Mouse blood.....everywhere!

I've been thinking for the last couple weeks that I haven't blogged in awhile and that when I do blog, it'll have to be a doozy to make up for the lack of. K, this one is a doozy and worth me using my precious 25 minutes of Hannah's naptime for.

At 10ish, Hannah and I were on the couch and she was nursing. I heard George (the black one) purr-meowing and crying. I could hear he was crying his way up the basement stairs and to where we were behind the couch. My first thought was, oh great, he's back to 'catching' socks and purr-meowing over his 'kill'. I ignored him because I was feeding Hannah and didn't want to disturb her. So within minutes, I'd forgotten all about George.

Just a little while ago I was in the kitchen cleaning things up and saw Eleanor trying to squeeze past the kitchen table to get to the kitty food bowls. I chuckled at her and was all, 'haha, you can't reach their food'. Then I saw what she was seeing....a dead mouse body. CRAP! I go to look closer and I see it is either a monster mouse or a shrew, but also it has its' intestines pulled out. Literally, pulled out of its' tummy! Gross - but at the same time, a little cool. I stood and inspected it for a little while, someone had spent some serious time gnawing on this little body. I grabbed an old towel that I could throw away and picked it up to dispose of it and saw there was a little puddle of goop....must have been intestine juice, LOL. So, I get another rag to clean up the goop and as I'm down on the floor, I see more clearly what had happened. 

Using my CSI forensic ability here is my determination: George brought the mostly live mouse up from the basement to his safe area in the kitchen where the dogs can't reach. Mouse was bitten and bleeding and trying to get away but George was toying with him. Blood was ALL over the kitchen floor in little globs here and there. At one point, mouse made some serious headway in escaping by going up the baseboard and wall a little bit, but he was taken down. The gutting then took the mouse out of the game. 

I'm really pretty sure it was George as he seems to be more of a killer than Henry. When I was in the kitchen cleaning up the murder scene, Henry was strutting about the kitchen with his tail high in the air. So, it could have been Henry but it was George I heard purr-meowing. I went upstairs to find George and he was laying on the bed grooming himself. Hard to say who it was, but they both got some 'good kitties' and some treats.

Shots round 2

Poor little baby girl had to get more shots today. It was her 4 month check up. The nurse saw her first and was literally giddy with how adorable Hannah was. Hannah kept smiling and cooing and laughing for the nurse. They seemed to get along great! Then the doc came in and Hannah behaved the same way for her. Such a good baby, she loves everyone :) Doc said she is doing absolutely great, no worries and everything looks super. At 4 months, she is 24 1/2 inches tall and 13.9lbs. Breast milk seems to agree with her, lol.

Then when it was time for shots, I made Lance stand by her - I couldn't do it. He said she made such an owie face, poor thing. Once the shots were done, I scooped her up for some mommy love. It only took her a little while to calm back down and realize everything was okay. I didn't cry this time at all. I knew what to expect. It was still gut-wrenching to hear my baby cry her 'OW' cry, but I'm learning to be strong :) I'm ready for a couple days of fever and crankiness now. I know from last time this is what we can expect so I'm fully prepared to snuggle her non-stop if that is what she needs.

Hannah's first cold

I think poor little punkins has her first cold. She's got a nose full of snot that I can hear and see, she had a little fever earlier this week, and a little cough that is the real cough - not the look what I can do cough. Poor thing, but then I discovered yesterday afternoon she'd given it to me. I think this is the first time I've been sick in about a year! I don't think I was ever actually sick sick while I was pg and I know I haven't been since. So I am certainly due. But as much as I'd like to go curl up in bed and stay there, I can't! That's a new one for me, LOL! This little baby could care less that I don't feel well.

This last weekend we went to mom's house for Easter weekend, so it was Hannah's first big long road trip. She was such a little trooper and did great. We got about to Rockford before she decided she'd had enough and started to snuffle and cry and before long she'd lost it entirely, her shit, that is. As long as I sat in the back with her so she could see me and let her squeeze my hands, she seemed to do better. But I felt so bad for her having to be confined and not understand why.

