We're Back!

After two weeks of fun in the Midwest, Maeve & I are back home again. We had a great time and Maeve was able to see her Grandparents again and meet her the rest of her new extended family...Aunts, Uncles and cousins by the dozens. I'm also happy to report that Maeve did extremely well on both plane rides, she actually enjoyed them and oohed and aahed the surrounding passengers...she is learning to love an audience. :)

I already knew that Maeve liked the water (aside from bath time), but she nows looovvvveees the water. Not only did she love splashing around in the shallows of the lake, but she is a natural born "Tooner", that is she appreciates a slow pontoon ride with her Grandpa around the lake. Here she is on one of her almost nightly "Toon" rides.



After a full day of playing nonstop with her cousins, a "Toon" ride mellowed her right out and she went straight to bed afterwards. And her cousins, Maeve loves her cousins! She had so much fun playing with them, especially my 7 year old niece. She made it very clear from the start that she wanted to spend all her time playing with Maeve. At first Maeve was a bit shy, but by the third day, she would literally shriek with delight and try to jump out of my arms when she heard her cousin come in the house. Here they both are with Grandma.



Maeve also had another exciting day on vacation...she was baptized. :)
Steps to baptism, according to Maeve.

#1 First refuse to wear a bow in your hair and then pack up your purse for church, being careful not to forget your keys.



#2 Figure out being baptized involves water, worse water on your head, that sounds too much like a bath. All this occurs while new godparents are holding her. One word...WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!



#3 Hold grudge after said head wetting ordeal and cry until we leave the church. Evil and uncaring Mother still insists on taking pictures. ;)




Aside from a little bit of a meltdown at her Christening, Maeve had a blast during her first vacation. She was a complete trooper, attending graduation parties, visiting so many new people, attending a birthday party, hosting an overdue impromptu 1st B-Day for Maeve, not to mention all the new experiences of a different environment. Although a little shy of the adults at first, Maeve loved all the children and joined in the fun right from the start. She even warmed to all the adults, still checking for me or walking back to me on a regular basis...she is a Mommy's girl afterall. During the entire two weeks, there was rarely a time when there wasn't smiling or giggling. She can't wait for our next trip now. :) 2 comments

Posted by Laura at 9:19 PM

Update Time

Well it is official...little green martians are inhabiting my child again. In short she has a slight cold that has her nose running a mile a minute. The tissues are out by the dozens, but to no avail. Maeve takes delight in rubbing her nose and smearing all her nose's runny stuff all around. Did I mention, she usually likes to get her hands dirty first. I wash, wipe and scrub, but it is an uphill battle. The good news is that she is having a great time. Here are a few other tidbits.

- The poor dogs. Maeve is breaking every rule of "No-No" in the doggy world. Every chance she gets she jumps on them or is climbing over one or the other. She has taken to eating their food when possible (I don't leave it down for long) and likes to walk up to them and steal their chewy treats. It's not all bad news for the dogs, they have discovered that if they sit near enough to her while she is eating she will dump her food onto the floor so as to enjoy the entertainment of two dogs frantically licking the floor clean.

- Maeve has discovered the joys of toilet paper. No, we have not begun potty training, rather she knows how much fun it is to unroll the roll and then rip everything to shreds. She also likes to rip other random pieces of paper to shreds as well. The good news is that if my paper shredder ever goes on the blink, I can just give everything to Maeve to tear up.

- In typical newly walking toddler fashion, Maeve tends to watch her feet and look down when she is walking. This leads to some occasional "Mommy" mix-ups when she approaches the wrong person who happens to be wearing similar pants or shorts as me. Today, in our exercise class it happened again. One of the other women and I had almost identical capris on, Maeve had walked off a few feet then came back, but went to Katie instead. She was hugging her legs until she finally looked up. I wish I had a camera for the look on her face. :) Maeve quickly regrouped looked around, found me and high tailed it back over.

- Stairs and climbing are her favorite activities right now. I have to keep a close eye on her because she is always trying to figure out how she can get to a higher elevation. The fact that her balance isn't that great doesn't bother her in the slightest. Although I have gates up at all stairs, she is bound and determined to find a way up.

