9 Months-Punkin

I'm having a hard time believing that my baby is nine months!  I must admit that I'm loving it.  I love that I can put her own and she'll (sometimes) play on her own or with her sister. Don't get me wrong, I love the newborn phase and the snuggles.  But six months and on is really my favorite. I love to see their personalities develop and interact with them.

Punkin Two Months

Time just keeps rolling on. Punkin’s growing and getting bigger.  I have to admit that I’m writing this post as Punkin closes in on four months and her second month of life is a little fuzzy.  I blame sleep deprivation.  I’m not going to lie, it was rough.  It’s been harder with number two as I can’t sleep when she sleeps cause I have a Munchkin to chase after.  And when Punkin is down Munchkin wants and needs Mama time.  I’m more than happy to give it to her but it left me exhausted.  I would fall asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Punkin’s Birth Story

I knew Munchkin’s birth was traumatic for me but it wasn’t until Punkin was born that I truly realized how traumatic is was. In many ways, Punkin’s birth was healing for me, in ways I didn’t know I needed. I LOVED the hospital that we picked for deliver Punkin. We will be going back to have our next kiddo (if we’re blessed with another one!) It was perfect for us. The doctors, nurses and other staff that we interacted with are professional and friendly and they really care about you. They did whatever they could to help us.  Three months later and I still miss my 3am sandwiches!

Preparing for Baby #2

When I was pregnant with Munchkin, my first child, I was researching everything.  I mean EVERYTHING…strollers, car seats, cloth diapers, carriers, high chairs.  You name it and I was looking into it.  It felt like I was making monumental decisions that would affect her for the rest of her life.  I know that if you’re a mom, you’re laughing at me and hopefully laughing along with me because you did the same thing.  I needed to look into all these things because we had NOTHING.  There was next to nothing child friendly about our house.  Over time through buying things. the generosity of hand me downs and family and friends at showers, our house slowly filled with baby items.  When you walk in our house now there is no doubt that a child lives here.  She’s left her mark on every room in the house, from her pillow on our bed, the bath toys in the tub, the sippy cups in the kitchen and the toys and books in her room and the living room.  Oh, and don’t forget the play structure in our back yard that you can’t miss when you park in our driveway. 

8 Weeks Left

I’m 32 weeks today (as I write this but I’ll probably be closer to 33 weeks when it posts…YAY!) so that means I have 8 weeks left of baking this baby.  I’m liking the way 8 weeks sounds.  Much better than 2 months or 50 something days.  I’m feeling huge but now I’m only going to get bigger.  I’m not quite sure how much bigger I can get but I know I will.  The kicking has stopped for the most part but the rolling all around happens frequently.

A Few Thoughts On Unmedicated & Medicated Births

With Munchkin, I wanted and prepared for an unmedicated, natural birth.  I didn’t want any medications, I just wanted to do it naturally the way women have been doing it for centuries.  I took a natural birthing class, hired a doula and had my support team of my husband and my mom on board with it.  While I did a little research in c-sections, just in case, I didn’t really think I would need one.  That joke was on me because that’s exactly what I ended up with.  However, I only agreed to the c-section on the condition that I could try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) with our next child.  

Boy or Girl?

The Man and I are the impatient sort so we’ve decided to not wait to find out in Punkin is a boy or a girl.  We had our gender ultrasound last week and we are so excited!  I can honestly say that I’ll be happy with either a boy or a girl.  

The Diaper Dilemma

*This is a post about diapers.  You should expect to read about bodily functions.*

We started cloth diapering when Munchkin was about 5 weeks old.  We started with disposables because I knew I wouldn’t be up to figuring out cloth with a newborn.  After having the surprise C-section, that was a great choice on our part.  Transitioning to cloth was easy.  I loved cloth for the first year.  It was easy and cheap for us. 

Around the time Munchkin turned one, her urine became more concentrated (which is normal from what I’ve been told.)  This, for us, equals having an ammonia stink in our pocket diapers.  Munchkin’s skin would be red.  I was afraid that she’s get an ammonia burn from it.  After banging my head against the wall for three months, we tested our water.  Our water is hard and that can make it difficult to clean the diapers.  I started using a water softener and while it helped, it didn’t totally eliminate the problem.  I’ve bleached them, used RLR, blue dawn and so many hot rinses and washes that I could fill multiple pools with hot water.  Nothing worked.

