Nicolette's 1st Birthday Extravaganza!

Be prepared to be bombarded with hundreds (ok, maybe not HUNDREDS - but I DO have 189 photos from N's birthday celebration on my camera) of photos of Nicolette's birthday extravaganza!

As you very well may know, Nicolette turned one on July 5th.  Since that was a Friday and I wanted her party to be a family party with mommies, babies AND their daddies we decided to host her party on Saturday, July 6th. At first I told myself that I would not succumb to Pinterest Pressure but I just couldn't help myself.  My husband thought (and still thinks) that I am a total nut job for putting so much time and energy into this party but he knew what he was getting into when he married me.  I have ALWAYS been one to get excited about throwing a party - just ask my parents about the 12th birthday party I threw for myself...without their permission...or letting them know that I had sent out "custom" invitations for (custom meaning I handwrote them myself - each friend getting a different colored invite).

Determining a theme was the easy part...ever since I found out I was pregnant I've sung "You Are My Sunshine" to Nicolette.  I still sing it to her before almost every nap and at bedtime so I decided that would be the theme.  I found a cake design that I absolutely loved and basically designed the whole party around that.

I worked with Inspired Trading Co on etsy to design the invitations and I just loved the way they turned out. I worked with Hailey at  http://www.etsy.com/shop/InspiredTradingCo and she was so helpful with adjusting the colors so that it fit the palette that I had in mind for the party.  Although the theme was "You Are My Sunshine" I didn't want to go totally cheesy, smiley, sunshiney faces all over the invite.  (not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that)

Front

Back - contact info is removed, that's why it's blurry

Now to me the 1st Birthday is ALL about the CAKE!  So choosing the cake and choosing the right cake baker was critical!  I'm blessed to know MANY talented pastry chefs but was delighted to be able to work with Lisa Toohey of Cake Expressions once again.  She also made my 30th birthday cake, but then had the nerve to pack up and move to London with her family for what seemed like a million years...good news Charlotte peeps, she is back and her cakes are just as gorgeous and delicious as ever!   (She also prepared the adorable cake pops and macarons).  

Check out the Cuteness!!!!!

Most adorable little smash cake

Lisa, you definitely outdid yourself and the cakes and desserts were more than I had imagined!!!!  

Now for other party details - 

High Chair Fabric Garland

I had to think of a way to dress up Nicolette's $19.99 ikea high chair so I decided to get crafty and make a fabric garland (see in photo above).  This was WAY easier than I ever could have imagined and I learned how to by following a tutorial on youtube. (one change...I didn't cut my fabric, just snipped it and then tore it.  I wanted it to have ragged edges so that it had more of a "shabby chic" look (emphasis on the shabby). It also was much quicker than cutting the fabric.  My highchair garland was made with 18" strips of fabric so it hung approximately 9" from the highchair as the fabric loops are doubled up). 

Fabric Garland

I ended up having purchased WAY too much fabric so I decided to make another fabric garland.  This one was long enough to put on the 8' beverage table. The total cost for both garlands was $12 in fabric and ribbons.  I spent one evening tearing and tying fabric whilst enjoying one of my guilty pleasures, "The Bachelorette".  

"I am 1!" Banner

I looked on etsy and saw some GORGEOUS banners but they were $30, $40 and $50 (and more), so I decided to go super simple and make my own.  I already had a scrapbooking circle stamp (I think it is a 3" circle) so I just bought some pretty pink cardstock and some scrapbooking letters from Michaels.  Used my hubby's hole punch and some ribbon that I had in my gift wrap closet and viola, banner = done. 

