Stampin' Up!

What a week! Mabel had lots of firsts this week - Her first plane ride, her first hotel stay, her first Stampin' Up convention, and she even held her head up on her own for the first time! Mabel and I flew out on Wed. morning to Denver for the Stampin' Up convention. Mabel slept the entire way. We were joined by my friend, Sara, and her 5 mo. old daughter, Mia. For those of you who don't know, I am an independent demonstrator for Stampin' Up. (Shameless plug - for more information, check out my website: http://danaeciske.stampinup.net) Mabel attended all sessions with me Thurs. - Sat. We saw presentations on new products and different on ideas on how to grow our business. We also saw lots of crazy ladies that like stamping just a little TOO much, but I guess Sara and I aren't that far behind. Mabel was incredibly good throughout the entire stay. She managed to sleep through some of the presentations and play quietly through others. Stampin' Up was thoughtful enough to have mothers' rooms in the main hall. They had comfy chairs and TVs so that we could watch the presentations, but keep the babies out of the main room if they were fussy. One of the rooms was in a convernted men's bathroom, seeing that there were about five men out of the over 2500 attendees. One presenter joked that we had converted every men's bathroom to a women's within a five block radius. I'm not sure about that, but most of the ones in the convention center were converted. We flew home last night and Mabel once again slept the entire flight. It was a great experience and I'm so glad that we decided to go. We have a quiet week this week, but I'll post again soon.

No mama

Pops here.

With the Mama gone for the weekend, Mabel and I had our first overnight alone together. Between all the travel we've been doing this summer and the limited amount of time I spend with her each day (really not much more than four hours a day between when I get home from work and Mabel goes to bed), I hadn't taken care of her for more than short stretches at a time since she was a newborn. The stage was set for disaster but I'm pleased to report that Mabel and I had a wonderful weekend that resulted in the loss of neither life nor limb.

Mabel started the weekend off with a reaffirmation of the master/servant hierarchy by filling her diaper with a truly outrageous amount of material before the Mama had even crossed the state line. My lack of practical experience with changing diapers of this volume proved to be quite an obstacle, but a box of wipes and some time later, both Mabel and her room were restored to a reasonable state of cleanliness.

I was similarly unprepared for Mabel's daytime feeding pattern. Pretty much the entire afternoon from 11:00 to about 4:00 was one continuous meal. She consumed so much so quickly that I began to fear for our formula supply. Mabel also did not sleep a wink all day until her bedtime, which was just fine by me as we had a great day together. We walked around the house in the sling, we did some tummy time, we snuggled on the couch and watched the Cubs. We also did some dancing, with me pumping Mabel's arms in time with the music while Mabel vigorously kicks her legs against my chest (I looked back in my library and recalled the song that really got Mabel wound up the most was 'Brainiac's Daughter' by the Dukes of Stratosphear).

As night fell, I worried that Mabel's indefatigable energy level would be a harbinger of a sleepless night for Mabel (and, therefore, for Pops). Yet another red flag - our typical routine of a pre-bedtime bath would have to be scrapped due to a lack of available manpower. Luckily, just about bedtime, Mabel conked out about a quarter-ounce into a four-ounce bottle and I slipped her into her bed without any issues. She slept straight through until about 5am, when we got up for a quick bottle and then went back to sleep for another three hours, this time with both of us in the grownup bed.

I actually woke up before she did on Sunday morning, and we spent the morning having a nice bottle, enjoying the sunshine and listening to Sun Ra and Alice Coltrane, which sparked a discussion about Mabel's birthday vs. her expected due date (her due date was May 22, Sun Ra's birthday). Just as I was finishing the story of our drive to the hospital when the Mama was in labor, who should burst through the door but the Mama herself.

(Mama added the photo of her and Mabel reading the new Harry Potter book on Sunday. Mama is finished with the book if anyone would like to discuss.)

