Last night...

Last night was interesting.  Once we got home, Lilah and I quickly gathered some supplies and left for a friend’s house (Crystal).  She just gave birth in January and she and Annabelle are doing well.  Annabelle is so cute and got much bigger from when I saw her in the hospital.  It was nice seeing them again and how well they are doing.  Lilah enjoyed the change of environment and seeing another puppy who loved to lick her.  After that visit with them, we went back home and saw daddy and left to have dinner with his parents at the Mount Airy Inn.  Lilah was not interested in eating food at dinner but she had a good time.  After dinner, we went back home where Lilah decided she was not sleepy at all and stayed up until 11:00pm.

Why you would regret not having a camera on you...

Yesterday, I truly wished I had my camera.  Lilah and David were a trip yesterday.  After I picked up Lilah from daycare, we went home like normal.  She was in an unusually good mood, was going everywhere, playing with everything, and chasing the dogs.  When I opened the door to let the dogs out, she crawled outside and had fun there.  Afterwards, we walked over to Food Lion where we picked up a couple of things for the week and she was flirting with the checkout clerk.  He thought she was very cute.  After that, we went back home where Daddy was watching TV.  Lilah was excited to see him and bounced until he hugged her.  This was where things got crazy.  David was playing peek-a-boo with her and started dancing around with a shirt on his head.  Lilah thought it was hysterical and started playing peek-a-boo too!  David was nice enough to make dinner (grilled cheese) and we all ate dinner together and had fun.  We decided we are making her one too because she likes it so much.  After that, we went upstairs and Lilah had a bath (which she loves as always), and went to bed.  She actually slept in her crib last night until 2:00am though David thought she looked like a victim of a car accident spread out all over.

Lesson learned from yesterday: try and have a camera on you at all times

But good news for today!!!  We finally decided where we are taking our vacations.  This year will be Williamsburg, VA and Florida to visit my Aunt and Grandmother.  We were thinking of New York but we missed the less expensive times (Jan-beginning of March) but I will keep looking in case there is a good deal.

The busy bee's weekend...

This weekend was eventful for us all.  On Friday, I went to work while David and Lilah hung out and they had fun together.  After I got home, I caught them cuddling together and they looked adorable.  Later on, we went to temple where it was a nice service and Lilah tried asking the Rabbi questions.  We gave her David’s phone to keep her quiet but then she dialed 911.  I swear this kid is on a roll.

            On Saturday, was the day David and I began cleaning Granddad Pete’s house.  I wish I thought to take before and after pictures of the house.  Lilah hung out with her Aunt Angelica and they had some fun together!  They drove around a bit, went to Walmart, and hung out at home.

Here is a picture on the ride to Walmart.

And here are some pictures from when they were playing at home.

 On the ride back, I got lost and took the wrong way on 94.  I ended up in Damascus and it took me twice as long to get home.

On Sunday, David went back to clean Granddad Pete’s house and I was supposed to go talk to my sister Angie about her future wedding.  My sister-in-law Angie watched Lilah while I went to visit Kelsey before meeting with Angie (sister).  Angie (sister) called and cancelled because she had to move to a new place.  So, I spent time with Kelsey until Angie (sister-in-law) got back home with Lilah.  Lilah did well with her and they had fun together.  Angie had her watching Spongebob Squarepants and she found it hysterical and thought it was the silliest thing ever.  After I got home with Lilah, we hung out and played a bit.  She then decided to take a nap on me until David got home.  Afterwards, David took a shower and was too tired to go out with his family for dinner.  Over the course of the weekend, Lilah did not want to eat food.  My guess is the two front teeth that are still coming in and causing her pain. 

The last couple uneventful days

Lilah has been good the last few days but she is starting to test us.  She is ignoring us when we tell her “no” but we will keep it up.  She is also trying to climb on everything and is still finding the dogs hysterical.  She thinks their always coming to get her.  This weekend is going to be busy for us since we are having a lot to do.  Last night, she was difficult to put to bed but she fell asleep watching Rio.  She also woke up in the middle of the night but she went right back to sleep when she cuddled with me. 

