Transition Season is Looming Near

Every year in the Navy we have Transition Season. It's part of the year when we promote new people to E7. It's a six week period of legalized hazing -OK, mentoring and extended training. Long story short, my work hours for the next six weeks are going to change from 7am-3pm over to 5:30-5:30. Nice. I am going to try to alter these as much as possible, but sure as shit, this is going to be a lot tougher as a single mom.
So, today I attempted to pre-stage as much as possible so everything can be streamlined into the most efficient operation possible. I may move her bedtime back to 8pm so I can actually spend an hour or two with her a day.

Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.

She has a spoon and I have a spoon -and she still managed
 to wrestle away the bowl.

With such an extremely hectic week, I seriously spent most of the day just catching up on things that I was behind on. I was finally able to put things back to where they were before we left for Janyl's party.  We were also able to go participate in a car wash for work and still get to Mommy and Me class. However, with such a busy week, we did not get to Skype with anyone today. Tomorrow we will work it in. I have to get to base to buy some new uniforms. In the Navy, we switch colors twice a year -and as of about a year ago, we added on some new uniforms. A year ago, I was pregnant and bought (and wore) the maternity ones. Now, I am coming up on having to have the non maternity ones. Good thing this uniform only cost about $125 -plus $75 for the boots and another $150 for the foul weather gear.  I already have the boots and I am not buying the foul weather gear yet. But, I still need to be fitted and order all the cool little patches that have to go on them. So, tomorrow we will go get fitted and order everything -and then hop over to the commissary (on a payday weekend) to get groceries. I can't believe how she has been going through baby food. Most of it ends up either on her or up her nose. I have it divided up into three meals now. She gets fruit for breakfast, a protein for lunch and veggies with cereal for dinner.  And of course 4-6 bottles a day. One of the girls at Mommy and Me said she gives her baby breast milk in the morning and at night and then formula during the day. I have been adding an ounce of formula here and there to the breast milk as I need it to keep up. But, it seems to me this other way may be the way to go. I won't have to carry her milk with me everyday to the nanny. She already has formula over there for emergencies. I am thinking about just giving her half a dozen empty bottles and telling her to make her own. I will have to get her some Nursery Water, but even that's not as bad as carrying bottles every single day -and it saves me time by not having to mix everything all the time.

Anyway, today we worked on the word "no". She really has no concept of what the word means. I learned in class that most babies know what the word means and say it on a regular basis. While I don't necessarily want her to tell me "no", I do want her to listen when I say, "no". She kept grabbing at the little end table next to the couch. She really likes that she can pull and move it. So, she would grab at it and I would take her hand off of it and tell her "no". And she would grab again and I would do the same. She got really frustrated with me. She didn't know if I was playing or not. She was trying to smile and cry at the same time. I was really calm and level with her the entire time, but after about 25 times, I decided to move her away from it all together and give her something else to do. And then, as soon as she thought I wasn't looking, she tried it again. And, I calmly told her, "no" again. I am learning that she does not like to give in easily. I really hope I can aim her dedication and ambition in the right direction.

Seven Months Already

Man how time flies. I can't believe the girl is seven months old. This was an extremely busy week which ended with driving to the airport again tonight. I would not take back going, but adding an extra trip to the airport after working all day was tough on us. It kind of threw off nap schedule too. Lori is off to Florida again. It was almost bath time by the time we got home. Now, its sleep time. I am so exhausted. Tomorrow is Mommy n Me and hopefully we will be able to Skype with family. I am so glad the girl isn't allergic to cats. The really blurry picture above is her going after Diego. Diego, by the way, just got back from the vet and weighed in 2 pounds heavier than Annmarie.

Fast Like Lightning

Ummm...yep that's the cat's tail in her hand! And, yes, she was so fast she was blurry. The look of surprise on Lori's face was priceless. I can't believe it's only Wednesday. However, the girl will be 7 months old tomorrow...I think I may take her out to dinner. It depends on work. I haven't been able to catch my breath at work. Man, Outback sounds good. Hmm. Just realized her birthday isn't until Friday.  So much for Outback, but maybe I will bake something for her. I found so cool recipes that I sent to Aunt Marci. I may have to try one of them out.

