Head Bump

It seems like our days are going by faster. We take in every moment with Nayeli. It has been a very busy week for us. Nayeli is exploring everything she can get into. I don't think I say No to her too many times. When I do she just stares at me and is persistent to get what she wants. As for daddy, she likes to test him. We have a plant downstairs with dirt in it. When mommy tells Nayeli to leave the plant alone, she crawls away to play with something else. When daddy tells her no, she slumps down and gives him a sneaky smile. As soon as daddy looks away, she grabs a handful of dirt. When daddy gives her the "I cant believe you just did that look," she laughs and thinks its funny. We have noted the best way to get past her wanting something without her having a temper tantrum is to distract her. We do this by going to the window and saying, "LOOK outside, is that a bird?" Nayeli looks up and starts scanning the trees and sky for a bird sighting. That usually distracts her and she forgets what she wanted. We wonder how long this tactic will work for us. She is so happy when I get home from work. As soon as I take a shower she is glued to my arm or leg. One bad habit she is getting into is eating on my lap. I have to break that but for now, sometimes that is the only way she will eat. I have started to give her smoothies. She loves them and takes about 2 oz. each time. It's funny when I go grocery shopping. I look at high calories for her and low for me.

On Thursday, I had to leave for my Doctors appointment in the morning. Nayeli started to cry as I was leaving and started saying Mama. It's so hard to walk out the door when she says that to me and cries. She was so happy to see me when I got back. When it was time for her to take her morning nap she refused and was moody for the rest of the morning. I think it was a combination of teething and plain out not wanting to take her nap. I wanted to take her for a walk or to the wildlife rehab center but we never left the house. I gave her tylenol before lunch and she ate her lunch fine. She took her afternoon nap. She woke up and was alot happier. The next day she refused her norning nap so this time I got her ready and we went out for the day. She was so happy getting out. She took a two hour nap and woke up in such a good mood. I guess she is dropping her morning naps. Daddy is worried about this because he watches her all day on mondays and counts on her naps so he can sleep because he works all night monday night.

Last night Nayeli fell off the bed as she was getting down. I feel guilty. I was right next to her. It happened so fast. She lost her balance when her feet touched the ground, she slipped and fell straight back. She hit the back of her head on the carpet. When I held her, she stopped crying. I called the advice nurse at Kaiser and she told me that I needed to wake her up and check on her every two hours and ask her quesions. I told her she is on1y 15 months old. What kind of quesitons do I ask a 15 month old? She said if I can't do this, then I needed to bring her in to ER. I called Shane at work since he working OT. He came home and we took her to the ER. The Dr. checked her over and said everything was fine. I was so worried after reading what head injuries can do. The Dr. made me feel better and said it happens alot with children. After the ER visit, Shane went back to work and worked until about 7am. He is such a hard charger. Shane and I always wondered how Nayeli would act if she stayed up until 1am and now we know. She is a mess and had a temper tantrum any time a nurse or DR got near her! The intake nurse had to put Nayeli's intake bracelets on mommy because Nayeli didnt want them. She finally fell asleep at 2am and woke up at her regular time 8am. I put her down for her morning nap today and she slept for her regular 1 1/2 hours. I am sure it's from the lack of sleep from last night.

Shane was blocking Nayeli's view from the TV and this is what she did.
She loves this painting of Catalina Island. We can't wait to take her there. Her pants are so long I have to roll them up and they still fall. Our little climber. She is so fast we have to watch her like a hawk when she is on the couch.
Enjoying Molly's bed.

Our little four legged baby Molly has a bulging disc. She has been on crate rest for a week. She is on meds to see if it will heal. We are hoping it does. She has an appt with the neuro surgeon tommorow to see if surgery is in the future. It's been hard for her to be in the crate when she is such an active little dog. You would never know she is 13. We are worried about her since she had a herniated disc that she had surgery on two years ago. Max and Twinkie walk by her crate and give her little kisses through it. Very cute!

15 months!

