Back to School

Ok, yeah yeah yeah. I am getting to back to blogging about Niana. School started for me on Aug 20 and we just had our first full week last week. This weekend is truly needed to rest and clean the house. I don't even know if we have any current pictures of Baby Girl! Here is a brief recap of August for all of you care :) Thanks!

August 4th- Niana's 1st year doctor appt. I got to take her to this one! Scott ususally takes her since his schedule is a bit more flexible on this than mine. Dr. said she is 95% in weight and 98% in height--- look out Sanger High, here comes your next athlete!

August 7th- last day of swim lessons. I can say that we did not learn a thing. She loves the pool and has never been afraid of it, so we paid the City of Kingsburg to let us swim. That last day we enjoyed pizza in the park with Caleb (and his parents) and Evie (and her parents).

August 18- I went back to work at school-- Niana went back to daycare.

and that's it.

She is much bigger now. She can reach all the door handles, the knobs on the stove, loves the tupperware drawer.

New words: ba (ball), hi, byeee, dadyee, mamma, woo-woo (dogs, or all animals)
sign language: more, eat, thank you-- still trying to get her to say thank you at right times.

I will try to upload pics as soon as I can but she just woke up from her short sunday nap

Swim Lessons

We are taking swim lessons with Caleb & Evie for the next two weeks at the Kingsburg Pool. Tonight was our first night and Daddy came to snap some first swim pictures. All three of the babies loved it. Although they did not kick or blow bubbles very well, they were all very good students and enjoyed the water.

Niana's First Birthday

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby!

picture by Amy K Photography

Shaver Lake 2008

We spent a week at a friend's cabin at Shaver Lake. We rested, ate, and played with the Griffins. Both girls (just 5 months apart) had a blast. I suppose mommies and daddies did too!

Our days consisted of...

Monday: Mommies rest and watch babies play. Daddies go back to Fresno for some unfinished business (oh, and Scott bought a motorcycle!)

Tuesday: Between AM and PM naps, we ventured out to a little unknown lake (not Shaver or Huntington, but inbetween the two) for a picnic lunch. Our little rock climbers loved it! They also got to be carried in while mommies and daddies hiked a little ways. Everyone took an afternoon nap as thunder clouds rolled in. Then back for B&J's date night. They went to H. Lake for dinner. Met a few locals and a dingy dog named Harry(?).

Wednesday: Are we renting a Jet Ski? Not yet! We visited the town of Shaver, had lunch at Hungry Hut, looked at a few shops and had great COFFEE drinks at Bob's Espresso. It wa Scott & My date night.... we ate at Trapper's at the Point (yummy!) and ventured off the road to find Big Creek (a small town for Southern CA Edison workers) and the back road to Huntington Lake.

Thursday: The day to rent jet skis? Maybe tomorrow. We went up to Huntington Lake to look around. Spent the afternoon and early evening there taking pictures and enjoying some locals singing karoke while we ate pizza by the lake. The small cottage like cabins reminded me of Fallen Leaf Lake near Lake Tahoe (another adventure we had with B&J before babies).

Friday: And the last day to rent Jet Skis.... came and went. We toodled around, went to get more coffee at Bob's and then took the kids to the park---- where the sun was beating down it burnt our bottoms to slide or swing, so we opted for the laps back and forth on a church porch.

Saturday: our last day... how sad! We cleaned up the cabin and came home. Scott & I then got to work on our yard. Niana's birthday party is this Friday, so we wanted to make sure there were no big puddles created from her big birthday splash.

Thanks Griffins for having so much fun with us this past week!

Water Play

On the 4th, we also played in the water! Niana loved it! She was in the sprinkler trying to grab onto a stream of water. She followed the house to the source of the water and eventually found some mud. She played at Evie's water table with Evie & Rebecca Egli.

Right outside my kitchen window there used to be a strip of useless land. It was dirty, hot, and dusty. It was an empty path to a dead end in the yard. But this spring, we decided to turn it into a salsa garden. We chose a variety of chili peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, and a few more herbs for cooking. We put a gate at the end to the front yard, and made little stepping stones go out to the front drive. I also threw out some sunflower seed to see what would happen.

So here are a few snapshots of our garden. It makes looking out my kitchen window bareable! I still need a bit of ground cover to come in to hide the dirt, but it is coming along!

We have about 20 zillion chilies and 2 tomatoes. The herbs are growing nicely (I used cinnamon basil in our chicken dish last night). The bell pepper plant is stunted and the tomatios are blooming, but not prodicing fruit. The cilantro grew like crazy and has now withered into nothingness, but it is my first attempt at a garden, and I am enjoying the look of it from my window!

Niana's Name in Lights

Amazing what creativity sparks after a great meal and pyrotechnics display at the Griffin's house. It's a sparkly shout out to our little gal (who slept through it all...sort of)!

3rd day at home......

