Features

This morning as I was showing my co-worker some recent pictures of Marissa, I started thinking about her features.  Right now her eyes are still blue, but they are a darker blue than Danny's.  I think she has a 50-50 chance of having blue or green eyes and I'm curious to see what they end up being.  Some people say that she has my eyes, but I don't really see it.  I still can't decide who she looks like.  I think she has Danny's ears and eyebrows.  Some people think that she has my chin and lips.  She definitely has my feet and fingers.  It's crazy to think that I grew her from just a little molecule.  It's so much fun watching her grow and learn!

Yesterday we went to Danny's parents house for a few minutes and when we were leaving we were waving "bye-bye".  Marissa was opening and closing her hand like she was trying to say bye too!  It was sooo cute.  We've been working on that for awhile with her and I think she is starting to catch on. 

I've been wanting to join a local moms group in our area, but haven't really had time to.  They do meet and greets mostly through the week.  Since I work full time, it's nearly impossible to find time to do anything during the week.  I'm hoping that a weekend event will open up soon so I can meet some other moms in the area. 

This is the week that Danny will be on travel.  He leaves for Baltimore tomorrow around mid-day.  He is going to keep Marissa in the morning to spend a little extra time with her before he goes.  Since he gets back so late on Friday, he doesn't get to see her until Saturday morning.  My parents are coming to visit this weekend and since there is a Civil War Relic show in town, you can bet where my dad will be!

There is a "Wee-Cycled" children's event coming up on the 12th - 15th of this month.  It's at our local expo center and families from all over the area come to sell baby items that they no longer need.  Last year I went when I was pregnant and was able to find a few maternity outfits at a relatively reasonable price.  I didn't know if Marissa was a boy or girl yet, so I settled on getting a few books and gender neutral baby outfits.  I'm so excited to go this year and see if I can find some outfits for Marissa.  They also sell larger ticket items like cribs, swings, strollers, bouncy seats, jumperoo's, etc.  These items typically go kind of fast, so you have to go the first day if you want in on the goodies. 

A friend of ours gave us a really nice pink swing and bouncy seat for Marissa that she had for her grand daughter.  The items were barely used and it was very generous of her to give us these items.  I had originally registered for gender neutral baby items that we could use for additional children. Since the swing and bouncy seat were given to us, we weren't going to be picky about them being pink.  I've been debating on trying to sell the swing and bouncy seat to get a more gender neutral color for when we have a second child (just in case we have a boy next).  Marissa still loves her swing though and I can't decide I want to part with it just yet.  She loves "catching" the butterflies on the mobile and I really love that it has an adapter for the wall or you can use batteries.  It seems like a lot of the swings I've seen recently only have a battery option.

A friend of mine, Sophie, who is due in August with her first child is currently researching cloth diapers!  You have no idea how excited this makes me.  =)  I posted the pictures of Marissa in her diaper on Facebook and a friend commented that her 14 month old son is already starting to use the "big boy potty" all thanks to using cloth diapers!  Did I ever mention that some children learn to use the potty faster if they are in cloth diapers?  Apparently, babies can't feel when they are wet in a disposable diaper because the gel like chemicals soak up all the liquid.  Another W-I-N for cloth!  I wish that I could challenge everyone with a new baby to try out cloth diapers.  I would be willing to bet that they would be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Well, that's enough ramblings for one day.  I'm hoping that I can start blogging more, I've been slacking big time here recently. 

Have a great day, blogger world!

Little Fluffy Butt!

This weekend I took some pictures of Marissa in one of my favorite diapers.  It is a Kawaii (which means cute in  Japanese) with daisies on it.  We had fun and Daddy joined in too!  He would make her smile for the camera, since she normally hides all of her smiles when the camera comes out.

 Sitting up like a big girl

 Such a happy girl

 Love this little monkey!

 Standing tall with daddy's help

Goodness, I don't know how Danny and I managed to have such a perfect little baby girl!  She melts my heart everyday.

This past weekend was pretty low key.  We had some friends over on Saturday to catch up over a few drinks.  Then on Sunday I had a skype date with Cierra and she got to "see" Marissa.  Later that day I had a friend over and we did some scrapbooking.  I'm trying to finish up my pregnancy album so that I can start on Marissa's baby album.  Danny watched Marissa for me which was really nice of him.  I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner with garlic toast and salad.  After dinner we relaxed and watched a movie and called it an early night.  And here we are at another Monday....I swear the weekends fly by too fast.

