Easily Amused

She is fascinated with her Pooh rattle. She gets that if she shakes it, he makes noises. What she hasn't figured out is when she's bored of it, how to let him go from her grasp. It's quite amusing to watch.

Something Day

As Mothers' Day approaches, the requests (read: demands) begin. Traditionally, the first year of a new mother's Mothers' Day is supposed to be a great big deal according to most people. Not us. I don't expect it. Not from the hubs, not even from my parents and most certainly not from my in-laws. However, it does not mean that I am okay spending it stressed, frustrated, uncomfortable and/or exhausted. I don't need to celebrate it, but at the very least, I would like to spend the day comfortable. The fact that this doesn't occur to anyone or that anyone even bothers to ask is truly besides the point. I can honestly live without holidays. Ever notice there's a "---- day" just about every month? If it were up to me, I would just keep Leah's birthday, the hub's birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'll even forego my birthday as a trade-off to rid of all the rest of the holidays because all they really are, are headaches. That, of course, would be the case if it were up to me. Which obviously, it is not. If nothing else, I'm fine staying home doing what I do any other day. At least I'd be comfortable. I don't feel it's much to ask for my very first Mothers' Day. Heck, I won't even ask for anything. I don't need flowers. I'm allergic to pollen anyway. I won't buy that silly bag I've been obsessing over. I don't need anything shiny. I just want to be content and enjoy being what I am now for the first time in my life. Not to mention, I am learning that Squirmy does not like crowds. She cries if it's too loud, she cries if there are too many people around and she cries if she feels as though she's being crowded in. Who suffers? Just me and her. When we get home late, who suffers for 3-5 days days getting her routine back? Mommy and baby. When she's cranky and is beyond tired to sleep, who suffers? Mommy and baby. When she cries because there's just too many people around and it's too loud for her? Mommy and baby. Anyone care? Not so much. Perhaps the hub, but in the end, the only person losing sleep over it is, that's right, myself. In the past, if I felt down or upset or just anything not-so-good, I would work it off. It does wonders. I used to work right through lunch and make it a late night at my desk. Or I would just work like crazy, eat something disgustingly heavy for lunch and then make it a late night and more often than not, you're too tired to remember why you were feeling down by the time you get home and you get over it by sleeping. Now since that isn't really an option, I get these urges to do something drastic. Whether it's to buy something ridiculously expensive just because or putting the baby down for a nap to sit in the car with the music blaring loud enough that I can't think. It's almost always the latter. You really do feel better if you can't hear yourself think. My neighbors must think I'm insane, but hey, if that's the price to feel better, so be it. On a much lighter note, look!: (yes, they're sideways. i.don't.care.)

She looks happy doesn't she? =D

Hunter came later, but Squirmy was too busy screaming and crying for quiet that we couldn't take the "Large (Brian), Medium (Leah), Small (Hunter) picture that I wanted.... Babies are just so delicious. *SLURP!*

Happy 4 Months, Squirmy!

She is four months today! I cannot believe how quickly time flies. It really feels as though it were much longer ago that my water broke and Chris was getting a little antsy and asking "Are you sure we have time for a shower??? Shouldn't we be rushing to the hospital like, right now???" Tee hee. Yes, my water broke, I took a shower, packed the remainder of my bag, even thought to pack some granola bars so hubs wouldn't be hungry while leaning up on a wall between contractions. Thinking back, I'm not sure it was all completely real to me at the time. In any event, Squirmy's developmental milestones? Let's see, in 4 months she has learned to yell, really loudly. She rolled over for the first time yesterday. She is starting to understand that when she reaches out, she can grab things. She's discovered her fingers, thinks they are meant to be eaten and chomps on them all day. She communicates her likes and dislikes in her own way with whines, grunts, and squeals instead of just crying. She laughs real laughs. Giggly ones and I want to bite her every time she does it. She spins. In circles. She does this reverse "C" with her body and kicks really hard sending her spinning in circles. She is beginning to nap (I think). When I walk into her nursery once she's awake, she gives me this big toothless smile that makes me melt every time.

