Southern Mama

First, I'm gonna cry....

2009-07-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

This morning I told Bri she needed to put her panties on. She told me she didn't know where they were so I went to show her they were in her top drawer. Immediately, she started running towards me saying, "Bri Bri do it, Bri Bri do it!!!" So proud of her new found independence, I said "okay", stepped aside, and asked her to show me how she does it all by herself. She was so excited, she slammed her finger in the drawer. She screamed bloody murder. I quickly put the baby down on her bed so I could comfort her. Then, the baby started crying. Lainey was just going to have to wait one second while I tended to Brianna's boo boo'ed finger. The whole time I was holding her she kept trying to get down and was pushing away from me. She calmed down just enough to cry, "Mama, get Sissy". Ugh.... I love that little girl. She just slammed her finger in her drawer but still insisted that I comfort her baby sister. She is going to be such a good little Mommy one day. She walked out to the living room to sit in her beloved "red chair". She was still crying but not as bad and would stop for a second to see what Diego was saying on TV. I asked her if she was okay and then told her we still needed to get her panties on. She looked at me with all seriousness and said, "Mama, first I'm gonna cry. Then, I'm gonna get panties." I tried not to laugh out loud and respect her wishes.....

what the heck!?!!

2009-07-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

Who gets their period 8 weeks after having a baby?????..... I DO! Ugh! I just don't get it! I breastfeed ALL DAY LONG, no pacifiers, and I pump for a friend who has low milk supply issues. I AM NOT SUPPOSE TO GET MY PERIOD! Damn it man! So much for breastfeeding being my birth control method. I'm fertile mertil again.... I think I would go crazy if I got pregnant right now.

On a happier note.... here's some pictures...

This picture cracks me up!

my little Diva

2009-06-15T04:14:00.000-07:00

Our Birth Story...

2009-06-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me start by telling you how retarded I think due dates are when it comes to pregnancy. I never thought I would go "late" , after all Bri was 6 days early and she was my first baby. Typically a woman goes into labor earlier the more children she has. Or so that's what everyone says. Wrong!

Once I went past 41 weeks, Alanna, my midwife, told me if I went past 42 weeks she would no longer be able to care for me. I understood because I knew it was all for liability purposes and the chances of me being pregnant that long were slim to none. Ha! At my 40 week appointment we were pretty confident I would go into labor any second. I had been having good contractions for some time and we just assumed I was one step ahead of the game and maybe I was dilating from all the contractions and my cervix would be ripe. I asked Alanna to check my cervix at that appointment. She could barely reach it and said I was only a fingertip dilated and maybe 50% effaced. I was bummed! I for sure thought those contractions were opening the way for my baby to come out. We wondered if we should try inductions techniques we did with Brianna (black and blue cohosh and castor oil) but decided we really wanted this baby to come out on her own terms.

That week my contractions strengthened. At one point I even called Alanna and told her they had been 10 mintues apart for 3 hours. We planned on me eating a big supper and getting a good nights rest and hopefully the next day we would all be welcoming our new baby into the world. When I went to bed my contractions stopped but I thought they were pretty good ones so maybe they helped dilate me.

Alanna checked me again at my 41 week appointment (Monday) and there was no change. It was almost harder for her to reach my cervix. I was by myself and tried to hold it together in her office, unsuccessfully. We had to make an appointment for me to get a BPP ultrasound to make sure the baby was still safe and helathy and we talked about what would happen if I didn't have the baby by Sunday (Week 42). I had 7 days to get the baby out. Talk about stressed! Who makes these rules?!?!? Philipe and I decided to try some easier inductions methods. We tried having as much sex as possible and I starting inserting evening primrose oil capsules in my vagina. Alanna told me I could come see her everyday until the baby was born and maybe the sex and evening primrose oil would help and she would be able to reach my cervix a little better and stretch it. My ultrasound appointment was scheduled for Thursday so we decided we would go see her on Wednesday and Friday. If there was still no change by Friday we were going to result to castor oil again, which gives you such horrible diarrhea you end up having contractions. I tried really hard to stay busy and keep my mind off of the possibility of ending up in the hospital but everywhere I went people would ask me how far along I was and tell me I was crazy for not going to the hospital to get induced. I made an appointment for accupuncture on Wednesday to see if that would help. They guy seemed pretty confident 1 or 2 treatments would do the trick, as I had good "chi' (spelling?) flowing throughout my body. At first I thought it was all a hoax but everytime he messed with the needles the baby would go nuts and I had some strong contractions in his office. I also almost passed out so they had to take all the needles out and start over. LOL! (Looking back now I think it's all hilarious) I made an appointment for 4:40 the next day. I would go right after my ultrasound. During my appontment Alanna called me and told me she spoke to another local midwife who wouldn't mind if I stopped by her house on Thursday and maybe she would have a little better luck at reaching my cervix (Alanna is tiny and has the smallest hands I have ever seen). I called the other midwife (I don't know if she would want to be named on my blog, so I won't) and we made arrangements for me to come to her house in the morning. So.... I had to meet her at 9:30 in the morning 2 towns south of us, had an ultrasound at 2:40 back in Ft. Pierce, and an accupuncture appointment at 4:40 in PSL. I was desperate! I dreaded going to the hospital on Sunday and I feared how they would treat me.

Thank goodness I met with her in the morning and not after running roud from town to town. When we got there she told me the baby still looked really high and it didn't even look like I was ready to go into labor. She understood how afraid I was of going past Sunday and not having Alana as my midwife so she was game for trying to work her magic. She told us she's also been refered to as "The Rotor Rooter". LOL! Perfect! That's just what I needed! It was really tough for her to reach my cervix and it hurt like hell! But.... she finally got it and said "are you ready?" I grabbed Philipe's and and squeezed with all my might. By the time she was done, I was 4 cm dilated! I was so excited and nervous at the same time. I felt like we needed to get home ASAP. On the way home I had a few contractions. At one point I was on the phone and had to get off to concentrate. Philipe and I looked at each other like 'could today be the day?'.

By the time we got home (around noon) I was having pretty regular contractions. I was excited but wasn't sure it was the real thing. We knew it was going to happen either that day or the next so Philipe, me and my mom (who had been watching Brianna) all started cleaning like crazy. It was pretty funny. I still planned on going to my ultrasound appointment at 2:40 just to make sure the baby was in good position (there was a brief second when the midwife thought the baby could be breach but then said she took it back after she felt a pulse on the baby's head). As I was cleaning I found myself dropping to my knees with each contraction, not because it hurt horribly but because it felt like that's just what my body was suppose to do. The birthing ball was my best friend. I was pretty certain I was in labor and it wasn't going to magically stop like it had before. This was the real deal. I called Alana and told her I didn't think I would be anle to make it to my ultrasound appointment but I really wanted to try and make it. She told me to wait an hour to see how I felt. The thought of leaving the house really scared me. I wanted soooo bad to labor at home and enjoy it. I couldn't imagine finding enjoyment while I lay on my back for an hour so they can do the ultrasound and being strapped to monitors, then having to ride in the car back home. An hour later my mom reminded me that I needed to decide if I was going to go get my ultrasound or not. I decided not to and thought it would be a good idea if Alana came over. She asked if she could take a shower and drop her kids off at the sitter. I told her not to rush; I was fine. Philipe made me lunch (steak sub) and I sat in my room on the birthing ball. I was so happy I was home and had such a good feeling about the way things were working out for me. Bri had been napping for a while so I was able to get settled and in the groove. Denise (who I've talked about beofore and also happens to be our family doc) heard the news that I was in labor and stopped by to send her love and get some pics. She knows how much I wanted pictures of this special occasion and was more than happy to click some shots. She loves taking pictures as much as I do. When she walked in I was laboring on the toilet. She showed Philipe little tricks that helped me through some of my contractions. Every contractions made me happier and happier as I knew I was one step closer to holding and nursing my new baby. My friend Michelle came over also. The first thing she did was make me a green smoothie. It was absolutely delicious and I'm sure I needed it for energy.

By the time Alanna got there my contractions were pretty strong and about 5-7 minutes apart. I kept going back and forth from the toilet to the birthing ball. I started getting some really mucousy discharge too, which made me even more excited. LOL. I think it was my mucous plug. It was really cool. I even took pictures of it (in between contractions) I never had any of this stuff with Brianna. Once Alanna got all my birthing supplies set up just she asked if I was opposed to her checking me. I was pretty excited and was sure I was in labor so I was kind of excited to see how far I progressed since that morning. After my contraction I tried to "hop" up on our bed (which is extremely high). I was hoping if I hurried maybe she could check me and I could get down and back on my knees before the next contraction. Fat chance! Those contractions I had while I was laying flat on my back were HORRIBLE! I don't know how I did it in the hospital with Brianna, laying in that crappy bed the whole time. Anywho.... Alanna told us that I was still only 4 cm. There was more though. While the other midwife was able to stretch my cervix to 4 cm, she was only able to stretch the outside. My interior cervix was still just a fingertip dilated and the baby was still extremely high. I got a little panicked for a second. What if I was going to be stuck having these strong contractions for days because I was trying to kick my baby out before she was ready. Was I really in labor or was my body just mad at me for trying to rush the process? Alanna told me she would check me around 7:00 again and if I hadn't progressed anymore she might go home for a while. That made me freak out even more. I felt like I NEEDED her to be there. I see why people choose not to be checked at all. After she checked me I started to doubt my body. She told me to relax as much as possible and visualize the baby moving down. She also told me to try and wait to get in the tub because sometimes if you're starting to go into labor and you get in to early it can have an adverse affect.

Back to the bathroom I went. Everyone left me alone for a little while. Philipe kept coming in to check on me. My contractions got stronger and stronger with each one and I got more and more excited. Around this time I starting humming every time I had a contraction. When I was pregnant and practiced relaxation techniques humming seemed to be the most effective. I told Alanna (weeks before I went into labor) that I was going to "hum my baby" out, and by golly, that's pretty much how it happen. At one point Philipe suggested I try and get up off the toilet and go walk around. It took me a couple more contractions to finally do it but we were on a mission to go play with Brianna in her play room. On the way there I had to brace myself on the table, where Alana was sitting, and I remember telling her it was getting pretty intense and I wasn't as "happy go lucky" as I was when this all started. She reassured me that was a good thing. After a couple contractions I walked as fast as I could to the play room to try and beat the next surge. I made it. Bri was happy to see me, as I was to see her. I planned on hanging out with her for a little while longer but I couldn't find a comfortable position to be in when I had contractions. So, I gave her a kiss and went back to my refuge.... the bathroom.

This time when we went back into the bathroom Philipe and Alanna set up a little area for me to sit on my birth ball. They lined it with chux pad and put it up against the ledge by the tub so I could lean against it. I asked Philipe to set up my hypnobirthing recording on the iPod. He lit the lavender candles Jen brought to my blssingway ceremony and he and Alanna made sure I was settled and comfortable. This was all around 6:00 pm (from Alanna's notes... I really had no concept of time what so ever). The hypnobirthing tape was my life saver! I felt like it brought me back to where I needed to be and I was able to fully focus and relax. It's so funny because when I would listen to the recording when I was pregnant the lady's voice really started to annoy me and I highly doubted I would want to listen to her when I was in labor. Wouldn't you know, I made Philipe hit the replay button everytime it ended. While I was on the birthing ball it took all I had to relax with each contraction. I remember someone coming in and taking a couple pictures but it didn't bother me. Everyone stopped asking me questions and let me be. I was in the zone, and apparently it showed.

I told Philipe and Alanna I was ready to get in the tub. I tried to hold out as long as possible but I couldn't take it anymore. Getting into the tub was heavenly. Philipe sat by my head and Alanna sat by my belly. They took turns feeding me a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich and giving me gatorade to drink. In between contractions she would pour water over me. It was wonderful! It was everything I wanted and more. Looking back, I was treated like a queen. Everyone listened to me and trusted what I was telling them. There wasn't anyone staring at that machine that records contractions, or straps around my belly. They just trusted what I said. A couple times I told Alanna I was scared and I didn't know if I could do it because I was so tired. She reasurred me everything was okay and reminded me that she had the same thoughts when she had her 2 kids. Maybe this is when I started going through transition??? My mom and Denise would pop in periodically to take pictures but they were very quiet so it didn't bother me to much. They both knew how bad I wanted pictures. At one point my mom came in to take a picture and the flash did some crazy thing. I looked at her and said, "okay, that's not gonna fly". Then, everyone stopped taking pictures. LOL.

I was in the tub for about an hour. Alanna suggested I try to get out for a little bit to keep things moving. It probably took a good 20 mintues to get me out. It felt like my contractions were right on top of the other. Alanna asked Philipe to get me a robe. He did, but by the time they got me up I jetted for the toilet, soaking wet. LOL. I couldn't get away from that thing. Around 8:00 I started laboring on the toilet. My contractions were super intense. Philipe sat in front of me and lent me his support. Just him being there, close to me, was all the support I needed. I didn't need someone holding my legs halfway behind my head telling me to push. While he was sitting on the ground right in front of me my body pushed and my water broke. He got all excited, looked at me and said, "Oh! There goes your water!", as if I didn't know. LOL! He ran to tell Alanna, who was in the other room at the time. When he came back he tried to give me a high five. LOL. That's what we did when I was in the hospital in labor with Bri so I guess he wanted to make it a sort of tradition thing. I didn't have enough energy to spare to put any effort into it so I just flipped my hand over and he smacked it. The tradition lives on. He also talked about how he forgot that part was suppose to happen. I couldn't talk to tell him, but I forgot the whole water breaking thing too. As intense as it all was I wonder why I never thought 'when the heck is my water going to break'. I think I was just so focused on relaxing through each contraction, it totally slipped my mind.

Alanna came walking in the room with her handy flashlight. She looked in the toilet and assured me that my water was "perfect". I was really worried that there was going to be meconium since I was "over due" but that wasn't the case. It was "perfect"! I remember thinking it was kind of weird that my body pushed when my water broke. That didn't happen with Bri either. I had two more normal contractions and then I started push. Alanna never checked me again so she really had no clue how fast I was progressing. She still needed to call her assistant, who was about 30 minutes south of us. I felt like I had the urge to push again but I tried to fight it. I didn't want to be stuck pushing for 2 & 1/2 hours again. And once ya start, ya can't stop. Plus, I thought I still had a ways to go before I would meet my baby and I had this whole idea of "breathing" her out I got from the hypno-birthing tape. Things were going way to smooth for her to just come out now. The rest happened soooo fast (literally, not just because I was caught up in labor land), but I remember it perfectly.

