Baby Food Stains!!!!!!!!!

Okay, so the subject pretty much says it all.  It seems like every time I do laundry, Summer's clothes are coming out with new stains...even when they are pre treated.  I consider myself the super stain getter-outer, so this is very frustrating for me not be able to get the baby food out of her clothes.  I can get pretty much anything out of clothes except BABY FOOD!  So, every time I feed Summer, off come her clothes.  When I leave her with others, I have to make sure to instruct them to take off her clothes before they feed her.  Bibs don't help...she likes to eat with her hands which  don't always stay on top of the bib.  Sometimes I am able to keep her from putting her hands in her mouths, but most of the time I am not successful.  Just when I think "she is not going to do it this time", she does it!  I know it is just clothes and she will have outgrown them in a month, but I am the super stain getter-outer! 

As for Summer, she is just growing so fast.  I love it when other people hold her because I can look at her and I just sit there and think about how beautiful she is.  I swear I don't think I could ever get tired of looking at her.  She is changing all the time now and I don't want to miss a thing.  I have not been taking enough pictures lately, but I do have a few that I can put on here. 

She is napping right now.  She didn't go to bed until 9:00 last night because we were out to dinner with some friends.  Then I had to wake her up at 6:45 so we could take Amanda to school and then go work out.  She has been down for about two hours now.  She tried to wake up after an hour, but I just left her in her bed because she wasn't crying (just jabbering).  So, she fell back to sleep.  I'm glad because I want her to have a good nap in so she will be good for my mom tonight.  I am dropping her off at 2:30 and she is going to spend the night with her.  I'm not looking forward to having to pump while she is gone, but I think I might actually have time to go get the pedicure I have been wanting to get for like a month!!!  Then Clint and I are going to a friend's house for a birthday party.  I am pretty excited about that too.  Okay, I hear the baby and I don't think she is going back to sleep this time.  I'll try to get those pics on here before the weekend is over......I hope so anyway.

Nap Time

Summer is on her 2nd nap of the day.  The first one was about 2 hours long and this one is about as long.  I don't know what is up with her today.  Maybe she isn't feeling good.  I wonder whether or not she is teething.  I don't want to assume she is just because she is drooling like crazy and chewing on everything she can get her hands on.  I need to go get her some teething tablets that my friend Selena gives to Willow.  Right now I have some teething gel, but it is so thick/hard I can't get it rubbed into her gums so I don't think it is doing any good if she is teething.  I really hope she isn't because I am not ready for her to have teeth yet.  She is growing and doing more things everyday.  She reaches for everything in front of her...especially plastic bags.  I think she likes the noise they make. 

Yesterday, we were eating downtown and she pooped out of her diaper.  I went and changed her and got the waitress to bring me a bag for her clothes.  She was sitting in my lap while I was eating, and she kept getting the bag and trying to chew on it.  We decided that wasn't good for her, so we moved the bag.  Then I gave her a lemon to see if she wanted to chew on it.  To our surprise, she liked it and didn't want to give it up when I took it from her.  She reaches for my cups and plates now.  She is really interested in anything I will let her have.  Earlier, we were sitting with Clint while he ate lunch and she was grabbing the bag of Cheetos.  She got a Cheeto out and was tasting it.  Clint made me take it from her.....I just wanted to see what she would do with it.  I guess I have to wait a while longer before she is ready for Cheetos.  It is just so much fun to see how she reacts to different tastes.  I am going to feed her some carrots this evening.  I hope she will eat them like she did the first day I gave them to her.  Well, I guess that is it.  I just thought I would update this while I had a little time on my hands.  I am getting a lot done today with all these naps......

Family Time

My dad came to visit from Las Vegas two weeks ago.  It was so good to spend time with him and watch him with Summer.  We got to spend a few days with him, but of course it wasn't enough.  I wish she could see all of her grandparents often, but my mom is the only one who lives in town.  So, I am really happy when we get a visit from the other three.  I would really love to go out to Vegas to visit them sometime next month, but if I do it will just be me and Summer.  Clint has to stay here and work and take care of Amanda so I'm not sure if I will go yet.  I really want to though........decisions.... 

Anyway, we got to spend one day of my dad's visit at my mom's house with my brother, sister, niece, and nephew.  My mom cooked a big lunch which was delicious.  After we ate, we went outside and tried to get Summer to laugh at the dogs.  She rode the 4 wheeler (for the 2nd time) and so did my niece and nephew.  It was fun.  I am so grateful for my family.  I am really lucky to have such a great one where everyone gets along and there is not "drama" all the time like some people I know. 

The day my dad left, we went to my Aunt Sandra's house for a family cookout.  It was good to get to spend time with my aunts, cousins and my grandparents.  They had not seen Summer in a month, so she had really changed since then.  I did not take as many pictures as I should have, but I did get a few. 

