Out of Retirement

Everyone knows Ella loves her blanket but the other thing she loves almost as much and provides her with unspeakable comfort is her soother... or what ever that thing is called. Even before she was born, when I had a tough time falling asleep while pregnant with her I would turn it on, listen to the music and just try to relax. Then she was born and it became a signal it was time to go to sleep. She grew a little and began hitting the button by herself until she would fall into a peaceful sleep. She kept on growing and the soother became part of her night life where she would wake up in the middle of the night, jump up and down in her crib, laugh gleefully and continue pressing the button until the party was over. There was a time we had to replace the batteries once a month. She continued to grow, lost the crib and then moved into a regular bed and once that was under control, I slipped the soother into retirement. Well, I really hid it in our closet.

Time passed by and I wanted to throw the thing away, especially since one of the screws in the back could no longer be screwed in since the threads were worn out. I never ended up thowing it away because I wanted to blog about it so Ella could remember it but yet I never got around to taking a picture of it which resulted in no post. Now and then Ella would spot it, look at it lovingly and wonder why I would not bring it back into her room.

The past few weeks Ella mentioned nightmares she had and lately has become fixated on them. The poor girlie girl is not getting enough sleep and I worry about her. Yesterday after church, I was talking to her about something, the soother was mentioned and the thought came to my mind that it might help her with the nightmares. We went into the office, Ella lovingly picked it up and then we went on a search for batteries. We ended up finding some in a fishy game and Ella was super duper excited. She waited patiently while I changed over batteries and kept asking if she could touch it. When I gave the all clear, she pressed the button, we heard the music and she began to relax. She replied, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH Now I can go to sleep." We did not hook it up until Leia was up from her nap but once it was a permanent fixture again in her room, she was content. The soother is so well loved and used that it is not completely functional anymore. All the little animals no longer move. All that works is the music and lights but Ella was fine by that.

This morning was the big test... Nightmares?.... no! The first thing I heard was loud laughter. It was music to my ears. Let's hope the soother continues where it left off and Ella can once again drift off into quality sleep... without the late night parties.

Bushkill Falls

Yesterday we tried to go swimming but as we got out of the car we realized it was too cold so we headed home to change and figure out what to do. Ryan fished around on the Internet and found Bushkill Falls which is about an hour away from us. We packed up the car, being a little hesitant with moody kids, and then headed out to see "the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania".

I must say the trip worked out better than I anticipated. Ella loved the little hike we took. The trail was very kid friendly and everything was so breathtaking. Ella was a little scared at the top of the falls but was able to relax and enjoy everything once we were closer to ground level. We definitely need to go again but before we do, Ella needs a pair of sneakers. She walked until her poor feet became too tired and sore.

Man Up

While I was a First Grade teacher it was very apparent which parents could not let go of their "baby" and which kids were rather independent. I took notes and vowed to not do too much for Jonathan because I wanted him to be independent and not rely heavily on someone else to do the daily stuff for him. We moved. I lost focus of my goal.

A few month ago I read an article about a wimpy kid type syndrome first born kids usually get. No fault because of the child but really the fault lied with the parents being overly cautious. Now, let me rephrase that because we, meaning Ryan and I, are actually more cautious now compared to 7 years ago with safety/ health issues. What I mean is when something happens, how I react to it. With Jonathan if he got hurt I was more, "poor baby" but with Ella I am more relaxed with a where does it hurt, you're not dying so just "shake it off" and go back to playing. Jonathan does whine over small things where Ella will just go back to playing unless hunger/ tired issues pop up and then Ella turns into Hella... but that is another story... and yes I have a Freudian slip where I call her Hella when her ugly mood escapes.

Anyway, now I need to do some damage control due to my "freaking out" over the small stuff. I am trying to bring the phrase "Man Up" into the world. Man up meaning suck it up, take it like a man and just deal with the situation. It doesn't matter if you are tired, hungry, whatever the reason, just buck up, get through what needs to be done and then we'll focus on the other stuff. It also means be a gentleman. For example if your sister is having a hard time carrying all her girlie stuff into the house, Man Up seven year old boy and help her out and don't freak out about having to carry something pink... or frilly... or over-the-top princessy.

Hopefully the phrase will catch on in our home. I hope so. After all, we all need to Man Up now and then and just get things done.

Iron Pigs

For awhile now we have been waiting patiently until the day came where we could go to an Iron Pigs baseball game. A week before we went Jonathan became extremely excited and the day of his energy could not be contained. Of course this kind of energy spreads between kids as quickly as a wild fire so by the time Ryan came home to pick us up to head out, I was already exhausted. Part of the whole event was to go over to a friend's house for dinner and swimming and then head over to the ball park. Words cannot express how much excitement was contained in the small area of our car. I think if you compared the excitement to a flammable gas and someone accidentally lit a match, well, we would have blown up to smithereens.

The swimming and food were fabulous and then we headed out to the game. At the ball park there is a certain area where families can sit on the grass and watch the game. This is where we were which worked out perfectly for squirmy little kids. We basically sat on a slope which Leia loved and continuously tried to walk/crawl up and down it. She also made a few friends around us. We had a great time and stayed through the whole game which went until about 10pm and no one had a meltdown even though the weather was in the 90s and very humid! Man, the miracles keep coming into our home.

