A Quick Update

Hi everyone. I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted, but I guess that's life with a Little One. I get on-line to read posts most days. I even have time to comment some of the time. But finding the chunk of time for a post seems impossible. So I am giving up sleep for you all tonight. I'll try to keep it quick so I can go to bed.

My dad is coming up to visit tomorrow. He was going to be stopping over for a few days before going on to a conference in Montreal, but life got so busy for him he couldn't afford to be away for so long. So he's bagging on the conference and keeping the date with his granddaughter. Isn't that sweet! I am looking forward to his visit, and showing off all the wonderful things that Pinecone is doing these days.

Speaking of showing off my wonderful daughter, we just returned from a visit with her birthparents. It was a great little trip. We spent one day with them, visiting lots and PC was just being her cute, sweet, easy going self. At first she was a little leary of being held by others, but soon warmed up to everyone. In addition to her birthparents (D & K), her birthmom's sister and birthdad's parents were there. So it was a nice little family gathering. We feel very lucky that being around them is easy, conversation flows nicely, and it is obvious that they all love her and care about her. At one point, while admiring how cute she is, I told K, "You guys did a great job. You made a really cute baby." To which he replied, "And you guys are doing a great job raising her." Then we hugged. It was a very nice moment, and S and I appreciated hearing that. A million pictures were taken, including one I hope turns out: Pinecone was "walking" in the grass, with D holding one hand for support and me holding the other. A beautiful image.

As for all the amazing things PC is doing, she is a Master Crawler, traveling from one end of the room to the other in the blink of an eye. She pulls herself up to standing on everything (in the bathtub, S reminds her, "This is a bath, not a shower", as she loves pulling herself up to standing in the tub and I pour water over her.). When reading books together, she likes to turn the pages. When reading or looking at pictures or holding a stuffed animal, if we say, "Give xxx a kiss," she leans forward and kisses the picure or toy. And she likes to kiss ON THE LIPS. Wet ones. My dear grandma, now passed, would have been proud, as she was the all-time champion sloppy kisser. She likes to unload the dishwasher, taking dishes out of the bottom rack and handing them to me, while holding onto the dishwasher with one hand for support. She likes to ride her rocking horse, and even more likes to ride my knees as we go on a horsey ride (her favorite is when we are "galloping" and then "jump over a creek." Boy does that make her laugh with excitement!).

As for what she doesn't like, having her face wiped off and holding still for a diaper change are near the top of the list. She refuses a bottle, which has been the case for about 2 months now. My plan had been to wean from nursing at a year, because of the work making up bags for the lact-aid, managing the tube for the lact-aid, taking the domperidone, etc, but Pinecone LOVES nursing so weaning won't be happening for a while. I am working on nighttime weaning, in an effort to get more sleep (although she usually only wakes up once, so I am not complaining, but 1/2 the time she doesn't even drink more than 2 ounces, so I think she can wait a couple of hours). Oh, and naps. She doesn't like naps. But that is a whole other post, and I don't want to get into that awful little topic right now.

Sorry no pictures tonight. Trust me, she's really really cute. Oh, and in the past 3 days she got 2 new teeth. So after having only 2 teeth for months, she now has 4. Very cute!

Oh, and an update on things about me: I have lost only 5 pounds so far, but still have 2 weeks to go. Though I've only lost a little, my pants fit like they are supposed to again, so that is encouraging. Gotta keep it up. Pinecone's bedroom is 1/2 done -- my friend who is doing the construction had to stop for a while as she is pursuing a cancer treatment which will hopefully help save her life. The doctors no longer have any options for her, but she feels really good about the treatment she is doing now. And remember that meadow I planted last spring? Well, we had the hottest May in the history of Washington state (well, maybe not, but certainly in anyone's recent memory) and I couldn't keep the seeds watered enough. So it didn't take in spring, and we replanted in the late fall. Now there are wildflower sprouts in several spots, and a nice low growing grass has filled in much of the area. I think by next year it will be looking great.

Well, that's it. I would say, "Good night", but Pinecone just woke up, so I have to convince her to go back to sleep. Do I nurse her now, hoping a few more ounces will help her sleep better? Or is that reinforcing the night feeding? Screw it, she's getting nursed.