Currently

Making me Happy: My sweet family. Alison is currently hugging (and "kissing") us and it just about melts my heart every time. When I rock her to sleep she puts her head on my chest and holds on to me so tight until I put her down. Moments like these are what I live for! Thanks to the long weekend, we got to spend a lot of time as a family. Becoming a mother and seeing my husband as a father has really strengthen our marriage. Hard not to smile all the time! 

Excited For: I know I talked about this in my last "currently" post but its finally arrived: I'm excited for this weekend's trip to see my mom and for a friend's baby shower. Embarrassing confession: The furthest I I have traveled with Alison since she was born has been 40 minutes from the house (for another baby shower) and I was with my husband. This trip is just shy of 2 hours and we'll be at it alone. This will be the first time she has slept somewhere other than here in our house so that gives me a little anxiety. Overall, however, I couldn't be more thrilled. Additionally, I finally will get to visit my father's "grave" (he was cremated so instead of a grave he requested a bench at his parent's grave site, where we scattered his ashes). And I am worked up daily about that. I miss him immensely. 

Thinking About: Our summer plans. We aren't a beach going family but I have a feeling that will change some now that our girl is here. I want to start making plans for us to visit different places as well as sign us up for a class or two. One thing about staying home with our girl that has been a struggle is trying to vary our day some. It has gotten better the older she has gotten but I am so excited to be able to do some fun, interactive things with her. 

Reading: I'm reading Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald and I am waiting for it to pick up. To be honest I put it down about two days ago and need to start reading again. I like it alright (my favorite genre is biographies) but this book hasn't started to interest me quite yet. It has great rating so I am hopeful.

Watching: We just started watching the new season of Arrested Development. I think we're about 5 episodes in and so far I think its alright. Some reviews aren't buying into the new season at all but I don't think its been THAT bad. We're trying not to "binge" watch it - which is easy to do with Netflix - and I think that has helped us from being too cynical.


Another blogger note: I've been having trouble adding photos to posts from my desktop. Not to mention the formatting issues which are SO ANNOYING. I swear its one thing after another with this blog. 

Currently

Making me Happy: Oh what isn't making me happy!? I am so thrilled that my little one can finally put herself to sleep and is sleeping through the night and having wonderful naps throughout the day. Any mom knows how amazing it is to get over the crap sleep hurdle. Its so nice to spend quality time with my husband at night once she goes down. He always makes me happy :)

Excited For: We're still more than a month out, but I'm excited for an upcomming baby shower for a friend that is due with her first, a girl, in July. Not only will I get to see some good friends but it will be the first trip that I've made home with Alison. I know my mom is excited to finally get to show off her granddaughter to a few of her friends. I can't believe I'm admitting this but we have yet to go further than 40 minutes from the house since she was born. YIKES!

Thinking About: Tomorrow our girl will be 7 months old and we're just two weeks shy of my first Mother's Day. I (re: Shane ;) ) ordered this necklace with Alison's name on it for Mother's Day and I'm looking forward to a nice visit with my mom, too. I am lucky to say my relationship with my mom has always been good but I think since I've become a mom we've become even closer. I just wish she didn't live so far away (even if it isn't all THAT far).

Reading: I've been reading The Interestings By Meg Wolitzer and let me just say how nice it is to have time to read again. Not only has this book been a delight so far, but getting the opportunity to actually read more than a handful of pages a day is pure bliss. If you're looking for a good novel to read I would definitely recommend it.

Watching: Over the weekend we watched Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Django Unchained. I had seen OUaTiM before but Django was a great watch as well. I was honestly skeptical that I wouldn't like it but it was a fun watch, given the subject matter. Christoph Waltz totally killed it.

I am so aware how behind I've been but don't worry - I'm not apologizing. Now that I've had time to clean during her naps I actually have time to do things for myself (like blog! and read!) so I expect to have another update or two before the weekend is up. 

Currently

Making me Happy: Getting out of the house!! Thank goodness Spring begins this week because we've been so cooped up. Lately we've been able to go to a few story times at our local library and we've also taken a lot of walks around our neighborhood. Alison's also gotten so interested in the world around her and it just makes me beam with delight. 

Excited For: We're getting ready to convert our under used office into a playroom for Alison and I'm thrilled to dig in. She's going to really mobile before we know it and this room is just what we need. I'm thinking a trip to IKEA is in order - and soon!!! We'll need storage, a craft table, and a good kid-friendly area rug. We probably should get an actual computer desk while we're at it - our computer is currently sitting on an old door and bar stools. Not exactly kid room friendly. In our defense we made a built in desk at our last house which is why we're desk-less at the moment. We will get there!

