Where Did My Baby Go?? Really.

It’s 3:20 a.m. on Sunday and I’m awake sobbing. Why? During a “normal” bout of insomnia, I went to get paper and a pen to write something down so my brain would be free to go back to sleep. Only I made the mistake of turning on the light in the dining room, allowing me to see all the stuff from Mahalia’s 2^nd birthday party yesterday afternoon. All of a sudden, it hit me…My baby girl is TWO-YEARS-OLD!!! Why is that so sad? Well, I guess it really isn’t, but it is very bittersweet. Although I love watching Mahalia grow and learn and become this little person that she is, I miss the little baby that I had so briefly. I swear it feels like only last week that I was feeling her move inside my belly. Then a few days later we were welcoming her into the world and bringing her home for the first time. Then the next day she was my chunka-lunka baby with the big head who needed an ultrasound. Then I blinked and it was the next day and she was turning ONE (?!). Now she’s already TWO?! I don’t know how parents manage to have teenagers or adult children who were just babies yesterday, if I can’t get over my baby being two already. How do you let go of that little baby? I know that I still have many years before Mahalia is old enough to say she wants to move out and experience the world, but it feels like I only have a few more minutes with her.

The other day when we were driving to the store to get some things for her birthday party, I looked in the mirror because she made a noise while eating her snack. It was just one of those little “baby girl” noises, but I had the thought that it was a noise that I would one day not hear from her. Then I thought, Oh my God! One of these days when I look in this mirror, I’m not going to see my little girl back there anymore, I’ll see a BIG KID. And I just started crying. To the point where I had to tell myself to STOP! I thought it was just pregnancy hormones at the time, but now I’m thinking it was more than that. It was the slow down feeling that I’m sure all parents have when it comes to their kids.

Bernie Mac wrote a comment in his book about parenting that has stuck with me since I read it (maybe a couple of years ago). He said something about how being a parent is the only job where, if you’re doing it right, you work yourself out of a job. I remember thinking how sad that sounded at the time when I read it, but now it scares me. I obviously want to do a good job with Mahalia, but I also can’t imagine letting her go….EVER…but I know I will have to one day. I want Mahalia to have all the experiences I have had so far…and the ones that I never had that she will want to have. Plus, I never want to be “that” mom who desperately smothers and clings to their kids. That wouldn’t be fair to Mahalia.

I guess I will just have to keep reminding myself to focus on now and make the most out of every second that I have with her.

Where Did My Baby Go?

There have recently been some big changes in the Merrill household.

1. Last Thursday, Mahalia had to say goodbye to her hoss-hoss (pacifier). It was just time. That day was really rough on all of us, but things got easier a little more each day after that. After that first day when she asked for her pacifier several times, she only asked for it about 1-2 times each day for about a week. As of today, however, she hasn't asked for it since this past Thursday (8/19). That's pretty impressive for a kid who was obsessed with her paci for pretty much her whole life...all 21 months that she had it. =) Here is the video of the big goodbye:

2. Along with saying goodbye to her pacifier, Mahalia also said goodbye to playing with mommy's hair. If you have spent any time with us in the past 8 months, you know that Mahalia has had an intense love affair with my hair. She started out playing with it just when she was falling asleep but then graduated to an all-day obsession. She would stroke, pull, or rub my hair anytime I was anywhere near her on any given day. Well, I never thought I would miss it (and mostly, I don't), but I did get a little sad when she stopped showing interest so abruptly. The good thing is that I might get to keep my hair attached to my head from now on AND I won't have to come up with a way to wean her off of it. The only thing I could come up with was shaving my head...Jeremy said no to that idea.