She made a new friend today. This is her babbling at Pooh Bear.

She's a GIRL, Stewpid!

Every so often, I get the "awwww, is it a girl or a boy"? To be fair, she looks like a girl to me, but maybe it's not so obvious to others. However, she is almost always in pink or in a dress for people to be able to tell that she IS indeed a GIRRRRRL and I have only been asked this when she is in her PINK onesie or dress covered in her PINK blanket. Are you stewpid or just stewpid? I've been asked this about 4 times since she was born all in the last month or so. I'll be nice; the first month, maybe up to even the first two months, it's hard to tell babies apart unless they're your own, but when I see that a baby is wearing a pink hat, and is covered under a pink blankie? Common sense tells me that the child is female and even if I couldn't tell, I wouldn't dare ask out of fear of offending the proud new mommy. So tell me, is she dressed even remotely like a BOY?!?! I did say I try to be nicer now than I was pre-Leah so while in my head I'm screaming "No, he's a boy. I just enjoy dressing up little boys in dresses so he can have a complex later in life, ya stinkin dingbat!". Instead, I politely smile and reply, "she's a girl".

So now I put pins in her hair. If someone asks me again if she's a boy or a girl, I still won't be verbally nasty (as tempting as it will be to tell you how dumb you are?), but I will point to the PINK hair pin on her head and walk away because if you can't tell if a baby with a pin in her hair is a boy or a girl, you're just not bright enough to have a conversation with and I don't have the time to waste being annoyed with you *rolling eyes* and *rolling eyes again*. That's partially the reason why I am obsessed with the color pink. Partially.

Playdates and Birthdays

It was hub's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) and how did we celebrate? By having a bunch of babies come over. Yes, this is what it is now. No fancy dinners, no romantical nights out, no great tasting wines. Just babies.

This is Ryan. He was sleeping when mommy brought him over to play. Had a nice long nappy on my Squirmy's crib:

This is Ryan sleepy-no-more!:

"Man, I'm so cool":

Momma Jean with Baby Hunter. Momma Julia with Big Boy Ryan eating my letter mat. I think that's an "O" he has in his mouth:

Hunter and Leah are still just too little to know what's going on. Or do they??:

That's what it must feel like to have two kids:

The kids all slept through different times. My little one was down for the night before 5PM hit and Hunter was in and out of sleep randomly so it wasn't much of a playdate for the little ones but the adults sure ate well! And Ryan had the place all to himself without the tiny blobbers just laying there getting in the way:

Happy Birthday, Hubs!:

We missed you, Brian! Hope you are feeling better so you can come over and play soon!

