Is that a bouquet growing out of your head?

I did another craft last night...and I really like how it turned out! I didn't at first because its not the best quality headband I've ever made, but It looked so cute on her I changed my mind. I've been having a great weekend with Liv...I really miss her during the week. We are used to spending all day/everday together. So its an adjustment, and I am taking advantage of the weekend :) Here are some photos of Liv with her new headband and a little video of Liv in her new fav toy (we call it her walk-around), she walks in circles and circles and talks and talks. Its hilarious. Enjoy!



Thinking about it...this is misleading bc it looks like she could actually take off, but she's wobbly...very.
2 teeth!!! They finally made their appearance

she said what?!!!!

Before I tell my story, I need to say that Liv did great at daycare today! She cried when I left, but Bonnie said she had stopped by the time I pulled out of the driveway. I think she may even have fun at daycare :)! That makes me happy...I felt guilty at first, but god it helps to know she is enjoying herself.

Now, onto my story. Kids today are bad...way worse than I was. I think every year it gets worse. Not all of them are bad, but lets just say there are a lot more bad kids now than there were when I was in elementary school. I take my class to lunch and make sure they are behaving themselves, open stuff that they can't, make sure they wipe off their faces, etc...well a parapro from another class had to go check on a student in the bathroom so she asked me to watch over her class. During this time, one girl was crying because another girl was telling the boy next to her to "check her out". To which I stuttered, "ummm is this appropriate talk for school?". Not too bad, but wait for it...then a little girl walks up to me and says "____ said that I suck boy pee pee"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was stunned into silence. What 7/8 year old even knows to say that???! I said "ok......" and scurried over to get their parapro to deal with it because there was no way I was discussing boy's pee pees with them.

All I can say is, Liv will not be mentioning the words suck, boy, and pee pee in the same sentence until she's too old to use the word pee pee.

there's always time to put on a tutu

I started my new job today!! It went pretty well too...I have no complaints, besides the student that told me he didnt have to listen to me, whipped a paper off his desk and took off running down the hall. Oh, and the boy that bit (yes bit) the girl in my class on the playground. Other than that the day ran smoothly :). Of course with my first day of work comes the first day of daycare for Liv. My mama's girl had a rough morning to say the least. She cried for the first 30 to 45 minutes she was there. Bonnie (my daycare provider), said she was almost ready to call me at work because Liv was so upset. I guess every time a new child came in for the day Liv just started crying all over again...the girl doesn't like change, what can I say she's a creature of habit. The habit of having her mom around 24/7. Bonnie did say that after she threw her tantrum she was way better and even had fun...and took 2 naps for her, yay Liv! She was pretty happy to see me when I got there and we came home, cuddled, played and listened to some elmo.

So, yeah I had a busy day...but I think I make my mornings easy because I get all of liv's bottles, food, diaper bag, and essentials ready the night before. Now if the little gremlin would sleep through the night my day would be perfect :).

I have some pictures of Liv from over the weekend in a tutu that her Great Grandma Doreen sent her. I've always been a little so-so about tutu's, but I may have been converted after seeing Liv in this one.

Oh, and Carolyn over at Our Family Photo Blog nominated me for the beautiful blogger award, but since I already did a post with it and I don't have 7 more interesting things about myself...I thought I would just thank her and tell you to go check out her blog because she has got the cutest daughters ever, with the cutest names (Portia and Addie).




loves this phone...it has a rattle in it and she insists on chewing on it constantly

Disclaimer

Private Practice needs to run a disclaimer before it airs that says "If you're a mom...do not watch this. You will cry and cry and cry". Every week they find a new way to make me cry. I have to have tissues on hand to watch this show. I'm still addicted. Apparently I like crying :).

so many new things

This week has been full of newbies. Liv's tooth has finally cut through...I don't think I could hold her mouth open enough to take a picture because it juuuust broke the skin. I can see it, but you can definitley feel it. The teething tablets that I finally got my hands on seem to be helping too. Something else Liv has started to do is to walk in her walker. We borrowed one awhile ago but didn't think Liv was ready. A few nights ago I gave Liv a teething biscuit and she was walking backwards in it, but today she finally got it. By "got it" I mean I bribed her with a frozen peach. She was walking forward in it though! It was amazing and I caught it on camera.

