Eight Months Later...

Womp womp!

I totally left this blog hanging, oh, eight months ago and for that I can only apologize.  Life kind of got crazy, with field time for the hubby, a new baby for our family, a family vacation to Florida, a deployment underway, AJ starting preschool, and so on.

I should start by introducing the newest member of our family.  We welcomed Amelia to our family on March 22, 2013 at 10:08 pm!  She weighed 8 lbs., 5 oz., and was born via VBAC after an unplanned induction due to low amniotic fluid at 40 weeks, 5 days.

If there ever were two babies who were more different from each other, my daughters are it!  AJ has and continues to be fiercely stubborn, intense, emotional, and strong-willed.  Amelia tends to be easy-going, people pleasing and relaxed.  It is amazing to me how I can have two completely different children, both from the same parents and love them both so completely.

AJ lives to entertain her little sister, which is convenient, because Amelia could sit and watch AJ's antics all day long.  Amelia loves AJ the most.  Of anyone.  AJ gets more smiles from Amelia than anyone in our family.  I can't say that it doesn't make me a little jealous, but I get the snuggles, while AJ gets the smiles.

The other member of our family has been deployed for a little while now and life at home is slowly returning to normal.  We have certainly had our growing pains since he left, and life at home is crazy most days with one adult and two kids, but I think I can safely say that we are not just surviving this deployment so far, but we are thriving.

One of the big changes, other than adding a new member to our family, is that AJ started attending preschool two days a week.  She loves it.  She was so ready to go and have interaction with other kids, a (semi) structured environment, and adults (other than me) telling her what to do.  She started two weeks ago and it has made such a difference in our time together at home.

So there you have the last 8 months in a nutshell.

The Verdict Is In!

So as I stated earlier this week, I had a follow-up ultrasound on Tuesday to get a few more pictures of this little one, and to see if we could get a look at the "goods."  They wanted me to come 2 weeks after the initial ultrasound so when I made a reservation for AJ to go to hourly care the only time slot they had available was from 8:30-10:30 and my appointment was scheduled at 9:30.

I'm usually out of there with plenty of time to get back and pick her up, but for some reason, they were really far behind on Tuesday.  I finally got called back at 9:55 and was in the ultrasound room by 10:00.  I was worried that the tech would have trouble seeing the gender again and it would take longer and make me late getting AJ (which I was anyway and they charge $1/minute you're late...highway robbery, I tell you!).

Anyway, I don't want to keep you all in suspense any longer than I already have by rambling on and on...

We found out that Baby #2 is a....

We're very excited to have a baby sister to add to the family and are furiously trying to decide on names that go well with AJ's name.  AJ, however is in a state of denial, I think, because when I told her that she is going to have a baby sister she told me that she is the big sister.  I agreed with her and said, yes, but the baby is a girl baby, to which she then replied that the baby is a boy baby.  Haha!

Oh well, she'll understand eventually, and someday they'll be arguing over clothes, make-up and who knows what else!

As far as how I'm feeling, I am very happy, but very, very surprised because I really thought that we were having a boy this time around.  I'm thrilled that we'll be able to reuse the clothing that we have saved from AJ, and also a little relieved because I know girls.  I know what to expect and how to handle things like diaper changes, etc.

After it was determined that this baby is a girl, the ultrasound tech was scanning and she casually asked me if we were going to try again after this one to get a boy.

My response?

Nope, two girls is enough for me!  ;)

3T?

I went to Wally World yesterday and had lofty goals to stick to my list and get out.

I'm sure you know how that went.

As we were walking from the "ironing board cover" aisle over to the grocery side of the store to get ketchup I happened to glace into the baby section and I noticed that they had Carter's fleece footy pajamas in big sizes. I don't know about you, but I seem to have the hardest time finding them in sizes bigger than 12m.

I checked the sizes & saw that they had them up to a size 5T, plus they were only $6.50!

