Happy 6 Months!

On Friday, September 13th, our little monkey turned 6 months old:

We've had a fun time with Nora, especially now that we are beginning to see her personality develop.  Here a few fun facts about our little girl:

Weighs 14 lbs, 6 oz (25% of her weight range), and is 26 inches long (50% of her height range).  Her pediatrician seems to think that she is on track to be somewhere between 5'4" and 5'8".  I was hoping she'd be closer to my height - 5'10" or even taller - but it looks like she might be a shorty:(

Wears mostly size 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.  Baby clothes have crazy sizing - Nora has a 9 month outfit that won't fit over her head, but a newborn dress that fits just fine.

Rolls everywhere.  Has even "slow-crawled" a few times.  Nora gets angry after she slow-crawls, like she meant to roll instead.

Sleeps un-swaddled.  This is a bigger deal than it sounds.  I was so afraid to stop swaddling Nora, but I knew we were overdue.  Knowing that I would probably never stop swaddling her, JD put her to bed one night without swaddling her.  The result?  She slept just fine.  Turns out she spent the first few minutes of sleep always busting out of her swaddle before she settled down, I just never made the connection!  We quit cold turkey without any problems.

Still sleeps from 8-8.  These past few weeks she has been randomly waking up in the middle of the night, so we have been sleep training Nora again.  I think we are almost back to her sleeping 12 hours again.

Has FIVE boyfriends.  Seriously.  Her daycare room has six babies, all boys, all older than her.  When I pick her up after work, a few of the boys cry when Nora leaves.  I think being the youngest in her room has encouraged her to develop quicker.  She is one of the few babies who can hold her own bottle, play on her own, etc.  She can even sit up on her own for a short bit.

Still wears her harness to sleep.  After our last ultrasound, Nora's pediatric ortho was confident that she would not need surgery anymore.  However, after an X-ray today, Nora is going to be fitted for a different harness that she will wear long-term.  Unfortunately, it looks like she will be wearing a harness to sleep until she is at least 3-4 years old.  I was upset about this latest update, but I am choosing to just be thankful that she doesn't need surgery.

LOVES vegetables and her sippy cup.  She doesn't seem to be a picky eater, but I know that can change.  She conned my mother into thinking that Nora didn't like her high chair or green beans, that she needed to be held when eating her veggies.  I just rolled my eyes when my mother reported that to me when I got home that evening - what a sucker!

Continues to be the happiest baby - we love her so much!

Here are a few more photos:

Houston airport waiting on our flight back to Memphis - Nora has been on eight planes!

Goofing around on the new patio at Soul Fish in Germantown

Such a happy baby

Nora and Mommy before church

Daddy and Nora before church

Rolling around on Aunt Sarah's floor in Houston

One of the 'About Me' cards on the wall in her room at daycare - Buddy really did that.  Nora held onto his collar and he pulled her around the kitchen (slowly).  She was shrieking with laughter, but of course I had to intervene!

Nora's "magic cape" as demonstrated by her Mimi

Tugging on Buddy's whiskers - he is so patient with her!

Her first swing

Sweet potatoes everywhere

Nora wearing Daddy's SF hat

First day of school

Summer Snapshots

I got an email the other day - "Are you coming back to work?"  What do they mean, of course I am coming back to work!  I told my office I would be back at the end of the summer from maternity leave.  Oh wait, it is the end of the summer.  Why can't it still be June??  What happened to this summer?  That's right - a whole lot!

Here is our summer in snapshots:

It started with a sleepy baby and a quiet toast to the end of the semester.  Summer of fun just beginning!

We made a stop at the Miracle Baby Celebration for Fertility Associates of Memphis.  So fun seeing all those babies!  Nora was wearing one my bubbles from when I was a baby.

My niece, Emma, hurt her hand at school and needed surgery to fix her finger.  To cheer her up, we surprised her in Atlanta and spent the Memorial Day weekend with my sister and her family.

Nora had her *BIG* ultrasound for her hip on May 29th.  Her pediatric ortho thought the hip dysplasia was almost gone after all the physical exams.  The ultrasound results?  Nora flunked.  Her hip looked WORSE than before.  So, six more weeks of full-time harness wear was prescribed:(

We took that news in stride and enjoyed a lake weekend with Nora's godparents, Brent and Stephanie.

