To amuse you...

A quick video to keep you amused...



Aubrie still hasn't gotten over the taste of yogurt. Though, she'll eat it (she'll eat ANYTHING)... after 5 days she still makes a face. We'll try again in a few weeks.

Update

Just a quick update as to where I've been...

My computer died. Apparently, it was recalled awhile back, but we never found out till it died just recently. So, much less blogging for awhile. I have Chris' computer... but it has that new fandangled Dvorak keyboard (all the keys are different), so it makes blogging (or anything really) quite frustrating.

Pair that with our crazy ridiculous heat wave, horrible current sleeping habits (possibly a result of the heat) and a very very fussy baby... I'm sure you get the picture... and I'm sure you'll all be patient while I take a little blogging world break.

Oh... but Varekai (Cirque du Soleil) was AMAZING!!!!! Made the whole week that much better. Plus, we found a new dining room table (more baby friendly than our old glass trendy one that is going to my brother and sister-in-law). So, there have been many good things this week.

I'll just keep reminding myself of that...

Never say it!

Never ever say that baby is sleeping better. Inevitably, that will be the end of it! Aubrie was up 4 times last night. And, it took almost 2 hours to get her to sleep to begin with. It was a looooong night. There doesn't seem to be any reason for it, so that makes it a little frustrating. Plus, it's throwing any schedule we were starting to get into for a loop. This is starting to be the predominant trend of the last week or so. At least I'm starting to get used to it. It's always tough when things have been going really well and then you have a bad night. It's more just because you aren't used to the lack of sleep. Fingers crossed that this is just a quick little growth spurt.

I know I had more to blog about, but my mind just went blank. So, I'll leave you with a picture of Aubrie's new skill...

New stuff

Well, as of yesterday, Aubrie is managing to sit on her own. Not for long, mind you, but a good 15 seconds or so at least (before tumbling over). I'm sure she'll get good at it fairly quickly. Everyone tells me that sitting goes like that... just when you think they are never going to sit, all of a sudden they are doing it like they've been sitting for years! So, that's a fun new accomplishment.

She still seems to recuperating a bit from the shots, or teething, who knows (I'm pretty sure she was never getting a cold). She's better, but still easily irritated. Sleeping better though, which is good!

With the help of my mom today, I managed to get my craft room cleaned out. It really wasn't that big of a task, but I kept finding myself going in there and staring at the mess for several minutes, before giving up on it entirely. It has kind of been a dumping ground for a few months. But, it only took about an hour, and now it's fit for use. Which means I no longer have any excuse to get started on Aubrie's scrapbook. Now, if only I could get my pictures in order and printed!

Also, I find that I didn't keep track of early milestones very well. I totally know why... Aubrie was very challenging for the first 4 months or so. I have all the milestones from then on. But, it's sad to know that I don't really remember or have a record of her first giggle... just approximates. I'm so glad I kept this blog, because I can track a lot of it that way. It's also so hard to pick an exact date when things started happening. I know the first time I saw her roll... but then she didn't do it much for months. With smiling, I know she started smiling here and there in the early weeks - but you never really know if they are genuine smiles until they start returning your smiles. It's just not so cut-and-dry, know what I mean?

Anyways, enough rambling. Sadly, it's only 7pm on a Saturday night, and I'm already thinking of what would be a reasonable hour to go to bed. Know is not reasonable... but maybe 9:30?? *yawn*...

Conditioning

Ya know, I really hate it when companies advertise something that just isn't true. Like coffee bags that the more expensive coffees come in (we're on the west coast, we like our coffee). They say "now with easy pull apart bag". Ok... no... not when you are tired and desperately need your coffee. They aren't easy to pull apart at all!

Which brings me to conditioning. My body is really good at conditioning itself to sleep patterns. When I was working, I would always wake up a good 15 minutes before my alarm (despite it going off at 5am). Now, I always wake up around the time Aubrie is due to wake me up. Of course, this is a good thing most mornings. Not the mornings you want to sleep in. Not the mornings that Aubrie was up really really really late and is still sleeping and you could be sleeping too, especially since you only had about 5 hours, but no, you can't sleep, you are conditioned otherwise (wow, what a long sentence).

So here I sit, waiting for my coffee to brew, awaiting Aubrie's call, not knowing if she's going to be better today. We aren't sure if it was her shots, or a brewing cold that had her miffed yesterday and last night. It's so sad to see her that upset, 'cuz it just isn't like her anymore.

But a happy 6 month birthday to her!!! I can't believe she's already 6 months old. AACK time flies!

Quick update

Ok... this'll be a quicky cuz I have an incling that Aubrie is going to be up a lot tonight. Today was her 6 month shots (yuck!), and it was probably the worst set of shots thus far. That, paired with a cranky girl to begin with (last night wasn't too great for her).

The nurse today was useless. I had hoped to ask several questions, but it was obvious at an early point that she knew less than I did, so I bailed on most of my questions. In the end, I know I'll just figure it out on my own and do what I feel is best anyways, so I don't know why I bother sometimes.

