A traveling traveling.

Today I had our poor daughter placed on blankets/towels all around the apartment with me while I did various moving-in/putting-away chores so that she could see me/be with me/not get too bored too quickly. And a lot of this was motivated not by "let's finally get settled" feelings, though those certainly played a role, but also trying to get ready for a trip that we're going to leave for in about five hours so I'm off to bed right now folks; wish us luck!

xoxo, natty

More {neckless} baby.

xoxo, natty ♥

19 weeks.

Oh goodness this baby is too cute for words...I can hardly stand it!!! Let's see what she's been up to this week.

• Gifting us with up to 12 hours of sleep a night...practically uninterrupted. The worry wart in me doesn't like that she's not eating as much as she used to since she would be up/nursing every couple of hours. But. She's the one sleeping through and the pediatrician said that she's OK for this so we'll see for now. She won't nap on her own during the day, though. Oh well.
• Lots of hilarious screeching and squawking! 
• Really into thumb/finger sucking.
• LOVES her feet. Since her cloth diapers are bulky they prevent her from being able to fully enjoy them so diaper changing is hilarious since she's constantly pulling those toes-ies into her mouth.
• Rolls promptly over to her side very easily but her lower arm keeps her from making it all the way over.
• Thoroughly enjoys being in her "umbrella" stroller {the kind that fold up easily} since she can see the world in front of her.
• Is really into Guinness the dog; she loves to watch what he does and grabs onto his fur. See picture below.
• Has started to enjoy her "Sophie the Giraffe" teething toy.
• Maybe has two little nubs of teeth coming in on the bottom? I can't get her tongue to not be in the way and I can't feel a difference but I thought I saw something last night.
• Really enjoys her bath time.
• Can sit up unassisted for about a second.
• Still doesn't love "tummy time".

We're traveling to Wisconsin for a wedding this weekend; wish us luck!!
xoxo, natty ♥

Around.

Today was spent in and around our apartment...the furthest out we ventured was .66 miles {according to the Google} of a mile to Whole Foods for something that I can't get at Giant {like Safeway} which is only .33 of a mile away.

And...

1. I get to see Fencey this weekend; yippee!!

2. I made THIS salad again tonight; IT IS SO GOOD. Though I skip the brewer's yeast and just use regular old Parmesan. We still feel virtuous in eating an actual kale salad and it's double brownie points since we actually enjoy it.

3. I've kind of gotten back into a book-reading groove. I didn't believe it could happen and it still astounds me that I've read two or three so far this summer.

4. Since I go back to work next month I'm really enjoying these last few weeks of stay-at-home-mom syndrome and part of that is a new mom's group I go to on Wednesdays. It's seriously just an hour and a half of sitting on the floor with babies but oh goodness it's wonderful to get out and be understood/commiserate.

5. I think Mikey and I are ready to break into a bottle of wine that we'd been saving for when we fully move out of our old apartment. Though we could challenge ourselves to not open it until we fully move in to this new place. I'm sure it would become a vintage by then.

What's new for you this week Reader?
xoxo, natty ♥

Buh-gells.

Though we have a bunch of our stuff laying around waiting to be put away, today was nice and leisurely. We started out the day with bagels and Mikey's brother and his girlfriend and ended it with leftovers from last night for dinner.

Not a bad way to end the weekend! Speaking of, the next one we will be in Wisconsin for a wedding of college friends; I'm so excited for baby to meet our pals though sadly not all of them will be there...soon enough!
xoxo, natty ♥

What a difference.

I haven't done much cooking since that baby of ours came into the picture but each time I do it feels SO good; I do love a good meal preparation. Tonight I got a chance to fry a bit in our new kitchen. I don't fry things too often but there are a few dishes that call for this method and tonight we had one of them - buffalo chicken. The difference is that we have a gas stove in our new place and ohmygoodgolly it's fun! The frying went so well; no scorching, burning, or oil that wasn't hot enough. It's so nice to have the temperatures adjust so quickly! It'll be a bummer if/when the next place we live doesn't have a gas stove, though the smell of the gas scares me a bit each and every time.

In other exciting news, we have some possible bagels on tomorrow morning's agenda; yippee skippee!
xoxo, natty ♥

It's Friday?

Today passed in a weird and time-less haze of feeling really crummy {mastitis} and scurrying to clean out our old apartment/trying to rest here and there. All the while with a baby hanging around. Uck.

A temporary solution.

We got home to our real home, not our old home, and I felt like five years had passed since we left this morning. 

