**Disclaimer: This post is really self-indulgent, and more of a vent than anything else. It has almost nothing to do with my cute baby girl so feel free to skip it!
Today was one of those days that really make my hate living in Clovis. Normally, it is a daily struggle to find the positives about living here, but I can often do it. I do try HARD to have a good attitude. Some days my efforts are more effective than others. Here's how today went.
I woke up this morning to nice temperatures. Sweet! Decided that E and I should take a walk around the neighborhood. This wasn't too bad until the sustained winds of 25+ mph (not unusual here) blowing in Evie's face made her cry. Walk fail.
This afternoon, following lunch and naptime I decided to go to the family room at the base gym and learn how to use the weight machine in there. When I got there there were 4 other moms and their 5 kids already in there. One mom stood in front of the weight machine, blocking access to it, talking to another mom for about 10 minutes so I decided to do a quick warm-up on the eliptical. No big deal. I put Evie into the big enclosed play area with the other kids, ages 1-5ish, and went about my business. Evie was having a good time until a 4 year old little girl started yelling at her not to take her toy (which she wasn't even trying to do). That little girl's mom calmly said to her daughter, "don't yell at the baby," and went back to working out.
I considered packing it in right then, but the kids started playing nicely again so I decided to wait it out, thinking that surely the weight machine would open up soon. Well, I was WRONG! The mom who had been standing in front of the weight machine talking started to actually use the machine. Ugh. About that time, as my frustration was beginning to peak, the 4 year old girl started to push Evie, who was just crawling around close to that girl and another 4 years old. I called out to her, "play nicely with the baby, please!" The girl's mother did nothing.
The chatty mom finished with the weight machine, and I was about to start using it when she pulled over an exercise ball, again blocking access to the machine, and started doing crunches on it! I decided to wait 5 more minutes to see if she would finish. At that point, a 5 year old little boy started sitting on another big exercise ball, and rolled it into Evie, who was sitting nearby. I said loudly, "look out for the baby!" The boy looked at me, and kept doing it while his mom yet again observed but did nothing.
At that point I went over, grabbed Evie and said to her, "let's go ahead and get you out of here. It's just a little too hazardous for you in here with these big kids!" I will have you know that the mother of the two troublemakers did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
Watching your two kids, who are absolutely old enough to know better and to be disciplined, be mean and play roughly with my 10 month old and doing nothing about it is absolutely not okay. However, this mother was clearly young (probably 8-10 years younger than I am) and I just didn't feel like I could say anything to her without seeming really condescending. So I just left. Steaming.
I headed on over to Albertsons because I needed some almond butter for a recipe tonight. On the way there my car was battling winds that are now gusting at 45 mph, and dodging, I kid you not, huge tumbleweeds. It looked like a scene from an old western movie. And wouldn't you know, they didn't even have almond butter at Albertsons. I had to go to the health food store to buy it. Typical Clovis.
As we got in the car to head home, I found myself yelling, ranting, to no one, about how much I hate it here, and then Evie started to cry. I about lost it. And then I remembered my Bible study lesson from yesterday - Philippians 4:8. I found myself chanting "Finally, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things."
This verse has a special meaning to me aside from being from a recent Bible study, and I love that I have it memorized. While I may not have been able to stick to its imperative today 100%, I'm glad that it was there, in the back of my mind, to remind me of the way I'm called to act as a Christian mom.
So I promise to try even harder to have a good attitude tomorrow.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Evie: 10 Months
I can't believe it's already time for another monthly post. Time continues to fly by! Here's the info on Evie at 10 months.
Sleeping: Evie sleeps 12 hours at night and still wakes up once to eat, usually between 3 and 5am. I am ready for this to end! She is still following the same nap schedule, with 2 naps of about 30 minutes each during the day. She goes down for her naps fine, and wakes up happy and smiling, wide awake, 30 minutes later. Ugh.
Eating: Evie eats 3 meals and 1-2 snacks each day. She can feed herself Cheerios, but still mostly eats purees. She keeps adding new foods, and will pretty much eat anything. Any vegetables that she won't eat, we just mix in with some cheese, and she loves them! Evie also still nurses 4-5 times each day.
Words: Evie says "mama" for me and, less frequently, "da" or "dada" for her dad. She was saying dada more until Nick left for about a week and a half this month. She also says "bye bye" and sometimes will say "hi" if we say it first. She loves to wave when she does this! She uses bye bye for anytime she wants to end something like eating a meal, being in her playpen or exersaucer, etc. It's like her version of "okay, I'm done with that." She has also started handing us things and saying, with a sincere and focused expression, "bow." I don't know what she's getting at, but she means something! Evie says "uh-oh" when she drops something on the floor, like Cheerios or her water cup.
**After I had written this post this afternoon, but before I published it, Evie said to Nicholas "Hi Dada" when he came home from work. In case we doubted what she meant, she said it again about 30 seconds later, waving and smiling at her Daddy. I guess that was her first sentence?!
