Mellie and the Hundred Peaks

Annnnd.... We're back.

2011-05-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

Mellie is two-years old now.

Nothing has been better for me than the birth of this beautiful girl.

I am more aware of my own hang-ups and irrational fears, in a conscious attempt to never pass them along. I have become more aware of what the three of us consume; in an attempt to not only be around for her for as long as possible, but to guide Mellie towards healthy eating habits as well.

And most importantly, I more deeply understand the wonderful, and extremely difficult, decisions my own parents made to ensure that all four of us had every opportunity possible to fulfill and enrich our curiosity and appreciation for the world around us.

Here's to actively passing those decisions on to another generation.

Birthday!

2010-04-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

I made a turtle cake for Melody's birthday.
At first, I wasn't sure if she would know what to do with it.

But she quickly proved my fears unfounded!

Scootin'

2010-03-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

Teef!

2010-03-09T22:33:00.001-08:00

January and Beyond.

2010-02-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

This January, my entire immediate family was under the same roof for the first time in years. We spent a few days in a cabin along the north shore of Lake Superior. Skyler got some quality time in with Melody on the drive up.

While my brother and sisters went skiing, Skyler and I got a little hiking in.

Skyler found a stick! We were very thrilled to watch it hit the water.
Ice is neat.

On Valentine's Day, Melody, Skyler, and I went out for lunch and to the zoo. It was very bright, so Mellie got a new hat!

And she got to ride on Daddy's shoulders!

Plus, she's been working on growing some teeth! Although they aren't completely visible yet, today was the first time I could hear them clicking on her toys!
I tried for about 20 minutes to get a good photo of her little teeth, but she really doesn't sit still. Ever. So this was the best we got!

Almost February??

2010-01-24T20:52:00.001-08:00

Finally, some Christmas photos!

Melody was pretty excited on Christmas morning.

She was a little confused about the idea of the stocking...

But one hand in and she was off and running...

And then...

She got the hang of it pretty quickly!

Since Christmas, she's gotten much better at standing and has even been taking some practice steps.

And she has perfected her look of concentration.

For you, Dad!

Getting Ready for Christmas

2009-12-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Melody helped pick out our Christmas tree.

We also went shopping and picked up all sorts of decorations for the house. The whole thing wore her out!

She loved watching us put up and decorate our tree.

The end product!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T08:18:00.000-08:00

Melody started day-care this week! We found a great place near our house that has a small infant classroom with really nice teachers and kids. The anticipation of leaving her was much worse than the even itself. Melody was so busy playing with her new friend Kayla that she wasn't even interested in us saying good-bye. That was a huge relief! She had two days this week and will be going three days a week for the immediate future. She's such a social little girl we were starting to feel bad making her hang out with just me all day.

We got an update of her first day, and yesterday she made us a Thanksgiving gift!

Swimmin'

2009-11-12T12:30:00.000-08:00

Melody had her first swim lesson last Saturday. She did very well considering we woke her up from a nap and walked her into a pool. She even got a new back pack for her wet clothes! She was so impressed she threw up on it.

Every night, no matter how crabby she gets, she immediately calms down when she hears us filling the tub. As we lay her down on her rug to get ready for bath-time, she starts dancing and laughing!

We have to make sure to give her her fish to chew on.

After every bath, she loves watching Daddy pick up her toys and drain the tub. This is one of my favorite moments of the day.

Halloween

2009-11-02T09:09:00.001-08:00

Friday night we decorated our pumpkins! Melody had picked out some stickers of bats and bugs.

We also made sure to decorate the front porch.

Melody spent her first Halloween sweating bullets in her sheep costume trying to stay away from the hungry fox!

We made it down the block and back. Melody was very good, but wasn't quite sure what to think of all the silly people dressed up! We also learned a very valuable lesson about how much candy to buy next year... Thanks Vince and Tressi for the back-up candy!

Walkin'

2009-10-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

Melody loves going for walks. She finds them so relaxing, she passes out!

On a side note: for all of us who wondered where Melody got her expressive eyebrows, I think we have an answer!

Sweet Potatoes!

2009-10-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we began introducing sweet potatoes for dinner. She wasn't sure what to think of the first two bites, but by Sunday night she couldn't get enough! She got really mad when I stopped giving them to her after an entire small jar.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

We're getting ready for Halloween! Last weekend we picked up our pumpkins and got to see llamas, cows, sheep, and goat as a bonus! Melody was so impressed she threw up on me.

First Bite

2009-10-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

Mellie has officially started solid foods. So far, she's not too impressed.

We've also discovered that her favorite chew toy is the bottom of a water bottle.

She was not happy when she looked away for a second, and looked back to discover that I had taken it away to have a drink of water!

