Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Apparently Molly loves her own bed...

Or she's just making up for her lack of sleep from this weekend. She slept 11 and a half hours last night and then proceeded to take a two and a half hour nap this afternoon. Either that or we've hit another growth spurt. Whatever the case is mommy appreciates the down time so she can do stuff like catch up on laundry. Hope she keeps this up. I'd love to clean the house (since apparently N is not capable of doing chores without being asked).

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

And we're back...

N is very happy to be with Molly again. He's changed her, fed her, and bathed her. Molly returned all this love with some spit up all over his leg. It's good to be home. Loved seeing Lisa again and introducing Molly to her Auntie, but we both could have done without the heat wave. Miss Molly was more than a little fussy for Auntie Lisa and I blame the heat. She was all smiles in the hotel room with the a/c.

Molly definitely got my fair skin and inability to deal with heat. When she didn't have a poopy diaper at all on Saturday, didn't really nap, got very little sleep the night before, and was super fussy I knew it was time to look into a hotel. She finally had a poopy diaper Sunday night after we checked in and she took her nice long two and a half hour nap. Poor little one... she more than made up for this lack of poopy diapers on Monday though. We were chillin' in the hotel room before meeting up with Auntie Lisa for dinner and she had a big load. I thought great, we got that out of the way I can now dress her in the cute top Auntie Lisa bought for her and some cargo pants. Got her in the car and 20 minutes later when I pulled her out of the car I got poop all over my arm. Two major blow outs in an hour. Fun times. I'm going to miss onesies and footie pajamas. They at least contained the mess. Need to order some online since finding them in the 18 month size in stores is proving to be very difficult.

Molly has proven time and time again that her favorite place for number two is in her car seat. I don't know what it is, but I'd have to say 90% of her blow outs are in the car. Perhaps it's the fact that her cloth diapers (that she wears at home) contain it so much better than the disposable ones (well, you sometimes have to change the cover, but the outfit is usually spared). I switched over to Huggies from Pampers thinking the stretchy part across the back might help, but it didn't do a damn thing. If she's going to have a major poopy diaper in the car nothing works. Your best bet is to pull over the minute you realize she's had a poopy diaper and immediately change her with minimal shifting around as to avoid squishing anything out the sides, but even this method doesn't always work. You know it's a problem when you use a half a dozen wipes *before* the diaper even comes off. Our only saving grace has been the Kiddopotamus piddle paddle seat protector. Haven't had to wash the car seat... yet. We also moved back to Pampers since they seem to fit her better than the Huggies. The Pampers seem to be longer and go up higher on her torso. The Huggies just seemed small... like I had the wrong size, but they covered the same weight range as the Pampers. Odd.

LA pics



City Walk and dinner with Auntie Lisa

Monday, April 28, 2008



pics 04/23 to 04/28/2008

Ah, air conditioning

We checked into the Sheraton Universal Hotel yesterday afternoon. I know it was the right decision because Molly proceeded to take a two and a half hour nap after some boob time in the nice cool hotel room. The weather was actually really nice last night when we went out to grab some dinner. Drove around with the windows down and there was a lovely breeze, but we were both very happy to sleep in an air conditioned room last night. Molly is in a much better mood today and just woke up from a morning nap. Poor Auntie Lisa has had to see a fussy Molly these last few days, but it looks like that has changed.

Uploading some pictures and realized I don't have any of Molly with Auntie Lisa. Need to remedy that situation today. Will post a gallery soon.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Hello from Hollywood!

Miss Molly and I are visiting Auntie Lisa in West Hollywood. The drive down yesterday was pretty uneventful. Little one slept for most of the ride and then decided she wasn't at all tired when we got here. She didn't go to bed until after midnight and then decided it was a great idea to wake up around 6:30 am. I heard her playing with her toys, but didn't want to stir in the hopes of her falling back to sleep. No deal. Around 7:30 she started talking up a storm... loudly... and since I didn't want to wake up the entire neighborhood I got up and gave her breakfast.

We went out for a yummy lunch and did some shopping. Molly finally crashed out and napped around 2pm while we were in some nice air conditioned department stores. In the shade with a breeze it was a gorgeous day. In Auntie Lisa's apartment where there is no cross breeze (or a/c) it's a little warm. Ok, really freakin' hot! Molly has been in just her diaper since we got back and the fan is on full blast moving the air around. Tomorrow we are moving on up and moving on out and checkin' into a hotel. It's supposed to be hotter tomorrow and it was in the mid 90's today so I'm not taking any chances. Molly and I are wimps. We need a/c.

