The Gigi Diaries

Juju and Joeby!

2011-04-29T21:18:00.000-05:00

I feel so bad that I haven't written about Joe in a long time. He is such a joy! He smiles with his whole face. He is now 7 months old and is 22 lbs. He loves his food!
His face lights up when Juju looks at him or talks to him. She is excited to see him, too. They have a small tent in our kitchen that they like to play in and Juju is trying to get used to sharing. She's not really that great at it yet. Joe will take whatever she is willing to give him.
They are both teething right now and some days that is pretty unbearable for all 3 of us. Most days, I enjoy their company so much. It it is so cool to watch their personalities develop a little each day.
Juju is very analytical. She looks at each toy or each cat or even her brother and thinks about what it is. She is really funny, too. She is into tickling right now and I have a few bruises to prove it. She will jibber jabber something and start laughing like she just told herself a joke. She is so willing to entertain also. She likes to go through her tricks for us. She knows how to walk backwards, jump, dance, she know all of her body parts and names (she's a little ahead of me there!) and she can count to three. She is very gentle with the cats but likes to play rough with Poppy and her dad. Know one taught her to like clothes and yet she loves to try stuff on and sways around to show them off. She is very creative already. Blocks are her favorite toys for now.
Joeby (as Juju and the rest of us call him) is very laid back and has such a sweet disposition that he melts everyone's heart that meets him. As long as he has a dry butt and a full belly, he is a happy boy. He just started chewing on Puffs this past week. He sits up by himself really well. He likes apples and oranges in this little mesh thing. He has a shy, bashful look about him when he smiles.
I am such a blessed Gigi! They are great entertainment and a wonderful blessing.

2011-01-09T21:28:00.000-06:00

May 3, 2010
Juju had her first trip to a hotel! She and her mom went with me to St. Charles for the day and we stayed at an area hotel. She shopped all day and was quite a trooper I in the hotel room. It made me a little nervous having her crawl around on the carpet there.
She did a great job sleeping in the hotel. We brought a fan and tacked up a sheet around her porta crib so she felt like she was in her own room and she slept like a champ. Her mom and I could then rent a movie and hang out.
It is so cool to watch how alert and aware of her surroundings she has become. She’s very smart.

May 9th, 2010
Another trip to Children’s Hospital. So glad her daddy knows her so well to realize something was wrong. The dr. suspects she has a urinary tract infection. Since Juju’s mom is pregnant I had to stay in the room when they catherized her and took x-rays. It broke my heart to hold her down while the doctors inserted the catheter. She looked me right in the eye as if to say, “How can you let them do this to me?” It was horrible. Fortunately, Juju is very forgiving and was still glad to see me when it was all over with.

May 14th, 2010
Good news! The infection is gone and Juju is back to her old self. She is so active and so aware of her surroundings. She wants to take in everything and understand it. She is really drooling a lot right now. More teeth to come.

June, 2010
Jujuj’s mom is getting bigger and it’s a little hard for her to sit on her mom’s lap now. She doesn’t quite understand why she can’t crawl all over mom. Juju is still crawling but she is really fast. She continues to love books. She will sit half an hour and let you read books to her. I hope she stays that way. Her mother was always the same way. Juju’s dad bought her a big red ball and she loves watching it roll away from her. Poppy picks her up and uses her to kick the ball. She giggles so hard it is contagious. Her face lights up when Poppy walks in the room. She loves being outside and playing in water. Her mom has taken her swimming in Aunt Carol’s pool and friend Erin’s pool and she loves it. She has no fear of water.

July, 2010
Aunt Jami and Uncle Chris came into town for Juju’s first birthday party. We did a lot of sight seeing and took Juju to the City Museum in St. Louis and the City Park. She loved all the things to look at in The City Museum especially the room that the kids could stack buckets and then knock them down. Juju’s all about knocking stuff down. You can see how she studies her surroundings and the people. She makes eye contact with other kids and is drawn like a magnet to them. Still not walking yet but she can scoot and crawl really fast. She makes a lot of sounds and it does sound like she says “mama” and “dada”. She loves her sippy cup with water in it. Her favorite stuffed animals are “Mutton”, a lamb that has a lavender scented insert, and “Lovie”, a chocolate scented teddy bear.
She loved the City Park. There were tiny little water fountains that would shoot up from the ground randomly. It was a hot day so playing in the water was great. Juju loved all the water around her and would stick her face right in it when it sprouted up from the ground. Aunt Jami took lots of pictures and Juju loves being in front of the camera.
We had her first birthday party while Aunt Jami and Uncle Chris were here. She had a pool filled with water and water toys, a “slip and slide”, and lots of balls. Her mom had several friends with small children that came and her cousins Anna and Tim came to her party as well. She was not interested in her cupcake for her birthday. It was a long day but I think she had fun. She got lots of presents!

