Point of clarification

I really should read back through my posts before I hit that publish button. I was re reading it this morning and this sentence stood out..."She still nurses twice a day, at night and I never thought that I would say this, but I really cherish that one on one time we have together." I felt the need to clarify, because that sounds AWFUL. What I meant was that I never thought that I would say that I enjoyed breast feeding, not that I never thought I would say that I enjoyed the time with her! Ha, ha. How easily your words can be confused! I can just feel you all give me the side eye through the internets. If you remember from the early days, I did not like it AT.ALL. It hurt, it took forever, I had crazy engorgement issues, it was just not that fun at all. But now, I almost look forward to it, because pumping sucks. LITERALLY. Anyway, hope that clears that up and the "man this chick is crazy" look subsides till the next crazy comment I make.

Oh and then there is this gem "We have a wellness check with the Ped on Friday and I am eager to see how much she's grown in the last 2 months (and for her shots, boo). " Geez re enter the side eye. No I am not eager for her shots........and exit the side eye.

I attribute this to baby brain, which will be my excuse for all my stupid comments till Emily is at least 18.

4 months!

My newborn baby is no longer a newborn. Here is what Em is up to now. She has almost doubled her weight since she was born, she is growing out of all her 0-3 month cloths and her 3 month sleepers are history since she can't straighten her legs in them anymore, she is almost in size 2 diapers. We have a wellness check with the Ped on Friday and I am eager to see how much she's grown in the last 2 months (and for her shots, boo). She loves to sit up and can hold herself for about 10 seconds before toppling over. She is starting to roll over from tummy to back, which makes tummy time fun. She got her first pair of jeans on Saturday and even though they are still a little big, she still looks stylin'. She is up to 4 5oz bottles a day, and I have a feeling we will be upping the daycare bottles to 6oz pretty soon. She still nurses twice a day, at night and I never thought that I would say this, but I really cherish that one on one time we have together. I think it will be harder to wean this mom from nursing than it will her. She is still swaddled at night. We will continue till she rolls over from back to belly or till she lets us know she is done. We tried one night without it and it was hell, so we are sticking with what works for now. We just started to put her down for the night starting at 8:30 instead of 9, and will hopefully work up to 8 at some point. She still sleeps from 8:30-7, but has been getting up once during the night for a quick 10 minute feed. I don't really mind so much because she eats and falls right back to bed. She is so smiley, its not even funny. This child always has a smile on her face and she is not greedy on who she gives them too. She loves to smile a big gummy grin at anyone who looks her way. And she LOVES to talk. She started this grin the other day that reminds me of an old man who forgot to put in his dentures. She loves to play with her toys and has gotten really good at reaching for things and her hands are ALWAYS in her mouth. She drools a ton, so I won't be surprised if she cuts teeth here soon.

We did go get her ears pierced last week and I am so thankful that my mom and sister went with me. I was going to do it by myself if Zig couldn't get off work, but I chickened out. Let me just say that I do not regret doing it, but it was so hard! I think my mom and I cried more than she did. It was just hard knowing that a decision you made, caused them to be in pain. She cried for about 5 mins tops, and was back to her smiley self not even 10 mins later. The hardest part was how long it took to get the holes lined up because she kept trying to eat the marker. I think she looks adorable, but if we have another girl, it's dads turn to take her! I am not sure I could do it again! Here are some pictures from that day. Yes she is crying, but she was being snuggled by me and my mom the whole time and for several hours afterward.

And prepare for cuteness overload!

Feeling nostalgic

So I thought, how cool would it be to post a "1 year ago today" post about the day we found out we were expecting and how our lives will be forever changed. Then I remembered that day and it has since come and gone. So this will be a "1 year and 3 days ago" post. People tell you that a baby changes your life forever and that could not be more true, but I would not trade it for the world. I am more happy than I have ever been. Sure there are hard days and there are days that I am sure Zig wants to rip my head off, but I love my husband and my daughter more and more everyday. Life would be boring if it wasn't challenging in some way. Yes, life is different, but it is so much better than I could have ever imagined.

