I'm sick . . .

. . . but that did not hold me back from going to the Chocolate Wine Festival this weekend.  I have wanted to go for the past three years, but have not had the chance to attend.  So today, after Kaydance's nap, I had planned to go.  Of course, this meant I needed to actually get out of my p.j.s, take a shower and do my hair.  All three relatively menial tasks that should not be such an issue.  However, this mama is sick.  I have some sort of crazy cold that has me coughing up a lung, a headache that could rival any migraine I have had in years and some SERIOUS sinus pressure.  All make accomplishing previous mentioned tasks, difficult to say the least.

But there was wine AND chocolate.  So, Kaydance went down for her nap and this mama got in the shower.  I even did my hair.  It is amazing what a little wine and chocolate will do for motivation.  Kaydance had a blast.  She got to spend a good portion of the day on the playground and enjoyed her share of swings.  Mommy and Gama enjoyed some quality chocolate and partook in some local wines.  I highly recommend the dark chocolate covered cake batter truffle. Yum!

Enjoy our afternoon . . . I sure did . . . sick and all.

 

Besties

I can't help it . . . 

We all need friends like this.

Someone to listen, someone to hold

Someone to give you support in times of need.

Or just someone to lean on when at the end of the day, you are just plain wiped out.  

Giving Emmy some loves . . . 

What???? She is 1??!?!?!?!

So, I have had issues . . . It was not until the day before her birthday that it officially hit me.  The memory of her birth was a tidal wave of emotions that hit me over and over that day.  While picking out plates I found myself getting crazy emotional.  I was a blubbering mess when I received her first birthday card.  I choked back tears when her gama came over to give her birthday gift to her. Throughout the day, I would look at the time and suddenly the year prior would spring forward.  I have put off writing this because I needed to be able to type it out with the assistance of water works.

My baby turned one a week and one day ago.  She has brought so many wonderful blessings to our lives.  She is a bundle of joy.  She does everything with enthusiasm.  Her smile warms my heart and as cliche as it sounds, I can't even remember what my life was like before her.  Well I lie, I do remember what sleeping in felt like.  Oh how I miss that . . .

The day went exactly as planned.  I was able to celebrate my daughter's first year with family and close friends.  I am so thankful for all those that have shared this wonderful year with us.

My baby's stats:

20lbs . . . on the dot
29" in length
Size two diapers
6-9mo. clothes
Sz. 4 shoe
You have 4 teeth with 2 on the way

Accomplishments:
You walk!!!!!
You can stack blocks
You open a close doors
You say so many words it is difficult to remember the ones that I have already mentioned.  Needless to say, you are very talkative.
You sign "all done" and "more"

We love you sweetie.  What a year it has been . . .

 

. . .a bit of a teaser . . .

Summer Days!!!

Summer days here in Oakhurst bring many things.  There are a lot of hikes.  There are long runs for mama because she does not work.  There are vacations from the hotness that living in the foothills of the central valley bring to us daily.  But, as good as all of this sounds, when you are ten months old, nothing and I mean NOTHING trumps this . . .

7 Months . . . plus a little . . .

So Lil Darlin, you have come into your own this month.  Let's take a look at all that we have accomplished this month:


- You are very busy and very mobile these days
-You went from army crawling to doing the real thing over this past week.
- Use the words mama and baba quite a bit.  Daddy can't wait to hear the coveted "dada." We practice it when he is gone in order to surprise him with it one day soon :)
- You have begun to stand up on things . . . really?  You just started crawling!
- You have given me a few nights where you slept all the way through the night (6:15 pm - 7:00 am), but typically you sleep from 6:15pm - 7:30am with one night waking. 
- You are a great little eater.  You will pretty much eat whatever we give you.  The things you do not like, you will let us know about, but will usually eat a bit of anyway.  You do not really like eggs at this point and you had a run-in with a really ripe avocado that you could've done without.  Your favs are any fruit mixed with Greek yogurt.  You also like cinnamon!
- You love to give the lil girl in the mirror kisses and give hugs to mommy and daddy.
-  You eat three meals a day and still have 5 or so breastfeedings a day, with a couple at night . . . sometimes.
- You are learning "no touch" very well and usually re-direct yourself without my help.




