Blanket to Blanket

Michael always takes the cutest self portraits of himself and Zoey, so I thought I'd give it a try!

FAIL! Bahaha, oh well... 

 This girl and her diaper bag dispenser! 

Must be the fact that the bags are scented? And that they're so much fun to scratch at?? Hmm.

For most of the day, I trail behind Zoey as she travels around the house, and today I was able to capture her blanket-hopping voyage across the kitchen floor. Please, enjoy...

She was snuggling with this blanket and then picked it up to travel on...

But then, she spotted something in the distance...

And ditched her poor pink blankie!

What could she have seen?

Another blankie! Her Lovie, to be exact!

Aww, so happy to be reunited!

Overcome with joy...

So much so, she had to lie down again! LOL

This afternoon my little munchkin stood up all by herself! She didn't hold onto, or push off of, anything to do so. She went straight from hands and knees, to a squat, to standing! I am literally shaking in my boots! Things are about to get crazy once she starts taking steps!

Using a "still" moment to empty out the entire contents of "her" bottom drawer. I gave up trying to stop her long ago!

Mmm, someone is a fan of shredded chicken. 

For this batch of chicken, I shredded it and then blended it. When I thaw one for her to eat, I can mix it with a puree (fruit or veggie), or just add a little water.

The Gift of Sleep

This morning, Zoey gave me the wonderful gift of sleeping in until 9 AM! Usually when she sleeps that late, I guilt myself into still getting up at 7 when my alarm goes off. Today however, I was feeling under the weather when I woke up, so I took a few ibuprofen, downed a large glass of water and went right back to sleep! It was glorious! And I woke up feeling much better!

It was a good thing Zoey got so much extra sleep this morning because her afternoon nap was shorter than short! I could tell that her mouth was bothering her (likely keeping her awake), so I gave her a sandwich bag filled with a handful of frozen vegetables. I was happy to see her get some relief as she gnawed on the cold veggies until they formed a warn mush. Poor girl! Her top teeth coming in is already a way different experience than when the bottom ones emerged.

Sprawled out with her Lovie :)

(She's been "sprawling" a lot lately. She likes to lie on her side and then fling her leg back)

Two of her favorite things: the diaper bag dispenser and a power cord (bonus for the cord being plugged in!)

Throwing one of her signature tensed-body tantrums after I told her "no" and moved her away from the outlet.

 "Mean ol' momma, won't let me risk getting electrocuted!"

Unfortunately, after dinner, Michael had to work on a few projects he brought home. But, we both agreed that being super busy at work is much better than having nothing to do. Plus, whenever you do a little work at home, you get reward yourself with extra ice cream afterwards! :)

Make Way...

Thanks to my hubby rescuing my diaper bag/car keys from my car last night, we were able to get out of the house today. We headed out to my mom's and then all three of us went to Macy's. For both my birthday and Christmas, my dad gave me Macy's gift cards, so I've been on the hunt for a new pair of riding boots ever since. 

Unfortunately, even with tons of styles on sale (they're already trying to make way for Spring and Summer sandals!?), I came up empty handed. Zoey, on the other hand, had a very fulfilling shopping experience. Not only did her granny help her try on a shoe or two, but she exercised her new box-pushing passion up and down the aisles! 

Taking a little rest.

And she's off again!

As always, she had the attention of sales associates and customers alike. I mean, come on, could you really resist stopping to check out that little cruiser? LOL

Locked Out

This girl and her soft blankies! I swear...

Doesn't matter where she is...

When she comes across one, it's a must that she stop and lay on it!

"Yes, Silly Girl! I'm taking pictures of you, snuggling a blanket, on the kitchen floor!"

Another must? When she comes across the waterproof camera, she HAS to have it! Which is okay for now, because it's also shockproof, so it's no biggie when she drops it.

I wonder if her being drawn to the camera means anything? Future photographer maybe??

