More Teeth - #9!

Tooth #9 broke through - way in the back on the upper left. Markin keeps sticking her finger back there and playing with it :)

Missing my baby

. . . but she's having a great time! I had my staff Christmas party last night, so Markin spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Sounds like they all had a great time! I'm glad, but it was strange being here last night without her and I'm ready for her to come home :)

Sounds like she had a really long, late nap yesterday afternoon, so she played and played last night. Grandpa gives really good chair rides, which Markin loves :) She likes playing with magnets on their fridge, running all around the house, and collecting things to carry around with her. Another favorite activity was cuddling with Grandma :) Just to make me feel better, she did wake up once during the night and miss me, but sounds like she's been having too much fun to miss me the rest of the time.

Tooth #8

Tooth #8 made it's appearance today, on the top left of Markin's mouth. So glad it didn't torture her like the other one did :)

6 & 7

Tooth #6 (bottom left) and #7 (bottom right) broke through today, which surprised me - I was sure the other top tooth would break through soon. I know they weren't there yesterday because I've been checking her mouth at least once a day (yes, bad mom - I usually only brush her teeth once a day) thinking that pesky top tooth will join the other one that tortured us forever, but starting to think it'll play the same game of going up and down :(

Markin has been trying to tell me all day - she's been sticking her tongue out, giving me big grins, sticking my fingers in her mouth, and chewing on everything she finds. Finally noticed this afternoon (well, I did notice she was cranky last night and this morning but didn't know why :)

#5!

After MONTHS of torturing Markin (yes, over 6 weeks of moving up and down in her gums), tooth #5 has FINALLY broken through on her top right :) It was on the verge of breaking through 2 weeks ago (and also a month ago), but kept moving up instead of down right when I thought it would break through - I talked to my dentist and she said that was common, but 2 months of this was pure torture on my little girl!

walking

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from my little zebra. We went to a few friends' houses for "trick-or-treating" today - Markin even did her newest trick for them, which is walking 5+ steps! She was really excited about the candy and wouldn't let go of it, so I'm sure some of it's melted. Oh, well - I'm sure it'll still taste good!

#4

Tooth #4 just broke through :) At this rate, she'll have a mouth full of teeth in no time!

Tooth #3!

Can't see it yet, but I can feel tooth #3 coming through on top :) Yea!

Birthday Party

Markin had her first birthday party at day care today - so much fun! Amber came in to do music with her class - they got to listen to music and do motions to the songs, pop bubbles, wave scarves, and play instruments to music, along with dancing, of course! Markin was the only child who "sang" (can't say they were the right words, but some of the tunes were close :) but everyone participated and had lots of fun!

Happy Father's Day

Here's a picture of the sperm donor when he was a child. Markin got his beautiful bright blue eyes :)

Soooo big!

Markin is moving up to the toddler room this week! She's growing up so fast! I'm sure she's ready for it, but I'm not sure I am (I admit I got a little teary-eyes, but didn't cry like I did when I dropped her off for her first day of day care in August). There are lots of fun, new things in the toddler room - such as a fish tank and getting to go outside everyday, with a splash day on Fridays! I know she'll love it :)

What's for breakfast?

Waffles! Markin loved eating - and playing with - waffles for breakfast :)

Who's her daddy?

So, I think I'm pretty prepared for the question I'll get from Markin someday - "Who's my daddy?" It's one I thought about how I'd answer long before she was conceived! One question I found out I'm not prepared for is "Who is her daddy?" When an adult asks, I willingly tell them I used a sperm donor (and how long I had to wait to get her!) - but how do I answer that when another child or a young adult asks? I don't know how open that family is to talking about it! Even with my niece, I avoided the question because I wasn't 100% sure what she really was asking. She worded it funny - something about "Is there a daddy at your house?" and I answered no, but didn't go into details -- and should have because I know my sister would be okay with it. However, she accepted my answer and I'm sure the opportunity to talk about it again will come up! A very nice young man with a disability approached me the other day and asked where Markin's dad was. I just told him that she doesn't have a dad, but he looked really confused and tried asking again but I just repeated that she doesn't have one. But, how much info should I give out to youngsters? Also -- my students' parents know I'm a single mom by choice but I don't go into details with my students and, thankfully, they haven't asked - yet! yet! ............................................................................................................................... ......................................................... And, guess what? Markin and I are already talking about the donor! She loves to say "dada" and I reply, "no dada, I'm mama" which just gets her laughing and she says "dada" again and it ends up like a game. She has said "mama" and "mommy" a few times, but "dada" is her favorite thing to say. ............................................................................................................................... .............................................. My sister is so sweet! She asked me if she could take Markin shopping for Mother's Day! She wants to make it an annual tradition. Just having Markin is enough of a Mother's Day gift! I asked her if she'd do it for my birthday instead since I bet her day care (and later school) will do something for Mother's Day and Christmas, but it was so sweet of her to think of that!

