First Family Vacation - Seaside Florida

So the week finally arrived ...and has now become an important part of our family history. I guess I could blog in detail about everything we did from Julia's first trip to the beach, to the restaurants, shopping, mid-day margaritas but instead I'm going to blog about what family vacation taught me. Yes, I learned so much about Julia and our amazing family in our six days at the beach.

1. WHO CARES WHAT ALL OF THE BABY BOOKS SAY ABOUT SLEEP AND NAPPING!

Julia has been a crib sleeper since she was 6 months old. Prior to that she was a co-sleeper baby. She takes naps in her cribs and moms are jealous when I disappear for 5 minutes and return with no baby. However, this week we only had the pack and play and Julia is too wild to leave her on a bed unattended so the solution to our problem was daddy's chest...99% of her naps were taken here and about 75% of them began and ended in the same place. Now I will probably find myself a slave to them again when she isn't sleeping at all but for now if she wants to snuggle on daddy and nap on his chest then go ahead. I mean before we know it she will be too cool to snuggle.

2. JULIA IS DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL & HE IS AN AMAZING DADDY.

If the previous picture didn't give it away well here is another one that is proof. Watching Jarred with Julia just fills me in a way I can not describe. I wonder if he feels the same watching me. It's just a love that radiates from him. Yes there are days that I want to throw his computer out the window b/c he isn't giving her full on attention but then this week he was just all about her. I think he probably fell in love with her over and over again. I spend everyday with her and see her do all the silly and wild things she does but this week he finally got to . She's an amazing and unique little girl and I think she has touched his heart in a way that has changed his soul.

3. I'M GETTING MY SEXY BACK...OH AND MY HUSBAND IS UBER WONDERFUL!

Yes it's been a long time but thanks to a fabulous dress shop called Deja-Vu located in the center of Seaside I felt like more than a frumpy mom in my khaki's and v-neck. Maybe I'm not back to prepreggo weight but I'm happy and don't obsess over it. I can flatter this momma body without binkins and super tight dresses. this also reaffirmed that I have an amazing and patient husband who wants me to be happy that he would sit for an hour surrounded by kackling girls while I tried on x amount of dresses and only purchased the one I saw in the window.

                                                 

4. JULIA LOVES LOVES LOVES ANIMALS and BABY and LIFE!

So she adopted Dottie the Daschund at Cracker Barrel then fell in love with Boxer the Dog when we stuffed him Bears on the Beach. Yes they are both stuffed animals but they do bark and Dottie even moves. Then on the beach she tried to chase a bird...those darn legs couldn't crawl fast enough. She goes crazy over dogs/cats/commercials with dogs and cats....so I've made the decision to find her a furry friend. Oh and we can't forget Baby. She's become so nurtuting to Baby and even checks on her when strolling with her. We won't think about all of the things she throws on Baby's head though...her stroller is also her basket to hoarde things.

First day at the beach and trying to make friends.

That's Dottie playing in the sand with Julia. Photos from the shoot with Julia (by me of course) will come later.

5. I AM BLESSED BEYOND WORDS!

This was taken by a lady who was there celebrating her 10 year anniversary. I look forward to the day.

                                      

I will add more images over the week with little snipits behind each story but these are just some of my favorite memories from the week.

Six Words

So as I have shared bits and pieces of my journey into motherhood through this blog, I have found that this is not only a way for me to release my joys, my fears, my milestones, my frustrations, but also an actual journal that other moms can relate to. Some of you have commented on the blog, privately messaged me and those close to me have dialed up my number and we've laughed and cried together. So tonight here is another entry I hope I'm not alone in writing. I hope that these words I type are words other moms feel because if I'm alone in this, I don't want to face that.

Let me preface with I love being a mommy. I love sweet Julia. She is a light in my life that I never knew existed. She has given me more strength in finding my true self than she will ever know. Her sweet giggles are intoxicating to me and her smile is etched in my mind forever. However, and here comes those six words I can be judged in everyway possible for saying -

I need a break from being a mommy.

The constant whining from a teething girl, the crying b/c she's figured out that can sometimes get her what she wants, the not caring what I look like b/c no one sees me behind a baby dressed in pink and bows, the constant waking up (have I even had REM sleep in months), the worrying if I'm doing the right thing to meet her milestones, juggling sippy cups in hopes of finding the right one, the passing of my husband in the hall without exchanging a word due to exhaustion or somewhere to be, the dreading of nap time b/c there are going to be tears shed - by both of us, the yearning for the last 5 lbs to just fall off, the interrruptions in doing what I'm intently doing b/c of a crying baby, never finishing a task....I need a break.

No one but a mom (maybe even a SAHM can only understand it) can understand these words that I shout in private b/c no one else lives and breathes the same thing day in and out. My home is my office and I never leave my office it seems. In the recent Sex in the City movie Charlotte had to hide in the closet b/c it just got to be too much....we have to hide our frustrations in the closet b/c it seems expressing them will only bring us shame. I even feel shameful by saying it.

So I need a break...a weekend away - sans Julia. Maybe even sans the husband. Maybe just me. Maybe a girlfriend to drink martinis with and throw glitter in the air (takes me to a time I put glitter on my body to go out - ahhh memories) .

Julia is 11 months old!

One more month and that tiny little baby girl I brought home on August 2, 2009 will be 1! I've been busy planning her first birthday party while she tears through the house like a hurricane. She's into everything - cabinets, drawers, stairs, baskets, dirt, toilets....if she can get to it she's adventuring into it. She is such an outgoing little lady with such an adventurous spirit. She's starting to teethe so that has turned into a different little girl. She's still an all around happy little girl (on her good days) but on teething days - wow. She can be persistent when she wants you. She's still has her adventurous spirit and at Gymboree I'm still the mom trying to keep up with the little girl who has no interest in sitting in my lap but instead wants to pull out her own parachute or discover a new way to play with something. She's a unique little firecracker and I love it alll....except for the night wakings.

What She's Doing Now:
teething (4 at once)
standing from sitting unassisted

can climb entire set of stairs
recognizes the words open and close
will take 4-6 steps at times
eating mainly adult food
bounces the ball
clapping
responds to music with waving hands and bouncing up and down
3 bottles a day - getting ready to start milk
still no sippy cup success but practicing with straws
puts away blocks and some other toys
watches "Sesame Street" and responds to what she sees

watching Sesame Street - Mr. Noodle you're so funny

shakes head "no" when she doesn't want something
sleep schedule has shifted - waking up middle of night again
cries to get what she wants - it finally began:-()
no longer goes into her crib without a fight