- Besides eating the dog food, hair ties & barrettes are high up on the list of favorites. If I put something in her hair, it is just a matter of time before it is in her mouth. Doesn't stop me from trying. :)

- Her comprehension is definitely there. She only says a couple of words, but I can tell that she knows more than she is letting on. She is starting to bring me her books to read to her and especially loves her word book. Maeve mimics me, especially the sounds I make on a regular basis and she knows the songs that I sing to her. Many of the songs have actions involved and she anticipates them. For example, part of "Wheels on the Bus", talks about the people on the bus going up and down. She has started bouncing up and down when I get to that part. I used to bounce her myself, but now she is doing it on her own. I can mix up the lyrics and put them out of sequence, but she recognizes that part and responds. It is so much fun to watch her soak up more new things each day.

- She is sleeping in to almost 7am now. I thought I would be happy to lose the 6am rise and shine call, but it is actually throwing my schedule off a bit. I need to regroup and reorganize now. She is also taking two naps a day. A short one in the morning, and then about two hours in the afternoon. Maeve is usually pooped around 7:30-8pm and out she goes.

There is more, but it is time to finish packing for our big trip back to the midwest to meet the entire family. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and a ton of cousins are all eagerly awaiting our arrival! We leave tomorrow for a nice vacation. 3 comments

Posted by Laura at 11:03 PM

Success

A few days ago we tried JC Penny's photography studio again, and...

SUCCESS!! Well, at least no major meltdowns. The photographer missed the few real smiles that Maeve flashed, but we did have a few cute poses. Although I wish the photographer would take more pictures to catch more smiles, I think JC Pennys does a nice job overall. That and they are one of the few places that their "initial" baby coupons apply to Maeve & me. Most studios have coupons based on the baby's age for the first year. Pennys (& I think Sears too) coupons are based on the inital visits, not age of child. The "Picture People" were recommended by one of my friends, so I'm going there next, but I'll continue to go to Pennys. You just can not beat their prices. :)

Maeve & I



Maeve holding my hands (& her Sunshine toy).



Mommy & Maeve Feet

2 comments

Posted by Laura at 8:00 PM

A Day in the Life...

Yogurt...not just a food, but a face mask!



Now that I have my own "Dora" cellphone, I'm ready to face the world.



If I could just figure out how to get out of this place...



Don't worry Smudge, I'm taking you with me as soon as I figure out how to open this door!



Poor Baby, she has had a tough day. Better give her a little back rub so she is all set for the next time I want to bounce up and down on her head.



I'm sure that Mommy left these out for me to climb on. I'm climbing just like they showed me on the Disney channel.



The dogs may weigh 5x more than Maeve each, but she can sure tire them out!



I was giggling until Mommy busted me doing something I'm not supposed to do. Maybe this crying face will do the trick and get me out of trouble.



A girl on the go needs a little snack. I don't know why Mommy doesn't want me eating this...My doggies love it and it is in this handy container that is just my size.

2 comments

Posted by Laura at 10:34 PM

Update on Maeve

It has been awhile since my last post. Maeve has been keeping me busy, especially since now she is walking...everywhere. Here is what's happening in our lives.

