Sept2004 Moms and Babes...Starting Year 2

[September2004Mommas]

The Grand List of September 2004 Mommies and Babies!!

AmyPooh (AmyInDallas on WC)
Me: Amy, 28
DH: Rich, 32
Married: 8/3/2002
DD: Kailey Catheryn
Date of Birth: 9/3/2004
Time of Birth: 1:18PM
Weight and Length: 6lbs 4oz 18"
New Baby #2 Expected - Nov 26, 2005 - Big Sono next week!

AttyGrl74 aka MonkeysMama
Me: Kelly, 31
DH: Jason, almost 33
Married: 1/11/03
Eleanor Ruth ("Nora")
9/15/04
8:18am
8 lbs., 2oz., 21" long

Chelsea524
Me: Chelsea, 23
DH: Jonathan, 34
Married: 09/04/02
Corbin
8/13/04
2:27(I think)
6lbs 12oz, 19in
Other children:
Trystin 9/29/99

CC: cpbride8203
Me: Jen, 29
DH: Jim, 32
Married: 8-2-03
Baby's Name: Kylie Jean
Date of birth : 8-30-04
Time of birth : 12:23 pm
Weight and Length: 6lbs 8 ozs, 18 1/2 inches

CC Name: Darin's Girl
Me: Emily, 29
DH: Darin, 37
Married: 9-6-03
Madelyn Fae aka "Maddie"
9-10-04
3 lbs 14 oz 16 1/2 inches (6 weeks early)

ez2luv (CanadianBride1)
Me: Tammi
DH: Trevor
Married: 9/29/01
DD: Isabelle Brenda
9/18/04
2:11 AM
7 lbs, 4 Oz; 21 inches long

Goldenbridge
Me: Jennifer
DH: Miguel
Married- 9/6/03
DS: Andrew Miguel
8/28/04
6:04 am
8lbs 4 oz 19 1/2 in

CC: Islandbride1025
Me: Kelly, 35
DH: Al, 40
Married: 10-25-03
DS: Myles
Baby's Name: Madison DeVon
Date of birth : 9-20-04
Time of birth : 11:55 pm
Weight and Length: 7lbs 4ozs, 21 inches

CC Name: Jeggink
Me: Judi, 32
DH: Dan, 32
Married: 9-28-02
Joseph, 9-23-04
5 lbs 6 oz 19 inches (5 weeks early)

Me: Joann 33
DH: Chip 37
Married: 6/01/02
William Edward
9/03/04
9lbs3ounces, 22"
Add: Alli 6/11/03

marathongirl
Me: Sue (30)
DH: Tim (32)
Married: 12/01/01
DD: Claire Sophia
B-day: 9/16/04
Weight: 6lbs 12ozs
Length: 20.5 inches
Time: 9:15pm

NikosMommy (bmlp224 on WC)
Me: Lorraine, 37
DH: Brian, 33
Married: 8/7/02
3 Angel Babies
DS: Nikolas Peter
Date of Birth: 8/30/04
Time of Birth: 6:19 PM
Weight and Length: 7 lbs. 6.05 oz. 20"
Niko will be a big brother in June 2006

Sidsou
Me - Ann (33)
DH - Darren (41)
Married - August 4,2001
DS - Kyle Anthony
August 31, 2004
weight - 9pounds 7 ounces
height - 22 inches

SiValleySteph
Me: Stephanie, 28
DH: Tim, 28
Married: 7/4/03
Lucas Alexander
9/27/04
4:16 PM
8 lbs, 21-3/4" long

[September2004Mommas]

Our Babes...By Birthday...

Corbin 8-13-04

Andrew Miguel 8-28-04
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d924b3127cce92c02d150cc800000015109IZtHDhy2c

Kylie Jean 8-30-04
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d925b3127cce92ff3a7ab56b00000025119AatGbNw0a4

Nikolas Peter 8-30-04
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d611b3127cce93b33195d89f00000075108AYtWjhm1ctu

Kyle Anthony 8-31-04

Kailey Catheryn 9-3-04
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/amypooh/kailey%20pro%20photos/June1.jpg

William Edward 9-3-04
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/mom2alliwill/100_0214.jpg

Madelyn Fae aka "Maddie" 9-10-04
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d926b3127cce92f9e96a9ccf00000006109UauHLdqQ

[September2004Mommas]

Eleanor Ruth ("Nora") 9-15-04
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d925b3127cce92c18789b5c900000025118EcNXDFo0ac

Claire Sophia 9-16-04

Isabelle Brenda 9-18-04
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d926b3127cce92f7cf4edc6300000016108EYs2jFsyaY

Madison DeVon ("Pie") 9-20-04
http://images.snapfish.com/3443%3A7%3B523232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D%3B%3B6%3 D%3B64%3DXROQDF%3E232394954%3B549ot1lsi

Joseph 9-23-04
http://images.snapfish.com/344439%3B923232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E232%3A%3D796%3D77%3A %3DXROQDF%3E23238%3A%3B%3A952%3C7ot1lsi

Lucas Alexander 9-27-04
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d811b3127cce92d536b002ba00000016108EZuWrFs4aK

[September2004Mommas]

** saving one more**

[September2004Mommas]

Hi girls - hope everyone will check in....Post your stats!

CC Name
Me: Name, age
DH: Name, age
Married: Date
Baby's Name
Date of birth
Time of birth
Weight and Length
Any pictures(birth/1 year old)
Other children

Any suggestions welcome...anyone want to help? PM me! Thanks!

- Jen (CP)

[cpbride8203]

I'll start!

CC: cpbride8203
Me: Jen, 29
DH: Jim, 32
Married: 8-2-03
Baby's Name: Kylie Jean
Date of birth : 8-30-04
Time of birth : 12:23 pm
Weight and Length: 6lbs 8 ozs, 18 1/2 inches

Birth Pic:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4ce07b3127cce9bf4a7a1c3e300000016109AatGbNw0a4

10 months old:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d925b3127cce92ff3a7ab56b00000025119AatGbNw0a4

[amypooh]

AmyPooh (AmyInDallas on WC)
Me: Amy, 28
DH: Rich, 32
Married: 8/3/2002
DD: Kailey Catheryn
Date of Birth: 9/3/2004
Time of Birth: 1:18PM
Weight and Length: 6lbs 4oz 18"
New Baby #2 Expected - Nov 26, 2005 - Big Sono next week!

Birth:
http://www.kaileycat.com/1stPhotos/babygiraffe.jpg

9Month:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/amypooh/kailey%20pro%20photos/June1.jpg

July 2005 - 10 Months:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/amypooh/DSC_1094.jpg

[Islandbride1025]

CC: Islandbride1025
Me: Kelly, 35
DH: Al, 40
Married: 10-25-03
DS: Myles
Baby's Name: Madison DeVon
Date of birth : 9-20-04
Time of birth : 11:55 pm
Weight and Length: 7lbs 4ozs, 21 inches

http://images.snapfish.com/3443%3A7%3B523232%7Ffp3%3B%3Dot%3E2323%3D745%3D%3A %3A8%3D32327459%3B759%3Anu0mrj
http://images.snapfish.com/3443%3A7%3B523232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E2323%3D745%3D%3A%3 A8%3D32327459%3B7%3C58nu0mrj
http://images.snapfish.com/3443%3A7%3B523232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D%3B%3B6%3 D%3B64%3DXROQDF%3E232394954%3B549ot1lsi

[mommy2AlliWill]

Me: Joann 33
DH: Chip 37
Married: 6/01/02
William Edward
9/03/04
9lbs3ounces, 22"
Add: Alli 6/11/03
Birth
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4d727b3127cce9e01788948fe00000016108AYtGTdq0cs7
Couple weeks ago
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/mom2alliwill/100_0214.jpg

[AttyGrl74]

AttyGrl74 aka MonkeysMama
Me: Kelly, 31
DH: Jason, almost 33
Married: 1/11/03
Eleanor Ruth ("Nora")
9/15/04
8:18am
8 lbs., 2oz., 21" long

Birthday Bath:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4d734b3127cce9c3fbbf4496e00000016108EcNXDFo0ac

9 months:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d925b3127cce92c18789b5c900000025118EcNXDFo0ac


I'm *so happy* to see you girls!

[SiValleySteph]

SiValleySteph
Me: Stephanie, 28
DH: Tim, 28
Married: 7/4/03
Lucas Alexander
9/27/04
4:16 PM
8 lbs, 21-3/4" long

Just about to leave the hospital! 1-1/2 days old.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5df22b3127cce9dbbfefd268c00000016108EZuWrFs4aK

8 months old, takin' a bath!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d811b3127cce92d536b002ba00000016108EZuWrFs4aK

I need to get some new pictures on-line, since this one is from the end of May!!

[Chelsea524]

Chelsea524
Me: Chelsea, 23
DH: Jonathan, 34
Married: 09/04/02
Corbin
8/13/04
2:27(I think)
6lbs 12oz, 19in
Other children:
Trystin 9/29/99

Hi all, I have not posted for ever at the WC but I was always checking in on all of you and your cute babies!

Corbin is doing great, growing like a weed, he is almost 11 months and still refuses to crawl, he can hold on to furniture but cannot pull himself up yet and doesn't realise those things and the bottom of his legs are supposed to lift off the ground. He has started to try to talk, he can say dog, duck and trys to say snake but only gets the sssk, he is so much fun right now. We are still nursing but he only has the patience for that first thing in the morning, nap time, and at night, he still wakes up a couple times a night. He used to be so chunky but has started to slim down and just get really long, he eats solids and loves them, the doc said to start introducing table foods and he loves them, especially rice and eggs.

I know there were posts that I wanted to reply to but that is on the other boards and I can't remember, sorry. I promise I will be better at posting here at least a couple times a week.
Kisses to all the cute babies!!!

[goldengbridge]

I'm Here, I'm here!!!!!!! Lets see if I can get all cozy over here. So far I like it!

Me: Jennifer
DH: Miguel
Married- 9/6/03
DS: Andrew Miguel
8/28/04
6:04 am
8lbs 4 oz 19 1/2 in

I dont have any pics of him right after he was born. He taken from me right after delivery because he wasn't breathing. This is one of the only "first" pics I have. This is about 4 day after his first open heart surgery- Children's Hospital of Phila.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4d732b3127cce9afe372fdbd300000016109IZtHDhy2c9

July 2005- 10 months old! Look how far I've come!!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d924b3127cce92c02d150cc800000015109IZtHDhy2c

Glad to see you girls. I feel bad about Jazz not moving with us. I don't want to lose anyone!

[ez2luv]

ez2luv (CanadianBride1)
Me: Tammi
DH: Trevor
Married: 9/29/01
DD: Isabelle Brenda
9/18/04
2:11 AM
7 lbs, 4 Oz; 21 inches long

At birth:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4ce24b3127cce9ca9831caa1f00000016108EYs2jFsyaY


Last Week:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d926b3127cce92f7cf4edc6300000016108EYs2jFsyaY


I feel bad about Jazz too - I know it's a pain to uproot, but I want to still chat with you all (to me, it's worth it!)
Hope we don't lose anyone else....

amypooh - good luck at the big u/s...are you going to find out??

Ya!!!! Atty, Was wondering where you've been, glad to see you!

Golden - that's the cutest shirt, where'd you find it??

Hi to everyone else!

[cpbride8203]

Hi girls - I will try to update the front page sometime today.

Was a busy weekend, no computer at home yet, and we just found out that my brother's best friend was killed in Iraq, so today isn't going to be a great day.

I feel very bad about Jazz as well - I don't want to lose anyone...just seems like everyone is over here now.

[amypooh]

ez2luv - We would definitely love to know what #2 is if he/she will cooperate. :)

[ez2luv]

CP - That's such aweful news, sorry to hear about it :(

Amy - Well good luck and I hope he/she cooperates. How exciting - I really do miss being PG and the joy of it all. That's why I know that someday I'd love to have another child. Not now, but someday. Belly rubs for good luck!

[Islandbride1025]

Good Day Ladies, hope you all had a nice weekend. It was gorgeous in NJ. Took the kiddies to the pool.

I love the first page with all our babies photos. Had I known you were gonna do that I would have posted one of Pie by herself. I can't believe it's been a year, boy time flies.

ez (almost posted Canadian), I miss being preg also. But I'm done, no more for me.

amy hope #2 cooperates. Can't wait to find out.

cp so sad about your brother's friend.

Gotta upload some new pics.

Ciao

[cpbride8203]

Thanks all for your wishes. It is such a tragedy - the family is not taking it well.

Island - Post another picture and let me know...I can change Pie's front page picture.

Amy - any feelings on what baby #2 might be?

[amypooh]

ez2luv - #2 is way harder then being pregnant the first time. After this one we may be done, I loved being pregnant with Kailey, but this is way harder this go round!

cp - I dont know. At first I was positive it was another girl. In my heart of hearts I just knew another girl. But then I was at daycare the other day and one of Kailey's little buddies Heath crawled up in my lap and was snuggling me and I thought wow it would be so great to have a little boy. So then I was thinking it was a boy. But for the last two weeks I just don't know either way.

[goldengbridge]

EZ- God its hard not typing canadian :p - I got that outfit at The Children's Place. He has another one that says "Hello I am Adorable" They had all kinds and for girls they had Hello I am snuggable. They're really cute. I love their clothes. Andrews got everything from there.

His fever broke and he broke out in a rash- it was roseola. Its gone now but wow last week was a long hard week!

Amy- what day do u find out?

I miss being Pg too and i can imagine that the 2nd time around is harder. we're not trying again till next fall after Andrew's 3rd surgery.

5 more days till vacation............. :rolleyes:

[marathongirl]

I'm here! I'm here!

Me: Sue (30)
DH: Tim (32)
Married: 12/01/01
DD: Claire Sophia
B-day: 9/16/04
Weight: 6lbs 12ozs
Length: 20.5 inches
Time: 9:15pm

I think I got all the info. I'll post pics later. Do you post them the same as on WC?

chelsea - good to hear from you again!

amy - hope #2 cooperates!

cp - sorry to hear about your brother's friend!

golden - enjoy your vacation!

Hello island, sivalley, EZ, and everyone else!

I do hate leaving jazz behind. I hope she checks over here once in a while.

We survived the ILs. Claire was so good in the car considering it's a 6 hour drive. Actually, the whole weekend went well! ILs behaved too! Gotta go crying baby! BBL!

[SiValleySteph]

amypooh, I think the great thing about having a 2nd baby is it would just be really great to have either a boy or a girl. If you have the same sex you already have, great! You have 2 best friends and you already know how everything works. If you have the other sex, great! You have one of each! That's what I've always though, anyways. :D Hope your little one cooperates at your ultrasound!

cp, Sorry about your brother's friend. :( I hate hearing about soldiers being killed in Iraq when it doesn't seem like there was even a reason for us to have sent them there in the first place.

Did Jazz say she wouldn't be coming over here? :( I would hate to miss hearing about baby Alyona.

Hello to everyone else! marathon, island , ez, golden and all! :D

I've got to run to go pump. I'm still pumping breast milk for Lucas at 9 months. Less than 3 months to go! I'm planning on retiring the pump around the 1 year mark.

[AttyGrl74]

Happy Monday all!

Nora has like 3 teeth all trying to come in at once.

Motrin is my new best friend.

We got a Baby Safe Feeder this weekend and it is fun! Have ya'll tried them? I feel like I'm so out of the "Cool-stuff" loop since I have no IRL friends with bebes!

[Darin's Girl]

Hey Girls! Can I join you? I followed the cool kids from WC over here. ;)

CC Name: Darin's Girl
Me: Emily, 29
DH: Darin, 37
Married: 9-6-03
Madelyn Fae aka "Maddie"
9-10-04
3 lbs 14 oz 16 1/2 inches (6 weeks early)


Birth Pic:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d930b3127cce92e9daa9061200000016109UauHLdqQ

9 1/2 Months:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d926b3127cce92f9e96a9ccf00000006109UauHLdqQ

Out of curiosity how big are your babies now? At her last Dr. appt a couple of weeks ago, Maddie was 25 1/2 inches and just over 14 lbs.

[SiValleySteph]

Hello and Welcome Darin's Girl! :D Maddie looks so cute in her Hawaiian dress on her surf board!

Lucas is about 20-1/2 pounds and 30" tall.

Lucas was being so cute this weekend. DH taught him to make the "Indian sound" where you have your mouth open and then you pat your mouth with your palm. Hard to describe, so I hope you all can figure out what I mean! DS picked up the idea and did it on and off all weekend. So cute!

Saturday we went to the climbing gym and Lucas crawled all around the floor there. It's nice and springy. I just kept him out of the way of any climbers. It's was so nice to find something athletic we can do where we can bring the baby. Of course, we need to go with friends since one of us needs to be watching the baby at all times, so we couldn't have one of us climbing and one belaying. We went on a hike yesterday and he seemed to enjoy it. We went with a friend and she was saying that he was just the happiest baby. He really is happy and fun when out and about for the most part.

He has gotten really good at climbing the stairs. Saturday, he surprised me by climbing back down the prober way (feet first!). I didn't know he knew how to do that. Of course, then on Sunday he tried to crawl down head first. Silly kid! ;) He also has started to take a few steps while standing and holding on to things. He's mostly just moving sideways right now. Some of his favorite places to stand include holding on to the foot rest on his high chair and holding on to our bathtub while checking to be sure the cold water is off. :p This morning he found out that if you turn the faucet the other way, water comes out. He just couldn't reach that water spay, though, no matter how he tried!

Nights have been tough recently. He just doesn't want to go to bed, which is fine, except that he will sometimes get to a point where he doesn't want to be held, but he doesn't want you to leave his side, either. This makes it hard to get things done, like last night I wanted to put the clean sheets on the bed and he wasn't having it! He also seems to be waking up a lot more. I think he might be getting another tooth soon, so I hope that's it!

[ez2luv]

SiValley - I hate not knowing what to call things, especially to write it down, say, in the baby book. I know what you mean, BTW.
Belle hasn't really been near stairs. We gate off the ones going downstairs, maybe I should let her climb to learn??

Darin's Girl - Welcome!!!! At Belles 9 month appt she was 20 lbs and 28 inches tall

Atty - ?? What is a Baby Safe feeder?? I can't seem to even imagine what that is....

Golden - I know, I should have kept CanadianBride1 here too, but I really didn't think you all would be here, plus I'm not really a bride anymore so it's false advertising, or something LOL I can't even get used to it, you must all be having a hard time!!!
Kids aren't bad enough, now you have me to keep you on your toes too!!
(ETA :There, I added a siggie...)

~~I've been meaning to ask : Anyone know why it says 'too cool to care' under all our names???~~

[marathongirl]

Darin's girl - welcome! Claire weighed 16 lbs and was 26 3/4 inches tall at her 9 month visit.

SiValley - Lucas is learning so much, so fast! It's so amazing to watch isn't it?

Atty - I hope Nora's teeth pop through soon. We still don't have any teeth, but my mom said I was almost a year old before I got my first so maybe Claire will take after me.

Claire is FINALLY sleeping better!!! HOORAY! She only gets up once a night now, very rarely twice. And I've even gotten her to take 90 minute naps in the afternoon. It's funny - she's only been sleeping better for about 2 weeks and I've *almost* forgotten how incredibly sleep deprived I was for the last 10 months.

Claire has also learned how to clap and wave. So we've been clapping and waving at everything. Tomorrow is going to be her first time in a swimming pool. I can't wait to see her in her bathing suit!

As much as I hate to admit this, I think I regret a little quitting my job. I love being a SAHM, but I do miss the mental stimulation. One of my friends is a headhunter so I may talk to her. I really just want something that's like 3-4 hours a day once or twice a week. Even if I'm just stuffing envelopes. Staying at home all day, every day is tougher than I thought it was going to be. I do go out with other moms in my MOMS Club about once a week, so we look forward to that.

Anyway... hope everyone's doing well!

Has sidsou made it over here yet?

[jeggink]

I am a part of the October thread at WC, but had my baby 5 weeks early in September, so i thought I would join up :).

CC Name: Jeggink
Me: Judi, 32
DH: Dan, 32
Married: 9-28-02
Joseph, 9-23-04
5 lbs 6 oz 19 inches (5 weeks early)

Joseph when he was born
http://images.snapfish.com/344439%3B923232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E232%3A%3D796%3D77%3A %3DXROQDF%3E2323647975386ot1lsi

Joseph at 8.5 months
http://images.snapfish.com/344439%3B923232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E232%3A%3D796%3D77%3A %3DXROQDF%3E23238%3A%3B%3A952%3C7ot1lsi

At 9 months Joseph was 21 lbs 12oz and 29.25" long. Joseph has been through a lot with the bacterial meningitis and hospital stay. But, he is crawling now (physical therapy is wonderful), pulling up and cruising a little bit. He will walk if we hold his hand but I think walking on his own will still be a bit as he can't stand on his own yet.

Looking forward to reading up with everyone :).

[AttyGrl74]

I love it that we're "back in business"!

Tammi - "Too Cool To Care" refers to your status as a Junior Member (less than 100 posts), Senior Members are something else, and then there's the moderators - "Mod Squad".

The Baby Safe Feeder is this:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000056JCY.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

I got it at BRU - you can put whole fresh foods or frozen foods in it and then the babies chew at the food but only small bits can get through the mesh. Nora LOVES frozen mango - it feels good on her teeth.

Sue - sorry about your lack-of-mental-stimulation feelings! I hope you can find something that will be perfect for you!

Welcome Judi!

And Jen (Golden) - I forgot to send you my most recent coups. They may be expired now, I'm not sure - wanna email me your new address and I'll send them anyway? AttyGrl74 at aol dot com.

