The Last Time I Was Me and Henry's Sisters by Cathy Lamb

Water for Elephants by Gruen

Hand of Isis by Jo Graham

The Night Villa by Carol Goodman 

The Sugar Queen and Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum books are all laugh out loud funny)

and the best...  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.  

Enjoy!

Wow...

So far in the past week Peep has:

Started rolling around the living room.

Figured out how to get her pacifier back in her mouth.

Grabbed said paci hanging from the back of her car seat to the side of her head, and put it in her mouth with the cord stretched across her cheek.

Turned on the radio.

She's a little marvel!

Curiouser and curiouser!

Here is a photo of Peep at the beginning of her nap (recreated for visual effect).

Here is how I found her when I went to get her up.

And here she is cracking up at her own cleverness. 

How did she get turned around like that!!??

And here she is this a.m.  Notice anything funny about her pacifier??  She can put it in herself, but sometimes it's upside down.  :D

5 months old...

Our little Peep is 5 months old today!  I can't believe how the time has flown...  

She was waking up lots in the night through October.  Finally realized she was teething when a little tooth poked through (you can just see it in the pic!).  Number two peeked out Sunday. Hopefully she'll have a little reprieve before the next set comes in.  I can't believe my little baby has teeth!!

She is such a little people watcher.  Her grandpa and cousins were here for the weekend and she stared and staaaared at them.  Most of her smiles were put on hold until she's had a while to check them out.  Funny inquisitive girl...

Every now and then I make her chuckle, either by wiping spit up off her or by raspberrying her belly, but it's still too spotty to catch on video.  It is the cutest chuckle, it just bowls me over. Can't wait to share it.  :D

We take lots of walks out back to watch Pooch zoom around and look for deer, frogs, and the blue heron who sometimes visits our pond.  I'm so grateful for the lovely weather we've been having!  

Seeds...

We had a mouse in the house a while back.... I finally found what he did with the bird seed he cobbed. :)

Happy Halloween!

Toes and whatnot...

This is my you weren't in this position when I put you down for your nap picture (should that be hyphenated? ah well, too many hyphens for me, italics will have to do). She's so adorable, she just melts my heart down into my shoes several times a day.


Saturday night we went to Jim and Becky's wedding reception. A cute couple there came up to talk to me about Peep. Apparently they have a baby about the same age. Comparing notes, we found they were born on the same day! They inquired if Peep was chewing on her toes yet. "Not yet," said I. Then Sunday morning the pjs were off for a diaper change and the toes went up to the mouth, not for a chew though, just for a lick. Toe lollipop anyone?

What's in the bucket?

About a month ago I went out by the back porch and grabbed this blue bucket to water some plants.  When something rustled in the bottom, I dropped it (and screamed if you must know). I have NO idea how these little guys got in there!!  

I'm on an ocean kick

Ocean Tranquility from Hampton Jewels.

A picture of a gagillion hermit crabs in a tide pool in Akumal...  

Cute as a button...

Our little love - could she BE any cuter?  :D

We have gone to so many festivals and outdoor events and sites since Peep's entered the world.  She has been to a Mud Bog, Applefest, Jesse James Days, Watkins Mill, even the annual picnic of our utilities company.  She LOVES to be outside and to people watch and she's as good as gold.  I think we both might get cabin fever this winter.  

I'm thinking that perhaps we should take a cruise.  Now if I could just remember to buy a lotto ticket so that I'd have a slight chance of winning!

Warm thoughts

Picture from our babymoon in Akumal - some flowers near our bungalow.  *warm + sunshiney + ocean for snorkeling = bliss*

Cold avoidance...

I'm SO not ready for winter.  Today the high was supposed to be 48, but I don't think it actually got over 40 degrees.  *sigh*  I'm thinking it'd be nice to move to Mexico, or maybe even Arizona for the winter.

Pretty ocean pendant from Texas Woman.

Tropical Ocean - Blue  Quartz and Sterling Necklace from Theresa Rose Designs.

Peep at 4 months

It's so amazing to look at old pictures and see a skinny little Peep.  Was she really THAT little?

Diaper changes take longer now because she grabs my pinkie with one hand and my sleeve with the other and then tries to chew on my sleeve.  haha!   She's also found her feet and likes to grab her toes mid diaper change.  She drools like crazy most of the time and blows a lot of spit bubbles.

You can tell when she's excited to see you or is having fun because she waves her little arms around and whacks her side with them and smiles her funny wide mouth smile.

