First Tooth!

This morning when we got up to begin out adventure to Tahoe I stuck my finger in Adelaide's mouth to see if she had a tooth yet, and felt a little corner sticking out!! It felt very sharp. Later I was giving her a drink of water out of my glass and could hear her little tooth clunking on the glass. It's just one more thing to make me realize that she is growing up so fast! I know she will look different once she gets teeth, so I need to be sure to take lot's of pictures of her toothless grins while I can! Hopefully she is done biting me!

Cheerio - the organic ones =)

This is actually the SECOND time that Adelaide has eaten O's....she started yesterday, but I didn't get video of it. You can tell she really likes to practice picking them up, and trying to get them in her mouth. Once they are there, she can practice chewing (without teeth). She loves them. It's so cute to see her little fingers work so hard at grasping them. I feel like maybe she should have been able to practice this sooner, but we are so afraid of her choking. I wonder what age other people give O's to their little ones?

Learning to feed herself

Today I gave Adelaide a few organic O's cereal. She took a few tries to actually get one in her mouth, but once she did she loved it. She ate about 10 of them, and then I decided to give her a piece of ripe pear to see if she could feed that to herself. She made a mess but had fun trying. She kept squishing it in her hands until there really wasn't much left except a few little piles of what looked like Apple Sauce.

Quality reading time for Punkie

This "Where the Wild Things are" book used to be Myles' when he was little. His mom brings Adelaide lots of books! She loves them!!

The Road - and other rambles

Myles recommended that I read "The Road" by Carmac McCarthy. Holey Moley - if you haven't read this book yet - you should. Especially if you are a parent. It was one of the best books I've ever read. I must admit that I have a thing about really sad books (my all time favorite book to date is Angela's Ashes), but sad books are also about the struggle of life. Real life. I like to read about this, and the human spirit. It's amazing how a book can really take you to another world. There were several nights that I would come downstairs after reading with tears pouring down my face. Maybe it's the hormones...but the book is pretty amazing. It's a really quick read too - so go get it and read it, before the movie comes out.

I also wanted to update about Adelaide because she is so funny. Her favorite food now is broccoli. Have you ever heard of a baby that loved broccoli? She eats that and sweet potatoes every day. We also do lots of pears and prunes, although she isn't as keen on the prunes as she used to be. She poops every day lately, so I'm feeling good about her diet. I have also re-introduced the goat yogurt. She seems to really love it with avocado, so I'm going to keep giving it to her.

She is growing so fast - and so is her hair =) She can scoot/crawl pretty fast these days. She has been easy to put down for naps, I simply lay her down in the swing bed with the binkie and turn on the fan. She still sleeps great at night and seems to prefer cuddling with Myles to me. I don't get jealous because they are so cute cuddled up together...I wish I had a picture of it. We are having a great summer and had a crazy heat wave, but now it's cool and Porltand-ie again. We've been back to the zoo a few times, and are preparing for our trip to Tahoe next weekend.

Clean baby

Tal's teddy bear

Is bigger than Adelaide

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 =)