Bikers for Babies – Here we Come!

Ever since Skyler went through her ordeal, I’ve wanted to be a part of Bikers for Babies. This is an awesome charity event that happens nationwide, but the Kansas City Bikers for Babies is the largest March of Dimes charity ride in the nation, and one of the largest rides for any charity in the Midwest. And what melts your heart more than seeing a bunch (try a couple thousand) of rough-and-tough men and women, many decked out in their leathers, all convening to ride for a few hours together, after raising money to help babies get born healthy? It’s pretty sweet.

Last year we didn’t have our bike yet, but I was hoping maybe I could ride with my dad on his. But unfortunately the event fell on the same day we were celebrating Skyler’s first birthday, so there was way to much to do for me to get away and ride with my dad. But this year, it falls a week after Skyler’s birthday, so Ronnie and I, along with my parents, brother, and a couple other friends, have all registered to ride on September 20. We’re even going to try and get t-shirts made with Skyler’s photo on it as we ride in her honor!

Since it’s a charity event, we need help to raise money. Our registration fees of $35 already goes toward the fundraising, but we know with the help of our family and friends, we can do better than that! It’s really easy to donate securely online, or you can contact either of us if you’d rather write a check or send cash.

P.S. – Ronnie and I are competing against each other to see who can raise the most. So, take your pick, and click one of our names to donate to whichever one of us you want to win! Ronnie or Lori

I will also have the Bikers for Babies logo in the upper right of the blog until the ride, which also links right to my online donation form. So, please donate for this great cause. And if you know anyone that likes to ride, tell them to register and join us on September 20th!

Random updates

- Skyler is repeating so many words lately! If she knows what something is and I point to it and say it, she tries to say the word also. It’s so cute because her versions are vary toddlerific – diaper is “biper,” up is “Puh,” Bruno is “Bobo,” pasta is “papa,” and so on. It’s pretty adorable.

- We are thinking hard about getting rid of our diesel Jetta and getting something bigger (and something that starts up easily on cold mornings!). Ronnie has had the pleasure on recent weekends of getting Skyler in and out of the backseat of that car, and commented “Sure glad I don’t have to do this everyday” at which time I gave him my “square-eyed” look of death. I am very at odds with that car and would love the chance to drive something different. That car and I just don’t mesh. Since I took over driving it, the battery went out on the key fob so I have to manually lock/unlock the doors (not easy when I have a child and purse in my hands already), the wiper fluid pump broke, the brake lights went out, the stereo shorted out, and the passenger side door will only open from the outside. And this is the nicer of our two cars (unless you count the Harley!).

- Since starting the South Beach Diet and working out about five times a week for the last three weeks, I have lost six pounds and even up to an inch in certain places on my body! This is the most progress I’ve had in any efforts to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. And I feel great! The diet itself has not been hard and I’ve learned some great new recipes. I’m also eating so many more veggies than I have in the past and that just makes me feel healthier. A couple girlfriends at work have committed to working out with me on our lunch hour three times a week and we haven’t missed a beat. We’ve mostly been doing the Power90X cardio videos, and I can feel myself getting stronger and more toned. It is like a new high to finally feel stronger, healthier, and leaner than I have in a long, long time! I’m almost halfway to my goal, and my motivation has not yet faltered!

Baby

Tonight Skyler and I were “reading” her book that has a bunch of photos of real babies in it. By reading I mean that she rapidly turns the pages and every now and then points something out of interest to her for that split second before turning the page again. I repeated the word “baby” each time she pointed at a photo. Then on her second time through the book, she pointed at the first baby photo and said “beh-beh.” I thought maybe it was coincidence since she uses the “beh” sounds for lots of things, but she continued to turn the pages, pause to point at the babys’ faces, and repeat “beh-beh.” I even swear she said “mooh” when she pointed at the page with the moon in the sky, but I couldn’t get a repeat on that one to be sure.

It also occurred to me that when my own baby can point out other babies and call them babies, she’s not much of a baby anymore.

