Surprise! It's a Girl!

Yes, Marlee is a girl. 

We found out a year ago today that we were going to be parents to a bouncing baby girl. 

Of course we wanted a healthy baby, as does everyone, but it was also very widely known that we wanted a boy. We had the name and the plan for the nursery all ready. We were just waiting on the ultrasound to confirm our wishes. Even Isaac was super excited to have a baby brother to teach baseball and play video games with. Boy, boy, boy everything. 

So the day of the ultrasound, we went to Target and looked at cute little boy outfits and searched for decor since the nursery was soon to be started. I drank the biggest Starbucks fruity something or another and was just dying for the ultrasound to begin! Finally, it was time and we headed to the doctors office. 

I jumped up on the table and swore my bladder was going to explode. As soon as I saw that little peanut though, the bladder was of little relevance. We looked at the spine and the toes and the fingers. The belly was so big and baby was moving all over the place. We waited and waited and then it was time. She asked if we wanted to know the sex and Nick held my hand with excitement. The tech zoomed in and typed 'It's a girl' on the screen. 

A girl. 

A baby girl.

A pink and frilly baby girl.

Nick squeezed my hand tight and we smiled at each other. 

The ultrasound ended and I jumped off the table so I could empty my bladder which I was sure was going to burst. I ran to the bathroom and instantly felt dizzy. I was devastated. I could not control my emotions. I shed a quick tear in the bathroom but quickly pulled together. I returned to the room but I could not catch my breath. I started having pain in my abdomen and I thought I was going to throw up. I was physically sick. My blood pressure was dropping. I could feel it. Nick retrieved the nurse who took my blood pressure and instructed me to take deep breaths. I drank a little OJ and according to the nurse, I returned some color to my face. I started to feel better within minutes but my insides were turning. The doctor scolded me and said I needed to eat more in the morning. Little did he know that it was a bit of a psychosomatic episode.

The doctor left the room and I turned to Nick. He was disappointed. I was devastated. I cried. I bawled my eyes out. Right there in the doctors office. My baby was perfect. Two arms, two legs, great heartbeat, and dancing all around my belly. But she had a vagina. 

A freaking vagina.

We climbed in the car and I cried some more. I just couldn't control it. I was carrying a baby girl! What about my boy! What about the nautical nursery and the sports! What the heck would I name her! What if she wants to do gymnastics?! I don't know anything about gymnastics. What if she wants to be a cheerleader! Ahh! A cheerleader living in my house. Doing cheers and being all perky. What if she wants boy advice or asks which shirt matches her pants? Or wants to wear makeup. Seriously, I was hysterical thinking of all the terrible things that are associated with being a girl. 

What if she hates me?

Of course she will hate me, I am her mother. 

Cue more and more tears. 

I was like this for about a week. Literally thinking of every thing that could possibly go wrong with this child and crying because of it. Boys were so easy! We are a sports family. We like to be outside and go to Cavs games and watch the Browns on Sunday. Nick and Isaac fish in the summer and we love to do bonfires in the fall. This poor girl was getting the short end of the stick. 

She had a vagina. 

I called my best friend and she was able to talk me down to Earth a bit. Of course, she was the mother of two boys who would love nothing more then to have a little girl. Here I am crying over a vagina when she would love to take this baby girl off my hands. 

Cue more tears. 

I was being incredibly selfish. I knew it. It did not change the fact that I had all of my eggs in the boy basket and was handed the girl basket. 

Deep down, I had hoped she would pop out a he. This had to be a mistake.

Am I sounding crazy yet? Because I was literally out of my mind for about a week. 

The kind of crazy that had to be contained. And quickly.

I am not sure when it all set in that having a baby girl was not going to suck as bad as I thought.

Maybe it was realizing that my own disappointment was feeding off the assumed disappointment of other people, who were not disappointed. Nick wasn't disappointed. Isaac wasn't either. There was no reason to really be upset. It was actually really ridiculous. She was healthy. I was happy. We were starting our family. Marlee would be her name. We were having a baby girl named Marlee. A baby girl that would be loved and doted over everyday forever. Half me and half Nick. It was everything we ever wanted. 

Vagina or not. 

