Playing Catch-up

first things first - sorry for the horrible mess that is my last post. I am running into difficulties making posts from my ipad. The fonts have to be tweaked manually and its been tedious and annoying. I've tried using blogger's app as well as updating through the website via my ipad and virtually nothing helps. I am frustrated because I much prefer using my tablet over our desktop but the mess that it churns out makes me not want to post. That being said... Hello! We have been in such a great groove lately and its been difficult to want to sit down to update. Alison is not sleeping so well - down at 6:30pm, up at 5am to eat, sleeping again until 7am. Her naps are also beautiful. Two 1 1/2- 2 hour naps at 9am and 2pm. I can finally cook and clean and READ. If it weren't for my silly ipad issues I would also be updating more frequently. Lately we have been enjoying the park, going to the library, seeing friends, and have even made a few trips to our Children's Museum. I am loving the freedom that scheduled naps gives us, not to mention our girl is so happy and full of curiosity now that she is getting wonderful sleep. My husband and I love that we get grown up time to be with one another now that she sleeps soundly, too. I'm making a list of posts I'd like to make within the coming weeks now that I have time (and will) to do so. Any blogging momma can attest to those times when there is nothing she wants to do less than blog. When our days were erratic I was definitely one of those mommas. Here is to another great week!!

Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day (weekend) was simply wonderful Saturday, my Mother-in-law AND my Brother-in-law graduated from college (different local universities), so we had the family together to celebrate both their great accomplishments as well as Mother's Day. As with other holidays, my mother came down and I was so happy she did. My husbands grandparents were also in town which is always a treat. The weather wasn't the best, but we did get some sun along with the rain. All of us hung out on the porch and marveled over Alison's growth and accomplishments - Shane's grandparents had t seen her since Christmas so it was especially great for them.

Sunday we went with my mom to a local county park to have a picnic. It didn't go without some issues but it was wonderful all in the same. I received some beautiful cards, flowers, and even a cute bunny rack from my momma. Once my mom left, Shane, Alison and I enjoyed our time together as a family.

Family of Three - Mother's Day! 5-14-13

Mom and Me 5-12-13

It was fun to reflect on the day one year before. Mothers Day 2012 was wonderful - we hosted a BBQ for our family and revealed Alison's gender and pre-picked middle name (still hadn't landed on Alison, though :) ). I remember anticipating what Mother's Day would be like once our girl arrived and I can verify its even better than I expected. 

I hope you had a wonderful Mothers Day, too!!!

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. 

6 month Stats

 This post is incredibly late, I know. Due to Spring Break and scheduling conflicts we just got Alison in for her 6 month check up & shots on Friday. The Pediatrician was very impressed by her growth and her sitting posture :) 

• Age: 6 months 21 days / 28 weeks 6 days
• Weight: 16 lb 9 1/2 oz (50%) as of 4/19/13
  
• Height:  26 1/2 in (50-75%) as of 4/19/13
• Head Circumference: 16 1/2 in (25%) as of 4/19/13
• Hair Color:  Light Golden Brown
  
• Eye Color: Blue  
• Diaper Size:  Size 3
• Clothing Size:  9 months
• Mommy's Favorite: Her laugh, The way she "spit-talks", How she looks like a pretty little flower when she sits up,her hugs, our nighttime routine. 
• Daddy's Favorite:  Feeding her new foods, her smile,going out to eat with her, When she laughs at "play yelling" (its so cute - he'll say I told you not to pull my hair with a smile, and she'll just laugh and laugh)
• Favorite Toys By Month:

• October= monkey rattle

• November= giraffe music box stuffed animal

• December= bumble bee toy
• January =  knit doll
• February = wooden teethers
• March =  her "box of fun" (Thanks Megan!!)
• April = bunny book

• Sleep: We seem to be in a good spot with her sleep patterns. Ever since we got a sleep sack she's more or less sleeping through the night again (thank goodness) baring a quick wake up once or twice just for a pacifier. Still not wonderful, but it only takes a moment to get her to back to sleep. Naps are still a thorn in our side - she just wants to sleep on me and is very persistent on doing so. We've almost broken her of it, but not completely. Our big girl only naps twice now - around 9:30 and again around 1 or so, for anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours a stretch. UPDATE - She is now napping in her crib after minimal fussing. Still not LONG naps, but they are gradually getting better :)
• Feeding: She's an efficient little eater for sure! She nurses every three hours (or so) and only for about 4-8 minutes. I used to worry that it wasn't enough, but she sure is growing! We started solids a week before she turned 6 months and she eats a meal of peas, carrots, or avocados once a day, before bathtime at night. She loves trying to feed herself!! UPDATE: We're now feeding solids twice a day mixed with a little oatmeal. 

Tiny Buttons

Alison has another guest post on Tiny Buttons! Go check her out :)

Sleep Training

Its no secret that getting our wee one to sleep has proved problematic. I know we're not alone, but it sure can feel that way when you're in the midst of it. Recently we've noticed that Alison is much fussier and less attentive during the day, and I attribute this shift to her lack of naptime sleep. She's been doing worlds better on nighttime sleep for about the last 2 weeks, even sleeping up to 11 hours on most nights. Its those pesky naps that have us pulling our hair.

I'll admit that I have been pretty relaxed on having any sort of schedule, be it for feeding or sleeping. I thought it was working for us but, at close examination, it really wasn't. I let Alison tell me when she was hungry and I would wait until I saw a sign that she was sleepy to start my (pretty much) non-existent nap routine. No wonder she couldn't fall asleep!

From what I've been re-reading in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child she's unable to coax herself to sleep for naps because she is so overtired. A particular passage really resonated with me and sounded EXACTLY like what Alison has been going through. So, we're going to try out the advice of putting her to bed a bit earlier than normal (5:30) for a bit and really hammer out being home for all of her naps and getting that ROUTINE down.

I've just got to say how much I appreciate all of my mommy friends for their words of wisdom, encouragement, and honesty.

Love this new smile 4-2-13

My silly sunshine girl 4-1-13

Starting Solids

Its now been two weeks since Alison started solids and I believe she's starting to get a hang of it. So far, she's tried avocado, carrots, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, and various combinations of them all. I decided that I wanted to give making her food a go and so far that's been manageable, too. Now that spring is in full swing I can peel potatoes in the back yard while she plays on a blanket and we listen to music. Little moments like that just warm my heart.

She appears to like everything we've given her, although it took a few tries to get her to warm up to carrots. My husband wanted to do the puree thing for a bit before we try any whole-foods. Eventually, I'd like to do a combination of the two - leaning more toward whole foods. When it comes to parenting, we all know that its a compromise of both parents' wishes and ideals. This has probably been the first decision we weren't totally on the same side so we decided to try both. Makes for a happy home. I didn't think I'd get as much enjoyment from making her food as I do and although its pureed - I can breathe a sigh of relief that I at least know its fresh.

This video of our pup Rudy licking her hands after a meal of avocado gets me smiling.

I'm waiting for her 6 month appointment (which is incredibly late this go around due to spring break) to post her stats - Last I weighed her she was 17 1/2 lbs!




I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!