Gracie Girl

Kindergarten

2010-09-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

Our little Pricess is in kindergarten! Oh my goodness!
She already reads well and does basic addition into double-single digits. And each day she comes home knowing someone else's name. So far she has said that the hardest rule is going to be not taking the kitchen toys into the bathroom to play. And no singing in the bathroom. :) Her teacher is Mr. Bayliss at Nelson Elementary and she is in the morning class. I drive her and Will to school, then she comes home on the noon bus, then we return to pick up Will in the afternoon. AJ is enjoying a little more Mommy Time but he is so excited when Nina comes home!

Almost 5

2010-03-08T19:56:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it, our little Nina girl is almost 5 years old!

She is a joy, a little spitfire, a ball of energy and talking and creativity. She is a very balanced young girl: loving to play with her brothers (which means trains, dinosaurs or transformers) but she thoroughly enjoys ballet class and playing princess with other girls.
Her current close friends are Audrey M, Melissa C, and Ella R. Her dance recital song this year is "Goin' To The Chapel" and she is very excited to wear a wedding dress. This is her second year in ballet and she is showing a lot of coordination and balance. She dances very methodically - only doing what her teacher has taught her, and generally in order every time even during free dance.

She has a bicycle with training wheels. We attempted to remove the training wheels once in the autumn, but she wasn't quite ready. Now that every kid in the family has a bicycle & rides, she tends to holler a lot that someone is going to run into her (usually big brother).

Her current favorite colors are pink & purple and she loves Fancy Nancy's vocabulary of using "fuschia" for purple.

For school she is doing A Beka's Letters & Sounds for 5 year olds book. So far she has done a great job. She writes clear manuscript (although mostly capitals still) and can add up to 10. She also reads most small words phonetically and she has a fairly large sight word vocabulary! She has memorized "Hop On Pop" and most of "Fancy Nancy."

She is a very social person and clearly gets reenergized by being around others! She has a fairly strong opinion about most things too! In reading the book "The Spirited Child" she fits most of the categories about 8 out of 10 times. Being by herself is the worst consequence for her. We have a daily quiet time that she hates, but it is a good skill to learn.

She really cracks me up lately by telling me she wants to have 12 people in her family when she grows up: married to Will and have 10 babies! They often argue about this because Will says he wants to marry Ella R. and he doesn't want that many babies anyway.

Nina loves her daddy more than anything, but she likes me quite a lot too. She is very compassionate and is freely giving hugs at very appropriate times. She really enjoys going to Awana Cubbies every Tuesday night where her favorite teacher in the world is: Mrs. Erin!! She also gets to see Mrs. Erin at Sunday School and Nina was part of the kids choir in the Christmas program.

For weight: she seems to be around 37 pounds, which is still very light for being nearly 5 and on the tall side of average. Her wheat & dairy issues are very much under control now, although we do strongly limit dairy.

I know that there is very little structure to this but it was time to jot things down before I forget them and suddenly she's 10!

Summer 08

2008-08-23T19:43:00.003-07:00

My oh my, I haven't posted in a year??

Nina has come so far since last September. She is fully potty trained and only wears a pull-up at night. It only took about two months for complete potty control and about another two months for bowel control. Finding the right motivation was the hardest part!
She continues to be tiny, weighing in at 27 pounds, but is a bit tall at 38 inches. She can easily wear size 18 month shorts or capris, since that is her true waist size, but her legs are long and lean so she wears 3T *adjustable waist!* jeans and sweats.
Nina adores gardening and is frequently dirty. Truly truly dirty. Mud caked into her fingernails and sandals! We have a little square of flower garden that has never been planted - now it is Nina's Corner. :)
Nina is great at helping and wanting to be a mommy, she tries to pick up AJ (who weighs over 20 pounds), she tucks her doggy into his bed, she is very concerned over all kids smaller than herself!
She has begun to make friends and remember them. Deanna, Marin & Nicole are some current favorites, but that changes every few weeks. The more we see someone, the more she asks for them!
Nina talks a lot. And she is very very clear. She is also enjoying our church's nursery program where she is in the same room as AJ. She and Will both get to sing in the children's choir - he remembers the tunes, she remembers the words. But the combination is pretty funny! Her favorite song is "my cup is running oooooover!" That song gets faster and faster and she's hilarious!
She will start pre-ballet this fall. I am probably more excited than she is right now! She does dance around the house a lot and she is a good sport when we take Will to tae kwon do twice a week, so she needs to have an activity of her own.
We have hosted a monthly tea part for Nina through my local moms group. Each month about 4-6 little girls of similar ages come over to play. They are too young to enjoy actually having a tea party, but they do enjoy each other's company! Nina loves having some girl time! We will try to continue to do this into the fall as much as possible.
Nina does a good job at listening in during Will's schoolwork. Most of the schoolwork in our curriculum is very adaptable for multiple ages so she can draw while Will does handwriting, she reads along with us, she works on the same memory verse.
Our Nina Boo got a bicycle for her birthday this year and is doing a fantatic job! She loves to go get the mail and then ride around with the mail in her basket. Sometimes a puppy & the sippy cup come along too.
Over the last year we've determined she has a wheat & dairy sensitivity. When she has a lot, her stomach will break out in a tiny rash. It's very hard to explain, it is almost like the pores are open and painful. It's not red right away, but if we let it go it does become red and itchy. We have been able to get on top of this with some lotions but also changing her diet. When she has several weeks with almost no wheat, the rash clears up. We are offering lots of rice, corn and potato alternatives. Rice cakes instead of crackers, potato chips instead of crackers, corn-based cereal or oatmeal instead of wheat-based cereal. She loves white rice and sometimes I mix in a non-dairy "cream cheese" to give it more substance. She loves that!

