See ya!

Happy 5 Monthday to my sweet baby doll!! Five months ago right now I was probably dreaming of food, truth be told. Lovie was already 5.5 hours old and probably sleeping or nursing and I was probably starving. I got the joys of gestational diabetes during pregnancy so I was unable to eat anything other than an ice chip from the time I was admitted to be induced (8PM, 12/27) until well after birth (120AM, 12/29).

Enough of that though. I'll have to post my monthly letter to my sweet baby girl at another time...

For now, enjoy some pics taken with my stupid cell phone (because I didn't have my camera) yesterday of Lovie sitting - all by herself - during a visit to the park. 

They let us (prisoners) go early from work, I rushed to pick up Lovie, and because it was so incredibly gorgeous out (and she was awake), we stopped by this park we always drive past on our way home. It was about 75 out, but the sun was blazing hot so we only spent a minute in the swing before parking it in the shade.

In a bit, Lovie and I are gonna go meet some friends for breakfast and later this afternoon we're supposed to go see an apartment (long story). Then tomorrow we're off for a annivacation (the hubs and I have been together for 10 years, married for 3) for several days! I'm soooo excited for this trip. It'll be the first time since starting back to work in March that we all get to spend more than just a short weekend together... and, it'll be the first time Lovie gets pool time! : )

Probably won't be around much till the end of next week... have a great one!

She missed me, too.

Lovie didn't STTN last night. And that's totally fine by me.

And no, I'm not insane. Well...  ;D

She's been STTN all week - the first week she's done so - and all week I've been complaining that I miss her... I guess she sensed that and woke last night around 130.  She didn't cry or anything.  I probably could've let her carry on (she was fussing loudly and popping her head up to look over the crib - like she was looking for us!), but I figured that she was hungry or she wouldn't have woken.

When I went in to soothe her I had to turn her over onto her back (she's been flipping over onto her tummy all week, too). And when I did so, I gave her a binky and she settled down a bit, but her legs were kicking and I just knew she was hungry.

So I warmed a bottle and scooped her up into my arms and she guzzled the bottle, looked at me, smiled, closed her eyes, and nuzzled into me as I held her and her breathing got heavier and heavier.

It's these little moments - even the ones near 2 in the morning - that make me feel immensely blessed.

I held on to her for a couple minutes, reflecting on the fact that at the same time tomorrow, it will have been exactly 5 months since she was pulled out of me. She's grown SO much since then.  She used to fit on my chest perfectly and now she overlaps it.  A lot.  And that's just her growth in size...never mind all the milestones she's hit along the way!

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If you're stopping by because of New Friend Friday from The Girl Creative - WELCOME!! : ) 

Happy Friday, Happy LONG Weekend!!

Kiss

(One of my all time favorite Prince songs. Love this man, love his music, love his moves, love him!)

About a week ago Lovie did something that left me wondering if she was giving me hugs and kisses. We were playing on the couch and she laid her head down onto my neck and chest and really held it there so that I couldn't move my head for several seconds, then she'd pop her head up and look at me and smile and then go back down again. I was convinced she was giving me hugs and kisses because by the fourth (or so) time she did it, her mouth was on my skin which was getting all slobbered on.

But I also wondered if maybe I was just wanting her to be hugging and kissing me.

Then a couple days ago she did something similar when I picked her up out of the crib for the day- and yesterday when I picked her up from daycare she did it again!  When I scoop her up into my arms and go to give her kisses, she puts her hands on either side of my face (which it, in itself, absolutely melts me) and then moves her open mouth to me and forces her head there for a second. Yesterday's mouth action was on my cheek, which again, was left with slobber residue (love). 

And I'm now positive that she's giving me hugs and kisses.

Seriously, does it really get better than this?!!??

Cutest Alarm Clock Eva

Ack, don't you just wanna swoop her up and nom on her?? : )

She did it again last night! My itty bitty baby doll Lovie slept through the night.

: (

I know most parents would be doing cartwheels right now... but not me.  In fact, I slept horribly last night because I just missed her so much.

How pathetic is that??

After our normal bedtime routine, we laid her down and she fussed for a couple minutes until she flipped over onto her belly and started playing with, holding, singing with the Seahorse. Her head would pop up, she'd look at the Seahorse, her head would lay down. Repeat about 64 times.  The hubs turned the Seahorse back on when it shut off - not because Lovie fussed, but because he "wanted to be nice." : )  When the Seahorse turned off the second time, Lovie turned her head the other way and laid it down and fell asleep.

It was 7PM on the dot. No pacifiers were used, only the Seahorse.

Sometime after 2AM, I heard her "talking" as I slept on the couch. (I couldn't sleep. I missed my baby doll and was hoping she would wake so wanted to be nearby when she did.)  With my eyes still closed, I smiled listening to her jibber jabber. When I reached for my cell phone/alarm clock to see the time, it said 5:08AM.

Oops. I forgot that I shut off the alarm yesterday when I wasn't sure if I hit the off button or snooze button.

Thank goodness Lovie woke when she did or we'd have been sorely late to school and work.

...8 more hours baby girl

Yummy Yummy. In my Tummy.

Are you sitting down? If not you should!

Why?

Because... I made dinner last night!  A complete "meal"! 

It was the first dinner I've made in probably .. six months. Quite possibly longer, to be honest!

So what was on the menu during the hottest day since last August??

Tuna sandwiches (white albacore canned tuna, sweet pickle relish, mayo) on whole wheat toast with a slice of cheddar, lettuce, tomato and a side of Ruffles Potato Chips.

Sure it was a simple meal anyone could've put together, sure it was a meal many folk eat for lunch instead of dinner, but whatever. It was a meal. Made by me.

And I'm doing it again tonight!

What?!
Yup. TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW.

That's the plan at least. Ha.

Tonight's menu??

Grilled cheese (I make a mean one so don't roll your eyes at me!!) with pan fried crash hot potatoes because it's too fucking hot here to turn the oven on.  Yeah, I'm taking Pioneer Woman's recipe and gonna fuck it up try making it so that I don't have to turn the oven on... my plan is to nuke the potatoes some, then mash them like she does, then toss them into a hot pan with olive oil (so I'm skipping the boiling on the stove= HOT and skipping roasting in oven= HOTTER)

Wish me luck eh

bedtime

Last night was a bit rough (when it comes to Lovie) as far as getting Lovie to go to sleep.