She's rolled over from her stomach to her back several times, but she can't always do it, yet. Yesterday she did it 4 times in a row, like a champ and then today couldn't seem to figure it out. I'm sure that in a week or so she'll have it down pat and then tummy time will be on her terms!

Sometimes I have to go in and peek at her at night to make sure it's real.  I'm a parent? And some mornings when she wakes up and I go to get her, I'm astounded again by this perfect little person Hubs and I made.  Amazing....

Etsy cuteness...

Super cuteness from Zooz Handmade Jewelry.

Peep Growling....

Peep was growling in her crib one morning last week.  She's a funny girl.  :D

Etsy Love...

This just cracks me up!  Dork plate from Vandalized Vintage - Trixie Delicious.

3 1/2 Months Old...

Peep has been changing so much lately.  She has started babbling and cooing and motorboating her lips a ton more.  Just today she talked most of the day!  She was totally wound up last night and wouldn't go to sleep, perhaps because she wanted to socialize.

She's been grabbing things and putting them in her mouth.  She'll spend time entertaining herself in her play yard or with toys on a blanket (which is new, before she needed constant attention or yelling ensued).  She's gotten to where not every time she cries is an all out meltdown of sobbing like it was there for a while.  Sometimes it's a little gurgly/talking cry and other times it's a yell.  :D

She was yelling the other evening when I was trying to feed her.  Hubs gets home from work and walks up and says hi to her.  She immediately stops yelling and beams him a big smile.  The little imp!  She sure loves the dad.

Tonight I rolled her over onto her stomach and she landed with her elbows bent by her side propping her head up!  Then I helped her roll back over.  I rolled her back onto her stomach and she rolled onto her back all by herself!!  What a little smarty.  It's amazing to watch her grow and change.

The Evolution of a Mother

A week or so after giving birth I started wondering what the heck I'd gotten myself into... Peep's a bit colicky.  I wanted to go out to the movies and out to dinner and go to China and Belize and go get chai tea whenever I wanted.  But then at some point along the way I quit worrying about what I was missing and started enjoying my new responsibilities, started enjoying Peep's smiles and quit minding so much when she cried and just focused on making her happy again.  I started feeling like a mom.

This Monday Hubs watched Peep while I went to get a pedicure.  I had a terrible time getting out the door.  I said goodbye and kissed her little chubby cheeks several times before I FINALLY left.

I'm making sure to enjoy cuddling her and take time to rub my cheek on her fuzzy, lovely smelling little head.  She's not going to be little for very long, she weighed 11 lbs. 11 oz. yesterday and she's already 11 weeks old!

According to baby books, Peep's been sleeping through the night since she was about 3 weeks old, which means sleeping 4-6 hours at a time.  So not my idea of "through the night"!!  She was going to sleep at 7 or 8 and then eating between 12 - 2 a.m.  then going a couple hours before eating again. Last week she slept from 8pm to 5am several times, but she's reverted back to the old schedule... Before I know it she will be sleeping through the night by regular definition and I bet I will miss our sleepy middle of the night feedings.

We went to  see Hubs's family last week.  Peep was a gem on the trip out and was good throughout the week, napping better in the truck (diesel, very loud and vibrate-y) and at the cabin than she ever does here at home!  

Here was the highlight of the trip for me...  Peach cream cheese pie with fresh peaches (be still my heart) from Tiffany's, a little Amish restaurant...  No offense family, it was REALLY GOOD PIE!!

6 weeks old...

So 6 weeks old is supposed to be the peak of fussiness for babies and today Peep is 6 weeks old...  Already I'm noticing that she's a bit easier to soothe, fussy periods do not last as long and for the most part today had a reason (wet diaper, hungry, etc.).  Everyone kept telling me it would get easier and it looks like perhaps they were right.  ;)

Peep smiled at me yesterday morning when I was changing her diaper.  She has a cute little dimply grin and she scrunches up her shoulders when she smiles really big.  It was so adorable and made my day.  She smiled at me today after I told her I had no idea what I was doing.  Then she promptly started wailing.  A test?  I got a couple smiles from her this evening.  Things are definitely looking up!

And here's a cool pic C took of his '62 Galaxie...  

Motherhood - One month in...

So far motherhood has been much tougher than I had even anticipated.  The first nights in the hospital I thought I was being so smart by feeding Peep and then letting her go to the nursery. I would be refreshed and ready to take on anything when I got home.  HA! 

I hadn't anticipated recovery from birth, a fussy baby who did not go to sleep at night, and a lot of difficulties nursing that resulted in anxiety and stress...  

