Just a Flingin’

What a great (and busy) week we’ve had.  Mom just hosted another fantastic Flanagan Fling (despite the weather).  We headed over in the afternoon on Friday to harvest some of the garden and to help set up but Mom and Mike already had most everything taken care of.  Grant had all his water-toys at the County Park for the weekend and was staying in a cabin so we went over to see him for a bit.  We were all set to head back when we realized that the kill switch thingy had come off of Tom’s life jacket on his way back to shore so we tried to find it in the water (in the middle of a lightning storm!)  We didn’t find it but Grant headed back out after the water laid down flat and was able to see it so that was good!

[As I write this, I’m longing for the days (a few weeks ago) when Sophie was a better sleeper.  Lately she has a harder time falling asleep and will wake up during the night or early in the morning just looking for her binky.  She never used to rely on it so much – she’d just chew on her hand and “talk”, but now she is outright crying.  I’m hoping it’s a phase and she’ll go back to being a good sleeper soon!]

We started Saturday off by heading up to Megan’s shower.  The worst part about this weekend being so busy was that I didn’t really have time to hang out with Megan and catch up on things.  It was rainy when I headed over to the farm, but there was no time to waste in setting up the Flanagan Fling Olympics.  Though there was some overlap, we had kid and adult events to participate in.  I think most had a good time with the games – I know that I like to have a bunch of different games to play.  It was good to hang out and see everyone again; we really should make a point to get together more often.

Tom and I went out to the Pavilion and Muggshots on Saturday night (Pam and Steve were staying here so they kept an eye on Sophie).  It was a typical Car Show Saturday night.  It was great to see everyone that we did since we don’t usually get out much and there were more people out than usual.  Muggshots was crazy-busy; I kept wondering what the fire code was on the place because it was absolutely packed!

On Sunday we headed up to the car show for a bit to walk around.  There didn’t seem to be as many cars as last year but the weather could have had something to do with it.  We had some vicious storms off and on all weekend and some steady rain.  The rain was definitely needed – we just would have preferred it waiting a couple of days!  Next on the agenda was Andrea’s bridal shower.  The rain showed her no mercy as well and her outdoor shower was held for the most part inside.  I won the “Pin the Mustache on the Mexican” game, so that was nice.  :-)

Sophie did well all weekend – she’s in heaven when there is all that action going on (but getting her to take a nap in the middle of it all is another story).  She must have spend hours in the jumper at Mom’s.  Our other standard was to put her in the stroller outside.  It was so nice to have Kelly’s kids around because they are all so good with Sophie (thanks I’m sure to the recent practice with Kaelin and now Miguel) that it keeps her thoroughly entertained.  Sophie also got a chance to play with the neighbors’ grandson this weekend (he’s 15 months old).  She absolutely loves to hang out with other little kids so I know we’ll be looking forward to little Alex coming up in the future.

It’s crazy how much Sophie seems to grow (not always in size, but just developmentally too) every day.  She’s doing a great job eating Cheerios and other more “solid” foods now that she’s figured out how to close her lips to keep the food from coming out.  And now that she’s figured out how to close her lips she’s been chewing on her bottom one for the last couple of days.  She’s also a pro at sitting up now, only falling backwards every now and then.  I can’t wait to see what she can do next!!

I forgot…

I forgot to mention that Sophie is finally rolling from her belly to back again.  Mom was right, I find her in all kinds of places in her crib.  This morning she was sideways at the foot of the bed.  Crazy kid.

Time Flies When It’s Summer!

OK, so it may not seem like we’ve been doing much but I feel like things have been crazy busy!

Sophie keeps getting bigger and bigger (how dare her!).  I might not have even posted since her appointment so I think I’ll start there.  Turns out she’s a beast.  No really, she’s a giant beast.  She weighed in at 17.1 lbs and 27.5” which is 95% in height and 75% in weight.  So she’s tall…that’s obvious.  And she’s heavy for her age but light for her height.  But it just boils down to the fact that with her hands, she’ll be dunking in no time!  [Enjoy the 6 month picture with bear.]

Grant and Bobbie were down here for a little bit last week – we went golfing on Thursday and I golfed my best nine ever:  a 49 on the front of the Breeze.  That includes a birdie on the par 4 9th.  We don’t really need to talk about the back 9, the front 9 is what’s important!  This followed a great night of softball that included a double, triple, and I got to pitch a couple of innings.  It’s probably a given that the day culminated in some rousing rounds of Bid 500.  While we played games Sophie spend some time in the doorway jumper figuring out how to get Zeke’s attention.  She would squeal and he would run at her and she would laugh and laugh.  He’d walk away, she’d squeal again, and he would run.  Round and round they go!  Good fun.  [She’s a nonstop drool monster!]

On Sunday we went canoeing with Tom and the Kids, Mike & Erin, and the Corey Clan.  We did tip once…we don’t need to get into the finger pointing match but I’ll just say that Tom was in the back :-)  But we did have fun, it was a good trip and best of all, it was free!

The fun doesn’t stop there though!  Brian brought the kids up to AuGres to meet Kelly (who came up Thursday night) and they’ve been hanging out by the beach for the week.  I took Sophie over there on Monday and Tuesday – she definitely loves the outdoors!  On Tuesday I took her in her suit so she could sit in the little pool.  She splashed and splashed and splashed!  She’s getting really good at sitting up on her own (she falls over a lot less).  The Kohtzes came up for a visit on Tuesday night too so it was great to be able to visit with them.  [Sophie still loves her bath time!]

