mamamamamama

Today I went to Charlotte for a baby shower for my college roommate, Katy. They are adopting a cutie little boy from Guatemala. Hurry up adoption process!!

My only "job" as one of the hostesses was to record the shower gifts for Katy. As requested, I left detailed instructions with Kenneth about eating and napping. He really has it pretty much figured out, it's just the what to eat part that can be frustrating when she's fussing! Anyway, as Katy is opening her 2nd present, my phone rings. If it was someone other than Kenneth, I would have sent it to voicemail. Since it was Kenneth, I excused myself and hurried to another room. Turns out that instead of saying "mamammamamamammmamama", Jordan was saying "mama"! Of course I was happy about this great event, but Kenneth wasn't convinced. I had to call him on the way home and apologize for not seeming more intrigued and thank him for calling!

sitting myself up!

For the last couple of days, Jordan has been working diligently on (and sometimes succeeding with a little support!) getting herself to a sitting position from lying down. I think she got so frustrated at having to wait on someone to sit her upright that she finally got determined to do it. She proved that she is able to do it by herself when she woke up at 5am (we won't go there!!) and I look to see her sitting at the end of her crib waiting for me. Since then, she has been doing it more and more often during the day. I definitely think crawling is a short time away!

visit at the Manning's

Like a dork, I don't have any pictures to prove it, but we went to the Manning's today to visit with Brian and Coy. Brian was the best man in our wedding and a very good high school buddy of Kenneth's. They dropped mom and wife, Lindy, off at a baby shower nearby and came to hang out with us. Coy is 18 months old and they are getting ready to adopt another little boy, Lewis, from Guatemala who is 5 months old. It was a nice visit, but I wish we had gotten the cameras out sooner!

Ma, ma, ma

Jordan has discovered a new sound~mamamamama! She started this morning and Kenneth asked me if that was her first word. Personally, I say No because she doesn't know what the connection is between the word and me. Plus, her first word was guyguyguy...we still don't know who she was talking about! :)

broccoli

Time for a new food! Jordan had broccoli today and really seemed to like it. The funnier part (at least to me!) is the way in which she ate it. You know I had started making baby food for Jordan and broccoli was one of the ones I made. She has also not been real keen on eating stuff unless she can put it in her own mouth. So, I thought I would leave the cube of broccoli still pretty frozen and give her little chunks of it to self feed. (I got that idea from how she liked eating snow cone ice the day the snow cone machine came to school!) Anyway...she tried to pick up the chunks of "ice", but I ended up putting the on the spoon and she just ate it right up! It was really too crazy!

The pictures from today are from a visit from Grandma and Grandpa (Manning). They had some business in Greenville today and came by to see is afterward. Of course, she slept the longest she has in a while and made them wait an hour before her grand appearance! It was a nice visit, though...

And Daddy took Jordan home tonight from church. It was my night to work late at the nursery, so in an effort to protect the night time routine, Kenneth came and picked her up so that she could get in bed on time. They had a nice evening and even though he wouldn't give her a bath, it was still nice to know that she was going to be able to get to bed at her usual time.

on all fours!

Just wanted to post that Jordan got herself up on all fours and rocked back and forth for a little bit today. She has really been showing signs that she wants to crawl, but this is the closest she's come so far. It's just so cute because she will only do it for a few seconds and then lay flat again. Oh well, no rush as far as I'm concerned! The more mobile she is, the more I have to worry about!! :P

the ringing of the bells!

It is a tradition at First Baptist to ring the church bells in honor of new babies in the church. The roof was being repaired during the latter part of 2005, so the bells were put on hold, but it was our turn so we took it! Knowing that I had a "plan" of sorts, Jordan saw fit to take a 30 minute nap the WHOLE day. She was awake, but not really by the time the bells started to play. (That would explain the relatively comatose look on her face!) But, the whole bell thing was pretty neat. They played Brahms lullaby, Jesus Loves Me, something else and then they pealed the bells. The pictures of the steeple are when they were clanging back and forth--not sure how much of that shows in the pics, though. It was also an extra special day because it is Mackenzie's 6th birthday--Happy Birthday little squirt!
PS--how do I end up in no pictures? :)

Back to sleep?

