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September 01 Popsicle's Birthday PartyPopsicle just celebrated her second birthday! This past Friday she had a small party at the local zoo. As one of her birthday presents, Popsicle received a new baby doll. She also received a baby stroller. Both presents were an immediate success. Popsicle pushed her baby around everywhere in that stroller. While at the party, I brought face paints for the kids to paint their faces. I should quickly clarify what I mean by "face paints". Face paints, apparently will not be on sale in the stores until next week. That meant trying to salvage face paints from years past. The face paints that I found had melted and rehardened. Knowing that this would probably not work, I grabbed brown and black eyeliner and red lipstick liner. At the party, Popsicle loved the face paints and immediately started painting her own face. She then turned to her baby and starts painting her baby's face. Although instinct told me that I should make her stop coloring her (brand new) baby's face, she just looked so happy and cute. We lugged a baby all around the zoo that had brown and black all over its face. The baby was particularly discolored around the eyes. Bottom line, my instinct was correct! The face paints did not wash off the baby. On the down side, the baby has a distinct permanent black/brown around the eyes. On the up, thanks to my friend that joined me at the zoo, the baby has a great new nickname, Bar Fight Baby! And, when Mattel calls for merchandising, I will appreciated Popsicle's creativity.
May 26 Sleepy JellybeanI went to check on Jellybean and I feel a bit bad. Jellybean had a hard time falling asleep tonight. She is a structured kid of routine. I find it amazing that a 9 month old baby could have such a difficult time with a change of setting. I thought The Moo Girl was structured! This kid is about to show me the meaning of the word structured. This kid is going to teach me how to live on a routine. And, if she doesn't, help this family! We are going to go camping this weekend. T. Dum went with a friend today and set up camp. Tomorrow first thing, I am going to join him with the girls. As Jellybean was so little, I was not ready to attempt and entire weekend with her in the great outdoors. One night sounds like enough for me. As her bed will be unavailable while we are camping, I decided to introduce her to her pack 'n play (and bed that she will be sleeping in tomorrow) ahead of time. Getting her used to the pack 'n play now ups my chances of her sleeping in a new setting. If we were in a new setting AND she was in a new bed, I just don't think that it would work for her. Yesterday, my mom tried Jellybean in the pack 'n play for the first time. OHHHHH, how she cried when placed in that bed! Ultimately, my mom gave up and stuck her in her usual sleeping spot... much to Jellybean's delight. Today, I set up the pack 'n play for Jellybean's naps. Nap #1 started off with lots of tears. I had to go back into the room and calm poor little Jellybean down, but she did fall asleep in that new bed. Nap #2 (and the third time in the pack 'n play) was a huge success! She fell asleep with minimal fussing and was a happy little baby. As we had the pack 'n play routine down, I decided to fold up the bed and pack up my car. Tonight, back to bed in her normal spot! Or not... How quickly Jellybean had gotten used to her new sleeping arrangements and forgot about the past. To be fair, she had been sleeping in the Amby bed until only recently. Her "usual sleeping spot" is still a new'ish sleeping spot. Tonight, back in her bed she cried and cried and cried some more. Twice, I went back into the room to calm down a very sad little baby. The poor girl was covered in sweat from all her crying efforts! Alas, she finally fell asleep after a good 20 minutes of crying. As I have stated, I feel a little bad for little ol' Jellybean. When I went into the room to check on her what did I to evoke this feeling? The most pathetic little sleeping baby you have ever seen! Her face was smooched up against the bummers of the bed, her little arm on the top of the bummer. It looks to me as if she rolled over on her tummy and was crying in the direction of the door. She als appeared to me like she was trying to crawl her way out and then was so overcome by exhaustion, she fell asleep in her tracks. Poor little Jellybean. She was so pathetic that I had to risk her waking up, just so I could try and take a picture of that little babe.
And, if you are wondering, she did wake up with the picture. On the plus side, I got to readjust her position AND she was really sleepy and went back to sleep without crying.
And don't forget to fill out my poll! I am excited to read everyone's thoughts! May 10 It's 3 a.m.I am going to make this short and sweet! It is 3 a.m. and I am awake. Yup, awake. Why am I awake at such a crazy hour, you ask yourself. It is not by choice. Nope. Given a choice, I would be soundly asleep in my cozy bed. Instead, I am typing on the computer listening to Ol’ Jellybean cry her heart out. Wait. Let me make a correction. Jellybean is not so much crying as she really is yelling at me to come rescue her from that horrible place I call her bed. If she continue to cry for another three minutes, I will go get her (again), pick her up (again), cuddle her for a couple minutes (again), and then this is the really wretched part, put her BACK into that most evil of locations, her bed. After I have cuddled her and am ready to put her back in bed, it is rather heartbreaking to listening to her cry of ultimate betrayal when she realizes that I am placing her back in that evil place!
