The Big ONE !!!

Baby Ash is now ONE, can you believe it? She is so much fun. She has grown so much and has accomplished so much the past several months. On her actual birthday, she got her first haircut and it looks like she too will have wavy/curly hair. EATING: She eats whatever we put in front of her - except for cow's milk. She is not a big fan of milk - unless it comes from Mommy. Because supply is low, I only produce enough to nurse her at night. So, during the day (at the sitter), she takes two 8 ounce bottles (5 oz. of breastmilk mixed with 3 oz. of cow's milk). However, my frozen milk stash will only last another two weeks. At that point, she will only get Mommy's milk at night when she nurses (which will end in May). We did discover that she may have an allergy to food dye. Her birthday cake gave her a rash all over her face that lasted about an hour. DRINKING: She only drinks milk and water (no juice, yet). She does well with a sippy cup, especially the ones with a built-in straw. She really likes to throw her sippy cups on the floor. She even feeds the dogs from her highchair- shame on her! WALKING: She is almost walking. She took her first steps in late February and wants to walk really bad. She will take 5-7 steps before losing her balance and falling on her bottom. She looks so cute when she walks and the expression on her face is adorable. If walking will not get her to her destination, then she will crawl her little heart away to get there. TALKING: She babbles all the time and we just act like we know exactly what she is saying. She says: ma-ma, da-da, baba, ga-ca (cracker), dah (dog), and la-la. SOCIALLY: She loves being around other children and strangers. However, she screams when most female family members try to hold her while I am in the room. She screams when my mother holds her - which breaks my mother's heart. We don't know why she does that - hopefully it is just a phase. She also pretends to be shy sometimes. When somebody talks to her, she makes the cutest little "timid" face and hides her face in my chest (or Daddy's). She loves playing with Big Sis and with our dogs. She does have a temper. When she has something and we take it away, she definitely shows her disapproval, usually by screaming and flailing her arms. Baby Ash loves watching her big sister. She learns so much from her and tries to do the same things big sister does. KB loves to draw, color and write. Well, last week, Baby Ash grabbed a crayon and started to color on the paper just like her big sister. It was just too cute for words. MUSIC: She loves to dance and listen to music. When hubby pulled out his saxophone to practice, she sat right in front of him trying to put her hand in the bell. She also loves it when we sing to her. She can move her little hands/fingers to "Itsy Bitsy Spider." HEALTH: She goes to the Dr. on Friday for her 1-year check-up. When we took her to the Dr. two weeks ago for an ear infection, she weighed 20 pounds. Speaking of ear infection...can you say "thorn in my side?" She has had 4 infections in the last 8 months. So, we are visiting an ENT specialist on Monday to see what the next step will be. Let's keep our fingers crossed - no tubes, please! However, we will do whatever it takes. Well, that is it for now. I will update after the Dr. appointments.

History

Wow...did anyone else get teary-eyed during the inauguration yesterday? Because I was at work, I only got to see bits and pieces. But, as I listened to portions of his speech, all I could say was "wow." We have a minority president...how monumental is that? There are some people that never thought this day would come...my grandparents being among them. Because I was filled with so much emotion yesterday, I had to find some way to explain the signficance of this day to my daughter without going into an explanation of racism and segregation. So, I made "inauguration day" cupcakes last night and we watched clips of the ceremony via the internet. We had KB watch the swearing in portion of the ceremony and we explained its signficance to her (i.e. placing hand on the Bible, what the "oath" meant, etc). Who knows if she will ever understand yesterday's significance, but at least she can say inauguration and know what the word means.

It's all about me!

