Aquarium Adventures

My husband is on vacation this week.  And we were trying to think of what to do with all this family togetherness.  So today we made a last minute decision to take Julia to Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ.  There is a ton of stuff to do around us, but it hit over 100 degrees today, and we needed something fun and indoors.  We had seen this aquarium featured on TV several times, and have heard a lot of positive things about it.

And.... Julia LOVED it!  It was surprisingly crowded on a Tuesday afternoon.  Maybe everyone else decided to take the week off of work as well.  But nonetheless, it was fun.  Julia gazed at all the fishies and even laughed at some of them.  Her favorite part: the shark tunnel!  She probably could have sat in there for hours.  

So I'm pretty sure she had fun!!  I love these family moments.  We'll have them forever!

4th of July

Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!  Cook-outs, fireworks, and 4th of July sales!  ;)

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Julia's first 4th 

Judge me

So a little status thread on my friends facebook page got me thinking of a good topic.  The parents who think they're better than the rest of us and like to judge.  But then again, don't you yourself find that you sometimes judge others?  I know I catch myself doing it.  We're only human.

So, I admit it.  I use the electronic babysitter quite often.  And I'm not ashamed.  I pretty much leave the TV on all day long.  It's on either Nick Jr. or Disney.  But I do leave it on.  And it does help me when I want to do the dishes, or do a load of laundry, or vacuum the floors.  Now does that mean Julia sits and watches it from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to bed?  Thank goodness no, but I'd go crazy if it was quiet in the house all day, with no TV, and only the sounds of either the dog barking, or Julia screaming.  I need background noise!  She crawls laps around the room, plays with her toys, practices walking by cruising the furniture, and occasionally sits and watches the TV.  I know many parents who think TV is so awful for your kids.  But whatever.  No matter what you or I do as a parent, we will always be judged.  Someone will always have an opinion about it.  I watched TV as a kid and I think I turned out alright.  Same with my hubby.  And there are those who never watch TV as a kid because their parents think it's bad and turn out to be drug dealers or school drop-outs (I don't know any of this for a fact, but I'm more than positive it has happened).  Plus, it's not like I can send her outside to play.  She's only 10.5 months for cryin' out loud!  When she's 5, we'll talk.

So what I'm saying is, who are we to judge how someone else decides to raise their kids?  Of course we're going to catch ourselves judging.  It just happens.  But what one person thinks is good or ok, another might see as bad.  You can't please everyone, and you can only do YOUR best to raise YOUR child how YOU see fit.

My 10 month old watches TV.  She even has favorite shows already.  So what!!!!  It's not going to stop her from getting exercise, doing well in school, having a good job, being a good American citizen, raising a nice family one day.  :)

p.s. She just took a 2.5 hour nap!!!  Holy moly!!!

My baby is a caveman

So last night I started reading the book The Happiest Toddler On The Block by Harvey Karp.  I figured since his other book, The Happiest Baby On The Block was so successful for us and many others I know, I would read this as well.
I got through one chapter.  Downside to starting a book right before bedtime.  But it is VERY interesting and I can't wait to finish it.  It's all about raising a respectful, patient, and happy one to four year old toddler.  It explains how a toddler sees the world.  So far, it compares toddlers to cavemen.  And if you think about it, it's kinda true.  So it's all about communicating to them in ways a caveman would understand.  Simple words, tone of voice, not using adult-like sentences, etc.  Also talks a lot about different types of temperaments and how to figure out which one fits your child and how to deal with each type (there are 3 different types).  It's very fascinating so far.  And of course I've only gotten through one chapter out of many.  So I haven't even skimmed the surface yet.  It even says to start practicing these techniques as early as 9 months.  Oh no, I'm already a month behind!  haha.
Anyway, even though I've only read a little bit, I already would highly recommend it.  Especially if it's anywhere near as affective as his first book.  His 5 S's techniques those first few months Julia was here really were magical!  This Harvey Karp guy is a genius!

Has anyone else read this book, and did it help?!

Happy Tuesday :)  Keep cool if it's hot where you are like it is here!  In the 90's and HUMID!  Bad hair days for all!

First Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband, Tim.  He is such an amazing dad.  Julia already looks up to him so much.  It's the most beautiful thing to watch them together.  She is a daddy's girl and has had him wrapped around her little finger since day one.