August, 2010
Juju is one year old on August 3rd! It’s time for Juju’s mom to go back to teaching before the baby is born so I get to spend four days a week with her. Juju stays with her dad on Mondays. She is very blessed to have such a great dad that tries really hard to have a good relationship with her. I pick her up in the mornings and sometimes we stop by the Troy Petting Zoo. She loves looking at the animals and trying to make their sounds. It’s not really a “petting” zoo, you can’t get to the animals to pet them and I’m not sure I would let her anyway. She is still getting some teeth in and her smile is full of teeth right now. She has a great sense of humor and seems to find humor in most everything around her. When we get home, I turn on Sesame Street and she seems to be real interested in Elmo when he is on. She only stays interested for about 5 minutes at a time. Her attention span is quite short.
Juju is still very interested in books and has certain books that are her favorites. We have one at my house that we call the “good book.” It lights up and sings when you turn the pages. It is all about animals and makes the animal noises. She starts to dance when the singing song comes on. She’s a character! Juju has finally shown some interest in walking. She takes a few steps and then sits down and scoots or crawls but she does seem to have good balance. I just think she knows she can get what she wants faster by crawling.
When we get to my house, we have to go say “good morning” to the trees and the fishies in the pond. We sit on the swing overlooking the pond and she always has to clean off the leaves before sitting down. She cracks me up!

September, 2010
Baby brother, Joe, is born on September 19th! We got the call early on Sunday morning and Poppy and I went over to stay with Juju while her mommy and daddy went to the hospital. She was a little surprised to see us when she woke up that morning but didn’t seem to mind. Later that day, baby Joe came into this world and he and his mom did great. We took Juju up to the hospital right away so she could see her mom and dad and be introduced to her brother. We walked into the room and she was a little hesitant to go to mom or dad. Her mom was in bed in a hospital gown and her dad was holding something she didn’t recognize. Finally, she wanted to see her mom and she sat on the bed with her. Her dad laid Joe down next to her. He made a few noises and Juju wasn’t sure what this was. Finally, she leaned over him and had her little fingers curled up and made the meowing noise she makes for the cats. We know she didn’t know what Joe was but at least she was interested.
We took her home with us and she spent the night. The next day we took her back to the hospital to visit with her mom and dad and new brother. The doctor came in to check on Juju’s mom and we had to leave the room. We went down to the lobby area which has a coffee bar so we could get something to drink. As we are standing in line, Juju notices a little girl about 5 or 6 with sparkly red shoes on. Juju walked right up to her (she’s walking by now) and wanted to touch her. She acted so excited to see a kid. Then she saw her shoes. She bent down and touched them and giggled. She then looked up at the little girl and started making that meowing noise like she does with the cats and now her brother. Fortunately, the little girl was entertained by Juju. An Indian woman walked past us with a long skirt that had sparkles on it and shoes with gems and sparkles and Juju took off after her down the hall. We waited to see how far she would go without us and she had no problem being out of our sight. That was a little scary. We took her back up to see her parents and her new brother. She was still inquisitive about her brother. The next day, her parents and her brother were back at home so she went home, too. We were a little concerned for a while because every time Joe cried, Juju cried. If he let out a scream so did she. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s so empathetic for her brother or if that noise just scared her. I hope it’s the former.

October, 2010
Juju’s mom is on maternity leave so she is home every day again with Juju and brother Joe. I go most every day to visit and help out. Juju is still fascinated with her brother. She doesn’t get nearly as upset when he cries as she did in the beginning. Joe is a good boy. He is a healthy eater and an optimum pooper! But, after all, he is a boy!
It’s an interesting adventure to take both kids anywhere. It really is a two man job.

