The Day after Christmas

I have been enjoying spending time with family over the past few days.  I really do enjoy holidays because it seems like they always bring the family together.  We didn't get to see Clint's family this year for Christmas, but hopefully we will get to visit them in February.  I am babysitting my nieces and nephew this coming Saturday night.  I have not done this since I have had Summer (and not much before then...hmmm I hope I'm not a bad aunt), but I am looking forward to it.  They are growing so fast and I need to spend more time with them before they get too old to want to hang out with me. 

Today Clint, Summer and I went furniture shopping.  We finally broke down and got a bedroom suit for the condo.  We did not, however, get any patio furniture...uuggghhh.  We spent so much time looking and nothing.  I really wish we could've just found something that would've worked....I'm over the shopping!  Summer was a good girl the whole day.  She really is such a good baby.  The sales lady at furniture store loves her too.  Everyone always oohs and ahhs over her when we go out so I know it is not just my opinion. 

I got all the Christmas pictures on the computer last night (and labeled!!!), but it was late when I finished so I decided to post them later...which is now.  I think there were 177 pictures from Christmas which seems like a lot, but when you look at them it isn't really.  I love my new digital camera.  I have close to 1000 pictures of Summer and she is not even 8 months old yet.  That is crazy!  I really need to get them all backed up on CDs in case something happens to my computer. 

 

Twas the Day before Christmas

This morning Summer has been playing in the floor with her toys.  She is feeling better for the most part.  This morning she woke up around 4:45 coughing so I got up and gave her some cough medicine and fed her.  Shortly after she ate, she started coughing again and ended up throwing up all of the milk.  So, Clint and I got up and he held her while I changed our sheets and got her some new clothes.  I suctioned her nose a little bit which she, of course, did not like one bit.  After that she was happy and played in the floor for a little while before I put her back to bed. 

She was good while my sister and I made cookies the other day.  Her naps were short lived because there was too much going on in the house and she did not want to miss out on anything.  My niece and nephew painted some ornaments and also helped us cut out the sugar cookies.  They also helped keep Summer entertained so we could get all of our goodies made.  I ended up taking some to my neighbors and a few friends.  My sister took some home with her too.  It was pretty fun, but I had a backache at the end of the day.

Tonight we are going to my grandad's house to have Christmas with my mom's family.  It starts at 6:30 which is pretty close to Summer's bed time, so I am anxious to see how she will act.  I hope to get her a late nap so that she will hopefully be in a good mood.  Gotta run....busy day...presents to wrap...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

She's wants her mommy!

Summer has not been feeling good since Tuesday.  It is actually the first time she has been sick.  She had a runny nose so I called the doctor to see what I needed to do.  They said to suction her nose and put some saline drops in it.  I decided to put that off as a last resort because I knew it would not be a good experience for me or Summer.  That night she woke up at 11:00 crying... I think because she couldn't breath very well.  Clint went and got her and brought her down to our bedroom to sleep in her pack-n-play.  She woke up a few times which kept Clint and I up quite a bit that night.  Around 3:00 she woke up crying again.  This time I decided to use the suction and saline.  I was right about it not being a pleasurable experience, but it might have helped...not sure.  I went ahead and fed her and finally got her back to bed around 4:00.  It was the first time she has kept us up at night so I guess we are lucky.  All day yesterday, she wanted me to hold her...she did NOT want to play in the floor by herself.  It was actually nice since I was staying home anyway.  We sat on the couch and she fell asleep on me while I watched TV.  I called the doctor to make sure I didn't need to bring her in since she had started coughing too.  They said I didn't unless she had a fever.  When I talked to my pediatrician at my Jazzercise class, (aren't I lucky to work out with my pediatrician?) she said there is no way she would take the baby in because there are so many germs at the dr. office right now.  She also said I could try elevating one end of the bed while she sleeps to see if that might help her breath better. 

