Tuesday, September 23, 2008

September 23, 2008 (Venily is 11 months, 1 week, 3 days old)

20 Days left until Venily's first Birthday!!!! 19 until her party! I'm having some serious doubts about how along our house will be for her party, but we shall see! The drywall should get started sometime this week. But we still need plumbing, the garage floor to be poured, stairs, electricity, septic!! Ahh!

My newest favorite thing that Venily does: Blow kisses!!! She opens up her hand and kisses the middle! I LOVE it! Still doesn't "blow" them, but I don't care!

I took Venily into the doctor today. She has been sick with a cold for like a week and woke up really fussy this morning, which is really out of character for her. She has a cough, runny nose, and is really congested. The doctor said she is fine though! She just has an upper respiratory virus. Nothing I can do about it! Her ears have some fluid in them, but it's not an ear infection, it's just from all of her congestion. She said that Venily is really lucky not to have any ear infections yet. Most kids her age have already had a couple, but since I'm still breastfeeding, that's probably why she hasn't gotten any. Venily was 20lbs, 10oz. when they weighed her! Wow, I was off by 2 pounds! I don't think she's lost that much in such a short period of time!

Friday, September 19, 2008

September 19, 2008 (Venily is 11 months, 6 days old)

I'm trying to fix up all of my stories because I want to print them all once Venily turns one year and put them all together in a book for her! I went through and put through how old she was on each date and how far along I was in my pregnancy on each day, as well as added some pictures! I'll probably do more at a later time. I'd also like to add the couple of stories and things I have on Myspace onto this page.

A couple of updates I forgot to add about Venily!

She loves to pretend that she is talking on the phone now. She'll take a phone (or actually any toy), put it up to her ear and say "hi...hi...hi"!!! She loves actually talking to her Daddy on the phone too! She just smiles and smiles when she hears him on the line! Then she tells him "hi" or waves, lol! But then she gets really sad when I take the phone back.

She likes to copy us with other things too. She'll take the remote, put it up to the t.v. and start pushing buttons like she knows what she is doing! LOL! If we're like both eating cereal or something and I mix mine around with my spoon then she'll do the same thing and if I take a drink, then she has to take a drink too! It's funny!

Venily also loves reading!!! She's always liked reading books. When I read them to her or just reading them herself, but now she actually will take a book and bring it to you to read! And when you are done with a book and give it to her, she'll hand it back to you to read again! HAHA! I LOVE it!

She is definitely turning into a Daddy's girl!! When he gets home she gets SOOOO excited! And if he's just stopping by to get something and has to leave again right away, she gets really, really sad! When he picks her up she'll hug and kiss him and won't let him go if I try to get her back!

She's also been really interested lately in putting things INSIDE of other things. Like if I have her toy off her highchair, there is a hole in there. And she finds it fun to take all of her food and put it in the hole... which in turn goes all over the floor, lol. She also likes to put little toys in canisters/ cups/ or boxes. She hasn't figured out yet though how to dump things out. She just puts her hand back in there and grabs them out again or if she can't do that she shakes it until they fly out!

Venily GOES CRAZY FOR THE Areva commercial!!! OH MY GOSH!! Jason says it's the "Funky Town" song. It goes "talk about it, talk about it, talk about it" ahahahaha. You should see her! She gets the BIGGEST smile on her face and INSTANTLY breaks out dancing! And if I'm nursing her when the song comes on, she'll take one of her hands and keep putting it up and down in the air to the beat!

I tried to teach Venily how to blow out candles the other day. I figured I'd better start now! She just wanted to touch it so badly. Then when I tried to get her to blow it... she kept sucking in instead of blowing out, lol. We still need some more practice!

I'm giving Venily one sippy cup of whole milk a day and so far so good! She loves it even more than she likes juice or water!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

September 16, 2008 (Venily is 11 months, 3 days old)

I finally updated Venily's front page! YAY!

Venily's 11 month stats: 23 pounds, 30.75 inches long!!! WOW, she had a growth spurt this month!


She tried real milk last night and LOVED it!

