Spring Break

Well my spring break is finally here, but someone forgot to notify Mother Nature!! The weather is CRAPPY. Yesterday it poured all day, and today it's cold and miserable even though it's not raining. So much for our daily walks with Danielle and E or a trip to the zoo. But it's ok. I'm catching up on mommy/baby time and when she's sleeping, finally cleaning the house.

I can't believe my little baby is almost 1! 3 weeks from today she'll have her big birthday! This year really flew by. I wish I had been home with her the whole time, but that's life. She just amazes me though. She's still signing (when she wants), but hasn't added any new ones. She responds to a lot though, like the animals - I'll sign horse (her favorite right now), and she'll go get her horse. She is beginning to love music and is quite the little dancer. Yesterday she was rocking out to some Italian rap - Jovanotti. (yea, we don't really listen to "kids" music - I can't stand too much of it) My fears that I would have to feed her her own birthday cake are gone. She has become a pro at feeding herself and just shovels the food in. Speaking of birthday cakes, it has been a source of some disagreements around here. I don't want her to have a "traditional" chocolate cake. I would really like to get or make her a vegan cake since she hasn't had whole eggs yet, and something not too sugary. Any suggestions? On her actual birthday we're going to get together with my parents and my in-laws to have cake and presents, but we're not having her party until June. My grandfather has been in and out of the hospital and rehab for the past 3 months, so I wanted to wait a while in hopes that he'll recover enough to come. And if you recall from the Christening, I have a huge family, so our guest list is looking like around 70 people (adults and children), since we have some good friends with kids that we also want to invite. So I really wanted to have it outdoors, and hopefully will have good luck with the weather in June.

Well, Alessia is up and ready to play, so I'm off! Then we're heading out for dinner to celebrate my FIL's 61st b'day.

where do I begin?

I've been away from my computer for so long, I don't even know where to begin with this post. So much has been going on, and although I mentally "write" my posts daily on my long drive home, by the time I actually get home, I don't have any time to sit at the computer and blog. (Let's not even mention the fact that I should be sitting at the computer and doing real work such as lesson plans and grades - which I am procrastinating now on this lovely snow day) But there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. If you recall, when I went back to work I complained about having an extra course to teach to cover for a maternity leave. Well the teacher is finally coming back next week, so I go back to my normal workload of 5 classes. One extra class actually makes a big difference - in addition to having another 28 kids to keep track of, it's 28 more papers to grade, etc and one less period to do it in (although I'm not getting another "free" period - I'll have another hall duty, but I can get work done at that time). So although I'll greatly miss the extra pay (1/6 of my base salary), I'm looking forward to a little less work. I was beginning to lose my mind a bit.

In Alessia news, my baby is 9 months old today!! Happy birthday pupa! She's on the move now, crawling like a champ and climbing and walking along the furniture. The little daredevil likes to let go now and then as well. Sometimes it's like she has a hot pepper in her butt though. She won't stay still! Not a problem, until it's time for latte. Let's just say she's getting creative in her nursing positions:

Speaking of breastfeeding, as the time continues to fly by and we get closer to the 1-year mark, I have been thinking about weaning her. I never thought I would make it this far (especially with having to pump at work), and although some of my friends say they give me a lot of credit for continuing, I say I'm just a big baby when it comes to weaning. I can't bring myself to do it. So although I may say we'll stop at a year, I'm sure I'll still be breastfeeding her at least at night for as long as she wants. The plan now is to slowly start her on milk at a year during the day so I can finally end my relationship with the pump and the book closet.

Yes, this is where I spend 15 minutes a day so my angel can have her precious latte. Isn't it beautiful? The best is when I come out and there are a group of kids at the table. They look at me like "what the hell were you doing in the closet?" And the story is..."oh she's organizing the closet." It must be really messy for me to be in there every day all year! What a shame we have to concoct stories to hide what we're doing, like it's disgusting or inappropriate. And what a shame that in a work environment where all 3 administrators are women, they can't find/set aside a comfortable, clean, and private place for us working moms to pump. Oh well. At least it's not in a bathroom stall. And I get 15 min a day to actually sit and read. I've been working on The Omnivore's Dilemma since October, but finally getting close to finishing it! (More on that book later)

I know this is a loooong post, but just one more thing, then I'm off to try to accomplish some real work. Why are some women (especially fellow moms) so judgemental? I've been getting some annoying feedback, criticism, etc. about my parenting methods and attempts to be green. Why can't people just let me be? I'm not saying anything about what they do in there own lives. But why can't they just honor my wishes, especially when it comes to my baby and what toys, food, etc I expose her to? Apparently I'm a wack job and a difficult mom. Whatever. At least I'm not the only one! I'm sure I'll be back to gripe about this topic some more later. For now I'm off to grade some quizes.

