A Day Off?

We were up every two hours with Alexis last night.  She is on a nursing strike, probably because of teething issues.  It's not fun.

These are the days I think of 101 ways to move back to the East Coast.  Where it is sunny and there is family.

My Chief Executive Officer told me I could have the day off.  I asked if he was staying home to do my job.  He quickly answered with a "no".  My reply:  "There is no day off then!"  However, I am taking off from all duties not related to Alexis.
I am thankful to be a stay at home mommy.  I can't imagine how working mom's stay up all night and work the next day.

This morning I made a shutterfly birth book for Alexis.  It's my first of hopefully many.  Alexis will love having her very own book.  I created it in simple language so that in a few years she will be able to read it for herself.

Today the Joy of the Lord and a touch of caffeine will be my strength.     

Birth Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

It's Official

Well, sort of.  For the past five Sunday's we've been taking the RISKS class at church.  Yesterday we finished the class and had an interview with one of the Elders to become members of the church. Our name has to go before a board before it's official.  I like the church a lot.  I've heard the pastor say they don't allow perfect people there.  Good thing, cause we're far from it.

The weekend was productive and fun all at the same time!  Our taxes are complete...that's a relief.  Especially because it turned out to be a better situation than we thought.  We'll be buying a furnace and air compressor for our town home with the refund.  This year Josh did our taxes, which saved us $130.  I'm pretty sure it will never happen again.  Too much of a time commitment.  Some things are worth the cost.

We spent Saturday night with our friends Carrie and Seth.  Carrie was introduced to me by Nurse Carol.  We have a lot in common.  It's great that our husbands get along.  Seth is a computer geek like Josh.  They have tons of boring stuff to talk about.  While we were at their house the Duke/Carolina game was on.  Duke lost. Josh didn't have a meltdown.  Progress.

Sunday is our day of rest.  The second half anyway.  It was spent playing with Alexis, taking naps, and watching the movie Megamind.  I bought curtains at Lowe's.  Josh played basketball at the Y.  A good day.  Can't wait til Saturday when the curtains go up!

Drama

We had some yesterday.  It began thirty minutes before Lexie's six month check up.  I put her in the center of the bed while I was in the bathroom.  She began fussing.  I knew she didn't need my immediate attention.  Next thing I hear is two thuds.  Rushing out of the bathroom I found her on the floor face down.  She cried strongly for five minutes or so then wanted to nurse.  I underestimate her ability to get around.  Lesson learned.

Next came the appointment.  FOUR shots at this one! That included the flu shot.  I had no idea flu season lasted until June.  We talked to our Doc about the fall.  He says-  I'm 99.9% sure she's okay.  You need to watch her very carefully over the next 48 hours.  Make sure she's not confused or lethargic.  Wake her up 2 times per night. Keep an eye on her behavior for the next 2 weeks.  WHAT?!??!?  2 WEEKS!!!  Yes, a concussion can show up two weeks later.

Before the appt.

Daddy comforts me

Sippy Cup

Alexis is trying to get the hang of the sippy cup.  She doesn't quite get it.  Mostly, she chews on it.  We she manages to get the water she spits it out.  We'll keep trying!

Chicken Pot Pie

  A success.  Next time I'll use less bread and fresh vegetables.

Mom!  I said I'm ALL DONE!

Please laugh with us...

We went to Becky and Andrew's house for bible study this week.  They just had their floors redone.  They're beautiful and super slick.  You see where this is going?  Yep, Josh fell down the stairs.  His toe went through their wall.  We laughed the whole way home.  I wish I had a picture to share.

Target $.81

Alexis on her half B-day

Sitting next to Mommy while we get the oil changed

I like to put these feet in my mouth

Playing on Mom and Dad's bed before a bath

Those were some pictures of all the fun we've had this week!  Alexis is more enjoyable with each day that passes, seriously, she is.  I'm finally to the point where I can't imagine life without her. 

Last night we were at the YMCA.  I went on a quick run, outside :) while Josh worked out- weights.

Alexis loves her other baby friends at the Y.  My run only took 25 minutes and Josh had some more lifting to do.  I decided to spend some time with Alexis in the childcare area to get more of a feel for it.  When I went in Alexis was sitting up next to an 11 month girl and was just chatting away to her.  Cute!  It's nice to know that (for now) our girly girl is okay without us for a short time.

Today Josh will leave work early for Lexie's six month appointment.  I do not do shot appointments on my own!  When it comes time for the shots, I step out of the room and shove my fingers in my ears til it's over.  I promise, when Alexis is old enough to understand what's happening, I'll get over this and be strong for her. 

