Happy Birthdays and Big News!!

Well, it's been a while!! I don't remember what my last post was about...it's been that long.

I do know that my little baby girl turned 1 since my last post!! We celebrated on her actual birthday at home and she opened a few gifts, but the big celebration was on April 3rd with tons of friends and family! It was a blast and are so blessed to have so many friends and family that are willing to travel to attend the party. She loved seeing everyone and hunting for Easter eggs and "eating" a little bit of cake and of course opening all of the presents!

We also surprised everyone at the party by announcing Alana is going to be a big sister!! Alan and I found out on February 20th that I am expecting and decided to keep it a secret from absolutely everyone until Alana's birthday party, so we could tell everyone at once. I can't believe we were able to keep it a secret that long, but we did it. My mom even asked me a couple times if I were pregnant because we went to a wedding and I didn't have any wine at the reception! I lied and said I just don't really like wine.....which is not a complete lie. I never have been a huge fan of wine, but I would have tried it if I hadn't been pregnant! Another though person to keep it from was my best friend Michelle. I talk to Michelle almost everyday and she was the only person that knew we were even considering trying to get pregnant. I had to lie just about everyday and just avoid the topic on most days. I lied and said it didn't happen that month and acted like I was trying to be optimistic and keep the faith for the next month, while really I was screaming " I'M PREGNANT" on the inside! lol. Luckily, Michelle was a good sport and didn't mind that I had to blatantly lie to her about it.

I've been extremely lucky with this pregnancy, and have only gotten physically sick one time. I have had lots of days that I haven't felt my best and have been dog tired, but nothing I couldn't handle. Now, I am in my second trimester and hopefully in the clear for morning sickness time. I am just ready to start getting my baby belly bump and find out if we're having a boy or girl! I am hoping for another girl, b/c they will be so close in age and we wouldn't have to change anything about the nursery and I would be able to reuse clothes and save some money that way. I have also been feeling like it's a girl. I actually have a hard time imagining it being anything but a girl...but I'm not sure if that's just b/c I am hoping it's a girl or if it's the motherly instinct and it is indeed a girl. I guess we'll see in a couple weeks! I will be 18 weeks on May 27th...I think... so I will hopefully be able to find out around then.

Other than that exciting news, we have just been enjoying Alana everyday and praying for nice weather everyday so she can play outside. She loves playing outside and it usually makes her one sleepy little girl at night. She is walking now...but still crawling some, b/c it's faster. So she is constantly on the move now! She seems like she is saying or trying to say everything now, too. She is definitely a talker!

Well, I'll try to keep you post on the new baby news!

Surviving Wednesdays!

Well, I survived another Wednesday! Wednesdays are my most dreaded day of the week. Alan leaves for work around 6:30am and doesn't return until around 8pm...sometimes later. So I am on baby duty all day and all night. Which honestly isn't that horrible, it's just very tiring and I find myself counting down the hours until nap time and bed time. Alana is a very good baby and usually plays contently, but just the thought of knowing I have absolutely no help or relief the whole day is daunting. We make it through though. I usually try to plan a grocery trip or some kind of shopping trip on Wednesdays so it passes the time faster. On Thursdays I am always so relieved to have made it through yet another Wednesday! It's some what of an accomplishment, I guess. I did it ! I did it! hehe

Anyway...today is March 25th. That is the day I was due with Alana last year!!! Can you believe it?? My little baby is going to be 1 in exactly one week!!! I know I sure can't believe it. I thought I would be really emotional, but so far I think I'm so stressed out at trying to get everything done for the party, that I really haven't had time to think about her actually turning 1. I think it may hit me on her actual birthday. We aren't planning much for her actual birthday, she doesn't like cake, so I may give her a little bit of ice cream and she will open the presents Alan and I got her, but other than that it's just going to be like every other day. Lots of playing, eating, and one long nap!

Some days I find myself just squeezing her and kissing her over and over again....until she shakes her hands and says " all done " ! She is just so stinkin cute, I just can't help myself sometimes! Now when she sees something she likes she will say " ohhh, wow!!" It really is the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life. She says it a lot...when she picks up her shoes or when we're in the grocery store. She is close to walking, but I don't think she'll make it by her birthday. Oh well....she'll get the hang of it soon enough!

