This last weekend we made an impromptu trip to Leakey for a much-needed getaway. I was literally bitching to Elizabeth on Thursday afternoon that I didn't have any plans for the Labor Day weekend and she said "Let's go to Leakey tomorrow" and I said OK! Jeremy wasn't hard to convince either. I guess we both needed a little time away from the house.
We packed up the car (you'd be surprised how much crap a Jetta can hold) and headed out Friday afternoon. We didn't go overboard with food like we normally do and packed the car with a couple of t-shirts, some shorts, some swimsuits, flip-flops, 3 chihuahuas, a whole lot of champers, and Autumn's entire room*. We got to Leakey at about 6pm and just relaxed!
The relaxing continued the entire weekend and the weather was incredible. It was not too hot and there was a nice breeze that even brought in a couple of sprinkle showers. Unfortunately that meant the Frio was even more frio than normal, so we didn't spend a lot of time in the river. We did, however, sit on the porch, gossip, take long walks with the girls, sleep in, and have a wonderful chill long weekend. Just what the doctor ordered!
As usual, we took a whole bunch of pictures which I've put on my Picasa album. It's far easier to just have them as a link you can go to and take a peek than to actually post them here! See, my laziness continues... We also got some video of the girls that we are going to cherish forever. The first 2 below are of Autumn and Felicia playing outside. Autumn loves the swing and Felicia loves to get in to everything so this set up was ideal.
The second was just a couple minutes after Felicia got tired of pushing Autie in the swing. She decided to run back to check on the situation and things got a little out of hand. Unfortunately I was sitting about 6 feet to the right of where I should have been sitting to caputure this moment properly, but you get the gist.
And finally, we took a lot of video of the girls in the bathtub together. Of the ones I took, this one's my favorite. Felicia splashes the crap outta Autumn, but Autumn just seems to take it all in stride. While she may not be able to splash her back now, I'm sure that it will come in the future.
We had so much fun and remembered what it's like to be without cell phones, tvs, internet, and civilization once again. Pure bliss if you ask me. While it's nice to come back to it, it sure is wonderful to be without every once in a while!
*Unfortunately I've learned that it's virtually impossible to travel light with a baby! The trouble of getting things to where you're going far outweighs the convenience of having things with you!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
I have become the person I always bitched about...
Here's what store managers need to realize: when you have a 20 pound baby in a cart that you've left in the car seat because cart germs freak you out, and you've failed to park near a cart return, a dilemma arises. You only have 2 options. Do you leave your baby in the car that you've had to turn on because it's 207 degrees in the shade in a lovely Texas summer to walk 5 cars away to be the good person and return the cart? Or do become "that guy" and leave the cart by the car? Folks, I've become "that guy". And what's worse is I don't feel all that bad about it.
HEB, for example, has wonderul "people with baby" parking. But what is the point of having that baby parking if there's no cart return right next to it to put your baby in? And do you want to know who the worse store offender is? Babies R Us in Austin! No kidding. In the parking lot, there are about 3 cart return areas. Where are they? At the back of the parking lot! It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, now does it?
So next time you see a lone cart in the middle of the parking lot, please don't cuss the person that did it. Just think that there's a good chance that there's acutally logical explaination for it.
HEB, for example, has wonderul "people with baby" parking. But what is the point of having that baby parking if there's no cart return right next to it to put your baby in? And do you want to know who the worse store offender is? Babies R Us in Austin! No kidding. In the parking lot, there are about 3 cart return areas. Where are they? At the back of the parking lot! It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, now does it?
So next time you see a lone cart in the middle of the parking lot, please don't cuss the person that did it. Just think that there's a good chance that there's acutally logical explaination for it.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
9 Month Doctor Appointment!
The last couple of weeks have absolutely flown by. Autumn keeps me constantly occupied and by the end of the night, I sit and think... Hmm, I really should update my blog. And as we all know, that never happened.
