Sesame Street Live, Valentine's Day & Birthday Time

It was a busy week for the Wrights! It all kicked off with Sesame Street Live : Elmo makes music on Sunday...

Smiling for the camera - on purpose! That never happens!

Ready to see Elmo!

Travis and Blair
The whole gang!

IN to it!

A couple of sweet pictures of Blair from Gammy and Grandpa's house!

Valentine's Day basket...

Little People CD for my car

Cute owl jammies!

Her new ball pit

Hours of fun

Birthday Celebration #1 - With Grandma Nancy and Auntie Loren

Birthday Celebration #2 - With Mimi, Pops, Uncle Craig, Zoey, Uncle Conner and Caroline

Loving on Mimi and Pops

Getting some sugar from Mimi

Eating garlic bread (score!)

Playing in the ball pit

Birthday Celebration #3 - With Gammy and Grandpa

My sweet, sweet girl (this is the only pic I currently have but will post more later)

As promised, here is a recap from our busy Valentines / Birthday week. Last Sunday, we took Blair to see “Sesame Street Live – Elmo Makes Music.” It was pretty cool. Our seats were really great. We were in the elevated section (of Reliant Arena), but it was great because we could see really well. (The floor seats would’ve made it difficult for Bug to see.) I packed snacks and toys to
keep her occupied during the show. She loved it… lots of clapping and bouncing to the music. When they sang the ABC song, she looked at me and got really excited since she recognized it. It was pretty darn cute! We stayed through most of the show, but decided to quit while we were ahead. This was a huge score for us since we beat the crowds getting to the car and getting out of the parking lot. I would definitely take her to another one of these since she had so much fun. Success!

Tuesday was Valentine’s Day. Blair woke up with her eyes being pink again (since her eyes cleared up so quickly last time, I questioned whether it really had been pink eye). Turns out, it was. So we are back on the drops…’till the end! Blair got picked up from school by Gammy and Grandpa and they spent most of the day playing and exploring. Poor Bug was so tired from all the fun; she had an early bedtime (even with a 2 hour morning nap!). Blair got all kinds of fun cards and treats from her grandparents for her first Valentine’s Day. I, on the other hand, got a huge arrangement of 3 dozen roses delivered to my office. They were absolutely beautiful! Then, on Wednesday, Travis sent me a dozen of chocolate covered strawberries, and on Thursday, an arrangement of irises and red tulips. Can you say SPOILED? Travis went out of his way to make
sure that I felt very loved and special (although he always does that). It was very sweet and I was the envy of my office. ♥

Wednesday night, I conducted a little “20’s Exit Interview” with Travis. I actually just kind of had the idea come to me, so we went with it. I highly recommend it for anyone starting a new decade (or chapter) of your life. Some questions I askedwere (answers are private! :)):

1. What was your biggest regret of your 20’s?
2. What is the best thing you did in your 20’s?
3. What will you miss most about your 20’s, and what will you miss least?
4. Are you where you thought you would be (in life) when you were 20?
5. What did you imagine your life would be like when you were 20?
6. What are you excited about for your 30’s?
7. What are you dreading about your 30’s?
8. What is something you hope to accomplish in the next decade?
9. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
10. What is the biggest lesson about life you have learned?

It was a fun activity and something we will do on the eve of our birthdays before entering a new decade.

Thursday night (Travis’ birthday), we celebrated our birthdays with Nancy and Loren. We ate at our favorite (close!) Mexican restaurant and passed around Blair for lots of hugs and cuddles (she is especially quiet and cuddly when she is tired). We had a great time celebrating!

Friday night, we were over at my parent’s house to continue the birthday festivities. We had a yummy dinner from Lasagna House and watched the girls play in the ball pit. Blair even tried (and liked!) garlic bread for the first time. I was surprised since I thought she would find it strong / spicy, but it was not a problem. Zoey was a little intimidated with the ball pit at first, but quickly warmed up to it. There was a ladder in the living room (Conner was working on replacing the ceiling fan) and Blair was like a magnet to it. I joked about her climbing it and jumping into the ball pit from the top – and Blair’s eyes lit up like, “That’s a great idea Mom.” Ha, like that’s gonna happen!

Saturday (my birthday!), we woke up to a rainy, drizzly day. We had a late birthday lunch at Gammy and Grandpa’s, then left Blair with them so we could go out to dinner to have a little birthday – date night. This will be its own post since it was more than just a date night!

Sunday we recovered with a hangover brunch at the Black Walnut Café. Nothing says “30” like a hangover brunch and shopping at Home Depot. I found (& bought shelves) for Blair’s playroom! They are so cute and are going to be perfect! Thank you to our parents for the money and gift cards which made the purchase possible. :)

Gammy and Grandpa brought the Bug home (after a 2 hour morning nap), which was quickly followed by another 1 ½ hour nap. She was a tired little girl!! We spent the rest of the day cleaning and playing.

