Sleeping In The Car

Here is a picture of Paprika sleeping in her carseat. She loves it- it is so comfy for her! And, of course, I love the cow pattern! :-)

We got an email yesterday from our tenants saying that they will be handing the keys over to us on March 19th! I am so excited! Originally they were going to move out at the end of the month, and we were going to have to scramble to get the place cleaned and move out of our apartment by the end of the month. Now we have almost two weeks to move in! This takes a lot of pressure off us, since we can move in slowly, bringing most of the small items and breakables over ourselves and saving only the really big, bulky items for the moving company.

We need to do a walk-through with the tenants, and figure out what things we need to fix prior to moving in. The biggest issue is the carpeting- if we want to replace that or install hardwood floors, we will want to do that before we move in. I guess we'll have to see what condition the carpet is in. Mr. Mustard is leaning towards installing hardwood or bamboo flooring, since we have Hauser and Meg, and they shed like crazy. With Paprika crawling and playing down on the floor a lot, it would be nice to have a fresh start in that department. I guess we'll wait and see what everything looks like when we do our walk-through in less than two weeks! I am SO excited!

I am going to the doctor today- Mr. Mustard is going to take a lunch break and pick Paprika and I up to go to the appointment. I am so glad he's coming with me- I really can't imagine bringing Paprika to the appointment by myself.

Oh, and her teeth broke through the surface yesterday. She slept so well last night, and has been napping a great deal to make up for all of the sleep she lost while teething. I know that this isn't the last we've seen of teething pain (by a longshot), but it's nice to have our sweet, happy baby back! :-)

I See A Tooth In Her Future!

Paprika is babbling non-stop now. I took a video of her babbling and was going to post it, but the video was too large to upload because it was too long. She has a lot to say, I guess! She's also learning all about possession, and how to ask for the things she wants. She gets upset when she can't play with certain things- like a permanent magic marker, for example, or when her toy falls on the floor. A month or so ago she didn't care which toy she played with and didn't notice if we took something away from her. Now she is very specific about what she wants to play with- not just any toy will do!

I can feel her two bottom teeth popping up through her gums. The teeth aren't there yet, but I can tell that they are bothering her. She has always been an exceptional sleeper- basically sleeping through the night since 6 weeks old. Well, now all that has changed. For the past week, she's woken up every two or three hours at night. She's sleeping so restlessly, and I think it has a lot to do with her mouth hurting. Hopefully once these teeth come through she'll be back to her old self and we can finally get some rest!

We have been spending a lot of time going through old boxes, sorting, and getting ready for the yard sale/move. It's been really fun, actually, going through old boxes of cards, letters, etc. I am set on getting everything organized before moving day, and so far it's been challenging. But, a little at a time, I'm working through everything. It's nice to have the luxury to do all of this- all of our other moves have been so frantic because I was either in school, working, or both. Since I'm home, I get to take advantage of doing it right this time. So, I'm enjoying the process. Already I've filled up our breakfast nook with items to donate or sell. Incredible!

Malibu Baby

Yesterday we spent the day at the beach in Malibu. We went to our favorite park right by the beach, and we also went to the opening day fair for the Malibu Little League. What fun! We picked up some yummy La Salsa on the way to the park and had a really nice lunch overlooking the ocean. Afterwards we went for a drive up through the mountains and into Topanga Canyon. We looked at houses up in Topanga for the fun of it, and enjoyed the drive in our wonderful new car. A good day was had by all!

Hauser's Baby!

Click on the arrow twice to watch the video!

Rubber Ducky!

This is Paprika's rubber ducky. She really really loves it! It keeps her occupied during bathtime, and is her new favorite toy.

In other news, let the moving insanity begin! I started going through the kitchen yesterday, and now, for the first time since we moved in two years ago, the kitchen cabinets are fully organized! Just in time to move! I got rid of a lot of stuff, and so the process is beginning, but it looks like a whirlwind came through the apartment.

Paprika was a sport today. We went to the grocery store to do our weekly shopping and we were there for a long time! The first place I got stuck in was the "baby aisle"-- there are so many options of food products, that it's just overwhelming! I am planning on making all of my own baby food, but I wanted to see if there were any "teething biscuits" for her to try- and there were too many options! I wanted to get the organic ones, but they were only for 9 months and up. I think Paprika really wants to chew on something edible, so I thought maybe I could give her a teething biscuit to give her something to work through her teething pain. Guess I'll be waiting a few more months on that. Oh well.

I also used coupons today for the very first time in my life! I was "that" shopper with the neverending stack of coupons- and I saved about 1/3 of the grocery bill, so it was worth it! I know I was very annoying to everyone else in line, but oh well! :-)

Last night Paprika ate her very first bite of real food! I made quesadillas for dinner, and I had mashed up some avocado and put it in a side bowl for dipping- kind of like guacamole, but not as spicy! Anyway, we were almost done eating the avocado and Paprika started reaching for it. So, I sat her up on my lap and let her try a taste or two. She seemed to really like it this time- at least she really liked being included in the dinner ritual.

I am definitely not going to force food on her, but will continue to make things she can eat and then let her eat them if she shows interest. I'm going to keep making her avocado every now and then, and will probably also introduce mashed bananas soon. It's not nutritionally necessary for her to eat solid food until after a year old- right now she's just exploring food. So, we're taking it slowly and we'll see how it goes! But, one or two bites last night was really exciting!