Summer Recap

2007-09-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

Wow 4 months went by!

Here's what we did and how she's growing, hopefully in order...

1) we took a family vacation to Ocean Shores in late May. Nina loved playing in the sand. She wasn't too sure about the hotel's pool.

2) Baby Aaron arrived in early June. Nina loves being a big sister. She adores AJ & kisses him much more than he wants to be kissed.

3) In July Nina & Will spent a week with my parents & went camping in Idaho. Nina really took the opportunity to get dirty seriously. I'll have to post a picture of her -she was so dirty I shuddered!

4) Two neighbors got the chicken pox & I think Nina did too. She's been vaccinated so it was very mild. I even thought it was bug bites for a while.

5) In keeping Nina's big toenails cut, I trimmed one too short & it got infected. It's a little ingrown still but I think the infection is gone.

6) In August we took a family vacation to Birch Bay, WA with my parents. Nina figured out the pool isn't so bad & she "swims" with water wings - but no help please!!

I'm 2 years old!

2007-05-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

Nina is now a big girl! She's 2 years old! And she'll tell you by holding up her thumb & forefinger. :) A lot was going on around Nina's birthday and it turned out that the best day to celebrate it was on May 6th, her birthday! Relatives came over and enjoyed an early dinner. Nina was already having a great day; she wore her pretty birthday dress to church and wouldn't take it off. She wanted to play outside while Daddy cooked the burgers and I couldn't get the dress off, so we put on a sweatshirt and jeans right over the dress! I should mention that she LOVED William's birthday and for weeks had been talk about Nina's birthday and how she would get balloons and little Nina cakes. We ordered little white cupcakes with pink frosting and butterflies from the local grocery store. Daddy had picked up a little balloon bouquet of pink, purple, yellow ballons & one big Dora the Explorer balloon. She loved everything. After dinner we moved on to presents and it was just perfect. She didn't get too much or even too much of any one thing. She got a nice selection of clothes, books and toys. The big present from us was a table and two chairs for her and William to play at in the toy room. They immediately had a great time playing with her new tea set. My parents came over this weekend and she got a few more clothes and baby doll things from all the family across the state.

Auntie Ty and Baby Havana came to stay with us for a week a few weeks ago. Havana was 5 months old and Nina enjoyed being a big girl and a big helper. She considered it her job to help with all diaper changes and take all dirty diapers to the garbage. She loved on Havana so much and was always making sure that she had a binky and a selection of toys. Yeah, she did try to sit on her once but everything was fine. :) She came very close to actually saying Havana, calling her "A-Vah-a."

As we get ready to welcome a new baby in June, I really enjoy watching Nina round other babies. She really does very well and there is a very natural maternal instincts in her. She and William continue to be best friends though. Yeah, great enemies too, but mostly best friends. Nina talks more every day and also gets even more clear every day. She is good at enunciating and will repeat a word or phrase maybe 20-30 times until she feels that she is saying it correctly. It drives me a little nuts but it's a good thing.

At her 2 year old checkup she weighed 23 lbs 7 oz! That's her most ever! She is still only in the 10th percentile for weight, but any gains are good. She's become very picky about breakfast foods, eating only scrambled eggs - no cereal, toast, pancakes or waffles! Oh well, it's good for her. :)

