It Was The Best Of Times

I put my Nylabelle to sleep tonight. Here's what I whispered to her as she fell asleep.

Nyla, thank you for coming into our lives this past year. Thank you for growing in me and coming to be a healthy baby girl. I adore you, I love you. It's an all-encompassing kind of love that borders on obsession in the best way. When I look at you, I see God and I know that your father and I are so blessed to have you in our life. This past year was the greatest year of our lives. It was the happiest, the sleepless-iest, the funniest, the most unnerving-est. You are my life, my love, and my world. I can't wait to go through 2012 and many years after with you. I love you, my girl. Happy New Year. 

Happy New Year everyone! What a difference 12 months have made in our lives.

Kiss Kiss

Our sweet one has learned how to kiss...kind of. When you say, "Nyla give me a kiss" and make kissy noises, she responds. She will turn her head to you, lean forward, then it gets awkward. She opens her mouth as wide as it will go and sticks her tongue out...hmmm. But she is ready for a kiss because when you do, she smiles and giggles. Just don't linger too long or she will pull your hair and bite your lips. Savage monkey for sure.

She definitely isn't giving up on the biting either. She will gnaw on anything within reach: shirts, tables, couches, Okie , her spoons, books. You name it, there are teeth marks on it! Miss Thing better learn real quick that it's not nice to do that. The other night she bit Paul on the arm.

What are we going to do with this girl?

Savage Animal

The world is no longer safe from Nyla's teeth. At approximately 11:08 tonight, my own child bit me. She woke up crying around 11, so Paul and I decided to put her in bed with us in hopes that she would fall asleep.

At first things went well. She just whimpered a little and rubbed her eyes. Then the savage animal emerged. Out of nowhere, she started crawling all over us, raking her fingernails all over us. At one point, she climbed up to my shoulder and rested her head. "Awww she wants to snuggle" I thought to myself. Just as I was going in to give her some sweet kisses, *CHOMP*! All five of her teeth sank into my skin and stayed there! I almost rolled her off the bed because I was so shocked! Nyla had bit me!

First it was chewing socks, then her crib. Now she has resorted to chewing on people, her own mother no less! A savage beast indeed! More proof that we shouldn't have made those savage jokes while I was pregnant.

I'm a Zombie

Nyla has a new nighttime schedule. How lovely.

9:00-Bedtime
12m-A little whimper
2:30-Banshee crying
2:36-Diaper change and bottle
3:30-Back to bed.

The other morning, I was so tired from everything, I literally felt like a zombie. My mascara from the day was smudged almost down to my cheeks, my hair was all askew, I could barely open my eyes, and I think I made a zombie-like groan when I got out of bed. To make matters worse, since I was still damn near asleep, Nyla felt like a thousand pounds. I was so dramatic with carrying her downstairs, putting both arms all the way around her and tucking my head around her neck while stepping with both feet on each stair. All this with zombie noises at 2:30am. My zombie noises are a cross between Chewbacca and Frankenstein. I'm sure that's pleasant to listen to in the middle of the night.

What happened to the sleeping through the night phase, Nyla? Mommy and Daddy loooooved that phase. Let's go back to it, okay? Thanks.

The Best Mornings

For the last three mornings, I have had the best wake-ups ever! Miss Nyla is in her crib and starts her morning "mama-maaaaamaaaa-maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and so instead of getting up, getting ready, and heading downstairs with her, I've changed up our routine.

I have gotten into the routine of putting her back in bed with me and pulling the comforter all the way over us! Then we play and kick our legs together and push the comforter up high and let it fall down on us. I know it may sound lame, but it's so stinkin' cute with her. She laughs and snuggles into me. What better way to start a day than with a snuggly monkeygirl?

Now I better get to bed so that I'll be ready tomorrow morning. The only downside: Miss Nylabelle has to put up with mommy's morning breath. Poor girl. I need to find her a mask or something.

Bad Habit #1

Nyla has developed a nasty habit for only being able to sleep next to us or when we're holding her. "Oh Elizabeth, it's so adorable when they're sleeping in your arms. You can cuddle and coo...sweet." Yeah, it's really sweet to still be holding the baby at 2:30 in the morning because she wakes up every time you put her in her crib. That's sweet. You know what else is sweet? Getting dead arm because your arm is stuck underneath Nyla from when you transferred her into your bed because she's refusing to sleep in her crib.

I must take deep breaths. Yes, I do love snuggling her. But I also like to have a little time to do what I need to do: laundry, dishes, have a few moments of silence all to myself. As I write, she's having an all-out fit in her crib. Nevermind ten minutes ago when she was in my arms, she was open-mouthed, passed out asleep on me.

Sometimes I just don't get this girl. I think we need to revert back to our "cry-it-out" method during sleep/nap times. She only cries because she knows I'll come get her. No more though! I'm going to put on my Mommy-pants and I will persevere!