3. Mahalia has definitely become a big "daddy's girl" in the past week. Before taking away her pacifier, and during the time that Jeremy has been out of school for the summer, Mahalia seemed to have an equal preference for both of us. But ever since her MEAN MOMMY made her give away her pacifiers and her HERO DADDY comforted her, Mahalia has been pretty obvious about her preference for "Dada". Part of me is glad that she is bonding more with him, but part of me is scared that when he goes back to school this week, she will have the biggest meltdown of all time...and guess who gets to bear the brunt of that? Mommy! Yay! =(

4. On Sunday (8/15) Mahalia started potty training! And SHE was the one who initiated it! Each of the first two days, she went once and it was either right before or right after taking a bath. Starting on the third day, however, she now uses it several times throughout the day. Although she has had several accidents, she is generally pretty good about going on the potty. I think the biggest reasons for her success are that 1. she was ready, 2. she gets M&Ms for going (2 for pee and 5 for poop...it is a big deal!), and 3. we praise her A LOT for being a big girl who uses the potty. Whenever she goes, she has to tell the parent who didn't go with her to the bathroom all about it. She is so proud and excited about it! It's pretty cute. =)

5. Mahalia seems to be able to communicate more and more every day. She often uses 3-4 word sentences (even if some of the words are hard to understand). Some of the cuter things that she says are "Goodnight, Mommy/Dada", "You okay?", "(Name), where are you?", and "Here you go" (usually when feeding Marley, but also when bringing our shoes to us so we can take her somewhere). She enjoys telling us (and anyone else who will listen) about the sounds that various animals make or just identifying different animals. She is often heard putting her babies/stuffed animals/bath toys on "time-out". Mahalia also seems to like learning people's names lately. Lucky for her, we have lots of family and friends whose names she can learn. =)

6. Mahalia has been going to swim lessons for the past few weeks. We go twice a week (Monday and Wednesday) for 30 minutes. Jeremy and I usually switch off each time so that each of us gets to go in the pool with her. She loves being in the water, but isn't always cooperative about doing the activities that she's supposed to be doing. To help her get more comfortable with some of her least favorite activities (like swimming on her back and blowing bubbles) we try to go swimming in our pool at least once between Wednesday and Monday. We went to our pool this past Friday and Mahalia had the most fun that she's ever had in the pool! She decided it was fun to jump in the pool over and over again. She became so confident that I could move about 3-4 feet away from where she was jumping in and she was okay with it...even when she was going pretty far under the water. Now we just have to make sure she learns NOT to jump in when one of us isn't in the water to catch her! =) One of her favorite parts of swim lessons is singing songs. Her favorite song is "Motor Boat". She likes to sing it when we go in our pool, when she's taking a bath, or just randomly when she's playing with her toys. =)

Well, I think those are the major things that have been happening since the last update. I will most likely be posting something about her reaction to Jeremy returning to work this week. Stay tuned...

Mahalia is a Busy Girl

A lot of things have happened since the last time that I posted something on here, but there is just too much for me to write it all right now. So, here are just some of the things that have been going on in the life of Miss Mahalia in the past few months...

UTI

Unfortunately, Mahalia had to deal with having a urinary tract infection for about two months. She was on two rounds of antibiotics. Apparently she was resistant to the first one, so that's why she still had the UTI a month later and needed more antibiotics. That whole period made for a very uncomfortable baby, but we finally got through it. Yesterday we found out that IT'S GONE! Hopefully she never gets another one again.

FRESNO

We have driven to Fresno twice in the past month. We went in June for a friend's bridal shower. The drive up and back were pretty brutal because it's the longest Mahalia has ever had to be strapped down in her car seat (about 6 hours each way). We stopped a few times both ways, but it was still a little too much. When we went up there for Yvette & Frank's wedding this weekend, we divided up the trip, so that we did part of it on Thursday and the rest on Friday. Mahalia did much better! However, on the day of the wedding, she wasn't so happy when I had to leave her for over 6 hours (I was in the wedding; Jeremy and Mahalia didn't go to the ceremony because we thought she would probably have a problem with seeing me but not being allowed to go to me; they met me at the reception later that evening). Overall, we had a good time despite Mahalia's meltdowns when she wasn't allowed to be with mommy.

