One Year Letter

Dear Mungee,

On Tuesday, August 17, 2010, you turned one year old!  To sound totally cliche, the last year went by in the blink of an eye. I can't believe you've gone from a helpless 8 pound newborn to a very mobile 19 pound toddler.  

You now have three distinct crawling styles, that you've started to use in combination.  You mostly utilize the pull and scooch method, which consists of you dragging your body along with your arms, belly on the floor, pushing off with your right foot and kicking your left foot (for effect?)   This was your original tried and true method.  You also have started to utilize the army crawl, alternating arms and knees, but still on your belly.  Every once in a while, you'll crawl like a big girl.

You can now sit up by yourself with ease, pull up like a champ, and will creep along the edge of furniture, but you are not standing unassisted yet.  You will hold our hands and walk, but you're still very unsteady.  I don't think we're in a hurry for you to walk, as exciting as it will be.  Baby gates have yet to be installed, but they really need to be soon, as you are a big fan of making your way into the kitchen and opening the cabinets.  Cabinet latch installation is also on the must-do list.

You are so vocal, always babbling and often repeating words.  You say the following without prompting: Hi, button, owl, uh oh.  You will repeat many other words when we ask you to, such as: picture (pic-shuh), turtle, water, horsie, baby, circle (cuhl), freckle (also cuhl).  The other day I told you "No" and a few moments after that, when I asked you a question, I am pretty sure you said "No".  I was definitely taken aback.

You just started playing along with "How big is Mungee?  Soooo big!"  You raise your arms high in the air and scrunch up your face so it looks like you have a double chin.

You will give hugs and kisses when requested (when you feel like it).  You look around the room when I ask you where something in particular is located.  You can "gimme five".  You love to play "Where's Mungee?" by putting your hands up over your eyes.  The funny thing is when you open up your fingers to create slits so you can see us through your hands.

You have SO MANY TOYS!  One of your favorites is your house that Bebe gave you for your birthday.  You love to ring the doorbell, press the buttons on the radio and crawl back and forth through the door.  If I peek through one side of the door and you're on the other side you'll open the door and invite me in.

You're starting to throw tantrums here and there when we take away something you want, aren't paying enough attention to you or are not feeding you fast enough.  When I took your bowl away the other day, this resulted:

You are trying to learn how to feed yourself, and you're always grabbing your spoon out of our hands.  I usually give you your own spoon to practice.  This is typically what you look like after every meal:

I'd like to move on from feeding you jarred foods and give you food that you can pick up and feed yourself, but you're so used to eating jarred meals that you will only pick at other foods that I put on your tray.  To make sure you're getting enough to eat, I'm still feeding you at least 5-6 jars of food a day.  You regularly eat Cheerios, Veggie Straws, and bananas.  You've also eaten broccoli, sweet potatoes, pancakes, noodles, green beans, watermelon, bread, chicken, pita, bagel and you tried scrambled eggs for the first time this past weekend.  We're still very cautious about giving you too many new foods at once because of your eczema and potential allergies.

You tried whole milk about a week after you turned one.  You are not a fan.  At all.  We put the milk in the same sippy cup you use for water so you instinctively took a few sips, then realized it wasn't water and rejected the rest.  Weaning may be put on hold until you decide to like cow's milk.  At least this incident didn't turn you off from using the sippy cup completely.

You constantly suck your thumb.  And only your right thumb.  You suck your thumb so much that you have what Dr. T calls "sucking blisters".  I'm in no hurry to break you of this habit, since you take great comfort in it, but I hope it doesn't cost us in expensive dental work down the road.

You bite.  When you're overtired and hyper, you will hug me tight and then try to take a chunk out of my shoulder.  You also bite our noses.  If I tell you "no biting", you laugh a maniacal laugh and go after me again.  This is not fun.

