Ah-Chooo!

Does anyone else have a dog that sneezes? I don't mean sneezes every once in a while... I mean sneezes, like a human, three or four times in a row. No she's not sick. It's so bizarre. Another question... does anyone have a "normal" dog? Cuz I just seem to get all the strange ones, the ones with food allergies, the ones that bite people, the ones with seperation anxiety, the ones that pee in the house, the ones that chase squirrels (and lawn ornaments), and the ones that sneeze uncontrollably. I'm beginning to think that those well behaved golden retreviers I see walking in the park are actually robots, not dogs.

She Has a Lot of Teeth, but This is Ridiculous!

She's getting three molars and one regular tooth at the same time! She might be getting a fourth molar but I couldn't get the wiggle worm to stay put long enough to see if it's there. The other three are definatly beginning to cut through though. Argh! Her head hasn't popped off just yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Can you imagine how painful it must be to grow molars? They poke through on the corners with gum still strung through the middle - yuck!(maybe it's not that bad, but it just seems like it would hurt like hell).

They Grow Up So Fast

I picked up Miss M this morning and I swear she was bigger. She just seemed taller, heavier, bigger. I was quickly reassured that she is still my little baby though, I put 6-12 month pants on her and they almost fell down around her ankles. If she's not bigger, I must be wimpier. I don't like all this "growing up" that she's doing.

Juice Update

I am NOT calling your kid fat if he or she drinks juice. I know I'm being a spaz, hence the post. Please don't take offense.

I'm frustrated, with everything. Reading too many parenting articles and doing too much research. Stuck in a rut, I have a lot of complaining to do lately. Complaining, but not criticizing. Don't read into what I post too much, sometimes it's just me venting.

Love you all! (even your fat kids) ;)

To Juice or Not to Juice, that is the question...

I am terrified of juice. I know, I know, a little OJ never killed anyone... or did it. I can't stop telling myself that fruit juice will make my kid fat. Even though my logical mind knows that some of the research behind that claim has been refuted, and there are some nutritional benefits to 100% fruit juice, I can't bring myself to welcome a jug of apple juice into our home. I long for the days of my youth when Kool-aid was cheap and delicious and considered "juice". Those were simpler times, when you could drink a half a gallon of Kool-aid because you had just spend 6 hours running around your backyard like a hyena on crack. Although it doesn't matter now, Miss M spends 9 hours a day indoors at daycare, and even when she's older and allowed to play outside it will be in short 1/2 hour increments. And after that, school recess and gym class just aren't what they used to be. When do kids with working parents ever get the chance to run? They don't, and hence why I think juice will make my kid fat. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. Better to stick to milk (with its high nutritional profile) and water, just in case.

People like to blame the proliferation of the Internet, video games, and satellite TV for our kids lack of exercise, but I contend that TV should not shoulder the load alone. I blame the media. (ha ha) But really, do you remember when it was OK to play outside - in your front yard - by yourself for hours on end? Ride your bike around the neighborhood by yourself? Would you ever dream of letting your six year old little girl play by herself in the front yard NOW? Now that that there is a new Amber Alert every other day, and sex offenders make the news every night? I have to assume that there were just as many sicko crazy people thirty years ago as there are today, we just didn't hear about them as often, and we weren't so afraid. BUT Fear in this case is a good thing, I wonder if there is actually fewer crimes against children now that we are all so attuned to the dangers of the outside world. Miss M will always be within my line of sight when outdoors, always. So no juice for Miss M, and no outdoors play without Mommy or Daddy, which leads me to ask again, when do kids with working parents ever get the chance to run?

I never realized how many kids activity classes actually take place during the week, during the day. How can we join ballet class if the lesson is at 3:30 Monday afternoon? Or tumbling at 10:30am on Tuesday? And there really is no time for these things at 6:00pm at night, which is when everyone is finally home and ready for dinner. If you are lucky enough to find weekend classes your kid ends up missing half the classes because you have trips to Grandmas or other commitments. In a time when two-income families are the rule instead of the exception, why is it so difficult to bring up good, healthy kids? Fast food on the way home from daycare, no time for the park because it's too dark out, sit them in front of the TV because you desperately have to get a couple loads of laundry done or you won't have clothes for work tomorrow. But heaven forbid, don't you dare consider taking more than 12 weeks of (unpaid) maternity leave, and don't even think about leaving at 3pm rather than 5pm even though your work for the day is done, and don't expect to be climbing any ladders any time soon now that your priorities are different.

Bet you never thought a glass of apple juice had such far-reaching implications on what's wrong with our American society? Clearly apple juice is the least of my concerns, and clearly some decisions need to be made soon. The decision against juice has been made though, good thing they sell milk in kiddie boxes now.

Waiter, More Noodles Please!