I am not sure how much you weigh, we will see at the end of the month.  My guess is 15 or so pounds, but you may surprise me.  You are still long and lean with really no fat on your body, but your little buddha belly.  I look forward to seeing how long you are when we go see your doctor. 


Let's take a look at all you have accomplished this past month . . . and a few days :)

You love smacking your gums . . . this is what you are doing here

I am so proud of you.

Always on the move . . .

6 months ago . . .

. . . You entered our lives.  You have brought so much joy to our lives.  I can't imagine what our lives would be without your beautiful smile to greet us every morning. You have accomplished so much over this past month.   You are our little angel.  We love you so much darlin!

Current Stats:

14lbs. 7ozs.

26" 

You are getting very active . . . you have be lunging this past week.  Your lil left foot has become some sort of a propeller!

You have started getting more hair, which is much to our delight is even more red!!!

You started sitting up unassisted!

You are eating so many fun foods!

You have attached yourself to a blankie which has also become a chew toy as of late.

You have begun to experience some separation anxiety.  Could be because mommy has gone back to work.  

You love your friends so much!

We love you so much lil darlin!

TLC is my drug of choice . . . .

I have a good friend who wrote this blog. It had me questioning my parenting skills when all was said and typed out. You will find my post to her blog below. Read . . . tell me what you think.

Seriously, I watch that and Food Network ALL day long. I am a new mother and my 5 month old knows when Paula Dean is on the t.v. and LOVES "Say Yes to the Dress." At first I found myself wondering if I should turn the t.v. off. In the end, I realized that my cabin fever was about to get the best of me. My sanity required some form of outside connection and TLC and Food Network was just that. So daily I wake, watch the Today Show followed by a collaboration of my two favs. I know that my child is better off because of my addiction. So judge me if you want, but at the end of the day, I have a very happy child and I have not gone insane.

Prime-Time Musts (Kaydance is asleep when I watch all of these):

Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice
Lie to Me
Bones
House

Funny Hats . . .

It seems to be a bit of a trend. I love putting my sweet cheeks in fun hats! The more outrageous, the better. I have tried to figure out why this is such a joy for me. Nothing really comes to mind, however I am thinking that maybe it is a part of me that wished I was able to dress like this as a kid. Another part of me thinks that if I put her in outrageous hats, maybe it will breed self-confidence and she will be one of those, "I don't care what you think, I like it and WILL wear it regardless" type of women. I am not talking a candidate for "What Not to Wear." I am talking about the type of woman that can sport any trend and get away with it because everyone thinks that it looks fantastic on her. This is usually the case with women who have the attitude that I mention previously. I have a good friend who gets away with this kind of crap all the time. She totally sports this "tude" with confidence and style. I love her for it and respect her self-confidence, because she chalk full of it! So all this to say, I will continue dressing my lil girl in outrageously trendy clothes that are to "loud" for these hear parts, in hopes that my little girl grows up to be a confident, bold woman that takes no prisoners and does not discriminate against any accessory.

. . . Tis the Season . . .

. . . Where beanies and snow boots are dawned with care . . .

. . . for Festive Holiday appropriate night wear . . .

. . For snow-filled play dates paired with laughter and jest . .

. . . Where cuddles with mama are the very best . . .

. . . Moments that take your Breath Away . . .

It was Kaydance's first snow . . . she loved staring at the snow falling down.

4 months old Baby Girl!

We celebrate 4 months old today. Wow how the time sure does fly. We feel like the luckiest parents in the world. Such a beautiful, easy baby we have. I look at you daily and still can't believe how much you bless me on a daily basis.

We have enjoyed many new milestones this month. You are talking so much, always having something to say. Your little personality has bloomed and we are beginning to see a bit of what you will be like in the future. You LOVE people. You have many little friends and find joy in being around them. I can see that you will be such a social butterfly when you are older. You also are VERY determined. Many moments are filled with frustration as you try to accomplish tasks that you are unable to do. I see a very driven, focused and determined little girl in my future. So much like her mommy in that aspect. :)

You ALMOST roll over. You thrust your legs in the air and swing them and your body over side to side. Now if you can just finish the roll . . . . You also are getting really good at holding things. Still have a little ways to go; sometimes you get frustrated when you can't hold something the way that you need to. But hold on honey, you are almost there.

