Mold Sorrows

Well, I don't know exactly where to start. :( This post will not involve pictures as it would gross most of us out. Ok... Not long ago, I noticed that my pump equipment had mold on it where the valve connects. I used to disassemble it completely to dry every time I washed it. But lately I started leaving it connected to dry thinking it would be fine. Well, it wasn't. Pumped milk had been passing the mold and yes, sadly, Alex was drinking that milk unbeknownst to me that mold was in there. I was upset about this and did an overhaul clean job on my pump stuff.

I am still breastfeeding, but only 1-2 times a day as she has gotten too distracted and busy to breastfeed every time. I pump for the other feeds (and starting this month, I sometimes supplement formula with it), and use defrosted milk with her dinner. Sometimes, Alex has not been wanting to drink all of her milk from a sippy cup even when she wouldn't breastfeed. At her 9 month check up, her pediatrician stressed the importance of her needing at least 24 oz of milk a day right now. Yikes! So, I've been making a conscience effort to get more milk in her. Today, as I was unloading the dishwasher, I decided to look closer at the holes on her sippy cups thinking maybe she needed a "big girl" sippy as hers are the beginner ones. When I pulled the valve off, mold covered the inside. :( I almost threw up and cried at the same time. I checked all her sippy cups and it was only on the oldest 2, but 2 others had a sour smell. They are now in the trash. Unfortunately, I had never taken the valves off. Yes, you can call me stupid, but don't get too proud because you will make a dumb mistake, too! Anyway, this is embarrassing to share and I am only doing it so no other new moms will do the same thing. This is so out of my character as most of you know that I can be a borderline clean/health freak. Needless to say, Alex guzzled her milk today in a fresh clean sippy cup and gets more new ones today! Even though Alex probably has a rock solid immune system after all this, I am still sad about it all. :( btw...I did talk to a neonatologist (pediatric specialist) friend in MS today about this and he said Alex would be just fine.

If any of you know of anything else with a valve on it, please let me know! I need to check it. I was told today that bathtub toys that hold water probably have mold in the inside and you might not be able to even see it until water is squirted out with black in it. :( I'll be checking her rubber duckies next.

Pool Time

Layla and Reagan came to the pool with us last Thursday. We had a good time. Well, Reagan did after her fear of the pool subsided (see her story under The Ramsey Family).

Father's Day

Alex and I met Layla and Reagan at Firefly to paint something for the Dads. Alex painted her footprints for Mother's Day so we planned to surprise Daddy with her hand prints for Father's Day. Since Daddy got off work early, we told him to meet us there as we had just finished. Daddy was surprised. We'll post the final product after it is fired in a few weeks. btw...Alex and Reagan had a good time while there. :)
The worker is painting Alex's first hand.
Pressing hand down. Alex did great! We only had to rinse off one tile and redo the hand print. :)
Time for the other hand. Alex's face is priceless...
Daddy showed up to see his surprise. (The footprint plate is the finished product from Mother's Day. The hand print tiles will be fired which will darken the green background on the border.) Reagan and Layla's finished product (pre firing)

This is hilarious! Reagan sneezed for real which made Alex laugh. So, Reagan started fake sneezing which had Alex cracking up. I did the best I could to capture it on video as it happened so fast and many "sneezes" and laughs happened before I started videoing. I think Reagan enjoyed entertaining while Alex loved being the audience of this comedy show.

The Latest

Well, time keeps getting away from me and this blogging. I always have tons of entries in my head and some get posted. This time I have a little bit of an excuse...we were out of town last weekend. So much seems to happen in life these days. Since I last blogged 3 friends (Ashley, Iris, and Jennifer...check out on the right: The Finton Family, The How Family and The Glasgow Family) had babies, Chris' mom (Mimi) flew here and traveled to Birmingham with me, spent time with college friend, Kristen, was in Cathy's wedding, Chris turned 31 (June 10)and Alex turned 9 months today! That's a lot!!! Unfortunately, I didn't get pics of all this. I can't believe we didn't get any of Mimi and Alex, Kristen, or birthday pics. :(
Our Sweetheart
Reading before bedtime
Alex realizing her sun hat doesn't come off
Alex playing hard...(check out that tummy)
Alex wearing Daddy's hat
Cathy getting ready to walk the aisle
Jeff and Cathy
at Cathy's bridesmaid luncheon
Daddy and Alex at church nursery a couple weeks ago
Grace and Jennifer Glasgow
Grace Lillian Glasgow
Kekoa How
Iris, Matt and Kekoa How
Ashley Finton's son, Hutchison Pierce
Sister Tess and Hutch

Pulling All The Way Up!!!