I battled it for a little bit longer, trying just about everything.  In December I finally gave up and we switched to disposables.  Munchkin’s bum needed a break and so did mama!  It  helped that Nana watched her while we were on our cruise and disposables were easier for her.  With the craziness of Christmas and our trip to Maine in early January, we kept using disposables. 

I enjoy just throwing the whole diaper away, especially when it was full of poop.  I do not enjoy the disposable smell (they have a distinct odor to me and it is not pleasant.)  I also don’t love the thought of all those chemicals against Munchkin’s skin.  As our stash of disposables dwindled, I had to make a decision…keep doing disposables or go back to cloth?

Most of our cloth diapers are used.  I think the stink issue is coming from the microfiber inserts.  They’ve been stripped and bleached so many times.  I think it’s possible they might be at the end of their life.  The Man has told me that I can buy brand new diapers.  I’m hesitant because I don’t know what kind I want!  Even though disposable diapers are super convenient, I really do prefer cloth.  They work for us and I really do not mind the diaper laundry.

So for now we’re using our fitteds and prefold with covers.  I haven’t had stink issues with these diapers.  The Man doesn’t love them because you have to put two things on the baby.  I don’t mind them at all.  Hopefully these will work just fine until I can decide what pocket diapers I want to get. 

If you cloth diaper, what is your favorite kind of diaper?

Have you dealt with ammonia? How did you get rid of it?

2013

I’ve gone back and forth on writing this post for the past two days.  Instead of trying to remember everything that happened (or even look back to remember) I think I’ll share 13 of my favorite posts from this year (and I snuck a few more in too!)  They’re not in any special order. 

So, here are my favorites for 2013:

1.  Wordless Wednesday in January

I love these photos.  They are some of my favorite. Also, I can’t believe how much she’s changed in a year!

2. Me, 8 Months Later

I’m thankful to say that seventeen and half months later, I’ve worked through most of the issues I was having.  I’m still sad I had the c-section but I no longer think of it daily (or even weekly, YAY!) 

3. 4th Anniversary

We celebrated 4 years of marriage this year.  I love my husband and am so thankful we chose each other!

4. Wordless Wednesday, The Dog Park

We love trips to the dog park.  I got some very cute photos this day.

5. 10 Survival Tip for New Moms

Being a new mom is hard.  Some of these were told to me before Munchkin came along and others I wish people had told me.  I hope they are helpful and encouraging for others.

6. Goals for Motherhood

I enjoyed writing this post as it made me think about what kind of mom I want to be. 

7. Glacier Bay, Alaska

This was easily my favorite day on our Alaskan Cruise (though zip lining in Juneau was fun too!)  Glacier Bay is gorgeous and I’d love to go back some day!

8. 10 Reasons I Love Breastfeeding

I love breastfeeding, so much more that I thought I would.  This is a partial list of why.  I was also super excited to reach my goal of breastfeeding for 1  year.  I’m thankful that I was able to get some breastfeeding photos taken.  I know I will treasure these when Munchkin’s older and nursing is a thing of the distant past:)

 

9. Sobriety- 3 Years

We’ve come so far in three years by taking it one day at a time.  I don’t talk a lot about The Man’s alcoholism on my blog but it is a very real part of our lives.  Writing this post was good for me and allowed me to be encouraged by where we are now.

10. Building a Baby Library on Budget

Reading is so important and I think every child should have a library.  I know it can be hard to build one when funds are limited.  I wrote this to help give others ideas on how get books for their child.

11. Walking

My baby started walking!  I love that she’s mobile.  She’s so much fun.  This post also has the only personal video I posted this year (maybe ever on the blog?)

12. Munchkin’s first birthday

My baby turned one and was the first of many (I hope) birthdays.  I think she’ll enjoy cake a little more at her next birthday!

13. The House

It was hard saying goodbye to my childhood house.  Writing this post helped to find some closure. 

