margaretyagan

I woke up Saturday morning, expecting to see Dad.  But after Mom got me up and fed me, instead of handing me off to Dad, like most Saturdays, Mom headed downstairs and I got a different surprise — Aunt Claire!  Yay!

Of course, A/C continued Dad’s usual Saturday morning  tradition of making a Starbucks run. When we got back home, she fed me my bottle and hung out with me.  Then I found out my second surprise of the weekend — Grandpa Droste was visiting, too!  I wish Aunt Sarah could have been here, too (but I hear rumors that she’ll be coming soon!).

Grandpa, A/C, and I went to Potbelly’s to pick up lunch (I’m really getting jealous of all this variety everyone else gets to have.  I just have two choices: real milk or fake milk!)I sat at the lunch table with everyone while they ate (really really quickly!).  Grandma Droste did some yard work while I hung out with A/C and her friends Charlie and Julie.  I got to watch them have lunch (at Milk & Honey).  Julie & Charlie were so fun…and they must have liked me, too, because they offered to babysit me!

On Sunday morning we went to the Wicker Park farmers’ market.  We stopped by the organic babyfood stand — the food looked so yummy!  Last time I visited the stand was a couple months ago with Dad.  I hope it’ll still be there when I’m eating solids in just a couple weeks!

On Monday I hung out with Grandmaand A/C until Mom got home around 3:00.  I missed her so much!  But where’s Dad? 😦

Mom was amazed that the yard looked so nice and the house was so clean.  And of course, I was so happy!  I spent the rest of the day getting caught up with Mom!

This was a really cool week for me, as I got a lot of quality time with Grandma Droste (hopefully Nana and Grandpa Yagan enjoyed their week off!).  It’s so cool to remember that there are so many people who love me.  My days actually weren’t so different — lots of play time and lots of time outside.

On Wednesday, Grandma and I went on three walks.  In the morning we went on a really long walk up Damen Avenue. On another outing we hung out in Wicker Park and then on our third trip we walked along Division.  On one of our trips, we came home with sunflowers and cantaloupe.

I still wasn’t a champ napper, but I took two naps longer than 45 minutes each.  After Mom got home, the three of us took a trip to Oberweis.  I’m starting to get jealous!

On Thursday we did a lot of tummy-time and I got a lot of practice sitting up — I’m so close to being able to do it on my own!  I took a pretty long nap — on Grandma’s arm!  And a really long nap (2 hours!) later in the afternoon.  We even squeezed in a trip to Dominick’s!

On Friday I learned that I have a favorite book called (ever so cleverly) Colors.  I especially liked the the orange (Dad’s favorite color!) and the blue door.  I took another long (1.5 hour) nap, too.

Before Mom got home, Grandma and I cleaned the house for Mom & Dad.  We did an especially good job on the bathrooms and we made Mom’s and Dad’s bed.  After Mom got home, the three of us ran to Home Depot.

Grandma sat with me in the back of the car whenever we all went anywhere.  And throughout the week she gave me my first singing lessons ever!  Well, more like we traded high-pitched squeals.  But hey, if I ever make American Idol, I’ve got her to thank.

All in all, it was a really fun week with Grandma Droste!

We had a pretty uneventful morning.  Dad had to travel for work, but Mom took the day off to stay home with me.  I guess she missed me so much after being gone all last week!

We went to pick up Grandma  Droste at the train station around 1:00 pm.  I fell asleep on the way, as is becoming pretty common for me.  When I woke up, Grandma was really glad to see me.  I totally remembered her from my last trip to Dow over July 4th and greeted her with a big smile.

After lunch we headed off to my doctors’ office to get the shots that I couldn’t get yesterday because of my temperature on Sunday night.  They are in a new office now, but it’s still not very fun or kid-friendly.  Oh well, I guess that’s just more incentive not to get sick!

I got two shots today, my second HIB and my second polio.  There hasn’t been a case of polio diagnosed in the US in over 20 years, so I guess I’m doing this for the public good.  I cried much less than I have at any of my previous visits, and by the time we got home I wasn’t even fussy — just really sleepy.

Mom had to go to women’s admissions panel for Stanford so Grandma did the bedtime routine — which went perfectly!

That’s right, I’m 5 months old today!  I felt a lot better today — but not good enough to have to go to the doctor’s office to get my latest round of vaccinations.  Apparently I have to have 24 hours without a fever before I can get my shots.

For my birthday, Mom and Dad got out the stroller that I got from Marty & Sara!  They’re so nice!  This new stroller is supposed to be for 6-month-old babies, but apparently I’m super-advanced.  I really like it because I can sit up straight and face forward.

I’m dreading getting my shots tomorrow.  I sure hope Mom doesn’t convince Dad that I should get caught up on all the vaccinations I am behind on.  That would hurt!

 My cold has had one clear effect: my face has turned into a waterfall!  I’ve got saliva coming out of my mouth and snot coming out of my nose like there’s no tomorow. 

Dad and I spent much of the morning together, including a trip to our front yard (actually, our side yard, I guess).  I’m getting so good at almost sitting.  But every minute or two I do a face-plant, so I guess that doesn’t quite count yet.

In the afternoon I took one of my longest naps ever (maybe the longest ever!): 4 hours.  Mom and Dad were shocked and worried about me, but I really needed it to help get over this cold.

The three of us went for a walk, as usual, in the evening.  After we got back, Mom got even more worried about me and decided that something was really wrong.  So, Mom and Dad took my temperature (for the first time since March!) and I had a temperature of 100.4.

Well, I had my first cold today.  It’s really hard for me to eat or breathe because I can’t breathe through my nose.  But I was really excited to have Mom back after her week-long trip to Europe!

