A Peek Into Last Week

Last week seemed like it was 10 years long. I'm pretty sure it was. Nathan worked 2 doubles and stayed until 4AM on Thursday (Friday? I don't remember). Not complaining, though, because we are super thankful for all the overtime and for his job! 

Okay so we had our daily (kidding) trip to Target for more bananas! Lately I've started telling Emma that if she behaves, she can have her snack in the Target cafe afterwards. We'll be in trouble when she's tall enough to open that emergency exit door. ;)

Even though I had milk in the car we stopped at the library to check out books. And wouldn't you know it their system was down so we left empty handed. 

What is it with the emergency exit door in the kid's section? Again, we'll be in trouble in a few months. 

Up until last week we had only been to the library for baby wearing meetings and playgroup. It was so cute, not stuffy at all, and Emma had a ball. They have stuffed animals on the top of the shelves and she reached up for them so I let her snuggle with them.

I know, I can only imagine what germs she was exposed to. I'm squirming just thinking about it.

I think her car is more for outside purposes (?), but we brought it in for the winer. Homegirl pushes that thing around all day. She gets in and out and in and out and in and out 6 billion times before lunch. 

On this particular day (above) she moved it to her kitchen and yelled "UCK!"..which I can only assume meant stuck. 

Wednesday we packed up and thought about going to our old mall. I thought for sure Emma would take her nap on the way there and then we could stop at Chick Fil A for some lunch near the mall. Wrong. Plans never work with toddlers. ;)

I knew she had to be hungry so we stopped at Panera near our house. A cup of fruit, kid's mac n cheese, and half a salad-- $14? Maybe I'm just out of the loop but it seemed pricey. 

Waited in line at the post office for an eternity. E made friends with an old lady who adored her. Emma danced for her, showed her all her body parts, and they even played peek a boo. The cashier gave her her first lollipop, which was a huge hit. She held onto that thing the whole way home and into the grocery store. 

Thursday we had a make up gymnastics class from when Emma was sick. She was with different kids and they seemed a bit younger than her, but I'm not certain. She ran circles around them and the teacher used her as the "demonstrator" for that week's skill, ha ha. 

That bus is a huge hit at the gym! All the kids love it. They moved it to the circle for "separation time" and Emma helped push it. She's such a suck up! 

Friday we headed back to the library and we could finally check out books! Emma made friends with another old lady who read her a story and played peek a boo. It was very sweet. Some people think it's creepy but hey-- some old folks are lonely! And my dad will be old and lonely one day and I'd want some sweet little kid to play with him. So, we deal with the old folks. 

We checked out 5 books and our favorite (by far) is I'm my own dog. I let E pick out all of them and somehow we ended up with a Christmas one. 

My grandmother got her that dress/top and it's so cute! I also changed it up a bit and did piggies. Not sure how I feel about them? 

Saturday morning we had gymnastics and Daddy came along! Super fun and Emma loved showing off for him. He liked it and thought it was hilarious..he agreed with me that her instructors have to be on drugs/caffeine/or a combination of the two to deal with toddlers and kids all day. 

I don't remember what we did on Saturday..caught up on housework, laundry, spring cleaning, etc. It was warmer outside so we spent lots of time at the water table. :-) 

Sunday ventured out to a shopping center and stopped at Target on the way home. Emma got her first cake pop at Starbucks and scarfed the whole thing down! That's my girl.

Hope everyone is having a great day! I cannot shake this headache..is it bedtime yet? xoxo

What I Wish I Knew (Newborn)

To view the other parts of this little series-- pregnancy & delivery. 

Newborn stage! This is almost everyone's favorite stage. They are cuddly, cozy, and sleep 99% of the time. While this stage was fun for me, my favorite stage is where Emma is at right now (18 mos). 

:: Nurse, nurse, nurse. Literally, you should be nursing that baby 24/7. I read all the books and yet that didn't really "click" for me until Emma was a couple months old. There are lots of hunger cues to look for-- crying is a late hunger sign! Making sucking motions/noises, eating his/her hands, and turning to the side are all hunger signs. 