November, 2010
It’s getting colder outside so Juju can’t go outside as much but she loves to stare out the window and see what’s going on. Poppy likes to bundle her up and take her outside with him when she’s at our house. He hung a swing from our pergola but it’s too cold to swing on it so she pushes it a few times when she’s out there. Poppy always plays rough with her and she loves it. Right now, all Joe wants is a full belly, a dry butt and a booby nap!
Juju, Joe, their mom and I went on an airplane to see Aunt Jami and Uncle Chris in San Diego. It’s the first time they got to meet Joe. It is the second time on an airplane for Juju and the first for Joe. Everyone in the airport looked upon us with pity. We had lots of offers to help us which was great because we could use it. I had Juju in a stroller and Joe’s mom was wearing him. The lady at the counter for Southwest told us that there was one seat available and that we should sit in the back and take up all three seats before anyone wanted that seat. As if anyone would want to sit between a fifteen month old and a two month old babies! Joe was a champ! He ate and slept all the way there. Juju wasn’t too bad. She got bored, but so did I. As long as you kept hauling out different toys and books and snacks, she was entertained. She is great at people watching so that kept her busy as well.
Jami picked us up and we almost didn’t fit everything into her little car that we had to bring for two kids. Juju slept in a borrowed pack ‘n play in a bedroom with me and Joe slept on the “L” shaped sofa with his mom.
Juju had a rough night the first night. No surprise. She was in a smaller bed than she is used to in a room she was not used to and there was a time change she had to deal with. Someone once wrote a song about how it never rains in southern California but it rained all five days we were there. Juju could see a park across the street from Jami’s house and she would point at it and whine. We finally took her over there to play on the swings in between rain drops. She loved it! There were kids there she wanted to play with but they were not too interested in her. Aunt Jami has three cats that all live in the house and Juju was ecstatic. One of the cats fell in love with her, too. Cajun and Juju played tag every day we were there. Cajun would even fetch stuff Juju threw. It was so cute watching the two of them. Joe…..ate and slept!
One day, Aunt Jami asked Juju if she wanted to go to the market with her and Juju got her coat. So the two of them went to the market and Jami said she was perfect. She likes the music Aunt Jami likes.
Finally, the day comes that we have to leave and get back on an airplane. It is almost four hours in the air. I was not looking forward to it. Hanging out at the airport was almost worse. It was hard to entertain Juju and she just wanted to run. The airport was packed with people coming and going for the Thanksgiving holiday-this was the Monday before. We were so blessed once again to only one seat left on the whole plane available. Again the lady at the counter told us there would be only one extra seat and we should go to the back and take it so we did. Joe was a little fussy at the beginning but I think he was starting to get hot being up against his mother so much. Juju was a little wild. She did not want to sit in a seat, she wanted to get past me and into the aisle. We started pulling out toys and snacks again but she wasn’t interested at first. Then we got drinks and snacks served to us and her mom gave her some ice. She is fascinated with ice. We were all wet from the melting ice but it kept Juju busy for about a half an hour. I started reading books to her and taking stuff out of my purse for her to see but she was pretty antsy. All of a sudden Joe let out a scream and we realized he had pooped and was not happy about it. His mom had to take him into the bathroom to clean him up and she was gone quite a while. Juju kept walking back and forth from her mom’s chair to me while she was gone and giggling each time. She made friends with a little boy behind us and a little girl in front of us so they helped to entertain her. Her mom got back with Joe and took her seat next to the window and Juju wanted to sit on her mom’s lap. I took Joe for a while and Juju sat on her mom’s lap. The stewardess in the back with us was great. She talked to Juju and brought her a water. Joe went back to sleep and Juju wanted me so we swapped. Juju had her binkie and her blankie and laid her head down on my shoulder. I started to rock her and sing to her and she fell asleep for the last hour of the flight. It was awesome!
Thanksgiving was spent at Carol’s house with great food (thanks Uncle Rico) and great company. Juju takes off running wherever she is and ran into an excited dog at Aunt Carol’s. She hasn’t seen too many dogs but was not a fan. She started crying and wanted to be held up away from it. So, poor Wiener had to go upstairs to the bedrooms away from everyone. Joe slept through the whole thing.

December, 2010
Aunt Jami came home for “Faux” Christmas! It was quite harrowing. The St. Louis airport got closed due to icy weather so she had to spend the night in K.C. But, we got her the next day. Juju and Joe’s mom had to go back to work that week but we got a snow storm and school was closed the last two days before the break. Juju remembered Aunt Jami and wanted to sit on her lap and have her read to her. We had the family Christmas get together at a hall the Saturday before Christmas, that’s why Jami came home. Everyone was so excited to meet Joe for the first time and they all wanted to hold him. Juju had a great time running around the hall with cousins Anna and Tim. They were so good about trying to play with her and entertain her. As per usual, Juju did not want to eat her dinner from her plate, but she came to sit on my lap and eat from my plate. I’m glad to share. It was a long day and evening for everyone. The kids were completely exhausted as were the adults.
The next morning we had “faux” Christmas morning. We got Juju a kitchen set with a stove and refrigerator all in one. She had a ball with it. Joe wasn’t too excited about any of it. We had a wonderful “faux” Christmas and it was wonderful to have all of, except for Christopher, home. We had our traditional Christmas Brunch, everyone ate too much and wanted to take a nap-except for Juju! There was so much for her to see and do.
We had a great visit with Jami. We did lots of lunches and Jami got lots of pictures of Joe and Juju. Then, we had to take Jami to the airport to go back to San Diego. We show pictures of Jami to Juju all the time and she recognizes her.
The real Christmas day came and was spent at Joe and Juju’s house with their dad’s family. It was a nice day and both kids got more stuff. Amazing how much stuff it takes!

January, 2011
Juju and Joe’s mom is back at work again and we are working on our schedule. After picking the kids up we come home in time for Sesame Street. Juju is still mostly interested in Elmo. She goes running to the t.v. when she hears the “la la la la…la la la la…Elmo’s world!” Joe usually sleeps at first while I make breakfast for Juju. She is such a healthy eater. She loves fruits and most vegetables. For breakfast, she will get oatmeal with craisins and pecans or scrambled eggs with cheese and red peppers with a fruit and milk. For lunch, she loves fish sticks and sweet potato fries and usually an apple or mango. Then Joe will wake up and want to be changed and fed. Juju will play and look at her books while I feed Joe. She still meows at him. He gets a big smile on his face when she meows at him. He is so good natured. We can make him laugh out loud now. He has dimples when he smiles real big. Juju sometimes wants to poke him or feed him something but I don’t think she wants to hurt him. That will come later in life.
Juju loves to see the cats at our house. Smokey lives outside and greets us as soon as we get out of the car. She gets so excited to see him. Then we get inside and she goes for Frankie and Missy. Missy will stand still longer while she makes over her and tries to pick her up. Joe is too little yet to notice all the cats.

2011-01-09T21:17:00.001-06:00

Juju’s first plane ride!

