10 months!

Wow, time flies!

Aubrie is moving around a ton these days... super fast at crawling and cruising. She has started to attempt to stand on her own, but it always seems to frighten her!

She sings a LOT. Other babies her age babble a lot, but she's always singing instead! She's started copying "uh oh"... but it sounds more like "uh aaaaaaah" in a sing-song voice. And, she does it all the time - go figure! I guess it suits her sensitive personality!

She LOVES to wave, and has it down to a fine art. She has her different waves for different occasions. The "super excited" wave (whole arm moving), the "not so sure" wave (arm up, hand moving ever so slightly) and the "I have better things to do" wave (a la Queen Elizabeth). She also loves being chased and tackled.

Eating has changed a bit... she now shows clearly when she's done. She seems to prefer her own finger foods. She's now really like pasta and broccoli pieces, perogies were a HUGE hit. She's even tried some tofu chicken burgers, tofu chicken nuggets, and a variety of other tofu products. Cheese toast is a favorite - mozarella over cheddar though!

Sleeping has been challenging lately, but mostly due to the onset of ANOTHER cold. Yuck! And more teeth. She's broken the top two out now. She may be working on a few more.

She did so well with our trip to Palm Desert. I'm sure she'll be excited for the next trip in April!

Oh, and she LOVES to rip up paper, so Christmas should be a real treat!

The time is just passing too quickly :(

I'm getting there

Promise... an update is coming soon! I've just been so bogged down with so many things (and won't bore you with all the details).

But, I'm asking a HUGE favor of all my favorite readers (you're all my favorite... cuz you keep coming back despite the fact I never seem to keep this blog up to date!!!!!). If you get the chance, can you pop over to my scrapping blog and let me know if it's working for you? I had major issues when I added flickr to my last version of the blog. So, I've simplified it and added flickr back, hoping (fingers crossed) that it's working for everyone now. Particularly anyone who had trouble with viewing the old version (Emma?).

I promise to repay you all with some REAL updates soon! ;)

PSA

Seriously people... if you have a pumpkin still sitting on your porch, it's WAY past time to throw it out. There is no time that it is at all appropriate to use rotting produce as a decoration. If I have to walk by another pumpkin with mold oozing out of it, I will not be held responsible for what I do to it! EWW people, EWW!

The switch

Ok, sorry I've been MIA again. Things are just getting so hectic with preparations for going back to work and the likes. But... don't wanna talk about that right now.

I need to post Aubrie's 10 month update, but I'll likely do that later this weekend. I'm so shocked at how fast time is flying these days.

Her sleeping has now gone ALL over the map. We're fighting the urge to start the day at 4am, and it's resulted in a totally irratic schedule. I'm a schedule girl, so it's driving me a little batty... but I guess it's to be expected!

Oh, but my main point of saying hi today is to say that I'm quite excited about this new switch of blogger over to google. My life is now totally googleified (yes, it's a word!). Email, calendar, now blogs... all on my homepage. I'm loving it. Hopefully blogger stops flaking out on me so frequently. I haven't been able to post to my other blog much, as it keeps rejecting my flickr entries. AACK! So, if you've been wondering what's up with that blog... that's what's up! I hope everything sorts out soon, and that I can get my blogs a-flowing!

Greetings from the desert!

Aubrie is having so much fun, she's not sleeping! It's been such a struggle since we got here yesterday to get her to sleep properly. Of course, the traveling took its tool... then she was over-tired and woke up VERY distraught last night. And today, just wouldn't take an afternoon nap. But, look how much fun she's having!!! So it's all worth it!



She discovered the water park and boy does she love it! The ground is made from spongy material, so it's great for crawling on. Plus, it's shaded, which is also awesome!

The weather is awesome, but could always be hotter (I love the heat!). We're hoping to get to the zoo sometime soon, and of course, some shopping!! I hope to update again soon (hopefully with more pictures!)

Too fast!

