Mommy Guilt

I can't believe Sunday is the first day of August (we are going to the beach, but that's a whole separate story!) and school is starting back in two weeks. I have had SO much fun this summer with my sweet snuggle puppy. Her personality is so cute and she is so much fun. Even on our "bad" days, I LOVE love love staying home with her. It sucks to go back to work :(

We have been interviewing nannies for the last few weeks and I *think* that we have found someone. I am having so much anxiety this go round when deciding between hiring a nanny and going the daycare route. When I went back to work in March, I knew a nanny was right for us. i wasn't ready to send her to daycare, but now I am having some nagging thoughts in the back of my head. Wouldn't it be good for her to play with other kids? Is she going to get bored over the next year? Won't she benefit from the diversity of kids at daycare? Ugh. Lucy had (has?) a spot at the daycare beside my school, but we didn't send in our deposit two weeks ago when they called to say the spot was ours, so I am pretty sure they aren't just holding it for us, making all of these thoughts a moot point anyway.

Although it shouldn't matter when it comes to the care of our sweet girl, a nanny is also going to wind up costing us quite a bit more for this year as well. The girl we have tentatively offered the job too negotiated the salary and now I feel that my entire paycheck seriously is going to child care. I know that me working for at least this next year is the best choice for our family so that we can hopefully sell this house and buy a new one, but man... it stinks! I am also just nervous about starting a new school year and balancing out all of those responsibilities (and the beginning of the year is SOO BUSY) and my time with Lucy. *deep breaths*

I should mention that Andrew definitely wants to go the nanny route because he likes being able to come home throughout the day and see Lucy and he loves that we don't have to pack her up and drop her off somewhere. I like that part too. I like that she gets to be home with her things, her dogs, her crib. I like that her routine stays pretty much the same during the week and on the weekends. I like that the nanny can take her to Gymboree, to the library, to Target. I like that she can still take walks around the neighborhood with her little friends, just like we've done all summer. (Here is where the mommy guilt comes in to play big time - I want to be the one to do all those things with her!)

In other news, we got back from our trip visiting family in New York on Sunday and she has settled wonderfully back into our summertime routine. She has even been taking some decent crib naps... woohoo! She is trying to wave and scooting all over the place and is basically the cutest baby ever (ok, I might be a little biased, but still!).

Check out my cutie!

See why I want to stay home with her?! :)

Cutest.Thing.Ever!!

Where's Lucy?!

There she is!!

Sick Snuggle Puppy :( and Summertime Routine

Lucy is sick for the first time :( Poor monkey. I trusted my mommy gut and took her to the doctor today and yep - double ear infection. Ouch. No wonder she has been so slimy, snotty, coughy, clingy, fussy. She got some antibiotics and I am sure she will be back to her happy, bouncy self in no time!

Still pretty cute, no?

We've had a busy few weeks getting into our summer routine, but it is so, so, so much fun! We

go to a music class on Tuesdays, to Gymboree on Wednesdays, play dates with our friends, shopping - I just love spending so much time with this little girl! We just got back from our trip to Maryland on Sunday and Lucy was a rock star! I am so proud of her for being such a pleasant, flexible baby when her whole routine was turned upside down! Speaking of routines, I have been working hard to get Lucy to start napping in her crib (as opposed to her swing - she is just getting too big and she was super restless) and I think *knock on wood* that I am starting to be successful! She doesn't take long naps, but I am not too surprised - this kid is not a sleeper!

Most days look something like this:

6:00 Wake up, Nurse, Playtime downstairs

7:00 Run with Mommy, or walk if she is fighting the stroller

She still hates the BOB, but I am trying to run with her at least 3 times a week so hopefully she will get used to it soon. We usually spend close to an hour and a half outside in the mornings before it gets too hot. We see the neighborhood off, waving to all the people and the dogs! It is dorky, but fun!

9:00 Nurse, Nap

Mommy takes world's fastest shower and gets ready because nap usually only lasts 30 minutes if I'm lucky!

10:00 Nurse, "Breakfast"

Usually oatmeal with pureed apples or pears

10:30 Leave for morning activity

Grocery shopping, Target, Music, Playdate... whatever!

12:30 Home to start the afternoon nap battle, Nurse and story first

My goal is to get this afternoon nap to an hour, so 1:00-2:00... longerwould be even better! We're working on it! She gets so sleepy, but just wakes up after 45 minutes or so. If I drive her around in the car, she'll sleep for close to two hours, so I know she needs the sleep. I am definitely learning all the back roads!

