The Number *2*

Marissa had her *2* month well baby visit yesterday. We'll start with the good stuff first...

Length - 24.25 inches, 95th percentile! I don't know who she gets that from, it certainly isn't me.

Weight - 10 pounds 13 ounces, big girl! She gained exactly 2 pounds since her 1 month check up. She is in the 39th percentile for weight. Petite girl like her momma.

Head circumference - 15 inches. She is in the 24th percentile for her age group.

She grew 3 inches in one month, I can't believe it!

Now onto the bad stuff...SHOTS!

Marissa had three shots in the leg and one oral. She was laying on the table, happy, looking at the picture on the wall, smiling and then...the nurse stuck her. She wasn't even very gentle. Marissa started to turn red and then BAM, the nurse stuck her two more times. I was holding her hand and she looked like she was in complete shock (and pain) and forgot to breathe. I kept saying "breathe baby girl, breathe!" She finally let out a scream and it was a scream I had never heard before. I scooped her up in my arms and then on came the water works. My heart broke for her and I just wanted to do anything I could to make her feel better, but I knew that there was nothing I could do. Danny came to the appointment with us and he said he was prepared for Marissa to cry, but he wasn't quite prepared for both of us to cry.

As soon as we got back to the car I let her nurse because I knew she needed comforting. After I fed her she fell asleep on the way home from the doctor's office. We packed up a few things and then headed to town to start our Christmas shopping.

Marissa slept most of the day while we were in town. I carried her in the Moby most of the day, so she was nice and close and cuddly to mommy. She fussed a few times and I could tell she was in some pain from the shots. I gave her some baby tylenol (directed by the doctor) and I think that took enough of the pain away to let her sleep and get her rest.

Since it was our *2* year wedding anniversary, we decided to go to the Olive Garden for dinner. She slept for the first half of dinner and then she woke up and took in her surroundings. She was surprisingly very happy and content. I guess she knew it was our anniversary and wanted to give us a nice dinner out. Such a good little girl! We topped off dinner with a delicious piece of pumpkin cheesecake and coffee. Mmm...talk about good!

We got home in time to get Marissa snuggled into bed by 7pm. She slept from 7pm last night until 7am this morning! Apparently shots take a lot out of a girl!

Danny and I spent the rest of the evening relaxing together. We didn't get each other anything for our anniversary. We figured spending the day together as a family was better than any gift (though another cruise would be nice). I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful, loving husband! I'm so lucky that he asked me to be his wife! Two years have flown by and I can't believe that I've been blessed with everything I've ever wanted, a place we call home, a wonderful husband and a beautiful little family that I can't imagine my life without.

 

My how things can change in *2* short years!

DIY Baby Tutu

My latest project is a simple one...a baby tutu!

Supplies needed:

6" rolls of tulle, you can use as many colors as you want, or just stick to your favorite
Elastic Headbands
Ribbon (optional)
Scissors
And time (it's a little time consuming but the end product is worth it)

Directions:

Start by cutting your tulle into strips.  I chose to do about 10" strips.  The length of your tutu will be half the length that you cut the strips.  So if you want a 10" tutu for a toddler, you would cut 20" strips.

 Next, you tie a single knot with each piece of tulle around the elastic headband...like so:

Alternate colors if you chose to do more than one color until you completely cover the headband.

 You can use a piece of ribbon to make a bow on the tutu.  It's hard to see in this picture but there's one there.

 Miss Sadie wanted to try on Marissa's new tutu!

 The finished product!  So pretty!

And complete the look with your very own adorable baby girl!

Where It All Began...

Over the weekend Danny and I headed to a beautiful piece of land where our love began four and a half years ago.  We met at a mutual family friend's bi-annual family reunion at a monastery.  We chatted around a bonfire with cold beer on a crisp Spring night and we joked about how there's nothing wrong with a little "Mudd."  Last Spring Marissa was still an inside baby but she experienced her first Monastery weekend (in mommy's tummy).  This past weekend she got to experience her very first Monastery weekend as an outside baby.  Though she is too young to appreciate the scenic views, beautiful sunsets and weekend festivities (making ice cream, the apple game, pinatas, pumpkin soda bowling and good times) she still got to dress up for Halloween and meet everyone who has known me since I was her age!

  Aren't these views breath taking?

Eli & Sadie had a good time playing in the field...

 

Marissa dressed up but she wasn't too thrilled with the outfit, so she only stayed in it for about 10 minutes!

It's hard to believe that we started out going here as little kids and now we're married and have a beautiful baby girl together.  Life sure is amazing!

 All bundled up, it was chilly!

 Happy Halloween!

Marissa also turned 2 months old over the weekend.  Yep, TWO MONTHS!  She is growing so fast, I miss my little baby already.  She is very curious and loves looking around.  She holds her head up well and she loves smiling and blowing bubbles.  

Danny is away in New York again this week for work so it has just been us girls hanging out.  Tomorrow we are going to go have dinner with the babysitter so Marissa can start getting use to her.  I only have two weeks of maternity leave left.  Ugh, it's going to be a sad day when I go back...

Our two year wedding anniversary is coming up and we haven't planned anything yet.  To be honest, I would be perfectly content with staying at home and making a nice dinner, opening a bottle of wine and spending the evening with my family.  However, I think we will probably go out to a nice dinner and then head home in time to get Marissa in bed and enjoy the evening with my husband. :)

Marissa's two month check up isn't until next Monday, but here's a picture taken on her 2 month birthday!

 "Mom, I don't want my picture taken!"

 Look at those chubby cheeks!  This child is definitely NOT starving!

 

 *Cutie pie*

She melts my heart!

You Are My Sunshine!

My only sunshine...

And with sunshine comes beautiful, blooming flowers!

 Marissa's Halloween costume!

