music and standing

I'm starting to get behind with keeping up on the blog. Greta is so busy now during the day and is usually only taking two naps a day so my computer time is getting shorter and shorter. One highlight from the week that stands out is Tuesday night. We had one of our worst nights ever with Greta this week. On Tuesday night, she woke up at 1:40am and was crying hysterically. She usually gets up 2 times per night but not typically at this time. I went in and she was standing up in her crib. This was the first time she stood in her crib so I think it scared her. The next 2+ hours were rough of trying to console her and get her back to sleep and then her hysterically crying and standing up in the crib anytime we put her back in there. She finally passed out in my arms at 4am. She usually doesn't like to be rocked to sleep so it was sweet to just hold her and have her asleep in my arms. She was so worked up that she would let out big sighs every few minutes as she slept. I was so exhausted the next morning that we skipped baby storytime. I went to bed on Wednesday night at 8:50pm and got the more sleep than I have in months. Greta did still wake up twice but it was so much more manageable with going to be so early.  I felt so refreshed the next day.

On Thursday, we went to our baby class in the morning and then came home for a nap and lunch. After lunch, we got packed in the car to go to another class and drove out of the garage. At the end of the driveway, I noticed that one side of the car seemed lower than the other. I got out of the car and sure enough we had a completely flat tire. Bummer. We were house bound for the rest of the afternoon until Chad came home to fix it. It turned out that I had a huge bolt in the tire and they were able to easily patch it up.

Friday, we went to a playdate at another mom's house and then went out to lunch with the other moms and their kids. All the kids did really well at the restaurant and it was fun start to the day. Most of the moms at the playdate I hadn't met before so it was fun to meet some new moms and their kids. One of the moms even had a hometown connection with us. It's such a small world! On Friday evening, one of my mom friends had a little get together at her house. We all used to be in the same class together but some of the mom's have since gone back to work and we don't see eachother weekly in class anymore. It's been fun to reconnect during our evening get togethers. We laughed, drank wine, had yummy appetizers, and played games. I can tell that pregnancy and motherhood has really done a number on my memory. We played Scattergories and I usually do really well at this game. During one round, I had over half still blank when the buzzer rang! Ugh!

I always enjoy Saturday mornings because I get to sleep in a little since Chad gets up with Greta although my sleeping in has been cut short now that we are going to a class in the morning. I love our Saturday morning class though so that makes it a little easier having to get up early. This class has a fun resource room where you can check out toys, books, puzzles, etc. So far Greta's favorite toy that we "loaned" was the xylophone. Last week, we had some musical shaking toys and this week we choose a drum with lots of fun musical instruments. She really likes the drum too.

The xylophone we borrowed from the toy resource room.

Playing with the snow at class.

There were no baby bottles at class so Greta improvised.

She loves to pull up on her carseat.

Pretty smile.

So big!



Toothy grin! I woinder when she is going to get more teeth? She still only has the bottom two.



Daddy dressed her today. Sweaters and jeans for the both of them.

We got a ton of snow today. It didn't stop Greta and I from getting out of the house though and meeting our friends for lunch. I am so excited for summer when we can just hop in the stroller and take a walk outside. 

due date

One year ago today I was due with our baby girl. February 20th was a Saturday last year and I remember Chad and I deciding to go out to breakfast at Carol's since we weren't sure when we would get a chance to go out to eat again. I felt really good during my entire pregnancy and was still feeling great at 40 weeks. I was a little apprehensive about the delivery and was hoping that she was late so that I could put off the impending pain for a few more weeks. At my appointment the week prior, my midwife told me I was 1cm dialated and 80% effaced. So, she could come today or not for another couple weeks. The longest they said they would let me go overdue was 1.5 weeks past my due date. And so the waiting began...

busy girl

Greta has been so silly lately. I took this photo the other morning in our kitchen. Every morning she has been waking up with a nice smelly surprise in her diaper. We use disposables at night and they never seem to contain the blowouts as well. The past few mornings we've been having to strip down to our skivvies after our morning blowout.

She thought she was so funny holding her foot like this and lifting it up.

This morning we had another morning blowout so we had a little naked playtime. She surprised me by pulling up to stand a few times.

Notice how wide of stance she has. She's still perfecting her form :)

Funny face.

This is serious  business.

We had storytime this morning at our local library. After the class, they bring out some toys for playtime. Greta likes to play with Corduroy.

She had a death grip on him when we had to pick up the toys and got mad when we had to give him to the librarian.

We had a lunch date at Olive Garden today with my friend, Kristi, and her daughter, Adella.  Adella is 8 months old.

They played really well together. At one point, they both wanted the same metal lid top. Greta was able to hold on a little tighter than Adella. Adella would try to grab it from Greta's hand but then would give up. Greta must have liked the challenge because she would then put the lid in front of Adella like "Here try again" but then wouldn't let her have it.

After baby storytime at the library on Monday, we met our friends Ari and Cora at the Mall of America for lunch and shopping. They had fun chatting in Baby Gap and at one point Cora almost got out of her stroller and was going to climb into Greta's.

The weather has been absolutely beautiful the last few days. I'm itching to go on a nice spring walk. Maybe later this week? It's so slushy and wet outside with all the snow melting.

