Mummy's first week away from her little girl

I am back from Boston after being there all week and it was so good to see Amy and Jerad waiting at the airport. I have traveled a lot with work in the past and it is always great to get home but it seemed like I was away so much longer with not seeing Amy each night. It was fun though because Jerad would call each night as he was giving her a bath and he would have me on speaker so I could still talk to her and hear her playing in the bath tub. From what I hear she was a good girl for Daddy and slept through the night for him too. When I arrived back in San Antonio both of them were there to greet me at the airport and she was full of smiles and cuddles!!

While I was away her dresses arrived (pink/white birthday dress and a red/blue dress for 4th July). I didn't realize the bottom of her birthday dress was white but it is very pretty. So on Saturday Amy and I went out shopping (of course) and bought birthday shoes to match. After that Jerad met us once he finished his golf game and we just did the grocery shopping. Not much else exciting this weekend - Amy and I went to the Washtub to get the van washed and then all three of us went to Babe's for lunch. Amy and I also delivered her first birthday invitation to Mr and Mrs Young (neighbors across the road).

Yesterday was Australia Day - so I guess I should have done something Australian to celebrate but I was slack. So I'll have to make up for it and have a vegemite snadwich for lunch tomorrow :-) In the week that I was away Amy has also learned how to "feed herself" with her spoon. When I say feed herself I mean help you hold the spoon, take a bite and then hand the spoon back to you.

On the trip to Boston I read Iris Johansen's "Stalemate" and then I have started Jodi Picoult's "Plain Truth". They are both OK I guess but I definitely prefer Plain Truth so far.

We can't believe she is nearly 1

I didn't get a chance to update the blog last weekend so I'll try to remember what we have done for the last 2 weeks. Work has been pretty busy for me but not too much for Jerad. He hasn't had too many long distance deliveries lately but has had a few local ones all over San Antonio. He has also been able to fit in a few games of golf (from his Christmas gift - we bought him 21 games at Alamo Golf Course). He took Amy a couple of times in her stroller and pushed her around the course. Grandma Liz thinks his game was improved because other players were distracted by how pretty his caddy was ;-)

I am getting ready to go to Boston for the week next week for work. From what I hear it is bitterly cold up there at the moment but I am hoping there is not any snow as my plans are to walk from the hotel to the office each day. I'll certainly miss my little girl and this will be the longest I have been away from her since she was born. I'll be calling home every night to say Hi of course. It will also be the first time Jerad has had her all day and night on his own too. I'm sure Buka and Domino will enjoy Mummy being away as they can share my side of the bed.

We've also spent a lot of time over the last week starting to plan for her first birthday. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some cardstock and ribbon etc and have hand made her invitations. I have also bought her a pretty pink organza party dress. (see picture). I still have to get her some little shoes to go with it. Next we will be choosing which cake to make. I'm thinking of buying a "1" pan but we'll see what other ideas I come up with over the next week. Today Amy and I are off to have her 11 month photos done and then next month I'll get photos done in her party dress. She's growing up so fast - I can't believe how quickly the months have gone by.

Happy New Year

I can't believe it is 2008 already! We had a pretty quiet New Year's Eve - went to Brian's house late afternoon and had a couple of drinks and appetizers. Then I dropped Jerad at Steve's house while I came home to give Amy her bath, went back to get Jerad. Amy was down in bed by 9 and then I crashed at 10:30. Jerad at least made it until midnight and then came in to wake me up and wish me Happy New Year. There were plenty of fireworks in our neighborhood (as usual). In fact, due to the dry weather we have been having and the strong winds that night there was a small fire on some vacant land 2 blocks away from us. No damage was done to property and no-one was hurt, but I must have been out of it because I didn't hear the fire trucks at all. What party animals we are :-)

I'm starting to plan for Amy's 1st birthday since it will be here in a few weeks. Nothing too big, just invite a few friends over on a Sunday afternoon. I am thinking about handmaking the invitations so went to Hobby Lobby on the weekend to look for some nice paper and decorations. I'm also deciding what cake to make. Since I am not an expert cake decorator I thought I'd keep it simple and bake a number 1, then ice it and decorate it with pink, white and red M&M's (an advantage of a birthday near Valentine's Day means I can get a packet of them all in those colors). I found a neat gift I think I will get - it's a stack of 5 pink tins and the idea is you use plaster to make a handprint each year until she turns 5. I was also thinking of getting her a little sterling silver baby bracelet with her name engraved on it. I realize she won't remember her 1st birthday but I still want to have a special little celebration for our baby girl.

Everything else is pretty much the same here with us and the dogs (although they do miss Barry taking them for walks each day). Jerad has a load to Laredo tonight so it will be a late night for him and then he has to get up early in the morning to take me to work since the van is at the dealership getting an oil change and tire rotation. I'm sure he'll be tired tomorrow night. We did rent a movie on the weekend (Evan Almighty) - something we rarely do - neither of us liked it at all. I think because we enjoyed Bruce Almighty so much we were really looking forward to this one and unfortunately we were disappointed. I'll have to see if we can find something better next time.

Anyway, if anyone has some ideas for Amy's birthday just post a comment.

Post Christmas Update

On Monday Grandma Liz, Barry and Jane took Amy to have her photo taken with Santa at La Cantera Mall. Santa was a really genuine Santa with his own beard and Amy was very good sitting with him for the photo.