There was nothing I could do to stop my body from pushing. It was taking over. It was the coolest thing ever! It just did it... all by itself. I mumbled as fast as I could, "I'm pushing", before the next surge came. I don't know if Alanna heard me or not but Philipe repeated me just to make sure. Alanna got up and called her assistant to tell her she might want to hurry because I was having the urge to push. By the time she came back to me, still on the toilet, Lainey was crowning. She took a peak with her flashlight, saw a head, and told Philipe they had to get me off the toilet NOW. She was totally calm the whole time too (but working very quickly). It's so funny cause every time they suggested I walk around or switch positions they gave me a few minutes/ contractions to get prepared. This time, they just grabbed me and told me they were moving me to the birthing stool. This baby was coming out, quickly. Alanna assistant still wasn't there. She was 30 minutes away and it was only 10 minutes ago that she called her. Alanna asked Philipe to open the door. He did. She hollered, "Denise, if you're out there, I could really use you." Philipe ran to the door to relay the message a little louder. I had another contraction and Denise (Dr. Punger) came walking in (camera in hand, of course). This part cracks me up.... She hurried to the sink, washed her hands, and then stood back and started taking pictures. LOL. Some help she was to Alanna. LOL. I'm so glad though. It was so important to me that someone was able to capture my babies entrance into the world so we could look back years from now and remember how special that day was. Denise knew that. So, she did exactly what she knew I wanted her there for (and for her positive support). I will be forever grateful. So, Alann'a supporting my vagina (to try to keep me from tearing) and Denise is taking pictures. Alanna tells Philipe if he wants to catch the baby he better hurry up. He asked if he should gloves on.... LOL. I think he was so excited an not thinking. LOL. He remembered Alanna saying she uses sterile gloves once my water breaks to prevent infection and I guess he was just looking out for me. That's my man! She told him there wasn't enough time to put gloves on. He ran to the sink, washed his hands, and got back just in time. Lainey was out with the next contraction. She was born at 9:13 pm, into her Daddy's hands. Her coming out of my body was the best feeling in the whole world. Philipe being the one to hand her to me was even better than that! She was BEAUTIFUL! She was all glossy and didn't have one drop of blood on her. She was looking all around before she even took her first breath. Alanna told me to talk to my baby and as soon as I did she took a breath. It was beautiful! I was sobbing like a baby. I kept saying, "I did it!, I did it!" Then I looked at Philipe and said, "You did it! You did it! You caught her!" Then, we both kept saying "We did it. We did it." It was great! The first thing Philipe did was unsnapped my bra. This is something that will remind me how wonderful a man my husband is for the rest of my life. He knew how important it was for me to nurse her right away and how I was looking forward to it that as soon as he handed her to me he then unsnapped my bra. I love that man! Alanna showed us the cord. I was kind of bummed cause I never got to see it pulsate. That wasn't even an option with Brianna and I was looking forward to it this time. As soon as the baby came out the cord stopped pulsating. Bummer. I did get to touch it this time though. It was pretty cool. 3 minutes after she was born Philipe cut the cord.

As soon as everyone heard the baby cry they came in the room. They were waiting up against the door so it almost feels like they were in there the entire time. Michelle started video taping right away and my mom was taking pictures. I think my Mother in law kind of stood back and took it all in. A couple minutes later Bella, Alanna's assitant, walked in the room. LOL. She missed it by minutes. When Philipe and I watched the video the next day we laughed. There was me telling everyone we did it, then me telling the midwife how much I love her and giving her a kiss, then me being dead serious asking, "Did I poop?" LOL! Ughh... I wish I could explain how I felt in that moment. Total euphoria! It was amazing! Alanna then told me I had to deliver my placenta. I forgot all about that part too. This was my biggest fear. With Brianna, they started discussing having to put me to sleep and some sort of surgery to go get my placenta because it wouldn't come out. Alanna told me in the beginning she didn't think it would be an issue. She was right. I tried to push once and nothing happened (but I probably wasn't even pushing. After pushing the baby out I couldn't really push anymore for some reason). I asked her to give me a minute and I would try again. She said, "Sure". I loved on my baby some more. And 5 minutes after I had her, I delivered the placenta. I told Alanna a while ago (at a prenatal appointment) that I wanted to see my placenta up close and touch it. I wanted to feel what the baby felt for 10 months inside me but I never did. I just couldn't put my baby down. I was soaking her new sweet baby smell in and loved every second of it! After I delivered the placenta Lainey and I got in the tub, which was still full of warm water from before. We hung out in there while everyone got everything situated so we could walk to our bed with out making a bloody mess all over the carpet. After seeing the tub was full of blood I really wanted to rinse off in the shower. I had all intentions of bringing the baby in there with me. LOL. I didn't want to part with her. Philipe and Alanna told me it be best if I gave the baby to Philipe while I rinsed off. I was so weak I felt like my legs were going to give out but I had a burst of energy all in the same time. It was pretty cool. I had the shakes like crazy though. So, I handed Lainey to her Daddy and rinsed off quickly. When I was done I followed the trail of chux pads back to the bed. As soon as I got in bed Philipe handed Lainey back to me and I nursed her again. Everyone left the room and Alanna checked to see how things were looking down below ;) . I wondered how many stitches I would need and how bad it would hurt getting them. I was more nervous about getting a shot on my vagina then pushing a baby out of it. Her and her assistant assessed the damage.... NOT EVEN A LITTLE TEAR! Woo- hoo!!! Keep that needle away from me, thank you very much!

Alanna checked the baby out and made sure we both had a clean bill of health. Lainey weighed 8 lbs, 13 oz.; 22 in. long. She was perfect in every way! We were now a family of 4. I could not be anymore happy with the way things went. I am soooooo glad we decided to have Lainey at home. I am so grateful for Alanna. She was amazing and I really felt like I was in control the entire time. She always let us know that we had a choice in everything. That's the way it should be when a woman has a baby. It's sad that when you go to the hospital you're just another number and you have to follow someone else's protocol.

What I thought was strange was that I didn't have any motherly intuition telling me to get off the toilet. If Alanna hadn't been there, I think I really would have pushed the baby out into the toilet. Is that horrible or what!?!?! I knew the baby's head was right there and I still just wanted to be comfortable on the toilet.

Oh... I asked Alanna for a copy of her log that she keeps.

Noon- Labor starts

1:00- Alanna gets to our house

4:00- Drank green smoothie, walking, toilet

5:00- More green smoothie, audible contractions

6:00- birthing ball, resting

7:00- contractions 3 min. apart, ate PB &J, in tub

8:00- tub

8:30- drank gatorade, toilet

8:56- Water broke (clear)

9:00- gatorade

9:05- urge to push

9:10-

9:13- delivered head and body

9:16- cut cord

9:20- delivered placenta.

Well, that's our birth story. It took me a month to write it, and I'm sure I'll remember more and want to add it later but I'm glad I had such a wonderful experience I get to share. I am truly blessed and feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

2009-06-09T07:07:00.000-07:00

I'm still in the process of writing my birth story. I really want to make sure I write as much as possible so years from now I can read it and feel like I'm reliving the whole experience again. It's taking me forever though cause as soon as the baby falls asleep Brianna's begging me to play with her in the play room. So, it's still in the process.

Life here is pretty hectic. We're still trying to adjust to being a family of four. I had no idea how hard it would be. Brianna was a VERY "needy" baby. She screamed every waking hour and Philipe and I would have to take turns trying to soothe her. I thought for sure Lainey would be different since she was coming into the world in a more peaceful setting....WRONG! Oh.... she's a little pistol! I think it might bother her when I consume ay dairy so I have eliminated it from my diet. It seems to help a little bit. She doesn't arch her back in pain anymore but she still cries.... A LOT! Most of my day is spent nursing her or trying to figure out what position she wants to be in in our moby wrap. Thank heavens for that baby carrier. I don't know what I would do with out it. While the baby's fussiness can be extremely stressfull, I try to remember that it is only temporary and we are truly blessed to just have her in our lives.

Brianna is adjusting wonderfully! She loves her little sister and helps out a ton. Whenever she hears the baby cry she runs and tells me and Philipe that, "sissy needs Mama's milk!'. It's adorable. Since the baby was born Brianna has decided to start waking up 3-4 times a night. Hopefully, this will only be temporary. She has also decided that she does not want to take showers with us anymore or let us give her a bath by herself. The only way we can get her to take a bath is if "Sissy" is in with her. Lainey is the cleanest 3 week old I know. LOL.

I've been ECing Lainey for the last 2 weeks. It's going awesome! She goes almost every time we cue her and we've gotten pretty good at reading her cues when she needs to go. Philipe, who previously thought ECing was bizarre, thinks it's the coolest thing ever. He's even gotten her to pee once or twice. It's so cool to be able to communicate with my 3 week old! I just love her to pieces. Now, if she could just communicate why she's so crabby all the time, we'd be golden! Oh well.

There's a ton more I want to write about but I don't really have the time. I'm determined to finish my birth story before the baby is a month old.

Much love to you all!

2009-05-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world Lainey Nicole!!! Born into her daddy's hands comfortably at home.

8 lbs 13 oz,

22 inches long

Story to come... stay tuned.

My Mother's Day

2009-05-11T04:34:00.000-07:00

So, what do you do on Mother's Day when you're a week past your due date and it's beautiful outside? You put a bikini on and flaunt that sucker while bobbing in a kiddi pool with your daughter. Duh!!!

While I would have loved to have had a new healthy baby to hold for Mother's Day, my day was perfect!!! Philipe worked 24 hours overtime the day before so he was exhausted. He came home with cards and presents and we all hung out for a while. He looked pitiful after only getting 5 hours sleep in 2 days (which is probably about equal to what I've had, but you know it's way worse for men) so I told him to go take a nap. Bri and I hung out outside for a while. My mom came over with a new kiddi pool and that's where we hung out for most of the day. It was perfect! Best Mother's Day ever! Enjoy some pics....

41 weeks of beautiful fullness!

Bri checking out her new pool

Look, Ma... a net!

cheesin!

and again... just in case you didn't get it the first time ;)

Bri and Grandma, blowing bubbles

There's Mama!

a popsicle: perfect ending to some fun in the sun

followed by a nap cuddled up to Daddy

Once everyone woke up from their naps (Philipe got to take another nap...lucky dog) we went to my in-laws. We hung out at the Tiki and enjoyed some "Hurricanes" chicken wings for dinner. I was having pretty good contractions the whole time but of course they stopped.

That was my Mother's Day. It was perfect and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family. I know it's a day to celebrate Mother's but I really felt I spent a lot of the day trying to appreciate Brianna and show her thanks for making me a mom. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me and she's made this whole journey amazing. I don't know how I lived so long with out her. I hope all you other mommies enjoyed your Mother's Day as much as I did.

still here... still pregnant

2009-05-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in forever but I was hoping my next post would be announcing the birth of our new baby. That's not the case. I'm 2 days past my due date, still pregnant. What can I say?? My baby just isn't done cooking. Stay tuned!

Until then, I'm going to "try" and enjoy these last few days of pregnancy.

Pics

2009-04-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this the other day. We went to Kids Adventure Zone the other day. It wasn't our first time going there but it was the first time Philipe got to go. I think he had more fun than Brianna did. It takes Brianna forever to loosen up. Enjoy!

I'm sure one day Bri will hate me for posting these pictures but I think they're so darn cute. Brianna refuses to go poop on the big potty. She'll only go on the little one. Philipe thought if he gave her a Paula Dean magazine she's sit long enough to go. She sat for a good 10 minutes but no success. Oh well. At least I got some cute pics

After nap time

2009-04-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

I'm so lucky I get to wake up to this beautiful smile!

Ooops... forgot to post this on Fri.

2009-04-04T05:21:00.001-07:00

Monday is my home visit with Alana, my midwife. I can't wait! It makes it all seem so real. Not that the baby constantly kicking me in my ribs and the fact that I can't catch a good breath isn't a constant reminder. But, this home visit is definitely kicking my butt into gear to get everything ready. We're pretty much ready for this baby's arrival. I got my birth kit the other day. So exciting! I ordered this cute little shirt too. Watch this baby come out a boy. grrrr....

The only other stuff I have to get is those huge maxi pads for afterwards and a 4 oz. bottle of olive oil.

My dad is here this weekend working hard to get this bathroom ready for me. He's says he should be done by Monday. i wish the tile was all that needed to be finished. The contractor still has to come back to fix a bunch of stuff. Then, Philipe has to paint it. The tub is there so I really shouldn't complain but I was really hoping the bathroom would give me a sense of relaxation. I don't think that's going to happen. Oh well! As long as I have a healthy baby, I'll be happy.

The goats are gone and, surprisingly, I'm not sad. I made myself stop going out there to un-fall in love with them. My dogs are still not here though. I keep telling Philipe we need to go get them and he keeps giving me excuses that the area is not ready yet.

We got a bedroom set the other day. It's getting delivered today. I'm not sure if I'll be here when it gets delivered. The ladies from my mommy group are throwing me a diaper shower (since I don't need anything but baby diapers). I can't wait! I'm sure it's going to be fun. I love my mommies!!! I know I've said it before but I'll say it again... I've got the best friends in the whole world. I'll have to post some pics later, along with pictures of my bedroom set and my bathroom.

Oh... I got my composting bin from Sam's. $4o.00! Can't beat that! I never realized how much stuff we would normally throw away that could be put back into the Earth. Philipe's been awesome about making sure stuff that needs to be composted gets put in the pile.

Bri has been going through something crazy lately. She's been tons of fun and we're really enjoying this age, but these tantrums are horrible! We can usually expect at least one a day. She's become quite the daddy's girl lately too. Like she prefers him over me. Breaks my heart! Maybe it's because I'm not as fun anymore. I can't move as quick as usual and I'm extremely tired all the time. She must sense that. Plus, I think Philipe has taken pity on me and has kicked it up a notch with helping out with Bri. He takes her outside a lot and they clean up the yard and she helps him with the fence. They go for rides on the Rhino and have tons of fun! It takes me 30 minutes to put my shoes on. LOL! Of course she wants to be with him.

2009-03-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics of the goats.

This is the sweet one

This one is a jerk

Brianna, waiting for the goat to come eat her carrots.

I am so crazy about this kid! It's not even funny! I just love her to pieces. This morning Philipe went out back to work on the dog run. He's building a shelter the dogs can go under to escape the sun and the rain. He's so darn handy. Brianna kept begging to go outside so I got us dressed and out we went. Of course she had to go help her daddy for a bit and talk to the goats. I was on a mission to make them like me today. I brought carrots with me. I tried so hard to get them to come eat out of my hand. No luck! Once I was in there for a while I felt comfortable letting Brianna come in. I really think I'm able to read animals. I think it's an extra sense I have. Anyone who knows me can tell you that. I don't trust the big one (let's call him Jerky) so I just made sure she didn't get close to him. I can tell the littler one is a sweet heart. He's just scared, shitless! Especially, cause Jerky's ramming a horn into his heiny every 2 seconds. Anyway... Brianna really wanted to try and give the goat a carrot. She started walking towards him and he saw she had a carrot. As he was walking towards Brianna I asked Philipe if he thought I should be worried. He said yes and before I could even get up to monitor the situation they were pals. He was eating the carrot out of her hand and standing right next to her while he chewed it up. i stood up to give her some more and he got spooked and ran. I had been trying all morning to be buddies with this little guy! I got really excited and ran and got the camera which spooked him even more and he wouldn't play with Bri anymore. Oh well. This was all the footage I was able to get.

LATER..... I have tons of updates on the goats. We're all the best of pals! The little guy runs up to the gate when he sees me. Then he rubs up against me till I pet him. I'll have to tell you all about it tomorrow. Grey's Anatomy is on and I can't focus on 2 things at once. Tootles!

Goats!

2009-03-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

I've got 2 goats in my backyard right now and I'm loving it! A friend of ours picked up some goats that some people had as pets but couldn't afford anymore. Philipe helped him out and they decided to put the 2 of the goats in the dog run so they could clear out the brush for us. They're super cute!!! Bri likes to try and feed them carrots (I hope it's safe to give goats carrots), but they seem really shook up so they just run from us. They seem to come closest to Brianna when she offers them food. I'm not to sure if it's cause they like her or they want to ram her with their horns. They just got here today so I figured I'd give them a day to adjust before I try to befriend them. They're both neutered males. One is a year old and the other one is four. It's obvious the older one is in charge. Anytime the little dude gets close to him he rams him. Bully! I hope he doesn't try to do that to me tomorrow.

I started going through all Bri's clothes today and unpacking newborn clothes. It got me really excited! If anyone buys this baby any clothes I think I'll murder them. LOL. There are so many clothes that Brianna never even wore. I can't wait to dress me new little bambino! I've been having a ton of contractions lately. It's starting to get a little uncomfortable. They don't hurt so much, but I'll be in the middle of doing something and I'll feel my uterus get hard as a rock and it makes it a little difficult to do things. I had a lot of contractions when I was pregnant with Brianna too so I'm not to worried. My midwife told me you usually have more braxton hix with every pregnancy. That means I'm ahead of the game. My uterus is already preparing for delivery. Woo hoo! Maybe this baby will slide on out. LOL! Wishful thinking. I know this sounds crazy but I kind of hope I don't have a super quick labor. I want to savor this whole experience. Especially the part where my baby is getting ready to enter the world. I was in labor with Brianna for about 12 hours. That seemed perfect. Looking back on it, it seems like it was a matter of minutes.