13.5  Swimming

We love taking Munchkin swimming!  She loves it, we love it and it’s great family time!

Happy New Year!

Home Again

After two and a half weeks and 17 states, Munchkin & I are home again.  My mom has moved in with while we wait for her house to sell (if you pray, please pray it sells quickly and at a price that is good for my mom) and find a place out here. 

The trip was fun and crazy.  We had a blast!   I’ll be sharing our adventures, mostly for Munchkin to read about in the future, since she won’t remember our trip.  I missed blogging while I was on the road and I’m looking forward to jumping back into it.  

At the moment though, I have a cranky, sick, teething baby.  She’s miserable.  It’s a good thing we’re home cause it would be even worse on the road.  It’s looking like her cousin shared with her what she had when we visited two weeks ago!  The sad news is that she had it for two weeks so we still have a bit to go.  This is the first real sickness (she’s had an ear infection but it really wasn’t that bad) that she’s had and I’m not sure who it’s worse for, her or me!

Also, it’s great to see my husband.  I missed that man a lot!  He was busy while we were gone and the house looks great.  Maybe I should go away more often….

I hope you’ve been well.  What’s been happening with you over the past two weeks?

New Mom Survival Tips

I remember being 38 weeks pregnant and just wanting to be being done. I was done waddling, done testing for GD, done not being to sleep, done having to pee all the time, done with people asking me when the baby was coming...I could go on.  I was more than ready (so I thought) to meet my baby.  I was so excited to have her in my arms!  I won’t lie, there were a few times in the first few weeks that I wished I was still pregnant so I could get some “good” sleep.  So with those sleep deprived weeks in mind, here are my tips for surviving as a new mom.

1.  Have breastfeeding support

Breastfeeding is natural but it is not easy.  It can be hard and painful in the beginning.  If you’re planning on breastfeeding, line up your breastfeeding support before your baby arrives.  Attend a Le Leche League meeting, talk with your doula, your partner and whoever else will be around.  If you already know where to turn for questions/support, you’ll be more likely to succeed!  Two great resources for breastfeeding is Kellymom and Best for Babes.  I also highly recommend Nancy Holtzman of Isis parenting.  She’s great at answering questions on Twitter! 

It’s also a good idea to stock up on lanolin and the gel cooling pads as they will help your sore, tender nipples feel better.  If you have trouble once the baby is here, don’t hesitate to ask for help, especially from an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.  You CAN reach for breastfeeding goal!  Again, don’t hesitate to reach out for help or for encouragement!  You don’t need to mommy alone!

2.  Your job is to take care of the baby

During the first 4-6 weeks, your job is to take care of the baby.  Don’t worry about cooking, doing dishes or laundry or any other chores.  Focus on the baby!  It’s ok if it feels like all you do is sit on your butt and feed the baby.  That’s your job Mama! By not trying to do all those other things, you’ll feel less stressed and will be able to enjoy this time more.  If people are coming by, they are coming to see you and the baby, not your house.  Seriously, don’t stress about chores!

3.  Sleep when you can

I know people say sleep when the baby sleeps and while that works sometimes, I know it doesn’t always.  If you can have someone watch the baby so you can sleep, do it!  3-4 hours of solid sleep will make most things better, I promise!  Don’t forget to shower too!  A shower can make you feel human again.  So sleep plus a shower will make you super Mama!

4.  Go with your gut

Trust your instinct Mama.  Even though you’re a new mom, you still know what is best for your baby.  Don’t give up if you feel like something is truly wrong, keep pushing.  YOU are your baby’s advocate!  Even if you feel like you’re overreacting, ask anyway!  Doctors are used to it and it will put your mind at ease!

5.  Feel free to ignore unasked for advice…and even some of the asked for advice too!

You probably noticed that everybody and their brother likes to give you advice when you’re pregnant.  It doesn’t stop once the baby arrives.  Feel free to let it go in one ear and out the other.  Or listen and try it but if it doesn’t work for you, stop doing it.  There’s no need to keep doing something that isn’t working and just causing you more stress! 