I also went to look at a daycare today, because ::drumroll please::, I start working on Monday!! Full-time! Its the exact same job I had when I was pregnant. The daycare I originally wanted to put Liv in was full and had a waiting list. So today I went to look at a small daycare. My mom knows the woman that runs it and she is very nice. It was very clean and it seemed like she's laid back but also tries to do a lot of fun stuff with the kids. Right now she has a lot of younger children, like 2-3 yr old range and one 3 month old. She isn't positive that she can take Liv on and still give all the kids enough attention so its going to be on a trial basis. Hopefully it goes well and Liv behaves her little self next week. She will be going for 4 days next week and then only 2 days a week when my grandma is back in town.

Ooooh, also...Liv got a new carseat from her dad! She had reached the weight limit on her infant carseat :) I thought she'd look tiny in her big girl carseat, oh no...she fits in it perfectly. The only downfall is that the carseat stays in the car and I am driving a two-door so I have the carseat on the passenger side. I crawl through the driver's side with Liv and strap her in. I think I'll get used to it, but as of now I am usually breaking into a sweat by the time I wrestle her back there.

Trying to get her puffs

chew chew chew

trying to use her new tooth for her puffs

How could she not be able to walk with those legs :)! (and yes that is a christmas towel)

Trying out the new carseat in the livingroom

Perfect fit

teething terror

I've been going back and forth about whether Liv has been teething or not, because how do you really know??? Well there is no denying it now. I can actually see the little teeth, two of them to be exact, both on the bottom. Liv has been so pitiful...she is ornery, runny nosed, and only wants her mom. So we have been doing a lot of cuddling. It made for a long day and i'm hoping it doesn't make for a long night. I have been alternating baby tylenol and motrin and also have baby orajel. I tried buying teething tablets...I was at walmart and there was one little box left, picked it up and it felt light, so I opened it and of course someone had stolen the teething tablets! So, I haven't tried those. I also have been feeding liv frozen fruit in those feeder thingys (the ones with the mesh). Anybody have anything they swear by for teething??? I would love some ideas. I have no pictures for this post because it would have been full of tears, snot, and drool :).

Filling my time

With my days of not working coming to a close, I've been doing a few things I keep saying I'm going to do but never got around to it. I've mentioned the crafts I've been doing before and I've still been working on those. I also finally brought Liv outside in her snowsuit. It was freezing and we didn't last long, but I got a few pictures and at least we did it. I documented all of this with photos so here we go...

new headband!! I learned how to make the bow here....it was so easy!
Newbib too, spoiled baby :)...I got the pattern for the bib here

The new bib is not only cute, but tasty too

Enjoying the freezing outdoors. It was SO bright and most of my pictures looked like this. Notice the new hat too! I cannot take credit at all for this hat, unfortunately. My mom is the crochet whiz...and I'm a failure, but I'll try again.

Is it summer yet?

The pictures I took today look like Liv is just itching to get outside. I would feel the same way if I were her. I don't think she would like it if I brought her out and stuck her in the snow though...maybe I'll throw her snowsuit on and see what happens:).

We had a busy week, well I did and Liv spent two days at grammy's while I worked. I survived my "single mom" week. At least now I know its possible. If my mom weren't as helpful as she is, I could survive just fine. Its a lot harder, but manageable. Liv and I had a lot of fun this week by ourselves. She started blowing raspberries with her tongue and her laugh has been a little easier to coax out of her. This may seem silly, but she also started riding in the shopping cart like a big girl. Its so cute...she smiles and talks to all the strangers passing. She's such a little ham.

Aaaaaand I might have some good news soon on the job front. I will update the blog when I know for sure :).

