9 Months New [ June 25, 2013 ]

Weight: 21lbs 8oz (92nd%)

Height: 28in (67th%)

Head size: 46cm (95th%)

Health: my wittle baby isn't so wittle anymore. she is still going strong in the weight dept...she's solid. totally gonna be a hockey player. :) and she's as healthy and as strong as an ox! she got her second cold, while it didn't last very long it still was kinda stinky and she felt poopy and crabby.

Eating: she's still been eating 6.5 oz that it until we went to the doc and she told us to cut it back to 6 oz bottles. so we gotta do that. and the doc gave us the go ahead to give her whatever we're eating. so she'll have cereal for breakfast, and lunch and whatever were eating for dinner. in small soft bits of course! im looking forward to see how she likes real food!

Sleeping:  sleeping has luckily been pretty good since day one but its just been a tad rocky with these teeth that are still coming in. she now has 4 teeth coming in on top and it's made her extra needy and irritable. poor poor girl. i can't imagine how painful cutting teeth is (so glad i don't remember!!).


Likes: Eating :), showee time, pippy, talking, dancing, kissing/cuddling truffles, crawling, being tickled, puffs!, being 'chased' , peek-a-boo, dancing, taking walks across the street to TCBY, BUBBLE GUPPIES!!!, little mermaid, FaceTime, sharing, clapping, blowing kisses, pointing at people

Liv is finally signing back baba and eat! YAYYYYY! smart babe. She loves walking with her walker and from couch to table to ottomon, etc. when she ran into the wall with her walker she steered off of it...how did she even know how to do that?! Then get this, when i was changing her pants, she was standing holding on to me, she stepped out one side at a time so i could get her pants off. And when she had something in her hand and i was putting her shirt on, she put one arm in, handed the toy back to the other one so i could put the other sleeve on. seriously - this girl blows my mind!

Dislikes: loud noises or being told no. we've definitely been having to say the 'n' word more and more as she explores more and gets into more of what she shouldn't be! little bugger! 

New things and firsts: drinking out of sippy cup, sharing her toys (she takes turn shaking ball and she hands to me to shake and repeat),bites puff in half and shares with us, KISSES...big juicy and wet ones!, fake laughs, waffles, clicking tongue, SWIMMING!!! :)

Best Moment: when she blew kisses to me thru facetime or when she chased me around the chair crawling or when she waved bye bye to me when i was leaving for work (i didnt even wave first!)... still not sure if thats 

Nicknames: sugy, sugs, peanut pie, love, baby girl, fuzzy head, lili lulu, turkey, babe, chickadee

So Fresh + So Clean!

HELLOOOOOOO my long lost friends!

It feels like forever since I've been on my blog and posted ANYTHING! I have totally neglected to post Liv's 6 and 7 month updates as she hit the 8 month mark Saturday (wahhhhh). I promise I will get on that soon...soon. The time I have at home with lil miss is just too precious right now to be spending it blogging. And when she's sleeping (naps aren't very long lately) I need to catch up on cleaning, organizing amoungst all my other to do's! Me blogging about her life isn't going to benefit her in anyway really, she might think it's fun to look back on but that's it - the quality, "present" time I spend with her is going to make all the difference in the world to her. Therefore - sorry blogger friends! There's so much to share but not enough hours in the day. :(

Besides that - I wanted to show off my new blog look and feel! When I look at it, I can't help but sing that song by Outkast, "Don't you think I'm so sexy I'm just so fresh so clean!" LOL I just LOVE all the white space and how beautiful it is - it's like a piece of art! I owe it all to the best chick in the world, Chelsea from Bella Lu Lu Ink . She made my vision become a reality and I am so smitten over my blog and all the other 'stuffs' she created for me...stay tuned. Cool stuff happening (slowly but surely).

8 Months New [ May 25, 2013 ]

Health: babe is healthy just still battling with those teeth but luckily we haven't experienced any fevers, earaches or anything else that babies sometimes get with teeth.

Eating: we're not doing too much outside of squeeze pouches of organic plum baby purees, puffs, a variety of cereals and teething wafers. I'm waiting to see what the doc says we can be giving her now, like real food wise. She has had banana, avocado, carrots, apple, orange, noodles, and a taste of frosting, orange sorbet and coffee cream (shhhhhh! dont tell momma!). I just feel like i don't want to give her just anything...especially when we're out to eat, i mean, who knows all the crap that's in food??

