Mashed Mask

Those without children are probably unfamiliar with any Barney song. Lucky for me, I have a child who loves the annoying purple blob and his cohorts P.J. and Baby Bop.

One song is constantly stuck in my head due to the torturous dinosaur adventures.

If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops, oh what a rain that would be...

Most kids would probably agree whole heartedly with this tune. Except for my little Anna Faith.

Her tune would probably sport the lyrics:

If all the raindrops were mashed potatoes, oh what a rain that would be...


This weekend, she discovered the wonderful world of carbohydrates--and she loved it.

While making shepherd's pie for lunch, I was trying to keep her patient a little longer, so I did what any parent would do. I bribed her with food -- a small scoop of mush directly plopped onto her high chair. I turned my back for a moment, only to be surprised by this:

She was so proud of herself.

I laughed hysterically.

Anna the Grouch

"They" say when a child is getting ready to conquer the next developmental stage, his or her sleep patterns may suffer.

In this situation, "they" know what they are talking about.

Last week, Anna Faith refused to sleep. Her normal bedtime of 7:30 p.m. was extended to 11:30 p.m. on most nights. After coaxing her to eventual sleep, she would wake up in the middle of the night, toss and turn and fuss her way back to sleep over and over again. Then she would wake up at about 5:30 a.m.

She would approached each day with a frown and a grump. If we would set her down, she would cry. If we tried to feed her, she would cry. She wasn't sick--just fussy and very clingy.

Needless to say, I was working on almost zero sleep and was a complete zombie. Last week, survival was the key. Thus, no blogs.

This week, the tables have turned. Anna is happy. Her developmental masterpiece--She is standing by herself. Well, at least until she realizes she's standing, then she falls in a panic. She has gone to bed at her normal time, and she's all grins in the mornings. Daddy even asked her who sprinkled her with sugar since she's been so sweet.

I'm glad that phase is behind her.

Knock on wood.

I promise I will write later. I have been really busy. I will return to my daily blogs this week.

Confucius Say

Cute, happy baby will moments later turn into a crying mess.

Anna started eating table foods independently this weekend, which is a quite a fun and interesting experience. Only half of the goods make it into her mouth. The other half end up in her high chair, on the floor or on her, whether it be in her hair, on her face or in between her toes. Yes, I said it, in between her toes. Don't ask me how she does it. She's just talented.

With her newfound food freedom, Anna Faith gets three quick baths a day simply because it is much easier than wiping her down with a half pack of moist wipes as she is squirming in forty different directions.

Yesterday, immediately following a spaghetti lunch, I thought it would be much easier to drop her in the sink for a quick rinse instead of tracking her and all of her noodle remnants through the house to the bathroom.

Great in theory.

Although she had fun in the miniature tub for a while, Anna suddenly slid and slammed her face into its cast iron side.

My poor baby cried and cried. Then I, big, mean Momma, had to put her back into danger zone to wash the layers of soap off accumulated during her play.

She had a shiner for the remainder of the night. I felt for sure she would look like a bruised beast this morning, but there is almost no sign of the catastrophic fall.

Despite the drama, I did get a cute picture out of it.

Andre

When I was pregnant, I jokingly told the OB nurse we were going to name the baby Andre because she would most likely be a giant. Her legs went all the way to my lungs and her head felt like it was falling out. The nurse reassured me she just felt big because my torso was so small.

Several months later....

I took Anna for her 9 month checkup yesterday. I told the Pedi nurse, with a sense of humor, that I didn't need her to chart Anna's weight and length because I already knew she was big for her age. She then proceeded to place the dots along the curve and abruptly stated, "You're right, Momma. She is a giant."

Confirmed. Finally. The doctor's office even admits it.

Anna looks like she is a year old already. She is 29 inches long--almost 2.5 feet--and in the 95 percentile for her height! By the time she's 2, I'll have to look up to her. She is 20 lbs, 12 oz which is in the 75 percentile.

Dr. Galeano asked me if my husband was tall. I laughed and said, "No, and he doesn't have blue eyes either."

But she does have his always-up-to-something personality.

Cruel Intentions

I have come to the conclusion that God has a mischievous sense of humor. When creating developmental milestones for babies, for some cruel reason, He decided crawling and the pincher grasp should be conquered at the same time.


Which unfortunately means that not only is Anna enjoying her incredibly mastered tool of mobility, she is also grasping and eating everything in sight.



My child has the unique ability to find things in the floor that no normal person can even see, let alone grasp.



The other day I watched her as she crawled to the area rug in the living room where she meticulously picked at the rug until she pulled out a maroon fiber strand, which she, of course, then placed in her mouth.



We watch her like a hawk, but she has still managed to remove the rubber off of a doorstop, which she tried to eat before I caught her. She has also munched on leaves carried in from the dogs, magazine pages, not to mention day old cheerios Momma has missed in the cleaning process.



My house is spotless these days with the fear my child will choke on some mysterious object found within her crawl space. Problem is -- she's smarter, faster and more inventive than I could ever be when processing what might taste good.



Hopefully, this will pass soon. :)

Will write later. I know I've been gone for a few days, but I've been off work and busy busy. Hope all is going well with all of you.