Finally Home

We finally arrived home yesterday after 10 days in Florida. She was so worn out, I was sure she would sleep the entire night. My hopes were quickly dashed.  The girl was so excited to be home last night that she woke up and just wanted to play with her toys...at 10:30pm. Needless to say we were up several times throughout the night. She was pretty tired today, but I managed to keep her down to about 2 hours of nap. We did really well keeping her near her San Diego schedule. We were able to keep bed time stable. All other parts of the day were flexible. Today was her first day of normalcy. This was the first day since 16 December that we have not had family all around. We also missed Mommy n Me class today. I am trying to get things back together so we are ready for work and day care in a couple of days. Now that Annmarie is over 1 year old two major things are going to happen. 1) She will move up to the pre-toddler class and 2) the doctor will be able to diagnose her. We have more doctors appointments coming up this week.  

In Florida she took six steps from Uncle Jarod over to me. Today, she took three steps from Janly over to me. If it's just her and I, she will walk. If anyone else is around, she loses confidence and won't even try. When she does walk, she is so proud.

And, now that I realize it's New Year's Eve. I can not believe that my daughter is more than a year old. This time last  year I was still delirious in a hospital room. I know that I wasn't released until a week after I gave birth. I just don't know exactly what day that was. This has been a really tough year. Annmarie has been so sick and yet, still so happy. She has developed quite the personality and is turning into a little person. I have trouble remembering a time without her. I love her more than words could ever say.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Capricorn Horoscope for Thursday, Dec 29th, 2011 -- You are susceptible to the emotional intensity of today's Sun-Pluto hook-up because it occurs in your sign. Even the most minor issues can be quickly blown out of proportion as tempers flare and passions erupt. You might become obsessed about having your way now, and you're not willing to take no for an answer. Unfortunately, you could invite stronger resistance if you are too assertive. Being gentle and persistent is more effective than forcing your point of view on anyone else.

Merry Christmas Annmarie

Uncle Scotty was silly enough to give me his phone!

Uncle Matthew and my cousins Robby and Olivia

Me and Reagan are gonna be bestest friends!

Get outta my way I'm watchin phonics.

I love my Uncle Adam

Score...a paper bag!

Lemme help Maw.



Mommy says I can't hang out with my cousin in red because she
was very poorly behaved and scary.



Aunt Janyl Survived Another Duty Day!

Last night was Janyl's second time alone with Annmarie. We didn't plan on a hectic night prior to duty -where Annmarie slammed her head back into Mommy's jaw and literally knocked a tooth out of alignment and off of a bracket...not to mention slamming the spring and wire into the side of my cheek. So, I went to pick up my 24 hour shift and arrange an emergency trip to the orthodontist. Annmarie, however didn't have a mark on her from it. But, she did lose out on a lot of sleep. I warned Aunt Janyl not to let her sleep all day. I was worried that Annmarie would get her days and nights mixed up -and thus keep Janyl  up all night. "Aw, don't worry 'bout it."  Ya. So, she did give Janyl a run for her money. She was up several (MUCHO) times. I bet Janyl never puts her down for that many hours again. If I had to guess, I would say she had at least 4 hours too much sleep during the day yesterday.  Tonight was a little rough getting her down. Janyl didn't stick to the bedtime. But, honestly, I am OK with it. They both made it through unharmed. I will put her back on schedule. And, Janyl had a dose of the best birth control God ever made: a crying baby in the wee hours of the night that you can't make quit crying...no matter what. Thank you Janyl.
Three more days until Nana and Grandpa arrive! I can't wait! Annmarie's bed is still on back order. I really want to get it so I can finally get her room set up.
Chances of Italy are gone. It seems that job requires me to travel ALL over Europe -several different trips a year. Don't get me wrong, if I were married or if I weren't a mom, I would LOVE to take the job. This just means I will have to wait til Annmarie gets older and take her over for the summer. I still don't have official word on if I can take the equal opportunity advisor detailing route. I hate the wait. He has 30 days to answer my request. He is trying to send me to the USS STOUT in Virginia -which is better than Japan. But, it's still not ideal. If someone else bids on that job, he (says he) will release me to the EOA detailers. Then I will be able to bid on Guam -or some other shore based foreign place that keeps Annmarie with me. January 1 is the 30 day mark. But, the detailer wants to go on Christmas vacation too. Hopefully, I will find out before we fly to the East Coast.

