Summertime Baby!

Our little guy has loved spending so much time outdoors this summer...and I have as well! Our usual routine is I pick him up from the babysitter then we go to the park, to the stream, play with chalk and bubbles, or play in the backyard. It's awesome having so much to do outside!

Chalk! We love "hopstotch"

"Mommy look, Mommy look!"

"big boy park!"

At the stream...we now know to go in shorts and sandals!

Big boy swing!

All our supplies needed for a run!

As the days get hotter and hotter I try not to complain because before we know it winter will set in and then I'll actually have to get creative on how to entertain a two year old! So 89 with 60% humidity? I'll take it.

My First Full Year of Motherhood

Throughout 2013 our family obviously was very busy with the new addition to our household! We started off the year celebrating and loving on our new little guy and then I went back to work in the beginning of February. Four months of being with Conrad 24/7 and then all of a sudden handing him over to someone else for 10 hours a day?! Rude awakening. As I've mentioned before, this is the worst part about being a working mom. But hey, the baby's gotta eat! Here's some things I wish I knew before but learned well in 2013:

1. I can survive on >6 hours of sleep per night OR sleep/wake/sleep/wake off and on for 8+ hours. The husband, however, tends to be a bit more grouchy when forced to do this. I realize there are reasons why women are moms as men can't handle the lack of sleep too well.

At least he got some sleep!

2. Breastfeeding is HARD. And you know what? If you end up not following through for the whole recommended year, it's OK. Your baby will survive. Just like those that breastfeed their child until they're 18 don't like to be judged, neither do moms who only do it for 3 months.

3. Anything you read in baby books you can find on the internet. I have about 5 different sleep method books and 3 different baby first year books and used none of them. And guess what?! Conrad slept through the night after 8 months without some sort of crazy rigid method. He eats well without some sort of crazy eat this first then that. Do what works for you and whats healthy for your baby.

4. Doctors don't always have the answers and YOU are your child's advocate. If you think something's wrong or not right, keep pushing on Momma!

5. Think your lifestyle was different than your single friends before? Hey, at least you could still join them for happy hour. Get ready to host wine night at your house instead and pray they don't mind toys all over the place and you wearing two-day old yoga clothes covered in spit up. Hey, at least you have wine.

6. Speaking of wine, it's my new best friend. Mama can always use more wine when she gets a lot of "whine" from the baby. HA, see what I did there?

Looks like C-Rad would like some wine too!

7. You will be judged for anything and everything you do. You learn not to care.

8. If you don't believe in yourself, you'll drown in self-doubt and worry. But you know what? There are worse parents out there than you (read: Britney Spears? entire cast of 16 and pregnant?) so try your hardest to do right by your child and the rest doesn't matter - the matching clothes, perfect nursery, and right on target schedule are all meaningless as long as your baby is healthy and happy.

9. Schedule? What schedule?! Let go.

10. Don't compare yourself and your child to others. Do what works for you and your family; you'll drive yourself crazy trying to keep up with everyone else!

11. The dishes can wait. So can the laundry, vacuuming, and bed-making. Oh, and the baking, organizing, and polishing silver?! Forget about it. What can't wait are the moments your baby laughs, walks, and talks. What can't wait are the cuddles, book-reading, and block building. These are important.

12. I used to think I wanted to work up that corporate ladder right away - time was money. But now, time is time and you can't get it back. "I wish I had spent more hours in the office" - said no one ever.

13. Never underestimate the power of a good cry. Or muffled scream while hiding in your bathroom. Hey, whatever relieves your stress.

14. Take care of yourself! Don't be afraid to ask the husband, friend, neighbor, grandparent to watch the baby while you get a mani, go to the gym, drive to Starbucks and veg for an hour. You deserve it and shouldn't feel guilty.

15. Guilt! Oh the guilt! When your brain is telling you that you aren't doing enough, tell it to back the bus up and take a look at the beautiful child you carried for 9+ months and brought into the world. Did you feed him, clothe him, cuddle, kiss, and play with him today? It's enough.

16. Remember who your partner is when raising a child and learn to trust in them. Sean is an amazing father and I don't doubt his abilities for a second and appreciate all that he does and should probably thank him more as there are Dads out there that do absolutely nothing.

17. Take pictures, lots and lots of pictures! Every day if possible.

Oh, the outfits! Not enough days for them all...

18. Frozen foods, crock pot meals, and take out or delivery were the best things invented. EVER.

19. Now that Conrad is older, I try to make time in the morning before he wakes up to shower, do my hair, and makeup. After all, I'm still a real person and feel better when I'm put together (even if I'm overwhelmed on the inside, hey, at least I look great!) even if I'm at home by myself.

20. In order to do the above it's best to go to bed early. Sure, I'd love to stay up late and read or catch up on shows but at this point...who cares if Emily Thorne ever gets her Revenge on the Grayson family, she doesn't have a 14 month old to take care of.