Savage

When I was pregnant with Nyla, Paul and I always joked that we would have a savage child; the child who was hanging by her teeth from the trees, growling and chewing on other people. I'm thinking we shouldn't have joked that much...

Last week when I was in Nyla's room, I noticed that her crib had a little imperfection on it. I'm not a stickler for this type of stuff, it just stood out. A scratch on her crib. Then I noticed that there was a whole line of scratches. "Elizabeth, what is that?" I thought to myself. Then I looked at Nyla, who had her teeth firmly clamped into the rail of the crib. Ooooh, I see what's going on now.

Nyla has started to chew on her crib with her four teeth. She couldn't chew on the blankets or her little stuffed animal in her crib. She just has to chew on the crib. Great. Savage child, indeed!

She's in action here.

Savage teeth marks.

I Thought This Would Pass

I was thinking the other day, when was the last time I hugged someone other than my husband and Nyla? And not just a hug bye or hello, just a hug for no reason? Our families are very loving and affectionate people, so this was a genuine concern for me. When I think back, I think my last "just because" hug was weeks ago. This made me a little sad because I miss those hugs. I miss that small time of attention. Who's all the attention directed at now? Miss Nyla.

Now I'm not trying to be selfish, because Nyla trumps everything right now. And that's totally okay with me! I just can't believe that there are times that I'm still struggling with being number 2 or 3 or 14 in our family. When Nyla was first born, I was mad because I was losing myself and it was an internal issue that I had to work through. But now, I feel like the forgotten person. I know Paul feels that way too sometimes.

You always hear parents, "oh it's great going to people's houses because they will take the baby for a few moments and you can have a rest." Yes, that is completely true. The support we get from both of our families is very appreciated. But along with that comes a sort of disregard for anything about you. It's always about the baby. We can damn near go to anyone of our family's houses, walk in, and it's like Nyla is just floating into the house...Paul and I are barely noticed. Thus, the forgotten.

Hm. I'm not complaining. I'm not even upset about it. It just occurred to me that that is our new life now. I don't mind it being about Nyla all the time; she is our world. She is the center of everything. I just think I'm in a time where I'm coming to grips with it. Sure, it may be a little late, as we're almost 9 months in, but that's okay. At least I'm recognizing it.

On another note, in the time since Nyla was born, I could also be super pregnant about to have another one. Isn't that the most horrific thought ever? Two going at once right now. Um, let's wait a little longer, thank you.

Lesson #4,604,134

Here's something to remember for baby #2, whenever he/she comes along. When a schedule is established, hold to it at all costs. AT.ALL.COSTS. For Nyla, if one element of her schedule gets messed with or she misses, she's a disaster the next day.

For example, on Wednesday night, Nyla pooped in the middle of the night, thus waking her up. I went to change her diaper, gave her a little bottle, and back to bed she went! Not even 45 minutes had passed from start to finish. But that little lapse of time totally disrupted Nyla's normal schedule and yesterday, she was off. Crying, crying, crying, fussy, more crying. She wanted to be held, didn't want me near her, wanted to stand up, wanted to crawl around, wanted her apple juice, didn't want her apple juice...disastrous. Of course nap time was almost non-existent. And you know what that means...more disruption for today! Hooray.

She woke up again last night around midnight and stayed awake until 2! Grrrrrr....hopefully will get this monkey back on her schedule tonight.

I should have known this was going to happen. Paul said the words of death the other night:

Dad: So is Nyla sleeping through the night?
Paul: Oh yeah, she's slept like 10 nights in a row so she's good! Always sleeps through the night. 

PAUL ELLIS! DO NOT EVER SAY THOSE WORDS! :)

They've Got It All Figured Out

I started wondering why Okie was hanging around Nyla so much lately. I just thought it was because she was really getting used to Nylabelle and they were becoming friends! I was right...sort of.

The other afternoon while feeding Nyla her lunch, I noticed Okie sitting right next to Nyla. After she finished her delicious peas (gross), I gave her one of her rice crackers to munch on. I turned my back to put the dishes in the sink and heard it. *munch munch* I flipped around and there they were! Okie and Nyla! Eating the cracker!

Nyla has started to bribe Okie with food, and it's working. Nyla will take a bite of her cracker, then give Okie a piece, take another bite, give Okie the rest. This is how they are building their relationship. I even have photographic evidence of this!

One for me.

Here you go, Okie.

And Okie just waits for her next treat.

What am I going to do with these girls? :)

Feeding Times Are Disastrous

For the last few months, Nyla has afforded us some very successful and clean feedings. She would politely sit in her high chair, take the whole spoon in her mouth, and polish off her food without so much as a drop of food anywhere.

 "Hey Paul, I bet she doesn't even need a bib. She's so good when she eats."