Ever since she's been about 2 weeks old, she's been sleeping in her crib.  And this whole time we've basically been following the same routine at bedtime: bottle, bath (every other night- though this may change to every night now that day care is starting to apply sunblock when they take the kids outside), story (or 2 or 3- minimum is Goodnight Moon), cuddles and kisses, lay down in crib, (swaddled up to 3 months old), paci if wanted, Seahorse on, noise machine on, Nighty night.  Sure, in the beginning, we would have to stay very nearby for up to an hour at times to pop the paci back in or to rest a hand on her to reassure her we were there and everything was safe, but both the hubs and I remained very consistent with our routine and Lovie was very rarely ever picked up and/or rocked, etc, once she went down for the night - except for another bottle.

We didn't read any "sleep training" books or anything, we just started a "routine" very early and we're both very firm believers that consistency is key with anything baby/child related.

It's not rocket science, after all.

Anyway, last night was quite odd because for months now, Lovie generally will go to sleep within minutes of laying her down... except for last night. It was like she reverted back to being a brand spankin' new baby.  We gave her a bottle, gave her some cereal, a bath, cuddled, read stories, cuddled and kissed, laid her down, Seahorsed, noise machined, Nighty Nighted... and after a couple minutes, she started fussing. And that fussing turned into crying. First daddy went in to give her the paci and calm her a bit and after a couple minutes more fussing.  So I went in.  Then again the fussing, then crying, then screaming.

Lovie does not scream unless something is wrong or unless she's super hungry and we neglect to realize that she's hungry.

I had the hubs make a bottle while I did something I normally do not do: I picked her up. I had to. She was so upset and I'll be damned if my sweet angel get so upset for no apparent reason.  It was like she was scared or something!  Poor baby!

I picked her up and she immediately calmed down.  I started singing softly to her and she remained calm but very alert, never once really relaxing.  After several minutes of singing and rocking I laid her back down.  She started to get excited again and I softly told her it was bedtime, that we were here for her, that we weren't going anywhere, that it was OK to go to sleep.  I placed my hand on her chest and belly as I softly spoke and shhhhhhushed.  She grabbed onto my hand with both of her hands and just looked into my eyes.  We stayed like this for a good five minutes before she started to really relax and release her grip a bit.  I slowly removed my hand and quietly walked out of sight.

She was out cold in a matter of seconds.

I was glad I could help her, but I was also a bit upset that she was so upset. Does that make sense?

Well... she ended up sleeping the entire night through - something she's NEVER done. She's gone a night without waking to eat, but she'd always wake and fuss long enough to get us to give her a paci before falling back asleep.  She did that for 5 days in a row several weeks back but since has been back to wanting to have a bottle (and eating it all up!) once in the middle of the night.

Last night was the first night she just slept.  (I know I'm a freak of nature but I actually *miss* her when she STTN because I love that time with her when she wakes to eat - it's so peaceful and quiet and after she's done eating, she closes her eyes, smiles, and nuzzles into me and goes right back to sleep.)

I think it's because she's been rolling onto her belly to sleep. Because this morning (the 5th morning finding her on her belly) when I went in to wake her, I said, "Good Morning!" in my trying-to-be-excited-and-happy voice and she instantly popped her head up (she was on her belly) and smiled super big though her eyes were still closed.

SO.FRIGGIN.CUTE!

Good Morning Baby Doll!!  Good morning, Good day, Good night, Good LIFE!!

... 7.5 more hours

so cute

I usta take pics of Lovie every day and litter my Facebook with them nearly every day or every other. Yup, I'm one of *those* moms - and damn proud, too! ;)  And then I had to go back to work. Poop!!

So now the pictures don't get taken as much (with only a couple hours to spare from the time we get home till bedtime, can't always squeeze in too many photo ops) and only get onto Facebook or Lovie's blog on the weekends.

Such is the life of ... me. ;)
Here's a couple I found on my camera over the weekend:

(I love the drool hanging from her chin ... and her "Yeah what?!" expression.)

The wet shot was a surprise to see because my husband took it unbeknownst to me. It's one of my new favorites. She's so fucking cute. And I really like that curl at the top. Gah!

And speaking of so fucking cute: that's my Lovie... she spent the weekend squealing in absolute delight any time we looked at her or threw her in the air. The squealing and the kicking of her legs! Ack. I could just eat her up and probably would if it didn't mean I wouldn't get to see that face anymore!

The best part of the weekend (besides every part- because of her) was when we went to visit my grandmother to celebrate her 86th birthday, and how every time Lovie saw my great niece who is 3, she belly laughed so much that she had all of us in tears with laughter for about an hour straight!

Ack, fun times.

And now I'm back at work and she's in daycare. BOO!

...6.5 hours love bug

Good Morning

Earlier, when I went in to wake my Lovie, I found her on her belly with her head up like she was doing tummy time.  She gave me the hugest smile when I said Good Morning and asked what she was doing.  She's been rolling from belly to back for a good month or so and she almost always rolls to her side when she goes to sleep but hasn't yet (that I witnessed, at least) rolled to her belly from back. Till now.

I almost cried.

I've also been having her practice sitting on her own without assistance from the Bumbo or us.  A month ago she was still flopping over almost as quickly as I released my hands from holding her up.  Now... it's a whole other ball game.  Baby doll is super damn close to sitting completely on her own.  I need to get some pictures of this.  It's damn cute.  But that's no surprise considering how damn cute she is without having to do anything.

This is happening so fast.  All of it.  I swear to god I just brought her home yesterday and she was terrified of everything and now... she's this real little person.

My god... I think back at my life and think about the absolutely shitty times I've had, I've lived through and THANK GOD  I survived so that I could be here today and be a part of Lovie's life.  I still wonder why some times were so shitty but it doesn't matter... it really doesn't because all that matters is Lovie and she's just incredibly awesome and how incredibly lucky and blessed am I to be her momma?!

I'm so happy and so proud.

I am a Mommy.

This is how I define myself now and I couldn't be happier about that. I don't need "me time" as I've had 30+ years of me time.  I don't need a break from being a Mommy.  I don't give a shit about my "career" and the fact that I have a college degree.  I don't care if we don't get to live in a big fancy house, driving big fancy cars, pushing Lovie down the street in big fancy strollers.  None of that matters to me... none of it except for the fact that I'm a mommy.

I've waited so long to become a mom that I just adore soaking up every stinkin' minute of it.  Ask me anything at all about being a Mommy, about how my baby doll is doing and leave me out of the equation. Skip my birthday and my anniversary.  I'm totally OK with it.  Because I'm a mom.