6.  Figure out what works for you and DO IT!

When you do figure out what works for you and your family, do it!  For us it was co-sleeping.  I heard so much against it but it works for us.  So that’s what we do.  When it stops working for us we’ll try something different.  Don’t be afraid of doing something different from your mommy friends!

You probably got lots of great things from your baby shower(s) too.  You might not use it all and that’s ok!  For me it was the Itzbeen timer.  I had several friends who loved it and I tried to use it, I really did.  I just didn’t need it.  So it sat, lonely and unused.  It’s also ok if your baby doesn’t wear all the clothes in each size.  Babies grow fast!

7.  Accept help

If you have people offer to help, ACCEPT IT!  People want to help (many have been where you now are) and it will make your life easier.  Swallow your pride and STOP thinking that YOU have to do it all.  You don’t!  Let people help by bringing you a meal, vacuuming your house, loading your dishwasher or doing a load of laundry (they aren’t going to be bothered by washing your underwear, I promise!)

8.  Let Dad be Dad

By that I mean, let dad do stuff with the baby too!  If you’re breastfeeding he can’t feed the baby but he can change diapers, change clothes and do skin to skin.  And please, please, please don’t correct everything he does!  He’s new at this too and it’s going to take some time for him to get used to doing baby things.  However, there is more than one way to change a diaper or give the baby a bath.  Let him figure out his way to do it, even if you think your way is better.

9.  Enjoy.

I know it’s hard to enjoy every moment, and really, you can’t.  It’s hard to enjoy the screaming baby or the vomit.  But when you can just stop and breathe in.  Inhale that newborn baby scent and snuggle in close.  Revel in the newness of life.  

10. Nothing lasts forever

The first 12 weeks are the hardest.  Life will get easier.  There is light at the end of the tunnel.  You can do this Mama. 

As a new mom, you have so much joy ahead of you.  Each stage has the good and bad but each is full of joy.  Motherhood isn’t a sprint, it’s a very, very long marathon.  Enjoy each stage and don’t forget to ask for help when you need it.

One more thing Mama….hold that baby as much as you want, you’re not going to spoil them!

Linking up with:

(Semi) Wordless Wednesday

    

Alyssa of Sumiko Ray Photography, a local photographer, held a breastfeeding mini session on Saturday in honor of World Breastfeeding Week.  I love the images from it!  I love that I’ll have these to remember this precious time once Munchkin is older.  From Munchkin trying to nurse on her tummy to her putting her fingers in my mouth,  each one of these images is a glimpse into these everyday moments.  These moments are fleeting and limited and I’m not taking any for granted.

Linking up with:

10 Reasons Why I Love Breastfeeding

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week 2013, I’ve made a list of 10 reasons why I love breastfeeding.  They are in no particular order.  Also, if  you are a not a breastfeeding mom, this list is NOT intended to make you feel bad, or guilty or like less of a mom.  Breastfeeding is something I enjoy and I’d like to share why I enjoy it. 

1. The Snuggles

Oh, the snuggles.  I’m thankful that Munchkin is a snuggle baby.  Nursing enhances that for us.  It allows me to focus on her and not on everything going on around us.  I also love it when she falls asleep nursing.  Even after a year, I love watching her eyes roll back in her head and she drifts off, content in knowing that my milk satisfies her. 

2. Forced Down Time

Breastfeeding Munchkin FORCES me to have down time.  We nurse best laying down (less distractions) so nursing means I have to rest.  I love the time to just rest, relax and focus on Munchkin.  Around the holidays when there was so much going on, it was nice to retreat from the craziness.  Life can get so hectic and it’s nice to have a reason to slow down.

3. Breast is Best for Baby

We’ve all heard that breast milk is best for baby and it’s true.  It’s not just good for boosting the immune system, but also for protecting the digestive system and helping to lower Munchkin’s chances of getting breast cancer and a host of other diseases including diabetes. 

4. Breast is Best for Mama

Did you know that there are health benefits for you when you nurse?  You can lower your risk of getting breast cancer, uterine cancer and bone loss after menopause.   Breast cancer runs in my family so anything that can help lower my risk is awesome!

