Ho Ho Ho!!

Corinne should have a Merry Christmas.  After missing out on our date with Santa last week due to snow she did get to see the man in the red suit and tell him what she wanted for Christmas.  She didn't smile, but she didn't cry, so I guess that's the best I could hope for.  She had just woken up from a nap, so maybe she wasn't quite ready for her first meeting with Santa.

Snow Day!!

But I wanted to go see Santa!  We got some overnight snow yesterday and it just kept coming down, so Corinne and I had a snow day.  We were supposed to go see Santa at the 2nd Street Market, but decided even though I am a good snow driver and I have a 4WD SUV we should just stay in.  At first Corinne seemed disappointed, but when I told her she could stay in her pajamas all day she perked up.  So what do two girls do on their pajama snow day?  We play!!  We played with toys on the floor in the living room, Corinne chased the dog, momma got some naptime sewing in and we did some snuggling, too.  It was a fun day, but today we are looking forward to going to see Santa!!!!

Crawling: Day 4

I can't believe how quickly the crawling went from 4 little movements to clear across the room.  By day 2 she was getting into the wrapping paper in the basement and following me around the room.  And day 4 she found something new on the other side of the living room.

Needless to say it has been moved to the other side of the kitchen.  Hopefully that will keep her out of it for a while.

Girl on the Move!!!

Sippy Cup

 I thought we should try to give Corinne a sippy cup the other day, so I put a little bit of water in it and gave it to her.  She looked at me like "what do you want me to do with this?"  I just let her play with it for a while to see what she would do.  She never did figure out how to drink it, but she at least thought it was an entertaining toy.  And even when I showed her how to put it in her mouth she couldn't figure out how to drink it. The good news is she doesn't need to have water or to be able to drink out of it yet, so it was a good practice session.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Over the weekend we put up our Christmas decorations and today we got snow!  OK, I'm not a big fan of snow, but I was excited for Corinne to experience her first snow.  I know she won't remember it, but she'll get to look back at the pictures one day so I had to get her out there.  I waited for her to wake up from her morning nap, bundled her up and took her outside.  There was just a dusting on the ground, but it was still coming.  Little did I know it was going to come down all day!  So, after her afternoon nap I bundled her up again for more snow!  Yep, I spent another 10 minutes bundling her up to spend about 3 minutes outside taking pictures.  This time she wasn't as happy as the wind was blowing a little harder than in the morning.  So we spent the rest of the day snuggled up and warm inside!

Momma's Good Eater

We were going to try sweet potatoes next, but post-Thanksgiving the grocery store was all out of them!  Can you believe it?  So instead I picked up a butternut squash.  I have never prepared butternut squash before, so I wasn't quite sure what to do with it.  Thankfully the internet told me!  I opted to roast the squash, which was apparently the easiest method and I have to say it was easy.  I cut it in half, put it in the oven and 40 minutes later it was soft and mushy.  I scraped it out into the food processor and voila!  Butternut squash puree.  It smelled good, it looked good but did it taste good?  I let Corinne decide.  She took a bite and gave me a look like "that's not bananas!"  I wasn't sure she was going to like it.  And I was really hoping she would because I now have two ice cube trays of it in the freezer!  But a few bites later the face was much happier.  Success!!!  She likes it!!  She'll have it for a few more days and then we'll try something else.  Maybe a green vegetable......

Nanners!

She loved them! It was a slow start with avocado. It took a few tries before she ate them. Oatmeal was the same. But bananas, she ate them all the first time she tried them. And there was barely any banana on her face. We had a little banana dribbling, but it was mostly banana munching. OK, there wasn't much munching since she has no teeth and I ran the banana through the food mill, but you get my drift. So, we'll give bananas a few more days to make sure she doesn't have a reaction and then we'll try something else! I'm thinking sweet potatoes!!

Finger Food

Avocado, take 2!  Actually, this was day 3 of avocado.  I put a glob of it on the tray to see if she'd eat it with her hands.  She didn't.  She sure did like spreading it all over the tray, though.  Oh, and the spoon sure is fun to play with.

Food Fight!!!

Corinne turned 6 months old this week and we got the go ahead to start her on solid food.  It really wasn't much of a fight.  She didn't hate the avocado, but she also didn't seem to love it.  Mostly it was the reaction I expected.  She just wasn't sure what to do with the food.  I'm not sure she swallowed any of it!  I think her favorite part was the spoon.  She wanted to play with it and feed herself.  All in all I think it was a successful introduction.  She'll get avocado for a few days and then we'll move on to something else.  I'm thinking oatmeal.  Then maybe bananas.  This is going to be fun!  (and messy!)

When Good Times Turn Bad!