But most of all... what's most important and most amazing about all of this... is that I'm Her Momma... Lovie's momma. Somehow, something happened in the Universe, in my life that allowed me to get pregnant and experience the miracle of life... something happened that gave me the absolute greatest gift in the world.

Wow... just WOW.

Rock Star Hair

Let me preface this with a reminder of my age: Old.

Ha, just kidding- sort of.

I remember one of the kids at Lovie's daycare talking about how her daddy just celebrated his 35th birthday and I asked if she thought that was old and she, without any hesitation, replied, "Yes."

Well... I'm older than that.

Anyway!

As a baby I had a full head of hair but it was stick straight. Always thick though, but straight. My parents liked to keep it cut in that toss-a-bowl-over-the-kids-head-and-take-a-pair-of-scissors-to-the-edge-of-the-bowl cut. I don't understand this cut and I've seen it on kids today, too. WHY?!? When I hit puberty, my hair started to get curly. And curlier and curlier. I also started to grow it out so that when I hit high school, I had this insane amount of ... HAIR.  It was still thick, but now it was ridiculously curly, too and that resulted in mass frizz since I hadn't yet discovered the godsend that is Frizz Ease Gel. (Not to digress yet again but I remember not too long ago when Walmart stopped selling the gel for a hot minute for some reason and I nearly cried because nothing... NOTHING... has worked in my hair the way this product does. And no, I do not work for John Frieda and they did not supply me with anything to give such rave reviews.)

I went to four high schools (and people wondered why I was such an introvert) and got called "Slash" at the fourth high school.  I was pissed because I didn't know any of these asshole kids (it was a snobby rich high school and we were far from being rich), yet anytime I stepped foot in a the hall I would hear "Slash" so one day I had had it (I'm sure I was PMSing) and stopped this freshman looking kid, a boy, and grabbed him by his shirt and demanded he tell me why the fuck he (and others) were calling me Slash.

He looked at me like I was crazy and was all, "You know... Slash... Guns N Roses Slash? Your hair."

I let him go and continued on my way wondering how I couldn't figure it out since I was a huge GNR/Slash fan!  Yet it didn't click till the boy blurted it out.  And then I was proud for some stupid reason.  (God I hated that school so much. It was the last high school I attended and I hated it so much that I didn't even graduate on stage with the rest of the fuckfaces that went there.)

In reality, my hair isn't quite like Slash's (but isn't it gorgeous - along with his absolutely yummy lips?!?).  It's long and thick and curly and frizzy, but I don't think it's as much and I think that's because I'm all white.

Now, Lovie on the other hand...

Um, yeah.

Aside from having the cutest almost 5 month old in the world, we have one with rock star hair already!  And as much as I love her hair (which is really kinky curly...when it's wet, the curls shrink and get incredibly tight and her hair is less ... big, but when it's dry, like the pic above... :) Oh and when you pull it straight, it's a good three inches long already!), I'm getting a little concerned with how to ... control it. 

Do I put gel in it? 
Do I cut it? 
Do I just continue to let it grow and become even more Rock Star Hair-like? 

I've asked my husband what to do since he brought on the afro gene ;) and he's all, "I don't know. I'm a guy. My mom just always kept my hair short."

Oy.

And no, I will not be putting any ginormous headband with huge ass flowers as big as her face on her head.

Everything You Ever Wanted

Here's the emptiness I've spoken of the past couple days... I just hate seeing the back seat of the car this way. I much prefer just the car seat base or, better yet, the cutest baby in the world smiling up at me!

Argh.

In other news, Aunt Flo finally decided to visit (again... see my Michelle Duggar post for more info) which definitely explains the anger, short fuse, and emotional roller coaster ride I've been on the past week or so.

And as much as I despise PMS and AF, my Lovie makes it all better, makes it all go away. Last night after showing the husband that Lovie is super close to sitting on her own (so stinkin' cute my teeth hurt thinking about it!) and putting her down for the night (she fell right to sleep because she didn't nap much again at day care and stayed awake with me when we got home until bedtime), he said to me, "It's times like this when it feels like you have everything you ever wanted in life."

He said it kind of like a question and my only-had-a-half-cup-of-coffee-so-far brain can't really come up with exactly what he said right now. I replied, "Absolutely," and smiled thinking about how absolutely, insanely incredible life is right now.

"Am I lame for feeling like this really is it, like I really do have everything I ever could want out of life right now?"

"Not at all," he replied.

We're so fucking blessed.

Dear IT Dept at work:

In case you weren't aware, it's 2010 and I was gone all of January and all of February.  My desk sat empty for two whole months and some change.  Yet here I am now still rebooting this piece of shit computer twice a day.

What the hell do you do all day?

I've got shit to do, you know?! I mean there are message boards to visit, Facebooking to spy on, and blogging to do.

Get on with it already.


Yours,
Her Momma who's PMSing severely and aching from missing her baby doll so much

empty

I miss her so much this morning.

I think it has something to do with the fact that she only napped like an hour and a half all day yesterday while at daycare. I knew she was ass tired so I let her sleep (obviously) in the car during the ride home yesterday, as well as when we got home. I didn't try taking her out of the car seat or anything either because I knew she needed to sleep.

She proved me right by not waking until almost 6.

Her bedtime is at 7.

I pick her up at 330 everyday and by the time we get home (city traffic can blow chunks), it's usually around 445.

In plainer terms, she slept from 330-6 yesterday. Then she woke and I gave her a bottle after trying to give her carrots first (she just cried- she was starving and couldn't wait for the carrots). Daddy came home and snuggled her for a bit. Then he gave her the rest of the carrots (she's such a good eater!), then a bath, then I read a couple stories, and then she went to bed.

I hate days like yesterday. I hate getting an hour with the love of my life. I want more time with her. I miss her so stinkin' much.

And now I'm at work and she's at daycare and they get to see her smiles and hear her giggles and all I get is an empty car seat in the back of my car.

Until 330.

Gosh, I hope she takes a longer nap(s) there today.

...7.5 more hours peanut butter (dear god please make it go by fast!)

my heart sank

It's been well over two months now that I've been back to work and, more importantly, Lovie's been in daycare and we've been apart during the day.  It still hurts like hell to drop her off every day but I've definitely gotten more used to it.  Until today.

Today marks the second day I've carried Lovie into daycare sans the car seat.  She's 15 pounds (ish) on top of how many pounds the car seat is and it's just too much work... particularly when I have to pick her up and work my way around ten snot-nosed faces looking up at me to see if I'm their momma, their rescue to get back out the door.

