Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great weekend with all of our family these last several days! My mom stayed the night Tuesday night so we could go out with my Lauth coworkers for my last day. Wednesday Melanie and I went to visit Jeff at work so she could start the weekend out right by being fawned over! Then Jeff's parents got to town mid-afternoon, and were here through Sunday morning. Wednesday night dinner was just Ron, Diane, Jeff, Mel and me.

-

Thursday was the crazy day. We hosted (and by "hosted" I simply mean we provided the venue; everyone else did the work!) Thanksgiving dinner for Jeff's parents, my parents, Uncle Rick, Aunt Sandy, Becky, Randy, Cory, Charlie, Sammie, Julie, Matt and Molly! We were thrilled that everyone got to spend the day together, especially enjoying the four kiddos!!

-

Friday was a lazy day around the house; Jeff's parents, aunt, uncle and cousin were all here; there were several Costco trips, a fun ladies lunch with Cory's family, some more time spent with Charlie, and Monical's for dinner!

-

Saturday saw the departure of half of the houseguests; Rick, Sandy and Becky headed home, and we had family photos scheduled for Christmas. Last year, Randy, Cory, and we got our photos taken - at the time, we only had one child between the two families. This year we wanted to show the difference with all three! So Ron & Diane came along, and we got some good Worzala photos! We were definitely not the only people who had this great idea on the Saturday after Thanksgiving! Saturday night both sets of grandparents watched Mel & Molly while we went to see the Flying Toasters at the bar right down the street.

-

Today was a recovery day - not from the bar, mind you - just getting the house back together and ready for my first day at work tomorrow!

-

Mel is doing great; after a few days of feeling under the weather, and eating only Pedialyte, applesauce, and bananas, she slowly came back, feeling better every day, (Tuesday she started the Pedialyte). She was never too grumpy about not feeling well, but we could tell she was a little sick. She got back on formula Wednesday night, and has been eating like a champ most of the weekend!

-

We have so many things to be thankful for, and our combined family is at the top of our list! We are so lucky that not only do we have great families, but that they get along so great and enjoy each others' company. That makes holidays so great, because we can spend time with everyone together! And Melanie is one lucky little girl!! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Poopie McPoopster

Melanie had a rough day today, although you would never know it to see her. She was her typical happy self - but just went through a few changes of clothes! She was always alone with Daddy when these messes happened, so I'm not complaining - I just hope she's okay since with her performances today, she about doubled the amount of times she's done this! I'm sure she'll be so excited to see this post if it still exists when she's 16!

-

Mel was in bed by about 6pm this evening, after 2, 2+hour naps. She loves her weekends to get caught up on her sleep - I just wish she'd sleep better during the week! But, she's too busy holding court at daycare!! She continues to change her mood when she gets her silky in hand. Today, she was playing as normal, no sleepiness indicated.... started pulling all the clean clothes out of her basket, one by one. Everything's fine.... oh. there's a silky blanket. Thumb in mouth, head on floor, different baby. It's her kryptonite.

-
As of today, Miss Melanie is 15lbs! Well, at least before her multiple changes of clothes (and the reason for them!)

She's Melanie Again

I know it was just one night - and that we'll have lots of them - but I was happy to see that after Mel's "rough" Wednesday night, she was back to her old self on Thursday and ever since!

Weird night for Melanie

I picked up Melanie a little early from daycare today, since I was downtown doing pre-employment "stuff" and got back up to the north side between 4 and 4:30. Decided I'd rather hang out with my baby than go back to work, so I headed to pick her up. When I got there, she was so fast asleep she was out of sorts when she was picked up - like hair matted, face red, couldn't figure out where she was. I caught the little monkey in the middle of some GOOD sleep! That stunk. She was out of it the whole way home -and so I put her back down when we got home. She was quiet, so I thought she was asleep, and went downstairs to do some chores; couldn't hear her on the monitor, but I went up to check on her about 5minutes later, and she was awake. Picked her up, took her downstairs, she just wanted to cuddle and suck her thumb. Okay, this is one of my favorite parts of being a mommy; I can do that! No... now that's not what she wants! So I fed her some cereal (a TON of cereal!!) and then we took a bath. She had to go to the bathroom while she was in the bathtub, and that didn't stop her. So I had a nice mess to clean up from that!! Then we played upstairs in her room for a little while; very low-key play for Mel, including a couple of books, and playing with her basket of hair bows (hence the photo). She got sleepy, and cuddly, so we hung out in her chair and tried to eat some of her bottle, and I put her down. She wanted NONE of that, screaming and crying. So I cuddled with her some more, and Daddy got home. He held her for a minute, and then he was going to go change. NO, she did NOT want to go back to Mommy. Screaming, I tell you. She finally got calmed down, took the rest of her bottle, and went to bed. She wanted to do some more cuddling (as did I) - but it seemed she couldn't get comfortable, and I would rather have her sleep than toss and turn. She was in bed by 6:30.

-

So, in all, just a weird Mel night. My prediction is she's teething. When she popped her first two teeth, she would not stand to be anywhere but someone's arms. Still doesn't explain pooping in the tub though!!