2010-04-23T14:44:00.000-05:00

Juju had her first airplane ride last week and it was quite entertaining. She was on 4 planes in 6 days. The first plane was a stop in Colorado and she screamed most of the hour and a half flight. We were not sure if her ears hurt or not, but she just doesn’t like being held sometimes. She is very independent.
The next flight we were on, she slept on her mom’s chest for most of the flight and we didn’t get in until 10:30 which was 12:30 (after midnight) our time. So she was really a trooper. We went to see Aunt Jami and Uncle Chris and juju and her mom spent the nights there. Jami was able to borrow a Pack ‘n Play for juju to sleep in. As long as she has her “snuggly” blanket and Murry (her stuffed cat that looks like Aunt Jami’s cat) she slept well. She did pretty well with naps, too.
We did a lot of sight-seeing and constantly disrupted juju’s sleep, but she was such a good sport. She had lots of grown up foods while in California. She loves avocadoes and Aunt Jami’s Banana Bread which had coconut in it. We went to the San Diego Zoo and she got to ride on a lift that went all the way across the park. She was only mildly impressed.
By the time the trip came, she was starting to pull herself up on everything she could including legs! She would get up on all fours and wiggle a little but not quite crawling.
April 23, 2010
Juju has a tooth! It is so cute, it’s on the bottom. She slobbers like a puppy and chews on everything. More to come! Also, she is crawling about 3 or 4 feet at a time now. She really isn’t very patient with crawling, she would rather be running.
She likes lots of new foods now. She is eating baby fruit puffs like there is no tomorrow. I think she likes those because she can feed them to herself. She will eat a couple of those then take a drink from her sippy cup to wash it down. It’s so cute because after she takes a drink, she sticks her tongue out and says, “Ahhhhhhh.” She cracks me up.
Every day now she has at least three meals with real food. She loves cheese sticks. We cut them into fourths and she puts them in her mouth and sort of gums it. She has fresh fruits and veggies every day now. But, she still likes her milk in her bottle. She wants to help do that, too, though.
When she is at Gigi’s, her favorite toy is her piano. I took her downstairs the other day and showed her the piano her mom and Aunt Jami learned on and she banged out a pretty cute song. I think being a piano player is her destiny. She will do that while attending beauty pageants and squeezing in her MENSA meetings! I’m a proud Gigi! She lights up my whole day!!

Catching up with juju!

2010-03-27T22:16:00.000-05:00

It's been too long since I have caught everyone up. So sorry! In this past month, juju is eating fruits and vegetables, sitting up on her own and trying various ways to crawl. One day in juju's life must be the same as a year to adults. She is growing up so fast and developing her own personality.
Juju decided 2 weeks ago to attempt to crawl. She got up on all fours and rocked back and forth for about a minute then she moved her left hand forward and rocked a little, then she moved her left knee toward her hand. She looked up at me and smiled real big, then did the same with her right side but much slower. I kept calling her and had toys she likes in front of her to encourage her to come to me. She was so proud of herself. She did this 2 more times and then fell on her belly. She did not try this way again-yet!
Then, this week she got up on all fours then sat back on her legs and lunged forward like a little frog. She did this 3 more times and went about 3 feet lunging forward.
She really has no patience for all this crawling. She just wants to walk and get to where she wants to go right now.
She is a riot when I feed her the green mixture her mother makes for her. It is broccoli, peas and squash. She blends this mixture and then freezes it in ice cube trays. It looks like poop!
Speaking of poop.......no, I won't go there! Juju may read this some day. I love looking at her smiling face every day. She is so expressive. You can read exactly what she is thinking and when she is thinking it. I don't know where she gets that from.
You can never read enough books to juju. She loves looking at each page and taking it all in. Her favorite book is about animals and lights up and sings. She makes her legs wiggle every time the song comes on.
She is going on her first airplane ride next week and should be very interesting. Stay tuned.....................................

Juju at Gigi's

2010-02-21T13:41:00.000-06:00

Juju spent the week at Gigi's. I thought that by having her here all week I could get so much more done. Boy, was I wrong. She was really good humored on Tuesday and Wednesday but really not on Thursday and Friday.
I feel so bad for her because she is teething and you can tell she is really n pain sometimes. She chews on everything she gets her hands on. But, when she is in a good mood and smiles, she melts your heart.
We went out for fish on Friday night and she was passed around by relatives. She did really well especially since she doesn't really know them.
I have found that she likes to play in her box lined with a quilt and surrounded by toys and teethers.
She has started to stretch her arms out toward people and that's really cool.
Juju is so ready to be mobile and independent. She's already very opinionated. The future will be very interesting. xo

Catching up with juju!