Proper Party Hat

Now every girl needs a proper party hat, right?  I checked etsy again (of course) and hats were crazy expensive, albeit super adorable but I figured I can put SOMETHING together, right?  And I didn't wan to spend $30+ on a hat that she would probably end up pulling off her head after 3 seconds.  So I found a template online and picked out some pretty damask paper and found a bunch of flowers on clearance from Michael's.  Pulled out my trusty hot glue gun, some ribbon I already had and some cute lace trim from my fabric scraps and presto change-o we had a birthday hat in under 15 minutes!  AND Nicolette actually kept the thing on her head the entire time she was eating her cake.  She didn't pull at it one time!  Such a good girl! I think my design on a dime hat was around $3 to make.  

sidenote: I did cut the paper about 1/4 to 1/2" LARGER than the template - the template just looked like a really small hat to me.  Cutting it just a tad larger made the perfect sized hat for Nicolette.  

Circle garlands

I wanted to accent the cake table but wanted to do something other than the tissue pom poms or accordion balls.  I had seen pictures of circle garlands and thought that they looked super cute.  I already had a 1 1/2" scalloped edge circle punch in my scrapbooking supplies so I just bought three different colors of paper (light pink, medium pink and pale yellow), spent a night on the couch punching away and then spent a couple of nap sessions with my sewing machine sewing the circles together.  Probably cost a total of $5 for the look and I was super happy with it!  

Tissue Pom Poms and Streamer Curtain

I went super light on the food - the party was at 3pm so it's a weird time for eating - also this party was all about the cake and the sweets, right so who needs a lot of foo?  Regardless I wanted the dining room to look lovely so I covered our windows with a streamer garland.  A couple of rolls of pale yellow and pale pink streamers (probably $10) and some painters tape and one nap session to hang it up and I was done with that project.  I purchased the Martha Stewart Tissue Paper Pom Poms from walmart.com and used some of my extra circle garlands in here too.  So this room was completed for about $15-$20.  

Menu sign on leftover paper in a frame that hangs in N's nursery

Simple food

Fruit Salad

Trail Mix in Pink Paper Cups

I did splurge a little on something that is totally unnecessary...custom water bottle labels.  I found them on etsy (of course), but they were just too cute to resist! $15 for 15 labels and the water was from Trader Joe's.  I already had mason jars so accented them with some scrap ribbons and bought some snazzy paper straws from Sugar Divas.  We went simple with beverages too...just bottled water, lemonade, white wine and beer for the fellas.  

I took some of my favorite photos from each month and printed them as 8 X 10's, added her monthly onesie sticker, backed them with scrapbook paper and hung them with scrap ribbons from our staircase.  This was Nicolette's FAVORITE part of the party.  I hung them early in the week prior to her party and every time we'd walk past them she'd just stare and smile and laugh.  Which makes me think of something else...but that's a post for another day. 

 I backed her monthly pictures that I took with her elephant, Ellie and hung them in our family room.  I plan to put these in her baby book now.  (Need to work on updating the baby book...ACK!).

The loot table!  Another streamer curtain to block off the hubby's office (which looks like a bomb exploded in it). We were amazed at how generous our friends and families were.  We are truly blessed to have such amazing people in our lives who love our daughter almost as much as we do!

And a simple banner on the front door - same circle punch and the left over scrapbooking letters from the "I Am 1!" banner over the high chair.  

Now let's get to the GOOD stuff!  The reason that we're all here...this precious girl Nicolette!!!!

Happy girl was dancing to the music waiting for the party to start!

"Where's this cake everyone keeps talking about?"

What you didn't see: the reason that I have a death
grip on Nicolette's arm while simultaneously blowing
out the candle is because right at the very end of
"Happy Birthday" she reached her sweet little fingers
out to grab THE FLAME!

Happy Family!

with Gramma G 

She was happier eating with her fork

Dig in!

mmmmmmmmm!

Eating Cake is Serious Business. 

Love these sweet little messy hands

Smash cake success!

Time to clean up!  Notice the hat is STILL on! 

Hope you all enjoyed the pics.  I had the best time putting the party together.  I know she won't remember it, but we'll have the pictures and memories forever!  So blessed!

11 Month Birthversary - Long Legs Edition

Soooooo it's been a whole month since I've posted anything.  #slacker

Today is Nicolette's 11 Month Birthversary and she celebrated by sleeping in until 8am!  She wasn't really feeling the photoshoot today and was a little serious in front of the camera so we just went with it.  As I was flipping back through the photos I couldn't believe how LONG her legs are!!!

