First Day at Patrick Wade Child Development Center

Today was Annmarie's first day at a Day Care.  Mommy picked out a brand new one just for you! You were pretty scared and not happy with me when I left you. I went back to peek in and drop off your blankey and you were still crying. Mommy couldn't help but say to heck with being on time. I stayed and rocked you for a while to calm you down. Man, it was heart breaking. There were no other babies in your room, so you were lonely too. Then, after about a half hour more, Mommy tired to leave again, and you got upset again. Mommy likes the place because it was very clean, but the color schemes are not very kid friendly. Everything is beige and light brown. Mommy thinks things need to be bright and cheery with lots of primary colors. Mommy loves that there are 50+ cameras in the building. From the lobby you can check in on every room at the same time. There are monitors all over the lobby. Mommy found the baby girl's monitor right off. On Wednesday, Mommy will hopefully be able to find out how to go online and check in on the girl anytime! Mommy left work early to come back and pick you up. She couldn't stand that you were having a rough day. When Mommy arrived at the center, she discovered they moved you to a room with other babies! You were playing and making friends. You did nap a lot more than normal today so we will see if you sleep through the night. You are also getting used to the new bedtime. Mommy likes the later bedtime because she gets to spend more time with you. As a special treat, Mommy took you outside for a walk and then blew bubbles for you!

Wakey Wakey Mommy

This is the girl at 6am wondering why mommy isn't up yet. And yes, she stood up all on her own. She is weeks away from walking! I have giggled around her schedule a little...and her diet for that matter. I realized at Mommy and Me, that I was a little behind on her food evolution. All the other kids her age were regularly eating finger food. So, yesterday we let her dictate the sleep schedule. And this meant one nap in the morning and a second nap around 5pm...and a full night's sleep for mommy! Score! And today we added in a lot of finger foods. I made sure to stay with foods that we already knew she was not allergic to. She had diced boiled apples, little Gerber chicken fingers, yogurt drops and banana puffs. She did pretty good. She doesn't understand only putting one thing in her mouth at a time. She's pretty funny to watch. She will try to put it in her mouth and miss and drop it but not know she dropped it. So she ends up sucking on her fingers. I am glad she doesn't have teeth.

Easy Days

Today was nice. I got all the chores done and spent some quality time with the girl! She is such a good baby. She's not hyper, mean or bad in any way.  I think that's why it's so hard for me to believe all the excuses out of the prior care giver's mouth. I am sorry she had to go through that. I should have taken her out of there long ago. I have been trying to get all my paperwork together for Annmarie's check in. Some of the paperwork is at work. I am debating if I should go in tomorrow and get it or wait until Monday and go in earlier than I already planned. Monday is going to be so busy. If I worked closer to home it would be a no brainer. I still have to get groceries tomorrow and would like to work in Skype time. I still need to get her shot record updated, too. It would have been really nice to get all the running done today so we could just chill tomorrow. I moved her naps around today. I let her take one in the morning around 9am, then moved her afternoon nap to 5pm so I could put her to bed at 8pm instead of 7pm. I think it will help her sleep in later. Tara was letting her sleep 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. I cut her down to an hour both naps. I worked pretty well, except that I forgot to eat dinner again.

Here's a link to the center:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LzDGz2cNzM

On the upside, this place is really close to work, so if I did have to go into work tomorrow to pick up paperwork, I could do a dry run and scope the place out from the outside.

Crappy Care Takers Beware!

