William, making his new piggy noise this morning.

Videos from our trip

42 weeks old

Dear William,
I am late in writing your 9 month old letter. It has been an exciting time for you. You are a great crawler. You've mastered how to crawl forward, backward, sit from crawling, pull up to a stand from your knees, take a few steps while holding onto my hands, and you barely need any support when you are standing. You love your tunnel and tent that we got for you at IKEA. You like to bring your toys into your tunnel and then sit in the middle of it while playing with your toys. Andrew has really been enjoying playing with you and made you a "fort" one night last week while I went out with friends.

We just got back from a few days in Spokane, WA where we stayed at Layla's parents' house with Layla, Astrid and Alyse and Kristine and Kyan. You had a great time and loved waking up to play with your friends. You loved laying prone and sucking on the linoleum floor so much that I called you my little lamprey. You have also learned how to make a piggy noise with your mouth closed. You did this for the first time last night during our car ride home. You had a hard time sleeping in the car after falling asleep in the shopping cart at Wal-mart. You were very, very tired after missing your afternoon nap. Your friend, Kyan, gave you hugs and rubbed your back while you slept.

We did lots of fun things while we were in Spokane. We went swimming twice on the Air Force base. You ate macaroni and cheese for the first time (and you loved it). We picked raspberries and went for wagon rides and on the swing and went to a barn party and played on the lawn. You love playing on the lawn and feeling the grass. We went to the river park in Spokane and you rode the carousel (with my help) and we took the gondola over the Spokane River. We also had fun at the water park and you laughed and laughed while playing with the water. You are my sunshine and you are such a joy. People stopped us often to comment on what a great smile you have. While we were swimming, I blew bubbles with my mouth to teach you this skill and every time I blew bubbles you laughed out loud. There is no better sound than your laughter.

I almost forgot to mention. We went to a wild cat park and Kristine and I took turns hand-feeding a lion. You were asleep, but we took lots of pictures that I will post soon. It was pretty cool. His name was Zamba and he was a former MGM lion and had been in a commercial with Bret Favre. He was huge and had an incredible mane.

You are eating up a storm these days. You regularly drink 8 oz and still manage to have room a little later for a ton of solid food. You like cheese and can eat an entire cheese stick. You love bananas and can eat an entire banana, you like YoBaby yogurt and cheerios and bread and lunch meat. You love cookies and cake and ice cream. You love cantaloupe and watermelon and strawberries and applesauce. I think avocado is your favorite food and you can eat half an avocado all by yourself with no problem.

Daddy really missed you while we were in Spokane and you were so happy to see him this morning! When he got home from work this evening and you saw him for the first time, you laughed and bounced up and down and made your silly laughing noise. You two are too cute together.

I forgot to mention that you have started to bounce and Kristine taps your mouth while you make a aababababababa noise. It's adorable and you seem to understand what we are doing. I'm not sure if you said Dada today when Daddy got home from work. It sure sounded like it. I also think you might have said Baba (for bottle) a couple of days ago asking for your bottle. You wave hello and are really trying to figure out clapping. You loved watching Little Einsteins Baby Sign. You especially love the blue bear puppet. Every time he appeared on the screen you smiled and bounced and laughed. It nearly killed me, it was so cute.

Diaper changes are still a challenge as you fuss and roll over right in the middle of my changing your diaper. You had your first bath in the big bath tub today and did just fine. You are much easier to put down in your crib once you are asleep now. As long as you have a blanket to cuddle and we roll you on your side you remain asleep.

You seem to be more clingy today and would take breaks from playing to crawl over to me and snuggle. You cried if I tried to put you down on the floor by yourself. If I played with you for a little while then you would be fine to go out exploring on your own as long as you could come back to me for the occasional snuggle.

You love being carried around in the Snugli backpack carrier and refuse to be placed in an exersaucer or jumperoo. These days playtime is less focused on playing with any one specific toy and more on practicing your new skills and mobility.

I love you little Munch, Munchkin, Cute Munch, Willsy, Wills, Little Cute and can't wait for all the fun I know we will have tomorrow.

We will be meeting your Grandma Jenny for lunch in Seattle. Sleep well little one.

