Staying Busy and Sanity

It's hard to believe that Abby will be nine months old tomorrow!  Seems like she just turned eight months...

 

Eight months is a very serious age.

Ok, not that serious.

I initially felt a little bit at a loss when we got back from our Outer Banks vacation in July.  Having family around to play with Abby all the time sort of threw me off.  I realized that Abby and I were both ready for a routine.  We've slowly been developing one over the last two months, and I'm feeling pretty good about it, now.  Of course, it will probably change any day now, as Abby continues to change.

The main thing, for my sanity, is to make sure we have activities planned for everyday, and to make sure we get out almost everyday.  Being a stay-at-home mom in a world where most people aren't is very lucky, but can also be very lonely.  Getting out and about helps!  We try to go to Diaper Gang, a baby story time with rhymes and songs, at the Harford County Library every week. It's fun.  Abby seems to love it, and I get to talk to other mommies.  I've also joined a great online community, Chesapeake Mommies, that has a lot of useful forums and a fairly active activities calendar.  We go to as many play dates and activities as we can.  

Grocery shopping and lunch with Daddy on Thursday (usually).  La Leche League Breastfeeding Cafe at Wegmans second Monday of every month.  Free coffee with purchase of bulk beans at Coffee Coffee on Monday.  Not that I buy coffee beans every Monday, but you get the idea.

We've started going for a walk everyday, even if it's just to get the mail.  When it's hot, like it's been the last few days, we just go up to our mailbox and back (we have a very long driveway).  If it's nice, we'll do the whole street.

 

When the temperature hits the mid-80s, it means it's time for the baby pool!  It's a little easier to manage than taking her in the regular pool, and, in any case, we've been losing an algae battle for the past few weeks.  I fill the pool up in the morning during her nap, so the water has a chance to warm up, and make sure I set it in a place where there will be shade later in the day.

I had forgotten about her swing for a couple of weeks, but we've rediscovered it, and she loves it!

We also spend a lot of time in her Exersaucer and playing with her stacking rings.

I know the jig is about up, though, as she thinks about trying to move.  Which, she's not totally into just yet, but I know it's coming.  Mamas, any advice for entertainment once she gets going?

Any day now.

Abby Goes to the Beach

...well, a little anyway.  Abby's first beach vacation was a little light on the "beach," but full of fun and excitement!

About a month ago, we took our annual Ulmes family vacation to the Outer Banks.

Abby went to the beach for the first time, and dipped her toes in the ocean.  She wasn't a big fan, as you can see below.  But my parents tell me that when I was a wee one, I was scared of the ocean, too.  A wave snuck up and startled me, and I was supposedly afraid of the ocean for years. I don't remember ever being afraid of the ocean, though, so I apparently got over it, and I'm sure Abby will, too.

This new adventure wore her out, though.

She had a little more fun playing in the warmer, more sedate tide pool a few days later.

This wore Abby out, too.

We didn't spend nearly as much time at the beach as we normally do.  The Ulmes don't like to go to the beach in the middle of the day to avoid the sun's cancer-causing rays.  However, Abby tended to take her naps before and after peak sun-time.  So, it was hard to sneak in beach time before dinner time and bedtime.  Abby did manage to stay up late enough one night for us to get some beautiful sunset pictures at the dock near our house.

We're looking forward to next year when Abby will be able to go down to the beach more and have even more fun playing!

Swimming, Swimming...

...in a swimming pool! 

When days are hot;

When days are cold;

In a swimming pool!

Breaststroke, side stroke,

Fancy diving, too!

Oh, wouldn't it be nice to have

Nothing else to do! 

That's just one of the many old Girl Scout songs we've been singing to Abby, and just two weeks ago, she got to actually go swimming!  I mean, as much as dipping a six-month old baby in a swimming pool counts as swimming.

Last summer, we had so much fun seeing our friends' daughter Daphne experience the pool for the first time.

Daphne loves the pool!

Abby is 13 months younger than Daphne, so she's almost the same age Daphne was at this time last year.  So, we were looking forward to Abby loving it just as much. Abby, on the other hand, was a little apprehensive.

Daphne, however, thinks it's even more fun this year.

She tried to give Abby a high-five for trying the pool, but seeing as how they are 19 months and 6 months old, respectively, it didn't quite pan out. "A" for effort, though.  Her heart was in the right place.

I wouldn't say Abby hated the pool, but she definitely wasn't the little water baby I was hoping for, like the one in this video:

Abby still needs to figure a few things out...like how to move in the water, hold her breath, etc.  But not too bad for her first time in!

Maybe next year.  She did warm up after awhile, and even had some smiles by the end!

We hope to see Baby K in the pool by the end of the summer!

Abby's First Nom

As I mentioned in the Father's Day post, another first for that weekend was Abby's first solid food.  Or, as I like to call it, "The Day the Diapers Changed."  Only they really didn't, because she hasn't really eaten anything.  Much, anyway.

We're trying something called Baby-Led Weaning, or BLW.  In this case, "weaning" doesn't mean "weaning off of breast milk," but rather "weaning onto food."  The idea is that babies can handle appropriately sized and prepared whole foods and don't need to be spoon-fed purees.  It's supposed to foster independence and adventurous eating because baby chooses what she wants to eat and figures out how to eat it.  Something about it intrigues me, so we're giving it a go.  We're supposed to start with finger-shaped fruits and vegetables, because babies can pick them up and still have a bit to eat sticking out of their little fists.

We decided to start with pieces of avocado.  Nice and soft, and mild-flavored.

Abby was all ready!

