Ten Months, Not-So-Itsy-Bitsy

Our baby girl is 10 months old today. As much as we celebrate every milestone she has been hitting lately, we know how very fast she will start to look and behave like a toddler. How sad :( Babyhood goes by so fast! Only eight weeks left of nursing, and walking is just around the corner...and maybe potty training? Not likely, but maybe.

On a whim the other day, I saw the cues on her face that she was going to poop, so I took her into the bathroom and sat her down. Within a few minutes she did her business. (*And here is where some of you will want to stop reading because (1) you're grossed out by poop of any kind, including baby or (2) you're going to judge me as a bad mom or just plain gross for posting this. BUT I like to keep the memories of my kids all in one place.) So here is Macy's first time on the potty in all of her cuteness! November 28th, just a week shy of 10 months.




And here is Macy's 1st MAN TURD! Good, Lord, what have we been feeding this girl???

A video clip of the deed in action to prove Jamie didn't do this:

And, yes, I'm sitting on the floor in a dress. Where was I going wearing a dress??? I can't even remember :/ Hope it was fun. Since then, as of writing this, Macy has pooped three times and peed twice in the potty. Again, not training, just watching her cues.

About 30 minutes after the potty escapade, Macy took her first step....singular, step. Then she took another step a few minutes later. Then another. As of today, she has yet to take more than one, but maybe by Christmas. You can never really predict these kinds of things. Who would have guessed it would take her 10 months to get her first tooth.

Speaking of which, Macy now has TWO half teeth sticking up from her bottom gums. Did I mention we get to wean her in eight weeks? :) Like razors, I tell ya! They're coming in rather slow, but you never know, she could get the top two before Christmas. Again, who can predict this stuff?

A few days after her first potty experience and first steps and first teeth coming in, Macy had her nine month check-up with Dr. Fam. As we suspected, her weight has most certainly slowed lately. We used to have to pull her rolls apart, when we cleaned her. Now, she only has 1/2 of a roll on one leg :( At any rate, here are her latest stats:

Weight: 17.1 lbs. (20th percentile)
Length: 27 1/2" (45th percentile)
Head circumference: 17 1/4 (50th percentile)

The funny thing is, she LOVES to eat, but only table food. She has never liked baby food or cereal, so it has proven a challenge to feed her, since she has also been so late getting teeth. Right now, her favorites are smoothies (made with organic berries, mango, yogurt, tofu and spinach (for iron, since she won't eat cereal), Annie's brand organic mac n' cheese, organic oats, organic American cheese, frozen organic broccoli (LOVES this!), and this morning I made her an egg yolk and spinach omelette. She also eats any other fruit or veggie that she can pick up with her fingers. She almost always turns her head or cries, when we try to feed her from a spoon. I'm telling you, it's a challenge sometimes to think of things to give her. We pretty much repeat the cycle every few days, and will until she gets enough teeth to eat more toddler-friendly food.

Macy doesn't like to watch videos much at all. The only time she even turns toward the TV is when she hears music, but even then she mainly just bounces up and down and keeps playing. Her notorious move is sitting on her knees and bobbing her head or bouncing her little butt. Jadon NEVER danced, unfortunately...he still doesn't. It is way too cute to have such a tiny baby dancing around the house all of the time :)

As for toys, Macy mainly just likes airplanes and cars. She does like the pop-up ball thing that was Jadon's (one of his favorites too), and pretty much anything Jadon likes. She is not into baby dolls just yet, and really I can't imagine that will happen anytime soon, but I could be wrong.

She is FUNNY with a capital F! She loves to imitate noises and laughs at all things silly. She likes watching Elijah through the sliding glass door, seeing her Gramma and Grandpa, and smiles from ear to ear, when she sees Jadon first thing in the morning. She gets excited about everything, kicking her feet and smiling with her tongue out 85% of the day. She loves life! Jamie and I always quote the movie "Elf" and say she "loves smiling...it's her favorite thing!" Oh, yes, and she LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to do the motions, while I sing "Itsy, Bitsy Spider." I really need to get video of this. She will do it on cue anytime we want right now :)

For those of you who think I may sit around and FB or blog all day, FYI: This entry has taken me FOUR HOURS to write, so I'm fairly drained. We've had 1/2 of a naptime, playtime, dinner, cleaned up the living room, and bathtime...and I'm still not done!?!

