words

anxious// is how I would describe my mind

ready// is how I feel about seeing our families & friends NY - cant wait!

adventurous// is how I feel about our trip to Hawaii, though with a toddler there may not be much adventure - a girl can dream right?

fast// is how I want this summer to go for the sake of enjoyable temperatures again

excited// is how I feel when I think about planning to expand our family in the near future

bittersweet// describes my feelings on Sienna being a toddler

content// is the current state of my heart

unmotivated// is how I feel about getting my butt to the gym

safe// is how I feel cuddling with my hubby

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Yep, thats me...

I have been asked if I'm getting excited for our upcoming trip to Hawaii, 

to be honest...no. I'm not and probably won't be until that plane lands there - all I keep thinking about is the potentially nightmare-ish 5 hour flight with a highly active toddler who HATES being confined to a small space. There is only so much stuff I can bring to keep her busy. Last time we flew with her, she was only 5 months old and was totally happy nursing, sleeping and snuggling the whole flight. 

A totally different ball game this time around.

I've received great tips from other moms and I'm crossing my fingers it all goes smooth, for the sake of everyone's sanity. We have another flight coming up soon...slightly shorter, which I'm considering the "practice one" seeing how she'll do on  this one will better prepare me for the longer one to Hawaii.

Spacing babies

For several months now, Sienna has been loving her baby doll. Shes a natural gentle little mama- feeding, kissing, hugging and rocking her baby. She would be an amazing big sister, I can already tell. 

I once read that the best gift you can give your child is siblings. Companions. Life long friends. Shoulders to cry on. Others who know where you've come from and really, truly understand because they've been there too.

With that said, I'm so ready to give Sienna a little brother or a little sister...though some days are rough and make me swear that she's going to be the only child- but deep down of course,  I don't mean it.

Two years apart to me seems like the perfect spacing for siblings, which means we'll have to get busy late Summer/Fall for that to happen, but I'll make peace if it doesn't go exactly that way. If its meant to be it will happen when its suppose to :)

For now I'll just day dream and pin away....

Siennas 15 Month update

Happy 15 months sweet child of mine, 

so glad to have you back to your normal self again

 I have to say the last two weeks ago were probably the hardest yet with you so far. I used to think the newborn stage was hard..HAH! 

You went on an eating strike...you did not want ANYTHING, I was worried sick about! you know how I feel about doctors..and I almost took you, thats how bad it was. You wanted nothing to do with your usual favorites and went many hours between mere bites of food.. I called your grandma on the verge of tears everyday, trying to come up with something...anything...that you would eat. Then one day, you just got over it and ate normal. Strange phase that I hope to never see again.

You continue to amaze us with how smart you are!

the other day you picked up a foam "0" and said "oval!" 

you left me speechless kid...how on earth did you even know that?

You repeat just about everything we ask you to and know more words than I could even list here. You started putting together sentences your newest "a big ball" pointing to mommys exercise ball in the closet.

You are quite petite, 

according to our home scale you are 19lbs.

your current favorite thing to eat is cinnamon raisin bread with butter, but you despise the crust and freak out if I don't cut it off before I give it to you. You drink goats milk and almond milk, in a bottle...twice a day- despite what your doctor said. Breakfast is your favorite, its when you eat most so we try to make every calorie count. Dinner is your worse enemy.

You continue to sleep through the night in your room! woohoo!

you have 6 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom, we could use some more on the bottom so you can eat more stuff...get those chompers growing! 

 

your favorite thing to play with are books, we had a playdate a few days ago...your 2 little girlfriends were playing in the pool and you kept bringing me books to read you.

We have been working on potty training, not pushing it on you but we try to encourage it. You have your good and bad days with it...but you definitely know what " pee pees" and "poopies" is because you say it when you go, even in your diaper.

Who do you look like? I think you're a good mix and I love that. Your eyes are my shape but the color is from Daddy. Daddys nose but my lips...however, you got grandmas ears! 

You LOVE babies! my goodness...

