Mommy Ivy

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Originally uploaded by ivysmomma.

Ivy got a baby doll for her birthday from our September Mommy gift exchange. To be honest, it scared her a little at first.... she didn't like how the eyes open and close. Now she loves it and has even started actually playing with it instead of just dragging it around. She feeds it, hugs it, and even pats it on the back.

Jammin'

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Originally uploaded by ivysmomma.

Erin and Kyle got MP3 players for Christmas this year. This is a picture of Erin letting Ivy listen to hers. Ivy loved it.

Christmas Eve

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Originally uploaded by ivysmomma.

This was after opening all of the presents on Christmas Eve. Ivy was Miss Crankypants that night and really didn't want much to do with opening the gifts.

Christmas Portraits

Here are Ivy's Christmas portraits we had done last week.

We have a walker

Yes, the time has finally come.... my toddler is actually toddling. Last week Ivy started walking.... of course she started when I wasn't around and didn't find the amazing achievement important enough to share with me when I returned home. For two days she wouldn't walk when I was watching. But now she is walking everywhere.... of course, she still gets down and crawls when she feels the need to get somewhere quickly. I guess all my worrying and complaining paid off.... I'm just happy that she that she walked before kindergarten.

Fifteen Months

Ivy Lynn,
You turned fifteen months a week ago. I was going to change the date on this entry, so I don't look like a slacker, but face it, I am. You might as well get used to it now.

You are turning into such a big girl. You crawl to your highchair when you are hungry. You get your binkie and your blankie to let me and Daddy know it is time for night-night. There are so many things that you want to do all by yourself, like use a fork.

Although you don't have many words yet, you are starting to sign. We watched the "Signing Times" videos just a couple of times and you have started signing "more". It's your own version, of course, but Daddy and I know what you are saying. You also have your own sign for "all gone." You can point out your belly, your nose, your teeth and your toes. You help me and Daddy get you dressed. Really, you love to help us with whatever we are doing.

In all the ways you are growing up and changing, there are some things that have stayed the same. You still don't have much hair. You still refuse to walk. And you are still my baby girl. I have faith that someday you will grow hair and that you won't crawl to your first day of school, but please, Ivy, stay my baby girl forever.

Love,
Mama

Bubbles

Ivy's newest trick is blowing spit bubbles. She started doing this last weekend while we were in Erie. She was making this "mwah" sound, which I thought was just a cute new noise. I realized, though, that every time she does it, she blows a spit bubble. Very classy, I know. It's even classier when I do it, too.

I know I haven't posted pictures recently, so here's a couple somewhat recent ones to tide you over. This one is Ivy in her first cloth diaper.... the one that immediately caused a rash.

This one, I hope you can tell, is from Halloween. I dressed up in my old Ren Faire costume and Ivy was a dragon. I only got TWO pictures that night (I'm failing as a mother, do you remember all the pictures I got last Halloween??), so I'm hoping other people got cute ones, too.

Fourteen Months

Ivy Lynn,
It's been a long time since Mommy has written on here. We've had a busy month! Daddy broke his foot and had to come home early and have surgery. He's fine, even though he acted like a big baby for awhile. You really enjoyed your week with Grandma. I think she enjoyed it more, though. You are so lucky to have a Grandma that loves you as much as she does. I can tell just by looking at her all the happiness you have brought into her life. Tomorrow we are leaving to go to Erie and visit your great-grandparents. See, I told you it's been busy.

You celebrated your second Halloween a few days ago. You helped pass out the candy. It amazed me how carefully you picked up just one piece of candy and dropped it in the trick-or-treaters bags. Some of the bigger kids with scary costumes scared you, though.

I just can't believe how fast you are growing up. The other day, I couldn't find you. I know that sounds horrible, but all the gates were up and the door to the stairs was closed, but you weren't where you normally are, in the living room playing. I looked in all the corners, and then started searching. You were in your room.... you had found your blocks and were making a tower. All by yourself. With no help. I didn't even know you could do that. It made me so happy that you are so smart and independent.... and so sad that you are growing up already and need me a little less every day.