But, we're soveryclose to being totally out {will happen tomorrow} and I started on some antibiotics which will hopefully have me feeling better soon.

Have a great weekend folks!

xoxo, natty ♥

Thursday already?

Summer, as always, is just FLYING by. Good think there's still time, we're almost done with our protracted exodus from our old apartment, we have a trip planned for a friend's wedding next weekend, and the days are blessedly long.

Today's agenda included a Spanish singing time at the library and then resting at home since I'm feeling a bit under the weather with what I'm thinking is mastitis (if you don't know what that is, just know it baby-feeding related and isn't fun...think flu-like symptoms). Hopefully tomorrow brings me some feeling better and more settling into our new place {will that EVER end? Probably not...}.
xoxo, natty ♥

Le view.

18 weeks.

Another week flew by so let's see what this baby is up to.

• Seems longer in the past few days; several outfits were found to be a bit short on her which confirms this.
  After a bit of fussing on her own, our dear child slept ten hours. The prior record was a random six once when she was much smaller. She did wake once to eat but I don't count it. Her naps today have been nowhere near as successful but we're ever hopeful {naive?}.
• Has a nice little bedtime routine: bath, story, bottle, {or "bottle, story"} {though she doesn't always finish eating - when she's tired she can be a fussy eater [?]}, bed. 
• Rolled over from her back to her tummy all alone {just right now, actually} but she had been reclining on a pillow so I'm not sure if it is valid.
• Seems to have a bit more hair {goldeny-brown} alluvasudden; but not long enough for clips yet!
• Is still taking a pacifier {as of last week}.
• Loves watching us eat.
• Is drooling a ton...though I think it's just baby drooling and not teething drooling.
• Is very interested in Guinness {the dog...though she did visit her first brewery last week} and loves feeling his fur.
• Is very aware of the other little ones at any group setting.
• Is so very adorable.

xoxo, natty ♥

Concentrate.

It's still summer! Yippee!!! And...
 
1. Today I finally got my act together to get some iced coffee concentrate brewing. Now if I can get myself to strain and chill it before bed tonight...

2. Hanna Lu and I went on a lovely little walk with another mommy/baby duo this morning; there's a fabulous trail here in the SIlver Spring, MD, area - we even saw a deer!

3. Story time is happening tomorrow morning at the library...and I have a couple of books on hold waiting for me...let's hope I can make time to read them.

4. We've got a bunch of good and easy dinners on the agenda this week - nice on the pocketbook too!

5. Some internet TV before bed tonight? OK!

How's your week Reader? Good I hope!!!
xoxo, natty ♥

Hello week!

Ugh so much on our agenda this week but a wonderful weekend under our belts is a good way to get started.

Here's to Monday! {?}

xoxo, natty

Traveling.

Baby had her second metro ride this morning.

 

She looks concerned; though tired she stayed awake the whole ride; the sounds and smells were all new to her since she slept through her first public transportation last weekend.

We arrived safely in DC and took the escalator up to the street and then she slept!

Four months.

Four months has brought some fun times in Baby Hanna’s life {and in the life of her parents!}…we returned to the east coast, moved, spent lots of time with friends, and met many new people. Let’s look at some statistics!

How old: four months

Weight: at her appointment on Monday she was 13 pounds ten ounces {& 25.5 inches long}…this baby is on the slow end of weight gain but has always been consistent; about a pound a month

Likes:

·      Her play mat; she grabs onto the hanging things now and pulls them to her mouth.

·      Facing forward in the stroller; we started using an “umbrella” stroller that is much lighter and more compact than the big jogging stroller/car seat duo we had always used for her.

·      A pacifier! Yippee!! This came after much prodding from mom. I hadn’t wanted our child to like a pacifier but that was before we had a child. It buys us some quiet time here and there {in the car if someone’s next to her to pop it back in when it falls out} and seems to calm down Hanna Lu a bit so that’s Good.

·      Watching mom and dad eat; we put her in the Bumbo seat at meal times and she’s very interested in our actions…we won’t start her on food until closer to six months but I’m hoping this interest is a good sign of a happy food-eater.

·      Holding onto toys, especially soft ones.

·      I let Hanna Lu see/play with a tow we received as a gift that plays music and has lights; this was a big hit. I try to shy away from electronic toys mostly because I have an irrational fear of them turning on on their own ala some horror films. This one has an “off” setting but I’m still uneasy, though the child was very happy. It’s hard plastic so it’s not the easiest for her to manipulate {since it’s not a soft blankey type toy} but she was very content holding onto it and accidentally playing the different songs.