Have a great week!

this and that

A few pictures of little missy from the past few days.

I love how she crosses her legs like this when she's sitting on the floor.

On Monday, Greta and I met a few other mom friends and their babies at the zoo.

At Discovery Bay

Asleep in the stroller

Lunchtime!

Lunch at Red Lobster on Saturday with daddy. Greta LOVES these organic baby food pouches. They even have a spoon you can attach to the pouch to use when you are out. So easy! Why didn't I invent this?

She's still obsessed with sticking her tongue out.

On Sunday, Greta went to her first Superbowl party. My friend, Julie, had a few families over to watch the game and snack on some delicious food. I was a little worried how Greta would act since it was close to her bedtime but she did awesome. She loved playing with Anna's toys and was a happy little girl right up until we put her to bed a little after 8pm.

Lots of standing this week

Silly girl.

I had my friends ,Christin and Rachel, over for lunch and a playdate today with their girls, Ava and Elle. We had a lot of fun and I'm bummed that I forgot to pull out my camera. Greta did a great job with sharing her toys and I think she loved having friends over. We'll have to do this more often.

I am absolutely loving my new Beco Gemini. I wish I had this when Greta was younger. It's so comfortable to carry her in. I've used it the last 2 times we went to the zoo and it was perfect. I've been using it around the house more too, especially during the last couple of hours before bedtime when she is a little more clingy. I wish I would have done more babywearing when she was a baby. I had a Baby K'tan and used it when we were out for her naps but I wish I would have worn her more when we were just hanging out at home. I'm glad that she enjoys being worn at 11 months old. She gets excited when she sees the Beco now and kicks her legs when she's in it because she's so happy. Today, we put on her music cd and danced around the house while I was wearing her. She will just pat my arm softly and kick her feet to the beat. I just love these moments with her.

standing, silly faces, storytime, supermodel and such

This past Saturday Greta pulled up to stand all by herself when Chad was home with her. Unfortunately, I missed it but on Monday evening she pulled up to stand on her little Pooh car. I missed seeing her pull herself to stand but Chad called to me from downstairs and I quickly grabbed my camera so we could get photographic evidence of her new skill.

Checking out her Pooh car from a different view.

"Hey, what's the big deal?"

On Monday, we didn't have any plans for the day so I decided to check out a new storytime with Greta at the library. It was similar to the other storytimes sessions we attend- songs, rhymes, read-a-loud board books, and playtime. They had a parachute activity at the end which Greta loved. This library was one we hadn't been to before so after storytime we checked out the children's section.

Our little reader

She holds the book like this sometimes when she is "reading". I think she sees the librarian do this in storytime and is mimicking her.

Future librarian

On Tuesday, we had another storytime session in the morning. After the class, they have playtime for the kids. The librarian brings out a tub of toys for all the kids. Greta promptly crawled over to the tub of toys and pulled herself to stand. I was shocked because I'd never seen her pull herself up before and she did it so quickly and without hesitation. I think once she was standing she was a little nervous, especially when the girl standing next to her decided to give her a hug. I could see Greta clench the tub a little harder and she was probably thinking to herself "Hey girl, I just learned to stand. Can you get your hands off of me before I tip over?" But she was polite and just maintained a solid grip.

After storytime, Greta took a nap and I gave Sofie a bath and groomed her for her photo shoot we had booked later in the afternoon. This was the second time I've had to bring Greta with to a photo shoot for Sofie and I was a little nervous about how it would go since both of them are a little needy. When we got to the studio Sofie was a little excited but once the cameras were on she was in perfect model form. She takes direction so well from the casting agent. Sofie has to have me in her line of sight so I usually stand off behind the photographer. She even layed on her back with her paws in the air for one of the shots. The picture should be in the Sunday ad of a large retailer with a red bullseye logo *hint hint* next month. I was really happy with how Greta was when we were there too. I was worried she would have a meltdown and it would ruin Sofie's chances of future model gigs because they didn't want the white fluffy dog's crabby sister to ruin the photo shoot. All went well though and hopefully we'll get called again.

After we got back from the shoot.

Practicing her standing.

So big!

This week Greta has been sticking her tongue out constantly. She will usually stick it out to the side and often does it when she's concentrating on something. It was cute and funny at first but I'm getting a little worried that she's getting a little too comfortable with this new face.



More standing. I love her cute little tushie in these jeans.

The rest of the week consisted of 2 more storytime sessions, a Sing Play Learn music class at the library and an ECFE class.  We also had a fun playdate with Elle and her mommy, Rachel, a lunch date with Harry, and his mommy, Johanna,  and a coffee date with a few mom's I met at a baby class last semester. It was a fun week and we enjoy getting out of the house every chance we get. Tomorrow, we start another baby class in the morning. I'm kind of second-guessing signing up for this class because Saturdays are one day I can sleep in but it's fun to take a class during a time Chad can attend with us so he can see Greta's development. Maybe some weekends I'll have Chad and Greta go to the class by themselves and I'll have the house to myself to sleep-in. Oh, what a dream! We also have another weekend playdate on the books and a Superbowl party on Sunday. I hope the weekend doesn't go by too fast!

puppy playtime

Here's a video I took on Sunday of Greta playing with Sofie.