Let's Get Physical

Mabel went to her first physical therapy appointment on Monday. Our pediatrician gave us a referral for therapy because she looks to her right much more than her left and has developed a small flat spot on the right side of her head. Her physical therapist set us up with a to-do list. Mabel has to spend as much time as possible on her tummy. Sometimes she's up for this and other times it just annoys her. We have to make sure anything interesting to her (our faces, the window, lights, the TV) is to her left. We are also supposed to encourage her to put her left hand to her mouth as opposed to her right as this will make her look to the left as well. She just discovered her hands a few days ago and seems pretty excited about putting them in her mouth. We will go back for therapy once every two weeks for now. It may increase to once a week when she starts sitting up and hopefully we won't have to go for more than six months or so. This picture shows her evening workout. She could totally feel the burn.

Meet the Cousins

Mabel has now met everyone in her family. On Thursday, her Aunt Jill, Uncle Darren, Abby and Sam arrived in Peshtigo for a visit. She has been having fun playing with them. We've had a few lazy days around the house with some paddle-boating and fishing. Last night, Mabel experienced Grandpa Dick's fish fry for the first time. (In the picture, I'm on the phone with Nathan. He's in Chicago attending a music festival with friends this weekend.) Today we are going to Mabel's Great-aunt Pat & Great-unlce Bill's 50th wedding anniversary party in Stevens Point, WI. Here she will meet the rest of her extended family for the first time.

On the sleeping front, we had another uninterrupted night's sleep last night. It's the first time this has happened since I mentioned it in a post several weeks ago. Last night she slept from about 8:30 straight through until 6:30 this morning.

On the Move

Mabel has been enjoying a few quiet days in Wisconsin. She received a tour of Peshtigo National Bank from Brooke's mom, Kathy. She made a few more trips to the Walmart. She spent over an hour at a kitchen remodel place helping plan her grandparents' new kitchen.

Besides all the moving around in strollers and cars, she has been moving more in her Pack n' Play. In the morning, she is always a foot or two away from where she started in the evening. No rolling over yet, but a whole lot of squirming. It also seems that sleeping through the night a week or so ago was a fluke. She has been up between 2 and 3 every night since, but she still goes right back to sleep after that bottle.

Mabel is excited that she only has to wait a little over a day to meet her Aunt Jill and cousins Ab & Sam. They arrive in WI on Thursday morning.

Baptism

Today was Mabel's baptism. The mass was beautiful, despite the heat. After mass, we all headed over to the Kramer's for a cookout. We had record heat today, but it stayed okay in the shade. Mabel's cousins ran around in the sprinkler to cool off and everyone took a few breaks in the air-conditioned house.

Trade Winds

Mabel is now an old hat at Wisconsin fish fries. She went to her second one tonight at the Trade Winds in Marinette. This is Grandma and Grandpa's favorite restaurant and we're sure Mabel will be visiting many times in the future. Perhaps some day she'll beat one of mama's high scores on the Ms. Pacman.

Smiles for Gammy

Mabel's first 4th of July went off with a bang! Actually, we decided to skip the fireworks on the evening of the 4th. Just a little too loud and damp. The day after the 4th, Mabel went to the Wigchers' vacation house. She played with her cousins and managed a few nice smiles for Gammy. She had a fussy evening, for her, but seems more rested today. She's missing her daddy today. He is visiting friends in Minnesota for a couple of days and will head back to Peshtigo on Saturday.

Mabel turns her frown upside down

Another mellow day here in the North Woods. We got off to a great start with these smiles this morning. We ran some errands. Mabel made her first visit to the Walmart. She felt some guilt shopping there due to some of Walmart's business practices, but she just couldn't resist the everyday low prices. Tonight we are going to attempt to view a firework show from Grandpa Dick's pontoon boat, if the bangs and bugs don't get us first.

Sea Legs

Mabel took her first boat ride yesterday on the Peshtigo River. She slept the whole time, which we're guessing is her way of telling us she enjoyed it. Plus, the fresh air lead to her sleeping through the night last night!!