St. Patty's Day

Things have been cray cray over here trying to get Bendelle to take regular naps in her crib. My mom told me some babies will sleep anywhere without a fuss, and of course other babies . . . won't. Some mamas are fine with letting their babies call the shots, and whatever works best for your family is what you should do! But for me (us), I need order in my life, and I think establishing little routines (especially for naps) will keep everyone sane and healthy in the long run--even though I might loose my sanity in the meantime. If it were her choice, I think Bendelle would skip napping altogether! I know at 5 months she can't talk, but oh my Lord this baby definitely has an opinion!

Every since she turned 5 months old she has been rolling over like crazy! I call her my little tumbleweed (I know, so endearing). She does not last a minute on her back before she starts rolling over like it's her job! I also forgot to add in the last blog post how she can literally pull herself up--baby girl has strong abs already!

Yesterday (St. Patty's Day) we hung out with my mom and stepdad and did a big walk from their cabin into town. With three dogs and a baby, we were quite the motley crew, and after all the stimulation she was overly exhausted and took an extra long nap. So this morning she woke up extra, extra early and I hear her whispering to herself! It was the cutest thing. So we whispered back and forth to each other but as soon as I took out my phone to start recording her, all she wanted to do was play with it :(

No green beer for me yesterday, but lots of beautiful green scenery :) Next year I am excited to make green pancakes, green milk, and just about green everything for Bendelle. I've always loved celebrating holidays and want to make her childhood as fun and magical as possible :)

Tomorrow Bendelle has to get her shots and it just breaks my heart thinking about it :( At least Aaron will be with me this time, because I seriously cannot handle it when she is in pain! Wish us luck!

PS-look at those BLUE eyes!!

My 5 month old :)

I am so head over heels for this little dumpling. She has turned our world into something different and wonderful, and I couldn't imagine our lives without her.

Yesterday Bendelle turned 5 months old, and I can't believe how fast time is flying by. On the eve of her 5 month birthday she turned over from her back to her stomach. This was a big deal because until then she had only gone from stomach to back and we had read some babies skip rolling over altogether,  and we thought she might be one of them. But little girl continues to impress us :)

We have started giving her a little bit of rice cereal (mixed with my milk) every evening a few hours before bedtime, and I am noticing that sleep has improved a little bit! It was so funny feeding her at first because she would have such a funny face when trying the cereal, but now she has gotten quite use to it. I even caught her faceplanted in her bib trying to suck the remaining of the dribbles off after I was done feeding her! This baby is definitely a foodie, I can already tell.

I love her deep belly giggles that we have gotten out of her this past month or so. They are so stinkin' cute, and we are definitely starting to see more of her personality. 

She has (what feels like) a bagillion baby entertainment devices, but more than anything she just loves to be held and cuddled. She will cry forever in the middle of the night after a feeding simply because she wants to be in bed with us, so that has still been a struggle (definitely our biggest and maybe only real struggle with her right now). I have been trying to get her to nap in her crib to get use to it, so as soon as our house is warm enough, we will have her sleeping in her own room (well, that's the plan!).

She is definitely in her Gerber stage, with pinchable cheeks and scrumptious little leg rolls. She is starting to grab everything too, especially food and drinks! And she is also very into her toys and will put just about anything in her mouth (which is how we knew she was ready to try cereal). She is comfortably wearing 6 month clothes, and loves playing with her feet and constantly tries to put them in her mouth.

Bendelle Jem, we love you to the moon & back :)

Ready for Spring!

Life has been crazy over here in Blowout Land. Sleep regression is real and so is my need for coffee. Free time is either spent cleaning or napping, so I apologize for my absence lately! If anyone has some advice for getting the little one to sleep through the night (lately she wakes up like 5-10 times a night), I will gladly take it!

We have been experiencing a last minute Winter Wonderland over here in the mountains, and even though I am excited for warm weather now more than ever before, I must say, this last snowfall felt magical!
  