The plus side to Auntie Lisa's is she has carpet... and no pets... plenty of room for Molly to work on her crawling. She's scootin' up a storm and really *really* wants to crawl. She's pushed herself up on her hands and knees a few times and then doesn't seem to know how to get going. It's just a matter of time. She wants it. She's determined. In the meantime she's doing a pretty good job of getting around with rolls and scoots. I put a sheet down because she was starting to get rug burns on her little knees. Now she's just laying on her back talking to herself. Such a good baby considering I know she must be miserable in this heat since I am and well, she's got my coloring and is my daughter.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008



pics 04/19 to 04/21/2008

this toy rocks!



video was taken at Lliam's first birthday party on Saturday April 19th...

Another growth spurt?

Molly has been putting herself to bed early (well, early for us) the last few nights. I have to wonder if she's going through another growth spurt. On Saturday we attended a first birthday party (Happy Birthday Lliam) with some other little ones. Molly was very interested in all the new toys. She did great at the party, but decided to get nice and vocal right when it was time to open gifts (sorry for the background noise on the home video). Molly fell asleep on the ride home and then proceeded to take an hour and a half nap after some boob time once we arrived home (nap occurred from 4:30 to 6:00). Then we both fell asleep on the futon after some side feeding just before 9:00 pm. N put us both to bed about an hour later and Molly slept through until just after 8:00 am the next day. She also crashed out after driving home from Lucille's on Sunday and stayed asleep through the transfer from car seat to bed. Plus she's been napping about twice a day (noonish and again late afternoon) for about an hour (and sometimes almost two!). She usually doesn't nap during the day so this is new. I mean she'll crash out for 20-30 minutes after a big feed, but nothing like this.

Tonight we interrupted her late afternoon nap (she crashed out about 5:30 and we woke her up about 20 minutes later... I know dad, we broke the cardinal rule!) for diaper date night. She was overly tired at the movies, but couldn't quite fall asleep. Of course this is the night I forget to bring the boppy with me (she usually konks out on that for at least part of the movie). Once she calmed down with some boob time I put her to bed and she let out a couple cries, but was asleep by the time I closed the door. Here's to hoping she has another long night's sleep!

Molly has started to show some preference to mommy these last few weeks which doesn't make N all that happy. We want her to be happy with anyone she hangs out with and not just me. If she's overly tired and a few minutes on the boob will put her down I'll take her. However, if she just wants me because that's what she wants then she is going to have to learn to deal. If I'm in the room or walking by she will reach out for me and start to cry. Since our house isn't that big the safest place for N to take her and not have to deal with the mommy drive-by is Molly's room. Out of sight, out of mind seems to work best at the moment if it's for a long period of time. However, this morning N came in to say goodbye to us before taking off for the day and Molly started to fuss as he walked away so he came right back to her. When she has separation anxiety over daddy leaving it's totally ok to give her what she wants. Funny how that works out.

Saturday, April 19, 2008



pics 04/15 to 04/18/2008

Molly & Robert



I don't know Jarrod & Jenn... your little man is getting awfully fresh with our daughter!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Molly must have stepped on a crack...

... because she broke mama's back!

Another day spent laying on a heating pad. I woke up around 6:30 this morning because I thought I heard something on the baby monitor and when I tried to roll over and move my head so I could see it I felt a sharp spasm. It took me the next couple of hours to find a comfortable position so I could relax enough for the heating pad to work. Everything hurt which just caused me to tense up more to avoid pain which was completely counter-productive. I was finally able to lay on my back on the futon with Molly next to me and the heating pad was finally working when N took off for work. Still, it was a long day. Molly can only play with her toys for so long before she gets bored. Still, I'm very happy she's so content to entertain herself for long periods of time. Definitely helped gimp mama get through the day.

Molly eats Cheerios!



pics 04/12 to 04/14/2008

Monday, April 14, 2008

the latest...

We went to Target tonight and picked up a 5'x7' area rug for Molly's room. Needed to give her a space to work on her crawling. She's really good at getting going when she has you or something else to push off of. Little cheater.

N also lowered her mattress over the weekend per the doc's instructions. Unfortunately this coincided with mommy tweaking her back on Saturday. I'm not sure what I did, but I assume it had something to do with lifting and/or carrying Molly. All I know is that is started to really hurt Saturday afternoon when I was doing laundry. I pulled or tweaked something between my right shoulder blade and spine and the only thing that seems to offer any relief is laying completely flat on my back with a heating pad under me.

N was able to watch Molly for a bit yesterday so I could get some rest, but today it was just me. Luckily Molly was in a pretty chill mood and was pretty content sitting next to me on the futon playing with her toys. At one point she started to give me some not so subtle hints that she was hungry as I was laying flat on the heating pad. My back was really killing me so I decided to try putting Molly on me (belly to belly) and lifted up my shirt to give her access. The milk monster was able to make it work and I've fed her a few times that way now. If I'm not having shooting pain I'll do side feeding, but it's nice to know I have options.