[cpbride8203]

hmmmm...have not been getting any emails...bad thread mistress! let me update the first page and I will be back to catch up!

If anyone wants to help keep the thread up to date, PM me and I will send you the info...

[cpbride8203]

Welcome back everyone!

Kylie has her 10 month appt in a week, and I am guessing she is about 17.5 lbs and 27-28 inches.

Marathon - YEAH for napping and sleep! I think I might miss the interaction as well if I were a SAHM...see if you can find something part time!

Atty - I was looking at those safe feeder things the other day, but wasn't too sure about them. Maybe we will give it a try.

Kylie loves to walk all over the place now. And she doesn't want to hold your hand...she wants to do it herself. I know we have only been in the new house a short time, but I really need to go out and get rugs for the hardwood floors. I feel so bad when she falls down and forget socks...she slides all over the place.

I know there was a thread about this, but thought I would throw it out there...

QOTD: What are your 1st birthday plans? Themes? Ideas?

I think I decided on these invites:
http://www.paperstyle.com/images/product_images/7/4/items_full_image_8947.jpg

And these plates/napkins/etc:
http://birthdayexpress.speedera.net/images.birthdayexpress.com/bexpress/assets/product_images/E2429.jpg

We are going to have a bbq at our new house with family and friends, and I am going to get either a giant Elmo impersonator or this balloon guy that our friends used...thinking the balloon man since there will be more older kids at the party.

[Darin's Girl]

I think we are going to do a luau theme for Maddie's B-day. I was just looking for invites last night. I *think* I may attempt to take her picture similar to this invite:

http://www.announcingit.com/images/aloha.jpg

I found a couple of different ways to word it. I'll have to play around with what I like best.

INVITATION WORDING #1
A year has passed and I'm turning one.
So mommy & daddy have planned some fun.
An island paradise made just for you & me,
With beach toys, pineapples and palm trees.
So, put on your wildest Hawaiian wear & leis.
Don't forget a swimsuit, sunscreen & shades.
And join me at my house August 10th at two.
I'll be waiting for you out by the pool!

INVITATION WORDING #2
Please join us to say:
Aloha & Happy 1st Birthday!
To celebrate our hula girl turning one,
We've planned a day of tropical fun.
Please join us...

INVITATION WORDING #3
It's hard to believe
She's growing so fast
but it's true,
the time has come at last!
Madelyn is celebrating
Her 1st Birthday
So help us celebrate,
have fun and play!

That's as far as I have gotten on planning. Can't wait to see some of your other ideas!

[Chelsea524]

Darins Girl, I love those invites, so cute, and the wording is really cute too.
CP, I can't believe Kylie is walking already, crazy, thanks so much for managing this thread, I would offer to help but I rarely get a chance to get online anymore.
Atty I tried those with my older son and he loved it, haven't really tried it with Corbin yet though, I swear he can eat anything, he gumms everything into mush
Hello to everyone else!

Well, just over the weekend Corbin has started doing the army crawl and he is so excited that he can actually get around he doesn't want to be held anymore, which is hard because we are currently living with the in-laws while our new house is built and they have two dogs and hair every where, and mil babysits my nephews during the day and they leave legos all over the place, twice now I have had to dig a lego out of his mouth, he really loves to eat them.
Corbin is going to be 11 months old tomorrow, wow, I still can't believe that, for the most part I have finally retired my pump, I am working part time 6 hrs a day and he usually can handle going that long without nursing, is anyone here planning on extended nursing? I am planning on going until 18 months and my whole family thinks I am so wierd but I love it am and not ready to give it up, I will have to see if I can find the nursing board here. BBL

[AttyGrl74]

Hey Chelsea I'm planning on nursing at least at night until Nora self-weans. She'll have to be day-weaned by 14 months in order for her daycare which makes me sad - but she only nurses once or twice during the day at daycare anyway. I can't believe Corbin is going to be 11 months!

I love the invitesDarrin's Girl and CP !

I need to get on the party stuff - we're doing Rubber Duckies - but I'm not sure what to do for invites. I was thinking of filling the bathtub with a bunch of rubber duckies and taking her photo in it and making my own invites.

But then again - I'm not that creative and I don't have a lot of spare time!

[SiValleySteph]

Extended Nursing - I don't plan on weaning anytime soon. I do plan on weaning from the pump though at work at 1 year. Even though I don't intend to wean, I do get sick of breastfeeding every now and then. This morning was one of those times. Lucas woke before 5:30 and nursed and nursed on one side until it started to get sore and then I gave him the other side and he just nursed and nursed some more. I just wanted him off me! And then, of course, after he finished he was up for the day at 5:45. :rolleyes:

Atty, Just curious why you won't be able to nurse after 14mo at Nora's daycare? Does your daycare do rooms by age? Ours is by mobility at this age, so Lucas is in the crawling room and I expect him to move up to the walking room around 1yr. I don't think they have any restrictions on breast milk, but they do expect the kids to feed themselves in that room (they do help with spoon fed stuff). :eek:

Birthday Party -
cpbride & Darin's Girl, those invites are so cute!
We don't have anything planned yet. I'm thinking it would be nice to rent out a picnic area at a park and have a BBQ. The problem I'm having is that we haven't seen some of the friends I'd like to invite in many months (you know how it is having a baby), so I feel like I need to at least have dinner or something with them before I can invite them to a party. :p

[AttyGrl74]

Atty, Just curious why you won't be able to nurse after 14mo at Nora's daycare? Does your daycare do rooms by age? Ours is by mobility at this age, so Lucas is in the crawling room and I expect him to move up to the walking room around 1yr. I don't think they have any restrictions on breast milk, but they do expect the kids to feed themselves in that room (they do help with spoon fed stuff). :eek:

It is a Montessori school/daycare - so they're big on independence. She is in an "Infant Room" right now - and will move up to "Toddler Room" when she can walk, self-feed, drink from a cup (AND when there's room in the toddler room)- the kids generally move up between 12 and 14 months.

Parents are strongly discouraged from visiting during the day because it disrupts the kids' schedule and it is the age when most of the separation anxiety is the worst. So I won't really be allowed to go nurse on demand like I do now.

I like the idea of developmental stage rooms - that's very cool. But I also wonder if Nora learned to crawl and walk early by watching the older kids? Of course she'll be bored to tears when she's the oldest kid and I am scared she'll start picking on the little guys who just lay there!

Interesting - I hadn't given much thought to divergent Philosophy of Daycare Development!

[SiValleySteph]

I know what you are saying about learning to crawl/walk from watching the other babies. Lucas started daycare in the crawling room even though he wasn't technically "crawling" and within 2 weeks, he was all over the place. We wonder if he had started in the baby room if he would have taken longer to crawl. Two babies just moved up into his room from the baby room and they are the same age as Lucas, so they did crawl later (he's been crawling for 2 months), but then again, all babies develop at different rates!

They don't move the babies up to the walking room until they are walking pretty well because in the next room they play outside, so they really have to be walking. So Lucas does see kids walking around. It is so weird to me to see a kid just stand up in the middle of the floor and walk around!!! :eek:

We are always able to visit our daycare, but I strongly discourage myself from doing that for just the reasons you posted. :p Last week, DH & I visited for the first time during the day and I felt bad about it because it really upset DS. I know that he is happy during the day, so I hate to come in and upset him! It's just like in the morning when I'm about to leave - I have to be careful not to leave the room and then come back in. If I leave, DS will cry and then DH will play with him and he'll be happy again... but if he sees me again, watch out!

[Islandbride1025]

Man I forgot how fast this thread moves. Welcome Darin's girl!

Oh cp I love those invites (and they have Pie's name on them). I may steal that wording. The party you described is the same party I want to have for her but minus the balloon guy or Elmo. I'm keeping it simple, just immediate family.

I was thinking about all of you last night and wanted to know what do you think about exchanging 1st b-day gifts? Same idea as the group shower gift, $20 max. (not including shipping). If there are any takers, I'll coordinate who exchanges with whom.

Hi everyone else, I'm soo busy at work right now, gotta run.

[cpbride8203]

Island - I am thinking about ditching the balloon guy or elmo...was going to get it to entertain the older kids who will be there, but my BIL just informed me that he will bring over this bouncy thing he got at Costco - so let them bounce away!

I was going to use that wording too...thought it was cute!

I am in for a 1st birthday gift...

[Darin's Girl]

How does the gift thing work? Draw names or a gift for each 1 yr old??

[AttyGrl74]

Yeah - we just draw names and then send that kid a gift under $20.

It really is fun - a bunch of us did it as a 'virtual baby shower' when we were all knocked up.

I'm in Kelly!

[Darin's Girl]

I'll play too!! Just let me know what I need to do!

[goldengbridge]

It really is fun - a bunch of us did it as a 'virtual baby shower' when we were all knocked up

I swear Kelly- you kill me!!!!!! :D I'm in for the gift thing too- great idea!

AMY- CONGRATS!!!!! I'm so happy for you. Any names picked out yet?

~Jen

[cpbride8203]

I think Kylie had one of the worst poops in her 10 1/2 months last night...was so bad. Or maybe it is just because I don't get too many poop diapers anymore since I do not have her during the day. Who knows, but it immediately had to be taken outside for the trash because it was so bad.

That's my girl!! :D

[Islandbride1025]

Hi All! Oh goody, so far I counted 5 (me included) for the birthday gift exchange.

cp, Atty, Darin's Girl, golden and me. I'll give it til next week Wed to see if we have anyone else interested and then I'll pass out names.

Please post your email link so I can send you the names.

[cpbride8203]

Island - I'm jmarinpetro@yahoo.com

Was going to suggest that we post something over on WC, but Atty beat me to it! Great minds think alike!

[goldengbridge]

Way to go Kylie! Andrew occasionally has some good ones too!

Island- my email is jmp99@ptd.net

[AttyGrl74]

I swear Kelly- you kill me!!!!!! :D

:p

I'm attygrl74@aol.com

And I'm super-creative when it comes to user names, huh?

Since we're talking about poo - can I just say how much I HATE solid-food poop? Icky nastiness.

How long till the kids potty train?

[amypooh]

Gift Exchange - We're in for the gift exchange. My email is amypooh@texas.net Let me know what I need to do.

Golden - I think we're going to use Cameron Grant. My husband's middle name is Ashley and my mom thinks we should really use that, but I dont know if Cameron Ashley flows as well?

Atty - Totally with you.. solid food poops are stinky!

[Sidsou]

Hi everyone! I found you all!!! I've been over here posting in the 6months+ group, but hadn't had time to browse around to find you guys.

My Stats (If I remember everything)
Me - Ann (33)
DH - Darren (41)
Married - August 4,2001
DS - Kyle Anthony
August 31, 2004
weight - 9pounds 7 ounces
height - 22 inches

I can't remember what I've last told you guys. Kyle is crawling now - he's all over the place. He's still the best little baby - super smiley and easy-going and of course still huge. I've met with the doctor about TTC#2, but unfortunately my body seems to think I'm a bit older than 33 now. I guess it's not so bad that we can't try IVF, but our chances aren't that great. We figure we'll give it just a couple of tries, if it doesn't work, we'll just concentrate on spoiling little Kyle ;)

Birthday party We're doing a dog/Clifford theme. Kyle just adores dogs. Although he won't really realize much of the theme we figured we could do some cute things with it.

Kyle is waking up from his nap, so I gotta run. I'll post SOs to all you when I get the chance.

Great to see you all!!!!!!!!!!!

[SiValleySteph]

Amy, Did I miss your announcement over here? Congratulations on your little boy! :D

Cameron Grant sounds great! I think Cameron Ashley flows nicely (pretty name!), but the only hesitation I would have about using that name is that both names can be used for either boys or girls, so I would want to have one name that is more definitively a boys name. I know not everyone cares about things like that. :o

cp, you are cracking me up. I always wonder where this little baby is storing all that poo. :eek:

Hi sidsou! Welcome to the new neighborhood.

***

I think I will pass on the gift exchange. Not that I don't want to send you all gifts (!), it's just that we have enough stuff already. I hope I don't sound like a party pooper. :cool:

[ez2luv]

Yes, congrats on having a boy Amy!!! That's wonderful! :)

[marathongirl]

Amy - congrats on your little boy!!!

Hi sidsou !

Island - I e-mailed you that I'd love to be part of the gift swap. My e-mail address is jerseyrunner@yahoo.com.

Atty - I don't like solid food poops either - they stink!!!

cp - Claire managed to get poo up into her hair the other day. So gross!

Welcome jeggink !

DH had a job interview today so please keep your fingers crossed! It would cut his commute down for 55 miles each way to 3 miles each way. HUGE difference! Hope everyone's doing well!

[cpbride8203]

Happy Friday!

Marathon - wow, keeping my fingers crossed! That is a HUGE differenece! Kylie hasn't spread the fun to her hair yet, but she is figuring out how to take off her diaper, so I really hope I don't walk in to something like that!

Amy - Congrats! I love all of the bedding you posted over on LJ...but your newest idea is my fav.

Hello to everyone else!

I am ordering the birthday invites today and am nervous....what if I find something better! (I always get like this!)

[Sidsou]

Amy Congrats on the boy!!!! I really like Cameron Grant!

Marathon Fingers and Toes crossed for your DH - that would be so nice for him to be so close! It is a bit different being at home. Now, I have our week's so planned with various playdates, gym class, swim class, baby movie etc. I normally don't have a "free" day. See what's in your neighborhood - library children hours, children museums, playgrounds, gym classes etc. Once I found various activities it was much easier since I was also getting the interaction with other moms and have met a bunch of new mom friends this way too. I always thought I was a bit shy about meeting new people but with a baby it's so easy. Almost every mom is looking to meet other moms. It's so easy to strike up a conversation about the babies. I always try to have paper/pen with me to give out my info/take down their info. Even as a SAHM you do need time away occasionally. My MIL comes over at least once a week for a couple of hours so I can go to the gym or do a little shopping etc. I also find reading in the evenings helps a lot too to keep current on everything - newspapers and even novels.

Darin's Girl Funny I'm a Darren's girl too :) Kyle is huge for his age. At 9 months he was 30 inches and 27 1/2pounds. I'm sure your little girl is doing just fine especially for being born so early.

Atty I've tried that feeder when Kyle was about 7 months, but not since since he really didn't like it. I should try it again. I'll try to think of any cool new things for you to try :)

Gift exchange I'm in too. Would we try to time the gift for the baby's birthday or should we just all aim for a certain date?? I'm sidsou@comcast.net .

[cpbride8203]

Just dropping off a pic of Kylie in her new backyard swing. She really doesn't look happy in this one, but of course the second the camera goes off, the huge smile goes away. She loves this thing, and says "Weeee" as she goes back and forth.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d901b3127cce935e8f45361200000015109AatGbNw0a4

[goldengbridge]

Amy- I like Cameron Grant too!

I gotta run and pack but I wanted to say bye for now and everyone have a good week. I'll catch up when we get back!

~Jen

[marathongirl]

golden - have a great vacation!

Amy - I like Cameron Grant too!

cp - I'm dreading when she can take her own dipes off!

sidsou - I do belong to a MOMS Club, so Claire and I are busy with them a few times a week. The only thing I've found hard with that group is that some of those moms have known each other for 2+ years, so it's a little difficult to get into that circle. But I always have a good time with them!

GOOD NEWS! DH got the job! We are VERY HAPPY!

[AttyGrl74]

Congrats Sue!

Have a great vacay Jen!

And to everyone else - have a fabulous weekend!

[Islandbride1025]

Hi All. I don't remember if I congratulated Amy, but congrats on your little boy. Boys are so sweet and loving to their moms (not taking anything away from girls) but there's a bond between mothers/sons different from girls.

Anywho, here is the list for the birthday X-change. If we have no one else joining in, I'll send you your name by Wed. If I forgot someone please let me know. I figure, we have each gift mailed by the 20th of Aug. since we have both Aug and Sep babies.

cpbride - Kylie 8/30/04
attygrl - Nora 9/15/04
Darin's girl - Madelyn 9/10/04
goldengbridge - Andrew 8/28/04
marathongirl - Claire 9/16/04
Amypooh - Kailey 9/3/04
sidsou - Kyle 8/31/04
Islandbride1025 - Madison 9/20/04

[marathongirl]

Hi ladies! Everyone enjoying the heat and humidity on the east coast? Claire and I are just melting w/o air conditioning. AC will probably be our next big home improvement.

Claire turned 10 months old on Saturday! She really starting to pull up on everything and she's a crawling machine! She very into physical humor and gets a kick out of it when I pretend to fall on the floor and stuff.

Has anyone heard from sunflower ?

Not too much else going on today. We have a free class at BabyPower tomorrow which I hope Claire enjoys.

Keep cool! :cool:

[AttyGrl74]

I got the WORST case of food poisoning on Sunday night - and boy is it ever hard to be so sick and trying to care for a baby at the same time.

Luckily J took Nora to daycare yesterday and I stayed home and slept it off. It was the first time I'd been at home away from her that long and it got pretty lonely.

I need to come up with some good after-work activities that I can do with Nora - what kind of during-the-week routine do you all have?

[cpbride8203]

Marathon - Congrats to DH on the new job! That is great news!

Atty - I am looking to come up with some sort of routine too...right now we get home, Kylie plays, then she sits in high chair while I have dinner, then we play some more, she has a bath and gets a bottle before bed. I would like to talk her for a walk at night, but it has been too hot!!!

I have discovered something wonderful...Mint Mocha Chip Frappucino's from Starbucks. Such a treat!

[SiValleySteph]

Just a fly-by to add some recent pictures!

Lucas and his cousin in early June. He is 4 months older than his cousin.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d938b3127cce92b9ea8e42a800000016108EZuWrFs4aK

With Daddy on 4th of July!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d938b3127cce92b9ea8bc39d00000016108EZuWrFs4aK

A break from hiking in the redwoods two weekends ago.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d938b3127cce92b9ea89c39f00000016108EZuWrFs4aK

[Sidsou]

Steph - those photos are great!! Lucas is so cute!!!!

Atty - I hope you feel better now! I swear being really sick and having a baby to care for is terrible. My MIL has been my saving grace more than a couple of times this past year when I got sick.

Marathon - Hope Claire enjoyed her class. I know Kyle at this age is really having fun with the other kids at his gym class. Congrats to your DH on his job!! That'll be so much nicer having him closer to home.

Hope everyone is staying cool!! When it's hot up here, I know it's got to be scorching everywhere else. We've been at home since Kyle had a fever Sunday night and Monday. No other symptoms - the doctor said everything else is fine. He was still quite cranky yesterday - didn't want to be away from momma, but he seems much better today. The doctor said there's some sort of virus going around now with young ones getting just fevers.