OK. Here is the break down of the game.
Iron pigs are having a horrible season. I think they lost 10 games, 11 after this game.
Jonathan cheered like a mad man yelling, Go Iron Pigs... Go Iron Pigs... etc, etc.
Poor people around him but he insisted supporting his team even though they were loosing miserably.
Ella met FeFe, one of the Iron Pigs mascots, and loved her "make-up shower", gave FeFe a huge hug and got her autograph.
Leia walked up and down the grassy area and had a straw to keep her amused.
Ryan and I attended to kids and watched as much of the game as possibly which I think I saw two plays made.

It was truly a great night.

It was the girls first baseball game. Jonathan is the boy in the blue shirt and baseball cap watching the game up close.

It's about the curve, not %

I do read other people's blogs and see stats of their babies and almost always they mention what % their baby falls in. (I've posted about this before.)However, my kids' doctors have never given me a % during visits and I have always wondered how other parents get this info. It did concern me but years ago Ryan set me straight and said the % does not matter. The doctor looks at the growth curve. I was happy with the explanation but still wondered about % basically because I have a crazy streak running through me. I guess it did not really matter because my kids had good growth curves and the doctors were not concerned... until today.

At Leia's 1st year mark wellness appointment I found out her curve is starting to not look like a normal growth curve anymore. She has not gained much weight in the last three months, 4 ounces, and when the doctor showed me her curve, it has been dropping. She is the first child to not quickly take to cow's milk and since the switch has only been gulping down a whole 2-3 ounces compared to the 20 ounces the doctor would like to see her chow down on. This could be the explanation of the drop in her curve. At any rate, we will be working on her consumption of milk and now have a weigh in check up scheduled in a month to see how she is doing and to make sure there is not an underlining issue going on. I don't think there is but you never know.

Just to be clear, she has been drinking water and juice so she does have more than 2-3 ounces of "liquid" per day and she is a super duper eater so please don't make a call to CPS. Maybe I should introduce her to chocolate milk ;)

12 month stats

Length- 30.5 in.

Weight- 19 lbs. 10oz.

Head Circ. 18.25 in.

add four new shots and the flu shot scheduled for a month from now

please tilt head to the left

Maybe one day I'll learn I can't tilt the camera while taking videos.

Knoebles

Let me just start by saying we LOVE Knoebles. Parking and admission is free. You just pay per ride and can even bring your own food. We went the first summer out here and it was great except Ella was too little to go on the rides. I wanted to go again last summer but it never panned out. Then THIS summer Ryan had a few days off here and there and I was determined to go so we found a good day and it was written in pen on the calendar.

The day arrived and I was a little hesitant to go because there was a chance of thunderstorms but we still packed up and headed out. It ended up being a wonderful day. The weather ended up being fabulous... not too hot or humid and a nice breeze with no thunderstorms. The kids had a blast going on all the rides and then around five we spent a couple hours at their pool where Jonathan was able to go on the high dive for the first time and also go down numerous times water park quality slides. He later told us the slides were his favorite part. Leia LOVED the little kids water area and had a blast playing around with her Dad. She also went on her first ride, which it didn't even occur to me it was her first ride so no pictures were taken and unfortunately Ryan was not there to see it. Leia had a blast on the ride while Ella and I were daring and held our hands up during the fast paced kiddie corners we went around. This place has a ton of kiddie rides which Ella loved. I knew she would which is why I was so determined to go this year. Every thing was awesome...not even a meltdown and we did not even leave until 9pm! Heaven!

It was so cute because when we finally loaded up and headed for home Ella told us all goodnight and then about a half an hour later fell asleep. What a great day.

Ella's first ride of the day.

Jonathan studying the map to make sure we hit all the good rides.

My small camera is having issues so some of the pictures are rather poor in quality but Ryan and Ella went on the big slide together. I love all the old school rides.

Leia was able to take a nap during all the excitement.

Leia having a blast at the kiddie pool area.

Ella eating the cotton candy she had her eye on for quite some time.

The year is done. Leia turned one!

It has been a wonderful year watching Leia grow and develop. I guess I can say that now because she is sleeping through the night so I feel a little more normal. At any rate, she is a great addition to our family and I can't wait to find out what the future holds.

Quite a few things have happened this past month but since it is late I am only going to list them.

• She has transitioned to only using a sippy cup.
• She can walk 8 steps on her own.
• She can walk even farther with grocery cart assistance.
• Leia's vocabulary is growing to also saying: hat, this, that, cheese
• She continually points to things and says, "this"... very curious little girl.
• She thinks she is all that and a bag of chips when she climbs on the couch.
• Leia tries all kinds of foods now but especially likes bananas, pizza, broccoli, cheese, blueberries, grapes, hot dogs, and the Gerber turkey sticks.
• She blows kisses, dances to music and loves to smile.
• She likes to color while at church.
• She still loves to play dolls and tries to put the clothes on and take them off.
• She lets me know when she wants to wear a hat.
• She is currently learning some of her body parts and loves to touch my nose. When she touches it I make a noise like I am trying to eat her finger and tonight she made the noise. Super cute.

We love you sooo much Leia! Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mommy, Daddy, Jonathan and Ella