Thinking About: Alison is going to be six month old in less than two weeks and she's so close to sitting up, too. Shane and I have talked and we think she's just about ready to start solids. We've got to bring in her highchair from the shed and clean it off and decide what her first meal will be (Avocado? Peas? Sweet Potatoes?) I just can't believe she will be eating solids! Definitely bitter sweet. 

Reading: I'm back to reading some baby books like the No-Cry Nap solution and I'm going to start thumbing through Baby Led Weaning again now that we're getting ready to start solids.  

Watching: I know I'm a little early, but I'm really excited for March Madness to officially begin. This year my alma mater, VCU, is dancing again - this time as a five seed! We should even get to see their first  game in its entirety since its at 9:45 Thursday night! (Knock on wood) GO RAMS!!!

She makes my heart smile. I can't get enough of her little chatter.

Currently

Some of my favorite pictures from the last month

Making me Happy: My amazing husband. Our sweet girl has regressed back to some not so fun habits (mainly her preference to sleep on someone) and he has done more than his share to make the regression easier on me. Alison has gotten SO heavy (at least 15 lbs) and it has become increasingly difficult to rock her to sleep and put her down in the crib without disturbing her and, thus, waking her up. Anyhow, he's gotten pretty good at putting her down at night to save me from my anxiety.  I'm reminded everyday what a wonderful husband I have and what an amazing father Alison has.

Excited For: Alison has been getting bigger and bigger(much to my dismay!) and I can't wait for spring to arrive so we can finally get out of this house and explore the world together more. I just love how curious she is about everything around her and I know that the older she gets the more that curiosity will grow. We have a free years pass for the Children's Museum I used to work at and it'll be so great once we can go. Also, I look forward to going to some story times at the local library - it'll be neat to see how she reacts. I'm hoping to go next week for the first time!

Thinking About: About two weeks ago I was told that the bench my father wanted that will act as a tombstone has been placed. We scattered his ashes at his parents gravesite and it was his wishes to have a bench placed there in his memory. There are no plans yet, but i am itching to go visit (it's just about 2 hours away) and make a trip out of it and see my mom, too while we're in town. Since Alison's birth we haven't been more than 30 minutes from the house and I know my mom is looking forward for us to visit for a change. 

Reading: I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't had time to read anything lately. I did just buy an iPad so maybe there will be more reading in my future soon. I've missed it and there are quite a few books I'd love to read! 

Watching: We just finished House of Cards on Netflix and it was fantastic! I love being able towpath an entire season of a show as quickly as I want without having to wait. It only took a few nights to make it through the entire season and now we can't wait for the next season to start (I've read they are just now filming it!!)

Now I've just started watching Downton Abbey and I finished the first season earlier today. I can definitely see what the fuss is about! I just love the costumes and the story lines. 

Currently

Currently

Not the best shot but she found her feet! 1-17-13

Making me Happy: Our little rhythm. We've finally got one! Its so nice to be able to read or surf the internet for a bit when she's down for a nap. Before, I would eat around her (always getting some on her head!) and try to read/relax but that girl did not like me to sit down AT ALL if she was napping on me. Now, she is sleeping on her own (high five!) and momma gets to have some time to herself & keep her sanity.

Excited For: I have tentative plans for Thursday to see a good friend and her daughter. Her girl is three months older than our peach and its always neat to see/hear what is in store. Plus, its always great to have some adult interaction in the day.

Thinking About: I am working on two posts right now that will get posted eventually.
The first is the birth story of our daughter. I'm about a quarter of the way through and it takes a lot of patience to write. Here we are, almost 4 months out, and I am already beginning to forget some of the details. I'll blame the drugs and all the pain. Accuracy aside, it was the best day of my life.

Additionally, I am working on a "review" of sorts of a book I recently finished: Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five. I will say now that I did enjoy it and hope to take a few things from the book and practice them in our child rearing. Hopefully I'll have that done by the weekend.

Reading: I just started reading Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert and so far I like it. He's got a funny way of writing that is enjoyable. It almost feels conversational. I think after I read this one I'll pick up a more fun read than something so riddled with advice, facts, and research.

Listening To: Lately we've had the Baby Einstein Pandora Radio station on but I've had to nix it. Although I loved hearing the Disney tunes from my childhood they were being played far too often and I think I may scream if I hear Belle belt out her new found feelings for the Beast. (Did she forget that he kept her father in a cellar dungeon?) I digress, we've been listening to Bowie and the Cars, too - since we don't have the TV on at all during the day (a bigger challenge than I thought it was going to be!). I was finding that, even "background" TV isn't ideal. Our television is large and you can't really miss it - when its on you can't help but look and the glazed over look my daughter would get when looking at it really perturbed me. So, radio it is!

