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my sister surprised me with this video this morning. best darn thing i could've ever ever expected. i've been able to hold back the emotional tears but this....this opened the floodgates.

happy birthday darling precious amazing little nugget of mine. mommy loves you more than you could ever ever possibly imagine.

11 months and getting back on track

tiny disclaimer: my daughter did not age a month in a day. for those of you keeping track, i got a little behind but i'm almost back on track now. 

hello month before my daughter's first year of life! surprisingly, i'm not as emotional as i predicted i would be. i'm just really super excited for her and her new found freedom. she's such a confident little darling i just simply can't get enough of her and this amazing new phase in her life. she's mobile and so super close to walking. you can also tell that she's so proud of herself every time she inches closer to taking her first steps. she's also really found her voice. she loves to grunt and squeal and laugh and chuckle. if her variation in expressions and sounds is any inclination as to the type of person she'll become, she's definitely going to be an entertainer.

we also just got back from our first big family vacation to hawaii. i think we all got a little too used to island life because we've had a bit of a hard time adjusting to normal life again. and just yesterday we noticed that baby girl sprouted her first tooth! so so so much going on i can barely keep up!

her first halloween is next week (she missed last year's by a couple weeks) but she's ready to hit the town in her awesome custom costume (thanks grandma)!

 

10 months and a little update

oh boy, i'm running so behind on these monthly posts i don't even know where to start. so let me see here, baby girl turned 10 months over a month ago. she actually turned 11 months a couple weeks ago and i'm gearing up for her first birthday just around the corner so this reveals two things about me...1. life is super crazy right now and i'm running just a tiny bit behind and 2. i've severely neglected this blog and will do my very best to get my priorities in order moving forward.

i'm also about to reveal something else about myself, i have the absolute worst memory so sitting here trying to remember all the milestones she hit at 10 months is proving to be pretty challenging, which also makes me kind of sad. i need to really try hard to remember every single moment of her beautiful life but the days and months are all beginning to mush together. all the while, i'm doing my very best to cling on to these last days of having an official baby before she turns 1 in a couple weeks and is then considered a "toddler."

so her daddy and i have pretty much come to the realization that she's never going to be a crawler. she has mastered this very odd yet very adorable boot scoot that gets her from point A to point B just fine and has shown major interest in pulling herself up and cruising, which means she's getting closer to walking than she ever was to crawling. she's also very much in the mommy-clinging stage. i can't leave the room without hearing her cry but all of this will change soon once she figures out how to walk and can then just follow me every where i go.

baby-proofing is coming along. since she never really crawled we kind of got a very nice smooth transition into baby-proofing. we've replaced our coffee table and tv stand and installed childproofing locks on all the kitchen cabinets but other than that we really didn't have to do much. i think my larger concern is our dogs and all the treasures they bring in from the outdoors. one of the dogs loves to bring in sticks and baby loves to chew on them.

so i guess that's it for our 10 month update. i'll shut up now and let you scroll through the adorable pictures and amazing graphic design work by my friend KO.

oh and p.s. she's still not sleeping through the night but i'm almost certain i don't need to document this in my blog because i will definitely definitely remember the day she decides to grace us with the glory of sleep again.

 

8 months {with my water baby}

dedicated followers of this blog (thanks, mom!) will know that this baby has been a water baby ever since she was a tiny fetus. how is this possible, you ask? she communicated the best way tiny fetus' know how....through irrational cravings for their mamas. you know that old myth that pregnant women crave pickles and ice cream? yeah, that's definitely the confused fetus thinking that's a yummy combination. so my little mermaid of a fetus, more commonly known as Ina these days, craved water. not a single weekend went by that this mama did not pack up her beach bag and headed west (with my headphones on)! even when we went inland i still needed to be in some sort of soak pool or bath tub.

i'm so happy that she was born in the winter so we could keep her secluded and warm and bundled up during her early weeks, because she was definitely ready to burst onto the summer scene at 5-6 months and she hasn't looked back since. she takes swim classes, she has a couple variations of kiddie pools, she has a big sink for evening soaks and luckily her aunt lives by the beach for weekend getaways.

so to my tiny little mermaid, thank you for showing mama your true colors even as an itty little morsel of a person living inside my belly. thank you for telling me exactly what makes you happy and thank you for lighting up my life. may the sun always make you smile, the pools always give you energy and the ocean breeze forever calm your soul. love love love you my little mermaid!

