Big girls share

Jordan for months has loved to hand us things. Now that she can pick up bigger and heavier items, it is interesting to see what she tries to share. She also loves opening every cabinet that does not have a baby lock of some kind. In the bathroom she likes all forms of feminine products. Here she is trying to share panty liners with me.

She is equally as generous with the ads she has ripped to shreds.

She is often territorial when it comes to the remote and phones, but she does try to share on occasion.
Today we had a 10:20 appointment at the Picture People place in the mall. We left in plenty of time to get there and get her clothes changed since I didn't want her birthday dress to get all wrinkled up before the pictures. We had no idea the local distance run would block off some of roads to the mall, so we got stuck on an exit ramp for about 15 minutes. Since traffic up ahead looked terrible, we ended up pulling into a Hampton Inn parking lot and strolling the rest of the way there. While we were walking several blocks, we noticed the road we wanted to take had reopened, but there was no time to go back and get the car. We got Jordan changed without any whining, and she was in a fantastic mood. She wasn't hungry or sleepy, so I thought it was a perfect time for pictures. It turns out with Jordan there is no such thing... She was walking around the store playing and having fun. She was waving at everyone we saw and happy as a clam until the camera came out. At that point she started screaming at the top of her lungs with tears streaming down her cheeks. It was insane! We got her calmed down several times, but as soon as any part of her body hit the floor, the screaming resumed. We gave up and put her back in the stroller. However, a wonderful lady named Gretchen came to me and said that if we held Jordan she could take some close up pictures. I was skeptical, but we did manage to get a few decent pictures. I'm not sure who was more frustrated with the screaming- me or Dave. I was just glad after all that that we ended up with some good pictures for her first birthday.

Potty post

Potty post sounded more interesting than bathroom post. When we bought our house, the master bathroom was downright scary. It was so scary that I couldn't bring myself to take a true before picture. However, I thought the demo pictures were lovely. Everything from the floor to part of the ceiling came out in the master bathroom because it was dirty, dingy and scary. I have 1 question for you- Who drops the ceiling above the shower down to make a small, stand-up shower even more claustrophobic?!? The home inspector and our contractor both think there was mortar (for brick laying) between the tiles rather than grout. It looked like someone had tried to go in there with dark mortar or grout and then only half-way wiped it down. It was smeared all over the tiles. Yuck!

Don't be jealous of the lovely medicine cabinet and lights.

The tile on the walls went, as well.

Over 2,000 lbs of crap came out of the bathroom and went to the dump. The room is narrow, so it is hard to photograph, but here are the after pictures (with Jordan's head included since she was my assistant):

So, we decided not to keep the lovely medicine cabinet with the installed lights. We went with this look instead. The beadboard is sooooo much better than the gross tile that was on the wall.Although the house will be a work in progress for years to come, it was so nice to have the bathroom completed and looking great when we moved in. it isn't huge, but having a 2nd full bathroom is key when the hall bath is being shared with an infant.

So thirsty

Although times have changed and babies are supposed to have plain water due to fear of strangulation, Jordan apparently didn't listen to the doctor on that bit of advice. Dave left a pack of water on the kitchen floor, and Jordan quickly figured out how to pull the individual bottles out of the plastic.

But she needed more than 1.
And she had to check the nutritional information on the label (upside down).

Then she carried one of the bottles into the hallway and tried to get a drink. Thankfully, she hasn't figured out how to twist lids off yet.

Jordan is finally getting her first 2 teeth, but I haven't been able to snap a picture of them yet. She has had a lovely cough again for the past couple of weeks, as well. The combination makes it difficult for her (and us) to sleep most nights. Dave and I have been walking around like zombies from time to time due to the lack of sleep. Keep your fingers crossed for all 3 of us that we start getting more sleep again soon.

1 month off for good behavior

When we've tried to get Jordan to wear a sun hat in the sun, she has repeatedly pulled it off and thrown it to the ground. However, she will occasionally keep it on inside the house. go figure. All the cool kids wear sun hats with 1 eye covered...

especially while chasing the kitten with an unsnapped romper. It takes too much holding still at the end of the diaper change to re-snap when there is playing to be done.