Corinne loves to play!  She is much happier playing on her belly than she used to be now that she can lift her head up high and scoot around to get to her toys.  She also gets up on all 4s like she's going to crawl.  She has gotten really good at sitting up as well.  I think she'd sit all day if I let her.  She sometimes forgets that she needs to nap when she's having so much fun and we end up with a meltdown!  At least after a meltdown she gets a good nap!!

She's trying........

Dreaming..........

Ready for the Cold

The cold weather is here!  And it arrived just in time for our last Stroller Strength exercise class.  It's a good thing I finished sewing this blanket for Corinne last night.  It's a double layer of fleece with a fleece binding.  I added some straps that can be used to tie it to her car seat or stroller.  It worked out really well in class this morning since it was soooo windy!  I didn't have to worry about her blanket falling off.  Since coats aren't safe in the carseat this is our plan for keeping Corinne warm this winter!

Scragly Hair!

Corinne was born with a good deal of hair on her head.  The pediatrician told us not to get attached as it would likely fall out.  Well, it didn't fall out, but I think it thinned out.  And it definitely got lighter in color.  And now it looks all scraggly!  It's long on top, she's mostly bald on the back with a little bit near her neck.  Some of the pieces of hair are really long, though, and they just kind of fly around!  It's unmanageable!  Her daddy thinks she has a come-over!  Even though it's a mess she's still adorable!!

Belly to Belly

First she was rolling back to belly and getting stuck.  Now that she's figured out belly to back it sometimes ends up as a continuous roll and she's right back where she started.

Pterodactyl

Diapers!

Because we went on vacation for 6 days I bought a pack of disposable diapers for the trip.  It was a good thing I wasn't planning on using cloth while we were gone because the night before we left our washing machine overheated while the dirty diapers were in there!  But who has time to do laundry in a hotel while on vacation?  Not I!  Although now I kind of wish I did.  We had a few diaper issues while we were gone!  Maybe I'm just disposable diaper dumb, but I don't have leaks like that in cloth.  And I used two different brands, so I don't think I can blame a certain diaper!  Maybe I need to figure out how to travel with cloth for future trips.  I really hate using the disposables.......my only complaint about using cloth is portability.  I want them to be easier to travel with for more than just a weekend trip.  They're better for her, they're better for the environment and of course her fluffy butt looks so cute in them!!!

If you want to try cloth diapers check out Kelly's Closet.  It's my favorite diaper store.  And if you follow this link to shop I can earn a little money to put toward my cloth diaper stash!!

Sleep! Where have you gone?

Have you heard the term 4 month sleep regression?  I've read about it and heard other moms talk about it and I was worried!  Well, Corinne hit 4 months and nothing changed.  I thought I was lucky!!  Well, apparently she's a late bloomer.  It would appear that she hit it at 4.5 months.  Nap times are a battle.  They used to occur in the crib with no issue.  Now they almost always occur in momma's arms or in the car seat while out and about.  I don't so much mind the car seat naps, except when I only have one place to stop.  I like when they occur during Stroller Strength class or when I'm at the grocery store.  But the lap naps are killing me!!  My arms fall asleep, my legs usually fall asleep, and I get nothing done!  But she needs the nap otherwise she is a fussy britches.  

Along with the nap issues we're having middle of the night issues.  She just keeps waking up. She used to sleep from 8 pm to 5 am, eat and go back to sleep until 7-ish.  Now she's up every 1-2 hours!!  She isn't crying, just kind of whining in her crib.  She's loud enough to wake me up.  I'm tired of going into her room to give her a pacifier and I'm just plain tired!!  Momma needs some sleep!!  Oh, I hope we get through this soon!!!

Baby's 1st Vacation

 We took Corinne on her first family vacation!  We went to Michigan for a 6 day adventure.  She did really well in the car, especially if momma rode in the back with her while she was awake.  We made our first stop in Dearborn (mostly to break up the drive), but also to see the Henry Ford Museum.  She got to see some toys that mom and dad used to play with, lots of old cars, the Wiener Mobile and old farm equipment among other things.  We had some tasty pizza for lunch and headed on to Traverse City.

 A short drive from Traverse City is Sleeping Bear Dunes.  There we went on the Scenic Drive which had some great views of little lakes, lots of sand, a Great Lake!  We didn't just drive...we got out and took a hike.  1.5 miles doesn't seem too bad until you get out there carrying a baby.  Oh and when the whole path is sand!  I sure got my workout that day.  We had a great lunch at The Cherry Republic and a nice afternoon at the coast guard museum and Lake Michigan shore.

We hit up a few other parks, did a lot of walking and baby backpacking, and looked for moose, elk, and bears.  All we saw were wild turkeys.  In the upper peninsula we saw beautiful falls.  They were just breathtaking.  I would have loved to spend more time up there (and see moose!!).