Love,
Mama

Heading to Spokane

This evening, William, Kristine and Kyan and I will be driving to Spokane, WA to visit Layla, Astrid, Alyse and her parents at their farm. We are very excited to see them all. We are considering going on a couple of side trips and they are having a barn party on Saturday night.

Last night I went out with the SnoValley Moms to see Mamma Mia and I loved it. I think I might like musicals. This is something I didn't already know about myself and it is kind of fun to learn something new about yourself at 30 years old. Monday night I went to Kim's house for a fun Christmas in July party. William and I are both feeling better than we were. I still have a stuffy nose and sore throat and cough and William is doing great except for a sporadic cough. He's happy and playful and seems back to his normal self. I better go and get ourselves ready for our trip. Have a good weekend. We'll be back on Sunday.

IKEA

Today we went to IKEA with Kristine and Kyan to shop for William's playroom. We bought curtains, a tunnel and tent and a few other toys. We had a great time shopping the deals at IKEA. Here is a video of William crawling through his tunnel.

Lazy poster

Sorry, I've been pretty lazy about posting this week. We've been pretty busy and today William and I are both sick with a cold. I think I might be getting a fever as my skin is painful to the touch. I think we are going to take it easy this weekend so that William and I are in good shape for next week.

Here's a little synopsis of what we've been up to.
Yesterday, William and I, Christine and Kyan, Layla, Astrid and Alyse went to the mall to see what was on sale at the Nordstrom Sale. Last night, Andrew and I walked with William in the backpack carrier into town for dinner and ice cream.

Monday, Serena and Chace came over to play and then we headed over to their house for lunch and some more play time.

Tuesday, we met up with Serena, Braeden and Chase at the mall and did some walking. Later on, we met up with Layla, her mom and Astrid and Alyse for a walk into town for dinner and ice cream. Andrew and David met us in town and we all headed over to a nearby park to eat our dinner.

Wednesday, William and I stayed home so he could have a regular napping schedule. That evening we ran some errands with Andrew in Issaquah.

Well, that's our week in a nutshell.

Here is a link to a website where the author explains how to create a Life Plan. Andrew and I have been working on setting our goals and establishing our plans for the future and I thought that this article was particularly helpful.

William crawling for the very first time

A gorgeous weekend

William and I after his first swim lesson last Wednesday.

On Friday, we had some friends over for a little pool party to celebrate our landscaping/patio being completed. Astrid, Kyan, Lucas and William got to play together.

The three photos posted above without comments were taken last night at Autumn and Jason's house. William and his buddy, Lucas, got a chance to play together. Lucas even let William ride on his airplane as Daddy pushed him around the house. It was great evening with friends.

Earlier in the day yesterday, we went to Astrid's 4th birthday party. Then I headed out for a hair appointment in Bellevue.

Today we had a nice visit from Grandma Jenny. She brought William a fun toy and a few clothes and even took us out for dinner! We've been watching our budget more closely lately, so going out to dinner was a big treat!

Thursday, already!

Let's see. Today was a gorgeous day. We stayed home and made sure William got his meals and naps on schedule since yesterday was such a busy day. William is pulling up to standing. He is eating cheese and turkey and avocado. We had his checkup yesterday and he weighed 19 lbs 5 oz and was 28 inches long. He got a toe prick to check for anemia and he was totally normal. He got his Hib and HepB vaccines.

As I said, yesterday was a very busy day. We had swim lessons at 10am with Autumn/Lucas. Then we went for William's 9 month check up. Then we headed over to Christine/Kyan's house to play Slip 'n Slide with Layla, Astrid and Alyse. After that, we headed over to Layla's house for some indoor play. That evening, I went over to Serena's house for a fun margarita party.

Attachment parenting research

ATTACHMENT RESEARCH
(The following text was taken exactly as it was printed on the Dr. Sears website. You can follow this link to the original text on their website.)