Words of destruction. 

For the last week or so, our eating child has been replaced by a overzealous, ravenous animal who flails her arms and sways back and forth and tilts her head into her food. This is our child. It is not uncommon for her to have food in her hair because she has put her hands into the food and then her hair. Hm.

She's real sneaky about getting dirty, too. First she'll start the eating by being calm and collected. Then Frankenstein comes out and she swats at the spoon and dives over for the bowl. She laughs uncontrollably while food is showering out of her mouth. It's such a special time when I get to remove Nyla from her chair and I notice that she has spit food down into her lap. Lovely.

I guess I better find those bibs again.

Victory Is Mine!

Oh, how times have changed. My 18-20-year-old self would deem victory when I was able to be free and hang out with friends, feeling like a grown-up. My 21-27-year-old self (that's a looooong time span) would be excited and victorious over making it to happy hour with more than 15 minutes to spare. Oh, the good ol' days.

Now, my 30-year-old self is feeling high and mighty at only one time: nap time! The sense of sheer domination and accomplishment that washes over me when I'm able to get Nyla down for a nap is staggering. I feel so accomplished that I've even developed a dance to signify my victory! It is only when I'm able to successfully transfer her from my shoulder to the crib upstairs that I unleash The Victory Dance. It is as follows:

Elizabeths' Victory Dance
1. Close eyes and get ready to shimmy
2. Finger point (with both hands) to the sky, alternating upward points
3. A quick shimmy of the shoulders
4. Scissor motion of the legs
5. Saturday Night Fever disco arm moves
6. Finish it off with a rousing rendition of the cabbage patch, rotating in place complemented with some silent "oh yeah"s.

All this must be done in silence because I'm standing right outside of Nyla's door. It might be quiet in the house, but in my head I've got a rocking song going...although sometimes they don't make sense. Today's song was "Dude Looks Like A Lady" by Aerosmith. What? I have no explanation for it, but it synched well with my dance.

She Get It From Her Mama

Oh no she di'int. Homegirl has got some attitude. Case in point, today's battle over the outlet plugs.

Nyla was in her walker this afternoon. She was circling around and around the kitchen island, and on both sides there are outlet plugs. Unfortunately, I haven't put any safety plugs in there yet. I know, bad mommy.

Well, on one of her revolutions, she stopped at the plug and started to go for it to play with it. "Nyla, no no." I said to her. She gave me a little cheeky look, then continued around. Back to the outlet she came, and I said even more sternly, "Nyla, no no!" Here is the point where Ms. Diva came out. Homegirl turned to me in her walker and gave me this look like, "Mom, puh-leeeze." Thinking she's slick, she put her fingers on it again.

That was it! I went and took her hand and with two fingers, gave it a little sasa (Samoan for spank). Now don't get on your soapboxes. I didn't sasa her hard at all. Just a little alert to her that it's bad. I don't like saying "no" to Nyla for stuff that's just trivial, like putting cardboard in her mouth or rolling around the edge of the carpet. I'll just tell her, "come here Nyla. Come over here." But when it's serious stuff, things where she can get hurt, I say "no."

So I sasa her fingers and say, "No, Nyla. Bad." At first I thought I got through to her. She backed away a little bit and nervously looked around. Then she looked straight in my face with her big hazel eyes and laughed. OH. HELL. NO. She laughed like, "Elizabeth, I am just getting started!"

Miss Thing has an attitude. Hmph. I wonder who she gets that from. *ahem*

Santa Claus

This morning, I ventured out with Nyla and her stroller in tow. I was on a mission to get to the mall to see Santa and have Nyla take her picture with him. I didn't want to stand in those massive lines on the weekends, so we loaded up and headed to the mall right at opening. When we got there, I was pleased to see that only three people were in line ahead of us. Whew! Beat the crowd.

Standing in line, I had time to think about how miserably wrong this whole situation was going to go. I was going to take Nyla out of the stroller, take off her lamb hat, and she was going to see Santa and scream like an animal. She would be crying crocodile tears and kicking and screaming with her red face. The picture was going to be of Santa giving her a curious look as she is trying her damnedest to get off of him. All while this is going on, I'd be standing in front of her by the elf trying to get her to smile. It was going to be disastrous.

"Next." Here comes the screaming.

We walked up cautiously toward Santa. Nothing from Nyla yet. I got her out of the stroller. Nothing still. Santa said, "If you just back her up to me and set her down on my lap, she'll only see you and won't cry." Oh yeah right, Santa. But he is Santa, so I did as I was told...I'm on the nice list this year.

Lo and behold, no crying from Nyla. Not even a hint of crying. She just sat there with her little scowl...you guys have seen enough pictures of her to know what face I'm talking about. The elf snapped four pictures, I picked the one that was least scowl-y, and we were on our way! First visit to Santa was a resounding success! I love it!

