We made it! A whole year old. 365 days. Our toddler visited Dr. Kelly for her one year check up on the Friday after her birthday, and we were informed she had a raging ear infection in her left ear, and one starting in the right ear. What? We would've had no idea had we not had an appointment today.. she shows no symptoms at all. So, we started on the Amoxicillin regimen for a 10 day treatment and we'll go back in 4 weeks to get checked again, get the other 1/2 of the flu shot, and another shot we skipped that day so she didn't have to get 4 shots. They checked her iron and lead levels with a finger stick too and said everything looked great from that standpoint.
So, Alli Ru, you've accomplished a ton in a year: lifting your head, rolling over, sitting, standing, army crawl, crawling, walking, learning a few words, gained your unique personality and eating from "mommy milk" to solid soft foods and regular milk. (I'm sure I'm leaving out a bunch of milestones, but it happened so fast!) Hopefully, this blog will be there (in book form, or on the Internet still!) for you to read someday and see all the fun we've gone through this first year with you. You've changed our lives forever, and we couldn't be happier.
The Stats:
Weight: 20 lbs 1 oz (33rd percentile)
Length: 29.5 inches (64th percentile)
Head: 17 1/4" inches (16th percentile)
Diaper Size: 3's
Clothing Size: 9-12 month, depending on the brand
Shoe Size: 4's - 5's depending on the brand too
Food: We started the whole milk on her actual birthday last Thursday, and she could have cared less about the difference.. so, no problems there, she's downing whole milk like a champ! And any and all food still... the only thing we've heard she's refused twice now at daycare are English muffins. Weird?
Naps: One 2 hour nap while at daycare, still 2 during the day when she's home with us
Sleep: Bed by 6:45-7ish, up by 6ish
Teeth: Eight still.. no sign of those molars yet!
Sounds: Dada, mama, baba, ga, "daaww" (dog), "uh oh", nana, yeah, nah, ball, "tank tu" (I think it's thank you.. she does it every time she hands me something after I say thank you to her... haha)
Play: WALKING! everywhere, loves riding in her new wagon, still mimicks about everything we do, all her new toys from her birthday will keep her occupied for awhile now, showing us where her belly is, stacking objects or putting them from one place to another container, or best of all, handing us everything until we run out of hands to hold onto everything,
New buddies: No one new, just seeing a bunch of her old buddies at her party... Anneliese, Lily, Porter, Simon, Austyn and Zane!
Now, the countdown is really on for that 1st birthday party.... our little lady is turning one, who said that was allowed to happen?
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Happy birthday, Alli
The big day has finally arrived. Exactly one year ago today, Allison Ruah graced the world with her presence. I think back to that day with very fond memories...
Much like today, it was very warm. I think we almost set a record - somewhere in the mid-80's. Even though I was in shorts and a T-shirt that day, it felt like Christmas. Well, it felt like Christmas from my childhood - you know, back when you really had no idea what you were getting? That's how it felt when Alli was born - we both knew it was coming, but we didn't know the specifics of the "gift", if you will. And about 10 hours after we checked into the hospital, our bouncing baby girl was born - 7lbs. 2 oz., 20 inches long, with almost a full head of light brown hair. Wait... what?? The offspring of two bald-when-they-were-born babies has a full head of hair? Darn right, she did. Fast forward 365 days, and it's all been replaced by a full head of blond hair eerily similar to Dad-E's when he was that age.
Some Followers might recall this post that lists 50 Rules for Dads of Daughters. Some time today, I plan on writing Alli a letter to tell her about her first year of life. I'm not going to post it here because I want it to be personal for her when she reads it some day. I'm hoping to do this every year on her birthday until she goes off on her own. Might make a nice gift for her when she goes off to college or becomes a mom herself.
I'm sure many people are going to ask me what this first year of parenthood was like. The best analogy I can think of is riding a roller coaster for the first time. Here's why...
Like any good roller coaster, you start out by waiting. And waiting... and waiting. Lots of waiting. There are all these other people around waiting too, so you assume that it must be a good ride. You meet people while waiting that have already gone through it once or twice, so there must be something that keeps them coming back again. You can't really see what's ahead of you, but you've heard stories waiting in line about what's to come - some good, some bad.