Yeli Belly is 15 months today! She sure is letting us know her dislikes. She dislikes diaper changes, being put in her carseat. When it's it's 6:45pm and her Barney or Baby sign DVD is not on she gets very moody. She will point to the TV and keep pointing until the the DVD comes on. She has two top molars that came in last week. She points to her mouth, ear, eye and belly. She added these new words to her vocabulary:
*app for apple
*car
*sleep
*mouth
*tree
Her new baby signs are:
*sleep
*car
*hat
*shoes
*tree
*milk
She is sleeping through the night again. Mommy and Daddy are very happy. If she wakes up it is just for a diaper change and she goes back to sleep. She is crusing and crawling. She stands up by herself for a few seconds. She is drinking 2 oz to 3 oz of whole milk with half and half a day. She is napping twice a day and falls asleep by 8:30pm. She wakes up at 8am. She eats breakfast, lunch and dinner. She is BF 5 times a day and snacks twice a day. She is wearing 18 month clothing. The 12 month clothing is too small and 18 months is too big. I don't understand why they don't make 15 month old clothing. This past week she has been trying to put her own shoes own she is so cute to watch. Her little personality is shining through.

Last weekend we went to a fundraiser at winery for the four fallen Police Officers that died on the line of duty last year. All the proceeds went to the Officer's families. We took Nayeli and she loved listening to the band while Daddy was wine tasting. Nayeli decided she wanted to be social and walk around. She would walk for a little bit and then when she got tired she would just try to sit on the floor. She was the band's number one fan because she would clap her hands when the band stopped playing. Everyone was watching her and smiling as she wouuld shake her head to the music. We are trying to take her to public places as long as it's outside or there is not a crowd.


We went to see Daddy play in a hockey tournaent on Thursday. We watched the game from the restaurant which is upstairs from the rink. Nayeli watched the game for a period then she got bored and wanted to walk around the restaurant. The place was empty and it was so much fun getting out of the house. We took Nayeli to our friend's house today for dinner. She loved exploring everything in their house. She loved their dog Bailey. It looks alot like her favorite stuffed animal. Everytime Bailey would get near her she would squeal and was so happy. Our freinds gave Nayeli this cute little toy dog. Nayeli loved it and wouldn't let it go for a while. We had a nice dinner and time with our friends. This was our first outing to one of our friends house this winter. It was great being social. We are still being extremely cautious. It was fun going out.

Nayeli with her new dog toy and being comfy in John's chair.
On a side note Molly woke up earlier this week very sore. She wasn't feeling any better so we took her to the vet and they took xrays and found she has a bulging disc on her right shoulder. She is on crate rest and on meds. We hope she is back to her spunky self soon. She wants alot of TLC so that is what I have been doing. Max is keeping Twinkie company while Molly is on crate rest. Max is doing ok for now. He is on a special diet. The Doctor said he has a heart condition and kidney issues. So he is on borrowed time. We are getting prepared. Nayeli loves him so it will be hard when the time comes. For now we let him do whatever he wants and give him lots of TLC

Minie-Me

Thank you Carter for my Cute Tshirt. I love it! I love looking at it and touching the cupcake.

Nayeli loves playing with the remote. The funny thing is that the TV is always off. I have a little minie me. Nayeli loves to copy everything I do. When I brush my hair she always wants to use my hairbrush. So I told her this is mommy's brush. Where is Nayeli's brush? Go get your brush. So what does she do? She gets her brush out of her bassinet and starts brushing her hair. She is so darn cute!

When I am cooking in the kitchen I try to have Nayeli on her highchair or her pak n play so I don't have an accident. The dogs are always in there too. When I begin to prepare something that is not hot or danger to her. I have her in the kitchen. She is so helpful. She starts to hand me every tupperware container. She is so happy when she thinks she is helping. All I can say is Thank You and stack it up on the counter.

Shane and I use the inside of our jacket when we are grabbing door handles so we don't touch it. Nayeli tried doing the same when she was trying to grab her toy magnet on the fridge. She also uses her toes to turn the DVD on or off because that is what I do.

