Worldless Wednesday - The Easter Bunny Is Not My Friend

We Have a Crawler

Emily has been army crawling all over the place for about a month (maybe longer). But for about a week now she's been up on all fours, crawling (it's really called creeping) all over the place. And she's really close to being able to crawl up the step out of our living room. Once she figures that out, we are really in trouble. It's been a lot of fun watching her move all over the living room.

She has also figured out how to pull herself up on just about anything - couch, Brad's chair, TV stand and her stand-up toy (exersaucer). This child LOVES to stand up. She's beginning to "walk" along to couch and can move between the exersaucer and Brad's chair. I have a feeling she's going to be standing and walking all on her own soon. I got her some real shoes yesterday - I'm not sure if that was a good idea or not.

On another note - she slept until 7:45 this morning! It was so nice.

Wordless Wednesday - Swing

I Quit!

Yep, I quit my job. I quit the job I've had for 5 years. No more driving 20+ miles to work every day and 20+ miles home. No more sitting in traffic for 45 minutes - 1 hour on my way home. No more getting home at 6:15pm and only spending 90 minutes a day with my child. No more. I quit.

I turned in my 2 week (really 2.5 week) notice to my supervisor on Monday. My last day will be Wednesday, April 7. And I'll start my new, part-time job on Monday, April 12. My new job is 25 hours per week, much closer to home and beginning in September Emily will attend the daycare on site. I'm really excited for this change and I think it will be a good thing for the entire family.

As I look back over the last five years, a lot has happened in my life. I moved, met Brad, my dad passed away, my dog got hit by a car and had to be put down, got engaged, Brad lost his job, got married, moved to Brad's house, Brad got a new job, we put our house on the market and started making plans to move, we got an offer on our house, we decided not to move, bought a new car, Brad quit his job and found another one, got pregnant, Brad got a new truck, experienced some pretty serious family drama, Emily was born and now she's 7 months old. It's been a busy five years.

I started this job with the idea that it was just "until I find something better". But then I got settled in the job, start feeling comfortable, made some great friends and never found a good reason to leave. I finally have a good reason to leave - spending more time with my daughter. The timing has worked out perfectly with the new job and I can't think of a good reason not to make the change. How can I say "no" to an opportunity that will let me spend more time with this adorable little girl?

7 Months

Yes, I know, I'm behind on my 7 month post. What's new? I managed to get a picture of Emily that will do. It's not the best and it's hard to tell how much she's grow - but it will have to do for this month.



So what has Emily been up to?

• She's growing and growing
• Can pull herself up to a standing position
• Army crawls all over the place (is really, really close to being on all 4's)
• Loves her veggies (squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, sweet peas and carrots)
• REFUSES to eat fruit. Bananas, prunes and apple sauce have been big failures.
  
• Babbles like crazy
• Attempts to play with the cable box anytime she can
• Sat in highchair for the first time when we went out to dinner
  

7 Month Picture = FAIL

Emily wanted nothing, and I mean nothing, to do with picture taking this weekend. We tried for about 30 minutes to get her to sit still for 1 picture. Just 1 little picture in her "7 Month Onesie". And that did not happen. Every time I sat her down in the corner of her crib she would sit there and smile until I got the camera centered. The moment I pushed the button to take the picture she would move around and we had to start all over. I was laughing, she was laughing and sticking her tongue out at me. Finally, I just gave up and let her roll all over and practice crawling in her crib. It was a very amusing 30 minutes.

The picture on the top left is the best one I got. Her crib mattress will be lowered this weekend. She's going to be standing in her crib one morning if we aren't careful.

We'll try again tomorrow and see what happens.

Not Doing It Alone

One of my biggest faults is trying to do everything on my own. I don't like to ask others for help.

After Emily was born the need and desire to be "super mom" came on really, really strong. I tried and tried and tried to make it happen. I tried have a happy baby, clean house, to make dinner every night, to be a good wife, to make it look like I had everything in order, and to make it look like it was a breeze and I didn't need any help.

I failed. And failed miserably.

I was stressed and miserable. I was always frustrated with Brad (for no reason - he was just an easy target), frustrated the situation, frustrated with the lack of time and frustrated with myself for not being able to "do it all". That frustration just grew when I went back to work.

In the last month or so I've really been thinking about this fault and making an effort to give things up. I've been trying to step back and appreciate things and people around me. I've been trying to ask for help around the house, I've been trying to let the little things that get under my skin go. I've haven't conquered this fault (never will) but I'm making an effort.

And and know what - it's getting a little bit easier.

I'm a huge fan of Lisa Leondard. I love her blog and her jewlery. Lisa has such an awesome way of saying a lot with very few words. It's greatness. And her jewlery is just beautiful. Monday morning I read her blog and was reminded, once again, to let things go. That's it's not the end of the world if things don't get done. Below are the words from her post that day. If you want to see the pictures (she's also a great photographer) that go along with it, check out Lisa's post.

today i’m gonna let some stuff go
i’m going to give up on trying to have it all together.
i’m going to admit i’m not perfect.
i mean, is it really THAT big of a deal if i
get the kids to school late-don’t return every email today-or-eat too much chocolate?
will the world end if i don’t
bathe the kids-cook dinner-or-have all the laundry folded?
and instead of feeling guilty
i’m going to feel victorious
because letting go of perfection means
i’m spending more time with my kids
keeping my sanity (and not losing my temper)
and finding freedom to breathe easier

I hope her words remind you, like they reminded me, that it's not the to-do list or chores that really matter. This is what really matters

Enjoy your day!

Getting Better!

Our house is sick. All of us.

I got sick - sniffles, cough, congestion, sore throat - the week before Brad's marathon. He managed not to catch all the germs from me until this past Tuesday or Wednesday. He is finally starting to feel better, but now Emily has it and I'm starting to get it again.

Poor little Emily coughed so hard yesterday that she threw up. She is such a trooper though - when she's not coughing, she's playing and smiling right on through the snotty nose.

Today is stay at home and get better day. Maybe Monday will be better!

Bedtime

I love Emily's bedtime. Not because I'm putting her to bed - but because during that time nothing else in the world matters to me but her. It's just the two of us in her room, spending time together.

It only took about 4.5 - 5 months for us to get a good routine down. But now that we have the routine down - bedtime is easy and my favorite time of day with her. It all starts with bath time (which is probably Emily's favorite part of the day) and then a bottle. She usually nods off during her bottle and then wakes up when daddy gives her goodnight hugs. Then we head back to her room to read a book or two. Once the book is done I hold her up, she puts her head on my right shoulder, and we say our prayers. By the time I say Amen, Emily is asleep. So I just sit there and hold her a little bit longer.

I tried for a long time to get Emily to put herself to sleep in her crib - but I've given up on that. I like holding her and rocking her to sleep. I like that she falls asleep almost every night on my shoulder. And during those few, quiet moments everything is right in my world. During that time I don't care that I have a house to clean, bags to pack and errands to run. I don't care about anything else I "have" to do. All that matters is Emily and our family.

Now...if we can only figure out a good routine for naps!

He Did It!

He trained for a long time and on Saturday, Feb 27, Brad finished his first marathon. Emily and I had a lot of fun cheering for him Saturday morning. I had a little sweatshirt made for Emily that said "Run Daddy Run! Love Emily Kate". It was really cute. We got to see Brad at mile 9, 13, 20 and the finish line. Emily and I are really proud of him for finishing and working so hard. If you want more details, check out Brad's Blog. He's going to be recapping the whole race over the next few days.

Thanks to everyone who supported him along the way!