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Potpourri

As you may have noticed, I spruced things up around here a bit in the name of fall. I've been working on this theme since mid Sept… but you know … kids, housework, etc. Just finally finished it. Yay me.

We had our carpets cleaned yesterday. They look pretty good … except where the kitchen meets the living room. They also used dry cleaning instead of wet which apparently coats every surface of your house in a thin layer of whiteish powder. Matt went BS crazy last night and wiped down and vacuumed the whole house practically cuz he was paranoid about it. Not that I don't agree … I just love to see him doing housework. hehe.

I have got to get my butt in gear for holiday shopping. I've been slowly collecting ideas for people, but I am really not doing so well. I dread going to the mall, even to window shop. I just hate it.

On the bright side, Discover Card is giving you $20 for each $200 you spend at specific malls between now and Dec 31. This is awesome for us because we spend a TON on groceries, etc. at Super Target and one of the malls (Colorado Mills) in CO (not far out of our way) has a Super Target attatched. Guess where we're doing our grocery shopping until Dec 31. They also have a Borders there. All the other shops kinda suck, but anyhoo, I will check them out. Wish they had an Amazon outlet. Continue reading “Potpourri”

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8 Months!


Yesterday Ms Tabby turned 8 months old. I can hardly believe she's not always been a smiling, cooing part of our family. She has had some more developmental milestones in the past month. She is probably most proud of her new-found ability to clap. She loves to do this in chorus with our cheers and applause. She doesn't make much noise yet, but it's so fun to see her imitate. She has also decided to wave hello and bye-bye once or twice, but she only does this when she feels like it. She has also started saying a few words consistently … they aren't used purposefully yet, but “dada,” “yay!” and some sort of hybrid between “hello,” “hey,” and “hi” is there too. “Mama,” of course, isn't happening yet.

We have no crawling yet and still showing limited interest in that. She will lie on her tummy and scooch for things here and there if she's good and motivated (read: when she wants to retrieve her binky), but otherwise, she wants to be sitting or standing, thank you very much. There are also no teeth visible yet. I feel like they'll come any day if her crankiness and the voracity with which she gnaws on anything that is presented to her are any indication. Ah well … I don't want her growing up too fast.

Above are a few of my favorite shots over the past week or so … she loves to play in our bed. I think it's something about the down comforter and the mountains of pillows. And that is her first taste of spaghetti (and meatballs). She ate it with great gusto and slurped down the noodles like she'd been doing it all of her life. Bottom left is her basking in the glow of my laptop (playing Toddler Keys) and on the right, she's playing with her shape sorter. Cute overload.

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So this is what Having Twins Would Be Like

Somewhat against my better judgement, we bought a baby monitor. I admit, it's been nice here and there, but our house isn't big and I really have no doubts that I could hear her, plus I think it sometimes encourages parents to hover over every little sound and murmur. Just my opinion. But I've got a nervous dad on my hands, so we bought one. It's done very well for the most part, though I constantly have to make Matt turn the volume down so I can sleep. “Sweetie, if the volume of her music is louder in here than it is in her room, I think that's too loud.” Tinny classical at 10 dB is not paticularly relaxing.

Anyhoo, for the past two nights, we've been getting interference on our receivers. Sounded mostly like fuzz the night before last, but last night, we distinctly heard a baby crying. And not a 7 month old baby and not OUR baby. This sounds like a little little baby. But it wakes us up … and for a second, we were *very* confused. Miss Tabby, however, was peacefully asleep in her crib (not having a receiver installed in her room), if rotated 90 degrees clockwise from when we put her to sleep.

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Much Improved

I have to say, after last week, I needed a great weekend. And as luck would have it, that's exactly what I got. We didn't do a lot of fun or interesting things. In fact, we actually got a ton done around the house, but we really got to take it slow.

Even better, I really *knock on wood* think Tabby's doing better. We had a pukey incident on Fri evening at my parents', but she's been puke-free for over 60 hours (a record high since this thing began). And she has stopped being fussy and needing to be held all the time, which is a big relief.

She's a happy sunny little baby who decided on Sunday that she can sit up. We got home from Target and I took her hour of her bucket and sat her on her blanket and she kept sitting … and sat and sat and sat. She's very pleased with herself and it really seems to open up new play opportunities for her. She still topples over, but she takes it in stride and smiles happily at us.