Aubrie needs to slow down!! Seems every day now, she's doing something new (and, more often than not, quite reckless!). She *finally* started waving, which is quite enjoyable. She's also started doing the cruise-and-transfer, actually walking along furniture and then changing pieces of furniture - AACK! It's way too early for her to be putting us through this, lol! So far, she's only bailed once... which actually resulted in me going out to buy the furniture guards I said I'd NEVER get (I'd rather teach her the danger of things rather than rubber-padding our entire house). But... I did only rubberize her play room... everything else in the house remains danger ridden, just the way we like it.

I really started to notice her tendencies today when my mom's group got together. All the other babies played nicely on the floor, crawling a little here and there. I, on the other hand, got to constantly chase after my little girl who was crawling over the stone fire place to get to the cords and electrical pieces behind the stereo system. Fun times!

In other news... I'm seriously considering switching my blogs to another site. I seem to be having one issue after another. Not that I seriously believe all those issues would disappear... but it's worth a shot, right? Any opinions on this?

We leave for Palm Desert on Thursday, so we're busy guetting ready... but I do hope to update when we are there (wireless internet - YAY). And, catch up on some blog reading too... I'm soooo far behind (in case everyone's wondering why my comments have diminished!).

Belated 9 month review

Go figure, I come to blog… and blogger is down for maintenance! So, at least I’m getting the blog written, and I’ll upload it later tonight.

I STILL haven’t done a month 9 review! And Aubrie is almost 2 weeks into her tenth month. Oops! Really, it doesn’t seem like that much has changed. But, looking back on her 8 month review, I guess it has! She’s really motoring around these days. She crawls really quickly, pulls up on everything and anything, can cruise a little, and walk while pushing things (mainly chairs… we don’t particularly like this little habit, as it generally ends with baby on the floor). She’s really, really cut down on how much she throws up, which is truly a blessing (especially for the carpets and laundry!).

She’s still eating much of the same foods. She’s started drinking a little juice too, though I don’t like to give it to her too often. We started mainly due to her first cold, which she is just getting over. She’s also eating cheese, cauliflower, Brewer’s Yeast and kelp in her cereal (that stuff is soooooo disgusting, and yet soooo nutritious, she doesn’t seem to really care about either though!). We need to start her on more finger foods, as she really loves them.

Sleeping is the same. Who would have thought 7 or 8 months ago that she would turn out to be such a fantastic sleeper?!?! I’m so thankful every morning for that!

Oh, and one more tooth. Not sure exactly when that little guy came in. I keep thinking she’ll get the top two as well, but no luck yet.

She still LOVES giving big, open mouth kisses (can’t seem to teach her to keep her mouth closed!). She especially loves chasing the dog with her mouth open and laughing hysterically when he licks inside her mouth – YUCK! Poor Java, we keep telling him no, and then she chases him down and taunts him to do it again. He’s trying so hard to behave!

She’s also a great peek-a-boo player these days. She’ll initiate it herself. Though, she doesn’t quite understand that simply bowing her head and looking up isn’t really peek-a-boo… we can still see her, though we pretend we can’t. She’ll keep doing ANYTHING over and over and over and over again if it gets a cheer. Should make potty training quite easy down the road!

Hmmm... where are my flowers?

Ok, is it just me... or did my entire blog template vanish? Is everyone else just seeing a boring ocean-blue screen? Where did all my pretty graphics go?

I guess I know what I'm going to be trying to fix this weekend....

First cold

Well, we are officially on the mend from Aubrie's first cold (and my first cold since she was born). I'm almost 100%, she's probably about 75%. I'm probably just as happy to get it over with as she is! Now that she's getting better, she's back to being in to everything. She LOVES to stand, she's starting to cruise around furniture, she can tackle a few stairs if there's something she wants... in short... she's determined!

We're looking forward to next week and being able to get back into things. This week was spent mostly at home... and it got pretty boring!

Ok, boring post... sorry... just wanted to update!

On my own

Ok, now that Les Mis song is going to be stuck in my head all day. But that's neither here nor there.

I tried to post yesterday, but blogger seems to have hit a glitch. My blogs were also a little screwy. Which reminds me... if you have trouble seeing my scrapping blog, it could be because you are using an old browser. Update your IE, or switch to Firefox (loooooove it... and it's free... and I am in no way affiliated with them... they just rock).

