Enjoying Bubbles at Home

Paige just loves her bubbles from Gymboree. Plus, now that she can crawl, she loves going after them and touching the ones that land on the floor. She gets really excited about them...it is very cute!

Here she is crawling to get some of them.

Paige took a break from the bubbles to taste the stairs...I thought it was funny!

Paigey, wanna cracker?

Today I let Paige try out eating a cracker...I think it is the second time I've offered her one, but I am not exactly sure. Anyway she really liked it. She spent a lot of time licking and inspecting it. In the end, she did take a couple of small (tiny) bites with her two teeth...she seemed quite pleased with herself and with the taste.
(Paige also ate a few little bites of my banana today and she liked it!)

Giving the cracker a taste!

UUHHMMM....Mommy, this tastes a little salty!

See where she took a couple bites...

Enjoying the Weather

Today the weather was great in Kansas City, so Paige and I took about a 45 minute walk to enjoy it as much as possible. Paige didn't make a peep the entire time we were walking. I had to keep checking to see if she was awake, but she was just taking in all the scenes.


When we returned, we took some photos on our front porch and back deck. Paige thought that was fun, and so did I. We are so happy spring is just around the corner...aren't you?!

Weight Update

We went to group today and Paige weighs 15 pounds and 9.5 ounces.

Favorite Things

There are a couple of things that really get Paige excited lately...she laughs, moves her arms up and down, and exclaims with glee! One of those things is taking a bath and the other is her singing stuffed animal,Barney. Yes, that is what I said...Barney!

Now, I know some of you may not have a real liking for Barney...if you are like me, you have some unpleasant memories of watching many episodes of Barney with your younger siblings. (Thus, you cringe when you hear the words of the Barney theme song!) However, when I saw how much Paige likes her Barney, those other memories seem minuscule and unimportant. Your own children sure can change your perspective on things...watch below and see how much she loves him!!

Thinking Spring!!

As I got Paige dressed today, I thought... man, this is a perfect outfit for spring! Paige and I can't wait for spring... we can do our daily walks again and play outside...Paige is going to have so much fun...she loves it outside. Please hurry up and get here, spring!!

Here is Paige in her springy outfit! She is sitting on the stairs in our hallway!Paige actually stood up in this picture, so I had to show you. She thinks she is a toddler or something...standing up like that...I had to catch her, of course, when she fell forward a few seconds later! :o)

Fun Run

We went to Fun Run in Liberty today with our friends Michelle and Kamden. We had a lot of fun going down the huge inflatable slide and playing in the moonwalk/bounce house. I think maybe Michelle and I had more fun than the girls did, though. I kept worrying that I was going to make Paige spit up from all the jumping around but she didn't! At one point, I sat Paige down inside the moonwalk and she seemed a little baffled at how she was going to crawl over the bumps...it was funny to see her try.

Here we are coming down the big slide!

Paige had no reaction to the slide...I think she was a little concerned with what was going on...we came down pretty fast! I sure enjoyed it, though!!

Mirror Fun

Paige loves to look in the mirror at the "baby." Tonight she really had a fun time...she crawled over, stood up, and started licking the baby in the mirror...it was hilarious. She has kissed the mirror in the past but not licked it! She also gave some high fives and "talked" a little bit...she is so much fun to watch!

Our Little Crawler

Paige has learned to crawl!! It seems like she has been trying to move forever, but she just didn't know how to move her arms effectively...well, she has it figured out now. She is not the fastest mover, but I am sure she will increase her speed quickly.

She started to crawl on Thursday (barely) and has improved tremendously in just three days. So, I can only imagine that I will be chasing her around the house by this time next week! Oh boy!!

We got her crawling (slowly) on video and, to our surprise, she sat up too! This was the first time she had gotten all the way in a sitting position on her own. Usually, when she sits up, she doesn't get all the way up and just leans on one of her hands...well, not any more. She is a big girl now...take a look!

Eating Puffs

I gave Paige a Puff for the first time today. She was excited to pick it up and put it in her mouth. (She is still working on her pincer grasp, so she raked it out of my hand.) She was probably wondering why I was letting her put this very small item into her mouth. As you can see, she really concentrated on what she was doing.