I'm on a blogging roll here! Maybe you'll hear more from me tomorrow ;)

"Big pee pee" on the potty... alas

2009-03-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

Right after I posted my blog the other day something BIG happen! Brianna pooped on the potty! This is huge! It's no secret that when we're home Bri is usually bottomless. It's the only way she'll pee on the potty. I can usually tell when she has to poo cause she'll come and tell me she has to go pee pee while holding her butt. I'll tell her to go on the big girl potty. She'll say, "Oh" (like she totally forgot) and go sit on it, let out a fart and say, "noooooo". She then gets up holding her but telling me she has to go "big pee pee" but won't try to sit on the potty again. I usually put a diaper on her at this point cause I'm afraid she's going to get all backed up or something. LOL. I knew the only way she was going to make the connection was if she pooped on the floor and I made a big deal about how it's suppose to go in the potty. So..... I had to bite the bullet and just let her poop on the floor. The other day she was playing in her play room and started freaking out, screaming, "Momma, help me!" I knew what had happened, I just hoped it didn't happen on the brand new carpet. It did! It was a mess! I explained to her that we go poop on the potty and it seemed like she understood. The next day she ran to the potty holding her butt saying, "pee pee' but didn't make it quick enough and it hit the floor about a foot in front of her potty. The next day was a success!!! It was right after my last post. I was chatting with Laura and Brianna ran by us, holding her but saying, "big pee pee". She sat on her potty and pushed for a couple seconds (to much detail?) and out plopped the biggest turd! I was so happy I almost cried. She didn't want to get up though. It was like she was afraid to see what she just did. I stood her up to wipe her butt and showed her that she put her poop in the potty and she got all freaked out. I think she thought the thing was going to come alive and beat her up. I don't know. After I flushed it she ran up to me with a big smile and said, "Good girl, big pee pee!". I can't believe she finally did it. All by herself. I'm one proud momma!

Philipe and I have been talking a lot about our garden we plan to start once the babies born and we're all situated. I can't wait! I have lots of research to do. I have so many plans for our 1 acre! LOL. Once we've got our garden in order, I plan on getting some chickens too. I can't wait. I remember growing up on my grandpas farm and looking forward to the morning so we could go find eggs. It was like Easter, everyday! I want that for my kids! I also want them to learn where their food comes from. I think it will be a great experience for everyone in our family, and we'll have yummy eggs to eat and know exactly where they came from. At first, I didn't think Philipe would be on board but I think he's taking it in. I've been reading a lot about raising chickens and following a few blogs of people who have decided to add chickens to their lives. I can't wait to build my coop!

Yesterday morning Philipe, Brianna, and I were all laying in bed. The baby was going nuts so Philipe had his hand on my belly and was making loud, "Wow's" and "Holy Cows". This got Brianna really intrigued. She always kisses and rubs my belly but she never wanted to feel it move. She kept her hand on my belly for a good 30 seconds and the baby started kicking. Her face was priceless when she felt it. Philipe and I couldn't stop laughing. And the louder we all got, the harder the baby would kick Bri's hand. She was so excited. Now, she'll come sit next to me and keep her hands on my belly until she feels the baby move. She loves it. My computer still isn't recognizing my camera but I took some pics of her with my lap top.

Brianna thinks my belly makes a nice arm rest

Waiting to feel sissy move

Kisses for the baby

And, I'll end with a video of Bri doing her letters.

Loving life on Silver Oak Dr.

2009-03-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

The fact that there's SO MUCH going on in my life right now makes me not want to blog. I don't even know where to start.... so I don't. Hence, why you haven't heard from me in a million years. My computer is not recognizing my camera either so I feel like blogging is no fun with no pictures. This post is probably going to take me a few days to write but I know I'll feel good once I write it. Here goes:

We moved on Saturday, March 7th. This just so happen to be the same day of one of our friends wedding, that we totally forgot about till the last minute, and the day of our priest's funneral. The one who married us and baptized Brianna. Yup. I still feel like crap for missing it but that was the only time we had to move and Philipe was determined. I have the best in-laws in the world. My 2 brother in laws were there to help and my MIL & FIL were at the old house first thing in the morning loading up their truck. My mom came over as soon as she got off work and cleaned our bathrooms for me. Our first night at the new house was weird. It kind of felt like we were camping or something. (Geee... I'm glad I decided to finally blog about this because I recall thinking this is crazy... I'll have to blog about it, but now I don't really remember how it felt.) I think I remember the second night being even more weird but I don't remember why. I do remember Brianna having a couple huge melt downs... like I've never seen before. It must have been really hard watching everyone take her toys from underneath her. It was obvious the move was emotionally draining on her... on all of us!

On Sunday Jen and her crew (family) came over and helped. She unpacked boxes while I looked around wondering what the heck were we thinking for moving right now. Her hubby, Dave, and Philipe went and got a ton of stuff out of our old garage. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again... I have the best friends a girl could ever ask for.

I stared at boxes for the next 2 days and pretty much freaked out. I probably went through a bottle of Rescue Remedy. Poor Philipe. When I get super stressed out Philipe is like my security blanket. He's such a wonderful husband. There was so much he needed to be doing but he kept telling me he couldn't do anything when I was all anxiety stricken. I love that man!

So... we've been here 2 weeks and I love it! My dad finished the tile throughout the house and is now working on our bathroom. We finally got our toilet in our master bathroom put in. That was a huge relief because the other bathroom is clear across the house and being 8 months pregnant, having to pee every 2 hours, became quite a pain in the rear. The bathroom looks awesome! I can't wait till it's finished and we can all take showers together. Brianna is going to go nuts with 2 shower heads. She won't push me out of the way anymore. I'm not even sure she'll want to shower with me anymore after taking baths in the "big bath" every night.

Another something new... I've been a cooking machine! Maybe it's my way of nesting since all the baby stuff is still in the attic at the old house. Philipe doesn't know what to do with himself, having home cooked meals every night. We were the master order outers (I know that's not a word). We also wasted A LOT of money when we were suppose to be saving. I hope I keep this up after the baby comes (With a short break for my 2 weeks of baby-mooning in bed...I'll explain more later).

I don't know if I've said anything about my friend Christina and her boyfriend, Steven, buying a house down the road before. Well... my friend (who until recently I probably would have just considered an aquaintance), that I went to middle and high school with just bought a house down the road. 1.5 miles to be exact. Oh...she started a blog to. Check it out, Sweet Home Silver Oak. Anywho, having them down the street has been a real treat for me. I have a feeling we're going to be friends for a LONG time now. Brianna really loves her too. I'm sure the fact that they have a pretty cool dog helps. Christina introduced me to Paula Dean (not personally) and she and I have become pretty good friends too. Thanks Christina! Steven and Christina remind me so much of me and Philipe, pre marriage and baby. I can't wait to see how things unfold for them.

Hmmm..... Brianna's been a real tropper in the heat of all the action (minus the 2 horrible tantrums that almost made me want to bring her to the hospital because I seriously thought something was wrong). I'm pretty sure she's getting her 2 year molars cause she's been waking up a few times in the middle of the night. She loves to run up and rub my belly and tell me all about Sissy. She's talking in broken sentences now, which is crazy and I love it all at the same time. Oh... I never blogged about it but a few weeks ago (old house) we were in the shower and Bri kept staring at my boobs. Maybe cause my nipples are darker???? LOL. Anyways, I pointed to them and said, "Brianna, what is that?" She looked at me and said, "Sissy milk". I couldn't believe it! I asked her again the next day and she said the same thing. Philipe's mouth almost hit the floor. My kid is a genius! She really understands that theirs a baby in my belly. And she remembers where she got her milk from. I can't believe at 18 months old, she was able to put the 2 together. Crazy!!!

Hmmm.... Philipe has been working on the house like a maniac. I feel like I never get to see him. I can't wait all the work is done. I have a feeling he is going to find more projects for a LONG time. The poor guy is so beat at the end of the day. I hope he takes a little breather when the baby comes and realizes I'm going to really need his help.

The other day he was outside painting fence posts and he called me and said there was a cocktail on our roof. I'm know for catching animals so I said I'd be right out. As I opened the door, he came walking towards me with a bird in his hand. He caught the little bugger. It was the sweetest little bird. Bri loved holding it and petting it. I called my mother in law and she came and got it. It is now pals with her other cockatiel (the one I caught a few years ago).

Pregnancy is going great! I'm 33 weeks. It's going by so fast! Starting to get a little uncomfortable but nothing to bad. My biggest complaint would be my hips and it's getting hard to breathe. All normal stuff. I can't wait to meet my little baby. I get so excited I can't sleep at night. I wonder how the birth is going to play out. Will I give birth in my tub or on my brand new carpet? LOL. Will it be in the middle of the night or during the day? Will Brianna be in a good mood and be part of it all or will she get freaked out and have to go somewhere with my MIL? I hope she's here. That would be awesome. I never screamed when I was in labor with her or anything crazy like that so I can't imagine her getting scared. I think the only thing that would bother her is that I wouldn't come to her when she called me like I normally do. And, she gets all worked up when we go to the midwife and Alanna checks my blood pressure. I can't imagine what she would think Alanna was doing to me when she pulls a baby from between my legs. Or, will I pull the baby up to my chest? I picture her being pretty hands off and from what I hear and what she says, she likes to be hands off. But in the heat of the moment I might want her to help me. The cool part is... I HAVE A CHOICE! These are just things I think about. We'll see how it goes. I don't have a set plan in mind so I won't be disappointed either way. As long as my birth goes smooth and my baby is healthy, I am happy!

I hope this wasn't to long and boring for you readers. I'll try to keep up with posting but there have been way more important things going on lately. It's slowly settling down though. My main goal is going to be enjoying time with my daughter while she's still the "only child". Lots of love to everyone and thanks to everyone who has helped make this move possible.

Update

2009-02-03T07:17:00.000-08:00

Today, Philipe is starting to put some color on the walls at the new house. I can't wait to go over there and see it. There was so much work that had to be done to this house before we could start customizing it the way we like. We had to rip out all the flooring, peel wall paper (wall paper should be illegal), sand, patch, blah blah blah.... But, we finally get to start doing the fun stuff. Yesterday, we ordered flooring (some wood, some tile) and we ended up saving so much money that we went ahead and ordered granite for the counters. I can't wait to see it all in place!

We have been there everyday since our closing. Brianna has been such a trooper too! Philipe and I are both amazed. She now knows how to work a hammer ("hammi") and chisel. It's adorable. I put away some of her Christmas presents because we don't have room at this house for any more toys. I brought them over to the new house so most of the time she is playing with her fisher price 'My First Doll House'. There's a mommy, a daddy, and a baby plastic doll included. She likes to make them all go "pee pee" on the little potty it came with and puts them in the "bass" (bath) together. She runs around the house screaming at the top of her lungs with excitement, something she could never do in our tiny house. She has free range of the back yard and takes full advantage of it. She loves to go on the "weees" (swing) in the back yard but doesn't ever want to sit on it for to long cause there is so much more to explore. One of the first things I did was cleaned out the huge Roman bath tub. Brianna was the first to bathe in it. She really though she was in a pool. It was priceless. There are so many great memories in this home already. I really feel like it has brought our family closer together in a whole new way. Brianna has learned so much from being there and Philipe and I are both there to witness it. She's starting to talk in sentences now. There only 3 word sentences but she gets her point across.

The last time Brianna nursed was the morning of the closing on the house. 1 week ago today. She wasn't wanting to nurse everyday anymore but I gave it to her whenever she asked. Most of the time it was at night, right before bed. Well, since we've been at the house so late every night she falls asleep in the car and I just transfer her. The last 2 nights we came back early and she was still awake. I told her it was time to go Night night and she put her arms up for me to hold her and let me put her down with out saying anything. She doesn't even care. I'm sure the fact that I was making absolutely no milk helped her make her decision. I'm just really happy with how it all worked out. She did this all by herself. I thought for sure she would nurse till she was 18. LOL! I always bring her in bed with me in the morning and she would usually scream if I didn't get my boob to her fast enough. Now, she curls up next to me in the morning, lays her head on my shoulder, and twiddles with my fingers. She gets mad if I try to turn over or move my fingers. She'll start yelling "inger, inger!" (finger). She lays there for an hour every morning too. I love it! It use to annoy me a little when she would nurse in the morning cause she would nurse for sooo long and I would be sooo uncomfortable. I love our mornings now! I desperately miss our nights though. I loved nursing her at night. It was such a wonderful way to put an end to the day. Lately, the last thing she's sees at night is the back of my head while I'm driving in between homes. That makes me sad. Philipe tells me not to worry. I'll have another baby to nurse here shortly. He's right. But I'll never be able to have that special connection with my first born again. Don't get me wrong, since she's weaned we've shared a different kind of special connection but nothing brings a mother and child closer than them being at the breast. I know if I tried I could get her to keep nursing but I see she's ready and I guess I'm ready too.

Pregnancy is going great. Normal aches and pains. My back is killing me and it's getting really hard to sleep but I love the feeling of this little life inside me. Up till now my weight gain has been right on target but since we're renovating the new house we've been eating out a lot and my daily smoothies are a thing of the past. I think I had one this whole week. But, I am sipping on a yummy one right now as I type. Brianna has a cute green mustache kicking too. Love it! I really need to make a point to eat healthy and keep up all the good nutrition I've strived for this whole pregnancy. It's so hard when Dale's BBQ is right down the road though.

That's it for now. I probably will being M.I.A. a while longer but I'll try to keep everyone posted. Much love!!!

A little catching up

2009-01-25T14:35:00.000-08:00

I've abandoned my blog for a while now. We've been really busy with all this moving commotion. Our closing was suppose to be on the 21st but got pushed back to the 27th...TUESDAY! We are so excited!!!! Can't wait! It's going to be a little bitter sweet because we can't move in right away cause there is a lot that has to be done before we move in so Philipe will be MIA on his days off. Not having him around will probably stress me out, but I'm trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

January has been a very eventful month. We know a lot of people who have lost loved ones and a lot of others who have brought new life into the world. Half the time, I don't know if I'm suppose to be happy or sad.

Bri has been a ball of fire lately. I definitely think she's going through the terrible twos a little early. Everything thing is, "NO! No! NO!" And it's not just one "no", it's a whole crap load of whiney loud "No's!" If some one looks at her the wrong way she has a break down. At times it can be quite embarrassing. Philipe and I often find ourselves asking each other what we're suppose to do. Being a parent is really hard at times. The way you discipline your child affects them for the ret of their life.... what is the right thing to do??? Brianna has started pinching out of frustration lately. Like if it's time to leave and she's not ready she throws a fit. I'll end up picking her up and she'll scream and pinch me. While I want to beat her little heiny for hurting me, I know that would kind of send the wrong message. I try to see things from her point of view but sometimes I just can't find a way to communicate with her. Ugh! I wish they came with instruction manuals.

My belly is getting quite large now. Shaving my legs this morning was quite a struggle and I came out of the shower feeling like I could use a nap. LOL! This baby beats the crap out of me! I don't remember Brianna's kicks ever hurting so bad. Sometimes the baby will kick me a certain way and I feel like my vagina is going to fall out (if that's even possible). And....I wouldn't change it for anything in the world! I just can't wait till she gets bigger and has less room to move around. Maybe she'll stay still a little bit longer. I can feel her get the hic-ups now too. It's so cute! Brianna likes to walk up to my belly, with out warning, lift my shirt and give her "sissy" a kiss. It's adorable! It's a little strange when we're in public though cause if I try to stop her from lifting my shirt she throws a fit. Of course she can't just talk to her and kiss her threw my shirt, she's got to share my belly with the world. My friend Jen just had her gorgeous baby, Annalea, at home with the same midwife we're using. Her story is beautiful and it makes me even more excited about us having this baby at home. Soon, I'll have a beautiful birth story of my own to share. Can't wait!

Here I am at 6 months:

Welcome home Blendtec baby!