 

 

5. It’s “Fast”

Nursing, once you get the hang of it, is faster and easier than having to make a bottle.  I can just whip out the boob and Munchkin can start eating. I always have my breasts with me, so I always have food for Munchkin with me.  That’s a good thing, because I was so forgetful in the beginning (who am I kidding, I still am!)

6. No Periods

This is a HUGE plus for me!  I love not getting my period!  I know it differs for everyone but it’s been a LONG time since I had to worry about my period. 

7.  The Ultimate Boo-Boo Healer

Mama Milk is the best way to soothe Munchkin after getting shots or a bad fall.  I haven’t worried about being a human pacifier as she usually only nurses for a few minutes when being soothed. 

8.   It’s Cheap

Mama Milk doesn’t cost us anything!  It’s been nice to not have to budget for formula.  We might spend a little more in produce but since we should be eating that way anyway it doesn’t bother us. 

9.  It Forces Me To Eat Healthier

Since I know I’m making mama milk for the baby, I do my best to make sure I’m eating well.  That includes drinking eight 8oz glasses of water a day (minimum), eating plenty of fruits and veggies and making sure I’m eating enough protein and dairy.  My body will make sure the baby has what she needs so I also need to make sure my body has what it needs to be healthy as well.

10. Nurture

I’m not quite sure how to explain this one but I’ll try.  My body protected and nurtured Munchkin for the first 9 months of her life while she was growing in my womb.  I love know that my body continued to nurture her after and gave her the nutrients she needed to grow and thrive.  It’s also the knowledge that my body was doing what it was supposed to do.  Breastfeeding also gave me confidence as a mom and it helped to heal the hurt of having a c-section.

If you breastfed your baby, what was your favorite part?

 

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YAY, GOAL!

Munchkin turning one and she’s still breastfeeding. This means I’ve reached my initial goal of breastfeeding for 1 year!  I’m so thankful that we’ve made it this far.  It was a little rocky in the beginning and  I’m glad I didn’t give up when I wanted too.

In fact, I was a little stubborn about it.  In my mind, I had failed by having a c-section.  I know, I know, I didn’t but it wasn’t what I wanted and I worked really hard to avoid it.  I allowed that c-section to make me feel like less of a mom and less of a woman.  I vividly remember while we were still in the hospital and Munchkin had lost 14% of her birth weight.  They started her on formula so fast that my head spun.  All I could do was sob.  I must have sobbed for at least an hour feeling like a failure, certain I was going to be a terrible mother.  I was still crying while The Man feed Munchkin formula using a plunger tube thingie and I was hooked up to a double breast pump feeling like a cow.  That was one of my lowest points as a mom. 

After that I was not willing to fail at breastfeeding so it became my personal focus.  I was going to do whatever I had to do to continue breastfeeding Munchkin.  I know that some women do try everything and are not able to continue.  I’m so, so thankful that I was able to.  I’m not sure I would have made it if I had had to go back to work and had to pump.  I hate pumping and I am amazed and inspired by the mamas that work and pump.  I’m so thankful that I have been able to stay at home with Munchkin.  Being able to be a stay at home mom helped tremendously in reaching my goal.  The Man has also been my biggest cheerleader and has supported me every step of the way.  Every time I nurse in public The Man is ready to say something to anyone who says anything mean to me about nursing.  It hasn’t happened yet (thankfully) but he’s ready in case it ever does!

Now that we’re at a year, I have no plans for weaning.  The WHO states that breastfeeding for up two years and beyond is good for mom and babe so we’ll continue for as long as Munchkin wants.  I can’t see either of us wanting to stop anytime soon but you never know.  I think we’ll take it as it comes, though I think I’ll be ready in another year.  I think two years will be enough for me.  I’m really praying she’ll self wean by then!

 

*How you feed your baby is a personal and often controversial issue.  I trust that you did your research and made the decision that was best for you, your baby and your family.  If you breastfeed, you rock mama.  If you pump(ed), you rock mama.  If you formula feed, you rock mama.  If you do any combination of the above, you’re doing a great job mama.  Keep it up!

