Wisdom and Stature

What I Love About Molly

2011-10-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

Her dimples. I'll honestly be heartbroken if they ever disappear.
Her quiet nature and demeanor.
How she fixates on only one favorite movie for several days in a row. I've come to call them her movies of the week!
She will play along whenever we do a reenactment from something she knows.
Obviously she is JUST like her Mama.
She loves so deeply. It breaks her heart when she has to say goodbye to someone.
How polite she can be, even out in public with total strangers.
How she can completely command a room with her charm.
She's so gentle with animals, no matter how big or small they might be.
Her favorite part of anything is the music!
She is so empathetic with other people, especially if they are sad.
She loves to clink her cup/ glass with someone else at every meal.
Her favorite prayer, "Dear God thank you for Jesus and food."
She is an absolutely precious gift given to me from God!

Time For Class?

2011-02-19T17:37:00.000-08:00

The title for this post comes one of Molly's favorite new questions for me each morning. Shortly after moving to WA a friend told me about an indoor playground enrichment center for children that was only a few miles away from my house. I decided to check it out one rainy morning and afternoon. Thus began our many adventures with the Imagination Station!
As we walked through the doors for the 1st time Molly couldn't get out of my arms fast enough! The play equipment and toys, which are sanitized on a daily basis, are in terrific shape. And there's such a huge amount of room for the kids to run around and explore. While Molly enjoys the playground I park myself at a table in the nearby dining area to benefit from free coffee and WiFi! Although I typically find myself watching Molly (or playing with her) most of the time we are there. She's just so much fun!
It didn't take long for me to discover the early learning programs they offer at the facility. To be completely honest, I've never been a huge advocate of the idea of preschool. In general, children spend 13 years of their lives in school. Mark and I have been so incredibly blessed with this precious little girl. And when it comes right down to it, we are the most responsible for teaching and guiding her. Prior to learning about this facility's programs I had no intention whatsoever of putting her in preschool.
Several things attracted me to these classes in particular:

Molly's class, the Inchworms, only meets twice a week for 3 hours. She's still with me for a vast majority of each week.
They also take a combined traditional and Montessori approach. I have said for many years that should I choose to put my children in school a Montessori school would be my first choice. How fortuitous that they offer something similar to what I've wanted for years!
Something that I believe I cannot effectively teach her by myself is socialization. When I was growing up I never attended a program away from home with the exception of Sunday school at church. However, I had three younger siblings to interact with! Molly now as the opportunity to learn all the many import components for getting along with other peers!

The transition with going to class has had it's ups and downs of course. Initially Molly would eagerly go into the facility barely stopping to give me a hug and kiss goodbye. Then there was about a 3 week period where each goodbye was pretty dramatic as she began to catch onto the idea that Mama didn't stay for class. I'm happy to report that she is excited to return to class on the mornings we talk about going! Molly almost forgets to say goodbye to me! I purchased a book at a local used bookstore that, I'd like to think, made a huge difference with the absence of Mama at class. It's called, When I Miss You. It's full of situations where a loved one has to leave or cannot be there. It also provides ideas for coping and how joyous the reunions can be! She frequently quotes it randomly throughout the day. It also works well having a parent in the military. We have to say goodbye to Papa so many times each year!
Each week I look forward to finding out what she learned. We receive a calender printout of each lesson ahead of time. During breakfasts before class I let Molly know what she'll be learning for the day. We have a song we sing together about what is planned for class. I love that precious time I have with her. And it makes me feel like I'm also making a contribution to this experience! And, of course, I adore the artwork she brings home to show off! I'm amazed at how much she actually retains! The other night, I was fixing dinner as she patiently waited for her food. Suddenly, she began playing Simon Says by herself! So far we've never done this game at home. It's actually helped quite a bit with undesirable activities and her willingness to cooperate! We no longer have drama with the end of bath and getting out of the tub to dry off if Simon says so ;0)
I'm glad I've found something like this for Molly. I can tell she's benefiting from both the environment she's around the most at home and the supplementation this class provides. She's growing up so fast!

Adventures with Sleep

2011-01-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

Last week, I shared some of my frustrations with Mark about escalating difficulties with bedtime for Molly. She usually wakes up around 7:30-8:00 am each morning. It's difficult for us to get going any earlier than that with all of these overcast WA mornings! She's usually ready for nap/quiet time after eating her lunch which lands around the 1:00 pm time frame. After passing out for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours she's usually up by 4:00. It's pretty difficult to wake her up before this amount of time has gone by. At night she always has a bath after dinner and we proceed with our usual routine of lotion, PJ's and brushing teeth/hair. Reading a book and singing a quiet song or two have always seemed to lull her into sleepy time mode. At least that used to be what worked the best.
These last few weeks, Molly has been fighting the going-to-sleep process after I leave her in her room for the night. Lately, she's been going to her door and pounding with her fists to get my attention. I've been doing my best to implement what I've learned from a series called, Parenting With Love and Logic. Which, in a very small nutshell, gives her the responsibility of going to sleep however she decides is best. But she doesn't seem to be taking the lesson to heart. Almost every night I have a discontent toddler behind a closed door. Molly doesn't scream or carry on per-se. But I'm longing for the consistency with bedtime that we used to have.
Mark suggested that I begin cutting down her nap time. Which seems to be a likely fix. She's just so incredibly grouchy when she wakes up before she is ready! Plus, rest and sleep is so important for anyone, especially children. I'm hoping we figure out a solution, and soon, so that Molly can get the most benefit from sleep and awake times each day and night!

We're a Family!

2010-12-30T20:37:00.000-08:00

At long last, we are now a whole family once again! Mark flew back to Charleston briefly the middle of November to help me tie up a few last minute details with our house. After he hit the road in my Jeep, along with Petey and Lucy, Molly and I had almost a week to finish our goodbyes and bring closure to our rapidly ending life as residents of the southeast. It took so incredibly long to get our house sold. And still it felt like we were running out of time to see people. Thanksgiving Day, our last full day in SC, was particularly interesting!
We've now been living in Port Orchard, WA for a little over a month. I'd like to think Molly and I have adjusted quite well to life in the Pacific Northwest! Catch a glimpse of my personal ramblings on the matter at my tea party. Molly hasn't demonstrated any difficulty, whatsoever, to this incredible change. As I've probably mentioned before, I try to avoid a strict schedule with her; even more so with these recent cross country trips. What I have managed to keep relatively consistent is our routine. We're in a completely new environment and she's such a little trooper. I can't begin to describe how much I appreciate this little girl and her precious demeanor!
What has come and gone, is Molly's 2nd birthday! I had intended to post on the 17th to commemorate the occasion. At that point in time there were still stacks of boxes left to unpack that simply could not be ignored. We had a relatively slow paced day since it was just the two of us. Of course it was a day full of Disney princess activities. I fixed all of her favorite meals and she opened gifts specifically meant for her birthday. We've already encountered several well-intended gifts meant for both her birthday and Christmas. Sigh.
Something that I think may be experiencing a drastic change in the near future is her nap time. Which I will delve into with another post. Just wanted to make sure I took the opportunity while I was thinking about it to get an update in about all of the new things happening for the Ogren Family!