I'd like to say I've been looking for these everywhere, but that would be a big, fat, lie. I have looked when I'm out, but I actually went onto Carter's website and was planning to order them online (for $11 each). Imagine how happy I was when I found them for $6.50! I bought a bunch of them in 24m and some in 3T because I can keep them for next week later this winter when AJ gets too tall to wear 24m jammies.

I know that most of you really could care less about cheap jammies, but I was really so shocked that I was buying size 3T for my baby that I felt the need to share it here with all of you!

So mamas, if you need to stock up on winter jam-jams (they had lots of girl & boy patterns, plus holiday and winter-themed patterns as well), head to Wally World before they sell out!

Purple and Other Fun Things

So apparently not everyone is interested in all my ramblings about motherhood and pictures of AJ. Really? I lost a follower after I posted yesterday. Not sure what that was about, but I know some of you understand what I'm feeling. Was it something specific? Did they not like my opinion on a topic. Oh well, its my blog and I'm allowed to write about whatever I want, and if you don't like it, then you can "unfollow" me. :P

Moving on! We haven't been too busy this week, mostly just relaxing, playing outside and spending time with the family. AJ was wearing the cutest outfit ever yesterday. I've honestly have it forever and have been waiting for the stars to align weather to be cool enough and her to be the right size to fit into it forever! Here she is in her plaid tunic and white jeans (yes, I dressed my 15 month old in white jeans, what about it?).



I think she looks pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself!

For some reason, she also likes to wear this little princess dress-up skirt on her head like she's the Pope or something. Its pretty funny.
Sorry the pic is so blurry, its hard to get her to stand still long enough to get a good one!

Showing off her awesome "hat."

Wednesday afternoon my mom came home and told my sister and I to go get pedicures while she watched AJ for me. I was really debating what color to get because I didn't want it to clash with my dress for the wedding this weekend. Only problem with that plan is that I haven't officially decided which dress I'm wearing for the wedding. Eek!

I'm debating between a coral strapless dress or a navy blue dress, both of which look super cute on, but I didn't want to get pink or red nails in case I wear the coral dress. I decided to go with a lilac (lavender) purple color, and it looks super cute!

Again, sorry for the crappy picture, I was trying to take it in the nail salon without looking like a total creep!

Also on Wednesday, AJ and I hopped in the car and drove to the city to meet my cousin's new baby, Kaley! She was born almost 3 weeks ago and I was so excited to meet her and ooh and aah over a new baby! AJ was too funny. She didn't really care about the baby, to be honest, she was more interested in their dog, but once I started holding Kaley, AJ flipped out! I guess its lucky that I'm not having a baby any time soon, maybe AJ will "mature" a little bit before that happens! Ha! One thing is for sure, life will be interesting if we ever have another!

My sister said that AJ looks like a giant next to Kaley!

She was sooo little! When she was born she was a whole pound smaller than AJ was as a newborn, so I'm thinking that right now she is the size that AJ was at birth. Its crazy to think that AJ was ever that little. I mean, I know she was, but it just has been almost completely wiped from my memory!

It was good seeing my cousin and his wife again, they seem to be adjusting to parenthood rather well, and I'm glad that we made the trek to see them!

All in all, we've had a fun week and more fun is on the agenda for this weekend! I believe AJ has plans with my parents to go to the Farmers' Market and I'm going to drink my weight in margaritas with my girlfriends. Can't wait!

I'll try and post an update Sunday night when I get back, but no guarantees as AJ and I are planning to head home early Monday morning, so I'm sure I'll be busy!

On Motherhood and Babies

My sister and I can make pretty much any situation awkward. Don't believe me? Then I'll wager a bet that you don't know us in real life. My family is not exactly known for being forthcoming or talking about important topics. We tend to be sarcastic and pick on each other. Its just how we do.

Anyway, we joked on twitter that we were going to ask our mom super awkward questions while I was home and last night we did just that. My sister had found an article in Real Simple and the questions the author listed seemed to have the awkward potential we were looking for, but might actually spark some conversation as well (or at least give us a little insight on our Mama).

