Bath Time

I finally got around to putting the pics on the computer from last weekend.  As you can see, she did not want to look at me.  The only pics I took were of the bath...oh well.  Hopefully, I will get some tomorrow when we go to Baby Gym.  I hope Alicia is going to bring Lili, but I haven't heard from her so I doubt it.  I called today and signed Summer up so we will be going on Thursdays at 10:30 every week I hope.  I really hope Summer has fun tomorrow.  I know she did last time...all except for "Ring around the Rosies."  I hope she warms up to that this time.  Who knows?  Maybe she will even do a new "trick" like she did last time.

It seems like she is doing new things all the time.  She is soooooooo adorable...always smiling and laughing.  She is such a happy baby except when I walk away from her.  Then she is NOT HAPPY.  She is fine if she walks away from me, but when I try to go to the kitchen or bathroom she cries if she sees me walking away.  It is frustrating sometimes, but I know she just wants me to be around her.  In a few years, it could very well be the opposite, so I am just going to treasure this time of her wanting me. 

Amanda brought home a dog on Sunday which she picked up off the side of a street (we think).  I guess we are going to keep it.  She named it Fido because he looked like he had been in a fight.  Summer really likes him.  She laughs when she sees him.  She is not too great at petting him yet.  She does try to hold onto him and stand like she does with everything else.  I am trying to teach her to pet him, but we need to get rid of his fleas first.  He has been in the house a few times, but when Amanda told me he had fleas, out the door he went.  We are treating them so hopefully they will be gone by next week.  Before we got Fido, we were taking Summer by one of our friends' house some to see their dogs and cats.  She really likes their dogs too.  She is bigger than they are so it is fun to watch her with them.  The other day she was grabbing one of the dogs hair and holding onto it.  I didn't think she was going to let go, but she did.  Oh yeah...did I mention Fido needs eye surgery which is going to cost us about $475 on top of the $106 we spend today...OUCH!!!  I wish Amanda could've picked a healthy dog, but what's done is done.  He is a sweet dog so we will keep him. 

I have started giving Summer a bottle every morning when she wakes up and at night before she goes to bed.  It is so weird to be feeding her from a bottle.  But, like I said before, the milk is gone!  I have been giving her mostly formula mixed with milk.  I think I am going to get that Next Step stuff when I run out of the formula I have.  I also give her milk in a sippy cup during the day if we are home.  She does NOT drink it very well.  I am going to get some strawberry syrup and see if that helps any.  I tried chocolate today, but she did not drink very much more than usual.  She does, however, gulp down water or juice in a sippy cup.  She is such a good eater.  She will eat almost anything.  In fact, I don't know of anything she won't eat.  I just hope she keeps that up as she grows older...especially the vegetables!

No More Milk...

Okay, I think I forgot to mention that Summer was waving and saying "Bye" the other day when we were leaving the airport on the shuttle bus.  She has done it before maybe once or twice, but it is not often.  But, it is sooo cute.  I have tried to get her to do it a few times since then, but it seems all she will do is wave....sometimes.    I know pretty soon she will be doing it all the time and it won't be as special as it is now.  One day all I will have is the memories we make today so I want to try to make as many memories as possible and write about them.  That way when she is all grown up, she will be able to look back and see all the milestones of her life. 

She had a bath today with the new duck I got her last night at a consignment sale.  It is a BIG duck!  She also has a smaller duck.  I think she preferred the smaller duck, but she did give the other duck some attention too.  I bathed her and tried to get her to "quack, quack, quack" like the ducks.  I even tried to video tape her playing with the ducks, but my battery died...ughhh...just when I was ready to capture a cute moment in her life.    I did get a few pics which I hope to post later tonight.  Anyways, she was all clean and rinsed and playing with the ducks and IT HAPPENED!!!  She pooped in the tub!  I am really surprised that this is the first time it has happened.  I tried to pick it out and was somewhat successful...somewhat.  :)  I cut the water back on and rinsed her while it was running which she surprisingly did not mind.   Yeah!  She was preoccupied with the duck so I guess she didn't realize what I was doing.  She is doing pretty good taking a bath in the big bathtub.  At first she didn't like to be in there by herself, but the ducks really help to keep her occupied. 