Aubrie's growth is probably not quite what it should be, but no-one (dr or nurses) have said anything, so I'm hoping that means just forget about it and don't worry (easier said than done). I swear they screwed up her length today though. Either that, or they screwed it up last time cuz 0.25 inches in 2 months seems ridiculous. At any rate, she's at 14lbs and 25". That's 10% (down from 25%) in weight and 25% (down from 75%) in length. The 25%/75% was what she was born with, so I was all good with that... but I'm a little concerned about slipping. Mind you, the 75% length seems like a total fluke anyways... neither of us are particularly tall (hahaha), but we're not really 25% tall either. Come on 50%...

Anyways... why are we always so concerned about baby weight and height anyways. She's growing. If she starts shrinking, I'll be a little more alarmed.

Shawna come home...

Ok, it's only day 2 of my neighbor-mommy-friend, Shawna, (and baby Zoe) being gone to the island... and already *insert whiney tone* I'm bored!!!!! We tend to see each other every day during the week - walks, coffee, aerobics classes. So, it's tough to have all that gone. I'm having to find things to do all on my own. I'm sounding quite pathetic here!

Sure, I have other local mommy friends... but none that I really just call up at ridiculously early hours of the morning to just suggest a random outing. And I'm not driving to North Van again this week (sorry Megan!)... so I'm stuck!

Today, we're gonna head to the mall with my mom. Yesterday we filled the midmorning with a long walk. Tomorrow... who knows.

But, alas, there calls Aubrie. I'll have to remember to recap my fun-filled weekend later!

Who needs a professional?

I keep getting asked by various people why I haven't had professional pics of Aubrie done. Well... several reasons. First of all, it's stressful as anything. It's hard enough making sure she's in a good mood for any outing, let alone an outing where she HAS to be happy because we've paid to get pictures of her happy. Not my idea of a fun day. Second, it's expensive. Third, they usually look ridiculously cheesy. And finally... when you've got a digital camera, you are bound to get a few great pics to savor...

Case in point...



Why can't I have eyelashes like that???

Feeling MIA

I keep meaning to blog, and then stuff happens... go figure! Aubrie has had a rough few days - just being "off". Pair two nights that we were late getting her to bed (family dinner, then ridiculous 2 hour traffic) with possible teething and/or growth spurt... you get the picture. Tonight may have gotten us back on track though (hurray). Now that I've said that, we all know what's going to happen!

Tomorrow, we're actually having some friends over. Can you believe it? Real people, after 6pm, and not just to hang out with Chris. I actually don't think that's ever really happened since Aubrie was born. It is pretty tough when you have a baby that has a horrible evil twin that comes out if you keep her up past her usual bed-time (which is very early to begin with). Other moms keep asking me how we function with such an early bedtime. It honestly has never bothered us. In some ways, it's fantastic, because it leaves us with the evening. But, it also leaves us in our home all evening. But we didn't go out much before Aubrie either. We're more of a movie-at-home type of couple. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to it.

Ooooh, and we booked tickets to Varekai for our 5 year anniversary!! I'm totally excited! Just a couple more weeks, then a whole afternoon and evening out!

No more excuses

For all the non-commenting lurkers out there (you know who you are... and I know who you are... but ya just never say "hi" so I'm ratting you out!), I just checked to ensure that yes, you can post comments even without a blogger account. So, for all those who read my blog on a regular or semi-regular basis... stop in and say "hi". All you have to do is click the "anonymous" button, post your bit, click "login and publish". You aren't really logging into anything. So mom... Megan... I'm waiting, lol! (Bueller??? Bueller???)

Not that I AT ALL expect everyone who stops by to comment on every single boring blog I write. Just a "hi" every now and again. Gosh, I can barely keep up with the blogs I read, let alone comment every time. I just try to get a few words in weekly. So, no judgements by me on the regularity of replies.

Which reminds me... boy do I have to update my blogroll!!!! My apologies to all the blogs I read and aren't posted on my blogroll. I'll get to it soon! Honest!

Can moms be too relaxed?

This has been my question since Aubrie's check up this week. I didn't have any questions or concerns for her doctor, so the visit was really really quick. He didn't even check much (no length, or head measurements)... which may have been due to my apparent lack of concern, or maybe because Aubrie didn't like him much and screamed the whole time. Who knows. Aubrie weighed 13lbs 5oz... only a 1 pound gain since her 4mo shots. But, we know she's a fairly petite girl, so it wasn't much of a concern there either.

Don't get me wrong, I worry about Aubrie all the time! Especially at night, when I'm not right next to her. My head is constantly full of worries. That is why I don't fret about the stuff that doesn't seem too important to me. I know she's growing, I know she's healthy, so I'd just rather not dwell on the millions of "what ifs" or stress about every little *possible* sign of something looming (which there hasn't really been). As a result, I often get people commenting that I'm an "unusual first-time-mom". Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

I also don't fret over germs. Germs are around. We can't possibly get away from them. Some germs are good. I can't keep Aubrie from putting every little thing in her mouth (though, I do try if it's sharp or swallow-able), so if she picks up a toy with a little dog hair on it, so be it. Or, if she picks up a friends toy, or touches a friend's slimy drooled-on hands... no big deal. I keep a clean house, and I figure that's enough. I stopped boiling all her water and sanitizing every toy and soother quite some time ago. Some moms think I'm crazy. But she's never had as much as a sniffle, so I figure her immune system is doing its job, right?

Why is it that everyone expects first-time-moms to be so concerned about all these things. Is it bad when we aren't? I don't know. I just know I do what I have to do to stay sane. And that's a good thing.