One year...and a few days

So I just read my friend's blog about her precious son and I realized it has been at least 6 months since I updated the blog. Apparently balancing work, family, church, baby and other aspects of life have left me behind on updating the world on our life. Not that the world really cares about what goes on with us, but maybe my friends do.

Sydnee has had an exciting first year of her life. And by exciting, scary for mommy and daddy and very tiring. In the fall she had a series of ear infections that led to us getting tubes put in her ears. Since then, ear infections have been fewer and she has been able to deal with all her drainage better. Well in January Sydnee went back to daycare ready to tackle the world. From January until the end of February we, as a family, have battled the stomach bug, sinus infections and living through Sydnee's pneumonia. Through all the breathing treatments and doctors appointments we finally have a pretty happy, healthy baby girl.

At our one year wellness appointment, we got all her new measurements and they decided she has some allergies. They put her on some allergy meds and our world has been even happier! The doctor said she is a busy little girl and progressing nicely. I am so proud of my little 'big' girl! Here are her latest stats compared to her 1 year ago (or far as I can remember)

Birth/2 week
1 year

Height:
 20" -70%
28.5" - 50%

Weight: 
  7lbs 11oz - 50%
19lbs 3 oz - 25%

Head Circumference:
70% (I forgot the measurements)
18 in - 75% (our kid has a big head!)

Things Sydnee likes to do now:

Food:
She likes to eat EVERYTHING! She thinks we should share all our food. We are working on getting her to switch to whole milk and she likes that but only in a cup with a straw. Finger foods include fruit, puffs, anything we make into finger food. She also likes icing and things that are sweet.

Toys:
She loves her stuffed lion and really anything that makes noise. She got a rocking horse and a chair for her birthday and some other fun toys. Anything she can put back or take away from someone makes her happy too.

Personality:
She loves the laugh and "chase us" around the house. She walks EVERYWHERE! Bath time is her favorite time. She mimics us in speech as well as in motions. She has a mean face that she likes to make and then smile like she is kidding. She has thrown a tantrum or two, haven't decided which parent she got that from. 

I am sure I am forgetting a whole lot but I am a little in awe of how much has changed in the last year. We have a 1 year old!       

Mean Face!

Exploring

Grocery Shopping with Mom!

 

Top 10 Differences between Grad School and Working on a Ranch.

Since my wife hasn’t updated our blog, I guess I should. As you may or may not know, I have been working on a ranch since late April. Why? Because I can’t eat or pay rent with my degrees. I have observed a few differences between ranch life and grad school that are worth sharing. Why? Because I don’t want to work on my dissertation. Anyways, without further ado (I know the suspense is killing you) here are the. . .

Top 10 Differences between Grad School and Working on a Ranch.

10.  In ranching, bad weather leads to days off. In grad school, weather is meaningless unless it kills your electricity.

9.      In ranching, you have to build a lot of fence to keep your cows in and others’ cows out. In grad school, you have to close your office door to keep everyone out.

8.      In ranching, sometimes you drive forever to get somewhere. In grad school, sometimes you write forever and get nowhere.

7.      In ranching, there is sunlight. In grad school, there is only fluorescent light.

6.      In ranching, you see lots of strange things. In grad school, you’re the strange thing.

5.      In ranching, there are wide open spaces. In grad school, you and 5 other people share an office with 3 desks.

4.      In ranching, things break. In grad school, you break.

3.      In ranching, if done correctly, one makes money. In grad school, if done correctly, one owes money.

2.      In ranching, one occasionally steps in cow poop. In grad school, one often writes papers full of, well . . . you know.

1.      In ranching, cattle are the commodity. In grad school, you are the cow.

3 Months

On June 8th, Sydnee turned 3 months. I can't believe she is already that old! Stop growing up, I mean it! But what a wonderful ride it has been. This last week Sydnee got all her summer gear together, and she is ready to go swimming. If we ever make it out to do that. We have been sewing quilts lately for BeBe. On the week of Sydnee's 3 month birthday, Sydnee got to meet her future best friends at my high school reunion, 10 years already! She met Jonah, who got allergies while he was here. Poor kid, our dry weather does not help little babies. But we were sure happy to see him! She also met Cate. Sadly we didn't get a picture of Cate and Syd together, but I'm sure more will happen in the near future! It was so fun to see all the babies and how we are becoming parents!