And a very happy Father's Day to my dad and Julia's Pappy.  Sad we can't be there with you.  Thank goodness for Skype!  

Hope all of the dads out there had a fantastic day!  

10 Months

I can't believe she's in the double digits already!  And only two months away from being a ONE YEAR OLD!!  Whoa....that's crazy.

So, since I only have two months to plan her 1st birthday party, I've been trying to figure out a theme.  And struggling.  Haha.  We've talked about Minnie Mouse and Princess and stuff like that.  But I kind of want to do something a little more unique.  The last couple of days, I've been thinking ladybugs.  I found some cute little ladybug theme birthday supplies online.  But I don't know if I really have my heart set on the ladybug theme.  I don't know.  I'm stumped.  I mean, it's her 1st Birthday.  And I know it's more for us than her, she's not going to remember it....she'll just have a ton of pictures to look back on some day.  But it's a BIG DEAL!  I want it to be perfect.

I neeeeed to figure out this theme thing, because in about a month, we're going to Carlos Bakery (yes, that's the Cake Boss from the TLC show) and ordering her birthday cake.  It has to be with the theme.  So if anyone has any cute ideas that they don't mind sharing, I would love to hear them!!!

Happy 10 months, my beautiful baby girl!  You are my world, I love you so much!  <3

MIA, whoops

Sorry I haven't updated in a week.  I had family over and they just left this morning.  Been busy!
My sister and her fiancé came this weekend for a visit.  It was so nice having them here.  And we did plenty of stuff: Reading Terminal Market (tons of yummy food!!), Independence Hall in Philly, King of Prussia Mall.  We kept busy!  Hopefully they had fun :)

Nothing exciting has been going on other that having family here.  I'm having a bad case of writers block.  This SUCKS!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend.  Can you believe it's already mid-June??!!

Also, it seems like the poll isn't working correctly, at least on my end.  In case you can't see it either, the question is: On average, how many naps does your baby get in a day?

And the word is NO

Aside from "da-da", the word 'no' may end up being Julia's first word (I've already given up on the ma-ma thing lol).  I find it crazy that she's only 9 months, yet I'm already having to tell her no, many many times a day!  My little explorer is just getting into everything, and I just hope she starts to understand what 'no' means and SOON!  According to her pediatrician, she is at the point where she is able to start to understand things like this, which I also find crazy!  She's already at the place between infant and toddler.  HOW DID THIS HAPPEN SO QUICKLY??????

And if something is baby-proofed, she will sit and try to figure out how to un-baby-proof it. Like today for instance.  I had placed Kid Kushions around the sharp corners of our wood TV stand back when she first started to crawl, so about a month ago.  All over it!  I think every corner and every edge on every shelf has a Kid Kushion.  I even got them in black so they would blend in with the piece of furniture in hopes she wouldn't even notice them.  Honestly, we (Tim and I) can barely notice them!  But Julia goes right to them and has now figured out that they are not permanently attached and they come off!  She pulled about 3 pieces off, and now those pieces no longer stick well, and there are sharp dangerous edges and corners threatening my poor baby's beautiful head!  So I will be ordering more until I find a better solution.  Don't even get me started on the fireplace.  She pulls herself up to standing on that glass when she knows I'm not looking, and I just have visions of the glass caving in and just bad bad things.  It's a gas fireplace and with no door, but not sure how much weight the glass can hold.  The thing is impossible to baby-proof though.  Since we rent this place, I will be calling the maintenance dude asking if there is anything they can do to make the fireplace a little safer.  Worth a shot, right?!

Like I've said before, I will not feel comfortable until my house looks like a rubber room!!  And that's not even close to all she gets into in a day.  I have dreams of the word 'no' at night!  I hate saying that word to my sweet little girl all day long, but how else is she going to learn?  I think 'no' is now my least favorite word, and I'm sure Julia would agree.

Also, it's Poll Day Monday!!!  Don't forget to vote!  :)

Dinner Disaster

Usually when we go out to dinner with Julia, she behaves very well and we get compliments ALL THE TIME about how well behaved she is.  But, she decided she would rather be quite the diva lately, and...well...no more Miss. NiceBabyEveryoneIsJealousOf.