You wake up around 6:45 a.m., nurse, have breakfast at 8 a.m. and take your first nap around 9 a.m.  Lately this nap has only been lasting an hour and I wonder if you're going to give it up soon.  Lunch is at noon or noon-thirty.  Your second nap is around 2 p.m.  You go to sleep around 7 p.m.  On a good night, you'll fall asleep nursing and won't wake up when I put you in your crib.  On an even better night, you will fall asleep on your own after I put you down and sleep through the entire night.  I feel so proud (and relieved) when you nap and sleep well because it's something we struggled with for such a long time.

I thought that we would enroll you in school when you turned one, but we didn't for a few reasons.  You are not walking, which is a requirement to begin, and it's extremely expensive.  I also don't think you're developmentally ready, as you would likely be the youngest baby in your class.  In the classrooms, the babies sit at very low tables in regular chairs and are expected to feed themselves!  They only take one nap a day, on mats.  Maybe I'm not giving you enough credit, but I don't think I'd you'd adapt well to such a shake up in your routine.

Since we're not in a hurry to enroll you in school, it looks like I will be staying home with you longer than the first year, as we had originally planned.  I look forward to the weather cooling down, resuming our daily walks and getting outside to parks and playgrounds.  Sometimes I get bored, feeling like we're bound to the house by your nap schedule, and I am sure you do to. 

I am probably biased, but I really think you are the sweetest, funniest, cutest and most beautiful baby I know.  You are always in my heart and on my mind.

Love, Mama

Outtakes:

That silver string in her mouth?  Not string.  Drool.

Video: Milk. Not a fan.

Seriously?

Is the universe conspiring against me?

Tuesday morning, Mungee fell asleep a bit late for her morning nap and was still asleep at 11 am, which is when I normally get her ready to go to MyGym.  She hadn't been sleeping for that long and I really didn't want to wake her up, so I decided we would go to a makeup class next week.  Of course, she winds up waking up at 11:15, after I'd already emailed MyGym to tell them we wouldn't be there.  There just wasn't enough time to get her out of her pajamas, change her diaper, get her dressed, nurse her and get to class by 11:30.

Wednesday morning, Mungee decided to only take an hour-long nap and woke up at 10.  In a sense this was okay with me because it gave us plenty of time to get ready to go to story time at Whole Foods at 11, which we typically miss because naps typically last until that time.  At 10:45, I load Mungee up in the car, drive 10-15 minutes to Whole Foods, walk into story time about 5 minutes late and pretty much as soon as we sit down, I hear the story teller ask the kids if they want to sing one last song before they get their snack and get sent on their way.  Huh?  Story time normally lasts until 11:30 and it was barely 11:15.  As we left, I asked if story time had changed and it had not, but the room was needed that day for a meeting.  Figures, the day we make it up there, this would happen.  Since I was there, I had to get a pumpkin scone.  And a blueberry scone.  And some Larabars.  And Mungee got some cookies.  I digress.  

We left Whole Foods and went over to CVS/pharmacy to fill a new prescription that I received (a prescription to make mommy "happier").  Since it was the first time I was taking this particular medication, the pharmacist needed to counsel me.  He said it would probably take about 3-4 weeks to get into my system and might make me drowsy so I should take it at night.  I remembered to take it around 10:30 or whenever it was that I was going to bed.  I woke up around 2 a.m., completely nauseated.  The first side effect listed on the pamphlet?  Nausea.  Lovely.  I think I fell back asleep after an hour or so, but didn't sleep well.  

Thursday morning I woke up around 7, still feeling awful and the nausea had escalated to dizziness, hot flashes and finally dry heaves.  (Perhaps I should have heeded the warning on the bottle not to drink alcohol when taking the medicine.  In my defense, I didn't even have a full beer and it was at least three hours before I took that pill!)  I'm not sure if I like the idea of mentally feeling better at expense of physically feeling like I got hit by a truck.  Or maybe I'll be happier and won't give a sh*t, who knows?

So Thursday, during Mungee's morning nap, instead of taking a shower, which I didn't do at all Wednesday, by the way, I decided to lay down in hopes that I would start to feel better.  It would have been a good idea to take a nap myself, but instead I opted to catch up with my Google Reader via phone.  (Side note: Some of my favorite blogs aren't offering full RSS feeds and it stinks that I can't read them from my phone.  So if you want to change them to full feeds, that would be cool.  Thank you in advance).  Where was I going with this?