Progress

Yesterday and today Annmarie is getting better...in some ways. The good side: no more diarrhea or fever...and today she ate normal food! Bad side: very whiny and temperamental...crying and clinging all day and up most of the nights. Geez. I think Aunt Janyl has had her fill of cranky baby. I am exhausted. But, I am happy and hopeful that she is getting better. I hate fevers.
I went another round with the detailer yesterday. I went to him groveling humbly. I wanted to give him an out because he is obviously having some issues with his boss (our Enlisted Community Manager). They are in the middle of some kind of 'quien es mas macho' thing. In the mean time, he determines where I live for the next three years. So, he offered me Naples, Italy and Guam. Naples involves travel. I put in an info request to see what kind/how much travel. Are we talking about Naples to Rome? Or, are we talking about Italy to Germany? Big difference. So, once I get the info back I will be able to see if I can do that -with a baby in tow. The other offer is Guam. The only issue with that is I do not know if it is an accompanied or unaccompanied order. I.e., can I take Annmarie with me. If I can, then I am good to go with that place. Italy, and traveling for work with a baby in tow doesn't sound very practical/feasible. But, we will see. Either of those two jobs keep me with Annmarie. The 'with travel' part is a little tricky. BUT, still not in the clear for dodging Japan. Nothing is firm until I have the order in hand.

Micromanaging Poo

I never thought I would have to micro manage poo, but here it is...Annmarie has finally made solid poop. For the first time in a week she had a normal bowel movement. She was, of course, still extremely cranky tonight, but at this point I will take any progress. Two nights ago she slept until 4am. That is the first time in months that she made it past two. I really don't understand why she doesn't sleep through the night. If this keeps up, I may call a sleep consultant. Last night she woke up at 3am and wanted to play. She refused to go to sleep in her bed, so I let her sleep with me from 4:30 to 5:30...then I had to wake her for the day. Yes, you read it right. She was up from 3 to 4:30. And, I am once again exhausted. But...she had solid poop!!!! Yay!!!!! Fingers crossed for a whole night's sleep! I am trying for number 9.
Did I mention her second tooth finished erupting a couple of days ago? Well it did.
Yesterday while Janyl was watching her, Annmarie got a nice cut on her finger. It's pretty deep and won't quit bleeding (even today). I considered taking her in for a stitch, but if the Navy docs don't see bone or ligaments, they won't stitch it. People think I am kidding when I say that she has to touch EVERYTHING -twice. On top of that, she's a really quick kid.

Post Thanksgiving Catch Up

Things have been so insanely busy. We spent Thanksgiving with Janie and her family. It was nice. She has such a warm disposition she naturally feels like family. Lori has moved to Point Magu. I am back in my negotiation window and the detailer (the guy that is supposed to fill all the jobs) is being particularly ignorant about where he wants me to go. Work has been very supportive and wants to yell at him on my behalf, but truly I don't want to fight with him. I just want him to back off and let me have a fair shot at picking my next job. The detailer has been doing his job so long that everyone is a number and he just wants the easiest fix for everything. Japan is easy for him, but impossible for me. I would have to give up custody of Annmarie for two years. I am not willing to do that. So, I have spent every waking hour finding an offset resolution to the problem. I need a solution that will not pit me directly against him, but will remove me from his detailing group. So, I put in a package to become an Equal Opportunity Advisor (EOA). It's the technical/procedural expert on the Navy's EO policies. I would advise several commands on their EO programs. I would still be at sea, but I could go anywhere that takes women. Right now, I can only go to ships that have my weapons systems -and take women, and have a bed open in the female Chief's berthing, and need a Chief. It's this crazy puzzle that takes away my choices. Will I get the program, most likely not. But, it's worth a shot. My next path is to put into to go to Chicago and work at boot camp.

Now, onto Annmarie. She has had diarrhea now for two days with off and on 101 degree fevers. She won't eat. It has been a long couple of days. She has gone about 5 hours now since her last movement. I can't take her to day care like this so Janyl is going to watch her tomorrow. She is adjusting to all the changes pretty well. She likes her new found freedom of being able to explore the kitchen. Now that the cats are gone, I have baby proofed the kitchen so she can crawl in it. With all the changes, come new challenges. Despite all the padding on the top and edges, my wrought iron coffee table has managed to bruise Annmarie twice today. I didn't add padding to the underside of the edges. I put some on tonight. She also loves the TV stand. I may have to tape the doors shut on it.

I spoke with Grandpa today. He says he will paint the nursery for us when he's here. It's going to be so nice to actually get her stuff up on the walls and have an actual bedroom. Even if it's only for a little while. You never know, I may totally score and get to stay here my next three years. Then she can have a stable few years.

Annmarie's First Tooth

Yes, that is a tooth. Yes she was screaming when we took the picture. But, rest assured, she was in no pain.

I almost skipped Mommy n Me class today and am very glad I didn't. She always learns so much there. She is so close to walking. I will admit her progress slowed down due to poor attendance in class. She doesn't learn anything at daycare because she's the oldest in her class. After we return from out trip to Florida, she will move up into the pre-toddler class. She will be the youngest there, but she will start learning again.