Kelly and Brian had us over for a cookout yesterday.  The weather wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough.  Sophie has so much fun around the kids.  When she was in her jumper she would squeal every time Kaelin walked by.  And Sam, oh she adores Sam!  She is just enthralled whenever he talks.  Kourtney and Emilee are great with her too – you can tell that they are used to being big sisters.  I can’t wait to see Kelly’s pictures, there’s bound to be some cute ones of Sophie and Kaelin sitting on the couch watching the Wiggles (and Kaelin trying to get Sophie to “smell” her feet). 

Today was busy again.  Tom and I went to the city to celebrate our 4th anniversary.  It was a typical date-day:  saw Transformers and went to dinner at Outback.  We tried to go to Old City Hall but it didn’t open for dinner until 5pm.  Movie was good – definitely a good one to see in the theater.  It was good to get out just the two of us and do something too.  We’ve been trying to keep doing things here and there – it’s nice to relax and it gives us a chance to just worry about us, not the little attention-monster.

How, you may ask, are all of the Sophie-less activities possible?  Well, because she has fab-tabulous Grandmas who love to see her and let me/us do some stuff without her.  Don’t get me wrong, we love the little turkey (especially lately – she’s more and more fun every day) but it is nice to be able to get stuff done or just spend some time without her.  Plus, it’s nice for her to spend time with her Grandmas, I know I have great memories of being with mine!

Flanagan Fling, two bridal showers and bachelorette parties, Grant’s little shindig, car show, and probably more this weekend and next weekend is Pirate Fest.  Oh my, where has the summer gone?!

Walkin’ and Talkin’

Sophie’s back to her “walking”.  She did this up until a few months ago and then stopped (I think it’s one of those newborn reflex thingies).  Anyway, now when you hold her hands she is starting to take steps forward.  Right foot, left catches up.  Right foot, left catches up.

Oh and the talking that she does!  She has been very vocal lately, especially if she’s chewing on something.  Speaking of chewing, her new thing is to bite the spoon after she takes her bite off of it.

She’s been a good kid lately (minus the 5 am wake-ups) so having those teeth through must be making a difference in her mood.

We went to Charlie’s birthday party on Saturday – I can’t wait another year or two when the kids can start playing together.  We got a picture of them all together:  Keegan, Charlie, Brennan, Emma, and Sophie.  If they’re all still friends in 18 years it will make a great before and after graduation photo!

The garden is coming along quite nicely.  We are getting a yellow bug though and I’m a little worried about that.

Today is Sophie’s 6 month birthday and tomorrow she has a doctor’s appointment – complete with shots :-(

I’m working on getting pics updated to ofoto and changing my blogger layout so no pics this post and be patient with the layout of the blog.

U.P., U.P., and Away!

Well, we’re on our way home from our trip to the U.P.  No internet though so I’ll post this next time I’ll connect.  Yes Brandon, LiveWriter is better than using the web-based editor that Blogger provides.  So what have we done the last couple of days?  A lot!!  Maybe not as much relaxing as Tom would have liked, but it won’t get much slower for a few days.

So, let’s backtrack and see what we’ve done:

Monday
Grant and Bobbie came up to Munising to meet us for the Picture Rocks Boat Tour.  Before we headed out we went out to see a waterfall (Munising Falls??)  That was only a short walk in from the parking lo and it was neat because the water had eroded a little shell or bowl behind the falls.  Next stop: the boat tour.  Oh, did I mention the temperature?  A scalding 57 degrees.  When we came back 3 hours later, it was still 57 degrees (or 56, I don’t remember now).  [on a side note, I might kill Tom because he won’t stop singing “Exercise those chompers, chew chew chew” while I’m trying to type this.  now he’s pouting because I asked him to be quiet]  So anyway, normally you want to get to the docks early so that you can sit on the top of the boat for the tour but today you wanted to be there early so you could sit inside and out of the wind.  They made an announcement that the waves were 1-3’ so once we got out of Munising Bay it might be a bit choppy so people prone to motion sickness should get off.  At first no one moved…..and then 1 guy got off.  That started a cascade of people flowing toward the exits; probably 1/3 or so of the boat got off and went for a refund.  It took a while to take off because there were the indecisive ones who waited and waited and then trickled out (including one when we’d just pushed away from the dock).  OK, so we’re finally on our way (the waves weren’t that bad, especially (as Tom pointed out) if you’re used to being on a smaller boat in bigger waves).  Sophie was OK for the first part of the trip and then a real big stinker for most of the trip.  We pretty much had to take turns holding her for the whole ride.  I finally went outside when we were on the way back in and wrapper her up in a big blanket and she fell asleep out there.  The boat ride was pretty cool – I do wish we could have heard the tour guide better (they didn’t have speakers where we were sitting) because like Grant said, that’s the main reason for taking the tour.  It was neat to see and the boat pulled right up close to a couple of the formations (and right into one of the coves).  All and all, it was a worthwhile tour but I wouldn’t mind doing it again in 5-6 years on a nicer day when Sophie might be easier to handle.  After the boat ride we headed down to Escanaba and dropped our stuff off at Chez Fox and headed out to dinner with a couple of Grant’s friends from barbershop.  Then it was back to the house to start the bedtime routine and get ready for the next day!