I was talking to a fellow mama in the store, you went up to the stroller and on your tippy toes tried to catch a peak of the "beebee" 

In the Target toy aisle, its the 1st thing you run to. Such a little mama!

You also LOVE water! pool and bath time are your favorite!

 Its usually hard to get you out

 Pool Fun

Our favorite thing in the world is your laughter, we do the stupidest things just to make you laugh...we dont care whos watching, nothing brings us more joy than your giggles!

 we LOVE you!

-Mom & Dad

Advice For Newlyweds

While I certainly don't have all the answers regarding marriage, Dan and I made it past the newlywed year with our marriage (and our sanity) well intact.

Go with the flow. It seems that many couples consider their wedding the first step in a well thought out plan: we'll buy a house in x amount of time, we'll start a family in x years later, etc. But when you get married you start a life together and life is unpredictable.  Embrace the unexpected because it will make you stronger as a couple.  When you get married, you are bringing two different people, different experiences and ideas, together.  By making hard decisions, addressing the unexpected, and defining your values and priorities as a couple, you are forming your own family.  Don't make the mistake of thinking of the unexpected in only negative terms; it can be positive too.  When Dan and I bought a house, we planned to get married and wait until I graduated to start a family.  A month later, we joyfully found out we were expecting...moving our wedding up 2 months sooner....and that was fine! we just went with it. Society has its way of putting pressure on what order you 'should' do those things in...now I'm not saying you should go have 5 kids before you're married...but if your order of things is a little off track, work with it... just be flexible and embrace the little twists & turns along the way.

Don't ignore problems. The newlywed year sets a precedent for the rest of the marriage.  That's not to say if you have some problems your first year that you are doomed to repeat them throughout your marriage, after all, just like anything else new, there is a learning curve in marriage.  However, you do need to take issues seriously from the get-go and address them as they come up.  Don't assume that things will magically get better as the marriage goes on; it won't.  If something bothers you now, it will still bother you in twenty years and your spouse will never know it bothers you if you never let him know.  Be quick to forgive, but don't move on until the issues have been addressed.

Set boundaries. The first year isn't just key for how you treat one another, it's also lays the groundwork for how you relate with each other's families.  If you have problems with an in-law, this is the perfect time to discuss boundaries with your spouse and enforce them from the get-go.  Many newlyweds expect that many of the issues with in-laws that were evident while dating will change now that you are married.  After all, now you and your spouse are your own family and there is some separation from your family of origin.  Unfortunately, not all in-laws see it that way.  It's best to address those issues before children complicate these problems even more.  Make sure you are honest with yourself about how your own parents treat your spouse and marriage, as well. 

Don't air your dirty laundry. As a woman, it's sometimes tempting to disparage my husband to my friends.  It seems that we live in a guy-bashing society, where female friends seem to one-up each other on the whose significant other said/did/wore the stupidest thing.  Before you open your mouth to join in, think of how your husband would feel if he overheard you saying such things (and simply for the purpose of making your friends laugh at him).  If you are having a serious fight or problem, you can confide in one close friend if you are doing it because you are sincerely looking for help or advice, but make sure you fairly portray both sides of the situation.  And for goodness sakes, even if your mom or dad is your best friend, do not put your spouse down when you speak to them.  I know this can be difficult because I tell my mom everything, but it really is key in a good marriage.  Most likely your parents already are on your side and you don't want to give them reasons to dislike your spouse!  (The alternative isn't fun either.  My parents think my husband is amazing - and he is! - but they side with him on everything.  It's not fun to get a lecture from your parents for being mean to your husband, even when you know you are right!)

