It's an Eeyore's kind of day

Today has been a seriously rough day! ugh!!!! Actually... this week just started off all together on the wrong foot. For some reason I've been super tired, which obviously makes all the regular stresses of the day about 10 times worse. And, of course, for some reason everyone else in the house is in this same funkafied state... Is there going to be a full moon tonight? Has the gravitational pull of the universe suddenly reversed? Or, are we just prepping for the hour we'll be losing on Sunday night? I don't know what's going on but I hope it passes soon!

It all started off with Bear's sleep schedule getting a little messed up over the weekend. Usually we're able to jump right back in after a day or so but it seems that her sleep schedule is starting to change due to the fact that her 9 month birthday is quickly approaching. She is trying to let go of one of her naps. But since we've already goofed up our schedule, I just can't tell which nap she wants to get rid of... And this, of all the weeks, is when I could use a few simple naps the most ~ just last week I would put her down, rub her tummy and kiss her on the cheek, then as the door closed she would quickly head off to dream land with out a peep. This week it's just fight, fight, FIGHT... (insert mommy tears hear).

And of course, we can't forget Acadia. When you feel frazzled, frustrated, and tired Acadia will always be there to remind you how much more frazzled and stressed out things can get. Sadly for Acadia the weather out here has been really awful the past few days. On and off showers followed by cool, windy weather has left us with short walks for the overly active pup. We did attempt to go to the dog park yesterday in the hopes that it would help burn up some much needed energy and play time... but sweet, nutty Acadia seems to be the out cast of the puppy park. She is by far too passive and ADD to stay along with the pack of dogs running about. After about 10 minutes of greeting and sniffing she decided to try and take a swim in the communal dog water dish. ACK!!!!! She still smells... and so does the car... and it now seems to have moved on to her breath ~ I think we both need a spa day...

Any ways, today just didn't seem to be getting better. The weather just doesn't want to improve, bear doesn't really want to sleep, and I'm just all around cranky... and I won't even get started with the mess in the house that just keeps piling, piling, and piling up! So, after 3 different socks we're destroyed vie doggy teeth, along with bear's only winter hat, I packed us all up mid-day and sent Acadia off to doggy day camp. I then quickly hit up our drive through Starbucks; only to wait an extra 10 minutes for my drink which only caused another domino affect of being super late for our last nap of the day... which just wasn't going to happen any ways.... sniff... sniff... At least I got a free drink out of the wait though.

After waiting out bears whines and grunts for about 40 minutes I laughed and gave in, 'cause what else can I do but give in at this point. Maybe I've just been fighting it all too much?

Though bear didn't sleep for her last nap, I still had one less thing to worry about late in the afternoon. Acadia was off playing (that's one less walk, poopy pick up, and dinner to feed) so the bear and I spent some quality time rolling around and cuddling on the floor. As soon as daddy arrived home I handed over bear and took off. I needed a break from our nightly routine.

After some quick shopping, some Chinese food and a few crappy bravo TV shows things seemed to mellow out a bit... I think I'm just ready for a vacation.

UP

Decided to post this picture in honor of "UP" wining best animated film at the Academy Awards over the weekend:

Sporting my "UP" glasses back in June... it was my first day of labor. We spent the day walking around the mall and having lunch (when the contractions were 1/16th of the pain that I would feel later that day). We then went to see "UP" and loved it! Bear arrived about 31 hours later...

We bought the movie as soon as it came out so we could one day share, with bear, what we did when we so eagerly awaited her arrival.

"Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

Yesterday was Bear's 8.5 month birthday. She celebrated early in the morning by showing off her improved army crawl. She has become much faster and a little more confident in being able to move independently. Daddy decided to video tape her early morning crawl and I enjoyed watching it shortly after. It was very funny to watch because bear checks in with daddy mid-crawl by giving him a grunt, as if to say "this is so hard daddy!" Daddy quickly responded with a "you can do it!" And bear then continued on with her travels across the floor. And, before she knew it she had reached the motivational item (daddy's iphone) which had once seemed so far away!

Later that morning bear and I made one of our 3 weekly visits to Target. We had a lot of items to get so we were stuck in the store for a long while. Mommy had prices to research regarding baby shower gifts, new bottles, new baby food, etc. etc. etc. And all the while bear became very hungry from all of this shopping. So there I was wandering around Target, one hand pushing the cart and the other holding a bottle... It definitely slowed my shopping down from a regular walk to a slow paced stroll. I really didn't mind though. Getting out with bear during the week is one of our favorite things to do!

When bear finished her bottle she quickly moved on to reaching for items stocked on the isle walls. She seemed to be most interested in the isle with all of the baby toys. She grunted, babble and stretched her left arm out straight towards the toys. She was clearly saying "mama, mama, that one, that one, please!" I was curious to see which toy she was reaching out for (to see whether it was just one particular item that she wanted or if she was just reaching out for the full isle). I picked up a variety of toys, one at a time, to see if I got any special response but nothing really seemed to get her attention. I suppose she either got bored with me or was far too over stimulated by all of the colors and shapes to just focus in on the one item.

