7 months (over a week late!)

Danali-

Well, all I can say is I am very thankful that my job let me on vacation just in time to give you a little more attention. The last couple weeks have been a bit rough. After your 6 month vaccinations at the beginning of December, you got sick with a fever for several days. You also had diarrhea You became dehydrated and lost 3 pounds in four days (from 20 pounds at your 6 month visit to 17 pounds a couple days later...)!! The doctor said if we couldn't get some liquid in you, we would have to admit you to the hospital to get IVs so you could become hydrated again.

It was a very challenging Thursday. Grammy came over to help and we tried EVERYTHING! Pedialyte, apple juice, water, breastmilk and every combination- through bottles, sippy cups, glasses and droppers. I did not think we were successful but somehow we did get your weight up again.

But after that, you never seemed to really get all the way better. You kept having a runny nose and being congested and that pesky little cough just wouldn't go away so I took you in again. They tested for RSV and that came back negative. They prescribed a nebulizer and medicine to loosen up all that flem in your chest. I've been trying to work between the doctor, the insurance company and the pharmacy to get a hold of that medicine- it's been a little complicated.

And in the meantime, this past week, we've kept you plenty busy with Christmas celebration after Christmas celebration. We went to visit family in Oregon and you got a little overwhelmed but by the end of the time, you were happy as a clam rolling around on the floor, impressing everyone and you even opened a present all by yourself!! We were so impressed!! You're a natural! You got some fun gifts like bilingual maracas and really cute clothes.

Then, we had a quick stop in Gig Harbor on the 24th to see some cousins there. Your cousin Jessica would not let you out of her sight and you also brought many laughs and much joy to relatives there. On the way from Gig Harbor to Lacey, you decided to scream the entire time, only finally falling asleep when we arrived at our destination. I thought you would definitely crash again shortly after that, but the lively music and energetic kids with your Papi's family kept you up and active until we finally came home around 1:00am.

On the 25th, you went to visit the Davolios for a little while so I could enjoy our tradition of going to see a movie on Christmas with your grandparents and aunts. Then we came to pick you up, went home, opened some presents, and then your Papi and Abuelita came over for an amazing dinner your grammy made. It was wonderful. Since your sisters were leaving the next morning, we stayed awhile after dinner and talked and caught up. You had a blast playing with grandpa, grandma and your aunts. They all love you so much!!

Yesterday, we slept in, made breakfast here, went to mass, opened presents with your abuelita, and then went down to a "Nayarit" restaurant because your papi was craving aguachile. Your uncle and abuelita went too.

And today, we are just taking it easy. I think Mami might have gotten whatever you had and we're both pretty exhausted anyway. Very merry first Christmas outside the womb baby girl!!

Highlights over the past month include:

1) Front top teeth look like they are ready to break through any minute
2) Mami realized you are over six months old and "solids" are not "extra" anymore so we're trying to work those into your diet more regularly but since we're not giving you beans or anything with chiles in it, it is harder than I expected...
3) You roll around like crazy and sometimes you will get on your hands and knees and rock but still no crawling...
4) You sometimes get into a really talkative mood and will babble on and on
5) Your grammy says you are starting to copy sounds and movements but I haven't seen it yet
6) You papi saw you standing up in your crib but I still have not seen anything like that
7) We've noticed you have excellent hearing
8) You love to play and discover. One of my favorite memories is when you were in your exersaucer and you threw your head back as you often do for some reason and you just happened to hit a little bug thing that played a song. You kept moving around throwing your head back again and again trying to make it play the song again.
9) You love to talk to yourself in the mirror
10) We still love you more than ever!!

You are such a gift to our family, my precious girl- can't wait to see what the coming months hold for you and for us!! We love you with everything we have!!