Oh me! Oh! My!

Since we don't have any kind of television plan Alexiss watches some shows through Netflix and bought DVDs. Last week, while shopping at Toys R Us I noticed some DVDs on sale and bought some updated Blues Clues for her and spotted a show called Bunnytown. BIG HIT (with Alexiss and with the Momma and Daddy).

Here's Pinky Pinkerton! A portion of Bunnytown, there's also singing dancing puppet rabbit and two silly men like old silent movies (no video of the two men on youtube, sorry).

Another first - day home trial run

We're going to try starting Alexiss slowly at a day home across the street for when I return to work. We've been talking back and forth with a woman across the street who's offering a day home, Lee-Ann, for over a week, the few neighbors I talk to and trust have given her good recommendations and we met up with her yesterday. I asked about first aid, snack time, play time, nap time, discipline and a few more things and she had answers that I could see Mark and I saying... so... today Alexiss went over for a few hours to try it out, that's trying it out for all of us.. me, Mark, Lee-Ann and Lee-Ann's two children.

She has been over there for an hour and a half and so far.. no phone call with Alexiss screaming for her Momma in the background. It's exciting and I'm enjoying my time but there's also a part of me that's nervous and sad.

So far today I've:

• Steeped a hot tea while taking a shower, complete with scrubbed feets and shaved armpits. (too much information, I know, but ohhh so true)
• Mopped the floor while cooking a nice turkey bacon and egg breakfast (super late, I know, but ohhh so true)
• And between it all, I've socialized on Facebook and now I'm sitting here, quickly updating the blog.. which by the way had a whole 72 views yesterday! We don't have that much family, either someone has viewed pages over and over again , gawking at the super cuteness that is Alexiss (it wasn't me, honest, I did gawk a few times but not 72!) or there's something quirky about how blogger.com tracks views.
• Oh.. and had Fringe (a tv show) running in the background
  

Yep, still multi-tasking at an alarming rapid rate.. but it's different, I know I can go-go-go so it's letting me focus-focus-focus.

These are my notes for Lee-Ann... and everything boring you may have wanted to know about my time during the day with Alexiss.

__Eating__

Breakfast - 2 or 3 tablespoons baby cereal
- yogurt
- fruit

Lunch - protein
- fruit or veggie
- pasta or cracker
- soups or casseroles

Snacks - cheese or yogurt
- fruit or veggie
- cracker

Fruit - ripe cubed soft fruit, peel removed - banana peach, plum, cherry, mango
- puree apple sauce (homemade or jarred)
- jarred apple/strawberry, apple blueberry..etc
- pureed jarred prunes at least once a day

Veggie - sweet potato, squash, carrots
-puree leeks and kale or spinach
-jarred squash, beans and apple, veggie and rainsins

protein - steak, meatballs
-I'm going to try tofu and beans (again).
-pork
-chicken to a lesser degree

crackers - rice puffs
-cheerios broken in half
-adult crackers broken up, she likes flavored bread type crackers
-whole baby rice crackers (Mum-mums)

• try anything except eggs, nuts and shellfish
• there isn't much she won't try except things with a skin like corn, beans and peas
• She likes to self feed cubed food but may need help with slippery fruits. I usually let her pick away and shove fruit or veggie in her mouth in between. She just started spitting out what she doesn't want to eat.
• She sometimes grabs and tries to use utensils, she needs help dipping the spoon. She sometimes tosses the spoon, sippy cup or plate. Sometimes I don't bother with a plate and use the try on the chair.
• If she's too tired or cranky she may want a bottle instead of food.
• Sometimes I put dressing/sauce on mozzarella cheese, meatballs, pasta, etc
• balsamic vinegar dressing, garlic salad dressing, or tomato sauce

Bottle - 1 scoop powder to 2 oz hot tap water - water first, then add powder
- 2 or 3 a day when she's cranky and nothing else is wrong. or if she's eating and
doesn't want food to eat but pulls at your shirt and reaches for your face.
- Nestle Good Start, two circles on front in purple and yellow
(easy to digest and omega 3&6)

Sippy Cup - water, no juice (only super special occasions)
- I just started offering her homo milk for lunch and afternoon snack



__PLAY__

crawling
walking with help
playing with toys
sitting quietly

• shows - Baby Einstein, Blue Clues, BunnyTown
• we have a bouncer, she may like the exersaucer
• baby einstein and bouncer is comforting to her (or sometimes her "bathroom")
• country music is also a comfort to her, specially Corb Lund
• I play all kinds of other music, tribal, instrumental, meditation, rock, 70s..etc

__Napping

• she doesn't fall asleep on her own yet
• rocking, dancing, tapping, music help her sleep
  
• if she paws at you, she wants a bottle or clean diaper
• naps are usually 1 1/2 hours followed by quiet alone play time in the crib (if she's babbling away having fun) for a 1/2 hour
• if she only sleeps 15 min it's usually because she needs to poo. Try Baby Einstein and bouncer or floor
• she's usually pretty sleepy in the morning and naps shortly after breakfast. Sometimes again around 1:00 and usually around 3 or 4

__Other__

diapers size 5
only use zinc for a rash
if no rash, use nothing

I'm not a huge clean freak, I wipe her face and hands after eating but if her clothes are a little dirty I leave her. I usually change her clothes after two meals/snacks. I do sometimes use the sink and tap to clean her hands and face after eating.