Today we were supposed to go out and visit my mom, but our plans came to a screeching halt when I couldn't find my keys. We were finally ready to leave the house and I was looking everywhere for them. If they're not on the counter, they're usually in the diaper bag. Once I remembered that, I was excited to go fetch them. Once I couldn't find the diaper bag, my heart sank as I got a visual of it sitting on the floor of the backseat of my car. As I scooped up Zoey and headed out to the car, I was counting on Michael's occasional forgetfulness and hoped that he'd forgotten to lock it after yesterday's trip to the store. Nope, it was indeed locked. I stood there and gazed at the bag for a few seconds, before going inside to call my mom and tell her the bad news. 

It was pretty dreary out today, but I considered taking Zoey for a walk down the street, just to get out of the house (and make the fact that I'd actually put on nice clothes, worth it). Then I slowly realized that my umbrella, the stroller, and even the Ergo carrier, were all in the trunk of my locked car! Boo! At that point, I took off my outfit (which I fully intent to wear tomorrow!), put on comfy clothes , and settled in for the rest of the day.

Zoey's new thing is to push this box around the house!

Once she gets going (she can get up to a little baby trot sometimes), there's no stopping her! 

So fun to watch :)

Still No Paint

After breakfast, we jumped right back into cleaning and then took a fun family trip to Lowes. We needed new light bulbs (I swear we have about 8 different types between all of the fixtures in this house!), a corner shelf for Zoey's room, and an outdoor timer for the heat lamp in the dog house. I also wanted to look at paint colors for the hallway, but by the time we'd picked everything else out, I didn't have the brain power for it. Picking a paint color is such a stressful job! You are making a serious commitment (if you're like my husband, and once it's on the walls, you refuse to repaint if your wife changes her mind!). I keep telling myself that I'm going to sit down and look at designer websites and get really great, expert advice as for what the perfect color to compliment our blue walls is. Somehow, though, I can never find the time. Whenever I do sit down in front of my computer, I feel like it's always to either quickly check emails, try to crank out a blog post, or indulge in a little mindless Facebooking. 

I do plan to stick to my goal of painting before the last week of March though. The wall needs to be presentable for Zoey's birthday party and all of the guests, who won't even give it a second thought once they ditch their coats and head towards the food! Ok, ok. Truth's out. I want it painted, for me! I care! I want it to look presentable, so sue me!

Quite the face! I guess pineapple will do that to ya!

The way she holds the Fresh Food Feeder, explains why there are random sticky spots all over my kitchen floor! Her sticky hands, and all of the times she drops the feeder, make for quite a mess.

Baby In The Box

Today we finally made it to "Clean Out the Office" on our to-do list, and boy was it a chore! We had boxes and boxes of stuff (mostly mine) that had moved with us from our first apartment, to our townhouse and now to this house. As we went through everything, we couldn't help but get wrapped up in old photos, yearbooks, diaries and souvenirs. We told stories about our lives before we knew each other, and reminisced about trips and occasions we had experienced together. 

At some point during our impromptu story time, Zoey got a little more than she bargained for as she snooped around an empty box. One moment she was leaning over the edge, and the next, she was head-down in the box, legs flailing, begging to be rescued! Oops! 

After looking around and realizing that we'd made a bigger mess than we'd started with, we refocused and ultimately filled 5 big garbage bags with "junk" that needed to go. We also got rid of countless empty boxes, the stash of misprinted wedding invitations that I held onto for some reason and a ton of unidentifiable electronics cords! 

Eventually it was time to stop and get ready for church, so we aren't finished, but we made some serious progress! You can actually see the floor, the desk is on it's way to being cleared off and ready for our computers, and we are now ready to purchase some storage bins. Can't wait to have everything in neat, organized bins, instead of torn cardboard boxes.

Waiting to leave for church

Trying to sneak around to the dog bed

The following pictures were taken after mass had ended, but Zoey was quite active during mass as well! Fortunately, she doesn't ever really get loud. If she does, it's towards the end, when everyone could use a little wake up call anyway ;)

Bouncin' up and down

"Hmm, what's under here?"

