The Vanilla Bean

Tiny Prints - It's Christmas Card Season!

2011-11-09T15:28:00.000-08:00

This year has been flying by! My lack of posts recently has been due to our crazy and hectic schedule. I have been applying for jobs right and left, and going on lots of interviews. Nothing has panned out yet but I have a good feeling that it will very soon! I've been so caught up in the craziness of life lately that I feel like I haven't gotten much of anything accomplished on my personal to-do list. Now that the weather has cooled off though, I'm really starting to feel the excitement of the holidays and I'm ready slow down a bit and work on some fun holiday projects.

One thing about the holidays that always seems to slip my mind until the last minute is Christmas cards. After all, I really don't even start to send them or receive them until mid-December. Now that I am a mom though, it's not as easy as just running to the store, grabbing a box of cards, and quickly popping them in the mail. No, now we have to think about what kind of photos we want to use, where we are going to take those photos, decide where we are going to order the cards from, getting them designed and ordered, and finally getting them signed once the card order comes in the mail. Whew! By the time you factor in all that time, you really need to start thinking about it months in advance!

This year I knew for sure that I wanted to do a professional family photo. We haven't had pro photos of the 3 of us since Sam was a tiny newborn, and I really wanted some photos for the family album and for Christmas cards. Thankfully my friend Tessa of Grin and Share It Photography is an amazing photographer, and she announced that she would be doing photo shoots this fall. I quickly snagged one of her sessions so that we would be sure to have some awesome photos this Christmas. I can't even begin to explain how goofy excited I was over this photo session. I put so much thought into trying to pick the perfect outfits for us all! In the end, it was really quite simple and I can't wait to see how all the photos came out.

On to the next step: where to get cards printed? Over the past several years I have noticed that a LOT of the cards and invitations I receive from friends are from a company called Tiny Prints. I never really had occasion to use them, but it was a name that stuck in my head. When I attended BlogHer a few months ago, I was fortunate enough to sit in on a panel that included Jessica Rosenberg, who was the Social Media Marketing Associate at Tiny Prints, and I decided then and there that I had to give them a try. I have been looking at their site and I am blown away by the adorable Christmas card designs that they have! The site is so easy to navigate. There are filters on the left hand side of the page that make it easy to narrow down the selections. And boy oh boy are there some CUTE choices.

Now comes the design selection. It is so hard to narrow it down to just one! Since we haven't seen all of our photos yet I'm not quite sure which design will work best with our family photo. I have an idea of what they are going to look like though, so I found a few cards that I think are gorgeous. Take a look at these:

Cute, right?! I can't wait to see which photo we choose so I can see how it looks on these adorable cards. Which Tiny Prints Christmas card would you choose? Tiny Prints also offers holiday address labels and holiday party invitations so you can easily coordinate all of your holiday mailings.

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Once Christmas cards start coming in, the hard part begins. Where on earth am I going to display them all?! In the past we've always put them up on our mantle and then they end up overflowing onto the entertainment center nearby.

Well, now we don't have the entertainment center anymore and the mantle is already full of decorations. I am thinking about maybe displaying them somehow on this empty beam between our living and dining rooms. Any suggestions on how to hang them there so they look nice and uncluttered?

All this Christmas card talk has me excited for the holidays now. I can't wait to see all the cute cards my friends and family send out! How will you be preparing for Christmas?

This post was sponsored by Tiny Prints. I will be receiving complimentary Christmas cards in exchange for my post.

A one-stop shop for kids' Halloween costumes! Costume Discounters Review

2011-10-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

When I was little, I never really got a chance to go trick-or-treating. However, we did often attend some fun Halloween events or Harvest Parties, and dressing up in costume was always very exciting for me. Most years we just threw together an outfit by picking and choosing things out of our family costume box. I remember dressing as a hobo one year, and another year I came up with something strange that my dad called "Admiral Bird." No matter what you dress up as, there's just something exciting about dressing up in a fun costume and seeing yourself through different eyes!

Halloween has always been a fun time for Mike and I. When we were first dating we hosted some of the greatest Halloween parties ever, and I always handmade our costumes. Over the years I've gotten busier and busier and less and less creative. Last year we didn't do too bad with our Popeye family costumes, but this year I have just had a creative block, and I was struggling with costume ideas. I needed a little inspiration! Not only do I have to come up with ideas for Mike and I, but now I need to come up with a super cute little girl costume.

Enter Costume Discounters with their amazing selection of infant Halloween costumes. I was blown away by the cuteness! They have so many adorable infant and toddler costumes, and everything is very reasonably priced. I had such a hard time choosing a costume for Sam! Here are some of my favorites:

Flower Garden Gnome

Honey Bee

Dorothy

Now, I'm not going to tell you just yet which costume I chose for Sam, because if you know me, I like to maintain a little bit of mystery. Let me just tell you, she LOVES her new costume and she looks absolutely adorable in it! After seeing Sam in her cute new costume, Mike and I came up with some fun costume ideas of our own. We just needed that extra costume inspiration from Costume Discounters!

I received the costume just about a week after I placed the order, and it was in excellent condition. Halloween costumes never seem to be top quality unless they are 100% handmade, but this costume is in great shape and it definitely is the same quality of costume you find in the Halloween stores. And - bonus! - I didn't have to pick through everything on the shelves, hoping to find one in the right size. I was able to do it all from the comfort of my own home.

We are very excited about taking Sam out for her first trick-or-treating adventure. Her Pappy will be in town from Ohio, just to be able to taker her out trick-or-treating. I can't wait to see the cuteness! Since this is actually my first time trick-or-treating too, I can't help but be a little paranoid about safety. Trick-or-treating is meant to be fun, so I was happy to come across these Halloween safety tips to keep you and your little ones safe this coming Halloween. A few of the tips that stand out most to me are:

1) Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.
2) Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat.
3) Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats unless you know the cook well.
4) Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you.

Above all, have FUN, and make some great memories this Halloween. And take some great photos!!!

Growing Pains

2011-10-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

You may (or may not) have noticed that I haven't posted in a while. Life has really gotten in the way of blogging, and I suppose that's the way it should be, rather than vice versa. I am still working on making the changes necessary to start my new blog but it's not my top priority right now. I've realized that I need to focus on finding a job and spending time with my sweet Sam. Once the job is taken care of though, I'll get back on track with starting my new improved blog. (And I'm glad I've had a bit of time to think about it, because I've changed my plan a bit!) In the meantime, I've got a couple of fun reviews to do for you, and I definitely owe Sam a couple of birthday monthday letters. The rest of the giveaways and surprises up my sleeve will have to wait until my new blog gets started. Until then, enjoy these backdated posts I'm about to share with you...

Seventeen Months

2011-10-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Sammy,

You are now 17 months old - just one month away from a year and a half. How time flies! I used to feel like you were so much younger than all my friends' babies, and now I feel like you've caught up. You are learning so fast! You haven't really gotten any bigger, but you blow my mind with the amount of words you're learning. You talk so well now that we can carry on conversations with you. I feel like I know a secret language, being able to understand almost everything you say to me. I love knowing all the little things you do, like saying "h" instead of "s" for words that begin with an "s", and tacking the "s" onto the end instead.

You are becoming so coordinated now. You don't just walk, but you run. You love to go "fast", and you will say it over and over again as you run down the hall, or as we drive on the highway. You like to twirl when you dance, and I'm pretty sure you enjoy getting dizzy. You are SUCH a little monkey. You climb up on the small retaining wall in the back yard and use it as the balance beam. And now you climb up to the higher and higher levels. You almost give Mommy a heart attack when you climb up into the garden 5 feet off the ground! You are always climbing up into the planters and pulling on the plants, trying to help Mommy with her garden. The couch has become your jungle gym, and now you climb on the back of the couch and behind the back cushions. We just rearranged your bedroom, and we had to be very careful to arrange things so that you can't climb onto the top of your new bookshelf!

You have been spending a lot of time with your friends lately, and it's so cute to hear you say their names. You finally learned how to say your own name, and once you figured it out, you say it all the time. You were folding clothes with Mommy, and you picked up a pair of Daddy's jeans and you said "Daddy". Then you picked up a pair of your jeans and you said "Ham." Now you point to yourself or something that belongs to you quite often and say "Ham." It's so very adorable. :)

You are very interested in colors now. We go to the gym several times a week, and ever since the babysitter let you color a picture, that is all you want to do when you play at the Kids Club. As soon as we walk in, you say "Color", and you are completely happy as long as they give you paper and crayons. You are very good at your colors now. You almost always get it right, and you are especially good at yellow, purple, blue, and white.

You finally got your 7th tooth - it broke through on Daddy's birthday! You have really been struggling with sleeping at night so I think you probably have more working their way up, but for now you have 4 on top and 3 on the bottom. It's a very cute look for you.

You are very good with body parts now, too. You know eyes, nose, mouth, ears, face, head, shoulders, knees, feet, and toes (and Mom's boobs) and you like to point them out all the time. You are especially affectionate now and you give the sweetest hugs and kisses, especially before bed time. When you give hugs, you sigh and say "ahhhh". It makes Mommy so very happy. :)

One more month and you'll hit the next big milestone! Every day is a new adventure with you. I still love you more and more every day, and I can't wait to see what you do next. I love you more than anything!

Love,
Mommy

Our P&G box from BlogHer finally arrived!

2011-09-13T16:12:00.001-07:00

We are all super excited to check out the goods!

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Sixteen Months

2011-09-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Samantha,

One hand in the snack bowl...always!

You turned 16 months while we were in Ohio visiting family. You had SUCH a wonderful time! Pappy started off the visit right by introducing you to a gigantic teddy bear named Timothy. You warmed right up to him and had a great time with Timothy and Pappy. We had one VERY hot day in Ohio, and you spent it in the baby pool, the sandbox, and the swing at Pappy's house. The rest of our visit was cool and rainy, but you didn't mind. Grammy bought you all kinds of fun toys, and you got to meet a bunch of your second cousins who were thrilled to play with you. Grammy really helped you to learn your colors, and you learned more and more words while were on vacation.

Earlier this month, your Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Silas, Uncle Kevin, and Aunt Joanna came to visit you. You and I went to surprise them by meeting them at Disneyland! You had SO much fun at Disneyland. You could have ridden the carousels all day long. You also really liked It's A Small World and Mickey's house in Toon Town. It was so much spending the day with you and watching you enjoy all the new experiences at Disney. You got to see your first parade, and you loved all the floats and characters with bright colors and wild dances. You were very excited to have Uncle Kevin come back and stay with us for the night! The next day you got to go to the beach with everyone, and your uncles buried you in the sand. You thought it was hilarious, and wanted to be buried again and again!

This past month you have just been focusing on developing all of the skills you've already learned. You say new words every day, and you get better and better at walking, running, and climbing all the time. You are such a social little girl!

The football season started this month, and Mommy and Daddy are proud that you have already learned to say "football" and "touchdown" (along with the arm gesture!). You love to wear your Chargers jersey on football day!

It's hard to believe you are getting close to a year and a half already. You are such a fun little girl, and we love you VERY much!

Love,
Mommy

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T14:08:00.001-07:00

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My New Healthy Meal Plan: Dream Dinners

2011-08-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

I love to cook. How about you? How many nights a week do you cook a real, home-cooked meal? Sadly, I don't get to cook as much as I used to, but I found something that really helps. And I love it so much that I feel compelled to tell you about it!

As some of you may remember, this used to be a cooking blog way back in the day when I first started blogging. I eventually got over the whole food blogging thing, but I didn't stop cooking. On the contrary - my cooking was so delicious that we didn't want to wait to have to take a photo before we ate the meal. And then afterward I was in such a delightful food coma that I didn't feel like writing about it.

But back to the subject. I really do love to cook. I always cooked dinner at home 5-7 nights a week every week all the way up until my water broke. (I even cooked dinner that night, but some of the meal got burnt on the stove since I waddled away so suddenly and left it to burn. Oops.) Now that I am a mom, I still love to cook but I find it quite difficult to find the time. When Sam was a newborn I hardly cooked at all. I occasionally reheated meals that I had prepared and frozen before her birth but most of the time Mike would grill or we'd get food from somewhere else. I just found it hard to put her down or to time her feedings so that I could cook AND eat. When I did cook, I always ended up having to nurse Sam as soon as my dinner was ready. Oh, the many nights I nursed and ate at the same time! (She ended up with food on her little head more than once, I have to admit...)

Now that Sam is a little older, dinner time has become the so-called "witching hour." Sam wants attention while I'm cooking and she gets underfoot and whines and cries the whole time. I started resorting to what I think of as "cheating" for meals. I bought frozen pizzas, frozen skillet meals, threw together grilled chicken and Rice a Roni, and other unhealthy short cuts. Mike and I are NOT accustomed to eating like this, and I want Sam to grow up eating fresh, healthy, clean meals. Something needed to change.

About two years ago I heard about a company called Dream Dinners. I knew it was a place where you could prepare multiple meals at once for future consumption, but I didn't really know anything else about the company. At the time I just wasn't at a place where I needed it - I cooked elaborate meals at home almost every night, and I was loving it! However, as I neared the end of my pregnancy, I started thinking about it again and realized that I would really like to have some meals prepared in advance to have for dinner once we had a newborn in the house. I briefly looked into Dream Dinners but I was a little overwhelmed by the minimum order. (You have to order 36 servings (12 meals) and I just wasn't quite that committed to it.) I ended up doing Once A Month Cooking and cooked for two days straight to prepare meals. (I blogged about it, if you'd like to see my notes.)

