March 2007 Moms & Babes....growing so fast!

[Tandis]

Mia - He's so cute - does he have red hair? It's looks that way in the picture.

Besty - What a great picture! Your Santa is one of those guys who really gets into it and grows out his hair.That's so great. Those are the best Santas. Unfortunately, in our picture the guys has an obvious wig and beard on - plus his eyes are closed :rolleyes:

Orion - Yay on DH being home!

Brink - The girls are so young that there is no need to feel guilty. Our girls are getting four gifts each (though relatives will buy a lot more) mainly because we don't have a lot of room, but also because we think it's kind of pointless this year. We'll have plenty of stuff to feel guilty about as they get older - no sense beating ourselves up about something they're not even going to remember. :)

ieducate - I'm so sorry for your loss.

Teeth - V is getting her third and fourth teeth finally! However, they're coming in out of order because one is the bottom tooth on the left and the other is her left upper middle tooth! Her other upper middle tooth is no where close. Miss A still only has her two teeth with no new ones close to the surface.

[kindermom]

What great Santa pics. I admit that we will not be getting those done for our children. I am a little frugal (aka cheap) and can not stomach the cost of the pics. Not to mention DD hates strangers and will just yell at them to stop talking and/or looking at her.

We have discovered a toy that I thought DS was too young for...We have a Little Tikes Activity Cube. The kind with a slide. DD got it when she was about 15 months old. DS already loves it. I would have thought he was too young but nope. It can climb up the slide already, plays peekaboo through the windows, crawls underneath, and likes to climb up the slide and slide back down on his belly. For those who have room, it is not too soon for this.

[danalou]

Everyone has such great pictures that it is really getting me in the Christmas mood!! I can't believe it is just around the corner - as I still have plenty of shopping left to finish. We only have DD done and the credit card is already high!!

Here is a picture of our attempts with the lights -

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2271/2098759459_8d9dfa0995.jpg?v=0

& a funny one as well

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2336/2098767621_fdaf4f2f0a.jpg?v=0

[miaclear]

Tandis....it kinda depends what he's wearing and the light ;) His daddy is a redhead though so he's got the red tint for sure but for the most part he looks blond.

[kindermom]

Hi MAG - I saw that Oklahoma City was hit with really bad ice storms. How is your household holding up?

[happy1nuv]

betsy - i love your santa!

this is the first year we are getting nic any presents... so don't feel guilty! we DID get joe a few (but only because i want nic to see him get some) and they are mostly the baby-er toys that i wanted for nic (some new blocks, a ball tracker thing... you get the idea...)

:)

[betsyboop]

Thanks everyone for the complements on the Santa photo:D

Mia- I love that one of Aaron in his pjs! I always let Millie play in her pjs in the morning too- so cute!

Quick question- When you introduce cheese, do you have to test each type out for 3 days? Like say you try American cheese and the baby has no reaction, does that mean that any cheese is ok or just American? So far Millie has had (and loved) American, mozzarella, parm, sharp cheddar, and gruyere. I'm wondering if I really need to test each new type out anymore though.

[kindermom]

Betsy - We have not. Then again, DS has also had peanut butter cereal (thanks DD), eggs, milk, etc. So we are not model parents in that regard. Having a toddler in the house is not helpful at times.

[MrsKinnison]

I LOVE the santa pics!! The kids look so cute, but I have to say those are really good looking Santa's too! I think we are going to travel to a different mall because I don't like the Santa at ours, never have. I know it is awful for me to say/think this, but I really just think he is creepy looking. He is probably a harmless, nice man, but he always has this strange expression on his face and it just doesn't sit well with me.

Cheese ~ I don't know if I'm right, but I think if one cheese is okay then all probably are.

Carseats ~ What did/are you get for a convertible carseat? We really need to start thinking about a convertible seat and I just don't know which on to get. I was thinking the Britax Marathon, but I don't know if it is really worth all that $$$ or am I just getting sucked into the hype? There is one online for $220 with free shipping, but ideally we should get 2 (1 for each car). If it really is the best, I'm okay with it, but I would hate to spend all of that money because of just a name. I just want something safe and comfortable for Ollie.

[whitlockan]

I have been following along just super busy to post!!

betsy that is by far THE best santa!!! I am jealous and went in with high expectations for ours...haha! he was good though

food I am officially bad!! We did eggs he loves them...oops didn't know our ped said no nuts or shell fish mainly and no real milk - straight - until 1 year!!! Dont know about the cheese thing though....sheesh so many rules to follow!

Mrsk personally, i have a brand new alpha omega elite at home I hate it so we got 2 britax boulevards - one for each car. I will say I love them and such a difference in quality and comfort!! worth every penny.

dana so cute!!!

orion ya ya....i chuckle, i know how you feel!

mia look at all those teeth!! cute!

teeth we have 4 - 2 tops finally came in

walking scary, we are walking with his walker, he pushes it right along no help and is fast he will let go, gets this funny expression of temptation on his face then sits down like he is a little scared to take steps and crawls instead. too cute.

ieducate I'm so sorry

well we are still sick ped said welcome to winter with kids in daycare, last winter her kids only had 15 fever free days...eekkk. the vicks vaporizer is going but between that and his top 2 teeth its been some rough nights! We are 20 lbs 1.5 oz!! 1 more month and he gets his 9 month wbv!!

waving hi to all hope the weather is not to bad in your area, stay warm and safe and happy holidays!!

[kindermom]

Whit - The Columbia Mall has a Santa very similar to Betsy's. I was really impressed with him. I was NOT impressed with the line however.

Car Seats - We had to switch several months ago. I have 2 Evenflo Triumph Deluxe in my car and Evenflo Triumph Advanced for DH car. The Advanced are really nice. I love the padding and the straps are so incredibly easy to adjust. Evenflo Triumphs are also highly rated by Consumer Reports. I could not see that they were so different from Britax to just paying twice as much for them. I also think the padding is about the same with the two brands.

If you are looking to save money but want a Britax, Fisher Price Save Voyage is made by Britax on the Marathon (IIRC) shell. It is not as cushy but it is about $120 less.

[Kanga]

ieducate - So sorry to hear about your loss (((Hugs)))

betsy - Your Santa puts ours to shame...and I though we had a pretty good one! Cute picture too.

danalou -Cute pictures!

miaclear - Loving the pictures! And I agree, Morning jammie pics are the best.

Orion - Hooray for your dh being home!

whit - sorry to hear z is sick, and teething on top of it. We've all been sick since the start of the winter too. Considering Daytona wasn't sick once at all last year, and neither of them are in daycare/school I had better hopes.

cheese - I'm another one with a toddler who missed the food rules memo, so Cami has gotten things she technically shouldn't have yet, the worst being the tiniest amount of raw fudge brownie dough.:rolleyes: I'd say if one is ok, then they all should be, especially if there haven't been any previous reactions to similar things.

teeth - we still have just 2 bottom ones. Others are getting closer, but nothing too close I hope. I think it's an unwritten rule that no kids, and especially mommies are allowed to get sick or teethe until after the holidays.

Carseats - We originally had a Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe for dd1 and an Evenflo Triumph Advanced for dd2, but then dh liked dd2's seat so much better so now we have 2 of those. 9And I wanted them to match) I can't say enough good things about them. They're $130-$150, you never have to rethread the straps for height, and best of all, they have the twist knobs to tighten it so it's very grandma and daddy friendly. The FP is a very safe seat (the shell is made by Britax and is the same as the marathon), but doesn't have any extras and isn't any cheaper than the ETA. The important things w/ convertibles are to make sure the weight limit is at least 50lbs, have a high rear facing limit, and have a high tallest slot height. The reason being for those is that the vast majority of kids will outgrow their seat in height before weight, and they must be at least 40lbs before going in a booster. So chances are if you get one that only has a 40lb harnessed limit, you will be stuck buying another one until your child is ready for a booster or putting your child in a booster prematurely before it is safe for them. I know I'm in the minority, but Britax's aren't worth the money IMO, especially the Roundabout. Don't get me wrong they're great seats (except for the roundabout - too short harness slots) and definitely safe, I just personally think there are other options for much cheaper.

[danalou]

Carseats: Another fan of the new Evenflo seats!! We have two Evenflo's Triumph seats one of the old model (40lb limit) and one of the new model (50lb limit). I really have to say that we are really happy with them and they are super easy to use!! The crank knob is really easy once you get the idea down and the padding seems really comfy for DD. Here is a picture of the one we have that we got from BRU -

http://trus.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-3722016dt.jpg

From my research I am pretty sure that Fisher Price has stopped making the Safe Voyage as Britax decided it was a lost revenue for them.

Whit: I hear you on the winter sick season and I hope it breaks soon!! It is just more reason to have a newborn baby during the warmer months!!

[miaclear]

We got the Evenflo Triumph Advance DLX. I would have loved to get a Britax but the price tag was ridiculous. The reviews on the Evenflo Triumphs were amazing....and at $120 the price tag was a lot easier on the wallet. We haven't installed it yet though so I have no personal reviews.

http://trus.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-3722018dt.jpg

[happy1nuv]

we have a roundabout from nic (never again) that joe will move into. i LOVE the seat, just in hindsight its a waste $$$... we'll get nic a marathon and move joe to the ra. i heard they go on sale in feb, so im trying to hold out but i dont think welll make it w/o borrowing the scenera from dh's car (we rarely take his car). HATE the scenera... its a TOTAL pita!!!!

[Janey]

I ordered a Marathon from albeebaby.com last week. It was $229. I didn't think we'd make it to February for the sale, so I just went ahead and did it. They had two for $219 but I didn't like those fabrics as well; I figured $10 was worth getting the one I liked better. I'm going to be looking at it every day!


I love everybody's santa/christmas photos. I'm taking K to the mall on Thursday; hopefully the lines won't be too long. We got her 9 month photos done at Sears a couple of weekends ago. I put her in the dress I wore for my first Christmas. This one is my favorite:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2113/2078871185_46d302184e.jpg?v=0

I made her Christmas Bow. :D

[Orion]

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to make sure that I got in here before the chaos really hits hard! We are getting packed up on Monday, the movers are here tuesday, cleaners on Wednesday and we have the 9 am ferry booked on Thursday to leave Vancouver Island and start our 12 day journey across the country. It is going to be a different Christmas for us this year as we will be in a hotel somewhere probably in the middle of Canada but we will be together as a family and that is all that matters.

We are probably disconnecting our interest either on Friday or Monday so I wanted to come in and wish everyone a happy holidays! If I don't make it back here before we leave, I will be one when things settle down at home.

Cheers,
Jess

[goldengbridge]

Orion- Safe travels and happy holidays!

Carseats- I can't believe some of our little one are still in the bucket seat. Ash has been too big for hers for quite a while now. As previously mentioned we have the Alpha Omege Elite for both kids and love them.

Ash is now saying mama and she just started cruising over the weekend. I think shes going to be an early walked unlike her big brother who didn't walk until 14 months. Here are some new pics.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i125/prugh12/Kids.jpg

Trying on their Xmas pjs
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i125/prugh12/kidsbook.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i125/prugh12/andrewashlyn.jpg

And just one of the princess
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i125/prugh12/ashpjs.jpg

[danalou]

Orion: Have a safe cross-country drive and try to enjoy your holidays!!