You still aren't walking. I really think you could, you just don't want to. I know I've said that before, but that's really what I think. You've been standing by yourself more and more. You have finally realized that you can just turn around to get from the chair to the couch and that you don't have to sit down.... but you still haven't taken a step. I think as soon as you do, you won't stop.

You are very expressive. Even though you don't have many words yet, you find a way to get your point across. When you are in your highchair waiting for me to get your food, you yell (and I mean YELL) "MAAA" repeatedly, with the volume all the way up. I really think you are yelling at me. I keep trying to tell you I don't respond to anything but mommy or mama. None of this "Mom" stuff already. You have to call me Mommy until you are at least 4. I also think that you say "go" and "tickle." The tickle thing started as more of a "dicka-dicka-dicka" whenever Daddy would say "getcha getcha getcha." It sounds like "tickle" now, though. The cutest is when Daddy is sitting on the glider and you take his slipper off and grab his toes and say "tickle tickle tickle." A close runner up is when you tickle your own feet.

Oh, one more big thing this month. Mommy decided to start using cloth diapers for you. They are super cute, but you got a rash right away. We went back to disposables to give your bum a chance to heal, but Mommy did some research and we are going to give it another go next week.

Thank you for making every day an adventure..... and a gift.

Love,
Mama

Missing Ivy

This past weekend, I went to visit Nathan in Oklahoma City, where he is for work. Mom watched Ivy for me, but I can't go pick her up until Thursday. I didn't realize how much I would miss that little booger. I mean, I knew I would miss her, but I REALLY MISS her.

Mom told me two adorable stories today. First, Ivy has mastered clapping on cue during "If You're Happy and You Know It." She has a frog that plays that song. Mom and Ivy were driving in the car and Ivy's frog started singing the song. Ivy clapped -the frog's- hands together at the right place in the song. How flipping adorable!

Second, as I have said, Ivy is working on learning her body parts. She much prefers pointing to other people's parts instead, though. So Mom was asking her "Where's my eyes?" "Where's my nose?" and other parts. (Oh, I forgot to mention Mom had her glasses off and sitting on the table.) So she asked Ivy "Where's my eyes?" and Ivy pointed to her glasses on the table! Genius baby, I tell ya.

I miss my genius baby.

Project time

Since Nathan is gone, I got it in my head that I need to do a project. I decided to turn the basement into a playroom for Ivy. So far I have the walls painted green. Tomorrow I plan to tape it and make a border with blue and orange. It should be very fun and bright. I hope Ivy loves it as much as I do. Here's a sneak peak at the colors.... I will take pictures as soon as I am done, which will hopefully be tomorrow!

Thirteen Months

Ivy Lynn,
Today you turned thirteen months old. It was an uneventful day, spent mostly at Trina's for you, and running around for Mommy. Then you got to go to a staff meeting with Mommy, where you poured toys all over the floor and screamed whenever I said "no." But when you knew people were watching, you performed. You laughed when the teachers laughed and pretended to drink out of a big girl cup. You are too darn cute.

You continue to amaze me every day. I know Trina is teaching you things while I am at work, and it makes me sad that it's not me teaching you everything. You are getting better at pointing to body parts. Whenever I ask you where your nose is, you point to your cheek. Then when I ask again, you point to -my- nose. And usually pick it for me. You are soooo close to walking. You stand up by yourself a lot more than you ever have. I love it when you do it all by yourself, but don't realize what you are doing. That's when you stand the longest.

You are starting to throw tantrums already. I try to look at this positively, and tell myself that you are growing up to be a strong woman.

I love helping you learn things. I love hearing your laugh. I love seeing your two-toothed smile. I love waking you up in the morning and I love rocking you before bed. I love the way you toss and turn in your sleep. I love every little thing that there is to love about you.

