No AC?!

So, the baby’s new thing is wiggling. You say to her ‘wiggle, wiggle, wiggle’, and she will wiggle back and forth. It’s so cute it just about kills me!

My mom and I went out shopping yesterday afternoon. We haven’t been able to spend time like that, just the two of us, in a while, so it was very nice! We bought lots of stuff for the upcoming Bridal Shower.

We also got the baby a few things. Nana got her a little activity table that she can stand at and play. And Nana also got her a ‘walker’ like thing that she can stand behind and push. And then when she gets older it will convert to a little car she can sit on and ride. Hubby built them both for her this morning and they are both a big hit. She loves standing at the little table. She doesn’t grasp the concept of walking behind the mover thing yet, but she love the little toys on it that spin.

Nana also got her a really neat set of blocks. The baby loves it when you build a tower and she can knock it down. So, she really enjoys her new blocks as well.

Nana also brought her lots of little baby snacks. The food clinic wants us to have 2 different textured items on the highchair every time she is in it. So Nana stocked us up. So far her favorite is the Gerber cookies that Nana brought. She actually ate about half of a cookie today.

She is finally starting to put things in her mouth. She ate a few little bites of her zwieback toast as well. Of course, when she is done she throws it on the floor. Eventually one of the dogs sneaks in and steals it off the floor. They love having a baby around!

Today was a hot day. Not too hot, but hot (like 80’s). We had the AC on. Well, mid afternoon I started saying, wow, it’s hot in here! Hubby went out to investigate. Our AC froze for some odd reason. We only had it set at 70, so we aren’t sure what the issue is. We are going to have to call Sears to come look at it.

Hershey went home tonight. We had a great weekend with him. His favorite dog was Romeo, our other guest! The two of them became best friends. Hershey is a BIG lab, BIG! But, he thinks he is a lap dog and he is the biggest cuddle bug! I enjoyed having him, and can’t wait to see him again. He loved the baby. He was so easy and gentle with her, it was amazing. They were so cute to watch.

The baby is defiantly an animal lover. And animal she sees she laughs at. I guess when both your parents are big animal lovers, you are bound to be as well, it’s in the genes!

I know I just blogged yesterday, but I just had to share the wiggle wiggle wiggle thing! I just wish all of you could see it, it is just SO CUTE!!

Pretty Quiet Week

The baby is learning more and more everyday! Yesterday she clapped all by herself for the first time! It’s so cute. She is also starting to walk towards you while you hold her hands. She is still very wobbly and needs lots of practice before she does it on her own.

Tuesday she had her physical therapy. She still has a very slight tilt we are trying to get rid of. The last little bit is being so stubborn to go away!

Then later that morning we took her to a food clinic. Due to her low weight, her avoidance of textures and not getting enough calories her pediatrician sent her. There was a pediatrician, a speech therapist, an occupational therapist and a dietician. They watched her eat. They determined that they want her to have yet another swallow test. They think that they were hearing swallowing problems. They also think the piece of skin under her tongue may be too big; her ENT needs to check it out when we go see him in 2 weeks. And she also isn’t very good about moving food around in her mouth with her tongue.

So, they gave us several ideas about how to work with her. She has her next swallow test July 6. She all ready is finally starting to put her biter biscuits in her mouth. The food clinic was very informative. We came away with some great ideas, saying, huh who would have thought?!

Wednesday we found out that the baby was exposed to roseola. Two kids in her classroom at daycare came down with it. So, now we are watching her for signs of it. The other night she had a slight fever, so I started to think that might have been the start of it. But after a dose of Tylenol, it went away. Then just this morning we are wondering if we are seeing little spots on her face. Hubby is up taking her temperature now.

It’s been pretty hot here this week. High 80’s to 90’s. Today is supposed to be in the 90’s and tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter!

It’s the Kirouac Kennel here this weekend. We have Rick’s chocolate lab Hershey. We also have Greg’s cattle dog Romeo. Hershey will go home either Sunday night or Monday, depending on when Rick gets home. We have Romeo until next weekend.