WORDS GALORE

Mahalia's vocabulary has continued to rapidly increase. She is now putting together complete sentences...at times. For example, this morning when she was eating breakfast and talking to grandma on the phone, she told grandma "I eatin oh-guht" (yogurt). Some of her other words include saying "thank you" correctly (instead of "cuh-cum"), "beshoo" (bless you), "be careful", "there you go" (when feeding marley), "elent" (elephant), "yee-yee-uh" (how she says her name), "bah-loon" (balloon), and "uncle" (she can correctly identify two of her uncles in pictures...I won't say which two). The list could go on and on, but those are some of her most frequent words/expressions lately. She can also tell you the sound that several different animals make and it's pretty cute to listen to her. =)

LIKES & DISLIKES

Mahalia has been afraid of quite a few things lately, so we are trying to work on overcoming those fears. Usually, her fears stem from loud noises and scary faces. Example: motorcycles, barking dogs, airplanes, the members of the band Kiss (on the Dr. Pepper commercial), clowns, etc. We have made a lot of progress helping her to overcome her fear of motorcycles. Unfortunately, Jeremy is afraid that she'll grow up thinking that motorcycles are cool now. =)

Some things that Mahalia loves are balloons, stickers, kitties, water (especially the pool), babies (real ones and dolls). This list could go on and on also. She is definitely more aware of things lately and is more curious about figuring things out.

Well, I know that's not all that has happened in the past couple of months, but those are some of the biggest things going on with the little girl these days. =)

Teeth, Words, Visitors, and a Wedding

Well, it has been another busy month in the Merrill household...Mahalia now has her top two molars, is saying some new words, had several visitors, went to her first wedding, and she is just becoming more and more "grown up".

Some of Mahalia's new words/phrases have included "Don't want", "uh oh", "oh gosh" (she says this with her head back and stomach out, like she just can't believe what's happening), "hi, ga-ma" (she was peeking at my mom while she was getting ready in the bathroom), "It's Kyla!", "la-you" (for "i love you"!!! Jeremy and I LOVE hearing this and try to make her say it all the time!), "uncle" (she was talking to her Uncle Boo when she said it for the first time...which made him very happy), "apple", "buh-nuh-nuh" (for "banana"...her favorite thing to eat...she would eat them all day if we let her), and "pwease" (for "please").

Maile and Emma came to visit us for a few hours one day last month. Mahalia seems to understand that she should be gentle with kids that are smaller than her so she was being very cautious around Emma. Emma was wanting to interact with Mahalia a little more than that though. I know eventually they will figure it out and be the best of friends...especially since Maile and I are already talking about the sleepovers that they will have when they get older. =)

Mahalia and I have gone to visit the Schaefers and they have come to see us in the last month and a half. When we went to visit them, Mahalia was being a little cranky towards Bryant by the end of our visit. She didn't want him to hug or kiss her when he wanted to (she would get mad and yell at him), but she was very happy to spend time with him and was all for his love and affection when they came to visit us this past week. Thank goodness! I was feeling bad for Bryant and hoping it was only a temporary thing. Jackie and I took the kids to the zoo on the last day that they were here. While there, we finally bought both of them one of those harness/backpack/leash things that I always thought were "horrible" and swore I would NEVER use on my child...until I had a strong-willed child who thinks she should be able to walk wherever she wants without holding my hand. I LOVE it and Mahalia seemed to like the extra freedom that she got from wearing it, so I guess it's not so bad.

Some of my family (my mom, Kamaya, Kyla, and Jalen) came to visit us for 10 days at the beginning of the month and we had lots of fun doing lots of things. Since they were here during Easter, we did some Easter-related things, like decorate eggs and sugar cookies, and go on an egg hunt (in the grass in front of our complex). We also went to the Birch Aquarium, the zoo, and up to L.A. Mahalia had a BLAST playing and spending time with her cousins! I was a little nervous leading up to the visit because Mahalia has a history of not always adjusting well to new situations. However, I was SO HAPPY that everything worked out and that everyone had fun. I just wish we lived closer so I could have more time with my nieces and nephews and so Mahalia could play with her cousins more often than once a year.

Mahalia was able to go with us to my friend Sarah's wedding a couple of weeks ago. During the ceremony, Jeremy and I took turns walking her around a few times when she got a little too loud, but overall, she was pretty well-behaved. She even made many of the other guests laugh when the officiant introduced the parents of the bride and groom at the end of the ceremony...Mahalia cheered and said "Yay!" when this happened. =) She also cheered for everyone in the bridal party when they were introduced at the beginning of the reception. It was pretty funny! =) During the reception she enjoyed all the music and food and didn't start acting "crazy" until close to the end of the reception (it was around 9:30 pm, so we were okay with leaving at that point). Overall, we were pretty proud of her...especially since the only other child that was at the wedding was a 17-day-old newborn.

