Future Mozart?

28 Weeks!

This week Wren had the longest car ride of her life!  On Friday we packed up (and by "we" I mean Jay - he's a super duper packer!) the Subaru and headed East to visit Grandma T.  Jay had a work event in La Grande so he hopped back on the highway Saturday morning - many miles logged over the weekend!  Wren does a great job during our daily round trip commute of 26 miles, but 260 miles one way was a bit more than she bargained for.  We made our way through Portland just fine but the tears started flowing soon after.  A dinner stop in Hood River brought back smiles but unhappiness resumed once in the car.  Luckily Wren fell asleep about 30 minutes after we started driving again and woke up pretty happy for the last half hour of our drive.  We had a good time with Grandma T (fresh from being crowned Miss Oregon School Nurse of the Year) during our short trip.  We headed back to the west on Sunday morning with a stop in Portland to see friends and their 2.5 year old twin girls.  So much fun to see what we have in store!  The girls were busy finding bugs in the backyard for their bug catcher, adding leaves for food, then dumping everything out to start over.  The drive home was much smoother, but pretty warm for all of us.  Poor Shepdog was relegated to the way, way back of the wagon and was very happy to return home that afternoon.  We all headed right out on a walk to soak up the rest of the sun. 

On Monday Wren had a trial class at The Little Gym in their "Bugs" class for 4-10 month babes.  We met up with two pals and did some stretching, tummy time, rolling on a big wheel, time upside down, and more!  Wren seemed to really enjoy herself and worked to be the center of attention, loudly calling out in the middle of class and receiving many turned heads.  The girl has some pipes!  Maybe we will come back in the winter for a regular class - I bet the "Birds" class for 10-19 month olds will be right up Wren's alley!  

Wren loves sitting at the table and especialy enjoyed the ceiling fans during our dinner stop.



Demonstrating "Flagpole" for the class.  She was pretty proud of herself!

My Mom, the hero

A huge Congratulations to my mom, Ramona, on being selected as the 2012 Oregon School Nurse of the year!  What an honor!  And she truly deserves it.  Aside from her busy daily duties as the School Nurse for all Hermiston schools, my Mom manages to maintain a blog for the district and started a BMI study of students that is now in its 4th year.  Recently my mom has been a part of the local Children's Health Committee that is working on a Community Garden in Hermiston.  My Mom was awarded a plaque at the Oregon School Nurse Association spring conference on April 19th.  Her school district sent her to the conference stating that they received a grant to cover her registration costs.  Little did she know the spotlight would be on her that day - surprise! 
I am so proud of you, Mom!  

27 weeks!

Wren had her 6 month appointment on April 11th. The stats are in!  19 pounds, 2 ounces (91st percentile) and 27.75 inches (99th).  Still so tall!  We are starting to do some research on convertible car seats - once Wren hits 30 inches it's adios Chicco Keyfit!  The appointment came with another set of shots.  Our brave girl only cried until we picked her up from the table - so tough!  After the appointment she spent her day at daycare where she received her first good bump on the noggin (the bruise can be seen in some of the below pictures- above the right eye).  It wasn't a pretty sight but we know that bumps and scrapes will be a part of life as she gains mobility. 

Last week Wren had three nights (not consecutive, of course) of sleeping 5-6 hours in a row.  This meant that I actually got 5-6 hours of sleep in a row.  Bad sleep seems to have something to do with belly issues so our pal Gripe Water is getting some good use.  The weather was quite beautiful for part of last weekend so we got outside and Wren got to watch Jay shoot a few hoops - believe it or not he was quite the basketball star in 9th grade!  We also stopped in to a local bike shop to check out big girl bikes and came home with Wren's first bike helmet!  Bike trailer - check!  Helmet - check!  Inaugural bike trip - TBA. 

Roller Girl

Wren has now rolled from belly to back about 10 times but we have only managed to catch it on film once on Saturday morning.  We are so proud of our gal!

Note: Forgive the music - I couldn't figure out how to silence my own obnoxious cheers so I opted for a free tune from Youtube...

26 weeks!

Happy 6 month birthday, honeybun!  We cannot believe Wren is halfway to being 1....and it's crazy to think back to where we were a year ago and how we couldn't imagine life with baby.  Now we can't imagine life without our little gal!  

This past week Wren rolled from her belly to back for the first time!  We were all on our queen bed with Wren laying on her belly.  Jay helped her roll over a few times then we sat back from her, calling her name and encouraging a roll.  Slowly Wren tucked her head, then reached her left arm behind her.  She was in a half tilt pose for maybe two seconds, then lifted her left leg up and seemed to freeze in that position.  We held our breath then cheered and congratulated Wren when she completed her transition - how amazing!  Since that day we have had only 2 more rolls from front to back but they were both semi-assisted when one of us lay on the bed close enough to her that our weight made the roll very easy for her.  

