Milestones

7/1/07: We bought Andrea her first pool today. It was a little cold, but Daddy stayed with her and she got used to it. She played with lids and a ball that floated in the water.

7/2/07: Andrea is running a fever of 102 today. Poor little girl. Her nose is all stuffed up and she keeps falling asleep in Mommy's lap.

7/3/07: Andrea had a rough night last night (and so did Mommy) We bought a humidifier to help, but Andrea kept waking and crying. Only Mommy holding her would calm her back to sleep again. She is so hot and her nose is stuffy. I just keep her in my lap and let her sleep as much as she wants

7/4/07: Happy Independence Day! We drove home today. Andrea's fever is down to 101, but she is still sick.

7/5/07: Andrea's fever is finally gone. Thank goodness! She seems to have a little more energy as well. Angelique, her babysitter, came over today to play. Andrea had pureed chicken for the first time today.

7/6/07: Andrea seems to be a little better, but she has a light rash all over her body. I don't know what to make of it. She had a small rash at Grandma's house, but we assumed it was from the dogs again. Maybe it is just from the heat. It was over 80 today and Andrea's bedroom is tough to keep cool.

7/9/07: Andrea is feeling much better. She is turning into a little tyrant though - lots of yelling. She has a diaper rash today which really seems to hurt. She ate a little of my turkey at dinner tonight. Andrea crawls around on one knee and one foot a lot of the time.

7/11/07: She kept herself busy today. Early in the morning she followed Mommy around while Mommy got dressed. She crawled from one room to the next, trying to stay right next to Mommy. It was sweet. Later Grandma J came to watch her while Mommy went to the dentist, and she played peek-a-boo with Grandma from a distance. It was really funny, especially since I'd never seen her play with someone before. By 9:15am she already wore herself out. In the afternoon, it was a little quieter, but she still stayed close to Mom. She is such a good sleeper. She takes 3 hours of nap during the day, divided into 2 segments (10am and 2pm) and still sleeps 11-12 hours at night. :)

7/13/05: Andrea is so cute sometimes. After naps she will sit in her bed and talk to her toys, especially this new dolly I found for her. You can walk in and she will be sitting there with it in her hands in front of her murmuring. Of course, as soon as she sees someone, toys mean nothing and she is at the side of the crib squealing to be picked up. Today and yesterday she actually stood up using the side of the crib to get closer to me so I would pick her up.

7/15/05: We went to a barbecue to see Jackie today. Andrea was tired, but only fussed if someone else tried to hold her (Sorry, Jackie!). Otherwise, she was happy seeing all the new faces and crawling around on the patio. She had barbecued chicken for dinner. Yummy!

7/17/07: Andrea got a few hives on her face after being licked and playing with a dog today. Nothing new, just a reconfirmation that she is mildly allergic to dogs.

7/18/07: Andrea woke up every hour last night. She just wouldn't go back to sleep unless Mommy came in and held her so she could rest against Mommy's shoulder. We have no idea why.

7/19/07: Andrea ate spinach for dinner tonight. Oh, yummy!

7/20/07: Andrea went to her first story time at the library today. Our library does not have story time, but a friend invited us to the one at Peninsula Library in Gig Harbor. It was short and cute. They sing a few songs, read 2 short stories, then dump a bunch of toys out for the babies to play with. Andrea talked to other babies, ate some toys, and had a nice time.

Andrea had egg yolks for the first time today.

Andrea is still sleeping poorly. She did sleep for a good portion of last night but that was after taking forever to fall asleep and several waking sessions in the early portion of the night. At least the trend is going in the correct direction. Naps can be good or really, really bad now. This afternoon, it took her whole nap time (almost 2 hours!) for her to fall asleep. Nothing was helping so I finally just left her in there to fuss through it and exhaust herself to sleep.

7/22/07: Happy 9-month birthday, Andrea!

7/23/07: Andrea had her appt this morning. She is healthy. Her weight is 18lbs 11oz. She is still 80th percentile for height but only 50th percentile for weight now. She is really stretching out. She had a shot but didn't cry. She smiled at everyone.

7/24/07: We had portraits done today. They were cute. I chose casual outfits this time and it turned out really nice.

7/25/07: Andrea had to have blood drawn this morning. I was so impressed, she didn't even cry. You could tell she didn't really like it and she tried to draw her hand away after a minute, but she was really good. We went to BabiesRUS afterwards to get her a toy, then we went to the park and played in the grass. Andrea wore her sun hat and lots of sunscreen because it was almost 80 degrees.