Where have I been this last month? What have I been doing? For the curious folk out there, I shall fill you in with the details. My normally darling, cute, delightful baby still insists on waking up every couple of hours throughout the night. As an extra little topper, after she wakes up, she doesn't always want to go back to sleep. And, as the ultimate icing on the cake, she has of late decided that it is perfectly reasonable to get up for the day at 5 a.m. The sun is up, why shouldn't she be as well? Constantly, I have been a walking zombie! There are times in the day when I realize that I have no idea how I got somewhere. I may have a vague recollection of a car ride, but it is fuzzy and grey. Aren't you glad that I am on the road?! I will be in the middle of a conversation and suddenly realize I have no idea what the other person is talking about. I have spent the last month in a haze. Wish me luck in trying to teach this cute, but very naughty baby to sleep!
Hey! Good news! It has been seventeen minutes since I last heard her cry. It only took an hour and seven minutes (knock on wood) to get her back to sleep. May 06 Little Jellybean Pucker-FaceI told you, I don't like Chichen and Vegetables! And, there is no way you are getting that Chicken past these lips of steal.
February 08 First Child versus Third ChildEarlier this year, I went to visit my cousin (The Ol' Lady, she after all SEVEN and a HALF weeks older than me!) and her first born (Key-Key). At the time of my visit, Key-key was eight months old. When it was playtime for the baby, The Ol' Lady would lay out a sheet on the ground for the baby to play on. Her carpet is only about 6 years old and was brand new when they bought their house. Still, Key-Key, as a first born, needs a clean play area, so out comes the sheet! Those little baby feet never touched the carpet in the house. Poor ol' Jellybean is not the first born. In fsact, she is my husband's third child (my second). She has the advantage of laid-back parents who don't worry over every little thing. On the other hand, she doesn't get the red carpet, or clean sheet if you will, treatment. The other day, T. Dum was hanging out with Jellybean while I did some chores around the house. After puttering around in the bedroom, I came out into the living room. Jellybean was playing with some toys on the floor. Yes, Jellybean does not get a clean sheet on the carpet, but T. Dum was not so cruel as to lay her on the floor with nothing. What did my husband give his third child to lie on while she played? A dirty sock. Poor ol' Jellybean and her dirty sock. November 22 YellowHappy 3 Month Birthday Jellybean!
I think that Jellybean's favorite color is yellow. She always stares at yellow objects and if she is getting fussy, all I need to do is show her a yellow toy. Here are some of the yellow objects around the house that she loves to look at:
I have changed the colors on my blog. They are now purple and yellow (which is pretty obvious since you are currently looking at my blog). Purple, for The Moo Girl and yellow for Jellybean. November 10 Jellybean Sleeping
I have been trying to figure out how I can automate her bouncing. I need perpetual motion... T. Dum and I tried tying her bed to her baby swing. That didn't work. She likes to bounce, she doesn't like swinging. We tried adding more weight to her bed so that it would be easier to bounce. Nope, it was not happenin'. I thought about buying her a bouncing Tigger or similar toy and tying the bed to Tigger, but Tigger doesn't bounce for two hours straight. So, I am tapped out of ideas... Any suggestions? November 06 Back in Business Blogging!I sure have been away from my blog lately. Between my husband who wants dinner EVERY night, my older daughter that wants attention, laundry, the house, and trying to work from home… oh, and an infant, I have been too busy! Sad really. I recently took a week long trip to North Carolina. It was great! I left T. Dum and The Moo Girl at home and took off with Jellybean. For a whole week, I was without a house to clean, an older child to entertain, and a husband to feel guilty about not fixing dinner… Wonderful! I kept getting comments at the airport about traveling alone with a seven week old baby. “Must be hard!” “She is so little!” Are you kidding? This is a breeze compared to being at home! Airplanes, piece of cake. Car rides with car seats and a screaming baby, now that is a challenge. In North Carolina, I have two cousins that both have babies. It was just a baby-fest! The oldest, Little E is just over a year and is walking everywhere and learning to talk. The middle baby is Key-Key. She is 8 months and just learned how to crawl. And of course, little Jellybean. She, well, she can cry really well! Oh, and she does smile and roll over. I guess she has a couple great tricks. What busy little babies. Having all the babies together was so cute and fun. The all seemed to delight in seeing the other little kids. Jellybean would smile at her older cousins… and they would try to poke her in the eye, stick their fingers in her mouth, or try and put her fingers in their mouths. Poor Jellybean. So defenseless. But I must say, it was eye poking with love! I have added some pictures of the girls in my photo album. Those pictures were SO hard to take. Little E kept getting up to walk away, Key-Key wanted to roll on to her tummy so that she could crawl away, and Jellybean was tired and kept crying. It was like trying to herd bunny rabbits. Now that I am back, I plan to restart my blogging regimen. I have a strategy! Jellybean has a new bed and if I bounce her in bed with my foot, I can also type on my computer. And, since I spend hours bouncing her, I should have more time for some leisurely activities. Forget dinner, I need to write on my computer!