She is very excited about this!She must be loving the taste (strawberry/apple) and texture here! Puffs dissolve once in the mouth...but it does take a minute and Paige was very anxious to swallow it...so she was surprised by how hard it was and even gagged a bit...oops!!

Pulling Up All By Herself

So, today Paige pulled up all by herself to play at her activity table (she did this from her belly). Boy, was I proud of her!! Then, later at nap time...I went in to check on her to see if she was asleep (she had gotten quiet) and, to my surprise, she was standing up in her bed! I knew it was coming, but I didn't think she was going to do it that fast. Well, it is definitely time to move the mattress down!

Weight

Paige weighs 15lbs and 3.5 oz.

She is growing...slowly but surely.

Happy Valentine's Day

Neil and I enjoyed spending our very first Valentine's Day with our precious little Paige! She is truly the love of our lives!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!!

Seven Months Old

Paige is now seven months old! She is so much fun and getting so big. She weighs 15 pounds and .5 ounces.

Paige can almost get into a sitting position on her own (from her belly)...she just needs a little more back muscle and she will have it mastered! Still no crawling, but she is trying very hard! She is getting very good at pulling herself up to a standing position, though...maybe she is going to skip crawling! That would be crazy!

I stood Paige in her bed for these pictures...she loves to stand up!

I hope I am not giving her any ideas...she is so smart! I better move the mattress down real soon!!

Playing at Group

Paige and I still go to our mommy group every Wednesday. It is great because I get to talk to adults and Paige loves looking around at all the other babies. Paige even has a friend there named Kamden.

Actually, Kamden and Paige were born on the same day. It has been a lot of fun to watch them grow together. Sometimes Michelle (Kamden's mom) and I lay or sit them next to each other, so that can do their baby talk and touch/inspect each other.

Since they are both seven months today, we took some pictures. It was really hard to get them to look at the camera, when we had them together, because they were very interested in each other.

This is Kamden!Here Paige is trying to pull Kamden closer to her (and probably taste her)... just like Kamden is doing to Paige's head! LOL!
Kamden either wants another taste or she is coming in for a kiss...you be the judge!

Grandpa Loethen's Birthday

Neil's mom and dad came to help us fix some stuff around the house this weekend, also! It was great to have their help because we really got a lot done. It was like a Bob Vila marathon around here...we were staining the decks, painting the interior and exterior of the house, and staining the cabinets (just to give you an idea). Thank goodness the weather was really nice!

Plus, as an added bonus, it was Mark's birthday today. We were so excited about that. It was great that Paige got to see her Grandpa on his birthday!! Hopefully, she will get to see him on every one of his birthdays!

Abby and Will

Abby and her boyfriend, Will, came over this weekend. Will helped us fix a window sill that desperately needed replaced because of water damage. We are so blessed and grateful that he has the ability to do such handy tasks like that...his dad taught him well!!

After working most of the day, we all relaxed on the couch and I took advantage of the photo opps!!

Paige's shirt says...With a face like this, I could get away with anything...She is so adorable!!

Bath Bubbles

I usually give Paige her bath during the day, so we never get to use her Lavender Bedtime Bath. However, today we weren't able to give Paige her bath until just before bed, so we got to use it. Paige loved the bubbles. She mostly sits in the tub now, but I lay her down when I rinse her hair out and wash her body.

Tonight I had a little more water than usual, and she looked so cute surrounded by the bubbles...she actually really enjoyed being surrounded by all of the water. I was a little surprised that she wasn't scared to have so much of her head submerged...but then again, I think she is going to be a little fish because she has loved baths for quite a while!

Look how cute this bathing beauty is!

Spring Like Weather

The weather was so wonderful today that Paige and I went on a nice long walk. It was great for both of us to get outside for a while. It has been so long since we've spent an extended period of time outdoors and Paige really loved it!

Second Tooth

Paige has another tooth. The one on the bottom right has cut through...this one did not come as quietly as the first. Paige has been more fussy and woke up during the night crying. I had to get her out of her bed and hold her. It took her 45 minutes to go back to sleep. Poor baby...I feel so bad for her!

