9 months!

Gwen had her 9 month well baby visit (no shots thank goodness).
9 month stats:
Weight: 21 lbs 9.5 oz (90th percentile)
Height: 2ft 4.75 in (88th percentile)
Noggin circumference: 17.76 in (82nd percentile).
Her doctor commented that she is very well proportioned and is growing nice and steady, and is very healthy.

Food Update:
In a addition to her pureed foods, Gwen is eating finger foods. Her diet is becoming a lot more varied as we introduce more and more foods.
She eats:
baby rice cereal
baby oatmeal
baby mixed cereal (rice, oatmeal and barley)
carrots
sweet potato
summer squash
butternut squash
peas (she is cool with them now ;-)
zucchini
banana
applesauce
pear
apricot
prunes
blueberries (TMI- too many make black poop which stains her bum blue)
soft tofu
Cherrios (Whole Foods Morning O's because they have very little sugar and are organic)
Rice Krispies (again Organic brown rice lightly sweetened with barley malt)
dehydrated apple pieces
dehydrated banana pieces
I made split pea soup and a squash soup for Spencer's Grandad and realized that Gwen could probably eat that too. She loved both of them! They had Miso and Sea Vegetables (aka seaweed) in them which adds a whole new dimension to her palate. We are becoming a lot more adventerous with what she eats, though are still putting off foods with wheat, dairy, and corn for now (and avocado and melons). We may introduce yogurt in the next month or so.

Sleep Update:
Ever since she started crawling she hasn't been sleeping as well, which is apparently very common. She has a hard time winding down, and will often wake in the night (though she can often put herself back to sleep). The heat has not been helping. When we get back from our trip to New Hampshire we will work on sleep again.

Stay tuned for a post on flying with baby!

Yay for Daddy!

We celebrated Spencer's Birthday and Father's Day up in Sonoma County. For his birthday his Mom watched Gwen while we went out to the Red Rose Cafe which serves soul food (hmmm hush puppies). Then went to see Star Trek at the theater we used to go to for $2 Tuesday movies back in the day....which made us feel a little old. We topped off our outing with Fro-Yo (Frozen Yogurt- Spencer's new obsession- but only the serve yourself kind- the secret he says is layering the toppings between the different flavors). For Father's Day we visited with Spencer's Dad, then went the Great Grandparent's Farmhouse. Great Grandad is having some health problems, so it was really special to be able to visit with him ( we are going back this Sunday too). And Great Grandma and Gwen shared a moment looking at Gwen's animal book.

In the top pic Gwen is playing with a GW bag- Spencer's favorite place to shop. GW is the fanciest little Goodwill ever and often has name brand clothing with the tag on, for Goodwill prices located in swanky downtown Los Altos.

Ambrosia gets das Boot

I have had some heel pain since going to Pier 39 with Gwen and her Auntie B about 2 weeks ago. We had a lovely time going out to lunch; we rode the carousel, saw the sea lions (there were a bunch of baby sea lions and one was nursing :-) see for yourself on the webcam). Anyhoo, I wore Gwen in the Ergo Baby Carrier most of the time (which means 20 some odd pounds of extra weight on my foot) and went up and down a bunch of stairs (the one thing that is still a challenge for me). Not only that, I then went to visit my old HOBA peeps in their new office (up and then down a flight of stairs). Then last Friday I did a bunch of yard work, and then Monday and Tuesday I went to a conference where I did a bunch of walking....and if you've read previous posts you know I have been taking advantage of my mobility after being off my feet for the first 3 months of the year. Well, I over did it and the Achilles Tendonon my left foot is very upset with me. I offically have Achilles Tendinitis and have to wear a boot for at least 2 weeks, take an anti-inflamatory, and rest. This is really upsetting to me becuase I have been feeling so good...so good I overdid it. I have even recently said to people that I feel so good it is like the car accident never happened. This flare up is a reminder that it did, and that I need to pace myself or my body will push back a little and force me to take it easy.

Thank You Universe

Some think the universe will only give you what you can handle....in order for me to take that summer school class I needed to have a babysitter for Gwen a few hours a day 4 days a week. The one I was looking to isn't available during the only time slot the class I need to take is being offered... so no summer school for me. To be honest, I am relieved. It was going to be a lot all at once. I don't know if I am ready to leave Gwen for that long and I am not ready for accounting. As Ribbet would say when he found a penny, "Thank You Universe!"

Busy Bees

Gwen and I have been keeping busy!
~We went to a quarterly birthday party with our playgroup which was a lot of fun. Spencer got to see Gwen interact with the other babies which was fun.
~I had a moment of insanity and took Gwen to the movies to see Up at the monthly Diaper Days at the Camera 7 theater in Campbell. Let's just say this outing did not go as planned. Gwen did not sit in my lap nursing sweetly and then fall asleep. She screamed so loud that when I left the theater 5 minutes into the movie I heard someone say, "Don't worry honey, the baby is leaving." We walked around until she did fall asleep and I went back into the theater after missing the first 30 minutes or so. Not sure if I will try this again.
~We went to Sacramento to visit our friends Michael and Hosanna and their 2 babies (the smallest of which is a month older than Gwen). It was s much fun to watch Gwen interact with a baby her own size and age- most babies are her same size but twice as old, or her age but half as small. When we were there Gwen mastered the art of eating (maybe she was showing off, or just loving sitting at the table with everyone) and she started clapping her hands :-)
~We had to lower Gwen's crib to the lowest setting because she can pull herself up. She tries to pull up on everything which often ends up with her falling and hitting her noggin- but she is becoming much more graceful in her falling.
~I continue to nap with Gwen because I am tired! And even if I don't sleep I love watching her sleep. Or reading. I just started and finished Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris.
~And we went to Notre Dame de Namur where I started a Masters Program in Public Administration, but then got pregnant, had a baby, then got in a car accident. Gwen was uncharacteristically fussy during my advising meeting. But I got reinstated into the program and am registered for a class in the Fall...did I mention I am crazy! I have an Accounting prerequisit that I still need to take and am going to try and take it this summer....that's right certifiably insane.

2/3 Gwen and the Zoo!

Gwen is 2/3 of a year old today! We celebrated with a lazy day at home, playing in the garden and a walk downtown. Yesterday we went to the SF Zoo with some of our friends who have babies too and her Gram and Auntie B. It had been almost 10 yrs since Spencer and I had been there last and we were really pleased to see the work that has been done to improve the Zoo. Gwen was so excited to see all her friends and family and to be out and about, but I think it took her a while to catch on that we weren't just out for a walk. We took a ride on the Little Puffer miniature steam train, which she loved, and we went to the Family Farm (i.e. petting Zoo) which she got an absolute kick out of. My favorite part was the baby giraffes :-)
And a little update on my leg: I was able to walk all around the Zoo no problem and was just normal sore today (as opposed to my knee killing me sore)