7/26/07: She stood up on her own today. She was sitting between my legs and the next second she was standing with her arms kind of out to the side. It surprised me so much that I grabbed her. Oops.

7/27/07: Andrea and Mommy drove down to meet Daddy after work today. Yucky traffic! We went to look at some really nice property. Andrea has a cold and Mommy seems to be getting it as well.

7/28/07: Grandma and Great-grandma came and watched Andrea today so we could celebrate our 6th anniversary. Andrea had a busy and fun day!

7/29/07: Mommy and Andrea both have runny noses. Daddy has a little bit of one too. We went and found a new park though and Andrea climbed through the tunnel and went down the slide. Andrea is having trouble sleeping at night and I think it is because of her cold. She wakes up crying and sometimes has a very tough time going back to sleep.

7/30/07: Mommy and Andrea went on a Mommy walk today. This one was on Ruston Way boardwalk. It was a perfect day to enjoy the boardwalk. We pulled out Andrea's potty chair today. She just sits on it now after meals, but it is good practice.

8/1/07: Andrea took a bath in her bathtub without the ring that keeps her sitting in one spot tonight. She liked moving around was trying to reach for different things.

8/2/07: We went for another walk today. Andrea met a new friend, Joseph, who is only 8 days younger than her. We also went to Daddy's work again today.

8/3/07: Andrea has passed through the non-sleeping phase that came with her growth spurt and stuffy nose. She is back to taking two 1 1/2 hour naps and sleeping almost 12 hours at night. Mommy is very happy about this.

8/4/07: Andrea played in the back of the 4-runner today while we repacked our storage unit. She like it until she realized it was a trick. :) We also saw the house we are going to rent this morning.

8/5/07: We went to Great-Grandma's house today to pack some more, then we came home & packed here too.

8/6/07: Angelique played with Andrea this morning so Mommy could go to the eye doctor.

8/7/07: Andrea went potty in her training seat for the first time today.

8/8/07: Andrea spent time with Grandma Jan and Daddy today while Mommy had LASIK and rested afterwards.

8/9/07: Andrea went to the eye doctor with Mommy today. She took her nap while Mommy was looked at. After that we stayed home.

8/10/07: Angelique came to watch Andrea today so Mommy could pack. Simone (5 yrs) came too and they crawled circles around the kitchen.

8/11/07: Andrea crawled around our new home today as we filled out paperwork and picked up the keys. Now she will have a yard to play in. On a different subject, her appetite has really increased lately. For dinner tonight she ate 8 cubes (at least 1 tablespoon each) plus an ounce of cheese. It was carrots, sweet potato and zucchini; then apple and plum. For lunch she had about a cup of lentils with onion and brocolli; then blueberries in whole-milk yogurt. For breakfast I took some homemade cereal with apples and cinnamon. I only took about 3/4 cup with us, so when we stopped at Wendy's for lunch Andrea had some of my baked potato and a little frosty too :)

8/12/07: Andrea went pee in her potty this morning (2nd time). Mommy clapped for her. After lunch, she actually went poop, but Mommy goofed up and took her off before she was done so she finished in her diaper. It was just taking her so long, I thought she was done. I clapped and cheered for her. When I took her off, she was very upset and cried for 10 minutes until she was done pooping in her diaper. I guess Mommy is still learning about potty training too. This evening we packed some more of our storage and Andrea rode around on Mommy's back.

8/14/07: We moved today. It was a very long day for all of us. Andrea took one 45-minute nap, but that was all and she wasn't happy about sleeping in her new room at night either. We made it through all of it though.

8/16/07: Andrea and Mommy cleaned out the old apartment today. Andrea crawled around while Mommy scrubbed. It was sad to know we were leaving the place where Andrea spent her first year.

8/17/07: We were in the old apartment for the last time today to drop of the keys. Our new home looks like a storage for boxes right now, but it is a beautiful house and I can't wait to get it in order. On a different note, Andrea's potty training is going really well. She pooped twice in her potty today. It helps that she has a smaller one now that she can sit on by herself.

8/18/07: Daddy loves that we are so close to his work now. We went by today to drop of some boxes then did a little 4-wheeling in the 4-runner. The rocking of the vehicle put Andrea to sleep. :) Potty training is going much better than I expected. We had two more poops today and an additional couple of pees. She seems to be getting that idea that she goes when on the potty. Of course she doesn't wait if I take to long getting her there. lol

8/25/07: Andrea said "mama" today.