Birthdays

2009-10-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

For my mom's birthday this year, my dad surprised her with a trip out to LA. He had taken notes on her clothes, and had everyone at the library covering her shifts and checking her schedule for meetings. He had her bags packed, picked her up from work, and headed to the airport!

Jeremy's birthday was also last weekend, so we had a family bbq:

During the bbq we checked in on Mellie, to find that she had rolled over and was sound asleep on her stomach.

She has also started making more and more sounds. Currently, her favorite is the "mmm" sound. She makes a great face to go with it:

While my parents were here, we got Mellie a little mustache of her own to show off that she is "Daddy's little girl!"

Giggles!

2009-09-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, Melody had a temperature of 103. Thursday it was much better, and Friday we took her to the Doctor. She had an ear infection. Her medication was making it very difficult for her to sleep, so we have had a very long week.

This made up for all of it.

Kisses

2009-09-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

Melody has started giving kisses.

Well, she's probably trying to chew on my chin, but I just think of it as kisses...

She's also gotten much better at sitting up. She can even make it a few seconds before falling over!

Back in California

2009-08-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Since returning from Minnesota, Melody has made some tremendous strides. She has perfected her grip:

Has sucessfully found her thumb:

And can now sit by herself (with the help of her Bumbo chair, anyway)!

I'm now starting to fully appreciate how quickly they do grow up!

Minnesota

2009-08-21T10:57:00.001-07:00

We spent the first three days of our trip to Minnesota at Lake Osakis, near Alexandria.

My dad bought a new boat last year and was thrilled to bring us all tubing. I bruised my ribs and Skyler pulled his shoulder.

But Skyler successfully exacted his revenge!

We also had some quality time hanging out around the campfire.

After relaxing at the lake we spent the weekend introducing Melody to her extended family. Here is the happy girl with her great-aunt and uncle Becky and Bryan:

Grandma and grandpa helped calm her down for the next round of photos!

And a calmer girl with her first cousin once-removed Tami, and second cousin Morgan.

And here she is representing the fourth generation of women with her great-grandma Jean, grandma Mick, and mom!

Ashley was able to get in some quality time before heading back to Korea for another year of teaching English. Melody loved her botany walks with her 아줌마 (auntie) and finally had someone who completely understood her temper... I mean determination!

On our way back to Zimmerman we stopped in Atwater to meet the Stoffers clan, but unfortunately the camera battery was dead. We were very sad to have missed so many great photo oppertunities.

Our last night was spent relaxing and playing with auntie Angie, grandma and grandpa.

Melody found it hilarious when Grandpa would wave his hand and say "hi." No one else could pull it off!

Grandpa got some more quality time in before driving us to the airport at 4am.

Melody handled the whole trip wonderfully, and we already miss the whole family.

Un-swaddled.

2009-08-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

Friday was our first night of putting Mellie to sleep un-swaddled. She did pretty well, but found it difficult to fall back asleep early Saturday and Sunday mornings. I found it easiest to sleep on her floor.

She's gotten much better and has only woken up once the past two nights.

She seems pretty well rested:

Rolling Over!

2009-07-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

Today I put Mellie under her caterpillar, picked something up off the coffee table and turned back to see this:

I guess it's officially time to stop swaddling!

Might be a long weekend.

Teething

2009-07-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

Mellie has officially started teething. We have tried to give her teething rings, but she will only chew on the knuckles of my thumb. Just the knuckles. Just the thumb.

Big Day

2009-07-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend we decided to escape the inland heat and head to the coast of Santa Barbara. Apparently so did the rest of the Inland Empire. After a long drive, we walked around town and had a nice lunch. Melody was fascinated by all of the new surroundings. She decided that her carrier blocked too much of the view, insisting that Daddy carry her.

On our way home, we stopped by the beach at Carpenteria and listened to the waves until Mellie decided she had had enough.

We then made the long trip home, having to stop once to allow Melody to eat and get out of her car seat for a bit. I have to say she slept great that night, letting both of us catch up from a busy day.

Mellie and the Caterpillar: Part II

2009-07-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

Mellie and the Catepillar

2009-07-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

Melody is starting to find her voice and loves talking to her mobiles and catepillar.

Scheduling

2009-06-19T10:53:00.001-07:00

We have gotten her to take a bottle, after trying four different types!

We are also slowly figuring out Melody's schedule and are working to help stabilize it. As you can see, we still have a ways to go!

Naptime:

Play-time:

First Smiles

2009-06-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

Mellie started smiling this week! Her medicine seems to be working well and she's getting better at taking naps, too.