But then I had to run to the grocery store during my lunch break earlier for snacks/lunches for the week, and when I got back to my car with the bags, my heart sank. My eyes drifted, naturally, to the back seat to where Lovie sits every time we get in the car.  And instead of the car seat base, there sat an empty car seat with her red hand-knitted blanket (by me!) and hippo toy but no Lovie.

God I miss her so. I just... uck. I just can't wait to get out of here so that I can pick her up and hold her.

(Unrelated: I know the girls at her daycare must think I'm nuts. I've been there plenty of times holding Lovie, kissing on her, when another parent comes and goes. I'm sure they're probably like, "Why not take the kid and go already?" and I would love to but it sucks hair pimply balls because when I leave with Lovie, it's to put her in the back seat of the car where I can't see her - and that goes on for almost an hour before we get home! And then she's usually asleep - so those moments I get with Lovie when I pick her up from daycare are so precious to me. Like gold!!)

...45 minutes love bug!!

(don't forget to vote if you haven't done so already - and thanks!)


Hi, if you're visiting from the D-listed Mom Blogs for the first time! Been trying to get a badge to work here but can't for whatever reason...

Manic Monday

Gotta make this quick as I’m swamped at work because that’s the way things go around here… left twiddling my thumbs for days, weeks, sometimes months on end and then all of a sudden BAM(!) there’s a shitload of work to get done and it’s all due yesterday. Fun times.

The weekend was good. No, actually, it was fabulous because it was spent with my two favorite people… but it all goes by too quickly. Saturday we headed out to the burbs where we were supposed to wait for a fridge to be delivered at the condo I own and rent out. (Yeah, we’re landlords. You’d think we had money then but we don’t. The dude’s rent doesn’t even cover my mortgage and then I have to pay a monthly association fee because it’s a condo, so he’s living there for nearly $400 less than if he were to own it. Thank you, Economy!) On the way to the condo, however, the delivery company said they had to reschedule. It’s a bunch of bullshit I have no desire to relive. Instead we went to my favorite burger joint in the whole wide world: Red Robin.

Lovie was phenomenal the entire day. She stayed put in her car seat for 5 hours before we got home (walked around the mall for a hot minute after burgers). And then when we got home and freed her from the car seat, she was all giggles until bedtime! It was so much fun. She gets so stinkin’ excited and her mouth opens wide into this big open mouthed smile and it looks like she’s about to squeal in delight but instead all that comes out is this quick cackle. It was hilarious and the hubs and I were practically on the floor rolling in hysterics!

Sunday was good for the hubs, apparently. I felt awful because I spent most of the day cleaning. I try my darndest to hold off for her naps but now that she’s getting older, her naps are getting shorter, and once this old chicka decides to clean, she CLEANS. So I spent all day cleaning: dusting, scrubbing, vacuuming, rearranging, purging… It feels SO GOOD though to sit down in a clean, organized room. It’s not spotless, but there’s no random crap here and there. And I love it. I do hope, hope, hope and pray that I can keep up with some cleaning every day because it really depresses me to go home to a gross apartment. I found this awesome journal of sorts that has inspired me - http://www.totallytogetherjournal.com/ - and I hope to refer to it and follow it every day.

That’s the plan at least.

The hubs said that he had a blast chilling out with Lovie though because he doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with her during the week (there are several days he doesn’t get to see her awake except for first thing in the morning when I bring her in to him on the bed while I get dressed). And I have to admit that seeing them together really warms my heart. Lovie just has this magical effect on people. She’s simply irresistible! And she loves her daddy so much; it’s super cute to see them play together!

The weekend ended on a bit of a sad note, though. After watching Celebrity Apprentice (go Brett!) I caught the beginning of the news and went to bed in tears. I’ve always had a very hard time listening to sad stories involving children (being abused, getting kidnapped, etc) but ever since Lovie’s been born, it’s become tenfold worse. Apparently last night an 8 year old boy fell into the river only a couple miles from where we live. They interviewed his older cousin who was playing with him at the time and the cousin broke down and lost it. Gah, I’m getting teary just thinking about it. They searched for the boy for 4 hours before it got too dark and they had to cease looking.

I never take ONE MOMENT for granted with my Lovie… but it’s stories like this that make you never want to let them out of your sight.

Sorry to end this on a downer note.

I’m sure something ridiculous will happen in a bit for me to bitch about. In the meantime, enjoy a picture from Friday night’s carrot dinner… and one of only 2 pictures captured on Mother’s Day (from the end of the day, a couple hours before bedtime):

daddy makes me... poop

I'm not sure what the dealio is, but whenever I pick up Love from daycare and notice a plastic grocery store bag hanging from her coat hook (where I grab her bag and car seat before going into her room), I get a little pissed off. It means that they changed her clothes.

Why does it piss me off that they're taking care of my baby girl?  Stupid, right?  But I never have to change Lovie when she's home with us. Ever. Yet I can't even say how many times they've had to change her clothes and it's usually because of blowouts which makes no sense to me because she never has blowouts at home. So for a hot second, when I see that plastic bag hanging there on the hook, I get (stupidly) pissed.

Such was the case yesterday when I picked her up... I dropped her off looking cute as ever in a Daddy Makes Me Smile onsie (pink, yet still cute) and jeans (I think the jeans made the outfit cute, offsetting the pink of the onsie) but when I picked her up she was wearing a pink shirt with a panda on it and pink and white striped footed pants with panda on the feet.  (I leave all the pink shit at daycare cuz I rarely dress her in pink and when/if I do, it's never a completely pink outfit like the panda one!)

When I made a comment about her change of clothes, one of the teachers said that she pooped up her back.  (This makes no sense to me. She never does this at home and we don't change her diaper every 2 hours the way they have to. I'm guessing they need some lessons on closing the damn diapers properly.)

"So I guess Daddy makes her have blowouts, then?" I commented with a chuckle. (Yes, I laugh at my own jokes!)

None of the teachers seemed to get what I was saying so I quickly added, "That's the second time she's worn that onsie - Daddy Makes Me Smile - and each time she had a blowout and you've had to change her."

They all laughed. 

I don't know if they got it or not, but whatever. I thought it was funny, damnit.

(don't forget to vote if you haven't already)

Today sucks.

I really need a do over. Or a hug. Or a cigarette (ew, never mind). Or a drink. Or...