Molly's Costume Project - Darling Dress

2010-08-31T10:14:00.000-07:00

At long last I can finally report that the dress portion of Molly's Abby Cadabby costume is now complete! And Molly loves it! Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when I presented it to her the other morning. She was so excited to put it on and to proceed spinning around like a princess! Just like her Mama...
After completing the small petals I had to figure out how to attach them to each other like a chain. I measured the waist and neck lines and proceeded to overlap each petal, in various color order. In order to cover up the majority of the small visible stitches, the overlapping occurred left over right. I double checked my petal chain lengths by pinning my measuring tape to the ironing board. It worked beautifully!
It took several layers to finally come up with the final product, each layer stitched carefully one by one. It turns out I made more than enough of the periwinkle color and had quite a few left over. I'd much rather have too many than to have to return to the store for more fabric! Perhaps it will inspire another future project...
Once the petal chains were complete I could immediately attach the smaller one to the neckline of the dress. On the actual Abby dress it seems like those petals are somewhat folded down, probably for "comfort" or to reduce petals hitting the face. I took the iron and flattened them in half once they were attached. Easy cheesy.
The waistline was a different beast all together. I couldn't attach the bead chain to the petal chain with the sewing machine. I don't have that kind of equipment/attachment for the needle and bobbin. So, my only solution was to hand stitch the two together. It wasn't difficult at all. Just time consuming. I did the same for attaching the completed petal-bead chain to the waistline of the dress. I'll probably have to keep an eye on my hand stitches over time, just to make sure they're holding. But they should be secure!
To complete the outfit, I did some investigation of the bargain racks at department stores. Since we'll hopefully be in WA at the end of October (and definitely by December) the weather will be significantly cooler. I don't want to cover up all of my hard work with a jacket! So, I found a pair of light pink leggings and a onesie with long sleeves to wear underneath. This, of course, stays true to the character of Abby Cadabby who's fur is in fact light pink. Problem solved! I just needed to make sure the dress would still fit over them.
Here is Molly thoroughly enjoying her Abby Caddaby dress!

Molly's Costume Project - Patience Demanding Petals

2010-08-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

What I anticipated to be (and will hopefully be) the most time consuming step of the costume has now been completed! Once I reached this part of the costume I decided to do my best to only concentrate on the small petals so that I could just get it finished with as quickly as possible. With the exception of working on the magic wand (pictures to come...) during a visit to Charlotte, I stuck my plan of action. If you look at the original costume that I included here, you can see a small petal border around the neck and waistlines.
I had my suspicions that however I managed to recreate them it would take an intricate amount of work and time. My approach was similar to the large skirt petals in that I created my own pattern piece out of regular white printer paper. The only way I could think of handling the delicate chiffon was to cut each small piece with two layers of fabric. Afterwards, I basted around the majority of the petals leaving a small open spot to turn the right sides of the fabric out; ergo the basted edges located inside.
I ironed each petal as flat as possible before sewing the opening shut. Each petal has a small visible stitch area. My plan is to cover these areas up, or hide them behind each other, as I arrange them into borders for the neck and waist. For the waistline, they'll be attached the iridescent pearl chain that Abby wears as a belt.
Although, the intricacies of forming the borders is yet to come, I feel quite accomplished that the small petals are complete! I used every last available inch of the leftover chiffon, in all three colors, saving part of the periwinkle as covering fabric over the future attachment(s) for the wings.
Here are all three colors separated into sandwich bags along with my original pattern piece:

Adventures in Talking - Sentences!

2010-08-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

For the past 6 months or so, I've been using Pandora streaming on the TV as music for playing, dancing or simply sing alongs. I created a channel for Molly based on her Sesame Street and Disney Princess preferences. We really enjoy it; especially on rainy days or days that I simply feel like being a hermit without leaving the house.
Last week we happened to hear one particular song quite a few times. This was perfectly okay since the song is pretty funny and entertaining! It's called, "I Like Dessert," by the artist, David Polansky. Naturally this phrase is repeated over and over again throughout the song. We've had a blast learning and trying to keep up with the fast paced lyrics. Little did I know Molly was soaking in more than I thought.
We were climbing back into my parent's car after dinner on Saturday when Molly looked up front and said, "I li sert!" There was no doubt in my mind that she was repeating what she remembered from the song. Ta da! Molly has now said her first official sentence! At least the first one I have managed to witness or comprehend.
I just finished laying Molly down for her nap. As we were cuddling in the rocker Molly, without prompting, looked at me and clearly stated, "I love you!" She even pointed at me appropriately. Such joy I find in this little girl!

Molly's Costume Project - It's a Dress!

2010-08-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen. We have a dress.

The large petals have been arranged and sewn onto the skirt lining. I decided to attach the bodice to the petal skirt before applying the small petal borders along the waist and neckline. Those I will save for attaching to the beads/pearl chain. I haven't exactly decided the best plan of action for that part yet.

Molly's reaction was exactly what I had hoped for. I asked her if she wanted to put on her new Abby dress and she eagerly let me help her. I started to take pictures. And she started to twirl. For anyone that really knows me, this is clear evidence that the child is a carbon copy of myself!
There's still a ways to go. The small petal border must be created and attached. Most definitely time consuming! I still haven't started on the wand. Plus, I need to figure out the best way to make her fluffy feather boa pigtails. Or at least some kind of barrette or band to affix to her hair.For the moment, I'm enjoying watching my daughter love her pretty new Abby dress. I can't wait for her to see and wear the final result!