Since that time, I was still curious about Dream Dinners, but again, I was always deterred by the minimum order. When I saw them come up on a Buy With Me daily deal a couple of months ago I jumped on it! The deal was $25 for $50 worth of food, and there was no minimum. Coincidentally, right after I bought the deal my friend Meagan set a bunch of us girls up with a free cooking session at Dream Dinners. Lucky me - within a week I was able to attend TWO Dream Dinners cooking sessions, and I brought home 5 meals for my freezer. And I only spent $25! I knew that I was very interested in going back on a regular basis, but I wanted to taste the food first and see how it worked for my family.

We LOVED it. We all enjoyed all 5 of the meals, and I loved how easy it was to prepare them. I simply pull a meal out of the freezer the night before or the morning of, and I put it together at dinner time. I love that it's quick and easy because everything is already chopped and measured and combined into a couple simple steps. All I have to do is throw a couple of mixed ingredients together and bake or saute them. I also love that I still feel like I cooked dinner. Unlike a frozen prepared meal from the store, I actually put all the ingredients together at my cooking session so not only do I know exactly what is in my food, I also have control over how much seasoning, spice, etc. I put into it. And I don't just dump a bag into a pan, I still get to mix a couple of things together so I feel like I am still an active participant in preparing my meal. I now have more time to hang out with Sammy, and we all get a delicious, healthy dinner.

I've been going to Dream Dinners for 2 months now, and we have yet to come across a meal that we don't like. Each month they have a new menu so I get to look it over and select the meals that sound like something my family would like. They also have the calorie information on the menu so I am able to choose healthy options for us. Their meals come in two options: either 3 servings or 6 servings. (I found this a little odd, but it actually works well - Sam eats as much of one serving as she wants, and then Mike and I end up with a little over 1 serving each. And if she doesn't eat much, we have an extra serving for lunch leftovers the next day.) I started out getting the minimum 12 meals (36 servings), but I think I'm going to increase it next time. We've been eating Dream Dinners about 4 nights a week now so I think I'm going to go for 16 meals this time.

Dream Dinners is really quite affordable, too. It ends up being about $4-$6 a meal. If you are used to eating on a cheap ramen budget then yes, it's a little pricey. But if you are accustomed to eating a fancy home-cooked meal every night anyway like Mike and I were, it ends up costing just about the same with a lot less preparation and effort. Now I go to Dream Dinners once a month for most of our main dishes (and a few sides) and I go to the grocery store just for produce, breakfast/lunch dishes, and non-food items. Unlike my marathon 2-day Once a Month Cooking experience, my Dream Dinners session lasts about 30-45 minutes, depending on what and how many dinners I've chosen. Everything is chopped, sliced, and laid out for me, so I just measure it and put it all together! They also have a sample prepared meal on hand for tasting so I never go hungry while putting together my dinners.

I really feel like I've found a good thing. If you've ever considered Dream Dinners at all, I highly recommend checking them out! If you prefer the taste of a home-cooked meal but only have time for minimal effort and preparation time, then this is definitely for you. If you are interested and feel like sharing the love, let me know and I'll send you a referral email. If you sign up, then I'll get a $10 referral credit, which I would greatly appreciate. (And then you can sign up too and earn referral money of your own!) Also, if you're new, they are running a promotion where you get your first meal free! Otherwise, just visit www.dreamdinners.com, browse the current month's menu, then go to the calendar to select your session date. It's so easy and fun. I can hardly wait til my next session in a couple of weeks!

Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored or endorsed by Dream Dinners in any way. The opinions in this post are entirely my own.

Fun With the Water Table

2011-08-29T15:10:00.001-07:00

Looks like we're going to need some dry shirts!

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$10 for FIVE Coffee Drinks at Lush from Plum District today!

2011-08-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

I've always been a fan of small businesses rather than large corporations, and when it comes to things like coffee and tea I feel no differently. Starbucks is great: it's convenient - it's everywhere - but you just can't beat a good local coffee shop.

When I first discovered Lush Coffee and Tea I was hooked immediately. I love their fun bright green color, their cute design, and their super friendly baristas. And when I tasted their delicious organic coffees? SOLD. Now I go to Lush every opportunity I get! My personal favorite is the Green Tea Lushie.

I am super excited to announce that Lush is running a deal with Plum District today!!! Please be sure to go buy your deal today - only $10 for a 5-drink punch card! That comes out to only $2 a drink. Such an awesome deal for a delicious Caramel Macchiato or Chai Latte! And when you stop by the Lush coffee cart, be sure to say hi to Sonya and tell her Alanna sent you.

Cheers!

McDonald's: I'm Not Lovin' It. Have the golden arches really changed?

2011-08-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

I quit eating at McDonald's when I was 19. (I also refuse to shop at WalMart, but that's an entirely different post all together.) I didn't have much reason at the time other than the fact that I felt nauseous every time I ate there. When I was a teenager several of my friends worked there - I even worked there myself for a whole 2 weeks. I used to like going to McDonald's to visit my friends. At some point though, I realized the effects of eating Mickey D's food. On top of that, I was really concerned about watching my weight so I was trying to be careful not to eat too much bad food.

Even as a small child I was very particular about what was okay to eat at McDonald's and what wasn't. I once ate a chicken nugget and bit into a piece of gristle. I never again touched another McNugget. I got to the point where all I would eat is a plain hamburger. I always ordered it plain so I knew it was cooked fresh for me rather than sitting under a heat lamp for an hour.

Several years later, in 2004, the documentary Super Size Me came out, and all my complaints about McDonald's food were confirmed. Not only was I correct in believing that the food wasn't healthy and it was therefore making me feel ill, there was a lot more wrong with it: the massive size portions, the overall unhealthiness of the food, and the lack of alternative healthy options. Around this time I was attending San Diego State University. I took a writing class in which we had to watch Super Size Me and write a research paper on the topic. For this paper, I also read Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation and through all my research I became thoroughly disgusted with fast food in general. To this day I still cringe at the thought of eating at most fast food burger joints other than In-N-Out. On occasion I will still stop at a Carl's Jr or Jack in the Box if I'm on the road and need a meal, but McDonald's has always remained the one place that I absolutely refuse to stop at.

Which brings me to the new conundrum I am facing. Over the past couple of years I have become vaguely aware of McDonald's trying to change their image. I try to avoid all things Mickey D's so I haven't paid too much attention, but when I was at BlogHer a couple weeks ago McDonald's was a very present sponsor of the conference. Not only did they have a booth at the expo but they also were the big sponsor of Saturday nights' CheeseburgHer party. (Yes, I did partake in eating a McDonald's cheeseburger. And for the record, I was not impressed at all, although I did not feel sick afterward.)

I know that McDonald's has been pushing their coffee drinks in recent years but I don't really drink caffeine anymore, and when I do I'd rather go to Starbucks or my favorite local coffee shop (I love you, Lush!). At BlogHer, McDonald's reps were handing out samples of their new Pineapple Mango smoothies. Over the past few months I have become a huge smoothie fan but I kept shying away from the samples at BlogHer just because I knew they were from McDonald's. I finally decided to give in and give one a try though. The smoothie was good - it tasted like a smoothie should, and I hope that it was at least somewhat healthy. While I was at the booth I picked up a fruit and yogurt snack container and grabbed some literature.

It got me wondering. Has McDonald's REALLY changed? I see their new offerings such as smoothies and apple slices, and my first thought is "Whatever...they are still the same old company that disgusts me. This is too little, too late." But now I am starting to think "Maybe they really HAVE changed and I am just being closed-minded. Maybe I should give them another chance."

McDonald's really does seem to be changing their image. They are saying that they are "committed to supporting families and championing children's well-being". Their new Happy Meals will automatically come with apple slices and the new kids' fry containers are tiny. They are pushing their meals for 600 calories or less. They are now offering oatmeal for breakfast. They say their meals cover all the food groups.

But still I'm skeptical. My feelings on this are that yes, putting apples in the kids' meals is great. But what about the other food in the meal? Are the burgers any different and any healthier than they used to be? Or are they still greasy and processed? Meals that are under 600 calories are great (although I try to keep my meals closer to the 300-400 calorie range), but I wonder what kind of nutrition is actually in those 600 calories. Do they now have whole grain wheat buns? Because the one I ate at BlogHer was still a processed white bun.

I know for sure that I won't be taking Sam to McDonald's on a regular basis. My parents were careful to feed us healthy food while we were young, and now that I'm older I really appreciate that. So while I know I definitely won't be making fast food a common thing in our household, we do make the occasional infrequent drive-through visit. Now I'm wondering if my bias against McDonald's is unfounded. I'm really torn. Should I stick with my resolution to avoid McDonald's at all costs? Or do I open my mind and give them a chance?

What do you think? I would love to hear your input.

We all need a little change sometimes.

2011-08-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling the need for change for quite some time now, but I didn't really know what or when or why. After attending BlogHer, I gained a lot of insight and inspiration for how to make changes to my blog. Some are just things I want to do, others are things that I need to do. I'm not quite sure where I'm going yet, or how I want to get there, but one big thing I learned from BlogHer was that if I don't have a goal, make one up. Work towards that goal, and then reevaluate in a few months. So here I am, inventing a goal and slowly taking steps towards it.

You will be seeing some changes around here in the coming months. Changes that will probably happen very slowly, since I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to them right now, but I am determined to make something special out of this blog! Be on the lookout for a new name, a new look, and a new home. I hope you will stick with me through it all!

Already Feeling Like a BlogHer Pro: Day Two

2011-08-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

It's funny how one day can make such a difference. Friday morning I was such a stress case, totally lost and confused and worried about every little detail. Saturday morning was so different. I woke up feeling more relaxed, and actually took the time to sit down with my morning coffee before getting myself dressed and ready to head to BlogHer Day 2. (Part of this was due to the fact that everything kicked off an hour later than Friday - thank you, BlogHer!!!) I was much less concerned with what I was wearing and just threw on a comfortable outfit. I leisurely headed down to the convention center and strolled into the breakfast hall. After quickly finishing my breakfast, I ran back down to the Expo to get more ~~shopping~~ networking done.

I was really hoping the sessions on Saturday would be better since I hadn't been too impressed with Friday's sessions. I was starting to worry that I'd get home and have to report to Mike that I didn't really learn anything from this $300 conference. I was thrilled to find that the morning got off to a great start. For one thing, I didn't have a flash mob on the brain, and even more importantly, the first session I attended was a good one. I went to "Your Blog Can Make You a Social Media Marketer". This one was really applicable to me since I've been working with Social Media Marketing recently and I'm in the process of building my SM skills so that I can get more clients as a Virtual Assistant. I did feel that some of the information was a bit remedial - not everyone in the room even knew what SEO was, or how to use Twitter, so I had to bear with it for a while, but I did get some good bits of knowledge from the session. Elisa Page is great - I always love to hear what she has to say!

Lunch was another quick affair and again I headed back to the Expo and sponsor lounges after eating. (Yes, I wanted all the swag I could get, but I also was very interested in making some great contacts for blog partnerships.) The next thing I knew, it was already time to head back to sessions! Next up on the agenda? "Putting the 'Professional' in Professional Blogging." This was BY FAR the best session of BlogHer 2011. Amy Lupold Bair was very funny and entertaining as moderator, and I loved hearing what the panel had to say. Within the first 15 minutes I felt like I had gotten my money's worth. (That's $300, folks! This was a GOOD session.) The room was packed, and I filled page after page of notes. I haven't felt so inspired to blog in years. I don't know quite where I'm going with my blog and career yet, but now I feel like I have a starting point. I can't wait to sit down and go through all my notes and put together a plan for myself. I now feel like I have enough knowledge to start making something of myself, and I can't wait!

My last session of the day was "How to Create a Kick-A$$ Proposal". I liked it - it was good - but it really only answered the bare minimum of the questions I had, and I felt like it wasn't really quite what I was expecting. I am completely new to proposal writing so I was hoping for a step-by-step breakdown of what a proposal looks like and how to put it together. Instead it was more of listening to an established ad agency talk about their great ideas and how they share them with companies. We got to see what a BAD proposal looks like, and then we got to see what a good one looks like. I did find this helpful, so even though I don't know how to actually come up with creative ideas for a proposal and how to put them together, at least I now know what one is supposed to look like.

Once out of the sessions, feeling totally fulfilled like I was on a high, I headed (yes, you guessed it...) back to the expo. Time to hit up all the final sponsors and try to grab some last minute goods before it all came to a close. I am still so floored by how generous all the BlogHer sponsors were. I came home with toys for Sam, food and medicine for all of us, coupons galore, and enough reusable bags that I should be shot if I ever use another plastic grocery bag. I found some awesome companies that I am looking forward to working with on my blog, companies that will be a great fit for Stuff Parents Need, and information about products that will be very useful to me and my family. I ended up with 6 bags full of goodies. I added up the value of everything, and it came in at well over the amount I spent on my BlogHer ticket. Absolutely amazing.