By the time I thought to check my watch, we had some how managed to be in the store for over an hour. Bear was getting fussy and even though I hadn't finished everything I had hoped to finish... I decided we both had had enough. We waited in line for a bit (why they had only one check out isle open I just could not understand...) in the mean time bear smiled and babbled at another little baby boy ~ who definitely did not seem impressed by bears attempts to get some attention. He stared back at her, frozen, (an maybe a little frightened?) as if he had never seen any one his size before. He may have not been impressed with bears social babbles and flirts but I certainly was! I quickly responded to her with lots of loves and kisses!

After Target we decided to meet up with daddy for a quick lunch break at the park. We went on the swings and then onto the slide. I think the ride on the slide happened so fast for bear that she really didn't quite understand what had just taken place. "First we were up there and now we are down here...?" But, the swing ride was lots of fun! And nothing to think about except how fun this feels. And, best of all, mommy and daddy are smiling at me... this is obviously fun!

We moved on to one of the picnic tables and opened up bear's first finger foods. She wasn't quite sure what to do with the little puffs. She played with the puffs in her hands and then brought them up to her mouth but would not put the little puff all the way in past her baby lips. Just a light lick, only to make them soggy and sticky... bear would then shake her hands in attempt to let go of the bizarre puff but it stuck on her chubby baby hand like glue... After some exploration and pondering, I brought one up to her mouth and she seemed more willing this time to let the puff in. After a suck or so she quickly changed her mind and spit it out. She seemed a very unsure of what was just in her mouth.

We tried again later that afternoon.

She chewed perfectly on the little bites but seemed very afraid of swollowing and would eventually spit the item out. I suddenly realized that I should have moved her up to more chunky solids before introducing her to such a strange piece of food. We'll hold off for a day or so and try some level 3 solids. At least now I know that I won't have to worry as much about her choking since the chewing seems to be instinctual.

****~ Can you find the little bear in this picture? ~****

We then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring our toys. Bear will crawl right up to her toy bin and try to reach for all of her toys. To avoid a toppling toy bin we have started to just spill the bin before she can reach it. Bear will then spend a good amount of time exploring and digging through her toys. She will then chomp, lick, shake and babble at the one item she picks out of the bunch until she's ready to move on to the next. On this particular afternoon she found her old pink pacifier, popped it in her mouth and began sucking on it. She has refused all pacifiers prior to this moment, at least since she was around 3 months old. But today, since she found it on her own, I suppose, it is much more tasty and suck worthy.

So we are still not fully crawling or eating finger foods and advanced solids. But bear is moving at a nice steady state. I know one morning I will wake up and wonder where my little bear went because there will be a big bear who has suddenly taken her place at breakfast.

The Monday blues...

Oh Monday! Certainly the saddest day of the week-- it is the day that daddy returns to work you know...

We had a great weekend at home with just the three of us and the pup. We spent most of Saturday avoiding the rain, being lazy and re-arranging the attic. I took my first nap since bear started sleeping through the night. Wow, I forgot how good it feels to nap!

After my nap (and bear's last nap of the day)we headed to Red Robin's for dinner. After a day of cabin fever we were ready to get out of the house. We usually don't go out for dinner since bear heads to bed promptly at 6 PM. But, we needed to get out and figured if we made it out by 5 PM we'd be able to put her down some where near her bed time. A little change in schedule is good for all of us once in a while!

When we arrived at Red Robin we were surprised at how many other families were there too. About 90% of the diners were families, most with very young kiddos. Prior to bear the earliest we'd head out for dinner was 7 PM. We have now truly joined "The Parent's Club."

Going out to eat has recently become even more exciting for all of us now that bear is able to sit in a restaurant high chair and eat a little bit of food with us (baby food of course). The bear just loves it, esp. since she has 100% access to the table -- which means I spend about 90% of the time trying to keep things out of her reach. While we sat and waited for our food, bear (for the first time) showed daddy how upset she gets when something she wants is taken away-- oh the tears and cries! After a few minutes of getting over the cardboard crayon box that daddy took away, bear became very silly. At the same time there was also a lot of commotion from the table next to us. The table had two parents with two boys, an 11 month old and most likely a two year old. The two year old had gotten up from the table and started waving his arms and yelling "ahhhh." Shortly following Emma began to imitate the same sound w/her arms waving out like an airplane. She seemed to be trying hard to get the little boys attention. After a few attempts of imitation the boy finally saw Emma and he responded right back at her with an even louder "aaaaaaah." It was the funniest and cutest thing I had ever seen ~ my little bear was flirting for the first time!

Shortly after the table with the little boys left, bear was starting to get a little fussy. It was just about time to leave and she began to make her "I want mommy" whines. I was still eating so I attempted to distract her while I finished, but she wasn't having any of it. After a minute or so I expected her to start crying, but instead she gestured "up" for the first time! I was so impressed, my little bear is only 8.25 months old and she just gestured "up." Granted it is one of the easiest signs, but her hands were straight up to the sky, she clearly knew what she was saying (with her hands). And of course I stopped what I was doing and picked her up w/lots of praise, hugs, and kisses. What a smart girl!

Since Saturday's dinner I've noticed her bringing her hands together when we eat, I think the gesture for "more" will make it's appearance next.

I am so impressed ~ what a smart cookie!