- Not only is she walking, but she is trying to run. At this point, these short bursts of speed end up in her taking a tumble, but for the most part she gets up, shakes it off and starts again.
- She is growing so fast. Our next doctor's appointment is not until next month, but I can tell. The shoes I bought for her a few weeks ago were a size "4" and on the big side, now they fit perfectly, maybe even a bit snug. When we first met, the 12 mos clothes hung on her. She easily fit into the 9 mos clothing with room to spare. Now, some of the 12 mos are starting to appear small. I've brought out a few of the 18 mos clothes from the closet and encorporated these into her wardrobe.
- She is eating!! Not everything, and her favorite game is still to spit out all new things (and some of the old things), but the variety of food that she will eat grows daily. I've weaned her down to one formula bottle a day, usually in the morning during our exercise class. At this point, Maeve doesn't feed herself, except for cheerios and crackers. She still refuses to hold the bottle as well, although I know she can do it as she has done this in her carseat. I've never seen a 10 year old that is still hand fed by his parents, so I know that she will come around. It will just take time. What is nice right now, is that she eats with me. So whatever I'm making for myself, I make a child size, mashed up serving for her. Aside from the occasional french fry, we are both eating a very healthy diet.
- While still very shy of adults (she takes awhile to warm up to someone), Maeve blossoms around other children. She is approaching other kids and trying to communicate with them. Today, she and another little girl shared some cheerios. It was so cute.
- Her exploring is getting a little dangerous. She has learned to climb and a climb she will, everywhere, whenever possible. I have to keep a close eye to make sure that she doesn't go head first off something.
- Maeve is loving all the little classes that we are participating in. Our swim class just ended, but now we are in a gym class for her age group and she loves it. We are also attending 2-4 playdates with the different Mommy groups I belong to each week.
- I joined a Stroller Stride class and love it! It is an excercise group of Moms with their kids. I thought it would be easy, but it is atually pretty tough. But the best part is that Maeve is right there with me. During the cardio, she is in the stoller with me pushing, but at some of the stops I take her out and she stays right next to me while I work out. She loves the end when I'm doing crunches as she jumps right on my stomach and bounces nonstop. :) She finds my grunts of pain highly amusing.
- She isn't speaking actual words yet, but her grasp of what is going on around her is excellent. She know what I mean when I ask her to come to me, or if she wants up, is hungry, etc. She has started actively mimicking me, whether a sound that I'm making, my expression or an action, so I feel the words will start flowing soon.

These are just a few things that I see on a daily basis. She continues to amaze me with her antics and how quick she catches on to something new. I'll try to do one more post tonight a little later with some of the more current pictures. 0 comments

Posted by Laura at 7:28 PM

Just remembering...

I finally organized all of my pictures. I have almost 500 in my computer photo album and about 450 are from China or of Maeve since then. I kept everything, blurry shots, off center shots, even the accidental pictures taken in the hotel room of the TV. Today I thought I would post a few pictures from the China trip and then later in the weekend I plan on posting more current pictures of Maeve.

Waiting in the airport for the long flight to China. Excited, thrilled and terrified barely describe how I felt at the time.



Sound advice on the Great Wall of China. :)



Walking into my room in Chongqing it all becomes real.



The bus ride over to the Civil Affairs office. Less than a hour before I become a MOM!!



Mom & Dad are just as excited on the bus as me. They are about to become grandparents for the 6th time. Yeah!!




I see her for the first time! I know it is her immediately!! (Maeve is in the pink in the middle with her back to the camera. The nanny with the red stripes is holding her.)



Love at first sight on my part, not so much on hers.



We are so happy, she is so not. :(



Grandma gets to hold her for the first time, while I put on my baby carrier.



One last picture at the Civil Affairs Office then it is time to go. A family at last!
"Wish you have a happy life in future."

2 comments

Posted by Laura at 9:02 PM

The Weekend

Just a quick update with some pictures from this past weekend.

Saturday, we attended an event with one of our Mommy groups. All the local police and fire departments were out and giving presentations to the kids. It was a huge hit, as all the kids were able to check out police cars and fire trucks up close, not to mention the many picture taking opportunities. Maeve did pretty good overall, just a few tears when I tried to put her on a police motorcycle. It was a very cool event.





One thing new this week. Maeve's new thing is crawling under and through things. She gets the biggest kick out of it. Mostly that means crawling through my legs and anyone I am talking to at the moment. But the poor dogs are getting it too. If they are standing, Maeve will try to crawl underneath them. Both are being good sports about it. Baby is the hardest hit, as Maeve has suddenly decided that she is her new jungle gym. So picture poor Baby, laying in the living room minding her own business. Maeve walks over and crawls on top of her. I'm in the kitchen and can see it, but it takes me a couple of seconds to walk out there to intervene. Meanwhile, Maeve plants her bottom on Baby's head and starts bouncing up and down. I pick Maeve up telling her she needs to leave Baby alone, while Baby follows us...seems she likes Maeve bouncing up and down on her head and was ready for more. Silly dog. Don't worry, I really don't let Maeve bother/abuse the dogs or vice versa. They still get more kisses than me and both dogs have definitely come to expect them too. :) 1 comments

Posted by Laura at 9:58 PM

Picture Day

Maeve has been doing so well that I decided it was time to try to have her photograph taken professionally. I have checked out all the local photography shops and just fallen in love with all of the special backgrounds, shots and just really neat things they do with baby pictures. So, today at 3:40pm, we had an appointment for pictures. This is how it went (note there are no pictures on this posting should give you a hint.)

