7 months Old!

I got a good photo before she realized the little poster was there, but it was the wrong side!

As soon as she realized it was there, it was in her mouth!

I just can't believe it... our little girl is 7 months old!! And it is amazing how far she has come in such a little time. She is getting bigger and bigger everyday. And even though I don't quite understand how she continues to grow, but still eats under 30 oz a day of formula.

Here are some of her 7 month milestones......

- She is sitting by herself and can do so for long periods of time. I just dump a bunch of toys in front of her and she can be entertained for quite awhile. She pretty much stays put when sitting, but is starting to get onto her hands and knees and then she gets a moving.

- She is getting very close to crawling. She's up on all fours and is scooting backwards, as well as rolling both directions. So, she's pretty mobile. She doesn't seem to get frustrated that she can't go forward....yet!

- She is getting better with spoon feeding and just this week we started a second feeding at day care around lunch time. The first day she ate a bunch of bananas, today she didn't much like her carrots.

- Her nap schedule is on the verge of changing. She seems to want to be awake for about 2.5 hours, possible 3 hrs and at home is taking longer naps - so we might have to cut back on the bottles to every 4.... we'll see how this weekend goes.

- She's still sleeping though the night. She goes to bed between 8:30 and 9pm and sleeps until 6:30 or 7am on the weekends. I'm still giving her a 10pm bottle while she's sleeping, but am trying to figure out how to give it up!

- She is just a happy little girl, smiles a lot and is just generally happy. She's a joy to be around!

Other Happenings...

The big news is that I left for Las Vegas last Wednesday morning and spent four days and four nights there while Jon stayed home with Meredith. I went with my friends Nicole and Craig (both Nurse Anesthetists that work at United with me), Nicole's husband, Travis and his friend Brent. We went there for a conference, but mostly to have fun.

I flew out early on Wednesday with my friend Craig. We got to our hotel, The Wynn, by noon. So once we got to our room (yep, that's right I bunked - in different beds - with Craig, a dude. No worries, Jon knew and there was absolutely no funny business, he's like hanging out with my brother!), we got unpacked and ready for the pool. We spent the afternoon in the sun, had lunch and some cocktails and then headed back to the room for a nap. By the time we woke up and started getting ready - the other 3 had arrived and were ready to get out and have some fun. We headed to the casinos to do some gambling, me on the penny slots, and then by 11pm we headed to the club, Blush, at the Wynn. We had got our names on the list so got in without waiting or paying - plus they had free champagne for ladies from 11:30pm to 12:30am. It was pretty fun, a smaller club, but it was the perfect first night. We headed back to our rooms by 1am, since we had to be up for the conference by 6am!

The next morning we headed to the Flamingo for the conference. We were done by noon and back to the pool! The weather was so nice the whole time we were there! We just had lunch, some more drinks and stayed there until 4:30. Then we went back to the room and got ready to meet Travis and Brent downtown. And downtown was a lot of fun. Cheaper drinks and food and just a great place for happy hour. We headed back to our hotel at about 7:30pm. We didn't end up doing much else that night because we were all pretty buzzed and tired.

On Friday, it was much of the same: pool, lunch, drinks, back to room, quick nap. Then Craig and I ended up going to a nice sushi dinner while the others took longer naps. But we all got up and headed to the bigger club at the Wynn, Tryst - around 10pm. We stayed until 2:30am - dancing and drinking and having a good time. Boy, it's been awhile since I was at a club. It was fun, but I definitely couldn't do it more than a couple times a year! We were beat by 3am and back to bed.

On our last full day, Craig and I got up a bit earlier and got chairs at the pool and half price tickets to see Mystere, a Cirque du Soliel show at Treasure Island - all 5 of us we're going. Then it was back to the pool for lunch and drinks. We ended up staying there until 6:30pm hanging out with some people we met from Minnesota. Then we had to rush to get ready and get dinner before heading to the show. The show was very good and it was over by 11pm. We got back to our room and to bed by midnight, which was good because we had to get up and to the airport by 7am.

All in all, it was a great relaxing time. Fun time with friends and just a nice break from reality and responsibilities. I really enjoyed just relaxing at the pool and getting a little extra sleep (though not nearly as much as I wanted, oh well!). And I still called the daycare everyday to see how Meredith was doing and talked to Jon a couple times a night. By the way, he did great! He was able to pick Meri up by 3:30 everyday at day care and got her to eat and take naps just fine. I really had no doubt. I did constantly feel guilty for relaxing when I know he was doing so much work. But I also knew I deserved a little break. And now I know that they can both survive without me. Though he was quite tired by the time I got home and relieved to have me back!! I was glad to be home, too!

