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Happy Thursday!
Today, Blair started this fake laugh. It first disguised itself as a cough, or the tickle in your throat before a cough. I then realized she was being funny with this silly laugh. What a character. Personality Plus!!!
And in exciting news... I have (finally!) nailed down the theme for Blair's 1st birthday. My inspiration was my baby bedding as a baby. Funny enough, Travis had almost the identical bedding. No joke. I will post pictures to prove it. :) The ideas are flowing, I have invites picked out (and they are oh-so-cute!) and sketches are being made.
Since my 9 month old baby has decided to take her ceremonious steps into toddlerhood, I thought it might be a good time to list the things that Little Miss B has taken a shine to.
These are a few of her favorite things... (in no particular order)
Walking (sometimes stumbling) or crawling after Kingsley or Raleigh
Mum-mums (rice husks that dissolve in her mouth)
Books - most especially "Goodnight Moon," "Five Little Pumpkins," and "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" (but any book is a good book!)
Her walker and alphabet train
Chicka (her doll or when she is on tv... her arms start to wave in a wild manner and she begins to bounce with excitement)
Dancing (or bouncing the knees)
Giving Kisses
Letting her check out the clothes she will wear, before we put it on
Going on walks or just being outside
Her teachers and friends at school
The mention or sight of her grandparents
Talking... lots of "D," "B," "M," and most recently "G" sounds (her first official word was Da-da, the second was Mama)
Being silly with her Mama
Live music (so far she's only seen it on tv, but Trav and I are taking Blair to see Sesame Street Live in February. I am so excited!!!)
Seeing where sounds come from
Taking baths (which we call "bathies")
To watch the trees outside and cars pass by
To chase Raleigh or Kingsley in her walker
I am sure I am missing a few more... but I can honestly say things are some of the things our little girl loves. She is such an awesome little girl. I cannot believe how lucky I am!
So today was Blair's follow up appointment for her ears. Good news, her ears and throat are looking much better. We will finish up the bottle of Omnicef and hope that she doesn't get another ear infection in the next month. If she does, we'll go to the ear, nose & throat doctor to consult on getting tubes. I am not really thrilled with that answer, but it is what it is. He did suggest we give the Bug 2ml of Benadryl at night. Hopefully they will help some.
A girlfriend told me that one of her friends switched her baby to rice milk and her ear infections stopped! We are desperate and will definitely be trying it! I just want to start it this weekend so I can monitor her. Fingers are crossed! Wouldn't that be crazy if it turned out that she had a milk allergy? I guess we'll see.
In other "sickie" news... after feeling terrible yesterday at work (spiking fever, severe body aches and a horribly sore, swollen throat), I went to see the doctor. Glad I did... I have a sinus infection and strep throat. Awesome. I have been giving antibiotics and I hope to feel better in the next day or so. I went into work for an hour this morning, then came home.
Not only is this awful since I cannot be around B, but now I can't attend the shower I been helping plan! Ugh. Such a bummer, but I cannot risk getting anyone else sick - esp the Mommy-to-be! I spent most of today (from bed) getting all of my shower pieces ready. I know Al and Court are a little nervous, but I think they will pull it all together and it is going to be fabulous! So wish I could be there...
Well, that's all that is new with us. Bless Travis' heart... he is the glue that is holding us together. Sick baby, sick Mom. Top that off with a super stressful job (that doesn't allow him much time out of the office), and you have a worn down husband. Poor thing. I am really hoping to get better soon to give him some reprieve from baby duties. How a single parent does this all... I will never know.
Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!
I feel like so much has happened, and I am so behind on blogging! The weekend after New Year's, we went to lunch and the park with Grandma Nancy. Blair loves to be outside and enjoyed getting to swing. The park also takes it out of her, so we weren't there long. Silly little girl.
Last week (Tuesday night), Blair came down with a high fever. We pulled off her jammies and I spent the next 1 - 2 hours keeping cool wash cloths on her head, working to bring her fever down. I immediately knew I wouldn't be going into the office on Wednesday. We had our 9 month well baby appointment on Wednesday (which was just turned into a sick baby appointment). Three hours later (the day before, Houston had gotten a lot of rain, knocking out the power of Dr. Kavin's office so all of his Tuesday appointments were pushed to Wednesday), yeah, three hours later, it was determined Bug had double ear infections, a red throat, and a high white blood cell count (thanks to the nasty viral infection B's body was fighting off). She got a shot of antibiotics to jump start the Omnicef and we headed home, praying that her fever would go down. I stayed home with Blair again on Thursday since there was no way she was able to go to school. Poor little bear... my heart broke for her. Friday, Gammy stayed home with B so that I could go back into the office. After refusing a bottle all day (and I began to panic about her becoming dehydrated [can you tell I become a mess when B gets sick??? ...Poor Trav]) she finally began drinking, late Friday night. Whew, it was a rough week.
As you can see from my post below, Biggles said "Mama" - intentionally - for the first time on Saturday. She has never said it so meaningfully before, so it was really neat!
THEN, on Sunday, Blair took 6 steps! She has taken 1 or 2 steps, but never so many! Funny enough, she was trying to get Trav's Heineken bottle (she loves the green bottles!). So she took steps trying to get to it. I don't know if I should be happy, or embarrassed. LOL. She is still a little timid, but Sister knows she can do it, so it won't be long before she is tearing off everywhere. I am holding onto these last few days / weeks of her being a baby. She continues to take in her surroundings, people and sound. I love her fascination of sound... she is such a neat and smart little girl.