Weighing In

Skyler had a check-up this morning, complete with another part of her flu shot, which is always fun! It was fairly uneventful (though you would think from her wailing that they were torturing her with 1,000 needles), but she got weighed and measured and she has gone through quite the growth spurt! She was 21 lbs and 31 1/2 inches, which puts her in the 25th percentile for weight and 65th for height. I am so happy/surprised/relieved to have her weight finally back to a safe normal! She’s been hangin’ on at the very bottom line of the growth chart for so long, this news is more than welcome!

In other weight news, I’ve stuck to my South Beach diet perfectly so far this week, and I’ve lost 3 pounds since Monday morning when I started. I know I shouldn’t measure my weight more than once per week, but I can’t help it. Each morning on the scale has been less than the day before, so I know that at least I’m not fluctuating up and down YET and it’s going in the right direction. I’ve also really enjoyed the diet so far. When I use the recipes online, I can make some pretty delicious stuff!

Time Out

Skyler has been testing her limits. She will do something over and over again each time I tell her no, and sometimes she’ll do it just halfway, look at me and smile slyly, waiting for me to scold her. It’s so adorable but I have to be strong and stern at the same time so she doesn’t win!

Last week I even had to put her in time out for the first time. We got home from work and I got her in the highchair and started feeding her dinner. But behind me on the floor she could see her Pink Bear, so she started pointing and whining after it. I don’t let her have that at dinner b/c it would then be nearly impossible to feed her with that big furry bear in her lap (and not to mention messy!) so I wouldn’t get it for her. She proceeded to scream bloody [fake] murder at me and shoving the spoon of food out of her way when I would try to keep going. I decided to kick Pink Bear around the corner so she could no longer see it, but that didn’t help, and perhaps even upset her worse. She wasn’t about to forget about Pink Bear this meal! I finally put the food up and took her to her crib screaming the most obnoxious tantrum I’ve ever heard from her. I set her in there, closed the door and let her scream in the dark. When she settled down I would go get her, let her get Pink Bear hugs out of her system, and then attempt dinner again. FIFTEEN MINUTES later, she had calmed, but was still whimpering. I felt like that was good enough for our first time out experience! The rest of the evening she was back to her normal fun self, thank God!

It’s funny how some moments can be so overwhelmingly irritating I want to run far, far away, but in minutes, the day has turned a 180, I’m wrestling around with my giggly little girl, and I’m wondering what ever got my blood boiling just a little bit earlier?

Learning to Share

(Please disregard that Skyler is dressed like a boy. She made a mess of her clothes at daycare that day and I didn’t have a back-up outfit for her, so she came home in her buddy’s back-up outfit, who is a 1-year-old boy)

The Last Couple Weeks in Photo

First, Skyler loves to play “dress-up.” She will find multiple articles of clothing and drape them over her head and around her waist.

Playing teddy bear keep-away with Daddy

She stacked up all seven of these blocks by herself. She knocked it over with her leg while reaching for the 8th block. She absolutely loves playing with blocks and building things. I’m tellin’ ya this girl is a smart one!

Playing in the Fall leaves…

It’s hard to get a smile outside because she’s always squinting!

Standing up in the crib – she’s all about it nowadays!

Yes She Can! Change I Can Believe In

I have no idea if our next President will be able to bring about the “change” he speaks of, but what I do know is that Skyler is changing fast, and she can do new things almost every day now!

Where to start? It’s been so long since I’ve updated specifically on her developments, I don’t remember what’s new and what’s “old.” She’s been crawling for several weeks now of course, and getting more and more agile at it, not to mention speedy. I can’t believe how quickly she can get from one end of the house to the other, all while I’ve only unloaded the top rack of the dishwasher! Needless to say, I purchased a baby gate, which at least cuts her coverage of our house in half.

Her kissing has progressed as well. It’s no longer just a smash-face, she actually puckers her lips and knows to press them to her target’s lips. She still doesn’t have the smooch factor down, but she’s now halfway there! And she will just crawl over to me, climb up to me and give me kisses without even being asked! She is so darn sweet!