Ok, on to my post. Yesterday was my first full day with Aubrie by myself. Isn't that weird?? She's almost 9 months old! We've had the odd day here and there, but most of the time Chris is around (he was working from home before). Now, he's working at a new job (that he is VERY excited about), so we're on our own. Yesterday was actually quite nice. I got way more done than I had anticipated, which was fabulous. Aubrie's been very tired lately too, which helped (cuz she slept... a LOT). Today I woke up with a bit of dread though, as I'm doubtful she will be as easy as she was yesterday. But, hopefully it will all go well. I'm actually finding that it's easier to get things done now, as I have to find tricks to get everything done with her around.

BUT, she also manages to get into more trouble with just me around. So, off I run... before she swallows mouthfuls of the tissue paper she is currently playing with!

I leave you with a new pic. Isn't she adorable (I'm not biased or anything)!!!! Little boys, WATCH OUT!

It's up, it's up!

I finally got my scrapbooking blog up and running. Go look! http://scrappysquared.blogspot.com. Enjoy!

Aubrie seems to be cutting another tooth... and hopefully soon! She's a challenge these days! But, also lots of fun in many respects. She's into everything - which sounds daunting, but it's great to see life from her perspective. It's so exciting, even the little things! She just started to pull up on things, and is giving up lots of mini panic attacks throughout the day. She's turning into a little daredevil.

Well, I'm actually blogged out from getting the new site up and running. I hope to continue both of them equally. So, don't give up on me yet! ;)

She's alive

Yes, I'm still hear! I do realize it's been awhile since my last blog... things have just been, well... I don't even know. It's not that I'm all that busy. Aubrie keeps me busy, and I'm out and about a lot... but I guess I just haven't felt like blogging lately. So, rather than blog about nothing, I decided not to blog. Guess that was a mistake, 'cuz I got three emails from people wondering what happened to me! So, here's my blog entry about pretty much nothing.

Well, I guess not nothing. Chris got the job he interviewed for. He starts after the long weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving, wow, that crept up on me!) and he's really excited. It's with a *major* video game company, though I'm not sure I'm supposed to say which one. He's very very excited (I said that already, didn't I?).

With it, though, is the reality that he will now be *leaving* the house to work. I'm sure this is going to hit Aubrie and I very hard at first. It's wonderful to have him around. But, on the other hand, I think it will also be great for him to have that special "home-from-work" time with Aubrie (and great for me too). It'll be an adjustment, that's for sure.

It also means buying a second car. Hmmm, that's another blog.

In my news, I've decided to start as a consultant for the scrapbooking products I love. I've finally gotten around to doing a good amount of scrapbooking, and thought this would be a great reason to do even more (and spend even more, hahaha). I hope to start a separate scrapbooking blog to share some tips, techniques and layouts. But, we'll wait till I'm up and running first. Hopefully soon!

Aubrie is going, going, going these days. Everyday she seems to gain speed, and she hates to be in the same place for long. She's definitely in a fun phase right now though! We're really enjoying it.

That's it... told ya... boring. I'll try to keep everyone posted more often. And a big shout out to everyone who I haven't had a chance to check your blogs recently. Or, maybe I have, just no chance to comment. I'm still here, *waves*.

To wake, or not to wake

Aubrie is STILL sleeping. It's almost 8am. This is unheard of. And yet, it's a great thing, because I can get stuff done. But, on the other hand... will it mess up her regular schedule? I hate always questioning myself on everything. I'm thinking of letting her sleep and seeing what it does. We have no big plans today (I have some appt's, but my mom is coming by... so that doesn't matter).

I swear, she so reactionary (I don't think that's a word) these days... it's tiring her out. She'll do something, and if it gets a reaction (cheers, laughs, looks of surprise) she will keep doing it and doing it and doing it, laughing hysterically in the process. She's so happy, you can't help but continue your reaction... and yet... it gets really tiring after awhile! But, it's adorably cute!

In other news, Chris has a major major interview today. We're talking 4 hour or so interview with about 5 different people. It's somewhere he would really love to work. So... if it's your thing, keep him in your prayers. If it's not, just think lots of positive thoughts for him.