Mommy's Back!

Annmarie did pretty well today. Lori says she lit Tara up when Lori dropped her off this morning. She may just be mad at Tara for not seeing her for two weeks. I say this only because she was mad at me when I came to pick her up. She got over it pretty quickly and then was content to curl up in my arms and hang out. I left work at lunch so I could pick her up and make it home without falling asleep driving. We got back and had a nice nap -together. I was so tired. The rest of the night was pretty well uneventful. We are still widening her pallet and steadily working with the sippy cup.

The girl's hair is still turning red-ish! ...and I really think her eyes are going to be gray.



First Day Back

Yesterday couldn't have been a better day. We laughed and played and shopped. All was well with the world. Bath went smooth. Baby amazed herself when she went from laying down to sitting up -"sit up" style. The fact that I was holding her feet down has nothing to do with her super human performance! The look of amazement was priceless. Everything was perfect, up until I was dressing her after her bath and jerked a blanket up that had a flashlight on it. I keep a flashlight near so I don't have to turn on the lights in the middle of the night. The flashlight flew through the air in slow motion, flipping smoothly
with the grace of an Olympic gymnast. Mommy feverishly dove for it...with no success -as it bee-lined for baby girls face.
With no success. Yes, it smacked her right in the head above her right eye. Man, did she cry. Man, did I suck. I was afraid to look at it. I thought for sure I gave her a black eye.
Thankfully, she was OK. Black eye adverted.
Today was my first day back at work...and Annmarie's first day back to Tara's. Tara bought a new house. So, we had to take her to the new place. Baby girl did not handle it well. She didn't remember Tara and didn't care for the strange house.  And to top it off, I have another 24 hour shift (today). This duty day, Lori picked up Annmarie after work and took her back home. So far, she is doing well. I still miss her alot. (Alot alot.)

Ouuuuu....Time to Baby Proof!

We are soooo in trouble. All these are from under a one hour timeframe.  Soo quick.

Aw, Who Needs a Nap Anyway?

The girl has a way of sneaking off. She likes to hide on the far side of the ottoman. She was going after a small piece of paper that was on the floor.

We went shopping today and spent lotsa money just to cash in on the $25 off coupons we had. It was fun. Our only other excitement was when the garbage truck woke Annmarie up from her nap. It scared the crap out of her. After that shocking wake up, she was very skittish for about an  hour. Then for her second nap, the dogs next door started barking and woke her back up. So, we went to bed early tonight -only for her to wake up again from the dogs.  

Another Day in Paradise

                       

Baby girl is ready to go onto another trip! We had a pretty nice day -filled with unpacking and arranging. We also made an excursion to the grocery store. Tomorrow we are going shopping! I have to get into Gymboree before the sale ends. We didn't make it to Mommy n Me today, but that's OK. Saturday will be great!

For some reason, the girl wasn't tired tonight after bath. So, we let her stay up a little. She was up until almost 9pm. Even at 9 she didn't want to go to sleep. But we pushed forward and she is now sleeping.

Aunt Lori is sick and I am hoping the girl can avoid catching it. We will see.



We got to Skype with Uncle Matt today! Yay Matt! We are starting the plans for this season's visits! Lori's parents are coming, then we have friends coming in from the Midwest, followed by Matt. We are still waiting on good words from Aunt Janyl.

Phew, Home At Last

After an entire day of flying, we made it safely home last night. The flight home was better than the outbound one. Except of course, US Airways is hard to travel on. We flew out on United and back on US Airways. United has their crap together better than US Airways, but they have a lot less room on the plane. US Airways tried to separate the girl and I on our Philly to San Diego leg. Yes, for those of you that don't know, I sprung for the extra ticket for the girl to make things easier. US Airways decided that I could sit in row 19 while the girl sat in row 31. Um. No. They fixed it by moving me to the last row (Row 33). Of course then they tried to double book one of those seats and expected me to just let go of her seat -with no offer of compensation or anything. Um no. After that debacle was handled, the flight was actually pretty smooth. Annmarie was a little cranky about an hour after we took off, but we were in the back row so I was able to isolate her enough to get her to go to sleep. We both slept for about two hours! Score! She cuddled up in a ball on her own seat and slept so peacefully. I felt bad when she woke up and had bloodshot eyes. But, she was in a much better mood. She did get a little restless around hour 4, but she made it thru. It was almost 9pm by the time I got her home, fed, bathed and down for the night. She was out like a rock.

