this past weekend we drove to detroit (ok, technically dearborn) to celebrate with adam's cousin for having graduated from high school. nissa went up with grandma and grandpa a on friday, then drove home with us on sunday. we brought gibson with us too.
the party was fun, we had a good time visiting with everyone and the weather was very pleasant. we stayed the night at grandma margaret's and even got to hang out with auntie shakey too.
nissa and gibson were both well received and it is very heartwarming to be complimented on the disposition of both of our "kids." gibson especially, since we've put so much time and effort into him so far. the cutest moment was on our way home, nissa was sleeping in her carseat and gibson laid across the seat with his chin resting across her feet. i tried to get a picture but the camera was unavailable and the iphone too sensitive to snap a picture with so much movement. it was really cute.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
singing
nissa is finding new ways to communicate every day. nissa sings to herself all the time, sometimes quite loudly. she's most musical in the car, i think because she's bored. we're trying to get her to wave hello and good bye, but i'm not always sure she does it on purpose when she does it on cue. she does wave (with her hand, but also her whole arm some times) so we try to put the words to the action, then try to ask for it later. worked well for gibson. . . .
she says "ma ma" and "da da" but definitely not on purpose. she sings "da da da" when she's happy and kind of moans "ma ma ma" when she's tired and/or hungry. i know she's not really corresponding her sounds to much of anything, but it's funny to think she's happy with daddy and only wants mommy when she needs something. it's probably just a window into the future. we'll see.
she army crawls like a champ, but will occasionally get up on all 4s and rock. she also will push up onto her feet, kinda like a downward dog yoga move, but that always ends up in a face plant. it's amazing to watch her move around, experimenting with her movements and grabbing things, trying to find just the right way to maneuver herself to grab that next toy or find a comfy position. i just hope she doesn't acquire her mom's tendency to bump her head on everything. she's knocked herself a few times (not too hard, of course), but i'm willing to chalk it up to being a new crawler for now. for now.
she's addictingly fun to be around and i love every minute.
she says "ma ma" and "da da" but definitely not on purpose. she sings "da da da" when she's happy and kind of moans "ma ma ma" when she's tired and/or hungry. i know she's not really corresponding her sounds to much of anything, but it's funny to think she's happy with daddy and only wants mommy when she needs something. it's probably just a window into the future. we'll see.
she army crawls like a champ, but will occasionally get up on all 4s and rock. she also will push up onto her feet, kinda like a downward dog yoga move, but that always ends up in a face plant. it's amazing to watch her move around, experimenting with her movements and grabbing things, trying to find just the right way to maneuver herself to grab that next toy or find a comfy position. i just hope she doesn't acquire her mom's tendency to bump her head on everything. she's knocked herself a few times (not too hard, of course), but i'm willing to chalk it up to being a new crawler for now. for now.
she's addictingly fun to be around and i love every minute.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
new foods
last week was an adventure in new foods for nissa. we tried asparagus, nectarine, cherries, strawberries and more asparagus. the week was rounded out with some avacado and banana. so far she's eaten them all. some she's more interested in than others, but no outright objections. she continues to improve in using her sippy cup. i try to give it to her after eating, to kind of wash things down, and she seems to enjoy banging it as much as she enjoys drinking from it.
nissa is continuing to impress us with her speed on the floor. she's still doing her military crawl, but she can really cover some ground when she wants to. and she's developed that unfortunate baby habit of being attracted to cords. ugh. recently, nissa has also been doing this balancing on her hip thing, where she looks like she's doing a leg workout with jane fonda. i can only presume it's a precursor to her sitting up. i tried imitating her and i am NOT strong enough to pull it off. maybe that's what we need to do: instead of the gym, just roll around and imitate a 7 month old baby. nissa has way more relative core and arm strength than i do, so i think i may give it a try.
oh, on the food note, nissa tried pilaf for the first time on monday and i'm proud to say she loved it. we put it through the food mill first, of course, and it was a little on the dry and sticky side, but she loved it. i made adam come up and take pictures. it was fun.
on a side note, we've been experiencing some challenges with the stuff in our lives right now. our back door lock doesn't always work. the back porch door lock is finicky. the kitchen light has 3 out of 4 lights because the 4th cause the fuse to blow. the phone line sometimes chooses not to work. the jeep has a new problem every day. our pc has issues, compounded by issues. ugh. i could go on and on. but, as adam pointed out, we have our health, our happiness, our family and a beautiful daughter that eats and sleeps well, causing us no difficulty whatsoever. we just have to focus on the positive, no matter how negative all the little things get.
