Right Where I'm Supposed to Be

Nothing but the sound of thunder and music are playing tonight.  Danny has been trying to get me to use Pandora Radio for months, I finally turned it on and it linked up to my Facebook artists that I "like" and I must say, it's playing all of my favorite songs!  Good deal.  Danny is at a friend's and he took the dogs for a play date.  Marissa has been in bed since about 7:30.  The sound of rain makes me feel sleepy but as I sit here and ponder, I can't help but think I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be in life.  I'm so grateful for my husband, Marissa, my family, my home and a few true friends.  I understand that being a parent isn't for everyone, but I wouldn't trade the sleepless nights, sloppy kisses, sweet snuggles, the smile I get when I go get Marissa out of the crib, the sweet sound of her laughing, the way she says "dadada" or the love I have for my family, for anything in the world.  You couldn't pay me enough money to give up the life we've built.  

Today was an overcast day, which was perfect for jammies.  I enjoyed spending the day with Marissa.  She is really getting good at crawling now.  She still has a runny nose, but otherwise seems to be fine.  Tonight I made chicken parmesan with spaghetti and garlic toast.  Marissa really liked it, too!  She is loving table foods now.  It's hard to believe how much she has grown in 9 short months.  She has melted our hearts many times over and she is such a joy.  

Well, I need my rest.  Good night!

I Did It!

After nearly 8.5 months, I have finally lost all the baby weight!  I'm down to my "pre-Marissa" weight, but not necessarily size.  My pants still fit differently than before, but that's okay.  I know some women think that it's not acceptable to take 9 months to lose all the baby weight, but for not really doing anything, I can't complain!  :-D  I'm sure that piece of chocolate pie really helped last night.  Danny has also been losing weight and I have to say he looks great!  He's almost to his "pre-Alicia" weight. :-P  What can I say...he says I'm a good cook.

Marissa started to have a runny nose yesterday afternoon.  She woke up several times in the night and while her spirits are still high, she seems miserable that she can't breathe out of her nose.  I am taking her to the pedi today to see what they have to say about it.  I hate running to the doctor everytime she has a sniffle or a sneeze, but the last time this happened we ended up taking her to the Urgent Care on a Saturday.  We waited 3 hours to be seen, got charged an "after hours" fee and they basically just gave her a prescription without giving much thought to the situation. 

Danny was nice enough to cover for me while I got some much needed sleep last night.  He got up and rocked Marissa a few times and snuggled her to make her feel better.  He's such a great dad!

I ordered Marissa a new outfit a few days ago.  I can't wait for it to come in so she can show it off. ;-)

My pink ladybug diapers are *almost* finished!  I should be receiving them within the next two weeks.  I've been waiting so long but I think they will be well worth the wait.  Marissa is going to be so stylish.

Our calendars are filling up fast!  Between baby shower's, 1st Birthday's, holidays and cook-outs, the summer is going to be over before we know it!  I can't wait to take Marissa to the beach for the first time this summer.  I need to find her a cute bathing suit soon.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today I celebrated my very first Mother's Day!  When you have a child of your own, Mother's Day takes on a whole new meaning.  I hope that one day Marissa will be proud enough to call me her mom.  I hope that she appreciates the love that I have for her and knows that I would do anything in the world for her.

Danny let me sleep in (sort-of) this morning.  I fed Marissa when she woke up and then Danny got up with her and let me go back to sleep.  I think I did more laying in bed than actually sleeping, but it was nice either way.  When she started to get fussy for him I told him to bring me "my baby" and she was kicking and wiggling to get to me as soon as he walked in the bedroom.  She snuggled up with momma and started to doze off for a nap.  I love it when she is snuggly.  

The plan was to have breakfast in bed, but I used all the eggs yesterday.  Once I got out of bed Danny went to the grocery store for me while I enjoyed a cup of coffee while Marissa napped.  When Danny got home he made me brunch of waffles and sausage links.  It was yummy.  Marissa thought it was pretty tasty too, she had a few bites of waffle.

We've been working in the yard this past weekend and it's slowly coming together.  Hopefully we can get mulch laid this week and it will be just about done!  I have a few more flowers to plant but we've made a lot of progress so far.  It's kind of a mess right now as we have planter boxes and everything in the way.

Danny Marissa got me a water fountain for the garden and I can't wait until Danny puts it together for me!  Once the mulch is down we should be able to put it together.  It is going to go on the left side of the walkway. :)

Danny was nice enough to take some pictures of Marissa and me for Mother's Day!  I really like this one:

Always poking her lip out!

We had my ILs over for dinner tonight and we were all sitting down to eat.  We were talking and had just filled our plates when we look over and Marissa is fast asleep.  She still had a carrot in her mouth, but she was sooo tired she just couldn't stay awake any longer.  She slept for about 20-30 minutes.  It was so cute!

 Eli & Sadie enjoyed being outside with us today!

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!  Just spending the day with Marissa was plenty enough for me.

We Officially Have...

A CRAWLER!!!