Tuesday

More stuff to do today!  Went to Fayette, an old foundry town where they made pig iron for 25-50 years.  It has a really protected harbor and there were a lot of boaters who had stopped by for the day or so.  Maybe some day we’ll have a big enough boat to take tours like that.  Wildlife alert:  we saw a big yellowish-brown snake (probably 4-5 foot by the old hotel at the town…turns out it was a Fox snake.  Nope, not making it up, that’s what it’s called.)  The buildings were in good shape there and they’ve done some work restoring and rebuilding different parts of the town.  The exhibits in the houses were neat too – one chronicled the work by EMU students to study the history of the house (and how they found morphine in the walls that were lowered down by ribbons).  I really like going to old towns like that and just picturing the people going to and fro and kids running around or on their way to school.  You know, now that I think of it, there wasn’t a church in the town (unless it has crumbled) and that’s an odd omission for those kind of historic towns.  Maybe it wasn’t around long enough.  After some ice cream we headed down the road to Kitch-iti-kipi (Big Spring).  This was an unexpected find – I wouldn’t have planned on it if Mendy had mentioned it when we were telling them of our planned stops.  Just past Indian Lake there’s a water hole (no bigger than a pond really) that stays a constant 45 degrees and is crystal clear with some really large trout.  The color can best be described as that chemical blue/turquoise that you see when people dye/chemically treat their ponds.  The have a large raft that is attached to a rope and you pile on there and someone propels it across with a large wheel and then back again.  It’s nice on the raft because it has an opening in the middle and the roof blocks out the reflection that you normally get when you try to look in the water.  The main feature (in addition to the clarity of the water) is the spring at the bottom of the Spring which “erupts” ground water out of the sand.  It is reminiscent of the hot springs in Yellowstone (even kind of sulphury smelling) but for a completely different reason.  After this stop we headed back to the apartment in Escanaba where I proceeded to whip Tom’s butt at pool and we played some Bid 500 with Grant and Bobbie.  Late night to bed but we’ve got one more day until we head home.

Wednesday
Last day in Escanaba.  Played some more pool with Tom (and won…again…) and a little Bid 500 during the day.  Sophie was not a happy camper today.  Her second tooth must have been making a run for the surface and it was not doing wonders for her disposition.  Bobbie volunteered to stay back with her so that Tom and I could see the town and head out to the Escanaba Country Club to see the course that Grant has been slaying.  All in all, we didn’t golf that great.  Tom really turned it around at the end but I was as inconsistent as ever, especially with my putting.  I don’t know what my deal is with that.  It was a nice course but the “trees are 90% air” theory doesn’t seem to hold up in the UP, it’s more like 60% or less because it seems like we all had our share of tree hits.  After getting back we had another nice dinner, played a little more pool (may be the best use of a dining room ever), a little more Bid 500 (Tom and I won the vacation series 8-7), and then off to bed for our 4:30 wake up.

Thursday
Sophie’s being good so far today.  Her tooth broke through the surface and is now trying to catch up to its neighbor.  Hopefully now that they’re both through she’ll feel better.  Poor kid.  She slept until the bridge or so, which is what we'd hoped for.  After hanging out at Burger King for an hour or so we hit the road again and she’s back to sleep so the hope is that she’ll nap until home.  She could use the extra sleep because she didn’t sleep as well at night (or naps even) while we were on the trip.  We were able to time most of our stops around her schedule so that she would nap in the car in between wherever we were going. 

It’s crazy to think how much she’s grown already (I swear her legs grew an inch or two in the last couple of days).  She’s a big fan of grabbing for things.  An addition to my “Babies are like…” post I’d like to add that kids are like puppies (not sure if I mentioned that) because they both have chew toys and we put them in “cages” to go to sleep.  Oh, and sharks, they’re like sharks too.  Watch the Discovery channel and they’ll tell you that sharks don’t really mean to kill people, they just take a “test bite” (not the term they use but I’m drawing a blank now) to see if that surfer is food or not.  Well, Sophie puts most everything in her mouth…but just for a “taste” and then she usually leaves it out after that.  She has been reaching for her mat toys when she’s on her belly (which helped her roll from belly to back yesterday) and she’s still kicking non-stop on the ground trying to crawl somewhere.  I have a feeling that she is going to be a tough one to contain once she starts moving.

Once we get back today we’re going to mow, unpack, clean and that kind of general stuff.  Then I think we’re going to go see the garden and Grandma Vikki and pick up the Zeker-dog.  Then we’ll swing by to see Grandma Ingrid and then back home to start getting things ready for Friday-Saturday.  Tomorrow we’re heading down to the Tigers’ game with Jamie and Keri and staying over at their place.  Saturday we head back and go to Charlie’s birthday party.  But Sunday, that day should be a piece of cake!

Holiday…Vacation…Oh My!!

