Saturday, August 27, 2011

7 Months!

Dear Linny,

Happy 7 Month Birthday!  You are growing up so fast and you've starting sitting up like a big girl!


You could sit up propped with your hands for a few seconds last month, but this month you've really started sitting up very well.  You sit there and play with your toys for a long time before you inevitably topple over. 

You've also become a rolling machine.  You haven't attempted to crawl, but you get to where you want to go by rolling there, so you have become semi-mobile!  You can roll from one end of the room to the other, no problem.

You've continued to be our little scientist, examining everything with such intensity.  And that brings out Wild-Eyed Marie.



You love the texture of your glider.  After I feed you I put you up on my shoulder to burp and you get fixated on running your little hands across the material.  You get surprised and excited by it every time.

Your favorite toy of the month is the red "Accelerate the Cure" bracelet that Mommy and Daddy have.  It's rubbery and you love to gnaw on it. 

You are saying more and more "words" as the weeks fly by, and this month "Da-da" has been your main one.  You started that a few weeks ago, and just yesterday I heard "Ma-ma" come out of your mouth!  However, you don't associate those syllables with Daddy and Mommy just yet.  You say them arbitrarily to whomever you happen to be with at the moment.  Still fun to hear!  Soon enough you'll know what they mean.

We are still going strong with breastfeeding, but we were finally able to cut down a little bit to 4 times a day because....we've started solids!  So far you have had rice cereal, sweet potato, avocado, and banana.  We've done each food for a week, and despite being skeptical of each one at first, you've done great with all of them by the end of the week. 

We've started to give you two naps a day instead of three and we put you down around the same times every day (10 and 2).  We then leave you in your crib for at least an hour.  If you don't sleep, so be it, but at least you've had some down time.  And although it sometimes takes you awhile, you usually eventually fall asleep.  So nap time isn't as stressful as it once was, but it's still a work in progress.

At night you are continuing to do very well with going to sleep, and I think the bedtime routine helps a lot.  It's funny because you love love love your bath, but you hate hate hate getting your jammies on.  We dry you off and bring you back to your room and you're fine until we start getting you dressed.  Then it's a scream fest until you eat.  It's like you are getting out your last bit of energy for the day.

But then....you sleep all night!  Yay!!!!!  We started slowing extending the hour to which I would go in and feed you in the morning, and we are now where we want to be.  You go to bed between 7 and 8PM, and we get up every morning at 7AM.  Even if you wake up before then, which you often do, we don't go in your room until 7, and you either fall back to sleep or you play quietly to yourself until then.  The morning is still your happiest time of the day.

Here are some more of your 7 month pics:

Hanging out with Daddy, waiting for Hurricane Irene to pass.  I put you in your fishy skirt just for the occasion.  We were supposed to leave for our beach vacation this morning, but Irene is messing up our plans.  So instead, we are hanging out having a Hurricane party at the Hetrick house!  Hopefully we'll be able to get to the beach tomorrow!


"Oooh Daddy, this I-Phone could keep me occupied for awhile."


"Wow, am I that many already?!!!"


It's gotten so hard to get pictures of you lying down now that you are a rolling machine.  You roll away before I get the chance to snap a photo!  I can keep you in one spot if I sit you up, but soon enough you'll be crawling away and then it'll be really hard to take your picture!


Family photo :)

And of course, a video of you on your 7 Month birthday.  Quite a coincidence what happens towards the end of the video.  What a smart girl we have!



Addy, I am loving this stage of your life so so much!  You are so happy, fun, and playful, but you are still just my perfect, innocent baby.  It's the greatest age so far, and Daddy and I have so much fun with you every day.  We love to watch you learn and play and interact.  You are my sunshine, even in the eye of a hurricane!   I love you baby girl!

Love,

Mommy

Friday, August 26, 2011

Hello My Name is Jess

.... and I am a coffee addict.  There, I said it.  I've been trying to tell myself for awhile now that I'm fine with an occasional cup of coffee here and there.  Ha.  Who did I think I was kidding? 

