“The Way I See It” September 28, 2007

My sister had this on her Starbucks cup this morning…

“All children need a laptop.  Not a computer, but a human laptop.
Moms, dads, grannies and grandpas, aunts, uncles — someone to hold
them, read to them, teach them.  Loved ones who will embrace them and
pass on the experience, rituals and knowledge of a hundred previous
generations.  Loved ones who will pass to the next generation their
expectations of them, their hopes, and their dreams.”
-Colin Powell

it’s so true. fiona is a lucky little girl (as are her parents) to have so many loved ones around to be her “laptop”. There is so much to teach her, we couldn’t possibly do it all on our own.

We just call it camping September 27, 2007

This last weekend Fiona and I went camping with Ellie and Jackson in Leavenworth. It was Fiona’s first camping trip and I was excited and nervous.

What to bring? Packing for yourself is hard enough but packing for you and a nonverbal, crawling baby adds an extra challenge. The nights have been getting a little chilly around here lately and the days haven’t been all that great either so figuring out what clothes, p.j’s, blankets, sleeping aids, etc.. to keep us all comfortable was a challenge and my nature to worry and fret and over-prepare was growing.

Thank God for Ellie. With out her I would never have braved the packing and the planning to go camping.

Friday we loaded up the car…and i do mean LOADED and off we went. It was a lot of fun having both kids with us. We noted that though we do a lot together we’ve never driven anywhere with each other. Kids and car seats really puts a damper on carpooling!

We arrived at our campsite a few hours later and all was well. We sat Jackson on the ground and caged Fiona in the pack-n-play while we set up camp. I borrowed the latest tents from the office to give them a try and they were fabulous! The tent Fiona and I slept in was big enough to fit the pack-n-play in the vestibule and tons of room inside. I used two Therm-a-Rests together and tried out or new sheet/tech blanket set up to sleep in (and I brought a back-up sleeping bag) I was well prepared for the cold!

We ate and played and quickly it was time for bed. I dressed Fiona in this very cute fleece snuggling suit I bought to keep her warm at night. I layed her down next to me so that I could change into my p.j.’s and she immediately fell asleep laying there next to me. I’ve never seen this happen before so I have to assume that camping suits her well!

My plan was to put her in the pack-n-play until I went to bed and then move her to sleep next to me so i could make sure she stayed warm. It worked like a charm! I was so relieved. She woke up a few times but no more then if she were at home. If it had been summer and warm out I would have been able to leave her in the p-n-p all night…this tent rocks!

The next morning we got  up and Fiona spent her time man-handling poor Jackson. Then she discovered the dirt and I spent my time keeping her from eating rocks and pine cones and whatever else she discovered. After breakfast we packed the kids up and went to the salmon festival and wandered around.

Next stop a short hike and Fiona’s first trip in her new backpack. Once again success! She napped for a bit in the pack but for the most part just sort of zoned out on the trees and ground. By the time we got back to the campsite it was already 4:30 and the other families that were camping with us were there.

The kids did so good after such a busy day and broken up nap schedule. We all ate dinner together and by 7 Fiona was well ready for sleep. After I put her to bed I sat around the campfire chatting with the other parents for a bit. There were 6 other kids there, a 6 yr old, two 4 yr. olds, a 14 mo. old, a 18 mo old, and a 3 yr old. It was a relief to not have to worry if Fi cried through the night! We certainly weren’t the only ones!!! Around the campfire I used the term “car camping” several times. Finally one of the fathers stopped me, “Karen. We don’t say car camping anymore. Now it’s just camping. There is no distinction. This is it”.  Lesson learned.

Sunday morning we got up and ate breakfast and started to tear down camp. Let me tell you taking down a tent and trying to deflate and roll up therm-a-rests when the parent to baby ration is 1 to 1 is a bit of a challenge. Add on about 2 extra hours.

We made it home with only one stop on the side of the road to sooth the babes. It was really a great time but I was happy to be home. I think Fiona was too…she giggled and played all afternoon.

I have a great sense of accomplishment having pulled off something as simple as camping….but I will admit….I now understand the pop-tent-trailer.

Turning a Corner? September 14, 2007

So the other night I got home with Fi and she started getting fussy. Since she’s been breathing I’ve known that this means ‘LET’S NURSE!” So we went and got in our chair with our pillow and started to nurse…but she wanted nothing to do with it. So then we bounced. wanted nothing to do with it. i put her down…nothing to do with it. we walked around and looked at pets….still fussing. So FINALLY we sat down at the table and opened a jar of carrots. BAM. That was it! Food! She was hungry. But not just hungry….HUNGRY FOR FOOD!!! Does this mean we’re turning a corner? Is this the first step to weening? A recognition that food satisfies our hunger and it’s better then mom’s milk? She is growing up so fast.

A lot of people ask me if it makes me sad to think she will some day be weened. I’m sure that at some point I will miss it. The closeness, the quiet time, the only time she snuggles…but I can’t say that I’m one of the mother’s who LOVES nursing. It’s O.K., and it’s been easy enough for us that I wouldn’t not nurse her….but the thought of not having to whip out my boob every couple of hours, planning my wardrobe around it every day and not having to pump in the gear closet at work doesn’t sound all that bad . We’re a long way from that I know….but maybe we’re headed in that direction?