And now I look at her and she is so beautiful. She looks like just like me. My worst fear - having a little one that looks like me. I mean how creepy, right? But those big brown eyes and perfectly round face and dark brown hair - melts my heart. Everyday. And to see Nick love all over her and Isaac make her laugh really makes my family feel so whole. 

We were blessed with a healthy baby girl and I can now look back on all this and laugh. We still have time to be blessed with a boy but for now, Marlee is my baby. 

My baby girl. 

Seven Months and Growing

Marlee turned seven months yesterday and honestly the entire weekend was an amazing one! 

Friday night I went out in Cleveland with a couple of my girlfriends, Saturday my dad and sister came over to see Marlee Jo, and Sunday we went down to Columbus to visit a couple of friends for a birthday party. Talk about an action packed weekend! 

I wish I would have taken some pictures on Sunday because there were so many little ones which Marlee has never experienced before. I was honestly worried that she would scratch or hit or push the other babes but she did great. Not that she is mean, she is just rough at times without realizing it. I have had plenty of battle wounds from her waving arms and sharp claws. She was very nice  though and it was so sweet to see her with others her size. 

Marlee also did great with the 2 hour drive which is surprising because she never holds still. As you can see from her seven month photo shoot... 

I must have a scratch on my camera lens because every one of these pictures are blurry. Grrr.

See what I mean! One very squirmy babe. It doesn't help that she is now standing on just about anything she can get her hands on. And she wants to grab items off things like the coffee table so we have to watch that too. One part of me is super impressed but another part is wanting her to stop growing! 

I have also been driving myself crazy trying to protect her from hurting herself around the house. Pictures on the shelf, bricks around the fireplace, corners on the table, the four inch step from the dining room to the living room - all death traps in my eyes! I said I was going to loose this safety battle but I just can't get over how dangerous every little thing is. I don't think there are enough safety materials to prevent the bumps and bruises of childhood and this is what's driving me mad. I cried over a diaper rash people! A bloody lip from smacking her face on my coffee table might throw me over the edge... 

What's a mom to do? 

The upside to her getting so big is that she added 'mama' to her more routine vocabulary. She was screaming it this morning when she woke up and it is quite possibly the best way to wake up. Is it strange that being someones mom is still hard to wrap my head around? 

Well as fun at this weekend was, it was disastrous for my diet. Fries, hamburgers, pizza, beer, cake, donuts! But I am jumping back into routine and not getting too down on myself. July is vacation though so I need to get busy! 

One last picture - she looks so small in the dining room! 

Happy seven months Marlee! You better slow down or next month you might be walking. 

Looking Forward to Warm Weather

We were blessed with about 4 more inches of snow this morning. If you cannot read the sarcasm here, it is there. I am not sure how much longer I can deal with this weather. Marlee and I both have cabin fever and just want to leave this house to spend a little time with the sun on our face. I am pretty sure I say this every year but this winter has lasted forever!

So to keep my spirits high, I decided to make a list of thing I am excited for this Spring. 

1. Gardening

Last year was the first year of our garden and it was definitely a learning experience. We are more prepared and knowledgeable this year so I am really excited to get our little seeds started. We are going to change things up a little and even make our garden about 2 feet longer. We decided to get rid of the huge pumpkin and watermelon plant so we can make room for green beans and yellow squash. My mouth is watering at the thought of those fresh little cherry tomatoes! Yum!

2. Baseball

This is exciting for a variety of reasons. This will be Isaacs second year doing kid pitch so we are all really excited to get back into pitching. Also Nick is not going to coach this year so we can sit and enjoy the games together without the added stress of coaching. Practice starts next month so I am interested to see how much all the kids have grown. And Marlee will be there to cheer her big brother on! There is also the Cleveland Indians game which we all enjoy so much. Baseball, sun, beer, family. Perfect warm weather kick off.

3. Vacation

We are hoping to take a trip at the end of July down to Florida and I am really looking forward to getting away for a little while. And this will be Marlee's first family vacation! I am not really sure how the drive is going to go but hopefully she will cooperate and we can get down and back without any problems. She will be one year old by then so should be able to handle the drive. We will tackle that when we get there. This takes me to excited thing number 4...

