Beautiful Girl

You're in trouble young lady!

This morning we awoke to find that somebody had left lotion near Lyvie's crib. Rookie mistake.








Sadly these photos don't do the situation justice!

walking, one, and wonderful

well, i did it. i survived a whole year of life ex-utero. i feel so old. i can't believe how big the kids are getting. everytime i see gideon and molly at church it reminds of the good old days before solid food and...walking.

yeah, i walk now. no biggie. i love doing laps around the living room. i kinda like walking outside, like at the park, but there is so much cool stuff to check out on the ground that i usually only take a couple steps before i see something i feel compelled to try and put in my mouth. mom says the finger sweep is getting old, and painful with all my teeth. even grandma and becca are getting in on the action.

i love having all these people around. there is always someone to entertain me, i don't have to do anything on my own. the slightest whimper and it is just the excuse someone was waiting on to come and spoil me. i love entertaining others. i sing, i dance, i talk, i give empassioned speeches, i run when chased. i really like playing ball, i'm pretty good at rolling it to someone else, and blowing on the ball to make a fart sound. overall, i must say i am rather engaging.

so, have you caught blues clues yet? it is awesome. i only get to watch it some days, but wait till i figure out how to work the remote. as my new friend becca says "it'll be on like donkey kong" (no, i don't know what it means either, but its fun to say).

so, becca is awesome. she is way cool and is teaching me how to be cool. i love how she is so laid back. a nice break from my neurotic mother. does anyone else have one of those or is it just me? she is teaching me colours and cool words like "socks". up til now i mostly just use "buh" for ball, book, bath, bottle, bye-bye. i have lots of b words in my life. anyway, i really like hanging out with her and don't really even notice if mom or dad are around. hanging out with parents is so over. only babies who aren't yet one do that. becca and i both love to read, although she doesn't seem to be very good at sharing her books with me. what's up with that? i totally share with her. whatever.

sorry its been so long since addressing my adoring public. mom and dad haven't been to focused on letting me get on the computer to post cute pics or witty comments. we have been really busy settling into our new house, working, getting ready for becca and grams. things are starting to settle down now, so that's good. anyway, i'll try to keep my blog more updated.

peace.

Listening to music at Covent Garden

Westminster Abbey

A New Friend

how 'bout those birds?

today i was walking with mama in the park and we saw the most amazing thing. there were these quick, little things flapping around in a puddle of water. every now and then onew would jump up. they walked really close to my buggy. mom said they were birds. i watched them for about 5 minutes.

an aploogy shout out to all my fans. mama, daddy, and i have been really busy lately, so mama and i haven't been too good about keeping up with our blogs. plus we have been sleeping really well lately, which is a good thing. but, our friend neil pointed out that we only blog at like 5:00 in the morning. so...no blogs.

the quick update: i had a cold last week, one of my top teeth is getting ready to come through, i don't crawl yet, but i do a 180 on my belly, mostly to try to get the remote or computer cord. i dance by rocking back and forth when i'm sitting. i really like material girl by madonna. i like to pull the bumper in my cot. i like to sleep with my feet hanging out between the bars. butternut squash is my favorite veg, apple is my favorite fruit. i still don't like having my mouth wiped or when mom pulls something out of my reach. she can be a real party pooper.

latest news: today i went over for a cook out at my friend mischa's house. she is a couple months older than me, but we are about the same size. i'll try to get my dad to post some pics. we looked cute! i had a good time with her. her sisters blew bubbles...we loved that.

Sunbathing

the park

nice hat

trying out my chair...this is just a trial run.

i've been really sick

well, it happened. i had my first time of being sick. it was kinda weird the way it all happened.

i had a couple rough nights last week, but we think it's my teeth growing. one evening my mama finally just layed me on her bed and laid down with me while i whined. nothing made me feel better. she tried to explain to me that one of the things i have to learn in life is how to hurt. she said she wished she could keep me from hurting...ever. but that life doesn't work like that. often when parents try to keep their babies from hurting at all, that the babies don't grow into adults that know how to deal with hurt. so, she said she would stay with me while i hurt. so, i thought we had learned a little bit of that lesson that would last us awhile.

then it really hit!

saturday night mama saw i had thrown up in my sleep about midnight. so, she changed my sheets and fed me...and i threw up on her. so i went to sleep with an empty stomach. i slept through the rest of the night and was pretty happy when i woke up, so she fed me...and i threw up on her. i had a temperature and diarrhea, too. that was how we spent sunday. daddy went to the chemist and got me some medicine, and we called this medical hotline type thing (nhs direct). my fever broke late into sunday night, and i was much better yesterday. i slept alot and am back to eating small amounts often...like when i was little. :)

i don't like when my teeth hurt or being sick. and my parents don't like not being able to fix whatever is wrong. but hopefully we will all continue to get better at me hurting!