7 months September 14, 2007

So we’re a little behind on this post. We turned 7 months old back on the 10th…it’s been a busy busy month so far! 7 months is being good to us and she is just speeding right along. You other mom’s out there can confirm but it seems like development is really accelerating from here on. Every day she learns something new and makes a new discovery. She is crawling like a crazy woman and we need to get a baby gate quick! And then yesterday….she crawled over to her toy and pulled herself right up to a stand. STANDING. huh. Her uncle walked at 8 months….I’m hoping she doesn’t do that but I’d be surprised  if she wasn’t walking before a year at this rate. She loves for us to hold her hands and walk around the house. She laughs the whole time. It seems like we are on a stead course and all is well. This last weekend we went to the cabin to celebrate Birthdays and Fiona sat in her pack-n-play for hours on the beach and played by herself. It was great. It’s nice to see that even though she is so active she can still entertain herself for bits of time. It is hard sometimes being her only playmate…we need to start scheduling more baby-baby play time! Here are a few pix. A couple with her cow for her 7 month and then a few from our weekend….we LOVE the computer =)

The Cats MeeOw! September 4, 2007

Fiona is really crawling right along…she’s got the whole thing down pat and can cover some serious ground…she can almost sit up all by herself too…she just can’t get her kickstand up but it’s pretty funny to watch her pull on her knee fat to try and get the leverage to tip her all the way onto her bottom.

Saturday night Uncle Alan and Aunt Val came over to visit (aunt valerie made us a fantastic new blankie that we can’t take our eyes off of because of all the pretty colors…we looooove it). We were all outside on the patio and Fi was down on the ground crawling around when she spotted our kitty Basso. Basso has been pretty good with Fi so far and will even let her touch him…which none of the other cats will do so she thinks he’s great….BUT, in the past the touching was on his terms. When he was sick of it he would just get up and go away.

So he was laying there and Fiona got a huge smile on her face and made a B-line right for him. She grabbed his tail…he looked at her and calmly got up and moved about one foot away and curled himself back up in a ball all relaxed. Problem solved. (just like a cat to move as little as absolutely possible…) Fiona thought this was hilarous and took off after him again and grabbed his belly. The look on that cats face was of shock and disgust. THIS THING MOVES? ON IT’S OWN? NO ONE TOLD ME THAT! He took off and some how I don’t think he’s going to be around much again.

I’m working on video of the crawling and the sitting

The Nursing Station September 4, 2007

Fiona and I spent Saturday afternoon with Ellie and Jackson. We went for a leisurely jog down to Seward Park and played for a bit in the shade and then a leisurely jog/walk back to Ellie’s house. Here’s a couple of pictures of  Fiona man handling Jackson and little man chilling beneath the trees.

Jackson is just a couple of weeks younger then Fi. And his mother Ellie is a superstar. While I’m struggling to run my old short loop without walking (the loop that I ran when I didn’t have enough time to get a *proper* run in but just had to go anyway)  She is getting ready to compete in a 30 mile race….SATURDAY. I told her that she needed to wear a t-shirt that read “mother of a 6 month old”. She said people would get the idea when they saw her at the first nursing station nursing. Uh…nursing station? no, i mean water station…aid station…even rest stop….but pretty sure there are no “nursing” stations in the ultra course.

my how things change. send her all your good running ju ju….she’s a great inspiration and we’ll be thinking about her lots!

The Fonz was on to something… September 4, 2007

uh, does that title date me too much?

Fi has been a thumb sucker for some time now but has still struggled a bit with the arm control…and forget getting it into her mouth when she’s tired and crying….until recently. She has seemingly over night become a thumb expert. She can get both her left and her right thumb into her mouth and do it with ease. It has helped us turn a new….and much anticipated….corner in our development. See…now when she wakes up in the middle of the night, she let’s out one maybe two cries…and then….SILENCE. The thumb is in her mouth and she is back to sleep. 4 nights now in a row I have only had to get up once, she has been able to sooth herself back to sleep all the other times.

Even crazier is that she now sucks her thumb randomly throughout the day…which also seems to calm her down. Last week she was so calm compared to her usual ants-in-the-pants constant state of movement that we all took her temperature several times, worried that maybe she was sick. But no. She just had her thumb. And for the first time ever my little girl has layed her head on my shoulder and sat still…while awake…content.

LONG LIVE THE THUMB!!

rub-a-dub-dub September 4, 2007

we got a new tub

Been Busy September 4, 2007

Things are good here at home. We have had a busy couple of weeks. Greg was in Europe for two weeks for work and play so Fi and I were going it alone. Last weekend we packed up everything we own but the three cats and headed for Enumclaw for the weekend to stay with my parents. My sister came down and stayed too and we went through old boxes of “treasures” (read “junk”) that we had saved from our youth.

It was a great blast from the past and though there were several things that left us scratching our heads wondering why in the world we had saved them…there were also a few gems that I was thrilled to find like all of our Barbies and home made barbie clothing to go with. There were lots of toys that will some day be Fi’s (lucky her) and a few items that we wished had survived their life in the attic a bit better and had to go to that great play room in the sky.

Aunt T got to feed Fiona and change the outcome of feeding fiona =) and Grandpa Predmore finally got to get her on a motorcycle…. mean COME ON! time is ticking…she’s almost 7 months old and she hadn’t even SEEN a motorcycle yet!

It was a great trip but we were glad to get home. Even with all the help entertaining and holding and playing it was still tiring traveling with the wee one…there’s just SO much stuff!