NMM 7/25/11

Keep a calendar handy to jot down those precious things your baby does. 

Years from now you'll be glad you did.

(And so will your baby!)

I wish I would have been more careful and organized about this one.  I think my blog is a wonderful way to look back on my pregnancy and motherhood up until this point.  And one of these days I'll start making a Kayla's scrapbook with the items my little sister got me for my baby shower.  And I guess I do take the monthly photos of Kayla so that's a nice way to document her growth.  Sometimes I wish I had a more creative idea of a way to keep track of all the little things: like the day that she first smiled for real, the day she first babbled or blew raspberries with her lips, or started army crawling.  I have a vague recollection of the dates but nothing exact.  If I knew the exact dates I could probably come up with some great do-it-yourself project for myself (or find one online).  Maybe I'll just see if I can look back and remember the approximate dates and come up with some sort of "milestone book."

Stay tuned later today after our doctor's appointment for an update (and maybe even a third post today!)  I also have updated some photos on our SmugMug page, and updated my 101 in 1,001 page (to include a link to Lauren's list), and hopefully when I get a chance I'll update my cloth diapering page with a few more reviews!!  Happy Monday!

I know this photo is blurry and I haven't even attempted an edit but I just love it! :)

1/2 Birthday!

Kayla is 6 months old today.

We have been through so much together and I couldn't be prouder of us.  The word pride takes on a new meaning when you have a baby.  Everything they do makes you so thrilled to have created this person.

But honestly, as proud as I am of Kayla for learning to sit, crawl and pull to stand in the past 20 days, I'm equally as proud of myself for (so far) raising such a smiley happy baby who brings joy to my heart every day.  She is admittedly not the best sleeper, and sometimes she screams bloody murder at me for no reason, but I successfully didn't kill her.  I've never been so proud of anything in my life (and not just because I didn't kill her :)).

I love you Kayla Marie!

Birthday

6 months

Hand Sanitizer

I am SO not one of those moms that kindly asks all persons who want to touch their baby to please wash their hands first.  Granted, some people will assure me that they have washed their hands before they inquire to hold Kayla, but honestly, I really don't care.

It might sound really bad, but I think that is all unnecessary.  (Although, my all time favorite phrase for almost every facet of life is, "To each their own.")  Those moms are going to cringe when I say this...imagine like a 5 year old with their fingers in their ears screaming "la, la, la, la, la..." so they don't have to hear what I'm about to say.

I let Kayla put a large variety of things in her mouth, like large.  My iPhone, sure she loves phones.  The remote control, hey why not.  Oh, you like the sound of my keys, sure you can put them in your mouth.  Hi, friend playing with Kayla...oh she wants to put your toes in her mouth, eh fine with me just be careful, she'll probably bite them.  And the piece de resistance, "No Kayla, those are Samson's toys, not yours." "No Kayla not your toys."  "Kayla, no, those are...fine go ahead..."  (To be clear I washed off the ONE dog toy that I let Kayla put in her mouth and I put all the other ones away.)

Seriously, she's moving around way too fast and she literally touches something and puts it in her mouth in t-minus .1 seconds.  There is absolutely no way I have the energy to keep her away from everything that "they" say shouldn't go in her mouth.  It probably would help if I had some baby proofing materials at this point in time, but I don't.  And to be honest with you, I don't care that she wants to learn about everything around her using her mouth and tongue.  Because you know what, I hear about a lot of babies getting sick within their first six months, even if it's minor, and Kayla has yet to have anywhere NEAR a fever of any sort (knock on wood).  (And I vaccinate her like the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, but don't even get me started on that- Like I said "to each their own"- unless our decisions could potentially affect my child.)  I must be doing something right.  Maybe I'm building up her immunity by letting her "taste" practically everything. :)

Audrey Hepburn

#4: Watch every movie Audrey Hepburn has starred in.

Here's the list of movies I found on IMDb:

1. Roman Holiday- 1953
2. We Go To Monte Carlo- 1953
3. Sabrina- 1954
4. War and Peace- 1956
5. Funny Face- 1957
6. Love in the Afternoon- 1957
7. Green Mansions- 1959
8. The Nun's Story- 1959
9. The Unforgiven- 1960
10. Breakfast at Tiffany's- 1961
11. The Children's Hour- 1961
12. Charade- 1963
13. Paris When It Sizzles- 1964
14. My Fair Lady- 1964
15. How to Steal a Million- 1966
16. Two for the Road- 1967
17. Wait Until Dark- 1967
18. Robin and Marian- 1976
19. Bloodline- 1979
20. They All Laughed- 1981

I've seen a few of these and am actually quite excited to see a lot of them.  I have to say, My Fair Lady is one of my favorites.  I love the book (Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw for those of you that don't know).  I did my high school senior English project on GBS and got a 99% from one of the few teachers who didn't seem to like me!  Is it sad I remember that?  I think I still have it - the project that is.

