Merry Christmas to All

Aaaaahhhhhh.  Do you hear that?  That's the collective sigh of me and the hubbs having the rest of the week off to enjoy the wonderfulness that is this holiday.  The tree is decked.  The presents are purchased (but yet to make it wrapped under the tree).  We have a stocked pantry full of yummy ingredients for the BIG DINNER.  And hot chocolate.  Maybe some Bailey's too.  I love the anticipation of days full of PJs and baby snuggles and old movies and NOT feeling guilty about spending your whole day doing unproductive things.  I'm really excited about our house getting some of that Santa magic you seem to lose when you're all grown up without kiddos around.  Peanut is going to LOVE Christmas morning.  Tons of packages with paper and bows??  Yes please!!  Hopefully I'll remember to tear my face away from the camera long enough to soak it all in and enjoy it.  I've been shamelessly blasting Christmas music since the day after Thanksgiving, and will continue to pipe it through the house.  There's just something about a house full of family and conversations and music and the smell of wonderful food an Yankee candles that makes me grin.  I just hope I can pass on the Christmas magic to Peanut.  I want her to love it too!  And not just for the presents, but for the family and quality time spent together.  Let's face it, she's not going to care about the presents this year anyway.  So, in conclusion, YAY for Christmas!  I'm so glad I'm not in the grinch-like mood I was in last year.  I'm enjoying NOT being a gazillion weeks pregnant :-)  Here's some pics from the iphone lately - 

Peanut's first time in a swing...I think she was terrified:

 This was around Thanksgiving when she was sleeping in our room:

 Cheesin for the camera:

 This is the one we used for our Christmas cards:

 Playing with an ornament she ripped off the tree - which is why all of our ornaments are kid friendly this year:

 The one and only picture I have from Thanksgiving day...and she's not even smiling:

Dear Little Peanut,

You are 11 MONTHS OLD today! It’s so close to one year (::faint::), it’s almost easy to pass it by. But month 11 has been a doozy (which is just perfect since eleven is my favorite number). You are officially a full time walker. You wobble. You TODDLE. I’m mixed with joy and wistfulness. Gone are the days of your helpless infant cries. You are Miss Independent. And you are leaving the “BABY” title behind and owning “TODDLER”. If I could choose one word to describe you as you are right this moment in your life, it would be happy. You are such a happy girl. Smiles galore. I love love love it, and try to be thankful for it every day.
We’re in the throes of the holidays, and I’m trying my hardest to give you every Christmas experience you deserve. The Christmas tree is up, the wish list is done, and we have Christmas music on 24/7. We’re taking you to see Santa tonight for your 11 month photo. Usually, I wouldn’t be worried about your disposition. You love strangers (which is scary for me), however, you do NOT like people in hats. I’m predicting a cry face in the picture tonight due to the Santa hat.

We’ve also reached another milestone. This one is really hard for me. You had your first taste of formula this week. I was really trying to make it a year providing you exclusively with breast milk, but my boobs couldn’t make it. I was pumping a paltry amount every day and it just wasn’t enough. We still have our morning and night nursing sessions, which are more and more special as we near the end. On the plus side, I get to pack away the pump! Woo hoo!!! I don’t want to see that thing ever again. (Well, until the next one comes along, but I’m not going to think about that right now)

We got through your Nana’s surgery. She’s back in the game, and we’re all back to work. Everything went smoothly and I absolutely loved our days together at home. Your Daddy loved taking care of you too. I think he was nervous the first day he was home by himself with you, but he’s a natural and you two had a ton of fun together.

Some more facts about YOU:

- You are still in size 3 diapers. I’m predicting a move up to the next size soon.

- You are wearing 12-18 month clothes. They’re still big on you, but I want you to be able to wear the new stuff through the winter. However, you wear 3-6 months in dresses.

- You are a wonderful eater. You have a solid breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a snack thrown in there sometimes. Your new favorite is a hummus sandwich. Like momma like daughter :-)

- You LOVE Stella and try to snuggle with her. You’ll pet her and then squat down and put your head on her to “love” her. It is so sweet.

- You make kissing sounds and fish faces. You still make monster sounds (it’s more of a growl than anything I guess).

- You can clap your hands and do it often. Especially when you hear applause on the radio or TV. I think you think they’re clapping for you.

- You know what “NO” means and test your boundaries often. Right now we’re not disciplining, but telling you NO and then removing you from the situation if you don’t listen. You have a strong will, but mine is stronger  Your biggest temptation is the Christmas tree. You want to chew on the ornaments.