Love,
Mama

Follow Up

Ivy had her post surgery visit with the ENT today. All is good. He said her ears looked beautiful and let me look through the otoscope. I said they looked gross, but he's the professional. We have to go back every six months to make sure they are still in place and are working well. He told me he put in t-tubes, which stay in place longer than the other type of tube that is typically used. Actually, they sometimes have to be removed, but if that happens it is an in office procedure. I am ecstatic that this surgery has helped to make Ivy a healthier child.

We also went to Marianne's for dinner tonight. She invited us, as well as her sister and her two kids over for dinner. Her sister's husband has class Wednesday nights, so we were all "single moms" for the night. Cooper, Laura's son, will be one on Thanksgiving. He is already walking and looks like the cutest old man you have ever seen. I loved watching him and Ivy interacting. It was a very enjoyable evening.

smartypants

I've been trying to work with Ivy to teach her different body parts. I think she's mastering "head" because every time she touches her head or her hair, I say "that's your head." Well, yesterday I kept asking her where her nose was. She was sitting on my lap and I said, "Ivy, where's your nose?" She smiled, and touched my nose. Then she took one tiny finger and put it in my left nostril. Her other hand shot up and a finger went in my right nostril. Yep, I think she knows where a nose is.

almost there

Last night, Ivy -almost- walked.

For her birthday, Jon and Jodi got her a Corn Popper. She absolutely loves it. She will sit on the floor and move it back and forth to watch the balls pop. Nathan will stand her up and help her walk with it. Well, last night he let her go and she took three or four steps. Granted, she had the corn popper, but I just don't see how that could offer her much support. I think it may be any day now.... of course, I also thought she was teething when she was four months old, and she didn't get that first tooth until almost 11 months.

Goodbye, Snaggletooth

I can no longer abuse Ivy by calling her Snaggletooth. Her second little tooth FINALLY broke through at the end of last week. At this rate, she should have all of her teeth by the time she is three.

Party girl

Ivy had three parties for her birthday. They all went really well and I really enjoyed being aboe to spend time with people that I don't see often enough. Ivy caught onto the whole cake thing by the third party.... at my dad's she basically mashed the cake, eating very little. At my mom's she ate actually quite a bit. And at the party in Toledo this past weekend, she ate off all the frosting and rubbed the actual cake on the walls. That's my girl.

Here's a few picture's from the parties:

Ivy got a new car for her birthday, lucky girl! Here she is pushing Peyton around, with Bobby's help.












I absolutely love this picture of my mom with Ivy. They both just look so happy!



















Here she is opening her present from Trina at our Toledo party.















I love this picture too. I can't belive I actually snapped the camera in time to catch it. This is Ivy kissing my Grandma.

One Year

Dear Ivy,
Your birthday has come and gone. Your neglectful mama has neglected to update your blog for nearly a month.... but that doesn't mean I love you any less.

On the three hundred and sixty fifth day of your life, I spent the day in a secret, emotional fog. Each minute I relieved what had happened a year ago. I remembered arriving at the hospital, getting my IV, waiting until after Guiding Light was over to get my epidural. It is absolutely amazing where a year can take you.

This year has taken you from a wiggling, sighing, drooling blob to a crawling, standing, stubborn toddler. Toddler. Not a baby. You definately have a mind of your own and you know how to use it. You explore every little thing you see.... you are so inquisitive and in turn, so intelligent. You are still a crawling machine. I have faith that you could walk if you wanted to, you just don't want to yet. You have the strength and coordination, but you lack the confidence. I hope this is the last time you lack confidence. You can do anything you want to do, Ivy.

This year has brought me to a whole new place, too. I don't shop for myself anymore.... I just want -you- to have everything. I don't sleep in anymore. In short, I've grown up. I truely realize that life isn't all about me.... now I think it is all about you. I think that being your mama has made me a better person. I never knew it was possible to love another human being as much as I love you.

Happy birthday, baby.

Love,
Mama

Dress Dilema

Ivy now has three dresses to chose from for her birthday parties this coming weekend. Being that she isn't going to make the choice, I suppose I will have to make it for her. Any opinions on which dress she should wear?