Nicolette can wave "hi" and "bye" and can say, "Mama" "Dada" and "Doh" (which means dog - she literally says it pretty much any time she sees a dog) :).  She can put coins in her piggy bank and put things away in her purse.  She learned how to climb the stairs (oh joy!) and I have a hard time keeping her away from stairs anywhere we go. She can turn ANYTHING into a "walking toy" - her high chair, a book, a laundry basket, tupperware, you name it and she can stand for quite a while without holding on to anything. No independent steps yet though, which is fine with mama!
 

10 Month Birthversary!

Nicolette turned 10 months old on Sunday and I had to try to wrangle her up for another monthly photo shoot.  Lord have mercy that child is all over the place!  At 10 months old, Nicolette is full of energy and getting her to sit still even for a second is not easy!

She is a pro at crawling and loves to pull to standing.  She's testing her balance here and there but not standing on her own unsupported yet.  If you put her in her walker she takes off in a split second.  She's even good at rerouting when she bumps into things or reaches an impasse.  She'll also walk (quickly) when holding on to your fingers and loves her push toys.

Nicolette has not been the greatest eater, we struggle to get her to finish her meals but that will surely improve with time.

In addition to saying "mama" (which she's been saying for months), Nicolette also started saying "dada" yesterday and this past weekend I think she started trying to say "dog".  We're dog sitting for friends and she would look at him and point and each time I would say "DOG".  By Sunday she was pointing and saying "doh".  I'm assuming that this means dog and that my child is a genius.

Sweet Dreams!

So as many of you who follow my blog and my IRL (In Real Life) friends are well aware, Nicolette is an absolute dream baby.......... EXCEPT when it comes to bedtime.  We (and I should say I as the Italian travels frequently so bedtime ritual is on my list of to-do's) struggled profusely with frequent and incessant night wakings (you can read my original post here).

I asked Dr. Chris about it at one of Nicolette's check ups and we made the decision to cut out dairy and soy from my diet as she had excessive gas.  That was back in February and the doc did say that it could take 2-3 weeks or even more to see the results.  I can definitively say that we've definitely noticed a significant decrease in the gas...our little Tootie hardly ever toots anymore!  I have relaxed a little bit on the diet and don't freak out if something has butter or soy lecithin in it but I am pretty mindful and make sure not to order a grilled cheese, drink a glass of milk or eat yogurt or any of the obvious culprits.  This still works for us so Nicolette isn't too terribly sensitive but is sensitive enough to make a difference.  So sadly, I shall remain pretty much soy and dairy free for the duration of our breastfeeding relationship.

With that said, we were still struggling with night wakings by the time we got to Nicolette's 9 month check up so I asked Dr. Chris about it again.  I told him that I had heard that if she wasn't sleeping continuously for 8-9 hours uninterrupted by this age that her brain might not be developing properly.  He literally laughed at me...out loud laughed at me.  He said, "look at your baby...she is developing perfectly."  He said that the interrupted sleep is not ideal for mommy so that I needed to do whatever I felt I needed to in order to manage my own sanity.  He does not support CIO (Crying It Out) for longer than 30 second increments for a baby Nicolette's age so he offered 3 suggestions:

1. To make sure that her tummy is nice and full before bedtime
2. To try a cup of Epsom salts in her bath and to make sure that she soaks for at least 10 minutes each night
3. To feel free to feed Nicolette one time if she woke up in the middle of the night...he said that some babies DO need the extra calories and/or hydration in the middle of the night.  He said think about us grown ups...don't we sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and need a glass of water?  Same thing with a baby...why deny them that if it's what they need? 

So the control freak in me made the decision to make sure that she has a puree every night for dinner so that I know how much she's taking in.  We still play with avocado or peas or broccoli or whatever in addition to the puree but I felt the need to feed her the puree to make sure that her tummy is getting nice and full. With the Baby Led Weaning it's just  hard for me to gauge how much she's taking in.   