First, it was pouring here this morning. Pour.ing. And there's just no cooler thing than having to take a huge plastic garbage bag, cut along the sides of it to make a huge sheet of plastic, and rigging it up around your baby's stroller so that she doesn't drown by the downpour. Not cool. Meanwhile, by the time we finally make it down the street and to the car (um yeah, thinking about moving to a big city with no private parking, think about the rain and snow and 100% humidified 90 degree days!), I'm drenched from my head to my toes. But my baby girl remained dry as a bone so I guess I won. : )

Then I come to work and feel like I'm sitting a pile of shit all day because I'm doing work that I have no clue about. And regardless how much I try to understand what's happening, I don't... because it doesn't really pertain to me.  I just sort of take information that's given to me and supply it where needed. And now I'm the middle man and ... UGH.

I just need to be with my baby girl right now. So bad. She really is the cure-all to everything. God I miss that sweet face. ... This morning when I had her on the changing table, giving her kisses, she put her hand up to my face. She just held it there and didn't do one of her death grips which has become the norm lately. She gently touched my face as we looked into each other's eyes and smiled at one another. I gave her another kiss and kept my face super close to hers so she could keep touching my face and she lifted her other hand up and basically held onto my face.

I really need more of that, please. Stat.

(don't forget to vote if you haven't already)

OMG I'm in love

It's a damn good thing the Target near my work isn't that nearby or I'd be huge(r). I cannot get enough of these damn personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut. The soft, doughy crust (and I'm normally a crispy thin crust kinda gal), the sauce that spills over the edge a big, the gooey cheese... OH.EM.GEE.

It's the little things that gets me through the days sometimes.

2 hours 15 minutes, love bug...

Don't forget to vote if you haven't already!

Half Birthdays

So Lovie. The love of my life. She was born smack dab between Christmas Day and New Years Day on December 29th.  This was good for me at the time because it allowed me to have a couple extra days off paid because of the holiday, allowing me to extend my maternity leave.  But now that all that's said and done, I've been wondering how her birthday might very well get overlooked - or sandwiched together with Christmas and New Years.

I know that we, her parents, will always make a big deal on December 29th no matter what.  Period, end of discussion.  But what about family and friends?

I have a cousin who was born on December 26th and I never remember doing anything special for his birthday and am even guilty of giving him both a Christmas and Birthday present combined.  And that's gotta suck!! Particularly when you're a kid! (I'm sorry cousin!!)

That all left me thinking about "half birthdays."  I honestly never even heard of such a thing until I saw an episode (oh boy is this confession going to be embarrassing - particularly when you take my age into account) of the new 90210 where one of the characters celebrated her Half Birthday every year because her mom, who was a drunken narcissist, always blew off her real birthday.

And now that I have Lovie and take pictures every time she's a month older, I began to wonder if I should throw some sort of Half-year birthday party for her.  I asked some friends and while they thought it would be a good idea, they also felt that she should definitely have a 1 year Birthday Party, too.  Makes sense. Definitely cannot skip the big 1 year Party, regardless of who might or might not show up. 

I don't know. Time will tell as to how this will all work out, I suppose, but for now, I think we'll just stick with doing a 1 year birthday party.

All that said and done - and really pretty much unrelated to the point of this post - I found this on Etsy through littleoneboutique:

(image taken from littleoneboutique's shop on Etsy)

Not the baby!! The onsie with 1/2 on it!  How stinkin' cute is that?! Even if we don't do a party, I still want to get it because, well, she'll only be a 1/2 year old once and it's damn cute in my opinion!

So now here's what I need your help with: Should I order the 1/2 image in RED with white dots or ORANGE with white dots. I love the yellow, but I think the red or orange will pop even more in photos.  So I'll let you all decide for me, if you will. 

You can either reply with a comment or simply click the poll to the left.

Thanks!! : )

oh and by the way

... in my last post from moments ago, I mentioned looking at Old Navy and the Gap's sale section. Well I came across this and I'm sorry, but under NO circumstance would my BABY be caught wearing a friggin cleavage cut dress (yeah I'm not a fashionista and I'm sure there's a term for the low cut neckline - oh is that the term?!).  I'm really kind of stunned that something like this even exists. I mean, it's a pretty dress and all - if you're 30!!

Hmm, but maybe I'm just showing my age and prude-ness (that's not even a word, is it?). Whatever.

Do I or don't I?

So I'm a cheapass. And I'm the first to admit it. I generally don't buy much of anything unless it's on sale. And when it comes to Lovie, that especially holds true.

Take her kick ass swing for example. It normally goes for like $150 (and worth every penny in my opinion) and I got it on sale for $86 from Kohl's one day - with free S&H (and holy hell I just checked the link and Amazon's got it at $99! Nice! But, of course, not as nice as $86!).

Most of her clothes that I've had to purchase, were done so through Once Upon a Child or with a significant coupon or clearance through your normal Babies R Us, Kohl's, Carters, Old Navy locations. And while, for the most part, she has plenty of clothes, she has no shoes.

And I love shoes.

But have you seen the cost for some baby shoes? For something that doesn't even matter and something that may be worn a handful of times, if that? Insanity, I say!

Well I was looking at Old Navy's site today and then the Gap and came across these:

How friggin cute are those?! And I can get them in 12 months size which would be perfect for the fall and winter months. And the best news is that they're on sale for like $15.

But I'm a cheapass, remember? And $15, to me, is still a lot of money when it comes to something she, again, won't wear too much.

But they're cute. And she'd make them even cuter once they adorn her cute little feet. And she doesn't have any boots yet and they're NOT pink, nor are they covered in Winnie the Pooh crap (ha, nice pun!)!

So... do I or don't I get them?!? 

It's times like this when I hate being so damn cheap!

PMS after birth

I cannot believe I'm going to say this out loud (or write it to the world) but, um, I miss PMS before I had Lovie. It was horrendous, don't get me wrong, but at least there was no doubt that PMS was the reasoning behind the monster I would become.

Since Lovie's birth, I have no clue I'm PMSing because I don't have the burning, bloated boobs that would feel like they could literally explode at any moment; I don't have the horrendous cramping and killer shut-off-all-the-lights-now headaches. Now I just become this angry, very short-fused BITCH that could very well end up on an episode of Snapped one day. (I don't want to kill anyone in reality, but I just get so... angry at the drop of a hat lately that it's scaring me a bit.)

Ugh.

