Shopping with the girls

Kel and I took Eden to the mall today. And in Baby Gap, Kel found some awesome baby sunglasses. We decided to try them on (sorry about the poor quality - it's a phone picture):


Didn't buy the glasses, but I'm totally having non-buyer's remorse because she loved them so much.

Weekends Rock

Today was a good day. My life is awesome. Here's a glimpse into my typical Sunday.

7:00 am. We woke up after sleeping all night (YAY!). Bryan had to leave right away (he took the bus to the church) but Eden and I cuddled and nursed for a little while. Then the two of us got gussied up and (8:00) Eden had breakfast (Cheerios, yogurt and fruit).

8:50 am. Eden and I headed to church. Eden was tired (church is during her naptime) so she let me cuddle her for a little while, and I got lost remembering when she was tiny and would just sleep through the service in my arms. (I wasn't helped in this sentimental reverie by the three week old baby in front of us...) She was a trooper and stayed awake, so she ended up in the nursery, playing with her baby friends (and getting a yummy snack of peach-flavored stars!!), while Bryan and I enjoyed the service.

10:50 am. After church the girls went back home (Bryan had to stay for the second service, as usual). Eden fell asleep in the car (sans pacifier! We're working on slowly weaning her from it, so she only gets it when she has trouble going to sleep, and only at home) and then was so passed out she didn't even wake up when I put her in bed. Check it out - she's sleeping on her back, and she never sleeps on her back!


12:15 pm. Eden woke up and ate lunch (oatmeal and applesauce), and finished nursing just as Daddy was coming home. Then all three of us headed to Russo's for the first time. We'd been hearing about this place for what seems like forever, and we kept wanting to go but we just hadn't made it there yet. I am pretty sure trips to this place will become commonplace in our house. It is an amazing produce market.


2:45 pm. When we came home I decided to let Eden try the stairs solo. And guess what? She's amazing.

After that feat of awesomeness, we all played on the floor in the living room while Bryan and I watched OSU attempt to upset Pitt (and eventually, unfortunately, fail).

3:30 pm. Eden had a snack of strawberries (from Russo's, of course) and a cup of water. No sippy lid. She was doing so great, but every time I tried to video her, she would spill the entire cup on her tray. So no video of that. Sorry. But here is a picture I took with my phone (OK, so this picture is from dinner, but whatever...):


3:45 pm. Anyway, after her snack, we played a bit more, she had some milk, and then Bryan left, (4:15 pm) Eden took a nap, and I attempted to rest. Unfortunately it took me about an hour to finally fall asleep, and once I did, Eden woke up literally ten minutes later. But she was all smiles, so it was OK!

5:30 pm. We played like crazy for an hour or so, and then settled in for her dinner (beef, pasta, and veggies). After that, at little more playing, and then (7:40 pm) a relaxing nursing session, and (8:00 pm) glorious sleep (for Eden) while I waited for Bryan to get home from work. And blogged.

I love weekends.

I have to share this...

My friend, the monkey's mama, just posted an awesome video of her baby, C, watching a video of Eden from her Ninth Month pictures.

Glad to see we made someone smile. :)

Thanks for sharing, a.l.s.!

Summer Vacation

We are taking a summer vacation.

A REAL summer vacation.

Before the crappy economy hit close to home, we had already booked it.

Want to know where we're going?

Here's a hint (no fair guessing if you already know...):

Nine Months

Sweet Little Eden,

You're three quarters of a year old, and the time has flown by. I pick you up from your crib, smiley and happy in the morning, and I can barely remember that tiny little burrito baby we brought home from the hospital. You've changed so much since then, and I can hardly remember how it was back then. Daddy and I have changed too. The three of us have become a little family... we're integrated.

You are becoming much more independent. You love to feed yourself - if we can't get you to eat baby food we can definitely win with bits of well-cooked grown-up food. You're an expert pincer grasper. You get lots of practice with Cheerios and little Gerber stars. You also pick up any tiny thing on the floor. And try to eat it. We had to purge Nino's toys of all the small stuff. He didn't really seem to mind.

You are getting pretty good at pulling up and walking along furniture. You've learned to sit down, too, which is an important part of it. You like to walk by holding our fingers in your hands. The funny thing is, you don't bend your knees. You walk totally straight-legged. It's sort of cute.