Winter Update

2007-03-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

Nina has become really attached to William. Every time she wakes up, either in the morning or from a nap, she asks about him. Where is he? Can I hear him? When she does see him, she's overjoyed & often runs to hug him.
After a bout of the flu & cutting 4 more teeth (eye teeth I think) she is finally doing better. She has also learned how to get out of her crib whenever she wants, and does it so well & so quietly that even with her door open, my door open & the baby monitor on, I sometimes don't hear her do it! She is also threatening to stop napping. In the last two weeks she only took naps when she needed cough medicine. That pushes her bedtime back even further (from 7 pm to nearly 6 pm) and I'm hoping that if she is going to abandon naps, she will learn to sleep in. At least until 7:30 or maybe even 8!
Nina knows a lot of body parts and enjoys pointing them out. It's even part of her bedtime routine now. "Where is Nina's eye? Where is Daddy's eye?" The only thing Mommy does different is point out the baby in Mommy's belly. She never fails to kiss it & give it a nice pat. And then she looks at her belly & tries to kiss it too. William started calling his nostrils "tunnels" and she picked it up. So now after we ask about her nose, we ask about her tunnel & she will always point to either ours or her nostril! :)
She also loves bath time & making splashes. For being such a small person, she can really make a mess! She likes to play in bubble bath and has two little tiny bath poofs that she plays with. Nina likes to sing and talk and will talk in the car just for the sake of entertaining herself or keeping herself awake.
Weight! I almost forgot! She had a weight check up in February and weighed over 21 lbs! And that was with only a dry diaper on! The dr. was so happy he said I don't have to bring her back until her 2 year old check up in May!

New Year, New Post

2007-01-10T15:07:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, it's been a long time.
Nina had a good Christmas. She got a lot of things she really enjoys. A few examples are: baby dolls, apron & cooking utensils, baby stroller, and a backpack. There were more things that she loves but that's all I can think off at the moment. Nina is still a good sleeper! She sleeps roughly 12 hours at night and still takes a 2 hour nap every afternoon. She is currently trying very hard to be independent and talkative, but it's not going as well as she would like. She wants to talk, she wants to tell us what she wants and doesn't want. She's getting quite particular. However, her vocabulary is still limited to about 20 2-syllable words. That makes getting juice into the correct sippy cup very complicated for her. She throws a lot of fits out of frustration and it often feels like she is trying to manipulate us into doing things her way. She needs to learn that she is not the boss. Especially since she is not the baby anymore, she is the middle child. That's right, Nina is getting a baby brother in late May or early June. She adores all babies we run into (cousins, neighbors) and is very gentle. She's going to be a great big sister and very helpful. But she does need to learn that the world doesn't revolve around her and her opinions.
Nina continues to measure slightly above average height but is barely 20 pounds. We will go see a nutritionist in about a week. She is a good eater and it's certainly not that she's picky or a "grazer." But I really hope the nutritionist will let her get down & run & see how much she burns! That girl is all muscle and she is a very busy bee. Just like big brother, sigh... They have such a wonderful time in the tub. I think bathtime is her favorite time of day. They like to slide down the back and make the water slosh all over.

First Haircut

2006-11-20T14:25:00.000-08:00

Nina had her first haircut today!
You can kind of see the little "whale spout" we wrestled into her hair!

November Update

2006-11-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Well, Nina has made some real progress this month. I've been working with her to speak instead of depending on signs and grunting in frustration. She now says "peas" and "mo" and a few other words that really don't make sense if I try to type them the way she talks!
But here's what she does say:
Please
More
Diaper
William
Mama
Dada
Cookie/Cracker
Juice
Bathtub
Ni-night
Grandma
Grandpa
Tyanna
Amanda
Daniel/David
Carson
She actually wants her diaper changed as often as possible. It's fine when we're home but it means a lot of extra stops when we're travelling. She likes to sit, clothed, on the little potty chair. I put her on there naked once but it was pretty uncomfortable. Nina also took her first big girl bubble bath this month. We had an occasion where Will was gone or already in bed (can't remember) so Mama & Nina had big girl time. A big girl bubble bath! She had a great time & loved to move the bubbles around. She is trying to eat with a spoon and eats almost a whole bowl of cereal by herself. My little neat-freak wants to wipe up every little spot of milk that doesn't make it to her mouth!

Catch Up

2006-10-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while....
Weight - Nina has gotten more musclar and slowly getting more coordinated, so her weight seems to be going up, although her waist remains small. So small that there are a few pairs of pants she got to Christmas last year (size 9-12 months) that she can still wear because they were rather long last winter. She grows out of pajamas quickly but anything that is two pieces she can wear forever.
Eye - just because it's worth mentioning. Nina's eye as been perfect since the surgery in May. Never another infection, never any goop of any kind unless she has a cold.
Growth - Nina is growing! Her feet remain femininely small, about a size 4, 4.5. Because Will had fat feet, he was already a 5 or larger at this age. We've received so many pairs of hand-me-down shoes (thank you friends!) that I have several pairs of black Mary Janes in different sizes. So no need to worry about dress shoes for probably a year or two. :) Nina seems to be about average on height, and slender, but she makes up for any physical size with lots of attitude.