Do any of you love old movies too?

Fourth of July Midwest Road Trip Leg 2

Where:  Evanston, IL

How long: 2 days

Activities:  Walks (the theme of our trip really, Kayla got spoiled)
                
                  Hanging out with Gigi

                  Gigi feeding me my cereal and putting me to bed (to give Mommy a break)

                  Reading Glamour

                  Practicing my sitting skills

                 A lot of practicing

                 Oh, and I finally found my toes!  (This isn't entirely true. She found her toes a long time ago but hasn't really cared about them until now.  Now she's constantly grabbing them - laying, sitting, diaper changes, constantly.

Evantson wasn't as eventful as Glen Ellyn, but that's why I (Mommy) love visiting Papa and Gigi - because I get to relax a bit and we just get to be together.

Thursday morning (7/7/11) we headed up to Milwaukee for our final leg...

Check off #33

Yesterday was Aunt Meg's 29th birthday...what?!?!  I kept telling her that it's her last hoorah before 30.  I came up with, what I think is a pretty great gift idea for her from my sister, mom, grandma and I.  You can read about it here.  Then she told me she wanted to go see Harry Potter 7.2.  We had seen 7.1 around my birthday so it just seemed fitting.  She wanted to see it in IMAX 3D.

I'm glad because it can check something off my 101 list, but I'm not gonna lie, I was kinda scared.  I've been to an IMAX movie.  Justin and I went to see Eagle Eye, and all I can remember is turning to him and saying, "Holy **** the screen is huge!" and "Is it just me, or is this REALLY loud?"  Does that make me old?  Well either way, I'd heard that the 3D can make some people feel a little woozy (spelling?) and I was a little worried.

We planned to go to the 9 am showing at an AMC (a great deal of $12 instead of the whopping $16.50- seriously I used to love the movies...)  We bought tickets ahead of time but didn't think it would be that crowded.  This is what we pulled up to:

Yes, you are correct.  That is people waiting in line to get in the door at 9 am.  Part of this was because they opened the doors late, therefore they started the movie late to accommodate everyone.  Well then we were worried about seating and rightfully so.  We ended up in the second row off to the side when I turned to Meg and said, "At this point, I think I'd rather be front and center than off to the side." (A decision I think we probably were glad for later.)  So front and center we were...no less excited.

Well, the movie was great.  I'm surprised at how much I remember from the books.  I actually kinda liked the 3D (unlike Megan) and the only complaint I had was my neck hurt from sitting in the very front row.  And I'm sad the movies/books are over.  I think I would see another movie in 3D, it would have to be a particular kind of movie though, nothing with things coming out the screen at me or too much motion.  

The one thing though, since I'm an analytical person, I couldn't figure out why every time I tilted my head slightly to either side, the whole picture became blurry.  The edges were a little blurry (which made me think about aperture and depth of field in photography) but everything got blurry if I tilted my head.  Which led me on this trail of thought at the beginning of the movie:

1. Why the heck would that happen when I tilt my head?

2. Damnit, now I can't move my head in either direction.  I have to stay perfectly still with my neck craned backward.

3. I can't believe people have 3D TVs and sit in their own homes with these stupid glasses on just to watch TV.

4. Wait...why can't TV companies just add a piece of glass or whatever at the front of the TV screen made of whatever these dumb glasses are made of so people don't have to look like idiots in their own homes just watching TV?

5.  Seriously Melissa, watch the movie you just paid $12 for (on sale.)

Now, I really want to read the books again.

And I need to make a "piggy bank" so I can save the $40 from my 2 completed tasks.

NMM 7/18/11

What you didn't get right today you can practice again tomorrow.

(After all, isn't that what you will teach your little one?)

I feel like I'm making a million mistakes every day, but she's alive and kicking, I'm still breastfeeding successfully and she seems happy most of the time (maybe not the past few days but...)  I must be doing something right.  Part of what I love about being a mom is the trial and error, sort of like a puzzle for this puzzle lover! :)