Alli's world is definitely expanding. She is no longer content sitting on her blanket and playing with her toys, at least, she's not content to sit there for very long. :) No, the toys are only somewhat fascinating now. Now she looks around and thinks "hey, what's that over there?" and the next thing we know she is on her belly, and then rolling. Once she hits tile, it's scooting - backwards. She pushes with her arms and doesn't move her legs yet, but she gets around. Everything is a curiosity, including electrical outlets. Uh oh. Luckily, she can't reach them yet, and I tell her "no" if I see her going for them. I think she's actually starting to understand that word. I hope so. It sure will make things easier...well...if she listens to it!
I've been resourceful at keeping her contained while I'm doing things. When I'm in the closet changing, I sit her in front of my dresser. She's learned how to open the bottom drawer and apparently finds the items in it interesting. Who wouldn't? It's lingerie! :) I also used a nearby laundry basket the other morning. I wanted to brush my teeth before work and I wanted to watch her, so I took a laundry basket, set it on the ground, sat her in it, and gave her a teddy bear. She wasn't very amused, but I was! :)
Besides not being able to leave her in one place anymore, we had another little surprise this week - two little, white, sharp teeth popping out of her bottom gums. So she gets her first sign of teeth at 9 months! Woo hoo!! It does explain why the last 2 weeks she was waking up in the middle of the night and crying. She would always go back to sleep after some comforting (well, quite a bit of comforting), but I wasn't really sure what was going on. Now I get it! :) (It was always a thought that maybe she was teething, but I never saw anything or felt anything on her gums.)
9 month checkup on Saturday, so check back this weekend for her updated stats.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
8 Month Photos
Ok, I know Alli turns 9 months this coming week, but we've been super busy and *finally* took a couple of hours to go through all the photos we've taken of her to get some ready for posting to her blog. So between the last post and this one, here are a few of the ones we thought were super-cute. This post contains pictures specifically taken at 8 months. (She was so cute, we could narrow down anymore!)
Just Some Photos of Fun Things With Alli
Here are a few fun photos that we've taken over the last month or two.
Alli in her new bath tub, finally enjoying bath time again thanks to tub toys:
Alli's first tattoo, courtesy of Ryker Christensen's 1st Birthday:
Alli in her new bath tub, finally enjoying bath time again thanks to tub toys:
Alli's first tattoo, courtesy of Ryker Christensen's 1st Birthday:
Monday, February 2, 2009
The End of a Chapter, The Beginning of a New One
Today was our last day of Krista-Care. Krista was offered a teaching position with discounts for childcare for Tyler right there at the school. It's a great opportunity for Krista to get back to teaching, and also a great opportunity to bring in more money for the family. We will miss seeing them every day, and assume Tyler and Alli will miss each other in their own ways.
Alli will be staying with a neighbor of ours. They are relatively new to the neighborhood and we have just started getting to know them. John and Marcie have 5 kids living at home: Rachel (8), Morgan & Mandi [twins] (7), Reegan (3), and Gage (19 months). The oldest 3 girls go to school, so Alli will be spending her days mostly with Reegan and Gage. They both love her, giving her lots of kisses and tickles. When the twins are home, they really help take care of Alli. (Yes, it's odd to watch a couple of 7 year old girls take care of your baby, but they do a pretty darn good job!) Marcie seems pretty at ease bringing another baby into the house. She is also a teacher that became a stay-at-home mom with the kids.
Oh, but that's not all. Marcie works at her husband's business on Mondays doing payroll for him. Unfortunately, that means she can't watch Alli. She takes her kids to a lady's house named Kim that has daughters in the same grade as Marcie's. So, I spoke with Kim to see if she would be willing to take one more kid on Mondays. She thought that would be fine. We haven't met Kim yet - Alli and I (and hopefully daddy) plan on meeting her this weekend and having her start watching Alli next Monday. She sounds very nice on the phone and comes with references, two of which she has been watching for the past 4 years, so that's got to be a good thing.
Mondays are going to take me a little getting used to (the idea of the arrangement). Marcie picks her kids up from Kim's at 3:30, which is an hour earlier than I can get back to Fountain Hills to pick up Alli. So Marcie is going to pick up Alli as well, and I'll be picking up Alli at Marcie's house. It should be interesting. Not only are we leaving Alli on Mondays with a total stranger (at this point a stranger), but I won't even be picking her up from there, you know, to get the debriefing on how the day went. I'm sure everything will be fine and I'm being a typical "new mom". It's just....different.
