this whole "single mother" thing is harder than it looks

And extremely exhausting. Especially when you're working and trying to pack at the same time. I'm so sleepy.

Abby's been trying to be good this week. She really is a good baby. It's just that sometimes, Mommy's need a break, even if it's just for a few minutes. She gets heavy after awhile! Jimmy's going to be home tomorrow and I know she's going to be excited to see him. You should see the grin she gets when he talks to her on the phone. She gets so very very excited!

Charles said today that he's going to miss her. He hasn't been around baby giggles and smiles in a long time and I think he really has fun playing with her at work. I think he really is going to miss her. I bet SarahBelle will. That dog loves Abby. And Abby thinks it's really funny when SarahBelle licks her feet.

We had her four month well baby check up yesterday. The doctor says she's perfect. 13 pounds 2 ounces, 24 and a half inches long, head circumference of 16 and a quarter. She's in the 50th percentile of everything, so she's growing nicely. The nurses couldn't get over how cute she was and Dr. Isales said she is one of the smiliest babies he's ever seen, which I think it cool. Everyone seems to be so excited by her smiles, you know? It's very cute. She grins a lot. It's great.

But right now? Pack some more and then sleep as I have to work early tomorrow and it's going to be a long day. Love you all.

............................it's been a LONG week and a half

And I've been exhausted and I'm very very sorry I haven't been updated. There will be lots and lots of pictures posted this evening when I get home but, at the moment, I am at work so do not have the ability to upload pictures.

Momma came into town on June 27th. It was so great to have her in town for awhile. She hasn't been in Key West since right after Lil Miss was born, so she hasn't seen her, in person, in three months. She's gotten much bigger, and I swear she grew an inch in the time that Momma was here visiting. She is sprouting like weed! She's at least thirteen pounds now. She's definitely going to be more than double her birth weight by six months!

We went to Orlando late last week so that Jimmy could interview for jobs. He looked at places in Orlando and also interviewed with a company on Ponce Inlet, near Daytona Beach. He was offered a job there the next day and took it. So we're moving to Daytona Beach! He and Momma are actually there right now (they drove up last night), finding an apartment and getting things settled. Then he's going to work up there for two weeks and I'm going to finish things up down here with Charles. He's coming back down the last weekend in July and we'll be moving up then. It's going to be a long two weeks without him here, but it will be good because both of us can work and get as much cash as possible for the move. Charles is calling around to see if anyone he knows or anyone else knows is working in Daytona Beach or the surrounding area and looking for help. Hopefully we'll be able to find me something quickly. Even if it doesn't pay as much as Charles is paying me, it would hopefully be full or mostly full time and, also, living expenses in Daytona are about HALF of what they are here.

Crazy, I know.

Mommy was happy to be in Orlando because you know what they have in Orlando? Targets and Walmarts. And I have some gift cards from when Miss Abby was born that I wanted to use to get her some 0-3 month clothes because she is finally growing out of her newborn stuff (I think she finally got too long for most of it this last week). I have lots of newborn stuff and lots of over 6 month stuff but now until 6 month stuff is a little less full. So I got a few things for her to fill in the gap. They also have outlets (including an OshKosh outlet!) in Orlando, but we did NOT go. It's good to know it's there, though, for when we need stuff down the line.

So Miss Abby had two firsts last week -- her first experience with Disney and her first experience with fireworks. We didn't go to a Disney park (Abby's a bit young for that, and they're a bit expensive to pretty much just go walk around in) but Momma wanted me to see the marketplace part of Downtown Disney, so last Saturday we went down there are walked around for awhile. Abby was fascinated by all the people and the stuff. Momma got her a stuffed Stitch that's almost as big as she is. She's still very attached to Raffe, but she does like her Stitch -- she hugged on him and chewed on him the entire time we were at Marketplace. Momma also brought me a stuffed Figment from Epcot, that I will most likely share with Abby. It's very cute and makes Mommy a VERY happy girl. I got Momma a stuffed Squirt to go with her stuffed Crush (from Finding Nemo) so she can remember to relax when she needs to.

I also found the "Team Mickey" store, which is dangerous. I do so love some of the stuff in there! And even though we're in Daytona, we're still going to be close enough to go to Disney pretty easily (it might be an hour and a half drive, and that's WITH hitting Disney traffic and going all the way to Ponce Inlet -- Port Orange (where we will most likely actually be living) is about twenty minutes or so closer). My goal is to be able to afford season passes to Disney and a few treats each year from there once Abby is old enough to really get it and have fun.

The fireworks were, of course, Saturday night. The hotel we were staying at was right by Celebration (it was called Seralago -- if any of you are going to Orlando, it's a great hotel, very comfortable and safe and perfectly nice, great for families and rather cheap. Good spot to remember), so we decided to go watch their fireworks. Traffic was, of course, horrible, so we pulled off into an office building parking lot and decided to watch from there. There were a number of other groups doing the same thing and, to be honest, it was perfect. We were able to avoid most of the traffic leaving and, while we couldn't see the really low fireworks perfectly, we could still see the fireworks just fine and were far enough away that the smoke and noise weren't too bad. I was worried about the loud noise frightening Abby, but she was perfectly happy and liked watching the pretty lights. She actually fell asleep towards the end though (considering that they started more than thirty minutes past her usual bedtime and by the time they were ending, it was almost an hour after she usually goes to bed). The noise didn't even seem to phase her!

