We love you Deer!

Our beloved grandmother “Deer” passed away this past Saturday, February 19, 2011.  Sadly because of a neurologic disorder we have in a sense felt that we’ve been missing her for awhile now.  It’s hard to lose someone that you’ve been very close to your entire life.  Yet I just feel so blessed to have had such amazing grandparents.  And I feel happy for Payton because I know that she too has three grandparents who love her very much. 

This is what I read at Deer’s funeral:

I would like to tell you a little about my grandmother.  Most people knew her as Melba but to my brothers and I, she has always been known as Deer.  When I was a baby and still living in Michigan, she and my grandfather came to visit.  While they were visiting us she read stories to me, including the story of Bambi, and my grandfather built a deck on the back of our house.  I was just learning to talk at the time and liked to repeat the last word that my parents would say to me.  So after my grandparents returned to Texas my mom would say things like, “Remember your grandmother who read you the story about the deer” and I would say, “Deer” and she would say, “And remember your grandfather who built us the deck” and I would say, “Deck”.  And so they became known as Deer and Deck.  Maybe I’m a little biased since I came up with the names, but I’ve always thought they fit them perfectly.  Deck was always building something and when I think of a deer I always picture an animal that is beautiful, calm, peaceful…  And that was Deer, beautiful on the outside but even more beautiful on the inside.

They say the best way to lead is to lead by example and that is exactly what Deer did.  She set an example for us on how to be a wonderful wife, mother, sister, aunt, friend, and grandmother.  God was first in her life followed closely by the deep love that she had for her family and friends.  I never once questioned her love for me and I always prided myself with being her favorite granddaughter.  It didn’t matter to me that I was her only granddaughter. 

Deck was mine and my brother’s playmate while Deer was the one who took care of us when we were with them.  And like the wonderful grandparents that they were, they didn’t hesitate to spoil us.  If Deer was making something for dinner that she thought my brothers and I wouldn’t care for, she would also fix us a chili dip to have instead.  She would put my hair up in curlers so that I could have some curl in my hair like she had.  She would scrub our backs in the bathtub and scratch our backs when putting us to sleep at night. 

Once I remember I was spending the night at their house and when being put to bed I told Deer that I was hungry so she brought me a piece of key lime pie to eat in bed.  Another time we were at the Cotton Bowl watching the Aggies play.  It was extremely cold out and she spent pretty much the entire game rubbing my feet to keep them warm.  Deer used to make dresses for me and once took me to a craft store and let me choose which fabric I wanted for a dress.  I chose a fabric with teddy bears on it. 

It was all of the little things that she did for her family and friends each and every day that showed how much she cared and let us know how much we were loved by her.  I feel so blessed to have had Deer as my grandmother and although I miss her very much, I know that right now there is an amazing celebration taking place in Heaven for she is once again with Deck, whom she loved very much, as well as being again with her parents, her sister Betty, her other friends and family members who have gone before her, and with Jesus her Savior.  It is hard to stay sad when I know that she is once again healthy, happy, and that I will see her again one day.

Deer’s Obituary:

Melba Grey Rains Bartschmid, 1924-2011, left to be present with her Lord Jesus Christ, on February 19, 2011, after long enduring and disabling neurologic condition. She was preceded in death by her husband of 63 years, Albert Henry Bartschmid, Jr. She is survived by her two children, Betty Rains Bartschmid, PhD of Blacksburg, Virginia and Albert Henry Bartschmid III, MD of Georgetown, Texas.

She was born in Grand Bayou, Louisiana, daughter of Theodore L. Rains and Nellie Skinner Rains and moved to Naborton, Louisiana at an early age. She graduated from Mansfield High School in 1941. She attended business college in Shreveport, Louisiana. During WWII she worked in Shreveport while she corresponded with her sweetheart, “Buddy”, who spent 36 months overseas fighting the war.

After the War, in 1946, she and Buddy married, residing in Shreveport, where Melba worked for Texas Company and Buddy and his father, Albert, opened a machine shop, Bartschmid Oil Well and Machine Works.