I just remembered that I forgot to mention the fact that we opted NOT to get Macy's Hep B vaccine. Ummm...WHY didn't I do more research BEFORE??? I have no idea why I trust that my kids need vaccines that Jamie and I never had...things that my kids really won't be exposed to. Okay, I'm not going to get on this soapbox now (I'm trying to wrap this up now, remember?). Plain and simple: (1) Jamie and I have never been IV drug-users, nor had multiple sex partners, so we would not have passed Hep B onto Macy; (2) Macy is not going to even potentially be an IV drug user or be sexually active (ummm...EVER!), for many years; (3) 60% of Hep B vaccine recipients are no longer immune after 12 years. So why would I, why DID I expose my kids to a potentially dangerous (hello, Mercury!) injection to prevent them from getting an illness that is similar to AIDS? Well, when I explained my reasons for opting out this time, Dr. Fam said, and I quote, "Those are all very good points. I can't argue with that." Enough said. Let's just hope I can get over the Mommy guilt I have for exposing Jadon to so many unnecessary vaccines and Macy to the few she has already had :( Hindsight...man!

Atta Girl

Needless to say, Macy had an early bath today...and so did Daddy ;) If you click to enlarge the pic, check out Jamie's hand. Ewww!


After Jamie called for help, I quickly ran for my camera, and he said, "We don't have time for that!" There's always time for a quick pic, my sweet James. We're makin' memories here :)

Mr. Independent

A few weeks ago, I was in the kitchen, while Jadon was playing in the living room. I didn't hear a peep for a few minutes, so I yelled for him, and he came running around the corner, underwear in hand. I knew he had gone into the other room for a minute, but could he? No...he couldn't have. Oh, yes he did! (Obviously this is a reinactment. In the original version, I picture a more ornery look on his face.)

He pottied ALL BY HIMSELF! Jadon has used the big potty, since Macy was born. He used to sit on the potty facing forward, but ever since Uncle Allen showed him how to potty facing the wall in July, he now always asks to "pee like Uncle Allen." It worked great because now he can do it all by himself :)

Poor Daddy: Poop Story #802

I swear to you that I am the one holding Macy a majority of the time, but somehow she's ready to blow, whenever Jamie has her for more than 10 minutes. This time, while he was getting ready to eat dinner. Poor guy. Look out, Daddy, I have a feeling she's gearing up for a big one on Father's Day :/

At least he's learning to laugh about it, right?

What. A. Mess!

Up the belly, down the leg!

All over the Baby Bjorn

Still smiling. Just as happy as a lark :)

So beautiful, even when she's covered in poo. How we love this girl!

The Ultimate Poop Story (#742)

Hands down, the most memorable part of our trip to Charleston on Tuesday happened at Battery Park. We planned to make just one last stop in the city to get some pics, before we headed home. About five minutes after we got there, Jadon started saying he had to potty. Even though we always keep a pull-up on him, when we go out, he never wants to use it.

Since he is a boy, Mommy had the bright idea to strip him down right in the park. I mean, there was NOWHERE to potty, except behind a tree. Well, he wasn't having it! He started crying and saying "potty" over and over. At the same time, our cell phone started ringing (it was my mom). I'm squatting down, trying my best to console him and tell him it's okay to go ahead and potty. Mackenzie is standing there, thinking Lord knows what. All of the sudden, I hear Jamie tell my mom, "Oh my gosh! Jadon just pooped in the park." THEN, and only then, do I realize the kid just dropped a turd right by my feet...while he was STANDING UP!!! Oh. My. Goodness! Really???

Mind you, it is 90* + 100% humidity. Our 4 month old is so hot and sweaty, we had to strip her down to her diaper. We're ALL hot and sweaty! There is a family of four sitting on a nearby bench watching all of this unfold!!! There is a TURD by my feet for the SECOND time this month!?! And my 2 yr. old is standing in a city park wearing nothing but a shirt!?!