___________________________________________

Now off to cuddle with a cat!

A huge first!

Alexiss has always fought going to sleep, well, she's gone one extreme to the other, a few nights ago it took 5 attempts to finally get her to sleep and last night was only one.

This morning! she! fell! asleep! ON HER OWN!!!!

I was on the computer while she was in her bouncer (buying some TV series on DVD and a growth chart for her) ... and then I noticed that it was quiet... I looked over to see this:

Another one for the box collection!

It shouldn't have taken me this long to show off the earthy ammolite box Gramma bought Alexiss on our trip home to Ontario to add to her box collection. There's also an ammolite piece and a phantom crystal to put inside. I didn't think at the time, that ammolite is from the home, the Rocky's. Gramma bought her a little pouch with a dream catcher on it too, it's hanging in her room.

testing... testing...

This was the first day with the new camera, playing with the video option.

Just Another Manic Monday

As I sit here, shirt wet with tea Alexiss decided to spill on me as I drank and dried yogurt on my pants from this mornings breakfast (probably some in my hair too), I listen to her sleepy breathing on the monitor and look around at the shambles my house is in. Tupperware strewn across the floor, a tea towel on the floor used to quickly clean up the tea, the tv with "no video signal" jumping around on the screen, waiting patiently for me to start Baby Einstein, again and the apples on the counter I was planning on making a crumble with. Oh yeah, and the cutlery drawer sitting atop the counter from when I broke it last week. Everything in disorder, nothing totally tidy...and it's not gonna be for a long time I think.

Silly me thinking this year off would be organized, I'd get all the housework and yard work done, and weekends would be for play time with family. Weekends are still about working hard to get laundry and other things done.

Alexiss has been sleeping more during the day, but playing hard in between. Some of that is alone play time and some is me standing and wandering behind her shielding her from disturbing the pets too much as she crawls or walks (with my help) through the hallways. The dog food has become a major interest, to Alexiss and to the cat, I've been guarding it for days.

Opening and closing doors have been the fun thing to do lately, her feet get in the way a bit...and sometimes her head, but ya gotta learn somehow. I watch closely to make sure her fingers don't get in the way of it shutting though! Here she is at the front door, she's been working hard on reaching the door knob but likes to peer out at the world too.

She just started with hanging her tongue out of her mouth this weekend, I think she's cutting another tooth, it seems the two go hand in hand.. or tooth and tongue. heh. I think we're up to 8 teeth!

...and I present you with the one knitting project I managed to finish for Alexiss in a weekend. I also managed to finish the hat, cowl/scarf and fingerless glove set I started way in the beginning of the year.

The world gets bigger...and so does the bumps and "nos"

Yep, we're still here! On the move and touring the house. While we've child proofed most of the house (yes, Gramma and Pops, we installed the gate at the stairs) the dog dishes don't have a better spot, and for some reason is soooo interesting! Alexiss is learning what "no" means when there's things around that the Momma forgot to put away, it seems like all I'm doing is moving thing out of her way or picking things up that she decides she doesn't need anymore.

Days are filled with touring the house and eating times between nap times. Alexiss, while not a picky eater, doesn't always feel like eating what's given to her, so eating usually ends up with me finding a few more things on the fly to give to her. From the time she started eating solids, she was holding her own spoon, but lately she's working on mastering actually using the spoon for food. Bath times have also increased since after a meal it's the easiest way to get her clean again.


Alexiss has a new nickname! Prunella! Thanks to Uncle Don and my inner need to keep Alexiss regular, prunes have become a staple food for at least one or two meals/snacks a day.

At her 9 month (which was actually at 10 months) doctors check up she weighed 21.13 lbs and measured 29 1/4 inches long. She's outgrowing her carry car seat so I shopped around and settled on a new big-girl car seat, it's still sitting in the house but she's loving climbing up and sitting in it. I keep wondering if she'll like it as much in the truck, since she won't be able to peep over the top to talk to me. Well, it'll only be a few months before she's allowed to be forward facing. I'm starting to understand when people say "they grow so fast", it really didn't feel like it was fast when she was a newborn, but since she's hit 9 months... she's really taken off.

There's so many new things, it's hard to list them all and remember little milestones, I really should pop in more and leave shorter updates to keep track. She wasn't very interested in walking until last week, I was trying to coax her having her face away from me, and I don't think she knew what to do, but last week I let her face and follow me... then the fun began. In only a week she's already more stable and enjoying it, so much that sometimes she'll crawl up to me and grab both of my hands to give me the hint that it's time to go a-wanderin.

Her coordination is improving greatly as well. She has now learned how to use both hands together to get something done, and has fun "putting away" her little piggy and cow into the soft barn, I say putting away in quotes because they don't stay put away for long, usually she doesn't even let go of them before pulling them out again.

Her rambles are usually one constant mumble for the day, but yesterday she started momomomom and dadadada, switching back and forth. She can also "ruff" and tries to "meow" and her mooo is more like mmmmmm, but she's working on it. It's still hard to distinguish when she's babbling or meaning to say something but I swear I've heard kitty in there too and a few more things.