We have had some very rough nights with sleep and Wren seems to be having some issues with being left alone/unable to see us.  Over the weekend we attempted the Ferber method of sleep training and let Wren cry but checked on her at intervals we agreed on beforehand.  Since our ladygirl doesn't cry much in general it was a pretty tough period for us and after about 90 minutes of Wren crying and us consoling we called it quits.  Maybe Ferber will be right for us in the future but it's not what we need right now.  Our trusty Wonder Weeks book states that we are in a "magical leap" right now so keeping that in mind helps me stay semi-sane during these trying and sleepless times.  

We are changing up our bedtime routine in the hopes that we can get sleep on some sort of predictable track.  

Still no teeth if you can believe it!  

Saturday Wren went to her first Easter egg hunt and we found one egg and were given a handful more by our friend Little J.  On Sunday Gramma Sondy visited and brought Jay's old Easter basket filled with goodies from the Easter bunny! The weather all weekend was spectacular!  Then we enjoyed a nice dinner at Grandma Brynn's house.

Last week Wren tried a new food and we presented it in just this fashion:

It was so suspenseful and exciting that of course Wren can't help but love peas!  Bananas are getting kicked to the curb for a while and carrots may be on the menu next.  

On Monday we had a play date and Wren experienced a little stranger anxiety - I hadn't seen that before so I found the experience to be very interesting.  It was very sweet to have Wren cling to me!  This seems to have been an isolated incident - I brought Wren in to work with me for a short time today and she didn't mind being held by 4 different people.  

In other family member news, Jay went to a job fair in Portland for teachers and was pretty much informed that there is only one place in the world Northwest that is hiring science teachers.  Since we have no interest in leaving our humble abode and Jay can't manage a 4 hour roundtrip commute daily, I think we'll pass on the prospect.  

Wren has her 6 month checkup Wednesday morning and we will soon be preparing for our longest family road trip - a trek over to Hermiston in a week and a half!

Using sippy cup handles for practice

Peas please!

The Easter bunny was very good to Wren!

This little bunny found a nice carrot to munch on!

25 weeks!

Over the past week Wren came down with her second cold :(  This one hit her pretty hard since she wasn't quite over the first cold but it allowed her to have a sick day at home with Jay for some quality bonding time.  The nights were a bit rough for all of us with Jay and I taking turns cradling Wren in her recliner to keep her semi-upright so she could breathe and sleep.  Even though nose breathing has been tricky Wren hasn't stopped wanting her pacifier.  We elevated the head of Wren's mattress to help a little with breathing and that does seem to bring a little relief.  Wren is no slouch when it comes to figuring out what she doesn't like and Nosefrida is high on her list.  She bats the tube away with her left hand while turning her head as far away from us as possible.  I tried reasoning with her and even demonstrating on myself so she could see how painless it is!  I then resorted to trying to teach our nearly-6 month old how to blow her nose but I got no where. Then I got out the bulb aspirator to show her what her other option is and got away with that once and only once... Luckily the cold is on its way out the door!
On Saturday Aunt Liz, Cousin Karsyn and Grandma T. came for part of the day to visit and exchange Easter gifts.  Wren received a bunny book, stuffed lamb, and hair bows from Karsyn. Just when you think your child cannot get any cuter just add a bow to their hair and be amazed!  The plastic grass in her Easter basket was the highlight for Wren.  The Reese's peanut butter egg for Aunt Crystal was a huge hit and Jay and I had that thing devoured less than an hour after our guests left.  You know me so well, sis! 
On Sunday one of Jay's college buddies and his wife and daughter visited from Portland.  We were excited to meet three month old Vivianne - so tiny!  It seems like the 3 month mark was so long ago!  It was great to exchange stories and be the ones to give advice - we certainly seek out enough of it and it's nice to be on the giving side for a change. 
We had two more outings in the stroller riding front facing.  It seems that we are still in an adjustment phase on that one. 
New food: mashed banana.  Results: mixed.  How much Wren likes something seems to depend on her mood and alertness.  Banana was introduced as a morning meal addition.  We are still rotating through avocado, sweet potato and butternut squash in the evenings.
Teeth: nothing moving this week.
Clothes: Preparing to transition to 9-month sized clothes, still in 9-month pj's but will be out of those soon, it seems.  Wren gets to borrow clothes from Karsyn and now has an impressive wardrobe to choose from - including shoes!! We recently transitioned Wren to size 2 Thirsties diaper covers which should fit through potty training.  Amazing how the right fit makes such a difference! 

Sock!



Digging in her Easter basket from Cousin Karsyn!

Loving fake grass!

Snuggling with Aunt Liz

Ladybug friend turned pillow