Here's To You: Lady at the Park with 2 1/2 Kids

You know, it's not often enough that you run into truly kind people who also speak truly kind things these days. I'm guilty of it too. I may think a nice thought about someone but not say it out loud because I'm too embarrassed. I've been working on it though, and a lady this morning just encouraged me to work on it even harder - by example. 

So recently I bought a jogging stroller online (for $18! What a steal! I love good online yardsale deals). I bought it thinking it would give me the motivation to start running again. I used to LOVE running before I was pregnant. It was my exercise of choice for years. Now, I can tell you what my husband was thinking... "Buying toys to help you exercise won't make you exercise." I know he was thinking this because for my birthday I asked for a yoga mat, which I used for about a month after which it just sat around in a corner in my house. This time was different, though. I could feel it. 

I couldn't go running during the day when Olivia takes her naps because it's too darn hot, and I couldn't go running in the evening because I'm too dang tired. So I made a plan. With a jogging stroller I can bring my baby with me (which is awesome, because she LOVES walks) and I can go in the morning while it's still (relatively) cool. Well, I've been running at our neighborhood park for about a week and a half now, and let me tell you, it has not been easy. I am so out of shape. I mean it's taken me nearly a year after having a baby to get a true motivation for exercise again (like I said earlier, I'd get it in spurts throughout the months, but it never stuck). So the goal I made for myself was to run two laps around the park, until that starts to get easier and then maybe three or four. Well, I stopped for a drink at the water fountain like I always do after my run, sweating like a pig and breathing like Darth Vader, when this super cute pregnant lady enters the park with a little girl on a scooter and a littler boy in an umbrella stroller. I was a little embarrassed by my state of being so I stuck my face into the water fountain as she walked by. Something she said to me, though, made me smile then, and all the way back home.

"Good job exercising!" She didn't say it in a demeaning way or sarcastic way,  but in a really encouraging way. 

"Thank you!" I replied, but I don't think that really conveyed, between my spurts of spastic breathing, how truly grateful I was for her comment. That was just what I needed to hear after a hard not-so-long run. So here's to you, lady at the park with 2 1/2 kids. Thank you for speaking your mind and making my day. And probably keeping me at it (running) longer. 

Meltdown in the Super Market (It's not what you think)

So the other day Bryce, Olivia, and I were at Macey's picking up a few things for dinner. We went down the baby isle as we often do (because I absolutely adore all the small colorful things and Bryce, well, loves me). I thought that it might be a good idea to buy Olivia some snacks for the ride home. She absolutely loves all things edible and she is happy as long as she has something to eat.

I thought, "Hey, let's see if there's anything new that Olivia hasn't tried yet." Because it is SO MUCH FUN trying new things with babies. 

Well you know how Gerber has those pictures on all of their food, indicating whether that particular item is for a sitter, crawler, toddler, or so on? 

Olivia is officially in the "Crawler" category.

Well while browsing some snacks I saw some cookie/cracker things and after looking at the label I said to Bryce, "Oh, Olivia can't have these. They are for toddlers, it says here '12+ months.'" 

Cue frog in throat.

My eyes start to glisten and my hands come up to cover my face as I start flat out bawling, right there in the grocery store. All the while these words repeat in my head:

IN TWO WEEKS OLIVIA IS GOING TO BE A TODDLER. SHE WILL BE 12+ MONTHS AND SHE CAN EAT THESE STUPID COOKIES.

Bryce, of course, took me in his arms and couldn't stop laughing.

I probably cried for a good two minutes, thinking my baby is no longer a baby. Luckily it was a sunny day so I had my sunglasses to cover my swollen, puffy, red eyes. And no, I wasn't on my period, thanks for asking though. 

Gosh does time fly. For you moms out there that have little babies and you just can't wait until they're old enough to sleep through the night, or you just can't wait until they start walking, or even crawling, ENJOY THESE DAYS! They will come to an end sooner than you know. Take a nap, then go and hug your baby while they are still a baby.  

10 Months!!

Holy Cow! It has been a very long time since I have posted on here.

