Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Rose-9 Months!

Date: November 20, 2020

Sleeping Pattern: Things are pretty steady in the sleep department. Rose doesn't have super long naps during the day (they're usually around an hour-if I'm lucky they're longer, if I'm less lucky they're shorter) but she sleeps for a long while at night (like 12.5 hours on average) and she's a generally happy lady so no complaints! (I knew this would happen-she went through something for a few days after I wrote this where her sleep got kind of crazy but I think we're back on track again.) She wakes around 7ish every morning and then is awake for 2.5 hours before her 1st nap and then she's awake for 3 hours after waking before her 2nd nap. Then she's up for 4 hours before we start her bedtime routine. She still usually stays pretty still while sleeping, not moving around or rolling around much. Just assumes her classic sleepy time pose of left hand in her hair and right thumb in her mouth when I put her down and then her arms may lay in other positions whilst asleep but periodically pop back into position lol. 

Eating Habits: Nursing has been fine still! She eats and then is done and it's never very long and all pretty chill. Solids have been consistently good too-she still hasn't disliked a single thing. Little girl has eaten spicy curry and loves it (when something spicy catches up to her she does eventually cry because it hurts but then I give her yogurt and she's cool). It's pretty awesome. She is now eating 3 times a day (breakfast, lunch-which is after her 1st nap, and dinner) and happily chomps away. She may have started signing more at one point but now that's unfortunately disappeared--I always try to model and ask "more" and "all done" and so far still having some issues on sorting out what she wants in that area. She always lights up when I ask if she wants a drink and give her the cup of water. She looooves water. 

Development & Firsts: On 10/24 Rose got her 1st tooth (bottom right incisor) and on 10/30 she got her 2nd (bottom left incisor)! Now she's got 2 cute little toothers in the bottom of her mouth. She also had her 1st Halloween (she was a Care Bear! We stayed home because of COVID but still dressed the kids up for fun). She's crawling really really well and started being able to crawl on all fours (as opposed to the army crawl) and is super fast! She's also pulling herself up to standing on things and frequently gets up on her feet from crawling (she just can't get her upper body off the ground unless she's holding something). She loves to crawl into my lap and then pull herself up to standing on me and then just bury her face in my shoulder (she loooves me!) And she sits up from laying/crawling. Annnd claps two toys together (and sometimes her hands). She also points, a lot. Big fan of pointing. And she'll sort of wave too (hold her hand up and open and close it. She does this to daddy a lot, or to me if he has her, or sometimes when we video call). I'm incredibly impressed by how good she is at making things fit together-she's always attempting the puzzles and shape fitting things that we have with much more dexterity than I would expect at her age and she can even put all the rings on the stacking cone (which kind of blew me away honestly). And I think that's all? Lots of separation anxiety if you want to count that as development-she is not a fan of not being without her mama. If she had her way I'd be holding her 90% of the time.

Mischief:  Rose is still a fan of going after things even (especially?) if you try to redirect her from it. One time there was a toy I had moved her away from (not good for chewing on and she of course chews everything) and while I was doing something else she crawled over to the toy. She then looked at me, very purposefully, and held up the toy and when I said, "Nooo," she like laughed at me. She's also always wanting what James has, even when he's yelling at her that she's not allowed (*sigh*). Most of the time, though, she just gets mad and yells at you or cries when you deny her something. Now that she has teeth, Rose has experimented with biting me during nursing a couple times (very tentatively like she's literally testing it out). When I gently say "Noo Rosie no biting" she looks crestfallen and sobs about being reprimanded. (James had a biting phase at this age and thought it was amusing when I said no. So here's a very clear difference between them lol). She's still made of more sweetness than mischief!

Cuteness: I cannot emphasize enough how adorable Rose is. She is the sweetest most affectionate good little baby that I can imagine. I love all her chunky baby rolls and her big beautiful eyes (of indeterminate color, I'm guessing they'll end up hazel?) and crazy long eyelashes and kissy little mouth (that's always drooling) and the cutest 2 little teeth that peek out when her mouth is open wide (which is a lot she is always giving big grins or yelling lol). And her super pretty long hair (whether it's down or in pigtails). She just adores me and wants me like all the time and man that makes my heart swell. She would be content to be held always pretty much. She'll just lay her head on me or snuggle up on my shoulder (or Michael's) and squeeze for a big hug/snuggle. She'll give big open mouthed kisses happily all day long-including to her sweet brother (he loves to hold her and she gets so excited and they'll give each other kisses. It melts you.) And now that she's mobile she does the cutest little happy "I'm coming to get you" crawl when she sees one of us and wants to come get us. Her face lights up and she speeds up her crawling-soooo precious. She'll also crawl into your lap (which we fully predicted would be the case) and now even uses you to stand herself up and then like forcibly hug/kiss you lol. She's actually pretty cool to just play with toys and crawl around most of the time-she doesn't really get into stuff she shouldn't much (including the Christmas tree!), she's pretty chill left to her own devices until she becomes demanding of wanting to be held/cuddled. One time she was playing near Michael while he worked (I was putting James down for his nap) and she just crawled from the living room to the front room, took one of the stacking rings for her cone-which she had been playing with in the living room-, and came back to her previous spot. Like just went on a little mission and didn't do anything untrustworthy. She's constantly talking and babbling-so many probable words are emerging and it's so cool to see the beginning of this 2 way communication. And I love her little voice. She calls for dada a lot and even has flapped her hand out demandingly while yelling "dadaaaaaa!!" (She loves her daddy too, he makes her smile and giggle so much.) She talks with her hands a looot (can't imagine why....we all talk with our hands lol) and especially likes to hold her hand out in almost a Shakespearean "alas poor Yurik" kind of way. Rose is also definitely recognizing the people that we video call with, she gets so excited to see them (she even tries to happy crawl to the phone :P) and also loves to look at pictures of them. On Halloween James was already in his (ninja turtle) costume when we went to get Rose from her nap and she did a double take when she saw him. Then she started pointing at him and like guffaw laughing. It was the most little sibling thing ever. She's getting more into books now and even took a book back off the shelf after I had put it back (and since then she's decided a fun new game is "take all the books off the shelf!"--luckily pretty much everything at her height level is kid friendly thanks to James lol). Clearly she is standing quite a bit and it's cute how excited she gets sometimes after successfully pulling herself up, she'll like wiggle and do a cry of victory. Rose also seems to be very interested in instruments, especially Michael's guitar. Like everything she does it seems like she's very experiential about it (like James is more cerebral and likes to figure things out in his head first and really understand how everything works)-like she's tactile and likes to test things in order to figure them out (like the stacking rings on the cone, puzzles, etc.) It's amazing to watch her learn and grow and just how full of love and wonder she is.

Nicknames: Rosie, Rosie Rose, Rosie Posy, Baby Rose, Miss Rosie, Baby girl, Pretty girl, Lady, Young Lady, Chunk/Chunk-a-munk, "The Chub/Chubby" (James calls her that), Koala Bear, Sweetling, Sweetie-girl, Sweetie pie, Cutie-girl, Honey girl, Honey bun, Little miss, Missy, Ma'am, Sweetness, Love, combinations of all of the above.

Talking: Always talking but absolutely with more intention and meaning. Like she's clearly saying words now (just not always clear on what the word is). Dada and bruhbah (brother) are very strong and distinct-she doesn't use mama a ton but she'll whip it out occasionally. She's definitely saying "yeah" (always a cute response to hear lol) and might also be saying done, baby, book, that/dat (when we put up Christmas decorations she just kept pointing at everything going "dat! dat! dat!"), and other things. Lots of babbling. She also might make the "vroom" sound for cars and the elephant sound (similar to raspberries but a bit different I think). She'll also do a big excited inhale when she's stoked about something.