Okay, so again, Mungee decides to take an hour-long nap and wakes up at 10.  Excellent, we can make it to Mother Goose story time at the library at 10:30.  I take a quick shower, dry off, get dressed and make a *mediocre* attempt to look presentable by running a comb through my hair and throwing it in a ponytail.  I get Mungee out of her crib, check her diaper and it's not that wet, so I don't change it and get her dressed.  We're in the car and pulling out of the driveway by 10:25.  We arrive at the library a few minutes after 10:30, hurry inside and go to the community room.  Where the doors are locked.  Story time?  Has moved to Tuesday.

Friday we're supposed to have a play date with Jenn and Turtle from Three Pugs & a Baby and Elizabeth and her daughter from The Writer Revived.  We're meeting at a children's museum at 10:30.  Maybe I should call to make sure they'll be open.

********************

This post is linked to the Nerd Mafia's Word Up, Yo! meme

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

DH was snacking on some Veggie Straws and apparently got distracted and left the bag out.

1st Birthday Party - Nitty Gritty Details

View into dining room

Dining room

Paper plates and napkins from Party City, reusable plastic cups, bowl and large tubs from Publix, small tub & owl buckets from Target $ Spot

Owl buckets from Target $ Spot

Handmade Pom Pom

The Owl Wall (owl images found through Google image search; Polka dots are removable stickers from the Dollar Tree)

I made this for the bathroom door, so no one would walk into my messy office by mistake. (Owl image found through Google image search; sadly I don't do graphic design).

Party Favors which unfortunately I forgot to give to several of the first guests to leave.  (Pencil cases from Target, filled with party dough, sunglasses, bubbles and stickers).  Favor tags by Dennette's Designs

Cake baked and decorated by my best friend (Mungee's name is blurred out; no polka dots were harmed in the editing of this photo)

Thank you notes from Target $ Spot

1st Birthday Party - The Smash Cake Deconstructed

The Smash Cake

Tentative

 

Daddy helps

Yummy!

 

Cake overload

Get it away from me!

The aftermath

Just because I think my family is cute

One Year Ago

Want to see me on my due date last year?  It was August 11, 2009.  Is it weird that I can't remember how my body felt carrying around 8 pounds of baby, and another ??? pounds of the other stuff that comes along with carrying a baby?

I'm still not grasping the reality that my baby will be one next week.  She's babbling all the time, pulling up on EVERYTHING, even attempting to brush the little tuft of hair that she has.

Mungee was 6 days overdue.  Can we delay her birthday by 6 days?  Or more.  Please and thank you to the birthday gods.

To Cut or Not to Cut? That is the Question

My hair and I?  We are at war.  It is winning.

I always wear my hair in a ponytail.  I don't think Mungee would recognize me if I wore it down.  Even before Mungee was born and I actually had time to style my hair I wore it this way most of the time.  It just doesn't feel right to wear it down.  I mess with it too much.  I'm constantly trying to flatten it because I'm afraid it's sticking out a foot from my head on each side.

My morning (or afternoon, depending on when I get to shower) routine consists of running a brush through my hair, while it's wet, and pulling it back.  This has caused my hair to rebel in a few ways.  First, I've got this terrible build up of ... well, I don't know what it is ... on my scalp, that I can't get rid of, no matter how much I wash.  One hairstylist told me it's because I wear it back all the time so it's basically like I have a wet towel sitting on my head all day.

I've read it's normal to lose about 50 to 100 hairs over the course of a day.  I'm pretty sure I lose close to 500.  And that's just while I'm washing and conditioning it.  DH complains that I take way too long in the shower and it's true ... I have to gather all the hair that falls out of my head, ball it up and stick it on the wall so it won't clog up the drain.  Honestly, if I didn't have to do this, it would probably cut my shower time in half.

