The old switcharoo

Mama and I were browsing the dairy section of the grocery store when a nice woman let mama know that some of the milks expire today and "be sure to check the date."  Mama said, "oh, thank you!" and proceeded to socialize like she has a tendency to do, and before I knew it she and her milk were walking off with the other woman's cart... leaving the two of us behind looking at each other thinking, "what do we do now?"  I'm not sure if mama would have ever even noticed, but the nice woman flagged her down before she got too far away.  Close one!

Learning New Tricks Every Day

Seven Months

The last two are blurry, but mommy loved my expressions so much she insisted I include them.  

Going Green

To all of the haters who thought my fall on the stairs and my one-legged kicking video was a publicity stunt to grow my fan base, check it: I have a broken femur!

For those of you just tuning in, mom and I dropped it like it was hot on the stairs last Thursday and come to find out, that nasty bruise on her back was because her back squashed my leg and broke it. I only cried for an hour after it happened and I have made progress every day. Two medical professionals were unable to locate a point of tenderness, so we were all shocked to find out that my right femur bone was broken all the way through just above my knee. Thank goodness it did not need to be reset and it has already started to heal, so even though it kind of stinks that I had to get a cast, I only have to have it for two weeks. I picked green. I figured this would match most things and be a little festive. I bet I put a kink in mama's plans for my 7 month photos this Sunday. Tee hee.

That's mama's friend Jennie holding my hand while I get bandaged up.  She was so sweet and took such very good care of me.

Here I am all loaded up in the car!  It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks :)

Say, "aaaaahhhhh."

My new favorite thing is sticking out my tongue.  I can't figure out why adults don't do this more often.  It's sooooo fun!

Still kicking! In my good leg, at least.

Today was fun!  Mama's friend Tiffany came to play and so did one of my little neighbor friends, Avery.  We had a great time together.  Avery offered me my paci and when I said, "no, thank you," she popped it right in her mouth!  She's a funny girl.

My leg feels a little better, but I'm still not willing to stand on it.  For most of the day I wouldn't bend my knee... although I will move my hip and ankle.  Mama told me if I'm not moving my knee by Monday morning we're going to go get an x-ray.  I spent most of the day laying around kicking my good leg, but later this evening I gave my right knee a wee extension.  I did it just a few times and I hope mama noticed so she can see I'm making progress and it's getting better.

Ups and Downs

I didn't talk much today, but when daddy got home I remembered to start practicing my da-da-da sounds.  I had been sad and crying (story to follow) and as soon as he picked me up I started da-da-ing up a storm.  Obviously daddy is convinced that this is my first word, but mama isn't convinced.  She thinks it's a coincidence.  That's probably because the only sound I make right now is da-da anyway.

Okay, about me being sad and crying.  Mama and I took a fall down the stairs today.  She slipped and landed on her butt/back and I got my leg squashed between her back and the stairs.  It hurt so bad :(  I cried for an hour and daddy came home from work early to help.  We don't think it's broken and it's not bruised or swollen so we're going to sleep on it tonight and maybe visit the doctor tomorrow.

Oh! Christmas tree!

Weeee got a Christmas treeee!  I'm so excited.  We found a really tall tree marked with a tag that said it was 6'-7' tall.  I'm only 2-ish-feet tall so everything is way over my head, but I could still tell that this tree was bigger than 6'-7' tall.  When we got it home and measured it we discovered that it was actually 8.5' tall!  Amazing.

Mama and I watched while daddy unveiled the tree in the corner of the living room.  I'm not sure why we've brought such a big plant into the house, but I really love it.

And I'm not the only one.  It's Sampson's new favorite napping spot.  

It looks so beautiful with sparkly lights on it.  I just sit and stare at the glow.  Mama decked it out so that it looks like a designer tree in dollar store decorations.

Thanksgiving 2011

Tennessee for Thanksgiving!  My first big(ish) road trip.  I think I did pretty good if I do say so myself.  I sure did sleep a lot.  On the way there we drove straight through, but on the way back we made a couple of pit stops to stretch our legs.  I'm pretty sure I was good enough that mommy and daddy will take me again.

Holiday Highlights:

1.  Hopping in bed with grannie for my morning nap.
2.  Sitting on grandpa like a lay-z-boy chair while he sat in his lay-z-boy chair.
3.  Winston (aka Winsty), the 100+lbs great dane doggie that was more scared of me than I was him.  I just wanted to grab his cute face!
4.  New/different toys to play with.
5.  The food!!  I ate (and really enjoyed) all of the following: turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, collards with vinegar, beets, and brussels sprouts.  I seriously couldn't get enough!