My favorite part of the whole escapade, other than Nyla behaving like an angel (she's on the nice list too), was the kid behind us. While he was waiting, he was just looking at Nyla, picking his nose and eating his boogers. Lol hilarious! Like it happened all the time. Kids are so funny! Also, parents beware. Santa at the mall doesn't have all his teeth. But he is a very nice man.

Nylabelle, the holiday season has begun! Thank you for being mommy's sweet angel this morning! You're the best.

Merry Christmas everyone! 

It's Been a Busy Week!

Well, Nyla's first Thanksgiving came and went and it was wonderful! She was so adorable; she even got to feed herself some mashed potatoes. Of course more of it ended up on her face and clothes than her mouth, but who cares? She laughed the whole time so we were thrilled!

We traveled to see Paul's family for the holiday, and now Paul and I have come to the conclusion that Nyla is a terrible traveler. Holy no sleep for four days! Every night, we would put her to bed at her regular time and she'd be out. Fast forward three hours and Nylabelle was crying up a storm. Generally we were trying to wait it out with her, but seeing as she was in her Pack-N-Play right next to our bed, the "crying it out" didn't last too long.

We put her in bed with us and tried to go back to sleep. Did she fall back asleep? NO! Homegirl decided that in the wee hours of the morning, the best thing to do is try to climb all over mommy and daddy. She would laugh and say "mama" all while trying to climb over Paul. In daylight hours, this is adorable. In the middle of the night, this is extremely irritating.

Finally we are back home though, so hopefully she will get back into her rhythm and sleep sleep SLEEP. We'll see...update tomorrow.

She's Feeling Better!

Well our girl seems to be feeling better. Three days of antibiotics and a little baby Tylenol seem to be doing the job! We've had two nights of full sleep, meaning 8+ hours! YES.

Nylabelle is good. Mommy and Daddy are good. Okie-doodle is good. Life is good.

Here's what is gross. Last night around 11:30, Nyla started crying a little sleepy cry. I let her go for a few minutes, then decided that I should get up and at least snuggle her for a few minutes back to sleep. As I was walking to her room, she fell back asleep. Perfect! No more crying! So I went back to bed.

And therein lies the mistake.

I should have gone into her room. Then I might have been slapped in the face by the smell of antibiotic poop. The doctor had said that the medicine would probably make her poops (or stools as she called them) a little different. "Little" is the understatement of the year. Whoa, Nyla. It wasn't until this morning that I realized that she wasn't just sleepy crying; she had made a little surprise. And that little surprise packed a big punch! Damn near burned my nose hairs right off.

What grosses me out the most is that Nyla was able to fall back asleep and continue sleeping for hours with this massive, stanky poop in her diaper. A tip for me for next time: get up, Elizabeth, and change the diaper.

The First Ear Infection

Day 4 of her illness. I took Nyla to the doctor today just to make sure that she just has a cold and nothing else. It's a good thing I took her! Homegirl has an ear infection! The doctor says it's just a small one and that some antibiotics will clear it right up.

I had a feeling something else was up other than her being stuffy. Last night after putting her to bed at 1 A.M., she woke up 20 minutes later in an all-out cry. I mean banshee crying. It was out of nowhere! Now knowing that she has an ear infection, it makes sense that she cried like that; it probably is hurting! So we have 10 days in front of us of antibiotics and two or three days of baby Tylenol at night.

In other news, I carried Nyla around in the Baby Bjorn today because I forgot the stroller was in the other car. While waiting for Nyla's prescription to be ready, Nyla thought that would be a great time to take a dump. Do you know what it's like literally to be pooped on? We were sitting in a chair, so basically she was taking a dump on my lap. Obviously the diaper was in place securely so nothing made its way out, but the aroma and warmth that comes with poop was very evident. How lovely it was to be sitting there with my poopy baby. Just another event that thoroughly enriches my life. 

She's a Machine

You remember when Nyla was first born, how she was constipated all the time? How we had to "massage" her to get her to poop? How it was imperative that we give her extra water to soften her up so she would poop? Yeah, that's not the case anymore. We could call Nyla a poop machine. It seems like every diaper we change, there's a little surprise for us! Hooray.

She wakes up, poop.
She eats breakfast, poop.
She plays in her playroom, poop.
She wakes up from her nap, poop.

And it goes on and on. I'm not going to complain though. I like her being regular! I also like not having to give her heinous prune juice bottles all the time.

As Predicted...

Just as predicted, the last few days have been the longest days since Nyla has been born. Poor girl is just not feeling herself. She's still stuffy and has a little hoarse voice, so when she cries it is heartbreaking. And she's got a little cough so she sounds extra pathetic. Poor babygirl!

