Pea (Heads) And Carrots

Ailbe is 6 months old now! Where did the time go? Months definitely seem to be moving much quicker with Ailbe than they did with Rooney. I'm sure it's because I have a 4 year old keeping me very busy and Ailbe's little moments get lost in the shuffle. As of right now Pip (my new nickname for her) does not have a nap time and still pretty much sleeps on the go. She generally has a chance to go down at home in the morning but that nap is pretty short. I can usually just get a run in and Ailbs manages to wake up just as I'm finishing. She is good to me like that but bad to my abs because I normally give up the crunches and planks I had planned to do to go get her. You win some, you lose some I guess.

Pip had her 6 months well check today. She's overall healthy but we found out she had the beginning of an ear infection. She has been fighting any eye infection and according to the MD it is very common for an eye infection to be accompanied by an ear infection. He said what was unusual was that you could not tell she had one by her demeanor. Ailbs is such a sweet baby and even though she had been teething, fighting an eye infection and apparently an ear infection she was still smiley and happy to see the MD (later her love for the nurse would fade). Of course after her flirtfest with the MD she got her shots- 4 of them from the nurse plus she poked her foot to get blood to test her iron levels! I walked in the MD office with a happy little baby and walked out with a happy little pin cushion.

Ok now for her stats...Ailbe came in at a whopping 26-3/4" long. That puts her in the 80th percentile. She's no little peanut anymore. She weighs 16lbs 3oz and she's in the 50th percentile for weight. Everyone seems shocked by that but I think it's because her thighs and cheeks throw everyone off. She's got little hamhocks but that's about it. Finally her head circumference. Pip's head is measuring in at an astounding 16-1/4" and that puts her in the pea headed 15th percentile! She does not look like a pea head but I don't know if most kids normally have a really large head and then just grow into it. I've seen kids with enormous globes but I don't know if that is more common or just unfortunate. Maybe Ailbs cheeks help balance out her look. Rooney mostly came in at 50th percentile so obviously my kids aren't getting their dad's noggin (hee hee just kidding baby) and there's no joke there about Uncle Andy because they're not actually related. Grandma Peggie has been known to have a "petite" head and she's whip smart so fortunately or unfortunately there's no joke in there about brain capacity either. Regardless I love my tall scrawny headed kids.

Next up should be sitting up. At least I know she won't have to worry too much about counter balance.

Grab Your Parkas Because Hell Just Froze Over

Yesterday Grandma Peggie has moved to town! It took 13 years but she finally packed all her stuff, including the dried up tube of Crazy Glue and burned out Christmas lights, and landed in North Renton. She got a great 5 bedroom house about a block away from mine and Mike's old house. Now everytime we go to Grandma's I point out to Rooney where we used to live. I tell him that someone else lives there right now but that we still own it then I can't help but say "Ugh, it really needs a paint job". It's nice to be back in the old neighborhood though and my mom being there helps me feel reconnected.


Before Grandma arrived we all helped her out a little bit with the house. Jim met with the contractors to make sure some furnace work was done and installed a few things to make sure it passed inspection. For her birthday, Dana and Renae taped and primed the red rooms they knew she would want to paint once she got there. Also, the house was vacant for a least a year probably, so the yard needed some attending to. They made a huge dent in some yard clean-up for her. Mike and I wanted to surprise her and give her some sort of housewarming gift. If you saw the two PODS my mom moved up here with you would know that she has everything, so we thought we would make sure she had some essentials she would need for once she landed. Originally my idea was to stock her fridge with some basics and get a few things we thought she would need for the house. However, unlike most houses here in the PNW, I later realized she did not have a fridge so we had to change direction. We decided to get her house essentials such as tp, paper towels, some cleaning supplies, shower curtain, shower curtain rings, liner, trash can, favorite coffee etc. I really thought this would be great and she wouldn't have to worry about this stuff...well wouldn't you know it the woman that has everything actually brought everything with her! She packed alot of those essentials in her truck! I thought I got the scoop on what she was bringing but I guess not. Oh well the thought was there and now she won't have to worry about that stuff for just a little bit longer.