2010-02-13T21:18:00.001-06:00

I haven't posted in a while because I have had computer problems again! But, juju has grown so much and changed so much in the last 10 days so I'll have to catch you up.
She is eating cereal twice a day now. In the morning and at night before she goes to bed. Almost every day she likes it, but some days she's just not in the mood. Her mom had a snow day on Tuesday but we had to go to St. Louis anyway. Juju is so nosy now that she doesn't nap at the mall any more. She wants to sit up and look around.
Wednesday we hung out at her house and played with the red piano and new books. She is starting to like to spend more time being left alone these days. It just depends on the mood she is in.
Thursday, we hung out at Gigi's house. Poppy came home to spend some time with her. But, first we had to go take the computer from hell back to the store and go to the grocery store. We were gone so long that it was time for juju to eat and there was no bottle in the diaper bag. I had to buy one in the grocery store and buy soap and a bottle of water to clean it out in the car. It was not the same as her usual bottles but I did not want to spend that much money for this one time. Juju kept spitting the nipple out of her mouth and then got hold of the bottle and threw it into the back seat. Then, I tried to reason with her and explain to her that this was the same milk she always drank and it is just this one time. She then chewed on the nipple and squirted milk all over my glasses and in my hair. She's something.........................
Friday we met friends at the Cheesecake Factory and juju had 2 firsts. The first first was that she sat in her stroller without the carseat like a big girl. She liked that because she could look around at everyone. But she did have her Auntie J scowl on her face which made people want to talk to her even more. The second first was that she sat in a high chair at the restaurant. We had to use about 10 baby wipes first to clean it, but she had a great time.

Happy Birthday, Juju!

2010-02-03T21:23:00.000-06:00

Today, Juju is 6 months old. Time really does fly. I'm so happy that I don't have to miss much with her. She had a great day today. Which is good, because she was really crabby yesterday.
She took a 3 hour nap today and woke up in a great mood. We played on the red piano and read the new book, "Peek-A-Boo". She likes to sit in her high chair... for a while. She sat in it while I made dinner and she loved chewing on her new teething ring. She's like a puppy. She's got chew toys and slobbers a lot!
Lately, she loves to be upside down and look at the world that way. She also likes it when I wink at her. It puts a big smile across her face.
I am trying to teach her the shhhsshhing sound to be quiet. I keep telling her that "the baby is sleeping". She will need to know that soon enough.

The Thrill of Victory and The Agony of Defeat

2010-01-30T21:53:00.000-06:00

This was an interesting week with Juju...
Tuesday, we stayed at her house and played with the little red piano and her new jumping seat thing (I bought it and don't know what it's called). She was somewhat content with playing today. She sat in her big girl high chair and had cereal. Some of it actually went into her mouth!
Wednesday thru Friday...
Juju came to Gigi's house after being picked up and each day we took a little drive. I talked to her the whole time and sang to her and she slept.
On Wednesday, we tried bananas in her cereal and I may as well put a lemon in it with the face she made! So, we will try bananas again another day. She took an awesome nap on Poppy's side of the bed anchored with a cat on each side of her. It was beautiful. This week she is really starting to reach for me and it melts my heart.
She loves the song "Itsy Bitsy Spider" but I changed the words to "Icky Bitsy Spider" because Gigi does not like spiders. She's cool with it.

I put her in her little umbrella stroller and, although our house is pretty small, I pushed her stroller around the house and wherever I went. She was quite amused.
She is more and more alert each day. It is such a cool transformation to watch.
I started winking at her and she cracked up. So, that's our new thing.

Today, we picked her and her mommy up and went to breakfast. She made eye contact with everyone and smiled the whole time. Poppy fed her breakfast to her and, it was so special, she stared up at him the whole time. Not sure if it was because she adores him, which I'm sure she does, or she was mesmerized by the weird hat he had on with his sunglasses on top!
Life is great with Juju!

2 Days with Juju

2010-01-23T19:24:00.000-06:00

I picked Juju up to spend the day with me and Poppy and drove through the old neighborhood. She was not very impressed. She slept through the whole thing. Her dad said she had been awake from 3:30 to 4:30 and then fell back asleep. He had to wake her up at 8:40 to come meet me. After we got to my house, I fed her some cereal and let her drink out of her hot pink sippy cup.She likes the "airplane" game. This is so entertaining, I don't know what I did before she was born!
She took a short nap in the morning but then took a 2 hour nap in the afternoon with Frankie. She always wakes up in a good mood. Wish I was like that!
We went through every book we have, played on the floor, and looked out of every window in the house.
Her mom came in after school and she had a big smile on her face. She loves to rub her face all over her face (mine, too) and tangle her fingers up in her hair.
She is ready for more entertainment.
Poppy took her down to his office and showed her how to answer phones and fax. He also showed her how to shoot pool. Could come in handy some day!
Juju's dad came over and we had fish while she sat in her box and played with her red blanket. Missy sniffed her face and that made her smile.
Juju's mom needed to get some sleep so Juju spent the night with us. She is a good sleeper. I was worried she would not be used to her room here, but she is very agreeable. She woke up a few times, but the one time she was really mad, she had a wet diaper. I don't blame her. She went right back to sleep and slept until 7:30.
Her mom was anxious to see her so she came over for breakfast and then we went shopping. Juju is a good shopper. But, she is starting to grab things off of the shelf. This could get expensive.
I never get tired of Juju's company. I will miss her until Tuesday.

Thursday with Juju

2010-01-22T12:10:00.000-06:00

Juju spent the day at Gigi and Poppy's house. We have a new pet! The neighbors left their cat when they left so he sleeps on our porch. Juju is used to our cats in the house but this was something new.
Today is the first time I get to feed Juju cereal. She loves it! She's very helpful, too. She tries to take over the spoon. Needless to say, she gets a little messy. But, we don't care.
She is fascinated by everything new around her. It takes a few minutes for her to get used to our house again. There are so many windows and she wants to look out of all of them.
Juju took a whopper 3 hour nap. That is unheard of. She laid on Poppy's side of the bed all snuggled in and it was very dark and warm. Frankie got to take a nap with her so he was happy. I am blessed!