I left the doctor's office that afternoon and bought Epsom salts (4 bags of them) at Target and we started with our experiment that night.  I was skeptical but hopeful...we ran the bath, dissolved the salts and I set a timer on my phone (I don't know what has happened to my sense of time since I became a mom...10 minutes can feel like 2 minutes or 2 hours so I wanted to make sure that we hit at least 10 minutes).  I tried to keep bath time calm and rubbed her back, poured water on her and sang to her.  She got out and I dried her, rocked her and tried to massage her with her baby lotion (our baby massages are anything but relaxing...this child is a squirmy little wiggle worm and wants to be on the move...she has NO patience for anything that might be considered relaxing...even when she's exhausted...silly baby).  I nursed her, put her in her sleep sack turned on the noise machines (yes, that is not a typo it is supposed to be plural we use 2 sound machines in her room) and she was out in 2-3 minutes. SUCCESS!!!!  I quietly tiptoed out of the room and started to tidy up downstairs when 34 minutes later (yes I time her sleep too...I'm a Type A, obsessive compulsive mommy, remember?) I heard her crying...ARGH!!!!  I had such high hopes.  We went through several wake ups and around 11 I finally caved and brought her to bed with me.  

Fast forward to the next night.  I decided to try the salts again..repeated the same routine - full belly, warm bath, set the timer, rock, lotion, jammies, bed, noise machines, etc. and I tiptoed out of the room.  Wouldn't you know that the little stinker slept for 12 1/2 hours that night...straight through!!!!!  Holy Moses!!!!  I had to wake her up in the morning because we had plans but I couldn't believe it!  From that point on it's been smooth sailing.  We're going on 3 weeks of great sleep!  Maybe 3 or 4 times she has woken once in the middle of the night and I simply feed her and she goes right back down and stays asleep but most of the time she sleeps straight through. 

Look at those bright eyes after a full night's sleep!

This is LIFE CHANGING!  So either the salts are the miracle cure or the good Lord above had mercy on me and decided to bless me with the gift of sweet baby sleep at just the right time (I've had some unfortunate and stressful personal drama that crept up a few weeks ago and I honestly don't think I could have coped with the lack of sleep and this situation all at the same time). 

We did have one night this weekend where she was struggling with teething and I was paranoid and afraid to give her ibuprofen so that was a rough night with lots of wake ups.  But now I've tried to make peace with the ibuprofen and have given it to her once or twice when I KNOW that she's struggling with pain and she's sleeping like, as they say, a baby.

It's amazing that this night sleeping has totally straightened out her naps as well.  I used to struggle to get Nicolette down for a nap and could hardly ever get her to sleep more than 20-30 minutes.  Now that she's sleeping well at night, her naps are very regular and much longer.  She takes an hour to an hour and a half nap in the morning and a 30 minute to hour long nap in the afternoon with little to no effort on my part.  For example this morning I rocked her and nursed her and got her good and sleepy, then laid her in the crib.  She crawled around for about 5 minutes then laid down and went to sleep on her own...LIFE CHANGING I tell you, LIFE CHANGING!  I had always read that good daytime sleep begets good night time sleep but for us it was the exact opposite...we had to get the night time sleep straightened out in order to get good daytime sleep.  

So if you're struggling with baby sleep...give the bath salts a whirl and see if they're magic for you.  Remember that they didn't work the first night for us so try for a few nights and see if it helps. 

SWEET DREAMS!!!!     

My daughter

I don't know what's going on with me this week.  I've been a mushy, gushy, emotional mess.  I feel like life is moving in fast forward and I'm frantically looking for the remote so that I can press PAUSE.

Nicolette is now 9 months old (technically 9 and 1/2 months old but I refuse to acknowledge the extra weeks until we actually hit the next birthversary).  She is all over the place and loves showing off her latest tricks - pointing, waving and clapping.  

She is fiercely independent which makes me proud and sad all at the same time.