[Islandbride1025]

Lucas is such a cutie. Always happy and smiling.

sidsou it is sweltering here. I am afraid to take Pie outside, it is disgusting. Today isn't so bad. Hope Kyle is feeling better.

~~~
For those participating in the Birthday exchange, I sent you emails for your address. If you didn't get an email this morning, that means I screwed up an email address. Hope you check emails, I was out yesterday and it put me a day behind.

[cpbride8203]

It is disgusting here as well...I can not wait for this weather to go away.

So I do not know if I should be very angry at DH, or chalk it up as a learning experience for him...

Now that we are in the house, he has Kylie during the day. So I guess he left her in her play area in the basement that is similar to this while he went up to shower.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00021NX9C.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

We have it set up w/ 2 sets so that she has a huge area to play in. Well a few days ago she started taking this thing apart and he knows that, so common sense would say that she should not be left in here unsupervised?

After his shower, he came in to see that she had taken the whole thing down and was walking out of the closet with a huge welt on her forehead.

I talked to my MIL, because Kylie is over there now until I get home, and she said that she is fine, and that he kept saying over and over that he felt so bad. She told him that you can't leave her in that, leave her in the pack n play where she is safe and put in a tape if you need to hop into the shower.

So it sounds like he got enough of it from her, but I imagine I am going to be even more upset when I actually see this welt on Kylie's noggin...what to do?

[amypooh]

cpbride - Don't kill your husband yet. If he does something stupid like that again, then just back over him with the car. ;) Hopefully, he learned his lession this time.

[marathongirl]

SiValley - Lucas is so cute! And he seems like such a happy guy!

cp - it sounds like DH got a mouthful from his mom about Kylie's head. I'd try and keep my cool about it this time, just maybe gently remind him that since she's so mobile, she really needs A LOT of supervision.

sidsou - hope Kyle's feeling better!

Atty - yuck, stomach bugs! I hope you're feeling better!

I really think Claire is finally going to cut some teeth soon. It's about time! Am I the only one whose baby still has a gummy grin? She's just been super fussy and clingy the last few days.

And a TMI question - I still haven't gotten AF back. Considering Claire is 10 months old, is this normal? I guess I shouldn't complain. She still gets the majority of her calories from BF'ing so that may be why. Just curious.

[mommy2AlliWill]

Hi all- it's me Joann. Just checking in so I can get e-mail updates. Things are well here...Will still isn't crawling, he scoots fast & furious though so I am not sure he will ever decide to crawl. Pulls himself up on everything & we had to put toilet locks on because I found him standign in bathrooms splashing in toilet water more than once (so gross). He has decided that baby food is not for him so besides his bottles I am giving him everything mushy I can come up with. Pancakes are his favorite.

Glad to see so many of you over here.

[AttyGrl74]

Hey Sue - you're lucky to not have AF back - I got mine the month after I got back to work. Apparently the drop in nursing frequency did it to me. Enjoy it!

And Nora just got her first tooth like a month ago and now she has 4 all coming in at once.

I LOATHE teeth.

Have any of you been able to get on WC? I wanted to go over and check in on Jazz but keep getting the "System Maintenance" page.

I'm feeling WAY better, thanks everyone for your well-wishes!

Love the Lucas photos!

I need to get some new Nora ones to post!

xox

[Islandbride1025]

Morning All. Finally sent out all the emails for the birthday exchange. One thing I forgot to mention in the emails was maybe we should address the packages to the kiddies. What do you think???

Kelly I agree I gotta upload some new photos but everytime I go home I forget.

Princess Pie turned 10 months yesterday. She is trying to walk, she'll take one step and sit down. She loves to blow raspberries. Her face just lights up if you do that to her.

DS is enjoying his day camp, he's learned to swing himself. This was a big issue, because he would never do it and he's learning to swim. So far it's a good summer. I'm on vacation next week, plan to take the kids on day trips, zoo, park, pool, etc.

Joann we need to invest in locks also. DS never bothered the cabinets, toilets or stairs, but Prin Pie is into EVERYTHING.

Have a great day ladies, Ciao bella.

[SiValleySteph]

Thanks for the comments on Lucas's pictures! :D

marathongirl, Congrats to your DH on the job!
cp, Kylie is such a lucky girl to have her own backyard swing! I have my own :eek: story, so I understand.
Sidsou, Hope Kyle is feeling better!
Kelly, being sick with a baby is impossible. This is a TMI story, but I had food poisoning a few weeks back and while I was throwing up, Lucas had to pull up on the toilet to see what was going on. :eek: So glad you're feeling better! And YES we need new Nora pictures.
Joann, Oh no! In the toilet! Okay, we haven't had that... yet!
Island, More pictures of Miss Pie, please!

***

Lucas is home sick today. He has a non-specific rash! :eek: The doctor couldn't say exactly what it was, but it is most likely NOT heat rash since he has a fever to accompany it. It looks a bit like measles or something to the untrained eye (me), but I guess it is nothing that worrisome. Just some sort of virus. It's on his torso and diaper area and just a little bit on the legs. Poor kiddo felt pretty bad this morning and would only nap on my chest. DH is taking the afternoon shift, so I'm back at work.

Tooth #8 is on its way in, so he has been fussy all week at bed time. It just poked its way through, so hopefully the teething pain will subside in a couple days.

Here's my "oops" story... last weekend, Lucas and I were playing upstairs. I had the stairway gate closed. Then I was feeding him on the bed in our room and DH came up to talk to us. He left and then Lucas finished up, so I put him on the floor to play and I was still lying on the bed. He crawled out in the hallway and I didn't think anything of it becuase he has a toybox out there and we were in & out of the hallway all morning. Then he made a noise, so I went out to check on him. He was done the stairs, one step away from the landing!!! :eek: He was totally fine... I don't know if climbed down or rolled (he tries to climb down "correctly" but often gets his legs tangled up), but what a heart attack moment! Luckily, our stairs our broken up, so it would have only been an 8 stair fall at the most. This was an "oops" on both DH & my part. He should have reshut the gate and I should have checked to be sure it was shut when I let DS crawl out there to play. Luckily, no one was hurt.

Speaking of injuries, he got an "injury report" from daycare on Tuesday. He apparently flipped over when climbing out of the ball pit and hit his head. He was totally fine, not even a bruise really, but the injury report reads so cute. We are saving that for the baby book! :)

[goldengbridge]

Hey just a quick fly by. Home a day early cause one of our dogs got sick- got a call from the kennel this morning. Oh well what can you do?? I'll post about the vacation later but i wanted to post about the rash for Steph- Andrew had a similiar thing- not sure if its the exact same thing but fever, rash that looks like measles. Its Roseola. Its actually a virus. The rash dissapeared after 3 days just as quickly as it appeared but it started off on the torso and between his legs just like Lucas. It got worse before it got better- just be warned if it does! And Andrew has that same Carters outfit you posted!

I got my email for the birthday exchange and i just had a question. This may sound stupid but how do I buy something that this person already might have? I just dont want to get something that he/she may already own.........

Be back later to post pics of Andrew on the beach... so cute!!

[marathongirl]

golden - sorry you had to come home early from vacation!

As far as the birthday exchange and not getting duplicates (this is just a suggestion - I hope it doesn't come across as trolling for gifts) maybe we could include a gift receipt with the item or for those participating, maybe post a couple of things your baby might need so the person who has your name can see them here?

I'll start: Claire could use some winter PJs in the 18 month size so they fit all winter or a baby puzzle or bath toys.

gotta go she's up!

[Islandbride1025]

Listing items is a good idea and so is including the gift receipt.

I haven't really bought Princess Pie toys. She has tons of rattles and things that make noise, but she could also use winter PJs (size 24 mths), a nice children's story book. Always could use some educational toys.

[Sidsou]

Birthday Exchange I agree too to the gift receipt and giving ideas. I find it so much easier to shop if I have an idea of what the baby might need/want. As for Kyle, clothes are kind of tough since he keeps growing so fast - although I think he's starting to slow down, I'm almost too scared to guess what he might be wearing in the wintertime. I'd probably say any fun educational toys or books are great.

Steph Poor little guy! I hope he is feeling better soon!!

Kyle had an oops yesterday and took a header off of our bed. I just about had a heart attack!! He was in the center of the bed, but crawled so fast right off the side :eek: He's fine - not even a bump. It was interesting in a way because of course I saw everything in slow motion and actually ran over right as he was falling - he actually rolled out of it. I'm sure it was more luck than him being athletic and graceful, but maybe his front sommersaults at the gym are paying off.

[Darin's Girl]

Sidsou Maddie tumbled off the couch last night. DH was supposed to be watching her while she drank her bottle, but when I went into the living room she was sitting under the table playing with her bottle. I couldn't figure why on earth DH would put her under the table!!

Birthday Exchange: Let's see..... Maddie is could use some Avent Magic Cups (sippy cups) or some bathtub toys. She's in a 3/6 month now- so I have no idea what she will be wearing in the winter/fall. I thought for sure she would have been into 9mos already.

We took Maddie swimming in the lake yesterday for the first time. She didn't know what to think of it. I know she loved the water, but wasn't too sure about the life vest. She LOVES the boat, tho.

I had a mini Mommy-Melt-Down the other night. She was sleeping in my arms and I looked at her and burst into tears. I can't believe how big she has gotten and that she is almost 1. Seems like just yesterday we were visiting her in the NICU and praying for the day that we could bring her home. *sigh* Any one else having trouble with the 1st b-day?

[goldengbridge]

Sid- Andrew took a tumble off the bed a few months ago. He was absolutely fine just shocked and like the paranoid momma that I am I rushed him to the Ped and everything was fine!! Glad Kyle is ok!

Darin's Girl- I have to admit- I'm having a rough time with the 1st birthday approaching too. Like you, we spent weeks in the Cardiac ICU just waiting for him to come home. I can still remember life changing to quickly- All the Drs told me throughout my entire pregnancy that he was perfectly healthy and the minute he was born there was something very wrong. My perfectly healthy baby was gone and 2 days later, undergoing the first of 3 open heart surgeries. I still remember them telling me that he only had a 40% chance of making it through. He's a miracle. Thank God for that.

I'm sending Andrew's birthday invites out tomorrow. DH and I have written a nice letter to include inside asking for a donation to Children's Hospital in Andrew's name instead of a gift this year. After all, without them we wouldn't be celebrating a first birthday. Dh's mom was a little taken back- "You're not letting him get gifts"? Oh well. I feel its the right thing to do. We're getting him some toys and stuff anyway.

Birthday exchange- I'm so glad we're making suggestions because I was really at a loss at what to get my person! Andrew has tons of clothes so we don't need them but he would love any bath toys, books, or anything that plays music. He loves music!!!

I promise i'll be back after he goes to bed to post pics of him on the beach!

TTYL! :D

[marathongirl]

1st birthday blues - a little. I just can't believe that a year has gone by so quickly! I think also because I had such bad PPD after we brought Claire home that her first 6 weeks or so are really foggy to me. I don't really remember much of that time.

I have a bad mommy story too. Claire chewed on her first piece of dogfood today. She didn't swallow any, thank goodness. The pieces would probably get stuck in her throat. The dogs usually clean their bowls and I had just vacuumed that room so I don't know where she found it. I need eyes in the back of my head.

golden - I think the donation is such a wonderful idea!

Darin's girl - Claire also loved swimming but I think she found the pool a little overwhelming at first.

sidsou - I hear you on the fast crawling! It's scary how quick they can get from one spot to another!

SiValley - I hope Lucas's rash is better!

mommy2AlliWill - Will's already getting into toilet water? Claire hasn't discovered that yet, but we love trying to get into the little trashcans in the bathrooms.

Island - thanks for coordinating the gift exchange!

That's about it for me! Hope everyone had a good weekend!

[ez2luv]

Ha - Belle's in the toilet all day!!! She's even catching onto lifting up the seat!!! :eek: yesterday she also unrolled an entire roll of TP...what a mess!!
Also, she's able (and I can't believe how tall she seemed to get overnight!) to turn the bathtub faucets on from standing beside the tub. And it's the hot water one too, I wonder if the safety thingies for doorknobs work with faucets?? I need to findsomething!
She's in all my cupboards and opening drawers - I run after her all day.
Sometimes it's so frustrating!!!

Isabelle's learned where her 'nose' and 'toes' are; is able to get her shoes when asked, and she even tries to put them on!

It seems like I have a toddler now, in every way.

Or a teenager - she kissed her first boy last week!
It was so adorable! I have a friend who has a 7 month old son. Belle crawled right up to him at the park and planted a huge kiss (open mouthed of course) on his lips. Once wasn't enough for her either - she kissed him a dozen times!! So many, we were all able to get pictures and pictures of it!

So, yes, the first B-day is very bitter sweet. What a year! Still not sure what to do for the big birthday...I'm thinking an afternoon party with her and all her little friends (about 6), then maybe a family BBQ that evening...not sure though. Still haven't thought of a theme....

Golden - I like the idea of the donation. You may also find that people will also bring gifts as well. If it were me, I don't think I could not bring something for Andrew. But, the donation is a wonderful idea!!

Marathon - Isabelle has chewed on a few pieces of dog food - no swallowing it though.
Funny, with our dog - Harley will let Belle litterally pull him by the hair around the house (she does!) and she rolls over him, pulls at his nose and mouth. And he's so mild and loving with her, when she's done, he'll kiss her and she'll be on her way.
But - when she goes near his water or food - he gets mad and growls. He puts up with so much with a smile, but it's like he's saying 'woman - don't you dare touch my food!'

[marathongirl]

Fly by post - I HATE TEETHING! I was getting used to actually sleeping at night for the last month and now we're back up 3-4 times a night. I hope they pop through quickly!!!

[cpbride8203]

I am so frustrated that my internet is still not working at home! So much to catch up on.

Kylie's head looks like a little battle zone...bruise here, scratch there...the Dr said on Saturday, looks like the first of many bruises. Her bumps aside, she is walking so much better. I too can not believe how fast my little girl is growing up!

I am sending out Kylie's party invitations tomorrow. Should have been today, but I forgot them at work on Friday.

Birthday exchange - Kylie could use some fleece pj's too - 18 mos. We have tons of books and baby toys, but she really doesn't have any toddler toys. She loves music, so anything that would let her dance would be great!

Off to catch up - bbl!

[AttyGrl74]

Flyby post - I'm swamped at work.

Sue - Nora seems to prefer the dogs' food to most of the baby food. It is good protein, right? :D

Nora is in 6-12 month clothes now - but could use 12-18. And she really doesn't have many toys at all. I'm SO not helpful, am I? She loves her scratch and sniff book and now thinks that ALL books are scratch and sniff.

[Niko&Troi]

I am so glad we're here now :D I missed all of you. I really hate WC now. It is so horrible so I'm glad we have a thread here now :D

Things have been SUPER crazy with the new house.
Here is an email I sent out to some friends about it...

This house is taking up every minute of every day. We literally have to paint every inch of it. They lived in it for 27 years and really didn't paint. We've also found that they cut corners wherever they could :/ When we finally got the wallpaper off in the bathroom, there was mold/mildew along side the tub, so we had to take out the drywall and replace that. There was wallpaper in 3 of the closets that had to come down, it was there since the house was built 54 years ago. It smelled nasty. That took short of forever to get down.
There was something mutating under the kitchen sink so I had to go in and paint under there. And there were other things, but my brain has melted down.
We are on a time crunch, however. My FIL came up last weekend to surprise us to help us paint. He also told us that he's getting us laminate floors as a present so we MUST have all the painting done by this Sunday (July 11th) so they can install the floors.
After that's all done, we're on to the bathroom. The walls are too tore up, so we're going to wallpaper them. That will happen after a trip to IKEA to get a new vanity and mirror. We hate the one that is in there. (Another example - they put in a new vanity and light fixture, but left the ancient mirrored cabinet that is rusted inside.) Anyway, that will be next and we're going to tile the floor in there too.
After all is said and done, in a few months, it's on to the kitchen, IKEA again :) Yes that is our favorite store. That kitchen in there is ancient too so that's gotta go.

All of that is going on, and we still have to move :( We're living here at the apt, but going to the house every day. We haven't had a healthy meal since the night before we closed and that was IHOP. We're spending loads on eating out and that's gotta stop, we can't afford it :/

So, it's been a freggin nightmare. We don't get to sleep any evenings before 2a.m. and poor Niko is all out of sorts. He's a champ though, just hanging on and taking it all in stride.

Other than that, Brian didn't get the job he interviewed for, however he was offered another position for more $$ than the first. As soon as his security clearance comes through, he'll have 2 weeks to start at the new place. He's excited as I am. It will be a longer commute so we'll see how it goes for about 5-6 months and then see if we're moving again.

Yesterday was my last day at Best Buy for 7 weeks. I just needed a break and am glad I'm taking one. The cool thing is I still get the discount even though I'm not working, which is good, cause we'll be needing a washer/dryer soon.

Oh yeah, I became sorta domestic last week. I made curtains for Niko's room. I didn't sew them though, I used the sticky material tape, which is just as hard. I'm also going to paint some Elmo themes in his room. As soon as I get them done, I'll post pix.

Well I have to get packing. I'm really glad we're here now :D

~~Lorraine

[Darin's Girl]

Fly by:

Maddie started crawling!!! Well, kinda.... she gets on her hands and knees and scoots herself forward. She just figured it out and is all over the place. Guess I had better start baby-proofing! ;)

[cpbride8203]

One of the girls on LJ posted this...made me chuckle...

Toddler's Creed

- If it is off, I must turn it on.
- If it is folded, I must unfold it.
- If it is a liquid, it must be shaken, then spilled.
- If it a solid, it must be crumbled, chewed or smeared.
- If it is high, it must be reached.
- If it is shelved, it must be unshelved.
- If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed.
- If it has leaves, they must be picked.
- If it is plugged, it must be unplugged.
- If it is not trash, it must be thrown away.
- If it is in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the floor.
- If it is closed, it must be opened.
- If it does not open, it must be screamed at.
- If it has drawers, they must be rifled.
- If it is a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, monitor, table, or walls.
- If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied.
- If it is empty, it will be more interesting full.
- If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon.
- If it is stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without protest. It must be pushed by me instead.
- If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.
- If Mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.
- If Mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.
- If it is paper, it must be torn.
- If it has buttons, they must be pressed.
- If the volume is low, it must go high.
- If it is toilet paper, it must be unrolled on the floor.
- If it is a drawer, it must be pulled upon.
- If it is a toothbrush, it must be inserted into my mouth.
- If it has a faucet, it must be turned on at full force.
- If it is a phone, I must talk to it.
- If it is a bug, it must be swallowed.
- If it doesn't stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor.
- If it is not food, it must be tasted.
- If it is food, it must not be tasted.
- If it is dry, it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.
- If it is a carseat, it must be protested with arched back.
- If it is Mommy, it must be hugged. I am a toddler!

[AttyGrl74]

That is hysterical Jen! And totally true!

[amypooh]

Fly-by...

Kailey is in 6-12 month clothes now, but she could use some 12-18 Month PJs we really dont have any clothes bigger than 12-18 right now. She loves music cds we listen on the ride into work everyday. Or toddler toys are great too.. really anything is good. :)

Hanging there still we're set to close on our new house 8/8. Don't know when we'll close on our current house. Don't really have the energy to worry about that at this point. Had a car accident last week, nice, huh? So I'm having to deal with all that red tape, just what I needed right now. Sorry I am scarce lately.

[marathongirl]

cp - that was hilarious!!!

Amy - sorry to hear it sounds like you're getting dumped on all at once! I hope you weren't hurt in the accident! Good luck with the upcoming closing!

Nikosmom - hope things settle down for you too!

ez2luv - Belle's kissing boys already?!?! :eek: DH and I have decided that Claire is not allowed to date until she's 30 ;) .

Man it's HOT! I do not really like summer. I think my favorite season is fall. I can't stand the heat!

DH is leaving for Utah tonight. His last three weeks in his old job and he'll be travelling for 2 of them. My mom is coming up tonight to help me with Claire since we're back to getting up 3-4 times a night again. I really think it's her teeth.

Hope everyone's well!

[SiValleySteph]

Hi all!

Lucas is 10 months old today. My baby is growing up!

He says mamamama a lot now, and I just melt every time! I don't think he knows what it means, though, since he says it to everything. :)

It makes me laugh because I get really proud and misty over all kinds of achievements. One recent development is that he can take a piece of food (cracker, bread, apple) and take a bite off without having to put the entire thing in his mouth.

He was having a blast yesterday. When I went to daycare, he had his back to the door, so I could check out what was going on. His teacher was putting a ring on her head and letting it fall off. Lucas was just cracking up. Then she would put it back on and he would reach up and try to grab it and when it slid off - hysterical laughing again. :p Of course, once he saw me, he had to be held immediately.

We had a playgroup after work with his best friend Mika (10 days younger). It's so funny how that don't play with each other but more like around each other. Lucas showed off one of his favorite activities - I throw the beach ball to the landing at the top of the stairs and he climbs up and throws it back down. Then I throw it back and repeat. So much fun!

I'm so pleased with his sleeping last night! He went to sleep around 9, fussed around 9:30 but DH was able to pat him back to sleep, slept until around 2. I went and got him and brought him to our room where he ate and back to sleep. He didn't wake again until almost 6! He ate and went back to sleep until 7. I was late to work because I was sleeping in! :D

He was teething and sick last week, so was waking up quite a bit crying. Twice a night is fine by me!

Still no walking here, but plenty of cruising and lots of crawling and pulling up on everything.

cp , I love that toddler's creed! Thanks for posting!

What are you all doing as far as baby proofing? I'm trying to figure out if we need to do drawer latches/locks. I've heard that babies can figure them out before 1 year old, so it seems silly to put them on at this point, but he is getting into drawers and some I don't want him to!

[cpbride8203]

Just dropping a few pics...will be back later to catch up...

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d907b3127cce937a331465ac00000016109AatGbNw0a4

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d907b3127cce937a3da7651800000086109AatGbNw0a4

See ya...
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d907b3127cce937a337a65c200000025119AatGbNw0a4

[goldengbridge]

Oh man. I've been having major shutterfly drama. I think I gotta fixed. Anyway-

Amy- OMG, are you ok? Was Kailey with you?
CP-Thanks for posting that. So true! Awesome pics! Shes got beautiful hair!!
Kel- Thanks for the coupons- Just got them:)
Lorraine- Hope things settle down for you soon.
Darin's girl- Yeah for Maddie crawling:) Isnt it funny how fast they go?

Hi to everyone else :D

Andrew stood up by himself for the first time 2 days ago- so cute. He keeps falling on his little butt. He likes to stand and play with his leap frog table. Finally got his bday invites out. Anyone else doing a sesame street theme? I found some really cute stuff.

In other news- We have another offer in on a house. We'll know tomorrow. This is the one girls so keep your fingers crossed!!!!! Finally some pics!!!

Relaxing poolside!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d907b3127cce935ffd5045ca00000016109IZtHDhy2c

Mom, can you put some more sunscreen on please? Playing on the beach in Assateague Island, MD (BTW- he was scared of the ocean)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d906b3127cce93471ca39c5300000016109IZtHDhy2c

Showing off his new blanket. A teenage girl with a heart defect makes blankets for babies with heart problems and sent Andrew one.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d906b3127cce93471cad9c5d00000015109IZtHDhy2c

[Niko&Troi]

Hello All :D

Twice in one week, I'm on a roll. Actually I was at the house all day and am packing tonight. Yes, visiting here is considered packing.

LOVE THE PICTURES. Bad mommy post coming... I've been so busy with the house, that I haven't taken any since last month :(

Spending time in our new pool (which we haven't been in since July 4th cause mommy and daddy are too busy getting the house ready...
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d922b3127cce92f23428de7d00000026108AYtWjhm1ctu

He looks like Brian more and more every day. Plus he's starting to get color, he looks like a really tan baby now.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d922b3127cce92f3902afe6100000026108AYtWjhm1ctu

We took him to his first Italian Feast and this was his first ride.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d922b3127cce92f39152be8100000026108AYtWjhm1ctu



Golden Keeping my fingers crossed for you. I'm doing an Elmo theme for Niko.

Here is what I'm going to eventually send out. I sent a pre-notification email to everyone so they'd save the date. I just don't know when these will get out.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d906b3127cce93607f523de600000016108AYtWjhm1ctu

It's going to be done in VA at my FIL's house so I'm going to go to BJ's and get platters. I'll be going to a local grocery store and either get a long sub or a cold cut tray. Depends on how many come.

Niko is walking yet, just cruising and climbing. He's saying momma mostly when he's crying. He does say hi baby though after I say it to him. So I guess hi baby is his first words?
He also understands German now too. I need to learn now too.

Well that's about it. If you have any suggestions on the invite wording please pass them along.

[ez2luv]

Just stopping by quickly, no time to SO, my internet had 'glitches' for a few days...sigh~

Belle also stood by herself for about 10-20 seconds, without holding onto anything. She was in the tub of all places! :eek: I froze, scared to move and startle her - I'm so proud!!

Having a hard time finding childcare for Sept 1st when I go back to work.
I work shift work, and no-one will work past 6pm. (I have no family or friends willing to help out :rolleyes: )
I was put on two waiting lists back when I started searching at the beginning of July. Yesterday I went thru the phone book and called all the Day Homes - nothing.
I also called about 15 people today from ads in the paper - only one said she'd have no problem with the shift work. But, I got a bad feeling from her. She has a 3 year old son and wasn't too pleasent with him while she was on the phone with me, and also I heard that she was smoking while talking to me. And I know she was inside with her son there - not a good thing!
So, I'm hitting dead ends.
Actually cried all day today, had a nervous breakdown. DH, who is away at work - called and when he heard my state, asked me
"Do you need a time out? I'll call a sitter and you can go have drinks with friends...you need a time-out?" LOL - too funny. Though the offer was appealing, it was even more funny. You know you're a parent when you ask an adult if they need a time out! LOL
So, it may turn out that I just can't go back to my job...which sucks because I worked so hard to get the position, and it has great-great pay, which I need because I bought a new vehicle while on maternity leave...sigh...I knew it would be a problem, but now it seems impossible. :(
I need a miracle...

Anyway, I'm exhausted after such a day....catch up later, Hello to all....

[cpbride8203]

Oh girls - it is such a beautiful day in the northeast today...no heat!

ez2luv - It is crazy that you are going back to work now! Good childcare is so hard to find. I would stick to my gut and not go with the smoker!

Lorraine - Niko is a cutie! Moving is so much work! We are in our house but there are still lots of boxes to tackle! We moved them to the basement so we would have to look at them. Niko understands German? :o

Golden - Keeping my fingers crossed as well. Andrew is adorable - Looks like he had fun at the beach! That is so sweet that he got that blanket. He is such a special and lucky little boy! Makes me smile every time I see his picture!

Darin's girl - Yeah for the crawling!

Amy - Hope you are hanging in there!

Marathon - Is Claire's sleeping getting any better?

Steph - As far as baby-proofing, all that I have done so far is to put on outlet covers and a lock on the cabinet with the cleaning supplies.

Kylie's walking is getting better each day. She is funny though - looks like a cowboy walking with her little bow legs. The dr said they will straighten out as her legs strengthen. She can now get her self to a standing postion without holding onto anything (that was a suprise to mommy last night!).

Off to lunch!

[Sidsou]

Hi all! Loving these photos! I can't believe how big everyone is getting

CP I can just picture the cowboy walk - too cute!!

EZ Hoping you can find good childcare. Do you know any stay at home moms that might be willing to do it (?) Or perhaps a couple of sitters that could alternate nights - meaning regular child care during the daytime hours and then they would pick her up? Just trying to throw out ideas for you.

Niko'sMom I still want to call you BMLP! Niko does look like he has a nice tan now. I hope this doesn't come out the wrong way, but I think babies of mixed heritage/race are the most beautiful babies. Steph's Lucas is another perfect example of such a beautiful combination.

Golden Fingers crossed for you! We're doing Clifford, but we just got our invites ordered and will hopefully get them out soon.

Steph Yeah on the sleeping in!! I know exactly what you mean by playing next to each other but kind of playing together. Kyle has a little buddy that he just adores, but they never really necessarily play together yet just next to each other doing separate things. I heard that comes in a few more months.

Marathon Hope Claire gives you a good nights rest!!

AmyHope you the baby and Kailey are all fine. A car accident must have been so scary even if it was hopefully minor.

Here's a couple of photos. This one is Kyle completely exhausted after a hot day in Martha's Vineyard with his cousins...
http://images.snapfish.com/34457%3B%3A323232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2336%3D864%3D427%3 DXROQDF%3E23239947%3B9576ot1lsi

Here's the one I'm using for his Birthday invitations. I tried to get a photo with his Clifford doll for the invites, but I liked this photo best.
http://images.snapfish.com/34457%3B%3A323232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E2336%3D864%3D427%3 DXROQDF%3E23239947%3A%3A2%3B%3Aot1lsi

[marathongirl]

sidsou - I love the picture you chose for Kyle's invite!

ez - I'd go with your gut and not let the smoker watch Belle.

cp - the pic of Kylie walking away is so cute!!! I can't believe she's that mobile!

Darin'sgirl - yeah for the crawling!

Nikosmom - he's such a handsome guy!

golden - good luck with the house! Andrew is so cute! He's got beautiful eyes!

Steph - as far as babyproofing, we've got outlet covers on the outlets and I've locked the cleaning supplies up but that's about it. I need to get the baby gates up on the stairs because Claire took a tumble yesterday. Bad mommy! At least she was only on the lowest step - I just couldn't get her in time. :(

Claire's sleep - nope. We had three great weeks where I thought things were turning around but we're back to being up 3-4 times a night. I really think it's teeth this time, so hopefully once they pop through she'll settle back down.

Hope everyone's good!

[goldengbridge]

Quick post- WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bad news is that it needs a new roof asap. We had someone come give us an estimate tonight and it looks like it will cost 4,000. What can you do, you know? We'll just deal with it although it will be hard. I'm still home with Andrew so the income is a little tight. I think once we move I'll need to look for something a few hours a week. I still can't beleive it- we have a house. Settlement will be Sept 16th! I cant wait!

BBL :D :D :D

[cpbride8203]

Yeah Jen! Congrats on the house!!!

[Darin's Girl]

CONGRATS Jen!!! That is so exciting!!!

[Niko&Troi]

Hello all :D

CP Yes, he understands more German than I do. Actually I hardly speak any at all :o Brian's mom was German, he grew up there, so he is fluent and is teaching Niko.

Sid You can still call me bmlp. I'll answer to either one :D Your comment didn't come out the wrong way at all. Even before Niko I heard all the time that mixed babies are cute. Someone told me it's the best of both worlds.

Jen CONGRATS CONGRATS CONGRATS :D
In other news- We have another offer in on a house. We'll know tomorrow. This is the one girls so keep your fingers crossed!!!!!
See, the right one will comes along when it's supposed to. Aren't you glad you didn't give up?? $4k is a lot to have to put down on a roof, can you maybe have them meet you 1/2 way or something?

Well I'm off to bed. Another late night at the house. I finally unpacked 4 boxes but it's still not coming together yet. It will but when???

[marathongirl]

golden - congrats on the house!!!! Great news! Can you get the sellers to meet you partway on the roof since it needs fixing ASAP? That's what we did when we bought our house. CONGRATS again!

[AttyGrl74]

Yippee! on the house, Jen ! Sorry about the roof. I'm guessing your offer was contingent on the inspection coming back all ok? So maybe you all still have room to negotiate about the roof?

This is my 100th post over here! Whoo-hoo! I guess I can be "Way Too Cool" now?

It is so good to see all of you posting.

I've got a ton of work to do - or I would do SOs.

Quick QOTD , though: Do any of your kids have 'lovies'?

Nora has a little bear she loves, but she can't walk and hold onto him at the same tim - so she'll love him for a few minutes and then abandon him for more mobile pursuits.

[goldengbridge]

Thanks for the congrats girls! We're really happy:) We talked with the realtor last night and i looks like they are going to give us $4000 off the house at time of settlement but we still have to come up with it up front within the next few weeks because it needs fixing asap. We're exploring all options right now cause God knows I don't have that much money laying around- just have enough in the bank for closing costs! I'll keep you updated!

Lorraine- I dont envy you. Packing and unpacking SUCKS! And yeah, i get to do it all over again!
Atty- No we really don't have a lovie. He has a pooh blanket that has pooh's head at the top that he sleeps with but he could care less if it was in his crib or not. I've heard though that this is the age where they start to form attachments to things.

Has anyone seen any cool toddler toys. We went to Toys r us the other day looking for some potential birthday presents and i didn't really see anything that I was too crazy about.

[marathongirl]

Lovey - Claire has a favorite bunny that she likes to talk to when she wakes up in the morning, but I wouldn't consider it a lovey.

and...... WE HAVE TEETH!!! Well, one tooth. At 10.5 months old Claire finally got her first tooth. I found it just poking through her gums this morning.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

[marathongirl]

Everyone must have had busy weekends! No new posts!

Claire has 2 teeth now. Both bottom ones are coming in. We're very excited!!!

I can't believe that this month our babies start turning 1! :eek: Where has the last year gone?

We had a girl's night out on Saturday. It was fun and very much needed. The 3 husbands and 4 kids seemed to survive without us for a few hours.

[Islandbride1025]

Hi Girls. Was on vacation last week, stayed home and did kiddie things. It was a great week. I'm a big kid, so I loved the zoo and whatnot.

Haven't had time to catch up on the posts but wanted to add some pics of Pie and Big Bro. Finally uploaded pics. Her 5th tooth is in. This little lady is amazing, she just cuts teeth with no problem.

http://images.snapfish.com/3445%3B4%3B523232%7Ffp3%3B%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D%3B%3B6 %3D%3B64%3DXROQDF%3E23239826763%3B4ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/3445%3B4%3B523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D%3B%3B6%3 D%3B64%3DXROQDF%3E23239826763%3A9ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/3445%3B4%3B523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D%3B%3B6%3 D%3B64%3DXROQDF%3E23239826763%3B9ot1lsi

Forgot to add that Princess Pie is taking steps by herself, she will take 3 before she goes into a crawl.

[SiValleySteph]

island, Miss Pie is just the cutest! I love her hair!
marathon, Yeah for teeth! That is just so exciting.
golden, Congrats on the house! I hope it all works out!

***

We had a really nice weekend with friends in from out of town. There was a grand prix car race through the streets of downtown, so we were there Friday-Saturday-Sunday. Lucas did great! He rode in our frame backpack, the Mei Tai carrier and also in my arms. ;) We had earplugs for him and he didn't seem to be bothered by the noise at all.

He tried all kinds of things since we were out and about. He didn't have any interest in the baby food I had brought along, but Shave Ice was a hit on Saturday :o and it turns out the kid loves mini pretzel sticks! He also took a whole fistful of my breakfast potatoes yesterday at brunch and ate a lot of rice at dinner. Still, he mostly ate breastmilk.

Lucas had his first babysitter Saturday night. A teacher from his daycare came over and he did really well. They played with his toys and outside a bit, then he had a 4oz bottle and went to sleep around 9. He woke up at 12:30 and had a diaper changae and another 4oz bottle and then back to sleep. We got home at 1:30 and he was sleeping and didn't wake up until 6! I had to pump when we got back to make up for the bottles, so I was not well rested even though he slept so well. :p Oh well! It was a nice evening out.

We're off to San Diego this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing Lucas's cousin again (6 months old)!

[AttyGrl74]

Hi chickies!

Pie is ADORABLE - seriously Kelly - you should get her in one of those Cute Baby contests!

Nora is having a fussy-pants day at daycare - which I am sure means a really fun night at home. I wonder what's up with her.

I wish I were psychic so I would just know what she is up to, you know?

[cpbride8203]

Hi girls...popping in to check in. It is such a hot and disgusting day today!

My anniversary was on Tuesday and it was a stinky day, but J kind of made up for it yesterday.

Kylie is doing well...walking all over the place. She looks less and less like a baby each day. I went into check on her last night and she looked like such a kid! Time flies by.

Getting ready for her party on the 20th. I wish people wouldn't wait until the last minute to RSVP!

QOTD: With the first birthday's quickly approaching, have you thought about how you plan to transition to milk? Will you try in a bottle, sippy cup? Have any of you asked your ped yet?

[cpbride8203]

ok - Halloween costumes are out already!

Atty - this one made me think of you...

Monkey Costume (http://store.babycenter.com/product/clothing_maternity/halloween_costumes/618_costumes/6720?intcmp=popunder&binky=STO:PU71:PIC2)

http://store.babycenter.com/MEDIA/ProductCatalog/41559_205327_md.jpg

[goldengbridge]

CP- Happy anniversary! Andrew's party is the week after Kylies. The invites has been out for 2 weeks and i have only gotten 2 RSVP's. I dont know why people wait till the last min. It's frustrating!

Steph- I hope you had a great time in SD!

Island- Glad you enjoyed your vacation. Pie is SO FREAKEN CUTE. Seriously, i can't even stand it!!!!!!!! You've got some beautiful kids!

Congrats Claire on getting some teeth! Way to go girl!

As far as the milk goes I'm not sure yet. Honestly,I'd like to keep him on formula a little longer so we'll have to talk about that with the Ped when we see him on Sept 6th (my anniversary :D ) Thats the same week we see the cardiologist too. Hoping for a uneventful visit there too.

Andrew's front top right tooth broke through and the one next to it is about to also. He's been in such a bad mood, whiny, clingy. Its been a trying week. It's been so damn hot here that we've been staying inside. We're off to the mall tomorrow to see if we can find something really cute for him to wear when he goes for his one year old pics!

Hope all is well with everyone. It's been a quiet week here!

[marathongirl]

SiValley - enjoy San Diego!

cp - happy anniversary!

Island - glad you enjoyed your vacation! Pie is SO CUTE!

Atty - yeah, I sometimes wish I could read Claire's mind so I know what was upsetting her.

golden - hope Andrew's feeling better!

Claire's been a trooper about her teeth. Just a little more fussy and clingy. They are popping through fast and furious!

I just wrote out Claire's b-day invites yesterday. Her party isn't until mid-Sept, so I'll put them in the mail next week.

Milk - I won't start until after I see her ped on 9/21. We have been giving her 2-4 ounces of formula a day b/c I am going to stop nursing when she's a year old, but it's going to be a slow transition.

[Niko&Troi]

Hello All :D

Just wanted to stop in and say a quick hello and tell you all about the wonderful but expensive thing I discovered - EBAY :D So now you're saying to yourself, she just discovered Ebay, they've been around forever, has she lost it... No, I haven't, I just started bidding though ;)

So far I've gotten Elmo wall border, an Elmo clock and an Elmo towel for Niko. Well, I decided to search for birthday supplies and dropped $70 on Sunday night on some of his supplies. This guy had the napkins, cups and plates $1 each :eek: I saw them at a paper wholesaler here for $4.99 each, so I got a deal. I got 22 items, which would have been over $100 so I saved $$ already.
I was also going to have a local bakery decorate a cake but they wanted $40. I got an Elmo design in hard sugar for $5. So I'll get an $11 white sheet cake and I'm good to go.
Although I'm saving all this money, Brian doesn't see it that way. So I'm coming here for justification :D I know you ladies will understand me.

I also am bidding on a pair of kitchen curtains and a shower curtain. The kitchen curtains retail for $15 at JCPenny, I bid $5. We won't tell Brian about those until I win them :p


This weekend is final clean up days for the house and then we move next Saturday. Sunday is also our 3 year anniversary. If you're in the north Delaware area next Saturday, we're having a moving party.

Have a great weekend.

[mommy2AlliWill]

Hi all! I can’t believe it is “1st birthday” party talk already. Time has gone so fast. Our little ones are growing up.

We mailed Will’s invites yesterday. Just simple “Elmo” theme because it is easy. I thought it was a little soon to send them but since his birthday falls over Labor day weekend I wanted to give our friends & family as much warning as I could. Not much new, Will still doesn’t walk or crawl for that matter. He is our little scooter. He is contantly standing though, can pull himself up on anything. His newest work is “cracker” which amazes me…he talks much more than Alli did at this age, I guess because he hears her chatting away all day long. Jen- when he hit 11 months the other day I did start diluting his formula with whole milk. That is how we transitioned Alli too. Right now it is ½ milk to ¾ whole milk & I’ll increase the milk every week until his birthday. This is what we talked to our peditrician about but I know it isn’t what works for everyone. He gets a bottle at nap & bed but I am trying to encourage sippy cups during the day. I bought these soft nipple “NUBY” brand cups at Target, they are more like a bottle & he does okay with them.

marathon- Similar tetthing here. Will had no teeth a month ago & now has 6. He isn't handeling it quite as well as Claire though...grumpy boy!!!

Golden- HUGE Congrats on the house!!!!!!

Niko's mom- Watch out. EBAY is addictive. I buy & sell on there, and could even just browse all day long. Score on the birthday stuff!!!!

Hi to everyone else. I love seeing all the pictures.

[marathongirl]

Nikosmom - I, too, have only recently discovered Ebay. I let it suck up way too much of my time. It is VERY addictive!

mommy2Alliwill - sounds like Will is just going to skip crawling altogether!

Bad sleep night last night - I was up with Claire 4 times and she didn't nap yesterday. I think her poor little mouth is really hurting her.

[ez2luv]

Grrr.....I was away visiting DH at work, and had time to write one big long post with So's, then something happened to his laptop, and GONE! Was so mad!!!! :mad:

Anyway, right now I just have time for a short one...Hello to all!!!!!

Still looking for Childcare for shift work - it has been aweful and frustrating. Had to put an ad in the paper and look for private, as most dayhomes are just during business hours, and I work shiftwork and weekends.
Sept 1st, the big day I painfully go back to work. Its been a wonderful year, I kinda look forward to going back, but wish I could take Isabelle with me! ;)
I've gotten lots of calls from my ad and interviewed about 5 peole so far. Only one was great, except she lives across the city and she's moving out of town in Feb. And I'd hate to go thru this again that soon.
But, all other have been sooo scary!!!!
Honestly, I've met some aweful people, with dirty discusting homes :eek:
This sucks!!!

Anyway, got a few more interviews this week, I so hope this is over soon!

