Things to Remember

I realize Grace’s birthday post didn’t include all of the awesome things she can do now that she’s one! Since I’m using this blog as a way to remember her milestones, let’s take a look at what she’s up to these days.

MAAM. MAMAMAMAMA.

She’s a babbling fool. Things she can say:

MAMA

MAAM

MOMMMM

(These three comprise about 99% of her vocabulary, and they are delivered at the decibel equivalent of a jet engine.)

This is what one year looks like

8:38 am, 365 days to the minute.  Happy Birthday, dear Grace!

I am truly embarrassed at how long it has taken me to write this post.  Actually, I'm truly embarrassed how long it's taken my husband to dump/cull/edit/upload the photos from our camera to his computer so I could access them for this post, but no one likes a...
I asked him to finish that phrase for me and he said, "actually, he had to dump/cull/edit/upload them, and he works full time, and he's a busy dad, and we went to a Badger game, and there was a holiday..." so, you see how things roll around here.  Eric, I have mad respect for you, but no smoke-blowing will happen in this blog post.
No one likes a whiner would suffice.  I digress. 

Mom On the Go

Right now I’m sitting in the Detroit airport.  Alone.  Well, not really alone, there are hundreds of people milling about and 20 or so at the café I’m sitting at.  Ok it’s a bar.  But there’s a café immediately adjacent and the only open outlet was at the bar and mama’s laptop needs constant juice.  Mama needed juice too, and debated between the espresso shot or the Griffin Claw IPA to get through the mid afternoon slump.  I’ll let you guess which one won.

November 3rd is a popular day to be born

Since it's birthday week at our house, I am going to share with you my favorite story from the day Grace was born.  It might be one of my most favorite stories ever.

This was the last time she ever slept this soundly until last week.

In order to fully appreciate how funny this story is, you need a little background information.  Eric and I moved into our house in 2009, so we lived here five years before Grace was born.  Our street is quiet, and while our neighbors are very neighborly, everyone keeps to themselves. A friendly wave is about as much interaction as we have on a regular basis.

November 2nd

The other day someone asked me how old Grace is.  I replied, “She’ll be one on Monday!”  Except, it didn’t come out like a nonchalant, factual answer…it was like a half choked-out sob covered by a semi hysterical laugh, “SHE’LLBEONEONMONDAY!!!!” I sounded like a donkey.

Cutest. Baby. Ever

This is what 11 months looks like

You know how annoying it is when you type something on your computer and then you go back to check on it and your computer has turned on you, decides what you've written is garbage and now it's gone?  That happened to me last night.  I hate that.  So, round two.

11 months! What are your thoughts about how to refer to a baby's age after it turns one. I think I can still get on board with the month by month, like, "she's 16 months." But I think I draw the line after 19 months.  20 months?  What, you gonna card her next month? I digress.  Back to 11 months.

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

About a month ago, Eric, Grace and I took a trip to Detroit for business. My business. Eric was responsible for Grace during the day while I went to work.  A complete role reversal.  They had a great time together while doing lots of sightseeing and field trips. When we would meet up at the end of the day, Eric was quick to praise the job I've done with Grace and quick to pour himself a glass something strong. I get it. I reaaaallly get it. Babies will take everything you got, and still want more.  He also remarked, almost everyday, how much attention he got for being a dad.

This is what 10 months looks like

At the end of this week, I will have an 11 month old baby, which means I'm going to blink, and we will be celebrating her first birthday.  What strikes me about this is that everyone who meets Grace now, for the first time, will only know her as a big baby, a mini person who can actually do stuff.  Sometimes I want to say to these new people, hang on a sec, let me bring you up to speed.  You see, just mere days ago she was really small and I had to carry her everywhere and she didn't ever sleep and I went a little nutty and then she rolled over for the first time when she was three months old! And she sat up so early, and she could wave bye-bye when she was four months old! Then she started pulling herself up on all fours, and then, it took awhile...but she crawled! Look at her now, she's almost ready to walk!  

But that's the sort of rant that gets you labeled as the "crazy mom." I know you get it, though, fellow parents, or really anyone who is invested in the life of a baby. They change SO FAST, that just when you get one stage under some semblance of control, they change the game on ya, yet again. And I feel that warrants an explanation, somehow. Like, my baby has been so many different babies this year, you really are just meeting the most recent version of her. There is a lot more than meets the eye with this one!

Ok crazy.

But I know you get it.

Save September

September!

Who loves September? I do! I do! Garden produce, the brisk morning air, shorter days...all these things whisper of the season to come, while still maintaining glorious Indian Summer afternoons, warm enough to wear flip flops and T shirts. September smells like freshly sharpened pencils, it sounds like football Sundays, (Mondays...and Thursdays. And Saturdays)  and it looks magnificent -- everything seems to take on a golden hue as we hang on to the tail end of summer.