Here is a little video of Liv giggling at the little bunny's feet "kicking" her in the face :)

beautiful blogger

I was nominated for a blog reward! Wooo, Thank you Emily! Emily nominated me for a 'beautiful blogger award'. It was a very nice surprise. In fact, it kind of made my day :). Emily is awesome and if you haven't seent her blog, last train to pooksville, what is wrong with you??! Emily is a first time mom and a very honest and relatable writer. She has a beautiful family and the most gorgeous and talented baby, Poppy. I found her blog months and months ago and have been a dedicated follower since. I'm almost positive once you check it out, you will be too. Did I mention that Emily is crafty? Not just hot-glue and glitter. She makes some pretty awesome baby clothes, bibs, etc...I'm still waiting for her to tell us that she has her etsy shop up and running. I will be buying Liv a pair of sweater pants...possibly a hat to match :). Emily is super nice and welcoming to new bloggers, so go check out her site!

With this award I'm supposed to do the following:
1. Thank the person who nominated me for the award.

2. Copy the award & place it on my blog.

3. Link the person who nominated me for this award.

4. Share 7 interesting things about myself.

5. Nominate 7 other beautiful bloggers.

So, 7 interesting things about myself...I will try not to run out of ideas before I hit 7.

- I have an identical twin sister, Dani. Maybe everyone knows this, but I still consider it interesting :). She's my best friend, and no we don't have that weird twin thing where If you hit me she'll feel it. But we are really close and talk multiple times during the day on Skype.

-My boyfriend's name is Patrick Bateman...as in the American Psycho Patrick Bateman. We met in college and have been together for 6+ years.

-Liv is half canadian, due to the fact that her father is from Calgary, Alberta. So I'll have a dual-citizen daughter as soon as I get my butt into gear and finish her paperwork.

-I used to be a really big runner. I ran a few marathons and 10k races in my prime. Unfortunately, pregnancy wasn't running friendly for me and I don't know how far I could make it now. I am hoping to start running again with Liv in her jogger when the weather is nice.

-I have a really mischevious Chihuahua named Lily. She can sit, shake, speak, roll over, and play dead...but she'll will not come when I call her. I'm not sure what that says about my training skills but I'm definitley happy I had a dog before I had a baby!

-When I was a little girl I wanted to name my first daughter January. My only fear at the time was that people would call her Jan, as in Jan Brady...and who wanted to be a Jan when it was so much cooler to be a Marsha.

-I have a sick obsession with America's Next Top Model. I don't know if anyone watched the Miss U.S.A. Pageant, but Clinton Kelly admitted that his guilty pleasure was ANTM and seriously he nailed it on the head. It doesn't matter how many times I've seen each season, if a marathon is on tv, I'm watching it. Its a waste of time, but I can't help myself (its on tv right now:)

Here are 7 blogs that I follow ritually. They are trying, expecting or have babies. Some of them I followed throughout their pregnancy and have babies very close to age around Liv. Some of them are personal friends of mine and some are internet friends. All of them have awesome blogs and do a great job, so check them out because I would consider them beautiful bloggers :).

1. Baby Hoefgen

2. The Power of the Pink Lines

3. Baby Foreste

4. Completely Eclipsed

5. Trying for Baby G

6. Jimmy Choos & a Baby Too

7. Theta Mom

all tied up

The score is now tied. Mommy and Daddy did some talking and decided bargaining with Liv would be the best idea. So...I offered her a hearty helping of bananacado and 8oz of milk before bed and she accepted and slept from 9pm to 4am! Winning feels so good :). Anyways, so she woke up at 4, ate a quick 6oz bottle and then I HAD to wake her up after 7 so that we could get to Grandma's and I could get to work on time. It was great...I'm basking in the glory of my win. Watch, tonight she'll take the lead and then I'm going to be done bragging on my blog.

liv 1: mom 0

Well Liv wins round 1 of my two days of work. She woke up at 1am and 5am, after which she wouldn't fall back asleep so I was up at 5:30am. This is fine, but I do not know what to do about her sleep schedule. Its so frustrating and I feel like a monster in the morning when I have one more hour to sleep and my little gremlin won't cooperate! She has been waking up like this for awhile now. Up once in the middle of the night then up at the crack of dawn and absolutely will not fall back asleep. I can't remember the last time she slept through the night. I mean I guess I could chalk it up to teething? I have not felt any teeth trying to come through though. Is that a prerequisite for assuming your baby is teething? I also tried letting her 'cry it out' 2 nights ago when she woke up at 12:30am...it lasted about 10-15 minutes, if you count the time it took for me to run upstairs and prepare a bottle. If anybody has some advice it is welcomed! I've consumed more caffeine that a human should...so I am begging for help!!

