Worlds Longest Week

Hi friends! Sorry for the lack of updates...I might have just had one of the longest weeks of my life!

This last week I agreed to watch the kids I nannyed while pregnant for their last week of summer. Full time. I was fine with it because they LOVE Hannah and I get to bring her with me....but jumping back into work (full time nonetheless) as well as being a mom 24/7 really did me in. However, I was careful to brush it off like it was no big deal and did not in fact leave me completely exhausted at the end of the day because I know any complaining I did would come back to bite me in the butt when I am ready for baby numba two...

Annnnyways. I can confide in you guys that it was exhausting. Hat's off to moms of more than one kid! Yikes. Talk about being pulled in multiple different directions at one time. I'm sure it's something I will adapt to over time...but you won't see me taking on two more kids any time soon. My point is...exhaustion=no brain activity=no blog posts.

So, I am going to try and do a quick few updates and then (at the risk of sounding like a broken record) hopefully begin a more routine blogging schedule.

1) First and foremost. Two of my very best friends got engaged over the past couple weeks. I love each of their fiance's and can't imagine better guys for them to spend their lives with. I am over the moon excited for you two! Love you girls!

2) Hannah turned 3 months old! Where has the time gone?! Her 3 month letter will be coming soon.

3) We went HOUSE HUNTING! EEEEK! So much fun...and stressful! I am not a patient person by any stretch of the imagination...so the 'sit and wait' part of house hunting has not been enjoyable. I do love the excitement of finding a good house online and then running up to see it ifs our "dream" home, though. So I guess there are pluses and minuses. :)

4) Wedding planning has been chugging along! We are now 7 weeks out! Some people have expressed interest in hearing more about wedding planning on this ol' blog....that was my intention in the beginning, but Hannah kind of took over. However, now that I am thinking about it, I don't really know what to post....I don't actually want to show too much because I want everything to be a surprise...but I do want to give updates...any ideas?

5) I DID not link up to the Inspire Me:Healthy thingamabob (technical term) on Thursday because...I forgot.....but I am NOT happy to report that I did not lose any weight. What the H is up with that crap?! I was under the impression that my "body would just melt back to shape" because I am breastfeeding. I am here to report friends that unfortunately, that is just not the case. Yeah, yeah, yeah...you burn 500 extra calories a day by nursing...but do they mention how extra hungry you will be BECAUSE you are burning extra calories. No. No they don't. I eat like its going out of style. I actually get stomach aches if I don't eat every couple hours. I suppose I could just eat an apple (and not a bowl of ice cream) when I get those stomach aches...but where is the fun in that?! Joke! In all seriousness though. Body. Get with the program. Do you not remember that we have to walk down the aisle with 200+ guests watching us in 7 short weeks!?

Those are my updates for now! I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day Weekend! I am soaking up the sun here in Chelan. :)

Just a weekly update

Sorry for the lack of updates...wedding invitations are going out tomorrow so I spent all my spare time (aka the three 30 minute periods of time throughout the day that Hannah takes a nap) addressing and stuffing invites. But they are all done and I am sticking them in the mail tomorrow. Eeek! Sending out the invitations makes everything seem so real!

Last week we celebrated my brothers girlfriends 21st birthday by going out to The Rock in Bothell.

I'm pretty sure she enjoyed herself. :)

This week Hannah discovered that she has a tongue. She spends about 80% of the day sticking it out and laughs (or tries to) when she figures out how to get it out there.

My mom and I also went and did a little bit of shopping. I picked up a few things for the honeymoon...I didn't get any summer clothes this year because I was/am still enjoying this lovely post pregnancy body and didn't want to spend money on clothes that (crossing my fingers) I'll never fit into again. However, I do need some summery stuff for the honeymoon so I sucked it up and picked up some shorts, tops and dresses. 

We also stopped and got Hannah a few things....I picked her up a little Minnie Mouse for her to take to Disney World when we go...I've been making her carry it and sleep with it, in the hopes that eventually Minnie Mouse will be her little comfort lovie. 

We've got a big weekend ahead of us! Today my Erin Condren planner comes in. I'm SO excited. I can't function without a planner to keep me organized and my Lily Pulitzer planner is about to expire.

Tomorrow, our Realtor (who also happens to be one of my best friends moms) is taking us out to look at some houses. We are over the moon excited to start this adventure! I will be sure to keep everyone updated on how our house hunt goes. 