Finally, it's your turn. You get on... and the anticipation starts building. Up you go, and you can't help but be excited for what's about to happen. And before you know it, your thrown in more directions than your body can handle. Up, down, left, right, up again, down again. Then a loop, then a corkscrew. Up again, down again. Another loop, another corkscrew. You go through so many emotions in such a short period of time, you're not really sure how you should feel. All the while, there is screaming, laughing and maybe some crying by those who can't handle the ride. The whole time you're trying to contain your jubilation and your tears... and just pray you don't get thrown up on.
Finally, the ride slows down and you settle into a groove. There are still some small hills - up again and down again - but nothing compared to what you went through at the beginning. You get off the ride, look at your significant other and say, "Damn... even though I was scared sh*tless, that was pretty fun. Let's do it again!" Others turn to each other and say, "No way, never again." As you walk away, you're still feeling so many emotions that you're not sure what just happened. It all happened so fast that all you can hope is that you got some good pictures along the way.
The next time you ride might not be quite as exciting as the first, but that's when you remember that this roller coaster changes each time you ride. So the decision then becomes: do you get in line to ride again? I say yes... but maybe in a little while after my stomach settles.
Happy birthday, Alli. Your daddy loves you more than you'll ever know... or at least until you have a child of your own.
Much like today, it was very warm. I think we almost set a record - somewhere in the mid-80's. Even though I was in shorts and a T-shirt that day, it felt like Christmas. Well, it felt like Christmas from my childhood - you know, back when you really had no idea what you were getting? That's how it felt when Alli was born - we both knew it was coming, but we didn't know the specifics of the "gift", if you will. And about 10 hours after we checked into the hospital, our bouncing baby girl was born - 7lbs. 2 oz., 20 inches long, with almost a full head of light brown hair. Wait... what?? The offspring of two bald-when-they-were-born babies has a full head of hair? Darn right, she did. Fast forward 365 days, and it's all been replaced by a full head of blond hair eerily similar to Dad-E's when he was that age.
Some Followers might recall this post that lists 50 Rules for Dads of Daughters. Some time today, I plan on writing Alli a letter to tell her about her first year of life. I'm not going to post it here because I want it to be personal for her when she reads it some day. I'm hoping to do this every year on her birthday until she goes off on her own. Might make a nice gift for her when she goes off to college or becomes a mom herself.
I'm sure many people are going to ask me what this first year of parenthood was like. The best analogy I can think of is riding a roller coaster for the first time. Here's why...
Like any good roller coaster, you start out by waiting. And waiting... and waiting. Lots of waiting. There are all these other people around waiting too, so you assume that it must be a good ride. You meet people while waiting that have already gone through it once or twice, so there must be something that keeps them coming back again. You can't really see what's ahead of you, but you've heard stories waiting in line about what's to come - some good, some bad.
Finally, it's your turn. You get on... and the anticipation starts building. Up you go, and you can't help but be excited for what's about to happen. And before you know it, your thrown in more directions than your body can handle. Up, down, left, right, up again, down again. Then a loop, then a corkscrew. Up again, down again. Another loop, another corkscrew. You go through so many emotions in such a short period of time, you're not really sure how you should feel. All the while, there is screaming, laughing and maybe some crying by those who can't handle the ride. The whole time you're trying to contain your jubilation and your tears... and just pray you don't get thrown up on.
Finally, the ride slows down and you settle into a groove. There are still some small hills - up again and down again - but nothing compared to what you went through at the beginning. You get off the ride, look at your significant other and say, "Damn... even though I was scared sh*tless, that was pretty fun. Let's do it again!" Others turn to each other and say, "No way, never again." As you walk away, you're still feeling so many emotions that you're not sure what just happened. It all happened so fast that all you can hope is that you got some good pictures along the way.
The next time you ride might not be quite as exciting as the first, but that's when you remember that this roller coaster changes each time you ride. So the decision then becomes: do you get in line to ride again? I say yes... but maybe in a little while after my stomach settles.
Happy birthday, Alli. Your daddy loves you more than you'll ever know... or at least until you have a child of your own.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Daycare Bloopers
Even though it's her big first birthday week, Alli has been at daycare Monday, Tuesday and today while I've been working. She has loved showing off her new walking skills, and we finally found a cup (the ones with the straws!), that she loves and will drink out of. Things are looking good! Then, yesterday happened.
