a recap of months 8-11

I feel like such a bad mom :( I haven't updated this since month 7! And its unfortunate because SO MANY things have happened with our girl!


I don't even know where to start. Since my last update, she has done SO MUCH!! She had her first Halloween, where she got to go to a Halloween party (as a ladybug!) with all of her little friends :) She went to a pumpkin patch THREE times (cause mom is a little obsessed with Fall and taking pumpkin patch photos!) And on Halloween night, Mommy had to work so Daddy took her around to a couple of houses in the neighborhood where she got some candy (and unknowingly shared it all with us :P Around the beginning of October she was already pulling herself up and standing. Shortly after this, she started cruising furniture (oh boy!)



In November, she took her very first plane ride when we flew to Orlando, Florida for a mini family vacation/convention. She did awesome! On the way there, we had to hold her on the flight down which was a little rough since she is a very active little girl. She did great though for the most part, only getting cranky the last half hour or so because she was tired. She had a blast in Florida! She was loving our big hotel room, and loved having free reign to explore the room. We did not go to any Disney parks this trip, but we did go to Seaworld which she really seemed to enjoy (although she fell asleep during the best show -- Shamu!) She also did amazingly well with our busy schedule while we were there. She's very much a "creature of habit" baby when it comes to her night time schedule, but she did so good for how far we pushed her with keeping her up later every night. We were very proud of our little monkey!


In December was her first Christmas! She was so spoiled from everyone, and our house contents seemed to double in size over night with just toys! She had a lovely holiday though, and made Christmas even better for US! Holidays truly are that much more special when you have a child :) Right before the holidays, she also suffered her first "real" sickness. While at the doctor for her flu shot, we discovered she had an ear infection and was put on antibiotics for 10 days. Luckily it cleared up quickly and we were good as new by Christmas. Other than that, she's only had a couple of colds her firt year. We've been blessed with one healthy little lady!


January was an exciting month for little Miss A -- her biggest milestone? Walking! Yep. She started walking shortly before she turned 11 months old. We knew she would walk before her 1st birthday as she's always been a determined little girl, so it was no surprise to us that after just a few short days of taking small steps, suddenly she was walking straight across the room and then all over the place! Mommy took her to the mall to celebrate by purchasing her very first pair of "real" shoes :) Daddy wasn't too thrilled at the price tag, but hey -- she deserved them! She was very unsure about walking in them at first, but picked it up very quickly.


Also in January, she took her second plane right. This time, we flew out west to Colorado to visit Audrey's great grandparents and her great GREAT grandma. What a neat thing! Not too many people can say they've met their great great grandparents. Audrey's grandma also flew in from Arizona for a few days, so she got to spend a lot of time with family. She really seemed to enjoy being around everyone, and really loved being able to walk all over the house and play with the dogs. She did pretty well on both flights considering they were longer. She only got antsy towards the end when she wanted to get down and play. She was such a ham though, and was having fun standing on our laps and staring and waving at all the people behind us..what a goof!

strawberry hemangioma...update!

On my blog, I have a little stat tracker. Mostly just to see if anyone actually reads this thing. Not that it matters, I do it for myself (mostly). I've come to terms with the fact that I will never be a "popular" blogger with thousands of followers who don't even know me -- but, they find my life interesting enough to keep coming back. I guess I should probably update more than once a month if that, but hey...a girl can dream, right? ;)

Anyway, I digress. So, I did notice, however, that a lot of people visiting my blog on a pretty regular basis are strangers (hi, avid googlers!)..and they found me via my original post on Audrey's strawberry hemangioma. I'm assuming they are looking for information themselves (cause really, why else would someone google "strawberry hemangioma"?). So, because of this, I thought I'd do an update about it, incase anyone going through a similar situation might be looking for some sort of help, if you will.

If you recall my blog post from several months ago, we hadn't done anything about Audrey's hemangioma. Her pediatrician said it was nothing to worry about, and that we would just watch it.

Fast forward to end of July, beginning of August. Our little wild child started crawling, and thus, bumping her head on things. Because of this, we became slightly terrified that if she were to bump her head hard enough, and in the right spot, her hemangioma could burst open. And well, as you all know, a hemangioma is nothing but dialated blood vessels..and dialated blood vessels equals blood. Lots of it. That, and she had bumped it just enough to bruise it, thus causing a couple little ulcers on it. At that point, we knew it was time to get a second opinion.

I made an appointment for the (only) pediatric dermatologist in Pittsburgh. The initial appointment went very well. The doctor decided to start her on a topical beta blocker medication called Timolol. It's a painless medication we put on her 2x a day, with zero side effects (our main priority/concern). At that point, our main goal was just to stop it from growing anymore. It was a little "late in the game" to hope for it to get smaller, but if it did, it would be a nice bonus. While the appointment went great and we were happy to have a plan in action, we were slightly disappointed by her regular pediatrician. The things she told us about the heman going away on its own were true, but she failed to mention that there were some treatment options that did not cause pain, and could have essentially stopped it from growing hardly at all. But, not all pediatricians are completely educated on them, and thats okay. My hope, through this post, is for anyone else that might be told to "just watch it" -- feel free to not take no for an answer. Get that second opinion if you think you need it!