:: Don't pump unless you have to. This kind of applies to the first one, but unless you're going back to work, don't pump. Breast milk is supply and demand-- so if you're pumping, you're telling your body you need more milk. 

:: This is a pretty easy stage. I got the most sleep during the newborn days. Ha! I'm sure this is different for everyone. The baby pretty much sleeps all the time, so I got a lot of stuff done while she slept. I'm sure I'm screwing myself if we have future children..ahhh. 

:: Don't forget to do tummy time! It's so important! We rarely did it because Emma hated it. Someone told us to try propping her up on her boppy and that was a God send! 

:: Keep the lights on during the day. This way they don't confuse day & night. :) This never happened with Emma but it's very common.

:: Don't be afraid of pacifiers. If you're baby is nursing well and gaining weight, try to introduce one and see what happens. I think a good time is around 3 weeks old. 

:: Enjoy every second of the snuggles. I miss it every day! Emma is not a huge smuggler, and I miss those newborn snuggles with her! 

:: You can't have enough swaddle blankets, burp cloths, and sleepers. Seriously, you cannot get enough. We registered for 12 A&A swaddle blankets and my cousin Katie got me all 12. They were the best ever and we never had to scramble doing laundry. I found some cloth wipes on some FB swaps for less than $1 each and those were awesome for spit up and diaper explosions. For the first few weeks, Emma lived in sleepers-- about 3-5 a day! Get a ton! 

Okay typing this makes me miss my tiny babe! Goodnight! xoxo

What I Wish I Knew (Delivery)

So last week I talked about what I wish I knew about pregnancy. Hopefully you thought it was helpful! Now I wanted to talk about what I wish I knew during delivery and post-partum. 

:: Pack your bag well in advance. Be sure to include things like cash, chargers, snacks, a pillow, and your favorite blanket. Don't overdo it with packing, though. You can always send people back to your house if you forget something (perfect if they are driving you nuts at the hospital, LOL).

:: You'll probably throw up. Ugh. I hate throwing up. Maybe this only applies if you have a non medicated birth...but I was yacking like nobody's business in the parking lot of the birth center. From all my reading, I knew that our baby would be here very very very soon (transition). 

:: Do you research. It was very important to me that I have a natural birth. No shame if you like your epidurals, just from my research, I didn't want that. Plus, I loved being able to walk around immediately after having her. 

:: Have a plan for family and friends (not just a birth plan). Who's going to take care of your other children and pets? Do you want any family/friends in the delivery room with you? Are they aware of this? 

We didn't exactly have a plan, so our family didn't make it until Emma was 1 day old. Not a huge deal, but next time we will do things differently.

:: Keep your house clean the week of your due date. Don't go to bed with a messy house. You want to come home from the hospital/birth center to a clean house! 

:: It may not be the worst pain of your life. It was painful, don't get me wrong, but if my husband didn't force me to get in the car, I probably would have had our baby at our apartment. I was certain it wasn't the "real" thing, so we just kept waiting around. 

:: If you want a natural birth, stay at home as long as possible. Less time to be at a hospital where they offer you drugs. ;) I think I hung out in our bathtub for hours. After Emma was born I kept saying "My water never broke! Is everything OK? Why didn't my water break?" Then I realized it obviously broke when I was in the tub for hours, duh! 

:: Only bring a going home outfit for baby. You don't need outfits for every day-- your hospital may require that you baby wears a special hospital shirt. 

:: Take everything home with you. They have diapers, wipes, pacifiers, breastfeeding supplies, everything! Take it all! 

:: Take your prenatal vitamins if you're breastfeeding. Keep on taking 'em! I can't tell you how many questions I get about having those in our cabinets. Maybe I just keep them in there to keep everyone suspicious and on their toes. ;)

:: You'll have contractions for a while. I told Nathan that it felt like I was going to have another baby. 

