5 Months!

Is it possible that my baby is almost half a year old?! It seems like we just brought her home from the hospital, but in many ways I can't really remember what life was like without her. I even forget what it's like to eat a meal uninterrupted!

At 5 months, my precious girl

-Talks and squeals up a storm

-Has learned how to scream...not in a mad, crying way, but in a "look what I can do" way. Her favorite place to practice this new skill is in a restaurant. I think our dining out days are numbered!

-Can *almost* sit up on her own

-Can *almost* escape from her Rock n Play. I got out of the shower to find her completely turned around in it-like her head where her feet should be. This morning I caught her sitting up and dangling her arms over the side of it like she was trying to escape. Time to start using the buckle!

-Grabs EVERYTHING in sight and tries to eat it.

-Gets really frustrated by her toys. She tries to grab and eat them, and not all of them fit in her mouth, and this angers her greatly

-Loves her exersaucer, but gets angry that the toys are attached to it, and therefore cannot be eaten!

-Loves to pull clumps of fur out of her kitties. Payback for the cat scratch they gave her at 4 weeks old!

-Smiles at EVERY stranger that stops by to pay her a compliment. I have a social butterfly on my hands!

-Had her first solid food! Yay! We tested out rice cereal a couple of times. She loved it the first time, but was not too interested the 2nd time. The first time I used pumped milk to make it, and she gobbled it up. The second time I used formula since that was all I had on hand, and she wanted no part in it. This chick is picky and knows the difference btwn BM and formula. She seriously won't take a bottle unless it has breast milk! Girl knows what she likes!

-Loves water-bath, pool, water bottles (to play with, not drink)-she loves it in all forms!

-LOVES LOVES LOVES her daddy! She saves her biggest smiles for him.

-Stopped sleeping through the night! Yikes! I think she may be teething...

-Looks really close to crawling. She gets in position, and tries really hard. She can drag herself a few inches to get to whatever toy she's trying to reach. Our world is about to change when this chick gets on the move!

Here are some pics and vids of my big girl!

Summer Fun

It's summertime...although you wouldn't know it by looking at me. I'm pale like a vampire. I don't think I've spent more than 5 minutes in the sun all summer thanks to my baby girl. She has to be shaded, and since she is attached to my hip, that means no sunshine for mama.

We have had a great summer so far. My family from Scotland came to visit and spent about three weeks with my parents. We swam, bbq'd, and enjoyed their company.

For the 4th of July, we headed up to my parent's house in Lake Arrowhead to break in my dad's new "Grandpa" boat. He traded in his ski boat for a more baby-friendly pontoon boat. It's amazing! It's so big and roomy compared to his last boat, and is perfect for a little kidlet. My wakeboarding days are behind me, so this new boat is perfect for lounging and cruising the lake. The only downside to being on the lake with a baby was that she had to wear a life vest the entire time we were on the boat. Obviously safety comes first, but the little lady wasn't too thrilled about her newest accessory. We bought the smallest life vest we could find (0-30 lbs), and it was still pretty huge on her. She hated it, but literally the second the boat started moving, she'd go from crying to sleeping. Every time. Without fail. I've been joking that I need to invent a rocker/bassinet that mimics the movements of a boat on water. Parents everywhere would love me and I'd make a small fortune. The movement must have been womb like b/c the kid was instantly knocked out. Lake Arrowhead Village puts on the most incredible fire works show on the 4th. They launch the fireworks from a barge in the middle of the lake, and people can just hop on their boats and enjoy the show. We opted to dock the boat at the village for the show in case Ry didn't take too kindly to the fireworks. Also, it would give her a break from the life vest. The show was amazing-really the best fireworks I've seen, and little Ryleigh did fantastic! She was mesmerized by the fireworks, and the sound didn't seem to phase her. She even fell asleep during the finale-the absolute loudest part of the show!

Here are some pics of our summer so far. Tomorrow marks the beginning of my LAST year in my 20's. EEEEEK! I've just been informed that John is taking me shopping for the day, and Ry is going to hang with grandma, so that means it's time to pump, pump, pump!

Bass Pro Shop

 

Meeting future boyfriend Hudson

Pool Day With My Girl

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini!

Buried Alive in her Life Vest

Conked Out!

Sporting 1 of her Many 4th Outfits

Driving Papa's Boat

Taking a Break From the Life Vest

Familia

Watching the Fireworks

Can you spot the baby?

First trip to the beach

Silly Mommy forgot to pack a hat!

Sandy Feet

Story Time with Daddy

Love my silly girl

Story Time

Catching a sox game with Daddy

One Year

It was exactly one year ago today that we told my parents that they were going to be grandparents. Four days earlier, I got the positive pg test. Three days earlier, I told John he was going to be a dad. Soo much has happened since that day. It seems like yesterday, but this little girl has been officially part of our world for over year now. I sometimes read through my blog to remember what it was like to be pregnant. It's 100% true what they say-you really do forget all the pain, discomfort, sickness, etc when that baby makes its appearance. I can hardly remember what it felt like to be pregnant! This has been such a fun year...from getting ready for our girl's arrival, anticipating what and who she would look like, meeting her and taking her home, and getting to see her little personality develop over the past 4.5 months. I did have a little reminder of the early days of being pregnant this past week. It was time to pull out the Jergens tanning lotion now that summer is in full force. I hadn't used it since last summer, and the smell of the lotion triggered memories from last summer. I put it on and instantly felt nauseated. Seeings as I did spend a good portion of last summer with my head in the toilet, it makes sense that any smell from that time would trigger that feeling. I do not miss that part of being pregnant at all! 

