Monday, September 29, 2008

4-month Doctor's Appt







Today, Larkin had her 4-month doctor's appointment. It went really well and, as you can see from the summary growth chart above, she is growing so big! She weighed in at 14 lbs 1 oz, her height is 24.75" (that's over 2 feet tall!), and her head circumference grew to 16.75". Those measurements put her in the 75th percentile for each category (as compared to babies born on her due date, or 3.5 weeks younger than her). I guess that means she's well proportioned!

As expected, today Larkin also got her next round of vaccines (3 shots and 1 oral). :( She got the same ones as last time: DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis), IPV (polio), Hepatitis B, Hib (Haemophilus Influenza type b), Prevnar (pneumococcus), and Rotavirus. She ran a low-grade fever, getting up to 99.8 degrees F, but otherwise has not been too fussy. She's a tough cookie. Although.... at the appointment, the nurse was making funny faces at her while she gave her the oral vaccine and at one point got a little too "in" Larkin's face and it really scared her! Larkin started screaming and the nurse hadn't yet even begun the shots! She finally calmed down by the time we left the office. Phew.

The doctor also told us that Larkin can now start solid foods! He said that we can start her on them now, but I think we'll wait another few weeks before we do. Anyway, when we do, we're to start with 1/4 cup of either rice cereal or baby oatmeal mixed with formula, given twice a day for 3 weeks. Then, after 3 weeks of that, we're to give start her on 1/2 jar of yellow and orange (and then later green) veggies twice a day, as well. All that in addition to the 25-32 oz. of Similac Organic formula she drinks daily. That's a lot of food! It looks like those cheeks will keep getting chubbier!

In addition to Larkin's summary growth chart, above you'll find some other photos taken this past weekend when she turned 4 months old. I love how in the third photo she lifts her legs up behind her when she's on her tummy and raising her head - it's so cute! I also thought it was hilarious when she fell asleep holding her playmat toy... she was literally playing one minute and then was asleep the next (see pic 4)!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Blue Eyed Beauty




I've noticed that it's kind of hard to see the beautiful blue color of Larkin's eyes in many of the pictures that have been posted. So, I decided to post a couple of pictures where you can really see her eyes. Larkin was born with dark blue eyes. They have since lightened to a stunning blue shade. I originally thought she'd end up with hazel eyes, but we're now thinking that they just might stay blue, taking after both of her grandmothers!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Daddy Crush




Larkin has such a crush on her Daddy these days, and Brian is just eating it up! She loves to look at him and smiles whenever she sees him. Best of all, though, he can get her giggling like nobody's business! It is absolutely adorable to watch and to listen to... I will try to get a video of it and post it so you can see them too.

Here are a few pictures of the dynamo duo together... This was the first time that Brian had carried Larkin in the Baby Bjorn carrier facing fprward. She wasn't so keen with it at first, but after awhile she seemed to like being able to look around. It was unseasonably chilly here that week (highs in the 50-60s), hence the sweatshirts and hat, but now it's back in the 80s. The other picture is of the two of them chilling out and watching some TV. Brian and Larkin are enjoying football season --yes, he's already teaching her all about football and being a proper fan! Go Chiefs (please start winning) and Go Giants!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Toys in Mouth



Over the last few weeks, Larkin has discovered that all sorts of things can go in her mouth. Here's a picture of her taking a taste of a toy rattle, but I think her favorite thing to suck is still her fists (yes, her entire fists, not just a finger or two)!

I took this picture while we all were hanging out in the kitchen making dinner. Larkin is great at amusing herself in her lounge chair while she watches us move about the kitchen washing, chopping, cooking, etc. Sometimes we amuse her with some dancing and out-of-tune songs that we make up! Brian and I love to make up songs where I do one line, he does the next, then it's back to me, etc... we think of ridiculous rhymes and always end with a good laugh.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

First Day of Daycare




The day finally came for me to go back to work. So, today, the day after Labor Day, was Larkin's first day of daycare. Yes, it was hard and I thought of her all day, but we both actually did really well.

Larkin is currently going to an in-home daycare until her school daycare spot is available. The daycare provider's name is Michelle and when we did a practice playdate last week, it went really well. There's a total of 6 kids there, including Larkin. There are 4 toddlers and another baby, a boy Collin, that's about 1.5 weeks older than Larkin.

When I dropped Larkin off at Michelle's house this morning, I was happy to see her give Michelle a smile. Then, after going over things with Michelle and showering Larkin with a ton of kisses, I headed out the door. As I got out of her view, Larkin let out a "Eeek!" squeak and I knew that she loved me. I didn't cry on my way to work, which is a good thing since it was the day after Labor Day and traffic was horrible! I arrived to work only 20 minutes late... not bad for the first day, I thought.

My first day back went really well. My friend and colleague, Erin, baked some yummy cookies and lemon squares for the occasion, and all of my work friends came by throughout the day to welcome me back. It made me feel so good, and it was great to see them! I actually got very little work done all day... the day flew by with me just catching up with my work friends!

I was so excited to pick up Larkin at the end of the day and to see how it went for her. I didn't get any calls from Michelle during the day, so I assumed that it hadn't been a disaster. When I arrived, Larkin was sitting in a bouncer seat and looked as happy as a clam. She was completely content and that made me feel really good. Michelle also said that she had had a great first day! Yay! She loved watching the older kids and supposedly she and Collin checked each other out when they both were laying on the play mat! Larkin gets a daily report card, of sorts, and it looked like things went really well with naps, feedings, etc. In fact, Larkin only seemed to get a little fussy when I took her out of her bouncer to smother her with kisses and put her in her car seat! I guess she wasn't as excited to see me as I was to see her. No, really, it went so well and she was exhausted by her big day that she zonked out as soon as we got home. It was a good first day for both of us.