Enjoy everyone! A little glimpse of what we have been up to the past few days.....Nicole came for a visit and we loved having her. Tula especially. She is just too friendly. She fell in love with Nic instantly and I am pretty sure Nicole was feelin' the same way. They were buddies and it was so cute. Tula has been feeling under the weather the past couple days and actually had her first fever. Mark it on your calendars, Tula FINALLY got medicine. It took me over 6 months but I finally caved and gave her a little Motrin and her fever boke (although I am pretty sure that was actually because of the bath she had) but she has finally had medicine. She ATE UP the attention of being "sick" last night and acted completely sucky. She was snuggling Daddy and sitting so quiet with the cloth on her head and a bottle of pedialyte (which of course she didn't drink because she still doesn't "DO" a bottle) Nevertheless, she played the role and held it, chewed on it, and gave her biggest puppy dog eyes whenever I took her temp. The pics show it all I think. I am really predicting a tooth but I have been saying that for two months now so we'll see!
http://gallery.mac.com/christacoppola#gallery
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Six Months Old!
Well....actually more like 6 and a HALF at this point but who's counting. Tula's 6 month birthday came smack in the middle of the holiday season and I hadn't taken the time to write yet, but I wanted to let you all know what she has been up to.
Let me start by saying that teeth had better get here soon. There are no teeth yet. But sleep, the last few nights (almost all week) has been scarce and I cannot think of any other reason for all the commotion. She is sometimes getting up almost once every hour. Blah! For the most part, she is up 3 times a night. She goes down around 8 and usually gets up around 11, 3 and 5. She will go back down at 5 but lately it's only been till about 7 or so. That is a new thing, since the holidays. Before that she slept till 9 every morning so I really am not sure where THAT baby went but I am missing those days. However, I love that she will wake around 7 or 7:30 and play in her crib for a good half an hour by herself. She never seems to wake needing or even wanting out of the bed. She rolls around and chit chats with herself for awhile and I usually end up going in and getting her before she even cries or yelps to be picked up. I can't resist. She is too cute in the mornings, and that first smile of the day makes up for all the sleepless hours from the night before every time.
We have pretty much cut out the third (and evening) daily nap and we are now just down to a morning and afternoon nap, which for some reason makes me feel like Tula is such a big girl. It actually is making those two naps a little bit longer, which I don't mind at all. Frankly, now that solid food is in full swing that dinner time nap was getting to be a pain so I am glad to be done with it.
Solid food eating is going very well. True to my word, I have made ALL of Tula's baby food (well, minus the cereal) and am actually really enjoying doing it. So far we have tried sweet potatoes (favorite food at this point), broccoli, yams, carrots, peas and mashed potatoes for veggies and bananas (another fav), apples, pears, nectarines, mangoes and peaches for fruit. Also, this month we intoduced baby yogurt, which was a huge hit. She loves yogurt! A normal daily meal plan for Tula is usually the same. She has a half a ripe banana mashed up for breakfast, one cube of fruit or veggie with a little cereal and some yogurt for lunch, and 2 cubes of veggies for dinner with 1 or 2 cubes of fruit for dessert. We also introduced Mum Mums (baby rice crackers) and Gerber Puffs (little flavored cereal bites) and she loves both of those. I usually give her some of that stuff after each meal. She loves to sit and try and feed herself while I clean up and it buys me a little time. She is so close to being able to pick up the puffs and feed herself it's not even funny. Yesterday she got it in there but couldn't figure out that she had to let it go poor thing. I m pretty sure she will be picking those lil things up and munching on them all by herself in a matter of days! For now, Mama puts them in her mouth one by one and she still loves to show off how she can chew them up and swallow them. As for liquids, it seems we have bypassed the bottle completely and she loves her sippy cups with straws I have found. She lets me know in the middle of meals that she is thirsty with a glance towards the cup and a little squawk and as soon as the straw is in her mouth she starts chugging. It's really cute. I have to say, I feel so much better now that solids are conquered and there is a way to feed or water her when Mommy isn't around. What a relief!