Olivia has grown so much! I almost feel like she isn't a baby anymore, that is until she has a breakdown at night and wont go to sleep until three hours past her bedtime.

10 Months old and loving it!

Well, Grandma Winter AKA Yaya came for a visit these past two weeks and Olivia absolutely loved having her here (not to mention me. I LOVED having her here and cried like a baby when she left). We found out some things about Olivia during her grandmother's stay. For example, she absolutely LOVES the first 10 minutes of Robin Hood, the Disney movie. She jumps up and down and screams from excitement as the introduction music plays! It's pretty much one of the most adorable things I have ever seen. She loves to do the hand sign to the song Cinco Lobitos with yaya, not so much with her mama, though. Basically she just loved having her yaya around and misses her so much. She and yaya skype to keep in touch, though.

                                 Olivia only likes the first few minutes and then, as you can see, she loses interest.

Olivia has perfected the army crawl and is so close to crawling on her hands and knees, I'm pretty sure she'll get it by the end of the day. We just ordered a baby gate online because even though she's just army crawling, she's a fast little army baby! Olivia is such a talker. She doesn't say much, but she's always "talking." She also understands the signs for "eat," "drink," and "outside." Mama can't wait for her to sign them back! Olivia loves to go on walks, especially to the park near our house where she adores watching the other children play and swinging in the baby swing.

 She also loves grocery shopping. And boy, does she LOVE to eat bananas. They're pretty much her favorite thing in the whole entire world. She'll start whining for one with just the sight of it.

Olivia started sleeping though the night again, that is until yaya visited. There was just so much excitement with her here! But we're working on getting her on schedule again. She's a great napper though! She always takes her naps. Olivia absolutely hates hats of any kind. 2.5 second after I put her sun hat on it's off again. And the baby bath cap I ordered online is completely useless as it stays on her head for exactly 1.4 seconds. Luckily she doesn't know quite yet when she is wearing a bow! (Sneaky mama!)

Olivia loves playing with blocks and she loves to break down the towers that dada makes. She also loves to play with headphones, shoes, and dishware (that is until mama takes it away)! Olivia is very good at following directions. When she has something in her hand that she shouldn't I ask her, "Can mama have that?" and then she gives it to me! Can you believe that?! Olivia's absolute favorite thing ever, though, is being outside. Olivia loves to play with other babies, but sadly, she doesn't get to do that too often. Olivia also loves going to grandma and grandpa's house. She loves to see the horses, goats, cats, dog, but especially the chickens! Those are her favorite! 

Olivia is growing up into a little toddler, though she's not quite toddling ;) 

I can't believe it's almost her birthday. It's crazy how time flies. 

And now... for your viewing pleasure

6 Months!

She's starting to fill in that chair!

It's been a while! Olivia has been super busy growing and I've been super busy trying to keep up with her. I just wanted to update you guys on how she's doing and things that she loves!

Back when Olivia was around 4 months old, her pediatrician recommended we start her on solids. We started her on rice cereal and she LOVED it! I guess I must have eaten my fair share of rice while I was pregnant/nursing. Since then we have been slowly chunking up the cereal to about the thickness of those baby food jars and she's rocking at eating. There is certainly a bunch that ends up on her face and clothes, but I think more ends up in her mouth. Just the other day we tried carrots with her and she loves those too! She wasn't so sure her first couple of tastes, but she got the hang of it and now she can't get enough! We are excited to keep trying new foods with her! We're also excited for the weather to get warmer so that she can eat naked - less laundry for mama!

Obviously, for those of you who have had kids, babies schedules change - A LOT! Last time I blogged, Olivia was sleeping through the night regularly. After she got her four month shots that changed. I'm sure it had something to do with teething and growing up, but she's now waking up every 3-4 hours for a little midnight snack. Speaking of teething. Olivia's working really hard to get those two bottom teeth to break through. We're not quite there yet, but she's working on it! 