Goldenbridge: I love the matching pj's!!

Janey: I love the winter scene picture as it helps set a time-frame for the picture!! She is a doll and I her hair is too precious!!

I am so pissed today as I got a traffic ticket this morning on my way to work. It was a yellow/red light and in the end he gave me a no points ticket with a $140 price tag!! I am shocked at the price as it just seems crazy that it is even more than a speeding ticket, but they have you stuck as I don't want the points. I am not denying the color of the light, but the roads where a bit icy this morning and $140 seems crazy!! Oh well I am not going to fight it as I want to make sure I don't have an chance of having points on my record!!

[betsyboop]

Carseats- Millie is still in the bucket and will be for a while. We have the Safe Seat which goes up to something like 37" and 30lb. So she's got 11" and over 13lb until we need to move her to something else.

Janey- Cute photo! I love that she's wearing your old dress- what a great idea!

Orion- I must have missed you saying that you're moving! I assume you're on your way back to Nova Scotia?? Good luck with the trip and I hope you have a nice holiday:)

Golden- I love the pjs!

Dana- Bummer about the ticket, but you're lucky your state has the option of paying more to get out of the points. They don't do that here.

[miaclear]

Orion....safe travels! I hope Santa can find the hotel ;)

Carseats.....Aaron is still in his bucket. The limit is 22lbs and he was 21 at his appt the other week. I need to get my but in gear and get the other seat installed.

[shimmerstar]

I hope everyone is safe from the weather. We have had ice storms the past couple days and this is my third day off school because there's no power. Luckily, our house never lost power and the ice is melting. Noah sure was cranky being at home. He suddenly gets bored really easily. Today we had a great day- I hung out with him all morning and then took him to daycare and went shopping. I'm done with xmas now!

He started clapping yesterday during dinner and keeps doing it. Tonight he was watching me play guitar hero and clapped for me at the end. He is also taking really quick steps where he throws himself at something. He also loves french onion soup. He is 10 months old tomorrow. :D

Here is the main picture we used on our card.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc22b3127cceb1115dfc3a4e00000026108AYuGjlk1ZtN

[miaclear]

Aaron has gone crazy over these! If your DC hasn't quite developed his/her pincer grasp yet this is a wonderful product. Aaron loves to feed himself but just gets frustrated when the smaller things like cheerios and puffs get stuck in his palm.

http://www.babymummum.com.au/images/home_bgroundleft.jpg_1

[littlemia]

Hey! I've been having tons of Internet issues, so I haven't had time to post lately but I wanted to say hi to everyone. This Internet issue is a big PITA because I need to do most of my Christmas shopping online. Between pumping and getting Claire to eat, I'm hardly able to get out of the house.

I don't think I've posted any pictures lately, so here are a couple of her in her Christmas dresses:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2173/2111722950_b2599b67e5.jpg?v=0

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2027/2111722688_6626a1c64e.jpg?v=0

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2161/2111722450_6c31e27063.jpg?v=0

[ieducate]

Great pictures everyone. I love, love, love them. Dh and I just got back from a trip to the in-laws in Florida. It was a nice trip, but so hard to travel with dd. She isn't awful on planes, but not great either. :( Plus, my body is doing some weird things with this m/c. :( I am still crampy and feel blah, but hopefully my number will get to zero soon and I will start to feel more normal again...at least until we TTC again. Anyway, I included a copy of the New Years card we sent out this year. We decided not to do a holiday one (too many different holidays) and opted instead for a New Year's card. Julia is so full of emotion these days that we thought this picture really captured her the best. :) Hope you are all well.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n311/ieducate/newyearscard.jpg

The back says, "May you have a happy and healthy New Year!" Love, Andrew, Karen & Julia Rose.

I liked how easy it was to do and it saves me the time and energy of filling out messages inside a billion holiday cards. :) Plus they are pretty cheap and they get delivered fast.

Carseats: Julia is still in the bucket and will remain there for probably another month. Her 1st birthday is in less than a month, but she is only 16lbs. Our bucket is good until 22lbs, so I will take advantage of the fact that JR is so small. We have the marathon carseats to install when we are ready though. The bucket is just easier to travel with and we just got back from FL so it worked out. Anyway, talk to you all later.

[betsyboop]

Cute photos everyone!

Shimmer- We're also dealing with really bad weather. We got about 9" of snow on Thursday afternoon. After Dave got home, he realized that our snowblower is broken, so he had to shovel the driveway by hand. Then we got about 7 more inches over night and this morning. And now we're getting freezing rain on top of all that. It's pretty bad on the roads. We actually haven't left the house since yesterday afternoon because of it.

Um I guess I don't have much of a reason to post- I'm nostly just bored because we've been cooped up in the house all day:p

[danalou]

I must say the past couples of days have been quite interesting!!

I got the chance to be in the delivery room with my best friend and it was truly amazing!! She was such a trooper and in the end she and her husband welcomed a beautiful baby boy into their family!! I still can't believe that just nine months ago that was me in the role of new mom and my friend as the coach. It is just crazy how our bodies are able to grow and deliver the little miracles.

Seeing a newborn gives me the baby bug again, but I would prefer them to be 2 years apart. I still can't get over how little they are when they are born!!

As for us we got a 8" + of snow yesterday and it made things interesting to say the least!! I will have to post a picture of DD in the snow as she wasn't to thrilled with it to say the least bit.

Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm this winter (it isn't even officially winter yet)!!

[shimmerstar]

Noah is walking! Okay, so he's only taking one step at a time, but that counts, right? I'm excited as I think a lot of his whining lately has been due to frustration about that. Now if I can just get him to start talking. :)

I can't believe all the snow/ice that everyone has been getting!

[whitlockan]

Man I try to make such an effort to come in here often and when I finally get a chance to respond its been like a month!!!!

all the picture are fantastic!!! I cant believe how big were all getting and what in 3 months were a year, some sooner!! EKKK

We have been good, still sick with just the normal common cold/congestion, which I know will not go away anytime soon. Wednesday he was sent home with a fever, poped his 3rd tooth on Thursday morning. Got everything ready Thursday night for him to return to school, woke up at 3 am screaming his head off and with yet another fever, would you believe a 4th tooth showed up later Friday afternoon, came all the way in on Saturday. So were up to 4 teeth, the bottom pair and the same top pair. Finally got back to school on Monday.

In big news, hes been walking with his walker for about a month now, he finally has it down packed really well and sunday night he tried to take a step without holding onto anything, unlike shimmer he fell flat on his face (we have a rock climbing crash pad down so no injury) but its so exciting were all getting so mobile!!! I will be biting my toungue in a few weeks I am sure, I thought crawling was bad I bet this will be worse.

Hmm other updates:

words he has been saying mama for a while now but he finally has dada down. Now he wont stop saying it he walks around at school all day long and at home saying dada, da, va/ba. I dont tell my husband but in a way its sort of annoying now he rules the nest, it was all good when it was mama. :D

solids we just introduced chicken, he is okay with it but not in love with it. He is okay with cheerios but he is just being so darn stubborn he rather feed he dogs than himself.

sippy cups I think it was little thank you for the straw cup topic, we had bought every single sippy cup on this earth he would not take any, never thought he'd be able to take a straw, would you believe thats the only thing he will take and loves it. Were trying to wean from the bottle and only give one at night he if doesnt nurse. Its funny though he will use it at home all on his own, we practiced this weekend since he was able to nurse so long, he pretends like he doesnt know how to hold it or take it at school.

One thing thats been putting a layer of guilt on me, when I go to pick up Z at school, I walk in he smiles and then just cries while standing up, he finally sits down and crawls to me while bawling his eyes out, I feel so bad for leaving him there now, like he is actually showing how much he misses us during the day. Or is it the fact he is frustrated he cant just walk over and has to remember to sit down and crawl? either way I feel terrible and the first time it happend I started crying....what a loser!

Question is there a 9 month growth spurt or something, for one Z cries all.the.time when he doesnt get his way, its gone from frustration of not getting his way but crying just to cry, crying when you put him down (hes not a super high mae baby and was not held all.the.time) and was up nursing every hour last night. Talk about exhausting! He just wants to nurse nurse nurse.

I think thats it, I have just given up trying to remember everything.......

Oh our injurys, lots of blood lately. I am officially a bad mom

1). Jumping in his crib, hit his chin on the rail and shoved his bottom tooth into his gum, the top one was close so I think thats what helped bust the skin, I was sitting right there reading his baby cook book and I still let him do it, I freaked when I saw the blood and felt so bad.

2). last night he was crawling super fast wiped out and hit his gums on the floor (dont ask me how) needless to say more blood, we must have another tooth on its way because his gums have been really tender if he bumps them.

Orion good luck, safe travels and very happy holidays where ever you may be to celebrate.

dana that sucks ecsp during the christmas season. I about had a heart attack, my DH sent me a e-mail that said speeding ticket in the subject line, I thought for sure a traffic camera got me and sent it to my husband, I was like oh great now hes not going to shut up about this and I'll haer all about it. Thankfully it was a stupid forward but my stomach hurt so bad before I opened it. Also, the newborn thing everytime I have to go get something for my pump I always got to the lactation center at the hopsital, cheaper prices and I only seem to damage my tubing, but its in the postpartum unit, my eyes fill with tears all the time, I am so amazed how small they once were and not that long ago either.

golden your pjs have inspired me to go get DS a pair to wear on christmas morning opening presents. Never thought of that, what a great idea and those are so cute!! Love the dress too great choice!

Kinder we ended up at Annapolis Mall literally right before your post, he was good, more of a pass through santa. BTW did I miss the cost of Santa. Wow have those prices sky rocketed or what, you can only buy packages or one photo for 15.00 I am in the wrong business!!

kanga doesnt it just aggrevate you when there sick. I do everything to keep him healthy and this is one thing that is driving me nuts! Sorry but glad to hear babies not in daycare are getting it too, I was seriously just beating myself up over it.
I think it got everyone.

Janey thats awesome it fits here right on time. perfect timing

ieducate my thoughts are with you. Good luck and I hope for the best.

Shimmer thats soooooo exciting!! Yahoo...now brace yourself

I hope everyone has a very merry christmas if I dont get back in here in time, stay safe and warm.

[whitlockan]

forgot to post this.....

I cant believe this but QOTD what are you doing for the 1st birthday?

[betsyboop]

Shimmer- Wow, how exciting! I was actually thinking that any day now someone was going to come in and post that their baby is walking what with all the advanced babies in here! I'm scared to even think of Millie walking:eek:

QOTD- Yikes, I have no idea. I mean, I know we'll have a party, but beyond that, I really don't have any specific plans. I can't believe how "old" they're getting:(

I'm not sure if I've posted this already, but we might be ready to call Millie's first real word- bye-bye. She will start waving if you say it and says ba-ba whenever she waves on her own. She doesn't always say it in the correct context like when someone is leaving or whatever, but she does definitely associate it with waving. So, we're not sure if we can call it or not...

