Mommy Dearest

Yesterday was mother's day, my very first, although I did get flowers last years. I had a great day with John and Zara taking me to brunch and then the Galleria mall to pick out a new purse for my present. We had a great time and Zara was a very good girl all during brunch charming all the staff at Mo's. Later on, we took Zara to the neighborhood pool which opened this weekend and she clearly loved it even if we didn't stay long because it was a little chilly. I will definately be signing us up for mommy daughter baby swim class at the Y.

But even more than the "stuff" we did yesterday, I was just incredibly happy to spend the day as a family. I think I like this whole motherhood thing even if my sleep will never be the same, I have a greater empathy to bovine friends, and poop has been normalized so much you don't get grossed out when you accidentally touch it.

High Flier

Last weekend we headed up to the always beautiful Pacific Northwest for my sister-in-law's baby shower. It was great to see Kari and she is looking a wonderful 7 months pregnant with Zara's baby girl cousin on the way in June. We can't wait to meet her soon. We also got to see the whole family and Zara's grandparents even happily got the chance to babysit for a few hours Sunday night.

Since Southwest had some wonderfully timed cheap tickets, it was a whole family affair with Zara getting her first plane trip and even John, still trussed up in his sling, along too. As for the plane trip, Zara is a champ and we are those parents. You know the good ones whose baby never says a peep on the plane and is happy or sleeps the whole trip. It's good to be that kind, wish we could really take credit for that but I think Zara deserves it.

Other first for the weekend was Zara's first time in a high chair. We were getting lunch at Sea-Tac before we left and they gave us a high chair at the table. We gave it a shot and once packed in with the carrier around her to take up the space, we were good. So momma gets two hands to eat with again, yay! Picture from Sea-Tac and one from the last pedi appointment when I was getting bored waiting for the doc.

Totally Tubular

Quick update on Zara's big week. Monday we got a second opinion on the ear tubes from a pediatric ENT and we were a go for tubes after that. We also had an echocardiograph at Texas Childrens since our pedi thought he heard a heart murmur in the wee one. Results were clear though, nothing abnormal. Then this morning was the tube surgery. It went very well (15min) and our ENT said the fluid was very thick so it was really good we drained it. Zara woke up from the surgery super upset because the anesthesia made her gassy. But she eventually calmed down and took a couple nice long naps to sleep the rest of it off. She is already back to normal and babbling up a storm like always.

Six for Sitting

I am one day late putting this post up but yesterday was Zara's half birthday! Which means we've made it through half a year of diapers, drool, poop, and feedings and still have a healthy happy baby we haven't totally screwed up yet. We had her 6mo shots a week ago so her half-year stats are 13lb 12oz, 25.5in. We also wanted to demonstrate our new trick in the pictures. She can sit-up unsupported. Most of the time we've still got the boppy around her since she isn't totally stable, but she is getting better quickly. She is also highly entertained by the puppies and reaches out to pet or rather grab their fur. So far the dogs are cool with it.

The only bad news we have is that she is most likely getting tubes in her ears this coming week. She has never passed the hearing tests on her right ear because it is retaining fluid. Her left ear passed as a newborn, but failed all subsequent for the same reason. She can hear through the fluid but probably not correctly. A fantastic trait she inherited from mommy. The options are get the tubes so it can drain or try or wait it out some more. Since we've been waiting 6 months, we think its unlikely to happen soon and would rather prevent ear infections and potential complications as she learns to talk.

Shoulder Pressed

John had shoulder surgery Thursday. We went in with a potential rotator cuff tear, torn labrum, and ligament damage from the MRI which would have been quite a lot of work and recovery for him. Turns out on actual inspection, he just had some stretched ligaments which have now been fixed. It will still take awhile to heal, but is a lot less painful and hopefully means fewer chances for issues later.

Right now he's tied up in a pretty complicated sling and wasn't allowed to even remove it for three days. Which means, no showers, no change of shirts, etc. for the last three days. This morning he finally got to be set free long enough for a shower and change of clothes. It is a few weeks before he is allowed to move the arm and even then it will be limited. So for super bonus fun, I get to do ALL the diapers for awhile. The only good thing is I can stick Zara in the bumbo and John has been doing the solid food feedings with the good hand.

But the good thing is the surgery went well and John gets to have a two week vacation playing PS3 on the couch.

Art vs. Life

Funny because its true.

Click on the image for a larger version and FYI someone else inserted the NASA.

Beach Bum Baby

This weekend Zara got to go to the beach for the first time. We had a good time even if she didn't get to wear her new surf skirt and top because it was too chilly with a strong wind. We'll save those for later this spring/summer. John got a beach house from a contractor for the weekend, yup, yet another perk. It was a really nice place right on India Beach, just west of Jamaica Beach if you know the island. The Todd (link to the right) family joined us and we had a great time hanging out and playing with the kids. And, frankly, it was about time we all got to meet. The Johns work together and Liz and I have just heard about the other forever without getting to meet. Let's hope it doesn't take this long again to all hang out together.

Space Sightings

Monday morning Discovery launched on a mission to the space station. A scant 15 minutes before that, the space station flew in front of the moon. Coincidence? No, not really, it's just physics and something about a dude named Newton that cause the stars to align from time to time. Just a cool picture to post here for everyone. In case you can't figure it out, the bright spot on the lower right is the ISS.

Banana in Pajamas

We had previously decided to start introducing Zara to solid foods when she appeared to want them. For several weeks now we've been learning just how long her little arms are as we've had small hands landing in our dinner plates and wide eyes staring at us eating. We decided to try small sampling of foods to see how it would do and without jumping into actual meals and there would be plenty of time to adjust.

Supposedly everyone says rice cereal is the best first food, maybe but not for Zara as even a tiny bit gave her BIG TIME gas, like crying for an hour gas. We laid off solids again for more than a week and tried a tiny bit of oatmeal. Again, no chance big time gas. Google to the rescue, she isn't the first baby to not tolerate grains well right off the bat so we aren't going to revisit those for a long time now.

Last night, I tried a little mashed banana and holy cow do we have a winner. She loved it and ate it up like no tomorrow! We had no gas and, if wonders don't cease to amaze, we suddenly slept 7 hrs straight again without needing Mommy for one of the 2-4 night time feedings that started after a growth spurt a month and a half ago. HOLY COW! I think we just stumbled across an invisible line of awesomeness last night. I was so excited that I could sleep, I wasn't and didn't care at all. Here's hoping for a repeat performance!

Lawn M-overhaul

A couple weeks ago John broke out the lawnmower for the start of spring yard work. Since the grass doesn't really grow in the winter, it doesn't get any tending from us for awhile. During the course of his mowing, mower sounded pretty awful with a bad surging going on. So he started doing maintenance on the thing trying to figure out what it was. We bought just about the cheapest lawnmower Lowes had (house brand Bolens, push mower, but at least it has a Briggs and Straton engine) seven years ago when we were still on one income, John was in school, and having just bought a house with all those fun costs that come with that (washer, dryer, etc.). We have gotten a lot of use out of it and in Houston that means massively thick grass and mud sometimes.

John put on a new air filter, spark plug, oil, blade (not that it helps the engine), opened it up and the carburetor was clean and checked just about everything and still had a surge. Yesterday we priced new mowers, but before we bought we had one last thing to try. We drained the gas and put some fresh-hasn't-been-sitting-there-for-5-months gas in it and, voila, runs like a champ. Once we fired it up, we actually both thought the engine sounded better than it has in years with all that stuff fixed up on it. Good news, bad news though. Good, save a few hundred bucks and don't need a new mower. Bad, still have the bonus "exercise" mower without the self-propelling wheels.