Nap Time!

It seems like everyday I'm living for nap time! Maybe that's horrible to say, but it is the only 2 hours I get to myself until she goes to bed at night. I can finally get lunch, go to the bathroom by myself, make phone calls, read a book.....oh and do that cleaning thing I'm supposed to do! Alana only takes one nap a day....so I have to make my time count.

We have recently started trying to let Alana put herself to sleep at night and now at nap time. I think deep down I knew she could do it on her own but I was holding on to the wanting her to snuggle with me until she fell asleep. But I am letting go. Last night, she had her bottle, snuggled for a nano second and then told daddy night night (waved) and I put her in her crib. To my surprise she didn't cry as soon as I put her down....she just rolled over and got up on her hands to watch me as I turned on her musical seahorse and walked out of the room. NOT A PEEP!! She had a few little cries now and then, but after probably only 5 minutes she was out for the night! Success!

Now today I was determined to tackle the nap...I've tried it in the past but b/c it's light out and in her room I think it's harder for her to understand that it's time to sleep. But I was determined today! She woke up earlier than normal this morning, so I knew she would want to nap a little earlier....but I wanted her to hold off as long as she could. So we had breakfast, played for a little, and then went to the grocery store. She is always a perfect angel at the store. She just sits in the cart and looks around and waves at people and when I go to the deli they always give her a piece of cheese....which she loves and tries to rip from my hand the minute they give it to me! So, we had a successful trip to the store and came home, she had a bottle and then I changed her diaper and let her snuggle for a minute and then put her in her crib. NOT A PEEP!!! I am astonished! I am really not sure who's baby this is! I think someone came and switched an identical looking baby for mine! She just talked and sang herself to sleep. Not a single cry or whine!!

Anyway, that has been my day thus far. I know......exciting stuff !

I guess I should go be productive around the house while I can!

Lazy Days

The past week or so has been filled with lazy day after lazy day. Well, as lazy a day can be with a 10 month old! We fill our days with lots of playing and eating a little bit of cleaning while the babe naps. These are the days I love. I love being a stay at home mom!! It is the best job in the world....I get to be there for every little development, every fall, every cry, every new word and much more! Yes, that also means I am here for ever diaper and ever cranky moment...but I wouldn't have it any other way! She is the love of my life and I just can't imagine a day without her!

Alan and I were talking recently about just how much time we do spend with Alana. It's kinda of crazy when you look back and think about it. I can only count 3 times, in the almost year she has been alive, that Alan or I haven't been with her. The first time was when Alan and I went to a Pittsburgh Pirates game when she was 3 months old. Second time, Alan and I went to see a movie, and the 3rd time Alan and I went to a Christmas party for his work. Each time was equally hard to leave and I dread the next time we do it! lol Maybe that's weird, but I think being a stay at home mom has made me like this. I want that connection and closeness. Alana has never been put to bed by anyone other than Alan or I...she's never been given a bath by anyone else. I take a lot of pride in that! Not that there is anything at all wrong with getting a baby sitter and enjoying time alone with your significant other. I guess Alan and I are just ok with the time we spend alone being the time she is napping or down for the night. I love taking her everywhere we go...and usually if it's a place she can't go just one of us goes or neither of us goes. I'm not saying I will never have a babysitter or go on a date alone with my husband, but I just don't feel like I need it. I only have a little time left with her as a baby and I want to soak it all up.

Alana has been working on getting teeth since around Christmas and just the other day one has finally made some progress. The point to me telling you this is that Alana has had trouble sleeping recently, because of her teeth pushing through. So I have been up with her several nights trying to comfort her and get her back to sleep. I often find myself savoring every second of the snuggle time. Even though it's 1:00 am and I've been up since 7:30 the previous morning, I don't care. I love every snuggle, every hug and every kiss. I love that she is standing in her crib waiting on me in the middle of the night and stops crying and lays her head on my shoulder as soon as I pick her up. I'm really going to miss those moments. I know I have lots of time left with her, but she is growing so fast and next week she may not like snuggling anymore. So, until she wont let me anymore, I will snuggle her tightly and soak up the best feeling in the whole world!