Lil Miss travelled pretty well. She didn't necessarily LIKE being in her carseat all day for two days and a bit the rest of the time, but she dealt with it. And she was perfectly fine in the hotel (we took her pack and play, so at least that was familiar). She actually let Momma be the one to wake up with her most of the time she was here, so Mommy could get some sleep (though I still generally heard her wake up and would go talk to her). Momma swore up and down that she wanted to get up with her. I think she just wanted as much grandbaby time as she could get her hands on. It was cute. Abby likes her Grandma, though she definitely knows who I am. It's nice to see her face light up when she sees me, and Momma said that in the mornings, when she was up, she would watch the door waiting for me to come in. Very cute.

So it's been a very long week and a half, but it's good. It's going to be okay and things are going to get better. I just know they are.

And I'll try very hard to be god about this again! Love you all!

still in key west, where it's too damn hot

June 19, 2009

Lil Miss got her first immunization shots yesterday. Oh good lord let me tell you that was NOT fun.

She was good, she really was. Don't get me wrong: She was not at all shy about letting Mommy know, in absolutely no uncertain terms, that "That fucking hurt!". Right after the needle went into her leg, she looked up at me for about two seconds in absolute shock, then screwed up her face and started screaming. She cried until the nurse was done.

However, she didn't kick. She let me hold her in place and let the nurse do what the nurse had to do without too much trouble. As soon as the shots were over, I stood up (to let her know it was over) and she got a little bit quieter. As soon as we got outside the building, and she was sure it was over, she stopped crying and just snuggled really close and sniffled. I held her and rocked her and cuddled with her in the parking lot for about twenty minutes before putting in her carseat to leave.

I gave her Tylenol like her doctor suggested and she never ran a fever. She was a little fussy yesterday afternoon, but I think that was more because she was in the car a lot yesterday (we took Daddy to the hospital in Marathon before her shots appointment, drove back to Key West for her appointment, back to Marathon to pick up Daddy, back to home to drop Daddy off, back into town to drop off his prescription and get him some OTC sleeping medicine then back home -- LOTS of time in the car) than from the shots. In general, she was so good.

June 20, 2009

It was a bit of a sad day. I had been hoping to be on the road to Orlando first thing this morning, but Jimmy's still sick. That wasn't happening. He kept saying this week that Lil Miss and I should go without him but I didn't want to leave him sick, especially on Father's Day weekend. I asked him if he was saying that because he WANTED us to go, if us not being here would make him feel better, but he said no, he wanted us here.

So we stayed.

Lil Miss misses him, I think. She hasn't really seen him much this week and he hasn't played with her. Every time she *does* see him (when he walks through to get something to drink or something) she grins at him and does the thing where she kicks her feet and reaches towards him, like she does when I go to get her up from her naps. It's a very cute thing to see and it makes me very happy. I'm sure it would make him happy if he noticed it, but Daddy is very sick.

Watching WALL-E tonight before bed.

Lil Miss got to "talk" to her Aunt Anjie today. She called to talk to me about an interview I have next week and Lil Miss was talking a little bit while we were on the phone. I tried putting the phone to her ear so Anj could talk to her (she did) and she could talk to Anj (she didn't). She apparently haven't picked up on the fact that we WANT her to make noise when we put the phone to her ear. Her family wants to hear her talk! Her Grandma Lynn wanted to talk to her this morning, but she was napping when Momma called and I was talking to her.

I'm sad we didn't get to go to Orlando, but Momma's coming down here next weekend, after her conference is over. So Lil Miss and I will get to see her, which is nice. And, hopefully, we'll all three be going to Georgia in the end of July, for the open house at Andy's new church, once they're settled into the parsonage.

It's hot down here. Hot and humid. I feel bad for Lil Miss -- she has GOT to be miserable. I try to keep her room nice and cool for her -- her Daddy likes the cold too, so we're pretty used to it. She's doing really well sleeping in her own room.

She's such a good little baby. Mommy is spoiled.

My liyyle munchikin, being grumpy for some reason.

baby one coming in for landing!

June 18, 2009

Yep, that is my little airplane coming in for a landing! She plays horsey with Daddy and airplane with Mommy (what? Mommy needs to tone up her thighs -- this helps!). She likes it -- she leans forward or she'll "Superman" while up there. It's very very cute.

Lil Miss was so good for me today. We went to work this morning and I knew it was going to be a busy day because Charles is leaving for Costa Rica for ten days tomorrow afternoon. While Lil Miss did decide that the best place to be when Mommy was typing up the dictation was in my lap, once she was there, she was perfectly happy. It was a bit interesting though -- have you ever tried typing with an almost three month old who can't exactly sit up well on her own sitting in your lap?

Let me tell you -- it's quite the experience.