- Scheduled appointment for Maeve during a normal "happy" time for her. We have gone places before at this time and she has been wonderful.
- Prior to appointment, feed and change Maeve with no problem. Dress her up in her pretty dress and load a happy, smiley baby into the car.
- Drive happy, smiley baby to the photographer's studio and arrrive without a hitch.
- Arrive 20 minutes early just so Maeve can adjust and get used to everything. She settles happily in at the play table and smile and babbles at everyone that goes by.
- The photographer introduces herself and Maeve smiles and babbles to her while I fill out a form, no problem.
- It's our turn, so in I go with a happy, smiley baby. Realize that the flower on Maeve's dress is missing.
- Run back out to car and retrace our steps until we find it (thank goodness). Meanwhile Maeve is still smiling and the photographer is being incredibly understanding.
- Reattach flower and walk into studio for pictures with happy & smiling baby.
- Photographer positions us (I'm in the first pose with Maeve) and Maeve is happy and smiling.
- Photographer gets her camera and makes a funny face at Maeve which causes Maeve to flash the biggest smile ever.
- Photographer raises camera to capture moment and Maeve bunches up her face, turns red, opens up her mouth and screams.
- Longest 15 minutes of my life now commence as Maeve continues to scream, big crocodile tears streaming down her face. No amount of consoling or toys (I brought plenty and the studio had tons) would do. Photographer was really great, trying every trick known to humankind, but to no avail. Finally we give up and agree to reschedule. I walk out of the studio with my crying baby.
- On way to car, all tears magically evaporate and Maeve smiles.
- On way home, still red & puffy in the face from her crying jag, Maeve smiles and giggles the whole way.
- Once home, Maeve is ready to play, smiling the whole time.
- Realize Mommy needs a nap badly, wonder how early is acceptable to put your child to bed. Oh boy, what a day. 2 comments

Posted by Laura at 8:56 PM

A Milestone Day

Shortly after returning from China, Maeve took her first steps, three in total. Since then she has steadily progressed and by last week she was cruising furniture on a regular basis and taking short (eightish steps at a time) walks on her own mainly in our living room. I knew she was ready to make a huge leap forward, so I bought her a pair of shoes (and a cute pair of sandals) last week. Still she was only comfortable walking in the house and mainly the living room. If she fell too hard, she would cry for me to come pick her up. If I walked into the kitchen (it is an open floor plan so she can still see me) she would cry until I came back, but not make any attempt to follow me into the kitchen.

All of her behavior is normal for her age. Maeve's comfort zone is me, so as she experiences new things she has one eye on me at all times. To help her through this, I have been encouraging her to get back up and to walk/crawl to me when she is upset versus me going to her. Most of the time she is crying because she is unsure, not because she is hurt or truly upset. With a little (okay alot of - you would think she won an Olympic gold medal from the applause in my house when she picks herself up after a little tumble) encouragement, Maeve is gradually expanding her comfort zone and becoming more and more independant (in a toddler fashion, not quite ready for her first apartment yet.) :)

Today, I could really see this. Midday she started walking nonstop. No more crying when I left the room, she simply followed me. My snuggler became a wiggle worm today as she did not want to be up in my arms at all, but down on the ground walking away and away and away. Needless to say, I was in chase mode for most of the day. She still waddles a bit like a drunken sailor and the slight decline at the bottom of the driveway had her working on her balance, but she appears to be a "walker" now. Wow! From first steps less than four weeks ago (not to mention barely crawling less than six weeks ago) to walking nonstop. This is what people mean when they say, "children grow up so fast". She isn't even 14 months old yet and I can see this.

Everyday I wake up with a smile and remember how lucky I am to have her in my life. Maeve continues to amaze me daily with everything she does, whether it is the way she reaches for me with her beautiful smile when I take her out of the carseat, finding her cute ticklish spot under her chin or the crazy, contortionist ways this little girl likes to take a nap. Each day with Maeve is full of new discoveries. And each night I go to sleep dreaming of what the next day will bring. 1 comments

Posted by Laura at 10:28 PM

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there and a special wish for a speedy referral for all those who are waiting!!