Now, we're all getting back into the swing of things. Naps, bottles, fruit, veggies, cereal, baths, bedtime, etc... No matter how much work it is, it definitely is worth it when she smiles at me!! Speaking of smiles, today I took Meredith to her first casting call. My good friend, Mindy, works for a company called Manhattan Toys, and they were looking for models for their summer catalog. She had sent me an email because they were looking for 2 girls 6-12 months old and passed along the audition times. One time was today from 3p-4:30p and worked perfectly for me to get off work, pick up Meredith, give her a quick bath and a change of clothes and off we went. We were only there for less than 10 minutes, but Meri did great - all smiles and looking at the camera. The photographer even asked if she could put one of the pics on her website. So, now I guess we'll just wait and see.... Who knows, maybe I'll quit my job and become Meredith's agent...(just kidding!!)

In front of Treasure Island

Downtown drinking "footballs" (except me because the beer would get too warm and flat before I could finish the thing)

Here's a pic from the casting call photo shoot by Liz Banfield, she liked the pic so she put it on her Facebook Fan Page and then sent me one too, we'll see if we get choosen!

Bunnies and good weather!!

(Here are some of Meredith's 6 month photos, by Swaddlebee. They turned out great. Go to my facebook page to see the rest....!)

Well, once again time is getting away from me and it's been awhile since my last post! It's crazy how busy you can be doing not a whole lot with a nearly seven month old! The Easter holiday was extended for two weekends for us. The actual holiday we stayed home and didn't do much, and this past weekend we headed to Blue Earth to celebrate with my family! Both celebrations were great!

Easter weekend was pretty low key, but after the busy weekend we had prior to that, it was kind of nice. Jon was on call, so we stayed close to home. But now that Meredith has been somewhat predictable, we took the time to make fun dinners and watch a few movies. Friday night we broiled pork chops and I made Brie and garlic mashed potatoes and a spinach salad. Then we watched "Up in the Air", great movie!! Then Saturday night Jon made Paella and we watched "A Serious Man", I think you have to be Jewish to appreciate that movie, but stil good. Then on Easter Jon made eggs Benedict and we had mimosas, not a bad Easter brunch! I had also bought Jon and I some Easter candy and for Meredith she got a plush bunny basket that has a motorized tail that wiggles and says "Some bunny loves you", I also got her some soft blocks to play with.

And this past weekend we headed down to Blue Earth Friday evening and stayed unilateral Sunday morning. It's the longest I have gone without going home since Meri's birth, it had been 6 weeks! Meri had so many new tricks to show my family! She's sitting up on her own, scooting backwards and getting up on all fours. She's dangerously close to crawling (which is why I had a professional baby proofer come by for a consult, more on that in a minute....)! It was so nice to see everyone. Friday night we just hung out at my mom's and my two sisters were there, my niece and nephew and bro-in-law, and of course my mom and step-dad were there too! We just played with the babies and had a few drinks and all caught up!

The next day I had a hair appointment, so Jon and my parents watched Meri. Then that afternoon e headed to my Gma Wickersham's for a late Easter dinner. My bro and his wife were also able to come as well as my Aunt, uncle and three cousins. Once again we ate, hung out, had a few drinks, played with the babies and chatted!

All in all, it was great couple of weeks. As I mentioned earlier, Meredith is getting stronger every day. She's rolling all over the place, getting up on all fours and rocking and scooting backwards. I called a person about baby proofing and they came over for a consult a week ago. I am an educated medical professional, but it was amazing what this person reminded me of. Just simple changes to make my home safer, as well as suggestions for outlet covers, baby gates, closet and door locks, cabinet locks, fire extinguishers, CO2 and fire detectors. It was a great eye opener. I'm waiting for his estimate for the equipment and installation and then I can choose to do some, all or none of it. I'm excited because everything he said made sense and I'm looking forward to implementing it.

Now, looking ahead.... I'm actually heading to Las Vegas tomorrow morning for 4.5 days. Jon will be in charge, by himself, until I return. He will be taking her to day care Wed-Fri and home all day Saturday with her. I return Sunday morning. I know he'll do just fine, but all the same, I've been a little sad the last couple of days knowing I'll be leaving my little girl. It will help that my good friend and fellow new mother, Nicole, will be amongst the people on vacation with me. So, I'll update you soon on how my trip was and how Jon's home alone experience with Miss Meredith went........

Getting so strong!

Happy Easter! A bunny and some blocks!

Meredith and Brooks, checking each other out!

Up on all fours. I'm both excited and worried about the nearness of the crawling stage!

