Beulah, 10 Months!

January has been a mixed bag. The month started out great, with family in town and us settling back at home from the holidays. But, honestly, I'm having a hard time remembering much from this month other than the past two weeks! I feel like this has been a month of very few changes in Beulah's development. Most noticeably, she just looks so grown up to me! Besides that, the two major things I can think of right now are that she knows how to give "five", and she's learned to shake her head "no". :) I think she got that from me, because sometimes when I sit in the back-seat with her, I shake my head so that my hair will fly around and it makes her laugh. And, I LOVE to make her laugh. :) She also thinks it's hysterical when people put things on their heads or on her head.

As you'll see in the video, she loves to head bang. That's something you just can't teach a baby. She's a natural! Sometimes when she's mixing music at her Learn & Groove table, she'll stand on her own for 3-5 seconds. And, her cruising skills are definitely improving. She can really kick it behind her walker! It's hilarious to watch her move so fast (see video). And then, when she hits a roadblock, she stops and looks at it like, "Hey! Get out of the way!", at which point she starts ramming the walker into it. I think I heard her say "TAWANDA" once! (see video below for explanation) :)

You should stop the video at 2:00 if you're offended by cursing. :)


Several months ago we let Andy's brother, Mike, and his wife, Ria, adopt Pedro. We were sad for Beulah, but fortunately, they live across the street, and she gets to see him pretty much every week still. It was best for him because with all of the attention Beulah needed early on, Pedro was severely neglected. He wasn't getting the exercise or attention he needed or deserved, and now he goes for walks regularly and is definitely well loved. Since the flood, we have been staying with Mike & Ria, and Beulah has been so happy to be reunited with Pedro! I think Pedro is happy too, but now Beulah can pull up and often uses his collar or ears as a gripping point (see pictures). :) The first week we were there, we all had the most fun watching Beulah and Pedro together. But, it has also been awesome for Beulah to get to spend this extended time with her aunt and uncle, and fun too! (see video) And, since we've been here, Beulah saw her first snow!

Unfortunately, this week has been a different story. Beulah started out the week with her first fever. Not even Pedro could make her smile. She has never been a cuddly baby, but for three days, all she wanted to do was be held and sleep on us. Since the fever broke (at 102.1 degrees), she has developed a rash; pretty sure it's Roseola. She's also having more tummy troubles, which could be the result of my increased dairy intake since the flood. It's just been easier to eat it since we're not cooking for ourselves in our own home. But, I'm going to make a more concerted effort to lay off dairy since it could be causing her so much discomfort. Anyway, she's been miserable on and off all week. But, there have been some bright spots in the week and we've seen some smiles and laughter. And, for her 10 month birthday, she's getting new floors! They should be in next week! Praise the Lord!!