You'd think that after 27 years (that's not a misprint) of PMSing and getting my period, I'd be used to this but is pain and discomfort something you can ever really get used to? 

Like I said, at least before Lovie was born I had a warning...a physical reasoning as to why I was being a bitch. But there have been a couple times recently since her birth, when I've actually wondered if I was losing my mind or something! 

Anyway. Hope you're having a PMS-free day. Whores.

Tired and a little ticked off: Mother's Day review

Saturday night was rough, to say the least.

Lovie spent all last week sleeping thru the night for the first time in her life. It was kind of nice but also a little sad. Call me crazy, but I actually enjoy feeding her in the wee hours of night when everything is so quiet and peaceful. And the smile she gives me and the way she burrows into me when she's done is just so incredibly magical...

Well that all went out the window Saturday.  We had a good day, Lovie and I - like we always do when we're together.  We played, we laughed, we read, we sang, we played, we laughed, we napped during the day.  Daddy was gone from 630am until about 3pm so it was just us girls.  When it came time for her afternoon nap at about 330, Lovie wasn't having any part of it.  And while she can fuss like any baby, she is normally not a crier - unless something is really wrong.  After about 10 minutes of trying to soothe her, we popped a bottle in her mouth and she guzzled it down like crazy and took a nap right away following. Poor baby was starving - but how were we to know this when she just has 6 ounces an hour prior?!

Gotta love them growing babies. :)

I ended up having to wake Lovie because it was getting late and she needed to eat dinner (rice cereal and a bottle) before going down for the night.  All of this went off without a hitch.

I went to bed around 10pm. The hubs stayed up (he's a night owl).

Around 1230am I heard Lovie crying, but the hubs was still up so would take care of her so I tried going back to sleep. Again, I heard her crying and this time it was like 130 in the morning and the hubs still wasn't in bed. I laid there for a couple minutes listening to the crying and getting angry. Why wasn't my husband taking care of my baby girl?! I get up and Lovie is in hysterics and DH is lifting her up looking at her like Are you OK? WTF?!?! He tells me he thinks she has gas. I tell him to give her to me and when he does, I take her into our bedroom which is dark, cool, and very quiet. I rock her and sing to her quietly, holding onto her tightly. She calms down in about 10 minutes or so. After another 10 minutes of just rocking her and ensuring she's calm, I lay her down in the crib on her belly - something I don't normally do since she's not rolling on her own yet.  But she was able to remain calm and went to sleep.

Turns out a day of shaken formula (generally we make a batch the day before and heat as needed - yes, formula as my boobs don't work) makes for a gassy Lovie.

:(

After an hour, Lovie started screaming bloody murder again.  I quickly scooped her up and tried rocking/singing to her again but she just screamed and I ended up crying... my poor baby was in pain and nothing was helping! :(

Finally she calmed after about half an hour of rocking and singing. She fell asleep in my arms again and instead of laying her down again, I just kept her in my arms and rigged the couch up so that if I fell asleep she would not roll onto the floor.  We "slept" like this until she woke at 630 and looked at me and smiled.

I did my job. Sleep deprived like I haven't been in months, I was happy because Lovie was happy.

We picked up the hubs's mother at 11 and met my mom and grandmother for brunch at 1pm where Lovie was the star: Three people commented- one coming out of their way to stop at the table on their way out- that Lovie was a very good baby in addition to being incredibly cute.  Happy Mother's Day!  :)  After brunch, we said good bye to my mom and grandmother, and the hubs, MIL, Lovie and I went looking at high chairs (we have our eye on this one) where another person commented on how insanely good and cute Lovie is.   We dropped MIL off, stop for Peanut Parfait Busters from Dairy Queen (holla to the Ice cream gods!), and come home (fin.a.lly!).

By then it was like 530. Lovie and I played and laughed until dinner and she ate her rice cereal, drank her bottle, and when right to bed without fussing like normal.

And I was pissed... because this picture of my Lovie is the ONLY one taken from the day (from my cell phone in the car on our way to brunch)... my official first Mother's Day.

Whatever. I think the hubs took a pic or two of me and my Lovie after we got home (and changed - and she was dressed super damn cute during the day!) so I'll check. But as for now, I'm ass tired today because I have a horrible time sleeping on Sunday nights and I'm still trying to catch up from the non-sleep I got Saturday night, but it's all good because in 4 hours I get to leave and pick up my Lovie and smother her with hugs and kisses!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

... on a Monday? WTF is wrong with me? ;) Ha!

Well, apparently I was nominated for a blog award over the weekend: Happy 101 award. Yes, Katee over at Not Just 9 to 5 (go check out her blog and read up on her JACKtionary and try not to giggle - I dare you!) nominated me and while I've been blogging for years and years, I've never partaken in one of these but why not? 

Rules of the award:

1. copy and paste the award on your blog.

2. list who gave the award to you and list a link to her blog (or hyperlink).

3. list 10 things that make you happy.

4. pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know about the award



Things that make me happy:

1. My Lovie. Absolutely everything about her brings so much joy and happiness into my life that I can't even put it into words. But that's probably a given, no?

2. McDonald's Ice Coffees and Coca-colas. There's other things from McDonald's that make me happy but their Iced Coffees and Cokes are definitely tops on the list.

3. Jays BBQ Potato Chips.

4. Bryan Adams music.

5. A sexy picture of Brad Pitt and/or Taye Diggs.

6. Being witness to a child and adult interact.

7. Children happily playing. Honest to god, nothing warms this old heart more than watching a kid joyfully riding his bike or playing hop scotch or just discovering something new.

8. Spending time with my grandmother.

9. Ice cream.

10. Remember my wedding day.

Is it sad that this wasn't an easy list to come up with? I mean, yeah sure it could've been a breeze to name 10 things about Lovie that makes me happy but to come up with 10 separate things?! Eek, I blame it on Monday! :)

OK so now for my nominations (and forgive me if you've done this already):

Lisa over at The Pursuit of Happiness
Cindy at This Adventure, Our Life
Allie over at It's a Wonderful Life

Post-free Weekends

Funny how I claim not to post on the weekends because I'm all up in Lovie's buisness and then, lo and behold, this is like week three with a post. But, again, it's because she's napping.

And I'm certain she's still napping (three hours now) because she's catching up on her lack of napping that gets done at daycare; because while there's classical music playing in the background pretty loudly, it's still pretty quiet here and she's able to sleep instead of catnap and be woken up by a screaming kid or a flying toy (or both, eh).

