I feel like all throughout every day I come up with things that would make great blog posts. Then when I sit down to actually write one I forget! 

Last weekend M, B, and I went furniture shopping all day on Friday and Saturday. B was such a good girl and stayed in her Moby. We ate at Chic-fil-A both days ( I love their grilled sandwich!) and I nursed her in the restaurant with my "hooter hider." Ha. The days went well but everything takes SO much longer with a baby! And we really had to be savvy about watching the clock while out shopping. We ended up with a few lamps but no large pieces yet. Lots of potential though! On Thursday my aunt, mom, and I are going to go out again. We shall see what we find! 

I am still struggling with the whole co-sleeper thing. I've decided it's not worth it to me to stay up all night listening to her cry to get her to stay in that thing. M has to function at work and everything I have read and heard says that you can't spoil a baby (3-4 months is when we will give her the boot). She just loves being close to me and if that is how she sleeps then so be it. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Some nights are better than others. Sigh. I DO recommend this book called, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." Get it! Many mommies have recommended it to me and I've really been enjoying it.

Last weekend my girlfriend Brooke stopped by with her hubby. She played "the easter bunny" and brought B her first easter basket...

Complete with a swimsuit, waterproof swim hat, and an adorable neon outfit! The bowl is beautiful and was a sweet house warming gift for M and me.

My other friend, Kristen dropped off a "mommy" gift of a massage! Along with babysitting! I was beyond excited to see that on my front door step. Nursing has been KILLING my shoulders and back! 

Today two of my aunt's bought this sweet picture for me. SUCH a good reminder for me. I have been struggling with feeling so unproductive and this helps remind me that I have the most important job there is! 

PS when my aunt dropped this off she stayed and watched B while I went to the grocery store...best gift ever!

 After reading my devotional today I underlined this, "It (whatever your job is) is the Lord's work, and it must be done; my Lord has called me to do it, and in His strength I will accomplish it." I really needed to hear this today. Makes my days of sitting on the couch watching HGTV and nursing all day seem worthwhile...

I still can't get over how life changing it is to have a child. I had no idea how much I would have to sacrifice (showering, make-up, a clean house, social time with friends etc.) Maybe I'm just so floored by this whole experience especially since we moved. Our new house is great but I do miss the comfort of our old home...knowing our neighbors, having a running route, knowing where/what stores were in my neighborhood. But I know how blessed I am to have this new, big home and I wouldn't trade it for what we had. Looking back no one could have prepared me for this. And even though we waited a while (5 years) to have kids it wouldn't have mattered if we had waited 10 years...you're truly just never ready.

So here are some topics that I want to discuss here. I'm writing them down so I don't forget! 

-getting back into shape

-the baby items I can't live without

- mommy groups

Tomorrow is Wordless Wednesday (a break for me!) :) Thanks for being patient with my lack of routine on my blog... If you have kids you understand and if you are about to have kids soon you will understand. :)

I hope you all had a great Easter with your family. Blair's first Easter was spent at brunch with M's family and then at dinner with my family. Brunch was at 10:30 and I could not believe how long it took M, B, and I to get ready in order to get there by 10:30 am! OMG! Again, everyone who said "things will take twice as long with a baby" was right!

I have more to chat about from our weekend but blogging and holding a baby is no easy task... let's see if I can finish this up at nap time!

Have a great Easter this weekend! We are going to our local country club for brunch with our family. I am also thinking about attempting church with baby... wish us luck! This year I think we can get away with skipping the Easter basket for Blair but next year I better be ready!

my little bunny

Matthew 28:6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

B and I are starting to get a daily routine down which feels great! She eats around 6am then I put her back to bed and go pump downstairs. After M goes to work we sleep in till about 9am then she's ready to eat. I nurse her, get her dressed for the day and then take her to my bathroom where she watches me get ready for the day (this consists of some mascara and workout clothes. so not me!). By 10 am we head downstairs and I put her in the Moby wrap (she LOVES this thing) while I make my oatmeal and eggs sunnyside up. :) For the record I'm still totally into chocolate milk and take my vitamins with it!

After I eat we go for our morning walk around 10:30 am with Bella. Or if I'm lucky I have a girlfriend come over and we go together. Yesterday my friend Rikki came over and spent the whole day with me (it's her spring break). SUCH a sweet friend! The day before that my friend Danielle came over with her two boys and we enjoyed a nice walk with lots of mommy talk. :)

Rikki and B

We get back around 11:30 and at 12 B is ready for lunch! More nursing...

In the afternoon I pick up the house and do little odds and ends (blog. maybe.). M gets home around 6 in the evening and he makes dinner and spends some time with B. Around 8 I start B's bedtime routine (just started this last night) and by 9 we all try to go to bed. Then M goes to sleep and I wait in fearful  anticipation of what the night will hold!

Yesterday evening I left M with B and ran out to do some errands. We have noticed that she gets kinda cranky around this time but it hasn't ever been too horrible. Except for last night of course. :( M was stuck with a wailing baby. I felt horrible for him. He was frustrated and nothing is worse than hearing your baby crying when you are on the phone. I came home as quickly as I could but I won't be leaving home at that time again... Any daddy suggestions? I hope she's not already becoming one of those "never leaves mommy's hip" babies...

Another side note: While my girlfriend Rikki was here she encouraged me to start getting out everyday. I think she's right (hence my late night errand last night to get a mirror so I can see B in the car). So today on my "to-do" list I included going to the bank to make a deposit. I intend on starting to make trips to the store, Target, etc. on a more frequent basis. Wish me luck! A crying baby in public makes me very nervous...