After having quite the cranky last several days, which I blame on the budding top right tooth viciously trying to break through her sensitive little gums, we decided to go to Olive Garden for dinner.  Many of you can already see this was a bad idea.  But I figured she was cranky all day, and now daddy's home (which usually does help, damn it!), a change of environment would be good, and she would be tired from all the effort it took to be cranky all day.  What was I thinking???  I'm a new mom, I'm still learning...

We sat down in an area in the restaurant with not a lot of people.  Which made me feel good.  Then about 2 minutes later, an elderly couple gets seated right next to us.  Red flag!  I knew at that point, we were no longer safe.  10 minutes later...half way through appetizers, and the all important salad and breadsticks, she starts getting fussy.  Then the screaming happened.  And there was no end in sight.  After looking around and seeing EVERYONE staring at us, we decided to find our waiter, ask to get our order that we had already placed boxed up to go, and to give us our bill as quickly as possible.  It was quite the spectacle.  And of course once we're outside and finally in the car, she's as happy as can be.

So now we really need to find a babysitter.  Something I have been dreading since I found out we would have to move here and away from my parents.  I loved having them close by.  Because honestly, I'm never going to trust ANYONE with Julia as much as I trust my own mother.  That's just a fact, and I'm sure other moms who are close to their own mothers can agree with that.  But now we're 9 hours away from her, and Tim and I still need to be able to go out alone without our lil cranks every now and then.  It's time we need for us.  Sigh, so now I'm on the hunt for the best, most experienced with babies Julia's age, most loved by all (lol) babysitter in our area.  Good luck to me!!

What is the going rate for babysitters these days anyway?  I'm sure it's way different than it was when I was a babysitter myself.  Oy vey...

Girls Night Out

Last night I went out for a Mom's Night Out as part of the mommy group I joined here in Doylestown.

Can I just say how much I LOVE Sex And The City!!  I know it's had mixed reviews, but it is definitely the best girls night out movie.  I think the people who say it's not good just don't get the whole SATC thing. It was so nice to get out of the house, not worry about the baby, and do something that I thought was fun.  Very much needed.

And for those who have seen it already, the part where Charlotte and Miranda are having drinks and talk about being mothers.  I totally felt like Charlotte.  These last two days with Julia crying all. day. long. have been making me nutty.  And I admit, tearful at times.  Charlotte got it spot on, I was almost in tears listening to her because I felt just like her in that moment.  And don't even get me started on the clothes..and the shoes.  Oh the SHOOOOEEESSSSS.  I was in designer HEAVEN!  I would do anything to have Carrie's closet.  One can dream...

I need a girls night out more often.  I didn't realize how much I really do need a night out for myself every now and then.  Especially after spending all day with a teething, screaming, cranky, crying, completely unhappy (but beautiful and adorable and wonderful) baby girl.  haha.

Happy Memorial Day!

Today Julia experienced the pool for the very first time!!  I was afraid once her toes hit the cold pool water that she'd cry and hate it (I'm always thinking the worst...)  But she LOVED it!  She was fascinated and just splashed her little heart out.  We got her one of those baby floaters that she can just sit in and play while in the pool.  Big hit!

It was such a wonderful relaxing day.  Can't wait to go back to the pool soon and have Julia wear another one of her many swim suits!  


Also, new poll up for Poll Day Monday!  Don't forget to vote ;)  

Sometimes a mama needs her mom

I am so sad my mom leaves tomorrow morning.  Having her here has been the best!

Last night Tim and I got to go on a DATE NIGHT!  What the heck is that??  Honestly, I almost forgot what two people were even supposed to do on a date night.  Yes, it has been that long.  We went to a restaurant in New Hope called The Landing.  It was an outdoor patio right on the Delaware River. Nice breeze, wonderful food, good smells, happy people enjoying their evening all around us.  And even cute little ducks that came up to greet people as they ate (well, I thought they were cute.  I'm sure some people thought it wasn't so cute).  We walked around afterward, held hands, lots of "This is so nice!".  And it would not have been possible without my mom!!  She put the baby to bed with no problems.  I hear Julia was cranky, but at least she went to bed okay.

I think Julia has loved it as well.  Check out this hilarious video of Julia and my mom!




My mom comes back in 5 weeks for my birthday weekend.  But that seems like forever from now.  It will go by quickly.  I miss having my mom close by.  We have had a great weekend, I don't want it to end!  I think I may tie her up in the basement and not let her leave.  :P

Doggie Dilemma

Anyone who has had a dog before they had their baby, I need major advice.