But at Peep's two week check up her doctor recommended the book, Happiest Baby on the Block and I just happened to have the DVD from a friend.  We watched that and with swaddling we now had a method for soothing a fussy girl.  I recovered from childbirth and started getting out exercising (with my lovely supportive family) and my energy started to return.  And I'd love to say that nursing became easy for us, but that is just not the case, however, we are coping with that...

Still it's not easy...  I find myself tensing at the slightest peep afraid that she'll wake up.  At which I wonder, why am I afraid?  I know what to do to calm her (feed, burp, change, bounce, repeat, repeat in reverse order, feed, change and so on and so forth!)....

Right now the little angel is napping...  Who knows what the day will bring.  I just hope that I'm up for the challenge.

Peep

2 weeks - "Ohhhhh nooo..."

2 weeks, lookin' at the blue fish on her bouncy seat...

Peep at 1 month - Polka dots...

1 month - Pooh outfit...

1 month - Serious face...

Miss Peep

Our little addition, born June 10th.  Welcome to the world Peep!

Big Momma...

Hi all!  Sorry to have been so absentee from the old blog.  I've been very busy baking a (big) bun.  :)  Actually between trying to read about childbirth, baby care and getting my stuff at work ready to be gone for maternity leave, I've been gonzo busy...  With a side of fiction reading, getting some of that done before I have less time and energy!  

Only 2 1/2 more weeks until my due date.  We'll see when baby girl decides to come.  :)

I have loads of baby shower pics to post, just need to get them ready.  In the meantime though, I just want to say, I feel SO blessed to have such amazing family and friends.  Thank you all for the love and support, it means a lot to me.  HUGS.

Projects projects projects....

Curtains for the nursery in progress. I've got all the strips sewn together, now I just have to finish them up! I wanted just nice bright colors, nothing gender specific (read: pink).

I've got a couple paintings (one started, one in the works) for the nursery, but I'm a little nervous to post them based on this. I believe Greenbeanbaby has taken down the specific examples, but someone had obviously and blantantly stole her artwork. We all get inspired by one another's work of course, but these were her designs with a few details changed, really sad. Makes it hard to want to share what you're working on when you have to worry that someone will make it their own and I wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.



Hubs's mom repainted the nursery for us! It was a pale gray that you didn't realize was kinda dark until you saw the room all crisp and white. What a relief to have that part done!


This is a lovely nightstand that my dad made for me. Only took me 4 or so years, but I finally tiled the top! I've since finished tiling and grouting, need to take a final picture.

All dressed up...

All dressed up for my cousin's wedding reception. 30 1/2 weeks pregnant (feeling huge! check out the side angle, aye caramba). And here's a shot of the cute updo my sis-in-law to be gave me.

I'm 32 weeks (as of tomorrow) and probably even bigger than in this pic. The baby moves around a ton, some big moves that are so distracting when I'm in a meeting or driving. It's so cool, yet bizarre to have a little person growing inside me. Can't wait to meet her!

Rainy Monday...

Lovely print from Katie M. Berggen Art & Design.




We watched Son of Rambow this weekend. I wasn't sure how it would be, but it was good and not too sappy. Great little actors!

Hoppy belated Easter!

These guys are a riot...

Unusual baby names I've run across...

If one of these is your name, I do apologize, but wow!!

Daisy Boo

Poppy Honey

Primavera

Moon Unit (name of one of Frank Zappa's kids Hubs says)

Medea (heavy name for a munchkin)

Prunella

Renis 

And who knew there were so many versions of Francine..  Prancine, Trancine

Wafty, Windy Wednesday...

LOVE THiS! I spent a lot of time making myself silly dizzy on a sit n' spin, back in the day. Tees and onesies from Wren Willow.

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~ Marcel Proust

Iron Man vs Bruce Lee @ Yahoo! Video

Check this out, a great little stop motion animation. :D

I'm feeling so frustrated today and my neck and shoulders are so tense I'm surprised my arms aren't clapping over my head like a wind up monkey.

Speaking of monkeys... I talked to my older bro last night and he said my niece was up in the middle of the night recently, talking at the top of her voice about monkeys and monster trucks. heh heh... She is one cool little kid.

More Mexico...

A little compilation of lovely Mexico, click to see larger.  Including a picture of a limonada.  I drank a lot of these, it's no margarita, but they were darn tasty. 

Siesta time, even for el gato.

Akumal bay

Tulum, Mayan ruins on the beach.

Fun bar, good food!

 

Handsome...

Bump!

Akumal Bay again...