 We missed the puppy, who stayed at PetSuites while we were gone, but we had a great time.  We'd like to go back up to the UP and spend more time there.  So hopefully there will be pictures of that trip in the future.

Giggles

Momma makes funny noises.

Baby Boilermaker

Saturday is game day.  It was the third week of college football.  Even though I ordered this Purdue dress before football started it just arrived last Monday.  So Corinne finally got to sport her game day gear!!  Too bad there were 5 Big Ten football games on at the same time and since we live in Ohio we only got coverage of the Ohio State game.  Booo!  But Corinne looked as cute as a cupcake anyway!

I'm not tired!!

I have no problem (usually) getting Corinne to sleep at night, but naps are another story!  The other day she refused to nap in the afternoon, so I let her play in her Super Seat.  She was a little whiny about it (but she wasn't crying like she was when lying down) so I gave her a pacifier.  I was just in the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher.  I turned back around to find her asleep in her seat!  The poor girl kept startling herself with her bobbing head, though, so I had to take her out of the seat.  I'm glad the camera was handy!! 

Shots!

I hate shots day!  Corinne is 4 months old today, so off to the pediatrician we went!  She is 12 lbs. 15 oz (40th percentile) and 26" long (90th percentile).  Doc was a little concerned with the weight as it slowed a little from her last appointment, but if she stays on that curve (and doesn't seem hungry) all is well.  If she keeps slowing down then we'll have to introduce solids a little earlier than planned.  She got two shots today and she's been very grumpy about it!  Although I did managed to put her in her pack'n'play for a bit so I could eat some lunch.  

She's whining again, so the blogging will come to an end now............

Little Head

 Corinne and I go to an exercise class twice a week.  At the first class the instructor told use to put a hat and gloves in the car for the little ones and ourselves so we're prepared in case there's a chilly morning.  So of course I set out to make a hat and mittens for Corinne.  I grabbed a pattern that my mom gave me and set about making the smallest hat on the pattern without measuring, assuming it would fit.  Boy was I wrong!  It was huge!!!  It says it's for infants.  I don't know where they found the infant they used for sizing.  So I had to come up with a different plan.

I opted for a custom (easier) hat.  The first one didn't work out.  I forgot to divide my panel length in half.  But the third time was a charm!!  I used scrap fabric from her Halloween costume to make this jester hat and pom poms.  Isn't she the silliest, cutest thing ever?

Taking in Nature

 We have so much fun at our park playdates with the mom's group.  We sure are going to miss them when the weather gets cold.  On Thursday we went to the Sugarcreek park, laid out some blankets and let the little ones check out the trees.  It was a gorgeous day and the trees provided some shade.  The older kids hid in the twig tepees and checked out the leaves and nuts that fell from the trees.  The little ones watched.  

There was a very large tree trunk that had been cut to act like a rocking chair and Corinne and I had fun in it.  She asked me to cut her a large trunk for her back yard.  I guess I should get working on that.  

We had a great time and it was a nice distraction for the afternoon since John was out of town for work.

Like Limp Bizkit Said........

Keep rollin' rollin' rollin' rollin'

Corinne and Landon

Cousin Landon

Corinne's cousin Landon (technically second cousin I guess) came to visit us at the lake house over the holiday weekend.  Landon was born 6 weeks after Corinne (and a few weeks early) so he was a peanut the first time the met (at one week old), but boy has he grown.  They are just about the same size!!  What a difference 9 weeks makes.  They had fun  playing together.  And it was so cute to hear them baby talk.  I'll upload a video in my next post!

Baby Mover

A baby and a Beetle don't mix!  We were able to fit the carseat in the car, but the passenger seat had to be all the way forward and fully upright in order to fit the carseat behind it.  AKA, the passenger was very uncomfortable!  Also, the stroller doesn't fit in the trunk.  It fits behind the driver's seat, but it's not safe to have it back there.  It also narrowly fit in the front seat, but most the time I couldn't get it back out without injuring myself (or breaking a nail).  So with reluctance I listed Ribbit (my Beetle) for sale. I didn't get any takers, yet, but we went ahead and got a new baby mover.  A new Honda CR-V!! 

It feels so different than the Beetle.  I sit higher, it's bigger, and there's not as much head room.  But so far I'm loving it!!  The driver's seat has an arm rest!  The stroller fits in the cargo area!  It has super A/C!  It has new car smell!!  It's shiny!  The passenger seat isn't on top of the dashboard! It has 4 doors!  I've never owned a 4 door car before.  I will miss the heated seats (it was only available with leather), but I think I'll survive.