So we have a 4 year old, 5.5 lb. yorkshire terrier, Misha.  Before Julia came around, Misha was the center of our world.  She WAS our baby.  She is very attached to me specifically and is more demanding of my attention than even the baby.  And I will be the first to admit, that was a mistake.  I should have listened to Cesar Millan.  Animal.  Dog.  Breed.  Name.  He says it a million times. And now I realize why.

Granted, she is less than 6 lbs.  She's a tiny fragile little dog.  But she has been spoiled rotten and now she is the most jealous dog alive.  I always thought since she was little that she would be easy to handle once we had the baby.  And for a while, she was.  And then Julia started grabbing at her, and crawling toward her, and her toys, and her food bowl.  And hell broke loose.  She doesn't bite her and I don't think she ever will.  She's never bitten anyone before.  BUT she does get somewhat aggressive and "in your face" with Julia.  Makes the "Back off kid" growling noise right in her face.  And sometimes knocks her down and goes after her for no reason at all.  Like I said, I don't THINK she'll bite. 

We have an in-home dog trainer coming this Saturday to see what can be done with some of her bad behaviors.  And there is a list...not just the Julia thing.  But what if this doesn't help her and us?  What if she doesn't take to the training?  What if it's way too time consuming for Tim and I and we're not consistent enough?  Will I have no other option but to find her another home?  :(  I hate it when people give up their dogs because it's inconvenient.  Will I become one of those people I hate?  She is a huge part of our family.  You wouldn't just give up a member of your family, would you?  

Cross your fingers the training sessions go well.  It kills me to think what we'll have to do if it doesn't.  

Advice please?  And yes I know, Julia comes first.  I agree.  But Misha isn't far behind and she's very important to us.  HELP!

Poll Day Monday

Thank you Bailey for making my blog look awesome!  What do you all think?  I love it :)

And sadly, my dad leaves tomorrow morning to head back to Cincinnati.  I secretly wish I could tag along. But I'll get back there at some point to visit home.  We had a great time with him here.  We took him to King of Prussia Mall (largest mall in the country) and a nice place near us called Peddler's Village.   And I actually was able to get out of the house alone, minus my mini me, to get some stuff done for myself!  Got myself a well deserved pedicure.  Thanks dad!  

Also, there is a new poll up!

 

 

Baby's First Haircut

Yikes! Is my baby girl who I just brought home from the hospital already getting her first haircut? For real? It was exciting, scary, and very necessary since we could hardly see her pretty little eyes, and bows don't stay in her hair very well. Which is really sad because I love little baby bows.

We took her to this awesome place called Sharkey's Cuts For Kids. They did an amazing job, and it really was a fun little place for kids. They had TV's in front of every hair cutting station. They can either watch a DVD or play a video game while they get their hair cut. Julia watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and it held her attention perfectly. Thankfully she was the epitome of excellent behavior (and cuteness).

New camera!!

I got a brand spankin new Nikon S8000! I took a picture of Julia last night with it (my very first picture with it). Found it humorous and wanted to share :)

She crawled over to the groceries as we were unpacking them and decided she wanted to help! And that's our dog, Misha. She's a 4 year old yorkie...sometimes more work than Julia.

I can't wait to share more fabulous pictures with you from my new camera! I think it takes awesome pictures! And I haven't even messed with all the different settings yet, and I plan on learning what they all do haha.

My dad comes out this weekend, in fact he's on his way right now! Have a fabulous weekend everyone! :)

A Word On Baby-proofing

Where to start?  Just that now that my child crawls everywhere and pulls herself up on things and will be walking before I know it scares the crap outta me.  That doesn't even cover it!

They do not make enough baby proofing items to make a first time mama feel comfortable.  But honestly, I won't be comfortable until my house looks like a rubber room.  And she's no dummy.  She's already trying to figure it all out!

I admit, I was anxious and excited for her to start doing all of this stuff.  And yes, it is cute.  But WHAT WAS I THINKING???!!  Everyone warned me.  And everyone was right.  It is cute the first week or so.  Well, it's still cute.  Just the scariest thing ever watching your daughter go head first for sharp furniture and wall knives corners.

Regardless, it is pretty awesome to watch her explore the world and her surroundings.  Just stop getting into every little thing, baby girl!  The refrigerator full of yummy food is not interesting, I promise ;)

Poll Day Monday!

