Poor Baby

Liv has the ear infection that won't die. We've started our 4 round of antibiotics. sigh. At least it doesn't seem to hurt her. I really hope this antibiotic works because the next treatment is a shot 3 days in a row.

Grammy, Zalebaby and I took Liv to the Aquarium then to Johnny Rockets for lunch afterward. She had a blast.

Tease

I wanted to write a recap of my little cruise vacation, but I don't have enough time today at work. (actually working at work?!? Who'd of thunk it?) So here is a little tease...

Sunset the first night....

The Governor's Mansion ....
Atlantis.....

Rocking Horse

My Cousin Tommy brought Liv a rocking horse when he stopped to visit on his way to Florida. It's a copy of the one I had as a kid. His dad, my Uncle Charlie made both of them. It is now Liv's favorite toy. I can't blame her. I remember loving mine. It was in the kitchen and I would ride it while Mom was making dinner.

I'd post the video but blogger isn't being cooperative.

I've got nothing....

I wanted to challenge myself to posting every weekday. In the past couple of years, that's been the thing to do in November, but I've never been able to do it. I haven't read about anyone doing it this year, but I'm going to give it a try. So, this bit of fluff is my post for today.

closet time

I would like to throw away all the clothes in my closet and start over.

I made a good dent in my closet in October, I tried on all my clothes and if it didn't fit, it went in the goodwill bag. 12 kitchen bags later, I have a pared down closet. I however dislike most of the clothes I have left. I'm going to have to learn to live with it. Or I can get out my sewing machine and fix it. It's too bad I don't have any garment fabric that I like.

Zalebaby and I have made a budget and we're sticking to it. I'm happy with that, as we are paying off the debt that we acquired while he was out of work. So I am just going to have to practice some self restraint and save up for a few pieces of clothing that I am drooling over. It's not easy. I have no self restraint......wish me luck.

Voting Day

I voted, Did you?

She's the best reason to vote.

Happy Halloween!

She spent all night taking the candy out of the treat bowl and putting it in her bag. When all the candy was in the bag she'd tap the bowl and ask for more. I dumped the candy back into the bowl and we'd start all over again. Over and over again.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link at Soulemama to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Have a wonderful weekend!

end of summer fun.....

She went to her first invite from school birthday party.....She did very well and had lots of fun.

My life is filled with Snot Bubbles.

Poor baby- A cold with an ear infection, mama chasing her with wet wipes and a nose going raw. It's no wonder all she wants is to do is cry.

She had her first sick doctor's visit. We didn't see her normal Dr. but another in the center. I loved Dr. Segal, Liv didn't burst into tears when she walked in and let her examine her without much protest. Either Liv liked her better or she was just that sick. Can I say I really want one of those touch thermometers the nurse had? a 3 second touch and she was done. That would be worth $100 to me. Next payday, I'm getting one.

After 3 days of antibiotics, she's feeling better, there is much less crying and snot bubbles, but there is a reason for no pictures.....

Yellow River Game Ranch

So, I've been lazy and I didn't post about our day at the Yellow River Game Ranch. It's about time I remedy that. Here's a bit from their website:

"Stroll along a mile-long trail on 24 wooded acres and encounter over six hundred highly sociable birds and animals indigenous to the state of Georgia. White-tailed deer, bunnies, buffalo, sheep, kid goats, black bears and a bevy of new-born animals are waiting to be fed, admired and petted on a "nose-to-nose" basis. We specialize in "people-friendly" wildlife."

They are the place where unreleasable animals go to live. We had a great time feeding and petting the deer. I was surprised by how small the deer are. I'm use to the white tail in PA, nearly twice the size of the deer on the ranch.

Her favorite place

For some reason, she loves the dog crate....


if it's been too quiet for too long, I can usually find her there. I'm waiting for the day I find her sleeping in there. I love how Lucy is guarding her.

Mother's day adventure

We went to the Renaissance Faire!

I worked at the Pennsylvania Ren Faire from the age of 14 until 21.

Yes, I was a major geek.

It amazes me that there are touring groups from when I was working in PA still performing today. Not that I got to see any of them perform on mother's day....Little Bit was not having anything to do with sitting still, there was too much to see.




She was kissed by a kissing wench:

It was a busy, busy day.

Liv's first Ice Cream Cone

Liv's first Ice Cream Cone......a story in pictures.

Olivia 1 year old...

OMG. It is so hard to believe that she is a year already. Last night was the first night that I can remember that I didn't take a bottle upstairs for her morning feeding. I washed all the bottles last night and will put them away when I get home tonight. We've had her using a sippy cup for juice and water for the last month or so, so now we're giving her milk in them too. No more formula either. We ran out of formula yesterday. Zalebaby is excited to not buying formula anymore, but I'm sad that my baby is now a toddler.