I say care taker because there's no way she was giving care. Well, let's see, I had a command picnic today and only had to go into work for an 8am meeting and a 9am work group. So, I dropped the girl off late and let ol' girl know that I would be back around 1pm to pick her up. So, work went good -and quick so I left work around noon to go pick up the girl.
Hmmm....this is where it gets interesting. So, I pull up and no one's home. But, that's not the best part. I look at the house and there are huge stickers and tape all over the door and windows. The signs on the stickers say, "TOXIC FUMES DO NOT ENTER". The stupid b word was having her house soft tented with toxic chemicals and thought she could hide it from me. The signs listed the chemicals on them...they damn sure weren't child friendly or organic or anything remotely OK for a baby that crawls on the floor and puts everything in her mouth.  So, I call her and she doesn't pick up. I sit in her driveway for another 15 minutes -in 85 degree heat. Finally she calls back and says she is "putzing around in La Mesa" and will be back soon. She pulls in about 10 minutes after 1. By now I am pissed and fuming. She walks up and rips the tape off of the door and carries her sleeping 3 year old daughter in to lay her down.
AUFKM?
So, I go to her minivan and open the door and the stench of poop nearly knocks me down. So, I fish around for a diaper so I can change her...and there are none. So, I go to pick her dripping hot sweaty body up anyway and take her to my car (she's not going in that house) -and I find a dead bee wrapped up in her blanket. So, I put her in her car seat with the air on to cool her down. And turn to Tara to ask her when she intended to tell me she was fumigating her home. She had the audacity to say that she didn't have to tell me. She said the guy said she just had to air her home out. Her home does not air out. She does not have air conditioning and she lives at the base of a mountain. Which means there is no breeze-hence Annmarie's recent heat rashes. Excuse me if I am wrong, but I think it's my decision if and when she goes into a home that is freshly sprayed for pests.
You wanna know why she was trying to hide it from me? Because it explains all the bites all over the baby's face.
Anyway, I then told her yes she did have to tell me. Duh. Then she popped off with, "It's not going to hurt her, you need to lay off. Babies get bumps and bruises." I have no idea how we jumped to that, but OK. You want it, you got it. It was on. I unloaded on her. Listed off all of the recent bumps and bruises and told her that many items was not normal...it was neglect. She said that I should leave and not bring her back. I got into her face and told her to pack Annmarie's shit. She started to throw her stuff in the front yard and I told her that if she didn't stop I would drag her face across the pavement. I then told her that if it was good enough for my baby -it was good enough for her. She then calmly put our stuff in my car. I changed the baby on the seat of the car and then we left.
I got home and started unpacking everything only to find a half full (warmed) bottle with 2 black ants in it. She made me think I was losing my mind with the bites. Lori and I paid ALOT of money to have the house sprayed with non-toxic, baby/animal safe chemical alternatives thinking she got bit here. When she first got the bites, I asked her and she played dumb. Did I mention the bottle had a nipple and cap on it. Which means the ants were in there prior to putting the formula and top on. If Annmarie wasn't here with me, or if Lori were here to watch her, I would have driven back over there and stomped her ass.
So, luckily I had already started the ball rolling to get different child care. There was just no opening until September 19. Now, I have her in a brand new private military facility. Supposedly, I can go online and log in and look at her via video cameras anytime I want. And, they are subsidized, so the military will pay a portion of it. And, they provide food so I don't have to carry that back and forth anymore.
And, once I got the girl situated, I called the state board and lodged a complaint.

Is It Friday Yet?

Well, I started the search for new child care today. I told my current provider that it is just too far to drive everyday.Which it is too far to drive.  It's just a little tricky because I don't want her to take an attitude with Annmarie while I wait out the two weeks. And, I picked her up with another mark on her. Today it was a mark on the back of her hand. I held my temper. Even though the red mark on her hand was pretty mild today, if I have to find one more mark, I will stomp the 'caregiver'. Period. I am done. I have plenty of vacation days if I need to take a few days off to find new child care. And, Lori is here to bail me out of jail. It was really hard to not go after her today.

Even an Earthquake Can't Compare to Annmarie's Teething

There was a huge earthquake on the east coast today. It's the first one in almost a century! To us, it's no big deal...to those back east, everyone is spastic. Annmarie is steadily trying to get her teeth in. Yesterday was brutal. Today was a little better. However, she did come home with another 3 inch long scratch on her thigh. Tara said she did it on the concrete. If that were true, this is the second time she hurt herself on the concrete behind Tara's house. Getting hurt twice in the same way isn't acceptable. However, I can't see how she got it crawling on concrete because it is too far up her thigh. It looks like she got caught on a sharp edge of something.
After the first cut (about 1/2 inch long running up her big toe onto the top of her foot), Lori said I was overreacting because kids get scrapes. This one is about 4 inches long and 1 mm across with these long scrapes at the edge. It looks like a perpendicular brush stroke at the bottom of the scrape. Then Lori let it slip that when I had my last 24 hour shift, Ella hit her in the face with a book.
What's my hesitation, you ask? I don't want to move her and have it be worse. And, Tara is really flexible with my ever changing work hours. Nevertheless, this weekend I am going to start looking for someone new. I need someone closer to the house anyway. I am tired of living 20 minutes away from work but having it take an hour to get to work everyday. Yes, Tara lives in the opposite direction from where I work and live -huge gas bills.

Oh, on the world events side: Libyan rebels stormed Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli he was nowhere to be found. The hunt for the missing Libyan dictator may now take them underground - literally.

Teething Secrets

The secret to soothing a teething baby's gums: Cool cucumbers

We have been so caught up in the CPO season that we totally missed Nana and then Great Grandma Kirk's birthdays. I am sorry. We love the both of you and I will make up for it.
We also haven't had time to Skype lately. Tomorrow won't be any good, but I should be able to carve out time on Tuesday.