- You love to bop to music. I don’t think I can quite call it dancing yet, but you’re on your way. Any time you hear a beat you like, you stop what you’re doing and bob your head and bounce up and down.

- You poop in the tub all the time. I’m not sure why this has become a habit, but it’s one I would love for you to break. It’s sneaky too. I never see it coming.

- You love to climb on, over, and around things. You will LOVE playgrounds when you’re big enough.

- You love to grab your belly when you’re walking around or get excited.

- You still haven’t said words yet. But you “talk” a LOT. I’m still waiting for the day you say Mama. I think I’ll die from the anticipation.

- You are officially sleeping through the night and I’m LOVING it. It’s so nice to know that once I hop in bed, chances are I get to stay there until my alarm goes off.

- You fluctuate between one and two naps a day. This is totally dictated by you. One nap = a very cranky baby by dinner time.

- You still love your books. We read “The Going to Bed Book” every night and you totally know what it means when I get that one out. As soon as I read the first page you snuggle back and put your thumb in your mouth, ready for bed.

- You belly laugh when we blow raspberries on your sides.

Merry Christmas Peanut, we love you!!

Who's That Lady?

Ever heard that song?  It's on a mop commercial lately.  We sing it a lot because it gets in my head.  I sing it to the babe but instead of "sexy lady" we say "naked lady" because I tend to sing it when she's in the bath.  In case you weren't already convinced, we're a weird family.

Here are the official ten month pictures.  She's head to toe Old Navy (because I got that 30% off email and had to use it).  I love that cute owl shirt.  Usually I'm opposed to things with birds on them because birds gross me out.  (Another weird fact you probably didn't want to know)  BUT, I don't really classify cute owls into the bird category.  And how 'bout those adorable skinny jeans?  We're probably scarring future generations by naming the current most popular pant choice as "skinny".  Maybe I should call them her "whatever body type God blessed you with is beautiful" jeans.  No?  She's got the cutest gray (grey??) ballet flats on too, but you can't really see them.  And you know I have to round out the outfit with a headband.  She still gets the "Oh, he's just so cute!" when she doesn't have one on.  Seriously.  It happened Sunday.  She was in a dress.

We had a wonderful Veteran's Day together (I didn't have to work but P did).  A little play time, some lunch with Daddy (mmm BBQ...), a bit of shopping and a nice long nap (for the little one - I took care of paperwork and watched No Ordinary Family - don't judge me).  A shout out to all of those who are or have served our country.  God bless you, and thank you.

Dear Little Peanut,

You are TEN MONTHS OLD!! Into the double digits, and only two months away from the big birthday! You’ve been growing out of your clothes left and right and it is so sad for me to put those teeny onesies away. But, you are also doing new awesome and exciting things every day, and that is so amazing to watch. I think the best thing in the world right now for me and your Daddy is watching you learn. Especially when we can be the ones to teach you.
The past two months have been filled with your personality busting out of you in the form of baby belly laughs and snorts (wonder where you get that from??). You are happy 99% of the time. You love trying to meet new people by smiling and batting your eyelashes at them until they come up to speak to you. And they always do. Good thing I’m not an introvert, because we meet new people EVERYWHERE we go. It seems like I have to take you out of church every Sunday because you are so excited to be there you just have to try to talk (or YELL) at everyone around us. Yes, God IS good baby, but we can’t belly laugh during the prayer :-)

We’ve still been dealing with teething (working on #9 and #10), which means Mama and Daddy don’t get very much sleep. When I’m too exhausted to do the responsible thing and keep up with our “sleep training” (which means always putting you back down in your crib), I take you into bed with me and Daddy. Even though you take up waaaaaay more room than a 17 pound person should, and I have to always sleep on my right side making my arm go numb, it could quite possibly be my favorite time we spend together. You are so snuggly (you get that from me). You love to put your head on my pillow and scoot your little bottom back as tight as you can against me. Sometimes you are a restless sleeper and you toss yourself around until you find another comfortable position. This can mean half of your body on your Daddy’s head with your booty in the air. Even though he’s the crankiest person I know when anyone wakes him up, he loves it when you do. If you happen to wake up before I do, you grab my face with your pudgy little hands and plant a kiss right on me. I die from the cuteness.

