Babyproof

Babyproofing...hmmm. This seems like a pretty clear cut topic. You rearrange your house (and sometimes your life) to accommodate a curious baby who is poking and pulling on everything in sight. There is a whole section in the store dedicated to this topic where baby gates, outlet covers and doorknob stoppers all can be found. It's just what every responsible parent must do in order to keep their little angel safe right? Right. At least that is what I thought...

As soon as Alexis could maneuver herself around the floor I marched myself to that special section of Wal-Mart and bought about five thousand of those little white outlet covers. I brought them home and shoved them into every single outlet I could find...even the ones that Alexis wouldn't be reaching until age 30. It wasn't easy either. Those little suckers are stubborn. "All safe and sound now," I thought. I thought wrong. I had placed Alexis on her play mat for much needed belly time. Five minutes hadn't passed when I glanced over and realized she had something in her mouth. As I approached her I recognized the little round white object! The outlet cover! How in the world she got it out of the wall, I have no idea. I still do not know. It has been several months and she still yanks them right out and stuffs them into her mouth.

To make matters worse it was not just the outlet covers. With each new babyproofing tool, Alexis figured out a way to make the item even more dangerous than it was to begin with. It was almost as if she was more attracted to the object just because we were trying to keep her away from it. Typical woman, right? On the day that I found her climbing over her baby gate I gave up. I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to just have to keep an eye on her constantly and not rely on these safety measures alone.

The moral of this story is that babyproofing doesn't exist. At least not in my experience. After all, babies are little people. They are smart little people. They will always find a way. As mommies we cannot underestimate our little ones. They will find a way to surprise you. It's a little frustrating in the moment but will always make a great story later on. :)

Beach Baby

I know, I know...you are probably wondering what in the world happened to us. You may haven even forgotten about this little blog. Well, to be perfectly honest, so did I. I guess that is just what happens when you have a full time job and a little girl with more energy than a Mexican jumping bean. The truth is that most of the time when Im writing on here it is either the middle of the night or a rare nap time. Those times are becoming harder and harder to come by now that Alexis is fully mobile. I am happy to report to you that we are better than ever and enjoying our summer. Alexis has mastered so much in these past couple of months. She now says "Momma AND "Da Da," in her husky little voice, swims in her pool and walks holding onto just about anything she can reach. My, how the time has flown. We even got to share a very special week in the Outer Banks with my parents and grandparents. Alexis was not one bit afraid of the big ocean. I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering I have yet to find ANYTHING she is afraid of. She had a ball swimming in the pool and got spoiled rotten by all of her relatives. I will admit that taking a baby to the beach is a very exhausting task. Not only do you have to remember all of the normal baby necessities, but now you must add floaties, towels, swim diapers and pool snacks. And this time if you forget something you have to hike through sand to get it. Oh, and there is always that looming threat of a sunburn on that precious little baby skin. I felt like all I did was apply and reapply baby sunblock while trying to keep her from yanking her sunhat off of her head. Seriously, though if you are considering taking your baby to the beach, take my advice...make tons of lists, stock up on water baby sunblock and GO because it is so worth it!! There isn't a better place in the world to have fun and make memories. <3 <3

Very First Mother's Day

Yesterday I celebrated a very important milestone…my very first Mother’s Day! I thought it would feel like my birthday…You know, a day to relax and do what I wanted. I thought I would get a little present from Alexis that I could show off and I would get to thank everybody for wishing me a Happy Mother’s Day at church and anywhere else I went. I looked at it as a day of admiration and appreciation for mothers everywhere. After all, that is what it was for my Mother and all of the other Mothers I ever knew. Perhaps most importantly, on this Mother’s Day I was finally in “The Mommy Club.” I was going to be part of the special group of people to which the day is dedicated.
Well I was very surprised to find that this was not at all what Mothers Day turned out to be for me. While I did get a very special gift from Alexis and everyone did wish me a “happy Mother’s Day,” I felt like on this day, more than any other day, I was the one who was appreciative. I felt so lucky to be able to celebrate this day with my baby. I just felt so thankful to God for giving me such a special gift in my life. I thought all day about the journey that I had taken that led me to being a mother. From caring for my baby dolls as a little girl to all of the life experiences I’ve had as a young adult... all of these things must have made me into just the right person to be Alexis’ mommy. I am the person who was chosen to get to share my life with her and to help make hers as wonderful as possible. If I never do anything else noteworthy the rest of my life, I will be absolutely fine with that because this experience is better than anything I can imagine and more than enough for me.
My Mom is a very emotional person but for some reason I always remembered her crying when she opened her Mother’s Day cards from me and my sister more than any other occasion throughout our lives. Maybe now I understand why. Maybe she feels the exact same way that I do about this special day. As it turns out, being in “The Mommy Club,” is just as great as I thought it would be…but for an entirely different reason. <3

Alexis Aimee at her baptism 05.02.2010

It's a girl thing...