But then, the coolest thing ever happened...I heard a marching band playing, saw a high school dance line doing kicks like the Rockettes, a podium with a mic attached was placed in front of me, a sache was lifted over my head and placed across my chest, a crowd of at least 400 gathered, and the mayor of Motherhood handed me a shiny trophy in the shape of a baby bottle and a certificate to officially welcome me to motherhood :) Yes, ladies and gents, I have officially arrived. You never truly know motherhood, until your kid drops a turd in a park...like a dog.

Turd between legs:

Confused and waiting for Daddy to get back with the wipes:

Potentially scarred...wondering if dogs and humans are the same:

Daddy scooped the poo. Belle was nakey and smiling :)

Fresh(?) and clean and ready to go:

"What's that dog over there doing?"

After we left the park, we got caught in horrific traffic on the bridge for about 45 min. Once we got to Mt. Pleasant, we had to check on a pair of shoes at the Towne Center. After 10 minutes in the store, I look down at Jadon and he's standing on his tippy toes and says, "Potty." OMGsh!!! Again??? The restroom door is locked, so the girl had to get a key and run ahead of us. Man! Jadon had a little accident in the pull-up, then filled the toilet(???)...again??? Really!?! Geesh!

Icing on the cake...only a teeny bit of toilet paper and NO paper towels! Nice, I know. Can I tell you how much I love pottying in public? So we made the best of it, put his shorts back on sans pull-up (clearly) and headed back out to find the rest of our posse who had no idea we had even disappeared. I'm sooo ready to get on the road for home by this time (though, again, the kids were awesome all day...really). Just before we got into the truck, Jadon was standing on the sidewalk, and since he didn't have the bulk from his pull-up, his shorts fell down to his knees, exposing his butt to the world for the SECOND time that day! Time to go home...we were pooped!

Competition: Poop Story #457

You may have read about Macy pooping on her daddy last week. Well, you would not believe the mess she made all over Jamie at the mall(!!!) on Monday. Oh my! Poor Daddy :/ His shirt was COVERED with about 10 mustard-looking spots. He says, "I'm going to have to put a change of clothes for me in their diaper bag!" Welcome to parenthood, huh?

So he went into the bathroom at Books-A-Million with Macy and the stroller to get them both cleaned up, while I watched Jadon play with Thomas the Train. Fair tradeoff I think ;) It's worth noting that we went to Target afterwards. Yes, my husband went into a store with poop all over his shirt. Gross? Yes. Hilarious? Totally! He thought the shopping cart covered it...he was soooo wrong. Ewww!

Not to be outdone, our now two-year-old decided it was his turn. Unfortunately for me, Jamie wasn't home at the time :/ Jadon told me he had to potty the morning of his b-day, but had a look of "uh-oh, I think it's a little late" on his face. It was. He had already started to poop, so I tried my best to get his underwear down, without making a mess. Not so much luck :/ Ewww! Gross! Can I just say that, as soon as he hit two, his poop started to STINK with a capital S-T-I-N-K! Man!

So the said poop fell out of his underwear and onto the floor. GROSS! Mind you, I have a three-month-old who was sleeping, but was now awake and crying because she had been so quickly placed on the floor (because she'll roll off of the couch), while I ran Jadon to the potty.

Now I have one crying baby, one turd on my bathroom floor, poopie underwear in my bathtub, and a toddler saying, "Jaynon pooped in udderdayer! No, no! Poop in potty, Jaynon!" Ayeayeaye!

Ten minutes later, all was somewhat back to normal, minus the poopie underwear in the bathtub, which would have to wait, until Daddy returned from his lunch with a guy from church. SOOOO not fair! ;) Okay, so about 45 minutes later, I'm playing in the floor with Jadon, while holding Macy, and I look at my foot and see this:

OH. MY. GOODNESS!!! Yuck! Are you kidding me??? 45 minutes later??? Disgusting! Can I just say how much I love being a mom? No, really I do...some moments better than others ;) Big, fat EWWW!

Poop Story #355

Everytime Jadon poops, he looks down into the potty and proudly says, "That's a big poop!" Then he flushes the toilet and says, "Bye, poopie!"

He's proud of his accomplishments :)