Favorites: James, mommy, and daddy. Playing with, hugging, and kissing James (she'll give him big open mouth kisses and it's too sweet). Snuggles. Burying her head in your shoulder. Hugs. Kisses. Being held. Daddy wearing his glasses (she thinks it's funny). Daddy's guitar (listening to him play and also trying to play herself). Babies (she gets so excited when she sees pictures of her little cousin Mena). People (pictures and video calls especially, and most of all the grandparents and aunts and uncles and aforementioned cousin). Smiling and attention. Eating food (yogurt and applesauce have elicited particularly aggressive positive responses, amongst others). Playing peek-a-boo (especially with daddy). All forms of playing and attention and affection bring her joy. Toys (especially ones her brother likes and also the xylophone, and cone and stacking rings). Still anything with a face, especially elephants and, like I said, babies. Going where she wants and getting what she wants-the newfound independence of crawling. Baths. And yeah I mean a million things. She's so dang happy and loves all of us so much. It's the most precious.

Dislikes: Not being with mommy. Getting wiped down after eating. Being kept from being able to go crawl and be free if she so desires. Taking something away from her (or her away from the something) that she wants. Falling (starting to happen now that she's standing and she is not a fan of falling down. James never seemed phased so it's very different!) Being told no/reprimanded/stopped. 

Concerns: COVID as always. And just anytime she's crying in her crib. And no one enjoys the teething and separation anxiety stuff. But that's pretty much it. 


A Day in the Life: James wakes up around 7-7:30 (usually) and so does Rose. I get James then we go get Rose together (and she's always so excited to see big brother and he's so excited to see her). We all go downstairs and I get James situated then she nurses, I change her diaper, I give them breakfast, we play, and then down for a nap after being awake for two and a half hours. She usually sleeps about 1-1.5 hours then I nurse her, change her, give her lunch, we play, then we get James down for his nap around 1ish and she usually goes down after that (about 3ish hours after waking up). I get a bit of a break while they both sleep usually, but this nap is usually short for her because she needs to be awake by 3 so that her bedtime is no later than 7 (since James' is at 7:30). After she's awake I nurse her, change her, we might play for a smidge and then I generally get dinner ready and we all eat together. After that I maybe give her/James bath(s)-usually together now-or just play (maybe video call with someone). Bedtime starts 4 hours after she woke from her nap. Someone reads her a book, says goodnight to stuff around the house, then she says goodnight to James and goes upstairs. We read superhero rules, get her diaper changed and into her sleeper and sleepsack and then I nurse her and sing "Rosie". She usually falls asleep and I cuddle her before laying her down in her crib. Then she sleeps all night (Except for the weird days she wakes up and cries in the very early morning *sigh*)


Friday, November 27, 2020

Foodie Holiday Gift Guide

It's a very COVID Christmas!

Too soon? Sorry. And yet-I think we can all agree that we pretty much could all use some extra cheer this year. And my food loving heart thinks that the best gift is a tasty one. So I've rounded up some of my favorite food gifts that you can order online and send to your loved ones. I can attest (through personal experience) that all of these companies make delicious delicious food and whoever receives them is very lucky indeed.

Is this list a gift guide for you or a wish list for me? You decide.

Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop

This one is super exciting to me-I met Susan (the woman behind the Little Red Kitchen) back when we were just a couple food bloggers in NYC. And now she has a successful baking business! Everything she makes is all natural (no preservatives and nothing artificial!) and baked fresh to order with high quality and mostly organic ingredients. And they are DEEELICIOUS. Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop offers cookies, bars (like brownies!), hot chocolate mix, cookie kits, cookie pies, and even a cookie of the month club subscription (the perfect gift for any cookie lover). When they were just starting I was lucky enough to sample some of the cookies (peanut butter, s'mores, and their signature chocolate chip: YUM YUM YUM) and I just recently got to try their Rocky Road Cookie Pie and seriously....I am a dessert snob. SO SO GOOD. The cookie pie didn't even need warmed up to be moist and delicious (and I almost always warm up cookies). Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop ships nationwide when you order from their website but they also can be found at certain markets and stores in the NY area and they have recently started being sold on Amazon! Tons of options to give the gift of sweet. 

Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream

Jeni's has my all time favorite ice cream. They originated in Columbus, Ohio (my home state) but have now expanded to various locations nationwide. Their ice creams are made with super high quality, whole ingredients are are fair trade/direct trade. Essentially it's artisan ice cream that meets really high standards and the company is awesome and the ice cream is crazy delicious. Salty Caramel is my absolute favorite but they have so many really cool and unique flavors, including consistent innovation with new seasonal and limited edition flavors rotated frequently. Jeni's is sold in lots of stores, there are scoop shops around the country, but you can also order online (including Jeni's cookbooks!) and-the ultimate gift for the ice cream fan in your life-they have a pint club:

"Every month, recipients receive a curated selection of four flavors (often before they’re on sale) delivered directly to their doorstep. Plus, to kick the subscription off right, the first shipment includes four of our signature flavors, a welcome letter with the ice cream delivery dates, and a set of our favorite ice cream spades. Giving Pint Club as a gift? We’ll help you keep it a surprise! Pint Club recipients will be notified of their membership with their first shipment."

Wafels and Dinges

When someone asks for recommendations on what to eat in NYC one of my first recommendations is Wafels and Dinges. They're also probably the #1 most missed food item for Michael and I. They're a bunch of food trucks (and they have a cafe now!) that serve Belgian liege waffles (extra sweet dessert waffles that are chewy and crisp and filled with pockets of caramelized sugar) with a bunch of different toppings-aka dinges-and they're heaven on earth. I have chronicled my missing them on social media and their brilliant social media team has sympathized and dangled the fact that they ship nationwide at me like a bright shiny dream. You can buy just waffles or a box that includes some of their popular toppings as well. Dear Santa, I've been super super good this year....

Imperfect Foods

I started using Imperfect Foods (if you use this link and decide to sign up you get $10/off your first box and I get $10 off mine as well!) a few months ago and I'm honestly just extremely impressed by them as a company and concept. Essentially they take food that would otherwise be wasted (for a variety of reasons such as cosmetic, discontinued labels, incorrect barcodes, surplus, etc. etc.) and sell it to us at a discounted rate. The people these foods come from aren't out the money, food isn't wasted, and we get really good stuff for less-it's honestly a win all around. There's no forced subscription (I always opt out of all future delivery dates then go back and opt in when I want a box) and you can choose what you get in your box. And they're offering holiday gift boxes this year that you can send to anyone in the US! Lots of tasty treats for only $24.99 (plus tax and shipping). 

Levain Bakery

Levain cookies are famous and there is a good reason. This NYC bakery makes massive cookies that are perfectly underbaked and gooey on the inside but nice and sturdy (and almost biscuit like!) on the inside. They're incomparable and another one of my most missed NYC items. Which is why it's pretty fabulous that you can just order some online to give to someone you adore. 

ButcherBox

ButcherBox is another subscription service that I actually tried out a few years back-I absolutely loved it, although I sadly haven't ordered in awhile! Their boxes feature 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef; heritage-breed pork; free-range, organic chicken; and wild Alaskan salmon. You can get a mix or only a particular kind of meat and I can attest the quality is top notch and the prices are insanely reasonable. If you're the gift giver to a carnivore with high standards, I highly recommend giving a gift subscription!


