Feliz Navidad

Fern wishes everyone a happy holiday from sunny Guam!

Into the Big Blue Ocean!

Fern has been swimming in the ocean for, geez, a few months now. She loves the water, especially when dad is holding her. We try to go as often as possible, but our busy lives don't allow us to go as often as we'd like. At least we can go for a quick dip in the pool if there isn't time for a beach trip. Oh, how I miss those endless Peace Corps days! Now I blink, and it's a new day. Such is life with a babe. Here are some pictures from various beaches. And I have topped it off with a quick video at the end. We will probably be stateside before the next post! We can't wait!


Here she is at Gun Beach after her first real swim in the ocean:





Dancin' in the sand.


At Ipan Beach in southern Guam:





Fern and mama swimming with friends Else, Penny, Ester, and their kids.




Fern with Pops, Else with Ekko, and Penny with Emily.




Fern with ma and pa.


Sunset in Tamuning:


Fern really is in this picture (held by dad).



Dad and Fern.







At Y'Pao beach (Two Lovers Point in the background) :


I think she likes it :)



Yes, she definitely likes it!






And finally, a tiny clip of her paddling skilz:

Baby Yoga- Part Two

Half-lotus, Ardha Padanasana

Happy Baby, Ananda Balasana

Happy Baby or Happy Daddy?

I love these pictures. They really show what a big girl she is now. And the cool thing is that I have more! I had several things that I wanted to post/blog about, but due to computer, internet, AND camera/lens issues, I am WAY behind and probably won't be able to catch up. So I'll probably just toss up some pictures here and there and maybe a video or two before our big Christmas trip to the mainland. There is a friend coming over next week to try to fix our computer which would help tremendously. I already have more baby yoga, but I'll maybe save them for next week (even though they are already outdated).

Fern's Faves

Currently Fern's favorite things are:

Mortimer the Moose and Sydney and Sandy the Kangaroos...still.
Sophie the Giraffe.
frozen baby washcloths to chew/suck on.
Big Rex and Friends cloth book.
being outside.
tearing apart catalogs, trying to eat them, and then crying when I have to pull the soggy paper from her mouth before she chokes. She gravitates towards things with words.
playing peek-a-boo with Pops. He sure is funny.
the remote control. Hopefully this isn't a premonition of what's to come.
sitting in the Boppy pillow.

Garden Day.

Some pictures of the above things:

Sophie is good for sore gum days.

She never seems to tire of Mortimer and the kangaroo pair. Currently, Sandy keeps her company in the car.

The boppy, combined with outside, is pure contentment.

Big Rex and Friends

ahhhh...the remote.

Her Other Momma

Because I had mentioned Fern's nanny in my last post, my dad requested that I please post a picture of her on the blog. 'We would like to see a picture of the person that is caring for our dear grandaughter nearly every day,' he said. Shame on me for not doing this earlier as Fern's nanny, Morgan, is a very important person in her life right now. Here she is on her second day with Fern:

We have been extremely lucky in that my job is very flexible. I can create my own schedule (within reason). The nature of my job allows me to work more on the weekends and I can also work at night, which reduces nanny time. Morgan is okay with this and is very flexible, and therefore I am flexible with her. It's all so very flexible. She is allowed to show up late sometimes and take Fern with her while she is playing 'tour guide' for a friend of hers that is visiting Guam. She watches Fern about 20 hours/week.

Sadly, Morgan is planning to leave Guam in February or March of next year to jumpstart her career of 'real' nannying elsewhere. I was intially fine with this since I was planning on placing Fern into daycare in January. But as January creeps closer, the more I dread the thought of leaving her there for the day. The daycare seems fine, but I don't think any daycare that has a 4:1 child:caretaker ratio is adequate for my little Fern. She needs our complete and full attention 90% of the time. The only reason that I didn't put Fern into daycare when she was 3 months old was because all of the decent daycares were full. In retrospect, thank goodness! So the nanny search began. And luckily for us, we found a great one. For now, Fern has a space reserved at Good Day Daycare in January. However, we are still waiting on a vaccination waiver. Without this, she can't get into any daycare and we'll have to come up with a new plan. I am not against finding a new nanny, but that can be stressful in itself, and it seems they are hard to come by. Before Morgan started working with us, I spoke with three of her references, and they were stellar, which set my mind at ease. I know everything will fall into place...it always does. We are actually hoping that Morgan's departure is postponed until Fern turns one. We shall see.

I love my substitute momma!

Slingin' it at the Micronesian Fair!

We took Fern to the Micronesian Fair last weekend. There were islanders from all over the FSM demonstrating their cultural dances and selling local dishes. Yum. I thought Fern might like to watch the colorful dancers. She did, but my camera battery died right after I took one single picture of the Yapese stick dancers (above). Bummer. They hadn't even started dancing. Instead, here are some pictures of Else and I carrying Fern and Ekko in our slings. After all, this is supposed to be about Fern, right?

Fern says, 'Woohoo, mama! I love being on your hip!'

Ekko's like 'This is soooooo comfy...I just can't seem to stay awake.'

Fern's turn to snooze...