Blessings

I complain a ton. I complain that I'm tired, that I don't get to sleep enough, that I forget to eat, that the bathroom is dirty, that I have to do laundry daily. I complain that my kitchen floor is dirty. I get crabby because there is construction down the street and I have to drive down the bumpy old road with Leah bobbling in her car seat. Rewinding back to pre-Leah. I've known children who are needy. Not the whiny needy kind. The special kind of needs, kind. My cousin's son, was born with a congenital muscular disorder. Overall functioning, but always needed some sort of corrective braces on his legs or elsewhere. For a boy who loves sports, it is probably the worst having to sit out a game every time, to watch his friends while he is benched because he risks breaking his legs. Sad, right? It was/still is as he's the sweetest boy. Another baby I know, born with a cleft lip preventing him from nursing, born at 7 pounds, and was down to just a little over 4 pounds in a matter of days after corrective surgery and was fed through tubes for weeks. My co-worker's son, born with an incurable skin disease that prevents him from being in the sun, cannot be bathed because he cannot be submerged in water, his muscles are weak and needs to be bandaged up like a mummy at all times to avoid infections on his skin and am told is one of the most painful chilrens' diseases. Again, sad story. That was really all it was to me. A story. Yes, however sad, it never really affected me much. Once I heard it, it wasn't thought of very often, if at all. Fast forward to current day. Those things can bring me to tears just thinking about it. Stories of babies born with down syndrome, incurable diseases, painful treatments, corrective surgeries, lifetime of therapy and it takes a hold of me now much different from the past. There is a family that live on the other end of our little cul de sac area who have a daughter. I pegged her to be about 16. She does not speak, is bound in a wheelchair, has a machine hanging behind her to breathe for her should she stop all of a sudden and if you look at her, she stares back blankly. Despite their "situation" (I don't know what else to call it - sorry) they are the friendliest people who are very quick to smile and wish us a great day whenever we're out for a walk. So while I sit around complaining about the things in my life like being a little tired, or having to clean the floor again, there are people who live everyday wondering how their child is going to make it in this world tomorrow, or the next day, and the day after that. Every so often, as horrible as it is, I pass that house and it reminds me to count my blessings as I look over to check on my little one sleeping soundly in her seat perfectly content. I read stories on the news, hear of personal stories of friends/relatives/acquaintances, and even random people in our area living lives so completely different from mine and it rocks me out of my "my day sucked" attitude. What makes my day suck is that I break a glass cup and have to vacuum the floor. In all reality, my real life is pretty damn near wonderful. It's too bad that I need reminders to remind me of it. It's other peoples' misfortunes that remind many of us to count our own blessings.... Sooooooo, on a happy note:

We, obviously, are not quite fully awake yet. Papa's scruffy and disheveled, and baby is, well, she just looks a little confused:

Squirmy: "Hmmmm, what are these things?" ......

"Slurp Slurp Chomp Slurp" .....

Auntie Liana is quite psychotic. Yep, almost as much as I am over my Squirmy. There's a reason why she's

Leah's Godmommy. Now the poor kid has two crazy mommies instead of just one: 

That's Auntie Michelle with my favoritest baby (next to mine!). She's just too darn cute:

I am blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. I should remember this the next time hub forgets to take out the trash, or the next time my great friend tells me "you're sooo annoying"... ha.ha.ha?

No More Sleepyhead!

Yes, I have been slacking in the blogging area. She's 4 months in a week and she changes enough that even I notice the differences in her without being apart from her. Her most recent accomplishment? Yelling. Really loudly. She lays on her playmat and yells at the little hangy toys. I'm sure she's saying something, and I honestly wish that I could understand why and what she is yelling. I do wonder what is going through her little head when she's yelling at them. Like my friend said, maybe she's saying "Stop hanging around doing nothing!". Or maybe she's saying "Why aren't you saying anything!". Or maybe it just annoys her that they dangle. I haven't a clue, but it's one of the funniest things to watch.... (I have to learn to load up a video on this thing. This photo does no justice).

For the hub's birthday dinner with the family, we went to Sammy's in City Island. If you've ever been there, they're as kid friendly as the crummy old Chucky Cheese's with MUCH better food and neon lights overload all over the place. She was infatuated. She stayed up while we had dinner, chattering away by herself in her stroller. Her bedtime is usually anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30. 8 o'clock at the latest, but because we had dinner on a Monday night after everyone gets off work, her bedtime was pushed back to close to 10:30. That was this past Monday. That night, she slept for the longest time through the morning. The neon lights wore her out. Since Tuesday night, however, until last night, not so much. We screwed up her nightly schedule and I am being beckoned at least twice. Remember, she's learning to yell? Yeah. So we are starting this sleep training thing all over again. Right, because I don't really sleep anyway? Now I just sleep less which is to say I no longer sleep. It's wonderful. Really. It is. So it goes something like this: bath time, bottle, book, sleep, baby sleeps about 2 hours, wakes up, baby goes back to sleep another 4 hours, wakes up and this is where mommy is dozing half hanging off the side of the crib at the crack of whatever time it is (there is obviously no photo of this, but it would be a rather funny photo to say the least). Her bath times are usually of a very happy and smiley baby. The last couple of days? Not so much because she knows sleepytime follows bathtime.