Molly's Costume Project - Panties and Petals

2010-08-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

I am quite pleased to report that 2 parts of the costume have been completed!
The panties have been the easiest so far. Probably because this is the only part of the pattern I have followed step-by-step! I decided to make them only with the lilac lining in order to leave plenty of the periwinkle chiffon fabric leftover for the petals. The most challenging step was fitting the elastic waist and leg bands. 19-month-olds are certainly not known for an ability to stay still. I ended up putting her in a diaper change position to get the legs fitted properly.

The large petals are also complete. This part of the costume I've had to create on my own. I tried several different attempts. The one that was the most successful involved creating a pattern piece out of regular paper to use for each petal. Each petal has two layers of chiffon sewn together and ironed flat right-side out. It took me 2 days from start to finish, each petal taking about 20 minutes a piece.What still needs to be done with the petals is affixing them to the skirt.
I've borrowed an idea from floral arrangements. It's the most ideal to have an odd number of each color. There are 7 lilac, 7 periwinkle, and 5 turquoise. I hope it will be enough!
Here, I've included the finished petals along with the pattern piece I created.

Molly's Costume Project - Bodice

2010-08-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

Cutting out pattern pieces in the material was a bit of a guestimation process. Yes, I just made up a word and I like it! I'm not following the pattern to the exact detail. Therefore, figuring out how to place the pattern pieces and not run out of material too quickly can be quite a challenge! I'm making this a size 3 costume. It will be a little big on her. Yet it just may work for her birthday in December. My little girl will be 2 years old!!!
The majority of pattern instructions begin with the bodice section. This one was no different. After I had the material prepared I used the lilac lining layered beneath the periwinkle chiffon. Based on the images of Abby Cadabby that I have, it seems like this combination may achieve the effect I'm looking for. I've worked with chiffon many times before. So I dove into the project well prepared with the smallest gauge needle I owned, 80/11, for the sewing machine! I had a bit of a quandary figuring out where I could stitch seams together and still be able to turn the bodice right-side out. I'm pretty pleased with the result!
Since my daughter is such a tall little lady (tops out in the 95th percentile for height) I planned ahead and included 2-3 extra inches at the bottom for her waistline. My hopes for Molly to wear this costume for her birthday in 4 months may be more feasible having done this as well!I was so excited to put the bodice on her little chest yesterday! She wasn't very cooperative at first. So I distracted her, ergo got her to stand still for pictures, by turning on Snow White. Take a look!

Molly's Costume Project - Materials

2010-08-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

Growing up, my parents never made any kind of big deal over Halloween. We were allowed to dress up and collect candy, but our costumes were never permitted to resemble frightening or harmful characters.
As an adult, I've continued to take the opportunity to make some kind of costume during the fall season. Lately, I've been putting most of my efforts into making replicas of my favorite Narnia costumes to wear to each movie release! However, this year, my creative juices are being put into, none other than, Molly Nicole.
Although we do not have TV (and we prefer it that way) my parents graciously record Sesame Street for Molly on DVDs. One of her favorite muppets is a relatively new character named, Abby Cadabby. To make a long story short, I decided a few weeks ago that Molly would be absolutely adorable going as Abby Cadabby in October and for her birthday in December!
I've never documented any of my previous costume making experiences. So I thought I'd give it a go this time around. Hopefully, I'll be able to record each major milestone in the process for everyone else to see. That's my plan anyway. I'll make my best attempt to identify the materials I'm using and my reasoning(s) for doing so!

No costume of mine has been attempted without a pattern...so far... I chose the Simplicity Pattern 2559. This is a brand of patterns that my friend Frances and I actually prefer. (She taught me how to sew!)
Next item on the agenda was the fabric. My favorite! Mom kept Molly for me while I took a solo trip to Hancock Fabrics in town. I knew which colors I needed, turquoise, periwinkle and lilac, which I chose from a sheer material, Chiffon Yoryu. The lining is a lavender/lilac shade.
Other than notions, that was about as much help the fabric store could give me unfortunately. There was a craft store next door where I found self adhesive purple rhinestones (for sparkle freckles), a chain of iridescent pearls in the wedding aisle (for a belt) and a tube of glitter with pink and purple shades (to put in her hair). I also took a chance on some floral wire to hopefully use for the wings. It was only 99 cents. So if it's a flop (pun very much intended), I didn't waste very much money!
I still hadn't found something suitable to use for fluffy feathers on her pigtails. The boas at the fabric and craft stores were really expensive and I simply couldn't justify spending that much. I ended up finding a boa (still not much cheaper) at Party City. This one had the shades I needed, pink and purple combined.
I haven't begun, in earnest, to find materials for the wand.

That's it for the materials so far. So far, Molly's costumes are significantly cheaper to make than mine! Toddlers don't require near as much fabric as adults!

Days Such As This...

2010-07-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

It's really late at night and I'm having trouble winding down to go to bed. Today has been particularly challenging with Molly. And I'm not sure why.
It could have been any number of things: going to bed later and waking up earlier than usual, possibly teething, growing pains... All I know is Molly was very out-of-character for most of the day. Anyone who has spent time with Molly would (hopefully) agree with me; that Molly is, for the most part, very easy going and tolerant, mild tempered and kind. She had to be put in her nursery for some, "cool-down time," at least 3-4 times today. I was so exhausted from her challenging behavior that I took a nap during hers. And for those of you who know me well, I am not a nap taker!
During one of our difficult moments, as I listened to her take her frustration out on her books through the nursery door, I buried my face into the hallway wall wishing for who knows what.
Maybe I had reached my peak for the week at technically being a single Mom right now. There's not a whole lot of help Mark can provide from the west coast. I long for her to have her Papa around again. I can provide many things for her and play many roles in her life. Being her Dad is not one of them.
Perhaps I felt like I was missing a piece to the complex puzzle her little world has already become. To me, there is nothing worse than the feeling you get deep inside when your child is pitching a fit. And I've only had a minute taste to all of those experiences yet to come as she gets older.
She could be tapping into my stress with selling the house. I'm thinking this is the most likely explanation.
Could be a combination of all of these possibilities.
Just trying to mentally figure out the day now has me quite tired. Ready to put this day behind us and start fresh tomorrow morning!