So we got to peppering Ma with questions and the conversation went pretty much as we expected. There weren't any big, hidden, family secrets revealed, and honestly, it was interesting to hear my mom's perspective on our childhoods, but overall, I wasn't surprised by any of her answers.

It wasn't until I read an article posted by Kelly at Kelly's Korner that one of Ma's answers made me think.

When we asked her the first question, "What's the one thing you would have done differently as a Mom?" her answer was that she wishes she had taken the time when we were babies to enjoy us as babies more.

This really hit home for me. You know, because I have a baby. And while I love her as a baby, I find myself looking forward to the day she is older. Not any specific age, per se, but old enough to talk, follow directions, go to school, entertain herself for 8 seconds, etc.

Hearing my mom wish that she had savored the time we were babies and then reading the article that Kelly posted today really made me think and appreciate the fact that our babies are only babies for such a short period of time. Sure, I'll probably have another kid in the future, but AJ will only be a baby for another few months (some may even argue that she is already out of the baby stage). I can always experience a subsequent child's baby-hood, but I want to try and enjoy what is left of AJ's baby stage as well. I don't want to look back on my life (and AJ's) and wish I had savored the seasons of life more.

So I know that people of all ages and experiences read my blog, I'd be interested to know what you wish you'd done differently with your kids, whether they're still babies or grown and out of the house.

My 14 Month Old Girl!

I'm a day late in posting this, but yesterday was AJ's 14 month birthday. It seems that the older she gets, the faster the time flies by us! I mean, she's already 14 months old?!



D and I were talking tonight and I looked at him and said, "Hey Dad, I'm 14!!! months old."



Seriously, the attitude that this little lady has would rival a horomonal adolescent, and it cracks me up most of the time.



So happy 14 months to my little baby big girl! You can stop growing up now!

Happy 13 Months!

I don't know about you all, but I can hardly even believe that AJ is 13 months old today! I mean, seriously, I thought the first year went by fast and we're already a full month into year 2. Slow down the growing up, little girl!

Some highlights from the past month:

• AJ has started being able to function with only one nap a day. We don't skip the morning nap everyday, but sometimes I have errands to run or things to do and we can go do them in the morning and not have to rush home to get back before nap time. Its wonderful!

• The past few days I've noticed her being more social and really playing with her toys. She also likes to pet her dogs!


• She has really started to imitate us in almost everything we do! When we are talking and one or both of us laughs, she will look at us and do a totally fake laugh to be a part of the conversation. Of course when she does this, we both crack up even more!

• She finds herself to be endlessly amusing. She will copy something we do and then just laugh and laugh at how funny she is!

• One negative thing she has started that I'm not happy about (and I think I mentioned this before) is that when she doesn't get her way or I tell her "no" she will just lay down on the floor and either cry or just lay there. I have a feeling that this is a sort of mini-tantrum and I'm not looking forward to the terrible twos!

• She has finally started to relax a little bit on the whole clinging to mommy thing and will play with D or the dogs without me being glued to her side 24/7 (hallelujah!).

• She has officially cut two more molars to bring the tooth total up to 9. She has top and bottom molars on her right side and just the top on the left. Add that to the three teeth on the bottom in the front and the two on the top and you've got 9 teeth! I should mention here that I hit the baby jackpot when it comes to teething. She seriously never even gets crabby when she is cutting a tooth. Sleep stays the same, everything is like normal. I have to feel in her mouth to know when she gets a new tooth!

• AJ is for the most part sleeping through the night (7 pm-7:30 am). When she goes down for her naps she will lay in her crib for a while quietly until she falls asleep. Its an amazing (and welcome) change from the days when she would stand there and scream.
  

• She loves, loves, loves her big, bouncy ball that Nick and Stacey got her for her birthday! When she sees it her eyes light up and she squeals! It is one of the cutest things ever. She also loves to carry around the baby sunscreen for some reason.
  