What a busy couple of days!  We went out to the County Park yesterday to celebrate the 4th of July with Mom, Mike, Kevin, Kenny, Sandy, Dennis, and Jeff.  Mom rented one of the little cabins they have there and let me tell you, that’s the way to do it (especially with the little one).  I can’t imagine what a hassle things would have been if we didn’t have that inside place to set up her and her myriad of belongings.  Fabulous time!  We were able to stop by Ingrid and Paul’s for a quick bite at their BBQ celebrating Nicole’s graduation (congrats!) before we had to head back.  It may be summer cookout season but there was mac and cheese so I was a happy camper!

How did Sophie celebrate the holiday?  By cutting a tooth!!!  Yep, as of today, it’s a sharp little bugger sticking through (her bottom left, but I don’t think that the right is too far behind).  We tried to head down to Shmina’s yesterday but she was too uncomfortable so we walked back to the park pretty quickly to get her some Orajel and lay her down.

We started our U.P. vacation today (bright and early).  We left around 4:30 and the timing worked out pretty well all day.  She mostly slept until the bridge and then we fed her and let her play and hang out for an hour or so and then she napped to Tahquamenon Falls.  The Falls were really neat to see, even more impressive than some of the ones we saw on our Road Trip a couple of years ago.  The water is colored an orangish color but it’s not rust, it’s tannic acid leaching from the cedars and other plants.  The Lower Falls are actually a series of 5 different falls which is cool because you can stop at a lot of different places and catch a lot of different views.  The one deck had a nice spray coming off of it.  Why was the spray so nice?  Because it kept the blood-sucking mosquitoes off of us!!!  Man, those things were thick!  We then went up to the Upper Falls (had lunch at the brewery, I hadn’t realized just how big the wolves were until I’ve seen all the stuffed ones around) and walked out there.  These ones were pretty massive (50’ drop, 200’ across).  The roar is pretty awesome when you’re standing by them.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to spend much time at the falls because our little teether was a bit cranky out there.  She was pretty good most of the day so we won’t hold it against her :-)

After Tahquamenon, we headed out to Munising and that’s where we’re at now.  We landed at the Holiday Inn, it was a bit more, but it has a balcony overlooking the lake and we’re on the 3rd floor so I think it’s worth it (especially since we’re staying here since Sophie’s had such a busy day).  She’s been good here, playing with her toys, working on scooching forward, and we went swimming down in the pool.  It was pretty fun for her at the beginning and I took her duck for her to chase, which she did.  But it got cold in the water and she got hungry so we headed back up to the room, ordered a pizza, fed her and now she’s sleeping (a bit early, but I think we’ll be OK).

So that’s been our day!  I think I’m going to head back down to the hot tub for a bit and then try to stay awake until night to see the stars.  Tomorrow we’re heading out on a boat tour of Pictured Rocks so hopefully Sophie’s up for that.  I’d also like to see some of waterfalls in the area (there’s a bunch).  After all of that, we’re heading to Escanaba to stay with Grant and Bobbie for a couple of days.  Stay tuned!

Is it October already?

Yes, if you go by the weather.  Things are supposed to be turning around this weekend though, so that’s good.  I mean, I really do like these temperatures and all, it’s just a little disorientating for my internal clock/calendar.

Garden is doing fabulous.  I still have to get some pictures in here of it.  Give me time (I know, 2 months isn’t enough time?)

Busy times coming up!  Heading out to the beach tomorrow for some cooking and hanging and all that stuff.  Should be fun; plus Mom got a cabin so we’ll be able to get out of the sun with Sophie for a bit.  Then Sunday morning, bright (well, dark) and early (4:30) we’ll be heading for the UP.  I’m really looking forward to it because we haven’t traveled since last March which is a pretty long stretch for us to go!

A couple of things I wanted to mention:
1. Spray and Wash is fabulous.  I mean, it’s not a miracle worker, but darn near close.  I give a good squirt to many of Sophie’s clothes as I’m throwing them in the wash (she’s a spit-monster…) and let them sit 5-10 minutes before turning on the machine.  Most things come out, so that’s nice!
2. Speaking of spit, we are using Similac Advanced and it doesn’t seem to stain.  When we were first out of the hospital we were using some pre-mixed Enfamil and it would stain her bibs and clothes (not only is she a spit-monster, but she used to be a very messy drinker).
3. Went to the Carters Outlet today in West Branch.  Fabulous news:  you can take back anything you buy there at anytime.  No 30- or 90-day limits.  Since they were having a great sale today, I bought a few things that I may or may not use (5 pack of onesies from $25 down to $6…can’t beat that!)  I’m just keeping Carters receipts separate and writing the date on the hanger (Mom’s idea) so that it’s easier to match the clothes with the correct receipt.  I’ll leave the stuff hanging on one side of the closet until I need to use it and if I don’t end up using it I’ll just take it back.  Now ain’t that grand!?

Enjoy your holiday!  I always have a moment of remembrance during fireworks to remember the battles that were fought to gain and protect our independence – I hope you take the time to do the same.

Where have I been?

This will be a super-long post because it’s been forever and a day since I’ve posted.  It’s not that I haven’t had anything to say – I think about what I want to post constantly throughout the day – it’s just that for whatever reason when it’s just me and the kiddo I don’t get around to posting.  It’s like something I need to take care of but it nags at me and for whatever reason I don’t do it but once I do it feels better.  It seems like whenever I have a chance to get “out in the world” without the kiddo I get motivated for a bit when I come home so I’m trying to take advantage of my post-Pirate Meeting oomph and get some stuff done.