The big news this month is that Evie started walking! She took her first two steps on Sunday, September 25th while cruising between the couch and the ottoman, holding onto a little yellow chick toy. As of today, she is up to taking 5 or 6 consecutive steps before falling down. She is really loving being more mobile! (She is also able to stand up well on her own).
Evie's favorite toys these days are push-toys. She also loves board books, but is more interested in eating them than reading them. Evie likes to play the uh-oh game, wherein she drops a toy or her water cup, and says "uh-oh" and waits for us to pick it up. She especially like to do this while we are eating dinner and she is in her high chair, and while she and I are out at the grocery store.
She loves to be out and about! She is much happier when we are running errands or on a walk than just sitting at home. When we are in public places she loves to flirt with the other people around us by smiling, laughing, and jabbering baby gibberish with them. She has adjusted well to going to a babysitter during my weekly bible study, which is a huge blessing! My small group is for nursing mothers so she is always welcome with us, but it is so nice for me to have a little break while knowing she is happy and well cared-for. She is also able to play in a little children's area in the "family exercise room" at the base gym. This is a great set-up because I can watch her while I run on the treadmill or use the eliptical. She really enjoys it so I don't have to feel too guilty about getting back into an exercise routine. Finally!
One negative is that Evie has really started throwing tantrums. When something doesn't go her way, her whole body stiffens up, and she starts to cry - hard - with real tears. It is so sad! But I know that giving in to her tantrums now will mean big trouble later on so I try to stick to my guns, especially on the important things, like not playing with outlets.
She is still in size 3 diapers, and wears either 9 or 12 month size clothes.
Sleeping: Evie sleeps 12 hours at night and still wakes up once to eat, usually between 3 and 5am. I am ready for this to end! She is still following the same nap schedule, with 2 naps of about 30 minutes each during the day. She goes down for her naps fine, and wakes up happy and smiling, wide awake, 30 minutes later. Ugh.
Eating: Evie eats 3 meals and 1-2 snacks each day. She can feed herself Cheerios, but still mostly eats purees. She keeps adding new foods, and will pretty much eat anything. Any vegetables that she won't eat, we just mix in with some cheese, and she loves them! Evie also still nurses 4-5 times each day.
Words: Evie says "mama" for me and, less frequently, "da" or "dada" for her dad. She was saying dada more until Nick left for about a week and a half this month. She also says "bye bye" and sometimes will say "hi" if we say it first. She loves to wave when she does this! She uses bye bye for anytime she wants to end something like eating a meal, being in her playpen or exersaucer, etc. It's like her version of "okay, I'm done with that." She has also started handing us things and saying, with a sincere and focused expression, "bow." I don't know what she's getting at, but she means something! Evie says "uh-oh" when she drops something on the floor, like Cheerios or her water cup.
**After I had written this post this afternoon, but before I published it, Evie said to Nicholas "Hi Dada" when he came home from work. In case we doubted what she meant, she said it again about 30 seconds later, waving and smiling at her Daddy. I guess that was her first sentence?!
The big news this month is that Evie started walking! She took her first two steps on Sunday, September 25th while cruising between the couch and the ottoman, holding onto a little yellow chick toy. As of today, she is up to taking 5 or 6 consecutive steps before falling down. She is really loving being more mobile! (She is also able to stand up well on her own).
Evie's favorite toys these days are push-toys. She also loves board books, but is more interested in eating them than reading them. Evie likes to play the uh-oh game, wherein she drops a toy or her water cup, and says "uh-oh" and waits for us to pick it up. She especially like to do this while we are eating dinner and she is in her high chair, and while she and I are out at the grocery store.
She loves to be out and about! She is much happier when we are running errands or on a walk than just sitting at home. When we are in public places she loves to flirt with the other people around us by smiling, laughing, and jabbering baby gibberish with them. She has adjusted well to going to a babysitter during my weekly bible study, which is a huge blessing! My small group is for nursing mothers so she is always welcome with us, but it is so nice for me to have a little break while knowing she is happy and well cared-for. She is also able to play in a little children's area in the "family exercise room" at the base gym. This is a great set-up because I can watch her while I run on the treadmill or use the eliptical. She really enjoys it so I don't have to feel too guilty about getting back into an exercise routine. Finally!
One negative is that Evie has really started throwing tantrums. When something doesn't go her way, her whole body stiffens up, and she starts to cry - hard - with real tears. It is so sad! But I know that giving in to her tantrums now will mean big trouble later on so I try to stick to my guns, especially on the important things, like not playing with outlets.
She is still in size 3 diapers, and wears either 9 or 12 month size clothes.
Labor Day at the park
Walking practice with Dad
This face melts my heart
So jealous of those lush lashes!
Daddy adores her. The feeling is mutual.
Contemplating her next move
Fun times with Dad - chasing Funlay around the park
Edie came to visit!
Typical Evie pic - always moving.
Loving her new red wagon from Edie and Grandad
Standing by herself!