I went back and read my first few posts on this blog and I kind of snicker at the type of things I worried about back then. It all seems so silly and yet so surreal. They were right when they said you forget about all the bad things the moment you hold your child. Those early days seem like an eternity ago and it is amazing how far we have come! So here is to the best year of my life. All the tears, the struggles, the nights I stayed up late worrying about what was to come were totally worth it. I have a sweet little girl that I get to go home to every day and I get to watch her change and grow and learn with each passing minute. With every smile I fall even more in love. My heart truly is full...

Yum-O and easy

Over the last few weeks I have made the following recipes. They are super yummy, have very few ingredients and are very easy...Because that's how I roll. You should try them :)

Chicken Tequila Burgers

Red Chili meatloaf-This is a family favorite, we have made it with turkey too and its yummy!

Taco Squares- adapted from Vintage Victuals

2 tubes of 6 Pillsbury crescent rolls

1 lb ish lean ground beef

taco seasoning

Shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Apply cooking spray to a large baking sheet and set aside. Brown meat and taco seasoning. Roll out the crescent dough and divide into rectangles, pinching the seam of the 2 triangles together to form oblong rectangles of dough.

Spoon a dollop of the taco mixture onto one side of each crescent rectangle and top with shredded cheese. Fold one end of the rectangle over the filling to form a square. Pinch the dough together around the edges to seal, and place the squares on prepared sheet. Bake for 20-25 mins or until golden brown.

We served them guac and salsa

and

Killer Tacos from Life in Motion photography

Take 1 chicken taco seasoning packet and cover the bottom of the crockpot. Lay 3 frozen breasts on top of the seasoning--This makes a TON. We doubled it and had left overs for days (and 7 people ate it the first day I might add). Take one container of fresh pico and cover the chicken. Pour 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup water over the top of everything. Do not stir.

Simmer in crockpot for 4 to 6 hours on low. If you’re home, flip it halfway through, but not necessary. Remove chicken and shred with a fork. Stir back in, mixing everything up, and let cook/simmer for at least 30 more minutes.

We served them on tortillas with sour cream, guac, salsa and lots of cheese!

I am hoping to start cooking a little more. Now it is really only a few times a week, but we are big grillers so when it warms up, it's on!

In Emmy news, she has really found her voice. She will yell at you if you don't talk back to her. It is hysterical. I will have to get it on film. She is trying so hard to talk. Sometimes she looks like she is about to lose it, but really she is so excited that she gets a huge grin and her face turns red. She is so close to laughing too. My mom was bouncing her on her knees and then I did it too and there was a little chuckle. I can't wait for the full blown belly laughs. She weighs a little over 13lbs according to my scale at home. I just weighed myself and weighed her with me so that may not be totally accurate, but we will see in a week a half what her growth as been at her next wellness appointment. Finally, we are going to get her ears pierced on Friday. It is something we have thought a lot about and we decided we would rather get them done now, when she will likely never remember and when we can take care of them ourselves. We figure at some point she is going to want them done and in talking to the woman at the salon who is going to do them, now is the time. She said when they get older, they don't forget so quickly and they really struggle to do the other ear. So that is that. I will post a picture when it's done. We are going to do simple small studs, nothing blingy because Em is a classy lady.

Because I can't post without a picture, here is one of Daddy holding Em last Saturday. Zig and I are on the committee that plans the Run for the Zoo and as a special treat we got to go to the elephant barn and see Daisy the baby elephant. Part of the money we raised in the past helped make it possible for Daisy to be here today, so that was fun.

Here's one of Daisy. She is such a little ham. She was rolling on the floor and playing in the water. Sorry, it's a little blurry. She was all over the place.

Now I know why...