Adventures in Talking

2010-07-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

Molly has always appeared eager and almost ahead of the game with her speech. In fact, at her 18 month check-up, her pediatrician was surprised to witness all of the words she had mastered and the correct associations with them!
In this past week, Molly has begun to pair words into meaningful phrases. I noticed it in the car as we were finishing the trip to St. Louis this afternoon. She held her right foot in her hand after she had pulled off that particular shoe. Molly then preceded to say, "Shoe off!" And she repeated it several times! Dad mentioned that she used the phrase, "See ya!" earlier that day at lunch with another little girl. He also pointed out that this farewell was accompanied by a hug and blowing a kiss! Such a sweet little heart!
Unfortunately, little pitchers have big ears. And she picked up the phrase, "Shut up!" after hearing it several times one evening. For clarification's sake, it was from an individual other than myself! I so enjoy watching her grow and learn about the world around her. She seems to drink up every experience that comes her way. I especially love coming up with ways to encourage and fuel her fire for learning. I wonder what her next new word will be...

Far Apart

2010-06-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

I'm in Orlando, FL for a NICU music therapy training. Molly (along with Petey and Lucy) is in Charlotte, NC with her Gran and Pops. I miss her.

Discovering Food - Crust please!

2010-06-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

I believe I can already see tiny glimpses of Molly's undeniable heritage (from both families) when it comes to going against the norm. She's such an independent little girl, ever curious of the environment around her and just how many ways she can manipulate it!
Molly and I said goodbye to nursing when she became 13 months old in January of this year. Since then, I've given her many opportunities to explore new textures and tastes with food! She is a hardcore milk drinker and rarely tolerates anything else in her sippy cup. While on the subject, the transition from bottles to sippy cups was not much fun.
What is the most fun and interesting for me is to observe how she develops her own little preferences for food and varying presentation methods. Initially she ate all kinds of green veggies for me, no longer in pureed form. Peas were her favorite. These past few weeks, however, she seems to be on a green veggie strike. She also initially loved pieces of poultry. Nowadays, I've had to get creative. She will almost always eat her meat if it is chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-A or turkey when I've made a turkey loaf at home.
To compensate from what is looking like a diet relatively lacking in protein, I tried introducing peanut butter sandwiches. She loves peanut butter (just like her Papa)! Last week she became relatively upset during dinner when I tried to give her the pieces of sandwich I had cut up for her. She kept reaching for the pieces that included part of the crust and would turn her head away for all the others. After a while she picked up a large piece that had not yet been diced and began to chew on it crust first!
Leave it to my offspring to dare to be different!

Cornbread Simplicity

2010-06-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

My parents treated Molly and myself to Boston Market for dinner tonight.
Just for the record I loooove Boston Market! Unfortunately, there are no locations in the Charleston. And I just discovered there are no locations in Washington either! So, needless to say, many trips are made to partake of meals here when I am the decision maker for, "Where should we go eat?"
Getting back to the point. Molly has recently gone on a food strike with almost anything that isn't bread or fruit. I was trying my best to get her to eat pieces of green beans and sweet potato that we gave to her from our plates. She only wanted the bread from my sandwich, the cornbread and the crust from my Dad's chicken pot pie.
So, Dad took matters into his own hands. He wrapped pieces of cornbread around the pieces of green beans, fooling Molly into getting her green veggies! She found the green bean part a few times and separated the superfluous bean from the bread. But for the most part the trick worked.
I started to think...dun dun dun! She will have so many unpleasant and undesirable tasks throughout her life. If only I could just wrap those un-pleasantries hidden inside a symbolic piece of cornbread! How much different would these experiences become? How will I feel watching her have to go through those undesirable times in her life? Why am I already thinking about things like this? Issues that are still years and years to come. I already feel tired. And hungry. Hmm, Boston Market...

Disney World - Day 6

2010-05-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

Since we did not need a park ticket to visit Downtown Disney, we saved this part of Disney World for the day we left. I had yet to find a souvenir shirt/jacket that I was hoping to bring home. And the largest Disney Store in the world was located there. We packed up the car and checked out of our resort before heading to the stores.
Parking was really difficult. It took 20 minutes of driving to finally find an open space. We almost gave up. Fortunately, we found a really cute set of plastic Disney princesses for Molly, which she still loves to play with. Unfortunately, I never found a clothing item that caught my interest. Everything was really cheesy or too loud for me.
It was then that our trip officially ended. As we were walking out of the store, Molly threw up onto my shoulder and the floor. The cast members were phenomenal, keeping others away from the mess and getting it cleaned up in record time. I was pretty humiliated and was rest assured by several cast members that it actually happened quite frequently. After getting changed in the car, we continued the trip home.
It only got worse from there. Molly threw up again about 2 hours later while we were stuck in a traffic detour somewhere around I-95. If only we had known then what was in store.
All three of us had picked up a violent stomach virus while at the park. We're suspecting it happened on the motor coaches. Molly showed symptoms first because of her young age. Her 1st birthday party back at home that Saturday was a total bust. I called all of my friends with kids and warned them to stay away. All the other guests dropped by to give her gifts and then left quickly. That Sunday night, Mom, Dad, Mlou, Mark and I all spent the entire night with stomach virus symptoms. It was absolutely brutal. A most definitely unwanted souvenir for sure!
I'm thankful that we did have such a good time at Disney World. I'm disappointed that the end was such a nightmare. And I'm hoping that it will not happen again in the future! It turns out that stomach virus was hitting the entire country, including Nebraska at New Years. Mark's family members were dropping like flies, while the three of us stayed completely fine. In that regard, I'm very thankful! I'm really looking forward to the next trip to Disney when Molly is older and possibly has a future sibling to share it with!

