The Chapman Family Chatter

First Birth Day

2010-01-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Edith Jane!!

She had the best day. Brett's and my whole family showed up and Miss Edith got LOTS of presents. We had a Curious George themed party and I made a monkey cake. Edith had fun eating the cake and decorating herself with frosting...and me!!!

Her Aunt Jane and Uncle Zan came over and gave her a beautiful winter coat!

Her Granny and Popo also came over for some fun! They got her some clothes and a really cute knit cap!

Edith had a lot of fun opening all of her presents.

She loves her rocking horse from Nana.

Edith had lots of fun with everyone! Including her favorite babysitter, Liza.

November 2009

2009-12-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

The beginning of November was tough. We had to put down our cat Werther. He LOVED Edith, and she loved him. Obviously, she did not understand everything that was going on, but we were sad that she will not remember her first favorite pet.

Edith talks ALL the time now!! She says:
baby "bay-buh", doG, woof, and bye-bye
She has also been separated from a friend at school because they would "talk" so much during nap time!

She accidentally ate her first piece of cheese pizza. She LOVED it, but she is lactose intolerant so the next few days were not so fun.

She is also walking around the living room by holding onto furniture. We got her a little walker, but she is more interested in pushing it around while she is on her knees.

Over the course of one week she went from having two bottom teeth to having SIX teeth, two on the bottom and FOUR on top!!! And she grows her teeth like a champ. We didn't even know she was getting the four on top until we felt them coming through!

She went to her second religious service, a beautiful naming ceremony for a friend's daughter. Edith was great she didn't cry and she was good for the whole service. She also got to wear a really pretty dress...

She received her first birthday present from her Aunt Shannon, and her first pair of big girl pjs from Mom and Dad. Here she is with both, her dog Scout and her monkey jammies!

Finally, we had the best Thanksgiving ever! Edith was super cute and tried a little of everything. She LOVED the bread and mashed potatoes, but was not a huge fan of turkey.

October 2009

2009-12-27T18:27:00.000-08:00

October started out a bit sad. Daddy had to go out of town for work, but Edith and I had a lot of fun hanging out together. We had a few days off for the High Holidays. Edith went to her first synagogue service on Yom Kipper and everyone thought she was the cutest! She continues to eat well and drink lots of formula. She enjoyed her first apple this month too!

She crawls EVERYWHERE and we always have to keep an eye on her. She is also calling everything on four legs "daw". We keep adding the "g" sound to the end and then cheer when she says "daw" and points at the dog!
She is so cute and really yummy!
Since dog was her first word she was a dog for Halloween. And since she points at everything her father calls her a "Pointer".

9.21.09

2009-09-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Edith ate her first quesadilla today!

She liked it!

9.20.09

2009-09-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

Bad Mommy...
Been a while since my last update. Edith is growing by leaps and bounds these days! She has started jumping in her crib. She'll pull herself up and then jump up and down and squeal in delight! She is eating big kid foods. Recently she has had pasta with marinara sauce.

She had a great time on our trip to Louisiana to visit her daddy's family. We stayed with Brett's grandparents and had LOTS of family come visit us while we were there...

Edith and Gramps

Edith and Granny

Edith and Great Uncle Jim

Edith and great Uncle Tim

Edith, Daddy, and the Louisiana HEAT!!

Edith and Mommy

Today she started pointing at our dog and saying "daw, daw"! It is amazing how fast she is growing!

9.3.09

2009-09-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

We had a big day today. The day started as usual, however we knew that we had doctor's appointments in the afternoon. I picked Edith up at 12:30 and we headed over to my appointment. Asthma...fun times. Went home for a bit, and a bottle, then headed out for Edith's appointment. Yeast infection (thrush) and the doctor feels that her ears look iffy again! He wants to wait a few days before checking them again since she just finished her antibiotic from the last ear infection. She also got her first flu shot...Edith loved mommy today...LOL!

9.2.09

2009-09-02T17:07:00.001-07:00

Bad Mommy!

Today was assessment at school so my students were out of the classroom unless I was testing one of them. I knew this when I dropped Edith off this morning. I also knew that she had left Baby Dangle at her other daycare center. I told her teacher that I would bring him up during a lunch break because she never naps without him. When I arrived this afternoon guess who was snoozing in a swing! Well, this is where bad mommy comes in. I went over to kiss her and she woke up. I felt really bad and apologized to her caregivers as I left...ooops!