We're loving this age

I know everyone says to enjoy this age, while it lasts and I can see why. Meredith is just being a cute little angel. She's smiling and giggling, but still stays put, though I have a feeling she'll be on the move within weeks. We've had a busy and fun weekend and I can't wait for the next weekend to spend more quality time with my little cutie.

Friday night we had a good couple friends over for dinner, Sylvester and Danielle. Sylvester started out as an intern with Jon and Danielle was a nurse on the Transplant Unit at the U. We've all been friends for many years, but they will soon be leaving for Toronto so Sly can finish his training as a Transplant Surgery Fellow. Anywho, we had them over for dinner. It was very nice. Meredith was pretty well behaved. She took her usual naps and when she was up, she was a happy camper, just hanging out in her Exersaucer while we all dinner. Jon decided to break out his smoker for the first time this year and we had smoked prime rib, roasted potatoes and wilted spinach, it was all very delicious. Danielle brought dessert, a triffle - which was also excellent. All in all, the evening was a success!

On Saturday night we headed over to our friends home for a taco dinner and game night. We brought Meredith and our Pack N Play. We got there a little after 5pm and had enough time to visit and let the kids play together before Meredith needed a nap. She fought it a little, but eventually went down, which gave us time to eat. When she got up I fed her a bottle and then we attempted to get her to eat cereal and squash. She was having a great time, but a little to distracted to eat much. She then had a great time rolling around on the floor and flirting with our good friends son, Brady - there only 2 1/2 months apart, perhaps a future couple?! Then we got her off to sleep by a little after 9pm. We then had a fun time playing "Celebrity" with the other couples. It was so much fun seeing everyone and their little kids and I was so glad we could all get together. Meredith ended up sleeping fine and though I was really worried how the whole transporting her back home and getting her into bed would work, it went just fine. She ended up waking up while we put her into her carseat, fell back asleep on the ride home and woke up briefly as we got her out of her carseat and back into her swaddle. I just then gave her a bottle and back to sleep she went until 7am!! What a good little girl!

And today we had her 6 month photos. We had Wendy, from Swaddlebee in Mankato, come to our home. She was the photographer who did our newborn photos. She got here at 1pm, which worked out perfectly. Meredith had just woke up from a nap and just had a bottle. She did pretty well, posing and smiling. She lasted about 45 minutes and then started to fuss. She just really wanted to put everything in her mouth and she be allowed to roll and bounce as she pleased. I know we got plenty of good shots and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product. After a nap and another bottle we dressed Meri in warm clothes and all headed out for a walk. We ended our day by grilling a few burgers and feeding Meredith some carrots (which I don't think she likes!). Basically, it was a busy, but super fun weekend!

The next big project will be baby-proofing. Meredith is rolling like crazy and seems to be getting up on all fours, briefly. I'm excited to see her crawl, but also terrified as well. I guess there's really nothing I can do to prevent it! When it happens, we'll be sure to get it on video!

Jon and I, having fun being hosts for our friends

Me and Danielle, snuggling in for a photo

Jon and Sly

Meredith sitting in her bassinet while I made the bed, she's so close to sitting on her own, she still wants to throw herself back or forward, so I have the pillows to steady her (on another note, I finally took her bassinet down today - I hadn't really used it in a good month, except for the rare 30 minutes on the weekends from 6am, or 6:30am to 7am... - don't worry it was rated for up to 30 lbs, but it was time to take it down!)

She's really loving to bounce, so the Jenny Jump Up is perfect

Meredith flirting with the very chill, and strong, Brady DuBois

Meredith all bundled up for our walk

Meredith, not loving the carrots :(

Visit from Gma Stone

Last weekend Jon's mom, Kathy, aka Gma Stone, came to visit us from Massachusetts. She arrived later on Thursday night and was with us until Sunday afternoon. It was really great to see her again, and even better that Meredith is so much happier and interactive than at her last visit when Meri was 6 weeks old!

Kathy's flight arrived earlier than scheduled on Thursday night, so she was able to catch a glimpse of Meredith before she headed off to bed. Then the three adults enjoyed a little bit of Thai takeout as we all chatted and caught up.

The next morning Meredith got up at her usual 7am time. I fed her a bottle and then let dad and Gma take over so I could head back to bed for a few more hours, always a treat for me. After I got up again and gave Meredith another bottle, we made brunch before heading out to the Mall of America for a little stroller ride and some shopping.