We had to put the gate up at the top of the stairs this month because Tula is a rolling machine. She has not figured out the crawl yet, although she spends lots of time on all fours rocking back and forth lately, but she has figured out how to roll to get wherever she needs a to be. Oh, and if a roll won't get her there, a scooch on the back sure will. These are her two current methods of transportation and although effective, are not the crawl that we are anxiously awaiting. There is a part of me that is so excited for her to do it and another part of me that is really going to miss the days of having a baby that stays where you put her. It's hard to believe I will be running after her in no time. So, no official crawling yet. I will post a video as soon as it happens.
And the sitting thing is hit and miss as well. She is capable of it and will sit from time to time. But this kids really prefers to be on her back or tummy rolling around. Often, when I try and get her to sit, I feel like I am trying to snap her body in half. She tightens everything up and makes her whole body straight as a board. And she doesn't fuss or anything, more or less just pretends like she doean't know what you are trying to do. If there is something that interests her in front of her, she will sit there and play with it, but seems to have no concept of using her hands to hold herself up from flopping over. So as soon as she looks up from said toy or over her shoulder, that's it. Balance is lost and she flops to the side. Resumes laying flat on her belly and makes no attempt to get back to her previous position. Some people talk about little ones bypassing the crawling thing, is it possible to bypass sitting at all? lol. That's what it seems she is trying to do.
Tula has recently rediscovered her hands. Not just that they are there, but that she has ultimate controls over them. She lay on her back and move her hands around at the wrists, back and forth, and just watch them forever. She also loves to clap them together, not to make noise yet but just the feeling of it. Another favorite game is to get two small hard toys in her hand and bang them together.
I love that Tula can entertain herself most of them time. And she does not need a bunch of colors, lights, or sounds to do that. She is perfectly content with two blocks or a little stuffed animal. Her absolute favorite is anything from the kitchen. Measuring cups, spatulas, her spoons, you name it. She loves those toys and will lay with a few of them on the floor for a long time with out a peep. She seems to be fairly independent which is such a great quality that I love about her already.
We are very close to switching to the convertible carseat. The only reason I haven't yet is the convenience of being able to take her out and into wherever we are going in the carseat if she has fallen asleep. But it is just too heavy to carry with her in it now, so that isn't happening very often. I can't wait to get her in her big girl carseat and get rid of that thing. It's the same one my Mom and Dad had for her in Canada and she loved it so I am loking forward to the transition.
There isn't much more I can think of in Tula's life. She fills my days with joy and I am really convinced that I have one of the easiest babies that God could have given me. I am so thankful for her. This is a fun stage, she thinks her own little things are funny and I love that I know what to do to get the biggest giggles from her. John has been away at work for the last two weeks (minus a few days here and there) and although this 24/7 Mommy business has been hard work I feel like Tula and I have really had fun together. I take the time to get silly with her at night and we have all morning to lay and bed and cuddle. Sometimes the days go by too fast. On the other hand, I have a new respect for single Moms. Going all day, or days on end without a moments break is tough stuff and has really made me appreciate all the help I get from John when he is home. Plus, she just doesn't seem to enjoy bath time as much with me as she does with her Dad. That's been his "thing" since day one with her and we are looking forward to having him home and everyone getting back into the routine of life with Daddy, baths and all. John called tonight and let me know he is coming home tomorrow for good, he doesn't have to go back. He had just left again yesterday and was supposed to be gone for up to three weeks but I guess they don't need them up there so he will be home for awhile and working more regular hours. Yipee! We have been missing him around here so much!
So I am thinking the length of this post makes up for the fact that they are becoming so few and far between. I apologize for that, I have been exhausted the past couple of weeks and pretty much been going to bed when Tula goes down at 8. No more late nights on the computer for a little while! I guess if you have read this far, kudos to you, and your reward is I will fill you in on our latest little secret. I AM PREGNANT! Yep, again! We found out Christmas morning. I took a test to find out for sure but we kind of figured anyways. A few signs here and there, sore back and sleepiness. John actually called it before I thought it. I was complaining about a sore back and he said' "You're totally pregnant." We have pretty much been trying since Tula was born but because I am still breastfeeding we had no idea how long it would take. I was ready for another one from the moment Tula was born and I cannot wait for her to be a big sister. We are thrilled. Our health insurance kicks in Feb. 1st so I will make a doctors appt for early Feb to get everything confirmed and find out how far along I am. I really have no idea, I am guessing about 8 weeks at this point. I think the new one will be here in late July or early August, they will be just over a year apart which will be so special. I want them to be the best of friends and pray that that will be the case. How fun to have a little brother or sister just over a year younger for Tula. And a big sister who is just a year older! I can't wait.