I am excited for Spring more than ever because being home with Bendelle can get a little stir crazy and I love spending time outdoors. It has been too cold lately to just hang out outside with Bells and I worry about her getting sick, especially when they are constantly having to get shots. Even on Aaron's days off we love to go on walks or little hikes but it has been either raining, snowing or below freezing this past week, so we really haven't been able to spend quality time outside. We did however go up to Humber Park with the pups and let them play in the snow while keeping Bendelle cozy and warm in the car. And my mom and sister watched her for an hour while we took the dogs on a long walk after the snow storm this weekend (where a gang of coyotes kept their hungry eyes on us :o ).

What I'm looking forward to in Spring:
1. Warmer weather & wildflowers
2. Lower electric bill (and no expensive propane bill!)
3. More hikes, walks & outdoor events!
4. Exposed baby skin! Blue skies & naked thighs! Wohoo!

At the end of June we are heading to the East Coast to visit Aaron's family for a week. I am so thrilled because it has been years since we visited his hometown, and this will be the first time everyone (aside from his mom) will meet Bendelle! It is so crazy to think she will be almost 9 months old when we're out there. I can't imagine how much she will have changed by then, but I am over the moon excited for our first (big) trip together as a family of three (not so much excited about flying with a baby though!).

Our big little girl :)

Our little girl is looking sooo big these days! Granted she is only 13.5 pounds, but if you think about it that is almost double her birth weight! 

We celebrated Valentines Day with our friends during the day and then got some one-on-one time (well you know, with baby) at night. All in all it was the perfect day, and I was glad to finally be able to hang out with our friends who finally got to meet Bendelle. My dad who lives in Florida was able to finally make it out and meet Bendelle for the first time as well! It was so nice to watch him hold her and see her get passed around by other family members too. I'm so use to always holding her that when I see other people holding her I get to take a step back and realize how big she has gotten.

Two couples we know are getting married this fall (one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast!) and all I can think about is how big Bendelle will be by then! Almost a year old! I can't even imagine her walking or what her little voice will sound like :) EVERYONE tells us how fast the first year flies, so my goal this year is to really just be in the moment and enjoy every new stage of babyhood and parenthood.

That's all for now! Tomorrow I am so excited to visit our friends in Rancho Santa Margarita and FINALLY see 50 Shades of Grey with the bestie! :0

My 4 Month Old Valentine

I can't believe my little girl is 4 months old! She is finally at that little chunky stage that I have been waiting for! This past weekend we went to Seal Beach to celebrate my birthday and it was so nice to dress her in short sleeves for a change and show off those little rolls. Being at the beach and in warmer weather has definitely gotten me in the mood for spring and summer!

I'm sure I will say this for every age and stage, but I am loving 4 months! She is so interactive and her eye contact (which has always been great) is better than ever. Sometimes I will have a staring contest with those deep blue eyes and she will finally break away and then smile. It is the cutest thing. She loves to hear herself talk, and I love watching her trying to form words and make noises. She has recently discovered her feet and toes and is constantly throwing them up in the air and grabbing them. When you go to give her a kiss she will open her mouth, and is starting the stick anything she can get her hands on in her mouth. She is smiling more than ever which makes us so incredibly smitten.

She just transferred over to 6 months clothes for the most part. Her onesies were not long enough for her and my sister convinced me I would stunt her growth if I continued to out her in her 3 month pjs. Her 3 month pants still fit as well as some tops, but this weekend she got a ton of new clothes from both Mama and Nonna and is enjoying her new wardrobe :)

Things we are still struggling with is keeping her in her bassinet throughout the whole night. I don't mind her sleeping with me for a couple of hours in the morning--in fact I love it--but all selfishness aside, I want her to be able to sleep on her own. How are we ever going to make more babies if she doesn't??  ;)

She still wants to be held all the time, which is difficult. The thing that I am having the hardest time with is letting her cry it out every once in a while (when she is clean, has been fed, doesn't have a temperature or anything else wrong with her, etc. and is just plain tired but doesn't want to sleep or be put down). It breaks my heart into tiny little pieces hearing her cry but we want her to be able to soothe herself and be independent and happy in the long run. I know letting babies cry it out is somewhat controversial, but we are always checking in on her and letting her know we are there. It is just refraining from picking her up every time she cries when we know there is nothing really wrong because she was happy/asleep in our arms before we put her down.