Lilah's Craziness Yesterday

Yesterday, Lilah was a crazy girl at home.  When I picked her up from daycare, Miss Dana told me how she was cranky in the morning and after a nap she was fantastic.  But she asked us to stop torturing her with the summer vegetable pasta.  Unfortunately, Lilah was asleep and I had to wake her up but she was not as upset as usual because she was happy to see me.  After I got in the car, she took a nap on the ride home and was happyyyyyyy.  She was finding everything hysterical and even when I was telling her no she was still laughing.  I really could not help it but I found myself laughing as well.  It was amusing to see the dogs just look at her and she would bust up laughing.  After David got home a couple of hours later Lilah was getting cranky and was randomly crying.  David had an okay day since the rest of his stitch came out (it was bugging him before).  When he got home, we all played together and had fun.  Lilah ate all of her dinner and I tried to give her some of our dinner but she was only interested in melts (of course).  After that, she had a bath, we watched Glee together, and she fell asleep in the first 15 minutes.  After I put her in her crib, she woke up an hour later to come to bed with us.

The long weekend

This was a long weekend and many events occurred.  On Friday, Lilah went to daycare because David had to get a tooth pulled.  At the doctor’s office, David began describing how he was going to get things done at home.  The dentist said otherwise because he could cause bleeding if he did too much.  Dr. Wright suggested for him to take it easy over the next 24 hours and to eat soft foods.  David was very hesitant about this but he listened to the instructions and watched a bunch of episodes of “How It’s Made.”  After work, I picked up Lilah from day care and she was having a good day.  She woke up happy and stayed that way the whole day.  When we got home, we played with together for a bit before David was tired and fell asleep on the couch around 5:30pm.  I felt guilty about waking him up, so I let him sleep while Lilah and I played and went upstairs.  Lilah did not seem to want to sleep very well and she beat me up most of the night.  When Lilah slept, I worked on my paper that was due Saturday for class and luckily got that in Saturday morning.  When she woke up again crying at 2:30am, David came upstairs and slept in bed with us.  Lilah went over to cuddle with him and she slept a lot better.  I think she missed the normalcy of her Daddy sleeping in bed with us, and her teeth were bothering her.

On Saturday, we all woke up at 7:00 and David and Lilah were extremely happy to be awake.  We went to our tax appointment at 10:00 where we signed the final paperwork for our taxes.  After that, we went to Arundel Mills Mall where we walked around and had lunch.  Lilah enjoyed the fish tank in the bass pro shop and stared at the big fish.  For lunch, we went to Johnny Rockets where there was a long wait for food but the food was good.

Here is a picture of Lilah texting to someone.  She enjoys playing with cell phones.

All of us got a burger (Lilah got a couple of sliders that were on the kids menu) and had a good meal.  We knew Lilah liked the Wendy’s burger she helped me eat a while ago but she really enjoyed one of her sliders then.  She ate most of the burger and a lot of the bun.

Here’s a picture of her eating the burger.

After the mall, Lilah fell asleep in the car on the ride home.  We went home to let the puppies out and give them some food.  After that, we went to Michelle’s house where David’s Uncle Brad came in from Australia.  Lilah woke up there and Uncle Brad held her but she was not sure about him and eventually started crying.  Later, she warmed up to him and crawled around him a bit.  Lilah liked playing with Jonathan and hanging out with everyone.  We also had dinner over there and Lilah did not want to eat solids except for melts and puffs.  After that, we went home and Lilah was being difficult so we gave her some Tylenol because we were thinking it might be her teeth (she has not been sleeping well).  After that, Lilah went to sleep for the whole night (no early morning feeding) and she woke up feeling fantastic.

