Zipporah - a day of adventure

Today Zipporah had her 9-month-old check-up.  She is clocking in at 15lbs even and that has the doctor concerned.  She only gained one pound between her 3-month and 6-month visits and now here between her 6-month and 9-months, again only one pound gained.  I am just happy she is gaining weight and not losing it, but the doc wonders if something else is at play so she did some bloodwork and we are going to go from there.

She did grow two inches longer between her 3-month and 6-month visits and another inch between her 6-month and 9-month visits, so she still "flattening out" some, at least :)

In spite of all this seemingly negative news, Zipporah appears exceedingly happy and playful.  She is not sick or tired all the time or anything crazy.  She has an odd aversion to being on her tummy (and will promptly roll onto her back, accompanied by cries of outraged when placed in such a position).  She also does not care for sitting, but she will stand and wiggle on her back and locomote some that way (like a fish), so although she is going about it in an odd way, she does seem to be able to use her muscles and such.

In any case, we have planned a weight check in a month, so I'm going to pump her full of milk and food and hope for the best in the mean time.

After all this crazy news this morning, and being poked three times to get that bloodwork - ouch! - Zipporah promptly fell asleep for her daily nap.

Shortly after waking up from her nap, she used the "more" sign for the first time this afternoon!!  At first I thought it was a fluke.  She banged her fists together, slowly and carefully, but I thought she was just mimicking me, not really asking for food, as she was looking at her hands, not me.  But over the course of her meal she did it several more times for me and then for Daddy when he got home!!

And to top off this day of wonder, her first tooth broke through the gums this evening and Daddy was the first to discover it!  And we know it must have just happened this evening as the doctor noted her absence of teeth (but clear evidence they were on the way!) at her appointment this morning.

Pfew!  What a busy day for Miss Zipporah!!

7 Quick Takes - progressive

I say "progressive" because I started this last week and am finishing it this week and while that would not normally be a big deal, the pictures might give it away as one has a "regular" table and one. . . well, just look down and see for yourself!  :)

1) I finally got rid of one of my couches!

Check out the new set-up - we find it most enjoyable to have some extra space in the front room.

2) I am beginning to wonder if Zipporah might be left-handed.

She usually sucks her left thumb and when I put a cheerio in her right hand she holds it, but often does not put it in her mouth.  But if I put it in her left hand, she puts it in her mouth.  Time will tell for sure, but it is interesting to see this develop.

3) Gordie has finished building "his office" and the storage space in "the garage of awesome."  

He also installed the sound-system and projector so we have a stellar home theater.  - I guess he is a pretty awesome guy after-all.

4) I think the baby might finally be getting a tooth!

One of her gums is swollen - a tell-tale sign for teeth I would say.  She is nine-months-old and most of our babies got their first teeth around 4 or 6 months, but Zipporah is definitely doing things "at her own pace," and "in her own way."  She is such a great baby and I am enjoying watching her grow and develop.

5) We got a new table!

Yes, we really are nerds, but it works for us.

6) We enjoyed some company over Spring Break.

We had some old friends (well, they are not old, but friends we have had for some time - hah) come visit over Spring Break.  While it was a bit of a challenge to round up food for nine child eaters (10 if you count the baby, but she did not eat the same food, so I really did not consider her so much) and four adults, it was nice to have a good excuse to take it easy.  We did school the first couple days, but then our company came and we all sat back and enjoyed ourselves playing outside, at the park, in the garage, etc., and then sneaking away for some shopping!  I like to think everyone enjoyed themselves and had a much-needed break.

7) I made up a site-word bingo game.

I am most proud of myself over this.  I also printed an alphabet bingo game I got free off of someone's website and laminated them both.  Let's see how long they last.

Here is all the laminated chaos.

Here is the "master" for my site-word bingo.  The cards are to be drawn and placed on this card (there are four big cards for the master list) so it can be used independently as a matching activity, too.

Here is one of the six cards I made for the site-word bingo.

Here is the "master" for the alphabet bingo, which can also be used as a matching activity - assuming we do not lose all the letters in the first week (and let me tell you, that is highly probable :)

7 Quick Takes - A random look in my head/world

1) I rearranged the boys'/Miram's room.

Paul kept telling me it needed to be rearranged (probably because with the current set-up he was stuck back in the corner).  Now, for the four weeks since doing this, EVERY TIME Miriam walks in the room with me she proclaims, "You moved my bed, Mom!!"