Friday morning was the last time I nursed Summer.  She is doing very well with not nursing, and so am I.  I thought it would be hard, but her focus was very low during nursing so I just decided that was it...NO MORE BOOBY!  Last night Clint gave her a bottle of breast milk (from the freezer) and he said she drank all 5 ounces without even taking her mouth off of the bottle.  I amhoping she will start drinking milk out of a sippy cup, but so far she has only drank a little.  She will finish 1-2 sippy cups full of water and juice a day, but I can't hardly get her to drink milk.  Sometimes she will drink it out of a bottle pretty good, but she needs to be tired or held or something to get her to drink it.  I haven't exactly figured out what the magic trick is yet, but I am working on it.  She really needs the protein and calcium and other stuff from the milk.  I try to make sure she gets enough Vitamin A and C every day too.  I try to feed her at least two different fruits, at least one or two vegetables/dinners, a bowl of oatmeal/cereal, and a yogurt everyday.  Of course sometimes there are rice, crackers, and bread too.  She really likes grilled cheese sandwiches.  I break it up into little pieces so she will not get choked like she would if I just gave her the whole sandwich and watched her stuff it into her mouth...and she would.  She is a pretty good chewer although she still only has two teeth.  But, sometimes she will put a big piece of bread into her mouth and will not be able to chew it up.  She also likes lasagne, spaghetti and hamburger helper.  She ate a little box of Corn Puffs last week while we were in Vegas.  It took her a few days to get it all down, but was a pretty good snack for her.  She loves to feed herself so I like to give her things she can eat by herself as often as possible.  She even tried to give herself a few bites of oatmeal this morning.  I did help her, but she grabbed the spoon like she wanted to do it, so I let her try.  I am NOT ready for that yet though.  My little baby is turning into a little girl and fast.  She needs to slow down.

Home Sweet Home

We finally made it home...YEAH!!!  It was so nice to get away, but it so nice to be back home too.  Two trips in a row was nice, but it is bad when I can't remember the last time Summer played in the floor.  Today after we got home, she would not play in the floor by herself.  She was a mamma's girl!  It was nice to feel loved and wanted by her, but I was happy when she finally went to bed and I had my arms free.  I have got SOOOO much to do tomorrow.  We have a  real estate agent coming at 1:00, and my house is a DISASTER!  Clint and I are sitting here having a nice chat with Amanda right now.  It seems she had an exciting weekend without any parental supervision...imagine that! 

Time with Nono and Nona

Clint's mom and dad, Nona & Nono (Italian for Grandma and Grandpa), watched Summer for us last night again.  They also kept her when we went to the All-Star game on Sunday.  It was nice to get out alone a few nights while in Vegas.  It was also good for Summer to get to spend some time alone with her grandparents.  Clint's mom even watched her this morning when she got up and let me go back to sleep.  My dad wants to watch her this afternoon, so I may go play some video poker if I feel like it.  So far I am up $75 this trip which is probably the best I have ever done.  I'm not sure if I want to "take the money and run" or go try to win more. 

Summer came down with a runny nose and cough on Monday.  Her eyes are watery and tears just roll down her face even though she is not crying.  I have had to suction her nose a few times to help her breath, and she does NOT like it...not one bit!!!  Now that she is bigger, it is hard to hold her still to get it out.  Not only does she turn her head, she uses her arms to push me away.  I wish she could understand that it is for her own good.  Thankfully, she is only upset while I am suctioning.  As soon as I am done, she is back to her happy self again.  I hope she gets feeling better today because we fly back tomorrow morning. 

New Words

Okay, all my stuff just got erased so here I go again....ughhhhhh!

Summer has been saying a few words lately.  She says "Baby" quite often, but I am not sure exactly what makes her want to say that.  There is an occasional "Hi" and "Bye" as well.  When we are looking at books with animal pictures in them, she will mimic the sound I make.  "Moo" is "Mmmm".  "Quack, quack, quack" is "Dack, dack ,dack" (or something like that).  When I make the monkey sound, she just laughs.  I guess it is a hard one.  She pretty much tries to mimic every sound I make except "Mama."  That is still "Dada."  Oh well, I'm sure it will happen soon. 

We are in Vegas again.  We had to make a last minute reservations Friday night so we could fly out here on Saturday and watch the All Star Game.  Saturday was one of the longest days of my life.  It took us over 12 hours to get here after picking Summer up from my mom's house.  She did pretty good on the flights this time -- there were 3 to get us here.  She slept on the longest one which was good except for I couldn't move for fear of waking her up.  I wish I could've slept, but I have never been one to sleep on airplanes. 

Well, it is time for breakfast.  Summer got up this morning around 5:00 and went back to sleep at 6:00.  She is still asleep and it is almost 9:30.  I better go check on her.