Once we got to mom's though everything was good. She was tired and cranky and needed to eat and go to bed but the next morning she was ready to go! I took her to go meet a bunch of old high school friends of mine for lunch and she got passed around to pretty much everyone. I think all but one of them are moms so they are totally familiar and comfortable with babies and I had no qualms about handing her over. She seemed to enjoy herself too, as long as she was being held and coo'd to. She was so comfortable in Jana's arms that she fell asleep! 

On Easter she got to meet a whole slew of relatives. She was being a little picky that day though and did good with some, but not so good with others. I'm not sure what her criteria is but she was partial to my nephew's new wife and my sister's husband but that's about it. The whole weekend I was sure she was going to roll over for the first time. She kept getting to her side and rocking a little but not quite all the way over. I think the cold she came home with has hampered her trying a little, but I think this big milestone is just around the corner. Everybody says 3 months is the norm for rolling over but then all babies progress on their own time frame, so we'll just have to wait and see. She is doing really well at sitting up though, we practice that a lot. She sits for a pretty long time before sliding down or tipping over...just like mommy :)

Franklin and his pig

When we went to pick up Franklin as a baby (puppy) we brought along this cute little pink stuffed pig thinking it would be his first toy. It turned into more than his first toy, it became more like his pacifier. He goes through about 3-4 pigs a year now, he doesn't shred them or un-stuff them so much as they literally fall apart from over-use. When he gets a new replacement pig, the first thing he does is suck on the ears and chew them off. That's it though, once the ears are removed, he is content with the pig as is.

Part of his routine is to be put to bed with a treat and his pig. In the mornings when he is let out of his kennel he always makes sure to grab his pig and bring it with him downstairs. Sometimes during the day I forget or am too lazy to take his pig and put it up for the day and I'll see him sucking on it as he naps. It wasn't until we had Hannah and I was waking up during the night for feedings that I saw how much Franklin really uses his pig. He sucks on it throughout the night and I think he does it while he's still sleeping. I would hear him and look over to see his jaw working and a little bit of pink peeking out from his mouth. How sweet!

The morning routine is for him to take his pig downstairs with him, drop it by the backdoor as he goes outside, eat, drink, and retrieve his pig to come back upstairs and lie in bed with Hannah and I. Today though, he forgot to drop his pig by the backdoor before he went out. Lance looked out the window at the dogs and saw Franklin pee-ing with his pig stuffed in his mouth. I can picture it now and it is just too funny for words. He really is a one of a kind boy.

Easter eggs!

I've been looking forward to coloring Easter eggs ever since I saw the Paas kit at the grocery store a few weeks ago. I had to call mom to remind me how to boil eggs though, not something I ever do. Strange too, considering I like boiled eggs and like deviled eggs even more...

So, Sunday was the big day - all my eggs were boiled, I'd remembered to have plenty of vinegar, Hannah was in a great mood - we were ready! She didn't really participate all that much, but I'm pretty sure she enjoyed herself. Lance wasn't entirely certain we needed to do this but once he got going, I could tell he liked it. You'll notice the blue egg underneath her Pooh Bunny. That is a window into Lance's humor....

We were talking about what our future Easters will bring and how we want to celebrate them with Hannah. What are the pieces from our childhoods we want to bring in to her childhood. Since she'll be 1 and probably a bit more mobile next Easter, we can start doing it then. One thing that I told Lance is important to me is we need to ditch the Easter ham. I hate ham and never make it. Sometimes he has a hard time letting go of how he thinks things should go so he is still considering my request for 'Easter fish' or 'Easter lasagne'. We'll see what next year brings and what I find myself cooking, lol.

Last week Hannah and I went out with a group of working moms from Meredith. They were doing some research for Parents magazine and wanted some input from new moms. I'm all about giving my opinion, so of course I jumped at the opportunity. Hannah was a really good baby and let just about every mom there hold her and coo to her with no squaks. I think it was the first time in months that I was able to eat lunch with both of my hands! It was good for both of us to interact with some people during the day. I've been wanting to but have been waiting for the weather to get a bit nicer. While I could take her out in the cold and snow, I'd really rather not. Now that it is April though, we can get some more regular outings going. It was reassuring in many ways too. Just to talk with other moms about some thoughts and feelings that are all new to me. Other moms understand :) I was talking about how different it is when our friends come over to see us and the baby vs when our relatives come over and all the moms knew exactly what I meant and were all, "Uh-huh!!" I'm excited for mommy groups, we're going to try and do about 1 a week.

