Our Mini Winnie: May 2014

In the past two weeks, Delaney got her 8th tooth. It has been working its way to the surface and bothering her for awhile, so it was a big relief for her once it came in. She is fascinated with Cash and laughs at him constantly. She loves taking his toys away from him and waiting for him to take them back. She's obsessed with climbing the stairs and could spend all day doing it. Bath time is one of her favorite play times, and she bounces her legs and slaps her hands on the water to make the biggest splashes possible.

Thanks to Noni and Grandpa Winchester, babysitters extraordinaire, Brad and I were able to go on a baby moon and escape to Key West for 4 days. We had such an amazing time hanging out together with no schedules, no responsibilities, and perfect weather. We spent most of the time laying by the pool during the day, and we ventured out for an incredible dinner every night. We went to The Flaming Buoy, Seven Fish, and Santiago's Bodega and we highly recommend all of them! Brad woke up earlier than me each morning, and he let me sleep in until I woke up on my own. I put in 11 hours of solid sleep every night! I probably could have kept sleeping, but I didn't want the entire day to pass by. We missed Delaney so much, but Kristi was great about frequently sending pictures and videos. We looked at the pictures over and over again, and we watched each video about 50 times. Baby boy Winchester must have enjoyed all of the rest I was getting and all of the sugary nonalcoholic daiquiris I was drinking at the poolside, because he was nudging, kicking, and rolling around the entire time we were on vacation. At times, it feels like he sticks out his feet and pushes his tooshie outward as far as it can go. I can see a huge bulge sticking out to the right of my belly button and my tummy looks very lopsided. He pushes so hard and stretches my tummy so far that my skin turns pink over the bulge. It's actually kind of painful, but it only lasts for a few minutes each time. He's a strong little guy!

We got back from vacation and couldn't wait to see our little Laney bear! When we walked in the door to pick her up, she was sitting on the floor in the living room, playing with Noni. She looked up at us and just kind of stared for a few seconds, then a huge grin spread across her face and she started waving both of her arms in the air. She crawled around ecstatically, lied down flat on her tummy with her arms stretched above her head, yelled, and bounced her tooshie into the air. It was hilarious! She obviously had a blast with Noni and Grandpa, but was so excited to see us that her entire body celebrated our return. What an incredible feeling. :)

On the morning Delaney turned 11 months, she woke up with her first cold. The poor girl was having a hard time breathing through her nose, and every time she sneezed, it was very...messy. She was cranky (understandably), and wasn't sleeping very well. She developed her first fever, but fortunately it only reached 101.4. Despite being sick, she was eager to climb the stairs, crawl around, and explore the house per usual.

11 months old! The only picture I was able to get while she was lying still.

Playing with goofy papa

Shopping for flowers with Noni

Bath time = crazy time

Loving her time at Noni and Grandpa's house

Oh hey! Dinner at the country club

Laney and Grandpa

Being silly at dinner. She clamps down on the spoon and won't let go.

Just arrived in Key West! Awake since 3:30am but excited to be there

Settling in properly

At our hotel, the Casa Marina

Going out to dinner. Relaxed, refreshed, and recharged. So happy!

Keeping up with the blog posts isn't easy these days, and I realize it's just going to become more difficult. My prime opportunity to write an update is during Laney's nap, but sometimes I just have too much to do while she's sleeping. Now that I have to keep an eye on her at all times, her nap time is my only chance to hand wash and sanitize bottles (which I have to do once or twice every day), vacuum Cash's fur balls off the carpet and hardwood (which Laney loves to stuff in her mouth anytime she comes across a little tuft of fur…gross), dust (how does dust collect so quickly?!), do laundry (how do those laundry piles grow so quickly?!), or (if I feel like really spoiling myself) I take a shower. There are always a variety of other random household chores to keep up with in addition to the ones I need to do on a regular basis, plus I've been trying to spend some free time figuring out what to get for baby boy's nursery. With just 2 months to go before his arrival, I guess I should probably get that in order. Updating the blog at the end of the day, after Laney has gone to bed, isn't really an option because I'm too exhausted and my brain can't handle much activity. So... sitting down and typing a blog update tends to get put on the back burner, but it's important to me to keep up with it for Laney and baby boy. The whole reason I keep this going is for our kids to read when they're older. My parents aren't exactly the best historians, and anytime I ask them something like "When did I get my first tooth?" or "When did I start to walk?" the answer is always "Ohhh…you were the average age." I had a broken leg when I was a baby, and my entire leg was in a hard cast…my mom says it happened when I was 10 months old, and my dad says it happened when I was 17 months old. Both of them are guessing when they respond. While I don't blame my parents for not remembering major events or keeping track of milestones (they were both very busy), I want to be able to provide accurate details for our kids. That said, I'll continue trying my best to keep up!

Now that Laney has mastered the ability to crawl around, she loves to crawl under things (under the dining room table and chairs, under her jumper and exersaucer, under Cash's belly while he's eating a meal) and she loves to crawl over things (over Cash while he's lying on the floor, over my legs or belly while I'm lying on the floor, over pillows that are meant to be obstacles to block her path). Nothing stands in her way!

Another new skill she has been working on is crawling up the stairs. The first time she tried it, I was in the kitchen, not paying close attention to what she was doing. I heard her hands slapping the floor as she crawled towards the stairs, and then all of the sudden there was silence. I peered over toward the staircase but couldn't see her. I walked around the kitchen island, looking around for her, but couldn't find her. Then I walked over to the stairs, looked up, and nearly had a heart attack - she was standing on the 3rd step and quickly working her way up! I have no idea how she figured it out so quickly, but she made it all the way up the first 8 steps with a huge grin on her face. She was a little wobbly going up, and there were a few times her little legs gave out from fatigue, but she has done it so many times now that she is able to quickly make her way to the 2nd floor without any help. I never let her go up the stairs without following two inches behind her, and I definitely don't let her try to go down the stairs. She's fearless, and she has no concept of how to get down safely yet. I'm worried she'll nose dive off the top step if she gets the chance.

Laney is constantly looking for new and exciting challenges. She quickly becomes bored with her toys and likes to look for new things to explore. She enjoys putting her hands in Cash's water bowl and tipping it over. She pulls herself onto her feet and grabs things off higher surfaces. She's very determined, too…if she sees something that interests her but I pull her away from it before she has a chance to grab it, then it becomes her sole focus to get her hands on it. It doesn't bother me one bit when I have to pull her away over and over again - I love her determination!

Great-nona and Great-bumpa are back from FL for the summer.