Leg Hair

I noticed Charis has toe and leg hair. It is blonde and very little, but is that normal? I didn't think they get it until puberty or least until they were a little older. Is my daughter going to be a chia pet (like her father - don't tell him I said that!)?

I Almost Threw Up

So Charis and I were playing around before she went to bed last night. One of our favorite things to do is have me lay on the floor and have her sit on my neck (kind of like riding a horse for her). We have done it many times before and she loves it. She plays with my face and I blow on her belly when she leans forward. But she got a little excited last night.
In one of her attempts to lean forward she threw up on my face. And it wasn't spit up, or breast milk. It was barf. How do I know? Well, it smelled like adult barf and we had given her a little formula to supplement after her feeding. And I had it in my mouth, in my eyes, in my hair, in my ear and up my nose. I literally had to control my gag reflex. I thought her food was digested, but I guess it wasn't. She was totally fine and I am thinking twice about ever having her sit on my neck again.

Fever Update and Crawling

Her temperature is back to normal and the doctor's visit was pointless. He said it was just a cold that she would have to work through. Oh well. And I found out that she is still less than 16 pounds, with her clothes on! I must be starving her. I am going to increase what she eats or soon her weight will be off the charts! Oh, but the doctor did give me some good tips on getting her to crawl.
Speaking of, she hates being on her stomach and has practically forgotten how to roll over. I have been working with her since yesterday's visit and the rolling over is back. He said put objects just out of her reach, which I have done, but when she can't reach it she ignores it and plays with her toes. So this morning I used a sure-fire motivation - I let her "pursue" the TV remote. She was then rewarded with 30 secs of holding it (you should have seen how she looked at it, like she was holding this sacred treasure!); then I snatched it back before she got any funny ideas.
Our doctor also said have her crawl on pillows because they have more give then the floor. So she has been rolling and moving over those this morning. Not bad. And he said get her out of the exer-saucer. Her favorite - oh well.
Hopefully through all of this she will be more motivated to crawl. If you guys have any suggestions please send them my way.

103.0

Freak me out. My baby has had a high fever the past couple days. On Tuesday night I was holding her and happened to kiss her forehead. I thought it was really hot. So Josh and I tried to take her temperature. The first thermometer didn't work. (AHH! the waiting!) But the second one did. We took it rectally because that is supposed to be the most accurate. (She doesn't even notice it.) It said 103.0. I tried to remain calm. We took it under her armpit... 102.7. Then Josh took his temperature to see if it was just the thermometer. Nope. He was at his typical low 97.8 or something. I immediately called a nurse friend at the church who made it all sound like it isn't a big deal. She said be worried at 104 degrees. We gave her baby Tylenol, pushed liquids and let her sleep.
But it still freaked me out. This is the first time Charis has ever been sick in her eight months of life. She has had a runny nose once or twice, but that isn't anything. And why is it okay for little babies to have fevers that high, when if we adults had them we would be VERY ill?
I kept having flashes to the beginning of City of Angels where the little girl has a high fever. Her mom finds out and rushes her to the emergency room only to see her die. Why is it as parents so easy to worry and imagine the worst for your children? I never freak out this way about Josh. But I can easily lose it if I let my mind wander down those dark paths when it comes to Charis``. It makes me pray more. But I don't feel like I have really relied on the Lord through this trial. It has been much easier to let my mind dwell on my fears then to stay in His perfect peace. I wish I was better about that.
It is now Friday and her temperature is pretty much back to normal. We are going to the doctor though. She has a bit of a cough and is congested. I figure, why not? What would it hurt. I will keep you guys posted.

(BWT, for all you nurses out there - no, I don't believe she has an ear infection. And I also don't believe she is teething. )

Brookfield Zoo

We went to Brookfield Zoo on Saturday! It took us an hour and a half to get there, the last half hour was the final mile - totally frustrating. Who would have thought so many people wanted to go to the zoo? We went with the Szobodys. It was a blast! Charis didn't notice the animals at all though. I guess her love of cats and dogs doesn't transfer to lions, tigers and bears - oh my! I am figuring that she only notices animals that are nearby and are moving, which almost none of them were. But she did enjoy watching all the people and being outside. Amazingly she did not get any sun, unlike mommy and daddy. Josh and I had a great time though. We hadn't been to the zoo since we were kids, so it was really neat to see giraffes and elephants. I can't wait until Charis is a little older for her to enjoy it too.

I think we were watching the monkeys here, but I'm not sure

Do you see the big elephant Charis?

I guess the camera is more interesting than the giraffe

Cute baby

Look it's mommy's favorite - a HIPPO!

My Puzzle

So I have been on this puzzle kick. (Yes, I am a loser.) I typically do 500 or 750 piece puzzles, but Josh was a sweety and bought me an 1000 piece a couple weeks ago. It is a picture of Half Dome or something out west. I have been working on this thing for weeks. I think I started it before Grace and Eryka came for a visit, forever ago, and it has been pretty hard to get done. I don't know why, but I have spent a lot of time trying to figure it out. And as of yesterday I was about 3/4 of the way done...
It was close to 80 degrees yesterday so we opened the windows to cool down the house in the evening. And we had a storm, a big windy storm. When we got back from church this is what I was greeted with:

The lighting on the pics is bad, but you get the idea. And you know what, I don't care. It was a stupid puzzle and I was sick of it. And I am not going to cry about it ... at least not for a long time.

I miss my mommy

I miss my mommy. She is on a cruise in the caribbean with her girlfriends and I am sure she is having a fabulous time. And I am only slightly jealous. Right now she is probably soaking in the sun on the deck reading a 500 page book drinking a Chocolate Banana. Or maybe she is at St. Thomas shopping for some fun jewelry for me. That might be okay.
But I just miss her phone calls to see what I am up to today or whether I will be stopping by this week or whether Charis needs a really cute purple dress from Goodwill. And now on Friday, instead of doing something fun with her I have to clean the house. That is really, really, really sad. She comes home on Sunday and I can't wait.
Maybe next time I should just go with her. Eryka, you can come too because your mom is there too. Then we could drink the Chocolate Bananas. Yeah, that would be good.