 

Linking up with:

 

Cake Smash

One of the things I was looking forward to most about Munchkin’s birthday most was the cake smash.  We talked about the cake for weeks beforehand.  The Man wanted to make the cake and I thought that was a great idea.  Then about a week before her birthday he fractured his knuckle on his right hand.  He’s right handed.  I thought maybe he wouldn't want/be able to do the cake.  I was wrong.  He said he could still do it.

He did an amazing job on the cake.  It took him 4 hours since he had to do it left handed.  I know I couldn’t decorate it like that with both my hands. It was big cake but it was all Munchkin’s!

She was tired but we decided to give her the cake anyway.  I stripped her down because we had a personalized onesie on her and I didn’t want it to get ruined.  We had our cameras ready and were excited for her to dig in…

She touched it and wasn’t sure about it.

Munchkin tasted it as still wasn’t sure.  She decided that she wanted her daddy.  The Man got down and she climbed on his lap.

She shared some of the frosting on her fingers with him.  I broke off a small piece of the bottom and tried to get her interested and she wanted nothing to do with it.  We decided on to push it and to try again later.

We tried again a couple of days later and she still didn’t want it.  She did however, want the grapes that Nana was eating.  So my kid doesn’t like cake and prefer fruits and veggies.  I can’t say I’m surprised as I didn’t eat birthday cake for years.  I didn’t even eat my own as a kid.  I always wanted fruit instead.  So this apple didn’t fall far from the tree at all!

Turning 1

Munchkin turned one this past weekend.  I’m not sure where the past year went.  Munchkin has gotten so big and is learning so many new things and I love it.  I’m loving this age and her even more.  There are sounds that seem to be words coming our of her mouth (dad, mama, baby, meow, woof) and she loves pointing to things.  She’s just so fun!

We had a small party for her.  She LOVED the Minnie Mouse decorations!  I put a few up the day before the party and she kept pointing at them.  She kept babbling away to Minnie and smiling at her.  We also got some balloons and she loved those as well.  The big Minnie Mouse one is on the living room and she keeps looking up at it, pointing and babbling.  It’s so cute!

 

 

It was a nice relaxing afternoon with friends and family.  It was a perfect way to celebrate her first birthday!  I took tons of photos but I won’t share them all,  just my favorites!

 

 

Once we managed to get her presents open and the wrappings away from her, she realized that she liked her presents.  She loved the farm and little people we got at the rummage sale.  She was spoiled and got her first American Girl doll (a bitty baby) and a water table, among other things.  We have been enjoying all our new toys!

Then & Now

This was me last year:

I was getting ready to head home after my induction failed.  I was thrilled to be going home and not upset at all that I was still pregnant.

This year:

Now I get to read & play with my almost one year old.  She’s fussy at the moment because she wants some mama milk so I’m going to go snuggle with my amazing little girl. 

Party Planning

The past year has FLOWN by.  It’s hard for me to believe that I need to be planning Munchkin’s first birthday party.  She turns one in three weeks.  THREE WEEKS! 

We don’t want to do anything huge for the party, just some friends and family to help us celebrate the amazingness that is Munchkin.  So we’re going to do a cookout.  Hamburgers, hot dogs and the sides that go with them.  Simple, easy and yummy.  I also wasn’t going to do any decorations.  Then I was thinking about it and figured that a few decorations couldn’t hurt.  I know I could make some but I don’t want to.  There, I said it.  I don’t want to make party decorations.  It doesn’t make me a bad mom, just one who knows that it’s not worth it to me to add to my stress level by making them. 

At first I was thinking I would do a Minnie Mouse theme.  Munchkin likes Minnie Mouse and how cute would that be?  So The Man & I checked out what the Dollar Tree had for decorations because I don’t want to spend a fortune for  decorations for a 4 hour party.  Sadly they did not have any Minnie Mouse decorations.  I guess it’s not surprising but I was a little disappointed.  They did have some super cute monkey decorations so we decided to go with a monkey/jungle theme.  We bought what we liked and decided to check out Walmart/Target/Party City to see what else we could find.

