This really happened...

Please tell me this has happened to someone else out there...

Yesterday I went to go change Ali's poopy pants just like any other 500 poopy pants I've changed over the last year. I put her on her changing pad and discovered a small little nugget. Lately she's been pulling at her diaper and this time wasn't any different. I wasn't quick enough and she snatched up her diaper along with the nugget and flung it on the floor. No big deal. I reach down to get a clean diaper and just my luck there are no more left. So I pick up the nugget (with a wipe, of course) and her dirty diaper and throw it away. I set Ali on the floor diaperless and run into the living room to fetch a diaper out of her diaper bag. Less than a minute later I return to Ali's room to discover what I can only describe as mayhem. There Ali is, with soft served ice cream poo poo on our new carpets, foot dipped in, hand dipped in and smear across the face. The doodie had made it into her mouth. Immediately I picked her up (straight armed, as far away from me as possible), and put her in the bathtub, hosed her off , and put her in her crib so I could clean up. As I go to pick up the still warm, soft served ice cream poo, my gag reflex kicks into over drive and I know I need to get to a sink fast. There goes my breakfast. We eventually got back on track for the day. But wow...please tell me this has happened to someone else!

13 month check up and updates

Ali had her 13 month check up a couple days and boy was it a rough one! She had to get three shots which of course was harder on me than on her. She cried for about 1 minute and forgot about it as soon as she got a sucker. Right now she weighs 23 lbs (78th percentile) and is 31 in. long (89th percentile). Basically she is stretching out. She still has a heavy appetite but is extremely active. She is a busy body for sure! She is right on track with her development and is very social. She thinks she's pretty funny and laughs at herself all the time :). Today is the first time ever that I won't be seeing her for over 24 hrs. Joel and Ali went to Wallowa Lake today and will be there until tom morrow. I have to work tonight, so we thought it would be good to see how she does without me. I'm sure she will be just fine...me on the other hand. I've definitely gotten myself into a routine with her and like a lot of routines it's just hard to get used to at first. But I know in my mind it's good for both of us. But in my heart it kills me.

I'm doing well. I'm still not at 100%, but I know I'm getting there. I've started working out regularly again but my body is taking it's time getting back into shape. I still have quite a bit of anxiety about my healing but I think time is going to help me with that.

Today marks one year!

I can't believe how fast this past year has gone by! Ali has brought so much joy and love into this world it's absolutely amazing! For me this has been a humbling year on many fronts. First on parenting...before having a child it was so easy for me to place judgements upon other parents. The fact of the matter is, is that you just don't know what parenting is like until you become one yourself. Even then, each child presents different challenges that yours may not and most parents are simply doing the best they can. I give many props to parents in general, especially single moms. The second thing that really humbled me this year was my physical well being. This year has been rough...by far the most difficult year of my life. While pregnant I was sure that 6 weeks after having Ali I would be running 5 miles, working 2 nights a week, and back in my size 6 pants. Boy was I wrong! One year later, I am still "recovering" from delivery. However, I must say that I am doing much better than even 4 months ago. But I am not even close to my size 6 pants and I am working per diem. What I've learned is that somebody, somewhere has much different plans for me...and while I may not have been able to control much of what happened this year with my health I always had control of my attitude. Some days were really, really hard. But again, I had the choice to dwell on the negative or look to the positive. And there were many positives this year. Even though I didn't return to work like I had planned, I got to spend every day of this past year with Ali. I was able to breastfeed her to 12 months and still am. I got to see the first step and hear the first word. I get to rock her to sleep everyday. These things I will never get back, so I am truly grateful that I was able to be there for those moments. I may be biased, but Ali is special and I am so grateful to be able to witness her beautiful life.

and the best item of the year goes to ....

Aden and Anais swaddler blankets. I just bought the dream blanket for Ali's 2nd year. The swaddler blankets are my favorite thing that Ali got this year.

Swim Lessons Rock!