This past week has been challenging to say the least. Autumn is officially teething (again). The last time the 2 bottom teeth came in, we never even knew that it was happening. She didn't even give us reason to think that they were on their way and one day, they just appeared! This round, however, I think she's making up for it. Since Autumn is such a good baby normally, fussiness in this household is so frustrating! I haven't been able to keep her happy for long periods of time, she's wanted constant attention, and for the last couple of days has run a low fever. A couple of days ago, I saw the first hint of a new tooth (the little tooth to the left of one of her 2 front teeth) and thought the end was near. There was no luck in that department, as even after the tooth was cut, the symptoms continued. I feel so helpless sometimes since I know she doesn't understand why her mouth hurts. I've just tried to keep her a little closer and cuddle a little more these days.
I had it in my mind that her 9 month appointment was this Thursday for some reason, and planned my week around it. I couldn't remember the time of the appointment, so I called the Pediatritian's office this morning to check. They couldn't find Autumn's name on Thursday, and just started to look for her this week. The woman on the end of the line informed me that the appointment was today! Thankfully my boss is very understanding and we headed off to the doctor's office!
When we arrived, Autumn charmed everyone with her smiles and personality as usual! We got her new stats when we got in to our exam room! Autumn now weighs 20 pounds 15 ounces (a long way away from her original 6lb 7oz!) which puts her in the 85th percentile. She's 27 3/4 inches long and is in the 65th percentile for height. The shocking number is that her head circumference is 45.8cm which puts her in the 90th percentile (it's got to be all those brains in there)! My interpretation of these numbers supports what I see, that I have a little butterball :)
I was asked the normal questions about Autumn's development. I happily reported the things about her that I love the most. She laughs constantly, she plays peek-a-boo, she crawls (kind-of), she's very curious, she says "da da" (but no ma ma, dang-it), she repeats noises that you make, she's trying to pull up on everything but can't quite make it yet, and she changes every single day. I also happily reported that she loves to sing, and even though she may not be on key yet, the doctor informed me that singing was a very advanced still for a 9 month old.
We went through our feeding schedule and I learned about what's to come. Basically, she's no longer needs "baby" food and she can eat almost anything. I'm very excited to introduce her to some of the things that I love most! I can't help but wonder what her favorite foods will be and what she's going to refuse to eat (anyone want to introduce Autumn to seafood for me?).
We talked about teeth and I told her about all of the recent fussiness. She asked me if she could look in her mouth and I warned her that Autumn wasn't going to like that very much! While I literally pinned her arms to her side and her head to my chest, the doctor was able to take a peek. She told me that not only was the one tooth coming in, but she saw the front two teeth that should be making their appearance shortly! I can't even imagine what Autumn is going to look like with all of these teeth!
At the end of the appointment, she was cheerfully playing with me and lying on the table when the mean nurse stuck 2 huge needles in her chubby little thighs. This ain't my first rodeo and I've been very proud of how Autumn has handled shots in the past. With all of her changes, has come one very big one. SHE DOESN'T LIKE SHOTS. Autumn cried a cry that I have never heard before. I'm not sure that she's ever heard the screams that came out of her perfect little lips. I was so shocked by these noises that I had to show her to the nurses to make sure she wasn't having some sort of allergic reaction to the shots. They just pouted their lips and said "awww, her little face is so red!".
I took my little one home and just cuddled with her a little bit extra tonight because she just plain needed it. That's one thing in the world that's never going to change. She need me and I need her. Forever. And while I have no idea what kind of woman she's going to be, I know that I will always need her and I will always be there for her.
Everyone tells you that when you have a baby, the love that you immediately feel for that little one is indescribable. What they didn't tell me is that this indescribable love grows exponentially every single day. I absolutely adore this new-found love and have no idea how my heart is going to hold all of this love, but I can't wait to find out!