Then on Sunday we have family pictures/Hannah's 3 month pictures. I can't believe my little monkey is 3 months old on Monday! Time is flying! 

Have a great weekend, lovlies! 

Inspire Me: Healthy Week 1

It's been one week since I got on the Inspire Me: Healthy or for me, 'wedding diet' train and I am happy to report that I lost 5 pounds!!

I am now only 5 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight....but I am aiming to lose an additional 10-15 pounds because my body is VERY different since I had Hannah, and I don't think losing another 5 pounds is going to have me looking like I did before.

But I am happy with my weight loss for the week and it is definitely some great motivation to continue on with my Weight Watchers and Stroller Strides!

I'm a little nervous for next week though, because I not going to be able to make it to any Stroller Strides classes...so I will need to just be careful to be very strict with Weight Watchers.

8 weeks to go before the wedding!!! If that is not motivation to get this butt in gear, I don't know what is!

If there is one thing I know...

If there is one thing I know...I know that one should not pass out or throw up during a Stroller Strides class. I mean...you workout with your infant...how strenuous of a workout can that be?! Well my friends, I am happy to report that I neither threw up nor passed out during my class today....however, I came dangerously close to both. So close in fact, that I found myself seeing spots with my head between my legs, sitting on wet grass and dry heaving. All while the rest of the class watched in horror and concern and while a stranger tried to calm my screaming baby. Note: the "stranger" was my Stroller Strides instructor...not a "stranger" as in the hobo that was laying on the park bench watching this whole debacle.

Anyways...what I have learned from this embarrassing moment was that I.am.out.of.shape. I guess that will happen when you spend the whole 10 months of your pregnancy not working out. (Except sometimes I considered my trips up and down the stairs at night to get more chocolate milk exercise).
Regardless, it's been two whole months since I've popped this baby out and since my initial weight loss, I have not lost a pound. I only have two months left until the wedding and it's time to get serious. Soooo....I have decided to link up with two blogs that are on my "must read" list in their Inspire Me: Healthy series.

Basically, every Thursday I am going to post about how my workouts and diet went during the previous week and report my current weight...as well as any weight loss (or gain). I figure this will work to keep me on track because I certainly don't want to be reporting to everyone each week that I haven't lost any weight!  So, starting tomorrow I am on operation lose weight! I will NOT be posting pictures or my current weight this week....because well, after the Stroller Strides incident I don't know if I can take any more embarrassment for the day!  Wish me luck! 

Hannah wanted to say "hi!"

So, I've been telling people that Hannah is "talking" more and more each day (talking=baby babble). But for some reason, I can't really get her to do it in front of people....perhaps a bit of stage fright? ;)

So I've started randomly filming her to catch her in the act. Here are two videos of her trying to say hi to everyone!

Ignore my baby talk...I'll do pretty much anything to get Hannah to crack a smile...much less, talk!

In other news, we started PEPS! It is an organization that groups new mom's together with other new mom's who all have babies within the same month. We meet every Tuesday for two hours and chat about anything and everything!

These are all of the babies (minus one who didn't make it to the meeting that day). Hannah is the second oldest baby...and one of only 2 girls! Of course she is the only one screaming...she actually loves our get together's so far...she just was startled by the little guy next to her who previous to this picture was screaming.

Our meetings go for 12 weeks and then it is up to our own group to decide if we want to continue meeting. There are some PEP's groups that have continued to meet and their babies are 5 years old! I'm hoping we are one of those groups that really clicks with each other and continue to meet and support one another.

Hannah had her first "big girl" bath the other day...as in we removed the infant sling. She was definitely uncertain at first...but LOVES to splash her little legs in the water. She thinks its really funny to wait until I get close and then she'll splash her hands and get water everywhere. It's so fun to watch her go through all these "firsts"; you can just see the curiosity and amazement in her face.

Who doesn't love a baby fresh out of the bath?!

1. Noah got Hannah her very first soccer cleats. This was her first time wearing shoes and she was a little unsure about it. 

2. All ready for the Jet's season! 

3. Wearing her Auntie t-shirt in honor of her Auntie Kelly who left for college! She misses her Auntie already. 

Somebody passed out into a milk coma after lunch, but then woke up ready for some tummy time! 

Love these close ups of her face and hands. So sweet. 