I gave up coffee for a few weeks back when we were desperately trying to figure out why Addy spits up so much, and let me tell you, it was a rough few weeks.  This post was right in the midst of my no coffee phase.  The breakfast dishes sat in the sink all day, the coffee pot remained full of ground up beans, the bed was unmade....all until right before Mike came home from work.  Sometimes not even then.  Not that he ever says anything, bless his heart.  (Yup, now that I've said that I have officially become a Southerner.)  I just like to have it done before he gets home so it can look as though its been done all day.  Wow.

Sometimes I wonder if he ever looks around the house and wants to ask "What did you do all day?  No dinner....again?"  But he doesn't.  Probably because he knows I'd tell him right where to shove it if he did.  But seriously, I'm here all day, and I wonder what I've been doing.  Surely he must too.  I think if I were him, I would.   And I probably wouldn't be as good about keeping my mouth shut about it either.  I mean, is it that hard to clean the house and throw a meal together?

(Side note: my house is not the disgusting mess that I make it out to be. It just isn't as clean as my apparently unrealistic standards would like it to be. The way it used to be.... pre-baby.) I guess I need to relent a little and come to grips with the idea that maybe the baseboards don't need to be cleaned every week. Things like that. I'll try it. What ends up happening is I get so overwhelmed with the thought of cleaning the house the way I think it should be done, that I end up not doing it at all. Then the baseboards aren't clean,...but neither is anything else. 

Now, think I have figured out that my lack of household motivation is directly proportional to my lack of coffee consumption.  An excuse?  Yes, but I'll take it.  I'm sorry Addy. I know that you spit up like no other, but I think we've determined that my coffee consumption really doesn't affect it either way. Right?   So can mommy please give up this delusional idea that maybe she doesn't need coffee and just go back to it?   Pretty please... with a cherry on top?   This is the question that I politely asked my daughter last week.  She smiled and said that was fine with her.

So this week has been a brand new week.  I've been a whirlwind ... cleaning breakfast dishes before noon, sweeping the insane amount of dog hair off of our hardwood floors, cleaning bathrooms, making dinner.  I feel like superwoman.  Don't mind that i am doing all of this with a slight jitter.  I just needed to get back to my daily cup of coffee.  Now all is right with the world. ... or at least, with my house.

Motivation is what gets you started.
Habit is what keeps you going.
Make it a habit!

I saw this quote the other day, and I am making it my mantra.  Happy Friday!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

30 Weeks

Not much new again at our house this week.  I could get used to this relaxation.  We are gearing up for our beach trip though....which is scheduled to begin right in the midst of Hurricane Irene!  We may be delaying our trip a bit based on the weather, but we'll see.

We tried bananas this week, and oddly enough Addy was not really a fan.  It is the sweetest food we've given her so far, and I couldn't even get her to finish them on the first day!  She wasn't a huge avocado fan on the first day of those either, but at least she ate it. 

After a few bites of banana she was shaking her head "no", arching her back, and turning away.  I'm wondering if it's partly because I didn't puree it and I only mashed it with a fork.  I did add some breast milk to it, as I have with all of her other food.  But the bananas were still lumpier than anything else she's eaten so far. 

But we've kept going with it, and today will be day 4 of the bananas.  She is doing better with them, and finishing the whole container, but I think the consistency is still throwing her off.  Next time I might puree it and see if it goes any better.




Ok, I know she doesn't look all that disgusted in these pics, but I promise she was.  These pics were taken after we gave up for the day.   Mike was at work, so I was trying to feed her, take pics, and video all at the same time.  It didn't work out so well.  Ha ha.

Here is the quick video.  Don't let her fool you.  She pretends she likes them during the video, then promptly refused any more after I turned the camera off.  

Oh, and don't mind her disgustingly discolored bib in the video.  Somehow it got those little black dots in the washer one day.  I have since rewashed it several times and it doesn't come out.  And those little dots have only ever appeared on bibs.  How weird is that?  I disassembled part of the washing machine and cleaned it and everything.  But I really don't know how it happened.  So there are a few bibs in our collection that we only use at home for very messy things.  Mental note not to put it on her again for any pics or videos ;)  Why not throw it out, you ask?  I actually was going to, but Mike (of all people) suggested we keep it for messy/stain filled feedings.  Done.  He's usually the tosser.  Where as you never have to ask me twice to save something :)  But I digress...