9 months old!

9 months already? Where is the time going? Seems like it was only yesterday that I was snuggling a newborn and now she's practically a big girl!

Markin weighs 18 pounds 15 ounces and is 27 inches long (or so they say -- I only measured her at 26 1/2 :). She's at the 50% for weight and 35% for length/height. Of course, her head circumference is at the 80%!

Likes: Reading (and eating) books. Her favorite toys are the ones that she got for Christmas and make noise, of course! However, she also loves to just sit on my lap and play with my water bottle or have me sing to her - she'll do that all morning long :)

Dislikes: Bath in the big tub - she still prefers her little baby tub (and getting into "trouble" while bathing by grabbing at the faucet and anything I'm stupid enough to leave within her reach!) We're going to keep trying the ducky Auntie gave her to see if she'll eventually like baths again.

New accomplishments - she's getting better and better at asking me for what she wants. She has "signs" for favorite songs and games, along with the start of "more." No crawling yet, she she rolls to get what she wants - but then gets mad when she gets stuck in a corner! Markin is successfully eating puffs and rice rusks without choking!

Say cheese!

As in Mac and Cheese baby food!

My cousins LOVE Mac and Cheese, so as a joke Mommy bought me some Mac and Cheese baby food for our visit there this weekend -- WELL . . . I love Mac and Cheese, too! Cousin Kalini couldn't feed me fast enough, so Mommy took over. After I ate half of the jar, Mommy cleaned me up and I got MAD! I cried and cried until Aunt Karisa gave in and let me have the other half of the jar. I can't wait to have more :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cherries & Apples

Another favorite fruit - Cherries and Apples! Yum! What a special Valentine treat <3

Mixing it up . . .

. . . with mixed veggies for lunch today. Markin liked them and ate 3/4 of the container (of course, she's currently eating my phone, so not sure her taste buds are properly functioning :)

24 Carrot Gold

Markin tried carrots on Saturday. The orange smile says it all :) She also ate them in her new high chair!

7 months!

7 months! Markin weighs 17 pounds and 1.4 ounces. She is 26 inches long.

Likes: Eating! She especially likes her veggies :) She loves playing (getting these pictures was almost impossible - it took over 70 tries! She discovered that the caterpillar makes noise and just wanted to play with him.) Remotes, phones, the computer, and cameras are also favorite "toys." She also likes playing with her friends at day care.

Dislikes: Having people mess with her hair (and, unfortunately, it's necessary because I'm not ready to cut it yet, so we need to pull it back in a little ponytail on top of her head). Markin also doesn't like it when Mommy leaves the room, making it almost impossible for Mommy to get anything done! (probably time to invest in a ring sling :)

Favorite game: "no no no" -- she loves to shake her head no! She also enjoys dropping things and having Mommy pick them up for her.

New accomplishments: sitting up!

She amazes everyone who sees her with her bright blue eyes, long hair, and happy, contented personality. We went out with friends this week and she was perfectly content being passed around and also amusing herself in her car seat with some toys. I couldn't ask for a more perfect baby. I'm so blessed!

I like to eat, eat, eat . . .

. . . apples (1.24.11) and

bananas (1.21.11)

Well, guess Markin really only likes the apples, not the bananas. She loves applesauce!

Beans, beans . . .

. . . the musical fruit.

The more you eat, the more you toot!

The more you toot, the better you feel.

So let's eat beans at every meal!

.

The toots are a little smelly, but the diapers haven't been too bad :)

Squishy Squashy

Time to eat! Can't wait!

Oh, what's this? This doesn't taste like my peas . . .

Okay, I guess I like it! Can I have more?

Peas Porridge Hot

Peas porridge hot

Peas porridge cold

Peas porridge in Markin's tummy

Taste great - I'm sold!

And Mommy is just waiting for that diaper!!!