Our Little World: The more things change, the more behind I get!!

Sleeping through some.... teething

Ok. Let's see. Well, a couple of weeks ago, Melanie started to get a runny nose. Then her eyes were watery. Oh no. Not another cold! The last thing she needed was to deal with that crap again! But it seemed so much worse this time. She looked as miserable as can be. But she acted as if it was just another beautiful day. So happy. Laughing, jumping being her joyous self.
Nap time was the hard part. She was so congested from all the fluid that I mostly held her while she slept to keep her upright and make sure she was breathing ok. She would try and try to breathe through her nose but it just wasn't working.
Meanwhile, I'm feeling so bad for her. Wondering if it's allergies since we had been out walking the past week or so. Maybe allergies from some food. Who knows. All I knew was that I would have gladly traded her places in a heart beat.
The first night, she fell asleep and after a couple of hours, when I went to check on her, she was having a very hard time breathing. Made me very uneasy! I thought if I slept with her next to me, I could monitor her a little better. Well, shortly after she fell asleep, she woke up crying because it was so hard for her to breathe. After going through this for about half an hour, I had to try something else. For her sake. Ok. Maybe mine too. I needed my rest just as much as she did, so I decided the best thing was to stick her in her glider. Worked like a charm!! Thank goodness! She seemed comfy and she slept all night. So for a couple of nights, she slumbered away in that thing. Whatever it takes to get some sleep. I'm not sure I would consider it "sleep" that I got though. Constantly waking to check on her and wipe her nose with a warm cloth. Like I said, I would have GLADLY traded places with her.

Ugh... poor girl.

It was a rough couple of days for us! I just kept praying it would get better soon and she wouldn't be stuck with it for a week like last time. (although she wasn't this bad the last time.) Even eating her cereal and veggies was a hard one to get through. But she proved to be a champ, like always.

Daddy's 1st time feeding her

Stuffy... makes eating a little tough

The aftermath: 2 little chompers

Fast forward to Sunday, the 22nd. I was giving her a bath and I went to wipe her gums with the wash rag as I normally do and what.... Are those... oh. Wow. Teeth! I was so excited that I called Brian into the bathroom to show him. I couldn't believe it!! There were 2 little tiny teeth poking out of my baby girls cute little gums.
I cried. I realized how fast she is growing up!! I never believed people when they told me just how fast it flies by. But my goodness. There she was. With two teeth. Not even 6 months old.
Our beautiful baby girl is growing into a big girl faster than we ever thought possible!
So that's what was causing all the misery. Teething. The watery eyes, the amazingly abundant amount of snot. And of course, the drool.
And here I thought that teething would be more like constant crying and crankiness!! Not with Melanie. Just give her some stuff to chew on and she will sail right through it. Excessive fluid and all!!
We truly are blessed to have such a healthy, happy beautiful little girl!! It has never been a rough experience for us. Only fun and exciting every single day! I have even been sleeping through the night since she was about a month old!

Helping Daddy blow out the candles

Brian's birthday was on the 24th. We had a quiet little night in with some cake and presents. It was sweet to see her attempting to help Brian with everything. She really is a smart girl. Very eager to learn and try new things. We are gonna have our hands full all too soon!

She likes peas!!

Finally!! A veggie she likes! Carrots and sweet potatoes aren't exactly at the top of her list. Squash is tolerable... in her cereal. But peas are just fine by themselves. Even green beans are ok. We will start meats next week. It's so exciting introducing her to new foods!!
The expression on her face is always priceless too.
She already thinks she should just feed herself. I'd have to say she is pretty dang good with the spoon! Cleaning her up is fun too. She gets excited when I run the water to get the rag wet to wipe her off. She knows what comes next. It is so amazing!

Goofy girl

It's ok. I 'll get it, Mom

So close...

Chubby cheeks

Where did she go?

Some of her favorite time is the time we let her streak before jumping in the tub. This may be a decision that comes back to bite us when she gets a little older and mobile. Chasing a naked baby around the house...
The dogs like to relax with her too. Vandal is so gentle with her. When we turn our backs, he sneaks in some of his big face kisses. You can always tell this is happening by her laughter. She gives it away every time.
Vandal cuddles up with her every chance he gets. She "pets" him, which he loves. Any attention is good attention for him. With the exception of ear pulling. Which she has done a few times. He just cries.
He is patiently waiting for her to be big enough to play. He tries to give her his toy, but she just laughs at him. Pretty soon, they'll be inseparable. Those will be some fun times.

Buddies

Hittin the Nature Center

Last weekend, we decided we were going to hit the zoo. After having it planned out and official all week long, Saturday arrives. And with it-rain. Just our luck. We headed to Boise anyways, thinking it just may clear up. We try to keep the optimism up around here, even in the spring.
We decided to look at some vehicles while we were out, since we finally narrowed it down to what we wanted. (After the headache of looking for about a month now.) We looked. Killed some time. Decided on some Moxie Java and the Nature Center. It's free! So I was pretty excited about it.
It is so cool that we have something so educational and family friendly, (and did I mention free?) around here! And the best part is that it is never the same place!! It changes with the seasons. I think it is a wonderful way for our daughter to learn that things change, but still remain the same. And nature is something that is very important to us. Since we plan on being an off your butts kinda family, may as well give her an early start.
She loved it there! The black bear in the visitor's center stands so big and tall to her. She just laughed at it for the longest time. She probably would have laughed at it all day if we would have stayed all day. It is kind of nice that she is so easily entertained, sometimes!

Sippy cup.. check. Let's roll

Not right now guys. I'm watching that duck.

BIG fish!!

These trout were so big! She didn't notice them at first, but when she finally did, she just kept reaching for them. More and more would come and she was loving every second of it! If she could have touched them, I'm sure she would have tried to eat them. But she kept gently touching the glass. I wonder what she was thinking. These things were as big as she was!

She wanted to get them

They just kept coming back for more

My two loves

We took a little break to look at the river and serve her some "lunch." It was such a beautiful day. So warm and peaceful. Just the three of us. No rush. No agenda. Just going with the flow. We had so much fun watching Melanie take it all in. We decided this would be our bi monthly, if not weekly, family outing. Although I think we will attempt to hit the zoo as well. She is already an animal lover, just like us.
It's just such a good feeling to get away from the chaos of the fast pace of everyday living. Nothing is more important than family. And nothing makes my day like spending some quality time with my husband and beautiful baby girl.

Love this picture