Sunday, August 7, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Photo Book
We created a photo book on Shutterfly using our FREE code and 40% off for additional books. We ordered SIX and will be giving them to our family. Enjoy!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
She's Growing!!
Pippa is growing more and more every day. I think I finally figured out this video upload thing and I have one of her in her Bumbo chair talking away. She's still a bit wobbly in the chair but she loves it!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
2 1/2 Months!
Wow - I can't believe our baby girl is 2 1/2 months old now. Time is flying!
For the 4th of July we started by watching big brother Liam march in the 4th of July parade in Ridgefield. He is a cub scout in his last year as a Webelos. He carried the WA state flag in the parade. Pippa loved the parade and only fell asleep at the very end. Speaking of sleeping...
Someone lent me the book "Healthy Sleep Habits..." and after reading it, decided to go against my better judgment and try a night of "cry it out." Lately, Pippa has been waking in the wee hours and becoming fussy until you give her back her pacifier. Normally this would be fine but it's happening somewhere in the vicinity of 15+ times per night. I want her to be able to sleep without it (which I know she can do). On Sunday, I put her down to sleep and she started fussing. I left the room for five minutes and returned to soothe her and repeated the process until she fell asleep. I have never heard her cry that hard in my entire life! I was aching just to soothe her and quickly realized that I should be taking care of her. The next day (July 4th) she would not leave me at all. If someone else wanted to hold her, she would start screaming...and I mean screaming. I don't think she realized how hard she could cry until that night, now she has been doing it for two days! She has been very clingy and quick to cry since then. I know she probably cannot rationalize what happened but I think she feels like I might leave her again. On a positive note, she slept through the night last night but it wasn't without struggle. Now when she's falling asleep, even at a nap, she fights it. It's only been two days so maybe I'm overreacting but I for sure will NOT do that again.
Anyway...after the parade, we went down to Woodburn to see family again. We had a good time at the senior estates BBQ, all the ladies loved her. We laid her in the grass again and she kicked and cooed for everyone. Then she screamed the entire hour drive home.
Work is going well. I am completing my telecommute application this week and we should know soon what my new work schedule will be. Our department is moving into the new building on Friday so I get to telecommute an extra day this week. They don't want anyone around when they are moving computers etc.
July will be a slow month for us but August is just around the corner. Liam has a resident Webelos camp on August 7th and then he will visit Grandma for a week starting August 22nd. School starts on August 31st for everyone. PTA kicks into high gear in mid-August and I am the treasurer again this year. I'm excited to have a 5th grader and to watch Liam's relationship with Pippa develop even more. He still gets frustrated when she cries but he understands he needs to keep his emotions in check because she will react based on his feelings. He loves her so much and it's so sweet to see them together. I could not have asked for a better big brother for Pippa.
For the 4th of July we started by watching big brother Liam march in the 4th of July parade in Ridgefield. He is a cub scout in his last year as a Webelos. He carried the WA state flag in the parade. Pippa loved the parade and only fell asleep at the very end. Speaking of sleeping...
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| Pippa's new mobile - she LOVES to talk to it! |
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| 10 weeks old and talking to her mobile |
Anyway...after the parade, we went down to Woodburn to see family again. We had a good time at the senior estates BBQ, all the ladies loved her. We laid her in the grass again and she kicked and cooed for everyone. Then she screamed the entire hour drive home.
Work is going well. I am completing my telecommute application this week and we should know soon what my new work schedule will be. Our department is moving into the new building on Friday so I get to telecommute an extra day this week. They don't want anyone around when they are moving computers etc.
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| Look who found her thumb! |
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| 9 weeks old - she loves her daddy |
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Eight Weeks and Back to Work
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Looking cool in her new shades |
I went back to work on Monday. I am currently allowed to telecommute Mondays and Tuesdays, then I am in the office on Wednesdays and Thursdays. My boss allows me to arrange my schedule how I want on Fridays. Since this Friday is a field day at Liam's school, I will work from home then help out at field day. His last day of school is next Monday and he is excited about it!
Yesterday I went into the office around 8am. Dan stayed home all day with her. He did a fantastic job. She napped until noon! I left work at noon and headed to the gym for an hour of cardio and weights. I'm surprisingly not sore today. We will see how I feel tomorrow. I picked up some lunch for both of us and was home around 1:30 to daddy and Pippa playing on the couch. Today I have an afternoon meeting at work so I am staying home a bit longer and allowing Dan to sleep in. I'm only working 20 hours/week for a little while so I can get back into the rhythm of going to work.
Tomorrow is Dan and my dad's birthday. Yes they have the same birthday, close to Father's Day and 25 years apart. I believe the plan is to go out to dinner but we are not sure yet. I have a baby shower on Saturday for a friend who is pregnant with her first children - twin boys! Then on Monday Liam and Pippa both have doctor appointments for normal check-ups. I can't wait to see how much Pippa weighs now and how long she is. The outfit she wore yesterday was "6-9 months" but she's mostly in the "3-6 month" range now.
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| 06/13/11 - 8 weeks old |
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| Talking to Great-grandma |
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| Cuddling with Aunt Glenda |
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Victory...with a Smile
At last! Tuesday night, Pippa became a bit drowsy at 9pm. I rocked her for a bit then took her to her crib for the swaddle around 9:30pm. She was down and out for the count. I did not have to go back in to check on her or anything! What time did she wake up this morning? 6:00am! That's a full 8.5 hours of sleep for baby (about 7.5 for me)! Woot!!!
