dadadadada's gone away

Happy Monday Night! I hope all have had a pleasant day and that you're ready for the next hour of 24. Tonight, I will be watching it alone, as Adam took off for Washington State today. He is presenting at a conference, River Restoration Northwest, on Thursday and will then spend the weekend with his good friends Jeff and Justin. I think they plan to do a little snowshoeing and playing in the woods. Be good, be careful and have a fabuloso time! So we'll be all alone until Wednesday, when Ghi-ghi comes to entertain and love us. I've been singing Gracen very dramatic renditions of "All By Myself"--very bridgetjonesesque. For those of you who have heard me sing, you will appreciate the humor of that. It made Gracen laugh too.

Gracen is tempting Harley with a Biter Biscuit. She's already given her two of them today. With her new teeth busting through, we've found that these ease a little discomfort. And she's obviously such a generous child; she just wants to share some with her puppy.

I told both of them "NO!" repeatedly, but Gracen acted like she had done nothing wrong, and I ended up prying it out of Harley's very slimy jaws.

And then Harley proceeded to pout for the next hour. Poor dog. She gets no love.

Baby-sitter!!! Yep, we finally got one, and she's wonderful. She lives in our neighborhood, and we met her at the homeowner's association potluck. Unfortunately, Gracen has been struck with another cold, and she cried for an hour and a half after we left. We got the call as we were leaving the restaurant. By the time we returned home, Gracie had fallen asleep on Hannah. I should add that she never does this anymore--she's a crib baby--and I was a little jealous of missing out on it. I suppose the sitter deserved a little sweetness after listening to her drama for that long. I really hope we didn't scare her off. Dates with a cute boy are kinda nice.

I got my first vacuum, a green Kenmore, when Adam and I first set up housekeeping together, which was over 7 years ago. It was a gift from Gaga, and I was pretty upset that it had to die. I replaced it with another Kenmore, and I managed to blow it up in a year. I don't even vacuum as often as I should, so I'm not real sure where things started falling apart. But after growing tired of bagless dirt, the constant smell of something burning, the 17 pounds, and the refusal of the spinning devices to spin, we determined it was time to take a new direction. Fortunately, my mother-in-law is a brilliant woman and recommended the Oreck, all 8 pounds of it. I had to stop myself from buying the hot pink version, and I think Adam is still a little confused about the bright green. I think she's very pretty. And she does her job so well. And she has a really long cord. And she came with a free canister vacuum. And they gave me $50 for my old broken Kenmore. Win, win, win, win...

we miss the papa.

SNOW DAY, SNOW DAY, SNOW DAY!!

And maybe ice day too. But this one, we were prepared for. I taught Gracen the snow dance in honor of all my education friends, who are so deserving of a day off (you're welcome Lisbeth!), and she was a natural at it. We added in a few extra moves to try and turn the impending ice into the fluffy stuff. They are calling for 1-2 inches of snow, followed by a quarter inch of ice. I'm not a huge fan of the ice. Our neighborhood has buried power lines, which one might assume would make the chance of power outages less. This is not, however, the case. So if our little life loses the juice, we have our 10 gallons of store bought water, our canned goods, our firewood covered and protected, plenty of baby food, candles handy, maybe enough diapers, and we shall be ready for the what comes our way. Right now, it is beautiful, and it makes me smile.

The Jasmine continues to bloom, no matter the weather. I've never met such a determined plant, except for our tree philodendron, which I keep killing but refuses to die.
And Gracen is far too cool for sleep. She may be exhausted, she may be yawning, she may be signing sleep, her eyes may even be closing while she's standing, but nope. She just doesn't need it. Her mother and father, on the other hand, do still need it and would appreciate her cooperation in letting them have a little more!!!!!

Happy Snow Day!

"i've got TWO of 'em!!!"

Another lil' toothie has emerged!! That makes two, friends. Gracen's gonna be able to eat non-mushiness in no time. We're so proud. I should already be giving her some "heartier" varieties of food, but I'm still scarred from the New Year's choking incident, and I don't want to risk it. I'll get over it by the time she's nine months, which is next week--this is my goal. And speaking of food, I think she's finally learned her "sign" for food. We've been working on: food, more, milk, sleepy, bed, dog, all done, clean up, toys, and a variety of animals. Signing Smart has been loads of fun, but I wasn't sure that it was actually getting through until yesterday. After finishing her cereal and jar of food (I've tried making it, and she hates my cooking skills), I cleaned her up, took her out of her high chair, and put her down to let her play. She kept coming back to me, pulling on my leg and putting her little hand to her mouth. This is the sign for food/eat, so I put her back in the chair, busted out some sweet potato cinnamon bisque, and she took it all down. She's so smart. I love her.


And she still has a thing for the toy baskets. She'll pull out enough toys just so she can squeeze in there. Notice how this particular basket is precariously close to the table to her left. A few minutes ago, as I was trying to get these pictures uploaded (mr. bloggerman is in a foul mood today, and it was taking a ridiculous amount of concentration), she managed to climb up on the side of it like a ladder and was attempting to to turn on the TV. I have no idea how it didn't flip over; laws of physics have never made sense to me. The basket has been moved, and I shall be a more attentive mother for the rest of the day.



