My big girl

Wow. She's so big. To think all the ways Jordan has chanced in the last 9 months. She's starting to try to move around. She's trying to eat on her own. (She's playing with chunks of banana as I write this.) She's communicating and showing more and more opinions. Who knows if she'll be as stubborn as her brother. I'm hoping to catch a break on that one.

Anyway, Jordan had a great time at a station picnic yesterday. She got to play with the many babies born in the last year. I think it's kind of cool that she has a chance to grow up with them. I'm not sure if they'll all live here when she's grown up, but we'll enjoy their company while we have them around. (The TV business is normally pretty transient)

I'm about to put Jordan down for a nap... And I'm thinking I'll join her.

9 Months Old

It's a big day... Jordan is headed into her final 3 months of baby life. She had a fun day... and I promise to post more tomorrow. I just wanted to officially recognize this day. Hooray for Jordan!

She really wants to be a big girl

Jordan is figuring more things out... She's wiggling and moving around a bit on the floor. Enough floor time to worry my physical therapist -- She's concerned Jordan's skin may not be able to tolerate some of the textures she's around. So I kept watch of Jordan's arm all day. She rubs it on everything and I think the arm changes to red quickly, but today when I stared at it for a while, I didn't see major redness problems. I hope that's the case. If her arm does need a rest, we're going to need to wrap it up for long periods of time. We'll just have to wait and see.

I took Jordan to school and visited a bit today... She is trying SO hard to play with the older kids in the room. She actually played CATCH! Isn't that cool. She rolled a ball a couple of times with a friend. Made me very proud.

I'll be honest. The Mommy in me wants to be around Jordan every second of the day to eat up every baby moment I have left with her. I'm self-centered in this... I've allowed her to fall asleep on me a couple of times at school. I just can't help myself!

I'm exhausted. More details about the girl soon.

Baby's First Football Game

Mark it down in the baby book (if only I kept up with one)... Jordan got to go to her first football game today. Mizzou kicked some serious butt... Even though the game started out with a turnover. Jordan had so much fun. She danced to the band. She got excited when the crowd got excited. She smiled and flirted with people. And best of all: A hot dog wrapper. It kept her happy and involved for almost 2 hours. We didn't stay for the whole game, but I think she had more fun than Cam to be honest!

When we were done, Jordan took a big nap... And I crashed hard on a chair in the man cave. Randy said I was so asleep, Cam went upstairs to ask Randy where I was... I was so quiet and asleep, the boy didn't notice.

Yesterday was also a big day for Jordan. She had her first official play date! She got to hang out with her friend Cooper who is exactly one month younger than she is. Coop is awesome and I think at the end of the play time, they were really digging on each other. Jordan isn't as mobile... but he crawled over to her, sat near hear and then went back into crawl mode. Jordan kind of moved into "crawl" pose right next to him... It was the most natural sit-to-belly transition I've seen from Jordan. She's a bit wary of that move since she often falls on her face. She can do it... She just doesn't trust her body all the time. Poor baby.

Anyway. She's a joy to be around these days. She's feeling better. The nose is still runny, there's still a cough, but she is bright and cheery. So fun.

Quick mentions

Jordan is still a bit cranky... But I think she's coming out of it. She is sleeping through the night again. The down side of that? I think my milk production went back up from the night feedings. Along with not enough sleep, I'm not feeling so great. Jordan, sleep, water and pain relievers are what I need.

So I'm taking a nap for a couple of hours before I start my day. Jordan and Cam are at school. I'm going to sleep.

Developmentally, Jordan and I played this morning and she can hold herself in a standing pose for a pretty good amount of time when she's near something tall. Her therapists says once Jordan can figure out how to sit on her own, she's going to be mobile. That could happen really soon... It's up to Miss Jordan.

