My First Mother's Day

This was my very first Mother's Day and it was a little surreal.  Last week, "daughter" was one of the words on our spelling list and I made up a sentence about my daughter and it really hit me.  I have a daughter!  Keira sent me flowers in a hugs & kisses bouquet (tulips and irises).  Very pretty!  J.R. gave me a beautiful vintage crystal necklace, also very pretty!  The best part of the day though was the tea party.  Laura and I got together and had an honest to goodness tea party, complete with little sandwiches and scones, to celebrate all of the mothers in our lives.  Her mother and grandmother came and my mother and both of my grandmothers were there, too.  It was nice to be able to sit and chat with everyone.  I think the last time we were all together was maybe Laura and Gavin's wedding.  Having all of those special ladies in one room really made me appreciate having the close family that I do.  Keira is such a lucky little girl!  I repeat my toast: God Bless all the mothers who have made us who we are!  Where would we be without you?

Love you Momma!

Almost 7 month check-up

Yeah yeah so we were running a little behind schedule due to some head colds, but we are back on track with her vaccines and her check-ups now.  Here are the official details:

Head circumference: 17 1/4 in (75%)

Height: 27 in (75%)

Weight: 20 lbs 1 oz (95%)

The doctor said everything looked good and that she was at a healthy weight for a 1 year old.  Re-read the title of this post and then read that last line again!  Ha!  You should see my arms!  It's the only part of this body that is back in shape already.  Truth be told they're in better shape that they were before!

Milestones:

Drooling and chewing really hard on anything hard.  Doctor thinks teeth will be here in the next month or so.

Able to sit up on her own and right herself when she reaches for something to the side.  Can grab and hold her toys.  Is starting to find the humor in throwing items to the ground for Mommy and Daddy to pick up.  Yay.

Can support her own head and holds herself in the crawl position, although she collapses when she tries to reach forward.  She does this crazy tripod scoot to try to get to her toys or remote control but doesn't get very far yet.  This is probably a good thing because the tripod consists of her two knees and her forehead!  I'm worried she'll get a matching bald spot up front.

Loves to swing in the baby swings at the park.

She's going to be starting on a lot more solid food (3 x a day!) and adding meats to the mix.  We're also going to introduce the sippy cup!  

All very fascinating I know, but for those of you who don't get to see her very often I'm trying to give you as much info as I can.

I guess the best part about this stage is that she is starting to have her own personality.  She likes to play on her own, but looks up constantly to see if you are nearby and to check out any new faces that happen by.  She loves watching other people, especially kids.  She watches them play so intently, that I know she's just storing up ideas for the day when she can move like them.  She smiles and laughs and talks to you or herself or the dogs or anyone who'll listen!  She cocks her head to the side and rests her temple on your shoulder or chest when she wants to flirt or is feeling shy.  Watch out boys, she'll chew you up!  She looks like an absolute angel in her sleep until her teeth start to hurt and wake her up, and you'll do just about anything to help take those tears away, including letting her chew on your chin until you are sure you'll have to explain a strange circular hickey under your lips to your class of third graders in the morning.  I love her more and more each day, and each night when I go to lay her down in her crib I take few extra moments after she's fallen asleep to just hold her close and enjoy our special time.  It just keeps getting better!

Sporty Baby

Thanks to a remarkable confluence of events our daughter has now been to a ridiculous number of Chicago sporting events.  J.R.'s company gave us tickets to a Wolves game (minor league hockey) and a Cubs game.  Then, over Spring Break, one of the parents at my school who works in promotions for the White Sox offered free tickets to a Bulls game.  Then Booth formerly known as GSB had an outing to the White Sox game.  And at the end of the month, we'll round it out with a Chicago Fire game!  The only two majors she'll be missing are the Bears (too cold) and the Blackhawks (too pricey).  So far she's done well with all of them, although the Cubs game was a little scary the first time everyone stood up and screamed.  But a little happy face from Mommy helped turn it around!  Last night at the Sox game was a little cold, but by the end of the 1st inning, Daddy broke down and bought a big black and white blanket so we could all cuddle in the stands.  If Keira isn't sporty, it isn't from lack of her parents trying to imprint it early!  Enjoy!

Wait, I've seen this one...Isn't it Angels in the Outfield? Go Sox!

Everybody thought I was a boy...maybe it was the hat.  Go Cubbies!

  I'm so excited I can't sit still!

Opening Day!!! It's Opening Day!

What do you mean it's too cold for the game?!?!

Baseball Season in Chicago...I guess I'd better get used to it...

Who's this big guy behind us?

Does anyone see the cougar creeping up behind us? Scary!