 Our little flower girl

 

Hiding from the paparazzi (AKA Mommy) 

Too cool!  Ahh, I wish I could stay home with Marissa and play dress up, color, bake and spend time together as she grows.  I'm really going to miss her when I go back to work...so in the meantime I am going to soak up the next 3 weeks with her!

Cloth Diapers

We have been cloth diapering now since the first week Marissa has been home from the hospital. I must say, I love them and they really work well for us. I'm actually excited to say that I've had several friends inquire about my cloth diaper use. So I would like to compile some helpful information and I hope that others make the switch to cloth...we have colors! :-D

Here are a few helpful websites with diapering options, accessories needed, how to wash and care for your diapers and FAQ's:

Eco Friendly Family

Pin Stripes and Polka Dots


And here are a few websites that I buy my cloth from:

Abby's Lane 

Abby's Lane is a diaper shop located in Virginia.  They have free shipping and super fast delivery for Virginia residents (I can't speak for other states).


Jillian's Drawers


They have a cloth diaper trial you can do for $10.00.  Try their products and if you love them you will know what you want to invest your money in, if you don't love them, send them back for a refund!  Easy, peasy!


Kelly's Closet

So you might be wondering what products I suggest, please keep in mind this is what works for us and you may or may not like the same things.

Currently in my "stash" I have pocket diapers, All In Ones (AIO) and prefolds with covers.  We have diapers with velcro, diapers with snaps and diapers that you use with a snappi.

The brands that I have are BumGenius, SmartiPants, FuzziBunz, Thirsties covers and Rumparooz!  I actually just placed an order last week for the new BumGenius version 4.0 in snaps.  Honestly, I don't have a favorite yet.  Up until about a week or two ago, I was mostly using prefolds and thristies covers since Marissa hadn't grown into her pocket diapers yet.  So far, I have no complaints with any of the brands that I have.  I think I do prefer snaps (even though they are a little more time consuming than velcro) but I think they will hold up better over time.

Here's a list of other products and supplies that I recommend:

• A wet bag for on the go (I really like Planet Wise wet bags, they come in cute patterns and I have a medium and small bag)
• I have two Planet Wise pail liners (in pink and brown to match the nursery)
• A regular flip top kitchen trash can (flip top so that you can leave it open and let the diapers get air to keep stink
• Essential oils in your favorite scents (I love lavender, I put some in the washing machine and also put a few drops in the bottom of the pail liner to keep things smelling fresh) 
• Cloth wipes are great too!  
• I use Allen's Naturally Detergent (which is also HE front loader safe)
• I highly recommend Grandma El's (cloth diaper safe) rash cream.  Love, love, LOVE this stuff (even if you don't cloth diaper)!  It smells good, a little bit goes a long way and Marissa's butt is so smooth and clear when I use it.  I try to use it a few times a day just to keep her bum nice and dry but anytime she gets any kind of rash it clears up in no time at all. 
• A box of baking soda (I sprinkle a little in the bottom of the pail liner to also help keep things fresh)
• Fleece Liners (I went to our local fabric store and bought a few yards of no pill white fleece and cut them into rectangles to use as liners in all of my pocket diapers.  It's not really necessary but it does help to protect the diapers from stains and fleece is a nice stay dry barrier for heavy wetters.  I especially like using the liners at night since Marissa is sleeping longer stretches).
• White Distilled Vinegar and Wool dryer balls.  I have actually stopped using fabric softener on all of our laundry.  Not only does it contain lots of chemicals, it makes clothing more flammable and it isn't cloth diaper safe.  As an alternative, I fill my fabric softener dispenser (on my washing machine) with plain white distilled vinegar (adding a few drops of essential oils to make it smell good) and use wool dryer balls in the dryer. 
• Sun!  Yep, the sun works MIRACLES on stains (and it disinfects them, too)!  Just hang your clean, wet diapers in the sun to dry and your stains will magically disappear, no joke!

Cloth diapering has become an addiction for me.  I love the cute colors and it makes me feel so good that I'm not contributing to landfill waste, I'm saving a ton of money and I'm not putting harmful chemicals on Marissa's bottom.  So, will you make the switch!?

Lazy Sundays Are For...

...Redskins football...

 A little home decorating...

 Love how it turned out!

 

And baby talk with Daddy!

We woke up this morning at 5:00 am to go say goodbye to Danny's sister.  They are en route to Ohio and we figured we would see them off and wish them a safe trip.

With that being said and with waking up at 5:00, lazy Sundays are also good for naps and blogging, of course!  After the game we will be picking some crabs, drinking beer and then resuming our positions on the couch for the day.  :-D

Last night we had some friends over to watch the Capitals game.  I opened my first bottle of wine since I've had Marissa and I must say it was tasting pretty good!  It was nice to catch up with friends (I hope we didn't talk your ears off, Kristin).  To be honest, we haven't seen many of our friends since having Marissa.  It's not that we don't want to see our friends, it's just harder to find the time.  It's a lot easier for friends to come visit us, that way we aren't dragging Marissa out at all hours of the night in the cold and messing with her bedtime routine.  Plus, we are old folks now and can't party like we used to (nor do I have ANY desire to have a hang over any time soon). 

Do You Follow Me?

Well, my one and only "follower" has seemed to drop off the grid, deleting her blog and disappearing from the blogger world (what's up with that?!). So, I'm curious, do you follow my blog? I have a hit counter that shows I have daily hits, but I don't have any followers. So, if you check out my blog on occasion, follow me so that I know who's reading and leave a comment if you'd like. Let me know if there's anything you would like to see more of, whether it be sweet Marissa, cloth diapering, the pups, crafts, cooking and recipes or whatever interests you!

Most days I feel like I am just writing to myself and forget that there might actually be people out there reading what's going on in my mind! Now that's scary! :)