            On Sunday, we began by making waffles and Lilah refused to eat her fruit and flung the spoon at me.  She ate some waffles and was content with that.  After that, we went around to a couple of different stores where we first went to Lowes.  There we picked out curtains for our living room and Lilah’s bedroom.  The blinds in the living room were wood and we would get splinters because of them, and they blinded nothing from outside.  We picked out some nice brown ones that matched our couch and a white curtain for Lilah’s room with a sunflower heading.  After Lowes, we went to Mom’s Market in Frederick to check them out, and they have an excellent selection of fruits and vegetables that I was excited to see and we got a few things.  After that, we went home and put the curtains up.  For dinner, Lilah refused to eat solids again (what she did for the whole day) and ate some pizza with the rest of us.

            On Monday, I had off work and David did not because it was a federal holiday.  Lilah and I woke up at 7:00 and got to work.  It seemed like Lilah woke up on the right side of the bed then because she ate the pears and raspberries that she would not eat the night before.  In the morning, Lilah was going a clingy stage where she did not want to be sat down and needed to see everything I was doing.  So together, we washed and cleaned the bottles, put groceries away, reorganized the kitchen, took out the recycling, and cleaned up around the house.  Around lunchtime, I tried to go see my father but he was not answering his phone so we went and had lunch with her.  We went to Olive Garden and had a blast.  Lilah was acted well and ate all of her sweet potatoes (though it is her favorite food), and she loved the mashed potatoes I ordered for her.  She decided it was so good that she would eat half of it and wear the other half.  She got it on her clothes, her diaper, in the diaper, in her hair, and on her face.  Eventually, I stripped her down to her diaper and she continued to eat them.

After other errands, we went back to Mount Airy where we went to the grocery store and had more fun there.  Lilah was being a bit difficult because she was picking things up and throwing them out of the cart.  After that, we got everything in the car and drove back home where Angelica was nice enough to watch her while I dragged everything in and put most of it away.  For dinner, we had grilled cheese while Lilah slept in my arms.  When I took her up to bed when she was still asleep and laid her in the crib, she whipped right over and wanted to be held again.  She then went to bed with us while watching Rio and fell asleep.

This morning Lilah and I woke up together where she was being clingy again and did not want me getting dressed.  After getting both of us dressed and gave her a bottle (but she did not want much of it), we left for day care and she was quiet the whole ride to it.  Right when we stopped at day care was when she started fussing and wanted out of the car.  It took a few tries to give her to Miss Dana because she is still in her Mommy stage but she eventually went to her and snuggled with her.

Family updates

Yesterday was a good day for the family again.  When I picked Lilah up from day care, Miss Dana was telling me about Lilah and her day.  She ate all of her breakfast but did not want to eat her lunch.  When I got there, I picked up a toy that makes noise and gave her the whole container.  Unfortunately, Lilah started well with meal times and liked eating, but once we started giving food to her old daycare, she would become hysterical when she saw a spoon or a jar of food.  Now that she has been going to the new daycare, and Lilah seems to enjoy eating a lot more than she used to.  Miss Dana has definitely been a blessing with the patience she has shown Lilah and it shows in her behavior, and it has brought a lot of comfort to David and me.  Once we got home, Lilah decided there was some playtime in order and we had fun with all our toys and chasing the puppies.  When she gets home now, she likes to go right up to the giant puppy and give him a great big hug and it is adorable to look at.  She will also babble with him as if she is talking about her day.  Last night, Lilah was easy to go to sleep but she woke up at 12:00am and came into bed with up.  When I got up at 5:00, she was still snuggled in her boppy and took another bottle before going back to sleep.

Today is going to be a big day for David since he is getting his tooth pulled.  He has been having problems for a while but he wanted to wait until we had better insurance to cover most of the costs.  I hope that the insurance will not give us a hassle and it will be a painless process with claims.  The dentist office did tell me Humana is a good company, they cover a lot, and they work with doctors’ offices to make sure bills are paid.  Today is also a big day for me because I working on my paper for my class.  I enrolled in a master’s program majoring in public administration.  The degree completion should take a little over 2 ½ years to complete.  More good news is that work approved my request for schedule change.  I will begin working Monday to Thursday 10-hour days beginning April 9^th.  This should give us some more time to spend as a family and do more things.