Fly, Fly, Fly Up High...Way Up In the Sky

The title is a line from a song we sing in Mommy-n-Me.  Annmarie loves to play 'airplane'. In class we only put the babies on our knees...at home...baby girl gets to go all the way up in the air. And, she loves it! We go the whole way up so she can look in the mirror. Then she will kick her feet and as she looks in the mirror. She's so proud she can make it the whole way up there. She's getting so tall that when I stand her on my lap, she can see the bottom edge of the mirror -which is no fun. We had a really good day today. I am debating on getting Annmarie a professional haircut. She probably just needs her bangs cut again, but I kinda want a little more style to it. I just don't know what/if anything to do with it.

I keep trying to get Aunt Janyl to call the nice boy she met, but she's scared. I am going to teach her to be more daring in that department. This is the first time I have ever known her to be shy about something!

Another Trip to the Doctors

Such a hectic day. Aunt Janyl and I started out with a plan and then the stupid day care made us change the entire day up. So, I got a call that the girl had diarrhea and I needed to pick her up. They said that since she already had a bowel movement before her loose stool, I had to have a doctor's note prior to bringing her back to them. So, Janyl picked her up, we ran her to the doctor's at lunch for them to tell me she is swallowing snot and it was coming out the other side. So, we took her back to day care and gave them the doctor's note. They politely took her back. As once again, there was nothing wrong with her -other than the same freakin runny nose she's had since I started her at day care. Now, the runny nose has moved to her chest and she is developing a strong dislike for Vic's Vapor Rub. Tonight, I put it on her clothes to avoid putting it on her skin and making her mad. Lori gets back from Vegas tomorrow. It's good because the cats miss her and won't leave Annmarie alone. She is very loving with them...now that we taught her to 'pet nice'.

The other good thing that came out of today: I was finally able to get her a flu shot and a refill on her vitamins.

Yay! A Tooth

Yesterday we finally popped through her front bottom tooth. Hopefully, this won't be like the eye tooth that recessed after a week. After that ordeal, I hesitate to even call this a tooth. However, it is through. And another positive note: we are past the incubation period for chicken pox...so I am relaxing on chicken pox watch, but she still has a crazy rash that keeps going away and coming back. I am really not sure what is doing it to her.

Annmarie is doing really well getting used to Aunt Janyl, Gram Sonia and Pops. She really likes Pops. I really can't believe how old she's gotten. I am taking off work tomorrow for Vet's Day. I need it. So does she. Teething has been difficult...that and the day care changed her formula without telling me. It's really hard to tell if it was teething or the change in diet. Over the next week we have to get ready for Lori to do her 'pack out' and move the rest of my stuff from Mission Valley. It's going to be a very interesting few weeks. We will miss Aunt Lori.

Full House

Grammy Sonia and Pops are here and getting settled. Of course, Annmarie gave them an awesome welcoming. Yes, she screamed every two hours until 6am. Then she was content to lay on my chest. Last night was interesting, but not nearly as bad as Friday night. She still doesn't have any teeth. But the bumps on her bottom gum are still there. Last time she acted like this, the teeth recessed and the bumps went away. So frustrating. She had everyone in the house up all night.

Her heat rash has faded. With that said, she has a blister in her diaper area and two red marks on her back. It seems like as long as I can keep the Tylenol in her she is comfortable. But, you let mommy try to stretch it to four and a half hours. Not nice. It hasn't affected her appetite. She still eats all the time, huge amounts of food. This morning for breakfast she had a bowl of peaches with cereal and 3/4 of a banana. She followed that up two hours later with a cup of yogurt...then lunch as raviolis, carrots and mashed potato balls. That's not to mention 3 full sippy cups, some Cheerios and some mum mums to snack on. It's four right now and she is napping, however, I know she will be hostage hungry when she gets up. I don't know what she does with it all. Never mind, I know...I change the diapers. Holy Hell.

Yay...Gramma-in-Law Sonia gets here tomorrow

Sorry for not keeping up on the pics. Baby girl has been giving me a run for the money. She still has her rash...it's not getting any better but it's not getting any worse...so I will take it. Last night she screamed off and on from 7pm to 1am. Then I had to wake her at 5:30 am to take her to the daycare. Which means she slept WAY too much at day care. She was in a pretty good mood when I picked her up and we played for a few hours when we got home. Her schedule was so off track that we had to put her to bed early tonight.
Lori's parents get in tomorrow. They love Annmarie so much! She's going to have more people to play with! I am really surprised how much Lori's dad likes Annmarie too! He got her the electric tiger that she loves. She has Skyped with both of them several times over the months. He's so funny the way he makes baby sounds to her.

Happy First Halloween!

We had to scrap the Trick or Treating part due to cold weather and a rash covering 65% of her body. I am still trying to pretend it's not chicken pox, but the little blister on her hand screams: 'denial'.

I caved and added a nose to the jack-o-lantern. Too many people were giving me crap.

Next year, she will have an awesome time!

My First Taste of Whipped Cream!

My first time ever trying Whipped Cream.
Mommy said it was OK because it is dairy.