New pictures

Yesterday we took Jenna to get her 6-month pictures. Some of them turned out really cute. We didn't get as many as we did for her 3-month session, but we'll probably go again at 9 and 12. Besides, I've already decided we're going back to order more. :) We didn't get any of this first pose, and I wish we had.

And of course, the family pic...

I'm still hung up about this flu shot thing. Is it really necessary? They only protect against 1 strain, and aren't there several that go around???

Flu shots

Ugggh, hate em. I used to never get them, but last year I did because I was pregnant and they practically made me. This year Jenna's doctor recommended she get one, and I guess I will too, since she's in the germ-infested daycare. Not that her daycare in particular is germier than others...they're all that way. Just to clarify! Anyway, it makes me sad to think about taking her in for one because I know it'll hurt her, and then wherever they inject it will probably be sore. She already has a cough, and I think it's from the shots she got earlier this week. It started the day after I took her to the doctor. It's just a cough--no fever, no discomfort, and not even a runny nose. She sounds like her chest is congested, so I hope this goes away soon.

I remember when I was so anxious for her to be able to sit and entertain herself...now that's her new favorite thing to do! I can't believe how different she is now than she was just a month ago. She's a big girl already! People always say they grow so fast, and they do!!!!

6 month appointment

Today I took baby girl to her 6 month appointment. It was her first time at this office. I liked the other one better, but this one is just fine. It's funny how I don't realize how much she has changed until random things make me remember how she was. At her 2-and 4-month appointments, she couldn't roll over, so she just laid on the table until I picked her up. Well OK, she didn't just quietly lay there until I picked her up, but today she grabbed at everything, rolled all around, and tried to put everything in her mouth. Including the papers, clipboard, her clothes, the paper thing they make her lay on, pens, and the doctor's stethoscope. She was very restless, but I guess I would be too if I had these new discoveries and had to be at a doctor's office for over an hour.

Anyway, she weighs 19 lbs, 12 ozs, which is less than I thought she would weigh. She was in the 97th percentile--same as she was for her 4-month appointment. She dropped from the 75th to the 45th for length though. I guess she's just a short, fat girl. :) That's all right, she won't stay that way. I HATE when they give the shots. She definitely didn't like that, but she's been sleeping all afternoon, so that's the positive...

Off to the tropics

Well, in a month. In a month, we're off to St. Lucia. Just me & hubby. And I haven't really even thought about it! We've been so pre-occupied with baby, house-hunting, carpet, paint, etc. that this trip we've had planned for months has been at the way back of my mind. We'll be leaving Jenna with Gramma & Grampa and enjoying 4 nights at the ALL-INCLUSIVE Sandals Grande St. Lucian. Eating, drinking anything with coconut rum all day long, scuba diving, lounging by the pool or the beach, and sight-seeing. It will be sooooo nice and relaxing. The best part about it? It's FREE! 100% free. Well, not 100% because we paid $34 since the flights were $17 over the cap for mileage points. But 4 days/nights in the Caribbean with all we can eat, drink, dive, play, and SLEEP for $34? Not bad!!! That's actually the only reason we're going. Are you all jealous? I gotta say--I'm jealous of myself. We got lucky. Real lucky. However, getting there will be somewhat of a nightmare. We have 2 layovers and it will take us about 15 hours, both ways.

Is it bad that one of the things I'm most looking forward to is sleeping? I get to sleep as late as I want on this trip. I have pretty much accepted that I won't sleep much for the next 18 years or so. OK, maybe it will get better within a year, or until the next one comes along, if a next one comes along. I just haven't been sleeping. I can't sleep when I go to bed, and once I eventually do fall asleep, I usually wake up several times during the night. Then, I wake to crying around 6:30, give or take an hour. If Jay's not asleep within a minute & a half of lying down, I think something's wrong with him, yet it takes me an hour if I'm lucky. WHAT? I can't turn off my mind like he can. Is this a guy thing? Maybe when we move into our house and have our own king-size bed back, I'll sleep better. Surely.

Anyway, I'm going to start thinking more about this trip, since anticipation is one of the most fun parts of vacations. If anyone reading this has ever been to St. Lucia, any suggestions on day excursions?

When Gramma babysits

Ha! Yeah, Jenna has started to hold her own bottle lately. She's been doing that for a while, but now she can actually hold it where it needs to go, and keep it there. We just thought it was funny that Gramma was drinking a beer at the same time Jenna was feeding herself. I HAD to get a pic.

Jay & I are so relieved...we found a house!!!!! So assuming the inspection goes well, after November 9 we will have our own space again. I really like it. It's older and in older area, but we decided to go for location. We can change what we don't like about the house, but there isn't a whole lot that we don't like.

On another subject--I really hate Halloween. It's my least favorite holiday. But now that we have a baby we can dress up, it might be kinda fun. I had to make sure her little costume fit. :)

I mean, how cute are babies in animal costumes??? My friend actually made that bunny costume for her daughter 2 years ago, but now it gets another use this year. I don't know how Jenna feels about it--the look on her face says, "Mommy, what are you doing to me?" She refused to smile when she had it on. :)

Ups and downs

I never knew how bad a 5-month-old could hurt me! Jenna's first day of daycare here was today, and I really was fine with her. I missed her a lot toward the end of the day because I have been with her ALL THE TIME lately. When I went to pick her up, I was anxious to see if she would be glad to see me. Nope. She didn't even acknowledge that she knew who I was. Didn't smile, didn't even look at me for more than half a second. She just went on sucking on the plastic keys that she was so enthralled with, while sitting on the daycare worker's lap. I don't know why that got to me so much, but it broke my heart and I cried all the way home. I thought at this age, she was supposed to recognize me! Sometimes she does smile at me or act like she knows who I am, and I thought today she would since it's been a while since we've been apart.

This house-hunting thing is killing me. I am so glad we don't have our Houston house anymore, because we can just focus on finding one. But I guess we're really picky or something. Our realtor has showed us 16 houses, and we only really liked one of them. In fact, we liked it so much that we put in an offer the day after we looked at it. I should preface by saying the day we looked at it was the first day it was on the market. After he wrote up the offer & faxed it in, he called to say the selling agent was also expecting another "strong" offer. So we changed the offer that night to be $1K over the asking price, and we'd pay all closing costs. I thought that was a dang good offer. It turned out there were 2 other offers and we were "significantly" outbid. I guess other people wanted that house just a little more than we did. I don't think we're going to find one we like as much as it, because the ones we've looked at so far have been really disappointing. I don't know why people would design such stupid floorplans with space that you really can't use for anything. Do people really use formal sitting areas AND formal dining rooms? It would be different if they could be closed off, but I don't know what we'd do with some of these odd-shaped spaces. I would also like a back yard bigger than my closet. Like I said--maybe I'm just being picky, but I guess it will take longer than I'd hoped to find the right house. I also think we'll settle for something we don't love, but at this point I'm confused about what I even really want! It hasn't even been that long, but we've looked at most of the houses that looked good online in the area we wanted, so either we have to change areas or wait for other houses to go on the market. Then if it's worth getting, we'll have to go into a bidding war with the other people who are in the same position we are. I have heard it referred to as the "real estate game" and it truly is a game!

I just skimmed over this post. Am I a Debbie Downer or what???