Bananacado

I recently read from a fellow blogger about a delightful dish called......"bananacado".
I was intrigued. So, tonight I made it for Addie. I figured, the worst that could happen is she wouldn't eat it, right??Well, she did. And she went back for more.

And then she went back again.

I guess she didn't think it was so bad!

I guess, just like everyone else, babies have different tastes! Who would have thought?! I am happy to say, though, that Addie has eaten almost everything we have offered her. Fingers crossed she stays so adventurous!

Wonderful day in Paradise

We had a wonderful day today in Paradise....after we found parking, that is :)

Willie, Addison, and I met up with some friends for a picnic at the beach. It was such a pretty day out. Everyone else thought so as well. For some reason, I always think my great ideas are only mine and I need to learn one day, that if it's something I think is a great idea, the rest of the state probably agrees. Therefore....don't do it!! But all's well that ends well!

We grilled up some pork chops, sweet peppers, and pine apple (not all together) and had a side of macaroni salad. It was all delish...and typically summer!

The kids played in the grass for a bit
And once they got bored, we decided to take them down to the water and see how they liked it. Addison of course, was in love. I think I could have just left her there all day and she would have been perfectly content.

But alas, my shivering daughter finally caught my attention and I brought her back to the table, where we proceeded to have a teensy tiny little melt down. All it took was a little momma time and my angel was back, though!


We ended the afternoon pretty shortly after she woke up, came home, and put her to bed. It was, despite everything that should have made it a frustrating day, one of those days in paradise that I will remember from our first summer as a family.

These boots were made for walkin...

...Walking all over my heart, that is! Tiny feet are the most precious thing, ever! I could take a million pictures of them.






Addison and I had a play date at the beach yesterday. How cute are babies on a beach? It was a perfect day of course! We saw the ducks, which Addie was very interested in. We sat there by the water together for at least half an hour just watching them swim past. She was so excited I thought she may just jump in after them if I didn't hold on tight enough.



She dug her little toes into the sand, and giggled with her friends at the new sensation. Can you imagine being so new to the world that the feeling of wet sand between your toes is something that will occupy you for so long? She sat there, wiggling her toes, digging her feet deeper and deeper in. Maybe she was trying to reach China!




After a few hours on the water, we decided to relax in the grass, enjoying a little more sunshine on a breezy day by the water. Nothing beats a content baby.

Except...maybe a sleeping one :)

I think we've found what works

What do you think?! Does this look like a happy, thriving baby??

Loving the bottles :)

Showing off the big belly to Daddy

Loves feeding herself.

New look??

I've done some blog-tweaking today. What do you think?

Diving Right In...

She watched me anxiously in her little baby bikini as I got ready to bring her into the pool for the first time. I was pretty hesitant, taking those steps one at a time, backwards into the pool. I went slowly, watching for a reaction on that tiny little face, but the only expression I saw was awe and wonder at what was going on. I reached the last step and her toes hit the water. She pulled her legs up quickly and hugged me tightly, looking down at the water in curiosity-not fear. Once she realized I wasn't letting go, she slowly lowered her feet back to the water and smiled. I lowered her further into the water and her grin turned into a giggle. She threw her hand down into the water and splashed her face. She looked at her friend, trying to figure out who threw water at her. Suddenly, she doesn't care who splashed water on her face because it feels good! She splashes some more, watching the older kids play volleyball on the other end of the pool. I start bouncing her in the water, which is her favorite. She clearly had no trouble diving into this new experience. My little dare devil daughter laughs in the face of the unknown.

"No updates for 80 days"

I noticed something sad just now. I have a tracker that tracks my weight loss vs. my goal weight. I just logged into one of my sites and saw this ticker...or lack thereof. It took me a moment to realize what was supposed to go in that spot. All it was was a red and white rectangle that said.."No updates for 80 days..please update". This is very sad for a couple of reasons. One being that this means I haven't lost any weight in 80 days. The other being that I don't have any updates for this site. How depressing.

Sadly, it seems that my potato chip and oreo diet has not been working as well as I'd hope. Neither is my exercise program that consists of channel surfing and breast feeding (<----on a similar note, who came up with the lie that breastfeeding makes you lose weight?! That was a good one). I guess I will have to go above and beyond with my efforts starting tomorrow on a new diet and exercise program!!

I had to shop for a swim suit today. You may be wondering "Why would you put yourself through that torture only 6 months after having a baby?!" I'll tell you why! I am doing it because it's summer, and I love swimming, and last year I missed out on all the summer activities because I refused to let anyone see me in a swim suit. This summer, I am determined to get out doors as much as possible, especially being prepared for beach trips or laying out by a pool, so....I went in search of the beached whale woman's department at Target in hopes of finding something that resembled a mumu.

