Play Day

This morning Amelia spent some time on her activity mat:




We hadn't used it in some time and I decided to see if it would keep her attention so she wouldn't roll all over the place. She has been a rolling machine lately. The other day I left her on the far end of the living room to play, went to make a bottle, and when I checked on her while the water was warming up she was all the way across the living room, into the hall and playing on the bathroom floor! How? Weare going to invest in a baby gate sooner than planned (we were planning on getting one anyways, to keep her out of the hall, thus, away from the bathroom, kitchen and door that doesn't stay shut well to the stairwell). The mat kept her in a smaller area of the room, so that is all I can ask for.

We were going to go to Indian Summer Festival tonight but Jason had a long day at work and we decided it would be best all around to stay in. Well, we went to Wal-Mart, but other than that it has been a quiet night. We got a couple baby foods (prunes and applesauce) that the doctor suggested we try with Amelia. Tuesday is the next day that we are all home, so that is the earliest day we will give her her next foods. Stay tuned!

Amelia wore her daddy's hat before bed tonight:

6 Month Well Visit

This morning was Amelia's 6-month well check up. First things first though, we discovered that Amelia and her cats share an interest...strings. We dug out the cat's favorite toy (an old string with a fish toy tied to one end) and threw it on the floor. Here is a picture of Amelia and Lucky from this morning:


She would wave it back and forth and when I took this Lucky was actually batting at it a little. Maybe this will help them be better friends in the future? (the cats pretty much always walk/run away from the poor little thing at this point)

Amelia is still growing well! She is 14 pounds 10 ounces (which is just barely above the average for a 6 month old), 26.75 inches long (still a tall girl, 75% percentile) and her head measured in at 43 cm/17 inches around (75% percentile, a big head for all of those brains she has). Amelia was VERY busy at the doctor. She kept pulling and grabbing at the stethoscope when Dr. Hing was trying to hear her heart among other things :)

We mentioned her diaper rash from last week and the doctor gave us a few things to try in order to prevent it. She will be getting one diluted bottle a day, so that she gets some extra water in her to prevent constipation (she won't drink just water, she spits it out and makes a disgusted face). We will also be starting her on some fruits next week, likely prunes or blueberries (the doctor said these will likely help loosen her stools).

We have planned all along to make our own baby food but for when we are introducing a new food we will use a store bought jar, in case she ends up being allergic or it just doesn't sit well with her. No sense in making a whole bunch and then having to throw it out! I am hoping to start running again tomorrow and will try and make it to the store to get her some fruits :) (I haven't been running this week due to congestion from allergies when I was up north. Even when I ran up north, I went a short distance and I was so plugged up I was out of breath, no fun! I am feeling MUCH better today and can breath almost 100% out of my nose again, so I feel more up to running)

And the shots...we had a couple today :( And we were the parents that took pictures of the shots...so here is one:


She was not a happy girl at all!

Amelia also had to have her hemoglobin tested, which they do from a finger prick. She actually did really well with this one, not a peep out of her and she was pricked twice! (there are 2 sized of things to prick with and the nurse tried the smaller one first, to minimize pain I guess, and it wasn't big enough, so she had to use the larger one on a different finger)

I think she was more curious about what was going on than anything:


See her little finger with it's bandage?:


I got a call this afternoon from the nurse and Amelia is mildly anemic. Jason went to the pharmacy to pick up "ferinsol" (available OTC) and they were out. Starting Monday (when it comes in because they were out) she will get 2 drops a day, in her bottles and her levels will be re-checked in December at her 9-month visit.

Time to relax now! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

*I must add, I am wearing so many layers because I was headed to work pretty much right after the appointment. At work I typically wear a sweater to protect my white shirt and also my ties. So, that is why Amelia is in summer clothes and I am wearing a sweater and pants... (my mom commented on our conflicting outfits, so I am clearing it up for any others who might have wondered.

Busy, Lazy Day

This title is a contradiction but it is really an accurate description of our day. There is lots to do, including finishing unpacking from up north...yet, I have not been very quick to do most of the things.

This morning we got off to a slow, late start. We made a pizza for lunch which I promptly forgot about and burned (we ate it anyways). We worked in the kitchen for a bit and then Jason got Amelia's rainforest swing taken apart. She is too restless in it these days, so we decided to put it away and use that space to store her walker.

Since Jason has been at work I have been sluggishly doing things around here. I realized this evening that Amelia had been in her pajamas all day and she is still in them now, sleeping. They are adorable pajamas, so I guess that is ok!

I checked my e-mail and good thing I did! My graduate class professor has already given us a boat-load of homework (the class starts Monday night)! Yesterday I ordered maps of both China and Asia to put on the wall above my desk (as directed by the professor, we need good and detailed maps of both). I paid extra to have them get here by tomorrow so I have the weekend to look over them.