Laughing Girl
Evie loves to play with her monitor, and when Daddy gets in on the act it's even more fun!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, September 19, 2011
Bye-Bye
Evie now says "bye-bye" and waves. This totally caught me off-guard the other day! She now likes to do it all the time and waves much bigger than she does here. What a silly kid!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
9 Month Update
Here are a few updates on Evie at 9 months. We had her check-up this morning, and here are her stats:
Height: 27 inches (20%)
Weight: 19 1/4 lbs (50%)
Head circumference: 44 cm
Her small stature means that I have to wait to wean her at night, but her doctor thinks that she is actually meant to be a bit shorter, and her height is just normalizing back to the percentile that she was in for her first 4 or 5 months. The height/weight differential explains her chubby tummy too!
One thing I forgot to put in her 9 month post is that Evie is signing! She signs for "eat" and she signs for "milk." This way when she is hungry a) we know and b) we know if she wants food or to nurse. It's pretty handy I must say!
Height: 27 inches (20%)
Weight: 19 1/4 lbs (50%)
Head circumference: 44 cm
Her small stature means that I have to wait to wean her at night, but her doctor thinks that she is actually meant to be a bit shorter, and her height is just normalizing back to the percentile that she was in for her first 4 or 5 months. The height/weight differential explains her chubby tummy too!
One thing I forgot to put in her 9 month post is that Evie is signing! She signs for "eat" and she signs for "milk." This way when she is hungry a) we know and b) we know if she wants food or to nurse. It's pretty handy I must say!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
9 Months Old
Busy, busy, busy! That describes Evie at 9 months perfectly. Here's the rundown on her current routine.
Eating: she continues to add to her diet with new foods every 3 to 4 days. She loves fruit, yogurt, any orange vegetable, and peas. She is not crazy about broccoli, cauliflower, meat, or potatoes. We're now trying to work on feeding herself with finger foods like puffs, cheerios, mushy pieces of fruit or avocado, and most recently pieces of cheese.
Sleeping: some days are better than others. She's still not a big napper...about once or twice each week she will have a days where she will nap a total of 1-2 hours, but most of the time it is a grand total of 1 hour or less from two combined naps. Ugh. She wakes once in the wee hours to nurse, unless her teething is really painful. Then she wakes twice in the night.
Teeth: still just the two on the bottom, but she's working on the top right one.
Hair: She's up to a total of 4 haircuts, and she needs another for her bangs. I'm thinking about letting it grow out a bit, though, as I don't really want her to have the chunky baby bangs she is currently sporting. Who'd have thought her hair would be such an issue?
Play, etc: Evie loves to cruise around and explore. She likes to take things off shelves and out of baskets. She will pull up on anything, and barely needs help to stand and balance. She can walk well holding onto fingers and sort of well with her push toy. If I move out of her sight, she will immediately come find me, and is very pleased with herself when she does. She gets a real kick out of doing things that are off-limits like touching (safety plugged) outlets or pieces of furniture she's not supposed to. She will look back and smile as she does it because she loves to see us say no and make a serious face. Fun times to come, I'm sure. She can play catch with Nick and her big ball. He will roll it to her, she will catch it, and then drop it hard enough on the ground so that it rolls back to him. I can now take her to the gym with me, put her in the pack n play or the little gated baby area, and get in 30 minutes on the eliptical. Hallelujah!
As far as verbal stuff, she sometimes uses mama and dada descriminately, but she generally loves to babble, and does so emphatically. It is hilarious!
During the day she does NOT want to stop moving and playing. She does not like to sit and cuddle or read books, and she could not care less about the TV. She gets quickly frustrated when confined to her play yard or exersaucer. As you can imagine, this makes getting pictures of her a challenge. Here are a few that I've taken over the past few days, doing some of her typical activities. Enjoy!
This is so typical. Mom wants to cuddle and take a picture. Evie is not having it!
We call this look "serious baby." She makes it a lot.
She also makes this face all the time.
Seriously, Mom, get this camera out of my face!
Some early morning cruising around the living room.
Loves playing with her new megaphone.
What's he saying?
Spends lots of time looking out the back door.
Pulling books off the hall bookshelf. Is she trying to tell me something?
Water bottles - all time favorite toy.
Cruising along the entertainment center to her next destination.
Time for a diaper change (Dad is doing this one while Mom documents). She rebels against these at all costs!
A little happier holding her hairbrush.
Loves Finlay.
They are so sweet to each other.
What can I pull up on now? Maybe this laundry basket.
I'm coming to get you!
By the way, the temps here are in the 60's today, hence our long sleeves. Yeah, be jealous.
Happy 9 months big girl! I can't wait to see what the next month brings!
Sip'n'See
Last Sunday sweet family friends Carolyn and Rose hosted a sip'n'see for Evie Claire. I absolutely loved getting to see so many Waco friends and introducing them to miss Evie. Usually at these things everyone looks forward to holding the baby. Evie was NOT having that, though, and spent the whole time crawling and playing on the floor. Here's a shot of us with our fabulous hostesses.
Evie doing her thing on the floor
Guess who else got to spend lots of time on the ground? That's right, Mommy.
My lifelong friend Beth was kind enough to join us down there for a chat. She's back in Waco after several years in Austin, and I look forward to seeing more of her when we're in town!
Evie with her Gigi. Note that this is the end of the party, and her cute little bow is long gone!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)