Yep- she can now reach the top of our dining room table (and pull off anything within reach).

Jordan and I spent almost 3 hours at the doctors' office yesterday where we saw both the pulmonologist and gastroenterologist. Since the breathing treatments and reflux medicine seem to be working well together we are just keeping things as they are. The pulmonologist said she gets 1 month off for good behavior, so we won't have to follow up until October. It was an adventure seeing 2 doctors in the same office without Dave to assist. In my hurry to get Jordan from day care, I forgot to grab her pacifier. While she was very good most of the time, during her meltdown, I called my office and begged the office runner to bring me her paci from daycare. Of course, after my pathetic begging, Jordan switched back to her normal self and didn't even need the paci. Oh, well. She is going to have to have blood work done twice in the next few months because she has to have her lead level tested for her 12 month appointment, and we are going to go ahead and have allergy tests done. I'm definitely making Dave hold her for the blood work because she is incredibly strong.

Early birthday present(s)

Ma Maw got Jordan an early birthday present of a Jordan-sized swing and slide. It is perfect because we can use it outside during warm weather, and then it can come inside to the basement for not so great weather. She has loved big girl swings since we put her in one at her Ma Maw's house a couple of months ago. This one doesn't go very high, but it is still fun (as far as I can tell since my behind clearly doesn't fit).

But there are lots of things to check out on the swing set.

And then there is her need to hang onto the sides.

She would only go down the slide if one of us was hanging onto her. I'm sure that won't last long.
But, the MOST exciting "toy" of all was the rubber mulch underneath the swing set. At least she used the slide to balance herself.

On a side note, Jordan and I will have our third visit with the pediatric pulmonologist on Thursday and our first visit with the gastroenterologist in the same office immediately thereafter. Dave can't go with us, so please wish us luck!

DEFENSE VERDICT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a pictureless totally bragging due to excitement post. Our trial began with selecting the jury at 9am today. Before lunch we had opening statements and the testimony of the Plaintiff by video (recorded 2 weeks ago). After lunch we had the remaining 3 witnesses and closing statements. The jury was out only like 20 minutes before coming back with a defense verdict on both claims. Woo!hoo! When we were sitting there for a couple of minutes after we knew the jury had a verdict, I soooooo felt like I was going to pee my pants. Since I had the police officer defendant beside me at counsel table, I was especially nervous. I am so excited to say I have my first trial under my belt and that we won- even if I only got to question 1 witness. Woo!hoo!

We are having a fancy celebration this evening once Pizza Hut gets here...

Crazy busy yet again

So, it looks like I'll finally get to go to trial for the first time on Tuesday morning. That means this week has been a bit hectic. That wasn't helped by Jordan's refusal to sleep through the night- I'm REALLY hoping this stage passes quickly. Oh, well. My gagging girl finally ate a few bites of something solid on Wednesday. I picked up a pizza on the way home, and while Dave and I were eating it, she started opening her mouth like she wanted some. I tore out some of the center of the crust (the soft part), and Jordan actually ate 4 bites. When we switched to Cheerios, she did not take to that as well. When I tried mashed potatoes yesterday evening, she gagged so badly that she spit up the bite of potatoes and a little of what she already had in her stomach. Clearly this is going to take a while...

Jordan is still a fan of the open mouth smile. ..or maybe she was just jabbering.

Still amused and amazed by the camera case.

This is Jordan in front of the armoire in the living room staring straight up at the TV. You can tell she belongs to Dave and me.

Tomorrow I'm helping host a baby shower for my friend Jenny who is due on Jordan's first birthday. Since I'll be running around helping, I'm attending without Jordan. After I get home, we'll leave to drop Maddie off to be groomed. Then we'll head to a 2 year old's birthday party. Jordan may spend tomorrow night with her Ma Maw, but that is still up in the air. Since I'll be doing trial prep on Sunday most of the day, guaranteed sleep on Saturday night is probably a good idea. Wish me luck for the trial! It should only be a one day trial, but you never know.