It has been over a year since I have blogged, and that is embarrassing!  I would say "life" got in the way, but that's just an excuse.  After all, this blog is supposed to be about life so Daniel, Danicka, and I have a place to come review all of the ups and downs, and a place (especially now that we have moved away) for family and friends to come stay up-to-date with us!

So, with that being said - I'm back!  This blog has sort of been all over the place in the past, but I now intend it to just be a personal blog for family and friends to catch up on our vida loca, on the corner of Small Town and Big City (just as the title and description says!)

Quirky things that make you, YOU.

Dear Danicka,

As I watch you grow more and more each day, I find myself full of mixed emotions.  Happy and proud to see you grow, develop and become more independent, but a little sad, anxious and nostalgic that you are growing so quickly right in front of our eyes.  I find myself trying to cling onto every little, cute thing you do so that I never forget.  So, I'd like to take a few words to let you know, and to remind me, of the quirky things you do that make you, you! :)

When you're eating on my left side, you always instinctively bring your left hand up to start rubbing your left eye.  Whether you're tired or not, you do it every time.  It's very cute, but it makes your eye very red, so I've gotten into the habit of holding your hand while you nurse, which seems to satisfy you.

We knew from Day One that you would be a sleeper like I am, but as you get older and more mature, you are starting to show more and more similarities to my sleeping habits.  If the lights are on and you're trying to sleep, you always have a hand over your eyes, and you usually prefer to sleep sprawled out on your back with your arm, or arms, above your head - just like me.

It's so hard, but I'm going to try to explain:  You've done a flutter with your tongue when you're sleeping since the beginning.  If you have your pacifier in your mouth, it makes the pacifier wiggle rapidly - almost like it's vibrating.  It's a very nice skill you've acquired with your tongue.  I'm fairly certain you're doing it because you're dreaming about eating :)

You've always been a wiggler - always on the go - however, just recently, you have gotten very mobile especially considering you don't crawl or walk yet.  Just in the last week - the week of the Chicken Pox as it will always be named - you have regularly starting sitting on your own for long periods of time, you tried to crawl out of your infant/sink bath tub last night (if that's not a sign to start putting you in your big girl bath tub, I don't know what is), and you have successfully made every diaper change a good arm work out as well as a good test of my alertness to make sure you don't crawl right off the changing table.  I have found that giving you a toy to play with helps...a little.

Also, you started 'scooting' awhile back, but recently if I put you on your play mat so I can go do something else around the house - when I come back in two minutes, you have rolled and/or scooted yourself across the floor to the other side of the room!  It's amazing!  Along with this, in the last week or so, I noticed you started getting your knees under you (the precursor to the beginning of crawling!)  Well, it seems like we just blinked our eyes, and now you're not only getting your knees under you, but you're pushing up onto your hands so that you're on all fours.  I have a feeling it will be no time at all before you're all over the place - a crawling monkey!

You're really loving all of the baby foods and homemade purees we're giving you.  We love trying new things to see your reaction.  We just started sitting you in your big girl high chair (which sits on top of Papa's high chair from when he was a baby), and I can tell you really like it.  You like to hold your own spoon when we're feeding you so I can tell you'll be wanting to feed yourself - probably before I'm emotionally ready for you to do so.

They say around six months is when you start to realize that you and I are separate beings.  As much as I hate to admit that we are separate beings, it is true, and you have started to notice.  I secretly love it because I love knowing that you need me - especially with your new, daily independent moves that you're mastering!  My favorite is when either Papa or I are walking around the house doing things, and you crane your neck around every which way to track us like a hawk as we move around the house - observing everything we do with the precious, intent look on your face that you have had since you were a newborn...Always processing everything and everyone around you!

More and more people are saying that you're my clone, but you are not - you are your very own person with a unique personality and precious traits and features...You just happen to look a lot like me.  You are, in fact though, 50% Papa and 50% me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

With all the love in my heart,
Mama

I am such a terrible blogger that I am having to post months 5 and 6 together because that's how long it's been!  I.am.so.sorry!  I do have an reason, though - Well, not really a reason, but an excuse...We have been super busy!  I'll get to that :)

Altight, the last two months have been major in milestones for Danicka.  She 'turned' 5 months on December 16, and she had her 'half birthday' while visiting family in Miami on January 16.  We had her 6 month well-visit last Friday, and here are her stats.