Lil Miss is such a hit up there. The attorneys all love her -- none of them have young children anymore and none of them have grandchildren yet, so there haven't been baby-babies in their worlds for quite awhile. And now that Lil Miss does more than just, you know, sit there and sleep, they think it's great. The first thing Chip does when he comes in is come up to say hi to her and get her to smile (he says it makes her day). And Rae (the other assistant -- her daughter is twenty two and just graduated from West Point (we're very proud of her)) just LOVES Lil Miss. And Lil Miss grins at her all the time. She even lets Rae hold her (not many people other than family have held Lil Miss -- not even Natalie or her daughters. Mainly just me and Jimmy and Lauren, and Grandma Barbara and Grandma Lynn when they were here. Oh, and, of course, her doctor and the nurses). Now part of that is because most of our neighbors and friends are twenty something males that aren't exactly comfortable, you know, holding babies. (c: But mainly? I like holding her. (c:

The Drool Monster attacks again!

Lil Miss had a bit of a grumpy this afternoon (I think she was gassy) but it wasn't horrible and we dealt with it. Thanks for the idea, by the way, Grandma Peggy -- the leg trick worked great -- she stopped fussing right away. She's been trying to be so good for the past few days -- I think she's picking up that something is different in the house and Mommy's slightly stressed. She's doing well sleeping in her nursery. She didn't sleep much today at work and didn't take a long nap this afternoon, so she actually put herself to sleep about seven thirty. I'm fully prepared for her to wake up very very early in the morning. I am, however, going to go wake her up to eat before I go to bed. Also, because I want to put her in her jammies (she's sleeping in a onesie right now -- I didn't expect her to actually be putting herself to bed. I figured she'd wake up again before "bedtime").

Jimmy's still sick. I hate not knowing how to help or how to fix it. I'm still hoping, but I'm preparing myself to not get to go to Orlando this weekend. )c: That makes me a sad panda. I was looking forward to getting off the island and, most importantly to seeing my Momma!

Tomorrow, we have our shots appointment. Mommy is NOT looking forward to that. I don't like it when she cries the "hurt" cry! It breaks my heart. )c:

our little one is a drool monster

June 17, 2009

It was a bit of a better day than yesterday, though still a long one.

Lil Miss slept all night last night in her room, in the pack and play. Because Jimmy is sick and I wanted him to sleep when he could and because I wanted her to sleep as well, I put her in the nursery so they wouldn't wake / keep each other up. I slept on the couch so I wouldn't wake either one taking care of the other.

She slept very well and seemed perfectly happy. So that's a good sign.

I didn't work today. Lil Miss and I spent the day together like usual. We had to go down and pick up WIC checks and, while we were there, the nutritionist weighed her for me. She was twelve pounds and four ounces. She was, however, wearing a dress and had a bit of a wet diaper, I think. So I'm guessing she's right at twelve pounds. My worries that she's not getting enough to eat? Apparently completely unfounded. She's doing just fine. That makes me happy.

My little drool monster -- she was very drooly today.

Other than that? We hung out around the house a lot. We went to the grocery on the way home to get Jimmy more Gatorade. We did laundry. We packed Lil Miss' stuff (other than the things I use on a daily basis and therefore cannot pack beforehand) for this weekend. I'm still hoping we can go, though I'm not sure anymore. Jimmy isn't throwing up much anymore and he's sleeping now. Usually, that means it's almost over. We'll see. I'm not going to let him go unless I'm sure he's better.

After she went to bed? I watched NCIS and did some cleaning. It's been a rather uneventful day.

Oh -- I did get a call setting up another interview for a full time job down here. So, another possibility for something to come through. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

And now? Dinner (.........I forgot to eat today) and then bed.

this will probably be very short

June 16, 2009

Because Mommy's had a very long day.

Lil Miss woke up at four am. Screamed at Mommy for about three and a half hours total (she did give me short breaks every once in awhile). Nothing I did helped. If I put her down, it just got worse. She wasn't wet, she wasn't hungry, she wasn't sleepy, she wasn't hot. I didn't know what was wrong.

I had to wake Jimmy up at eight thirty because I had to leave for work by nine and hadn't even begun to get ready because she wouldn't let me.

As soon as I handed her to him she stopped screaming and was just fussy. Then she stopped all together before I left.

I worked and then went to my interview. Jimmy kept Lil Miss here. He called a few times because he started feeling sick. He's stressed himself out again.

I got home. He said she'd been a little fussy, but over all, she'd been good. Jimmy was sick. So I took the baby. It was three fifty pm.

She proceeded to scream at me again for two and a half hours straight. She finally cried herself out and fell asleep on my shoulder at about seven or so. She's been out pretty much ever since except for me waking her up to put her in her jammies and feed her.

Now she's sleeping her her nursery and Jimmy's sleeping in our room. Mommy gets to sleep on the couch, so I can hear either of them when / if they need me, but this way I won't keep Jimmy up, Jimmy won't wake her and she won't wake him.

Basically? Mommy had a rough day with Lil Miss. It makes me feel like a horrible Mommy when she cries like that because I know something's wrong but I don't know what and I can't fix it. She's not running a fever. She's not sick. She's just crying.

And it breaks my heart.

Finally crashed out on Mommy's shoulder.

*nom, nom, nom*

June 14, 2009

Don't you just love her little apple cheeks? I think they're precious!