Everytime she wakes up from her nap she wants to play with her stuffed animals. She especially likes the Racoon. She hugs it, pokes it's eyes and wrestles with it.
On Thursday my guest speaker for Kiwanis told me she had to cancel because she has the flu. I stepped up to the plate. I spoke about CDH. It was emotional and I thought I could do it wihout crying but I was only fooling myself. I shared some tears with the group. They were great in asking questions and listening. Yesterday Nayeli received her #3 RSV shot along with her #2 H1N1. When we got off the elevator I held her hands and she took a few steps. She was so happy! My mom has been practicing with her and she loves it. When she gets tired she sits on the floor. Before her shots she was smiling at everyone walking by and saying Hi. Then her nurse Ann came out and Nayeli started to cry. She would give Ann dirty looks. Never seen Nayeli do that until now. She weighs 20 lbs. 8oz. We celebrated by having a nice take out dinner at home. Earlier during the week we took Twinkie and Molly for their geriatric vet check up. Twinkie weighs 19 lbs. 5oz. So this is big deal in our house that Nayeli finally passed Twinkie in weight. The high calorie diet is working. It has also caused for me to gain 10 lbs. Yikes! I need to stop eating what she eats. We are so thrilled about Nayeli drinking 100cc of whole milk/half & half yesterday. What a great day!She continues to surprise me with her baby signing. I was walking her earlier this week and when she saw a car she did the baby sign and said it too. She loves to watch her baby signs DVD. I also teach her baby signs from picture books. I usually think she is ignoring me and isn't looking at me but she is. Her favorite baby sign right now is Moon. When we are sitting in the kitchen and she sees the reflection of the light on the window she will say Moon and do the baby sign over and over again.

The funny thing she did today was Shane was calling out for Nayeli to come to him and she actually sounded like she said "what". It made us laugh.

The not so funny thing is she is having temper tantrums between 6-7pm every night. They usually don't last very long. Shane and I just joke about it and say the Witching hour is back with a vengance. We try ask her what she wants. Usually she will start kicking and if we pick her up she starts head butting backwards and has hit me really hard on the lip and chin. I have heard stories of babies giving their parents black eyes by doing this. I believe it! I hope this phase passes. If you have any suggestions please feel free to send them our way.

Baby Samara is doing well. She had her repair surgery earlier this week. Beverly her mom has been by her bedside the entire time. Samara's daddy Gabe has been traveling back and forth from Fresno to take care of their other children. The good news is that Beverly finally got to hold Samara on Thursday. We are praying that Samara recovers quickly and is able to home soon.

The Nayeli Faith Foundation was there to help this family with gas cards and cards for food.

I am ready for a Milkshake!

Our cupboard is full of all kinds of sippy cups. We have been trying all kinds of sippy cups to get Nayeli to start drinking whole milk. We started to put half and half in it after reading a high calorie recipe. She surprised us one day when she drank 2oz. of whole milk with half and half out of her sippy cup. That was two weeks ago and she hasn't drank any since. She drinks juice diluted with water out of her sippy cup and says toot when she is thirsty. I bought some cups with straws. She saw the cup and loved it. She immediately drank out of it and didn't put it down, she loves it! I don't know why I didn't try it sooner. She drank her entire 3oz of whole milk mixed with half and half. It looks like it's easier for her to drink out of than a sippy cup. I am going to try to make her a high calorie milkshake and put it in her new straw cup. Hope she likes it. She is still drinking out of a bottle on her morning and afternoon feeds when I am not home. She is still going strong on BF and I am in no hurry to stop her from doing it. I want her to remain a baby as long as possible.
She learned how to baby sign toothbrush tonight while we were watching her baby sign DVD. She amazes me on how fast she learns the baby signs.Cindy, Claire's mommy made this cute shirt. She does wonderful work. If you are looking for the cutest gifts contact her.
No more pictures! I always pictured this while I was pregnant with Nayeli. It's funny how they all want to sit next to me all the time. Everywhere I go they follow me and want my attention. Nayeli enjoys playing in her toy box. She stood up for two seconds for me to take this picture. Here is another shirt Cindy made for Nayeli. We love it!

On a side note please pray for our friends CDH baby Samara who is at UCSF waiting to have surgery. She has reherniated for the third time and is scheduled to have surgery on Monday. Pleas pray that she gets stronger and is able to keep some nutrients down for her to get strength for her surgery. I spoke with Samara's mommy Beverly tonight and it breaks my heart that she has to go through this and that she might have to spend her 1st Birthday in the hospital.

Goodnight Moon

The first Nayeli Faith Foundation charity Police vs. Fire hockey game was great. We raised over 3k. We are so grateful to everyone that helped. We couldn't of done this without you. We are planning to have the webiste go live soon and have brochures printed out.