We have been looking at moving the office. So we have been spending lots of time this summer looking at office space. We have it narrowed down to 2. And one of the two isn’t cooperating, so we think we have our winner. We are still working out the final details. We won’t be moving until late October though.

I know last post I mentioned recycling batteries and how our zoo takes them. I realize not all of you live near our zoo. I did some research and the store Batteries Plus will recycle batteries for you. So, if you have one of those stores near you, you can take them there.

I am still fighting something. I started this week taking Claritin instead of a decongestant and I started feeling better. So maybe it is allergies. But, I am still congested and coughing. Hopefully it goes away soon.

Well, I have a mountain of laundry I need to go deal with! Stay cool everyone!

advice to improve the environment

Summer cold... or allergies?

Well, it’s been a long week here. Monday was the baby’s appointment with her GI specialist. She is doing okay, he was happy to hear she is going to a food clinic. He feels this will help clear up any of the swallowing issues she was having. And this will hopefully help her to put some weight on. He wants her to eat meats and drink bottles. Those are the highest in calories. So, we started giving her #2 meats. She eats them pretty well.

Tuesday was her physical therapy. She still has about 5 degrees left of tilt. These last 5 degrees have been very stubborn for some reason. She won’t be released from physical therapy until we can get rid of the last little bit of tilt.

Meanwhile, all week I have had a cold. It started Monday with a sore throat, and then Tuesday was a headache and I started with stuffiness on Wednesday. I guess it also could be allergies. I had the same thing this time last year. I remember clearly because I was trying to find something I could take for decongestant that was safe since I was pregnant. I have started to wonder today if it is allergies because today I have been sneezing and had watery eyes. After my allergy tests 2 years ago, it’s very possible it could be allergies. And Hubby was gone all week; he is on his way down from Denver right now.

The baby is pulling to standing regularly now. The last thing Hubby did last week before he left, Sunday night before we put the baby down was move her mattress down to the lowest setting. I am so grateful he did because all week, when I go in to get her, she is standing there! And they told me at daycare today that she is pulling up there too.

Speaking of daycare, yesterday (Thursday) I left work early because I wasn’t feeling well. When I got up to daycare, it was such a nice day, they were just heading outside. The baby was looking longingly at the open door, so I took her out for a while too. Each age group has a little area outside. The two infant areas have a great little area with fake grass, and they set up a big beach umbrella for shade. There were about 5 kids out there and one of the teachers blew bubbles. It was so cute to watch all of them. We stayed for about an hour and then headed out.

Today when I got there, they were all ready outside. The picture of all of them sitting out there was so cute; I was wishing I had my camera. There were several little ones sitting in the ‘grass’ playing. They had brought out a dishpan of water and they were playing in it. The teachers had taken everyone’s shoes and socks off and were pouring water on their toes. Again, I sat down and watched for 45 minutes. Towards the end, the baby crawled over and was splashing in the water with her hand. By the time we left, she was soaked.

The people who will be doing the food clinic for the baby called today. They had an opening next Tuesday, so we don’t have to wait a month! We get to go next week! It should be very interesting to see what they do.

The baby and I had a great night tonight. She got up from her nap around 5:30pm. She and I ate dinner together. Then she crawled all over the first floor. She explored one room to another to another. Then we went for a ‘stroll’ we call it, since she doesn’t walk yet. After we got back from that, I gave her a bath. She played for quite a while in the tub. After a nice refreshing bath, she had her final bottle, we read a few books, then her breathing treatment and finally bed. She has pushed her bedtime back to around 8pm. She is just so cute that sometimes it’s hard to put her down for the night. I could sit and play with her forever!

I just discovered this week that you should recycle batteries. I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I always knew that, I just never did it! Then I was cruising our zoo’s website, and I found out that they will take old batteries for recycling. They had a link to a page from the city about why you should recycle batteries. So, that is yet another thing that we will no longer be throwing away in our trash to go to the local landfill. We will do the right thing and recycle them, either by taking them to the zoo, or other places in town. I encourage you to do the same!

