Trick-or-Treating

Eric and Gwen went Trick-or-Treating tonight. We realized that we forgot to try and teach her to say Trick or Treat, but she still did respectable work! Eric actually tried to make her walk up to the houses, and she walked pretty good, he said, but she got a couple feet in front of the house and then would not move. So, Eric had to pick her up. Tonight we also strangely had a Police officer driving around passing out candy, never seen that before, but I am hoping this is the closest Gwen ever gets to a Police car!

Our neighbor, not the neighbor that dressed like Santa's helper, yes, LZB it was exactly like those Wendy costumes you were talking about! I don't know why I was surprised, last year she dressed like a French maid! Guesses for next year?
Our little helper!
She was so exhausted...when I took her inside for bed she just cried and cried and cried, so tired! When I took the costume off her she laid her head down on it and she Growled out it. Oh well, she won't preform for strangers. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I am raising a girl after all.

Happy Halloween

This weekend Mr. T and a bat (aka godfather and Brooke) came over for a visit before they had an scheduled appearance somewhere in the North country. In honor of the visit we dressed Gwen up in her costume, so you get a sneak peak of Gwen as a Tiger. Note the socks! :) Here you can see Gwen is quite distracted by the bling...that is a bad sign for the future.

So, I think that Gwen and Eric will do some trick-or-treating tonight. I think Eric is super excited about it, I think he is aware this is probably the only year he gets to eat Gwen's candy. I wonder if the actual going trick-or-treating, is the Daddy's thing to do, and making/securing the costume is the thing that the Mommy does, has this turned into our roles? Have a Happy Halloween, hopefully I will get some 'action' shots tonight.

A weekend in review

Well today we are still feeling bad, but I have decided it is time to get out and be apart of the world again. Even if I feel like crap I still have stuff to do around the house, if I don't do stuff we live in squalor. Ok, it is not that bad, but I do have stuff that since I stay at home I am responsible for won't get done.
Here are some pictures from Mom's trip. On Friday we went to a play group, we were going to go to the zoo or a pumpkin patch, but it was raining. It was Gwen and the boys.

Here are pictures from Saturday, the Erics were running and we were finally decorating for Halloween, I know we have been quite lazy, but we did get it done.


Everyday Gwen has to touch the lights, she loves them, well I assume she loves them.

You can just see Grandma pushing Gwen on the swing.
I don't know where we are going to go, but we are definitely going outside, Gwen has been couped up too long. She's an outdoor baby, so we must get outside or she is not happy. I temped fate by not taking her outside yesterday, but that is just not going to work today!

Sickly-Prickly

Well, Gwen and I are now both sick. So, we have some pictures to upload, but since we are under the weather, pictures and posts might be light for a couple of days. I am hoping it is just a little cold, caught from where, I don't know. But we are not very happy campers, Gwen is currently getting into EVERYTHING, but I don't really want to take her outside, so she is going to be going slightly stir-crazy today. She is currently going through one of our kitchen drawers, so I guess I better get back to Mommy mode and get her something to do. What do you do with a kid who is stuck in doors all day with a running nose!? Hope you had a great weekend.

Fires

Many of you my remember that Eric and I previously lived in CA, we were actually there for the fires of 2003, that is the weekend we bought our car, a story for another time. I haven't been able to keep as abreast of the situation as I was when I was actually living in SoCal, mostly because I don't really watch much tv and I don't often read much on the internet, I don't always have time for that. But, I have checked where we used to live on the Calfires and I can see that we would have not been evacuated based on this map. If we were living in one of the temp housing that Eric had I think we would have been evacuated, but we can't quite remember where that was, but it was very near Rancho Santa Fe. I haven't heard yet from friends that are in the area, but from what I can tell from the map I really am only concerned about 1 of them losing their house, they lived in Poway. So, hopefully with the 'calmer' winds they will be able to get these fires under control and the ashy, nasty air will be breathable again. Ugh, some things you don't forget, like what it smelled like there in 2003, campfires smell good, but forest fires are another smell altogether!