Attachment studies have spoiled the spoiling theory. Researchers Dr.'s Bell and Ainsworth studied two sets of parents and their children. Group A were attachment-parented babies. These babies were securely attached, the products of responsive parenting. Group B babies were parented in a more restrained way, with a set schedule and given a less intuitive and nurturing response to their cues. All these babies were tracked for at least one year. Which group do you think eventually turned out to be the most independent? Group A, the securely attached babies. Researchers who have studied the affects of parenting styles on children's later outcome have concluded, to put it simply, that the spoiling theory is utter nonsense. Pick them up quickly and they'll get down quickly. A child must go through a stage of healthy dependence in order to later become securely independent.

Spoiling does become an issue a few years from now, when overindulgence signals a parent's inability to set limits and boundaries. This happens most often in children who are materially bonded or whose parents are still trapped in dysfunctional patterns from their own childhood.

Here are some of the attachment parenting resources listed on the Dr. Sears website:

Attachment Parenting International
PO Box 210208
Nashville, TN 37221
info@attachmentparenting.org
www.attachmentparenting.org
615-298-4334 phone/fax

Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper
www.armsreach.com
800-954-9353 805-278-2559

The Baby Book, William and Martha Sears, Little Brown & Company, New York, 1993

Parenting the Fussy Baby and High-Need Child, William and Martha Sears, Little Brown & Company, New York, 1996

The Attachment Parenting Book, William and Martha Sears, Little Brown & Company, New York, 2002

Feeding the 9-12 month old.

FEEDING THE NINE- TO TWELVE-MONTH-OLD
(The following text was taken exactly as it was printed on the Dr. Sears website. You can follow this link to the original text on their website.)

By baby's first birthday, solid foods make up around fifty percent of her nutrition. Continue to feed most solid foods to your baby by spoon, since you are likely to get more food into baby's mouth than on the floor. Yet, if your baby is the "do it myself" type, finger foodsmay be the main fare by this time.

Here are some tips gleaned from the Sears, family-feeding experiences, as well as tips shared by patients in our pediatric practice.

Keep feeding times short. Remember, tiny babies still have tiny tummies. Small, frequent feedings are still the best. Also, give your baby small helpings. Most babies seldom take more than 1 or 2 tablespoons of a food at any one meal . Don't overwhelm baby with a whole pile of food on her plate. Begin with a small dollop and add more as baby wants more.

Give your baby a bone. Our babies have enjoyed a chicken leg bone with all the tiny bone slivers removed and a small amount of cooked meat remaining. Beginning around nine months, babies love to hold this bone like a rattle, gnaw on it, bang it, transfer it from hand to hand, teethe on it, and play with it. They even, occasionally, eat a little chicken.

Pressure tactics make feeding harder, not easier. Don't force-feed food, as this could create long-term unhealthy attitudes about eating. The parent's role is to select nutritious foods, prepare them well, and serve them creatively, matched to baby's individual capabilities and preferences. Baby's role is to eat the amount he wants at the time, according to his needs, moods, capabilities, and preferences. We have taught all of our children to swim, and we think of feeding similar to teaching swimming -- being neither over- protective nor over-restrictive. Allow a child to explore and experiment. Allow a certain amount of mess, but don't let it get out of control. Above all, teach your child that food is to be enjoyed.

Expect erratic feeding habits. There may be days when your baby eats solids six times, or she may refuse solids three days in a row and only want to breastfeed or take a bottle.

Understand that food fears are normal. To help your baby overcome these fears, take a bite of an unfamiliar food first and let your baby catch the spirit of your enjoyment. Expect baby to explore a new food before she eats it -- just like adults want to know what they're eating. One way to encourage the cautious feeder is to take a bite of the new food yourself. Then place some food on his index finger and guide his own fingerful of food into his mouth.

Gradually increase variety and texture. For the youngest eaters, fruits and vegetables should be strained. (If you wait until six months to start solids, you'll probably skip this stage.) As babies gain eating experience, they can advance to pureed foods, then foods that are finely minced. Most babies can begin to accept chopped foods by one year of age.

Settle the squirmer. Here is a toy trick that worked for one of our babies who would constantly windmill her arms during feeding. Use three plastic spoons – one spoon for each of her hands to occupy them and one for you to feed her. Also, try this toy trick. Put toys with suction cups on a highchair tray so she can play with them with her hands while you sneak food into her mouth. Sometimes when babies open their mouths to suck on toys, this primes them to open their mouths to receive food.