And now…some facts about YOU:

- You are still in size 3 diapers, but I can no longer say they are big on you. We’re trying out the Target brand ones again (the last time we did was a disaster, but that was before solid food poos).

- You are wearing all kinds of sizes these days. I would officially say you are in 12-18 months, even though they are really big on you. I feel a growth spurt coming. You also have zero cold weather outfits, minus the fleece camo pants we bought for Trunk or Treat (we were the redneck trunk).

- Like we already discussed, you have 8 teeth, and are now working on your top “canine” teeth. I’m hoping they bust through soon with minimal discomfort for you. I hate giving you Motrin regularly (you know I don’t like medicine period), and our trusty teething tablets were recalled (seriously…why are all of the baby medicines turning out to be unsafe?????), so we’re trying to do the frozen teething ring thing for pain relief. Chewing on Sophie helps too.

- You were a pink fairy for your first Halloween . I think the highlight for you was chewing on your magic wand. No candy this year! We were also rednecks at Trunk or Treat at church. For that segment, you were just in your diaper. Your Daddy was in jorts and a mullet wig with a tattoo that said “Mulets for Jesus”. I know this will be horrifying to you in your teenage years, but it was so worth it. It. Was. Hilarious.

- You took your first steps last week! Of course we didn’t get a picture or video of the very first one, but I did catch a quick clip a few tries later. Your record so far is seven steps and that was, of course, to your Daddy. When you’re around other little ones that are walking, you look at them like you are SO jealous. You almost took off on your own at Life Group Sunday night. At the last minute you decided crawling would be the quicker choice. Maybe next week.

- You still suck your thumb when you are tired or hungry. I’m starting to brainstorm on how to break the habit. I want to break it before your first birthday, but I’m not going to push it if you’re not ready. Although, with the cold weather, your thumbs are starting to chap right where you suck on them. I might have to get you to quit just so they can heal!

- You are finally getting more hair and I think it is safe to say, it is BLONDE. Your Nana is so relieved. I can’t wait for it to grow just a little more so we can do pigtails!! I, however, dyed my hair brown. Don’t worry, it’s just for the winter. I’ll be back to blonde just like you by summertime.

- FOOD. You love food. You still eat everything we put in front of you. You definitely have preferences when we give you multiple choices, but if I were to just give you brussels sprouts, you would gobble those suckers up like no big deal. We still do purees in the morning (your “cereal”) and whenever we travel, just because they’re easy. When we’re at home you have small pieces of fruits, veggies, beans, or pasta. You have definitely mastered feeding yourself (and Stella too sometimes…you try to sneak pieces to her every so often). I can say your favorite veggie is sweet potato and your favorite fruit is probably applesauce. However, you LOVE garbanzo beans. You can’t shove those in your face fast enough. I think it’s hereditary because I eat hummus every day for lunch. You have also mastered drinking from a straw. You have straw sippy cups for on-the-go, but when we’re at a restaurant you prefer to share my water. Such a big girl.

- Your favorite toys are your books. You love being read to, but you also like flipping through the books yourself. I’ll peek in at you when you’re in your room and there you are in the middle of ALL your books, quietly flipping the pages pretending to read them. This makes me smile. You also love pushing your shopping cart and rolling your plush soccer ball to Stella. When we throw the ball to you and it hits you, you belly laugh. Every time.

- Your bedtime routine starts with bath right after dinner (because you are a MESSY girl). I still wash you in the infant seat because you like to lay back and relax, which makes it easy for me to get the necessary parts washed. After you’re clean I just set you in the tub with some water and you play with your toys. You absolutely love bath time. You splash, put things in your cup, take things out of your cup, try to drink the bath water (which gets a “NO”). You insist on trying to stand up a dozen times, which always gets the response “No, we SIT in the tub” and you sit back down and cry for ten seconds. Then you play and when you think we’ve forgotten about it, you try again. After bath we put you in your PJ’s and let you play for a little bit to get your extra energy out. Then your Daddy or I read you a few books. We always end with “The Going to Bed Book”. As soon as I start reading it you stick your thumb in your mouth. Then we turn out the lights, turn on the noise maker, and I nurse you for a few minutes. Then we sing our song and I put you down with your blankie. I love this routine and will be sad when you don’t need it any more.

- When you want something you blink your eyes at it. Not just a regular blink, but an I Dream of Genie type of blink (without the crossed arms and head bob). The doctor wanted us to teach you the sign for “more” but you’ve already chosen this one, so we’ll go with that for now!