• She has a few words now, including Daddy, Pup Pup, Mama, and baby. She mainly says Daddy and PupPup, but will say Mama if she feels like it. For the most part though, she is holding entire conversations in her own gibberish baby language, which is hilarious to watch and listen to!
  

So there you have it, folks! My 13 month old is growing up way too fast and before I know it, she will be driving headed off to school!

We Can Finally Relax

AJ's two week birthday extravaganza is finally over!

I think usually the first birthday party is more for the parents than the kid, and that was most certainly the case in our house, but I do have to tell you all that AJ had the most fun! She was a crazy woman, running the house yelling, playing and just having a ball.

She ate cake, got messy, ate spaghetti, got messy, played in the yard, got messy. It was like we were on repeat! She also got a bunch of new toys as gifts and had a good time playing with all of them outside in the beautiful weather we had this weekend.

Here are few shots of her eating cake last weekend when D's family was in town visiting. We also had another family party this weekend with my parents, where she ate more cake. She is obviously a ham, as you can tell from a few of these pictures.

Doing The Right Thing....

I'm feeding my kid.

Yeah, I know, you're thinking, who doesn't feed their kid? I'm not sure about that question, but I have another one for all of you mama's out there.

What do you feed your kids or what did you feed your kids when they were 12 months old?

I know a lot of people swear by feeding their kids the same things they themselves eat, and I agree with that. My problem is, we don't really eat at the same time was AJ, and the food we eat tends to be spicy, so I don't want her to burn her mouth off! This is where my problem begins.

The whole point of feeding your kid the food you eat is that its easier for you, which for us, is not the case due to the fact that I usually have to make her different food at a different time than ours.

I feel like AJ eats the same food at every meal and I can't imagine how boring that must be for her. For breakfast she usually eats scrambled eggs and fruit (either bananas or blueberries). Sometimes I give her pancakes. Lunch is typically three of these things: turkey, goldfish, cheese, green beans, carrots and kiwi.

For dinner she gets usually the same thing as lunch, but sometimes I make macaroni and cheese, which she enjoys. She also likes hot dogs and animal crackers.

Now that I listed it all out, I feel like she has more of a selection than I realized, but I still feel like we're getting into a rut.

Has anyone else run into this problem? What did you do to make meal time easier for yourself? What kind of food do you serve your toddlers?

I look forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions.

Things I Never Knew Til I Had A Baby

I've been thinking about this topic for a few days now. I've had a few conversations with friends and family lately that have kind of made me half laugh, half be annoyed.

I haven't really thought about it until now, but there are lots of things I never knew until I had my own baby.

I'm not talking about things like newborns poop 24/7 or how to do everything with only one hand.

Scenario 1:

I had a conversation with an out of town friend who is pregnant and she mentioned that next time I'm in town we'll have to have a cook-out. She is due in June and we won't be back in Hometown USA until around 4th of July.

Before I had a kid I would not have even thought twice about this plan. Now that I have a kid, I know that when she has a one month old baby the last thing she's going to want to do is to host a BBQ at her house. More than likely they will both still be getting used to each other and the new challenges they're facing (i.e. sleeping, getting a shower, eating, etc.).

Scenario 2:

We know a couple stationed here from a previous duty station. She is pregnant and due in April. We've been trying to get together with them since we got her about a month ago. We've invited them over for dinner several times and our schedules have just not clicked.

They invited us to go out to dinner with them this weekend, which with an-almost-one-year-old is not really high on our list of fun ways to spend Friday night. We declined, explaining why and mentioned that lunch would be a whole heck of a lot easier for us, if they were up for it.

Last night D got a text from the guy, asking if we wanted to see a movie on Saturday (today).

Um. Really?

Don't get me wrong, I know that before you have kids there are a lot of things that you don't know and lots that you probably don't even think about (like how miserable it is to try and eat and entertain your tired, hungry, crabby 11-month-old in a restaurant while everyone glares at you...I'm not enjoying this either, people!).