Lilah Updates

Yesterday was a good day for Lilah.  She seems to be having many good days since she cleared up on that ear infection.  She was not excited about eating vegetables for dinner and only ate half but she was enthusiastic about eating grilled cheese and helped to finish mine.  She is also learning how to climb up stairs (which she has not figured out yet) but she is excellent at climbing on the table.  We also had fun playing with her giant stuffed dog, which she loves and tackles every night.  I was very excited to have her birthday cake ordered for April 15 and I cannot believe she is almost the big “1.”  Her cake is going to be a dinosaur (because that is her new favorite animal) but it will have some flowers to feminize it more.  She is also going to get a smash cake just for herself and we should get a good video of that.  When I picked her up from day care yesterday, she was having a ball with Miss Dana.  I am definitely like the change I see in her and it is hysterical how she loves being around the older children.  She follows them around and tries to do what they do.  She also really enjoys looking at herself in the mirror and bounces.  She was also easy to put to bed too which has been a blessing but she does get up at the same time for a bottle as she always had.  With her new skills, she has been getting herself into trouble, and she has been obstinate about being told “no.”  I just wish she would stop trying to eat dog food.  However, I have been trying the saying “no,” deflecting to something different, and praising her when she does something right.  We are having some luck with that; it has been a little exhausting though chasing after her (but it is what is keeping me young).  Though, it has been getting better since we started it and she is listening a little better.  Hopefully, this trend will continue.

Here is an articles on different discipline techniques:

http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/discipline/spanking/spanking-discipline-debate/?sssdmh=dm17.580974&esrc=nwpmmdailytip021612&email=3648234192

http://www.parenting.com/article/8-discipline-mistakes-parents-make

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day was a good day for everyone in our family.  I gave out valentines for work, Lilah had an awesome party at day care, and David got a new project for work (he’s happy about it).  I delivered valentines around my office which most people enjoyed (though I don't know how you can say no to chocolate), and it really cheered some people up .^_^ .

When I picked up Lilah from day care, all the kids were dancing around and then Lilah and I started dancing.  They loved the cupcakes we brought and were still on their sugar high.  After that, we went home and tried cleaning up a bit.  DH and I decided to order pizza from Papa John’s since they had a heart shaped pizza just for Valentine’s Day.  While the pizza did were heart shaped (and it was cute), it had a bad after taste and we will not do that one again.  But once we ate some leftovers we were happy.  DH got me a giant card that was very touching and Lilah liked playing with it.  I gave my DH a 2 lb box of chocolates from Rhebs, a bag of Reeses, and card from Lilah and I.  Lilah has also discovered how to climb on our coffee table!  I tried getting it on tape most of the night but every time she did it the camera was turned off.  Oh well, maybe we will get that on tape some other time.  She also had fun typing on my laptop (she really is my little imitator).  After all that fun, we went to bed like always but it was a pleasant end to the day.

Here is an article on card shopping from an ex-card writer

http://www.urbanmediatoday.com/Who-Really-Writes-Your-Valentines-Cards-Ex-Hallmark-Writer-Shares-Greeting-Card-Secrets

Valentine's Eve

Valentine's Eve was good and interesting yesterday. I dropped Lilah off at daycare and went to work like normal. That is where normalcy ended. When I got to work, I got a call from DH asking me to go to Rhebs and get candy for him and his sister.  Around lunch, I went on an adventure for chocolate.  When I got there, I waited about 40 minutes until I put my order in and it took them another 30 before everything was completed.  Though I will say the entire time I spent in there, it smelled wonderful.  After all that, I went back to work and finished the day.  After I picked up Lilah from day care and took her home, we played mostly until Daddy got home.  Later in the evening, I made cupcakes for day care’s Valentine ’s Day party (I call them love cakes).  Lilah the whole evening pretty much would not sleep and she kept trying to steal my soda.  Finally, I thought she might not want it if she tried a sip…I was wrong…so wrong.  She has decided she really loves soda and I really cannot drink it around her anymore unless I want her dive-bombing for it.  Today, Lilah was dressed in red and purple clothing for the holiday.  I hope she likes her cupcake…