This is what nine months looks like

It's that time again!  Time to jot down some of the incredible and adorable things baby girl has been up to this month.  Let's start with stats, shall we?  At 18 lbs 2 oz, Grace is weighing in at the 46th percentile, while her height, 2' 4.5," puts her in the 76th percentile, all with a noggin to make her mom proud, in the 70th percentile.  Wonder who she takes after.  This is interesting because she used to be just above average for both height and weight, and now she's just long and kind of lanky, but still chubby. The best.

Can we stop having fun now?

Alright, summer.  Uncle.

When I decided to start this blog, I thought I would post a few little snippets each week.  That's  proving to be nearly impossible.  Between tending to my baby, my house, and my high maintenance dog, there's little time left.  And what's left gets spent on fun summer stuff.

Lately though, the fun summer stuff is taking up the biggest piece of the time-pie.  And it's SO FUN.  But as we near the end of August, the "dog days" of summer, (it's 60 degrees as I write this. wtf.) I feel kind of like a drug addict;  thinking, planning, crafting my next summer adventure. It can't be almost over! We just started!  I only got one pedicure!  The people only got to see one shade of red on my toes for the whole summer!

Do you do this too?  Cram as much fun as humanly possible into twelve weeks? By the end I'm so full of fun it's hard to even see straight.

This is what eight months looks like

Disclaimer: This post is entirely self-serving.  It's my own little online scrapbook so I remember what Grace was like at 8 months. 

Congratulations to Eric and me!  With much help from our families, we have successfully kept another human being alive for almost nine months.  This is no small task.  (Trust me. More on this another time).

What should get top billing for month 8?  Crawling!  Ladies and gentlemen, we have mobility.  And it is a game changer. I can put her in the middle of our living room surrounded by toys and she can get whatever she wants by herself, even find me in the kitchen if she so chooses.  Awesome.  She can also escape the living room and find her way to any number of cords, dog bones, outlets, and endless amounts of seemingly innocent objects which now strike terror into the heart of this mother.  Scary.

What do you like better, Christmas or wedding season?

I need a new hairdo.  You could land a jet liner on that forehead.

Well hello there!  It's been a long time.  Way longer than I intended.  However, life has been very busy and exciting around here lately!  Wedding season, baby! My sister Alexis got married on July 11th, and the weeks before and after were spent planning, showering, buying, executing (plans not people although sometimes....), primping, oohing and ahhing. 

It all turned out perfectly, as true love does.  I'll share some pictures of our fun throughout this post.  If I can figure out how to do that.

AHA.  Not so hard!  Here are some photos from the bridal shower:

The start of something new

Well hello there.

I'm Erin and this is my blog. 

(Ok I've seriously spent the last ten minutes trying to write why I'm creating this blog and I feel like everything is falling short of just what I am trying to say.  Also my husband is eating spicy Szechuan green beans across from me and his mouth noises are making me INSANE, therefore it is very difficult to focus on the task at hand.)

Anyway, with this blog I hope to share with you all the beautiful, hilarious, bizarre things that make up my life.  It's also my intention to create an online archive on which to reflect when my baby becomes a toddler and then a big kid and I wonder where the time went.  I hope you enjoy these snippets I share as much as I enjoy writing them.

So.  Where to begin?  Today is Tuesday.  The NBA finals are on, my dog is chewing a bone by my feet and my baby is SLEEPING IN HER CRIB (you might not know this yet, but this is a huge, huge, HUGE milestone).  My husband (henceforth known as Eric) and I finished a late "dinner" consisting of the aforementioned spicy green beans, a piece of toast (him), Dorito crumbs (me), and our signature beverage, Bacardi and Diet Coke (we call them rumadums. Don't ask).  Except we only had enough rum for one dum (ok two but the beans were really, really spicy. Don't judge.) so Eric gallantly drank Captain Morgan instead. When you are 30 and you have a baby and you're kind of broke, this is a symbol of love and sacrifice.  Thanks Eric.  I love you.

Do you ever step back from your life and wonder, "how the heck did I get here?"  For example, tonight: why am I half watching the NBA playoffs, and why do I half care who wins, and why has my living room been taken over by baby toys (wait, how am I even old enough to have my own living room...?)  and does anyone else have odd conversations with their husbands about their twitter feeds and wait, WHY is the Heat losing? They're even playing at home.  Wait, WHY do I care??

Seriously, how did I get here?

Do you ever feel that way?

I know we all have beautiful, unique lives...but sometimes, especially in our social media culture, other people's lives tend to look pretty perfect. That's a sham, man. And I also know that as we journey on our life-path, things can get lonely, or change unexpectedly in an instant. So with this social media blog, it's also my hope to be just real enough that you know you're not the only one who might be lonely or sad or really frickin' crazy right now because you can't find that left shoe even though you swear it was in your closet yesterday.  So look for the bizarre and beautiful in your own life. Laugh when things delight and surprise you. Laugh harder when things don't go as you planned. You're definitely not alone.
My life constantly surprises and bemuses me, but I'm understanding that maybe this is normal.

Maybe this is normal.