That evening Kathy had offered to babysit, so Jon and I could go out on a date. But after considering what a short visit she was having, we all decided to go out to dinner together instead. We didn't go to Sea Change per the reservation Jon and I made, instead we went to the local Mexican Restaurant, Pepitos. But before our dinner, we gave Meredith hers, it was her first taste of veggies - sweet peas to be exact. She didn't completely hate them, but certainly didn't love them either. After we got home and put Meredith to bed, we finished watching the movie we rented, Precious. It was an excellent movie, but darn depressing!

The next day we had made reservations to go to Hells Kitchen, but ended up cancelling them due to Kathy being sick. It seems like she got the same stomach flu that Jon and I had the previous weekend. I'm not exactly sure if it was from us, or if she picked something up on the plane or even at her work before coming, but either way - she wasn't feeling well and spent all day Saturday either in our bed our on the couch, not eating. We felt very bad for her, and at the same time were hoping that Jon, I and Meredith were not going to get sick again ourselves.

Thankfully, by the next morning, Kathy was able to eat a little something and felt well enough to take her flight home. We didn't get to do as much fun stuff as we'd like, but I think she had as nice of a time as she could have just seeing us and her very smiley and active granddaughter.

Here are some pics from the weekend...

Meri's getting very strong on her tummy and loves to just roll and roll and roll

Gma getting a little snuggle from the smiley Meredith

Not liking the peas so much

Gma's trying, but it isn't going much better

Jon and Kathy at Pepitos

Me and Meredith at Pepitos, too

Hanging out with Gma in Jon's office

Dad, Gma and baby girl

It had been awhile since we've had a family photo, so here's one (even though I'm still basically in my jammies)!

PS: We had Meredith's 6 month appt today: She's 16 lb and 11oz and 25 inches long, right in the middle and certainly having no problem with her weight gain. All is well and she's currently sucking her bottles down - 5-7oz at a time. And she seemed to like her green beans last night, we'll see if this trend continues..... :)

Our Little Girl is Growing Up: 6 months old!!

Well, Meredith is 6 months old this week! Our little girl is growing up! I can't believe she's a half a year old already. And it's amazing how much she's been changing lately. She's becoming more and more interactive and stronger and stronger everyday. She has mastered rolling over and over and can travel quite a distance by doing this. She's also getting really strong on her tummy, pushing up with her arms and even with her legs a little. She's also scooting backwards a bit. It's getting me both excited and worried at how mobile Meredith will become in the near future!

Other happenings with her... she's an excellent sleeper (knock on wood).... she wakes up around 7am, takes 4 hour-long naps during the day and then to bed around 8:30pm. During the night she still occasionally fusses and I need to give her her pacifier, but this seems to be happening less and less. She is still swaddled, but it's working so we'll keep doing that until it doesn't work anymore. The one caveat is that she doesn't sleep as well or predictably at daycare, but apparently she's still happy when she's awake, so I guess that's okay!

She's also just such a smiley and generally happy girl, which is a far cry from how she was just a few months ago. She smiles and lot and giggles, too. She's easy to make happy even when she does fuss. She's becoming more and more fun every day!

Eating is still an intermittent challenge. The flu was going around day care and though Meredith didn't seem to be sick, she decreased her intake to a few ounces at a time and even refusing bottles over the weekend. Then I ended up throwing up and nauseated on Sunday and Jon was sick on Monday. So, I'm hoping her decreased intake is still due to a lingering stomach bug as well as her being congested. She's up to an occasional 4 to 5 oz at a time, but isn't finishing 5 to 6 oz like she was last week. My expectations are continually lowered and I feel like my anxiety is decreasing about her eating since I see she can still be happy, sleep at night and somehow grow and gain weight even with her low intake! We're also still working on solids. We've gotten through rice, barley and oatmeal cereal. She's still just eating a little, but we're going to be trying veggies and fruit soon - so hopefully we can get her more interested.

She's still putting everything in her mouth and drooling a ton, but no teeth yet. She still loves her activity mat and Exersaucer. She's just a happy girl and Jon and I love hanging out with her.

Tomorrow, my mother-in-law is coming for a visit over the weekend to see her grand-daughter. We look forward to showing her all of Meredith's new tricks and smiles and giggles!

Things are going just GREAT!!

Once again, it's been a little while since I last blogged, but I'm happy to report that things are going just great!! Really, seriously, great! Meredith is consistently eating well, she's sleeping well and is very smiley and happy when she's awake. It's taken over 5 months, but she's finally became the perfect little child!!