Well, I think I've covered everything. We hope everyone is doing well. =)

16-Months-Old and Growing Up Too Quickly

Mahalia's vocabulary has continued to grow exponentially in the past month. She says soooo many words/phrases, it's unbelievable that she's only 16-months-old. One of the GREATEST words that seems to be (finally) permanent in her vocabulary is "mama". She used to say it pretty sporadically, but it was more like "mamama" and she would usually say it when she was hungry. Well in the past few weeks she has been saying it more and more and it's specifically for ME! It makes me smile so big every time I hear her say it. =) So, now she can identify the people in her immediate family: mama, dada, and pup-pup ("pup-pup" is said the most frequently and with more enthusiasm than the other two words but we're not complaining). =) Also included in her growing vocabulary is the word water...only she doesn't quite say it like that. She started by saying "wa-duh", then it was "wa-wa" or "wa-tuh", then it was "wa-ger" and currently it is "wa-gee" or "wa-gay". We're not really sure why it has morphed in such a weird way, but it's pretty cute because it's unique to her. =) Mahalia can also say the names of all of the characters on Yo Gabba Gabba. She's usually only good at saying each one correctly when she's singing along with the theme song. Otherwise, she tends to call all of them Muno (although it sounds more like "Bu-lo"). Other words she says include you're welcome ("cuh-cum"), "poo-poo" (more on this in a minute), "okay??", "uh-oh", "baby"and "hair". She has said some pretty funny things that we aren't sure when/where she would have heard them: "See you later" (obviously it's not quite that clear) and "toodle-oo" (it was quite clear and we REALLY don't know where that came from)--she said this last word to Jeremy as she closed the bathroom door on him one night when she was about to take a bath. Mahalia can also say every number (almost clearly) when counting from 1-10. The cutest/funniest number, and the most recent in her vocabulary, is 7...she says "seckin". =)

So, about "poo-poo"...At the end of last month/beginning of this month, Mahalia started to say "poo-poo" after she pooped in her diaper. After doing this a few times, I decided that maybe we should start (casually) trying to potty train her. So, I went to the store and bought her a potty chair. For a few days, I would have Mahalia sit on the potty chair (diaper off, of course) whenever I was using the bathroom. She never did anything when she sat on it (and I think a couple of times she may have even waited to do something once her diaper was back on), but she was totally open to sitting there...if only for a few seconds, maybe a minute or two. Then, she and I caught Jeremy's cold and neither of us were particularly interested in working on it at that point. So, I have decided that when we are both completely well again, we will try again. I won't be doing any kind of serious potty training once we do start again because she's still pretty young and I don't want it to be a traumatizing experience at all. So, we will see how it goes and I will keep everyone posted...

P.S. There are new pictures on her shutterfly page.

Words Galore and 15-month Check-up

So, Mahalia seems to add new words to her vocabulary by the minute! She can now say her boyfriend's (Bryant) name if you ask who her boyfriend is or point to a picture of him. She also likes saying when things (especially "pup-pups") are "so cute". And when she hurts herself she is quick to let us know that she is okay, even if we haven't asked. I'm sure I am forgetting things but those are some of my favorites that come to mind at the moment.

Last Wednesday (the 17th) Mahalia had her 15-month check-up. She is such a big girl that she gets weighed on the standing scale and her height is also measured while she is standing up. She now weighs 27 lbs (95th percentile) and is 33 1/2 inches tall (98th percentile)! Mahalia had to get two shots that day to complete her series of vaccinations that started when she was 2-months-old (I can't believe that was over a year ago!!). As always, she cried when she got the shots, but this time, she was done crying by the time we got to the receptionist's desk instead of screaming until we were in the car. Her mommy did a good job handling the shots too. =) It was my second time taking her for shots without Jeremy or my mommy. I guess we're both big girls now! haha! Everything else went pretty well at the appointment. Mahalia wasn't too happy with the nurse who took us into the room and weighed/measured her (even though she didn't do anything to hurt her) and still wasn't too happy to see the doctor. On top of her normal issue with "strangers" (she hadn't seen her regular doctor since her 9-month check), her doctor had a cold and was wearing a mask. That freaked her out even more! Well, luckily he knows a thing or two about kids (haha) so he played peek-a-boo with her for a little while and then came at her from the side, without making eye contact, when he listened to her heart and lungs. So, long story short...Mahalia is still doing really well in all areas. The doctor gave me some suggestions for getting her to drink milk from a cup but also reassured me that she will be fine as long as she is getting 3 servings of milk each day.