Disney World - Day 5

2010-05-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

This was Molly's official 1st birthday and our final full day at Disney. We started off the morning and early afternoon at Epcot. Our primary focus was visiting and spending time at the World Showcase. To honor the Ogren family heritage we made sure to spend some time in Norway where I picked up a few souvenirs for Mark. Mom enjoyed visiting Germany to find a Christmas gift for Erin and we took some pictures standing with life sized, nutcrackers. Molly really enjoyed the Taiko drumming performance in Japan of course. And for lunch we stopped in France for some really yummy sandwiches, quiches and desserts!
By now, the Baby Care centers were one of the best perks of the parks. I stopped there frequently to nurse or feed Molly where the environment was quiet and low-key. Several times throughout our trip, Molly started off her power naps there before jumping into the next activity.
After exploring the World Showcase, Mom and I decided to part ways. She went back to ride Soarin' again while Molly and I headed home to get a head start on nap time. I had not been sleeping well at night the majority of the trip. So I wanted to make sure I had as much rest as possible before the late evening in the Magic Kingdom. While I made my way to the park exit, Molly and I stopped to take a look at the Innoventions: The World to Tomorrow attractions. I made a mental note to return there the next time we made a trip to Disney since her impending nap time was more of a priority.
The evening was spent at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the Magic Kingdom. It required a separate special event ticket limiting the amount of people in the park. We had a dinner reservation at the Crystal Palace where Molly was able to meet Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore and Tigger. It was here that she had her 3rd and final birthday cupcake of the week. Our waitress, Belinda, appeared to enjoy interacting with Molly! She tried to make our dinner experience extra special, primarily since it was Molly's official birthday.
After dinner, I changed Molly out of her birthday party dress into something a little more comfortable to go on rides. For the last time, we went to all of our favorites, this time getting to ride Peter Pan's Flight. Every other day, the wait time had been too long for Molly to tolerate. This was one of my all time favorites at the Magic Kingdom.
There was a Christmas parade held only during this particular special event. Molly had an absolute ball! The parade consisted of floats with all sorts of Disney characters and friends. Several had scents spraying out that smelled like fresh baked cookies and candies. Molly really livened up at the toy soldiers that marched by playing the drums! While waiting for the parade, we met another family from Nebraska just beginning their visit to Disney. They were gracious enough to take some pictures of all three of us together! After seeing her reaction to the parade, one of my only regrets from the trip is that we didn't take Molly to some of the other parades. I think she may have enjoyed them so much more than the shows or fireworks displays. Oh well, there's always a next time...
We ended our trip with one final ride on the carousel in Fantasy Land. Molly grinned and giggled the whole time, even though it was midnight at that point! As always, I had a very hard time leaving, especially since I'll soon be living in a part of the country that is much further away from Florida.

Disney World - Day 4

2010-05-09T12:01:00.001-07:00

Though it has been months since I've had a chance to get back to this, I didn't have the heart to leave our Disney World trip unfinished. Shortly after the last post, Christmas activities arrived and the blogging was pushed to the side! So, I'm referencing the itinerary that I fortunately saved to help jog my memory!
It was an early morning again, mainly because we wanted to arrive the Magic Kingdom when the gates were opened. Since we had about 20 minutes to wait when we arrived, I found a little corner amongst the throngs of people to sit down and nurse Molly as discreetly as possible. There was another family with a toddler who helped shield us with some privacy. The Mom was sympathetic to my situation and was actually pregnant in her second trimester. The opening of the Magic Kingdom involved a cheesy but fun performance by several dancers and characters who came chugging by on the train. I would like to note that as soon as the gates opened, crowds pushed on through like cattle, much like the departure of audience members after a movie. So, per my request, Mom and I waited until the crowds had ceased to make our way through.
We visited all of the favorites of course, spending a great deal of time in Fantasy Land. Today we attempted an attraction with Molly that was one of my favorites from previous trips, Mickey's Philharmagic. I had a feeling this one would either be a hit or a total bust. Molly obviously couldn't enjoy the 3d experience seeing as the glasses did not fit her face. She smiled and babbled at the images on the screen and appeared to enjoy the music quite a bit! However, she became upset during the "Be Our Guest" sequence when puffs of air and loud pops simulated corks coming out of the bottles on screen. I was able to calm her down, but I could tell she was ready to leave at the end!
We spent a little more time seeking souvenirs. Several of the meal receipts included vouchers to be used in select shops throughout the parks. The majority of which we used for Molly of course.
We had the rare opportunity of running into the Fairy Godmother who was posing for greetings and pictures beside a corner of the castle. She held her arms out to Molly, and Molly went straight to her! For a few minutes the Fairy Godmother interacted with her face-to-face. It was so sweet! I guess all of her dreams will now come true!
We set aside a specific chunk of time to explore a section of the park that we had not seen much of on any of our trips, Mickey's Toontown. Designed primarily for the smallest of guests, it's no surprise that we waited until we had someone small with us to go exploring! We took the train that wraps around the park to make the commute a little more relaxing and fun for all concerned. Once we were there, we discovered she was a little too small to participate in the rides. However, she could still see Mickey and Minnie's houses and meet the Mice themselves in the Judges Tent.
This happened to be one of the highlights of the trip. When we entered the tent (it was actually a building) we did have a bit of line to wait in for pictures. This room was set aside from the actual room where the characters were located. Groups of people were led into the picture room at a time. When we got to the front of the line, the cast member asked us to wait as people ahead of us were herded in. The time came for us to enter the room and the cast member only allowed Mom, Molly and myself in at that time, even though there were a fair amount of people behind us in line. As we entered the picture room, we approached the characters with Molly. She grinned, giggled, and reached for them without any hesitation! (I think she was a definite Disney fan at this point) The whole time Molly interacted with them and posed for pictures, the cast members kept other families from coming in. They kept the room quiet and as activity-free as possible to make the environment as welcoming and safe for Molly as it could be. I was very impressed!
After visiting several favorite rides again, we headed back home for a rest/nap. We had reservations for the Cinderella's Happily Ever After Dinner, held at the same restaurant that we were late for breakfast two days earlier. Needless to say, we did not want to be at the mercy of the motor coach and monorail for timing again!
We had a wait time again for a table. So, we spent the time exploring the Grand Floridian decked out for the holidays with a gigantic Christmas tree in the lobby. I took the opportunity to have photo pass pictures taken in front of the tree with a photographer/cast member that was very good interacting with Molly!
Our Cinderella dinner was probably one of the biggest highlights of all! Recommended by my internship supervisor, the characters were so much fun to interact with, particularly the stepmother and stepsisters! We were a little taken aback that the girl playing Cinderella was the least friendly of all. Maybe the role got to her head... Here, Molly enjoyed her second birthday cupcake (the first was at breakfast two days prior). And the timing couldn't have been any more perfect. As she had her face buried in the frosting and cake, the stepmother approached our table. Completely in character, she grimaced and stated, "I'm SO looking forward to this opportunity!" She and one of the stepsisters, Drucilla, then knelt beside Molly and inquired about her enjoyment of the cupcake. Drucilla had the best time making faces and babbling with Molly. Molly gave them the best, who are you ?, stares ever! We also had a chance to meet Prince Charming as well! He specifically told us to tell the, "Kings," (Dad and Mark) that he said, "Hello!"
Since we still had a few hours left of the evening, we took the monorail over to Epcot again. It was after dark, so there were several decorations for Molly to look at that she had not experienced yet. We opted to stay for the IllumiNations fireworks show since the following night we would be at the Magic Kingdom. Again, I anticipated Molly getting upset (just like her Mama) from the loud sounds. However, she did relatively well and I only had to cover her ears for a few particularly loud sections.
We took our time, slowly wandering through the World Showcase (even though the attractions were closed) to get back to the motor coaches. Can you tell we are not fans of crowds and long lines? There was no reason to be up super early the following morning which was the perfect excuse to take our time!

