The Pumpkin Patch!

Yesterday we took a trip to Round Rock's Pumpkin Patch. Enjoy our photos!

We've been skunked!

Last night I went into Ramona's room and was overpowered by the smell of skunk. When I went into the living room to tell Chris, it was wafting in there too. I can only assume that a skunk was making his way around our house and spraying like crazy. Who knew a skunk took walks in the suburbs! So all last night (every time our air conditioner turned on) the skunk smell came back. Well, I guess I got used to it, because when I got back in the car after dropping off Ramona at daycare, my car reeked of skunk! Which means I most-likely smell like a giant skunk too! (My friends at work assure me that I smell fine, but I'm not sure I totally believe them.) Anyway, Chris has purchased the strongest bottle of Febreeze on the market. But, that is no guarantee that we won't still smell like the Skunk Family tomorrow. I'm giving Ramona an extra bath tonight.

The Pink Eye

Ramona has got "The Pink Eye". How did she get it? At daycare, of course! During the 5 seconds we were there for picture day. Dang daycare! I swear Ramona is sick every week with something new from stupid daycare. And still I pay THEM for this! Here ya go, Daycare, let me give you ten thousand dollars a year to infect my kid, just so I can turn around and pay a copay at the doctor's office twice a month. Thank you, Daycare, you're a HUGE help!

Dr. Ferber, I think I love you. (Picture Update)

Picture Update!

Ramona in her pink Alamo hat that Grandpa gave her.

Sitting in her high chair reading her Noah's Ark book.

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Sorry it's been so long since my last update. But a lot has happened!
1. Ramona is sitting up like a pro.
2. We are trying (unsuccessfully) to start her on solid foods...She hates rice cereal. I dont mean she dislikes it...she HATES it. And shows us how much by cringing and gagging and blowing it out of the spoon before it hits her mouth. I think I'm going to try mixing it with fruit or buying a different kind. She's six and a half months old now, she's a grown up baby who wants solid food! One of the daycare workers told me today that every time Ramona sees other babies eating solid food she yells at them as if to say, "Hey you stingy baby, did you bring enough for the class?"
3. And last but NOT least. We are teaching her how to put herself asleep! And get this...it's working!!! We are using the Ferber Method, which basically lets the baby cry it out while the parents go into reassure the baby in timed intervals. Here's how the first couple of nights went:
First night, it took 30 minutes. Not too shabby, but certainly not fun.
Second night, it took TWO MINUTES! WHAT?!? Maybe this Ferber guy isnt a complete moron.
Third night, it took (no lie) thirty seconds. She was asleep before I even got the baby monitor turned on. Now, not all of the nights since then have gone quite so well, but it hasnt been bad at all.

I have a bunch of adorable pictures I need to post, but I will have to do that at another time. Just to give you a little teaser, Ramona is wearing a tiny pink hat in alot of them. She looks great in hats. Also, tomorrow is picture day at her daycare, so as soon as I get those proofs, I'll post those too. See ya!

Cool babies wear their headbands to the side!

It's been awhile since I have posted a Ramona update, so I thought I would take some time to catch you up. Here's what we have been working on since our last posting:

1. Sitting up/balancing on her booty. This is a tricky game, because at any moment she could do a nose dive into the carpet. But she is doing pretty well. She looks so cute propped up on the couch.

2. Sleeping through the night (Round 2). You might have known that just 1 month ago, Ramona was sleeping 11 hours at night. ELEVEN HOURS!! It was awesome. She kept this up for several months. Yes, we were "those parents". We would smile and shrug when other parents would ask us how we managed to get our 3 month old to sleep that long. "What a good baby!" they would say. And then out of no where, she started waking up one and two times a night. So, at five months old she is sleeping 6-8 hours at night. Not too bad.

Side Note: I read my baby bible (Baby 411) and it turns out we are doing everything wrong sleep wise. Here's the checklist:

- Lay her down while is still awake, but almost sleeping. (She Cries...Loudly)

- Don't give her a pacifier because she will wake up crying if it's gone. (Whoops we do that too!)

- Don't let her fall asleep for the night while feeding. (But that's how she goes to sleep!)

- Don't feed her during the night, offer her a pacifier first. A five month old can go 6 hours with out eating at night. (What?!? Doesn't that conflict with a previous rule? And eating will put her back to sleep, I've got work in the morning!)

RANT: And since I mentioned work, how the heck can all these Mom's afford to stay home? Even with rising gas prices and paying $825 a month for daycare, I still can't afford to quit working and stay home. That's crazy! It's like paying rent for a separate baby apartment. I've run the budget and cut out EVERYTHING... Tivo, Netflix, gym membership, cable, the cat. And we still come up short. Somebody please email me your budget and how you afford to live on a single income. Because I would love to stop paying someone to raise my baby. Rant over.

On a lighter note, here are some pictures!

5 generations. Ramona and I are looking the

wrong way, because there are two cameras.

He's Baaaack! (UPDATED)

Sooo, does anyone want an adorable orange cat? Pumpkin is full of personality, but Chris and I do not have time to pay attention to him with a newborn in the house. It is better for him and us if he finds another family that will love him and give him the attention he deserves. Here are his selling points:
1. He's the fuzziest.
2. He's litter box trained and outdoor trained.
3. He has thumbs/mittens. (polydactyl)
4. VERY affectionate
5. He's independent. All he wants is to play outdoors.
6. He's fixed.
7. He's handsome, all your neighbors will envy you.
8. He alerts you if there are bugs in the house. He was a lifesaver when we had roaches!
9. You can leave him with a pile of food and go out of town with out worrying about him. But he also travels well!
10. He comes with all his own stuff. No need to buy anything!

You may be asking yourself, "If he's so great, why are they getting rid of him?" Good Question! It breaks my heart to give him away, we have had him for 4 years. But with Ramona learning to crawl soon and playing on the floor/eating the carpet. I can't take any chances with germs. Honestly it freaks me out. And Pumpkin feels abandoned, because he used to be the baby. If Ramona was a few years older, then it would be fine. But I can't time travel, nor would I want to. So if anyone is interested in an awesome cat, please check out the craigs list posting below and let us know if you would like to meet him.

http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/811264038.html

UPDATE: It looks like Lt. Pumpkin will remain in the family. My parents have offered to take him into their home until my brother finds an apartment. Then, hopefully, my brother can officially adopt him. Watch out, ladies, soon there will be two handsome devils livin' it up in their very own bachelor pad! When I told Pumpkin about this new plan, he told me (with his eyes) that he was excited about moving back to San Antonio. But, nevertheless he was very hurt because he obviously had no idea we were trying to give him away on Craig's List. And with that, he left the room to take a 12 hour nap. Thanks, Mom, Dad and Mark!

She Rolls!!

She's done it! Ramona has rolled over and let me capture it on film! She rolled over for the first time a few days ago but refused to do it again in front of the camera. She's not a circus monkey for heaven's sake! So I now have 15 movies of her almost rolling over and one movie of her rolling over completely in the poorest quality a digital camera has ever filmed. See for your self below, it looks like I filmed it 20 years ago. (Don't panic, Dad, I didn't film it with your fancy video camera. I used my digital camera.) The video is not too long, but she doesn't roll over until the very end. But she doesn't disappoint. While you are waiting for the main event, you get to see her grab her toes and make various baby noises.

I couldn't get the video to upload, so I put it on YouTube. Enjoy!

YouTube - Roll Baby Roll!