I can't think of anything else and my enchiladas are done! Woo! Happy Sunday fun day, folks! 

Emma Does Gymnastics

Once I found out our baby was a girl, I knew she would be doing dance or gymnastics. Nothing wrong with boy gymnasts, I just wouldn't force him like I would force my girl child. Ha. I'm a retired competitive gymnast and miss it every day of my life. So now I'm living through my child! 

A local gym was offering a free one hour class, so we decided to try it out one Saturday morning. I. Was. Hooked. 

We sing songs, learn baby sign language, watch puppet shows, dance, and obviously do flips. There is some circle time, but it's mostly Emma running around from apparatus to apparatus. 

We've only been a few times, but I can tell you we will be doing this until Emma is in the olympics. I'm only slightly kidding. 

It's 85% parent participation, which I thought would be a pain in the butt, but it's not. Can I just say that her teachers are heaven sent? Literally. Emma adores them all. Yesterday she hugged and kissed her before we left. She's such a suck up. 

The last 10 (?) minutes are my favorite. Separation time. It is hilarious. Basically they try to herd all the children in one area (pictured above) and the parent is supposed to go as far away as they can/choose to. 

Some parents need to cut the cord! I'm going to hell. All jokes aside it is so good for Emma and she loves it! 

Yesterday 4 kids starting crying during separation time. Mine? She managed to escape and get to the trampoline. She was like "Go get your nails done, Ma, I'm good!".

I'm sure her time will come and she'll cry at some point, but she's done so well and I cannot say enough good things about it.

Last week she cried in the balls. Yesterday she cried getting out of the balls.

My only slight concern (?)-- not even a concern, can't find the right word-- is we have to work on sharing! It all comes when she's ready to learn but she just wants what every child has! It's very normal at this age and she will learn with time. 

Oh and she doesn't like the beam! She fussed during beam time-- what the heck. Although that was my least favorite event so I can see why. 

I'll have to post more pictures as I take them. For now we go twice a week and it has resulted in some good naps afterwards! Win win. 

What I Wish I Knew (Pregnancy)

The other day Nathan and I were laughing about things that we bought/did that we thought was silly before Emma arrived. Ex: The bumbo. Granted, I'm sure some people love theirs.

I thought it would be fun to make a list of stuff I wish I would have known throughout pregnancy, birth, PP, and toddlerhood. I'm clearly no expert, but it's fun to look back at the past 2 years.

What I wish I knew (Pregnancy)

:: Wait on maternity clothes. You may be one of those freaks (!) that doesn't get a huge belly. You may even lose weight. I know it's hard to resist, but buy pieces as you need them. If you're working in a professional setting, this may be different for you. Pea in a Pod was adorable but expensive. If I could go back I would probably just live in Gap Pure Body stuff.

:: Sleep. Take a vacation. Sleep. Watch movies. Sleep. No description necessary.

:: Take lots of pictures, write everything down and keep everything. I was actually very good at this-- I wrote down things on the Notes section on my phone, in my journal, and I had a pregnancy book. I took a lot of mirror selfies. I kept all the print outs from my Dr-- they said things like my weight, how far along I was, and what we discussed.

:: Professional maternity pictures are not necessary. But you may want them. ;) Seriously! If you have a friend who can turn a camera on, you can probably get a decent photo. I wasn't one of those people who wanted to look at pictures of myself pregnant on our walls, but that's just me.

:: Your husband doesn't have to go to every appointment. Besides ultrasounds, appointments are very boring and last about 10 minutes.

:: You can't feel your baby for a while. It's different for everyone, but don't stress if you can't feel your baby yet! Without digging into boxes to get my journal, I think I felt Emma for the first time after 15+ weeks!

:: Do your research. There are so many things that need to be researched. For example, those fancy ultrasound places? Not so safe. Take your time and make educated decisions on everything.