·      Watching people as they talk/have conversations; especially daddy. This is new in the past week or so. Hanna Lu’s always been pretty aware for a tiny baby but she can look super involved in someone else’s conversation, though she’s not adding to them yet. BUT! She does have little “talks” with us where she’ll coo, we reply, and she coos back. This is adorable.

·      She’s into the dog now; she especially likes feeling his fur though we monitor the interactions very carefully {obviously} and really make sure she isn’t grabbing onto/pulling Guinness’ hairs too hard.

·      Library story/singing times; these are a Hanna pleaser. We’ve gone once since returning. She also likes the new moms’ group I go to much more now than before; she’s totally into flirting with people and other babies and I think that’s why.

·      Bath time; she has a foam mat we put in the bathtub and though I thought it would be too thin it’s perfect {& affordable - $5 ish} for her to be able to feel the water all around and kick and splash as much as she wants. Usually she’s tired at bath time so there’s fussing when she gets out {the cold probably doesn’t help} so I try to lotion her up while still holding her, get a diaper and jammies on quick, and swaddle the kid before she gets too worked up.

·      Sitting up; Hanna Lucy loves seeing what’s going on around her.

·      Her new “room”, which is our giant walk-in closet. We decided to stick with a one-bedroom for the time being which isn’t that bad considering how spacious/full of storage this place is compared to our last apartment, and this little closet baby situation actually works quite well for us right now – the door cracked open a bit for air circulation, her white noise machine, the pitch black, and her pack n’ play all seem to work well for sleeping little one…she’s actually taken some decent naps this way, better than any prior, so we’re all happy so far. And she’s still really close to us. We can switch to a two-bedroom in our same apartment building/management group pretty easily when we’re feeling like moving again {never…but not really}.

Dislikes:

·      The car; she screamed {not cried} the whole way to her doctor’s appointment on Monday and was totally chill when we arrived and got out…though the saddest thing I’ve ever seen was when we parked, she was making little whimpers in her sleep and had on her “sad face” {when the lips are turned upside down}.

·      Being cold after her bath.

·      Being left alone for too long; I feel as though she used to be a bit better with “independent play” but she might be feeling a wee off these days or perhaps the precursors of teething are starting which could explain it, or she could be way more into keeping an eye on us, which I’m sure is a phase she’ll grow out of eventually.

Milestones:

·      Moving into her pack n’ play from the bassinet when we got home from our travels.

·      Her four-month vaccines; she had a sad afternoon that we mostly napped through and has seemed OK since then {this was four days ago}.

·      Her first BBQ party with friends.

·      Her first Fourth of July and fireworks; we watched them from afar on our rooftop so she wasn’t really aware.

·      Wearing size two in disposable diapers and three-month or three-to-six month clothes quite comfortably.

·      Sitting in the Bumbo.

·      Taking her baths in the big-person bath-tub; prior to this month it had been sink baths all the way!

Sleep and eat:

·      Eating every one to three hours…as far as how much she eats at a time, she took six ounces in a bottle last night but it’s hard to say how much she takes in when nursing.

·      There’s been some crummy sleep – waking up when we put her down, waking up every hour or two, only sleeping well in bed with us – and we had decided to do some serious training this week but the past few nights she’s been doing quite well on her own in her little closet-crib set up so we’ll see.

·      Napping several times a day; she’s tired right after she wakes up in the morning basically and usually has around two hours of good awake time before a nap is neede.

Miscellaneous:

·      I go back to work on August 18^th, her five-month day…so little girl has one more month of all-mom-all-the-time…let’s make the most of it!!

xoxo, natty ♥

Brews.

We had a low-key day today trying to clean up and organize a bit around here.

The evening took us to a brewery that opened up next to our apartment building right after we moved in {sometime in the last two weeks}. It was lovely to sit outside with some other parents {we met some pals from my new moms' group} and have good beer, though a connoisseur I am certainly not and a wine drinker I prefer to be.

Have a lovely Friday folks!

xoxo, natty

Long dog.

 

xoxo, natty

17 weeks.

17 weeks ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and since then, in the past week she...