4. Marlee Turns One!

I know it is still months away but my baby girl is getting closer and closer to being a one year old! I am not sure how I feel about this. I mean I am super excited for my baby girl turning one but on the other hand, she is not a baby once she hits one. Waaaa! We are tossing around ideas for her party as far as whether we want a big shindig or just a small, immediate family only dinner. I think we are going to do a Minnie Mouse theme but like I said, we have a couple months to think about it. 

Ok there are a ton of more things I am excited about such as swimming and tanning and finally getting to run with Marlee using our stroller! Buuuut little Miss Marlee is on the move so I need to tend to her...

She fell off that little edge shortly after this picture was taken. 

I have given up trying to protect her from injury.

I am pretty sure I would loose that battle.

Till next time!

Go Get Some Flowers

Let me just say that if you are of the male species and even try to pull the 'I forgot' for Valentine's day, you are a liar. Straight up liar. 

I have seen about 50 TV commercials (on every channel - ESPN, ABC, Disney), 20 ads on Yahoo, and even Facebook has flower ads plastered on the right side of the screen so let me just be the one to say - get with it and go buy your girl some flowers. Its nice and nice goes a long way. Every girl deserves flowers. Hell you can get them at Walmart for 10 dollars. And if you are a girl that 'doesn't like flowers', you are also a liar. 

End rant. 

With that being said, Nick and I did an early Valentine's Day celebrate today since I work on Friday. This consisted of spending a million dollars at Walmart on grocery and diapers, spilling half a bottle down my leg on the way to dinner, and then having Marlee eat throw most of her meal on her floor. As always, we had a great day. It is a great feeling to laugh and smile even through the mundane tasks of life. A soul mate should do just that - make everyday a good one. And now we sit and watch the Olympics before bed. 

Lame. Maybe.

Comfortable. Yes.

Miss Marlee kept me on my feet this morning by deciding that standing is her new favorite thing to do. Anything that she can get ahold of, she grabs and pulls. At first I would stop her but it is impossible to keep up with. She is a little tornado around the living room. Once she gets her eye on something, she gets there. 

Well most of the time...

She was a little stuck in this case. Brusco's bone was just out of her reach.

She thinks standing is the best thing to happen since sliced bread. She even took one little side step while standing at the fireplace. I am afraid she will be walking by next month. The girl has some strong legs. And whole lot of determination. 

What happened to my baby!

Being a mom is so exciting. Everyday is something new and different and fun and exciting!

I never know what tomorrow may bring. 

Goodnight!

Oh and yes, he did surprise me with flowers.

He is pretty awesome. 

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Super side note. Is figure skating music super lame for a certain reason? I mean 'The Addams Family' theme song? Really? Would it kill someone to do something up beat and current? Just saying.

A Spoonful of Sugar

This is going to be a quick post because a.) I am at work and should not be blogging.

and

b.) I do not want my germs going viral and infecting everyone.

First my mother, then my husband, then my Marlee, and now yours truly.

Sick babe.

 

The sickness has not escaped anyone and while everyone is now on the upswing, I have some serious disinfecting to do.

I will say that my latest video is my favorite.

Not only is she saying 'dada', she says 'hey, dada'.

I have seriously watched it 4 million times and my husband can vouch for that.

 

 

And if that is not enough excitement for one week, she busted out this little move.

 

 

Yes, those are pants on her head.

But that is not the important part - she is standing on her own! She pulled herself up and decided to do a little dance in her crib.

We quickly lowered the mattress after this incident.

She can stand but can't seem to get the crawl down?

Silly Marlee.

 

 

Happy Half Year Marlee!

Marlee is now officially half a year old!

I cannot even believe that she is six months and full of so much personality.

She is practically like a real person.

Just much smaller.

Considering the massive snow storm we are in right now, I am grateful we were able to make it to her doctors appointment yesterday. My husband and mother are both really sick with the flu so I was happy to get out of the infected house a little. Marlee behaved wonderfully and only cried for about 2 seconds when she received her vaccination. Her whole thigh is red though - such a brave babe.