Dr. appt

Today we had our 15 month appt. The Dr. thought she looked great, but she did say I need to feed her more, she has dropped from 70% to 40% for her weight. But she said Gwen's iron level is great, better than what most kids at her age have.
The vital stats:
Weight: 22 lbs 6 oz 40%
Height: 30.75 in 60%
That is a 1lb 6oz increase in weight and a 1.25 in increase in height.
At the appt, Gwen pulled all the books out of the box and then crawled in there, when the nurse came in she thought that was so cute she called everyone in to look at her. Gwen got embarrassed by this and started crying. She got 3 shots today and is kind of fussy, is that because of the shots or because we didn't make it to our stroller group and are stuck inside because of the drizzly weather?

Misc info

So, there are few things in life that I avoid like the plaque, on the top of the list is calling our insurance company. I don't know who is in charge there, but I am a fairly intelligent person, or I was before Gwen, but they seem to not have a clue. I talked to one person and she gave me all this mumbo-jumbo, so as usual I called back maybe 20 minutes later got a completely different answer and basically found out that I was right and the person I talked to was not! URG! I hope the second person I talked to was right, but I took her name and I am certainly not going to lose this information this time!
This weekend we started the steps. We are now in a holding pattern until the rest of the stair nose come in. The place is really starting to shape up.
Gwen was her usual self this weekend, she refused to take a nap on Sunday. She has her big Dr's appt tomorrow so we won't be going to the exercise group. I am going to try and not get her the flu shot, I've heard from a friend that also goes to our Dr's office that just ask you if you want it. This weekend we were at a party and we were talking about the flu shot and one girl told me that I should talk to her husband, he didn't get the flu shot and then he got pneumonia. I don't know if she meant the flu and just was confused, but I don't think that the flu shot had anything to do with catching pneumonia.
I don't really have any pictures of Gwen to post, because even though I know you like to see pictures of her, to me she looks the same and she is not doing anything real thrilling, well anything that is real thrilling that I can document. But, this is not to say I won't be ever posting pictures again, I just don't have any for you right now! When Grandma comes this week, I am sure MANY pictures will be taken, you know how Grandmas love to have pictures of the grandbaby!

Daddy's home

These days Eric doesn't always make it home before I have Gwen in her high chair for dinner, sometimes she is already in bed; but when he does make it home and we are just hanging out...watch out! Somehow she always knows when it is about time for Eric to be home.
She checks...well you can see what she does.

Parmesan cheese

As you have probably gathered from several of my posts, Gwen is a challenge when it comes to eating, she is so random with what she wants to eat. Today at the dinner table, this is what we were up against today!

Eric finally had to put the Parmesan cheese back in the refrigerator because she wanted it all!!! Now, I am happy that Gwen is starting to try new things. I am more than exstatic that Gwen has eaten SpaghettiOs again today, she ate a full serving today, but grated Parmesan cheese in your hand, not something I am sure I can fully support! Blogger now allows you to upload videos directly, so we are trying this today, let me know if you have any problems viewing...HA who am I kidding, nobody responds to my querries of this website.

Update: so I see that didn't work, I am uploading this video tonight and hopefully sometime tomorrow I will post it, so you can see it!

Wrapping

Yesterday, while I was folding laundry, Gwen decided to get into her own 'trouble'. I don't have any closets in this house that aren't in a bedroom, so it is not like I can put my wrapping stuff some where else besides under the bed. Gwen found my stash and got into it. UGH!

So, if you are expecting a present from us anytime soon, please excuse the terrible look of the wrapping paper and such.

Other uses for couches

A sad day in our house, we had our first time out! :( Gwen does not listen very well and today she kept trying to pull stuff out of the recycle bin. I need her to actually follow directions so she doesn't run into street when I tell her STOP!
Onto the pictures at hand, my husband is obsessed with forts, seriously. I think on our first date he actually told me how good his couch (that he inherited from his parents and was using in his apartment, I had picked him up so it was a natural conversation piece). Eric, for a while, has been talking about how good our couch would be for making a fort. Sat night he made his first fort for Gwen. I know I should put these pictures in some kind of slide show, but I am quite lazy today. Mom, sorry about my posture, hard to sit on a couch with no cushions!