2009-01-09T17:14:00.001-08:00

Today, I woke up feeling a little crappy. My throat hurt and my body ached. I hate being sick.

Philipe and I had some running around to do today. We got all that out of the way and decided to go to Nelson's family farm. I was really bummed that I had to leave my local organic co-op but we needed to make sure we were doing everything we could to to save money for when we move. Philipe assured me that I could get more produce and pick what I wanted for cheaper, as we are moving right down the street from 2 local farmers. I didn't really think it was going to be that much cheaper but I was wrong. I got twice as much for the same price. I was stoked! I was so excited that I told Philipe that it would be even better if we went home to my blentec on the front porch. Whouldn't ya know.....it was right there, next to the front door. Ugh! It was like Christmas. I hurried in and washed all the produce. First, I made Bri a strawberry grape juice. It was soooo delicious. Brianna didn't relly care for it to much. LOL. I think she's really built up a taste to her green smoothies. Her little buddy was here though, and she chugged a whole sippy cup full. Philipe loved it too. Next, it was on to the big dog. I put a bunch of kale and spinach mixed with some berries, mango, apple, bananna, and flax seed oil. It was pretty good but the kale was a little over bearing so I added some lemon and more berries. It was a little better. I loved it but I was worried that Philipe would complain it wasn't sweet enough. He drank it like a champ! He said he thought it tasted pretty good. I think his palate is getting acclimated too! Bri got excited about having another "moothie" and drank some like a champ too. She didn't drink as much as she normally does but that's becasue it was a totally different taste for her. I'm so excited to see my family healthy. Brianna has gotten so much better about trying new things and Philipe has been super supportive of me trying to better the fam. I love my happy little family.

With out further ado, meet the newest addition....

Smoothie Queen...

2009-01-05T10:42:00.000-08:00

Or at least I'm getting there. These green smoothies are GREAT! I am so excited... about my nutrition. LOL! Who ever thought I would be that kind of person. What makes me most happy is Brianna gets so excited when she hears the blender start up. I love it! She runs over to me saying, "moothie, moothie, moothie", and points to where our straws are (as if I forgot). It's to cute. She's going to be in for a big surprise too.... Daddy's getting us a Blendtec for our anniversary!!!! It is the king of all kitchen appliances. I know. I'm spoiled. For the record: Philipe is equally spoiled. I'm getting him a kegerator for our anniversary. I don't know why, but he's been wanting one for a long time. It's a certain kind. Whatever! This is going to be our last big purchase for a long time. Once we move, we're not going to be able to afford anything. Hey, at least we'll have good health (with my new blendtec blender) and if not, we can drink our sorrows away (from our kegerator). LOL! Just kiddin!

I can't believe tomorrow is our anniversary. 2 years baby!!! I'm not sure how long we've been together.... I think like 6 years or something. I'll have to figure it out later. We started dating my senior year of high school so there were a couple break ups in there and I was a total b*itch to him. I'm so lucky he is so stubborn and hung around. I can't imagine my life with out that man. I am truly blessed. I never, in a million years, thought life could be so great. He really makes it all possible. And, he's a super hunk.... so, that's always a plus!

Have you had your Green Smoothie today?

2008-12-31T12:56:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to make green smoothies for a while now but I thought it would really hard to make it yummy enough for everyone in the family to drink. I copied a recipe one time and tried to share it with Brianna and she seriously gagged.

I decided to give it another try. This time I was going to "wing it". I put 5 whopping handfuls of spinach, 1 cucumber, some mixed berries, OJ, and flax oil in it. It was delicious! It tasted better than something from tropical smoothie. And, it got Brianna's approval. (See pics below)

Today I tried to make another one. It wasn't as good as yesterdays but it was pretty good. Philipe even said he didn't mind drinking it. He doesn't understand the whole concept but he'll drink it if I make him. ;) Hopefully, this will be an easy way to get to Bri to consume her daily veggies.

My baby's a big girl

2008-12-26T18:03:00.000-08:00

Tonight was monumental. Every night when it's time for bed we have the same routine. It ends with me saying Brianna are you ready to go Night night? She comes running over with a smile on her face signing and saying milk, I nurse her, put her in her crib, and she falls asleep comfortably with no fuss. Well, tonight after our bath she watched a little Diego and started to look tired. She went pee pee on the potty, I put a diaper on her and asked her if she wanted to go "Night night". She didn't sign anything or say anything. She just put her arms up in the air for me to grab her so I put her in her crib and she fell asleep with no fuss and..... no boob! I thought I would be excited when this day finally happened but I ran to Philipe with tears in my eyes saying maybe we should go check on her cause, obviously, something is wrong with her. LOL. Since I've been pregnant I stopped offering to nurse her. I only do it when she asks (unless she is extremely cranky and needs to chill out). Well, she doesn't really ever ask anymore. I'm so happy this is all happening on her terms. I'm anxious to see how she's going to react when the new baby gets here.

5 months!

2008-12-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

This pregnancy is going by so darn fast. It's insane! I know I'm going to be so sad when it's all over. I just want to savor it as much as possible. I couldn't be happier that we're having another little girl. It's so exciting. It think God was definitely looking out for us because with us buying this house I couldn't imagine having to buy new stuff for a boy. It's perfect! I know Bri will be so good with a little baby sister. I'm sure they'll be super close. (*finger's crossed).

I'm really excited about ECing this baby from birth. I have a friend (Natacha) who EC's her little boy. He's 4 months old. It's so exciting watching him go on cue. He gets really happy after he goes too. It just seems so natural. Plus, washing diapers every other day sucks!

Well, without further ado... here's my 5 month (21 weeks to be exact) belly pictures. Enjoy my fullness! I am!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Bri visits Santa

2008-12-20T17:13:00.000-08:00

Today Philipe and I took a trip to the mall to finish some Christmas shopping and get Brianna's pictures taken with Santa. It was great! I for sure thought she would cry bloody murder and Philipe and I would end up sitting on Santa's lap too. I even put make-up on just in case. She was awesome. While she didn't smile, she tolerated the big guy for a good 5 minutes. The pictures suck. The sun is always right in Santa's face. You'd think they'd relocate him or set up camp in a shaded area. Oh well! I'm just so proud of my baby girl.

This year money's a little tight so I'm having Bri make Christmas presents for family. I love doing crafts with her. She has so much fun and I can just see her little brain connections firing up. I love it! Any who... There were 2 parties we were suppose to go to this evening. Once I got home from being out ALL day I didn't feel like changing and getting ready to go out again so Bri and I stayed home while Philipe went to some Christmas party a guy from the fire dept was having. We had a blast. I pulled out the finger paints and she went to town on making presents. We even talked about who we should give them too. And, she was sure to tell me every color she was using. She's so darn smart! After Christmas I'll have to let you know what we did for gifts. I know we have dedicated grandparent readers and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Enjoy the pics... of course they're in reverse order.

Bri, finger painting.

telling me, "purple"

an expert with the paintbrush

Mommy's happy little artist

tolerating Santa

Bri and Mommy, waiting in line (for an hour) to see Santa

Before we saw Santa we had to make sure we had full bellies. Bri loves her some mac & cheese!

cheese!

See how swollen her bottom gums are!?!? Hopefully, that puppy breaks through soon!

Hair is a little frazzled, but still cute as ever!

It's a...

2008-12-10T11:46:00.000-08:00

Girl! So, Brianna is going to have a little baby sister. How exciting! I hope they'll be the best of friends. Yeah, wishful thinking.

2008-12-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

Not a whole lot of new stuff going on. Brianna is doing great on the potty. She just goes and pees on it whenever she needs to. I don't have to read to her for 30 minutes while she sits on it either. As soon as she sits on it she does her business and then jumps up to go play.

Tomorrow we go to get an ultrasound. Everyone keeps asking if I'm excited. I'm really excited about seeing my little baby on the screen but I don't care if it's a boy or a girl. I'll be just as happy either way. This just isn't like it was with Brianna. I know how bad Philipe wants a boy so that would be cool it were a boy but I really don't care either way.

A few weeks ago I posted that I saw the documentary, "Orgasmic Birth". Well, my friend Jen borrowed it from someone and she let me borrow it from her so Philipe and I could watch it together. He didn't want to watch it (because of the title) but he did because I told him it would mean a lot to me. He really enjoyed it. He really thought it was going to be a bunch of women having orgasms while they gave birth (which I thought too) but it wasn't. It was just about enjoying your birth to the max. And it doesn't have to be excruciating pain if you give in and allow your body to do what it was made to do. There were a couple times he had to get up and even asked me to pause it until he got back. It was great! We talked about how awesome it was when Bri was born and how much we appreciated each other and how it brought our love for one another to a whole new level. I can't wait to feel it all again!

Here's some pics I took recently. Brianna's been all about her little cowgirl hat lately. She's always naked at home so it's so cute to see her run around with her hat on. I have some super cute butt shots of her wearing her hat but there's a lot of perv's out there so I'm not sharing those. These will do.

She has to have her reading material. LOL

Holiday Give-Away

2008-12-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

First, let me tell you why my doctor is better than your doctor. She rocks! I totally forgot that Dr. Punger is not in the office on Thurs. so I figured I would just wait till tomorrow. Well, around 9:30 I got a call from her office telling me she would meet me at 1:00. After reading my 4:00 in the morning post, she was kind enough to make time from her busy day to see little Bri. Turns out Brianna is okay. Her fever and miserableness is just from her teething. Thank God! I can not wait till these teeth break through. Bri is so good with teething but these are definately throwing us for a loop. Her fever still won't break. I get all freaked out if she has a fever for over 24 hours. We're going on 48 hrs now. They tylenol and motrin helps but I hate having to give her that stuff. Anyways....let me tell you another reason my doc rocks.... She is doing a "Holiday Give-Away" of her book, Permission to Mother: Going Beyond the Standard-of-Care to Nurture our Children, on her blog. Go on... go check it out! See how you could win a free copy of her amazing book. Here is a copy of the review I left a while ago on Amazon:

"I'm not sure if there are enough words to describe how much Dr. Punger's book inspired me. Once I opened the book I couldn't put it down! After reading it I feel confident in the way I raise my daughter. In a society that is shaped by social norms and fear of what others might think, Dr. Punger enlightens that we can choose the way we raise our children.

Dr. Punger portrays birth so beautifully and really reminds us that the experience we have while bringing new life into the world is enitrely up to us. My husband and I are anxious to have our next child at home.

Dr. Punger also inspired me to switch to cloth diapers, something I NEVER thought I would do. My daughter had 3 UTI's by the time she was 8 months old. I never thought they could possibly be caused by disposable diapers. But now it makes sense! There are tons of chemicals in those things. I'm glad she pointed that out. None of my daughters doctors ever told me to try switching daipers. They just did really invasive proceedures that had inconclusive results. I'm fairly new at the cloth diapering but Brianna has been free and clear of UTI's since switching.

Since reading "Permission to Mother", I have also decided to breast feed longer than I intended. Actually, I'm not to sure how long that is but I know I don't feel I need to put a time limit on it. I'm comfortable with letting my daughter decide when she is ready to wean.

All in all, "Permission to Mother" is the most incredible, inspiring, and empowering book I have ever read. I love it and strongly recommend it to everyone!!!!!"

This is defiantely a must read for all mothers, or mom-to-be's. Just go to her blog and say that you heard about her book from me (Trish) and you'll be in the drawing to win a free copy of her book. Okay... Enough bragging about Dr. Punger.

Funny story here.... today after taking Bri to the doc Philipe met up with us. We ate lunch and went and got out Christmas tree. When we got home I had to make room for the tree. I put the tree stand where Brianna's potty usually sits and moved her potty right next to it so she would still see it. Philipe was outside getting the tree ready and I was clearning a path for him to walk through. Bri told me she had to go "pee-pee" so I gave her the go ahead. I looked over and she was peeing in the tree stand. LOL! It was friggin' HILARIOUS! She even had that look of accomplishment she usually has when she pee's on the potty like a big girl. Once she saw me cracking up she got a little confused. Bless her little heart! I love that little girl. Those are little moments I'll never forget.

Praying for sleep

2008-12-04T01:40:00.000-08:00

So, it's 4:30 AM and I've been up since 2:15! Brianna is going through something horrible and is refusing to go back to sleep. Yesterday she started running a fever. I'm assuming it's her teeth. She's got 3 coming in right now so I alternated tylenol and motrin a few times. She's been sleeping through the night for the last 2 months now so when she woke up at 2:15, I knew something had to be wrong. She was burning up. 103 temp! I feel so bad for her. I nursed her for about an hour and everytime she fell asleep and I tried to take my boob out of her mouth she would scream. Finally, it got to the point of no return and she didn't even want to nurse anymore. She insisted that I turn the TV on. So, I did. That only lasted for so long. Then she wanted her water, then a banana, and now and apple and Diego. So...here I am sitting on the couch watching Diego while Bri eats an apple. Ususally, this would not fly but it's so hard when they're sick. You just want them to be happy. Plus, if she cries I'm afraid she'll get all worked up and her fever will come back. I think when this Diego episode is over I'm going to take her for a ride and maybe she'll fall back alseep. Pitiful! I know! But desperate times call for desperate measures. I need to go to Walgreens anyways to get more tylenol. I know her fevers going to come back. Hopefully, we can get into the doctors tomorrow...no, this morning. I'm pretty sure it's her teeth but I just want to make sure it's not her ears or something like that. Well, I hope everyone has a great day. I know mine is going to suck!

There's a jumping bean in there!

2008-11-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

Yay! I can finally feel my little bambino move. It's awesome. Every time I relax and put my hands on my belly the baby starts going to town. It's not strong enough to feel with my hand but if feels like a minnow is pecking at me on the inside. Ya know how fish like to peck at your feet when you stand still in the water, that's how I can best describe the feeling. I love it. I get little butterflies in my heart and I feel like I could cry. I was worried for a while because I just didn't feel as connected to this baby as I did when I was pregnant with Brianna. Well, that's changed. I defiantly feel connected to this baby and I am going to enjoy every second of this pregnancy that I can. Brianna was a big mover and groover in my belly. I felt her move at 17 weeks and it was nonstop from then on. The same is happening with this one. I am almost certain this is a girl too. I don't know why. A boy would be AWESOME but I'm pretty sure it's a lil diva in there. Philipe is really hoping for a boy. We're (hopefully) going to find out what we're having on the Dec. 10th. Mark your calendars! LOL!

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and had much to be thankful for. Philipe was working but Bri and I enjoyed ourselves. Today, we're being bums.

Pics from a Bday party

2008-11-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

Today we went to a friends 6th birthday party. Brianna had a blast and I was able to get some really cute pictures. It was hard to decide which ones to post. Here's what I got:

I have no doubt Bri's going to be a great big sister.

Kisses for the baby!

Making the sound an elephant makes

LOVE that smile!

check out the cool party favors Ma!

Happy Birthday Storm! Thanks for inviting us to your party. You're such a big girl now and we're blessed to be a part of your life.

Potty news

2008-11-21T13:39:00.000-08:00

Brianna actually walked up to her potty ( we have sitting in the living room), sat on it, and peed! She's peed on the potty before but never on her own. I usually have to watch her and wait till she cues me that she has to go. Then we try hard to her to sit and STAY on the potty long enough to pee. We read books and play legos but as soon as she starts to release some urine she stands up and freaks out. The other day she sat long enough but was rather freaked out about the whole thing. Not today. Today I was sitting on the couch and she went running up to the potty saying, "pee pee", sat down and peed. She stood up and waited for my reaction. I told her, "Wow, you must feel a lot better. You're such a big girl now. Let's go flush it and say bye-bye." If I jump up and down she freaks out but you better believe I was on the inside. After she saw how calm I was she clapped her hands a bit and that was that. About an hour later, she did it again! Damn, I'm proud!

Prego pics...