21. If you don't have time to see friends and family as often as you'd like, still text and call or email them to keep up with their lives. Technology is great so take advantage of it!

22. There's always tomorrow. Or later today. If you didn't get it right at this moment, your child won't break or be scarred for life.

23. It's ok to want to run away sometimes. You know you're not really going to do it so imagining you're on a tropical beach without the baby and hubby can be a nice vay-cay for the brain.

24. Even when your little one is screaming and crying or throwing a tantrum, cherish him, love him. Before you know it, he'll be out of the house and on his own. Take advantage of every second.

Attempting to keep it together 24/7,

Elizabeth

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

So this is a little really really late...but for Conrad's 1st birthday we had A Very Hungry Caterpillar theme!

I had been pinning, saving pictures, trolling etsy,  plotting, and planning Conrad's first birthday party since he was born! When he was about 8 months old I settled on the theme "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" as that was a book we always read to him and...well, let's face it, he was a little roly-poly just like a caterpillar! 

I loved the idea of basing the menu around the food items in the book - how fun (and easy!) is that?! Menu already planned! 

I made a caterpillar banner with the help of my mom and dad with paper strung together with burlap string and printed out the month by month pictures of Conrad.

 

Apples, oranges, plums, pears, and strawberries (complete with dipping sauces!) just like the book!

For the one slice of salami and once slice of cheese, we of course, did a meet platter, and incorporated the pickle.

I did a salad for the "one nice green leaf' and of course cupcakes, cake, and ice cream! There was also watermelon, lollipops, and pie...just like the book! It was all very easy and perfect for a party.

With simple print out tent cards and cupcake toppers, we carried the theme throughout.

The piece de la resistance was the cupcake caterpillar! My mother-in-law (so creative!) made the head with the eyes and antenna out of fondant and licorice and I made the cupcake body. She also made gluten-free cupcakes on the side (Sean can't have gluten).

And what birthday party is complete without the stats poster! I created this on my own rather than order from etsy to save money. My parents helped cut out the fruit shapes on the sides.

My one etsy splurge was Conrad's custom shirt and bib (I am NOT a seamstress) and I'm glad I did. He was so cute!

Happy Birthday My Little Caterpillar! 

Happy 11 Month Birthday, Conrad!

So this is a little late, but I still wanted to share:

September 7th was Conrad's 11 month birthday - I can't believe our little munchkin is almost a year old!! In less than a month, we'll be celebrating his first birthday!

Dear Conrad,

You are a little tornado! You love to "talk" (you've learned to say "all done" now and still are "dada"-ing like there's no tomorrow). And boy do you explore everything. We've now had to put safety latches on the drawers and cabinets, and make good use of the baby gates because you are crawling and furniture walking up a storm.

You are pretty much on a no-baby-food diet (unless it's the pouches) and only like to eat if you are feeding yourself. Some new favorites are eggs, peas, yogurt, and waffles. And then there's the good ol' favorites like sweet potatoes, bananas, rice chex, and pasta. You are loving your sippy-cup more and more every day and we are starting to think about slowly weaning you off your beloved bottle. I'm scared.

Believe it or not, you've been sleeping from 7:30 to 7:00am lately! However, you have had a cold for the past two weeks and that could be why you are so sleepy. And you are SUPER CLINGY around me. Grandma says that sometimes babies get separation anxiety when they are about to reach a milestone like walking so I'm praying that's it and that you're not spoiled (because, bad mommy, I pick you up when you cry for me).

You LOVE snuggling and our favorite routine is when you wake up you come into bed with us with your bottle and we cuddle and play before we have to go to work. Those are the best and most precious moments of our days.

While we are excited for what the future holds for you and for your first birthday party, it's all come so fast and makes me sad. Don't grow up too quick, my litte boo-boo!

Love,

Mommy

Daycare Woes

So, as many working mothers can I'm sure relate, going back to work and deciding on a daycare is the most difficult thing you can do. Some are fortunate to have family watch their little ones (like my sister!), some are able to afford in-home nannies (lucky!), and the rest of us have to do tons of research, interviews (although this is done with nannies too), and visits. Then there's the endless mind-games you play with yourself: is this the right fit? is he in the right environment? is he being well cared for and loved? Mom guilt goes on overload at this point.

We were fortunate to find an in-home daycare right on our street; Miss Farzaneh lives about 10 houses down from us and just happened to finish sitting for a family that moved away. Which meant that Conrad was the only baby and got her undivided attention! With his feeding issues, weird napping (aka, NO naps) schedule, and general fussiness, this was perfect. She is like another grandmother for him! He's completely spoiled because I'm sure all she did was hold him all day. However, now that he's older, this just does not fly. He constantly whines to be held at all times and freaks out when you put him down. We have a regular little prince on our hands!

While the undivided attention has been good, I'm starting to think that he'll need to be around other kids soon. And while she has lots of toys and interactive things for him, I'm always worried about whether or not he's being stimulated enough. She doesn't speak English very well (she's from Iran) and so I'm not sure how much learning there is going on. I know that at a year old, there's no big rush to "learn" anything crazy but it would be nice to know that they are reading books, singing songs, and other educational things once in  while.