She is curious about everything - carefully inspecting every detail of whatever it happens to be that has captured her attention for the moment.  She loves to point at everything and loves to carefully inspect faces with her eyes and her hands.  She loves to stick her fingers in my mouth, in my eyes and yes, up my nose.  

She is focused - once she gets her mind and eyes set on something, she's focused intently on it until she's done.  She is not easily distracted.

She is strong...I watch her literally practice squats over and over again and I have a hard time holding her still if she wants to be on the move (i.e. when changing her diaper).  She's been crawling for 2 1/2 months and pulling to standing nearly as long.  She loves standing and walks with her push toys now.  I clap and say yay and am so proud but inside a little piece of me wants to cry.  I miss the tiny little bundle who would lay quietly in my arms for hours on end out of every day while I sang to her and stared at her and am all too aware that those days are long gone.    

She is happy.  She loves to be chased and she giggles endlessly when I nibble on her toes or on her fingers.  

She is content, she hardly every fusses about anything and almost never cries.  Even if it is well past time for her to have eaten, she usually doesn't make a peep.  She'll skip a morning or afternoon nap and never make a fuss about it.  I can't believe what an easy going nature she has!

She is sweet...even with her independent streak she still needs mama to rub her back or hold her hand as she falls asleep.  Our bedtime routine ends with me laying on the floor next to her crib with one hand in between the slats as we hold hands while she drifts off to sleep.  I will cherish the memory of this ritual forever.  

She is Nicolette, my daughter, my everything

...there is none like her and she is more than I deserve.  God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams.  She is my heart and our little family is my whole world.

My Favorite Things (MSPI edition)

So I've been faithfully soy and dairy free for over 2 weeks now and as I mentioned in my last post (view it here) it is DEFINITELY helping alleviate Nicolette's upset tummy and night waking!  Eating soy and dairy free is not for the faint of heart (or for the picky eater).  I used to live on edamame for quick and easy meals or would grab some of the Fried Tofu from Whole Foods (sigh....I really do miss that tofu!).   I was surprised to learn that nearly every convenience food that you buy contains soy in some form.  Luckily I have researched and learned that soy lecithin and soybean oil do not irritate many of the babies with MSPI (Milk & Soy Protein Intolerance) so you don't have to be as careful with those items which does open the doors quite a bit.

Sidenote: it was enlightening (and frightening) to learn how much of our food contains soy in some shape or form.  I was reviewing the allergen list for the Olive Garden since we were planning to go there for lunch one day and EVERY ITEM ON THE MENU contained SOY!  This is particularly frightening because something like 99% of the soy in America is Genetically Modified (a GMO) - it's not even naturally growing soybeans - it's something some kook worked up in a lab...sheesh!  And we wonder why cancer rates, asthma, allergies and everything else are on the rise...we're not eating REAL foods anymore.  But that's a post for another day.  

Here are a few of my favorite Soy & Dairy Free foods:

So Delicious Soy & Dairy Free "Ice Cream"
Chocolate Brownie Almond and No Sugar Added Mint Chocolate Chip are my favorites so far.  I can't wait to try the ice cream sandwiches and some of the other flavors.  And the best thing is that the Italian (who usually eats any and all snack foods and sweets as soon as they enter the house) won't touch this stuff because it says coconut on it and he swears that he doesn't like coconut (even though I make his toast with coconut oil every morning)  :)

Trader Joe's Coconut Oil
I use this stuff as a straight up replacement for butter in nearly everything...cookies, brownies, as cooking oil, on toast, etc.  It's delicious and crazy good for you.  Trader Joe's has by far the best pricing on Coconut Oil ($5.99 per 16oz jar).  I also use Coconut Oil for a myriad of other purposes (diaper rash, dry skin, chapped lips - you can view a list of 101 Benefits of Coconut Oil HERE)

Snap Pea Crisps
I LOVE snacking on these!  Probably a little too much!  They're light and crispy and a yummy, easy to grab snack!

