And now that I've seen her

I just got back from seeing Christina at Daycare and she is in a very silly mood today. Here are a couple of pictures I took:








And here are two more pictures I took recently.

Loving life

My little one has been loving life lately. She continues to be happy almost all of the time. She likes to hold Mommy or Daddy's hand and she seems to enjoy cuddle time more than ever. Her loving and happy personality is easy to see, even with strangers.

She gets excited over the smallest things: a smile from her Mom, a toy at daycare, a puppet on Baby Einstein. She continues to love shopping and she really loves car rides. If she isn't sleepy, she likes to gaze out the window and take in the exciting world around her. If she is sleepy, she will pass right out and sleep like an angel.

Breastfeeding and co-sleeping have been very rewarding for me. I cherish being able to snuggle up to her at night and wake with her beautiful face next to mine. Since Nik often comes home from work when she is already asleep, I know he really enjoys being able to sleep next to her as well. We could probably watch her sleep for hours. She is just so peaceful and beautiful when she sleeps.

My little baby is growing up so quickly. She is going to be 6 months old the day in between this Saturday and Sunday. I know, there is no day in between Saturday and Sunday, but that is when her half birthday falls. She will be six months old on the 29th, but since this is not a leap year, she will skip right to 6 months and one day old.

The six month milestone brings a lot of new things for a baby. Not only is she much stronger, sitting up better, and rolling more, but she has also started solids. The doctor gave us the ok to start between four and six months. I wanted to hold off as long as possible, but since Christina is extremely interested in food, we started at five months.

It is absolutely adorable to see how excited she gets over her cereal. I usually feed her in her bouncer and it sometimes gets messy because she is bouncing up and down with excitement. In those cases, it isn't easy to get the spoon in her mouth, lol.

She is getting really good at eating from a spoon though. When we started solids last month, she would get cereal all over her face and bib. Most of it would go in her mouth and come right out a second later. Yesterday, not only did she actually eat almost all of it, but she didn't even get any on her bib. In fact, in addition to her cereal, yesterday she also had some baby applesauce. Her facial reaction to the tart taste was priceless.

Christina is also acting more and more like her parents everyday. She likes to hold her own bottle and be in control (like her Mom) and she has a huge appetite (like her Dad). She also likes to shop (like her Mom), but she also likes to hangout on the couch with her Dad. Her hair is getting longer and thicker. It hasn’t gone completely blonde, but you could definitely say it is dirty blonde. In fact she has already been referred to as a blonde haired, blue eyed girl. She takes after her Mom in that way as well.

Well, I’d love to go on and on about my baby, but instead I’m going to ditch this post so I can run over to daycare and actually see her. Later!

Productive Weekend

I hope everyone had a good weekend. Things for us were kind of chaotic, but it was very productive. We got a moving truck to move out a ton of stuff into storage. We stored boxes full of things we never use and DVDs we never watch, we stored furniture that just takes up space, and anything else we can live without for awhile.

Then, when all of that was done, we went from room to room brainstorming on how to improve the condo’s selling factor. My friend Danah was a huge help in that department. She went to school for interior design, so I pretty much don't do anything without consulting her first. We moved around some furniture, made a list of more things for the handyman to do, and made a list of things I need to buy.

Overall, I feel really good about what we’ve accomplished. Unfortunately, I still have a lot of work to do. I've got to schedule the handyman to do like a million things, I've got to paint the bedroom (thank goodness Danah will help with that!), I've got to schedule a cleaning service (because lets face it, I'm not that good at cleaning), I've got to spend several days shopping for a bunch of small but essential items needed to spruce the place up, I've got to call the Condo Association and get them to fix a few things, I've got to get an estimate on having the kitchen floor redone and the bathtub reglazed, and oh let me see . . . once that is all done, then I've got to hire a real estate agent and somehow keep the house in perfect condition for months while it is on the market. And please oh please, let it only be a few months. With a messy husband, an infant, and two dogs, the biggest challenge of all will be keeping the house clean and clutter free.

Thinking about all of that work is exhausting and speaking of exhausting, this weekend was very tiring for Christina. She got to see Grandpa, Granny, Grandma, Granddad, Aunt Mackenzie, and Danah. She seemed to enjoy the hustle and bustle to a certain point, although it did get to be a little too much for her to get a really good nap. Amazingly though, with sounds of packing tape screeching, dogs barking, and doors opening and closing, she did actually get some sleep (just not a lot). And when we went out to Applebees to celebrate the work being finished, she was a perfect angel – as if we expected anything less.