Who doesn't love cookie dough?? DŌ is awesome (and another NYC based company!) because they have made edible cookie dough fun, chic, and so so delicious. And there's a ton of different gift options on their website so we really have no reason to not all be eating their cookie dough all holiday season. 

Dana's Bakery

Another NYC based company (I found so many tasty things when I was there!)-Dana is a self professed mom-trepreneur and makes super creative and delicious macarons in a wide range of fun flavors (and she's introduced the Mookie-a macaron stuffed into a cookie. WHAAAAT?!) And there are so many fun things you can order for anyone else fun and cool that you may know. (Like me! Kidding...sorta lol.) 


Disclaimer-I was not compensated in any way for including anything on this list. I did receive a free sample from Little Red Kitchen but was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are, as always, my own. 

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Rose-8 Months!


Date: October 20, 2020

Sleeping Pattern: Naps haven't been amazing lately (I aim for 1.5 hours but frequently they're like an hour or less), I'm assuming partly due to teething. But it's not a big deal, we just do early bedtimes when they're too short.  Rose's first nap is usually like 2 hours and like 15-20 minutes after she wakes up in the morning and then her second nap is about 2 hours and 40ish minutes after waking from that nap. Then she's awake for like 3 hours and 45 minutes before we start her bedtime routine. Once she's asleep she sleeps all night, woot! Her sleep routines are all the same and she usually stays asleep on her back and doesn't really move much-there have only been a couple times she's rolled onto her stomach or scooted around her crib. It'll be interesting to see if that starts to change soon or not (her big brother started moving everywhere in his sleep like right away lol). 

Eating Habits: Nursing is still going fine-Rose definitely eats the most during her first and last feedings (and is hungriest at the first one) and then the 2 middle of the day feeds are shorter and she frequently gets pretty distracted by all the chaos of her brother. She's started occasionally biting down when she's kind of over it-luckily still no teeth-but not my faaavorite. But she's so cute it's hard to get too upset about it lol. Solids are still going super well. Rose is a champion eater-she does super duper well and loves everything. I have yet to find something she straight up doesn't like. Red peppers have been the only thing she's seem less enthused about but she still ate it. Little girl even likes curry and doesn't seem to mind the spice! I'm hoping she ends up being less picky than James and I (I'm also hoping he'll get less picky when he's not a toddler but I digress.) She's still eating twice a day (breakfast and dinner) and she just happily eats until she's done. I can usually tell that she's good when she starts just wiping her hands all over the tray and yelling a lot. Then I sign and say "all done", she smiles, I sign and ask "drink?", she gets stoked and then drinks some water (and I eventually pry it out of her hands because babies aren't supposed to have a ton of water lol).

Development & Firsts: Big month! On 10/8 Rosie CRAWLED! And she's been on the move ever since. She has become very single minded and goes after things she wants (much to the frustration of her brother, at times). She's also utilizing rolling much more easily now, but purely as a supplement to the crawling lol. Her communication has taken a big leap, too. She's pointing and waving and even started signing "more" (on 10/17) for when she's eating and wants more food (of course). And more on this stuff in the talking section. 

Mischief: Now that Rose is crawling she has become quite fixated on getting certain things--especially things that her brother is playing with or that she shouldn't have. You move her or the things away and she just goes right back to it. Seems I have two stubborn children, huzzah lol. And if you actually manage to remove the thing she wants from her she. will. scream at you. Rose isn't afraid of telling you like it is and making sure you know how she feels. In that same vein she's also still incredibly grabby lol. Otherwise, though, she's much more sweet than mischievious!

Cuteness: This is my least favorite section to write and here is why--it is IMPOSSIBLE to completely summarize how cute my babies are. Rose's happy little eyes, chubby cheeks, kissy mouth, big smiles, long hair (AND PIGTAILS), little baby hands with little fingers that are always pointing, tiny toes, chunky thighs...just all so cute. She's truly just pure joy. So happy, smiling so much. She's just thrilled to be with us. She's always smiling at Michael and putting her hand on his face and waving at him and saying "ahyada dadaaaaa". She also loves to try to feed him when she has food. She still fangirls over James. When we get her from sleep and he's with me her legs kick like crazy and she squeals while leaning out of my arms and reaching for him with a giant grin. They're always hugging and kissing each other and the look on her face when he gives her that attention...omg I melt. She just watches him constantly and thinks everything he does is so interesting and so funny. It's amazing. And she's always trying to be held and snuggled when I'm near her, she'll just bury her head in my neck and shoulder and is always kissing or chewing on any part of me in her vicinity. She loves to grab my head and give me giant (aggressive) kisses. And now when we video call her grandparents or aunts and uncles she gets so excited and grins at them and reaches for them and tries to like crawl to them. It's cute and sad. The first time she waved we were on a weekly Zoom call that Michael's extended family does and when we saw everyone on there she just lifted her little hand up and moved her fingers in the wave and she just has kept on doing it. She does it to Michael the most. She also is doing more imitating of motions-she saw my mom shaking her hands at her and Rose copied what she was doing exactly. She's always gurgling and doing raspberries/elephant sounds (
she'll even raise her hand so she may actually be making the elephant sound.) Oh and she liked super loves her stuffed elephant that James gave her in the hospital. He lives in her room and she just like grins at him and reaches for him and oooooh. It's so cute to see her happily play with stuff and how determined she is to crawl after things. I love how into peek-a-boo she is also. She has tons of fun when you play with her but the best is when she raises her hands up or a toy up in front of her face then abruptly brings them down and you say "peek-a-boo!" and she grins and giggles! I love it. She frequently does this during meals so the messy face adds to the cute factor. Eating is adorable, too. She just loves it and is so pleased to be eating like...everything. She legitimately seems to have liked all food equally at this point (she miiight like red peppers and beets less than everything else and maybe burritos, pot pie, and strawberries more? But I don't know she gobbles it all up). And yeah as always...she's just sweet. And happy. And lovey. And everything about her is cute. 

Nicknames: Rosie, Rosie Rose, Rosie Posy, Baby Rose, Baby girl, Pretty girl, Coy fish, Lady, Young Lady, Chunk/Chunk-a-munk, "Little Chub/Chubby" (James calls her that), Grunty Girl, Sweetling, Sweetie-girl, Sweetie pie, Cutie-girl, Honey girl, Honey bun, Little miss, Missy, Ma'am, Sweetness, Love, combinations of all of the above...

Talking: Still constantly making sound-yelling, babbling, gurgling, blowing raspberries/making elephant sounds, and talking. She's saying the same words (may be saying "yeah" also and some babbles sound like words too but nothing concrete) but with more intentionality and consistency. She's always talking to and looking for "bruhbah" and has been doing a lot of waving at and asking for "dadaaaa".

Favorites: James, mommy, and daddy. Playing and cuddling with James (they still love to hug and smooch and cuddle and also yell at each other). I think she's recognizing people we see frequently on video calls and getting excited to see them (grandparents and my brother and sister-in-law in particular but she still just loves seeing any people lol). Smiling and attention. Eating food (still loves it all. Pot pie and burritos probably elicited the most of her signing "more"). Kisses. Being held and snuggled. Pretty much any version of loving, attention, and playing. Playing peek-a-boo. Toys (especially ones her brother likes). Still anything with a face but I think her stuffed elephant (that James calls "Willy", after the boy elephant at the Cleveland Zoo). Getting where she wants to go now that she can crawl. Baths. Mirrors. Watching any of us do something she finds amusing. And...honestly almost everything. She's still very happy like all the time. 

