Madness

10 months ago...

10 months ago I was holding a 7 hour old baby girl in my arms.

Or I was breastfeeding...or talking to her...or maybe I was trying to sleep...or, most likely, I was trying to really believe it was all happening and I was finally a momma.

My Lovie is 10 months old today. My sweet baby doll.

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I think I'm gonna try a blog hop today as I really need some new blogs to read and follow so let's go for it!



The Mommy Madness theme this week is to post a pic of you in Mommy Madness mode. That would've definitely come from last weekend when I took Lovie to a baby shower and had to keep her entertained and away from the presents, etc. It was an exhausting day but no pics of me in action (praise!). So this one below will have to do:

Why would I put a pretty nice pic of my sweet angel in the pool (taken back in very early June, btw) as I hold her as my Mommy Madness pic?? Because it's pretty crazy that I'm posting this, number 1. And number 2, it's pretty damn insane that I even got my fat arse into a swimsuit in public, yo! Talk about madness! Heh.

Happy Friday, Happy Weekend, Happy Halloween!

Secret Thursday: food

Nothing too juicy today and maybe not all that secretive, but I'll still share cuz I'm nice like that. Today's edition is related to food. Baby food. Of course. Duh.

1) Lovie adores bananas. But now that she refuses being fed and must self feed only, she doesn't get to enjoy bananas too much because they're slippery and she's like her momma in that when she wants something she wants it NOW and doesn't want to wait twenty minutes (or one) to figure out how to pick up the piece of banana (and at 10 months- TOMORROW OMG!- she can't peel a banana and eat that way of course) and get it into her mouth without it slipping out of her hands or smooshing it.

She also loves her cheerios.

So how does a working mom with little culinary ability get her baby doll to enjoy bananas again? GRIND UP CHEERIOS, DUMP THEM IN A BAGGIE, ADD BABY BITE SIZE PIECES OF BANANA, SHAKE, AND SERVE! It's really that easy. And she's up to eating 1/2 a banana these days this way. Go sweet Lovie!

2) Now that Lovie is, again, only wanting to self feed, what the hell do I do with all the containers of store bought (for shame) baby food in the cabinet? BOIL SOME WHEAT PASTA AND USE THE BABY FOOD AS A SAUCE!! Bingo!! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Do you have any secrets to share?

Welcome Wordless Wednesday: Halloween Edition

birthday mind vomit

Three days shy of Lovie's 10 Monthday, and I'm consumed with all things 1st Birthday.

We've pretty much decided to rent a park district's rec room nearby and most likely her party would be on Sunday, January 2nd from like 130-4. Or something. We're working on times, we're working on food. I originally wanted to do everything myself via Costco, but I'm not sure that's possible. I mean it's definitely possible as I've done it before for my dad's 65th Surprise party/Retirement party (which turned out fantastically well!!) 12 years ago. But that was with the help of my brother and no babies needing to be ... contained. :)  That said, I think we're going to have to bite the bullet and fork out even more money and get it catered in. Fortunately, I did find a pretty inexpensive caterer so we'll see. Huh, now that I put this down it just dawned on me that while they provide plates and utensils, I'm not sure they supply cups - and shit, I'm gonna have to get drinks, too!! UGH!!!

This is a 1st Birthday and not a friggin wedding reception so we really are not trying to go overboard or put on a show; this is going to be big simply because Lovie wasn't baptized or anything so there was no party for that and there are lots of family and friend who haven't even met her. That's why we have to rent a place. That's why we have to cater in. This isn't about gifts. This isn't about the fact that my child is the cutest, most wonderful thing in the world. It's about letting family meet her. Finally.

So yeah, right now the guest list is at like 60- and that includes NO friends. :(  I'm sad about that but we just cannot cater to everyone. We just do not have the money. Maybe if we were going the Costco route, but we're not. We can't.