8/28/07: Four teeth are coming in on top. They have been obvious for a couple weeks but they have not come through yet. It seems like they couldn't get any closer to the surface, but they keep showing more and more without really being in yet. Poor Andrea is fussy.

8/29/07: Andrea stood by herself for almost a minute today. Mommy and Daddy both watched her. She had fun crawling around in the grass some today.

9/1/07: Andrea's costume came today. We put part of it on to show Daddy. She is so cute.

9/2/07: Andrea loves to get into drawers and cabinets. We need to put latches on, Daddy is working on that. Of course some of the drawers will remain open, like this one:

9/3/07: Andrea is getting so big. She eats lots of food everyday. She is eating more and more of our table food.

9/5/07: Andrea had her first pizza today, just a few bites. Yummy!

9/7/07: Andrea and Mommy went to the park today. We walked around (Andrea slept) then we went to see Daddy at work.

9/8/07: Andrea got a new swimming pool today and we set it up. She played in it but the water was really cold so we kept it short. Afterwards she had fun reaching into it and splashing though.

9/10/07: The weather was really warm today, over 90, so we played in the swimming pool. I let it warm up so Andrea had fun splashing in it. This evening, our neighbors were outside with their LITTLE puppy (2.5 lbs). Andrea kept laughing and laughing at the way it hopped around their yard.

9/12/07: Andrea and Mommy had a playdate with a new friend today. We went to the park. Andrea is not used to other kids her age. It took her a while to relax with him. He is almost the same age, so it was a fun afternoon.

9/13/07: Andrea loves her solid foods. In fact, she loves food: milk, purees and finger foods. Tonight, for dinner, she had watermelon, fresh cucumber (from our neighbor's garden), broccoli, carrot, chicken and whole-wheat pasta.

9/16/07: Andrea is not really pooping in her potty lately (sorry for the topic). She pees almost every time, but she seems to be on a break from pooping in the potty. It is strange because she was doing fantastic a couple of weeks ago.

9/18/07: Andrea, Daddy & Mommy visited G-Gma in the hospital today.

9/19/07: Andrea had a playdate with her new friend Ronan today (same baby as on 9/12). They played in the swings at the park then came back and crawled around at the house. Ronan brought is own walking toy and Andrea had fun with it. Then she also used her own walker for the first time to actually move somewhere. :)

9/20/07: Andrea went to the eye doctor with me today. She is getting to be a little more of a handful in the office because she has been there many time snow and is familiar; thus, she wants to crawl around. It doesn't help to wait for half an hour or more either. Overall, she is pretty good.

9/21/07: One of Andrea's four teeth on top finally came in. It is the one on her right. The other three shouldn't be far behind.

9/22/07: Andrea likes walking with her walker. If you set it up for her she walks across the living room, then you turn it around and she walks back the other way. It is kind of funny.

9/23/07: It is very obvious that Andrea recognizes some words now. If I say eat, she lifts her hands to be picked up and put in the high chair. There are a lot of examples like that.

9/24/07: Andrea gives Mommy a kiss each morning. She just kind of puckers her lips and touches them to my mouth. It is so sweet. Sometimes she will do it other times during the day if you ask her for kiss, but the morning is the best time. Poor Andrea had a rough night last night, she pooped and it was burning her. Mommy finally figured out the problem (I thought it was her tummy hurting at first) and she cried really hard while we cleaned her bottom. Daddy and Mommy stayed with her until she calmed down and finally went to sleep.

9/25/07: Andrea went to her first big-screen movie today. We went to the Mommy Matinee. It was so neat. Andrea's friend, Ronan, and his mommy joined us.

9/26/07: Andrea is not feeling well today. Her rash still bothers her, but she is also running a fever. I think the fever is from the MMR shot she has a week ago. She has no other symptoms (runny nose, etc).

9/27/07: Andrea has a temp over 102 today. Poor little girl is tired.

9/28/07: Andrea's fever is back down under 100 again. Thank goodness.

9/29/07: Andrea is feeling better. We spent the day helping our boss and his wife finish moving. They are moving into the new house that Dave just finished building.

9/30/07: We finally got Great-Grandma K's house cleared out today. Andrea rode around in her Bjorn carrier while Mommy worked. It was a good test for our trip to Italy. Andrea did really well. She is such a good little girl (most of the time).