Today, Blair is at home with Travis (the markets are closed for President’s day) getting some Daddy and Bug time! I am big time jealous… but they are going to have a fun day with the gorgeous weather!

Have a great week!

Happy Birthday Zoey!

Last Sunday (a week ago Sunday), we celebrated Zoey's 1st birthday! It is so hard to believe that Zoey is already one. I remember when she was born like it was yesterday. It immediately reminds me that Bug is fast approaching the one year marker. Wow. Before I start to get all weepy and sentimental, I am going to cut this off. Pictures are from the BBQ (I told you it was a mild winter!) at Mimi and Pop's house.

Getting ready to attend her first birthday party. Have I mentioned she likes water bottles? Is that weird?

Mimi and Blair

Stare down with Uncle Chris

Me and the Girls

Family picture! Happy Birthday Zoey!

She's looking pretty happy about the duck cake now!

Happy 1st Birthday my sweet Z Bear. We love you!!!

Walking and Squawking (& Picture OVERLOAD!)

I am behind on posting, but figured I would go ahead and post some pictures from January to early February. Girlfriend is growing FAST! All she does is WALK. Usually with something in one hand and waving the other one. Today we just noticed that she would walk up and down the hallway, squawking to Raleigh, Kingsley or her walker. Sometimes to us - then she'd throw her hand up in the air like she does when she is "waving" then she'd take after Raleigh. It's a riot to watch. She's got places to go, things to see, and people to meet. Words that come to mind when I think of Blair : LOVE : INDEPENDENT : FAST : DARE DEVIL : TOOTHY GRINS : EXPLORER.

Here is what's been going on in our world for the first month or so of 2012.

Swinging at the Park

Grandma Nancy has my feet!

Going down the slide with Daddy

I love her little profile. The big eyes, the full cheeks and little nose. It is so precious.

Reading books. She loves that "Global Babies" book a lot. We talk about how pretty the babies are and where they live.

Mid-Squawk (and part of Raleigh's nose)

I love this picture of Bug. I probably should have rotated it, but it looks so silly.

And girls DO rock.

Love it.

Also enjoying some mild winter weather. The grass looks decent for January but the grass isn't growing as fast as the spring.

Me and the silly girl

Does not like Stage 3 baby foods. I think we are going to skip over those and go to table food. Of course we haven't really found the "perfect" or fail safe meal... so far sandwiches or bread are the best we've got. I tell you what we have every kind of spread you can imagine. Apple butter, almond butter, Nutella, cream cheese, jelly, strawberry flavored cream cheese, cucumber / cream cheese spread. And we make grilled cheese, ham & cheese, turkey & cheese... the possibilities are endless.

Remember I said she hated Stage 3 food? Proof!

She loves water bottles. It is very silly.

Bedtime routine with Goodnight Moon. It's her favorite.

Bubble time!

Reading her favorite color book

New shoes from Grandma Nancy

Loves remotes. Thinks they are hers (& I have given up the fight).

These two. Every time I turn around, she is taking off after him or leaning into him, with her mouth open to kiss him. It is so very sweet, but we have to separate them before Raleigh gets her in the chops. He usually looks at us like, "She started it," to which we look at him with the "you know better" look.

I need to post the pics from Zoey's birthday party (Blair's first official birthday party attendance as guest) and the pictures from Sesame Street Live today. Details to come, but let me just say - Blair did awesome and we had a BLAST!!!

Big week coming up! Valentine's, Trav's BIG birthday and MINE! Big week for the Wrights.

"A Rough go of it"

So, a quick recap... a few weeks ago Blair had double ear infections. Then, I got a really bad sinus infection (which was first thought to be strep throat), which Travis then got. I was missing a lot of work. For the last week, we have been illness / symptom free.

Blair woke up on Monday morning with "matter" or "sleep" in her left eye. I knew where this was headed. I cleaned it off and hoped we could make it to our appointment with Dr. Kavin on Tuesday. At 3:00pm, I got the call. Her eye was oozing and goopey. I talked to the director and told her that the doctor would call in drops that day; would it be ok if I brought Blair on Tuesday (knowing I really could not be out of the office). Luckily she agreed. Whew.

Then, this morning both of Blair's eyes were sealed shut. It took me ten minutes to clean them up so she could open them. Poor little bear! Oh, and I forgot to mention her nose. Well, suffice it to say that shade of green isn't healthy. So I stayed home in the morning, then Travis came home in the afternoon so I could go into the office for a few hours. Dr. Kavin confirmed my suspected prognosis... pink eye.

We have to put drops in her eyes throughout the day for a week, then it'll be gone. I feel so badly for her and hope they get better soon!

The title of this post is part of what a coworker said to me today when I told her about the pink eye. Even though it seems as though Blair is either fighting off an ear infection, got a stomach bug, or has pink eye - I am so grateful these are the worst of our problems. When I start to get upset thinking about "what's next," I remember that we could be residents at MD Anderson where children are fighting to live. We are so lucky that we have a great pediatrician and a cure to all of our ailments. For this, I am very, very thankful.

