NYE 2012

Today is my baby girl's first New Year's Eve. Of course, she has no idea what is going on. One day is the same to her as long as she gets plenty of milk and attention. With any luck, she'll sleep through midnight in several time zones. It will be a couple of years before we give her a bit of sparkling cider, and yet a few more years before we celebrate with the East Coast.

Still, the new year is going to bring her a world of changes, no matter how much C and I wish that weren't so. She'll be crawling any minute (unless the 2 inches of scooting she did yesterday count). She'll learn to pull up and walk. She'll say her first words. Her diet will transition from entirely dependent on me to entirely independent of me. She'll transition from baby to toddler. And my head will shake.

Every year brings change, but it's amazing to me how predictable the changes in the next year will be for us.

I often think about Little's future: all of the amazing things that are still available to her, the mistakes she hasn't made, the adventures she has yet to have, so much there is to learn, a world to explore. I get so excited and so sentimental thinking about watching her experience it all.

New Year's Eve always brings out the most emotional in me, and this year is no different. 2012 has`been so blessed, and I'm excited to see what 2013 has to surprise me with!

7 Quick Takes Vol. 4

7 Quick(ish) Christmas Takes to make my Christmas post a little easier?!? Don't mind if I do.

This was Little's first Christmas and our first Christmas with kids, so, of course it was pretty much the best Christmas ever.  

 

--- 1 ---

As I mentioned here, I hosted Christmas Eve dinner for C's parents. I was extra excited, because I got to set my new (to me) table -- my grandma is moving and no longer needs a dining room table, and our little kitchen table was a veeery tight fit for more than four. Plus, I got to whip out my winter dishes that had also belonged to my grandparents to set a very Christmasey table. I skipped a centerpiece to make room for food (and because I'm not a real centerpiecey person)!

Beautiful table, courtesy of the grandparents.

--- 2 ---

Grandma and Grandpa, of course, enjoyed a fun Christmas Eve with Little. She even got her first baby doll, a Bitty Baby. C, being a guy and having only a way-older sister, has no experience with dolls and is creeped out by the blinking eyes. I'm amused by this, mostly because I think that dolls can get so much weirder.

Little with Grandma and Grandpa

Doll is still about her size

--- 3 --- 

Santa came, so we had family Christmas on Christmas morning, complete with coffee, presents, and a big breakfast before we headed north to spend Christmas afternoon and night with my family.

Santa came!

Breaking into the toys

Rings for her, teddy bear hat for us. Win-win.

--- 4 ---

My dad's house, which is where I grew up, is basically the most Christmasey house on Earth. It is a log cabin in the pines, complete with leather furniture (now), roaring fire, and yellow lab. The absolute best part of my entire awesome and amazing Christmas was Little sitting on her Grandad's lap, next to the fire, while he read her Carl's Christmas and she listened and smacked the book. I have the whole thing on video, so I don't have a still picture, and won't bore all the people who aren't as enamored with my family as I am, so there will have to be some imagination work here.

Imagine my dad (center), sitting on the chair on the left, reading to Little (whose picture is allllll over this blog in case you missed it).

Update: Thanks to BG for sending me an actual picture of Little and Grandad! Too sweet!

Heart = melted

--- 5 ---

My sister and I decided to revive our old family tradition of Christmas jammie parties with some twists. We did it Christmas night, since we were all together, and everyone was involved. All the girls have the same jammie pants and the guys all have the same lounge pants and all the Little's have the same Santa-butt footie-jammies.

Showing off the Santa-butt.

The fam! Believe me, the outtakes are hilarious!

--- 6 ---

Little had a great time up north. She got even more presents, was passed from arm to arm, so never was set down or left alone, and got to see her first snow (even if it was mostly a patch of dirty ice-snow from a week or two ago). She also got to play with doggies, which she looooooved. It almost made we want a dog. Almost.

One set of arms

Another set of arms

"Snow" and adorable pink coat from Grandad and BG (Instagramming and pic courtesy of my sis).

Playing with Jordan

And Lacey

--- 7 ---

Yesterday, we had Christmas Part III (but I think, if I'm honest, it was really Part IV -- hey, 12 Days of Christmas, right?!?) with C's brother (who is also Little's godfather), nephew and parents. It was a fun day of cousin-meeting, frisbee-playing, tamale-eating, and family stocking-stuffer-game-playing, but the only still picture I have to show for it was our poor, exhausted, over-Christmased Little drinking her bedtime bottle with Daddy.

Ready for bed!

 

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

What I Wore on Christmas

Christmas Eve is basically my favorite day of the entire year. Este ano (too lazy to figure out things like tildes on the computer), C's parents are came over for Mass and dinner and presents

Since we're still a one-kid family, we opted for sanity at the 4pm Children's Mass (read: before bedtime meltdowns ensue). Then things got alllll crazy in this hiz-ouse, and we ended up at 5pm at a different church and it was super lovely. Cribbing from Grace, Little got a Mass grade of B-; she did scream through the homily, but she did fall asleep by the Eucharistic Prayer and was forced to try and be good for an extra hour due to our Mass plan revisit two-step and having been woken from a nap to do it, so she gets extra credit for all of that).