Baby Girl loves pizza crust!

Today, was a typical adjustment day. She was very used to people holding her all day, so she expected it again today. She didn't want tummy time, but after a little prodding, we got her back into the swing of things. Her teeth/gums are bothering her a lot. I broke down and loaded her up with Orajel today.  Sore gums may have stopped us from taking a walk, but it didn't stop us from sitting outside and blowing bubbles! Tomorrow we are going to try and make a Mommy and Me class! I missed class on Saturday.

Touring Pennsylvania 18July

Aunt Marci chillin in Bellefonte

With all the visits everywhere, we really should have more pics.

I am still waiting on Nana to get us access to some of the pics we took of her and the girl.

I'm feelin froggie!

Great Grandma Kirk aka Grams in DuBois

Annmarie really took to Aunt Kayla who came up from West Virginia.

Little Drummer Girl!

Such a trooper. She was so tired by the time we made it over
to see Great Aunt Lisa in Punxsutawnie.

Janyl's Graduation Party

I am King of the Mountian!!

I love the dogs!

Aunt Kayla did my hair, but it didn't last long!

My favorite picture in a long long time!

Come on Aunt K, she's not a monkey!

We have arrived safely in PA and the girl has been having a blast! Today was the day of Janyl's Graduation Party at Black Moshannon National Park. And the pictures above of us 5 girls are the only pictures I have of the party. BUT, Annmarie did get to meet Great Grandma and Grandpa Witherite, our Great Uncle Ed and his wife, Mimi and Poppi, and Uncle Johnny and his family, and Great Aunt Jeanne, Great Aunt Bridget and her husband Great Uncle Mike, as well as baby Nora. Baby Nora was wearing purple which made you mistake her for your baby dolly (the one Janyl calls "crazy baby"). You were slightly frustrated with mommy because she wouldn't let you grab and play with the baby.

Uncle Johnny agreed to be your God Father -now Mommy just has to finish the classes.

Oh, The Glories of Airline Travel

I truly underestimated how hard it would be to travel with a baby. It was most difficult and I definitely learned a few lessons.
1) Don't try to pack everything you need. Try to pack only what you can safely carry while carrying a 20 pound squirmy baby.
2) Long lay overs are a must. It gives you time to feed and change baby and yourself.
3) Expect people to be mean and then be pleasantly surprised if they aren't.
4) The stroller was/is essential.
5) If you're breastfeeding, don't expect to find anywhere to do it.
6) Soft-sided coolers leak condensate as the gel packs thaw out.
7) I thought since she sleeps at night, it would be better to fly at night. This way she could sleep through the flight. Ha, fat chance. She was so over-stimulated by the new sights and sounds, there was no way she was falling asleep. It was a recipe for a melt down.
8) Airplanes do have changing tables in their bathrooms. Who knew?

We are now safely in Pennsylvania. After a day of jet lag we are no worse for wear. The girl still loves dogs.

Prestaging at it's Finest

Today was a lot of running. I was supposed to go to the girl's first music class today, but silly mommy went to the wrong class. It's OK though because the teacher was awesome. Annmarie had so much fun!She was quite the trooper today. Mommy had to finish the pre-packing, and the cell phone broke so we tried (unsuccessfully) to get it fixed. It feels like we did so much more...but in truth the only other thing we accomplished was a trip to Walmart to get some travel essentials. I am not quite sure where the day went, but we did get the pre-packing done. I have to redo it tomorrow because as we stand, Annmarie has the big suitcase and mommy has the little one. I would like to get down to one suitcase for the both of us for ease of travel. I pushed the girl today to try and get her ready for the long trip. She was so crabby tonight. It's all my fault for dragging her all around today. It was the stupid phone adventure. I took it to a store in Chula Vista and they sent me to Mission Valley...who sent me back to Chula Vista. I almost lost my temper with the lady. Annmarie did help me to maintain. Tomorrow we will go to the second Chula Vista location. I tried to get video of Annmarie's Army crawl...but she quit by the time I got the phone to work. It's ok, I will get it up soon.