I'm off to take advantage of this morning mommy time!

Month in Review

What a boring title. I can't believe I'm posting about Aubrie's 8th month. It's amazing (and sad) how quickly time is flying. I apologize in advance for how boring this post is likely to be. But, alas, I love to have a record of things... and blogging is the way to go these days (considering how behind I am in my scrapbook!!).

This month, she went from the crawling position, to creeping along the floor, to all-out-full-fledged crawling in the past week or two. It's crazy how quickly that happened. She's now powering along at way-too-fast of a speed. It wouldn't be challenging, really, if it weren't for the sheer multitudes of vomit that she also manages to produce (see last post). But, it is a lot of fun. It's great that she can go explore the things she wants to see. I love to see things through her eyes. She's a pro at sitting, and moving to and from the sitting position. Aside from pulling up and cruising/walking, she's got pretty much everything down pat.

She still loves to eat. She's been a full-fledged formula baby for awhile now (we tried to cut back to one breastfeeding session... that didn't work... so fully weaned a little earlier than planned). She eats 24oz a day. Plus, her three meals. Generally fruit and oatmeal at breakfast, yogurt (she finally likes it) and/or egg yolk at lunch, and veggies and rice or barley at dinner. We also tend to do lots of finger food at dinner, so that it's easier to eat dinner all together. She eats cheerios and Gerber puffs, as well as whole wheat toast, pasta, she's even tried hashbrowns and home-made fries. Other new foods include asparagus, cottage cheese (still learning to eat that), mango... I think that's about it.

Sleep is GREAT! As long as she gets it, lol! She really likes to have her naps in order. She sleeps about 2 hours in the morning (9-11) and about 1 hour in the afternoon (2-3)... sometimes more. She goes to bed closer to 7pm now, and sleeps through till about 6:30am. She's generally up earlier, but she's content on her own till 6:30.

She's trying to wave, I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon. She tends to wave to herself the most. She's always giving kisses now if you are holding her. She's also a better snuggler than she has been in the last few months.

Oh, and teeth... she cut one tooth that is still pretty small. Another tooth is REALLY close, but I don't think I can officially call it there yet. The way she attacks food though, she doesn't even need 'em!

Most days, she's so easy!! It's hard to believe how far she's come! And sad that it's all happening so quickly!

Again, sorry for the boring post. I'll try to come up with something exciting next time...

Ewe... seriously... E.W.E.

First of all, yes, It's Saturday night. Yes, I'm blogging. I don't have a problem with that.

I had every intention today of writing a post to do the "8 month update" on all of Aubrie's new feats this month (as she is now 8 months and 2 days). But, well, then life happened. That post will have to wait for another day.

Because... ewe. There I was, relaxin on the couch, watching me some Mad TV (and, I mean that in the sense of the actual show, I'm not trying to be all gangsta-cheese on you, sending out my mad props te y'all.... wait, gansters don't say y'all... ah darn it). When, what do I find... but vomit... in... my... hair. EWE.

Now, I've spoken about the Aubrie vomityness (yes, I know that's not a word), but I've not clarified all the glorious stages of Aubrie vomit. Yes, there's the "after bottle spit-up". This is not at all gross, just a pain in the arse. Then, there's the "I had a bottle a few hours ago spit-up" which is slightly more gross in it's curdled glory, but still not heinous. Then, there's the "food that was recently eaten" full-on vomit... which is gross only in the sense that it's usually very chunky, and very colored, and often stinks, and is still a pain in the arse, as are all the stages of vomit. Then, there's the "this has been in my gut for who knows how long and has gathered all the glorious yucky stomache acids and REAKS" vomit. Yes, that's the vomit I found in my hair. Stomache acids and all. E.W.E. A large chunk of it. Eeeewwwweeee.

And, I don't know what's worse. The fact that I had NO IDEA how long this vomit had been in my hair. It could have been anywhere from about 3 hours to about 9 hours (ya, 9 hour vomit... ewe... and let me say again... ewe). OR, the fact that I seriously considered NOT washing it out with a full on scrubbing-in-the-shower. I actually tried to just rinse it out in the sink first. EWE.