Learning to let go

well, i have learned how to take my dummy out of my mouth very well. i like grabbing onto it, pulling it out of my mouth, looking at it, turning it over in my hands. it's kinda like a toy. i am starting to learn to put it back in. but what i haven't figured out is how to let go of it so i'm not just sticking it in and pulling it out over and over. when i get frustrated my mom and dad help me, but i really want to learn to do it on my own soon.

i have several new things to share. i no longer ride in my car seat in my buggy. now i ride in the big part...and face forward. mom and i both have had to get used to that the last couple days. i like being able to see. turns out there is more to the world than i knew! plus even more people stop to smile at me and talk to me. i can sit up when i feel like it, or mom can lay me back if i need a sleep. mom has lost some storage space, but says the buggy is lighter now.

well, i survived more shots. i did really well. i cried and pouted for about 2 minutes total, one for each leg! i didn't get weighed, we have to go to the clinic for that, they don't do that at the doctors office. mom said she knows where that is, but it's only open specific days and times, so she's not sure when we'll make it down. she told me not to worry though, i look healthy and am very happy and that is the important thing. she says there is plenty of time to worry about my weight. i think she likes not knowing, its one less thing for her to be neurotic about!

her latest worry is sleep. she thought i was doing great, but then she read her stupid baby book. it says i should be getting 14 1/2 hours of sleep a day. so now she has started keeping track. i wish she would give me a break. i know when i am tired and i tell her, then she and dad help me go to sleep if i need it. really, do we need more drama, mom?

i'm a junior floaty! okay, well not officially, but mom will sign me up for my first swim class this week. it doesn't start till march 11 though. i have a swim suit (actually 2!) and mom just got me special swimming nappies. we are so excited. i am sad that dad will be out of town for the big first class, but grandma donna will be here, so that makes me happy.

i have a new trick. i turn my tongue up out of my mouth and suck my upper lip. it sounds kinda gross when i explain it, but it is really cute. my dad just saw me do it today for the first time and he confirmed it is cute, but mom and i already knew that.

dad has been kinda sick this week. his allergies/sinus gunk have been bothering him so he hasn't been sleeping well, either. plus he had a retreat to lead a couple days last week. i hope he feels better soon. he hasn't be snuggling with me, in case he could get me sick with his germs. being sick doesn't look fun so i think i'm going to try to not get sick. i sure do miss his cuddles though, they are the bomb!

by the way, i have seen my mom and dad's blogs...how come no one ever comments on my blog?

life at 4 months

i can't believe i have to go to bed before my first superbowl even starts. dad says it is very special that it is my first superbowl and the steelers are in it. he says i am good luck for the guys! i guess i am about the closest thing to a cheerleader the black and gold have. mom likes that about the steelers and says she is happy for me to be a cheerleader for them as long as i keep my clothes on and don't shake it like a hoochie-mama. i don't really know what she is talking about...now or most of the time.

i have started giving "hugs". really what i do is turn my forehead right into mommy or daddys face while they are holding me. i close my eyes and rub my forehead back and forth. i guess its not an actual hug, but its me being cuddly. as far as kisses go, i still just open my mouth if you kiss me on it.

i have decided i love having my nappy changed. i start kicking my legs, open my eyes real big, and get my serious look. then, once i am flapping in the breeze, after being wiped i start chatting up a storm...and keep my legs kicking...through the whole thing. it feels so good to be fresh and clean!

we have a big week this week. i have to go to the doctor again and get more shots. mom keeps trying to explain to me that even though it hurts for a little bit that it helps keep me healthy...but i'm pretty clueless. i guess i'll figure it out when i actually get the shot. we are also going to talk to the doctor about starting on real food. i turned four months yesterday and that is when my friend isabella started. maybe it's time for me to start eating chicken wings too. they sound delicious. okay, maybe i won't start with chicken wings...