Tuesday with Juju

2010-01-20T10:11:00.000-06:00

Juju was in such a great mood all day long. It is so cool to see change almost daily. She is sitting up really well. We put the boppy around her in case she starts to lean too far, but she is mostly doing it herself. I stood books up around her and read to her from each one. She loves books, especially if they are brightly colored.
She has a new sound she makes that sounds like she is growling. It cracks me up because she looks so serious when she makes that sound.
Still a lot of drooling going on. She wants to chew on everything in sight. I looked at Parents magazine's website and they say this is quite typical. I remember both of my girls started teething early but not as early as Juju has.
Good day today. I am blessed!

Breakfast With Juju

2010-01-16T16:18:00.000-06:00

We picked Juju and her mom up to go out to breakfast at a real old-school coffeehouse in St. Louis. When we got to her house she was giving her mom a hard time. Poppy picked her up and she immediately started smiling. She got up early and didn't have a nap yet so she was ready for a car ride. Her best naps take place in the car.
We got to the coffeehouse and she saw a little girl about 3 or 4 running back and forth. It is amazing how children recognize other children. Juju has gotten to the point where she makes eye contact with everyone. She made eye contact with this little girl and they smiled at each other. Oh, to be as innocent in our thoughts as children are.
We had lattes and breakfast and Juju had her breakfast and it was time to get back in the car for a good nap. And she did.

January 14th

2010-01-14T22:27:00.002-06:00

We read some new books today. Juju is quite interested in books that have animals and are brightly colored. I can tell when she is really interested in a book when she tries to change the page or chew on it. She is starting to like her jumping swing. I put the changing table pad under her so she could bend her knees and start to jump. She loves the piano in front of her while she is in her swing. I can hardly wait until she starts taking real piano lessons. Rosco, the dog, likes it also when she is in the jumper swing. She is at eye level with him. The right height for licking. Juju had an awesome nap in the morning, but did not want to hear about it this afternoon. Her room theme is birds and today there were about 3 thousand black birds in the yard. She was fascinated by looking at them. I tapped on the window and the all flew around and away and she had a big smile on her face. She is so much more alert and aware this week than she was last week. Rolling over is just a game now since she's so good at it. New challenges tomorrow.

2010-01-14T11:59:00.000-06:00

Summary of Life with Juju...

2010-01-13T21:44:00.000-06:00

August 3rd...very exciting to plan our day for Juju's arrival. Her mother and father, of course, were there as well as Poppy, Gigi, Gram and Grandpa. A little unusual for such a crowd. Juju is very red and not much hair, but very beautiful. She is a little scrawny, but had a tough couple of weeks before getting here. The amniotic fluid was low and Juju was breach until the week before. She is awesome to look at.

August 4th...Aunt Jami and I go to the hospital to see Juju and her mommy. Mommy is trying to figure out how to nurse her. The nurses check in often. Juju wears the cutest little skull cap. She makes a lot of faces while sleeping.

August 5th...Juju came home! Aunt Jami got to come along, too.

August 6th...Juju was unusually fussy and did not want to eat. She felt a little warm and her mother took her temp. The doctor said she should go straight to the emergency room at the children's hospital. They decided to keep her because of the fever. This was one of the scariest times in our life.

August 7th...many tests and needles used on Juju. She is tough just like her Aunt Jami. Not much room for her mom and dad to sleep, but they were so worried they didn't sleep much. All tests coming back negative, so far.

August 8th...doctors decide Juju is dehydrated and is fine otherwise and send her back home. After many prayers, we are very excited.

August 14th...Aunt Jami had to go back home. We all went to the airport-it was quite sad.

September 3rd...Juju is one month old now. She already has put on enough weight to get a second chin.

September 19th...it is amazing how strong Juju is. She can hold up her head. Poppy and I stayed with her so her mommy and daddy could go out on a date. Her mommy had a list a mile long for do's and don'ts as if I were a teenager babysitting for the first time. I forgot to ask if it was okay to bring my date with me (Poppy).

September 23rd... Juju, her mommy and me go to St. Louis Bread Co. for lunch. Of course, that is the exact moment she has a big poop! Juju that is.

October 12th...Poppy and I leave for Galena for our anniversary. It was hard to go that many days without seeing her, but we came back on the 16th.

October 13th...I found a stuffed lamb that has a pouch you heat up to soothe upset tummies. It has lavender in it. Juju has been suffering from a gassy tummy.

October 14th...Happy Anniversary to Juju's parents and Gigi and Poppy. 3 years for parents, 31 years for grandparents.

October 16th...Juju comes to spend the night at our house. We are so excited! We have a Pack n Play for her to sleep in. I sleep in the B&B room with her. It's been a long time since we had a baby sleep at our house.It's so cool, her diapers have a stripe down the middle that tells me if she's wet or not. I think green means "wet". I will have to study that one. I give her a bath in our kitchen sink and a big sponge for her to sit on. She loves the water. She has lavender scented bath wash. She loves it.

October 17th...we were going to take Juju to church with us, but we got no sleep and decided there are too many germs there. When she smiles, her whole face lights up.