2008-11-20T14:48:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant with Brianna we took belly pics weekly. That's just not happening this time. I hope this baby doesn't ever feel less equal but it's just different the second time around. I will be sure to smother him or her with kisses and tell them how much I love them everyday. You can be sure of that! Any who.... Here's me at 16 weeks. I'm looking a lil gruby because I just got done working out to Denise Austin's awesome pregnancy workout video.

This was me at 12 weeks. I totally forgot to post it. I don't really like how fuzzy it is but we used Philipe's camera for that one.

The other day I got to go see an awesome documentary, Orgasmic Birthing. I thought by the title it was going to be a little over the top for me but it wasn't at all. It was beautiful and I loved how it portrayed how giving birth can be somewhat sensual and doesn't always have to be related to such extreme pain. It was nice riding with Jen and Denise too. A little girl time is always good for the soul! You can read Denise's review here.

As for Brianna news.... She's teething horribly. She's got her 2 pointy top teeth (don't remeber what they're called) coming in and they're the worst ones yet. Usually Brianna is pretty good when it comes to teething but these have definitely been an exception. They look horrible. All white and swollen. There's a hole on the one side but the tooth is taking it's sweet little time coming through. Bless her little heart! Brianna has peed on the potty 3 times. Only once was her choice. The other 2 times she started on the floor and I put her on the potty where she finished. She hates when we make a big deal about it too. It freaks her out. So, I guess the author of that book I read on elimination communication knew what he was talking about.

I'm feeling great. I really do love being pregnant. I can't say that enough. I felt some fluttering going on in my belly but I can't be to sure it was the baby. It's still early. I just had an appointment with my midwife on Monday. Everything was perfect. The baby's heartbeat was in the 150's. Beautiful! Sometimes it's hard to hear over Brianna's screaming but it's still music to my ears. Brianna freaks out everytime they take my blood pressure and it's all down hill from there. Luckily, Alana has 2 kids and is more than patient with us. She tries to get Bri all involved but she's just not feeling it. I was really looking forward to Brianna being home with us when the baby's born but now I'm having second thoughts. Hopefully she'll come around. We still have a while. I'm really excited that I've only gained 2.5 lbs. I think by this time with Brianna I was well over 4o lbs. I've been watching my diet but lately these sweet cravings are just unbearable. I can't resist them! Oh... and salt and vinegar chips are my downfall. They just taste so sinfully delicious. Mmmm, I can taste it now.

Heart broken...

2008-11-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Ugh! This house I was so excited about is falling through. The lady keeps going back and forth if she wants to sell it or not. I didn't think it was anything to worry about as we've already signed a contract. Her included! Well, today we found out she's backing out. She said she's still going to pay the realtor's that were involved, cancel the contract, and accept the possibility that we could sue her. We've already had the house inspected and picked out all new appliances. We had such great plans for this house. I envisioned having my babies in that big Jacuzzi tub and building a family there. Philipe even said he would let me get a pig, something I've wanted as long as I can remember, for a pet. I even had a spot picked out where I was going to try and grow my own produce in the back yard. There's huge trees to hang swings from and plenty of room for kids to run and play. I'm sooooo bummed. Michelle, my very good friend who is also the realtor, is trying to keep me in good spirits. She's looking online for court cases where buyers sell for specific performance but there aren't many to be found. Usually, it is the seller suing the buyer; not the other way around. Normally, people who don't want to sell don't put their house on the market. This lady has had her house on the market for 3 years!!!!

UPDATE: We have an appointment on the 25th to have an attorney go over the contract. It just doesn't seem fair to me that she would string us this far along. These contracts are in place for a reason! I hope we're doing the right thing. Keep us in your prayers!!!

WE SIGNED A CONTRACT ON A NEW HOME

2008-11-04T04:26:00.001-08:00

So, I didn't end up up posting pictures of Halloween yesterday. I got tired and decided to take a little snooze with Brianna....BUT... we've had our eyes on this one house. We drive by it quite often just to dream about it. The day before yesterday we put on offer on it. The next day we got word that the lady counter-offered and we accepted! We are so excited. I tried to copy the link to the house but for some reason it won't paste. It's beautiful. Huge! Big enough for our family to grow and in such a great neighborhood I don't have to be afraid to let them go outside and play. It's on almost an acre so there will be plenty of room for them to play in our yard. And, there will be a little spot for me to grow some veggies. I'm soooooo excited. The best part.... that's where this baby is going to be born (and any following). OOOOOh...I love my life!

2008-11-03T06:19:00.000-08:00

I'm such a slacker about posting pictures. Here's the pics from my B-Day weekend. Of course they're all in reverse order. I can never get them in the right order! I'm going to try and post Halloween pics when Bri goes down for a nap.

This was when we were about to leave. Brianna was in a horrible mood so Philipe had to chase her everywhere. She wouldn't let us hold her.

This was one of our favorite rides....Buzz Light Year.

Here's Brianna on the train that goes around Disney, saying, "Choo-choo"

Brianna sitting in Minnie's chair on the porch

Brianna and Daddy smelling the flowers

smelling more flowers

and some more...

Raiding Minnie's fridge

waiting in line to ride Peter Pan

Brianna's favorite ride. "It's a small world"

Philipe is pouting because Brianna fell asleep before we got there and I wouldn't let him wake her up. Boo hoo!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sea World....

Again, these pictures are backwards. Not to many good ones of Sea Word. Brianna didn't really enjoy it half as much as Disney.

Brianna and Daddy watching Shamu

Nap time

Eating lunch. Brianna could care less about the fish all around her.

Happy Birthday Momma!

2008-10-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures from my birthday. It was the best Bday, ever! I'll post later all about our weekend in Orlando.

Brianna blowing out the candles

Momma blowing out the candles

Nana & Papa

Brianna showing off her pirate sword....Arghh!

This smile is what made my birthday so great

On a more serious note...

The BIG 25!

2008-10-23T15:18:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow's the big day. I'll be 25. I have no idea where the time has gone. It feels like I just graduated high school. It's crazy! Philipe is taking us to Orlando. We're going to Sea World and Disney. I'm soooo excited. I can't wait to see Brianna's face. I'm sure I'll have a million pictures. Stay tuned! We're leaving Sat morning and coming home Sunday. Tomorrow we're having family over for cake. I'm not to sure when. Philipe's taking care of all that.

Brianna has started telling me she's gone potty. Once she's finished, she'll run up to me and say, "pee-pee-pee-pee-pee". It's so cute. If I could just get her to sit on the potty and go. She'll sit on the potty and make the noise but won't go. Hmmmm... I don't know what else I could do.

We get to hear the baby's heart beat on Monday. Can't wait for that! Maybe then I'll feel pregnant and connected to my little bambino growing inside of me.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Philipe caught a poo!

2008-10-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

So, we try to practice EC'ing from time to time. Brianna is naked a majority of the time when we're home. We're still not very good at catching but at least we make a connection when she goes. That's what's important.... at least that's what the book says. Personally, I would love to catch some on the potty rather than cleaning my floors all the time but it's really not that big of a deal.

Anywho, we got home from the mall today and I took Bri's diaper off as soon as we got home so she could get some air on her heiny. I went to go put the wet diaper in the diaper pail and as soon as I got back I saw that she peed all over the place. Philipe kind of made a "ugh" noise and asked why I left her with out a diaper on. He seems to show excitement about her learning to go to the bathroom on the potty but every time she has an "accident" (EC'ers refer to them as misses) he says she's to young and tells me I need to just put a diaper on her. Of course I don't listen and continue having to clean up messes all over the place. Well, while I was cleaning up her mess today I asked him to watch her. He asked if he could put a diaper on her and I explained we're never going to get good at this if we don't practice. So, as soon as I walked out of the room he put her on her little potty. And I heard him saying, "Brianna, go pee pee on the potty". In my head I thought he was ridiculous for even doing this. Obviously she didn't need to go potty. She just went all over the floor. He was just afraid to be left alone with her...diaperless. All of the sudden I heard Philipe shouting, "Yay, Brianna! You went poopie on the potty!" (I guess when practicing EC you're not suppose to make a big deal about going on the toilet but we're big deal kind of people. We tweeked it a little). He sounded so damn cute! I came running out to see what was going on and, oh boy, I wish I could have taken a picture of his face. He was pointing to the turd in the toilet like he just found a pot of gold. He was so proud! I was proud. I was proud I chose him to be my husband. He said he saw her make that face she makes before she goes poop so he put her on the potty but he didn't think she would go but then she stood up and there it was. How many fathers are that in tune with their kids bowl movements? He's such a good dad I think he could almost be a mom. That's big! I've only caught 1 poop. Now we're tied. It's on! We still haven't caught any pees. Brianna only pees standing up so that's been a bit of a problem. Any suggestions? I think Philipe might show a little more interest in elimination communication now that he got to see it first hand. One less diaper I have to wash! Yay!

About 30 minutes later Philipe and I were looking at homes for sale online. Brianna was stading right in front of us. All of the sudden Philipe yelled "Hey" and jumped. I thought for sure something bit him. He said, "She just pissed on my foot!" I started cracking up. It was hilarious! Even he laughed. I told him he shouldn't get so excited. It might scare her. When she goes we're suppose to make the "pee pee" noise and let her finish. Hahahaha! Poor guy. At least this time he didn't say put a diaper back on her. He even helped me roll up the carpet so if she peed more it wouldn't get on the carpet. What a good man.

Every time she pees when she doesn't have a diaper on she cuts it short and doesn't finish. I think she gets freaked out by the way it feels with out a diaper. I know that's a good thing but she'll never go on toilet, sitting down. So she pees like every 2 minutes because she doesn't fully empty her bladder. Again, any suggestions?

Oh! We got Brianna's Halloween costume today. She's going to be a pirate. I can't wait to dress her up. Philipe even had the idea of buying a little plastic pirate sword to go with the outfit. I'll definitely post pics. That's all for now. Ta ta!

I'm Home!

2008-10-12T16:44:00.000-07:00

We got back from Jersey Friday night. I've never been so happy to be home. I love my family to death but my trip sucked. First, let me start by saying Philipe and I got to the airport and hour and a half early so we decided to eat lunch and hopefully Brianna wouldn't be hungry on the flight. The lady at the restaurant ended up taking forever so we were crunched on time. They called my name over the intercom so Brianna and I were off and running. I begged everyone to let us skip them through security explaining that my flight was about to leave. They were all pretty understanding and I was pushed up to the front of the line. Or gate was at the very end of the airport. I was about to drop my bag so I stopped for a quick second to adjust my self. I took my hands off of the stroller for 2 seconds. We were on a declined walkway and the stroller starting rolling down the hill, with Brianna in it! I screamed and chased it. I finally caught up to it and we were off and running again. I was dripping sweat and everyone was looking at me like I was a fool. I finally got to the gate. They asked if I was Mrs. Chibas and began to open the door for me to board. Just as they opened the door the walkway to the plane started to retract. We missed our flight. I was out of breath and tears filled my eyes. The man was very good at calming me down and assured me we could find another flight. We had to wait 2 more hours for the next flight. No big deal? Yeah right! Brianna wanted to walk around and I couldn't chase her while keeping an eye on our baggage. She was miserable! The flight was horrible. I should have read the signs and not gone when we missed the flight.

I was suppose to be staying with my sister but they were in the process of moving and there were boxes everywhere so I ended up staying with my Grandmother most of the time. My 85 year old, very stuck in her ways, Grandmother. She criticized everything I did. She went off on me for still nursing Brianna and I finally told her that she really needs to just drop it cause I was getting sick of hearing it and she was really beginning to piss me off (I said it a lot nicer though). For some reason she thinks that me being tired is because I still breast feed my daughter. Of course it couldn't be because I'm in m first trimester of pregnancy! Whatever. She finally got the point and apologized and I felt really good about sticking up for myself and for Brianna. Brianna was really clingy and whined a lot. Every time she whined, I was instructed to feed her food. I told her that it was because she was in a strange place and was probably scared and didn't want to leave my side. I got the third degree on how it was my fault because I made her that way. Ugh! Nobody up there knows how Brianna really is. They've never come and visited her in her home where she's most comfortable. Brianna was super annoying though and I had no help. I thought I could do it by myself. I was sadly mistaken. It was so frustrating at times but then I would just feel bad for her. I was the one that took her out of her element. It wasn't her fault. As a result of Brianna being so out of her element and anxious, she wanted to nurse every 2 seconds (slight exaggeration but not by much). She started to lift up my shirt right in front of everyone, which for some reason made me feel really uncomfortable, and my nipples were so sore. I wasn't sure if it was from her being attached to my boobs or because I'm pregnant. I talked to Philipe and told him that when I got home I thought we should look into gentle ways of weaning her. Well, I ended up going to my sisters for a few days which was really rough too. There were boxes everywhere and I felt like we were constantly in the way. Brianna got worse and worse and I came to the conclusion that we were both home sick and decided to cut our trip short. My sister dropped us off at the air port. I was so nervous about the flight but so excited about going home. This time the flight was completely full so there was no open seats for Brianna to sit in. I had a window seat and she was on my lap. There was a man next to us and and woman next to him. I was extremely claustrophobic and was sure Brianna would feed off of my anxious energy. I took out 2 books I brought and thought once we were in the air I could grab my bag full of goodies for Brianna out of the over head compartment. Brianna was great for take off and I just kept reading her the 2 books I put aside. She was perfect! An angel! She calmed me down when I felt I was about to have a panic attack. She didn't even do her annoying loud noise she does when she gets aggravated. I was so proud. She didn't cry once. And, she was crammed on my lap the whole time up against a wall. I love my daughter. Maybe she knew we were going home. Oh- The whole nipple thing... they're fine. Back to normal. And Brianna's back to nursing 3 times a day instead of every 2 seconds. She's not pulling at my shirt anymore either. When she wants to nurse she just signs milk and it's granted. Agh, it's great to be home. The only thing that's missing is my husband. He made arrangements to go hang out with our friend in north Florida because he thought our trip would be longer. Normally, I would probably complain and tell him he doesn't understand what it's like to be with a baby 24/7 and he needs to give me a break but I really feel like Brianna and I bonded in a way we never have before after having only each other for the last week and a half. I thought I understood her completely but I was wrong. When I would get overwhelmed Philipe would tell Philipe to give me a breather. Well, I didn't have that option and we figured things out just wonderfully. So, while the trip sucked, it was really good for me and Brianna. She's been so happy since we got home. And I'm so happy she's so happy. This was a great lesson in parenting for me. Children are always changing and as a mother, I need to make sure I respect her needs and adjust as she gets older. There's always ways to improve our relationship and I need to always try to understand her better. I feel like a good Mother, and it feels great! Is that cocky? Philipe is coming home tomorrow. I miss him like crazy!!! Brianna does too. She'll bring me the phone and say, "Da-da". We call him (often) and she gets overjoyed. I love it!

I'm not feeling so sick anymore. I'm not that tired either. I'm 11 weeks pregnant. First trimester is almost over. It's going by so fast!

Leaving on a jet plane...don't know when I'll be back again.

2008-10-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

I'm Jersey bound on Friday. My anxiety is sky high and I hope we make it there in 1 piece. I never use to be afraid of flying. I don't know when I turned into such a chicken shit. I flew to Sweden, Denmark, Australia, and New Zealand to play soccer in high school with no problem. I've lost my mojo! I'm not to sure if I'm more afraid of the plane crashing or keeping Brianna under control BY MYSELF. I'm sure we'll be fine. And once I come back home I can make fun of what a weeny I am. Please pray for me.

The other day I went to my friend Lauren's house. We were greeted by her horse, Joe. He's probably one of the sweetest horses I've ever met. I just love him!

I put Brianna in Ruby's swing and Joe was nice enough to push her for me. He's a great baby sitter. Brianna loved it!

Our little Zeus is getting so big. He is still the best cat ever! His purring still annoys the crap out of me at 3:00 in the morning but he's such a lover lover.
Here's Brianna at one of my soccer games. She's definitely my #1 fan. She's siting in her special chair her buddy Caleb got her for her Bday. She loves it.