Ali's 10 Month Photoshoot

10 month updates

This is Ali next to the tree I got for my first Mothers Day. We planted it in front of our new house.

Ali has taken about 3-4 steps.

She stands on her own.

She talks ALOT. Saying 2-3 different sounds in one word.

She's eating pureed foods still and some chopped up fruits and veggies.

She's got 3.5 teeth (2 bottom and 1.5 top).

She got a new house.

Swim Lessons

Ali had her first swim lessons this Saturday and they were a success! She absolutely loved being in the water and being around other babies. She was not scared at all! Since we have a really deep garden tub in our new house we are going to practice some of the moves the swim teacher taught us. I think love swim lessons more than Ali :).

Approaching 1 year

We are fast approaching 1 year of having Ali into our world. Time has gone by so fast and this year has been such a rollercoaster ride. I've experienced some of the highest highs and lowest lows and I must admit I'm looking forward to the much needed stability. Joel and I are feeling like we can do this parenting thing now, it took us awhile to get comfortable in the new title...but we are now loving it. After 10 months of uncertainty in my own health, I can say with 95% confidence that things are going to be back to normal for me very soon. I've had enough doctor visits to last me the rest of my life this year. One of the greatest things of realized this year is how important health is. I fully intend on staying very in tune with my body and getting back into tip top form and staying there...forever. There are many more changes coming up for us...so stay tuned!

Little girl

Our baby Ali is turning into a little girl...

9 Month Updates

Here are the stats:

22.8 lbs (96th percentile)

28.7 in. (87th percentile)

Still growing well!

Ali's iron levels were a little low so we are starting an iron supplement. The doctor also recommended that we carry an epi-pen with us because she has had some allergic reactions that could pose a serious risk. We are also seeing an allergist soon to determine if there are any other foods that she could be allergic to.

She can say dadda, momma, nanna, and ball :).

She can crawl, walk with help, and stand for a few seconds on her own.

She also shares.

She loves to people watch and flirts.

She gives the best kisses!

Her favorite foods are oatmeal, mangoes, sweet potatoes, and of course her most favorite thing to do is still to nurse.

She does not sleep through the night yet. But takes two solids naps per day.

She is a busy body!

8 months old!

Such a great message! I love this song

Watch Her Grow! A picture a day for a month

We've got a 20 pounder on our hands!

Beautiful Buzzy

Blanket games!

Ali now weighs 20 lbs. 11 oz (98th percentile). She rolls all over the house. She can pull herself into a sitting position from a crawl. She crawls backwards. She can pull herself from a sit to a stand. She says "dada". Makes lots of new sounds. And has two bottom teeth :D.

Ali is 6.5 months old

Here's what we know about "Buzzy" so far...

At her 6 month well-child doctors appt. she weighed 19 lbs. 7 oz (98th percentile) and she is 27.5 inches long (98th percentile). She's going to be a big girl!

She travels well and loves to observe EVERYTHING! She looks at everything very intensely, you can tell her mind is working in overdrive right now.

She loves being outside!

Her favorite foods are butternut squash, bananas, and apples. She's tried green beans, peas, carrots, avocados, beets, rice cereal, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes. This week she's going to try peaches and mangoes, I'm sure she will love them! We've also tried some finger foods (bananas cut up into small cubes), she really just played with it.

Her favorite toys are her golf balls, glow worm, sophie the giraffe, talking dog, bouncer, rubber ducky, books, and cell phones.

She enjoys rolling both ways now, standing up with help, bouncing with help, sitting up like a big girl, and is trying really hard to crawl.

Today we are starting to see the skin break on her first tooth!

She likes to blow bubbles, scream, and makes different sounds.

She is VERY ticklish, especially behind her neck!

She still wakes up a couples times at night, but we are still breastfeeding so it's to be expected.

Hopefully we can continue breastfeeding until she's 1 year old.

And finally, we bought Buzzy a new house!!! We will be moving sometime in May-June. We are building a couple blocks down from where we live now.