OK, I don't know what happened, but this morning I woke up to see Jordan sleeping on her tummy! She slept on her tummy at around 6 weeks for a few weeks, but then really preferred her back. I have noticed in the last couple of weeks that she rolls over on her side when I lay her down. Kenneth said that around 1 am she was rustling and when he checked the monitor she was on her belly! It's just crazy because rolling over from her back to her belly is not her favorite thing to do, so I'm just so surprised that she did it in her sleep! But, I'll take it because she slept for 12 hours and woke up happy! Yay!

a busy week!

There has been a lot going on this week, but I thought it would be easier to just sum it up in one entry instead of just a little tidbit each day...

Monday Jordan figured out how to get food into her own mouth! You can't see it in the picture, but she is putting a Vegi Puff in her mouth. Much to my Dad's delight, she is also doing so with her left hand! She has been able to eat the puffs and other dissolvable stuff since before Christmas, but she just hasn't gotten the hang of getting it in the right place. But now, the dogs are just out of luck to catch the things that she throws around. If it's on her tray, she wants it in her mouth and there's not near as much landing on the floor!

Wednesday we went to the pediatrician. She just can't shake this cough and it's starting to wake her up and keep her up in the middle of the night. She hasn't had a fever, but it's been almost 2 weeks, so off we went. They cleaned out her ears (again!) and everything looks fine. Since our last visit almost 2 weeks ago, she's gained almost 1/2 a pound! Yikes...

This has been the week for new food, too! Especially since she can eat things on her own, it's been fun to experiment.
Wednesday Jordan ate yogurt. (Not on her own!) She really seemed to like it and it tasted really good! :)
Thursday Jordan tried green beans and some pieces of fruit--grapes, pears and peaches. I just made sure they were appropriately sized and she had the best time trying to pick them up and get them in the right place. The fruit was a little more challenging because it was so slick. I ended up putting those on the spoon, but she was able to handle the texture and size just fine!
Friday she had avocado for lunch. I kept hearing that avocado was such a good first food and just hadn't gotten one to try. I pureed this one, but next time, I am just going to cut it up into cubes for her. She really enjoyed the avocado.

Probably the most important food development of the week is that Jordan likes rice and beans! For those of you who don't know, this is Kenneth's favorite meal and we have it A LOT! The rice is kind of hard for her to get a grip on, but she tries diligently and will eat it happily off the spoon.

a couple of new things!

Last night at church, Jordan was on her tummy (a shocker in and of itself!) and before either of us knew it, she was pushing herself backwards! It was really cute. She was looking at me like, I want to get closer to you but I keep getting farther and farther away!! At least she knows now that she is capable of mobility. It is just going to take her a little while to figure out the forward progression of things.

She has been able to get a puff or 2 in her own mouth, but is able to eat butter cookies with no problem. Lots of mess, but no problem! And, today she ate some yogurt with lunch! It was YoBaby with apples and cereal--she seemed to really enjoy it. She did spit up later, but I don't know if it was the yogurt, the pears for breakfast or just too much activity (bending over and
r-e-a-c-h-i-n-g for that toy, etc.) after lunch. Anyway, we'll try again later and see what happens!

It's a shock--I know!

Don't fall over, but I made baby food for Jordan today! Some of you may know that cooking is not my strong suit, so I realize that this seems like a stretch. Don't get too excited--I microwaved some carrots and sweet potatoes and pureed them in the food processor. Then I put them into ice cube trays to freeze and then into freezer bags. Like I said, nothing too exciting, but I'm still proud. I started with stuff I know she will like. We'll see how advanced I get in this new endeavor!

"6 month" well check

So, Jordan finally got her 6 month check today even though she is already 7 months old! The ice storm cancelled her original appointment. Then the doctor's office was unable to make well check appointments as they are "converting to electronic medical records". This conversion has been going on for well over a month now, but I digress!