Heck, I actually found it a little bit funny at first, making a comment to D along the lines of "they will find out soon enough!" That is until we got the movie invitation. I think that it is probably common sense to assume that if dinner out will be a challenge then a movie is simply out of the question.

We're not bummed out that we can't do these types of things anymore, we just accepted it as a part of parenthood. We actually like the fact that we rarely eat out anymore. It makes the times we do eat out that much more special (it also saves us a lot of money).

I know you want to look at this face while eating....

So, you're welcome. We're the parents who don't force you to listen to our kid whine, scream and cry during your Friday night out!

**I should add that this post may sound a little snarky, but I really just thought it was funny!**

11 Months Old!

Today is AJ's 11 month birthday.

Covered in mashed potatoes.

Ack!

That means she will be 1 in 28 days. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by!

Hangin' with Mama...sorry so blurry, it was taken with my iPhone.

AJ has been officially full-on walking for a few weeks now and its hilarious to watch. She walks around our main floor and stops to pick stuff up off the floor, then keeps moving! She does "laps" around the kitchen island about 1,000 times a day.

Wondering what the heck I'm doing!

She has started actually playing with us now. If I call out to her, she'll come over and "get" me, which basically means she will climb all over me, play with my hair and giggle. I can tell that in the next few months we will be able to start going to playgroups and playgrounds in the area. It should coincide perfectly with the weather warming up.

She loves posing for the camera when she can see herself!

One of the cutest things she has started doing in the past 2 weeks or so is throughout the day when she gets tired she'll walk up to me and snuggle up to me and lay her head down on my chest. Its the sweetest thing ever. I love to just hold her and stroke her hair because I know that in another couple months she will want nothing to do with me anymore!

Lame

I am making a trip to Hobby Lobby with my neighbor today to get some supplies for a few crafts I'm working on for friends. I've got 2 friends and a cousin getting married this year and instead of buying them multiple gifts from their registries, I'm going to make the wedding gift.

I'm afraid to say what the gift is on here, because I'm pretty sure that a few of them read my blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise. Once I get them done I'll make sure to take a picture and then after the wedding I'll post them on here for you guys to see.

With that being said, I feel like I've been so engrossed in my own life lately with moving into the new house and trying to make friends that I totally forgot (okay, not really forgot, just wasn't thinking about it) that I have several close friends who are pregnant and due within the next few months. Since these ladies are all first-time moms I feel like I'm pressuring myself to come up with the perfect baby shower gift because I'm the "experienced" mom. Any other mama's out there feel like this?

I'm also excited because I ordered D's Valentine's Day gift yesterday and he has no idea what it is. Trust me though, its the perfect gift! Its something that he wants. He's mentioned it in the past but I guarantee that he doesn't remember ever talking about it. It's something he would NEVER buy for himself. I'm just excited! We never do anything for V-Day and I decided that this year I wanted to celebrate, so we're also going to go out to eat (not on V-Day, but the weekend after when my parents are in town). Once he opens it, I'll take pictures and share with you guys (I know he reads my blog so I'm zipping my lips on this).

What is up in all of your lives? Does anyone have and exciting plans for V-Day? What did you get your hubby? Is there anything you're hoping he gets you?

The Sweetest....

Lately I've been posting lots of recipes and basically have been neglecting other aspects of my life. Namely a very important aspect named AJ!

For those of you who are wondering how the little miss is doing, she is a crazy lady! Literally, sometimes she will sit there, look me in the eye and just yell! Its hilarious. She has also started saying "ba ba" and waving at us. I think she's saying bye bye! She also says "da da," "ma ma," and "pup pup," which is what we call Abbydog.

To top all of that off, she has started standing on her own and she is.....drumroll please.....WALKING!

As is her tradition, she waited until we were at my parent's house (where she had an audience) to take her first steps unassisted. She did that a few more times before she actually convinced herself that she can do it and she is up to about 5-10 steps at a time before she plops down on her butt. Sometimes she will walk across the room to get something, stoop down, pick it up and head in another direction entirely!