Today is my 3rd day on summer vacation. WHOO-HOO! No, paying for daycare for the next 8 weeks! It is also my third day at home with Niana. What do I do now? That's the question at hand. For any of you stay at home mommies, give me some ideas. How do you spend your days? So far, we have read every book in the house (and have pulled them off of every shelf). We have explored the tupperware drawer (and pulled every container out and they are strewn across the living room). Tv jus sucks us in and nothing gets accomplished. I tried to organize our day with activities (like I would do at school) but with the attention span of, well, a one year old... it's only 10 min at the most at any one activity.

So, what should I do with the rest of my time?

TIA,
SUSAN

Saturday Morning with Mama

This morning it was you and I.
We made Banana Pancakes (just like
Jack Johnson sings about),
we had some apple & berry yogurt.
read some books, played in the tupperware
drawer, and then ate some mini pizzas for lunch.

What a fun morning! Now daddy is home from serving
others and we are ready for the rest of our day.....
after we both catch some zzzz's!

11 Months

This week Niana will be 11 months. Only 1 more month until her big birthday! After learning to walk in her 10th month, she has been developing the skill and venturing out into running, swimming, and climbing. She also has become quite the ham in social settings, as well.

The month of June included:


Dinner with the Griffins and Johnsons. We had these families over for a good old BBQ. We cooked up some hamburgers on the grill. The kids ate Mac-n-Cheese and covered the Radio Flyer Wagon with tons of food. (The next day Niana got to help mommy clean out the wagon and then got her first swim lesson). We enjoyed the evening on the patio and our new yard. What fun to have friends over to play!

Niana smiles for the camera. I guess if you have had the lens in your face
for your entire life, you would know what to do too!

Niana and Caleb Johnson go on a ride in the wagon. What you
don't see is the piles of Mac N Cheese at the bottom of the wagon!

Evangeline (Evie) Griffin gives the camera a wave. All 3 of these kiddos know
how to smile for the camera!

As mentioned above, Niana had her first swim lessons. We went to Grandma & Grandpa's for a Sunday evening visit. Niana splashed away in her little baby pool. She loved it. She has learned how to get in and out, so after splashing for a bit, she got out, walked over to the "woo-woo" (dog) and then came back in to cool off. It was the perfect evening to learn to "swim"!

June was also Scott's first Father's Day. We went to church, came home, and went to Grandma & Grandpa's for lunch. It was a good day of relaxing, watching sports, a nap, and a little "swim" time. Niana got daddy a card and let him buy a yard blower so he doesn't have to sweep the driveway anymore!



Finally, we went to the Pismo Beach Car Show. Niana had her first taste of the Pacific Ocean on Friday night, and loved it. She went again on Sat. and then again this afternoon. Each time a wave would come, she bounced up and down with excitement. It was wonderful watching her pick up two handfuls of sand and run out toward the water. It was also a little scary realizing our little girl has no fear! It was really warm at the coast... up well over 100* and we felt like we were back in Fresno! But it was a nice weekend. The ladies enjoyed the beach and some shopping while the guys got to look at cars, cars, and more cars. Niana did a great job of being very flexible, since we had no schedule whatsoever. She also did really well considering her two top teeth broke this weekend as well!









Look for next month's entry! It will hopefully contain great pics from her 1st Birthday Splash!

Check Out Our Walker!

Niana is 10 months

Another month has gone by. It is only 2 months until my tiny little baby is 1 year old! It is really amazing how time has flown by. I look back at this month and see what she has accomplished and how she has grown.

End of April/May 2008...

• April 20th- Niana starts taking her first steps unassisted (almost 9 months)


• April 27th- She links these steps together to walk a few steps.

• April 28th- Visits doctor and is given asthma medication (which I have given her and seems to be helping quite a bit!)


• May 6th- Celebrates Grandma Kathy's birthday at Olive Garden


• May 9th- Says good-bye to Grandma Sylvia as my mom heads off to Oregon for the summer


• May 11th- My first mother's day.... Niana woke me up with a hug and I got to spend the morning with her in the Nursery at Church. Lunch was made for us at home and then we finished off the day with a basketball game on TV.
• May 16th- visits with good friends Bob and Jolene Palmer from Oregon for the evening.
  
• May 17th- We discover that Niana can say "woo-woo" for Farley, the dog at Grandma & Grandpa's house. (She can already say Mamama & Dadada)

So far this past month has been trying to capture Niana walking on video. She will do the funniest things, then when I run to grab the camera, she will follow me and stop doing what she was doing. Some of her uncaptured moments are...