[ieducate]

QOTD: First birthday...AGH...we are dealing with that right now...as Julia's first birthday is the 13th of next month. We are having a brunch with about 30 people, and I have been looking at various websites for the last two weeks on favors, birthday cake ideas, and themes. I think we are going with butterflies and flowers as the theme, but for no particular reason except that is what she has in her room. We have such a varied age of people coming to the party so finding one or two favors has been a challenge. My sister suggested making sugar cookies iced with her colors, wrapping them in saran wrap, and putting them in a pretty bag. We may end up with that if I can't find something a bit more creative. I ordered Julia a banner (Happy 1st Birthday Julia Rose) and I am going to go to the party store next week to buy all the plates, etc. I am trying to locate a bakery in our area that will make a smash cake for her. Some bakeries will make smash cakes with a little less sugar than regular cakes, but they still taste great for the baby. I have attached a copy of the birthday invitation I sent out. I have also attached some websites that I am using for birthday ideas, and probably a favor or two.

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/special/specialfeature/cakefinder-birthday/
Some of the cakes on here seem really cool, but possibly way too much work for me.

http://www.celebrateexpress.com/celebration/default.aspx?TabID=0
This site above is where I ordered her banner. It turned out GREAT!

http://www.orientaltrading.com/
I have used this site above for toys for my students when I was teaching elementary school. Good site and good prices.

http://www.kidspartyworld.com/
Haven't figured out if I like this site yet or not.

Here is a copy of the front of the birthday card we sent:
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n311/ieducate/frontbirthdaycard.jpg

Here is a copy of the inside of the card: http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n311/ieducate/insidebirthdaycard2.jpg

Sorry the inside one is so large...I could not seem to make it smaller. :(

[miaclear]

Walking....we are not there yet but he has managed to stand on his own for a few seconds at a time. I'm hoping walking comes soon cause he loves to do it, and helping him all the time is killer on my back. I'm excited to see him walk with the Radio Flyer walker we got him for Christmas.

Solids.... the other night we were at dinner and I fed DS a little off my plate. He had some cheese and some baked potato. He loved it. And his pincer grasp is getting better and better each day. I'm excited to try more table foods. Although DH and I don't eat the healthiest so it's hard to feed him off our plate. Example last night we both just nuked a frozen meal.

QOTD- I have only had random thoughts pass through my head about what we'll do. I imagine it'll be small. Family in town, my parents and a few close friends. I'd guess there will be no more than 20 people, including a few babies. Likely we'll order a party sub (cause I love ordering party subs) and I'll decorate in some fashion. I'd love to do monkeys cause each month I take a picture of him next to a sock monkey my mom brought him in the hospital when he was born. Our really good friends did monkeys for their sons 1st though last year (and they'll be there). Maybe I can do an actual sock monkey theme. With only a handful of kids (and them all being under 3 yrs) I could swing some sweet favor bags. I'm going to have to check into what I can find. Wow....now I'm in party planning mode and Christmas isn't even over. Thanks:o

Tree...we put ours up last night. We waited cause the best place for it to be is in the family room where I spend more than half my time with DS during the day. I didn't want to run defense all day so we thought if it was up for a week, week and a half it'd be best. DS was amazed at it last night, and this morning he was enjoying playing with some of the ornaments. I didn't put any glass bulbs on this year. I bought some fabric ones and some really large jingle bells. He was loving the bell. He was ringing it, and I sang jingle bells. I'm sure we'll take the tree down the weekend after Christmas though.

[pewee9196]

Wow, I am so overwelmed because I have not been on here in so long!

Everyone's pictures are wonderful! What Cuties we all have!

Shimmer- Yay for the Walking!

Table foods- wow, i feel so far behind. We are still on baby food - no interest in anything but my salads ?? Any recommendations on what to start with. We have tried cheerios but no interest.

Bday
Does anyone have sites for cute invites? We are not planning anything big but I want to do really cute invites. We will invite all the families but doubt anyone but DH's mom will come. It is just too far for most.

Multiple Xmas's - Is anyone dealing with people wanting your DC to do multiple holidays? MIL wants us to do Xmas this weekend, then we have our little family on the day and mine coming the day after. I feel like scrooge but DH and I have traditions on Xmas that I want to continue. I feel like 3 major events is going to be a bit overwelming for her. ? Am I horrible?

[kindermom]

Shimmer - Wow. A walker. That is incredible!

Cutie Pies - As always, I love the pics of the growing babies.

First Birthday - Honestly, I had a big party for DD and it will not be repeated. IMO it was a waste of energy. Most of the family did not appreciate it, DD was clueless, and I was stressed out. I would much rather have a relaxing time celbrating in a laid back way. That said, we will have one set of grandparents over for his birthday and cake in Maryland. Then we will have a larger celebration with my family in New York maybe a month later.

Multiple Christmases - We are opening presents Friday night. Some of the things we want DD to have for the car ride to NY. Others we do not want up there. Saturday we go to NY to visit my family and celebrate on the 25th. We will open gifts as an immediate family with my mom there. Then all the sibs get together to open presents again as a extended family. Then on the 26th we drive back to MD to open gifts with my ILs. Then to following weekend we will open presents with another set of ILs. So that makes 5 sessions of opening presents for us. This will be the pattern every other year. DD is 28 months. I do not thinks she has a clue yet. Next year we will be in MD for the holiday. The following year I expect the craziness to be overwhelming for her.

Peewee, unless DD is high needs, I would expect that she will be unaware of much of the chaos that will ensue. In future years, I would expect it to be a bit more for her.

Table foods - Gosh. That is all Henry eats at this point. His diet is limited because so much is on the "No" list. Today he has Cheerios and a banana for breakfast (yes he will eat a whole banana). For lunch he will get vegetable barley soup with the beef broth strained out. For dinner he will probably get blueberries, rice, cheese, and black beans.

Henry is now a walking with a walker fool. He loves taking off across the family room behind his little push car. It is so cute. He also loves climbing up his slide, letting go at the top, and then sliding down on his belly. We are still sleeping horribly.

Question - How much milk is you DC drinking. I am gone from 6 am to 4:30 pm. He wakes up at 7:00. Between the time I d onot see him, he only takes 2 4.5 ounce bottles of EBM. This does not seem like much. What is your child doing?

[danalou]

Walking - DD is cruising around furniture these days and even walks all by herself with her Playskool walker!! That was a great buy at Kohls for less than $15 with all their toy sales!!

Table Food - DD seems interested in our food, but every time I give her food (Cheerios, Puffs or Bananas) she puts it in her mouth and then gags and pukes. I mentioned this to the doctor and he said to just keep trying and one day it will work.

Pewee - We are still just going baby food as well, but I have noticed that she can tolerate thicker purees these day. That is progress in the right direction!!

9 + Month WVC - 21lbs 2oz, 28" long & 18" head!! That is correct we grow them big!! The doctor said everything looked great and he was really impressed with how vocal she is these days.

Multiple Xmas's - Right after we got married we started rotating holidays and I am glad we started the before kids as I can imagine it is going to cause several people added stress with kids in the picture. This year we have Christmas with DH's family in PA and we will do something with my family once we get back in town. I don't think that limiting the number of events you go to over the holidays is wrong at all. I think family expecting new parents to drive all over the place is wrong. If they want to see you so badly they can come to you and your house where you kids will be comfortable!!

1st Birthday - I have been looking into this for quite sometime now and I am really starting to get excited. I am really not sure how many people we will have as most of my family is local!! I would guess some where in the range of 25+ people. The thought is to rent a party room at our local community center as our house is just way to small for a crowd bigger than really 10 people!! I am leaning towards a pink and purple cupcake theme and found these as inspiration ideas -

DD's cake -

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4148F31%2BecL._AA280_.jpg

**I have been looking into recipes and am going to attempt making it myself as well as regular cupcakes for everyone else. If anyone has a good cherry chip or confetti recipe that they want to share I would really appreciate as I may just stick with a box this time around!!

Cupcake image for DD's shirt and bib [MIL has an embroidery machine]-

http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/Product_images/Y2552.jpg

I am in love with these clothes from Gymboree, but the price tag is always high [I am going to hope they go on sale or I could just have MIL add one to a pair of jeans]!!

http://s7ondemand1.scene7.com/is/image/Gymboree/140028472?$240x305$

Invites [I might make my own with the cupcake image MIL is using, but I like these die-cuts if I could find a pink one]

http://www.polkadotdesign.com/site_images/copying_this_file_is_prohibited.gif

I also found this book that I would really like to get for future birthdays!!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DW0QV4M0L._SS500_.jpg

I guess I should attempt to get some work done as it is my last day in the office before the New Year!! We will be leaving for PA on Friday, but I will make it back to give out holiday wishes!!

[danalou]

Kindermom - DD only takes 2 x 4 oz bottles at daycare if we are lucky. It sounds like Henry is right in line with the average of 15-25 ounces per day!! I know that she gets more off me, but getting her to take bottles these days is a major struggle. She use to take 3 x 4 oz bottles, but with the intro of 3 solid meals she dropped down to only 2. When she is with me for the day she breastfeeds 5-6 times in a 24 hour period. I have to do it in her room with the door closed otherwise she just nibbles as she is too distracted!!

[betsyboop]

Tree- We were nervous about it because she gets into everything, so we waited until this past weekend to put it up. Apparently we were worried over nothing because she could care less about it. And it's right in the family room with us in the place where her favorite basket for pulling up used to be.

Solids- We do 2 meals per day- one is purees (I have to use up all that Gerber stuff that I bought at Target over the summer!) and one is little pieces of whatever. Yesterday, it was turkey, pear, and shredded mozzarella. She has very few things she won't eat (avocado is the only one I can think of off the top of my head) and a great pincer grasp, so we're lucky so far with that.

Multiple Xmases- We do this every year, so it's nothing new for us now that Millie's here. We do Xmas with MIL's side of the family (Dave's aunts, uncles, and cousins) usually the second weekend after Thanksgiving and with Dave's immediate family another weekend in Dec (this year we're doing it this Saturday). We'll have Xmas morning with just the 3 of us on the 25th, then we'll drive to my parents for the late morning/early afternoon, and then we drive to my aunt's house to celebrate with my dad's side of the family. This year, we also had a party last weekend with my mom's side, but that's not an every year thing because my mom's younger sister is really weird (long story). Peewee, I don't think your DD is going to really care- Millie has been going to family parties practically every weekend since before Thanksgiving and she couldn't care less.

Milk/formula- We feed her 6oz first thing in the morning (8ish), 6oz after her morning nap (12:30ish), 6oz right before her afternoon nap (3:30ish), 4-6 oz right before Dave comes home from work (6:30), a top off of maybe 2-4oz right before bed (8-8:30), and 6oz at 11pm. In total, that's 30-34oz per day. So yeah, I guess 2 4.5oz bottles all day doesn't sound like much, but is he making up for it in the afternoon/at night?

[miaclear]

Milk.....DS is still EBF. When I pump I get only anywhere from 1-2 oz but I know he's more skilled at getting the milk than my pump so I'm guessing he's getting 2-3oz. And he's nursing about 5 times a day.

Multiple Xmas.....One of the good things of having one family live across country is that we don't have to deal with multiple holidays. It's either here, or there. This year we're staying home and my parents are coming down. MIL who usually does xmas morning decided that she'd let us host (it's just her and my BIL as well as DH and my parents) so that we don't have to work around Aaron's schedule.