And here is the avocado video: (She makes the funniest faces at the end.)



Other than the addition of bananas to our menu, we had a couple of Addy/Carley play dates this week:



Carley is getting so big!  She's 2 and 1/2 months younger and weighs almost as much as Addy!  It's fun to watch how they are starting to interact with one another, so I took a video.  Warning: it's not very exciting.  I was just so impressed that Addy was sitting up for so long that I forgot I had the camera rolling.  Ha ha!



That Addy Marie.  She is sitting up so well these days.  It was like overnight....boom.  She could do it.

And the big 3-0....weeks that is.  I even got a few smiles this week :)




That's all we have going on right now.  Addy is currently over at Carley's house and I am supposed to be getting things done.  So I'm off to make my chicken kabobs and pasta salad for dinner tonight.  Yum!

Friday, August 19, 2011

29 Weeks

Another pretty chill week at the Hetrick house.  It's been so nice to just relax at home...gearing up for our annual beach vacation that's coming soon!  It'll be our first vacation with a baby and 2 dogs so it'll be a whole new ballgame this year.  We can't wait!!

Here are some pics from this past week:

Playing with Scout

And the new food of the week is...... Avocado!
First bite!

"Wow, definitely not sure if I like that at all!"

"Ewwwwww"

"Seriously are we still going with this????"

Let's let Mommy try

After all of that, we got a smile!

It's so interesting watching Addy try new food for the first time.  She was definitely not into the avocado AT ALL on the first day, but we stuck with it. 

I've read that you should try giving a baby a food ten times before determining that they don't like it.  And we are determined to give her as many veggies as possible in hopes that she will acquire a taste for them.  I am not a veggie lover, and never was, but I need to change my eating habits STAT so that I can lead by example.  We are hoping that giving Addy a lot of veggies early on will help mold her to be a healthy eater throughout her life.   That's the goal anyway.

So we are now on day 4 of avocado and it is like night and day.  She hammers her little cup of avocado now with no problems!  Love it!

And its play date time again!
Ha ha!  Don't they look so serious?  Come on girls, lighten up!

There we go

Just hangin' out together

Carley loves the Step n' Play piano

Onto the weekly pics...


Big girl!

Addy was not feeling the lying down pics.  She wouldn't even crack a smile for Daddy.

And, last but not least, a BIG HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY to Addy's Aunt Lauren today!!  She wore a special bib just for the occasion....

(Can I just add that this pic was taken after her lunch of rice cereal, and not a single spot on her bib!  She is getting better and better at the solid food thing every day!)

Have a great weekend!


Friday, August 12, 2011

28 Weeks

It's been a nice relaxing week at the Hetrick house.  No traveling, no big plans, just livin' the dream ;)

Here are some of the photos from this past week.

We decided to try sweet potatoes! 

A little skeptical at first

"Hmmmm, this is actually pretty tasty."

"I love it!"

"But now I'm full Dad.  Hello..... read my body language.  NO MORE!"

"Ah, my thumb.  My new favorite thing."

Since we decided to make our own baby food, I bought the Baby Bullet (blender type thing) and it came with these little storage jars.  How cute are they?  And they have a little dial on the top where you dial in the date that you made the food, which I love.  And yes, Addy hammered that whole cup of sweet potatoes on her first try!




Since we have not taken any pics of Addy in the bath since her very first day in the bath tub, I decided it was time for a few of those this week.

Not sure why this one is a little bit blurry.  A photographer I am not.

"Daddy dumped the water right in my face!"

"But I don't really mind."
(I feel the need to mention here that he did wash the soap out of her hair before pouring water down her face.  It was just water, not soapy water.  OK, I feel better now.)

"Why is that camera always in my face?  Can't a girl get some privacy around here?"

Precious baby feet

Love it :)
She is just starting to sit up more and getting more playful in the tub, so we'll get some better tub photos in a few months when playtime is in full force.




And, of course, we have our weekly photos.

She loves that rattle

How cute is this little outfit that I got her at the Carters outlet?  I went there for the first time last week and it was bad news.  I loved so much stuff (AKA bought so much stuff).  I want to go back already, but I will be strong.  Because now I know that every time I go I am sure to come home with way too much, and I will have to endure the 20 questions/exasperation from my hubby.  Totally worth it this time though.  I mean, I told him she needed new jammies.  Did she need 10 pairs of new jammies?  Maybe not.