6 Month Baby

Happy 6 Months Livi! She's been a terror the past handful of days. She hasn't been sleeping well, she's been cranky and just not herself....so that has caused me to draw the conclusion that she is teething. I can't feel anything coming in on her gums, but I alternated tylenol and motrin today and it seemed to brighten her mood. We were skyping with Pat today and he couldn't believe how much she has changed. He sees her almost every day, but sometimes its at night and she's not so spunky. She was talking and reaching for toys and laughing at her mom. He was amazed. She has been chatty lately...something she gets from her mom :). Her favorite sound is something along the lines of Homer Simpson's famous line "Dohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". Its cracks me up. She likes to lengthen it and shorten it but "Doh" is definitley her favorite sound. I have no idea when she will be mobile and to be honest I don't think she's all that interested in it. she has been a sturdy sitter for a few weeks and has really started reaching for toys...so maybe its in the near future? I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to mobility. I have a feeling Liv is going to give me a run for my money once she starts crawling/walking.

Also, keep me in your prayers this week. My mom leaves tomorrow until Saturday night. I work tomorrow and Thursday. I am gonna play the role of single mom for the rest of the week and I'm scared! My plan is to have everything ready that Liv will need for the days at her grammy's. I'll shower at night, have my clothes laid out and just have to get ready quick. Liv's sleeping routine has been so off that I don't know what to expect. Hopefully she'll sleep while I get ready, but if not she'll spend that time in her exersaucer listening to country music with her mama :) Obviously I took her 6 month pictures...and I threw in a video for good measure!

sucking her toes

Balance

Today I was reading a blog post over here. Its basically about making time for yourself. I have no problem with this. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I'm living at home right now and my mother is more than willing to pick up Liv and do anything with her. Dont get me wrong..I love this. Its really nice to have someone want to rock liv to sleep or give her a bottle. It gives me a much needed break and its great to share all the fun/cute/silly stuff that Liv does. I usually take a night a week to go to a friend's house or out...both of which usually involve a glass of wine or bottle of beer....or 5. I'm 25, shoot me for wanting/needing a drink. There was nothing different last Friday when I headed to my friend, Shannon and Dane's house. I bought a six pack of beer and off I went. Nothing crazy, I got back home around 1:30am. Only to have Liv wake up at 6:00am and she would NOT go back to sleep. I seriously wasted 2 hours of my life trying. Finally, I gave up at 8. I lugged her upstairs, plopped her in her jungle gym , grabbed a huge cup of coffee, and hopped on skype to gripe to Pat about it. He asked where Liv was and I told him she was jumping like a mad woman, but I was having a hard time looking her in the eye because I was so tired. Pat went on to tell me that its not Liv's fault. And I knew this, but I was so tired that I had to be angry with someone. I then decided I needed to be angry with myself. For staying out too late and for being hungover. I have to get up in the morning. I've now decided that its not worth it. Well maybe once in awhile it will be worth it. I just can't stay out that late and be my best the next day. It also makes it hard because none of my friends have babies, but they love me so they'll have to love the "not staying out late" me :).

What will keep me busy all these nights? Maybe my new hobby I've got back into. I used to be big into making crafts (purses to be specific). But I just stopped, I'm not even sure why. I randomly get the urge to make something, which usually doesn't turn out, but I try. A few months ago I made Dani a headband and then I kept seeing all of these baby headbands, clips, and bibs on etsy and blogs...and so started my crafting again. Its kind of a collaborative effort with my mom. She's the sewing machine whiz. I'll get there, but not yet...not even kind of. I pick out the fabric, cut and stitch, and my mom sews. I've made tie bibs, now I'm onto snap ones, I've stitched a few headbands and my mom has started crocheting them. I am trying to make coffee sleeves...but this is something I'm actually sewing so its a process. I took some pictures of Liv today and she's showing off a few things we made for her. I'll have to have her model more later :)

My mom crochet'd this headband for her...and about 20 other ones

She gets these crazy eyes when she's going after lily :)

"come here lily lily lily"

What a good little headband model

making faces

A headband I made for her or stitched beads on