Raising a Kid(s): May 2011

Sunday, May 29, 2011

7 Months!!!

I also forgot to mention that Norah is seven-months-old today! Amazing. Her major accomplishment this month is the whole crawling, sitting, and pulling up thing. In addition, she's up to the following business:

Eating one to two and one half jars of baby food, three times a day.
Nursing three to four times a day.
Was weaned her off of the "dream feed" at 10:30pm.
Sleeps 7:30pm - 7:30 or 8am.
Cut her first two teeth (bottom center).
She's pretty impressed with Sadie. Enjoys crawling around after her (though far to slow) and laughing at her.

Be sure to look at the post below if you haven't already!

And She's Crawling...for Real.

It's true. Real crawling. Not that fake kind of crawling she's been doing for the last month, but the kind where she can get into eve.ry.thing. On Thursday, all the pieces came together and she hasn't stopped since. She seems even more grown up all of the sudden, but she is so much fun to watch.

"What?"

And this new phase comes with a whole new set of challenges. For example...diaper changes. This kid has no interest in laying still for the whole minute it takes to change her. She is much more fascinated with every little thing around her...but most of all...whatever is in that drawer. Apparently she's been dying to see what's in there because she loves to look in there.

"Oh wait," you say? "You didn't tell me she was also pulling up!"

Oops. Sorry. I forgot to mention that. Yes, this is also true. Not only did she start crawling Thursday, she also started pulling up. She can pull to a full stand and it's crazy. Just crazy I tell you!

It didn't take long to discover what she really wants from her drawer is a nice, dry diaper to chew on.

I had to tackle that crazy kid to finally get that diaper on her.

Also notice her red knee. Gotta callus those suckers up!

She is already looking for danger. My strategically hidden cords were revealed in the blink of an eye...or crawl...or whatever.

(Who dressed that kid anyway?)

She's happy now, but you just wait till she gets stuck. The pulling up is cute and all until a certain someone needs to nap, but can't because she's stuck holding on for dear life in her bed. Hope this passes soon. No joke.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Norah's Room Reveal...

So I waited till Norah was nearly 7-months-old to reveal her nursery. What can I say...I've been a little busy. And honestly, I kind of forgot.

But I love her room. For the first time, a room looks just as I imagined/hoped it would. It is filled with little treasures that make is so, so special. The natural light in the room is wonderful and I knew I wanted to keep it cool and calming. After maaaaany sample paints and self-made mixtures (and nagging of the neighbors/hubby about which slightly different shade of grey was best), I found just the right grey.

The most special part of the room is the dresser/hutch combo. This was Omar's furniture as a child. I will write another post about the transformation of this piece to what it looks like today, but I love that under the fresh coat of white paint, you can see all the bangs and dents he put in it all those years ago. There is a second hutch that we will add to the other dresser once we no longer need a changing table (don't worry, she couldn't turn over at the time this picture was taken).

Also special to the room:

The picture frames. I found them at at local warehouse/estate sale and refinished them. I still ned to fill them with 8x10's of our little girl.
The chair. Oh My Goodness. The chair. I love the chair. Omar's parents helped us purchase the chair as a Christmas gift and it is everything I ever dreamed of. I know it's white...but I don't regret it.
The "Norah" letters. I didn't plan on using letters, but Omar really wanted them (which I thought was cute). I especially couldn't say no when he asked in such a hopeful way, "Are you going to paint them pink?" They are pretty cute!
The framed teddy bear. My step-granny drew this picture of a bear that once belonged to one of her family members long, long ago (I mean 1800 something). This picture is a replica of course.
The set of Chronicles of Narnia stacked under that piggy bank. These were once my mom's that I also read. We will be sure to read them to the girls in a few years.
The crib (see below). This was Sadie's friend, Evie's crib and we are grateful Norah gets to use it!
The bedding. This is a hand-me-down from our Kentucky friend Tiffani. Sadie used it first, and the pink toile is even more wonderful in Norah's room.

The wallpaper lined drawers. I found this roll of scrap wallpaper for 50 cents at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store long before I was pregnant with Norah. It's perfect.

The mobile. I was inspired by a similar one I saw online and decided I could make one myself. They turned out perfect and spin ever so slightly with the fan on!

And all for this sweet little girl. We love you Norah!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Poor Sadie.

