wacky wednesdays

Help me come up with an alliterative phrase for Wednesdays, my seemingly busy day of the week. It never fails that I go grocery shopping and errand running on Wednesday. And I think I bite off more than I can chew.

Yesterday was no exception. We were slipping out the door when Hartley points out there's a box with her name on it. A surprising gift from some sweet girls in Kentucky- Aunt Laurie, Katie and Ally.

They did a great job picking out some flirty summer apparel! I love greens and teals.. and Hartley didn't have any of those colors yet!

Marshall thinks baby shoes are ridiculous. I think they're super cute!! Don't you love 'em!

Back to my workin' it Wednesday. Hartley woke up early from her nap, setting me an hour early from dropping her off with Marshall to do my own thing. I decided to try something new- bring Hartley with me to get my haircut. We nursed before we left and Hartley fell asleep in the car, only to wake up when we got to the salon. She fussed briefly twice- once because she wanted someone to talk to her (and those gossipy ladies at the salon didn't wanna miss out) and when she was getting tired. So- it worked out. I finally got my haircut, and Hartley behaved.

We made a pit stop at Aunt Bec's to nurse again (yes..) and do a nappy change. Then on to more errand running! Hartley always wakes up in the middle of grocery shopping. So I usually have to boogie out, likely forgetting something. Yesterday was tomatoes.

We also needed to run by Josephine's, the fancy baby store in town. We received some gifts that could be monogramed. And they could only be picked on Wednesday after 4:00pm. Meaning we needed to stay in town a little longer.

We passed some time by going to the local new and only strip mall. They've got TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, and Books-a-Million. Pretty good choices.. about the only ones!

And finally on to Josephine's we went. I think I'm becoming monogram happy, or at least somewhat happy. Believe me, I don't go all out and have every piece of clothing (or towel) monogrammed.. but secretly I want more.

We finally got home and had a fussy evening. Hartley nursed for the last time around 7pm and after crying with Daddy she fell asleep. I didn't wake her up to nurse either. She finally decided to eat at 3:30am. About 20 minutes.. and was ready to begin her day at 7:30 this morning. I can handle that! I should have gone to sleep when she did last night!

We are loving our new camera! Diamonds are definitely a girl's best friend. And so are handbags and sandals. Hartley may very well be a girly girl after all. Marshall is going to do his best and get her interested in tools and landscaping. Good luck, Buddy.

Now- on to cleaning our house for the Gurley's!

kiss my grass!!

Our neighborhood, in all its non-hospitality glory, has the sandiest soil ever! Or so we've been told. Since we've lived in our house.. whoa almost a year.. we've had zero success with growing grass. All we can grow are weeds and various shrubs/flowers.. but grass.. no. Big no.

Marshall and I decided a while back that we should just sod the yard. With two dogs that love to dig and kick around dust, it would be safer and easier to lay sod rather than grow grass.

It took 1.5 days to lay the sod.. a few days to prep (I wouldn't know about that part..) but it went pretty easily. Lots of sweat and ants and nursing breaks for me, but it got accomplished.

And.. PRESTO! Instant lawn. We're still waiting for it turn pretty green. Most of it is still brown right now. Boo.

Did I mention Marshall built a brick paver walkway a few weekends ago? He's pretty much amazing. And handsome. And losing his hearing..

Now we just need to put up a hammock, find a good area for a kiddie pool and sandbox, purchase a fire pit or brick pizza oven (whichever one is on sale), and get a cool patio set. We'll be all set for the summer!

Don't you want to come visit us?? Oh yeah, we have a cute baby too!

And.. lots of wildlife. We found out Marshall's bluebirds have made some babies. They look like candy!!

AND!!! A new Canon Rebel.. so expect lots of really nice pictures. For the record: I let Hartley know that I love her more than the camera. She was a little concerned..

discovering herself

After changing Hartley we usually spend a few moments staring at our beauties in the mirror.

She's too cute!

patterns vs. schedules

I opted not to blog about our recent good night, in hopes that a trend would continue. It didn't last, so I'll tell you about it anyway!

Amazingly, Hartley slept from 10pm Saturday night until 7am Sunday morning. No crying, no nursing, nothing! Just sleep! I awoke from a deep sleep around 5:30am stressing out. She hadn't made a peep, something must have been wrong. Mind you, she's been in her nursery the past few nights, so I was extra concerned. So I walked across the house (yes, all the way across the house) and could hear her breathing so deeply from the hallway. She was out!

I went back to bed, relieved. But also excited. So I couldn't go back to sleep for awhile. Argh.

And yesterday she behaved so well! Surely she would have a good night again. Wrong! We got her into her swing around 9pm. Around 11:30, I decided I would give her a dreamfeed (nurse without waking her) to tide her over a few extra hours.

Hartley managed to stay asleep the whole nursing, so I decided to put her in her crib rather than the swing. And she slept.. until 1:30am. And then 4:30am.. and argh.

Rule #14 of being a mom: change one variable at a time.

I changed TWO routines in one night..

1. Dreamfeed. I normally don't do that. I've learned to let her wake me up in the night. I have tried a few dreamfeeds in the past weeks and have realized she doesn't do as well. So, remind me.. no more!!