Accompanying my mom on her drive up was my younger brother Casey. Casey used to come up alot in the summer but once he became an adult it became hard for him to get away as much and we really haven't seen very much of him. The last time he was up was the Thanksgiving after Rooney was born so it was great to see him again, even if it was only for 1 or 2 days. My mom is really lucky that he came because as they rolled into town they realized there was something wrong with moms truck. Technology is a great thing and after Casey diagnosed the problem on the road, Mom and Casey were able to look up an auto parts store, order the part and arrange for pick up the next day all via the phone. Casey and Dana fixed Mom's car the next morning and 17 years later (or is it 15?) her truck is still rolling.

So now Grandma is here. We're going to let her settle in. I did say she got a 5 bedroom house but she actually has enough furniture for 9. She has some unpacking to do, but once she's all settled and comfy let the babysitting begin!

Movers, Shakers, Teethers and Eaters

April has been a busy month. Ailbe now has two teeth which means it's time to get her on the food. As it is she stares longingly at what we're eating so with the appearance of her choppers I decided to bust out her highchair and get some rice. The first attempt did not go so well. You may have seen the video on Facebook and if you haven't check it out because I can't seem to get it reposted. Imagine the whole video looking something like this:



It's been 4 years since I've had to introduce foods and to be honest I don't remember all the rules. I briefly read the side of the rice box and then just slapped some formula and rice together. I don't recall Rooney ever having an issue with the consistancy but Ailbe seems a little more particular. She loves food now, even peas! We think she's working on a couple more teeth but they haven't cut through yet. So far, so good and she's still as sweet as ever. We've only used about 3 teething tablets. Hopefully we'll stay on this streak through the molars.

Rooney is still doing swimming and karate. Swimming has recently taken the forefront since we registered him for swim team starting in June. He has graduated to another level in swimming lessons and is now on Youth Level 3. My understanding is that there are only 5 youth levels then he would go to adult level. I'm not exactly sure what that means but he's doing pretty well. The other boy in his class is 8 years old and there are some differences but Roon is holding his own pretty well. He's such a goofball normally but while doing his lessons he seems to be all business. After the first day of class he said to me "Whew, I worked hard during that class".

Speaking of working hard...I ran my first 5K yesterday since having Ailbe. In February I got my old running coach to do a Couch to 5K class here in Renton. A handful of moms I know did the class with me and a few of us ran the Seahawks 12k/5k at The Landing. It was a great day and the race started at a reasonable hour. Mike, Rooney and Ailbe came out to support their mom. It felt great getting back into it and we are already planning our next 5K for the end of the month.

Run Baby Run

There are alot of great things about being a stay at home mom but I think one of the best must be sharing great experiences with your kid on a near daily basis. It's probably because of the moms groups we've been a part of and formed but we have really been able to do some fun things and discover some even more awesome things. One of those "things" is Caspar Babypants. We discovered Caspar through the library system and now we've become groupies following him from library to library. What is great about Caspar is that even though this is "kids music" I enjoy the songs. Caspar himself fronts the band The Presidents of the United States of America, but in that band his name is Chris Ballew. If you are familiar with their songs than you would probably love Caspar too because they're not that different. Caspar's might have a little less electric.

It's nice to share music we can rock out to together. Check out this video of Rooney dancing. He's the blond boy in the red shirt.

Easter Eggapolooza

Easter came up on us fast this year. Of course before we had kids we had tons of time to prep for holidays but now it seems with kids we are scrambling to squeeze in all the traditions. Last night we colored Easter eggs. Everyone got into the act including Ailbe. She made sure to dress for the occasion. Rooney, of course, did most of the decorating but he ventured out of his comfort zone this year and used colors other than blue. I don't think his hands should be stained for more than a day or two. And truthfully what kids aren't?



Rooney got to do two egg hunts this year. AMAT put on an egg hunt for the kids on Friday. That was a great turn out and some kids found candy. Not Rooney but that is almost wasted on him anyway. He won a set of stamp markers...yay for Mom! I'm being sarcastic. He was jazzed and I thought this would have been good practice for his Sunday morning egg hunt...





there is another 9 minute video of the same hunt. Should have got Ailbe into the fun, babies find everything, but alas she was still sleeping. Good baby.

She's Got Legs And She Know How To Use Them

Before Ailbe got too big and the little stress balls went away, we wanted to make sure to post some pics of Ailbe's legs. They are real conversation starters and just like Charmin everyone wants to squeeze. Hopefully when she's older Ailbe will appreciate these photos posted for the sake of posterity.