With her first child’s birth (Betty) she became a full time mother and housewife. The family moved to Austin, Texas in 1963 where they lived for the next 28 years. They were active members of First Evangelical Free Church.

Melba supported her children’s activities, being an active parent for the McCallum High School Band and Blue Brigade. She was also active in the Aggie Mothers Club, several bridge clubs, the Austin Garden Club and community Bible study. She and Buddy attended countless Aggie football games, traveled in their RV, and enjoyed a memorable trip to the Holy Lands.

Also surviving are three grandchildren, Rebecca Ann Falgout of Galveston, Texas, Albert H. Bartschmid, IV of Fredericksburg, Texas and Kyle Thomas Bartschmid of Georgetown, Texas. She left two great-grandchildren, Payton Ashley Falgout and Albert Henry Bartschmid, V., her brother, Ted Rains of Golden, Colorado, sister, Nelwyn Stuart of Metairie, Louisiana.

Melba was preceded in death by her parents, husband and sister, Betty Rogers.

4 Month Doctor Visit

At Payton’s four month check-up she measured 25 inches long (78^th percentile), 15 pounds 11 ounces (90^th percentile), and head circumference of 41.5 cm (66^th percentile). 

The appointment was quite an ordeal.  The timing of the appointment interfered with her morning nap so she was a little bit cranky to begin with  She hung in there long enough for the doctor to see her but then we had to wait a really long time for the nurse to come give her the shots.  During that time she started screaming inconsolably.  When Payton starts screaming her legs turn bright red, like she has a sunburn.  I had previously told the doctor about this and she said it didn’t sound like anything to worry about.  When the nurse finally came in to give her the injections she saw her legs and said she had never seen anything like that before.  She went and got the other nurse who also said she’d never seen that before.  She said she didn’t feel comfortable giving her the injections into such red legs until the doctor looked at it first.  So then we had to wait awhile longer, all while Payton was screaming, for the doctor to be able to come look at her again.  The doctor said, “I honestly can’t tell you exactly why her legs get that way, but it’s nothing to worry about.  It’s just the way she is.”  So Payton finally received her shots and after 1 hour and 40 minutes of being in the doctor’s office, we were finally able to go home.

A couple things we learned….  Payton has been showing signs lately that she might be teething and the doctor confirmed that it looked like she may be working on having a couple of her bottom teeth come in.  I was also told to start giving her some drops that contain vitamin D and iron because at four months babies don’t always get enough through their mother’s milk.  I was told to wait until she’s 6^th months old before giving her food.

Payton is right where she should be and even ahead of nearly all her milestones that she should be reaching.  The doctor said being able to roll from her stomach to her back and picking up and playing with toys are still advanced skills at this age.  The only 4 month milestone that she hasn’t met yet is being able to laugh and squeal when happy.  I guess she’s just a very serious baby.  :)

Almost 4 Months Old

I can’t believe another month has past and I’m just now updating Payton’s blog.  Maybe I should just succumb to the fact that I’ll only find the time to update this thing once a month.  Thankfully Charles did load some cute videos of Payton so you were able to see her roll over and play with rings.

So many toys so little time! (12 weeks, 6 days old)

The third week of January I took Payton to Santa Fe to meet some of my friends at Barnett Intermediate.  Unfortunately our trip there caused her to miss out on her afternoon nap and she ended up screaming the entire time we were there.  As a result, I didn’t get to introduce her to all the teachers that I wanted to see and the ones she did get to meet only got to see her screaming.  I guess I will need to find another time to take her back to the school….. hopefully a time when she is nice and well rested.  She literally screamed so hard that her legs turned bright red like she had a bad sunburn and then later when her legs returned to their normal color, there were little purple marks left on her legs.  She had screamed so hard she had popped little blood vessels in her legs.  Poor baby!  This is part of why I am now hesitant to take her out…. especially if it might interfere with her sleep. 