Pictures:  I’m working on getting them loaded and updated.  Be patient.  She’s getting so big that it’s crazy to think of how little she used to be. 

Right/Left Hand:  For a while she was really favoring her left hand (maybe because I’m right handed and hand her things on that side) but the last few days she’s been using her right hand more.  She’s really reaching for things lately too.  One of her favorite things to reach for:  Zeke.  If you haven’t seen her lately you’d be amazed at how much she’s changed!

Giraffe:  Above her changing table I put the sticker of the giraffe for her to look at – she really notices it lately and wants to stand up and reach for it (but it’s a sticker).  She’ll get all excited and talk and try to hit and grab it.  Good times.

Monster:  Purely as a term of affection, Sophie is our little “monster”.  You can preface it with just about anything:  Drool-Monster, Spit-Monster, Jumpy-Monster, you name it and she’s a monster.

Teeth:  Would you just get some already!!!  She’s a drool-monster to the nth and is chewing on things like crazy (watch your knuckles, she’s got a big bite!) and still no teeth.  Sometimes I think they hurt her when she’s trying to eat a bottle.

Hair:  Her hair is getting so long so fast.  It really makes her look like a big kid.

Talk:  Some days she’s more talkative than others, this is definitely not her strong point right now.  Sign language seems to be coming along, I’m convinced she does “mama”.  She has days with lots of spit bubbles (lots of fun while feeding)

Tray:  Had to put the tray up on the high chair.  Now she sits up straight and leans forward for her bites.  She really seems to be eating more the last few days.  So far, bananas are the only thing she didn’t like (wouldn’t eat more than a bit or so…and those were spit out).  Foods she likes:  applesauce, blueberries, peaches, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes. 

Rolling:  She had the front to back thing pretty well down (doing once a day or every other day for a week or so) and then … nothing.  BUT, now she rolls from back to front (constantly!).  I mean, you put her on her back and WHAM! she’s on her front.  Really gotta keep an eye on her on the changing table.  Why, you may ask, would she want to roll on her belly when she’s not even a big fan of tummy time?  Well, to crawl of course.  She’s got her mind set on learning to move, that’s all she wants to do on her belly and it frustrates the heck out of her that she can’t get anywhere.

Toes:  She’s found her toes and decided that they are delicious.  She’s not obsessed with them but she does like them on occasion.

Sleep:  Still sleeping through the night.  Could go for longer naps during the day (if she takes a long one, it is usually her first one, just an hour or so after she gets up) to make it easier for me to have a long stretch to get something done.

Jumper:  She uses the Rainforest Jumper and the Doorway Jumper and LOVES them.  She goes crazy jumping…when you take her out, all she wants to do is jump jump jump.  But, she unfortunately still wants someone to be right there watching her jump.  Hopefully she’ll become more of an independent player soon.

That’s pretty much it for Sophie, still need to get pictures up and some videos.

We’ve been pretty busy too.  Tom put in a well so we can water our yard without using city water.  He still needs to hook up the pump.  We’ll be at the County Park for the 4th of July and probably head down to Shmina’s for a bit too.  On Sunday, we’re leaving (EARLY!) for the U.P. to see Tahquamenon Falls, Pictured Rocks, Old Mining Village in Escanaba (Fayette or something), Grant and Bobbie’s place, and Kitch-Iti-Kipi Spring.  Should be a busy time.  We’re going down to a Tiger’s game on Friday and staying with Jamie and Keri.  It’ll be the first night that we’ll both have been away from Sophie.  Nana is going to come here and stay with her so hopefully it will help her stay in her routine.  I’m sure she’ll be fine but we’ll miss her for sure!

Rejuvenation

It’s interesting the signals that our bodies send and how we respond.  Just like I have to sit and figure out what Sophie wants (pretty much anything except what she’s currently doing!) I have to take the time to figure out what my body is telling me.  It seems that I’ve been dragging the last few days and really struggling to get out of bed in the morning but this morning was easier (though I am hitting an afternoon lull) and I think it has nothing to do with sleep.  See, last night I read a book for a couple of hours after I put Sophie to bed and I think that maybe what my body craved was just a little “me” time.  A bath and a book would have probably worked too, but I think my brain needed to hang out with itself (TV doesn’t count, my brain gets left out of that activity!)

Anyway, Sophie’s been off and on the last couple of days.  She spit up a ton yesterday (she did that a couple of weeks ago too) and has a little cough today.  No fever so my guess is it’s the saliva (she’s drooling by the bucket).  Looked up her little white dot (tooth?) on the internet (what better reliable source is there) and read that it could be a calcium deposit (unrelated to teething).  That would explain why it hasn’t progressed. 

She can be a stinker but her smile when she wakes up from a nap is to die for!

Things I know…

So, take what you will from this post but here are a few things I know that work for me and my Sophie.  I know everybody and everybaby is different, but I always liked to look at all the information and then sort out what works for me so if you or someone you know can take something from this, good.  If not, I’ll have it preserved in cyberspace so I can look it up in the future should I forget!

