Who's Her Daddy?

It's downright uncanny! Seriously, I did some of the work too! ... at least they are both really cute!

Mike - 10 months

Fiona - 10 months

"All Done"

Got a fun video of Fiona chattering away at dinner earlier this week. She is showing off her "all done" and "whoa" skills.

I was planning a "Wordless Wednesday" post - but this video is anything but wordless.

11 Months

I can't believe that the next time I write a month entry, Fiona will be a year old! She is turning from a baby into an incredible little girl! Fiona is just a joy in our lives. We love watching our sweet girl grow up!

• Talking: ALL THE TIME! She says hi, whoa, wow, go, mama, dada, nigh-nigh, and all done. This morning, a little voice across the hall woke me up at 4:00 am, saying "all done." It was pretty funny.
• Eating and drinking: I packed away most of the bottles today because she pretty much drinks everything out of a sippy cup. And we're essentially done with baby food as well. At daycare this month, she stole one of the big kid's sandwiches during a picnic because she wanted to take bites out of it. Her cut up one was no fun in comparison!
• Sassing: She already sasses us ... and it makes us laugh. Anyone who spends much time with her knows we are going to have our hands full. And we say "bring it on."
• Moving: She will pull up to her feet some ... usually with help. And she loves pulling up to her knees. Once she gets her AFOs, we think she'll be off.
• Favorite toys: She loves books, blocks, her kitchen set, playing ball with Yogi .. and beads and Mommy's purse. Accessorizing is an art!
• Singing: Her new favorite song is Itsy Bitsy Spider and she'll do the motions with us - except "out came the sun" ... that one is confusing.
• She's on the last hurrah with most of her 9 month clothes. The pants are pretty much capris now. But it works for summer! I had to give in and move the 12 month stuff to the dresser.
• We've upgraded to toddler carseats. The legs were getting too long for the infant one! She's still rear-facing and will be for a while. She doesn't weigh enough and seems perfectly content with her rear-facing world for now.

Playing with buddy T at the daycare carnival

When there is a duck pond at the carnival,
somebody is going to have THAT kid -
the one that goes in with her clothes on!

Just a cute shot

Sweet potatoes are AWESOME

One of My Best Days

It has been 20 years since the Twins won the World Series in 1991. Thankfully, the team has been able to add some excitement to this woeful season with a celebration of that accomplishment.

My dad receives the MN Twins eNewsletter (no surprise to anyone who knows him). He saw a contest recently that asked you to describe your Game 7 experience in 150 words or less. So he sent it to me and asked me to enter with our story. I've worked and reworked my words (150 is terribly restricting) and this is what I ended up with.

In entering, I discovered it is more of a social media experiment - because the winner is decided by how many Facebook likes and Twitter re-tweets you get. Since we all know social media isn't my bag, I don't expect to go far. But for once, I wasn't motivated to enter a contest to win it. I wrote this for my Dad.

I was eleven. And my dad had two tickets to Game 7. It was a long drive, so he debated whether or not to go. Luckily, his voice of reason resembled his persistent redheaded daughter.

Our seats were great. I felt like I could touch Dan Gladden. And it was intense. My homer hanky was a tiny, sweaty ball in my fist by the 7^thinning. Dad said every inning, “We just have to hold them this time.” As the bottom of the 10^th started, you could feel that something amazing was about to happen. When Larkin’s ball sailed over the outfielder’s head, my enormous cup of pop sailed over Dad’s head. But he didn’t seem to mind! I’m no longer eleven, but Game 7 is still one of my very best days. One I hope to repeat someday with my own persistent daughter – and my Dad.

Sibling Rivalry

"Hey, I didn't know I could crawl in here!"

"What a great fort! No wonder
Yogi hangs out in here!"

"SO NOT COOL, guys!"

Lessons from the Booster Chair

Fiona is teaching us a few new eating skills and table manners. Move over, Heloise - there is a new queen of etiquette in town!

1. If you don't like it, throw it on the floor. Yogi will take care of it for you!
2. If you do like it, rub it in your hair. Then you smell like it all day ... unless your parents take a wash cloth to your head!
3. Choking is NOT an excuse to stop eating. Just shove more food in there ... eventually the choking will stop. Mom and Dad's theory of "don't put seven green beans in your mouth at one time" is totally bogus.
4. When you are done with your sippy cup, do not let it take up valuable space on your tray. Give it a toss - someone will catch it!
5. Use the sounds "ah dah" very carefully. Mom and Dad will interpret this as "all done" and WILL take your food away.
6. If they miss the "ah dah" signal, throw everything left on your tray on the floor. They'll get the message.

Date Night

Thanks to Grandpa V, Mike and I were able to attend the wedding reception of a good friend as a couple - not a trio. Fiona and Grandpa had a great time as did Mike and I. We appreciated the time to see our friends and be adults for a few hours. And then were very happy to come back to our girl.

Fun Friday: No Bed Time

What a girl can be doing instead of going to bed. The pacifier is, of course, being thrown at Yogi. And Daddy is picking it up with his foot.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

Okay, it's more like head, stomach, and feet ... but I couldn't think of a clever title for that!

I've been absent from the blog world for a bit because it has been a little chaotic around here. Fiona brought home the stomach flu from daycare and took Daddy, Auntie Emmy, Grandma N, and Mommy down with her. It was a "quick" (it doesn't feel quick in the moment) bug but takes about a week after to feel human again - and to enjoy food again. We're in better shape this week finally!

We had our regular spina bifida appointments yesterday and they went fairly well. Her final head ultrasound (her soft spot is closing so she'll need CT scans after this) looked great. She actually got her shunt adjusted to 100 - which has been our goal level. The neurology nurse thought she looked great in her development. Hooray!

We also went to spina bifida clinic. The renal doctor said her kidneys looked great and the specialty doctor was pleased. Mike and I are not huge fans of the rehab doctor. She came in and started talking about measuring Fiona for braces before she even looked at what she could do. In fact, NONE of the specialty doctors had her crawl or stand for them. They ended up casting her for ankle braces (AFOs), which should be here in 2-3 weeks.

When I step back and look objectively, she probably should have the ankle braces - at least for a while. We think they will go far in strengthening her confidence in her legs. Right now, she pulls to her knees really well - but is much more hesitant to pull all the way up. But we are working on it and she is making progress. Our parenting hackles do get up when we feel like the doctors are looking at her as a sb patient only and not as an individual.

So we'll see when she gets the braces. We want to make sure we continue to work the muscle tone and foot flexion that she does have, but we also want to do the right thing by her in the way of support. We want to give her every advantage when she needs it. It's a fine line that we'll have to discover as we go.

But we do know we have an incredible daughter and we will continue to be her advocates and teach her how to advocate for herself as well.