There is no real caption for this photo, except for she likes to play with my face and hair and earrings. She's learned how to pull my eyelashes and would certainly pluck out the eyeballs if I would let her. I should probably stop this before she tries it on her playgroup friends. She's already been grabbing other kids' hair, which the mothers don't seem too upset over. They might not be as accepting of Gracie trying to pull out their babies' eyes.







And we just wanted to wish a "Get Well" out to Birdie, who's not feeling so well down in Atlanta. For those who do not know, the animal on the right is a dog (Birdie) and the animal on the left is a cat (Bijou, who passed away over the summer). Bijou and Birdie had a very bizarre relationship. I don't think either really identified with their animal characterization, and they found support from one another in their confusion. We love the Bird.

Baby Legs

I've found the coolest piece of baby clothing ever. They're called baby legs, and you can purchase them from Cotton Babies. It's just a pair of leg warmers for the lil'uns, but they make life so much easier! I can now change her much more efficiently since she is determined to be as unhelpful as possible while the deed is being done. I have resorted to changing her on the floor, with my foot on her chest to hold the wildness in check. She thinks the whole event is hilarious. Mama does not agree.

AND, we now have contact with the first tooth!! I've been waiting rather impatiently for this to occur, and yesterday, after listening to some very dramatic crying, I gave a little gum rub, and there it was. It's tiny, but there indeed. I have no idea how long it will take to fully emerge, but I promise a photo is forthcoming as soon as we get a visual.

The Chapel Hill weather is so confused. We had snow last week, but look what's blooming!! I thought they would have died, but no. The blooms are hanging on, wishing in an early spring. I'm giving up on trying to figure out the season. The globe is warming. I shall live in layers to accommodate the fickleness of the weather.

riggsbees in the snow?!?!

You're seeing that correctly. It is indeed SNOW in Chapel Thrill! We woke up yesterday to a surprise inch (that's probably an exaggeration) of the white stuff. And I really think we appreciated even more, if that's possible, because we had no idea it was even coming. It surprised the weatherpeople too. And while it was gone by lunchtime, it made the day fabulous. Gracen got to be bundled up in her snowsuit and had the required "baby's first snow" photos. We were fortunate that dadadadadadada (as Gracie calls him) left for work late so he could enjoy it with us.

And it was probably irresponsible for me to take her out in the snow, as her what-I-thought-was-a-healing-cold-turned-ear-infection was in full force. We kept it brief, Dr. Lala. With the week and a half of fever, she has been struck down with a terrible diaper rash, and I've been letting her "breathe."


She was a little pouty (right) when I put the garb back on. That's our little nudist! And I don't know if it's the sickness, the teething, the weaning, or just the age, but she's been requiring an exorbitant amount of cuddling. So if anyone feels like holding a baby, for what could be, literally, hours straight, please feel free to visit. The only reason I'm able to post this is that she's enthralled with "Hola Bebe" at the moment. They're showing mucho gatos y perros! Gracie gusta perros y gatos.

silly kid

So, Gracen was in a wonderful mood tonight, having recovered from the fever. We're still dealing with the "bulb," but the nose is improving. Anyway, since she was feeling better and I finally did the laundry and she was wearing her favorite PJs, I thought the time was right for a photo shoot. This is what I got, along with several photos of her lunging off the chair. A video is attached for your viewing pleasure as well.

Now that sweet thing is on the mend, I have been struck down with the bug. My head wants to explode, but I'm emotionally stable and the rest of me feels okay. It has helped that Gracie has been a perfect angel today. When I started feeling puny, I just curled up on the floor, and she came to take care of me. She's started kissing, if you can call it that. She either licks you or tries to give you a hickie (sp?). Both are very sweet. So she would curl up on top of me and give me kisses, or pet my nose, or laugh, or use me for a jungle gym, or just be still. It was lovely and made me happy to be a mother.

Hot Baby!

Notice how happy Mommy and Gracie are in this picture? That's how our week started out. Monday, Gracen got to play with a few babies in childcare at the gym. Tuesday, we started our Signing Smart classes with babies Ty and Annabeth. Wednesday, we had a playdate with Vincent, Gracie's boyfriend. And Wednesday night, the world fell apart. She was attacked by a vicious fever (101.84 degrees). We took her to the pediatrician, where they said the ears are clear, the lungs are perfect, and that this was either teething or a virus. The virus won, though the teething issue just adds fuel to the fire. By yesterday morning, her fever was 103.5. And let me just say, this child plays "sick, pitiful baby" beautifully! She has slept the last two nights on top of me, with me sitting up so that she can breathe. It is probably unnecessary for me to add that I have not slept for the last two nights, or at least not well and for longer than 45 minutes stretches. She also realized that she naps better while being held in the glider. And while I think she's actually feeling a bit better now, she kind of likes the extra attention and is not wanting to go back to the way the world used to work.

We've also made good friends with saline spray and the booger bulb. Gracen hates both. And now that she's strong and mobile and independent, she firmly believes that she does not have to hold still as her daddy and I tell her to. She growled at me earlier, yes growled, and smacked my hand out of the way. She's so funny, even when she's sick.