Hope everyone is having a great day! 

2 Weekends, 1 Post

Muahaha...clever title, no? I guess it only makes sense to those who have seen the infamous video...but I won't go there.

Anyways, as the title suggests we've got two weekends worth of fun stuff to chat about.

Last weekend I had all my gal pals up to my parents vacation house in Lake Chelan.

Pretty gorgeous view, if you ask me. 

We are all really spread out throughout the country (Philadelphia, Spokane, Seattle, The High Seas, and soon to be New York) so it's a very rare occasion that we can all get together in one spot. 

I met these ladies back in our college days at WSU while we lived in our sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. Ironically we didn't become the best of friends until we had all moved out of the house...but it didn't take long for us to realize that we were all made for each other! We've been through a lot together and I can't imagine having a better group of friends. 

Our weekend consisted of a lot of relaxation, gossiping, enjoying what the Chelan wineries (and cheese shops) have to offer, and just catching up. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

1. Hannah and I had to pick up Noah at the airport before we headed out to Chelan. This is the face she made when I asked her if she was excited to see Daddy! 

2. Spending some time with Auntie Kelly before she heads off to WSU for the year! Last Grindley Coug! So proud of her. :) 

3. Jess getting in some Hannah time! 

4. Hudson and Pumbaa watching all the commotion of Cake Tasting! Unfortunately I do not have the pictures of this, but my good friend, Kari and her mom are going to be making our wedding cake and were so nice as to bring up three HUGE cakes for Noah and I (and everyone else) to sample. 

5. All of us girls at our first winery. Love them. 

6. Grandpa and Hannah hanging out. 

7. The girls all getting in the water for some prime tanning on the trampoline. 

8. I love her relaxed position during nap time. So cute! 

9. This is about as far as I've made it into the water this year...I'm not a huge fan of cold agua. 

I actually didn't get that many pictures of this weekend (if only I had my "virtual scrapbook" idea sooner!) but we had a great weekend and I love every single one of these girls and can't wait to see everyone in October! 

Moving on to this weekend...

We had our last wedding of the season. My good friend from Graduate school, Heather, tied the knot to her high school sweetheart on Friday evening. It was a beautiful ceremony held at the Rosehill Community Center in Mukilteo. They were lucky enough to have perfect weather and we were all treated to a gorgeous sunset. 

It was so great to see some of my classmates. I ended up having Hannah just a couple weeks before graduation, so I was unable to attend and haven't seen anyone from school in about 3 months! They were able to meet Hannah for the first time and it was great to catch up with them and hear about all the end-of-school-year drama. 

Love these girls! 

Congrats Mrs. Button! You were a beautiful bride!

On Saturday we slept in a little and then headed out to Noah's company picnic in North Bend. Microsoft actually use to hold their company picnic in the same location every year, so I have lots of fun childhood memories of all the food and games. 

We parked ourselves at the nearest umbrella and grabbed some food. We didn't spend a lot of time exploring because I didn't want Hannah exposed to the sun for too long. She ended up getting a slight sunburn on her right arm (despite only being in the sun for less than 10 minutes) and I may have cried a few Mommy tears and was convinced that I was the worst mom in the whole world. However, the sunburn is already gone and we have learned our lesson; NO amount of time in the sun is okay for our fair-skinned little lady. 

Anyways, the picnic was amazing. Amazon really knows how to spoil its employees! We spent our time just relaxing under our umbrella napping, watching the trapeze artists, bands, and company picnic games. Noah even competed! 

He ended up winning and picked out a "Tub of Fun" for Hannah as his prize. 

It was a great family day and Noah and I kept talking about how excited we are for a couple years down the road when Hannah can compete in the picnic games. 

Sunday was a much needed day of relaxation for us. We just lazed around and had ourselves a little Lost marathon (despite the gorgeous weather outside). But we needed it. Hannah was particularly adorable in her 6 MONTH (!!) outfit today, so I had to snap a few shots of her.

Look at those rolls! 

Her personality comes out more and more each day...see how excited she is to be "gaming" with Daddy?

Officially obsessed with this face! 

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post! Hopefully I will be able to update more frequently and they won't be as long in the future. 

Have a great Monday, all! 

Happy Sunday!

Oh hello everyone, happy Sunday! I hope you all had a great weekend. We had a pretty jam packed weekend ourselves..which I will update tomorrow.