~~~~~~~~~

As for Belle, still crawling, not walking yet - but half the time she crawls on hands and feet so I can imagine it's soon.

I've been transitioning her to whole milk for the last week. Right now I'm putting 1/3 WM with 3/4 formula. It's going great, no problems - soon I'll half and half it and go from there. I want her on Whole Milk by the time I start work Sept 1st.

She's still mostly on jarred foods, with the exception of yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, cherrios, and toast.
I'm thinking I should start introducing more table foods, but with DH working away, I rarely cool balanced and nutritious meals for just myself. **sigh** I really should start that and set better eating habits!

Wondering what you guys do for childcare and the eating thing......
I think I'll pack her a suitcase for a weeks worth of diapers, wipes, cream, a change of clothese etc and refill it every week. But, with food, not sure how much to pack.....
I guess this is something I'll have to work out with the provider I so hope to find!
But, anyone have any tricks or tips?? Do you send toys, blankets etc that are familiar to them???

I'd love to do SO's but that'll be next.....take care!

..........B-day!!! I need to get on that soon!!!!
Are you sending normal party invites, or is anyone having some made with your childs pic on them??

Be back later...... :D

[Sidsou]

Hi all! DH and I also had our anniversary this week, so we had a night away from little Kyle. He stayed with my MIL so I know he had a great time, but it was still a little tough to say goodbye. He apparently did great and never cried even a second.

Transistioning to milk I've heard the same thing as Canadian. Start by replacing just an ounce or two of the formula with milk (mixed together) and then slowly increase it. I'll be starting this tomorrow in fact.

As far as getting away from a bottle. Kyle will drink from a sippy but really prefers his bottle. I'm thinking of trying the trick where you water down the milk/formula in his bottle, but put the normal stuff in a sippy cup and give both. A friend of mine said this really seemed to work with her DD. My SIL says that her DD drank from a bottle until over 2 (just at night) and her teeth are just fine, so that I shouldn't worry about it. Either way Kyle never goes to sleep with his bottle so I don't think we have the pooling of formula/milk issues.

Invites I sent Kyle's out. I had them made with a photo of him. The text sounded like it was him talking and inviting people to celebrate with him and asking him to RSVP to his momma (of course everyone does wait until the last minute!)

PartyBig or small? I kind of wanted to have a big party for his 1st birthday but DH was really against it wanting to keep it more low key and just for our friends with kids. Wondering what you are doing?

[ez2luv]

Isabelle has her milk in the bottle, and water or the occasional watered-down barely juice in the sippy cup. She loves the sippy cup, so I might switch soon.
In the tub, she drinks the water from a cup - but half of it does down the front of her. LOL

The problem I'm having with her B-day, is whether to have one with friends (she has about 6 friends her age - plus their mommies), and then have one with family...we have a big family.
I think it would be too many peopl for one party - especially with the little ones, they would be overwhelmed.
....???
I'm really not sure, maybe her party with her friends in the afternoon, then a BBQ with family later - that's one busy day though.....
???
Anyone else having this problem??

Sidsou - what kind of pic did you choose for the invites?? Is it wrong to have a 'fake' B-day pic of her in a party hat?? I'm trying to decide this fast, so If I decide to do invites with her pic, I need to get them ordered.

[Sidsou]

Canadian I wanted to try to get a photo of Kyle with Clifford since we're doing a Clifford theme and then have Kyle and his "buddy" Clifford do the inviting, but I just couldn't get a good smiley photo. I ended up taking a ton of photos of him one day and picked a really cute smiley one. I think it would be perfectly fine to do a "fake" one. A friend of mine did one of her DD in a clown outfit for her circus themed party. Just take a ton of photos and see which ones come out best and seem to "fit" the card you choose.

[goldengbridge]

All of your bday invites and party themes sound so cute!!

Nikosmom- I'm so addicted to ebay. I got almost everything for Andrew's birthday party off ebay. They have a huge selection of sesame street stuff! And it turns out that I found the curtain that matches Andrew's room on there too. We only had one window at our old house so we needed another one cause his new room has 2 and i found it on ebay! I was so happy! The Elmo room sounds so cute!

Sid- Kyle is SO cute! What a big guy you have!