Use camouflage. Cover more nutritious, but less favorite foods with one of baby's favorites. We often place a thin layer of applesauce over the vegetables or meat. Get the applesauce (or other favorite) on baby's tongue first and then put a scoop of the more nutritious, but less liked food, on top of it.

Let baby eat off your plate. Sometimes babies just don't want to eat like a baby, neither baby food nor off baby plates. Around one year of age, babies enjoy sitting on parents' laps and picking food off their plate, especially mashed potatoes and cooked, soft vegetables. Or, put baby's food on your plate and trick the little gourmet into eating his own food.

Let baby enjoy the lap of luxury. If your child refuses to get in or stay in his high-chair, let him sit on your lap and eat off your plate. If baby begins messing with your food, place a few morsels of food on the table between baby and plate to direct his attention away from your dinner.

Overcome lip lock. To relax tight lips from refusing a feeding, back off and over-enjoy the food yourself. Model the excitement by replaying the old reliable "Mmmmmm goooood!" As your baby watches you open your mouth and savor the food, he may catch the spirit and relax his mouth and his attitude. Use one of your child's favorite foods as a teaser. As he opens his mouth for his favorite food, quickly follow with the food you wanted him to try.

Minimize the mess. Too much food on a baby's dish leads to two-fisted eating and major mess-making. Encourage neatness by scattering only a few morsels of finger foods on baby's tray at a time and refill as necessary.

Each new developing skill has its nutritional benefits and humorous nuisances. Baby's newly developing thumb and forefinger pincer grasp and finger pointing stimulates him to want to pick up tiny morsels of food and feed himself, yet it also creates an opportunity for more messes. Allow baby the luxury of messing around a bit with his newly-discovered utensils. Believe it or not, baby is actually learning from this mess, sort of like the conclusion that the author Ernest Hemmingway came to: "Oh, the joy of just messing around." While some food makes its way into the mouth, other pieces scatter. Food- flinging , dropping, and smearing is a usual mealtime antic parents can expect to deal with. To discourage flinging and give the food a fighting chance to make it into baby's mouth, put a few pieces of O-cereals, cooked carrots, pieces of rice cakes, and any other bite-size pieces of fruits and vegetables that baby likes on his plate. Then, refill as needed. Placing a whole pile of food in front of baby is inviting a mess. We have noticed that our babies are fascinated with a pile of cooked spaghetti placed within easy reach. The ability to pick up with the thumb and forefinger enables baby to pick up one strand at a time. Spaghetti-picking holds baby's mealtime attention longer than most foods. Expect food and utensils to become interesting objects to pick up, bang, drop, and fling, which is part of baby's natural desire to explore and find new uses for his hands.

What is attachment parenting?

WHAT ATTACHMENT PARENTING IS –THE 7 BABY B'S
(The following text is taken verbatim from the Dr. Sears website and can be reached in it's original form by following this link)

Attachment parenting is a style of caring for your infant that brings out the best in the baby and the best in the parents.

7 ATTACHMENT TOOLS: THE BABY B'S

1. Birth bonding

The way baby and parents get started with one another helps the early attachment unfold. The days and weeks after birth are a sensitive period in which mothers and babies are uniquely primed to want to be close to one another. A close attachment after birth and beyond allows the natural, biological attachment-promoting behaviors of the infant and the intuitive, biological, caregiving qualities of the mother to come together. Both members of this biological pair get off to the right start at a time when the infant is most needy and the mother is most ready to nurture (see Bonding)

"What if something happens to prevent our immediate bonding?"