You know who else? Poor mommy and daddy! It has been disastrous with her being sick. She's not sleeping, we're not sleeping. She's fussy, we're fussy. Last night, Nylabelle decided that she wouldn't fall asleep until after 2! She was tired though; there was lots of eye rubbing and face burying into my shoulder. But she was so uncomfortable with her sickness (I'm guessing) that she was not falling asleep! The night before, homegirl woke up every two hours...all night long! It's like we're at the newborn stage again!

You know what is disgusting though? Baby boogers. Gross. Yeah, she's my child, but it's still heinous. And her nose is all red from me wiping it all the time. I was trying to figure out what to put underneath her nose to ease the chafing. I didn't want to put petroleum jelly because the pediatrician said that it's not good if she digests it. So what did I end up putting under her nose? My nipple cream! That sounds disgusting, but it's the jelly that keeps your nipples from cracking during breastfeeding. Worked under her nose like a charm. Now, no one go and tell her that she has titty cream on her face please.

Sleep Update

Just a quick update: homegirl is not sleeping through the night, still. It actually seems to have progressively gotten worse, as last night she only slept maybe three hours. She woke up this morning and was so stuffed up and had a little cough. I'm thinking our little girl is getting a little cold. :(

Feel better soon, Nylabelle! I'm pumping her full of fluids and keeping her resting. She doesn't seem like it's affecting her too much because she's still playing and crawling around. But those rosy cheeks and runny nose are a tell-tale sign of a cold. I'm relatively certain it's going to be a long couple of days.

An Honest Sleepless Night

It is an understatement to say that Nyla was up all night. Ridiculous. The only time that she was calm was when she was being held. She would knock out

Seriously?

It was one thing to have Nyla wake up in the middle of the night and want to play for two hours before going back to sleep. It's completely another to have it happen five days in a row! Holy no sleep!

You would think that with all that non-sleeping that homegirl would like to sleep a lot during the day, and in turn give her mommy some much needed sleep too. That's not the case at all. And since some of the nights that she wasn't sleeping were Paul's nights to get up, daddy is sleepy too. That makes us some grumpy parents.

I know I said that I wouldn't get used to her sleeping through the night, but man! It was so nice sleeping a solid 8 hours a night. Now, it's like time has reversed and we're back to being walking zombies during the day. Nyla, on the other hand, is her same old happy, playful self. I need to draw energy from her this week.

With her not sleeping very well, that made my running program very difficult to do last week. I was so pathetic during the runs that I need to repeat last week just to feel like I did something productive.

Nyla, here is your goal for tonight and the following nights: SLEEP. We're begging you!

Forsaken Again

Oh, sleep. Why must you forget about me? We're in hour 4 of being awake now...that's right. Homegirl woke up at 3 a.m. this morning and has decided that she's ready to be up for the day. Ugh.

It wouldn't be bad except for the fact that last night I started my little part-time job at the craft store and worked until after 10. My bedtime last night was just after 11. Let's do the math. Bed at 11, baby awake at 3. Awesome 4 hours of sleep.

I wasn't even going to go get Nyla out of her crib. I just wanted to peek my head around the corner to see if she was really crying or just sleep crying. But as I turned to head into her room, the aroma slapped me in the face. Nylabelle had pooped. So not only was she awake and crying at 3, she also had poo in her diaper. What a lovely thing to wake up to after four hours of slumber.

But it's not all bad! I missed my girl last night and didn't get to kiss her before bed, so I was happy to snuggle this morning. Only I didn't think she'd want to be up this long; I was totally anticipating her going to sleep after her bottle. Apparently she had other plans which included coming downstairs to play for a few hours.

Don't worry, everyone. I will be fine today. I already have my Starbucks. :)

Stroller Woes

It's true. I am a disaster when pushing a stroller. Hello, I run into everything. I can't even walk in an aisle without hitting the different stands that are set out. I'm just a disaster.

Nyla, on the other hand, just laughs and squeals the whole time while Mommy is trying to maneuver through the rows in Fred Meyer. I made the mistake of just cruising through the clothes section...hello, ran into all the different racks of clothes. I even got stuck at one point and had to pseudo-off road with Nyla by pushing her up and over one of the legs of the racks.

Who knew driving a stroller (that's what I call it) would be so difficult? Or am I just the biggest moron in the world not knowing how to push it correctly?! All I know is that having this stroller is a thousand times better than taking in her car seat, which weighs eight hundred pounds, and pushing it in the cart. When does she start walking again? :)

Incredible!

I'm just going to continue knocking on wood because homegirl has got this sleeping thing down right now! She's consistently sleeping through the night, now going on 8 nights in a row. Can you believe it?