October 24th...Juju, her mommy, Poppy and I go to Soulard Market. Lots of weird people and weird things there. The best ever Bloody Mary's you will ever drink. We got some great buys on vegetables and some fruits. Too many people want to touch Juju and that does not go well with any of us. We go to lunch at an outdoor cafe and Poppy woofs down his food way before we do. We put Juju in the Bjorn (a backpack for a kid basically) and put her on the front of Poppy. He walks around the block while Juju's mommy and I finish lunch. It was really cute.

November 3rd...Juju's mom has to go to school to get caught up on what is going on so she can be prepared when she goes back permanently on the 5th. I go to Juju's house and sit in the rocking chair I used to rock her mother in. What a great feel to hold a baby and rock her sound asleep.
November 5th...Juju's mommy has to go to work and we are alone all today. Her daddy does a great job getting her up, dressed and fed before I get there. We all are going to have to get used to this schedule.

November 10th...Back at Juju's house. It's hard not to just sit around and stare at her. She makes so many different faces while she sleeps. She now has 3 chins!

November 12th...Poppy came over to lunch with me and Juju. Well, she had her own lunch. Her mom pumps breast milk every morning for her. She has the good stuff! Poppy sits and stares at her, too. I bought a book for her that makes noises and sings songs. She starts kicking her feet when the song comes on. She is so smart!

November 20th...Juju is so strong. She lifts her head and when I hold her upright it is as if she is trying to stand up.We look at a couple of different books. It seems as though Juju likes cows. Her mother always did.The book that sings is all about animals and makes the sounds the animals make. Juju loves this book.

November 25th...Juju and her mom come over to my house to help bake for Thanksgiving. While I feed and rock Juju, her mommy and Poppy decide they are going to make the Bon Bons to help me out. It makes me nervous when they have too much fun. The Bon Bons were good but looked a little weird.

November 26th...Juju and family go to a stupid restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner and then everyone comes to our house for desserts. As usual, I have way too many desserts. Juju got a little tired of being passed around to everyone and it was a little noisy. All in all, she did really well under all these circumstances. Better than me!

November 27th...For some reason, this is called Black Friday. Juju's dad had to work, but her mommy, Poppy and me did not. So we went to lunch. Juju sleeps so well in her carseat. She woke up in a great mood. She has a wonderful smile.

December 4th...Juju is getting more active and needs a lot of entertaining.We went through 7 different books and she seemed interested in all of them. She already has so many toys it's hard to know where to start. She has this thing on the floor with an arch over it that she is starting to like a little. She can kick, which she does a lot. She turns from her back to her stomach and she hates being on her stomach.

December 9th...We have been giving prune juice to Juju...yuck! But, it is very effective. We looked at books, played with a piano and sang a few songs. I can't seem to remember all the words to the kid's songs so I make them up. Juju doesn't know...or care.

December 15th...Aunt Jami is coming home tomorrow for Christmas. She will not even recognize Juju she has changed so much. Juju is growing longer faster than wider so she has lost a chin and is back down to 2. Big poop is celebration for a big bath. She has lavender scented bath wash.She tries to grab the stream of water coming out of the faucet. We tried the excersaucer today. She's not very impressed.
December 16th...GREAT DAY! We are picking Aunt Jami up from the airport. It will be a long day so I try to make sure she gets plenty of Gigi naps. She loves to ride in the car and sleeps as soon as the engine starts so we should be good.

December 17th...Aunt Jami and I meet Juju and her daddy at Cracker Barrel parking lot. We go into Cracker Barrel to eat breakfast and Juju slept through all of it. Her mommy still has to work today and tomorrow so that stinks. But, she will get quality time with Aunt Jami. By the end of the day, Jami has a great day with Juju. It is so sad she lives so far away.

December 18th...Jami helps me with baking for tomorrow. We are having the whole family Christmas on Saturday night at a hall. It will be nice to see a lot of the older aunts we only see at weddings and funerals. Juju is really good while we bake. It's nice to take a break with her and enjoy her between all the work.Aunt Jami, mommy and Poppy go on their traditional Christmas shopping trip and it is time to go back to work and Juju wants no part of laying in her bed, being in the bumbo or being on the floor so I get a big box and put a quilt in it. I put her in it with pillows around her and books. I got a great picture of her "reading" a book. She totally loved the box. Her mom...not so much!

December 19th...Juju not so impressed with the entire evening of a huge group of Italians getting together and being loud. The furnace was turned way up so she got really hot and did not want anyone to hold her but her mother and me. Her mom was working hard to calm her and not able to enjoy everyone so once I got the food situated I took over and rocked her until she fell asleep. We put her in her carseat and tried to put her as far from the noise as possible. She and her parents spent the night at our house so we could have our Christmas morning together the next day.

December 20th..."Faux" Christmas morning. All the stockings are hung, everyone except Uncle Chris is there. Aunt Jami were so thoughtful with her gifts for each and every person. Juju got a cow book. She loved it. She also got a stuffed Murry.We had a big breakfast and afterward everyone wanted to take a nap. Gigi, by then, was like death warmed over with a bad cold. It was hard to stay away from Juju especially when she looks at you and smiles.