• She was 26 3/4" long (80%) and 16.0 pounds (55%).  I don't remember her head measurement, but I remember she was in the 50%.
• She got 6 vaccines and the flu shot (4 pokes and 1 drink) this time at the pedi's office. :(  I know there's controversy (but what doesn't have controversy these days) about giving Tylenol prior to shots.  Some say it decreases the effectiveness of the vaccine - I say I want my baby to be as comfortable as possible.  So, I gave her Tylenol this time, and I think it helped. 
• Danicka had her first ear infection back on December 6 in her right ear, and we got a shot in-office (that made her scream for 10 minutes!) and some amoxicillin (sp?).  When we went back last week, her ear infection was back in her right ear so we go Cefdinir (sp?) to try to get rid of it.  I also followed up with a chiropractor appointment for her so he could work on her ears, and it really seemed to help.  We'll be going back for a follow up next week.  I do not want my baby to have to get tubes, and he has worked miracles on some of my nieces and nephews for ear aches.
• I had to take Danicka back to the pediatrician yesterday because, guess what?!  She has the chicken pox! :(  I was devastated at first, but turns out, it's not a big deal that she got them so young.  The good news is, she's too young to scratch at the spots, and she won't have to get the Vericella vaccine at 12 months and 4 years (yay for 2 less pokes!)  She is doing OK - we are keeping Calydryl (sp?) on her and giving her Oatmeal baths.  I think she is more annoyed with the congestion that has accompanied the pox.
• She is about half breastfed (either nursing or 6 ounces in a bottle) and half Earth's Best Organic Formula (6 ounces except for her night bottle is 8 ounces - between 7 and 9 p.m.) except for her feeding right before bed (which is usually between 7 and 9).  She still eats every 3 hours except at night.  
• Big things in the last couple of months!  We wanted to wait until 6 months to introduce cereals or purees/baby foods, but her appetite was just too ferocious, so we went ahead and started her on 1-2 tablespoons of Earth's Best cereals (Whole Grain Rice) at about 5months. She loves it!  
•  Then, on Christmas Day we gave her her first baby food - Gerber 1st Foods Organic Sweet Peas.  She loved them!
• Now, she eats either Gerber Organic or Earth's Best Organic.  So far, we have given her: Sweet peas, apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, and blueberries.  She has loved them all!  Our next items on the list to give her are: Bananas, Mangoes, Avacado, and Cantaloupe.
• Once we introduced several individual foods to her (every 3 days to make sure she doesn't have a reaction!) I made our first batch of homemade purees last weekend!  I used a great kit I got from Target - Fresh Baby So Easy Baby Food Kit.  It was so easy, so fun, so fast, and if I must say so myself - they are delicious!  I made an apple/pear combo that D loves and a pea, sweet potato and whole grain rice cereal combo that she likes, too!  So, homemade purees = Success!

• She still sleeps 6-8 hours straight at night (unless she's sick!), dreamfeeds and continues to sleep...AWESOME!  She still sleeps in her Pack and Play in our room and then co-sleeps after her dream-feeding session.
• She does take some naps in her crib now with absolutely no problems.
• We have done 2 major trips with Baby D since I last wrote!  We went on a road trip to Colorado (17 hours each way over 2 days!) in December between Christmas and New Year's.  Danicka did absolutely amazing!  And, we flew to Miami over MLK weekend.  She also did amazing on that trip!
• She got moved up to the next class at day care with 6-12 months!  I loved her newborn baby classroom teacher, Sharon, but I like her new teachers, too - Brenda and Robin.
• She has started to take her Binky more often than just when she is tired or hungry.  We are OK with that.
• She still loves her Fisher-Price Precious Planet Jumperoo that my sister gave us our of all of her toys, but she is really getting pretty good at entertaining herself for some time, which is nice!
• She is constantly trying to sit up from a laying down position so she looks like she's doing crunches!
• She can sit unsupported for several seconds - maybe even a minute - before falling either to one side or the other or to the front for a nice face plant! :)
• She can quite successfully sit in the 'tripod' position for quite some time.

