Update

July 31, 2005 at 11:09 pm · Filed under Actual posts about being moms, Milestones

So it’s been a few weeks since I’ve updated this webpage, and I’m kicking myself.  We’ve been out of town a few times, and had a family emergency to deal with, so I haven’t had much time to write.  Also, the computer I used to use blew up, so I’ve lost access to all my photos and files.  The good thing is that it’s just the motherboard that’s blown, and I haven’t lost all of our baby pictures; however, the hard drive is still at work so it’ll be another while before I can get the photos online.  The moral of the story is (to all of you too-busy parents out there): backup all your photos to CD before your computer blows up!  I had started it, but only got through to the May photos.

Some major milestones that I haven’t added:

• Graem got her second tooth while we were at Promised Land with Laura and Lydia.  We spent a long weekend at the lake, and Graem had a blast swimming.  She loves splashing and kicking in the water, and sitting in this inflatable boat we got her for $3.95.  Shawna insists it’s a death trap.

• Sometime in the last couple of weeks, Graem started sitting up on her own.  She’d been able to sit up unpropped for a while, but Shawna said it didn’t count until Graem was able to pull herself up into the sitting position.

• Last Sunday, Graem crawled her first mini-crawls–she actually coordinated her leg and arm movements.

• Graem started making the scrunch face!  I will post a photo as soon as possible.

• Today, she grabbed poor Murphy’s tail and hung on while Murphy dragged her along the floor.

• She’s started Stage 2 baby food, but really she eats a little of everything.  Today at lunch we fed her vegetable dumplings, sticky rice, nam sod (Shawna’s favorite Thai ground chicken), and a little taste of green curry.

Yesterday was Laura & Lydia’s wedding (congrats ladies!), and Graem was Bad Baby!  The ceremony was right at naptime, so Graem started talking louder and LOUDER, competing with the Reverend.  She had perfect timing to chime in right at moments of silence.  Graem did a lot better at the reception, and danced a little with Laura.

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Trying to crawl

July 9, 2005 at 11:10 pm · Filed under Actual posts about being moms, Milestones

I’m sitting here watching Graem try to crawl.  First she pushes up on her arms, which she’s been doing for a while now.  I clap and encourage her anyway.  Then she does this “baby pushup” where she pushes up onto her tippy-toes, and looks down at the floor.  I hope every time that she doesn’t drop face first onto the floor!  Then she takes a break and lowers herself back to the floor, and sticks her arms and legs up, and sprays raspberries at me.  I know she’s so close to doing it, and I even give her hints by tucking her legs under her so she’s on her knees.  This usually results in a face plant.

I love how Graem’s creases in her arms and legs and neck are white, but she is a little tanned everywhere else.  I’m sad that she’s starting to lose the baby fat on the tops of her feet–they used to be so chubby that she had a crease between her foot and her toes.  Why is it that baby toes and fingers are like lint brushes?  They’re so sticky they pick up all the cat hairs off the carpet.  Her feet and legs are constantly moving, and she has to grab onto things with her prehensile toes.  At first I thought she was just moving them aimlessly, but I found that if I move further away from her, she’ll scoot towards me so she can grab me with her toes!

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BAD BABY

July 4, 2005 at 11:11 pm · Filed under Actual posts about being moms, Milestones

Graem is back to her baby insomnia stage!  She was napping well for about 3 days, then last night she decided that she was going to pull an all-nighter and party!  I first tried to take her up to bed at 7:30 PM, and she thrashed and yelled until around 8:15 PM, so Shawna tried to take a shift.  After another 15 or 20 minutes, they came back downstairs and she started giggling and playing.  Then at around 9:00 she started melting down, so we stuck her in her crib.  She was sitting up and playing with her crib gadgets and talking to herself.  Another thirty minutes or so of semi-crying, and we grabbed her and brought her into the living room with us, AGAIN.  She was laughing and giggling and talking, and playing with her ball-processor.  She started getting louder and louder at around 10 PM, so Shawna told me to take her up.  Finally, after about 10 minutes of nursing (without the kicking and scratching and back-arching this time) she passed out.  And she only woke up crying three times last night.

We keep wondering “What’s different?” about the days that she decides to be an insomniac, but we can’t quite put a finger on it.  Yesterday she slept til noon, and had a mini-nap in the car.  Maybe she got too much sleep yesterday.  Then we wonder if we do too much with her during the day, but somehow we can’t imagine doing any less since we spend most of our weekends trying to get her to nap, or entertaining her when she isn’t.

As tiring as it gets–I do get frustrated to tears some weekends–I still think she’s the most adorable, cutest and funniest baby.  We keep calling her Bad Baby and hope she doesn’t get a complex over it.  Lately she loves staring and laughing at herself in the mirror, and I tell everyone she gets that from Shawna.  It’s also been amazing me that she has figured out to work the ball-processor: she pushes the lever and the ball comes rolling down to the tune of some obnoxious Fisher Price song.

I can’t believe my life has been reduced to naps and baby poops.  The change to solid poops has been a welcome relief from the days of yellow-stained baby AND mommy clothes, but a sad one as I mourn her newborn-baby stage.  And the next time we get a runny poop will be one of illness and stress.  As embarrassing as it is to admit, Shawna and I call each other over to look at the new shapes and colors of Graem’s poops.  And we stare in disbelief when we see her diaper full of something the dog or cat could have snuck in there.

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