Minus our ailments, life is going great. Gracen is learning so much everyday. She can now walk around the furniture by holding on and stood on her own for 4 whole seconds this morning. I'm not quite ready for walking, so I'm hoping for a couple more months of crawling. Must run--I need to go capture some boogies...

mullet, be gone...poof...

and it was so.

this: minusequals...

That's right people. I did it. I cut the hair of this beautiful child--FOUR months early! Really, we just couldn't take it anymore. The length collected knots, which collected bananas, which collected Athena hair, which collected Harley hair, which collected cereal--a vicious cycle. And I might also add that babies don't keep their heads still, ever. I have no illusions of grandeur for my skills at hair care, and I do recognize that what has been done to my child was not necessarily done well. Still, I find the new look charming, a bit sophisticado. When I am in the presence of one who can truly work with hair, I do plan to have a little "help"--I'm not so good with straight lines. Fortunately, Gracen hasn't learned what lines are yet, so we're good for a while longer.

I want to wish Ghi-ghi (aka: Mama, Judi, Jude, Judster, Gaga2, BestMamaEver) a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Sadly, we weren't able to get to Weaverville this weekend, but will soon. Gracie's needing some of her grandmother's love! We love you and miss you, and so sorry we aren't there...

and thank you for having me, so that we can have her.





I wish I had remembered the camera today, but forgot. I do that a lot these days. We took Gracen on her first hike by Jordan Lake. We waited ALL morning for her to get her first nap in so we could leave. We're apparently on Nap Strike again, so just headed out sans sleep. She was awake for the first mile or so (in the backpack that we all LOVE, LOVE, LOVE) and then crashed hard for the last couple. I was following Adam and she, as my legs are a good foot shorter and unbelievably slower than my big guy. It looked like a bobblehead doll (a mulleted one at that) riding behind him. And then it rained, but still she slept, and it was a perfect day.

~BFF~

I would like to apologize to Athena, who is not pictured. She is also a BFF, but she was sleeping during photo shoot. Sorry pup; wake up!

P.S. Blogger formatting is doing very odd things today, and depending on the computer I'm using the oddities change. Just know that the "draft" version of this post is all very professional and beautifully laid out:)

Gerber-Model-In-Training

Before you go running off to Kodak, SmugMug, Target, etc., let me first warn you about copyright laws. You are NOT allowed to illegally copy these. JC Penny will hunt you down. If you are interested in the "official" copies, let me know, and I'll email them out to you. Hope you're having a fabulous day!!

Cheerios vs. New Year's

Adam. My husband. Gracen's daddy. Our HERO!!

Today was an interesting day. That's probably the wrong adjective, but I'm not sure what would best describe this day. Gracen woke up, happy as ever. I did not, as I had partaken of too much "festivity" last night at our New Year's gathering. Anyway, when I woke at noon, I was recovered and ready to be a parent again. Shortly thereafter, Gracen started choking. And I don't mean the choked up, coughing, sputtering kind of choking. I mean the honest to goodness face red, no breathing, monsoon salivation, panic stricken CHOKING! We think it was a cheerio gone terribly wrong. Anyway, Adam (recently first aid certified) very calmly grabbed the lil'un and started giving her the Heimlich. After what seemed like minutes (probably a few seconds), she started coughing and crying. She was back to her joyful self in no time, though Mama and Daddy were traumatized for much of the day. Okay, perhaps I was the only one truly traumatized by the event. I'll be taking some first aid training myself this month! So any parent or soon-to-be parent or maybe-eventually-to-be parent out there, go and learn ya some good life saving skills.

We are eating a mango for the first time in our self-feeder. She can't believe mama would give her something so amazing!

These photos are taken post-choking incident, so she's obviously not harmed. She loves to have her picture made. Speaking of, when Mama (Ghi-ghi) came to visit this week, we took Gracie to her FIRST professional photo shoot at JC Penny. We were so proud. She posed like crazy for the photographer, who said she was, by far, the best subject she'd had that day. I'm supposed to be getting the pictures emailed to me soon, so any Gracen fans can purchase some "official" pictures. I'm sorry it has taken me 7 1/2 months to do this.

Also, I need some advice. For those of you who have either seen Gracen up close or in my camerahappiness, you may have noticed that she has what one might refer to as a mullet (aka: business in the front, party in the rear). She came into this world with a full head of hair, which I fully expected after ingesting cases of TUMS whilst pregnant. And as this mop continues to grow, it seems to only really grow in the back. So here we are at an awkward stage. From the middle back of her head down, the hair is about 4 inches, perhaps longer. The two inches above this is what was once the bald spot, which is slowly growing back with fabulously wiry hair. An inch above that is a wave of hair that gently bows over the old baldie in a nice comb-over. The rest is about 3 inches, which gets in her eyes, but relatively controlled. The question is this: should I just cut it already? I've heard not to do so until one year, but those people were not having to deal with what I'm dealing with. I have no control. I fear it's hopeless until we add on a few more months.

Happy New Year!!