Mystery Solved and some unrelated news, too!

For nearly a week McKenzie has been sick: snot, some coughing, more snot. All of that with lots and lots of screaming and a low grade fever in between her doses of baby Tylenol.



Back up a few days prior to the first cold symptom and you'd find McKenzie and I at her pediatrician checking on what I suspected was an ear infection(her outer ear was BRIGHT red). She did not have an infection, instead he speculated that she was bit by some random Florida insect. Her doctor asked if I thought she was teething; I said I hadn't noticed any of the traditional symptoms. He looked in her mouth and agreed. No new teeth in her near future.



I assumed that her recent illness and screaming could not have been ear infection related since her ears had JUST been checked. A few days into her cold and a few doses of Tylenol later, the fever and screaming vanished leaving only snot and a cough to remind us that our little bug was still sick.



Well, today, she opens her mouth and low and behold- a TOOTH!



It is her bottom left lateral incisor(what the heck, lol). So now she has 2.5 on the bottom and 0 on top! Hopefully the right will come to make her have some even toofies! Hahah!
Who would have thought the lateral incisors would be coming in before the central tops? This would be in true McKenzie fashion. She never does anything by the book.





In unrelated news:



In addition to McKenzie standing unsupported for short periods of time, she has been caught twice taking one FULL unassisted steps without holding on. It usually goes something like this: Cruise a bit, let go, one wobble step- FALL! Haha!

Here's a short video showing off her standing skills!

Good Bye, Purees!

Kenzie decided that her pureed baby food was for the birds. So, we've been playing around with all sorts of table foods. At first, she enjoyed chewing them to mush and promptly spitting it ALL back out. At least she increased her bottles from 6 ounces to 8 ounces to make up the difference. Well, yesterday and today, she's been chewing and swallowing!

Yesterday's menu went like this( In addition to 32 ounces of formula) Water with each meal.

Breakfast: 1 yo-baby yogurt and a handful of Cheerios's.

AM snack: Baby baked goldfish

Lunch: pasta w/ grated fresh Parmesan cheese, green beans, and a bit of fruit cocktail

PM snack: Some fresh blueberries, watermelon, cantaloupe pieces.

Dinner: Beef Stew and Fruit cocktail. I made homemade stew and I gave her the sauce and veggies and potatoes(the beef was a bit too tough for her). She ate quite a bit of it!

So, here's the issue. I need healthy food suggestions! For dinner tonight we're having shrimp so she obviously cannot have that so I think I'll make her some pasta-pickups and she can have the other sides. I also need suggestions for soft, healthy foods that are easy to travel with for when we're on the go.

Thanks!

She's got Rhythm

Kenzie recently started dancing EVERY time she hears music. Adorable. I may be just a bit(a tiny bit) bias, but seriously, it is the cutest thing I have seen in quite sometime! Enjoy!

Eight month Birthday

McKenzie is eight months old today! Four more months until we celebrate her first birthday! Time is flying by. I have NO idea how long she is(she's still quite long as we've had to resort to footless jammies and she keeps outgrowing them) or how much she weighs.

In the past month she's learned tons. She's crawling. She's following us around the house like a puppy dog. She's mastered pulling up on EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. She's not very good at cruising quite yet and falls often when she tries. Today Duane and I bought her a Leap Frog activity table from consignment and she tried to unsuccessfully walk around it. Needless to say, she fell.

She's standing(as seen in the above picture) unsupported for about 5-20 seconds at a time(hence the reason I'm "spotting her" ).

She's waving and babbling a ton.

So, Happy 8th month baby girl!

Camping- Urban style!

This past weekend we made the 3 hour(It actually took 5 hours with a cranky 7 month old) drive to Bell, Florida for a birthday party. The birthday girl wanted to go camping and invited her attendees to do the same.
I haven't camped since I was a kid with my parents. I surely wasn't going to brave the 90 degree temps with McKenzie in tow. So, we spent the day at the springs and camped in the comfort of my God parents air conditioned home. I know, I know, how "sissy" of me. Well we managed to escape the weekend showered and insect bite free.
McKenzie had a fun time showing off her new skill and I had fun removing the dirt from her hands! She sat in the 72(brr) degree water but freaked when we attempted to actually take her in. I am reminded every day what a blessing she is. She really is a sweet, calm natured, little girl. Maybe when she's a bit older and the weather is a bit cooler, we'll try traditional camping.

Watch out World...

She's on the move! This baby never ceases to amaze me. Two days ago(I repeat, 2 days ago) she learned how to go from belly to sitting and get on her knees and arms together. Today? She's learned to put them together and MOVE! She's crawling! She's slow and wobbly and has to be enticed.. but nonetheless.. The kid is moving! Holy cow! I honestly thought she was going to skip this milestone!

She's also got a bit of a shiner from pulling up and falling on our entertainment center! Yay, McKenzie!

This girl loves to eat..

We've been trying all sorts of new food for McKenzie. Favorites are: baby goldfish, Cheerios's, puffs, Little Crunchies, canned organic salt-free peas and pieces of soft fruits(peaches, pears 1/2ed blueberries). She's mastered her pincer grasp(awhile ago) and she totally digs feeding herself. She much prefers this to us feeding her chunkier things, though if it is from our plate she'll eat it.

She's been spitting out the stage 3 foods, so I think we'll stick with the stage 2's and move onto regular table foods when she's ready. I have NO idea why she won't take the stage 3's when she apparently doesn't have an issue with textures. It's a mystery I am dying to solve.

Anymore fun, healthy finger food suggestions would be appreciated. We're not a fan of hot dogs(for obvious reasons). But we're open to healthy baby-friendly ideas!