Friday, November 25, 2005

i have hands

yesterday i found these things that seem to be attached to me. they are good to suck and chew on...and i think i may even have some effect on what they do...but i'm not sure. i hold them really close to my face and wiggle them around. it makes me look crosseyed, but i am working hard to figure this one out!

my parents and i have been working hard to learn some other stuff, too. they have been trying to help me learn to go to sleep at midnight. some nights i am ready to go to sleep and some i am not, but i am trying to at least chill in my bed on my own until i am ready to fall asleep. if i can keep my pacifier/dummy in, it's okay. but when it falls out, i don't like the falling asleep so much. i have been sleeping for about 5 1/2 hours in a row every night. the last couple mornings i wake up, eat, am up for maybe 15 minutes then i fall back asleep for another 3-4 hours. i have also been learning to fall asleep on my own for my naps during the day. i do pretty well if i'm in my special chair, i'll try to get daddy to take my picture while i'm in it so you can see it. i really like it, but i sometimes fall to the side so my dad rolled up these little blankets to keep me from falling over...he takes good care of me.

i've been happier since my parents finally figured out i need more to eat! it took them a couple days, but eventually they figured it out. so, between getting better sleep and more food, i am doing great!

after i wake up from my nap, have my nappy/diaper changed, and eat, then i work out. my mom and dad have been helping me to work on my standing. i'm getting pretty good. they say strong leg muscles are important...plus they make it fun. they haven't quite figured out how to help me make my arms strong...but they'll probably come up with something. they seem to be doing okay at learning how to help me grow!

my dad has lost his mind and started talking gibberish to me. he says something like "popobobo" alot. he thinks he is talking my language, but i have no idea what he's saying. but at least it's fun to watch. last night he said the word "Miagi". as in, "mr. miagi died today" and when he said miagi, i smiled really big. so he keeps saying it, thinking i'll smile at him. if my mom or dad smile at me, i like smiling back most of the time.

after my workout and smiling, then talking and smiling...i am exhausted! sometimes i start telling my mom and dad that i am tired and want to go to sleep by whining and sometimes i just fall asleep. then i wake up and start all over again...that's pretty much my day!

last sunday i was awake at church and lots of people came to say hi to me and look at my open eyes! i only made it through about half the service before i fell asleep...my dad said it's okay, he understands. on wednesday we went to the american embassy to get my passport and social security number. i don't know what either of those are or why i need them! mom said we had to go so that we can go home in a few weeks, but i don't know what she's talking about...she's crazy! mom and i had to take the tube by ourselves (because dad had to work), but nice people helped her carry the stroller/push chair up and down the stairs. she was really nervous about how we were going to do that, but it was fine. she had to get up really early, because we had the first appointment of the day. i just woke up at my regular time, then fell asleep while when i got in my push chair.

i have to go to the doctor on tuesday for some more shots/injections. i don't think i'll like it too much, but hopefully it won't last long. mom and dad say they will help me stay healthy.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

another big week....

well, i had another big week last week. i had a 6-week check up. i weighed in at 10 lbs. 4 oz. i knew i was getting bigger because some of my clothes don't fit anymore! when he tried to bend my legs to check my hips, the doctor also commented on how strong my legs are! i have been working out a little, mostly doing squats on my mom and dad's laps, i gotta start getting ready to walk! my gums have been bothering me a little, i don't think i'm teething yet, but the midwife said that my gums can start bothering me pretty early because the teeth are starting to grow and come up in my gums. this growing up is pretty tough sometimes.

i work out my arms by trying to put my hands in my mouth at the same time my mom or dad are trying to feed me. it's surprising how strong i can be! i'm not just trying to hold my head up, but trying to move it from side to side,too. occasionally i accidntally head butt my mom when she is burping me, it shocks us both!

my parents finally took me to church this past sunday! i guess it was good...i slept through the whole thing. my mom said they introduced me during the announcements and everything! another baby had her first day at church, too, but she is only 2 weeks old! my parents are really slow!

we didn't take any big trips in london last week, but we did go to the park on saturday. these pictures with the leaves are from then. my dad makes such a mess! it's hard to tell from the picture, but my hair is changing too. it's thinned out a little, has turned a little lighter, and is getting long. last night my daddy was even talking about my needing a trim! it grows fast! but it still gets curly just after its washed, like in the picture of me having my bath.

i am starting to "talk" more. my mom says that my cooing is starting to sound more like talk, she thinks i am starting to mimic actual speaking intonation more...and sound a little less like a character from star wars! i still make a fake cry like noise when i want mom or dad and sound like a horse when i yawn, but i'm adding to my vocabulary.

my sleeping is getting better. some nights i sleep for 6 hours in a row! plus i am going to sleep a little bit earlier on some nights. i don't do it all the time, sometimes i still like to keep daddy up late and wake momma up in the middle of the night. but who can blame me, they are great! :) and i love spending time with them.

i am really starting to be able to focus my eyes. i'm not just looking at the obvious stuff, like the brown shelves and pictures on our white walls. i'm looking at everything...including the people next to us on the bus! my favorite thing to look at are the dragon fly lights my dad hung in my room. they are awesome...i love looking at those guys!

mom and dad keep talking about "coming home" in a few weeks. i don't really know what that means, but i am starting to get excited because they are. next week mom and i are going to the embassy so i can get a passport. i have to get passport photos and everything! that will be an adventure!

Thursday, November 03, 2005

I'm one month old!

Tomorrow I am one month old. it seems only yesterday i lived in the idyllic world of the womb...no hunger, no thirst, no nappies (diapers in american), just floatin' around...those were the days! but i am learning to adjust to this strange world i've been born into.

the biggest news is this, i weigh 9lbs. 13oz. that is almost a pound more than the health visitor expected. my mom says she thinks i inherited good weight gaining genes! anyway, right now it means i am healthy! i already knew i was doing okay, but it seemed to relieve my mom...she's so neurotic!

mom and dad have started letting me do some big girl stuff. last week i learned about shopping! mom took me for a girls afternoon out to wood green high street. we rode the bus, looked in shops, and even had lunch at Quiznos. a few days later mom and dad took me to a cool place called Covent Garden. i've posted some pics of our day, it was great. the weather was perfect. that day i rode the tube, that was a really big deal! you should have seen my mom and dad trying to get my push chair (stroller) onto the tube!

i overheard mom and dad talking about going to another shopping place called Camden. mom says they have funky stuff and it's a great open air market. if the weather is good, maybe we'll go there this weekend. they really like taking me out for the afternoon. i sleep through almost the whole thing. give me a break, i'm only one month old!

i am starting to grow up though. i am chubbier now, you can see it in my cheeks and chin area, plus my thighs the most, but i'm pretty much filling out everywhere! i fit in my skin now, no more sagging! i recognize my bottle sometimes once it gets really close to my face, but i still think i can fit my fist in my mouth along with the bottle. i don't cry when mom and dad change my nappy, i jerk a little when the wipie touches me, but come on, it's cold! i like my bath now, just not getting out and drying off. ahhh, just letting the cares of the world melt away in a bubble bath. there is so much to learn, that sometimes i just need to chill out and de-stress! i have gone up a half size in my nappies, no more little baby newborn for me, we big girls need a little more than that!

oh, and more big news! the last two nights i have slept for seven hours straight! no waking up! now last night that was 4:30am-11:30am after almost driving my dad crazy, but 7 hours is a long time for me! i don't know if i will sleep 7 hours straight from now on the rest of my life, but i can do it!

so, that's a lot of what i have learned this first month. there have been ups and downs, goods and bads, but i think i am getting used to being here.