happy half birthday olivia!

Our little Libby is 6 months old today! Although I can believe half a year has gone by since we met the little love of our lives, I can't believe how much she's changed in those 6 months. She seems so big and grown up, especially in comparison to her new cousin Morgan, who's only 5 months younger than her. Libby is celebrating by spending the day with Grandma Whitman. She's staying with us this week and watching Libby while Aunt Katie takes her last week of "maternity leave."

Libby had her 6-month check up on Monday and she's doing great. She weighs 14 pounds, 4 ounces and is 24.25 inches long. Dr. Z gave her another A+ and noted that she has a 4.0, lol. We decided we better get serious about starting solids, so we tried oatmeal Wednesday night. She seemed to do a little better with that than the rice cereal. She still doesn't have the swallowing thing down pat yet, so we'll probably stick with oatmeal for a week or so, then introduce a veggie. Any suggestions on which one to start with?

This day also marks a personal milestone: My goal is to breastfeed Libby for a year, but a smaller goal of mine was to get through the first 6 months without having to supplement with formula at all, which I've achieved. I have nothing against formula; I'd just rather not fool with it if I can meet her needs with breastmilk. So I'm very proud to have made it this far, and I feel confident about keeping it up for another 6 months.

Another positive: Libby is sleeping through the night now and taking 3 naps a day in her crib. We used the Ferber method, where you put them in their crib drowsy but awake and when they cry you go in at progressively longer intervals to reassure them, but you don't get them up. The idea is to teach them to go to sleep by themselves, in the right place, without any crutches. By going in their room periodically, you reassure them that you haven't abandoned them, so it's not exactly the same at the "cry-it-out" method. After 5 nights of this, Libby started going to sleep on her own, without a pacifier, and sleeping 10-11 hours. And she's been doing so for the past 2 weeks. She sometimes wakes up once in the night to nurse, but that's still reasonable at her age. Katie used this method on Casey with much success, and some of my friends are trying it now.

So, things are great with Miss Libs and with us. We've come so far in 6 months, and it literally gets better and better each day. She's so much fun!

my week with libby

Since our daycare provider (aka Katie) is currently on "maternity leave" I took vacation this week to hang out with Libby. I knew that I would probably go crazy if I had to stay in the house all week, so I planned a couple of outings for us. Monday we were home with Sarah, so that felt more like an extended weekend and Tuesday we stayed home all day and I got a good feel for Libby's "routine" which is still a pretty loose schedule.
Wednesday was a big day, we went out to lunch with some of my old friends from college, Sarah Mitchell (who's expecting a little girl in April!), Tyana Owings, and Amanda & Maddox Hood. It was really nice to all get together and I haven't seen Sarah in several years. After lunch we went over to the Carter's store and stocked up on some winter clearance for next year. Then Libby and I went to Ikea for a walk around the store. I'm pretty proud of myself for only buying a few food items and some batteries -- impulse buying is a bad habit I've been trying to break. We did learn that Ikea has a bottle warmer in their restaurant area, which was really nice as I did have to feed her while we were there. I also learned that if we miss our afternoon nap, Libby can be a little clingy in the evening, but she went right to sleep at bedtime.
Thursday we went downtown for lunch with a few of my coworkers and then we met up with Matt & Maddox Hood to go to the Cincinnati Auto Expo. This is always one of my favorite things to do and we had a great time, but I have to say it was a little underwhelming this year. I suppose with the current state of the economy and the auto industry I shouldn't have expected much. They really didn't have any concept cars on display, it was more like a huge auto dealer convention. And those dealers were hungry for sales! We got approached at nearly every car we looked at. But I had fun trying to figure out what we should get next and Libby was perfectly behaved, of course.
Today I think our busy week has caught up with her, she has been napping for about two and a half hours this morning, but I think she might be getting up soon. But I'm glad she's resting up, tonight we're planning to go over to the Hoods to hang out with even more old friends from college. And I think Libby and Maddox just can't get enough of each other!
But this week has been an adventure and I am really going to have a hard time going back to work. But Grandma Whitman is coming down to help out next week and I'm sure she is very excited -- Libby is too!

walking wiener dogs

Well, we're not actually walking wiener dogs, but we are walking, for the American Heart Association 10K Heart Walk. I've joined a team with some of my co-workers (my boss has a dachshund, hence the team name) and we're going to be walking Sunday, March 29th. I wanted to let you know about it, because along with walking, we're trying to raise money for the American Heart Association. As a team, we're each trying to bring in $50, but I'm setting a personal goal of $100. And donating is easy, just click here! I'm also posting a link to my donation page and if you're in the area and would like to join us, let me know. The more the merrier.
Thanks for considering and anything you can do would be greatly appreciated!

a silly dog (and a bad kitty)

Libby is all laughs when she's hanging out with her favorite pets.

valentine sweetie

Today we made some valentine cookies. I'm not sure what's sweeter, Libby or all these cookies.
Oh, who am I kidding, nothing could be sweeter than my Libbs!

happy day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Happy anniversary, Dad & Candy!

Happy birthday, Gilmore and Valentine!

say what!?!?

A minute with our talkative little girl.

libby milestones and thank you

I just wanted to post a quick Libby update. She's now rolling over both ways, and she's sitting up unsupported, although she needs some padding in case she falls. She's such a strong girl! She has started noticing the pets, too. She follows them around the room with her gaze, and she tries to grab Toshie, who is more tolerant than I would have predicted. She was trying to grab Kenzie last Wednesday when we were all cuddling on the couch together. She's especially interested in Toshie's tail, which is always waving in the air.

We're also trying a new bedtime method after she spent a week sleeping with us. I know that's a bad, bad habit, but she started having mommy separation anxiety last weekend and wouldn't sleep in her crib, and we didn't have the energy or mental/emotional resolve to deal with it properly on top of everything else that was going on. We hope we're on the right track now and will (fingers crossed) have good news to post by the end of the week.

Also, thank you so much for all the kind messages about Kenzie. Thursday was a hard day, but it felt good to know we had so many wonderful people thinking of us. We're truly blessed.

in loving memory

Our sweet little Mackenzie left us in peace today.
As the least I could do, I've put together a little slide show of his life with us.
I love you, Kenz and we'll never forget you.

the saddest day

Kenzie is going to make his journey to the Rainbow Bridge tomorrow. He's been slowly declining the past week and a half, and it's time to let him go. He's having trouble walking, can't jump or climb, and is unsteady even when he stands. He likely has a brain tumor, and both of his vets agree that this is the best course of action. His heart is weak, and it would be cruel to subject him to testing. Plus, there would likely be little we could do for him even if we did confirm the diagnosis. He's still in good spirits and can eat and use the litterbox, though, so we decided to do this now, before he feels pain and becomes confused and unhappy. Kevin and I are taking vacation tomorrow and Amanda is watching Libby. We have a vet appointment at noon.

I'm home today and am trying to spend lots of time with Kenzie and give him all his favorite things. I slept in and cuddled with him this morning. I got out all his favorite blankets and am helping him settle in under his favorite heat vents. Tonight, I plan to make fish for dinner so that he can have a little, and I'll give him some milk and cheese tomorrow. And we've been giving him lots and lots of canned food, which he loves. Mostly, though, he just wants to sit with us and snuggle.

Needless to say, we're heartbroken. This little guy has been my constant pal, my unconditional little love for the past decade. He stole my heart when he was just 5 weeks old and has made me happy every day since. Please send us lots of love tomorrow and pray that Kenzie has a happy, peaceful day.