[miaclear]

Betsy....is she on BM or formula? I can't imagine that I could still product that much. But I always worry that he's not getting enough and wonder if I should suppliment formula at this point. He was 21 pounds at his WBV the other week so he's not hurting for anything.

[whitlockan]

multiple xmas nope just 1, dh and I only, were to far from family and no one can make it.

dana love the theme and ideas!!

milk ds is still ebf his schedule is as follows:

5.30-nurse
9.00/9.30 - bottle/sippy 8 oz (cereal and fruit or veggie)
12.30 - bottle/sippy 6-8 oz - snack
3.30/4.00 - bottle/sippy 6-8 oz (friut or veggie and checken or cereal)
5.30/6.00 - nurse
6.30 - cereal/fruit or veggie and snack
7.30 - nurse top off
**nomally 3.00 up to nurse but right now from 11.00 on he is up every hour nursing - either a growth spurt or wants more food during the day but he is not at all interested in any more. I know he is 25+ oz a day of eb......yes I am a milk cow :).

we are at a point where you give ds finger food he will feed himself you try to give him anything off a spoon its a struggle I had to give him his own spoon to play with last night even then he is being difficult. He will not eat any finger foods at school on his own and he will not take a sippy at school....so wierd they think we lie to them about him carrying around his sippy at home if I give him one to snack on. he is so stubborn!!

[betsyboop]

mia- She's on formula now. We stopped nursing completely a couple weeks ago because all the nursing/pumping/bottle feeding/cleaning pump parts/etc was just taking up way too much of my day! Especially for such a small amount of breastmilk, I didn't feel like it was worth it anymore. I don't actually know how much she's "supposed" to be eating, so maybe I'm giving her too much. But she is still catching up weight-wise, so I don't want to cut back and then worry that she's starving, you know? I'm sure Aaron is getting plenty to eat since he's already 21lb:p

[Tandis]

Quick reply because it's almost time for the girls' dinner:

Milk:

6 am - 6 oz milk
10 am - Oatmeal w/ banana and yogurt, plus 6 oz milk
2 pm - Veggie and fruit with 6 oz milk
6 pm - 6-8 oz milk
7:30 - Dinner and veggie with 6 oz milk.

So usually around 30 oz of milk (which, like I've said before, I really need to start cutting back!)

Birthday - I just want to get through Xmas and New Year's, so I haven't give this any thought. But we'll just invite immediate family and probably keep it small.

Multiple Xmas - We live to close to family :rolleyes: Xmas Eve is with IL's this year, with Xmas day is my parent's. Even though we will visit with his family during the late morning/early afternoon on Xmas day, and after dinner we'll probably go to his aunt's house.

Girls are calling! Time for dinner!

[happy1nuv]

Hmmm.... maybe I'm not as far off as I thought... We seemed to be cutting back nursing here (we're doing 3 meals a day) and I was freaking about it and offering way more than i should, i guess. Let's see how most days go...
6:30-ish: nurse
8-ish:breakfast: handful of peas, banana or handful of cut-up blueberries
9:45: nurse (he usually falls asleep for his first nap while nursing)
10:45 or whenever he awakes: nurse (he doesn't nurse for long, but he's a TOTAL grump if i don't at least pop him on...its like he NEEDS it to wake up happy)
12:00:lunch - handful of peas, 1/4 avacado
2:30: nurse (hopefully to sleep)
3:30ish or whenever wakes: nurse
5:30: dinner - handful peas, 4 oz. veggies (favorites are sweet potato and broccoli or carrots and zuchini)
6:40: nurse to sleep
He generally gets up 2-3 times a night to nurse as well.
After writing this out, i think i am nursing waaayyy too much. Argh!

How much do your kids eat at one setting? Joe's biggest meal is dinner and I give him 4 oz... some days he could totally eat more (some days he doesn't finish) ... although if you give him a banana, you'd better be giving him the whole thing! He LOVES them... (oh, and the overload of peas keeps him happy while i get meals ready...otherwise its too hard to keep him AND nic entertained while i putter in the kitchen)

Joe totally stood on his own today - for about 3 seconds. He's usually too chicken to let go (although he's a cruisin fool) ... but he pulled up on me, gave me this big "see what i can do" look and totally let go. He had the cutest face when he fell down, like "that wasn't supposed to happen!"

dana - love the cupcake theme stuff!

1st bday - Well, joe's bday falls on easter, so it screwed up my plans... since my family will probably be visiting (from 4 hours away), we'll probably do a cake with my family for brunch, then cake with dh's family at dinner... then do a friends/immediate family 1st bday party the weekend before or after. Anything further... ummm, no idea. Ask me after christmas! ;) (for nic, we did 2 parties - family and friends... NEVER again!)

[whitlockan]

amount of food cereal 5-6tbsp of oatmeal per setting; jarred food a stage 2 container; fresh - i am never good at fixing the amounts I act like I am fixing it for me so always way to much and havent found this serving size yet; rice cakes - salt free - 1 whole cake after a bottle and cereal, he loves them!!

food ?I have been feeling so bad today, the commissary didnt have the baby yogurt this time; what werent they out of; so I bought a big tub of plain and vanilla yoplait, well I get home and realized its 99.9% fat free, I know your not suppose to give babies fat free or light stuff but I sent him to school with it today, is this okay or should I never do it again.
(Not to mention it probably has way to much sugar as well).

[Tandis]

I think I feed my girls too much, but then I usually go until I get the signal from them that they're full.

Everything is split between the two of them, so:

Breakfast: 3 oz bananas, oatmeal, and 2 oz yogurt (that's a 6 oz jar, and a 4 oz container)

Lunch: 3 oz of veggies and 3 oz of fruit -or- 2 oz mac n cheese, 2 oz applesauce, 2 oz yogurt

Dinner: 3 oz dinner and 3 oz veggie

So my girls eat about 6 oz each at their three meals, plus random bits of cheerios, puffs or zwieback toast at some point during the day.

[kindermom]

Whit - I think it is just that babies need the fat for brain development, not that fat free is inherently dangerous. But yes the sugar content is on the high side. Then again, so is most yogurt. I would not stress about it personally.

Please note that DS likes stoneyfield vanilla low fat (1.5 g) yogurt and is about the only creamy thing he will eat. It is super sweet and low fat. But he is not eating tons of it so I am ok with that.

[goldengbridge]

Dana- I have an extra gymboree 20% coupon if you want it. It expires on 12/24. I think those jeans are also on sale already. I've got a gymboree addiction here:rolleyes:

[ieducate]

Hey Ladies, I am posting a picture of Julia that I just took a few days ago in Florida. I honestly think that it is the best picture I have ever taken. It helps that I got a new digital camera in September, but I just can't believe how perfect my timing was on getting her to look at me and snap the picture. I just wanted to share it with you.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n311/ieducate/Julia%20Rose/BestPictureEver-1.jpg

you can't see her teeth in this picture, but I still think she looks gorgeous. :)

Hope you are all well. P.S. Our ped. just told us to try giving JR a little more formula during the day to see if that helps her need less at night. Wish me luck...I am desperate to get this child to sleep through the night. :)

[betsyboop]

It seriously will not stop snowing here. We have probably about 2ft on the ground right now- and it's not technically even winter yet! On the upside, I guess we'll have a white Christmas though:) Are other parts of the country having crazy weather now too?

I took this picture just now. She clearly wishes we lived in Florida:p

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g56/bugs1234_2006/DSC_1781.jpg?t=1198184142

ieducate- Cute photo!

[Kanga]

ieducate - I agree, that is a really great picture! What kind of camera do you have?

1st birthday - I've started thinking about it, but no set plans yet. For Daytona's 1st, we invited over family, including extended family and one 'friend' whom I'm trying to distance myself from that basically invited herself. In hindsight I should have told her it was family only. Our house was way too crowded and there was no room to move, but on the other hand, if I invite some extended family, I have to invite all. If I don't invite any then I worry about being fair since Daytona had a big party and Camdyn won't. *sigh* decisions decisions. We are definitely going with a purple, blue, and lime green colors though as those are the colors of the tutu Daytona wore for her 2nd bday. I think we're also going with a cupcake theme. I just noticed that our library actually lends out cake pans so I'll have to look through and see if they have a big cupcake pan. We already have a cupcake stand so I'll probably make cupcakes as well.

Solids - Cami has now refused to let other people eat in front of her without eating something herself. She gives you this look like - "You left me out AGAIN!" so she usually has tons of little snacks all day and two meals. Dinner is the only one she actually 'needs' though as nursing doesn't seem to fill her up at the end of the day and she turns into a total grouch without it. She's a boob-a-holic so of course she hasn't really cut back on the number of nursing sessions - probably 5-6 during the day and 3-4 at night - but she is a lot faster, maybe lasting 5 minutes, 8 or so at the very most. I don't know if she's just not taking as much or is getting more efficient. Probably a little bit of both.

[ieducate]

I am jealous that so many of you have babies that stand...or even crawl already. Julia is behind schedule on most of this. She is crawling, but not on her hands and knees...she does the military crawl still. She is far from standing and/or walking. In fact, we had a 3 hour evaluation here at the house today on her to see where she is in development, and figure out what we can do to lessen the gap between gestational age and actual age. They are going to be providing her with physical therapy, though she was at 8 months development or higher in every area of the assessment. The only thing they worry about is that she insist on standing on her tiptoes. She will not put her feet flat on the floor...which of course means that she won't be able to stand and/or walk until she can be flat footed. They are going to work with her twice a month or more (if she needs it) to help her get used to being on her feet. She was at the 9, 10 month range of development for all other areas: cognitive, communication, etc., and even at 12 month stage for a few. Since she will be adjusted until she is two years old there isn't much fear of her not catching up, but we (dh and I) and her ped. doctor would like to see the gap smaller before 24 months.

She is a really happy baby for the most part though. She is babbling up a storm and really starting to make real sounds/words lately. I know she will be talking soon. Still the only real word she says is 'mama" and that is aok with me. :)

Betsy, she may not be happy, but that is truly an adorable picture. I have not had Julia out in the snow yet, and we really haven't had much yet. I know we will get hit hard soon enough. At least she was warm in that outfit. How cute is that?? :)

Kanga: I have the Nikon D40 camera. Great zoom lens (separate from camera) and easy to upload to the computer. I am still learning how to use all the features, but I am having a blast with it.

[miaclear]

ieducate.....great picture.

Betsy.....oh man that makes me want to play in some snow.

Here's my little guy. He's 9 months today....he's had 8 teeth since he was just shy of 8 months, but I got a great shot of them all today.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2050/2126243606_f9f2fd6d40.jpg?v=0

[Kanga]

Betsy - We cross-posted, cute picture, and I love the 'snow bunny' coat.

[kindermom]

Great pics!
ieducate - I love the soft background in the photo you took. It really makes Julia stand out. Great job with it!
miaclear - It is so hard to get teeth pics. Nice job. He is so toothy! It is incredible.
Betsy - That snow suit is a hoot.

We are looking forward to playing in the snow this weekend. My mom already has plans to take my oldest sledding on Sunday. It will be warmer (30's) but they have a good few feet of snow. I even went out and bought boots.