Busy, busy days

I'm in the middle of so many projects at work... I just haven't been able to keep up with details on Jordan's exciting world enough. She was sent home from school on Thursday with a fever... I couldn't really figure out what was wrong. When she woke up on Friday with the fever still around, I took her to the doctor. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't an ear infection. And since Jordan is so calm, I wasn't sure if she was sick or not. So she let two doctors check her ears without crying. No ear infection thank goodness. Just a virus. I took her to work for the day -- And she was not feeling great, but I had to get some work done. I didn't get nearly as much work as I needed. But at least I tried.

She didn't sleep well last night. Jordan actually woke up twice in the middle of the night... A first in a really long time. But that's okay. I got a good nap in this afternoon.

Other than the sick fevery stuff... Jordan is getting more and more social. We were on campus this week and Jordan was waving at every person we walked by. Oh -- And signs that Mizzou students are the best around: Jordan dropped her blanket as we rushed to a class where I was speaking. During the class, I noticed the blanket was missing and figured it was gone forever. I retraced my steps after the class and found the blanket on a lamp stand -- someone obviously picked it up and put it where I could see it. Thank you anonymous blanket saver!!!

Another sign of Jordan's growth: She is letting Daddy and other friends and family members hold her... As long as I get out of her view pretty quickly. Her clingy-ness has been pretty tiring, but I really can't complain. Watching my daughter love me with all her might is not something I want to complain about. I just went through the pile of pictures I took this week of my kids... I took way more of Cam than of Jordan. I know why. Jordan is so in need of my attention, I haven't had enough space to breathe -- let alone take pictures of her!!

Now that's kind of strange

Jordan woke up really early this morning. I couldn't figure out... Except it was punishment for going to bed really late. But later when I was feeding her at school, I noticed her thumb. It's bright red and has blisters on both sides. She sucked it THAT hard. It's gross. It has to hurt. And she keeps sucking it! I wonder if her painful teeth or thumb woke her early.

I felt Jordan's gums, I don't feel any teeth... But maybe she's sucking and chewing harder because the teeth are almost there. I feel bad for her.

She only napped for 30 minutes today again.

That drives me batty.

The worst part of that is how she needs to go to bed the moment I get her home. She fell asleep as I fed her tonight... It was so sweet and simple. We're only a few months away from saying goodbye to breastfeeding. The nighttime feeding is the hardest to let go. And it's all because of that sweet, quiet cuddle time. Watching her fall asleep while she eats... That little face she makes when she lets go of the latch. It's a look of pure contentment. I feel so lucky to have this time with her. But it's bittersweet to watch her grow so fast.

A friend of mine and his wife had a new baby boy this past weekend. Looking at those newborn pictures give me a little pang of sadness for the baby I'm losing so fast. I also started just surfing around looking at other baby pictures that belong to random people I don't know. I still house a little jealousy for parents who get to raise a typical baby. I'm blessed to be Jordan's mommy... But it's hard sometimes to not feel some jealousy. And I'm trying to not be jealous to watch a baby in Jordan's classroom develop in a more typical manner. She's almost exactly a month younger than Jordan... She's pulling up, she's rocking on her hands and knees... So close to crawling. I'm jealous of a 7 month old baby.

The thing is... Jordan doesn't care. She loves the little 7 month old little girl. They smile at each other. Jordan is getting aggravated over some of her challenges when she wants to reach a toy or get down on her belly. But on the whole, she doesn't mind at all. She's so damned happy to be who she is. I shouldn't be jealous. I should be lucky enough to experience a one-of-a-kind developing baby. And honestly, I spend more time absorbing and loving every minute of it. But sometimes, I still feel the need to be sad.

A new toy to take the cling away

Jordan is madly in love with Mommy attention. Yesterday she had to go home with a low-grade fever. So I was really worried she was getting a nasty illness that is spreading through the baby room. She went to bed last night and didn't wake up until close to 8am. No fever. Just a little extra clingy. I think she's okay. Maybe it's teeth. Maybe it is an illness. Only time will tell. She took two huge naps today. Hopefully that helped.

I did spend a lot of time outside with Jordan and Cam. Cam played baseball. Jordan sat in the grass and tried really hard to eat the dirt and grass. She enjoyed her swing and she really liked sitting with me. She wasn't happy with Daddy's lap or timein the high chair unless she was eating snack food or playing with a sippy cup of water (she hasn't really figured out how to use one yet).