Last (but certainly not least!) on the BlogHer agenda was more partying. I was fortunate enough to meet with several of the local San Diego bloggers for dinner at the Melting Pot. It's so nice to be able to network with other local women who have so much in common with me. After dinner I was planning to head to the Plum District sponsored party, the Secret Style Suite, and my boss, Michelle, ended up meeting us at the Melting Pot and hooked several of my friends up with party passes. To make things even more amazing, she picked us all up in a limo and took us to the Hard Rock Hotel for the party. Way to go, Plum District!!! The party was hosted by Savvy Sassy Moms and Moms Fashion File. The hosts and all the sponsors for this party went ALL out. There was gelato and cocktails provided by Ciao Bella, a drawing for some beautiful baby gear from Stokke, hair feathering by Detour Salon, and more. It was so much fun to party in style and feel young and carefree again. After the party several of us just weren't ready to call it quits, so we headed back to the hotel for the last BlogHer sponsored party, CheeseburgHer. We made the mandatory paper bag hats, ate a cheeseburger, and snapped some photos. Now that was a party! It was SO much better than Sparklecorn the night before. The crowd was great, the atmosphere was awesome, and I am pretty sure everyone was having an amazing time. My only regret is that we didn't get a photo on the cheeseburger bed!

So, my recap of day two? Much better than day one, and worth the price tag of the conference:
Workshops: Excellent - especially the one on Professional Blogging!!!
Networking: still great - I met some really great people that I hope to maintain friendships with!
Expo: worth every $$$ I spent on BlogHer
Sponsored Parties: awesome all around - I ate free all weekend, drank free all weekend, made some great connections, and felt fabulous and special.
BlogHer Parties: CheeseburgHer is a must-attend - even if you don't like McDonalds.

Thoughts on My First BlogHer Experience: Day One

2011-08-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was so amazing for me, I hardly know where to begin. For one thing, it was such a last minute decision for me to go that the few days leading up to BlogHer were a complete blur. I went from being totally relaxed about my week to suddenly rushing around like a madwoman trying to coordinate babysitters, get last-minute business cards printed (thanks, Laura at Vertical Printing & Graphics!) choose which workshops I wanted to attend, and oh yes, trying to get on the guest list for the must-attend parties. I had no idea what I was getting into, so thankfully I have good friends that were able to steer me in the right direction!

Friday morning was completely overwhelming for me. I got downtown and right off the bat I couldn't figure out where I was supposed to park. I kept seeing women in skirts everywhere and was suddenly afraid I was under-dressed. I was totally stressed out that I was going to be in line for hours trying to register, and I would miss breakfast. It turns out my fears were totally unfounded. I parked under the convention center just fine, and while I was frantically on the phone with my friend Dani trying to figure out which door I was supposed to go in, I saw the registration counter right in front of my face. I was registered in all of 5 minutes with my hands already full with my first swag bag. On my way in, I ran into some fellow San Diego bloggers (where I snapped a couple photos for the #SDBlogHunt - more on that later!) and was happy to find that San Diego girls like to dress casual. I was right at home in my jeans and tank top! I headed up the escalator to breakfast, where yet again I was overwhelmed. There were women EVERYWHERE. I had a 2-second panic attack when I couldn't reach my friends by phone, but I quickly found them, got myself a plate of free food, and got comfortable. Within a few moments I had been introduced to several local women, and things were going okay.

As soon as I finished eating, I followed the crowd into the morning keynote session. We heard about how influential woman bloggers are now, and that the majority of people take their advice from us. The keynote was followed by speed dating, which I found extremely awkward. We formed into several circles and briefly met the blogger in front of us, exchanged business cards, and moved on. It was interesting, but I really didn't feel like I connected with anyone. It was such a broad audience that no one in my circle happened to have much in common with me. It was an interesting experience, but I cut out early. I think I'll skip speed dating next year. I'd rather make my connections in smaller circles in the sessions I attend with like-minded bloggers.

The first session I attended was one I had really been looking forward to, but unfortunately I was disappointed. The workshop was called "Leveraging Your Blog to Build E-Products For Sale." Mike and I have been talking about opening a web store for months now, so I was really excited to learn more about getting that going, and to find out what kind of products my readers would be interested in. I quickly found that this workshop was all about how to create and sell an e-book online. Not what I was looking for at all. So, I headed out and gave the "Bad Blogger Pitches" workshop a try. It was okay, but I think that since I came in late, I was a little lost and therefore not fully understanding the discussion. There may have also been something else on my mind....(#mobher #operationglory) So, I decided to check out the expo for a while. HOLY MOLY. More on the expo later.

After the expo, once my arms and shoulders were aching from the weight of all my swag, I headed to lunch. I walked into the lunch room, and by this point, my entire body was shaky, my stomach was swirling, and I was nervous as all hell. Why? I was about to participate in my very first FLASH MOB. About 100 or so of us were about to get crazy on the lunchroom floor and break out into dance to Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory." I had been practicing for several days, but honestly I do NOT do well with choreography. I was sooo nervous. Halfway through my meal the music started, and the girls began to dance. By the time it was my turn to join in I was ready, but I was surprised to find that I was still shaking for a good 30 minutes afterwards! But it was so worth it - the girls of #operationglory ROCKED it. Everyone did awesome, and we had a huge audience and everyone loved it. I am so honored to have been a part of it! I can't wait until Sam is old enough to understand that her mom participated in a Flash Mob.

After lunch I felt like I had my head on straight again - no more flash mob taking over my thoughts. I headed into the "Connecting With Brands From the Inside Out" session. It was okay, but again I just didn't really feel like it was really what I was looking for. For my last session of the day I attended "Peer Networking." It was good, but a bit remedial. I was hoping for something a bit more advanced, as most of the Twitter, Facebook, and SEO info was stuff that I have already researched on my own.

I think the highlight of my day so far was the Expo. I cannot believe how much stuff was in there! Thank goodness I had a friend to walk around with for my first trip or I would have been totally lost. Every type of business you can imagine, from PepsiCo to Lowes, to Skinny Cow to Chuck E Cheese, to Hillshire Farms to Snapfish was there. And every single one of them was giving out free swag. I entered to win giveaways, gave vendors my contact info, and filled my bags with goodies. I barely scratched the surface on day one and already my bags were full. I got fake eyelashes installed at the Skinny Cow booth, snagged some cash at the RetailMeNot money grab, and posed with the Charmin bear in front of a gigantic toilet. I also filmed a Febreze commercial and discovered that I would NOT make a good spokesperson for them. Obviously my super-powered sniffing abilities have lingered after my pregnancy.

During the afternoon I was able to meet one of my online friends, fellow blogger Emily from Baby Dickey. It was so nice to actually put a face to a name! She is just as sweet in person as I imagined she would be. I scored some great swag from her and the girls and also ended up winning a drawing for some Vedette Shapewear!

After the last session of the day, I headed over to the Cheap Sally party at Stingaree - one of the awesome parties I was fortunate enough to get on the list for! The crew at Cheap Sally really went all out for us - we had free drinks, free food (and it was delicious! tacos, pasta, BBQ, mmm...), music, and more swag. I also made some really great connections with sponsors at the party, some of which I can't wait to get in touch with!

After Cheap Sally I headed back to check out the #SparkleCorn party. It was, let's just say, weird. I totally felt like I was at some awkward wedding reception in a hotel ballroom. With glowing necklaces everywhere. Maybe I was just there too early, but it was just not comfortable. They were only serving pretzels and hot dogs, and plus, it was only 8:45 and I was so tired I felt like it was already midnight. (That right there may be the bulk of the problem!) I left before I had a chance to participate in the #operationglory encore, but I heard that it was really the only interesting part of the party anyway. So, I don't feel too bad.

So, here's my breakdown of Day 1:
Keynote: so-so
Speed Dating: not worth my time
Flash Mob: AWESOME
Workshops: not quite what I was expecting
Networking: great - I met some really great people along the way
Expo: so much fun - there is really something for everyone, and the sponsors are SO generous!
Sponsored Parties: a fun and relaxing way to end a long day, while still doing some great networking
BlogHer Parties: only worth going to if you're not super exhausted

I'm back from BlogHer 2011! #blogher11

2011-08-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to attend BlogHer 2011. I learned so much, met so many great people, and had so many fun experiences that I'm going to have to write a detailed post (or two or three!) about it. But for now, I'll give you a couple quick highlights:

1) I participated in my very first Flash Mob. Yes, really!!! Go #operationglory!
2) I learned that I would NOT be a very good spokesperson for Febreze.
3) I got to put faces to names and see some pretty famous bloggers.
4) I got to ride to the Plum District-sponsored party in a limo. (Where I unknowingly got to grab my friend's butt. Oops!)
5) I ate a cheeseburger at midnight while wearing a fast food bag on my head.
6) I was able to network and build friendships with some awesome local (and not so local) bloggers!

As soon as I get myself a bit more organized (you would be horrified at the stack of papers, flyers, business cards, photos, etc on my desk and piles and piles of swag on my floor!) I will be back with a couple of posts for you detailing my BlogHer experience.

I'm already excited for next year!

Fifteen Months

2011-08-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Samantha,

You are now 15 months old. Time is really flying! This past month you have been learning so much. It seems like every day you surprise us with a new word! We attended a 1st birthday for one of your friends, and when it came time to cut the cake, you got very excited and said "take!" I had no idea you even knew the word, so it was pretty cool to see that not only did you know the word, but you knew that cake always comes after singing "Happy Birthday".

You are getting to be quite the little monkey these days, too. You started out by just climbing onto the fireplace, but now you climb on chairs (and you fell once, too - that was scary!), and you climb from the end table onto the back of the couch. The other day you were outside with Daddy while he was working, and he was shocked to find that you had climbed all the way to the top of the rock wall on the hill in the backyard! You have figured out how to move things around to make steps for yourself. You like to take Mommy's trash can, lay it on its side, and put it in front of the bookshelf so you can use it as a step to get to the higher shelves. What will you think of next?!

You have been doing much better about sleeping through the night again. For almost month you were dealing with some teething pain, and you were waking up several times a night, which has been rough on Mommy and Daddy. Thankfully the past week or so you've only been waking up once, or sometimes not at all. Those canine teeth still haven't pushed their way through yet, but we can see that they are very close now.

You have also started saying "no" now. It's pretty cute for now, though I'm sure it will start trying our patience soon enough! You say it more like "nah" as in "Can I give you a kiss, Sammy?" "Nah, nah, nah." We have started giving you time outs now when you get into the cat food. Hopefully it will help you understand what no really means!

You are truly adorable, and I love you with all my heart. You are the sweetest little girl I have ever known, and you make my world go 'round. I love watching you grow!

Love,
Mommy

Stats:
Height - 30" (36%)
Weight - 21 1/2 lbs (29%)
Head Circumference - 45 1/2" (48%)

It honestly can't get any cuter than this.

2011-08-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

How to Discipline a Toddler: What is age appropriate?

2011-08-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

We are now getting to the phase with Sam where she is acting like a toddler. A terrible-twos-type-toddler. I know she understands the meaning of "no",yet there are many times when I will tell her to stop doing something and she will just stare at me and continue to do it, blatantly defying me. And other times, I have to take something away from her, and she will throw a full-on tantrum. It usually doesn't last long, and she'll finish with a smile and sweetly say "hi" (which is just adorable!), but still. These tantrums are getting more and more frequent. What is appropriate to do for a toddler at this age? Should I put her in her room? Should I give her a time-out? Should I just wait it out?

It's so amazing to see how human nature just kicks in at such a young age. Today I could hear her pushing buttons on the printer. When I walked in the room she quickly stepped away, put her hands up by her shoulders and said (as best as she can) "I didn't do it!" I didn't teach her that one, I swear!

Sometimes it's hard to be consistent with rules because she can just be so cute and charming, but I also don't want her to grow up to be a bad kid. How do you handle situations like these? How do you enforce the rules with a 15-month old? I don't know how much she understands, and what will really make her understand that Mommy and Daddy are in charge and no means no.

What are your discipline tips for toddlers?

Help a Newbie Prepare for BlogHer '11! #blogher11

2011-08-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

I first heard about BlogHer two years ago, when I was blogging and tweeting under a secret alias. (Still secret, just in case I ever decide to go back to it. ;)) I got all caught up in the BlogHer frenzy, and couldn't wait for the next one so I could join in the fun of Sparklecorn and Cheeseburgher while hanging out with all my blogger BFFs. Well, when BlogHer '10 rolled around, I was so busy with my newborn daughter that the whole thing slipped by under my radar, pretty much completely unnoticed.

Fast forward to BlogHer '11. It's pretty much in my backyard, folks. BlogHer '11 is in here in beautiful San Diego. I knew it was going to be here months ago, but I really just pushed it to the backburner, assuming I wouldn't be able to afford it. Then, just the other day, I talked to Mike about it and he said YES! this is definitely something I should attend. Not only will it be extremely helpful to me in my job as a Virtual Media Assistant, it will be great for personal networking for my job with Plum District. Not to mention help for my own personal blog, the great Vanilla Bean!

I'm sure that some of you are thinking "What? BlogHer? What are you talking about?" I thought the same thing 2 years ago. Let me clue you in to the awesomeness. First of all, BlogHer is a network for bloggers - specifically women bloggers. It's full of wonderful resources for bloggers. The BlogHer conference is 3 days of workshops, networking and having fun with other bloggers. I can hardly wait to discover what else it is all about!

I've already put together my list of sessions that I'd like to attend and I've confirmed my spot on the guest list for a few parties. Beyond that, I'm kind of at a loss for what to plan on! Since I'm such a latecomer to this game, I feel like I'm a little too late to get in on anything special. So I'd like to ask BlogHer veterans what I should expect! Do I need to book my schedule with back-to-back special events, like some other girls are doing? Or should I just stick with my 3 sessions a day and few events at night and just go with the flow the rest of the time? What goes on on Thursday? Will I miss out if I don't show up till Friday? I hear there is an Expo. What exactly is it? When should I go? Is sooner better than later? And will I be so busy that I won't have a chance to leave the Convention Center?

