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| I can fly! |
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| Smiling at dad |
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| If you look closely, you can Molly's 2 little teef! |
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Stand up and shout
Our little rock star can now be pulled up to a standing position. She also claps (sort of) but wouldn't do it for the camera this evening. Oh well. Here she is, standing tall:
Also, I wanted to update my post from yesterday. I spoke with another one of the teachers this evening, who didn't think that Molly was scared of all the kids in the class...just the aggressive ones. She says Molly needs her space after she wakes up from naps, but does like hanging out with the other girls, especially Alexis who is around her size. I feel a little better about everything now. She's not destined to be a total loner.
Oh Molls. She likes what she likes. And when she's mad, she tells you. She hates her high chair and cries when the straps start to go over her arms, but she likes her food. So at least we've got that going for us :) She's mastered oatmeal, rice cereal, sweet potatoes, green beans (homemade!), and now pears. Getting bigger every day!
Also, I wanted to update my post from yesterday. I spoke with another one of the teachers this evening, who didn't think that Molly was scared of all the kids in the class...just the aggressive ones. She says Molly needs her space after she wakes up from naps, but does like hanging out with the other girls, especially Alexis who is around her size. I feel a little better about everything now. She's not destined to be a total loner.
Oh Molls. She likes what she likes. And when she's mad, she tells you. She hates her high chair and cries when the straps start to go over her arms, but she likes her food. So at least we've got that going for us :) She's mastered oatmeal, rice cereal, sweet potatoes, green beans (homemade!), and now pears. Getting bigger every day!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Don't give me no lines and keep your hands to yourself
I was chatting with one of Molly's teachers at daycare this afternoon and she told me that Molly is scared of the other kids. Specifically, she doesn't want them touching her. At all. If she sees one coming, she "sounds the alarm" and starts to cry until someone comes to her rescue.
I guess some of the older boys in the class can get kind of aggressive, stealing Molly's pacifier or hitting her on the head when she's in the bouncy seat. I've seen both Brendan and Logan snag Molly's paci, but didn't realize it was something that happened often. I hate to admit it, but I actually thought it was kind of cute at the time, even though Molly burst into tears.
Part of the problem is that Molly can't move yet. She's one of the youngest kids in the class, and one of the only ones who can't crawl. So she can't get away when she sees a bully approaching.
The teachers are great. They're trying to get Molly to feel more comfortable and to trust the other kids. They had a tea party the other day with just the girls and Molly was okay with Alexis and Malina touching her arm. And sometimes when Molly is being particularly sensitive, they will put a piece of string around her and instruct the other kids not to cross the line. Poor Molls! I feel my heart break a little bit just thinking about it.
The teachers told me not to worry about it. Molly still has fun at daycare. She grabs for toys, laughs, and gets excited when she hears a song she likes or sees someone clapping. But Jason is at a work dinner tonight, so I have had plenty of time by myself to obsess over this new information. I feel responsible because I know I was exactly like this as a small child and must have passed along the sensitive gene in addition to long eyelashes and pasty skin.
I guess I turned out okay. While I don't exactly have a thick skin, I'm not scared of my own shadow anymore either. Molly will be fine.... Hopefully things will get better when she learns how to crawl. Or when some of the older boys graduate to the next class up at daycare!!
I guess some of the older boys in the class can get kind of aggressive, stealing Molly's pacifier or hitting her on the head when she's in the bouncy seat. I've seen both Brendan and Logan snag Molly's paci, but didn't realize it was something that happened often. I hate to admit it, but I actually thought it was kind of cute at the time, even though Molly burst into tears.
Part of the problem is that Molly can't move yet. She's one of the youngest kids in the class, and one of the only ones who can't crawl. So she can't get away when she sees a bully approaching.
The teachers are great. They're trying to get Molly to feel more comfortable and to trust the other kids. They had a tea party the other day with just the girls and Molly was okay with Alexis and Malina touching her arm. And sometimes when Molly is being particularly sensitive, they will put a piece of string around her and instruct the other kids not to cross the line. Poor Molls! I feel my heart break a little bit just thinking about it.
The teachers told me not to worry about it. Molly still has fun at daycare. She grabs for toys, laughs, and gets excited when she hears a song she likes or sees someone clapping. But Jason is at a work dinner tonight, so I have had plenty of time by myself to obsess over this new information. I feel responsible because I know I was exactly like this as a small child and must have passed along the sensitive gene in addition to long eyelashes and pasty skin.
I guess I turned out okay. While I don't exactly have a thick skin, I'm not scared of my own shadow anymore either. Molly will be fine.... Hopefully things will get better when she learns how to crawl. Or when some of the older boys graduate to the next class up at daycare!!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Bring on the Pack!
The Bears looked good in their win today over Seattle. Call me crazy, but I think we have a very good chance at winning the division. I know everyone's talking about Aaron Rodgers right now, but Jay Cutler had an awesome game today too. And we've got home field advantage! Go Bearssss!
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| Molly says "Yeah!" after the victory |
Saturday, January 15, 2011
I jinxed it!
She just got stuck with 3 needles at the doctor's office, so hopefully we will have a nice long nap in store this afternoon.