So as we were expecting our little one back in November, everyone would tell me all the "bads" to expect, but also all the "goods". So I recently discovered what everyone was saying when they said having a child is such a wonderful thing. Given Michele and my schedule, I am solely responsible for getting Em ready for daycare. At first I was worried about not feeding her enough, dressing her like a homeless baby, and definitely getting her to daycare late. Well, I survived, and thanks to Em. She is such a cute little kid first thing in the morning. Let me paint a picture for you...I walk into her room around 6:45am and peek into her crib. She is sound asleep dreaming of chomping on her hands and her pal Violet. Well first thing I do is un-velcro the swaddle. The noise slightly wakes her up and immediately both hands STTTRRREEEETTTTCCCCHHHHH into the air after being freed from her night long prison. Once the three minute stretch fest is over, she cracks her eyes. Of course she sees me standing over her with a huge smile. And then it happens. She smiles as big as possible for a good 30 seconds. That's it. That right there makes everything awful that happened in my life worth every second. She completely makes my day with that smile. The fact that she is less than 4 months old and recognizes me and associates joy with that, can melt the heart of the manliest of men!!! So for the next 20 minutes I try to feed and clothe her. I say it takes 20 minutes because she wants to socialize (one would think she would be famished, but no). She looks around at anything and everything, smiling, goo-goo-ing, flailing her arms and legs. It is the cutest thing imaginable. I finally manage to get her to focus enough to take the bottle and then she does it again. She will be mowing down her bottle and then right in the middle, she'll look up at me, and smile again, mid-suck. Milk pours out everywhere, which she thinks is hysterical. Eventually I get her fed and ready and it's off to day care.





I thought it would be harder (emotionally) to drop her off, maybe when she starts screaming DADDY is when that happens. For now, I will take my smiles and go on about my day without a care in the world. I thought for sure that while at work I would be one of those dad's that could focus on work and not think about my little goober, well that impossible. I get to work and all I want to do is skip out and go hang out with my smiling little munchie!!! Pathetic, I know, but she is too damn cute. I just hope she stays that way until she's about...hmm....25!!!

Piece out, gotta actually try to get something done at work!

-Z-

Spring break

Emily is on Spring Break this week, which means she gets to spends lots of time with her Grandma Price! Zig's mom has been staying at our house with Em this week, since I have really no time off left after my leave. The daycare closes for most holidays, APS inservice days and Spring Break. We are super lucky to have family so close and so willing to help us out. I think she is really enjoying spending the one on one time with Grandma.

She has developed such a personality over the last week it seems. She is a total chatterbox. From the moment she opens her eyes, she is moving her mouth. She loves to talk. And she will talk to anyone, or anything that will listen, including her arm and hands. She has these elaborate conversations with her hands before she promptly shoves them in her mouth. She reminds me of Dory from Finding Nemo when she is telling the baby Jelly Fish "i'm gonna get you." She explores everything by giving it a little taste. She has taken a big interest in toys these days. She loves her pal Violet, this baby einstein ladybug who has lots of legs for her to nom on, and especially her lovie blanket, which is a small red blanket with a stuffed ladybug on top. I bought her some more "teething" toys this week, including the infamous "Sophie the Giraffe," so hopefully they get here soon. I love just watching her love on all her friends.

Here are some pictures of her from last week. I love my little girl. She is such a ham, always entertaining and always with a smile on her face. She is one happy baby and one very loved little girl.

Emmy with VioletSnuggling with her lovie

"Mom, can't you see I'm busy"

Helping dad find the missing piece

Rocking her 80's gear. Star Wars and leggings...need I say more

Showing off her artisitic abilities at day care

"Nom nom nom. I'm gonna get you!"

Lots of pictures and a video!

Here are some pictures of Emily! She is 3 months old...How time flies

This is how Emmy felt by the end of the day. She was not feeling good and tired of mom taking pictures! haha!

I love baby profiles!

What a little ham!

Staring at Abby!

And here is a video of her talking to her daddy. I hope this works!

One week down...