Don't get me started on DH's reaction if I accidentally forget to throw away the hairball.  You'd think he was handling the plague the way he shields his hand with a piece of toilet paper and cringes when he grabs it.   Sometimes I chase after him with it because I am immature loving like that.

At least I don't save it and do this:

 Image source

Anyhoo, I am thisclose to cutting it so short that it's simply impossible to pull back.  I'm hesitant though because I live in Florida where the humidity is approximately eleventy-billion percent on any given day.  Seriously, I could straighten one side, move on to the other side and by the time that was straight, the first side would have curled up again.  I don't want to look like Little Orphan Annie, cute as she may be.

So, what would you do if you were me?  

And would you go to a stylist friend, who you might resent for letting you cut off your hair if you don't like it, or worse, might refuse to cut it because they know you won't be happy with the results?

Cancer Sucks

Cancer sucks.

Cancer robbed DH of his mother ... my Mother-in-law ... Mungee's grandmother.

I wish I was able to know her before the ravages of breast and brain cancer took away her ability to speak.

Sometimes I think she recognized us.  She did smile.

I wonder if we would have gone shopping together.

Gotten pedicures.

I wonder what Mungee would have called her.

People always say DH looks just like his dad.

They call him "Little Buzzy".

It's only because they don't see his mom.

I think he looks just like her.

She had such passion for life.

She was a model.  An actress.  A teacher.

A friend.  A sister.  An aunt.

A wife.

A mother.

She was effervescent.

Cancer sucks.

Bebe, where have you been?!

Mungee loves to play with my cell phone.  

 

The other day she had a "conversation" with her Grandma Bebe.  I imagine it went something like this:

Mungee: 

Hi Bebe, how come you haven't come to visit me in a while?

... Oh, you've been busy petsitting?

... But I'm more important than aneeeemals!

... Ohhhh, you're making money so you can buy me birthday presents?

... Carry on!

(I suppose it's funnier when you hear it in my Mungee voice.  The octaves increase in frequency with every line).

It's Really Here

Party invitations went out in the mail on Monday.

Less than two weeks until Mungee's 1st birthday.

Hold me.

Mungee's First Days - Part 4 - The Conclusion (Days 7-15 and a few other random days)

Sunday, August 23, 2009 – Day 7

 
Today, our visitors included Mungee's Uncle J, Grandma Bebe, and Poppy Buzzy.

We had a pretty rough night last night.  Mungee was so hungry!  I may have gotten an hour or two of sleep total, but I doubt it.  As of 1 p.m. today, Mungee has been asleep most of the day and I have a feeling she will be up all night.

Earlier I was napping and I could hear DH in the den with Mungee.  He asked her "What is your first word going to be?"*  I said to myself "Mommy", just as I heard him say "Mommy?"  So cool to be on the same wavelength.

***

Monday, August 24, 2009 – Day 8
Mungee is one week old!

Today we were visited by DH's cousin and her twin girls, and our friends S & C.

Last night I changed Mungee's pee diaper and as soon as I was finished she decided to poop.**

Mungee seems to really enjoy her Fisher-Price Beautiful Garden bouncer.

We had a better night last night and I actually got a 3-hour stretch of sleep.

I've been pumping every couple hours in order to make sure we have a bottle ready for when Mungee is hungry.  Things also seem to be going better with nursing.

***

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 – Day 9

1st pediatrician appointment at 2:10 p.m.  Mungee weighed in at 8 lb, 9 oz.  Looking good!

At 9:27 a.m., Mungee smiled and laughed in her sleep.

I have made up a new song:

Mommies have boobies

and boobies have milk

and babies LOVE TO DRINK milk!

1:25 p.m. - I was washing dishes and DH brought Mungee to me and said he was not sure if she pooped and held her up to my nose and clearly she HAD pooped.  I said "You did that on purpose!" and he said "Nooo, I would never do that", as he was smiling.***

2:45 p.m. - When we got back from Mungee's pediatrician appointment, it was raining, so we drove around the neighborhood, then pulled into the driveway.  We sat in the car for a few minutes and then DH ran inside to get the umbrella.  When he came back to the car, the rain had stopped and we went inside.  A few moments later it started raining again.  It's like G-d let the rain stop so we could get inside without Mungee getting wet.

