Needed Update...First Word...Pushing up to Sit...

Ok, so I can tell it's been way too long since I've posted when I went to upload the contents of the camera today and realized that I still had Easter Pictures on there that had not been uploaded! I also had pictures from our zoo trip over Spring Break and many, many more pictures of our other adventures in the last month.

First, Sadie's 8 month stats: I'm not sure about her length, but I'm certain she's grown! Her pants keep getting shorter and shorter! Her weight finally seems to have hit a plateau. She weighs in anywhere from 21 to almost 23 lbs depending on the time of day and whether or not she's recently eaten or had a diaper change. She is easily wearing 12 months clothes and often wears 12-18 month or just plain 18 month clothes! She's a beast, but she's sure an adorable beast!

Ok, I figure that we should do this chronologically. Here are two zoo pictures. These were taken way back at the beginning of April. Sadie has her adorable hat on that she got courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Brinkley.

























Sadie did enjoy the gorillas, one of Mommy's favorites, but she REALLY liked the manatees, Aunt Rhian's favorite animal!











Next up is a shot of the family with the Easter bunny and his wife. This was courtesy of one of Adam's former co-workers who now owns Schmidt's Fudge Haus in German Village.


















The next photo is one of Sadie in her walker. She LOVES her walker. She can run everywhere and she LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to chase the kitties!






















This next photo is actually a scanned picture. But, it is a MUST share! The advantage of living in a BIG college town is that they are always looking for people to participate in research studies. This is why we received a letter in the mail at the end of April asking if we would be willing to have Sadie participate in a study. All she had to do was go to the Cognitive Development Lab (in the OSU stadium!) and look at some pictures and listen to some sounds. Since I was all too eager to have my wonderful child display her amazing intelligence, I signed her up immediately. Sadie did a GREAT job and when we were all finished she received (sorry it's sideways, can't figure out how to fix it!):





















We are now FINALLY getting to our recent events! Last Sunday, one week ago today, Sadie was baptized. This was a very special day, so she got to wear a very special dress and she had lots of special visitors to witness her baptism! Aunt Rhian flew in from Arizona, Grandma and Grandpa Brinkley came down from Louisville, Uncle Kevin came, Grandma and Grandpa Stotts came, and, of course, Mommy and Daddy were there too. This day was beautiful and Sadie did a marvelous job, even though she usually naps during the time of the service! She was a trooper! Another thing that made the even special was that Sadie actually had water that was from the River Jordan in her baptismal water. When I was a teenager, my family travelled to Israel. I bought a small plastic bottle, filled it up with water at the River Jordan, and brought it home. I had thought that I would someday use it to baptize my child, but back then (I think I was 15 or 16), it sure seemed like a LONG way off. I'd sure like to go back in time and thank myself, though, because I really don't think you'd be able to get that water through security anymore, so that makes the water even more special. Anyways, here are some pictures of the big day:





































































Finally, our very exciting news! Last Friday night (May 15) Sadie pushed herself to a seated position for the first time. She's been easily sitting up for nearly 2 months now, but on that night (and every day and night since) she's been pushing herself from her tummy to a seated position. She will also get up on her hands and knees, but when it comes to actually crawling, she still prefers the butt scoot or to move her arms and one leg and drag the other leg behind her. One of these days I know she'll get all the steps put together, but she is getting where she wants by simply scooting how she can, so I guess it will do for now!

Also, last Saturday morning Sadie said her first word..."Dada." Now, goodness knows that I love the child, but in the week since, there hasn't even been a sort of utterance of "Mama!" And, to make it worse, it you say to her, "Sadie, say "Mama!" She smiles up at you with an obnoxious grin and says "Dada" even louder! What a little stinker! And, don't think I'll let her forget that she said Dada first when she comes crawling to me as a teenager and wants something! No, no, go ask your father, you had his name down first!!! :)

Well, Daddy wants me to come out and start some planting while he's mowing the grass, so I've got to run! Enjoy and I hope everyone is doing well!