Dislikes: Still isn't a fan of me walking away from her but now that she can crawl she usually gets less upset about it. Definitely any lack of attention is not her favorite, though. When she isn't allowed to have something or when someone takes a toy she has away from her (she will scream/cry at you. Loudly.) And teething (I'm thinking she might actually get a tooth or 2 before her next update? We'll see!)

Concerns: Still everything COVID-related. Ugh. 

A Day in the Life: Rose wakes up around 7-7:30 and we go downstairs. She nurses, I change her diaper, I give her and James breakfast, we play, and then down for a nap after being awake for two hours and like 15-20 minutes. She usually sleeps about 1-1.5 hours then I nurse her, change her, play with her, then we get James down for his nap around1ish and she usually goes down after that (about 2 hours and 40ish minutes after waking up). James has started fighting naps so if I'm lucky I get a little break while they both nap and in the likely event that I'm not then James messes around in his room and I hope he doesn't disturb Rose. This nap is super variable (probably due to the loud brother) and can honestly be anywhere from 45-90ish minutes. After she's awake I nurse her, change her, I generally get dinner ready ASAP and then we all eat together. After that I maybe give her/James bath(s) or just play (maybe video call with someone). Bedtime starts 3 hours and 45ish minutes after she woke from her nap. Someone reads her a book, says goodnight to stuff around the house, then she says goodnight to her brother and goes upstairs. We read superhero rules, get her diaper changed and into her sleeper and sleepsack and then I nurse her and sing "Rosie". She usually falls asleep and I cuddle her for a few minutes before laying her down in her crib. Then she sleeps all night (with the exception of random crying that usually happens every so often). 


Sunday, September 27, 2020

Rose-7 Months!


Date: September 20, 2020

Sleeping Pattern: We switched to a 2 nap schedule this past month with Rosie sleeping for ideally about 1.5 hours for each nap (but more often than not one of the naps, usually the 2nd, falls a bit short and then we have to do an early bedtime). Once we got the schedule and wake times all sorted out she still went down easy and then at night has taken to sleeping 11.5-13ish hours, depending on how her naps went during the day (and thusly if she needed an early bedtime). It was a really good sleep month, though! As usual it seems after her monthly birthday things have started needing adjusted potentially lol. 

Eating Habits: Now that she's only nursing 4 times a day Rose doesn't fight it as much, so that's good! She still usually only eats for like 10 minutes (15 if it's the morning or bedtime feeding) and is prone to being distracted (usually trying to watch and smile at her daddy and brother if they're about) but it's good! AAAAND little lady started eating solid food this month! We're doing Baby Led Weaning again and were excited to start (but also terrified of the inevitable gagging, etc.)--and of course the sweet girl took to eating like a champ. She loves food-so far hasn't disliked anything-and does a really good job taking her time to chew things well (and smile at us occasionally in the process). She's had some gags but they've all been dealt with super calmly and easily by her so turns out it hasn't been stressful like at all. Huzzah! We started just with 1 meal a day-dinner time as a family. But it didn't take long for her to pretty much insist on eating breakfast with her brother too so we're up to 2 meals a day. She also does great with her Munchkin 360 cup-we give her some water to take "sips" of after she's eating and she loooves water (that's my daughter! I LOVE water). I usually have to wrestle it out of her little hands because she tries to chug it. 

Development & Firsts: On 8/22 she had her 1st meal of solid food (filet mignon, yellow squash, and potatoes) and she did SO WELL. The steak was absolutely her favorite. She just chewed the heck out of it while grinning huge. Food is so fun to her, it makes her so happy lol. She also rode in the actual stroller (so not the carseat locked into the stroller) for the first time. And Rose is starting to roll more-she rolled from her back to her front for the first time and ever since she doesn't usually lay on her back for long before she rolls onto her tummy. This eventually led to her then doing her first little bit of travel by rolling when she rolled from front to back to front again (it also led to her first time sleeping on her belly when she rolled during the night on 9/6. So far it's only happened one other time during a nap.) She's still doing lots of scooting around, too, so I can tell mobility is coming. She's definitely sort of working on crawling or at least more rolling. Talking has amped up also-the same 3 words (mama, dada, buhbah) but she says "bruhbah" (brother) almoooost constantly. I don't know, just, in general, I can tell there's a lot going on. She's learning so much and growing up so faaaast. Oh, and 1 final (and very momentous) first: on 9/17 she got her first PIGTAILS. And I am now very obsessed. Little girl is almost unbearably cute in pigtails (also they keep her hair out of her food when she's eating lol). And then on the less fun side of development-separation anxiety has really intensified this month. Woooo.

Mischief: Still so so grabby. Always trying to get and grab anything and everything and frequently pulls hair. She's also becoming fond of trying to get things she's not supposed to (like some of James' toys) and usually has a sweet smile of happy mischief/victory if she succeeds in getting the thing. Especially if you say "Excuse meee? What do you have? What did you dooo?" 

Cuteness: I mean...you read that she's wearing pigtails now, right? GUYS THEY ARE SO FREAKING CUTE. I'm obsessed with them. Even she thinks they're cute-the first day she had them when she saw herself in the mirror she got so pleased. I also tried a top pony which was definitely cute but pigtails remain my favorite. Rose eating food is also super adorable. She'll just happily eat her food and smile at you while she's at it, ever so happy about the whole situation. She's always just so happy and wanting to talk to us and play with us. (On the flip side if I walk away from her she has the saddest cry ever.) You pretty much just need to look at her and she's thrilled to death. She gets so excited to see James she'll like wiggle around in my arms and smack my shoulder while grinning huge and giving tiny little half laughs when he and I go get her after she's woken up. He and her are always kissing and hugging and snuggling and smiling at each other and playing. The 2 of them oh my gosh there aren't words for how clear it is how much they love each other. Even when they yell at each other (hehehe I'm so amused when they act like siblings). Whenever Michael looks at her she has a special grin just for him. And me? Oh the lady loves her mama. She always is reaching for me to hold her, trying to crawl into my lap (although she can't crawl yet so she just like puts her arms in it), one time Michael was holding her in a standing position and I walked up and she grabbed my legs and just grinned up at me with the most pure ecstatic expression. She makes my heart explode. She will happily just be held and cuddled like indefinitely. My sweet snuggly girl. She just wants attention and affection, that's pretty much what she thrives on. And Rosie is always so happy to see people-I can tell she is just social and sweet. I can't wait until she actually gets to be with other people (I really hope soon, ugh). All of her sounds are also so so cute, she's always coughing and yelling and roaring and babbling. Honestly she just amazes me. I can't get over the depths of her cuteness and I'll never be able to fully sum it up. *sigh*

Nicknames: Rosie, Rosie Rose, Rosie Posy, Baby Rose, Baby girl, Pretty girl, Coy fish, Lady, Ladybug, Chunk/Chunk-a-munk, "Little Chub/Chubby/Chubby-bye" (James calls her that), Grunty Girl, Sweetling, Sweetie-girl, Cutie-girl, Honey girl, Honey bun, Little miss, Missy, Ma'am, Sweetness, Love, combinations of all of the above...

Talking: Michael's taken to calling her "Kayle 2" (I'm very talkative, if you can't tell). She's always telling us all about it. Whether it's the cute constant chorus of "bruhbah bruhbah" to her brother or the sweet occasional "mama" or "dada" or her very many grunts, roars, growls, squeals, and yells. She is not afraid to say what's on her mind and express herself. I love it. I mean....sometimes the constant yell-talking combined with her loud brother makes my head want to explode lol but overall, it's a delight.