nissa is continuing to impress us with her speed on the floor. she's still doing her military crawl, but she can really cover some ground when she wants to. and she's developed that unfortunate baby habit of being attracted to cords. ugh. recently, nissa has also been doing this balancing on her hip thing, where she looks like she's doing a leg workout with jane fonda. i can only presume it's a precursor to her sitting up. i tried imitating her and i am NOT strong enough to pull it off. maybe that's what we need to do: instead of the gym, just roll around and imitate a 7 month old baby. nissa has way more relative core and arm strength than i do, so i think i may give it a try.
oh, on the food note, nissa tried pilaf for the first time on monday and i'm proud to say she loved it. we put it through the food mill first, of course, and it was a little on the dry and sticky side, but she loved it. i made adam come up and take pictures. it was fun.
on a side note, we've been experiencing some challenges with the stuff in our lives right now. our back door lock doesn't always work. the back porch door lock is finicky. the kitchen light has 3 out of 4 lights because the 4th cause the fuse to blow. the phone line sometimes chooses not to work. the jeep has a new problem every day. our pc has issues, compounded by issues. ugh. i could go on and on. but, as adam pointed out, we have our health, our happiness, our family and a beautiful daughter that eats and sleeps well, causing us no difficulty whatsoever. we just have to focus on the positive, no matter how negative all the little things get.
Monday, June 15, 2009
flippin' out
both nissa and i, that is. saturday morning i was getting ready, so i plopped nissa down into her bumbo on the floor in the bedroom. she was playing with her plush radio toy (it resembles a radio, plays 2 short songs if you push on the front). since the bathroom is immediately adjacent to the bedroom, i went in there to brush my teeth, leaving nissa where she was. i heard a soft thump and assumed she chucked her radio toy, which makes sense because of the little battery pack. then it occurred to me that maybe i should grab her a 2nd toy option just in case. i get back to the bedroom (granted i've been gone for maybe 20 seconds) and she's on the floor on her tummy NEXT TO the bumbo, feeling around the dusty hairballs that have gathered under our nightstand. i suspect she stretched out (she's been working on that skill for a while now) reached the nightstand and used that to pull herself out. i'm glad it was a non-eventful experience, but a definite red flag that i can't just leave nissa alone in previously safe spots (on the floor, in the bumbo, in the pack n play, on the changing table) because she'll just crawl away!
even diaper changes are becoming more of a wrestling match. in a split second after her diaper is removed she's flipped onto her tummy, pulled herself to the end of the table and is pulling on the wire shelving unit next to it. she even got herself so close so as to suck on the one shelf. i don't have enough arms to get the new diaper on her!
while i'm here, i'm pleased to report green beans are a success. plus, nissa's really getting the hang of opening up her mouth for the spoon and actually swallowing most of what i offer. she's only eating maybe a teaspoon of food, but i appreciate her efforts.
even diaper changes are becoming more of a wrestling match. in a split second after her diaper is removed she's flipped onto her tummy, pulled herself to the end of the table and is pulling on the wire shelving unit next to it. she even got herself so close so as to suck on the one shelf. i don't have enough arms to get the new diaper on her!
while i'm here, i'm pleased to report green beans are a success. plus, nissa's really getting the hang of opening up her mouth for the spoon and actually swallowing most of what i offer. she's only eating maybe a teaspoon of food, but i appreciate her efforts.
Friday, June 12, 2009
accident prone
i've been accident prone all my life. falling up stairs, running into poles while bike riding, tripping over nothing walking down the street. i've got all kinds of fun scars and dents to show for it. but now i'm feeling guilty for roping my daughter into my mess.
