Decade in Review

How did I not realize this was the last day of the decade until just now? Yeah. I guess I haven't been paying attention.

Really? A DECADE has gone by?

Goodness.

I've seen a few people doing a "decade in review" on their blogs, so I thought I'd join in. Though you are getting the edited version because there's a cute little baby who is getting increasingly bored in her bouncy seat... so here we go...

2000: A sophomore in college, I meet my future hubby! We start dating in November.

2001: I travel to Italy, England and Mexico.

2002: My grandma (my last living grandparent) dies, I was very close to her and this is a tough time for me.

2003: I graduate from college, move 75 miles away to be by future-hubby and get a job in the banking industry. I find that my new paycheck - though meager - will pay for weekly mani/pedis - sweet! In July, future-hubby asks me to be his future-wifey.

2004: We get married on January 10th - best day of my life (until recently :). We travel to Spain and Portugal on our honeymoon. I switch jobs in April and start working in the mortgage industry.

2005: Hubby and I move into a pet-friendly apartment and adopt our first furbaby, Maxx Thunderboots.

2006: We adopt our second furbaby, London Belle. We move back to the city where we went to college (and where my family lives) and buy a house. My job transfers me to a local branch and I continue working until August, when I quit to start graduate school.

2007: We travel to Mexico with my family. We travel to Paso Robles, CA, and have one of the best vacas together tasting lots and lots of wine. Our interest in wine turns into a hobby! We buy a hybrid (and lots of wine).

2008: My brother and SIL get married. I travel to Mexico. I graduate with my Master's Degree. We decide to start TTC in the summer. We get pregnant three times, and miscarry three times. First half of year is okay... second half SUCKS A$$.

2009: We get our fourth BFP. Expecting it to turn out just like the previous three, we aren't thrilled. SOMEHOW, this one sticks and after a wonderful pregnancy, our beautiful daughter, Eliza, is born 11/14/09! BEST. YEAR. EVER.

I am a lucky woman, and so very grateful for having such a blessed year. If 2010 is half as good, I will be thrilled!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WTG B00BIES!

I had my 6 week PP visit this morning with my wonderful midwife. I realized I never got a picture with her in the hospital - I wanted one with her and Eliza as a baby. Hubby took this one with his phone, but we should have done it at the beginning of the visit instead of the end when she was fussy - ha! Look at that poor sad face. Up until this point, she had been quite happy hanging out with daddy!

They have an infant scale at the clinic so we weighed the "little" miss -- she came in at ELEVEN POUNDS! Geez, girl! She is long though - 23 inches!

And so, to this I say: WAY TO GO B00BIES!

Christmas

We had a lovely Christmas. The 2-day snowstorm we got hit with through off some travel plans, and the ILs almost didn't make it here, but they ended up arriving on Saturday evening and we celebrated with them this morning. We were with my family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Overall, it was a fairly low-key Christmas - a lot of our out-of-town family doesn't fly in for Christmas, so there aren't many of us around the Christmas tree... but hopefully someday we'll have big family Christmas gatherings when there are more little ones!

We enjoyed a quiet holiday with family and our new baby girl. She was the only gift I wanted. I just stared at her as she peacefully slept on Christmas morning and thought about where I was last year at this time. Happy, yes, but not complete; I was recovering, healing, trying to continue on the journey. What a difference a year can make. We are so lucky...she really is our miracle girl.

Eliza didn't get many gifts this year (we didn't get her anything - we didn't think a 6-week old needed gifts - is that horrible of us??!!), but her aunties and grandparents couldn't resist, and they did get her a few books and some really fun collapsable fabric blocks. Oh, and I managed to finish her Christmas booties just in the nick of time. I LOVE how they turned out (though this isn't a great pic of them); I think I'll make another pair for her in the 3-6 month size.

Pics

5 weeks old! Our little beauty is really starting to look like...er... a person! Here are a few pics from this week.

This one was taken of Eliza laying on daddy's lap, doing "bicycles". When she starts to "crank up" as we call it, we can sometimes cut her off at the pass by doing this, if the fussiness is due to gas. It really helps get the bubbles out. And then we laugh like mad at the bubbles coming out. Because SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE. The dynamics of the entire process are astounding, considering she is less than two feet tall.

This photo is just so darn cute, I can't even stand it. My mom knit her the red hat (which, conveniently enough, is so stretchy it will likely fit her until she's 18). She was happily riding around the house on dad's shoulder one night when I saw her little eyes peeking out at me. What a sight.

And here we have Eliza with her fur-brother, Maxx. Her EIGHTEEN POUND fur-brother who has been incredibly patient with the new little member of our household (and her shenanigans that keep mom and dad's hands and laps busy) - especially considering that he could, if he wanted to, SIT ON HER to show us how he REALLY FEELS... but he doesn't because he's just a great big ball of sweet teddy bear goodness. We love you, fatty.

Project!

I'm all set to make a pair of these for Eliza - hopefully I'll get some time this week when daddy is home (he took a week off work - soooo excited!). I want her to wear the booties on Christmas, and then I'll make them into a Christmas tree ornament. I read about a family doing this for each of their kids and thought it was a sweet idea. I think I'll embroider her name on the soles, too.

Hope I get some time this week! I'll post a pic (IF they turn out...).

I still need to work on a Christmas stocking for her... I better get busy!!

One Month

Yes, I am already behind - Eliza was one month old on Monday, and here we are on Thursday and I'm just getting around to posting this. I'm in the midst of a hellish grading extravaganza... I've graded like one million papers in the past week (yes, ONE MILLION), and have barely had time to look at my child. My parents have had all the fun with her, and of course I've been missing things ("OH, I think she just smiled! Oh, she did it again!!" Gee, thanks Mom...), and crying myself to sleep over it (well, not literally... but still...). This sucks! I'm almost finished, just about 30 left to go of the last assignment my students handed in last week.