I just won this dress on ebay. I'm not sure it will arrive in time for the parties, but it should. Those flowers in the skirt aren't attached, they move around!

I got this dress at Once Upon A Child for $5. It's adorable on her, but she is really preoccupied with the ribbons. I'm not sure how that will end up working out.

I got this at OUAC for $5, too (the best part was that on my way out of the store, I won a $20 gift certificate, so they actually paid ME for these dresses... but I digress.) It's super poofy and has the matching hat (which won't stay on her head for more than 12 seconds) but I'm afraid it's too casual.

Shopping trip

We went to Savers today and I really made out good! It didn't seem like a ton of clothes until I started taking pictures of them!!! Here is what I got for about $16.....



Three pairs of jeans... from L to R - Little Legends ($.75), The Children's Place ($1.49) and Old Navy ($1.99)














Tops --- three longsleeved onsie; The Children's Place Red onsie ($.75), Two shades of purple Baby Gap onsies ($.75 and $.99), shortsleeved Baby Gap flowered onsie ($1.49), white Carter's top ($.75)











Overalls --- Baby Paris Jean overalls (big, but way too cute to pass up! $1.50), pink velour Disney baby overalls ($1.50), Gymboree jumper ($.75)

Here's a close up of the detailing on the jean overalls:














The Children's Place fleece sweats ($.75).... they have adorable heart detailing in the sides and little zippers on the back of the leg that open up to a mesh material.

Little Legends Jean Dress ($1.50)

Not too shabby for $16, eh? Ivy is quickly running out of clothes that fit her, though, so it was well worth it!!

New toy

Ivy got a new toy today.... Nathan says he's been wanting it for her, but I think he just felt bad because of her surgery today. So we went to K-Mart and purchased the new Fisher Price Baby Gymtastics Monkey Chase. It's a monkey that runs and wiggles it's arms and the baby is supposed to chase it... the monkey then turns around and looks at you, like it is waiting for you and when you touch it, it starts going again. We thought this was a great toy since Ivy loves to play this game with humans. Well, we got home and took it out of the box and showed her waht to do with it. She is completely afraid of this monkey. The girl who doesn't cry when left with people she barely know, dives off the couch head first, and climbs stairs at the speed of light is afraid of a plastic monkey. She insists on being on my lap or on Nathan's when the monkey is on the floor. We are hoping she will get used to it and eventually enjoy it, but for now I don't think it was $15 well spent.

Tubes

Ivy had her tubes put in today by Dr. VanderMeer. You have to love any doctor that says "crap" when describing what may come out of your daughter's ears. Anyway, we arrived at 6:55, ten minutes late (did you really expect anything different from me?) I filled out some paperwork and we got called back. A nurse took all of Ivy's vitals and gave us a cute little hospital gown to put her in. There were quite a few other babies there getting tubes, too. A doctor from anesthesia came to talk to us and told us they would put Ivy to sleep using a mask and as soon as the surgery was over, they would stop giving her the gas and as it left her system she would wake up. Then Dr. VanderMeer talked to us. He asked if there were any problems he should know about, like if she had a cough or anything. I said "Well, she has another ear infection," and he replied "Well, I can fix that." Funny man. At 7:45, right on schedule, a nurse came and took Ivy. Nathan and I went to the waiting room and I read maybe three pages of a magazine before they told us she was awake and we could come back. Ten minutes, tops, to put her to sleep, do the surgery and have her awake. Dr. VanderMeer talked to us once more and gave us a prescription for ear drops. We went back to see Ivy and she was so upset. Screaming, screaming, screaming. I held her, but it didn't help. Nathan tried, too. The nurse brought us a sippy cup of apple juice for her, thinking she was probably hungry (and as neglectful parents, we forgot a bottle!!) The juice helped for a second, but not long. They moved us to the other side of the recovery room so we didn't disturb the older people who had had surgery. They had all the kids on one side of the room. Anyway, once Ivy got her binky, she was good to go. We were home by 9am. Overall, she had a little bit of a fussy day, but nothing major at all.... it was probably just because she had to wake up at 6:15. Hopefully my little honeybear will be infection free now.