This evening we spent a lot of time having fun opening her toy drawers and pulling toys out.

9.1.09

2009-09-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Looks like we are working on tooth #3 or PIMA Jr. Edith has a rash, is slightly congested, and wakes up in the middle of the night and will not go back to sleep unless she is in our bed. Here's hoping the tooth shows up soon!

8.31.09

2009-08-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

OK this past week has been pretty rough when it comes to updating the blog sooooo here's a bunch of stuff. Last Wednesday Edith crawled on her hands and knees at daycare and my mom's. She didn't do it again until today, at least not for mommy and daddy!

She has also started to pull up not only on her crib, but furniture around the house.

And finally her mean old parents have finally started to let her sleep with her favorite toy...Baby Dangle!!

8.24.09

2009-08-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend was full of ups and downs. I have already blogged about the ups...here are the downs, or the one down. Edith has ear infection number FIVE! Yep, that would be number five in six short months. Last time this happened...um, last month, her doctor told us that next time she got an ear infection we would go to see an ENT and talk tubes. We'll see her ped in a couple of weeks to see what he says now.

On a cuter and happier note...when I picked up Edith from daycare today she was very happy. I went into the crib area to grab her monkey friend Baby Dangle and she started to cry. I reassured her I would be back and then whipped around with Baby Dangle in hand. She lit up and started to clap, oh yum!

8.23.09

2009-08-23T18:52:00.000-07:00

Today I had my Sunday School teacher in-service at my synagogue. I will be teaching 2nd and 3rd grade Judaics this year. I am really excited about the curriculum.

While I was at in-service Brett and Edith spent the day together. Edith learned to clap her hands multiple times in a row. On Friday she clapped once and it freaked her out...today lots of clapping!

After all that clapping she was apparently inspired and crawled two "steps" on her hands and knees...no army crawl. All of this work really tuckered her out! She usually sleeps curled up on her side or butt up on her tummy. Tonight she PASSED OUT!

8.21.09

2009-08-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day for Edith. While at her Granny's she started pushing herself to sitting up from her tummy and she clapped for the first time! She is growing up so fast I can't believe it!

Tonight Aunt Jane and Uncle Zan came over for Shabbat dinner. We had a wonderful time having dinner together, not such a great time watching the Titans lose to the Cowboys. I am not going to hear the end of that at school on Monday!

8.19.09

2009-08-19T19:37:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is my first day with kids in the classroom again...I am so excited about my new class.

But, here's the good stuff !!!

8.18.09

2009-08-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

Edith had a big day today! She pulled herself up to standing in her crib for the first time ever!!! Then when I picked her up from daycare we went back to my classroom so I could work...I placed Edith in her pack n play and in the twenty-five minutes she was in there she got up on her hands and knees and rocked at least seven times. I think that was more than she had done that the ENTIRE summer. I had a feeling that once she was back in daycare and around other kids she would really start to move!

When she and I arrived home we played! She again showed me all the ways that she is becoming a big girl, and all I could think was..."where did my baby go?!"

Then she showed me yet again how she plans on being an audiophile!

8.17.09

2009-08-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

Today was Edith's first day back in daycare. She started out in the toddler room at the JCC, however as her daddy feared she is way too small to be in that room. When I came in to pick her up the director asked me to come into her office to tell two things. One, everyone loved Edith and many teachers made special trips to the toddler room just to see her, and two, she wants to move Edith to the infant room until January. Given the fact that Edith is still belly crawling and the kids in the toddler room are RUNNING and TALKING it makes complete sense to me and Brett. Edith seemed to have a wonderful time today. When I got there she was crawling all around the infant room, and squealed and grinned upon my arrival.

8.16.09

2009-08-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

We ate pasta today! Well, Edith did. She made some really funny faces, but ate it up. It was cool watching her eat normal big-kid food!

hmmmmmm

YUM!

I think...

8.15.09

2009-08-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

OK yum...we haven't even eaten yet, but the smells filling my house are amazing. We are having this awesome looking dish and baked sweet potatoes drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. I cannot wait to eat!