We have been blessed beyond measure and the news of the next little one is just another reminder of all of the great things in our life. John and I were sad to see 2007 go because it truly was such a fabulous year for both of us and as a family. But 2008 has it's own beautiful promises in store, and we are now anticipating this year as much as the last.
I will keep you all posted on the pregnancy, but there probably won't be much more info till February after I have seen a Doc.
I am feeling great, pretty tired but the nice thing about being pregnant the second time around is that you remember how fast all these stages go by. I look forward to going through it again without feeling so much rush and anticipation. If anything, I have learned to stop and live in the moment with Tula and that is what I will continue to do.
Let me start by saying that teeth had better get here soon. There are no teeth yet. But sleep, the last few nights (almost all week) has been scarce and I cannot think of any other reason for all the commotion. She is sometimes getting up almost once every hour. Blah! For the most part, she is up 3 times a night. She goes down around 8 and usually gets up around 11, 3 and 5. She will go back down at 5 but lately it's only been till about 7 or so. That is a new thing, since the holidays. Before that she slept till 9 every morning so I really am not sure where THAT baby went but I am missing those days. However, I love that she will wake around 7 or 7:30 and play in her crib for a good half an hour by herself. She never seems to wake needing or even wanting out of the bed. She rolls around and chit chats with herself for awhile and I usually end up going in and getting her before she even cries or yelps to be picked up. I can't resist. She is too cute in the mornings, and that first smile of the day makes up for all the sleepless hours from the night before every time.
We have pretty much cut out the third (and evening) daily nap and we are now just down to a morning and afternoon nap, which for some reason makes me feel like Tula is such a big girl. It actually is making those two naps a little bit longer, which I don't mind at all. Frankly, now that solid food is in full swing that dinner time nap was getting to be a pain so I am glad to be done with it.
Solid food eating is going very well. True to my word, I have made ALL of Tula's baby food (well, minus the cereal) and am actually really enjoying doing it. So far we have tried sweet potatoes (favorite food at this point), broccoli, yams, carrots, peas and mashed potatoes for veggies and bananas (another fav), apples, pears, nectarines, mangoes and peaches for fruit. Also, this month we intoduced baby yogurt, which was a huge hit. She loves yogurt! A normal daily meal plan for Tula is usually the same. She has a half a ripe banana mashed up for breakfast, one cube of fruit or veggie with a little cereal and some yogurt for lunch, and 2 cubes of veggies for dinner with 1 or 2 cubes of fruit for dessert. We also introduced Mum Mums (baby rice crackers) and Gerber Puffs (little flavored cereal bites) and she loves both of those. I usually give her some of that stuff after each meal. She loves to sit and try and feed herself while I clean up and it buys me a little time. She is so close to being able to pick up the puffs and feed herself it's not even funny. Yesterday she got it in there but couldn't figure out that she had to let it go poor thing. I m pretty sure she will be picking those lil things up and munching on them all by herself in a matter of days! For now, Mama puts them in her mouth one by one and she still loves to show off how she can chew them up and swallow them. As for liquids, it seems we have bypassed the bottle completely and she loves her sippy cups with straws I have found. She lets me know in the middle of meals that she is thirsty with a glance towards the cup and a little squawk and as soon as the straw is in her mouth she starts chugging. It's really cute. I have to say, I feel so much better now that solids are conquered and there is a way to feed or water her when Mommy isn't around. What a relief!
We had to put the gate up at the top of the stairs this month because Tula is a rolling machine. She has not figured out the crawl yet, although she spends lots of time on all fours rocking back and forth lately, but she has figured out how to roll to get wherever she needs a to be. Oh, and if a roll won't get her there, a scooch on the back sure will. These are her two current methods of transportation and although effective, are not the crawl that we are anxiously awaiting. There is a part of me that is so excited for her to do it and another part of me that is really going to miss the days of having a baby that stays where you put her. It's hard to believe I will be running after her in no time. So, no official crawling yet. I will post a video as soon as it happens.