Sigh. No such luck on the mumu. But, I did manage to find a pretty cute tankini that didn't look half bad! It didn't look half good, either, but I settled. The whole time we were swimming, I felt like random parts of my body were falling out of the swim suit. Oh well. All that mattered at that point was Addie smiling and splashing me in the water.

Ick. I cannot end this blog in that after-school-special manner! [insert sarcastic comment here.]

Spring in Seattle

Ahh...Today was one of those days that makes me thankful for our decision to move here. It was one of those breathtakingly gorgeous days that Seattlites live here for.

We went on attempted a hike today after Addie's nap. I say "attempted" because we didn't end up where we intended to. Since Addie woke up late from her nap, we Willie decided we could just go to a more local hike than the one we planned on. So, he chose a really cool sounding hike, the end of which would look out over Seattle at a view point. This hike was an "anti-aircraft" look out point used in WWII, complete with missile silos! How cool would that be?!

I wouldn't know. Unfortunately, the crappy very informative hiking book we have gave us directions to the wrong starting point. In fact, we were about 10 miles off from where we intended to be. Since there were other various trail heads leading off from the park we ended up at, we decided to attempt one of those trails. They sucked didn't live up to expectations. They were all very very steep, and very very narrow, with no views, logs down in the trail, and loose gravel. I wasn't about to go very far under those conditions with a 6 month old strapped to me.

We did, however, find a sign pointing towards a view point and picnic area, and decided to stop and enjoy a good view on a perfect day.


The view from above.



Willie attempting to find a decent trail with another view.



Addie enjoying the view.

The mind works in mysterious ways...

To me, there is nothing more fascinating than watching a baby learn and grow. Perhaps, it is fascinating to me because I am watching my daughter-my own flesh and blood-learn about the world around her. Regardless of the reasoning, it still amazes me each day when she learns a new trick.

Oh, how she has changed from that tiny little being I brought home in my arms 6 months ago.



Staying entertained for hours at a time was never so easy.



How she finds pleasures in the simplest things.



Experimenting & learning new things every hour.



At night, we escape within our imaginations.



Our favorite part of the day is spent with you in my arms.


I cannot wait to see what tomorrow holds for her. What new things will she learn about next?

I'm full now...

The past couple of weeks, it seems that more and more has been added to my plate. Do you think I need more? I am full. Please don't put anything more on my plate!

As it is, right now I am dealing with Willie being technically un-employed (at least not earning a pay check) while I am a SAHM. On top of that, we found out last week that Addie is not growing. She only gained 2 oz in 2 months. I worked all weekend on my supply, nursing her every 2 hours, drinking the tea, pumping after she was done. It didn't make a difference. She didn't eat any more or less, and today, I found out she hasn't gained anything over the weekend. We are now supplementing, which is hard for me, but I know it's for the best. I also noticed tonight that she has a rash all over her back, belly, and face. From the shots? From the harsh cleansers at the doc's office? From the formula? From the new cereal I gave her this morning? I have no idea, but I can't take any more worrying right now.

I am going to finish my wine and take a bubble bath. In the words of Scarlett from Gone with the Wind "I'll think about that tomorrow" because if I think any more tonight, I just might go crazy.

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.



This week, I did not correct several little old ladies about the gender of my daughter. I also did not grumble under my breath that it is hard to mistake a boy for wearing hair bows.



(Guess the blue gave "her" away as a boy)


I also did not feed my daughter lunch by letting her play with a piece of mango in a fresh feeder so that I could clean the kitchen before company came over! I sat down with her and fed her by spoon, and my kitchen miraculously cleaned itself. Must have been those cleaning fairies I payed for!

I went to a birthday party this week, and I am very proud to say, I did not take home enough birthday cake for 2 people, and eat part of hubby's "half"!

Were you perfect this week, too?! Please share!

Happy Half-Birthday, Goomba!!

Today is Addie's half-birthday. I am so amazed that she has been in my life for an entire 6 months today! As you see in the title of this post, I am using one of our more affectionate nick-names for her today. I love her. She is my whole world. I can't even remember what my life was like before she graced us with her presence.

We have changed so much as a family since she has arrived. We have grown much closer. She has completed our lives together, and I am so grateful to have her in our life. I remind myself constantly how lucky I am to have her. When I read stories from other families losing their loved ones, I give her extra hugs and kisses. I recently read about Kayleigh and her family's tragedy and it truly made me realize how lucky I am for what I have.