Marissa sort of gets cheated out of her "six month birthday" since February only has 28 days and she was born on the 30th.  She has her 6 month well baby visit next week and I can't wait to see how much she has grown!  Stay tuned for the results. :)

Crunchy, what?

I’m Crunchy! There, I said it. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, I mean I'm a hippie, eco friendly, saving one tree at a time, etc.  I have become so conservative since becoming a mom. I cloth diaper, make my own baby food and I’ve kept up with my New Year’s resolution to recycle.


Lately, I’m finding myself wanting to convert every new mom to cloth diapering and baby food making. I know it’s not for everyone, but I’ve had so much fun exploring new things that I just want to share the wealth of information.

Everyone thinks that cloth diapering is hard, gross or just not for them. I never would have considered cloth diapers before, because I didn’t know anything about them. The more I researched and read about them though, the more interested and intrigued I became. Six months later, I’m addicted (seriously, ADDICTED, I say!) to cloth diapering. I can’t get over how cute they are, how easy it is and it makes me feel like I’m really doing my part to provide a better environment for Marissa.

You probably have questions like "don't you get tired of doing laundry?" and "will I have poop in my washer?"  I will say, I do 2 extra loads of laundry a week, that's it!  If she were in disposables, we would be doing twice the amount of laundry for "poo-splosions" (trust me, we had to use disposables for a trip and I couldn't wait to get back to my cloth).  And your washer comes out clean, just as if you were to wash muddy clothes in your washer, everything comes out fine.
Though I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again…just in case someone stumbles upon my little blog and says “hey, that sounds interesting!”

Here’s a few helpful links if you are interested in cloth diapering:

http://www.theecofriendlyfamily.com/

http://littlebitofme22.blogspot.com/search/label/Cloth%20Diapers


Baby Food Making 101

 Also, making your own baby food doesn’t have to be tedious or hard. It’s a great way to save a little money (who doesn’t want to do that?) and you know exactly what you are giving your baby! I start off by steaming vegetables so they are soft. Then I pop them in the food processor to give them a smooth consistency, such as a puree. For hardier vegetables, like butternut squash or sweet potatoes, I thin the puree with breast milk or a little bit of water.

Next, I put the puree in cheap ice cube trays (you know, the old school ones that you have to fill with water, ahh…the days of ice makers have changed the world as we know it). Place the ice cube trays in the freezer until they are solid. Once they have solidified, place the cubes in Ziploc bags, or if you want to be extra environmentally savvy, you can buy reusable Tupperware containers to store the cubes in. I like using Gladware containers, because they stack nicely in the freezer. I can also label them as “fruits”, “veggies” or narrow them down to peas, carrots, squash, etc.

So far we have tried avocado, peas, carrots, banana, butternut squash and sweet potato. Banana and avocados tend to change colors quickly, so I’ve found that it’s best to get them in the freezer as soon as possible. The color changes do not affect the fruits at all, so don’t worry about that.

When I’m ready to feed Marissa I pop a cube out of the freezer and warm it up in the microwave. Each cube is approximately one ounce so it’s a perfect serving when you are just starting out with solids. It’s easy to add another cube and you never feel like food is being wasted! I do recommend making small portions before you crazy with the food processor. You don’t want to make a ton of food to find out that your little one despises peas!

You might be thinking, how do you find the time to make baby food?  Honestly, I spend about an hour to an hour and a half once every two weeks or so. I make enough food to last about 2 weeks at a time (sometimes longer) and the food can stay in the freezer for upwards of a month. I set aside a little bit of time while she is napping or after she has gone to bed, so no time is spent away from Marissa. Trust me, being a full time working mom, I cherish the time we get together.

This website has a plethora of great information for baby food making, check it out!

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/



And can I just leave you all with this:

Yep, that's Marissa's latest diaper print!  TOOO CUTE (if I must say so myself)! :-P

Questions?  Feel free to comment!

 

Giggle Box

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=955789189322&comments

She sure loves her Grammy.  She was having so much fun!  And she also thinks it is funny to watch herself on video.

Change of Plans

Well, our weekend plans were tipped upside down when Danny came home from Baltimore sick.  He wasn't feeling up to going to the Lake, so we stayed home for him to rest and get better.  Friday night we were in bed by 9:30, if that gives you any inclination of how sick he was feeling.