We have a busy weekend ahead of us! Its Hubby’s first Father’s day! That reminds me, I better go wrap gifts before he gets home! Adios!

Life is busy

Well, we (Hubby and I) are working hard to do our part to save the environment. We are now doing recycling with our trash company. We start next week. They take glass, plastic, and paper. We get to throw everything in one large recycling bin.

I try to always take our canvas bags to the grocery store so we don’t have to use the plastic ones. We try to buy organic foods for us and the baby, and the dogs when possible. We are just doing little things here and there. We are starting small and doing small things that hopefully will have at least a small impact. I hope everyone who reads this does what they can as well. When I am making decisions about almost anything nowadays I am always asking myself if this is the best thing for the environment. Is there a better choice I could be making?

Our air conditioner we had last year is Pueron, not Freon. Pureon is better for the environment. I hope that we all do a little bit and that little bit makes a big difference!

The baby has been working on perfecting her crawling. She is getting pretty good! And fast! When there is something she wants, she goes right after it. And usually that is something she shouldn’t be messing with. In her room, we have an air deflector on her heating vent so the air doesn’t blow directly into her crib. Well, tonight, that is what she wanted! She would go after it in a flash. Hubby would pick her up and put her 4 feet away and like a flash she would be back over to it!

I went to a food seminar at WnW Wednesday night. The Nature’s Variety rep was there talking about their cat and dog food lines. I feed the raw diet they make. She was talking about cats, and something that I wanted to bring up here. I have known this for a few years now, but I don’t know how many of you know this, so I am going to share. Did you know that cats should always have wet food in their diet?! Cats are true carnivores. They are not technically designed to eat kibble. They get their moisture in their system mostly from wet food. It’s hard for them to drink the amount of water they need, from a bowl. Also, I just learned that cats like their food room temperature or warmer. It reminds them of their prey they kill. Usually their prey is not cold (refrigerated).

This weekend we spent it working as well. Saturday I worked for WnW at a Heart/Stroke walk. We set up our normal booth. A lot more of these walks are having dogs join in the fun as well.

After that, we ran errands and then Glenn came over to help Hubby get several projects done around the house. They re-ran phone and satellite cable so that it doesn’t run around the fireplace anymore. That was something that really needed to be done now that the baby is becoming an expert crawler.

They also installed a retractable screen door on the door that goes to the garage. I love it. On cool days it helps with a breeze. When we are working in the garage it keeps kids and dogs inside!

This morning we got up and when the baby went down for her morning nap we did more house stuff. I weeded the rocks in our backyard, which I don’t think has ever been done, while Hubby cleaned up from yesterday’s projects and finished a few odds and ends. I still have things I want to do in the back yard, and I know Hubby still has stuff he would like to finish as well. Well, I guess there is always next weekend! It just never ends!

Today we ran some errands. We got home, fed the baby and put her down for her nap. Then we both took a nap as well. Later our friends stopped by to get some music from us that they want to try with their kid. We always have some sort of music or something playing in the baby’s room. So, they want to see if the noise distraction will help their kid sleep at night.

Our sprinklers finally got fixed this week. It took the sprinkler guys two days to get it done, as they had to order a part, but we finally again have functioning sprinklers. Our grass was so dry, and starting to look so bad, I have run them every night since they started working again. We still have one patch in the backyard that looks pretty bad.

This week the Utility Company came and installed a new water and electric meter. These new ones are read remotely. They are supposed to be putting something in our street lights to read our meters. So, no more guy walking around once a month checking every house’s meter. Pretty fancy, but I feel bad for all those people who are going to end up with some other job they probably don’t want because their meter reading days are over. All though I am sure there are some parts of the job they won’t miss, like crazed dogs in the backyard!