I just wanted to pop on here because I had a great idea! I haven't really been sure what I want to do with the blog since I've had Hannah. I loved using it to keep everyone updated on my pregnancy...and I like to do Hannah's monthly updates, but other than that I wasn't sure which direction I wanted to take this little ol' blog of mine. 

I have decided that I want to use it as a scrapbook...a "virtual scrapbook", and then get it printed at the end of the year. I'm hoping to update it with more regular posts about our life and Hannah's growth and include enough pictures to make it "scrapbook" like. 

Anyways, I figured if I actually wrote it out tonight that it would hold me accountable for actually following through. :) 

Now, enjoy this mini collage of Hannah that I just learned how to do! 

Also...I got my idea for the "virtual scrapbook" from the following blog I found about a couple who had spontaneous triplet girls. (I've recently become obsessed with having twins or triplets--Noah is not so excited about this obsession ;) so I found this blog and have read through the whole thing in a day. The triplets are absolutely adorable. This particular link will take you to the most hilarious video I have ever seen in my whole life...seriously...try NOT to laugh. It's impossible. They are just too cute! 

http://lifetreasured.blogspot.com/2012/03/need-good-laugh.html

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone! 

2 Months!

Hello my sweet girl! Today, you are already two months old! I don’t even know where the time is going, but you are already growing up!

Your eyes and hair are already changing. Your hair is lightening up a lot, and I’m about 80% sure that we have a little red head on our hands! Your eye brows give it away. J Your eyes are definitely changing colors. I’m thinking they will end up brown…you already have small brown spots mixed in with the blue. I’m excited for you to have beautiful brown eyes like your Dad, but it made me tear up a little bit because it just reminded me of how fast you are growing. Your dad told me to take LOTS of pictures of your blue eyes now so that we can always remember your newborn look.

You have a lot of nicknames. We still call you our sweet girl, honey, baby, monkey, pumpkin and little lady. But we also have started calling you Banana and Nana. I’m pretty sure your Auntie Kelly started those names and they just kind of stuck.

You have been quite the traveler! In your second month we did a lot of across the state trips….which you do not love. You don’t appreciate the pressure on your little ears during the elevation change and you let us know by screaming as loud as you can. It makes Mama very worried and I made Daddy pull over several times so that I could take you out of your car seat and cuddle you until you felt better. We managed to turn a 3 hour car ride into five and a half hours…but I can’t bear to hear you cry.

Even though you don’t like traveling, we have had some pretty fun adventures! Your first trip across the state was to Chelan for the 4^th of July (your first holiday!). You loved Chelan. You spent a lot of time enjoying the outdoor weather, and napping. This was a big milestone for Mommy because I let you nap all by yourself for the first time! I had been hanging out in your room while you napped because I was too nervous to leave you alone…but I forced myself to let you nap by yourself while we were in Chelan. However, I was glued to the baby monitor like nobody’s business! J

Your second and third trips across state were for weddings. The first wedding was another big milestone for us. Not only did you get to meet most of Mommy’s best friends, but it was also your first night away from us. I was pretty nervous about it, but I managed to have a lot of fun and I heard you had lots of fun getting some quality time with Grammy and Auntie Kelly. They are some of your most favorite babysitters.

In your second month you have been increasingly more aware of things going on around you. You definitely notice when people are in the room and you quiet down when you think you hear Mommy or Daddy nearby. You make lots of eye contact with us and we can tell that you are watching our faces closely.

On July 8^th, you had your first laugh! Mommy was in the other room getting ready and Daddy was holding you and making silly sounds to try and get you to laugh…and out it came! He was so excited and yelled for me to come and watch. Of course it was a one-time deal, so I’ve been waiting for my turn to hear your sweet laugh.

You’ve changed your schedule around…which I love. In the beginning of your second month you started sleeping from 11pm to 3:45am consistently. After that you would sleep off and on every few hours or so until bedtime at 11pm again. However, this last week you have changed your schedule again. Bedtime is now anywhere from 9-10pm and you sleep until about 3am. You wake up again for the day at around 7am. Your morning nap is around 9am, afternoon nap around 1pm, and evening nap around 4pm. It comes and goes depending on what we are doing…but that’s the pattern we are seeing as of now.