Monday, September 15, 2008

September 15, 2008 (Venily is 11 months, 2 days old)

Venily turned 11 months on the 13th!!!! There is less than a month left now until her first birthday!!!! I'm so excited!! And there are so many cool things that she can do when she turns one!! Like turn her car seat front facing (!!!!!), drink whole milk, eat peanut butter and egg whites.... haha, I can't wait!!

People keep asking me what Venily wants for her birthday... really she doesn't care! She loves everything! Some things she needs though are big crayons (or the ones that are for toddlers) , finger paint, bath toys, little farm animals... stuff like that! She also loves anything with buttons that you can press to make it do things. Oh, and ANYTHING that you can put pictures in. She's in mostly 18m for clothes, though if you ask her Daddy, she has too many! Venily and I know that you can never have too many clothes! She still needs snow pants and boots for the winter (she has a jacket, it's black, pink, and white), but I don't know if they are even selling that stuff yet!

I can't believe that Venily is already 11 months! She was still inside of me this time last year! :) She is doing great with everything! She is walking more than she crawls now and can turn around, bend over and do other tricks while walking too!

She's still taking great naps... 2 a day. 1 1/2- 2 hours each. And she will play down in her crib for like 30 minutes after she wakes up, completely happy! I'll go get her and she'll have turned the light on and just be sitting there, reading a book or playing with a toy when I come in, it's soooo cute! She's doing better at night too. Sometimes she'll sleep all through the night in her crib... though most nights she's up 1-2 times. When her top teeth were coming in, she was up like every hour though!

At 11 months, she has 4 teeth (see pics). Two on top, two on bottom, just like a little llama! Her top teeth though look pretty gapped, lol! We're already saying that she might need braces, lol, but they are really cute!

Venily eats FANTASTIC!! There is NOTHING she won't eat! She loves all kinds of crazy food. Onions, tomatoes, peppers, I'm so surprised because up until I was pregnant with her, I didn't like ANYTHING except if it was plain. Now I love all sorts of different things too... it's so weird! I still severely limit her eating "bad" foods though. And I think I've found a compromise for her birthday cake... I'm going to see if my mom will make it for her. Low fat angel food cake with whip cream and strawberries? We'll see if my mom already has different ideas though... I think she might still be pushing for a real cake...

Venily says a lot of different words! Probably at least 20. Her favorites are Mama, hi/ bye, more, Matt, Daddy, milk (meh- as she points to me and lifts up my shirt, oh boy!), bear and dog!!! And when you ask her what sound a bear makes, she's growl and if you ask her what sound a kitty makes she meows!! It's so cute! I'm going have to get it on video to show you!

Here's a video too of her walking last week... right before I started the video I asked her where her train was... so she is going to find it, lol. I love when she bends over to see it!



She's actually walking even better than this now... every day she gets a little more used to it! And she can walk around good in her Robeez shoes too! But any other shoes, no way! They are too cluncky and she takes them off right away. She can't take the Robeez shoes off- I LOVE them!! :)

I still need to weigh and measure her for this month! I will do that in a bit!

Here are her likes and dislikes at 11 months:


Venily's LIKES:
* walking around by her self!
* pointing at all the pictures and decorations at Grandma and Grandpa's house and having people tell her what or who they are! She could SERIOUSLY do this all day long!
* Bears, dogs, and kitties!
* Growling! She growls for her bear noise and anything else that sounds similar... motorcycles, drills... etc.
* Figuring new things out- she is SO smart!


Venily DISLIKES:
* When Mommy yells at her for biting or pulling hair
* Shopping for any extended period of time! (I have to be prepared w/ lots of distractions! Snacks, toys, random items off the shelves...)

