A year ago....

Most who know me would say I'm not the most sentimental, but with Victoria, everything has changed! I was just looking through all her baby photos and came across a couple video snippets that Tony took right after she was born. I had to post one of them because they are so neat to me to see my baby right after she entered our world!

To spoon or not to spoon?

Yesterday evening Victoria surprised us by using a spoon to eat/play with her oatmeal. I am happy to annouce that she got a good amount of it in her mouth. Fun times!

Due Date

As you all know, Vic's first birthday is quickly approaching. In the past week, I've been thinking about the "wild ride" our family has gone through in the past year and a half -- from the time we found out we were expecting to now. I realized that today was my due date last year. I remember wondering if Vic would make an appearance, knowing that a small percent of babies are actually born on their due date. Last year, the 4th was a Monday. I remember joking with my co-workers the previous Friday that I might not be in on Monday, but sure enough, I was! In fact, I went to work the entire week with NO signs of Victoria! After a conversation with my mother about her labor story with me, I decided that on Saturday (Dec. 9th) I would bake Christmas cookies -- because my mom is certain that baking was what finally spurred me to come! So, I get busy baking cookies...actually experimenting with one of mom's recipes that I manage to butcher. I finally gave up on baking and eventually went to bed. Sure enough at about 5am, I feel signs of labor -- contractions and other fun stuff. At this point, I felt like Vic would come for sure by the end of the day. Little did I know, almost 39 hours and a c-section later, I would finally meet my girl! It's crazy to think back on those days. But I will say that meeting Victoria is by far the best moment of my life! The process of having a baby is absolutely indescribable!

Good Times in Mexico!

Victoria is no longer a part-time walker! Of all places, Victoria learned to walk (full time) on a boat -- or SHIP as my father would say. Never the less, the ship was rocking and rolling and Victoria was able to master the art of "Frankenstein walking" (this is walking with your arms out).

Victoria "climbed" her first mountain. And by "climbed", I mean she was carried up by her grandfather. Unlike the rest of us, she was able to fall asleep halfway up while the rest of us sweated our butts off. The view at the top was worth it though!

We also took her to the beach in Puerto Vallarta where she stuck her toes in the ocean for the FIRST time. This is what happens when you live in the desert and only have pools to play in! She liked the sand and the water until a huge wave came in and smacked her in her butt! Then she was a little timid of the water. As her daddy says, who cares if she likes the ocean, she has a pool to play in!

Once we arrived back in Phoenix, we were greeted by cool temperatures that were not around when we left on our excursion. Victoria now must wear socks and flannel jammies to sleep in! Grayson and Rodger were "happy" to see her and VERY surprised to see her upright. This definitely threw them for a loop.

Kitty Love

It's official! Victoria is part of the Rodger and Grayson fan club. Unfortunately, they are cats, and they don't appreciate it. In fact, Rodger wishes that she wasn't....Grayson, however, being the attention mongrel that he is, likes it a little bit.

Whenever Rodger or Grayson enter the room, Victoria says "hi" and waves to them. She says "hi" several times to them probably because they never really acknowledge her (how sad). The funniest thing about all this is that she knows they are in the room even when she cannot see them...it's like she senses when they come into the room even when her back is turned and she's busy doing something else. She typically stops what she is doing and looks around for them. Rodger usually "makes like a tree and leaves", but Grayson usually sticks around for "baby torture". Victoria likes to hug and kiss Grayson....it is the most fantastic thing I've ever seen. She does it as much as he will stick around and let her (usually 2-3 times and then he jets). I hope to get this on video or camera soon. It's just too darn sweet. Tony and I can't wait for her to be able to feed him treats so he will leave us alone!

She loves books....FINALLY

As most of you know, I have complained about Victoria's disinterest in me reading to her. She would rather manhandle a book than sit down and let me read it to her. This is a constant source of frusteration for me....being an English teacher and an academic I know the importance of reading!!!! I do a lot of research online and every article ever written says that you should read to your child daily from the time they are in the womb. Well, as of last week, Victoria has started to pick up books and bring them to me for me to read! She turns the pages for me and even dances when I'm reading a "sing-songy" book! She especially likes her Barnyard Dance book from Aunt Adele (She dances to my reading and even mimicks some of the sounds i make) and her Halloween Peek-a-Boo book from Grandma Stock (she opens all the flaps and squeals when I say peek-a-boo). This is heaven! Although, she makes me read both of them about 5 times each and screams bloody murder when I say "the end". I've read them so much that i have them memorized and often times "sing" them when I'm in the shower. Nice!

Stairs!

So Victoria has discovered a love of the stairs! She only knows how to go up.....

First Steps!