Happy early Mother's Day everyone... including those not officially moms. You know - like aunts, sisters, cousins, even some dads. I know it used to steam me every Mother's Day that passed and I would never get wished a HMD even though I always loved my nephews and nieces as if they were my own.  I don't believe there's an Aunt's Day or anything.

So Happy early Mother's Day to anyone and everyone out there who loves, nurtures, cares for another in a motherly way.

I'm dying

I just want something sweet and moist, something that will hurt my teeth when I bite off a piece and chew it up, something that most people have once in a blue moon.

I want that blue moon to be right.now! Why oh why isn't it someone's birthday or something?!

My perfect afternoon

I rushed out of here (work) as soon as I was allowed (315PM) and quickly made my way to Lovie's day care. It was beautiful out -sunny skies, cool breeze.

I made my way into the center and immediately noticed that it didn't reek of poop. Yahoo! When I made my way into Lovie's room (it's a huge center with classrooms for every age group including a Kindergarten - and though I call it a day care, it's actually a preschool as every teacher is degreed in education), I immediately saw her sitting in a Bumbo nearby the entrance. She was facing the door so when I said, "Hiiiiii" in my momma-loves-you-more-than-anything-and-everything voice, her eyes darted to me and her face immediately lit up like she had just won the lottery even though it was me who feels this way anytime I'm with her.

I scooped her up into my arms and smothered her with kisses and she rewarded me with some chunky spitup. One of the teachers gave me a light blue tissue wrapped something. I figured it had something to do with Mother's Day. They gave me her "report card" (states when she ate, how much she ate, when and how long she napped, when her diaper was changed and if she pee'd or pooped, if she needs clothes or diapers or wipes, etc) and told me she guzzled her bottles down at each feeding. I also noted she napped a good amount which made me happy because it meant she might stay up with me until bedtime!

While the car ride home wasn't her best (she's normally pretty quiet but wasn't too happy for some reason), she eventually passed out and we made it home and up the stairs as she continued to nap. I quickly logged the times and quantity she ate and threw her last bottle into some hot water as I knew she'd be hungry. After changing my clothes, I got her out of the car seat and into my arms where she stretched and molded herself into me (god I love that feeling). We talked for a minute, I gave her a ridiculous amount of kisses, and then I fed her the bottle which she guzzled.

We chatted for a bit and practiced standing (she just loves to stand and sit straight) before I let her chill out in the bouncy chair (she used to hate sitting in this until recently) while I opened the tissue wrapped gift from earlier.

How absolutely ridiculously sweet is that? The stems of the flowers is a cutout of her hand imprint. And the pot says I am like a flower that's raised with love by you. You help me grow up big and strong. Mom, thanks for all you do.

So darn sweet. :)

We played and talked and sang and giggled the next hour and half. (Lovie's getting very close to sitting on her own; I think we both can taste it.)

At 630, we made our way into the kitchen where I sat Lovie down in the Bumbo and made some rice cereal and another bottle. She ate up all of her cereal and cried again when I didn't put more into her mouth (there was no more but I think that after 3 days of tasting it and liking it and crying when there is no more proves I can start making and giving a bit more). I scooped her up and assured her that she was getting a bottle, too. We made our way to the couch where we relaxed while she drank up her bottle. (And again, although it was only an hour and 45 minutes since her last feeding, she drank it all up!)

I changed her diaper, put her in some pj's, read a book, sang "Momma loves you" (a song I made up to the tune of some Christmas song) to her as I rocked her for just a minute before laying her down in the crib, popped in her binky, danced with the Seahorse, turned on the noise machine, placed my hand on her belly as I bent over and into the crib to kiss on my baby doll, and said Good-night.

I left her room to wash the bottles and prep them for today which was when the hubs finally got home. He went in to kiss his baby girl and said she was just about asleep.

After bottle duty, I farted around with some pictures on the computer, ate dinner, and went to bed only waking twice to pop a binky in Lovie's mouth (third night in a row - shhhhh - she's slept through the night without any feedings!).

And I get to do it all over again today! Cannot wait until 315!

time for a highchair!!

Last night was one of the hubs's "late nights" at work and then he went out with friends who he hasn't seen since before Lovie was born so I was flying solo.

No biggie, to be honest. Lovie makes it pretty easy and to be blunt, I already do most things on my own anyway: I get her and myself ready in the morning, I drive her to daycare, pick her up from daycare. More than not, I clean all her bottles from the day and prepare the next days bottles. More than not, I give her her baths every other night (though this may change to every night now that she's covering herself in food). More than not, I get up with her on the weekends.

The hubs is great with Lovie, please don't misunderstand any of what I've said. He feeds her, changes her, plays with her, tends to her, bathes her, too. If I vanished tomorrow, I'm pretty sure he'd be able to handle life with her alone though it would be trickier than if the tables were turned (primarily because he doesn't know the codes to get in and out of daycare).

It was night two with solids and Lovie did fabulous again.

this pic was taken on 5/4/10 and is Lovie's first solid food experience

I popped her into her Bumbo and put her on the kitchen counter (yes I know very well that the Bumbo was recalled so that they could put a sticker on it stating that it's to be used on the floor because there were lots of injuries as a result of people putting their baby in a Bumbo on an elevated surface and the baby falling but I promise you that I'm a very attentive parent and kept her far from the edge of the counter and kept her right next to me at all times) so that she could be right next to me while I prepped her cereal and bottles. She loved sitting up so high and looked around and smiled the entire time. I kept her there when I fed her the cereal too and she did great again! I think she likes having something other than liquids in her mouth and belly. She gobbled up everything I prepared (two baby spoonfuls of rice cereal) and then cried when I stopped feeding her! Fortunately I had a bottle warmed and ready to go so she sucked that thing down straight away following the rice cereal.

My only concern is that she ate all of this only an hour and a half after her previous bottle and she typically goes 3-4 hours between feedings! (Her bedtime is no later than 7PM because she has to be up around 515-530AM so regardless of when her last feeding is, I've been giving her a bottle before bed so that she's not waking at 10PM to eat. And it's been working. In fact ::knocks on wood:: the past several nights, Lovie hasn't had anything to eat until the next morning!) Did she drink so much because the rice cereal got her little taste buds stimulated?Or did she drink because she was hungry even though she had just eaten 90 minutes prior?

I'm a believer that babies don't overeat... but what about once they start solids? I mean, I know for damn certain that *I* overeat so now I'm concerned about Lovie.