Playgym

I took Summer to a Playgym class at the Creative Discovery Museum today.  It was fun.   We did several activities which were all fun for Summer except one.  She had to lay down on her back for one of the activities which is not something she does well...or likes at all!  So, she only did "Ring Around the Rosies" once.  I didn't push her to do it, but tried to make it look like fun so hopefully she will want to do it next time.  They do basically the same thing every time you go so that the kids will learn by repetition.  They even teach some sign language which I am happy about.  Maybe now Summer will actually learn some of it and I will be more consistent in using it.  I want to join the class and take Summer every week.  Overall it was fun and I think she enjoyed it.  She did something new while we were there -- SHE CLAPPED HER HANDS!  I was so excited and surprised to see this. She never claps her hands when I do "Patty Cake."  But, today when all the babies were all sitting on this "log" listening to a choo-choo train song and bouncing up and down while looking at themselves in the mirror, she started clapping.  Alicia saw it too.  It is really funny that she did it today because last week when Alicia called me to set this up, she told me that Liliana had started clapping.  When I got off of the phone with her, I was all "Clint, I gotta teach Summer to clap before Thursday!"  But, I didn't, or at least I don't think I did.  Anyway, I was so happy when she did it today in class.  She also did it when we were with my mom and Tre at dinner tonight.  She LOVES them....SERIOUSLY! 

She always lights up when they come into the room.  I don't know what it is about them, but they can really make her laugh.  I am a little jealous of just how happy she is to see them sometimes, but it always makes me feel good to know that she is happy and having a great time when she is with them...because they get to keep her quite a bit!  (Thanks Mom & Tre)  I am so lucky to have them and also my sister to help me out with Summer all the time.  I don't know what I would do without them besides definitely not go out with my husband on Friday nights.  (Again Thanks!!!)  I do look forward to our evenings alone even if we only spend it on the couch watching TV. 

I finally talked my best friend since middle school, Selena, into coming and hanging out with me tomorrow night...ditching her baby and husband....YEAH!!!.  It is so hard to believe that she finally accepted my invitation which has been out there for over three months.  Her baby is 15 months old and can walk and talk and all of that fancy stuff.  I am excited to spend the evening with her tomorrow...minus babies.  We get together every few weeks with them, but never alone.  I don't think I have seen her but once in the past 15 months, at our 10 year reunion, without her daughter.  I wonder if all we will talk about is our babies...that will sure be different than our old conversations: pre-baby.  Oh well, I am excited anyway.  It seems like all my old friends either have babies or moved away (you know who you are...call me!) or got married so I don't really get to hang out with anyone but Clint and our "couple friends" which is fine, but I do miss my "partying days" (is that what they are called?) a little.  I am grateful for my life as it is now though.  I am really enjoying being a mom and even contemplating another one.  Did I say that out loud?  One what? 

Saturday night I am getting my sister's 3 kids...ages 6, 5, & 4.  I can't wait to spend some time with them.  I even rented a movie (cartoon) which I have not seen nor do I remember the name of it....hmmmm.  Oh well, I just hope they want to see it.  I am actually going to try to sit down and watch the movie with them this time...which I never seem to get around to.  But, after Summer goes to bed I hope to put this in and maybe pop some popcorn or something.  We'll have to see how the evening goes, but I can't wait. 

Okay...off to bed or some more blog reading one.  I'm waiting on Clint to get home which won't be for another couple of hours......

Pics as promised...and another tantrum

Here are the pics I promised.  Summer threw another tantrum this morning which lasted about 10 minutes.  I called my mom while I was waiting for her to stop crying to see if she had experienced the same thing when I was little.  She said that once when I was a baby/toddler I threw a tantrum for 3 or 4 hours straight.  She left me alone in my crib and checked on me when I stopped crying.  Then I would start screaming again and she would leave.  Finally, she said I gave it up and went to sleep.  That was the last tantrum she remembers.  I hope Summer doesn't every throw one for that long because I don't know if I could be as strong as my mom was.  Well, I am ready for bed. 

Tantrums

Summer has started throwing tantrums recently....and I DO NOT LIKE THEM!  But, who does?   If she does not get what she wants, she will scream and cry until she either gets it (which I am not doing if I can help it) or forgets about it and moves one.  I like it when she does the latter...and quickly please!  I am trying to ignore her when I know she is just trying to get her way and it is not in her best interest to give her what she wants.  The pediatrician actually told me that I should do that when we were there last week.  I definitely do not want this to become a habit, so I am going to try to nip it in the bud from the get go.  She actually threw a little tantrum last night when I put her to bed.  This was the first time she did this, but, thankfully, it did not last long.  She also has started to whine which is a little more subtle, but I don't want to teach her to do it either so I am trying to teach her positive ways of getting my attention.  I really can't wait until she can talk...or learn to sign.  That would really be great, but I have not been that consistent using the signs.  I am really going to try to focus on that this week.  I want to teach her "more" so hopefully she will sign "more" when she wants more to eat instead of whining when I am feeding her too slow.  Oh yeah...and "Mommy"...that would be great!  That would count as her saying my name too right?  We'll see how it goes.  I can always wish, can't I? 

