Rolling Over and Rice Cereal

Today is Birdie's 5 month birthday and we got a special treat today! She rolled from her stomach to her back. She did it four or five times, so we know that it wasn't a fluke thing! I watched her do it this morning while I was eating breakfast...cheerios and coffee.

It was a really cool thing to watch. I'm so glad that I was able to see her do it and not hear from someone else that she did it!

On Saturday, she had her first taste of rice cereal. I am giving her whole grain, organic rice cereal. She seems to like it pretty well. And she was a fast learner. Within a few bites she was able to eat off the spoon.

It is just amazing how fast she has grown. I don't think I am ever going to stop saying that!

Cuddling

So this week Birdie has started something new. She has started to cuddle. The most precious thing happened on Monday. M was hold her at breakfast and she nuzzled her head on his shoulder. For some reason, it nearly brought tears to my eyes.

When I saw this, I realized that she is in fact a little person. I also realized that she loves us and finds safety in us. What it also showed was that she does like M. For a while, he was sure that she didn't like him. I always told him she did, but I think this was the first time he believed it.

It is such an amazing thing, watching her grow. Everyday it is something new. She has almost got the roll over move down, but not quite yet. As soon as she does, I will be sure to write another post!

Martin Luther King Day 2009

Today is Martin Luther King day. Growing up, we always had this day off of school. I don't recall this day being "big" deal. It was just a day off of school.

But today January 19th 2008, Martin Luther King day seems a little more special considering what tomorrow means in American life and culture. Tomorrow Barack Obama, a half white - half African (Kenyan to be exact), will be come the 44th president of the United States. This is something that would have seemed impossible 45 years ago.

Today another thought came to me as I was watching various programs about civil rights movement. The summer I went to Senegal we spent a day at Goree Island. (This is an island off the coast where many of the West African slaves where sold and sent out to various places around the world.) While there one of the missionaries that we were with made a comment that will stick with me for a life time. They said that God used this evil for good, meaning that through this atrocity many African Americans came to know Jesus Christ as their savior in their new home- America. I had never made this connection before and I think this is something that can be pondered for a long long time.

"Sick" Baby Visit

This morning we went to Women's Bible Study at church. Since I was a little late, I decided to keep Birdie with me during our small group time. Before Christmas, she would normally sleep through the entire time, but today she seemed a little "off." Her eyes were a bit watery and her nose was a bit stuffy. And she was fussy.

When we got home she seemed a bit warm, so I took her temperature for the first time. It was reading around 99 which seemed high to me. Since I haven't taken her temperature when she was well, I wasn't sure if it was. So I decided to put her down for a nap and then check it when she got up. So this is what I did. One thermometer was reading 100.4 and another one went all the way up to 101.7. I know that over 100, was not good and she just didn't look like herself, so I decided to call the doctor's office.

Since they had an appointment available, I took Birdie went to the doctor for her first "sick" baby visit. The doctor asked me a bunch of questions, but the one thing that stood out to me was a comment that he made. When I said to him that Birdie just didn't look like herself and that I could tell something was wrong, he said that studies that have been done have shown that mothers really do know when something is wrong. Isn't this amazing? I think it is wonderful that God has designed us a special way to take care and nurture our children.

The doctor decided that she had a little cold that was moving into her ear. So she got some amoxicilin and needs to take it for 10 days. Hopefully this will take care of the problem. There is nothing like the feeling of helplessness when you have a sick baby. All you can do is hold them and love them which doesn't always feel like enough.

Next Monday is Birdie's 4 month "well" baby visit. This is where they will check her length, weight, and other things normal 4 month olds do. They also give her another round of vaccines. At her two month visit, watching them administer the vaccines and then her reaction to them was heartbreaking. It made me sad that I was "doing" that to her, so Monday won't be any fun either. I also don't look forward to her being cranky all day either. But I am grateful that we have them and how they protect us from serious illnesses. And another good thing is that she won't remember them either!

Discovering the Dog

This week Birdie noticed Madi, our black labrador retriever. Before she was oblivious to her presence, but now she looks at her and follows her with her eyes. I don't think I will ever stop being amazed at how she changes and grows every day.

Even today Madi licked her little hands. I laughed and cringed at the same time. It was really cute; however I was not too happy about this, since, well you know what dogs like to do. But I'm sure this will not be the last time that Madi licks her. I think they will be pretty good friends once Birdie starts to move around. Hopefully Madi doesn't turn into a grouchy old dog--but I dobut it!

We really did luck out with Madi. We adopted her about three years ago from the Midwest Lab Rescue. They think she was a puppy mill dog and was abused. She is the sweetest dog that I know. She has been missing our long walks that we use to go on. Part of the blame can rest on the little one, but also on the cold weather. In the spring, we will have to start them up again. It will be good for all of us to get out of the house and stretch our legs.

Talking All of the Time

So Birdie is talking, or should I say babbling all of the time how. It is quite funny. She moves her mouth into various shapes. Her noises are sometimes loud and sometimes quiet. They are high pitched and sometimes they are like growls. It is really amazing to watch someone learning to how to communicate.

Yesterday, she made the funniest movement with her upper lip. She lifted one side up and laughed. She reminded me of Elvis.

I could have never imagined how fast she would grow. The time has gone by quickly. She is almost four months old and will soon be rolling over, crawling and sitting up. Within in the next few weeks or months she will start to eat baby food!

My goal is to learn how to make my own baby food. I figured this would be cheaper and more nutritious for our little one...so I will see how that goes!

They Day She Discovered Her Ears and Made Cookies

Today Birdie discovered her ears. She was pulling and holding them when she was eating. It was really quite adorable.

Wouldn't it be wonderful, if we had memories of these tiny discoveries about ourselves? Or were able to verbalize them even at this young age?

We also make chocolate oatmeal cookies today. She sat in her little seat on the counter. I did most of the work, but it was fun to have her there. Someday she will be able to help out and definitely lick the spoons when we are done!