The baby had her 9 month old check up this week as well. She weighed in at 15#’s 7.5 oz. That put her way down into the 3^rd percentile for her weight. A little nerve wracking, but the doctor says she isn’t overly worried. But, since the baby does have such an issue with texture, and her weigh is so low, we get to go to a speech therapist for a food clinic. I have no idea how this is going to work, but somehow they help the baby get past the texture issue. We shall see! She did pass her anemia test with flying colors, so that was good.

Today for the first time ever, the baby pulled herself up to standing in her crib. She was supposed to be napping, and she was having a hard time falling asleep, so she was up moving around and she just grabbed onto the crib railing and pulled! When she was standing up in her crib, the crib rail was at her armpits. Her mattress was on the middle setting, but tonight we dropped it down to the lowest.

Thursday Hubby and I spent the afternoon at the spa. I got a massage and pedicure and Hubby got a manicure and pedicure. I now have a pretty shiny coral color on my toes and Hubby has a dark purple polish on his toes.

Busy Weekend!

What a busy weekend it was here! Saturday we cleaned out the garage. It’s something we actually end up doing about every spring. I guess over the winter we just pile stuff up out there. So, when it’s finally nice outside, we put it all away again.

Saturday night I went to a going away party for several of my friends from WnW. Two girls that I hired when I was manager are moving away. I had fun, it was great to sit and chat with friends.

Sunday we got up and went to breakfast and then Home Depot. After we came home, I planted flowers in my flowerpots. Last summer at the end of the summer, I think when I was in the hospital; they too had just got put in the garage, so I actually dumped out the old dirt and dead flowers on Saturday. And then today I made them pretty for the summer again.

Then I set up our new hose reel for the west side of the house, and then for real fun, I picked up dog poop. Do I know how to have a good time or what?! And of course while all that was happening I was also running laundry and watering the lawn. We are stuck manually watering, our sprinklers went kablewy when we turned them on a few weeks ago and I have had a heck of a time trying to get someone to come and fix them.

And also this was a big weekend baby wise. She cut another tooth; this one is on the top. She also ate some cheerios, bananas, and peach puffs. We also tried giving her baby food with meat in it instead of the usual veggies and fruit. AND for the big news: SHE CRAWLED!!! Finally! And you know what motivated her to actually crawl? She wanted to get to the stuff under the TV that she isn’t allowed to be in! She also learned how to sit up from a laying down position. She has been really close to doing that for a while too, and she finally figured it out today. Good thing Hubby lowered her crib mattress yesterday! I put her down for the night this evening and by the time I turned around just before leaving the room; she was sitting up in her crib!

And with the teething comes the reflux. Her reflux has been so bad recently! She spits everything up and at any time! Before she started teething, she usually only spit up formula if she was going to spit up at all. But now, it’s baby food and formula that we see again. And it could be right after she eats or 2 hours after she eats. It’s no fun, and I am sure her GI doctor will have a field day hearing about it. And I can’t tell you how many clothes are stained orange now. I think from now on I need to dress her in all orange. For some reason that seems to be what we see back the most!

She hates any kind of texture change. So, we put a cheerio in her mouth and you would think we are making her eat dirt by the expression on her face! We think she’s funny to watch. She handles eating Cheerios best, but she kept spitting out the peach puffs and bananas. Hubby even tried to sneak one in on her spoon with baby food. She sucked the baby food off and spit out the banana! Crazy kid! She also doesn’t like the new food. Yesterday and today for dinner it was turkey, rice and mixed vegetables. And it was a level 3 baby food, so much thicker, and with really mushy rice in it. She was not interested in eating it. I had to bribe her with applesauce every other bite to get some into her!

She is also almost off the expensive formula. We are making her 6 oz. bottles now, 2 scoops of the Good Start (regular formula more or less) and 1 scoop of the Elecare (the expensive stuff). We will probably keep this up until our last 3 cans of Elecare are gone! I am determined to use it all up, since we paid so much for it!

Well, as you can see, it’s been busy here! So, we are both exhausted, and heading to bed! Good night!