Here we grow again - Part 4

Today was Maison's 9 month wellness exam and here is how she measured up:

Age Weight Height

Birth 7 lbs 9 oz 21"

2 weeks 8 lbs 11 oz 21 3/4"

2 months 11 lbs 14 oz 24"

4 months 15 lbs 2 oz 26"

6 months 17 lbs 7 oz 28 3/8"

9 months 21 lbs 0 oz 30 3/8"

Again she was above 95% for height and 85% for weight so we are definitely getting used to the idea that we are going to have a very tall daughter. After her appointment we took her to buy shoes and I just couldn't find any that would fit her in the infant section. Yeah, that's because my NINE MONTH OLD wears toddler size 4 or 5 depending on the shoe. It's only another month or two until she'll be in my shoes, borrowing my clothes, and driving my car. God help us!

Here we grow again Part 3 - WNBA here we come!

Today was Maison's 6 month wellness exam.  Here's how she measured up:

Age Weight Height

Birth 7lbs 9oz 21"

2 weeks 8lbs 11oz 21 3/4"

2 months 11lbs 14oz 24"

4 months 15lbs 2oz 26"

6 months 17lbs 7oz 28 3/8"

Yes...that's right, she exceeded her previous record of growing 2" in two months by 3/8 of an inch.  Is it a bad sign when the nurse said, "By nine months she should be taller than Mommy.  Daddy, you better have lots of money for shoes."  All I could say back was, "I have plenty of shoes...she can wear mine at least through elementary school."  .....sigh.  Look on the bright side, handbags and jewels fit everyone.  At least I have very nice collections of somethings that we can share.

She was 95% + this time for height but only 80% for weight.  If this trend continues she will be VERY tall and some what skinny.  I'm thinking Gaby Reese...tall professional beach volleyballer turned athlete/sports model.  Adam is thinking WNBA....god help me!

Hoppy Easter!

It is tradition that we have Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast on Easter morning. You know, got to get a good base of sugar before you snack on your Easter basket goodies all day. My parents and Shari came over with the KKs and the Easter baskets my mom had made for Adam and me. Yes, we still get custom made Easter baskets that are tailored with your candy preferences. Maison had a wonderful first Easter...a visit from the Easter Bunny, dinner at Nooey's and G'daddy's, and family pictures. Unfortunately the Easter egg hunt had to be cancelled because of the rain.

Easter Bunny heard Maison liked Elmo...

      

Family Pics before it started to rain...

         

Family Pic during the rain...

Maison is missing!

Around lunch time, Maison went missing and we haven't seen her since. What is really weird is there is this old Jewish midget in her room. He keeps babbling so I could barely make out what he was saying, but I heard him say something about going to Florida for Passover. I really hope Maison makes it back in time for Easter...to be continued.

      

I heart Ryan

No, not Seacreast! Not even Ryan Reynolds (though Adam does have a man crush on him!). Ryan Baby! at least that is what I refer to him as...

On Monday night we went to Buy Buy Baby (BBB) where there is a flamboyantly gay guy named Ryan that has worked there since they opened. He was there the night I registered and when he handed me the registry gun he told me, "It's going to be A-WE-SOME!" in a sing-songy voice that only a gay guy could deliver. From that day on Ryan has been by my side...for my registry completion with Shari that took up 3 carts, for my countless returns with no receipts, for my exchange of broken spendy items with not only no receipt but no box.

Monday night he really carved out a permanent spot in my heart...

I had a car seat mirror to return that I had bought in December that didn't work. It some how ended up discarded in the 3rd row of seats and I didn't even realize it was there until I laid down the seats to load up the weight bench and weights I got Adam for his b-day. When I heard a crunch and saw the light blue material peeking out from between the seats I thought it was a goner. It somehow survived with just a small tear in the fabric.

I made a bee-line for Ryan as we went in, chatting him up like he was my bestie. He of course said he would take the mirror back...no problem and asked if we were going to shop around. When I said yes, he responded "Of COURSE you are!".

