Two Years Already??

This post is almost 2 weeks late... but, better late than never, right? =)

Way back on August 14th Jacob and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary.  I wanted to do SOMETHING special to celebrate, but, with both a baby and very busy weekends, it was a little difficult to plan anything too elaborate... but, thanks to Costco, and some discounted tickets, we had a memorable day*. =)

The Sunday before our anniversary we left Emily with her Nana, and Jacob and I drove out to Cascade Locks to board the Columbia Gorge Steamwheeler for a brunch cruise!  Buffet style breakfast with all you could drink champagne!  I took advantage of the lack of baby needing a boob and indulged in a couple of mimosas. ;)

It was a gorgeous day to be out on the water, and I was very impressed with the food. lol  All in all, great way to celebrate. =)

*Our car broke on the way there... which made it memorable, too... but I'm choosing to focus on the positives. =)

It's a Love - Hate Thing

Why I HATE being a working mother

• During the week, I only see my daughter (awake) for roughly 2 hours a day;
• I have to pump at work;
• I have to find TIME to pump at work
• I have to pump in a bathroom with a really loud fan and terrible lighting
• I can't relax and "let down" enough while at work to get her enough milk to get through the day at day care... my freezer stash is almost gone;
• I'm contemplating supplementing with formula... which is not "bad" by any means, I'm just mad at my own body for failing her/me,
• I don't want to/can't do anything social after work because:
• I want to actually SEE my daughter that day;
• I don't have any extra bottle for Jacob to use to feed her
• I know that I'm going to miss MANY of her "firsts"

Why I LOVE being a working mother

• I get to have my own life outside of the house (this sounds selfish, but I enjoy being "Brittney" from time to time);
• My daughter gets to go to day care and socialize with other kids (she loves it... and sleep really well at night! lol)
• I'm helping to provide, financially, for my family... including good insurance coverage.

Please, help me add to the "LOVE" list... it really needs to be balanced out a bit. =(

Four Months!

Weight/Length- 14 lbs, 9 oz and 24.5" long!  =)  50 percentile in both areas.  Yay for "average"! lol

Eating- Getting much better at bottle feeding... you're now eating 9-12 oz a day at daycare... which is causing mom to struggle to keep up with you.    Trying all kinds of things to increase my milk production, but, as of now, I'm worried that you may not make it to the 6 month mark as an exclusive breast feeder. =(

Sleep- You like your sleep... and I appreciate that. =)  You're going to bed at roughly 7:30 pm, waking up once or so before 5 or 6 am, and then you usually go back to sleep until 7 or 8 if we let you (i.e. it's a weekend and I don't have to get you ready for day care).  The past week you haven't slept as well as you haven't been feeling good, but last night you slept from 7:30-6, so I think it's getting better. =)

 Clothes- Still wearing a variety of clothing sizes, but mostly 3-6 months.

Personality- You are going to be a mover and a talker!  You are a real wiggle worm right now and LOVE to kick your legs!  You are really starting to enjoy the water (tub and baby pool).  You are also trying out your voice with some really adorable "talking" sounds.  It's going to be really weird when you actually start to form "word" sounds!

Likes/Dislikes-

-You like, no, you LOVE to kick around naked! lol  Whether it's on the floor or in the pool.  If your diaper is off, you're ready to party. Hope this isn't foreshadowing. lol

-You like to explore your surroundings via your stroller or your Snugli.  You get bored when you stay at home, inside all day.

-You like to suck on your fingers, your fists, blankets, mom and dad's fingers, toys, pretty much anything that you can get in your mouth... and you drool all over EVERYTHING.

-You like the wind blowing in your face, whether that be from a fan, the wind outside, or dad blowing on you.
-You like playing with your feet.

-You don't like sitting still in front of the computer with dad... which means that dad gets to spend less time staring at a monitor.  ;)

-You don't like either of the other two carriers that mom has that are actually comfortable for mom... nope, you scream until you get your Snugli.

-You don't like being on your belly... but you have just learned how to roll over onto it and you do it all the time... and then you scream about it.  I flip you over, and you do it all over again!

Milestones-

-You can roll over!!

-You went to your first bachelorette party... more about that later! =)

-You were sick for the first time.  Stomach bug of some sort... mommy REALLY didn't like that! =(

-Participated in your first Relay for Life!

-You're starting to "talk".  Not forming any real words yet, but starting to test out your vocal cords with real noises!  You talk to the curtains in your nursery a LOT when mommy's feeding you! 

Family Photos

While we were back in Junction City for the Relay for Life, we had the opportunity to get our first set of family photos taken!  An old classmate of mine does photography as a side gig and came out to my parents place to photograph us.  Here are some of my favorites:

And here's a bonus shot that I took of Emily this same weekend... she's adorable. lol

Relay for Life

This post is quite late... by almost a month.  Oops. =)  And I realized that I haven't blogged anything in about two weeks.  My excuse?  I've been busy... and lazy.  Mostly lazy. lol

Anyway... this year Emily participated in her first Relay for Life.  Cancer has effected my family in a big way, and events like this really hit home for me.  The last couple of years I have a joined a team of family/friends and this year Emily got to "walk" the track, too.  (It's funny to think that next year she will ACTUALLY be able to walk the track!).

Excited to get started!

All lotioned up and ready to go!

Quick family photo

Got there during the "mascot" lap

It's a hard life. lol

Making friends wherever she goes!

Mommy-daughter moment. =)

That little "friend" of Emily's in the photo above is almost exactly one year older than Emily... meaning that that will be Em next year...  Crazy!

Out and About

I've been trying to force myself to get out of the house more with Emily... both to get things done as well as to prove to myself that I can handle it and that the world isn't going to crumble if she cries in public.  So far it's been going pretty well.  She's getting better... as long as I don't cut into a nap. =)  Over the last few days we have gone clothes shopping (for both of us), to the dry cleaner, to the bank, to see Jacob at work, on a couple of walks around the block, to the hospital to visit Jacob's dad, and, today, to the farmer's market... which included Emily's first experience on public transportation (something that was definitely giving me a bit of anxiety--melting down in an enclosed space with a captive audience does not sound like something I want to deal with).  She was a fan of the streetcar (as long as it was moving, she didn't like it when it stopped for a light. lol  She's a real Portland commuter now!

It's so awesome to see her experiencing and learning about the world.  Her huge eyes taking everything in... you can just see the wonder and curiosity.  I love it!  Every day she's getting more and more like a "real" littler person. lol

The Kid's Got Taste!

Jacob got a smart phone last week.  He doesn't have service to it, but he's still able to browse the web/use the apps, etc. with a wifi connection (we also put a Couch to 5k app on there.... we have high hopes. lol)

I WISH WE'D HAD THIS THREE MONTHS AGO!

It's been awesome to be able to read my blogs/e-mails/facebook/etc while feeding Emily... plus it's SO easy to share pictures/videos.  And today I discovered another great use for the thing...

I was feeding Emily and decided that I wanted some music so, I turned on Pandora (Tom Petty station)... and Emily started to get sleepy.  I wasn't even expecting to put her down for a nap yet.  But, after rocking and singing various classic rock songs to her for about 10 minutes, I put her in her crib and she passed out to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama"!  Now she's asleep and I'm listening to "American Girl" through the baby monitor. lol

She's got some good taste in music. =)