed her again today on our scale and she's 18.2lbs with her cloths and cloth diaper on. Yea! She's gaining weight again! Of course, I think I said she was 18.2lbs like two months ago before all the sickness, recovery, etc...

Tuesday, April 8th:

a snarl only a mother could love ;)

Our little girl is getting stronger...

Our little girl is getting stronger. On Friday, I caught her pulling herself up in her crib. Today, I just saw her up on her knees holding on to the foot stool.

Saturday, April 5th...she crawls...

Elodie crawled forward today!

Here's video of her crawling.

Friday, April 4th

Jumperoo time! She loves that poor parrot!

Today I checked her mouth and low and behold, there's two more white things (teeth) sticking through her gums. So now she's cutting the top and bottom left teeth....to join her ever growing top and bottom right teeth. (If you look closely at this picture, you can see her bottom tooth.)

She also ate a lot better today. She gave me minor problems with the oatmeal cereal that she had been refusing/gagging on this week. She also ate veggie, meat, and fruit baby food, along with cheerios. She loves cheerios. We also gave her corn last night and she ate it. Did you know that it comes out the other end looking the same as it did going in?? Weird. TMI, I know! I think she likes it because she can feed it to herself. But it takes her FOREVER to swallow it! She has that corn in her mouth for a VERY long time. I keep giving her sips of water in between to encourage the swallowing of the corn, but I don't think it really helps. So she had the corn last night for dinner and then for breakfast and lunch too. I also gave her "chex"-like cereal today at lunch to mix it up. I think they don't get soggy as fast as the cheerios so they were a bit harder for her to eat, but she managed.

I also discovered today that if I held my hand under her belly while she was on all fours, that she would actually crawl forward (i wasn't holding her up). Hopefully she'll do it on her own soon. For now she's VERY mobile with the one armed army crawl. ;)

Thursday, April 3rd

Bathtime! We got her some new bath toys. They're foam letters and numbers that float and stick to the walls when wet. I thought it was neat to stick them to the walls, but all Elodie did was bat them off. ;) and chew them of course. and now that she has a couple teeth, they have little dents in them from her teeth.

Wednesday April 2nd

I love her little tongue sticking out. :)






this expression is just too cute :)


She's been doing this squinty thing with her right eye when she smiles this week. weirdo!


we put pants under her dress b/c it's been cold this week. we've woken up to snow twice this week and it snowed during the day one day. three days of snow (even if it's not that much) in April!! :)

video from Friday, April 4th

Video of Elodie laughing while in the jumperoo.

video from Sunday, March 30th

Video of Dave being silly with Elodie while giving her a bath.

our 9-month-old's development: Week 3

You're probably noticing that your blossoming baby is learning different ways to express himself emotionally. He's also becoming more social day by day. A few of his favorite new tricks: clapping, especially when pleased or delighted; waving bye-bye; pointing, as if to indicate what he wants or when he sees something new and interesting; shrieking loudly to attract your attention; laughing at silly sounds and expressions; crying in a specific tone to convey a particular "request."

Language comprehension
The torrent of words your baby has been hearing since birth is beginning to work its magic, although his understanding of words far outpaces his ability to use them. His babbling has turned to jabber and is probably starting to sound more like real words, phrases, and sentences. Your baby thinks he's saying something, so respond as if he really is!

Your baby still comprehends more from your tone than from your actual words, though. He can understand when he's pleased you, so offer specific praise, such as "You did a great job picking up the rattle." The more you talk to your baby — while preparing dinner, driving, or getting dressed — the more he learns about communication.

Just say no
Your baby's starting to understand the word "no," though he may not obey it just yet. For example, you can expect him to try to touch something even after you've said not to. It's best to use the word "no" sparingly, and when you do use it, follow it by removing him from the scene of the crime and introducing him to a new activity.