I'm open to any advice you other momma's have when it comes to eating out or other things you like to make your minis. I want to make sure I am expanding her pallete as far as i should for right now.

OH and she is also eating rug fuzzies! We got a new rug to replace the wool one we had because it was shedding alot and liv was rubbing her slobbery hand on it, getting it full of wool fur and then licking it. Well the new rug we got is pilling and lil missy is pulling up the pills and eating those now! I have been finding them in her poop! We are getting yet another rug. And i can't forget that she picked a hole in the blanket we have on the floor to cover the rug (till we get a new one) and started peeling away parts of the blanket and eating it!!! this chick is something else!

Sleeping:  she's still sleeping 8-11hrs a night but she has a hard time falling asleep. She needs to lay with us to go down and she needs to be pinned down otherwise she flops around like a fish or jumps on the bed laughing (even when she's dead tired), so i literally have to pin her down while she cries until she settles. There have been a couple times where I've had to rock her while she SCREAMS until she gets tired. UGH... teeth!


Likes: Eating :), showee time, pippy, talking, giggling {sometimes for no reason at all!}, standing, dolly, bouncing in her jumper, truffles, crawling, being tickled, puffs!, being 'chased' (i just pretend like im coming to get her and she tries to scamper away), peek-a-boo, dancing, taking walks across the street to TCBY, BUBBLE GUPPIES!!!

Liv really likes the show bubble guppies and loves when the 'time to go outside' and 'lunch time' songs come on. She stops whatever she's doing and turns to watch intently while bobbing her head - it is THE cutest little thing. :))

Dislikes: loud noises or being told no. which we very rarely say "no" because we don't want her to hear no all the time so we use words like, danger, hot, leave it, i dont think so, absolutely not, not for babies, you can't have that, etc.

New things and firsts: she crawled to me when i called her, she grabs on to your legs to stand up to be picked up, she figured out how to open drawers, she pulls herself up in the crib, she spooned with me!, brushed her toofies for the first time, shower/bath we me (our new fav thing - i shower and she plays in the tub then we plug the drain and have a nice little bafee together), size 3 diapers, drank out of a water bottle, moving stuff out of her way, waves hi to herself in mirror, froggie hops on the bed, waves to others, pulls self up on walker toy and walks!!!!, stanks for 10seconds by herself, when on the bed i say 'lets go' and she crawls to me and pulls herself up so i can pick her up, if she drops her pip she doesn't really have to look for it - she knows where to find it to pick it up
Best Moment: When i called her and she crawled over to me... shes so smart! :)

Nicknames: sugy, sugs, peanut pie, love, baby girl, fuzzy head, lili lulu

7 Months New [ April 25, 2013 ]

Health: only thing healthwise would be her toofies. I noticed one making an appearance on bottom left then a week or so later i noticed one coming in on the bottom right. She's been very fussy and difficult to soothe or put to bed.

Eating: baby picked up her first puff and put it in her mouth! hooray big girl!

Sleeping: it's not the best - she's sometimes inconsolable with these damn teeth... once she's down she's sleeping 8-11hrs a night - even though it doesn't feel that long for me because I don't sleep very sound anymore!

Likes: Eating :), showee time, pippy, talking, giggling {sometimes for no reason at all!}, standing, dolly, bouncing in her jumper, truffles, crawling, being tickled, puffs!, being 'chased' (i just pretend like im coming to get her and she tries to scamper away), peek-a-boo, dancing

Dislikes: loud noises or being told no. which we very rarely say "no" because we don't want her to hear no all the time so we use words like, danger, hot, leave it, i dont think so, absolutely not, not for babies, you can't have that, etc.

New things and firsts: stands holding on to block zoo toy, goes from tummy to sitting on her butt, 'kisses', teefs, grabbing her stuffy [truffles] and pulls it to her face to give him a kissy, calling out 'mama' alot!, took out pip said 'dada' and put it back in!, plays peek-a-boo in the mirror with herself, takes stuff out of picnic basket and puts it back in, we found her sitting up in her crib the same day we decided to move it to the lowest level, daddy said go to mommy and she turned to me and put her arms up for me to pick her up!, clicking her tongue, lots of head dancing, grabs clothes to be picked up, stood up by herself in the crib annnnnnnnnnnd drumroll please........CRAWLING!!!!!!