Anyway...some post-Mass family pics:

The group, with Little eyeing Grandma's scarf

Family pic: Little is very impressed, and my hair is...ugg...

Is it still pulling a Grace if it's totally candid? I'll go with yes.

Me
Skirt: H&M; Tank: Old Navy; Cardi: Target; Tights: Somewhere; Shoes: Circa by Joan & David, via Last Chance

Little
Dress and tights: Carters; Socks and flower: gifts

C and his parents
Outfits: their closets via stores of some sort

There is a forthcoming "Little's First Christmas" post that will feature more outfits! more family! and basically be a million only-moms-and-grandmas-care scrapbook of Christmas. But we have Christmas Part III this afternoon/evening, so the bated breath will have to be held until tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Grace has all the lovelies over at Camp Patton.

Little Christmas Elf

The last couple of weeks I have had the joy of being a little Christmas Elf. For most people, December is a time of busy preparation for Christmas. The to-do list is never-ending, and it can be a burden or a joy, depending, in my opinion, on how you look at it.

For me, I approach it with joy. I know that mall will be crowded. There will be one too many weird versions of "Santa Baby" played wherever I am. Actually, are there any non-weird versions of Santa Baby? I know that there are to things to add to the list for every one that I cross off. I know that in just less than 48 hours I will feel the adrenaline of holiday company and their pending arrival.

I also know that I am blessed. I am blessed with enough plenty to share and to celebrate with others. I am blessed to celebrate Christmas in a country that doesn't just allow us to celebrate, but has held onto its Christian roots enough to keep it as a national holiday. I'm blessed with family and friends. I blessed to know the Reason for the Season...the Word made flesh and dwelling among us.

So here I am, December 22. The stockings are hung. The gifts are bought and wrapped. The food is planned, but the grocery store still looms large. I need to write a packing list for Christmas night. There is chocolate melting and dipping still to come.  There are visits to make. I'm antsy to get the show on the road, but I'm trying to savor the moments of Little's first Christmas. I don't know if I have a point to this post beyond excitement.

And a note to self to wait in JOYFUL HOPE.

5 months

My beautiful, sweet little Little turned 5 months old on Monday. She can roll both ways, is a champ at getting things into her mouth, sits tripod style (for 30 seconds before she spies something that she needs to put in her mouth right.this.second and needs her hands to grab it), is working on sitting unassisted, loves rice cereal and milk (but only the real thing...no formula will enter her mouth....no way, no how...she'll see to that with tight lips that indicate a potential future as a spy), loves Mama and Daddy and anyone else who will hold her (especially while standing), sleeps 10-12 hours at night with a couple of snacks thrown in, loves to laugh, makes the most horrific screeching noise ev-er and thinks it's hilarious, wants to be mobile so badly that I'm shaking in my boots, believed Burger King when they said she could have it [her] way, and is an absolute doll in my never-biased opinion.

Here are some pictures from her 5-month photo shoot to prove it.

This is the one I used for her month-by-month picture

Auntie, what happened to my modeling career?!?

Oh yeah, I'm cute!

I will eat my feet!

This is my favorite, because it is so what Little is like at 5 months, but the spacing is terrible.

Thanks to Auntie Whitty and gracias to her MIL Yenny for the adorable outfit. Too much cuteness for words.

Meal Plan Monday, Vol. 5

Saturday: Christmas party at a friend's house

Sunday: Pork roast (crockpot)

Monday: CMA meeting - Burrito

Tuesday: Parish Women's/Moms' Advent Reflection - Tortilla soup, rolls

Wednesday: chicken and sausage paella (crockpot recipe)

Thursday: Tacos (pre-made shells, not Tucson tacos), rice

Friday: Salmon, spinach, mashed potatoes

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 3

After yesterday's exhausted-and-feeling-sorry-for-myself post. I decided to have a good day. 

Six of my seven takes are my delights that decision. Yeah, I'm just that cheezy.

  

--- 1 ---

Left: flat; Right: puffy

I baked chocolate chip cookies. I use the recipe from Martha Stewart's Cooking School employing the chewy cookie variation. Thanks to my egg allergy, I always replace the eggs with flax meal & water goo. I don't know why half ended up flat and half ended up puffy, especially since I did the whole rotate midway through baking thing. I did guesstimate the second bake time after not actually starting the timer, so they ended up a little over. Oh well, they all ended up tasty.

--- 2 ---

And ate them, because isn't that the whole point of making cookies? I mean, even if you make them for someone else, you have to try one (or two) to make sure they're okay.

