10/30/04 - 10/31/04

Bubbe and Samantha came for a visit this weekend. They came up today, after mommy's prenatal reunion, which was great!. We had lunch and then just hung out and relaxed. Shara had a good nap, and while she slept, Alan, Samantha and I carved pumpkins. Alan picked up some sushi and Bertuccis for dinner. Bubbe taught Samantha how to knit and they both got to witness Shara having her bath the next day. We also dressed Shara up in her Halloween costume for pictures. It was easy to tell when she had enough!


After playing fashion model, Shara had a good nap and woke just in time for us to go to see her Aunt Margaret's art show at Slater Park in Pawtucket, RI. It was a very nice time and we were all happy we got to see some of Alan's family that we hadn't seen in quite some time. In fact, this was the first time they had seen Shara!

In the evening we gave out candy. We decided that Shara didn't really want to be in her costume and go trick-or-treating. She seemed to have a good time hanging out with us in the kitchen, giving out candy and watching the kids. She also had some new things to do in her bouncy seat. She played with the dangly plastic fish much more than ever before - grabbing them and spinning the wheel. She also was talking up a storm all weekend. She found her voice a few weeks ago, but apparently lost it. Well, it's back and louder than ever!

10/25/04

4 month old doctor's appointment today. She's 13lbs. 10oz and 24" long. Still at the 50%-tile. She did cry for her shots, but maybe we're getting used to her cry because it didn't sound as bad as the first round. I had also given her some tylenol before we left, so that may have taken the edge off. The doctor talked to us about how much she's eating at daycare and said what we're giving her now should be fine for the next couple of months. If she gets really hungry, and the bottles aren't enough to fill her, the daycare should give her 2 oz. of water. If that's not enough, we'll have to try some rice cereal. She was very clear that we'd try these other options before introducing formula. We also agree that we want to hold off on solids for a couple more months, but obviously if the breastmilk isn't enough, we'll have to start sooner.

Daddy took her home and mommy went to the market to get her vitamins and groceries. In the frozen food aisle I got the call. You know the one, with the crying baby in the background. Alan wanted to know the last time I had given the tylenol (she woke up from when she fell asleep in the car). When I got home, about 20 minutes later, she was still crying, but the drugs must have kicked in then because she settled down soon after. We then fed her dinner and she went to sleep.

10/24/04

Omas bday party was tonight. We got Shara to go to sleep in the swing, and she slept until we were ready to leave. We left her until last and made the quick switch from swing to car seat and she fell asleep on the way home. She only slept about an hour today, so after a couple of hours she was a bit cranky and tired. The swing worked great! Put her in Alan's old bedroom to sleep. Maybe next time we'll bring the monitors.
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10/23/04

We tried out the exersaucer today. It is cute. I think it's a little overwhelming for her, at least when she's tired! I'm also not sure if her toes were hurting, because she had footy pajamas on and they may have been tight.

Shara went to her friend Katie's first birthday party today. She was wonderful, even though she didn't have a nap. She did fall asleep on me after eating, at around 12:15, and I let her sleep until we had to get dressed, so she did have a good 30 minutes or so. She loved watching everyone and if someone smiled at her, she was so quick to smile back! We all had a good time. It was nice to be able to see Shara having such a good time. I do feel like I miss so much with her in daycare, but it would happen soon enough anyway, once she'll be in school.

10/22/04

Tonight we went to Toys 'R Us and got Shara an exersaucer. She seemed to have such a good time in it at daycare, that I thought it would be good for her to have home as well. Alan thought the extra $20 was worth it for the deluxe model. They say that 15 minutes a day is good, but not to do too much more. We don't see her enough to leave her in it all day, so I don't think we have much to worry about.

10/17/04 - 10/19/04

Had a really nice visit from Grandpa Bobby, Aunt Jill, Aunt Susan, and Cousin Samantha today! Shara certainly wasn't at her best. She was spitting up a lot and not her usual laughing self. It turns out she was sick. Monday I got a call from daycare saying she had a little temp and wasn't feeling well. She was napping when they called so when she woke up, they took it again and it went up a bit. I brought her home, gave her tylenol for the day and she was much better Tuesday.

Tuesday Shara tried out her highchair for the first time. She seemed to like it. I liked the idea of her being higher off the ground, so she can see what's going on while we make dinner.

10/10/04 - 10/16/04

Sunday we went back to Oma and Grandpa Eddie's for daddy's birthday dinner. Shara had a good time in her swing, looking with fascination at the lights. She also started to roll onto her side - from her back, she puts her legs up into the air and twists them to the side. She'll probably roll over from back to front sooner than front to back. She still hasn't repeated her rolling over performance from a few weeks ago. Saturday night Shara had some issues. We ended up giving her tylenol, since she was crying as if in pain.

10/04/04 - 10/09/04

This weekend Oma and Grandpa Eddie watched Shara while mommy and daddy went out to dinner. We had a nice time. Shara watched the Pats and was a great girl. We celebrated daddy's birthday in a quiet way - basically we had a nice dinner.

10/02/04

Wow, it was about a year ago that we found out we were going to have a baby! Things have changed a bit. Now that we're well
over the "fitting in" period, things have been sailing along very nicely. I think we were ready, and not surprised, for the change in lifestyle. We haven't gone out partying in a number of years, so staying at home and getting to bed early is nothing new. What's been so overwhelming for me is the amount of love I have for Shara. That didn't happen until she was 10 weeks old and I was going back to work and leaving her at daycare. That's when I really started feeling it and it's been growing stronger ever since. She's also getting so much bigger! She got her first pair of jeans last week and she wore the cutest outfit today, which made her look very sweet.

09/27/04 - 10/01/04

This week Shara made her first foot painting at school. Last weekend we all went to Bubbe's for Yom Kippur. Shara was the bell of the ball at shul and everyone said she was so well behaved. That's probably because she spent most of the time in the lobby, or in the classrooms, or eating, or being changed, etc.! She was sweet. We put her in the dress she wore for her Welcome Pary. Good thing too, because she was a bit spitty and I was glad I didn't have her wear the dress I bought. After shul we took Shara for her first trip to Gershon's, where she met Tony and got to smell what good deli is all about. Mommy & Daddy got enough deli to satisfy any cravings we may have had and enough cake to cure the worse sweet-tooth. We even have 2 pickles left over. Everyone had a good time and it was really nice to visit. On the way back, daddy figured out that we have to stop to eat after the Berkshires, at least if Shara's asleep. The elevation must have made her ears hurt because she cried and cried and then immediately stopped as if nothing had been wrong. A few seconds later, Alan figured it out. Go daddy go!

Nothing too special happened at daycare this week. I did get to see the cutest thing though. When I got in the classroom, Shara was in the bouncy seat, vibrating away, and another little girl was sitting on the floor, petting Shara's feet. Shara had on an outfit with little lions on her feet and they were getting lovies from this cute little girl! I wish I had the videocamera. They told me I should bring in a disposable camera and they'd take pictures if anything really cute happened. I'll have to remember to do that.