Friday, September 12, 2008

September 12, 2008 (Venily is 10 months, 4 weeks, 1 day old)

Yeah, the new picture place in Kenosha is seriously awesome!! I would go there every time if they put the pics online, but they don't! :( Venily loved the girl taking the pictures and she seriously took A MILLION pictures! They have really cute backgrounds and props and things too! And we could have had a couple of different outfit changes too. I felt bad for all of the work she did for me only to order the one picture! There was one where she was sitting on the ground and I was throwing green petals on her that turned out absolutely adorable and there was one where she was kissing a GIANT stuffed bear (you should have seen how excited she was when she saw that, lol) and one where she was at the beach... and so many others that were just too cute! And I'm so sad that no one else will see how cute all of the pictures turned out! The girl said she was going to keep some for her portfolio though, so that is good! They have a promotion going on right now... $10 for a TON of pictures and 6 free greeting cards too (all in the same pose)! I don't know how long it's going to last for... but I would definitely give them a try if you are interested! They don't have any sitting fees and they print the pictures right there for you when you are done at no extra cost so you don't have to wait forever for your pictures!

Maybe if we get a group together again for like Xmas we could go there. Because you can get 3 different picture sets plus the cd with ALL of the pictures on it for $80. Then we could each get a set and then print off any other pics we wanted w/ the cd? That might be worth it!

So Venily has outgrown all of the tons of shoes that she has never worn and I was looking today for shoes for her at the store since she is walking so much now and she will need to wear them for walking outside soon. I didn't decide to get any, but when I got home I had a package from my Aunt and she sent me a TON of clothes and 10 pairs of shoes (sizes 4 & 5), including 3 pairs of Robeez, which is what I really wanted, and is what I've heard is the best for babies her age who are starting to walk!!! I am SO excited!! I love when things work out like that! :)

Thursday, September 11, 2008

September 11, 2008 (Venily is 10 months, 4 weeks old)

Well, our house is finally here!!!! It came on the 9th and we spent all day watching them put it together. It was really cool! The whole neighborhood came out to see it, lol! Venily and I met a lot of our new neighbors. People kept telling me it was the most exciting thing that had happened in Lily Lake in years, lol! Design homes just finished it all up yesterday. And OH MY GOSH, I just love it!! The first time I looked around in it, I never wanted to leave, haha, and I think I said "it's just perfect" at least 100 times! And it is. It's just perfect for us. It is so cool to see something that we designed all come together. We designed the floor plan, we picked out all of the colors, and now it's really real! It still has a lot of work before we can move in, but I just can't wait! It is small, but it is bigger than our duplex and it seems so big because of the high ceilings and loft. It's very open, which I love. And I LOVE the kitchen, I love the bedrooms, I love the bathroom, and I love all of the closet space!! :) I can't wait to go pick out paint for our bedrooms and bathroom. (At least I can paint while Jason is finishing up the loft/ceiling and basement! I'm thinking a beigeish color for our room and I wanted pink for Venily's room but Jason is trying to dissuade me from that idea, lol. AND, NO MATTER WHAT, WE ARE HAVING VENILY'S BIRTHDAY PARTY THERE!!! YAY!!! Occupancy or no occupancy, haha!

Venily is doing good. She's just getting over a cold right now that her father gave her. It's so sad when she gets sick, I hate it! She has learned how to crawl up on the bed now, so that's another thing I have to watch her on, lol! I have lost count on how many steps she can walk in a row now, she is doing so good with it! She can even walk, bend over to pick something up, and keep on walking!!! She is still wobbly for sure, but she doesn't care! She is so fearless, it's amazing.

I made an appointment today to get her pictures taken (the last minute as always!! I can't wait for these monthly pics to be over, lol- I had no idea what I was getting myself into!). We're getting them at the new place in Kenosha, so that will be fun. The only problem is they don't put them online at all, so that sucks! They said they take 40-60 pictures and you guys will only be able to see the one that I end up choosing! :( Oh well, I wanted to give them a try any way. I get so sick of going to the same places! Well, I better start getting ready! I have lots to do before her appointment!

Friday, September 5, 2008

September 5, 2008 (Venily is 10 months, 3 weeks, 2 days old)

Well, Venily's top two teeth officially came in today!! I can really feel them now! They aren't ready for pictures yet, lol, but as soon as they are, I'll have to take some! :) I'll update her tooth chart (and everything else) when I get some time.