After reviewing my past blogs, I noticed that I have not written much about myself the past few months. Well, I figured I would now take the time to write about what my life is like now that I am an assistant principal. In July, I began my new job as a high school assistant principal. Getting out of bed and actually motivating myself to go to work is difficult just because of the fact that I wish I could stay at home with my girls. However, with God's help, I manage to drag myself out of bed. While at work, I would have to say that I run on "auto pilot." I am very productive and I work very hard (it keeps me from thinking about what I wish I could be doing - staying at home). The people at my school are wonderful people and I thank God for them. The teachers here are phenomenal and really want to "reach" students. At my school, there are 2800 students which makes us the largest high school in our district. We have six assistant principals and one head principal. I was not too crazy about being at a high school but I have made the best of the situation. While at work, I spend the majority of my day disciplining students and dealing with difficult parents. Doing this type of work is tough emotionally/mentally and is definitely not worth the pay I receive at the end of the month. However, it is a job in the field I love and I am pretty good at it. And, it is obvious that I am making a difference. There are some teenagers in this world that need an awful lot of help (or God). There are also many parents that have completely lost all control of their children. One of our biggest struggles is truancy. The sad part about truancy is the fact that the juvenile court system is failing us. The jails are crowded with rapists, murderers, thieves. etc. So, do they choose to incarcerate one of the aforementioned or a truant student?
After work, I leave school and am usually home by 5:00. Then, it is a mad rush to cook, eat, clean, play with the kids, bathe, and get the girls in bed by 8:30. My house is not as clean as I'd like for it to be. Because it would cost me $150 a month to hire a maid, we are having to postpone that luxury another year until KB starts public school. Because the responsibilities of being a wife/mother/professional are so demanding, I rarely have "me" time. I don't have much "me" time and it sometimes takes a toll on my psyche. I don't read much, hanging out with girlfriends is rare, scrapbooking is now non-existent, and my nails aren't as pretty/manicured as they once were. My hubby and I do make a point to play RockBand at least 3 times a week. One good thing: Because I walk so much at work, I am in pretty good shape. I eat what I want, drink what I want, don't exercise outside of work, am 5'6" and weigh 118 pounds!! So, I guess I am getting some exercise because when I finally crawl into bed at 10:30, I am exhausted. However, as I lay in bed and pray, I thank God that I have: a job, a wonderful husband, and two beautiful daughters that despite the "crap" I have to endure at work, always put a smile on my face at the end of the day and make my dreams pleasant!

Tooth Fairy expected to visit...

KB lost her 2nd tooth last night (1-15-09). She lost her 1st tooth on 12-21-08. She looks so cute with two missing teeth. I can't believe this is already happening. She is only 5 years old. So, grandma is making a tooth fairy sachet and tonight we will place it in the sachet and see what the tooth fairy brings. Last time, the tooth fairy brought her $5. Hmmm....I wonder....what is the going rate these days? I remember getting a dollar when I was little. Apparently, one of KB's friends at school got $10. Is our tooth fairy cheap?

She's a natural!

Baby Ash has mastered the difficult task of "rolling the r." Having taught Spanish for 8 years, teaching students to roll the "r" was not an easy feat. She does it all of the time...one of her favorite noises. So, she is definitely a natural -- born to speak Spanish. I must do a better job of teaching my children to speak Spanish. She also says ga-ga quite a bit and even said "ba-ba" to me as I was walking out of the room. I have also learned a very disturbing fact about Baby Ash: she is a daredevil. Hubby "tested" her last night to see if she would attempt to go down the stairs. NOTE: I was not too happy with his "testing techniques." Well, she tried to go down the stairs and in the process, ended up bumping her forehead on the wall when her hand slipped out from underneath. Hitting her forehead was not a part of the "test." Now...she has a small bump. We are also having to re-baby proof our house. Or should I say, "extra baby proof?" Our older daughter was very careful and was not near as curious as Baby Ash. She has tried to un-plug appliances, remove Glade plug-ins (very successful at this), has removed KB's nightlight, and even tried to remove the plastic covers. Are you kidding me? Will she be my "wild child?"

10 months

Gosh, I have not blogged in a really long time. Well, Baby Ash is 10 months old today. I can't believe it! She has grown so much and has reached so many milestones. She now has 6 teeth. They all came at once it seemed - about 2 months. She has more coming, too! Baby Ash now weighs 20 pounds. She pulls up on everything and gets into everything. She really likes to pull up on the sofa and the baby gate. She also likes to crawl all over us and the dogs. Playing peek-a-boo is one of her favorite things to do. She takes a blanket and covers her face and then pulls it down really fast and we say "peek-a-boo." The smile/giggle while doing this is so adorable. Speaking of giggle, I absolutely love it. Whenever she sees us, her face lights up and makes us all feel so loved. She is a very vocal girl - just like Big Sis. She loves to talk - of course, all she can say is ma-ma, da-da, ba-ba, la-la, ga-ga, and va-va. She has beautiful blue eyes and a head full of fun, crazy hair. We have tons of hairbows and I make every attempt to have one in her hair at all times. However, she likes to pull them off, put them in her mouth and saturate them with her saliva. She has learned to move her fingers and says "ba-ba" which I believe translates to bye-bye. Her sweet hugs and slobbery kisses just make my day and warm my heart. She loves to eat!!! She eats whatever we put in front of her - I am still pretty conservative in this area. She eats Gerber 3rd foods and soft, squishy foods that I give her. She even ate some canned asparagus. Chicken is the only "meat" we have tried feeding her. We could hardly tear it fast enough for her. I fed her some small banana pieces last night and she devoured them - she must be part monkey. She has mastered the concept of "finger foods" and puts everything we give her to eat in her mouth with her little fingers. With this skill comes the desire to put "everything" into the mouth. She is still nursing and absolutely loves her nightly feeding. I am sad to think that the nursing experience will be ending in a matter of 3-4 months. KB tells Baby Ash (at least once a day), "I'm so glad God gave you to us!" How sweet is she? Speaking of KB, she is growing so much, too. She lost her 1st tooth on December 21st. She has another one loose that I believe will fall out this month. Well, she put the tooth in a sachet and placed it under her pillow and the tooth fairy gave her $5. She looks so cute with a missing tooth. She is so adorable about it all. Kindergarten is so much fun for her and I love seeing her learn new things. She is a very strong-willed, girly-girl who can be quite the drama queen at times. Every now and then, she turns sassy, talks back, and ends up in "time-out" or ends up with a spanking. However, that is part of raising a child and we will deal with those situations as they arise. Who said parenting was easy?