Henry is still not talking at all. DD was the same way. But I am lucky to get coos from him. Ugh.

Thanks for letting me know about your feeding schedules. I am going to schedule a time with the ped after the holidays to talk about Henry.

[whitlockan]

betsy OMG how adorable. Poor girl.

ieducate I'd say great timing and great camera! Glad to hear she is doing so great. My DH was 3 months premature and he always walked on his tip toes, granted does have cp, but to do this if he has shoes off or when he runs he still does it.

kanga cake pans, thats interesting. Never heard of that!!

mia so cute and seriously 8 teeth holy smokes. He's got some big chompers in there. DS has teeth but they are so tiny. I hope he doesnt end up with more gums than teeth showing. I cant even get a picture of his :(. Check those suckers out though. Phew!

[danalou]

Goldenbridge - If you still have the coupon I might just get a pair of the cupcake pants!!

Ieducate - Great picture!! DH and I got a Canon XTI right after DD was born and are loving it. We just bought a speed flash for our Christmas gift and it makes a huge difference in low light settings!!

Betsy - I love the snow picture as it really is priceless!!

Miaclear - All those teeth are too adorable!!

[littlemia]

Betsy- that's a great picture. Tell Millie that it's been in the 70s and 80s this week.

ieducate- that pic is gorgeous. Julia sounds like she's doing really well for 28? weeker.

Miaclear- I can't believe how many teeth he has. That's a great pic.

Shimmer- yay for walking!

Multiple Christmases- we're doing Christmas Eve and morning at my parents and Christmas afternoon and evening at the ILs.

1st Bday- Not ready to think about it. For those of you doing a cupcake theme, I think Carters has some cupcake clothes.

Teeth- Claire started getting her upper teeth. only not the two middle ones- it's the ones beside it Fortunately, one of her middle teeth just broke through so she won't look too much like a vampire.

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

[goldengbridge]

Dana- I'm assuming you don't need the coupon now? I saw you got a code in the gymboree thread.

Merry Christmas everyone!

[danalou]

Goldenbridge - Thanks I ended up getting one from the FYI Sale thread that worked. I ended up getting two different pairs and will decide on a final one after seeing how they look on DD!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS too all!!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2336/2098767621_fdaf4f2f0a.jpg?v=0

[MarriedaGoalie]

http://images34.fotki.com/v1081/photos/1/1116680/5729483/christmas-vi.jpg

[miaclear]

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Ours sure was hectic with opening presents. MIL just goes overboard all the time. Sucky thing is she goes overboard on things most people don't want. I've already put half of it in the donation bin :( DH and I had already spoiled DS for Christmas (although after going through everything it wasn't HALF as bad as I thought it was). My parents gave him cash, one toy, two books and an ornament. VERY reasonable. MIL gave him about 15 toys, clothes he doesn't need, and cash. She gave him big toys too. Ones I don't like. The fisher price storytime chair. I hate how you can't sit in the chair and play with the book and crayons without turning. IMO a really stupid design. DS seems to really like to play with them though so he stands up to do so, but it's not sturdy to balance on. Errr.....I'd love to just put that in the donation bin but I know she'll want to play with it with him. Then she also got him a walker. She KNEW we were getting him the cute radio flyer wagon walker. She got him one of those plastic ones that converts into a ride on toy. It's kinda cute as a ride on toy but he's so not into ride on toys, but as a walker it's pretty ugly. Ugh....I know I should be ok with her spoiling him his first Christmas but she just gives some of the dumbest things, although in this case it was more the quantity of her gifts than anything that's irritating me. My mom counted up his gifts and with what she gave, us, santa, my parents and various other relatives he got well over 30 presents. There are going to be guidelines next year that's for sure.

ETA...oh yeah, I forgot why I was really upset when I started writing this post. Not only did she give him all this stuff he didn't need she didn't get him the things we had suggested (she had asked for suggestions) so now I have to buy them anyhow. He only had two pairs of PJs and needed more....didn't get one set. I also really wanted the Baby Signing Times DVDs for him. Didn't get those either. Maybe I'll use the cash she sent for the DVDs even though I know she was expecting it to go in his savings.

[whitlockan]

I hope everyone had a very enjoyable holiday. Ours has been a bit rough. Z had suffered from a fever of 103.3 on Sunday night, took him in on Monday morning and told us keep pumping him full of motrin if it comes back and if its still around by thursday bring him back. Otherwise it was just a virus that was running crazy in our community.

Christmas day, of course he had a fever and is "virus/cold" was getting worse. He started getting super fussy, we had to wake him up just to show him his gifts. He did realize that something happend and new they were not there the night before and got a little excited about it. He however wanted nothing to do with the wrapping paper so I unwrapped everything and he screamed in excitment and started flopping his arms all around when he saw the sensory ball (he loves these things). We then went to my uncles for Christmas dinner, I was beging him to at least nurse, wet diapres were tapering off as well as food. He was taking about 1 oz every 2 hours. I finally got a good 5-6 oz (guestimate) in him and of course he started making all this noise and all over the floor it went. I felt so bad. We cleaned him, up, the hardwood floor and called it a night. All in all he didnt do too bad..he got cash from both grandparents and my grandma, all in all 900+ for a baby....thats going right into his college savings. My cousins, 4 boys, went to gymbo and got him a cute little outfit, my other cousin (there 5th brother) got him a 50.00 gc to childrens place...love the 1.99 sales, one aunt gave him 25 gc and then he got his stocking and gifts from us. Not too bad for a child who already has too much stuff...thankfully not too many new toys.

Since then he has been super fussy, sleeping 5 hours at a time during the day, the fever continued and when he was awake wouldnt eat but just scream and cry. My heart was breaking because I felt helpless of course I wanted to find another ped etc just because the guilt was killing me to sit and watch my child get sick. Last night was the final night, still feverish, and his cough got soooooooo bad we decided to stick it out until morning and took him back this morning per the ped on Monday. Either way we didnt get to see his ped but the ped that owned the practice, can I just say I love this guy and will be switching he is just so awesome.

This morning....
weight check he lost 1 lbs since Monday and is a whopping 19lbs 10.5 oz. Still a good size all in all. Doc came in DS wouldnt move he was just in a daze and the doc was just so caring saying poor guy your spent you dont care what I do and he didnt. I just felt such a great connection with this doctor and felt some relief and end in sight.

Our findings....
1. his body is still kicking around this virus and said it may stick around another 10 days or so.
2. the start of double ear infection in both ears (very suprising because DS was showing no signs of it bothering him, other than putting his ears up to the tv speaker and his toys that made noise....perhaps that was a sign
3. thankfully we caught this early but the start of pnumonia in both lungs.

we gave him a large dose of some antiboitics this morning to continue for a few weeks and if he still has a fever in the morning and his cough does not subside we have to go back in and they will asses and take further measures. Praying were clear by morning because I really dont want to kick off the new year in the hopsital. I literally wanted to cry and felt like the worst parent when he said the "p" word. Thankfully I have been getting a few oz of milk in him, enough to keep wet diapers every hour and we both agreed right now thats all I need to focus on is keeping him hydrated even if its a few oz at a time. I know my supply will take a hit so I think I might pump the entire time I'm home just so it wont screw me when vacation is over, I really want to make 18 months ebf if possible.

My dh sucks at pictures so here is a little snap shot of my little santa clause on christmas day visiting with family...
**removed**

anyways thats our exciting x-mas! Ya lets hope next year is better in terms of health, I was a tad disappointed to have this as his 1st christmas but we still made the best of it. I am blaming this weather 50+ degrees for a few days then cold again. Argh!!

[shimmerstar]

Danalou and MAG- Cute pictures!

Mia- I'm sorry to hear that you had a hectic time. Can you just put some of the toys away and rotate them? That's what we do since Noah gets bored. He loves that freakin story time chair- it was his favorite for a long time. We put it up against a chair so it wouldn't fall forward. He still pulls it over on himself though, but he's learned not to do it too much.

Whit- We had pretty similar xmases. I'm sorry that Z is so sick and I hope he is feeling lots better soon. He is too cute as Santa.

Christmas- Last Thursday ds got a low fever. It was worse Friday, and the motrin was wearing off way too soon. Fri night we took him to immediate care because he was shivering and so hot. They didn't do anything but tell us we could rotate tylenol and motrin, which helped. He felt better on and off, but would hardly eat anything on Sat. Monday he still had a fever, so before our trip I took him to the ped. He has a "nice" ear infection and is now on amox.

We drove 5 hours to be with DH's family, which I was already mad about. It's stupid for the entire family to have to travel to see one person, when that one person could travel, but anyway. Noah did okay in the car, but wasn't too happy about it.

Xmas eve he was up until 11 because we had to open presents. I kept trying to put him down but he was too hyped and MIL wasn't helping the situation. He screamed for two hours when we finally got back to the hotel. The next day we hung out in a church gym all day and I napped him in the mei tai. People kept going "oh, that baby is sleeping again!" Yeah, he is sick and exhausted! MIL kept taking him from me and saying "you don't want mama. Don't look at mama!". It was annoying. We ate leftovers for dinner, except that hardly anything was left, so we had creamed corn and rolls. Nothing was open, so we couldn't get anything to eat. I like dh's family very much, I just hate their idea of celebrating.

On xmas night he put himself to sleep at gma's apt, and five minutes later some cousins go into the room to get their coats. I was really annoyed. They saw me go in there not five minutes before, so it was brainless. He even slept through that, but he woke up when they had a 20 minute conversation at the door. Grr.
Dh ended up sick too, and I somehow caught double pink eye.

We got home yesterday and Noah is still waking from 2-4 each night. He goes to sleep if I hold him, but freaks if I put him in the crib. He has been taking motrin and ear drops, so I am pretty sure he's not in pain. We just had a go-round with his morning nap in which I tried to let him CIO, but he just cried and screamed on and off for almost an hour (with me going in to soothe him). He is sleeping now, and I have to try to use my xmas break to get him back on a decent sleep schedule. I haven't had good sleep for two weeks now. :rolleyes:

Toys- I was kind of surprised because, like Miaclear, we got random stuff for him. I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I'm not sure why people ask what to get him if they aren't going to listen. He ended up getting a cute toy, but he got two that are almost exactly the same. One thing that I love is that he got a baby-friendly cabbage patch doll, and also a swing that I wanted but couldn't find.