This thumb is a new thing that I have to contend with when trying to get pics.  Did I mention that we think Addy is a lefty?  She always puts the thumb from her left hand in her mouth and she tends to reach for things (like the spoon during her meals) with her left hand too.

Gotcha!  A smile!

Look at our big girl!  Very focused on the task at hand as always.

There you have it.  Just another week at the Hetrick house :)  Hope you all have a great weekend!


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Where Has The Day Gone?

Why do I feel like I ask myself that question all the time???

Before I had Addy we had a cleaning lady that came every other week, and when I was pregnant I told her we wouldn't need her anymore once the baby was born because I'd be home most of the time.  I figured, I am only working one 12 hour shift a week, how hard could it be to keep the house nice and clean?  Famous last words.  I realize that this is entirely possible, so why does it seem so difficult?

I feel like I am constantly struggling to find time to get things done.  Like Addy's baby books.  I am getting anxiety thinking about the fact that she is over half a year old and I've barely started them.  I tell myself every week, this will be the week that I'll work on them, but then before I know it, the week is over and they are still collecting dust in the den.  WHY?

Is it just a lack of time management?  Is it my extreme procrastination rearing its ugly head?  I always tell myself that I will get some things done after Addy goes to bed, but let's be honest.  That never happens.  Ever.  I am just so tired by the time I put her to bed that I can't fathom doing anything productive.  Which is why I need to really try to buckle down and get things done while she naps.

I mean, I know Addy doesn't nap particularly well, but you'd think I'd have something to show for the time that she does nap.  I blame this blog..... and the countless others that I read ;)  For example, I was reading a blog that had sample weekly cleaning schedules on it this morning.  Well, perhaps I should've just been cleaning instead of reading about cleaning.  I should declare some days "no computer days" or something.  I need help!

I do love lists though, so maybe if I have some type of weekly chore list written out it will inspire me to do things just so I can cross them off.  Yes, I am that big of a dork. 

Anyway, time to step away from the computer and start my real life day.  Addy, Daisy, and I are gonna head out for a run before the heat/humidity become unbearable.  Yup, another half marathon is in my future.  Savannah Rock and Roll Half Marathon here I come!  T-minus 3 months and counting!

Maybe some fresh air and physical exercise will motivate me to tackle some chores when I get home.

Hopefully tonight I won't go to bed saying "Where has the day gone?"

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Little Peepers

OMG we have to lower the crib mattress!!!! 

So I was happily going about my chores while Addy was "napping" a few minutes ago and I decided to swing by her room and check on her.  I leave her door ajar while she sleeps so that I can make said checks without waking her by opening the door.  (We don't have a video monitor, and I'll admit that is one thing I wish we did have.)

So I stealthily tiptoed to her doorway to find her on her belly with her little hand curled around the crib railing.  With that little hand/arm, she had pulled herself up high enough that she was peering over the top of the crib!!!!!!  No joke!

My eyes flew open and I almost ran in there, but I just stood and watched for a minute.  All I could see were her little eyes peering over the top of her crib, just checking out her room.  She didn't see me there, and she fell back down in a few seconds.  I wish I could have gotten a picture, but then she definitely would have seen me and nap time would've been even more of a mess.  Nonetheless, when Mike gets home from work he's gonna get the fun job of lowering the crib mattress before a major catastrophe occurs. 

Yup, that same crib that he grunted and groaned over when putting it together before Addy was born.  He claimed that he was "never messing with that d*** thing again".

I "gently" reminded him that "we" (meaning "he") would have to mess with it to lower the mattress when she got bigger.  He was not happy with that revelation then, and he won't be happy with the news now. 

But in order to attempt to prevent her from following in her daddy's footsteps and flinging herself over her crib onto the floor, it has to be done.  Sorry Daddy.  Safety first!

P.S.  Can I just mention that upon concluding this post, Addy is still crying in her crib.  Yup, 25 minutes and counting.  Sigh.  Will nap time ever get easier????????????