since she's been born i've not protected her from an incoming projectile, clipped her skin to draw blood while clipping her nails, gotten her lip caught in her carseat buckle, bitten her finger (she put it in there, after all, and i didn't bite her hard), bumped her head countless times and now, given her a paper cut with the window shade. the last one and the lip one have a common theme- nissa putting her mouth on everything. i mean everything. but still, as the parent, i'm supposed to protect my child, not make it worse :(. last night she was playing with the window shade by her changing table. we try to leave it up high enough so she can't reach it, but recently i could see our neighbor at his kitchen sink, so i decided to give nissa a little privacy (and spare him the view of the dirty diaper). this time it was so low she could get the corner of it into her mouth. well, i let her go at it for a while, then when i extracted it from her tight little grip (i thought carefully), she starts bawling and i see a little paper-cut-type cut from the corner of her mouth across her cheek. oh, the horror of being a terrible mother. i put some lanolin on it to help it heal (and protect it from the inevitable moisture from thumb sucking). nissa woke up a couple of times in the night crying; i can only imagine it was because she was having nightmares about the shade cut.
the third time she woke up at 4:30 am, she did something too adorable for words. i picked her up to comfort her and she laid her head on my chest. after a few minutes when she calmed down, she pushed back, pulled the collar of my v-neck tee and opened her mouth! i can take a hint. so after a quick diaper change (that was filled with crying) i nursed nissa. adam came in just as i was starting to feed her and asked why i was feeding her then (since i was due to get up and feed her at 6am). i told him she was hungry and explained what she did and he shrugged and agreed. i didn't realize nissa had put that much together already. she finds new ways to amaze me every day.
since she's been born i've not protected her from an incoming projectile, clipped her skin to draw blood while clipping her nails, gotten her lip caught in her carseat buckle, bitten her finger (she put it in there, after all, and i didn't bite her hard), bumped her head countless times and now, given her a paper cut with the window shade. the last one and the lip one have a common theme- nissa putting her mouth on everything. i mean everything. but still, as the parent, i'm supposed to protect my child, not make it worse :(. last night she was playing with the window shade by her changing table. we try to leave it up high enough so she can't reach it, but recently i could see our neighbor at his kitchen sink, so i decided to give nissa a little privacy (and spare him the view of the dirty diaper). this time it was so low she could get the corner of it into her mouth. well, i let her go at it for a while, then when i extracted it from her tight little grip (i thought carefully), she starts bawling and i see a little paper-cut-type cut from the corner of her mouth across her cheek. oh, the horror of being a terrible mother. i put some lanolin on it to help it heal (and protect it from the inevitable moisture from thumb sucking). nissa woke up a couple of times in the night crying; i can only imagine it was because she was having nightmares about the shade cut.
the third time she woke up at 4:30 am, she did something too adorable for words. i picked her up to comfort her and she laid her head on my chest. after a few minutes when she calmed down, she pushed back, pulled the collar of my v-neck tee and opened her mouth! i can take a hint. so after a quick diaper change (that was filled with crying) i nursed nissa. adam came in just as i was starting to feed her and asked why i was feeding her then (since i was due to get up and feed her at 6am). i told him she was hungry and explained what she did and he shrugged and agreed. i didn't realize nissa had put that much together already. she finds new ways to amaze me every day.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
productive evening
it started when annette called to say that she'd be dropping off nissa, instead of me going to pick her up. i made good time getting home and the weather was nice, so i decided to mow the back lawn. poop up, lawn cut (and trimmed); check! i watered the plants and planted the pea plant and strawberry, even tossed in the bee balm. check! nissa came home and i finished up in the yard with some watering and distributing the lawn clippings, even tossing the frisbee with gibson a bit. check! inside i made dinner, learned how much of a mess a single wedge of orange can make. check! busted out the food grinder and prepped some beautifully green green beans. check! they looked good, but nissa was full (?) from the orange, so we didn't get too far. i emptied the dishwasher and cleaned the remaining dishes. check! gave nissa a bath to get the orange bits out of her hair, hands and neck. even got to experience the extra sticky and oddly textured poopy diaper! check! spent some time crawling around with nissa and put her to bed. check! the kitchen is recovered from the orange, i'm ready for tomorrow and finishing up a load of diapers.
here she is after the orange. you can't tell this small, but there is orange bits in her hair and on the chair. and yes, her shirt is orange somehow. . . maybe she rubbed it on her?!?!?
haven't had an evening this productive in a while. i think it's because adam isn't here. oh well. i love it none the less.
here she is after the orange. you can't tell this small, but there is orange bits in her hair and on the chair. and yes, her shirt is orange somehow. . . maybe she rubbed it on her?!?!?
haven't had an evening this productive in a while. i think it's because adam isn't here. oh well. i love it none the less.
dang crib mobile!
