Tuesday May 12th 2009

just back from the gym and had a great swim. I have been swimming because my bum knee is back :( but swimming has been so nice although my whole life I thought I could swim, but doing the freestyle correctly is frickin hard! I can't do the breathing correctly and I hyperventilate every time I put my head down lol! I am getting better though.




More huge developments for Marley!!! She is almost 6 months I can't believe it. She got her first two bottom front teeth and they are so cute. She is also (just for the past two nights) sleeping all the way through the night without even waking up to eat in the middle of the night. It couldn't be more perfect because I am barely hangin on with the breastfeeding...my goal is 6 months so 9 more days to go. I was kinda dreading having to make her a bottle in the middle of the night too, but I don't think I will have to know that my little angel is transitioning perfectly!


We went to Tempe this last weekend to see Dean, Sharla, Max and Jack. Marley was the best little girl as usual and did great. She LOVES her cousins so much and OMG do they adore her!! Jack got so attached that he cried for a day after she left :( He is such a sweetheart! He fed her bottles, held her and constantly told her that he loved her and gave her kisses. Made my heart melt. My first mother's day was so great!!
Marley got me a beautiful locket so that I could have her picture on me all the time :) Greg got a necklace, but he is going to make it into a charm bracelet for me...otherwise Marley would probably rip it off or eat it since she loves to chew and tear at anything around my neck.


I swear she said mama on mothers day too!!! I got so many fun cards in the mail, text messages, emails and facebook postings from friends and family acknowledging my first mothers day which was very appreciated. Marge is so thoughtful....she heard me say that I didn't have any pearls when she was here visiting last month and sent me a beautiful set of pearl earrings and a necklace!!! I am very excited to see what mom sent...I haven't got it yet but I am sure it will be very special and she has been so excited for me to get it. Hopefully today.


Tempe was a lot of fun. We got in Thursday night and went straight to Jacksons baseball game. When we got home we ate a late dinner and had a couple drinks. Dean and Sharla had just finished a 30 day cleanse and I barely drink any more so we were doomed to wake up feelin it and we did! That didn't stop us from getting up early though and going for a nice morning walk...me, sharla and marley :) It was 90 degrees by 8 AM which made an iced starbucks halfway through very nice! Sharla and some of her girlfriends had made appointments at noon for reflexology and Sharla paid for mine as a birthday/mothers day present! It was so much fun!


It was me, sharla, and the three Lisas all in the same room for an hour of head to toe massage aaahhhhhhh that was so nice! My the time we got home it was time to get Marley down for her nap and get ready for the big "happy hour" Sharla had planned at the house. SO many people showed up with so much yummy food, drinks and conversation....it was very nice! At about 10 I was ready for bed and Sharla asked if I wanted to sneak off with her to the wine bar down the street. We jumped on a couple of their vintage bicycles and peddled our way there. We ended up at Casey Moores instead which is a very popular bar that we usually end up at. The two of us sat and talked...it was really nice to get that time with Shar!! Midnight rolled around and so I got to be the first to wish her HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Shortly after we headed home.


The next day was breakfast at Macks where Marley sat in her first highchair :) Then we headed next door to Hoodlums (the music store their friends had just opened) where Marley listened to the new Ben Harper CD on headphones, super cute! Then it was back to the house for some pool time. Marley's first time in a pool! It was pretty cold so she wasn't too happy about it at first but she loved it after awhile.

One other first we had this last week....Marley's first swing @ 5 1/2 months and she LOVES this. We have been going every day since :)

Tuesday April 28th - I'M 30 NOW whoo hoo!

Just put Marley down for her morning nap. Oh my gosh, she is growing up so fast all of a sudden. Yesterday was a big day! She is getting her first tooth! And she sat up all by herself with no support and for about 10 minutes before falling over. Poor thing has been teething since about 3 months and last week I even took her to the doctor because she had a fever, diarrhea and was pulling at her ears. All of these were teething symptoms the doctor said but she looked at Marley's gums and said "no teething coming yet"....not even one week later, the first tooth has broken the surface :) We cant really see it too well but we can feel it!