We're going to Orlando! We're going to Orlando! So Momma has a conference (I'm pretty sure it's a Conscious Discipline conference) in Orlando this weekend and Jimmy has talked to a few jet ski companies in both St. Petersburg and Orlando that want to meet him and talk to him. So we're driving up to Orlando early Saturday, staying with Grandma Lynn at the hotel Saturday night and Sunday, then coming back by way of the companies and St. Petersburg on Monday. I'm excited to get off the island for a weekend and excited to see Momma. And she sounds pretty excited that we're coming too. Though I'm pretty sure she mainly just wants to see Lil Miss. (c:

June 15, 2009

She loves this game -- the let's eat everything game. You would think she was teething or something the way she chews on things but I know she's not because 1) she's too young and 2) even if she wasn't too young, she's not the fussy you would equate with teething. She just really likes to chew on stuff. It's her favorite pasttime.

My happy little baby on her leaf pad and boppy. That smile is the best thing in the world!

Grandma Lynn came up with a good name for the giraffe -- Raffe. It works. So that's what we're calling it now. She's even more attached to that thing that she was in the beginning. Now, there are times she'll be fussy and I can't figure out what's wrong and then I realize that Raffe is still in the crib. As soon as I give him to her, she's quiet. Definitely her security blanket. He's going in the laundry on Wednesday because he is awfully slobbery and I want him clean before this weekend. I'm trying to make sure she's not completely out of place in the hotel, since it's going to be a completely new place. She's never slept anywhere but here since she came home from the hospital, so I just want to make sure she's comfortable and happy.

Though I'm pretty sure as long as Mommy and Daddy are there, she'll be a happy girl.

My little baby at eight thirty last night, sleepy and so close to out cold.

So I have a job interview tomorrow. Probably in the afternoon, since I'm working for Charles in the morning. Send happy thoughts.

We really really want ONE of the many possibilities to work out, that's all I'm asking. And which ever one works out, that's where we're supposed to be. That's what I've decided -- that will be our sign. Something will work out and that will be the universe telling us where we're supposed to go.

And I'll accept that.

My little baby at four thirty this morning, wide awake and wanting to play!

And Mommy couldn't sleep last night (no clue as to why) so I was tired. So now, since I've been awake since then, I'm really tired. So I go sleepy bye now.

June 12, 2009

Mommy is horrible. I just realized that I didn't get a good picture of Lil Miss yesterday. )c: She was a sleepy girl and napped a good bit of the morning and early afternoon and then Jimmy and I were discussing a lot of things when she was awake and I just didn't get out my camera. I feel bad.

So there's a lot of things up in the air in our house right now and we're just hoping and crossing our fingers that something comes through. We'll let you know as soon as we know anything.

Though we do get to see Grandma Lynn in Orlando next weekend. That makes this Mommy very happy.

Lil Miss in her car mirror -- it's mounted on the back seat and we can see it through the rear view mirror. I love that thing.

I figured out a very good way to explain what's going on with Lil Miss: she's finally getting a personality. She likes things and doesn't like things. She talks (and talks and talks) in her own little baby talk. She is definitely going to be a talkatve child like her Mommy. It's very cute when soe of her "talking" sounds like English -- you can make out "Hi" or "Hey" a lot and, every once in awhile, when she's crying, it sounds like she says "Momma". I know she doesn't, but I still love hearing it. She makes the cutest noises (when she's not trying to eat her hand, which is officially her favorite game). She seems to know us too which is awesome. I love my little munchkin.

Attacking the giraffe after a "kissing attack" (check out the videos).

Yes, you read that right. Li Miss' Moo Cow is not a cow at all -- appartently it is a giraffe. So I have to find a new name for it. But I found the company that makes them and have sent them a message to see if they can tell me where to find them so I can get extras (it's made by Ganz. It's a Baby Ganz Hug A Long Giraffe).

She's growing, but she still isn't in a lot of her 0 to 3 month clothes. She's still wearing a lot of her newborn clothes. Most of her 0 to 3 month clothes (except Gerber onesies and a couple of dresses) still swim on her. She weighs enough to be in them but she's just not long enough yet and they're too big around. I dunno. I just put her in what she fits in (c:

Both my children napping. We inherited a rocker for her room and her big brother just loves it.

we have a little teddy bear

June 6, 2009

It's my sister's birthday. It's the second of her birthdays that I've missed. )c: That makes me a sad panda. I miss my big sister.

Lil Miss wore a new dress today. Well, not exactly "new" in that it's one of the first things we had for her (it's one of the ones that Natalie gave us) but it's been too big for her until recently, so it was the first time she wore it. It's a hooded dress and it has little bear ears on the top. It's the cutest thing ever and I love it. I might actually have to go get another one the next size up for when she grows out of this one. I love it that much.

Like mother, like daughter.

It was a good and lazy day, other than the waking up at three thirty this morning part. Which means, at this point, I've been awaky for nineteen hours, as it is ten twenty at this moment. I am a sleep girl.

Jimmy did some job hunting today. Looks like he's finally going to listen to me and find another job. There were a couple of possibilities that he's going back to talk to on Monday, including one that's right around the corner from the law office. So that one would be perfect, being there, you know.