I would love to hear your BlogHer experiences and read any advice that you might have for a newbie!

Hullabaloo Arts Festival Ticket GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-07-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

Since music has always been very important to both Mike and I, we really wanted Samantha to have a strong foundation in music. I took her to her first music class when she was just 4 months old, and we constantly have music playing in the house. I try to expose her to as many different types of music as possible, and we love to dance around the house. The girl's got rhythm! She loves to dance anytime she hears something with a fast beat to it. She's also got some skills when it comes to playing the guitar. I think she just might have a career in music someday!

One thing I really like to do with her is to take her to see live music. Anytime I hear that there is a kids' band playing, I do my best to get her there. When she was just small she enjoyed listening and watching other kids dance. Now that she is (very) mobile, she loves to dance and jump and bounce to the music. One of our favorite local kids' bands is Hullabaloo. Steve and Brendan have written some great songs that are very catchy and fun to sing along with. We have one of his CDs and can't wait to get more! I find myself singing these songs around the house, and Sam always starts dancing when I play the CD for her.

Coming up on September 18th, Hullabaloo is putting together the Hullabaloo Family Arts Festival at the Bernardo Winery in Rancho Bernardo, CA. First of all, I LOVE the Bernardo Winery - some of you may recall that Mike and I got married there! It's not only a great place for wine tasting, but it's also a great outdoor venue for festivals like this. There will be live music, art, dance, and storytelling, and local businesses will be there with some great goodies.

Tickets to this event are $5 each, but right now Plum District has a great deal for a Family 4-Pack of tickets for only $10 - that's 50% off! You should definitely take advantage of this opportunity to get your tickets. It's going to be a great family fun event!
http://www.plumdistrict.com/moms/discount/san-diego-east-south/tickets-and-events-deals/hullabaloo-family-arts-festival-10-for-family-four-pack-to-the-hullabaloo-family--FuVdiX

But it gets even better: One lucky reader will win a 4-Pack of tickets for FREE!!! All you have to do to win is visit the Hullabaloo Art Fest website and come back and leave me a comment, telling me which part of the festival you are most excited about.
1) For one bonus entry, Tweet about this giveaway and come back and leave me another comment.
2) For a second bonus entry, "Like" The Vanilla Bean on Facebook, then come back and leave me a comment.
Giveaway ends at 11:59pm on August 13th.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Plum District. They are giving me a 4-pack of tickets for sharing this deal with my readers!

Go visit my guest post today!

2011-07-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

I wrote a guest post today for the SDMOMfia. Go check it out, and leave some comment love. And while you're there, browse a while and read some of the other great articles and info they have! Love these ladies. <3

http://sdmomfia.com/2011/07/a-day-at-the-races-with-the-kids/

Sammy loves her yogurt!

2011-07-26T08:44:00.001-07:00

She's been at this cup for at least 15-20 minutes, trying to get every last drop. It was all I could do to get her to pause and "cheese" for me!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

Family Fun Day at the Del Mar Races! #dmtc #bgsd

2011-07-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

Today we spent a great day of fun in the sun at the Del Mar Races. Heading to the track has been a tradition of ours for many years now, and it's been especially in the past few years since we lived in Del Mar for a while and learned all the local secrets. ;) Now that we have Sam, we want to continue our fun experiences at the races!

Family Fun Day was the perfect day to go and let Sam have some fun with the ponies. Thanks to Katie at Bailey Gardiner, we scored a pair of free passes and special seating in the Infield Pavilion, special for mom bloggers. It was perfect! We were able to sit in the shade while watching the races on the screens and we had our own betting section that wasn't busy at all. We had so much space and were able to relax while Sam ran around and had fun.

We started the day by taking a look at the horses in the paddock. It was Sam's first time seeing a real horse, so she was very excited. One of them even snorted as it walked past her, and she found that to be very amusing. After watching one race, we headed over to the Pavilion and got settled. It was great to be around so many other family bloggers with young kids! Mike and I got to chat with some cool parents and Sam made friends with a couple of adorable little twins - the wonderful family behind The Twin Set. Between races, we got to chat with new friends, play with Sam, and even pose for a photo op with Pony Boy.

After we played a few races, we headed infield for some good old family fun. Sam went on her first pony ride, and enjoyed it so much that she went back for a second turn! She was very serious about it, and had a lot to say as we walked around the ring. We did get a few big smiles out of her though! She also spent lots of time in the bounce house and at the park with Daddy while Mommy waited in the pony line. We all came home a little pink from the sun (well, Sam just got tanner), exhausted, and very happy.

I can hardly wait for next time! Thanks again to Bailey Gardiner and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club for another wonderful day at the track.

Secret Shopping - A great way to earn some extra cash!

2011-07-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

As most of my readers probably know, I'm always looking for a way to earn extra cash while still being able to stay home with Samantha. I've found one great way to earn a little is to be a secret shopper. I don't earn a whole lot, but I do get free meals and some spare pocket change - enough for lunches with the girls or a new pair of shoes every now and then. And, the more you shop, the more you earn!

Right now, one of the companies I shop for, Market Force, is looking for new secret shoppers. If you sign up as a shopper and complete a shop by August 15th, I earn some extra cash too. It's a win-win for both of us! It really doesn't take much time - just enough to go out to lunch and evaluate the restaurant incognito (20-30 minutes), and then another 20-30 minutes to fill in your report. I highly recommend signing up and giving it a try. You'll get reimbursed for your meal and then get another $5-$10 on top of that. It's like getting paid to eat a free meal! It's totally legit - I've been shopping for them since Sam was a newborn, and I always get paid right on time.

Here's my referral link: https://www.applymarketforce.com/index.aspx?source=16&referralID=894315 (You must use this link for us to get the credit for the referral.) I'd be thrilled if you could join me as an Undercover Secret Shopper Agent!

Fourteen Months

2011-07-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Samantha,
You are now 14 months old! Time goes so fast now. It is amazing to see how much you are learning, and so quickly. Your vocabulary grows every day, and you try to repeat as many words as you can. Here are just a few of the words you say:
Dad - Da or Dad
Mom - Mom or Ma or Momomom
Cat - ta or tat (sounds kind of like "tsat")
Strawberry - ba-berry(r's not really pronounced)
Ball - baw
Dog - do
Woof - oof
Lunch - ch
Breakfast - st
Cheese - chz
Book - boo
Pizza - tsa
Kisses - tiss or tisses
Rabbit - wabbih

Right around 13 months you started sleeping through the night pretty much every night. Last week we had your Great Aunt Darla stay with us for a week, and you were so excited to have someone to play with, you didn't want to go to bed or stay in bed, so you relapsed a little into waking once or twice a night, but slowly you are getting back to your usual schedule. Bedtime is a little later now, around 7:30 or 8, although these past couple of weeks you've have several 9-9:30 nights. Summer is just so exciting!

Mommy just started a new job, so we don't get out to play with your friends as much as we used to. It's always a special treat for you though, and you get SO excited to see other kids your age! You love to play with other little kids (and their cool toys). Your friend Sean came over the other night, and you were practically beside yourself with delight. We're going to have to make sure to let you have at least one playdate each week!

You LOVE music now. You have improved your dancing skills, and instead of squatting up and down, you now run in circles, wobble your head, and wave your arms around. You have some pretty impressive moves. You like to dance to music that is upbeat. You also love to sing along to softer, pretty music, especially music with female vocals. You are quite good at playing Daddy's guitar, too. I wouldn't be surprised if you end up being a great musician! You seem to have natural talent.

Another big development this month was that you are no longer nursing. Your last day of breastfeeding was 6/10/11, just a few days after your 13-month birthday. It took us a few weeks to get to this point, but once we started working on it, you adapted quickly. Now you love to drink your milk out of your sippy cup with a straw!

You have started to develop quite an attitude lately. You "talk" back sometimes, and you definitely let us know when you don't like something. You like to splash in the toilets now, so we have to keep them locked up, and we have to keep the cat food up since you continually get into it (and try to eat it) even after we tell you to stop. You definitely have a strong will, and sometimes you can get pretty annoying with all your whining, especially in the evenings. Most of the day though you are very happy and a joy to be around.

This month was an eventful one. Besides Aunt Dar's visit, the fair was also in town, and then we had the 4th of July celebration. We went to the fair 5 times, and you loved it every time. Going to the fair at night was very exciting for you! You loved all the lights, and we went on a couple of kiddie rides and the big Ferris Wheel. You loved the rides in the Kidzone. You rode with Mommy on a bumblebee ride that went up and down and around and around. You loved riding on the carousel with Mommy and Daddy! Aunt Dar also won you several stuffed animals, which was something really cool that Mommy and Daddy aren't so good at. One of your favorite things at the fair was seeing the animals. You knew about rabbits, since your Alice in Wonderland-themed bedroom is full of white rabbits. But you didn't quite get what they actually were until you saw the rabbit exhibit at the fair. You got to see dozens and dozens of real bunny rabbits, and you even got to touch one. You were SO excited when you finally realized what a real live rabbit is! You also enjoyed petting the goats and looking at the chickens. The cows and some of the uglier sheep were a bit intimidating for you.

The 4th of July weekend was incredibly fun. On Saturday we went to the beach and then had friends over in the evening. You got SO dirty at the beach, I couldn't even see your body through all the sand! On Sunday we went to a pool party BBQ at our friends' house. You still love the pool, and you floated and kicked and splashed and jumped for hours. On Monday the 4th, we spent the day at the fair and then went to the fireworks here in town. You ran all over the park grass, watching other people and enjoying all their glowing necklaces and wands. We bought you some glow necklaces of your own, and you blew your own mind with a great light show. As soon as the fireworks started, you plopped down in Daddy's lap, eyes as big as saucers as you watched the show. You were so amazed as you pointed the fireworks out to me, talking about them throughout the show. After the finale you clapped and clapped with everyone else. You had a huge grin on your face as we walked back to the car, where you quickly fell asleep for the ride home. It was such a fun weekend for us all!

I can't wait for this next month as you continue to build your vocabulary and motor skills. You are running and climbing and even starting to jump now, and you are quite a handful. You bring so much joy to my life every single day. I love you so much!

Love,
Mommy

Trying to Balance My Life as a WAHM

2011-07-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Some of you (at least I hope at least one person pays attention to my blog...) may have noticed that I have been EXTREMELY lacking in keeping up with my blog lately. Sorry about that.

I have been so insanely busy lately. I feel like life is going so fast right now that I just can't keep up with it! What's going on, you might ask? One MAJOR change: I am now a Work-At-Home-Mom! Hooray...I am finally working and making an income. So far it's slow-going, but I think that in the next couple months it will really help out our finances so we can actually do fun things and maybe even take a vacation again. It will be so nice to not have to seriously stress out each month when bills are due.

So, what am I doing? I actually have two great jobs that I'm very excited about. For my first job, I am working as a Virtual Assistant for an awesome blogger. Her blog is called Stuff Parents Need, and she has some really great articles and reviews, as well as awesome giveaways almost every day. I highly recommend following her blog and entering some of these great giveaways! So far I am loving this job. I already knew quite a bit about blogging and social media, but I'm learning more and more about things like SEO and promotional tools every day. It's very exciting!

My other new job is also very exciting. I am working as a District Consultant for Plum District. If you haven't heard of us yet, you really should sign up. (You may have noticed my post the other day.) Plum District is such a great company! We are a daily deal site that is specifically geared towards moms and local communities. I'm already loving it, and I can't wait to get my first deal. If you know of anyone who owns a business and would like some help with promoting it, let me know!

So now, back to why I am such a stress ball right now. Working even just a few hours a day is so much harder than I thought! I work while Sam naps, and I work for about an hour while she plays. And then somehow, it's already time for dinner! I have no idea how the day got so short. It started out pretty intense since I have been trying to get all my files, notes, etc. organized, and right during this transition period, we had a house guest staying with us. And then after that was the 4th of July holiday! I'm still trying to come up with a set schedule for when I work, and when I play with Sam. I would like to make one day a week where I just do fun things with Sam, and don't sit in my office working. I'm also hiring a babysitter one day a week so I can get work done outside of the house. I know everything will come together soon, but for now I am eating, breathing, and dreaming work. It's crazy, but it's exciting. Not to diminish the importance of my role as "Mom", but I really do feel like I have a purpose again. A reason to get dressed every day and something to talk about when I meet people!

Until I get my schedule sorted out, you will probably notice that my blog posts are a bit sparse. But hopefully I'll be able to find time for that soon, too! I'll leave you with the obligatory photo of Sam. Here she is, "cheesing" for the camera at the fireworks show last night! (Those of you who know me well may already recognize this face...)

Like saving money? I do!!! You must check this out.

2011-06-30T15:45:00.001-07:00

If you haven't already ventured over to Plum District, you've got to check it out! Plum District is a daily deal site geared towards smart, savvy moms. Each day, Plum District sends members a deal that relates to them and their busy lives – everything from spa treatments and restaurants to family outings and kids' activities. Plum District is unique in that it is solely focused on moms and deals are sourced by moms that will make their lives easier or more enjoyable.