Eleven Months

Ivy,
You turned eleven months last week. Every day you grow and change, getting farther and farther away from the little baby you were and closer to a toddler. You are so smart. You can figure out how to work your toys.... your first word was "wow" and now you say "daddy" and I'm sure I've heard "mommy" once or twice. You are still a little cautious about standing on your own, but you pull up on anything you possibly can. You love to clap your hands, and take pleasure in clapping for yourself after every accomplishment. Andrea taught you how to give high fives last weekend when she visited and you are an expert of that, too. As far as eating, you are a piggy! You will eat just about everything we give you and it seems like you always want more! You love bananas, hot dogs, bologna, cheese, toast.... just about everything.
You are losing interest in your bottle, though.... just one more sign you are not just a baby anymore.
You know what you want and think you know how to get it. When Daddy tickles you and you aren't ready for the "game" to be over, you grab his hand and put it back on your belly, like you are saying "No Daddy, don't stop yet." Want to know a secret? You really can get whatever you want because your Daddy and I and everyone else love you so much.

I hope you stay as happy as you are now, Ivy. You find joy in everything you do, no matter how mundane. I love every minute I spend with you, and wish there were a million more minutes in every day so I could be with you that much more. I love you, honeybear.

Love,
Mommy

Eleven Month pictures

These are Ivy's 11 month portraits. The last one, where she is holding the shell, is what we bought the package of.

One little tooth

Today was the first day you could actually see Ivy's tooth. Her first little tooth is just peeking out from under her gum. I thought she was going to wait forever to start getting teeth! Just one more sign my little girl isn't going to be a baby forever.....

Growing every day

It's amazing how quick things change in the life of a baby. Today was a huge day for Ivy. She had three major "events" in her little life.

- She's been toying with the idea of standing without holding on to something. When Ivy and I go to wake Nathan up every day at 3, we lay in bed for awhile and she acts like we are her personal jungle gym. For the past few days she's been pushing up on him, standing for about a second and a half, then falling on her butt. She thinks this is by far the coolest game she's learned yet. Well, today she was standing by Kyle and he let go of her and she stood by herself for a good five seconds. Won't be long now.......

- Ladies and gentlemen, we have a hole! No teeth yet, but you can really really see where one is coming. I thoroughly believe that will be any day now, too. Maybe she is waiting to hit 11 months first. She's only got 8 days left until that milestone.

- I -think- she said her first word today. She's been babbling for what seems like forever, and she says mama and dada and things of that nature. It sounds like she says hi, but I've never been as convinced as I was today that she says these things on purpose. Kyle was playing with Ivy in the living room. Right after he got her to stand up like I mentioned above, he looked and her and said "WOW!" She looked up at him and made her little lips into a little circle and said "wow" right back. She worked so hard to form her lips just right to make the right sounds that I really think she knew what she was doing. She still won't say it every time you want her to, and a lot of times she keeps going and it turns into wowowowowowow, but I still think I will put this one in the baby book.

Who needs sleep?

Today, Ivy decided that naps are for sissies. Her morning nap lasted about a half hour, and her afternoon nap.... well, that one didn't happen at all. I put her in bed about a half an hour ago, and I'm crossing my fingers that that is where she will stay for the rest of the night.

On a separate note, took her back to the doctor yesterday..... her ears are still pink, but no longer have puss in them, so they look like they are clearing up. She has an appointment on August 8th with the ENT.

Darn ears

All through vacation, Ivy was still tugging on her ears. She figured out that her cute little finger fits exactly in her ear, too. Anyway, I figured she still had her ear infections, so on the way home from Cleveland Monday afternoon, I called the ped. They said to go ahead and bring her in and low and behold, both ears are still infected. Now she is on Augmentin again and Nathan and I have decided to call a different ENT and make an appointment. I just can't see the sense in letting her keep suffering.

Doctor's visit

Since I am very late in posting this, I am just copying a post I sent to my Mommies group about Ivy's appointment on July 11th.