2:00 or 3:00 Nurse, Run errands, Play time

5:00 Nurse, Neighborhood walk or pool time with Daddy and neighborhood friends

6:30 "Dinner" Some sort of veggie puree

(We've tried sweet potatoes, peas, butternut squash, carrots, and zucchini is next!)

7:00 Bath and jammies

7:30 Nurse and bed

She's still up A LOT during the night, but I am okay with it. Mostly. She still needs me and I want to be there for her, so for now, this is what works. I secretly hope that better daytime naps will be key to better nighttime sleep, but I haven't seen any evidence of that so far. :)

Wouldn't you love to spend all summer with this beauty?! :)

Bouncy Baby!

Adventures in Solid Foods and Teeth!

Now that my Snuggle Puppy is six months old, we have embarked on introducing solids and it has been soooo much fun! I love to watch her try and experience new things! For a variety of reasons, we decided to wait until six months to introduce solids, but that doesn't mean that I wasn't chomping at the bit to get started! I decided to make all of her baby food myself (that's the plan for now anyway), which, if you know me and my experience in the kitchen, is really saying a lot.I decided it would be easier to cook in batches and just freeze individual portions in ice cube trays. It has been super nice this past week to just take a cube out, defrost it, and feed her. No muss, no fuss! Last Sunday, I cooked sweet potato, butternut squash, and carrots. (We decided to use organics for Lucy so I feel really good about what we're giving her. I buy organic as much as possible for us, but sometimes, it just doesn't see, worth the price.)

We gave her sweet potatoes first. She liked them , but I think I made them a little too thick. She was excited to grab the spoon and put it in her mouth and to squish the sweet potato around in her fingers. Every time she went to swallow, though, she would grimace and gag a little. Figuring out how to get that new texture down is hard work! :)

After three days of sweet potato, we moved on to butternut squash. She LOVED this! I made this much, much thinner and I think the consistency was just right. She squealed with delight every time I brought the spoon toward her mouth and would attack it like a bird attacking a worm! It was adorable! I found that giving her a spoon to play with made it much easier for me to make sure the food got in her mouth because she had a spoon to keep her hands busy and wasn't trying to grab (and fling) the one that I was using!

Last night, after three days of squash, we introduced carrots. They were a little thicker but she did a pretty good job with them. It was late and she still ate half a serving. After our three days of carrots, we are going to move on to some green vegetables (I wonder if she will share my love for peas!) and then maybe add in some fruits!

For now, we are just doing one solids meal a day and that works for us. I am not giving her rice cereal because I don't see that it has much nutritional benefit, but I have some on hand that I can use to mix with different foods. I have some oatmeal too, so when we add in a breakfast meal, we might see how she likes that mixed with fruit.

This whole eating real food thing is a messy business :) She dives in with her whole body and we usually both end up covered in some sticky orange goo!

In other news and updates, I am officially finished with school for the year and ready to spend the whole summer soaking in some Lucy! She is at such a fun age and she is non-stop active! She can pull up to stand, stand while holding on to things for super periods of time, scooch all around... she is amazing! She still is not world's best sleeper (read: up every 2 hours), but I am hopeful that getting her on a good routine these next few weeks will help. Otherwise, we will re-visit sleep training of some sort. I know she is capable of sleeping in longer stretches (even though it has never actually happened!) and I definitely know that as active as she is she needs good sleep. So we'll see!

Also - and this is huge people - we have a tooth! I haven't been able to get a good picture of it yet, but there is definitely a pearly white poking through. I first spotted it Memorial Day weekend and it took a good week to cut through the gum (poor baby), but now it is very visible and we are just waiting for it to grow some more! I can't believe my little tiny baby is old enough for a tooth! When we first spotted it, we were in the car on a short 2-hour trip for a cookout. She was asleep in her seat and then woke up SCREAMING! I climbed in the back to see what was up and there it was! I was so shocked that I teared up a little - she is growing so fast!

We have her six month pediatrician appointment tomorrow and I am excited to see her stats! She is so wonderful and amazing and fun - I love this girl!

*yawn*

Life is crazy hectic right now! That is usually how I like it best, but I.am.tired!