Oh....I finally decided to quit playing soccer. I was going to try to play until the season ended but some b*t*ch decided to kick me in my stomach, on purpose. I came to the conclusion that if there are people in the league who play like that, then it would be best that I not play. I almost got in a fight, and it's really not worth it. It was a really hard decision. I really wanted to play for as long as possible but there are a lot of the people in the league who have never played before. They get frustrated very easily and turn to violence. Not cool! It is SO on after this baby comes though. I hope that girl decides to play next season. Our team ended up beating them 3-0. Serves them right!

Brianna loves to go outside and pick the grass. She's so cute! I can't believe how lucky I am. I just love this little girl to death. I don't know how I lived with out her for 23 years.

Brianna loves to color! She's a little artist in the making. It's nice that she can actually entertain herself while we wait for our meals now. Again, I love this little cutie patooti!!!
Alright, I'm back to packing. Wish me good luck!

Hanging in there.... Barely

2008-09-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ugh! I can not even begin to describe how different this pregnancy is from when I was pregnant with Brianna. I really thought I was made for this breeding business but now I think otherwise. I feel like I am constantly on the verge of up chucking but I'm not even that lucky to get that relief. I'm nauseous 75% of the day. It sucks! I don't have that much of an appetite so I've lost 4 lbs but my belly is already starting to stick out. I don't get it. God help me if there's twins in there or something. (D.J, I know you read this. Disregard that last line. You're super woman. You can handle it!) I wish I had the option to sleep the whole 1st trimester off like I did last time.

I got my blood work done. The results show I'm RH- so I might have to get a shot or something. Well, I don't remember having to deal with all of this last time. I called Women's Health Specialist (my OB with Brianna) and they have it that my blood type is A+ in their records. So, now I am having to deal with trying to figure out my correct blood type. Shame on me for not knowing. I also went ahead and got tested to see if I have ever been exposed to toxoplasmosis. I was hoping that it would show that I have been exposed to it so I wouldn't have to worry about changing the litter box. I thought for sure Philipe would make me bring my kitty back to the Humane Society if he had to take over litter duty. I continued taking care of it until the results came back saying that I have never been exposed to it. Uh oh! I worked at a vets office for a long time. I don't know how I managed to escape it. Our kitty is strictly in doors so I don't think it's that big of a deal but Philipe kindly took over kitty "doody". He said he doesn't want our baby to come out "all messed up". What a good man!

I have decided to go to Jersey with Brianna. I don't know what I am thinking but I'm feeling risky. I hope Brianna cooperates on the flight. My sister and her girlfriend just bought there first house and it just seems like I'm suppose to be there for this kind of stuff. Philipe isn't able to get off, so it's just me and the babe. Last time we went I felt like I didn't have enough time to spend with everyone. So, this time I only bought a 1 way ticket. Rest assure....I am NOT leaving my husband. Every time I tell someone I only bought a 1 way ticket they ask if Philipe and I are okay. We're fine. Better than ever. I just know I won't be able to do this with 2 kids by myself while they are so young so this is my big chance. I just wish I was feeling a little better. I'm sure Philipe is going to be partying like a rock star while I'm gone. He better get it all out. That's something he won't be able to do with 2 kids.

Great news...My friend Danielle and her husband, Carman, found out they are having twins! They've been trying for a really long time to get pregnant and it has been an emotional roller coaster for them. I am so happy for them! Please keep them in your prayers that they enjoy these few months and bring healthy babies into this world.

Here's pictures Brianna around this time last year.

Snoozin' out on the boat while the guys are fishing

1st time in the water. Maybe this is why she loves the water so much. She started young.

2008-09-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to take Brianna to the zoo. We thought she's old enough to enjoy and appreciate all the animals and boy, we were right. She had a blast. On the way there I called my mom and she sounded kind of bummed that we had already left with out her so we decided to pull over and eat while she got ready and met us so we could all be together for Brianna's first trip to the zoo. We ate at Ruby Tuesdays. I had to drink ginger-ale because I felt a little nauseous, something that is new to me. We got back on the road around 1:00. We stayed at the zoo for about 4 hours. It was so hot! We all sucked it up though because Brianna's reaction to all the animals was priceless. She even tried making all the noises the animals made. Way to cute!

After we left the zoo we stopped by a cool little beach under a bridge my mom kept talking about. It's directly across from Peanut Island (for all you Floridians). It was pretty cool.

I have tons of pics for ya. For some reason, I can't figure out how to get them in the order I want them. Is there a trick to this I'm not yet aware of? It aggravates me like crazy! So, the pics aren't in any order but if you know the trick to putting pics in order please fill me in.

Enjoy!

The family at the Palm Beach Zoo

Cutest lil' hedgehog.

Brianna's 2 ft. tall!

Daddy's lil girl

Brianna and Grandma checking out the alligators

petting the (fake) turtles

Brianna's new pal

"Wanna go for a ride?"

feeding the goats...with Daddy's help

Of coarse, Philipe had to tease the goats

They have really cool curly- tailed lizards in Palm Beach

Sharing Mommy's popsicle

Yay for the zoo!

That wraps up our trip to the zoo.

Zzzz...

2008-09-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

I'm still here. Just haven't had much energy to put my thoughts together for a post. Everything is going great. No morning sickness or anything of that sort. Hopefully, this pregnancy will be just like the last. One thing is for sure...I'm draggin! I love being pregnant but I hate feeling so tired the first trimester. I'm trying to hang in there.

We picked our midwife, Alana Rubin. She's awesome and both Philipe and I feel very comfortable around her. She has 2 young kids so her house is perfect for Brianna when I go for appointments. I'm so excited. I think it's great that Brianna will get to see her sibling come into the world in an environment where she's most comfortable and we can all stay home as a family, something that is not an option in a hospital. I'm sure it will make the transition of having a little brother or a sister a lot easier for Brianna.

Brianna's going through something fierce right now. She's got 2 molars coming in and is super fussy. I feel so bad for her! I feel like my patience is being tested constantly. If I look at her the wrong way she flips out. If the dogs stand in one spot for to long with out acknowledging her she has a nervous breakdown. If I don't hold her the right way she freaks. If I don't get my boob out quick enough the world comes to an end. It's horrible! She's so emotional, already! I keep telling myself it's just because she's teething but it only gets me so far. I hope she's not like this when the baby comes. I have no idea what I'll do.

Produce

2008-09-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

green beans- probably cook them with some bacon again. Add some garlic, parm cheese, and bon appetite!

baby bok choy- I'm going to try the creamed bok choy recipe Leanna posted on the yahoo group

carrots- some shredded for salad, rest eaten raw dipped in hummus

cauliflower- raw, dipped in hummus

red kale- cooked with penne pasta and chicken. DELICIOUS! (found the recipe on yahoo group)

fennel- suggestions, please?????

green leaf lettuce- I head is already gone. I took another one from the bonus table. Use for salads and sandwiches

leeks- made a delicious creamed leeks dish.... Thanks Lauren!

green peppers- going to go into a salsa

zucchini- not sure... might fry them

roma tomatoes- salsa

red seedless grapes- snacks

black plums- snacks

bananas- snacks

This time we had the option to purchase eggs too. I got 1 doz. I'll hard boil some for salads. Philipe loves eggs in his salads. The rest we'll probably eat for breakfast.

Guess What....

2008-09-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

I'M PREGNANT!!! And we couldn't be happier. We just found out last night. I'm guessing around 3 weeks. I think we got it the 1st shot. (TMI?) I'll definately have to post more about it but right now Brianna and I are off to a birthday party. Sorry so short. Stay tuned!

A day of fun... Chibas style

2008-09-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Philipe, Brianna and I went to River Ranch to ride the Rhino and hang out with some of our friends. We had a blast. Brianna loves being outside. It's in her blood. It was a little annoying that we had to keep pulling over so I could pee. After peeing about 6 times in 1 hour Philipe came to the conclusion that I was pregnant. I told him it was probably because I had a couple beers and it was the alcohol. (Poor lil' baby). We got home around 9:00. Brianna was sleeping but we had to wake her up because she was in desperate need of a bath after playing in the mud. As soon as we got home Brianna and I got naked and ready to jump in the shower. I figured since I had to pee I might as well pee on a stick. Usually it takes at least 3 minutes for the results to show up so I put it on the counter and was going to look at it when we were done showering. It said pregnant before I even took my hand off of it. I yelled for Philipe (who was outside) and told him to come inside and it was really important. I handed the test to Brianna and told her to give it to her Daddy. She did. Philipe smiled from ear to ear and said, "not ugh" a few times. Then he bragged about his "super sperm". Then we all started jumping around (naked). It was quite a sight! I would have loved to be a fly on the wall. We all took showers and talked about what the next 9 months will be like. I'm so excited! I wish I could stay pregnant forever! When I was pregnant with Brianna, I never felt more beautiful. Pregnancy is something amazing. I'll save all my thoughts on that for another day. Here's some pictures of the fam at River Ranch yesterday.

Brianna towards the end of the day, ready to go home.

Brianna giving her Daddy "The Look"

(click to enlarge to get the full affect)

Brianna's favorite seat was on her Daddy's lap

Just riding around

A bit blurry but still cool

Bri, eating her strawberry

Little swamp baby

Daddy's lil sidekick

"Hi"

Welcome home!

2008-08-29T17:34:00.001-07:00

Well, I couldn't really get any good pictures cause the cat is constantly on the move. He's been in the bathroom since we got home. I'm suppose to not let him run. Hahaha! (He just got neutered this morning) The thing is a spaz! I thought if I left him in the bathroom it would be easier for him to adjust and he was still really doped up from his surgery and I want to make sure he's able to run from Brianna if need be. Brianna went to bed around 7:45 and I let the cat out. It's like he's lived here his whole life. He runs around like he owns the place. He's not the least bit skiddish. We're defiately hitting it off too. He's super cuddly too, which makes me very happy. If I walk out of the room he starts meowing like he's on his death bed though. I think that's going to get annoying real quick. Hopefully, that will stop as he gets more comfortable.

Oh, I think he might have a respiratory infection. He keeps sneezing and has a little nasal drippage. (Sounds a lot grosser than it is) Does anyone know if this is harmful to children? I would assume not but I'm really not to familiar with cats. What kind of mother am I???

So, without further ado....Meet Zeus...

Handsome lil' feller', ain't he?

Waiting....

2008-08-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for Brianna to wake up from her nap so we can go pick up the newest addition to our family. A 5-month old domestic short hair cat we're going to call Zeus. Philipe finally caved in and said yes to getting a cat and I'm super excited! We drover all over the place on Wednesday looking for our perfect furry companion. We started at Dogs and Cats Forever, a local no-kill shelter, but we didn't see any cats that we would trust around Brianna. Next we went to The Humane Society in Ft. Pierce. While they had plenty of cats, they didn't have a room where we could get acquainted so we couldn't get to see any of the cats real personalities or see how they would take to Brianna's rough loving so we decided to go all the way to Palm City's Humane Society. That place is awesome! Brianna loved it. It was like she was at the zoo. Everything was so clean and the cats had tons of room to run and play so we got to see how they really acted versus being kept in a small cage. Then, once we saw one we liked we went into a private room and got some one-on-one time. At first, I liked this cute orange kitty. It was super cuddly but was a little afraid of Brianna. Once Philipe saw how much hair it left on my shirt he said "forget about it!" and ranted on about why he doesn't like cats and couldn't believe he even agreed to "possibly" get one. He was ready to go home... cat-less. I asked if we could see one more. This cat was the one that came running up to the door when Brianna banged on it. All the others hid. We brought him in the room with us and Brianna went nuts! She was hilarious. She got down on all fours and started kissing him and she thought it was hilarious that his whiskers tickled her face. Philipe and I were hysterically laughing as we watched the 2 hit it off. We teach Brianna to be nice and gentle with animals so she is pretty good for the most part, but she is still only 1 year old and she has her moments that out of no where she tries to pet something and really gives it a nice hard whack or pulls a tail from time to time. Well, this kitty took it like a champ. She pulled his whiskers and he didn't try to swat her or anything. He's not as cuddly as I had hoped for but maybe that will change when he comes home.

Brianna's up! Check for update later!

Haters!

2008-08-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

Why is it that people want to try and tell you how to raise your kid or point out everything they think you're doing wrong? You've never raised MY child before. How do you know what's best for them? Once people hear I am still breast feeding they find it necessary to ask how long I plan on continuing. Why? Do they really care? I was told I NEED to quit breast feeding by someone I barely know. OK! I'll get right on that...NOT! Ughh...I don't even know how to explain how I feel about this. Can someone please show me the manual on How to raise children and then point out where it says exactly how long they should be breast fed for. Maybe then I'll take what you have to say into consideration. No. Probably not. This lady told me that by 1 year a kid should not be on the boob or have a bottle (right after she popped a pacifier into her grandchild's mouth, who is a little over a year.). I proceeded to tell her that the American Medical Association recommends breast-feeding for 2 years. She said, "they must not have any kids". Pahaha! Okay lady! I didn't know what to say or do. I try to make sure I surround myself with friends who have the same beliefs or good friends who support my decisions even though they may not make the same decisions. This time I was alone and had no one to back me up. I don't know all the facts but I do know this- when I nurse Brianna it just feels natural. It seems right to me. I know that I still lactate and my daughter still wants milk. It's a no brainer for me. Just because you do not agree does not mean you are right. It's your opinion.... you have no scientific data to back it up. Therefore, it means nothing to me. My boobs did not magically "dry up" once Brianna turned one indicating it was time to stop. This is what works for me and my daughter. I understand and respect some people choose not to breast-feed. I don't understand why they would choose not to, but I respect them. I have a lot of friends with children who chose not to breast-feed or chose to put a limit on how long they breast fed for. I don't think any less of them. They are still great parents. All I'm saying is....Don't be a hater!

Yummy Produce

2008-08-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

I joined an organic co-op group a few months ago. It was not an easy thing to convince Philipe, with good reason....I have NO clue how to cook. Everyone who knows me can attest to that. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to learn. Philipe thought it would be a waste of money. I had Brianna on my side. With her eating solids it only makes sense that we try to give her organic if possible. Well, he finally jumped on board with the whole idea. He said we could try it. We get new produce every 2 weeks. Some of the stuff I have never even heard of. Neither has Philipe. He thought for sure it would all go to waste. Secretly, I had my doubts too. The fact that he was waiting to say "I told you so" pushed me even harder to use all the produce before the next share. Since then, Philipe probably feels like he has a new wife. I cook now and am always on a hunt for cool, new, EASY recipes. I'm no Emeral but I do think I am getting much better. It feels good to make a tasty meal and make my husband happy. Poor guy has done all the cooking until now. I feel like we eat much healthier too because I have to incorporate all the produce into our diets. We've actually started saving money too because we don't go out to eat half as much as we use to. Upon request, I will post what I do/ plan to do with all my goods. Be sure to check out my buddy co-op'ers, Denise, Lauren, and Jen, did with this weeks share.

Romaine Lettuce- Washed and spun. Ready for salads/ sandwiches.

Swiss Chard- No Clue! Suggestions, please.

Zucchini- I think I'm going to fry it. I had it as an appetizer once and it was super good.

Carrots- Shredded one for salad for lunch.

Plum Tomatos- Either salsa or served with mozzarella cheese, basil, and olive oil drizzled on top. There's a name for it but I can't recall it.

Cremini Mushrooms- some were sauteed and put on top of steak last night

Alfalfa Sprouts- will go on sandwiches and in salads

Celery- some in salad, raw with dip or cream cheese

Red Cabbage-

Green Beans- gone! Sauteed with bacon, garlic and parm cheese. Super yummy!

Sugar Peas- these were missing from my share :(

Cantaloupe- cut up and eat. Bri loves cantaloupe

Oranges- probably eat raw. Maybe juice

Plums- snacks

Bananas- Bri eats with her breakfast

peace... alas!