Now for the bad news. She has lost a little bit of weight. Nothing to be alarmed about but I am shocked. Literally shocked. This little girl loves to eat. Pretty much anything I give her, she will eat it. I gave her white bread the other day just to see if she would eat it and yep, she did. We increased her bottles to 8 oz bottles a couple weeks ago and she eats 3-4 jars of food a day. The doctor said that it can happen once she starts to crawl but since she is not crawling just yet, (literally any minute now) he wants to see her back in a couple of months to recheck. I am kinda bummed. I was always so worried when I was breastfeeding about her weight gain and haven't thought twice about it since she is now on formula. Ugh. So the doctors want to increase her solid intake and try to give her more cereal and oatmeal type foods. He is going to see us again in two months for a reweigh. She did grow an inch and a half though so I am hoping he takes that into account! She is really tall for her age and I am baffled how that is even happening.

So we had a little banana ice cream tonight. It is just frozen bananas in the food processor but its delish! And I like sharing my food with Marlee while we watch movies together. Like our own little girls night.

As I stated, Marlee has not quite taken off yet in the crawling department but if she wants to get somewhere, she does. She will either roll or scoot or lunge her way in the direction that she wants to go. Nothing is safe at this point. Baby jail might be an option soon.

One new trick this month is that she is starting to form syllables. I mean syllables other then 'goo' and 'baa'. She has been spouting off at the mouth with that for a while. She is starting to do more 'ma' and 'da' and I swear she says 'hey' and 'yay' every now and then. She actually yelled 'yay' as soon as we entered church on Sunday. I wouldn't lie about church! She never repeats anything though so it is hard to say that she really 'says' anything. Maybe she will crawl and say 'mama' all in the same day.

On my day off.

When I have my camera ready.

Overall, she is great and I am just tickled that she is mine. I honestly could not believe that being a mom could be this easily rewarding. I mean the kid does nothing but poop and drool and scream all day long.

And I love it. And love her. And love my little family.

This is her saying she was done with this photoshoot.

And this is her saying 'Get well soon Grandma! I can't wait to see you!'.

Productivity and Positivity

Let me start by saying that I had three days off of work and it was definitely deserved. Work has been less then ideal lately. I actually have been feeling dread on the thought of having to return.

With that being said, I have to work tonight and I actually do not feel that overwhelming sense of doom and I think it is because I have actually been very productive with my days off. I am still falling asleep by 8PM but I haven't napped for 3 days and this is unheard of in my household. I am a napping queen. Marlee has also kept me pretty busy but geesh, she has been amazingly pleasant lately. We have a pretty good schedule going for us and it is really making thinks easier for us both. 

Actually, we are on crawl watch at the moment. It is going to happen any day now. Baby girl just wants to go! Right now she can pretty much get wherever she wants by rolling there and inching closer but crawling would certainly be easier - and she knows it! She is getting up on all fours and does a little rocking but can't quite push forward. I keep taking mini movies because as soon as she gets in position - I start filming. Capturing her big moment would be awesome!

Close, but no cigar. 

She is also eating like a champ! Momma's little chunker. She is loving being able to eat solids and I absolutely love letting her try a variety of foods. Everything from picking the fresh ingredients to blending up different variations - love, love, love. Just another step for Marlee being such a big girl. She will be 6 months on Thursday and it is hard to believe how much she has learned. She is constantly looking and touching and tasting. I could literally stare at her all day. 

Marlee's favorite food is still bananas. Pretty sure I could mix dirt with bananas and she would eat it.

So far we have tried:

Bananas 

Avocados

Avocado-banana 

Carrots

Sweet potatoes

Apples

Apple-banana

Oatmeal

Banana oatmeal

I think we are going to try squash next.

Exciting stuff. I know. 

"More food please!"

Nick and I have been doing a little Insanity workouts for the past couple of weeks and I don't want to toot my own horn but I feel great. We are not super crazy about it - six workouts a week is just not happening with our schedule - but we both feel so positive afterwards. I also have not had a sip of Coke for the entire month. I am hoping to see a good number on the scale on February 1st. Or at least an inch lost. Wishful thinking maybe but I can settle for this boost in energy for now. 

I also applied for about 10 different jobs so I am continuing to be optimistic that it will happen when it is meant to be! Fingers crossed!

Now for a couple Marlee pics! 

Happy Monday!