Peas, Please!

I mentioned earlier that Taylor has less interest in puree foods these days. In fact, I bought a few jars of puree chicken & rice, beef & vegetables, etc. and she does this fake gag to show her disapproval. It's funny because I think it's a pretty dramatic display. She could just spit it out or something! She is all about feeding herself. Her favorite thing to eat is still sweet potato puffs... I think she would eat the whole container if left her alone with it. She also really likes peas! I have a suspicion that her affinity to peas is mostly because of the bright green color. Some other foods she enjoys are chicken, turkey dogs, carrot juice, bananas, and she's even tried tiny bits of peanut butter sandwiches. She just wouldn't be our kid if she didn't like PB&J.

My funny Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day, Taylor! You are just so cute in your tutu!! We shot some video today of all the super-cute things Taylor does. She loves to wave when she's excited about her toys. In the video she is playing happily with her toys while trying not to get licked in the face by Riley. I also caught her playing one of her favorite games. She crawls over to the kitchen and grabs a stool and scoots it back and forth. It makes an annoying sound that Taylor loves and drives the dog crazy!

So Sick

This month we experienced Taylor's first major illness. She had a cough for about 3 weeks and it just got worse and worse. She coughed to the point is was painful and she also started wheezing so much that I worried about her ability to breath at night. She started on amoxicillin and 7 days later developed a horrible allergic reaction. She was covered head to toe in irritating hives (which she learned how to scratch). She was so miserable she didn't even want to take a bottle.... and this kid never turns down a bottle! She also tested positive for RSV that morning at the doctor's office. The rash progressed throughout the day, and by that evening we had to take her to urgent care as her face and lips were swelling to the point we didn't feel comfortable letting her go any longer. After 2 loooong hours at urgent care, a shot of epi, steroids, and lots of antihistamines, she was finally looking a bit better. She also got a chest x-ray which showed some pneumonia. How do babies get chest x-rays? Good question. Basically they put Taylor on a saddle, put her arms up in the air, and then enclosed a plastic tube tightly around her body. I still remember her little panicked face looking at me as she screamed. I don't blame her, it looked like a terrifying experience for my cold, naked, wheezing, rash-covered baby. She was so sick, and it was such a scary experience for us! The rash cleared within 4 days and the cough FINALLY abated at the end of that week. Whew! It's such an awful feeling when your baby is so sick and there's just nothing you can do to make it go away! I feel fortunate that she eventually got better on her own and didn't have to be admitted.

Good Check Up

Taylor's nine-month check up was so good! She is still on track with the 90th percentile! We are up to just under 22 pounds. The doctor said she's a 14-month-size baby! Way to go, Tay! Developmentally, she is right on track for her age. She is babbling, waving, pulling up and cruising along the furniture, and eating big girl foods! Now that she is proficient in picking up small pieces of food she is much less interested in puree baby food and wants to feed herself, so she is eating more "real" food these days. At the check up Taylor was so interested in the exam table paper and also the bandaid on her finger. She thought that bandaid was just the coolest thing! So much so that she didn't mind being poked in the finger for the blood test. She did get her shots which is always so hard for both of us. She usually cries the whole way home after getting her vaccines. This time on the way home she had a special surprise for mommy. When I put her into her car seat I always give her a couple of toys on her lap to keep her busy (as she still cries when she gets buckled into the seat). Along the way home I heard her gag... which she does from time to time when she puts a toy too far into her mouth. This is what I assumed was happening and we were pulling into the neighborhood by that time. When I got home and opened the back door I discovered she had pulled a bandaid of her leg and had it in her mouth. Oh my gosh!!!!! She really could have choked!!!! Lesson learned.

Another Must-Have

So, this is another great buy, in my opinion. This toy makes it so easy for Taylor to pull herself up to a standing position and it has enough lights and sounds to keep her standing for a long time. She LOVES this toy! She cruises around, and around the table. And another plus: On the "Annoying & Obnoxious Baby Toys" scale it rates about a 4 out of 10. There's enough variety that it's not too irritating for the rest of us!