There won't be a theme other than it's Lovie's 1st Birthday... so I wanna keep everything vibrant and colorful. I'll probably see about getting a ton of balloons and streamers to decorate but that's really about it because a) I don't really have the time or money to make sure everything matches perfectly and b) it's not like Lovie has any favorite character or anything. Unless kissing the cute baby in the mirror could be a character or theme. :D

I've been in the process of making a video for her 1st year but I'm thinking that won't be played at her party- unless they have a TV. Not sure. It's probably for the best since I'd end up losing my mind, I'm sure. That said, I think I'm going to print out a bunch of pictures and put them in some chronological order and display them for everyone to see. Maybe a banner of sorts, maybe collages on each table?  Something so that everyone can see the changes from birth to 1.

Not sure about doing any favors. I'd love to but again, time and MONEY is an issue. Maybe I'll do some chocolate covered pretzels or something simple. And easy. And cheap. But honestly, favors is the last thing I'll put any time and money into.

I don't know. It's all so overwhelming to be honest. I want the party to be awesome for Lovie and for the guests, but I also don't want to stress about it in fear that *I* won't enjoy it. Does that make sense?  I mean, I've really enjoyed these first 10 months with her. All of it. I've really made it a point to just absorb as much of it as I could because I know how fast time goes and I've listened to people complain about regrets they had early on. I don't want that to be me. I don't want to regret anything. And so far there's no chance of that happening.

This morning for example when she woke at an ungodly hour (417am), I was tired, yes, but as soon as I went in there and saw her standing and smiling at me... ack!! I scooped her up into my arms and she laid her head on my shoulder and I just hugged her, smelling her hair, holding her curly haired head in one hand while my other arm held up her bottom. She's gotten so incredibly big. She's going to walk soon. She's going to be a toddler soon.

I don't want to miss a thing. Ever!

But that's impossible. I'm already missing a ton being here at "work."

I don't want to look back at her very first birthday party and just think about how much money was spent or remember that the cake didn't match the image on her shirt. I want to think back and remember my child and her expressions and her emotions.

And now I can't help but wonder as to who will take pictures. Cripes this is insane.

This, That, and the Other

The weekend flew by, no? Argh, me no likey when they go by lightening fast.

This:
Saturday the babe and I went to a baby shower for a friend of mine. Since she's awesome with crowds and a very social, good baby, I figured why not take her along. And fortunately she was invited so it worked out well, I thought. The car ride there was pretty bad. It took over 20 minutes to drive ONE MILE to get to the farking expressway. And this is why I HATE living in the city. It's really not all that gosh darn glamorous when it takes longer to get somewhere by car than it would to walk. Argh.

By the time I was getting out of the city, Lovie started fussing. And it took all of two minutes before she started screaming. She was hungry. And while my Lovie is seriously a fantastically easy going child, when she's hungry you best look the fuck out. She's like her momma in that respect. *shrug*

I was able to keep the screaming to a minimum for about 10 minutes but just as I was getting off the 2nd expressway (yeah did I mention the shower was in Kentucky? ha, I kid), there was nothing more that could be done. Lovie wanted a bottle and she wanted it NOW- which was when traffic stopped, of course.

Construction. Yay me!

Fortunately it only took several minutes for traffic to start moving (I think they may have heard Lovie) and as everyone flew on down the road, I pulled over first chance I got and got that bottle in her mouth as quickly as I could.
As soon as Lovie finished her bottle, off we went to the shower where everyone oohed and aahed over her cuteness. I had in her in pigtails.


Ooooh!! Aaaaah!!

We stayed a couple hours. And I was exhausted by the time we left. Lovie ate up a storm- goldfish crackers, bread, chicken, pasta salad, and italian ice! And she wanted to open all the presents of course. And play with another friend's brand new baby. And then she stank like a big pile of poop so off we go to get her changed only to find that the place, which had three baby showers going on at the same time, didn't have a changing table (ironic much?). Fortunately the love bug was just wet. So we go back to the shower and she wants to open the gifts... and eat and play with the baby and sit in the baby's car seat... then she smelled BAD so off we went and holy hell was there a ton of poop... and she wouldn't lay still and I had to wrestle to hold her down and some other mom with her kid, Sophia, came and tried talking to Lovie to keep her still... we got through that and back to the shower and they opened my lame gifts (Seahorse and Baby 411) and we left and we get to the car and shhhh do you hear that??! LOVIE'S SLEEPING!! As soon as we got in the car she fell asleep, slept the whole way back (much quicker than getting there fortunately) and wanted to still nap when we got home.