Tummy time on the boppy (13 weeks old)

One thing I didn’t expect before having Payton was how much, even as an infant, she would make me laugh.  The things she does and her facial expressions are just so funny.  Like how she likes to suck both thumbs at the same time.  I mean why just suck one thumb when you have two, right?  Or how if I lay her on her stomach she starts crying but the second she rolls over (or I roll her over if she forgets how to do it herself) she stops crying and is perfectly happy.  Or how I might say something that wasn’t meant to be funny but she will get a huge grin on her face and look as if she is silently laughing (she hasn’t learned to laugh yet).  I asked Charles what Payton does that makes him laugh and he mentioned the “double thumb action” and that it makes him laugh every time she farts or burps.  Typical guy! Haha  

Payton sucking 2 thumbs at one time (14 weeks old)

Nap times are still a bit of a struggle for us.  She falls sound asleep around 7:30 p.m. each night and sleeps the entire night in her crib without a problem (minus waking up to eat), but try putting her in her crib for a nap and she immediately starts crying.  I’ve been trying to make her stay there for an hour during her morning nap time, hoping that eventually she’ll get used to it but she has yet to once sleep during that time.  Mostly she fusses and once the hour is up I put her in her swing and she falls sound asleep.  I believe some fussing and frustration in trying to get used to the crib is normal, but I am not going to leave her there crying for hours on end.  Really I am just so thankful that she sleeps so well at night and I feel like the naps will eventually work themselves out too.

Sound asleep for a nap in her swing (13 weeks old)

As you can see from the video Charles posted, on January 21, 2011, Payton learned to roll from her tummy to her back.  It was first thing in the morning and I always try to make her have a little “tummy time” each day.  According to the doctor, tummy time helps them build up neck strength and although she doesn’t like it, I’m supposed to put her on her tummy for at least a few minutes at a time each day.  Well that particular morning, almost as soon as I lay her on her tummy, she rolled over onto her back.  I couldn’t believe it!  So I put her back onto her tummy and watched her do it again.  We did this 6 times in a row and I was practically screaming I was so excited.  Payton seemed unimpressed and started getting a little frustrated that I kept putting her back onto her tummy.  I then grabbed the video camera and filmed her rolling over a couple more times.  By that time she had had enough so we snuggled in bed and read some books instead (after I posted the exciting news on Facebook first, of course.)  When Charles came home she wouldn’t roll over but she finally showed him her new trick right before bath time.  Since that day, Payton sometimes rolls over and sometimes just lays there crying until I help her roll over.

Surfer girl smiling for the camera (14 weeks old)

On Saturday, January 29, 2011, we watched online as my brother Albert got married in Los Vegas.  We are so excited to have Erin as our sister-in-law and as Payton’s aunt!  She looked absolutely gorgeous at the wedding and Albert looked good too.  We’re very happy for them and for their son Hank.  He is a lucky little boy to have such wonderful parents.

Chewing on her dolly (14 weeks old)

Last week we had some interesting weather here and really across the state of Texas.  There were reports that we might get snow and we were so hopeful but instead Galveston and Houston received freezing rain.  Thursday night the streets iced over and I heard on the news that there were over 700 accidents in Houston on Friday!  Even the Galveston Causeway iced over and there were several accidents before the police blocked it off and only let one car cross at a time.  I was thankful that Charles stayed home from work so I didn’t have to worry about him being on the roads.  We were planning on spending the weekend in Dallas but Dallas ended up getting half a foot of snow on top of snow and ice that they received earlier in the week!  So instead we stayed home, tried to keep warm, and watched the Super Bowl.

Sitting up in her bumbo seat (13 weeks old)

This week we put Payton in her Jenny Jump Up for the first time.  She doesn’t realize that she can jump/bounce around in it yet, but she does like sitting in it.  She is still unable to sit up on her own but she has gotten where she doesn’t care to play lying on her back anymore.  Which means she is really in favor of something like the Jenny Jump Up that allows her to spend time in an upright position.  She has really good neck strength and her legs are getting stronger too.  She also loves to sit in my lap now when playing with her toys or when reading books.  

Payton in her Jenny Jump Up (16 weeks old)

Yesterday I held Payton up so that she could see herself in the mirror and for really the first time, she noticed her reflection.  She kept smiling at herself and she’d reach out her hands to touch the mirror.  It was very cute!  