Our baby girl has been teething. Hopefully this time she will cut some teeth. She was whiny and cranky all day. The only thing that soothed her was letting her gum a pickling cucumber. She went through 4 of them -which is fine. She really loves them and they are better for her than carrots.
After that I had to get her out of the house. I took her to the fountains. I sat her in the middle of them and she laughed and laughed. She eventually tried to get up and crawl over them. Of course, the concrete was hard on her knees so she crab crawled around. I bet in another couple of months she is running around in them. I wish I was able to get pictures, but I don't dare get distracted with a camera while she is in water and concrete. When she is bigger, I will get pictures.
She has grown so much that the 9 month old clothes no longer fit. So, this weekend, I had to go shopping again. I didn't dare buy anything under 12 month size. When she tried on one of her 12 month outfits today the pants are tight. I am glad I got some 18 month stuff too.
One of Lori's airman is having a baby girl. So, I found a home for the $160 swing that Annmarie is too big for.
The girl is growing developmentally too. Her long term memory is developing nicely. She also understands the word no. She waits until you aren't looking to try it again. If I ask her to show me her foot, she holds it up. You should see her try to do that while she's standing. Oh, yes -she pulls herself up to the standing position. She hasn't quite got the balance to stand on her own, but that will come. She scoots around furniture holding on for dear life. So cute. Above is a picture of her new toy. It's developed for so she can stand behind it and push it around. The problem is that she loves playing with the things on the front of it and you can't do that if you are pushing it. I call that a design flaw.
I am also coming to the end of breastfeeding. While she is with Tara she is totally on formula. And, I am starting to transition her over at home too. It's time and my schedule has been so totally full that it's becoming too hard. I can honestly say I have been trying really hard to give her the best. I have been getting some pretty bad headaches lately and need to be able to take the big girl pills to get them back under control.

I Love My Giraffe!

Look Mom, I ate all my carrots!

This giraffe is my favorite toy! Today I recognized the word giraffe when I saw it on my phonics lesson. I drag my giraffe all over the living room. I get frustrated when I can't make him sing. He sings the alphabet when I push his belly. His neck is the perfect size for me to wrap my arms around. He fits perfectly in the crook of my arm! I surprised my mom today when I said, "ba ba" in reference to my bottle! I also came home from my caregiver's with a fat lip and a skinned up toe. My mommy wasn't happy but I am OK.  

So Tired

I really don't know where the energy comes from. My 24 hour shift was nice and calm. I couldn't have asked for a better shift. None the less, I was so exhausted. I have been sucking at taking pictures lately. I will make up for it tomorrow.
The girl has officially moved into 12-18 month clothing. She is growing so big so fast. I didn't get off base until after 3pm. I was surprised that I was so awake. I got to Tara's just after the girl fell asleep. I know Tara was trying to talk to me and stretch out the visit so the girl could sleep. I definitely had other plans. I wanted to get home before my energy left and I was too tired to drive. So, I went into the playroom and gently scooped her out of her playpen. She woke up and cried for about two seconds. After that, she looked up with tears in her eyes and just smiled -a huge, warm, loving smile. She sang most of the ride home. Our night was just as nice. She was so loving and cuddly. I really hate leaving her. I really love her laugh -and every other thing about her.
When we finally got home I made a definite point to give her as much attention as I possibly could. She was so happy to spend time with me, but not nearly as happy as I was to hang out with her. During her bath we played with her toys and she laughed out loud every time I pushed her ball under the water and let it pop up to the surface. She thought it was hilarious. She spent so much time in the tub that I had to heat the water back up.
Once she went to sleep, I had to start the mad flurry to catch up on everything. I still had half wet clothes in the dryer. Lori is awesome and I love that she cares enough for Annmarie to take care of her at a moment's notice. However, she hasn't been doing this very long and she doesn't know to reset everything. So, when I got home nothing was ready for her. So, I had to run around and do things like fill the viles for the bottle warmers and take the luke warm ice packs out of the upstairs cooler and put them back into the freezer for tonight. There are so many little things that constantly need done just to keep things running smoothly. Yesterday is the exact reason why I work so hard to keep everything preset. Lori was able to make everything run smoothly for an entire day because everything was laid out in a neat, orderly manner. And, she was in such a good mood today so I was able to muddle through even though nothing was ready.