Attracting all kinds of attention

Before leaving the church, Michael and I tried to get in line to speak with Father so we could introduce ourselves and proudly announce that we are now officially members of St. Andrew's parish (woohoo!). I say "tried" because on our way, we were ambushed (sounds dramatic, but it's true) by a parishioner who wanted to know if we were interested in joining any of the small groups centered around couples and families. At one point, as the woman was speaking, I managed to make eye contact with Father, during which he gave a slight nod and then disappeared behind a closed door. After telling the woman that I'd think about the mothers group, and agreeing to take a registration form, we were almost out the door before we got stopped by another woman! And then another! All three women were very kind, but in their excitement to welcome us to the church and fawn over Zoey, they failed to pick up on the fact that she was getting restless and Michael and I were eager to get her home. Oh well. It was nice meeting some of the people we will likely be seeing every Saturday for many years, and hopefully we'll be quick enough to meet Father next weekend. 

Pom Pom Socks

Today was a definite "TGIF" kind of Friday! I had things that I wanted/needed to get done, but Zoey was determined to have me hold her, ALL DAY! And when I wasn't holding her, I was following her around, making sure she was staying out of the dog water and/or the garbage can (her newest obsession...).

"Aww, you're stuck outside? That's too bad...More dog water for me!"

"Where'd she go? Was it something I said??"

"Hi Mom! Just playing with the garbage can, even though you told me not to and I know I'm not supposed to!" 

Somehow I managed to make some apple-pear-blueberry sauce and get it into my cute new storage containers :)

(These are the first of two sets of food containers that I got for Christmas. Can't wait to try out the other brand!)

One thing that brought on a much needed laugh was when I felt Zoey playing with my sock, but I wasn't sure why she was so fascinated. When I looked down, I was reminded that I was wearing my oh-so-stylish, cheetah pom pom socks!

Got these babies from the bowling alley the time I forgot to bring a pair of my own socks. I think they were $2, but I'd say it was worth it; I didn't get athlete's foot from a well worn bowling shoe AND I chuckle every time I catch myself wearing them around the house! Score!

After Zoey's bath, I applied her new Aveeno baby lotion and tried to remember the massage techniques I was shown at KinderMusik. As I massaged her legs and secured a new diaper, I discovered that she now has some diaper rash. Ugh, seriously?! After I nursed her, I held her tight and rocked her for a while longer after she fell asleep. Today was rough, but looking at her sleeping peacefully, and knowing that there's a glass of wine waiting for me downstairs, makes everything right again.

Something else to brighten a dull day? Getting a phone call from your mom, saying that your commercial has been upload to Youtube. Enjoy :)

The Kitchen Floor

The following conversation took place this evening as Michael was playing with Zoey, and I was distracted by his footwear:

Me: (shaking my head) "Why are your socks like that?!"
Michael: (looking down at his mismatched socks) "...Who matches up my socks??"
Me: "First of all, I didn't do that! And secondly, you still put them on your feet!!"

Sheesh! I know he wakes up early, and keeps the room dark so he doesn't wake me, but there is really no excuse for carrying on to work with mismatched socks! And trying to blame me? Oh, no, I don't think so honey! LOL

Picking up carrots

After I put Zoey to bed, I stood in my kitchen and was overwhelmed by all of the stuff on the floor. I decided to jot everything down, and am still shocked by how long the list actually is!

On my kitchen floor, at this moment, there is:

• A brush
• A chip clip
• A piece of Tupperware 
• A toy telephone
• A remote control car remote
• A wine bottle cover
• An insulated lunch bag
• A plastic ladle 
• An empty Amazon package box
• An ice cube tray
• An unused dog kennel
• And the ever-present assortment of crumbs!

