Finally taking to the outdoors

The first few times we put Jordan in the grass, she seemed very upset by the feeling of it on her feet. For whatever reason, she has changed her tune about grass recently- in a good way. She was happy playing in the grass this time, in part because she could play with the dog and the kitten. When I snapped this picture, I didn't notice the kitten's eyes glowing in the background. At least Jordan was laughing.

And she discovered a new toy- a stick.

Blades of grass are also very interesting to a 10 month old. Can't you see the wheels turning in Jordan's mind?
We had a pretty average week at our house. Jordan spent last night with her Ma Maw, so Dave and I got to go out to dinner with another couple and have real adult conversation. The amount Jordan is sleeping is going back and forth for both naps and nighttime. The daycare had to rearrange the cribs because my non-napping girl kept waking up the baby beside of her who is a light sleeper- lovely. Oh, well.

Happy birthday to me!

Well, I've officially crossed over the line and am no longer in my twenties. Of course, I went out in style with a party that was more for the kids than the adults (if you ignore the delicious margaritas and the beer). We didn't have a big group, but the kids seemed to have a good time, even if Emma accidentally went into the pool and little Hope smashed her finger in the cooler. When I put Jordan in the wagon for a ride around the pool, the under 4 set all decided to take a ride, as well. Can you say, "Wagon full o' trouble"? I thought it was adorable, but it was truly impossible to get 5 kids exhausted from swimming to look at the same camera at the same time.


I was determined that Jordan was going to wear this dress before she outgrew it, so she started the party in this lovely Polo ensemble.

I wasn't sure if we were going to do the cook-out for a little while because Jordan had a heck of a virus most of last week. Last Sunday she started running a low grade fever, so she stayed home with my mom on Monday. Tuesday we had a well baby visit scheduled, and she was fine, so she got 4 shots and went to day care. She threw up her peas there, but they thought it was probably just due to the shots. On my way home that evening she projectile vomited all over my backseat several times. We ended up back at the pediatrician's office on Thursday afternoon because we needed to make sure she was not dehydrated and that it was just a virus. Thursday and Friday were pretty rough, but she woke up much more like her usual self on Saturday. She was still a little extra cranky on Saturday and Sunday, but she is doing much better now (knock on wood!).

First step without holding onto anything!

Ever since Jordan figured out how to crawl, I've wished I had a faster camera. It is nearly impossible to get her to smile for the camera for more than a second here and there. Oh, well. Here are a few pics from the day of the Smoke on the Water chili cook-off. Jordan looked adorable in this little capri outfit, if I do say so myself...

Who needs toys when you can play with a camera case?

Who, me?
Jordan spent last night with her Ma Maw and her cousin Zach. When her Ma Maw brought her home today, Dave went to the basement while Jordan and I stayed upstairs in the living room. She was standing up with these little shape toys in each hand. She was dying to hand one of the shapes to me and was so excited that she forgot she wasn't hanging onto anything. She took a step or 2 without holding on to anything. I, of course, screamed and clapped for her. Dave was disappointed he missed it, especially since she refused to do a repeat performance all evening. I had a secret fear that her first steps would be at daycare where Dave and I would both miss it. I'm so excited I was the one who got to see her first unassisted step!

Happy 4th of July!!

A couple of weeks ago Jordan got to attend her first law firm picnic. While she did alright, I would say she was less than impressed with the whole thing. However, she did get to go on a slide for the first time. Most of the time she wanted to sit on the picnic table and tear apart chip bags.


Here she is on the slide. Her little croc-like shoes seemed to slow her down, so we took them off. Then her bare feet slowed her down, as well. Apparently socks are the fastest way to make it down a slide, though they aren't much fun when it is 90 degrees. While it didn't look like much fun to Dave or I, Jordan fussed when we took her away from the slide.

And now introducing the kitten (who is currently looking over my shoulder). Dave is a mine inspector with the DEP and travels to both active and reclaimed mine sites 4 days per week. Some mines were/are shut down this week for miners' vacation. When he was at one such site this week this kitten started following him around meowing. He asked the security guard if the kitten belonged to anyone up there, and he said it didn't. It was no where near a road or house, so he was afraid what would happen to the kitten if he left it there. So, being the softies we are, the kitten is currently in our basement. Our other animals are not too happy about the situation, and I'm still hoping Kim decides to take it. It is friendly and playful, but 2 cats, a dog and an infant are plenty for us right now. I think the kitten is a female, but I've been wrong on that front before. Isn't it cute?

We had the follow-up with the pediatric pulmonologist on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the doc had had something come up and was running very late, so we were there a lot longer than expected. He is leaning away from asthma at this point but didn't really tell us much of anything. We are down to 1 breathing treatment per day, at least until the August appt, so that is good. At that point we are going to see both the pulmonologist and gastroenterologist because there is a chance reflux is causing the coughing. I really don't think that is what it is, but we owe it to Jordan to talk to the other doc and get his opinion on the matter. Hopefully she'll grow out of this very quickly.

Lastly- Happy 4th of July and happy birthday Mom!