Leapin’ Leprechauns!

Babycakes is in fact a wee bit Irish…and since we love all holidays, here’s our green decor.

I made the “Kiss me Anyways” printable in Microsoft Word, found the subway art on Pinterest and threw them in a couple of frames from our wedding.  I wrapped the candle in some green ribbon so I wouldn’t have to buy a different one and made some shamrock tinsel (from the Dollar Store…love that place) spin around the candle.

 

My mom made this sweet bunting out of fabric scraps and sent some Irish cheer our way! I LOOOOOOVE my talented mama!  It was also my Irish Mom’s B-day on St. Patty’s day…so we had lots of reasons to celebrate!

 

J laughed at my green trench…I thought it was appropriate for the day ;)

Captain Destructo in action…and caught!

Our wreath for this holiday was a very last minute one and nothing to write home about…I found the grapevine wreath at the D.I. for $1.50 (I have some fall plans for it) and put some ribbon I had and the shamrock tinsel on…nothing too interesting, but not a bad holiday with only $2.50 spent to do it up (thanks to Nani’s bunting and cute outfit for the little.)

Notice the absence of green on Jordan…he should have been pinched!

 

 

And…the luckiest find of the week:

2 Wingback chairs for 50 bucks at an Estate Sale…I can’t wait to re-do these for our living room!

6 Months!

Remember this little twinkle toes?

     

I can hardly believe it’s been six months already.  Just look how she’s grown!

 

Babycakes Stats:

Height-   /(96.42%)

Weight- 20.4 lbs/( 96.22%)  She now outweighs most kids in nursery.  I fear future nursery steamrolling. :)

Head- Off the charts…looks like she’s going to follow the Arnold side and be a bobble head through toddlerhood.  

Fun Facts for Me to Remember

• It seems as though she’s gone through yet another growth spurt both physically and socially.  She is quite the social character and is always flirting with somebody (we’re going to have to keep an eye on her!)  She loves to hear herself and I’ve had a couple of times where she “talks” so much when I Skype with my parents or am talking to someone in person that I can’t hear anything else…she just wants to be one of the big girls!
• Babycakes is just starting to stand with support from something else like a chair but hasn’t shown a lot of desire to crawl.  It’s just fine by me, as I’m ok with not totally baby proofing my house too soon!
• If you can’t tell, she really has started to teeth. :)  She chews on everything! Sometimes she has a hard time with it, but she’s been a really good sport.  I love the extra cuddles she gives (which are not very common anymore) when she’s affected by them.

• She is still a good baby and is definitely Mommy and Daddy’s buddy…but watch out if you walk away from her when she’s not distracted.  She wants to know and be involved in everything that’s going on.
• Amelia-Jayne LOVES other babies. She has two different reactions: she either gets the wiggles and starts babbling and reaching for them or she sits and stares with her “stay-puft” face like she’s looking at the strangest person in the world.
• It is SO easy to make this little girl laugh and smile.  She laughs when you tickle her. She laughs when at the doctor during her check up. She smiles at the old guys at Wal-Mart (total flirt) and helps Mommy get a discount on re-make furniture at the DI (cha-ching!).  She laughs when she has a death grip on my hair or we dance together. She smiles when she wakes up, sees a bottle, notices the funny baby staring back at her in the mirror and especially when Daddy comes home.  However, she does take her food and sleep very seriously…so don’t mess with that.  Because she won’t laugh.
• I love how she rubs her eyes when she’s tired and my new favorite thing is to watch her reaction to  a bottle.  She hears me shake it.  I hide it.  I eventually show it to her and she gives a huge smile like you bought her the winning lotto ticket…then, she swings her pudgy little hand on yours and directs it to her mouth. Maybe I’m bias, but I think it’s adorable.

A Striking Resemblance

 

After a few suggestions from cousins, we found Amelia-Jayne’s look-a-like.

I’m not going to lie, the Ghostbusters pudgy villain isn’t a mother’s dream of a doppelganger…but he is pretty dang cute.  And squishy.

I can’t help it…

It would be irresponsible of me not to share this.

(A handful of Olympians mid-dive…Take special note of #1 & #6)

 

I think I need to print this and put it on the fridge.

