Miriam Fest

I have to continue with a few more things about My one year old
She likes to dance
She likes to stomp on things
She likes to kick her new beach ball
She likes to play in the bathroom mirror
She likes to blow (taught her that for the candle, but you'll see the result below)
She likes to nod her head yes
She likes asparagus, onions and peppers
In case anyone wasn't sure that Miriam is Bill's child, she is IN LOVE with DAIRY

Miriam's birthday was nice. We got cards from our family and had dinner at a new friends house from our ward. They made yummy steak, we opened presents and had cake. Miriam doesn't think much of cake, but she does like whipped cream and frosting. They had a 20 month old who was very interested in Miriam's new toys but more than willing to share his playroom so . . .
Oh and a dog. Which as we know, is Miriam's favorite animal on the planet.
Here are some pictures from the few days surrounding her birthday. There are a ton, but I thought I might as well document the occasion.

Getting ready . ..

It's story time!
Playing with pretty bow

Playing with new beach ball

Helping mom with the once folded clothes

Uh-oh - these come off

What kind of book is this mom?

Opening our presents

What am I supposed to do with that thing?

Graham and Miriam checking it out

Miri trying out the popper

Swingin and smilin

Blowing out our candle (can you see her trying it?)

Nevermind.. this is easier. Hehe. Freaked everyone out a little

Barely touching that cake

Happy Birthday little one!

My cutie

Mmm-Spaghetti

Couldn't resist this picture of her tolerating a headband for maybe even one whole minute!

Umm . . . mom? I think we should have a talk about this whole 'no candy' policy

My ONE YEAR OLD

I could have posted SO MANY pictures, but I decided (for now) to keep it simple.

Happy Birthday Miriam!

In about an hour and a half, my child is exactly one year old - wow

She's so much fun! She:

Walks! Loves to go on walks outside

Climbs up and down stairs

Loves to clap

Points at planes in the sky (ever since we flew on one, she's always looking)

Loves playing 'chase the baby'

(Usually) naps once a day (bummer for me)

Tries to say 'dog' ("doo") duck ("duu") and ball.

Hates closed doors. Opens everything.

"Na-na" - used to mean 'hungry' now just means "I want!"

We are having dinner at a families house from our new ward. They have a 20 month old so they can 'play' together. I'm making cake and we're planning on a good time. I've been trying to teach Miriam to blow - so she can blow out the candle. She can blow, but whether she'll understand the concept of 'blow out the candle . . .? maybe not.

It's Halloween baby!

Pretty fun stuff this Halloween. Miriam liked the frosting on her cupcake and her little pumpkin from Great Grandpa Florian. She did not like her hat.

We only had two trick or treaters, so I will be sending Bill to work with some candy . . .

My 11 month old

Has a cold, the first one she has that I don't

Can walk! (Looks a little bit like a penguin)

Has a new fasination with pinching my neck

Likes to go up stairs

Finally seems to be learning down the stairs

Signs "more" but it doesn't mean "more" (we can't quite figure it out)

Says "doo" for "dog" (Although this is associated with more than just dogs. But she does say it when she sees or hears a dog)

Thinks touching my tongue is funny

Inside I am a 120 pound Olympian

So here I am on the last leg of my trip to Oregon (which I will totally have more details about and more pictures of at a later date).
I've been watching the Olympics since opening night and tonight tonight is the womens gymnastics team final.
Except it's aready 10:17 (they've been talking about it since before 8pm). I've suffered my way through synchronized diving (not that bad really) and mens beach vollyball and now here's swimming with Michael Phelps who - duh - is going to win gold and make history of course. Big shocker.
So the truth is for the first time ever I am pretty sure I am going to cheat and look up the results on the internet. Woman who has at least a five hour drive to make with a 9 month old cannot stay up all night for even gymnastics (oh, the things we give up . . . maybe if my child would SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT . . . anyday now . . .).
Now I know and in a couple days I'll look up the routines on U-Tube.
Also, look for me in the up and coming diaper changing Olympics. I know they must be coming because my daughter is getting great at giving me the run around during diaper changes. An Olypmic sport I tell you.