Quick Update

Well, life is back to "normal" for now. Sadie is back to the sitter for the work week and home with Mommy and Daddy on the weekends. We've been busy enjoying the recent rush of nicer weather.

Sadie has had some more "big girl" changes. She can now ride in the front of the cart at the grocery store:










She has also transitioned to her "big girl" seat in the car:
















I have to be honest that I'm not a huge fan of the new seat at this point. Her little head keeps falling forward when she goes to sleep. This seems pretty frightening to me, but it doesn't seem to bother her too much. So, I guess I shouldn't be too worried.

Finally, we took Sadie out last weekend to enjoy her first swing at the park. She loved every minute and laughed hysterically.
















Not too much else to report on here. I am very definitely ready to be finished with this year's group of students. Individually they are all nice kids. Together they are a nightmare. This week they are taking the state testing. I'm seeing very little effort from any of them, which is beyond frustrating. But, there's hope for next year that the new group of kids will allow me to see some improvement.

Hope you're all out there. I haven't had any comments on my last several posts, so I hope my lack of consistent blogging hasn't turned you all off!

Swimming and COSI

We have had a busy Spring Break week here in Columbus. Monday and Tuesday the weather was not so great - it snowed! (Apparently something that will always happen on my Spring Break since it snowed so badly last year that we couldn't see the Grand Canyon!) But, we had fun despite the weather! On both Monday and Tuesday morning we went to the Worthington Rec Center to go swimming. Our pictures didn't turn out very well on Monday morning, but our Tuesday morning pictures were much better. Here are a couple of shots:




































Sadie LOVES to swim! She's been swimming 5 times now and she gets more into it each time we go. We're hoping to sign her up for baby swim lessons in the next section, but that will very much depend on whether or not we can actually get in to the class. Hopefully we will, but if not, we will just take the class this summer.

Also on Tuesday we went to COSI - the Center of Science and Industry. They have a "Little Kidspace" that was awesome! All of my Indy friends, if you come over to visit again soon we will have to head down there. The best part is that the museum is FREE for teachers, so since that's most of you, it would be free except for parking (no more than $5.00!) I, personally, think that that's a pretty phenomenal deal! Here are a couple of shots of Sadie enjoying COSI:































































As you can tell, Sadie had a good time! It was really nice that Daddy was able to take a few days off and play with us too!

Today we are going to the Columbus Zoo. They just had a baby elephant that was born at the end of March. He is on display from 11 am - 1 pm, so I hope we get to see him. Unfortunately since this is the first REALLY nice day we've had this week, I have a feeling that the zoo is going to be pretty busy! But, we'll make do.

Sadie got up at 4:30 am this morning, sucked down a bottle, and went right back to sleep. It's almost 9:30 am now, and she still hasn't gotten up. She must have been one tired girl! We went shopping down at the outlet center yesterday, so I must have worn her out!

Well, I've got some stuff to get together before our trip to the zoo. Take care everyone!

7 Months Old and Something New Every Day

Well, I do have to admit that I feel a bit sad that I haven't blogged in more than a month! I've thought about it plenty of times, but I guess it's never happened. Too busy actually living life to take the time to report on it. :) The month of March was full of new things. Sadie had her first St. Patrick's Day and celebrated in true green style. Here is a not-so-great picture of Mommy and Sadie on St. Patrick's Day morning.




