Yesterday's Awesome Adventures

This morning was definitely an eventful day.  We all woke up this morning and decided to have a nice hot breakfast and break out the waffle iron we got for the holidays.  I made the batter and David made the waffles.  He really enjoyed the symplicity of the maker (it was a black and decker).  Angelica was nice enough to watch Lilah while we cooked.

Everyone really enjoyed everything and Lilah ate some waffle too ^_^

After breakfast, David, Lilah and I got ready to go to my brother Brodie's house to help my sister-in-law babysit our 3 nephews while their parents went to New York for a wedding.  We had a blast there and Lilah loved seeing all her cousins.  It had definitely been a while (we last saw them at Christmas), and Lilah loved seeing them run around.

Here are some pictures from today at Brodie and Christine's house.

Here is Nicholas trying on his Uncle David's shoe.  He was trying to walk around like a pirate too.



Here he is being a pirate, he kept saying "Arrrr" the whole time he was wearing the hat.

 

Rayna saying food is awesome :)

Christian with lunch

Daddy is busy with things

Matthew had fun down in the basement climbing on the table.

He also liked making a game of hiding from the camera, he is definitely like his daddy.

Nicholas brought out the big guns!!!

They did an excellent job posing together ^_^

He liked shooting people :)

He got me!

Nicholas liked kicking the box and then shooting it.

Big brother Matthew was here to help with aiming, isn't that cute :)

Nicholas didn't think so....

The boys were showing Lilah the art of war.

She's learning now!

May the force be with you...

Lilah liked the sword!

Battle on!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christian was very nice to show me his toy...

Battle continued....

I'm going to club you....

After all that exhausting battling and trying to get them to stop hitting each other on the head, we all went upstairs to relax.

Lilah decided to use her talents to make a toy into a walker ^_^

Rayna wanted to spend some time with us.

Lilah were not interested in looking at the camera.

But she was interested in getting the camera.

Angie was having lots of fun with the boys too, when I got in there, Nicholas was sleeping was on her.

Here's a picture of Nicholas trying on Rayna's shoes.

After the fun at Brodie's, we went back home quickly and went to the duckpin bowling with David's family.  That was a lot of fun too, David won a lot of stuffed animals in the picking games, and Lilah liked playing the Harley Davidison game where she beeped the horn and tried to steer.

After all that fun, we went home and went to bed.

Check-up today

Today, after DH and Lilah got back from the motorcycle show, we all went to the doctors for her 9 month check up (though she's almost 10 months).  We were actually required to fill out a form to make sure she was developmentally on target.  I thought the form was just a questionaire like a checklist but that was not the case.  We checked that she was doing everything except for sharing toys well and the doctor says she is not like other infants where they excel in one or two things (like motor or verbal skills) but everything.  She also said typically at this age, they might know one or two words not 5, they are not walking like she is, drinks from a regular cup, signs, and other explanations.  So, either my child is advanced right now or she's just tricking us.

Her measurements today were weight was 21.1 pounds (75%), height 29.5 inches (95%), and head circumference 44 cm (50%).

They gave us a sheet on how to care for her at this age bracket (9 months).

For feeding, they described the feeding as she should be eating 6-8 ounces of forumla a feeding 4 times a day.  If she is not eating at least 32 ounces of forumla a day we need to give her vitamin D.  We are also supposed to start weaning from the bottle and she should start drinking formula and juice from a cup.  We are can start giving her meat.