The school year is quickly coming to a close... I am so excited that there are only three weeks left! Of course, these three weeks are jam-packed with assessments, projects, and end-of-the-year activities, so it isn't exactly smooth sailing, but I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am very excited to spend the summer with my snuggle puppy! We are going to sign up for gymboree classes, go to story time at the library, and spend time with our friends at the pool! Plus our trips - we are going to be busy!

Lucy spent her first night away from home last night - we spent the night at my parents' new house! The house is lovely... but Lucy didn't think sleeping there was all that much fun. I am not too surprised. Sleeping isn't really her thing! :)

In Lucy news, she is developing the most fun, amazing personality! I love her to pieces am so excited to see what new stuff she comes up with every day! She loves to explore and watch everything! She got to go to the zoo with my class this past week and my first graders had the BEST time with her! They thought she was so much fun, and she was totally in awe of them! It was so much fun to share her with them.

Lucy went to a birthday party last weekend for her friend Carter! The party was at Gymboree and she loved scooching around on the mats and hitting the air tube and the balls! She has also been spending a lot of time with her friend Samir (who is 8 days younger than she is) and it is so cute to watch them recognize and interact with each other!

I have tons of cute new pictures to download to my computer, so hopefully I can get them on here soon... but now it is 8:00 and I am heading to bed :) My little alarm clock will be waking me up every two hours, and this mama needs to catch up on some zzzz's!

I am one lucky Mama!

My first Mother's Day as a mom - Wow! I can't imagine anything better, any greater job in the world, than being Lucy's mommy. She is so incredible and I love love love being her mom!

I told Andrew that I didn't want to do anything special for Mother's Day. He and Lucy

both show me every day how much they love me, so I didn't feel like we needed to go all out just for this one day. On Friday night, Lucy gave me a card that was so perfectly sweet and summed up how I imagine she feels about me so perfectly. He even handprinted her little hand so she could sign it herself! :) There was also a gift certificate for a pedicure! Yesterday, we went on several long walks, went "swimming" in the baby pool, and then had the most fun dinner outside at Bocci! Lucy was such a little ham, LOVED going to look at the fountain, and even sat in the highchair while we ate! When we put her to bed and spent the rest of the evening catching up on DVR, I couldn't help thinking that I can never remember being so happy. This morning, I got another very sweet (mushy) card from Andrew and another gift certificate for a pedicure! This Mama will have nice-looking toes this summer :)

Lucy is at such a fun age right now! I can't believe how active and into everything she is!

*She is so excited and curious about everything that it takes her forever to nurse! Its so cute, though, so I don't mind!

*She rolls, rolls, rolls! She can get to wherever she wants to go by rolling!

*She is starting to scoo

ch forward. She puts her arms down, then pulls her knees in to her chest to kind of propel herself. Soooo cute!

*We have started taking our nightly walks with a lot of the babies in the neighborhood! It has been so nice to meet families with kids and Lucy loves spending time with the other babies! We have gotten pretty close with one family who has a son 8 days younger than Lucy! He has a ton of hair and Lucy loves to reach out and touch it!

*She is making A LOT more sounds! M, N, and B sounds are now distinguishable. We are working on Mama! :)

*Lucy loves books! We can sit her in our laps and read her a whole story, and she will look up and smile between pages! (PS - nothing will ever melt my heart as much as seeing Andrew read to his daughter! Eeeeek!)

*We are starting to be able to go for short walks in the stroller! She still much prefers the baby Bjorn, but is has been SO hot, so it is nice to be able to use the stroller for short strolls around the block!

*My Camelbak water bottle is Lucy's favorite thing ever! She loves to suck on the straw part, and we think she may have even been able to get a little bit of water up a few times! The amount of drool she can produce while sucking on it is ridiculous!

*My little ham loves it when we clap for her! "Yay Lucy!" is a common phrase at

our house!

*She is learning how to play peek-a-boo and thinks it is hilarious if she gets to pull the cloth off herself!

We are so excited about all of the fun things we have planned in the next month! Lucy has been invited to TWO birthday parties (Gavin is turning one, and a little boy in our neighborhood who walks with us is turning one also!), we are going to spend the night at Nana and Papa Jeff's new house, another trip to the zoo, starting some solids when Lucy turns 6 months (we're in no rush, but I do think it will be a lot of fun!), an end of the year pool party for school... and of course, summer is so close I can taste it! I can't wait to spend 8 weeks with my sweet girl! We are going to Maryland, New York and hopefully a weekend at the beach!

See what I mean? I am one lucky Mama! :)