Things I love: chairs for feeding

Ooops! The highchair is sideways. Oh well. The booster seat is wonderful. It has a tray that is easily removed and can be washed in the dishwasher (which is where it was when I took the picture)! Hooray for that! The highchair is wonderful as well. I've heard moms complain about highchairs that don't recline so that a small baby can be fed or that don't sit upright enough for a big baby. This one from Graco does both! I loved it!

Things I love: thermometer

Rectal thermometers, while slightly more accurate, don't sound like any fun for either the taker or the giver. This is a wonderful ear thermometer that even remembers what the last 10 temperatures that were taken were. That's great when baby is sick and momma can't remember things. Note: I've been told that rectal thermometers also work under the arm, but Allyssa was much too squirmy for me to feel like I ever got a good reading. Ear thermometers are the way to go!

Things I love: Dishwasher racks and spoons

This dishwasher rack is perfect for pacifiers, bottle nipples, and all sorts of little things that babies use. The spoons inside are also on my favorites list. The metal handled spoon is great for feed baby, and the brightly colored spoon is great for baby to feed herself with.

Things I loved: White noise machine

When we are at other people's houses and Allyssa takes a nap, she sleeps like an angel. It is awesome. At our house, the slightest noise wakes her up during the day. Maybe I just think that they wake her up, who knows? Anyways, this is a white noise machine. We keep it on all the time. It is a life saver.

Things I loved: Sippy Cups

The blue sippy cup is made by Playtex. It is a no-spill cup. The lid screws on and the spout is hard plastic. It is great for babies with teeth. The pink cup is by Gerber. It is a great first cup. The spout is soft plastic, so it is easy to suck on for learners. The lid also is a screw on lid. Do not bother buying the sippy cups with the pop on lids no matter how enticing the 97 cent sign at Wal-mart is! The lids pop off and make a mess all over the floor. Also, the little thingy that makes the cup work is hard plastic and will pop out making the liquid run out quickly and not need to be sucked on. They are a sure bet for a big mess.

Things I loved: Burp Cloths

These were my favorite burp cloths. I always wished they were clean, but they were always in the wash because I used them so much (I just had these three like this). Two of them are made out of fleece. The other one is a Gerber cloth diaper with fabric sewed on it. That one was nice because it was thick, but the fleece ones were softer!

Things I love(d)

I've decided over the next few days to post things that I used this past year for Allyssa that I really loved.

That's right. This stuff has 40% zinc oxide in it. It is the best there is. It is better than prescription because the amount of zince oxide is higher. It will get rid of diaper rash FAST. (Keep you own tube in your bathroom if you are prone to sunburn. It will clear up a burn overnight!!!)

On the road to recovery

Allyssa finally didn't have a fever today at about 11. She is wheezing a lot though. We've put her back on her nebulizer. Hopefully that will fix the problem.

Walking update and more

Remember the post about walking that I had a few days ago? Well, that same day, Allyssa walked by herself (I was across the room) from her push wagon to her rocking chair. She walked between those toys a lot that day. Granted it was only a few steps, it showed that she wants to do it on her own. Hooray! We have a walking baby!

Allyssa has been doing well with being sick. She is still happy most of the day, like always. If you didn't know she was sick, you wouldn't guess it. However, she has been running a 99 degree temperature even with the tylonel and motrin in her system. The hospital said to give her both so that the doses overlap to keep the fever in check. I always check her temperature before I give her the next dose of a medicine, but it is always high, usually 100 or 101. Hopefully the fever will break today and she'll begin to get better.