We have a glitch in the couponing.  First of all, Maxwell House Coffee is disgusting.  I bought it with a coupon, but even at five bucks it's awful.  Second, there are many coupons related to processed foods.  I'm gonna have to stop stocking up on those products.  Josh took his blood pressure last night and it was 149/96.  That's bad, really bad for his age (28).  I'm going to begin cooking with natural foods tonight.  It'll be chicken pot pie tonight.  Gross.  I'm not a big fan of southern food (Paula Deen gets on my last nerve) BUT I have all the ingredients in the house and hopefully it's low enough in sodium content for a main meal(about 700mg per serving).  Maybe I will change my mind about the dish.  

Another day at the Rizzer house

It is 10 am and so far Alexis and I have been very productive.  The grocery shopping is done, the mail has been mailed, dinner is cooking in the crockpot, the kitchen is clean, the sheets have been changed, the laundry is washing, and Alexis is putting herself to sleep.  The bad news is I don't look pretty.


This is not the norm at our house.  Normally by this time I am trying to drag us out of the house to begin whatever we have planned on the list.


The reason for this productive day is a phone call I received from ADT at 6:15 am.  They have our phone number mixed up with our tenants number and apparently the security alarm was going off.  Hope it was nothing serious, I will call her later today to check.


Today may inspire me to get up early everyday.  Then again, maybe not.  I kinda like staying in bed until the seven o'clock hour.


Getting back to the subject of Alexis putting herself to sleep.  I have decided that it's time to begin the process of ditching the paci.  She's not really attached to it anyway and prefers to scream herself to sleep.  I don't want her to rely on it much longer because I don't want to encourage the attachment.  As a newborn she needed it, I don't think she does anymore.  We only use it to put her back to sleep or when we're out and want her to be quiet.  Seems easy enough...I'll let ya know how it goes.


Here's another quote from the Mem Fox book on reading:
Page 17-
"...experts tell us that children need o hear a thousand stories read aloud before they begin to learn to read for themselves.  A thousand!  That sounds daunting.  But when we do the sums, it isn't as bad as we might think.  Three stories a day will deliver us a thousand stories in one year alone, let alone in the four or five years prior to school.  The ideal three stories a day are one favorite, one familiar, and one new, but the same book three times is also fine."


The objectives for Alexis today:
2 long and peaceful naps
Practice sitting up in three-five minute increments 
20 minutes of tummy time 
Read three books
Be kind to the ladies at the YMCA


Any other ideas for what a six month old could work on are appreciated.


One More Thing...
Happy Birthday to our good friend, Evelynn, who is one year old today.  We can't wait to celebrate with you next weekend!

Birthdays

We're celebrating Lexie's very first half birthday today.  She is such a big girl.  I think it's safe to say that she's grown out of the crying stage and has become one of the happiest babies I know.   We'll go to the doctor on Friday for a six month well check.  I'm guessing she's 16 pounds 2 ounces and 26 1/2 inches long.  

Mothering is much more fun now.  My favorite part  is the teaching and training.  The focus now is on signing.  We sign ALL day long.  For five months I have been doing this, yes, even before Alexis could even see my hands!  Here are the ones we're working on:

up

mommy

daddy

book

yes

eat

more

all done

banana

bath

change

sleep

While working in the school system I came across many parents who thought their children were much more advanced then they were.  Don't we all know people like that?  It drove me crazy.  I mean, these people would swear up and down that the kid would read 30 pages out of the dictionary every night, but when it came to school...the same kiddo couldn't even read the word d-o-g!

I am making an effort to be very, very cautious about saying Aleixs is soooo smart, and sooo ahead of herself.  Basically, I'd just like to live in reality.  

The past couple of nights I've been feeding Alexis on my own.  I noticed her doing this thing with her right hand and just blew it off.  Then, last night Josh was at the table while she was eating.  He saw the same motion-the one that means "all done".  She was trying to tell me something!  That was a great moment.  I should give her more credit, for sure!

Not only is it Lexie's half B-day, but it is also Dr.  Seuss' 107th birthday!!  How fun is that!  Dr. Seuss make me think of reading.  And when I think about reading, Mem Fox comes to mind.  I am reading her book Reading Magic for the fourth time.   It's all about how reading aloud to our Children will change their lives forever.  She inspires me to be a better "read-a-louder"  Here's a quote from page 15:

"Reading aloud to children early in life rapidly develops their speaking skills.  They don't lean to talk-they can't learn to talk- unless they're spoken to, which is why psychologist and speech pathologists tell us we need to have loving, laughing, deep-and-meaningful conversations with our kids long before they turn three.  These conversations have also been linked positively to IQ development.  The more we talk to our kids, the brighter they'll be.  Read-aloud sessions are the perfect times for engaging in these sorts of conversations because the reader and the listener can chat endlessly about the story, the pictures, the words, the values, and the ideas."

We will celebrate these birthday's with a dinner from Chipotle.  And...we're using a coupon! You can get one too.  

Just watch this 1:30minute video:

http://apps.facebook.com/videocoupon/

Eating  Green Beans

Waking up happy from a 2hr. nap

Lighting the grill for the first time in 2011