Here are some pictures from this evening:





I do have plenty of homework to get to, so I am going to leave this as is and pray that that is what I do with my time once I shut the computer down...

Labor Day Weekend!

Amelia and I got away this weekend for the annual trip north, to Marie's cabin:


We left early Friday morning and got to the cabin in the early afternoon. The drive went smoothly, other than the screaming baby in the backseat :( She did not travel as well this weekend as she did when we went to Minnesota the other week. I think that she is just tired of being in the car. We have been in the car a lot the past couple weeks. All that is over now though, so she gets a break!

After we got our things unpacked and had a late lunch we all changed into our suits, including Amelia. She wasn't too sure about being in the cold lake water... She was very interested in it though and once we took her lifejacket off, and held her close, she had more fun:



Later that night we went on a walk and got a good view of the full moon as it rose:



We also saw a doe and fawn on our walk!

Saturday Amelia went on her first boat ride.


Again, she wasn't thrilled about her lifejacket, but she did well! She actually fell asleep in my arms:


While Marie and Lisa fished (I didn't get a license this year, figuring I should concentrate on Amelia in the boat vs fishing) Amelia napped in her "tent" we made her on the floor of the boat (to keep her out of the sun):


She eventually woke up from her nap...


...and enjoyed the view:


Amelia got to help drive the boat home:



After boating, Amelia had some outside play time in her pack 'n' play:


(there is a bug net over it, that is why the picture is a bit odd)

While us adults played some cards, also outside:


(Amelia looked up just in time for this picture, too cute!)

After her nap, she helped me play cards:


Would you have guessed it? She was not much help at cards, so she had some play time on Lisa's quilt:


After cards it was time to relax. Amelia did her relaxing in the hammock:



And this is just a silly picture from Saturday evening:


Sunday we went out boating/fishing again. Amelia took a nap on the boat again:


When she woke up she was a silly girl:


When we got back we got ready to walk to Fireman Fun Day to get some ice cream. Amelia was looking stylish:


On our walk we enjoyed all the fall colors:



Amelia had her supper at the picnic table:



She was pretty upset when she ate all her cereal:


This morning we got up and got into our suits one last time. Remember that 18 mos size suit I found last week? Here is our 6 mos. old peanut in it:



hhhmmmm...

We went on one last boat ride to the sandbar. Amelia likes the boat better when she has her shades on. It helps to keep the wind out of her eyes.


While we were out on the sandbar we saw the water plane out flying. We call him "Mo" (those who have seen Sweet Home Alabama may get the joke):


While Amelia napped we got a picture of the three of us (using the self timer):


After Amelia woke up we let her get in the water for a bit:



And one final picture of us girls from the weekend before we left this afternoon:


Amelia and I made it home 7 hours later and stopped at Honeypie so she could see her daddy (and daddy could see her) before bedtime. Now instead of unpacking the car, I am writing this. I think now that I am finished, I had better get things out of the car!

Thanks Marie and Lisa for a great weekend! We had a LOT of fun!

Freak Out!

Amelia is outgrowing her bouncer. She is no longer as content in it as she once was:



I will be leaving in the morning to head up north. Marie and I have been going up Labor Day weekend since the end of high school. Lisa began joining us not long after and it is now a sort of girl's weekend (except Marie's brother and friend started 'crashing' it, which had it's ups and downs; regardless, we always have a GREAT time!). It started out as the last hurrah before the academic year got underway but this year it comes after the semester has started for me, so I am dragging along at least one textbook :(

For anyone interested, here is a link to show you where Marie's cabin is. It is on the Pike Lake chain, near Minocqua, WI.

Chef Amelia!

This afternoon Amelia wore her own chef hat that Jason got for her (and he personalized it himself):




In other news, for those who were aware of our extreme diaper rash situation, it is getting under control. The day that it showed up she was sore all over, bloody and just in pure pain. We were all miserable. She cried through all diaper changes and we were so upset during them as a result (Jason had a hard time finishing them, he felt so terrible because she was hurting). I posted on Facebook for some advice and got a ton of suggestions, some we knew of and others we didn't. We didn't get anything right away and that night we loaded her up with corn starch before bed. We intended to get some new things to try the next day but when we woke up she was no longer bleeding and it looked like a normal diaper rash. So, things are much better and we are now able to treat it as any plain ol' diaper rash. What a relief!

We did soak her bum this afternoon, to help make it feel a little better (that was one of the suggestions we recieved). We put her in the "deep end" of her bath center (this was the first time we have done this):


She really loves her monkey. She wouldn't let him go when it was time to get out:


And the last bit of news...today was my very last, first day of school! If and when graduate school will be a possibility is unknown to me, therefore, I am looking at today as my last, first day of school. Only 16 weeks to go!