One Month

Ok, I know I just blogged about her being 4 weeks old but really it was just an excuse to show her off in that adorable photo. Today marks her official one month milestone...four weeks, one month, really is there a difference? According to my husband there is. "They are two totally different things."

I digress.

At one month old, baby girl, you are already so alert and engaging and in my opinion very advanced. Hehe.

• You like to hold your head up as high as possible (as if to look us in the face) when you're laying on our chests...your neck/back muscles are strong!
• You can track an object or a face from side to side
• You like to listen when your daddy reads you a story
• You've recently started swiping more at things/people and you are starting to kick those legs a LOT more
• You still eat very efficiently and you're definitely eating more...hence the buddah belly
• You are still such a good baby; you don't really fuss or cry and you love to be with the "grown folk"
• You sleep about 4-5 hours at night which means I only have to do one middle of the night feeding :)
• You love to snuggle and love something touching your face...your hands, my neck, a blanket, etc.
• You are so sweet natured and easy going...we really couldn't ask for a better baby!

It's hard to believe that you've gone from this

to this

 

in just a few short weeks. 

We love you and thank God daily for you...

Another Project

So I started with these

Narrowed the choices to these

And purchased a few of these

For the next project that we're working on. It's for the upstairs guest bath. The last room in the whole house that still needs to be painted. It doesn't mean we're "done" decorating, it just means that we can finally check off "paint the house" from the list. Hope to show you the finished product by the end of the weekend...we'll see if baby girl is ok with that!

Already?

Guess who is 4 weeks old today?!

Yes, that's right...she can show you on both hands how old she is. Mensa candidate!

Apparently she and daddy were practicing their "gang" signs while changing clothes :) Check out that buddah belly she's workin' on...clearly breastfeeding is going ok. Hehe.

DIY: Built In Media Center :: Part 3

I wish I could say it's finished. But we've hit a snag. This is what it looks like so far:

The space is so massive it makes the TV look tiny...even though it's 50"

Almost there, but something's missing. A shelf. Original plans included a shelf but along the way, there were concerns that a shelf that size would be too heavy and bow in the middle over time. So we put the shelf on hold.

But now I want it back. I promise not to put anything heavy on the shelf! So back to the original plans to include a shelf. I'll let you know how it goes.

(*note: I think said "shelf" about 50 times in this post!)

Just The Girls

So B had to go back to work today (insert sad face and slightly panicked voice).

She's not happy either that daddy had to go to work...

I was definitely NOT ready to be "by myself" with baby girl but I had no choice. Not that B has so much more parenting experience or that he knows so much more about babies. It's just having someone else there, someone to help change the diapers or watch her so I can take a nap or to offer moral support when I think I'm failing as a parent. Just having a partner in all of this makes it feel less scary, makes it more manageable. Hats off to all those single parents out there-I don't know how you do it!

Anyway, enough drama I suppose. For our first day "alone" baby girl and I decided not to stay in and watch TV or work on her nursery or even rest. Nope, we decided to spend the day with my good friend Mandy and baby Jack (born just 8 hours ahead of Anayah...at the same hospital...with the same doctor!). Not only were we going out of the house on our own, we were going to run a few errands (Babies R Us and Target). Umm, hello, you wouldn't even take the baby into the store because she was "too new" so you made Bri wait in the car with her. About halfway through getting ready, I stopped and reassessed the situation. Can I handle this? We're going out in public...by ourselves...at three weeks old. Am I crazy?! I felt a little better knowing I was going with a friend who was in the exact same situation. Hey if she can do it, so can I. Right?!

A pretty dress for her day out...

I finished packing up the bag, got her in the car, and set off. We actually made it through the day pretty smoothly and took a much needed nap as soon as we got home. Several things I learned today:

• My daughter does NOT like to be strapped into her car seat. She goes in it fine and will sit in it nicely, but if those straps are tightened, we better be moving...or else.
• I need a mirror on the headrest so I can see her while driving in order to alleviate any panic attacks that arise when I can't hear her breathing. (The ONE time I wish she were crying...at least I can hear her!)
• Find out if a store has a "family restroom" or nursing room before leaving the store that DOES have it. 
• If you leave the blanket off the carrier or slightly open, people WILL comment. Good thing they were all positive ones, eh?
• Eating a sandwich with mustard while walking around the store will result in dripping on the car seat and cause you to wonder if your child had an explosive poop...you will breathe a sigh of relief when you realize it was just your clumsy self. 
• Putting the car seat into the stroller as opposed to the shopping cart results in you buying WAY less! 

What she usually looks like once you strap her in...