We'll see what transpires tonight.
So now we're on the quest for a high chair. I told the hubs that once we get one and if she takes to it like I think she might, maybe I could actually... I dunno... prepare a meal again (I'm ashamed to say that I can't recall the last time I cooked)! I envision Lovie sitting in her high chair with toys or food, while I talk to her as I cook. If we start doing this now, maybe it can become habitual and thereby making it easier to continue doing so in the future as well.

The money we would save if we stopped ordering delivery or takeout is, I'm sure, a lot. And I really want to raise Lovie in a fashion so that she can value dinner time.

Without really looking into any high chairs, I'm hoping to find one that has an adjustable height (so she can sit high when I'm cooking and lower when we're at the table), that has the option to recline (she's still not able to sit on her own), that won't take up a ton of room (maybe something that can fold down??), and that will last until she no longer needs a high chair. Also, it would be nice to have something that's not too babyish. Or pink. Lovie may be a baby and a girl, but that doesn't automatically mean that everything has to have pink puppies on it.

If you have any loves or hates when it comes to high chairs, I'd love to hear from you.

My big girl: the results

Lovie is in the 75th percentile for height and weight and in the 50th percentile for head size. So I guess she has a small head? Meh. Doc didn't seemed concerned or anything; in fact, he said he wouldn't be surprised if she started hitting her 6 month milestones early. My big girl!

As of yesterday she weighed 14 pounds 13 ounces and is 25 inches long.

And she had her first taste of solids last night, too: a couple (baby) spoonfuls of rice cereal!

My big girl!!

It was such a beautiful day out and she handled her shots like a champ so after we bought spoons and baby food (and I fought back the tears because my itty bitty baby is growing so fast, so quickly) and she took a nap, we headed out to the park for the first time.

7.5 more hours peanut butter...

Please vote

Something you may not know about me: I'm a dork.

That said, will you please vote in the poll I created over there on the left side of the page? Please? It will make my day to see votes there.

Lovie's stats to date, if it matters:

7.12 at birth on 12/29...
7.5 when we took you home on 12/31...
7.3 at doc appts on 1/4 and 1/7 to...
7.9 at doc appt on 1/9 to ...
9.9 at one month checkup on 2/1...
11.11 at two month checkup.

So what do you think she's up to now?

Voting ends Weds at 10AM. Her appointment is tomorrow at 10AM.

True Story

I'm sure this happens to everyone but even so, I still feel weird telling this story to people in my real life but something happened yesterday to prove that I really do have the cutest baby in the world.

:)

We met my now 18 year old nephew (who I helped raise from age 4 to almost 9) at an Olive Garden to celebrate his big birthday. After waiting for a good five minutes, we ended up getting seated all the way in the back of the restaurant because there was four of us adults and Lovie who was in her car seat and stroller.

Lovie was asleep until the food came. Of course.

I quickly scarfed down some of my meal so that I could pick her up though she was, for the moment, content in the carseat.

And once she was in my arms I could see eyes from every direction pointing at us. Lovie is not a noisy baby (unless she's hungry) so I can only assume they were all looking because A) "it's a baby!" and B) she's so damn cute (I've come to the conclusion that it's the head of curls that draws the initial attention).

While I really do not like attention on me (for reals), I've become used to the attention Lovie gets and I do admit I like it. I really enjoy people's faces lighting up when they see her. I enjoy letting others hold her and talk to her. I just like that my little Lovie can make people smile and feel good.

Soon she was in my nephews arms, then my dads. And as my dad held onto Lovie as she sat on the edge of the table facing him, a busboy came to the table asking if he could take away some plates. But he was looking and smiling at Lovie while he asked.

"No you can't take her away," my dad said with a laugh.

"Oh I wouldn't mind taking her away if you want," the teen busboy replied. "She's really cute." With dishes in his hands, the teen just stood there smiling at Lovie which I found endearing but a little weird. I'm used to older people commenting and looking- but a teen boy other than Nephew? It threw me for a second.

The next thing I know Lovie's back in my arms and she reeks. Bad. So off to the restroom we went where I discovered a big poop.

Of course. I honestly don't know how she does it but I've come to expect nothing less than a huge poop from her whenever we go somewhere - particularly a restaurant. And this one was big, stinky, AND sticky. (And now I'm reminded that I MUST refill the wipes!!)

I finally get her changed and exit the stall and a young woman standing by the sinks waiting for us to make our way out of the stall said with a smile, "Are you giving mommy a hard time?"

"No," I replied with a smile, "She just had to give mommy a big poopy diaper to change is all."

I walked past the girl, smiling, and she continued to talk to and look at Lovie.

I washed one hand with Lovie in the other, then washed the other hand with Lovie in the clean one before leaving the restroom and returning to our seats.

Twenty minutes later, Nephew was leaving and Lovie was starting to fuss so I made her a bottle while saying goodbye to Nephew. The hubs gave Lovie the bottle and the next thing I know there's about six Olive Garden staff members crowding in around us.

Our waitress apologized for all the people but was insistent that everyone come see Lovie since another waiter (at a different table) kept commenting to our waitress how stinkin' cute Lovie was. I guess this waiter has two kids, one a couple months older than Lovie and the other a couple years old. He even showed me their big smiley faces.

So cute.

But not as cute as Lovie.

;)

So there you have it. Proof that Lovie really is the cutest baby in the world... so much so that teen busboys and 1/2 the Olive Garden staff has to marvel over our just how cute she really is.

Heh.

Right now it's all fun... but I just really don't want her to turn into one of those kids that acts like they know they're cute. I know you know what I mean, too.

Post-free Weekends

Again, I normally don't post on the weekends because of Lovie and wanting every spare moment to just look at her... but I wanted to thank Meredith at La Buena Vida for inspiring me to create something for Mother's Day to give to Lovie's grandmothers and great-grandmother.

I knew I wanted to do something with pictures, but wasn't sure what exactly and then when I saw her 16 photos in an 8x8 square, I thought: Perfect!

I created mine in InDesign with the help of my fabulous husband. And I'm super proud of it.

The best part is that I think I'll be sticking with this theme and at six months put months 1 through 3 on the left of the newborn pic and months 4 through 6 on the right. Then at a year, I'll put months 1-3 on top, 4-6 on the right, 7-9 on the bottom, 10-12 on the left. Eeek!! It'll all be here before you know it!

Thanks again for the inspiration Meredith. I can't wait to see everyone's reactions when they get their framed gifts! I mean, really; what's not to love?!