Other than that, we hung around the house, doing some cleaning and moving a few things around, me putting stuff in the new dresser I "inherited" this week. We watched some of the Yankees game and then watched the Belmont Stakes (which Mine That Bird SO almost won) and talked to Grandma Lynn on Skype too. I tried to call Anjie today to wish her Happy Birthday, but I'm sure she and Andy are busy wrapping things up in Virginia. We did send her some Lil Miss pictures and birthday wishes though.

And currently? Jimmy and I are watching Finding Nemo. I LOVE that movie. "Mine? Mine? Minemineminemineminemine" I do a very good seagull impression. (c:

If you hadn't noticed, I'm feeling much much better. This is a good thing.

Miss you all. Love you. Talk to you all tomorrow.

My cute little teddy bear, passed out cold. Being a baby is HARD work!

yeah...................i'm back

June 1, 2009

So, yeah. Mommy's been sick all week. My body does this thing when I've been pushing it very hard and it's tired where it makes me sick so I'll just stop and get some rest. Well, that's not exactly possible -- I can't not go to work and a I definitely can't just stop taking care of Lil Miss, so you know, I don't get to stop. So instead of being sick for a day like usual (if I could just sleep for like a day), I've been sick for a week. Sorry for not keeping up.

June 2, 2009

I'm feeling much better now, thanks. Though it looks like I'm probably going to have to start carrying my glasses around again -- since I stare at computers all day at work, I've started getting headaches again. Hopefully my eyes haven't gotten any worse and the glasses will help instead of making the headaches even worse.

June 3, 2009

Lil Miss has been so good all week. I don't know if she recognized that Mommy was sick or if she didn't feel good herself, but she's been taking long naps and putting herself to bed early (except for tonight). She's still getting up at four or four thirty in the morning, but most of the week, she's been rather content to sit in her little chair and bounce as long as she thinks Mommy is paying attention to her. We went to work a few days and I've done some work here too. But mainly, I've taken care of Lil Miss and gone to sleep when she did at night after cleaning the kitchen and such (cause I just can't sleep during the day). She's been going to bed early all week except today. She had a major grumpy most of the afternoon. Didn't go to sleep until almost nine thirty and I hadn't eaten anything all day.

June 4, 2009

Jimmy hasn't been feeling great either. Not the stomach thing, just waking up feeling horrible and so calling in to work. Then he sleeps a little more and when he wakes up, he feels better. I think he's so stressed out just thinking about going into work (cause he hates it there sometimes) that he is seriously making himself sick to avoid it. Anjie did it when she was little. I think I did too.

June 5, 2009

I keep telling him he needs to find a new job. I'm hoping he'll listen to me this time. Miss Sherry called tonight to say they don't need him tomorrow and he says he's going job hunting. Let's hope so and keep our fingers crossed for him on it.

Yep -- she's started "superman"ing!

Sorry this is short but, even though I'm feeling much better, I'm still extremely exhausted, so I'm going to go clean the kitchen from dinner and then, know what? Sleep. Lots of it. Cause I'll be getting up in just about six hours.

she's definitely made it part of her schedule

May 29, 2009

The whole waking up at four or four thirty and being wide awake until eight, eight thirty or nine? Yeah -- it's part of her little schedule now. I need to break her of this, cause Mommy just can't sleep during the day and can't fall asleep at nine pm. If I try, I just lay there and lay there, wide awake.

Oh well. I've run on less sleep before and I'll just be a little sleepy for awhile. It's alright.

Friday wasn't a bad day. We went to work in the morning so Charles and I could get some stuff out and done. She was so good. She only fussed once or twice, never much and would calm right down. Charles said he doesn't remember ever seeing a more aware baby -- she watches and is intrigued by everything. Though we did find out from one of the judges' assistants that the Judge's ruling on a case we went to trial on back in March is going to go our way. So Charles wants to have the bill and everything ready to go as soon as it's done, because collecting from that Plaintiff (sounds like we'll be awarded attorney's fees) is going to be, to say the least, interesting. So I get to recreate a bill of a three year old case -- pretty much from scratch. So fun, really. So a lot of work was brought home with me this weekend, cause I can do it here in the evening and when she's napping easier than I can do it at work.

May 30, 2009

Yesterday was a pretty lazy and fun day. Lil Miss was a little fussy in the morning, but that happens. We also introduced her to her Baby Einstein videos -- they fascinate her, which I guess is the point. She does like them though. She just watches the screen, with wide eyes and this little "OH" face. It's really cute.

Lil Miss and I also went to lunch with my friend Mary, who used to work with me at Ghost Tours. She had a lot of stuff going on when Lil Miss was born, so she hadn't met her yet. So we went to lunch (Lil Miss was, of course, perfect, in the restaurant) and then just hung out for awhile at her house until Lil Miss just played herself out and crashed out cold. So I brought her home.

It's so cute. She'll be playing hard -- playing playing playing -- I'll look away and look back not even two seconds later and she'll be sound asleep. I don't know how she can fall asleep so cute, but it's kind of funny. It amuses me.