Picture Post

Here are some pictures from my phone. As you can see, Christina clearly knows that my phone is also a camera (hence, no smile).

Valentines Day

Ok, so I didn't totally forget about Valentine's Day, I just forgot to post about it. Honestly, the day doesn't have that much meaning to me. I guess when I was in high school it did, but then again it is so "in your face" that you kind of need to be a part of it. Now, I'd much rather celebrate my anniversary rather than Valentine's Day.

But, that being said, we didn't totally ignore Valentine's Day. Since we have never left Christina with a babysitter before (other than family), Nik and I went out to dinner with Christina. I was a little worried that it would screw up her sleeping schedule because she is usually asleep around 7, and our reservation was at 8. We ended up lucking out though, because she slept completely through dinner.

Hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day!

______________________________________
Have you heard about Kalos Kreations?
That's my DVD slideshow company.
Give me your photo's and I'll do the rest. You won't regret it!

You can contact me at kaloskreations@yahoo.com for more information.
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Packing up the house

I am taking on a very large project. Nik and I want to put our condo on the market because we are outgrowing it. With Christina and all of the stuff that comes along with her, I am getting claustrophobic in this condo. Unfortunately, the reason we need to move is going to cause a problem trying to sell. There is too much stuff everywhere!

So, my project is packing up and storing everything and anything that we can live without. We need to seriously clear out the condo so that we can put it on the market. We already have a few rooms worth of stuff in our storage space, so we are maxed out there. This means that we have to rent a storage unit. It sucks to have to add onto our expenses, but there really is no other option.

I've also had a handyman here to get an estimate on fixing all of the little things that are broken around here. Lots of thanks to my friend Marissa who recommended an awesome handyman! I can't wait to get everything fixed. There are things that have been broken since we moved in three years ago! Can you say procrastinator?

For now I’m gathering boxes and packing as much as possible. It isn’t easy with a baby in the house, but I’m doing as much as I can. I could really use someone to watch her while I pack . . . any volunteers? :-)

I gave myself a deadline of March 1st. That is, March 1st I'm going to call a real estate agent and get the ball rolling. I still need some recommendations in that department too, so if anyone knows of a great Real Estate Agent in my area, please let me know.

_____________________________________
Have you heard about Kalos Kreations?
That's my DVD slideshow company.
Give me your photo's and I'll do the rest. You won't regret it!

You can contact me at kaloskreations@yahoo.com for more information.
_____________________________________

Picture Post

This is what daycare does to Christina . . . .















Christina likes her exersaucer . . .














And her hand . . .

















I think the days of her smiling on camera are over. Now when we pull out the camera, she gives us this look:



















Here is the evil Nebulizer:















And this is what she thinks of it:

Cranky Christina

After an entire week of antibiotics, and the nebulizer with Abuterol and steriods, Christina is doing much better. She has been very cranky the last couple of days though, which is due to lack of sleep. She can't sleep during the day, because the Abuterol and the steriods keep her wired. She does sleep at night though, thank goodness.

We have to continue the nebulizer treatments for another week after all of her symptoms are completely gone. So, even though Christina will be going back to daycare on Monday, I'm still going to have to figure out how to do the nebulizer three times a day. I think by tomorrow all of her symptoms will be gone. Today she doesn’t even seem sick, although this morning I heard a little bit of wheezing.

Thank goodness I found a way to do the nebulizer at home without Christina crying the entire time. I put her in her swing, with Baby Einstein on the TV, and then I put the mask on her. She does pretty well. Most of the time she goes into a little trance and doesn't even move. Sometimes she keeps moving her head around, trying to get the mask to move so that she can get part of it in her mouth. It is quite funny actually. Occasionally she will cry through the treatment. I feel so bad for her when she does that. I will be happy when this is all over.

Sick baby

Do you remember when I said that Christina is sick again but it is no big deal? Well, I guess I was wrong again. She has double Pneumonia. I can't believe it. Yesterday was like déjà vu going from the doctor's office to radiology to the pharmacy and then finally home.

We now have Christina on antibiotics, Tylenol and we also have a handy nebulizer at home. Some type of liquid medication goes into the nebulizer to produce this mist that Christina needs to inhale 3-4 times a day. Every time we turn it on, we have to fight to get her to inhale the stuff. She keeps turning her head back and forth to escape the evil vapor. Not to mention, I think I am inhaling more of the stuff than she is. Last night I'm pretty sure it made me dizzy and just gave me an overall icky feeling. Plus it makes an incredibly loud noise and it is impossible not to get the mist in your eyes while using it. No wonder Christina doesn't like it.

