Blog Slacker

I know I have totally slacked on writing these blogs...blame it on Facebook. Wow - has the last post been in Feb??? Well alot has happened in the past few months ... some have tried my strength - but mostly all good stuff.

Shaelynn has grown some much in the last few months. So far she is really one of the best babies. Sometimes I look at her and think I must have done something good to have been entrusted with such a great little person. She is usually happy and smiling at everyone and everything. But she has been teething for some time now and gets unhappy when her mouth is really bothering her.

Now that the weather has gotten warmer, we have done some of her firsts: first trip to the zoo - she loves the penguins; first trip to the park - the large geese fascinate her along with the seagulls; first bare feet in the grass - the look on her face said it all; first party - she was the center of attention; first festival - she enjoyed Living Traditions dancers.

She has become more vocal as the days go on. Her favorite thing is to stick her tongue out and make a sounds to go with it. She likes to copy as well so we spend many days just babbling at each other. She is learning to clap so patty cake has become one of her favorite things to do. And she wants to try everything everyone eats ... sometimes she stares at you while you are eating and slowly her mouth goes open and her head moves slightly toward you - the look is like a starving child. With a look like that how could I not let her try? She does like her veggies especially sweet potatoes and corn. However, she does like refried beans, guacamole, and sherbert. Oh and today she tried lo mein and really liked that as well.

Now Liana is excited to be done with 7th grade and is especially happy that she doesn't have to perform in band anymore. However my dear one has become ambitious for next year and decided to take Spanish and Chinese ... I am excited to learn the Chinese along with her. This summer she will finally get to see where her mom grew up and went to school. She will also have a chance to meet family she has never met before. And to top it all off, she will get to play tourist in NYC. Yes after 20 yrs I am finally going home for 2 weeks and taking the girls with me to see everyone. Needless to say my soon to be 13 year old has many plans of where to go and what to see.

And last but not least, I am almost done with this economics class and then I move on to an accounting class ... talk about torturing me!!!! And since I didn't think I was busy enough with school, work, family, and house hunting, I have been helping to organize my HS class first reunion of sorts. It's been 20 years or more since I graduated and there has not been a reunion organized ever. So I am helping to put one together as alot of people from my class still live in NY or NJ (close enough). I am excited and nervous as it is all happening at once.

Well this is a small summary of what's been happening the last few months. And one last thing ... Shaelynn loves watching Real with me - thank goodness for channel 2.2 - Go Real!!!

4 Months

So Shaelynn went for her 4 month doc appt - it was measurement and immunization time. I am pleased to say she is 22 inches long and 14 lbs - she has gained 4 lbs and grown 2 inches since her last appt 2 months ago. She was a happy girl during the doc visit. She smiled for him - and drooled on him. Overall the visit was good ... then it was time for the shots and boy was she mad with me after that.

On Tuesday, she grabbed her rattle on her own and also put her binky in her mouth. I know it may not be a big deal but it shows how much she is growing up. As you can see by her picture from the last post, she can lift herself up on her arms and now I am just waiting for her to roll over on her own. She has been eyeing our food as we eat and when we motion food toward her, she opens her mouth. So I bought rice cereal and she spit out more than she kept in. It was fun to try to help her try.

This weekend she gets her ears pierced - here comes the tylenol once again.

It's Already February????

Wow!!!! Where did the time go??? I have been working overtime all last month in addition to school and home life I guess time figured if I wasn't paying attention then it could run away. Well while time was flying off some things were happening.

I decided it was time to join a gym - like I don't have enough to do. But when the baby spit up on me on my way to work and I couldn't change them because of not having another pair to wear that were comfortable I decided enough is enough. My choice was to either surrender and buy new clothes or do something to bring back my pre-pregnant clothes. So I saw an ad for a ladies-only gym in the monthly circular which was about $20/month with free childcare, free personal trainer and free workout classes, I thought I should give them a try.

Well I liked what I saw and signed up. I am now the official owner of a gym membership for the next 3 years. But I have access to classes like Zumba and Bootcamp along with Yoga and Pilates. I can also bring the baby and she has a chance to interact with other people. And the machines do tell you how to use them.

So I tried it for the first time today. It started with 20 minutes of cardio and then it was measurement time. OMG!!!!! I knew I needed some work but I had no idea. So I used some of the machines -- and I can already feel the soreness setting in. I arranged for my session with the personal trainer for Fri afternoon so I can set some goals. Plus I am going to a Hip Hop class tomorrow (I am going to see if I can get Liana in that class for free as she wants to do it too).

I have also discovered Facebook and have reconnected with many of my high school friends. It's great to hear what has been going on in their lives and all their accomplishments. I do have to say they have been out doing great things - makes me think about what I have been doing with my life - not nearly impressive. I look forward perhaps getting together with some of them this summer on my visit back home.

And while I have been working so much, my little one has been enjoying the time spent with her sitter and her dad and brothers and sister. She is such a happy baby - I can't wait to see what kind of woman she turns out to be.

I also started my Management Theory class tonight so it seems that for the next 5 weeks my life will consist of work, school and home --- wait that was my life already, so I guess I'll be alright.

A little taste

Since the little one keeps eyeing everyone's food I thought I would try her on some mashed potatoes. Boy did she love them. But in all fairness I only gave her a finger tip full. This makes me way excited to try her on solid food soon. Month 5 I am waiting.

I also wanted to pierce her ears but the place requires her immunization record and I can't find it. I turned the house upside down looking for it and it's nowhere to be had. This makes me think that perhaps the nurse did not return them to me. That saddens me as it was the one the hospital gave and now it may be lost forever.

P.S. I originally wrote this blog on 18 January but I guess I forgot to post it. So here it is

Shaelynn's Milestones

Since most of my family and friends live away from me, I thought it would be nice to fill everyone in on her milestones. I can't believe she's 3 months old already.

She has begun to sit up on her own. The first time she sat up alone was for about 5 seconds and then she toppled over on the couch - face first. You should have seen her face as she was going down - the funniest thing I have seen in a long while.

She has had her first set of shots. And I being the ever so smart mother that I am, forgot to give her some Tylenol before and after. When the pain hit her, I felt so guilty. Trust me I won't forget this next time.

She pushed herself up on her arms while on her tummy. The view from down on the ground makes everything seems so huge.

She is staring at her feet - when they are not in socks or footie outfits. I am interested to see her put it in her mouth.

She has begun to grab for things ... I have the scratches to prove it. Her nails grow like a weed and are very sharp!!!!

She has definitely begun to interact with people ... she even talks to the puppets on the Baby dvd she likes to watch.

Overall she is a very happy baby - she wakes and smiles and after her bottle she is ready to jabber away with everyone around her. My only wish is for her sleep all night in her crib. She loves to sleep with me or big sister in our beds, now if she could just transfer that to her own bed, things would be absolutely perfect.

Oh and be aware that if she flips you off, it's nothing she's been taught - it just comes naturally, in fact I remember her doing that the first few days of her life.

I will post 3 month pics soon and you can see how much she's grown.

New Year - New Goals

So with two weeks into the new year have you already done something other than what your goal is? Unfortunately I have to say I have .... but I have a good reason. Don't we all say that?



My goal was to only spend money on what I had listed in my planner ... well I didn't do that. I actually went and bought clothes for the baby. But I found a great deal - I love KSL. For only $50 I received two huge garbage bag full of cute clothes (some of them weren't even worn!!!!) And as the baby is needing clothes, I can justify the money as well spent. I will have to place a little fashion show on here so you can all agree with me it was well worth it.



But of course I can't leave this without posting a pic of one of the cute ones .... Now you can Awwww