Victory!

My first day of not feeling worn out -but I think I wore her out!



Today we hit Mommy n Me, and got the DVD player hooked up in my room, and the bed rails up (finally -and just in the nick of time). I also went into to Cold Water Creek -and spent a couple of hours getting a massage and a facial.

Lori offered to watch the girl so I could go to the spa. Ha ha -did she have a surprise. So, I bring the girl in around 8am and go over a few basics. Lori says she is going to just lay around for a bit. Heee hee. She really thought Annmarie was going to let her sleep a few hours. I guess right after I left the girl spit up all over Lori's bed, then tried to make her way off of the bed -then pooped everywhere. That's my girl, breakin' in the rookie. It seems she had a bit of an upset stomach today. She pooped three times. After the third time, she was a lot less cranky. Tomorrow we are going shopping for the rest of our travel gear.

Lori sent Janyl over some pics today. Man I wish they would post them so I could get them.



Leopard Cub

A little better today. The girl was still a little cranky after her shots yesterday. They gave her her first bruise. Man.  She is tough, but mommy was upset! Eddie and Sonia sent her this adorable Leopard Cub that she absolutely loves. The damn thing winks and purrs and opens it's mouth. Crazy...just crazy.

Feeding Baby on the Plane

Breast milk is in the same category as liquid medications.
When carrying formula, breast milk, or juice through the checkpoint, they will be inspected, however, you or your infant or toddler will not be asked to test or taste breast milk, formula, or juice. Our Security Officers may test liquid exemptions (exempt items more than 3 ounces) for explosives. Officers may ask you to open the container during the screening process.
When traveling with your infant or toddler, in the absence of suspicious activity or items, greater than 3 ounces of baby formula, breast milk, or juice are permitted through the security checkpoint in reasonable quantities for the duration of your itinerary, if you perform the following:

1. Separate these items from the liquids, gels, and aerosols in your quart-size and zip-top bag.
2. Declare you have the items to one of our Security Officers at the security checkpoint.
3. Present these items for additional inspection once reaching the X-ray. These items are subject to additional screening and Officers may ask you to open a container.

You are encouraged to travel with only as much formula, breast milk, or juice in your carry-on needed to reach your destination.
You are allowed to bring gel or liquid-filled teethers, canned, jarred, or processed baby food in your carry-on baggage and aboard your plane.

I will not go quietly into that good night.

Ah Dylan, something tells me you did not write this poem about your father. Dylan Thomas supposedly wrote the poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" to encourage his dying father to fight for life. I think he had a baby and was being sarcastic about how babies fight tooth and nail to not fall asleep.
Anyway, today we had our six month check up -and shots. Nice. It kinda caught me off guard. I didn't expect shots again, but I guess I should have known.  Doc says I am doing everything wrong. Not really, but sort of. She said that I was supposed to be giving her vitamin supplements because she is breast fed. OK. Now I know, now I will give them to her. She also said that I was supposed to be feeding her 2 servings of protein a day. And that I was supposed to start with meats, then introduce veggies, then fruits. Which is the exact opposite of what I was doing. Oh, and she's not supposed to be drinking juices because they are essentially all sugar. I should be giving her water in her sippy cup every day.
OK, let me go get my salt shaker -I am going to need a little additive for this one. I listened to the woman and went home and thought about it and started looking for my grain of salt. Then I reread the paperwork they gave me today. Right on the front page, it stated clearly fruits, veggies then meats. She just lost credibility, but I do understand her logic. Hmm. I am not too worried about the vitamin drops because she has had some formula. I did get the drops and give her some tonight. The juice thing, yes I kind of understand, but the water thing. Umm...didn't they yell at me just a couple of months ago about babies being intoxicated and getting brain damage from drinking water and jacking up her electrolyte balance??? Not to mention she can't drink California tap water because it's too harsh on her system.  Yes, I am still taking the advise with a grain of salt -and not verbalizing the ID-10T phrase rolling around in my head.
So, here are our stats: 18 pounds 5 ounces (78%), 28 inches tall (93%), head circumference of 44.2 cm (87%). They must have used a different scale because there is no way she lost weight. Our little girl was so active, she stole the doctor's badges and  stethoscope. She crinkled up all the paper on the exam table because it made some really cool sounds. And then, to top it off, the doctor was trying to make her lay down and she refused. She kept making her body straight and stiff so the doctor couldn't bend her to lay her down. She wanted to stand. That's my girl. She was really mad at the Corpsman that had to administer her 3 shots. He left and she quit crying. He came back and she lit him up again. Then she was good again while mommy waited for her vitamin drops. I should have given her Tylenol right away but she did pretty well after the last set that I didn't. Big mistake. We followed our routine but it didn't work. She didn't like her chicken. I even mixed it with cereal and drops. Then she was calm again until she rolled off of her mat and clocked her head on the floor. After that, it was all over. 45 minutes later, she was in bed in her PJs screaming. She was covered in chicken so it took that long to get her cleaned up and lotioned down. Don't ask. Another half hour of crying and she finally cried herself to sleep!