When we were checking out I handed him a stack of 10 BBB and Bed Bath and Beyond coupons and told him I wasn't sure which ones were still good, or applied, or whatever. I work full time, have a newborn and a husband, play on 2 soccer teams and train for triathlons. The fact that the coupons were even in a stack ready to go to the store was amazing to me. Ryan, my sweet Ryan Baby, found a way to use EVERY SINGLE COUPON. He said normally they can only use ONE coupon per transaction but because we were such good customers he went ahead and used them all...even the expired ones. And not only did he just 'use' them...he used them smartly...applied the 20% off ones to my most expensive items, and then all the $5 off ones towards the total bill. So how much did my cart of goodies cost after my mirror return and coupon extravaganza? $31...yes, that's right...THIRTY ONE DOLLARS! So when you are considering shopping at the "I feel like I've gone to a foreign country" Babies R US just remember that they would NEVER treat a customer like this much less employee a gay guy. Take your business to BBB...just don't try to steal my Ryan Baby...he's mine!

My Sweet Potato Princess

On Monday, Maison started eating vegetables. We started her out on sweet potatoes since most children are not allergic to root vegetables. We made her a veggie puree (veggie + rice cereal + milk) in her Baby Cook food processor. I normally don't endorse products unless I'm paid to do so (HA!) but the Baby Cook is A-MAZ-ING! It processes, steam cooks, and reheats your baby food all in one little device. I love, love, love it!

Adam and I both LOVE sweet potatoes so we were hoping Maison would too...and she did! She even cried for more ;o)

     

Hippity, Hoppity, Rip-offity

After my plans for Easter dress picture taking went bust on Friday, on Saturday we decided to take Maison to the Shops at Legacy to see the Easter bunny (here on out referred to as EB). I know that most infants are terrified of EB and Santa Claus but thought we would give it a shot. It was a beautiful day and the shops are outside so we thought it would be a nice outing regardless of how the bunny pic turned out.

I had a hair appointment at 4:00 so we only had a small window of time to visit EB and eat lunch so we had already agreed if the line was long we were going to abort the mission. When we arrived at Shops we were pleasantly surprised to find parking, locate EB, and get in line. The line seemed rather short to me but I've obviously never had children until now so what did I know.

When we were 2nd in line, one of the EB assistants (here on out referred to as EB-ette) handed us a sheet with pricing info, etc. For the low low price of $48.95 you could get three 5x7 of your child with EB. WTF? I know I've never been in the position to actually buy these kind of photos until now and possibly with inflation I was a little off on how much I thought it would be but ~$50 seemed rather high to me. So I asked if we could just "see the Easter Bunny" and was informed that they were PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS and thus this was a picture taking endeavor not a meet and greet. I was further informed that most infants don't do well with EB and need to be 'backed into' sitting on his lap and if it didn't go well they could shoot the baby in a wagon filled with live bunnies...which per EB-ette really made a great keepsake for mommy, grand-mommy, etc.

Adam politely said it was up to me, to which I politely told EB-ette we would come back another day when Maison was in her Easter dress (come on...it's a white lie). Uh, why on earth would I spend $50 on a picture that my child will most likely scream through or a picture featuring live bunnies that may give my child rabies? Is there a reason EB-ette couldn't have informed us of the procedures and cost BEFORE we waited through the entire line? In the future, I'll be skeptical of a really short line and will definitely take my EB business to Willow Bend where EB meet and greets are perfectly acceptable!

Poor Man's Arboretum

Last Friday I had big plans to take a vacation day so that I could take Maison to the Dallas Arboretum to see "Dallas in Bloom" and to take pictures in her Easter dress. Trying to pose a 5 mo old for pictures when she can't sit up unassisted is pretty much impossible by yourself so Shari agreed to take the afternoon off and go with me. Shari does NOT take off work very often and when she does it has to be really worth it; so I was very flattered that she had agreed to go with us. Somehow in the almost 30 years we have lived here, Shari has never been to the Arboretum and I have been about 10 times. I'm not sure why that is...

So we planned to meet for lunch around 1:00 and then head to the Arboretum. Unfortunately, Maison planned to get sick several times, each time requiring a change of clothing and resulting in us not arriving at lunch until 2:00. I am always late but an entire hour late is a little much even for me. Needless to say, Shari was not very happy with me when we arrived.

To make the afternoon just perfect, Maison decide to not take her bottle and scream through the latter part of lunch drawing stares from the "parkies" that were eating on the patio next to us. I was mortified, frustrated, and starving considering I didn't get to eat much of my lunch and the morning's festivities prevented me from eating prior to that. We headed to the Arboretum around 3:00...a good 1 1/2 hours later than planned.