The Thomas bed is Miriam's.  I did not bother waiting for it to be "tidy" as it never seems to get that way, or stay there long.

2) I put a bucket of books in the boys'/Miriam's bedroom and it has been a hit!

We are currently SATURATED with books and I am grateful.  Reading is important.  But with three rooms upstairs (the study, the tv room, and the front room) all overflowing with bookshelves full of books I concluded that some of the board books (which I feel get neglected being put on a typical bookshelf anyhow as those young enough to benefit from this type of book have trouble getting them off to look at) needed a new home.  Typically we just have beds and dressers in our bedrooms but I put a tub of board books in there mostly so it would have a place to go.  Now all the kids pull from it and read/look at a book or two once they get their pjs on and are waiting to say prayers and be tucked in.

3) I am changing.

For whatever reason I have recently been able to get rid of things - lots of things, things I have carried around since I was a kid and some things I have acquired more recently and thought I could never live without.  And let me say it feels GOOD to get rid of stuff, and I wish I had a week with no children to care for or other responsibilities so I could go through the whole house and do a great purge.  But as it is, I am trying to do a few bits here and there as I am able.  The funny thing is that I realize as much as I get rid of, I will never be able to STOP getting rid of stuff.  That, my friends, is the wisdom that comes with age, I believe.

4) Zipporah loves to eat!

I thought I was all smart, telling everyone after my third, or maybe fourth kid, that baby food was silly and I figured babies do well to just nurse until they are ready for table food at about a year (maybe 10 or 11 months).  But Zipporah has shown me that she LOVES food - at 8.5 months, nonetheless.  Eat up kid.  Way to remind me that every kid is different.  THAT is the real truth to be learned.

The "sly" look from the camera that takes forever to actually take the picture!!

5) My oldest daughter will probably create her own line of clothes some day.

I think all girls feel the need to "express themselves" in their clothing choices.  A lot of what Rebekah wears are hand-me-downs from friends and I imagine that could crimp a style, but she is clearly unhindered.  The "scarf" she is wearing in the picture below is often found tied around her in this position (she even wore it to church the other day, which I probably would have stopped if I had noticed it before we rushed out the door in our usual chaos).

6) On the topic of clothing, check out my handsome son in his new clothes for his upcoming First Communion!

Please pardon the spots on the camera lens and the red eyes.  I hate this camera, but I recently broke my good one :(

He refused to smile for me.  I guess he is preparing for this SOMBER celebration or something :)

7) Finding 7 things to comment on is a stretch today!

Some days I feel I could talk forever and today. . . I got nothing.  So I'm wrapping this up and moving on with my crazy day here.

Journal #26 - Life is flying by right now!

Out My Window:

There is some snow (just a dusting) and it is cold, but not too cold.  The wind is subtle today (which is saying something for Kansas).  The sun is shining and although the heater is running, I would say it is a "good" day for March.  

(A good day to "march fourth" - hahahaha)

Clothing Myself In:

Black yoga pants and an old MS Walk T-shirt, with bare feet.  (FYI I took Samuel to the doctor earlier and I put on jeans and sneakers for that, but at home I enjoy my yoga pants as they allow me to sneak in some stretching while I'm running after the kids - jeans can be a little restricting for some stretches.)

Around the House:

I finally hung some rings for the kids to hang on in the front room.  The beam has been exposed for years (put in when the hubby knocked out the wall and could not decide if it was weight-bearing, which he has since decided it is not) so I figured what damage would a couple more hooks really do??  I used climbing carabiners to connect the rings to the hooks so I can easily take them off and only the hooks are there, way up high, not attracting any attention.  Everyone loves the rings (including me) and I am MOST IMPRESSED with myself for putting them up!  I had to drill out the hole to for the giant eye hook.  And I had to use a screwdriver through the hook to get enough torque to get it to screw in!  It was the most hands-on of a project I have done and I did it all when my hubby was not home!!  Now every time I catch Miriam trying to hang from the fridge handles I redirect her to the rings.

In other news, I am thinking of getting rid of a couple of our couches (we have three).  I am becoming "one of those crazy alignment people."  Gordie will not let me get rid of all of them, but I figure one is enough - especially since I can sit on the floor and we have some bean bag chairs in the garage we can always bring in for company.  I'm hopeful that less furniture will give more room to play and move during the day.  Here is post by one of my favorite Alignment Gurus about her choice to go more furniture free.