Disney World - Day 3

2009-12-25T13:43:00.000-08:00

Since the previous day was so incredibly filled with activity and long waking hours, we slept in until we woke up this morning. Our plan included Animal Kingdom for the morning and early afternoon before heading back "home" for a nap. I'm glad we only chose to visit this park once because it ended up being the longest motor coach ride out of the four.

For some reason, I always overhear guests planning their agendas at this park before arriving. So this time I made sure to listen in to what everyone else planned to do first...and then made sure we did the exact opposite! Out of the two most popular attractions, we chose to ride the Kilimanjaro Safari first. There was virtually no line or wait time at all. Molly clearly took after my heart by squealing, smiling and clapping every time the vehicle hit a bump or splashed through a puddle. (Future off-roadie perhaps?) Since we rode this one early in the day, most of the animals were still awake and active before the sun became too hot. We even caught a glimpse of the lions which is a rare opportunity! As the guide pointed out during the ride, lions sleep close to 20 hours a day!

There was a new-to-us feature that we decided to give a try next, the Wildlife Express Train. This took us to a section of the park, Rafiki's Planet Watch, that was separated from the rest of the trails and rides where Molly and I enjoyed several things like the petting zoo area. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a plethora of unhappy, screaming children that began to get to us after a while.

Lunch became a little bit of an adventure. After choosing a quick service restaurant, Gran stayed in line to order while I took Molly in search of a table. This became much more difficult than anticipated. Pretty soon, Molly's tummy could not wait much longer and I eyeballed a family that appeared to be almost finished. They had several empty chairs with them so I humbly asked if I could at least sit in one to feed Molly. The family was more than accommodating and moved as many things over as possible to give us plenty of room. The lady pointed out that in Europe, families share eating areas all the time without any hesitation. I was very thankful for their understanding and tried my best to communicate my gratitude! By the time Gran brought the food, they were all finished and went on their way.

After lunch I decided to ride the other most popular attraction, Expedition Everest. This is one of the newest roller coasters at Disney World and I loved it the last time I visited. The wait time was only 30 minutes which almost never happens! Gran and Molly strolled around the shops, picking up a few souvenirs on the way to meet me after I was done riding. Molly had reached her peak at this point and it was obvious that nap time had arrived again.

Our rest/nap time was a little shorter than expected. We were able to get to Hollywood Studios a little on the early side so we took the opportunity to get some rides in before our dinner reservation. I guess this was thrill-ride-day for me because I just had to get a chance to ride the Rockin' Rollercoaster. Hands down, this is my absolute favorite ride at Disney. Aside from being an Aerosmith fan, the band is the attraction host, I just love all the features and curveballs this ride has in store. Had we more time, I would have gone on this ride over and over again!

Afterwards, we had just enough time to catch the Great Movie Ride before dinner. We made sure to "pay homage" to several genuine prop displays in the lobby including Julie Andrew's carousel horse from Mary Poppins and Anna Popplewell's green archery dress from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Molly had a great time looking at all the scenery and Animatronics, especially for the Wizard of Oz at the end!

Although this meal was not a character meal, it was still very unique and original. We had dinner at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, designed to replicate the old drive-in movie parking lots. There was an enormous screen at the front with footage from old, cheesy sci-fi thrillers and commercials from the time period. Our food was served to us at a table shaped like a car, complete with a dashboard! Gran really enjoyed this restaurant and I think she'll be coming back the next time she makes a Disney trip!

We ended the evening at the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. You would have thought Molly was truly in heaven! She was wide-eyed and full of smiles looking at all the twinkling lights that were choreographed to the Christmas music played. We made sure to get lots of pictures and video of her reactions!

We thought about trying to make it to Downtown Disney to do some shopping after the lights, but the crowds were pretty heavy leaving the park for the motor coaches and parking lot. So we took our time wandering through shops instead of waiting in a long line. Plus we didn't want to push it too far with Molly for a third night in a row. Once we did get back "home," we explored the resort for a little while, making note of where several swimming pools were located-just in case. We also wanted to get an early start the next morning so we could be at the Magic Kingdom when it first opened. So ended day 3 of Disney!

Disney World - Day 2

2009-12-24T18:54:00.000-08:00

We began this morning relatively early despite our later bedtime the night before. This was obviously justified by our reservations for a character meal, the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast! The commute there became a little frustrating since our resort motor coach ran late. We still had to transfer to the monorail which took us to the resort where the restaurant was located, arriving about 10-15 minutes late.

Nevertheless, our table wasn't ready when we got there so we had some time to spend wandering around the Grand Floridian Resort. In the lobby, there was an enormous gingerbread house (yes, made of real gingerbread) that had a gift shop located inside. It wasn't open yet, but that also meant there wasn't a crowd around. So we were able to get some really good pictures!

The breakfast was phenomenal, and with this being our first character meal ever, we enjoyed all of the surprises and amenities the "cast members" (Disney employees) had to offer. In addition to the amazing food, Molly met all kinds of characters including Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter, Tigger, and (of course) Mary Poppins! I was in heaven. The best moment was Molly's reaction to Winnie the Pooh. He came up to our table and Molly began to smile, giggle and babble! He even got a kiss from Molly!

I couldn't help myself after breakfast when we passed a gift shop. I just had to get her a Pooh onesie! This was partially justified though. I thought it would be considerably cooler outside than it turned out for most of the week. Most of the clothes I brought for her were long-sleeved, much too hot for her to wear in the 70-80 degree weather we were enjoying!

Our next stop was a return to Epcot. Molly took a nap in the sleepy wrap before we arrived, yielding a very good mood once we got there! Molly's favorite rides at Epcot were Spaceship Earth, The Seas With Nemo & Friends, and Journey Into Imagination. Gran and I both took a turn riding Soarin' and I made sure to grab an opportunity to ride Mission Space. We also discovered a VERY useful amenity provided in each of the parks, the Baby Care Center. These were separate facilities that catered just to guests with little ones. There was a private room for us to nurse, huge padded changing tables, playrooms for crawling and even room set aside for mealtimes. My favorite ended up being the one at Epcot!