On another note, I am sad today. I hoped to have a completed montage to add to my post today, following her life with us. Unfortunately, my computer has gone kaput. I am on hubby's computer right now, just typing out a quick "happy birthday" to our amazing little girl. I hope I can have my computer fixed and in "blogging" condition by this evening so I can add my video for her. High expectations from my computer guru, right?

This just in: My computer guru came through for me...so...ENJOY!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Down day..

Ugh. Today sucks. It's raining again. Should I really expect anything else living in one of the rainiest cities in America? It's got me down.

I just woke up in a bad mood. I would have given almost anything to curl up and pull the covers over my head when Addison woke up. I hate feeling like that. Especially when she sees me and gives me the biggest smile ever. She's so happy to see me, and all I want to do is go back to sleep. I'm awful.

I almost cried when my husband left for work this morning, and again when he left for school this evening. We only had such a short time together before he left. I don't know why I am so upset. He leaves for work every morning, and for school every evening. We are alone all day every day, why was today different? Why did it bother me so much?

Addison's birthday buddy, Loren, came over to play for a little while today, and I got some grown up conversation. It made me feel a little better. Distracted me if nothing else. It doesn't help my guilty mood that Addison was a perfect angel all day and I didn't really enjoy it. It's so rare that she's this happy, and it was wasted on me today. At least she had a friend to play with!

The girls are really cute together, smiling, laughing, and cooing at one another and passing toys back and forth. I hope they get to stay friends for a long time! Addison got a little fussy right before they got here, but once Jess & Loren walked in, she was all grins! It really is too cute to see her in this social phase finally.

I live for her smiles and playful moods.

My Mother's Wardrobe...

Since the birth of my daughter, I have struggled with my self image. None of my clothes fit right. My pre-pregnancy pants fall off, but the next size down makes me look like a sausage link! I have a flabby belly, sagging breasts, jiggly thighs, and stretch marks in places I didn't know could stretch. My hair is falling out, my complexion is awful, and I swear I'm getting wrinkles and gray hair.

I really wanted to make myself feel better the other day, so I ordered some new clothes online-no dressing rooms! My clothes arrived today, and I nervously opened the box, just knowing they were going to be too small, because that would just be my luck. I pull the shorts out of the box and hold them up.

Are you kidding me?! These are freakin' huge!!! They look like mom pants!

I go ahead and try them on anyway. Oh. My. Gosh. They fit. They fit perfectly! Seriously?! Has my behind gotten that wide?? Whatevs. They fit, and I need shorts. In the mirror, they don't seem quite so wide.

On to the shirts. Umm....I ordered LARGE not TRIPLE X!! Great. Now the cute shirts I bought aren't going to fit. I try them on just to be sure, after that whole fiasco with the shorts, my self esteem is pretty shot so I'm beating myself up. The shirt fits.

When did I get a mom body?! I'm only 25!! I'm not supposed to be thise wide!! What happened?!

I have a stack of pants and shirts folded on top of my dresser right now. When I was packing up my maternity clothes, I found these, and didn't put them with my normal wardrobe because they are still too small. About 2 sizes too small. These clothes were things I bought before I found out I was pregnant. They were my "reward" clothes for when I lost the weight I was working on. Most of them have never been worn. Most of them probably never will, now.

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This is my first shot at this! So let's see:

• This last week, I did not take a fake photo shoot of my daughter because I was too impatient to wait on our professional photo shoot this weekend. I also did not take these *free* photos and put them in frames for Mother's Day gifts for the grandparents. Nope. I'm not that cheap.
  
  

• I did not do the flight of the bumble-bee on Friday morning to clean my cluttered town house before my in-laws arrived. I also did not try and pretend that I always keep the house this clean, effortlessly! On top of that, I also did not cringe every time something new was brought into our house over the weekend and left in the living room. I did not spend the weekend thinking of the mess I would be picking up today.

• I did not take advantage of my husband being home this weekend and did not let him take over every diaper change and nap time and fussy baby moment all weekend while I blogged, and tweeted.

• I did not help my husband finish off a bottle of wine TWICE this weekend. Nope, not me!

• And last but not least, I did not tell every one I know about my new "mom" locket, and I did not take a picture of it, nor did I already post it in another blog post. I also will not add it to this post.
  
  

Cheers to being perfect this week! =)

A day like no other....

November 15, 2008, I became a mother.



It was the best day of my life. I'm totally in love with this little girl.



This weekend, I got to celebrate that love. I love love love her!



She's the most amazing, cutest little girl ever, and she's all mine! I just had to brag about that today.



Look at the gift my amazing husband did for me.


Addie's hand print (sort of)


My wonderful gift from my 2 favorite people in the world!


I love my wonderful, beautiful family!