On Saturday we crashed the Jodoins since it was a hot day and the lovely thought of their pool got into my head. Although that idea was better in theory seeing as their pool was still quite chilly. N met up with us after going on a motorcycle ride through the Santa Cruz mountains. Since he was a little overheated from wearing all his gear on such a warm day he was the only one crazy enough to jump into the pool where Scout and Hunter promptly joined him. A little too promptly as Hunter tore through the screen on the brand new gazebo that Jarrod had just finished putting up hours before. Good thing Hunter has already been fixed.

It got a little warm out for the kiddos so we moved on inside. Molly and Robert worked on their crawling. Molly kept trying to eat Robert and Robert kept trying to grab Molly's hair. Ah, the endless entertainment children provide.

We've also tried giving Molly some cheerios. On Saturday she tried one of Roberts sweet potato poofs that pretty much dissolve in your mouth and she was not a fan. N tried on Sunday with the cheerios and I tried again today. She's really focused on just getting them into her hands. She'll make little fists once she gets ahold of them and it's really fun to try and get her to pick up a third one. Reminds me of Sadie trying to get two tennis balls into her mouth. Her hand eye coordination is pretty good so it doesn't take her long to grab them, but it's still fun to watch.

Original Pancake House

Out to breakfast with mommy and daddy.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Saturday, April 12, 2008



pics 04/09 to 04/12/2008

Happy Half Birthday Molly!

Miss Molly turns 6 months old today. She has gained 12 lbs, 4 and a half ounces and grew 6 inches since she arrived in October. Her little (well, maybe not so little) body has been working overtime. She's quite content to sit and play for hours on end with her toys. Her favorites are the Fisher Price ring tower and her stuffed octopus that says colors in three different languages and plays songs. I've heard all of the songs many many times now.

Molly is scootin' if you place her toys just out of reach. Although more often than not I think the toys are out of reach and she's still able to grab them. She's so long... and quick! We hang out for the most part on the futon (flat) in the living room, but her play pen arrived yesterday so that's another safe place to play. I look at all the dog and cat hair on the floor and wonder if she's ever going to learn to crawl since I really don't want to put her down there on the hardwood. I think it might be time to get a floor rug for her room and just keep the door closed to limit the amount of animal hair that gets on it. If she's not completely flat on her back and has a pillow under her she's quite capable of pulling herself up into a sitting position. She also loves to stand in booths or on couches all on her own. Of course sooner rather than later she tries to eat it. Not an issue at home, but not so good when out in a restaurant.

Molly is also getting a lot better at mimicking sounds we make. She can say da da and ma ma... although with her it's definitely more of a mum than a ma. I guess she has really taken to the Irish roots of her name when she went with mum. I still don't think she's had her first official word since it hasn't really been in context, but there are times she'll start saying mum mum mum when I walk in the room while reaching towards me. Usually when's she's hungry.

Molly is also really good with the rolling over. The hardest obstacle to overcome was getting her arm pinned underneath her. She's seemed to have mastered getting that free and pushing off anything close to scoot towards her goal.

Molly also loves to swim. The pool in Miami was a great treat for her and she absolutely loves bath time. She never wants to get out. I definitely need to call this week and sign her up for swim lessons. She'll love them!

Friday, April 11, 2008

I have a playpen!

6 month doc visit

Poor Miss Molly got another 4 shots today. The doc said she could spread them out (2 and 2) since Molly is still fighting her cold, but I thought it would be best to just get them all out of the way rather than have to head back to the doc's. Hopefully I don't live to regret that decision. Her measurements are in the post below. Since she's been in the 97th percentile from day one there's no reason to be alarmed. Doc would have been worried if she had spiked up in any of the categories, but she's been following the same trend so there's no concern there.

Developmentally her skills are those of a 7 month old. Yes, we're proud parents. Her hand eye coordination is great. She's passing objects between her two hands. I got her the Fisher Price ring tower and she can take the rings off and put them back on the pole again... she just hasn't learned to let them go. She can sit for long periods of time with no assistance. She's quick... and because she's so quick (kept grabbing everything the doc had on her) the doc told us we better lower her mattress in her crib since she's liable to pull herself up without any warning any day now. Basically Miss Molly cannot be left alone unless she's in her crib. Good thing I ordered that play pen yesterday. Not that I'm going to keep her in baby prison all day long, but I have to pee at some point!

We also got a list of new foods to try. Cheerios were on that list and I think those will be a great way to distract Molly in her booster seat while we eat meals. I only have the honey nut ones in the house so I must go pick up some of the plain ones. She hasn't cut any teeth yet, but you can clearly see the outline of all the teeth on the top and a more subtle outline on the bottom. It's like the teeth decided to just come to the surface rather than down and out. Doc said because of the solids and the fact that you can see the outlines we need to start brushing her gums with a finger brush. I think I have one of those around here somewhere.

6 month checkup!