Best Moment: probably getting my first slobbery, open-mouthed face rub! i like to think it is her version of a smooch! :) orrrrr maybe her crawling!!! it's a toss up! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her crawl out of the corner of my eye - it's like i did that cartoon eye-rub thing when you can't believe your eyes! I screamed for bru to come see and sure enough she did it again! it wasn't perfect crawling but it was getting her from point A to point B. And right then and there - our lives changed in an instant. Baby's on the MOVE!!!!

Nicknames: sugy, sugs, peanut pie, love, baby girl, fuzzy head

Help wanted!...has anyone changed your blog address/domain?

Hello and happy tuesday! As 'happy' as we can be after yesterday's Boston Blast. :(

I am looking to change my blog address to match my blog title [it's still 'little baby lite'] but I'm afraid! I am worried I will lose all my followers among other things.

Have any of you changed yours and if so, how were you able to keep everything else the same? Any guidence would be so appreciated! :)

Thanks so much!!



Tell Us Thursday!

Helllllllo! It's Thursday - hooray! hooray!

You know the drill! And if you dont, head on over here to see>>the life of lil miss

1. What is your biggest pet-peeve?

Inconsiderate, helpless people. The nature of my job is to 'support' a large group of people and their work projects, but I get really peeved when they act like they cannot help themselves to save their lives. It is not MY job to run YOUR life or wipe your butt! LOL. I mean, sometimes they'll come to me to load paper in the printer for pete's sake! SOOOOO annoying!

2. Who was your BFF growing up {you don't have to give last names just first name or nickname will suffice}? Are you still in touch? If not, how come?

My BFF growing up was my friend KatyB. We met in first grade and have been best friends ever since. During highschool we were pretty inseparable and got ourselves into some trouble. When the college years came, she went away and I stayed home. I went to visit her quite alot but it still wasn't the same having so much distance between us. Once she graduated and came back home, we picked back up as though no time had passed and I am so thankful for that [that's what true friendships are all about]. She is even the 'guidemother' of our daughter. :) <3
3. Where is your favorite vacation spot and favorite activity to do there.

My fave place to vacation is any place! I just love getting AWAY! :) If I have to pick just one, I'd pick St. Pete Beach, FL. That is where I vacationed as a baby, as a teen ager [on spring break {with katy of course!}] and as an adult. Not only that, but that is where Bru and I met {::sigh::} and where we got married {::double sigh::}. It is a VERY special place to us. We haven't been back since we got married>>>TWO YEARS AGO TODAY!!! :(( We are so over due!

Annnd a new segment of Tell Us Thursday will be a 'would you rather' question!! Fun stuff, right?!?

Would you rather:
A. shop at consignment shops/stores
OR
B. buy everything brand new
????????????

Honestly! I can't pick. I love shopping. period. It totally depends on the item I'm shopping for and what I need it for. If I can repurpose something I totally will and love the character that old, vintagy items have. But if it's something like a piece of jewelry, clothes or something for Liv - I prefer new. Did I mention I love shopping? :)
Happy Weekend All!

THE { little } THINGS ~ 6 month edition

I'm working on my 6 month update but I just had to post this because I was amazed at how different she is since I made this one. I mean, I know time is flying and she is changing every day, but it's just so much more real when you can compare side by side. And I have such mixed emotions about all this - on the one hand I'm so excited for her to try and learn new things but on the other hand it's like, so many things have come and gone in a blink and she'll never be that baby again. Wahhhhhh :'( This is another one of those hard 'mom things' you really can't put into words [and nobody every tells you about].

Here's my big girl...

Tell Us Thursday!

Woo! I love Thursdays! Not only is it my Friday, but I get to plan the link-up with my fellow mommy bloggers! :) You can check it out here for yourself - you should link-up too!