Saturday I went to meet my parents for lunch.  Danny happily put the restaurant's address in my handy GPS and on the road I went.  Just Marissa and I on the road while daddy stayed home to rest (and play video games, I'm assuming).  All was well until I ended up on a back road, with my gas light on, "arriving at my destination" which was NOT Ruby Tuesday's.  I don't know what happened, but Google...you need to update your maps, ASAP! Nothing like being in BFE, with a screaming baby who wants to eat, you're almost out of gas and the restaurant you were supposed to be at 15 minutes ago is no where in site.  Ughhhh....so of course I call dad to the rescue and he gets me back on track and to the restaurant in a few minutes. :)  We celebrated his 50th birthday with his two brother's which was really nice.

Today we've been relaxing and gearing up for another dreaded work week.  I went grocery shopping and got lots of goodies for this week.  We've decided we are going to keep it low key for tomorrow and just have dinner in.  I guess it's sort of a tradition for us to keep our Valentine's Day to a minimum.  I baked us a cake and we'll be having shrimp alfredo, garlic toast and salad for dinner.  I picked up a bottle of Pinot Noir and I'm hoping that Danny will have a glass with me tomorrow night.  I opened the bottle tonight to try it out and it's a light red wine (or lighter than what I normally drink, like Merlot or Cab Sav).  He had a little sip and he agreed that he *might* have a glass with me tomorrow.  That's big news because Danny hates wine and I'm always begging him to drink it with me.  Eh, I guess it's just more for me when he doesn't want to partake in the yumminess!

<3 For my Valentine <3

Lately Marissa has found the dogs to be hilarious.  She loves to see them play and she giggles like it's the funniest thing ever.  It is so cute!  

We snapped some photos the other day at bath time.  She loves her ducky and she loves to splish-splash.  

 What a goof!

 My Little Book Worm

2 Posts in One Night?

Okay, I have to be an attention whore (AW) and show off some new pictures of Marissa.

 Little Stinker

 Rawr!

 Such a happy girl

 Hangin' with Daddy

 Eww, boys are icky!

 Goofy girl!

 Yes, mommy...

Neglect

That's what I've been doing to my blog...sorry I haven't checked in for awhile.  As I'm sure you know and hopefully understand, I'm a busy woman.  Between working full time and trying to soak up every minute I can with Marissa, I feel like my free time is stretched pretty thin.

Last Sunday was the Superbowl and we had a get together with our friends at our house.  We stuffed ourselves with food, cheered for our teams, drank beer and wine and called it a night when the Green Bay Packers walked away with a win.  Celebrating the Superbowl at our house reminded me of the party we had 2 years ago at the house and it made me realize how much I miss my best friend. = (

Marissa has a little friend at daycare who is 7 months old.  He is crawling, can stand and the sitter says that they have a great time together!  I got to see them playing the other day when I picked her up, it sure was cute.  It's also good for her to get interaction with other babies.  Today when I picked her up from the sitters, she was sitting on the couch playing with the sitter's daughters.  She didn't even acknowledge me!  She was just sitting there, playing and laughing, having a good 'ol time.  It's days like today that I really miss being home with her and wish that I could be a stay at home mom.  Some days I fear that she'll grow attached to someone else other than me, her momma.

In other news, Danny is back to traveling for work.  While it's better than traveling to New York every other week, he is now traveling Wednesday through Friday (late) every 3rd week of the month.  He will be staying over night which means that I have to fly solo with Marissa.  It's a lot to take on when he's gone.  I know I'm superwoman and can do it all myself, but it's no easy task and I miss him when he's gone.

This weekend we are going to the Lake with some friends to get away and relax.  It should be a nice time.  Danny and I aren't really doing much for Valentine's Day this year so a weekend away at the Lake will be fun.  Of course we are taking Lil Miss with us.  The weekend wouldn't be complete without her.  We might hit up a winery for a little wine tasting and who knows what else we'll get into.

We've finalized our summer vacation plans and that gives me something to look forward to.  I can't wait to hit the beach with Marissa and Danny and have our first family vacation.  I love the OBX (Outerbanks) because it is so laid back and chill.  My parents, as well as Danny's parents and his brother/wife/baby are coming along too!  It should be a lot of fun, family time.

Speaking of things to look forward to...I've started planning Marissa's first birthday party.  :)  Danny of course made fun of me and started joking around asking if I wanted to go Prom dress shopping for her this weekend.  Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a planner.  I love party planning and I figured I might as well get started on the planning while I have time.  So, I'll leave you with a little sneak peak of what's to come:

I am hoping that next weekend we can make a visit to go see my parents.  It's been forever since we've been up there, so we owe them a visit!  Besides, we need to celebrate my dad's 50th Birthday that he had this past Saturday!  

Oh, I'm a terrible mother...I almost forgot today is Eli's 4th birthday!  Wow, time flies!