Sunday morning I came home from Church and found them in the fort again, Eric had apparently thought that he could perfect his fort by changing the pillows. So, it seems that if you leave Eric and Gwen alone in your house, beware of the fort builders!

In another note, I am often amazed at the amount of attention I now command with Gwen. Often, I see people smiling at her, trying to get a rise from her, or some sort of attention. I am often surprised by the type of people that try to get her attentions, not just Grandparents. Today we were walking to the grocery store and Gwen was pointing out a truck to me...she loves anything that makes noise, she is especially fond of the diesel trucks...back the the story. I noticed that this guy, a landscaper, pointed at Gwen today, from across the intersection.

Weekend in review

Another crazy weekend around here! AU won, again! Now the big game on Sat, my only problem with this is that we have a new girl in my exercise group from Baton Rouge, she doesn't know my affiliation yet! I'd invite her and her hubby over for the game, but I am not prepared to lose with others in the house, not to say I'd think we'd lose, but I am not able to take that chance. At this point, I think the girl is really nice, but I've never met her husband! She knows that I don't like LSU, but she hasn't asked who I cheer for! The girls in class who know me and my affiliation think it is funny...they just don't understand SEC football! But, I digress!
This weekend was another to write about, and not in a positive way. As usual, Eric and I are more tired from the weekend then when we started! Gwen decided Sat night not to sleep from 12-4am. Thanks kid! I kind of suspect that not eating enough on Sat was the culprit behind that little disaster. She did take a 3.5 hour nap on Sun, as did we all! And, she slept normally last night, so I hope it was just another eating hunger and not some sign of some other craziness, although she does get more shots next week and that always throws a wrench in our week! Sorry Mom! Today she ate Spaghettios, I don't know if she eat them tomorrow, but the side of the can says that it provides a full serving of veggies and grains, and we all know Gwen needs to eat more veggies! But, she seemed to enjoy Pumpkin Pie, are you ready for Thanksgiving?

Here, Gwen is getting ready for her big trip to Grandma & Grandpa next month, I was not privy to the reason why Gwen & Eric chose to travel this way, but I can only assume he wanted to practice for when she gets tired in the airport. I guess this is what Eric and Gwen think is a dog/cat carrier for the airport, a Gwen carrier.


Today Gwen and I went to Babies w/books, it has been a long time since we have gone to the library for this function, actually once she turned a year we quit going. The next group up at our library is very busy and apparently you have to get there 45 min early to get a seat, Mommy isn't into that, so we tried a different library this time. I don't know how Gwen felt about she was quite shy, we had a couple friends there today and we had to register for the end of the month (it is free!) I do know when the woman was reading the book Peak-a-Moo! and we got to the sheep Gwen said "Baa" (before the she was even prompted or anything, quite bizarre) my friend Katie looked at me and said, so Gwen likes the sheep, is that her favorite? I was kind of dumb founded Gwen hardly ever plays along when you ask her what sound an animal makes I always have to prompt her, so it was quite surprising when she say a sheep and said Baa! This just proves my theory that this child is way smarter than she wants us to know! This is going to lead to many fights when she is in school! Fortunately, I have 4 years to get this girl to bend to my will! Is any one else laughing, cause they know she'll never bend to my will!

Stay tuned for 'another use for that darn couch'.

15 months

So, I just realized today is the 10th! I must post on Gwen's monumental changes of the last couple months, I realize I did not do a 14 month milestone letter, we were out of town and didn't have internet connection. You must wonder how when I haven't posted in so long and now 2 posts in one day! Well, if you must know, I am competing with a friend of mine, no I am just kidding she has 3 kids, how does she have time to post? I just have a husband out of town and not a darn thing to watch on tv. Seriously, why is there nothing good on tv!? But, as usual, I digress. What is knew with Gwen this month you ask. I think ever so much. She has 2 more teeth now, that makes a total of 8 teeth, 2 molars in completely and 2 more molars pushing through.
This is a picture from when we went to Boyd's Bears taken with Eric's camera phone, which is why it isn't so clear.

