Mamanama and the tooth fairy

You might be asking.... what does mamanama mean, well according to Anya that is what I am called. It is endearing but she tends to use it only when she is cranky and wants me to pick her up off the floor or get her out of her crib. When I figured out that she was actually asking (whining) for me I had a moment I have to admit. We are rapidly approaching 9 months and I can't believe she is growing up so fast. So much happens this first year, it is like everyday something new occurs but you don't really realize how far she has come until you browse through pictures or pack away her old clothes.

Myles isn't chop liver. She says da da da da and is starting to associate that with him but it is slow going. She is beginning to understand things however. If I ask, "where's Boone?" she looks for the dog and starts chasing him.

One of her grampa's favorite games is dressing Anya in her overalls and grabbing the back flying her around the house. She LOVES it. She kicks her legs like she is swimming and really gets excited when we chase Boone around the house (Boone likes this game too because he is safe since she is airborne).

Most the time Anya spends on all fours but give her an object taller then herself and she is all about standing up. The sliding glass door in our kitchen, the oven, the dishwasher, the computer tower, the couch, her crib, the coffee table, railings, chairs, baskets...... you get the point. If she isn't standing up she is falling down. Thankfully she has discovered a reasonably safe way to plop on her butt and hit the ground crawling.

We spent the past weekend up at Hood Canal as a family. It was lovely! The weather was gorgeous- we went for a hike on Saturday taking Anya in the Ergo carrier. She slept the whole way up but enjoyed the views once we arrived on the top of the mountain.

About two weeks ago Anya got her first tooth. It is on the bottom and will be closely followed by her second right next to it. She also has one coming in on top- so how is she handling all this? Usually OK- she has starting waking at 6am instead of 7am much to my dislike. She drools all the time, so much so she gets a little rash on her chin sometimes. But for the most part she is her normal happy BUSY self. She has me on my toes now chasing her everywhere and wanting to explore. We have fun and I am so happy to be able to stay home with her and watch her grow- it is truly a blessing to be able to experience this time in her life. I thank Myles regularly for working his tail off to make this scenario possible, Anya thanks him too in her own sweet way.

The Joy of Soy

After our little "run in" with Yo Baby we thought it would be wise to visit an allergist to determine if little miss Anya is in fact allergic to dairy. Today was the day and the verdict is in.....
The allergist spoke to me about past food allergies for Myles and me (Myles was allergic to milk as a child, I was allergic to eggs) and then we tested Anya for dairy, eggs, salmon, and peanut. The last two were simply because we eat a lot of fish in our home and both are common allergens. She tested positive to the first two- dairy and eggs.

Thankfully the allergist believes that since she has had both eggs and milk in baked goods (pancakes, waffles, bread etc) we should continue to keep those sorts of things in her diet. So no, we will not have to scour every food label to make sure milk and egg didn't touch the food. This in itself will make life easier. It would be especially hard going out to eat when she is of age to eat in restaurants and try to determine what foods she can have without and milk or egg in it. At this point we have side stepped that hurdle- fingers crossed please.

Also good news, I don't have to change my diet. I am still breastfeeding Anya and have drastically limited my dairy intake after discovering her allergy on our own. Since she doesn't really have any horrible side effects that we know of from me eating/drinking dairy the allergist thinks it would be best to keep this in her diet as well.

On a completely separate note, another mom (someone I met in my PEPS group) and I are trading child care. I take care of her son Harry (he is about 3 weeks older than Anya) and she takes Anya from time to time. We are trading off for a few hours 1-2 days per week. She is going back to work on a sub basis and I can get some work done from home or make appointments out without having to worry about Anya interrupting. It is ideal and great for the kids. I had Harry on Monday this week and Belinda is taking Anya on Friday. They really do like each other and it is fun to watch them interact.

Don't tell Belinda but I think I have it easier. Harry doesn't crawl yet so he is sooo much easier to watch than Anya- she is in for it on Friday! :) Soon en0ugh they will both be mobile though and the situation will become more challenging and more fun!

Cold, colder, coldest

Last weekend we took a trip to Mt Baker with Gramma, Grampa, Uncle Scott and Aunt Natalie. We met our friends the Abernethy's and Rosenlunds as well. I was very excited about this trip for multiple reasons. First, I missed the ski season last year (it is frowned upon to ski while pregnant). Second, I wanted Anya to spend some quality time with her grandparents and Uncle and Aunt. And third, I knew I would have lots of help with "little miss" as I have come to call her. We rode up with my parents on Thursday and Myles drove up after work on Friday. On Friday I watched Anya as everyone else enjoyed a beautiful day up on the hill. Not to worry I had two beautiful days ahead of me right? WRONG! Saturday my parents volunteered to watch Anya and we headed up in the rain to ski (this is never a good thing especially if you are only 30 minutes from the hill). We lasted about 2 1/2 hours before we decided it was too wet and the snow was really mushy and warm. Oh well, we enjoyed some skiing with friends and family and even had a beer in the lodge.