It's been a busy week for the Ballards and we haven't had a lot of family time. Between Tony working late and Vic passing out after daycare, we haven't seen much of each other. So, tonight, we had our typical family dinner and decided to sit down on the floor and play with Vic together (sans cats of course). Vic has taken a few accidental steps when letting go of the ottoman and traveling to the couch, so I thought it was time to really encourage her to walk on her own by standing her up and coaxing her to walk from me to Tony. Well, what do you know! Vic took several steps which excited her greatly....so much so that she started bouncing up and down and knocked herself over. She even turned around in a circle on her own. Looks like she might be walking in time for our family cruise during Thanksgiving! Good thing we have her grandpa, grandma, aunt, and uncle to chase after her for us! :)

The cutest thing....

Tony and I keep talking about how "big" our little girl is getting -- and I mean "big" in the "grown-up" sense, not big "size-wise". Last night just made me realize how mature she is getting and how much she is learning.....and yes because Victoria has turned me into a big ball of mush, the following story brought me to tears (happy and proud tears, not sad tears).

So Victoria goes to bed anytime between 7-8pm. Usually I try to stretch it to 8pm, but sometimes she is just too delirious and I have to put her to bed around 7:00. All the pediatricians and experts say to put a baby down when they are still awake so they learn to fall asleep on their own. I admit that it's been fairly easy to get Victoria to do this. Every night, Tony and I take her to her room, give her her pink bear (Pinky), give her her binky, and then give her kisses. I put her in her crib and tell her that I love her and say goodnight and wave goodbye to her so that she knows we're leaving the room. She usually just sits in her crib, clutching her bear and watches us as she leaves. Sometimes she protests a little, but usually just quietly plays in her crib until she falls asleep. Last night she did something that just melted my heart....I must tell you that it's already hard enough for me to put her down in her crib because I miss her tremendously when she goes to sleep (corny I know, but this little girl has me wrapped around her finger!!). After I set her in her crib and said goodnight and before I could wave goodbye, Victoria puts her little hand in the air and waves goodbye to ME! I just wanted to rush back to her and pick her up and squeeze her, but instead I walked out of the room. Ahhhhh, this kid -- I love her to pieces!

Spoiled Rotten

So Victoria has been fawned over the past couple days this week since her daycare went on vacation and her great-aunt & uncle and grandma are taking care of her. I didn't think that she would act much different, but she has! She is so energetic and in such a good mood when I pick her up after work. I think it's because she is getting spoiled and is most definitely the center of attention! I'm just so happy that she's been able to spend so much time with family....it's something so rare since we live several states away. Thanks Aunt Adele, Uncle Bob & Grandmama!!!!

Delirious

Mom, buy me a swing set....please!

Vic's Sick

I knew she was coming down with a cold on Friday because she woke up and had a little congested cough; however, she always fools me by never letting it get her down (conversely, when I'm sick, I whine and moan and act like the world's coming to an end). So, this weekend I thought she'd be okay...and she was on Friday night, except she went to be at like 6:30pm (way earlier than her usual 7:30-8:00pm). Saturday we went to the park with a friend and her daughter. This was the first time I've taken Vic to a playground (It's finally cooling off to a decent temperature where a kid can go down a slide without burning their butt off.) She had a blast going down the slide and bouncing around on the bouncy toys...but the hit of the playground was the swing. She LOVES the swing. Since the weather is now in the mid 80s I plan to take her to the park/playground every weekend to capitalize on this new finding!

I've also discovered that apparently I am what you would call a "caffeine kick" for Victoria. You may wonder what I mean by this, well, I'll tell you. Victoria is what I call a kinesthetic and spatial learner. She loves to "touch" and "do." Most kids are probably this way, but I would argue that Victoria is extreme. However, Tony tells me different.....apparently when I'm not around, Victoria will sit and watch the Cosby Show and cuddle with Tony. I have yet to see Vic watch t.v. or even look at the t.v. for that matter. And, she only cuddles when she's asleep! So, I've determined that I must be her java for the day because she's so excitable when I'm around. This is why she exhausts me!!!!

She's a talker...wonder who she gets that from????

Vic is talking a mile-a-minute these days. It's so much fun because she's actually making new sounds and changing the inflection of her voice to mimic a conversation. My favorites noises/words/sounds are:
1. Uh Oh! She will do this on her own and also repeat it after me, it's so cute...however, sometimes she gets "hung up" on the UH....and can't finish with the OH.
2. Cat and Dog. She has a toy that has a cat on one side and a dog on the other and she flips back and forth between them. Each time she looks at the cat, I say "cat"...she repeats it. It doesn't usually sound like cat, but it's somewhere in that ballpark. When she looks at the dog, I say "dog"....she tries to repeat it too.
3. A gurgling sound that sounds something like this: guhlughgulugalug. She does this with a mouth full of spit and sometimes blows bubbles.