Military Surprises

Experts say to vary your schedule to avoid unnecessary security risks. We are going to chalk today up into that category. The girl has been getting up to eat in the middle of the night. So, I have been slowly weening her away from eating in the middle of the night. Last night, I decided to watch a movie with Lori. So, I was up late, but figured that it was ok because there was nothing on the schedule for today. Hmm. Mistake Number 1. So, I went to bed around 11pm. Only to be awoken at 3, 5 and 7 by the girl. The 3am feeding went well. I only gave her two ounces and put her back down. She went back fairly easily. At 5am I gave her 4 ounces and she went back down on her own. (That was Mistake Number 2.) This should have been at least 6-8 ounces. As the snowball gets bigger she then wakes up at 7am. This time I decided to give her 4 ounces and some real breakfast -fruit and rice. Which she didn't want because she was upset and maybe over-hungry. Then we get a phone call. Hmm. It seems someone changed my 24 hour schedule without telling me -no phone call, no email...no notice whatsoever. Oh, and you're already an hour late. So, then mommy had a fit and baby pushed passed the point of no return. Mommy had no choice but to find someone at the last minute and go in. Luckily God put Lori on this planet! So, Lori saved me...even though the girl was throwing a fit. And, yes, it was a huge fit. So, as I was pulling my uniform out of the washer I tired my "bestest" to get things situated while the girl was spastic. Supermom was able to get her fed (8 ounces), to sleep and get dressed and to work in under 2 hours. I think Lori was a little intimidated -and I don't blame her. I could not leave her there with a crying baby. Did I mention that Annmarie was pretty spastic? Now I am 7 hours into a 24 hour shift that is butted up against a work day -and am utterly exhausted. I am going to try and sneak in a nap.

The Calm Before the Storm

Monday I work back in Point Loma, which means I step back into the whirlwind of season. So we worked really hard today to get all of our chores done. I really want to be able to spend the entire day tomorrow hanging out and Skyping.

Last Day of Easy Schedule

Oh beautiful baby! It is finally Friday and mommy couldn't be more happy! I got off work early today and spent the afternoon with my favorite baby in the whole wide world. She's a very 'hit and miss' kinda girl. Yesterday, she was very content to play with her toys and hang out with me. Today, however, she had to get into everything. She was not content to play with her toys. She had to try and get into everything and crawl everywhere. She was very insistent on trying to stand up and also pull everything off of everything. After about an hour and a half of chasing after her to save her from herself I decided to put her into the stroller and go for a walk. Nice. She was calmer. Then we came back and exercised in a constructive way.  She has claimed my robe as her new favorite blanket. She loves snuggling with it. That's what she is covered up with in the picture above. I am so lucky she's such a good baby.

Her rash is nearly gone! 

Separation Anxiety

We are entering the phase where most children get separation anxiety. Annmarie is learning object permanence. This is the 'thing' that triggers separation anxiety. The funny thing is that she cries for Tara -not me. Hmmm.  OK. And then later, she cried when I left the room. I felt better, but I still feel like I work too much. So, we played lots and lots tonight! This week Aunt Lori has an odd schedule so we haven't seen her since Sunday. For the record, I am really glad that Annmarie is so comfortable with her daytime caregiver.

Smooth Recovery

Last night wasn't as rough as I thought it would be. Nice. The temperature was dropping and I couldn't chance leaving her to sleep in just a diaper. So, my creative yet simple solution was to put her into a 'sleep sack' and zip her up! It was warm and easy to get her into without waking her up. The next step was to get some cereal into her so she would sleep for a lot of hours. I pulled the creative feather on this one, too. I put a scoop of cereal into her bottle and fed her a fruity breast milk cereal smoothie.  No spoons, no bowls, no mess but a filling meal...at 1am.  This meant that she slept long enough to wake up happy. So, today was nice and smooth!
These are pictures of us playing Peek-a-Boo. She kept coming around and trying to get me! In the bottom picture I was having trouble moving back fast enough and she almost got me!

Playing Peek-A-Boo around the ottoman.

Oops! She's gonna get me!

First Time With a True Sitter!

Tonight we had our first experience with a true sitter. When I say 'true sitter' I mean a real life high school student baby sitter. You see I got a call last night telling me I had to be at a spouse meet and greet event tonight. So, I tapped one of my friend's kids. A very nice, respectful and smart girl -that failed to listen and adhere to Annmarie's schedule. Betcha she doesn't do that again. I had to come home to a screaming baby that was way too tired, didn't eat her dinner or have a bath. She was so tired she wouldn't let them dress her in PJ's. So, she's naked, asleep -without dinner. Ten dollars says she's up in an hour hungry as all get up. I haven't decided if I am going to try and give her dinner or not. It will make her all messy and then I will have to try and clean  her before I put her back to bed. However, she is already naked, so it's not like I have to worry about her getting it everywhere. The bad side of that is that the temperature is dropping and I have to wake her to dress her anyway.
I talked to the pediatrician yesterday. She said that I can bring her in if she gets anymore. But, she said the best she could do is give her an allergy skin test. She said that she wouldn't be able to tell for sure if they were bites or a reaction. I am seriously thinking of switching pediatricians. Maybe one not at Balboa would be more receptive.