Ivy had a doctor's appointment. She's been super fussy, running a low grade fever, has a snot nose. Could it be teething? Could it be nothing? Had to check it out before we leave for "vacation" Wednesday. So I took her in and what is it, ladies????? Ear infection in both ears. My poor baby girl!! This is her 5th (or 6th?) one. She's had two that were really persistent, too. Dr. Amy said we'll see how this one goes (if it sticks around or clears up quick) and if it's hard to clear or she gets another one, she would definitely reconsider the ENT.

More Finger Food

Ivy is getting to be a pro at this whole eating thing. Today for lunch she had a biter biscuit and some frozen carrots I cooked in the microwave. Here she is during her "meal". Needless to say, Daddy gave her a shower this afternoon.

Happy 4th of July

Today we went to Darlene's annual 4th of July party. It was a lot of fun seeing a lot of friends I just don't see often enough anymore. Ivy got to wear her new patriotic dress... she also got to meet some itty bitty kitties. She absolutely LOVES animals, and the cats were no exception. Darlene and Dennis put on a fantastic fireworks show, as usual. Ivy lso ate crackers.... she really liked them and wanted everyone else to see this as well. :o)

Ivy eating a cracker... she really wanted to let everyone know she was enjoying it

Erin showing Ivy one of the kittens

Ivy in her patriotic duds

Gone bananas

Well, I finally did it... I gave Ivy table food. I've been putting it off and putting it off, and honestly, I'm still scared she is going to choke, but yesterday she had most of a banana for lunch. It was so fun to watch. She had a hard time picking the pieces up because they were so mushy, so she'd try to pick one up and when she couldn't get it, she'd just move on to the next one until she found one she could grasp. I probably won't be trying much else for a little bit, but I'm proud of myself for this banana (and proud of Ivy, too, of course!)

Swimming

Ivy loves her kiddie pool that we got her.... it's little, but we knew we wouldn't take care of a big pool with chemicals (we tried that last summer and it got scummy a couple of times) so we figured we would just get a little one that we could empty and fill easily. Anyway, she acts like she is really swimming. Oh, and she knows where the pool is, too.... as soon as you walk outside, she looks at it and gets all excited.... adorable.

Camping

Monday night and Tuesday night the family went camping. We were planning on tent camping, since we have all of the gear, but changed our minds at the last minute. Erin wasn't crazy about going at all, and with Ivy being so little, we decided a cabin may be the way to go. So I found a place on the internet and we drove out. It was in a little town called Big Prairie.... and it was beautiful. Not that TOledo is really "big city" life, but being in the country was so refreshing.

The first night there, we all went swimming.... that was when we realized we forgot Miss Ivy's stroller and A LIGHTER TO LIGHT THE FIRE. So we asked the person at the desk where the nearest Wal-mart was. It's amazing, we were in the middle of Amish country and there were still two Walmart's within a half hour of us. Anyway, so we went to Walmart, got our forgotten supplies, and returned to the campsite to cook dinner (on the grill).

Tuesday we went canoeing.... definately an adventure with a wee one, but still very fun. Nathan, Erin and Kyle were in the canoe (Nathan and Kyle paddled) and Ivy and I were in an inner tube dragging behind the boat. The water was cold, but we still had fun.... until Ivy decided it was way past her naptime and started screaming bloody murder. I kept telling her she was disturbing the peace of the wilderness, but she didn't care. She cried until she fell asleep on my chest, about 5 minutes before the canoe trip was over. We'll have to work on the timing next time.

Tuesday night we cooked on the grill again and made s'mores over the fire.... yum. Wedsnesday was basically spent packing up and driving home. It was a really nice trip and I definately think we'll try to do it again this summer.