Also -- question. When she falls asleep -- for naps like after her bottle -- if I put her down she usually either wakes up then or wakes up within ten minutes. But if I just hold her, she'll sleep and sleep and sleep -- sometimes for an hour or more. But as soon as I put her down, she's awake. Do all babies do that? Why is that? Is it a problem or should I just leave it?

she's got a rather good "grumpy" impression

May 28, 2009

Again with the long day. Lil Miss has decided it's a fun game to be awake from about four am until about eight thirty. And that if Mommy tries to lay her in bed with us or lay her down, she'll start crying and wake Daddy. So Mommy stays up with her and, come eight thirty when she goes back down for a nap, Mommy's wide awake.

So Mommy's sleepy.

Lil Miss had a big grumpy this morning. She screamed at me for about two hours straight and nothing I did made it better. I don't know what made my little one so sad, but it made for a very long morning.

"What in the world is that?"

She was good at work today. She had her first real experience with a vacuum cleaner -- the carpets were being steam cleaned today so, before the guy came, the other assistant (Rae) ran the vacuum. It didn't scare Lil Miss but she sure was curious as to what in the world that thing was. It was really cute.

But then we ended up being at work until after six, which meant we had to wait for the seven thirty bus to get home, meaning that we didn't get home until after eight. So she was thrown off. I had her ready for bed before nine but she fought sleep -- hard -- for the next hour and forty five minutes. I thought I had her asleep, but she interrupted me writing this blog waking up -- we JUST got her down. Maybe she'll let Mommy sleep in the morning now. She just did not want to go to sleep tonight!

Well, let's hope tomorrow morning is better, since we're going to work in the morning instead of afternoon. Let's cross our fingers on that one.

We might need it. Her mornings aren't always that great.

Watching her Daddy. She sure does love him.

she's practically perfect in every way

May 27, 2009

But, of course, we already knew that!

We had her two month check up early this afternoon. Her doctor says she's doing really good -- he says she's "perfect" -- and that she's a little ahead of where he would expect her to be in some developmental things. Jimmy swears she's a genius, but I think he's biased, but her doctor confirmed that she's a little ahead of herself and I'm sure she's going to be a very very smart little girl.

She was in the 25th percentile in everything at her two week appointment (7 lbs 4 oz, 19 inches and I forgot head circumference). She's now 11 lbs 2 oz (no clothes and a dry diaper -- so real weight) and 22 inches long with a head circumference of 15 and a third inches. She's in the 50th percentile for her age. So she's growing fast and proportionally. He says he would not be surprised if she's more than double her birth weight at six months (which is what is average). I am no longer worried that she's not getting enough food.

He said whatever it is we're doing seems to be working and to just keep doing it. She goes back for another well check up in two months.

Trying to eat her burp cloth -- that child LOVES to eat. She's NOT like her Mommy in that department.

Today was not a shots appointment because shots are done by the Health Department at the Community Health Center. They won't be for another couple of weeks because I didn't realize I had to go to a different place (my fault completely) and they're really busy. If they get a cancellation sooner, they'll call me, but that's not usual. But her doctor said she'll be alright and to just be sure to make her appointment for her next shots while I'm there anyway. I'm not looking forward to that day. Her doctor suggested giving her some baby tylenol about a half hour before her appointment to help with keeping any fever and symptoms down, but also said I could wait until after and see if any symptoms show up.

I'm not looking forward to the needles OR the thought of my poor little munchikin being sick. I don't like that. Jimmy's already said that he doesn't want to go to that appointment cause he knows he won't be able to handle it if she starts crying. So Mommy gets to be the bad guy.

But I'd expected and prepared myself for that anyway.

Sleeping in her bouncer -- she loves that thing! If you put her in it if she's at all tired, she's out old within just a few minutes.

Other than the doctor's appointment it was a rather uneventful day, as Lil Miss had another sleepy day, so she cat napped a lot. I'm pretty sure that's because she was awake last night from four am until about eight thirty this morning. We walked, she played in her bouncy chair while Mommy tried to cat nap on the bean bag chair next to her and we watched Mike and Mike in the Morning. She's a good little baby, she just apparently likes to be awake early in the morning (which means Mommy is going to bed very soon). And we got all the way through another bath with absolutely no tears. I think she's finally gotten completely used to it!

I have the best baby ever and I love her to pieces.

On another note -- send some good thoughts down this way for the next few weeks. The attorney I work for is retiring this summer, so I'm job hunting for something full time. There's a few possibilities right now and, if those don't work out, I'll just keep looking. But I could use some good thoughts. The job market here isn't great and I really want something with a steadier paycheck than waiting tables.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

mocking birds to rover -- didn't need any of them today

May 25, 2009

TOLD you I'd get you pictures from yesterday. (c:

Today wasn't bad. She was a sleepy baby today -- slept most of the afternoon when we were at work and actually slept for awhile this morning as well. She was awake from about five am until eight thirty, but then slept from then until about ten thirty. She fell asleep on the bus down to work at noon and slept for a good part of the afternoon.

And when she was awake, she was perfectly happy chewing on her hand and slobbering all over her Moo Cow while sitting in her car seat and letting Mommy work.