Nina loves to sign. Most of her vocal words are two syllable things: Dada, Mama, NyaNya (believe me, that's "William"), baba, papa, nana, haha and ish. So she makes up for everything else she needs with signs. She's very good at: more, please and again. Sometimes she uses "cup" or "eat" but not very often. She can be very creative and sometimes makes up a sign when she's trying very hard to be understood. That could get a little crazy - her signing something very desperately and none of us know what she's saying. Grandpa U started teaching her baseball signs for fun and now I'm all messed up! :) She pats her hair (not only for hat or hair anymore), pulls her earlobe, squeezes her nose & then something else. Usually a pattern, so I blame Grandpa!
We are discovering even more girly-ness in Nina. She likes lotion & likes to put it on her face -she will try to eat it. She likes pretty things like hats, purses & headbands. She likes to dress & undress her dolls. She likes to do my hair and have her hair sprayed with water. She loves bathtime, especially with Will. They fight over toys during the day, but during bathtime they are great buddies. She likes to find shoes & wear just one all over the house. At this moment, there are 3 black Mary Janes on the shoe rack and not one of them is a match for another.
Nina's favorite outside activities are slides, swings and walks. She loves to walk! But she takes forever!! She needs to stop & look at each little thing that catches her eye. Every dandylion, every bug that ends up on the sidewalk, every friend's house that we pass must be inspected for long periods of time. She likes to pick flowers & Will likes to help her put them behind her ear.
She LOVES animals. Especially dogs, but she loves all animals. It will probably be because of her begging (in a few years) that causes us to get a dog. Nina loved the fair, all those animals. And the petting barn was the highlight of the day. A baby rabbit, some pygmy goats & sheep and she loved every moment. She often tried to get out of the stroller when in the regular barns to try & touch the other animals. We did a lot of hand-washing that day. I've been trying to upload a photo but it isn't working so I guess I'll get off now. I will try to update again before Christmas!

Summer Weight - Part 2

2006-08-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

Good news all around. Nina was back at the dr. at the end of July for a cold and she had gained a significant amount of weight. She is now at 19 lbs 7 oz! That is much closer to normal and she is beginning to fill out her clothes. Finally the tabs on her diaper aren't touching each other. For a while I considered using a size smaller for her, but they're fitting fine again.
Nina was at the hospital for a sweat screen on 7/31. This is the initial test for cystic fibrosis (more info here). We've believed all along that she does not have CF, she simply learned to walk & became a picky eater at the same time. I received the results this morning and it was negative. Praise the Lord! We are still working on the food and nutrition end of it. She goes through small spurts of eating one food and not another and then changing it after just a few days. For a long time I could depend on her to eat bagels, cereal or yogurt. Now the only cereal she will eat is out of my bowl. She has no problem eating fresh fruits & vegetables, however! And her proteins seem to be fine - mostly in the form of hot dogs, chicken nuggets & whatever Mama is having for dinner.

summer weight

2006-07-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full swing! It's been a crazy one already. The doctor is not happy with my weight. Every time I gain a little, I lose it again. So I had a check up at the beginning of July and I weighed 17 lbs 7 oz. If you look back to my 9 mo. check up (here) you'll see that I weighed more back then! I did weigh over 18 pounds about the end of May, but I lost it & a little more. Mama has been working on feeding me more food for over 2 months now. I eat 2 scrambled eggs every morning, often I also eat half a bagel. The rest of the day is kind of funny because I like to snack. Mama keeps trying to get me to eat at meal times. I'm supposed to be drinking whole milk, but I don't like it. And then they put this new stuff (Pediasure) into one of my sippy cups. It tasted like bananas in milk! Gross! I try not to drink that either.
Auntie Manders is marrying Jason at the end of the month. I'm not in the wedding but I have to wear a pretty dress for pictures. Auntie Ty is going to come take care of me while everyone else is busy. After that Mama has to take me back to the hospital where I had surgery. They're going to talk about nutrition options & screen me for CF. I had so many tests done lately & everything came back normal. The doctor is really worried. Mama is a little worried. She's not worried about the weight but she wants to help the doctor understand I'm probably going to be skinny like Auntie Ty.

Vacation

2006-06-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

My first vacation! We went to California to see some relatives and I had sooo much fun! We stayed with Auntie Susan & Caitlin and saw Grandma & Grandpa De & Auntie Donnie. It was super hot a few days & I got to run around in my diaper. We went to the beach but I didn't like the sand on my feet and the water was too cold. I didn't like the pool either, only the hot tub. But it was hot outside so Mama wasn't too happy about sitting in hot water too. But I thought it felt like a bath and I was happy in there. We went to Sea World and we saw a lot of neat animals. I really liked watching the whales jump in the water and splash people. Grandpa De is soooo sweet & he makes faces for me & barks like a doggie. That was fun! Caitlin kept watching out for me around the house and making sure I didn't get hurt. They had pretty purses and phones and necklaces lying around and I kept trying everything on. We're home now and I am happy to be in my own bed again.

