First Day of Work, and a Wheat Problem?

Well I survived my first day back to work! Kate did too. :) I was actually fine all day and didn't cry once. I think it helped SO much that she had already been going to daycare, so it wasn't a big deal for me to drop her off. It was a little sad to pick her up at 6:00, and put her to bed at 7:00... It's sad to think that's all the time I'm going to get to see her during the week. I'm sure once I'm in the swing of things at work the days will be shorter though. It was a good day - I think I'm really going to enjoy it. (As long as I have to be working, that is!)

As for Kate, we sort of have a new problem/adventure going on with her. She has started spitting up pretty big amounts again (after having stopped completely at 6 months.) When I picked Kate up this evening, they told me that she projectile vomited 2-3 times today. Poor baby. We discussed what had been going on with Kate over the weekend - that she had been eating Cheerios and Graham Crackers for the first time. Then, last night when I put Kate to bed, she SCREAMED. She did NOT want to be in bed. If I was holding her she was fine, but when I laid her back down, she screamed again. Anyone who knows Kate knows that this is not normal for her at all. She's normally super easy to get to bed. Then she woke up screaming again around 5 this morning, which again, she hasn't done since she was about 8 weeks old. (Of course she chose to have a night like this my last night before going back to work!) So the girls who keep Kate said that she screamed today as well when they laid her down for her naps. They suggested that it could possibly be a wheat problem?! Which makes a lot of sense... She had eaten a ton of Cheerios and Graham crackers over the weekend, and had spit up / mildly vomited a ton as well. I looked up wheat allergy in infants and sure enough some of the symptoms are abdominal cramps, nausea, and vomiting. So that could totally explain her screaming if she had abdominal cramping and/or nausea. Poor dear. So I'm going to cut out wheat for a couple weeks, see what happens, then reintroduce and see if it comes back.

DaDa

Kate said "DaDa" to Jeff for the first time tonight! She's been saying it for a week or two now, but never to or in front of Jeff. We met some friends at Chilis or dinner tonight, and after we were done eating, I had Kate playing in my lap, facing me. I turned her around and she saw Jeff across the table, lit up and said "DaDa!" It was SO cute!! I love that she can say DaDa now, after saying Mama so long ago!

Cupcake Disaster

So I decided on a cupcake theme for Kate's first birthday party. I bought a really cool Wilton cake pan to make a giant cupcake. Adorable, right?


I love it. I knew there would be a learning curve when it comes to making this cake, so I decided to start NOW with test cakes to make sure I can do it perfectly by the time Kate's birthday comes. So, without further ado, my first test cake.



HA!!!! It was a total disaster. The cake is so deep that it took almost an hour to bake, and by the time it was physically done, it was so burnt to a crisp! It was nasty. So, to be fair, I didn't really even try to do the frosting right, but I could tell that it would be very difficult to make the frosting look like the model cupcake. I don't know how to do it in those perfect swirls?? So I'm thinking about giving up. I'll probably try another test cake here or there, but there's a girl at our church who does amazing cake decorating, so I might just have her do it for me!

Back to Work

All good things must come to an end. This will be my last week as a stay at home mom. After being jobless for 9 months, I was finally offered a job on Monday, and I accepted it this morning. As far as jobs go, I am actually pretty excited about it, with the exception of the hefty salary cut. I will be working from my car essentially, driving around to construction sites doing stormwater quality inspections and reports. I won't have an office to go to, nor a dresscode to follow! I enjoy driving and listening to talk radio, so it will actually be great! I will dearly miss being at home with Kate though, and I already have a lot of guilt about it. But, both Jeff and I know that we couldn't afford for me to be jobless forever. The sooner I'm working, the sooner we can work on paying off school loans, the car, and our second mortgage so that the next time around, I can be a stay at home mom for Kate and #2. I start on Monday!

Eight Months

My baby girl is eight months old today! I just can't believe it. I'm starting to think about her first birthday party. It's only 4 months away! I have no idea what I'm going to do yet, but it's fun to think about ideas.




And one of my friends just pointed out to me what an idiot I am - I put "2008" on her piece of paper! haha! Oops!

Christmas Pictures

There are way too many pictures from Christmas to post here, so I'll just post the link to my Facebook album. Enjoy!

Click Here for Christmas Pictures

My Big Girl

Kate has rung in the new year with a new sleeping position! Yesterday, when I went to get her up from a nap, she was laying on her belly! Ever since that point, she's been sleeping all her naps and overnight on her tummy! She looks so cute asleep like that, but part of me is a little sad that she changed, I don't know why! I guess just because she's growing up. I think it's cute though that until now, she has slept just like Daddy - on her back with arms above her head. Now she sleeps just like me, on her tummy with arms up by her head. So cute. She has also learned how to clap AND wave in the last week! She is making such big strides!

We are still at my parents' house for one more day. We've had a great time with my family, although we have been the house of sickness while everyone has been here. I think it started with me - on Christmas night I started feeling sick, and spent that whole overnight feeling like I was going to throw up. Thankfully it only lasted overnight. Then my brother got the flu. It seemed to stop there, but then Micah got sick (the doctor thinks strep throat) and Andrea & Steve caught it too. So it's been rough around here, but still a lot of fun to be with family none the less.