I was starving by then since I couldn't eat much at the shower (which saddens me as I adore food- clearly!) because of someone who shall remained nameless. :D  And I kind of get this feeling that I'll be losing a lot of weight (I'm a fat fuck if you didn't know) soon because of this same someone.

That:
Sunday we slept in. *laughs hysterically at the sarcasm*

After Lovie took a 2.5 hour nap, I dressed her up in her Halloween costume and we went to a local church that had a bunch of pumpkins gathered for some pics.

Can you guess what she'll be for Halloween? : )

We only stayed for a couple hundred pictures and came home. Lovie was rubbing her eyes and acting tired yet wouldn't nap. Instead, she decided to TAKE FOUR UNASSISTED STEPS for us.

Yeah, it won't be too long now. Wow, huh?

The Other:
I have no desire to have another baby and sometimes I feel like there's something wrong with me because of it. I really don't have a reason either. I adore my Lovie so much. I adore being a mom. I've waited so fucking long to be one and it's way more awesome than I ever imagined it would be... yet I have no desire to do so with another child.

What the fuck is wrong with me??

That mom I mentioned above with the new baby? Yeah that's her second babe- in less than two years. She has two kids under two and couldn't be happier. Yet the thought of that makes me cringe.

Earlier this morning some dude that works at the place I work, and whose wife had their first baby a couple months before I had Lovie, told me that his wife is knocked up again. And he's so happy. And when he told me, inside I was like, "Ew, why??!?" but instead I said, "That's so awesome for you guys. Congrats!!" And I do mean the congrats FOR THEM part.

For us though?? No thanks.

But why? 

It actually saddens me that I feel this way... like there's something wrong with me.

Secret Thursday

Another Thursday, another secret. This one's not so juicy and not very fun, but it's life I suppose: My Oma (grandmother), the namesake behind Lovie's middle name, is dying.

She had a piece of her lung removed 10 years ago when they told her she had lung cancer (she's never smoked a day in her life). Four years ago, while at a baby shower for my niece, Oma told me that the cancer was back and that she wouldn't be doing anything about it because of the pain she endured last time and because Ota (my grandfather) was no longer alive (he passed away the year prior to this conversation). She insisted she was old and had lived a long life already.

It took everything in me not to break down into hysterics. I know I welled up, but I tried to just remain calm and listen.

I've cried many a night since then.

The thought of a world without my Oma breaks my heart. The warmth and goodness this woman exudes is indescribable. She's everything I could ever hope to be in life and I've known for a very long time that should I ever have a girl child, she would be somehow and someway named after my Oma. 

About a year ago my mom, who now lives with Oma, told us (me and my brother and sister) that Oma had congestive heart failure but that she would be OK as long as she didn't overexert herself. I was pregnant with Lovie at the time and it had been my dream that Oma at least be able to hold my child at least once- that I could have at least one picture of Oma with my own child. 

And she has. When Lovie was only a couple weeks old, we made the drive out to Oma's house despite the frigid temps. I was still healing from my c-section and Lovie was this itty bitty little thing. Seeing Oma's face light up as I handed her my Lovie is an image I will never forget. And it's one that we've been able to redo at least once a month since then, not taking any time we have with her for granted.

Then just a couple of months ago my mom told me that she was at the doctor with Oma for a check up and not only does Oma have congestive heart failure but that the lung cancer that was removed 10 years ago and returned 4 years ago was completely covering her lungs.  She said the doctor showed them both the x-rays to see just how much was covered. Fortunately, her heart wasn't covered though.

She didn't come right out and say it, but she basically said that it's only a matter of time.

*inhales deeply*

I met my mom for lunch today. I talked up a storm about Lovie and how she survived 6 days of diarrhea and the worst case of diaper rash. And then my mom nonchalantly told me that she thinks Oma is getting pneumonia.