Sunday Bliss

Can you spot the little trouble maker in this photo?
Yep, Diego in the lower right corner!

Mommy, this is my new pedestal. Can you please put me up on it?

Today was beautiful out. Not too hot, not too cold, not a cloud in the sky...beautiful. We finally caught up with Skype! We Skyped with both sets of Grandparents. Grandma Judy sang to you...which you promptly disconnected the feed. Of course, it was accidental -while climbing on the keyboard. Then you puked on the very same keyboard while Nana and Grandpa were playing with you. Then you stole the show by crawling for everyone! You have also been trying to pull yourself up on everything. I look for my you to walk very soon, my love.
This week Mommy works on 32nd Street and not at the Point Loma base. This is good because it's 20 minutes closer and I get a break from season (so I can sleep in an extra hour this week). That is...if you let me sleep in.
You got another bump. This one on your earlobe. I am really getting concerned. I can't figure out where they are coming from. Lori and I aren't getting bit by anything. I wonder if it's some sort of reaction to something. I don't think it's heat rash because it would be on your butt first. Diapers make babies butts really warm. Tomorrow I am calling the pediatrician to see what she says.

But Maw...I'm Thirsty!

I think I have the most determined and relentless child on the planet. I am steadily working on the word, 'no'. She just doesn't quit. I politely and calmly tell her, 'no' time after time. And time after time, she goes straight back to the thing she isn't allowed to have.  She understands the difference in my tone and delivery, just not the meaning. She doesn't know what to make of it. She will smile and try to make me play and then get frustrated with me.

I am trying to redirect this determination towards potty training. She does like her potty chair -so that's a good sign. She is getting better with her sippy cup. I am planting the seeds for several mile stones.

Skype wasn't working well today. We will try again tomorrow. Sorry guys. 

Rashes, Rashes, we all fall down!

Yesterday the girl came home from Tara's with a bunch of bumps all over the side of her face. I can't tell if it's a rash or a bunch of bites. Not too sure, but today she came home with 2 more bumps on her thigh. I tried to soak her in a cool oatmeal bath tonight, but she wasn't having it. She was very cranky today. Tara tried to take her to the beach and had to give up and bring her back home. Tonight, she didn't even make it to 6:30pm. But, she has been eating like a hostage. She must be on a growth spurt. This is what our night consisted of: eat, scream, eat, refuse to bath, eat, pass out. Oh, and fall down and bang head on ottoman. And eat. Between the heat, teething and the bumps she is just miserable. I gave her extra Mum Mum treats tonight. They are these really cool mini surfboard looking rice treats. They are perfect for her little hands -and she loves the taste of them.

Season's In Swing

I can not believe how incredibly busy work has been. This is my seventh "CPO Season" and my first as a Mommy. One of the new people going through the 'induction' side of season just gave birth on 25July. She did run the two mile stretch with us today, but then disappeared soon afterwards. (Wonder why.)

We had trouble in the past with the girl waking up at 4:30 am -and then Mommy getting up at 5:30. When she does this I can't get back to sleep. Well, that's not a problem anymore. Now that we are in Season, I am up at 4:30 anyway. :-)....and now she sleeps.

We have been trying to Skype with family members for a couple of days now. Things just haven't worked out. But, hopefully tomorrow we will be able to do it. I am going to text and let people know, but it will probably be somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30 East Coast time.

Yesterday, the girl gave me hell. I think she was in cahoots with the cats. She got into the cats' water dish. I picked her up and brought her into the kitchen where I was working. While I was distracted with her, Mimi managed to pry open the sliding screen door. Then her and Momo dashed out to the front yard. I ran out to get them before they really ran off. At which time, the girl made a dash for the wet cat food. She got a whole hand full of it into her mouth before I was able to get my it away from her.

Today, the girl came home with a mysterious rash on her face. I really hope it's just heat rash and not a reaction to something she ate. It was so hot last night I broke down and turned on the air conditioning. And yes, the air conditioning is still on. The cats really miss Lori. They keep trying to get my attention by doing things like tripping me and/or nipping at my ankles. I almost tripped with the girl today due solely to Momo.  

These next six weeks are going to be rough.

Annmarie has been making more sounds. She is developing very nicely in the language department. Yesterday she started making 'F' sounds. Next we are going to start working on 'L' sounds.