Saturday night we had everyone over to our cabin for dinner. I started to feel lousy but trudged right through it. By the time we went to bed I was feeling really crappy and Anya was breathing labored with a nose full of snot. She had been sleeping very well in her pack and play up to this point. Both Myles and I hardly slept listening to the poor girl snore and snortle every few minutes. By Sunday morning it was still raining on the hill but that didn't matter because we were heading home with a sick kid and a sick mom.

Visions of our bed and Anya in her own room played in our heads as we started the 3 hour drive home. Anya slept nearly the whole way which was much better then the crying fits we endured driving up with my parents. Arriving home we unpacked and turned on the heat. As we continued to unpack our cold house was not warming up.

Here is where it gets really fun.

Myles messed with our furnace for a good hour before he admitted he could not fix it and we had to call a repair man. We packed ourselves back up (because a 55 degree house is no where for a sick baby and sick mommy to hang out) and went to my parents.

At this point the repair man was coming Monday and we figured we would be back in our house after our Boat Show presentation on Monday night. NOT SO!! The repair man had bad news- our furnace had bit the dust. After our seminar at the boat show we returned to my parents to sleep again. My dad was also sick with the same thing Anya and I had so we were all quite a group. Long story short we just came home yesterday (Thursday) so it was a full week of Anya not sleeping in her crib. Things got pretty harried at my parents with her naps not working and bed time a challenge. Poor thing woke up 6 times on Tuesday night (so that means mommy did too for those of you not catching on).

Our house is warm and we are officially 24 hours back into our groove and life is much better. Both Anya and have finally started to feel a bit better, but poor daddy has it now. Grampa is on the mend but Gramma has it now too.

Quite a week- I have to say I'm glad it is over. My parents were so gracious to have us bunked out for so long and I know it wasn't a picnic for anyone. A sick baby reeks havoc on all lives she touches! BEWARE!!!!!

On other news, Anya is climbing the stairs like a champ. She has no concept that she could fall down them and you have to be behind her the entire time but she gets VERY proud of herself when she gets to the top.

She also plays with Boone. His nasty, smelly, slobbery toys are preferred especially if they are still warm from his mouth. She chases him around and he plays keep away eventually allowing her to play with his toy. It is hilarious to watch. Anya might have some doggy tendencies though. After watching and learning from Boone she carries his toys around in her mouth as she crawls. She also rolls around in his bed just like her best dog friend. She thinks he is her big brother!

ER visit

We had some excitement last week. Anya had her first visit to the ER after eating mangoes and yogurt. She has had mangoes several times in the past so we still are not sure what triggered the reaction. Basically she was eating and got very cranky. She had pureed mangoes and some cut up fresh mangoes. After finishing that we decided to try some Yo baby yogurt. After the first spoonful she began violently vomiting and did not stop until ALL contents were out of her little tummy. This in itself was frightening because witnessing your baby puke is scary and you feel very helpless. After the initial incident subsided we noticed hives breaking out on her face and neck. At this point we decided it was time to pack her up, head toward the ER and call the doctor.

As a child I had a severe allergic reaction to a soft cooked egg and remained allergic to eggs for most of my childhood. I was concerned that Anya was having a similar reaction and I did not want her to go into anaphlaxsis (your mouth and throat swell making it impossible to breathe). Once we arrived near the hospital the doctor on call had called us back as we sat in the Whole Foods parking lot debating whether or not to actually go to the ER. At this point Anya's hives had subsided and she was babbling and breathing normal. The doctor listened to our explanation of the incident and advised us to go to the ER just to be sure her lunges were functioning fine and to ease our mind.

So into Overlake ER we go and have a great experience. We are in and out in one hour and of course Anya was perfectly fine with just a red rash left on her face. She was cooing and talking to all the nurses and doctors making us look like foolish first time parents rushing a perfectly healthy child to the ER. Had the doctor not instructed us to go into the ER we would have returned home and felt better, but since we had been basically told to go we felt we should obey.