First word- I don't know how this happened, but he has started saying "no-no-no" when he doesn't want to do something (diaper, nose suck, eat, sleep). We don't even say "no" to him, we say "stop", because he seemed confused by no and we thought it just sounded like his name to him.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2288/2141962088_a7aa39c90c.jpg?v=0

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2206/2141980988_046ae9fd42.jpg?v=0

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2213/2141979826_3693c9550d.jpg?v=0

This is him and his cousin. She is two months older than he is!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2167/2141969696_420d27b030.jpg?v=0

[Kanga]

Cute pictures everybody!

miaclear - Sorry to hear about all the overboard-ness (and yes, that's a word;)) for Christmas. Have you heard of Kizoodle.com? It's kinda like a trading site. You list something for 'sale', but instead of a dollar amount, you list if for Kiz points, and in turn you can buy something else with those kiz points. There's everything on there from clothes to toys to mom stuff. So basically, for the cost of shipping, you trade things you don't need for stuff you can actually use. If you haven't signed up yet, you can use my referral code (9KKMHY) and that will give you two free 'Kiz credits/points'. After I returned/exchanged a few items for dd1 due to sizing issues, MIL has started removing the tags from all the gifts she gives the kids :rolleyes:, so that's what I do with the stuff that we don't need/use.

whitlockan - I'm so sorry to hear z was so sick for his first xmas I know you already know this, but you are NOT a bad mom. You didn't do anything to cause him to get sick and it's obviously not your fault. I hope he feels better soon! Along with the scripts you give him, you can also put a few drops of breastmilk in his ears to help with the ear infections. Dd1 has only ever had one EI, but I tried it and it was gone by the next morning. On the upside, with relatives as generous as he has, he'll have quite the beer, errr college fund by the time he's 18:D.

shimmer - I hear you on all the schlepping for the holidays. We had to travel 2 hours North on Sunday and back, then an hour South on xmas day, 20 minutes East that afternoon, then another hour back North that evening. Nothing near to what you went through, especially with a sick kiddo (:() though.


We had a great Christmas over here. The kids' seemingly never ending colds had finally cleared just in time. (Had them since before Thanksgiving). They got tons of clothes and few toys, most of which are not too obnoxious so that was a huge relief. We hadn't boughten them many winter clothes in the next size up so the clothes were much needed. Fortunately people actually listened to me on the sizing, so very few things will need to be exchanged and I don't believe we'll need to return anything. Dh and I got a vacuum as our joint gift (wooohoo!). Ahh, the joys of adulthood! For more exciting news, I think we're also getting this:

http://images.cars.com/main/DMI/105818/629426.jpg

It's an 06 Chrysler T&C. Dh is at the dealer right now working out the final details and making sure it is in the budget. If all goes well, I should have it today or tomorrow:D I've started watching a friend's 2 month old, and my old car (Alero) just won't fit 3 across which left us stuck at home all day M-F. It was really starting to drain on me and I could sense it that kids were just plain BORED. I feel like such a soccer mom, but I love it. Wish it had more room (no stow and go) but there'll always be something and we can get out of the house!

[betsyboop]

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas! We certainly did:) Millie got tons of new small toys from my in-laws, a bunch of clothes and toys (including a sled!) from my parents, and a few big toys from Dave and me. I'm actaully pretty against cash gifts for kids so I was relieved that my IL's decided to go with actual gifts even though they were originally talking about giving money. Such a boring gift for a kid (in my opinion:D ) Millie was a real trooper during our long Christmas day and even stayed up aout 2 hours later than normal that day. She had fun with my very loud family (my dad is the oldest of 6 kids, so it's a big group) and scored a few cool gifts from my aunts and uncles as well.

Our big news is that Millie finally got a tooth today! We went to make some returns at the mall and ate lunch at the Nordstom Cafe. While we were eating, Millie started playing with my fingers and put one in her mouth. All of a sudden, I was like "what is that sharp thing in your mouth?!!" It turns out, it was the a tooth. It's like the tip of a little razor blade sticking out of her gum- not exactly what I was expecting:eek: Is Millie the last one here to get a tooth?

Also, Dave claims he saw Millie taking 2 steps totally unsupported a couple of days ago. I'm not sure I really believe it (I was in the other room at the time) but he says it happend, so I guess... She supposedly walked 2 steps from the couch to the love seat where Dave was playing the guitar. That baby seriously loves music (especially Daddy's guitar) so maybe...

[betsyboop]

I wanted to post this last night, but I forgot:

My sister got Millie a HUGE Strawberry Shortcake doll for Christmas (it's like 4' tall) and Millie is deathly afraid of it:p When we unwrapped it, she took one look and started crying and frantically trying to get away. We took it out of the room and she kept looking around to make sure it wasn't nearby anymore. We all couldn't stop laughing about it- it was just such a silly thing to be that afraid of! We're going to have to store it in the attick until she's bigger, I guess:D

[shimmerstar]

Betsy, that is HILARIOUS! Poor Millie.

Kanga- I hope everything went well with your new ride!

[happy1nuv]

kanga - love the kizoodle site! I'm going to sign up too! The boys got a few toys that I don't want (the kind that they can have all the fun they are going to have while its still in the box type toys) .. but i can't figure out where they came from, so that site rocks! ;)

teeth - Joe's got 4 now, top 2 and bottom 2. The top two just broke through in time for Christmas ... that might not have been all he wanted, but he did get them! :)

Love the pics! I've been trying forever to get a good pic of Joe head on with his teeth...not happening yet! ;)

And... hope the two sick babies get better soon! ;)

[MarriedaGoalie]

Betsy: That's hilarious!! Carter did something similar to the Tickle Me Elmo TMX he got last year for Christmas. (He obviously wasn't here last year, but it was a pre-Carter gift for him.) Everytime it would flail on the floor, he would freak out and start crying (especially if it touched him)!!! hahahaha!!!

Carter's 9 month photos are tomorrow!! Wish us luck!! :)

Did I ever let everyone know that we have tooth 3 and 4 now?! He got #3 a couple of weeks ago and he got #4 the day after Christmas.

[whitlockan]

update: DS went back in to the docs on Friday. Of course the pneumonia is still present as to be expected (takes about 10 days to clear) but the good news is the antibiotics are breaking it up! Can I just say within the 24 hours after starting his meds I felt like I had a whole new baby! We still have to treat him with motrin or tylenol for his ear infections, it was funny the ped said dont worry about prolonged use, if you had his ears right now you would be screaming your head off. We orginally had his WBV for the 5th but if hes still sick then we still come in at least to follow up on his lungs and ears and they will just hold off on his shots. He normally sees the CNP for his WBV has since he was born and the MD for his major illnesses and I will just say we saw the CNP for follow up since she was the only one working and she was soooooo pissed. She listend to him and really believed it was present and in full development stages on Sunday night when his fever started and was 103.3. Granted she did a ton of time in NICU and had seen a lot of it. I really do love her so much. We have always seen her mainly because shes pro breastfeeding, doesnt care about food until 1 year and many other reasons but totally agrees with our parenting styles. The best part she always remembers you, she commented on how pale he looked for the "Z" she knew. I have found up here in the cities not many remember you since they see so many kids.

Betsy oh poor millie!! But very funny! Also sounds like Z he did that same thing with me and not DH but since he fell hes pretty nervous about letting go of his walker or my hand but he does think about it. Ya for the tooth!!

MAG good luck! I really thought by now Carter would have had a mouth full since he was one of the earlier ones to get teeth.

Unlike many of the babies it sounds Z LOVES his Tickle Me Elmo TMX he just laughes and laughes and tries to play with him when it goes off.

Kanga hope your loving your soccer mom ride now. My DH thinks I am a nerd but I am obssessed with getting a sport wagon rather than an SUV. Obssessed! Oh man you had to remind me of the beer aspect....ugh my worries are already beginning :p!

Shimmer oh I am sorry! Sick babies are no fun!! So darn adorable though and looks happy! How does he react to your dog. DS starts yelling in excitment everytime he gets to touch them. Although both dogs are a bit nervous about him still because his petting sytle is a rather rough hitting but I always hold there heads to be sure, just dont trust them. Besides hes been really making them mad lately and chasing them around the house its rather funny but I do feel bad for them.

QOTD for those of you with dogs who does it work. Our dogs are happy with him, sometimes scared because he chases them around the house and is a little rough but man when he is in his high chair they sit right there waiting for him to drop food. Also anyone having the dog food and water bowl problem?

Anyways time for me to go rest, everyone finally feels great but I finally got super sick as well!!

[shimmerstar]

Dogs- Those dogs in the pictures are not ours. My brother and SIL have the little Boston and my parents have the golden. Both of them love Noah and he loves them. We dogsit them a lot though. The old one (golden) runs away from him because he pulls her hair. One day I forgot she was here and he ran over and hurt her. She just yelped and didn't try to hurt him at all. I felt so relieved and bad at the same time.

The little one just wants to lick him all the time and he has managed to even pull her hair. We do have trouble with all the dog toys, but the dishes are in the kitchen and he's gated into the living room.

We will get a dog some day, but not until all our kids are at least toddlers. It's TOO much work with a baby and dogs.

[whitlockan]

I HAD to come in and share this. Z had taken a (one) step on his own but tonight he walked towards his walker all on his own, granted it was a consecutive 3 1/2 steps but I was sooooo EXCITED and such a great start!!!

I am not a proud mom am I? Oh and 9 month pics tomorrow, cant wait and cant believe its already this time. Gosh some babies are turning 1 soon!

[pewee9196]

Whit
We have major issues with the dog dishes. The poor dog suffers because i put them on the counter as soon as he eats. It drive DH crazy but all DD wants are the bowls!

[shimmerstar]

Did everyone leave?

If you are on LJ, I'm shimmerstar80. I'm boring, but friend me if you want!

[goldengbridge]

Happy New year everyone!

Shimmer- I'll friend you on LJ! I'm the same name over there! Anyone else feel free too:)

[kindermom]

I am here and there as well. I am madelynsmom over there. I have been journaling every few days about life in general.

[Kanga]

I started up my LJ acount (again). I'm Kanga3033.

[whitlockan]

happy new year!!!!

9 month WBV:
20 lbs (exactly)
29 in long
17.91 in head

I can offically call it we are WALKING

[whitlockan]

hmm guess I cant edit my message and I hit the reply a bit too soon.....

We can so far walk 6 ft before we fall down, then we get back up and walk some more. Its very slow going but its so much fun to watch.

Oh and his lungs and ears are clear!! YAYA

[littlemia]

Whit- that is so exciting!

[miaclear]

congrats whit!

DS is really digging his walker wagon. I highly expect him to be walking soon.

[MrsKinnison]

Happy New Year!!! I'm glad everyone had a wonderful holiday!!! Once again I am way to far behind for SO's. I feel like I am such a bad "friend" lately :( My New Years Resolution is to be better about that :D

We just had Ollies 9mos WBV:
18lbs 11.5ozs
28.25 inches
and I always forget the head. He is 25% across the board, though I don't know how accurate his height is. I might measure him again cuz I think he's a little taller... not just so he's not short like me (lol) but I really think that it looked off. He is perfectly healthy! The ped did tell me "there is absolutely no reason this child needs to be eating in the middle of the night." He told me that he wanted me to let him cry and not go in for 30mins, then if he was still crying to go in, lay him back down but do not pick him up. I really don't know how I felt about that, but not really having anything thing else I went ahead and tried it. I will say that the first night was soooo hard, but there was an immediate improvement in his sleeping. He woke up at 2am which means he would typically then wake at 4:30 and again at 7:30 for the day. Instead he slept right through until 7:30! The second he was just sort of crying in his sleep (but not standing and not really awake) so I gave him teething tablets and he didn't wake up until 5am when I just went in, laid him back down and he slept until 8am. Last night he woke up for maybe 5mins and was right back out. With any luck, tonight he won't wake up at all.

We also finally graduated him to the "big boy" seat. I was super lucky and my sister gave me one of her Marathons. She had 2 kids in convertibles at once, but one just moved to a booster so she had an extra. We'll still get one for DH's car, but it is so nice to save some $$!