Grandpa sent up pics of the nursery today. He's so excited, so are we! I recommend keeping things neutral colored. It's probably the best way to talk the other girls into providing more grandkids! Very cool crib, we just have to lower it. Ol' girl will crawl right over those rails. You're gonna be surprised at how big she is. OK, I need to do research on how much baby food I can take on a plane. The rules on liquids are pretty odd.

From above: ID-10T = idiot.

Aunt Lori Comes Back Tonight!

What an exhausting day. Baby girl awoke at the butt crack of pre-dawn -I mean 4am. She is constipated and it is in the 90's outside. So, hot, sticky, uncomfortable baby...that after today's Casey Anthony trial decision, I made a point to come home and hug the girl. I have a couple of really big projects at work that I am trying to finish up before we go on our trip. I land at 9:43 am on Wednesday, and put the word out that I am trying to see Grams on the 18th. For now, it's back to work so I can put the house in order before Lori gets back. Her plane lands any minute.

Happy Fourth of July!

 Today was a very hot day! We went through three holiday outfits today -we also lost the really cool red, white and blue flower hair band Heidi  had made for us. This one bit the dust when the girl returned lunch. We tried chicken baby food today. Baby girl never likes anything on the first try, however, I can't say I blame her on this one. Chicken baby food looks and smells exactly like cat food. So much so that the cats were swarming -and wanted to play. She was literally gagging on it. So, we stopped. I then tried to disguise it with some peas. No cigar. The cats LOVED it -they thought I was giving them extra treats.  Later, for lunch, we tried fresh avocado. Score! She loved it -and I was able to get it off of my salad plate! Ewwww.

Our second outfit didn't make it past the bedroom. So, this was our third outfit. Cute and reusable on days other than today.
 This outfit made it through the water fountains, lunch and the way home, however that's where we lost a hair band.
We are pushing the anti-cat hair crusade. It's been nice. Not. I have been trying to keep the hair up. I will never own another cat -ever again. It's pretty challenging to try and keep the hair cleaned up and off of the baby. The baby gets covered in hair and then I have an allergy attack when I try to clean the hair off of her...and that's not to mention every time she sees a cat, she beelines towards it.
Now, its night and the fireworks are going off all around the house. Annmarie is freaking out and so are the cats. Here's your visual: crying baby, allergy headache with no meds, and three scared/jumpy cats that won't go more than 2 feet away. I am glad we didn't go anywhere to watch the fireworks. That would have been disastrous. She is almost back to sleep. 

Here, Kitty Kitty

Nice Kitty Kitty

I gotcha!