Miss M has been a connoisseur of fine restaurants since birth. Her first meal out was at the Supper Cup Diner for breakfast at about two weeks old, her most recent was at the Erie Cafe on Sunday night... her tastes are definitely improving. We're pretty lucky actually, she does really well in restaurants. She's been out a ton and I can only count two or three times when I had wished we all could crawl under the table and die. This most recent night out she was in rare form, charming everyone including the waiter. We ordered buttered noodles for her... while not the most nutritious meal it is by far her favorite and when you're in a restaurant praying that your kid can keep quiet and entertained throughout the next hour the last thing you're worried about is nutrition. She ate those noodles with gusto, as well as part of a tomato slice, a bread stick, the tip of an asparagus spear, and some cheerios, throwing her hands up every ten minutes and announcing "All Done!" (show off, she was not all done, just hamming it up). At one point the waiter came to check on us and spoke directly to Miss M, "How are you doing Missy?". She was sipping on her sippy-cup at the time but was happy to respond to him, lowering her cup and saying "Ahhh" with an enormous smile on her face, causing the water she had been sipping to slide down her chin like a little waterfall. We all laughed, even the waiter. I mean, you have to assume that waitstaff cringes when they see a small child come in.. the screaming, the mess... but she had him won over in about five minutes, such a little charmer.

Thank Goodness for Grandmas

Grandmas rock. Now Grandpa, don't get jealous - you rock too, but this post is about Grandmas... you'll get your turn.

Grandma knows that "Want to go to the outlet mall with me?" is really code for "Will you please buy your granddaughter some clothes because we're totally broke." Grandma knows that the best way to get time with their granddaughter is to bribe her parents with a nice meal out. And best yet, Grandma knows that her granddaughter is the absolute most perfect thing in the entire world... which totally jives with what her parents know making Grandma most agreeable company. Grandma knows how to distract, comfort, love, play, cuddle, and keep safe the most important thing in a mommy's life, and that makes grandma pretty awesome. Now, if only Grandma knew how to keep the dog from peeing on the floor and how to keep the drain in the basement from smelling, then she would be Super Grandma!

Swing Time

OK, this time at the park was much better. No crying or screaming, only giggles. A few pictures from our family swing time:

Kissy Monster

My daughter just made out with me. I love it when she kisses me... I don't really love the mouthful of spit and snot that comes with it though. Her wide-mouth-bass style of kissing coupled with her leaky-faucet nose makes for quite a messy love-fest... especially when she sees fit to smother you with 5 at a time, one right after the other.

One Year Later

I had my yearly "girlie" doctor appointment today. The most important part of the visit - the scale of course. I've been slowly (really slowly) losing the baby fat (can you call it baby fat when it's been stuck on your butt for a full year?), so I was really curious where I was in comparison to my pre-baby weight. And I have two points of reference. First - 8 week pregnancy appointment. Turns out I'm only three pounds heavier than I was at 8 weeks pregnant. That's not too bad, however, I must admit to eating everything in my path the first two months of my pregancy so that 8 week weight is a little higher than normal. Which brings me to my most recent pre-pregnancy weigh-in... I'm 15 pounds heavier than that. Ugh. So basically, it would be nice to lose 15 pounds. 55 down, 15 to go. UGH! I think I'm going to have to start exercising. I HATE exercising! Anyone want to go on a diet with me? We can start our own little weight watchers... I'll watch yours and you can watch mine. C'mon, you could lose a few pounds, right?

Missing Daddy

J is travelling for work lately, something no one in the family is terribly happy about but hey, what are you gonna do, right? Up until this week Miss M hasn't really noticed that Daddy has had to leave mid-way through the week. But last night she noticed. Noticed big time. She cried when he left, so I took her to the living room to try and distract her. She was successfully distracted for about five minutes, then picked up a toy and said "Da da" and started to walk toward the kitchen to find him. She stopped dead in her tracks, her face fell, and she started to cry. Poor baby.

Don't feel too sorry for her though, she recovered nicely. This morning she was an absolute peach. Woke up early without fussing, entertained herself while I got ready for work, giggled at the dogs, napped on the way to daycare, and smiled big and waved bye-bye to me when I left. Big girl!

Girls Will Be Girls...

Miss M recieved doll strollers for her birthday from her GiGi. They've been hanging out in her closet due to Mommy's mistaken impression that Miss M was too young to know what to do with them. I was so wrong. Pictures from yesterday evening and this morning...

Pretty Necklace

Why does my child like to wear things around her neck? Check it out...
The ribbons on her birthday present...

The dog's leash...

The dog's collar...

The streamer at her birthday party...

Another ribbon...

And... my bra. Yes, that is my bra. Close your eyes.

There will be words...