I got a new digital camera for Christmas, so I should be sharing a lot more pictures. I know there was a ton more I've been wanting to ask & share, but doesn't it figure I can't remember what now!

[MrsKinnison]

Oh yeah, dog bowls... Why do we even buy him toys.??? All the boy really wants is dog bowls and cat toys with a little bit of paper for good measure! And in the event none of those things are available, then its just as fun to play with your shoe in the toilet.

[danalou]

With - Congrats on the walking!! We really thought it was right around the corner for DD, but she is content with crawling right now!!

MrsK - Congrats and I hope the sleeping continues with such success!! DD still feeds about once a night and the DR said I could cut it out, but she nurses so little during the day that I feel it is worth the time. I need to get her better with a sippy, but it is still just a play toy!!

[happy1nuv]

whit - wow - walkin already! :)

i friended those who gave names... im happy1nuv over there too!

[miaclear]

happy1nuv....I friended you. miaclear over there too.

Ack...today I left DS in the highchair after lunch for a minute so I could go to the bathroom and do my business. I gave him the tiger from his FP Little People Ark set. I came back and the ear on the tiger is mysteriously chewed off and gone. It was the same color as the cheese we were eating for lunch. I'm guessing it'll come out in a few days. I'm just glad he swallowed it easily enough.

[Brink]

I feel like I come on here and have the same message everytime I post. The twins are doing great but still not DOING anything! Am I the only one that has babies that don't crawl, walk or talk? They roll around everywhere they want to go but they can't seem to get that forward movement. I know they will get there, but come on!!!!!!

Hard to believe I just sent out their invitations to their birthday party. This time last year I was still in the hospital listening to their every heartbeat. Amazing what a difference a year can make.

Happy New Year to everyone - love reading along about your babies.

Our girls on Christmas morning.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2031/2175653737_d3f33077f0.jpg

[Janey]

I feel like I come on here and have the same message everytime I post. The twins are doing great but still not DOING anything! Am I the only one that has babies that don't crawl, walk or talk?
K isn't crawling, walking, or talking. Oh she talks plenty, with facial expressions, grunts, and babbles... but no words. She moves around, pivoting and scooting, but there is no up-on-the-knees action, and she doesn't even look like she's interested in doing anything like that in the near future. So Brink, I am right there with you. :)

Also - I can't believe all that beautiful hair on Aimee!!

I'm glad everyone seemed to have a great Christmas. :)

[ieducate]

I feel like I come on here and have the same message everytime I post. The twins are doing great but still not DOING anything! Am I the only one that has babies that don't crawl, walk or talk? They roll around everywhere they want to go but they can't seem to get that forward movement. I know they will get there, but come on!!!!!!

Oh no Brink, you are not alone by any means. Julia's 1st birthday is this Sunday. Can you believe it? Anyway, she is kind of crawling, but still not very fast and not always on her hands and knees (more like a military crawl) and she is far from walking or even standing. She says "mama" but usually only when she is upset. She grabs at things and will push things away when she doesn't want it anymore, but that is it for her "communication". I, like you, was just thinking about how a year ago I was listening to her heartbeat about every 5 hours or so and wondering how I would get through the days at the hospital. I never imagined that I was going to have Julia so early and now I can't believe it has been a year. I cry just about every time I think about it. I am not sure why. Julia is a little shy of 17 pounds and still my little baby, but she really is growing up so fast. She has a true personality for sure. She is the most social baby I have met in a long time. She likes to wave to everyone. (she does do that very well---the waving that is).

Anyway, I have to run and continue cleaning the house before Saturday. We are having 30 people here for her birthday party. What, am I insane? I have a huge family and they all want to come to this. I swear I am inviting no one to her next birthday party.

BTW, I am not sure if I ended up posting the results of my blood test in December, but I lost the pregnancy naturally. I did not have an eggtopic prg. afterall, which was good, and I didn't need any help to lose the pregnancy. I was told by the perinatal doctor that I need more progesterone when I do get pregnant again to help keep the baby. I am working on finding a new Gyn to prescribe it for me (hopefully this month) so that my dh and I can TTC again. We weren't going to try until May, but now that we saw how excited we were to be pregnant again we can't wait. Plus now that I am seeing how fast Julia is growing up I don't want to wait. I will keep you all posted. Hope you all had a great New Year's.

[danalou]

Hey girls!! I have been friending everyone on LJ as well (danalou)!!

Miaclear - It is amazing how far the kids can get those LittlePeople in their mouth!! Hopefully he will pass it without any problems.

Brink - I love the picture of the girls on Christmas morning!! Their hair is too precious these days and the matching outfits are too cute!! As for walking that is also a no go her as DD seems content with crawling. We also have had little actual communication these days she just makes lots of grunts as babbles as well!!

Ieducate - Best of luck with the birthday party this weekend as I still can't believe we are coming upon our 1st YEAR!!

[miaclear]

Brink....cute picture! I bet it was a fun Christmas morning.

Talking.....we mastered mama it seems months ago....but nothing since. He says dah and brah and can put vowels and syllables together but they don't make sense and are always random. This is killing my husband who has been waiting for dada since mama came out oh so long ago.

Walking.....I think having the walker wagon has helped a lot. I've caught DS on more than one occasion in the last week trying to stand on his own without the help of something to balance him. He seems less scared that he'll fall down and when he does he's not phased about it. But I think it might be a ways off. He has always teased me like that with his major milestones. hinting that it might happen....then I wait a month or two for it to develop.

Sleep....we're back to sleeping through the night! I think we went two weeks with night wakings and I was loosing it. I sleep better now knowing that I can have my humidifier on and if he wakes and babbles I'll sleep through it. But if he downright screams I can hear it over my humidifier. I'm sure he'll regress again at some point.

SAHM....I'm coming to a point where I feel like I'm a shlump. My dress and daily care of myself is really going downhill. We get out of the house daily but a lot of times it's so I can go grab a bite to eat while sitting in my car and DS is safely buckled in the back. The weather here has been really nice. I wish I could snap my fingers and my house would be in order, I'd be showered and dressed with makeup on, DS would lay STILL for a diaper change. Ugh. And every time I express my feelings a bit to my husband I think he thinks I'm regretting being a SAHM. I'm not in the slightest. I just need some downtime. Every day for almost ten months I've been there.....I'm really looking forward to weening at a year and I think I'll plan a weekend away for myself. That's another thing....I'm torn on weening. I really want to for SO many reasons, but I know I'll miss it. DS has cut down his feedings considerably and I think he'd be completely fine if he didn't nurse during the day. That last one before bedtime I think will be the hardest to give up. So now I'm rambling.... anyhow. I'll get over it. DS is worth it.

[betsyboop]

I'm betsyboop over on lj, but I think I've already friended everyone from here, so you all know that already:p

Brink- The girls look so cute on their matching pjs!

I can't believe we have 2 first birthdays coming up before the end of the month- where has the time gone??

Talking- Millie makes tons of sounds all day long, but her only real word that she knows the meaning of is bye-bye. Sometimes we also think she knows baby, but I'm not 100% sure on that one.

mia- I know what you mean about being bummed about weaning. At first I was really sad about her weaning, but now that it's been a month or 2, I'm totally fine with it. I mean, it had to end at some point anyway. I'm just glad it wasn't traumatic for her. I'm happy to hear that he's sleeping through the night for you again!

ieducate- Good luck with ttc!!

[kindermom]

hi betsy - i just friended you. i am madelynsmom over on lj. anyone else want to join in. i am posting about once evry day or two right now.

[betsyboop]

Oh, I can't beleive I missed oyu, Kindermom! I just friended you back:)

[betsyboop]

Good grief, look at the typos in that post. Sorry I can't fix them!

[MarriedaGoalie]

9 Month WBV: We had Carter's 9 Month WBV on Christmas Eve and he weighed 22 lbs, 3 oz and was 29 1/2 inches long.

Walking: He is not walking yet, but he climbs all over the place and pulls himself up like it's nothing. He also creeps along side the furniture now, which is weird. haha I am definitely not looking forward to the actual walking thing yet. He is still too young for that!! .....Right?

Talking: He officially says and relates "dada", "mama", "Yay!" and "Mmmm....." (although I'm not really sure the last two are actual words).

1st Birthday: Wow, I can't believe it's just over 2 months away! I need to go ahead and start planning now! I am thinking about having a 'book' theme. What do you ladies think? Carter loves books! Any ideas on decorations, etc?

Here are some of Carter's 9 month professional pictures...

http://images34.fotki.com/v1077/photos/1/1116680/5763275/P10-vi.jpg

http://images32.fotki.com/v1088/photos/1/1116680/5763275/P12-vi.jpg

http://images33.fotki.com/v1068/photos/1/1116680/5763275/P20-vi.jpg

http://images32.fotki.com/v1103/photos/1/1116680/5763275/P21-vi.jpg

http://images33.fotki.com/v1068/photos/1/1116680/5763275/P23-vi.jpg

http://images34.fotki.com/v1075/photos/1/1116680/5763275/P28-vi.jpg

[littlemia]

Ugh, I just tried to post but my computer screwed up and lost it.

I'm little_mia over at LJ. I've already friended a bunch of you.

Walking- Claire took her first steps last night.

Talking- She and DH are having a screaming contest right now. :rolleyes: I don't know if she has any real words yet, maybe mama and dada, but she does bark. Well, sort of. She makes a bah bah bah sound whenever she hears our dog bark or whenever she sees a dog.

Climbing- I posted a little bit about this in LJ but does anyone else have a kid that climbs all the time? Seriously, it's getting out of control. Yesterday we caught her standing on her push car, trying to get up on a dining room chair. She can get up on the couch by herself and I'm afraid she's going to climb off the back of the couch. I guess I just can't take my eyes off of her.

MAG- wow, you take a lot of pro pics. I think a book theme sounds like fun.

Brink- what a lovely family. Your girls look so big compared to Claire.

Ieducate- Hope the party goes well. Best wishes TTC.

[Brink]

OK, I finally got over to LJ and figured out how to join. I'm brinkgirls over there if anyone wants to friend me. I found a few of you, but I'm sure I'm missing a bunch.

Thanks for the support on my girls. I know I'll turn around one day and they will be walking and I'll be wishing for the days when they couldn't. Thanks for the compliments on their Christmas pic too. I thought they were pretty cute that morning too!!!!!!

MarriedaGoalie - the pictures of Carter are just adorable.

Miaclear - have you thought about getting a mother's helper for a couple of hours a week? They are usually young teenagers that are not ready to be left totally alone with the kids, but you can have them come in and entertain them while you get other things done at home. They are pretty cheap and it makes a big difference. We hire one sometimes to help DH with dinnertime when I'm running late from work.

ieducate - Happy "almost" birthday to Julia. I remember when you had her last year. I knew my twins would be preemie, and I expected I would be the first to go. I was scared for you when I heard she had been born (we had been given a tour of the NICU and all the preemies). I was so happy to hear her progress and what a terrific little girls she has turned into. You must be so proud of her! Good luck with ttc, I'm glad you are excited about getting pregnant again - I can't wait to hear all about it.

[kindermom]

I love the pics ladies! Given the change in editing policy here I will not be able to post anymore here. But rest assured, when I get my lazy butt in motion, I do post them to LJ.

