Sunday Snap Shots

The last few weekends we have been very busy and not home all that much, this weekend was a HOME weekend, although we did venture out for some shopping and church. But we got a lot done around the house with Rose's help (most helpful were her really good naps!).

The largest project we tackled this weekend was separating our sleeping areas. Until Monday we had all been sharing a room, but Rose has kicked us out and decided she can handle her own room.

We also have another home improvement project to complete in Rose's room, it's a secret for now, but it's going to be SUPER cool!

Justin also finished painting our new front door and I made a rag wreath for it.

Finally we took a family walk this afternoon and Rose was very chic sporting her sunglasses :)

Have a great week!

11 Months

Well this is it, the last one before we reach the one year mark. Never again will your age be measured in anything less than a year :) What a {almost} year it's been! Never have your daddy and I gone through so many firsts and been so happy! We are busy planning your first party to celebrate everything Rose!

I think the biggest change this month is your sleeping. You are now sleeping without the swaddle and in a room by yourself. It just changed this past week when I thought your daddy and I were going to go crazy :(  I have read SO MANY books on sleeping methods and just didn't find the one that seemed to offer a good fit for us. Last week another mom recommended the Sleep Easy Solution by Jennifer Waldberger and Jill Spivack and after reading it I thought we might give it a try this weekend. This book was just about sleep and provided charts and plans to follow. Also it was written from a parent's perspective, and gave lots of support and encouragement that I needed. Well Monday we rocked and swaddled you, but no matter how tired you were, you would not sleep. So we gave the steps a try. I don't think this was a great way to start it, but you did really well and after about 15 minutes of wondering what was going on you were out! So now we start our routine around 6:30-7pm and you are in your crib and ready to sleep by 7:30pm. We decided anytime after 6am that you wake up we will get up, but most days you are still sleeping at 6:45am, when we have to wake you up! Except for this morning when we all slept until 8am! I cannot tell you how wonderful it is that we are all sleeping at night. I think a good night sleep is making everyone happier. You seem so much more pleasant during the day and even your naps are better. 

During this month we are also going to start your transition to other milks. I have taken great pride in being able to supply you will all the milk you have wanted over the last 11 months, but I am really excited that the end is near. We are going to be using some cow's milk and also Hemp milk. I am still doing some research about alternative milks (not a fan of soy) and think that a combo of these two is going to be our best bet. You continue to eat well and are eating more and more table foods. This month some of the foods you have tried include: rice, beans, beef, kiwi, and white grape juice. You love to feed yourself and eat off of our utensils. You are going terrific drinking from a straw, which is really nice when we go out to a restaurant that we don't have to carry a sippie cup around. 

You are so very active. You are crawling or cruising everywhere and it is so hard to get you to sit still! You are taking unassisted steps, although, I wouldn't say you are walking just yet. You love to play with lots of different toys. Anything that has light or noise is always a favorite. You are also a fan of uncovering things and dumping. And of course, Tahnee is your bestest friend :)

We are still waiting for some clear and consistent consonant sounds, although we think we may have heard a random 'm' and 'b' sound, so maybe they are coming… Maybe one morning when I come to get you out of your crib you could say something like: "Mother, I slept really well and am so happy to see you this morning." Just a thought...

For everyone wondering about teeth…what teeth? Maybe these will make an appearance by one and maybe not! Don't worry either way you can still have some cake :)

Sunday Snap Shots

Ok, so I realize that I am not super consistent about when I blog...I was thinking that if I at least get around to blogging about Rose once a week that is a good update on her. Of course, as new and exciting things happen in her life I will try to update the blog with those events.

So here it goes!

This week Rose totally enjoyed the warm weather. I didn't take pictures of everywhere we went, but Rose either got to go for a walk at the park or spend time out in the yard each day this week. It is so weird to have this great weather in March. I remember so many years having snow for my brother and mother's birthdays (March 16th and 18th).

That brings us to another first for little Rose this week. Justin and I went out Saturday night for my brother's birthday and aunt Kate babysat for a few hours. We did try putting Rose to bed before we left, but Rose decided it would be more fun to spend her time with Aunt Kate awake rather than asleep. BUT aunt Kate did a great job and Rose was back asleep by the time we came back home!!

There was another first for Rose this week too...but not a happy one :( Rose had her first real fever/cold. Daddy and Rose have had a runny nose all week, but Saturday she also woke up with a low fever. I didn't even have any medicine in the house because we have never needed it before! So we got some Acetaminophen and started giving it to her yesterday. She was a bit clinging and fussy yesterday, but by last night the fever was down and this morning it was gone! She is also taking much better naps today, so I think she is feeling better :)

Justin also got a few house projects done this weekend...
a new clothesline (isn't it too cute to see Rose's jeans next to her daddy's?)

a new front door (it still needs to be painted)

We also brought the pack and play back down from the attic. We had only been using it as a changing table and then got something sturdier to use, so we packed it up. Now that Rose is mobile (she will take unassisted steps when she forgets that she needs to hold on to something) we have times where we need to know she won't get into anything. Rose actually seems to really like it and will often play for about 10-15 minutes, so we can get a couple things done.

By this time next week we will have less than a month to go until the BIG 1!!

new shoes

Sunday Rose got her first {real} pair of shoes. Up until now she has just had soft shoes from Etsy.com. At her evaluation the occupational therapist noted that she may walk a bit easier with some support, so began our adventure of shoe shopping. Friday we went to Jumping Jacks in Wyomissing only to learn that Rose's feet are too little for any of their shoes. So Sunday we headed up to the Lehigh Valley Mall and went to Stride Rite. (We also got some other stuff at the mall too, because, well we were at the mall!) I'm not sure if she's walking any differently, but they are cute and she seems to like them :)

WALKING....not talking

So today Rose took her first unassisted steps...(ok, for some reason this made her very angry, but she still did a GREAT job!)

So while we have a super motor baby, Rose is still lacking ANY consonant sound... 

Rose has great hearing (she passed her formal hearing screening yesterday) and in 4 of her 5 developmental (social, cognitive, motor, and adaptive) domains is right on track or better (based on the Battelle II used by Early Intervention), BUT still no consonant sound, so that gives her a delay in Communication and qualifies her for Early Intervention Services. Rose will get to have an hour of speech therapy every other week until she is meeting age appropriate milestones. We had a terrific time with the team that was out this morning to conduct the evaluation and Justin and I got lots of tips and encouragement :)

Rose you are definitely a beautiful and sweet little girl and I am sure soon we will be wishing for a moment of quiet, but YOU NEED TO TALK!!

no candy sweetheart :)

Tonight we went grocery shopping. Rose really loves to be out and about and the grocery store is full of fun things to see. While we were in the checkout line she tried to 'add' a couple things to the cart, but mommy and daddy said nope!

I am sure as you get older you will not give up so easy. I think we have all heard screaming children in a store after they have been told 'no'. Honestly, I don't mind that, what bothers me is when parents just give in to stop the crying and screaming. I really understand that sometimes parents have rough days and just don't want to have their child screaming at them. BUT that's kind of part of our job too... I mean when we give in to the undesired behavior what are we teaching our children: If you cry and scream and behave poorly, then you can have what you want?
So little Rose, I am going to promise you as your parent (although I am totally not perfect and going to definitely make mistakes along the way) that if you cry and scream in a store because you cannot have something, well you are still not getting it!