Sick of Being Sick!

February has been a tough month on our family. All three of us went to the doctor this week, and this was the third sick visit this month for Delanie. All three of us have similar symptoms, but were diagnosed with three different ailments - go figure. So, we are each taking prescriptions and over-the-counter meds and Vitamin C in hopes of finally feeling better. Dave and I alternated days off from work while Delanie has been quarantined at home away from daycare. This week, we were fortunate to also have an extra set of hands - Grandma Molly came to offer some much needed help.



While at home, Delanie has realized how fun our new built-in shelves are as a climbing toy! She now spends the majority of her time in this cabinet - sitting, standing, quiet, banging, singing, playing - it doesn't matter. She just likes climbing in and out of it all day long.

Here she is, playing with some of her outgrown toys and posing for the camera.

I think this has got to be one of the most beautiful pictures of Delanie's eyes - if I could photoshop out that big drop of drool it would be even better! You can double click on the photo to see it enlarged and see those gorgeous eyes, and yes this is a completely biased opinion here. Ok, so after watching Delanie crawl in and out of the cabinet all week, we went to Toys R Us and got her an early birthday present - a Little Tikes climber. And, of course, in typical baby fashion, she spent more time in the box it came in!

Here's a picture of Delanie checking out the new toy. She doesn't quite get the concept of moving her hands forward as her legs go up the ladder. As a result, she has done 3 major face plants into the platform at the top. She didn't cry, but had a very confused look on her face each time. Maybe this is why she decided to play with the box!

As we work to recover from various illnesses, our thoughts also go out to so many friends and family who are suffering from their own illnesses. It seems like such a tough cold and flu season, with very contagious and long lasting germs! And, to those of you in good health, stay healthy!

February Photos!

Delanie after her bath in her froggie towel (Thanks Grandma)

I found these crochet booties in Delanie's drawer - we had to wear them once!

We were having a few younger babies over, so I laid out some of Delanie's outgrown toys. Well, I went to start a load of laundry and when I got back, I found Delanie riding her Bumbo chair like a horse!

One of Delanie's favorite meals - pasta with tomato sauce! Needless to say, we usually send this meal to daycare to save ourselves the mess!

What is Quiet Time?

This video footage may help send the point home that this child is NEVER quiet!!

10 Months Old!

My tenth month has gotten off to a rocky start this week. Right when Mommy and Daddy thought my cold was going away, I developed a viral sore throat. I didn't eat for a week (so unlike me)! I had a fever that was all over the place, so I was sent home from school on Wednesday. And, boy, did my sore throat put me in a sour mood! I still haven't quite snapped back to my old self.

As you can see from my video, I have started climbing the stairs. I can go both up and down pretty well. I am so excited and proud of this feat that I sometimes forget I am actually on the stairs when I jump and stand. So I wouldn't say I am an independent stair-climber at this point.

I have been spending a lot of time with my friends lately. This might have to do with that sour mood I mentioned earlier, and how it is affecting Mommy's sanity. Charlie came over for dinner on Sunday, we played with blocks and my exersaucer. On Tuesday, we had swim class again, so I was able to see all the babies in my class. Thursday, I went to Marbles with Caleb and Cohen, we had lots of fun! And today, we went to the park with Caleb, where I tried a swing for the first time - not a big fan of the swing yet.

I have decided to put my foot down on naps at daycare - I am just not going to take one! There, I said it! I don't care how exhausted I feel, it's just not going to happen. Sorry, Ms. Gillian, I know you're trying.

In terms of my development, I am easily pulling to standing whenever and wherever I can. Doing this in the tub is becoming especially fun for me. I can even balance on my own for a few seconds, but I don't like for anyone to let go of me at this point. A few times, I have used the sign for "more" but only to refer to goldfish crackers, they are very motivating for me. Oh, and I can say "Mama" but I prefer to just make the noise mamamama over and over and not actually acknowlege Mommy while saying it.

Now that my appetite is coming back, I am making my food preferences very clear. I am not a fan of fruit - it is a little too slimy for me. So, I feed it to the dogs. I love my mixed veggies and crackers. And I LOVE cheese! Crumbled, shredded, melted - cheese never tastes bad! I even requested that the waiter at Olive Garden grate some on my veggies at lunch today.

Month 10 promises to start improving for me as I keep learning new things!

Naked Time!

A conversation with friends this week motivated me to post this picture. You see, after each bath, we have "naked time." These are some of Delanie's most enjoyable moments, as she must feel a bit more free. Anyone who is a parent knows what "naked time" means to a baby or toddler. But, as we learned this week, when you look at your husband and daughter and say, "after our bath, we will have a little naked time," the childless folk conjure up much different images than you intended!!

Long Weekend with Mimi!

Delanie's Mimi and Uncle Nick came last weekend for a belated Christmas visit. Delanie is so active now, it was a fun weekend for all! We spent the weekend enjoying some (barely) snowy weather, eating out and opening presents.

Delanie got a great pink Pooh dress from Uncle Nick, pictured in the first few photos.


Mimi brought Delanie a lot of neat gifts, including this ride-on toy. Delanie didn't know quite what to make of it, except that she got lots of attention while seated on it, so that made her happy!


My mom joked that she wanted to see one of Delanie's "firsts" while she was down, since Delanie seems to be growing so fast. Well, her wish came true, when Delanie proceeded to climb the entire flight of stairs unassisted (but well protected). She has since done this several times, and is quite pleased with her accomplishment. We are starting to work on getting down now, but are not as successful.


Delanie is getting to the age where she's smart enough to know that she could be missing out on fun times during her naps. The operative word here is "could" because if she spied on us during her naptime, she would see that we are either cleaning or napping ourselves. Nevertheless, this means she no longer naps at daycare, and she'll nap in the car only when absolutely necessary. She also spends a long time awake in her crib before falling asleep. In fact, sometimes we think she is asleep, but later find out she wasn't when she begins talking again. Anyway, all this to explain the bottom picture. After assuming she had been asleep awhile, I went upstairs to find her like this: sitting up, a stockpile of 3 pacifiers in her lap, two socks off her feet and thrown across the crib. For some reason, this is hilarious to me, almost the equivalent of a teenager getting busted for sneaking back from a party - Mom had no clue what was going on that whole time!

January

Here's a picture of Delanie with her Daddy



Delanie playing in her room - Thank you Great Grandma for the purple outfit!




Getting ready for bedtime in my new Ladybug jammies from Uncle DJ and Auntie Justine! Delanie loves climbing on this soft chair, which has been in her room since long before she was born but she just now found it.

Rather than wipe the green bean off her nose, I grabbed the camera!