We have avoided mangoes fearing this was the main cause of her reaction. Just to try again we gave Anya a very small amount of Yo baby this week during the day (when the doctors office is open) and with Benadryl on hand. She did not want to eat it which was the first sign for us that perhaps this was the perpetrator. She ate one or two very small bites, then smeared it on her hand and rubbed her face. About 5 minutes later everywhere the yogurt had come into contact with her skin she had red spots and a few hives. So obviously there is something in the yogurt that doesn't agree with her but the hives are mainly topical and don't seem to be anywhere else then where the yogurt has physically touched. We are baffled and will most likely see an allergist to determine whether she is indeed allergic to dairy (god we hope not!)

After the traumatic evening we spent a relaxing Saturday at Oma and Opa's in Gig Harbor. Later in the evening we celebrated Myles's 31st birthday with his parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in law, nieces and nephew, and my folks. It was a great dinner and Anya had a blast with her cousins once again.

Crawling and da da da

As previously mentioned the crawling phase has begun. She is slow right now so I can look over at her every few moments and still feel that she is safe. As the weeks roll by however she is gaining speed. I have a feeling my life as I know it is soon to end.
She has been teething lately so crankiness has reared its evil head. It is as if my docile, beautiful daughter turns into a whining she-devil at the drop of a hat. I imagine it must be terribly painful to cut teeth but man does it set her off.
Eating is going well- she tries new things all the time and has yet to reject any type of food. I am introducing some spice and flavor this week. Today she had curry sweet potatoes and squash- sounds good huh! She LOVED it. I also pulverized Cheerios (grandpa's suggestion) and mix that with milk. It is a delectable dish to little Anya.
I have a lot video so I will post most of them. It is fun to see her in action now, crawling, playing and making noises.
She started saying da da da da last week which of course Myles takes full credit for. Ma ma ma is not coming yet but I'm sure she will be saying it soon. Da da da is said for anything though; me, the dog, Myles, the car, the ball, so she really isn't saying "daddy" yet (no body tell Myles!)


Naked time is fun time. Anytime she is cranky a simple way to put a smile on her face is to take her clothes off. She is, after all, a classy lady.
Not a whole bunch more to report, just wanted an excuse to post more pics and videos.

7 month stats

The results are in:
Anya weighs a whopping 14 lbs 6 oz placing her in the 25% for weight
She is 26 inches long- 50% in height
Her head size is in the 55% - must be all those brains like her mom! :)

Crawling into 2010

It's official- she's crawling. Anya waited until the first day of the new year to crawl forward a few feet towards a toy. Like all things baby, this crawling started slowly, now only 4 days into it she is already speedy. Time to child proof- UGH! Things that are especially interesting and crawl worthy so far are: Anya's reflection in the mirror, Boone (much to his chagrin), bright toys that light up, toys that rattle, wooden spoons, Tupperware, mom's toes (I think a foot fetish is beginning), and of course the electric heater and cord in her room.

We have attempted to catch the crawling on video but she is being tricky and only crawls when the camera is turned off. Stay tuned for some action shots, I'm sure we will get some soon.

She also hit the 7 month mark on Jan 2nd. We have her "6" month check up today so I will be able to report her "scores" later. I am interested to see where she falls in the height/weight percentiles now.

Christmas was wonderful. She enjoyed the parties and can stay up fairly well as long as it is a social event. We are encouraging a later bedtime (around 7) and the parties helped. The presents were a hit but as expected the wrapping paper, tissue paper, and ribbon were much more entertaining at the time of unwrapping. We spent Christmas Eve at our home with both sets of grandparents and Anya's aunts, uncles and cousins. As an aside, I witnessed a funny interaction between cousin Chloe (3) and Anya. Anya coughed and Chloe politely reminded Anya she is supposed to cover her mouth when she coughs- hilarious! Hopefully Chloe will continue to educate Anya on the finer points of social etiquette as she grows.

Christmas day was spent at Grandma and Grandpa's with Uncle Scott and Aunt Natalie. Among the many gifts Anya received were books, shoes, clothes, and lots of toys that make LOTS of noise. I guess all those annoying loud toys I bought for Brayden, Kaitlyn and Chloe that I thought were funny at the time are coming back to bite me! As a family tradition at Christmas dinner we always have poppers and Anya wore her hat like a champ- one of the family.

New Years was spent with the Freemans and Bhatias. Lydia and Anya went to bed at 7, but Anya decided to wake up just in time for the celebration. So she toasted in the New Year with us and watched the fireworks explode off the Space Needle all in the comfort of her jammies!

2010 is going to bring so much adventure. I can't wait for Anya to begin walking, talking, running, and SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. All of which I'm sure will occur during this next year.