No No Mattie and a tiny bit of other news.

I have so much to blog about, but this isn't that blog post.  This is a quick post that made me laugh today.  V was on the couch and saw Mattie licking herself.  With a serious look on her face and waving her index finger in the air, she says, "No no!" 

Over the last month she's turned into a little person.  Has words she says and even tries to put together sentences like Hi Mattie.  Words in our vocabularly include apple, up, Mattie (Attie), Mama, Daddy, More (one we hear the most often), Papa, Mimi, cookie, ball, cracker, and yesterday she repeated mermaid.  She understands a whole lot more.  Yesterday I told her I didn't like the song playing on my phone and could she please bring it to me so I could change it.  She looked at me and went and did it.  Then I asked her to put it back.  This is why you have children!  To do stuff for you!

But the funniest to date was watching her say, "No no!"

Oh - and V is going to be a big sister! Her little sister arrives in May 2011!!

When things get desperate

Fall is here.  I used to love fall.  Until I had a child.  Now fall is the start of cold/flu season.  I still revel in the cool crisp air, but some things will just never be the same.

That said, V has her first (of many to come) colds of the season.  Her colds come on fast and furious.  She's okay and then within minutes, full blown snot, coughing, sea lion moving in, etc.  That's exactly what happened Saturday.  I could tell things were starting to head down hill when she woke up from her afternoon nap. 

Girl. Was. Cranky.  I'm not typically a fan of giving her dr*gs, but short of calling a priest for an exorcism, Tylenol was my next best option. 
The dr*gs did their job, and within 20 minutes, I had my happy little girl back.  But that's the problem with dr*gs..  They just mask. 

7:30 PM - we do our usual gig, bath, book, b**b (still nursing once a day - I'm hooked more than she is, but I digress) and V was off to dream land. 

8:30 PM - screams of desperation are heard from her room.  Typically I let her cry it out, but I knew this was not one of those times.  I go in to scope out "the situation" (Note:  this is not a reference to Jersey Shore's situation, which I do not watch, and only know about through Regis & Kelly, various social medias, and Dancing with the Stars). 
V is CONGESTED!  Girl can barely can't breathe out her nose and the excessive crying and sniffling is not helping a sista out. 

I clean out her nose and try to get her to go back to sleep.  She just lays there looking at me with longing eyes.  "Please don't leave me mommy" eyes.  I sit next to her crib, with my arm hanging over the side, and pat. And pat.  20 minutes later I can't feel my arm.  I have to use the ladies room.  I think - maybe she's asleep now.  Her eyes ARE closed.  I quietly walk away.  Before I even reach her door, Whaaaa, whaaa. whaaa..  What???? How does she know that?!  Girl's got skills.  I still have to pee like a race horse.  E comes in to relieve me.  She's not too particular, but still wales for Mommy.

I come back.  We go through the pats again.  Arm is dead.  Again. Back is killing me.  I may pass out.  And then I get desperate. 

V is still systematically checking to make sure I'm there.  So, I do what any other overly tired, desperate resourceful mother would do, on a Saturday night, at 9 PM?  I climb in the crib with her.  Not too bad.  A little hard for my taste, but at least I am not losing feeling in any of my appendages.  This makes V very happy.  And this is when she melts my heart.  She laid there with this look of total content, kept trying to hold me and climb on top of me to sleep.  I did have to draw the line somewhere and she ended up falling asleep just next to me. 

Next I worried what kind of psychological damage I would do to this child now that she thinks that Mommy is here and Mommy won't be there when she wakes up.  Thankfully, she's been blessed with great sleeping skills.  I laid there for a good 20, maybe 30 minutes.  You know, to make sure she was nice and asleep.  When I climbed out of the crib, V was snoring (due to the excessive mucus) and didn't even budge.  Mission accomplished!  She did wake up again around 4:30 am.  Daddy stepped up to the plate though and took the late shift.  Thank you Daddy!! I don't think I saw him again in bed till circa 6:30 am. 

So, what does this little diddy of a story tell us?  That mothers will do crazy things to comfort their children and that an infant crib will semi comfortably fit a desperate mother.  Thank you Graco!

A hooligan in the making and a lesson in the digestive system

Yesterday I got a call from school around 3:30 pm.  A call from school is never a good thing in the middle of the day, especially when two kids went home with a fever the previous day .  I nervously picked up the phone.. The conversation went as follows:

Teacher: Hi Ms. J.  V had a little accident.

Me: Oh no. What happened?

Teacher: She's okay, she's okay.  She was trying to get to a toy and pushed Fred* out the way to get to it. He tried to balance himself and his head slammed into her teeth. 