After her appointment that day, we went to Target (surprise, surprise). There was a woman with her 20-month-old son in the elevator who was sooooo surprised when I told her that Mahalia was only 15 months. She said that her son is in the 90th+ percentile for his age...Mahalia was only a little bit smaller (height/weight) than him. I guess people will just continue to be surprised by her size for years to come because it doesn't seem like she's going to slow down that much any time soon. =)

Daddy, Mama, and Yo Gabba Gabba

I forgot to mention in the last post that for the last couple of weeks Mahalia has been saying "Bye, Daddy!" when Jeremy leaves (to go to work or walk Marley) and "Hi, Daddy!" when he gets home. It doesn't happen all the time, but it has happened pretty often lately. Jeremy and I both LOVE hearing her say these things!

Up until today, Mahalia STILL wasn't saying "mama". She has said it a few times in her little life, but it was so random and usually in reference to my milk, not me specifically. However, this afternoon I decided to do the "Mahalia--Mama" game with her (just saying the name and touching each other's chest). She said "mama" when we were doing that. I was pretty excited and almost teared up! Then tonight, I decided to try it when Jeremy could hear it and Mahalia said "My mama." Jeremy and I were both excited! Oh! Jeremy just reminded me that before I showed him the "Mahalia--Mama" game, he had asked Mahalia "Where's mommy?" and she ran over to me and said "There she is!" (which is what Jeremy says to Mahalia when he puts a blanket over her head and says "Where's Mahalia?")

And as if those things weren't cool enough, Mahalia further impressed us tonight when we were watching TV. Jeremy was scrolling through the cable guide and decided to check the episode information for tonight's episode of Yo Gabba Gabba. While he was reading it, Mahalia saw it, got excited and said "YOOO!" and started waving her arms around like she does when she dances to the show's theme song. Jeremy and I were both STUNNED! We continued watching whatever was on at the time, but Jeremy set the reminder timer for Yo Gabba Gabba. Well, later on Jeremy heard Mahalia say "YOOOO Ga"(or however she says it). We were both in the kitchen at the time, but when Jeremy looked around the corner, he saw that the one-minute reminder timer was on the screen and she was looking at it! We just couldn't believe it!! I know she watches that show a lot, but we have never sat down and told her that the words "Yo Gabba Gabba" mean the show that she loves so much!!

New Things in the Life of Mahalia

New Words...
Mahalia continues to pick up on more and more language each day. Jeremy and I are constantly looking at each other in amazement with each new word that Mahalia says. When we were visiting the Schaefers a couple of weeks ago, Mahalia copied Jackie when she called Bryant "Bubba". It was pretty cute! =) She now (pretty consistently) says "thank you" whenever someone gives her something. She will even say it when she gives something to someone...I think she's trying to tell us that's what we're supposed to say. =) We have been naming parts of the face (eyes, nose, and mouth) with Mahalia for several months now. Last weekend, when we were laying in bed, she pointed to my eye and said "Eye!" Mahalia has also been taking a great interest in counting lately (again, I owe her interest to Yo Gabba Gabba...although we also count with her when the show is not on). A few days ago, when we were counting, Mahalia chimed in with 2 and 6. It was so cute!

A New Tooth...
Mahalia's 7th tooth cut through her gums after weeks of making its way up. I'm sure she's glad that the pain of having it work its way through is over.