Everything goes in your mouth and if you can't get it in there, you let everyone know about it. At times if you could I swear you would stuff your bink, your hand and my hand all in your mouth at the same time. You are so funny.

You laugh at the Paulie and love hungarian accents. You smile constantly and love my hair . . . a bit too much I might say.

You are 11lbs. 5ozs. at your last weigh in and over 25 inches long . . . still my string-bean, dinky-chub. I love all our little adventures that we take together. Here we are in Yosemite and you are wearing the little weather suit that grandma got you. You are almost too long for it already.

So here is to 4 wonderful months my lil' darlin . . . what a gift you are!

Marcella and Johnny get married!!!

Marcella and Johnny got married this past weekend. It was a beautiful San Diego day that felt more like summer, less like fall. From the champagne in the bridal sweet to the moss on the dessert table, the day was perfection. Marcella did a beautifully classy job of making her big day, elegant, chic and a little bit country.

Kaydance made her first trip to San Diego this past Wednesday. Other than a brief stint . . . she slept the entire way and did not utter a peep. I was so proud to be her mommy. So many compliments were given and she allowed mommy and daddy to have a good time too. What a wonderful weekend it turned out to be!

You're a month old, lil' darlin

I cant believe that a month and two days ago, you were born. Time sure does fly. You have accomplished many things in your short time with us. You have been such an incredible blessing to us and we are so thankful for the gift that you are. God blessed us with a beautiful daughter who brings smiles to our faces daily. We love you lil' darlinKaydance.

Milestones:

- You do pretty good holding your head up. It is still a bit wobbly and Uncle Nick wont hold you yet because of it, but you are getting there.

- You smiled for the first time yesterday. What a beautiful smile it is.

- From day one, you have slept through the night with only one wake-up around 3:30 to eat. You do so quickly and go back to sleep without any issues.

- You are a wonderful eater and I love our special time together.

- Bath-time and Tummy-time have become less of a negative experience and more a positive one. We love this time with you.

- We find out this Friday how much you weigh, but I am guessing around 10 pounds, which is perfect.

- We love our hands and legs even if we are not quite sure what they are.

- You love little kisses from mommy and daddy . . . it lights up your eyes.

We love you darlin and can't wait for many more wonderful milestones in the future!

I'm 2 weeks old!!!!

The past two weeks have been nothing short of the best two weeks of my life. Since Kaydance danced into out lives, life has taken on a different meaning. Many gave us advice over the 10 months that we were pregnant. Most were something like, "Get sleep now, you will never sleep again." Another "favorite" was, "go see as many movies and go out as much as you possible can now, because once she comes, you will never be able to do it again." Advice that I "received" was more negative than positive and both Michel and I began to wonder why people have children to begin with, if all the advice they can give you is dripping with negativity. Regardless of the advice given, both Michel and I knew that having her, was orchestrated by God and would be nothing but the most amazing time of our lives.

After 31 hours of labor, our time in the hospital was perfect. We could not of asked for a more perfect time. We were given the suite at St. Agnes and because of this, Michel and I were guaranteed that we would not have a roommate and Michel would be able to stay with Kaydance and I for as long as we were there. Our time there was so great, there have been times that I have wished that we were there again.

Kaydance has hit many milestones. She aced her hearing test while in the hospital. She did excellent at her one week appointment. She sleeps like a champ at night and eats wonderfully. She has reached her birthweight in the time allotted. She sleeps in her crib at night with no real issues. She has had her fussy moments, but overall, she is a very low-needs baby and is easily pleased. She has had many first-time visits around town. She went to the coffee shop yesterday, has gone to church and went to the lake today for Carli's birthday party. We are having a blast and can't wait for many more first-time experiences.

So, even though, we were given advice like, "Sleep now, because you will never sleep again," I believe that what should of been said is, "Although you might loose a few hours of sleep here and there, the moments that you will share will make up for it 100 times over." I would give up every sleepless moment to have just one of the new experiences I have had as Kaydance's mother. What a blessing we have been given . . .

My first Sunday Dress

This dress was made for showing off . . . .

She was obviously thrilled . . . .

. . . a bit of a sneak peek . . .

. . . a couple of moments that took our breath away . . . .

. . . perfect . . .

More pictures to come in a few days, but here are a couple teasers . . .