As opposed to yesterday…

today went surprisingly well!!  Amelia-Jayne was as happy as could be and it turns out that the counselor I was planning on having a horrible time with her during the meeting had the magic touch. :)  When he wasn’t holding her she was flirting with the other speakers and stroking the sleeve of the gentleman next to us. haha. I’m pretty sure this baby just eats up attention, and in public she will simply not go to sleep, eat, or bother playing with her busy toys when there are so many interesting people around.  She is such a cheese now.  SO, the new game plan for church is to let her eat it up and sit in the back where there is space for her to lie on a blanket on the floor and play when she gets too tired to inspect everybody….until she starts crawling and I have to look for her a few pews ahead…then I’ll have to get a new plan. :)

I hope yesterday’s post wasn’t too much of a downer.  I don’t want to be a mom blogger that condones constant whining about the not so glamorous parts of motherhood/housewifery.  But, I don’t want to be one that makes it sound as if we poop glitter either.

So, let’s raise a glass of chocolate milk to all the good days, laugh at the bad ones and be a little more realistic with our expectations of ourselves.

And now, to erase that mental picture of glitter that we’re all stuck with, here’s Babycakes today.

  

Thank-you for all of the sage advice, my fellow mommies.  It really helped to know that this is a stage we all must go through, and I know that we will be blessed by our attendance no matter what.

Now, off to bed to get some rest before she turns 6 months tomorrow. I know, I can’t believe it. We are having our first real Mommy-Daughter date since Daddy has to work and because she’s such a big girl now. :)   I can’t believe how fast the time goes and little babes grow. 

Mommy Advice, Please!

Sundays. Church.  Anything uplifting. 

I use to LOVE these things.  They relaxed me, I left feeling the sweet spirit and they were moments of peace in my life.

Nothing about the goodness of these has changed…the Church is still true, Sunday is still the Sabbath and uplifting things are still flyin high.  BUT, since our church time got switched to 11 am to 2 pm (right in the middle of BOTH of somebody’s naptimes) and babycakes started teething they’ve been quite the opposite of heavenly. 

Don’t get me wrong…I have a wonderful baby.  She’s super happy 98% of the time and a joy to be around.  But I think she’s aware of the stillness and silence at church.  And feels the need to fill it.  And be held, preferably while mommy stands bouncing her in the back.  Between hefting her 20+ pounds, her car seat and loaded diaper bag, my arms are shaking by the end of any meeting.  And why such a loaded diaper bag?  Well that’s because Sundays seem to be that special day when she spits up twice as much as usual and has explosions of the bum.  Mass spit up and blow-outs aren’t uncommon on other days, but seriously happen so much more on Sundays.  We always start out clean, but both come home sopping wet. I also bring an arsenal of toys/books to TRY to keep her entertained. Instead of playing with these things, she prefers pulling up or down my dress, pulling my hair and attacking my jewelry….but she’s very happy while she’s doing that.  People watching is a plus though, looking excitedly around the room and smiling keeps her busy for the first half hour or so.  Then it’s time for a nap and she now refuses to go to sleep in public…there’s just too much for her to keep tabs on!
I don’t know what happened…it seems like just last month she would just sleep and the only concern was spit up/blow outs…And now…well, you get the idea.  Today I was so excited to go to our regional Relief Society Conference because Sister Silvia Allred came to speak.  Amelia-Jayne was great for the first twenty minutes, flirting and smiling at people…then she wouldn’t take a bottle or let me hold her for a nap, so I had to take her out THREE times.  Every time I would take her out she was completely fine…happy as a clam.  So, I’d venture back in, climb up the theatre stairs, just barely get my buns back in a seat when she'd let out her shrieks.  I gave up and left the building, dropping a burp rag on the way out but not daring to stop and pick it up.  I found refuge in the grass and called my mom.  Baby's cries immediately turned to smiles and giggles playing in the grass. What a little stinker. I just don’t want her thinking that she can get out of anything by crying (which sounds like she already has learned) and I don’t want to be a person that makes a habit of becoming borderline inactive because of strict nap times, although now I can see why.

 This was her about 2 minutes into the walk home in her papoose…I knew she was exhausted. How can I stay frustrated at those cheeks?

Unfortunately, with Jordan’s work schedule, I have to go by myself at least half of the time.  And these details are all especially important for tomorrow.  Tomorrow I have to give a talk in sacrament (cringe) and Jordan has to work.  I usually don’t mind public speaking, but seeing as that I’ve had absolutely no control for the last month’s worth of church activities, it could turn out to be a very memorable experience.  I have decided though to make the Bishopric watch her while I speak.  I have a feeling that if I have them do that, I won’t be asked to speak again in a VERY long time.
Sorry for this novel of a brain dump.  I would LOVE some parenting advice…so tell me how it’s done, people!
I thank you in advance for saving my sanity.

Dang it….

 

the sink shrunk.

 

:)