Twelve Months

If you have 13 and a half minutes, please, watch the video! I realized that I should have done a 9 month compilation, because once I started choosing videos to include, I couldn't stop! I actually cut out about 8 more minutes, so 13:45 isn't so bad. Really!

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Dear Autumn,

Twelve Months. You changed our lives the moment we found out we were pregnant, and then again when we finally got to meet you. Yesterday afternoon you were in my lap and I was giving you a bottle and I felt your heart beating on my hand. I got a little emotional thinking about how a year ago you were still a mystery to me and how I couldn't touch you and now it is my favorite thing to do.

My first memory of you is when they put you on my chest, you reached out a finger that was completely covered in gunk and touched my lip. I had just had a big swell of emotion just before that and then my next coherent thought was, "Ew, she touched my lip with that stuff!" And then it just didn't matter and all I wanted to do was touch you.

You got your 8th tooth in a few days ago, maybe on the 18th. It sort of just appeared and then it seemed like you felt the pain of it. But only a little bit. I am wondering if maybe you are getting the next in line on your top teeth, but it is getting harder to tell. And you sure don't want to show me! What I thought was the 8th tooth last month was really your first sickness. You made it 11 months without being sick, and for that I am grateful. Of course, you were sick over Christmas, which wasn't very fun. Christmas Eve night you had an awful time going to sleep. The days leading up to Christmas you were VERY snotty and congested. NO FUN! But you were very happy on Christmas Day, and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

Walking is your favorite thing. The fact that you can do it makes you very happy. Carrying you is not acceptable anymore, and frankly, that is a problem sometimes. Like in parking lots, busy grocery stores, etc. If it is an empty store I will let you down to walk around a bit, but I have to be careful because if I have to put you back in the cart, you are not happy!

Your food intake hasn't changed much, except that we get the "wave off" much less. But I also think that is because we are only spoon feeding you yogurt for the most part, and you like that. Still waiting for you to want to try more foods. We'll see what the pediatrician has to say on Friday!

We've been doing better lately with the brace. Daddy's the strong one and insists that we put it on you. While you were sick we didn't bother with it for 2 weeks, so it is good that Daddy is like that. Your next appointment is on February 11th. So hopefully, without getting our hopes up, you'll be done with it. I honestly don't know what else it could do for you. But we'll see what the doctor says when he sees the x-rays.

You understand so much of what is being said to you. If I ask you to go get a specific book from the shelf containing almost 30 books, you will bring back the correct one (by only looking at the spine). Your favorites right now are the Wombat books (you say "om baht baht"), I Love You Through and Through (when we say we love your topside, you put your hands on your head, and we can tell you to go get the "topside" book and you will), and Tails (you can make the tails wag, wag, wag). You've also started climbing into our laps when reading books, instead of us putting you there. You sort of say "cat", but it sounds more like "dat" sometimes. You say "pah pah" for panda, and sometimes it actually sounds like "panda". I think "ahm" means Autumn, but I'm not sure. For a few days around the 16th you started saying "MaMa MaMa", but you havn't really done that too much lately.

For Christmas we got you a Cabbage Patch Kid (Rosalyn Jerry) and about a week later you started hugging her. And by hugging her, I mean picking her up by her hair and pressing her to your cheek. It was ADORABLE! After that I started asking you for a hug and opening my arms up wide. You'd look at me, and then immediately look for Rosalyn. And when you'd find her, you'd go to her and pick her up and hug her. I don't remember hugging Rosalyn in front of you, maybe Gram did, but it seems like it was just instinctual. Then you started hugging everything you loved. Dolly, spatula, Farmer, lego, socks, blankets. A few days after that I was more successful with getting hugs when I request them. You will walk up to me and lean against my shoulder while I wrap my arms around you.

Your naps seem to be decreasing in length lately. I am happy with an hour and 15 min. Well, not happy happy, but I am getting to where I can accept them with little grumbling on my part. You, however, are the happiest baby and are just ready to get out of the crib and go. We don't even walk out of the room while I am holding you. I must set you down so that you can touch Sully on your way out and then go after whatever tickles your fancy. We usually spend some time with you walking around wherever you want. Usually in the front room, kitchen and hallway (anything that is not the living room behind the gate). You are usually pretty good about leaving the cat food alone, but yesterday you walked past it a few times, eying it, before you made a quick grab for it. You got a handful but then promptly dropped it when I said, "Autumn!" Glad I can muster that tone when needed! You still take two naps, but they are at varying times, rather then the old precise "Autumn needs a nap at exactly this time". It's not that I chose the old times, but rather you were that predictable for awhile. Now I just watch for signs and down you go.

Car rides will change tomorrow! Since putting you in the new car seat you have actually been semi happy to be in the car. At least a lot quieter. I think even though you have been facing backwards you have a higher viewpoint, which means you can see more out the window. Daddy and I struggled to get the car seat into the Tahoe tonight so that you are front facing. We finally did it!

Your favorite activity is to point to your family and have us tell you the names. "Momma", "Daddy", "Autumn", "Lucas", "Phoebe". Over and over. It just goes around and around.

December 27, 2008

December 28, 2008

January 15, 2009 - Topside!