Clothes organization is key.  If, like me, you have a bunch of clothes from someone else (thanks Kelly and April!) then you need a system to keep them separate.  My solution is to devote separate drawers to the clothes in the dresser and to turn the hangers around in the closet.  That way, when I take something out in a month or two, I know that it’s not mine (and this memory is usually strong enough to last through the next load of laundry so I can put it back where it belongs!)  Along the same lines, I organize clothes in the closet by hanger colors (I couldn’t get the little divider rings that I wanted) so I can see at a glance what size I have (3 colors, now, next, later) and how much of it.  This makes it easier to look ahead too and not waste a chance to wear clothes when she is growing into them.  And what to do when done?  Well, I leave two bags (actually box and bag) on the floor in the closet.  When she outgrows something of mine, it goes in the bag (after the wash!) and when she outgrows something that goes in the totes, it goes in the box.  This way, I can do big clothes organizations every month or two.

Clothes sizes are inconsistent!  Gerber onesies will always be at least one size smaller.  Diapers generally follow clothes sizes (so far – and I do mean generally).  Newborn = Newborn.  0-3 = Size 1.  3-6 = Size 2.  Maybe this seems obvious to some of you, but I wasn’t sure if it correlate for sure.  Also, if it seems like she’s getting close to growing out of a size, I just move up to the next instead of having a half box of too small diapers.  She seems more likely to leak out of a small one than a large one.  And different brands fit better at different times.  Hated Huggies for Newborn but wasn’t a fan of the Size 2 Pampers.  And quality does matter, especially early.  Sophie got an instant rash from Walgreens Size 1 diapers because they didn’t wick away the moisture as well.  Now though she wears them just fine.  But of course, every baby is different.

Don’t put the water-filled teethers in the microwave steam sterilizer.

You probably don’t need the straps that they put on everything (at least right away) and it’s easier to take them off than to keep moving them.

If you can find a car seat whose handle is lowered and raised with one button instead of two, get it.  Get the car base, way easier than strapping the seat in every time.

Socks will not stay up on a baby’s foot (at least not on Sophie’s).  Buy pants with the feet attached for the early months if it’s cold out.

Here’s a list I sent on to Becky that really captures some of the products that I think are important.  I thought I had more to say about this, but of course my mind blanked now so I’m sure I’ll add more some other time.

SwaddleMe (2) - there's a couple of brands out there, I personally don't like the zipper because it's one more thing to try and put together while putting her to bed.  I'd get a couple because she'll spit up/leak out of diaper (on a side note, I usually do her laundry every 3-4 days so I plan on having enough clothes/supplies based on this schedule.  Basically, you don't need too much of something since you'll be doing a lot of laundry anyway and it just means you won't use it all.  Also, I wash her clothes separate (make sure you attach all velcro to itself) on gentle - it gets washed a lot so this helps ensure that it'll last)

Sheet Saver (3) - I'd get a couple of these, maybe even three.  These are the things that tie to the sides of the crib

Sheets (3) - you could get away with two of these, but 3 is safer.  With the sheet saver you don't have to change these as often, but things happen and you might go through a couple in a day

Mattress Cover (1)

Mattress - We got a mattress that converts to a toddler mattress (it's softer on one side - harder on the other for her infant stage) - this depends on whether you're going to get a convertible crib, if you're just going to use a big bed, then it doesn't matter

Burp Cloth (8) - You can get by with 4 and 10 would be playing it safe.  I like the flannel ones because they dry well and her spit doesn't soak through it.  I also use these to lay her under her head when I put her on her play mat (she sometimes spits up when she gets excited)

Play Mat - You can start using this early on and it's good to have a spot to put her where there's a chance she might be entertained.  Sophie really likes that ours has music and things she can hit

Swing - sometimes she just doesn't want to take a nap in her crib and I'm not going to fight that battle all day, especially this young

Bibs (20) - the more the merrier!  Of course, if you are solely breast feeding this need will be reduced

Nail Clippers - buy a new pair so they are sharp (I bought the baby ones, they are less slipper to hold...I don't use the magnifying glass though)

Boppy - Love it!

Diaper Genie - Love it!  Use it for poopie diapers and keep a small garbage can for pee ones to save on changing it so often.

Receiving Blankets (12) - I probably go through more of these than normal because they are magnets for Zeke's hair so they end up in the wash frequently.  Plus I use them on the changing table (with a lap pad underneath) over the pad cover so when she pees all over I don't have to wash the pad cover.  If you don't use this system you should get about 3-4 pad covers.  People seemed to buy these even if they weren't on the registry.

Bottles (4) - I rotate through 4 bottles and this works for me because I wash them by hand and then use the steam sterilizer (it all came as a set, but the numbers work).  Again, depends on breastfeeding and some people just wash their bottles in the dishwasher (if you do this, you'll probably need more than 4)

Clothes - my recommendation is to not register for too many outfits.  They'll be tough for people to find and people just want to buy what they think is cute.  I would register for some of the basics like onesies.  Keep in mind your laundry frequency (don't get too many, you won't use them all).  Sophie usually goes through a couple of outfits a day (she'll pee on it or spit too much) - some days she only goes through one, but I wouldn't count on that frequency.  I saw suggestions for tshirts in addition to onesies, but I found that we needed the onesie to keep her diaper on (her butt is too little, she wriggles right out of the diaper).  Sleep and plays are great, gowns are tough to get on and usually cause crying because her arms are trapped inside for a few - plus they're not any easier to change a diaper with, maybe tougher because you have to pull it so far up.