Sadie has also become such a big girl - she's now 20.6 pounds and still 28" - that she can ride in her stroller without having to be in her carrier. Since we've been blessed to have some warm days, we have gone for a number of walks. Here is by far one of my favorite recent photos:

















Again, going with the big girl theme, Sadie has also adjusted to sitting in a high chair when we go out to a restaurant. Here is a slightly blurry picture of her being such a big girl:
















Sadie has also fully mastered sitting up. We recently had some photos taken at JC Penney's. Here is one of her amazing sitting ability:



















JC Penney's also always has these adorable "bath" shots posted all over their walls when we go get pictures taken. I decided to inquire about these shots and learned that they have a mini bath tub. I couldn't resist, so here are a couple of adorable bath shots:
















































The last shot is killer! Look at that face and those beautiful eyes! It just makes a Mommy's heart melt! Finally, we also had some Easter shots taken in her Easter dress. Here are some of those:














































So, you can tell that March was definitely a busy month for us. Sadie also had to visit the doctor a couple of times. The first time because she got a yeast infection and the second time because she had a horrible rash. The rash turned out to actually be eczema. Apparently eczema is very common in babies with a family history of allergies or asthma. Since I have both, I guess it was sort of inevitable. But, with steroid Hydrocortisone cream and lots of lotion, she should be just fine. :)

It is now time to run because Daddy has taken a second day off of work and we have plans! We are going swimming for a second day in a row (hopefully I'll get some better pictures of that today) and this afternoon (after Sadie's nap) we are going to COSI. COSI is Columbus' children's science museum. They have a "Little Kidspace" that is designed for babies just Sadie's age. This will be our first trip there and I'm hoping she really enjoys it. Ok, Daddy's panicing that Mommy's not ready to leave yet. Take care!

6 Months Old!!!!!

Where oh where has the time gone! Tomorrow my little girl will be half a year old! That's crazy! I can't believe time has gone by so fast! This milestone has already brought about a trip to the doctor - today. Sadie is now 19 lbs even and 28" long. Her head circumference was 17.5". She is in the 95th percentile for weight, off the charts for height, and the 95th percentile for head size. She is one big and beautiful girl.

Sadie is now sitting up for a few seconds all on her own. She still wants to lean a lot to the left and the right, but she can balance for at least a few minutes. She can easily roll from front to back. She LOVES her exosaucer and her jumperoo. She is ALMOST too long for her carrier. She has eaten rice cereal, oatmeal, peas, green beans, avocado, sweet potatoes, applesauce, pears, and peaches.

Sadie LOVES music, particularly classical music. Any of her toys that play classical musical will instantly calm her and refocus her attention. Sadie has gotten very good at picking things up and throwing them. She finds this terribly amusing. I'm sure it will only get worse, but I love her for it anyways!

Sadie will also be switching to drinking only formula. I've had lots of problems with breastfeeding in these last few weeks. This is now currently topped off by the fact that I have a HORRIBLE cold and my body has been producing even less milk than it was before. So, I'm done and Sadie will be fine. Clearly she hasn't been hurting these last few weeks when she's been getting more formula than breast milk, anyways. :)

Well, Sadie also got shots today and is rather unhappily playing on the floor right now. Got to run. Take care!

Call me Cu-Cu Crazy!

So last night Sadie had a hard time getting to sleep. She kept coughing. Eventually she was able to fall asleep, but she did cough all through out the night. Then she woke up at 4:30 am because she was coughing again. I fed her and she was able to get back to sleep (after a few more coughing fits). She didn't appear to be running a temperature and actually seemed in reasonably good spirits. Still, I was very worried.

I dropped Sadie off at the sitter's and told her I would call her if I was able to make a doctor's appointment for Sadie. The doctor opens at 8:30 am. I called immediately at 8:30 am. At first they had no appointments accept one at 9 am. I obviously wasn't going to be able to make it to that appointment. I asked them to call back if they had any cancellations. Within 15 minutes they called me and had a cancellation at 2 pm. I jumped on the chance and arranged with my principal and my sitter to get Sadie to the doctor.