--- 3 ---

Totally impressed with the sheep.

I busted out the Little People Nativity set to play with Little. She was very interested in 1) watching the star flash and play "Away in a Manger," 2) gnawing on the animals, 3) eating St. Joseph. All in all, I'd say it was a success.

--- 4 ---

During Little's long afternoon nap (praise the Lord!), I ceased to be the last woman on Earth to be addicted to Downton Abbey by watching the first two episodes. Both of us getting some rest made a huge difference in our evening.

--- 5 ---

There may have been more than a few Mama-Little kiss attacks. Hearing your baby squeal with delight about getting kissed pretty much cures anything. At least anything mood related.

--- 6 ---

I let Little play in the kitchen with me while I got dinner ready to throw in the oven. Less whining, more smiling...pure win.

--- 7 ---

Daddy-Daughter Time!

Coloring a Jesse Tree ornament.

 

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

This is why God Invented Caffeine

My morning started out with such promise. After an epic mommy-meltdown (after Little refused to sleep for more than 5 minutes at a time after waking up from her morning nap at 11:30 yesterday), I had been graced with some sleep. Little, exhausted from her hours and hours of screaming/fussing/whining/bouncing/singing/shhhhhing/playing/feeding/diaper dirtying/mommy-crazy-making, slept from 8p to 4a. When she woke up, I was able to feed her, put her back down, and pump off 4 oz of glorious overnight milk. An old friend re-posted this sweet blog message to us crazy mamas that really, truly inspired me and lifted my spirits and told me that today will be a better day.

By 5, I was back in bed, expecting another couple of hours of blissful rest. Only I could not fall asleep. At 5:30, as my poor, sick husband was trying to drag himself out of bed and into the shower, I heard the scream. Seeing as she had just eaten from the buffet of overnight engorgement and couldn't possibly be hungry again, I knew. Dirty diaper.

It was all over. I would have to wrestle her out of footie jammies, and turn on a light to make sure her little bottom was all clean. (I can change a wet diaper blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back, but a dirty diaper requires three hands, and at least a little light. Hats off to anyone who can go without the lamp.) Of course, she then urinated mid-diaper change, necessitating a complete strip, and clean clothes. By the time it was over, she was ready to play.

C emerged from the shower at 6 to me singing random Christmas songs, and rocking, and nursing, and praying that Little Miss Early Bird would catch a few more zzzzzzs. No such luck.

And did I mention the spit-up in the middle. Yep, I got a clean shirt in the deal. Score! Oh, wait...

Of course, by 8, she was sleeping in my arms, and I was clinging to my coffee cup. I'm now floating through in that weird state where I'm exhausted and not sleepy. I've been awake since 4, so I figure I'm going to be surviving on caffeine by noon.  Should be a fun one. Or something.

Blurry 2mo dolphin-shirt cuteness. Blurry 'cause that's how the tired rolls. Cute to remind me not to find the gypsies.

Feed Me Mama (One More Time)

Her little tiny newborn baby mind is blown

With apologies to Britney Spears (or, who am I kidding, her songwriting team), I've been working on a little ditty.

[Verse 1]
Oh mama mama
I’m trying to let you know
That something isn't right here
Oh mama mama
I trying to let you know
And that is why I’m screamin’
I’ll tell you how I need it to be
Listen mama ‘cause you need to know now oh because

[Chorus]
My hungriness is killing me
(And I)
I must confess I still can eat
When I'm not nursing I lose my mind
Give me some milk
Feed me mama one more time

[Verse 2]
Oh mama mama
All that I want is you
Mom you got me cryin’
Oh sweet mama
There's nothing that I’m gonna do
That’s not the way I want it
I’ll tell you how I need it to be
Listen mama ‘cause you need to know now oh because

[Chorus]
My hungriness is killing me
(And I)
I must confess I still can eat
When I'm not nursing I lose my mind
Give me some milk
Feed me mama one more time

[Half Of Verse 1]
Oh mama mama
I’m trying to let you know
That something isn't right here
Oh mama mama
I trying to let you know

[Chorus To A Different Tune]
My hungriness is killing me
I must confess I still can eat
When I'm not nursing I lose my mind
Give me some milk
Feed me mama one more time

[Chorus]
My hungriness is killing me
I must confess I still can eat
When I'm not nursing I lose my mind
Give me some milk
Feed me mama one more time

[ Britney Spears Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/britney+spears/hit+me+baby+one+more+time_20593389.html ]

Meal Plan Monday - Vol. 4

Saturday: out with family

Sunday: Chicken stew, bread

Monday: Chili mac, cornbread

Tuesday: Pork chops, spaghetti squash, salad

Wednesday: Cilantro lime chicken, rice

Thursday: Meatloaf muffins, potato wedges, mixed veggies

Friday: Tortilla soup, bread