We had a very busy last couple of weeks and a lot more action in the weeks to come! Let's see...there was Marley's first Easter which was fun. I had my first girls night out a couple weeks ago which was super fun. My friend Cate who does stand-up comedy was performing locally so me, Anna, Megan, Tara and Lindsey all went to see her. Greg surprised me with a trip to Catalina Island weekend before last. I just had my 30th birthday! I am SO excited for my 30s and its a great feeling! The trip to Catalina was nice. 40 minute drive to Dana Point and then a nice little boat ride (about an hour and a half) to the island. It was a gorgeous day. On the boat we saw thousands of dolphins which was amazing! Once we got there, we just walked around before checking onto our hotel - the Pavilion Lodge. Avalon is the name of the Harbor/town we stayed in and it's really the only town that people live in on Catalina. It is beautiful there! It reminded me of mixture of Cabo and Spain...the harbor filled with sail boats, the colorful unique houses built into the hillside, the small cobblestone streets lined with artsy stores, eateries and candy stores. We walked all the way across town with Marley in the bjorn (she loves riding in there!) and checked out the museum where we learned all about the history of Catalina. It was actually pretty cool because Greg is a huge Cubs fan and the island was owned by the wrigleys at one point and the Cubs used to train on the island. It was also Marley's first museum :) The weekend was spent walking, eating and drinking with some naps in between. Overall, it was a great weekend.
When we got back I found out Dad and Marge would be coming for a quick surprise visit! They came on Tuesday and left Thursday, but it was nice. They took us to Vigaluccis in Leucadia for my 30th bday dinner. That was nice! The next day we went to Stone for lunch and then they already had to leave. Short but very sweet!
THEN mom surprised me and flew in on Friday night! That was so nice :) I had already had a spa day planned with Sara, Lindsey, Anna and a bunch of other girls for the next day, Saturday my actual birthday so mom, greg and marley stayed home and went to feed the ducks while I headed to the new Sheraton here in Carlsbad. OMG did I have the BEST bday morning ever!! I met Lindsey there at 8:30 and we both got massages at 9. Afterwards we headed out to the pool and jacuzzi with our mamosas. Anna joined us shorty afterwards with a bottle of my fav Almond Champagne :) By noon there were about 10 girls all sitting around the jacuzzi eating and drinking and having really great conversation....it was just perfect!!!!!!!
That night Sara had coordinated a big bday dinner at West Bistro...same table my baby shower was at...that was pretty cool! 3 1/2 hour dinner. So fun, but I had gotten so much sun...I was burnt in more ways than one and crashed when we got home. The next day we slept in, went to breakfast and then spent the day at the Encinitas street fair! I got some yummy new aromatherapy oils, a Bob Marley onesie for Marley that's super cute and mom bought this incredible painting for this adorable older man who was so interesting...we felt like we were dealing with a real van gogh :) I saw the most incredible painting there. I can't stop thinking about it...he had done it with oils and hand carved it with a knife. The texture was unbelievable. I wished I could buy it but couldn't bare to spend the money. We'll see......I really can't stop thinking about it and when I think about the fact that it would be in our family for years to come, to be passed down through the generations...it does make it even that much more appealing.
I don't have much time, but I do want to say that MY HUSBAND IS INCREDIBLE!!! I don't say it enough and this weekend he really, really reminded me of how lucky I am! First of all he watched Marley all day so I could have a girls day and he even cleaned the house, made amazing dinners, took like a billion trips tot he airport and sent me a birthday card from Marley that was so touching I cried. He also told me that he too thinks that our 30s are going to be the best years of our lives and thanked me for being a good mom and giving him Marley. aaawwwwww, that overwhelming feeling of love is unbeatable!

Thursday April 9th, 2009

Marley is working on a big poop right now and it is so cute! She is grunting and pushing and making a bunch of funny faces. Love it! Great intro huh! HAHA. She has been sleeping 8 hours now!!! It's nice but she wakes up much earlier now. When I get home from the gym at about 6:30 she is wide awake talking up a storm in her crib (or in bed with daddy). She is talking so much now! She is just so grown up all of a sudden. Everyone always says that every age is great, but I must say that since she has been about 4 months it has been so much fun! She is so fun to play with and really plays so good on her own. She is still the chillest best baby ever by the way and only cries when she is hungry but even then she has learned to trust that we will feed her and very rarely cries anymore. Okay, so I just went to change her and it was probably her biggest blowout yet OMG! I through away the onesie because it was all up her back...which is crazy because she was sitting up right in her exersaucer. Hate to think about what that one would have been like if she was in her carseat!
Okay back to the fun stuff. Marley had her 4 month check-up a couple weeks ago and she was 25 inches and 14.5 lbs. Her head grew the most...went from 30th percentile to 70th percentile. All brain im sure :) She had to get more shots but this time it was a breeze because I gave her the tylenol before hand! This is something every mom should know to do from day one...what a difference from the first time! The doctor told us that she is ready for solids but we had a dietician come to the house later that day who educated us on the reasons why to wait until 6 months and so we are waiting. Starting them before 6 months can supposedly increase the risk of diabetes, plus it is just best to keep feeding Marley as much breast milk as possible for as long as possible. I have already been having a very hard time making enough milk so if I can just make it to 6 months I will be happy and then we can start her on solids and I can take a break!
Although Marley has mellowed us out a lot, we somehow continue to stay very busy! In these pics is one of our trips to the beach with Chris and Lindsey. Here is a pic of Greg, Scott and Melissa in the San Diego Mud Run...I hurt my knee and couldn't run the race but they are letting me apply my entry fee to the next one is the fall! Here is also a great family pic of Lori, Kayla, Jeff, Nancy, Ryan and us all at Lori's house last weekend for an early Easter! That was a lot of fun. It is nice having some family close by, but it also just makes me realize how much I wish all the other family was close enough to see Marley more often...she is just growing so fast and I feel bad they are missing it. Especially now that she gets a huge smile when she sees a familiar face :)