This was Molly's 6-month appointment and she's right on track, hovering around the 50th percentile in all categories. 15 lbs 1 oz and 26 inches. How fast they grow!
I'll leave you with a photo of Molly in her big girl jean skirt. She sits like a pro now!
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Monday, January 10, 2011
6 months old and sleeping like a baby
I wasn't going to do sleep training with Molly. She has always been a pretty good sleeper, and I thought it was fine just letting her fall asleep whenever she was ready. We'd keep her out with us in the living room most nights until she passed out, somewhere around 8:30 or 9:00. Over Christmas, her "bedtime" was more like 9:30 or 10:00, which makes sense with the time change and all of the excitement. But after our trip to Virginia, I started to realize that my baby was the poster child for "overtired" and I wasn't doing her any favors by being a laid back mom and just letting sleep happen.
So I dug around my email and found an article that my friend Julie sent me in my early days of parenting (thanks Julie!) that offered a few alternatives to crying it out. And wouldn't you know it? One night of sleep training, and Molly has been sleeping 7:30 to 7:30 ever since. It's like she was dying for me to put her on a schedule! She cried for a gut-wrenching 5 minutes, until Jason went in her room and gave her a pacifier and a pat on the forehead. And then she cried again (hard) for about 10 minutes until I went in. She was so exhausted at that point that all I had to do was put a hand on her little chest and she completely gave up the ghost. Poor kid. But she's been a different baby ever since. She's happier during the days and even has a more consistent nap schedule. All the articles said that this would happen, that sleep begets sleep, but I guess I had to see it to believe it!
This sucks for Jason and I a little bit, because we have less time with Molly in the evenings, and what time we do have is less fun. Before, we would just play play play from about 6pm until Molly fell asleep for the night. There would be some eating in there, and sometimes a short little catnap, but most of the time was spent bouncing and singing. Now, I get Molly home around 6pm, we play for about half an hour, and then we start the business of going to bed.
She gets a taste of solid food around 6:30:
If we have time and I'm feeling up to it, Molly gets a bath around 6:45 or 7:00. Bath time is actually one of the highlights of the night now that Molly has learned how much fun it is to kick water around in the tub. After that, I take Molly into her room, turn down the lights, and read her a few stories. Sometimes she's so ready for bed, we skip the stories and go straight to eating. Then, I put her in her crib, walk away, and she falls asleep. Who knew? Besides the experts I mean :)
I realize that I'm pretty lucky with Molly and that sleep training does not always go down so easy. Moms with bad sleepers...do not be mad at me! Especially since I'm still waking up here and there throughout the night when Molly cries in her sleep :( So sad! I think she's getting in a few more teeth because a pacifier always seems to do the trick. We'll see.
Anyway, Molly is officially 6 months old now. We're going in for her check up on Saturday, so stay tuned for her stats!
So I dug around my email and found an article that my friend Julie sent me in my early days of parenting (thanks Julie!) that offered a few alternatives to crying it out. And wouldn't you know it? One night of sleep training, and Molly has been sleeping 7:30 to 7:30 ever since. It's like she was dying for me to put her on a schedule! She cried for a gut-wrenching 5 minutes, until Jason went in her room and gave her a pacifier and a pat on the forehead. And then she cried again (hard) for about 10 minutes until I went in. She was so exhausted at that point that all I had to do was put a hand on her little chest and she completely gave up the ghost. Poor kid. But she's been a different baby ever since. She's happier during the days and even has a more consistent nap schedule. All the articles said that this would happen, that sleep begets sleep, but I guess I had to see it to believe it!
This sucks for Jason and I a little bit, because we have less time with Molly in the evenings, and what time we do have is less fun. Before, we would just play play play from about 6pm until Molly fell asleep for the night. There would be some eating in there, and sometimes a short little catnap, but most of the time was spent bouncing and singing. Now, I get Molly home around 6pm, we play for about half an hour, and then we start the business of going to bed.
She gets a taste of solid food around 6:30:
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| Molly's teachers tell me she's a "neat" little eater. Huh? Not at my house! Also, check out the static electricity working on that mullet :) |
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| Totally zonked out. Not even a laughing mother with a flashing camera could wake this kid! |
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| I think she looks like ME in this picture |
Anyway, Molly is officially 6 months old now. We're going in for her check up on Saturday, so stay tuned for her stats!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
This week on my TV: sweet victory, undercooked chicken feet, and drama at the shore
I've been meaning to write about the Buckeye's Sugar Bowl victory over Arkansas for a couple of days now, but it's starting to feel a little too after the fact at this point. So instead of a full celebratory blog post about Ohio State, I'll just say a quick "Hooray!" and leave it at that. It was ugly at the end, but we did it. Everyone can now stop talking about how Ohio State can't beat an SEC team in a bowl :)
Moving on to Top Chef, I realize that Casey had to go home for serving inedible chicken feet. I'm not sure what she was thinking buying those nasty things and then entrusting the cooking of them to someone else. But I SO wanted Jamie to get kicked off. She is the worst. The worst! I can't forgive her for the chick pea incident and I am so sick of watching her cook soup or scallops (or nothing) every episode. Even Eric Ripert, who usually seems so nice, pretty much rips her to pieces in his video blog (http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-8/blogs/eric-ripert/she-should-just-go-home). He softens it a little by saying that she seems so miserable, he feels bad for her. But then ends with this humdinger of a quote:
"...as of now it's very, very painful to watch her showing no skills of leadership. So therefore, if you cannot be a leader, you cannot be a chef. She has no good technique or skills, so she cannot be a cook. So what are you doing on Top Chef?"