OUR HOUSE IS COMING ON TUESDAY!!! WE'RE SO EXCITED!!!! But that means Venily and I are going to be without her Daddy for like a month while he hurries to finish it up in time for her party! Actually as soon as we have stairs, we'll probably just hang out there all day, bringing things over and hanging out in the bedrooms while Daddy works on everything! :) Oh, and we found out everything EXCEPT the couches will be shipped before Venily's party! The couches will probably be there a couple days after her birthday, haha, so you'll probably have to bring your own chair! OH WELL!

Venily is a little walking machine now! She's really getting the hang of it. I took a couple more videos and I put all of her videos up on photobucket (they are really out of order though!). Here's a couple of her walking and one of her eating her cereal like a big girl! :) Gosh I love her!!!









Those bowls are the best invention EVER, lol. They don't usually come up like that though!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

September 3, 2008 (Venily is 10 months, 3 weeks old)

VENILY BEAT HER WALKING RECORD TODAY!!!! She took 12 steps.

Then... just now she beat it again and took 14!!
She is walking so much too!! I can't wait until she is walking more than crawling! Though I'm sure I'll regret wishing that once it happens- it's just so fun to watch her toddle around on those cute little legs with such determination on her face! I love watching her learn new things each and every day! :)

September 3 (continued) (Venily is 10 months, 3 weeks old)

OH MY GOSH, MAKE THAT 20 STEPS!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

September 2, 2008 (Venily is 10 months, 2 weeks, 6 days old)

41 Days left until Venily's first birthday and counting!!!!

Venily is getting her top right tooth in! I just noticed it yesterday. It hasn't poked through yet, but there is a bump and you can see the red line. Any day now I should feel that sharp little tooth! Her left tooth looks like it's coming in too! Yay, top teeth, lol! Maybe they will be in in time for her birthday?! haha. I KNEW she was teething, some days they really seem to bother her. She has also been biting a lot again lately while nursing (and not). I'm glad she got teeth in late so I could nurse the whole year, otherwise that would have been REALLY hard!!! If these teeth come in like the last ones did I might have to start pumping at 11 months! I'm thinking I should maybe start pumping any way to transition her from me to a sippy cup of milk any way. I have a feeling it's going to be SOOOO hard! I'm not looking forward to it.

We got all of our appliances and furniture for our new house!!!! We were at Colder's on Sunday FOREVER but now it's all done! And I'm really happy with everything that we got. We got a refrigerator, stove, washer & dryer (both front loading so we can stack them!), sofa & love seat (in sage), coffee table, 2 end tables, and 3 rugs!! Our house comes with a dishwasher and microwave, so we're all set. That's a huge thing crossed off our list! The only thing we have left to buy is a dining room table and chairs, but we need to wait for our house any way to check the size. I just want them to bring us our house now!!!

OH!! And I let Venily have her first taste of chocolate today!! SO NOW EVERYBODY CAN LEAVE ME ALONE, LOL! I was eating this chocolate yogurt thing with my lunch while Venily was eating her lunch and she kept pointing at it and saying "more". Well, I tried giving her EVERYTHING else, but she was very persistant and kept pointing at it and saying "MORE, MORE". LOL! So I ate most of it and there was only a tiny bit left in there and I gave her the container with a spoon. She was scrapping it around, and getting little bits of it. At first she didn't know what to think of it, but then she was going crazy for it and by the end I had to give her a bath because she had it ALL over her face! HAHA! So.... I ruined her forever and she's doomed to be just like her Mommy! :) I STRONGLY dislike giving her anything like that and still don't want her to have a real birthday cake, but will probably cave in and get her one anyway! She is SUCH a great eater though and I don't want to ruin that. She LOVES everything that I give her (tomatoes, onions, zuchinni, green beans, peas, carrots, just EVERYTHING), so why would I want to mess that up? I have turned into such a health freak since having her and don't even like her eating white bread! She is getting way too smart for me.... pretty soon if I don't want her eating anything bad, I'm going to have to completely cut it out of my diet as well!