7 months!

dear daughter: please please please convince those nasty little teeth of yours to surface so we can be done with this madness. teething is so brutal and sad. we have just about every little frozen teething toy under the planet and yet nothing seems to soothe you. i simply can not wait for this teething stage to be over. if it wasn't for your super mean teeth, i would want to stop time in this very moment. you're not yet mobile so i still feel like i can carry you around in my pocket every where i go, you're super smiley (when you're not teething), and your little personality is really beginning to shine. 

 you love looking at people and you love being part of our little posse. your daddy and i often go out to dinner (it's probably one of my favorite things to do) and i'm so happy that you make it easy for us to take you out. we literally take you with us everywhere, partly because we have a lack of babysitters with your grandparents being a little far away and partly because we've fully accepted the fact that wherever we shall go, you shall come with us! in these past 7 months we've taken you to countless restaurants, a handful of beaches, baby showers, weddings, first birthdays and we've loaded you up along with all of your favorite toys for some much needed weekend getaways. life is just peachy and glorious with you in it (even with your violent teething screams). 

i love love love love love you. 

happy 7 months my punky monkey (that's what daddy calls you but it makes me smile so i'll call you that too.)

6 beautiful months with ina

we never celebrated half birthdays growing up but i do think it's an important milestone, especially when you're only half a year old! motherhood is such an extraordinary thing. how can i even put into words the last 6 months? i honestly can't even believe it's already been a half year. it's funny how a sleepless night can feel like an eternity and yet holding this growing chunker for the last 6 months has gone by so fast that i still sometimes look down and feel like i'm holding her brand new tiny 6-pound body (my beautifully sculpted arms are a reminder that she is, in fact, 12 pounds heavier than that). it won't be long now before she can actually read these blog posts herself so in honor of your 6-month birthday this is for you:

dear ina beana (i hope we're still calling you this many years from now and you read this and think, 'man, they've been calling me that forever!'), 

it has now been 6 months since your daddy and i kissed you for the first time. in the last 6 months you have warmed our hearts a million times over. with every milestone we jump up and down and do a little dance. by now you should be very familiar with your mommy's signature happy dance, well imagine me doing this the moment we realized you were actually making eye contact, the second you cracked your first smile, when we heard your laugh for the first time, watching you play with toys, that day you said, "mama!" then the day you said, "papa," and now finally as you're getting ready to crawl and explore much of the world (or at least the house) on your own! So as you can imagine, this house has been filled with endless happy dances. 

but what's better than all these predicted milestones is the fact that we're slowly beginning to see your personality, we're getting to hear your voice and we are witnessing that spark in your eye as you develop a palate for the things you like and don't like. i see so much of your aunt caroline in you. in fact, your daddy said to me the other day, "you know what's crazy, every once in a while i'll look at her and see your sister." it made me smile real big. you're independent, loving, funny and beautiful. you are also very reserved when you first meet someone. people tell us that we have such a serious baby as you stare them down and carefully decide whether or not this stranger is worthy of your smile but once you get comfortable you begin to really show them what your daddy and i get to see every day. 

but one of my favorite qualities about you is your sense of awareness. you love to scream and i'm pretty sure you get that from your daddy. you don't necessarily crave attention but you have a voice and you want to make sure people hear it. your daddy is the greatest storyteller i've ever known, you babble with such intent that i know you already have a ton of stories that you just can't wait to share with us. 

thank you my darling for the best 6 months of my entire life. mommy can't wait to see what the rest of our lives will be like!

love you more than you can ever possibly imagine. 

happy happy happy half birthday!

5 months {coming at you super late}

it's almost time to post her 6 month pictures and here i am barely getting to the 5 month shots. here's the thing, i'm a MOM! i work from home full-time and i have a husband that needs some attention every once in a while. that on top of the fact that i'm a MOM! so i know you all are anxiously standing by for the 5 month shot pics so here you go.

as a recap, i'm trying to remember all the milestones she hit from months 4 to 5 but honestly, all i keep thinking about are all the ones that she's currently hitting so if i talk about that i'll have nothing to talk about at the 6 month post.

who am i kidding, i'll have plenty to talk about at the 6 month so here's her milestones so far at 5.5 months:

she says, "mama!" that's right, my brilliant brainiac of a child can say my name! nevermind the fact that this is a common sound that babies make around this age, let's just focus on the fact that she knows my name and she says it every time she's hungry, tired or just wants some cuddles. we're working on "dada" but i think she prefers to say "papa" because that one has come out a few times.

reaching for me. oh how my heart aches every times she's laying down and throws her arms up in the air so i can sweep her up! dear darling, i will forever be here to hold you and comfort you, that is one thing i know for certain!

she's hit a ton of other milestones but those are the two that drown the rest of them out.

phenomenal design work by olson designs (that's not her company name, she's currently freelance but we're working on getting her design business up and going so for now, i will refer to her as olson designs).