Heh heh. I'm not quite sure who I want to win now that my beloved Spike is gone (on a side note, my mother tells me that he is opening a restaurant in Chicago soon. Woo hoo!). Dale is probably my favorite, though I do also like Carla. It's much easier for me to say who I DON'T want to win (Marcel or Jamie).
Moving on to other annoying reality characters, I caught a 10-minute preview of the new Jersey Shore season and am pretty bummed out. They're introducing a new roommate, some gross friend of Snooki's, who might just ruin the show. She's that hard to watch!
Other than the Sugar Bowl and Top Chef and 10 minutes of the Jersey Shore, we've spent most of the week with the TV off. The reason being that Jason has been setting up a massive IKEA entertainment center so we can hide our junk behind cabinet doors. With Molly just a few weeks or months away from being mobile, we figured it was probably time to start getting organized. Our place is a bit of a wreck now -- we need to rearrange the rest of the furniture now to balance out the new wall unit -- but I'm feeling good about the progress. Next up is replacing our pointy coffee table with a soft and sturdy storage ottoman!
Moving on to Top Chef, I realize that Casey had to go home for serving inedible chicken feet. I'm not sure what she was thinking buying those nasty things and then entrusting the cooking of them to someone else. But I SO wanted Jamie to get kicked off. She is the worst. The worst! I can't forgive her for the chick pea incident and I am so sick of watching her cook soup or scallops (or nothing) every episode. Even Eric Ripert, who usually seems so nice, pretty much rips her to pieces in his video blog (http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-8/blogs/eric-ripert/she-should-just-go-home). He softens it a little by saying that she seems so miserable, he feels bad for her. But then ends with this humdinger of a quote:
"...as of now it's very, very painful to watch her showing no skills of leadership. So therefore, if you cannot be a leader, you cannot be a chef. She has no good technique or skills, so she cannot be a cook. So what are you doing on Top Chef?"
Heh heh. I'm not quite sure who I want to win now that my beloved Spike is gone (on a side note, my mother tells me that he is opening a restaurant in Chicago soon. Woo hoo!). Dale is probably my favorite, though I do also like Carla. It's much easier for me to say who I DON'T want to win (Marcel or Jamie).
Moving on to other annoying reality characters, I caught a 10-minute preview of the new Jersey Shore season and am pretty bummed out. They're introducing a new roommate, some gross friend of Snooki's, who might just ruin the show. She's that hard to watch!
Other than the Sugar Bowl and Top Chef and 10 minutes of the Jersey Shore, we've spent most of the week with the TV off. The reason being that Jason has been setting up a massive IKEA entertainment center so we can hide our junk behind cabinet doors. With Molly just a few weeks or months away from being mobile, we figured it was probably time to start getting organized. Our place is a bit of a wreck now -- we need to rearrange the rest of the furniture now to balance out the new wall unit -- but I'm feeling good about the progress. Next up is replacing our pointy coffee table with a soft and sturdy storage ottoman!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Year!
Here's to hoping that 2011 is just as good to us as 2010 was!
Things are already looking good. Brandi's mom was kind enough to babysit Miss Molls so Jason and I could get silly on champagne at Ford and Aimee's wedding. We had so much fun hanging out with friends and watching this amazing couple tie the knot. Here are a few pics from the event at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport.
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| Ford was on cloud nine |
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| Aimee dancing with her little man. If I ever have a son, I want him to be just like Brody. |
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| Me and Jas -- happy to be out TOGETHER for once! |
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| Mark and Kylie, looking classy. They're having a baby this June. Woo hoo! |
Speaking of babies, I did a lot of talking about mine on NYE. I love Molly, but do not want to be the kind of mom who only talks about her kid. So one of my New Year's resolutions is to start focusing on other aspects of my life again. I want to spend more alone time with Jason and make a better effort to hang out with my girlfriends and sisters. I want to watch more movies, read more books, and take better advantage of all the cool things that Chicago has to offer. With Molly too :) We stay home most weekends, but there's no reason we can't take her out shopping, to museums, or to earlybird dinners. She loves checking out new surroundings. We should give her more to look at!
Of course, like everyone else out there, I also want to start eating healthier and working out again. Jason and I have a plan for Jan -- we're going to cut out cheese and fried food. He's been doing all the cooking lately, and I've been in charge of getting Molly fed, bathed, and off to bed. But I think we need to do a better job of balancing that out. We're going to start alternating days so that he can get a little bit more Molly time in the evenings. I'm not as good of a cook as Jason is, but I do tend to make slightly healthier dishes. We'll eat more vegetables at least if I'm in charge of a few of our meals!
Think that sounds like enough? Basically, I just want to be a better me!
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