JD's friend from high school, Jake, and his wife Morgan visited us with their little girl, Frances.  Their son, Cass, was at camp.  We swam in the back yard, took in a Redbirds game and enjoyed visiting with them.

Nora had her first experience in the swimming pool!  JD's friend/business partner, Colin, came over with his wife Eden and their two adorable little girls, Violet and Juliette.  The girls played with Buddy and we all had a good time splashing around in the pool.

Nora was baptized at Germantown United Methodist Church.  I love this church, and we were so glad that Rev. Rebecca Luter could do the honors!  Our families came in from Atlanta, GA, Hattiesburg, MS and Nashville, TN.  After the baptism, we had a catered brunch at the house for the family and friends.

A few days after the baptism, we headed to the beach!  Not without a quick stop at Millsaps to show Nora her future college campus;)

Nora liked the beach, but she probably enjoyed sharing a room with Mommy and Daddy even better.  She has been sleeping in her own crib since she was about five weeks old.  She would turn her head at night to look at us in the bed from her crib, and just smile.  Goofy girl.

We hosted the annual 3rd of July party for our Sunday School class.  Every year it's a little bit different.  The first year we held this party, no one had kids and everyone stayed until after 2 am.  Now people leave early to put kids down to bed, or we all have our kids there and it's so much fun to watch them all interact.  In 2013, our Sunday School will welcome SIX babies.  That is quite the baby boom for our little group:)

Nora had another follow-up ultrasound for her hip - the results?  She is doing great!  The hip is only a few degrees outside of normal.  She was downgraded to part-time wear for six more weeks.

I had lunch with two of my good friends, Ursula and Andrea.  At the lunch, both of them were pregnant with little girls.  Ursula (with her sweet daughter, Baylor) was pregnant with Mallory, who is a now a few weeks old.  Andrea is due any day now with Madeline Grace.  Hope we get to have another Mother-Daughter lunch soon!

JD opened a second office in Portland, OR months ago.  Since neither one of us had ever even visited the area, JD worked out of the Portland office for NINE days while Nora and I strolled around downtown Portland. It was boring at times, but I ran a three-mile loop around the river each morning before Nora and I would sightsee, shop or do whatever.

I spent my second year volunteering at Camp Good Grief through the Junior League of Memphis.  It was also the longest I had ever been separated from Nora.  I missed her terribly that first day, but made it through just fine the second and third days.  Leaving her for a full day is inevitable, I was just glad I did it while doing something I enjoy - volunteering at a fantastic camp!

JD, Nora and I flew to DC so that I could attend a meeting for the National Association for Business Economists.  I know what you're thinking - sounds like a blast??  It was fun and informative.  The conference was three days long and JD got to have quality time with Nora in the hotel room while I was in session.  We also got to catch up with my college roommate, Crickett, while we were there.  Love that girl!

We posted our house online for sale - and what happened?  Less than 48 hours we were under contract.  I hadn't planned on things to move that quickly, but the buyer is motivated.

We might have to move to an apartment in the interim until we find another house.  No worries, we will be staying in Germantown.  Just keep us in your prayers please that the closing process goes smoothly and that we find a house soon!

Best Health Insurance Ever

I have health insurance through the University - JD and Nora are my dependents.  Besides a few sinus infections, we aren't exactly 'frequent flyers' for our health plan, but with my pregnancy, Nora's birth and subsequent hip dysplasia and a few other ancillary things, there has been a slight uptick in the number of EOB's (Explanation of Benefits) that our household receives.  I guess our insurance company has been thrown by our increased usage of the plan when I received these two forms in the mail (in separate envelopes) for a visit by JD to a minor medical establishment for a sinus infection.  These are fantastic examples of how incredibly intelligent our insurance company is:

Form #1

Insured: Kathryn Graffam
Claimant: James Graffam
Date of Service: 5/14/13
Provider of Service: XXXX

Dear Insured:

XXXX Administration, servicing your student insurance claims, has received charges for the above-referenced services.  Prior to processing these charges, additional information is needed:

Do you have health insurance prior to the date of service? (   )  Yes  (   )  No

Yes - we have been your customers for over two years without interruption.