This past month, Ry turned 4 months! At 4 months old, she has: 

-Mastered rolling in both directions

-Gotten big enough for an exersaucer 

-Discovered that in addition to high pitch noises, she can also make her voice go low and deep like a old lady that has smoked for most of her life 

-Attended her first (and my first) Bat Mitzvah 

-Decided that she no longer wants to take a bottle, which has made going out without her difficult. What happened?? 

-Learned that everything in her vicinity must go in her mouth. Including the cat's tail. 

-Expresses a real interest in food. She grabs for it at every meal. I may not hold out to 6 months before I give her solids 

-Doubled her birth weight and grown 4" as of her 4 month appt 

-Her first international trip booked. Not too sure how 11 hours on a plane will go...

 Here are some pics from the last few weeks

Hi Chubby!

Hanging out at her doc appt...poor girl has no clue what's about to happen = (

All dolled up for a Bat Mitzah. Mazel Tov!

Memorial Day BBQ Fun

Family Photo Shoot Framer

Loves her new toy!

Just working on my tan

Lunch date with Grandma

Out on our nightly walk

Some things don't change...

Hey look, I'm 4 months old!

Outdoor World-picking up an infant life vest that I'm sure going to LOVE wearing!

My 1st tea party w/ Mama, Grandma, and GG

Clearly Daddy was on baby duty while mama was out. 

Catching some zzzzz's

Just another day shopping @ SCP

I just LOVE this little girl! Thank you for the best 4.5 months of my life little lady!! xoxo

Father's Day

Well, this year there was an additional father in my life that I got to celebrate...my own hubby John! He's actually the only daddy that was celebrated this year, since my pop took off to Cabo for a much needed getaway. Father's Day weekend was spent exactly how John wanted it-we did nada! J has been traveling pretty much non-stop since Ry was born, and he hates leaving her. So, after a couple of back to back trips, all J wanted to do was hang with his girls. So, on Sat we lounged around the house, leaving only to go pick up movies from Target. On Sunday, I made John his dad's German Pancake recipe (which I swear are just crepes, but heaven forbid I refer to them as that). After lounging around the house for a few hours, we headed out to Golfsmith so John could pick up his Father's Day gift-a new set of golf clubs! We swung by his parents for a brief visit, then returned back to our fortress of solitude so John could chill and feast on his homemade apple pie. It was just the low key weekend that this guy needed after such a hectic month.

Helping Daddy pick out his new golf clubs

 When I got pregnant, I wondered what John would be like as a dad. It's not like I thought he wouldn't be a good dad, but I had never seen him with a baby, and he NEVER wanted to hold anyone else's babies...even our close friends' kids. I guess this is a guy thing, but I pictured him being nervous during the baby phase, and jumping in more as Ry grew. I couldn't have been more wrong. This guy is a natural. He can't stand being away from his girl, and he is such a doting dad. He gets her out of bed in the mornings and changes her and dresses her. He even knows that her outfit's not complete without a matching bow or headband! He is the best daddy, and Ryleigh just lights up when she sees his face. 

Paranoia, Paranoia

Being a mom has been a very smooth transition for me. I have a mellow baby, a great husband, and wonderful parents who have helped at every step. Heck, my mom still brings coffee and breakfast over every morning-something she started the day I brought Ryleigh home. I didn't have an ounce of the baby blues, and have really felt great over these last four months. BUT, one thing I wasn't able to escape  is the paranoia. Paranoia that something bad will happen to this little family that I love so much. Ryleigh was about three hours old when it set in. I remember settling in recovery for the night. John was asleep on the couch in the hospital room, and I was alone with Ryleigh for the first time since she was born. I looked at her and the first though through my head was "what have I done?" Before I had kids, I had no real fears. Sure when I was home alone, my mind would wonder and I'd double check the alarm system, or when John would travel, I'd have a little knot in my stomach until I got the phone call that he landed safely, but that was really it. Sitting in that hospital room, I remember the feeling of panic that I was now in charge of something that was more precious to me than anything-and what would I do if anything ever happened to that? Then, the door to my room opened and the nurses came in for a routine blood draw and check in, and those feelings were soon forgotten….for the moment anyway….

Now, we are almost four months in. I am a normal, rational person during the day, but at night time, those thoughts come flooding in. I blame all the sick stuff I used to read and watch on TV (did I mention I have not one, but two volumes of The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers in my house and that I've read every page of them? I used to be very intrigued by that and wanted to be a forensic psychologist, hence the gory book collection). Combine that with the fact that my dad works with families with terminal kids, and I hear many of those stories, and you get a recipe for a crazy person. Case in point-Ry still sleeps in our room. We kept her in with us until she habitually slept through the night. She's more than ready to be in her own room, and every day I say that tonight will be the night she goes in her crib, but then night time comes, and I worry. What if there's an earthquake, or fire, or break in, or Zombie attack (haha) and she's far away from us?! Yeah, this kid won't be getting any siblings because she'll be in her room until she's 18!

My mom and aunt told me what I already know. This feeling of constant worry about your kid will never end. I know that it will just get worse as she grows and develops independence and starts spending more and more time away from me. It makes me sorry for the crazy things I put my mother through-like sky diving for my 18th bday, scuba diving at night, scuba diving with SHARKS…God I give myself the chills over the things I did when I was "young and adventurous". BUT, as a rational person, I know that we must LIVE life and not hide from it. So, that's what we'll do. We will go on adventures, travel the world, show our girl all the great things and places we've seen over the years, take her camping and rock climbing and rafting, and at the end of the day, we will tuck her into bed with us! Hehehe


This quote is everywhere, but really, truer words have never been spoken: "Making the decision to have a child-it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body"-Elizabeth Stone