Vic the snorter

Victoria has discovered snorting as a form of laughter. It is hilarious. Once she starts doing it....or if I snort back at her, she won't stop. She loves to laugh now and once provoked will laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh. I finally babyproofed most of the kitchen cabinets. You may wonder what pushed me over the edge to finally do so...well, I'll tell you. Victoria got into the cabinet that has the cat food in it....let's just say, she must have liked it, because I had to fish it out of her mouth. Anyways, that was the first cabinet I proofed...after I was finished, Tony and I waited for her to go in the kitchen and open her favorite cabinets. Imagine her surprise! It didn't really phase her at all. She's moved on to bigger and better, now she is obsessed with chasing Grayson. She catches his tail most of the time and allows him to drag her around on the tile for a bit while holding on for dear life. I think Grayson secretly loves the attention.

It's starting to cool down a bit here and is pretty chilly in the morning (relatively speaking). So, I purchased some warmer clothing for Vic. Of these clothes, I bought her a pair of cute little jeans with some embroidery on them. I couldn't wait to put them on her! So, i put them on her Friday morning and took her downstairs to get her stuff ready for daycare. I set her on the ground and she looks up at me and gives me this unhappy face and starts to whine. I walk into the kitchen and she follows after me while still fussing. I turn around and look at her and realize that she can't move in these jeans! She is crawling like a robot baby and not getting anywhere. Whoops! So much for cute jeans! Then I thought about it, I wouldn't want to crawl around in any of my jeans!

Pop Art by Vic

Vic hearts her sippy cup

Time Out

So, Victoria has a slight hitting problem. At home, she playfully hits Tony and I when she gets really excited, however, at daycare she is a "hitting bandit!" She is the youngest and smallest at daycare, so I like to assume it's because she is standing up to other bullies...but that doesn't seem to be the case. Victoria smacks Ms. Crystal (The oldest daughter of the daycare owner)who is her favorite person at the daycare whenever Ms. Crystal "doesn't pay enough attention to her" or when she is holding another baby/child. She also smacks around other little kids. In fact, she bullies this 11-month-old little girl. She backs her into corners, steals her binky, and then smacks her for good measure. So, they have been putting Victoria into "time out." Time out consists of going into one of the rooms and sitting in a play pen...Victoria hates it and cries so that everyone knows it. Hopefully this is a phase and this time out disciplinary action will quell the hitting issue....but I won't hold my breath.

Baby proofing

So the time for baby-proofing has arrived. Victoria is enthusiastically opening cupboards, shutting doors (sometimes with her fingers in them), pulling and chewing on cords, toilet papering the bathroom, and trying to figure out the mechanics of anything left on the floor. We purchased a new printer a couple weeks ago and the old one is now sitting on the floor next to the desk. As I set Vic on the ground, she quickly crawls over to the foreign object and proceeds to open and close the paper tray for about 10 minutes. She plays with the slider do-hickey that adjusts the size of the paper feed and is thoroughly amused by the whole thing. At this point I think....why do I even buy her toys???? She has also learned to verbalize her disapproval of things by saying very clearly "no," and also shrieking at the thought of being moved or put down when she's not ready. It's funny because I always thought how much I would hate having a child when they wanted to do things that they weren't suppose to do. Instead, I have a new respect for curiosity. It's an amazing thing...it's what makes them survive because they have to want to "do" and "see" things in order to learn and survive. It's actually pretty cool. The only time it's sans-cool is when you're in public! Not everyone thinks it's cute when Victoria is projecting her baby shrieks across the grocery store just to see how loud she can be. Good thing she's so darn cute.

No more naps????

Yes, sleeping beauty here decided that this weekend she did NOT want to take naps. This is interesting because it's not that she doesn't need naps, it's that she'd rather be up torturing us with her fussing. So, she hit the sack really early (6ish) both Saturday and Sunday. She's so pretty when she sleeps :).

Sibling Rivalry

These two are always fighting over something!

New Tooth

Victoria has a new chomper! This makes tooth number three. It must have just broke through either yesterday or today (upper-left). She's been doing this funny thing with her mouth...it's like she's chewing on air. It's pretty cute. She also started walking with assistance from us and thinks that's pretty cool. She holds on to my hands and giggles while she walks around the room. If she's lucky enough to see Grayson, she squeals and picks up the pace. For the past month or so, she's been practicing her throwing. This make me ELATED! Because of course, I expect her to be quite the softball champ. Tony is convinced that she will be a lefty because she definitely favors her left arm...however, she throws with both (ambidextrous?????)

She has also began to throw mini-tantrums (this is extremely amusing). Whenever I go to set her down, or if I take something away from her, she stiffens her body up and shrieks.....I can see now that we have our hands full with this girl! That's the news for today....check back later for more updates on Ms. Victoria Reese.