But I know that I should not get overly excited about this; it's only a phase. That's why I appreciate it every night! Every morning when I wake up, I just soak it all in...all the hours of sleep in a row, all the feelings of restfulness...soak it all in! Now my next step to enjoying this more thoroughly would be to actually go to sleep when Nylabelle goes to sleep. That's hard to do right now because she's going to sleep before 8 o'clock. What is nice, though, is that Paul and I are getting some quiet time alone now...which means we get to curl up and watch some Food Network. :)

On The Verge

You guys! Our babygirl is on the verge of talking! Okay, maybe not full on talking baby-talk, but today marks the day our Nylabelle spoke her first word! I can't believe it!

We were at my Auntie Queen's house, and Nyla was just happily playing in her Pack-N-Play, and she started going, "mmm-mmmm". I just nonchalantly said, "Mama?" not thinking anything would even happen. Nyla stopped everything and went, "Maaaa-ma." You guys! How exciting! Honest on everything, I just about burst out into tears...like explosive tears! Our baby is growing up!

Then for the next few minutes, all she said was, "mama...maaaamaaa...maaaama." And just as soon as she started speaking, she stopped. We haven't heard it again today; she was only in the mood for talking for that five minute span. Believe me, those five minutes were some of the best five minutes of my life!

She's saying "mama" today, "Daddy get me a car" tomorrow! Or "can I have some money?" or even "I can do what I want!"

THREE! THREE! THREE!

Could it be? Dare I say it? Has Nylabelle figured out sleeping?

I woke up this morning with the biggest smile on my face because homegirl has slept through the night THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW! I'm talking put her down for bed at 8:30 and she doesn't wake up until 8:00 the next morning! I'm trying my hardest not to get all jacked up about this because I know it's just a phase...but let me just say, I love this phase!

She even napped really good yesterday, and I had fears that she wouldn't sleep at all. But she did sleep! Even as I write this, she is still sleeping. I have come to cherish my quiet time in the mornings now, instead of waking up to a crying baby everyday. I get up, get a cup of coffee, and am able to just relax and rev myself up for the day.

Nylabear, thank you for the last few nights and mornings! They're just what Mommy needed!

Operation: Lose Baby Weight

If you're a follower on Twitter, or a friend on Facebook, you already know that I'm on a mission to lose the baby weight. All those damn Sausage McMuffins need to be freed from my belly! Stupid pregnancy cravings.

My cousin, Keli, inspired me to do this program called Couch to 5K, and it's a running program that slowly eases those couch potatoes (me) from the sitting position to an all-out run in 9 weeks. If you know me, you know I hate running. I hate it. Passionately. The people who say, "Oh running is so refreshing to me, it really lets me think" gross me out and I don't understand them. This is probably one of the top reasons I started to run, because I want to know what all the hype is about.

I'm in my second week of running and I'm already faster and stronger. Woohoo! But do I love running yet? Absolutely not. It's a tedious chore for me to get on the treadmill and run. And believe me, I hate every second of it. My favorite part of it is when it's over. I love that part. But if I was being honest, I would have to say that I'm enjoying the fact that everyday, or sometimes every other day, I am being very active. This is new for me.

I want to lose the baby weight so that I can be an active parent. I was finding myself on the couch or the floor with Nyla for 8+ hours a day! That's when I decided that enough was enough; time to do something with my day! I want to be the parent who can actually go play on the playground with Nyla instead of watching from the park bench.

My other inspiration for doing this is none other than The Rock. Yes, the Samoan WWE wrestler. Ridiculous, I know, but he has this group of followers that he encourages and pumps up everyday. They're called Team Bring It. It's not an official group or anything, but following The Rock on Twitter, he daily reaffirms to his followers to be the best they can be that day. Not the day before, not tomorrow, but staying in the today. I feel like that spoke to me. Isn't that funny? The Rock spoke to me through Twitter.

I want to earn a Team Bring It shirt. Yeah, I could go to Hot Topic and buy one and wear it, but I'd feel like such a fraud wearing it. "Oh I'm on Team Bring It and I watch TV for 8 hours a day." That doesn't make sense. So I'm doing this running program, and when December comes around and I'm in week 6, I will feel like I'm ready for that TBI shirt. I might even have to buy a bunch of them to wear during workouts.

The Pumpkin Patch

Oh the pumpkin patch! I woke up with a severe determination to get Paul and Nyla to the farm so we could take pictures of her in her Halloween costume amongst the pumpkins. I'm glad I did because she was the hit of the pumpkin patch! People were cooing and ooh-ing over her. And I only had eyes for my Nylabelle. She looked so adorable in her monkey costume! She was fascinated with looking around at everything, and when we put her down with the pumpkins, she had her mind set on crawling all over them. I can honestly say that the mere 30 minutes we spent at the farm are close to the best 30 minutes of my life! It was so great! My Big Bear was a good sport too, so all is well in the Ellis household.  

Below are pictures from our little adventure.