DIY: Built In Media Center :: Part 2

Ok, so many of us know those annoying cause they're right phrases like:

"Don't bite off more than you can chew." OR
"Your eyes were bigger than your stomach."

I suppose these adages apply in this situation as well. We started the progress on the built-in last weekend (feel free to "catch up" on part 1 before continuing) and it seemed the project was going to take longer than I thought. Well my parents came up again and we the guys were back in action (I thought to finish this thing) to work on the second part of it.

As it turns out, this project is a tiny bit more complex than I had imagined it to be in my head. Now don't get me wrong, it's not brain surgery, but for those of us who are annoyingly precise anal perfectionists, things take a bit longer. The process must be explained:

We must plan it out first (and have several options in case the first ten don't work), then we must make lists of what we're going to buy (and spend 3 hours in the home improvement store making sure it's what we really want/need). Next we must take it all home and review the plans (in in case they changed since the last time) before actually committing to anything. After all of this has happened, we finally get started on the first cut (pausing every now and then to make sure we're doing things the most efficient, logical way possible).

a few shoulder exercises during the process...

Several hours half a day later, we are almost there. Just a few more things to add and it will finally be finished.

yes, it's level...

Thanks dad and B for working so hard on this ridiculous fun project of mine!! ♥ you bunches!!

I Was Featured!!

I checked the 'ol bloggy blog this morning to find out that I am being featured over at All Things Thrifty. 

How totally cool is that?! Brooke was kind enough to show off my DIY wall art that was originally inspired by her wall art! I feel totally inspired to do even  more! With a two and a half week old, though, some projects might have to wait a little longer. :)

Thanks Brooke!!

Here's the pic of the finished piece in case you forgot what it looked like. I'll post updated pictures of the space as soon as I can.

Daddy's Girl

Baby girl had her two week check up today...can you believe it's been two weeks already?! It seems like it's been soooo much longer. Hehe. Doc said she is doing really well. She weighed in at 5lbs, 10oz and is 19in long. She's surpassed her birth weight for sure (yay for breastfeeding) and is on track to gain about 3-4oz every 3 days or so. Chunky monkey :)

Here are a few of her most recent pictures. She loves her daddy for sure! :)

So sweet. Reading a book together.

Laying on her "daddy bed"

Making silly faces

It's safe to say her daddy is as smitten with her. It's so sweet to watch them together and see the bond they are already forming. Future suitors better watch out! 

Entertain Me

Bet you thought this post would be all about our new addition eh? Wrong. I told myself that I wouldn't make this blog all about her. I still want to post things we're doing around the house and sewing projects and everything else going on...although I'm sure she'll get her fair share of face time on here!

Anyway, this is the latest project that we're working on. No, I'm not really doing any of it, mostly just micro-managing supervising from a distance. This is the space in our family room where our TV is supposed to go:

This is where it sits right now (notice it's a VERY old TV...the new one isn't allowed out of the box until this project is complete):

This is what the model looked like when we bought our house. I figured we could pay someone to do that right? Looks easy enough, shouldn't be too expensive. Ha. Wrong. The best quote we could find was about $2000. No thanks.

I figured we could just do it ourselves. Can't be that hard, right?! Hmm, guess I should have checked with my day laborer Brian before deciding to tackle a big-ish project. He was a bit skeptical that we could get it done. It's not like he's Bob Villa or something.

Well we bribed my dad to help and he and Bri got started today...so far so good...

And here's baby girl through all the drilling and hammering...not even a peep out of her!

Keep you posted on the progress...and the finished product! :)

Throwing In The Towel

Duuuuuude. Breastfeeding is not a joke.

You've got that right, mom
 

Yesterday was horrible. The day before, fantastic. Today I feel like giving up. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. It's a constant challenge.

Just feed me already!

I guess I need to man up though right?! It's not so much physically annoying (like soreness or being swollen), it's more of my inability to keep my child awake while she is feeding. She latches on great then it's a countdown to sleepy time. 3 minutes in and she's out. Ugh. Are you kidding me child?! We've tried everything short of having a parade in the room to keep her awake. We've read the books and suggestions that the "experts" give. Nothing seems to be working.

 Two minutes into her feeding session...down for the count

Enter Danielle. She is a friend from my college days and is a Lactation Consultant or Specialist perhaps (among many other titles) at Mission Hospital. She offered her services to me when I was pregnant and I decided it was time to cash in. Someone who knows anything about this whole new world was welcomed with open arms.

Things got personal. Definitely need to be comfortable letting it all hang out. At this point, if it's going to help, I don't care. Do whatever you want with those hands. After two sessions, I think we've got a handle on it all. My breasts are thankful.

Life is goooooood

I think little miss would agree.