Molly's Baptism

Molly Carolyn Miller was baptized this past weekend in the same place her mommy and Aunt Angie were baptized, and the same place her mommy & Daddy, Grandma & Grandpa Doan, and Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Doan all got married. We enjoyed being a part of her special day. Since First Presbyterian Church has had so many blessings born this year, they decided to do five babies as part of one service, separate from the Sunday services. We joined together in the afternoon with several other families, and lots of congregation members for a special service honoring all five babies separately. It was well done, and Miss Molly did a great job. Until she stopped being the center of attention; hmmmm.... wonder whose kid she is?? I included a few photos above; the one of her with Gma & Gpa Miller had to be included because this was the first time I looked at Molly and said "WHOA - that's Julie's baby!!"

Waving and Learning "No"??

Melanie has been learning to wave "bye-bye" lately, and while at first it was very sporadic (and drawn out), it seems she's starting to learn the actual event at which waving is called for. For instance, we walked into the dining room of a restaurant on Sunday, and she waved "Hello" to everyone! "Hello - I'm Melanie, and it's time to start the party!" I think was her exact message. When prompted, she now waves at anything - the cat, her reflection in the mirror, the ceiling fan....she was doing some additional practicing in the back-seat mirror yesterday on the way home from daycare.

-

This morning, Mel was playing on our bedroom floor, and I was lying in bed (not sleeping - just watching her play). She kept trying to get back into the corner with the power strip and multiple cords. Every time she moved that way, I would say "Melanie" or "Melanie, no." She would stop every time and look at me, then start playing with something else. Now, I know that she doesn't really know what that means yet (nor will she LISTEN to that command for the next 18 years!) - but it was still interesting to see her continuing to respond to words.

-

Over the weekend, Mel took a couple of unsupported steps (one each time) - by 2009, this kid may be walking!

New Camera!

I am very excited about my birthday present, and pleased to announce the retirement of the camera that had the batteries taped in.

-

This was a big week in the Worzala house.....I got a new job!! I have loved my HR Generalist job at Lauth, and loved the people I work with (with the exception of one intern.... Kidding!!), but it's time to move on - specifically, out of commercial real estate. When I started at Lauth, we had 440 people. We now have roughly 160; and how many HR people does a company that size need? So I started looking around for other opportunities, and alas, I'm finally going to be working for a University! I will be the HR Generalist for the IU School of Neurology at IUPUI. I'm very excited, and I start December 1. Among the many wonderful things about this job is the SIX WEEKS of vacation that I will get! Yippee! I will be commuting downtown, but this does not bother me, since we are no longer in Chicago :) The "commute downtown" is all of about 15 miles. So, my new job, coupled with my birthday and all of the celebrations (including the previously-mentioned camera) - made for a great week!

-

Onto the more interesting news..... Melanie!! Melanie is still just a bundle of energy, learning and exploring new things every day. She has gotten good at standing on her own (unsupported by anything), for extended periods of time. By "extended periods of time" I mean like 10 to 20 seconds, not minutes! She seems to know what she's doing, though, and even claps while she's standing! It's very cute. Today, she climbed to the top of the stairs! Of course, I was right there with her all the time. First we made it to the landing (she was in pursuit of my Coke can, which I kept moving up one step by one step). Then, later, she tried again, and made it all the way to the top, without the glittery Coke can to tempt her. She also has a new "growling" noise that she frequently makes. It's not really associated with any emotion, it's just a fun noise for her to make at all times.

-

Mel is spending her afternoon today with Grandma (she also got to spend Thursday evening and Friday morning with Grandma) while we go downtown and do some Christmas shopping.

Sleeping and Clapping

Melanie has slept through the night the last THREE nights! This has been her longest streak, and I don't want to jinx it, but yet I'm so excited!! I give her a bottle as soon as she wakes up around 7am (she's averaging about 12 hours of sleep!!)
-
Also, after a long and diligent training session, it seems that Mel has learned to CLAP!! Historically, when she gets excited (which is often), she'll bang on the table, or on her legs, or she'll clap her hands with ours, but she won't put her two hands together to clap. Last night, as I was feeding her cereal, she got excited and, while banging on her high chair, put her hands together!! And then, apparently, was so excited all night long she waved her arms all around and did a little more clapping (I was at a meeting so I missed the follow-up). This morning, she did a tiny bit more clapping.

Happy Eight Month Birthday!

Miss Melanie Grace has been lighting up our lives for EIGHT MONTHS now! She continues to grow and learn new things every day. She is 14lbs, 10oz (we weighed her on Saturday at her flu shot appointment). She is still wearing size 0-3 month clothes, but can wear a few 3-6 month tops. Her little hips just won't keep pants up. She would not sit still for her typical monthly photo.

-

She continues to love standing up; can even stand unsupported for a few seconds at a time. She uses her walker toy to get all over the downstairs, so she's doing better with "walking." She is fascinated by Lucas, water bottles (the noise they make), anything she can put in her mouth, and basically anything she's NOT supposed to have. She is eating cereal twice a day, fruit and veggies each day, and is averaging 22-26 ounces of formula each day. Her attention span is getting a little longer, and her determination is funny; when she sets her mind to something, she's going to fight for it.

-

She is still getting up once per night for a bottle; she has been a bit affected by the time change, going to bed at 7 or earlier the last few nights. She sleeps great, though; and on the weekends she takes at least two solid naps. She doesn't nap as well at daycare.

-

What did we do with ourselves before Melanie came along??