Our New Friend Lane

Our friends Heather and Eddie had their second baby yesterday. His name is Lane and he has a big brother named Will. Paige and I went to the Liberty Hospital to visit Heather and meet her new bundle! Lane is so cute and cuddly...he was sleeping a lot while we were there, but I sure enjoyed holding him. He made Paige look so big...it is hard for me to remember that she was about that small!

Here is Heather with Lane...He weighed 7 lbs and 1oz. He was 181/2 inches long.

Here we are with Lane and his grandma is holding Paige.

Gymboree Fun

Paige had lots of fun at Gymboree today. I took lots of pictures to share with you!

Here she is playing with the balls on the bumpy slide!

The kids are trying to get the play balls out of the inner tube. Here is a picture of most of the class members.

Paige loves to stand next to the inner tube!
Here is Paige with her friend Hudson.
She likes to play with him...as you can tell from her smile!

It is bubbles and parachute time!

Paige is looking at the bubbles here! She really enjoys bubbles...although, she went through a stage where they scared her!

The Paci

Paige has never liked the paci or the bottle. However, yesterday our friends Susan and Oliver came to visit for the Super Bowl, and Paige tried to take the paci out of Oliver's mouth. So, we thought...why not get one out and give it a try. It was really more of a toy to her and she wasn't interested in keeping it in her mouth for an extended period of time.

We gave it to her again tonight, just to see what she would do, and she actually started sucking on it. She did get bored with it pretty quickly, but she had it in her mouth long enough to get a couple pictures!

Kissing the Baby

Today Paige was playing and talking to the "baby" in the mirror and decided to give her a kiss. She did this over and over, so I was able to get a picture...it was really adorable!

Pulling Up

I was doing laundry again and, as I mentioned before, Paige really likes the laundry basket. So, she was sitting inside, after I had folded the clothes, and pulled herself up without any help! Goodness, once babies start moving around there is no stopping their rapid progression. It amazes me how quickly she learns to do one thing after the other...she'll probably be crawling soon...she is getting closer!!

Pillow Mountain

Neil was playing around with Paige this morning and sat her atop these pillows. She thought it was hilarious! It is a fun life when you can have such a silly daddy!

First Tooth

Paige's first tooth cut through today. It is the bottom left front tooth. I didn't even know she was teething...so you could imagine my surprise when I felt it already through her gums. She hasn't even complained about being in discomfort. I hope all the rest of her teeth come through with the same amount of fuss...I know that is wishful thinking...but you never know!

Sleep Training

Last Monday we decided that it was time to try to teach Paige how to sleep through the night, without getting up to eat. (Well, it was mostly my decision and Neil kind of went along with it...he can't feed her even if he wanted to.) I had been so tired because Paige was waking up every 2-3 hours to eat (it was like she was a newborn again), and I was like...something has to change.

So, I got out my handy dandy book about sleep and was flabbergasted to read that she should be getting an average of 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep...ha! The longest Paige had slept the last two weeks was 5 hours. I just thought to myself...my poor baby, what have I done! It was my fault...she was waking up to eat so often because I had allowed it and hadn't taught her that nighttime is supposed to be for sleeping. Plus, I believe that she had a negative association, and she couldn't go back to sleep unless she ate...that is the only way she knew to get herself back to sleep! (Just like we need a blanket, she needed to eat).

Now, I knew that it wasn't going to be easy and I won't give all the details. So, here's the short version: for 2 nights I feed her less during the night and then I totally stopped. Then, it took another 5 nights for Paige to sleep all the way through, without waking up at all.

So, now we have had three nights of Paige sleeping uninterrupted, and it is just amazing. It was difficult but also easier than I thought...it was really hard to hear Paige cry, but I knew it would be better for her in the long run. She is a much better sleeper now, and that means she is more rested during the day, and will be healthier. She is even happier when she wakes up, and we didn't even know that was possible!!

Hopefully all of this hard work won't be lost when she starts teething...well, at least she won't be waking up to eat (if she does)...she'll just need comforting. We will have lots of that for her!

Great job learning how to sleep Paige...We are sorry you cried, but we love you a lot!!!