There will be some great family deals for summer coming up in July. It's really worth significant up for!
https://www.plumdistrict.com/?ref=u1f802e14a9f
Alanna

Sam's new educational toy.

2011-06-16T12:42:00.001-07:00

Nothing's better than a box!

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Adventures in Weaning: Or, How Sam Got Off the Boob

2011-06-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

You may remember a couple months ago when I posted about my experiences with breastfeeding, and some of the struggles I was having with weaning. I have some good news to update:

Sam is officially weaned!!!

Want to know how we did it? It was hard. You may remember the difficulties I had with cutting her off from the naptime nursing sessions. Up until that time, we were slowly easing into the weaning, cutting back one meal at a time and replacing it with the sippy cup. Once we got to the nap situation though, it was a problem since it was a comfort thing for her, not a meal. I finally had to just buckle down and get it over with though. Her teeth were so painful, I could hardly stand to have her latch on anymore. Especially since she wasn't really nursing anymore, she was really just using me as a pacifier. Ouch.

Week one, we cut out the afternoon nap nursing. That one wasn't so bad, since probably 3-4 days out of the week she naps in the car while we're out in the afternoons and wasn't nursing to sleep anyway. That week went fairly well. She did cry and try to go for the boob when I rocked her to sleep, but we got through it okay.

Week two was the WORST. We always do morning nap at home, and she had a really strong association between breastfeeding and napping in the mornings. I had to just pin her down in my arms while she flailed and screamed and flopped, trying to get at my boobs. It probably only lasted a couple minutes, but it felt like forever. But eventually she'd calm down and fall asleep in my arms.

Week three - at this point, we were down to just early morning nursing and bedtime nursing. Mike has been putting her to bed most nights, so I really wasn't even nursing her to sleep most nights anyway. Whenever I put her to bed though, I would nurse her. I decided that we would drop the nighttime nursing first, since the early morning was convenient for me - we would bring her in bed with us so I could nurse her, and I'd get an extra hour or so of sleep. ;) This went fairly well. Mike put her to bed almost that entire week, so it wasn't until the last couple of days that I had to try putting her to bed without nursing. It was no problem at all! She was already so accustomed to going to sleep without me that she didn't mind at all when I didn't offer the boob.

We really didn't even have a week four. The last day of week three, I gave her the boob in the morning when she woke up, and it was just pointless. She wasn't getting anything out of it, and it was just hurting me. It felt forced. She took it because I offered, but she totally didn't need it. And that was the last time I nursed her! (I might also mention that things, um, changed with my body at week three, so that probably has a bit of something to do with her lack of interest in my milk/lack thereof.)

It has been several days now, and we are doing great. She still fusses for naps when I rock her to sleep, but she doesn't really go for the boob anymore. She does like to keep her hand on them as she falls asleep, but I don't mind that, if it makes her feel comfortable. (As long as she doesn't pinch the nipples...I hate that!!!)

Now, our next step is getting her to go to bed without being rocked to sleep. She's starting to get so long now that she seems very uncomfortable in my arms while I'm rocking her. I think she's outgrowing the chair. Hopefully that's a step in the right direction, so that she'll be more comfortable falling asleep in her own bed. I'm sure we'll have another adjustment period for that, but we're getting there. For now, I LOVE my cuddle time with my baby as I rock her to sleep. These days are almost over, and we'll never have them again, so I'm cherishing every sweet moment. :)

Please Vote for Sam!

2011-06-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

Sam has been entered in the Parents Magazine cover photo contest! There is a winner each week, and each weekly winner gets $250. After all 10 weeks, each weekly winner has a chance to win a photo shoot to be on the cover of Parents Magazine!!! Of course we think our little cutie has great potential as a cover model, so please be a dear and vote for her!
The voting for this week ends on Sunday, and you can go back and vote once every day. Please show some Sammy love! :)

http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/914305

Sammy Dancing

2011-06-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

This video's a little dark, but if you can see it, Sam is dancing to the band. Pretty darn cute!

Thirteen Months

2011-06-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Samantha,

You have been 1 for a whole month now, and you are already quite a pro at being a toddler. You are always on the go, walking and running everywhere you go. You continue to get funnier and funnier all the time. You tell jokes sometimes and it just cracks Mommy and Daddy up. One night you were in the bathtub and you were babbling on and on about something, and at the end you started laughing and laughing. I only wish I knew what the punch line was!

You are always giggling. You love it when Mommy chases you around the house. You take off running, and Mommy says "Hey, Baby, where you goin? I'm gonna get you!!!" and you laugh and laugh and try to get away. (But of course you like to stop or go slow so I can catch you and tickle you!)

You are really doing well with your talking now. Your words are getting clearer and clearer. You are getting better at emphasizing the last consonant of a word and not just the beginning. You don't just say "ca" for cat, but you say "caT!" The words you say most often are Dad, dog, cat, lunch, breakfast, snack, ball, balloon, and that. You just started saying "woof" now when you hear a dog barking. I'm always amazed at how many things you say that I can recognize (although they probably wouldn't sound like words to most other people, Daddy and I definitely know what you are trying to tell us!)

You really seem to have fun with your friends now. I wasn't sure if you were really recognizing them, or just having fun with them because they were your size. Then, the other day we took you to a birthday party where you didn't know anyone, and you suddenly got very shy and cautious about these new kids. You warmed up to them quickly, but I could definitely see that you react differently around the friends you see all the time than you do around new people. You interact with other kids so much now. You love to watch older kids do things that you don't know how to do yet. You can't quite throw a ball yet, but you have learned how to drop it so that it rolls forward a bit.

We took you on your first camping trip this month. It wasn't the most successful trip, since we ended up getting rained out and leaving early in the morning instead of staying a second night, but you sure had fun the first day before the rain came! You love being outside. You had a lot of fun helping Daddy set up the tent, and in the evening we went for a walk and found a band playing in the campground. Everyone was dancing, so you went right out in the middle of the dance floor and danced right along with everyone else! It was very entertaining for everyone.

You LOVE music now. Anytime you hear any little bit of a beat, you start bouncing. Your dance move is kind of a bouncing squat, and when you get really into it, you flap your arms up and down. If you are sitting when you hear music, you still bounce and nod your head. We really want to get you into music classes again! You love shows on TV like the Wiggles and Sesame Street. You love anything with lots of music!

Your newest skill is climbing, so we have had to teach you how to climb down going "feet first." You are pretty good at it, but we still have to watch you closely. You are such a little daredevil, with no fear at all. You are a fun kid, and I know you are going to be a handful for your whole life! We love you so very much. You keep us full of laughter!

I love you so much!

Love,
Mommy

First Pedicure!

2011-05-26T21:28:00.001-07:00

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Sammy de Mayo! A 1st Birthday Fiesta

2011-05-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well, Sam's 1st birthday was a smashing success! Other than a few minor mishaps, like ordering WAY too much food (we'll be eating carne asada tacos for months to come), forgetting to set up the bubble machine, and forgetting to crack open the pinata, everything went perfectly. I can't believe how much planning went into this party! Like I told some of my friends, I seriously felt like I was planning another wedding. I had a caterer, favors, invites, and even a color scheme. My entire office was full of hot pink and orange decorations. It was a lot of work, but it was so much fun!

Since Sam missed being born on Cinco de Mayo by less than 4 hours, we figured we'd stick with the fiesta theme anyway, calling it "Sammy de Mayo" instead. This may be a theme she revisits on her 21st birthday...

So, where to begin? I started my party research on Google, and found a few pages with great Cinco de Mayo party ideas. I came up with a list of ideas, and started putting things together. My first purchase? Papel picado, or paper flags, purchased from Amazon.com. It said there were 34', but I'm pretty sure I had enough flags to reach all the way to the moon and back. Since there are 6 fun colors in the flags, I chose two as my main party colors - hot pink and orange - with the other 4 colors as accents. I decided to make my own tissue paper flowers, so again I went to Amazon.com and picked up a couple large packs of tissue paper. Bulk Hot Pink Tissue Paper 20" x 30" - 48 Sheets

For the place settings, Party City was having a BOGO sale, so I picked up a bunch of plates, cups, tablecloths, silverware and napkins (in hot pink and orange, of course!).

In keeping with the fiesta theme, we had a taco bar catered by Primo, the market down the street from our house. It was SO good - I highly recommend them! Everyone raved about how delicious it was.

Since we had splurged on the food, I made the cupcakes myself, all 7 1/2 dozen of them! I did a couple of test runs beforehand, sampling 5 different cupcake recipes and 3 different frosting recipes. (Some of my wonderful friends ate 3-4 cupcakes each, just so they could give me their honest vote.) I ended up going with White Velvet cupcakes (I modified the recipe from a Pink Velvet recipe...I think it will have to remain my secret ;)) and my famous Vanilla Bean Icing (using just vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean). I made one batch of cupcakes two nights before, and two batches the morning before the party. I froze them all until the morning of the party, when I made all the icing and frosted them all. I had purchased cupcake liners in all 6 of our party colors from The Baker's Confections on Etsy. (They seriously have some awesome cupcake liners...I highly recommend them!!!) I was also the lucky recipient of a cupcake stand that has been passed down through my mommy group. I covered it with hot pink fabric and trimmed it with orange ribbon. Each cupcake was decorated with pink or orange sugar sprinkles.

My friend Cat at The Cake Boutique made an adorable hot pink smash cake for Sam to dig into. It turned out so cute in our party colors, and Sam did a great job of destroying it and turning her face bright pink. (It tasted really good, too!)

For beverages, I made homemade aguas frescas: horchata (a cinnamon rice drink) and agua de sandia (watermelon water), and we also had water and Mexican beers. (The margaritas never even got mixed!)

For the party favors I wanted to get custom sugar cookies, so when I saw a daily deal on Eversave.com for Country Cupboard Cookies, I jumped on it! I ended up ordering number 1 cookies frosted in hot pink and orange and decorated with confetti and polka dots in the rest of our party colors. They turned out super cute! Each cookie was packaged in an individually sealed bag, but I wanted to dress them up a little bit more. I bought a bunch of neon maracas from Amazon, and paired one up with each cookie. I bought little pink bags at Party City, put the cookies in them, and used hot pink and orange ribbons to tie the maracas onto the bags, along with some little favor tags that I designed.

And finally....the invites! I had been itching to use my creative skills again, and I really wanted to come up with something super cute and memorable. I always love photo invites, so I asked my good friend Michelle of Bayer Photos to do a pre-birthday photo shoot for us. She got some amazing shots of Sam and I used one of my favorites for the invite. Since the party was a fiesta theme, I used a little maraca illustration to tie together all the printed materials for the party. Along with the invites and favor tags, I also printed out labels for the food and thank you notes!

front

back

For entertainment we had a ball pit, a water table, a play tent, and a couple of tunnels. All 20 kids were fully entertained! We had such a great time with all our family and friends. I think the hardest thing about party planning was narrowing down the guest list. We have met so many wonderful people since we have lived here in San Diego, and I wanted to invite them all! Unfortunately our house isn't exactly huge, so we had to set a limit at some point. Next year we may end up renting a community center instead. (Oh wait...I am NOT planning to throw a shindig this big again until she turns 13...or 16...or... we'll just have to see.) Anyway, a special thanks to everyone who contributed by lending us party supplies and/or helping with all the setup. I couldn't have done it alone!

Twelve Month Doctor Visit

2011-05-13T22:32:00.000-07:00

Today was Sam's 12-month checkup. She did as well as can be expected! She did a little better than she did at her past few doctor visits. She was running around and charming everyone in the doctor office until it came time to measure her and weigh her. As she did the past couple of times, she threw a fit. But, she got over it soon enough! Here are her latest stats:

Height: 29 1/2" - 65%
Weight: 20lb - 30%
Head Circumference: 45cm - 50%

My baby has gone from a tall girl to a little shrimp! I am honestly not surprised though...from the start I had a feeling we were going to have a small fry, since neither of us come from big stock. And in the past few months, I really didn't feel like she was getting any taller or heavier! Since her 9-month checkup, she has gotten 1/2" taller and 1 ounce heavier. Her head grew one centimeter. Sam has actually become the petite little thing that she has looked like all along!

Nothing to worry about though, it's common at 12 months for babies to slow way down on the growth, especially when they become mobile. Sammy is constantly running and burning off fat, and she's so busy learning and having fun that she doesn't always eat a lot. (Unless we are having spaghetti.) Otherwise, she is perfectly healthy!

Sam got a few vaccinations and was VERY pissed off. She cried for a while, but as usual, she survived. The doctor said that she should probably be drinking whole milk instead of 2% (that's what I get for going off information I read online...) but since she only drinks about a cup a day (she still nurses the rest of the time) it's not really a big deal. Dr. Wood confirmed what I've intended to do...cut back one nursing a day until she's weaned. Easier said than done, especially when you have a fussy, teething baby! I still intend to do it though. Wish me luck...

Next checkup? 15 months! August will be here before we know it!

Twelve Months

2011-05-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Samantha,

It's hard to believe that you are already a whole year old! This has been such an amazing year, watching you learn and grow at such an incredible pace. This past month has been a crazy one with you. You have learned so much so fast, and transformed almost overnight from a baby into a toddler.

You have perfected your walking skills, and now you are pretty much RUNNING everywhere you go. After just a couple weeks of walking, you figured out how to walk with your arms down at your side instead of up in the air for balance. You know how to go up and down the step to the backyard, and you somehow even know how to climb stairs at other people's houses.

