Seven Months!

Alice is 7 months old today! Wow! Has it really been seven months already? Time flies when you're having fun, and oh what fun have we had. Of course, the older she gets the more and more fun we can have. Our fun it limited to what is "safe" and within reason for her age, but oh the fun things we will get to do!

No new milestones were hit this past month. I *think* she has been signing milk the past few days, but I'm still not completely sure. I only see her do it while we are nursing, so perhaps she is. Alice got an awful lot better at crawling...I swear I feel like I'm in slow motion when I'm trying to get her. She is a pro at pulling herself up to standing. In fact, she can now stand even when there is nothing to pull at, i.e. the wall! Yes, her new favorite "toy" seems to be the wall. She crawls over there. Bumps her head and face in to it, and laughs! Then she rubs her hand all over it, smacks it to hear that lovely sound, and then stands up...and starts rubbing her face and head over it! I told Sean that we shouldn't get her any toys or anything. Just a few bags (like gift bags-not plastic from the store), an empty box, and a few pots and pans (with a spoon for banging!). I believe she would be the happiest baby ever! Truthfully, she already is though. Almost always full of smiles!

Oh, I got off on a tangent. The other thing that Alice is working on perfecting is standing alone. She was only doing a few seconds, but I am pleased to report she can now (sometimes) stand for up to two minutes on her own. She can also take a few steps if you hold her hands. Geez, this kid will be walking before I know it. Which makes me wonder, why am I trying to promote this "walking" thing? I'm only kidding (sort of). Life with a crawler sure is more trying than life with a baby that just lays there.

For the first time (well technically it wasn't the first time-but the first times didn't count because she was only days/weeks old), Alice got to go outside and see what was going on. I put her in her stroller, and we rolled out to check on the animals. Now, Alice has seen dogs. Oh, does she love dogs! She has not seen any other animals...until yesterday. First up were the rabbits. Oh my goodness...she squealed with delight and leaned so far forward in her stroller that I thought she may fall out. I didn't let her pet any of the rabbits (only one is really nice enough to let you pet her anyway). Next, I opened the barn door and out came the two cats (we had 5 but living in the country you learn that sometimes animals run away or get beaten by nature). The mommy cat (Jinx) saw Alice and ran off, but Minx (the son) was intrigued. He had never seen a stroller before! So began the most interesting part of our excursion. Minx was interested in the stroller and Alice, and Alice was F-R-E-A-K-I-N-G out about the kitty. I have never heard her babble, squeal, or scream as loud as she was. At one point, I picked up Minx so Alice could pet him and boy, oh boy, was she tickled. Finally, we strolled around to see the chickens. The rooster was crowing and the look on Alice's face was priceless. Never had she heard anything like that. She looked at the rooster, then to me, back to the rooster, then to me. I told her it was a rooster (and pointed out the hens as well), but I didn't have a sign for it. Remind me to see if I can find the signs for "rabbit", "cat", and "chicken".

Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of our first outing at our house, but I will bring the camera today when we go and try to recreate the situation. I need to cut this short...apparently my father wants to stop by with relatives that haven't seen Alice yet, and my house is a mess. Argh! Whatever happened to the 24 hour notice? I don't usually clean the house until Saturday afternoons or Sunday.

Letters To Alice

For posterity purposes (and because I'm about as organized as a junk drawer) I intend to write letters to Alice, so that she may look back at all of the milestones, joy, tales and lessons she has brought to our lives. I was intending to start these letters on my old blog, but I kept putting it off (but still memorizing the milestone dates)...perhaps because I knew I was "finished" with my old blog.

Dear Alice,

One year ago today, we found out that you were a little girl. I wasn't supposed to find out for another 2 or so weeks, but I was impatient and called a different ultrasound place. They scheduled me for March 17, 2009...St. Patrick's Day. Your "Gamma" (that is my mom-you can call her whatever you like, but for the time being we will refer to her as Gamma) met me there.