September 14 Birth AnnoucementI have been working on Jellybean's birth announcement today. How does it look?
September 02 About PopsicleOr, About the Baby Formally Known As Jellybean
September 2, 2006
1. She hates to open her eyes
Jellybean spends much of the time with her eyes closed. Sometimes we catch her opening her eyes and when she sees us looking at her, will close them quickly like she was caught doing something wrong. We think that she is saying, "I am still sleeping, my eyes were never open." When we bug her to open her eyes and look around, she will do so using only one eye. It looks like Popeye.
2. She scowls at us.
Jellybean was born with a crease above her nose and will often crinkle her eyebrows and scowl at us. It looks ferocious. Of course she does this with her eyes closed.
3. She has an illusive dimple.
All the nurses in the hospital commented on her dimple. Her dad and I have only seen it once and I wonder if I really did see it that time.
4. She is a terrible eater.
Who would have thought that someone from my family would have a hard time eating. I just don't understand.
5. Her hands are always at her mouth.
A nurse suggested that she probably sucked on her hands a lot while in utero. We think that she is probably right as her ultrasound picture showed her sucking her thumb. When Jellybean is hungry, her hands start squirming around her mouth making it nearly impossible to feed her. Her eyes are closed, her mouth is open, and her arms are swinging... then she gets mad. It reminds me of a baby bird.
6. When she nurses she likes to play tug-of-war.
I don't like this game. At all.
7. She can make her tongue look forked... or other people say "heart shaped". Either way, it is weird
We think that she had a tight frenulum (that piece under the tongue) that has since retracted. Sometimes her tongue looks a little forked, sometimes it looks normal.
8. She is impatient.
She cries when she has her diaper changed. She cries when we change her clothes. She cries when we set her down. She cries the second she wants to eat. She has no patience for any such activities!
9. She snorts when she is hungry.
Rather cute.
10. She coos when she is eating.
Also cute.
November 5, 2006
11. She is instantly comforted by the sound of running water.
A great trick for when I need just a couple minutes!
12. She loves to be wrapped up (swaddled) like a little burrito
I wrap her up, put her in her bed and start bouncing her with the hope that she will fall asleep. Instead she will look at me and smile!
14. She is a very bouncy baby.
She likes to be bounced, bounced, and bounced some more. No swing, No vibrating chair, just bounce. Preferably by me and preferably while I am standing up (no sitting down).
15. Jellybean is not much of a sucker.
No pacifier, no sucking on my finger, no bottles. Nothing. It makes the soothing her thing a tad more work for me!
13. Jellybean will look at the world through the tiniest slits when she is sleepy.
You can barely tell that her eyes are open, but we have caught her watching us through those tiny little slits. Sometimes, she will even give me half a smile when she sees me.
November 22, 2006
16. She likes to suck on her fist.
When she sucks on her fist, she sticks up her knuckle on her bent pointer finger so that it is sticking up higher than the rest of her fingers. When she plays with her toys, she tends to leave her pointer finger bent and knuckle sticking up, just in case she needs to suck!
17. She loves to stare at her feet.
She is trying to touch her feet and stick them in her mouth, but hasn't gotten that far yet.
18. She HATES the car.
I cannot even drive The Moo Girl to school without having a crying baby in the back of the car. I think that she gets bored. So kids like the car and fall asleep... Not Jellybean! I was in a study about infant crying and about died when they asked how often I stick my baby in the car to calm her. Uh.... Never!
19. Jellybean is a Lean-From'er There are lean-to'ers and lean-from'ers. Lean-to'ers are babies that like to lean into your chest when you carry them. Lean-from'ers... well, you know! Jellybean is so interested in the world around her, she leans away so that she can look around.
