December Diet

I've been slowly, but steadily, losing this baby weight. It's exciting that I'm having significantly better weight loss success this time around. But then that holiday happened. The one where we count our blessings and shove our faces full of delicious carb-laden food. Not only did it halt my weight loss, it reversed it. This is no bueno, my friends. 

As with all healthy lifestyle changes I suggest to Paul, I preface it with "I have a bad idea". This time around the "bad idea" is to say no to sweets until Christmas day. The 25th of December will be a glutenous day indeed. But until then, no Christmas cookies, no birthday cake, no candy canes, no truffles, no nothing. Well, that last one is a lie. I will get a slice of pumpkin pie for my birthday. Also, we've given ourselves a little leeway with one or two mugs of hot chocolate a week.

I'm dreading my holiday work party and our ward Christmas party. All of those delectable goodies staring me in the face. Paul will help me make it through the ward party unscathed, so it's really the work party I'm worried about. Luckily, saying no is easier than saying just one. Because who really stops at just one?

So if you see me with a Christmas cookie, slap it out of my hand and then slap me in the face.

Playing dress up.

Tomorrow is Sunday. Growing up it was a nice day of rest. Go to church, see friends there, be spiritually fed and uplifted, go home, literally be fed, nap and get ready for a new week. It was a rude awakening to go back to church after Vincent was born. Trying to get a baby to sleep in arms for two hours just doesn't happen. A shortened nap means a grumpy baby and a frazzled mom. Round #2 with Kate has been rough as well, but I'm armed with experience and have gotten better at being flexible with naps and nursing on Sundays.

The real clincher, though, is that every Sunday I get to dress up my little babe. I go through the closet and sort through her drawers to find a darling outfit each week. I love that it is perfectly acceptable for baby girl bums to stick out of skirts and dresses. In fact, I think everyone wants to see those squishy legs (and if you don't, there's something wrong with you). But seriously, seeing my girl all dolled up makes Sunday just that much better.

Tomorrow I will be in the thick of it with many other moms who wake their babies from naps, nurse in a crowded room full of stinky diapers, and get back aches from rocking their (not so) little ones to sleep. But Kate will be dressed up, and I will love it.

Rocket Ship.

A few weeks back my mom ordered some lampshades. They came in an enormous (and incredibly light) box. I decided to hang onto the box because it had some serious potential for a kids craft. Then, for some reason the box just sat in my room for weeks.

Okay, I actually know the reason-- I am so noncommittal it is ridiculous. I'm great in relationships, but when it comes to crafts... aye yai yai! I go on pinterest, get a thousand different ideas and then get cold feet because I don't know how to achieve my fullest crafting potential. What is wrong with me??

Vince has been teaching me a few lessons over the years though. That I shouldn't sweat the small stuff, but more importantly, that I shouldn't care so much about what other people think. Our social media frenzied world is so obsessed with documenting everything. Naturally, I want to capture these fun memories, but the fact that I even have to stop and think about how the rocket ship will look on camera is just too silly.

So here we are, a few weeks later, and I finally threw in the towel. I didn't trace the stars, I cut crooked lines, we got glue everywhere, the pom poms fell off, scribbles all over the side of the box. Certainly not perfect, but certainly so much fun.

Don't let the judgement of every passerby stop you in your tracks. Get messy, let your kids imagine, and stray from that perfect pinterest world.

My Squish.

When I was pregnant with Kate I imagined calling her my Junebug or my little Firecracker, depending on what month she was born. I never, however, imagined I would be calling her "my squish". She is my rotund bundle of joy. Recently, Paul and I have noticed how substantial she is when we pick her up out of the crib. Oh, it makes me so happy!! The only downside is that I can't call her my squish forever, because what awkward preteen wants to be called that? Sigh. For now though, she has no choice. She is my squish and I will squish her night and day!

She's quickly approaching 5 months old. She's strong, but content. In other words, she is awesome at tummy time and she pushes up on her hands, but she's just plain happy and sees no need to roll over. She's done it a few times but has never consistently rolled from her tummy to her back. Though she is ever so close to rolling from her back to her tummy! I'm thankful she's my second baby because I would probably obsess over the fact that she isn't rolling were she my first kiddo. Fortunately, I'm totally okay with a baby that wants to stay a baby for a little while longer.

Kate is loud when she isn't being held or looked at. She blows raspberries, yells and babbles non-stop. Then, the moment you start paying attention to her she just smiles and smiles. She is certainly a social young lady. For this, I am grateful that I've got Vince on my team to keep her happy and occupied.

Crazy enough, we still swaddle this babe. When she was a newborn she hated it. Then, around 12 weeks old she stopped taking long naps. We were able to resolve this by extending her feeding schedule and swaddling her for naps. She goes all night long without being swaddled but just cannot fall asleep during the day with those little hands in her face. She just pops her paci right out and then gets loud (refer to previous paragraph). We're working on swaddling one arm instead of both so she can get to her fingers.

It breaks my heart, but Kate recently got her very first cold. She is congested and can't breathe with a paci in her mouth. It has been a rough few days and she keeps ending up in the swing for naps. This feels like a total fail because she has done so well sleeping in her crib. Fingers crossed that she doesn't get too spoiled! But really, there's really nothing more important than a sick baby getting some seriously good sleep.

Those legs!

Buddies

My brother-in-law, Devin, told me he was surprised by how quickly his first two kids became buddies. It's easy to imagine your toddler taking little interest in an infant that can't play back. That's pretty much what I expected. Vincent has proven me wrong though. Kate too. Vincent is keen on spending Kate's every waking moment together. And Kate looks up to and adores her big brother. Thus, at just a few months old they've already developed a special relationship. Buddies for life, I hope.

Joy

2 Nephi 2:25
Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

I have felt so much joy in raising these children. My life is blessed and my heart is full.

Boo!

Growing up, my mom had a rule that once you were twelve you were deemed "too old" to go trick-or-treating. In hindsight, I agree with this rule. There comes a point when you are just too old. This didn't stop me from resenting the rule as a child. I would sit at the door and pass out candy to all of my friends. Poor me, right? In the end, Halloween became a holiday I didn't care about.

Fast Forward a decade (literally) and Halloween took on a new meaning. Why? Kids of my own to have fun with and dress up! This year was my first with two kiddos to dress but the weather threw a wrench into Kate's costume. She was going to be a lady bug but the weather was so warm that she would have overheated in her costume. Alas, Halloween goes on!

 A spider web who caught a lady bug (..or Minnie Mouse, but whatevs)/Calvin & Hobbes

Round #2 of Halloween 2014 was spent with Ruth & Dan. Their ward has the ultimate trunk-or-treat. And is there anything cuter than a little lion careening down an inflatable slide? I think not.