So not even an hour into being there, she got bit. The incident report stated that she had put her finger in another kids mouth "accidentally" and they bit her finger. She was treated with ice, lots of love and hugs. Good, crisis over. Then, they always record her diapers, wet or soiled, so we know how often she went while she was there. Around the 9ish mark, they marked "soiled" and wrote in all capital letters "BLOWOUT", beside it. Go Alli! Way to have a blowout at school and not on mommy or daddy's watch. =) She proceeded to have at least 3 more dirty diapers that day, all that were loose, so we're thinking she must have ate something her stomach did not agree with. Needless to say, she ruined the outfit she was wearing, along with the 3 others she has as "extras" at school. Eric gets there to pick her up, and she's wearing a pink onesie and her socks and big shoes. That's all. He said she was quite the hilarious site to see. What he didn't mention and I found out later while folding the clothes is that she was wearing a size 3 months onesie. I'm not sure how her teachers squeezed her into this, but I'm sure she was just incredible to see.
Lesson learned: Update your child's extra clothes at daycare. Don't forget that they get bigger, and their extra clothes don't.
So not even an hour into being there, she got bit. The incident report stated that she had put her finger in another kids mouth "accidentally" and they bit her finger. She was treated with ice, lots of love and hugs. Good, crisis over. Then, they always record her diapers, wet or soiled, so we know how often she went while she was there. Around the 9ish mark, they marked "soiled" and wrote in all capital letters "BLOWOUT", beside it. Go Alli! Way to have a blowout at school and not on mommy or daddy's watch. =) She proceeded to have at least 3 more dirty diapers that day, all that were loose, so we're thinking she must have ate something her stomach did not agree with. Needless to say, she ruined the outfit she was wearing, along with the 3 others she has as "extras" at school. Eric gets there to pick her up, and she's wearing a pink onesie and her socks and big shoes. That's all. He said she was quite the hilarious site to see. What he didn't mention and I found out later while folding the clothes is that she was wearing a size 3 months onesie. I'm not sure how her teachers squeezed her into this, but I'm sure she was just incredible to see.
Lesson learned: Update your child's extra clothes at daycare. Don't forget that they get bigger, and their extra clothes don't.
Monday, October 24, 2011
No turning back
Well Followers, it finally happened. Mommy B and I have been saying it for what feels like weeks - that li'l Alli would be walking on her own any day now. Yesterday was that day. My mom told me that walking would be just like crawling, that one day she would just up and do it. And she was right... yesterday Alli decided that she'd had enough of us helping her out and decided she was good enough on her own. Up she stood and off she went - anywhere and everywhere - without any assistance.
She was walking around the living room and kitchen so much that I had to pull out the video camera and capture the moment. I even made a comment to the camera that just a couple days ago we were filming her walking with assistance, and now she was on her own. It was such a huge milestone for her that we just marveled at it all morning. She still stumbles around like a drunken sailor sometimes, but most of the time she's full steam ahead. The funniest part about it is that she's still getting her balance and will walk around with her arms either out front like a zombie or straight up in the air like she's listening to a sermon at a Baptist church. "Hallelujah! Alli can walk! Praise Jesus!" But not in the she-was-crippled-but-now-she-can-walk-again sense. She walked around so much all morning that she passed out about 5 minutes into her stroller ride on the family walk around the neighborhood. So we brought her back to the house and she napped for almost three hours.
This is it... there's no turning back now. For over eleven months, my baby girl has needed my help getting to where she wanted to go. And now, four days before her first birthday my little angel got up and got there on her own. I know we raise them to leave, but I couldn't help being in awe of her accomplishment. (Hopefully) never again will she need me to carry her somewhere, although there will be plenty of times still to come when she'll want me to.
As I drove her to daycare this morning, I knew what was coming and I had to fight the tears back as I pulled in. I couldn't help but remember her first day there... she was barely three months old and I carried her in the door still in her baby carrier. I took her into her classroom and set her down, then had to turn around and walk away. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my entire life. It chokes me up right now just thinking about it. But this morning was different... much different. This morning, she walked herself from the car, across the parking lot and to the door - barely holding onto my hand. Once inside, I let go of her and she walked directly into her classroom without any help.
I was so proud of her, and I wish Mommy B could have been there to see it too. I know this means that Mommy B and I have now "graduated" into the stage every parent talks about - where all their kid does is run around and get into stuff. I'm sure Alli will be like that too, given how curious she is about the world around her.
But there's no turning back now... long gone are the days of my infant lying on her back on a mat in the living room, barely coordinated enough to reach the toys hanging right in front of her. Long gone are the rolling over celebrations, endless babbling and army-crawling across the floor. Now, you have to watch your toes because she might run them over with the car she's pushing across the living room. There's no more tightrope-walking across the edge of the couch... it's been replaced by normal-walking with arms in the air, giggling incessantly across the length of the house.