Oh, and by the way, camping in a cabin is STILL real camping. I had to walk to go th the bathroom, walk even further to take a shower, there was no A/C and plenty of bugs... oh, and a raccoon who was stalking our cabin, causing me to go sit in the car and read my book. Definately real camping. :o)

Ivy's Ears

Yesterday we went for Ivy's recheck.... it was supposed to be Tuesday, but we are going camping so it had to be rescheduled. Once again, I didn't think she was any better.... still tugging at her ears, a little cranky. Well, I was wrong. Her ears are clear once again. Yay! So now hopefully they STAY THAT WAY!

Well Check

Ivy went to the doctor today for her nine month well check. Here's the stats:

Length - 28" (75%)
Weight - 20.0 pounds (75%)
Head - not sure on this one, but it was past the 100 percentile!!!

So her noggin is still huge, but the pedi said not to worry, one of her parents must just have a big head... my vote is for Nathan because it sure can't be me, lol. Everything else is looking good.... Dr. Amy said Ivy has an umbilical hernia(!!) which kind of made me mad because no one has ever mentioned it before. Also, she said she was totally fine with me not starting table food yet, especially with the distinct lack of teeth. She admitted she is conservative when it comes to table food because she had some issues with children having a "rough time" with it during her residency.... all I can figure is choking?? She said her reccommendation would be to wait until a year if that is what I want.

Here's some bad news.... when we got there and they took Ivy's temp, it was 99.2. Girly usually runs pretty low, like in the 97s, so right away I thought "ear infection." And I was right. Her right ear is fine, but her left ear hasn't cleared up from the last infection (two weeks ago). Dr. Amy said she hears from lots of parents that they don't like the ENT's, that they don't listen and just reccommend surgery, and said our decision to wait through the summer is fine, BUT if after this clears up Ivy gets ANOTHER infection, she wouldn't wait if it were her daughter. So now that's on my plate again. Only time will tell.

HOT!

For crying out loud, it is soooo hot here. Yesterday, the high was over 90, right now it is 84 and it is supposed to be in the 90s all week! This is Ohio, not Texas FTLOG! We drove all over town looking for a pool for Ivy and had a really hard time getting one. We finally scored one at Toys R Us. It is filled up, in the sun, warming up so it is ready when Ivy wakes up from her nap. We've been keeping her as naked as possible and she has a rash that I think is heat related. Her nine month well check is tomorrow, so we will see then.

nine months

Nine months? Where has the time gone? Ivy pulls up on anything and everything now.... she is even starting to cruise a little bit. I think she may FINALLY be getting a tooth---she chews on her tongue all the time and the drool has kicked up a notch. She's getting to be a stubborn baby.... when you take something away or make it so she can't get to what she wants (usually someting she shouldn't have!) she throws a miny fit. She's also very into pulling mommy's hair and taking glasses off people's face. She doesn't seem to give other people a hard time with hair pulling and pinching like she does Mommy.... testing the limits already, I guess. She occassionally gets on all fours and crawls, but it's still usually the Army crawl. She adores the bird and loves it when we take her into the kitchen to have a peek. I finally started giving her fruit puffs to munch on, so she sits in her high chair while we eat. She semi-chokes on them still, so I am not sure she is ready for other table food. I still lay wih her to put her to sleep and I love that time.... I look forward to it every day. I love that baby more than anything in the world.....

Eight Months

I can not believe that my baby is eight months old today. She is turning into such a little person. She crawls around using just her arms.... the army crawl. She has just started pulling up onto her knees, but hasn't mastered getting from her knees to her feet without a LOT of assistance from mommy or daddy. She says mamama, dadada, bababa, gagaga and I've also heard goo a couple of times. She sqeals a lot and does funny gurgling noises too. I just can't hold her or hug her enough. For her eight month birthday she gave us two presents..... she went from laying down to sitting up by herself and also held her bottle for the first time by herself.... she usually uses bottle time as pure relaxation, with her hands thrown behind her head. I just can't believe how fast they grow up......

