everyday life

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Early morning confessions

Yesterday I ate TWO Little Debbie Swiss Rolls.

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Actually, 4 if we’re getting technical. TWO packs with TWO rolls in them.

And they were amazing.

I had one at work between seeing some patients. The other was as I was leaving work. Here’s the confession part 2, I guess: It was so yummy and I was trying to savor every last bite because I knew I was going to feel bad later about eating two packs; Then I came to a busy intersection where two homeless men {maybe homeless… at least that’s what their sign says} always walk down the line of cars waiting at the light holding their signs. Gah, one was already at the car in front of me and was walking my way! For some reason I didn’t want to be gnawing on a tasty snack in front of him so I quickly crammed the rest of the roll in my mouth. By that time he was walking past my car at a slow stroll so I could read his sign and then dig around for some cash, I guess. “Do I look at him?”  “Do I look the other way?”  “Do I look at him?” “He knows!”   I didn’t have any food other than the ball of fluffy chocolatey cake I was hoarding in my cheeks like a chipmunk, not even chewing it because that would be a dead giveaway that I was eating something and not sharing with him. I opted for ‘look at him and smile’, but lips closed smile as to not alert him of the snack that was quickly absorbing all the moisture in my mouth. Once he had passed I tried to swallow the obscene amount of cake that was in my mouth but it had taken on a different form and was no longer fluffy cake. I was eventually able to clear my mouth, the light turned green, and I proceeded on my way home.

I’m sure he went back to, er… the place he sleeps {almost just typed ‘home’ there} and had a good laugh with his friends about the crazy girl binge eating cake in her car.

- admin

Christmas 2012

Christmas came very quickly this year. I am surprised that I was able to get as much together as I did {gift wise} – it was nothing short of a miracle. I am not the type of person who usually shops for gifts the weekend before Christmas, though this year I will admit I had Chris pick up the last few gifts on Christmas eve while I was at work. Also.. never again will I work on Christmas eve if I can help it – It was just way too stressful; though I commend those parents who brought their kiddos to their speech therapy appointment on Christmas eve… that is definitely the dedication I am looking for the other 364 days a year. How about next year you just give yourself, and your therapist {who, contrary to the belief of many 3 year olds, does not live at the office and sleep under the desk} a free pass from therapy.

I digress.

Here’s how our holiday went down:

{also, just a disclaimer – no, your contacts are not dry or old. yes, many of these photos are a bit blurry. The lens and settings we used was not quite fast enough to catch all of the action and I’m not talented enough to know how to fix that. bear with me as I am still very much a novice photographer}.

Sunday morning we had a great church service with some awesome music {led by my husband… so proud of him :)}. Here are Charlotte and mommy in our ‘anti-Christmas’ colors. I’m not agains Christmas colors, I just don’t like to be too match-matchy or predictable. Plus, I want Charlotte to get as much wear out of one of the adorable dresses that Chris’ Aunt Brenda gave her.

Aunt Brenda's outfit

Sunday evening was our “Big Family” party. Big Family is the group of people that, while not all actually related to us by blood, are an extension of our family in a much more meaningful way than blood could ever create. There are grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. It’s a beautiful thing and I love that no matter how our lives change over the years we are able to come together for a night of love and laughter. We had to take a few group shots because we forgot the tripod and had to ‘rotate’ photographers {next year’s photo will be perfect because we will plan ahead!!!}.

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I love being able to catch up with old friends each year. It is crazy how quickly time passes, but always good to be able to pick back up with them as if we were never apart… though this time the conversation tended toward “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re a mom”. Charlotte got a lot of snuggles and a few new hairdos… hello ‘Cindy Lou Who’!

big family

As I mentioned before, I had to work on Christmas eve {well, I didn’t have to, but being in a per diem position means no paid time off and no pay-check if I don’t work}. Once I got off of work we headed out to our church’s property where the outside pavilion was decorated with beautiful twinkle lights. There’s nothing like singing Joy to the World outside at night; it definitely helps to give you the mental image of what played out in Bethlehem so many years ago.

“Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every hear prepare Him room, and Heaven and nature sing. yada yada…  While fields and floods, rocks hills and plains repeat the sounding joy”.

Reminds me of the verse in Luke 19:40 – “He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” The earth was not silent at Christ’s death and I certainly believe it wasn’t silent at His birth.

new years eve 2012

After the Christmas eve service we raced back to our house to spend some time with Chris’ parents. For the past 2 years Chris and I have had an easy time of juggling families around the holidays because Chris’ parents were living in Germany, leaving our schedule open to spending time with my family. We will definitely have to work out something better for future holidays because Charlotte was in bed almost immediately after we got home  from the Christmas eve service so she barely got a chance to visit with her Lola and Grandpa. It was so nice that they took care of preparing all the food though!

Christmas morning was spent at my parent’s house. We were late {as usual} and I forgot Charlotte’s gifts from us at home {along with my makeup… yikes!}… but at least I remembered to bring my family’s gifts…. and I did remember to bring Charlotte! My mom always outdoes herself with breakfast-y snacks and then brunch later… she makes it look so effortless! Maybe by the time I am a grandma I will be able to pull off a Christmas morning like that. Thanks mom! {and dad… I’m sure you had a lot to do with things behind the scenes}

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Playing with the manger scene.

nicholas and papa

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75349_10200173279237324_823383901_n snuggles collage giftsOpening gifts… “we hope it’s a teether”!!
opening gifts collage

Christmas afternoon we went to Chris’ Tita Winnie’s house for a family dinner. I don’t have any photos from that but they are floating out there somewhere  on someone’s camera 🙂 Charlotte’s Titas gave her so many wonderful gifts!