The best part about her walking is that she still kind of looks like a zombie while she walks. I'm not being mean, but literally her arms are straight out in front of her and her legs stay straight. We crack up all the time!

While she provides us lots of entertainment, I'm not totally sure that I'm ready for her to be walking on her own! I can't believe that she is already so big! Where has the time gone? I mean, seriously, we bought her new carseat this weekend as well.

On a not so positive note, she has also started to throw little mini-tantrums when we won't let her do things she wants to do. When the word "no" is used be prepared to hold your ground because she is gonna be pissed! I have a feeling that we will have our hands full over the next 17 years or so.

Anyways, that is the AJ update! Sorry I've been slacking on the cute baby front lately!

If you can even see her head in this picture, you will notice that we were finally able to sneak a bow into her hair without her noticing!

Standing next to Daddy, watching football.

She loves that my iPhone takes pictures while she's looking at herself.

Oh, just walking around the family room. No big deal, Mom.

Eating lunch in her snow suit the day we moved into the house. We had the doors open for the movers and it was about 50* in the house!

Another self-portrait!

Out for a chilly walk with Daddy!

Trying to be the photographer!

I'm not gonna lie, things have been pretty uneventful around here lately, hence my lack of posting. I just haven't really felt like I have anything interesting to say. I was going to post a video of AJ yesterday for Wordless Wednesday, but I wanted to edit it first and by the time I got it pulled up in the video editor, she was up from her 20 minute nap.

Seriously, this girl has been refusing to nap. I don't know what the problem is. When I put her down for a nap she will sleep for about 20-30 minutes and then wake up and scream! There were a few days where her nighttime sleep was shoddy as well, but we're doing better now. She slept from 7-7 last night and didn't wake up once! I just don't know what we're going to do about the naps, I can't get anything done during the day because she won't sleep and every time I walk out of the room she cries. Hopefully we can figure something out soon, our house is starting to look pretty scary!

Since the video still isn't edited, I will leave you with the unedited version. Please excuse the fact that the beginning part is just me video-taping the floor.

Shopping Report

First off. Massage=heaven.

On to shopping. My sister and I went to the mall after lunch yesterday and we also stopped in at the world's biggest baby store (Buy Buy Baby). All in all it wasn't a bad trip, but I was prepared to spend some money and I didn't really get a lot of the stuff that I was looking for.

Normally the Gap is like "what do I not want?" and yesterday I didn't buy anything. I did get AJ a few cute things from Baby Gap that were on clearance though, so that was exciting. Our trip to Buy Buy Baby was insane. We were there because I wanted to buy more 8 oz bottles and small town doesn't sell the bottles we use. Well, I was planning on looking at some of the baby clothes while we were there and it was so instensely overwhelming that we just got the bottles and left. In case you've never been there before, I'll explain.

Have you ever been to a Bed, Bath, and Beyond? Well, this baby store is owned by the same company and is set up exactly the same way. It is huge and has walls of things that go all the way up to the ceiling! I'm not kidding when I say that it was overwhelming. I'm not one to be freaked out easily and I seriously looked towards the clothes and then turned to my sister and said, "let's GTFO of here!"

My main goal was to find a swim suit for our FL trip. I should have known better than to wait until the end of summer to find a suit. We really didn't see that many and the only store where I actually saw a few was in Victoria's Secret. Um, no thanks!

Speaking of VS, we went in there and their computer system was down so they were writing down credit card information manually. Well, I took a look at my hand written receipt when we got home and the girl forgot to (or just didn't) write down the last four digits of my credit card number. I'm assuming that means that I won't be seeing a charge from them.

Does it make me a bad person that I didn't call or try to remedy the situation at all? What would you have done?

My...What a BIG Girl I Have!