You are really working on your words now. You have at least 8 words, including Mom, Dad, cat, kitty, dog, Dexter, Chloe, ball, and balloon. You definitely understand sentences, when we ask you to do something, most of the time, you respond appropriately. Right around 11 months, you and Daddy were playing, and you kicked him. Daddy asked you "Did you kick Daddy on purpose?" You clearly responded with "No." Hopefully you were telling the truth! Daddy was very excited to hear his baby girl talk to him! You still love trying to charm people with your cuteness when we are out in public. You give them the cute face, and if they look at you, you wave at them. 95% of the time, you succeed in getting everyone's attention!

Your favorite toys still seem to be balls. For your birthday you got another big ball and a ball pit full of balls! You love to carry around a big ball that is almost as big as you. Most of the time you don't really play with toys, you'd rather just walk and walk and walk, but when you do play, we can see that you are really starting to figure things out. You can put a smaller toy into a bigger one, and take it back out. You like to share, although you don't always want to give up the object you are sharing! You are very good at sharing food with Mom and Dad.

Another big change we are noticing is your attitude. Now that you are 1, it seems like almost overnight you have decided to show us your independent spirit. You whine and fuss if you don't get your way. You are VERY clingy, especially with Mommy, and if you don't get picked up and carried as soon as you start fussing for it, you start throwing a tantrum. It's hard for Mommy to get used to the idea that sometimes she has to let you get over things on your own now instead of rushing to meet your every need.

This month you have had a rough time with teething. Your two top teeth finally came through, and boy were they more painful than the bottom two were! You had just started sleeping through the night and napping like a champ, when down came those teeth. Once again, we were all up every hour all night, every night. And naps? Forget about it. Once the first one broke through, we had a few great days of happy baby again. And then came the second top tooth! Thankfully this one didn't last as long, and we just had a cranky, feverish baby for a couple of days. We are still working back up to sleeping through the night, but thankfully your naps are going great again! It sounds like the attitude and the teething are all part of having a toddler, so hopefully the 3 of us will figure out how to get through it without driving each other nuts!

Your Grammy, Pappy, NanaJo, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Brittany all came out to visit you for your first birthday. You were shy for about 5 minutes, and then you started soaking up all the attention, showing off your walking skills and making cute faces. Tomorrow we are having a party for you with even more of your family and friends! This past month and year have been so amazing. I can't wait to see how much you grow in your second year!

I love you SOOOOO much,
Love,
Mommy

Fifty-Two Weeks

2011-05-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Fifty-One Weeks

2011-04-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Fifty Weeks

2011-04-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness....50 WEEKS? That means we just have 2 to go....it's a little bittersweet.
*sniff*

Adventures in Breastfeeding

2011-04-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

So, I figured I'd write up a little post about my experiences with breastfeeding. As some of you may remember, I was a little weirded out about the idea of breastfeeding and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle it. I was determined to try though, and my goal was to stick it out for at least 6 months, then 9 months, then one year. From the beginning I was pretty certain that after a year I would want to stop nursing.

Here's a little recap of how things went for us:

At day one, Sam latched on like a pro and got the nursing thing down right away. Strangely enough, it didn't bother me to have a little person sucking on my boob. Other than a couple of rough nights and days when my milk first came in, we really had no problems at all. Things were working out great!

Around 7 months, I decided that I wanted to start weaning her for some personal reasons. We decided that after the holidays we would start slowly switching her to formula. My plan was to drop one feeding a day and replace it with a bottle of formula. This worked well for a week or two - she took the formula with no issues at all. I never got past one or two formula feedings a day though. I found that nursing is just SO much more convenient. When we were out and about I would bring a bottle of formula and I could just give her that in the stroller, so that was nice. But at home the boob was just much easier. Sam and I had gotten into the routine of nursing her to sleep for naps, so we ended up sticking with that routine. And then we ended up cutting back on the formula too. And then she got sick, so I wanted her to have nothing but breastmilk so she could get healthy faster.

So, there we were a few months later, and we had made no more progress towards weaning. I think that part of it is just the fact that I wasn't as ready as I thought I was. I had heard from so many of my friends that their babies just weaned themselves around 10 months, so I was hoping that Sam would be the same. But no, this girl is addicted to the boob. Her bottom teeth came in, and I was a little scared about how that would feel. I could kind of feel the pressure from them but it wasn't enough to be uncomfortable. Well, now her top teeth are coming in, and OH BOY does it hurt. Almost every time I nurse her, the discomfort is almost unbearable. Add that to the fact that I am sick of my crappy nursing bras and longing to wear normal ones again, and I am SO ready to wean her. Mike and I will be going on our first overnight trip away from Sam in just a few weeks, so we really need to start getting her used to not having boob all day and night. Since her birthday is coming up in just a couple weeks, we went ahead and let her start drinking cow's milk. We give her organic whole milk, and she loves it! She's been drinking it in her sippy cup with meals, and (other than letting it drip out of the corners of her mouth, down her neck, and all over her shirt and hair) she is doing great with it.

Now for the hard part: cutting out the nursing to sleep routine for naps. I still nurse her at night most nights and I'm okay with that - I'm not ready to quit nursing cold turkey, I just want to cut out the daytime nursing for now. Mike is able to put her to bed some nights without her needing me to nurse, but if I put her to bed? Forget it. The boobs are right there, and she wants it. So this week I've decided to start attempting to put her down for a nap without nursing her. Yesterday I tried to give her a bottle of milk in the rocking chair, keeping the rest of our nap routine the same as always. She was not having it. She drank an ounce or two, and then she was UP and running around. Today I tried to give her the bottle again. She took a couple of sips and then had a complete meltdown: screaming, clawing at my shirt and trying to pull my boobs out. I felt awful. I hate withholding something from her that is so important to her. It's our special bond, and it's heartbreaking to have to end it. She eventually cried herself to sleep in my arms, and now she's napping peacefully. I'm hoping this episode won't be repeated too many times before she starts accepting the new routine. I hope she understands that just because I'm not nursing her to sleep, we can still snuggle together in the rocking chair and share the same closeness we've always had.

Does anyone who has been through this have any suggestions on making weaning easier? I want it to be as minimally traumatizing to us both as possible!

She'll be running marathons before we know it. (video)

2011-04-14T13:59:00.001-07:00

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Forty-Nine Weeks

2011-04-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

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Forty-Eight Weeks

2011-04-07T09:05:00.000-07:00

Eleven Months

2011-04-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Samantha,

Today you are 11 months old. I can't believe that in just one, short, little month, you will have been a part of our lives for ONE WHOLE YEAR. The months seem to go by faster and faster! This month was a big one for you. At just over 10 months, you started WALKING. Every day you walk further and further and you are getting better and better at balancing. Last week you started pushing yourself up to standing without holding onto anything!

Once you figured out how to walk, you suddenly started using hand gestures. You now wave and point as if you've been doing it all along. You're always pointing at things, wanting to know what they are. You wave hello and goodbye, and you also sign "all done" when you are finished eating.

You have definitely been perfecting the high-pitched squeal when you giggle. (Mommy may or may not have encouraged that!) You LOVE to laugh, and you often imitate our laughter, or instigate some fake-sounding laughter of your own. We like to echo each other's laughter back and forth, until we both erupt into giggles. You are such a little goofball! You started wrinkling your nose and making a squinty face when you laugh now, just like Mommy. You also make the funniest squinty faces when you are mad or when you are confused.

You are looking more and more like Mommy now. Your mad or serious faces still look like Daddy, but all your goofy and excited faces are very much like Mommy's. Your hair is getting lighter and lighter, and it's about the same color as Mommy's now.

You are also learning how to express different emotions. Aside from all your funny facial expressions, you are showing your disgust, anger, or indifference. It's fun to see you learning how to show different emotions, but sometimes it can be frustrating when you start acting like a little grump. Most of the time you are happy and full of giggles though.

This month you have had back-to-back colds, and you were sick most of the month of March. Thankfully you're pretty happy when you are sick! You came down with your first ear infection - in both ears. You topped it off by vomiting twice on the morning of your 11-month birthday! We were so sad for you, but you handled it like a trooper. You got your very first prescription and managed to knock out the infection pretty quickly. Since your sickness you haven't been sleeping well (again), so we are having to start back on sleep training so that Mommy and Daddy can get some sleep. After one night, you are already doing better again. Hopefully you'll be sleeping through the night regularly very soon!

Mommy is very busy this month planning your birthday party. In less than a month your grandparents will be here to celebrate with you! I'm sure this month will fly by even faster than the last. You are SO much fun now, and you constantly have us in giggles!
We love you very very much!

Love, Mommy

Agoo Apparel Leggings Review

2011-04-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

Move over, Baby Legs...there's a new kid in town! I was thrilled when I was offered a chance to review a pair of Agoo Leggings for Samantha. These things are SO nice! I received a pair of the "Very Baby" girls leggings.

When Sam was younger I loved putting her in the Baby Legs leggings. They have such cute designs! For the last several months though, I haven't been able to put them on her because they are just too small and they squeeze her poor chunky little thighs! I figured our leggings days were over until I discovered these Agoo leggings. They are a bit larger and will fit her for a long time to come.

Agoo is a Canadian company that makes stylish active wear for urban kids. These are so fashionable that Sam can still enjoy them after she grows out of the cutesy baby phase. The leggings are made from 70% bamboo, and are super soft and comfy. (I'd even wear these things!) Plus, they are breathable, antibacterial, UV protective, and odor resistant. How can you go wrong with that?

What is Agoo? As they say on their website, "Agoo" is "joy from experiencing something for the first time." I will have to say that I definitely experienced an Agoo when I got these great leggings in the mail! Go check them out. They have so much more than just leggings; they have baby clothes, kids clothes, head bands, and other accessories. If you see something you like, they have kindly offered a 50% off discount for my readers. Just use the discount code "meetup50". It's good for everything on their site, and it's good for both American and Canadian shoppers.

Forty-Seven Weeks

2011-03-31T19:47:00.000-07:00

A quick update on things.

2011-03-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

Did you notice? I missed an entire week. I couldn't figure out why all my weekly emails were telling me that my baby was 46 weeks, when clearly she was only 45. My blog doesn't lie, right? And then I realized I was BEHIND. Can you imagine...the mother of a new walker was actually behind on her blogging!??! Unbelievable. So I did some quick fixing...and all the weeks are back up to date now. :)

(The thing that REALLY bothers me is that I had a folder of all Sam's weekly photos so I could easily make a book with them at the end of her first year, and now that folder is GONE. I must have deleted it, and I am so bummed. That's 46 pictures I have to go hunt down now!)

But anyway, here's a quick update on where we are, aside from the weekly photos and random mobile photo posts:

As you have seen, Sam is walking now! She waited until Daddy got home the other night, and decided to show us both that she has a new skill. Since that night, she has been walking every chance she gets! I keep turning around to find her walking towards me. She will pull herself up on almost anything, and walks several steps. She walked halfway across the living room yesterday. Amazing! When she is done, she always turns to us for congratulations. She is SO proud of herself, as she should be! She still crawls if she's in a hurry to get somewhere, but otherwise she prefers to walk along the walls and furniture until she can make a break for it on foot across the room. At this rate she'll be walking like a pro by next week!

She has also started demanding the spoon during mealtimes. She still makes quite a mess with it, but she's getting better with her aim, and can actually get 50% of the food in her mouth now. (The other 50% seems to end up in her hair, which is not very fun for Mommy. But at least she's trying!) Her other favorite thing to do at mealtime is to throw her food (or cup or spoon or bowl) on the floor. And then lean over to see where it landed, and then at Mom or Dad, expecting us to pick it up and return it to her. She is sure getting to be a handful!

I have been taking Sam to play at several different baby gyms, and she LOVES it! Now that she's mobile, she loves to move all over the place to check out new toys and people. She still is completely enthralled by older kids, and she has no fear, even when she's about to get bowled over by them. Sadly she keeps getting sick each time we go to one of these places. The entire month of March has been a cold for poor Sam. But she has SO much fun! Her new favorite toys are balls. She loves to use the large ones as a walker, and she has learned how to roll the small ones.

She is getting quite an attitude on her. It's hard to tell how much of it is just her being a baby and needing things, and how much of it is her just acting up. It's cute...but I can tell she's going to be a handful when she's a bit older!

We were trying to let her cry it out a bit, but when she got her cold we kind of fell back on that. She ended up waking every hour again, and requiring company all night long. I spent several nights on the floor of her room. NOT fun. Now that her cold is almost better, she is sleeping longer again, so I hope that's all the problem was! I got 4 hours of sleep in a row last night, and I already feel like a new woman. Imagine how I will feel when she actually starts sleeping ALL NIGHT LONG. I'm pretty sure I won't even recognize myself.

Until then...I better get some sleep before she wakes up. :)

Forty-Six Weeks

2011-03-24T19:11:00.001-07:00

Laughter (VIDEO)

2011-03-24T10:22:00.001-07:00

Sam has started imitating us, and lately she's been doing this fake laugh thing. Of course she thinks she's hilarious! And check out her new expression. She totally got Mommy's wrinkle-nosed, squinty grin. Sorry about that, sweetie...at least its cute on a baby! :)

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Look who's walking! Sam's first steps. (VIDEO)

2011-03-21T19:01:00.000-07:00

Forty-Five Weeks

2011-03-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

Forty-Four Weeks

2011-03-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

Ten Months

2011-03-06T10:20:00.000-08:00

Dear Samantha,

I can't believe you are already 10 months old! You are getting so big now. This month has been a busy one full of learning for you. You have definitely mastered the skill of crawling (and you are getting FAST!), and you are getting so close to walking. You are able to walk while only holding onto Mom or Dad (or the furniture) with one hand, and even then you barely hold on. You take off so fast when you want to walk somewhere! It's only a matter of time before you realize that you can do it without our help. You can stand for a few second on your now now, and you are cruising all around the room along the furniture now.

