10 Months!

I can't believe that summer is here and we are well on our way to Abby's first birthday. Plans are obviously in full swing. I think I mentioned before that we'd be at the beach during her birthday and I am trying not to wish away summer while getting VERY excited for my first long beach trip in quite some time.

Taking the month to month pictures has become somewhat interesting now that Abby is on the move. She has also started making these incredibly cute/ugly faces which are hilarious, but not so good for picture taking.  I did my best, with the iPhone, on a crazy Saturday. At least I got one good picture:

How many? 10! Double digits!

Unintentionally seductive. Yet hilarious.

Stats? No recent stats to share. But she's definitely growing!

Diaper size? Comfortably in 4's. Hoping to stay here for a while.

Clothes size? 9-12 but mostly 12.

This picture sums up life lately!

Eating? We are getting so much better at solid foods.  Abby finally decided she wants to eat with her fingers and she has gotten very good at eating cheerios, puffs, pieces of cheese, various berries, pieces of banana, avocado, etc. I have been so cautious with foods because I am so afraid she will choke.  And you know what? She did choke.  And instead of freaking, I grabbed her out of her high chair, turned her over, slapped her back a few times and she coughed and was fine.  And that was it. Won't be the last time she chokes on something I'm sure.  And I'm just glad I knew what to do. She has also started to get MUCH better at actually chewing her food.  For the longest time, I was breaking up her puffs into pieces and now she is eating whole ones and chewing them up. Improvement!  We have also been embracing the sippy cup, although she drinks only water out of it. She still drinks formula every ~4 hours or so from a bottle.

Sleeping?
Abby has pretty much dropped her 3rd nap at this point, although sometimes she needs a quick one. Because of this, her bedtime has moved up from 8pm to 7pm.  It is crazy putting her to bed when the sun is still shining! Her morning naps are usually around 8am and her afternoon is at 1pm.

Milestones?
Another month flew by and Abby made incredible strides once again!
This month, she mastered getting into a sitting position from laying down.  She also began crawling normally (as opposed to the tummy slither).  Besides eating finger foods, she likes to "share" her food with the dogs by intermittently tossing things off her tray. She is actually OBSESSED with the dogs and actually says "Dog".  Well, actually she says "Doc".  We did a good job of confusing her since Dog and Doc are so similar.  She also calls Chloe "E Doc" (Chloe Dog). She also says "Dada" and has even said it a few times when he's walked into the room so I know she's got it down.  Today I asked her if I could take out her paci before lunch and she reached up and took it out herself.  Made me wonder what else she understands! Another crazy thing we did this month was put peanut butter in her mouth.  I was TERRIFIED. Our doctor told us to go for it.  And we did. And she didn't have any reaction at all. (Not that I was expecting one.) Another fun thing is that she discovered our belly buttons.  Not hers, just ours.  She's always pulling my shirt up looking for it. Awkward.

How I feel on Mondays

Mom's Corner:
Not much else to add this month since I just did a little write up of how working at home is going. (See previous post!) We have been having a ton of fun this summer and I hope I can get around to blogging about some of it!!

Til then, enjoy your summer!!!

~SG

Working At Home

I'm just finishing my second week of working at home part time while simultaneously taking care of Abby.  It has been an adjustment for both of us, but we are starting to get into our routine.

Something that has surprised me (and this is because I am a total idiot, I guess) is that I haven't had the time to feel lonely or bored.  I worried that I would feel so lonely, being here with only Abby every day.  But working 6 hours a day and taking care of Abby really does not leave much time for that!

Another adjustment that I've had to make is dealing with my a$$hole dogs.  Min Pins bark when a leaf blows down the street, so I've had to work on keeping them quiet (or outside) during phone calls, or during nap time when I know the mail man or UPS is coming. They also bark at trash trucks, school buses, neighbors, children, loud vehicles, etc.  Honestly that has been a bigger adjustment than Abby.  She's really easy going.

Most of the time, she is napping while I am in meetings or working on important things.  When she is awake during my work hours, she plays in her pack and play or watches Mickey Mouse from her walker or jumperoo.  Now that she's mobile, I can't just plop her on the rug anymore!

I do feel bad about her watching TV.  Earlier this week, I was working on a huge project and she was stuck in front of the TV watching Sesame Street and Baby Einstein while I sat on endless phone calls. I also feel bad when I am on a call and she is crying and I can't go comfort her immediately.  That is a hard pill to swallow.  I'm hopeful that won't happen too often.

But with these negatives there are so many positives.  We can take our time in the morning.  Eat breakfast, drink coffee, go for long walks in the stroller. I don't have to wake her up if she is still sleeping at 6:30. I am getting more exercise and eating less junk. I'm not sitting in the car for 3 hours a day, or paying $200 a month in tolls to avoid that traffic.  I get to see my baby girl all day.

Overall, I am happier.  My paycheck might be smaller now, but the trade in my happiness makes it 110% worth it in the end.