And just for nostalgia sake, here's a picture of Corinne in the Beetle when she was about a week and a half old (after a trip to the pediatrician's office).

Little Ears

We had a rough weekend.  There was a lot of crying involved.  That crying turned into screaming and we took a trip to the pediatrician's office.  My little Cupcake has an ear infection.  Apparently ear infections hurt most when you lay the little one down.  Well, she spends a lot of time laying down, so it's no surprise she was so unhappy.  Some acetaminophen and some amoxicillin later and we're all happier and sleeping better!  The big issue is trying to get all that medicine in her without making a mess!  I especially don't like that it's pink!  We now have some pink medicine on her pjs, on a burp cloth, and even a drip of pink on this cute polka dot outfit.  But at least she's smiling now!!

Stroller Strut

One of the best things about living in the Dayton area is the parks.  There are so many parks with all sorts of free programs to participate in.  We've started taking advantage of some of those programs lately.  One of which is called Stroller Strut.  It's at the arboretum, which is pretty close to our house.  On today's walk we we walked through the prairie to find milkweed and butterflies.  I feel bad that Corinne doesn't get to see much rear facing in her stroller (and because I always move the shade over her face to block the sun), but I don't think she's really grasping what's going on anyway.  Oh, and she tends to fall asleep during the walk.  

I'll keep taking her, though, because I love getting out of the house and meeting up with other moms and babies.  And one day I'm sure she'll get more enjoyment out of it.  How could she not when you get to see pretty butterflies?

It's Not Just Crazy Legs

She apparently has super baby strength.  The poor toy bar has seen so much abuse in the last few days.  Corinne just grabs a hold of those toys and starts tugging!  I think she's trying to get them to her mouth.  She almost succeeded!  Instead she just ended up with the toy bar across her chest.  It's a good thing it's foam.  And as long as it doesn't land on her face she doesn't seem to mind.

Corzilla

A Picnic in the Park

Today Corinne and I went down to Newport, KY to spend the day with Autumn and Aidric.  We put the kids in their strollers, crossed the purple people bridge  over to Cincinnati and found a nice shady spot for our picnic lunch.  Aidric fell asleep in his stroller on the way, but Corinne was wide awake and ready to play!  She kicked and cooed while Autumn and I had a delish lunch of chicken and grape salad on pita, fresh berries, and a rice krispy treat for dessert!  Corinne sprawled out on the blanket and played with her toys.  

Right about the time Aidric woke up from his nap, Corinne grabbed a handful of grass and fell asleep! Aidric had a blast playing with Corinne's toys, but he really wanted to play with her! Since she was sleeping he decided to play with leaves instead.  And by play with leaves I mean try to eat leaves.  

The weather was amazing with a nice breeze off the river so we just hung out and chatted while Aidric played an Corinne napped.  It was great to catch up with Autumn since we don't get to see each other very often.

Before we left the park we had to check out the play area.  It was a really nice play area, located under the overpass.  At first that seemed weird, but the nice thing about it is that it's always in the shade!  Aidric liked the slide, but not the swing.  Corinne is too young for the slide, but she liked the swing! 

It was a great day!  Hopefully we can have another playdate soon!!!

She's 3 Months Old

OK. I'm a little late in the game with a family blog.  I had every intention of starting one when Corinne was born, but I couldn't decide on a name for it, I didn't know how often I'd be able to write, and I wasn't so sure anyone would read it!  But this morning I decided to just go for it.  Especially while I'm hanging out upstairs in the computer room waiting for Corinne to go down for a nap.  Yep, she's 3 months old and has decided she doesn't like naps any more.  Unfortunately for her I like her taking naps (and she needs them) so she's getting one!!

This morning has gone pretty smoothly thus far.  We slept in (because she didn't nap yesterday) and I managed to scarf down some breakfast before she woke up.  Luckily she woke up in a great mood and has let me get some stuff done around the house like wash diapers and put them out to dry.  Now, I don't have a clothesline in my yard, so I had to get a little creative with sunning diapers.  Here is my solution.

Yes, the patio furniture does a great job!  Whatever works, right?

I also decided it was a good time to try simultaneously walking the dog with the stroller without the husband.  It didn't go too bad.  Usually one of us holds the leash and the other pushes the stroller.  This is handy for when Oscar decides to fall back and sniff.  So I'm pushing the stroller with the leash in one hand.  Oscar falls back to sniff, the leash tightens up, smacks the top of my hand and now I have a dent and a bruise on my hand.  Fun times.  After that though I was a little better at anticipating when we were about to hit the leash's maximum range.  Will I do it again tomorrow?  Probably.  Momma needs fresh air and the puppy needs exercise.

Woo hoo!!  Nap accomplished.