Sushi eater milk drinker

There are days when we go from one day to the next and things are pretty much the same. Then there are days when we seem to wake up to a new baby every morning. We're in the middle of one of those stretches!

So in accordance with my most recent post we took Rosie out to eat at our nearby "Asian Fusion" restaurant. Ordered up a California Roll and let Rosie have at it! Ok, we did open it up and take out the seaweed and cucumber... and took off the roe... so really it was just avocado and sticky rice, but she ate it! In addition to the half of an avocado, bowl of cottage cheese, bowl of mandarin oranges, and a glass of water. Jeez piglet! And she made a HUGE mess on the floor - I was so embarrased but what can you do?

But get this. While waiting for the check, one of the waitresses came over (they are all Chinese and speak little English) and held her hands out to Rosie like she wanted Rosie to grab her hands. When she did, the waitress picked Rosie up and carried her away! I just sat there, thinking, Oh My God!!! I want to tackle this woman - I was freaking out on the inside - trying to figure out an appropriate way to handle it without violence. Well all she wanted to do was take Rosie to the indoor fish pond, so I watched like a hawk till they reached their desination and calmly walked over there. Rosie loved the water and the fish. I held her close to the water so she could touch one of the fish! There was another kid looking at the fish and her mom kept saying "no no honey don't touch" and here I am practically putting my kid IN the pool to play with the fish! It was very funny.

So this morning we tried milk. I was expecting a very negative reaction to anything but water in her sippy.... holy crap she guzzled it! She let out a huge burp! She really liked it. So now she'll get organic whole milk with 2 of her 4 meals for a few weeks and then we'll increase it to another meal. She still nurses 6 times a day so I expect that will drop off some... but that's how it's supposed to work!

She is growing up so FAST!!

Happy Nine Month Birthday to Rosie!

She's a big girl now!

Rosie turned nine months old today and to celebrate we took her to get some shots! Well, just one shot. Rosie did great at the doctor's office today. She was her cutie pie self, charming everyone she sees. Her doctor is an amazing woman! She is just so good with kids and you can tell that babies are her favorite part of her job.

Anyway, Rosie surprised the doctor with her substantial amount of teeth! She said that most babies a year old don't even have this many teeth. She also said she would not be surprised if Rosie had her molars before she was a year old based on what she's gotten so far. Go baby go!

She weighs 18 lbs 3 oz and is 28 inches tall. That's the 40th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height! She's tall and skinny!

The doctor said that Rosie is ready for big kid food, like grilled cheese sandwiches, and MILK - as in the kind that doesn't come from mommy! That is exciting! So this weekend she's going to get a little surprise in her sippy cup - moo moo milk! And today we're also celebrating her 9 month by taking her out for sushi. NOooo, we're not giving her raw fish, but she's gonna have a California roll!

Hi Dad!

Am I hearing things or is this kid talking??? I wish I had this on video. Over the weekend Rosie started saying "Hi Dad Hi Dad Hi Dad" over and over.... Alice was here and she said, I think she's saying Hi Dad! I said nooooo, that's not possible. Well I talked to Leo, who is in London, and as it turns out he's been teaching her to say this! And he wasn't even home to hear her say it. :-( Well, she's getting better at it, so he'll hear the practiced version when he comes home. She's too funny too, when you say it back to her she gets a huge grin on her face like, You understand me!!!!!

The Clapper

Last night about 10:30 Rosie started crying. I was already in bed so I thought I might just wait it out and see if she went back to sleep. She kept crying on and off, and between cries I here this, "smack, smack, smack." Hmmmm, this mysterious sound can only mean one thing: the clapper is at it again.
I go into her room, and she's sitting up in her bed, in the dark, crying, and.... clapping? What a goofball! I picked her up and she acted like her tummy hurt, so I nursed her back to sleep. We didn't hear from her again till after 3:00, which is when she typically wakes up hungry.
So hopefully soon she figures out that clapping is for happy time. You don't clap and cry, that is just too strange!