Favorites: James, mommy, and daddy. Playing and cuddling with James (they're always hugging and snuggling and also yelling at each other. The sibling games have begun). Seeing people (on the street, at the doctor, or on FaceTime or Zoom). Anything with a face. Smiling and being smiled at/attention in general. Eating food (can't say that she has any real favorites yet because she just loves all of it. Maybe strawberries if anything?) Kisses. Being held and snuggled. When I make a surprised face at her (usually elicits a giggle). Tickles/raspberries. When we sing fun songs (especially Bunny Foo Foo). Peek-a-boo. Sleeping. Toys. Mirrors. Tags. Getting dressed up. She's just happy like all the time so it's almost like everything is her favorite.

Dislikes: Me "leaving" her (aka taking a step away from her) and n
ot being paid attention to/not having attention from any 1 of us for any length of time. If James is too rough (she yells at him to inform him). Having to wait to long for her food. And yeah that's mostly it.

Concerns: COVID. Always COVID related. *sigh* Worrying about her getting it (presently a very slim chance due to our almost complete quarantine) and worrying about the lack of exposure to different environments, people, etc.

A Day in the Life: She wakes up around 7 (it's actually been more like 7:15-7:20ish and I must say I've loved that) and she, James, and I go downstairs. She nurses, I change her diaper, I give her and James breakfast, we play for a bit, and then down for a nap after being awake for two hours and like 15ish minutes. She usually wakes up in the 10:30-11 range and I nurse her, change her, play with her, then we get James down for his nap by like 1ish and she usually goes down after that (about 2.5 hours after waking up). I then get a blissful 45-90ish minutes for both children napping. Rose and James usually wake up around the same time as well (between 2 and 3 generally, I always hope for closer to 3). I nurse Rose, change her, then I usually rush to get dinner ready ASAP. We all have dinner as a family and then play (potentially do baths) until Rose's bedtime (which starts 3.5 hours after she wakes up, so it tends to range from 5:30-7 start....7 almost never happens lol). One of us reads Rose a book then takes her around to say goodnight to everything. Then one of us-sometimes the same one sometimes not-takes her upstairs and does superhero rules and then puts her in her overnight diaper, sleeper, sleepsack, and then I nurse her and sing "Rosie" (by Passenger) to her and then she eats until she falls asleep usually or is finished eating. If she's asleep I may snuggle her for a couple minutes, and either way I then lay her in her crib and tell her I love her. And then she sleeps all night. The end! <3

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Something Saturdays on a Sunday (9/13/20)

Oh helllooo! So, ya know, it's always a million things going on around here. As always. One thing that has been sort of exciting but is also definitely a lot is Michael and I are now, like, on the board of a brand new non-profit created by my cousin and some other people. It's called RACE (Real Action Community Engagement) and it's "a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a better community by providing programs/resources to dismantle institutional racism, celebrate diversity, and empower people from all walks of life." You can check out our Facebook and Instagram for more info if you'd like!

Posts from this week 

Recipes from the blog that I've made lately
Just Chicken Pot Pie (although I add potatoes and carrots-that I chop and microwave for about 4 minutes-so that there's some veggies for the kiddo)



Cheesy Chicken

Homemade Cheddar Pierogi {with Caramelized Onions}

Mom's Pot Roast

3 Cheese White Pizza with Truffle Oil

Recent links bookmarked (visit my Pinterest for more)

Movies/TV Talk (assume there'll be spoilers)
Schitt's Creek-I finally hopped on the bandwagon and it is totally living up to the hype! Of course I love David. I also really enjoyed Alexis + Mutt and am fairly bummed that didn't work out. But I really enjoy/was surprised by the fact that even though these are privileged not great people...there is an under-layer of goodness to them that I feel usually isn't seen in this type of character. And I really like it.

Instagram Lately 

Monday, September 7, 2020

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart
Let's go back in time. Let's go back to a very very long time ago when I first discovered food blogs were a thing thanks to a Facebook ad for Annie's Eats (now called Everyday Annie). I started hoarding recipes to try one day. As I added more blogs to read, that list grew. Even more so when I started blogging myself. Then, in 2012 (picture this: I was still in NY, not yet engaged, Obama was in the middle of his presidency. What a time), I laid eyes on this delightful gem on that same Annie's site: a chocolate peanut butter tart. Clearly so rich and delicious I had to save it. 

But then it took me like 7 years to actually make it. Isn't that sad? 
Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart
Fear not! This story has a happy ending because I did make it and it WAS so good! And, honestly, look how pretty that pb swirl is. I can't believe I was able to make it look that good (tasty food is my forte, pretty food: less so. We frequently joke I should be on Nailed It. I think I could legit win because at least my food would be edible lol). 

Let's break down each tasty layer: chocolate crust, peanut butter, chocolate ganache, more peanut butter swirled on top. Clearly, a winner.

Friday, September 4, 2020

Rose-6 Months!

Date: August 20, 2020

Height: 25.6 inches (we measured her on 9/3/20 because they were off at the doctor lol)

Weight: (as of her doctor's appointment on 9/2/20) 16 lbs. 5.6 oz.

Sleeping Pattern: Things are finally settled into a nice pattern! Rose takes 1 long morning nap, a sort of medium length (about an hour) early afternoon nap, and then a short late afternoon catnap. (Of course I changed her schedule after writing this but we'll talk about that next month!) She goes down easy still, immediately into her sleepy pose of sucking her thumb and holding her hair while I put her in her sleepack. And she is officially consistently sleeping through the night! WOOOO! She usually sleeps 10.5-12 hours at night, depending on when her bedtime falls. She's the best girl.

Eating Habits: It's funny how ambivalent Rose is about nursing compared to James. She wants to eat and is happy about it but very quickly gets bored and wants to play and look around and smile at you and talk to her brother...etc. 

Development & Firsts: Rose's talking has been her biggest development of the month. First her babble started to sound more and more intentional and word-like. Then she definitively said "mama" and "bruhbah" (brother) on August 5th--and said "dada" on August 16. She usually says mama when crying/whining and usually calls out "bruhbah" to that whirlwind brother of hers (sometimes it's really funny like he'll walk away from her and it's BRUHBAHHH like "COME BACK HEEERE"). She also has really started twisting and rolling to her side more from her back, but no full rolls yet. I think she probably could but isn't super motivated lol.

Mischief: She's soooo grabby. Wants to grab at everything and everyone. She especially likes to try to take your food...or really anything you're holding. And she's always grabbing and holding (or pulling) my hair. She also still seems fully amused when she surprises me with poops, her little "hehehe" grin is honestly adorable. 

Cuteness: Oh gosh I mean she's just the sweetest sweetie. Rose still makes you feel like the most loved person in the whole world. She somehow manages to make all 3 of us feel equally special. She gives huge INSANELY excited grins to James and he makes her laugh like no one else (she'll even laugh at the memory of him being funny: any time she's on the side of the pack n play or if she sees him climb on the high chair-even if she isn't in it-she'll start giggling because of all the times he's made her laugh). He is clearly the most fun and funny person on this planet. She always gives Michael this slow sweet grin when she sees him like she is ever so pleased he's here and looking at her. And she always wants her "mama", if I leave her she is displeased and she is always just holding me and kissing me. She reaches allll the time now and that is especially true for all of us-little arms are usually being held out for any of us who are near her. And then those open arms turn into sweet sweet hugs (her hugging James is like omg the most adorable but I also love when she's sitting next to me and just opens her arms and puts them around me like "nooope want to be held please"). She's just so affectionate and smiley. She loves kisses SO much that she even is happy to receive them from stuffed animals. There's no such thing as too many kisses for Miss Rosie. Her demanding kiss cough has evolved into a cough of excitement and/or for attention lol. Her hair just keeps getting longer, it doesn't stick up in the back anymore (kinda sad, still so cute though), and I'm seriously starting to debate getting her some hair ties. It's so hard to sum up the cuteness of the cutest little girl. She's so chubby and has the tiniest little nose and the softest hair and such pretty eyes with long eyelashes and happy lips that are almost ALWAYS smiling (and don't even get me started on her many different and perfect smiles) and cute little grabby hands and tiny feets and I just love her.