Your new favorite things are BALLOONS. You discovered them at a birthday party, and now they make you happier than any other thing. Whenever you see a balloon, you start waving your arms around and making excited noises. We got you a few balloons for the house, and every morning you were thrilled to see them still there, waiting for you. You carry your balloon around all over the house!

We are still trying to get you to wave, or point, or sign, but you don't seem to be too interested in using your hands to communicate. Walking is still your number 1 goal. You are very good at imitating what we say though. You definitely communicate your irritation with your furious face. You get all red like you're going to explode as soon as you are done eating. I think it would be easier to sign "all done," but so far you seem to prefer the fury. I have a feeling you are going to be a handful!

You are so much fun at playdates now. You don't cling to Mommy anymore; as soon as we arrive, you want to get down and you take off crawling and playing with toys. You are becoming so independent!

You are a very good eater. You don't want to have much to do with baby food purees anymore, and mostly you prefer to feed yourself finger foods. You LOVE pizza and spaghetti (my kind of girl, for sure!), and you still love pears. We just discovered that you are a huge fan of green peas. They are the perfect finger food for you! You shovel them in as fast as you can. You also learned how to suck the food out of the little baby food packets, and you can go through them in just a few seconds now. You are getting to be so big! We are starting to wean you off the bottle now, so we give you your milk in a sippy cup most of the time now. You still prefer mommy milk before naps and bedtime, but you do great with a sippy cup of formula during the day. Just a couple more months and we can see how you like cow's milk!

You are doing much better with sleeping now, too. We hated to do it, but we started letting you cry for about 5 minutes at a time now to teach you to soother yourself. After just one night we started seeing improvements. You went from waking 6-10 times a night to waking only 1-2 times! And it's actually been with very minimal crying, too. You are doing very well with us putting you down awake, and you soothe yourself back to sleep most of the time when you do wake. You have been sleeping in 9 hour stretches, and Mommy and Daddy are THRILLED. Some nights Daddy is able to put you to bed without you needed Mommy and her milk. You are really growing up fast.

Your first birthday is just 2 short months away, and Mommy is working on your party plans! It's going to be so much fun to celebrate with all of our friends. We love you SO very much!

Love,
Mommy

Forty-Three Weeks

2011-03-03T21:23:00.000-08:00

And the winner is...

2011-03-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

Comment #14, Rachel!!! Congratulations, Rachel - now you can buy that dutch oven you've been dreaming of. :)

$55 CSN Stores Giveaway!

2011-02-25T13:37:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of CSN stores yet? If not, you really need to go check them out. They have over 200 stores, and in these stores you can find pretty much everything. Here are a few of my favorites, for instance:

Since I have been spending the past month and a half organizing my office (finally!) I love this 12-compartment organizer in the CSN Office Furniture store.

I've been looking for a bookshelf for Sam's room for quite a while now, and I think this one would be perfect.

In the past I have purchased baby supplies, exercise supplies and more from CSN stores. For those of you moms out there, you can also find car seats and other baby equipment, and for those of you with furbabies, they also have stores with pet supplies. And of course, they have shoes and other fun things for you fashionistas!

CSN Stores has been so generous as to offer one of my readers a $55 gift certificate for ANY of their stores. What an amazing deal! If you would like a chance to win this gift certificate, here are the ways you can get an entry:

1. (Mandatory entry) Visit www.csnstores.com and then come back and leave a comment on my blog telling me what you would buy if you are the lucky winner.
2. Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect (on the right hand side of my blog).
3. Follow my blog with Networked Blogs (on the right hand side of my blog).
4. "Like" my blog on Facebook.
5. Follow me on Twitter.

This giveaway will end on February 28th. Good luck!

Forty-Two Weeks

2011-02-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

Can you see it?

2011-02-22T14:15:00.000-08:00

You can almost see the start of the second tooth, too!

Who has two teeth?

2011-02-22T09:30:00.001-08:00

Sam does!!!! That second one finally made its way all the way through today. And still she won't let me get a picture. (She currently has tears streaming down her face because Mean Mommy keeps trying to take her picture.) I will get one soon though...I'm determined!

Soup. It's what's for dinner.

2011-02-18T18:39:00.001-08:00

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Dinner With a 9-Month-Old

2011-02-18T18:26:00.001-08:00

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Forty-One Weeks

2011-02-17T20:47:00.000-08:00

Check out my super cool t-shirt!

We Have a Tooth!!!

2011-02-15T12:14:00.001-08:00

The big day has finally arrived - Sam has her first tooth!!! It officially broke through the gums on Saturday morning, and it has been getting bigger every day. Judging by her lack of sleep last night (it was BRUTAL), the second tooth will be here any time! I'll post a picture as soon as I can get a shot of it.

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Nine Month Doctor Visit

2011-02-11T11:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Sam had her 9 month well-baby visit. She did great! First things first, here are her stats:

Height: 29" (91% percentile)
Weight: 19 lbs, 15 oz (69% percentile)
Head Circumference: 44 cm (50% percentile)

She's just gotten a little taller (1 inch since her 6 month visit...although I think they were overly generous with her measurement last time!), and is still quite tall for her age. Her weight has not increased nearly as rapidly as it has been so far. All her crawling and walking has been making her a bit more trim now. She still has a cute belly, but it's not quite so big as it used to be!

Sam is very close to the size Mommy was when she was a baby. Grandma reports that Mommy's stats at 9 months were:
Height: 29 1/2"
Weight: 20 lbs, 10 oz (yikes, I was quite the porky pig!)

Sam is right on track for her development, and the doctor also agreed that it looks like Sammy will be an early walker. The doctor gave us some suggestions for probiotics to help with constipation, and black strap molasses and dark greens for iron. She also referred us to a website that will help with sleep training. At her age, Sam should be sleeping much better than she is, and she shouldn't be eating several times a night, so we need to fix things. (Although she only woke once last night! ?)

Sammy had her hemoglobin tested (standard for the 9-month visit) to see if she has enough iron. We'll find out in a day or two whether or not we need to give her a supplement or not. (Since I'm making all her food, she isn't getting the extra iron in the iron-fortified baby cereals.) She did great with the little toe prick - she didn't cry at all! She got one shot, and she was a tough girl for that one, too. She cried for about two seconds, and then she was my happy girl again. Way to go, Sammy!

It's hard to believe that her next appointment will be her 1 year visit already. She'll probably be running all over the doctor office by then!

Forty Weeks

2011-02-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

Nine Months

2011-02-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

Dear Samantha,
It's hard to believe you are 9 months old already. Just 3 more short months and you will have been with us for a year already. It amazes me how much you are learning in such a short amount of time. You are getting bigger, smarter, faster, and cuter, and Daddy and I love your little personality so much. Here are some of your accomplishments in the past month.

You clapped on for the first time on January 18, when you were just about 8 1/2 months. You don't do it often, but you do it occasionally. You like to hold an object in each hand and bang them together. You love to shake, shake, shake anything that rattles.

All you want to do is feed yourself. You don't like eating from a spoon most of the time, so we give you lots of finger food. You love to eat things off of Mommy and Daddy's plates, and you usually like pretty much anything we let you have.

You get on your hands and knees and rock, and you do Mountain Climbers. You get very frustrated if you can't crawl or walk. All you want to do is practice walking now - no toys, no playing with other kids - you just want us to help you walk around and around and around... You have figured out how to inch yourself along by putting both hands forward and dragging yourself forward. You don't seem to care too much about trying to crawl the normal way - you'd rather just get up on your feet. You seem satisfied that you can move yourself about in the meantime, until you get the walking thing figured out.
You balanced yourself on the mirror and took a step. You can also pull yourself up on the fireplace and walk along it. When Mommy and Daddy hold your hands and help you walk, you try to do it one-handed now, and you usually can take several steps that way before you need to rest.

You imitate a lot of the words we say now. You say several things that are almost clear words. You used to say "Mamama" when you wanted me (or milk) but you don't say it much anymore. If you are with Daddy and need me (or milk) you will still say "Mama." Now your favorite thing to say is Dada. You LOVE Daddy. Your favorite time of the day is when Daddy comes home, and you love to greet him by saying "Dada" or "Dad" over and over again. When you are eating you say "Num num". I think your first "real" word is "Hi". You also say "dah" for dog (you LOVE dogs!) You try to say Dexter and Chloe - you say "Deh-teh" for Dexter, and for Chloe and cat you started out by making a throaty spitty sound that almost sounds like the hard C sound, but just the other day you actually started saying "Ca" for cat. Your favorite syllable is "dah" or "da". You point at things and say "dah" all the time. The cutest thing is when you say "Hi Dada" or "Hi dah (dog)". Mommy yells at Dexter to get down from the counter quite often, so you often say "Deh-teh" in a forceful tone, it's pretty funny. :)

You are starting to show that you are impatient. You sometimes throw temper tantrums, especially if you are done eating or if you are having a hard time getting mobile. When we are feeding you something you like, if we aren't getting the spoon in your mouth fast enough, you have these little mini-rage fits. You get red and growl and kind of shake. It would be cute, if we didn't know better than to encourage you! Last night you discovered how to scream. You opened up your eyes real big and got a goofy look on your face and screamed a cute little funny scream. (Not an angry tantrum scream, just a funny, goofy sound.) We all thought it was pretty hilarious.

It is so neat to see how much of what we say you are comprehending now. The other day Daddy was watching you so I could get some work done, and he brought you to me after a few hours so I could put you down for a nap. You did NOT want to come to me, and kept clinging to Daddy. I told you that I was going to give you milk, and you thought about it for a second and suddenly changed your mind and happily came to me. When you take a bath, I tell you to splash, and you will start splashing. You know so many words that I don't even realize you know. Your little brain is just full of information!

Daddy and I love you so very much. You are the highlight of our days. It makes me so happy to see how much joy your new skills bring you. I love you with all my heart!

Love,
Mommy

Thirty-Nine Weeks

2011-02-03T22:52:00.000-08:00

38 1/2 Weeks - A Postpartum Update

2011-01-31T11:55:00.001-08:00

Now that I've been not-pregnant for as long as I was pregnant, I thought it might be fun to give you a little update on how I'm doing post-baby.
(Just a warning, some of this may be a little TMI for my male readers out there.)

I have been doing great since Sam came into our world. She has been such a joy, and she's been well worth all the effort. I'm happy to say I haven't dealt with any postpartum depression. Sure, the first few weeks I was quite weepy and emotional, but that's to be expected. And it was never tears of sadness, just joy and utter exhaustion. (And those tears that seemed to appear for no apparent reason at all!)

I feel very fortunate that I have physically bounced back from pregnancy very quickly. At 10 weeks I started exercising with Stroller Strides, and by 4 months I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Then the strange thing happened: Sam's naps started conflicting with Stroller Strides, so I had to quit. And I quit exercising altogether. (Hanging my head in shame.) I thought sure I'd start gaining weight again, but strangely enough the pounds kept melting off. Granted, I have no muscle to speak of, but I'm skinny!!! I have actually not been this thin and weighed so little since I was in highschool. I've always had a big butt, and for the first time, it is gone. All my jeans fall off now since there's nothing to hold them up! I definitely need to get busy doing some glute exercises so Mama can get her booty back! (Or at least some of it!) Breast-feeding has turned out to be the most amazing weight loss plan ever.

So is my body completely back to normal? Close, but not quite. I do have one leftover condition caused by childbirth that I won't even go into here. But it is s l o w l y getting better. And the fact that I haven't yet had my monthly visitor means that my body's not quite ready to make another baby just yet. (And neither are we, so that's just fine with me for now!) I expect she'll probably come back once I stop breastfeeding, which will be within the next few months. I'm a little scared that I'll gain the weight again once I stop nursing. I guess I'll just need to get serious about working out again so I can maintain this hot-mama body. And buy some new jeans.

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She's Mobile!

2011-01-29T16:25:00.000-08:00

Sammy the Inchworm

She's getting faster and faster at it every day!

She can also walk along the fireplace and the mirrors now.

It won't be long now until I'm chasing her at top speed. Go, Sammy, go!!!

Thirty-Eight Weeks

2011-01-27T15:40:00.001-08:00

My little bean has been on the outside as long as she was in! And what a wonderful 38 weeks it has been. :)

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I love my backyard swing!

2011-01-25T15:08:00.001-08:00

Retro Sammy

2011-01-21T12:37:00.001-08:00

Fun with the super sweet Retro Camera app that Sam heard about from her friend Abby!

Thirty-Seven Weeks

2011-01-20T10:38:00.000-08:00

Thirty-Six Weeks

2011-01-13T19:29:00.000-08:00

IOU...

2011-01-06T21:33:00.001-08:00

...LOTS of blog posts.

Sorry I'm so behind; life has been crazy busy! I have several "Week" pictures for you, and an 8 MONTH update for today that I will try to post ASAP!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful 2011 so far!