Last Week

2009-06-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

We had Melody's two-month check up last week. Her growth is following the charts exactly and she is now 10 pounds. We'd been dealing with shrieking fits for a few days before the exam and discovered that she may have acid reflux. We began giving her medicine, but I guess it doesn't taste too good, because she makes this face when she gets it:

She's also now able to lift her head and chest with her arms and likes to head-butt us by pushing herself up our chest with her feet.

When my parents were in town, my mom handed over a huge stack of sweaters that she knit for Mellie. They range in size from newborn up to 5 years or so! Here Mellie is in the smallest one.

We've also started trying to get her used to sleeping in her crib. She'll pass out for maybe an hour. When she goes down, she goes down hard.

Visitors

2009-06-02T18:59:00.001-07:00

We've been slowly adjusting to not having company. It's pretty boring around here now!

My older sister Angie, parents, brother Justin, and Sky's dad were in town for a total of almost three weeks. I have to say I got spoiled being able to take naps whenever I wanted!

When my parents arrived, Angie successfully held off my mom long enough for me to hand Mellie to dad first:

She got ahold of her not long after! Justin was terrified to hold her, convinced that she was going to scream. But we even got a smile out of him!

Sky's dad:

Mother's Day

2009-05-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

I got several great cards for Mother's Day, including this one my Mom made. Of course it made me cry.
http://www.scrapblog.com/viewer/viewer.aspx?sbid=1758823

Quick Pictures

2009-05-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

Nursing on Daddy's finger.
Playing on her activity mat.

First Two Weeks

2009-04-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it's already been 18 days! Melody is doing great. She is spending a little more time awake each day. So far we've been lucky and she hasn't confused her days and nights too much. She's been very good-natured, and enjoys quietly sucking her fingers and staring at pretty colors. Much like her mother!

And Finally...

2009-04-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

Melody Lynn was born Saturday April 11th at 10:56 am. I had what I believed to be fake contractions all of Friday night. Skyler and I are lucky that we were able to go out for a nice meal to the place we went when we got engaged, so Friday night progressed with very little stress.

By 8:30 Saturday morning the contractions were steadily 4 minutes apart so Skyler and I set off to the hospital in a daze! Even though I couldn't walk or talk through each contraction, I was pretty sure the hospital was going to tell me to go home and relax.

We arrived at the hospital around 9:30 Saturday morning. At first the doctor couldn't check my dilation because Mellie kept kicking his so hard! He had to get a second doctor to confirm that I was at 7 centimeters and Mellie was ready to go.

Since she was breech, I opted for the cesarian section and all was said and done by noon. We're home and all of us are recovering fine and slowly adjusting to our new life. We definitely love it!

Proud Papa

Josh and Casey were married April 4th and got back from their honeymoon April 12th.

Melody's room

2009-03-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

Well, we've finally completed sanding, painting, and re-installing the windows in Melody's room. We learned the very valuable lesson that it is better to pay the money and have someone else deal with them! But we have now unpacked all of the baby stuff and have only a couple of small alterations to complete her room.

Additionally, we put up the frame around the living room mirror and stocked our bar for as soon as I give birth!

Against all logic, my belly gets bigger every day. I can't get out of chairs or bend over without making odd grunts or sighs. I have even caught myself saying "Uf-da," in true Minnesota form.

And finally, here is the look you get when you mention to Skyler that we are now 6 weeks to BLAST OFF!

Baby Fingers

2009-02-28T18:36:00.000-08:00

Last monday I had another ultrasound to check Melody's progress. Everything looked great, but she seemed a little upset that we kept spying on her. After a big yawn she gave me the finger several times. The doctor was kind enough to wait until she had her index finger up before taking the photo.

Belly and Painting

2009-02-22T20:29:00.000-08:00

Last week my Dad drove down from Minnesota with a trailer full of furniture. Some of it was mine, some was my parents, some my grandparents, and some my great-grandparents!

My Mom flew in on Saturday and she was ready to paint and decorate! In one week, they not only painted the living room, but the hallways, baby's room, and the office as well.

In addition, Skyler and Dad added new floor and ceiling moulding, new oak tops to what will be the bar between the living room and kitchen and Melody's closet, replaced the outlets, light switches, fire alarms, doorbell, and light fixtures, as well as made repeated trips to the dump clearing out our backyard.

Here are a couple of photos of my Mom and Dad in the newly created living room! They turned an empty room:

into something that belongs in a catalog.

We still have a little bit of work to finish in Melody's room and as soon as we get that done we'll post some photos.

Here's a new photo of my belly at week 30. Yeah, 10 more weeks of growth left!