Today was exhausting. While working out this morning I noticed that one of our trees in the backyard seemed lower than normal. It was...a full third of the tree had broken off and was on the ground. Brett and I had planned on spending the day killing our lawn so that we could replant in a month, alas we spent the day cleaning up 30 feet of Bradford Pear tree! A friend of my parent's, who works for the forest service, came over to check out what was going on...we have to cut the tree down. I am really upset because it is the tree outside our bedroom windows and provides such amazing shade. Oh, well it kicked our butts into gear about getting our yard in shape. I think we are going to buy a couple of dwarf apple trees to replace the Bradford Pear. They will not get as tall as this tree did and then threaten our home.

Edith spent the day playing, napping, and eating. She was adorable as always! She pulled herself up onto her knees in her crib by pulling up on the side. She was very excited all day today, lots of laughs and squeals. I did find that she had cornered her pink monkey, Baby Dangle, in her crib during nap time today. She was holding him in the corner and squealing at him!

8.14.09

2009-08-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Work day 2...I am exhausted. Thankfully my NON-JEWISH family wanted B and I to come over and welcome Shabbat with them so I did not have to cook. My family rocks!

8.13.09

2009-08-13T17:08:00.001-07:00

Today was my first day back at work. Work was actually pretty fun...we went "glow" golfing at Opry Mills and I got a lot accomplished in my classroom.
I missed Edith SOOOOOOOOO much! When I got home at 6pm I spent the next hour kissing and hugging her, luckily she wanted to kiss and hug me back. I love my kid, she's so damn cute!

8.10.09

2009-08-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

Today Edith tried pears and raspberries for lunch. She loved them. She ate two ounces of sweet potatoes and then almost FOUR ounces of pears and raspberries. She also has a few new "words". Among her favorites are da-da-da, wa-wa-wa, la-la-la, and ba-ba-ba. We are very proud.

8.9.09

2009-08-09T19:54:00.001-07:00

Edith tried a lemon tonight.

hmmmmm.....

She was unimpressed.

Today Brett and I got to sleep in because my parents had Edith overnight. It was really nice to be lazy again. We have not had a chance to sleep in like that in 8+ months.

This afternoon we all went over to my parent's house for my brother-in-law's birthday party. We had a lot of fun. Great food, great people, and games!! At the end of the party we watched the Titans preseason football game. Edith was really excited to cheer them on to victory!

She also enjoyed a second date with Master Cooper Wells.

8.8.09

2009-08-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Today Brett and I celebrated four years since our first date, yup we are that cheesey! We started off by having a wonderful day at home.

Edith and I played with her toys.

She then became Queen of the Block People.

While we played Brett went out to take`advantage of the tax-free weekend at CostCo...we got diapers!

This evening Brett and I went over to a friend' s house to hang out and play games. We played Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture Edition. We had a great time even though Brett and Richard won :(

While we had a lovely evening of games and adult beverages, Edith spent her first overnight away from Mommy and Daddy. She had a great time playing with her Granny and Papo.

8.7.09

2009-08-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today Edith spent the day with Granny. They had lots of fun. My parents had their piano restored this past year and it was finished and arrived back home today so Edith and Granny played the piano and sang together. She also loves her exersaucer at Granny and Papo's house.

While she hung out with Granny I had a day of cleaning and workout planned. It amazes me that I use my free time to clean and workout. What ever happened to sitting on my butt and watching bad tv? I mean I still do that, but now any time Edith is out of the house it is a frantic day of getting stuff done!

When Edith and I arrived back home this evening we played on the floor with blocks and stuffed animals.

Is it wrong that I want to eat her?!?!? :)

Thankfully we ate this instead. Kudos to Ansley for blogging about it two days ago. We had it over brown rice and used boneless, skinless chicken breasts...it was amazing!

8.6.09

2009-08-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Today Edith and I went to the neighborhood park. Edith rode in a swing for the first time and LOVED it. She would grin every time I would give her a push even though the walk over there reduced us both to watery puddles of sweat. She also finally used her mesh feeder correctly. I have given it to her a few times with a couple of pieces of pear in it. She would just chew on the end...today...thanks Cari...frozen banana and she was in heaven!