Me: Oh my gosh!  Is HE okay?  (My first thought was next I'm going to get a phone call from his mother ripping me a new one that my daughter was bullying her son)

Teacher:  Yes, yes.  He's okay.  She got the worst of it.  Her lip is swollen, but no blood.  So, everyone's okay. We just wanted to call and inform you.

Me: Did you put her in time out?

Teacher:  We don't put them in time out for hitting or pushing.  Only for biting.

(Me thinking): Um.. okay.  Makes perfect sense..

Me: Did you at least tell her no?

Teacher: Yes.  We told her hitting hurts.

Me;  Yes - please definitely tell her no if she does that again.  She knows she's not supposed to hit or push.

Teacher:  Yes, we will.  Have a good day

When I picked V up from school, I made her give Fred* a kiss.  He is now smitten and all is forgiven. 

*Names have been changed to protect the inncocents' identity

But on a serious note.. Um.. what?  My child is a bully! Oh no!  I frantically did some research and found that at this age this is actually normal developmental behaviour, but no child of mine will be mean to others! So, we came home and had a talk about not pushing or hitting and giving kisses and hugs instead.  I think V understood.  She planted a wet one on her reflection in the mirror later that evening. 

In other news...

As a first time mom, you experience a variety of things that you otherwise would have never had the joy to experience.  One of the more intriguing, yet gross, things you learn, is that food, if not chewed property (who am I kidding - swallowed whole) will make its way all through the digestive tract unscathed.  WARNING: If you have an aversion to poop, read no more. 

While changing V's diaper last night, which by the way smells like a spill at a nuclear plant, I got a front row seat to yesterdays (I'm assuming) lunch.  Whole corn kernels, still nice and yellow, and quite plump I might add, and chunks of pineapple, also nice and yellow and plump.  Who knew that corn and pineapple, when swallowed whole and in a hurry, will come out looking brand spanking new on the other side.  Although I consistently feel like my brain has shrunk and most of the useful information I once possessed is gone since I've had her, now that I am equipped with this knowledge of the digestive system, I will go far!

You know you're a mom when..

You are riding in a mirrored elevator on your way up to the office and notice something at the bottom of your jeans.  Upon closer inspection, you remember it's the throw up splatter from last weekend when your child chunked it in the middle of Whole Foods and you were so discombobulated, you forgot to wash your jeans afterwards b/c by the time you got home, they had dried and you had bigger things to worry about, like cleaning said child. 

Good times.

Que music... She works hard for the money... and other shenanigans

V works hard to earn her keep around here.

After a hard day's work, she likes to unwind with her peeps.

And finally, nothing like a good belly laugh with Daddy.

Peace out dudes.

Off the blog wagon. Again.

This last month has been a whirlwind.  I've been crazy busy with numerous things, including a new job, a trip to Colorado, E's continuing education, and life in general.  I haven't posted in so long and I'm so mad at myself.  I'll try to rack my brain and remember things from the past month of blogging importance.

First - V's 1 YEAR STATS!

Weight - 18 lbs, 10.5 oz (25%)

Height - 29 1/2 inches (52%)

Head - 46.8 inches (74%)

So, what do these numbers show? V's a skinny average height girl with a giant head! She really doesn't look she has a big ole head to me, but what do I know.  I do know she's an itty bitty little thing and is still wearing size 6 months and 9 months pants.

Second - we attempted to have a one year photo shoot with Uncle N (the mastermind behind previous shoots).  We decided we wanted to try to get some outside pics. In the middle of August. In Texas... Not the best idea we've ever had.  It was miserably hot and when we tried to get some shots with a pool background, all V wanted to do was get in said pool.  The pics below are the fruits of all our labor.  We did get some good shots and thanks again Uncle N!!

An outtake.

It's hot - can we go home now?

Yay! A pool!

What?? I can't go in?

Finally!

What?? You tricked me! This is the worst day ever!

It's my pal Mr. Bear! I didn't know you were going to be here!

So sleepy.

Let's just lay down right here Mr. Bear.

And that's that for the pics.  There were some keepers and we'll make sure to not schedule anymore outside shots in the middle of August in Texas.

The rest of the month was busy starting a new job, flying to Colorado for a family trip and V starting a new class at school. 

She's been in the big girl (toddler class) for a week now and it was harder on mommy than it was on her.  In the new class, they are expected to learn to feed themselves and they are not supposed to have bottles.  We've been working on a sippy cup for a while, so that I wasn't too worried about, but feeding herself whole meals, at once - that's a problem.  The first day she was STARVING - she ate FOUR jars of baby food when we got home - an unprecedented feat.  She did better the rest of the week and next week starts Week 2.  I hope it's better - on both of us. 