And we're back!

Ugh...I orignally started this blog as a forum to talk about my "adventure" as a new mom when I was on my maternity leave. Then I went back to work, and any shred of "free" time has vanished. It sucks, because I feel like as a working mom, I need this outlet more than before, but have absolute no time for myself to actually sit down and write down my thoughts. I called out sick today to take a "mental" day (also my mom has had to work for the past 2 weeks, so it has been a little difficult with Alessia). I don't want to complain too much, because I know there are a lot of working moms out there who have it much more difficult than I, but this really sucks. I'm so behind at work: partly due to the extra course I'm teaching (=one less period to do my work), and because I can never find time to do it at home. Well I guess that's a lie. More like I'm not really willing to do it at home. By the time I get home from my mom's every afternoon, I have about 2 hours before Alessia goes to sleep. Subtract the time to make and feed her dinner, and there really isn't a lot of time to spend with her. I didn't have a baby to plop her in the pack and play or in front of the tv while I work. I want to enjoy her. I don't want to wake up one morning and realized I missed my little girl growing up because I was grading papers or typing lesson plans. Before I had her, I was all about work and took pride in my lessons. Now I feel like I have great ideas but neither the time nor the energy to actually execute them. *sigh* Oh well, I can only do so much.

Enough whining. For those of you (namely Tina enjoying her adventures in NZ) that check this for updates on Alessia, here's all the excitement that's been going on here:
What she's doing:

• "big-girl" crawling. Yup, she's officially on the move. She actually started last Tuesday, and is getting faster and faster. She loves chasing Danielle's cats.
• pulling herself to standing in her crib. Started that on Friday. Not so excited about that one. We have to lower the mattress again. She is so cute when she does it though...huge smile on her face - she's so proud of herself!
• walking while holding on to her crib rail.

What she's "saying"

• "dada", well actually more like "dadadadadadada"
• "mmmmm" but no mama yet
• "nanananana"
• and still doing the "gremlin" noises.

What she's eating:

• big-girl food, cut into chunks. Though she absolutely refuses to feed herself. She'll pick up the pieces and mash them between her fingers, but won't put them in her mouth. She leans forward for me to do it. Which is okay by me. I don't want her growing up too fast!
• chunks of:

1. broccoli
2. cheese
3. banana
4. kiwi
5. sweet potato
6. pasta

• pastina
• yogurt
• chicken
• turkey
• pork
• beef
• and all the "starter" fruits and veggies

Suprisingly (even to myself), I'm still making all of her food. She has actually never tasted prepared baby food. I guess it turned out being a lot easier than I originally thought, so I've kept up with it. God knows it's been saving us a lot of money, especially combined with the fact that we're still not giving her formula.

Ooh, and the biggest news....my little baby has teeth! One officially "out" - bottom right rises up from the gums. Bottom left has cut through the gums, and top right is just about through as well. I just noticed the top one last night while I was tickling her on the floor. I don't have any pics because she refuses to show us her teeth, but hopefully soon. I'm at my mom's for the week while the hubs is in AZ, so I don't have any pics to upload right now, but if you check out Danielle's weekly winners, she has two of Alessia from Sat.

One of my new year's resolutions was to try to find time (ha!)for myself to continue blogging and get back into yoga, so hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a new post!

More firsts

My little baby girl is getting so big! On Wednesday, she had her first haircut! Although my mother has told me (on more than one occasion) that "they" say you shouldn't cut their hair until after they're a year old, I just had to do it. When wet, her hair actually reached past her shoulders, but it was only a this strip of hair across the middle of the back of her head and it was constantly getting all knotty and tangled. So after her bath, I snipped off her adorable curls! She was so fidgety, that Mark had to hold her instead of taking pics, but we did get it on video. I just haven't had the time to download it yet. Although she no longer as the curls in the back (though it was more frizz than curl), she's still a cutie. You'll probably think I'm a nut, but I did save the hair. Now I just have to find one of those little boxes that says "Baby's first curls".