I don't know what all your thoughts are on co-sleeping and honestly, I don't want to start a debate, but I'm going to put this out there. We co-slept with AJ for quite a while. It was never my intention and really was more out of necessity than anything. Seriously, the girl screamed if she was placed on her back, whether she was swaddled or not. The only way we could get her to sleep was to let her sleep on me, and eventually, next to me.

Notice that in the above paragraph, I said "we co-slept." As of Sunday July 11, 2010, Miss AJ has not slept in our bed one time. She has been exclusively sleeping in her crib, in her bedroom for all naps and at night!

This transition has not been an easy one, but at 18 weeks old (or 4 months) I knew that it certainly wasn't going to get any easier for either of us, the longer we waited. So we jumped into it. My main reason for moving her to her own bed was because she was starting to roll and I didn't want to worry about her rolling off our bed during her naps (obviously at night she's in between us so it isn't a problem). I figured that if she was going to be napping in her crib then she should just sleep there too.

We are still having trouble getting her to settle into sleep, but as soon as she is soundly sleeping she's golden. I think that is more due to her nature than the location, so its something we'll have to keep working on and try to figure out a good routine.

That is all! Just a boring Saturday here for us, although the in-laws are in town (arrived late last night). Pretty much any Saturday here in the middle of nowhere is boring, FYI.

The Results Are In...

AJ is offically miniature. Not like in the sense that she's a little person or anything, but she is just small for her age. We had her 4 month doctor's appointment (and immunizations) yesterday and got her new measurements.

At 4 months her measurements are as follows:

Length: 24.5"
Weight: 12 lbs., 15 oz.
Head Circumference: 16"

That puts her at about the 50% mark for height and 25% for weight. She basically has long, skinny chicken legs, which, if you knew her father, you would laugh at! D has not exactly been blessed with what would be known as long legs. He likes to claim his pant size to be a "husky extra short." *Don't tell him I told you that...*

Anyways, poor baby also had to get her boosters and all that jazz for her immunizations. Let me say, she was not happy about it, but she was much more easily consoled this time around than she was at her 2 month appointment. She got some nifty Charlie Brown band-aids from the super-nice nurse and promptly fell asleep as soon as she was laid down.

The doctor said that we can start to give her rice cereal if we want to. I think the plan right now is to wait for a bit (at least until she starts showing interest) before we jump into that. I mean, she's still so little and just a baby. I guess I'm having a mommy moment here. Its only a matter of time before she'll be wearing make-up, right? (ack!)

All in all, I continue to dread her doctor's appointments because I hate watching her get all these shots, but at least we don't have to go back for another 2 months.

Mamarazzi Monday!

AJ became crazy baby this week. Seriously, I think she suddenly became a little person instead of a blob. She is yelling, chattering away, grabbing for things and playing with toys. She also is loving the activity saucer because she can stand up and look at herself in the mirror! Here are a few pictures of her "playing" this weekend.

Riding the dog...

Hanging out with Daddy

Super happy!

What are your little ones up to these days?

These Are a Few of My Favorite (Baby) Things!

We recently moved to an area of the country that not only has no big box baby store, it has no Tarjay. I know, you didn't know that there was an area of the country without one, right? Well, we have found it folks. The WallyWorld here in town has a sad selection of baby stuff and since we have a baby, and she needs things, I have been doing quite a bit of shopping online (D hates this because my spending gets a little out of control high.

With that being said, here are some of my most recent scores and purchases that have been ever-so-kindly delivered to our front door lately.

We have several of these "BooginHead" binky clips. Love them!

The cutest little swim suit in the world!

WallyWorld doesn't even sell these bottles (my faves).

Not new, but continues to be a favorite around our house.

Exersaucer...we're growing into it.

AJ's "bugs"! She just stares at these guys whenever she's in her carseat, its so cute!

AJ hasn't quite mastered the art of grabbing/holding things yet, so a traditional teether is out. This one isn't too hard, but seems to do the trick. I'm not completely sure she's teething, but she likes to chew on things a lot.

What are the things you can't live without? How much of your shopping do you do online?