Wahhhh!! I want to have the cuddly baby back. Not that she isn't a lot of fun now, I love to watch her think. Reading to her is fun, she likes the books that rhyme and she loves to turn the pages. Liv loves anything musical. She even sings along with her toys. Not that she uses real words, but sing she does.

Giving Grammy Kisses:

After the Smash cake:Randy is responsible for the icing in her hair. As soon as her hands were good and messy, Randy started asking her "how big are you?", "How big is Liv?" Just so she would put her hands in the air and on her head. What a mess.

alas poor cake, I ate it well!

Her party was a "smashing" success. Grammy came down from Pennsylvania on Thursday and stayed until Monday afternoon. Which meant Zalebaby and I had a date Saturday night.

What a lovely night out. We went to ECCO, a hip restaurant in downtown/midtown Atlanta where Randy works. He took the menus from us and ordered the dinner for us. We started with a meat and cheese plate that had the best aged Gouda I've ever tasted, followed by fried goat cheese, rolled in honey and pepper (drool) and Piquillo peppers stuffed with braised shortrib (I don't like cooked peppers, but this dish was wonderful!) then we shared a salad :Mixed local lettuces with pickled fennel, blood orange and hazelnut. For the entree, we had Saffron risotto with a meatball and Pork chop schnitzel with fennel, orange and pecorino. I didn't care for the meatball, but the saffron risotto was to die for. The Schnitzel is something I'm going to be dreaming about for quite a while. I need to ask Randy to get the pickled fennel recipe, I want to try to make that dish at home.

Santa

The visit with Santa went better than I expected.....but I wish they would have taken the picture while she was looking at him rather than the camera. She was enthralled with his beard.

Now she needs Boots.....

'cause boots are made for walking........


of course, she walks like a drunken sailor, but walk she does.

This as been a busy month for my little girl. A lot of first:

1. She took her first long car trip north to see Grammy for thanksgiving, an 11 hour drive (we night drove, that made it so much easier-not that she slept the whole way because she didn't)
2. She had her first completely real food meal...thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and cinnamon apples. Big mistake as she is now refusing to eat any baby food.
3. She caught her first cold, thank you Grammy and Ella-bella.
4. Her first tooth started to come in while she was sick, quickly followed by the 2nd tooth. Poor sleepless baby (and mommy) can't breath and hurting gums.
5. Her first steps happened right after we got back from Pennsylvania, over the last week, she's progress to her drunken sailor stagger.

I'm so fricken proud of her.

Thank you!

Zalebaby, thank you for your service to our country. I'm proud of you. You are a great father.

Feeding Little Bit.

Alice.com is having a Gerber Baby Food Giveaway. Alice.com is a Mother's dream. They are a non-perishable online grocery store.....With FREE Shipping. Their prices are about the same as a normal grocery store and it has this awesome instant coupon feature.

For the giveaway, Alice has asked us to blog about the question:

What’s your best baby mealtime advice or feeding tip?

My best tip is keep distractions away during feeding.

Easier said than done, I know. At 8 months, Little Bit is far more interested in everything around her than in eating. The dogs, Daddy, even the ceiling fan is more compelling than Momma and the spoon....unless she gets to hold the spoon, of course. She's really good at getting the spoon into her mouth, but getting it there with food on it, not so good. I like to give her a couple of banana puffs to work on while I'm heating up her baby food. It keeps her busy and works on her fine motor skills. The puffs are great because they dissolve fast. She is still toothless, but she is oh-so-eager for real food.

I don't have a current picture of her eating, so this one a 5 months will have to do!

Uh Oh, We're in trouble now!

It all started with this:

The bouncy chair. We introduced her to it at the end of August. Liv loves to bounce. She will try to bounce when you are holding her, loves to bounce on mama's squishy belly.

The Wiggle came next:

I love that wiggle. She still gives me that happy wiggle first thing every morning when I get her up.

Here is where she figured out how to get up on her hands and knees, she's so proud of herself. Rightly so! (September 9th)

I recorded this Wednesday 23:

She had it down pat by the weekend. I spent the whole weekend chasing her around the house. It was so much fun, but, Oh Boy, do I need to baby proof!

Zalebaby sent me this one Monday morning:

She is doing her best to get to a sitting position. It's been so exciting to see her learn and grow. She'll be 8 months on the 4th, I wonder how long it will be before she starts walking? Zalebaby thinks it will be by Halloween. I doubt it, but I'll let him dream. Me, I'm still looking for her first tooth.