There are a couple different daycares, both in home and not, that I've looked into. The issue is that they are more expensive (daycare in the DC Metro area is RIDICULOUSLY expensive) and not as convenient. And who knows if they'll actually be better?

Maybe I'll just quit my job and stay home. We'll be poor and have to live in a one bedroom shack, but I would be home with Conrad. What's a mom to do? I mean, who wouldn't want to be with this little guy all day?

Happy 10 Months, Conrad

So, me being a bad busy mom, I have only now gotten around to uploading Conrad's 10 month pictures. We didn't do 9 month pictures as we did the professional ones that same day and then I never got around to it. Woops.

That being said, I can't believe my baby is 10 MONTHS OLD! When in the what did that happen? I seriously blinked and he was 10 months.

Just for comparison, here's Conrad at 1 month!

Dear Conrad,

These last 2 months have been the most amazing time yet with you. Your personality is really shining through and I love that you're HAPPY now. The first several months were hard what with your GERD, ear infections, teething, hand-foot-mouth disease (yes! it's a real thing and made you miserable) but we just knew there was a happy, energetic baby in there some there despite all of that. And boy was there!

You love to dance to music and now wave your arms around when you hear a beat. You learned to wave and are a hit in public places (attention: single uncle, use this to your advantage!) and can be a big flirt...you get that from Daddy obviously. You can stand on your own without holding on to anything and are SO proud of yourself when you do. And you are mimicking a lot now! When we tickle you, now you reach out to us and wiggle your fingers saying "thinckle, thinckle".

"Dada" and "Mama" are now in your vocabulary...although it's the latter only when you're crying but I'll take what I can get. You still like to fuss if all the attention's not on you...again, obviously from Daddy :) You love to flip through your books and "read" as well as take everything out of boxes, bags, drawers, baskets, etc.

At your 9 month check up you were 29 inches, 23 lbs, and HC was 46...all 75th %. Big boy here...because of:

FOOD FOOD FOOD! "Num num num" is constantly heard in this household. You are getting better every day about trying new things. Things we never thought you'd like. Broccoli, for instance! What the what? You still like sweet things best though.

We love you so much, are so proud of you, and are so excited for your next 10 months (but don't grow up too fast!).

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

PS: You also get about 1 billion kisses a day. We are trying to get them all in now while you aren't embarrassed. Although who would be embarrassed by these cool parents?

LOL...this was pre-baby of course. I just had to share this gem that I recently came across...circa 2009.

 Conrad, you're welcome.

Monday Mashup: Weekend through the iphone!

1. Shopping on Friday night with Mom and Dad!

2. "Sharing" Grandma's sandwich on the boat

3. "My turn to drive!"

4. Hanging with Uncle Eddie

5. Wine on the back deck

6. Redskins game!

7. We found Daddy's old toy chest in the attic!

8. Beautiful sunset

9. Great-Grandpa, Grandpa, and Conrad

Beach Baby!

So it's taken a while for me to post about our JULY vacation as I lost the cable to my camera so I couldn't post pictures. In any case, here's some snapshots of our vacay and Conrad's first trip to the beach. As I mentioned here, vacationing with a baby is WAY different than without. And to reiterate (and trust me, this is not sucking up - just pure gratefulness!), thank goodness for my MIL - she was so helpful!

Every year Sean's family goes to Emerald Isle/Topsail Island down in NC. It's been their family tradition for years (his whole dad's side comes down from NY) and I've been lucky enough to be able to participate the last 8 years.

On the way down, we stopped at Grady's BBQ in Dudley, North Carolina. It was a slight...20 minute...30 minute...detour but was well worth it. It's a long-standing family owned BBQ place with amazing food. And it's all smoked and grilled right out back. Sean even met the owner and got a tour of the kitchen (he's a little BBQ obsessed).

Conrad was not so big of a beach fan. In fact, when we first tried to put his feet in the sand, he looked at us as if to say, "um, what the hell is this...you're joking, right?" BUT after a while, he got used to it and dug some holes and flung sand around with his little plastic shovel. Oh, and tried to eat a lot of it. The ocean however?? NO WAY. He started to fuss whenever we stuck his toes near it. Oh well. Next year, maybe?

Hanging out under the umbrella was a fun time for Conrad too. We got one of those little tent things but he didn't use it at all...maybe better use it next year (that thing was NOT cheap!!).

The pool on the other hand was GREAT. We loved us some pool time. Before Conrad came into this world, I always thought the people who spent all day at the pool while at the beach were nuts. Turns out they probably just had little kids with them. And it was easier access to the beer. Loads of beer. Wait, that was last year (well, year before last that is, considering I was pregnant last year). This go-round? No time for that. You have to be on your toes with this one!!

I  can't wait until next year when he's a little bigger and can enjoy the beach even more!