This has already started off being a special week for Alli and it's only going to get better with her birthday bash coming up. I know she won't really remember these days, but I sure will. My daughter can walk, and there's no turning back. Things are only going to get more interesting from here.
She was walking around the living room and kitchen so much that I had to pull out the video camera and capture the moment. I even made a comment to the camera that just a couple days ago we were filming her walking with assistance, and now she was on her own. It was such a huge milestone for her that we just marveled at it all morning. She still stumbles around like a drunken sailor sometimes, but most of the time she's full steam ahead. The funniest part about it is that she's still getting her balance and will walk around with her arms either out front like a zombie or straight up in the air like she's listening to a sermon at a Baptist church. "Hallelujah! Alli can walk! Praise Jesus!" But not in the she-was-crippled-but-now-she-can-walk-again sense. She walked around so much all morning that she passed out about 5 minutes into her stroller ride on the family walk around the neighborhood. So we brought her back to the house and she napped for almost three hours.
This is it... there's no turning back now. For over eleven months, my baby girl has needed my help getting to where she wanted to go. And now, four days before her first birthday my little angel got up and got there on her own. I know we raise them to leave, but I couldn't help being in awe of her accomplishment. (Hopefully) never again will she need me to carry her somewhere, although there will be plenty of times still to come when she'll want me to.
As I drove her to daycare this morning, I knew what was coming and I had to fight the tears back as I pulled in. I couldn't help but remember her first day there... she was barely three months old and I carried her in the door still in her baby carrier. I took her into her classroom and set her down, then had to turn around and walk away. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my entire life. It chokes me up right now just thinking about it. But this morning was different... much different. This morning, she walked herself from the car, across the parking lot and to the door - barely holding onto my hand. Once inside, I let go of her and she walked directly into her classroom without any help.
I was so proud of her, and I wish Mommy B could have been there to see it too. I know this means that Mommy B and I have now "graduated" into the stage every parent talks about - where all their kid does is run around and get into stuff. I'm sure Alli will be like that too, given how curious she is about the world around her.
But there's no turning back now... long gone are the days of my infant lying on her back on a mat in the living room, barely coordinated enough to reach the toys hanging right in front of her. Long gone are the rolling over celebrations, endless babbling and army-crawling across the floor. Now, you have to watch your toes because she might run them over with the car she's pushing across the living room. There's no more tightrope-walking across the edge of the couch... it's been replaced by normal-walking with arms in the air, giggling incessantly across the length of the house.
This has already started off being a special week for Alli and it's only going to get better with her birthday bash coming up. I know she won't really remember these days, but I sure will. My daughter can walk, and there's no turning back. Things are only going to get more interesting from here.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Cartoon of the Week
Yesterday, Dad-E, Ru & I hit the road to Columbia and met the Koehler's as they drove down from Charlotte for Ru & Fi's first trip to the zoo! We all had a great time... and the zoo was actually a very good one, we were impressed! We're so glad that we have these wonderful friends close enough that we can do day trips like this... I know I had complained in a previous post about living far away from friends and family and how hard it is, but knowing we have Rob, Gena & Anneliese a reasonable drive away is more reassuring than anyone could imagine. Good news too! We'll get to see them again this Friday when they come down for the weekend for Alli's birthday. This is going to be a busy week... but we're so excited (and a million other emotions) about our little girl's first birthday this Thursday and her party on Saturday.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Less than a week...
In less than a week, we'll have a one year old. When people ask me how old my daughter is, I won't be able to say it in months. I can't exactly say "my baby" when I'm talking about her anymore, because she's pretty much a toddler now. Today, she walked all the way down the hall, walked from Dad-E to I in the backyard with at least 10 steps or more. She's officially walking. I can't help but have a million emotions thinking about this... it's all so monumental, and it's going by so fast. Last year at this time, I wanted the next week to go faster. My due date was October 23rd, and that day came and went. On this October 23rd, I'll reflect on the fact that I still have 4 more days to enjoy my 11 month old. Seriously, I know we've said it before, but, don't blink.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
On your mark... get set...
GO! Damn, false start. All Alli wants to do these days is walk. She can't quite do it on her own 100% yet, but she's taking lots of steps on her own before she plops down or falls over. Each day she manages to add another step on her own and is getting better at balancing herself without assistance. She's getting sooo close, it's not even funny.