And the sitting thing is hit and miss as well. She is capable of it and will sit from time to time. But this kids really prefers to be on her back or tummy rolling around. Often, when I try and get her to sit, I feel like I am trying to snap her body in half. She tightens everything up and makes her whole body straight as a board. And she doesn't fuss or anything, more or less just pretends like she doean't know what you are trying to do. If there is something that interests her in front of her, she will sit there and play with it, but seems to have no concept of using her hands to hold herself up from flopping over. So as soon as she looks up from said toy or over her shoulder, that's it. Balance is lost and she flops to the side. Resumes laying flat on her belly and makes no attempt to get back to her previous position. Some people talk about little ones bypassing the crawling thing, is it possible to bypass sitting at all? lol. That's what it seems she is trying to do.
Tula has recently rediscovered her hands. Not just that they are there, but that she has ultimate controls over them. She lay on her back and move her hands around at the wrists, back and forth, and just watch them forever. She also loves to clap them together, not to make noise yet but just the feeling of it. Another favorite game is to get two small hard toys in her hand and bang them together.
I love that Tula can entertain herself most of them time. And she does not need a bunch of colors, lights, or sounds to do that. She is perfectly content with two blocks or a little stuffed animal. Her absolute favorite is anything from the kitchen. Measuring cups, spatulas, her spoons, you name it. She loves those toys and will lay with a few of them on the floor for a long time with out a peep. She seems to be fairly independent which is such a great quality that I love about her already.
We are very close to switching to the convertible carseat. The only reason I haven't yet is the convenience of being able to take her out and into wherever we are going in the carseat if she has fallen asleep. But it is just too heavy to carry with her in it now, so that isn't happening very often. I can't wait to get her in her big girl carseat and get rid of that thing. It's the same one my Mom and Dad had for her in Canada and she loved it so I am loking forward to the transition.
There isn't much more I can think of in Tula's life. She fills my days with joy and I am really convinced that I have one of the easiest babies that God could have given me. I am so thankful for her. This is a fun stage, she thinks her own little things are funny and I love that I know what to do to get the biggest giggles from her. John has been away at work for the last two weeks (minus a few days here and there) and although this 24/7 Mommy business has been hard work I feel like Tula and I have really had fun together. I take the time to get silly with her at night and we have all morning to lay and bed and cuddle. Sometimes the days go by too fast. On the other hand, I have a new respect for single Moms. Going all day, or days on end without a moments break is tough stuff and has really made me appreciate all the help I get from John when he is home. Plus, she just doesn't seem to enjoy bath time as much with me as she does with her Dad. That's been his "thing" since day one with her and we are looking forward to having him home and everyone getting back into the routine of life with Daddy, baths and all. John called tonight and let me know he is coming home tomorrow for good, he doesn't have to go back. He had just left again yesterday and was supposed to be gone for up to three weeks but I guess they don't need them up there so he will be home for awhile and working more regular hours. Yipee! We have been missing him around here so much!
So I am thinking the length of this post makes up for the fact that they are becoming so few and far between. I apologize for that, I have been exhausted the past couple of weeks and pretty much been going to bed when Tula goes down at 8. No more late nights on the computer for a little while! I guess if you have read this far, kudos to you, and your reward is I will fill you in on our latest little secret. I AM PREGNANT! Yep, again! We found out Christmas morning. I took a test to find out for sure but we kind of figured anyways. A few signs here and there, sore back and sleepiness. John actually called it before I thought it. I was complaining about a sore back and he said' "You're totally pregnant." We have pretty much been trying since Tula was born but because I am still breastfeeding we had no idea how long it would take. I was ready for another one from the moment Tula was born and I cannot wait for her to be a big sister. We are thrilled. Our health insurance kicks in Feb. 1st so I will make a doctors appt for early Feb to get everything confirmed and find out how far along I am. I really have no idea, I am guessing about 8 weeks at this point. I think the new one will be here in late July or early August, they will be just over a year apart which will be so special. I want them to be the best of friends and pray that that will be the case. How fun to have a little brother or sister just over a year younger for Tula. And a big sister who is just a year older! I can't wait.
We have been blessed beyond measure and the news of the next little one is just another reminder of all of the great things in our life. John and I were sad to see 2007 go because it truly was such a fabulous year for both of us and as a family. But 2008 has it's own beautiful promises in store, and we are now anticipating this year as much as the last.