January 15, 2009

January 19, 2009

January 20, 2009

Retrospective perspective:

January 22, 2008 at 9:53 am

January 22, 2008 at 10:17 am

January 22, 2008 at 1:19 pm

January 22, 2007

January 22, 2006

Happy Birthday, Autumn!

Love,

Momma and Daddy

The Traveler, Part 2

While at the grandparents house we introduced Autumn to a lot of my parent's friends. We joked that she was going visitin' or that her dance card was full. We dragged her to and fro and had people come to her. She was a popular baby! Everyone oh'd and ah'd over her (as well they should!) and she ate up the attention.

At her last pediatrician visit the doctor mentioned that we could try starting her on rice cereal. I know that some doctors say wait until 6 months, but she said that some babies are ready earlier. Her thought was that if she knows what to do with rice cereal on a spoon, then she is ready. If not, wait a week and try again until she is. Well, we tried rice cereal on a spoon and she DID NOT like it!

Here she is looking at it with disgust.

Here she is showing her utter disdain for rice cereal as I am concentrating very hard on shoving it into her mouth!


I repeat, rice cereal is a no go! We tried it again a few days later and got the same reaction. So we'll try again in a week or so. We went out and bought a high chair, so at least we'll have a place to put her when we try again.

We flew back home on Tuesday, May 27th. We had another crisis, of course. There were big thunderstorms in the area that morning and it caused chaos at the airport. Our flight originally was delayed an hour, but by the time we got there it had been delayed from 7:00 to 10:00. I couldn't imagine spending 2 hours in an airport with a baby. Luckily there was another flight that had a bunch of empty seats. I had this lady helping me and looking after us so we could get onto the standby flight. When I got up to the ticket counter I said that I had two bags checked, was I a lost cause? She said she could try. So she got on the radio and said that she had a favor for a “lady with a baby” and could they get my bags off the other flight. She said, “Got ‘em? Good.” Then she said, “They got ‘em, Hon, they SHOULD be on this flight.” Wait? Should? Oh well if they didn’t arrive at least we would be in Houston and Richard could help look after her while we waited on the bags. The helpful lady ended up sitting in front of me and kept looking behind asking if I needed anything. She was really nice. Autumn fell asleep about 5 min before takeoff and slept until about 2 min before touchdown. She kept her head on my shoulder during the landing and never uttered a peep. She was marvelous! And she was so happy to see her Daddy!

Then Autumn screamed the entire 30 min ride home. Fun. She slept for 6 hours straight though.

All in all, I'd say her first airplane trip was a successful one. I think I learned what I need to take and what can be left behind. Especially my carry on bag. Although, just because she didn't need anything from it this time, that doesn't mean she won't need it the next trip!

The Traveler

Autumn and I flew up to visit my parents last Wednesday, May 21st. The flight is less than an hour, so it's not like we're flying cross country, but you can imagine my nervousness at traveling with a four month old. A fairly happy 4 month old, but a 4 month old nonetheless.

We had checked the flight status online at home before we left so we knew we were dealing with a 50 min delay. When we got to the airport and made it through security (no problems there!) and got to the gate at 7:30, they had just made the announcement that there would be a gate change and that it was delayed. Apparently since we had arrived late (on time for the delay) we had already missed 2 gate changes. This gate change was a terminal change, so a nice lady with what looked like a 5 day old little girl flagged Autumn and I down to get on the one of the carts and we rode to the other gate. I had no idea that these guys were supposed to be tipped, oh well! While we waited at that gate I tried to give her a bottle but she only took an ounce. The bathroom that was across the way was being cleaned so I had to wait to change her. When it opened another lady with a baby went into the one changing stall, so I went to get a snack. I thought we had plenty of time. But there was only one line open and 8 people in line. Once I got my crackers and left the store they were calling for people who need extra time. I figured since we were on the last row we should board and get out of peoples' way. We got settled but the flight was oversold so there was a bit of waiting. I kept thinking, "Just take off already!" And then she turned herself into SAAB Baby (Stiff as a Board Baby). She was upset. Nothing I was doing was correct and it was making her even more upset. And then she FELL ASLEEP! Just passed out. We were on the aisle so I kept waiting for someone to bump into us and wake her up but she slept until about 10 min before touchdown because her little ears were bothering her. Then she was REALLY UPSET. Once we stopped at the gate and I was able to get up with her she was fine. A few people told me she did really good, because she could have screamed THE ENTIRE WAY.

The night was not over at that point. The baggage carousel stopped working. This was after it spit out my two suitcases, but before the carrier came out. Yup, can't go anywhere without that carrier! And I had debated back and forth over whether to check the carrier or bring it with me to the gate. It seemed like the wrong move. We waited there about an hour for them to get it working again. Luckily, she was very happy to be with Gram and Grandpa. It was very late when we got back to their house and she went down around 12:30. And woke up at 1:30, 2:40 and 5:40. Ugh.

But the point is she made it up there. We both did. And it went so much better than I thought. And of course, it made my expectations for the return trip so high that I almost didn't want to get on the plane for fear it would scare me away from traveling the friendly skies with her ever again. But more on the return trip later...