Mama's Update

2006-05-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

Well, since most of the visitors are family or friends of the family, you know this site is dedicated to Nina's milestones or new stages in her development. But today is different. As we shared in her 12 month check up post, Nina has had a clogged tear duct since birth. It usually goes away on its own with easy at-home treatment. Occasionally it doesn't. Nina is one of those. This coming Tuesday (5/30) she will have surgery to remove the matter that is causing her right eye to overflow with tears almost constantly. It is a simple and short procedure that this specialist does quite often. Will will spend the night at Grandma's, Nina & I will wake up early Tuesday morning and drive straight to the hospital. She can't eat or drink anything after midnight so that drive might seem long! If you see this before that date, please pray for us. If you read this after and I haven't updated yet - so sorry & I will update as soon as we get back from vacation! We are leaving 6/1 for a very overdue vacation and will return on 6/7. I'll try to update as soon as I can. Thank you!

1 year old check up & Birthday Recap

2006-05-08T20:41:00.000-07:00

Weight: 17 lbs 15 oz - 7th percentile
Height: 31.25 inches - 80th percentile
Head Circ.: 17.5 inches - 70th percentile
Cradle Cap: keep brushing her hair daily with baby brush
Clogged Tear Duct: we were referred to a specialist so they can watch it closer
Immunizations (Owies): 4 - Chicken Pox, Hib, MMR, Prevnar
Other: Dr. wants me to gain more weight. I get to have all the cheese & hot dogs & eggs I want! He even gave mommy a recipe for super baby eggs - 2 yolks, 1 white! It's probably super tasty too.
I got the neatest stuff for my birthday! I got this pretty pretty shirt with flowers on it and a little shrug - I felt so pretty wearing it. (Actually I got a bunch of pretty shirts but I haven't had a chance to see them all yet.) I saw a soft soft sweater and a bright green sundress. I love dresses. I love dressing up. Mama leaves my sunhat out all the time so I run over and grab it. I love my big floppy hat. Grandma R gave me a really sturdy shopping cart to push all over the house. It is so much fun to put my babies in the cart and go. Great Grandma & Grandpa W gave me a stroller with a new baby. Will & I trade on who is pushing which thing and which baby. Auntie Manders bought me a phone that makes animal sounds and says "hello" when I pick it up. That is so much fun! I love talking on the phone! Whenever Mama sets down her phone I pick it up & try to call someone. Now I have my own phone!! I got so many clothes - shorts and capris and great summer stuff. Mama & Daddy gave me a Little People house that makes sounds. Will & I play with all the Little People every day. We are having a lot of fun moving everyone around and making the house make sounds. With all the push toys I am becoming a very sturdy walker. I guess I'm a toddler now. I started saying "this" and pointing at things and pictures. When I started pointing I stopped signing. Mama is a little frustrated with that, but I am trying out a new word here! I used to say "dada" too, but "this" is much for more fun say. Tomorrow I get to have Grandma R all to myself for about an hour. It's going to be great!

Easter & Stuff

2006-05-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well.... It has been a long time. There's reason for that, but not on Nina's page.
Easter - here's a picture of her dress. It was a touch too big (12-18 months and she isn't even a big 11 month old!) but it was so pretty! Before church I had a clothespin pulling all the material up in back so she could still crawl around. During church it was a little cold so she kept the sweater on. I had looked around for some nice shoes, but decided not to worry about it, she likes her Robeez. For family pictures she was wearing a little lace headband, but I don't have a really good picture of just her. Nina didn't find eggs at all, but she did try to swallow many of the small plastic ones. We had to put them away right away.
Other News! Nina is a very good walker. But she still crawls faster than she walks, so if she's ever in a hurry or has a goal, she usually crawls. With the good weather I've been taking her in the back yard more and she discovered that grass is pokey. She won't crawl on that stuff, she will only push her toy or she wants us to walk her around. Nina loves to talk & sing. She & Will talk and sing to each other all the time in the car. Sometimes she talks back to Baby Einstein videos. Nina is transitioning to 1 nap a day now. She can make it about 4-5 hours in the morning before a nap. If it is long (1.5 hours or longer) then she can make it all the way to dinner & bedtime. But sometimes (like today) it is a shorter nap, about 1 hour, so she will have to take a late afternoon nap and then bedtime will be later too. Oh well. We have to go run some birthday errands tonight.
Nina will be 1 year old on Saturday. I'm having flashbacks to where I was 1 year ago today (yesterday, tomorrow) and remembering that incredible feeling to finally hold my baby that had been kicking me for so long! We're going to be annoying parents & take tons and tons of video and digital pictures. I will do my best to get them on this page soon afterwards. Thanks for visiting!