Firsts

Let's start here: I refuse to give up my body to pregnancy until I get it back again . . . which is in about 20 pounds. Not that I haven't considered it . . . but then I get no sleep and have a day where I want to lay down for a month (okay, overexaggerating a little). But my weight adventures are a WHOLE OTHER POST. Sorry if I've disappointed you but pregnancy is not the news.

Here's whats been going on:
Miriam got her first tooth on July 15th!
Miriam learned to army crawl.
We went to Tri-Cities for another weekend of SCA stuff, and got to see the new Baron and Baroness put in, very fun.
Jenna got married on Friday - like, it's already over and I couldn't even BE THERE!

Those first two totally could have been our BIG news right? . . . .
No that isn't it.

We've been offered a job! Any guesses as to location? For possible locations look at this post.

Maybe you are just burnt out

Yesterday as Miriam was nursing and I handed her Tigger rattle over to our friends toddler (because Miriam is in that stage where if someone is talking, or making noise, she wants to WATCH not NURSE) and he ran off with it into the kitchen. The next thing I know I see the dog running off with it in his mouth. The very part that Miriam likes to stick in her mouth in his mouth. Yuck! (For more on how this dog and boy are in league to destroy us all, or something to that effect, see this post)

I got Bill to save the Tigger rattle before it became Tigger fluff all over the house and thought surely I would get a chance to clean it off before it came in the vicinity of her mouth. Fast forward 10 minutes when I happen to see another child (playing so very nicely with my child) stick the dog slobbered Tigger rattle nose into her mouth.

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

As it was I sort of sat there in shock hoping for some divine intervention. It came in the fact that Miriam decided she hadn't quite had enough to eat.

It must be nice to be a second time parent. You must be more relaxed about everything.

This ones for the (grand)parents

Unless you are our parents you may not be that interested in these next two videos - but still.

This first one is Miriam the day she found herself in the mirror on her playgym - maybe 2 1/2 months old?? I didn't mean to load the whole thing, but as it was I did.

Second we have just last week - Mommy was catching Daddy at the changing table . . .hehe

Stay tuned for another fun Daddy/Miriam video and Miriam eats Tigger video. We want to show you how much she changes!!

Foot Fetish

So Miriam discovered that she had feet a few weeks ago, I saw her looking at them . . .
Sunday I helped her grab her toes while hanging on my lap and all of a sudden it was foot grabbing central. Too cute!

Turns out she doesn't really do this much of her own accord though. Just this one time. Has to be shown. And then again, has to be interested.

I am happy to report that we are past the days of crying when getting our clothes changed. Now mommy doesn't stress like the end is coming whenever we need new clothing.

I am also happy to report that we had a bath that ended with a happy baby. Most others have ended in various degrees of crying and/or unhappiness. Not all, but this was the best.

You do know what is going to happen right? We'll finally be somewhat adjusting to life outside the womb and BAM! Teeth.

Sleepy Buggy

Couldn't resist this pose with Schnuffle Hase (Bunny) while napping

My blue marshmellow

Motherhood is like . . .

Yesterday I decided motherhood is like juggling. This may seem obvious to you . . . you are managing chaos every day, duh! But hear me out . . .
Motherhood is like juggling several eggs and a knife. You don't really want to drop the eggs, but if you do all that happens is they crack and make a mess. On the other hand you REALLY don't want to drop the knife because you could lose an eye, a finger, a toe or get a really nasty cut.
The knife represents your children and your spouse (No they are not going to cut off your toe). You really don't want to screw up with them, they are the most important pieces! The eggs represent thing like dishes or laundry or dusting. If they don't get done all you essentially have is a mess. . . Unless you let it go so long that you have no clothes . . . or a house full of mold and mice. . . okay this analogy is really getting out of hand.
As I was at my grandmas trying to do laundry, feed a baby, change laundry, have lunch, change a baby, fold laundry while pausing to entertain baby, put baby to sleep, check email, entertain baby, load car up with laundry and baby, drive home . . . I came up with this analogy. It was my way of trying to put things in perspective. Because the baby is the one I don't want to fail with. So, it may take me several days to actually vacuum my living room floor.