:: Pregnancy is long. It's a long time to be uncomfortable-- so if you want a new pillow or running shoes? Get them.

:: Tell a few people. We waited a while before we even told our parents! Looking back, I wish I would have told our family sooner. They would have prayed and been excited for that much longer. After I was 14 weeks, we told everyone else.

:: Don't overshare. Please. Nobody cares about how much weight you've gained, if you're able to not wear maternity clothes, or how many centimeters dilated you are. Sorry.

Okay I think that's it! Emma has a yogurt pop and she's smearing it everywhere. Gotta fly.

Sick Week

Monday morning E slept in until 8. I should have known right then that something was up, but I slept in and enjoyed every moment of it. She nursed when she got up (like always), and immediately threw it all back up. Ughhhhh. 

I can handle a lot, but puke is not my favorite. Fevers are fine, I stay calm with blood, whatever-- with puking, I don't like having to make sure the child stays hydrated while not letting them drink for a while after vomiting. It is so tricky! 

Around 10 I finally called the Dr because she wouldn't stop. My poor girl. We got some Pedialyte and she didn't even keep that down. All she wanted to do was nurse and snuggle. 

Still pretty cute though! Her Dr wanted to see her because she started developing a rash/speckles on her face. That was the longest drive of my life. Somehow Nathan got the easy job of driving so between me being carsick in the back and Emma vomiting, we were really ready to get out of the car. 

Her Dr was so happy to see her and said she looked fine and that it'd have to pass. Wow, so glad we drove an hour for that. 

Henry came downstairs for moral support. ;) We did lots of movies, snuggling, and relaxing. Every tenish minutes we'd offer some pedialye/water mixture and she liked it. (We got the unflavored kind, doesn't have a taste). 

By Wednesday, homegirl was acting herself and begging to go outside. We had some deck time after I ran to Target for every cleaning product known to man. 

We washed and Lysoled everything. PS-- That Lysol disinfecting stuff is awesome. I don't know how I've lived 25 years and never used it. We sprayed it everywhere. 

Thursday we still hung around but Weezy was back to coloring, running, and temper tantrums. That's my girl! I gave her a popsicle and she would not let go of it. It was her first day back to eating food and she scarfed down anything within ear shot. 

Note the puke bowl, ha ha. We watched Frozen and caught up on The Slap and Dance Moms.

I feel like there should be a PSA about Emma's purple jammies. I bought them on Amazon and selected multiple sizes and colors. Well, Amazon sent me 3 pairs of just purple. So while it looks like she's always wearing them, I can assure you we change her (sometimes). 

We knew homegirl was feeling better when she would sneak off and head up the stairs. I should mention that Nathan was right behind her, don't worry. :-)

Her Dr said at age 2 we can put the gates up and teach her how to go down. She already knows how to, but I don't trust her. 

I sent that picture (above) to Nathan when I finished the french toast. So funny. 

Okay, hope everyone is having a great Sunday! We are heading out to get laundry detergent. Woo.

2015 Reading Update

Every year I try to read one book a month. I know, kind of a pathetic number but I don't want to set myself up for failure.

Did you feel that? That is my mother eye rolling from her grave. She always stressed how important reading was and would have at least 3 books on her nightstand at one time.

ANYway, I've been doing all my reading this year (so far) on my phone and I love it! It is so easy to read in bed and just shut my phone off, roll over, and go to bed.

Dad Is Fat-- My FIL introduced me to Jim Gaffigan years (?) ago, and then some of my "Catholic friends" told me to read his book. It was a very quick read, hilarious, and I really like their way of life! Definitely recommend it.

Gone Girl-- Very good! Different than the movie (better, perhaps). Definitely recommend it but at some points I was a little jumpy, ha ha.

The Giver-- Had to reread The Giver.. I think we read it in 4th grade? I don't remember. Brought a new perspective to my life. Enjoyed it! The one I bought (the one I linked to), has the 4 books from Louis Lowry, but I only read The Giver. According to the reviews, it is recommend I read the other 3, so maybe I will.

