one half

The Miss turns 6 months tomorrow. A whole half a year has flown by with me by her side everyday and somehow, i feel as though i've missed it. Time seems to speed up when there's a little one in your life.

She's been such a blessing in our lives and though she certainly wasn't "in the plans" I'm so glad she made her appearance when she did. She's been a huge motivator in our little family to keep moving forward especially on those hard days when she seems ready with her arms open wide and a slobbery smile on her face.

One new thing which is so wonderful is she's finally taking a liking to her Papa. He gets big smiles now and she follows him around the room when you're holding her. I'm so glad she finally "came around" because let's be honest here, he's a pretty cool guy AND he has a motorcycle. Who wouldn't like him?

She loves to chew on the rubber spatula for some reason. I am hoping she's picked up the baking gene and i'll have a little helper in a few years.

Well let's see now. At 6 months she can:
Roll over though still in one direction
laugh really hard
LOVES solids except for meat. And often looks for more when the bowl is empty
She can sit unsupported for a few minutes
she loves to be sung to
she rests her head on my chest now when she's tired. It's the cutest thing.
She likes to reach out for other children around her
she also likes to talk in sacrament meeting
She's really comfortable with strangers. In fact, Pat Maynard took her for the whole Sunday school hour and she had a ball.
She's starting to clap
She puts everything into her mouth including fingers.
She's starting to roll around a lot in her crib and plays peek-a-boo with the bumpers
She's out growing her 3-6 month clothing pretty fast
She loves to be in the baby carrier
She also no longer uses the infant tub. She takes "big girl" baths in the sink.
She's working on standing. She stands pretty well with only one hand held onto.
She still sleeps with her giraffe. In fact, she doesn't nap well without him. Or really at all. She talks to him when she wakes up and has figured out the buttons on the back.

In short, i have an amazing kiddo. She's the best little girl i could have ever hoped for.

I'm going to do her 6 month photos soon. I just have to make her a tutu first. :)

One year

The Mister and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary on Sunday. It's been a whole darn year. I can't believe it! I wanted to share some of our milestones and maybe a few little known facts about our wedding day.

• We met February 6th 2010 at a mutual friend's house. Actually, it was the oldest daughter of my employer at the time who set us up.

• Our first date was to a Cardinal's hockey game in Plattsburgh NY on February 12th 2010. (our first kiss was also that night... :) )

• We were engaged on April 18th 2010 at my parent's house in Antrim NH. He kneeled down in my bedroom while i was helping him with his tie for church and proposed. It was magical. Though he'll tell you it wasn't THAT magical because i didn't cry. But he did. So at least there were tears and i was SO happy.
• I found out officially i was pregnant on July 10th 2010. Totally not planned but still, a major milestone and what an amazing surprise she's been!
• We were married September 18th 2010 in the Trudell's backyard in Keeseville NY. It was a small wedding with mostly family and it was a little chilly to have an outdoors wedding but the night was beautiful.
  
• We moved out of my parent's house January 8th 2011 into our very first apartment and awaited the arrival of our little bundle of joy. It wasn't until we moved into that little apartment that we started to feel like we had made it. We were a little family.
  

Now onto the fun facts about our wedding!

• The whole thing (except my dress) was less that $1600. (my mom is super proud of this one)

• We booked our justice of the peace with a week to spare.

• One of the groomsmen's vehicles broke down on the way to the wedding and he actually walked about 1/4 mile to get to the wedding and stuck it out until halfway through the reception before taking care of it. What an amazing friend he is!
• Our wedding pictures were taken in the same orchard as our engagement pictures were.
  
• All of Jason's Dad's siblings made it to the wedding except for one and it was the first time they had all been together in years.
  
• The morning i bought my wedding dress was also the morning we got our bridesmaid dresses (except for Becky). I threw up on the way there because morning sickness was still my enemy.
  
• It was the first time i had seen my dad cry in years and to be honest, i wouldn't have lost it if he hadn't. :)
  
• My dad also picked out the song he and I danced to. and my 13 year old cousin was the one to find our wedding song. It's this song.

Now here are some fun pictures of us.

This was the very first picture Jason saw of me before we had even met.

Our very first picture together. This was after two weeks of dating. We were in Lake Placid NY.

Our favorite engagement picture.

Ta-da! We're married.

I of course, had to tell him i'd still give him a run for his money even when we were married. ;)

Here we are one year later and plus one and still just as happy.

I love that man so much and i'm so glad he picked me. Here's to many more years together!

It's been a while

It's closing in on almost a month since i've last posted and it's time.

Things haven't changed much around here. Noella is still the moody, drooling little bundle she's always been and Mister is still wonderful.

I suppose the newest thing is that i'm going back to college. This time it's exclusively online so i don't have to worry about the extra gas or finding sitters in time for my classes. It's going to be totally different but i'm up for it. It just means i have to be more of an "adult" in holding myself responsible to make time for schoolwork every day. It shouldn't be hard. After all, i do somehow find time for facebook, email and blogging. Oh and of course the occasional window shopping trip online at all the cute things i'd like for my home one day.

I've also come to the realization that i want another baby. Yes, after only 6 months of my first one, i have the desire to go through it all again for a second one. This doesn't mean i'm announcing anything and it certainly doesn't mean we are "trying". Just that i've verbalized it. It's probably going to crop up now and then until it actually happens and then i'm going to lament it on days when there aren't enough hands for both of them and the crying never stops. I suppose i just have a vision of three wee ones fairly close in age being the best of friends and cheering each other on. I know Noella isn't lonely. It's hard for her to be since she's pretty much always got someone with her. I just am excited for the time to come when she has a tiny one to keep her company too.