Aside from that, everything is so amazing. I am loving each day of motherhood more than the last, which I didn't think was possible. And I am loving being able to raise our baby with my loving and supportive husband, and realize we are so very blessed.

Her are some pics we took in Seal Beach this weekend:

Postpartum Wins & Losses

In order to end on a positive note, lets begin with the annoying topic of postpartum hair loss. In all fairness, I was warned that this would happen. But it didn't happen until about 2.5 months after Bendelle was born, so I thought I was one of the lucky ones and in the clear. I definitely shed a lot before I got pregnant, and my hair was definitely amazingly strong during pregnancy, but my hair now sheds more than ever before. It's the worse when Bendelle is sucking on her hands and I see a strand of hair wrapped around her little fingers. Any of you mama's who have dealt with this have a solution that worked for you?? Would love to hear it.

On the upside, I went on my first run since I was 20 weeks pregnant! I was definitely active throughout my whole pregnancy and have been active since Bendelle was born, going on long walks and short hikes with the family, but for me, working out means sweating. And it felt so good to hit the road again . . . even if I did feel a little nauseous in the beginning. I am planning on taking it slow in the running department, and make sure I am really in-tune with my body, because now I have a little one who depends on it! I think the most important thing to remember when getting back into shape after a baby is to go at your own pace and not compare yourself to friends or anyone else and how quickly they got their bod back. I saw this on Pinterest the other day, and loved it:

 

On a different note, my baby is almost 4 months old! And in February I will be 312 months old! Haha. I can't believe that last year at my birthday party I was hiding the fact that I was a month pregnant! I think from now on our birthdays will take the backseat, as we have a baby now and will be throwing her little parties for the next . . . who knows how many years! As long as I get to be with family and my sister makes me the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted in the world, I will be more than happy.

Happy Saturday everyone!

xoxo

Fun days off :)

I can't believe that Valentines Day is less than a month away! I know some people hate Valentines Day, but I'm such a cheeseball and I naturally love every holiday. Plus it's my best friend Amanda's birthday! ;)

It's not like Aaron and I go all out, but we usually do try to do something special, like cook a fancy dinner together accompanied by some kind of chocolate or dessert. And I have been DYING to see 50 Shades of Grey, so hopefully Amanda and I will see it together!!

This past weekend was great--my mom and sister came up for the three days and I got to catch up on some serious sister bonding. Aaron and I went out a couple of times and hosted a yummy shrimp pad thai dinner, and then my mom babysat a couple of times once Aaron had to go back to work and my sister and I went out to eat together and ran some errands by ourselves. It is crazy to think that the last time that probably happened was when I was pregnant!

During the week Aaron had a few days off so we went out to breakfast and lunch a few times with Bendelle. We also took Bendelle and the pups to Lake Hemet one day, and let the pups run wild. They had a blast chasing the ball and watching the ducks on the lake. It was so sweet to see them so excited. We drove around Garner Valley, and looked at all the farms and explored a little. Later that night Aaron made me my favorite pasta dish ever--bowtie with sun dried tomatoes and roasted red pepper. It seriously was a perfect day. :)

Little Miss Bendelle is truly the sweetest little thing I have ever laid eyes on, and it is such a blessing to see her grow and change on a daily basis. Some of our silly nicknames for her are Miss Milk (due to her obsession), Pterodactyl (because of her loud screams--this is one dad gave her in the very beginning), Little Miss B, Baby Blue Eyes, Little Belle, Cherub, Queen Bee, Sweet Cheeks and of course mama's/daddy's girl.


Hope everyone has a great weekend!!
xoxox