Tag, You're It!

I've been tagged by my hilarious friend Sonya, so here goes!

I am: looking forward to eating at Hibachi Express for dinner tonight. Double chicken special- $4.75, regularly $8.50!!! Man, I lead an exciting life.

I know: that I'm such a typical first time mom. I still ride in the backseat with Maddie, my parents are the only ones who have ever babysat her, I can't sleep at night if there is something soft in her crib, I am going to make all of her baby food. But you know what- I am a first time mom! So I will worry and be overly cautious as much as I want :P.

I won:a Goosebumps t-shirt from a bookstore when I was in middle school. It's kind of sad that I remember that, but I think it's seriously the only thing I've ever won. Now that I think about it, I really need to start playing the lottery. I'm totally due for a big win.

I have: the most perfect family! I have a great husband who is always willing to help me, no matter how tired he is, a perfect little daughter who cracks me up every day, and two sweet dogs who have patiently adjusted to not being the center of attention anymore. I couldn't ask for anything better!

I hate: vegetables. I really really hate them. I WANT to like them. People think you're weird when you won't eat a salad. But they really truly make me gag, and I just really hope that I can trick Mads into liking them before she notices that Mommy never eats them.

I miss: my parents. I hate living so far away from them, especially now that I have a baby. As soon as I win the aforementioned lottery, we are so moving in next door.

I feel: a little sleepy. We tried letting Maddie go to sleep last night when she wanted to- which was at 6:30. We were hoping it would help her sleep better, but it didn't. And then she wanted to wake up for the day at 5 am. Bleh.

I hear: rain and wind. Holy crap, a monsoon just started outside. I'm a little worried about our house being blown down! Ok not really. But it does make me wonder what people did during monsoons back in like the 1700s. I mean their houses had to be pretty crappy back then, right? Did they have to rebuild stuff after every major storm? That would be so annoying.

I smell: a delicious cupcake. B/c that is what I'm eating right now, a red velvet cupcake with almond buttercream frosting. Jealous, aren't you?

I crave: Hibachi Express! And who wouldn't, on double chicken special night?

I search: with Google. Isn't it funny that our kids won't remember a life without Google? Not funny haha....you know what I mean.

I love: my baby girl's smile! It is physically impossible not to smile back at her when she flashes that big gummy grin.

I care: a lot less about what other people think than I used to. I guess that's a good thing. I mean not to be rude, but there are a lot of idiots out there! Sheesh.

I always: chew my food with even amounts on both sides of my mouth. How's that for random?

I believe: that people shouldn't be so easily offended by strangers or people they don't know well. Who cares?

I sing: to Maddie all day long- girl LOVES when people sing to her. I'm pretty sure she's going to be the season 35 American Idol winner. I can tell from her screeching that she's going to be a fabulous soprano.

I write: things down in little notebooks all the time. I know that is probably very behind the times, but I enjoy my little notebooks and have no desire for a blackberry or similar electronic note keeping device.

I lose: Maddie's socks almost every day. Girl will not keep a sock on her foot.

I never: understand how someone can hate or judge a whole group of people. I realize that there's usually some truth behind negative stereotypes, but why not look for the exception rather than assuming the worst?

I listen: to Michael Buble and it makes me happy. That man has an amazing voice!

I am scared of: Maddie growing up and losing her innocence. Realizing that the world isn't perfect and knowing that she will be hurt, both physically and emotionally at some point in her life.

I need: SOME HIBACHI EXPRESS! Is it 7 yet?

I am happy: even when I'm grumpy and tired. Life is pretty great.

I'll tag my friend Christina. I love reading her blog about her sweet little girl who is a year older than Maddie. I'll refrain from putting a link here though unless she's ok with it!

But I'm a big girl!

Despite Maddie being a lot more tolerant of being held lately, she is still an independent little thing. She really likes to hold her own bottle- I mean gosh mom, I'm 5.5 months old, do you really think I need help feeding myself??

If she's awake when we are eating dinner, she sits in her highchair and mimics us chewing food. I think someone is ready to start solids! We are going to wait until at least 6 months though- Maddie has had lots of stomach issues so we want to make sure her little digestive system is ready for big girl food!

Disclaimer: This picture was taken for entertainment purposes only. Despite Maddie being ready to feed herself most of the time, Mommy is not ready for this quite yet. We still hold her and feed her 100% of the time!

Snow Day!

We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning- for once the NC weathermen (or should I say weatherpeople? I can't think of any female weather people in our market though) were correct! It's rare for snow to cover the grass around here, much less the roads.

We couldn't miss the opportunity to take Maddie outside to see her first snow. She doesn't have any kind of snowsuit, so instead I dressed her in leggings, a long sleeved onesie, socks, footed fleece pajamas, fleece lined jeans, fleece jacket and a hat. She wasn't too pleased that getting dressed took so long- and she really wasn't happy when we took her out of the warm house and let snow fall on her face! Maddie isn't a fan of anything bright or cold- so we probably could've predicted her reaction to the snow. Here's a quick video of the first time we took her outside. And the two pictures we managed to take before she completely arched herself out of her Bumbo seat. Oh well, hopefully we'll have snow again in the next couple of years when she'll be able to play and enjoy it!

As for the rest of the family, Mike did have to go into work, and said the roads were actually a little worse than he was expecting. There was some definite sliding going on. The snow isn't supposed to melt until tomorrow, so we're hoping he'll get to come home a little early. Ginger loves the snow- she likes to eat it, and will stay outside all day if we let her, munching on her own personal all you can eat snow buffet. Mia had to be "convinced (pushed)" to go out in the snow, but once she got out there she decided that it didn't taste too bad, so they've had a fun morning frolicking and getting nice and wet and stinky. As for me, I'm staying inside, drinking hot chocolate and enjoying the pretty view from the window!