Hi guys. 

Believe me, she loves being carried like this.

Getting Past The Fear

I was thinking this morning about the last 7.5 months with Nyla and how much our life has changed. I had to laugh because I realized that in the beginning, Paul and I had no idea what we were doing. I mean, NO IDEA. Everything with Nylabelle was so foreign to us; it was like seeing an alien every time she moved or made a squeak. "Oooh Paul, she moved her finger!" And we were clueless about how to take care and raise a baby.

This is not to say that we're total experts now, because that is so far from the truth. But I feel, after living in fear for 30-odd weeks, Paul and I are finally hitting our stride with this petite human. Whew! We can tell Nyla's moods, we've got her on (somewhat) of a schedule, we almost always know what's up when she's having a fit, and we're figuring out this whole "we have a baby" thing.

Things that still freak us out:
1. Nyla throwing a fit while changing a diaper
2. Giving her a bath in the big tub
3. Her changing poops (gross)
4. Her slamming her head on anything...this is my number one fear right now since she has become so mobile.

All in all, we're learning to be parents. Wish it would have kicked in a little sooner, maybe more around the 3-week age, but whatever. Nyla's no worse for wear and she won't ever know that her mommy and daddy were total morons when she was born.

Baby In A Restaurant

If you are a child-less person or couple (or a Mom and Dad out on a date alone), one of the worst places to go is a family-friendly restaurant. Not like Olive Garden because, really, OG is not a place for babies and kids--too many breakables everywhere. Nothing kills a good dinner like thirty-eight screaming kids throwing their food and running into your chair.

But take Famous Dave's BBQ, which happens to be where we went last night. This place is the epitome of a family-friendly establishment. It has huge long tables, stacks upon stacks of high chairs, and balloons at the entrance. The place screams "We Love Kids! Bring Them!" And so last night, we brought our child to a restaurant. Now this isn't the first time at a restaurant, but this is the first time at an all out, child-infested...errr child-filled restaurant.

Where does the hostess seat us when she sees that we have a baby? In the back room that is already occupied with 22 people, 11 of whom are children. Great. So in we squeezed to our table and the deafening noise of kids yelling consumes my ears. Who decides to join in on it? Nyla. She squealed and squawked the whole time. And to add to her enjoyment, she kept throwing anything she had in her hands onto the floor. I just love spending my dinner evening bending down and picking up toys every three seconds. Really gives me a chance to enjoy my food.

Of course with a baby in a restaurant, that means we have to eat at lightning speed because homegirl has a time limit as to how long she will behave until the banshee monster comes out. For Nyla, she's pretty well maintained until about 34 minutes or so; that's about the time where she squirms uncontrollably until someone is designated to walk around the restaurant with her.

Delicious rice cracker.

To be honest, Nylabear is pretty dang good in public. She laughs at all the people and *knockonwood* doesn't cry. She likes being with everyone and all in the mix. Hopefully Paul and I will become more comfortable in family-friendly restaurants. Chuck-E-Cheese is out forever though. Nothing grosses me out more than the ball pit. All those germs...

She's Gone Country!

It's official: we have a country baby. This past weekend, Nyla went through her first rite of passage being a country baby; Nyla rode a 4-wheeler with her daddy. Paul secured her right in front of him and took her for a slow ride around his parents' property. While she was riding, Nyla had on her standard "I don't care" face. But when they finished their ride and stopped, she giggled so loud and was all smiles! She loved it! Of course, I stood in the drive having a mini-panic attack. What if she screamed? What if she hated it? What if an eagle swoops down and picks her up from the 4-wheeler? Yes, my worries were getting ridiculous. But alas, my lovely girl came back happy and in one piece! Hooray!

We also had time to go to the pumpkin patch and take pictures. Here come the holidays, which means here come ridiculous looking outfits for Nyla!

Family time at the pumpkin patch. I had straw stuck in my pants all day. 

I can't even look when Paul does this.

All giggles after her ride with daddy.

Coming back from the ride.

All smiles in her swing at Grammie and Papa's house!

She may not look amused, but she loved it.

Laughing at her cousin.

The three grandchildren!

Whoa, Nyla.

I thought we were past the stage of blowing poop out the diaper. Apparently not. We should know by now that silence equals smelly. About an hour ago, our girl was so quiet, you could hear crickets. This should have been a sign that something fierce was coming our way.

Boy did she produce.

I have never actually seen that amount of poo come from one little 20-pound baby. Homegirl pooped out her diaper, on her legs, up her back, in her knee creases, and moved it up into her armpits. Lovely. Here's the most precious part: when I had to take off her shirt, we forgot that there was a massive amount on her clothes, so when we pulled up her shirt, we dragged some of the poop IN HER HAIR. Bleh.