May 26, 2009

Yes, she is hiding behind her Moo Cow in the above picture. She does that alot -- plays peek-a-boo without knowing what peek-a-boo is. She'll pull her burp cloth over her face or pull her bib up or duck behind her Moo Cow or her Pooh Bear blanket. It's very very cute. I haven't been able to manage to get a video of it yet, but believe me -- I'm trying!!

(Check out of the video on the right that's all her in the blue dress -- the second one down. The first sound she makes is one of her adorable coos. I love that sound!)

She's finally longer than her big brother!

Zeus is finally used to her I think. She's "petted" him a few times and will lay on the floor with him right beside her, and he seems fine with it. There are moments I think he might be a tiny bit jealous, simply because when Mommy's holding the baby, she can't be loving on the kitty, but we make sure he get plenty of loving when we're both home or when she's asleep. He hasn't really tried to bother her yet. So I think he's decided she can stay.

He does love to lay on her leaf when she's not using it though.

Oh! I forgot something yesterday! We had a REALLY big first -- we managed to get all the way through a bath (from getting undressed to bath to washing the hair to getting out to being dried off and then dressed again) without any tears! She even got water on her face and didn't cry!

I was really proud of her.

Two month check up is early tomorrow afternoon (though her shots aren't for a couple of weeks -- long story), so I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Contemplating on how difficult it is to be a baby.

wherein i'm a "bad mommy" again

Only in that I accidently let the batteries in my camera die. So no picture today (I have one or two, but I have to wait for the battery to be charged to upload them).

Another day of Lil Miss not wanting to take her naps, but being sleepy, so therefore being fussy. It wasn't a horrible day though -- Jimmy only worked half of the day, so he was around this afternoon to help with her. He decided he wanted lasagna for dinner, so he watched her while I went to the grocery store and cooked. Then she and I watched Night at the Museum (one of my favorite movies!) tonight. Mommy is sleepy, cause she woke up so early today and was up for awhile last night, but I'm alright. I'm just going to go to bed early (like as soon as I'm done here).

Lil Miss did the cutest thing tonight and I don't now if it was on purpose or not. In Night at the Museum, there is a T-Rex. That roars a time or two. The first time he roared, we were laying on Mommy and Daddy's bed watching the movie. She was staring right at the screen. When he roared, she did her little "roar" right after it. I don't know if it was a coincidence (I'm sure it was) or if it was a response to the dinosaur (doubt it) but it was cool and very cute.

Also, and I forgot to mention it this morning, she did something last night that she's never done. When she woke up at like one am, she didn't cry. I heard her grumping and grumbling and woke up to get her, figuring she was hungry. So I stand up and lean over to get her out of the bassinet and, as soon as she sees me, she grins this really big grin and then lets out this coo. It was the cutest thing ever and it melted my heart. Even today, when there were a few time she was screaming at me and, as soon as her Daddy touched her, she calmed down, I just had to let myself picture that.

It took away the "she doesn't love me" or "I'm a bad Mommy" thoughts. So I just need to keep running that image through my head.

Also, in that vertical bar to the right, there are videos (if you haven't noticed yet). I have created a channel on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/angelynnsmommy) that had random videos of her, just so y'all can see her and hear her "talk". Just so you know. (c:

Now? Fold laundry and sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

eleven pounds of dead weight makes for a long weekend

May 23, 2009

It's been a long long weekend.

After Lil Miss' not sleepy at all Friday, I was expecting Saturday to be a day of naps. Haha, I was wrong -- she was a very SLEEPY baby on Saturday, but not a TIRED baby. Let's just say I had a grumpy butt ALL day on Saturday, who wanted to do nothing but fuss and nothing seemed to make her happy cause she was so sleepy but she refused to go to sleep.

Long day, cause Daddy was working (it's Memorial Day weekend -- long hours too) so Mommy had a fussy and screaming baby. Mommy was tired when she finally went to sleep.

May 24, 2009

Yesterday wasn't a whole lot better. She was actually tired, and wanted to sleep most of the day, but she refused to be put down. So Mommy got to carry around a sleeping baby -- meaning an over eleven pound dead weight -- all day long. Let me tell you how much my arms hurt when I finally got her out for the night and she let me put her down without screaming -- at ten thirty pm.

She was then awake again on this morning and was awake until almost five and then awake again at seven. Mommy is a sleepy sleepy girl.

I don't know what's going on with her. Is she maybe growing again? She is two months old today.

This is how my munchikin sleeps. It canNOT be good for her!

So yeah -- that is how my little one sleeps -- with her face directly against the side of her bassinet. No matter how many times I move her or straighten her back out, it's right back to this. I know she can breathe but it still worries me and I don't know how to stop it. Even when I use the little things that are supposed to keep her in place, she moves them til she's like this.

I don't know why she wants to sleep like that, but she is damn determined. And with me and Jimmy as parents? She's stubborn as a mule. She's going to sleep how she wants to sleep!

Trying to eat her hand. I'm not sure why. She wasn't hungry -- I tried to feed her, she spit it out and put her hand right back in.