Ez2luv- We're having so major issues with space. We'll still be living in our townhouse when we have the party so we're praying for good weather so we can have it outside. There's NO way 30 people are gonna fit in our tiny townhouse so if it rains we'll be in BIG trouble! Hope you find child care soon!

As far as transitioning to milk-- UGH! Bought those Gerber toddler cereal flakes for Andrew to try. Mixed in a tiny bit of whole milk and he got SO sick. I mean the poor kid vomited for over an hour. I felt like a horrible mother! I swear, it was the tiniest bit of milk. So, we are definately going to wait till we see the Ped for his 1 year WBV to discuss trying milk again. I just have this motherly instinct that he's gonna have a problem with milk. He's currently on Soy formula but only because he was having so much gas. Maybe an allergy? We'll have to see.

The inspections on the new house should happen this week sometime. My fingers are crossed that everything goes well. We were at Sears and Lowes this weekend looking at appliances. I'm getting really excited to get in there and make it "our home" :D

Things have just been so stressful when it comes to our families. My brother surprised us with the news that he just got married. He's in Tenessee in the Army and he's about to be deployed back to Iraq for his second tour of duty. He's been dating this girl for awhile but we're all devestated that he didnt give us any advanced warning so we could be there. My EVIL SIL is about to have her 2nd baby in Sept. She's already an extremely neglectful mother to her one year old son. DH and I have such a hard time sitting back and watching her and the way she acts and treats her son. Shes currently living with DH's parents but called us this weekend and told us shes moving back with her abusive ex bf before the new baby arrives. The only good thing in her sons life is MIL and FIL. They feed him, they take care of him, they buy him things. Once she leaves and takes him away from them we're really afraid of whats going to happen.

Sorry for the rant. I know these are all things I can't control but it still bothers me, you know? Anyway, thanks for listening.

Quick question- are we all going to mail our birthday gifts for each other around the same time or does it matter? I know they have to be mailed by the 20th?

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

~Jen~

[ez2luv]

Flying-in for a quick question:
Do you all have journals here now??
I have one still at WC, but since I'm here now thinking of starting over.... :confused:

[Sidsou]

Golden No problem with the venting. That must be so hard to just watch your SIL with her son. It just breaks my heart sometimes to see how other moms act with their kids. Oh, and one suggestion about milk - obviously speak to your doctor, but I have heard that goat's milk (if it's available around where you are) is much easier on babies' stomachs or of course you could give soy or rice milk too.

As for the birthday presents, I ordered and it's being shipped sometime this week to my person/baby. I guess whenever you get the chance, it would probably be good that way no one would be by themselves waiting (?).

Canadian Hope you find good child care soon. Maybe a friend or relative will help you out in the meanwhile until you can find a permanent option? No journals for me.

[Sidsou]

Thank you, thank you Claire and Marathon!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kyle received his workbench today and has been pounding away on just about everything with the hammer :D That is the perfect gift for him!

[marathongirl]

sidsou - I'm glad Kyle likes it! I just mailed it Saturday so I'm surprised you have it already. We're leaving for vacation next week so I wanted to be sure I got it out in time. I just hope he doesn't decide to "fix" any of your good furniture :D

ez2luv - I hope you find good child care soon!

golden - vent away! What a terrible situation for your EvilSIL's son to be in. I'm sure your brother's news was surprising too!

[Niko&Troi]

Hello All :D

Well we're at the end of preparing the house to move in this weekend. I can't believe we're finally moving in this weekend.

Anyway, have a QOTD: What type of outfit are you having the 1st birthday pictures taken in? I'm on the fence about either a dressy outfit or this shirt I'm getting for him (on Ebay of course :D ):
http://i1.ebayimg.com/04/i/04/88/35/19_2.JPG
The shirt will say, My 1st Birthday across the top and his name on the bottom (both in royal blue) with jean shorts.
What do you think? I'm on the fence about it. I'm going to send out his picture in the thank you cards.

Being we're christening him the same day, I do have to get some kind of dressy outfit for that. This too I'm on the fence about :rolleyes: Do I get a typical christening outfit or do I get a nice short set? Decisions, decisions :confused:

Brian says I'm going into Elmo/1st birthday overkill, but I told him I waited so long for Nikolas that I'm going to go overboard as much as I like for these special firsts. He didn't argue with me :D

Niko took 3 steps alone tonight. He pretty much skipped standing w/o holding on and moved right into steps. He also waves hello & bye-bye, says daddy and says aahhh with a wide open mouth when we do. I read that it's good practice for doctor visits and it helps us to see what's in his mouth.

Well I'm off to bed.

[ez2luv]

Sidsou - I have ran into many moms like the one you described, trying to find childcare. It's really hard to bite your tongue isn't it??!!

NikosMommy - I like the T-shirt idea, I'd go with it. Wow, Nikos taking steps too. We have a couple walkers now. I'm really trying to get Isabelle to stand on her own, but she seems scared. If she's pushing something though, she runs - it's funny!

I have a B-day Q for you all:
I'm thinking of doing a "disney princess" theme. They have lots of party stuff in this theme too.
But, Isabelle has a few boy-friends coming to the party, how I can I make it more masculine for them?? (as in the loot bags and favors all have the princesses on them, and I can't find anything with a prince...??)


On a side note, Belle has her second really bad bum rash...I'm starting to think it's the brand of wipes I'm using right now. I'm thinking I bought these kind last time she had one. I was so concerned with which foods or teething that was causing it, I never thought of the wipes themselves....?? I'll have to do some testing...

Thanks for the well-wishes on childcare, I have yet another interview tomorrow...I sooo want this over!!!!
Sidsou, I tried friends and relatives - but nope! They just think I shouldn't work, like it's that simple! Especially with my shift work, all my in-laws' solution was 'Tell them you can't work evenings and weekends' !!!!!!
Tick me off, like I have that option and they know that.
But, thanks for the offer. Really, I only work 5 evenings per month - but still they didn't offer, just a lot of excuses. But, hey, when they want to see Belle - I'm supposed to drop everything and rush her over to them!!!
So, I'm alone at this...and hating every step of my search!
<<fingers crossed>> that I finally find 'the one' tomorrow!!! (vent over)

[cpbride8203]

Good morning girls!

I have been riding around with my gift for the birthday exchange in my trunk...I really need to mail it out! I feel like it isn't exciting, but it is what the person said they needed!

Things are busy here...trying to get the house ready for Kylie's party on the 20th. We aren't going to get a shed up in time (I don't think) and that really disappoints me, but whatever.

Kylie's walking is turning into running. She is all over the place now. One of her favorite stops is the bathroom where she likes to take tissues out of the trash. She has been Miss Cranky Pants the past few days...there is a new tooth that is ready to pop in, so that must be why.

We were in the basement playing the other night and I was standing in front of Kylie. I felt these little hands on the back of my knees pushing me, so I took a step and she started laughing hysterically. So I started walking with her pushing me and laughing the entire time...it is the little moments like this that remind me why I love being her mom.

Golden - So the milk didn't work out? I think I am going to wait until Kylie sees the doctor next month. A lot of the things I have been reading say it is good to start the transition around 14 months.

ez2luv - I am sorry you are having such a hard time finding childcare. The right person will come along soon!

NikosMommy - I think the Elmo shirt idea is cute! My neice parted with this giant Elmo that she has (I was very surprised) and Kylie tries so hard to pick him up, but he is bigger than her, so she just lays on him. It is cute, have to get a picture of it.

B-day question - We are using these plates/party stuff and I am having the cake decorated to match:

http://birthdayexpress.speedera.net/images.birthdayexpress.com/bexpress/assets/product_images/E2506.jpg

Which is very girly! For the boys, I have Matchbox cars to give them, and each child will get a little stuffed animal to take home. I bought the matching loot bags, but am not sure if I am going to use them yet.

Hello to everyone else! Guess I should do some work!

[marathongirl]

All these b-day themes are so cute! I've decided to really keep Claire's scaled back. I bought her a really cute party dress for the big day, but all we're doing is having family and a few close friends over for a BBQ.

Claire's good sleeping lasted about a month. I was up with her from 12:30am to 3:30am last night. She was up for the day at 7:30am. I seriously don't know how I ever worked like this. She is also back to only taking two 20-min naps a day. The girl is exhausted though! She's constantly yawning and rubbing her eyes, but WILL NOT GIVE IN TO SLEEP! I don't know what to do anymore. I hope this is just from her teething.

And like usual, DH's drinking is a problem again. I don't know what to do anymore with this either.

I should go nap since Claire is but as soon as I lie down, I'm sure she'll be up.

[Niko&Troi]

Hello again :D


I missed birthday exchange :( We would have loved to do that. Stupid painting of the house sucked up all of my time :(

Anyway, if any of you are in the area of Wilmington Delaware, I'm having a pool birthday party for Nikolas on the 30th. If you would like to come, please send me an email (bmlm224@aol.com) and I'll send you the info.

Ok, he's awake and Sesame Street is over. Look forward to hearing from you :D

[AttyGrl74]

I'm flipping busy but I wanted to pop in and say hello!

[ez2luv]

Marathon - I'm sorry to hear that the problem arose again. I was actually thinking about your situation about a week ago and was hoping you were in a better place. (one of my best friends is going thru a really hard time with her husbands drinking also, so I thought of you) If you need to vent, that's what we are here for. We support you and will listen.

CP - Those plates for the party are nice, where did you find them??Are you planning on making or buying a cake??
My MIL seems to think that I have to make her birthday cake and not buy it - she seems to think this is very important. If it was a normal cake, I would make it. But, I want a theme cake to match and I don't have faith in myself to pull that one off. I can just picture how it'd turn out!! LOL

With the shower gift and now the b-day exchange, I just thought it better since I'm in Canada and with the exchange rate/shipping I thought it would be too complicated to participate...did I ever mention that?? Just so you all know, that's why I didn't put my name down - not that I ignored it or anyhting... :o


Well hello, Atty!!!! Did you ditch your journal?, I see you haven't posted ina while....

[goldengbridge]

Hey Girlies!

Nikomom- Cute Elmo Shirt:) good luck with the move, doesn't it feel great?

Marathon- So sorry to hear DH's drinking yet again.... Let us know if theres anything we can do.

EZ- really cute bday theme! Can't wait to see pics!

Atty- Sorry to hear your so busy! How's Nora?

My latest bday dilemma- Be honest girls. I'm thinking about NOT doing goodie bags :eek: I just don't know. We're having about 12-15 kids of various ages and I would be running around like a fool trying to taylor make a bag that fits each of the kids age. If they were all babies it would be easy but I just don't know if its even worth the hassle? Is that appalling? We went to a one year olds party in June and they didnt give bags and i didnt even notice till i starting thinking about Andrew's party. I need honest opinions??

[cpbride8203]

ez2luv - I got them at Party City, but have seen them on lots of websites. They are called "hugs and stitches girl". I had elaborate plans to make this patchwork cake that I saw in Parents magazine, but I just don't have the time, so I am going to order one from the grocery store and have them decorate it similar to the plates and napkins.

Marathon - I am so sorry that you are going through this! We are here if you need to vent! I am not sure how long it would take you to get to NYC, but I was thinking some of us NY/NJ girls could meet up for lunch one Saturday or Sunday so that the kiddos and moms could meet.

[cpbride8203]

golden - you snuck in on me. If my dad couldn't get the stuffed animals super cheap and if I had not found super cheap matchbox cars at Target, I don't think I would give anything either. I hope I saved my receipt for the loot bags. All of the 1st b-day parties I have been too are really for the adults!

[Sidsou]

Golden I wouldn't worry about the party favors for a 1st birthday party especially if it's going to be a big party. Our party will be small and the only kids there will be my neices and Kyle's playgroup buddies, so I've planned to make CDs with Kyle's favorite songs and give maracas (the plastic party kind) and maybe a little blowup beach ball. If there were a lot of kids (all different ages especially) I wouldn't even bother. The first birthday parties I've been to with Kyle, I think most of them gave a little book or something, but in all honesty I really wasn't expecting anything.

Canadian I'm buying a cake for Kyle's party (although I might make a little one for his actual birthday when it is just DH, Kyle and me). I probably would have made one, but with my sister and neices coming to stay with us for the week, I thought it might be too much of a hassle. Go ahead and buy it. It's not worth you getting stressed about trying to figure out how to do it. Tell your MIL you want it to be a special "professional" cake for her first official social event ;) That is just awful about no one even offering for just a few nights a month! I am so blessed to have my MIL be retired and so willing to watch Kyle. No idea about the boys with the princess theme - is there any other sort of disney type thing or maybe something like knights or maybe the beast (from Beauty and the Beast) or even villians (?).

Marathon I'm here if you want to vent. I'm right there with you with the DH drinking issues. My DH has gotten better to an extent, but his work often involves "entertaining" clients which also means drinking. I really believe that he does have the best intentions to only have a couple at the most and come home early, but once he has a few drinks that all seems to go out the door :mad:

CP That theme is so cute for a girl!! I love your story about Kylie pushing your legs :) I love those moments!!!

NikosMom As for the outfit - I would try both and see what outfit happens to get the better picture of Niko (you might get bigger smiles in one or the other). If you have to only choose one outfit, I would base it on the party - if it's more formal vs. more casual. For professional one year photos (for the wall etc), I'm planning on taking a few outfits and even going to a few different places to see how the photos come out.

Confession - I've already bought Kyle a few things for his birthday. I only planned to buy one big thing, but it's already turned into 3 big things and a bunch of small stuff. I'm just so excited for his birthday. It just seems like such a celebration that he was born and he's still here, healthy etc. I guess I really never knew if I would be able to have a child and now things look even worse in terms of being able to have another, so I really want to celebrate him. I guess I'll have to be careful or I'll end up with one spoiled rotten kid, but I can't really spoil him this young, can I :o

[ez2luv]

:confused: I've been thinking about something the last few days...it's about the foods that they say our babies can't have right now....

Whole eggs, apparently they shouldn't have egg whites for allergy resons. Yet, we can give them toast and pasta etc...so aren't these things made with eggs??
So, we can't give them a cooked egg, yet can give them bread, which has cooked eggs in them??
I'm not understanding this...does anyone know??? :confused:

[cpbride8203]

ez2luv - My ped said she could have egg yolks...I guess I would scramble them. Haven't tried them yet.

BBL!

[Sidsou]

My ped is a bit liberal I think. We don't have any allergies to foods in either family, so he said just about everything is fine - the whole egg, etc. The only thing he said to watch out for was the size of things. I've pretty much let Kyle try everything, but so far I haven't done eggs although I plan to. I haven't let him try any junk foods or any sweets since I figure as long as he doesn't know about these, why bother.

Sorry I don't know the reasoning behind allowing eggs in baked goods etc and not allowing them to eat eggs. Maybe in baked good there is such a small amount - for instance 2 eggs in a whole loaf of bread - probably such a tiny amount in the portion they would have.

[goldengbridge]

I just ordered my secret bday girl/boy gift but there was a problem with the message that I typed. So if someone recieves their gift and it only has a name (my first and last) its from me! Does that make sense? I put a little card with Andrews name but i don't think it worked. And it wont say my user name. Oh well. Just a heads up!

[marathongirl]

Hi all! I took Claire peach picking this morning. She loved it! It was just so dang hot we only last an hour. Plus it's tough to carry a baby and peaches.

Thanks for the support about DH's drinking. Just seems like every few weeks we go through the same cycle. We fight about it, he stops for a bit, starts up again, we fight, etc. He told me his drinking would be perfectly acceptable by European standards :confused: :mad: . Right. Last time I looked central NJ was nowhere near the French Riveria. Anyway...

cp - NYC is an easy train ride for me. We should definitely see if we can meet sometime.

ez2luv - my ped said yes to egg yolks, but not whites. I just haven't given Claire any yet.

sidsou - go ahead and spoil Kyle! He's only going to be one once!

golden - I wouldn't worry about goody bags. I'm not doing them. Then again there will only be one other baby at Claire party and she's just 4 months old.

Hello to everyone else!

[mommy2AlliWill]

hi all- we do egg yolks scrambled & Will loves them. I seperate the white & yolk & eat the whites myself (since I am dieting anyhow:( )

cp- we did that same theme for Alli's first birthday. When I get a chance I'll post a pic of the cake in your LJ...it was SO cute.

I am really excited about Will's cake because it will have a 3-D Elmo on top that will be just for him! Just a thought, I know several grocery stores in my area (Acme & Giant) will give you a free 1st birthday cake if you show your child's birth cert. Just a plain sheet cake, but FREE!!!

Marathon- so sorry the sleeping has gone down hill again!

Will is fighting a fever & is miserable right now. He is like a growth on my hip because I can not put him down. UGH!!


Gotta run, I am reading daily!!!!

[SiValleySteph]

Oh no, I am hoplessly behind.

We went to San Diego over the weekend and had a really nice time.

Sunday we went to the zoo and Lucas loved it! He pointed at all the animals and said "Deh." I'm not sure what that means, but he does it all the time now, especially when he sees a bird outside. The birds are his favorite.

He had another milestone over the weekend. I ordered him his first kids meal. :eek: He had a cheese quesadilla on whole weat tortilla. Okay, he only ate most of one triangle and mommy had to eat the other two.

I also bought him some shoes since he is standing all over the place. I then let him try them out at the play area at the mall and he had a blast. We also visited a playground and he climbed to the top of the play structure. :eek: I had to run up after him so we could go down the slide together.

He had a nice time visiting his cousin who is 4 months younger. His cousin is such a happy guy and was always smiling even when Lucas was taking the toys out of his hands. :p

We haven't planned a birthday party yet. It is still over a month away, but we should get started! I wanted to have a cook out at a park, but it seems most of the parks around here are first come, first served. I don't know if that will work. :confused: So we aren't sure what to do. Guess we need to decide!

***

eggs - I plan to try the yolks once I go to the store and buy some.
goodie bags - I don't really like goody bags in general because it seems like you're just getting more "things" that you don't really need to have around. I don't know how we'll handle the issue in the future, but for the 1st birthday we won't have them since it will really be an adult party in our case.

[Darin's Girl]

Sorry I have been MIA!! I swear we have been going, going, going for the last 2 weeks! I need a break! Couldn't even begin to tell you what we have been doing...(how sad is that??) but, damn have we been busy!

Maddie had her 11 month check up (her Ped does them monthly) and she weighed 15 lbs 6 oz and is 26.5 inches. Exactly 10 inches longer than she was when she was born. He said he was so pleased at how well she is doing. She is right on track for her age despite her being a preemie. She's crawling so fast now! I fear walking is right around the corner, she's pulling herself up on the couch, table, etc. :eek: I'm so not ready for that!! lol

We've thrown ourselves into planning her party. We are at, are you ready for this?? 75 people!! :eek: :D DH has a huge family and we have lots of friends from playgroup that have been so supportive while we were all in the hospital. I doubt all 75 will come but- it will be so much fun! I have to show off (some of) her pics I took for her invites. Not sure which one we are going to use tho.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d629b3127cce930a44b7e4d900000005109UauHLdqQ

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d629b3127cce9300f6a2a40f00000026109UauHLdqQ

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d629b3127cce93000b1ee45500000015109UauHLdqQ

Milk & Eggs Our Ped said to just giver her either whole milk or 2% flat out after her b-day. He said that I could mix it with formual if I wanted to, but it was ok to just give it to her. He also said she is free to eat whatever she wants, just make sure she can't choke on it. She's been eating scrambled eggs for the last week and hasn't had any problems with the whites or the yolk. She loves them!! Thank goodness she can eat big people food now, cause she wants nothing to do with the jar food. Just after I stocked up on it too. Go figure.

[ez2luv]

Thanks for the replies on the eggs issue...it was something that I never understood! I'll ask ped at her next appt., Belle's now on half formaula and half homo milk and doing well. I plan to have her on milk by Sept.

I gave her a goldfish cracker yesterday....she choked!!! :eek:
She was doing great at chewing them, then all of a sudden....god, I felt bad. No more of those for her!

Yesterday I took Isabelle to the Circus. Actually, 3 other moms and tots came too. She clapped and danced for the first half-hour and then lost interest. She actually got really cranky!
The whole Circus Gatti pi$$ed me off. $20 for an adult to get in. They had no stroller seating, so you either had to sit with your child on your lap, or have them in the stroller at the top and sit a row ahead of them. They wouldn't give us a chair beside our stroller! We were peaved!
Plus, there was no animals! 2 elephants and 4 horses.....??!!!

Darin's Girl - Those are all such cute pics!!! Did you take them yourself??

SiValleySteph - I wanted to have an outdoor BBQ ata park here too, and it's the same way. You'd be really taking your chances hoping to get a spot. Or else send someone early enough to save it. Here, you can book them and the park-people will reserve it for a charge - but then to rely on the weather in Sept....??!!!

I might have childcare set up for Sept. Actually, I'm deciding b/w two. One's a private DayHome and the other is just a family. So each has their pros and cons and it's been nervewracking trying to decide.....but, there still hope for me yet! Ha

[Islandbride1025]

Hi ladies, I'm sooo behind in this thread. I've been really busy at work and its gonna get worse.

But I wanted to drop in and say I got Pie's first 1st birthday gift. Thanks sidsou and Kyle. Love the books, expecially the belly button ones. That is her new facination. She bit mine last week.

As for table food, whenever we eat I have to put some food on her high chair, or if she's crawling on the floor and we're sitting down eating she'll come stand right beside us and start screaming. I could probably give her more stuff, but I limit what I give her. No milk yet. DH isn't a fan of milk anyway, he drinks soy milk and wants her to drink it when we stop formula feeding.

