So, Mom came home last night to some crazy salsa-esque music drifting through the house as the Nugget ate her dinner. Dad informed Mom that Wednesday was now "Caliente" Wednesday courtesy of our digital cable music channel. This helped Mom when she made brownies for a hospital bake sale and many tiny cakes for Mrs. B's numerous brithday celebrations.
For all of you out there wondering, tonight was Hip Hop Thursday..........
Creeping up on Alex's numero uno - only one week to go!
This week was a another busy one - full of purchases.
Saturday morning the family took a quick jaunt around Columbia in the rain and visited several garage sales. Mom spotted a practically new play kitchen and had $18 left to spend. The woman wanted $50 (really?). Mom said NO DEAL and left. Thinking more about it, she ended up hitting the ATM and got $20 more and headed back. This time Mom offered $35, final answer. The lady wanted $40 and Mom was prepared to walk. The lady ended up taking $35 and threw in some extra play food, this put Mom in a very good mood. We also picked up some great kid clothes that looked pretty new at another sale.
Saturday evening, the family attended the 2nd Annual Taste of the Market, which was a creative mix of Posh Columbians and Tree Hugger Columbians. Mrs. B enjoyed the music and people watching and even got a surprise hug from a random little girl.
Mom got some new glasses (finally) since the prescription was forever outdated and she needed to use her pre-tax, flexible spending account money from work. Being a creature of habit, Mom settled on glasses that look very similar to the ones she used to have.
Speaking of glasses, Mrs. B has a new set of glasses thanks to the Little Ladies of Kansas City - Kate and Lo. We have started calling them her "nerd glasses" and from the pics, you can see why...
The new car seats arrived from an online retailer. We purchased two Britax Boulevards in Madison. We're not wild about the fabric color, but it's very soft, safe and we got a great deal!
Mom also picked up a piece of furniture and some colorful canvas cubes for Mrs. B's room. We're hoping this will be a good place to store clothes and toys out of sight.
Alex's eating has dramatically improved! Water intake is up and breast milk intake is going down, which is normal. She's added the following to her repertoire: cream cheese, homemade baby meatballs, homemade yogurt cereal bars, pancakes, apple slices, cottage cheese, string cheese and watermelon ice cream!
Taking a page from the Barbaro's, Michael made a sensory board for Alex, see pics below. Random pieces of hardware stuck to a board makes for hours of play!
We have a final One Year Well Child Check-Up on 8/13 and will report back with the stats. At this appointment we hope to have clearance for whole milk, egg whites, chocolate, honey and peanut butter among other things.
We've been very busy and expect to continue the frenetic pace into August. Hopefully, we can get back into the groove of weekly postings (at least until someone turns one!).
Looking back on July:
Friday July 10 - dinner with the Barbaro's at Osaka in Columbia - yum, sushi! J got a very nice electric griddle for making tons of pancakes....wait, who was this present for?
Sat July 11 - the family went to the Mid America Harley Davidson Street Fair benefiting MU Children's Hospital - Alex received her first tattoo! See pic below of Nemo on her foot.
Monday July 13 - after an exciting weekend of chores and the street fair, A woke up pretty cranky, which is unusual. Mom dosed her with some Tylenol (thinking she could be teething) and her mood improved.
Tuesday July 14 - after 24 hours of pain management with Tylenol, Mom called the doctor. One quick visit later,we discovered Alex had small blisters in her throat as a result of a "summer virus". They have seasonal viruses now? She recovered quickly and was Tylenol free after Wednesday.
Saturday Jul 18 - the Maag's and the Hardy's celebrated Grandma Hardy's birthday in Kirksville with cupcakes and a cookout.
Tuesday July 21 - Grandma Hardy, Andrea, Katie and Nicholas traveled to Columbia for a doctorsappointment and some shopping. Grandma got to see the daycare and everyone ate dinner at Shakespeare's since Flatbranch was too crowded - A had her first taste of pizza and sat still in the high chair for all of the meal!
Thursday July 23- Boone County Fair - saw some farm animals, watched the pig races, ran into Erin & Ava Barbaro. Alex was a bit too small for the rides, but she enjoyed people watching and didn't get to bed until 9pm!
Friday July 24 - Mom took the day off and visited the eye doctor with Baby A in tow. Both of us had our eyes checked out. Mom has a new prescription and new glasses on the way. Alex had her eyes dilated and is very far sighted, which is good for a child her age. No cataracts, glaucoma, retinal tumors or eye turns (lazy eye). Alex will go back when she turns three. For more about the program sponsoring the free infant eye exams and our doctor Karen McHargue, click here
On the way home from the eye doctor, A fell asleep and J's car was rear-ended by a clueless, but nice lady. Everyone was inching towards a green light and she didn't stop inching. Of course, this occurred at the THE busiest intersection in Columbia on Stadium in front of the mall. After a quick survey of the damage, J took the lady's info, but figured nothing appeared to be damaged.
Sat & Sun 7/25 & 26 - Trip to Kansas City to see the Bohr's - this trip has been rescheduled at least once for weather and twice for various kid sicknesses. Twin 6 year old's Kate and Lauren enjoyed calling Alex "Mrs. B" and had a great time entertaining her. We all ate dinner at d'Bronx and had fun catching up with Ken and Christine.
EXTRAS:
Talking into cups - Alex has started babbling into containers - cups, bowls, whatever. She holds it to her mouth and chats away. It's pretty funny to see - we will try to capture on video and post.
Table food drama - Alex is getting ready to transition to the ONE YEAR OLD room at her daycare, which is a big deal in the daycare world. Part of the criteria is age, mobility, ability to eat table food and cutting out bottles. Two out of four aren't bad, right? Alex is walking and will soon be one, but she's not so much into the table food and would probably be content to eat jarred baby food as long as we offered it. So, we've cracked down on operation TABLE FOOD and moved from bottles to sippy cups of breast milk. We've figured out she will eat (or at least try food that are large and crunchy vs. small and squishy.
HITS: half of a banana, watermelon chunks, bagel chips, rice cakes, half of a sweet potato, cheese, plain toast, eggy bread, muffins.
MISSES: peas, pineapple, avocado. The jury is still out on cream cheese, bagels, pancakes, Gerber Graduate meat sticks (ugh), spaghetti, green beans.......stay tuned!
HappyFourthofJuly everyone! Aunt Allison and Miles popped in for a visit this weekend. Alex enjoyed the visit and playing with her new stainless steel cooking set, complete with cooking utensils.
It's been an interesting week here....
Monday night the $200+ breast pump stopped working at 2am and Mom hauled ass to Wal-Mart to get a hand pump in the interim (yeah, the kind you have to power yourself). Luckily the expensive electric pump was still under warranty and a replacement arrived quickly.
Wednesday afternoon, our air conditioner seemed to be working way too hard and we called someone to check it out. After a few small adjustments and a pound of coolant, we were back in business.
Thursday night, Alex got nailed between the eyes by a mosquito and has a big, itchy red bump.
Friday night, Alex started walking (see Breaking News post below)