3 months old today!

Jonah and Sydnee...trying to hold hands :)

Some updates on how Sydnee is doing. She goes to bed between 8-9 every night and wakes up between 7-8 in the morning. Such a great time of relaxation for Mommy and Daddy. Sydnee eats about 7 times a day and takes her nap after some fun wake time. She has started talking. She talks and makes coos so much! It is so fun to hear! She has also started smiling more and more. My favorite time is when I lean over the crib when she wakes up and a huge grin is on her face. It melts my heart! Sydnee rolled from her tummy to her back yesterday - June 14th. I was so excited. She looked scared! I even marked the time 12:26 pm. She hasn't done it since. She has become so much more active and attentive. She can hold her head up more and more! She is getting so strong! It is so fun to see her grow! She has the best little fat rolls on the tops of her legs. Like her Sunday School teacher says, "she is so squishy!"

Sydnee's Uncle Alan sent her a giant stuffed dog. She looks so tiny next to it! I feel like there will be a competition for the largest stuffed animal. This is not an invitation to join in the giant animal find. We don't have space for them!

Hanging out on the stuffed dog.

Just relaxing!

Too cool for school and ready for summer!

Grammy and Grampa

Daddy and Sydnee having a chat.

Well Sydnee's Grammy and Grampa came to visit over Memorial Day weekend. They hadn't seen our precious girl since her birth. I was gearing Syd up all week for this fun weekend and she just wasn't having any of it. I felt so bad. She cried almost every time they held her! I couldn't believe it! I have passed her around since she was born so she could get used to being held by lots of people and she wasn't having any of it! I don't know what got into her! But we had fun visiting and shopping and just hanging out. Sydnee was a champ, even though she did miss some naps through it all. She was also blessed (as were her parents) with new clothes! Sydnee is dressed to impress now! We are going down in July to see them again, so hopefully things will be better this next time. Here are a few pictures of Sydnee in her new clothes.

Learning how to make raspberries while out getting some Fro-yo

Sitting with Grampa

"Mom, stop taking my picture already!"

Blowout!

Disclaimer! This is about POOP!

So Sydnee has developed this lovely habit that I would like to say I wish she didn't have. Apparently, some breast milk babies do not go to the bathroom around 2 months. Their body absorbs all the nutrients and it takes a while for them to "build up" enough to go to the bathroom. Now granted, Syd's going to kill me when she finds out I blogged about the embarrassing subject, but many moms have had these hilarious days of diaper blowouts. So Sydnee did not go to the bathroom for 1 week and 1 day. I knew it would be a major diaper or several major diapers in a row, but I never expected this! It happened on Wednesday. I had just fed her and I was at my parents' house working on a quilt. I set her in her car seat so she could "talk" to her Poppy while he worked. After a few minutes she started this horrid grunting and her face was SO red. I thought maybe she just still didn't feel good from her shots the day before but I was so wrong. After a few minutes she started to fuss. Dad had a call coming in so I went and got her and thought, well I'll change her just in case. Well when I picked her up, I felt her onesie and it was soaked, all the way up the side! I realized I had a problem on the way. I took her into my parent's bedroom where I laid her on an old towel to start taking her clothes off. She started crying and as I pulled her top up, I saw why. There was poop coming out of the top and back of her diaper. It was in her belly button and there was so much that I couldn't scrape it off with the diaper because the diaper was already too full. I used about 15 wipes just to clean her off of the main goo. I then made a bath for her in the bathroom sink to wash off the rest of the foul smelling poop. It was by far the grossest thing that has happened since we got her home 10 weeks ago! I got her changed...left her half naked until we went home because I only had 1 spare outfit....and we went about our day. She was very happy after the fact but I am not looking forward to next weeks disaster!