Another first happened in the life of our first born. It all began on a nice, summer day. Sadie was very excited to meet her friends for a date at Boingo Bounce, the indoor blow-up bounce house place. We got there before anyone else and she immediately ran to the Tweety Bird birdcage bounce house. Within two minutes of bouncing with momma, there was a fall that led to the screaming, crying mess that was Sadie. I finally calmed her down, but when I tried to stand her up she started screaming again. She refused to walk after that. She would not put any weight on her left foot and was super sad that she couldn't run off to play.

We were so confused because we could manipulate her leg every direction and put pressure on it without complaint...but as soon as she tried to walk, she'd crumble. It didn't get any better and we ended up taking her in to the doctor this morning. Luckily, she didn't have to get an x-ray, but she did strain her knee. The poor girl still won't walk on it. But you can't keep a good toddler down. She's been a trooper and acts like nothing is wrong...except she gets around like this...

I wasn't too excited about figuring out what to do all day with a kid who loves to run around...but we made do. She played with playdoh for a good while.

Playdoh iced white mocha anyone?

The poor (left) knee. She wouldn't even prop it up on the chair.

Then I discovered if you lay Norah down next to Sadie, she'll be entertained for ages.

Aren't they cute?!

It's like Norah doesn't even know she's being tortured.

Notice baby doll? Notice her position? Yes...she's nursing...on Norah. Thank you Sadie.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Summer's back baby!

Spring? Summer? Whatever it is...it's warm! Finally (And, shocker, it's not raining!). We broke out the kiddo pool in the backyard a few days ago and Sadie had a blast. She spent some good time carrying bucketfuls of water from the pool to the back fence. Why the back fence you ask? Who knows.

The neighbors joined soon after (as they will all summer long!) and so did the breeze. When Traci and I decided earlier to break out the swim suits, it was perfectly warm outside. By the time we all got out there, the breeze came and chilled those poor, wet kids to the bone. Did that deter them? Not a chance.

I seriously should have taken an after picture of Sadie. She was shivering all over, her face red, nose running, and eyes bloodshot. But she did not want to come in.

Brett wanted in on all the action.

And Norah...well...she didn't much care.

We are looking forward to many summer days like this...but without the breeze!

***

And then there's this picture...

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

I am so grateful to be the mother of these two sweet kiddos! More than anything else, I know I was made to be a mommy! Definitely hard work, but more rewarding than anything else I can imagine. To celebrate me, Omar made some super fancy French Toast and bacon for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day after church just hanging out together here at the house. Tomorrow Omar is going to finish the celebration with a super fancy dinner! Thanks babe!!!

This one is starting to sit up on her own! She's also experimenting with getting up on all fours. She'll be crawling and into everything before this momma knows it.

And this one shouted, "Happy's Moder's Day" all day. She also thinks she's pretty hilarious with these funny faces. It's kind of true though...she's quite funny :)

I hope each of you mommies and mommies-to-be out there had a great day! I know I'm super grateful for all of my mom's! Love you each!!!!!!!

And a special shout out to my mother-in-law who sent me a super, yummy basket of Cheryl's cookies for mother's day! (I had to freeze some of these individually wrapped cookies for fear that I would eat them all in one day...and you know I would!).

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Norah's 6-month check-up and then some...

Norah went in for her well-check appointment this morning. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be too big of a deal. She did great the last two sets of shots and all went on as usual. Today, however, has been another story. This poor girl broke her very first tooth two days ago. She was so great about it, that I didn't even know she was teething. But the next tooth is on it's way up and it is nothing like the first. She constantly gnaws on her hands or whatever toy she can get a hold of and whines. So the kid is already in pain. On top of this, she has a cold. A continuous stream of goobers has taken up residence beneath her nose. This also means she can't breathe. Do you know what teething and an inability to breathe means to a mama?...a constant struggle to get your kid to nurse.

In sum...

Teething
Virus/Runny Nose
Shots

The end result...

Doesn't that just break your heart?

She is constantly on the verge of tears, which is very out of character for her. Seeing her feel so bad makes me realize how happy and good she is on a normal day.

Otherwise, her check-up went great and she received a clean bill of health! Dr. Davis also gave us the go-ahead to come off her reflux medication. Here are her 6-month stats:

Weight: 14.2 pounds 15th percentile

Height: 24.8 inches 10th percentile

Head: 16.5 inches 25th percentile

As expected, she's a petite little thing. Pray our little girl gets to feeling better soon!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

So...they're different.

While looking for some other photos, I happened upon some photos of Sadie at six-months-old. She and Norah really do look quite different. While they do look related, I think their individual facial features look very different and Norah's hair is much darker, thicker, and with a bit more texture. Take a look at some of the photos of Sadie below at 6 months and compare them to the pictures in the post below of Norah.