Bathtub - I have the blue one with the teal newborn sling.  It works great.  The first couple of baths (until her cord fell off) we just laid her on towels and used one washcloth of soap and one to rinse and did it that way.  Now I have her out of the sling and leaning in the tub - she loves being submerged.  I'd recommend 2-3 towels and 6 washcloths.  She gets a bath about every other day or so.

So yeah, that’s about all I have to say about that (for now)!

Babies are like…

MEN:  I mean, think about it.  They fart on you and burp indiscriminately.  They like to kick back in the chair with a bottle.  And the clincher:  Sportscenter.  Seriously, watch the show once and notice that the flashy graphics, sounds effects, 10 second (max!) clips, the motion, the bright colors, the sound.  It’s all designed for babies and men.

ALIENS:  At least in the womb they are.  If any of you saw Sophie’s first ultrasound pic, there is no denying that she was classic alien baby, complete with big head and oval eyes.

How would you complete the title?  And what will toddlers be like?  Kids?

Time to play catch up…again

Well, I’m on a pretty consistent pace to check my computer once a week – not great, but at least I’m consistent!  It reminds me of the difference between accurate and precise – I don’t remember what class we learned about it in but it was very interesting to me because I always thought that they were the same but there was a nice visual that always comes to mind when I’m trying to decide whether something is accurate or precise.  It was two dartboards – the one that had darts in the bulls-eye (where did they ever come up with that term??) was accurate (since that’s what you were aiming for) and the other had a cluster of darts together off to the side and that was precise (because you keep hitting the same spot, even if it’s off target).  This image has left such an impression that I usually think of it when someone responds “Precisely!” and then I think “Really?”.  So yeah, little off topic there.  Now you can see how my brain works and why I always have 10 computer windows open at once!

Not too much new here.  Sophie is liking peas.  I didn’t videotape her first bite of them because they’ve all been so anti-climatic (no crazy faces or anything).  I thought for sure she would make one since I didn’t have the video set up but nope, everything was normal.  No matter what she eats, she always likes a little taste first to see what it is and then she’s ready for big bites.  She’s been fussy off and on – I think she’s getting frustrated lately because she wants something and can’t get it (like she wants to roll over or play with something else).  Still no more rolling over…she might be closer to doing it from back to belly than belly to back.  While on her back she really arches and lifts her butt off the ground.  Oh well, she’ll figure it out soon.  Some days I think that it’s her (lack of or emerging) teeth that are bugging her.  She still just has the little dot on the outside of her bottom middle left tooth.  It’s a white dot that doesn’t go away so I’m operating under the assumption that it’s a tooth!

Planted more in the garden last Thursday!  We really finished it off nicely.  More snap peas (gave up on that first batch – don’t know why they didn’t come up but the shelling peas planted the same day did…must have been a bad packet) were planted…the others planted a week or so ago are coming up.  Planted the rest of the four rows of corn (nothing coming up from the first batch).  Also planted some corn in mounds with gourds.  Put pumpkins and gourds in mounds near the ditch too.  Squash is coming up nicely and a few broccolis.  Saw a couple green beans, but not much.  Transplanted tomatoes and peppers.  Peppers weren’t real big but we figured we’d put them out and see how they do.  Most of the tomatoes will make it…looks like a few won’t.  The carrot seeds from last time don’t seem to be doing anything but the radish/carrot mix from the beginning is doing nicely.  Tom said he saw some green onions poking through and the regular onions are taking off nicely.  We planted mounds of potatoes and some watermelon too.  Oh, and cucumbers of course.  The spinach and both sets of lettuce are doing well.  I think I’ll stick with the grouping of lettuce every 6-8 inches instead of doing a row and then thinning later (each packet had different instructions,  I like the group better).  So yeah, I think that’s about it for the garden, look for pictures in the future.

Speaking of growing – Sophie’s in another transition of clothes sizes.  We’re moving quite rapidly from 3-6 to 6-9.  She still seems longer in her torso than legs though since we’ve been in the bigger onesies longer (but of course everything is sized different.  She’s more interested in doing stuff with me (I’m holding her while trying to finish this post) but she gets sick of stuff faster (I’ve already moved her back to the mat).  Of course Sophie would be quite thrilled if she outgrew everything and had to live her life naked.  She’s gone back to her earlier tendency of fussing when you try to put clothes on her (and outright screaming if she’s really tired and cranky).  Well, on to the next thing.  These posts may be more infrequent lately but they’re chocked full of such great info!  :-)  Bye.

Whew! Where does the time go??

Well, I haven’t been on the computer in almost a week so no, I’m not specifically ignoring you (or the other 50 messages in my email).  We’ve been really busy this past week.  Grant and Bobbie came into town on Thursday so we had a chance to hang out with them until yesterday when they left for Escanaba.  We went golfing with Grant and Bobbie on Thursday while Mom looked after Sophie.

On Friday Jen was in town so Mom and I met her and her family at Dunleavy’s for a nice lunch and a chance to catch up.  Pat and Jen stopped out for a while after too and saw the house and the baby.  Oh, but the day’s not over yet.  Mendy had cookout that Rich and Carolyn came up for.  Unfortunately I didn’t get to stay long because stinker-butt (aka Sophie) wouldn’t fall asleep so I came home with her.

