(read: I like to do this "read:" thing.)
The month began with Haley reaching a few more milestones - crawling on her hands and knees rather than army crawling around. Moving from crawling to sitting with grace and poise. Pulling herself up to stand on anything and everything. Finally drinking water and not pursing her lips. She sat in a highchair at a restaurant for the first time, and now - she is sprouting her first tooth. Lord have mercy. The fever. The coughing. The congestion. The moodiness. The absolute "visible miserable" she has to endure. It's heartbreaking! You can barely see the tooth, and if you don't know what you're looking for, you'll definitely miss it. She sleeps all the time, cries all the time - over nothing and everything all at once - only wants to eat on her terms, and stuff that isn't as good for her as what mommy wants to feed her.....she is 11 months old (tomorrow!) going on 14. She cries when she's not getting enough attention, then cries harder when you give her attention because it's not the right attention, then cries even harder when you stop giving her attention after she scolded you for how you were giving her attention. Even I can't figure this out, and I have first-hand experience with over-the-top-emoting.
I feel so bad for her - we're doing what we can with Tylenol, Orajel, and TLC. One tooth in the works - 31 more to go. Brent and I are passing a cold back and forth - since Christmas, I believe. It seems we can't get it out of our system. It's the gift that keeps on giving. We're both tired of it, and just want it to go away. Stocking up on Airborne and multi-vitamins hasn't done the trick yet, but I imagine the end is in sight for this little cold. Please.
Brent and I had a fantastic Valentine's day. We've been together 10 years and have learned to celebrate every day instead of only once a year. (Insert cheese-o-meter here.) We did take some time out to pamper ourselves, though, and I treated Brent to his first-ever pedicure. Afterwards I asked him what he thought. "I wouldn't mind having another one. *dramatic pause* Weekly." Score! We wanted to enjoy a dinner of Red Lobster cheese biscuits with a side of crab legs and lobster tails for the special evening, but since they don't take reservations or call-ahead seating, and since we wanted to eat before 10 p.m., we ordered to go. I have to say, those biscuits make any occasion special. God bless the garlic cheese combination. And crab legs in butter. Brent also surprised me with a generous gift certificate to my favorite nail salon and I have beautiful nails now. Nothing says "I Love You" like nailpolish.
I've spent the last few weekends making my own baby food. Not "my own" as in for me, but my own as in for Haley, avoiding purchasing any pre-made foods at the grocery store. (Save for prunes. Have to have those handy sometimes.) So far my favorite creation is the avocado creations. I love turning avocados in to baby food, because it gives me an excuse to make guacamole, which is the greatest condiment on the face of the planet. My favorite creation thus far is the Jersey Sweet Potatoes/Banana combination. Add a Nilla Wafer, and it's like healthy banana pudding.
The big news is we got rid of the Slowpaz - Brent's faithful car for the last 15 years. The best news of all - someone actually paid us money, instead of us having to pay someone to take it off our hands. Hallelujah! We bought a Buick Terrazza that we've had problem after problem with, but after removing the astrostart *tear* it seems to be running smoothly. Now we have a minivan that tries not to look like a minivan, but has all the convenience of one, and we're okay with that.
Now begins the planning stages for our little one's first birthday next month. I can't believe it's been a year since that scary weekend in the hospital. Brent and I will soon be shopping for her special gift, and sending out invitations to her low-key, but still very special, celebration.
Party America, I'm coming to browse your aisles!