Fast forward to today - and now I am sick with that awesome cold B brought home! I spent all morning in jury duty (that's right, for the second time in three months), feeling terrible until I was finally released and spent the afternoon sleeping. I am hoping that this sticks around for only another day or so. I cannot miss MORE work! Ahhh!
Blair's check-up for her ears is on Thursday... we are praying that we will get the news that her ears are getting better.
On Saturday, my besties and I are hosting a baby shower for fellow bestie, Cheryl. Logan will be here in just a few weeks, so we are getting really excited for Cheryl and Chris. I do want to say that I think this will be an awesome shower! There have been countless emails flying between the hosts, carefully planning this luncheon. Sneak peek at the theme: Frogs, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails! So cute, right? Can't wait to see how it will all turn out. I have been in quite the party planning mode! ;)
Time to eat some Mexican food (comfort food for my soul!!) and get some shut-eye!
So, the title sounds a little more interesting / fun than the way we really spent New Year's Eve. Actually we went to have sushi with George and Roslyn. Travis had been dying to go out for sushi, so we made it our evening. After dinner, George and Roslyn took Blair back to their house for some grandparent cuddle snuggle time. That left Travis and I, childless. On New Year's Eve. We spent it the way any normal new parent would - sleeping. Well, we watched the ball drop on the East Coast, then we clocked some serious shut-eye.
Let's see... the 2011 review...
Trav and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary
Blair arrived (one week after our anniversary)
A few trips to the ER for Blair and Ashley (& a 5 day stay for Ashley)
We have gotten less sleep and I still suffer from "Mommy" brain (they say it will return in about 20 years)
Travis and I are experiencing such a wonderful, special, truly heart fulfilling love with this little girl. We are mesmerized by her on a daily basis.
I have learned...
... not to sweat the small stuff
... that less attention for your dog means letting him sleep on our bed at night
... that i will go to great lengths to get Blair to smile and laugh, when all Raleigh has to do is walk into the room
... what i already knew - that travis is a wonderful, giving, attentive and patient father
... not to buy blair's clothes seasons ahead because she grows too quick we can hardly keep her in anything for more than a few wears
... that finding baby toys/clothes/lovies will be found in your bed - on a daily basis
... to cherish every possible, breathing second of it...
Happy New Year! Wishing you and yours a healthy, prosperous new year!
Auntie Loren and Blair before dinner
Me, Blair and Trav (and Blair's death grip on her new Alphabet Train).
Most of our group! Roslyn, Roslyn's mother Jeanne (Meme), Jourdan, Charlotte, Loren, Me, Travis and George (the bug was already sleeping)... Jorge is taking the picture and Shaun had already left...
Auntie Jourdan and B
Our adorable "Cookies for Santa" plate. I love adding this special piece to our list of Christmas traditions!
The "Man" gift for the year
Reading Blair "Goodnight Moon" ♥
This is how Blair started off the festivities! Ha! She knew it was going to be a long night!
The Wright Family on Christmas Eve
Ashley, Blair, Ligia and Zoey 
Craig and I with our girls (who are busy looking at each other like they always do)
The Almons
Daddy and Blair
Me and my sweet little girl!
One of my FAVORITE Christmas traditions.... Christmas Eve dinner at Taste of Texas. I even love waiting the 2 hours to get our table each time. We watch football and have an extended happy hour while waiting. Dinner was delicious as always! Blair did such an amazing job throughout the evening! Her bedtime is around 5 or 6pm, and we didn't get to our table until about 7pm! She was a champ (and of course crashed on the way back to Mimi and Pops' house, thus missing the gift opening / pictures!).
Blair playing with one of her toys from Gammy and Grandpa before the chaos begins. Blair was up at 6am (she shares her excitement for Christmas morning like her father) so there were a couple of present opening breaks and naps taken (all parties partook in the naps).
Daddy reading to Blair and Blair watching Kingsley. One of Blair's new favorite books: 5 Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.
Blair working on her first (and last) gift.
Still working on it.
Still holding onto the Alphabet Train
Our living room has taken on a new life. Toys sing and light up and our color palette has had some serious rainbow touch-ups. 
This is what Santa brought Blair. Daddy put it together Christmas morning!
Future Tea Party participants (Maggie "MJ" Jessie, Chica and Abbey Cadabby). Maggie was given to Blair by Mimi and Pops. Chica... ah yes, the Chica story. Ok, short version. Chica is a puppet that the Sprout channel uses during their morning block of shows. Chica squeaks and Blair absolutely LOVES her. She gets so happy when she hears Chica and sees her on the tv. Trav and I had looked for months to find a Chica doll (they weren't officially for sale from the Network) or even a knock off. We brought one from Etsy because it was the closest thing to resemble the real deal. Anyways, B wasn't fooled and the puppet had been tossed aside. Travis found out that the Sprout channel was releasing a certain amount of dolls for Christmas and - Trav bought one. It is awesome and I think may be the winner for the "Best Gift" this year. 
Kisses for Maggie. Maggie has blue eyes and brown hair and B loves her. I think it is cute that Blair likes babies!
Grandma Nancy and Auntie Loren came over beforehand to open presents. Blair got a baby doll that giggles and a silly bouncing penguin. She loves them!
Girl talk time
Talking with her baby and watching her giggle!
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