Rolling With Laughter

This is a post of a few recent videos.  Yesterday, I FINALLY witnessed the belly to back roll!  I know Addy has been doing it for a few weeks, but I only ever saw the end result, and never actually witnessed the big roll until yesterday.  She saved it for Daddy's birthday :)



Then I found a few videos from about a month ago.  Here is us trying to get a good video of Addy holding her own bottle... She is already doing it so much better, and this video is only a few weeks old!



This video is from our Fourth of July trip to PA.  I love her little laughs!!!


Have a great day!

Monday, August 8, 2011

27 Weeks and A Girls Getaway


This week Mike took Addy's pics because I was .........(nope, not working) ON VACATION!! 

Two of my friends and I went to Nags head on the Outer Banks for 4 days and it was wonderful!  And since two of the three of us have young babies, we joked that it was one big pump party.  TMI?  Sorry.  Anywho, we had such a blast, just us girls.  It's been a long time since we've done that, and it was such a nice relaxing getaway.  The weather wasn't the greatest, but we were able to lay on the beach (albeit without sun for the most part) and chat, so we were all good with that.

Mike was so nice to take off of work for me to go so that he could stay home and take care of Addy.  I am one lucky lady :)  So it was Daddy and Addy mania, and they had so much fun!  I missed them both like crazy, but Mike was great and sent me text pictures and videos while I was gone.  I seriously felt like she looked different when I got back.  In less than four days of being gone?  No joke, she changed.  Crazy how babies do that.

Onto the pics...





And, check it out!  Our first weekly pic of Addy sitting up!....

Yay!  But what on earth is that thing in the lower left corner?  A finger...a leg?  Honestly, I have no idea.  Kinda creeps me out.

So there you have it.  Week 27 was my longest time away from my baby to date: Thursday - Sunday.  Had a great time with my gals, but I'm so glad to be back home with my family!

Happy Monday ... and a BIG Happy 32nd Birthday to the greatest husband a girl could ever dream of!  Love you Michael!


Tuesday, August 2, 2011

6 Months!

Dear Linzo Bean,

I think we have enough nicknames for you to write you a letter a month for 10 years!  Ha ha!

So the big 0.5! (as Grandpa would say).  I cannot believe you have been with us for over half a year already!  This past month you have gotten so much more interactive, and life with you is becoming more and more fun all the time. :)

You've really started exploring a lot more with your hands over this past month.  You grab our faces and laugh when we are holding you.  You love to grab my necklace, earrings, watch, rings, shirt, hair, etc...  Whatever you can reach, you grab for.  Hence Mommy's new hair cut.  You still try to grab my hair, but now you can only get the tips.  Ha ha!  You also love to clap your hands, and hold hands with whatever baby you may be hanging out with (either Luca or Carley).  It's so cute!

Your hair is really starting to come in now, though we are still unsure of what color it will be.  I'm thinking a light brown.  Your eyes definitely seem to be turning brown. 

We went to the doctor for your six month appointment this morning and here are your stats:

Weight: 16 lbs (50th percentile)
Length: 27 inches (90th percentile)
Head circumference: 44 cm (85th percentile)

You are Mommy and Daddy's tall girl!  Weird thing is, when they measured you, they said 25.5 inches.  I was thinking in my head "Wasn't she 26 inches 2 months ago?"  Then on the paper they wrote 27 inches.  Hmmmm.  When you wake up from your nap I am going to measure you again to get an accurate length.  (I measured you, and you are indeed 27 inches exactly.)

We started giving you rice cereal a few days before your six month birthday and you get so so excited about meal time.  Though I don't think you end up with much of it in your belly at this point.  ;)  We are going to start giving you cereal twice a day now instead of just once, and then we will gradually start adding other foods too.  Maybe in a month or so we can drop one of your nursing sessions.  You eat 5 times during the day and once at night.  (And you still spit up A LOT.)   I think you know the word "milk" because whenever I ask you if you want it, you get super excited!  Ha ha!

