Feel the burn

This morning Taylor and I met up with Chele, Paige & Elliot and LeAnn & Rell for a wonderfully long walk. We have all been committing ourselves to this stroller-club twice a week for the past two months, and as hard as it is to leave the house some mornings, I have enjoyed every second of our walks. Even the hills. And whether it be that I’m now in my 30s or that I’m always within an arm’s reach of peanut butter, my last 10 baby-pounds have been extremely hard to shake. So not only are our bi-weekly adventures good for the soul, they are also good for diminishing the muffin-top reaction between me and my jeans.

Taylor seems to really enjoy the walks as well. I know she’ll have more fun once she’s stable enough for a real stroller, but for now she’s stuck watching me huff-and-puff my way up the hills. It would be interesting to know what she, Elliot and Rell think of stroller-club. Hopefully all of the gossip, sweat and tears won’t do any permanent damage.

Our ten-year plan

Taylor is transitioning into Ruby’s daily routine of napping, eating, playing. Napping, eating, playing. It’s wonderful. It has allowed me to map out my days in order to start doing some work from home - Thank you, Kimmel! I’m now able to devote a few hours each day to using my brain for other things than folding burp-clothes and watching TLC.

Play-time is becoming more and more fun with the munchkin because she’s smiling, giggling and interacting with us. The cuteness is almost too much to handle at times. It’s also a big ego boost for Chris and I because she thinks we’re hilarious. She smiles so big that sometimes we stop and think, Hey, let’s quit our jobs. Pack-up and tour the country as stand-up comedians. If SHE thinks we’re this funny, we’ve definitely got something going on.

Whooped

The annual CCA Member-Guest tournament was this weekend, which meant that Chris logged roughly 40-hours in three days at the Club. When he got home from work today, he eagerly grabbed Taylor and I eagerly took a baby-break. And after my much needed shower, I found the two of them curled up on the couch. I couldn’t find a good place to squeeze in and join them, so I snapped a picture and then read a magazine from front to back. Ah, Sundays.

Welcome to the jungle

Not only did Taylor get spoiled with hugs and kisses while her Grandma and Grandpa were in town, she also got a bunch of toys. Here she is in her new kiddie-gym thing that only took Chris 15 minutes to put together. We now realize that every holiday and birthday from here out will require an assortment of batteries and a bit of patience.

The reason I’m typing with one hand

We were lucky to have Chris’s parents visit us from Texas this weekend. Taylor had a lot of fun with her Grandma and Grandpa and, needless to say, they were thrilled with her. The last time they were here she was under the bili-lights trying to kick the jaundice out of her system, and was unable to be held or hugged except to eat. Well, I would say that her Grandma made up for any lost cuddle-time, as Taylor was held for about 38 of the 48 hours they were here. So today I’ve had her snuggled up in her fuzzy blanket and attached to me for the majority of the day, not wanting to unhinge her. It has been lovely in that she’s such a nuzzler, but it does makes it difficult to do normal things like eat and brush my teeth.

Taylor was an absolute dream while Greg and Sue were here. We went to church, out to eat and passed through the whole weekend without any major come-aparts. She was very generous with the smiles, and every time she would giggle at them you could actually see their hearts melting.

Yea for dads

A very happy first-ever Father’s Day to Chris. I always knew you would be a fantastic dad, and you already exceeded all expectations in the mere two-months you’ve held the title. It’s no surprise, you learned it all from your Dad.

Also sending lots of love to my Dad today. Thanks for loving, supporting, guiding and tolerating me for the past 30 years… I know those teenage years were hot-cold. And I promise to call you the day Taylor throws a temper-tantrum because her hair won’t “go” so you can laugh and tell me, See. See how ridiculous that was.

Here we are now, entertain us

A few nights ago, while we were TRYING to eat dinner, Chris plucked a crying Taylor out of her swing and placed her next to him in the bouncy-chair. The big difference between the swing and the chair is an attachment-piece of rattles and plastic thingamabobs. Taylor loved them up, staring at the toys, giggling and cooing each time Chris flicked the rattle and bounced the chair. After inhaling the rest of our vegan entrée - I’ll explain that another time - we decided that the swing was out, the bouncy chair is the latest and greatest. Our little newborn that had once been content just staring at the mobile, is now a two-month old baby that needs a little more entertainment.