Well, it is late and I am going to bed.  I finally got the pics on the computer tonight so I will try to post them in the next few days. 

9 month check up

Summer had her 9 month check up on Thursday afternoon.  She is a whopping 20 lb. 7 oz.  and 28.25 inches tall now.  She is still in the 75th percentile for weight and height...she's a big girl. 

They had to prick her finger to check her hemoglobin while we were there (12.3 I think).  Surprisingly, she did not cry.  But, she did bleed...and bleed...and bleed...right through the band aid and all over everything.  Clint and I finally got it to stop bleeding while we were waiting for the doctor.  We found some gauze and more band aids in a drawer.  The first bandaid I put on her only stayed on a few seconds...she did not like having it on her finger.  So, we found some tape and tried to tape the gauze to it.  She got that off in no time at all so we tried taping two fingers together...again she got it off quickly.  On our third attempt we got it to stay on for maybe a minute...maybe.  She was also successful in removing it, but by the time she did the finger had finally stopped bleeding.  Whewww!!!

The doctor says she is still ahead developmentally.  Summer really put on a show for her.  She would laugh and make funny noises to make sure the doctor was focusing on her.  She was very fascinated with the stethoscope, more so than usual.  I was surprised that she did not try to put it in her mouth as she does EVERYTHING else.

I, of course, forgot to ask a few questions that I have regarding her drinking.  Like what should she be drinking-milk or juice or water? and How much per day is enough/too little?  I wanted to mention that I was giving her milk during the day to see what the dr.'s reaction would be, but that too fled my mind while I was talking to the dr.  hmmmmmmm

Overall, Summer was found to be in good health which I am very grateful for.  I am soooo lucky to have a healthy and beautiful little girl!

Remembering the Good Times

We had a great trip to Vegas.  My only complaint is that it went by too fast.  My in laws were wonderful hosts, as usual.  They took us to eat at fancy restaurants in casinos and loaded me up on cookies and sweets. 

Summer did pretty good on the flights to and from Vegas.  I made the mistake of waking her up (while trying to clip her nails) on the flight back so she was not in the best mood for the duration of that flight.  She did flirt with the men sitting behind us...I know, I know she is too young to be flirting with the men, but she does like to get their attention.  Scary, huh?  I guess she does try to get women's attention too if they are not paying enough attention to her.  She really likes to put on a show now.  I can only imagine what it will be like in a few years when she can talk.  She seems to have a pretty outgoing personality so far.  She is not scared of strangers which is good and bad.  I guess she is exposed to a variety of people because we are pretty much on the go most of the time. 

Her sleep schedule was not as bad as it could've been.  She got up between 5:00 and 5:30 almost every morning which meant she was ready for a nap by 8:00 if not earlier.  She went to bed around 7:00...or as late as I could keep her eyes open.  She would've went to bed earlier, but I wanted to keep her up as late possible hoping she would sleep later.  Clint's mom and dad went out and bought a pack-n-play before we got there so we did not have to drag ours all the way across country....Thank Goodness!  We already had enough luggage to carry...along with a 20 pound squirmy baby.  I was glad we had that because I did not have to worry about her after I put her to sleep.  The last trip out there she slept in the floor, but that was before she could crawl and climb up on things.  She will not hardly go to sleep in the floor anymore because she knows she does not have to stay where I put her...she can just crawl to where she wants to go. 

Let's see.....I feel like I am missing something, but I can't think of it right now.  I will try to get pics from  the trip up later tonight.

I Feel Like a Gas Pump (or something)

Lately, it feels like Summer has been "pulling up to the pump" when she nurses.  She will start off with her head laying on my arm...looking at me.  Then she will decide she wants to look around and she will lift her head up and look around all the while continuing to suck.  It is kind of funny except that then she starts twisting the rest of her body and before I know it she is not laying down at all.  Instead, she is basically on all fours peering around the room.  I think she might be ready to stop nursing, but I am still having a little trouble giving it up.  Maybe I will be ready in the next few weeks.  I don't actually think she is getting much anymore anyway.  She has bitten me a few times in the past few days which she seems to only do on the nipple that is already falling apart...OUCH!!!  Oh well, I am going to try to hold on for a while longer and soak it up while it lasts (the bonding not the biting).

I'll write more about my trip later.  I gotta go meet Clint for an afternoon snack.