Rolling Down the Street

Finally used my fabulous jogger stroller this morning for -who would have thought- jogging! Why didn't I try this sooner?? Newborn soft spots, serious potholes and a December birthday delayed this fantastic discovery.

Running down Sea Street in my fitted tank top during Hough's Neck rush hour (7:30 a.m.) must not have been a pretty sight. But I have a theory about Moms with strollers (running or walking). They're out trying to get in shape so you should cut them some slack. I don't judge Moms!

Thank you again to my DB's (highschool girlfriends) for this wonderful shower gift!

Goofballs

I discovered the "snapshot" feature on our Flip video camera - how fun is that?! Now I just need to trim this video and post it. The noises this kid makes!

Thank You, Monday

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The first one to use the showers in the ladies' room at the gym this morning - Lights were on in the locker and bathroom stall areas but not by the showers. So I showered in the dark (not really, but with little lighting) and it was fantastic. SooooOO relaxing!

Sold some company stock today at a decent little profit - very exciting!

Got home in time to put Jill to bed. Jill and Mom had a great time at the mall. Jill barely napped. She was absolutely exhausted when we got home. We had a bottle in the rocking chair; she cuddled against my chest; then passed out cold. She didn't even need Nestor.

This weekend we had a nice time just staying home. We checked out Nantasket Beach one morning - Jill loved playing in the sand. I thought she had her first tooth Sunday morning. Her bottom gum felt sharp but she wouldn't let me see. She kept goofing around sticking her tongue out. When I finally got a peak, there was no tooth to be seen. It's sitting just below the gumline. Soon!

Miss Personality

Verrrrrry exciting things must have been happening at Jack n Jill today because Miss Jilly only took one nap. Yes, one nap! I snuck in the infant room (I like to observe her when possible) and saw Jill trying to escape the gated play area. She spotted me, flashed a big smile then stuck out her lip and started to wimper. I knew we had an overtired baby on our hands! At home, Jill was barely awake long enough to play for a few minutes, chug one bottle (she's usually awake for two), bathe and conk out. Poor Tony came home before hitting the grocery store so he could see Jill. She had already been asleep for at least 20 minutes!

At school, Jill has been labeled as somewhat of a bully. I'm hoping this is just her teacher exaggerating. Jill has been using Kourtney's shoulders as a means to boost herself up to a standing position. Kourtney is one and does not appreciate the 8.5 month old scrappy baby walking all over her. They are not friends, apparently. Jill also crawls all over the other babies to boost herself up to toys and/or standing positions. Maybe all those editions of the Wall Street Journal taught her about the "glass ceiling" women face in the corporate world and she's already bustin' through! Miss Personality is emerging!

Thank you, Mom!

It's time for the "Grateful Monday" post. Today was rainy, windy, raw and just gross outside! But my morning was brightened by Jill and her curious little eyeballs. haha I peaked in one last time about 10 minutes before we were running out of the door and she was hanging out on her tummy, eyes wide open, just looking around and waiting for everyone to join her. So I got to hold my baby and prepare her bottle before passing her off to my Mom and coming home more than 12 hours later. GROSS. My Mom watches Jill every Monday. She packs her bags and drives about 45 minutes to our house every Sunday night. We have a good time catching up on Sunday nights but it's always an early start to Monday. Tony and I try to leave the house by 6 to take advantage of a long work day. I get to workout for a decent amount of time on Monday mornings too. And so our Mondays continue with no care in the world (thanks to my Mom!) about Jill's care or making it to day care by closing time. We know she is well cared for and is receiving every ounce of love possible.

Tony started a new job last Thursday and was stuck at work late today. I was swamped and welcomed the late pick-up. Getting home an hour later than usual made for a bittersweet bedtime. I would have loved more Jill time! In the meantime, Jill showed my Mom that she had found the stairs and definitely knew what to do with them. It's time to climb! YIKES!!

(Sleepy Sunday pic above)

Grateful Mondays

Monday-Monday, yup I've been sick for a week. This weekend I woke up with an awful cough. I was grateful for my husband. He hopped out of bed at 6 a.m. and road around town until he found a 24-hour CVS and he raided the cold aisle. What a guy...

This weekend Jill started to display a little bit of separation anxiety. Not to encourage this behavior (since it's a phase anyway), but I have to admit I kind of enjoyed it. You really need me? Sure, I'll hug you awhile longer! I was thankful for Jill and her cuddlebug tendancies today when we took a 2-hour snooze at my Mom's house. It was the best.

Homemade Moosh and Standing Tall

It was a learning experience but I'm happy I finally took a stab at making homemade baby food. The first two batches were too chunky but looked good at the time. Green apples - yeah, way too sour (see face in first pic) - and carrots, a hit as usual (see last pic). Jill didn't mind the thicker texture in the first carrot batch because she LOVES the flavor so much! Her new thing is taking whatever food is in the spoon and mashing it between her fingers and hands. A very neat child indeed!

Tony and I were saying that Jill seems like she has developed an awful lot in the last week or two. She is crawling around like a maniac, but would much rather pull herself up (on anything) and try to walk. She's also chatting nonstop. blah blah da da da DA DA giggle giggle. Whatever she thinks she's saying must be a pretty funny!

Sunday Morning Goof-off

Jill was a riot with her breakfast today. Instead of putting the spoon into her mouth, she would take the oatmeal with her fingers then rub her hands together. Nothing like a bath at 7 a.m.! ha

She also laughed at me when I tried to get her to clap on camera. Fat chance, Mom!

This week we experienced with homemade baby food. Pics to come!

Big Gulps

And We're Up (and Caught on Video!)

