We've been working on doing two meals a day. Yesterday we did breakfast and dinner. Today it was lunch and dinner because we were both pretty out of it around breakfast time. She's really been eating solids well, which is a big improvement. Today she tried peas and couscous. She hated the peas and got couscous up her nose. I think we'll just try regular pasta pieces in the future. She did almost finish off a whole container of apple sweet potatoes.


Last night


Lunch Today

Naps haven't been going very well though. Yesterday it was great. She slept most of the day and just wanted to play when Scott got home. She was really excited to see him. She was perfectly happy just sitting in his lap and playing with toys. Today was a napping disaster. She would only stay asleep for 30 minutes max and would wake up crankier than when she went to sleep. I was going out of my mind because nights haven't been much better. She's been waking constantly and will only sleep on her tummy on my chest. That leaves me nearly flat on my back, which I hate! In a few months I know I'll miss the cuddles, but right now, my back hurts and I'm tired.


She mostly cried and whined all day long, which drove me bonkers. I think I've discovered the problem to her sleeping and mood problems though. She was chewing on my finger when I felt something sharp on top. She has a new tooth poking through. She only let me feel it for a moment and I couldn't get a good look, but it's her upper right lateral incisor. So she'll have her two bottom teeth and one on the top right, but no upper fronts. She's going to look very interesting! She seemed to get crankier and crankier and more and more clingy after I discovered her tooth. It was obvious she needed a nap even though she had just woken up from a short one. I gave her some Tylenol and teething tablets and we both ended taking a short nap on the couch. She was still cranky when she woke up, but much more manageable. I think the Tylenol had finally kicked in.

Adia's also getting really close to standing on her own. She pulled herself up against the couch, grabbed the remote and then turned around. She was barely leaning against the couch and I thought for sure she'd fall, but she was fine. She just needs to get the guts to actually try it by herself. I'm sure she's capable.

Then there's the Christmas tree. She only goes after the lights when they're on or Scott's home. She'd rather pull off pine needles. She doesn't eat them, just roll them around her hands and drop them on the floor.

Now it's bottle time and more cuddling with mommy.

Oh Christmas Tree

Adia started her night last night really well. She slept in her crib from 9:30-3:30, only waking once around 11 because of a burp. I heard her whimper, ran in and picked her up and she burped. I don't think she ever really woke up because I was able to lay her down right away. At 3:30 she started screaming though. I go into her room to find her standing and bawling. I picked her up, but she wasn't acting tired. Made her a bottle and brought her back to bed with us, only to discover she didn't want the bottle. She'd just fill her mouth with milk and then pour it all over my arm. I was not happy. Then the babbling started. She did eventually fall asleep, but only by laying on my chest with me flat on my back. I had to sleep that way the rest of the night or she'd wake up. It was awful and I woke up with a horrible back ache.

We had to be up early to meet Scott's family for breakfast though. My alarm went off at 6:30, waking Adia took. Scott took her and I jumped in the shower. Adia was pretty cranky, but didn't want the bottle. I dressed her right before leaving and the second I got her shoes on, she puked on my jeans and sweater. I didn't have time to change so I just washed myself off. I must have done a good enough job because I didn't smell like puke all day. Adia wasn't too happy to be in the car and soon wanted a bottle. She was half asleep by the time we got to our destination. She was happy to see Gamma and Gampa G and Auntie Colie. We had breakfast at Shari's. Adia played with Auntie Colie and when our food arrived, she sat in her high chair. She ate real oatmeal and loved it. I was amazed at how much of it she actually ate. She also had cheerios.


Then it was to the tree farm. I dressed Adia in an extra layer and put on her winter hat. Auntie Colie took her and wrapped a blanket around her too. Adia seemed to be warm, despite her red nose and cheeks. We were all freezing though so after choosing a tree, Adia, Auntie Colie and I retreated to the car. Scott showed Gampa G the tree and joined us in the car. Adia was then passed from person to person and played with anything she could find.






standing next to our tree



After the tree farm, we stopped at home to drop off the tree before going to Costco. Adia was getting tired so I put her in the Kozy. At first she wasn't happy to be in the Kozy. She kept arching her back and trying to get out. Eventually she stopped and shared free samples with me. She liked the frozen strawberry drink and the mashed potatoes. Slowly she started to snuggle closer and soon she was out cold, face planted into my chest. She slept through going outside in the bitter cold wind. She even slept through being removed from the Kozy and being placed in her car seat. She then slept through getting buckled.


I took her out of the car at Target, still asleep, but she woke after getting sunlight in her face. She rode in the cart at first. She started laughing while I was driving her around because I kept going, "Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!" and going "fast". She LOVED it, but it didn't last. After going down the toy aisle, she wasn't happy to be in the cart. Gampa G took her and let her ride on his shoulders. Adia loved it.