Around Christmas time Olivia and I took a trip to San Antonio, TX for her to meet the  rest of the Winter bunch. Sadly, daddy couldn't come because he had work and school. :(  Olivia had a fun time spending some time with her Spanish grandma and her aunt and uncles. Unfortunately it was also a difficult time for her. Obviously she missed her daddy very much. On top of that, her schedule changed a little bit, she wasn't sleeping in her own bed, she started teething, and she got sick with a fever ear, and eye infection. My poor tiny tuna. The flight home was probably the worst she had ever felt. She got motion sickness and threw up, a lot. But she got home, we got her the medicine she needed and she slowly got back to her old self again. I only wish the fam in Texas could have seen her regular, happy, cheery self. Maybe one day soon. 

"Good things come in small packages"

Olivia hanging out with her monkey buddy at grandma's house.

Laughing it up!

The fam bam at Cha Cha's Mexican Restaurant. 

On a brighter note, Olivia is developing physically as well as a charming personality quite rapidly! She can roll onto her side from her back and onto her back from her stomach. We're getting pretty close to rolling onto her tummy from her back! Olivia knows what she wants and will reach for it really well now! She can pass a toy from hand to hand  and she can skooch along a little when she's on her tummy. We're excited (yet terrified) for her to start crawling! Olivia doesn't like to spend too much time on her belly, though. She rather be standing up with mommy and daddy's help. Knowing her, I wouldn't be surprised if she skipped crawling and just went straight to walking! She loves to be on her feet! If daddy helps her steady her she'll take steps toward mommy! She's recently found her feet and grabs for them every time I change her diaper! She's also getting really close to being able to sit by herself. Olivia is also "talking" up a storm! She loves to communicate with mommy and daddy, especially if they are having a conversation that she's not initially included in.  Basically, she's getting cuter every day! 

Snow day!

Olivia certainly knows what she likes too! She has shown us that her favorite color is orange! We have some orange bowls that we sometimes use and she reaches for them like nothing else! Also, for Christmas we got a Disney store gift card and we took Olivia with us to see what we could get for her. We were looking through some of the stuffed animals and showing them to her to get a reaction out of her. First we showed her some of the bears from the movie Brave and she didn't really show any enthusiasm, but then we showed her Nemo and Tigger and she reached for them with a determined look on her face! What a cutie! We ended up getting her a Belle doll that she could enjoy when she got a little older (Thank you Marina Hernandez!).

Olivia usually concentrates really hard when she's burping, but here she got distracted by mama.

Like we told you last time, Olivia still loves her baths! And she loves to play with toys in the bath! But her absolute favorite bath toy is her bath time bubble book. We have to wait until the end of her bath to give it to her, haha. If you take it from her she gets really sad and might even start crying  a little. She's gonna love reading! ;) jeje. Toys, Toys, Toys. Toys are so important for a developing little person and Olivia loves the toys she has. Funnily enough, her favorite part of EVERY toy she has is the tag. Something about that tag just calls out to her, I guess. She plays with other parts of the toy too, but boy does she love that little piece of paper hanging off of the very colorful toys. She's a funny little girl.

She loves those tags!

All in all, Olivia is growing like a weed (except a whole lot cuter) and she's loving life. She loves to go on walks, going to the grocery store, eating, sleeping, bath time, and play time with her parents. She knows her name and she knows what she likes. She's the boss of the house and she likes it that way.

Until next time.  

Nice Guys Finish Full

A couple of weekends ago Bryce, Olivia, and I went out on a date night to Red Robin. My mom had sent us some money to go out and celebrate our birthdays (not for bills, specifically NOT for bills). First was Bryce's choice and what a good decision it was. We went around 3:30 or 4 pm so as to avoid the dinner rush. It wasn't very busy at all so the hostess showed us directly to our table. We flipped through the menu and both decided on the Royal Red Robbin burger (which I HIGHLY recommend). Soon enough I thought, "Well, that's weird. I never decide on something before the waiter asks what we want." Minutes passed and we were never asked what we wanted, not even a drink order! I thought that was really strange given how NOT busy the place was. Olivia and I are on the same feeding track, meaning we're always hungry at the same time and I was even able to finish her feeding and change an explosive diaper (because they are ALWAYS explosive when we're in public, - it's science) before anyone came and helped us. Finally, Bryce just decided he would bring it up with the hostess. At first we were pretty frustrated, maybe even a little angry and  really hungry after about half an hour or more of waiting (I even asked Bryce if he wanted me to swipe some of the leftover fries on the table behind us), but we decided to be kind and  Bryce patiently told the hostess that we hadn't been helped yet. 