1. Juggling pacifiers... Niana will have 2 paci's and decide the one not in her mouth should be there. She then will spit out the on in her mouth and put the new one in. Well, now she sees the old one and decides that one should be in her mouth... etc, etc, etc.
2. Walking from here to there... we can never just capture it at the right time.
3. Drumming/Hammering... our little drummer girl will flip over all of her toys to make a "drum set" and use any toy she can find to bang on them. She loves hitting anything to see if it will make a sound. We think this might be the carpenter gene in her from Grandpa Ernie or the drummer gene from Grandma Sylvia.
4. Dancing.... yes, she loves to dance. One of her best dancing moments was at my school's open house. We had a Carnival with a DJ playing music. Niana loved the 70's disco music and was holding on to a chair with one hand while the other hand was in the air and she was "gettin' jiggy wit it". Everyone was loving her moves and wanted to know where she learned to dance.... Mama of course!!

Maybe some day I will be able to get video of these things to share with friends and family around the globe!

9 month doctor visit...

Scott took Niana for her 9 month well-baby visit on Monday. She is now 28" and 21 lbs! Still in the 95th percentile for her age..... grow baby!

We also were given a prescription for asthma medications. I went today to pick up the meds and really did not feel peace about giving such a young baby medications. But... ever since she took one breath of Central Valley air (24 hours after her birth) she began to have a drippy nose, a cough, and now it has turned into wheezing at times. We have been asking the doctor what to do about this, and for the last few visits (6mth, 4mth, 2mth), he has just stated that we need to use a humidifier in her room and suction out her nose. Well, now I guess her lungs have developed fully and is in need of some steriods to help open her bronchical tubes to let air (yucky air at that) flow better.

The meds she received are albuterol for wheezing attacks (to use as needed-- just like anyone else with asthma) and flovent to use every day for 1 month to help reduce inflamation of her airway. We also go the nifty little air-breather mask to help her breath it in. I know that these meds are not extrememly harmful, but still feel uncomfortable giving them to her. Does anyone have any pros or cons for using asthma medication on babies? I have been researching it and would like to feel better about it, if it is the right thing to do for my baby.

Please comment :)

(also albuterol is known to make people jittery, as noted by a few videos here.)

Niana is 9 months old. I can not believe that 40 weeks ago I had this baby. That is the same amount of time I carried her around. I just look at how much she has grown and am amazed.


This month....

*Niana was dedicated at church on April 6th. (See previous post).

* Grandma Sylvia has been to visit, babysitting and playing with Niana as much as she can (THANKS!) They have the same smile!!

*Niana learned how to spit out her food! Lots of fun! Thanks Grandma Sylvia.

*Niana learned how to "stage dive" onto the pillows. What a dare devil!

* Niana decided she looked better in Grandpa's hat than he did! But she eventually gave it back.
* Grandpa had a birthday, so Niana had her first BBQ outside with family. She isn't quite ready for the Holman family feast of meat yet, so Grandma Kathy feeds her a bottle.
*And inside, our little show off plays with Uncle Jeff on the floor. She tries to pull his teeth out here.

*Niana received a few more toys ( a walker and a ball), and loves them! She then tries to tell Evie how to use them her way, but Evie has her own ideas.

*Finally, she learns to knock down blocks with dad. What a hoot!

We also went to visit a new friend, Olivia Ruby Andrade, just a few days old in the hospital, went to our first Big Hat Days, first car show, and cut our first tooth!!! What a month--- exhaustion!

Baby Dedication

Niana was dedicated on April 6, 2008. She got to be dedicated with her good friend, Hannah Burton (Amy & Michael are her parents). We enjoyed having family join us in this wonderful time. My mom has been visiting, so we go to have her here.

"Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it," Proverbs 22:6

My Sweet Girl

I just had to share one of the most sweetest moments of my daughter's life. She has always been awesome, but tonight it was very sweet! I was laying on the carpet playing with her after bathtime and before bedtime. I then took a pillow and a blanket and laid down. I told Niana that Mama was going night-nights. She crawled around me for a bit, then came right over to my head and put her head down on mine and began to rock back and forth. I said Awwww! to her and she gave me a big sloppy kiss night-night. She then proceeded to go back to playing with her toys. Ok-- my baby is 8 months old and she gave me a kiss and rocked me to sleep! How sweet is that!

(Here is a picture of her head down-- her favorite cute pose! No one was home to
take a picture of her saying good night to me :( .)

Eight Months

Niana Grace will be 8 months on Monday, March 24, 2008. This past month has been busy with her learning all sorts of new activities. She began crawling in February. She has now moved on to cruising around the house and holding on to everything she can (even a moving refridgerator door!). She has started to stand a little bit by herself, but grabs quickly back on to the strudy object she was using for balance.

She has started to want to feed herself with her spoon. This makes the biggest mess! She then wants to share her fook with everyone, and this make an even bigger mess. Yes, we have moved into the time of peached in the hair, green beans in the ears, and I-don'-know-what under the arms!

It has been a lot of fun to see her grow and develop. Pleaes enjoy the slideshow of Niana's February /March 2008. (we were missing our camera for a few weeks, Niana pulled it off of the desk, and it was shipped off for repair).