I thought you were asleep!

Here is a cute video of Belle, I really did think she was asleep, I think my voice woke her up. She has been having some issues with napping now because I lay her down in her crib and if she is not 100% ready to sleep she decides to play and roll over. Which would be fine, except that then she gets mad when she is tired and wants to sleep and is stuck on her tummy. As you can see it is difficult to suck your thumb and rub your head when in the tummy position. She hasn't yet mastered rolling back over yet. Anyway this has led us to let her play a little longer than usual on the floor and therefore she gets exhausted and just passes out. Very cute!

Having fun

Heat Wave

It's been really nice weather here in Chicago the last few days. By nice I mean upper 30s and sun, but hey we'll take what we can get. Anabelle and I took this opportunity to get out and take a walk by the lake. We brought some bread to feed the squirrels, they seemed very please with the offering. Anabelle didn't find it very exciting and chose to instead snooze in the sun, sounds like the good life to me.

I also took some pictures of Anabelle wearing a beautiful sweater that Mollie, our good friend from England, knitted for her as a Christmas present. Anabelle really likes to rub her hands all over the loops on the sweater to feel the different texture. A very sweet sweater with awesome matching hat. I told Mollie she needs to go into business, I have never seen anything knitted like it. In the 1st picture she is laughing, I realize now it looks a little like she could be upset.

Grandma Sue sent Anabelle a special Valentine's package in the mail, with a very cute singing/dancing bear. Anabelle is so funny to watch with it, she really is unsure of what to make of it. It definitely catches her attention. I also think she's trying to figure out how to eat the lollipops =)

5 months old!

Anabelle is 5 months old today and she decided to celebrate by rolling over for the first time. When you watch this video you'll notice that I am very quiet. That is because prior to this video was another one (that I couldn't get to load) where she is almost there and I squeal with delight which then startles her and she falls back over. I then learned to keep my mouth shut till she did it. Since the 1st time she has rolled over quite a few more times, -show off.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a fabulous weekend here at the Delaney house. On Friday I was surprised with 18 long stem roses in the mail from my wonderful husband, they are beautiful! Friday night we put a very cranky Belle to bed and then enjoyed a nice dinner and a movie on the couch. Saturday the craziness began. We drove Belle out to my Mom and Dad's where she spent the night. Here we are before leaving our little one for the day.

Then John and I drove down town to grab some quick lunch and see a matinee; August in Osage County. The play was very good. I would definitely recommend it even though it is 3 hours long and a bit of a downer; that's when you know a play is good! After the play we went a few blocks over to Petterino's. We had never been there before and really enjoyed it. The decor is similar to an old supper club, and the food was excellent. We each had some good salads and really good steaks. After dinner our last stop for the day was the United Center to see a Blackhawk's game. John has been to a lot, but I have never been to a hockey game before. I loved it! There is a lot of energy, the crowd goes completely crazy whenever they score, it's like a party. I took some video however, like usual, it doesn't do justice. Oh well you get the idea. I think hockey is my new favorite winter sport. John says it is a lot more fun when you have a good winning team like we do- I bet. The game was great and I got to see all of the aspects of a hockey game; after 3 periods the game was tied, so I got to see overtime, then it was still tied so I got to see us win in a shootout. Very cool. While we do like to take Anabelle to most places we did agree that a hockey game was way too loud for her and she wouldn't have liked it yet-but some day. After the game it was home and to sleep after an exhausting but really fun day. The next day we were able to sleep in and then Mom and Dad drove Anabelle back home in the afternoon. It was a great weekend and we appreciated being able to have a day out while Belle stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's.

This video is of Anabelle playing in her tunnel this morning.

Snowed In!

On Tuesday it snowed all day long, so we have been spending a lot of time indoors. Here are some videos from yesterday and today of Anabelle having fun.

New SIDS info

When John and I found out we were going to have a baby we immediately started to read books on raising babies to educate ourselves. In the baby world things change quickly and we wanted to know the most current information. The information we have learned and shared with others when asked why we do something, has lead to lots of opinions from friends and family members. While I can appreciate the attitude of well we've done it this way for years, why isn't that good enough? We wanted to try and follow the safest route however ridiculous that may seem to others. That way in the event that something did happen we would know that we did everything we could to prevent it.

A lot of mystery surrounds SIDS and therefore strikes fear in the hearts of many moms and dads. Because there is such little info on what causes it, it is hard to not worry about it. John and I both find ourselves getting out of bed in the middle of the night to make sure Belle is still breathing. I am sure we are not alone in this. Anyway, today I read this article and thought I would share... It still leaves you feeling a little helpless against SIDS but at least they are finally finding out some more info about what causes it. And I like the idea that they might be able to test babies to see if they are candidates for low Serotonin levels, and maybe prevent some deaths.

The following article was taken from a blog I read called The Laughing Stork by Candy Kirby

Low Serotonin Levels May Be Linked to SIDS

Researchers may have solved the mystery of what makes some babies vulnerable to sudden infant death syndrome, which kills more than 2,300 babies a year.

Turns out that, based on an autopsy study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, infants who died of SIDS had significantly lower levels of serotonin, a brain chemical that helps regulate breathing, temperature, sleeping, waking and other automatic functions, compared to babies who died of other causes.

Serotonin normally helps babies respond to high carbon-dioxide levels during sleep by helping them wake up and shift their head position to get fresh air, says senior author Hannah Kinney of Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston.

When babies are placed face down, their exhaled carbon dioxide may pool in loose bedding, where it can be breathed back in, Kinney says.

Normally, babies sense high carbon-dioxide levels automatically and wake up, she says. Babies who don’t respond appropriately, however, may never wake up.

Doctors eventually hope to use their discovery to screen babies for serotonin problems and find a way to protect them, says co-author David Paterson, also of Harvard and Children’s Hospital. Those developments are still years away, he says.

If you’re wondering how this affects your baby, well, don’t throw away that silly-looking sleep sack just yet: The study confirms the importance of safe infant-sleeping practices, says Moon, who adds that babies who have normal serotonin levels could still die as a result of risky practices, such as loose bedding.

The Back to Sleep campaign, launched in 1994, helped to cut SIDS deaths in half; however, deaths have not declined further in the past decade.

Super Bowl Sunday!

It's been a busy weekend here at the Delaney house. Friday night we had dinner at our friends Matt and Liz's place, Saturday night we went to a housewarming party at my brother Mikey and Steph's place, and today we are headed to a Super Bowl party at our friends Matt and Melissa's place. So far Belle has been very tolerant of all the socializing, and hopefully that will continue today. This morning I asked Anabelle who she wanted to win the Super Bowl and she told me the Saints, so we decided to come up with a cute little outfit and I made her a bib to match. Now she is ready to cheer on her team to victory.

Anabelle has been enjoying sitting in the new glider rocking chair we got. Sometimes she just laughs and laughs while sitting in it and rocking. So now I put her in their to take pictures and have gotten some cute ones the last couple of days.

Finally I got some pictures of Anabelle stuck on her boppy pillow, she is getting more mobile every day.

Sorry my pics are all out of order and I don't have time to fix them.

Anabelle has acquired some new skills.