20. She has stared reaching and touching objects. 21. She watches TV.
I have never seen a baby watch TV before. The Moo Girl didn't pay attention to the TV until she was about 2. Well, she did like the theme song to Third Rock from the Sun and would dance when she heard the song, but she didn't watch the TV, just heard the song. Jellybean actually watches the TV.
22. She will watch and smile at us from across the room.
23. Did I mention that she HATES the car?
I know that this is also number 19, but she hates the car so much that I feel that I need to mention it twice to really reinforce her hatred of this horrible experience. Even though I give her toys to play with, she starts to cry the second I put her in her car seat.
24. She is super strong.
25. She could definitely sleep better.
Jellybean is really good at falling asleep... but not so good at staying asleep.
October 28, 2007
26. She is very focused and determined, to the point of being a bit stubborn.
27. She is fairly verbal for her age. There knows and says many words, but never on command. Some of those words are: bird (all animals are birds), woof woof (all animals say woof woof), hi, bye, mamma, dadda, brandma, buhba (what The Moo Girl calls her gramdpa), night-night, bite, yeah, all done, what's dat?
28. She climbs and climbs and climbs. It amazes me that she can climb on the dining room chairs, bed, and couch. The chairs are up to her arm pits!
29. For her age, she if very tall and skinny. The kid is a bean pole. Around her birthday, she was 90% tall (down from the off the charts tall at her previous appointment) and 5% for weight. It worries me a bit that she is so skinny, but her doctor assures me that she is okay and maybe just add a bit more butter and cream to her food.
30. She can be a bit devious. Her sister will sometimes call her Evil I. Tonight, she played the "ram my trike into mom's leg" game. She would be on the other side of the room and when she turned toward me with her tike, she would squeel and laugh.She is an Evil I!
31. That kid does not want to walk. She is capible of walking, she had the ability, the balance, the coordination she just chooses not too. The girl is just a bit cautious and finds crawling to suit her needs just fine. Stubborn little thing!
32. She loves to yell. Sometimes, she will bend at the middle and give a full body yell directed towards us. It is just so hilarous.
33. I taught her th sign for "All Done." Now, she "All Done's" everything. I am all done in my car seat (three minutes into our car ride). I am all done getting my diaper changes (while not wearing any clothes). Sometimes she combines her signs. She will start waving bye to someone that I am talking with and then tell me that she is all done.
34. Still not the greatest sleeper in the world. I can't even begin to tell you the struggles we have had over sleeping. I hate to even write this for fear that I might jinx myself, but she recently started sleeping through the night. And when I say recently, I mean that my little 14 month old baby has been sleeping through the night for the past two weeks. Well over a year of broken sleep. It is a good thing that she is so darn cute!
35. She prefers chocolate to marshmellows, but hates chocolate milk Last time I gave her chocolate milk, she tried to clean off her tongue. BUT, vanilla steamers, she loves vanilla steamers! Popsicle sees that Starbucks cup and starts giving me her impatient, you are taking too long to get me a straw cry.
Popsicle's Progress
First smile: 3 Weeks
Rolled over: 3 weeks, 6 days (twice in a row!)
Bat at toys: 7 weeks, 3 days
First laugh: 9 weeks, 5 days
Sucks on fist: 10 weeks
Grabs toys and sticks them in her mouth: 3 months
Sits unassisted: 3 months, 3 weeks
First wave: 4 months, 3 weeks
First tooth: 6 months, 3 weeks
Rolls to move around: 7 months, 2 weeks
Scotchs forward (slowly): 7 months, 2 weeks
Shakes head "no": 7 months, 3 weeks
2nd tooth: 7 months, 3 weeks
Starts pulling up: 8 months
Stands without assistance: 8 months, 1 week
Crawls (very slowly): 8 months, 3 weeks
Starts walking around the furniture: 8 months, 3 weeks
3rd tooth: 9 months
Says "What's That?": 9 months, 3 weeks
Brushes her own hair: 10 months
Really, really crawls well: 10 months
Claps: 10 months
Discovered her belly button: 11 months, 3 weeks
First steps: 13 months
Climbs a ladder (real ladder): 14 months
Decides to walk other than when we play the walk to mom game: 14 months
August 30 Happy Birthday, Jellybean!Jellybean was finally born!
Born: August 21st Time: 9:42 am Weight: 9 lbs 1 oz Length: 21” Head: 14” |
For her birthday, I updated my 
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