Surprisingly I didn't cry.

Of course now as I type this... it's a whole other story.

Welcome Wordless Wednesday: Teeth

Grab the hand sanitizer

...you'll need it around here: Lovie's got the worst case of diarrhea I've ever seen. : (
Today is day FIVE of it.
Went to the doc and she said to STOP any milk products and give her Pedialite and solids (crackers, rice, non dairy).
My poor baby's bottom. 
I can't even say how many times *I've* broken down in tears because of hers- during diaper changes only. Otherwise she's the happiest, friendliest baby in the world and I'm not just saying that; I have proof!! She met 15 new people on Saturday when we threw my dad a birthday party (77th!). Every single one of them marveled at a) her beauty (sooo sweet- she was compared to the likes of Halle Berry... I'll take it!!) and b) how good she was. I barely saw her the entire time and didn't hear her either.
Then today, after the doc visit, we stopped by my work so I could get some things done since I'll be out wiping someone's butt as gently as I can and caking on the A&D ointment, and every single person she encountered again marveled at a) her beauty and b) how great a baby she is.
And she is.
My Lovie.
My doll. 

arrow is point to her two little teethers that joined our household several weeks ago- finally- at 9m4d (I've been saying she's been teething since 4 months- oops!)

Thanks for stopping by- don't forget to wash your hands now so you don't get the runs, too!

I'll never forget

Today, October 15th, is National Pregnancy

and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.



Secret Thursday

Last week I shared a secret on Thursday. This week, I think I'll do the same. Wouldn't it be groovy if I could do it again next week, too? And then you do it on your blog and it will be a blogging revolution that we share secrets on Thursday. Or not.

So today's juice isn't really baby related, shockingly enough. Well not all of it, at least. Ready?

Secret #1:
I think I found my old grammar school crush. I'm about 99% sure it's him, in fact. On Facebook of course. Good old Facebook.

It's funny because I've "looked" for him and others (because there were just so many others, uh huh) in the past but it's hard to know if you've found the right person if it's been TWENTY-FIVE YEARS! Fortunately this one has a more unique name and is the only one on Facebook. Not sure what possessed me to even look for him, but I did and I found him and it just brought back so many memories...

his long black hair flowing in the wind
his teeth covered in metal that sparkled when he smiled
his tight jeans and heavy metal t-shirts
his walk (like a stick was up his ass- must've been the tight jeans)
the way he'd shake my chair in class (he sat behind me, would shake chair with feet)
the way he'd tap his pencil on the desk until I'd turn around and tell him to stop
the way I tried not thinking about him but it didn't work

Ah to be 13 and in 8th grade again.

NO FUCKING THANKS!! I hated my teen years. HATED. Wouldn't go back for anything.

Anyway a part of me wonders if he would remember me. I mean, we only went to 8th grade together (I transferred in) and that was that. Like I said, it's been 25 years. A part of me would love to "friend" him and ask but I won't do it... I just don't think it's fair to my husband even though nothing ever happened between us. Plus it would be weird. I mean, it's already weird considering I'm BLOGGING ABOUT IT!

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Secret #2:
Meijer, the grocery store, sells baby shoes!! They sell a lot of shit but they sell baby clothes, too. And SHOES. Baby shoes! At the Meijer (cheap!) price!

If you know anything about me, you know I'm cheap (I should put that in my About Me, huh?). And it pains me to spend lots of money on Lovie's clothes and shoes. I have no qualms with buying used- especially when it comes to baby clothes/shoes. Why not? I mean, how often do wee ones wear their clothes before outgrowing??

My biggest problem is shoes, though. It's so hard to find Lovie shoes because a) I'm cheap and b) her feet are TINY. Ugh. But I saw these cute mocs on this adorable baby in another blog and have been searching (because I was too timid to ask) for them to no avail. Well said blogger posted today about them! And I just bought two pair! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE I can't wait till they come!