The good stuff:
weight 17 lbs, 11 oz 70th percentile
height 26 3/4 inches 75th percentile
head circumference 44 cm 85th percentile

She's growing proportionately and (obviously) not missing many meals! The doctor was pleased and gave us the go ahead to introduce meats and proteins into her diet. We can also give mashed up pieces of what we are eating, too. She also has to take a vitamin supplement with fluoride since she is breastfed and not drinking at least 8 oz. of water a day. It's vitamins A, D, and C, so it's not going to hurt to have more of those. I have been offering water from a cup and she does OK with it, but 8 oz. is a lot of water for her to drink in a day regardless!

And then the real fun began--cleaning out the ears and shots! Her ears are so waxy and she has a pretty narrow canal. I HATE to clean her ears because I am so scared I'm going to end up jabbing her with the Q tip. I do it, but sparingly. Plus, I can't get down in there like the docs can anyway, so I am perfectly content to let them do the dirty work! And Oh, those shots! Understandably, she hates them, but I have gotten a little better--at least I didn't cry this time! The best news is that she is done with shots until her birthday!!!

Mommy is a slacker!

Wow! I did not realize how long it has been since I have posted anything! Yikes...

The holidays were fun, but busy. Jordan has been just doing the same old, same old--sitting up, not loving her tummy time and eating new foods. She loves Vegi and Fruit puffs. If she could only get them in her OWN mouth instead of someone having to feed her. All in due time, right?

We went dress shopping with soon-to-be Aunt Heather this weekend. Jordan was a real trooper and thoroughly enjoyed watching Heather make her decision!

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I had not forgotten about the blog. Sorry that I've been slack!

:)

Happy New Year!

Thanks to Mom and Carroll...I mean Nanna and Papa...for keeping Jordan last night. That enabled Kenneth and I to go to a friend's house to ring in the new year. It was low key, which was perfect!

Jordan's 1st Christmas!

Santa came to see us! Along with most everyone else...hee hee!

Seriously...we had a wonderful Christmas weekend. Kenneth's parents, brother, and nephew came down Saturday and spent the night. We just had a bunch of finger food, appetizer type stuff to eat. I had to work in the nursery, but Jordan stayed at home with everyone. We got Nathan up at midnight after Santa had made his rounds and found his way down our chimney! I went to bed around 1 and they were all still up. That didn't keep Nathan from getting up at 8:30 raring to go! He did tear himself away from his Power Rangers long enough to let me take some great pictures of him and Jordan in their PJs.

Jordan and I went to church, but only for a little while as there were no babies in our room! I imagine they were all at home playing with new goodies! My Mom and Carroll came over after church, too, and Jordan started opening presents. She was so funny to watch! As expected, she was more interested in the paper than in the gifts themselves, but that was just fine. She did help tear some of the paper, though. After Mom left, it was time for a little nap--and do I mean little! She slept for 30 minutes! She took a 30 minute nap when we went to church, too.

It was time to eat around 3:30ish. My Dad and Grammy, my brother and Heather arrived just in time to join us! Kenneth's Mom made pernil (wonderful roasted ham) and Kenneth made rice and beans. We also had sweet potato crunch and mac and cheese. Everything was delicious.

Then it was time to open more presents from Dad/Pop and company. Jordan really made out pretty well. She got toys, clothes and stuffed animals. Anyway, we all had lots of fun and it was so entertaining to watch Jordan with all her presents and paper and all. I am also really happy that everyone was able to make it to our house to help us celebrate--it really made for a very Merry Christmas!!

my first overnighter!

Saturday night we went to a wedding for one of Kenneth's co-workers.
Congratulations Chris and Ashley!!
Jordan, however, stayed at her Nanna's house. The wedding was at 6pm, so we figured it was just easier to have her spend the night rather than worry about transporting her in the middle of the night or having Mom and Carroll have to travel home at such a late hour! Mom was, of course, thrilled with that decision. So, mid-afternoon we packed up and headed out. (I feel like we packed 1/2 the house with all the stuff we took!) I did have a teary moment when we left, but we still needed to get ready for the wedding, so there really wasn't time to be weepy!