No More Milk from Mommy...
Although we were (kind of) working on weaning Mahalia from breastmilk for a while (starting right around her 1st birthday), we had gotten stuck once we were down to three feedings a day(in the morning when she woke up, at naptime, and at bedtime). I didn't know which feeding to get rid of next because Mahalia was pretty insistent about all three of them. I was actually going to go to a breastfeeding support group to get some advice. But then I found out that I had to get my wisdom teeth removed NOW (my wisdom teeth were a pretty nasty situation that now requires 2 months of not chewing anything harder than the consistency of scrambled eggs or mashed potatoes)...which meant general anesthesia...which meant I would have to pump and dump 2 times before I could breastfeed Mahalia. Since Mahalia has never taken to a bottle, I have pumped maybe a total of 5 or 6 times the entire time that she was breastfeeding. So, I knew that this would probably be the end of our time of breastfeeding (and sure enough, the afternoon after my surgery, I tried pumping and literally only got ONE DROP out). In the days between my consultation with the oral surgeon (Thurs. Jan. 14th) and my surgery (Mon. Jan. 18th), I tried to do fast-track weaning with Mahalia. On Friday and Saturday, she only nursed twice each day (and she was a NIGHTMARE on Saturday!) and on Sunday and Monday, she only nursed once each day. Monday afternoon's naptime was the first time that Mahalia went down without a feeding at all...and she went right to sleep while I rocked her in the rocking chair! She didn't fight at all and was perfectly content to just suck on her pacifier while I held her. Jeremy and I think that she sensed that something was wrong with me (which is why she was okay with not being held by me when we first got back home) and was just happy to have me hold her. She continued to be okay without the breastmilk at bedtime and each day following the surgery. She NEVER complained about it! There were a couple of times that she looked in my shirt like "hey!" but she never asked for my milk again. Although prior to my surgery I was SO READY to be done with breastfeeding and frustrated by how Mahalia was still insisting on nursing three times a day, it was a VERY emotional night for me that first night that I put her to bed without nursing her (I'm tearing up just thinking about it). I'm sure some people think it's gross that I nursed her for as long as I did (14 months is a pretty long time), but for those of you who have breastfed your babies and know what that bond is like, you can understand why it was hard for me, knowing that I would never do that again with Mahalia. It's kind of like the official end of her babyhood.

Anyway. So, the point of that story is that Jeremy and I feel like everything happened the way it was supposed to happen. It was meant to be that I would have to get my wisdom teeth taken out at a time when I needed to stop breastfeeding Mahalia because it gave me a reason (that was out of my control) to stop and I knew that I couldn't say "well, maybe just one more time". There was no way that I was going to risk having her drink my drug-tainted milk.

**-->Side note about breastfeeding...I have since found out on the La Leche League website that babies still get nutrients and benefits from breastfeeding after 1 year. Even if you are only nursing one time a day, all the "good stuff" gets concentrated into that once-a-day feeding. I never would have been the type to nurse Mahalia into 2+ years or anything, but it's nice to know that I wasn't a weirdo or whatever for doing it until she was 14-months-old. Just wanted to give that info to any mommies who are nursing and think you HAVE TO stop at 1 year. Also, if you are nursing and have to take medication (or have surgery), and want to know about the safety of that medication while breastfeeding, there is a breastfeeding hotline that you can call (I can give you the number if you need it). They will let you know how long you have to wait for the drug(s) to metabolize out of your body. You don't have to be able to pump and dump. AND if you are planning to stop breastfeeding, DO NOT USE WARM COMPRESSES OR TAKE A HOT SHOWER to "relieve some of the pressure" when your boobs are EXTREMELY/PAINFULLY full!! This will make you produce MORE milk...the opposite of what you want to do!! I had to learn that the hard way and thought I was going to go insane! After speaking to the lady at the breastfeeding hotline, I learned that COLD COMPRESSES and cabbage leaves are the way to go when you want your milk to stop. Also, a very dear friend (who breastfed her 3 children) said that sage leaves (cooked in water, then chilled) is a great way to dry up your milk. (Jeremy made me some tea with powdered sage--we didn't have sage leaves--and that worked well too.) I also found out from my doctor's office (that's where I got the number to the breastfeeding hotline) that you should NEVER stop breastfeeding "cold turkey" because it can lead to a breast infection! Luckily, I kind of did it gradually and was on antibiotics from my surgery anyway.