She's getting such a great little personality. She is very observant and loves to look around. She's loves looking at herself in the mirror, even more. She always starts smiling when she sees herself in a mirror. She's getting really good at grasping things and everything goes into her mouth. She's also getting really good a putting her pacifier in and out of her mouth. She also recently figured out how to roll from her back to her tummy! She had already rolled from her tummy to her back, but not the other way. So now I put her on her activity mat and if I step away for even a moment, she's on her tummy when I get back. She still has more trouble getting back to her back, but sometimes she just rolls and rolls and rolls! Basically she is just all smiles and giggles when she's awake. Don't get me wrong, she can get fussy, at times - but that's usually because she's tired. It is just so much fun seeing her so happy and having so much fun!

And like I said, she's eating much better. She takes between 4 and 7 oz every bottle. When she doesn't have to go to day care, she gets up and has her first bottle around 7am, then every 3 hours until 10pm. She's going to sleep around 8 to 8:30pm every night and sleeping until around 7am (though she starts to stir around 5am because she's used to getting up at that time for daycare, but I just give her the pacifier and she usually goes back to sleep). She's still napping for times a day for 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. She still can only be awake about 1.5 to 2 hours before getting fussy and tired. But we just swaddle her, give her the pacifier and put her in her crib and she falls asleep on her own, no problem! And we're giving her cereal every night and I think she's getting better at it. We started with rice cereal and now we've tried oatmeal. She's just starting to really open her mouth and eat more. Tonight we'll try barley cereal and then we'll be moving on to fruits and veggies!

Anywho.... what have we been up to? Not a whole terrible lot, but Meredith and I did go to Blue Earth a few weekends ago. We almost didn't because my nephew, Brooks, had pneumonia earlier that week. They had started him on antibiotics, but by Thursday - he wasn't getting any better. He ended up getting admitted to the hospital in Blue Earth for supplemental oxygen and intramuscular antibiotics. They discovered not only did he have pneumonia, but he also had RSV and bronchiolitis. My sister and her husband stayed with him at the hospital Thursday night and Friday night until he was discharged on Saturday afternoon. I was worried about Meredith and didn't want her to get sick, but I just never brought her to where Brooks was and I made everyone wash their hands before playing with Meredith. It ended up being just fine and I was so glad I had gone home. I was able to see everyone and it was a relaxing time, even though I was only home late Friday night until early afternoon on Sunday.

My niece Madison was staying at my mom's on Friday night because my sister and her husband were at the hospital with Brooks. Madison was so cute with Meredith and so helpful. We had a great time hanging out and after Meredith went to bed, we all watched Up! My sister Jillian was also home that night until the next morning because she was in between apartments and moving that Saturday. Because of her moving, I also got to see my father because he had to come over to my mom's to get some of Jill's things. My grandmother, brother and sister-in-law all stopped by that day to visit as well. In the evening I was able to leave Meredith with my mom and John and I went to my sister Emily's house to see her, Brooks and her hubby, Andrew. Andrew's parents were also there and I spent about an hour just hanging out and chatting. Later that evening, my sister also came by my mom's to spend more time with Meri. I think Meredith really loves my sister because she smiles and giggles so much every time my sister says anything. Maybe it's a red hair thing!

Then on Sunday morning my brother, sister Emily, niece Madison, Meri and I met my dad and his wife for brunch at Country Kitchen before I left to go back to the Cities. It was pretty much a perfect weekend and I'm excited to see them all again, though it won't be until April!

Then last weekend, Jon and I just took it easy. We had take out on Friday night. Then on Saturday we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and we put Meri in a snowsuit and took a walk up to our local grocery store and picked up a few things to make dinner that night. Then on Sunday, we went to a friend's house for their daughter's 2nd Birthday party. We just spent a few hours there, but it was so nice to see a bunch of people that we haven't seen in forever. Everyone brought their kids and had a great time.

This coming weekend we're having some good friends over for dinner on Friday night and then I'm going out for some drinks with friends on Saturday while Jon babysits (he really is a great husband, but don't tell him I said that...). Then in a week, Jon's mom is coming into town for a few nights to visit. I can't believe how quickly time has been going lately. Meredith will be six months old next week. Before I know it, we'll be celebrating her first birthday!

Meredith's first taste of solid food

Having fun in one of her favorite spots, the ExcerSaucer

Cousin Madison giving little Meri a kiss on the forehead

Smiling and cooing for great-grandma Wickersham

Dad having fun taking some pics of Meri

Meredith all bundled up ready for her walk

What a cute little pink marshmellow

Meredith had rolled over onto her tummy and is having a good time

Meredith trying to drink out of mommy's bottle

Me and Meri with Nissrine, holding Lorne and the birthday girl Nora at her side

Jon holding Meredith in a cute outfit that Gma Stone got her many months ago

Meredith in her cute plum dress that Gpa McCue and Step-Gma Romanov got her

A better pic of her cute little dress, tights and all