And to finish of, here are some pics of our day to day. 

V and Daddy enthralled in a riveting action book.

To change up the pace - a gentle fairy tale (same book - but Daddy is the best story teller ever!)

V at the splash park near our house.  She absolutely LOVES the water!

Mattie getting some much needed love from Daddy.

V signing off with her signature dance move - the robot.  Peace out dudes!

First birthday party.. or... A toy store implosion

My sweet girl turned 1 this past weekend!  She's officially a big girl and is no longer an infant.  A part of me is sad that she's growing up so fast, but I never want to be sad that she's growing because that means that she's healthy and happy and living her life, which is exactly what I want for her!  So, that being said, we celebrated V's big first birthday in style! 

First, on Friday, I made pink cupcakes with purple frosting and we had a little shindig for her and her little friends at school. 

I'm 1! The hat says so!

V set a precedent and wanted nothing to do with her cupcakes.  More to come on this later. 

Then on Saturday, we had the whole family and some friends over for her toy store grand opening birthday party.  Our house looked like it threw up pink, but it was perfect for V!  We got her a bunch of balloons and they were a HUGE hit!  She walked around holding on to one balloon on a string all night - they were inseparable.

 

As I wrote in a previous post it's hard to believe it's been a year and how much a year can change your life.  V and I have come so far together.  We laughed, we cried, we threw up, she blew out of her diapers.. you get the picture.

On that note, here are some pics from the rest of the party.  Good times were had by all, especially V.  Although she wanted NOTHING to do with her cake! 

Um.. Mom??  Fire? In front of a baby?? I know I'm a big girl and all, but come on!

Eh.. not so sure about this thing.  It looks too pretty to eat.

Ok ok..  I'll give it one try.

Um. No!  I don't think so! 

Alright lady!  I don't want this cake!  Get me out of here!  I will call CPS on you woman!

Sweet freedom!

Although V's not looking, good pic of E and I. :)  We never got a got a good shot of the three of us, but it's in our hearts and memories.

V's birthday cake

Dinner time

Which gift should I open next...

I'll just dive in and see where I land.

Thanks for reading the card to me Mommy.

Yay hammers!  (V got 4 hammers from D and family!  V LOVES her hammers!  After she lost one on a walk with Daddy, D let her borrow hers, and now D has replenished V's hammer supply!  Thank you D!!!)

This one next?  It looks big and heavy - Yippee!

V's baby.  It may look like she's trying to give the paci to baby, but in reality, she likes to steal it.

She doesn't look related to me and my dad. Her daddy has some strong German genes!

The damage

All in all, it was a great first year and a great party!  Happy birthday V!  We all love you so so much!

This little light of mine

I'm going to let it shine

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

One Year

Lots can happen in a year.  My life got turned upside down, around and inside out in the course of a split second.  The second I saw "pregnant" on digital little test.  That was well over a year ago.  You didn't feel real to me at all at first.  I knew you were growing inside me, but the reality of you, the living breathing you didn't set in until well after you were born.  I did not know what to think of you at first and I never in a million years would think I would grow so "fond" of you.  And boy have I!  I remember that first night together in the hospital, when Daddy was out for the count as soon as we made it back into our room, and the nurses kept bringing me to you to nurse every three hours.  You were born at 10:28 PM, so that first night, it was just you and me and a snoring daddy.  You were so small - under 7 pounds.  And we just sat there in the night.  You slept and nursed and I didn't know what to think.  I just knew I had just become a mother.  The first few weeks were rough emotionally for me, and then something happened - I fell totally, helplessly, completely head over heels in love with you.

My sweet baby girl.  You have changed my life in ways you will not understand until you hold your own precious baby in your arms.  You are a loving, kind, willful, funny, busy, social, happy little girl!  You have a sparkle that draws people to you.  I pray that the light in your eyes never dims with age and the problems that will come with coming into the teenage years and adulthood.  I pray you are happy and healthy!  I will ALWAYS be here for you.  ALWAYS!  You saved me and brought me closer to God.  Loving you is a glimpse into the love that God has for us.  You are a joy beyond words and I love you more than I can say.  Love is not a good enough word.  You complete me - my sweet little monkey!  Thank you for you!

Happy Birthday!!! We've come a long way!

4 days before birth

Day 1

Day 1

Day 6

Week 2

Week 3

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

Month 4

Month 5

Month 6

Month 7

Month 8

Month 9

Month 10

Month 11

Month 12 - Happy 1st Birthday!!!

You bring such joy to our hearts V!  We love you sweet girl!!