2008-08-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

Alleluia! The day is over! I got to meet my daughter's alter-ego today. Not cool! She sure knows how to make me forget about it all though. She gets super sweet and cuddly before bed time. I'm not sure why. I thought kids are suppose to get fussy before bed. Not Brianna. She'll be in the middle of playing and all of the sudden it hits her that she hasn't given us a kiss in while so she'll come running over, lay a smooch on us, and proceed with playing. Ahhh... that little girl knows how to tug on my heart strings! The other night she was in a dead sleep, sat up, crawled to Philipe and kissed him right on the lips. It was so cute! She was still halfway asleep. She put her head back down and went right back to sleep. I wake up if she even twitches so I got to see the whole thing. Philipe halfway opened his eyes and tried to figure out what happen. I told him Brianna gave him a kiss, he cracked a smile and went back to sleep. Love that kid!

Bad day for Brianna

2008-08-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

Today was another boing day thanks to Fay. Last night was probably the worst of the storm. It sounded like our house was taking a beating. I'm glad Philipe was home because I probably would have been curled up in the corner with Brianna if he were at the station. I'm such a weenie when it comes to storms. This morning I went to let the dogs out and realized our fence was knocked over on one side. Just great!

Around 11:00 I decided to go to my cousins to get me and Brianna out of the house. Brianna didn't sleep very well last night (not like she ever does, but last night was horrible) so she was really crabby. She wouldn't eat lunch and around 12:30 she decided to have a temper tantrum like I have never seen before. I really thought something was wrong with her. I tried everything. I tried nursing her. She wouldn't have it. She would just arch her back and scream. I tried taking her outside for fresh air. She went crazy. She kept throwing herself backwards and screaming. I thought for sure if I put her in the truck and drove around she would calm down and fall asleep. I pulled out of the driveway and she started gagging. I freaked. I grabbed her, ran inside and told my cousin we should call 911. I took off all her clothes and made sure nothing was biting her and checked her little body from head to toe. I couldn't see anything. My cousin even got a little freaked and told me to, "put her on the boob". I tried again..... nope. I thought for sure she had some kind of internal damage going on, until,...... my cousins little chihuahua ran out and jumped on the couch. Brianna went from screaming bloody murder to smiling and signing dog. Grrrr....I couldn't believe it! It was just a temper tantrum. She really fooled me. I was really about to call 911. I am not looking forward to the terrible 2's at all. If this was a glimpse of what it might be like, Lord help me. Once we chased the dog around for a while and Brianna was calm enough I put her in the truck and we headed home. She starting singing and laughing hysterically for about 5 minutes. Then she passed out. She's still napping. I hope I never have to see that side of her again.

Fay, Fay...Go Away!

2008-08-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

Wow! 2 posts in 2 days, with pictures...I'm on a roll!

Tropical storm Fay sucks!!! There's nothing to do and we're going nuts! We did go drive around today to see how bad the flooding was. It was pretty bad. There are a lot of stupid people out there man. They're riding around in low riders and water is pouring into their cars. Morons!

Here are some pics...

This is the soccer field I play on. There were 3 boys on a piece of plywood floating around, using crutches to push themselves all around. It was quite comical.

This was the exit to the park

Philipe's parents back yard. The river was almost in the Tacki Tiki

The boat is on the lift as high as it will go. They had to tie it off.

My stud muffin!

Philipe's truck in our front yard

The street we live off of. This is where people were getting stuck.

This truck was behind us

The park where we play soccer

Oh... I went to Dr. Punger and got my I.U.D taken out a couple weeks ago. It wasn't half as bad as I thought it was going to be. That little bugger hurt going in. Dr. Punger sad she was excited to play an accomplice in me getting pregnant. I've got the most awesome doc in the world. It's a shame it took us so long to find her. We weren't going to say anything until we found out we were pregnant but just the fact that we're trying is super exciting for me and I can't contain myself. I took a pregnancy test today. It was a digital. It said, "Not Pregnant". Damn it! On the box it says it can tell you 4 days before the first day of your missed period. My periods are always so irregular I'll probably find out when I'm like 6 months along. LOL! I'm sure me still breast feeding makes it a little more complicated to. Whatever! It's in God's hands. Sometimes the thought of having another baby consumes me (not in an unhealthy way). Having Brianna was the best experience ever. Little did I know I had the choice to make the whole experience even better. My next baby WILL be born at home. Why labor in a hospital when I can labor in the comfort of my own home? I picture it and I can't wait to make it happen. I have so many feelings about this I'll have to save for another day. As for now.... Big Brother 10 is on. I'm off to sit in front of the tube with my hubby. Kiss kiss!

I'm a slacker...I know

2008-08-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a while.... again! I feel like I never get time to write. Brianna requires all my time. She keeps me on my toes. It's so much fun now. Well, it's always been fun but it's a different kind of fun now. She's always wanting to do stuff and experience different things. Hence, why I haven't gotten the opportunity to sit at the computer and blog. She's soaking everything in, just like a sponge. She likes to try and repeat everything we say. It's so cute. Her favorite thing is to say, "noooo", just like Dora and Diego. It's really funny. I'm sure it will get old REAL soon though. Brianna knows where her eyes, nose, mouth, ears, toes, and boobies (thanks to her Daddy) are. She's so darn smart! I don't remember if I said it before but we bought Brianna her very own potty. While she hasn't actually gone on it, she really enjoys sitting on it and reading. Hehehe! Just like her father. Then she'll take out the center piece and bring it to us. I can tell that might be a problem when she actually starts using it.

I had to add this picture because Brianna looks so cute. She loves climbing in and out of her dresser cabinet.
OH!!! Brianna's been real edgy lately. Super irritable! Well, today we were at Winn Dixie and she was in our Ergo carrier. She loves to flip her head back and wait for her Daddy to come tickle her under her neck. While she was cracking up with laughter I had the chance to look at her top gums and I couldn't believe she has 2 molars coming in. I've been checking her mouth a lot lately cause I know it's about that time but I'm only able to see the bottom part of her mouth. I don't know why but it's really exciting. It felt like she got her 1st tooth all over again.

I'm still playing soccer. I finally feel like I'm back in shape again. The only bad part is our games are in the dead heat on Sundays. It's horrible out there!

That's it for now. I'll try to post more often....ta ta!

Bday pics

2008-08-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures from Brianna's birthday bash. They're in backwards order.

Brianna's cousins, Anthony and Jeremiah, helped her eat her cake.

Brianna's favorite part was playing with the tissue paper

Hat's just aren't really her thing.

I don't remember what happen here but it was her party and she could cry if she wanted to.

Brianna loves being read to

Brianna's high chair was decorated for the occasion.

Playing in the pool is Brianna's most favorite thing to do!

1..2..3...BLOW!

What the heck is this stuff??

R.I.P Grandpa/ Happy Birthday Brianna

2008-08-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

What an eventful week we've had! While we got to celebrate Brianna turning one year old, I had to say goodbye to someone very dear to my heart. On Aug. 1st my Grandpa passed away while under the care of hospice. It seems like this all came out of no where. My Grandpa battled CHF for a long time. Years!! He was always in and out of the hospital but managed to live a good life. My cousin and I were his babies. Almost every good childhood memory I have involves my Grandpa. This is all so bitter/sweet. I'm so happy he's in a better place but so sad he won't be here with us any more. I know I'll see him again one day but it won't be for a loooong while (God willing). The hardest part was that he was still all there in the head. He knew everything that was going on. He wanted to keep fighting. It must be so hard to have the mind of a fighter and want to keep going but your body just won't allow it. Once his body went into multi-system failure, he decided to go with hospice. They pretty much drugged him up so he didn't really know what was going on anymore. They predicted he would have died the same day hospice took over but would you believe that man lived 2 days taking 4-6 breaths. At the end, we were all hoping he would just go and meet his maker. Philipe and I say he had a lot of negotiating to do. That's why it took him so long. I don't really know how to feel about this whole thing. I think I still might be in shock. And, I'm really pissed the it all ended. People were fighting about his will before he was even gone, right next to his bed side. My cousin, who visited him almost daily and listened to him complain all the time, was made out to be some kind of monster, and no one was told he even died so there were only 6 people at his funeral. My Grandpa was a great man and was friends with more people than I will probably ever know in my life time. It should have panned out differently. Oh.... and he said part of the reason he didn't feel like he could die peacefully was because he was worried about all of his animals. He said the only way he could go on peacefully was if Philipe and I were to take his 4 dogs and 1 bird. He knew we would do what was best for them. Well, today I called his girlfriend to make arrangements to get them and she informed me she got rid of them all. I'm pissed! Don't get me wrong....it's a lot let stress we have to deal with but this was one of my Grandpa's wishes on his death bed. Some nerve. I feel like his animals were my responsibility, given to me by my Grandpa and now I'm letting him down. I know this isn't rational but it's how I'm feeling.

Brianna turned 1 on the 3rd (2 days after Grandpa died). Her birthday was wonderful! I was useless the entire day but Philipe did a good job at pulling it off. Thank God for my in-laws and mommy group friends....AHEM...Michelle and Amy. They're amazing. We had a pool party at the in-laws and about 70 people came. Brianna was a bit overwhelmed but loosened up towards the end. Brianna got more toys than we have room for. LOL! And of course her favorite part was the tissue paper and boxes. I just can't believe my baby is a year old. Brianna was born at 9:02 a.m. so the whole morning of her birthday was kept looking at the clock and tried to remember what we were doing on that day 1 year ago. It was fun. Especially when Philipe said, "this time last year Brianna's head was crowning". At 9:02 She came out and they place her on my chest. I must admit I got a little choked up, but then it was back to worrying about party planning. I'll have to post some pics of her Bday. It was really nice. Just wish Grandpa could have been there.

On to other news... last night Philipe gave Brianna the heimlich. She was choking on a piece of a plum. Usually she's able to cough it up but this time it wouldn't budge. She was in the highchair which is right next to the kitchen. Philipe was in there cooking stir fry and saw her. When her face started turning purple he ran over, very calmly and took her out of her high chair, flung her over his arm and patted her back 3 times. A little piece of plum came flying out of her mouth. I was impressed! She cried a little and then wanted more plum. LOL. They get over things so quickly.

Yesterday Brianna went to Dr. Punger for her 1 year appontment. She weighed 22.5 & 1/2 lbs. She weighed more at her last appointment but she's sick right now and hasn't had much of an appetite for solids. She waked up coughing all night and her nose is running like a faucet. I feel so bad for her. Poor baby!

Sign away!

2008-07-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, we've been trying to teach Brianna sign language. The whole point behind this is that it reduces the frustration a child feels by not being able to communicate what they want or need. We thought it was a great idea but Brianna is learning to talk so quickly it kind of defeats the purpose. Oh well! At least she'll learn some of another language. When we told people we were going to teach Brianna sign language we got a lot of criticism. For some reason, some thought it would delay her speaking. Wrong! Anyhow, Brianna finally started signing. She's been signing 'milk' for a while now but today she signed signs she's never signed before like a pro. (Try saying that sentence 3 times fast.) She walks up to Dixie (our bird) and says bird while signing it at the same time. All day today she kept patting her belly. I had no idea what she was doing. Then, while I was giving her a bath, Bruizer (dog) started going nuts barking and Brianna looked at me and her eyes got real big and she started patting her belly. It all made sense! The actual sign for dog is to pat your leg and then snap . Close enough for me! When I fed her dinner tonight she signed 'more' 3 times. Then she just sat there staring at me. I asked her if she wanted more and she said, "na", turned her head and signed 'all done'! I couldn't believe my eyes! My child is a genius. I still have to get her singing twinkle twinkle little star on video. She sings "up above da"...then we have to finish the song. She makes me so happy! Ugh, I wish I could bottle these feelings up and save them forever!

Brianna's getting much better at swimming. She kicks her feat like a maniac, goes under water like a fish, and floats on her back without my hand under her for a few seconds. I think she might be able to swim by the end of the summer. She's always smiling when she's in the pool. She loves the water. It's in her blood! I started going into labor in Philipe's parents pool so it's only natural that she enjoys it so much.

Yesterday, we went out on Philipe's parents boat. Brianna loved it, as to be expected. We got some really cute pictures but they're on Deanna's (MIL) camera so as soon as I get them I will post them.

Still here

2008-07-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

I know. I have totally neglected my blog for the last week and a half. We have been so busy lately I'm lucky if I even get to do the laundry! And I'm pretty sure Brianna is getting ready to cut 2 more teeth so she is requiring my undivided attention ALL THE TIME. I got her this super cute homeopathic teething necklace. I'll have to take pictures of her with her necklace later and post them. Not a whole lot new to report. Just staying busy. Now that Brianna is so mobile we have to find new things to do with her everyday. She goes nuts if she's in the house all day. She's just like her father! I would kill to be a bum on the couch for 1 day. She keeps me on my toes. Oh! We did buy a pretty big pool for the back yard. Bri loves it! I took a bunch of pictures but decided not to post them because Brianna is nude and there are a lot of sicko's out there that get of on that kind of stuff. So, one day I'll try to remember to put a bathing suit on her and take pics.

A couple weeks ago, I took some pictures of Brianna in the tub. My parents took this same picture of me when I was about Brianna's age and I think they look almost identical. I'll have to go through all my pictures and try to find it. Brianna loves her tubby time.

We got Brianna a bag of 100 balls from Walmart. We copied a friend of ours and blew up a pool and put all the balls in it. The pool of balls is Brianna's new favorite place to hang out. She'll sit in there and read a book for a good 15 minutes. Philipe jokes around and calls her a book nerd. He says when she starts school we're going to have to get her a pocket protector. She is so smart! I'll have to record her reading Dr. Seuss's, Hop on Pop. I'm tellin' ya, she can read that whole book. It's very impressive.

For the 4th of July we went to Philipe's parents house. We had a really good time. Brianna loved the fireworks.

Uncle Chris and Daddy thought it would be funny to give Brianna some "props" for a picture. I thought it was pretty funny myself.

On Tuesday Philipe, Brianna, and I went to a sign language class that the Indian River County library has. I liked it. Brianna enjoyed it. Philipe didn't care for it to much. He thought it was to advanced for ages 0-18 months. I agree but Brianna really enjoyed the play time afterwards and it gives us something to do to get out of the house. After the class we went to Publix, got some subs, and headed to the Marine Center. It's free on Tuesdays. We really enjoyed it. It was nice to something fun as a family and not break our pockets. Brianna loved looking at the fish. She tries to say it and sign it too. She throws her hand out and says "ish"! Pretty darn cute.

And for one of my proudest moments.....Brianna can dribble a soccer ball. This clip is about a month old. She's gotten even better. I must say, I am the proudest mommy in the whole world. Life could not get any better! Well, the only thing that could top it off is if Brianna would sleep through the night but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Soccer is in her blood. She's a natural! Check it out....

Well, that's all for now.

My hubby's home!!!

2008-06-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

Philipe was going to stay in the Keys until today but he talked one of the guys into bringing him home early (yesterday evening) because he missed us. Such a good man! Boy I missed him! I hate when he's gone for so long but reuniting after not seeing each other for a long time is great! I was nursing Brianna, getting ready to put her to sleep, when I saw the truck stop in front of the house. I used my finger to break the suction Brianna had on my nipple and we ran out the door and down the driveway to give Daddy a big "welcome back home/ we missed you" bear hug. Philipe said he even got a bog case of "the butterflies" when he saw us coming down the driveway. Aghhh...how sweet it is to be in love! Of course, Brianna didn't go to bed till way past her bed time. Philipe missed her and wanted to play. He said he felt like he missed out on so much but the only thing that happened while he was gone was Brianna got a new tooth. It was so nice for us all to lay in bed and watch T.V together. I missed our family time.

This morning Brianna woke us up around 8:00 and we went to Bob Evans for breakfast. Super yummy!!! After that we ran a bunch of errands. Then we went to my twin cousins birthday party. They're the big 2 now! Philipe is a little concerned because of Brianna's cough. She was getting over a cold before he left and it is back in full force. I think we might have to make a little trip to Dr. Punger. Hopefully she can fit us in tomorrow. Tonight Brianna was eating and she seemed to be having a hard time catching a good breath. Poor little baby. It breaks our hearts to see her not feeling well.