Have fun. Newlywed life only lasts a short time, so enjoy it while you can!  Don't get so caught up in planning for the future that you don't enjoy the present together.  Once (if) you have children, it will be many years before you will again be able to spend so much alone time together and be spontaneous.  Use this time to create memories that will be a strong basis for your life together.  I was recently reminiscing about our travels and am grateful that we took advantage when we could, before we were tied down to  responsibilities

Lessons & Regrets

Big or small...we all have them

here are some of my parenting lessons & regrets

1. we could have all had the same birthday, but we don't because of me

Let me explain...

 of course the ultimate goal was to have a healthy baby whenever she was ready to come into the world we would be over the moon. We weren't really set on the day being our birthday...well maybe we were a little, but we tried not to be. My due date, birthday and hubbys birthday were on a Monday....Saturday I started leaking fluid but didn't think much of it because it wasn't a large amount....(what did I know, I had no idea what going into labor was like) Sunday...I did a lot of walking and by the evening more fluid...we called my midwife and she said its probably just extra discharge and if I wanted I could go to the hospital to get checked....I decided not to go, Danny thought I should but ultimately it was up to me....Monday I went to see my midwife and sure enough the leaking was my water trickling out...straight to the hospital and on pitocin I went..I labored for a very long time which made her birthday the day after ours...Now, had I gone in Sunday...I would have been kept and she would have been born on March 12th...triple family birthday. I think about it often, and its sillly cuz not like I could take it back and I should be grateful she's here, healthy as can be...but sometimes this invades my head and I start to beat myself up a bit.

Here is my full birth story

2. Newborn photos

After many many many hours of labor, a c section, stressful and unsuccessful breast feeding attempts I was so beat I didn't even feel human and I hardly took photos of her in the hospital. In our house I'm in charge of photos...my husband gave up on trying to take them because he says I'm hard to please when it comes to photos. Of course when I was laying cut open on the operating table I wasn't able to take any of her first few minutes of life... and though he tried to take some...they're horrible...I cried when I saw them ( this is why he doesnt want to bother)  to this day, I still give him grief about how he messed up the most important photos he ever could have taken. Whatever setting he had on the camera...made her look RED like a creepy kind of red...see for yourself...

ugh...yep and they're all this bad

luckily, my anaesthesiologist took a wonderful family photo of us. 

That at least made up for some of these.

3. The swing

It was both a blessing and a curse, but less of a blessing and more of a curse I would say. Not until maybe a month ago were we able to wean Sienna off of it. She refused to nap anywhere else....it made it hard to put her down to sleep in her crib at night because she was so used to the rocking she'd wake up in the crib and was impossible to even lay down. Eventually the night sleeping became normal in the crib, but she would only take naps in the swing. The motor even gave out from being used so much with such a big kid, Fisher price was nice enough to send us a new motor. Its good as new and will certainly not be kept for the next baby, we are listing in on craigslist this weekend.

4.  Believing that top of the line stuff is better

I would have easily traded my Bugaboo & boon highchair for something else. You see celebrities sporting these things and you think gosh it must be the best! nope, its not...its all in the name. With the bugaboo..other than its stylish look and easy glide, I dont think its worth the money. Same with the high chair, it never seemed like Sienna was comfortable in it...the straps are not safe and the tray is tiny. Is it appealing and stylish to the eye? absolutely....but is that what's important?

5. Letting doctors get to me

To be perfectly honest, I don't trust them. I take everything what they say with a grain of salt, and use my own judgment in the ultimate decision. I remember stressing out soo much one time because Siennas head was flat and still cone shaped at a few months old...her doctor said we would have to get her a special helmet...a helmet that is 4K out of pocket, not covered by insurance because its considered for a cosmetic purpose. I was so upset. I started to lay her down on her side wedging a rolled up blanket on her side and propping her up more...her head started getting better after a week and is now perfect, no was helmet needed. 

funny things they say...

There is nothing like a funny unexpected line from your child to remind you how fun it is to have a kid...These days Sienna is our main source of entertainment with the things she says....

Whenever we drive by a McDonalds she points and yells "nannas!" 

she thinks the M is two bananas

She mixes up the words "sushi" and "fishy"

so we're sitting in the quiet waiting room of her pediatrician's office and she's pointing to the fish tank yelling "sushi! sushi!"

Whenever she goes in the potty she says "goo gor" to herself 

(good girl) nothing like self praise ;)

Thanks to this book, 

she learned to say "clock" except she says it without the "L"

 

She farts in the tub...says "toot" and laughs

exactly what she was doing in this picture

Shes a riot :)