AND YET, on Monday I still managed to remember that it was her one-month birthday and snapped a few photos (and even caught one of the ever-illusive half smiles she's been doing lately). See? I'm not the horrible mother I've been fearing I am...

My beautiful girl: you are one month old. We have enjoyed every single minute with you since the day you were born. Even when you are crying and fussy, your dad and I always say "she's still the cutest, bestest baby ever born!". And it is true. You are generally a very content little girl. You love being held, you love nursing, you love when your Grandma M sings to you, and you love laying in your changing table staring at your cow picture (it's a little weird, dear child of mine, but whatever floats your boat :) and you love bath time, too. Oh, and you love your mom and dad, of course! ;) You have started smiling once in a while, which is so completely adorable. The smiles you give us are still few and far between, but when we see one... it's like a little glimpse of heaven.

We want to thank you for continuing to be such a great sleeper at night. Your body knows when it's night time, and after you nurse at around 9:30 or 10:00, you are out like a light. You wake up a few times at night, but you always wake up so gently... and I know you are telling me you want to nurse. Then you drift off to sleep again. Your dad and I love sharing a bed with you. We know this precious time won't continue forever, so we are enjoying it while it lasts.

I am sorry I've had so much work to do during your first month of life. I'm sure you are one of only a few babies out there who has attended graduate classes at a mere two weeks of age! I'm sorry I had to drag you all over campus when I'm quite sure you'd have rather been at home sleeping... but I think you secretly loved going to school and being fawned over by all my classmates...! On Tuesday, you came to class with me while I taught, and you slept almost the entire time. My students were tickled to meet you; they all said how beautiful you are and that you look like me. And you have had lots of great bonding time with Daddy, Grandma M and Grandpa P while I've had to sit at the table and grade... so I doubt you have even noticed that Mom has been busy.

You and I have still gotten our quiet time together; this time with you calms my heart and mind like nothing else. The hours I have spent looking down at you while you nurse have been magical, and some of the best hours of my life so far. You are my miracle, Eliza. You are my girl. I love you.

-Mom

Nomnomnom

I could just stick 'em in a pita pocket and eat them!

(reference, anyone?)

Realities

• Showering. I think I'm finally up to showering at least three times a week - hooray! Let's not talk about how often I showered when we first brought her home. Thanks. Oh, and this may also apply to brushing my teeth... eeeggghhhh... yeah. All I can say is I'm glad we're back to normal in that department.

• Running to the store. Having a baby in the wintertime (and especially right before a blizzard), you just don't want to leave the cozy warm house very often and brave the freeeeezing cold temps. And so, your Tar.get runs become less frequent. But no problem, you have a husband! And so, you put a shopping list together. You put "shampoo" on it. HOWEVER, if you think that means he'll know which shampoo brand to buy, you might be incorrect in that assumption, and you might end up shampooing your hair with Sua.ve Green Apple shampoo. It could happen.

• Sleeping. We bought a co-sleeper before she was born, put it next to our bed and planned for her to sleep in it from day 1. And then day 1 got here, and it was 2 am on day 1, and she wouldn't sleep, and we hadn't slept in like 20 hours... and so I brought her into our bed, and - gasp! - let her sleep on her side because the girl LOATHES sleeping on her back - and WE ALL SLEPT! So, it turns out that the reality is YOU DO WHATEVER YOU NEED TO DO TO SLEEP. And so, for now, we share sleep. And we're cool with it (thank you, Dr. Sears!).

• Being a Mom is awesome. This is my favorite reality. It's so true. Eliza fits into our family like a missing puzzle piece. It's beautiful. It's surreal. I love being her mom. She is my little sugar bear, my Eliza bean, my precious miracle. I couldn't be more grateful for my life and my little family. We are complete.

(Excuse me while I go try to get the green apple scent out of my hair...)

The Kindness of Bloggers

Isn't this hat the cutest? A dear blogger friend, Missy, crocheted it and sent it to me (and a pair of adorable booties, not pictured because the little miss was a bit too squirmy!) before Eliza was born.

I was so touched to receive this beautiful gift from Missy. She has been through a lot in the last year and a half. We started TTCing around the same time last year - we were both so happy and optimistic about the road ahead of us. Unfortunately, neither of our journeys went as we thought they would. Missy is still out there in the trenches, and though I know that she will one day soon be a mommy, it breaks my heart to see her struggle. I wish things were different for her, I wish they were easier, and I wish I could make things better for her. Even in the midst of all that she has been through, Missy was happy for me and celebrated with me when this pregnancy finally stuck and when Eliza was born. She has been a true friend, and this thoughtful gift is just one way she has shown her kindness and generosity.

Thank you Missy, Eliza loves her hat and booties!

She made me buy it...

While on a trip to our local natural baby care store, Eliza and I tried out the Kangaroo Korner Pouch Sling.

As soon as I put her in it, she was all like: "Mom, you MUST buy this for me." And then I was like: "Eliza, it's kind of pricey, and we already have two other carriers for you", to which she said: "Pshaw, Mom, each carrier has a different use, don't you know? THIS one is perfect for quick in-and-outs, and the fleece will keep me super warm in this crazy-ass cold weather you make me live in." So I said "Honey, you make some excellent points!"

Okay, so some of that might have been embellished for the sake of dramatic effect...

Here's what actually happened: she looked up at me and I melted into a puddle of "okayhoneywhateveryouwant!"

I'm screwed (but isn't my new sling great?? :)

Bathtime!

3 weeks 1 day!