Cherries for breakfast

Today I mixed some of the cherries from our tree (now frozen) in with Adelaide's yogurt. She LOVED it! What a mess.

Concert in the Park again

Still no teeth!

Clingy

I'm not sure why I want to write about this...I guess just to keep track of how things are always changing. Lately, anytime that I set Adelaide down, she gets upset and cries. She wants to be held constantly most of the time. I love to hold her so usually it's okay, but when it's time to use the bathroom or do the laundry, it gets difficult.

I read that it's common for children to get separation anxiety at 9 months old, or around the time they being to crawl. The book said that it's to make them stay close at a time when their body said "go". It's important to me for Punkie to be secure, and I know that she IS very secure, but I'm hoping to keep it that way. This means that I'm not going to set her down and let her cry for more than a few seconds, because I don't want her to be sad, I don't want her to be afraid, and I want to hold her as much as I can while she will still let me. I know this too will soon change and she probably won't want to be picked up at all.

New Clothes

Today we hit the jackpot when we went to get new sizes for the adorable outfits that Myles mom brought Adelaide. The clothes were half off now, so we got to get two new outfits along with the smaller sizes that we needed!! I love when those things happen. Here is Adelaide in one of her new little bubble suites. Now that she is starting to crawl she won't really be able to wear her dresses much =( I LOVE her dresses, but also am glad they make cute little bubble suites too!

Swim Lessons

How do you teach an infant to swim? Well I guess you don't....but we are taking swim lessons anyway. It's a 2 week course through the parks and rec center, and Adelaide seems to really enjoy it. We go every day Monday - Friday at 9 am for a half hour. It seems like the perfect amount of time for her. We learn little songs to sing and help her float, kick, show her how to blow bubbles in the water, splash etc. There are a few other mom's and babies in there (once again all boys)and they are all a bit older. The other babies are pretty afraid of the water. We do things like pour a bucket of water on the back of their head and shoulders...Adelaide laughs while the other babies cry. I wonder if she would be crying too if she was a bit older? I'm hoping to keep her active in the water so that she learns to love is and becomes a good swimmer someday. There are several indoor pools around town that I can take her to, even in the winter, so I'm excited to watch her grow as a swimmer. We have been taking baths with her in the big bathtub her entire life, so maybe that helps her to be comfortable? I think she is now realizing that the water in her glass is the same thing as the water that we swim in, as she has recently begun to try and put her hands in her water glass and splash around.

Adelaides new favorite song

8 Month Appointment with Dr. Ed

Today we had to go back to see Dr. Ed so Adelaide could get another shot =( She was really tough though, she cried really hard for about a minute, then she was just fine again. The appointment was a bit frustrating for me because it seems some of the Dr's views on feeding were not what I was thinking. He recommends to wait until 12 months to introduce ANY grains, as well as any dairy. I have been feeding Adelaide yogurt and avocado every morning, and now I might have to stop. I did realize that the cow dairy was constipating her, so I was going to try goat yogurt next. I just really think it's good for her to have the enzymes from the yogurt in her gut, however the Dr. thinks that could constipate her as well. I may just cut it all out for a while, and then try a little and see how it affects her. I'm also worried that if she stops eating grains now, she will decide she doesn't like them once she turns one...and then how will I get her to eat them? I guess I will just really focus on fruits and veggies for now, and not rush things so much. She seems to be really healthy, so I must be doing something right!

Dr. Ed also feels that babies will naturally ween at 14 - 18 months of age, and that babies that nurse longer than that are nursing for a different reason. I guess I will just have to see what happens as she gets older. I was hoping to nurse her until at least 2 years old...but I guess she might decide to ween earlier anyway. I just want her to be as healthy as she can. He said that the reason she is nursing less these days is because she is ONLY doing it to eat, and that she must feel very secure and not need the extra attention of nursing from me. I guess that means I'm doing a good job, so I will just let her do what she wants, and trust that she knows best what she needs.

She is now 17 pounds...so she hasn't gained much in the last 2 months. The Dr. says that they slow down a bit now, and she won't be growing so fast. I guess that's a good thing, because I feel like she is starting to get so heavy!!! Now we don't have to see Dr. Ed again for 6 months, when she goes in for her final vaccine. I miss seeing Catherine though, and might schedule a 9 month or 12 month appointment with her, just to stay in touch =)I also wouln't mind getting a womans perspective (as well as a mothers) on these issues.

Blueberries!!!

Today we went Blueberry picking with our friends. It was really fun, and my first time picking blueberries. I got a pound and a half for $3.75 - quite a deal. It was nice to be out in the fields with the babies, bonding with the ladies. I'm so thankful to have found these mommy friends that we can spend time with. We have been exposed to so many fun things!