All of these (except for the crumbs and the dog kennel) have been put on the floor, by either me or Zoey, to help keep her occupied/entertained while she's in the kitchen with me. An obstacle course of random objects; there is a surprise around each corner of the kitchen island! And even with all of these things at her disposal, my sweet little trouble maker still constantly tries to climb into the dishwasher while I'm loading it, or make a beeline for the hot oven, just as I'm trying to open it! *sigh*

I have to give a quick shout out to my Aunt Angie for getting us a brand new, wonderfully fancy, video baby monitor! It came through her work as a sample, and she was kind enough to pass it on to us (our old one (also a gift) has been on the fritz for a while now). We all know how attached I am to my video monitor and being able to see Zoey, and I was totally freaked when ours started to act up. We would never have been able to afford a new video monitor (they are RIDICULOUSLY expensive), so this is a huge blessing, and major relief for this panicky first-time mommy! A million thanks! :)

Leave My Nose Alone

So, our Nosefrida has arrived and it works just as well as everyone who reviewed it said it does! The only problem? Just like the bulb syringe, Zoey doesn't want it anywhere near her nose! In an effort to familiarize her with it, I playfully tapped it on her chin, forehead and cheeks. Then I tapped it on her nose and she quickly batted it away. After a few minutes of failing to get her comfortable, I just held her face still and went for it! The rewarding sight (and sound) of the snot leaving her nose and entering the tube, was made less enjoyable by the sight and sound of her crying. Boo, Sickness! Be gone! :(

She doesn't even want the box near her! 

Other than all of the congestion, Zoey really is doing much better. With that said, I don't know what was the main cause of the meltdown she had this afternoon, but fortunately, it resulted in a nap...for both of us. After she was calm and fed, she allowed me to snuggle next to her on our bed. It wasn't long before she was asleep, and I quickly followed suit. We woke up shortly after Michael got home, and the evening actually ended on a positive note. 

Can't quite figure out why the spatula won't come out. 

She worked on it for a good little while; leaving and then coming back to it :)

Bath night is usually always a good night!

Baby Coolio! 

Or is it Baby Alien?

So much hair= so much fun!

Potty Talk

Welp, I failed to get a picture of Zoey today. So instead, you get a picture of me...on the potty!

Only 84.99?! And it has a dual flush!

Zoey and I went out to my mom's to help her do some shopping and when we got to Costco, I found an awesome toilet, at a pretty awesome price (I'm guessing. I have no idea how much toilets usually cost...). Sadly, our downstairs toilet has been out of commission ever since Michael flushed it and water came spraying out of the top of it! So random, and so NOT funny! OK, it's kind of funny, but having something else in the house that needs to be fixed is really the last thing we need right now. Hopefully my Costco find will save us a few bucks if we end up getting it. You can usually count on Costco for a legit product; no need to flush your money away somewhere else! Hehe, I crack myself up ;)

Give Me A Minute

Today was definitely one of Zoey's worst days since she's been sick! Not necessarily sick wise, but clingy-fussy wise, for sure. Actually, sick wise, I think we've finally turned a corner. She didn't cough at all in her sleep last night and her appetite (for solids) is making it's way back. Her cough is still wet, but she's got a lot less snot goin' on! Yippee! 

I'm 100% sure that the reason she seemed so clingy and fussy today, was because I actually had something that I needed to get done. I got an email from my agency asking if I could take a few quick pictures of myself and email them over asap, so they could be send to the people over at Adidas. Because Adidas wasn't holding a casting in Seattle, they needed to see recent pictures of everyone they were interested in, but couldn't meet in person.

In the past, taking pictures of myself has been a snap, using the self timer on my camera. Today, however, that was not the case! Zoey wouldn't let me put her down, take two steps, or even look in the other direction, without screaming! All I needed to do was change into some workout clothes, set up the camera, pose for 10 seconds and send off the pics. What would normally take me 10 to 15 minutes, ended up taking almost 2 hours! I contemplated just sitting her in the playpen and letting her scream, but I could hardly stand it, let alone focus on flashing a half smile and striking the appropriate pose. So, with her at my feet, I ended up taking pictures of myself in the mirror, using my cell phone... I managed to upload and send them, but I'm not feeling good about them at all. I told my booking agent to let me know if she needed better ones, and that I'd be able to try again about an hour later (assuming Zoey went down for a nap). She said they were "perfect" (ha! I hate it when people exaggerate for no reason), so we'll see...

Miss Mischief, caught with her paws on a dog toy!

