Friday, March 26, 2010

I love it when I can get a good deal

I am batting 2 for 2 today :)

Every morning when I'm drying my hair, to pass the really long time this takes, I check my Google Reader. I came across Tisha Mccuiston's March Madness post and knew I had to get in on the deal! I've been admiring her awesome work with children since I found her website. I called her a lil bit after 8am and was able to schedule a session for April 18 and I can't wait. Soooo excited about this! We haven't done pro pictures for Kayla so this is a first.

I then proceed to check my email (thank you iPhone for entertaining me while I get ready in the morning, and thank you J for gifting me with this awesome thing!) and saw that Amazon is having a sale on Britax car seats. I've been trying to find a good deal on this and can't seem to find them lower than $200. Well, I had diapers.com price match the sale and stacked a couple of codes and I should receive the Marathon car seat tomorrow for a whopping $179!!! That's $100 less than the original price and super-fast shipping for free!


Now, if I can just find the Baby Jogger Elite for really cheap, I'll be done spending money on the big things!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Breastfeeding goals

I was breastfed. I want to say until at least 10 months of age. I can't remember. My mom told me once. After we found out that I was pregnant with Kayla, I knew that I wanted to breastfeed. It was very important to me and I wanted to provide her the best thing I had to offer. Aside from my unconditional love and care, of course!

It was hard for me when Kayla was born and wouldn't latch at the hospital. It seemed so easy this whole breastfeeding process - you put your boob out, baby latches, and then bam! you're done. Boy was I wrong! We tried everyday while we were at the hospital. The lactation consultant saw me several times while we were there. I kept trying and trying but it just wouldn't happen. I wasn't ready to give up yet. I had every intention that I will try again.

We came home from the hospital, my milk came in, and I pumped everyday, several times a day. It was a lot of work but I was willing to do it for Kayla. I was waking up several times in the middle of the night so I could pump and keep up with her milk needs.

And then one day it happened - she latched out of nowhere! This was 6 or so weeks after she was born. The funny thing about the timing is that the following day we were supposed to see the pediatrician so she can give me some tips and show me some tricks to help Kayla latch. I was very quick to call her and cancel the appointment and to deliver the good news that we were really breastfeeding. Eversince then during every appointment, she would tell me how proud she was that I stuck to my guns and kept on trying to breastfeed. Who knew that almost 9 months later she would still be bf-ing.

I truly am proud that we are still going. I am happy that I am able to give her this. It's great bonding time for us when she feeds. I wouldn't have been able to do all of this if it weren't for my husband, my mom, and Kayla's pediatrician. They supported me and cheered me on through the weeks when it was difficult for us. I want to keep going until Kayla is at least 1. What's even better is that I've lost 20-something pounds because of this!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Weekends are just way too short

It's Monday AGAIN! Why do weekends go by so fast? I really think 4-day work weeks should be enforced. It would save a lot on carbon footprint and help our planet! But what do I know? I just really want extra days to spend with my family.

This weekend was spend doing a lot of things outside. It was beautiful in Richmond so we took advantage of it! My mom came to visit so we went to the mall to walk around and get me some work shoes. I had already done enough damage at Gymboree last week for Kayla and I think she's pretty set with her spring wardrobe. This girl is missing shoes though. She has the tiniest little feet so I've always been worried that I'd buy shoes that are too big. We've gotten away with socks all winter long but now that the nice weather is here I want her to have some shoes.

I bought her a pair of oh-so-cute Robeez from ebay last week and I can't wait to get them! They are very Spring-y. I want to get a couple more - maybe some white sandals and some black maryjanes.


Kayla's been learning a lot lately. She started waving hi & bye and she can clap now. She also takes a number of steps while I'm holding her. Still no pulling up or crawling - she's very content just sitting there and playing. She does like to stand while hold on to the coffee table - she bangs on it with all her might.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Boo! It's raining :(

It's been raining pretty much all day. It's cold and gloomy and we are stuck at home and J is at work. There's really not much to do. Kayla did well with the time change last night. We started an hour early with her night time routine and it worked for the most part. She was fed and asleep in her crib by 8pm. She woke up her normal time today but really an hour late due to the time change. I hope that she sleeps at her normal time tonight.

J worked all day long yesterday so I decided to make dessert while he was gone. I made chocolate chip cookie brownies after seeing the recipe on a blog last week. This dessert is soo yummy! J told me that I can make it every week if I choose to. Ha!


It's literally cookies inside a brownie. I'm pretty sure this whole pan will not be around for long.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Saturday Fun-day!

Kayla finally went to her first Romp n' Roll class today. I didn't think we were going to make it. She's been going down for a nap right around when class was to start and I was not about to wake her up. Thankfully, she woke up 10 minutes prior to class and RnR is just down the street from us. I of course called them back to back to cancel then to say that we were really coming. I'm so glad we went!

My main purpose for wanting to try the class is to socialize her. I was afraid that she was getting too clingy which makes her afraid of people she doesn't know. It's happened in different occasions where she starts to whine then cry when strangers will come up to her to say hi. I've noticed within the past couple of weeks that the whining has subsided a bit and today was no different. She had a blast!


There were about 10 babies in the class and Kayla had a great time. She wasn't sure of what was going on in the beginning but after a while she started enjoying herself - she was dancing and making noises. I think she was the only non-crawler out of the bunch. I'm hoping to take her more and maybe seeing crawling babies will inspire her to do the same. Ha! I think her favorite part of the class was when she was handed two egg-shaped noise-makers and you shake them with the music. She was smiling and shaking those eggs like crazy. My mom was with us to observe and to be our paparazzi for the day :)

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Kayla is 8 Months Old!

I can't believe it. In 4 short months we are going to celebrate Kayla's 1st birthday. Time is flying and Kayla is growing so fast!

This month has been very exciting. She said a couple of new words (dada and up), got her ears pierced, sat on a highchair for the first time, and got her first cold. Still no crawling which I don't think she will really do - I read somewhere that this is apparently an optional skill that baby's do. I'm a little glad that she's not crawling - I don't think I'd be able to keep up. I like coming back to where I left her and finding her just how I saw her last. She's really into taking her sock off. Just one. Usually the right one. She likes to play and chew on it.

Dada is currently her favorite word. She screams it pretty much all day long. I don't get offended, she still said mama first. Ha! She also started saying up which caught be my surprise. I know this for a fact because I always say up to her when I'm trying to pick her up and she copies me right after I say it.

She's also a close-open champ. I sing close-open and she closes and opens her little hand. It's quite cute. She adds her little spin to it by flicking her wrists a little more than she has to. We are working on clapping but she never spreads her palms open so it's a bit tricky right now.