When I put Alex down tonight for bed, she sat up. Immediately, she grabbed the crib slats and pulled up. I was stunned, yet smiling and so proud. Alex just giggled in a way that she was so excited I got to see her do it. I wonder if she has been doing this in her bed and I am just now seeing it. She was precious. So, of course, I ran and got the camera. Then, I kept sitting her back down to see it again and again. :)


Pulling Up and Cruising

Pulling Up for Daddy

"Look Mommy, No Hands"

For Mimi

"Mimi, I look forward to you coming next Wednesday. Also, thank you for my high chair. I love it and am practicing my pincer grasp with cheerios and puffs on it. Daddy calls it 'hand-eye coordination skills,' but I call it 'independently eating yummy grub.'"
I was actually trying to video her latest cute smile. She was doing it here, but of course stopped when I got the camera. Last week, she started grinning big, closing her eyes, and tilting her head back. She does it several times a day. It is so cute!

Memorial Day Cookout

We hosted a Memorial Day Cookout in which we had a great turnout with great food. I managed to only get a couple of pics at the beginning of a few kids playing. Alex loved hanging out with the older kids. She tries so hard to get in the middle of them, but she is just not fast enough when reaching for the toys. However, the "older" girls are sweet and offer her toys, too.

New Tricks

Notice Alex's advanced moves here. She goes from crawling to a partial hand stand to sitting up. She's been practicing.
Gurgling (sp?) has become her favorite thing to do when she gets the sippy cup. I am so amazed at what she learns on her own.

Neighborhood Pool

We joined the neighborhood pool this year for Alex. It opened on Saturday so we tried it out. The water was freezing as it had rained earlier that day. However, Alex didn't even flinch in the water. She loved it! And yes, she was doted on by all there since she was the youngest munchkin. She just smiled at them all...so sweet. :)

Found Sitting Up Again...

When I first lay Alex down for a nap or bedtime, she practices her new moves over and over. These pics were actually at the end of one of her naps.

9 years ago...

a few pounds and a baby ago, this was us. We got married so long ago, none of our pics are digital. So, we made our own. Notice the camera flash on Chris' pants. ha! Happy 9th Anniversary!

Last Day of MDO

Well, today was Alex's last day of Mother's Day Out until the Fall. She went just a few hours each Thursday. She really enjoyed watching the other babies and playing. Alex was the youngest baby in there so she was always learning new things watching the older ones. Her latest is the weird growl sound. She might have learned it from one of her sound making toys, but it is kind of scary sounding. I'll try to video her doing it and post it. Laura and Shana (left to rt in pic) were great with her at MDO. Thanks ladies!

Go David Cook!!!

YAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My #1 pick for American Idol won tonight. I am so excited as I have voted for him the whole season. David C. has an incredible voice, originality, talent and humility. This is the first season of Idol that I have watched. I really enjoyed it and liked several of the contestants. Even though David C. was my fav, I didn't think he would win as David A. had such a large teenager following. However, David C. pulled it out! Good Choice America! (this deserved a blog entry as it has been fun to keep up with and Idol talk has come up in many conversations)

Another First

I went to check on Alex during her "nap" and she was sitting up. That is a first...for her to get into a sitting position on her own!

Standing Up

Alex loves to stand no matter what she is holding on to or doing. She can even take a few steps when holding on to your fingers or the coffee table and couch. Check out her shoulder and bicep muscles. This girl is strong! She's been lifting weights at the gym with mommy. j/k... :)