Here are some pictures from our first Mother's Day together.






Big poofy dresses and car seats do not mix, but we managed. :)

3 comments

Posted by Laura at 1:43 PM

Update Time

Just a quick update on Maeve and her antics...

We started a couple new classes this week including "Mommy & Baby" swim classes & Gym-minis at the YMCA. Maeve had a good time at all of her classes, although the first few minutes tend to be a bit iffy. When I take her somewhere that is somewhat chaotic, with children and parents all over, she clings to me with an iron grip and whimpers a little bit. I wonder if she was comparing it too the last time we were in such a chaotic environment with nannies, crying babies and new parents? She knows I'm her Mom, but she is still working on the trust that I will never let her go. Once we settle into class and she realizes that I'm not going anywhere or handing her off to anyone, she has a great time. She even let me take her underwater three times at her swimming class. :) Maeve is still in and loving Baby Sign. She hasn't signed anything yet, but I can tell she recognizes the signs I make for her bottle, eat and crackers. Hopefully she will be signing up a storm within a few weeks. Overall, our schedule includes one to two activities a day now. Maeve loves our outings, especially when there are other children involved. She is starting to go up to the other kids and smile at them now.

We are still working on her eating habits. Lately, Maeve's favorite foods include, anything in her bottle, any type of crunchy crackers, the dog's food and various pieces of dirt and stuff on the floor. :) Oh well, we are working on it. Right now, I'm encouraging her to eat more solid foods, using positive reinforcement. We are eating together so she can watch me eat and I usually make her a little of whatever I'm eating so she can try it. Today, I tried a new recipe for "eggy toast" and she actually ate some of that, then threw the rest on the floor for the dogs. That, by the way, is her new game to play at mealtime. Throw the food on the floor and watch the dogs run for it. Now the dogs are outside while we eat. The good news is she is gaining weight and will drink down just about anything in her bottle, so thanks to a great suggestion from another Mommy (Thanks Michelle), I make "smoothies" for her. Basically a jar of baby food and milk mixed together. She drinks a couple of day, so I try to do one fruit and one vegetable. Who knew she would like a "green bean smoothie" ?!

My doctor called with the results of all of her testing and I am happy to say she is a very healthy little girl. Not looking forward to our next round of shots in a few weeks, but we will jump that hurdle when we get there. Overall, Maeve is doing really well. Any delays she experienced from basically being in a crib for the first 12 months of her life have mostly disappeared. Verbally she is doing well too. Right now she only says "MaMa", but she talks up a storm in baby babble. We carry on entire conversations that way. :) With all the baby babble happening, I think her first new words will happen soon.

When I first brought Maeve home, she was doing well, but you could see the difference in skill sets when you put her next to a baby the same age. Now, I'm happy to say she is catching up quickly. She blends right in with the crowd (of babies of course). One mother I met when I first brought her home and hadn't seen for a few weeks told me she could not believe how much she had progressed when we saw each other again a few days ago. I agree. My little Maeve is strong, resilient and able to overcome so much in her life so far. She continues to amaze me everyday. 3 comments

Posted by Laura at 3:43 AM

New Shoes

Now that Maeve is officially walking (well, eight steps, fall down, eight more steps, fall down type of thing), I bought her some new shoes. One minor meltdown later, she loves them. Maeve was so funny when I first put them on her (aside from the meltdown.) She stomped her feet, wiggled them around and just stared at the them. Of course she wanted to taste them too. After a bit she was laughing and stomping around, clearly enjoying her shoes.

Here are some pictures. It was really hard to take a nonblurry picture. This child is in constant motion. :)




4 comments

Posted by Laura at 3:29 AM

Hats-o-rama!

Maeve kindly posed for a few photos to model just a few of her many, many hats.

Of course Maeve insisted on first things first! Negotiation of the terms. I'm surprised she did not insist on legal representation, but it appears that as long as I kept the crackers a coming that she was happy to be my modeling Diva.




Then, it was down to business. A little raspberry anyone?









Here she is in her beach hat. She wore this later when we went swimming. Actually, it was more like, I put it on, she took it off, I put it on, she took it off. Overall, a very fun game to play with Mommy. :)








Then she did a little modeling of her cute little green cap with the bumble bee on it. Uh Oh, I think the crackers are running out.




