Eight Months

2011-01-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Samantha,

Today you are 8 months old. You are growing so very quickly. Every day you can do a little bit more! You are really getting the pincer grasp down now so we put little bits of food on your tray so you can practice feeding yourself. It gets messy sometimes, but you do a little better each time.

You are still not crawling, but you roll all the time and occasionally you will get up on all fours and rock a bit. You will throw yourself forward from the sitting position in the direction you want to go, but then you get frustrated when you can't make yourself move any further. You are much happier if we pull you up to your feet and hold your hands so you can walk. You are taking really big steps now, and you've balanced on your feet for a few seconds. You haven't figured out how to pull up on furniture just yet, but I'm sure it's coming soon! Your Daddy never did crawl, and he didn't start walking til pretty late, so we are wondering if you are going to be the same way and go straight to walking.

We are still waiting for your teeth to break through. I can't believe it's already been 4 1/2 months since I first thought a tooth was going to come through. You hardly have any signs of teething right now, so I'm not expecting them to come through anytime soon. I'm sure they'll be here eventually. For now I love seeing your gummy baby smile!

You make all sorts of sounds now. Almost every day you are making new consonant sounds. You have a different sort of cry for pretty much everything that's bothering you. And of course, you laugh A LOT. I have never met a baby that smiles and laughs as much as you do! You try to make friends with people everywhere we go. You will try to catch someone's eye by smiling at them, and if you succeed in getting a smile in return, you are incredibly happy!

This month was a very exciting one for you. We celebrated Christmas at home before we went on vacation, and you were thrilled to play with all the wrapping paper. You got all sorts of fun presents! A couple days before Christmas you got to go on your first plane ride. Mommy was a bit nervous that you wouldn't do well, but you were great! The take-off and landing didn't seem to bother your ears at all, and you were really well-behaved during the flight. You only got fussy a couple of times and it was very easy to distract you with something else to play with. On the flight home you were actually laughing so much that people were turning to look and see the cute baby. What a nice change from the other screaming babies on the flight! While we were in Ohio you had so much fun seeing your grandparents again and meeting lots of new relatives. You did really well for having a disrupted schedule almost every night. You are such a social baby. You weren't shy around new people at all! It was funny to see which people you instantly gravitated towards, and others that took a while for you to warm up to. You enjoyed spending time with everyone eventually though!

We are still working on sign language with you. Sometimes I think you're trying to sign "milk" or "all done" but they seem to be out of context most times when you do them. Hopefully we'll be able start communicating that way with each other very soon!

Each month with you has been better than the last. You get more and more fun every day! You have such a fun personality, and a great sense of humor. You make Mommy and Daddy laugh so hard every day! I couldn't ask for a more fun baby. I love you with all my heart!

Love,
Mommy

Thirty-Five Weeks

2011-01-06T13:40:00.000-08:00

Crafty Moms - How do you do it?

2010-12-30T16:20:00.001-08:00

I need advice from you crafty types. I've always had lots of hobbies: sewing, painting, book making, etc., and I'd love to get back into it. I just can't seem to find the time in my busy days full of motherhood. I know there are SO many other moms out there who are able to make a business out of their creative hobbies. The question is, how do you find the time?! I'd love to hear your suggestions and ideas!

Thirty-Four Weeks

2010-12-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

Thirty-Three Weeks

2010-12-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

Thirty-Two Weeks

2010-12-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

Update on my insurance troubles.

2010-12-13T21:04:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who has called me and offered me advice on this! I ended up calling Aetna and appealing their decision to not pay for my anesthesia. The girl on the phone was very nice and understanding and helped me submit my appeal over the phone. She told me it would take 30 days to get an answer. I then called the medical billing office and explained the situation to them. The girl there was also very nice and understanding and told me that they would also appeal the decision. She told me that it wouldn't be a problem to get it covered. A couple days later I got a letter from Aetna (dated the day after my appeal!) stating that they had reversed their decision and would pay the full cost.

Hooray! That wasn't so hard...I wonder why they even made such a fuss over it in the first place if it was that easy. :P

Samantha's First Christmas Tree

2010-12-11T21:51:00.000-08:00

The other night we went out for a family adventure to choose Sam's very first Christmas tree! In the past Mommy and Daddy have had a fake tree, but last year it was really on it's last leg (or trunk, ha ha) so we decided that this year we would buy a real tree. We had so much fun going out tree shopping! (Sam fell asleep on the way home, so she was EXTRA excited to find a tree in her house when she woke up the next morning!

Thirty-One Weeks

2010-12-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

Now I'm really upset.

2010-12-07T13:03:00.001-08:00

Not only have I had serious feelings of guilt and inadequacy for not being able to give birth medication-free, but now the insurance company is saying that the bill for the epidural is not allowable and they are going to try to stick us with the $1500 bill. I could scream right now.

Seven Months

2010-12-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Samantha,

Today you are seven months old! I am still amazed at how fast you are growing. You have become so much more like a little person in this past month. You are developing and learning so quickly!

This has been a very exciting month for you. You learned how to sit up, which was very exciting for Mommy and Daddy. You still fall over sometimes, but you are getting better and better at holding yourself up. You have been rolling over a lot now, and you are really trying hard to figure out how to crawl. You rest on your belly and push up with your arms and sometimes you even bend your knees. You haven't quite figured out how to raise your belly off the floor yet though. You know what you want to do, you just haven't been able to make it work yet. You reach out your arms for me to help pull you along for now.

You have also been using your walker a lot and you have figured out how to walk around the kitchen and living room. You really enjoy being somewhat mobile now! If I hold out my hands to you, you will walk your way over to me. You are doing really well with real walking practice, too. Mommy and Daddy hold your hands and help you walk. If you really want to go see something or someone, you will take huge steps to get there.

This month we took you on your first road trip to Colorado where you got to see Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Joanna again, and you got to meet more of your aunts, uncles, and cousins. You LOVED being around so much family! You had a great time with the kids and you did great with other adults that you knew you could trust. This trip was also a great week of bonding time with Daddy. You seem to have learned that you can trust him more now. When there are other people around, you realize that Daddy is almost as good as Mommy. One morning while we were in bed, you were ready to get up, and out of the blue you said "Dada!" We were very surprised and Daddy was very thrilled.

On our trip you also went to visit a farm and you loved meeting the animals. The goats and the chickens were your favorite. The chickens made you laugh! You also surprised us and showed us that you can drink out of a straw now. You are so advanced! Your personality has started showing through so much since our vacation. You are a very outgoing and social baby. You love to meet new people and have FUN!

I am pretty sure it won't be long before you are crawling now. Just in these past couple of days you have been trying really hard, and you are very active in rolling and scooting yourself around. In a couple of weeks you will be going on a plane trip to Ohio to see more family, and I'm sure it's going to be very exciting. I can't wait for another wonderful month with my beautiful girl!

I love you,
Mommy

Giving up on cloth?

2010-12-04T13:30:00.001-08:00

Lately I have been so tempted to quit cloth diapering. Not because it's too much laundry or because they are too stinky or messy. Honestly, the number one reason is because they are so dang big. Half of Sam's outfits don't fit or they look ridiculous because of all that bulk. And it looks so uncomfortable for her sometimes!

We used disposables while we were on vacation (and we already use them overnight), and it was SO easy. And all her clothes fit so well. With Amazon Mom I've been able to buy disposables for much cheaper than I had imagined I could. And the laundry detergent for the cloth dipes is so expensive.

I'm just so tempted to make the switch to disposables permanently!

Sam's First Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Samantha had a great first Thanksgiving! We celebrated big time by hopping in the car and making a quick little drive to Colorado. Oh, did I say quick? I meant 19 hours. Split up over 2 days. She actually did great though. She slept a lot, and only had a couple of short little tantrums. Most of the time she was content to play in her seat with Mommy or Daddy sitting next to her. She did great in the hotels we stopped at too! Once we got to Colorado Sam got her first experience with cold and snow. None of that was a big deal compared to HOW MUCH FUN she had meeting her cousins and aunts and uncles!!! Grandma and Grandpa were pretty exciting, too. On the way home, Sam had her first Vegas experience. We stopped at the M for lunch and ate at the Hash House A Go Go. She was mesmerized by all the lights and sounds of the casino. So now she can say she saw Vegas, and doesn't need to go back until she's 21. ;)

We stopped on the way to see Sam's Great-Grandma and Great-Aunt.

Cousins are the coolest!!!!

Grandpas give good backrubs.

Girl cousins forever!

Sam thoroughly enjoyed her first visit to a farm.

Thirty Weeks

2010-12-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

Twenty-Nine Weeks

2010-11-25T10:41:00.000-08:00

Sam can sit!

2010-11-19T10:39:00.000-08:00

It's official...we have a sitter!

Twenty-Eight Weeks

2010-11-18T10:22:00.000-08:00

6 Months - Doctor Visit

2010-11-15T14:48:00.000-08:00

Sammy finally had her 6-month checkup today. She is getting to be a little tank! Let's get right to the good stuff:

Height: 28 inches - 98th percentile
Weight: 17 lbs, 14 oz - 80th percentile
Head Circ.: 42 1/2 cm - 50th percentile

I was surprised to find that she has gotten so much taller. I guess I should have known though, since she has a much easier time standing in her exersaucer now! Her weight constantly amazes me. She weighs almost a pound more than I would have guessed. She is definitely a good eater! She is right on cue for all of her development. We are still having lots of constipation issues, but hopefully we'll get those resolved. I'm going to keep her on solids, but we are not feeding her ANY binders - no rice, no sweet potatoes, bananas, etc. Today she had oatmeal, pears, and prune juice. Mmmm....
We have to take her to a specialist in a couple of weeks to look at her head and make sure her cranium isn't closing up too soon. I'm very nervous - hopefully everything is okay!

Next visit? 9 months!

Twenty-Seven Weeks

2010-11-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

Six Months

2010-11-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Samantha,

It's hard to believe it's already been half a year since you joined us! You are growing so fast and are becoming such a fun little person. This month you have been growing by leaps and bounds.

You decided to show us that you DO remember how to roll over - both from front to back and back to front! You did it quite often for about a week, and then quit again. We think you are too busy trying to figure out how to crawl and walk to have time for simple things like rolling over!

You became very ticklish. Your thighs are a great tickle spot, and your ribs and back are SO ticklish that you are almost in tears when Mommy tickles you too much. You just laugh and laugh when you are tickled!

You are more and more responsive now. Daddy came home one night and waved at you, and you waved back at him! You have started giving kisses too, not just receiving them. They are very wet, open mouth kisses, but you are getting the idea now!

You have been doing great with eating solid foods. You are over the whole idea of rice cereal - it must be too bland for you. Your favorites are pears and sweet potatoes. You aren't a huge fan of bananas and especially peaches and prunes, but you at least try them. We are going to try plums, mangoes, and oatmeal very soon! Your meal options are really expanding now. You are going to start eating solid food 3 times a day now instead of just one. You are a growing girl!

This month you started sleeping in your crib at night instead of with Mommy and Daddy. You are doing great! Some nights are better than others, but over all, you are starting to sleep longer and longer stretches at a time.

You are getting to be so much fun to take to the park now. You love to swing in the baby swings! Pappy bought you your very own swing, and Daddy just put it up in our back yard. You are SO excited to swing at your own house! The holidays are going to be so much fun with you. Your grandparents are all thrilled to have you come visit soon. It's going to be a great next 6 months for you!

We love you very much, Sammy!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Twenty-Six Weeks

2010-11-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

First Cold

2010-10-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my lack of posts lately! Samantha has been experiencing her first cold, and it's a doozy. Mike and I have had it too, and it's hanging on for well over a week. :( Poor baby girl! She's a trooper though, and seems to be handling it better than Mike and I are. Hm, maybe we should try some of that breast milk - it seems to be the magic cure!

Anyway, Sam will be 6 months old in just over a week (already!!), and I will post more updates then!

Twenty-Five Weeks

2010-10-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

Oh Shutterfly, how do I love thee!

2010-10-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I love Shutterfly! Since Sam was born, I've been uploading all the photos of her to a special site just for her. It's great! Shutterfly has all sorts of options to customize your own page. You can design the look of it, add all sorts of fun little widgets to it, and you can customize the privacy options to make the site public, or so no one but authorized members can view it. All I have to do is upload pictures, and all the grandparents can view them and order prints of whichever photos they like! SUPER easy.

Shutterfly is great for prints, too. I can either order them to be delivered directly, or I can pick them up at a local store. I have ordered so many prints already! And, it seems like the more I order, the more coupons I get for more free prints. LOVE it!

I am already excited about their holiday card options! Check out some of these great designs:

Burst of Snowflakes

Vintage Snowflakes

Peppermint Palms

I'm not sure which photo we're going to use yet so I'm not sure which card we'll decide on. I was thinking that it would be a great time to get professional family photos done, but I'm pretty sure there's no way we'll be able to afford that. So, I'm sure we'll end up using one of Sammy's many adorable snapshots! I really like the Peppermint Palms card. It's perfect for us here in San Diego with our balmy Christmas weather. :) The Vintage Snowflakes is such a classic, elegant design though. It would be so pretty with some black and white shots!

Thanks to Shutterfly, we'll be able to get a great deal on holiday cards this year. They are already on sale - definitely go check them out!!! We didn't get Christmas cards out last year, so I am determined to make it happen this year. I guess it's about time to get started! They even have Christmas Thank-You cards, if anyone is feeling extra ambitious. :)

24 Weeks

2010-10-21T12:10:00.000-07:00