1. what was the name you chose for the opposite sex? So, when we have a boy we're all set because we both really love the name Logan. Logan Lite. :) We will definitely be calling him lil logie. logs. [not even sure how to spell it - you get what I'm sayin tho.]

2. where is your favorite dinner spot & dish? really? I cannot pick one thing. I love food WAYYY too much! I think Mexican is my favorite...guac, chips, an ice cold sol...all while sitting on the beach....in mexico. :) I can see it now.... I really like Uncle Julios if I have to pick a place close by ;)


3. when do you typically take shower {or bathe} & favorite product to use while gettin' "silky smooth? During the week I shower at night since i have to be at work so early [7:30]. I don't usually hop in until after 10pm sometime tho... right before beddy. On days I'm home I clean up in the morning. My favorite product? Nothing really fancy but i love my face wash and cream [Yes to Cucumbers]. it feels like you're at the spa everytime you wash your face...ahhhhh. :)

That's all for this week! Toodles!

6 Months New [ March 25, 2013 ]

Soooo late with this one. oh well. being present with my baby and my new venture are more important! :)


Weight: 18lbs 4oz (83rd% still!)

Height: 26.5in (71st%)

Head size: 44cm (90th%) - yowzas!


Health: luckily we finished the winter strong and didn't get any more colds - thank gosh!! that was the worst. Baby girl checked out perfectly healthy at her 6mos appt. she is doing everything she should be and then some - my strong lil hockey chick. :) she got another dtap shot. she has been takin them like a trooper but this one she gave a little whimper. poor girl.

Eating: i started reading the baby led weaning book and have not picked it up since. not because it was bad or anything - just can't find the time. And here's what i decided - - i'm going to give her all of it. i'm going to give her cereal, i'm going to give her pureed store bought [organic] baby food, i'm going to give her chunked soft foods that she can feed herself and figure out what works best for her. No matter what she's getting [she always gets cereal] whether it be mashed up, pureed or soft chunked food - i will always put puffs infront of her. they always grab her attention and encourage her to play or pick them up. in literally no time at all [mayyyyybe 2 weeks] she was feeding them to herself like she'd been doing it for years. We started out by giving her some tiny chunks of a banana and it was like she really didnt know what to do with them and she was gagging a bit [and it seemed like she didnt really like them]. the we tried avocado and she really didnt like those either. but she liked her banana peach puffs!! the doctor told us we could give her whatever were eating now [minus: strawberries, chocolate, eggs, honey, fish and nuts] but to just be careful about giving her too many orange/yellow foods because it can make her TURN YELLOW!!! crazy!

Sleeping: she's been sleeping between 9-10 hrs at night. this month we've been working to get her down between 8-10pm and it's been working well. she still usually takes one long napin the afternoon [2-3hrs]. this month we made progress with her whining for her pip in the middle of the night and she made it thru a couple nights without it! yay! we also had a night where we put her to bed semi-awake and she went to sleep. double yay! because she normally has to fall asleep on the couch for a little while before taking her into bed. but yanno - it works for us because she's sleeping 9-10hrs. NOT COMPLAINING! :)

I found her rolling around in her crib one day when she was down for a nap...every time I'd flip her over shed roll back! so we officially have a rolly polly! AND shes sleeping on her tummy!!!! scared the crap out of me the first couple nights but she LOVES it. As soon as i put her down in the crib she either rolls on to her side or all the way over to he tummy and passes out. It's so cute. 

Likes: Eating :), showee time, pippy, talking, giggling {sometimes for no reason at all!}, standing, dolly, bouncing in her jumper, auggie her doggie, rolling around

Dislikes: there really isn't anything she doesn't like anymore! i can't think of one things right now. weird.

New things and firsts: sitting up all by herself!, feeding herself!, opens her mouth every time i take a sip of something while im holding her, pulls blankie over her face to play peek-a-boo, rolls from back to front, reaches and pulls herself up while just holding on with her grasp, pincher grasp, raspberries!!!, scoots backwards and in circles on blankie to see all her toys [THE cutest]

Best Moment: honestly...every second i get to spend with her in the best. time is going way too fast :(

Nicknames: sugy, sugs, peanut pie, love, baby girl, fuzzy head

Tell Us Thursday!