Walking Girl

2006-03-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

Nina took 4 steps by herself yesterday! The hardest part is for her to stand by herself. Once she lets me let go of her, she took 4 or 5 steps. She did it several times and we caught it on video too! Because of this she's having a hard time taking naps. When she's moderately tired she just won't relax. I have a hunch she's walking back & forth in her crib. :)

10 Months

2006-03-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am 10 months old!! Here's a rundown of my progress so far...
I am learning to walk! I like to cruise around the coffee table and on the couch. I love it when big people hold my hands so I can walk around the rest of the house. I like to push things but not very many things go on the carpet.
I am trying to get into the cupboards, but none of them open very far.
I have four teeth! I got them all very quickly and my face has a rash, so more might be on the way. Mama has stopped putting her fingers in my mouth to check for any more, so the only way to find out will be when it comes up!
I am trying to talk. My favorite sounds are "da da da da da da" and "ma ma ma ma ma ma" and "blah blah blah blah." I could say them before, but it's all new now that I have teeth. Also, Daddy makes a funny clucking or clicking sound and I like to imitate him.
I can wave! I love to say "bye bye" to people. Sometimes I wave when Mama says "hi." It's just so fun to make people look at me & smile. :)
I can eat new foods. I like bagels and pieces of bread. I really like the texture in my hands, so after I chew on it for a while I take it out to feel it. Mama gets frustrated with so many crumbs and sticky pieces of bread. I don't like cheerios anymore and I don't like babyfood either. Mama's spaghetti is sooo much better.
I have a sense of humor. When I get to take a bath with Will, we are very silly together. Tonight we played "This little piggy..." on each other's feet. He is so nice to me. He tickles me, and hugs me and kisses me all the time. Sometimes Mama has to tell him to stop because he does it so much. I like to laugh at Will and he likes to laugh at me. We get each other going all the time!
My favorite show is "Little Einsteins." I would rather watch one of the Baby Einstein shows, but this is my next favorite. Will loves this show, so it's nice for Mama that we like at least one show together.
I had pictures taken a few weeks ago and we get to pick them up later this week. I love the camera! Mama will probably post a picture here in a few days. And she will update this page if I learn anything else new or pop any more teeth. Have a good day everyone!

More Teeth!

2006-02-28T10:53:00.000-08:00

Nina's third tooth made it's debut last night. It is the left front tooth on the top. Her almost Uncle Jason knows which numbers they all are, but I don't. :) And the one right next to it will probably break through today or tomorrow. So there we are, 4 teeth in less than 4 weeks!

So cranky...

2006-02-25T22:37:00.000-08:00

We've had two crazy weeks around here! The first week Will was sick, this last week Nina was sick. Poor girl- I can see her two top teeth just about to break through any minute, she has had an ear infection, a bad cold and (for several days) a bad diaper rash. The amoxicillin for the EI gives her diarrhea (funny though, it has NO odor) and because of the diaper rash, she screams like a banshee as soon as it happens. "Stop what you're doing and get this stuff off me!!!" Unfortunately, this happened right when I got the boys outside one day. We were only outside for about 5 minutes when she started crying and wiggling. I thought she was just being cranky about not being able to get out of the stroller but it was the diaper calling me.
Today Will took a long nap, which allowed me to spend about an hour and a half with Nina alone. Wow, it was so much fun to play with her! She doesn't like to be thrown in the air, but likes her tummy rubbed - it makes her laugh. She is still testing out the idea of walking and loves to drag me around by my fingers. She even stood by herself for a few seconds a couple times. I took her to a photographer on Sunday, the day I had her at the doctor & discovered why she was so cranky. And even my sick baby girl could still ham it up for the camera. We took pictures in a special outfit from Auntie Ty (she is growing out of it faster than she can wear it) and several naked pictures. Wait until you see them, she was perfect. If she were older I'd say that she really knows how to "work it." Since she's just a little tyke I'll just say that she is a natural. Here's hoping she feels better & cuts those teeth soon!

Two Toofies!

2006-02-13T21:38:00.000-08:00

My second tooth broke through! Mommy found it this morning over breakfast. It's right next to my first tooth, so now I have two bottom teeth. I've been a little extra cranky today because of it, so maybe tomorrow it won't hurt so bad.

First Tooth

2006-02-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

My first tooth finally cut through yesterday! Mama found it while she was trying to calm me down in the car. I was biting on her knuckle really hard when all of a sudden she felt a tiny sharp object. She was so excited she made Daddy feel it as soon as he could. It has taken a long time and a lot of Baby Tylenol to finally break a tooth through my gums, so everyone was very excited. You can't see it yet because my tongue is usually in the way, but it's there!

