MoMonkey MoMonkey

SHE'S GONNA BE WALKING BEFORE WE KNOW IT

A few weeks ago, I found Madeline hanging over the crib rail untieing the bumper pad ties from the outside of the crib. Needless to say, I didn't get a picture of that since I had to get her back in the crib immediately. That night the mattress was dropped to its lowest setting possible. I understand her Daddy could climb out of the crib before he was 1 year old. I think we're in for some trouble!

OFF TO THE CIRCUS WE GO

For Mo's 7 month birthday, I took her to the circus with her cousins Tayler and Dylan. For the most part, she was attentive and fascinated by everything going on around her....that is until she fell asleep! Here are a few pics:

Lucky Seven

MoMonkey is 7 months old today. WooHoo!

Here is a list of her accomplishments, so far.

-Can say Mama and Dada
-Crawls all over the house
-Has 2 bottom teeth and 4 upper teeth
-Sleeps through the night (since she was 2 months old)
-Eats and Eats and Eats
-Loves animals especially fish
-Loves Slapshot
-Has the cutest eyes in the world
-Is a major flirt with Strangers
-Has this special bond with her Mommy. (Note Daddy's Jealousy)
-Has Daddy wrapped around her finger (We knew this from the first day)

Even though I'm currently a couple thousand miles away, I want you to know that I'll be thinking of you and giving you kisses all day long.

You know you love Mo when...

Before leaving on a 6 day trip, you take a shower and use the Baby Soap to remind yourself what she smells like.

And now for your moment of cuteness...

The Energizer Family keeps going and going...

It's only 4 pm and I'm exhausted! We woke up this morning and went straight to the Toyota Dealer and traded in our Land Rover. As you all learned from my last post, I hate the thing. But now that we're trading it in, I'm sad. (I'm a girl. What do you expect? I can't make up my mind). I think I'm partially sad because of what we traded it in for... a Scion XB. They're ugly. But for the money, you get a lot of space, a lot of features, and great gas mileage. Plus we are saving a good chunk of money on monthly payments. I suppose the practical side of me won out. I have the Land Rover for 4 more days until we officially pick up the ugly-mobile.

Anyway, straight from there, Mo and I went to a Birthday Party. Lots of kids with lots of soccer moms - which I avoided like the Black Plague. It made me think how much I'm going to dread throwing these things for Mo. (Yes, I know you're all gasping...but I'm just not the party throwing type of girl). Anyway, there were pony rides at the party, so Mo took one for a spin. It was a blast watching her laugh and giggle through the whole ride. I would have taken pictures, but I was too busy keeping her on the pony!

Anyway, we're home for an hour. Then we're off to a hockey game where Mo will be passed around from fan to fan.

One thing's for sure. Mo will sleep good tonight - and so will her Mom and Dad!

CAR FOR SALE; EVIL DOG THROWN IN TOO

I HATE LAND ROVER. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE THEM.

Let's see... where shall I begin? I used to have a Honda Element as my primary vehicle, and the hubby had one of those VW New Beetles. Since he is a mascot on the side, he has to lug a lot of crap around, so we ended up switching vehicles. Grrrr. Anyway, when I found out there was a baby on the way, the little VW had to go. I do not like small cars, especially 2 door ones when you have to lug a baby around - along with all the baby paraphernalia that must follow said baby. So in January, we went car shopping and settled on a 2003 Land Rover Freelander. I say "settled" because I'm picky as hell, and quite frankly, there's just not a lot of large vehicles out there that I like. So in the first few weeks, I was quite happy with it. The hubby, on the other hand, hated it from day 1 because it's awkward to get in and out of, has no pick up (even though it's a V6), the steering is crappy, etc. But I didn't care...the color was cute!! Shortly thereafter, we started having problems with it. First, the speakers blew out (and I'm rather conservative with the volume). So I take it to the dealership and after waiting 4 hours, they tell me they have to order the parts and that I'll have to go back. Apparently, Land Rover doesn't keep a whole lot of parts in stock...everything must be ordered as needed, which means every repair needs at least 2 trips to the dealership. After that whole ordeal is done, the rubber sealing around the door frames fell out. So I take the car back to the dealership. I tell them what the problem is BEFORE I take the car in, hoping parts will be there before my appointment. NOPE. Again, they wait until I am there for my appointment, then order the parts - which means, again, I wasted another afternoon waiting for nothing. While waiting for the those parts to come in (for nearly 2 months), my brake light came on. So back to the dealership I go. I found out today that my front brakes need replaced after only 15,000 miles and that - oooops, they ordered the wrong parts for the door frames. I'll have to go back.

After this news today, I was about to go postal. While I was sitting at the dealership today (waiting for that bad news), I met several other Land Rover owners. All were complaining about the stupid things that go wrong with their vehicles (car windows open and don't close, doors stop closing all of a sudden, stereo dies, etc.) and that they couldn't wait to get rid of them. I, too, have joined the LAND ROVER SUCKS club.