[Niko&Troi]

Hello All :D

Wanted to come post some pix here of me. I donated 11 inches of hair today to Locks of Love. So here they are:

Before:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d633b3127cce93d77c20b9c300000026108AYtWjhm1ctu

The cut. I have such thick hair, she had to go through it a couple of times to get it all cut.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d633b3127cce93d77852b9b300000026108AYtWjhm1ctu

This is how they dried it at the salon. Don't know about you, but I never like they way they dry it. I told her I like to wear it curly, does it look curly to you?
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d633b3127cce93d778ccb92d00000026108AYtWjhm1ctu

So I came home, wet it again, and put some stuff in it. It's now dry like this, which I like better.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d633b3127cce93d779d6f9af00000026108AYtWjhm1ctu

I'm thinking about getting it lightened maybe or some highlights. Not sure yet, one step at a time.

[Darin's Girl]

Thank you Jennifer and Andrew!! Maddie got her presents today! I cannot wait to put her in the tub, so she can play with her new toys! Thank you also for the sippy cups! They will come in SOOOO handy!

ez2luv Thanks! Yup, I took them myself! She was so good! I think I took about 20-25 in about 15 minutes or so.

NikosMommy I *love* the new 'do! What a great idea to donate it to Locks of Love. I think some highlights would be really pretty!

[marathongirl]

EZ - I hope one of your childcare options works out!

Nikosmom - I love the new hairdo! So much cooler for the summer! What a great idea to donate! I wish my hair were long enough.

Darinsgirl - your hula girl is SO CUTE!

I can't wait until summer is over! I hate the heat! I'm much more a fall person.

No big plans for the weekend. We're going to visit my parents, but that's about it.

Hope everyone's doing well!

[marathongirl]

cp - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for Claire's birthday gift! It's funny how you and Kylie got us for every exchange. Claire LOVES the puzzle and bear and the PJs are so cute and just what she needs!

[cpbride8203]

Marathon - Your welcome! I bought a pair of those pj's for Kylie as well and they look so big!!

The weekend was so busy - trying to get ready for Kylie's party on Saturday. I now have 55 people and 12 kids coming...when did this get so out of control? :confused: Anyway - praying for nice weather so that everyone can stay outside!

[Darin's Girl]

Jen, glad to see that I am not the only one who has an out of control 1st birthday! :D We have that many on our invite list too!

Maddie spent her first night away from us since her NICU stay. My mom and her friend came over and bullied us into taking her for the night. They even bribed us with $20. Of course we took the money! Next thing I know my baby and car are gone! Darin and I had no idea what to do! So we did what any married couple would do- I took a nap and he watched some tv. :D Later we went on a dinner and movie date. We were driving home, yawning- it was a whopping 10 o'clock! Reminds me of Grease! Funny how I used to make fun of that line "we stayed out til 10 o'clock!" Boy do we know how to live it up! We survived the night, but I sure did miss her!

[cpbride8203]

Darin's Girl - Ok, I am not the only one too! The list had 75, but only (sigh) 55 have responded. I had to order tables and chairs today and the guy at the rental company was like "Hold on I don't have a pen". Hope my stuff shows up on Friday! I know this party has gotten a bit out of hand, but the rest of her birthday parties will not be this big...will just be immediate family.

I feel bad now that I didn't do Elmo...Kylie loves Elmo. Carries him everywhere, laughs and falls on him. It is really cute. And like I said before, I need to get a picture of it!

I bumped up our old thread over on WC in hopes that we would hear from Jazz or Sunflower...

I think Kylie is going to be this for Halloween....hysterical! From the Lillian Vernon catalog...

http://s7ondemand1.scene7.com/is/image/LillianVernon/037055?$250x188$

I am so bored at work today!

[SiValleySteph]

An entire night without baby! Uninterrupted sleep! I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. :p

Friday night we took advantage of Parent's Night Out at the daycare. Lucas got to have a slumber pary. :D DH & I went to a movie and then got a bite to eat before picking him up at 11. So we did have an evening out, but I was still getting DS when he woke up in the night.

Speaking of waking up, poor DS is waking up all the time this last week. I'm pretty sure that he is cutting his 9th tooth! :eek: It's an "eye-tooth," which I think are supposed to be pretty painful, so that's probably what's bothering him. I tried some tylenol last night and it didn't have that much effect, so I might pick up some Baby Orajel tonight. I think it's his teeth because he is waking crying and tossing, trying to go back to sleep, but still whimpering. It's so sad.

Still haven't planned a b-day party! :eek: Must. Start. Planning. We still have 6 weeks...

[marathongirl]

SiValley - poor Lucas! I hope his tooth comes through soon!

Darin's girl - that's so cool your mom babysat the whole night. My mom can't wait to get her hands on Claire for a weekend once she's weened.

cp - Claire has not stopped playing with her puzzle since she saw it on Saturday!

1st Bday - we'll have about 15-20 people here. Geez, I didn't even do a theme. I'm so lame!

Claire actually slept through the night last night. She slept from 9pm until 6:30am. I could not believe it! We seem to have 2-3 great nites then 2-3 terrible ones! Now *I* need to relearn how to STTN. :rolleyes:

[amypooh]

cp - Kailey is scared to death of Hokey Pokey Elmo. Every time I play that thing she leaps into my arms and hides. It is so sad. We have to hide Elmo at our house. :)

Update on Us - Close on our new house hopefully tomorrow. Movers come Wednesday morning. Pray we are ready. Finally got Kailey's invites Saturday in the mail... now I need to address them and mail them back out. 26 weeks pregnant and everyone is still alive... amazing with all the crap going on right now. Kailey is cutting some back teeth and she's drooling like crazy. That is all I can think of right now.

[Chelsea524]

sorry for being MIA lately, life has been busy, vacations, living with in-laws still with a very far end in sight.
Corbin turned one on saturday, it was fun, very small, just the family mainly. He had fun pulling off the wrapping paper on the first few presants and then got bored of it and wanted to play with the new toys instead so all the other kids opened the rest of the presents. I made him his own cake to eat and he got so messy but he loved it, it was so fun. I will post some pics hopefully on wednesday.

On the home issue, we moved in with our in-laws back in May because we were buying DH's sisters house as they are building a new one. Its a gorgious house, only 5 yrs old and about 3900 sq ft which is more than we really need. We are letting sil live there until their house is finished which was supposed to be by the end of oct, now its looking like beginning of the year at the earliest. ahhhh

Everthing else is great with us, still debating if we want another baby or not, I do, DH doesn't so its an ongoing battle.

[goldengbridge]

Hey Girls!

Happy Birthday Corbin! Our first baby to turn ONE!

Darin's Girl- You're welcome! Glad she liked the toy and sippys :D

Amy- Good luck with closing! I can't beleive you're already 26 weeks!

Cp- Love the costume- so cute!!

Hello to everyone else!

Marathon- I'm with you in the sleep lately! Andrew's top 4 teeth are coming in all at once and his one bottom one too! He's been sleeping like crap!Luckily, he's still been napping pretty good during the day so i sneak one when i can!

Andrew's party is next Sat- just trying to get ready. We're having about 40 people. Should be fun.

The appraisal for house was done the other day. All good news- except the roof which we knew about. It should be done within the next 2 weeks. I can't wait to move- 4 more weeks!

Just stopping in. I'll BBL!

[cpbride8203]

Happy First Birthday Corbin!!!

(I am a bad thread mistress - forgot to post this on the 13th! Sorry!)

[SiValleySteph]

cpbride - We cross-posted yesterday. That halloween costume is ridicuously cute! I love it!

marathon - Congratulations on the great night of sleep!!! I hope it wasn't just a one night thing and continues! :D

amy - Are you guys moving to a different city? Or just in-town? Good luck with your closing!

chelsea - Ohmigoodness... Happy Birthday Corbin! I can't believe we have a one year old already!?!?!

golden - 40 people! Sounds like a fun party!

:D

Okay, so I decided to make an invitation to Lucas's birthday party last night. I'm almost done, so then I just have to send them out. I think we'll just have it at our house. I can't be bothered to plan anything else. :p The downside is our house does not have any large rooms or a large yard, so we'll be scattered across the downstairs. We have a good sized patio - but not really enough for a pary. I think we'll be limiting the invites.

Are you all having lunch or dinner time parties? I was thinking 4pm and then have it be like an early dinner, but is that weird? Is it better to have it at 1pm and have it be a late lunch? Any ideas? I want to have champagne (for adults, of course!), which is why I was thinking late afternoon.

[marathongirl]

SiValley - we're doing Claire's b-day at 1pm. I'm hoping this way she's a little happier and that anyone who has to drive won't be getting home real late.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY CORBIN!!!

golden - I hope youre packing and everything goes smoothly!

Amy - good luck with the move! You're so brave! I couldn't imagine moving with an almost-toddler and being 26 weeks PG.

We leave for vacation tomorrow. Camping with the ILs. Fun. We actually had to cut it short b/c DH starts his new job on Monday, so we're coming home on Friday. I can make it 2 days.

[AttyGrl74]

I'm hopelessly far behind! But I'm so happy to see you all posting!

Lorraine LOVE the new 'do! I've been debating chopping my hair off, too. But so far I haven't gotten enough courage to cut more than 6" off!

Darin's Girl Adorable photos! Maddie is a cutie pie!

CP That Leia outfit is hysterical! I'm a complete halloween-addict - I need to get cracking on an outfit for Nora!

Amy I've been thinking of you and packing and moving - and feeling for you - I HATE moving more than anything! Can't wait to see photos!

Chelsea Living with the ILs? But how nice to buy such a huge house - you could fill that big of a house with like 8 kids! :D

Happy Birthday Corbin!

Jen (golden) Sorry about Andrew's teeth - Nora's top 4 all came in at once. It was a whole lotta fun - but look at the bright side - at least you got all that agony over with at once and didn't have to go through it 4 separate times!

Sue Have fun camping! Good luck with the ILs. Fun fun fun! :p

Steph We're having Nora's party either at 1 or 2 on Sunday. Not my first choice but the Saturday is a wedding that about half of our guest list (including us and Nora's Godparents) will be attending.

Nora is a picky eater and I'm sure it is all my fault. But she does still like jarred bananas and yogurt and those mini-pancakes and blueberry muffins (sans blueberries - she spits those out). Nothing healthy or balanced, of course. Someone please tell me that she'll outgrow it or something?

I'm just now getting started on planning her First Birthday - we're doing a Rubber Ducky theme. Which should be cute. My mom is taking care of most of it and is putting together the invites. We took photos this weekend for the invite but I forgot the disc... I'll try to post some tomorrow.

Work is killing me and like Kelly (island) said, it is just going to get worse. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth it for the piddly amount I bring home after paying for daycare.

But anyway...

QOTD (excuse me if this has been discussed...) DH and I disagree about shoes for Nora - I prefer her to be barefoot 99% of the time - especially as a new walker - he wants her to have shoes on all the time. He'll dress her with shoe in the a.m. and the first thing they do at daycare is take her shoes off and store them in her cubby. Unless she is wearing her Robeez/Bobux - then they keep those on all day.

Do your bebes wear shoes? If so - what kind?

[Islandbride1025]

Hi all. Work is busy, busy.

Princess Pie is walking!!!! She has been taking steps for about a month, but Friday she was taking longer steps and by Sunday she was full out walking.

Where is my wittle BABY!!!

QOTD I feel the same way as Kelly (atty), I love Pie to be bare foot, but DH is always biotching to put her shoes on. He says I'm ruining her feet by not letting her wear he walking shoes. Is this true? I guess it's the aquarian in me, I just like to be free and unrestricted.

[cpbride8203]

Island - Yeah for walking!!!!!!!

QOTD: I try to keep Kylie barefoot most of the time, and DH never remembers to put shoes on her, so I would say she is barefoot 99% of the time. I put her in shoes if we are going out so that if I have to set her down, she isn't standing on a gross store floor with nothing on her feet. I asked my ped and he said that these days, opinions have changed and that shoes are ok. Who knows! So...no shoes at home, shoes when we are out...

[cpbride8203]

Oh and Kelly(Atty) this is my other Halloween thought...

http://birthdayexpress.speedera.net/images.birthdayexpress.com/costume/assets/productpage/251734_0612.jpg

But is it weird for a girl to be Yoda? I am not a Star Wars nut, I just think these are hysterical! I think I am leaning towards the Leia one. :D

[AttyGrl74]

Yippee for Walking Pie!

That Yoda outfit just kills me! Both of those do - hysterical! Crap - now I'm going to be all obsessed about the halloween costumes!

[goldengbridge]

Kelly- Just read an article in Parents magazine last night about baby shoes.

"Babies need to exercise their toes and arch muscles. Going barefoot helps them develop greater foot strength and better balance, and leads to fewer foot deformities."

Thats what the article said. And when they do were their first shoes they should be lightweight with a flexable sole!

Andrew had a pair of nikes and a pair of stride rite sandals- the ones that are made especially for cruising. We only put them on when we leave the house. And because its been so hot I've been leaving them at home. Hope that helps!

Congrats on Pie walking! Thats so exciting. Mr. Cranky pants is napping- off to call the utility companies and get things rolling for our new house. BBL! :D

[SiValleySteph]

Congratulations Miss Walking Pie!! :D:D

Oh my, that Yoda costume is hilarious. We don't even like Star Wars, but I'm thinking maybe Lucas needs to be a Yoda for Halloween. :D

Okay, we decided on 1pm for the birthday party. I printed out the invitations, so now I need to decide how to package them up and get them on their way!

QOTD - Lucas hardly ever wears shoes. The weekend before last I went out and bought him some because he is all over the place now even when we are out and about. I got him soft leather shoes (like Robeez, only from Nartje) and keep them in the diaper bag for when we were are out and he wants to get down. I also got him some Teva-like sandals, but they aren't as popular. :p And he has another pair of soft leather shoes at daycare for when he wants to play in the Little Tykes push cars outside.

[ez2luv]

Re. Shoes - Robeez here as well for outdoors. Belle is always barefoot for the most part - unless they're Robeez, she takes all other shoes off anyway.

I love the Yoda costume!!!!
I can't wait to get costumes this year!!!
Also, when they go an sale, I'm going to stock up for dress-up clothes.
I saw a really cute Treasure Chest toy box at Ikea that I want to get for dress-up clothes!

Go, Pie, Go!!!

I really need to decide on something definate for Belle's party, I have so many ideas, I can't decide!!!

Atty - Post the invite pics, I haven't seen a pic of Nora in so long!!!

In a few days, I'll be going to visit DH at work for a week or so. Hopefully he'll leave me the laptop everyday. Other than that, the summer is nearing to an end (it may as well be over for how cold it's gotten here!)
and I'm enjoying my last 2 weeks off before work. Yuck!

[goldengbridge]

THANK YOU ISLAND AND PIE!!!!!!!!!

Andrew absolutely loves his Elmos greatest hits sing along! It is honestly the perfect gift! Everytime he hits the buttons and the music plays he starts dancing! Thanks again!

[ez2luv]

Not sure if it's the weather or growth spurt...teething maybe....
Belle has been acting very strange the last few days:
She's been super clingy and whiney, hungry as heck and sleeping lots!
She slept almost 13 hours straight last night, and I had to wake her up this morning at 9:30 because I was worried!!!!
Wierd!

Anyone relate?

[AttyGrl74]

Yeah - Nora has been all sorts of cranky, whining, and a terror to get to sleep but sleeps great once we get her down.

Nothing is making her happy - not playing, not nursing, not going for walks, nothing.

btw - any of you on LJ - I posted a BUNCH of photos - I'll post some here too - but I've got to find the best 2 or so!

[ez2luv]

Kelly - I looked thru your LJ...I'm not to sure how that works, and seen your entries, but where are the pics.???

I'm complately baffled...! (it doesn't take much these days! LOL) ;)

[marathongirl]

ez2luv - I know you were worried about Belle, but damn, what I wouldn't do for 3 straight hours of sleep let alone 13. Maybe just a growth spurt?

Island - CONGRATS on Pie walking!

Shoes - Claire almost never has hers on. She isn't walking so I take her everywhere barefoot. I might buy her a pair of Robeez for her b-day since they are so cute, but it really kills me to drop $25 on shoes for her. I don't spend that on my shoes.

Claire may have to be Yoda for Halloween. I showed the pic of the costume to DH and he thought it was great!

We are back early from camping with ILs. Claire is NOT a camper. She wouldn't eat, drink, or sleep. DH was driving around with her at 5:30am so I could get a small nap and so she wouldn't wake up the whole camp ground. It was pretty much a disaster. FIL was the one who told us to go home b/c he was worried about Claire. I don't think MIL gets it and she was a little annoyed. Oh well.

[mommy2AlliWill]

Hi all!

Chelsea Nice to hear from you!! Happy birthday to Corbin.

Island- yeah for walking.

Marathon- Sorry camping was so horrible. Maybe as Claire gets older she'll have an easier adjustment. We are campers too but haven't been in the 2 years since we've had kids...maybe next year!

ez- sorry about cranky,clingy baby

kelly- I said it in your LJ but Nora is just gorgeous!!

LOVE the costumes.

QOTD: Shoes. Our ped says no shoes unless they are in a place it is dangerous for them to be barefoot. He also made a point to tell us not to let anyone try to sell us really expensive "walking" shoes because they serve no real purpose. Will has adidias sandals that he wears when necessary but usually he is barefoot.

Will is still not walking though, so shoes aren't a big deal most days anyhow. He has decided to crawl finally, we just assumed he would go right from scooting to walking, but he had to learn to crawl to climb the single stairs in our house....darn it now I need to break out all the gates. The boy won't shut up:) He is so much more vocal then my dd was. This week he added "tackle" (DH pretends to tackle Alli) & "gank goo" (thank you) to his vocabulary.
Here are some pics I took last week.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/mom2alliwill/100_0453.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/mom2alliwill/100_0455.jpg

[cpbride8203]

Marathon - sorry camping was so stinky. I think Kylie is going to be Princess Leia for Halloween...cracks me up!

ez - Kylie has been clingy and a cranky pants lately too. I think it is combination of her teeth and just a phase.

Atty and joann - I think I said this in LJ, but if not, what great pictures of the kids! Kelly - the shots of Nora in the tub are so cute!


So tomorrow is Kylie's first birthday party. I feel like I have a million things to do and stinks that I have to be at work today. Doesn't help that there is a huge problem at work today either!

The weather looks like it is going to be ok. I hope the tables and chairs are delivered...don't have a lot of faith in this rental co. Tonight I have to cook and clean, but luckily my family was able to come in, so I know they will help (hope so!).

I will try to check back in today, but if not, I will post pictures on Sunday!

Have a good weekend everyone!

[Islandbride1025]

TGIF!!!! DH and I are planning a date day/night for tomorrow. Dropping the kids off with my sister (who's 6 mths preggo) for the night and checking into a hotel. We really need some time just for us.

Princess Pie has not slowed down, I mean she's even trying to run. It is so hysterical. I love it. You can't go anywhere without turning around and she's walking after you. I just stare in amazement.

Can you girls believe summer is over? Gotta start school shopping for DS, 1st grade here we come!!!

golden I am so happy Andrew likes his gift. I know tomorrow is his birthday, right?? Happy Birthday Andrew.

Hey there Si & ez2luv!

marathon sorry camping was a bust. Can't believe MIL was annoyed.

joann will is so handsome.

cp good luck tomorrow. I hope the weather holds. Happy Birthday Kylie.

atty where are the pics of Nora, I wanna see. Don't know how to navigate live journals.

BTW, where can I buy robeez?? Now that we are going into fall, want to buy a pair.

[AttyGrl74]

:D

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d639b3127cce93d333b60d2200000016108EcNXDFo0ac

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d639b3127cce93d34bdb8c4300000025138EcNXDFo0ac

These are from this weekend - trying to get a photo for her invites. None of them turned out fabulous - but these are at least ok. THANK GOODNESS we got our digi cam back this week! I was dying without it!

back for SOs later!

[goldengbridge]

Kelly-OMG! Shes so big now! Such a cutie!! I love the pics!

Island- Actually, Andrews birthday is next sun, the 28th:) And he's still dancing everytime he hears elmo ;) I've seen robeez at stride rite!

marathon- sorry to hear about the trip!

Joann-speaking of getting big- Look at Will!!! Omg. Hes such a beautiful little boy!

Hi to everyone else!! Just got back from the mall.My mom and I did some serious fall shopping for Andrew. We didnt get anything but Andrew got everything! My god, I swear the kid has enough clothes to cloth 5 kids! We're addicted to buying clothes for him! Childrens Place and gap has the cutest stuff!!! Must stop buying now!!!

Finally decided to do a little goodie bag. We went today and got the stuff. I just got sesame street goody bags and i'm gonna put candy in it for the older kids and i'm gonna put a biter biscuit, a gerber cereal bar, and a little gerber juice in a goody bag for the babies. I hope that will be ok.

Ez- Good luck on the party! Ours in next saturday! Cant wait to see the pics! post soon!

We're taking Andrew to sears tomorrow for his big #1 pics! I cant wait! He's wearing a little gap polo with a bear on it and gap khaki shorts and his stride rite sandals. I'll post if i can figure out how. They always put the photos on sears' website. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

[cpbride8203]

Thank you Kailey and Amy for the Cd's!!!! Kylie had fun dancing to them at her party!

Quick party recap - was a lot of fun...Kylie did well considering she only napped for a 1/2 hour!

Here is Kylie digging into her cake!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d600b3127cce93e7a1bbc84b00000025119AatGbNw0a4

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

[ez2luv]

Looks like I'll have to catch up when I get back home. DH needs his laptop at work, so I can't use it much.