Her other first: she's cutting her first tooth! Yup! On Wednesday night as we were doing our usual pre-bath dance, I noticed a little slit in her gums and the unmistakable whiteness of a little tooth! I've been trying to get a picture, but of course she won't open her mouth now. She's been rubbing her tongue over her gums and cracks me up.

In other news, we've been continuing to sign with her. She has already signed "milk", though never for me (she has her own gesture when I'm with her, can you guess what she does?) and responds with grunts or frantically waving her arms when you sign milk, more, eat, and water. After hanging out with Danielle and Eliza, I can't wait for Alessia to start using signs. Check out Danielle for an adorable video of her daughter signing. She's amazing!

Today we have a snow day, so I'm trying to get some last minute gifts online while Alessia sleeps. Then we're off to a playdate with Eliza!

Where did the time go??

Sorry I've been MIA - things have been hectic around here and I just don't know where the time went. Work is really getting to me. I'm having a hard time juggling everything and having any spare moments to even think, let alone blog. I guess I can't be supermom and a superteacher at the same time. Something's bound to be half-assed, and right now it's definitely the teacher. My heart just is not in it for the first time since I started teaching. I would so much rather be home with my baby. But that ain't happenin, so let's move on, shall we?

Since I don't have much time these days, I'll give a quick rundown of what's been happening:
New foods for Alessia:

• bananas - she loves them, but they don't love her.
• green beans - did NOT like them at first. Actually gagged and puked (well the puking is Mark's fault. He made me give her another spoonful just so he could see her make a sour face, then she puked it all up) But after a few attempts and mixing it with brown rice cereal, she eats it.
• carrots - yum! They're sweet, so of course she loved them
• mangoes - these she just can't get enough of, probably because they taste like candy
• oatmeal - prefers it to rice cereal

What she's doing:

• sitting up on her own for long periods of time. She will actually sit and play with her toys. Until she starts getting nosy and looks around and...KABOOM! falls over.
• a kind of military crawl, a few paces, then rolls over or "swims" on the floor
• stands up holding onto the bars of her gymini - this is her absolute favorite. Sometimes she throws a fit if you don't let her stand up to play.
• "walks" when you hold her under her arms. Actually puts one foot in front of the other and will walk for as long as you hold her.
• making all sorts of sounds, and LOUDLY! She's been doing a lot of "singing" lately

um...I think that's about it! Now I should go do some real work *sigh* Is it June yet??

oh yea, I forgot, yay Obama!! As Oprah said, "Hope won". I'm so excited to bring Alessia up with a true example of "you can be whatever you want to be".

...and we're back!

Sorry I've been MIA (though did anyone really care?). There have been plenty of blog-worthy events and topics, however for various reasons - being freakin exhausted, having to self-censor, and having absolutely no time to do anything - I haven't posted a thing. So here's some news:

Alessia is 6 months today! How the hell did that happen?! She's too cute. I'm too lazy to download any pics because this computer is too slow for my patience tonight, so I'll have to add some tomorrow. But here's just a few amazing (well at least to me) things she has been doing:

• make an array of noises, some even I can't make
• transfer objects from one hand to the other, even tiny pieces of ribbon on her toys
• sit up with minimal assistance
• rock on all fours - actually she kind of does like a military crawl, but gets annoyed after a while and decides it's just faster to roll around to get places
• anticipate what's going to happen in her favorite bedtime books - every night when we read The Going to Bed Book, right before the last line "...they rock and rock and rock to sleep." she starts to smile and giggle cuz she knows we're about to rock her. When we read Good Morning, Good Night, she gets ansy for the last page where she can play with the little blanket that covers the baby.
• she's starting to love "peek-a-boo"
• she gives me huge, tight hugs when I pick her up from my mom's everyday

She's been enjoying "big people food" for the past 2 weeks, and so far has had apple sauce, pears, bananas, sweet potato and butternut squash. She's loved them all, and gets so excited when she sees the bowls coming. It's all been homemade, so I'm happy she likes them.

She was supposed to have her 6 month check up tomorrow, but when I didn't get a call from the office to confirm, I called them only to find out that someone cancelled the appointment without calling me, and she wasn't in the system. So we're going next week. No biggie. I'm happy she's not getting shots tomorrow, but really wanted to see how much she weighs. I guess I'll just have to wait!