who would have thought a crib mobile, intended for a crib with a baby in it, would cause my baby so much grief. i have the thing mounted on the side rail, in the ideal spot for nissa to view it from her usual sleeping position (or is she purposely sleeping underneath it? hmmm). i also have the bumper tucked in between the mattress and the rails so she doesn't wedge her arms or legs in between (though she does manage to get her appendages out above the bumper). thus, with the bumper lower, it does not cover the base of the mobile. so, when my little angel wakes up from her tummy sleep in her corner and does her usual push-up, she cracks her head against the protruding plastic for a truly rude awakening. she starts crying, i come running and a few snuggly minutes later the thumb is being sucked, the left ear is being folded and all is right with the world again.
so, in my morning spark of insight (pretty sure this is why she's been waking up from naps screaming her head off), i had another idea. i took one of her burping diapers with an extra absorbent center panel (i.e. extra padded) and wrapped it around the base of the mobile and tied it with string (being sure to crop the ends close, of course). now, should she push up again near by the mobile, it should be more of a mild annoyance then a heart-wrenching scream type situation. here's hoping.
last night nissa did one of the cutest things yet. i was milling around her room to get ready for today (packing up diapers mostly) and left her in her crib. i was at the changing table and looked over to see her laying on her stomach facing me, leaning on top of the bumper to fold it over and looking at me between the bars with a grin on her face. it was too cute! then, as soon as she saw me see her, she turned around and played with her doll. how can one little 6 month old girl be this cute?
i forgot to mention this earlier when talking about nissa's food exploits. one day last week we tried to give nissa some la croix (carbonated water) from a shot glass (great small size). it was too precious. she was first intrigued by the effervescence in her nose as we raised the "glass" to her mouth. then as we poured, she made the most disgusted face to date. adam was so amused by it he tried it again later in the week to show his parents. ah, using children as amusement. . .
so, in my morning spark of insight (pretty sure this is why she's been waking up from naps screaming her head off), i had another idea. i took one of her burping diapers with an extra absorbent center panel (i.e. extra padded) and wrapped it around the base of the mobile and tied it with string (being sure to crop the ends close, of course). now, should she push up again near by the mobile, it should be more of a mild annoyance then a heart-wrenching scream type situation. here's hoping.
last night nissa did one of the cutest things yet. i was milling around her room to get ready for today (packing up diapers mostly) and left her in her crib. i was at the changing table and looked over to see her laying on her stomach facing me, leaning on top of the bumper to fold it over and looking at me between the bars with a grin on her face. it was too cute! then, as soon as she saw me see her, she turned around and played with her doll. how can one little 6 month old girl be this cute?
i forgot to mention this earlier when talking about nissa's food exploits. one day last week we tried to give nissa some la croix (carbonated water) from a shot glass (great small size). it was too precious. she was first intrigued by the effervescence in her nose as we raised the "glass" to her mouth. then as we poured, she made the most disgusted face to date. adam was so amused by it he tried it again later in the week to show his parents. ah, using children as amusement. . .
Monday, June 8, 2009
what a week!
i've been meaning to post because there's so much to say, but the time gets away from me so quickly. and it kills me how much i find myself saying that.
my parents spent the week with us while adam's schedule is crazy prepping for summer. in that time nissa's gotten better at solids (still far from mastering, though), embraced the sippy cup and its contents (water) and started to "crawl". i use quotes because she does this military-esque scoot powered by pulling with her arms, with her little feet trying to help, but not really. i got some nice video of her in action, just gotta find the time to get the video from the camera onto the computer. i have seen her push up on all fours in the morning, but she rarely gets there when we're on the floor playing and those legs don't always seem to help.
so solids have been coming along nicely. banana seems to be a consistent hit. i tried potato with yogurt with mixed results. pears were a bust (both jarred and home poached). cream of wheat was a no-go. citrus fruits are surprisingly popular, especially oranges. i have some steamed green beans waiting in the wings, but i'm not too hopeful. but lemon bar filling was WAY too tasty. we offered it to her last night from our fingertips and she almost took off my dad's finger with enthusiasm!
nissa's been full of funny surprises lately. one night last week during dinner, she really got my dad. she was leaning over her bumbo, away from him, and when he leaned in to see what she was looking at, she reached back and snatched his glasses from his face. didn't have to look back or anything- she was like a ninja! while her cousin sarah was over last monday, she was having a bit of a time relaxing. i was holding sarah to try to give her parents a chance to eat. i held her near nissa so she could see her cousin and nissa got all excited, waved her arms, panted with a big grin and almost seemed to try to cheer her up. it was great. nissa had a similar reaction to going to the dog beach. she literally squealed as we walked up and she wiggled the entire time watching the dogs run and splash. man is she fun.