Sunday Fun Day

Playing with mommy and daddy Sunday morning...

Olivia is TEN!!

The day after I hit my big 6-month milestone, my favorite cousin, Olivia, reached an even bigger milestone: 10 years!  Double digits... woop!  She had her party at our house and invited a lot of fun family and her favorite friend from school.  It was so fun to spend the day focused on Olivia and celebrate 10 years of her life.  She's kind of a big girl now.  Not like learning to sit makes me a big girl... but a for-real big girl.  She got lots of big-girl things like nail polish and jewelry, she played a real-life version of Angry Birds, and she painted her initial on a canvas to hang in her room.  One of the best parts was cramming everyone on the stairs for a group picture.  Mama held me up for the picture since I'm shorter and a little harder to see.

6 Months!

6 months old, friends!!  I sit like a pro, I'm saying new "words" all the time, and my frustrated doggie paddle that became my frustrated Arsenio Hall impersonation that became making snow angels has now become horizontal jumping jacks.  If mama puts me in the crib before I want to be there I just start flapping like a maniac until she picks me back up.

A couple of things have tried to distract from my day like the heat going out and Regis Philban's farewell show on Live with Regis and Kelly, but I had one last thing up my sleeve to get the attention back on me.  I finally figured out that the sippy cup is for sucking, not chewing!  I can finally get milk from another source which means mommy and daddy can take a date night away.  Yup, I'm officially a big girl.  

So... The nurse commented on the roundness of my head and my likeness to the gerber baby.  The doctor said my core strength looked good and that I was very social.  (Grannie says when the doctor tells you your baby is "social" it means she's going to talk a lot in school.  I wonder how Grannie knows that...?)  

The doctor also decided her 4 mo measurement of my length must have been a tad high (just as we suspected) but I'm back to a normal 26"now, 50th percentile.  My weight is 14 lbs 4.5 oz, 10th-25th percentile.  Once again, I'm not gaining weight at the rate she expects me to.  Last time she told mama to start feeding me big girl foods, and since that doesn't seem to be working, she told her to start feeding me higher calorie foods.  Her suggestions?  Mashed potatoes with butter and sour cream!  Ice cream!  Mac and Cheese!  Just in time for Thanksgiving... yesssss :]

New this week!

1.  Last Wednesday I started sitting.  I'm a baby sitter!  Get it?  :)  It's still not my preferred method of hanging out and playing, but I can definitely sit for an extended period of time and lean forward to pick something up without toppling.  I kind of enjoy this new elevation.

This is me sitting with mama's stuffed hippo, Kiboko.  We call him Kibo for short.

As you can see, this new skill is still being perfected...

2.  This weekend daddy noticed that my eyes are turning brown.  I'm excited because, "big brown eyes" sounds better than, "big gray eyes."  What am I, a husky?  Nope.  I'm a brown-eyed girl.  Daddy's brown-eyed girl.  Swoon.

3.  Ok, now for the biggest recent change/accomplishment.  You're not even going to believe it.  I slept from 8pm to 7am last night without waking up once.... without my paci!!  What?!  Can you even believe it?

4.  Areas with room for improvement:  I still can't make it two hours without my mommy.  I cried in the church nursery for the 4th week in a row and mommy had to come get me.  She didn't mind though, she just squeezed me really big and I felt better right away.

I'm a full time job!

Mommy made a really big decision yesterday.  She decided to stay home and devote her time to raising me seven (seven!) days a week instead of returning to the job she loves so much part time.  I feel like a pretty lucky ducky.

I was extra cranky all day just to make sure she knew what she was signing up for.  Now she can't say I didn't warn her!

This wasn't an easy decision for her for two major reasons.  1. She had a wonderful job with amazing co-workers that she considers friends and a boss that she respects so much and enjoys working for.  She worked hard while she was there but also had a lot of fun.  2. She had an excellent option for child care.  She could have gone back to work part time and felt confident that I was being cared for and loved on in a big way.

There was no real reason for her not to return to work part time except that she just kept feeling a tug that staying with me was what she was supposed to do.  She and daddy prayed a lot about the decision and even though it wasn't a no-brainer, she feels like she made the right decision for our family and especially for me.

I'm proud of my mommy and super happy that she'll be the one taking care of me full time.

This is my proud monkey face:

Happy Halloween!!

I've heard you have to play up your best assets and since I have eyes that make me look like a toon bug, I knew I needed a halloween costume that had antennae.  My friend Arne was given this cute costume, but he decided that a lady bug might not be his style (even though he agreed the tights are pretty awesome), so he let me wear it.  Thanks, Arne!  

The give-away winners!