Time to get the Lysol and get down to business.

10 Months!

10 months... come and gone. Look at how much my girl is growing!!

Blair's sleeping schedule - We are still working on this one. Luckily she is taking better naps at school, so I get to come home, feed, bathe and put her to bed. Plus she gets about an hour with Daddy before I get home. It makes for a busy evening, but well worth it. She is usually in bed and asleep by 6:00pm. And she's up by about 7am on the weekends. Not too bad. Blair is now consistently taking a morning and afternoon nap on the weekends. Glorious. And necessary!

We have a good little night time routine. Dinner, bath, jammies, Benadryl, Goodnight Moon (twice), bottle, then bed. She seems to really enjoy the schedule and has been settling down and going to sleep faster / better with it. Fingers are crossed. I am really waiting for baby girl to starting pulling all-nighters. Hopefully soon.

Eating - We recently started shifting Blair into the Stage 3 foods and table food. Needless to say, it's not going quite as smoothly as I had hoped. She gags at the chunky food and refuses to pick up slimy / wet foods such as peaches, bananas (ok, any diced fruit or vegetable) and ham / turkey. However she is a fan of bread. Big shock! And she loves things that crunch, like her mum-mums and puffs. She is becoming even less interested in eating her usual favorites like yogurt or her stage 2 foods from a spoon. I am trying everything! Different colors, textures, flavors. I know they say kids go through this stage, but it makes us worry she isn't getting enough food. Blair is still taking bottles (since she isn't eating much). I am starting to think that this is a little set-back due to her talking and walking. I have read that babies tend to be early talkers or early walkers - since she is showing signs of doing both early, I am thinking that this is somewhat effecting her eating. We go to Dr. Kavin on Tuesday (for B's 9 month baby check-up), so we will talk to him about it then. Today she seemed to be interested in little ham and cheese sandwiches, so maybe she'll eat that until she is ready for other food.

We also recently switched to soy milk, wondering if maybe she has a mild milk allergy. Since she always seems to have a runny nose which turns into an ear infection, we figured we would try to rule it out. It's only been a week, so not much to report. Dr. K thought it would be a good idea, so we will see. We also continue to give Blair a dose of Benadryl at bedtime. Hoping that the combination of the two will help.

Walking and Talking - Walking is now Blair's preferred mode of getting around. It's a lot of right, left. Right. Left. But she is getting quick and does well bending down to pick something up and standing back up. I am pleased to see she got her mother's sense of balance. Can't wait to get this kiddo in some tumbling! Every day, Blair shows more signs of understanding and ways of communicating... it is really neat to watch. She uses sounds / letters like : d, b, m, c, cl, bl - then the vowels. Recently she has begun calling the ball "bah," the dog "dah," and her name "Bluh." Very cute. We are also working on her sign language. Every month they are taught a new sign. This month it is hurt. Boy I hope she is able to learn / understand this one.

Things we are "in" to - Walks in her stroller. B loves it. One day while she and Trav were on a walk, it began raining, so Trav had to jog home. He said Bug had the biggest smile on her face and she was kicking her feet (she does this when she is being held and gets pumped about something). Apparently going fast is something else she likes. Blair is also a huge fan and supporter of all bubbles and bubble activity. She is at the classic age where she claps about things she likes or when she is proud of herself. And we totally oblige her, with reckless abandon. B also likes to crawl underneath the tables (in the breakfast room and dining room) and the pool table at Gammy and Grandpa's house. Recently we have begun doing the "Indian sound" (softly batting your hand against your mouth, making noise). She gets a kick out of it, especially if we do it to her. Mimicking is something she is just starting to pick-up on and learn. Oh, and let's not forget books. Girlfriend loves books... and if you ask her to go and get a particular book, she can do that. No sweat. Need that mum-mum package opened? Ask her to bring it to you so it can be opened. She's my very smart girl.

In the last couple of weeks, Blair has begun throwing fits. Really not cute from a 10 month old. Luckily they don't last too long & I am working on trying to ignore them (better).

School - Blair has transitioned really well in her new class (Infant B). Just as I hoped, she started taking naps at school. On good days, she might take one (1) hour and a half nap or maybe two (2) one hour naps. Bad days are one (1) thirty minute nap or no nap. But we are having more good days, than bad - so that is definitely a win for us. Her teachers are so impressed at how much Blair walks around after just learning a couple of weeks ago.

Teeth - Currently Blair's top four teeth are out and the lower bottom two. She always seems to be teething, so who knows when the next ones will come!

Here are the latest pics of Little Miss. You'll notice a couple of bumps / little bruises on her forehead. Battle scars of a beginning walker. Oh, and I really thought these pictures look like the pics I took at 6 months - as in Blair looks the same.

And a disclaimer : Again, this month was the most difficult to get since she doesn't like to sit / lay still. If the sticker and her face made it in the same frame, that was a win.

Hello Blue Eyes!

Daddy holding her up
(this was the last picture taken)