All in all, a much much much better weekend. Now keep your fingers crossed that it will last.

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All About the Weekend


This had all the makings of a fine weekend. Firstly, it was a weekend. Secondly, it was a FREE (i.e. no commitments) weekend. Thirdly, the beastly hot weather was promising to dissipate and leave some cooler temps in its place.

And it started off pretty nice. We took Tabby to her doc's appt. on Friday, which went just fine. She's jumped in percentiles a bit and no longer falls under 20th in any category. Who knows if it will stay that way. Her parentage could put her in almost an percentile range. Then we came home and hung out and made yummy muffins. As always, after her shots, Tabby was running a low-grade fever and being sort of fussy.

Saturday, we got up and went to the Cherry Creek Farmer's Market. We had a really nice time. It isn't as huge as the one in Madison was, but it is definitely the biggest one in CO we've been to. There were sellers with good CO meat (we raise lots of lamb and beef here in CO) and tons of CO produce. We got lamb, tomatoes, beef, corn, peaches, and apples. And not just any apples. Two varieties you can't get in the grocery store: honeycrisp and jonathan. Yum yum yum. Tabby seemed to enjoy herself. There was lots to look at and smell and she loved a huge Newfie we saw … she babbled loudly until we brought her over to pet him.

After the market, we went home to have lunch and spend a nice day working around the house. And for the most part, that's what we did. Matt worked in his shop, Tabby had a nap, and I worked around the house. After dinner, we put Tabby to bed (she seemed extra tired). Later on, we realized that she hadn't had her meds and we went in to give them to her. Continue reading “All About the Weekend”

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Something Tells Me It's All Happening at the Zoo …


On Labor Day, we took advantage of the excellent weather and the day off and took Tabby to the zoo for her first visit. My mom and sister accompanied us and we took turns holding Tabby and pushing her in her stroller. The Denver Zoo is a nice one, with “natural” living environments for its animals and a very park-like feel.

Tabby got very into the whole experience, really enjoying looking at the various animals and cooing and smiling at them. After an hour or too there, she was worn out to the max and we were too. We're anxious to take her back when it's a bit cooler out.

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Glimpses

This morning when I left for work, it was the first time that I said goodbye to Tabby in her crib. Always before she has woken up before I left and I got to give her a snuggle and a kiss as she's lying next to her Daddy. She was right there, all cuddled up with her blanket, sleeping so soundly.

She's such an amazing little person and I'm so pleased that she's able to be in this world so successfully, but already, she needs me less than she did when she was first born. As a parent, you have to strive for this, but when you get it, it is bittersweet. I had a glimpse of her independence this morning and that she won't be my baby forever. 6 months has gone by in the blink of an eye and I sort of glimpsed this morning how fast 6 years and 16 years are going to go.

I am sad, proud, and completely in awe. Being a parent is hard and so wonderful.

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Six Months


Well, half a year has passed since we welcomed this sweet little person into our family and not a day goes by that she doesn't amuse, amaze, and make us a bit more awed that she's our daughter. She's an amazing blessing.

She has changed so much in the past couple of months …. weeks even. We find ourselves hardly able to keep up with her milestones. She is able to sit unassisted for brief moments now and is to be seen pulling herself onto all fours. Peaches seem to be her favorite food; she loves the purees we make and feeding herself the whole fruit in the teething feeder (basket thingy). In fact, there has hardly been a solid she doesn't love … avocado would be the notable exception.

Playtime is spent happily rolling around on the floor, trying to crawl and sit up and generally testing out her world. She babbles at length on a variety of subjects. We have no idea what these are, but it doesn't stop her from telling us allll about them. The outdoors still awes and fascinates her and is a surefire way to soothe her when she's cranky. When bedtime comes, we read stories and cuddle a bit and then she happily lays down with her froggy blanky, binky and music for the night, ready to wake up with a smile and a coo.

We are so thankful and happy she's a part of our family.

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Weekend Update


So Saturday morning, I got up bright and early because I find it practically impossible to sleep in these days and I took Sherbet for a ride. She and I had a lovely time. I hardly remember what I did for most of the rest of that day … cuz, get this, I had nothing specific TO DO. I think there was a nap in there somewhere.

That evening, we went to McCormick and Schmick's to celebrate my dad's and my own birthday. We had a very nice dinner and then returned to my parents' house for cake and gifts. Continue reading “Weekend Update”