margaretyagan

By now, Grandma Droste and I are totally in sync.  Tuesday went by very smoothly, except my sleeping schedule is still just a bit off.

Wednesday got off to a good start when I got to say hi to Aunt Claire when she called Grandma Droste from India!  Grandma and I sang together and played Pat-a-Cake and then I crawled all the way from my playmat to my favorite room in the whole house, the small bathroom attached to the living room.

It was better weather, so we got to go for a walk on Division Street.  I saw a bunch of dogs (aren’t they cold without coats on?!).  Grandma and I sat at Milk & Honey, where I ate my bottle and Grandma had banana bread.  As usual, I played with whatever I could get my hands on — in this case, spoons and straws were my favorite items.  Several other patrons seemed to enjoy watching me.

Thursday was my birthday!  I’m 9 months old. Wow. I’ve now been out of my Mom’s tummy longer than I was in it!  To celebrate, I got to start on a new food — and a pretty different one at that: egg yolk, yogurt, and avocado puree.  Think about that for a second.

After lunch, Grandma and I walked to Dominick’s.  I talked to Grandma most of the way there.  My stroller doubled as the shopping cart and I got to hang on to everything we bought.  Then the strangest thing happened – I had a balloon meltdown.

Right before we checked out, Grandma was so nice that she decided to buy me a balloon.  The lady in the floral department inflated a bright red one with a nice ribbon.  As soon as Grandma tied it to my stroller, I totally freaked out!  I’ve stared with amazement at balloons Dad and I come across at Dominick’s every week, but something about this balloon tied to my stroller drove me crazy!

I gave Mom the gift of sleep for my birthday, going 10.5 hours straight into Friday morning.  Friday was pretty low-key.  We stayed inside and tried to stay warm!  Dad got home just in time to play with me a bit before my bedtime.

Today was my third day on antibiotics and I sure felt a lot better!  It was great to wake up and see Mom, Dad, and Grandma Droste!  Breakfast was a bit of a challenge because the oatmeal was a bit thicker and chewier than anything I’d eaten before.  Grandma doctored it up, though, and I got it all down.  I was in a great mood after my morning nap and ate my lunch really easily.  I crawled three strokes in a row – not sure if that officially means I can crawl or not (Dad sure thinks so).

My afternoon nap was extra fun because I slept in bed with Grandma.  We both felt great when we got up and played and sang together on my mat.  As usual, Dad popped up and visited every so often.  Late in the afternoon, he even took a longer break from work and I played with him on the floor in his office!

Mom took the day off today, so my schedule in the morning was a bit unusual for a weekday, but extra fun because I got to spend so much time with Mom.  Grandpa came over around 1:00 to hang out with me for a while so Mom could get a phone call for work.  My new food for the day was a stew made out of sweet potatoes, asparagus, and leeks.  Let me tell you, it looks even worse than it sounds!

Dad got home from work just in time to put me to bed. I finally got to wish Grandpa a happy birthday because he was here watching me while Mom and Dad went to a dinner for Mom’s work at Club Lucky.

Saturday morning started pretty much like any other.  Dad got up with me and we played together.  I was definitely in a bad mood and feeling pretty crappy.  Mom decided she was going to make an appointment for me to see the doctor.  Dad rolled his eyes (of course), but deferred to Mom.  We got an appointment for just after noon with Dr. Blade, who I hadn’t seen before.

We got there and I was in a great mood, showing off my moves and flashing my best smile.  Dad (illegally!) weighed me on the scale and I came in well over 20 pounds!  Dr. Blade came in and she was so nice!  She complimented me on my “task persistence” and said that my lymph nodes and everything else looked great.  But, she said that I had a mild ear infection, probably because of the congestion I had last week caused fluid to build up that my eustachian tube couldn’t drain fast enough.  I got my first prescription ever (amoxicillin) and took off.  In a rare event, Dad gave mom some propers for motherly instincts.