At night, you are a great sleeper, but Mommy and Daddy are going to try to eliminate that night time feed soon. Don't make it too hard on us, OK? You go to bed around 7:30PM and wake up around 7:30AM, which is fantastic, but you still get up between 4-5AM every night to eat. You always immediately fall back to sleep after I nurse you, which is probably why I haven't been in a huge rush to stop doing it.  I'll say it.  It's easier to just get up and feed you than it is to lay there and listen to you cry.  Because if I know you, and I think I do, we'll be in for some rough nights once we finally bite the bullet to get rid of the 4AM feed. 

One part of life with you that is always a struggle is naps.  Addy, you are a napping nightmare.  I am so schedule driven that I just want you to be semi predictable with your nap lengths, but you keep me on my toes.  Sometimes your naps are and hour and a half, sometimes they are 25 minutes.  We just never know what to expect.  And you almost always cry before falling asleep.  Sometimes for less than 5 minutes, sometimes for 30 minutes.  I hate to hear my baby girl crying, but I leave you alone because I know you will fall asleep eventually, and you need your sleep.  We are still going with about 3 naps per day.  Daddy says I need to relax, because you are a very happy girl; barely ever cranky.  So maybe short naps are all that you need and I just need to accept that.  I'm still gonna try for longer ones though ;)

You have been a lot more interested in your toys lately, so Daddy broke down and bought you some pretty cool stuff a few weeks ago.  It's really fun to watch you play.  You get this intensely focused look on your face when you are playing with/examining something.  Wild Eyed Marie comes out in full force.  Maybe you will be a scientist someday!

You also still love rolling around on the floor under your activity mat.  Though its still just back to belly.  You are taking your good old time about rolling the other way.  I will say that you have done it.  Daddy and I have seen the end result.  We just haven't actually witnessed the belly to back roll yet.

You have started to be able to sit up by propping yourself up with your hands for a short time.  Then you slowly topple over.  It's so funny to watch! 

And you are definitely a thumb sucker!  You really started doing that a lot this past month, and you are starting to figure out that it soothes you, which is great!

The babbling has begun!  You have been making cooing noises for months now, but this past month you started really making distinct consonant sounds and you're first babble is "ba ba".  You say it over and over and then we sing "Ba Ba Black Sheep".  I'm working hard to make "ma ma" you're next one, but why do I have a feeling that "da da" will come first? ;)

I thank my lucky stars every day that I'm able to spend so much time at home with you.  Working one day a week is the perfect amount because I don't feel like I am missing too much time with you, and I know you and Daddy are having lots of fun on those days that I work.  He is the most amazing Daddy and he absolutely adores you.

You and Mommy were up in Philly visiting Aunt Tina and Uncle Jay for your six month birthday, so Tina took the place of Daddy in the photo this month.  And, get this...I forgot to get a video!  So unlike me.  But don't worry, there are many, many videos of you Addy Marie.






About to get that thumb!

You and Holly Heinnickel


You promptly pooped on your outfit (and Aunt Tina and Uncle Jay's couch :( ) after our photo shoot, so here you gals are before we got you into a new outfit.
       
When Aunt Tina and I planned this trip we purposely didn't tell your grandparents that we were coming, so we drove to Allentown on your six month birthday and surprised them!

At Applebees with Grandpa

Visiting Grandma Beth at work

Hanging at Grandma D's house


Then we drove back to Philly and kept you awake until Uncle Jay got home from work so he could hang out with you too!
Just got done with your bath


Our trip was so much fun, and you were a trooper on the airplane!  Not as easy as our flight to Florida because now you want me to entertain you the whole time.  And naps on the plane?  I think not.  Too much to look at for you to bother yourself with a nap.  But, all in all, it was a great trip and it was so much fun to surprise everyone.   You have a lot of family members that miss you like crazy little girl!

Well, there is your sixth month in a nutshell.  I love you more than I ever imagined that I could, Adilyn. I love walking into your room when you wake up to have you flash me that huge toothless grin when you see me coming. It's the absolute greatest feeling in the world! You are my little princess, and in some ways I just want to keep you as my little baby forever, but in other ways I can't wait to see what you'll do next!  These past six months have been amazing.  And I know you are having just as much fun as Daddy and I are!

I will end this letter with my favorite photo of you and I so far.  I think I might frame it!


I love you to pieces Linny Linny Linzo Bean!

Love,
Mommy