To Be Surprised: Month 5

Whoops, looks like a month got washed away in the racing of time. Sorry if this is a bit of a long catch up post. It's been a lot of the same day to day, but it's amazing how much more of a routine we have now. I should mention that we had very little to do with establishing said routine. All those parenting books I read made it seem like we had control over the schedule but, with Elise, she's really set the pace. And it's worked out really well. I'm glad we let her work it out. She's still figuring out naps but as long as the nighttime stuff is more stable, we're good.

Ed and I are back on our old routines finally, calorie counting and exercising consistently. I know the results won't be quite as quick as they were a year ago, given I can't exercise for however long I want, whenever I want. Ed's running and working out at his office. I'm getting in at least 1 mile a day, and two or three on Saturday and Sunday. I'm attempting some speed training finally so I can get in more mileage in the short amount of time I have available to me in the mornings. As soon as I feel a bit more in shape again I'll add in the kettlebell, weights and yoga routines. I cannot wait for that. It feels so good to be moving again and mending my body. I'm hoping whenever the next baby comes around, I'll be back to a healthy weight AND have a stronger musculature than last time.

It's nice looking back over the past 5 months. The good and the bad. So much of the bad resolved all on it's own, regardless of anything we attempted. I still harbor unwarranted resentment that I try to work on... When I hear new moms complaining about being tired or sleep deprived with their baby who naps and just doesn't sleep when they want them to sleep - I want to feel sympathetic, but I struggle with my inner voice saying 'please, you have no idea.' I know, I'm a jerk. Having a baby that only slept ~5-6hrs in a 24hr period made it really hard to relate to other moms. I wonder if moms of colicky babies feel similarly. But it could always be worse. Isn't that the ultimate response to any complaint? Everyone has their own battles and I know being more empathetic and less critical is something I need to and am working on daily. I just wish I could go back and find more moms to commiserate with. More friends.

We took Elise's first road trip to see Dad and Debbie in Nevada and then two weeks later a trip down to L.A. to see Ck's new house. I'll refrain from saying it over and over but, her house is ah.may.zing. it was already nice looking in all the pictures, and now with the renovations they've done, it's an incredible house. Emilia and Elise got to hang out, talkin' baby talk. They seemed to enjoy each other's strangeness :) Emilia is amazing. She's super strong and just so ready to get up and go. Poor Ck, she's gonna be chasing her everywhere. She's a whirlwind and she's funny, showing off all her skills: blowing kiss, pushing things around, giving love and headbutts. Adorable. Ck gave me an awesome haircut and color. It looks so much more like what I was rocking a year ago, blonde with bangs, which makes me really happy.

Sadly, I haven't posted many pictures of the haircut or of myself in general. I've been in hibernation. I am just getting back into my routines now because for the longest time my body wasn't recovering from birth. I was embarrassed by my appearance and feeling depressed. My only intimate familiarity with what someone should look like 4 months after birth is my sister, who looked completely normal in the same time frame (see pictures of my baby shower). For me, everything "healed" and all, but my belly was still distended, I hadn't lost any weight and I didn't feel quite right. Wearing the belly band just caused me more discomfort. Turns out I had some stuff left over so I had a bit of surgery last month. Things are all in order now. Apparently whatever was still hanging around was making my body think I was still a bit pregnant, making weight loss, hormone stabilization and breastfeeding much, much harder than it needed to be. For 4 months! Crazy, I know. So, now I can get my health and fitness back in earnest... and hopefully get over myself and post more pictures!

I'll just let the pictures do the talking from here on out with the occasional caption. Ya'll know I could type up commentary forever and ever, so I'll spare ya.

Photo shoot with our grown up cousin - 10 Months and 4 Months :)

What We Are Like:
A goofy kid for sure. Lots of silly faces and noises. Very independent now, playing with her stuffed animals and rolling around into things. She holds onto you when you pick her up and snuggles. My mom calls her a turtle because when she's tired she burrows into you or the carrier. She has a blankie and loves to drape it over her head. If she's not sleepy, she'll drape it and then start dancing like crazy. Otherwise, it's blankie over the head and lights out. The blankie is one of those aden + anais security blankets. I received it in our monthly Citrus Lane box. (If you're interested in a Citrus box, lemme know and I'll send you a referral link!) Still doing cloth diapers which are working out perfectly. Still breastfeeding and supplementing with formula right before bed and once before midday nap. She's still very long and skinny, already in 9 month old sleepers and 6-9 in regular outfits because of the bulky cloth diapers. The little hair she's got goin' on looks strawberry blonde/yellow-y to me, but who knows what the end result looks like. Hell, I used to have white blonde hair. So much for that!

We Like:
* Toys! Now that she can reach out and pull things to her, she's all about all the bright shiny things. We love bright colored crinkly toys the best. That and our carrot toy from Ikea. Morning wrestle sessions with the carrot are a must.
* Classical music. Go figure. I put on my pandora station the other day and she thought this piece featuring an oboe was hilarious. She loves to waltz with me too.
* Swimming! I call her my little fish. She does great in the water, doesn't mind putting her face in and gets more comfortable with backfloats everyday. She's pretty amazing in there. She loves watching the big kids play and occasionally dousing me with water.
* I'm pleased to announce, Car Rides!! Ok, so it's a stretch to say she likes these, but hey, she isn't miserable in the car anymore so that is a big win.

We Don't Like:
* Adults laughing. I know, it's kinda bizarre, but it freaks her out. Even just me or Ed laughing solo makes her do a fearful double take. I know she'll come around on this one.

Not Sure About:
* Glasses. They don't scare her but she thinks people who wear glasses are a little shady and she gets shy. Good thing I got lasik...

Onto the pictures!