It's cold outside but Payton gets rosy cheeked and warm when playing (15 weeks old)

Next Tuesday Payton will turn four months old.  Her doctor’s appointment and vaccinations will be on Wednesday.  It’s hard to believe how much she has grown in just four months.  It has been a wonderful four months and it doesn’t seem possible but our love for her just continues to grow.  She has definitely stolen our hearts!

We love this little girl! (15 weeks old)

Payton and the Rings...

Payton has learned a new trick that keeps her entertained while sitting in her bouncer! Check it out.....

She's on a roll!

Today Becky was having some playtime with Payton and look what someone decided to do all of a sudden.  The milestones will be coming fast and furious now we're sure!

More Pictures

For some reason it stopped letting me add pictures in my last blog entry so here are the pictures from weeks 11 & 12:

11 weeks old, sitting up with a little help

Reading a book about the Aggies with Daddy- 11 weeks, 6 days old

Sucking her thumb- 11 weeks, 6 days old

Ready to watch the Aggies play in the Cotton Bowl-  12 weeks old

Hanging out on a cold morning in Galveston-  12 weeks, 5 days old

Lookin' pretty-  12 weeks, 5 days old

Payton's 2nd Month Update

My New Years resolution was to update this blog more frequently and what have I done?  Not updated it.  New years resolution FAIL!  Haha  In my defense, the laptop’s motherboard got fried, it had to be mailed back to Dell and we just got it back this week.  But really I doubt I would have found the time to update this blog anyway.  I’ve been too busy reading everyone’s Facebook statuses. I just feel I have to know when someone has waited 30 minutes already for the bus or that someone else is having shrimp scampi for dinner.  Okay, I do a little more with my time than just check Facebook.  In fact, it’s taken me 3 hours just to write this one paragraph because Payton woke up and she needed to eat, have her clothes changed because she spit up on them, have her diaper changed, play with her toys, pet both dogs, read 3 books, and then have her pacifier stuck back into her mouth 20 times before falling asleep again. Being a mom is the best! :)

We had a good Christmas.  First we went to Central Texas to LaLa and Grandpa’s (my parent’s) house.  What is normally a 5 hour car trip ended up taking 7 hours because Payton screamed nearly the entire trip.  We kept thinking, “Maybe she’s hungry, maybe she’s wet…..” so we’d stop and try to feed/change her.  She would stop crying when we’d get her out of the car seat, so I guess she just wasn’t happy going for a car ride.

When we finally arrived at their house, Payton got to meet her Uncle Albert, Aunt Erin, Cousin Hank, Great-Aunt Betty, great-grandmother “Deer”, and friend Tori.  We also got to visit with LaLa, Grandpa, Uncle Kyle, and Aunt Lindsay.  Hope I didn’t leave anyone out!  It was a fun visit.  Payton and Hank were so cute together!  Hank is only 2 weeks older than Payton and they basically looked to be the same size.  We lay them next to each other in the crib and let them beat each other up.  Mostly it was Payton who kept hitting her cousin in the face.  Though Hank finally wised up and started grabbing her arm and putting it in his mouth.  We all received lots of presents, ate tons of good food, and had a good time seeing everyone.

On Christmas Day we left Buchanan Dam and headed to Dallas.  Thankfully this trip went much smoother.  We only had to stop once to feed and change Payton and she slept the majority of the trip.  In Dallas we celebrated Christmas with Payton’s Nana (Charles’ mom), her great-grandmother “Grandma”, and cousin T.J.  We had a delicious traditional  Cuban Christmas dinner of pork roast, yucca con mojo (a vegetable with an onion/garlic sauce), con gris (Cuban black beans and rice), and salad.  Yum!  Now I’m craving Cuban food!  We had a really nice visit in Dallas and Payton was spoiled rotten by all the presents that she received.  Luckily she’s too young to realize how spoiled she is! :)  Payton also got to meet our good friend Lindy, who also brought a bunch of presents for her including a beautiful blanket that she crocheted.

