Our Star

We need to get this girl into acting!

 

An Icy Christmas

Not much snow here, but we have some ice!

 

Winter Vacation #2

All decked out for the Mary Poppins exhibit at Macy's
This is fun!
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...
Employee Christmas party at Wipaire (no we don't work there, but we have heard they have great parties at the hanger at Fleming Field, so we crashed the party. Swing dancing, chocolate covered strawberries, antique cars, gambling tables...the girls had a great time. And Grandpa Stan got to show off 2 of his granddaughters to all of his co-workers, too!)

 

Winter Vacation #1

Oakdale Winterfest: Crafts, food, Santa, Hayrides = fun!
Swimming at Breezy Point Lodge
Falling at Breezy Point
Dancing in the pool at Breezy Point

 

Giving Thanks 2006

This year we give thanks for: Little sisters and big sisters...
Sunny and 60 degrees on Thanksgiving in MN
All of our family and friends...
and of course, Ballerina's! 

Sleep a little eat a little, repeat X3 every night

So...Lucy is quickly approaching 9 months. She is becoming more daring with her standing abilities and is now walking around furniture, she finds pleasure in our reaction when she "walks" toward us with the help of an extra set of hands or a little push toy. My baby is growing up :( The little turkey rarely sits long enough for us to get a little cuddle in. So, although I complain about the 2-3 night time feedings that she has held on to, at least I get a few moments to just sit and cuddle with the little adventurer. I think I would prefer that she would just co-sleep with us, but she doesn't stop moving even in her sleep!

In our country, it has come to be a social stigma to continue nursing your babies past their non-mobile months. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that a baby is exclusively breastfed for 6 months (nothing else, not even rice) and continue to breastfeed until at least 1 year and then as long as mother and baby are both inclined to nurse. The World Health Organization recommends at least 2 years. Lucy has been a very important piece of my education for the Certificate I received last fall as a Lactation Consultant. I have had quite a few problems getting her to nurse correctly and at times to nurse at all. At this point I just chalk it up to job experience, at the time it was very difficult and took the support of my husband and other nursing mothers (and my extensive knowledge into the long term benefits to both mother and baby) to keep me going. At this point, Lucy has proven to be an avid nurser, I can't imagine she will want to wean anytime soon.

So, the questions have started to creep up "You still nursing that child?", "How long are you going to continue that?" It's an easy answer, as long as Lucy and I both find it a positive experience. I promise she will not go to Kindergarten and still be nursing. When I begin to question whether it is worth the extra work at this point (still having to pump at work, not being able to just leave at the drop of a hat, trying to find an appropriate place to give Lucy a needed snack) I remember all the problems we had with Elena nutritionally after she weaned at 15 months. Definetely worth sticking with it. So, at this point, a full nights sleep will continue to be just a dream for me... Another mother summed up some of the nutritional reasons to continue to nurse a toddler:

"Breastmilk provides TONS of nutritional benefits for as long as it is provided. And those of us with toddlers all know how picky they can get. I'm glad that when all my son (22 months) will eat is hotdogs and ritz crackers that atleast he's getting some good stuff from my milk too!"

Here fishy fishy...

I want everyone to know that we finally have fish in our fish tank. If you were to reference back to our first publication in the blog back in Sept '05(at this point, any computer guru would add a link, however, I am not one of these, maybe my incredibly handsome husband will see this and update it at some point) you would see this: "I am hoping we will have our little fish tank up and running before the arrival of the new baby, but with my recent project follow through times, that may be an impossible feat!" It only took 1 year + 6 weeks to follow through with this. There are 8 little fishy's calling this new tank home - a school of 5 neons, 2 guppies, and an albino bottom feeder. Here's to hoping they will all be alive in the morning. My mom also added a couple fish to her tank this evening, any prayers would be appreciated for the big fish that was dropped on the floor not once, but twice, before making it to the plastic bag. I thank "Nemo" for making me feel like a rotten human being for having my poor fish transported in a sealed plastic bag, in the hands of a 4 year olds mini cart driving craziness.