Becoming Mommy

There are so many times in our lives that we mark as those special events. We get our license at 16, finally taking our first solo trip out into the real world. We can vote at 18 or buy tobacco (if you're into that). Finally making into your 20's and then the next year you are 21. At this point you start to think about all the events that lead up to that special time of becoming a mom. You find THE ONE. You get married. Somewhere down the road you find out you are going to have a baby! You have 9 months to prepare yourself for something that you can never be prepared for. I don't care what the books say, there is no way you can be prepared for mommyhood. I wouldn't trade one sleepless night for my little girl but as soon as she gets here, you count up all the ways that make you mommy.

Sleepless nights...too many to count. Changing diapers....too many to count. Feeding your little angel...too many to count. Taking your little one to get their shots...painful for both mommy and baby...but the recovery time and cuddle time after make it all OK, somehow. Then there are all the "OH so happy moments". The first time she smiles at you or starts to laugh. Currently, Sydnee is sitting in her swing. She "talked" to her elephant on the fabric of her seat until she was too tired and fell asleep. These moments I will treasure forever. The first time she found her thumb and preferred that to her pacifier. And my all-time favorite is just the happy feeling I have when she just wants to cuddle with me.

I love being a mom. I am beyond blessed to have this little person in my life. God knew what we needed in our lives to completely change us for the better. Sydnee, I love you with all my heart and I will always love you no matter what!

I'm getting so big!

Happy Sydnee!

2 Month Wellness

So Sydnee had her 2 month wellness check today. I am so proud to be her mother. She is such a blessing to me and to her dad. Each night as we check on her before we go to bed, we just stand in awe of how wonderful she is or notice something cute she does in her sleep. We are constantly entertained. She has also started cooing and "talking" to herself. Absolutely the most wonderful sounds I have ever heard. I love how she smiles at me and grabs my fingers when she sits on my lap. Sadly, I don't have her smiling in pictures yet. I never seem to have the camera ready when she is doing her happy time. I will work on that...no worries. She has found her thumb. She sucks on it at night to go to sleep and in the morning to wake up. I know this because she does not suck on it quietly. It is a very loud noise. Fortunately for us, for now, she does not suck on her thumb or paci while she sleeps, only around sleep time. Hopefully she will keep up this habit and not become a full-fledged thumb sucker so we won't have major dental bills in the years to come.

As far as her updates on her stats:

Height: 22.4" and in the 50%
Weight: 10lbs 11oz and in the 50 %
Head Circumference: 15.6" and in the 75%

Dr. G. said she was growing at a good rate and she "must" be smart for such a large head! Haha! I am sure she was just being nice but we like to hear that fun stuff. She also said she was perfect which every parent wants to hear about their child.

Sleep Habits:
Sydnee is our champion sleeper. We are so proud and I have a hard time not bragging about our little girl. But just this week she has set her own schedule, so to speak. Sydnee wakes up at 7AM (wonderful for me!), eats a short breakfast with a short wake time and then goes back to bed for a little bit. She then eats again between 9:30-10 and stays awake for about an hour before her nap. She then eats again around 1, then 3:30-4, then 6ish and then 8 before her bedtime. She takes only one long nap during the day, either morning or afternoon, and knows her bedtime routine. She then sleeps for about 11 hours at night! I can't believe how awesome she is! Bedtime routine consists of a bath or changing into her nighttime diaper and then her pj's. She then eats and then goes to sleep.

Diapers:
At this subject, many call me crazy, but I don't care. We changed to cloth diapers beginning last week. She is doing awesome. No more diaper rash and the diapers are super easy to put on and keep clean. We use Bumgenius and Fuzzibunz. We are pleased with both brands. She doesn't like to be wet, so I am hoping potty training will be easy when we try to start that. Her nighttime diaper is HUGE! We double layer the padding in it and it makes her look like she has a large ba-donk-a-donk!

Closest picture to 2 months!