But. That's not at all my secret. My secret is that I found a pair of furry boots (not mocs but still furry and fucking cute!) at MEIJER of all places for ... $7.99.  Did I buy them?  Well, no - but only because I just spent $50 on two pair of mocs earlier.  We'll see what happens when they come- if I don't like, I'll return and get the cheapass boot things from Meijer for $8!!

Why didn't I know that MEIJER had baby shoes and shit? Well, now I do. And now you do, too!

So do YOU have secrets to share with the class this week??

I couldn't help it.

I know today is Wordless Wednesday and I thoroughly enjoy Wordless Wednesdsay in bloggersville but today I won't be participating.  Not only don't I have any new pics to post but I've got bigger news to share.

See they (daycare) finally moved Lovie's crib (end of last week) to the back of the room and she's since been napping twice a day. That, in addition to the 45-60 min nap she takes in the car on the way home, means Lovie and I get to PLAY when we get home because she isn't ass tired!

Oh man have we been having so much stinkin fun- I can't even say!

Sure I could be washing dishes, cleaning the floor, folding (or doing) laundry, etc, but those 2 hours from the time we get home till Lovie's bedtime go by in a flash so why not play, play, play?  We laugh and giggle, wrestle and hug, dance and sing.  I have a big ole grin on my face right now just thinking about the fun we have!

Well last night something happened... something that made me well up with tears in my eyes. I couldn't help it.

Lovie was playing with her activity table- pressing the things to make music and dancing and singing.  Then she came over to me and we hugged and danced. I was sitting on the floor against the wall, she was standing- making us eye level. She turned around to go back toward the activity table which was maybe three baby steps away. Instead of dropping and crawling, she went for it:

LOVIE TOOK TWO STEPS WITHOUT ANYONE HOLDING HER UP.

I didn't even really realize what was happening until it was done because it happened so fast. My hands were right there ready to catch her the whole time, but they didn't need to do anything as Lovie moved one foot forward, then the other, then lunged toward the activity table and pressed a button and danced.

"Yaaaaaaaaaay!!" I proclaimed and clapped.  And then, just like right now, I welled up and cried.

I couldn't help it. And I can't right now.

I'm so proud of her- I can't even convey it really. But... wow. My baby doll took her first steps.  (Holy hell, I just had to wipe my eyes just now, too!)

I'll have to institutionalized when she starts school at the rate I'm going.

tired

Hot. That’s how I would describe the weekend. And that’s not right…not for October in the Midwest! It should be nice and cool and crisp but instead we had to turn the damn a/c on to ease up on the damn sweat that oozed from our pores. Boo! Not a fan of summer heat as it is and then when it invades my Fall, I just wanna throw out a big “Ef You” to it.

I wonder if the heat and my hatred of it played upon my mood this weekend. I wasn’t very happy and that makes me sad. I love seeing and being with my Lovie, yet when she got up both Saturday and Sunday hours before the sun, I was angry. And that saddens me… that I was angry. I wasn’t angry at her, just that she refused to sleep in – or even play by herself in the crib for a bit. I mean I got my fat ass up and gave her some toys and turned on her closet light and told her she could stay awake… and 6 minutes later she stood hanging onto the crib rails like a prisoner and screamed. And cried. And chewed on the railing. And screamed and cried and screamed. All while the husband snored. Are you kidding me, man?!? Angrily I got up (both days) and stormed back into her room, threw the light on, scooped her up and out of the crib and placed her on the floor and placed my fat ass in the chair we have in there. And both days she looked at me, made her way to a toy, looked at me and smiled as she played.

She was so happy to be free of the crib, to be with her momma, and moments prior I was angry.

I suck!!

I’m just so tired…all the time. (Lovie has only STTN maybe a dozen times in her life- and no matter how frustrating it might be to get up, I cannot fathom letting her “cry it out”.) And the fact that I can’t seem to ever catch up on sleep just pisses me off even more. And I hate being pissed off over something like that because the fact of the matter is that I’ve never been happier in my life. Because of her. My Lovie.