ok, well i think that covers the basics for now. i just wish i could spend more time with her. . .
my parents spent the week with us while adam's schedule is crazy prepping for summer. in that time nissa's gotten better at solids (still far from mastering, though), embraced the sippy cup and its contents (water) and started to "crawl". i use quotes because she does this military-esque scoot powered by pulling with her arms, with her little feet trying to help, but not really. i got some nice video of her in action, just gotta find the time to get the video from the camera onto the computer. i have seen her push up on all fours in the morning, but she rarely gets there when we're on the floor playing and those legs don't always seem to help.
so solids have been coming along nicely. banana seems to be a consistent hit. i tried potato with yogurt with mixed results. pears were a bust (both jarred and home poached). cream of wheat was a no-go. citrus fruits are surprisingly popular, especially oranges. i have some steamed green beans waiting in the wings, but i'm not too hopeful. but lemon bar filling was WAY too tasty. we offered it to her last night from our fingertips and she almost took off my dad's finger with enthusiasm!
nissa's been full of funny surprises lately. one night last week during dinner, she really got my dad. she was leaning over her bumbo, away from him, and when he leaned in to see what she was looking at, she reached back and snatched his glasses from his face. didn't have to look back or anything- she was like a ninja! while her cousin sarah was over last monday, she was having a bit of a time relaxing. i was holding sarah to try to give her parents a chance to eat. i held her near nissa so she could see her cousin and nissa got all excited, waved her arms, panted with a big grin and almost seemed to try to cheer her up. it was great. nissa had a similar reaction to going to the dog beach. she literally squealed as we walked up and she wiggled the entire time watching the dogs run and splash. man is she fun.
ok, well i think that covers the basics for now. i just wish i could spend more time with her. . .
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
bananas, gardening
so i started this post almost 2 weeks ago, and i'm finishing it now. the generic title is all i had to start with, but i know exactly what i wanted to say. at least it's not as old as the still-open post about nissa's arrival. man, i need to wrap that up!
anyways. after avacado we tried banana and it went OK. nothing spectacular, but she didn't seem to hate them either. (only food she's not liked so far is pears. don't know what it is about pears, but she is NOT a fan.)
gardening was the real adventure. i decided i really needed to get down to business and get some plants in the ground. i tried the exersaucer method again, which worked for a few minutes. then i pulled out a blanket for her to lay on next to me. nissa was having none of it. but gibson did enjoy the softer alternative to laying on the plain ol' grass. so, fed up with the fussing, but determined to get something done, i picked up nissa, held her on my lap and worked in my garden one handed. i'd occasionally chew on her teether for a laugh, and had to rotate around some awkward positions (sitting up, laying across my lap on her tummy, leaning over the side to keep an eye on gibson), but otherwise managed to finish weeding the bed so it was ready for plants. i had to accept that working slower was better than not working at all and that i had to get a bit more creative on how i accomplished my tasks with nissa involved. i can't wait till she's older and can "help" more than just keep my lap warm, but i'll take this in the interim.
anyways. after avacado we tried banana and it went OK. nothing spectacular, but she didn't seem to hate them either. (only food she's not liked so far is pears. don't know what it is about pears, but she is NOT a fan.)
gardening was the real adventure. i decided i really needed to get down to business and get some plants in the ground. i tried the exersaucer method again, which worked for a few minutes. then i pulled out a blanket for her to lay on next to me. nissa was having none of it. but gibson did enjoy the softer alternative to laying on the plain ol' grass. so, fed up with the fussing, but determined to get something done, i picked up nissa, held her on my lap and worked in my garden one handed. i'd occasionally chew on her teether for a laugh, and had to rotate around some awkward positions (sitting up, laying across my lap on her tummy, leaning over the side to keep an eye on gibson), but otherwise managed to finish weeding the bed so it was ready for plants. i had to accept that working slower was better than not working at all and that i had to get a bit more creative on how i accomplished my tasks with nissa involved. i can't wait till she's older and can "help" more than just keep my lap warm, but i'll take this in the interim.
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