Sunday, March 28, 2010

More updates

I got so excited about Alexandra rolling over that I forgot to include other things that have been going on.

A & I took our first road trip to see Amanda, Stan & Lorraine in NY yesterday. She did great in the car - slept the whole time! And only one melt down when she got tired while we were there. We brought our Red Sox rattle to Yankee territory... and got booed! I had to do it though... I was lucky Stan didn't see it - he was doing yard work & burning stuff in the back yard, and I'm sure it would have ended up in the fire pit along with the twigs & leaves!

She slept through the night two nights in a row... and then not so much last night. We'll see how tonight goes! We have her 4 month appt. on Tuesday the 30th, so we will discuss starting solids with her. First, rice cereal, and then I'm going to try to make our own food - sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, carrots, applesauce, avocados... I'll be using wholesomebabyfood.com for advice on making food, when to start which types, etc.

She is adorable. Seriously, she's cuter and cuter every day. Her beautiful eyes are still blue. She's drooling like crazy, so we think there may be a tooth coming in soon-ish. She still uses a paci, and we're debating weaning her off of it, but right now, it's so cute when she doesn't have it in she still puckers her lips like she's sucking on it.

In non-baby news...

Jethro has some sort of infection/ hotspot and is going nuts for it. It looks painful, and we feel so bad for him!

We have some sort of leak in the roof in our kitchen, above the bay windows near our table. Awesome. I had two roofing guys come and both said we could fix it ourselves, most likely just with some silicone caulk instead of ripping off the shingles.

Easter is this coming weekend... this year will be spent with my family. I'm excited to put the baby in a dress...pink of course!

That's it for now. Just wanted to write some things down!

And we're rollin'... rollin'...

She rolled!

I mean, I found her on her tummy about 2 weeks ago in the middle of the night, but we finally witnessed it - and got it on film! - tonight! Our amazing little baby Allie giggles, talks, squeals, stands nearly on her own and now rolls over! She went from her back to her tummy and back again twice! C and I both cheered like proud parents, in disbelief that our baby could do something so amazing. Ok, maybe it's not amazing in the grand scheme of things, but it's pretty amazing to us! And I'm so glad we were home to both see it together!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

4 months and counting!

First, let me say how horribly I suck at keeping this up to date. I was supposed to use this as a lot to remember milestones with Allie but days and weeks go by where plenty is happening but nothing is written down. Awesome. Moving on.

Alexandra turned 4 months old last week. It is truly unbelievable to me that its been 4 months since we met her... sometimes it feels like we just peed on a stick...we just found out she was a girl... we just were on our way to the hospital... but at the same time, I can't imagine life without her ever again. Some days I long for quiet, to not worry, to not have to change a poopy diaper... but I miss her every second I'm away from her, whether I'm at work, at the gym, or simply upstairs while she's downstairs. She is amazing, and changing every day. Here are some things that have happened over the last few weeks.

We have giggling. Full on laughter. Next to the first time I heard her cry, it's the most amazing sound ever. Allie's giggle will get anyone to smile - I dare someone to try and keep a straight face while she's belly laughing with her crooked little smile!

She's still not sleeping through the night, but it's usually only one feeding around 3-4 am. Not terrible, not great. I've started going to the gym early mornings (up at 5, gym by 5:30) just so I actually get there... which means C gets to do the 4am feeding. He's not thrilled, but I am!

She found her feet and loves to grab them!

She rolled over for the first time last week... I think on March 16th. I went in to get her in the morning when she was crying and there she was, on her stomach...and not happy about it! As far as I know she's only done it one other time, when E was watching her.

I was walking out the door from the garage to the back yard with her in the baby hawk carrier to go on a walk with the dog last Friday...as I was leaning in to close the door, I whacked her head on it. She was not happy! The only good thing that came out of that doc's appt (ok, other than the fact that she was totally fine and I just over reacted!) was I found out a weight -- 16 lbs, 6 oz! Next week (Mar 30) we will have her 4 month appt, which means more shots (boo) but also that we find out her length. So many people have told us she looks older than 4 months. We think she's just advanced :)

We had our first two play dates last week. I met up with Danielle and her twins, Briley and Delaney last Friday to walk around the mall. It was good to have some mommy interaction, time out of the house but not at work, and good for Allie to see other babies. Then on Saturday, we went to visit our friends in Springfield, Tony & Jill, who's daughter Juliana is 3 weeks older than Allie (and they have a 4 year old son, Brennen). To us, Allie does look older. She has a bigger head, bigger ears (ha!), and was much more animated, though I think Juliana was not feeling well during our visit. That was neat to see her reaching for Juliana, holding her hand...oh yeah, and punching her in the face!

The only other news is the never ending power struggle with C's parents...well, his mother. The condensed version: we feel she's judging everything we do, questioning our parenting skills, and has gone against things we've asked her to do. She of course doesn't see it this way and says that we are insecure and nervous parents... Suffice it to say after several discussions and them showing up at out door on Sunday, E will no longer be watching Allie on Wednesdays. Which means we are going to have to cough up $ for PT daycare from here on out. Sanity and not having the stress that this whole thing has become is worth the $.

Some day I'll figure out how to post pictures on here again.. otherwise, this is a pretty damn boring blog. Oh well!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

We survived!

But barely! The baptism was chaos - 5 babies being baptized, one of whom screamed bloody murder the entire time, and everyone had family and friends there. Chaos and craziness. Then came the party with nearly 50 people at our house....

But let me back up and tell you about my fight(s) with the priest.

