When Did This Happen?

This will most likely be the last post of the year and such a wonderful year it has been! I really did not think 2012 could be topped (graduation, licensure, wedding, first nursing job!) but with the birth of Marlee and the happiness involved with being a wife and mother, 2013 sure did come pretty darn close. It is hard to even imagine what 2014 will bring.

I was stopped in my tracks the other day when I walked into the kitchen and glanced over at my living room - or what I used to call my living room.

It has literally been turned into this obstacle course of blankets and jumpers and chew toys and binkies and play mats. I could not help but think:
When did this happen?

Playmat Playland

And then I was looking at pictures of Christmas and there is my happy little babe, sitting up and loving all the attention.

When did she become such a ham!?

We also started feeding her three 'meals' a day and she is loving it. Oatmeal did not go over very well but she loved the bananas. We did banana oatmeal yesterday and she opened her mouth to every spoonful. Of course, she wanted to take the spoon from me and feed herself being the little Miss Independent she is.

When did she become such a big girl?

Marlee has been on the move for quite a while now but she is almost to the point that I might need to start blocking her into certain areas. Aside from the massive amount of dog hair she accumulates on her slobbery face from the carpet, she is so nosey and wants to know what everything is... and what it tastes like.  

When did she become so fast and curious?

She even reads!

Ha! Just kidding. She apparently really liked this folder and wanted to look at it really close.

One thing is certain, she is still my baby girl. She can laugh, play, eat, be curious, and even read whatever she wants, but when she wants to be loved on, I will be there with open arms.  

Even if I am pretty sure that I enjoy this as much, if not more, then she does. 

Now to finish up New Years Eve dinner with the hubby and have some Wii action fun with Isaac before watching the ball drop.

Thanks to everyone that read the blog and enjoy watching my adventures with Marlee. I really love sharing these moments with family, friends, and fellow bloggers! 

Happy New Year everyone! 

May 2014 be the best year yet!

Happy Five Months Marlee!

Such a huge month for Marlee it has been! She is growing like a weed and learning so much everyday. She amazes me with all of the things she is picking up on. 

One thing is for sure, she is little Miss Independent. She prefers to be on her own, whether it is in her bouncer, highchair, or crib, rather than cuddled in the arms of someone. Nick wonders why I don't put her in bed right away after she falls asleep and it is because it is such a rare moment to cuddle on her! I want to cherish those moments as long as possible. 

One huge step we took this month was figuring out a formula for her to drink. My supply is dropping so fast and I was unable to make enough for her to eat when I was at work so with massive, massive amounts of research, we chose Gerber Good Start Soothe. We fed her the first time this week with the formula and she ate it up! I was ecstatic but also a little piece of me was feeling all motherly. My little babe is growing so fast! She even holds her own bottles! She only gets about one bottle of formula a day and I feed her the rest of the time but is doing so good with the transition. And hopefully this month, we will start on solids. 

Marlee is also sitting up on her own for longer and longer everyday. She is still pretty wobbly but with a little assistance, she does great! Of course now that she learned this new trick, she wants to sit up all the time. Little Miss Independent. 

Marlee is still obsessed with her dad and brother. I can almost always guarantee a smile around those two. She is noticing the dog more and more too. Brusco does not want anything to do with her just yet. He usually gets a quick lick in and is on his way. 

Marlee is pretty much in love with my phone already. Anytime I have it out, she wants it. She loves to look at it as well as try to eat it. I am doomed. 

No teeth just yet but she gnaws on everything! If she does not have a chew toy near by, she will chew on her own fingers. Coco the Monkey is her favorite thing to chew on so far but with the squeaking, Brusco is never far off - ready to grab it up for his own fun. That is going to be a sad day - Coco does not stand a chance against Brusco. 

Besides being a total pistol at bedtime, she continues to sleep through the night and wakes up super happy! It is such a blessing to see a smiling face first thing, everyday. 

We are all getting ready for Christmas morning tomorrow and I cannot wait to have the family over for some coffee, food, and of course presents! The we are headed to Ben and Emily's house for dinner. I cannot remember the last time I was this excited for Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

December Madness

This is going to be a hodge podge of a post.

So much going on and so little time to blog!

I am actually supposed to be working. But who likes to work?

 

First off, I did my monthly weigh-in last week and I was not able to hit my goal to be down 10 lbs by Marlee's baptism. BUT I refused to be upset about the 8 lbs I did lose. Eight pounds gone and I am proud of myself. I still need to push myself to workout more and eat a better but I have been slowing down on the sweets which is my biggest weakness. My husband wants to know why Christmas cookies are not done yet... well it is because I eat them all!

Couple more pounds till the 140's and I think it might be the motivation I have been looking for.