Watching: My husband and I have gotten into The West Wing. Its currently on Netflix and since we had never seen it we thought we'd give it a shot. So far we enjoy it. Its nice to have a show we both like (this doesn't happen too too often - he's a documentary lover and I tend to love mindless television). After we get our girl down for the night, we typically fire up our AppleTV and watch an episode or two, cuddling over wine. Its not a glamorous life but its mine and I love it. 

Isn't she beautiful? 1-14-13

Currently

A few of  the blogs I adore have a feature they run fairly often called Currently. In it they pick a few different subjects to broach and give their readers an inside look on what is currently going on in their world, hence the name. I think I'd like a go at it. Sound good? Fantastic!

Making me Happy: Being able to stay home with my daughter. A Stay at Home Mother/Wife's job is never done but don't let people tell you it isn't work. I recently read that women who are SAHM/Ws work an average of 90 hour weeks, versus an average of 72 hours for a partner who works out of the home. This includes duties such as childcare, housekeeping, grocery shopping, bill paying, the lot. It isn't a job for everyone but its a job I take with pride. I do my best to "dress for success!" even if I never leave these four walls for the day. My daughter and my family are my everything and I know I am blessed to get the opportunity to stay at home and watch her grow.

Excited For: Now that the holidays are over and we are through the first few months of our girls life, I am thrilled to start getting out more and seeing friends. I am blessed to have a few great girlfriends who all have little ones (who are also all girls!) that live close by. One is six months older than my daughter, the other is eight weeks younger. As spring approaches, we will be seeing eachother more which means more adult interaction during the day. Now THAT'S something to smile about!

Thinking About: Our progress with Little One's sleep schedule. She has been an amazing sleeper from the get go, but now we are facing a bit of a challenge. She wakes up an hour or so after bedtime and its a workout to get her to go back to bed. She's also having some troubles soothing herself to sleep during the day for naps. Now, I know she's only 14 weeks old, but I can't help but think Are we doing something wrong? We are big into baby wearing and she will fuss and fuss and fuss until we put her into the Moby wrap where she eventually falls asleep.During the day I have been letting her sleep that way, and at night its a careful removal of the Moby to place her into the pack-n-play by my bedside. Sheer exhaustion!

I will say, I nursed her to sleep in our bed just now for a morning nap and carefully put her in the PNP. As of now she's been sleeping a solid 28 minutes -- hooray! Some time with her asleep and not on my person! (ETA: She literally woke up after I finished writing the previous sentence. Nap attempt #2 was explosive and is resulting with her in the Moby wrap, currently :/ )

Reading: I've got two books I'm thumbing through right now:
1) On my kindle, I'm re-reading parts of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child to troubleshoot the issues laid out above. I started reading this book toward the end of my pregnancy and had a good idea of what I would try. Needless to say, I've forgotten most of it and in between nursing sessions, I find myself desperately trying to find some insight in the pages. 

2) From the library I've been reading (and have just about completed) Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Baby from Zero to Five. So far I've enjoyed what appears to be a good advice book. Its a pretty easy read that is backed with research and real life experiences from moms and dads alike. So far I've taken away that the television in our home needs to be off more than I care to admit its been on. Most researchers and pediatricians, the author writes, suggest NO screen time before the age of two. Makes sense. It has been difficult, I won't lie, but I've actually enjoyed having the radio on more. I've actually gotten into some old albums I haven't listened to forever and find the absence of the television sort of liberating. After our sweet girl goes to bed, we tune in and I find that I actually enjoy watching TV more now that I've limited our exposure. Its not perfect (weekends are hard to not have the TV on), but its progress! 
I like this book so well I may do a review on it in a following post. There are more points I wish to outline so that I won't forget down the road. We shall see!

Listening To: As I mentioned above, the TV being less present has afforded me the time to listen to podcasts and albums I haven't visited in quite some time. Last week I really enjoyed listening to Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. It honestly put me in such a great mood - I even cleaned up the house with it on! Some other albums I enjoyed recently are: Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and right now I'm listening to Neil Young's Harvest (while my girl sleeps on my chest)
 In fact, if you haven't noticed the trend, I've enjoyed searching YouTube for "full albums" and playing them over our AppleTV. Its amazing how many are on there!

Watching: Over the weekend my husband and I enjoyed Looper - a sci-fi flick with Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt. Well, I think I enjoyed it. When I think about the details of all the time travel, my head starts to spin. Good storyline though!



Well there you have it, my first Currently post. They may look different in the future, but there it is for now :D

my sweet girl and I a month ago today.