For development, they described she should start to pull herself up to a stand (yea right), she loves to bang things to make sounds, and she should start saying "dada" and "mama." According to the paper, she is also starting to learn what "no" means, and we should discipline her by gently but firmly saying no and either taking away the toy or removing her from the situation.  We should also talk about the toys she uses and describe them to her.

For sleep, she should have a regular bedtime hour and routine.  We are also allowed to put her to bed with a blanket or toy, and put to bed when she's drowsy but not asleep.

For shoes, if they are not necessary do not use them.  When she does need them outside, put a flexible tennis shoe on her.

For reading and electronic media, infants enjoy the touch books and listening to nursery rhymes, and it's important to set rules about television watching.

For dental care, we should wipe her teeth (there are 2 of them ^_^) with a wet wash cloth and make it fun for her so she can get used to it.

Safety tips given were that we need to child-proof the home, and remove or pad furniture with sharp corners.

For some hazards on choking and suffocation, we should avoid foods which a child might choke (e.g. candy, hot dogs, popcorn, peanuts, etc.), cut her food into small pieces, and store toys in a chest without a dropping lid.

Concerns with fires and burns are to check smoke detector, put plastic covers in electrical outlets, keep hot appliances and cords out of reach, all electrical appliances out of the bathroom, do not cook when child is at your feet, use back burners on stove, and turn water heater down to 120 degrees F.

They also warn on falls and to make sure windows are closed or have screens that cannot be pushed out.

For car safety, the sheet describes that if your child is 20 pounds and still riding in an infant seat, it is time for a new car seat.

For water safety, they say to never leave an infant or toddler alone in the bathtub (who does that??), and supervise infant around water (bath, toliet, and buckets).

For poisoning, make sure to keep all medicines, vitamins, cleaning fluids, and other chemicals locked away and to dipose of them safely, we should also put safety latches on cabinets, and keep poison center number on all phones.

For smokers, they warn that children who live in a house where someone who smokes have more respiratory infections (with more severe symptoms and last longer), and if you smoke stop but if you can't do not do it in the house or near children.

She had to get a Hep B shot today and after the nurse gave it to her she was confused for a few seconds before starting to cry.  She was very upset with her and Daddy for making her get that awful shot (Mommy didn't hold her so she still liked me).

Her next visit will be when she is a year old.

After her doctor's visit, we decided she needed a toy to make up for the traumatic experience.

We went through a bunch of toys at Walmart and she decided on an awesome toy!!!!

A stuffed puppy ^_^

She absolutely loves her puppy!!!

This was a stick our tongue out moment :)

Cuddle time!!!!

Awwwweeeee Daddy nice kiss!!!!!



This is what Daddy and Lilah are doing today

Today Daddy, Lilah, Uncle John, and cousin Jonathan are at a motorcycle show in Timonium.  It sure looks like they are having a blast!!!!

Yesterday's Happy Events

Yesterday was an extremely happy day for Lilah.  She was very bouncy when I picked her up from day care and wanted to keep hugging Miss Dana.  That really told me she's doing a good job because she used to want nothing to do with the old day care workers when I picked her up.  I was concerned at first because she would be the only child under 2 but she really has loved interacting with the older children there.  They enjoy playing with her, interacting with her, and they all chase each other around.

Here are some pictures of the happy girl from yesterday afternoon.

And here she is crawling around her walker to play with the buttons on front.





Last night, we were going to have dinner with family at Mama Angela's but there were not enough seats at one table and my DH thought we should all sit together.  So, once everyone arrived, we headed a couple of minutes away to Ledo's and it was nice interacting with everyone.  Lilah loved seeing her cousin Jonathan and certainly missed her (he was on vacation).  They spent the night talking to each other and having fun.  Jonathan also took the time to run around from the dining room to the ordering station where he liked looking at the sodas and gumball machine.  Lilah and I were walking after him, he liked for us to sit on the bench with him and he would chat with us and tell Lilah where to sit.