Naptime had arrived, probably a little later than it should have. So we made our way back to our resort. Gran left after only 20-30 minutes of rest so she could set aside some seats for us at an evening show at the Hollywood Studios park called, Fantasmic. Molly and I made it just as the show began. She was passed out again in the sleepy wrap and woke up for the last 5 minutes. It was kind of a rude awakening because of the loud music and special effects. I found a concrete barrier to stand behind until she got her bearings and I decided to cover her ears. She really loved the end of the show she got to see!

After a quick dinner, we made our way back to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the evening. One of the many advantages to staying in a Disney resort is the extra magic hours reserved for specific days/nights., which just so happened to fall on this night. We enjoyed virtually no lines for almost every ride we went on!

Alas, the evening had to come to an end. We had a VERY late bedtime which made life a little rough for Molly. I saved her bath for the morning so she could go straight to sleep once we made it "home." At this point, we now referenced our hotel room as home for the week. Molly was a trooper as always and continued to handle all the long hours beautifully. It probably made a difference that we were at Disney of course!

Disney World - Day 1

2009-12-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

Wow. A busy baby girl + family + internship responsibilities = no blog posts for months! I can't believe how infrequently I've updated our little corners of the internet. I find it only fitting to share all of the adventures that Gran, Molly and Mama had at Disney World this past week! My plan is to divide the days into individual posts so the stories don't get too jumbled up and confusing! So without further ado:

After spending Saturday night at a local hotel in Orlando, we made our way onto the Disney World property shortly after a not-so-great continental breakfast. Nevertheless, we were fueled by the anticipation of seeing Mickey Mouse and made it to our resort, the Port Orleans Riverside, in record time. We decided to go ahead into the Magic Kingdom before taking our luggage to the room since we'd be returning there anyway to take a nap that afternoon.

Molly's very first Disney ride ever was It's A Small World, mainly because it had the shortest line! On all the rides her eyes were as big as saucers as she looked towards, pointed at and babbled at all the fun things she saw. We discovered later that week that the Magic Kingdom definitely had more things that she could do as far as rides were concerned. The rest of that morning and early afternoon involved almost every ride in Fantasy Land, walking through shops on Mainstreet (Gran went nuts buying stuff for Molly) and a short catnap for Molly in the stroller. Her absolute favorite ride was Cinderella's Golden Carrousel which we ended up riding multiple times each visit to the Magic Kingdom.

By the time 2:00-3:00 rolled around it was clear we needed to get back to our resort room for some down time and unpacking. Apparently Molly took several steps towards Gran while I was taking a turn bringing in bags from the car. And I missed it! We rested and napped for a few hours before getting ready for dinner.

For this trip we decided to give one of the Disney Dining Plans a try. Back in October I made several restaurant reservations, one of them being for this night. We made our way to another park, Epcot, where we had dinner at the http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/dining/coral-reef-restaurant/. Molly was a little crabby at this point since she had not had her usual amount of rest that she was used to getting each day. But she was a trooper and was relatively happy for the meal. By the time we were finished the only section still open in the park was the World Showcase. We walked around for just a little bit but took the motor coach (bus) back to the resort before the fireworks started. We wanted to save those attractions at Epcot for the next day.

The really great thing about staying at a Disney Resort is the transportation to and from the parks. You don't have to do any driving whatsoever because the motor coaches go to every section of the Disney property you can think of. Plus it earned us some extra "Magic Hours" in the parks later that week, only available for resort guests.

We finally got back to our room and got a much needed night's rest for all of Monday's activities!

On Finger Sucking

2009-08-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

Ever since Molly was just a few months old she has demonstrated a preference for sucking the pointer and middle finger, simultaneously, of her right hand. Coincidentally, these are the exact same two fingers that I sucked as a child and the same for my Dad when he was a little boy. The only difference with my Dad was that he sucked them with his palm facing out where Molly and I both sucked/suck on them palm inwards. In addition to that, she has begun to play with her ears which is something I have done ever since I was very small as well! In fact, I still play with them as an adult, still just about as soft as they were when I was a child!
I tried giving her a Soothie pacifier and as a newborn she loved it! Knowing what I do about the sucking reflex in babies from my education in Birth through Kindergarten Development at Appalachian State University I wanted to make sure I gave her every avenue possible to take advantage of it. However, she doesn't even like the pacifier now. I'll try giving it to her sometimes in church and she just chews on the side before tossing it away.The fact that both my Dad and I showed the same preference for finger sucking astounds me. Three generations of first born children have now chosen the pointer and middle fingers of the right hand as a way to self soothe. Two generations of first born are subconsciously pulling at and playing with ears, primarily when zoning off into space...
Is there some kind of interesting genetics at work here? Are there any other examples of generations of children, even when taking birth order into consideration, that have a similar pattern to little "isms" and individual preferences? This would be something fun to research!

Discovering Food - Fruits!

2009-07-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

Baby girl is getting so big! I took the advice from my pediatrician and other well-meaning moms and chose to introduce vegetables to Molly's palate before fruits. While in Nebraska and California I decided to give a few fruits a try to see what she'd think! It was kind of fun to have her sit in the high chair that her Daddy and Uncle Jake used so many years ago!

Bananas - With absolute certainty I can claim this as a Molly favorite! Almost every time I've made them the mixture has been a little too watery for my preference. But she loves them, soupy or not! Since bananas are also one of my favorite fruits I have enjoyed the inspiration to have more of them on hand in the kitchen. Keeps me healthy too!
Strawberries - I regret to inform that Molly is not fond of this fruit. Strawberries are one of my absolute favorite fruits and I was really excited to introduce them to her. She fooled me by initially eating the first bowl I made for her. But the second exposure was a failure. Molly wouldn't even open her mouth until I gave her plain oatmeal cereal.
Peaches - The experience of new tastes was redeemed when we tried peaches. While in California, my Mom stopped by a farmers market in Berkeley and bought a bag of fresh, ripe peaches. Since Grandma Mary bought us a small food chopper I had the means to make her food even at the hotel. I squished them up and gave it a try. Success! She ate the whole bowl and continued to stare at the peach I enjoyed for myself afterwards. Yay peaches!

As always I'm looking forward to having Molly try even more new things to eat. I'm really looking forward to the holidays! All kinds of yummy new tastes!