Brink and Little Mia - I just friended you. I am madelynsmom over there.

Mia - I totally hear you on the climbing. Henry likes to climb on the toddler chair and then climb up the back to try to get to the higher stairs. He is just about able to get into the bath on his own (that terrifies me), and I caught him scooting himself feet first off the bed. My DD was doing front flips off the sofa at 12 months. Yes, I have active ones. I found that I needed to let themselves get a little hurt in order to grow. That said, the front flips were not encouraged. Basically, if you were not risking broken bones or a broken neck, you are allowed to do it. And baby proof everything.

Updates
Henry is still sleeping like crap. He goes down at 8:00 in the pnp. He is up like clockwork at 10:30 to nurse. Then half the time he is back in the pnp and the other half he insists on our bed. Then he is up again at either 3:30 or 4:40. From then on he sleeps horribly until 6:30 when he is up for the day. For naps he only sleeps 30 minutes in the am and 60 minutes in the pm. Any advice? DD was a fantastic sleeper.

He took a step the other day. I think because we are not practicing, he is not walking.

He is a ball throwing fool. Seriously. He throws better than DD. We will play catch at least a few times a day for 15 minutes at a clip.

He also loves singing. While DD did not get TV until DS was born, DS loves watching it with DD. Specifically he likes Hi 5 which is a singing show. It is really funny to see him play and then pivot as soon as the songs come on. He will sit entranced.

Our nanny quit on me 1 month before she knew that I was ended my work. Not sure why she would do that to us knowing we were waiting until my bonus came out to quit. But we are now totally in a bind. I have been really depressed and stressed for the past week over this. Particularly over how the kids will handle a change in care giver. I know Madelyn is going to be upset with Anna leaving and she has only been here for 6 months. But Leigh has watched her from the get go. My mother offered to come down for 2 weeks to watch them if she can get respite for her foster kids. And my MIL will come up for 2-4 weeks if we pay for travel (she is on disability). My only question is if SMIL will be willing to watch them FT for 2-4 weeks. She offered 2 days a week for 2 months. So hopefully this will work?

Ugh. Will, off to the shower to get to work. I am already 30 minutes late leaving.

[whitlockan]

how do I post video clips??

Wow did this just take off again or what....now I am behind!

Ieducate good luck and Happy Birthday to Julia!!

Brink adorable picture, those are some big girls, seriously I would have never thought they were premmies by the picture I think there bigger than Z. So darn adorable to have 3 in matching outfits, so cute!! Hang tight, I am sure your socks are going to be blown off your feet in not too long in terms of development. I was thinking about this the other day and not knowing much how does the adjusted age thing work?

MAG Cute, hes so big.

MIA <<hugs>> just make sure whatever decision you make you are 100% comfortable with, but a big pat on the back, you've made it this far!

Little DH gets so mad at us, we tend to have those little who can talk/scream louder matches as well its sort of fun.

Sleeping Oh I'd love to add this so you can all be jealous, NOT!?! I may have a child that walks all the time now and is really good but I am sorry I rather have a crawling or non mobile baby and some sleep. Hmm lets just say in the past 4 days I have had maybe 7 hours of sleep total. I just dont get it. Granted DH is deployed state side and I can sense he knows it since he walks around lookign and saying dada but he wakes up every single hour crying, I try to do the patting him on his back comforting but not taking him out of the crib thing doesnt work, day 2 into sleepless nights I cracked and am just nursing him to sleep every hour out of desperation. I seriously have no idea why he just started this terrible sleeping pattern on Monday night. (daddy flew out Sunday morning). Our ped wants us to comfort him when he wakes up crying the 2 times a night he normally does (11pm and 4 am to eat) and not feed him, and not remove him from his crib. She doesnt really want a monster created, well says we can do what we want but dont complain to her that she never told us, it was more along the lines of a joke shes not that rude I swear!

Kinder OMG I am so sorry, Hugs it will get better.

bathtub how do I get this child to sit down, stop putting his head under water and stop walking in the tub, he acts like its a swimming pool and it really scares me sometimes. Guess its good he loves the water.

Z's 1st meltdown its been really nice here on Tuesday they went outside at school and he just made himself comfortable ont he playground and in the sand box. They were outside for 45 min and would you believe he had his first official meltdown for an hour. They said he was screaming so loud that the administration came in to help and make sure they werent abusing that child, I told them he is really resistant when he doesnt get his way. He kept walking over and trying move the changing table to get to the door, although he could never get out of it but I think this is rather humorous, had it happend to me not so much but still, he is 100% so resistant when he doesnt get his way, its always a crying fit on the simplist things.

1st birthday we've made it official were doign a frog swamp party, I have found nearly everything just have to put it all together etc.

I need some adivce on shoes currently DS is in pedipeds, I go for the soft soled because I thought you were not suppose to put them in hard soles until they were much older. School asked me this morning when I would be sending in his hard soles since he no longer crawls and walks all the time. Is this a point where I now used hard soles? I thought they were bad for there feet? I am really confused on this.

9 months:
*removed*

this was so funny to see him resting on his arm so we had to snap it:
*removed*

[Kanga]

whit - Wow, I can't believe he's walking! We switched to hard soled shoes after Daytona was walking really well - never crawling at all anymore, not falling down and after she outgrew her soft soled shoes. I didn't see a reason to buy shoes just because they were hard soled so we waited until she needed more. I don't think there's ever a point where you HAVE to have hard soled shoes though. I just noticed at our playgroup the other day that there as a little boy who just turned 2 that was wearing Robeez, though I've seen him in hard soled shoes before too. You might want to look into preschoolians when he's ready for hard soled shoes...they're not completely soft soled, but not completely hard either.

Brink - I can't believe you got all three of them to look at the camera at the same time, and not cry, and snap the photo! We tried that oh I don't know how many times and never succeeded.

[Brink]

whit - the girls had a developmental appointment a few months back and they ranked them for their actual age and their adjusted age. They fell pretty much right in the middle. They say that by the time they are two, you should be able to tell they were preemie at all. Those pictures are just adorable......

kindermom - that is such a bummer about the nanny. I don't see how people can just quit like that and not feel bad about it. Good luck.

[whitlockan]

Warning: when you start walking dont buy walking shoes, they make you even FASTER!!! AHHHH. We went to stride right got his foot measured 5.5 wide, he has not fat feet but super wide feet. Anyways a medium soled leather shoe with mid range ankle support, not super high tops but higher than most of the shoes, your intial walking shoe basically. And oh what is ridiculous is his shoes cost the same as mine 62.00!!! granted I did get 100% all leather shoe but still his are like not even a 1/4 of mine and they will last if were lucky 3 months. I was ready to pay 50 at the most but I think 60+ is just silly.

Also I asked his school about his drooling and how I thought he was cutting another tooth, we might have the night wakings solved, she thougth she felt a molar on its way.....oh no please no, guess were trying tylenol before bed time tonight and crossing our fingers.

speaking of teeth, I have this awful problem and I cant stand listening to it Z grinds/clicks his 4 teeth, its so gross or wait more or less makes my teeth hurt so bad. Is this something to worry about or nto worry since they are baby teeth.

**sorry for my crazy posting today, I worked from home so I could get some extra sleep while Z was at school, I know bad mom of the day dropping my kid off so I can selfishly get some sleep.

Brink so do they just do like little interaction "evaluation" type things. I just find it so interesting, and was wondering how its based. How often do you have to do those.

ok gotta run this kid has is crazy

[goldengbridge]

Whit- I've always used stride rite with Andrew and Ashlyn just got her first pair. They always measure and check them and they're really flexible which is important for early walkers. They have shoes especially designed for cruising and walking. I just feel that its just an important thing so I don't mind paying extra.

[kindermom]

DD was in Robeez type shoes for at least 6 months after she was walking. I do not think I had her in something thicker until it was the rainy fall, so about 16 months. And then I put her in the $13 Target flexible soled shoes. I can not imagine paying $35 for a pair of shoes (like at the Stride Rite outlet) let alone $62. Egads.

Oh, DH asked MIL to come up for 2 weeks. She is unemployed, could use the money, and we would pay her. She told us no. WTF. When she was up for a week seeing Robbie she came by once for less than an hour and once for dinner and then to run off. WTH is wrong with these people. My mother would drop everything if she needed to and was the one to suggest this arrangement. She is the only one of the three with a job.

[lady1297]

whit- Look for the nearest Stride Rite Outlet store. Make it your best friend. It will be half or more off. I think at most I pay $30 for shoes for my oldest.

[happy1nuv]

kinder - wow. yea, different strokes i guess. i hope you find help soon!

we did the sr outlet with nic, but i think we're going the preschoolians route with joe...

[danalou]

Kindermom - Sounds like this is become quite the drama with finding temp care for the kids!!

Thanks for all the info on shoes as I wondered what everyone was doing. We also have been using the Robeez type from Target, but my DD is almost too big for the 6-12 shoes. I guess I should start looking into options to have a solid plan of attack.

Whit - I love the picture of DS in his t-shirt and the stool!! He is quite the character in his pictures and that is priceless!!

Sleeping - I wish like many others that I could say that DD is STTN, but we aren't at that point yet. She is cutting her top front teeth and has been quite a bear the past couple of nights. She has also learned a new "BLOOD MURDER CRY" and likes to do it at bedtime!! We did let her CIO the other night as we had tried everything (diaper, tynlenol, gas drops & a bottle) after 20 minutes she slept for 6 hours. I am hoping one day we will turn a corner and she will actually sleep like a precious angel!!

1st Birthday - I have set a date for the party and have a room booked at the rec center. Our house is just too small for it to be at our place and it just worked out this time to get a party room!! I am doing a pink cupcake theme and have these things narrowed down -

DD's Cake -
http://a3.vox.com/6a00c2251dc877f21900e398983d630005-pi

Invites -
http://www.dorianns.com/cw2/Assets/product_full/20359DC_R.jpg

DD's outfit -
http://s7ondemand1.scene7.com/is/image/Gymboree/140028468?$240x305$

Custom shirt made by MIL on an white long sleeve onsie
http://www.emblibrary.com/el/Product_images/Y2552_small.jpg

I have to start practicing the whole cupcake thing as I know that is going to be a bit of work, but worth it in the end. I am going to do white and chocolate mini cupcakes for everyone and the 3D for DD!! I am curious how this will work as she still isn't onto solids!! Maybe that will change in the next two months!!

[MrsKinnison]

Mag & Whit ~ Great pics!! I can't believe how much bigger your boys are than Ollie. He's a peanut compare to them.

Shoes ~ We've been looking for new shoes too. We've been wearing Robeez, but they are getting tight in the ankle. Since he's pulling up and cruising I was thinking of getting Pedipez, but then I heard about Preschoolians, and now I'm confused. Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated. FWIW I don't think we have a SR or SR outlet anywhere near us.

Dana ~ CIO was so tought that first night, the much better the second, and now he goes down at 8-8:30 and the earliest I hear from him is 6:45, but sometimes not until after 8. Usually if he is up earlier he goes right back to sleep after nursing. I really kind of wish I had tried it a long time ago because now I'm just thinking of all the sleep I missed out on for no reason ~