Pacific Organic Cashew Carrot Ginger Soup
This is my new favorite dinner along with a slice of organic wheat bread toasted with my organic coconut oil on it!  mmmmmmm, tasty!

I'm sorting through some new recipes from my friend Toby who just finished nearly an entire year Soy and Dairy free in order to breastfeed her son through his first birthday!  Looking forward to getting creative in the kitchen and hopefully loving some yummy soy and dairy free meals!  I'll share any fantastic recipes that I test!

Here is my Soy & Dairy Free Brownie Recipe to get you started:

Brownies
Yields 9-16 servings

1/2 c. Trader Joe's Organic Coconut Oil, melted
1 c. Granulated Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 eggs

1/2 c. All Purpose Flour (I've also done a combo of 1/2 AP Flour and 1/2 Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)
1/3 c. Trader Joe's Cocoa
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Grease a 9"X9" Square pan (or line with parchment
• Stir together Coconut Oil, Sugar & Vanilla in a large mixing bowl
• Add eggs, beat well with spatula 
• Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt
• Gradually add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture, beating well until blended
• Spread batter into a prepared pan (I grease my pan with coconut oil)
• Bake 25 minutes until sides pull away from the pan
• Cool COMPLETELY in pan or on wire rack
• Cut into 9 or 16 squares and ENJOY!

Night waking update

So a few weeks ago I wrote about our issues with night waking (you can read the original post here).  A few days later I took Nicolette to the pediatrician because I really felt that the gas was what has been waking her up this whole time.  He suggested that I start her on a probiotic called Bio Gaia and that I eliminate dairy and soy from my diet.  Many babies have a milk and/or soy protein intolerance (MSPI) which can cause painful gas and night waking.  The doctor said that it would take 2-3 weeks to eliminate my body and hers of the accumulated milk and soy proteins so not to expect immediate results.

I started the elimination diet and probiotic 2+ weeks ago and literally 1 week and 6 days after starting the new regimen I saw a change in Nicolette's gas and night time sleep pattern.  Previously Nicolette would fall asleep easily and then awaken approximately 30 minutes after being put down.  I'd rock and/or nurse her back to sleep and she would reawaken every 30-45 minutes over and over and over again until I gave in around 11 or midnight and brought her to bed with us.  Well, 1 week and 6 days after starting she slept for nearly an hour and a half and even woke up a little and put herself back to sleep (I was watching like a hawk on the video monitor).  When she woke up after an hour and a half I rocked/nursed her back to sleep and she slept for nearly 2 hours.  Same thing happened last night.  a 1 1/2 hour stretch, then a 2 hour stretch, then a 4 hour stretch.  At 2am when she woke up crying The Italian asked if he could please go get her and bring her to bed with us :) ... he's an even bigger softie than I am!!!!  As I type this she's in the midst of an hour long stretch (still going strong...fingers crossed!).

I know it may seem silly to celebrate 1 hour or 2 hour stretches of sleep but this really is a huge accomplishment for us!  Since she turned 4-4.5 months old I've had to spend 3, 4 sometimes 5-6 hours on a bedtime struggle routine before giving in and bringing her to bed with us.  While I feel guilty for not realizing that the gas was bothering her so much I'm grateful that we seemed to have identified the sleep disruptor and are on a path towards more peaceful nights for her.  Now I can tell that she's feeling better and starting to be able to sleep for longer stretches of time on her own.  I'm not expecting full night sleeping on her own any time soon but am so thankful that her tummy seems to be soothed enough to sleep for longer than 30-45 minutes at a time!  Honestly in a perfect world the Italian and I would be so happy for her just to sleep on her own from the time we put her to bed (6:30/7:00 until 11 or so when we go to bed and then she can come to bed and snuggle with us all she wants).

For those interested here is more information on MSPI from MSPI Mama's website (which you can view HERE)

Milk Soy Protein Intolerance

You may be asking yourself: What is MSPI? Well, it stands for Milk Soy Protein Intolerance.