Fern has FINALLY decided to love the hip carry in her new sling. Ever since she was a mere 2 weeks old, she has wanted to face out, watch the world, and for the most part have her legs and arms free and dangling. She has never liked to be swaddled or cuddled much. :( Held, absolutely (she demanded it), but hugged...not so much. She lived in the Baby Bjorn for the first few months, but as she grew bigger, and because mine was an old model with no hip belt, my back began to suffer. Plus I worried about her hips a little because she was in it literally 3-7 hours daily.

self- portrait in the Bjorn when she was a few months old

I also tried the Moby and she liked it facing out, legs and arms free, but it would quickly begin to sag and then I would have to re-wrap her every 30 minutes. Not very practical. And it is a lot of fabric for a tropical climate:

another self-portrait demonstrating Fern's favorite position

This was one of the rare times (possibly the only time) that she enjoyed being in this position. Notice that she is sleeping, and only a few weeks old.

I was so happy that she was content in here and I was finally hands free....and then she woke up.

We also have the Ergo and she would tolerate that with the infant insert in the cradle position when she was tiny, but only if she could nurse herself to sleep. As soon as she woke up, she wanted out. I know she will like the Ergo when she is a bit bigger and can be put on our backs (or fronts). It is extremely comfortable for mom and dad and will probably be good for hikes, but it is a bit bulky for everyday use:

Look at my tiny legs!

So my friend Else made me a ring sling and I absolutely love it. Fern originally only wanted to be in the kangaroo hold (for about 3 weeks), and would sometimes fuss because her legs were buddha'ed, but in general, she liked it. This hold still wasn't perfect for my back though...a huge improvement, but not ideal.

She is happy here, but she doesn't like to be this tight for many hours. I would have to loosen it up, which would strain my back a little.

For the past few weeks I noticed that Fern was getting more cuddly and liked to hug our necks and bury her face into my chest (this is new and I am totally eating it up :)). So I thought that maybe I would try the hip carry again. She instantly loved it (this time) and fell asleep three times in it that first day. It has been a few weeks, and she consistently enjoys it. Hooooray! So now if Fern is with me, she's in the sling. She loves it, I love it, and my back loves it. Even my nanny loves it, and she has undergone major back surgery and has four giant screws in her back. Everyone is happy!

I forgot to mention that Allen loves it too, but I am usually hogging her.

awwwwww.

And I am all about supporting local artists and buying organic fabrics when possible. So if you want an awesome ring sling, check out: http://balilla.blogspot.com/ She also makes some really cute children's clothing.

First Laugh!

I was playing with Fern on the bed and thought I heard a little giggle. So Allen came in and hid behind me. He popped up from behind me and she laughed loud and clear for the first time. Then she did it again and again. So we ran for the video camera. Here is a quick reenactment. (Of course it isn't as good as the first few times but it is still pretty darn cute. and funny.)

And this is what Fern thought of her new mobile that Grandma sent yesterday. She is really into making these spitty farty noises right now and she does it once here (sorry...it was dark):

4 Months Old

Fern turned 4 months the same day that I turned 34. She is now exactly 2 feet long and weighs 13 pounds, 11 ounces. She is in the 50th percentile for both her height and weight.
Allen took a couple of photos of us together on my birthday just before the sun went down:







She constantly leans while we hold her now, trying to grab everything in sight. And if she's successful, into her mouth it goes! She is teething and soaks her tops in drool.


She tries to sit up whenever she is getting a bath or lying awake in her glider. It looks like she is doing crunches as she grunts and lifts her head, causing her little feet to lift.


Here she is having a grand time in the tub.


power crunches



We took her to the beach for the first time since she was 4 weeks old. The first time she just hung out on a towel under the trees. This time we got her feet wet. She didn't like it at first. I don't think she liked how her feet were devoured by the sand under the water. She let out a little cry and then just stared at the water trying to determine whether she liked it or not. When we stood her in the sand out of the water, she thought it was pretty cool. She just stared down at the sand and smiled.


Fern likes the sand!




....but she's not so sure about the water AND sand.

oh, it's not so bad!

Fern is the most content when she is outside or simply out and about. She is not as vocal (maybe not quite as comfortable as when she is at home?) but she just stares and stares, taking it all in. If she is crying in the house, an instant fix is to step outside. I often wonder what is going on in her little baby head.

We took Fern to a birthday party this weekend. A friend's niece just turned one. There was a balloon blowing clown and Fern scored some sweet sunglasses

She makes all kinds of racket while exploring her voice. She makes little farty noises, she coos, she squeals, she gurgles, and she hoots like a monkey. She is hilarious.

She just grabbed her feet for the first time yesterday. I sense some more baby yoga soon!

Fern has Fun.

Here is Fern playing with her first favorite toy, Mortimer the Moose:



It is probably not too thrilling for many (other than myself and maybe Allen), but I love to watch her growing interest with the outside world!

Fresh Air Tummy Time!

We took Fern outside for some fresh air and belly time (on her new blanket that Jannifer made!), but she prefers to lay on her back and smile. She would be happy to know that 'tummy time' seems to be a thing of the past.