My BBFF {blogger best friend foreva} over at the life of lil miss just started this fun new way of getting to know the other momma bloggers and I LOVE it! Everyone can play :)


This weeks questions:

1. Who do you most look up to?{why}>>> I look up to my dad the most. He has so much world knowledge and experience from owning his own business and interacting with people of all walks of life. He's great to bounce ideas off of and do research for me when I have whacky ideas. :) He's just an all around 'good person' and I value that.

2. What is one thing you would NEVER be able to give up? {it can be anything-food, electronics, accessories, sex-anything}>>> Anything? I'd say my health. As lame as that is, it's something we all take for granted every day we wake up. I am so grateful that I am in good health and am able to live the life I live.

3. When was the last time you went to the movies? {what did you see & with whom}>>>November! I went with a girlfriend to see Twilight. The Twilight movies came out around my bday every year so we would go as my little bday treat. I was a little disappointed in the last one though. BOO!

Head over to Erikka's page and link up with us!!


Now if it could just be 5 o'clock... I have some crafts and beers callin my name!!

Bloglovin'

Along with most of yall, I have moved on over to Bloglovin! This link should take you there!

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4124715/?claim=xh9sued6xjs">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

The Liebster Award!

Wow! I am so honored that my dear friend Erikka from the life of lil miss has passed me the Liebster Award. I just can't believe my little blog has linked me to so many new ladies, who I may not really 'know' but I feel like I do! It's just so cool... I love my little group of social media friends/mommies. :)

The Rules:

1.  Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.

2.  Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, and then create 11 new questions for the bloggers your pass the award to next.

3.  Choose new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.

4.  Go back to their page and tell them about the award. 

5.  No tag backs.

11 random facts

1. I am a retired Chicago Blackhawk Ice Girl. I was on the team 4 years, one of those years is the year we won the Stanley Cup! Because of all of our publicity I have been on multiple morning news shows, radio stations and have been considered 'celebrity' status in the city of Chicago. People have stopped me on the streets and asked "aren't you an ice girl?" It was a pretty awesome time of my life.

2. I actually played ice hockey for 2 years of my life on an all girls team. I'd played soccer for 8 years [and was really good] but I got bored. My parents wouldn't let me sit around and do nothing so I asked to play hockey [I'd always asked if I could play and because there were no girls teams around when I was younger they always said no]. They finally agreed that I could join a girls team! We traveled for some games/touneys and it was SO fun. We also won the state championship and I scored the winning goal on a one-timer! I will forever be proud of that!

3. I met my husband in Florida. He actually played hockey for my dad's team [along with my brother] and that whole season we didn't talk [I had another bf] just gawked at eachother from afar. Spring Break '04 I went to St Pete with my girlfriends and the team actually had their national championship in a town right by St Pete - how crazy! Once the boys were knocked out of the championship, Bru thought it was safe to talk to me finally [and I had just broken up with my bf! perfect timing!]. We spent the rest of our vacation getting to 'know' each other and once we got home we were inseparable. We've been together ever since. <3

4. We actually got married in Florida, on the beach we met. It was such a special, special day for us - a dream come true. We'd always wanted to get married on the beach but didn't think it would happen due to the cost to our family and friends for a destination wedding. After giving it much thought we said shoot, we're only gonna get married once - let's just do it! So we did. And to our surpise we actually had about 70 people show up for our wedding. Perfect size! We also got married on the actual date we started dating, just 7 years later! Cheeeeeze-balls!

5. Bru [Brian is his real name] have been together for 9 years in April! He is the best hubs a girl could ask for. He is by definition my best friend.

6.I only have one [younger] brother and one cousin [2 yrs old!]. I had a small family until I married into the Lite family!

7. I LOVE doggies but unfortunately we are not allowed to have them in our condo. I have always, always had dogs growing up so it's been really hard not having one live with us

8. I so badly want a house. There is just no way in hell we can sell our condo right now or afford a house in our current vacinity. It's depressing. I'm throwing this one in here because I just looked at numbers yesterday. :(

9.  I went to art school right out of highschool. I went initially for Interior Design but switched over to Visual Communications after getting discouraged by the grueling drafting class. OMG shoot me now!