She just smiles at me and it’s like … magic. I may be tired, I may be upset that I’m up before the sun while my husband snores in bed, but all she does is look at me and smiles and everything in the world is great again.

this pic is exactly (oddly enough) 2 months old
bc she's not a fan of the camera these days

Post-free Weekend???

Not this one!

Today I'm on my first ever PLAYDATE. Me, Miss Anti-social!! And, get this: I'm having fun! I'm over at LeeAnn's place soaking in the *extreme* cuteness that are her two kids, Rylie and Bryce.

Check it out:

About Last Night- G rated

Last night was great. Lovie was ass tired, as usual, when I picked her up from a hard day at school. :) She fell asleep as soon as we got in the car and woke up when we got home. Like she does every day. Since she just had a snack and a bottle before leaving school, I tried to let her nap a little longer than the hour she had done all day.

She wasn't having any of it. YAY!! I love it when she refuses to nap when we get home because that means we actually get to PLAY!

And play we did.

I changed into shorts and was sitting in the chair in her room and she thought it would be funny to slap my naked knee. I could see this grin creeping over her face so all of a sudden, I started to slap my knee, too- copying what she was doing. Boy did find this hilarious and started cracking up! Good times, I tell ya! Good times! We did this for a good 15 minutes.

After about 45 minutes of playing in her room, I scooped her up and off to the kitchen we went- where I placed her into the high chair so she could have some dinner (peas and crackers). And then we went to play for a bit in the play room.

This is where she started to dance to the her activity table- WITHOUT LEANING ON ANYTHING. I didn't have my camera so I couldn't catch it on film, but I sat there with my jaw on the floor as she danced and danced to her activity table, holding a set of plastic keys in one hand and nothing in the other. She danced with all her weight on her legs and feet and I nearly cried. My big girl.

Before making our way back to her bedroom to start winding down for bed, I wanted to see if she would push her little push toy so I would place her behind it, standing up, and I walked backwards making the toy move. And my itty bitty Lovie walked right along with the movement of the toy with a big ole grin on her face.

We did this over and over again for about 20 minutes! I was completely out of breath, but I did manage to catch it on video to show my husband (and the world).

And the excitement didn't end there, folks. Nope!

It was nearing her bedtime and because we had so much fun, I thought I should read a couple more books than the normal Goodnight Moon to get relaxed. I started to read Guess How Much I Love You with Lovie on my lap, but she quickly made her way off and down onto the floor. I continued reading. She crawled to the bookshelf and looked at it and picked up one of my favorite books that I actually bought the day we found Lovie would be a girl: I Love You So...

Lovie held it in her hands and looked at me as I finished up reading the other book. She put it in her mouth and looked at me. I asked her if she wanted me to read that book and gently took it out of her hands, scooped her back up and placed her on me and I read the entire book with Lovie laying on me.

So to recap:

• Lovie and I laughed and she slapped my leg
• Lovie danced without leaning on anything
• Lovie walked with her push toy
• Lovie "asked" me to read her a book

Does it really get better than this??



sorry about all the links but videos really slow down my page... don't worry, though, here's a pic of my Lovie:

secret, secret, i got a secret! *

Okay so it's not that good of a secret so don't get all excited.  It's just something I thought of and did on my own without hearing about it from a message board or friends, and something that I've kept to myself for some stupid reason. And it's something that I don't think many people would even think to do unless they happen to be moving or purging or something.

WTF is it?!?

Well, here's a picture of it:

Haha, I'm sure you're just rolling your eyes- if you're even still reading.

Yeah so it's a storage tote you can pick up from Target or Home Depot, etc. Sometimes you can get them on sale (which is the only time I buy them), but they're great for storing things. Anything: Clothes, pots and pans, books, toys, whatever. Right? Hell, I've even heard people turning them into litter boxes for their cats. Point is they're very useful!

That's not my secret though. My secret is ... why not place one in the center of your infant's room and use it as a table of sorts? You can store toys in it if you want, too. Or Christmas stuff. Or whatever.