This past week has been challenging to say the least. Autumn is officially teething (again). The last time the 2 bottom teeth came in, we never even knew that it was happening. She didn't even give us reason to think that they were on their way and one day, they just appeared! This round, however, I think she's making up for it. Since Autumn is such a good baby normally, fussiness in this household is so frustrating! I haven't been able to keep her happy for long periods of time, she's wanted constant attention, and for the last couple of days has run a low fever. A couple of days ago, I saw the first hint of a new tooth (the little tooth to the left of one of her 2 front teeth) and thought the end was near. There was no luck in that department, as even after the tooth was cut, the symptoms continued. I feel so helpless sometimes since I know she doesn't understand why her mouth hurts. I've just tried to keep her a little closer and cuddle a little more these days.
I had it in my mind that her 9 month appointment was this Thursday for some reason, and planned my week around it. I couldn't remember the time of the appointment, so I called the Pediatritian's office this morning to check. They couldn't find Autumn's name on Thursday, and just started to look for her this week. The woman on the end of the line informed me that the appointment was today! Thankfully my boss is very understanding and we headed off to the doctor's office!
When we arrived, Autumn charmed everyone with her smiles and personality as usual! We got her new stats when we got in to our exam room! Autumn now weighs 20 pounds 15 ounces (a long way away from her original 6lb 7oz!) which puts her in the 85th percentile. She's 27 3/4 inches long and is in the 65th percentile for height. The shocking number is that her head circumference is 45.8cm which puts her in the 90th percentile (it's got to be all those brains in there)! My interpretation of these numbers supports what I see, that I have a little butterball :)
I was asked the normal questions about Autumn's development. I happily reported the things about her that I love the most. She laughs constantly, she plays peek-a-boo, she crawls (kind-of), she's very curious, she says "da da" (but no ma ma, dang-it), she repeats noises that you make, she's trying to pull up on everything but can't quite make it yet, and she changes every single day. I also happily reported that she loves to sing, and even though she may not be on key yet, the doctor informed me that singing was a very advanced still for a 9 month old.
We went through our feeding schedule and I learned about what's to come. Basically, she's no longer needs "baby" food and she can eat almost anything. I'm very excited to introduce her to some of the things that I love most! I can't help but wonder what her favorite foods will be and what she's going to refuse to eat (anyone want to introduce Autumn to seafood for me?).
We talked about teeth and I told her about all of the recent fussiness. She asked me if she could look in her mouth and I warned her that Autumn wasn't going to like that very much! While I literally pinned her arms to her side and her head to my chest, the doctor was able to take a peek. She told me that not only was the one tooth coming in, but she saw the front two teeth that should be making their appearance shortly! I can't even imagine what Autumn is going to look like with all of these teeth!
At the end of the appointment, she was cheerfully playing with me and lying on the table when the mean nurse stuck 2 huge needles in her chubby little thighs. This ain't my first rodeo and I've been very proud of how Autumn has handled shots in the past. With all of her changes, has come one very big one. SHE DOESN'T LIKE SHOTS. Autumn cried a cry that I have never heard before. I'm not sure that she's ever heard the screams that came out of her perfect little lips. I was so shocked by these noises that I had to show her to the nurses to make sure she wasn't having some sort of allergic reaction to the shots. They just pouted their lips and said "awww, her little face is so red!".
I took my little one home and just cuddled with her a little bit extra tonight because she just plain needed it. That's one thing in the world that's never going to change. She need me and I need her. Forever. And while I have no idea what kind of woman she's going to be, I know that I will always need her and I will always be there for her.
Everyone tells you that when you have a baby, the love that you immediately feel for that little one is indescribable. What they didn't tell me is that this indescribable love grows exponentially every single day. I absolutely adore this new-found love and have no idea how my heart is going to hold all of this love, but I can't wait to find out!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Getaway
Last weekend, Jeremy and I went to a conference for his company in South Padre! It was quite intimidating, since even though children were invited, we chose to leave Autumn with my mom at home. This was the first time that we both left Autumn alone overnight without either of us. Big steps, people!!