Well, Amy's first Christmas has come and gone. Santa visited and left her lots of presents. Much to Grandma Liz's disappointment Amy slept in until 6:45am (G'Ma had been waiting since 4:30am). Once she was up though we got straight into opening presents. Opening all of her toys and presents wore her out as she was asleep for Christmas lunch. The adults had Honey Baked Ham and Turkey, green bean parcels (with bacon), potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli/cheese casserole, stuffed peppers and fresh dinner rolls. This was all topped off with an ice-cream cake (Caramel Nut Nirvana).

Jane had to work on Wednesday (Boxing Day) because it is not a holiday here the US. Thursday Jane got off work early and we all went to Fredericksburg and had dinner at The Brewery. It was good - the beer too. Then on Saturday, Grandma Liz, Barry, Amy and Jane went to San Marcos to the Prime Outlet Mall and shopped. Amy got her first pair shoes - sneakers that light up as she walks. We also bought her clothes of course and Jane bought some homeware things at Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn.

Sunday is Grandma Liz and Barry's last full day here in San Antonio and instead of going to the usual HEB we all went to HEB Plus! It was awesome, so much variety and Jane can buy Indian food items there (as well as some groceries from the UK). Amy of course got something.................a new pink Jeep umbrella stroller. We're all going for dinner tonight to the Macaroni Grill and then tomorrow it's off to the airport :-( Not sure that everything will fit in their bags (especially Amy). Will post again next Sunday - love to hear from you all.

Amy's first words

Another busy week for us as we get ready for Christmas. Jerad was quite busy during the week with various loads to Laredo. Jane was busy at work (especially trying to take care of things ready for a few days off). Mum and Barry had another fun week looking after Amy and the dogs. Saturday morning we all went to "The Little Gym" where Amy had her first class. It was a lot of fun with Jerad and I being involved in the class too. Amy did some somersaults, stood holding onto the parallel bars, bounced and played "wheelbarrow". It was a fun class and she enjoyed interacting with the other babies. We have enrolled her in the Winter/Spring Semester that starts at the end of January.

Mum, Barry and I went out this morning to grab a few last minute groceries and we bought an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery to have for dessert on Christmas Day (Caramel Nut Nirvana). Traynor stopped in today as he has another load going to SC. Traynor and I went to the movies to see "I am Legend" while Jerad went to the bar for a drink - Mum and Barry stayed home and went for a walk with Amy. Today was very exciting............Amy actually said "ba ba ba"! It was very unexpected as we were sitting at the dinner table. I was starting to get worried that she wasn't going to talk, but our little girl is finally making her first word sounds.

Well I have the video camera all ready for Christmas morning so I just then need to work out how to download the video onto here. I'm sure I'll work it out :-)

Getting ready for Amy's 1st Christmas

Well I have been slack over the past few weeks and haven't updated the blog. I guess it's because we are busy getting ready for Christmas. Our little girl is now 10 months old and is growing and changing every day. Since Grandma Liz and Barry have been here she gets spoilt (rotten). She goes for walks each day and plays, eats what she wants (whenever she wants).........you get the idea. Last week Grandpa Traynor came to visit and stayed the night. We all went to El Chapparal for dinner and Amy even had a dance with Grandpa Traynor! Amy has enjoyed looking at all the Christmas lights on all the house around Wildhorse (Although I think Grandma Liz enjoys it more).

Since her last Dr visit, Amy has had her blood test done and all is well - no need for iron supplements. She still isn't talking (making consonant sounds) but is certainly babbling more each day. She is also standing up holding on to things well, she also claps her hands and laughs a lot more now. She is starting at "The Little Gym" this Saturday so that should be fun! We are going to enroll her in the Winter/Spring semester in the "Bird" group where she will go to gym each Saturday morning. A good way to interact with other little babies and hopefully learn a few things.

I probably won't post again until Christmas when I will hopefully have some video footage to share on here and definitely photos.

Thanksgiving '07

It's been a busy time over the past week or so. Last Tuesday I went to the airport to pick up Mum and Barry. They arrived safely after a long flight and lay-over in LAX.

Wednesday was Amy's 9 month Dr appointment and she now weighs 17lb and is 28" tall. She was not at all impressed with the 3 vaccinations she had! Dr Gibbons was a little concerned that she is not yet saying "Da da da" or "Ba ba ba" but said we should wait until the New Year and hopefully she'll be making her first sounds by then. Amy also needs to have a blood test just to check her iron levels - again nothing serious just needs to be checked at her age.

Then of course on Thursday it was Thanksgiving, so we were cooking all day and had our fill of turkey, sweet potato, green beans, corn bread etc. Amy was asleep during the meal but was able to enjoy some Thanksgiving leftovers later that evening. The next day Amy, Mum, Barry and I were all up bright and early for a full day of shopping on Black Friday. We got a great deal on a videa camera at Best Buy and then picked up most of Amy's Christmas presents at Toy'R'Us. We also shopped at Yankee Candle, JC Penney, Babies'R'Us, Gap and more. Mum and Barry bought Amy a new car seat and she seems to really like it .

Saturday and Sunday saw more shopping and showing Mum and Barry around San Antonio. Barry especially liked Costco!! Jerad put up all the Christmas decorations for us and the house now looks so pretty inside with the tree and lights and all. We are getting excited about Christmas and have started the countdown.