We didn't research parishes to find one we liked or try Episcopal churches to see if we wanted to switch during pregnancy. So we decided to baptize A in a Catholic church, one that has meaning to my family. We had to join the church, which is easy enough... but choosing Godparents is apparently a very big deal, and comes under strict scrutiny from the church. Godmother - no problem. Active member in her parish, got the paperwork signed, sealed (literally - notarized) and delivered in time. Godfather - not so easy. Moved recently, married an Episcopal woman, and apparently we chose poorly because of these reasons.

At our baptism "class" the priest challenged us as to why we would want someone who is not practicing as her Godfather. I got uppity and said "because he's an important part of our lives and will be an important part of hers." C got uppity and said he was a choir boy for 15 years and just got married at such and such church... not quite enough reason for him, but it shut him up for a minute. THEN I had to bring the paper work before the ceremony and he proceeded to tell me that because our Godfather did not marry a Catholic person, he is not fit to be a Godfather...only a "witness" according to Church Canons. I didn't know if their wedding was 'sanctioned' or whatever by the Diocese. He said if it wasn't, it was not valid in the eyes of the church and he couldn't be A's sponsor. Really?! I was like, are.you.kidding.me???!? And I said that. I was HEATED. I told him it was confusing, frustrating, and this is the reason young people don't return to the church. I asked him if he was telling me that Episcopal women were bad people or bad influences on Catholics. I told him that our choice was a good Christian man, had always gone to church, would be a positive influence on the baby, and that was what was important to us in choosing a Godfather. That didn't seem to matter to him. I left in a huff.

Turns out his wedding WAS sanctioned/blessed by the church, so it was all for naught, but still. How antiquated is that crap? We joked about it with him and his wife, but whatever. I doubt we'll be going back to that church, family history or not. Ugh.

Moral of the story - A is baptized in Christ. Amen.

Then we all went back to our house and ate. And ate. And ate. Lots of food (I was so worried there wouldn't be enough... I forgot how little children actually eat, so there are left overs galore). We moved tons of furniture out, tables & chairs in, and somehow fit everyone in the house. Thankfully it was a beautiful day, so the 10+ kids went down to the park to play and played out in the back yard as well.

Up at 4am to put meatballs in crockpots & decorate a cake that looked more like a plus sign than a cross, church at 10, entertaining from noon to 5pm, cleaning till 8, and CRASHED after that.

But A was an angel. She was so peaceful & calm all day - throughout church, with water being poured over her head, being passed around at the house... we really are lucky that she is such a good baby. I'm glad she got to meet people she hadn't met before, be the center of attention for the day, and was on such good behavior. Love my little nugget!

Allie,

Daddy and I aren't the most religious people, but we do believe in God. And we want you to grow up with faith and to know that God loves you. We will find a way to bring Him into our lives, I promise. Just because we don't go to church every weekend doesn't make us bad people or bad Christians. We love our neighbors, treat others as we wish to be treated, and pray for those we love and the world around us.

Your Godparents love you, and they will be there to help you be faithful when we aren't. Depend on them when you need to. But never be afraid to question things you do not agree with or understand. Yes, some things just "are" - whether there's an explanation or not - but we want you to learn to think for yourself, to be critical and inquisitive. Not everything the church (or government, or schools, or...) says is right. And that's ok. You can disagree while still respecting the premise, the fundamentals, the roots. That is what makes a person a good Christian - respect, love, honesty, faith, and heart. Not rigidity, formality, and closed-mindedness.

If we can instill that in you, we will have done our jobs.

Love you always,

Mommy & Daddy

Monday, March 1, 2010

Jesus loves Alexandra

Our "little" nugget is 3 and a half months old now... I can't believe it! We have her baptism this weekend, and somehow invited 60 people to the house afterwards. Um, where will all these people go? I have no idea. I'm just hoping the floors don't collapse! Lots to do to get the house ready -- lots of furniture to move, and even more cleaning. My house hasn't ever really been on display, and there will be a bunch of people there that haven't seen it before. Oy. Because I don't already stress enough.

As far as the baptism goes, I DO want Allie to grow up with faith. I don't remember the last time I went to church just to go to church (i.e., not a holiday, funeral, wedding, etc.), but it is important to me that she is baptized. Guess it's that good ol' Catholic guilt getting to me! C really couldn't care less if we did or not (or if we baptize her Catholic or another religion), but it is important to me. Both of our families were surprised, but I am glad we are doing it. Maybe this will get me going to church a little more frequently. Maybe.

On a side/sentimental note: Alexandra will be wearing my Christening gown, which is really cool. We tried it on her last night and she looked so beautiful!

She's been spending her days with the grandmothers, and I miss her so much when I'm at work. I'm just trying to get back into the groove of recruiting, trying to stay focused and not get distracted too much. Need those commissions! Too bad no one is hiring... makes for tiring days of getting rejected on the phone.

Random: I still have lots and lots of baby weight to lose, and then some after that, but my wedding ring finally fits! Back to the gym I go - been going for 2 weeks now, but it's hard to find time/energy to go when I've been up overnight twice with the baby, then went to work for a full day. I know I'm not the first person to go through this, but it is definitely hard to get my (big) butt there. Must.force.self.to.gym. I really shouldn't be this fat 3+ months out from having a baby... I don't care what excuses people tell me to use; I no longer "just" had a baby, and I need to get my ass to the gym. I'm just glad that A & C love me no matter what. Wish I could say the same for myself! Ugh, I feel like I'm 16 again, hating my body. Seriously? Sometimes I wish I wasn't a girl.

Note to self: if I have another baby, be better about not gaining a zillion pounds during pregnancy...don't forget that weight has to come off eventually. Gross.