Almost there!

Sike, mummy! I no sleepies anymore.

While it sounds like I'm doing a whole lot of complaining? That below (as ugly a picture as it is) is the BESTEST part of my morning. Truly. On her normal schedule, she wakes up around 6 or 7am. That, for a person who fell asleep only a couple of hours before, may as well be the crack of dawn so I scoop her up and bring her into bed with me, and there she sleeps for another 2 hours cuddled in my side. There is not a thing I love more than that right there (I woke up to the clicking of the cammy that morning - I guess hub thought it would make for a funny photo).

Tonight, she fell asleep on her own. I sat outside her door while she yelled. The kind where there are no tears to be found, but she wants to be heard? I was planning on going in once she started to whimper and cry which usually follows after a prolonged yelling episode. I do not like to let her cry if I can help it. She doesn't generally cry much. When she's hungry, when something hurts and she whimpers quite a bit when she gets sleepy or left alone too long. I'd like to keep it that way because that just means she's being properly taken care of. She learned to sleep 13 hours uninterrupted without my having to leave her to cry herself to sleep. (I do not agree with letting a baby cry it out alone - Shove it, Ferber!). So I grabbed my phone and curled myself up into the edge of her door listening for her and waited... and waited... and waited. *Silence* She fell asleep on her own for the first time in two nights. *Fingers Crossed* I hope it means she's coming back to her normal self and her normal schedule again because I.NEED.TO.SLEEP.

**Side note and COMPLETELY off topic? I am on a mission to find a bumper sticker(s)**

All very cool, but I want mine to read "Psycho Mom". Yes.

Happiest Baby

Weeeeeeeee~ mummy! This was her all day.

Playdates

Two days in a row we had playdates! It's pretty awesome to know moms with babies about the same age. Hunter was pretty chipper most of the day but cried the entire way home (yesterday). We had to stop at every other exit to rock him, calm him, drive, Hunter: "SCREAM", repeat. I don't think Mama Jean is going to be bringing him out again any time soon. Boo.

Bryan just slept the entire day (today). Literally. We were getting in the car to head home when he half woke up, looked at me and found me so absolutely interesting that he went right back to sleep without missing a beat. Boo again. That's one pricey baby to spend any awake time with.

Leah kept pinching Hunter. I think she thinks he's cute. He didn't seem to mind.

She was pretty content in her own space with Sophie just as well.

I think Hunter liked being with mommy better anyway.

Bryan: "zzzzzz....." *fidget fidget* "zzzzzz...."

Leah: "Mummy, all he does is sleep...."

Eeeeck!

The weather is warming up nicely. This time last year, I honestly cannot remember what I was doing. Hub was probably golfing, doing some fishing, but me? I don't remember. I guess my friend's daughter was about a month old and I was freaking out because I was probably just finding out that I was going to be (*GASP!*) a mom?!?. Now a little over a year later, my friend's daughter is throwing things, walking, falling down stairs, eating dirt and grass at the park and my little one is babbling, grabbing things and drooling more than ever. Where did all that time go? I don't miss it because that would mean Leah would not be here now, but it's hard to grasp how fast time flies and I wish I can slow it down just a little. It's already been a 100 days for her....

It went from

(by the way, that teeny little boy on the bottom? Ryan. He is nowhere near that size at 7 months now!)

to this

to

My silly little Squirmy.

I suppose the brighter side to time ticking, everyone is now a mommy or a daddy. (Well, almost. We have some lazy people that we are all still waiting on. Tick! Tock!) Here are some of the yummiest babies! Meet...

Mina

Luke (I so totally LOVE that face!)

Lukey again

Ryan

Hunter (Can't beat that scowl!)

There are definitely more babies, every single one of them just as edible, but we are lacking photos here. Please forward some updated photos of the little guys please! Thankyouverymuch!