I don't think she knew quite what she was ready for, though!  She didn't really acknowledge anything in front of her, at first, so I tried handing it to her. She just squished it in her fist.  Kevin's mom offered Abby a piece on her finger, which Abby seemed to enjoy.  After wiping her own mouth (really!), she picked up a more solid piece of avocado and gnawed on it.  I don't know how much she really ended up eating, though - I was unable to detect any evidence in the diaper! But that doesn't mean that she didn't get any - she did get to taste it, at any rate.  And, for now, food is all about exploration for her.

Since then, we've tried steamed broccoli (good because it has a handle!), cucumber, banana, steamed asparagus, and boiled potato.  She's not terribly interested in any of it.  She just looks at us, clearly wondering what happened to the toys we used to keep on her high chair tray during meals.  She was perfectly happy to stick those in her mouth and gnaw on them, but regards the foods much more warily.  It takes a lot of encouragement - like putting the food in her hand and guiding it to her mouth - to get her to try it.  She has seemed to enjoy gnawing on cucumbers and potatoes, and licking banana goo.  

I keep reminding myself of the mantra, "Food before one is just for fun."  I can't wait until she gets more interested and eats more voraciously!

First Father's Day

Two weekends ago, we celebrated Kevin's first Father's Day.

Kevin's parents and brother came down.  It's always nice to have them visit, and they looove hanging out with Abby.

I texted this picture to Kevin, and his reaction? "Looks like Dad found the Murphy's!"

Abby's starting to distinguish between "Mommy" and "Daddy" and "Everyone Else," so it did take her a little bit to warm up to Grandma and Grandpa, this time.  She loves this little barking dog, though.  She had started to fake cough about a week earlier, and Grandpa swears that she fake coughs when the dog barks because she's trying to talk back to it.  Maybe!  And Grandma is certain that when she reads Moo Baa La La La that Abby sings along with the "la la la."  This is just one of the reasons why grandparents are awesome!

And, as far as fake coughing goes, Abby found it HILARIOUS when Grandpa fake coughed at her:

My favorite part is when Kevin tries it, and Abby just looks at him like, "What are you trying to do?" It's also great when she starts looking at Grandpa expectantly, her face asking,"Well?  Are you going to do it?"

Abby also tried her first solid food while the family was here!  That's a post for another time, though.  For the grown ups, Kevin's mom helped me make Pioneer Woman's Ribeye with Whiskey Cream Sauce.  Yum! The steak is done very simply, but the sauce is fantastic - and easy, too.  Abby just had some avocado - I hope she didn't feel cheated.

I, er, Abby got Kevin, his father, and his brother beautiful engraved pint glasses (you know, because none of them have enough pint glasses) that say "Dad," "Grandpa," and "Uncle" (respectively on each glass), "EST." and Abby's birth date.  I don't have a picture of the actual glasses, but I got them from Dustyroadgurl on Etsy.

From Dustyroadgurl's Etsy page

After Kevin's family had left, Abby gave one last Father's Day present - she sat without help for the first time!

She's getting to be such a big girl!  And sassy, too!

Definitely in a good way,

Baby Multi-Tasking

On June 13th, Abby celebrated her half birthday!

Google Plus does it again!

She's doing a lot of new things these days...rolling over, practicing sitting, standing, and crawling, trying solid foods...but all work and no play makes Abby a dull girl!  And look at how much better she's gotten at playing!

This video was from when she was four months old, in the middle of April:

I love how she plays with the dangly bugs like they're a musical instrument.  She looks like she's taking it so seriously!  But now, she can multi-task!  Not only is she more coordinated in hitting the toys, she can even grab and pull the one that makes music...sometimes multiple times.  She can also chew on another toy AND chat at the same time! 

It's amazing how much she's grown and changed in just two months!  I can hardly keep up with documenting all Abby is doing these days, but I'm going to try!  Be on the lookout for more.

Roll Over, Roll Over!

Rolling over is a significant developmental milestone.  It signals the start of mobility, and, consequentially, the end of household sanity.  Before rolling over, you can put a baby down anywhere.   Once they roll, you can't put them down on anything they could roll off of, and the next thing you know, you have to safety-lock your cabinets and put up the liquor.  I decided that I would be perfectly happy if Abby didn't start being mobile until right before she went to preschool. at which point she could hop up and walk just like any other four-year old.  I know this won't happen, though, so I guess I just have to celebrate these milestones in stride.

By the way, did you realize that Abby is almost six months old?  I know, you might not, since I never posted any five-month pictures:

"Go Abby! It's your (five-month) birthday!"

And Google Plus was kind enough to make an animated GIF out of all the five-month photos it uploaded, which seriously weirded me out, because I was like, "WHY IS THE PICTURE OF THE BABY MOVING???"  But now that I understand that it's just something Google Plus *does* when it senses a "burst" of photos, I think it's pretty cool:

Typically, babies roll from belly to back, first, which is what Abby did, way back at the end of April (I know, I'm such a slacker!):

The funny thing is, even now, a month and a half later, often, when Abby is on her tummy, she'll start crying instead of rolling herself over.  It's like she forgets that she knows how to do it.

She's been working really hard on back to front for some time.  For awhile, she was getting really close.  At first, she couldn't get the opposite hip flipped over, then her big noggin was weighing her down.  She eventually got almost the whole way over, but then her arm would get stuck and she'd end up rolling back on her back.  Poor girl would get so frustrated!  She'd just lay on her side and whine, poor baby!

But then, last weekend, we visited my parents' house.  While we were getting packed up, I put Abby down on her back on her play mat.  I went to the bathroom, while Kevin took a few bags out to the car.  I had just come out of the bathroom when Kevin called to me, "Did you put her down on her stomach?" To which I answered, "No!"  That little sneak rolled over when no one was looking!

And this is how her daddy found her!

She's rolled over a few times since then - and I still haven't seen it.