I have had the worst time. Isabelle has been ill.
First it was the runs (is it ever!!!)
She's also thrown up twice today (projectile). It's been miserable!!
I'm forever cleaning this child!
She won't keep food down, nor milk.
I've been giving her toast and water this afternoon, and it's staying. (knock on wood) Wondering how long I should put up with the runs and the pukes before I go to a doctor? This is the first time belle has been this sick...??!!!
Even the dog threw up in my bed this morning.
Wonder if they both caught a bug??
Anyway, it's been an aweful trip, I plan on going home in a day or two - this is just too much to put up with camping.

...Gotta go, another full (and I mean full) diaper..... :eek:

[marathongirl]

ez2luv - sorry to hear Belle's sick! I'd give the ped a call if the puking/diarreah was going on for 24 hours.

cp - looks like Kylie had a great time at her party!

golden - I know what you mean about buying clothes! I bought way too much for Claire this summer and I need to restrain myself for winter stuff.

Atty - I love the pic of Nora in the tub with the ducks!

Island - hope you and your DH enjoyed date night!

mommy2AlliWill - Will is such a handsome guy!

DH started his new job today. I hope it's a good fit and that he enjoys it. The 5 minute commute is especially nice.

Ugggghhhhh!!!! Claire had just fallen asleep and the UPS guy rang the doorbell! Gotta go settle her again!

[AttyGrl74]

THANK YOU EMILY & MADDIE!
Nora LOVES LOVES LOVES the tub toys (not too sure about the birthday hat headband - but she did have fun putting it on the dog!) and the photo album is too cute - I can't wait to fill it!

You guys are great!
Thanks, thanks, a million times, thanks!

[Niko&Troi]

Hello All :D

Well we're finally moved in and I'm back online (after 9 days :mad: ) I also just got a phone on Monday, so I was lost. Now that we're moved, we have to unpack :( It's a slow process but it's coming along.

Life has been so busy. I'm trying to unpack, plan Niko's pool party here on his birthday, his birthday/batism party in VA Labor Day weekend, and then our house warming on the 10th. I feel like I'm being pulled in 100 different directions :eek:

Not sure if I posted, but Brian got the job in Jersey. He's going to be commuting because I'm not moving again. If I do, it will be back to VA. He starts on Monday, and today is his last day at his job now, so he has 4 days to help me finish the house. However, we're going to take Niko to the aquarium, get his hair cut and get his first birthday pix in there somewhere. I'm going to see if I can work the zoo in there too.
His new boss (who is also the boss who hired him into the job he's at today, but left and rehired him to the new position) emailed me today to apologize for not coming to Niko's party, but also told me that being Brian has such a long commute, they'll probably let him leave early to beat traffic :D I'm excited about that. Then again, it's a government job, they really do things different. All I'm concerned about is he'll have benefits day one and that major for us.

As for Niko's pool party, I'm having goodie cups. I found Elmo cups at WalMart for $.57 each. I'm putting a small kaliedescope, puzzle and plastic sun glasses in them. The kaliedescope (48 for $3.95) & puzzle's (24 for $3.95) I got at oriental trading co. The sunglasses at WalMart, 10 for $1.99. The pool will be the main thing, but I also got transparent linking pieces so the kids can make chains, whatever (144 pieces for $2.49) also from Oriental. I'm going to have Dominios due to their 2 for Tuesday, cake, capri suns, and chips. The party is at 10, most of his buddies nap at 1 so we should be good to go. Plus the sun isn't on the pool in the afternoon so it will be a little cool. The weather is calling for 88 degress so that will be refreshing.

The the VA party is a whole other ballgame. I'm going to BJ's for the food. I'll be renting a helium tank here for the week and taking it with me, so I'll save that way.

Brian was freaking that I'm spending so much, but I reminded him that we waited a long time for Niko and he only has a first birthday once. So he's backed off and actually has given some input.

Anyway, this short post has gotten long. You all take care and I'll be back as soon as possible.

[amypooh]

We had a 4D sonogram today. It was amazing. We got to see him yawning. :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/amypooh/Cameron26weeks/PICS_29.jpg

[ez2luv]

Amy - Wow, that's a great picture, congrats - you must be thrilled!!!

NikosMommy - Sounds like great plans for the party - I have already spent a lot too, but, it comes once right?? I feel thesame way, we are going to celebrate!!!

Marathon - In this house it seems like when belle is sleeping, the paperboy comes and the dog sterts feaking out. I really hate that!!

~~~~

Well, I'm back from Camping!! What a long 5 days!!
Belle got diarrhea/vomiting the first day and it hasn't stopped.
Went to the doc today and he gave me clear instructions on what to do the next few days (which I love)
today: nothing til 7pm, then 2-3 Oz Pedialite so it absorbs well.
then nothing but water until noon tomorrow (ha - she's gonna love that - It's going to be a long night!!! :eek: )
Then, for 2-3 days - only: Bananas, Rice, Apple Sauce and Dry Toast. (no dairy!)
And, if she still has diarrhea on Fri, take her for bloodwork to see if she got something from our dog.
So, that's it - I gues wait and see.
I feel so sorry for her. She's so weak and shaky - I think she's lost 3-4 pounds this week.....I hope this ends soon.
I go back to work next week. What a wonderful way to spend the last of the summer and the end of my leave with my daughter!! :(

[marathongirl]

ez2luv - I'm so sorry Belle's sick! That sounds terrible! I hope she makes a quick recovery!

Amy - great u/s pic!

Niko'smom - sounds like you're going to have quite a party! I'm wondering if I should do more for Claire's - we're keeping it pretty low-key.

Good morning everyone else!

I took a sewing class yesterday. It was nice to be out of the house all day. But now I need to factor in the cost of a babysitter every time I do anything. We have 2 teenagers who live next door and they only charge $5/hr so we're getting a good deal. Plus I know their mom is home in case there's ever an emergency so I have no problem leaving Claire with them.

In other news, DH has gone 2 weeks w/o drinking. That's the longest I've ever seen him go, so I am proud of him. Maybe it finally hit home when I told him he was drinking us into divorce court. I hope he can keep this up.

[SiValleySteph]

amypooh, He's so cute! :D

ez2luv, How's Belle doing? I hope she is feeling better! What a difficult time with sickness and going back to work.

marathongirl, Factoring in the cost of a babysitter is what keeps us taking Lucas with us everywhere! :p

NikosMommy, Niko is having all kinds of parties! Lucky boy! Sounds like you all are going to have lots of fun.

cpbride8203, Kylie looks a little scared of that cake! Did she end up ending a lot of it? And a little late, but ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLIE! :D

AttyGrl74, Cute pictures! She is so laid back. :D

Islandbride1025, You can get Robeez lots of places - Norstroms, Babystyle, Striderite... I got similar style leather shoes at Naartje for $15 instead of $26.

mommy2AlliWill, Such a big boy!

golden, Sounds like Andrew got a shopping spree! I will have to go to the mall and check out the fall line up. I love Children's Place, so Lucas has a lot of clothes from there.

***

I'm annoyed with our daycare today. Yesterday they called and had us pick him up because they said he had 3 "loose BMs." It seemed strange to me because in the morning he was a bit constipated and had rather hard BM. So I picked him up at 2:30 and he was totally fine. All happy and smiley - didn't seem sick at all. He had no more poopy diapers the rest of the day and overnight. This morning he woke up and had his normal morning poopy, which was on the runnier side, but definitely normal! We dropped him off and they called at 10am saying he had another "loose BM" and we had to pick him up. So DH went and picked him up. Again - he was totally fine. We took him to the Dr. to get a note for daycare and the ped was wondering why we were there !??! Oh, and no more poopy diapers and it had been several hours since the other one. The ped said since that after you have a hard BM you can get a lot of runnier stuff since it may have been blocked up before. Like the plug is out and the dam is open.

Can you believe I just talked so much about poop? :eek:

Anyways, I totally understand their policies about sickness and I have no problem taking him home and keeping him home... if he's sick!! He's so not sick.

DH is home with him now.

Oh, he's sooooo cute these days. He can stand now without holding on to anything! But not just in the middle of the floor - he still needs to hold on to something to get into a standing position. And he won't stand for long, only about 10-15 seconds. He still prefers crawling to taking steps (with help, that is).

[goldengbridge]

OMG!!!! My baby is going to be ONE in two more days :eek: :eek: :eek:

Oh man, I'm having a hard time with this. I cannot even begin to describe it. Partly because one year ago I *thought* my baby was healthy. My god, they told me he was for 9 months. And then he came and all hell broke loose. Such an emotional year. My little miracle boy! Thank God for medicine.

Ok, rant over. Andrew's party's on Saturday. I've been running aroundlike a maniac trying to get everything done. A few more things to do tomorrow and we should be ok. I'm looking forward to it. We've been switching him over to whole milk slowly and hes now on whole milk completely! He's doing great with it so far, Today was the first day of no formula. I was a little concerned because he's been on soy formula up until this point. So far so good.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'll be back to post pics after his party.

Girls in the Philly area- Joann and Lorraine- Did you send your little ones pic into NBC10 (channel 10) for baby's first birthday??? Andrew's is going to be on Sunday (his actual bithday) around 9 am! I just sent his pic online it was really easy.

Talk to you girls soon!

~Jen

[ez2luv]

(**knock on wood**) I think Belle may be better........
<<<SIGH>>>>
She didn't have problems out both ends (heehee) today.
She wouldn't eat anything with chunks, so it's back to stage 1 foods for now. Isabelle actually gags and goes red in the face the instant it hits her tongue - it's kinda funny.
(mean, I know - but I can laugh at this stuff now)
She's still whiney, but at least she smiling and more active today.
She actually smiled!!! I haven't seen one for a week!!!
By far the highlight of my week!!!

Golden - I'm still a little under a month away, but already getting panicked! I can relate! All will go well!!

SiValleySteph - That would be difficult...did you give them the note yet??
It's strange, usually you get a sick note -not an I'm-healthy, really-I-Am!! Note.
That's what I'm worried about when I go back - relying on someone else....
I don't have a backup, so it's a big worry of mine.

Marathon - I'm splurging, and going out with a friend for the evening on Fri. I need a stress reliever after this past week and with me going back to work next week.
I'm looking forward to being 'just me' again - but also hesitating because of the added cost to get a sitter. Plus, I'd have to send her home in a cab more than likely - becasue I'm not waking Belle up to drive her home...$$$.

Q: Anyone get 1-year pics done yet???
I have a lady (yes, I went so often this year, I now have my favorite person at the studio!!! :rolleyes: )
Anyway...I have a lady who always asks if I have any ideas or how I'd like the pictures to look.
I'm at a loss this time....I need ideas......

[cpbride8203]

Happy Early First Birthday Andrew!!!!

Golden - Hope you guys have a great party! I am taking it easy this weekend since last weekend was our party mania. It is so great to know that Andrew has come so far and is turning 1!!!!

Steph - She wasn't really sure what to do with the cake...kept squishing it. But she did like it when I fed some to her.

ez2luv - So glad Belle is feeling better. Good luck with the return to work!

Marathon - I would LOVE a night out! But I think what I would love more is for DH to take Kylie out so I can just lay down and take a nice nap. I am glad that things are better with your DH.

.................................................. .....................................

Like we have all said - I can't believe my little girl is going to be 1 on Tuesday. Thinking back to this time last year, I never imagined that I was 4 days away from giving birth! She has changed so much and is such a little person now. This first year has been truly amazing!

.................................................. .......................................

QOTD: We had 1 yr pics done yesterday at Kiddie Kandids. Kylie wasn't really in the mood, but we did get a few good shots. I have to scan them in to post, otherwise they will be fuzzy.

[AttyGrl74]

Thanks all for the compliments on Nors - I think she's a total ham!

Canadian So happy to hear Belle is starting to feel better. I never realized that our hearts are now outside our bodies until Nors got sick and I felt like my heart was breaking!

Steph Loose BMs? What a dumb policy!

Jen (golden) Go Andrew! Seriously - you would never know now how sick he was, would you? It truly is a miracle!

Sue I'm so glad to hear that your words seem to have gotten through to your DH. A sewing class! That sounds like a blast!

Amy Gorgeous Cameron!

Lorraine You're so flipping busy! Do you get ANY sleep! :D Congrats to Brian on his new job - gov't jobs are great!

[mommy2AlliWill]

jen- I'll keep my eye out for Andrew on Sunday..so cute. We have not send our kid's in, I just haven't gotten to it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!!!

steph - weird day care issue. Would love to hear how that ends.

Hi everyone else!! I have to run but am reading, promise!!!

[Islandbride1025]

Hi All! It's been a week since I posted. I am soo soo busy at work. I tend to lurk and forget to post.

Date night was great. We stayed at the Embassy Suites, just for the free bfast. We had a good time, with promises to do it once a month. We'll see.

Princess Pie's birthday is going to be a low key thingy. Just family, no goodie bags. I don't have any friends with babies her age. So she will truly be the "belle of the ball".

For DS 1st birthday, I spent $1000. We had the clown, face painting, balloon animals, games, food, decorations, age appropriate goodie bags (ranged from 0-10 yrs), etc. etc.

Happy Birthday to all the August babies.

Have a great weekend.

[marathongirl]

HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!!!!

golden - that's so cool your local news station puts up the kid's pictures on their birthdays!

island - we're keeping Claire's b-day to just family and a few friends too. She also doesn't really know any other babies her age.

Niko's mom - congrats to your DH on his new job!

SiValley - that's pretty strict of your day care. I understand they can't have a room full of sick kids, but sending Lucas home that quickly seems excessive since he was acting fine.

ez2luv - glad Belle's feeling better!

When, oh when, is Claire going to STTN? :( We have 1-2 good nights where she's only up once, then 2-3 terrible nights when I'm up 2,3,4 times with her. I'm not looking for 12 straight hours, but 6 would be nice.

[marathongirl]

http://images.snapfish.com/34483%3B9523232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E232%3A%3D736%3D729%3 DXROQDF%3E2323%3A6838%3B6%3C2ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/34483%3B9523232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E232%3A%3D736%3D729%3 DXROQDF%3E2323%3A68393%3A%3C8ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/34483%3B9523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E232%3A%3D736%3D729%3 DXROQDF%3E2323%3A6838%3B295ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/34483%3B9523232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E232%3A%3D736%3D729%3 DXROQDF%3E2323%3A6838%3B29%3Aot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/34483%3B9523232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E232%3A%3D736%3D729%3 DXROQDF%3E2323%3A6838%3B2%3A2ot1lsi

Just dropping off recent pics of Claire. These are from two weeks ago.

[ez2luv]

Marathon - Claire is such a sweetie!! I'm sorry she isn't sleeping thru the night. I don't have any wise words or advice, hang in there, one day she'll surprise you!

Island - Glad you had a great date night, we're due for one too!
Wow, your son must have had quite the b-day!! I can understand how it can get crazy, there are so many cute stuff out there.
I'm trying to hunt on ebay to keep costs down.

CP - I'd love to see the pics, I need to schedule my appt on Monday.

Happy Birthday Andrew!!!!

:)

Q: Do you send Thank you notes for B-day presents???

:confused:

[goldengbridge]

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I can't beleive he's one today! His party went great despite the rain. We raised $300 for Children's Hospital. We're thrilled!

I loved my cake!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d609b3127cce93e0650a755800000016109IZtHDhy2c

I'm the birthday king!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d609b3127cce93e065f7f49500000016109IZtHDhy2c

Cookie Monster cake!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d609b3127cce93e1a00415e000000015109IZtHDhy2c

On Friday we go to Phila. for his 4 month appointment. He'll have the works done. EKG, echo, etc. Keeping our fingers crossed for a good report! Sorry girls no time for SO's but wanted to say to Marathon- Claire is beautiful!

BBL

[ez2luv]

Thanks for sharing the pics, Golden!!
What a cute hat!
Did you make that cake??

:D

[goldengbridge]

NO, I definately didnt make that cake.Bought it at a bakery. It was amazing! The pics dont do it justice! Everyone was amazed how it turned out. Worth every penny!

[cpbride8203]

Golden - what great pictures of Andrew! Kylie wasn't too sure what to do with her cake.

Marathon - Claire is a cutie!

Ev2luv - Yep, sending out thank you notes for her b-day gifts. Just came in the mail today from Shutterfly.

---------------------------------------------------

I can't believe tomorrow is Kylie's birthday - this time last year, I was having contractions but thought nothing of it and still went grocery shopping and to Target! Time flies...

[cpbride8203]

Happy Early First Birthday Niko!

[goldengbridge]

Happy Birthday Kylie And Niko!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :d

[ez2luv]

Happy 1st Kylie and Niko!!!! Hope you have fun birthdays :D

~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I found out why Isabelle is so darned cranky and clingy these days - she's getting 2 molars!!!!!
They keep going in and out, I feel so bad for her. And orajel doesn't seem to do anything, and she just chews on teething rings with her front teeth. I really hope they drop and stay out already!

Also, Belle took her first step yesterday!!!!
We were at the inlaws for supper and she took one step toward the coffee table!
I cried and cried!
I had been telling her for weeks that she'd better walk before I go back to work, I'd die if a stranger witnessed that first and not me.
Well, my little angel walked 4 days before I go back!
That's my girl!
Like I said, I cried and cried!

[mommy2AlliWill]

Golden- what a cutie! the cake is gorgeous & I am so glad you were able to raise $300 for CHIp...that is awesome!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLIE!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKO!!!

marathon- Claire is a beauty & I love her dress & headwrap.

island- yeah for date night! Sounds fabulous.

ez- So glad Belle took those steps for you.

[AttyGrl74]

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY NIKO & KYLIE!

(I cannot believe how quickly this year has FLOWN!)

[AttyGrl74]

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY NIKO & KYLIE!

(I cannot believe how quickly this year has FLOWN!)

[ez2luv]

WTF??!!!

Atty, what a siggie! Laughed my arse off!!!!! :p

[marathongirl]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKO AND KYLIE!!!

golden - what a cute cake! Andrew looked like he enjoyed it!

ez2luv - glad you got to see Belle's first steps!

[cpbride8203]

Kelly - your siggy is hysterical!

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes! DH wants to take Kylie out to dinner tonight...I think that is so funny considering she is refusing to eat real food! So not sure if we will go out, but we do have cake, and I got her a small present from us since she already got so many toys at her party.

This is the picture I used for her thank yous...they came yesterday and look adorable.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d600b3127cce93e7a1f7c80700000045109AatGbNw0a4

These are from her 1st bday professional pics....they are a little blurry...

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d607b3127cce939a39faa31900000015109AatGbNw0a4
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d607b3127cce939a39fb222800000015109AatGbNw0a4
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d607b3127cce939a39f8a31b00000015109AatGbNw0a4

[SiValleySteph]

cpbride
I'm so impressed that Kylie would let you put a hat on her! :D:D I really like that picture of her sitting with her legs crossed in front of her.

ezluv
Yeah for Belle's first steps! I'm so happy that you were there to witness them.
Sometimes I think DS might have done something in daycare, but they don't tell me about it. My theory is it only counts if I see it!

golden
Andrew is such a cutie! The cake really is neat! It reminds me that I need to pick something out soon.

marathon
Claire is such a doll. I love her clothes! Very stylish!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKO & KYLIE!! :D:D

***

We took Lucas back to daycare on Friday and they didn't say to much. So strange. One teacher told me they were being extra cautious because they did have something going around. :confused: Oh well, he wasn't sick and luckily our workplaces are flexible. So everything worked out fine!

Yesterday I picked Lucas up at 5:30-5:45 and he was in a good mood playing and all. Then I looked at his sheet and I realized he had only one nap. That usually means he will take a short nap once we get home. Well, he fell asleep in the car on the short drive home and that was it!! He was down for the night! (Well, with wakeups for nursing.) It was so sad. I didn't get to play with him, or get his dinner, or brush his teeth, or get him his bath or anything. I guess he just got tired out. He really does love to play at daycare and so sometimes he just doesn't nap. But still! It was so strange! I was worried that he was going to get up extra early, but he slept a little longer than he has the past few days. He didn't wake up until after 6:30, so that was fine.

[marathongirl]

cp - Kylie's pics are so cute! I wish I could get Claire to keep a hat on for more than 0.7 seconds.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE!

SiValley - glad Lucas got cleared for daycare. That's funy you mention about naps. Claire missed her afternoon nap yesterday and fell asleep at 7:30. She had been going to bed around 8:30.

Speaking of naps...
QOTD - when and how should you transition to one nap?

I probably shouldn't be worried about this now since it's taken me 11 months to get Claire to finally take a nap that's longer than 10 minutes. It's just tough b/c I sometimes feel like a prisoner in the house since I really try not to mess with her sleep. Especially since it's taken her so long to finally learn to sleep a little.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had an exciting morning. One of my greyhounds escaped from the backyard. It's fenced in but apparently (unbeknownst to DH and I) one of the latches broke and he found the broken gate. So at 9:30am, I had the cops and animal control in my driveway. My dog had a police escort home. I am not a happy camper. At least they have tags and are up to date on all their shots. He's OK - just tired and has a small cut on his head. He was only gone about 30 minutes total. So I feel about 2 inches tall being reprimanded by the police in my front yard. We've had the dogs for 2+ years, so I know how to take care of them. I really didn't need this today.

[cpbride8203]

Happy First Birthday Kyle!

Marathon - sounds like you had a morning! Kylie seems to like hats...

QOTD: Naps - Kylie dropped down to one nap a few months ago. She just did it on her own. She now naps in the afternoon for 2-3 hours.

[AttyGrl74]

WTF??!!!

Atty, what a siggie! Laughed my arse off!!!!! :p

:D You know I'm here for your amusement!

(Its from Sixteen Candles!)

[AttyGrl74]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE!

Sue - Sorry about your dog making a getaway. I'm glad it turned out ok! Sorry Claire's sleep situation is so difficult! btw - Claire is adorable!

Steph - I'm glad Lucas was able to go back to school! I'm with you on not having the "first things count" unless I see them. Apparently Nora talks up a storm at school and says real words - NONE of which I've heard. So I'm pretending she doesn't say those words!

Jen - I LOVE Kylie's photos! I'm jealous of her hair and the fact that she kept a hat on! Amazing!

Canadian (sorry I've got to keep calling you that anyway!) I'm SO HAPPY for you that you got to see Belle walk. I'm sad for you that you have to go back to work, though.

Hi Joann & Golden!

I *really* miss Jazz - I wish she'd come over here. :(

[mommy2AlliWill]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE

Marathon- so sorry! That must have sucked having the cop reprimand you.
Will transitioned to one nap on his own, sorry. It is hard to be a prisoner to naps though so I hope she can make it easy on you.

cp- excellent pics! She is so cute.

[cpbride8203]

QOTD #2: What are you feeding your kiddos?

I want to start taking Kylie off formula, but she is being very resistant towards table food, but will still eat her baby food. I really don't know what to do.

[SiValleySteph]

QOTD - naps, DS is getting into a routine of only taking one nap a day a daycare. He is just too busy otherwise. However, this means he is SUPER tired when I pick him up and he will often take another brief nap when we get home. We'll see what happens. We follow his lead for naps, so however it turns out is what we'll go with. He will be transitioning to the walking room in daycare once he starts walking (which could be soon or not) and I think they have a set naptime there, so that will be an adjustment.

QOTD - food, I'm planning on transitioning to whole milk for daytime bottles at 1 year. I'm hoping it goes smoothly because I am ready to be done with pumping. Lucas gets 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. He eats all finger food at home, but still gets jars for lunch at daycare because he will eat them there for some reason and then I know he is getting his veggies. Food is always so confusing. It's also frustrating when I make something for him and he won't even try it - he just tosses it off his highchair and then looks down at the floor at the food. :rolleyes:

[marathongirl]

Thanks for the nap stories. I'm going to let Claire take the lead on that. She missed her afternoon nap again b/c we were at a medieval (sp?) festival at the library. I figured it's good to let her interact with other kids. That's one thing I do miss about sending her to school. We'll see how she does tonight - she's still a problem night sleeper.

I didn't realize until today how much DH and I need a night away from being parents. Part of me feels guilty for saying that and the other part knows I'll be a better mom if I have a break. It was just a really bad day all around.

Food - Claire does good with jarred veggies, but she makes faces at jarred fruit. She seems to really dig the summer fruits if I cut them up small for her so I'm in trouble when peaches, nectarines, blueberries, and plums go out of season. I've never given her jarred meats. She does pretty well with tiny pieces of chicken. Actually, she'll eat just about anything if she sees DH and I eating it.

I am going to wean her at 1 year. I don't know if it's going to be tougher on her or me. I have really enjoyed our nursing relationship, which I didn't think I would, but I do want my body back as my own. We've been giving her a little formula a day for the last few weeks, but she claws at my chest when she wants to nurse. It's going to be a tough transition.

OK - enough about me. Like I said it was a really bad day.

Hope everyone's doing well!

[Niko&Troi]

Hello All.

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes for Niko :D I should be here posting for all of you but there is a lot going on right now. All the stress of the house hunting, getting it ready, moving, and now the parties is starting to get to me physically and mentally. I have so much going on you would think I wouldn't have time to be depressed but I am. I just feel so overwhelmed. So even though I'm not posting, I am thinking of all of you and our little men & women turning 1.

I have some pictures to drop off.

We had Niko's first birthday pix taken on Friday. I got this shirt made for him on Ebay.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d611b3127cce93b33195d89f00000015108AYtWjhm1ctu

His first haircut. He watched that lady every chance he could get.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d610b3127cce93b915dc01da00000016108AYtWjhm1ctu

Due to the bad weather, we moved his party to Chuck E Cheese's. That was a small fortune. Brian still hasn't asked how much, and I'm not volunteering anything at all.
The table setting with just some of the Elmo stuff I got.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d610b3127cce93b93984019400000015108AYtWjhm1ctu

I made cupcakes.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d610b3127cce93b93e66c0dd00000016108AYtWjhm1ctu

He loved his not one, but two cupcakes.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d610b3127cce93b91576017000000016108AYtWjhm1ctu

I will try to be back sooner than later, but I still have to contend with VA this weekend and the house warming next. I need a vacation from life right now.

[ez2luv]

Happy birthday Kyle!!!!!!

Naps - For the past 2 days, she's only taking one morning nap, and not the afternoon. She seems fine and isn't overly cranky in the evenings and is still sleeping at night the usual hours, so I'm thinking she's done with the two naps. Good to hear that could be the norm!

Feeding - Belle has been on Whole Milk for a couple weeks now, I transitioned her from formula for a long time. She did fine with it. I have to admit she's eating more jarred foods than table foods, shake my head. (I need to cook more often) At this stage is there anything they shouldn't eat?? (beside the allergy-foods)


Nikosmommy - Love the cupcakes, looks like he enjoyed them!
I really like the t-shirt, great idea!

I looked into getting Belles haircut today when I went.
It seems like just her bangs are growing madly, and she won't let me put a barette in, and when I do manage to get one in, her hair is so fine, it slides right out!
This place where I go said they take pictures and save the hair for you in a fancy envelope....I might take her soon. I wonder if she'd freak out??!


Well, I go back to work tomorrow........ :eek:
I don't want to!!!!!!!!
I've been throwing myself a pity-party for a week now.......
This sucks!!! :(

[goldengbridge]

Lorraine- Great pics!
EZ- Sorry to hear about work! I'll be joining you soon too. Gotta find a part time job- a few hours a week!

The new roof is being put on our new house today. I cant wait to move- 3 more weeks! I havent even started packing yet!

We took Andrew for pictures and he freaked out :eek: He kicked and screamed and wouldn't sit there. He looked like he was afraid. So we left and took him back a few days later and he did the same thing! Maybe its the room, its small and theres a lot of eqipment in there. I dont know, hes always been really good with sitting for pictures. Its such a freaky thing. We'll try one more time and then i might have to consider taking him to Sadies because its a more open concept room. But that place is so damn expensive so i'm hoping he'll cooperate at Sears. Third times a charm, right?

Off to Philly tomorrow for Andrew's cardiologist apt. Keep your fingers crossed. I have no idea how they will get him to lay still for an echo but it will be interesting to watch! I hope all goes well and its an uneventful day!

I'll be back over the weekend! Its gonna be a busy one! Hope all is well with everyone!

[ez2luv]

Golden - best of luck tomorrow, I'll be thinking of Andrew.
Tried to set up a mock 'studio' in my living room yesterday to get my own pictures of Belle. Harde and harder to do but I got some keepers!!

[Islandbride1025]

Hi all! Happy Belated Birthdays to Niko & Kylie! Pie's turn is coming up. I think I'm going do cupcakes instead of a cake. I liked the look of Niko's.

ez2luv you've been off for A YEAR! I would kill for that maternity leave plan. I've been back at work for 6 months now. It was definitely an adjustment.

golden good luck tomorrow.

Naps - Pie takes 2 good naps (1-2 hrs) a day.

[cpbride8203]

Happy Early First Birthday Will!!!

Happy Early First Birthday Kailey!!!


Hope everybody has a nice long weekend!

[marathongirl]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAILEY!!!

Wow - I really can't believe all our babies are turning 1! I went to see a friend yesterday whose daughter is 4 months old and it seems like Claire was just that tiny.

Her new favorite activity is taking all the tupperware out of the cabinets. At least it gives me 15 minutes to make dinner.

Hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!

golden - hope Andrew got a clean bill of health from his appt!

[AttyGrl74]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAILEY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL!

:D :D :D

[ez2luv]

Sending my birthday wishes to Kailey and Will also!!!! :)

[mommy2AlliWill]

Happy Birthday Kailey!!!

Thank you all for Will's birthday wishes too. We could not have had a better day for a party & everything was fabulous. A couple quick pics
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/mom2alliwill/100_0558.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/mom2alliwill/100_0571.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/mom2alliwill/100_0574.jpg

I can not beleive that it has been a year already...the time truly goes too fast.

[ez2luv]

Will had such a cute cake!!!!

I'm doing a luau theme, and am afraid that I'm going to have to make the cake myself.
I hate to think of what the thing'll look like!!!! :eek:

I could go to a grocery store and have something made up, but the icing is sooo sweet off of those!! I don't really know anyone who likes already-made-cakes' icing!

Still need to make/send out invitiations....bad mommy!!!!!

I know, I know....so much to do!!!

[cpbride8203]

Joann - what an adorable cake!!

Ez - your theme sounds cute...they have so many cute things out there.

Golden - let us know about Andrew!

[goldengbridge]

Sorry, things have been crazy with the new house. We havent moved yet but we had to do some updating this weekend so we've been busy.

Andrew has his Cardiology appointment at CHOP (Children's Hosp. of Phila.) yesterday and everything went well! He had an echo which showed that his heart function is still good and that he still has a tiny leak in his tricuspid valve. The good news is that it's not leaking any more than it has been. His EKG and exam all went well and the DR was very happy with Andrew's weight (23 lbs!!) and height! He increased the amount of aspirin that he is on because he's gained weight. We have to go back in six months for a sedated MRI, Echo, EKG, and bloodwork. Normally before the third surgery Andrew would have another heart catherization but they are finding that they can get all the need info through the MRI and echo without having to do the cath. The Dr. did say though that if they had any questions, they wouldn't hesitate to do the cath. So we're keeping our fingers crossed that the MRI and other tests show what they need to so that Andrew won't have to endure another Cath if he doesn't have to. After all his tests are completed in Feb we will probably set the date for the 3rd surgery. I wasn't ready to hear that. I was sure that we had at least another year to go but there is a very good chance that it will take place next summer some time. He will probably reach the 30 lbs weight limit way before the originally schedule time frame of next fall. We were hoping for it to be after summer so he could enjoy his summer and his 2nd birthday but if they feel it needs to be done sooner, than we have no choice than to do whats best for Andrew. So we'll see what the tests bring and take it from there.

We took the Cardiac ICU a nice gift basket from Andrew which they seemed to enjoy. Just a tiny thank you for all they've done for us over the last year. Those people as truly amazing and you can really feel the greatness that goes on in that place. They're the best in the world and I can really see how they are #1 in cardiac care in the country for the 3rd year in a row! As hard as it's been watching Andrew go through this past year and experiencing it ourselves it really does bring some solace to know that we couldn't ask for anything better. You don't get any better than being #1!

There's been a lot of babies going through their fontan (3rd surgery) recently who haven't been doing very well (actually not surviving at all!) but Andrew's Cardiologist told me that CHOP's statistics continue to be good and that 9 out of 10 babies are out of the hospital in a week. We're already praying that Andrew's Fontan goes smoothly and that we'll be one of those 9!! It's never too early to start praying for strength and for an uneventful but sucessful surgery!


So as hard as it was to hear the surgery word already i know its always in the backs of our minds. He made it through the first two with flying colors and i'm going to tell myself that he will do just as well with the third. I HAVE to tell myself that.

Gotta run. I'll check in later!

Thanks for listening girls.

[marathongirl]

golden - that's great news that Andrew is doing so well! I can't even imagine what it must feel like to have another surgery in the future for your little guy, but he's been such a trooper and such a fighter over the last year. I will continue to send positive thoughts your way until your family can put all this behind them.

mommy2AlliWill - CUTE cake! I'm just getting flowers on Claire's.

ez2luv - the luau theme sounds adorable! I hope your return to work went smoothly!

I swear - Claire is gunning to be an only child. She started her screaming routine at 11:30 last night and didn't quit until 3am. She also hasn't napped in 3 days. I'm sure part of it is that she's getting more teeth, but after a year of sleepless nights, I'm at the end of my rope. I read these STTN threads where moms say their kids sleep from 7pm-7am and I wonder what the heck I'm doing wrong. As soon as I go into her room she's all smiles, so finally last night I just had to let her CIO. 2am is not playtime. I'm open to any and all suggestions.

[ez2luv]

Golden - That is wonderful news. I know the thought of another surgery must have you in tears, I'm so sorry you and your family and Andrew himself have to go thru this. That is very fortunate that he is getting the best care. I'm absolutely sending my well-wishes for the little man.

Marathon - Isabelle woke up screaming at 1am last night, it was very hard to get her back to bed. It seems like she's getting more and more attached to me.
But, she usually sleeping thru the night (11 hrs) and I thank god she does it - but honestly I don't know how or why! I wish I did, so I can pass help or even know for future #2 - but I guess that's just her...??!!!