The Baby:

She continues to be happy and healthy.  I started giving her some solid foods and SHE LOVES THEM!!  Unfortunately I gave her a little too much too soon as she had some digestional (which is probably not a word) discomfort for a few days but she seems to have figured it out now and we stick to one "real food meal" a day (or a few snacks in the morning and some in the evening) along with her regularly scheduled nursing and she is doing great.

I have snuck her onto her stomach some and she is holding her head up well and wiggling around some.  If I just flat out put her down on her belly she is OUTRAGED and will wail until she is either picked up or in some other way compensated - if left alone long enough she will flip on her back, but she will continue to cry over the outrage of putting her down on her stomach.  Now, on her back she will reach up to her toys and kick her feet to scoot along the floor - on her back, head-first, which makes me think of her as some floor-fish.  She is definitely going about this locomotion thing in an odd fashion.  

She likes to stand and hang from my fingers for a few minutes, but she does not pull herself up yet.  She is not very fond of sitting, but she can handle that position if you are sly about getting her into it (again - she gets a little grumpy about going straight to sitting - somewhat like being laid on her stomach).

Instead of dragging out the big high chair we have been feeding her in the bumbo, with a tray.  That is a hit.  Plus, having her down on the ground allows the kids to help.  Miriam loves giving her yogurt bites.  I am amazed at how far she can reach and grab things while in the bumbo.  She has got some majorly long arms and giant hands with long fingers!

The Kids:

We purchased a new pitcher (for milk and other drinks at meals) a while back and it is a winner so far.  The mouth is very wide, which scared me at first, but it pours well and so far the kids have done well with it.

We were doing really well health-wise, especially as all the school kids were getting two different strains of the flu and strep, but last week we had some heavy coughers and today I have one with a fever AND cough.  At least they seem to be spacing somewhat so I can focus on one or two at a time.

In the Kitchen:

I am falling in love with onions and green peppers in the crock-pot.  Why did I not try this sooner?  I am putting them in everything from soup to the traditional fajitas.  They are amazing.

Thinking About:

We did away with "date nights" once a month because they were overwhelming and the kids were getting a little too demanding about them (declaring they needed ice cream or other sweets and lots of other things on top).  Instead we tried to do "family night" once a week, but then Daddy started going to darts that evening.  So, I am trying to decide how to go about this "family time" and individual "date time" with the children.  I am leaning toward making "family night" be Friday or Saturday night (which would put our "marriage date night" to a different day) and to have each child get one date night with each parent once a year (so basically a "date night" once every six months) and to step it up a little - a dinner out, or a movie, or something REALLY special, not just staying up late to play some video games and munch popcorn.  But I am still mulling it over and unsure exactly what is best for our family at this time.

Bringing Me Joy:

*Zipporah's smiles - she just lights up the room.

*Jacob's progress in school, especially reading.  He was giving me some trouble, but I decided to "grease the wheels" with some bribery.  Every day he was cooperative he got a star.  After five stars, he gets a prize.  He has two prizes now, is reading like a champ, and RARELY gives me any trouble when it comes to school work.

*An online class I am taking on health and alignment.  It is very informative and I am learning so much!  Plus I am starting to see good results in my health because of the exercises and such.

Pictures to Share:

(I broke my camera by dropping it.  Sad day.  But I managed to find our old camera, which I do not like NEARLY as much, but at least it takes pictures. . . and some times they are not blurry!!)

Daddy and Zipporah (who happens to be wearing the dress my Great Aunt Rosie made for me as a baby).

"The Girls" (Rebekah, Miriam, and Zipporah) before Sunday Mass.

Jacob wanted me to take a picture of his creation.

Daddy with his girls: Rebekah, Miriam, and Zipporah

Happy Birthday to Gordie. . . a few days late here

I often post things on facebook that I want to commemorate and remember, but after everyone enjoys them, they go into the great abyss of facebook backlogs.  However, I print a hard copy of my blog (in book form) every year, so I can come back and enjoy the pictures and sentiments later.  Thus, even though the day has passed, I'm posting this here to enjoy these photos for my dear husband whom I love very much.

 Over 30 years ago, last month, the world was blessed with Gordon Schroeder. Somehow (I'm pinning a lot of it on the prayers of his grandmas!) he turned into an amazing man, husband, and father.

Your goofy, joyful spirit is a welcome blessing in my life, Gordie, and I hope to grow to cherish you, in all your quirks, for years to come.

Happy Birthday, Gordie! smile emoticon