On the way, Shari needed to drop off her new car to get the bluetooth phone system set up. The service rep said it would only take 5 min and we should just wait. 45 mins later I was still sitting in the parking lot with a screaming child in the car with me. At 4:00 I decide the Arboretum was a no-go considering they closed at 5:00 and Maison was scheduled to eat again at 5:30 which was impossible to make it home from Dallas in rush hour if we were to leave at 5:00.

So I decided we should just go take pictures in Shari's neighborhood considering I had to be on my way back home by 4:30. We changed Maison into her Easter dress in my car, loaded up the stroller, and walked a couple of blocks to the retirement homes that had the best flowers. Shari and I walked through their flower beds, plopped down Maison in her bumbo chair, and started shooting as many pictures as we could before she cried, drooled on her dress, or got sick again.

We were quite a sight...both of us crawling in the flower beds to pose Maison, getting our jeans covered in mud, while my butt was hanging out as I attempted to take pictures. After what we had been through so far nothing was going to stop me from getting at least a few good shots. Not even a resident who had to fight her way through all our stuff we had politely left on the sidewalk that was the pedistrian entrance to her complex.

Here is the "Poor Man's Arboretum" in all it's glory:

     

Check out the "Private property" sign a few feet behind my head ;o)

     

     

     

Of course HK had to make the trip:     

    

Give me that tulip!

When we got home I found a nice surprise...Maison has a tooth! Yes, the poor little thing had a tooth that had already broken through her gums. No wonder she was so fussy!

Happy 5 months, Maison!

Today Maison turned 5 months old!  Happy b-day baby ;o)

     

     

E! News at the Academy

Hi, I'm Gulianna Ranic and this is E! News live from the red carpet.  We are checking in with the hottest celebs on the biggest Hollywood night of the year.  Unfortunately due to the rain, we have a limited number of stars taking part in the red carpet so we will go to some sightings earlier today...

Maison Maslow is quickly making a name for herself with the paparazzi.  She was spotted earlier today with no makeup while out driving her exer-saucer.  She is obviously distraught due to the untimely death of Alexander McQueen, whose gown she was scheduled to wear tonight.   She quickly tried to cover herself with her burp cloth but the paparazzi were still able to get a few unflattering shots...

     

Rumor has it she changed her mind at the last minute and instead wore Ralph Lauren.  Here is the young starlet dazzling in her last minute wardrobe decision.  I really love how her yellow Mary Jane sock shoes really pull her look together.

At the after party, she definitely did not disappoint in a Juicy Couture footie that she picked specifically for the style and comfort.  For a star that was not nominated it was definitely an award winning night for her...

In Parker, Texas at the annual Ellington Academy Awards bash there was a new tie breaker rule that played a major part in this year's outcome.  After all ballots were in, 3 ballots (Shari's, Dad's, and mine) were all exactly the same.  We decided that we would pick a 7th category in the off chance that those were the winning ballots.  As fate would have it they were.  We all 3 picked every winner correct but my dad was the only one who won the tie-breaker category and thus made off with "the pot".  Bad run for me lately...lost last year because of stupid, "peanut head" Penelope Cruz and then this year on a tie-breaker rule.  B-O-O, H-O-O!

Here we grow again...part 2

On Monday Maison had her 4 month wellness check and she is still holding strong at the 95% for height.  They actually measured her height at 27 1/2 inches which was literally off the charts, as in above 97%, for girls.  The doctor said that was a sign of growth abnormality and wanted to remeasure...in other words she thought her nurse was a 'crack pot'.  When the doctor remeasured, Maison came in at 26" which is her normal 95% ...and well on her way of being half of Mommy's height of 5'3" or 31.5 inches.

How Maison has measured up thus far:

Age Weight Height

Birth 7 lbs 9 oz 21"

2 weeks 8 lbs 11 oz 21 3/4"

2 months 11 lbs 14 oz 24"

4 months 15 lbs 2 oz 26"

At 4 months, we were 'allowed' to introduce Maison to rice cereal.  Given that I am a health nut and buy organics whenever possible (aside...yet I drown myself in diet coke...hhmm, could you get MORE processed????...do I need a therapist for this addiction...I think yes!) I have Maison eating ORGANIC BROWN rice cereal.  As a card carrying Republican with views just right of Rush, you would never think I was into such granola activities as organic foods, recycling, breast feeding, bike riding, BUT I AM... so organic brown rice it is for my darling.