This week I picked up a few patients from other therapists who are out of the office over the holiday so I am working Thursday and Friday after Christmas. While I am at work, Charlotte has been home with her daddy.

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This is what I would like to think is happening at home while I am at work…

snuggling with chris

this is what my husband is posting on Facebook while I am at work, making me break out into a panic {honey, five alarm peanuts, lumpia, and ham}.409472_10100776375414397_415471260_n

Oh well, she’ll survive.

 We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

- admin 4 Comments

Charlotte is 4 months!

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Charlotte’s 4 month well check-up was this week {See her sporting her first sticker? Cinderella, of course. That was always my favorite too!}. Chris was able to leave work early so he could join us. I was so glad to not have to deal with shots by myself again. I don’t know why it is so heartbreaking for me. It briefly upsets Charlotte but once you pick her up and give her your neck to snuggle in to she’s fine. I, however, turn into a mama bear and want to punch the nurse for hurting my baby {even though I know it’s her job and I DO appreciate all nurses… really, I do. Please don’t write any angry comments!}

At 4 months Charlotte…

  • Weighs 12lbs, 3oz. and is 25 inches long. She is now into some 3-6 month clothing!
  • Loves snuggles with daddy.

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  • Is able to sit with assistance, but is not even close to sitting independently yet. Thank goodness. I really have my work cutout for me to baby proof this house before she is mobile!
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  • Is frequently sleeping through the night. And I don’t mean the ‘six hours = sleeping through the night’ kind of sleeping; I mean around 10 hours some nights. It is really wonderful to get 6 or 7 hours of sleep again, though I will admit I miss those quiet moments in the dark hours of the early morning.
  • Is rolling over quite skillfully now. In case you missed it you can catch her in action here.64027_670408913438_370671819_n
  • Loves to be carried in a sling or wrap. I have several that I alternate between, depending on the task I want to get done. She is also good at sitting in her swing or laying on her play mat and entertaining herself, but any chance I get I keep her close so she can experience the world from a position other than on the floor at Baxter level.
  • Continues to blow raspberries and has found that shrieking gets quite a bit of attention from others, making that her go-to noise right now.
  • Has discovered her toes and loves to grab at them, though I am pretty sure she just thinks they are another toy and is not yet aware that they are ‘hers’.
  • Loves to make faces at ‘that other little girl’ in the mirror.
  • Is quickly becoming a drool queen. The pediatrician mentioned that she has a tooth just below the surface of her gums but that it could still be a month or 2 before it shows itself. WHEW! I am NOT ready for teeth yet.407351_670078575438_1761139326_n
  • Is really starting to love some teething toys, but is not really into her Sophie. I’m hoping she will change her mind once she really begins to get teeth {because it’s so darn cute and because I’d much rather her gnaw on something that doesn’t haveman made plastics or dyes in it!} but for now she just wrinkles her nose and gets a full body shiver when it goes into her mouth. I don’t know if its the taste {all natural rubber} or the texture {just like her mama, doesn’t like to touch certain textures}, or the smell {it has a fairly strong rubber smell}. We shall see.
  • Is starting to grab at everything – hair, necklaces, plates on the table, spoons, toys, etc.
  • Still has the blue vein on the bridge of her nose. I don’t know if that will fade as she grows or not. Some days it is almost non-existent and others it is so bright. Regardless, I give that spot a billion kisses every day!
  • Is really going through some sort of ‘stranger danger’ + ‘I only want mommy’ phase’. For the most part she is very social and loves to engage anyone who will give her the time of day; but occasionally if the timing is off {like if she is beginning to get hungry or tired} she only wants mommy and nothing else will do.

4 month collage

Sporting the ‘baby legs’ I made her from an old dress.
4 months 14

‘please mommy, no more photos’4 months 3

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Houston, we have roll over!

Charlotte has been teetering on the edge of rolling over for almost a month now and I have been poised with my camera ready to capture the moment. I have about a billion photos over her perched on her side like the ones below but until now she hasn’t gone any further than that. Not that I’m rushing things… I just wanted to be prepared.

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There I sat with my camera, minute after minute, day after day waiting for her to make that next move and roll all the way over to her tummy. On Wednesday of this week {one day after  her 4 month birthday} she surprised Chris and I by completing the roll… and of course we both missed it! I was cooking in the kitchen {I know, right?!} and Chris had just looked away for a moment while playing with Charlotte on the floor. She’s a quick one! I was finally able to catch it on camera this weekend {with the help of Aunt Leah}.

The video is quite long, but completely adorable. brace yourself. Please ignore my “oooh, awww, oh, yay, oooh, oh no….” mommy commentary. and the clanking/tinkering noise in the background is Chris putting Charlotte’s highchair together {yay!}. Our pediatrician {who is awesome, by the way} gave us the go-ahead to start trying some cereal to help with the reflux so we are finally able to break out the highchair – won’t be long now before she is able to sit up in it all by herself!

Time, I command you to slow down!