Baptism Brunch

This morning was Zoey's cousin Ryan's baptism. Initially, I wasn't sure if I wanted to take Zoey, but ultimately decided to give it a shot. I notified Mike's sister about her cold ahead of time and she said she didn't mind if we still brought her. 

I'm glad we ended up going; the baptism was really nice and we enjoyed a fantastic brunch afterwards. My favorite dish was a southwestern quiche that my SIL made. The best, and most unexpected, thing about it: it had a cornbread crust! Yum!

As Zoey played with some of her cousins' toys, I tried to keep her, and the toys she had, separated from the other kids, in an effort to limit the spread of any germs. I was doing a pretty good job, until she got a hold of Ryan's walker. I don't remember if someone brought it to her attention, or if she crawled over to it on her own, but before we knew it, she was up and walking with it! We couldn't believe it. She absolutely loved the new found freedom and now it looks like we know what our next toy purchase will be!

Although she was a bit uncomfortable, overall, Zoey did a great job this morning. We actually stayed out a lot longer than I had planned; I could tell she was enjoying being in the presence of other people again (we skipped library story time and swimming this week). I just hope this sickness is on it's way OUT of our house (I now have a sore throat. Boo!)

Wrapped my baby up to carry her in from the car :)

I don't get to hold her like this as often as I used to.

Nothing better than holding her close :)

Don't Go

Zoey woke up extremely early this morning and just moments into her attempt to nurse, it was clear that she needed some assistance. Once again, I steamed up the bathroom and we sat in the dark, with the door cracked just enough to let in a tiny stream of light. As we rocked, she slowly drifted back to sleep, occasionally letting out the tiniest, sweetest little whimpers I've ever heard. 

By 6:30, everyone was out of bed as Michael prepared to leave for a hike with his cousin and friend. As he peeked his head into the bathroom to say good-bye, I, not trilled with his choice to leave, gave him an admittedly cold send off. I knew yesterday that he was going to be leaving this morning, but I had no way of knowing that I'd be up so early with our sick child. A little part of me hoped that the sight of us in the dark bathroom, me fighting to keep my eyes open, would cause him to change his mind about leaving us...but he didn't seem the least bit phased...

Unfortunately for him, the rest of the time spent rocking Zoey, was also spent fine tuning my argument and all of the things I wanted to tell him when he got home (i.e. "Why is it just assumed that I'm the only one who can sweat it out with Zoey at 5:30 in the morning. She's YOUR daughter TOO!"). Grrr...

And the fact that Zoey hasn't been having tantrums lately, but rather full on EXPLOSIONS, did not help the situation at all. She has also taken to wiping her snotty nose on my shoulder each time she turns to avoid the tissue I'm trying to wipe it with! Oh yes, I was one irritated momma!

Snuggled in the swing for a second morning nap :)

After refusing to eat her applesauce and blueberries, but agreeing to drink a little bit of water, Zoey fell asleep again, giving me time to take a quick shower. By about 3:30, both Michael and my mom were at the house. Once she woke up, Zoey was able to enjoy a short visit with her granny, who was sent straight to the couch to rest after coming from a hair appointment. Still not fully recovered, my mom has been bending the rules while I've been occupied here at home! Tisk, tisk ;)

Michael did come home with some pretty cool shots from the mountain.

Pajama Day

My poor baby girl tossed and coughed through another night and then woke up at a very uncharacteristic 6:30 AM. 

Today was filled with coughs, sneezes, spit up, snot, lots of nursing and a few much needed naps. We sat in the steamy bathroom again; that's been helping her, for a little while at least. The battles over the bulb syringe are still being fought, and lost by both sides. There's no way to feel like a winner when it's your actions that result in your baby screaming at the top of her lungs, just begging for you to stop and cuddle her instead. Yes, she breaths a little easier, but knowing that you'll have to go through it all over again in an hour, makes your heart ache. 

We declared today "Pajama Day", and didn't give changing into real clothes another thought!

She's such a trooper!

Caught trying to crawl into the dog bed!

Who says the mischief stops just because you're sick?

I'm so glad today's Friday! I am exhausted and looking forward to having Michael home these next two days!