New Daycare

I'm pleased to announce that we absolutely LOVE our new daycare! It's The Children's Center in Dublin, OH (http://www.childrenscenteronbridge.com/). It's a locally-owned daycare (yay for no chains!) and is not nearly as far of a drive in traffic that I initially believed it might be. I also love how large it is, and how many windows there are to let in natural light. The caregivers are sweet and interested, and all of them knew who we were the first day we were there, and greeted us with very authentic enthusiasm.

We've only been there 3 days, but we've noticed a dramatic difference in several things. First, Emma is super-happy and bubbly when we pick her up in the evening! At our prior daycare she would be fussy and screaming in the evening, often very clingy to us at night when we'd get home. Even after only 3 days, she is excited to get there in the morning and has made fast friends with several of the babies.

Second, we are using the cloth diapers and the staff are really enthusiastic about it! They find it easy to do, and Emma's bottom looks wonderful. Laundry hasn't been an issue -- we're still averaging every 2-3 days for diaper laundry, which is what we were averaging before.

Third, she is eating MUCH better. At the prior daycare she would be given three 4-oz bottles the entire time she was there (8am to 5pm usually). Today at this daycare, she was offered three bottles by 12:30 pm!! She didn't eat much of the first one, but that's totally ok. And yesterday she ate all 4 bottles before 5pm.

Fourth, they allow us to keep a stash of frozen breast milk in the freezer of the fridge in the infant room for up to 2 weeks in case baby is going through a growth spurt or they need extra. MOST of the mommies there breastfeed!! I'm so thrilled about that.

And last, but not least, we have had multiple parents from different classrooms spontaneously tell us how much they love the daycare and what a wonderful experience it has been for them. We never even interacted with the parents at the other daycare -- it was just in and out. We've met several sets of parents and I already know 5 babies' names. It took me 3 months to just learn 3 babies' names at the prior daycare.

I'm SO happy about the switch. The child to adult ratio is much better, and Emma already seems to be thriving. I feel like it's going to be such a positive thing in the long run.

Six Months!

I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that my little girl is 6 months old. Here's our current stats!

Weight: 15 lbs, 11 oz (up from 6 lb, 5 oz at birth)
Height: 26 1/2 inches (up from 20 inches at birth)
Head Circumference: 16 1/2 inches

Motor Milestones:
*Sitting up unsupported for 5+ minutes at a time
*Rolling from front to back
*Rolling from back to front
*Able to push up on all fours and move forward 1-2 "steps"
*Grasping with hands
*About 75% accuracy with pincher grasp

Other Developmental Milestones:
*Regular sleep pattern (down at 7:15-7:30pm, up between 5:30-5:45am)
*Regular naps (mid-morning for 45 min, noon hour for 1 1/2-2 hrs, mid-afternoon for 45 min)
*Regular smiles and laughter
*Trying solids (avocado so far)

Recent Videos

A few weeks ago, Emma and Daddy were playing around in the hallway after daycare. This little outfit is sooooo cute!



The infamous "Hover Baby"!!



Emma trying to crawl.... this was taken on our way back from Kansas (on 6/25/10).




Emma playing around with her first solids, avocado. This was yesterday (6/27).

What a Week!

There is so much to update from our week in Kansas! I'll try to do a little day-by-day synopsis.

We drove Thursday and got there Friday evening. We immediately got to see Grandma and Grandpa Miller, and Uncle Rich. Great-Aunt Sandra and Great-Uncle James came out to the house to see Emma too. She was so hot and so tired, it was a rough time but she did as best as I could expect! Great-Aunt Sandra and Great-Uncle James took us all out for dinner. We also got to see the three tiny month-old kittens my parents have, and Emma loved them! We wanted to bring one back but knew it would be too much.

On Saturday, we got to see Uncle Chuck and Aunt Bobbi, as well as Cousin Heather and Cousin Lauren. I went grocery shopping with Grandma while Joe and the girls were watching Emma, and we got the flowers for Sunday. It was mostly a day of acclimating to different people, and showing Emma the house where I grew up. Uncle Rich took everyone out to dinner this night.

Uncle Rich, Feeding Emma... :)


Sunday was the baptism. Great-Aunt Deb, Great-Aunt Janie, Great-Aunt Mary and Great-Uncle Rick, First Cousin Becky and her children, Mrs. Stowell (a friend of Grandpa Miller), Mrs. Zillinger (a neighbor of Grandpa Miller), Pastor Joel and his wife, and everyone else was there. It was a wonderful day and Cousin Heather took some fabulous pictures!!

Emma in her pretty baptismal gown.


Pastor Joel, Momma, Daddy and Emma (Pastor Joel is the one who married us, almost 12 years ago now!)



Aunt Ann and Uncle Chuck -- Emma's Godparents



Monday we relaxed and spent time with family again. There was nothing scheduled, but in the evening, we went out to dinner with Heather, Lauren and Rich at The Chubby Pickle. At 2:52 am (not that I looked at the clock), Joe went running to the bathroom to vomit and not 10 minutes later, I followed running to the bathroom to have diarrhea. That continued much of the night, so we were exhausted by Tuesday.

So Tuesday we let the girls watch Emma and Joe and I slept all morning. Then I had lunch with three good friends from high school, and brought Emma. She was a great hit, and loved the other girls' kids. It was nice catching up with my friends, and reminiscing about the "good 'ole days." Tuesday night we got to watch Cousin Lauren play all of 10 minutes of her softball game before it was called on account of a thunderstorm.