House progression

2009-02-12T12:19:00.000-08:00

Last week we were very busy trying to prepare the house for my parents visit this coming weekend. One of the few jobs I am able to do is cleaning the stove top. It is a beautiful original 1948 stove top, and it hasn't been cleaned since installation.

I finally had to resort to a razor blade.

Here is a burner before cleaning:

During cleaning:

And after cleaning:

While I worked on that, Sky removed the old linoleum and discovered the original tile.

We were going to try to save the original tile, but there were too many nails in it, and it just cracked and broke when trying to remove them. So we (meaning Skyler) took them out and we're going to lay down some new colorful tiles of the same style.

This week we also got the hardwood floors refinished.

It looks really nice, but now we're fully aware of how dirty everything else is!

Baby face

2009-02-02T09:41:00.001-08:00

Last week at my prenatal class I got this picture of Melody's face. Looks like she has her Daddy's cheeks!

Update

2009-01-24T19:53:00.000-08:00

This last month has been busy! Our last day in our apartment was scheduled as Saturday January 16th and due to "escrow fun" we didn't get our house keys until Friday night. It was a pretty close call, but we made it! We've been here a week and have made some progress on making the place comfortable.

Here are some photos of the work progress.

Skyler removing the old carpet and boards.

The nearly finished hallway. This is before we pulled all the nails and staples today.

The windows were glued, yes glued shut. Skyler finally got them open in what will be Melody's room. All that fresh air sure is bad for you!!

Under the right conditions, human and animal fat will slowly turn into soap. I've seen it, I've excavated it, and I've smelled it. When I opened the cabinets above the oven I was instantly reminded of those excavations. Debbie was nice enough to helped me clean all the cabinets so they are useable.

I've also started to waddle.

Oh yeah...

2008-12-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

I also started to see my belly moving on its own accord.
It's weird.

Home from Christmas

2008-12-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

This year we met my Mom, Dad, and sister Angie in Vegas over the holidays. Ashley is in South Korea and Justin in Alaska, so we all needed a break from the traditional holiday. It was nice to get away from our apartment for a few days, since our landlord had been playing a wreath that loops 5 or 6 christmas carols all day long.

We saw several shows and had plenty of time to relax and eat! When we got back into LA, we had christmas at Debbie's. Sky's sister, brother-in-law, and their kids were in town, so it was great to see everyone!

I also had another prenatal meeting, but I only stayed for the ultrasound and meeting with the doctor since I've been fighting a cold and sore throat for several days and didn't want to get the other ladies sick.

Sky came with for the ultrasound, and we found out that our anatomical ultrasound looked good and that our expanded chromosomal bloodwork came back normal so that was a relief. We got to see her moving around and we got one good photo of her arm and hand. She still seems to like chewing on her fingers!

Halfway Point

2008-12-12T18:23:00.000-08:00

Well I've made it to the halfway mark of the pregnancy and have two conflicting thoughts:

1) "Halfway already?? I don't have anything done!" and

2) "It's only halfway and this is my belly so far?"

In some non-belly related news, we are soon to be in escrow on a house! It's in Upland, California, and backs up against a park. It has a huge yard for a garden and a basement (almost unheard of out here). It needs some work, but we can move in immediately and work room-to-room without stress.

Panorama of the front

1948 Fireplace

1948 Kitchen tile

Part of the backyard (batting cage & diamond behind fence)

Woot! Woot!

2008-12-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

Last night both Skyler and I were able to feel Mellie moving! I've always heard and believed that parents develop an incredibly intense sense of love and protection for their children. Yeah, now I know how it feels. Feeling her move on the inside was pretty cool, but feeling it on the outside was incredible.

Now I can't stop looking at baby stuff.

Another ultrasound

2008-12-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

This ultrasound was conducted to look for any abnormalities. We won't find out how everything looks for a couple of days, but we got to watch her move around a little. The technician confirmed that the baby is probably a girl and gave us this photo of Melody's face, arms, and belly.

Skyler and I had a great time naming all of the bones we saw forming. You can see the buds of her baby teeth!

19 Weeks

2008-12-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

I went to my second group prenatal/yoga class today, and got the following ultrasound. I've started to feel her moving and now I know why! I wish I was that flexible!

Hypochondria

2008-11-22T16:57:00.000-08:00

This week I started asking Skyler if my belly was getting any bigger. I had been looking every day and didn't notice any difference. Therefore I started to become convinced that the baby wasn't growing and that something was very wrong.

Then I put on this shirt, and all concern dissapeared.

16 weeks

2008-11-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

We're officially at 16 weeks now, and I have to say that most of the time I forget that I'm even pregnant. That is until I look down or hug Sky. Then I'm suddenly aware of the perfectly round developing protrusion.

Here's last weeks photo and ultrasound.