Last weekend it really hit me…I am so happy to have a little GIRL. No offense to all of the boy mommies, but I just happen to love anything and everything that goes along with my little girl and so far, last Saturday took the cake. It had a lot in common with most of my favorite days with Alexis; the day off to do what we wanted, shopping, lattes, dinner out…except this day was even more special. This was Alexis’ baptism dress day! (the baby equivalent to her wedding dress day) My best friend, Bobbi Jean, and I took her to Strasburg Children’s store in PA. Trust me when I tell you that walking into this store was like walking into a storybook. The clothes were beautiful, each one with more ruffles and lace than the next and I was loving it. Alexis wasn’t too sure about the colorful clothes or the lady making baby talk to her from behind the counter, but soon she sensed that this was all about her and she changed her mood rather quickly. The sales woman informed me of which dresses were “age appropriate” for a seven month old and before I knew it we were whisked into a dressing room to try out our options. That’s right, Alexis had her very own dressing room complete with a full length mirror. I was sweating the whole time we were putting the dress on her, just praying she didn’t decide that now would be a good time to spit up those pears she had just eaten! Thankfully this did not happen and we were able to choose the most beautiful little white, T-length dress with pearls embroidered on the top. Then for the bonnet….and then the shoes…and then the socks! I hadn’t counted on all of these necessary accessories to go along with the dress! Finally, she had a complete outfit and we could all ooo and ahhh at how sweet she looked. She giggled and “talked” to herself in the mirror before grabbing a handful of the dress and shoving it into her little mouth. Needless to say, the dress came off at that point and went straight into a garment bag to stay safe until the big day. Maybe it was the significance of the dress or maybe I was caught up in the moment but I felt like I would remember that day forever. Some day when I am looking at her in her wedding dress I will be remembering her in her little white bonnet cooing at herself in the mirror.

After her baptism on Sunday I will be posting pictures of Alexis in her sweet little dress...after all, it has to be a surprise for the big day! :) She cannot wait to see her Bobbie and Papa coming all the way from North Carolina and has MANY new tricks to perform for them. We are so grateful to get to share such a special occasion with our family, her Godparents Bobbi and Jeff and our church.
Happy Baptism Baby Alexis Aimee <3

Time with Friends

Last weekend Alexis and I had the pleasure of visiting all of our friends at Danielle and Kent's housewarming party! It couldn't have been a better time complete with good friends and zero crying on Alexis' part. I couldn't ask for more. The food was delish and there was plenty of it. Enough that Alexis got to test the icing on a few of the yummy lemon blueberry cupcakes. I told Danielle that one little taste wouldn't hurt but I have a feeling she snuck a few extra in while I wasn't looking. ;) They almost got away with it until I saw a suspicious white ring around Alexis' mouth. I am afraid Danielle has a friend for life now. I had been getting weekly updates on which part of the house was being built and what was being added when, so it was so great to get to see the finished product! Danielle, Kent and Lil' Oden's new home is just beautiful!


"Yummmmmmmmmm Yummmmmmmmmmm"



"What icing?"

Sleeping Like a Baby

Hello alone time...I forgot what you felt like. Heck, I forgot you even existed! My baby has gone to bed at a somewhat normal bedtime( 8:30) for the second night in a row. We might be on to something here. I have to say, I've gotten so used to having her attached to me every second of every day that I feel very strange with this newfound alone time. After all, I have it all figured out...how to hold her while I brush my teeth, how to wash the hair on one side of my head while watching her out of my other eye, and even how to butter my toast while holding her with one hand and keeping the binky from falling out of her mouth with my chin. Pretty much anthing that I once did with two hands, I can now do with one. It might seem like a scary thought, having a little person with you every second of every day, but I just can't get enough of her. I really can't imagine my life any other way. That is why all of this has caught me a little off gaurd. I had all but given up on her sleeping in her crib but when she fell asleep early last night, I thought "Why not? It couldn't hurt to try!" So, I snuggled her in, and wouldn't you know it? She actually slept! For more than two minutes! I tip toed downstairs, turned on the monitor, sat down on the couch and then thought....now what?? It was the strangest feeling. It was like something was just out of place. Then I had to tell myself that this was a good thing and a tiny glimpse into our future. I guess this is her starting to get older, and as she does she will begin to need me less and less. Im not sad...sniffle sniffle...really! I was able to distract myself with a hot bath and a good book. Tonight, it's a little reality TV. I'm sure that tonight, just like last night, she will wake up in the middle of the night and end up back in bed with me. Looks like she isn't too much of a big girl for her Mum Mum yet. :)