Other than the dislike for the vapor producing machine, Christina seems to be handling her sickness very well. Just like last time, she likes to charm the doctor's into thinking that she isn't sick. But, her smiles do not hide her runny nose, sneezing and coughing fits, fever, or the horrible sound that comes from her every time she breathes.

I bet daycare doesn't mind that she is going to be out all week. They get paid whether she is there or not. Work, on the other hand . . . not so happy that Christina is sick again. That means that Mommy has to stay home all week. So on top of caring for a sick baby and trying to get myself healthy, I get the added guilt of not being at work. It's just great.

I'm sure it isn't a coincidence that Christina started daycare two weeks ago and now she is sick. Did I tell you that all of the babies at daycare have runny noses? They are all coughing and sneezing and generally spreading all of their lovely germs around. It's great (sense the sarcasm).

People tell me that Christina's immune system will be stronger when she is older because of all of this. I certainly hope they are right.

Good girl Daisy

Our family dog passed away a couple of weeks ago. I want to share with all of you what my step Dad wrote in her memory:

Friday, January 23, 2009

Good Girl Daisy

A Shetland Sheepdog like no other, our beloved Daisy has been called into service by The Shepherd in Heaven. We know that Heaven is a happier place because of Daisy - she makes friends where ever she goes - but it hurts so much to be without her.

Daisy came to us at a time when we were all still settling in together, she helped us become a family and turned our house into a home. The cats seemed none too thrilled, but that didn’t faze her; she went on to tease and torment them for the rest of their lives. After ‘Precious’ then ‘Jane’ each passed away, Daisy noticed that one of her roommates didn’t make it back from the vet, looked inside the empty cat box, then pined in that sorrowful way that doggies do.

Now, we are all pining for Daisy.

We all loved her and she returned that love to us tenfold.

No-one loved Daisy more, nor showed their love better than Scott. After he moved into the house three years ago, Daisy became rejuvenated; we know that she lived a much longer and happier life because of him. He bought her toys and treats, played with her, bathed her and made sure that she stayed active. One other (perhaps minor?) thing that happened when Scott moved in: he ‘liberated’ Daisy from being forced to sleep in the laundry room. She really seemed to appreciate the new sleeping arrangements, whereby she got to sleep on her very own pillow on the floor of his room. Who’d a thunk it??

She did have a few quirks. You could never really take her for a walk, she would take you. She’d twirl around so much that it was hard to hold on to the leash. But, she was a sheepdog and as far as she was concerned, you were her sheep.

She had a huge problem with my guitar playing. Whenever I reached into the kitchen ‘junk drawer’ to pull out a guitar pick, she knew what was about to happen and would run over to the guitar and bark her little head off. She was probably just speaking up on behalf of music lovers everywhere.

She hated vacuum cleaners, brooms and the electric carving knife – she’d go ballistic at the very sight of them; we never did get to the bottom of that issue. She didn’t think too highly of power washers either, but, I was right with her on that one.

She was obsessed with balls – soccer balls, footballs, baseballs – anything spherical and/or an object thrown or kicked between parties of two or more. She always wanted in on the game, running back and forth, panting almost to the point of exhaustion. On one steamy summer’s day, she almost did pass out; we had to sit her in a tub of water to cool down.

With soccer, she could read body language as well as any defender in the English Premier League. Based on stance, ball-to-kicker angle differential and a keen sense of vector projection, she always knew exactly where to stand in order to receive the ball. She would even kick the ball when you told her to; she was usually more responsive to an English accent.

Fetching a ball never really caught on with Daisy, her take on it was more like: OK, I am now standing over the ball, go on and try to take it away from me. She made up her own rules.

Thankfully, Daisy was barely aware of the tumor that kept growing inside her; she just went about her business. She did seem to sleep a little more as the years went on, but that sort of thing happens after a lifetime dedicated to counting sheep.

Last weekend, things took a turn for the worse and by Wednesday night, she was in very bad shape. I called Scott on his cell then he rushed home; we both knew that the dreaded day had come. We would not let her suffer. As much as we had tried to prepare ourselves for this day, it was no less painful. Unfortunately, Mary was away on business and would not be able to say her final goodbye.

Daisy passed away peacefully in the loving arms of Scott, as we both stroked her and told her how much we loved her.

Our home feels so empty. I’d give almost anything to hear the sound of those paws scrambling towards the front door to welcome me home.

Daisy, thank-you for coming into our lives, it was an honor and a privilege to be among your sheep.

We will always miss you and will never forget you.

Good girl Daisy, good girl.