A little girl loses her mama

When we started trying for a baby way back almost 2 years ago, I became a member of a trying-to-conceive/pregnancy/moms message board community. Over the years, you get to know people. Some more than others, but even those you don't know on a personal level, you really do get to know them on some level. You see familiar names going through the same things you are, asking questions and looking for support when trying for a baby, becoming (and staying) pregnant, dealing with the aches, pains, and worries of pregnancy, caring for a brand new baby, breastfeeding, parenting... the things we moms all worry about.

On these boards there was a woman who was due around the same time as me, her name was LeeAnna Darby. She had her baby, Madeline Rose, 4 days after I had Rosie. She was very strong through a difficult trying to conceive process, and later, worked very hard to successfully breastfeed her child. Although I never met her, I could see from her message posts that she was a wonderful mother and genuine, caring person.

She died on Friday morning, February 4th. She was 31, and her baby girl is 8 months old. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor that was benign, and the prognosis was good. But while she was waiting for her surgery she passed away peacefully in her sleep.

I just can't even imagine the pain her husband must be feeling when his daughter wakes in the night looking for her mama to come in to nurse her back to sleep. He must feel so helpless.

I feel very sad for this family, but mostly for Maddy. She'll never know her mother. She'll never get to snuggle up against her mother's breast again. She won't have a mom to confide in and run to when she needs a motherly hug. She won't get to look in the pews on her wedding day and see her mother there with a handful of tissues.

Madeline Rose

LeeAnna's obituary was posted today. A highlight from the obituary:
Our hearts are broken. How can we begin to sum up the life of this beautiful woman who enriched the life of everyone whose heart she touched? It is difficult to tell you about her in just a few short paragraphs. LeeAnna was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. She grew into an accomplished, caring, loving, spiritual, strong and intelligent woman. LeeAnna was very artistic and her gardens reflected her eye for beauty. She loved life and placed the highest value on her relationships with her family and friends. She had a wonderful sense of humor and a calming presence. LeeAnna and Mathew gave us the most beautiful granddaughter in May of 2004. Madeline Rose was her pride and joy and LeeAnna and Mathew were the happiest that we had ever seen.

An account has been established to assist in the care of Madeline Rose Darby at Washinton Mutual Bank (called the Leon B. Burns FBO Mathew T Darby account). Please email me if you would like more information on donating to Madeline Rose's care.

Toothmonster Strikes Again

Yes, MORE TEETH
Good grief this kid springs teeth faster than she can eat a bowl of avocado and cottage cheese. And that's fast! Now she's got yet another tooth coming in on the top - on the right, which would be her upper right incisor. She won't let me look at her mouth, I had to sneak a quick peek when she was laughing, so I don't know if she has one or two already poking through (meaning the top incisor on the other side). She tends to teeth in two's (or fours), so it's probably well on it's way if it's not already.

So I'm calling it: Current Tooth Count: 8

Oh yeah and just in case you forget, 3 weeks ago, tooth count was two. Yes, TWO!!

It's like a brand new toy!

Well, we thought the old exer-saucer had a short shelf-life. But we were wrong! We tested out the toddler version and hey look at that it's like a brand new toy!



However, Leo and I are a little perplexed at how our tiny baby is suddenly using a toddler-ANYTHING. What happened? Just last week she was butt-bound and now she's standing up on her own? Playing in a toy, in which just a few months ago she could barely see over the top?


(3 months old)

Anyway, to create the Toddler version of this toy, you have to remove the seat.



and you might ask yourself, what will we do with the seat? How could we possibly make use of the exersaucer infant seat?



Cino knows. He's into recycling.

She has green eyes

Rosie's eyes aren't blue anymore. They are a beautiful green. I hope they stay this color, because they are just gorgeous.

Too sick to nap, eh? Yeah right!

Rosie has not been napping well lately. Of course, with her cold, not to mention the teething, we figured the problem was that she wasn't feeling well.

No, the reason she is not napping, as we found out when we snuck into her room, is this:


And not only is she standing there, but we saw her cruising around from side to side. Sheesh! She's a little wobbly, but actually more stable than you'd think for her age. What are we in for?

Sick and Tired

Yes, when baby is sick, it means the parents are tired. Rosie has a terrible cold. Runny nose and a nasty cough. Pleeeeeaase let her get better soon so we can all rest again.