Alli will be staying with a neighbor of ours. They are relatively new to the neighborhood and we have just started getting to know them. John and Marcie have 5 kids living at home: Rachel (8), Morgan & Mandi [twins] (7), Reegan (3), and Gage (19 months). The oldest 3 girls go to school, so Alli will be spending her days mostly with Reegan and Gage. They both love her, giving her lots of kisses and tickles. When the twins are home, they really help take care of Alli. (Yes, it's odd to watch a couple of 7 year old girls take care of your baby, but they do a pretty darn good job!) Marcie seems pretty at ease bringing another baby into the house. She is also a teacher that became a stay-at-home mom with the kids.
Oh, but that's not all. Marcie works at her husband's business on Mondays doing payroll for him. Unfortunately, that means she can't watch Alli. She takes her kids to a lady's house named Kim that has daughters in the same grade as Marcie's. So, I spoke with Kim to see if she would be willing to take one more kid on Mondays. She thought that would be fine. We haven't met Kim yet - Alli and I (and hopefully daddy) plan on meeting her this weekend and having her start watching Alli next Monday. She sounds very nice on the phone and comes with references, two of which she has been watching for the past 4 years, so that's got to be a good thing.
Mondays are going to take me a little getting used to (the idea of the arrangement). Marcie picks her kids up from Kim's at 3:30, which is an hour earlier than I can get back to Fountain Hills to pick up Alli. So Marcie is going to pick up Alli as well, and I'll be picking up Alli at Marcie's house. It should be interesting. Not only are we leaving Alli on Mondays with a total stranger (at this point a stranger), but I won't even be picking her up from there, you know, to get the debriefing on how the day went. I'm sure everything will be fine and I'm being a typical "new mom". It's just....different.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
My Mother and Me
It's interesting the things you recall of your mother once you become a mother yourself. My mom right now says she goes to bed around 11pm. I can't believe this and I keep thinking she's just reading the clock wrong. The mom I remember always fell asleep around 9pm, so clearly my mother must be mistaken (or on drugs - just kidding) to think she can stay awake til 11pm on a nightly basis.
Now I'm realizing that my mom probably fell asleep at 9pm because of all the things she tried to pack into her day in order to raise us kids. From the time I can remember, my mother was always up and dressed before my brother and I got out of bed. Once out of our shower, she would come into our room to ask what we wanted for breakfast. Choices were always egg, waffle, oatmeal, toast… Mom would take our orders and have breakfast ready by the time we were dressed. Then it would be off to school. At night she would make sure our homework was finished, cook dinner, and then as a family we would watch some TV, sometimes getting a snack around 8:30 with dad - either a bowl of ice cream or a bowl of cereal. Mom would always announce after cleaning up the kitchen that the "kitchen was closed".
I'm understanding some of those memories more now. Because of stress from work, my milk supply is waning. In order to get enough milk for Alli, I'm getting up now at 4:30am to pump an extra bottle. Luckily, I produce enough when I'm not working to keep her at least satisfied. And if for some reason I'm short and she cries, I have supplies because of my early morning pumping sessions. During work days, I stay up after pumping so that I can get completely ready for work and log in for at least 1/2 hour before Alli wakes up. I do this for two reasons: 1) I get paid hourly and this helps increase our income slightly and 2) I am able to put in time that I really need for the job without losing time with my family.
When I finally finish dinner dishes and bottles, I just want to say "kitchen is closed", as in, "don't you dare make any more mess in this room cause I have no energy left to clean it!" Bedtime seems to be 8:30-9:00, even though dad stays up til 10 or 11 still. Periodically I stay up with him til 10 (helping with photography stuff usually). I try to keep this at a minimum, not that I don't like staying up with my husband, but I wind up grumpy and that is a worse price to pay we've found.
The last two weeks I've done really dumb things, like forget to pack Alli's solid foods in her lunch bag for Krista's. It's not that bad - we've stocked Krista's place with rice cereal, so at least she gets that. But I always look dumbfounded when I hear that I've done something so stupid and say "I'm going for the mother of the year award". It took my husband to remind me that it's the things that go unnoticed that apply to the mother of the year award, not the stupid little oversights that happen periodically. Getting up early to pump that extra bottle, cooking breakfast to make sure the kids have something healthy to eat in the morning, working while the family sleeps so as to not miss any family time, etc. Mom, I'm sorry it took me almost 40 years to realize some of the truly awesome things you did for us growing up. So here's your mother of the year award - finally.