If all that wasn't enough, I came home to find that my evil dog got in the trash. She does this rather frequently, however, today was different. Today she decided to shred the trash in the bathroom and in Mo's room. We stopped using a diaper genie for Mo's room because they don't work! So now we just put her dirty diapers in a plastic bag in the trash - and we empty the trash every couple of days. Miss evil dog decided she was going to eat the 3 dirty diapers that were in there and while doing so, shred the diapers and smear them all over the floor. So I spent an hour cleaning up foul smelling smeared poop all around Mo's crib. Oh joy.

Will this day ever end?

Let me Spell It Out For You

Life comes full circle and what happens to you as a child will turn around so that you in turn do it to your children.

A few nights ago, MG and I were out doing some shopping and during a conversation about MO, I didn't want her to know what I was saying so I spelled it out. This was bizarre on two different levels. 1. It was bizarre because she's only 6 1/2 months and her general reaction to anything spoken is generally a quizzical stare. 2. I had a major flashback to my childhood.

My mom and dad would spell things all the time when they didn't want me to know what they were talking about. This wasn't successful for too long, because after awhile, I would turn to my dad and tell him what mom just spelled. I felt like such a stinker because I out-witted my parents.

I told myself that I would never do that to my child. I guess I'm a big fat liar. I did it once and Lord knows I'm gonna do it again!

SUPER POOPER

Ok, so my daughter had to drink barium yesterday for her upper GI test. When I asked the technician what the side effects were, she said Madeline would get constipated, but that's about it. Well, leave it to my kid to have the opposite effect. I have changed more poopy diapers in 2 days than I have in the last 2 weeks. Please, oh, please make it stop!

Over the last month, Madeline's had a terrible cough. Up until this point, she's been perfectly healthy...not a single problem. This cough just came out of nowhere. It is usually worse at night, and she is having difficulty sleeping through the night - which is totally out of character for her. This kid's been sleeping through the night since she was 2 1/2 months old. Anyway, the cough has been so severe at times that she's choked and stopped breathing on at least 2 occasions. Talk about panic.

After 4 visits to the pediatrician, we've run the gamut of possibilities that could be causing this problem. First, the Doctor thought it was the start of an ear infection - which could have been spreading to her chest. So we did a week of antibiotics - and nothing changed. Then the Doctor thought it could be allergies. So we gave her allergy meds for nearly 2 weeks - and she had some better days. But the cough was still a problem at times. Finally, today she had an upper GI test. They gave her barium through a bottle - which she drank without hesitation (unlike her Mommy!! Ugggh. The thought of drinking barium ever again in my life makes me sick....) Anyway, it turns out that she has Acid Reflux Disease, which apparently, is common in babies. Now I have to wait for the Doctor's call to see how we treat this. I can't wait to get my happy, well rested baby back!! And once I can stop worrying about her middle of the night coughing spells, I can get a normal night of sleep as well!

You Know You're a Parent When...

In public you sniff your kid's butt to see if she has a dirty diaper.

Traditions Anyone???

The holiday season is fast approaching, and I am so looking forward to Madeline's first Christmas. Christmas in our house has always been fun, but now that we have a child, I'm quite certain it will be a blast! I am looking forward to the usual traditions of decorating our house, walking through the Christmas tree farm to pick out the perfect tree, etc. With Madeline's first Christmas, though, I am looking to start new traditions....the kind of traditions that will create fond childhood memories that will last a lifetime for our little girl. If you have any great memories or ideas that we could adopt, please share them with us.

Before I had Madeline, I didn't notice other kids - unless they were loud, obnoxious kids who didn't know how to behave. Now, I seem to notice everything - and I am appalled at some of the things I observe.

Yesterday was a wonderful, crisp Fall day. And it was downright cold outside. I had to break out Mo's warmer jacket before heading out for the day. On my way to the babysitter's house, I passed a daycare. I got stuck in traffic right in front of the daycare, so I had several minutes to observe the parents dropping off their kids. There were literally dozens of parents and kids coming and going. Out of all those kids, only 1 had on a jacket - or even long sleeves for that matter. And what were the parents wearing you ask?? Sweatshirts and jackets.

I don't even know what else to say other than I'm appalled! Literally.

A Face Only A Father Could Feed

See what happens when it's Daddy's turn to feed the child?!?

6 and counting

On Wednesday, Mo turned 6 months old. MG and I were out for dinner and at the end of the table in a high chair sat this person who looked more like a toddler than a 6 month old baby. MG and I discussed the first time we were at this place, we sat at the bar. I made a comment about missing those, but you-know-who in the highchair brought things back to reality.

6 months is a huge milestone. I know new parents treat every passing month as if its some big party, but this one is special. Just think in 15 years 6 month, she'll start to learn how to drive. in 17 years 6 months she'll be able to vote and soon go off to college. In 20 years 6 months, she'll be legally allowed to drink. Knowing all that's to come, I'm quite satisfied with where we are today.

Here's to 6 wonderful months and many many many more.