i am getting really good at holding myself up when i am on my belly. i haven't rolled over, but get pretty close sometimes when i am on my back. i guess this is not the way most babies do it, but i really like stretching and wiggling on my back more than my stomach.

i have been playing with my mat isabella gave me alot. i love batting around the different animals. i can't decide if i like the part that plays music, and i pretty much haven't discovered the mirror or pictures yet. but i am sure i will figure it out soon.

as for eating, i am still doing very well. i am up to 7 oz. now. i don't need the little baby tips any more...even when i'm tired. i have started recognizing my bottle. when i see it or when my mom or dad put my bib on i start getting really whiny. i don't realize i am hungry until then, but once i figure out its time to eat it's the only thing i can think about!

i go to bed at 8:00 almost every night. some nights i sleep better than others, and some nights i need my dummy more than others. but i can usually be persuaded to sleep until 8-10 in the morning. not bad for my age!

my drool problem seems to be getting worse. i am sticking more and more things in my mouth and like chewing on pretty much anything. i don't like it when i can't get my toys into my mouth, so my parents hang them down real low off my car seat and play mat.

today at church i smiled a lot at peter. my mom really likes him. he's a little older than me and moves around alot, so that's interesting. i really like watching most of the bigger kids. i can't wait until i can run around and play with them. mom says by the time i am their size they will be bigger, but that there are some other babies close to my age (and yet to be born) that i will be able to run around with.

My first Superbowl!

Me and daddy dressed in black and gold!

my trip home

for those of you wondering, my trip home was great. mom and dad fed me before we got on the plane in oklahoma city. i whined a little when we first got on the plane, but dad settled me down...and that's it! it helped a lot that we had virtually no layover in chicago, just enough time to change my nappy, mom and dad picked up a couple sandwiches, and get to the gate...not even time for them to eat the sandwiches, but they said they preferred it that way. i still don't get eating. once we settled into our big flight, they put me in this collapsable ziploc kind of bed on the floor in between them. i slept great, but only 5 hours. i slept more when we got settled into our taxi on the way home. mom and dad said it was the shortest travel time yet for a trip between london and oklahoma city.

on friday i pooped out at 7:30 that night. i slept until 11:30 saturday morning, that's 16 hours. well, i woke up enought to eat a couple times, but that's it. saturday i only took a couple half hour naps, and konked out at 7:30 again. my parents hope to push that back to about 9:00 within the next couple days, but i am doing way better than them. they are out of control. for some reason they seem to be having a hard time taking care of me on my "schedule" and getting on one of their own. they are really whiny and cranky right now.

so, as usual, i am doing great, but i am not so sure about my parents...i hope they get it together soon.

i am overwhelmed

it's hard to believe that just a few short weeks ago the only life i knew was so simple. hanging out with my mom all day (mostly listening to cheesy pop music on the radio), chillin with my dad in the evenings and on weekends (we love to watch MASH and american football together).

next thing i know my ears are killing me (actually i did better on the flights than either of my parents) and we have landed in some alternate reality.

oklahoma is a land of more grandparents then i could ever have imagined! the sun is so bright here and the weather feels like summer (it shouldn't, but global warming is a good thing right now!). i have met many friends who have been waiting for me for years. american football is on television all the time. i have "ridden" a tractor at papa guinn's. okay, does this christmas thing happen everywhere or what? if not, you guys are really missing out.

this week my parents are taking me to a magical place called "broken bow". they thought i might stay with one of my grandmas but they can't stand the thought of being away from me. come on guys, cut the cord already! anyway, they seem to think it will be a lot of fun. i have already been to such exotic places as shawnee, norman,...and slaughterville (for real, that's the name).

everyone wants to hold me and take my picture. the picture thing is cool, as long as they work around me. i'm kinda getting the hang of looking at the camera, but my favorite pics are the ones where i am looking at a person (see "smiley pic"). as for the holding, i'm just not used to it. i mean, my mom holds me and all, but she's got stuff to do like laundry, cooking, cleaning...she's a busy woman at home. and when we get back she'll add work. it's the same with dad. so, being passed from person to person for several hours in a row is a bit much for a little girl to take. so, here's my disclaimer. if you try to hold me and i cry, don't take it personally, it's probably not you. i'm probably just what my mom calls "overstimulated" and need a break. i still have a long way to go in my social skill development!

i also want to send a thank you shout out to all of my new friends and family who have given me all the great stuff! you guys rock!