Poor Adelaide - I really had her wraped up to keep her out of the sun - we don't mess around =)

Productive day

This morning I woke up wanting to go to the zoo. Lucky for us, all of our friends were already busy, so we didn't go to the zoo. Instead we stayed home and I got so much done. We also had a lot of fun. The first thing I did was clean my fish tank. Anyone with a fish tank knows how unfun a job that is. I haven't cleaned it in over a year and a half!!! Poor little fish. Since Adelaide has been born I have just been good at making excuses of other things to do. So it took me two of her naps to get it cleaned compleatly. We then went to the fish store and I got a few new plants and some new fish. I have been wanting to keep guppies because that is what my grandma always had. I try to keep them, but never have much luck. I got two new females and two males, and then 3 little "pork chop" fish. They all seem to get on great with my other fish, and Adelaide has fun looking at them (and the bubbles). I'm going to do my best to keep it clean. Here is the best photo of it I could get...I've never been able to get a good fish tank shot!?



After that was all finished Adelaide crawled around the floor while I did yoga. It was so sweet, whenever I was doing downward dog she would scoot her face up right in mine and give me a kiss, or just smile at me. She is so sweet, and she thought it was pretty funny to see me doing yoga =)

After that we filled up the kiddie pool in the front yard. Actually I didn't fill it up, I put about a half inch of water in it...but that was enough to cool her off. She just keep dipping her toy in the water and then sucking the water off. I think she is going to be a good swimmer when she gets bigger though. Once she was on her tummy she was kicking her legs a lot!!

Clap those baby hands!

Yesterday when I said she learns a new trick every day, I wasn't kidding! Today Adelaide learned how to clap her hands!! She has been clapping her feet for a long time now, but today she finally figured out how to do it with her hands too. I'm so proud of her!

She learns new tricks every day =)

Adelaide has learned to make a beautiful new sound. She is really proud of herself! Right after I filmed this she spit a mouth full of sweet potatoes all over the place. Let the food fights begin!

Solids and what they do to Nursing

I wanted to write this because things change so fast, and I wanted to remember that this happened, just because it's something that I'm struggling with right now. Ever since we have been on 2 solid meals a day for Adelaide, it seems that she is loosing interest in nursing during the day. She still nurses great at night before bed, once in the middle of the night, and a few times in the morning. I just was afraid that I would loose my milk because she would only nurse once or twice during the day. I think part of the reason is because she is eating so well, she isn't hungry for milk. The other thing is that she is SO INTERESTED in the world around her, and is so easily distracted. She acts like she doesn't really have time to nurse...there are other more fun things to do. I guess it's a good sign that she is secure, and doesn't usually seem to need the attention or engagement with me that nursing gives her. I asked some of the mom's with older kids at our sign language class, and they all assured me that I won't loose my milk as long as she is nursing a few times a day. I also called Le Leche League to get more info. The woman I talked to wanted to know what I was feeding her, and said that all of the foods are really good ones for her. She said I could come to one of their meetings to talk to other moms as well. She assured me that things change all of the time, with mile-stones such as crawling, and also with teething etc. I know Adelaide has so much going on in her short little life so far, so I am going to just relax and know that she will do what she needs to do, and what is right for her. I just want her to get enough milk so that she has the immunity that she needs as well as all of the nutrients. I know that there is no food I can feed her that will give her as much good stuff as she gets from my milk.

What do you other mom's out there think? I hope to nurse her until she is around 2 years old...but I guess if she weans herself then that will mean she is ready?

Concert in the Park by our house

The park by our house will be having a concert in the park every Friday in July starting today. It's really fun, and we can walk to the park, so I'm hoping next week we can get some of our friends to come meet us. We think it will be fun to get there early next time and have a big blankie to hang out on. We can bring food, beer, games, anything we want to make it fun. The park is freaking giant... like 5 blocks across, so it's a good walk!



Adelaide swinging for the second time ever. She was getting a little sleepy by this time.



And on our way home. Sometimes Adelaide rides in the stroller like a big kid, and we leave the infant seat part at home. You can tell how proud she feels to be riding this way where she can see the other kids in their strollers. The park was FULL of kids...so she had a lot of action to check out =)

Scooter

Adelaide is almost crawling!!! She can scoot anywhere she needs to go. Now that she has been able to play on the wood floor, she can really get around. Here is a video of her. You can tell she will be crawling in no time!

Somebody doesn't like to wait for her dinner to be made

I think Adelaide must have been really hungry at this point, or maybe she was done eating and wanted to get down from her chair? Either way, I wanted to capture her sounds on a video just so I could show it to her later and see what she thinks =)She is always making new noises, and I never take the time to film the sounds of when she is frustrated...so I finally did here.