Saturday morning Bobbie watched Sophie so Tom, Grant, Cody, and I went out fishing with Grant.  We got 7.  The waves were pretty big but it wasn’t too bad.  It was especially nice once the sun really started to peak out and warm things up.  Jamie and Keri came out to watch the Red Wings…then the power went out from 7:30-11:30 (figures, comes on when the game is over) so Tom made a fire and we sat around and chatted.

Sunday we golfed again and then went to Mendy’s for spaghetti dinner to say goodbye to Connie before she left for Florida.  Which brings us to Monday:  Grant and Bobbie left for Escanaba and I had our first softball game against Jammers.  We lost 8-5 but I think we have a chance to be competitive this season. 

Sophie was really cranky last night – wouldn’t go to sleep for Tom, then got up at 10:30, then again at 4:30 (she had diarrhea sometime between then), and again at 6:15 so that wasn’t good.  I think she’s turned a corner though because tonight was a good routine and she went down easy. 

See, told you that it’s been a crazy few days (or week almost!)  Enjoy some new pics – I’ll try to update things because it’s already June!!!  Wow – what happened to May?  Oh, and Sophie started getting a tooth yesterday!  It’s the outer edge of her bottom left.  Oh, and one more thing, we started blueberries/applesauce the other day.

Still Growing!

Sophie is getting older everyday.  I mean that beyond the “duh!” obviousness of the comment.  She just seems more alert lately and seems like she’s acting older.  Still haven’t had a repeat of rolling over, but we practice everyday.  She seems more interested in trying to crawl while she’s on her belly rather than working on rolling back to her back. 

Mom brought home a few toys for her – she absolutely LOVES the toy that she can kick and it makes the the top part spin.  It’s hard to explain, but the main thing is that she loves to kick and now she has a purpose (other than splashing bathwater out of the tub!)

She has a couple of bumps on her bottom gum but I’m not sure if they’re teeth coming up or if it’s something else or just normal.  Part of the reason I’m not sure is that it is a little behind that thin part of the gum ridge, so who knows.

Worked on the garden some more today.  Tom did a lot of weeding, Mike rototilled, Mom made dinner and corralled Sophie, and I planted.  We got in a 4 row block of an early variety of corn, planted some more carrots (from a different seed packet), planted more snap peas (different seed packet), did a whole row of green beans (still have a few left over) and did a row of squash.  I still want to get some more stuff planted out back soon.

Things are coming up nicely.  The lettuce is popping up, we’ll probably have to thin it soon.  The radishes really came up ahead of the carrots – I thinned some radishes today, not ready to thin carrots yet.  All (or most) of the shelling peas came up but the snap variety didn’t so I don’t know what’s up with that.  We’ll give it a few more days and see what happens but we may have to start again with them.  Didn’t see any green onions and only one (maybe) broccoli.  Mike watered after we were done and we are expecting rain this week (Tue-Wed-Thur but not sure on the chances).

Well, it’s been a nice long weekend – we had a cookout on Sunday with Mom, Mike, Kevin, Kenny, Sandy, Jeff (basically to pick up food), Tom Shmina with Liz and Brian.  It was a good time; nice to have everyone over.  Today we golfed 9 at Knoll’s with Kevin and Kenny after we finished gardening.  Golfing at Knoll’s (especially with our 30 mph winds today!) is like a golf ball exchange:  you lose one in the woods but you’re bound to find at least another to replace it.  Now we’re home and our fussy baby is off to bed.  She started carrots today but didn’t like them so we’re going to skip tomorrow and try them again on Wednesday.  I pureed them myself so maybe she’s already rebelling against my cooking!  Oh, one more thing:  Sophie can’t seem to keep her thumb out of her mouth lately.  Not sucking on it but chewing on it – she’s going to be in for quite a surprise when she gets teeth!

Grant and Bobbie are coming to town on Wednesday or Thursday and Mendy’s having a cookout on Friday and Connie’s going to be in town this weekend (Friday?) so things aren’t going to get any less busy!

Nature’s first green is gold…

I was sitting outside today admiring the colors and had a few thoughts that I’d like to share.  1- the main reason I like fall is because we only have two colors the rest of the year; either everything is green or everything is gray.  It’s like if you look at a color for a long time you become desensitized to it (there was something about this in 9th grade biology…)  2- it’s pretty amazing that color is a result of absorbed/reflected parts of the same light spectrum; so basically everything is the same but it just reflects different things.  Basically the sun is coloring with one of those magic clear markers that make the colors appear on the book.  3- part of the way that we see color has to do with the atmosphere and what light it allows through so does “color” change as our atmosphere changes?  If you took a tree to Mars or Jupiter would it be a different color?

Sophie’s loving the warm weather of late because she can rock the onesie and ditch the pants!  New pics on the camera but they just haven’t made it to the computer yet so enjoy this from the other week:

Creativity Abounds

Made a few more pictures using PowerPoint.  I scaled them to either 4x6, 5x7, or 8x10 since it saves it as different dimensions (so if you go to print one later, be aware that they could be cropped if you use a different size).  I want to add a duck to the bottom right of the bath picture.  I’d love to hear your feedback!