Audrey was on the Timolol for not even a month and we began noticing a difference. It did not get smaller (maybe slightly) but the redness of it decreased drastically. We noticed it, but people who did not see her on a daily basis noticed it even more. When we returned for a follow up appointment, the doctor was very impressed with the results, and decided to stick with the topical treatment. She will not return to the dermatologist until next month, but I am certain our current treatment will remain in place.

Since August, we've seen a huge improvement. It had shrunk (not, not drastically, but its definitely smaller in diameter and puffiness) and as for the color, its very light now. It's almost flesh colored in certain spots. So, I can say that we are very pleased with the decision we made. I only wish we had decided to do it sooner, but we know it will continue to improve and soon enough, won't be there anymore :) If you are reading this and can relate..share your own story. I'd love to hear it!

7 months old!!

Happy 7 months, sweet girl! You are officially closer to a year old than you are to a baby, which is absolutely nuts! You've brought us so much joy, love and laughter these past 7 months, we cannot believe how quickly the time is passing us by.

You are a hoot, little girl. Every day, you learn something new, and you keep us entertained. This past month, you officially became a "real" crawler. You've been belly crawling for nearly two months now, but a couple weeks ago, you just up and started crawling on all fours one evening -- and you haven't stopped since! It's so fun watching you, but not only that, we HAVE to watch you, every minute! Otherwise, you are in to EVERYTHING. You are such a curious baby, and very determined to get what you want. Because of this intense determination you possess, Daddy and I have no doubt that you will be a walker, well before your first birthday (scary thought!)

In addition to crawling, you've decided that's simply not enough, and you are now pulling up on everything and standing up. This, our sweet girl, really just happened over night. Same thing with sitting up by yourself..one day, you just started doing it. Your favorite thing to do, of course, is to pull up on things you are not supposed to -- especially the entertainment center, which houses all kinds of electronics with buttons for you to press off and on, on and off (ie; daddy's Xbox!). We've started telling you "NO" to which you typically just turn and look at us, smile, and go right back to what you are doing!

You are still a bird with drinking milk during the day, but you LOVE solids. Anytime we are eating in front of you, you sit and stare at us until we give you a bite. You seem to enjoy almost everything we've given you to try. One night, we went out for italian and you absolutely LOVED spaghetti. Mommy couldn't feed it to you fast enough! You also tried some Mexican food, and really seemed to enjoy that as well. We weren't sure if it was the fun music that was playing, or the tastiness of the food, but every time we gave you a bite, you started swaying to the music! Silly girl. You also really enjoy puffs and yogurt bites. You are just learning your pincher grasp, and its so fun watching you try to pick up your snacks in your little fingers and feed yourself. The food makes it to your mouth about 50% of the time right now, but every day you're getting better and better! Some days, you'd rather us just feed you, so you sit there with your mouth hanging open until we pop a treat in your mouth. LOL.

Your sleeping habits just keep getting better and better. You've pushed your own bedtime back a little later, which is nice, because when 7p hits, you are no longer ms. cranky pants. You stay up until about 8:30 these days, which is perfect. You also sleep about 11-12 hour stretch, which is great!! Of course, you still don't have a perfect nap schedule, but thats okay. One day, we know you'll enjoy naps!

You bring such joy to our lives, everyday..each day, we wake up with a smile on our face, because we know we have you, and we know just seeing you first thing in the morning is a guarenteed smile on our faces! We love you much more than you even know, little one!

xoxo,
Mommy

happy HALF year, baby girl!!

Audrey Elizabeth, you are officially SIX months old now!! Mommy was a bit of a slacker and never got your 5 month update blogged, so I will combine the two, to make sure we don't miss a beat!

It's incredibly hard to believe that just 6 months ago, you were still kicking away in my belly. Now, you are a mover and a shaker -- for real. You NEVER stop moving these days!! :)

Since my last update, so much has happened with you! You celebrated your first 4th of July. Because it was in the middle of the week, we decided to stay in Pittsburgh and celebrate at home. Daddy got free tickets to the Pirates game for being a military veteran, so we decided to take you to that. The game was in the middle of the day, and it was probably close to 100 degrees, but you did amazing! You made it through to the bottom of the 7th inning, which was awesome! By that point, you were only slightly fussy, so honestly, you probably could have made it all the way to the end, if we tried. We kept you entertained with ice cubes and an ice cold cup :)

You tried solids for the first time -- and you really seemed to enjoy them! Don't let this photo fool you ;) Your favorites are any fruits, of course. You haven't tried a fruit yet that you don't like. You are a little pickier with vegetables, and really don't seem to enjoy the "greens". I keep trying though, in hopes that one day you'll decide they are yummy! You do like sweet potatoes and carrots though, which is a start!