10. I LOVE DIY! I used to be very crafty [as you saw from #9] and it got away from me. Once I started pulling together Liv's nursery, I got back into it. Pinterest has inspired me in so many ways and has really brought me back to my passion of crafting [nerd alert!]. I don't have too much time for it right now [only when lil miss is sleeping] but I am looking forward to finger paints and shrinky dinks!

11. The best for last~~~~ I am head over heels beyond in love with my daughter, my hubs and the cute little life we lead. I thought I was obsessed with my hubs back in the day, that is until we had Livvy. He has turned into such an awesome daddy and it makes me even more obsessed with him because I see how much he adores the tiny human we created. And don't even get me started on that little girl...I could go on and on about how my heart explodes every time I see her, think of her or am with her! Ah! Everyone always tells you that life will never be the same and you never knew a love like this could exist and it is so so true and you really can't even begin to fathom it until you experience it first hand. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LIKE IT. :)

Erikka's 11 Questions

1. What did you want to be when you grew up? A marine biologist. I have always been an animal lover and LOVE the ocean. Dolphins are such uniquely awesome animals and I wanted [and still want] to train them!

2. How many children do you want to have? Depending on how number two goes, either two or three. The first was thankfully such a beautiful [and easy] thing I want to do it over and over and over again. :)

3. If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be? Two things - one, I would have finished my degree right away...it is way too hard to go back after being out of it for some time. Two, I would've saved more money when I was living at home so I could've bought a house vs. a condo. Oh well, ya live and ya learn!

4. If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it? I would buy a house - duh!

5. What is your biggest hope for your little one? That she grows up to be a strong, intelligent, confident, passionate, empathetic, light-hearted, giving and loving individual. Just an all around 'good person'.

6. What are 2 things on your bucket list? To vacation in Fiji and stay in one of those huts over the crystal clear, turqoiuse ocean [oooo sounds SO nice!] and to own my own business - most likely an etsy store. :)

7. Favorite holiday? Well for the sake of all the funness around the holiday I would say hands down Halloween [LOVE it!] but for the sake of being with family and getting that warm fuzzy feeling inside while shopping, wrapping and cooking to get all ready for Christmas. Especially now having Liv, Christmas is so much more fun!

8. If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be? Fiji as I said in #6! I wanna go now!

9. Biggest regret? See #3

10. What is the one thing you are looking forward to most? short term - going home to see my baby tonight :) long term - having a house, backyard, etc.

11. Favorite recipe? Hah! welllll considering I don't really cook... my go to lately is crock pot tacos - 5 chicken breasts, 1 jar of salsa and 1 packet of taco seasoning - cook for 4 hours and it makes SO much food - enough for dinner for 4 nights! We use it for tacos, breakfast tacos, quesadillas, and nachos! That's what's for dinner tonight!

Okay, for my 3 NEW favorite blogs:

A Princess, Made Mommy

Becoming the Barr's

Miss Momma Molly

Ok gals, you need to answer the following questions:

1. What is your favorite thing about being a momma?

2. What is the most challenging?

3. If you could meet one celebrity, who and why?

4. What are you most proud of?

5. Why did you start your blog?

6. What is your favorite memory of your lil one thus far?

7. Do you have any holiday traditions for baby?

8. What will the easter bunny bring your babies this year?

9. Do you have any pets?

10. Whats your favorite store to shop at?

11. What is your favorite place to vacation and why?

Hope you have as much fun as I did!

Thanks so much Erikka!! :)

A joy that is so real it actually hurts...

I was on facebook this morning and came across this post by Motherwise and had to share. I'm sitting at my desk in tears over how true and spot on this little story is. It didn't help the waterworks that I just had someone at my desk [while in the middle of reading this story] and she asked how Liv is. I told her that she is just SO good - she is the happiest, smiliest little baby I know [especially in the morning]. She said, aren't they just beautiful? When she said that, I was flooded with emotions...she is beyond beautiful. She is the most precious thing in my world. Words can't even describe how blessed I feel to have such a happy, loving and cool baby girl. There are no words if I even tried. The title of this post gets close to it though...



"We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.

"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.

I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her.

That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her
baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming
children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.

That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.

My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.

I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child.

I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.

I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.

I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.


My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.
Please share this with a Mom that you know or all of your girlfriends who may someday be Moms. May you always have in your arms the one who is in your heart."