This evening we met the family at Cheesecake Factory to wish my uncle's family farewell on their way back to Egypt.

8.5.09

2009-08-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

I have been inspired...thanks, It's A Wells World!

Today was a big day for the Chapman family. Edith is now eating puffs by herself! She is such a big girl. She also signed to eat and for milk. Daddy and I are so excited and proud of our little bug.
Edith has also made it through four ear infections, she finally finished her last round of antibiotics which she LOATHED! We are very hopeful that we will make it until December without another one therefor negating the need for tubes, but we are not holding our breath.
Tonight Aunt Jane gathered the Osgood clan and we all watched Edith eat her puffs, then we put her to bed, and finally enjoyed taco salads.

JUMPAROO!!!

2009-06-14T20:13:00.001-07:00

Edith LOVES her Jumparoo!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwx1BvRSXGo

"Spring" Cleaning

2009-06-14T19:04:00.001-07:00

I spent the majority of my weekend cleaning our house. On Friday I cleaned out Edith Jane's room and found a bunch of toys she had gotten when she was born that are geared toward 6 months+. Since she was too little they lived at the back of her closet until Friday. I have to say I was pretty excited to see what she would do with the new goods...

Saturday I cleaned the rest ofthe house for a CAbi show/Bunko Girls Night party. I washed my chair and couch covers, swept, dry mopped, and wet mopped all of the floors in the house and did a TON of laundry. Part of the laundry was from the Edith room sweep when I loaded all of the cloths that no longer fit into a big tub, and unloaded all the bigger clothes...the new stuff needed to be washed.

Finally today the family came over and worked in the yard. We pulled weeds and ivy. My brother-in-law yanked out a dead tree and a dead bush that have been driving me crazy since we bought the house. This was stage one of a mult-stage plan to make our yard look less Clampet-like. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Day One of Edith and Mommy's Summer of Fun (Mommy's Shape-Up Summer)

2009-06-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

Edith and I started summer break off right...ummmmm....

I completed day 3 of my 30 day Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred video with my friend Melissa! After day 5 I get to buy a new book to read...woo hoo!

Then just for kicks Edith had a massive diaper blow out. I couldn't just change her, no way too much goo for that. I had to strip her down in our tub and just stick her butt in the stream from the faucet, fun times!

This afternoon Edith sat all by herself for a good two minutes. She did this even while distracted by a cat! I was very impressed. She loves her Jumparoo and spent 30 minutes playing in it today. After the Jumparoo of fun Edith and I went for a nice walk around the neighborhood where she promptly fell asleep.

Fun Firsts

2009-05-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks we have had a few cool first time events from Miss Edith. Yesterday she started really rolling around. A few times she would roll from her back to her tummy and immediately roll back over. A couple of times she would roll away from something!

This morning Daddy and I awoke to the "dulcet" tones of her Fisher-Price Rainforest Aquarium which she has learned to turn off and on at will. It was great, we were able to sleep an extra 45 minutes!

Additionally, over the last week or so she has discovered the fun to be had in her Jump-a-Roo. She will bounce for a half hour at a time. She has found all of the really fun noise-maker pieces already much to our "pleasure".

All in all this month 5 has been very eventful for young Edith and her development!

Celiac Disease

2009-05-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like Miss Edith may have celiac disease just like her mama. Without going into too much BM detail, she has had a very difficult two days, now has a HORRID rash, and screams everytime I put her on the changing table. The doctor says based on stool tests it looks like a food related intestinal issue...wow sounds like celiac. So, for now, she is back to bottles of formula and NO veggies or cereal. He's hoping that her intersines will work themselves out and then we will try out solids again, this time with gluten-free oats!

My First Mother's Day

2009-05-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

My first Mother's Day was lovely. Brett had to do some work stuff early in the morning so I had Edie all morning. I got up and cleaned bottles and got stuff ready for the upcoming work week. After a bit I heard Edie talking to herself, or her fake fish...don't really know. Anyway I went into her room for the BEST. MOTHER'S DAY PRESENT.EVER!!!!

Edie's big old toothless grin.

She just busts into the biggest smile whenever we come and rescue her from baby jail. I changed her, gave her a bottle, and we played.