I spent my entire Sunday with Alli while Mommy B was at work, and I think she's finally figured out that walking is much better than crawling. The funny part about is that she doesn't get up and walk somewhere because she's necessarily trying to reach a specific destination like she does when she crawls. You can tell that when she crawls, she's just trying to get to something or someone. Walking is so new to her that she just wants to explore... and walking gets her there faster than crawling.
All day long, she would stand up on her own and kind of hold her hands out to me as she began leaning forward. I would let her take her first few steps on her own and right as she was about to fall down, I would grab her arms and keep her upright. With this added security, off she would go... not even walking, almost running. Round and round we went - from the couch to the back door, around the dining room table, through the kitchen, around the corner to the back door again. Lap after lap we'd go - not trying to get somewhere, just walking to walk.
Finally, I took her outside to romp around in the open yard. And boy did she have fun! Now that the obstacles were out of her way, she was able to wander aimlessly without hesitation. As I've mentioned before, our backyard slants down away from the house, so gravity has helped out as well. I would just offer my two index fingers to hang on to, and off we'd go down the yard all the way to the fence at the back at what felt like a full sprint... giggling all the way. Not sure if it was Alli giggling or me, but either way it was entertaining to say the least. She then turned and headed back up the yard towards her swing like she'd been doing it for months. I have to say, it was a pretty fun afternoon - even though my back didn't agree later that evening.
Mommy B got to spend the entire day with her yesterday, and took things to the next level. Again, all Alli wanted to do was walk all day long. So, Mommy B would let her take as many steps as she could on her own, then grab her right before impact. Only this time, she would only offer one hand/finger for Alli to hang onto if needed. When I got home from work, I realized that we hadn't recorded any of Alli's "walking" yet, so I busted out the video camera and we took Alli to the backyard to show of her moves. I had to be light on my feet because the little girl just wanted to go, go, go!
I know these are the moments we're going to cherish when she gets older, so I wanted to make sure we got it on film. Ok, no one uses film anymore, but you get the point. When we came back inside, she walked a good six to eight steps in between Mommy B and I. At this rate, it could literally be any day now that she let's go of our hands and walks on her own for good. Quite the metaphor for things to come...
I spent my entire Sunday with Alli while Mommy B was at work, and I think she's finally figured out that walking is much better than crawling. The funny part about is that she doesn't get up and walk somewhere because she's necessarily trying to reach a specific destination like she does when she crawls. You can tell that when she crawls, she's just trying to get to something or someone. Walking is so new to her that she just wants to explore... and walking gets her there faster than crawling.
All day long, she would stand up on her own and kind of hold her hands out to me as she began leaning forward. I would let her take her first few steps on her own and right as she was about to fall down, I would grab her arms and keep her upright. With this added security, off she would go... not even walking, almost running. Round and round we went - from the couch to the back door, around the dining room table, through the kitchen, around the corner to the back door again. Lap after lap we'd go - not trying to get somewhere, just walking to walk.
Finally, I took her outside to romp around in the open yard. And boy did she have fun! Now that the obstacles were out of her way, she was able to wander aimlessly without hesitation. As I've mentioned before, our backyard slants down away from the house, so gravity has helped out as well. I would just offer my two index fingers to hang on to, and off we'd go down the yard all the way to the fence at the back at what felt like a full sprint... giggling all the way. Not sure if it was Alli giggling or me, but either way it was entertaining to say the least. She then turned and headed back up the yard towards her swing like she'd been doing it for months. I have to say, it was a pretty fun afternoon - even though my back didn't agree later that evening.
Mommy B got to spend the entire day with her yesterday, and took things to the next level. Again, all Alli wanted to do was walk all day long. So, Mommy B would let her take as many steps as she could on her own, then grab her right before impact. Only this time, she would only offer one hand/finger for Alli to hang onto if needed. When I got home from work, I realized that we hadn't recorded any of Alli's "walking" yet, so I busted out the video camera and we took Alli to the backyard to show of her moves. I had to be light on my feet because the little girl just wanted to go, go, go!
I know these are the moments we're going to cherish when she gets older, so I wanted to make sure we got it on film. Ok, no one uses film anymore, but you get the point. When we came back inside, she walked a good six to eight steps in between Mommy B and I. At this rate, it could literally be any day now that she let's go of our hands and walks on her own for good. Quite the metaphor for things to come...
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