 

Marlee will be 5 months on the 23rd and I think I have come to the end of my breastfeeding journey. I am not ready to give up feeding her but I am done with pumping. I didn't even bring my pump to work tonight and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. It was becoming pure torture and since I went back to work so soon, I was never able to build up a supply so it was constant stress over whether or not I was going to have enough milk for her. Torture I tell you. Right up there with eye gouging and finger nail removal. Now starts the search for a decent formula which has actually been really stressful. There are a million choices and the ingredient lists are a mile long. I think I have it narrowed down to Gerber Good Start Gentle and Enfamil Gentlease. I am worried about her tummy being irritated with the change but it will only be for the nights that I am at work and when we are on the go. I am actually feeling pretty good about it after weeks of stress involved with making this decision. I wanted to make it to six months but I am not going to beat myself up about it.

 

Christmas is right around the corner and my tree is filled with presents already! We don't even have Isaac's and Marlee's gifts out yet! We finally have a stocking for Marlee and Isaac is big enough for a new stocking so our mantle was completed this week.

 

 

We decided to do Christmas morning at our house this year which is going to be pretty interesting with both the families together. Lots of people, little house. I am bummed that we do not have Isaac for Christmas morning (we switch holidays every year) but at least most of the family will be together and hopeful get some Christmas spirit going. Marlee is obviously not going to be able to open presents but I will enjoy watching Nick open them for her. I will just be getting off work so it is going to be coffee mania for this woman. Spiked Christmas coffee... mmmmm.

 

I also have some other news but I do not want to jinx myself by getting too excited just yet. Keep those fingers crossed and say a little prayer that my career path is going to be getting better soon!

Christening

Marlee was baptized yesterday at St. James Church in front of lots of friends and family! It was a wonderful day and Marlee looked like a little angel.  I wanted to share a couple more pictures from the day.

Big dresses make her tired.

 Godmother and babe

 Mom did a little photo bombing. Haha!

Congrats my baby girl!

 Fixing her dress

Godparents - Cousin Michael and sister Toni

The blessing

"Hey! What is going on here!"

All of our faces are clueless but it is a good one with the priest in there too.

The Godfather, Nick, and Marlee

Daddy and baby - love this one.

Marlee being a squirmy babe.

It was a beautiful day and Marlee did better than expected. She was a little talkative during the end but I think she liked all the singing and people at church. Nick and I were so proud to have Marlee join in the faith of the Catholic church and start her journey with God. 

And I know mom likes videos and Marlee was all about her jumper today so a little bonus for this post!

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Lumberjacking!

Holiday season is in full effect!

I wanted to post earlier but my photos wouldn't upload and a post without pictures is well, just words.

Marlee's first Thanksgiving was great! Family, food, football, and more food. We started at my side of the family and then ended at Nick's side of the family. Marlee was loved on by everyone and I am pretty sure she was not put down once. Spoiled little babe.

I am getting irritated because I am pretty sure that we do not have a single picture of all four of us together but we did get a good one of the two of us.

After much coaxing from my co-workers, I decided to venture out on Black Friday. I was honestly worried about putting Marlee's life in danger venturing out on such a vicious shopping holiday, but I was pleasantly surprised! The best thing about going to the mall at 4:30 in the morning is that there is no one there. No one. I did not have to wait in a single line or fight my way thru any crowds. I practically knocked everyone off my list in the matter of 5 hours. If I would have know this was the case, I might have done this years ago! Five AM does bring out some strange people though. We were lucky enough to see a lady dressed as an elf (shopping, not working), get caught in a spontaneous Christmas music sing-off, and be bombarded by a sweet but overbearing Aero worker who demanded to see what I bought at Express. I cannot make this stuff up people.

Marlee loved it though. She must get her shopping gene from Aunt Toni.

All bundled up!

Baby wearing momma.



All shopped out!

Even after we were all done, she just wanted to talk all about the experience.



(That is my first YouTube video! Hopefully it works!)

I had plans of making cookies and wrapping presents etc etc but ended up taking a nap. Womp womp. Carrying around a 14 lb baby for 5 hours is hard work!

Saturday we decided we should participate in one of my favorite holiday traditions - cutting down the tree! My family always did a real tree growing up and when I first moved in with Nick, he had this awful artificial one. Not that there is anything wrong with a fake tree but it is just that - fake. Might as well get a fake dog. And fake food. And fake presents to put under the fake tree. They might look nice, but do not serve the same purpose. So we made a new tradition to go with Isaac (and now Marlee) and cut down a real tree! Once again, I bundled Marlee all up, and we ventured out to Pine Tree Barn. We are able to pick out, cut down, and drag the tree back to the car. Isaac loves it and I hope Marlee does someday too.

On our way!

Once again, Marlee is snug as a bug.

The snow made everything sparkle!

I think we have a winner!

Marlee slept the entire time.

Let the cutting begin!

Manly high-five right there.

Victory!

Completely unaware of the fun going on around her.

Load her up and off we go!

Then we headed home and made room for the tree in the living room. Everything was decorated and ready to go within hours.

I am pretty sure my days off were as exhausting as the nights I work but we were able to have some great family time and for that I am thankful. Making memories for our little family to build upon is what the season is all about. As much of a Scrooge as I am, I do appreciate weekends like this. And they might make me a little excited for Christmas.