If the answer is yes, please provide a copy of the Certificate of Credible Coverage from your prior carrier which shows the last 18 months of coverage.

Why don't you issue the certificate to yourself?


Signature of Insured: ____________  Date:____________

Important: Processing and evaluation of your charges will continue after we receive the requested information.

Yet, there is no address, return envelope, phone number or hangman puzzle in which to instruct us on how to return the above information.  Genius, right?

Form #2

Insured: Kathryn Graffam
Claimant: James Graffam
Date of Service: 5/14/13
Provider of Service: XXXX

Dear James Graffam

We have received a claim for the above referenced service.  In order to fully evaluate this claim, additional information is needed.  Please provide our office with the following information:

1. Date symptoms first appeared:

His nose started running the night before?

Date medical treatment was sought:

You already know this - it's in the letterhead

2. Was medication prescribed for this condition?

Yes - you already reimbursed us for it.

3. List names and addresses of all physicians treating you for this condition:

You mean the random guy in the white coat who signed off on the CNA's recommendation?  His name and address is in your letterhead as well.

Your Signature______________  Date___________________

Processing of this claim will continue after we received the requested information.  If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Service Department.

No contact information is given.

Sincerely,

Claims Analyst

Enclosure (there is no enclosure)

Two Months of Bliss

Just when you thought you couldn't get enough of blog posts about our baby - here's another! ;)  Nora turned two months old May 13 and, since our baby is the smartest/most attractive/unique/perfect baby in the world (not biased at all), I feel the need to document all her milestones.

Weighs 9 lbs 4 ozs, and is 22 inches long.  When she was born, Nora was in the 25th percentile for her weight and 75th percentile for her height.  Now she is somewhere in the 15th percentile for her weight and 60th percentile for her height.

"Coo"s all the time.  It is so darned cute.  Her two-month pic above was taken mid-coo.  She is so funny.  We coo back and forth a lot.  Yes, my masters degree and half of a PhD makes me uniquely qualified for this exchange.

Can move her pacifier towards her mouth.  She has recently fallen in love with her Wubbanub.  For those of you unfamiliar to baby land, a Wubbanub is a pacifier attached to a stuffed animal.  If Nora's pacifier falls out of her mouth, she compensates by sucking on the frog's hand.  Hey, whatever works.

Took her two month shots like a champ.  This was definitely a proud momma moment.  There were three shots she needed.  The first needle prick caused her to whimper from being surprised, but she didn't make a sound otherwise for the rest of her shots.  When our nurse left the room, another nurse asked her to "go ahead and give Nora her shots."  To which our nurse replied, "I just did.  We are all finished."  The other nurse was surprised because she didn't hear any crying out in the hall.  I guess my "crying is for babies" speech to Nora on the way to the pediatrician's worked.

Getting very manipulative.  In our childbirth classes, they preached over and over again that you can't hold a newborn "too much" because they don't learn to manipulate you until they are a little bit older.  To say that Nora has learned how to manipulate her admirers is an understatement - she could teach an entire hospital of newborns how to school their parents.  She just wants one thing in life - to occupy your shoulder.  All day.  Everyday.  And she does this creepy thing where she kisses your neck.

Has about two more weeks of harness wear.  Her ultrasound is scheduled for May 29 to verify that her left hip is staying firmly in place.  We expect this to go well as all her physical examinations of late lean that way.

Conquers tummy time.  I can't wait to see how she handles tummy time without a harness.  With the harness on and keeping her legs in place, she is able to overpower and almost roll over.  Without the harness, she could probably somersault around the floor.  Her neck strength is pretty amazing thanks to the harness positioning as well.


Enough bragging - on to the good stuff.  Here are the latest photos of the cutie:

First bath I gave her without Daddy's help:

Not actually Nora - but a funny email that Nora "sent" Kevin as he was preparing to head back from Afghanistan:

Reading the Very Quiet Cricket from Aunt Crickett...who is anything but quiet:

Just hanging out:

Holding on to her pacifier for her life before she met Uncle Kevin for the first time:

Getting one-on-one cousin time with Emma:

Smiling for her Mommy:

 Loving on her Wubbanub:

That's the face of a girl who JUST had her two-month shots only minutes before.  Does she look sad to you??

