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