It was great to see all the friends that we did at the wedding. I did exceed my usual one drink limit, however. By how many, you ask? Not so sure--let's leave it at that! We even went out for a little while after the wedding. It's crazy how your perspective changes when it's been months since you've gone out without a "curfew"! I kept my cell phone at my side and resisted the urge to call throughout the night. After picking up some greasy food (a necessity at that point!), we went to pick Jordan up Sunday morning. She had a great time at Nanna's and even slept through the night--yay! Thankfully, she is welcomed back! :) I just have to say a huge thank you (again!) to my Mom and Carroll for making our first overnight adventure very easy! And, as much as I'm glad she had a good time and was a good girl, it is great to have her back home gabbing it up with us!

Daddy's back home!

Kenneth made it home from Boston. It was a crazy trip, but he had a great time and really enjoyed meeting people that he talks to all the time. It makes a difference when you can meet someone face to face. The icing on the travel cake, though, was a tree limb on the driver's side of the front of the car. So, there's a nice dent to remind him of his trip!

Oh, the pediatrician is still closed today, so I guess it will be next week before I can make her appointment. With my luck, the only appointment they will have will be sometime Friday and this will be the round of shots that she doesn't tolerate well and be cranky all Christmas weekend! Let's hope not because I believe she will be getting the flu shot this time, too...

freezing rain, freezing rain, go away!

I had planned to tell you all about Jordan's 6 month well check appointment today! However, we didn't make it out of the house (except to the neighbor's) at all because of ice accumulation and an ice storm warning. We went next door to use the phone when even my cell phone wouldn't get a signal. Plus, it was a good excuse to see their new (2-week old) baby, Elaina! Kenneth has been trying all day to make it to Boston for work. Poor thing left for the airport at 4am so that he would not get hung up in the bad weather. I don't think he actually got on a plane until 4pm! And as of now, is still not in Boston!

I will be calling the Christie Group tomorrow to reschedule her appointment, but I can say that I think she is over most of the cough/cold symptoms that she has been fighting. Her appetite is back, too. She's been doing really well with her solids lately. We are through most of the fruits and will start with vegetables tomorrow. She sits up like a champ and tolerates her tummy time a little better than she used to. Kenneth can't wait for her to crawl, but I'm willing to let her take her time! The other indicator that we think she's feeling better is that she has been sleeping through the night without as much struggle--that always make for a happy Mommy!

field trip!

We went to Rock Hill today to meet Andrea. Andrea was born in February and lives in Charleston. Andrea's dad, Stephen, is Kenneth's cousin. I can't believe that it's taken us so long to be able to meet her! Jordan and Andrea got along very well and we took some GREAT pictures of the girls, their dads and their cousin, Nathan, too.

Kenneth's brother had come across some Super 8 home movies of the 4 cousins growing up. During some of them, I could have sworn that we were looking at Jordan! Kenneth looks so much like her that it's just crazy! After a while when we were watching and everyone was identifying people in the shot, they would say "There's blah, blah, blah, Jordan, blah, and blah." I can't wait to get my hands on some baby pictures of Kenneth to post for y'all to see for yourselves.

progress report

Well, the last couple of days have been a little rough. Jordan is still working on getting rid of this cough thing and it hasn't really been too pretty!

Sunday afternoon got ugly enough that we called the pediatrician. Poor little girl just couldn't stay asleep because of coughing and gagging on what she coughed up, which led to more unhappiness than I care to explain! I did have to work in the nursery Sunday evening and took her with me. I'm glad I did because she fell asleep in the car (the ulterior motive) and stayed asleep while we were there. Kenneth ended up talking to the nurse on call and got some tips on trying to make her more comfortable. We did what we could, but it was still a pretty long night!

All day Monday, she just seemed so interested in what I was eating. After her afternoon nap, she was in the highchair while I unloaded the dishwasher, etc. She was kind of fussing a little, so I held up her spoon to her mouth and she opened right up! So, 1/2 container of peaches later, I figured she REALLY must be feeling better to want to try solids again. Woo hoo! That was the turning point because she has been feeling better each day since then!