Sometimes medical complications keep you and your baby apart for a while, but then catch-up bonding is what happens, starting as soon as possible. When the concept of bonding was first delivered onto the parenting scene twenty years ago, some people got it out of balance. The concept of human bonding being an absolute "critical period" or a "now-or-never" relationship was never intended. Birth bonding is not like instant glue that cements the mother-child relationship together forever. Bonding is a series of steps in your lifelong growing together with your child. Immediate bonding simply gives the parent- infant relationship a headstart. (See "Birth Bonding")

2. Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is an exercise in babyreading. Breastfeeding helps you read your baby's cues, her body language, which is the first step in getting to know your baby. Breastfeeding gives baby and mother a smart start in life. Breastmilk contains unique brain-building nutrients that cannot be manufactured or bought. Breastfeeding promotes the right chemistry between mother and baby by stimulating your body to produce prolactin and oxytocin, hormones that give your mothering a boost.

3. Babywearing

A baby learns a lot in the arms of a busy caregiver. Carried babies fuss less and spend more time in the state of quiet alertness, the behavior state in which babies learn most about their environment. Babywearing improves the sensitivity of the parents. Because your baby is so close to you, you get to know baby better. Closeness promotes familiarity. (Click here for more information on Babywearing)

4. Bedding close to baby

Wherever all family members get the best night's sleep is the right arrangement for your individual family. Co-sleeping co-sleeping adds a nighttime touch that helps busy daytime parents reconnect with their infant at night. Since nighttime is scary time for little people, sleeping within close touching and nursing distance minimizes nighttime separation anxiety and helps baby learn that sleep is a pleasant state to enter and a fearless state to remain in.

5. Belief in the language value of your baby's cry

A baby's cry is a signal designed for the survival of the baby and the development of the parents. Responding sensitively to your baby's cries builds trust. Babies trust that their caregivers will be responsive to their needs. Parents gradually learn to trust in their ability to appropriately meet their baby's needs. This raises the parent-child communication level up a notch. Tiny babies cry to communicate, not to manipulate. (See Crying and Cry it Out)

6. Beware of baby trainers

Attachment parenting teaches you how to be discerning of advice, especially those rigid and extreme parenting styles that teach you to watch a clock or a schedule instead of your baby; you know, the cry-it-out crowd. This "convenience" parenting is a short-term gain, but a long-term loss, and is not a wise investment. These more restrained styles of parenting create a distance between you and your baby and keep you from becoming an expert in your child.

7. Balance

In your zeal to give so much to your baby, it's easy to neglect the needs of yourself and your marriage. As you will learn the key to putting balance in your parenting is being appropriately responsive to your baby – knowing when to say "yes" and when to say "no," and having the wisdom to say "yes" to yourself when you need help.

MORE ABOUT ATTACHMENT PARENTING

• AP is a starter style. There may be medical or family circumstances why you are unable to practice all of these baby B's. Attachment parenting implies first opening your mind and heart to the individual needs of your baby, and eventually you will develop the wisdom on how to make on-the-spot decisions on what works best for both you and your baby. Do the best you can with the resources you have – that's all your child will ever expect of you. These baby B's help parents and baby get off to the right start. Use these as starter tips to work out your own parenting style – one that fits the individual needs of your child and your family. Attachment parenting helps you develop your own personal parenting style.
• AP is an approach, rather than a strict set of rules. It's actually the style that many parents use instinctively. Parenting is too individual and baby too complex for there to be only one way. The important point is to get connected to your baby, and the baby B's of attachment parenting help. Once connected, stick with what is working and modify what is not. You will ultimately develop your own parenting style that helps parent and baby find a way to fit – the little word that so economically describes the relationship between parent and baby.
• AP is responsive parenting. By becoming sensitive to the cues of your infant, you learn to read your baby's level of need. Because baby trusts that his needs will be met and his language listened to, the infant trusts in his ability to give cues. As a result, baby becomes a better cue-giver, parents become better cue-readers, and the whole parent-child communication network becomes easier.
• AP is a tool. Tools are things you use to complete a job. The better the tools, the easier and the better you can do the job. Notice we use the term "tools" rather than "steps." With tools you can pick and choose which of those fit your personal parent-child relationship. Steps imply that you have to use all the steps to get the job done. Think of attachment parenting as connecting tools, interactions with your infant that help you and your child get connected. Once connected, the whole parent-child relationship (discipline, healthcare, and plain old having fun with your child) becomes more natural and enjoyable. Consider AP a discipline tool. The better you know your child, the more your child trusts you, and the more effective your discipline will be. You will find it easier to discipline your child and your child will be easier to discipline.