My point is that Lovie loves the storage tote we've left in her room (we just moved end of August and well, it's taking us quite some time to unpack and set up and crap). She plays with it every single time she's playing in her room (I will get pics some day). She uses it pull her self up to stand (great idea, no??) and bangs toys on it. Or her hands. She loves making noises and this allows that. She also loves walking around it, etc. And there aren't any sharp corners in case she gets a little crazy and lets go of it while standing (which she's been doing lately!), possibly resulting in her forehead or chin kissing the tote (fortunately this hasn't happened).

I'm telling you it's one of the best things we've discovered in a long time.  And all for like $5.

Whodathunk, right?

So now that I've shared my secret, I want to hear one of yours. What's something goofy, cheap, off-the-wall, etc that you've discovered that you've been keeping to yourself to make you think you're the most awesomest, most brilliant person ever to walk the earth? : )

* and an extra 5 points if you tell me where today's title originates from! (but don't ask me what you can do or get with those 5 points)

Welcome Wordless Wednesday: LOVE

If you think she's worthy, feel free to cast your vote for her by clicking HERE.

Playing hookie

Lovie had her 9 month checkup yesterday and she's looking great, thankfully.

weight is 50 percentile- average: 19.3 pounds
height is 75th percentile- long still: 28.5 inches!!
head is 75th percentile, too: 44.5cm

She's crawling, pulling up to stand, cruising like mad, standing without holding onto stuff, pushing a toy and walking with it, thinking about walking (I swear I can see her mind thinking about just going for it at times); she's eating table food and pretty much ditched the baby food; she's wearing 12 month and 12-18 month clothes (her feet are still very tiny though); she drinks water from sippy cup like a pro...

Blah Blah my kid is awesome blah blah.
 
After the appointment, we went to the pumpkin farm because it was beautiful out and a weekday (both the hubs and I take off when she has her appointments- it does a family good to spend a day during the workweek together occasionally).
 
 

I didn't want to ruin the pictures with my "watermark" so I made them smaller- regardless, do NOT steal, please. I took the last one with my cellphone believe it or not.

God I love Fall. Crisp air, vivid colors, and snuggling with my Lovie.

1 one 1 one 1 one 1 one ONE!

So I've been looking for shirts or whatnot for Lovie's 1st birthday coming up in less than three months (!!!) and while I'm finding some incredibly cute stuff out there, I'm a cheapass. Especially when it comes to something she'll probably wear once.

That said, I think I'm going my own route and creating my own products. Sort of.

Checkout my online store: Babyrrifc!!

Yeah so I'm not real savvy when it comes to all this but it's a start, right? And yeah, I realize when you go to it the darn thing defaults to images on a Women's Shirt- just click on Kids & Baby and pretend that's what it defaults to. ; )

this is what i get when
I take pics these days :)

Feel free to purchase something if you so desire but that's not my point to this post. My point is to ask you for your opinion on what I should get for MY child since that what this is all about - me and MY child. :D

Before I show you the options, this is the why:

For the first time in her life since leaving the hospital, she'll be getting her pics professionally taken. Yes, this cheapass is going to fork out the pretty penny so someONE else can take her picture. (And not a moment too soon- see pic on the right.) That said, the pics will be taken 11 days before her birthday- but the photog will get me a couple teasers to abuse use as I wish like right away. I'm SO excited!!! : ) Ack!!

I'm able to have three changes of clothing and I already know what dress she'll wear (yes, a real dress on my baby girl!) but I want something fun, too. Something that screams that she's ONE. I also may do a Cake Smash and I don't want her to be without a shirt so ONE of the onsies I want to buy will be for just the caks smash pics and I think I want a second ONE to wear in other pictures with a tutu or something.

Anyway, here are the choices I've narrowed it down to (remember, it needs to pop in photos):

in case you can't read it, b = mommy, daddy, & i survived and d = guess who's

So what do you think?? Which ONE or two should I go with? Or, if you have something better in mind that won't cost more than $15 shipped (did I mention I'm a cheapass?!?), pimp it out as well.

And while you're at it, PLEASE vote in that poll over there on the left side of the page.