Snow Everywhere!

Well we did get the big snow! I doubted it all week, but sure enough, it really came. It looks like we're supposed to get another 6-10 inches tomorrow, on top of the already 19 inches we got this weekend. I'm not really sure what to think about all that snow. It really doesn't affect my life too much, considering I mostly stay inside with Alana anyway. It's just been too cold to take a baby out lately. Don't get me wrong, I do take her to the store or to walk at the mall if the temperature ever gets above 30....but it's been a while. Alana loves the cold weather though. She thinks it is really funny when the wind blows in her face...she just giggles and giggles.

Alan and I spent most of Saturday taking turns shoveling the walkway and then Alan shoveled the driveway. Needless to say, we are both sore from all the shoveling! Alana got out and "played" in the snow a little. She loved it! I have a feeling next winter I'm not going to be able to keep her inside as much as I have this winter. She is proving to be just like her Daddy and love to play in the snow. I can't wait until she can walk around in the snow with little snow boots, next year.

Speaking of walking, I have a feeling she will be walking before her Birthday! She is becoming so brave lately...she barely holds on when she pulls herself up and has started trying to stand a little on her own. If you hold her fingers she will move her legs and walk like that. She is also becoming quite the climber. For the past couple weeks Alan and I have noticed that she will try to step on toys in her pack n play to get higher. Then yesterday, I moved her pack n play in the kitchen while i was cooking and she tried to climb our to reach my purse that was hanging on the chair! She made pretty good progress too! It's just amazing how fast she is growing and developing!!

Time's Flying!

It's been about 4 months since I updated last....I've been a slacker! My friend Michelle recently started a blog and it inspired me to be a better blogger! I read a lot of blogs, but I never feel like anyone would want to read what I have to say like I like to read what other people have to say. Everyone else's blogs seem so fluent and much more put together...but oh well, this is me!

My beautiful baby girl is 10 Months old today!!! I cannot believe it. She is going to be 1 before I know it. That makes me want to cry...literally. I'm not sure if i'll be able to make it through her birthday without sobbing. When they are itty bitty and first born you can't wait for them to develop and grow and be able to do things... and don't get me wrong, I still want her to do new things, but I just wish she could do the new things and still want to do the old things!

I want her to want to be cradled like a baby without squirming to be put down...

I want her to still breastfeed ! ( I know maybe this is a weird thing...especially if you've never had a baby or you've never breastfed...but I really miss the closeness and the feeling that I am the only person that can feed her.)

I want her to still sleep in her bassinet by my bed...

I want her to still fit in those little newborn night gowns...

But on the other hand...she does all these new and wonderful things that brighten my day in other ways!

She now crawls like a pro...

She waves...

She giggles...a lot!...

She says "Momma"...

She says "Dada"...

She pulls herself up to anything and everything...

She pets Cooper...

She says "Baby" when she sees a picture of a baby or herself...

She says "All Done" when she is done eating or when she wants you to hurry up and be done changing her diaper!...

She says "Book"...

She loves to be read to...

I really could go on and on and on! These are just a few I could think of that have already brightened my day and it's not even noon!

Alana's really loves all books, but her favorite book is definitely 5 Little Ladybugs.

She loves to look at it by herself and babble and she will bring it over to you and sit on your lap and just wait for you to read it to her! And don't think you're going to get to read it just once...when you are done the first time she opens it back up for you and waits for you to read it again. Sometimes she says something that could be "again", but it may just be a coincidence. We set a new record this weekend with reading it 5 times in a row...and she probably would have gone longer if I wouldn't have distracted her with another toy.

So that is me... My whole world revolves around one little girl! Sorry Alan, but I know I'm number 2 to you too! ;0)

I'm going to try to update at least once a week....but an hopeful to be able to update more, but let's not get ahead of ourselves!

Hopefully I didn't bore everyone to death!!