Walking With a Walker

Taken a few weeks ago.  She is much better at this now...but this is the first time she ever walked with this.
Another cute video will be posted tomorrow so tune back in.

Riding in the Car Car

"Car Car" performed by Jeremy Lyons

clapping, waving, pulling up and.......CRAWLING!

So, after a few weeks of crawling backwards and working on some other skills 'A' finally thinks the world is ready to see what she is capable of....in addition to being cute!

enjoy.

Crawling

A few weeks ago I posted that 'A' was almost crawling.
Well a few days after that my wife filmed the video below while I was at work.
She hasn't made too much progress since so the forward crawling videos don't exist yet. She is starting to pull up though so maybe she will skip the whole crawling phase, who knows? Once I get a video of her pulling up I will post it.
Enjoy.

Home Made Applesauce

I am a few weeks behind on my posts. I still have a lot of things to write about but I have been juggling a lot of other things I want to get done, including finishing my father's day gift for my dad, with work and taking care of the baby.

Here are some photos of the home made applesauce I made a few weeks ago.
Peel and core some apples, slices them in the food processor, boil them and then blend them. One ingredient and very easy to make.

Laughing in the Back Seat

There is nothing more pure than a baby laughing. 'A' is in a good mood a lot but we have only seen her laugh really hard a few times. It is becoming more and more frequent but it is still a treat.
Hope it makes you laugh too.

First Swim

Last week we were on vacation in Florida with my wife's parents, aunt and uncle, brother, sister in-law and two kids.
We took 'A' in the swimming pool and to the ocean for the first time.  Here is the video of her in the pool.
Enjoy.

'A' Sitting and Playing

Here is a video (actually a bunch of photos strung together) of 'A' playing with some toys.  These photos were taken the week she was first able to really sit on her own well enough to not fall over. 

Making Your Own Baby Food Can Be Dangerous

As you saw last week in the video of A eating her first food we are starting to feed our daughter. The next step is carrots and sweet potatoes ground into the all too familiar baby food mush.

My wife and I always said that when A started to eat solids we would make our own baby food so we were a bit surprised when we saw the pamphlet our doctor gave us. On the back it had a statement that said it was not safe to prepare some baby foods at home, such as beets, turnips, carrots and collard greens, because they can cause an unusual form of anemia (Methemoglobinemia).

When I asked why this was I learned that it had to do to with a chemical found in the soil of food grown using conventional fertilizers.

So if you're telling me that it is unsafe to eat these as a baby then why am I eating these foods? Baby food manufacturers monitor this but I can buy a carrot off the shelf that was grown with conventional fertilizer and has these chemicals in it.

What else am I putting into my body that I shouldn't be or wouldn't want to if I knew about it?

It is finding these sort of things out that really makes me want to pack up, move to the country and live off the land so I can control what I am consuming.  But would that be enough?  I would still need to use water and air that is polluted from conventional farming and modern life.

If you are making your own baby food you should read more about it and everyone should take a second to consider what we are doing to this planet and ourselves.      

A's First Food

Yesterday we gave A her first food. Well, really it was mostly formula with a little bit of rice cereal. The real milestone was that it was the first time she ate anything with a spoon. I use the term ate rather lightly. It was more like she took it off the spoon and drooled it out all over the place. Cute, fun and a huge milestone anyway. Enjoy the video.

Imagination

One of the great things about babies and children is that their imaginations are so great. You can give them a cardboard box or a very simple toy and they can entertain themselves for hours. 'A' plays with her toes more than her toys and I always get a kick out of how she can be surrounded by a pile of toys and she will grab a burp cloth and play with it.

I will try my hardest to encourage the growth of her imagination by limiting the toys that can only work in one way and have a set way of playing with them. Blocks and crayons can be used to create a million different things while a coloring book limits the child to try to color within the lines.  There are skills that are enhanced by coloring within the lines as well but it is important to let the child draw something from scratch.

We bought an exersaucer last week and we wanted one that didn't have a lot of bells and lights. We didn't want a bunch of buttons that flashed and played songs when a button was pushed, what we wanted was something that would help her with her motor skills. We found one online that we liked and she loves it.

I hope I can continue to encourage her imagination to grow.

6 Month Old Sleeping Through the Night

My daughter turned six months old this past Sunday. It is hard to believe that it has gone by so fast. All the people who said it was going to get easier seem to be right for the most part. She had been sleeping great last week and even did a few all night stretches*.  The people who say that we shouldn't get used to anything she is doing were also right. The littlest thing can change her sleep patterns. Her six month shots and her second set of teeth coming in have gotten her back to her old sleep habits. We know this too shall pass but we are hoping it changes back sooner than later.

*For some reason all of the baby books define sleeping through the night as a five hour stretch. Who decided this and what were they thinking? When 'A' was going to bed at 7:00 and sleeping until midnight she was technically sleeping through the night. Really? She was still waking up two other times in the night as well so we waking up three times. Luckily the "through the nights" I mentioned above were truly through the night; 7:15PM until 6:15AM. Can't wait to have those back. 

It All Began

It was my wife's birthday, 2009.  It was 5:00 in the morning.  I heard her go to the bathroom which was not a usual occurrence at that time and I fell right back to sleep.  She came back in a few minutes later, woke me and said "i think you're going to be a daddy".

Little "A" is now almost 6 months old and it has been a crazy whirlwind of a time.  It has been amazing to watch her grow and learn.  Starting with her early vocal sounds turning in to syllables to watching her learn to use her hands.  Her first 2 teeth coming in and now learning to sit on her own. It hasn't always been easy.  We have been tired and frustrated.  She has had colds and pains from teething.  She has eczema and is always itchy.  But it has all been worth it. As soon as I see that little girl nothing else matters.  She is lovely.