And finally, with much dedication (and continued hovering) I was able to capture a smile on film. Behold!!
And finally, with much dedication (and continued hovering) I was able to capture a smile on film. Behold!!
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| Pippa at seven weeks - smiling!!! |
Monday, June 6, 2011
Seven Weeks
Pippa is seven weeks old today! I still need to post six week pictures. We have been very busy.
Our weekend at the beach went great! She is really becoming more alert and pays attention to everything. She ate good and traveled well.
This week has been a bit, um, rough. While we have been practicing our eat, activity, sleep method, there are times where she just wants to eat then sleep. Is that okay? Right now for example; she was pretty fussy this morning before I fed her then she passed out. I tried to wake her but she was having none of that so I swaddled her and put her in her crib. She's been sleeping for almost two hours now. That means when she gets up it will be time to eat again. It seems to me that if she's that tired, it's okay to skip the "activity" portion however at night, she wants to skip the "sleep" cycle. Around 7 or 8pm, she becomes wide awake and wants to not sleep. Usually we have been taking a stroll outside and that seems to at least keep her calm. Since she stays up during that cycle, I usually put her down right after her 9 or 9:30 feeding, she will fuss a bit (until around 10) then she's out for the night.
Pippa has been a lot more fussy during the day and in the evening as well. For the first 5 weeks she hardly cried, now it seems like some days I can't make her happy no matter what. Or she will sit in her chair, give a chuckle, smile, then start crying. I keep telling myself that everything is a phase. The younger they are, the faster they grow out of whatever the phase is. Things typically don't last more than a couple weeks. If I can tough it out, it will get better.
This morning we had to wake up early to drive my hubby to the airport. He is in Pennsylvania for training until Saturday afternoon. It's going to be an interesting week. Today is my last PTA meeting for the school year, Liam starts a cooking class tonight and is still finishing up his Tuesday pottery classes. I have my final (I hope) doctor check up on Wednesday and Liam has early release that day too! Thursday and Friday are surprisingly open...so far. If my appointment goes well, I should be headed back to work part-time. I'm actually looking forward to a little time away from baby and the ability to workout again. I'll be super close to the gym so I can pop over after work. I'm alternating between my maternity clothes and my "fat" clothes. It's frustrating just wearing sweats most of the time. I know that by losing just a couple of pounds I will be able to fit into some of my regular clothes soon. I lost 30-ish pounds right away but have been holding steady since then. I still have around 20 more to lose.
That's about it for us. Although a little fussy, Pippa has been smiling more and laughing a bit. She is finally enjoying the vibrating bouncy chair (we still don't own a swing) and again, she's become very alert and likes to be where the action is (in the kitchen during dinner, outside in nice weather etc.). I'm looking forward to what the next couple of weeks holds for us.
Our weekend at the beach went great! She is really becoming more alert and pays attention to everything. She ate good and traveled well.
This week has been a bit, um, rough. While we have been practicing our eat, activity, sleep method, there are times where she just wants to eat then sleep. Is that okay? Right now for example; she was pretty fussy this morning before I fed her then she passed out. I tried to wake her but she was having none of that so I swaddled her and put her in her crib. She's been sleeping for almost two hours now. That means when she gets up it will be time to eat again. It seems to me that if she's that tired, it's okay to skip the "activity" portion however at night, she wants to skip the "sleep" cycle. Around 7 or 8pm, she becomes wide awake and wants to not sleep. Usually we have been taking a stroll outside and that seems to at least keep her calm. Since she stays up during that cycle, I usually put her down right after her 9 or 9:30 feeding, she will fuss a bit (until around 10) then she's out for the night.
Pippa has been a lot more fussy during the day and in the evening as well. For the first 5 weeks she hardly cried, now it seems like some days I can't make her happy no matter what. Or she will sit in her chair, give a chuckle, smile, then start crying. I keep telling myself that everything is a phase. The younger they are, the faster they grow out of whatever the phase is. Things typically don't last more than a couple weeks. If I can tough it out, it will get better.
This morning we had to wake up early to drive my hubby to the airport. He is in Pennsylvania for training until Saturday afternoon. It's going to be an interesting week. Today is my last PTA meeting for the school year, Liam starts a cooking class tonight and is still finishing up his Tuesday pottery classes. I have my final (I hope) doctor check up on Wednesday and Liam has early release that day too! Thursday and Friday are surprisingly open...so far. If my appointment goes well, I should be headed back to work part-time. I'm actually looking forward to a little time away from baby and the ability to workout again. I'll be super close to the gym so I can pop over after work. I'm alternating between my maternity clothes and my "fat" clothes. It's frustrating just wearing sweats most of the time. I know that by losing just a couple of pounds I will be able to fit into some of my regular clothes soon. I lost 30-ish pounds right away but have been holding steady since then. I still have around 20 more to lose.
That's about it for us. Although a little fussy, Pippa has been smiling more and laughing a bit. She is finally enjoying the vibrating bouncy chair (we still don't own a swing) and again, she's become very alert and likes to be where the action is (in the kitchen during dinner, outside in nice weather etc.). I'm looking forward to what the next couple of weeks holds for us.
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