Fun in the sun.

Today was a lot of fun.

William got in a good AM nap and then we had Layla, Astrid and Alyse over for lunch. We got to watch the guys working on the landscaping in our back yard. It is really starting to look incredible! We have lots of trees and potted plants and hydrangea, blueberry bushes, peonies, flax, a cypress tree and much much more.

This afternoon, we hung out at Layla's place (in the air conditioning) while she had a handyman working on some projects at her place. Then, we headed over to a park play date at Bybee Park. William loves playing with the grass and today was no exception. He had a great time exploring the grass at the park until he got hungry. Then I fed him a bottle and headed out to Bellevue to exchange my old Dr. Brown's bottles (with BPA) for new non-BPA Avent Tempo liners...for FREE!! I have gotten $150 worth of new bottles for exchanging my old ones at Babies R Us without any receipts.

That's all for now. I think I might have a couple photos from this weekend. I'll have to post them soon. I will also post William's 9 month old letter after his appointment with the pediatrician this week. He's so close to crawling forward...it should happen any day now. He can crawl backwards and push back to sit from a crawling position. He learned that a week ago last Saturday while I was on the phone with my mother.

I'll post photos of the yard once it is done.

I've made two decisions that I've been hemming and hawing over for quite a long time. I'm going to Germany for the family reunion even if it is a super expensive flight that I'll be doing alone with William (fingers crossed that this is not the flight from hell). I'll leave a week or so before the 20/21 Sep weekend festivities and then stay for a few days afterwards. I should be able to get home in time to have William visit with his relatives from N. Ireland that will be visiting for Andrew's brother's wedding. Oh and the other decision is to postpone the Danskin until next year because of my right and left foot injuries and chronic back pain. Since I've already paid; I can have them transfer the payment to next year's event since I'm injured. It feels good to make up my mind on this. I really didn't want to quit because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it in spite of what others might think. I decided to put my health first ahead of proving the naysayers wrong. I may be broken, but I can heal!!

4th of July weekend

Let's see. I last posted on Monday.

Tuesday, we met our friends at the library for a puppet/juggling show. Then we all headed over to a nearby park for some play time. Afterwards, Layla, Alyse and Astrid came over to our house for a dip in our baby pool.

On Wednesday, Jessica came and cleaned the house in the AM and we headed out to the outlet mall for some lunch and a walk. I found a couple screaming deals and was able to find an awesome outfit for William for $4 down from $30 at The Children's Place store. While we were at the outlets, it started to pour down buckets of rain and the humidity suddenly rose even higher so that we were covered in mist. That evening we had the most violent thunder and lightning storm I have ever seen in my entire life. That's saying something since I lived my entire life on the East Coast and summer storms are far from uncommon. Andrew thinks it was particularly violent because the sound was crashing around off of the mountains. That evening I was supposed to have my triathlon team training, but it was canceled because of the weather. Coach Cathy rescheduled the BRICK workout for Monday evening.

Thursday morning, we got up early and drove out to the San Juan Island house. We arrived a little before lunch. The weather wasn't great so we spent a lot of time indoors which is really hard for William since he needs a change of scenery during the day.

Friday morning, Jill, Mark and Maya arrived for the 4th of July. We ended up missing the parade because William slept through it during his AM nap. That afternoon, William got really tired of being home for two days in a row, so we headed out to Friday Harbor to pick up a couple items. He seemed to enjoy the drive and change of scenery. Later that afternoon, Andrew, Mark and Roy went out for a sail. When they got back, Maya suited up in a life preserver and went out with Roy and Mark for a row in the row boat. That evening, we had dinner out on the terrace and roasted marshmallows after the babies were asleep.

Saturday afternoon, we again went into town (Friday Harbor) for lunch and decided to take the 6:55pm ferry home instead of staying until Monday. William fell asleep in Andrew's arms in the car on the ferry ride and slept a bit more as we made our way home.

This morning Andrew slept in until 10am and now we are all getting ready to start the day. It's good to be home, even if it is cloudy and gray. Boo.