American Sniper (Currently reading)-- I'll be honest it's going very S L O W. Only because the entire chapter I'm in right now he is going over every type of weapon he uses. I'm going to pull it together and finish it, promise. I have learned a lot about our military, though. I find myself Googling things that he talks about.

Do you recommend any books I read for the rest of the year? I have no idea what I'm going to read next. I have I didn't plan to be a witch on my radar but have no idea what we'll be next.

Okay, hope everyone has a great weekend! xoxo

Friday Faves

Hey y'all! We are finally on the up and up after the God awful tummy bug..it's been a long week! I just had to share some random favorite items I've found the past few weeks:

:: This shirt! I never ever spend more than $5-$10 on an outfit for Emma, but Gap was having a 40% off sale and I had to splurge. I'm so happy with it and the quality is awesome-- she'll definitely be able to wear it next year. I also liked this one, but it wasn't colorful enough for me. :-)

I've never been a huge Gap shopper for kids, but now I'm in love with it! They have lots of sales and I'm eyeing all their Easter goodies and clearance items

This hat is darling! I wanted to get it but Emma won't wear hats. Boo.

:: Lush! My SIL and another friend mentioned how much they love Lush's bathbombs, so I knew I had to try one out! Actually I got an email from my friend saying "I know how much you love baths.." Ha. So glad that's how people remember me.

:: I also really love this Easter bunny shirt! How cute! I didn't get it, promise.

Okay, hope everyone has a great weekend! xoxo

A Peek Into Last Week

Poor Emma hasn't kept anything down all morning so I'm doing this while she sleeps. My poor girl! 

Okay so one day last week it warmed up enough that we could go to our local playground! She was so thrilled.

The humidity was making her hair curl and it was precious! Some houses are being built right next to the playground so that kept her occupied for a while. 

LOL we went to the soft playground at the mall. Kind of self explanatory but OMG this kid is so nosey! The grandpa thought she was just hilarious. Emma wanted to touch the baby's feet but I eventually dragged her back over to play. 

I finally got her to play in the other corner. I try not to be that mom that follows her around (even though this playground is for kids 2-5), so I was just sitting and watching. Next thing I knew she was drinking from a kid's smoothie! What the heck, this child!

Sent that to my friend because I thought it was funny. ;)

When we got home on Thursday, we had a few minutes to kill before it was time for bath. What better way than to make a giant mess? 

I found some greek yogurt pops and Emma loves them! I think they are raspberry flavored and only 100 calories. The dogs liked them too. ;)

On Saturday morning Emma had her first gymnastics class! Maybe I'll post more about it later but it was so much fun. The teachers were so enthusiastic, gentle, and spirited! Whatever they have for breakfast I need two of. 

My dad & stepmom sent Emma some Easter goodies. Nathan & her painted that little chick on the left..so cute. We have a lot of windows that she can reach/look out of, so window clings are the best! 

Except one fell down by the sliding door (what's the word for that area that nobody cleans..Track? It's not coming to me). Anyway, it was down in that area, covered in dirt, and was moving (because it was stuck to itself and unsticking itself). I screamed and Nathan had to come "kill" the bug. He was not happy to see that the bug was just an Easter egg window sticker.

Sunday morning coloring. My studious little girl! Never mind that she colored on her table with crayon and I can't get it off. Any suggestions?

Yesterday afternoon I was out for a few hours and Nathan sent me this pic. Those two always have so much fun together! He said they spent a lot of time outside and she even pushed her stroller around the driveway. 

Okay that's all for now! My hands smell like Pedialyte and are starting to crack I have washed them so much. Hope everyone has a great Monday! 

Random Wednesday Shenanigans

Forever ago, my friend told me to always remember the little things when you have kids. I have done this before (back here), but I figured I'd do it again since so much has changed in such a short period of time. 

