Click-A-Doo!

My Click-a-doo diapers are ready and I can't wait to receive them in the mail!  Aren't they just too cute!?  They will be perfect for Marissa's birthday theme!

Marissa is going to have one stylish little fluffy butt! ;-)

Sunshine and Watermelon

This weekend we headed to the Monastery to visit with friends.  Marissa loved sitting outside in the shade and watching all the other kids run around.  It won't be long until she will be right there with them.  Danny chased the kids and tormented them.  He might be faster than them but I'm pretty sure they wore him out before he wore them out! 

Marissa went diving for ducks!

More tormenting!

Danny spent the night in the truck and Marissa and I went back to my parents house.  She had a long day and slept great!  Thank goodness.  On Sunday we sat outside and had some watermelon before heading home for another work week.  The weekends just go by too fast!

Miss Sass!

Lovin' her watermelon!

Nom, Nom, Nom!



Shhhh....

~*Marissa has an announcement to make*~

That's right!  Marissa is going to be a big sister.  I made this shirt to announce the news to our families.  I told you to stay tuned, didn't I?! :-D

Marissa's baby brother or sister should make his or her appearance around mid January.  I go for an ultrasound on June 1st to get a more definitive answer on my due date.  We are excited to add a new addition to our growing family.  We figured that Marissa doesn't have any cousins nearby, so she needs someone to play with! ;-)

If we are friends on Facebook, please no public messages on my wall.  We are waiting until the 2nd trimester to make any official announcements on there.  A lot can happen in the 1st trimester and while we are hopeful that this will be a healthy pregnancy, we would prefer to not mention it until we are sailing into the 2nd trimester.  Thanks!

We found out that I was pregnant 2 weeks ago.  I had been feeling a bit off and decided that I would take a test just to make sure.  It's a good thing I stocked up on those dollar tree pregnancy tests!  Danny wanted me to wait another week to test but when I got home I just had a feeling and decided to take a leap and POAS (pee on a stick).  Within seconds I saw two pink lines!  Even though the symptoms were classic to my pregnancy with Marissa and we hadn't exactly been "trying" or "preventing" I was still shocked, happy, excited and elated with joy!  Danny came home and I had the test sitting on the bathroom counter.  I told him he needed to come in and look at something.  You would have thought this was his first rodeo because he asked "what does that mean?"  I said that means Marissa is going to be a big sister!  He got a huge smile on his face and said "really?" 

So that was our excitement for a Monday!  The rest of that week and on into the next week I was really feeling the consequences of our actions.  I was sick, sick, sick!  I felt like I had been out all night binge drinking like I did in my "younger years."  Remember my post from last Monday?  Yeah, that was morning sickness in full gear.  I had to go home because I had gotten sick at work and to top it off I had a cold coming on.  I think I fell asleep on the couch early every night the week that we found out.  Pregnancy can take a lot out of you.  Towards the end of last week I started feeling much better.  As long as I eat every couple of hours and don't over do it in the mornings, I seem to be over the morning sickness. 

I know that Marissa will make a great big sister and will be showing the new baby "all the ropes" in no time!  She has been such a joy and has filled our hearts with so much love.  I know that our journey into Two Under Two (2U2) will be trying and hard at times, but I know that it will be so worth it! 

♥ She Loves Me ♥

Marissa has finally started saying "Mama."  For a week or two, she has been saying "mmmm" and over the weekend she really started to say mama.  Sometimes it's more like "mmmm..ma,ma...dadadadada" but I'll take it!  She is also making all kinds of noises and sounds.  Her newest ones are "na, na" and the "sssss" sound.  She also smacks her lips and clicks her tongue.  It's so cute!

We had a nice weekend and I hope to have pictures up tonight.  It's going to be a hectic week since Danny will be on travel.  It's always hard for me to get everything done when he is gone.  I don't know how single parents do it!  I know I could do it if I had to, but it's nice having an extra hand to help out with everything.  My evening routine usually consists of picking up Marissa, unloading diapers when I get home, packing up new diapers, wipes, wet bag, play with Marissa, pack her lunch, pick out Marissa's outfit for the next day, wash bottles, pump, clean pump parts, give Marissa a bath, bedtime routine, laundry, dishes, dinner, feed Marissa, feed the dogs...you get the point!  I don't have much time to get things done.  Marissa goes to bed at 7:00 so that limits my time even more because I have to make sure I already have her diaper bag and outfit picked out so I'm not in her room waking her up while she is sleeping.  Whew ~ I'm tired just thinking about it. :)

It's Only Tuesday?

I've been feeling a bit under the weather.  I left the office on Monday about an hour after I got there.   I wasn't feeling good and needed to go home and rest.  I slept for 3 hours when I got home, I guess it was much needed.  On top of that I started to get a sore throat over the weekend, which has now turned into an itchy, scratchy throat, stuffy nose and my left ear is bothering me.  I hate being sick!  But if you know me, you know that I hardly ever go to the doctor and since I'm still nursing, I'm pretty limited on what I can actually take anyways.  So I'll suck it up and hope it passes soon.

This weekend we are heading to the monastery where Danny and I first met.  =)  I am also going to meet two of my old High School teachers in town for lunch on Saturday to catch up.  It will be nice to see "old friends."  Ha, ha, it's not too often that you keep in touch with your old teachers, but these two have always been more than just a teacher figure to me.  We've even shared a beer over pizza on a Friday night, which is an every Friday night ritual for them.

Not much else is going on...Marissa is starting to get into everything.  I had a package by the door the other day that was for Danny and of course Marissa crawled over to it and stood right up on it.

Hopefully some new pictures coming this weekend! ;) Stay tuned!

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.