4 months old

darling baby girl, you are 4 months old! i'm so proud of the little human you're becoming. i'm seeing so many little nuggets of me and your dad in you and that is just the most magical thing. one of the things i love most about my relationship with your dad is that we both love to laugh and dear sweet girl, you definitely get that from us. you laugh when you wake up, you laugh just as you're about to fall asleep, you laugh when you're hungry and you laugh when we're cleaning your dirty diapers (with good reason as i'm sure that can be very comical to watch especially when you surprise us with your blowouts). 

this has also been a huge month for milestones. you discovered your precious little hands, you are beginning to tolerate tummy time, you rolled from your tummy to your back, you are now wrapping your arms around us when we hold you (best. feeling. ever) and you are really getting to know your little puppies. i love the way you watch them play and watch them run around the house. i just know you all are going to be the best of friends. 

i'm literally afraid to blink, you're growing so fast. i know i'm going to miss holding your tiny little body as you continue to grow but i am so enjoying being your mommy and laughing with you every single day. 

3 months

oh my dearest baby girl, how is it possible to continue to fall more and more in love with you? the bigger you get the harder it's going to be to just tuck you away in my pocket and keep you there always. i think the fact that i'm a "mom" hasn't quite sunk in yet but i sure do love the fact that i get to guide you into this wonderful world and feel as though i'm seeing everything for the first time again. i mean, who knew a tiny little orange plush monkey would bring so much joy? i look at orange plush monkeys in an entirely new light. 

i also can't believe its been 3 whole months since your precious little pink body was placed on me. i'm going to be honest, i never thought i'd ever see the light of day again, but here we are 3 months later and slowly but surely venturing out more often. 

i love that you love your baby bjorn. it took us a few months to figure out that you need to be facing the world in order to be happy, i suppose we couldn't keep you tucked in for too long. when we walk around town you babble at the trees and at random strangers who come up to you and admire your magical hair. i wonder if you're just learning to hear your own voice or if you really want to tell us something. perhaps you want us to know that you're happy and that you love life. soon enough you'll be able to actually communicate that but for now i'll just pretend that that's what you're saying.

we recently bought zoo memberships as well as a membership to the local botanical garden. i'm going to try my hardest to take you out to those places as much as possible. even if it's just for a quick 30-minute walk (who cares if it still takes me an hour to get you all packed up and in the car), the goal is to get a little more efficient with getting out of the house. and an even bigger goal is to get you to love your carseat. mama really needs you to love your carseat.

2 months old today!

my goodness, time is just flying by! i can't believe its been two months since i laid eyes on the most gorgeous creature in the universe. she changes by the second and i'm desperately trying to document every waking moment. i'm absolutely obsessed with her. yesterday i visited my salon for the first time since she was born (i was waaaaay over due for an eyebrow waxing) and i spent the first 30 minutes or so showing everyone pictures of her from birth to current day. i spend all my time with her and the tiny moments that i'm away from her i spend it looking at pictures of her. i think it's safe to say that i've crossed the line of obsession or maybe we can just call it being a proud mama!

we reached a handful of milestones this past month. she's now realized how funny her mom and dad truly are since she's gracing us with her gorgeous smile, however she has yet to laugh out loud, we're waiting patiently for that milestone. she can also track objects and rub her eyes, although I don't think she realizes that she's doing it yet. and my favorite little thing that she's started doing this past month is tickling my side as i nurse her. feeling her tiny soft little hands on my bare skin is just the sweetest. i plan on burning these moments into my memory forever and ever.

baby girl is a month old!

i can't believe an entire month has passed since my precious ina was born. when they say it takes a village, it truly does. my village has consisted of all my most cherished friends -- that are also new mamas -- who i will be forever indebted to for all of their advice, support, and meals! my mom and my sister for coming over and helping with baby while my husband is busy with work and last but most certainly not least, my husband! poor thing didn't know what to do with himself when the hormones got overwhelming and i cried at the drop of a dime. but he did what he could do: he told me he loved me over and over again, he held our daughter and wrapped her in his overwhelming energy, he made me breakfast, lunch and dinner, he made me laugh, he held my hand and he changed every single dirty diaper!

and because of all that...he's the love of my life and forever will be.

how on earth do people do this alone?! i will be forever grateful for all the support, understanding and advice that has come my way. my heart goes out to everybody who struggles during this time and i promise to pay it forward every chance i get.

but enough about me, let's get to the good stuff. check out my amazing, precious, perfect little angel! just when i think this mom thing is overwhelming, i look down at her golden eyes and feel like i'm not worthy of such an amazing creature. i love her so much i feel like i'm going to explode and it's only been 1 month (+38 weeks of cooking). i can't possibly imagine this heart of mine harnessing any more love but alas, we have a lifetime of it to muster up.

thanks to fellow mom blogger, flora, for the monthly picture idea! she's an actual graphic designer so her skills are far superior to mine but i'm giving this photoshop thing a shot anyway.

P.S. that's our dog in the background of the last picture. turns out he wanted to participate in the one-month photoshoot too.