My little baby is growing up!

My little girl is growing up! We made the decision to start her on cereal this weekend (which I know my family thinks we should've done like 2 months ago). Alessia has been super interested in food for about the past month, drooling like crazy and "chewing" when she sees us eating. If she's on my lap, she reaches for my food and stares at me as I put it in my mouth, following the fork with her eyes. I was very adamant about waiting until she was 6 months, keeping her diet exclusively breastmilk. We almost made it - she'll be 6 months in about 2 weeks. This past week, her usual bottles just weren't cutting it for her, and even on my days off, she was eating like a fiend. There is no way I can get more milk for her, so rather than trying to increase the quantity, I decided it was time to introduce cereal. Why not just supplement with formula you may ask? We've made it this far without it, it doesn't make sense to start for two weeks.

So how'd it go? Take a look:

At first she didn't know what to do with it, but after a while, she was real excited and doing a pretty good job getting it down. So over the next few days we'll experiment with the thickness of it (it was very soupy today), then I guess we'll start to add some fruit. We're using HappyBaby organic brown rice cereal to start with, then I want to try the oatmeal and multigrain. I haven't been able to get their frozen food yet - none of the stores near me carry it, so I got someEarth's Best stage 1 pears to start. I've also hear good things about Tasty Baby from Danielle, so am thinking about trying that out. I really want to try making my own food, I just have to find the time and get some appropriate size (and safe) containers to freeze it in. I was planning on making apple sauce with the apples we picked, but have not gotten around to it yet and we've already eaten most of them. So it's off to the store or maybe the farm next door. I also got some yummy squashes from the farm that I figured I would roast and puree.


I would gladly welcome any yummy recipes you have that your babies enjoyed or any suggestions of products.

Another day off

I had off today due to the holiday, so I got to spend the day with my bambina. What a beautiful day it turned out to be! We went for two walks with our buddies, Danielle and Eliza, and then played for a bit at the playground in our development. But of course I didn't have my camera with me, which was a shame. She was so cute sitting in the plastic airplane rocking back and forth (and of course I'm sitting there thinking "how toxic is this stuff?") We'll have to make it over there again with a camera.

Today she started doing the cutest thing. She smacks her lips together, kinda like a big fish (Mark would know exactly what kind of fish to compare her to, but not me) making this cute "popping" noise. Too cute.

As she played with, or rather ate, some toys in her room, I started to go through her drawers and closet and put away all the clothes that don't fit her anymore or that are too summery. I can't believe how fast she's growing up! (or just how many clothes she has!) It did suck putting away some things that she only wore once, but hey, I guess that's what happens. Maybe I'll have another girl (in the very distant future) so we can use all these clothes. If not, we'll just pass them down to someone else's baby I guess.

Speaking of growing up, stayed tuned to see what big step Alessia makes this weekend!

Do moms get sick days?

It was about time I got sick. I made it almost 5 weeks this year before it hit. Tuesday night, I had the worst sore throat, and of course Alessia had a rough night and I lost count how many times she got up. I went in yesterday, but was absolutely miserable and by the end of the day, I was almost near tears every time I swallowed. So I prepped for a sub just in case. I woke up this morning to a little less pain, but now my ears itch as well as my throat. Fun! So I called in sick. But do we moms really get sick days? Of course not! Though my mom offered to take Alessia for the day, it just didn't make sense for Mark to take her there and pick her up after work. They wouldn't have gotten home until 6. So I ended up getting a second day home with my bebe!

She woke up at 5:30, much to my dismay, and would not go back to sleep. She rolled around in my sheets for a bit, then I put her in the pack and play (whichis still next to our bed) and she played in there a bit, but I couldn't hold her off for long. So after a couple diaper changes and a feeding, we decided to go out for a walk with Danielle and Eliza - cuz that's what you do when you're sick, right? I just needed some fresh air, but definitely did not have the energy for our normal loop today. But Alessia was sooo cute in the little sweater my friend Meri knit for her and the hat a colleague crocheted, I had to snap a shot:

AFter the walk, mommy got a great nap while Alessia lay passed out in her crib. After that, we've just been chillin, and of course I waste all other nap times online rather than doing work around the house or work work that I really need to do.
She's turned into quite the roller - you can't turn your head for a minute or she's across the room! God help us when she starts crawling! Here are some cute shots from the day

Oh and for those of you that care, apparently her rash is a reaction to her poop. Something in my diet is the culprit, so it's time to start eliminating again. First round: all dairy (again) and soy - though I don't think it's the dairy, but we shall see!

how fast time flies by...