The Easter Bunny

One of my friends commented to me that Holidays are going to be fun all over again for Lance and I. She is so right on about that, I am actually looking forward to Easter this year. Which is a peculiar Holiday for me to be excited about. I can't even remember the last time I colored eggs or did anything even remotely resembling celebrating Easter. This  year though, I've got our egg coloring kit all ready to go. I can't wait for Lance and I to color eggs with Hannah for the first time. I know she isn't going to remember or really participate, but it'll be fun for us anyway. And Hannah has started to notice colors and things, so she may even look at an egg...

Today I took her to the mall to see the Easter Bunny and she did great. She wasn't entirely sure about the bunny but sat on his lap anyway. There was no smiling, but at least there was no screaming! Then we stopped to chat with a friend who had a booth at the mall show and did some more walking around. She was being a really good baby and getting pet by many a mall-goer. So many stopped to tell me what a pretty baby she was, awwww :) But as I was at the sprint store looking at phones, she started to squak a little and before I knew it she had completely lost her shit. No amount of mommy love would pull her out of it. And unfortunately, the mall has those high ceilings and no carpeting so her yelling really echoed. I had people looking at us and I'm sure they were wondering what I was doing to my baby to make her make such a noise. We hurried out to the car as quickly as we could because I knew as soon as I got her in the car seat and the car started to move she'd be okay. I was right, we hadn't even gotten out of the parking lot before all became right in her world and she quieted right down.

Each stop light we came to though, she let out a few half-hearted squaks like, don't you dare stop this car or I swear, I'll loose my shit again! We got home and it was like nothing was ever wrong, she was her usual smiling self. I think she was just a bit over-stimulated by all the lights and things to look at that she got tired and then pissed off that her bed wasn't there when she was tired. 

Bibs?

I had a revelation yesterday. 

After a week or so of lots of spitting up (from Hannah, not me) when previously there had been little to none, I finally realized why people had given us so many bibs. Each time I would open a gift and see bibs, inside I would think....huh, bibs, great - she'll be eating and need bibs, oh when she's 6 months old. So, I open up the bib drawer - yep bibs have their own drawer because we have such a crazy amount of them. I open the drawer and slap a bib on baby. It catches the spit up and I don't have to change her clothes! Awesome! When people give new parents bibs, they should really explain why :)

I'm trying to figure out what I've introduced into my diet that she is not digging. I've already had to cut out cheese and milk. I used to eat LOTS of cheese and milk on a regular basis but had to let it go because Hannah's little tummy can't digest cow's milk at this age. Our doula had warned me of the problems babies can have with cow's milk but until I saw it I didn't really believe her. So away went the cheese...that was sad. I love me some cheese. I have started having a latte in the evenings and I'm wondering if it is the coffee (decaf of course) or the 1/3 cup of milk I make it with. Either way, gotta cut it out to see if it makes her feel better. One thing I do eat that she doesn't mind at all is spinach...it turns her poop neon green. LOL

This morning because she's been so spitty uppy, I kept her in her jammies longer than I usually do thinking 1 less outfit change. I'd of course already forgotten my bib revelation of yesterday. So, when I decided to get her dressed I picked out one of her cute little dresses with a long sleeved onesie and little tights underneath. I got all of this on her and buttoned and scooped her up off the table to admire her, when she blew. She projectiled over my shoulder. Pour Eleanor thought the sky was falling, she skittered around trying to get out of the way, but of course some got on her before she could flee to safety. Franklin sauntered over to lick up what had landed on the floor like, mmm what's this coming from the sky? I laid Hannah back down on the table and proceeded to remove the clothes I had just put on....this time, I remembered to cover the clean outfit with a bib. So far, we've changed the bib 4 times, and her outfit has been saved!!! LOVE a bib.