***Imagine a cute picture here...our camera's USB cord stopped working sometime in the past week so I'll have to edit this later to include her mug for this week.***

Edited to add:
 

• Had her four-month round of shots yesterday; the little dear turned bright red and screamed. We brought her home for cuddles and napping and by evening all seeme OK and she actually slept better than usual. She has a red welt where she got one shot that will hopefully go away.
• Baby got a clean bill of health at said appointment; yippee!! 
• Tries to hold her bottle but can't because her little arms aren't strong enough {nor does she have the coordination!}}!! 
• Went to story time at the library this morning; this particular story time is geared more towards children a wee bit older but baby Lu was very intrigued listening to the stories and bouncing along to the songs. 
• Had her first BBQ with friends last weekend; we were in Rock Creek Park and it was very muggy! 
• Has met another baby in the building; he's two months older and they're now friends. 
• Took the metro for the first time and slept through the whole trip.
• Went to the National Zoo for the first time {first zoo trip ever}; it was a hot day and baby did quite well.
• Is almost fully moved into her new apartment; this is mostly a milestone for Hanna Lu's parents {& some motivation to get the job done).
• Is continuing to be adorable and our most favorite baby ever.

xoxo, natty ♥

Storms!

More storms here today; I love this beautiful weather!

In other happy news...

1. Our baby got a clean bill of health at her four-month appointment today; yippee!!!

2. That daughter of ours.

3. I still have a full month of time left before I have to put that beautiful baby into daycare.

4. We're hopefully going to get our act together and be out of our old apartment this week. Hopefully.

5. I've been on a roll with delicious salads recently. A far cry from my days of plain spinach, carrot sticks, and broccoli.

What's new and good in your neck of the woods Reader?
xoxo, natty ♥

Wild, Wonderful.

No, we're not in West Virginia - I'm referring to the beautiful thunder storm outside our window. 

Let's hope it helps this heat break - today was gruesome. But! A former student/amiga and I met up for a zoo visit...despite the temperatures we had a wonderful time and even got to see the baby panda, Bao Bao...it was a sleeping ball of fur. By the way, check out the panda cam 24-hour live stream HERE - your tax dollars hard at work {& I say that with complete sincerity; I love stuff like this}.

Thanks, friend, for a great day and Mother Nature for a beautiful storm!
xoxo, natty ♥

TV.

We don't have a TV in our new place but we do have internets and computers = Netflix! But since there's a small human lurching around all over the place who shouldn't be looking at screens, we try not to let her see screens {thank you AAP!}. But sometimes I just wanna watch something mindless. Last night while she slept {& then while we held her looking away} we snuck in the first episode of season two of Orange is the New Black. And it was so funny and good to have some entertainment!

Are there any other tips out there?
xoxo, natty ♥

Cloudy!

Back at our old apartment when our hot water heater stopped heating really well {February}, I noticed it partially because our dishes weren't as clean. Despite being fixed our glasses still didn't look fabulous. Being in a new place with nice hot water and a good powerful dishwasher I had high hopes for cleaner plates and bowls. But our glasses are still cloudy.

I did some research and it could be "etching" which is something that happens when there's soft water and too much detergent or some such thing...and it's permanent but I really hope it's not what happened with our glasses. I soaked a few in a vinegar/baking soda solution and then washed them but they don't look too improved. I've since left one in that solution for  few days now and hope that really makes a difference and then next I'll try Bartender's Friend which is a bit more powerful. Hopefully then all of our Pyrex and glasses won't look crummy.

Anyway, at the end of a boring blog post {since the rest of them are so riveting}, has this happened to anyone? Any suggestions out there?
xoxo, natty ♥

Flavors.

A little bit too convenient to our new locale is an ice cream parlor that boasts Guinness flavored ice cream, amongst others.

Hopefully we won't become too familiar with this place!!
xoxo, natty ♥

Soupy.

xoxo, natty ♥

16 weeks.

We're still moving our way into this new place, one trip/day at a time. So, in more interesting news, let's see this baby!

• Should've noted this a few weeks ago but HL is bringing her hands together {not above picture}. I didn't know but I read in one of my baby updates that this is a developmental milestone; huzzah for progress!!

• Gets lots of kisses from her "brother".

• Actually notices the dog now; prior to leaving for our big trip the baby wasn't showing awareness of G-man but now she stares at him and is quite obviously following him with her eyes. She reacts very patiently to the face and feet "kisses" too.

• We're hearing lots of "g" and "c" sounds, as well as some "ahh"s. She's also making a gurgle sound with the back of her throat - adorable!

• Reaching for things, especially the creatures that dangle from her play mat; she hadn't seen this toy since the end of May and  while she enjoyed it before she definitely loves it now - she grabs on to the toys and pulls them down as far as she can.