20lb 9oz. 27.5" long. 45cm head. 97th percentile on all categories.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Molly's Miami Gallery

A collection of pictures we took on our visit to South Beach (Miami)....

Tuesday, April 8, 2008



pics 03/26 to 04/07/2008

Home sweet home

Molly was a champ on our flight back yesterday. She was a little more fussy than on the ride out, but anyone could tell she wasn't feeling well just by looking at her. Puffy eyes and a red nose were the dead giveaways. On the up side she definitely slept more since she was under the weather. I actually had the chance to watch most of the two movies they showed. N being there definitely helped. We hit some pretty bad turbulence on the way back, but Molly managed to sleep through most of it. Never even opened her eyes. I just heard a few frustrated grunts as her head bounced from side to side, but once she was able to get back into position not a peep.

The trip was great. I think my favorite part was heading out at night after the sun went down with Molly in her stroller (we got a new umbrella stroller that hasn't made its way back yet) taking in the sights. It's so nice to be able to walk everywhere. Humidity wasn't as bad when you didn't have the sun beating down on you and the breeze definitely picked up in the evenings. We also stumbled across some fireworks on Saturday night that Molly didn't seem all that impressed with. We stayed in our room on Sunday night since Molly was really not feeling well, but it was just as well since it rained pretty hard that night. Bree, Jon, and Logan got caught in it on their way back to the hotel.

It was also pretty amusing how much attention Molly got from all the men in South Beach. Mainly those with an accent. They all came up to her and she flirted right back. Or just ate her foot. It all depended on what sort of mood she was in.

All in all a great trip. Molly didn't seemed too bothered with the whole flying business. I am really glad that we got her a ticket though since the one time she did fall asleep on me after a feeding she woke up minutes later because she couldn't get comfortable with her length and her legs kept kicking off the seats. She definitely slept better in her car seat. Two of the best purchases I made for the trip were the wheel/stroller attachment for the car seat and the 50+ SPF sun shade extender for the stroller. Got many compliments on both. I highly recommend.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Molly Mermaid

Greetings from South Beach

Poor little bug has come down with a cold. She has been great this entire trip, but started to get a little snotty yesterday. At first I thought it might have just been all the humidity she wasn't used to, but this evening it turned into a full blown cold. She's currently passed out, but I can hear her snotty raspy snores from across the room. She also had a long night last night. She went down without any problems, but woke up a couple hours later with a very poopy diaper. Then kept waking up with even more poopy diapers. Mommy and daddy did not get much sleep last night. Once she woke up and got the whole diaper business out of the way she just wanted to stay up and chat. Took about an hour to get her down each time. Needless to say N and I were more than a little zombie like today.

When we got back to the hotel and we all wanted to cool off from the humidity so we went down to the pool. Molly had a blast, but started to get hungry towards the end. Ended up heading back up to the room because I could tell she was overly tired and she had some issues eating because of the snot factor. She finally did pass out, but woke up about a half an hour later screaming. And that screaming kept up for most of the next two hours. N went to the drug store for a nasal aspirator and we ended up calling Molly's doc's on call service. After a million and one questions it was determined she has a simple head cold. I was able to feed her again, but I can tell she's still stuffed up since she keeps taking herself off the boob for some air and she never needs to do that. But Miss Molly is an eater so she was still able to get a full meal in before passing out. I just hope tomorrow doesn't turn into a really long day.

I do want to point out the trip has been great up until her interrupted sleep last night and little meltdown this evening. She's quite content to cruise around South Beach in her stroller taking in the sights. I've had to be a little creative in getting her some boob time while we've been out since the only bottles I've had are the ones I've pumped since we've been out here, but it's pretty much worked out for the most part. Molly and I both don't last too long during the day, but we've been able to come back to the hotel and sneak in some early evening naps before hooking up with the dads for dinner and a night out. We also have a little balcony in our room that overlooks the street. That has been a great place to get Molly to fall asleep since she's quite content to look at the lights in the warm breeze and slowly nod off. We have a ton of pictures and some great video of her in the pool (doing her own motorboat noises) that we'll try to get up soon.

Wish us luck that the plane ride home isn't complete hell for Miss Molly (and us).

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Happy birthday daddy: Molly crawls.

On the night of my birthday, Molly decided to start crawling. She's not all that speedy or efficient.. and after just a few feet she is likely to get fed up and stop, but she's moving! She crawled 2 feet towards me all on her own, then I turned her around and she crawled another foot in the other direction to reach a musical-card that was on the bed. She knew it made interesting sounds and really wanted to get it. It wont be long now and we'll be barricading doors! She's being a really good girl here in Miami. She had a great flight, is enjoying the humidity and all the activity on the streets, and is just being really pleasant in general. :) Daddy's proud.

Hi grandmas! I miss you!

Having a blast in Miami!