Mahalia and Daddy Bonding Time...
While I was drugging myself (with Vicodin and Ibuprofen) to deal with the pain during that first week after my surgery, Jeremy took time off of work so he could help me take care of Mahalia. He did an AMAZING job (just like I knew he would...even though he wasn't so sure)! One of the biggest things he did was give Mahalia a bath (almost) every night that first week. And...he actually had fun doing it! I could hear them in the bathroom playing and laughing. For those of you that don't know, he had only bathed Mahalia ONCE and that was when she was like a month old. Well, to give him some credit, it was a bit scary giving a floppy one-month-old a bath, so I guess I understand why he was scared off! =) Besides baths, they also ate together, played together, and just spent a lot of quality time together. As I said before, Mahalia seemed to be aware of the fact that I couldn't take care of her, so she was perfectly happy to go to Jeremy whenever she needed or wanting something. Although I was sad that I couldn't take care of her for those few days, it made me so happy and proud (of both of them) to see them bonding! =)

After I was feeling (relatively) better, Mahalia went right back to wanting me most of the time...even when Jeremy and I both wanted her to go to daddy. Oh well. She definitely knows how to make her wants known. =) Oh. And since she stopped nursing, she has become even MORE attached to her pacifier and my hair! I'm glad that they bring her comfort. I just don't know if my head can take all of her "loving" hair caresses...they often turn into painful caresses. Ouch!

Well, I think that's all the big news for the month of January. =)

Shutterfly Share Site

In an attempt to make things easier for myself, I have also copied a few people and made a Shutterfly Share Site to keep everyone updated on pictures of Mahalia. The website address is http://mahaliamaemerrill.shutterfly.com/. You must type in the site password to view the site though. I will be sending an email with the password, but in case you forget it, think about the thing that we used for decorating Mahalia's room and her first birthday party. Enjoy the newest pictures! =)

Mahalia is 1-year-old!

...Well, she's really almost 14-months-old now, but you know what I mean. :)

There have been a lot of new things going on since my last update about Mahalia. First of all, I will now be updating on this page, rather than sending out mass emails. This way, anyone who wants to be updated can be, and anyone who doesn't, won't.


Although I'm way behind in sending updates, everyone should have received updated pictures of Mahalia (I will try to send out more recent pictures over the weekend) so you've seen some of what's been going on with her in the past few months.


Since Mahalia's first birthday was on a Tuesday, we had her birthday party on the following Saturday, November 21st. Mahalia had a lot of fun seeing the friends and family who came to celebrate with her. She got to play with her friends, eat cake (we had to MAKE her get messy) and open presents. Overall, it wasn't as emotional of a milestone as I thought it would be. I think the excitement of my mom arriving the day of Mahalia's birthday, as well as all of the last minute party preparations, helped to distract me from being sad about my baby getting "so old"! =)


Since her birthday party, Mahalia has had lots of shots (6 pokes! ouch!), blood drawn (they had to poke her in both arms! ouch again!), a cold, visits with family and friends (including her boyfriend, Bryant, of course), and we celebrated her second Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Although she was still on the high end of the growth charts at her 12-month check-up at the beginning of December (she weighed 24 lbs 6 oz and measured 32 inches tall), her growth has slowed down quite a bit now that she is one. She eats less, and is more active, so that's probably why. =)


As Mahalia gets older, her personality is developing a lot. Since mastering walking over the past three and a half months, she has become very active (her nickname with most people who see her in action is "busybody"). She often wants to run everywhere, because I guess walking is too slow for her! =) And although she has moments of "bratitude", she is overall a pretty happy girl. Jeremy and I are noticing that Mahalia is a very loving and helpful girl, too. She LOVES to give kisses (on the phone or in person) and enjoys helping us feed our dog Marley every day (she dumps the food in Marley's bowl and then carries the bowl to the kitchen). She is also quite the chatterbox and amazes us with the new words that she picks up on every day. Mahalia's vocabulary now includes the words/phrases: wow!, what?!, pup-pup, pa-pa (at first it was only for Jeremy and his dad Bob, but it now seems to be a "catchall" word), so cool, thank you, good girl, please, and up. She isn't always very consistent or clear about saying these things, but Jeremy and I usually know what she's trying to say. She even tries to sing some of the songs that we listen to from her Yo Gabba Gabba CD. It's pretty cute!


Well, I think that covers the "highlights" of the past few months. I will try to be better about updating this page when new and exciting things happen in the life of Miss Mahalia. =)