I think most of Gwen's progress has been in the physical realm, yes she does have more 'words' now. I am pretty sure she added 'toe' to her vocabulary, but she can only say it while touching her big toe. I don't know why she has to touch her toes, but it is what she does.

She is starting to become more capable. She can listen and understand and choose whether or not she will do as you ask. Most of the time I can see her thinking about how she is not going to do as I request. She knows how the routine goes, she knows if I grab her shoes she needs to sit down so I can put them on and then she walks over to the baby gate and rather impatiently waits for me to open it for her she we can leave. Gwen knows how to use the gate, fortunately, she doesn't have dexterity to open the gate.

Gwen is also trying to lay down from a sitting position and then get back up from laying down. It is pretty funny to watch because of the look on her face of determination. Kid I don't know how long it is going to take for you to develop abs muscles, but this could cause problems when we are changing your diaper! She also wants to learn how to get up on the couch, that is not going well yet, but she is getting better about getting down. We just have to work on sitting on the couch, but I think I am going to have to talk with Daddy about that first!
She currently has an obsession with putting things in places, unusual things in unusual places. Recently she put a puzzle piece and remote for her mobile in Eric's camel back. She also collected several of Eric's shoes and put them in 'her' laundry basket. I could go on and on about weird things I find, which is why the balls are stuck in the following pictures. She also has a current obsession with taking puzzle pieces and putting them over the arm of one of our chairs and then retrieving it. Gwen is still a gibber jabber, sometimes she clearly repeats what you are saying, but it is random. She has so much to say, I have no idea what, but sometimes it is very important. She points at dogs, ducks and airplanes. She actually says dog and duck but no airplane.

We have started to wean, we have effectively cut the nursing down in half. She doesn't appear to care at this point, but I am still nursing before naptime and bedtime. I have tried to add milk to her diet, I have added chocolate and strawberry to her milk, she is trying it, she doesn't love it. Today I caught her shiver after she took a sip, but do you think in like 30 days, she might actually like the milk? I guess I should try for 8 days, and if she doesn't like it after 8 days she will probably never like to drink milk. I think it is the smell that initially bothers her, but with her limited food likes, it would be nice to figure out how to make food more to her liking. It is a pain to figure out what she wants to eat, what we do when we go out to dinner. She really still only eats fruit and garlic bread and the crust of bread, what kid eats the crust and doesn't like the rest of the bread!

Today Gwen and I went and get her blood drawn for lead and other things I was supposed to do after her 12 month appointment, oops! Hey, but I made it before her 15 month appointment. She charmed the pants off everyone we encountered. The poor kid was not happy about her blood being drawn. The lady at the front desk wanted to give her a lollipop, I said she had never had one, and she told me that it was just a lollipop and kind of treated me like I was crazy. Now, this is my first kid, but I remember when I was a girl scout leader, my girls where 7 yrs old and some of those Moms wouldn't let the girls eat hard candy. Who's the freak now!?

Barrettes

I just checked the website for my camera and they have sent it back to BB! Hopefully they did finally fix it, if not I think I will be placing some calls to someone that won't enjoy talking to me. That is one less call I have to make!
Gwen's hair is getting pretty long, don't get all excited, she is still missing hair in those 2 front areas that could make her look like she has a mullet. I don't know why most girls hair looks like that, but it does. Yesterday we tried a barrette to keep her hair out of her eyes, she didn't take it out all day.

Gwen likes to sit in a chair and read books, ok just paging through the books.

Update: just got a phone call that they have received my camera at the store and we can pick it up...that is bad news, I think, I think it means they still can't find a problem with it. CRAP!