Let me explain though. It's not that it wasn't truly gross (which it was), but I had already washed my hair today. And, I have very few "free" hours in my day... so that was one reason I considered trying to avoid a shower. I had better things to do. But, more importantly... is the fact that washing my hair more often than every 2 or 3 days is a complete disaster these days. Why? Because after the "hair gets RIDICULOUSLY thick during pregnancy" followed by the "hair falls out in RIDICULOUS clumps post-pregnancy", my hair is, well, ridiculous. It's frizzy, and horrible, and has teeny tiny pieces everywhere that are growing back in. Seriously, if I pull it back all the way, it looks like someone had a HUGE mishap trying to cut some bangs. I have a huge row of 1 inch pieces. This leads to serious frizz issues if I wash it too frequently. Plus, there's the time required to deal with all this frizz... that's not fun at all. And I was planning on quickly running the straight iron through it in the morning so that I could run out to the grocery store to buy all the things I need to make the AWESOME cheesecake (diet?? diet?? who said that?????) for the scrapbooking party I'm having on Monday because tackling the grocery stores around here anytime after 8:30am on a weekend is sheer suicide.

But, alas, I couldn't handle it. I guess I'm just not the mom I thought I was quite yet. I had to scrub it clean.

Uhm.... ewe.... (just one last time for prosperity).

TV to the rescue

AAACK... I just squelched a major baby melt-down with tv... I don't know what I dislike more - the fact that I use it, or the fact that it works.

It's not that I'm against tv - heck, I watch enough of it to, uhm, hmm... can't think of an analogy. I watch a lot of tv. I guess I just don't want her to grow up and watch as much as I do. Or, I'm worried about the quality of tv in 5 years (heck, I'm worried about the quality of tv now... nothing near as wholesome as the days when I was a kid).

But on days like today, I just have to take a pass on caring about it.

Testing blog accountability

So... here's the test... how well will blogging something keep me accountable? I figure, the more people you tell about a goal, the more incentive you have to stick with it, right? Let's hope so...

I've been trying to lose the final weight from my pregnancy for AGES. I'm just not giving it enough effort. I've always been a good half-ass dieter... never a good dieter though. I last about a week max. I'm not fully sure why I always end up quitting, but I do. I'm hoping this time I can stick to it.

I've tried many diets. Most are difficult to follow because I'm a vegetarian. I've tried weight-watchers twice... I'm not about to try a third time. I'm thinking my best bet is good old exercise and watching calories. It's probably the easiest route as well.

Aside from just plain giving up, I'm worried about hitting the afternoon slump. I hit it every day right now. I have energy to do things in the morning, but as soon as Aubrie's second nap hits, I have no energy at all. No motivation. Sooo, with my workouts taking up the entire morning nap (to include a shower... still no time in there to actually dry or do my hair or anything... guess it's pony-tail till I've dropped the weight), I worry about getting everything ELSE done. I need to make use of every minute of my time, or else I'm doomed. It's a very daunting prospect.

Plus, I always get major major headaches... usually in the afternoon. I'm hoping that eating better will help curb those.

Ok, this is turning into a ridiculously whiney post.

So, I'll leave it at "I've said it". I'm determined to drop the weight. I have 18-20 pounds that needs to go before I head back to work.

Aubrie's up... guess that's all I can say about that.

I meant to be serious

Really... I had every intention today of writing a deep, thoughtful, serious post. I've been meaning to do it all week. Somehow, everyday life just always seems to get in the way. I'm sure we all know what that's about.

I still can't believe that in the midst of 9/11 reflexions and school shooting tragedy posted all over the news... the only thing on my mind to blog about is vomit. Seriously... ridiculous, frustrating, annoying amounts of vomit. So, does that make me a normal mommy, or does that make me a bad citizen? Or maybe just a bad blogger. Hey, I'm still new to this (ok, not really... but new enough that I still can't get my act together to blog daily).