2. Crib. Yeah, we have the baby that will probably sleep in a swing until she can crawl. It works though. We may run through a bazillion D-cell batteries.. but if it gets her through the night (and us!) then okay!

I have noticed a pattern, though. Instead of Hartley sticking to a 3-hour schedule, she tends to have multiple 2 to 2.5 hours between feedings, then a long 3.5 hour one.. back to cluster feeding.. and then a good night with 1 feeding. I wish it were simpler.

But I'm so glad I have a happy baby that is taking in so much right now! She's practicing her "motorboating" for Hudson so they can have something to talk about when he visits this weekend! And she loves to look at herself in the mirror. I know she doesn't realize it's her yet, but she's so interested in herself. And she loves to stand and bounce! I can't believe how much she is changing!

Now, we just have to figure out to get rid of the lingering cradle cap and dry skin.. and the hair on her ears and back..

quirky quirkster

Hello, Troublemaker..

A few months back I started reading Babywise. For some reason a particular point stuck with me.. and now I know why.

Apparently at 2 months, some babies go through a little phase. Note: some. And our child would be part of that some.

Miss Hartley decides around 5am she wants to play. Forget the usual nursing time.. she decides to be fussy until her diaper is changed, she's unswaddled, and she's laying down in our bed. Then, the fun starts.

Smiling, cooing, eeking, kicking. The other night (or morning) Marshall started talking back to her. "Don't talk to her!" I said with a harsh whisper. We don't want her to make this her wakeup time.

While it's really cute, she stayed up for almost an hour. Just talking. Looking around like she had never seen our bedroom before. And this trend has been continuing into other nursing times. She'll nurse for a few minutes before drawing back with a huge grin. And if I try to make her nurse more she gets so upset! All she wants to do is talk. And kick. And stretch. (I'm 50! 50 years old!)

I put her down for a nap a little bit ago.. and of course.. I hear her talking. [oh, her version of talking is just making noises.. she's not that advanced]

Is she just going through a phase right now? Like she's discovered what's really going on around her? She can't get enough of us and the sights and sounds, I guess. I love it that she's a happy baby.. but this whole playing before nursing thing must stop!

hoppy Easter

My life never goes as planned! I lay/lie awake at night anticipating the next day and how cute Hartley will look in her Easter dress and the adorable pictures we'll take.

She'll behave in church and not choke on mommy's milk or spit up all over Marshall. We'll have a wonderful dinner with family and Hartley will sleep through it all, waiting until we finish to wake up. And when it's time to take those pictures, she'll still be wearing the same outfit and not have changed due to said spit up and she'll be smiling.. not crying..

Can you tell how our Easter went?

Quit smiling.. it's not funny.

We actually got a decent family picture in.. with the beautiful wisteria in the background. I know, everyone is so jealous. It took a few shots. The others include Hartley crying, me looking at her, Marshall looking somewhere, etc. And I did not get a picture with us in front of Hartley's magnolia tree.

I thought this was a sweet picture, though. Hartley with her Mema.

We love it when Daddy gets home (he takes over so I can use the bathroom or eat). Hartley loves talking to him so much. She thought it was hilarious when he faked sneeze for her. Ok.. maybe not hilarious.. but she smiled a lot! She doesn't laugh yet.

Her newest face.. she gets really cross-eyed. It scares me. And she loves sticking out her tongue, especially when we give her kisses. Mmm.

We worked on the yard this past weekend putting down sod. It's not finished, so I can't post any pictures. It looks like a completely different yard already! The dogs love it, too! Stay tuned for the reveal!

no pictures.. just ponders

It's interesting how your body knows what you need.

You're thirsty. That means you need water! Duh.

You're low on iron. That means you eat red meat for a week straight. And you crave it even though you're stomach can't handle it. I could probably count the number of times I desired red meat while I pregnant. Not a lot. But I can't resist it now.

Marshall is really happy about this. Tacos once a week?! Sure! Steak sandwiches, roast beef, gimme gimme gimme!

And since the week before Hartley was born I've been loading up on carbs and fat. Alfredo sauce has become my masterpiece. And part of my second lunch/early dinner. I make it at least twice a week.. normally for lunch because we have to eat steak for dinner!!

I love my body's way of telling me what to eat. Except in the morning. It cries for bananas.. whatev.

_________________________________________

Enough about myself.. I know everyone wants to hear about Hartley.

She had her 2month checkup Tuesday. I have the sweetest baby! She enjoyed talking to her doctor so much. But she spit in the nurses face. Hmm. I wonder why.

We're going the vaccination route, in case you were wondering. They can protect her and those around her. Marshall and I turned out alright, didn't we?? [don't answer that!]

Hartley got very upset and cried. And I cried right with her.

It aggravated me that the office wouldn't let me nurse Hartley while she was receiving her shots. She had to "lay flat on the table." Fortunately I was able to immediately after. And wow! That helped so much. Within a few minutes she was fine and cooing as we were getting checked out.

She got fussy later on, but within 24 hours she was fine.

On a sad and selfish note, I think Hartley loves her Daddy more than me. Either that or she gets really bored looking at me all day.