Adventures at Harris Teeter

I decided to try taking Maddie to the grocery store today. This is only the 2nd time I've taken her. The first time, she was so little that she slept in the sling the whole time. After that, she was too colicky to ever consider taking her again, but I decided that she's been so great lately that I'd try it today.

There is no good answer on what to do with a baby that can't sit up in the grocery store. If you put them in a carrier, there's the chance that they'll get squirmy and start screaming/crying (that chance might be a little higher when the baby in question is Maddie). If you put their carseat in the main part of the buggy (that's right, buggy...I'm from NC), there is no room for groceries. If you snap the carseat onto the top of the buggy, it looks very precarious and if you're short like me you won't be able to see over it at all. However, last time I was at HT I noticed that they have buggies with built in infant seats. Genius! So I decided that was the perfect solution.

I bundled Maddie up in fleece foot pj's and a sweatsuit (it's COLD out there!) and when we got to the store, I parked far away so that I was right next to a buggy return to make it easy after shopping. I got Maddie out of her carseat and dashed to the front of the store with Maddie, her blanket, my cloth grocery bags, and my diaper bag all in tow. When I reached the store however, I realized that there were only about 6 of the aforementioned buggies, and they were all buried in lines of carts about 15 deep. Sigh.

I grabbed a nearby employee, and explained to him that I needed a buggy for the baby, letting my full arms indicate that I couldn't get one out myself. He shot me a confused look and reached for a nearby regular buggy. I stopped him, and let him know that Maddie can't sit up alone yet, and that I needed a cart from across the way, one with a carseat built in. He then walked across to another row of buggies, and again tried to offer me a regular one. At this point, I am wondering if he speaks English, as he has still not uttered one word, looks very confused, and continues to offer me the wrong thing. He finally understood that I needed a special buggy, and looked very annoyed as he started pulling out other buggies to get to it.

10 minutes later (and yes, we are still outside in the cold and sun- it is a true miracle that Maddie is not screaming her head off at this point), we have a buggy with a built in infant seat. I slung a blanket over it for germs and we were good to go. Maddie did pretty well in the store, until Mommy couldn't find the wine she was looking for. I guess I was taking too long, b/c she started shrieking. And these were good ones too, I'm surprised no bottles shattered. You know in a horror movie, when the bad guy pops out of the dark? That's the kind of scream I'm talking about here. So we decided that wine was something that Daddy could pick up later, and headed for the checkout.

All in all, a decent visit! By the time we got home, she was tuckered out from the adventure. I think next time I may try her Baby Bjorn if there are no buggies with infant seats readily available. Or perhaps I'll just continue shopping on the weekends until she can sit up!

Everything else is going well. Maddie was 12 lb 11 oz at her 5 month shots appt! She's getting some chunky little thighs, it's very adorable. We have switched to all formula, and unfortunately that's caused some major constipation, resulting in much crying, straining, and not sleeping. But we're trying ever remedy in the book to get that cleared up quickly so we can enjoy our happy little girl!

Happy New Year!

I can't believe Maddie is almost 5 months old! This past month flew by, as we were busy with Christmas and family fun. Maddie got to meet a lot of her extended family over Christmas, and she did really well despite all the noise and excitement. The Humphries family gathering is always one of my favorite days of the year, and this year didn't disappoint. Everyone kindly travelled down to Greenville so that Mike and I wouldn't have to make an extra trip (we were already in Greenville for the week). Lots of delish food, catching up and a very funny giftcard exchange. Everyone marvelled at Mom's awesome thousand foot tree, and Maddie had her picture taken a lot.

After just one too many pictures, lol!!!

The rest of the week was spent hanging out with my family, and it was great. Mike and I never understand how such a long trip goes by so quickly! Sarah got Rock Band for Christmas, and knew she was getting it, so we instituted a new "open a present on Christmas Eve" tradition, and all got to play Rock Band together on Christmas Eve, lol! Mike's pretty sure he's going to become a professional drummer now. We opened presents Christmas morning, and Maddie got lots of cute presents and books. She especially loved her Sophie Giraffe, although look how suprised she was to get stacking rings, lol!



After opening presents, we loaded up the car and headed to Lumberton to see Mike's extended family. Then we brought his mom back to Raleigh for a few days, and she loved spending time with the baby.

This past month, Maddie has really grown up a lot! The difference in her temperament is just amazing. She now pretty much only cries if she's hungry or tired, and we no longer have long afternoons of screaming inconsolably. She's almost always happy and grinning and squealing when she's awake. We can even go in the car and run errands without expecting a meltdown! Her new favorite noise to make is squealing/shrieking/screaming. For about a week, it was the only noise she'd make. Now, fortunately for our ears and glassware, she only does it a couple dozen times a day. Here's a video of her favorite noise....although this really doesn't do it justice. It's much more shrill in person, lol.

We finally took the infant headrest out of her carseat today! It made me sad, she looked like such a big girl in there! But I can't say I'll miss those first 3 months. I have some great memories, sure, but colicky baby= one stressed out mommy. I'm loving this stage we're in now though- she's still not mobile, but she's happy and very interactive. I'm looking forward to crawling, walking, etc, but I know I'll definitely miss these days!

We had some family pictures done right before Christmas by Lux Photography, and it was such a great experience! We had a great time and although I think Maddie only smiled twice the entire two hours, they still got some great pictures. Here's my fave- it's the only one of Maddie crying but it's just so her, lol! And a link to all of my favorites- sorry, I had a lot of favorites.

We have our 5 month shots appt next Thursday, so I can't wait to see how much my little peanut weighs now!