-Author Unknown

5 Months New [ February 25, 2013 ]

Health: Liv came down with her first cold this month. It wasn't even a bad one and didn't last more than 4 days, but I still hated it, everything about it. I felt so helpless and wished there was SOMETHING i could do to make her feel better. We took her to the doctor within 24 hrs of her coming down with it to ensure it didn't get out of hand since we've chosen to push back her vaccines. Luckily the doc said it was just a little cold, not in her ears or throat - thank gosh. They told us we could give her Tylenol to keep her fever down and some pedialyte as needed. Thank goodness her fever was low and i managed to keep it low by giving her the Tylenol. But that created a whole new problem...something even more scary than her being sick. When i talked to the doc over the phone she told me to get Tylenol and pedialyte so i grabbed some quick on my way home. Well I'm a dope and didn't even think about the COLOR they were! Well after some erratic, hyper, crazy behavior I called the doc and talked to the nurse. When I told her how Liv was acting she said what color is the medicine? I told her purple and pink. She then told me that could be the reason for those behaviors as some kids have reactions for Red40. Well I immediately felt terrible and like a horrible mother. How didn't I think about that? I'd heard that Red40 isn't good for anyone, let alone babies! So i immediately threw the medicine away and got dye free Motrin. Either the Tylenol or the dye was making poor Livvy nutty...she wouldn't sleep for 24hrs and still managed to have massive amounts of energy. It was like she was on a crazy high of some sort, bouncing all around, shaking her head from side to side. SCARY STUFF. I still feel awful about this...it makes me cry when i think about it. I was so stupid to give her any dye and wish I could undo it. And going forward I just really hope she doesn't have issue with Red40 as it's in everything fun {but bad for you} to eat - Cheetos, Popsicles, m&m's {gasp}, pop tarts, yadda yadda. Here's an article about it if you haven't heard about this dye and it's affects. It's just so unfair that this stuff is allowed in foods and medicines because moms like me trust that it's ok if it's on the shelf. BIG A-HA moment for me. Now I'm giving everything over-the-top thought. Another side note about Red40 - it's made from bugs!!! ewww


http://www.livestrong.com/article/445428-is-red-40-food-coloring-dangerous-to-your-health/ 

Eating: we started giving her oatmeal cereal and then rice after a couple weeks. she wasn't too sure about it in the beginning and needed to figure out the swallowing thing. But she definitely has figured it out and is loving her morning cereal. I was a little leery about giving her rice with all the arsenic talk but talked to the doc and she said rice hasn't been pulled off the shelves yet... and the research a did on this said arsenic isn't completely bad for you, they just aren't sure the amount of it that takes it to the 'bad' level. UGH. Too many decisions to make as a momma!!

Next big decision - Purees vs. Baby Led Weening. If anyone has any advice or best bets about this I'm all ears!

Sleeping: She is sleeping about 7-9hrs a night, in her crib! woo! this has made my life so much easier as i transitioned back to work. she has been napping sporadically tho, not as well as when i was home during the day. she must love to be with her daddy too much! she still loves her morning nap though. After we get up around 6:15am, she nurses and has a bottle {i don't produce enough} she will usually go back to sleep for another 2-3hrs. Then she will most likely take a long 2-3hr afternoon nap too so she's bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed when i get home. :) all and all she is a great sleeper. we still haven't established any sort of 'bed time routine' but I'm ok with that since what we're doing is working! I'm not gonna try to fix something that isn't broken!

I found her rolling around in her crib one day when she was down for a nap...every time I'd flip her over shed roll back! so we officially have a rolly polly! AND shes sleeping on her tummy!!!! scared the crap out of me the first couple nights but she LOVES it. As soon as i put her down in the crib she either rolls on to her side or all the way over to he tummy and passes out. It's so cute. 

Likes: Eating :), showee time, pippy, talking, giggling {sometimes for no reason at all!}, standing, dolly, bouncing in her jumper, auggie her doggie

Dislikes: there really isn't anything she doesn't like anymore! i can't think of one things right now. weird.