Nicknames: Rosie, Rosie Rose, Rosie Posy, Baby Rose, Baby girl, Pretty girl, Coy fish, Lady, Ladybug, Chunk/Chunk-a-munk, "Little Chub/Chubby" (James calls her that), Scoots (Michael calls her that), Sweetling, Sweetie-girl, Cutie-girl, Honey girl, Honey bun, Little miss, Missy, Ma'am, Sweetness, Love, combinations of all of the above...

Talking: Constant sound from this one. She's a loud lady. Lots of high pitched squeals and squeaks, she'll straight up yell if she's angry or frustrated (or sometimes just super excited haha) and lots of little bits of babble. And like I said earlier she can now say mama (usually "muhmuhmuhmuhhhh"), bruhbah (brother), and dada! 

Favorites: James, mommy, and daddy. Playing with James (especially in the high chair or pack n play). Being higher up than James (she thinks it's funny to feel bigger than him lol). Anything with a face. Smiling and being smiled at/attention in general. Kisses. Being held and snuggled. Tickles/raspberries. Eating. Sleeping. Toys. Mirrors. Tags (Like the kind on clothes and stuff...it's weird but true.) Sitting up. Being naked and being dressed up. Getting dirty diapers taken off.

Dislikes: Teething, not getting enough sleep, and not being paid attention to/not having attention from any 1 of us for any length of time. She's become super clingy lol. 

Concerns: Still just the lack of socialization and missing everyone because COVID sucks.

A Day in the Life: She wakes up around 7 (usually I get James then we both get her), nurses, we play for a bit, and then down for a nap after being awake for an hour and a half or so. She usually wakes up again 9:30-10:30ish and I nurse her, play with her, then she and James both go down for naps around the same time (after she's been up like an hour 50). Then she wakes up around 1:30ish usually and I nurse her, we play some more. After she's been up like 2-2.5 hours she has a little catnap and then is usually up around 4:30ish. She hangs out in the high chair while we all eat dinner around 5:30 and then her bedtime is around 7pm, give or take. Honestly the times are pretty variable depending on how her naps are going. For her bedtime routine we read her a book then say goodnight to things on the main floor (including brother) and then one of us takes her upstairs and reads superhero rules to her and then changes her diaper and gets her in her sleeper and sleepsack. I then nurse her (while singing the song "Rosie" by Passenger) and lay her down (sometimes asleep, sometimes awake) in her crib when she's done. Every day with Rosie is a good day <3

Saturday, August 15, 2020

Something Saturdays (8/15/20)

Hi everyone!

I'm sorry for falling off the face of the planet. But Rose is older, I'm trying to make some time for the blog, and here we go!

First...I want to check in and not pretend that everything is totally normal. It's not. We're dealing with a global pandemic and a lot of social and economic issues. Life is very much in flux and very scary and hard right now. We are very fortunate to have not been hit badly economically, no one we personally know has gotten sick, and we also recognize we have quite a bit of privilege on the social issues front. We're trying very hard to be outspoken and proactive about the need we all have to change and learn and be anti-racist (google it! As I find helpful articles relating to all of these things I'll be sure to share on here and on my Instagram. One thing I have for the moment is this really great list of over 300 black owned businesses-specifically in Ohio but also nationwide.).

And yeah, on a personal level, we've just been pretty much quarantined. We don't go anywhere except doctor's appointments and occasionally a grocery run (Michael has had to go into work a handful of times but his office is only allowing 2 people in at a time, one on each floor). An exception was that our car lease was up so Michael had to go to the dealership to pick up our new minivan (yes, we have committed hard to parenthood and frankly I'm stoked about it. Ya know...as soon as we're able to actually go anywhere). 

Source

But aside from that, it's just us. Here. We don't see anyone. We're really trying our best to keep our exposure as close to 0 as possible because, frankly, it's scary and we don't want to risk our kids. But it sucks. I miss people and places and things (I miss nouns!) We have been able to enjoy the time together as a family of 4 and that has been wonderful. So...all in all...we're lucky and happy and healthy. I just want everyone to be able to say the same <3 

Posts from this week 

Recipes from the blog that I've made lately
We've started meal planning and OH MY GOD it's made my life so much easier. Here's what we've made from the blog this last week: 
Cheesy Chicken and Potato Chowder

Cheddar Biscuits

Movies/TV Talk (assume there'll be spoilers)
13th-This documentary is so eye opening and so important for everyone (in the US, at least) to watch. I feel like it really connects some dots and explains some things that most of us never knew or even thought about. It's available on Netflix and also in full, for free, on YouTube.

Hamilton-Like...obviously it was just as good as everyone said. I love love love everything about it. And I think every musical should do this with its original cast and then release it after a certain amount of time. It's not the same as seeing it in theatre but it's such a great option for most of us who can't get to Broadway to see it. 

The Lion King (2019)-You know what? I liked it. I appreciated it visually and liked the casting choices (I was kind of meh on Beyonce though-I know, I know, blasphemy-but she was fine). 

Instagram Lately 

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Flourless Peanut Butter S'mores Cookies {Gluten-free, Dairy free}

Flourless Peanut Butter S'mores Cookies {Gluten-free, Dairy free}
Ohhh heyyyyyy.

It's been a minute, huh?
Flourless Peanut Butter S'mores Cookies {Gluten-free, Dairy free}
Turns out...parenthood is hard you guys. It's like all consuming and add in trying to keep up with various life things (we got a minivan! James broke Michael's computer! There's a global pandemic!), generally feeding our whole family, somewhat keeping the house clean, trying to spend any time on self care or my relationship with Michael, and the little bit of work I do (seriously NO clue how everyone who works full time does it) aaaand...something had to give. Unfortunately that something was this blog. 

But-as I said, there's a global pandemic going on. Which means that Michael is able to work from home (which we are extremely lucky to have that option and I hate that more people aren't in that position). Which has really helped with dividing up house responsibilities and brainstorming ways to be more efficient. Also I'm no longer working outside of the house either. So we decided to give me a few extra hours a week to just go away from the kiddos, let Michael take over, and I can do whatever work sorts of things I need to do. And that includes finding some time to blog again! So hip hip hooray I have some recipes for you! 

Flourless Peanut Butter S'mores Cookies {Gluten-free, Dairy free}
Way back before Rose was born when James was still more toddler than little boy (*sob*) the two of us decided to bake cookies together. And I had seen these cookies on Instagram that looked super ooey gooey delicious but were a little healthier (maple syrup instead of sugar, gluten-free, dairy free, able to use my homemade peanut butter that I always have lying around...) AND they looked really quick and easy to make (necessary when dealing with a toddler). So we made them together (the little cutie loved the part where we flattened the dough balls) and then ate them together and oooooh they were PERFECT. So chewy. So flavorful. So decadent and delicious, you'd honestly never guess they were anything but pure sinful (not that I believe in food having any morality, all food is good food! And this is my mommy soapbox for today.) 