I've actually met and spoken with our neighbors upstairs and though their little girl is full of energy and makes things in my apartment shake, she and her mom are lovely. Her name is Carly and she's so beautiful and wicked smart. Her mom Jami even dug up some old pants that Carly had when she was little to supplement our ever changing wardrobe needs. (the weather has been wacky to say the least) I'm very glad to have met them. It's nice to have another stay at home mom in the building. I was feeling particularly young when i realized the only people not working during the day were an older fellow upstairs and a disabled woman on the ground floor.

Fall is in the air! Not only has it been raining like crazy which is a sure sign on Autumn around here but the leaves are starting to change. Oh how i adore those purples, reds, oranges and yellows! Frankly, i think it's the only reason i stay in New England. I could care less about the snow and someone else can have the muggy summer weather but Fall! Oh Fall! It's sweater weather. Anyone who knows me knows i have a lovely collection of sweaters in my closet just waiting for the perfect time to take them out. I love how crisp the air gets and the frost on the grass in the mornings. I love that it's cool enough to bake again! (Jason nearly skinned me the times i had the itch to bake this summer since it was usually on the hottest days for some reason) At any rate, clearly, i'm excited.

And because I too, have taken the pledge that no post can be a naked post, here are a few pictures of the 'Nut.

I'm never going to....

I have put that phrase at the beginning of lots of sentences in my life. Here are a few of my own rules I've broken.

I'm never going to be the type of mom to constantly wear a pony tail, cut off shorts and generic t-shirts. I'm going to have PRIDE in my appearance even as a mom.
FAIL.
This summer, it's all I've lived in. I also don't believe in "proper" bras anymore. Sports bras are it for me at the moment.

I'm never going to be the type of mom to always put bows in my little girl's hair.
FAIL.
After having to correct one too many people of her gender when she wasn't totally draped in pink as a newborn, i don't generally let her leave the house without a headband.

I'm never going to be the type of wife to always cook a hot meal for my hubby. Some times I'm going to take a night off.
FAIL.
While during my pregnancy, this may have been the case as we ordered out when i wasn't up to it, since having moved i cook almost every night and nights i don't, Jason does.

I'm never going to talk "baby talk" to my kids. They should be taught proper speech from the beginning.
FAIL.
I melt every time Noella talks. So i mimic her and sometimes don't pronounce my R's when speaking to her.

I'm never going to forget to take "me" time as a mom.
FAIL.
"Me" time consists of escaping to the laundromat once a week or taking a late night shower. I haven't gotten out of the house to do anything in a while. I'm a homebody. Which is another thing I've become and swore never to do.

The point of this post is that in life, we may say "I'm NEVER going to..." but circumstances and people change. I guess what I'm saying is, never say never. Things rarely go as planned and staying open brings better things into your life. It can mean the difference between being stuck in a rut and moving on. And I'm glad to say, I'm moving on in life. I'm making new choices and taking time on building myself as a wife and mother. I'm trying to keep the word never out of my vocabulary at the moment and staying open to new opportunities. :)

Holy 5 Months Batman!

That's right! My own little peanut (or simply the "Nut" as we call her these days) is five whole months old today. And boy has it gone by fast. Well, maybe not the last month. But still. Faster than i ever remember 5 months going.

Now she can:
Roll over
sit tripod style
blow raspberries
do that thing that kids do when they go "ahhhhhhh" and tap their mouths repeatedly with their hands. (it's a favorite actually)
soothe herself to sleep sometimes
Laughs. Oh how we love to hear her laugh!
She's starting to take steps when we hold her hands up. She can "walk" across the living room.

Recently however, the little one who loved to eat peaches and pears, applesauce and oatmeal has refused solids. In fact, she gags whenever i try. I'm going to chalk it up to the fact that i may have started her a bit early and now she's rebelling against my excitement of starting solids. So I've thrown in the towel for the time being and will try again next week. Say la vie.

And i have to admit something. It's going to sound awful. But it's true. I love the fact that I am the center of this little one's world sometimes. No matter how focused she is on something, how determined she is to get something into her mouth or who is holding her, if she hears my voice, she immediately starts looking for me. She tracks me when i walk passed her. If she's fussing in her crib and hears my voice she chills out for a moment. And my all time favorite mommy moments are when I'm starting her sleepy time routine and she opens her mouth, gives me a "kiss" and starts humming with me. It's slimy, makes my skin feel weird after the drool dries and most of the time also comes with a little bit of au d'spit-up but it's sweet.

This is the first picture I have of just she and I since she was only 2 months old. Credit goes to my wonderful Mama. I'm so excited for next month. We just might have a half birthday for her. :)

Red in the face

Noella will grunt like this until she is red in the face and gets the hiccups. We have no idea why. Though sometimes we wonder if she's struggling to fill her pants....

Swimming, coupons and teeth

The Miss has become a water bug.

Gammy bought her this wonderful contraption and she's taken a liking to it. It's the only time she can move totally independent from someone else and boy is she a fan! She kicks up a storm and splashes around. I'm so glad she loves to swim because we do too.

I've started coupon clipping. It's fun. and time consuming. But it takes up the time i would otherwise use for tv watching or mindless eating or a combination of the two so i feel productive. So far, we've only couponed once and only saved $2.50 but ya gotta start somewhere! I have a pile of coupons on my desk waiting to be cut out and categorized for our stock up trip to Price Chopper. They double all coupons up to $.99 so i'm stoked.

Other news on the Miss. She's cutting teeth. and she's miserable. At least, this is our theory. She's putting everything into her mouth, drooling, cranky and eating less than usual. With her eating less than usual, she's barely getting 20oz a day most of the time when she should be close to 32oz. But it's hard to force her to eat when she won't take the bottle. We'll get through it though. Eventually, you always get through it.