Now I'm realizing that my mom probably fell asleep at 9pm because of all the things she tried to pack into her day in order to raise us kids. From the time I can remember, my mother was always up and dressed before my brother and I got out of bed. Once out of our shower, she would come into our room to ask what we wanted for breakfast. Choices were always egg, waffle, oatmeal, toast… Mom would take our orders and have breakfast ready by the time we were dressed. Then it would be off to school. At night she would make sure our homework was finished, cook dinner, and then as a family we would watch some TV, sometimes getting a snack around 8:30 with dad - either a bowl of ice cream or a bowl of cereal. Mom would always announce after cleaning up the kitchen that the "kitchen was closed".
I'm understanding some of those memories more now. Because of stress from work, my milk supply is waning. In order to get enough milk for Alli, I'm getting up now at 4:30am to pump an extra bottle. Luckily, I produce enough when I'm not working to keep her at least satisfied. And if for some reason I'm short and she cries, I have supplies because of my early morning pumping sessions. During work days, I stay up after pumping so that I can get completely ready for work and log in for at least 1/2 hour before Alli wakes up. I do this for two reasons: 1) I get paid hourly and this helps increase our income slightly and 2) I am able to put in time that I really need for the job without losing time with my family.
When I finally finish dinner dishes and bottles, I just want to say "kitchen is closed", as in, "don't you dare make any more mess in this room cause I have no energy left to clean it!" Bedtime seems to be 8:30-9:00, even though dad stays up til 10 or 11 still. Periodically I stay up with him til 10 (helping with photography stuff usually). I try to keep this at a minimum, not that I don't like staying up with my husband, but I wind up grumpy and that is a worse price to pay we've found.
The last two weeks I've done really dumb things, like forget to pack Alli's solid foods in her lunch bag for Krista's. It's not that bad - we've stocked Krista's place with rice cereal, so at least she gets that. But I always look dumbfounded when I hear that I've done something so stupid and say "I'm going for the mother of the year award". It took my husband to remind me that it's the things that go unnoticed that apply to the mother of the year award, not the stupid little oversights that happen periodically. Getting up early to pump that extra bottle, cooking breakfast to make sure the kids have something healthy to eat in the morning, working while the family sleeps so as to not miss any family time, etc. Mom, I'm sorry it took me almost 40 years to realize some of the truly awesome things you did for us growing up. So here's your mother of the year award - finally.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
No Croup, Just a Cold
We had to go to the doctor's today. Alli woke up with a phlemmy cough and wheezing and mommy wanted to make sure it wasn't in her lungs. The doctor said it must drainage from the sinuses because they looked icky but the lungs were clear. We were prescribed a humidifier, Lil' Noses (saline nasal drops), and lots of boob time (which translates to make sure she's getting enough liquids!)
On a side note, they weighed Alli (clothes on and a wet diaper) and she's 16 lbs. :) Go baby girl go!
On a side note, they weighed Alli (clothes on and a wet diaper) and she's 16 lbs. :) Go baby girl go!
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Joy of Bath Toys
Over Christmas break, Kim and I got Alli a new bathtub. She had been using her infant tub and was quickly getting big for it. We bought her a blow-up tub over the holiday and put her in it. In her infant tub, she would splash her hands and kick her legs, really started to have fun in the tub. When we switched to the bigger one, baths became more lethargic. I figured that after a couple of days she would get used to it and start splashing again, but that didn't happen.
So weeks have gone by and I was sad that she wasn't so happy about tub time. I went into the bathroom cabinet to see what toys we had gotten from the baby shower. I found a few small ones and threw them in the tub. She grabbed at them and started chewing on them. I was happy she seemed at least interested in the toys.
Well, a few days of having toys in the tub and guess what started happening. Yes, we have water all over ourselves at bathtime. Splashes so big it goes up the wall and all over the floor and mommy while she kicks and plays with the toys. It's so fun to watch her play in the water again!!!
On a side note, no croup. She is a bit mucous-y in the nasal area, and coughs a bit here and there, but no mucous in the chest. Everyone around here is fighting a little of something, so I'm just hoping hers stays about how it is and then goes away. So far, so good.
So weeks have gone by and I was sad that she wasn't so happy about tub time. I went into the bathroom cabinet to see what toys we had gotten from the baby shower. I found a few small ones and threw them in the tub. She grabbed at them and started chewing on them. I was happy she seemed at least interested in the toys.
Well, a few days of having toys in the tub and guess what started happening. Yes, we have water all over ourselves at bathtime. Splashes so big it goes up the wall and all over the floor and mommy while she kicks and plays with the toys. It's so fun to watch her play in the water again!!!