Keep Moving Forward

I originally named my last blog entry 'keep moving forward' but had to make a change after yesterday evening happened to us.

Getting ready to go out to our friends for the evening, I decided to make a pie (we have lots of dehydrated apples). The recipe I got out of my "using your food storage" cookbook did not make enough to fill the pie shell. I had to rehydrate apples two more times to fill it up . . . so it took us a little while to actually leave. Once we entered Airway Heights our car is really making an awful sound and we realize that we have a flat tire. It was COLD last night and poor Bill was out there trying to get the tire off. Brrrrrrr. We bought a used tire to replace the old one today and are hoping to have a little more money when we need to replace them all this spring or summer.

Having just watched Meet the Robinsons you can't help but remember to 'Keep Moving Forward' through all of our misadventures and celebrate what you learn from your "failures"

I must say, the following is definitely not a failure.

Exponential Growth

Just thought you all should have a reminder of how fast babies grow. I've been looking at newborn pictures recently and then looking at my 2 month old and can hardly believe how much my baby has already changed. Amber was right, they only get cuter. And she should know, she has twins. I've decided you have to be a special kind of crazy to get sent twins (no offense intended).

Blessing

We had immunizations today, and maybe I'm crazy, sitting here working on a blog when my little angel is asleep, but I really wanted to post some pictures! Miriam looks great, fabulously healthy. No news to report there. I was looking at newborn pictures and can't believe how much she has already grown. She is 11pounds 12ounces and 22 inches long, head circumference of 36cm. She got poked and had a somewhat delayed reaction but then wasted no time in telling us that shots are no fun. The good news: although there are five vaccinations she only had two shots. One of the shots was a combination of three vaccinations. For those of you that are counting you know what the BAD news is. They were out of the Hib vaccination, which means we'll have to go back for another shot in a week or so.

Mirims baby blessing was Sunday, we had a lot of Bill's family here and some of mine. What a wonderful time I had. The blessing was beautiful. Although, I was totally exhausted by the time everyone left at four pm.

In other news I go back to work for WW tomorrow night . . . should only be 2-3 hours, I'm just feeling . . . mixed emotions. What timing eh? Let's hope there are no complications with the vaccines. I know daddy will do a great job at home with Miriam.

Finally the pictures :)

My handsome family!

Miriam and Mommy

What a pretty baby!

Miri and her Auntie Lena meeting for the first time

Approaching 2008

Happy New Year! Well . . . soon.

I've been thinking about the good and not-so-good of 2007, most of them being baby related of course. I can't believe my daughter is 7 weeks old. It is almost 2008. And my husband graduates in March.

Looking back:

Deciding I need to drop that 10 pounds I gained working in the presidents office

Deciding to ditch the birth control in January

Losing 3 pounds in February

Having some second thoughts and deciding to go back on birth control in March

March 10th - discovering it's TOO late - we're already pregnant! And you know what? We were happy.

Taking a speech class I "knew" I would hate and having it be one of the most enjoyable classes I've ever taken.

Finally finishing one year of German classes.

Surprising our parents with Mothers Day cards with our first ultrasound - their reactions - priceless

Waiting, waiting, waiting for the school to place the forensic internship applicants, only to find out the last week of classes that Bill got placed in Seattle at Seattle Toxicology. Can't say we were happy. But my uncles Dan and Steve let us stay with them (bless them!) and Bill ended up in one of the best internships, AND he liked it!

Going from an A to a C and finally a D cup

Finshing the entire series of Everybody Loves Raymond

Going into pre-term labor in September and getting stuck in bed on Nifedipine for weeks.

Giving birth to our daughter - full term - on November 7th.

All the things that have gone with learning how to be a new mom, the sleep deprevation, my post partum and seasonal blues combined, the satisfaction of finally having Miriam smile, coo and sleep for four hours, along with other things too numerous to list.

Looking ahead to 2008

In the first two weeks both baby and I have a Dr. exam. Her's unfortunately (but for her own good) includes our first round of immunizations. If the bilirubin test is any indicator, this won't be fun.