• She moved into her new home high in the sky {the 14th floor}. This makes for one district and one state that this child has on her "I've lived there" list.

• A second trip to Ikea.

• Has been very patient with car rides and moving this week; what a trooper.

• Soothed herself to sleep all alone; she did this last night after her bath and lotion and before I swaddled her...I left her on the middle of our bed to go do something for a few minutes and was shocked when this happened...the little booger very cutely sucked on her fingers until dream land. And then we dropped the pint of ice cream we were spooning out of into our silverware drawer. The loud sound startled our little girl and she really needed calming down afterwards but it's cool to know she's capable of this.

• Speaking of sleep, it's been pretty abysmal recently. She won't stay asleep for more than two hours at a time except for a maybe three hour stretch at the start of the night. The start of the night, by the way, is between nine and midnight, though I'm working at getting it earlier and earlier. If I keep the little one with me, on the couch or in bed, then I can get her to sleep almost 12 hours overnight but this lifestyle can't persist once I go back to work next month, nor is it very sustainable so we'll have to see how things pan out.

• Loves her bath time! Though I dropped the water cup tonight and it hit her little tummy; she was very sad and hard to settle down...poor baby and I felt HORRIBLE.

• Had her first Fourth of July. Didn't really notice the fireworks but looked cute in red, white, and blue.

xoxo, natty ♥

Still no internet!

And that's fine by me! A brief list will ensue of what's good around here...

1. Our baby soothed herself to sleep for the FIRST TIME EVER. Then one of us {who shall go unnamed} dropped a pint of Ben & Jerry's into the silverware drawer and she hasn't really calmed down since. 

2. I might get to see my love Fence later this week...depending on our car's repair {nothing marvelous about that}

3. I got out for another run today. I kept it responsible and just did alternating minutes of running/walking for 15 minutes total. It was hot and my legs were heavy but I did it!

4. We love our new place; being up so high {14th floor} is super cool.

5. We also get good sunset views...so nice!

I hope you're well out there in Reader Land!
xoxo, natty ♥

Identity and reclamation and endorphins.

While Federer and the Joker were duking it out on the court this morning I embarked on an adventure - my first run after having the baby. This would also be my first run since early September of last year. I felt so emotional the first few minutes of this run, and surprisingly chipper, that I abandoned my prudent plan of alternating a minute of walking with a minute of running - for about five minutes, then I did a bit of the walk/run. I did 20 minutes total and felt energized, tired, hot, and amazing. I used to be a runner. I used to run fast. I could crank out track workouts and long runs and then go home and make dinner. Now it's a good day if we leave the apartment. I'm ready to get back to me. I recognize it's going to be a different version of old me, what with a child and all, but I'm motivated to get back to my running ways. So much so that I cautiously registered for a marathon that will take place in March...here's for internet accountability and the amazing way 20 minutes of music and running can make me feel.
xoxo, natty ♥

Hello Saturday.

We're attempting to keep it low-key today. Moving is still very much occurring, slowly and painfully I might add, but for baby's sake we're staying out of the car today.

Here's to the weekend!
xoxo, natty ♥

Happy 4th y'all!!!

A year ago we weren't in this country so it's nice to celebrate stateside with some friends...and...GO COLOMBIA!!!
xoxo, natty ♥

Busy bees!

We're still in the throes of moving...in this godforsaken heat and humidity! But I love our new place so it's ok.

Happy holiday weekend!!!

xoxo, natty

Storm from the 14th floor.

15 weeks.

We're back on the east coast and about to embark on some whirlwind moving...how do-able is this with our squirmy little baby? We shall soon know!

Too excited to look at the camera.

• Sticking her tongue out just one side of her mouth and making adorable drooly sounds.
• Drooling more. 
• Loving songs; she quiets down as soon as we start to sing her a song; it's been a lot of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" around these parts.
• We're back home in DC, as of last night, and we'll actually be moving to a new apartment this week; Hanna Lucy's second home!
• More rolling from her back onto her side.
• We went to several story times our last week in Arizona and this baby was a fan. Unfortunately there's only one library in the area that we're moving to that does story time for babies and it's a drive to get there; though I think we'll still schlep out there because I have a goal of getting out of the house once a day. 
• We can't make it tomorrow because we'll be moving but we'll go back to new mom's group starting next week; yea! A lot of the moms we had met are back to work already but there will be some familiar faces.
• And the baby has seem more than her fair share of soccer this week...not that we condone screens for her age, but we have to see these games!!!

#ibelievethatwewillwin

xoxo, natty ♥