Later we found out that the person that was in charge of our area left without telling anyone. Anyways, the hostess ended up helping our table. She took our orders and quickly brought us our bottomless fries so we could get started eating. Soon after, with many apologies and thanks for being so patient, she brought us our order. Oh my heavens, it was delicious! It was probably the best burger I've ever had. After we finished, the hostess came by and asked if we wanted any dessert (now I don't know about you, but I almost never have room for dessert when eating out - especially when they have BOTTOMLESS fries! ) and knowing what she was going to say I already started shaking my head no, but then she finished her sentence "...on the house." Ok, full or not I am not a person to turn down a free dessert! We picked the mountain high mud pie, which I also highly recommend. Very satisfied, we decided it was totally worth the wait. As the hostess came by with the bill she told us, "Since you guys were so nice and waited so patiently, I had a manager take care of the bill."

WOW!

And we thought the wait was worth it for the free dessert, but now the whole meal was free?!? Our testimony that patience and kindness are the way to go was strengthened that day. And so, nice guys don't always finish last, sometimes they finish full! 

We're 3 Months Old!

Olivia turned three months old last week and I figured that would be a good time to update everyone on how she's doing, what she loves, and milestones she's reached.

Olivia just finished her 3 month growth spurt and she's loving life. Her feedings are back on a schedule, although that schedule is stretching a little now since she doesn't need to eat as often. She's also sleeping through the night regularly. Bryce has work early in the morning so we all go to bed around 7 or 8. Bryce leaves for work at 3 and Olivia sleeps until 6:30am. I, on the other hand, am so used to her old schedule that I still wake up anywhere between midnight and one in the morning. I am one who loves sleep, so after her morning feeding I  can usually get her to sleep another hour and a half until daddy gets home. So technically, yes, she sleeps through the night but she's also nice to her mommy and lets her sleep a little while longer. 

We saw Olivia's first social smile soon after her first month of life, but now she smiles like a champ whenever she sees mommy and daddy (especially if they are acting silly). Olivia's first laugh sprouted out a couple of weeks ago. Mommy was singing and dancing for her and BAM! her first laugh! She's laughed at daddy too since then. We can't wait for her laugh to become boisterous! 

Olivia (like many of her counterparts) is not too fond of tummy time (mostly because it frustrates her that she can't crawl yet) but she is so good at lifting her head and shoulders for good periods of time. When she's on her belly she'll kick and pull so that she scoots forward and to the side in her first attempts at crawling! On the other hand Olivia LOVES to stand. She has the strength to stand on her own for long periods of time, obviously though she needs mommy or daddy's help balancing. Sometimes when mommy or daddy's arms get tired and they sit her down, she fusses because she just wants to stand some more.

Olivia has finally found her hands and she decided that they are wonderfully delicious. Many times you'll look over to find her sucking on her fists, not her thumb or middle two fingers mind you, the whole dang hand! It's nice and chilly here in good ol' Utah, so most times we'll have some mittens on her, in those cases she'll stare at her hands in confusion (mom, did my hands change colors?!) but eventually she'll suck on those too!  

Olivia staring at her hands during her 3 month photo shoot.

Olivia's favorite time of the day (besides the morning when daddy comes home) is nighttime, right before bed. As part of her bedtime routine Olivia takes a bath - which is probably her all-time favorite thing. A couple of weeks ago mommy taught her how to splash in the water and now she does nothing else. She loves it when mommy and daddy cheer for her: Yay Olivia! Good splash! 

Olivia loves music and dancing especially if it's Disney songs and especially if mommy is dancing super silly to them. I mean, that's how her first laugh broke through to the surface! She also loves it when mommy and daddy jump around like crazy heads - pretty much whenever they act silly. We already told you about how Olivia loves to stare at and suck on her hands, but she also loves to stare at her feet. She hasn't quite found them yet, I'm sure when she does she'll love to suck on those too, but she loves to follow her feet, especially when they are bare! 