A Trip of Firsts

2009-07-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a few weeks because we were away on vacation. The first half of our trip was spent in Nebraska visiting Mark's family. They had yet to meet Molly so we anticipated the introduction for weeks! However, it made leaving even more difficult. The second part of the trip was spent in California, with my parents, to visit my sister, Erin, and her husband, Justin, who live in Berkeley. She met Molly back in December. So the transformation from newborn to six-month-old was pretty significant!
I've decided to coin the subject of our trip as many "firsts" for Molly. Several new vegetables and fruit are among those firsts, however I've designated those stories to "Discovering Food" posts.
Anyway, this was Molly's first plane ride. And if airlines ever handed out a good baby award, no child was more deserving than her! I was advised to encourage Molly to suck on something during takeoffs and landings. Well, that was kind of difficult given that Molly decided to take a nap during almost every cabin pressure change. When she was awake she didn't seem too interested in nursing or sucking her fingers. And the popping ears did not seem to bother her at all. So I took my cues from her and allowed her to deal in her own way. She whimpered only once on the way to Nebraska and then once as we were arriving back in North Carolina. We received all sorts of compliments and comments of amazement as other passengers passed by after landing. Her good demeanor was even more apparent due to the behavior of some other children on the flights. Molly almost started crying when we left Nebraska in response to another child across the row who was screaming and pitching a fit to sit in her mommy's lap. But I distracted Molly as best I could and she ended up staying happy.
Molly also began to imitate for the first time. As a result she can now clap! I'll usually prompt her clapping by smiling and saying, " Yay Molly!" And by usually clapping myself. She gets a huge grin on her face and begins clapping her chubby little hands together. It's so stinkin' cute!
Perhaps the most exciting for me was her first ride on a horse. Grandpa Dick saddled his horse, Mouse, the last evening we were in Nebraska. He took her for a ride around their front yard and she loved it! Mouse is the most gentle of his horses although I don't think he had ever encountered a baby before. Right before Grandpa rode with her, Molly and Mouse got to know each other face-to-face. He was very tolerant of six-month-old baby hands and didn't even flinch when she grabbed his nose hairs. I have the video on my Facebook account since blogspot doesn't seem to like the video files from my camera...In Berkeley, we discovered that Molly LOVES to swing! During a relaxing afternoon at a local park Erin and I decided to jump on the swings for a bit. I held Molly in my lap and Pops pushed us very gently. However, the higher we went the more she giggled and cooed. So, very carefully I got us going even higher. She gets her love for swinging from her Mommy!I'm so proud of my baby girl. She experienced so many new things in just a few short weeks. One of those being the wonderful world of jet lag and time zone changes. Fortunately I do not have her on a strict time schedule. I only keep her routine consistent. For instance, she knows that when she gets a bath, it is usually followed by bedtime lotion, pajamas, nursing and bedtime. I stayed true to her familiar routines and she was a trooper! I was amazed when we finally got home to Charleston (having been 3 hours behind in California for a week) she actually went down around 9:00 pm! I know because of her age she'll never remember this trip. Years from now I'll have to describe all the video and photographic memories. But I'm glad we had this time with her. And we're definitely looking forward to seeing these family members and friends in the future!

Discovering Food - Peas Please!

2009-06-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

As of this week, we can officially add another veggie to Molly's list of favorite foods! I decided to give peas a try. Since shelling fresh peas was not something I really had time for, I bought a bag of frozen peas. It has also been a veggie with my dinners this week! The worst part of the process was actually pureeing the peas. It was about the nastiest color I could think of. After a while it almost began to look a neon green and made me think of old school Nickelodean Gak. Nevertheless, we got past the "look" and mixed it in with some cereal. She immediately loved them and has given me a wide open mouth for each bite. Here she is enjoying some peas on her 6-month-unbirthday!

Model Molly

2009-06-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, we had family pictures taken by a local photographer. Tori is the older sister to a friend of mine in the music program. I thought it would be a great opportunity to record some memories with someone who I knew would do a fantastic job! Anyway, we have since ordered the prints that we wanted. However, we signed a model release for the three of us allowing Tori to use our pictures on her website. And, naturally, she has! Here is the link to her photography website. Click on the "Infants" tab and enjoy the cameos!

Discovering Food - Veggies

2009-06-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

We've been expanding our culinary diet to food beyond Mommy milk this month. She has tried a few new vegetables (along with tiny samples and tastes of other things on Mommy's plate) one being a hit and the other...not so successful. Instead of spending a lot of money on prepackaged jars of food, I've made the produce department at the grocery store my friend. I steam the veggies, puree them in the blender with water and then freeze individual servings in ice cube trays. A lot of steps for a pretty simple and economical process. I seem to get a whole lot more food for the price. We'll see how long it lasts once my internship begins of course!

Squished Squash - From what I can tell Molly loves squash. Over the course of a week she had one serving a day, mixed in with her oatmeal cereal, and gobbled up every bite. So I'll definitely reintroduce squash either on its own or combined with another veggie in the future.
Carrots - Not a fan. At first I questioned my blending procedure. Twice I found pieces that had not been pureed very well and had to scoop them out of her mouth. However, after Pops and I used a fork to remove the big pieces from the bowl she still needed coaxing for opening her mouth. To be absolutely sure, I fed her cereal and carrots separately a few days later. Her mouth was wide open for the cereal but sealed shut for the carrots. I'm debating how to reintroduce this veggie later on; or if I'll even try it again at all.

Next week I'm hoping to try sweet potatoes and/or peas. She has a six month checkup on Thursday. And I'm anticipating the shots affecting her willingness to try new tastes. It's so hard to be a baby!

Milestones

2009-05-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

Ideally I wanted this blog started many months ago. I've been thinking about it for a while. Now that I'm not in classes I have the time and energy to devote to keeping information updated! I figured there's no better way to start than recording some of the many milestones that Molly has reached in her 5 months (outside the womb of course):

December 24 - lost umbilical cord
January 7 - very first time away from Mommy (Daddy is a great babysitter!)
January 14 - first nursing session completely without nipple shield
February 21 - no longer sleeping in the cradle and now in the crib
March 26 - laughs for the first time in the bath tub
May 3 - rolling over onto tummy (3 times in a row!)
May 16 - first bowl of cereal (only ate just a few bites)
May 28 - roll from tummy to back

I'm looking forward to recording even more "firsts" for her these months and years to come!

An Ogren First

2009-05-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

Many greetings! Welcome to what will hopefully become a little corner of the internet dedicated to the Ogren family. For now, it features the one and only Molly Nicole. In the future, more cute little faces and stories will be added as well!