Playdates

Summer has two babies that are her age that she goes and "plays" with.  Well, I guess they don't actually play yet, but they do look at each other.  Willow, my friend Selena's baby, is 10 1/2 months old and Lili, my friend Alicia's baby, is about 3 1/2 months old.  I can't wait until they can really play with each other.  I know it won't be long because Willow is already at the age where she can interact more with Summer.  Summer still just looks at her and doesn't really do much else.  She will play with her toys though.  One thing that is nice about this age is that they don't mind sharing...LOL.  They don't care what toy they have.  They will pretty much play with anything and are easily entertained.  Here are a few pics of Summer's last few playdates.

Orange Poop

I decided to give Summer some more veggies on Tuesday.  I gave her carrots which were pretty runny so I mixed some cereal in with them to make them thicker.  She ate the whole jar!  I also gave her water in a bottle when she seemed like she needed to wash it all down.  Well, those carrots made the nipple this orangy-yellow color and it won't come off.  It is not a big deal, but now it looks like she is drinking out of a dirty nipple/bottle all the time (I only have two nipples).  She didn't make any weird faces this time, but she was really messy when it was all over.  Yesterday morning she had orange poop...then more orange poop in the afternoon.  It caught me by surprise, but I guess that is normal.  I gave her some more carrots yesterday evening, but she only ate half of the jar this time.  I guess she wasn't as hungry as the day before.  She has also been drinking pear juice some in the afternoons which she seems to really like.  Anyways, I hear her making noises in her bed so I am going to go see if she is ready to get up.  Oh yeah, it look like she didn't like them in this picture, but she was just ready to get out of the swing!

First Veggies......

I gave Summer her first veggie - green beans - on Sept. 8.  She did pretty good eating it.  At first she closed her mouth and didn't look like she would eat anymore.  Then she opened up and ate about half of the jar.....all the while making some funny faces.  I tried to feed her some bananas afterwards, but she wasn't having any of them either....and she likes bananas.  I fed her the other half on the 10th, and she did not like it all this time.  She actually started crying a few minutes after she ate them, and I think that they might hurt her stomach.  I can't remember if she did the same thing the first time I gave them to her, but I think she might have.  So, we are not going to try them again for a month or so.  I did give her some squash a few days ago and she seemed to like it better than the green beens.  I think they tasted the same, but that's just me.  They did not seem to give her an upset stomach though so we'll try them again in the next week or so.  I am actually taking a break from jar food hoping that she will forget what the fruit tasted like and eat her veggies like a good girl.  We'll see if it works....I hope so!!!  She has no problem at all eating bananas, peaches or applesauce.  I have not fed her anymore pears since the first time because I think they hurt her stomach too.  It is fun feeding her the veggies and seeing what kind of face she will make.  I also pretend like they taste as good as the fruits, but I'm not sure she is buying all the "Yummies!"  I am dishing out. 

My little cry baby!!!

Well, it seems as if I have a spoiled baby.........big surprise, huh?  Her newest thing is crying.  She must absolutely love to do because she does it all the time.  I know it is my fault since I am the one who taught her to cry by picking her up most of the time.  So, now I have to teach her not to cry.  I know it is not going to be easy, but it has to be done.  My mom says she will be a much happier baby if I do not pick her up when she cries (if I know she is not hungry and has a clean diaper) and just let her cry it out....she needs to learn how to entertain herself and not depend on someone else to do it all the time.   I can't wait until she learns not to cry.  The last few days have been pretty tough on me.  I still love her to death though.  She is so precious......well, Clint needs the computer so I gotta go.  Wish me luck!!!

More Shots....

Yesterday Clint and I took Summer in for her 4 month check up and shots.  She weighed 14 lb. 15 oz and was 25 inches long.  The doctor said she is advanced for her age...so you know that made me proud!!!  Everything went good while we were there.  She did better this time around when she got her shots.  I was breastfeeding her again when she got them.  This time she only cried for a few seconds and then latched back on so that was good.  The nurse was really quick at giving her the 3 shots which made me happy because it wasn't as drawn out as the last time.  She was pretty happy that afternoon and not as sleepy as I expected since she was on Tylenol all day.  But, last night when I went to school she cried for her sister and her daddy and wouldn't eat anything.  Amanda ended up calling me and asking me what to do so I told her to just put Summer in the crib in my room, cut the fan on, and shut the door.  I figured she would give it up and fall asleep since she was probably just tired (and missing me of course!).  When I got home, Clint was holding her over his arm and walking around.  She seemed content so that made me happy.  She didn't fuss anymore after I got home...I think she might be addicted to me...LOL  A little bit later, I fed her and put her to bed. 

Earlier this week she took a 4 hour nap.  It was crazy, but of course she hasn't done that again...or even come close.  Her naps are about 45 minutes on average.  I just put her down for one and hopefully she will sleep longer because I had to wake her up this morning so we could take Amanda to school and go workout.  So, I might go take a nap myself.  She is sleeping for about 11 or 12 hours at night now which is surprising to me, but I am glad.  I usually get up around 8:00 so I'm glad she lets me sleep that late.  Well, I'm going to try to get that nap in so I won't want to go to bed at 9:00 like I did last night.

She's a thumb sucker!