Olivia loves all of her blankies especially her pink one with super cool patterns and her elephant one. Oh, she loves elephants! She'll stare at her elephant blankie for days and she has a little elephant toy that hangs off of her carseat that she just adores! Olivia loves to fly around in her mommy and daddy's arms! She's quite the little airplane! A couple of times mommy and daddy will give her a little lick of something here and there and boy does she love to taste mommy's and daddy's dum dum lollipops! At first she was really confused by them, but now when she sees mom or dad with a lollipop she'll reach out for it! 

All in all, Olivia is doing great! She's a happy little baby who is very patient with her parents. 

Real Women

You know, lately I've been thinking a lot about "real women" and how they are portrayed by the world, by books, and even by Disney. Not "real women" as in have you had your period yet, but more like what women should look like and the things they should aspire to. This, I know, can be a touchy topic and my goal is not to rant, but rather to uplift. 

Now I know everyone has heard it up to their ears about how magazines touch up pictures  to the point of non-recognition, and that a size 0 model is the way to be. And obviously there are a very few of us that actually look like that (and for those of you that do, congratulations! I'm sure there are things about your figure that are difficult to deal with too, or maybe not. Either way I'm sure you're tired of hearing about these kinds of things). The only thing I have to say about that is that it's unrealistic for every woman and girl to aspire to this way of being. There are different body types and that doesn't change with diet and exercise. For instance, I am a Spaniard and with that comes a set of full thighs and bottom. I used to resent those qualities when I was a teenager, but I have come to not only accept but also love them (on most days) as a token of my culture and family history. Plus it's easier to love them when I know my husband does. And always remember, you are your own worst critic. Those things you may hate about yourself might be someone's favorite thing about you!

For those of you who may not know, I just had my first baby -  a precious little girl. As such I have spent a lot of my time reading pregnancy and postpartum books. I learned a lot of helpful information about what my body was going through, and what it would be going through. I was very grateful for these books and the knowledge they imparted to me. I was also surprised (though I probably shouldn't have been) on the amount of time spent in these books on the topic of getting back to your pre-pregnancy shape. Now, obviously it's important to be healthy through and after a pregnancy (and always) especially if you plan on breastfeeding, and obviously that will include losing some of that weight you gained, but the way these books pushed the topic crossed the healthy line into the vanity zone. This is only compounded by the latest talk of Kate Middleton and her appearing out of the hospital with (who would of thought!) a rounded, bloated post pregnancy belly. Why? people asked... because she JUST HAD A BABY FOR PETE'S SAKE! Many people spoke out about this and how it was ridiculous that the media even cared - good for you! 

Personally, as I went through my pregnancy I told myself over and over again that my body would never be exactly the same again and I was ok with that. Stretch marks aside (because sometimes they make me feel unattractive) I really am not upset with my post-pregnant body. It's shaped a little bit differently, but that's ok. Sometimes I wish I could get a new wardrobe though, because the only time I feel badly about my body is when clothes don't fit me correctly. But that's OK! My body is now a mother's body, it functions differently than it did before and to do that, it has to look a little bit different. What a worthy sacrifice: in order to bring a child into this world, your body will be a little different afterwards. Let's celebrate that!! 

So, the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch recently arrived on Netflix instant streaming and it made me think back and remember the first time I saw it when I was a kid. I remember that through much of the movie I had an internal battle going on in my mind about whether the older sister  Nani Pelekai was really beautiful or not (shame on me!). She certainly didn't look like any of the other Disney princesses I knew; why, she looked more like ME! I thank the makers of this movie for making the beautiful older sister that you look up to look more like me than the other Disney princesses, for making her look like a real woman with hips and a butt and a belly that can actually hold all the necessary human organs inside of it! 

In the end, every woman is different - embrace that! Be as much you as you can be. Don't aspire to look like someone else, because genetics makes that impossible! Aspire to be healthy, embrace your body, and be happy.

Ok, maybe that was a little bit of a rant... Sorry!