So, I have been neglecting this blog lately (sorry!). I just recently discovered that I have also been neglecting taking pictures of our baby girl. I need to get on top of that. I guess I have good excuses. Johanna has been teething for weeks (she is now sporting two top teeth!) and now she is sick with a cold. She seems to be doing better today which is such a blessing. School has been keeping me super busy. I feel like I always have so much school work that I need to be working on, plus there are always things that need done around the house. I have tons homework to do, piles of laundry, we need groceries, and Johanna's closet needs changed over to 12-18 month clothes. I guess we make 'em big!! Enough woe-is-me from the full-time student mommy who also has an outside job (just had to throw that in there)! I suppose I could be working on homework right now, but where is the fun in that :)
Johanna is growing up so fast. She seems more like a little girl than a baby. She is crawling all over the house and just started pulling herself up to standing (this past Wednesday). She is moving to stage three baby food (the kind with chunks) which makes their pooh REALLY stink now (just to warn all the other mommies). I am hoping that she will start to eat "real" food before too long. She doesn't seem to be a picky eater, but she especially likes the banana apricot with mixed grains fruit. I will now insert a huge plug for Earth's Best Organic Baby Food. We LOVE it!! Plus, if you get the variety packs it is not much more than making it yourself (which I have done). The last time I made it myself, it only saved me 2 bucks and took me two hours! The only down side is that Wooster doesn't have a babiesrus which carries the biggest variety of the Earths Best foods.
Johanna likes to squeel and say "mama" and "dada". She also has favored saying "blah, blah, blah" lately which just cracks me up!! She LOVES to look at her reflection in the window (at night) and in her highchair tray (which makes feeding kinda a pain!). She is over just looking at herself in the mirror and loves trying to see her reflection in different ways. Although she still really enjoys talking to herself in the car mirror.
I feel I should tell all other mothers (and I will look back at this to remind myself when we have another baby) that things kinda get more difficult again at about 7-8 months. Teething is no fun (even though the first two teeth weren't bad at 5 months). It has caused Johanna to start pooping like a poopstar (i think this probably isn't helped by her cold). She has pooped out of her diaper and all over her crib at least one a day (usually before she gets up in the morning) for about four days now. Thank heavens my own child's poop doesn't gross me out at all. She's now mobile which is fun, but can be stressful at times. She now has quite the personality (which is so much fun!), but that comes along with a new sense of will which can be difficult. She also started going through a strange sleeping stage (the kind where she wakes up too much, but thankfully puts herself back to sleep). I am saying all this because I think it is good to know what's coming. This helps me to realize that there is nothing wrong with Johanna and keeps me from losing my mind. Plus, it's all a passing stage. So, here's some encouragement to all the mommies out there! It gets harder again, but more fun. When things get difficult, just remember, "this too shall pass"!!
That's all for now!! Enjoy the pics and video (hopefully) that I will post. Pictures of her in her Halloween costume are soon- to - come!! The pic with two babies is Johanna (indians onesie- GO TRIBE and pink pants) and her buddy Katelyn! The adult holding her in another one is Brian's sis Margaret who is due with her third in January.
So, this has kinda been a crazy week. I think that writing about it will help me (and others) laugh at the situations. The decision was made last Thursday to put my dog, Sammie, down. She has been a fabulous dog for over 14 years (I got her for my 12th b-day). It was a super hard decision, but the right thing to do. We had an appointment for 10:45 on Monday morning. So, Sunday was a stressful day. I ended up not going to bed until Midnight. Johanna, who has been sleeping through the night for 5 months, decided to wake up crying at 1:20 am. She was fine as long as I was holding her. Not Brian, but me. She ended up not going back to sleep until 3:30 am. This would not be that terrible except that I am no longer used to not sleeping . It's been too long. It was so NOT FUN! As much as I miss her being little, I DEFINITELY DO NOT MISS being up in the middle of the night. Props go out to all the mommies who are still in this stage. I forgot how much it sucks!
So... Monday was a rough day with Sammie. However, it was actually even more peaceful than I imagined. We buried her in a place that she loved and said our good-byes. She was the BEST dog in the world and will be greatly missed. I'll attach some recent pics.
Then, Tuesday came. I had to teach two lessons for school, so I was pretty stressed. I was thankful to get a better nights rest. PRAISE GOD!! My first lesson went well. I was on my way to a middle school for the second lesson when things started going south. The directions we had were TERRIBLE. I had never taught there before. Luckily, my friend Renee and I drove together, so my madness was not experienced alone. We gave ourselves 20 minutes for the 7 minute drive, and ended up late. The prof was not pleased, but we got to our classes in time to start. The lesson went well, and I thought my drama for the day was over (yeah right, my middle name is drama). I got back to campus, to drop Renee off, and proceeded to lock my keys in the car WITH THE CAR RUNNING!! AHHH! I needed to pump still and drive home to get Johanna from my sister's house. Luckily Renee was still there. I used her phone (mine was locked in the car) to call information to get the University's Emergency Assistance number. The lady automatically connected me. It rang, and then, much to my dismay, the University's automated snow line picked up (lets us know if there is no class b/c of weather). Whoever had that number linked as Emergency Assistance is a special kind of STUPID. SO, i ended up calling a professor (thanks Dr. Owens!) who got me the number. It took them 40 minutes to get there (thanks for staying Renee!). I still had to pump, and was already an hour late to pick up Johanna. Luckily, my awesome sis didn't mind (thanks!).
Now we're getting to the good part. So, I pulled out of the parking garage and waited in backed- up traffic to turn left at a stop sign. I was about 9 cars back. When I was about 6 cars back, a silver car pulled up behind me with some ______( insert your own word for freaking annoying and rude member of the female gender) in it. She started honking her horn like it is going to help people turn left into traffic at a faster pace. Eventually it is my turn, and as I am waiting for the road to be clear, she keeps honking her horn at me and waving her arms. Well, for those of you who know me, I don't get super mad real easy. I may get annoyed, but it takes A LOT to really get me going. Well, this lady picked the WRONG day to mess with me. After we both turned, I looked in my mirror and could see she was still mumbling like I had done something wrong (which I hadn't unless you count waiting on traffic to turn left so that I don't die). Well, that was the drop of water that made my bucket overflow. I caught her eye through the mirror and started going ape crazy yelling at this lady and waving my arms around. I will refrain from repeating what was said for the PG audience that may be reading this blog. I was ready to get out of the car and throw down! I think that the yelling and such scared this lady enough as she turned away, lowered her head, and left me alone for the duration of our shared road experience.
This should go as a lesson to us all. We never know the kind of day other people on the road are having. So, be careful or you might unleash the rage of an crazed mama!