My Plump Patty

 Now I know I didn't leave her there. She has a way of learning everything backwards. I just hope her backwards scooting/crawling doesn't translate over to backwards reading...you know, when 'draw' becomes 'ward'. She is still totally captivated by her phonics. This section has us working on b words -like the one used to describe how hard it was to change out the car seats.  The section you see on the screen to the right, is of the 'ing' words. She is learning grammar -in the form of action words and some tenses.

  It  was worth it to see that smile on her face. She definitely likes it better than the rear facing one.  She fits in it better (with room to grow), she can see me and I can see her. Which means I can tell when she is sweating her butt off and don't have to try and guess what's wrong or right back there.   

Baby girl had a few really long naps today. I hope she isn't coming down with something. She was very cranky towards the end of our day. I just don't know what's going on with her. It's like she just quit teething, but now she's tired and worn out. How do you quit teething without getting any teeth? Strange baby. And can a baby be 'fat'? She has turned into quite the 'solid sally' or 'chunky monkey'. Geez, she's heavy now. She has her 6 month check up this week. I can't remember if it's Wednesday or Thursday.  I am ready for them to politely tell me, "Your baby is off the growth chart". Translation: She is still huge for her age. I think I am going to ask to see this famous growth chart they talk about all the time, but never produce.
The girl doesn't really care for bananas and cherries. Her system won't tolerate baby yogurt -she turned all speckled...oops.
She usually gets a veggie for lunch and fruit and cereal for dinner. She has only every had Gerber products -only because I usually have a lot of coupons for Gerber. For her cereal, she eats either single grain rice or oatmeal. She likes apples, strawberries, blueberries, strained raspberries, pears, pineapple (mixed with sweet fruit), plums, way ripe mango, white grapes, sweet potatoes, corn, beans, peas, squash, zucchinis, sometimes -rarely carrots.  I think I am supposed to be working more food into her diet, but I haven't really gotten around to it. She has never had sugar or sugar substitutes. Gerber baby yogurt is the only dairy product we tried. And, she has never had any meat, chicken, or fish. I think she may be ready to try chicken. For the fruits and veggies, (if Marci doesn't want to make them) they come in a plastic two pack. One plastic container lasts two feedings. So, I get four meals out of one two pack. For the cereal, we will just need a small container-she only eats one scoop per meal (day).

Big Girl Car Seat

Today was gorgeous. The weather was awesome, the girl woke up for her 5am feeding and went back to sleep- so did I. We decided to go to the beach today. My logic was that it wouldn't be super busy because people usually work on Fridays.  When we arrived, it wasn't crowded, but within an hour, the place was packed.  Annmarie loved it. I pushed her in  her stroller down the boardwalk and she was just captivated. She had a lot of fun. She didn't even mind my applying sunscreen all over every part of her. Mommy had frozen yogurt and baby doll had her rattle. All was right with the world. After a while, I decided it was getting too crowded. So we left and had lunch at Chili's.  I forgot how crowded San Diego gets for the Fourth of July. Baby girl sat by herself in the high chair and behaved very nicely. So, I rewarded her with a trip to Target. Of course we hit the clearance rack first! Then it was time to head over to pick out a big girl car seat. She has gotten too long for her current rear facing car seat. She is tall enough and weighs enough for a front facing, but the book that came with the car seat said not to put the baby front facing until she reaches a year old. I am going to do some research, but either way she is too long for her current seat. I just want to make sure the restrictions aren't based on a neck issue or something like that.
She has a bassinet and a co-sleeper/playpen thing. The bassinet is still in the upper position -meaning the mattress is only 9 inches from the top of the sides. The co-sleeper was already moved to the lower position so she can't pull herself up or grab at the top of it. I usually put her in the bassinet while I 'make lunch' so I can see her and she can still play. Today, she tried to pull herself out. No she was not successful, but it still scared the crap out of me. I hadn't realized she was to that stage. So, here's my dilemma: do I let her stay in the higher bassinet so she can learn/practice pulling herself up but just move it closer to me, or do I lower the bassinet so she can't pull herself up? She's growing up too fast.
Also, I saw the first sign of allergies today. A few sneezes and some watery eyes. I am going to keep extra care on the cat hair and an extra sharp eye on her to make sure she doesn't have/develop anything more serious than watery eyes.