This past week flew by again...before I know it Summer will be all grown up.  The other day Clint and I were shopping and they had bathing suits on sale.  So we went ahead and got Summer one for next year.  It has a matching hat, and we got her some sunglasses too.  She is going to be so adorable!  Anyway, Clint was like, "Is she going to be walking next year?"  And I said, "Yes."  Then I thought about that for a second and I was like, "Oh my goodness she is going to be walking next year!!!!"  It's crazy to think that she will actually be walking by the time next summer rolls around.  She is growing so fast and I am trying to soak it all up while she will still let me cradle her in my arms.  Most of the time she likes to be sitting up where she can look around and see what is going on, but every now and then she will let me hold her in my arms.  The other day she was really fussy...and tired...but she would not give it up and fall asleep. So, I picker her up and sat in my rocker and held her close.  She went to sleep and I just watched her sleep in my arms for about 30 minutes.  She is so precious.  I know I don't have much longer to do this, so I don't mind rocking her to sleep every now and then.  Most of the time she goes to sleep on her own.  I just lay her in the bed and she either falls right to sleep or pops her thumb in her mouth and sucks it while she falls asleep.  She is not a finger sucker anymore.  She is a thumb sucker!  I don't really like it, but she looks so cute when she does it.  And if I take it out and replace it with a pacifier, she just gets upset.  I guess I will just have to deal with it for now and hope she doesn't do it when she is awake too. 

Summer spent the night with my mom on Friday night.  When I went to get her on Saturday, I stayed and spent some time with the family.  My nieces and nephew were there so it was good to get to see them for a while.  Anyway, my mom took Summer out on the porch and sat down where she could watch the dogs play.  Well, Summer just thought the dogs were hilarious.  She was laughing at them and it was so cute.  I wish I would've had my video camera there, but of course I left it in the car I didn't drive.  Oh well, hopefully next time she is laughing like that I will have it on me because it is one of the cutest things she does right now.  She also got her first 4-wheeler ride while she was there and seemed to enjoy it.  My nieces and nephew got there just as my mom was finishing up riding Summer around so of course they wanted to ride too.  They always have fun at Memaw's house and I know Summer enjoys her time there too.  It is good to see the kids enjoying their grandma.  I know some of my best memories as a child were at my Memaw's house spending time with my cousins. 

Let's see..........what else is new?  hmmmm  Oh yeah, my mom was trying to get Summer to grab her feet and put them in her mouth.  Well, it seems she succeeded in teaching her to grab her feet because this morning when she was playing with one of her play gyms she grabbed her feet.  She has been looking at them and kicking her toys with them for a while, but now she knows how to grab them. 

Also, Summer ate 6 oz. bottles when she was at my mom's house.  Most of the time she breastfeeds, so I don't know how much she eats, but when I give her a bottle it is a 4 oz. bottle.  But, she finished two 6 oz. bottles on Saturday, at different times of course, so I guess she is eating more now. 

One thing about breastfeeding....if you don't have your baby around to eat, make sure you have a pump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My mom accidentally took my breast pump the other day when she was getting Summer's things out of my car.  So, Friday night around midnight I was in pain.  My breasts were so full I thought they were going to explode.  I didn't have a pump at the house, so I had to get in the shower and try to relieve myself with my hands.  Let me tell you, they do NOT work as good as a pump!!!  I had to get up again around 7:00 and do it again.  By the time I got to my mom's house around 11:00 on Saturday morning, I was really hurting.  I walked in her front door and she was holding Summer for me to get her, but all I wanted was my breast pump.  I quickly found it and got it going!  I pumped 11 oz. out and I could've gotten even more.  You may not know just how much that it, but when I pump, I usually get 4 oz. out.  So, that is almost 3 times as much as normal........OUCH!!!  Anyways, I will not make that mistake again. 

We gave Amanda her 1st car on Monday.  She was really surprised and loves her car.  It was mine and Summer's 1st time to ride with her.  It has a 5 speed manual transmission which she has been learning to drive on her dad's truck for the past month.  Well, it kept stalling which can be quite jerky.  Summer thought it was funny.......Clint did not.  Anyway, that was an experience and we made it home safely so that is what is important. 

Last night we went down to the neighbors house to take Summer swimming so Clint could see how much she liked it.  I had taken her earlier this week and she liked it, but I didn't take the camera and her daddy didn't get to see her.  So, I wanted to go back before it gets too cold.  The water was definitely cooler than it was earlier in the week, but Summer didn't seem to mind.  She likes splashing the water and doesn't care when it gets on her face.  We had a hard time getting her to look at the camera because she really likes to look at the water.  Even when she got out she was still looking at the water.  We tried to get her to look at the camera by shaking some keys, but it didn't work that well.  After we got dried off, we went and sat on their swings and talked.  Beverly, my neighbor, was holding Summer while we were swinging.  Summer looked around for a while, but then fell asleep on her lap.  We kept talking and it was getting dark so I said it's time to go home.  Summer opened her eyes when I said that and it was weird how she knew it was time for her to get up.  We had a good time down there and the neighbors enjoy seeing her.  Now that it is not so hot outside, it is nice to take Summer outdoors for a while in the evenings.  She seems to enjoy it.

Okay, I can't think of anything else right now.  So, I am going to try to get the house cleaned up a bit while Summer is still napping.