• She spins around in circles and rolls all over the place.  She is really starting to 'scoot' all over the place.  If we set her on her play mat, she'll roll around and scoot herself around so when you turn back in 2 minutes, she's completely off of it five feet away! :)
• She loves it when her Papa bouncer her like a horse, donkey and/or camel (he has different bounces for each one!)  She is really starting to actually laugh out loud and giggle, and he can really get her to do this.  Her laugh is absolutely contagious!
• She is really jabbering a lot and starting to put sounds together.  She says 'Da Da' a lot, but we don't think she knows what it means so we're not counting it as a first word.
• She's still squealing a lot, too, which is fun.  Sometimes, we just squeal back at her.
• We don't do baby talk, but sometimes if she's just jabbering a lot - instead of talking to her in 'adult talk' we will just 'jabber' back, which she finds very entertaining!
• She had a great first Christmas - she was very interested in the wrapping paper!

I think that's about all of the major things going on...for now :) 

I'll finish up with some super cute pictures from the past couple of months:

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth so I can quit drooling all over everything and trying to shove any object I can get my hands on into my mouth.  OK, I lied, I want more than my two front teeth...If you have the time, I'd like the following:

• Global Babies Board Book  I love books, I love people-watching, and I love staring at faces/expressions/babies.  Oh, and the funds go to a good cause...This book is perfect for me!
• Spanish or English/Spanish books, DVDs, CDs and/or toys...Specifically, the Chicco: Interactive Bilingual Talking Farm.  Mommy keeps saying it reminds her of a toy farm she had when she was little.  If I get it, she may play with it more than me.
• Baby Einstein and Little Einstein DVDs are so "in" right now, so a few more of those would be awesome.  However, please keep in mind, I already have the Baby Einstein Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach.
• I'm digging some Baby Einstein toys these days, too - especially, the Baby Einstein Take Along Caterpillar (it's not really that expensive, I promise...), Touch and Explore Discovery Book (Bilingual), Set of 3 Hand Puppets and the Bilingual Octoplush.
• I'll definitely take some more donations to my college fund.  From what I understand, college is the place I'm going to go once I finish with high school, which I guess is a place I'm supposed to go in a few years.  Anyways, I keep hearing my parents talk about this fund, and it seems important, so donations are welcome.
• And, finally, I don't necessarily "want" this last thing, but according to my parents, I'm going to need it soon, so I might as well ask for it.  It's an inflatable baby tub - according to my parents I'm going to really like it because it's big and comfy, plus it's a bright yellow duck and quacks!  And, of course, everyone knows you can't upgrade your baby tub without the necessary accessories to accompany it: Bath Spout Cover, Sassy Bathtime Pals Squirt and Float Toys, and a Jolly Jumper Bath Tub Toy Bag :)

I'll make sure to leave out some cookies and milk for you next week.  Do you prefer Whole or 2%?

Stay Warm.

Yours Truly,
Danicka I.

I have become a HUGE fan of the blog, Strollerderby: The Mother of All Parenting Blogs!  She always posts very interesting articles that are quick and easy reads, which is nice in my very on-the-go life.  It makes me feel like I'm still up-to-speed on everything that is going on!  And, she always adds her own opinion (which I almost always agree with), so that definitely helps the enjoyment of the read :)

A lot of times I want to re-blog what she has posted to bring your attention to the issue(s) at hand - maybe I'll start doing that more often - But, I've just got to re-post this blog of hers from today: Mother Misses Flight Because TSA Refused to Handle Breastmilk as Medical Liquid

The TSA has been getting a lot of negative publicity lately due to their new 'enhanced patdowns' and X-ray machines.  I have stayed out of the argument for a few reasons, but mainly because I haven't flown lately; therefore, I haven't seen the new pat-downs or X-ray machines put to use so I don't want to comment on how invasive or non-invasive they are.  However, I do tend to air on the side of our country having to do whatever it needs to do to make sure that all of us remain safe.  Yes, it is sad that it has come to means like this, but unfortunately, it may be a necessary 'evil' to prevent much worse evil.

OK, that aside, this blog post really struck a chord with me because the TSA was just so wrong in so many ways.  We are getting ready to fly for the first time with Danicka in January; granted I won't have any bottled breast milk with me (thank goodness after reading how they acted in this case!).  I was already a little more nervous than usual about flying in January since we are going to have Sweet D with us and because of all of the horror stories I've been reading and hearing about:  From aggressively patting down a three-year old to a Mom having her private parts 'patted down' without consent and many, many more!

It seems to me that TSA agents have always been less than polite, on unnecessary power trips, and generally unhappy people; however, at this point, I think they're just trying to piss us off.  Not cool, TSA, not cool at all.

I am so behind...what's new?!  But, here we go.  Danicka 'turned' 4 months on November 16, and we had her 4 month check up on November 19.

