St. Thomas, Talking, and Easter!

Ok so it's been almost a month again since my last post. I really need to get more consistent, I know. The problem is that you never have enough time. I don't know about you other moms out there, but by the time I get off work, pick up Charlotte, get home and make dinner, I probably only have about an hour to an hour and a half to actually play with my child. Then it's bath time, story time, and night night time. I am worn out by 8:30 p.m. every night! That leaves little time for cleaning (yea dream on), working out (my elliptical is collecting dust in the basement), or blogging (last thing I want to do!) I realize though that if I don't write down what is happening, it's going to be 5 years from now and I'll be quite mad at myself for not recording these memories while they are somewhat fresh in my slightly sleep-deprived mind.

So let me catch you up on what's been going on. Life without Bruiser is still very hard. Sam and I still talk about him all the time, and cry about him just as often. It doesn't take much - seeing a dog that looks like him, getting a card in the mail, or just thinking about how he loved this time of year brings a tear to my eye (well not really because I can't produce tears but my face gets all ugly and screwed up and I hurt inside). We are moving on, but still have big holes in our hearts.

In my despair, I decided a good therapy was to chop my hair off. I don't hate it over two month later, and luckily it's growing out quickly. I don't love it either though. It's just OK. I want my long hair back!


my before and after! long or short, which do you prefer?

CharCat
Charlotte is a joy at this age. Don't get me wrong - there are moments of pure insanity, where I wonder why no one tells you once the baby can walk and then the baby can run all hell breaks loose! I often spend my evenings chasing her down the street, trying to explain to a 20-month old why she can't wander down people's driveways, or why she can't eat a stick. Clearly she wants to have fun, and sometimes mom is the antithesis of fun! She is so smart and clever, she literally repeats every word you say. "Sub, peas, corn, sky, duck, horse, neigh, book..."

So here's what I need to update you on....

Girl's Trip 2015

In late February, my mom, sister, Charlotte and I traveled to the beautiful island of St. Thomas. We had an awesome time, as we always do when it's girls only! This was Charlotte's second girls trip and she truly enjoyed the island, the fresh air, and just being outdoors. She had to get a breathing treatment right before we left, and the doctor said the humidity would do her good, and boy, did it! We stayed at the Ritz Carlton and after a few wrong turns with S-cookie driving on the left hand side (side note: St. Thomas does not believe in street signs or any sort of signage on the island), we finally arrived after a long travel day! (side note #2: direct flights are in my future).

The grounds were beautiful, with a protected marsh in the center featuring iguanas, birds, and lizards. We had mostly great meals, and two not so great meals. The most fun, however, was just being together and being silly - our usual M.O.



Easter 2015

For Easter this year we headed to Washington, DC to spend the weekend at my sister's place. We went to the National Zoo and got to see Bao Bao, had a lovely dinner out with everyone including my sister's boyfriend, Klaus, my best friend, Mal, and of course, my peanut pants. She was the talk of the dinner table, and she ate a few bites of her pizza and ice cream for dinner.





Easter Sunday we went to mass and Charlotte was a very good girl. I only had to get up and leave once for a few minutes during the service. The choir sounded great and the setting was beautiful. It was so nice to be together with the whole family for Easter mass and brunch. Charlotte looked absolutely adorable and got lots of compliments on her dress, courtesy of Grandbirdy!





Charlotte loved exploring around S-cookie's condo, and seeing her MalGal again. It was a wonderful visit and we were all sad to head back.

Spring time
Now that it's spring and the weather is cooperating, we are getting outside more and more. Charlotte loves looking for "airbos" and for "tweet tweets." I would estimate that she can say over 50 words at this point - she is one smart cookie!

I was in New York for work recently, and had to spend three nights away from my girl. It was the longest I've ever been away from her and even though we Skyped each night, I missed my little girl so much. Luckily she was in good hands with daddy.

We got to see Birdy, Haugs, Josh, and the dogs this past weekend when I took her home for a visit. We saw horses, ponies, hens and cats! Haugs even babysat so I could go to a bridal shower Friday night and he had a great time with peanut. We went to Birdy's open house on Sunday, and Charlotte loved running around the huge house!


at Birdy's open house on Sunday

Because I'm Happy
Even when I am sad, Charlotte makes me laugh. She is my light, my joy. Everything pales in comparison to the happiness I feel when I put Charlotte to bed, she looks up at me, waves, and says "night night mama." This is what she did tonight. I just melt. These are the moments that I live for. And these are the moments I hope I remember for the rest of my life.



Until next time...

Spring, Sickness, and More Signs You're a New Mommy

Thank goodness for spring! That was one heck of a winter. Last week I lost my voice and had a horrible cold, then got the flu on the weekend, and then this week got another cold. Luckily my mother in law and Birdy came to the rescue to help with peanut! I am looking forward to green grass, light rains, bunny rabbits jumping around, and pastel colors. And no more winter or random 40 degree temperature drops! Ahh, Spring is such a refreshing time of year!

grandbidy pushing Charlotte in the stroller on a spring day

So what else is going on with us? Charlotte is keeping us quite busy! She's been sitting in her big girl highchair more and more and crawling at the speed of lightning. She also does this thing where she gets up on her knees and rocks back and forth - I think she's prepping herself for standing! Uh oh, might be time to officially baby proof the house and lower the crib. Although if I lower the crib, I have a feeling I'm going to need to get a step stool in order to pick her up/put her down (short mom alert).

We recently had her seven month photos taken at Target and I am so pleased with how they turned out. Here's a sneak peak:

in her tutu outfit from grandbidy at her 7 month photo shoot

She was so good the entire time, and we even made it through 3 outfit changes! I'll share more photos in the coming weeks.

The other day I was pumping gas and had to pay inside (so 1997, right?) and the cashier looked at my ID, looked at me, looked at my ID, and finally said, "Is this really you?"

Which brings me to my next segment, more signs you're a new mommy:

1. Apparently your ID from two years ago will become unrecognizable as the dark circles, 2 inch roots that you haven't had a chance to touch up, and stretch pant wardrobe become your new staples. You'll also want to smack that cashier and anyone else that dare comment on your fading looks.

2. You're finally getting the hang of this mom stuff! When you get the baby to sleep with absolutely zero crying you feel a sense of pride and you want to high five someone.

3. You are overprotective. Majorly. I recently had a little bit of an issue where school didn't give Charlotte her third bottle of the day - even though they said she had. You would have thought I was a wild lioness protecting her cub from a stampede with the look I gave them! We haven't had any problems with bottles since then.

4. Your laundry room looks like a scene from the movie Twister - time for laundry, yeah right?!

5. You accidentally joined Pinterest and have no idea how to quit. Each notification that someone new is following you brings on a chuckle.

6. Your idea of a wild Saturday night involves one Hoegarden and an episode of "Living Alaska."

7. Shopping for clothes for yourself is as painful as trying on a swimsuit. Much easier to pick up some baby items instead.

8. You bond with women now when they notice they're carrying the same breast pump as you. Best 30 second conversations you'll have walking into work!

9. Your patience with the baby can be endless. Your patience for stupidity, especially at the workplace, is nonexistent.

10. You can't believe how fast your baby is growing before your eyes. Everyone said it would fly - and boy, were they right!

Thanks for reading. I am so excited for Charlotte's first Easter (she has a super cute Easter dress too - courtesy of Grandbirdy) that I can't wait to share with you all. Take care and get outside for some fresh air!