At a little over 5 months old, you started the process of crawling. You would get up on all fours and rock forward, trying to move! At this point, we knew it wouldn't be much longer before you were officially on the move, and it wasn't! Just a few weeks after that, and you were off! You first started off by what can only be described as a water spider crawl, which eventually turned into the worm, and this is what you are still doing today! It's so funny watching you get where you want to go..and you are pretty fast about it! Daddy and I have had to install some baby gates to ensure you are safe, since you can now get wherever you want to go (which is usually to an electronic we've left laying around!).

At your 6 month check up, you weighed in at 18 lbs 6 oz, and were 27" long. It took three tries to get it correct because you are such a wiggle worm! You are still in the 90th percentile for height and weight, so you are growing right on track :) You had to get three shots this month, and an oral vaccine. Again, this was tough for Mommy to witness. I think these shots hurt more than previous times, because you cried longer, and your little legs had bruises at the entry site :/ But, you were still our brave girl, and kept a smile on your face the rest of the day!

You are "talking" more, which is always fun to listen you! Amongst your daily babble, you've definitely said "mama" and "dada"..more than once. We're sure you don't know what those words really MEAN yet, but its fun to pretend you do ;) We're excited for the day you say those words to us, and mean it!

You are doing amazing, in the sleep department. We've got your evening routine down to a science, and you really seem to enjoy it since you know what to expect. The past week, you've been sleeping 11-12 hour stretches at night! You still aren't a big fan of naps, and at this point, I'm not sure you ever WILL be (maybe when you are a teenager?). You will only nap for us in your swing or in the car, and even then, they are short cat naps. But since you've been sleeping so well at night, we really can't complain!

You suffered your first cold a couple weeks ago. First time in 6 months isn't bad! It was a little rough because you had a stuffy nose and couldn't breathe very well, but you trucked right through it. The only time you were really mad (and I mean REALLY MAD) is when we had to give you saline drops and clear out your nose. You would have thought we were torturing you by the way you screamed and flailed around! It took both Mommy AND Daddy to do this process!

Just the past couple days we've started giving you some table foods, letting you try some new things and get used to new textures. You tried some soup broth, bread, & vanilla ice cream..you loved them all! It's always fun watching you experiment with new foods, and see your reaction.

Every day with you is a new, and exciting adventure. Its been so much fun watching you grow and learn these past 6 months. We cannot wait to see what the next 6 months brings!!

Love Always,
Mommy

adventures in homemade baby food

When I first found out I was pregnant, I knew one of the things I wanted to eventually do, was to make my own baby food. I heard people did that, and I guess I never realized how easy it was to do so! Honestly, cost isn't even a factor for my motivation in this, though it really does save a lot of money. My biggest motivation for making my own baby food was knowing exactly what is going into her food, and knowing she's getting healthy, wholesome food without any added things. She has years to put processed crap in her mouth (if she chooses, of course!) but for now, I can help make sure she's getting the best possible foods! And have I mentioned, its fun??

When our pediatrician gave us the green light to start introducing solids after her 4-month well baby checkup, I couldn't wait to get started! I started off by looking up how to make baby food. It seemed pretty idiot proof (and it was), but I just wanted to be sure I was doing everything correctly. The best website I've found was this one. That site is seriously fantastic. It not only tells you exactly how to prepare the food, but it gives different age appropriate recipes, freezing techniques, etc etc. So glad I stumbled upon it!

The best part about making homemade baby food? I already had everything I needed, equipment wise. Sure, they sell pricey baby food makers, but you don't need them. I'll admit, I registered for one for kicks & giggles, but figured if I didn't receive one, I wasn't going to buy one on my own, because I didn't need to. All you really need is a food processor or a blender, and ice cube trays for freezing :)

I started off with sweet potatoes. I figured it was easy enough, and was a good "first food" for her to try.

You can bake the potatoes, but I chose to steam them, as our oven is wonky and sometimes takes hours to bake something. I cut the potatoes into small cubes, and put them in a pot with a couple inches of water. I steamed the potatoes until tender, and reserved the water to add to the pureeing process for thinning and to keep some of the nutrients that may have boiled out.

Once steamed, I put small portions of the potatoes in my food processor to puree, and added some of the reserved water as I went along until I reached desired consistency. After that, the puree mix was divided among the ice cube trays and put in the freezer overnight.

After the food is frozen, you pop the cubes out into a storage bag and voila! You have a good amount of baby food that can store anywhere from 3-6 months :) The ice cube tray method works awesome, because each cube is roughly 1 oz, which makes it easy when you need to know how much food to pull out and thaw at a time.

I mentioned before that cost isn't necessarily an issue, but it does help to know you are saving money. Look at is this way. I paid less than $3 for two sweet potatoes. Those two potatoes made me 38 oz of baby food. If you were to buy 38 ounces of jarred baby food at the store, that would run you nearly $10 (that is, if each 4 oz jar is around $1 each). Sooo, saving money is also a plus ;)