After spending a couple of days in Dallas we left and drove to Waco.  In Waco, Charles dropped Payton and I off with my parents who took us back to their house for the week.  Charles had to work the following day so he went home.  Payton and I enjoyed spending a few extra days visiting my parents, aunt, and grandmother.  Mostly we just stayed at their house but one day my mom needed to run some errands in Georgetown so we took Payton to my dad’s office so that she could meet everyone there.  Unfortunately she wasn’t in a very good mood and screamed like a banshee the entire time. 

While at their house, LaLa and Grandpa taught Payton how to sit up with only her hands being held.  This is now one of her favorite things to do.  Her head is still a bit wobbly but she does have enough neck strength to support her head on her own for short periods of time.

On New Years Eve, LaLa and Grandpa drove Payton and I to College Station where Charles met to pick us up.  Charles, Payton, and I rang in the new year asleep in our beds.  2010 was a year filled with waiting for our beautiful daughter to arrive and then celebrating her arrival.  I can’t imagine a better year than that though I think 2011 should be a wonderful one as well!

During the first week of January, Payton started waking every 2-3 hours in the night.  We decided that it might be, in part, that she was trying to break free of her swaddle and that maybe she had outgrown being swaddled.  She now sleeps unswaddled in a sleep sack.  I miss my little swaddled newborn, but I knew she would outgrow the swaddling sooner rather than later.  This seemed to fix the problem of waking up every 2-3 hours during the night, though she still gets up for 1-2 feeds a night.  Our new problem is trying to get her to sleep at night.  She used to just fall right asleep in her crib.  Now we’re dealing with a crying baby each night who sometimes keeps herself up and becomes overly tired which leads to screaming.  We hope this phase will pass soon! 

Also during the first week of January, Payton learned a couple of new tricks.  The first trick she learned is to hold a rattle that we place in her hand and bring it to her mouth.  She seems to be better at this using her left hand.  The next trick she learned is to suck her thumb.  I keep hoping this will take the place of the pacifier, since I am tired of having to continue to stick it in her mouth when it just likes to pop itself back out, but so far I haven’t been that lucky.  She likes to suck her thumbs when she is awake but she generally won’t sleep unless her pacifier is in her mouth.  So I continue to play the “she spits out the paci and I stick it back in” game.

This past week (the second week of January) Payton learned to reach out and start grabbing things herself.  I left her lying on the floor in the living room with her toys while I went into the other room for a second.  While in the other room I heard a banging sound.  I ran back into the living room, having no idea what was going on!  It turns out she had ripped a toy right off of her activity gym and was beating it against the rest of the plastic gym.  I was very impressed! 

When I would try to cover her up during naps, she’d grab the blanket and pull it up to her mouth.  So I decided it might be time to introduce a blanky.  I gave her the little pink blanket with a stuffed elephant rattle attached to it that her Nana gave her for Christmas and she loved it.  She loves to grab the blanket and pull it and the elephant up to her mouth.  She often falls asleep for her naps while hugging it.  Also this week she has grabbed my sleeve, my hair, her rattle, and her plastic keys.  All of which she tries to bring directly to her mouth.

Another trick she learned this week is to go from a sitting position to a standing position while holding our hands.  Her legs turn to jello within seconds of standing but she is still so proud of herself. 

Payton now loves to have books read to her.  We put her in our bed, prop her head up with pillows, and lay down next to her for story time.  She already owns many books and we have read them all several times by now.  So far she doesn’t seem to have any favorites.  She seems interested in them all.

Today Payton is officially 3 months old.  Later today we are taking her to League City to Portrait Innovations to get three month pictures taken.  I hope they turn out good.  I have a feeling I am going to be a picky customer since I have already taken many good pictures of her and I would expect their pictures to turn out even better.  Looking forward to it!  Will share pictures once we get them done. :)

Pictures from weeks 9 & 10:

9 weeks old in her penguin outfit

Uncle Kyle, Cousin Hank, and Dixie- Christmas

Payton (10 weeks old), Hank (12 weeks old)

Sleeping swaddled at her Nana's house- 10 weeks old

Christmas Day-  Payton and Hank

Cousins meeting for the first time

Payton and her Grandpa

Mommy and Payton- Christmas morning

Payton with her mommy and great-grandmother "Deer"

Grandpa, Hank, LaLa, and Payton- Christmas morning