I ain't a-frida no nose.  Sung to the tune of Ghostbusters... I ain't afraid of no ghosts.  I'm a silly girl, no judgement please.

So, I believe I only got 8 or so more fans, but that doesn't matter.  I'm just excited to save two more baby noses from the blue syringe of death.

I used random.org to generate the winners.  From the blog comments the winner is...

LAUREN Dyson!!  *Squeeeeeal

From the facebook page comments the winner is...

STEPHANIE Talley Woodside!!  *Grrrrrrrr  (No offense Stephanie.  Squeal and grrrrr are currently the only two sounds I know to express excitement.  I promise it's a good thing)

Congratulations to the winners... I'm sure your babies will be thanking you by sleeping better through cold season.  Let's hope so!!

I'm a believ-a in the nosefrida

Calling all babies.  Now that it's cold season, it's only a matter of time before you experience major boogies, if you haven't already.  Has your mommy ever come at your tiny nose with that awful blue bulb?  The snot sucker?  The booger sniffer?  The nose torturer?  Even when the target is your average now-and-again boog, it takes five attempts to snag it... and each attempt is a chance to have your poor little baby nose membranes poked, jabbed, stabbed.  The older you get and the more wiggly and playful you get, the more damage is done to your nose.

Well, mama got a head cold (as she seems to do every six weeks these days) and she finally passed it on to me.  Here was the scene two nights ago:

So tired.  Can't sleep very well without my paci.  Can't breathe with my paci.  This makes me cry, which makes the boogies worse.  Mama picks me up; happy!  Mama sets me down by the night light; sad!  I scream while mama tries to accomplish something with the nose torturer and puts me back in the crib to try again.  We maaaaaybe got four hours of sleep.

Mama heard about the nosefrida (http://www.nosefrida.com), and even though she was a tiny bit grossed out by the idea, she was sick, tired, and desperate.

Let.Me.Tell.You.  It's way less invasive and way more productive.  No jamming, jabbing, poking.  No multiple attempts.  I even kind of giggled at the feeling and the noise it made!  Talk about a more pleasurable experience all around.

A video in case you want to see it in action:

It's not gross, I promise.  There is no way for mommy to get my germies from it.

The best part: I slept through the night last night even though my cold was a little worse than the night before.

Yep, I'm a believ-a in the nosefrida.  Look at that clear-nosed happy face!

In fact, I'm so adamant that all you babies have one of these things that I'm going to do my first give-away, with TWO chances to win.

The rules:
- Like my page on facebook.
- Leave a comment on this post and/or under the link for this post on my facebook page between now and Sunday at midnight EST.  Your comment can be anything, but I'd love for you to tell me about a gadget or product you love.  It doesn't have to be baby related!!

If we can get 100 followers by Sunday at midnight then I'll give away a nosefrida to one person from the comments on the blog and one person from the comments on my facebook page.  Just in time for cold season, and a perfect stocking stuffer.  Woop!  I'll announce the winners Monday morning.

Food fights

Mom and I have had one heck of a time mastering this food thing.  First, she was giving me cantaloupe until friends told her there had been a recall on them.  Whoops!  She tried giving me bell peppers without cooking them up so that they would be sweeter.  Blech!  She gave me hummus which was a huge mistake.  Yuck-o!  She tried cooking pears the way grannie cooked apples.  "Sliced thin; 20 minutes on the stove-top."  It took an hour!  She gave me mushed up banana, but it was so slippery it kept shooting back out of my mouth.  She tried cooking a sweet potato in the microwave.  It caught on fire and the en-tire house smelled like smoke for days.  A month later the microwave still smells like smoke.  She bought a butternut squash to roast and while preparing it realized it was actually spaghetti squash.  Hard to get a break around here!

Things that thankfully HAVE worked:  grannie Annie's apples (in my best french accent: mon favorite!), avocado (gotta love no prep, no fuss foods), pears (after an hour on the stove-top), and banana (when mama just gives me the whole thing to gnaw on).  Nom nom nom.

The polar bear says grrrrr.

5 Months

I'm 5 months old today!  I absolutely love to hold my toes, play with toys that make noise, and squeal in the grocery store.  I sleep like a rock star at night, but I'm not an excellent napper during the day.  I love to stare at new faces for a solid 5 minutes without blinking before my mouth breaks into a huge smile.  I don't love to lay on my back, but I still can't sit on my own yet (I'm trying SO hard).  My hair is really growing but it's kind of hard to tell, and my eyes look like they are slowly turning from dark gray to brown.  The weather is still amazing and I love to be outside, but I learned today that I do not like tummy time in the grass.  I don't like to lay in the grass at all actually.  It pokes me in my ears and stuff!