Oh yes, any day now, I can feel it. We've already got "all done" (although it sounds more like "all dahh" and of course ma ma and da da. But it's coming, so close now that we're beginning to hear sentences in the baby blabber. This weekend Miss M was following us around the house as we were cleaning up and at one point she walking in to the bedroom where daddy was fixing an outlet. I swear to god she said "What are you doing?", although it was more like "whatareyoudoin?" So of course we've been saying that all weekend. She probably thinks we're nuts.

Thunder and Lightning, very, very frightening...

It's been storming on and off all weekend. This afternoon I was in the kitchen sitting at the computer when a loud peal of thunder shook the windows. Miss M was playing on the floor behind me and didn't seem to notice, but big dog S was terrified. He was desperate to get beneath the counter by my feet and hide, so I pushed out my chair to let him in. But the hiding place was already taken, by a cowering little jack russell terrier. I hadn't even felt P wiggle under there. My two dogs are scaredy-cats.

65 degrees and sunny -- and NO RUNNY NOSE!

Beautiful day out today. Pizza party at work this afternoon (may include beer). AND, the best part of the day... Miss M's doesn't have a runny nose today!!!! Yay!!!

I Have Angered the Gods of Over-Priced Cotton.

I went to the Gap yesterday. Miss M had received a gift card for her birthday, and gift cards have a purse-life of about 15 minutes with this mommy. I found her a new swim suit and a shirt, then was totally suckered into purchasing (beyond the gifted amount) a little plastic ball with ladybugs on it. The ladybugs did me in, they were very persuasive. It was $5.50. I can justify this though because the rest of my purchase went on the gift card. Anyway... I went to check out and the super duper friendly Gap girl commented on my super duper cute ball. To which I said, "Yeah, I can probably buy a plastic ball somewhere else for like a dollar, but the ladybugs are pretty cute." Well, that just threw the sales girl into a tailspin! "Oh, but it's only $5.50, that's not so bad." "And it really is very cute." "And I think every time you bounce it an elf gives you a chocolate." Well, not that last one, but you get the idea, she spent the rest of the transaction trying to make excuses for her overpirced ball. I find it interesting that I can't get a Gap sales girl - who clearly is not bringing home a significant chunk of the bacon (she works at the Gap) - to agree with her customer that yeah, this is ridiculous. I was obviously going to buy the ball regardless of her opinion or agreement. I'm not a fan of people that drink the cool-aid.

M's First Birthday - the video

It's like an Orange on a Toothpick...

Just figured out Miss M's percentiles...

At 12 months:
your child is 17.8 pounds, and that is
at the 4th percentile for weight.

your child is 28.25 inches, and that is
at the 18th percentile for height.

your child has a head circumference of 18.11 inches, and that is
at the 73th percentile for head circumference.

Mandarin Oranges

Miss M LOVES her some mandarin oranges. It's super fun to watch her slurp them up. You know what's not super fun? Scraping little bits of undigested mandarin oranges off her bum. Yeah, those things are like corn. Another fun, disgusting baby fact that no one ever tells you.

Miss M's new 12 month stats

Munchkin is 17 pounds 8 ounces, and 28 and a quarter inches long. No, I don't know the percentiles on that ;)

Two shots today - in bed about an hour early because of them. Well, the shots and the very dramatic tumble down three carpeted steps into the basement. That one scared the crap out of both of us. She's totally fine, but that was it, the day was officially OVER.

A Little Light Reading...

G-pa, probably best not to embarrass Uncle C by sharing this one with him.

I just remembered a funny story from this past weekend. As I mentioned before, Uncle C is only 9 years old. Last Thursday he was helping me around the house, carrying things, cleaning up a little, etc. He was also helping with Miss M, and when it was bath time he was ready to hang out and keep us company - which I thought was interesting, because most little boys would be like "ew, naked baby". I digress. The funny part of the story: We walk into the bathroom to put Miss M in the bath and Uncle C notices a magazine on the floor next to the toilet. He asks, "Is that J's?", and I said, "Yeah, sometimes he's in here for a while." To which Uncle C replies, "Yeah, it can get pre-tty boring sometimes."

Ha!

She's not a baby anymore.

Sad. Miss M is officially a toddler now, no more baby. She turned one year old Saturday at 3:14pm. Happy Birthday! It's all happened so fast... I turned around and she was rolling over by herself, turn again and she was sitting up, again and she was walking, and turned just now and she can almost say "all done" and have it actually sound like real words! She runs down the hall now when we play chase, she stopped having daytime bottles today, any day now she's going to start talking back and asking for a cell phone! When you're a kid it seems like you're a kid forever, how is it that when you have kids time becomes so fleeting?

Here are the best pictures from my camera this weekend, and here is the link to the Kodak Gallery where you can see the rest. Her party was at the Garfield Park Conservatory here in Chicago, a nice little splash of summer during this dreary winter.