~~~~~

As for work. It's actually going well.
Isabelle seems to love her time at the sitters', so that is one huge relief.
But, right now I am doing half-days for the week (I took half-day holidays just to get into the swing of things again).
I think once I'm back full-time, it'll hit hard!
I just feel like I have 2 jobs now, completely exhausted!!!! :(

[AttyGrl74]

Jen - I'm so glad to hear that Andrew's appointment went well! Sorry about the 3rd surgery scare - I cannot imagine the amount of strength you have to muster for that. Lots of good thoughts and prayers coming your way!

Joann - GREAT cake and of course Will is a doll!

Marathon - I'm SO SORRY to hear of all the sleep woes. I don't have any words of advice - Nora just kind of started STTN when she learned to crawl and does 9 hours a night (8p - 5a).

Canadian - I was thinking of you last week! I'll be Belle loves hanging with the other kids - our little social butterflies!

Did you have a good weekend Jen/CP?

[Sidsou]

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been MIA lately. Nothing bad, just visiting relatives and Kyle's birthday kept me super busy.

Happy Birthday to all of our wonderful babies!!!

Golden I can't even imagine hearing the word surgery again for little Andrew. He does sound like he is just doing great especially considering all he's had to go through in just his first year. Congrats!

Mommy2AlliandWill That cake is adorable!!! Kyle would have gone crazy for that cake too :)

Marathon I don't have any great advice since I'm not really sure how/why Kyle sleeps so well. I did kind of let him cry it out at the beginning, but he wasn't bad at all and does more of a weird whine when he is tired. The few times he has woken in the middle of the night, if it's a terrified cry, I run in there and hold him, if it's just moving around and his sleepy whine, I watch him on the monitor for a few minutes and he's generally back down within minutes. Like I said not much help. The only advice I can think of is perhaps getting a video monitor, so if you do let her cry it out you can know that she's fine. You've probably already tried this, but have you looked at various books - have they been any help? For instance - healthy sleep habits, healthy child? I wish I could help you more. Another idea - white noise - a fan or air cleaner running in her room might help so she doesn't hear every little noise in the house??

Kyle's party was great. It was the 27th. We had about 9 kids and their parents plus the grandparents and a few friends. I had some bubble machines going, got a bunch of beach balls from oriental trading company that have animals inside of them, and played some goofy Sesame Street music. The kids all under 3, most just over 1 - all had a great time. Plus our two dogs are great entertainment for the walkers/runners. My food/menu came out great and I wasn't even rushed last minute (which never seems the way for a party). Kyle didn't like the cake or frosting - he just doesn't have a sweet tooth yet at all. We decorated most of the house all in streamers and a few balloons - Clifford the Big Red Dog theme. Of course, the best videos we got were Kyle playing with the tissue paper and his big Clifford balloon. Now we just have so many toys, so I hid a bunch upstairs so I can bring them out as something new in about a month.

[ez2luv]

Sooooo tired!!!

Since I started work, belle's sleeping is all over the place.
She's difficult to nap, hard to get to sleep and wakes with a bang.
She used to be such a great sleeper. Gone are those days, she would even wake up and be happy and play for a bit in her crib while I woke up and got myself together.
Now, she wakes and screams and screams.
It's almost as if she's afraid to sleep.
I'm thinking, with leaving her now to work - she's afraid that I won't be there when she egts up.
She fights sleep, is so whiney.
This morning she woke at 5am, screaming. There was no way of getting her back to sleep. whenever I left the room, she'd scream. Not only a cry, but a scream.
I tried to lay down on the floor in her room, she'd want out.
She's never liked sleeping with me, doesn't work - so I don't have that as an option.
When I console her, she wants to stay with me and play.
when I let her CIO - she cries and screams for hours......not sure what to try next.
I'm thinking of looking at books today, anyone suggest one??

[marathongirl]

ez2luv - sorry to hear Belle's sleeping has gone haywire! Since she used to be such a good sleeper, my guess is that the change in routine has upset her since you're back at work. I have heard good things about the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child , but I have yet to read it myself. I did read the No-Cry Sleep Solution and found it very interesting. Unfortunately the methods suggested didn't work for us. Maybe I was just way too tired at that point to really stick with one of them.

I think part of Claire's recent sleep troubles had to do with getting too cold at night. We put her in warmer jammies and she's doing better. Knock on wood. Plus I think we're expecting a few more teeth soon.

sidsou - sounds like you've been busy! I'm glad Kyle had a good birthday!

We are getting new floors put in on the lowest level starting tomorrow. I'm excited that it will look so nice when they're done, but the house is a disaster right now. DH and I are moving everything we can into the basement, but we still have one room to go. So I may be MIA for a few days since we need to move the computer. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

[SiValleySteph]

Does anyone else have this problem? I come in to post but then I get overwhelmed with replies and decide to post later when I have more time. :p

***

A little late, but...

Happy Birthday Kailey!
Happy Birthday Will!
Happy Birthday Kyle!


Did I miss any other birthdays? All of your babies must be one soon since my son is one of the younger ones!

Golden, I'm sorry that Andrew has to have his next surgery sooner than you anticipated. He is doing so well and thriving!
mommy2AlliWill, That cake is so cute! I love it! It looks like Will got the whole Elmo to himself, lucky kid! :)
NikosMommy, I cannot believe you made those cupcakes yourself! They look so amazing! I'm totally impressed. Look like Niko had a great birthday.
marathongirl, Sorry about the sleeping. I'm glad it's gotten better with the warmer jammies. I have come to my own personal theory that just when you're about to toss the kid out of the window (figuratively, of course!) due to sleep deprivation, they magically start sleeping better. At least, that's how it's seemed in our case.
Sidsou, Kyle's birthday party sounds like it was so fun!
ez2luv, Sorry about Belle's sleeping. I hope it settles down as you all adjust to you being back at work.

Okay, so I know I missed a few, but Hello to everyone! I love reading about your kiddos. :D

[SiValleySteph]

I haven't had any pictures recently because we've been having some issues with our high-speed internet. We're switching to cable modem and having it installed on Friday, so hopefully I can post some new ones then!

Sunday night Lucas took a step towards me. I was so excited! He's standing so well now unsupported and he walks super well with his "walker" (push toy), so I know he's close. I think he's been taking steps at daycare, but we all know they don't count. ;) He's so close!!

Last night he was making me laugh so much. He was pushing his high chair all over - He pushed it out of the kitchen, through the breakfast nook and into the dining room (even over carpet!). He is so funny.

He is in a serious mommy-phase, which is tought. He cries if I give him to DH. So tough! Last night he wouldn't go to bed until 9. He seemed tired, so DH put him in the mei tai carrier and carried him around. Usually he likes this, but last night he just cried & cried. So I had to rescue him after about 10 minutes of my heart breaking. Then he finally went to sleep.

Teeth #9 & #10 are halway in. They are the top molars. :eek: They are enormous and I think they are causing a lot of pain. It's so scary. The teeth are through on both sides of the gum and there's just a small strip of gum left in the middle of the tooth. It's freaking me out to know that gum is going to have to be torn. Ack! Poor baby.

[ez2luv]

Marathon - I'll have to take a look thru that book soon. I just hate picking out one without hearing about it first. I waste so much money that way!!!

You know, I was thinking she may have been chilly and that caused the awake/sadness/not wanting to sleep anymore....
She felt a bit cool and I was trying to think if she felt that way other times she has woken up. I think I'll try warmer PJ's tonight and see how that goes....

SiValley - I'm going thru the molars Too!!!
How fun!!!
She broke one, and the other went down and up forever (causing us both lots of pain). But the second finally came thru, lets hope it stays down!!!
She really didn't react too much to teeth coming in, but these molars did!!
Ya for the steps!!!! Belle still only takes one or two, not a walker yet!

[Sidsou]

Canadian and Marathon I really recommend that book (healthy sleep habits...) - it really helped me with Kyle (but again I think he's easy anyway). I know other mothers that liked it too.

Molars Not us yet, but I feel for you guys...I hear the molars are really hard on the babies.

Steph Kyle is in the mommy stage too. I do feel bad sometimes when he really wants to come to me, away from DH :(

Hi to everyone! Sorry I don't have more time for SOs.

I started the pill today!! This is actually the first step towards my invitro cycle, so I'm very excited/nervous/anxious etc. I feel so lucky that I have Kyle and got pregnant fairly easily with him just doing one invitro cycle. The protocal is for me to be on BCP for one cycle, get AF and then start other medications. It sounds funny to be on BCP when I'm really trying to get pregnant, but I guess it helps "shut down" your body so you can control it better with the medications.

[ez2luv]

Good luck, Sidsou!!!!!! Gather up some dust!!!

:D

[mommy2AlliWill]

Hi all, we are headed out of town for a week+ so I wanted to send out some early birthday wishes!

Happy Birthday Claire

Happy Birthday Nora

Happy Birthday Belle

I think I'll be back befroe everyone else turns one!

Have a great week!!!

[ez2luv]

It wasn't until I just seen mommy2AlliWill's post that I truely realized that my Baby is soon turning 1!!!! OMG!!! :eek: :)

have a good trip!

[cpbride8203]

Happy Early First Birthday Maddie!

Have a nice weekend girls and babes!

[marathongirl]

Happy early first birthday Maddie!

[ez2luv]

Happy Birthday Maddie!!!!!!

:D