*  At her 4 month appointment, she was 25" long (70%) and 13.14 pounds (50%).  I don't remember her head measurement, but I remember she was in the 40%.
*  She got 5 vaccines (2 pokes and 1 drink) this time at the pedi's office.  She handled them like champs again, but it's just so hard to watch.  I'm so glad Daniel is able to go to the appointments with me.
*  She is breastfed for every feeding (6 ounces about every 3 hours) except for her feeding right before bed (which is usually between 7 and 9).  We have started giving her Earth's Best Organic Formula because her appetite was just so ferocious I was not able to keep up.
*  Although Danicka has been showing interest in what we eat for some time, we still plan to wait until 6 months to introduce her to any cereals or purees.  When we do, we plan to use the Earth's Best cereals, then we'll make our own purees.
*  She still sleeps 6-8 hours straight at night, dreamfeeds and continues to sleep...AWESOME!
*  She takes nap in her crib now with absolutely no problems.
*  She still sleeps in her pack and play at night (in our room).
*  She puts herself to sleep...I'm pretty sure she would have always done this, but we were totally spoiling her and letting her fall asleep in one of our arms before putting her down.  Then I read how important it is to do a night-time routine and lay them down when they're sleepy but awake.  So, we started doing that with absolutely no problems! :)
*  She LOVES her VTech Touch and Learn Musical Bee that was gifted to us.  We call him 'Mr. Bee' a musical bee that plays night time and day time tunes.  We only use him at night time, and she just stares at his light and listens to his music and falls right to sleep.  When she wakes up in the night, he starts playing just by tapping him so she usually makes him play and it puts her back to sleep (if it isn't time to eat!)
*  She still only takes a Binky when she is really tired or really hungry.  She prefers the No Hablo/Que Pasa pacifiers we got her, which are just generic pacifiers.  She will not take a Soothie anymore, but she will take the Nuk Orthodontic pacifiers.
*  We are using gDiapers now that she finally grew into the Mediums...They are awesome!
*  She has a Fisher-Price Precious Planet Jumperoo that my sister gave us, and she absolutely loves it!  She bounces in it and just squeals and plays - she gets mad when we take her out!
*  Her legs have been strong from Day 1, but she prefers to 'stand' when you're holding her on your lap now.
*  When she is laying down, she can grab your fingers and pull herself into a sitting and standing position.
*  She spins around in circles and rolls all over the place.
*  She can ALMOST sit on her own.
*  Still loves stroller rides.
*  Will fight to stay awake if there is stuff going on, no matter how tired she is (totally gets that from me!)  We found that out on Thanksgiving Day at my parent's house :)
*  She does NOT like her swing any more - she's decided she's too big for it.
*  We had to take her infant insert out of her car seat!
*  Still loves her Baby Einstein bouncer, although for limited time since she has her Jumperoo now!
*  She still enjoys her Evenflo In the Garden Walk Around ExerSaucer and walks (although I'm pretty sure by accident) around in circles in it!
*  She loves it when her Papa bouncer her like a horse, donkey and/or camel (he has different bounces for each one!)
*  She's gotten a pretty bad 'rash' on the under-side of her chin because she's drooling so much, but Aquaphor along with keeping dry, clean bibs on her seem to be helping a bit.  It looks like it hurts, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all!

I think that's about it...for now :)  Although, at this point, her 5 month birthday is right around the corner...Eek!

I'll finish up with some super cute pictures from the past month:

I know I'm a day late and a dollar short, but I'd like to give a huge shout out and a gigantic 'Thank You' to all of our country's veterans who have fought, and continue to fight, for our freedom! 

I have several veterans from all different armed forces in my family, and several friends, also; however, I'd like to focus this post on my awesome Granddaddy, Phil, who fought bravely in World War 2.  He is now 91 years old and probably has a better memory and more brain power than I do at age 26 :)  And, he can probably still beat my brothers in arm wrestling - I know he could a few years ago when we tried!
Oh, and he knows his way around an iPhone better than I do...Sad considering I'm the 'tech' person at work :)

Awhile back, Granddaddy started mailing out a series of letters to close family and friends with some of his stories written down - some from his childhood, some from the war, etc.  Daniel and I have loved receiving the letters, and I have laminated them all and started a book.  It's been awhile since I've gotten one of those letters :: Hint, hint, Granddaddy::

Anyways, he is definitely one of the most interesting people I know, and he never ceases to amaze me with the stories he shares!  I love my Granddaddy!