We had to capture Maison's first "real" eating experience:

          

Happy 4 months, Maison!

Today Maison turned 4 months old.  Shari and my soccer game was cancelled because of the rain so we were able to celebrate by having brunch at Bread Winners.  

Happy 4 months, Maison!

     

Don't be outdone on V-day

This year was Maison's first Valentine's, so of course it had to be bigger and better than ever.  Maison's valentine's experience actually started on Thursday when Maison's Nooey (my mom) brought her her first v-day gift...a Hello Kitty and a gorgeous sterling silver bracelet engraved with her name.  This isn't an ordinary bracelet you can just go buy at the store...no, Nooey, who loves all things British, had Maison a bracelet handmade from Carr's in the UK and shipped here.  She couldn't wait to give it to her on Valentine's day because SHE wanted to be the first to give Maison a v-day gift.

Shari made a 'pop call' on Saturday morning to visit which was perfect timing because Adam had ordered us mini-red velvet cakes and chocolate covered strawberries from Greene Kitchen Bakery.  Red velvet is our absolute fave and Green Kitchen is the best.  Once Shari saw that my mom had already given Maison her v-day gift she was not going to be out done.  Aunt Shari left and came back a few hours later with a couch full of clothes for Maison.  The "pink princess" will be quite the fashionista in her new duds...

      

On Valentine's I made our traditional pop-overs and we gave Maison her v-day gifts...

      

That night my mom graciously agreed to watch Maison so that Adam and I could finally go see Avatar and go out to dinner.  While she was at our house, she noticed all the new clothes that Aunt Shari had given Maison.  Who showed up Monday afternoon with a truck load of clothes?  Yep, that's right Nooey is making sure my child is as spoiled as humanly possible.  

So what have we learned on this very happy V-day....Maison has more clothes than I do and she is only 4 months old and Mommy and Daddy are cheap ;)

Fashion Police: Super Sunday

Welcome back to E! Fashion Police, I'm Gulianna Ranic....so last Sunday was Super Sunday when all the stars go glam for the Super Bowl and this year's game definitely did not disappoint. We have reviewed the ensems of some of today's hottest celebs from Brangelina to J-lo to Jennifer Anniston. Up next is our young and happening category from Taylors to Mileys to Maison Maslows...

Guiliana: First up is Maison Maslow. She is definitely new to the celeb scene and I have to admit I think for one of her first outings she really nailed it. She looks fresh and hip and dressed age appropriate.

Jay: I'm not digging the polka dot leggings. They are too 'Valentinesie' for me. I do agree though that it's nice to see stars in this category dressing their age.

Khole: I disagree Jay. I TOTALLY loved it. I think she looks edgy yet cute. I'll go as far as to say I'd like her stylist's number.

Joan: Are we looking at the same person? I totally think she should have worn this the previous weekend to the Grammy's. I mean a 'themed t-shirt'...really? Who's dressing this kid? Her mommy?

Let's see the 360 glam cam:

Will she be a 'best-dressed' or 'worst-dressed'? You'll have to wait and see when we return from this commercial break...

Double Fistin and Sittin Pretty

Maison has starting sitting up on her own in her bumbo chair and has just learned how to hold on to two things at once...so here's Maison 'double fistin' and 'sittin pretty'

     

Happy 3 months, Maison!

Yesterday Maison turned 3 months old.  She celebrated her birthday with screaming and crying from noon until 6pm and then she stayed up all night being fussy and cranky.  We were able to get a few 'good' pics while she was hanging out in her boppy pillow:

"Holding my head up high"

     

"Waving at the camera"

 

Major milestone meltdowns

Major Milestone 1 - Moving Maison to her own room
Adam and I had agreed that we would move Maison to her crib in her own room when she turned 3 months on 1/21. This would have been a few days before I was scheduled to return to work on 1/25. Unfortunately, I was asked to come back to work a week early and start on 1/19 and thus we planned to move Maison to her own room this weekend. Being the procrastinators that we are, we didn't get around to moving her until last night.