Mom had to head off to a baby shower for a friend, so Dad and I went to Dominick’s and did our weekly grocery shopping.  The pharmacist was so nice and kept complimenting me!  Finally we got home and Dad gave me my medicine.  I got to see Grandpa Yagan again on Saturday night because Mom and Dad had yet another social event — McDonald’s holiday party at the Blackstone.  (Random fact: the holiday party was in the exact same room that Mom & Dad had their senior prom!)

Sunday was pretty low-key.  We didn’t do too much.  We stuck around the house and hung out as a big happy family!  Sunday evening Dad went to Starbucks to work so Mom and I played and did projects around the house.  Did you know a laundry basket makes a great train ride?

I woke up at 6:10 this morning in a good mood – and still with a runny nose.  My diaper must have weighed 5 pounds!   I got dressed and played on the floor in her room with Grandma for a few minutes.  We played in the living room and read a book and ate breakfast at 7:00.

We played on the couch with some toys and read another book, accompanied by more nose running.  Why does Grandma Droste keep wiping my nose! We watched out the window and played with the blind cord for about 30 minutes. At lunch, I ate carrots (with garlic & dill!) for the first time ever.

By the afternoon, I was feeling much better. I quit sneezing so much and my nose isn’t so runny. I am really happy about that because I hate it when Grandma wipes my nose. It hurts!

I ate all of my lunch, and it was yummy. Grandma keeps letting me have water in my sippy cup, too; I drank almost 6 ounces of water today!  My early afternoon nap lasted from 1:10 until 2:30 p.m. Grandma sang me to sleep in her bed – after singing “Are You Sleeping, Margaret?” about 52 times non-stop.

We had such a good time after I got up from my nap. Grandma has been practicing “Pat-Cake, Baker Man”with me – it maskes me smile!

Wednesday was more of the same, except I had a total meltdown in the morning.  I think my cold is getting worse, not better.

Thursday was Grandpa Yagan’s birthday, but I didn’t get to see him today!  Grandma Droste left for the weekend, too, so I miss her already!

Wow, what a rough night.  I was so congested that I could barely sleep.  I got up at a bit after midnight screaming really loudly.  Dad tried to come in and work his magic, but he totally failed.  Then Mom came in and made an even more valiant effort — she sat with me in my bathroom with the shower on hot to try steam out my snot.  That worked for a while, but soon enough I was up again.  Well, finally Dad came in and — for the first time I can remember — admitted defeat by bringing me into his and Mom’s bed.  Miraculously, I slept a lot better.  It was fun to see Mom and Dad wage mini-battles over who got to put his or her arm around me!

I slept so well that Mom left even before I got up.  Dad and I got up together, around 6:45.  We came downstairs and Grandma Droste was right there waiting for me!  I didn’t really drink much of my bottle, and I nibbled at my lunch with what Grandma called “lackluster enthusiasm.”  Grandma and I played and read and had a really fun time together.  Dad was working from home, so I got to see him whenever he came upstairs for anything.

In the afternoon, I played with Grandma in her bed and eventually fell asleep with her for about an hour.  I got up and still refused to drink more than a few ounces of my bottle.  But, I had the best time ever in my Jumperoo!  I was getting real air — watch out WNBA!

I noticed that it snowed today, which would have been awesome had I not been too miserable to go outside and enjoy it!

Dad gave me some Tylenol at about 4:30.  At 5:00, much to my surprise, Grandpa Yagan dropped by to see me!  I hadn’t seen him since Wednesday.  I greeted him with a huge smile and he whisked me away and started playing with me.  He even insisted on feeding me dinner!  It was really great to see him and I am so glad he stopped by.

I have a question, though.  What is it about grandparents that makes them so passionate about wiping the snot off my face?  I hate it when people wipe my face off!  Dad never does.  He leaves the snot there and you can always find remnants of the last meal he fed me.  But not Grandma Droste and Grandpa Yagan.  They were militant!

Dad was hoping I’d make it to 7:00, but by 6:50, I was having a meltdown.  Dad gave me my bottle and then read me my goodnight story in my bathroom-turned-sauna.  I was so exhausted that I fell asleep mid-scream!