Back to the Zoo

We wanted to go to the zoo again today because it was so nice out! I have been bypassing the "great Northwest" part of the zoo the last few times, so this time that is where we went. They had a little family farm which was cute, although I was hoping there might be horses and cows and things like that. I wanted to pet them, but that wasn't really how it was set up. Myles and Adelaide still had fun on the tractor, and we also went to say hi to the Elephants. My favorite pictures from the day however are from the Sea lions. Somehow we got really lucky and there was nobody down there with Myles and Adelaide for my pictures! That is my favorite place in the zoo, down under the water. It's always nice and cool, and the sea lions are so beautiful. I really love them.

4th of July ~ I love it!

4th of July was always one of my favorite holidays growing up. It's because we would get together with ALL of the family, and there would be tons of kids playing and tons of grown up's having fun too. My family lived in Tahoe, so we would always be there, and it was an easy walk to the beach for the fireworks. I have really been trying to figure out something to do with Adelaide so that we have a tradition on this holiday, to keep the fun alive. I wasn't really sure what to do this year, because she is always asleep before dark, so I didn't think she would be up to see fireworks anyway. I was wrong though!

We started the day at the river again. I wanted to show Myles that awesome spot that the girls took me to, so we drove up there. Frances and Ezra met us and we all had fun swimming. I really wanted to get in the falls this time, but didn't want to go without Myles, and one of us needed to be with the baby, so I didn't do it. Maybe next time!!





Here is Adelaide taking a nap. This time we brought her carseat down - it was a great place for her to rest!


This is at the bottom of the falls. You can see it was more crowded down there, but still not bad. What a great place to swim =)


Once we got back to town we went to see some friends. Some of our friends (Billy and Courtney) moved into a new condo in the South Water Front of town. It was a beautiful place, and had PERFECT views of the fireworks! There were two shows going on at once - one up the river, and one down. Adelaide loved the fireworks and really watched them closley for quite a while. I think it would be fun to be right under them, but this was perfect as well. The weather was perfect, and she was awake to see it all(and they didn't even start until 10 pm). It was her first party =) By the time we got home she was pooped out. She didn't even wake up for her diaper change!

Here we are watching the fireworks ~

Good Morning fuzzy head =)

First time at the River ~

Let me start out by saying that I LOVE THE RIVER! Usually it's really cold water up here and you can't really get in and swim. Amazingly enough we did today, and it was awesome. Some of my mama friends showed me a great place over in Washington where there are waterfalls that you can swim in, and great little pools, and an easy short hike from the car. This is really important when you have to carry a baby and all of your stuff with you! Once again I had my trusty Costco umbrella which we have really gotten a lot of use out of. I know it's quite colorful, but it makes us easy to find in a crowd. I think Adelaide liked the river too. She loves water, and even though it was too cold to get her all of the way in, I did dip her toes and she liked it. She was giggling and trying to splash with her hands. It was a bit hard without a place to set the babies, but it was a great day. I love summer!


Here are two of my beautiful mommy friends and their precious babes ~


And a super hot little Punkie!

Cauliflower for breakfast

Today for breakfast Adlelaide had Cauliflower for the first time....and liked it! I am trying to introduce one new thing every 3-4 days. Right now it feels like there isn't much that she can eat. I am now trying to do more and more veggies, as I took some time to introduce some other grains, as well as egg yolk, yogurt and avocado, so now I need to get more greens into the mix! So today for breakfast she had califlower, and also some yogurt with mashed up avocado mixed in. She didn't really like avocado at first, so I am trying to sneak it in here and there because I know it's really good for her and she needs the good fats for her brain =) The same thing goes with the egg yolk. She wouldn't eat it plain mixed with my milk, so I have found other ways to get her to eat it. Last night I made her amaranth mixed with the yolk and some zuchinni. She ate a lot of that so I was glad. She really loves her pears and prunes, so I still give them to her with almost every meal, but just treat it a bit like dessert after she has eaten the other stuff. I'm so proud of her for doing so well.

Here is a list of what she can eat, or has tried so far:
Carrots, Organic Brown Rice (porrage), Watermellon, sweet potatoes, zuchinni, pears, banannas, peas, amaranth grain (porrage), avocado, yogurt, millet (porrage), egg yolk, cauliflower.

So what is next? I want to try asparagus, but I'm afraid we missed it at the farmers markets. Maybe we will do beets because I have some already prepared...or maybe some leafy greens like spinach? Who knows...but I'll keep ya posted =)