Baby Bug

Okay, listen up people. Everybody needs to stop getting pregnant ... RIGHT NOW! It seems like there are a TON of people I know getting pregnant recently. Thoughts are trying to creep into MY head and that is just not cool. I'm not ready for another baby yet. Fiona was SOOOO challenging as a newborn. I didn't think I would survive that time. She is finally getting to an age where she is a lot of fun to play with and a pretty independent booger. This means I get to actually do things like go to the bathroom, shower, eat, etc. I'm enjoying this time. I'm not ready to go back to the land of the walking dead that is life with a newborn.

But, then I hear about yet another person who is pregnant and I do silly/crazy things, like looking back at pictures like this:

and this.

Then I think, oh but she was so sweet and tiny and it makes me want another one. I think you need to lock me up in the funny farm. Seriously, what sane person has thoughts about having another baby when they still don't get to sleep through the night and never have a moment to themselves as it is? I think I need an intervention before this gets serious. The even scarier part, we had a little "scare" a few weeks ago. When I told Nathan that it was "all clear", he said he was a little disappointed. I think the baby bug may be trying to bite him too.

What it comes down to is that all you people need to stop getting pregnant. Or at least stay far, far away from me. I hear this baby fever is contagious ;)

Sunday Brunch and 9 Month Stats

On Sunday, Fiona and I went to brunch with a couple of my best friends from high school. Our friend, Lynn was in town for the weekend, so we all met up at IHOP. We had a great time catching up and eating some yummy pancakes (I had chocolate chip, mmm). Fiona enjoyed the pancakes and the attention, of course.

Eileen, Beth, and Fi

The pink side of the table. We honestly did not coordinate our outfits, or maybe we did.

Me, Lynn, and Fi

It was fun, and we need to do that way more often than we do. Especially since 3 of use are in town, so no excuses. Well, I suppose they both have the excuse of being fairly new teachers at the beginning of the school year. Anyway, we parted with the promise of getting together more frequently, and I plan to hold them to their word.

On another completely unrelated note, Fiona had her 9 month well baby visit. Any guesses on her weight?

Here are her stats:

Weight: 17 pounds 9.5 ounces, 26th percentile
Height: 27.25 inches, 37th percentile
Head Circumference: 44.5 cm, 65th percentile

So she's still a little peanut, but with her Daddy's large noggin. Everything else at the visit was pretty uneventful. She is hitting all her milestones and they of course poked her a couple of times, which she was thrilled about.

Lastly, I leave you with a picture from our baby playdate the other week. It isn't the best picture to illustrate this, but you can get an idea. Both these babies are pretty close to the same age as Fi, but are in closer to the 90th percentile. No surprise she is in about the 25th percentile. She pretty much avoided the other babies at the playdate and did her own thing. She sure loves to look at pictures of her baby friends though.

Blog Makeover

So I was really bored with my blog layout/name. I've been working on it for awhile. I tried lots of free layouts, but wasn't really happy with any of them, so I decided to try to do it myself. Here it is. I am proud of myself for learning quite a bit more about graphics and html code. I think that I'm pretty happy with it. What do you think?

9 Months Old

Fiona is 9 months old today. This cutie has been making our lives crazy and happy for 3/4 of a year.

She has gotten faster, even though I didn't think that was possible. She can stand for several seconds at a time now without holding onto anything. She's cruising the furniture, not just pulling up anymore. She has the funniest sense of humor, she keeps us rolling on the floor most days. She likes to tease her Daddy. She will reach for him, then when he reaches for her she turns away and laughs, repeat process. She is having more and more days where she will only eat things that she can feed herself. This often leads to hissy fits at meals. She likes to take things apart. She managed to get the little plastic snack holder off the exersaucer somehow. She still loves to dance and anything with music. She loves to sing in church or in the living room. It makes me laugh because when I was pregnant if I had music on she never stopped moving. I used to say she was dancing along, and now she really does. She is trying hard to get a few more teeth. She has 2 more that are just about to come through that have been really bothering her lately, but not quite there. Her favorite signs still all revolve around food: nurse, eat, more. She is showing more interest when we sign animals with her.

This month has been kind of rough for her too though. I've been doing daycare more regularly and so she has had to share her Mommy and her toys. She was developing quite the princess complex, so it has been good for her. Since we have been watching a small baby, she is finally starting to learn the word "gentle". She is not very good at it yet, but she tries hard.

She has also become attached to this silly fleece blanket. The child is a furnace and is always hot, so it is strange to me that out of all her blankets she chose this fleece one that makes her sweat even more. It has to go pretty much everywhere these days, especially if she is the littlest bit tired/cranky. I'm going to have to see if I can't find a backup blanket in case it gets lost. She doesn't care so much about it when she is awake and busy playing. However, if she is tired she will drag it over to you and ask to be held.

Time keeps flying by. I wish I could make it slow down. Mommy and Daddy love you, Fiona!! Happy 9 months, big girl!!

Love/Hate Relationship

I have a love/hate relationship with our dog, Toby. He is a very sweet dog and I do love him, but he is soooo naughty. He has been since the day we got him. As a puppy he chewed through more things than I can count. He still occassionally eats a pair of underwear or socks. We've done the whole obedience classes and worked hard with him. It only makes him behave while you are watching him.

He is such a cuddler though and so happy to see everyone. He really loves Fiona and she loves him too. Fiona's love comes with lots of hair pulling, pinching, and body slamming, but he takes it all without even batting an eye. If she cries, he comes to get you and cries until you soothe her. He even likes to cuddle up with her for naps.

He was actually cuddling more with her, but I left the room to get the camera, so of course he had to come check it out. When he went back to laying with her, they weren't snuggling as much, but it is still cute.

However, he also loves that she is eating real food now. He used to be content with just begging food from her and she would happily toss him a few bites. The other day I got her out of the high chair, left the kitchen for a minute and returned to find this:

He was busily cleaning off her tray for me. Yuck. He has even gotten brave enough to attempt this while she is in the high chair. Such a naughty dog. It is hard to be angry though when the baby is giggling hysterically.

Well Toby, you are safe for now, but only because Fi loves you so much. Naughty dog.