You were absolutely beautiful! Sucking your thumb and moving around. Then they told me you were a little girl! I was over the moon! I had been thinking all along that you were a little boy, but I think subconciously I knew you were a girl. Plus I only had boy names picked out, so of course you would present our first of many challenges. I called your father and told him. He couldn't be there that day, as he was working (like he ALWAYS is). Hopefully he won't have to work this much, or as hard as he does, for much longer...but that is another story.

So we find out you were a girl, and I immediately decide to give you an Irish name. After all, it would only be fitting. Your father and I are both part Irish, and to find out we were having a girl on St. Patrick's Day. So the name game commenced. Scarlett and Riley were the fore-runners. Of course, you are probably how you ended up being named Alice. That is a story that will be covered when I write to you about your birth.

So that evening, I went to the store and bought you a few outfits. I came home and made corned beef and cabbage and showed your daddy the ultrasound pictures. It was such a wonderful day! And to this day, and forever more, St. Patrick's Day has a whole new meaning to me. It was the day I found out I was having the most perfect little girl.

I love you, Alice!

Love,
Mama

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I never have quite understood why they say "luck of the Irish" because, in my opinion at least, the Irish are not a very lucky group of people. Though if you think about it from a different stand point, then I suppose they are. They didn't all die out during the potato famine, or get killed off from the Vikings... so I suppose they are lucky in a way.

Which brings about another point. I am part Irish; for sanity-saving reasons on my part, I will not be figuring out what percent exactly. We'll just say 1/4 or 1/8. I also seem to have the "luck of the Irish", as I am not a very lucky person. Ahh, but I am at the same time ;)

Today is Sean's "birthday". Apparently, he is going to change his birthday information on Facebook for every holiday. He didn't have to work this morning, and he asked me what I was going to make him for his "birthday" breakfast. I told him I would give him a cup of coffee and an apple muffin (which I baked the other day). I have things to do people! I typically make him breakfast on the weekends, and usually I make some kind of bread or muffins, for quick grab breakfasts during the week.

I am a busy, working mother. I drive about 150 miles a day; which puts Alice and I in the car for about 3 hours (well she is in the car for about 2). Wednesday is bottle/pump washing day. Then there are the animals (5 hens, 1 rooster, 3 rabbits, 2 cats). Then I have to pack up diaper bags, get everyone cleaned up and dressed, pack my lunch/dinner, somewhere in between all of that I find time to play with Alice, and then pack up the car. Do you know that I have to make 3 trips out to the car before we can leave everyday? I have my bag (which has my lunch, water, snacks, books/magazines, etc.), my pump, the diaper bag, this bag/mat (it folds up to a bag but unfolds to a playmat) with toys in it, then there is Alice and me. I am a pack mule.

Random story: the other day I was thinking about how I needed to take Alice's mobile down, as she has been standing/pulling up for awhile. I thought it was odd that she hadn't tried to play with it or hang on it, so I made a mental note to take it down the next time she wasn't sleeping. Well that next morning, I heard a loud noise and went running in there. There she was, mobile in hand with only half of the bears! She apparently decided she needed more stuffed animals in her crib and grabbed two off...which snapped the mobile in half. That is the last time that I ever think again!

Til next time! Oh and if you have any suggestions for my blog, please let me know. I love feedback and comments. And I promise I will put up some pictures, more info, and get this blog looking snazzy!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! This isn't my first go-round with blogging. This is my third...though the second blog and this one I created at roughly the same time. I decided I needed a private blog away from people I know, and my other one is for friends and family. Although, I will tell my sister about this secret blog, as I hope she may help me get it in to shape when she has some free-time (Hi Lindsay!!!).

The reason I gave up on my first blog was two-fold. I didn't have the time (or maybe it was motivation) to post often enough, and then my followers disappeared. I hope that isn't the case this time.

Hopefully, our life (according to me) is entertaining enough that you will want to come back for more. Some of the many things I will be writing about: my husband, Sean; my daughter, Alice; our experience with parenthood; baby-led weaning (more commonly known as baby-led solids in the US); and many more exciting (or not so much) things.

I look forward to you reading about us!