We hope that you and your family had a great New Years. We had a nice dinner and then Shane had to go to work. So it was just Nayeli and I celebrating New Years. She went to bed at her usual time 815pm and was asleep by 830pm. I thought for sure the next door neighbors kids were going to wake her up at 9pm when they were yelling Happy New Year and banging on pots and pans for 30 minutes. She slept right through it. I was able to stay awake until 1215am. Reflecting back on 2009 We started the Nayeli Faith Foundation, I reconnected with old friends and made new friends. I cherish my old friends. We made great family memories and shared laughter and tears.

Twinkie loves to play with Nayeli. Nayeli likes to chase him with her car. She laughs so hard when he chases her back. Nayeli opening her Christmas present from Godfather Alex. She loves her dog book. My parents came up on Saturday and are leaving today. My dad wanted to come up with my mom since he hasn't seen Nayeli in a while. I love my mom coming every week, I am so glad my dad came up and stayed for the week. Nayeli calls him gram. I think she is trying to say grandpa. My dad enjoyed taking Nayeli on walks in her car. She loves going outside. It's been nice coming home from work and having dinner ready. My mom continues to come up 2 days a week. She is racking up the frequent flyer miles.

Congratulations to our friend John who retired after 28 years! He is a great candidate for babysitting Nayeli. He has his flu shot, H1N1 and never gets sick. When can you start John?
Over the weekend Shane and I got the chance to go out to our friend John's retiring party. He retired from the police department after working there for 28 years. It was so much fun getting out and dancing and being among friends. Most of all Shane and I had a date night. I felt a little better in leaving Nayeli with my mom. I called to check in a few times but was more at ease. I enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and when I got home I pumped and dumped and didn't feel guilty. As we were leaving the party that night. John said something that I took to heart the following day. He said we need to get Shane to this point. It's important! I thought about it the next day and I had tears. I knew what he meant. John and his wife Laura
There is so much that Nayeli has been doing this past week. She started to stand on her own for a about one second and she has it down to two seconds. It is so cute to see her look so proud of herself when she does it. She first puts her head on the floor and then she sticks her butt in the air and does a squat and then slowly stands. She remains squatted for balance. The other way she does it is she sits in a squat and slowly gets up in a stand. She looks like she is ready to sumo wrestle. I have been trying to see if she will walk while holding my hands around the house but she doesn't like it. Over the weekend we were at Averi's service which was beautiful and sad. We sat in the back to stay away from everyone. Nayeli was quiet for a total of 20 minutes, I was impressed. She became restless and I had to step out with her. She got squirmy and wanted to go on the floor. I didn't feel comfortable her crawling on a dirty floor so I held both of her hands and let her feet touch the floor she started to walk. She did it for about 5 minutes and got tired. I noticed as she was getting tired she started walking on her tippy toes. Cute!

She is sleeping better at night. I don't want to jinx it so I will only say that. When it's time for bed after I read her a book and I kiss her goodnight and put her in her crib she holds me tighter and doesn't want to let go. So how can I say no. I hold her a bit longer. I would stay up holding her all night if I could but I know it's the wrong thing to do.

I received great high calorie recipres from Claire's mom and have been feeding Nayeli that. So far she is drinking 20cc of whole milk with 10 cc of half and half. I try to offer her that before juice diluted with water. I also have been giving her pizza, grilled cheese, lots of butter with all her food and tater tots. She has become a very picky eater so we offer her anything we can to get her to eat.
Last week we decided to start letting Nayeli try to feed herself. She is really good. We have allowed her to try practicing with an empty spoon before. So when it came to time to feed herself she did it like a pro. Here is a video of her feeding herself with spoon for the first time.

She baby signed eat for the first time last week when she was about to eat lunch. I sat her on her highchair and signed it. I praised her and she began to clap. Later that day while I was BF. She was done on one side and baby signed more. So I switched breast and was so happy that I understood her. This baby signing is great! I have been reading her Goodnight Moon every night and I have been teaching her the baby sign for moon. A few weeks ago when we had a full moon. She baby signed moon and said it when I showed it to her. Last week when we had a full moon she did it every time I showed her the moon. A few times during the day she would go to the window and say and baby sign it. I have been telling her the moon comes out at night and the sun is during the day. We ordered her more baby sign DVD's she loves them and gets excited each time I put them on for her. I wish I could take her to a baby sign class with other children her age. She could have full conversations with them. Last night the word DOG came out on the TV and she did the baby sign for it before it was said. We have a genius in our hands.

Everyday is a blessing with Nayeli and we are forever grateful.