But, really... if you saw the amount of vomit that leaves my child on a daily basis... you'd be blogging about it too. It's especially difficult these days with the crazy amount of crawling that it's paired with. I seriously don't know why people with non-vomiting babies consider crawling a more challenging phase. Crawling is seriously inefficient moving... though faster than one would think, it's still quite easy to catch them before in the midst of danger. Now, to catch them before they vomit all over the carpet for the 10th time in the hour... that's challenging. And frustrating.

That's not even including my latest frustration with laundry. Seriously... pair the ever-vomitting baby with cloth diapers (either one alone would be fine... but together... AACK)... *sigh*. And, even the amount wouldn't be frustrating right now if it wasn't for the fact that I've just realized that the ones I *thought* were clean (put in drawer/closet) are now stained with the mysterious "after-cleaning" yellow or bleachy vomit stain. So, when I went to put away her clothes that no longer fit (I've finally decided that even though they fit, putting 0-3mo clothing on an 8 month old is just mean), I realized that essentially all of them are stained beyond belief. I don't dare go look at the stuff I've already packed away. It's just depressing.

I've tried immediate soaking (and soaking till wash time), I've tried oxy-clean, spray'n'wash, that dual power stain treater... nothing is helping. It seems that every solution I've been given by those who say "it works like a charm for little junior's clothes" obviously don't have the vomit-queen herself messing up the clothes. It's a talent...

At least she's not picky about foods. So... the days I decide I can't handle it and only feed her white or very light colored foods... at least she can cope!

Home sweet home

Ok, so I'm half asleep as I'm writing this... but somehow 8:45pm is way too early to go to bed, so I figured I had to kill some time, why not blog?

We got back today around 1:30pm from our trip. We had a FANTASTIC time! It was so great to have a vacation with another similar family. It's great to be able to go by Aubrie's schedule, and not worry about how that's affecting plans. It was great to have the girls play together all day long. It was great to have 4 adults to 2 babies. It was great to drink wine and play games and chat when they went to bed. I highly recommend the dual family mini-vacation to all!!!

The downside... the trip home was absolutely MISERABLE. Aubrie was in such a state. She slept the first 30 minutes or so (she usually naps 2 hours in the morning). Then, she was up, and unhappy the rest of the trip. She fell asleep for maybe 5 minutes, but then woke up in that crazy screaming-without-actually-waking-up phase, which finally woke her up completely. We think she's probably cutting her next tooth. At least we know it's not likely to be a lengthy grumpy phase. She's a good little teether like that!

She seemed so thrilled to be home though. Despite her episodes throughout the car-ride, she calmed down completely the second we walked in the door. Despite being way over-tired, she just wanted to enjoy her toys, her pets, her surroundings before she would settle for a nap. Thankfully, though, she's asleep now, and is probably likely to have a good long sleep tonight (something her mommy and daddy REALLY need!).

So, that's about it. I've thought of so many things to blog about on my various vacations lately, so I'm hoping I remember them throughout the week so that I can post something other than updates!

But for now... a nice long bath is calling me!

Bidding adieu (again)

We're on our way today up to Kelowna and the always lovely Manteo Resort. I guess I forgot to say good-bye before I left for Saskatchewan, so I figured it was only fair to give you a heads up this time! I will be gone till Saturday, so it will likely be awhile before my next post. I'm looking forward to enjoying some of this gorgeous weather (well, minus the smoke from forest fires...), spending some time in the pool, and watching the girls have a blast together. We're going with our walking buddies (and gym buddies, and class buddies... heck, we see them almost daily!) Zoe (9 months) and mom Shawna (a wee bit over 9 months, lol)... oh and her husband Corey (who would probably be mad that I almost forgot about him... let's hope Shawna doesn't let him see this!). It's bound to be a great time!

In an hour we're also headed to our first baby-signing class (then we'll head out on the road after). I'm quite excited about that too! I never thought I'd go the "signing" route... I'm a little sceptical about it, but I just wanted another outing for Aubrie to enjoy (she loves seeing other babies, and it's good for her to get used to lots of new people. Although I've heard otherwise, I worry that it might delay her speech if she can sign. But... I guess we'll see. I'm looking forward to learning more about it!