Clint and I went to workout at 3:00 and Summer still insisted on being held.  So we passed her back and forth while the other did their set.  We actually had gotten a babysitter for the evening, but decided it was not worth it to leave her with them.  So, we went out to eat with them instead.  She fell asleep on me while we were waiting for our food, so I put her in her car seat.  Before I was finished eating, she woke up and wanted me to hold her again.  Then she started coughing and I felt so bad for her.  Needless to say, that is where we ended out evening out  We came home, fed her and put her to bed. She woke up a few times during the night, but fell back to sleep until about 4:00.  I got up and fed her and she went back to sleep for about an hour.  Then she was up crying around 5:30, so I brought her to bed with me and she slept on my chest for about 2 hours.  She woke up crying again and I decided to just give up on sleeping and took her into the living room to play.  It was actually not that bad of a night...it was better than the night before at least for Clint and I.  We went to bed before 9:00 anyway so we got plenty of sleep.  I have suctioned her a few more times which she does not like AT ALL, but I gotta do what I gotta do, right?  Hopefully she will start feeling better and not get any worse.  She did actually play in the floor for a little while this morning while I ate breakfast and did a few chores.  I hope she is good the rest of the day because my sister and her kids are on there way up here to make cookies and stuff.  Let's hope she likes to play with her cousins as much as she likes me to hold her....we can only hope........

1 Week til Christmas

It's hard to believe that it is already Christmas.  It seems like just the other day it was summer and now December is halfway over.  We celebrated Christmas with my dad's side of the family yesterday minus my dad... :(  We had a good time even though he wasn't there with us.  My granny got some panties which gave everyone a good laugh.  Summer got a baby that kisses and says "I love you!"  It was so cute because she kissed it when she got it and no one was able to get it on camera...especially me since my camera died at the beginning of the party...bummer.  I guess the reason for that is because Clint took pictures at my graduation (I now have a Masters in Business Administration--YEAH!!!) right before the party and ran the batteries down.  Oh well...at least I got some pics of my graduation and a few of Summer at the beginning of the party. 

I took a lot of pictures of Summer today.  I put the bonnet and booties I made her on her and laid her on the blanket I made for her.  I almost forgot to let her wear them before she outgrew them.  It will probably be the only time she wears them, but it was worth all of the effort I put into making them. 

She has been fussy and drooling a lot over the past few days which makes me think she is cutting another tooth, but I don't see a new one coming in anywhere.  Last night she woke up around 11:00 crying which never happens.  I left her there for a few minutes to see if she would fall back to sleep, but she didn't.  So, I went and got her.  Clint was watching the ball game and I was ready for bed, so he took her into the living room and held her until she fell asleep.  She was up at 5:00 this morning to eat which is earlier than usual, but luckily she went back to sleep until almost 8:00.  She took a few good naps today, but was ready for bed before 7:00.  I hope she does not get up too early in the morning...

Hopefully we can manage to go to the aquarium sometime this week.  I have been wanting to go back ever since we went the first time over a month ago (we have a years membership), but I haven't made it back yet.  Maybe tomorrow....

Well, I'm going to focus on my movie. Later!

She likes chicken fingers!

Last night we went out to Outback to celebrate a friend's birthday.  Summer was being a good girl and playing with the other little girl in our party (she's 8).  When no one was looking, Summer swiped a chicken finger off of her plate and started eating it.  I was surprised when I turned to look at her and there she was chicken finger in mouth!!!  She didn't eat very much, but she did enjoy what she did eat.  It was her first meat, and I guess her way of telling me she's want meat!  Lucky me had the camera on hand, so I got lots of pictures of it. 

She has also started using a sippy cup.  She is doing pretty good and I don't think we will have a problem going from the bottle, which she only gets juice in, to the sippy cup.  Summer has never been really picky about where her food comes from.  She will take any nipple on any bottle and drink from pretty much anything you want (or don't) her to. 

One of my neighbors brought Summer a Christmas present over today, so I let her go ahead and open it.  She really liked the wrapping paper, but she did not eat any of it today.  She just chewed on it a little and then got distracted by something else.  She liked the toy too...a panda bear...it makes noise when you move the head, arms and legs and the paws have beads in them so they rattle.  It was really nice of the neighbor to think of her (Thanks Beverly!).  When the weather was warmer, we used to go see her often, but now that it has gotten cooler we don't get to see her and Bill that often.  I'm sure next spring we will get to see them more.  I miss our walks down the street and stopping at their house to talk.  Just a few more months...or maybe even sooner.  It is supposed to be in the 70's this weekend and the beginning of next week so maybe we'll get to go for a walk then.  It's crazy to think that it is the middle of December and it is this warm!  Global warming.....

She finally got the present she started opening on Monday opened yesterday.  It only took her two days....opening presents may take a while this Christmas...LOL.  Anyways, I need to go get finished packing for the weekend. 