By the time she was ready for her morning nap Brett had arrived home. He made me breakfast and took care of Edie for the rest of the day. I got to read and lounge around in bed. It was heavenly!

That afternoon we went over to my parent's house and met my sister and brother in law. We made dinner for my mom and all hung out together. It was nice.

I have to say this was a perfect first Mother's Day...it helped that Brett let me do whatever I wanted!

Three Weeks of Chaos

2009-04-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

So it all started on April 2. After school the three Chapmans hopping in the car and started a VERY long drive up to Chicago for a wedding. We drove through some really bad weather so it took us two hours just to get to Kentucky, normally a one hour drive. By 10pm we got to Louisville. This is when we gave in and stopped for the night! Edie did great in the car and at the hotel. They didn't have any cribs avaliable so we stripped the second bed, swaddled Edie (who refuses to roll over at this point) and put her in the middle of the bed where she slept for the night. The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel dining area. Here we are:

On Friday, April 3 we arrived in Chicago and spent the night at my aunt's house. When Brett and I arrived at her house we found an Edith sized rocking chair!

That night we went to the rehersal dinner at the beautiful Lincolnshire Marriot Resort. Edie was extremely well behaved. She even laughed for all of the people coming out of the theater when I changed her. She looked beautiful in her fancy dress:

We heading into the city to stay with some friends who have a two year old much to Edith's entertainment. We were able to attend my cousin's wedding and Edith was able to watch the Fish Show!

While we were attending the reception Brett got a text from his cousin letting im know that his grandfather was ill. So, off to California...

Edie's YouTube Debut!

2009-03-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=din5gnfkyBA

Get past the first minute and a half...we think it's pretty cute!

The Newest Chatty Chapman!!

2009-02-10T07:22:00.001-08:00

The coolest thing has started to happen...Edie has become very chatty! Yesterday Edie, her dad and I "chatted" for about 30 minutes. She coos and gaas and is totally interactive. As I write this she is chatting away in her crib.

She comes from VERY chatty stock so we are not entirely surprised that she's already at it!

Baby Dating

2009-02-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

So this past weekend Edie had her first two "dates". On Saturday she met my friend Shab's son. They were held next to each other, cried together, and ate together. Overall, quite a first date:

Of course they needed a bit of help hanging out together, but had a good time nonetheless!

On Sunday we watched the SuperBowl over at Granny and Popo's house. Ansley and Christopher brought over Mr. Cooper! Again, the kids chilled out on the bed after a diaper change, cried together, ate together, and napped in the same room! It was very cute:

Of course these are psuedo-dates, and I dread the first real date in my daughter's future...hell I know what I was like!

Night Time Feedings and other Parenthood Fantasies

2009-02-02T02:57:00.000-08:00

Night time feedings were something I never thought about as I fantasized about having children. What I did fantasize about was the perfect breastfeeding experience. I thought that I would wake up when my baby did, pull her into bed with me, roll onto my side and stick my boob in her mouth...silly me. I thought that I would breastfeed my child the way women do in the movies. It would be perfect and my child and I would bond with each other as I fed her...again silly me.

In my nine weeks as a parent I have learned one major lesson. All of the fantasies of parenthood that I had are just that fantasies. That is not to say that I don't love being a parent, I do. However, I already know what I would do differently next time. That used to annoy the hell out of me about my parents. As the oldest I would get so mad when they would say..."Well, by the time Jane got here we knew that _______ wouldn't hurt her so we let her do/have/use it." I have to say, now I get it...poor Edie!

Overall parenting Edie is amazing. She is amazing. I love her giant head, and her long fingers. I love her smiles, and I love her coos! I hate breastfeeding her. I have worked so hard to make this work and while working so hard to create the perfect breastfeeding experience, a plentiful supply (mine is low), a lack of pain (bad latch), and a wonderful bond...I have stressed to the point that there is no way I could possibly enjoy the experience let alone bond with my child. And now in the midst of the final straw...having a nine week old who is back on every three hour feeding 24-7 I had one of the best breastfeeding experiences to date, WTF?!?!?!

So again, I have learned that all of my parenting fantasies are just that, and I, the control freak teacher, better learn to expect the unexpected, and stop planning!!!