Poppy Buzzy visited tonight and gave Mungee a bit of her bottle and then she fell asleep.

We're trying to keep Mungee awake and stimulated so she will sleep better tonight.

People always say they miss being pregnant and I never really knew what they meant until now.  One minute you're inside me where I sense that you're safe and I can take care of you and the next minute you're in the world, outside of my body and completely vulnerable and rely on us to give you all you need.  I hope we can do it.

***

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 – Day 10

Visitors: Grandma Bebe and Great-Grandma Gigi for lunch and The W family brought us lasagna for dinner.

We were eating lunch and my mom (Bebe) asked how often Mungee ate and I said about every hour and she said I was like Chinese food to you (because one is often hungry again an hour after eating it).  DH started suggesting Chinese dishes like Kung Pao, Moo Goo Gai Pan, and Cream of Sum Yung.  I started cracking up and Gigi asked what was so funny and I just said "Oh, DH's facial expressions".

I got DH back today by telling him I wasn't sure if Mungee pooped so he smelled her bottom (she had pooped three times).***

***

Thursday, August 27, 2009 – Day 11

Quiet day today, no visitors.  I spend much of the day creating an input-output tracker and filling in all Mungee's prior info.  Probably not the best use of my time since I meant to leave the house to get some much needed baby items.****

Mungee is ravenously hungry and DH is worried that she is not getting enough milk from me when I breastfeed.  I am only pumping about half the amount I should be.

***

Friday, August 28, 2009 – Day 12

I got out of the house today by myself for a few hours.  I went to Target and Babies 'R Us at the Town Center.  I felt so unfocused and then was exhausted when I got home.  A few minutes later, my friend C came to visit.  Mungee was breastfeeding so I used my cover to stay discreet.

Tomorrow DH and I are going out to dinner.  He made the arrangements and I don't know where we are going.  Bebe is going to babysit.

***

Saturday, August 29, 2009 – Day 13

I got up with Mungee from 5:40 - 10:40 a.m.  Afterward, DH took over and I took a much needed nap.  Buzzy brought us lunch today.  It's date night.  Bebe and Papa J are babysitting.

***

Sunday, August 30, 2009 – Day 14

Uncle S and Aunt L visited Mungee for the first time.  We took lots of pictures and Aunt L fed her a bottle.

We gave Mungee a "sponge bath" today for the first time at home.*****  She was not pleased during, but seemed to be happy afterward.  She got us back that evening by pooping so much that it went up her legs and then peeing on the changing pad and getting it all over her back and head.

***

Monday, August 31, 2009 – Day 15

Mungee is 2 weeks old today and had her two week checkup with Dr. T.  She weighs 9 lb, 5 oz, is 22 3/4 inches, and her head circumference is 14 inches.  Her next appointment is on September 18.  She had a massive poop while at the doctor's office.

After her doctor's appointment, we took her to Rib Shack.  It was her first public outing, aside from the doctor's office.******

I took Mungee out for a walk around the neighborhood in her travel system around 6:45 p.m.

***

Other random tidbits from Mungee's first days:

Saturday, September 5, 2009 - Umbilical stump fell off!

Monday, September 7, 2009 - First tub bath

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Over the last few days, Mungee is really starting to interact with us more.  She has definite periods of "alert active" and she likes us to make faces at her.  She's definitely smiling from time to time and I don't think it's gas because it's after she's pooed.  She can follow our faces with her eyes and she turns her head.  She is holding her head up more and for longer periods of time.

***

These are my current thoughts:

*Her first word was actually burp, pronounced "bup".
**We apparently started the trend early of frequently noting her bodily functions.
***We still do this to each other and find it just as humorous as the first time.

****I wonder what I needed.

*****Ew, seriously, we didn't wash her for two weeks?

******It was also the first place I REALLY felt her kick.

***

View previous recaps of Mungee's first days:

First Days - Part One
First Days - Part Two

First Days - Part Three