Party City had some really cute monkey decorations and we decided that we would get a few more things.  Then we decided to just see what else they had.  They had some super cute Minnie Mouse decorations and I was sad for a minute I had changed my mind.  Then I thought that there’s always next year and that cheered me up!  There was one more aisle and as we walked down it we came to the section that was for 1st birthdays.  It was cute and I was doing fine until we found the section that had Minnie Mouse first birthday decorations.  I just about lost it.  I just stood there and stared.  And stared some more.  They were so cute! The Man, after a bit, told me that I could change my mind if I wanted.  Can I just say how much I love that man?  The decorations we already had are non returnable (they just do exchanges) but he was willing for us to spend even more money for the decorations I really want.

I hemmed and I hawed.  The Man and Munchkin walked around the rest of the store while I just stood there and debated with myself.  I try really hard to not waste money and I felt that if I changed the theme I’d be wasting money.  I might have started crying because I was so stressed out (I blamed it on hormones.  They do go back to normal eventually, right?!?!?)   Once The Man assured me for the 6th time that it really was ok to change my mind, I did.  So Munchkin is having a Minnie Mouse birthday party after all.  She’ll also have more decorations that I had originally planned but it’s ok.  She’s worth it!

What do you think about 1st birthday parties? 

Should they be all out, laid back, or not celebrated?

The Daddy’s

I am blessed to have an amazing Daddy.  My Daddy was an orphan and because of that family was so important to him.  He worked hard, sometimes two jobs,  to provide for my mom and I.  He helped out around the house by doing most of the cooking and other chores. He made sure to tell me that he loved me often.  He would also tell me that he was proud of me.  At his wake there were people there that I didn’t know but they knew about me.  They knew that I had graduated from college, had lived in Asia and was married and living in Seattle because my Daddy was always talking about me.  He just wanted to share with everyone what I was doing because he was so proud.  He also told me I was beautiful on a regular basis.  I’m glad he told me these three things often because even though he’s not here anymore I know that they are still true. 

Thanks Daddy, for being an example of what a dad should be.  I love and miss you lots!

I’m thankful I had a great example of what an amazing daddy is.  Not only do I have an amazing daddy, I live with one.  My husband is an amazing daddy.  He’s like my dad in so many ways and this is one of them.  He loves his daughter so much.  He works hard to provide for us.  He loves spending time with her.  Whenever I need some “me” time he is more than willing to keep the kiddo (and he doesn’t babysit…he parents!)  He’ll take her with him to an AA meeting, to go shopping at Home Depot and anywhere else he needs/wants to go.  She loves it when daddy comes home and lights up when he walking in the door.  Munchkin loves to get daddy snuggles too.  She’s a daddy’s girl.

Happy Father’s Day Baby.  We love you lots!

11 Months

This time last year I was 35 weeks pregnant.  I remember that I loved feeling Munchkin kick and move around. I was looking forward to meeting her and nervous about becoming a mama at the same time.  The Man and I were doing our best to enjoy the last weeks we had together just the two of us.  The past year has flown by.

Now I have an 11 month old.  A walking and trying to talk 11 month old.  She’s learning thing so quickly now.  Just this week she figured out how to stand up without holding onto anything.  She had been working on it and all of sudden she did it.  There really isn’t much slowing her down anymore!  When she’s excited she tries to walk faster and often lands on her bottom but she getting more and more steady everyday. 

She babbles and there are times that it sounds like she says words.  Baby and yeah have come out of her mouth but she hasn’t used them correctly so we’re not counting them.  She’ll also go mamamamamamama and dadadadadadadadadada and we’re just waiting for the words to come out.  I think she’s going to be a talker.  I’m looking forward to having her tell us what she’s thinking about!

She knows the word NO and what it means when we say it to her.  We usually get one of two reactions.  One is that she keeps doing whatever it is until we make her stop.  The other reaction is for her to cry like someone just took her favorite toy away from her forever.  We just smile at her crying and give her a kiss and the crying usually doesn’t last very long. 

I love being her mama.  It’s a lot of work and a lot of fun.  I love the snuggles and her hugs can make any day better.  Being a mom is the best job I’ve ever had.