Emmy's first week of daycare went really well. She did awesome eating all of her bottles and she still slept great at night. Mornings have been a little challenging because after sleeping for almost 10 hours, Em does not want to eat, she wants to socialize with Daddy! Which is weird, you would think she would be famished! He has done such an amazing job getting her ready in the morning and taking her to daycare. It is a really hard job, but he does great and doesn't get stressed like I used to when I had an early morning appointment when I was still on leave. Right now we are still putting her down and 9 and she consistenly sleeps till about 6:45, sometimes having to be woken up as late as 7. When the time changes we are going to try and push back bed time a bit, because I think she would sleep longer if we let her. Daycare is awesome. I really like her teachers. They are so good with kids. Little Brayden leaves at the end of the month, but a new little boy is going to be joining the class part time this week, but he is a little older, so Em is still the baby. The 1 year olds come over to play some times and they all love "Baby Emily." Yesterday, Emmy was quite the sleeper and so she hadn't eaten her last bottle before I got there. To avoid a potential breakdown in the car I fed it to her there, and was just cracking up at all the 1 year olds that came to play with Brayden. I loved hearing them talk to baby Emily! For some reason I think it is so funny to hear all the little babies call her baby. In my eyes they are still babies! One thing is for sure, she is going to have a lot of friends one day!

It only took 1 week for Em to get sick though. She really isn't "sick," but you can tell she doesn't feel well. She started coughing on Sunday morning and was just not herself. She was running a little warm, so we ended up giving her tylenol. Yes, I was that mom who gave her daughter tylenol and she really didn't need it. Her temp was 99.9 and I freaked. I know that the temp that the doc considers a fever is 100.4, and after reading in my book "aka the book that keeps me sane and allows me to sleep at night without leaving a million messages for the doctor in a 2 hour period" said that after 3 months, a fever is anything over 102. Good to know. Anyway, the tylenol seemed to help because she wasn't as fussy after we gave it to her. I was really worried it was going to be a rough night, but she went right to bed at her normal time and didn't get up till Dad woke her the next morning. Last night, she did get up at 4, which was REALLY rough. She only ate for about 5 mins and then was out again, but it was still hard considering I usually get up at 4:45 to get ready for work. Thankfully I took a shower last night, so I was able to sleep for a little longer. It may have had something to to with her sleeping a lot more at daycare yesterday. My poor little ladybug just was not feeling herself.

Sunday was also Emmy's 3 month birthday! We did take some pictures, but it was a little rough since she was feeling a little off. We weren't able to get too many smiles, but they are still cute. I will post some pictures tonight. Em also found her voice. She loves to talk. And recently she loves to yell and squeel. It is so funny, it makes me laugh everytime. We were able to catch some of it on video and I will try and upload that from the flip tonight. We have so much fun with her and really cherish every moment we get to spend with her!

As for work, last week really flew by. It was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be, and again I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I don't drop her off. I get to work at about 6:15 and it is nice because there is really no one here. My friend Jess gets in at about 6:45 and it is nice because I get some quite time to myself to get stuff accomplished before everyone else gets in. It is also nice because I leave at 4:25 to pick up my munchkin. I love that daycare is so close. It's weird that I used the word "nice" about 10 times in this paragraph to describe work. Pumping sucks. No pun intended. It is awful. I thought that when I went back to work, I would exclusively pump and we would give bottles, but I hate to pump. It is awful and I am lazy. Now I look forward to nursing Emmy when I get home because that is time that just she and I get to share together and she is much more efficient than she used to be. It no longer feels like a chore. I cherish that time, even though I really only get to do it twice a day. I do feel like an awful mom because it wasn't "hard" to come back to work. I miss Emmy so so much when I am away, but I really needed to do something other than sit in bed watching her sleep (don't get me wrong, I loved that though too.) Maternity leave in the winter was hard because it was so cold and I didn't want to risk her getting sick, so we literally stayed inside for 3 months. I was ready to get back to the real world. Now, after 5, I don't want to put Em down! She has grown up so much. It is amazing!

Check back for some pictures and a video later!