And James pointed to them and said "I made that." So really the accomplishment almost superseded the tastiness. 

Make 'em. Eat 'em. Do a happy dance that I posted a recipe for you and that of course it's cookies.

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Rose-5 Months!


Date: July 20, 2020

Sleeping Pattern: Finally got a good consistent schedule! She has 3 naps (or on random bad nap days I'll add in a 4th catnap). Usually 2 of the naps are nice and long (1-2 hours-ish) and then the 3rd is shorter, around 30-45 minutes. Then she goes to bed about 3 hours after she wakes up from her last nap (I aim for 7ish). Putting her down to sleep is so freaking easy. Naps I literally just put her in her sleep sack, where she usually starts sucking her thumb and holding her hair, and transfer her (keeping her horizontal) to her crib where she just goes to sleep. Bedtime I nurse her and then she sometimes falls asleep or when I lay her in her crib she falls asleep soon after. Then she either sleeps all night or, sometimes, wakes once close to morning time.

Eating Habits: Rose eats 5 times a day (or 6 if she wakes in the early morning) and usually only nurses for like 10 minutes, give or take. The little lady is still very easily distracted but I try to force her to eat, lol. She always seems so eager but then pops off and looks everywhere *sigh*

Development & Firsts: I can't believe it but Rose is sitting up completely unassisted, and actually for a decent amount of time. I'm partially attributing this to her solid foundation (aka the booty). It's really fun to just sit her down and put toys in front of her or have her and James read together. Her sense of humor is definitely developing and she thinks James is hilaaaaarious. He makes her laugh and grin all the time. Also: oh hi separation anxiety, not so nice to see you. She used to be so chill with just being put down and hanging out while I deal with a million and ten things buuuut she's less chill with it now. She'll still sometimes be cool for a bit but she is definitely not a fan of not being paid attention to. She also will cling to me (which is actually very sweet) or get upset because she can't see Michael or James. Pretty much she'd like all 3 of us giving her all the attention all the time. She also gets upset when she knows sleep time is coming, sometimes, because she doesn't want us to leave her (I know, heartbreaking). In other news: the teeth are still on their way. She grabs at things now (oh man is she grabby. Rose sees that toy? Wants it? Grabs it-cue James yelling that it's his. Rose sees mommy's hair. Wants it. Grabs it-ouch.) And the cutie has started holding on to her feet and rolling to her side from her back, so maybe fully rolling will be soon? 

Mischief: Honestly her sass is the main part, she's just super demanding and will yell at you a lot and man is she loud lol. Then she's also grabbing at everything so I have to police what she's trying to grab (Nooo Rose you can't have that piece of cheese yet) and my hair gets pulled quite a bit. I'd say Rose is more coy than mischievous-she loves to like grin at Michael from the side then bury her face in my neck and then repeat the process lol. 

Cuteness: As always...untold cuteness. She's just the sweetest, smiley-est, cuddliest, most loving little cutie girl. Rose's face just lights up when she sees any of us, she's so genuinely happy to see us, James is like WITHOUT QUESTION her favorite, though. She gets the hugest grin on her face when he interacts with her and he can make her giggle like no one else. She had her first full laugh fit from playing with him and just watching him be silly. She finds him hilarious and clearly thinks he's the greatest thing ever. She even has started putting her arms out to hug him and gives him kisses (which he enjoys but always wipes off after lol). She likes to put her arms out to us too-she especially loves to put her hands on Michael's face and I frequently am the recipient of many many many large drooly kisses and lots of things on my face being grabbed by sweet little hands. She's SO affectionate. And very assertive about making sure she gets the attention and affection she knows she is due haha. She just very adorably wants to be a part of things. We've started putting her in the highchair when we're eating (currently we just give her toys to play with, we're not starting solids until next month) which she really enjoys I think at least partly because then she's up on our level and more a part of the whole mealtime thing. And if we're all talking she simply must join in...which is cute but also very loud. Playing dress up with her is super fun: she makes every outfit the cutest and I love how just adding a bow to an old outfit of James and putting it on her makes it a whole new thing. She really is enjoying toys more and more-the excitement that takes her over when she's given a doll (or really anything with a face) is so sweet. She does this excited inhale (which James used to do too) and just like squeal (or...usually...straight up yell) in delight. All of her talking is adorable. She yells and squeals and oh the sweet coos. Her eyes will smile and her mouth makes a cute little turtle-y shape as she just sort of goes "oooh" and looks at you like you're her entire world. Oh! She also loves books now! She's so intent and wiggly with happiness when we read to her and omigosh when James "reads" to her....honestly there are few things more adorable. And...yeah. I mean there's so much. Everything. Everything Rose does is cute. 

Nicknames: Rosie, Rosie Rose, Rosie Posy, Baby Rose, Baby girl, Pretty girl, Lady, Ladybug, Chunk/Chunk-a-munk, "Little Chub/Chubby" (James calls her that), "Missus" (also a James name), You, Fuzzy Head, Sweetling, Sweetie-girl, Cutie-girl, Honey girl, Honey bun, Little miss, Missy, Ma'am, Sweetness, Love, combinations of all of the above...

Talking: Well...she's loud. She just talks all the time and is very demanding and loud about it lol. She especially likes to join in when everyone else is talking (such a little sister, wants to belong.) She also still makes just the sweetest coos. 

Favorites: JAMES (can not emphasize this enough, James is her absolute favorite thing. He makes her lose her mind with excitement), mommy, and daddy. Anything with a face (baby doll, stuffed animals, caterpillar on her activity gym, her grandparents on Facetime.) Smiling and being smiled at/attention in general. Mirrors. Books. Kisses and snuggles. Holding her feet. Being held and snuggled. Eating. Sleeping. The activity gym. Toys. Being played with. Anything she finds amusing in the moment (almost always James). Being naked and being dressed up. Getting dirty diapers taken off.

Dislikes:  Teething, not getting enough sleep, brother being too rough with her, not having attention/being put down if attention is not being paid to her, getting bored (must have entertaining toys/entertaining people at all times lol). 

Concerns: Same as always: just concerned about COVID and the lack of ability to see anyone or go anywhere.

A Day in the Life: If I'm lucky Rose wakes up close to 7, but if it's at least 6am I count it as the start of her day. I get her and feed her, then I usually get James after and we go get him fed and dealt with and I try to play with both of them. About an hour and a half after waking she goes down for her 1st nap. This is usually her longest one and, on a good day, lasts anywhere from 1.5-2 hours. She's usually up around 10am-ish and then I feed her and play, give James lunch, etc. She goes down for her nap about an hour and 40 minutes after waking, and if I'm lucky this means I get some nice chill time during her and James' naps (he goes to sleep around 12:30). This is usually her other long-ish nap, but not always. Worst case, she usually naps at least 45 minutes. 90 minutes is preferred. I feed her (hopefully around 1-1:30) and then she's usually awake for about 2 hours before her 3rd nap (unless she's had poor naps, then I may do closer to an hour and 40 minutes to foster a longer 3rd nap). My hope is that she then is up and eating as close to 4 (or no later than 5) as possible to get her to where I want her to be for bedtime. If it's earlier than 3 when she wakes up then she gets a catnap between then and bed. Either way, she has about 3 hours of time before bedtime. There's dinner and lots of playing. Then before bedtime I read a book to her (and usually James since he's there lol) and we go around saying goodnight to different things around the house (James thinks this is funny). Then Michael or I takes her upstairs, reads superhero rules, changes her diaper, and puts her in her pjs and sleeper (while singing a song). I then nurse her, sing Rosie by Passenger, and lay her down in her crib after she's done. Hopefully she sleeps until morning, but sometimes she wakes between 4 and 6am and won't go back down without me feeding her. 


Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Rose-4 Months!

Eeep! This one is super late. I've been really busy + we didn't have her appointment until the 29th.


Date: June 20, 2020

Height: 24.29 inches (as of her appointment Monday)

Weight: 14 lbs. 14.5 oz. (^as of Monday)

Sleeping Pattern: So a bunch of stuff kind of hit and changed right around when she turned 4 months and I barely remember what she was doing before. I think she had approximately hour long waketimes during the day, with 4 naps and sometimes a 5th catnap. And then some nights she sleeps through the night and some she doesn't! It's sort of variable. If she wakes up it's usually between 4 and 5:30am. But, schedule change ups aside, her routine is pretty solid. She gets put in her sleepsack and swaddled with her arms out while singing to her, then we usually just transfer her right to her crib for naps (she usually has already assumed her sleepy-time stance at this point: sucking her right thumb while her left hand holds onto/plays with her hair). Bedtime is a diaper change, getting dressed, sleepsack, then I sing while I nurse her also. Sometimes she falls asleep while nursing and sometimes she doesn't, but she always goes right to sleep after I put her in her crib. She's such a sweet girl.

Eating Habits: Typical of her age, Rose started struggling more with eating. Getting distracted, unlatching a lot, stuff like that. Some of that has been solved recently when I changed her schedule and eliminated a feeding so she's hungrier. But she's still a nice quick eater: usually she wants to stop after 5-10 minutes, but I try to make her eat for at least 10 or more. I always worry that she hasn't eaten enough (even though she's such a cute chunk). 

Development & Firsts: The big one is that little lady had her first laugh! On May 29 we were coming down the stairs and James was stomping and going "STOMP! STOMP!" and she just started giggling like crazy. Oh man it was sweet. She responds to her name. Object permanence has happened which means she has had some occasions where she gets upset that you're not paying attention to her or have left her (like for nap time). We've been playing peek-a-boo to work on it, and I think it's getting better! She's started sleeping in her own room all night and has her arms free of the swaddle. Other than that, she's gotten into toys and can grab them and pick them up and hold them aaaand most of all chew on them. Teething has really ramped up, too. And she still occasionally rolls from front to back. Sometimes she'll roll to her side while on her back but that's about it so far.  She's big on scooting, she frequently rotates herself 90 degrees to get to the items I put next to her on tummy time (in my attempts to encourage rolling).

Mischief: Honestly the most mischievous thing she does is when she won't eat because she's too busy smiling and cooing at you hahaha, it's the sweetest kind of mischief! She also usually thinks my reaction to finding a poop in her diaper is pretty funny, but in all fairness...it is lol. Oh and she does the talk-yell arguing with me and chews on everything. The best is she also likes to give BIIIIG kisses but also sort of try to chew on my face in a semi-attacking manner lol.

Cuteness: It's pretty  much all the same as last month-she's gosh darned adorable and sweet and happy almost all the time. I love her cute chunky cheeks and kissy mouth and tiny boop of a nose and big eyes and AHHH the hair (which has begun getting long enough that it's not really sticking up anymore-at least not naturally. Now it sticks up because she grabs at it in her sleep). Rose's sleep pose is so cute: right thumb goes right to her mouth and left hand grabs her hair. A sure sign she's feeling sleepy and she stays pretty much frozen in that position while I'm getting her in her sleepsack and then transferring her to her crib. I love it. And the fact that she just has to stop eating to smile and coo at me like...what. What did I do to deserve this pure and precious being?? Her eyes smile so sweetly, like, even if you can't see her mouth (or if its ya know, eating) you can tell she is smiling. Her big gummy happy grins are everything. She just loves to be in mine, Michael's, and James' presence. Rose has in fact gotten a bit clingy-she'll really hold on to you when you're holding her (usually a shirt but in my case it's usually my hair and OUCH-it's cute, but painful). She'll even sort of put her hands out to you to tell you she wants to be held or that she wants to grab you face (for kisses, of course. She still coughs for her kiss demands). Rosie discovered James' baby doll the other day and she immediately just cradled it like she was holding a baby and kissed it's head (admittedly in a much more drooly fashion than one normally kisses a baby's head) but I was blown away by this baby holding a baby. She also enjoys when I play with her feet or tickle her or make her dance or talk in silly voices or rub my head on her belly or when she's naked or gets dressed up or sees a toy or stuffed animal she likes or.....yeah. She's happy a lot of the time. Her talking is so funny because she has like two modes: sweetly and gently cooing at you (goooo, ahhhh, blowing little bubbles, etc.) or loud and assertive lol. It's either an enthusiastic "GAHHH!" or her talk-yelling where she is just making sure we are aware of her thoughts and feelings. It's good, she'll need that strength when dealing with her brother. OH MY GOD SPEAKING OF HER BROTHER. Rose and James...I can't handle it. They're too sweet. Too cute. She gets stoked AF over him-like she sees him and flips out she grins SO HUGE. He'll hold her hand when we walk downstairs after getting her from a nap and she's in heaven. He gave her her 1st laugh by stomping behind her on the stairs. He's frequently coming over to talk to her or cuddle her and she just loves it. He's her absolute favorite, she's always watching him and trying to coo and smile at him to get his attention. It's the most amazing thing and makes my heart swell. One day we had like a family dance session with each of us holding one of the kids and I swear she said "iiii" (like hi, ya know) to James and also was like "sing" cooing. She's perfect. 

Nicknames: Rosie, Rosie Rose, Rosie Posy, Baby Rose, Baby girl, Pretty girl, Lady, Ladybug, Chunk/Chunk-a-munk, "Little Chub/Chubby" (James calls her that), Scoots (Michael calls her that), Fuzzy Head, Sweetling, Sweetie-girl, Cutie-girl, Honey girl, Honey bun, Little miss, Missy, Ma'am, Sweetness, Love, combinations of all of the above...

Talking: Lots of sweet cooing still (especially when trying to get the attention of her beloved big brother) but she's really found her voice and sass this month. She'll put you in your place and make sure you know how she feels about things lol. It very much feels like she is talking to you in an assertive fashion. Her cough requests for kisses are still going strong too. 

Favorites: JAMES, mommy, and daddy. Anything with a face (baby doll, stuffed animals, caterpillar on her activity gym, her grandparents on Facetime.) Smiling and being smiled at/attention in general. Mirrors. Kisses. Her feet being clapped together/played with. Being held and snuggled. Eating. Sleeping. The activity gym. Toys (I think her favorite might be this one but she likes having a variety). Being naked and being dressed up. Getting dirty diapers taken off.

Dislikes:  Teething, shots (obviously), not getting enough sleep, and being left for too long? Maybe getting bored with doing too much of one thing (or when her brother gets too rough with her but she has a pretty high tolerance for his shenanigans)....other than that yeah she's still pretty happy generally.

Concerns: Same as last month-nothing really just constant concern over COVID and hating that she doesn't get to socialize or be loved on by our friends and family.

A Day in the Life: Her schedule has been all over the place this last month thanks to leap 4 and just getting older and stuff but it's the same gist as last month. And next month's schedule will probably be more accurate for where she is now. Essentially she wakes up, eats, we play, then sleep again. A cycle of that + taking care of her brother. Then she sleeps (in her crib, in her room) from 7:30/8 until morning or wakes up usually 4-5:30am. 


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