Last weekend she said her first official words (not counting Mama or Dada)! She was eating eggs and pancakes in her highchair. Normally when I think she’s done eating, I ask her “All done?” and put my hands up in the air. But that morning I didn’t even have to ask. I looked over at her and she said “Ah duh!” right at me. It caught me by surprise so I asked her “all done?” and she immediately raised her hands up in the air in response! It was so exciting! She hasn’t said the words since, but every meal raises her hands in the air when she’s finished. I do think she’s getting a little full of herself and loves how excited I get when she communicates with me, because tonight she raised her hands up in the air and smiled after every other bite, even though she threw a hungry fit just minutes before. So I had to remind her that she needed to eat more before she could be all done. It was so cute though because she gets so proud of herself for communicating that she even grins and claps her hands once I respond to her.

And tonight, she officially pulled up on something and stood there without any assistance! She’s been attempting this for a couple months now but has never had the strength or coordination between upper and lower body to do it without help. But after a couple tries tonight, she pulled up on the couch cushion and stood there facing Ronnie and I as we sat on the couch. Which at the suggestion of my friend who’s 8 month old daughter is doing similar things, it might be time to get Skyler a helmet. I see many bumps and bruises in her future as she pulls on things she shouldn’t and learns how to get a good grip!

Finally, last Friday we visited her cardiologist for a milestone appointment to decide if she was at risk for additional surgery on her heart. There was the potential that her original surgery would get too much scar tissue and the original problem could recur, and in addition she had another slight narrowing further on her aorta that could potentially get worse as she neared one year old. But her sonogram was perfect, with great measurements of everything and her doctor was very pleased with where she’s at. She said she is now in a very low risk category for her condition, and we won’t need to come back for 6 months. After that, the goal is only a maintenance checkup once a year. It’s so exciting to be in this position now, with those dreadful, worrisome days behind us. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon when Skyler and I left the doctor’s office, and as cheesy as it sounds, the melody “I can see clearly now the rain is gone…” ran through my head. I’m so thankful and overjoyed to have my healthy, happy, adorable daughter! I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Next post: photos!

Future dance lessons?

Every time a music beat comes on, Skyler starts dancing. Whether it’s music from her toy or a commercial, she starts a side to side or waving her hands in the air, sometimes clapping. Tonight I put on one of my own favorite dance beats, and Skyler picked up on the rhythm right away!

Sorting and kissing

Skyler is up to lots of business these days. No matter what she’s doing, she’s always very busy! She loves anything that has to do with her hands, especially sorting her baby food items in the cabinet. Lately, her favorite source of entertainment is to crawl over to the lazy susan in the kitchen, where I keep all her food and snacks on the bottom shelf. She will take stuff out and put it back in, over and over and over. She especially loves the container of Cheerios because she can shake it really hard and make noise.

She also “helps” me clean her room.. She goes around to all the lower level shelves and drawers and takes everything out of them, while I go around behind her and put it all back away. We could probably go around in this circle for hours, but as the smarter one of the bunch, I pick her up and take her to a different room before things get too old! In the same way, she loves to fold the laundry with me. She takes clothes out of the basket and puts them on her head to show off. She sets them down beside her and them puts them back in the basket. It’s so funny to me how she tries to do the things I do, even though she’s actually just making more work for me!

The best development of all, she’s kissing now! I know in a dozen years or so I’ll be sad we ever taught her this, but right now, it’s the most adorable thing! I can sit on the floor and call her from across the room to “come give me a kiss” and she’ll crawl right over to my face and put her mouth to mine. Or I can just hold her and say the same, so she turns her head to press her face onto my face. Sometimes she’s a bit too generous with her kisses though. She often times has a big string of drool spilling over right about the time her lips touch mine, which makes for quite the mess! But it’s so cute and sweet I just eat it up every time!

Finally, she has one word that she calls everything: “Bah!” She typically yells it very clearly and points at things. I’d sure like to know what she’s really trying to say, but whatever it is, she’s very emphatic about it!