Wednesday I asked Uncle Chuck to bring over his lawn mower so I could mow Grandma and Grandpa's place, and between him, Joe and I, we got much of the jungle cut down. It looked MUCH better and the bugs were less. I got sunburnt and bit by mosquitos, but that's ok. I also got my hair cut by the hairdresser who used to do my hair in high school! :) Talk about feeling young again.

Thursday was our last day in Kansas. We drove out to the cemetery early in the morning so we could show Emma where her Great-Grandparents are buried, then spent the morning with Uncle Chuck at his farm. We got to see the teeny-tiny kittens that are there -- all of a month old! Then we spent the rest of the time with Grandma and Grandpa, and just tried to enjoy the last evening there. We also got to see another one of Cousin Lauren's softball games, longer this time.

Friday was bittersweet. We loaded up the car, went out to say goodbye to the Grandparents, and got on the road. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cry each and every time I leave my parents, even at this age, because I love them so much and I hate being so far away. This was such a wonderful trip. Between the excitement of the thunderstorms each and every day (and hail the first day!), seeing family, watching Emma cuddle with her Uncles and her Cousins, and seeing the smile on Grandma's face when Emma was laughing... it was just such a full, wonderful, fulfilling trip.

For a 1050 mile drive, Emma did well both ways. We took today to rest and relax, and are preparing for another big week. Emma started on solids tonight -- her first bite of avocado! She really liked it and Joe got some good pictures. She starts her new daycare tomorrow, the one that will let us use our cloth diapers. AND on Wednesday, she gets her 6-month check-up. If the WiiFit Plus is correct, she'll be over 16 pounds (or close to it) when she gets weighed.

What a week, indeed!

Grandma & The Grandkids

From right to left, Cousin Heather, Emma, Grandma Miller and Cousin Lauren. They were babysitting today for us since Joe and I got food poisoning last night and had been up since 3am with our various ailments. The girls are SO good with her.

I haven't had much time to upload pictures or even post much, but when we get back to Ohio, I'll put a bunch on. We still need to make a trip out to the cemetery, hang out with Grandma some more, and a few other things. It's stormed every day we were here, including one with large hail, which has made it a bit hectic. Poor Emma -- she's going through a growth spurt, teething, and having a lot of new people plus upset routine right now. She's a trooper though.

We're Here!

Emma was a trooper. Two days of intense traveling, a lot of new faces tonight, and she held up as well as she could. The heat was getting to her, so hopefully we'll keep her in the a/c and try to get her adjusted to the new faces as quickly as possible.

Pictures tomorrow!

On The Road

In about 5-6 hours, we're hopefully leaving for Kansas. We'll post pictures when we get there!

Park of Roses Trip

Today Emma and I went to the Whetstone Park of Roses (http://www.clintonville.com/parkrec/rosegarden.html). It's typically the Festival of Roses this weekend, but they've re-named it "Stop and Smell The Roses." It was gorgeous and we had a nice time.

Here she is, posing in front of the flowers. She stopped eating her hat for just a moment (she wouldn't wear it, just wanted to eat it).


I really like this one in it's original format (the small version doesn't show all the detail of the roses behind her). And yes, she is sitting up ALL by herself! (for just a couple of seconds)


And of course, some of the gorgeous roses. It's an amazing park, really... over 400 varieties of roses, of all colors and shades.


It had rained the night before and some that morning, you can still see the raindrops on the rose in this picture.

We're *Almost* Crawling

Tonight we were doing naked time on the floor, and Emma was on her tummy and she pushed up on her arms, and then got on her knees and pushed forward! She went about half of a "real" crawl before going back down on her belly, but then she tried it again. She was really up on all fours! It was amazing, and made Daddy & I realize how quickly she's growing up.

Hopefully I'll catch a picture of the advances tomorrow. She's also flipping over on her own terms now, and doing it much more frequently, which is adorable but scary. Time to keep a closer eye on her during diaper changes!

BIG week!

We had a really big week without Daddy here! We are VERY glad he's home though. Here's the rundown:

6/4: Went to one of my facilities and spent time with the residents and staff, went shopping, got weighed (15 pounds 1 oz), and bought Grandma Miller a computer.

6/5: Went to Mommy-n-Baby Yoga, went down to Cincinnati, spent time with our friend Mary and her little girl, and then got to see Daddy and his friend Mike!



6/6: Drove back to Columbus in the morning, took a 2 1/2 hour nap in the afternoon, and then visited with Ms. Jane, Mr. Gary, and Ms. Helen in the evening.



6/7: Went to daycare in her Awesome new outfit, thank you to Lori from Cincinnati! She was the fashion plate of the daycare.



6/8 (Today): Went to daycare in another awesome outfit thanks to Lori, and then spent a couple of hours at my Tuesday facility during the Baby Parade! It was a load of fun, Emma plus two other babies and two toddlers. We just went up and down the halls, and got pictures with the residents. She had a great time.

Oh -- and she rolled from front to back when she first got to daycare with no effort at all, and then when I picked her up, she decided to roll from back to front. I think that's the first time she's done both in the same day!

We got a good bath tonight, hung out with Daddy when he got home from Cincinnati, and now she's relaxing in bed. I'm finally getting to update the blog for a few minutes before I go crash myself... it's been a long week of doing everything myself. I have a new respect for single Moms!

Mobile, Part 2

I changed the mobile to the "animals" one, now that her eyes are better. These were some of the resulting videos.





This is my *favorite* one!