When I picked Sadie up around 1:25 pm, she had been sleeping pretty much since I dropped her off at 7 am. She was in a lovely good mood and I loaded her up and headed to the doctor. She didn't seem stuffy and she wasn't coughing. We got to the doctor and I think they think that I am crazy. Sadie didn't cough once. She just kept giggling and acting happy. The doctor listened to her lungs and they were clear. She happily let the doctor look up her nose, in her ears, in her mouth. She was just happy as a clam. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm very glad that she was happy and seemingly healthy. I just don't understand how she can go from coughing fits to miraculously healed in less than 24 hours!

The doctor made some suggestions - Tylenol or Benadryl if she was really having trouble again. But, basically she said not to worry.

Since we have been home, the coughing has returned. She's still quite happy and she's currently rolling around on the floor and seems perfectly content. I have no idea what the evening or next few days may hold, but hopefully she'll be on the mend!

On another note - Sadie was weighed and measured. My beautiful girl weighed in at 18 lbs 6 oz and measured 27 inches long! Since this wasn't a regular appointment, I don't have the statistics on where that fits percentile wise, but I think it's pretty safe to say that it's at the top! :)

February Update

Today is February 16. Sadie is five months and 12 days old. She weighs over 18 lbs now. I'm not sure how long she is, but she's definitely gone through another growth spurt again recently. She now can easily reach the ground when she's in her Jump-a-roo and also when she's in her exosaucer. Also, when you put her in the swing, her feet hang out over the end and they're starting to do the same in her car seat! We have bought two new big girl seats for Sadie. We haven't put them in the car yet, because I keep hoping to not have to until the weather gets a little warmer. However, Sadie may be too long before the weather consistently warms up. I guess we'll just have to see.

For the last several weeks Sadie has been wearing 6-9 month clothes. She's now (starting last night) just wearing some full out 9 month clothes. These clothes seem to be plenty big around the belly, but none too long! I guess Sadie's trying to keep up with Parker!

Today Sadie has developed a bit of a cough. I'm a little worried. But, she doesn't have a temperature and she seems to be breathing just fine. I guess it's just something to keep an eye on. She also doesn't seem to have any other symptoms, so hopefully it's something that will just go away.

Sadie has continued to roll over and is now rolling in both directions. No one has actually seen her roll from front to back, but we'll leave her on her tummy, go run around to do something, and when we come back she's on her back. So, she can obviously do it, she just doesn't want an audience. Sadie is also trying desperately to be able to sit up on her own. She's very successful for about 10-15 seconds. If she falls straight forward she can get herself back up. But, she often falls to the side or to the back. When that happens, she's stuck and gets VERY angry.

Much to my dissappointment, Sadie has started receiving some formula to supplement the breast milk that she's still getting. For some reason, despite my MANY efforts (including taking a drug that nearly blinded me!), my body has stopped producing enough milk for Sadie to subsist on it alone. So, about 1/4 of every bottle ends up being formula. :( She doesn't really seem to mind, but it's really not what I wanted for her.

Other recent happenings - Sadie has discovered her feet and after several weeks of working at it can sometimes squish her chubby belly down enough to get her feet to her mouth. :) Sadie also has discovered new foods - oatmeal, prunes, peas, sweet potatoes, avocado, bananas, rice cereal, and she has even sampled a little ice cream and a little pizza crust. The last two were in EXTREMELY small portions since I know very well she could have strong allergic reactions to any of the ingredients in them and we wouldn't know what specifically she was allergic to. Thankfully, she didn't seem to have any bad reaction. In fact, the only thing that seems to have caused a negative reaction is the avocados. Sadie loved eating them, but they seem to have caused her to have some constipation. She's been able to squeeze some stuff out, but it's coming out pretty hard, which it really should not be at this point. This is why Sadie has been eating prunes. We're still waiting for the prunes to really take effect. Hopefully the reaction won't be too awful!

Finally, here are some recent pictures of Sadie. These were taken by the guidance counselor at my school. Sadie came out for a visit last Thursday night (February 12). It was conference night. I had to pick her up from the sitter's and then Grandma came and picked her up from me. Check out her little Valentine's Day dress! So cute!