Laundry Day

Today we did laundry together. Mama messed up and waited until ALL of Genevieve’s clothes were dirty, so there was nothing for her to wear! She ended up in her ladybug socks, her diaper, and a tutu with pigtails and a big bow on her head while her laundry was in the wash.

 

Too cute! (Next time I’ll remember to do laundry when there is still a clean outfit for while it’s running!) She had lots of fun helping mommy sort the laundry; we sat in the middle of the floor together, and as I was sorting it into piles she picked things up and sorted them out of piles. But she was so cute I didn’t mind.

She is getting so smart! We recently turned the family room into basically one big playpen. The room is baby-proof and full of toys, and the big “L” couch and side table mostly closes it in. We used a heavy plastic tote of clothes to finish blocking the opening. When she decides she is done playing on her own, she will stand at the plastic tote and yell. Well, yesterday I came over and found that she had dragged one of her big toys over to the tote and was standing on it and trying to climb onto the tote and escape! …I’m in trouble!

We’ve been hearing lots of new babbling sounds lately. Every day she is playing with a new syllable. Today has been a lot of “b” sounds. Yesterday I heard “V” and “L” several times- I choose to believe she was trying to say “I love you”. J We’ve heard “dada” off and on this week, which makes her daddy happy. “Mama” usually doesn’t show up until she is tired or hungry (so maybe she does know what it means!)

She has also gotten pretty good at waving when you wave to her, and she has started experimenting with letting go when she is standing up. With her front four teeth pretty far in she has become an expert at picking up a soup cracker between her pinching fingers and then carefully taking a bite. Her new sippy cup (the “360 Miracle” that you drink out of like a normal cup but doesn’t spill) really was a big hit. She figured it out right away and got so excited! She drinks out of it so well she can pick it up and drink all by herself.

She is still a super happy little soul. She loves to laugh and squeal and giggle and play. She loves tickle time (when she is in the mood) and is even a little more into hugs and snuggles than before (she was always too busy trying to move and be upright to have patience for being cradled.) She always gets happy when we pray out loud with her, and usually lets out a little squeal or giggle. She loves people and will share big smiles with everyone, even new people. She loves going to church and watching all the little kids in our primary class. She especially loves singing time and sometimes tries to join in.

 

That little girl lights up my world and I couldn’t love her more. Sometimes she is just WAY TOO cute and I wish there was a way I could save it and package it up and share it. I love you, sweetie!

ttfn,
Life&Lemons       

Crazy thing called life

We've been having some adventures lately. I'm excited (knock on wood!) for things to settle back into a little more normal of a routine and for me to get back to things like laundry and blogging!

I've got some cute pictures coming, and a couple that will blow you away when you see how BIG that little girl is! But a quick update: she now officially has TWO teeth. The other front bottom tooth broke through a couple days ago. She is a pro at crawling and is getting really good at manipulating things in her hands. And... she is easily pulling herself to standing and can take one hand off to play with something. When you hold her hands she can walk (shakily) toward you. This girl is determined to be up and running around as fast as she can!

Here is a super cute pic to tide you over until I get everything uploaded:

Don't you just love how she posed for the camera! It makes a nice change from all my blurry moving pictures! (This is actually from 3 weeks ago. She fills up that car seat even more now, and her hair is even longer!)

ttfn,
Life&Lemons

Take your Daughter to work…

So, I am VERY blessed in my job. I’m working part time (well, a little less than part time, really) as a paralegal and I get to do it from home. How much more perfect could that be for a new mom? Of course, there are those times when I’m reaching a deadline, I need to get a case finished and submitted for filing, and my little angel can’t stop pushing keys “just like mommy”. (I love her!) Today I got a little desperate and down to the wire, so I resorted to extreme measures…

When she won’t play on her own anymore, I often put her on my lap with a toy and tighten my sling carrier around the two of us so I don’t have to work as hard to keep her from falling (or flying) off my lap. Well, I was getting a little desperate to get this case turned in, and I happened to look over at the other desk chair, and…



Hey, no judgment… it worked! Well, for a while anyway. I of course was still checking on her every 30 seconds to make sure she didn’t get out or get her arms underneath and strangle herself (ah!) and after a while she figured out how to get her feet under her and stand up and then plop down, so we had to try something else. BUT it worked just long enough for me to finish, and she thought it was pretty funny.

Announcement!

This weekend we made an exciting (if bittersweet) discovery.
Baby's first tooth finally broke through!
I haven't been able to snag a picture yet. I haven't really even seen it very well- she practically lives with her tongue sticking out lately! But you can sure feel it poking out on the bottom left.

We found it Saturday night, and it was already pretty far out. I'm thinking it broke through Friday. You'll remember a little while ago I announced her first time sleeping through the night? Well, I got three of those, and then for a whole week she was waking up practically every hour. :( Well, Friday she was acting particularly fussy, and then she SLEPT almost through the night, and has been sleeping much better since. Hallelujah! Although, this first-time nursing mom is honestly nervous about this whole teeth business... Any advice or thoughts?

ttfn,
Life&Lemons

My Big Scare

So, this morning I went in to get Baby, and as I was changing her diaper I saw this and my heart started racing…

The picture isn’t great because I was trying to feed her at that moment, but I didn’t want to wait. I was freaking out a little and needed to text a picture to her daddy at work so I could get his help. I called him right after the text and, now a bit frantic, told him her toe was black! He looked at the picture and I could tell he was trying to sound calm as he asked me if she was acting like it hurt. I said, “Not really,” and he told me to try squeezing it gently. She didn’t even react, so he told me to put my thumb on the nail and gently squeeze again. When I did, my thumb nail sank into the black a little, and I realized…
it was chocolate!
Now, I promise I really do bathe my child. But last night, after bath time, I made brownies. I must have gotten some batter on her toe…

Boy did I feel sheepish. I let out a shaky and relieved laugh, tried to get my heart rate back to normal, and apologized to her daddy for scaring him.

Have you ever had an experience like this, or am I the only one?

ttfn,
Life&Lemons

Heather’s Haircut

Today we took my sister Heather to the mall to get her hair cut.

 

Baby and I got to sit right next to Heather, and she laughed when the stylist first started cutting.



I laid down her stroller seat to create a little pen and we played while we waited.

 

Baby helped her aunt show of her new haircut:









Looking good Heather! Thanks for spending the day with us- we had fun!
ttfn,

Life&Lemons

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Today we spent Father's Day with hubby's family. (Tomorrow we'll celebrate with my dad.) It was fun showing off baby's new "crawling" skills. She is ALMOST there. She is definitely mobile, but she hasn't quite put all the movements together yet. She'll move a knee there and a hand there, but mostly use a combination of scooting and flopping to move slowly across the floor. I would be surprised if I didn't have a crawling video for you by the end of the week!

Anyway, back to Father's Day. Here is the picture I put together for my Dad-in-law. I printed it 8x10 and put it in a frame. Nothing too amazing, but he loved it!

We all got together for dinner at their house, and then had fun chatting and catching up, and of course playing with baby!

The dad's taking it easy while we get dinner ready:

Kisses from grandma:

I am so lucky to have such a great Dad-in-law, and now a wonderful grandpa for my little girl. We love you, Dad!

ttfn,
Life&Lemons