The sitter just sent me a video she took on her phone of Marissa crawling.  I'm so proud of my little girl!  This is a day to remember, for sure!

8 Month Photo Session

Marissa is really working on crawling.  She actually went a few feet yesterday chasing after her ball.  She got her arms to move the right way but she was dragging her left knee.  Hey, whatever works, right!?

I love, love, love this photo of her.  She is just too cute!

Seriously, how can you not laugh, smile and have your heart melted by this face?

Here she is in action...

Caught her trying to stand up again

And here she sees that momma is on to her game. 

We tried to take pictures with a big flower headband and she shot that down REAL quick!

Tired of pictures or just tired?  Who knows!

Little stinkers!

This face says it all!  Hmph!

Danny gets back from B-more tonight.  I'm not really sure what time since his hours have been crazy.  Last night he was in the lab until 1:00 am.  It's been quiet without him home.  I turned on the TV once while he was gone (to catch up on my trashy TV - you know, "16 & Pregnant").  I also ate a hodge podge of junk while he was gone...guacamole, pizza flavored gold fish, cereal and egg burritos.  It's nice getting a break from the kitchen.

Hopefully we will get to do some more yard work this weekend.  Last weekend Danny ripped out a lot of the shrubs, a tree and lots of weeds that were growing in front of the house.  It's nice to start with a clean slate!  I've gotten a few plants so far and I want to put either a fountain, bench or something in the front as well.  This picture was taken when we first moved into the house but basically everything you see here, with the exception of the three large shrubs on the left side are gone-zo!  :)  It looks so much better already!

Happy Friday and a Happy Early Mother's Day to all those new momma's!



How Did This Happen???

I think I'm in the market for a new carrier.  I'm thinking of a Mei Tai or an Ergo, but I am not sold on anything just yet.

But seriously....how did Marissa go from this:

To this:

And from this little teeny tiny baby:

To an 8 month old, 17 pound, almost crawling...camera snatcher:

Time is going too fast!  Slow down baby girl.



When Can I Catch A Break?

This week has been hectic and it's only Wednesday.  I NEED the weekend to come sooner rather than later.  Here's how my past few days have looked:

Monday:

• Over slept and was a little late to work because Marissa decided 4:00 am was a good time to get up.
• Hard drive on my work computer crashed - awesome!
• Have to use a loaner computer at work, making my job harder because I basically have to start with a blank computer, no mapped printers, no mapped drives, settings, etc. are all wiped. PAIN IN THE BUTT!

Tuesday:

• Loaner computer is having problems making work impossible.
• Maintenance man at work walked in on me pumping (while my office was locked).
• I scream at said maintenance man and leave work a mess because I was shocked/embarrassed/upset/etc.
• Pick up baby girl and my Tuesday looks a little brighter!
• Head home and enjoy a Dos Equis Amber with Danny thinking that it is Cinco de Mayo.  It is in fact only Tuesday, May 3rd. 
• Drink another Dos Equis Amber to forget about my day.
• Decide that it's totally acceptable to celebrate Cinco de Mayo all week, even if it does make me look like an alcoholic (I really don't think a beer or two is going to kill anyone).

Wednesday:

• Danny leaves for Baltimore until Friday night.

Let's hope that the rest of today and my week looks brighter.  I'm ready for the weekend!  It's my very first Mother's Day as a M-O-M!  All I want to do is spend the day with my little family.  :)

In other news, Marissa turned 8 months old on Saturday!  She weighs approximately 17.4 pounds (according to our at home scale).  I can't believe how much she has grown.  She is really working on crawling.  She can also go from laying on her stomach to sitting up all by herself.  I sat her next to the crib the other day and she grabbed the rails and pulled herself up. Yikes!  We need to start strapping our furniture soon.

Marissa tried steamed broccoli for the first time last night and loved it!  I swear she will eat just about anything.  Here are the foods she currently eats:

• Peas
• Green Beans
• Pears (though not a huge fan, I can't blame her!)
• Peaches
• Carrots
• Avocado (a favorite with lots of good fatty acids for brain development)
• Banana
• Butternut Squash
• Sweet Potatoes (she now loves sweet potato fries that I make her, topped with cinnamon)
• Beets
• Puffs
• Yogurt Melts
• Mango (not really a fan)
• Kiwi
• Broccoli
• A little bite of chicken
• A little bite of pork chop
• Cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese
• And she licked a lemon once...probably not a good idea, she made an awful face but then got upset when we took it away, ha, ha!

The Lactation Consultant (LC) at our local hospital also gave us the go ahead on egg yolks (no whites).  So we might try that this weekend.

She still has no teeth and it doesn't appear that she will have any soon.

Her favorite word is still "Dada" and no, she is not saying "Mama" yet, so quit asking!  Trust me, you'll know when she decides to say it.  There will be a blog post about it! :-D

Minus a few bumps along the way this week, I guess it could be a lot worse!  I'm still thankful for my family, friends, job, house, etc.  Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!