- You babble all the time, but I’m not sure any of the noises are real words. You do say dadadadada and dadeedadee, but I’m not sure you know what it means. Every time I try to get you to say Mama, you laugh at me. Little stinker.

I’m sure there are more things I’m forgetting (especially since I skipped your nine month update). We’ll have a big change for a while this month. Your Nana has knee surgery next week, so Mommy will get to practice being a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom for two weeks. I am so excited (but sad for Nana of course)! I have big plans of sleeping in together, play dates, and as much quality time as I can possibly shove into those days. We love you Peanut! (Pictures to come tomorrow)

Excuses, Excuses

My baby is 9 whole moths old.  This should be simultaneously celebrated and mourned because, YAY for growing healthy babies!!, but WOE for the time passing by too quickly.  She has officially been on the outside as long as she was on the inside.  I have to say I have enjoyed these 9 months MUCH more than the previous ones :-)  So, while I have so much to say about my Peanut, I'm not ready for the post yet.  And here are the reasons....

Time.  I know this is my usual excuse and I'm not nearly as busy as 95% of the adult population, but it's true.  I have not had the time.

Pictures.  We have the cutest pics for her 9 month shot.  However, they are being held hostage on our camera b/c we lost our USB thingy that transfers them to the computer.  And you know I can't post without showing off my babes.

Sickness.  I am getting sick.  I think.  It's either the flu, with the full spectrum of symptoms including chills and body aches.  Or, it's an attack of hormones that have been on hiatus for 18 months that are now taking revenge on my poor body.  (sorry for the over share - but if you remember I've mentioned mucus plugs on here, so I think we know each other good enough to be on this kind of level)  So I can't find it in me tonight to fully encompass everything the peanut has accomplished this month.

There are more but I think you get the idea.  So, stay tuned!  I'm hoping to get it done before she hits 10 months.

Just Because

I like to show off the Peanut.  And I don't need to slack on my baby documenting just because life is busy.  I get to look at this face every day, and I squeeze the cheeks probably more that I should.  That's why she's all "Mama!  What is your problem?  Leave my cheeks alone!!"

This girl loves the mirror.  I don't blame her.  She's pretty cute.  And those legs!!  Nothing in the world better than some baby legs.

This is also common - chewing on anything within grabbing distance.  If she can get her chubby little hands on it, it's going to be her new teether.  She has some sharp little teeth.  Yes, I'm still breastfeeding.  Yes, I deserve an award.

She's my bud.

Here's the closest thing I have to a picture of my new hair.  World, hair.  Hair, world.  And that's my daughter chewing on a rubber squeaky giraffe.  She got it from her Aunt and they are SO the rage right now.  She loves to chew on it's face.  Sweet.

As for a house decorating update - we have decided to host Thanksgiving here at the Peanut casa.  I am thrilled beyond measure and can't wait to get my hostess on. But if you know me, you know that I will not be satisfied with the presentation of our new home until it is 100% decorated and ready for company.  Even if that company is family.  Even if that family is 90% male and won't even notice if the paint complements the ottoman.  So, the deadline of July 2011 (one year of home ownership) has moved up to November 2010.  Please pray for my husband.

I also thought I would share a little blog nugget I found the other day.  It's called Pacing the Panic Room and if you don't read it currently you will get sucked in reading the archives.  What drew me in was the maternity series the author did for his wife (he's a photographer...I think).  Go and take a peek.  It's fun and beautiful and...gave me a teeny bit of the baby bug.  I know, I know.  Just bein honest.

Home Improvement

I wish I could say that this will be a real post.  Something that will make you laugh, cry and want to make your life even better than it already is but...I don't have time.  I find myself saying that a lot lately...maybe it's just that I'm not making the time.  Priorities people.  I'm in the throes of decorating our new home.  It's a process.  It's all about making decisions.  And spending money.  Two things I loathe.  Due to the fact that I'm not good at either of them.  And I like to be an A student at all times.  I digress.  I'm taking time out of my busy schedule to let you know all about a little gem of a magazine that is brand spanking new and absolutely lovely.  If I could bottle all of the design ideas I only wish I could dream up, it would be here.  Ruemag.com.  Go and see and love it just like me.  (Oh, smart guy's a rhymer...name that movie)  Now I must go and decorate.  And make food for my baby.  Who was sleeping, but is now awake...gotta run!

P.S.  I dyed my hair.  Brown.