2008 was a great year and I look forward to all of 2009...I just can't thank God enough for the many wonderful blessings He has given me. I am truly fortunate!!!

Too cool for words!

October has been an amazing month in terms of milestones, accomplishments, and changes. Here is what is happening with Baby Ash:

1) First of all, her bottom left tooth is about cut through. I can feel it!
2) She is talking! That would be baby talk of course. She says, "ma-ma, da-da, and bah-bah." She started saying "da-da and ba-ba" last Friday. It is so cute. She started saying "ma-ma" a while back but she still only says it when she wants to eat or is crying. She says "da-da and ba-ba" constantly. She also tries to say "hi."
3) She gets around all over the place - the soldier crawl and scooting. She does it so much that her knees are red. She sometimes lunges and it cracks me up.
4) She is trying to wave - she takes her arm and flaps it against the side of her body really hard and fast.
5) She growls/roars. Hubby calls it a "demonic roar." When she does this, it sends me into uncontrollable laughter. I think she learned if from KK's baby.
6) She now eats mixed vegetables and likes them. She also loves oatmeal cereal. During the hours of 7 a.m. - 4 p.m., she drinks four 7-ounce bottles, eats rice cereal twice, and gobbles an entire jar of veggies.
7) She drinks water out of a sippy cup - we love watching her! She really likes to bite on the mouthpiece.
8) She grabs and wants everything out of reach.
9) She gives the biggest hugs. We love getting those from her.
10) She smiles and laughs all of the time. Big Sister loves to make her laugh. Big Sister is the best!!!

Baby Ash is such a great baby!! I took her to the doctor on Monday for her 2nd flu shot. She weighs 18.2 pounds. She will go again for her 9 month check-up in December.

As for KB...what can I say? She is great! KB loves kindergarten. She is learning to read and loves doing "homework." Along with going to kindergarten, we have paid for her to take karate, ballet/tap, piano, and jazz/hip-hop. All of these activities are offered at her school. All we have to do is provide the appropriate attire and pay the tuition. All of these classes take place after school for one hour each day (nothing on Thursdays). She is so adorable. I can't believe that my KB is in kindergarten. I love hearing her stories about her daily activities and learning her new songs.

Well, that is it for now.

7 months old

Baby Ash is 7 months old today -- I can't believe it! She has added so much joy to our family. She is so much fun and has the cutest little personality. At her 6 month checkup, she weighed 17 pounds and measured 27.5 inches. In weight, she is in the 75th percentile and in height, 95th percentile. She is not crawling yet, but is great at "army crawling." She can sit up - but not for very long (she gets lazy). She does not have any teeth but she sure acts like she might be getting some soon. She drinks a bottle or nurses 5-6 times a day. Along with yummy breastmilk, she eats rice cereal for breakfast and lunch. Then, she eats her veggies for dinner. In order to get her to open her mouth, I say "aaaaagggghhhhh" and then I say "mmmmmmmmm" after I spoon the food into her mouth. Well, she now says them, too! It is hilarious. Other than that, she really does not say anything else - except "mama" but that is only when she is crying and wants me to hold her or feed her. I can't wait for her to see me and say "mama." She still gives the sweetest kisses. She grabs my face (or hair) and pulls me to her lips and then she plants a wet, slobbery kiss on my lips. She just started kissing big sister, too! We just love that little girl so much.