On a side note, no croup. She is a bit mucous-y in the nasal area, and coughs a bit here and there, but no mucous in the chest. Everyone around here is fighting a little of something, so I'm just hoping hers stays about how it is and then goes away. So far, so good.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Teething and Croup, Oy Vey!
First of all, I'd like to say that my blog posts are getting farther and farther apart. At first I thought it was because we were so busy, but when I thought about it further, I realized that Alli just isn't changing on a daily basis anymore. We have a nice little routine, and things are fairly stable, so there really isn't anything new to blog about.
Of course, I say that and then this week turned chaotic. Alli is teething. I swear I saw the teeth at one point, but then you look again and they aren't there. Krista said the same thing one day, that Alli was fussy and when she looked she could see two little white spots in the gum. But then later Alli wasn't fussy and Krista looked and there were no more white spots. Hmm...funky teeth! But it's enough to create a little discomfort for the poor girl and we have to deal with that.
But, no only is Alli going through the teething discomfort, but Tyler came down with Croup. Yikes! By the time symptoms show, Alli has already been exposed. So we kept her going to Krista's anyway and we are waiting to see if she develops a cough. What a week. So far, no cough, so we'll just keep our fingers crossed on that one.
Of course, I say that and then this week turned chaotic. Alli is teething. I swear I saw the teeth at one point, but then you look again and they aren't there. Krista said the same thing one day, that Alli was fussy and when she looked she could see two little white spots in the gum. But then later Alli wasn't fussy and Krista looked and there were no more white spots. Hmm...funky teeth! But it's enough to create a little discomfort for the poor girl and we have to deal with that.
But, no only is Alli going through the teething discomfort, but Tyler came down with Croup. Yikes! By the time symptoms show, Alli has already been exposed. So we kept her going to Krista's anyway and we are waiting to see if she develops a cough. What a week. So far, no cough, so we'll just keep our fingers crossed on that one.
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Week of Poop
This week Alli started something really fun. She poops sometime between 7:10 and 7:25 so we *have* to change her before loading her into the carseat to go to Krista-Care. There's only one problem with that schedule though...the poop keeps shooting right up her back so cleanup takes forever!!! Because she sits when she plays, the poop just goes up. Now, if you realize this is what probably happened before laying her down on the changing table, you can shove a wipe down the top of her diaper, then lay her down and the poop doesn't squirt out all over her back. But for some reason this week, she poops and then winds up on her back playing, so when we go to pick her up it's already EVERYWHERE!!!
Tuesday's poop was so bad that she wound up getting a bath before we could leave for Krista-Care. I mean, when I kept finding little patches under her arm, foot, etc, I decided that a full bath was going to be the only way to get rid of all of it.
Every morning this week we've had to wash out poop from an outfit and find a different one. The washing machine has been on double-duty washing all this crap (literally crap!).
We even tried a different brand of diapers to see if we could contain the poop. This morning I put her into a Huggies brand diaper (and one size bigger even) because Huggies has a little elastic at the top to keep everything in. Alli was sitting playing with her toys while I was in the office working. I then decided to put her laundry away from the day before so I picked her up to bring her into her room. She was laying on her back at this point. Ooops. Poop had already leaked out through the top and was all over her shirt. I must say, at least it was *less* poop than what would have come out with the Pampers. But yikes! I'll be happy when this phase is over. :D
Tuesday's poop was so bad that she wound up getting a bath before we could leave for Krista-Care. I mean, when I kept finding little patches under her arm, foot, etc, I decided that a full bath was going to be the only way to get rid of all of it.
Every morning this week we've had to wash out poop from an outfit and find a different one. The washing machine has been on double-duty washing all this crap (literally crap!).
We even tried a different brand of diapers to see if we could contain the poop. This morning I put her into a Huggies brand diaper (and one size bigger even) because Huggies has a little elastic at the top to keep everything in. Alli was sitting playing with her toys while I was in the office working. I then decided to put her laundry away from the day before so I picked her up to bring her into her room. She was laying on her back at this point. Ooops. Poop had already leaked out through the top and was all over her shirt. I must say, at least it was *less* poop than what would have come out with the Pampers. But yikes! I'll be happy when this phase is over. :D
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Daddy's Assistant
Before Alli was born, I was always Kim's assistant during photography shoots. Well, now Alli is here and we didn't think that would work as well. But with Alli being so casual about everything, she has fit right in to the assistant work. Check out some of these "behind the scenes" pictures from different photo shoots over the Christmas break:
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