Mom starting to work at WW. One time next week and THREE times the week after. I have so many mixed emotions about this, as I am sure most moms will understand. I look forward to it. I can't imagine leaving my baby for 2 1/2-4 hours. But I've pumped the milk and planned with Dad so at this point we'll just hope for the best.

Family picture in February with Dad in his cap and gown, followed by graduation in March

Trip in March to see Grandpa Jeff and Grandma Dede and Great Grandma Lena. Miriam hasn't met these Grandmas yet and I am excited to go.

Hopefull parts of '08

New job for Bill
Possible move
Mom gets back down to pre-baby weight with WW (train as a leader?)
Checking out Toastmasters
More German
Going back to an A cup (not so hopeful for that)

I am wishing the best to you in this NEW YEAR. I hope it is as fun as ours is going to be!

The All You Can Eat Buffet

The all you can eat buffet is located in Cheney Washington. It has brown hair, brown eyes, is 5ft 5in and is named Maggie Cox.
After Miriam decided to nurse for an hour before bed (doesn't this warrent a five hour sleeping stretch? You would certainly think so) yesterday - and did I mention she just finished a growth spurt? - Mom was feeling somewhat tired of having something attached to her boobs. Don't get me wrong - I love nursing. I am so happy we've been successful at it. There are days however that you just look at your husband and think -you should have breasts.
Don't suggest to me letting him give her a bottle though because it would make me sad to not be able to feed my baby. Hormones. They make you an irrational baby feeding machine.
We are however starting to pump and store milk so Mom can work for WW (Weight Watchers) in 2008. I have mixed feelings about this. We already know baby will take a bottle from dad because of our bought with the flu. But to be GONE for FOUR hours. It's only once or twice a week so . . .
Speaking of WW, mom weighed in at 148 yesterday. Crazy huh. 6 weeks ago I weighed 175 pounds. Just imagine where I'll go once I am actually back on program.
Speaking of weight - my daughter is a little piglet (if you couldn't guess). For those of you who guessed - even if it was just in your head if not in the comments - yesterday Miriam weighed in at approximately 10 pounds 8 ounces. (Approximate because she was still dressed and weighed 10lbs15oz) Wow.

Baby Surveys

2 things, just for fun:
Tomorrow our first steps nurse - Ruth - comes again. By the way, everyone should get to have a first steps nurse. Miriam gets weighed each time Ruth comes. 2 weeks ago she was 9lbs 1oz. Any guesses as to what she will be tomorrow??
Also - Dad and Dede sent us 240 diapers for Christmas. Any guesses as to how long it will take us to use 180 of them (yeah already used 3 packs)?
Go

ESCAPE

Trip to walmart to buy a new pump (Yes, you needed that little bit of information). Snow and cold on the way in. Pretty happy while we wheeled around. Changed dirty diaper. Baby became cranky going through the check out line - leaving store.
It was at THIS moment that lady with a five year old decides to say "oh - how old is year baby?" That wasn't the end. "Five-weeks huh? This is what a five year old looks like. What's her name?"
And so-on and so-forth.
While she was very nice, my child is crying in the front of the Walmart. And my fight or flight response is kicking in here!
Has this happened to anyone else here?
Uh - thanks but time to go! Have a nice life!
I've decided that it was very nice of her to talk to us instead of being annoyed at our crying child.
Even so - any tips on nicely dropping the hint to the STRANGER that is keeping you from escaping to calm down the baby?
I managed to escape my whole pregnancy without a stranger rubbing my belly.
This is only the beginning isn't it?

Bathtime - a success!

Finally!!

Miriam is 5 weeks old now and we finally had a bath that did not end in screaming followed by an hour of nursing. I tried sponge bathing at first - no good. A bath with mom - no good. A bath in the sink - no good. Mom being sneaky and "spot" cleaning - good.

Yesterday I got ambitious and decided to try again.

We've noticed that Miriam is happy after you change her diaper to just hang out on the changing table. I thought I could use this to my advantage so - I took the changing table pad into the bathroom along with all bathing and clothing essentials. The room was warm and the sink full of warm water.

Dad sponged and I dried and while at first I thought we were not going to make it - she decided it wasn't so bad. And she hung out just like after a diaper change. How could I resist this picture?