So after talking to the doctors earlier this week, I went and got Jordan a new exersaucer. She got into it after her huge afternoon nap and it was like she was in baby heaven. She smiled, giggled, cooed and had a great time. She had so much fun, she didn't even noticed that I left the room. I actually had time to myself while she was awake. Cameron also kept her occupied showing her the many features of her new toy. The best part of it: a noise-making set of animal faces. It includes music... And I watched her actually dance! I didn't catch it on video yet. But I can't wait to show everyone her amazing and sweet little dance. She kind of makes a shy face and shakes her head and waves her hands. Adorable stuff. She was also turning her torso -- which is a skill our OT is encouraging Jordan to work on.

He's home!

Just an update: Dudley is home and well. He must have had a great time because he's exhausted. We've learned a lesson and Randy has something new to tease me with.

Signs my life is too complicated

Dudley pose
Originally uploaded by NerdyMom.

Dudley ran away when Jordan, Cam and I rushed into the house today. Cam didn't close the door to the garage and Dud ran off.

Did we notice?

Nope. Not until a very kind animal control officer called us. Someone in a neighborhood that's about 30 minutes away in Dudley speed called animal control thinking Dud was dangerous. He was barking at a dog inside the house. The officer said the house dog was very loud and must have caught Dudley's attention. If this person hadn't demanded an officer get Dud, he could have walked to a very busy and dangerous road. So of all the things that could have happened, he is VERY lucky. We are very lucky.

We can't get Dud until tomorrow morning. Apparently he talked them into an extra dinner when they got him into "impound." I'll be waking up early to get him the moment they open.

Jordan had an appointment today to check in with the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation folks. They recommended that we buy one of those exersaucers. I would have bought one a while back... But I've resisted the expense. Silly me. They think it will help her work on her leg movement, standing up and all around comfort in an upright position. Darn. An excuse to visit ToysRUs or Target.

Busy girl

So we got back late last night after another fun-filled trip to Uncle Barry's house. Poor Jordan gets pulled in all kinds of directions... And puts up with it. She and I did a little shopping and she got to go to the Magic House again. She wasn't so excited about the baby area like the last time. She obviously needed a nap and ended up passing out on my shoulder for a good amount of time (I'm still sore).

The hardest part during this trip was how obviously attached Jordan is to me. I actually hid inside Barry's house while he showed her off to a bunch of people who were hanging out for a Labor Day party. She just will not hang out with other people when she knows I'm available. If I'm not around, she's just fine. It kind of stinks. So I hid so other people could enjoy her cuteness up close and personally.

She's getting really good at holding finger food. If she'd just sprout some teeth, she's be getting along pretty well with a little bit of chewy food here and there. I'm not sure what's going on with that delay. Other than that, she's doing great. We had more arm time today and I tried to take her on a walk to our local garden wearing the arm, but she was getting tired and cranky. She enjoyed a snack while Cam and I ate under a shady tree. But she didn't last much longer than that. She passed out in the stroller before we returned home.

We have another busy week ahead of us... For my job and for Jordan's various appointments. We will keep working on the current prosthetic and I'm probably going to move forward and work with another company that may build her a myoelectric arm. I'm just not sure if it's the right direction to go. But I guess the only way we'll know is by giving it a try.

Therapy therapy therapy

Cam asked me this morning: "What is therapy?" I'm not sure how to explain it. He asked after we had an all-family physical therapy session this morning. Jordan does NOT like a new huge blue exercise ball that I bought for her. So we really taxed her by getting her slowly comfortable with the experience. We also learned that we have to stop just picking her up when she needs something. We have to listen and watch her physical cues and show her how to do things for herself. Most babies figure it out... But she is so careful and unsure with certain functions of her body that we have to guide her. So no more picking her up. I have to crouch down low and let her pull up onto me. It makes her mad, but after a while, she's going to figure out this pulling up skill.