Nine Month Check Up

2006-02-02T21:06:00.000-08:00

My sweet Nina is 9 months old on Monday! She had her doctor's appointment on the 1st and this is what we learned.
Height, 27.5", 50%
Weight, 17 lbs 12 oz, 40%
Head Circ., 17.5", 50%
Everything is right on target. She didn't grow as much, but she is in that phase of becoming more active and still getting used to table food. The doctor was impressed with her two physical accomplishments: sitting and pulling herself up. She has a little runny nose (the kids both have a cold) but her ears looked fine.
We discussed her rash, sleep habits (not sleeping through the night), the possibilities of night-weaning and perhaps dropping a daytime feeding or at least spacing them out a little more.
Rash - I showed him the wonderful Gerber Teeny Faces that really does seem to be magic on her skin. Once again, he said it looks like an irritation from her shirts getting wet from all the drool & to try to keep it dry. No teeth yet!!
Sleep - He was very supportive & encouraging and said she is definitely ready. I just wanted to be sure she was developmentally and physically ready for sleep training.
Feedings - Doctor was again very encouraging. She has really taken to several foods: Cheerios, applesauce, babyfood from a jar, yogurt and my spaghetti. She does mash food with her jaws (no teeth) so she can handle small or mushy chunks. So, it is fine to space out the nursings and replace them with snacks instead.
Nina got her 3rd round of Hepatitis B vaccine and a flu booster, so her little thighs were sore for the rest of the day.
Happy Milestone Day to my little girl! You're growing up so fast! ((squeeze))

2006-01-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

Just checking to see if this appears the way I think it will. :)

My 1st Boo Boo(s)

2006-01-21T14:56:00.000-08:00

This is my first big owie. I was trying to pull myself up on a TV tray but it folded in on itself and then fell on me. My little button nose was scraped from it pushing me over and it landed on the bridge of my nose. You can't really see the swelling here, but it got really big. So big that Mama cried because she thought my nose was ruined. :) Luckily the swelling went down and within 24 hours my nose was normal again! Unfortunately just a few days later I fell right on my lip. Mommy thought I had hit my nose again (because it was still really sore) but my mouth was swollen & bloody pretty quick. A cold wash cloth made it feel better and Tylenol is always good too. Still no teeth but my teething rash cleared up, thanks to Gerber's "Teeny Faces" moisturizer stick. Mommy is really impressed because she had tried everything: every lotion, every ointment, every powder, every old wive's tale, every possible food AND changing my shirt every time it got damp (which is often!). You can see in the picture my chin is pretty now. Daddy taught me how to get up the stairs to the landing, so now Mama has to put up a gate anytime I'm downstairs. There's just so much to see & do!

More milestones

2006-01-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

Whew! (This one will be written from Mama's perspective because I don't have the brain power to write from Nina's...)
Nina began crawling just about 3 or 4 days after the last post. A real traditional crawl with arms and legs moving all at the same time. Just a little after that, right around Christmas, she began pulling herself up to standing. She is now cautiously crusing the furniture and coffee tables. Nina loves to follow me into the kitchen and pull herself up on my pants. This is, of course, not a good idea when I'm wearing sweats! Nina has also started babbling. She likes to blow raspberries, especially if you return them.
She loved Christmas and due to some fortunate furniture placement didn't discover the tree until about 1 week before the 25th. Since then (the tree is still up) she makes a beeline for it any time it's within eyeshot. I love this red dress she's wearing in the picture. I'll have to get one with higher resolution and re-crop because it's just so cute. Naturally Nina received a lot of clothes for Christmas. Two baby dolls and one Pooh Bear and one noisy toy she doesn't understand yet. Her sleep continues to be irregular (just see my sleep-deprived thoughts here.) Some nights she sleeps well (like last night) and other nights she is up evey 2 hours.
She continues to teethe without breaking a single tooth. Oh my, there will be noise in our house when that first tooth (or teeth) breaks through! It has been 4 months now and many days I have given her everything I can think of to help the pain but it still isn't enough. Tylenol, Motrin, Teething Tablets, cooled teething rings, my knuckle, the top of the Tylenol dropper, a squishy ice pack covered in a cold washcloth... She is probably going to hit a lot of milestones this month or the next.

Crawling

2005-12-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

It's official, I can crawl! I don't actually use my knees in the traditional crawling style, but I do like to rock on them. And occasionally they are useful for lunging at things. Mama was hesitant to call what I do crawling, but I am so fast now she has to admit that forward motion and "army" crawl does count as crawling! Afterall, it's not the style of crawling it's the fact that I have figured out how to get what I want. :)

Happy 7 month birthday, Nina!

Almost 7 Months Old

2005-11-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

Here is Daddy and me about two weeks ago. I am wearing my pretty Christmas dress that Mama bought for me last year. A few things have changed since I turned six months old. I can move forward now and I eat food! I can get to any toy I want by wiggling on my belly and pulling myself forward on my elbows. I haven't figured out what to do with my legs yet. Maybe next month. :)
Mama had me trying so many different kinds of food and a lot of them looked interesting but didn't taste very good. I really liked her spaghetti sauce. After a few days Mama finally figured it out and gave me some mashed potatoes off her plate. Yum! I love mashed potatoes! Sweet potatoes are pretty good too; beans and peas are okay. I just tried carrots yesterday for the first time. Not bad but they make bad stains. Not even Oxy-Clean can get carrot out of my bib. Now that I eat food I want to eat anytime I see someone else eating, even if I just ate. It just looks like fun. Everyone else is talking and laughing and I want to be a part of it!
One other new thing is that I am taking 2 naps now. I was taking 3 short ones but 2 long ones is better. I like to go to sleep in my bed, it's very hard to sleep when Mama is shopping.
It snowed yesterday and we went outside to watch Will play. I didn't like that at all. Snowflakes kept falling on my little nose, making me look up to see what it was. Oh no, now there are snowflakes in my eyes! I just wanted to be inside where it was warm!