We had dinner at Applebees. Adia ate the most I've ever seen her eat. She finished a container of apples with sweet potatoes, then a bunch of cheerios. When our food arrived, she lunged for Auntie Colie's plate. She was nice enough to share her chicken, which Adia loved. Adia also had some baked potato. Between bites she tried to talk to the baby at the next table. Adia made all sorts of noises and grinned tons, but the other baby just started at her. Adia really wanted a playmate. When we walked by them as we left, Adia waved and said, "Hi!" Once again, the other baby just stared at her in shock, but her parents and grandparents thought it was cute.


We made one last stop at the mall before heading home. Adia fell asleep in the car and slept through me taking her out. She even slept through me laying her down. She didn't sleep long though and woke up crying. She crawled under the jumperoo and looked terrified. The only lights we had on were Christmas lights. I think she was confused and didn't know where she was. Once I picked her up she was ok and started investigating the living room. It wasn't long before she headed for the bathroom. We took that as our cue for bath time.




I took a bath with her and she pretty much ignored me. She was happy to be in there though. She played for a little bit and then signalled wanting to get out. Scott grabbed her and dressed her, the whole time she was screaming. I took her afterwards and fed her a bottle, but when she was done, she wanted to play. She hasn't been able to play with toys all day. She played, had some alone time and promptly pooped. It was a big one. After Scott called for my help, I distracted her. Diaper changes have become even harder than bedtime. Then it was back to playing.

She's still playing right now, but it's only 8:30. Hopefully we have another good night. I need some sleep. I am NOT a morning person and 6:30 was too early for me. Tomorrow I'll finish decorating the tree. We bought nonbreakable ball ornaments and some candy canes.

Nothing's really changed in the last few days. Adia had her second flu shot on Wednesday. She cried just a couple seconds and was back to normal by the time we'd pulled up her pants. Then we made a couple shopping stops and she fell asleep on the way home. We tried to get her in the house without waking her, but that never works. She happened to fall asleep shortly before we had to leave for my post op appointment. It was horrible to wake her again, but she was good natured. She was a total flirt at the appointment and we're both very happy that I got the go ahead to pick her up again. She snuggled in my lap after her bath and fell asleep. She didn't stay asleep though and ended up cosleeping again. I think the main reason she was so cranky was the fever she developed from the shot. It was running at 100.2 despite Tylenol. I felt bad for her, but it didn't seem to bother her except at night.

On Thursday Adia turned 9 months old. I can't believe she's already that old. We mostly stayed in the house, but made a quick run to Costco for formula. Adia rode in the cart and even got a cracker. She was cranky at dinner though so it was short. I ended up giving her a bath and she had fun. She made for some picture perfect moments. She once again fell asleep on me, but it was a disaster trying to lay her down. She woke up seconds later, screaming. I picked her up, rocked her back to sleep and tried again. No luck. I needed to get ready for bed so I turned on her music, closed the door and left her screaming. I felt horrible, but I didn't have a choice. 15 minutes later she had gotten quiet. The second I opened the door, my heart sunk. Adia was sitting in her crib, waiting for me with tears streaming down her face. I felt even worse. I picked her up and tried to get her back to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, they would pop back open. She was scared I was going to leave her again. I took her out in the living room and cuddled her until she was back to sleep. We ended up cosleeping again and she woke up every couple of hours.





Adia was up at 8 today and wanted to play. She mostly terrorized the living room and let me know that Eeyore is completely useless as a barrier. We took a bath in the morning after several failed attempts to get her to nap. She had a blast in the tub, but let me know it was time to get out when she pulled up on the side. I set her in her chair and she started rocking away. She loved it. She also peed! She's never done that before. I got her dressed in her new black velvet pants. It was the first time she's worn them and within 10 minutes, she'd puked on them. I washed her off, changed her clothes and let her go. Crank butt appeared, but I got her to take a 30 minute nap. She had two 30 minute naps today and whined between them when she wasn't going after the dollhouse.



She was really excited when Scott got home. She chased him down and then headed up and over Eeyore. Within seconds she was trying to climb her high chair. We took that as a clue for an early dinner. I gave her a graham cracker and she crushed it in her hands, making a huge mess. Then it was flinging cheerios. I'm not sure she ate more than a couple. And the yogurt! It got everywhere. I couldn't feed her fast enough, but when it came down to the last two bites, she started flinging it and rubbing it in her hair. I don't think she's ever made as big of a mess ever before. I might as well have given her spaghetti. After I was finished eating, I grabbed a popsicle and shared it with her. She prefers grape, but I happened to grab cherry. She stole it anyway.









Scott had fun trying to give her a bath. He got goobered trying to get her to the tub. It wasn't a long bath, but she had fun. It was hard to get all the food off her face though. We kept finding more yogurt and graham crackers. I lotioned and dressed her after Scott got the diaper on her. Then it was out to the living room.


She didn't play long before getting cranky and tired. She did play long enough to poop for Scott and also try some raspberry. Then she was out like a light. I doubt she's out for the night though.