Sick Little Girl

Allyssa woke up this morning at 4:45 with a temperature of 103.1. I gave her some Tylenol and called the Doctor's emergency line. They said that she needed to go to the ER right away. Of course, we took her. By the time we got there her fever was down to 101. The ER nurse asked us why we brought her to the ER instead of waiting to see her regular doctor. I told him that she had a fever of 103. I thought this was a duh answer, but apparently not. The doctor who saw Allyssa asked the same question. It was then that I was told that for a baby a fever of 103 isn't that big of a deal. Just give them meds and see if it goes down. Take them to the regular doctor later if it does go down. Take her to the ER if it does not go down. Very interesting. They did some blood work and her counts were normal, so chances are she has a cold or something like that. She didn't get any prescriptions. She is just supposed to take Tylenol and Motrin and drink fluids. If she isn't better in 3 or 4 days, I'm supposed to take her to the doctor. This is totally new to me. I thought that a fever of 103 for anyone was a big deal. The doctor said that it is always a big deal for an adult, but that babies temperatures regulate differently, so it isn't the same. I can't wait to get in to see my regular doctor for Allyssa and ask her what I should do when Allyssa wakes up in the early morning with a fever. Apparently I'm not supposed to go to the ER.

Go Baby Go!

Yesterday there were 5 in a row. Today it has been 5, 5, 4, and 15!!! What are these? Numbers of unassited steps Allyssa has taken!!!!

Weaning and Asthma

Yesterday, Allyssa wheezed some. Thought she might have bronchitis again. Took her to the Night Clinic. Turns out she has allergies. At 1 year, they don't diagnose asthma, so they called it asthma-like. They said that by the time she's in junior high it might go away. She has to use a nebulizer 4 times a day right now. She doesn't care for that. Any ideas for natural products that might be good to use in allergy season?
Allyssa is now down to 2 nursings a day. Today was the first day that she only will be fed twice. She got used to 3 times a day after about a week. Hopefully we'll be that lucky this time!

Grab a "bamamna" and join us

Allyssa has been able to say something close to banana for a while now, but the other day she got super close. "Bamamna!" Isn't that too cute!

Teeth and Doctor Visit

May 31st Allyssa got her bottom tooth that is right beside the front two teeth. June 2nd, she got her top right tooth. Right now she is getting her top tooth that is beside the front tooth (not a front tooth). So, once this one comes in, she'll have 5teeth, but she won't have both of her top two front teeth. She is going a little out of order.

Well Baby Visit: Allyssa is growing well and developmentally on target. She is very playful and talkative in the office which is perfect for a 12 month old. She is being weaned and is down to three nursings. She doesn't need any supplemental vitamins because she eats very well. She got three shots: the chicken pox vaccine, Hep A, and MMR. She did fine with them. She only cried for a minute, then she quit. She ran no fever. She did take an extra long nap that afternoon (however she did miss her morning nap) and took long naps the next day. She is 28 inches long and 20 lbs 7 oz.

Last pictures from Allyssa's birthday

Paper! Tunnels!

A friend of ours had a tunnel that we loved. We searched for it and couldn't find it. We could only find $80 tunnels. Finnally we found this one for a much much lower price!! Hooray! Allyssa loves it! It is much bigger than we thought it would be. It takes up the whole living room.

Cake and gifts

During lunch Allyssa didn't eat any cake. She had fun playing with it though. We offered her some more after supper because what's a birthday without cake??!! She ate a bite which thrilled Daddy and Mommy!

"Allyssa, this paper is yours to color on!"


"Mommy and Daddy will read you your new books!"

"Can you make a puppy noise like your new toy?"

Allyssa and her cake

Lunch time-Allyssa and her cake

Mommy and Allyssa on Allyssa's birthday

Allyssa's First Birthday

Very early in the morning, Daddy left for a bike ride! Allyssa loves to watch him eat his banana before he goes.

While Allyssa took her morning nap, I made her a bear cake! After that, I took pictures of her all day long!

Middle Day

June 4th is the day in the middle of Mommy and Allyssa's birthdays. Allyssa spent the day pushing this basket of toys around the house.

Allyssa's first step!

May 30th
Allyssa took one step! She was trying to get her Care Bear glove book! She loves all the books that her uncle Jay illustrated! Thanks Jay for encouraging Allyssa to walk through wonderful pictures! Below is Daddy posing with Allyssa and the book.

Planning our trip

May 30th
David LOVES maps and I love planning. Allyssa takes after her Daddy. We all had a great time looking at routes to take on the way to visit family in July.


Allyssa found our town!!!