Grateful Mondays

Why should Tuesday have all the fun with the Tackle It theme? I've been inspired by my friend from high school - Alicen - to capture small, maybe random things I'm thankful for.

This morning I was annoyed with myself for forgetting soap/body wash at the gym. But I turned it into a positive and used my apricot facial scrub over my entire body. It was like a blessing from above, a facial for my elbows, a rub down for my knees. It was heavenly! Hello smooth ankles!

One other thing (there were many) I was thankful for today was my husband's humor. I don't know where this came from but Tony thinks goats are absolutely hysterical. We somehow ended up on the couch tonight watching goat videos on You Tube. Don't judge. Search "talking goat" then you can poke fun! The videos will make you cry!

Boothbay Bound

I'm Not Really a Witness. My Chihuahua Bites! Vodka & Cavier. These aren't the exact OPI colors my manicurist offered yesterday but there was a wide variety and the customer service was superb! Andrea brought a whole nail care kit to the Boothbay Harbor "camp," an awesome recently remodeled waterfront house her in-laws own. She gave me and Kim pedis, working much harder on my rough feet - what a treat! Jill picked out Kim's hot pink color and I went with a red shade. My piggies look great!

We fought serious traffic and accidents with side routes and old school mixed CDs, making it to Boothbay around 5 on Friday. Andrea joined us Saturday morning and we all spent time out on the rocks across the street from the house. Tony fished and Andrea and I tried to get some sun. Jill made a mess of herself a few times Saturday with a record three daytime baths, peeing on Andrea during one of them. Jill was stuffy Friday night and woke up around 1:30 a.m. We ended up on the porch with Jill wrapped in a blanket at 2 a.m. looking at the stars. Neither of us minded. It was a beautiful night!

Jill was a little off on Saturday. You could tell she wasn't feeling 100 percent and the travel time certainly did not help. She definitely enjoyed spending time with her Nana, Popa and Aunt Andrea though. She was all smiles!

We made the trip back on Sunday with almost one stop. I say almost because as we were pulling out of the rest stop, Jill decided it would be the opportune time to poop. Appropriately, That Smell by Lynyrd Skynyrd played in the background on the radio and Jill made her usual production over pooping.

Earlier in the week, Jill started initiating peek-a-boo, and laughing, sometimes uncontrollably. She's a riot! This week she also got pretty good at maneuvering herself from her belly into a sitting position then all the sudden pulling herself up the front of her crib. It all happens in a matter of seconds and it's very very scary! I think we're in for it!!

AWESOME

So I'm hanging on the couch right now enjoying a very cold Bud Light (why do bottles taste so much better than cans?). Jill's been asleep for more than a 1/2 hour and Tony is getting ready to grill some steak and pineapple, which I still have to cut. We are packing tonight too, ready for a weekend in Boothbay Harbor, ME with Tony's parents and sister, Andrea (not sure if dogs Webster and Calvin will be there too). Tomorrow is a half-day at work and I cannot wait!

The blog I mentioned in my last post - 1,000 awesome things - made me laugh today as I was running on the treadmill at the gym. A man in his early 30s walked by clam digging if you will and looking around to make sure nobody saw him. I honed in, laughed, but then turned my attention to Channel 5 so that the nose picker wouldn't feel silly if he saw me spying. He never looked, just walked and picked. Now that is coordination. AWESOME!

Oh Gisele. Where to begin... Of course she is beautiful and I'm sure she is a phenomenal mother. But there is definitely a language/culture barrier that she apparently doesn't realize until she airs her opinions that are then plastered throughout the media. Not long ago it was comments about her step-son. Now it's breastfeeding and drug-free deliveries. I think breastfeeding is wonderful but it is definitely not for everyone. And of course most have to return to work 6-12 weeks after giving birth. It's such a personal choice and should not be given any time limit. Any amount of time spent breastfeeding is a gift. Every ounce! [I had to tell myself this when pumping was not going so well.] We stopped breastfeeding about a month ago now. Although I miss it, I also feel secretly relieved. Life is so much easier when I'm not a stressed out beast worried about pumping at work and washing shields and membranes!

I wish I had the Flip video camera handy last night when Jill initiated a game of peek-a-boo. She held the cloth diaper (used as a burp cloth - thank you, Jen!) in front of her face and lowered it several times in between our "peek-a-boos!" and "where's Jill?," "there she is!" She was belly laughing and so were we!

Gone Sailing

The purpose of last weekend was to spend time with family while remembering my Dad. Sunday marked eight years since he's been gone and while every year seems a little bit easier, this year was different. Jill was a nice distraction but her existence is also bittersweet. My Dad would be obsessed with her! He'd be such a proud Gramp.

My Mom slept over Friday night so we could leave first thing Saturday morning. We drove to Woods Hole with no incidents or stops and made it to Pete and Deb's beach house in time for breakfast. We spent the day on a ridiculous sailboat - the one that Scott and Jess were married on last May. Chuck, Candie and the boys were great. Shalagh and Petey had an awesome time too. We sailed through Vineyard Sound and made a pitstop along the St. Elizabeth Islands. We swam to a beach and had an impromptu happy hour with beers brought over in one of the dinghies (sp?). Swimming back through the waves was more of a challenge! Saturday night Mark and Ali (newly engaged) came to the house from Ali's parents' place in Falmouth and we went into town. Two bars and a few more beers later, Tony called it quits and we headed back to the house. We (me, Tony and my Mom) were all hungover on Sunday, maybe another distraction in disguise.

While still recovering on Monday, I was checking out cnn.com at work. I found a link with a great blog I've been telling people about since: http://1000awesomethings.com/ You should check it out. It will make you smile!

Next up: Gisele and her big mouth on breastfeeding