I will keep you all posted on the pregnancy, but there probably won't be much more info till February after I have seen a Doc.
I am feeling great, pretty tired but the nice thing about being pregnant the second time around is that you remember how fast all these stages go by. I look forward to going through it again without feeling so much rush and anticipation. If anything, I have learned to stop and live in the moment with Tula and that is what I will continue to do.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Happy New Year!
It's January 4th and we are finally winding down from the holidays enough that I can sit down and take the time to write. John's Mom and Dad have been in town the last two weeks and just left yesterday, so now that everyone has went home things are starting to settle and I am reminded that another year of Christmas and holidays has passed and next Christmas is a WHOLE YEAR away.
We had a wonderful Christmas. Tula made out like a bandit and was spoiled rotten. We have enough toys to last till she is three I think! But more important than the gifts received was the time spent with family. What a treat it was for us to have a houseful for once! We had John's parents, younger brother Jason, Aunt Gayle and Grandparents visiting (his Aunt and Grandparents stayed at a hotel!) and of course my Mom and Dad were at their place in Scottsdale along with my sisters and Mom's parents, Grandpa and Grandma Klettke. I had a houseful for 3 or 4 days over Christmas but there was plenty of room and we all enjoyed eachother's company. It was such a treat to see Tula interacting with everyone at the same time. She LOVED the big crowd/audience and was not the least bit shy. In fact, she pretty much had the attitude of "the more the merrier" and the louder the group got the more fun she had. Now I can't say that this helped her routine much, things were pretty crazy for awhile and it will take a few days to get back on track, but she did pretty good considering. She would still go down at night and just woke more often than normal. I was convinced it could be teething and maybe she would pop a tooth while her Grandparent's were here but no such luck. I guess she just needed the extra Mommy-time, which she is getting lots of now that there is no one here to entertain her! Yes, Grandpa and Grandma we are missing you here!
I got a special Christmas treat this year as well when we found out that John wasn't going to have to go away for Christmas. he had been assigned to a job 3 hours away and was supposed to leave the week before Christmas for three weeks. I was so bummed that he wasn't going to get to be here for Tula's 1st Christmas but we found out last minute that he didn't have to leave until the day after Christmas. By far, my best Christmas present this year. It was so great to have him there, and I appreciated it so much more after having thought for the last few weeks that he wasn't going to be. Then, after being gone for a few days from the 26th, they decided to send them home again for New Year's. So I got in ring in the New Year with John and say goodbye to 2007 with him as well. It was such an amazing year for us and I was so thankful we were able to be together when it ended. He left again on January 2nd and as much as Tula and I are missing Daddy, we are thankful for all the extra time we got with him over the holidays that we didn't ever think we would get!
So I myself got a little spoiled for Christmas as well. John got me the SLR camera I have wanted forever, and I have been playing with it a little and am able to get such great shots of Tula! I love the camera so much and am excited for all the fabulous pics to be taken with it! I am a bit of an addict right now. However, I also got an iMac (I have been talking about it forever and finally made the switch thanks to My Mom and Dad, er, I mean Santa) Anyways, I LOVE it! As fun as it is to play with it is a completely different operating system and learning how to use it and all it's functions will be a real curve for me. Luckily, I have a store 10 minutes from my house that I can go into and ask questions whenever I want, I have already had to use that lifeline a few times. Anyways, you will all have to be patient with me while I am organizing all mu photos on here and getting used to all the changes I may not be uploading as many photos for awhile, we will see. I will try and get some more Christmas ones and some recent Tula stuff but you may have to give me some time. Thanks guys!
In the midst if all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, my baby turned 6 months old on the 29th of Dec. Now I thought this would have been more emotional than it was, but I think I was just so busy with everything else that I didn't really take the time to sit down and think much about it. But it is almost impossible for me to realize that a half a year has went by. And that in another 6 months we will be celebrating her first birthday! I am going to update later this week with a 6 Months old post and what's new with Tula but for now I am going to say goodnight. I just wanted to drop a quick line letting everyone know we are still around. I know some of you get a little finicky if I don't post regularly, lol.
Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas. Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy 2008!
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