Chicago

Tomorrow morning Ivy, Mom, Bob Pay and I are driving to Chicago to see Jessica. I am just about packed, but now it is 1:25am and I am not tired at all. I think it might be because I am stressed about the trip.... the funny thing is that Ivy does great on trips like this, it's Mommy who gets nervous.

cutie

I student teach every day from 8am - 12pm. Nathan gets home from work and wakes me up at 7:15 and crawls into bed until Ivy wakes up. So this morning, Ivy was in bed with me (she had a bit of a rough night last night). When I left for "work", Nathan and Ivy were snuggling. He told me this afternoon that she woke him up by scooting closer to him and pulling his moustache hairs!!! she didn't make any noise at all, just pulled at his whiskers!! how cute is she? :o)

cough

Ivy has a pretty bad cough today. I am planning on waiting a week and seeing if it gets better.... of course I will take her in if I think she is having a hard time breathing. I'm proud of myself that I am waiting... when she was a newborn, we were at that doctor's office about once a week!

six months

Ivy had her well check today. I can't believe she is six months old already. She is turning into such a little person. Here are her stats from today:

Length: 27" (90%)
Weight: 16 lbs. 12 oz. (70%)
Head: 45 1/4 cm (99%)

Big head!! Oh well, I guess someone has to be 99th, right?

couple things

first of all, jessica and pierre are coming friday! i am so excited for them and ivy to finally meet. of course, i am excited to see them too. ivy is asleep in her crib and i -should- be packing so we can leave tomorrow for cleveland. i'm sure i will have tons of pictures after this weekend.

i think i am calling the doctor tomorrow. ivy had been spitting up a lot, so i stopped with the solids for a couple of days. she didn't spit up at all yesterday or tuesday, so we gave her rice cereal this morning and all was fine. i was at deanna's tonight and ivy ate at 4pm. around 6pm, she spit up all over the place. that just seems weird to me.... too far away from the feeding, you know. plus she's been pulling on her ears, but that may just be because she -found- them, you know? but it could also be that there is something wrong.... she's always been a happy baby, even when sick. i figure better to be safe than sorry when we are leaving for cleveland tomorrow and while there the only option is the ER, you know?

a little off

ivy has been plain old weird lately. the whole week gale was here, ivy's nap schedule was waaaaay off. this week her napping has gotten a lot better, but she is still really off at night. she has been sleeping through the night for awhile now, but lately she's been waking up either ready to play or really restless. she's never been overly dependant on the binky, but on those restless nights i pull her into bed with me so i can help hold the binky in because if it falls out their is some serious whining. i think the ready to play nights may be an issue of her seeing me next to her when she wakes up.... makes me think she is ready for her own room. unfortunatly, i am NOT ready for that change. i just don't feel safe having her downstairs and me upstairs with nathan gone all night.

four months

Ivy had her four month check up today. overall, it was a good appointment.... the doctor was really awesome(in the past, i've felt really rushed, but i've always thought she was nice). here's ivys' stats:

length: 26 inches
weight: 15 pounds
head circ.: 43 1/2 cm

she's way bigger than i thought.... i think she still looks tall and skinny. the doctor said to start her with cereal.... she's getting more than 36 oz. of formula (some days, not always, i feed on demand) and the doc said you don't want to give them more than that because of the high fat content in formula.... makes sense to me, so i'll go for it. i've been trying to do research on when to start solids, but nothing i find agrees with anything else i find, so i'll just listen to the doctor! she also said she doesn't feel any teeth at all in ivy's mouth, so that's one less thing to worry about for now.

she suggested trying to start putting ivy to bed still awake... i totally understand that she needs to be able to soothe herself yadda yadda yadda, but i LIKE rocking her to sleep. i think we might try the self soothing thing for naps but rock for bedtime? who knows.....last time ivy got her shots she slept the whole day, it was great....this time she hasn't slept AT ALL since her appointment (1:00)....she's been fussy, but nothing horrible... jsut wants momma's lovin'. she just now laid down for a nap, fell asleep eating.... we'll see how long it lasts.

portraits

we got ivy's portraits done (again!) at walmart today. they were so great that i made nathan buy the photo disk so we would always have them. supposedly you can't print the pictures out because they are really low quality, but at least i can look at them on the computer!



i think she looks likes she's up to something here