Six Months Old

2005-11-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

Six Months Old on 11/6/05

Teething

No teeth yet, but a nasty rash under the chin! Mama is changing bibs all day from either the spit up or the drool, which ever soaks the bib first. I like to chew on Mama's knuckle, a pacifier, a teething ring, a soaked bib or anything else close to my mouth. My new exersaucer has several chewing toys on it and they are a lot of fun.

Growing

I am 26.5 inches long (75th percentile) and 16 lbs 1 oz (50th percentile). The doctor says I'm kind of tall and I didn't gain as much weight as he thought. But that's okay because I can sit now and almost crawl, so I must be burning off more energy than I am eating.

Eating

I don't like cereal. I don't like oatmeal or rice cereal. I don't like rice cereal mixed with bananas either. The doctor said to try other foods so Mama keeps trying to feed me plain mashed bananas. They're okay. I swallow some of it. I would rather just sit with Mommy though. Why do I have to eat things off a spoon? I'm not spitting up as much as I used to. It must still be a lot though because Mama asked the doctor about it. He wasn't concerned and he thinks that as I eat other foods I will stop spitting up.

Sitting and Playing

Well, as you can see from the picture, I'm pretty good at this! I like to stand too, but I am very wobbly. My saucer is a lot of fun to stand in because I can't fall down or fall over. All the toys are attached so Will can't take them away from me. I like to play blocks with him but he doesn't like me to drool on them. I like to play my little piano. It makes beautiful music and the lights dance to the melody. It is one of my favorite things to do right now.

Sleeping

Sometimes I wake up in the night and I'm hungry. Sometimes I think I'm hungry but I fall asleep eating. Sometimes I just want someone to hold me. I haven't been sleeping for long stretches, but I am getting better at going to bed quietly. Well, sometimes I do!

Family

I love to spend time with my Daddy. He wears hats and lets me chew on the brim. It's such a funny feeling! I tried to climb up him today but I didn't make it very far. Will is playing with me a little more. He likes to turn my saucer in circles while I'm in it. He is kissing me all the time too. Slobbery tongue kisses; it's so silly! Mama is still my favorite person. I usually yell when she leaves the room. She left me in nursery at church for a long time but I didn't notice. There were so many people and toys, it was okay.

My six month birthday was also my Grandpa Uhlenkott's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!

Sitting Pretty...

2005-10-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

This week I practiced sitting up. Auntie Ty and Grammy U were here to help steady me when I needed it. Now I can do it for a long stretch of time. I can also sit without someone behind me. It is still nice if someone is there because sometimes I look and then fall over. Mama sometimes sits me in front of the piano; I love the songs it can play! I'm 26 weeks old now and will be 6 months old next Sunday. That is also Grandpa U's birthday. I have a check up at the doctor's office next week. They will probably stick my legs with a needle. I don't like that. But the nice Dr. Hernandez is always asking me to show off what I can do. Last time I didn't want to. Now I can do a bunch of things so maybe I will show off one or two. One thing is for sure, I am growing! I am getting bigger and taller all the time. Mama just started washing my "big" clothes (6-9 month or 6-12 month things.)
I went to my first football game last night. Daddy and Mama went to a local high school game. I went too and spent most of it in the Snugli. It was cold and windy, but I was toasty inside Mama's coat and lots of blankets. It was so loud there I couldn't sleep so I let them know. We went home after halftime. It was very exciting. People were yelling or jumping up & throwing things in the air. I think next year I might stay home and let them go by themselves. I'm so little they might mistake me for the ball!

More milestones...

2005-10-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

Today I sat all by myself for 3 minutes. Mama left the room for a minute but I was strong and didn't fall over. I think all that cereal is good for my tummy muscles. I'm getting bigger all the time! I'm getting really good at rolling and can roll over several times in a row. Sometimes Mama and Daddy wonder how I got into new places. I rolled! And now I can sit too! Pretty soon I'll figure out how to reach those toys they keep putting in front of me. Maybe next week.

I like to laugh!

2005-09-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my little world!

2005-09-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my blog!
Mama has had a full day but she's still ready to listen to me. I rolled from my back to my tummy today, twice! Both times to my left. Maybe tomorrow I'll roll to my right. Maybe I will stop rolling altogether. Everyone brings me what I want, so there's not a lot of reason to go somewhere else.