She found the presents

Today Summer decided it was time to open presents.  She started opening one of my nephew's presents so I decided to go ahead and let her have one of hers.  I didn't really think she would get it open, but I was wrong.  She did manage to get about a third of the paper off and that was really all she was interested in. Once she got it off, she proceeded to put it in her mouth and try to eat it.  She didn't really even give a hoot about the present, the paper was what she wanted.  I ran and got the video camera to get it on tape--her 1st time opening a present.  I also took a few pics which are on the camera out in the car.  I am too lazy to get up and go get it right now, so I will post them later. 

She is also starting to "talk".  She has been making noises and cooing for a few months, but now it is like she is talking--just in a language I can't understand.  It is cute though.  She goes on and on...I just wish I knew what she was saying.  Tonight in the car it did sound like she was saying dadadadada (that's what Clint heard) along with other similar sounds.  I think I am going to try to teach her some basic words in sign language so we will be able to communicate in some way until she actually learns to talk.  I hope I can be consistent enough for her to actually learn a few words.  I have been doing "eat" and "drink" for a few weeks, but I really need to be more consistent with it.  I am also going to try "more" and "love" and "bath" and "bed" for now.  I may try a few others if I see a word that I think would be beneficial.  I guess I haven't really got it all figured out so I will just try to play it by ear, but the key will be for me to be consistent.  I have at least got a few websites on my Favorites that I can refer to for the correct signs although I read you can just make up your own signs for words.  It makes more sense to use the correct signs though.

Hmmmmm...what else???  She still just has the one tooth.  She is crawling around a lot more and getting into more things.  I guess you could say she is exploring more now.  I have to keep a close eye on her or else she will definitely get into something she shouldn't.  Have I mentioned how much she loves paper?  I swear I think she can smell it or something.  You would think it tasted like candy or chocolate or something the way she loves to put it in her mouth.  Sometimes when she crawls, she straightens her legs out like she is trying to stand up.  It kind of looks like she is doing a push up with her bottom up in the air.  She is getting to where if you hold her hands, she will pull herself up and stand up.  She doesn't really walk yet, but she will stand there for a while and may take a step or two.  I am NOT ready for her to start walking yet.  It will only be a matter of time though.  I am enjoying being a mom...I never imagined it would be so rewarding, but having a happy little girl to spend my days with is awesome.  I am so lucky to have Clint and Summer in my life (and all my other family members). 

TEETHING

I guess now that Summer has a tooth she is definitely "teething".  For the past few months I have heard the question "Is she teething?" many times.  My answer was always "I don't know."  I'm not sure how long it usually takes between teeth, but I'm not really anxious for another one.  Now I have to make sure to brush her tooth everyday...I guess???  I'm not really sure about that one and I am too lazy to look it up on the Internet so I'll just go with that until I go back to the pediatrician.  The good thing is she likes the toothbrush.  Of course she pretty much likes anything you (or she) puts in her mouth so that's not a big surprise.  It seems like she is trying to chew on things in the back of her mouth so I wonder if she is cutting a molar.  I guess I will just have to wait and see.  She was a little irritable tonight which I'm not sure if it was due to teething or just being tired.  I left the teething tablets with my sister, so I ended up giving her some Tylenol. 

Today she discovered the Christmas tree.  A couple of days ago she discovered the presents, but never actually touched the tree.  Today she grabbed a few limbs and tried to put them in her mouth.  Then she realized the presents were much more fun because they are wrapped in paper which she absolutely loves to chew on.  She got the tag off of one present, but I got it before she chewed it up or swallowed any.  I guess I am going to have to keep a close eye on her now that she knows what good stuff is waiting for her under the tree...if she only knew.  I can't wait until Christmas even though I know it won't be as great as next year or the years to come.  This year it will be all about the paper and boxes.

Yesterday we went to a playdate with 4 other babies - two girls and two boys.  We have had playdates with Lili before, but this time some others came to join us.  The boys, Ashton and Aiden, are twins and are about 2 months younger than Summer.  Kately is about 2 weeks younger than Summer.  They had a pretty good time together.  Summer was tired when we got there because she missed her afternoon nap, but she was pretty good despite being tired.  Needless to say she fell asleep in the car and went straight to bed when got home. 

Saturday we took Summer to her first parade.  It was the downtown Christmas parade.  It was cool outside, but not as cold as I thought it was going to be.  Nonetheless, I still had Summer bundled up so she would stay warm.  We didn't stay for the whole thing because it was really long and she wasn't getting very much out of it.  So we went back to the condo and ate leftovers from the Christmas lunch we had earlier that day and put her to bed. 

That's about it.  Enjoy they pics.  I wish I could get more pics of her tooth, but she only shows it off when the camera is not in my reach...hummmmmmmmm