Mom didn’t get in until really, really late last night, so she spent most of the day catching up on sleep while I hung out with Dad.

Despite Nana’s suggestion that I stay inside all day, Dad and I started the day with a trip to Dominick’s.

I also took a couple steam showers with Mom (that’s where Mom & I get in the shower and the steams clears up my nose!).

Mom, Dad, and I went for a walk in the evening and then I went to sleep…

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words…I say a video is worth two pictures! We didn’t take any pictures today (Nana & Grandpa had their hands full with me!), so here’s a video from last weekend that I thought you’d enjoy:

Well, I was sleeping perfectly well when all of a sudden I heard some noises in my room. Oddly, it was Dad and it was 4:30 am. That made no sense to me! Anyway, so since Dad was around and I was up, I screamed for my bottle — which, mysteriously — Dad already had with him! So weird.

I woke up for the day at 6:20 and Nana came and got me out of my crib. More weirdness. To celebrate the weirdness, I woke up with a huuuuuge poop. Good morning!

The day got pretty normal after that. I at at 7:00 and 10:00 in the morning, with a nice nap in between. I also read with Nana and entertained myself better than I usually had. Nana and I went to Wicker Park for about an hour and saw what appeared to be Mexican festivities.

Anyway, I had my last bottle of the day exactly at 8:00, as usual, but Nana gave it to me in my room (Nana never feeds me in my room!). After I ate, Nana put me in my crib and that was that. Where were Mom & Dad?!?! I saw Dad ever-so-briefly, but I’ve never gone to sleep without either of them around!

Well, it seems like this was a really big deal — and I missed Mom & Dad — but it all went so smoothly.

My night was uneventful. I woke up at 4:00 for a bottle and then 6:30 for the day. I was a bit fussier than usual today and I think I’m coming down with a cold! I think I got it from Dad…Nana always tells him to stop kissing my face, but he never does! I took really, really short naps, mostly because I had trouble breathing through my stuffy nose (it’s actually hard to drink of a bottle with a stuffy nose, too!).

Nana did a great job putting me to bed and I was fast asleep by 8:30.

My night was totally uneventful until I woke up around 4:30.  Dad gave me a botle and I fell right back to sleep, until around 7:00.  Nana was really excited to have me and she grabbed me out of Dad’s hands.  I got a bottle around 7:30 and then Nana and I headed out to the park until about 9:00, after which I took a one-hour nap.

I woke up, ate, and played for a bunch with Nana and Grandpa.  Dad came back from his conference (skipipng the last couple sessions!) and went down to the office to work.

Perhaps the most exciting part of my day was that I got a new piece of equipment: a spinner!  I can’t remember who got me this gift (before I was even born!), but it wasn’t until today that Dad got it out.  I totally love it!  I lifted my head higher than ever, started supporting more weight on my arms, and got to spin around in circles. 

I got a bath from Dad and then Nana handled my bedtime routine so that she could be consistent tomorrow when she’s in charge!

I woke up three times overnight as the worst thunderstorm of my life rolled through Chicago.  Luckily all I needed was my pacifier to get back to bed, but between my waking up and the risk for storm damage, Dad definitely didn’t get much sleep.  I woke up for the morning around 6:00, but I was more than just hungry — you know it, I had a huge poop.  I ate and went back to bed until about 7:15, when Dad brought me downstairs and took off for his conference. 

Nana helped me do my exercises in the morning and then took me for a walk to the park.  After my first two feedings in the morning, which are still pretty close together, I’m definitely getting closer to about 3 hours between feedings (it helps that I’m getting 5.5 ounces per bottle these days!).  I took four naps today, only one of which lasted more than two hours.

Dad got back from his conference and went to work down in the office.  At around 7:15, he strapped me into the Baby Bojorn and took me for a walk (designed, I think, to distract me until bedtime).  We walked “the triangle” — Damen to Milwaukee to Division.  As soon as we got back, Dad got my bottle ready (thanks, Mom, for the milk you left me!) and put me to bed.

I did Dad a huge favor by sleeping 8 hours and not getting up for a snack until 4:30 am.  Dad brought me a bottle and then I fell right back to sleep until 7:00!  So, 10.5 hours of sleep with only one quick snack.  Nana was already up and about getting my bottles ready, eating breakfast, and generally getting ready for me to come down the stairs.

As soon as I did, she grabbed me out of Dad’s arms and the fun began.  I ate at 7:30 and just as Nana and I were about to go the park, it started storming.  When there was a break in the clouds, we ran out for a quick walk until it started sprinkling.  Mom covered up my stroller and brought us back home.  I had a huge poop and then ate again at 10:30.  I ate at 1:00 and then had play time with Grandpa while Nana rested for a bit.  Grandpa didn’t notice my  second huge poop of the day — Dad noticed after I started screaming and he went to pick me up.

I fell asleep at 2:25 and Grandpa took me up to my crib, instead of putting me in my bassinet.  That didn’t last long, as I was up again before 3:00.  Then, still having not eaten since 1:00, I fell asleep at around 3:50…and I slept…and I slept…and I slept…and I slept…until 6:20!  That’s a 2 1/2 hour nap and 5.5 hours between feedings!  I don’t think Mom would be too happy!  Grandpa gave me my bottle and then even though Dad asked if he could take me on a walk, Nana insisted on taking me for my evening walk.

We got back, Dad gave me a bath, and then I got my first, last, and only bottle of real milk today.  (Dad was going to go all-formula all-day and consolidate the war-chest toward the end of the week, but Mom phoned in a request from Cambridge, UK, so Dad conceded.)