When you are not napping (or eating) you are helping Mommy wedding plan! You come with me to all of my appointments and meetings. Sometimes we take Auntie Kelly with us in case you get a little fussy. We picked out your flower girl dress. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen and I can’t wait for it to come in the mail! You are going to be the belle of the ball at our wedding!

You are still loving your bouncer and swing. I only put you in the bouncer when I need to bring you with me but can’t hold you…aka the bathroom when I need to shower and get ready. You just love sitting in there and listening to Mommy sing to you. I have also been trying to get you to like your play mat. It’s hit and miss…sometimes you tolerate it for a few minutes. However, you prefer to be propped up and looking at everyone or held and do not enjoy being on your back so the play mat is not the most ideal toy for you.

Something you really love is watching T.V. This is one habit that we do not want to get into too much…but for now you really love watching the different colors and shapes across the screen. You are pretty funny though…we try and block the T.V. from your view and you will move your little head up and down trying to figure out where it went!

This month you took your first nap in your crib! You have definitely out-grown your bassinet by now and I have loved having you sleep next to me every night. I wanted to try out your crib to see how you did. You seemed to enjoy it enough. Apparently we are supposed to start sleep training in the next month or two and I am not looking forward to that. I’m going to miss my baby!

You’ve been in great health. The only thing that seems to bother you is some bouts of gassiness and mild cases of diaper rash. Both things make you cry out in pain, which makes me so upset. I’m working on changing my diet, to help reduce your gassiness. I also have a faint suspicion that you might have started teething. I asked the doctor about it and she said that we wouldn’t see teeth until much later on…however, you are showing LOTS of teething signs and I’m sticking with my suspicion. Besides, the doctor we saw wasn’t your regular doctor and doesn’t know what an advanced baby you are! We will see over this next month if some little teethies pop up!

You’ve had some pretty huge milestones this month. One of them is that you discovered your hands and thumb! You LOVE to suck on both your hands now, which means I am constantly washing them so you don’t accidentally get sick! You also smile ALL the time, especially when you see Mommy and Daddy. This has been my most favorite milestone so far, because it is the most rewarding thing to see you start to recognize us. You have also found your voice, and it is the sweetest sound I have ever heard. You love talking to Mommy and our favorite time is around 7am, when you wake up for the day and we get a good half hour of cuddle time/talk time in before we get up for the day. The last milestone is that you have started mimicking our facial expressions. This one is really fun to watch. When I stick out my tongue at you, you start working your little mouth and trying to figure out which muscles you need to use until your little tongue starts poking out. It is absolutely the cutest thing.

 

At your two month check-up you weighed in at 13 pounds, 4 ounces. You measured in at 23.5inches in height and your head is 16.5 inches. You shot up in the last month…so much that you are off the charts in weight and head circumference and in the 95% percentile for height. In fact, the doctor came in and measured your head three different times to make sure they got it right. They couldn’t believe the growth spurt you went through! I actually have to take you back in a month so they can check your head again to make sure it isn’t growing TOO fast.

Because of your growth spurt, we are officially done with size 1 diapers. Luckily we were able to use them all up and were left with one box of size 1-2 diapers, which are definitely a little tight, but we are making do with them until they are gone. You are all over the board in clothing sizes. You seem most comfortable in size 3-6 month clothes, but can still wear your 3 month clothes and even some of your 0-3 month clothes. You even have one onsie in a size Newborn that you wear.

My favorite things about you so far (besides everything!) are when you know milk is coming and you make a sound that resembles a puppy panting. You just get so excited! It makes me laugh every time. I also love your sweet smile and I can make my voice go to crazy high octaves just to squeeze one little smile out of you. You also make these adorable little screeches that sound like bird chirps. You will chirp loudly and wait until you have our attention and then go back to looking around the room. You also have the most adorable sleepy stretch when you are just waking up; you ball your little fists up and reach high above your head, while tucking your legs up and sticking your head out. I am going to try and get it on video because I love it so much. My last favorite thing you have done this month is give us sweet wet baby kisses (otherwise known as baby drool) on our arms, shoulders and hands. I will just be holding you and suddenly feel something wet, only to discover that somehow your little mouth found my fingers, hands, arm, or shoulder.

Above all, my favorite thing about this month has been that I got to spend another month getting to know you. Your personality is coming out more and more every day and I absolutely can’t wait to see what next month brings us. I love you so much, baby doll. Happy 2 months!

Love,

Mommy