We've been napping Maison in her room in her crib so that it wouldn't be a shock to her when we moved her; but Maison is not a very good napper and we are lucky if she stays in her crib 30 mins 2 times a day. So as you can imagine, last night was just a blasty blast...


I could not bear to think the poor little thing was sleeping alone in her big girl crib and could possibly die of SIDS because of our beautiful, frilly bumpers...or could break an arm or a leg if we removed the bumpers. Adam wanted to remove the bumpers since all the classes we went to said they contribute to SIDS. I wanted to leave the bumpers because she moves a lot and I didn't want her to catch a foot or a hand in the slats....so we compromised. We removed the front bumper and left the other 3. I went to sleep in her room so I could be the nighttime watchman just in case major trauma or death was at our door.


Maison has started sleeping on her side or rolling to her side so that she can change her direction in her crib. Twice I got up last night to find her foot through the front of the crib where we had removed the bumper (Told you so Adam!). I carefully tried to move her back to a back sleeping position. Twice I woke up to her coughing and then gasping for air...each time bolting out of bed only to find her pleasantly sleeping on her back and stirring because I had flung myself in her direction. Once I took a peek and found her turned 90 degrees from where she started and her head was up near the back bumper (ok...so I'm not right either...sigh). Around 4am Maison had had enough of my antics and threw a "Class A" fit until we broke down and gave her a bottle....she'll show us!


So overall, I got roughly 2 and 1/2 hours of sleep and had to wake Adam up at 7am to give Maison her bottle because I was afraid I would fall asleep on her if I tried. Let's hope tonight goes better...if not, I'm pretty sure Maison won't be the only one having a meltdown.


Major Milestone 2 - Maternity leave is over; back to the real world
I was not scheduled to go back to work until 1/25 but was asked to come back one week early and will thus start work tomorrow. I'm really not ready. I had prepared myself for 1 more week and then it was just snapped away from me. I cannot imagine not being with Maison all day. I already arranged to work from home a large portion of this week since I agreed to return early but not sure how things are going to work out long term. I miss her when I'm gone just for a few hours...how will I ever cope? Do you think if I have a meltdown at work I'll get sent home and thus will get to be with Maison anyway???


Major Milestone 3 - Maison does Tummy Time for real!
So Maison has been rolling from her back to her side for a few weeks now but has really gotten more aggressive the last few days. We knew it was only a matter of time before she could roll all the way over onto her tummy and today she did! Yes, little Maison who HATES 'tummy time' rolled onto her tummy while playing on her Baby Einstein mat. Where was Mommy when this major event occurred? At Target! Yes, that's right I was running errands and missed out...B-O-O, H-O-O. Hopefully I see it tomorrow while I'm working from home!

Update 1/20:
Maison has done great since we moved her. She slept through the night Monday and Tuesday without me sleeping in the room with her. We hooked up the video monitor so now I just stay up all night monitoring her from afar (ok...or the room next door ;o) Let's hope she continues on this good trend!

Shower Sanctuary

Before having a baby I was a total bath person.  I LOVED to soak away sports injuries in a hot Epsom salt bath for hours while I read my gossip magazines.  Due to my love for baths I insisted on putting in a 6 foot heated Jacuzzi tub when we did our home remodeling. 

Since we have finished our remodeling and had Maison I've used the bathtub exactly ZERO times.  That's right...the luxurious tub I insisted on has turned into a holder for Maison's little blue infant tub.  Who has time for an hour soak with a newborn?  Ok, so even if you could find the time who would want it?  The tub area is open...open to sounds, interruptions, etc.  Not exactly a relaxing environment if you have to hear a crying baby, Baby Einstein songs, or the hustle and bustle of a house with a newborn.  So...what is my new must have?  Adam's shower...

Yep, I'm taking over Adam's master bathroom must have...a nice tall shower with a 'rain' shower head.  It is warm, relaxing, quiet...free of interruptions quiet!  I use to shower twice a day before having Maison (I'm OCD..what can I say).  Since having Maison I'm lucky if I get to shower once a day so when I do get to shower I make it worth my while.  I must admit if Adam's home or my mom is watching Maison I tend to linger..."linger WAY too long" linger..."run the hot water out" linger, "fall into a day dream" linger.  It is my new sanctuary...a quiet, silent, spiritual experience.  I'm sorry Adam, the shower is now mine.  You can have 'my tub'...I knew I insisted on a 6 foot tub for a reason!