When I started to change her diaper, I pulled out four or five wipes because I knew that it was something wicked. But when I realized that it was massive, I just yelled, "Paul! Start the bath!" Poor monkey-girl had it all over her, so we had to bathe her. :)

Now she's all clean, smells delicious, and is happily enjoying a bottle. Maybe having a small prune juice bottle plus prunes and apples lunch was too much. Note to Mommy: lay off the prunes. Homegirl is regular now.

Baby Food

You know what's disgusting? Baby food. Looky here:

I mean, seriously?! Who wants to eat that food? Those delicious concoctions above are chicken and apples, sweet corn casserole, and rice cereal. Absolutely heinous. In the first picture, Nyla has for her appetite the most heinous, King of Heinous-osity, pureed peas. Bleh.

Judging by the pictures below, I'm not sure she's amused by the food either.

Getting ready to taste

And we begin! The food goes in, no problem.

Here's the moment of realization that, yes, it's disgusting.

Cautiously going back for more. 

Still disgusting.

"Please no, Dad."

She's basically just choking it down now.

The look of refusal.

I'm thinking she's about to barf.

I can't wait until she is eating real food. You know, textured food. Food that doesn't look like multi-colored mush. Bleh. Nylabear, I'm sorry you're eating disgusting food. One day food will be delicious, I promise.

Our Kissy Girl

Okay, it's pretty adorable that Nyla now wants to kiss. She leans into you all smiling and then gives you an infant's interpretation of a kiss. To Nyla, when we kiss, it means that she should stick her entire tongue out and try to lick your nose. Or if she's feeling extra feisty, she'll try to scrape her two little teeth across your nose. :) It's pretty adorable and we laugh the whole time. Since she's totally teething, there is a ridiculous amount of saliva that she's producing and it inevitably ends up all over your face.

Now this little kissing thing is cute. Homegirl better not try this use-the-tongue thing with boys in her teenage years, though. I should start praying now for the future boys that will come for our Nylabear.

The Schedule

You know, last week I posted about getting Nyla on a schedule and starting to let her cry it out when she wakes up in the middle of the night. The schedule we have got down! I mean, she's into our little schedule and it's working for everyone! Hooray! The crying it out at night? That's not going so well.

We let her cry it out on Friday night and she only cried for 17 minutes before falling back asleep. And then we reverted back to getting her in the middle of the night. Augh! After only one night, I was in our old habit and when she started to cry, I was like an automaton. I got up and got dressed and went to get her and console her.

I must remember (in my sleepy haze) that she's fine in her crib. We need to help her learn to fall asleep on her own. Wouldn't it be horrific if she was 5 and we still had to give her a bottle and rock her to sleep every night? Watch. Now that I've said that, that's what will happen.

Making Me Sick

You mothers out there who are all well put-together with your hair nicely coifed and full makeup on with actual clothes on. You make me sick.

It wasn't so long ago that I wouldn't leave the house without at least putting on jeans and a hoodie and some makeup. Tonight, I left the house in stretchy pants, a huge shirt, and my Crocs. And when I looked in the mirror, I realized that I actually looked like Uncle Fester. Cool.

I don't even like to think about how it's possible that my husband finds me attractive. I mean, I honestly have dark rings around my eyes...who needs smoky eyeshadow? You could just have a 7-month-old who doesn't sleep through the night for a few days. *Poof* smoky eyes! Except not as cute...

How long does this period of unattractiveness last? I'm not even going to get started in on the baby weight. All those damn Sausage McMuffins are just hanging around on my hips and belly. Don't judge: my #1 craving during pregnancy was Sausage McMuffins. I'm talking all-out, I'll kill someone for a Sausage McMuffin craving.

Maybe I'm just being a big baby about this and need to step it up and make the conscious effort to get myself together in the morning. Will try it tomorrow.

Tomorrow's mission: real clothes and makeup. I'm not ready to address the hair yet. I'm just going to continue pulling it up in a ponytail for awhile. Baby steps.

The Looks of Love

Look at my sweet Nyla sleeping. Look at how angelic and calm she looks. And me, her dear mother, gazing upon her with loving eyes. It's the portrait of a mother/daughter bond.

When I took this picture, I thought to myself "Elizabeth, you should also take pictures of what you look like when she's not being an angel." And so I did. Enjoy this photo set that I will title "Looks of Love". The photo titles directly correlate with my thought process when using that specific face. You're all welcome.

What Are You Doing?!

 Paul, Come Get Your Daughter.

Whose Devil-Child Is This?

Girrrrrrrrrrrrl you wait until you're 13.

It's 2:17. Go To Sleep.

Did She Just Fart On Me? 

Finally, Sleep.

All you mothers out there, I know you know these faces...and more, I'm sure!

PS: you are all welcome for having me wear my leopard pajamas. Your lives are enriched, I'm sure. :)