New things and firsts: pulls bottle up to her mouth and pulls it out when it's empty, this funny cough/laugh thing...so cute, really sucking her thumb now {just occasionally tho}, rolling over lots!, tummy sleeping, peek-a-boo!! :D

Best Moment: I was leaving for work one morning and like usual, it takes me forever to say goodbye and peel myself away from her, and I got real close to her and said I love you, she gave me a big smile, grabbed both my cheeks and gave me a slobbery face rub kiss. My heart was SO FULL and I get all teary thinking about it. It was by far one of the best moments yet. It was like she was reassuring me that everything is gonna be ok while I'm away at work. Gosh I just love that little girl. <3

Back to work has been alot easier than i thought {thank gosh}. It helps that I have a great hubs who is willing to stay home with lil miss - makes going to work so much easier and having Fridays off is the best. I'm so grateful for that. Luckily i get three pump breaks that really breaks up my day...my boss said that was 'mommy time' so she didn't expect me to work. So that's when i catch up on the blogs, instagram and facebook - it helps pass the time. I have such a great company - they have two special 'mother's rooms' in my building. It's all set up with two stalls, a sink, pumps, supplies, etc. and it's on my floor! I couldn't be more lucky. I hear of some moms having to pump in closets and bathrooms - that's hard. Life is beautiful. :)

My supply is REALLY low lately so it's been frustrating...i started taking Goat's Rue {used for adoptive moms who want to nurse}, well see how that works - says it takes about two weeks to kick in.

new pretties! in Liv's Lounge

hi! hi!

i know i have been on a baby hiatus; trying to soak up every last minute with the babe before going back to work (drag), but i am REALLY gonna try to get back into this blogging thing. :)

i thought i'd start with something simple, by showing you some of the new pretty DIY projects i did while on maternity leave. being home really got my creative juices flowing - like they used to - ive missed that in my life. hopefully i can still find time to do those fun things while back at work. but who are we kidding here, i mean shoot, i cant even find time to blog! ::humph::

here we go...

new handmade mobile

hand traced/cut silhouette of liv
(headband flower is cut from the paisley fabric) 

DIY bow holder made with a frame and ribbon that
coordinates with the fabric in her room (i was ecstatic i found it!)

new frame and headband bin

custom made birth stat subway sign made by me!
(and new frame)

added some flair to this lamp by hot gluing ribbon around it!

little fabric flower i made on the diamond thingy

more fabric flowers i made!

i think her nursery is always going to be a work in progress, well as long as pinterest is around!!!

phew! i made it through this post!

AND i finally posted on Project Nursery here>>> http://projectnursery.com/projects/livs-lounge/

4 Months New [ January 25, 2013 ]

Weight: 15lbs 3oz (83rd%)

Height: 25in (79th%)

Head size: 42cm (78th%)

Health: Livvy baby is "prefect" in the words of our pediatrician. She even said her head is improving and doesn't need a helmut at this time! YAY! PHEW!

Eating: not much has changed with eating. next month's post will include starting cereal.

Sleeping: Doctor said Liv should be sleeping more and told us to start her on cereal twice a day, hoping that will help.

Likes: Eating :), bath time, swinging, pippy, talking, giggling, standing, dolly, swingy

Dislikes: Burping, getting diapies changed, bumbo time, tummy time

Outings:  New year's eve we went to bru's mom's for a few hours to get Liv and Joey together to celebrate the new year. We were home by midnight and sat on the couch with sleeping little Livvy until the clock struck 12:00am. We woke her up a steal a new years smooch and that was our new years! ha...so much changes when you have a beeb. :)

New things and firsts: face rubs/kisses us, pulling stuff towards her, scratches stuff to feel textures, talks to things, grabs on to things and wont let go!, pulls herself up by holding on to my fingers, sits up in boppy by herself, does this funny birdie thing when she eats, so giggly, holds bottle, sucks two fingers and thumb, jumping in her jumpy

SLEEPING IN HER CRIBBY!!!! and slept 9hrs her first night! WOOOOO i'm so proud of this accomplishment, all before i went back to work! AND SHE ROLLED OVER twice in her crib! (but hasn't dont it since)


Best Moment: this month has been the best yet. liv is so much more engaged and fun! we have fun playing, laughing and just hanging out. she has been alot easier to take care of too!