I just can't seem to get the hang of my new schedule and find time to post and comment on the blogs I follow (I'm still reading, just can't comment from work!) Time just keeps whizzing by.
Speaking of time...last night was Mark's and my 10 year high school reunion. Man did that creep up on us quickly! We technically didn't go to the reunion, but showed up for the after party. Alessia is teething again and has been real fussy at night and I didn't want to leave my mom with that. So we headed out after she finally went to bed. It was a good time, though I'm paying for the late night today. As conceided as it sounds, one of the best parts for me was hearing how good people thought I looked after having a baby...All those morning walks with Danielle really paid off! I may feel like sh*t, but at least I apparently don't look it! Yay!
Not only was it weird to think how much time had passed by since I had seen most of these people, but then when we were playing "catch up" and I talked about Alessia, it was so weird to say that she was just about 5 months. Where did that time go??!! She's getting so big and so is her personality. When I look at what she can do now and how she interacts with us, it just amazes me and I can't believe how fast it's all going. Her newest things are this funky gurgling sound she makes nonstop and she finally got her foot in her mouth.
I would put a picture here, but still haven't had time to load any onto the new computer. Maybe I'll get a chance tomorrow. Instead I'm off to finish some laundry and pass out before round 2 of putting her back to bed.

Day 2

We survived another day. Today went much better since Mark took Alessia to my mom's. I can deal with giving her a hug and kiss goodbye then putting her in daddy's car. I can get her off my mind a bit while I"m driving by myself to work. And she's having a blast at my mom's. Today she rolled over from back to tummy in front of a witness for the first time. We know she's done it during the night, but could never catch her in the act. That was cool, though I did feel a little sad that I had missed it. But it's okay, I've been there for every other first so far.
Update on the car: it's officially ghetto-fab. The door handle fell off in my hand this morning when I went to open the door. Apparently the piece the asshole took also keeps the handle from snapping off. Then when I got to my mom's in the afternoon, what was left of the lock chamber fell out onto the ground when I slammed the door. Wonderful. Mark's taking it to the insurance adjuster tomorrow then we can finally get it fixed and I don't have to feel like a hoodrat driving it around and parking it at work.
I'm freakin exhausted. Have I mentioned what time I get up in the morning?? Alessia has been waking up for a second feeding between 3:30 and 4 and my alarm goes off at 4:30. Fun. It's starting to catch up to me. But alas, I still can't go to sleep yet - I have to prep for tomorrow's fun fun lessons. Those kids better enjoy it!

dirty diaper derby

Today feels like it's dragging on forever! Alessia's visit to the doctor went well. My little peanut is now 11lbs 14oz, and 24in tall. Although she may seem small, the doctor was very pleased with how she's growing and that I'm continuing to exclusively breastfeed her. I turned down 2 of the 4 vaccines, so I have to go back next month to get them. I don't mind paying another copay - it's so worth it not to cause her so much pain. Speaking of pain, she did okay with the shots. I fed her right before she got them - which supposedly helps because it raises their glucose level or something like that - and then again right after to soothe her. Mark took her home in his car so that I can have one peaceful car ride. And wouldn't you know it, she slept for him?! She did cry a little, but then passed out. Figures! Oh, and I asked the dr. about her earring "injury", and he looked at me like I was crazy. She's fine, it'll heal, I don't have to do anything. And it does look much better. It didn't seem to bother her, but it really bothered me and made me feel bad for piercing her ears to begin with.

So far, no fever from the shots, but oh my god the poopy diapers! I think I've changed at least 4 already, which is more than usual for her these days. And she has mastered grabbing her toes, so of course when I put her on the changing table she goes for them. Makes it very difficult to put a new one on! The last one I put on took 3 attempts and then I realized she still had a cheek hanging out. But it's so cute when she grabs her feet! She looks at you like "Whoa! Now what do I do with them?" Oh and last night she let out the loudest, cutest, full-on belly laugh at bathtime. We've never heard anything like it! So cute...we hope she does it again tonight and we catch it on video.