One more quick one in a cute tweed hat that is waaay to big for her, but Mommy just had to have.




No crackers, no pictures. Off she goes to play with her toys under the watchful gaze of her doggie, Smudge.





Of course there are more pictures of her antics today. I'll post again in a day or two the rest. 2 comments

Posted by Laura at 9:07 PM

Pictures & a quick update

Maeve is better, but still recovering from all of her vaccinations. My little trooper has been in a pretty good mood considering that she has been running a fever on and off and is tired most of the day. We are taking several mini-naps to keep our spirits up. I love mini-naps. :)

I say she is a trooper, because, of course, this is the week that I'm checking out childcare places. Today, I found a winner! I still have an appointment tomorrow that I will check out, but this woman was great and I loved her place and overall attitude. Now the hard part, figuring how I am going to leave Maeve with her. Of course, I still have a few weeks on my leave, but still this is not a fun thing to think about. :(

Well, enough of all that. Here are a few pictures that I snapped of Maeve over the weekend when she was in better spirits. I am trying to get her to wear hats, so I can do a fashion show shoot with her this weekend. We'll see...



3 comments

Posted by Laura at 9:39 PM

Rebounding from a bad day

It was definitely an "all day in the baby carrier" day today for my little Maeve. :(

First she woke up a little early needing a diaper change. She was still tired, but not enough to lie back down so up she stayed. Did I mention she is teething as well? Then it was time to walk the dogs and she wailed in the stroller. So the baby carrier it was, although I did take the stroller along just in case she changed her mind. She didn't. Maeve did manage to nap during the walk and drank her bottle and her fruit smoothie (Thanks to Michelle for the idea!) down when we arrived back home. Talk about a little potbelly. :) This cheered her up a bit, so she was a happy camper in Baby Signs Class.

Unfortunately, this did not last long, because we had a Dr's appt scheduled for the afternoon. The dreaded "blood tests" and "vaccinations" visit. After a quick nap, we were off - one cranky, tired baby and one "I know I'm in for it" Mom. Everything was fine until we saw the Doctor. He is the nicest, gentlest man, but Maeve was having nothing to do with him. Let the screaming begin...and there wasn't even a needle in sight yet. So after a few minutes of raising our voices to be heard over Maeve to discuss her health and progress (all excellent), our Doctor wrote up the lab work request and arranged to have the vaccinations completed. Did I mention, that she screamed continuously while the doctor was there? I thought this was bad, but it was nothing compared to what was coming.

After quieting down briefly when everyone left the room, the nurse came in with the shots...all four of them, two for each little leg. She was as sweet as can be and completed them as quickly as possible, but I do believe both of our ear drums are still ringing. Still crying it was off to cross the waiting room to the lab to draw the blood. Of course, all eyes were on us crossing the room. Maeve's tear stained, red, blotchy face gave them a hint of the horrors she had experienced. Still, I thought it couldn't be worse...I was WRONG!!

Poor Maeve had to have three vials of blood drawn. One man drew the blood, another held her arm still and I held the rest of her as still as possible. I have never heard her scream like that. She hit new highs and her face turned a color of mottled red/purple. Let's just say I was just as happy as she was when it was over. I put her back in the baby carrier and she snuffled on our way out. I wish I had brought my camera for a picture of the folks in the waiting room on that last walk out. Everyone had a look of genuine concern mixed with slight alarm (fearing they were next) wondering what horrible experiments they had just subjected my daughter too. I have to say the doctor and nurses were really great about it all. I know they are used to it, but still they were wonderful. Two of the nurses even asked about my baby carrier when they saw how Maeve settled right down in it and snuggled into me. I promised to bring a picture of Maeve smiling with me next time, just to prove that it does happen.

After all that I treated Maeve to her current favorite...McDonald's French Fries. She earned a little grease today! What truly amazes me is her capacity to forgive and forget. Although tired and a little clingy (we spent most of the day walking in the baby carrier), she rebounded quite well and was laughing and playing for most of the day. Overall, she handled it much better than I did. I'm still a wreck and not looking forward to the next round of vaccinations in two months. 3 comments

Posted by Laura at 9:03 PM