Still Pregnant

I'll be 39 weeks pregnant on Sunday. Dr appt tomorrow, not expecting any news, besides that my lack of sleeping, lack of appetite, lack of energy, etc is all typical. More than ready to have this baby, although we could pass on a Halloween birthday.

And now for an assortment of pictures from this summer.

Kelby and Heidi playing trains

 Heidi and I went to a pumpkin patch with our MOPS group. A cold, muddy and rainy day. Heidi's favorite part, practicing her walking skills on this little bridge, over and over again. She was determined and proud of herself.

Heidi walking

 She was unimpressed with this child sized tractor. Her expression.... why did you put me on this?

Heidi

When asked to hold hands with one of her friends. So cute!!!

We convinced Kelby to join us at the playground earlier this week. Possibly one of the last nice days before winter fully arrives. Kelby helped Heidi practice going down the slide facing forward. On her own, she will flip onto her stomach and go feet first.

Heidi and Kelby

 We have sooooo many leaves. They look pretty on the trees, but it involves a lot of raking, of which I only last a few minutes at a time before I tire out.

Our backyard.

 Back in the summer, at camp. Four generations. And yes, can you see I'm pregnant in this picture?

Me, Heidi, Laura, Great-Grandma, Grandma

 I can't get over how cute Heidi was in a bathing suit and her hair up.

Heidi

For those asking, another pregnant picture of me.

Great-Grandma, Heidi, Me

 Great-Grandma and Heidi talking about flowers.

Great-Grandma and Heidi

 A unusual pregnant picture of me walking. Enjoy the rarity.

Me and Heidi

 Extended family time.

Emma, Caitlin, Heidi, Me

 Grandpa and Heidi enjoyed playing with a ball outside one day. Heidi's enjoyment was contagious.

Grandpa and Heidi

Heidi - her head is forward as she concentrates in trying to say something.

no words needed

Uh-oh, what happened?

 Grandma teaching Heidi how to make applesauce.

Grandma and Heidi

Pictures and events

Pictures and events, going back in time.

Zoo time

Heidi is asking "where is the animal?"

Heidi deep in thought

Our front yard.

Me and Heidi, who was not a fan of touching grass.

A cute picture

Swan pond - feeding the ducks and walking

Heidi practicing her walking skills.

Heidi feeding the ducks

Grandma and Heidi.

Memorial Day Parade

Heidi was thrilled with the dumdums,
she thought they were a toy to hold.

My cousin's wedding.

Me, Heidi, Kelby

Kelby and I

Heidi and Kelby

Grandpa and Heidi

picture time

Heidi in lots of snow. Notice the roof-line of the house behind her.

Our house, with lots of snow :)

Heidi helping Kelby with carpet pads.

Heidi 11 months.

Heidi

a few stories, and snow in the house...

I wanted to write out a few events that happened yesterday and today. They are too cute to forget, and too cute to not share with others.

Heidi loves to play with a container of old-fashioned clothes pins. She decided to turn them into a new game. She picked up a couple, pulled to stand at the bathtub, and threw them into the tub. She knelt down, picked up a few more pins, pulled to stand, and threw them in. Heidi repeated this over and over, until they were all in the bathtub. She giggled and was so excited and proud of herself the entire time. (and great self-directed therapy activity to help strengthen her leg muscles, and to practice getting down from standing)

Heidi crawled through her tunnel, and both dogs watched. A few minutes later, Sophie went through the tunnel to get at a toy. And then later, Skipper walked through the tunnel on his own accord. I never dreamed he would do something like that! (and the tunnel is a great crawling activity for Heidi. Now if only she would get up on all fours to crawl - she prefers her fast army crawl)

Heidi received a present in the mail. Some animals to go with a Noah's ark toy. She noticed the box on the counter, and was very excited to see the animals inside. I took them out one at a time, and handed them to her. Her anticipation was contagious. She was so happy to hold each animal, and then looked forward to the next one.

Today, Heidi and I came downstairs in the morning. Our customary first task is to open the curtains in the family room, so the sunlight can come in. When we pulled the curtains back this morning, I noticed there was snow. Not just snow outside, which I expected, but snow inside as well! There was snow next to our sliding glass door. All the wind last night blew snow into the house!!!! And this wasn't the first location where we have had unwanted snow. It has also come under the front door, but that has since been fixed. Now we have another thing to add to the ever growing "to do list."

I have our "big" computer

Kelby has the desktop computer up and running. Therefore, I now have access to a computer to easily upload my pictures, and post of the blog. Typing was annoyingly too slow on the tablet. So be prepared for lots of updates. Especially house related.

We have owned our house for exactly a month now. It's remarkable how much there is to do, and in how many directions our time, energy, and resources has been pulled. I never dreamed that I would pay so much money for something, and then spend days cleaning. Most of the house is livable. Kitchen, family room, dining room, and part of the living room is Heidi friendly. Heidi's bedroom and the master bedroom are put together. That leaves two other bedrooms, the rest of the living room, the garage, and basement.

Kelby has been working hard on lots of different projects. His first one was replacing the hot water heater with a shorter tank, for safety reasons. He reworked all the shelves in the pantry. He set up lots and lots of furniture. Got the snow blower working. Run internet wiring. Worked on outlets. Started to remove yucky carpet and wood paneling from the basement. Put up a window blind. Set up washer and dryer. Made a makeshift fence for the dogs. Started to cut down a tree - the tree in the middle of the picture below.

Our snowy backyard at sunset.

I've cleaned, scrubbed, and cleaned some more. And then unpacked boxes, sorted, and put away our things. It is shocking at how much we fit into our 2 bedroom apartment in Texas.