So now, as a warning to any guests that grace the Amys house, we will be in a constant flurry of rattling, singing, dancing and making extremely strange squealing noises that our daughter seems to think are hilarious. It has been almost a week and the bouncy seat is still number one, and every time I flip the rattle-man around the bar, her eyes get huge and she looks at him like, Dance, rattle-man, dance.

Two months old

Taylor is two months old today, and, Wow, last month went by fast. She was just this itty-bitty newborn a few weeks ago, and now she’s a baby. It dawned on us how big she’s gotten when we saw a two-day old baby at the pediatrician's, and Taylor looked like a giant next to her. As I reported earlier, Taylor’s grown a whopping four pounds, nine ounces, and almost four inches in two months. She’s a plump, happy baby, with a good round belly and thunder thighs. Her once dark eyes are now blue and that little bit of hair she’s holding onto is lightening up. She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and we are dreading the day she is old enough to tell us to stop kissing her cheeks.

Some milestones from the past month: She’s holding her head up. She’s sleeping in longer shifts - YEA! - and is now in her crib. She hasn’t rolled over, but scootches up and down like an inch-worm. She grabs at things. She’s cooing more, almost giggling, and is producing other ear-pleasing sounds than her previous grunts and squeals. And, our favorite, she smiles at us. And after a long day of work for Chris, mothering for me, not a great night’s sleep, crying, cooking and other chaos, all she has to do is crack one big smile and Chris and I will look at each other and say, This is SO worth it!

A sad goodbye

My family got Otis when I was a sophomore in college. Mom called one spring weekend and said that Libba and Will picked-up a black lab puppy in Schaller. When I met him that summer, I concluded that he was part lab, part Shetland pony - Otis was a giant.

Otis was a great dog, and after 11 years of taking care of the Young family and farm he was laid to rest yesterday afternoon. I only had the fortune of spending one summer and the occasional trip-home with him, but every time I would drive up the lane he would greet me with excitement and a look in his eyes that said, Hello, old friend. Welcome home. He was very special to us, and I have to echo my sister in saying, Boy, will I miss that dog.

Our giant baby

Taylor had her two-month check-up today, concluding the guess-her-weight game Chris and I have been playing for the past week. I said ten pounds, Chris said 15. She split us with a hefty 12 pounds, nine ounces. She also grew three inches and is now 23 ¼ inches long. And as Dr Childers looked her over, I just stared at her big belly and chubby legs and realized that my little girl is not so little anymore. And any doubts I had of whether I was feeding her enough went right out the window. I have produced a giant baby.

The doctor said she checked-out great. 100% healthy and right where she should be for a two-month old. Taylor was a dream during the exam, smiling and cooing while he poked and prodded. Then came in the nurse with her vaccinations. She got three shots, and when the first needle poked her, Taylor screamed and her head got as red as a ripe tomato and tears came rolling out of her eyes. Heartbreaking.

When we got home she received her first-ever dose of infant Tylenol, to which she sucked the dropper clean to get every last taste of the cherry flavoring. The doctor told us she was going to be tired and cranky for the rest of the day, so I tried to get a few pictures of her early. I begged for a big smile, but she was all, You try smiling after getting poked with needles. Not to mention these band-aids don’t even match my outfit. Get that camera outta my face.

A good night’s sleep

Our little Taylor-cakes graduated from the bassinet to her crib this past week. We are blessed with a good-sleeping baby who has been consistently sleeping in longer shifts, so we packed up her sleep positioner, quilt and pacifiers and moved them two doors down to the nursery. The first night was tough for me, to which I spent a good half-hour staring at the video monitor making sure she wasn’t choking or suffocating. I’m slowly weaning myself to where I keep the video screen off and just listen to her grunt and squeal herself to sleep.

Discounting my neurotic-ness, the bedroom to nursery transition has gone very well. When she was right next to the bed, I would wake up whenever she breathed funny. And then, since I was up, would change her and feed her. Now I don’t wake up until she cries, and since that is now every four to six hours, everyone is getting a lot more sleep. We’re crossing our fingers that she’ll be sleeping through the night soon. And at the rate we’re progressing, and the fact that she falls asleep listening to Baby Einstein, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think she’ll be able to serve us breakfast in bed before too long.