you changed your baby WHERE?!

i was one of those "i will NEVER do that" people before I had my own baby.

It actually amuses me to think about some of the things I do/say now that I swore up and down I wouldn't. I am sure it amuses my mother even more.....

• Change her anywhere other than a designated changing facility. I have changed her in the car and on a table.... I'm not proud.
• come up with stupid words for things. She has a binkie and a lovie... and I am sure I call plenty of other random things around the house something stupid too - as much as I try to stop myself.
• Be relaxed when other people hold her etc. I am not. If they aren't doing it "right", I have to correct them no matter how hard I try to let it go. I know what she likes damn it.
• Use nicknames. Remember this post? I mean, she doesn't really have a true nickname, but we do call her Peanut or sometimes just Miss G.
• Discuss my L&D with anyone who is expanding in the mid-section &/or holding a bay-bee. I don't do this often, but I have found myself sitting around with my girlfriends discussing the interworkings of labor. More than one time.

I am sure there are a million more, but I only think of them when I am not blogging and brushing my teeth or driving to work.....

What have you done that you were SURE you wouldn't after you had a baby? Or hell, just in general! (Um, I always said I would never have unkept eyebrows and man you should see the beasts right now....)

My Husband Rocks: Father's Day Edition

I know I have been bitching a lot lately about how things have been so crazy and blah blah blah

and while all of that is true and hard to deal with in it's own right

at the end of the day, I get to watch this amazing man and our amazing daughter together and that is all I need.

I do not have a great father, and from the minute I became pregnant Mike told me he would do everything he could to be all that my dad isn't/wasn't - so far - he has done a terrific job! He may not do everything the same exact ways as I do, but she doesn't seem to mind. Watching him father her is truly awesome and I can't wait to see how their relationship evolves.

I love you honey, happy first father's day!

monkey in the middle

I have been a crab lately.

Just in general a grouch.

Ask my husband - he will surely attest to this fact.

Why? I really don't know.

I have a ton on my plate right now -

• I started back to work [it's ok, i can handle it. but it's only been one full day..]
• still getting the hang of being a mom [she is doing better, but we have our moments]
• trying to still be a wife [really sucking at this one unfortunately]
• attempting to get my fat ass in shape [hurt my knee, started w/ a trainer, need to get back to running]
• house hunting [& hunting...&hunting.....]
• life.....[ you know, bills/groceries/personal hygiene/PMS]

I feel like I do it alone. (figuratively, not literally) We are busy. Life is crazy. And I feel like I am stuck in the middle of all this stuff wondering where to go and what to do first.

Ah well, at least I am the president in her club - and that one makes me pretty happy. I will stay in the middle for awhile longer to get the rest of the answers right.

i realize this is completly random, just bear with me!

No, She is not a Puppy

A lot of people ask me, almost immediatly, upon hearing baby girl's name - what will you call her for short?
I tell them - Gianna.
And then I hear - "Not GiGi"
My Response - "she is not a dog"*
Or - "How about Gia"
Me - "No, She also doesn't grow hair out of her ceramic head with a seed paste."**

I am not a big fan of nicknames, even though I have one, and I don't mind when CERTAIN people [read, people who have known me long enough &/or have been grandfathered in to use it] I will never introduce or refer to myself by it. In fact, even to those who call me by my nickname, I still refer to myself as Andrea. It's just habit I guess.
Something else, I usually use Michael when talking to the husband instead of Mike. I just have a thing about formal names.

If you like nicknames, more power to ya, they can be cute and very fitting. As in my sister, if she went by her formal name it wouldn't fit her personality as well.
However, I have given my daughter a certain name and I would prefer you to call her by it. If one day she wants to go by Gia or GiGi or Earth or whatever, I will still call her Gianna. Or peanut, which we have recently started for some unknown reason. She can call herself whatever she wants.

*yup, i did say this. outloud.

*And yes, she did receive a Chia Pet from her loving grandparents/aunts when she was born....

60 days later

The second month was twice as hard as the first. Without a doubt. Her reflux was worse. She cried more. I did more laundry. I worked more.
The second month was also more fun than the first. We got into more of a routine. We went more places. We did more things. We smiled and played more.

Here's the breakdown

• She is in the 50% for her weight
• She is in the 80% for her height
• Her eyes get more blue everyday
• She smiles and coos more with each moment.
• Most of the faces she makes are the spitting image of her daddy.
• The playmat is like a new adventure every time we put her on it. It is so awesome to see her discover new things & flirt with her toys.
• Naps are still not going on in this house. Slightly better, but as a general rule, she does not nap well at all.
• What she does do - is SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT. thankyouiloveyou.
• Still loves and NEEDS the swaddle for bed
• Reflux is a-raging. Zantac is doubled and I am unsure if even that is really doing the trick, but it is a subtle improvement.
• Alimentum is working ok. also working over my checkbook.
• I never truly understood what "projectile vomit" meant until last week... and everyday since.....
• We love her and I don't know what I would do without her.
• Oh -- and I lost 2 lbs last week! Ya!

::happy family::

::3 Generations on the 2 month birthday::
::is this toy for me?!!::