We went to the doctor yesterday. You weigh 18 pounds, 14 oz, and you're 27.5 inches long. That puts you right at average. (Come on, we all knew you couldn't possibly have the genes to sustain 95th percentile for height...). You're doing great. The doctor was impressed. She asked if you were babbling in multiple syllables yet, and it was as if you understood - you started demonstrating away! The only worrisome thing is that your hemoglobin levels were low. We have to start watching your iron intake. I think we can handle that.

You're such a happy girl, and I love it. Sometimes you get really silly, and everything makes you laugh. Those are my favorite times - that laugh kills me. And now that you've got your four front teeth it's even cuter. You're probably the only person in the world who honestly thinks I'm hilarious. It's awesome.

Right now your favorite things are your tall toy, which you can stand up and play with (and do karaoke on), and your Mommy and Daddy. You always want to be near us - you don't like it if we leave the room. You love to just talk to us and touch our faces (or grab my glasses, which we're trying to teach you not to do). You also LOVE baths. You see the bathtub and you start going crazy, kicking your legs and rocking back and forth. And then once you're naked you REALLY freak out, making the "happy noise" and everything!

Teething hasn't been the easiest thing for any of us. When your mouth hurts you have a hard time going to sleep, because you fall asleep with your pacifier and it hurts to suck. But we're making it through, one at a time (or sometimes two at a time). And once that little pearly white pokes through, you're back to yourself.

There's this commercial where a little girl packs a monkey in her dad's briefcase when he leaves for a business trip, and I always get close to tears when I hear the song in the background because it's just how I feel about you (except I'm also always excited to come home to Daddy... but you get the point)...

Sweet Pea
Apple of My Eye
Don't know when and I don't know why
You're the only reason I keep on coming home

I love you, Precious Little Sweet Pea.

Mommy

(You LOVE riding in a laundry basket...)

Taking after everyone...

Funny story...

Last Sunday, I was home alone with Eden and I discovered that, although she unmistakably looks like her Daddy, she is starting to show some personality from others in our closest circle of "family."

First, she sings karaoke on her new toy like her Aunt Kelli:

Second, she takes pictures like her Mommy (I don't have an example but anyone who tries to take a candid shot of me knows that my tongue is almost always out when I see a camera... it's true...):

And then she did her best Nino impression:

She's our girl!

I'm safe... for now.

It happened. And I still have a job. Unfortunately my next door "neighbor" does not. That totally, royally sucks. I don't have the energy to blog any more about it, and I want to respect the privacy of others, but just know that the office was incredibly weird today. It was a total shock - it feels like someone died. And I feel terrible about the whole thing, like somehow it was my fault. The only solution, I guess, is to keep my head down and keep busy. Thank the Lord that I still have a job, and that there is work to be done.

Now I am going to sleep. Daylight savings time? Sucks for everyone in my family.

Cat in the Bag

Last night on the way home from the gym Kel and I got Panera for the four of us. It was really great, as usual, but the best part was today when Nino and Eden discovered the big bag all the food came in. They both loved it, and they entertained each other for quite awhile (given the attention span of a cat and an eight-month-old, ten minutes is an eternity...). It was awesome to see the two of them getting along so well. They're going to be great friends one day.

Reflections of a Working Mom

I just wrote this email to an old friend back home and it's something I've been wanting to blog about anyway, so I'll just copy and paste. Because I have a quasi-cranky little girl needing her mommy. (Also, just by way of update, I still have a job. For now. I don't know when they're going to make decisions.) But on to the email:

I was just thinking today about how I love going to work and wearing a power suit and using words like “preemption” and “specific performance” and actually knowing what I’m talking about, but I also love coming home, putting on my jammies, and babbling and dancing with Eden while she covers me in drool and snot and Bryan tells me all about her poop. It’s a wonderful life I have, and I’m so grateful to be able to have both sides of myself so engaged.

I always wish I could be home more, but it only really bothers me when either work is so slow I do nothing but think about how I’d rather be home, or when work is so busy I don’t see Eden before she goes to bed (thankfully that has only happened once). I do think that Bryan being home with her has been the saving grace of the situation. I call him about ten times a day, and I hear about all the details of their day, and I give my input on what he could do to make it run more smoothly. So I feel like I’m still plugged in. I know it wouldn’t be quite that way if she were in daycare.

Being a lawyer rocks (when there is work to do...). Being a mom rocks even more. I don't think I've ever felt this at home.