That's all for now. Night night termite!

Girls Night!

2008-06-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Things are going surprisingly well. I've been keeping myself SUPER busy while Philipe is gone to try and make the time go by faster. My God-daughter, Laura, is staying with me for the week too. Thank God for Laura! She's 10 years old. Smart as ever too. The other day I came out to her trying to teach Brianna what the word "motivation" meant. Brianna listened with eyes wide open. I've known Laura since she was 1 year old. I can't believe how she's grown. I dated her uncle way back in the day and her mother and I became really close. While her uncle and I went our separate ways (obviously), her mother and I have always remained somewhat close. I know Laura will always be a part of my life, as I will always be a part of hers.

This morning, my little cousin, Selene, came over too. She's going to be 8 in December. Boy oh boy, do I love my Selene...my "boo-ba-loo". She's probably got the biggest heart for a kid. She reminds me so much of myself. Very naive (in a good way) and sees the good in everyone. She's the kind of girl that would befriend the person everyone makes fun of. I love her to death! I could go on forever on these two girls. And I love them even more for being here while Philipe's gone. Oh! Did I mention Brianna is crazy about them.

So, we've been keeping very busy and doing things girls normally do. We giggle a lot and jam out to the radio blaring. I'm even learning the lyrics to Miley Cirus songs. Or is it Hannah Montana? Whatever! I'm looking forward to all the fun Brianna and I are going to have when she's older and has slumber parties. Yesterday we hung out with some Mommy's from my Mommy group and went swimming. Today we had Mommy Day. It was at a girl named Ann Marie's house. Her home was beautiful and she was a wonderful host. She made some baked ziti that was off the chain! Thank God for Laura, Selene, and my Mommy group.

I've talked to Philipe a few times. His phone is dead and he "accidentally" forgot his phone charger so we are having to communicate using someone else's phone. How convenient. He's having a good time and seems to be keeping a steady buzz. They're not "slaying" the fish yet (as he calls it) but he says it takes a couple days to find out what works and what doesn't . I'm looking forward to eating the fish he catches....and the many mornings I'll get to sleep in and he can't complain. Hahaha!

Tomorrow we are going to go swimming all day at Philipe's parents house. Brianna is almost at the point where she can float on her back by herself. She kicks her feet like a pro too! Then Laura's mom, Beth, wants to take us out to dinner to Longhorn. MMMM... I'm a little bummed because now it's just going to be me and Bri in bed. There's not enough room in bed for all of us, so the girls are going to sleep in the living room. Oh well. At least I have Brianna to cuddle with. I am off to bed. Got a busy day ahead of me tomorrow! G'Night!!!

A little bit of this and that...

2008-06-19T08:47:00.001-07:00

Let me just tell you how much I LOVE my new computer! It's awesome! It's a lot easier to navigate than I thought it would. Patch (Philipe's buddy..they use to work at the same station) came over and showed me all the little short cuts and downloaded some stuff that enables me to read documents and watch videos that windows uses with ease. Piece of cake! Thanks Patch! My laptop has this really cool program called photo booth. It's so much fun. Check out some of our pics....

Family pic...Brianna looks like she's fake smiling.

Brianna loves looking at herself on the screen.

Some pretty cool effects

I love my baby!

Brianna's still not feeling well. And she's not happy about it! Yesterday, Philipe worked so it was just me and Brianna. Usually, I'll go hang out with one of my other mommy friends (AHEM....Thanks Amy! You're such a pal) Brianna is still sick so we were stuck at home. We were going to go to the park but it rained all day too. We went crazy! Yesterday was definitely one of those days where my patience was tested to the max. She cried all day! If I stood up, she cried. If I didn't hold her the way she wanted to be held, she screamed. I can't wait till she's able to tell me what she wants. Most of the day was spent wearing her on my back. At least I got some cleaning done. I couldn't sit down! Gee... she's so needy. I don't know where she gets that from. *wink. wink.

Oh! Something big happened yesterday. Brace yourself....Brianna ate a steamed carrot! For those of you who know how much Brianna despises veggies, you'll know this is huge! This should make Nana happy. She's always stressing how Bri should eat veggies. Too cute! I don't know why she doesn't like them. I could eat nothing but veggies all day, every day. I've been trying to double up on my veggie intake, hoping my milk will supply Brianna with the proper nourishment. Pretty cool, huh? Can't do that with formula!

I have a scrimmage tonight. My legs are finally healed. I really thought I might have had to call it quits there for a little bit. I could barely walk. It was horrible. It's so exciting to be able to kick the ball again and not feel that burning sensation all the way up my groin. If only my ankles didn't feel like they were going to give out on me every time I run.

Last, but not least, let me tell you what I am NOT looking forward to. Philipe is leaving us for a weak on Sunday. Yup. You read it correctly. That's 1 WHOLE WEEK! He is going on his annual fishing trip in the Key's with some guys on the fire department. I wouldn't be so worried if he was one of those dad's that wasn't very hands on, but he's one I depend on, very much so, for sanity and to help me out. I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess we'll wing it. He better catch a lot of fish!

That's all for now. Ta ta!

Where's the baby???

2008-06-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

Today is not a very good day. Brianna is sick! Poor baby. Yesterday, I spent a good portion of the day scrubbing my house. It was my turn to host "Mommy Day". Around 4:30 I had to stop cleaning and get ready for soccer practice. We've started dropping Brianna off at Philipe's parents while I play soccer. My practices start at 6:00 p.m. It is so hot and there are little microscopic bugs that annoy the crap out of us so we decided it would be best for Brianna to hang out with Nana and Papa. Besides, she's CRAZY about them! She doesn't even cry when we leave or act excited when we come back. Breaks my heart but I know it's because we've done a good job and she feels comfortable and knows we wouldn't leave her with anybody we don't trust...Hey, this is what I have to tell myself. LOL! Any how....Brianna had a little cold that I thought she was getting over. Well, when we picked her up she was coughing and was really congested. Her breathing was a little raspy too. I feel so bad for her. So, I had to cancel mommy day. I don't want Brianna to get any of her buddies sick. So today we've been 'bummin' it.

Brianna started going stir crazy from sitting in the house for so long so we went to the new health food store, not to far from us. This place was awesome! It's an entire grocery store with all organic and Earth friendly stuff. They have everything....EXCEPT...baby formula! Hahaha! I love it! I don't know why they didn't have it...maybe the shipment hasn't come in yet or something but it didn't look like there was a spot reserved for it or anything. Wish all stores were like that. I got Brianna some homeopathic cough remedy. We'll see if it works. And, since she's sick, I had to get her her favorite snack, rasberries. She doesn't really have that much of an appetite but she tore up some rasberries.

Bri does the cutest thing. I can put her baby doll down with a bunch of toys and if you ask her where her baby is, she goes right to it and brings it to me. Oh, the things that tickle our hearts when we become mothers! I tried to get it on video. Notice how she puts her hands out, as to say, "I dunno mama...where's my baby".

The second video is for Aunt Lisa. We knew you would be proud to see Brianna throwing a ball. Possible softball player????? Only if you're her coach!!!

More stuff...

2008-06-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures to go with the the previous post:

Laura, the little fishy

Brianna, showing off how she can blow bubbles out of her nose!

Kinda looks like something from the Matrix

Daddy, helping Brianna float on her back

I'm baaaack!

2008-06-14T05:54:00.001-07:00

Boy oh boy have I missed blogging! I have been so frustrated. My desktop computer is on its way out. It's lucky I haven't chucked it, with all the grief it's given me. I haven't been able to blog or check my myspace (which I am very addicted to). I've been wanting to get a new computer for a while now....Philipe finally gave me the go ahead! This time, I decided we would get a laptop. One day we'll fix our desktop and we'll be able to use that one too. What a luxury! Hehehe! I was almost certain I was going to get a Dell but after doing my research I found Apple was top of the line. Could I relearn everything and switch to a Mac???? Yesterday afternoon, after Philipe was done golfing, we scurried to Best Buy. After checking out all the latest notebooks and talking with a salesman that seemed to know his stuff pretty well, we decided to go with the Mac. Crazy, I know! Who uses a Mac anymore? He assured us they're becoming quite popular. Hahaha! We are so easily influenced. There are so many perks to Mac's and I always knew that but this whole system seems so foreign to me. After we decided which Mac was right for us, it was time to check out. Everything was hunky dory until....the man told us they were sold out! UGH! We actually got in my truck and drove all the way to West Palm just because I was so excited and couldn't wait until their new shipment came in on Monday. It was such a fiasco! Poor Brianna wasn't feeling very well either and we trucked her all over town. She's such a trooper! I was looking forward to going home and hooking up the wireless router. No such luck! By the time we got home it was nearly 10:00. When we got home Philipe got Brianna out of the truck and got her ready for bed. I ran to hook up the wireless router but things just weren't going my way at that very moment. I decided to call it a night and go to bed. It turned out the router we got was not compatible with Mac and it would have to be reconfigured (this is what the lady on the phone told me). About an hour and a half later, I was up and running! Yay! I love it. I am sitting on the couch watching Brianna walk around in circles as I type. The only bad thing is I have NO idea how to work Mac's operating system. It's so different. I'm sure I'll be blogging a lot about my adventures in the Mac world so be prepared!

On to other news.....Brianna is a walking machine! She walks everywhere now! I can't believe how big she is. Almost a year old....*tear. Below is a video of Brianna when she first started walking . Note: she does not hit her head at the end of the video. Very close though.

The other day we went to Philipe's parents to hang out and go swimming. We brought my God-Daughter, Laura, too. We all had a blast. For Philipe's birthday they got him an awesome camera that can go under water. It's awesome! Here's some pics:

Soccer time

2008-05-31T16:42:00.000-07:00

So, I joined a soccer league and I am definitely not feeling as athletic and flexible as I use to. A friend from high school contacted me and was excited to try and get me on her team. I went to see what it was all about. It was only suppose to be a practice but they ended up putting together a last minute scrimmage. The last time I played soccer was high school! It did not go how I had envisioned it. I never realized just how out of shape I am. At first, I was doing alright. Then, the nausea started to kick in, followed by the light handedness. Before I knew it, I could barely breathe. Hahaha! It must have been quite the sight! I didn't say anything though. First impressions are everything. I'm definitely paying for it now. Every muscle in my body aches. LOL! I use to laugh at people like me when I was younger. (Sorry mom and dad, now I know how you felt). Philipe and Brianna had a blast. I can't even begin to describe what it looked like on the side line. Philipe would yell for me to "run up there" or "hurry up and get back", etc. Brianna, trying to be like her Daddy, would let out a growl and yell too! It was pretty intense. OH! The best part is, I'm the only white girl, which doesn't bother me at all. Hispanics are very good soccer players but I don't speak Spanish and not a whole lot of them speak English. My friend has to translate everything between me and the coach. It's too funny! I just might come out of this whole experience learning a little bit of Spanish.

Philipe, Brianna and I went out the next day to get all my gear. I never should have gotten rid of all my stuff before but I was almost sure my soccer days were over. I give a whole new meaning to "soccer mom". Of coarse, we had to get Brianna her first soccer ball!

Well, I have another game tomorrow at 9 a.m. I'm hoping Brianna Sleeps good for me tonight. Philipe's working so I'm on my own. Wish me good luck! G'Night!

Bubbles...

2008-05-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

Today Philipe took Brianna outside so I could tidy up a bit. As I was cleaning, I saw Brianna sitting on her Daddy's lap while he blew bubbles in the back yard. After getting a little choked up about how I am the luckiest woman in the whole world, I ran to get my camera.

I just want to take one second to brag about what a wonderful husband I have. He is the most amazing man I know. He is the best father (tied with my dad!) and Brianna is one very lucky little girl to have him as HER daddy! I don't know how I got so lucky! He's a real catch! Brianna has become quite the little "Daddy's Girl" lately. She always wanted me. I don't know what happen! I guess she's just growing up...(tear). Sometimes she'll cry and I go to pick her up and she'll scream until her daddy comes and takes her. As soon as he takes her she smile! Then I'll take her back and she screams again. Breaks my heart!!! Philipe has always been a wonderful father but in the beginning, there wasn't much he could do, as I was the one to feed her and she wanted me for all her comforting. He would never complain though. Sometimes, he would watch me nurse Brianna and tell me how lucky I was to be able to do that. Well, those days of relying solely on me are over and now Brianna is crazy about her daddy. And let me tell ya, he just eats it up! He's tickled over it! At least I have one thing she wants and needs from only me...my boobs! Ha! Any who...I just figured I'd pay a tribute to my hubby. He deserves it. Here's some of the pics I got. Glad I could share a moment that tugged on my heart strings with you.

I think Brianna was more interested in watching Bruizer jump to catch the bubbles.

^Bruizer, catching some air

^Bri, reaching for bubbles

Yup, I'm one lucky lady!!!

New to the blog world

2008-05-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

I'm not to sure how good I will be at this blogging thing but I have decided to give it a go. Hopefully, family out of town will enjoy keeping up with our latest news, as I will try to post regular updates. I still have to learn how to attach pictures and add links and what not, but some blogging is better than no blogging...

The latest news....

*Brianna is walking! Unbelievable! It's insane how fast time goes by. She still crawling, mainly, but walks a pretty good amount too. She'll take a couple steps, clap a few times, and proceed to walking again. It's so darn cute! Philipe and I are so proud!

*We've switched to cloth diapers, something I never imagined doing. It took a little pursuaing Philipe, but he's on board now. At first, he thought he was going to have to use pins. Then, he saw how cute and easy they are and finally caved in. Plus, I'm the one doing the laundry so what should he care. Why did we decide to go with cloth??? The main reason is I thought it might be healthier for Brianna. After fighting off 3 UTI's, and reading Dr. Punger's ,Permission to Mother, I learned there are many chemicals in disposable diapers that I feel might be contributing to the problem. No doctor has confirmed this. Just my theory! And, of coarse, using cloth diapers is much cheaper and better for the environment. The diapers are really cute too, so that's a plus! While we're only a week into it, there have been no blowouts to report! Yay!

*Still breast feeding and have no intentions of weaning anytime soon. Don't like it? Don't care!

*Philipe got his wisdom teeth pulled. 3 days later he found out he has 2 dry sockets. Poor feller! The doc packed them with gauze dipped in clove....hmmm??? Seems to work!

We have finally recovered from Memorial Day weekend. Saturday started bright and early with a birthday party at the fountains in Jensen Beach. It was followed by celebrating my Dad's birthday and ended with another party. Philipe's parents host an annual "Tacki Tiki" party that is always loads of fun. There's always different themes and this years theme was "a hoe-down at the tacki tiki". It fit us perfectly! Brianna looked so darn cute. As soon as I figure out how to post pictures I'll put one up. I was only planning on staying till 10:00 p.m at the latest, as my bedtime is usually around 9:30. Well, we ended up having such a good time and Brianna was sleeping so nicely in her pack-n-play that we didn't end up leaving until 1 am!!! After Philipe had a few drinks it was impossible to get him to leave! We definately paid for it the next day. Sunday consisted of laying around the house, anticipating Brianna's next nap so we could all snooze together. Thankfully, Brianna took really long naps that day.

On Monday (Memorial Day), we went to Philipe's parents house for a nice lil' B-B-Q. We got to show off Brianna's new diapers. Everyone was pretty surprised by how far cloth diapers have come. It's always nice when family shows interest and support. We hung out by the pool for most of the day. Brianna loves the pool! She doesn't mind going under water and towards the end of the day she showed off how she can kick her feet. Another proud moment for me and Philipe!

And for today...one of my favorite days of the week....Tuesday is Mommy Day! Mommy day was held at Jen and Luke's house. We hung out outside for most of the day. It was a beautiful day too! Brianna got to play with all her little pals and I got to play with mine! That's it for now. I'm off to bed! Good blogging!