It's also shocking how many bins of clothing Heidi has already outgrown. She is currently in 18 month to 24 month clothes. She has also learned how to stick out her tongue. Many babies learn this earlier than Heidi, but with her tongue-tie, it is a hard motion for her to imitate. The below picture shows how far she can stick out her tongue. Not very far. This is a classic example of a tongue-tie, how it is dimpled at the tip of her tongue, almost in a heart shape. She is so proud of herself, and will now do the motion to see our reaction.

Heidi

Heidi in an old rocking chair, passed down from my Grandma.

In some lighting, it still looks like she has strawberry-blond hair. What do you think?

Woooohooo!!!!!!!

House closing week!!!!!!!!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lots of money going out the door, and signing our names many times over, all for a house! We will be officially home owners, as of 11am tomorrow morning!

A huge dream has come to reality. Now for the joys (and frustrations) of home ownership. We're ready to take it on! And to start working on home improvement projects, cleaning, moving, organizing, and living on property that we (and the bank) own. Don't forget about the back yard, it needs lots of help. Any ideas?

Our backyard

And soon, hopefully, I will have more consistent access to a computer, in order to update the blog more frequently.

And I may be doing a "happy dance" over here  :)

Can't end a post without a cute Heidi picture. She is still wearing her helmet every day, here I just gave her a few minutes of a break. She probably has only 5 more weeks left to wear it. Her head is much more symmetrical, and the flat spot on top is almost nonexistent. I can't wait to give her hugs and kisses without a helmet! It's been worth the money and time and effort. I feel as though we are giving her the best start possible for her self-esteem in the future. And I know that we did everything medically possible. Beautiful baby! We love you!

Heidi 7 months

Heidi "report" at 7 months of age.

communication
Heidi, at 7 months, has 6 teeth (2 on top, 4 on bottom). She will wave "hi" when prompted, and is imitating grunting sounds. She will make consonant-vowel combinations such as "bu, ma" and is starting to make raspberry sounds. Heidi is using different intonation in her babbling. She does lots of laughing and giggling. When I ask for a kiss, she opens her mouth and leans forward. If I ask her "you want up?"she lifts her arms into the air. She looks around when I ask her "where are the doggies?" We have started to show her sign language, and she is intrigued and watches our hands. Heidi recognizes the sounds associated with Skype. She turns and is able to locate the direction of sounds.

cognitive
Heidi imitates banging her hands on a toy, or on her highchair tray. Heidi takes toys out of containers. She learned how to purposely drop an object, and will look to the floor afterwards. When given a choice, such as two books, she will reach for the one she wants. Heidi has preferences for some toys over others, and smiles in recognition of certain toys like her wooden spoon. She turns pages in books, and imitates touching pictures. Heidi can push a ball back and forth. We have started telling her "no" to touching the dog food bowl, and she will pause for a second before trying again. She pats Skipper if he is close by. Heidi finds a toy hidden under a cloth. She pulls an object in order to reach a different part of the toy. Heidi takes puzzle pieces out in order to chew on them. She bangs keys on a piano, and pushes buttons on toys.

motor
Heidi uses a pincer grasp to pick up small pieces of food. She can hold a toy in each hand, and transfers an object from one hand to the other. Heidi knocks down a tower of blocks. She holds out a toy, and laughs when she pulls it back toward herself. Heidi is army crawling everywhere, and can easily navigate around obstacles and corners. She sits for extended periods of time, and can balance herself while reaching for toys. Heidi rolls from back to stomach and stomach to back. She weight bears on her legs when held in standing.

adaptive
Heidi is still nursing 4-6 times a day. She feeds herself small pieces of foods such as chicken, pork, beef, vegetables, fruits, and cereals. She spits out food she does not like. Heidi takes bites of cereal, and can move food from one side to the other side of her mouth. She eats different textures of foods such as soft, crunchy, mushy, and even ground beef. If I put food on the fork, she can get it to her mouth. She eats soup and cereal from a spoon. Heidi recognizes an open cup, and will take sips out of it with help. Heidi is now helping to get dressed by pushing her arms through the sleeves. She pulls her socks off in order to chew on her toes. When given a sippy cup, she can hold it herself if she is lying down. Heidi sleeps for 9-11 hours at night, with a few short naps during the day.

social
Heidi is very social, and is aware of her surroundings. She becomes quiet and looks around in new situations. Heidi is now aware when I step away from her, and she prefers to be comforted by me. She gives big smiles to people she knows, and smiles or makes sounds in order to draw attention to herself. Heidi takes a few minutes to warm up to someone new. She is interested in watching other kids play. Heidi loves to play peek-a-boo, and pulls the blanket off her face. She is intrigued by songs with hand motions, and music in general helps to calm her down. Heidi imitates facial gestures, such as a scrunched up nose.

Heidi - 7 month picture

Heidi was having some "helmet free" time, and she was so cute that I couldn't resist taking pictures. And then I couldn't decide on just one, so here are a few for you!

Heidi

Heidi

Heidi

 We are still in the process of waiting for the bank, attorney's, and Realtor's to complete all necessary paperwork. Each day brings us closer and closer. Since we know the current owners have moved to Texas (how ironic!), the house is currently empty. Over last weekend we went to the house to explore a little, and rake the front yard. I met a few of the neighbors. The yard definitely needs some work! Anyone want to come help?

Kristin and our new house!

Pictures - October 2013

Soon to be our house!

Grandma, Grandpa Gene, Heidi enjoying outside

Token leaf picture.

Daddy and Heidi

Heidi's first experience gnawing/eating beef.

4 of 6 great-grand kids. Wow, only the adults are looking at the camera!

Enjoying new clothes. 

Heidi and Mommy, trying out Heidi's snowsuit before the snow comes.