I have decided that every Monday I will put up a new poll.  Just for fun.  Now I've got to think of some good poll questions.  If anyone has a poll question they want to suggest, I will use it in future Poll Days!

In case you haven't heard, Julia took a nasty spill on our wood floor yesterday morning.  It was very traumatic for all of us.  She decided she wanted to use an almost empty cardboard box as a tool to help her stand.  I'm sure you can guess what happened next... she fell back and slammed the back of her head on the floor.  It made the worst noise I have ever heard and it will haunt me for a while.  She cried for a couple of minutes and then fell asleep in my arms.  Being a very worried mama, I called the doctor.  Of course it was Sunday and they weren't in the office (this thought didn't even enter my head until I heard their out of office message over the phone).  Thankfully they had a number to call for an after hours nurse at the children's hospital.  As long as she was due for a nap (which she was) it was okay to let her sleep. So that made me feel a little better.  Also I had to watch for vomiting and dizziness, neither of which happened.  I held an ice pack on her head while she slept.  When she woke up, she seemed ok and was playing with her toys and crawling around as normal.   A little cranky, but if you hit the back of your head on a hard floor, wouldn't you be cranky too, and with a major headache I'm sure?  All day and all night I was looking for signs of something terrible.  I even went in to check on her in the middle of the night to make sure she was still breathing (hey, I'm a first time mom, remember?!  This was her first, and probably not her last, major fall).  I felt horrible the whole day.  I should have been there to keep her off that box.  Actually, that box shouldn't even have been where she could get to it!  She was fine.  Do they make little pillows that attach to their heads to cushion falls??!!  LOL.  We did end up putting up a retractable gate there so she can't even get to the wood floors anymore.

So, that was our Sunday.  Not a relaxing day, to say the least.  But surprisingly, today seems to be going very well so far!  Got some cleaning done, Julia is keeping herself entertained with toys and our favorite, Yo Gabba Gabba (strangest show ever!).

So, take my weekly Monday poll (it's to the left and down a bit)!  I know it's a lame question.  Just wanted to test out the whole poll thing and couldn't think of anything clever.  Next weeks will be better, I promise!

Also, I need some subscribers!  Come on, you know you want to ;)

Nine months

Where does the time go? Seriously, time needs to slow it down just a little. It took nine months to grow this amazing baby in my belly. That seemed to take FOREVER. And now she's nine months old and I don't even know where months 3-7 went. Were they even in there?

At nine months, Julia is crawling all over the place. It makes mommy nervous, but I just love watching her explore. I think once babies start to crawl and eventually walk, this is when mommies loose all of the baby weight once and for all. I am up chasing her around all day, I hardly sit down anymore. I cherish nap time way more than I ever used to. And weekends when Tim is home...BLISS!

Baby girl, you make me the happiest lady alive! I totally understand the love my mom has for me now that I have a daughter of my own and can feel that kind of love for myself. The rough pregnancy, the sleepless first couple of months, the constant worrying. It's all totally worth it because at the end of the day I have the most beautiful and perfect little girl who gives me the biggest smiles that melt my heart, looks to me for everything and loves me every second (even if she hasn't said mama yet...we're working on it). Happy 9 months my little sweet pea!

"How wonderful life is, now you're in the world." -Elton John

Lets Play Catch Up

The last time I blogged, I was half way through my pregnancy. Keeping everyone up to date with doctor appointments, baby kicks, newest cravings. And then I got swollen and tired and I abandoned my blog. Now I have my beautiful baby girl, and I'm BACK!

So what have you missed? Well.....

Our baby girl, Julia Madison, was born on August 16, 2009. She was 6 lbs. 15 oz. I was induced four days before my due date (doctors orders) and flew through labor in less than 6 hours with a non-working epidural. Ouchies!

The first night home, Tim (my hubby) and I got about 8 hours of sleep! It was a little broken up, but sleep is sleep! Needless to say, our baby is an excellent sleeper :)

Now, she is an amazing almost 9 month old trying to figure out her world...and keeping her mama on her toes. She's crawling, and getting into EVERYTHING. Let the baby proofing begin (we've already started a little).

I hope to entertain you all with her crazy antics, vent out my crazies (because I'm sure many of you can relate), and ask for the occasional advice.

Enjoy ;)