Finally, M has work off tomorrow so we are going to take advantage of that and go furniture hunting. We are on the prowl for unique items (sorry, Target) of good quality (Craig's list!) that may need a little extra work (such as paint etc). My Aunt Marla found these lovely chairs that I think we will purchase for our kitchen table...

here

We are also on the prowl for a kitchen table (oval or round), a buffet, some lamps, a headboard, and a desk. We have deemed these as essentials. I'm excited to take our time waiting till we find exactly the items that we want. No rush...we have the rest of our lives!

here is what I have in mind...

here

 

 

fat chance

desk

Wish us luck!

I think I'll be taking the easy way out for a while (due to the sheer volume of spit up I am unable to continue with work it wednesdays for right now...) and start taking advantage of "wordless wednesdays". And thanks to my lovely friend Carrie I am able to do that...

 

It's amazing what she can do with a photo. This picture was taken as an after thought (check out my roots/ponytail) but she makes it look so good! Anyone remember the "awkward" from this post about me thinking B was peeing but in reality it was my breasts leaking? Yeah. That was this photo. :) Now the story comes full circle...

A couple more...but i need to spread these out for blogging material! 

love her little smile!

all that hair!

looks just like her grandpa brad here!

blair bear

There's so many more i can't wait to share! Thank you Carrie!

I decided to give you a peek into Blair's nursery, even though we're not quite finished with it yet. I based everything in the room off of her bumper (even though I know they can be a no-no). I have been eyeing that bedding for quite some time now! The only things I'm waiting for are to install her mobile that we made here above the crib and for her rug to come in the mail shown here. As far as actually sleeping in this room she has yet to do that (more on sleeping below). 

got the letters off of etsy but you could totally DIY!

crazy for choosing a white recliner? maybe. hence the green blanket...

found here

love the old fashioned clock

we use this every night while nursing

waiting to get a picture of B printed for the center of that frame

so many books i have at work waiting to fill that bookshelf. the polka dot tote holds her toys

she loves staring at the pattern on her bumper. :)

So I was all amped because the first night we tried putting B in her co-sleeper she fussed from her first feeding to her second but every time after that she went to bed just fine. I thought this was ok because it was our first try. However the last two nights we have started spiraling downward. Now when we initially put her down around 10 or 11 (after her last feeding) she has a fit and cries till her next feeding at 1 or 2 am. I put her down and she will make it ten minutes and then cry. I let her cry for 2-3 minutes until she starts crying so hard that no sound is coming out ( this KILLS me) and then I pick her up and soothe her for about 5 minutes. Then I try the whole thing over again. So it's up and down every ten mintues for 2 hours. However again after her next feeding she goes down relatively smoothly the rest of the night after each feeding. I am baffled.

 And sometimes I wonder if people who have never put their kids in the bed are the ones whose babies didn't mind their own bed. Or did they go through the same thing we are and just got through it by being tough and getting no sleep? Sigh. I wish someone could just tell me how long this will last. If it's four months, fine. If it's one month, great. I just need to know where the light is at the end of the tunnel! It's so hard not knowing when it will get better. :( I feel horrible for M because he has to go to work the next day and function. Whereas I take a nap in the morning after he leaves with B... and I do allow her in the bed to snuggle for nap time. (maybe this is hurting the nighttime routine? who knows!?). We're both so tired. Prayers, prayers, and more prayers please! I'm saying mine for sure all throughout the day!

On Saturday Matt and I celebrated our five year anniversary. It was quite different from any of our other anniversaries given the fact that we have a BABY now! We actually left Blair at home alone with Matt's parents. It was her first (and definitely not last) experience away from mommy and daddy. We went out to dinner at a local sushi restaurant (since I have been banned from raw fish my whole pregnancy). I researched the effects of eating raw fish while breast feeding and decided it was fine. I also splurged and had a beer (some say it's good for milk production...who knew?) 

no that is not apple juice ;) and no you're not allowed to judge me

 We had a great time on our date and while I did think about B the whole time (mostly just wondering if she was being good or not) I was able to relax a bit and spend some time with just M. I found myself checking out all the other parents at the restaurant and thinking that they understood what we were going through. It's funny how now when past experiences are brought up now I instantly categorize them in my head as "before baby" or "after baby." For example I saw a picture from my brother's college graduation and I remember thinking "That was before baby. I got lots of sleep then." Life is just SO different now! It's incredible.

a very tired looking couple about to celebrate 5 years of marriage!

Afterwards we stopped by starbucks and ordered some much needed coffee. We joked around about how lame low key our anniversary was but then I reminded M that we went to Maui in January for an early 5 year celebration.We also seriously thought about not going to dinner at all but instead parking in a cul-de-sac and napping for two hours. This is our life now...

M was so sweet and went to the grocery store for me yesterday and came home with an anniversary gift. A card, flowers from our old home, fashion magazines, and peeps (a guilty pleasure for me). I was a total loser this year and couldn't even muster up a card. I told him that his present was in the other room napping in a cradle. Ha. 

i really did love my gifts! just what this mama needed!

cake pops that matt's mom made and chocolate covered strawberries brought over by my friend kristen.

Here's this weekend's awkward/awesome

AWESOME 

- having my bff carrie come to my house to take care of my roots and cut Matt's hair at 8pm! now that is friendship!

- having matt's parents babysit (and say they would do it again!)

- eating sushi and having a beer

- matt's dad coming over and helping with a ton of yardwork

AWKWARD

-having all of my chest out while carrie did my hair and I nursed B (I thought this may be able to go under the awesome category considering she was there for B's birth because it really wasn't that awkward. However I put it here because it may be awkward to others. ;))

Last Friday I wrote about my frustration with Blair's sleeping habits at night. I'll be sharing more on that tomorrow. The good news is that it's getting better. Everything is relative though! I had tons of great advice from some knowledgeable mommies out there. Thank you! I soak up everyone's suggestions like a sponge because you never know what may work!