December 23rd...sad, sad day. We have to take Aunt Jami back to the airport. Juju does not realize this though. We talk to Juju all the time about Aunt Jami. Her mommy put a Christmas tree ornament on the tree with Aunt Jami's picture.

December 25th...Merry Christmas! Juju has her daddy's family and me and Poppy over for dinner for Christmas. She got so many toys and cool stuff. She is a very lucky little girl. She got a little overwhelmed by all the people and all the noise so she was a little fussy.

December 28th...Amazing how many things you need for a baby these days. Juju has swings and saucers and books and stuffed animals. We have a bin just just for all her toys and 2 drawers for other stuff in the B&B.

December 29th...Gigi and Poppy are on their way to a cabin in the woods for New Year's Eve. We will miss Juju and of course Emmi, too. Hard to be away from her.

January 1, 2010...Happy New Year!

January 5th...Juju's mom back at work. Juju's Gigi back to hang out. She is getting so active. I have "stations" set up for her. One station is the excersaucer, then the floor mat, then the bumbo and piano, then the swing and we throw a book in between each station. So, we start going from station to station to see what mood she's in today.She will almost reach toward me now. How cool.

January 6th...new rules-again. No rocking her to sleep for naps. I have to feed her and then go lay her down for a nap-no matter what! No rocking! But, I love to rock her. But, I will (mostly) follow the rules. The rules sometimes need to be adjusted but I will do my very best.

January 8th...Juju is not in a good mood today. Her dad said that Monday she was
"inconsoleable". Ditto. It breaks my heart to see real tears from her. Maybe a nice hot bubble bath will relax her. It would me! Once in a while she would look up with a big smile. Can't be mad at that!

January 9th...Juju spends the night again. We meet her and her mommy for lunch at SLBCo and we take her home with us. She is still not in a good mood. Poppy feeds her and rocks her to sleep but it doesn't last. I gave her a bath and fed her, swaddled her and then fed her again and then put her to bed. This is the first time I did not sleep in the room with her, but I have a baby monitor I put next to my head and that was not smart. I heard every little grunt and gassy sound she made. She woke up at 1:00, 3:00, 4:00 and 6:45 for good. She had a very we diaper most of these times, but her mommy says that she will whimper and then go right back to sleep. I will know better next time.

January 12th...Juju still not very good humored. She has a little bit of a cold so she is congested. It's hard to suck on a bottle and be stuffed up. I rocked her after feeding her lunch and she just laid there staring at me for a half an hour. I knew she didn't feel well. Even though she didn't feel well, she could still give a big smile once in a while. Irresistible!

January 13th...Juju had an awesome day! She was taking a nap at 9:00 when I got there. She then got up around 9:45 and we went through 3 books and played with Mutton. She hung out in her jumping swing for a little while. I tied toys to the straps that she likes. She had lunch and then stayed in bed for almost 3 hours. This is unheard of. I kept checking on her to make sure she was okay. She would wake up, play with her binkie and fall back asleep. Even Rosco, the dog, was concerned about her. He kept walking through her room to check on her.

You are now as caught up with Juju as I am.

The 6th Best Day Ever

2010-01-13T13:32:00.000-06:00

Okay, the first best day was the day I married Jerry. He was such a blessing to me and still is. We have nothing but our faith in common and yet it has worked for 31 years.

The second best day ever was when Emily was born. I was so sure that I had no maternal instincts because my mother and her mother had none that I bought about a dozen books on parenting. Our pediatrician told me to throw them away that I had maternal instinct. He just met me...how could he know?

The third best day ever was when Jami was born. We lived in Texas and she had a little southern draw when she first started talking. Emily was so thrilled to have a little sister. The girls were 3 years apart but always very close. They still are.

The fourth best day ever was when Emily got married. We had the wedding on our property and it was the most beautiful October day I had ever seen. Jerry and I were very honored that the kids decided to get married on our anniversary. That was pretty cool.

The fifth best day was when Jami got married. It was a little unusual to spend a week with another family you have never met before, but it worked out. We had a beach house in North Carolina that was very accommodating for all the families.

Jerry and I feel so blessed to have two such wonderful son-in-laws that totally “get” our daughters. They are very complicated young women. They got that from their father’s side of the family!

Of course, the 6^th best day ever of my life was when my granddaughter was born. Now that she is 5 months old, I see so much of her mother and her Aunt Jami in her. She is a very complicated young woman already.

Each day I have the privilege of spending with her is different than the last. You can already see her personality being developed. She only may be 5 months old, but she is about 2 years old in her head. She wants to walk and talk and move on to the next thing. She is very determined to get what she wants when she wants it. She is either the happiest baby on the face of this earth or she is not. But, most of the time she is a very happy little person. When she smiles, her whole face lights up.

Do I sound like a proud grandmother, or what? That’s okay, every grandmother is proud of her grandbabies. I am not called “Grandmother”, my daughter decided I should be called “Gigi”. I’m okay with that, too.

Juju was born on August 3rd and I'm not sure what we did for entertainment before that day. She came into this world very determined. She was breach until about a week before delivery and she is so strong that she flipped herself over. That gave us a little insight to her personality.

I am going to try to write daily about my experiences with Juju and share with anyone interested enough to read.

Stay tuned.........................................