Basically, it's when a person (usually an infant or small child) can't tolerate eating ANYTHING that has a milk or soy protein-derived ingredient. 

Symptoms

Reactions vary on a personal basis, however, common symptoms include: reflux; upset stomach; gas; runny, painful bowel movements; blood in the stool; congestion; a rough skin rash on the face, head and chest; colicky behavior; abnormal sleep patterns; refusal to eat or sometimes constantly eating and purging. Yes, it's a lot of fun!

*The only symptoms Nicolette ever displayed were abnormal sleep patterns and gas.  We just thought she was a gassy little girl and even jokingly called her "Tootie" 

Diagnosis

Unlike a food allergy, there really isn't any medical test that can be given to determine whether someone has a food intolerance. It's mainly diagnosed through the symptoms. Unfortunately, not all physicians are aware of MSPI, and the intolerance goes misdiagnosed leading to failure to thrive and even unnecessary medical intervention.

Treatment

If your baby has reflux, medication can sometimes help relieve some of the symptoms, but ultimately, you must remove all dairy and soy protein from the baby's food in order to see true improvement. If your baby is bottle-fed, usually switching to a dairy and soy-free formula will take care of the problem. But if your baby is breast-fed, the mother must remove all dairy and soy protein from her diet ... thus the reason for this website! Please seek the guidance of a knowledgeable physician if you experience any complications.

Outlook
Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for MSPI. Just time. Most children will grow out of the intolerance. Some as early as 1 year old or much later. (My son grew out of his MSPI when he was 3½ years old.) A few unlucky ones may never grow out of it. I can tell you from experience that maintaining the MSPI diet isn't exactly easy or fun, but it's definitely doable! It's worth a shot. Give it a try!

8 Month Birthversary (mommy's late with her pictures)

Nicolette turned 8 months old last week and mommy had a hard time with it.  Time is going much to quickly!

Nicolette's 7th month was a busy one, she started saying "mama",  got her first tooth and started crawling (BOTH on February 6th, one day after her 7 month birthversary!)  So I've been busy chasing my little peanut around!

Here are a few pictures from our 8 month photoshoot...(sorry for being a little photo crazy...I can't help myself!

The official photo

Standing up now in the glider...that's safe, right?   

"I'm gonna get you Elli!"

Debating her escape

Curtains are fun!

And I love this series of photos where she spots mommy and comes crawling over as fast as she can.  Melts my heart!

Look at that sweet toof!

"Hi Mommy!"  I got you!!!!"

Mommy's view...beautiful!

Soooooo happy!

When did she get to be such a big girl?????

sniff, sniff

Never say Never

Oh being a mother has brought such wonderful, new experiences my way.  There are quite a few things I "never" thought I would do before sweet Nicolette:

1. Lick my finger and use it to wipe something off of my baby's face (do it daily now)
2. Use my sleeve (or bare hand) to wipe snot from my baby's nose when I don't have a tissue handy
3. Drive around aimlessly or sit in parking lots (or our garage) with a sleeping baby in the car
4. Bring my baby into bed with us to sleep on a "regular basis" (but only if you consider every night a regular basis) 
5. Thoroughly examine poopy diapers (Is that avocado?  I think I see sweet potatoes!)
6. Anxiously and excitedly await aforementioned poopy diapers
7. Suck snot out of my baby's nose with my mouth (not as gross as it sounds...check out www.nosefrida.com - it totally works and is way better than the bulb syringe.  I highly recommend it!)
8. Squirt breastmilk up my baby's nose (don't laugh - it honestly helps with congestion/runny nose)
9. Pray for my baby to sleep and then sit around wishing she was awake so that we could play
10. Pray for my baby to sleep and then spend her entire nap time flipping through pictures and videos of her on my phone
11. Be the mom who is late for everything (I used to be known for being 15 minutes or even more EARLY for EVERYTHING...now I'm struggling to get places 15 minutes late!)

I'm sure there will be more and more to add to this list as the days, months and years pass and I'll love every minute of it!