Chilling out with her favorite babysitter, Taylor:

Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday - time to be thankful!

1. Ahhhhhh

That's my textual interpretation of a sigh of relief.  The semester is O-V-E-R.  What does that spell?  Over!  Over!  Having a baby in the middle of a semester was incredibly challenging.  Turning in this last little bit of my research was like climbing up a mountain wearing boots filled with concrete.  It wasn't my best effort.  My perfectionist self hates this.  But, my GPA has more than a little 'wiggle room' - if my efforts earn a low grade it won't derail my funding.  Here's what I'll be doing tonight:

2. Kevin is HOME!

This should really be first on the list, but I blog based on stream of consciousness.  Kevin knows that he is top of mind while he is in a war zone - thankfully the only war zone he faces these days is the traffic on I-40 instead of Afghanistan.  It was so neat to be able to introduce him to his newest niece, and of course to watch our crazy Emma get super-pumped over seeing Uncle Kevin.

3. JD

My husband is a swell guy in case you can't tell from my other blog posts.  Not only has he been super-Dad while I struggled through the rest of the semester, he has been super-husband as well.  He cancelled night meetings at a moment's notice so he could entertain Nora while I worked on my research.  He cooked meals, ok so he is actually best at picking up meals because I stopped grocery shopping for a little while, but you get the point.  He offered to be in charge of the middle of the night diaper changes when I have to get up to feed the baby.  Sometimes I let him and take advantage of a few more moments of sleep, but mostly I tell him to go back to bed.  I have to nurse Nora anyway, so there is no point in both of us getting up.  He changes his morning meeting schedule so I can get in a run before he leaves for the day.  The list goes on and on...

4. Weather

It's true - I am a summer girl.  I won't even run when it is less than 60 degrees outside.  I'd rather have to run at five in the morning because of a heat advisory than in the middle of the day when it is 58 degrees.  Call me crazy.  This weather has been beautiful and I plan on taking full advantage of it now that I am on summer vacation.

5. Nora

This silly girl is such a joy in our lives.  She is doing SO WELL with her harness.  In fact, she just had a check-up today and her doctor thinks that her hip is staying firmly in place.  We are continuing with her physical therapy and wearing the harness to ensure that everything is as it should be by June.  Orthopedic issues almost solved!  She nurses for a speedy ten minutes every four hours, and, even bigger news, our super-trooper is also sleeping through the night!  We have moved her into her room, and from 10:30 - 5, I get blissful, uninterrupted sleep.  Some people say it's too early, I say don't knock a good thing.  Seriously.  Let it be.

6. Memphis Grizzlies

In a shout out to my hometown, I am thankful that the Grizz are doing well in the playoffs.  My economic development background knows that this is a good thing for our City, my hometown pride overflows when I watch ESPN.  We plan on cheering them along on Monday night in the Forum - Go Grizz!

Living the Pioneer Life

Day 3 of no Internet or cable at the house. Our landscape guy cut the cable when tilling up the yard. At first I thought, hey this is no big deal. I need to finish up my paper for the semester anyway. This will cut out all the distractions.

Wrong. Have you ever tried to write a research paper without an Internet connection? It's impossible. So I started thinking about the pre-Internet days of paper-writing. I guess we would reference encyclopedias. I'd be hard pressed to name a friend who owns an encyclopedia, not even counting the irony that the paper is discussing recent real estate trends in the Memphis market.

I feel like a pioneer.

Giving up on the paper momentarily, I decide to watch a movie. Except Netflix streams over the Internet. That won't work. So I spend a few hours pulling weeds in the yard praying that the Comcast van starts driving down my cove. No luck.

I spend the rest of the day trying to accomplish what I can using my iPhone with mixed results. Why aren't all web pages mobile friendly?

Then my phone dies. Thus, I lose my connection to the outside world. Staring at a sleeping baby only provides so much entertainment and reading about crafty center pieces in Better Homes and Gardens seems overly-domestic, even for me. Can't a girl get a break around here?!

Back to praying for the Comcast van...