Formula Feedings

Well, it's come down to it. Our little monkey is on a feeding frenzy to rival all feeding frenzies. She has gone through every last bit of frozen milk we had stockpiled and despite my best efforts, I haven't been able to get 16 ounces a day to send with her to daycare (which she goes through in addition to her large jar of food). The most I can get out is about 5-6 oz during the day and then about 5 oz in the morning. So, two days ago, she had her first foray into the world of formula. I hear she didn't find it half bad. She took a few chugs, paused looked around and sucked the rest down. Further proof that she is indeed my child as she, so far, will eat just about anything. The mustard test will come later....I think her Aunties Kathy and Danielle will be responsible for that venture though as we have a "No Mootard" rule at our house. Anyway, logically I know that forumula is just fine and as long as she has enough to eat that's what counts, there's nothing wrong with it, she's still breastfeeding, lots of babies have only forumula and lived to tell and they had wonderful mothers...etc etc etc. It'll just take me a few days to work through my own emotional reaction to it. But I'll get over it...it's all good.

Fun Ruby Tricks

Well, I think Ruby's got a new trick on the horizon. When put on her stomach, she has taken to lifting herself waaaaay up on her arms and then kicking and flinging her legs....methinks crawling may be in the near future. I am both looking forward to this milestone and dreading it. Guess it's time to start putting all of that baby-proofing junk in.... Another new thing is that she is an eating MACHINE lately. She has always been a good little eater but just in the past week or so, she's taken it to a whole new level -- polishing off whole jars of carrots and every single bottle I send with her to daycare and still wanting more. This wouldn't be much of an issue if I could just feed her myself but I can see that keeping up with this demand is going to be impossible if I have to provide that much milk each day in a bottle. But it's wonderful to see those pudgy little legs grow! Her motor skills are getting better every day. She can hold her own bottle now (not that I get to witness this) and everything goes directly into her mouth. On Friday, while feeding her, she would take two bites, shove her thumb in her mouth for a couple of sucks (what I have dubbed the "thumb chaser") and then back for more bites. It made feeding go somewhat slow but the cute factor totally made up for it. Other than prepping for the visit of Papa & Grandma Miller, we are enjoying this lovely summer day in the NorthWest -- rainy and in the high 60's. This is my favorite kind of day....unless I am having a bbq.

Welcome Watts!

This just in! Our pals over on UsPlus now have a beautiful bouncing baby boy! Welcome to little Mr Watts!!! Ruby cannot wait to play with you little guy...though you are hardly little. At 8+ pounds, you are bigger than Ruby at one month..but never you mind. Congrats Laura and Shawn! You are both going to be wonderful parents. And Herbie -- you'll be a wonderful big brother. Grins all around!

Uncle Jay!

Ruby met her Uncle Jay last week, the first of the Miller clan to meet her. They had lots of fun together! She loooves her Uncle Jay! Next week Papa and Grandma Miller are coming out for a visit. Hurray!

Empty Nest....

Well, the girlies are back at home, settling in and getting ready for school to start in a week or so. The house is infinitely quieter without them here and we sure miss them..especially Ruby. They were both SO helpful with her and could make her laugh like crazy. And now, taking care of just one munchkin seems like a vacation! Here are my three ladies, getting ready with all their lids on (yes, Sienna's says "I heart Duran Duran and no, she doesn't know who that is). Ruby had her 6 week appointment -- a couple of weeks late but I had stuff going on!-- and she is a superstar. Well, those weren't the exact words the doctor used but you get the idea. She weighed in at a whopping 13 pounds and 24.5 inches long (though I am pretty sure she's longer than that). The girls were with me at the doctor's appointment and were very helpful in watching her for me. Estelle even remembered to ask the doctor about a little mark Ruby has on her chin that I had forgotten to ask about. Thank goodness she was there! And now that I have a few less things on my plate, I get to focus on finding childcare for Miss Ruby, AGAIN! My daycare that I loooved is changing its focus and will no longer be taking infants. Bummer. I was hoping they could grandbaby her in..I mean, she WILL be a preschooler in just a few short years...but no dice. So, back to the drawing board. Ugh. I have a few prospects so hopefully it won't be too long before I have something. I hope. Please...oh please. Ruby is getting so strong and grabs everything and shoves it directly into her mouth. She's decidedly more vocal these days too. Dustin and I were just remarking about how much fun she is now. I've almost been late to work a few times because I got caught up in a game of peek-a-boo. Oops. But seriously folks, who could blame me?

Baby's Got a New Lid

Here is Ruby in her new hat that Auntie Jeany got for her in Montana. How cute is that!

Musings on the PBJ

As I was making myself a peanut butter & jelly sandwich this morning, I was thinking about how when my mom makes them, they taste SO much better. Then I thought about how Ruby will one day think that the peanut butter & jelly sandwiches I make will taste so much better than when she makes them. Which makes me think that PBJ's have just been going down in quality through the years...and then I thought, "Damn. How good was that very first PBJ!??" Can you tell it's been a long week?