Why does she do this? Anyone have any ideas? She tries to eat her hand on a daily basis. Not just her fingers (which she does too) but her whole fist. She can't fit it all in her mouth, but she tries damn hard. Again -- our daughter is a determined little baby. It is kinda funny to watch.

My sleepy sleepy attachmenty baby.

So yeah. I don't know how today is going to be. She's awake right now (she's playing in her bouncer) but I dunno if it's going to be a fussy day, a napping day or a normal day. I guess we'll see. I'll let y'all know tonight. Right now? I'm gonna go play with my munchkin -- and try not to think about how tired I am.

Her little monkey toys. They're so long! She can grip a finger with her toes almost as as with her hands!

it's been a long long day

May 22, 2009

A long day that started at 3:30 am.

I don't know if she's growing or if she had an upset tummy or what but Lil Miss was a grump most of the day. She woke up at 3:30 am (not uncommon), ate (again, not uncommon) but then refused to go back to sleep (VERY uncommon). She didn't fall back asleep until after we got home from work!

She didn't want to be put down in the late hours either -- from when she finished her bottle until about eight am, every time I tried to lay down with her or put her down to play or anything, she would scream. And her Daddy was still trying to sleep, as he had to work this morning, so we walked and bounced, bounced and walked for like four hours straight while Mommy was exhausted and wanted to cry. Luckily, she let me put her down long enough to get ready for work -- she was fussy but didn't scream. We got to work at ten am.

We left by eleven thirty. Because she started throwing a fit at eleven and I couldn't get her to stop. So I apologized to Charles (he said it was fine -- the most important stuff was done already anyway) and we came back home. She fussed on the bus ride, but didn't scream, thank goodness. As soon as we got home, the screaming started again. I had a baby screaming in my ear from the time we got home until the time I finally got her to go down for a nap (I think she finally just used up all her energy) about threeish I think. Between then and eight thirty, when she finally put herself down for the night, she would wake up to eat.

And be fussy for a good bit of the time she was awake.

She had a couple of short amounts of time where she was good for Mommy and Daddy -- that's where today's pictures come from. One of those about fifteen minutes. But all in all? It was a long freakin bad day.

Mommy is so exhausted she's too tired to sleep. Mommy's also a bit sad because her Momma's going to be in Florida in a few weeks (in Orlando) and it doesn't look like I'm going to get to see her.

I miss my Momma.

But now? Off to read and try to get some sleep. Daddy's home from seeing Wolverine now so I think it might be my bedtime.

Lil Miss in her bouncer -- she likes it. Mainly, I think, cause it has a mirror.

"butterfly in the sky, i can go twice as high"

May 21, 2009

She is, in that picture above, contemplating whether or not to scream. She likes warm water, but you'd think I was trying to kill her with the way she cries when I pour water on her head to wash her hair -- even if it doesn't go down her face!

This will probably be rather short, as Mommy is sleepy and has to work early in the morning.

Reading one of her new books with Daddy.

So we've learned, recently, that Lil Miss likes books. Granted, I'm not sure she can understand them yet, but she likes the pictures. And her Grandma Lynn sent her a book today that has textures she can feel and stuff -- she REALLY likes that one. And she likes books with pictures of other babies in them. She likes to look at them.

(But she likes to look at herself more. She loves the mirror I got for the car today (one of those that you put on the backseat, so you can see the rear facing car seat in your rear view mirror) because it means she can sit there and watch herself. And there's a mirror on her bouncy chair too. Lil Miss LOVES her reflection!)

She seems to like the TV too -- I think she likes the flashing lights. Momma also sent us some Baby Einsteins, so I'll probably put one of those on when we get home from work tomorrow, see how she likes it.

Daddy kisses -- she loves those.

We worked this afternoon while Daddy worked this morning. Lil Miss was a grumpy butt for some of the afternoon. I think because it was hot -- she doesn't seem to understand why Mommy can't just make the "hot" go away. And if I'm hot and uncomfortable, I know she must be miserable, since she can't regulate her temperature so well and I know she doesn't understand. I feel bad but really, what can I do? Poor munchkin -- I try to keep her out of the stifling heat as much as possible.

She's getting really good at holding her head up and controlling herself in general. She's almost in control enough that I can hold her on my hip. I can, now, but I have to hold her back cause sometimes she'll just pitch herself backwards. But she's really the cutest most bright eyed baby I've ever seen. She just loves to watch everything. I love it.

One of our neighbors has a grandson who's probably about three and he just LOVES her. Whenever he's here, he asks to see the baby and he just loves it when I'm outside walking her. I was outside with her earlier tonight and Natalie (the neighbor) and both her daughters, plus Julian (the grandson) were out there, so we went over and talked to them for awhile. Natalie and her younger daughter (who's probably 20ish) just couldn't stop cooing over her. I know they would babysit -- I know the daughter really wants to -- but I'm just not ready for babysitters yet. I can leave her with Daddy, but I'm not ready to leave her with other people.

She's my little one. It still makes me anxious to be away from her. I don't think that's ever going to go away.

Oh yeah -- and cookies to those who get the reference in the title.

Sitting on Mommy's lap while we type at work -- I'll have to try and get a picture of the actual typing. It's apparently really cute.