Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Wrap up

So if you read all three of those posts you can probably tell by now that I am loving my life. I am enjoying Bree and her fun personality and her growing independence which translates into independence for me and for Shaun and me. Life is good.

I'm going to end this mega stream of posts with the best news.

Bree is walking.

She took her first sting of steps on Thursday. She is super cautious and takes tiny steps. It is ADORABLE.

(I'm so glad Rachel could be there to see it. I hate letting her drive away at the end of the weekend it is insane how much she needs to be part of my daily life. All I need to do is find Rico and her jobs in SLO. Anyone know of any good HR or ARCH jobs? If you do let me know!)

I am proud of our little munchkin. I'm looking forward to hearing the pitter patter of her little feet for years to come!!

Post Part III, Adults Time

There has been a drought in the free time department.

Having a kid will do that to yah. Bree is older now though and needs less from Mom and Dad. That means we have been able to partake in some well needed and supper duper appreciated alone time!

The highlight of last month was getting to spend the whole weekend in Carmel with out Aubrey. My brother and his lovely wife let us stay at their house which is just blocks from downtown Carmel. They happened to both be out of town at the same time the exact weekend that my mom dad and sister were going to watch Bree for us. GOD BLESS them all.

The weekend was wonderful. We sat by the fire and talked, snuggled, and you know enjoyed being alone. :) It Rained and we got to be cozy at night. The next day it was gorgeous and sunny and we laid out on their lawn like lizards. The beach walks were refreshing and reminded me of when we lived in Grover Beach. We didn't do anything extravagant because we didn't need to. Having mellow adult time was extravagant for us.

It was beyond words fantastic to hang out with my husband and be just a couple.
Yum I Can't wait to do it again.

We also got to have date night on our own turf which never happens. Our sweet wonderful friends are going to be sitting for Bree one night a month and we will the favor and sit for their boy. We need to do this as friends, look after one another and provide relief! When Ann arrived Bree crawled over to her and sat in her lap and Ann said alright Mom we're good here. And it was so cute! She was ready to hang out with Ann and we just left with no tears or sadness.

Shaun and I went to Woodstocks and then sat at Pete's coffee until they closed and we got free scones. It was right up my alley and fell on a night that Shaun really needed to relax after a LONG day at work. All in all, it rocked! Thanks Ann and Corban.

Then to top it all off my Husband watched Bree this weekend, in the morning so I could go to a friends baby shower. Do we all know what a big deal this is?

Shaun is not, I repeat NOT a morning person.
This was an act of love. Love for me and for Bree.
It was so nice to get out! and to celebrate a special thing like this and enjoy my friends and meet some new ones too.

Then the next night he took Bree home and did dinner and bath and everything -so I could hang with Rachel and Rico and go out to dinner with them and our friends Megan and Nick. It was a night of awesome conversation.

It was sooo nice to hang out with people who don't have kids. Understand what I mean here: I love my friend who have kids. I love my Mom friends. It just so happens that we almost always just talk about our kids. They are fun to talk about. In fact we love talking about them and there is a lot to say, since we are with them 24-7. After we swap sleep, poop, and behavior info usually we have run out of time and don't get a chance to connect as adults. I'm working on breaking this pattern with the lovely Mom's I know because I they have some great things to share but it is still a challenge. That is why I loved hanging out with these two amazing couples. The conversation was engaging interesting and got me thinking. It was a blessing to my brain and my spirit. And it is all thanks to my man who stayed home so I could go out.

Again I just have to say, Shaun ROCKs!

Post Part II, Visitor

My awesome friend from Australia came to visit our little family once again. She was here for a week and a half! Bree and I took her to all of our things: mommy group, play dates, girls night out. It was great seeing her meet the people who are important to me. We had a blast. She is so sweet with Aubrey, they way she talks to her and interacts with her. It was such a treat for Bree and for me to watch. We also loved having the extra pair of hands around the house.

Having her here in winter though made me miss her summer visit so much, when a walk to the park everyday was the best. Ohhh how I miss the feel of that warm sun heating me up. Summer I long for you. The rain is great since every living thing needs water. :) But it is not so great for a SAH Mom with no car. Thankfully in Atascadero we can have rain and sun in the same day!

We also got to see our best couple friends Rico and Rachel. They had two different engagement shoots to do in SLO so we pulled out the air mattresses and fit five people into our little house. It gets cozy so good thing we all get along. I got to help them a bit with their second photo shoot doing assistant stuff. It was awesome to be part of it and see them in action. They are so creative and talented. If you need wedding shoots, maternity pictures, family portraits, or anything of the sort check them out! www.studiocastillero.com

I love it when they come. And hate it when they leave. At least we will get to see them in March when we take Bree on her first mini road trip down to SD. And we are going to the ZOO!

Post Part I, Naps

lt has been over a month since I last posted. YIKES. I have so much I could talk about which feels nice for a change.

I've decided to write what Bree is doing during all my posts:
Right now Bree is walking (spoiler alert), crawling, laying around with her sippy cup. Eating it, drinking through it, sucking on it, and holding it on her head. Fun times!

I guess I should start with an update on the nap situation. Things are totally fine now. Turns out Bree is just turning more and more into a Little person everyday. And as a little person she decides to exercise her right to not sleep., even when she is tired. She doesn't want to nap, she wants to play. So instead of going down the moment I put her in her crib she needs to get her ya-yas out before she can fall asleep. I was too attentive and was not giving her time ALONE to do this. I had to keep checking on her. It was an obsession.

Remember the last time you tried to take a nap? Would it have helped you to fall asleep if someone had come in every few minutes to "check" on you. Especially if the last time they did you were just laying there staring about to succumb to sleep. Well if your not sure I think I can answer for you. No it would not help! In fact it would make things so much worse. Especially if you liked this person and would much rather play with them than sleep.

So I have had to let go. For real this time. lol. And let me find sleep on her own. Turns out I don't need to know the moment she falls asleep. I don't need to make sure she is covered with a blanket. What I need to do is make sure she can fall asleep on her own because I won't be able to follow her around all her life putting a pacifier in her mouth, throwing her back into bed , and wrapping her up in a blanket so she won't move when she can't sleep. I do plan on having a life some day and I think this scenario would make it very hard for Bree to have any friends in her dorm.

Shaun was really helpful through this whole process.
Yay for strong husbands!