Happy 2010, a family affair...

This year we went to my parents house for New Year's Eve!  We rang in the NY with Ryan Seacrest, Dick Clark (so sad!), and Snooki and The Situation.  Yes, that's right we flipped between Dick Clark's Rockin New Years and Jersey Shore.  If you haven't seen it you have to tune in on MTV.  It is so trainwrecklicious it is not even funny!

   

Maison made it to New Year's despite several attempts to put her down at her normal bedtime.  That child is a true Warbington...nosy as can be.  She comes from a long line of 'nose-balls'.  Starting with her great-great g-ma, Maw-maw, followed by her great g-ma, Annie Boo, and the biggest 'nose-ball' of them all her g-ma, Nooey, aka Snoop Dawg, aka Conni Warbington Ellington.  Yes, that's right my mom is the modern day Mrs. Kravitz.  She has to know what's going on ALWAYS regardless of circumstance and Maison is following right in her footsteps.  She will not sleep if she thinks something is going on.  'Something' could be defined as little as a rotating fan and that child will watch for hours...I mean HOURS.  So since 'Miss Thang' was up all night we turned it into a photo op...

    

Maison working the room in her fur coat (due to political pressure Miss Thang decided to wear 'faux' this year)

    

Three generations of Warbington-Ellingtons:  Conni (Nooey), Shari, and Maison

Four generations of Ellingtons:  Claudia (Nannie), Byron (G'Daddy), Marcia, and Maison

     

3 Maslows - Adam, Marcia, and Maison

     

3 look-alike Ellingtons - Shari, Marcia, and Maison

Hope everyone had a Happy New Year and got to ring it in with family and friends.

A baby's 1st Christmas

Christmas was so exciting this year for everyone since it was Maison's first Christmas.  It is just so much more fun to experience it with a 'little one'.  As usual, we went to my parents on Christmas Eve for our family dinner and gift exchange.  We did 'secret Santas' again this year for everyone except Maison.  Maison was so good and enthralled with the lights.  She sat in Adam's or my lap during dinner and then quietly sat in her bouncer while we opened presents.  She received more toys and clothes than you could ever imagine but she also got some really amazing and touching gifts from my family....some of the highlights:  Shari gave her a performance stage with lights and a microphone...a perfect gift for a little drama queen in training.  My parents gave her a Spode Santa Cookie plate...it's never too early to start her China collection, a Red Envelope ABC quilt with her name and birth date monogrammed on it (it is truly precious!) and Silver Christmas ornaments to denote her first Christmas.  Nannie gave her her 1st American Girl doll so that she could build up a collection before she was old enough to play with them.  

Maison all dressed up in her Christmas dress ready to open presents...

ABC monogrammed quilt and Spode Christmas plate from my parents:

    

The most amazing gift of all was from my brother....he requested Shari to set up a trust fund for Maison that he will be funding to pay for her education and travel expenses until she finishes school.  Adam and I were both speechless at how thoughtful this was of my brother and what an unbelievable life changing gift this is for Maison.  We have been VERY WORRIED about the proposed changes in the Plano school district (busing in kids from economically disadvantaged areas or large number of ESL students, redrawing lines so a large number of these kids would be in 'our' central cluster) and now we definitely have the option to send her to private school if deemed necessary.    Not to mention, we will never have to worry about how to pay for college or expensive international (yet very educational ;oP ) vacations.

Ready to go to bed...gotta rest up for Christmas Day!

It is tradition in our family to open all non-Santa gifts on Christmas Eve so after all the gifts Maison got the night before she still had Santa to go on Christmas Day...

Maison coming down the stairs at Nooey's and G'daddy's to see what Santa had brought.

Maison checking out her swing and other presents from Santa.

      

Hanging her "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornament on our tree at home.

When we were little my Dad always had us lay out all our presents and took a picture each year.  So here is Maison with her 1st Christmas 'loot'...

Maison was the best 'present' of all!

It was truly a magical Christmas this year and a great first Christmas for Maison!