Last Wednesday was l.o.n.g. Emma napped for 20 minutes. Nathan offered to go drive around and see if she would fall asleep, but she spent those 20 minutes talking to him from the back seat. How could you be upset? 

Oh well. As much as I wanted to return her right then and there, I thought we should keep her. 

We made Nathan some baked ziti for lunch and someone had a ton of it! I thought for sure that heavy pasta would make her tired..nope. 

I've been "doing" her hair like that for several reasons-- 1. It's easy 2. It takes 3 seconds and that's all she'll stand still for. 

We recently had to start putting her hair up before bed because it tickles her face while she sleeps! There's so much of it. 

Emma is still head over heels with the dogs. She laughs (cackles?) so loudly when they do something like play together, bark, charge after toys, or give her kisses. 

Cocoa is very unsure of her-- I think because she's older and she doesn't want to be bothered. Oreo, on the other hand, eats all of the attention right up. 

This puzzle is a huge hit right now! So what that she just dumps it on the floor and cheers when they hit the hardwood, she'll eventually learn how to play with it. Nathan and I had a competition to see who could put it together quickest with one hand...I beat him by 4 seconds. #saturdaynightyall

Oh my gosh pens! This girl can sniff out a pen from a mile away. She loves anything involved with coloring and would do it all day if I let her. 

I found some jumbo crayons for her that we'll have to try out this week. 

And getting the pen back? Forget it. It's like a hostage negotiation. Her Dr. thought it was so funny that she had pen on her belly when we visited. She's feisty alright! 

And she's almost tall enough to open doors! Boy we'll be in trouble when she gets to that stage. But it's very sweet when I tell her to "put that in your room" and she'll walk over (carrying the item) and try to open the door. 

Can't believe she's almost 1.5, big girl status! Okay, hope everyone is having a great weekend! xoxo

Check-Up Recap

Can I just say that going to Emma's doctor is a huge undertaking? It's over an hour away, they take for. ever, and then you have to drive an hour home (usually in DC traffic). Not to mention the sippy, snacks, blanket, shoes/socks, coat, toys, teethers...

I know, first world problems. 

Plus on the way there/back we get cool views like this: 

We usually forget that there is so much history so close to us! Well at least I forget-- Nathan sees this stuff everyday but I forget it even exists. 

Their office is super clean and brand new, which I love. E spent the 20 minute wait attempting to ride those plastic dogs with another child. She was happy the entire time, ran around, read some books..

I'm sure you know where this is going. :-) Isn't that cute (above)? It's for stroller parking! Yeah and E found that book and would.not.let.go.of.it so the nurse told us to keep it to avoid a meltdown. 

Speaking of meltdowns. Yeah, I have no idea what happened! The moment we got back to the room, she started screaming. She must remember from last time? 

After 20 minutes of pure hell screaming, a resident came in and asked some questions. WE HAD TO TALK LIKE THIS. 

I'm not exaggerating. I was sweating, the room seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, and she just kept on crying. I tried videos on my phone, dancing, looking out the window, snacks...

Finally, by the grace of God and all of His glory, I remembered I had a pen and mini notebook in my bag. You would have thought I bought that child a pony. Thank God. 

I didn't dare take that pen from her. She colored everywhere-- on her thigh, her tummy, the leather exam table (Ahem. My bag is covering it up in the picture above. Is it obvious?), and her board book. I didn't care-- she was finally done screaming. 

After another 20 minutes, her Dr came in and said she looks perfect! We chatted for a bit, Emma showed her all of her tricks, we gave her one of Emma's drawings, and she was on her way.

Waited another 20 minutes and the nurse came in with her shots. She cried for a little but was fine once I gave her the pen. 

All in all a great appointment, it just takes forever! Homegirl was 30 inches and 24 pounds. We have to venture back to that hell hole in 6 weeks for her 18 month checkup. #Helpme

On the way home and got stuck in traffic (of course), but a certain toddler slept the entire way. Praise God for healthy & sleepy babies!