We flew out on Thursday morning and anyone that knows me knows how I hate to fly. I took 1/2 of one of my xanax pills in preparation, and when we got to the airport, Jeremy and I decided to sit down and have a beer. Our plane was delayed, and as one beer turned in to two, I started to feel light-headed! About 45 minutes before our new scheduled departure, we headed to the gate where all of Jeremy's co-workers were already waiting. Since they all knew who Jeremy was, they were all very welcoming to me and introduced themselves. We got on the plane and for the hour that we were on the plane, I felt great! It was a very uneventful flight in my opinion!
We arrived in Harlingen, picked up our rental car, drove the 45 minutes to the island, and checked in to the Sheraton. Jeremy headed straight to meetings, and I headed straight to my first nap in months! When I woke up, Jeremy and I headed to dinner and drove around the island looking for the perfect spot. We settled on a little place on the bay and the whole time I was thinking, hey, even if it's a seafood restaurant, there has to be a chicken breast on the menu! We took our seats at a wonderful table on the patio just in time to begin watching the sun set! We got our menus and I was shocked to find that there was nothing but seafood on the menu! Our waitress was terribly understanding, so she took our picture on the patio and went in search of a new restaunt. Our picture turned out great, don't you think?
We settled on a lovely little joint called, and I'm totally not joking about this, the Big Donkey. The food was wonderful despite the name.
That evening, we took a nice walk on the beach and headed to a mixer that the convention was throwing. All evening, people kept coming up to us and chatting with us as if we'd known eachother for years, which I found a little odd. Jeremy had to remind me that those were all of the nice people that I had met in the airport earlier that day. The rest of the weekend I was horribly embarassed because they all knew who I was but I had no idea who everyone else was because I couldn't introduce myself again without looking like a big idiot!
The rest of the weekend I totally laid low and enjoyed my alone time with my husband. One of the days, we stayed in bed and watched 3 movies back-to-back on HBO, ordered room service, and went to bed early. We got up early the next morning and took a walk on the beach to watch the sun rise and it was such a treat!
It was terribly relaxing and definitely different from my everyday life. Overall, though, I missed my little peanut and was really excited to go home on Sunday! I was so excited that I decided to take the flight au-natural so I wouldn't be sleepy when I saw Autumn. Unfortunately for me, it was the most turbulent-filled flight of my life and I told Jeremy that the next time I decided to take a flight without my meds to tell me no.
When we got home, I walked in the door and Autumn was on my mom's lap. She looked up at me, and after a couple of seconds, she squealed and smiled a huge perfect smile. It was as if she was saying "well there you are!". It was wonderful. Honestly, I think that it was the best part of my trip!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Autumn Leaf
When I announced our decision to name our daughter to my mom, she said "What? You're going to name her Autumn Leaf??" I corrected her with a laugh and ever since, the name has kind-of stuck.
This last week, when Tenley was watching Autumn, they went to hang out on a blanket in the front yard (which is one of Autumn's favorite things to do these days). Autumn discovered how fun leaves were when she found one and picked it up. It somehow ended up on her head and when she couldn't find it, she went looking for another and decided to make a lunch out of it. Tenley tried to take it away from her and she screamed!
She is such a silly little girl. And now she is living up to her nick name!
This last week, when Tenley was watching Autumn, they went to hang out on a blanket in the front yard (which is one of Autumn's favorite things to do these days). Autumn discovered how fun leaves were when she found one and picked it up. It somehow ended up on her head and when she couldn't find it, she went looking for another and decided to make a lunch out of it. Tenley tried to take it away from her and she screamed!
She is such a silly little girl. And now she is living up to her nick name!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Recap
It seems to get harder and harder to post something regularly on this. Autumn is getting much more active and wants more of my attention, which I really don't mind one bit! The only downfall is that I just have to give a recap of our events, rather than documenting them as they happen!
First of all, last Wednesday, I got all of my hair cut off. Now I have really never had long hair, but pregancy was kind to my hair! It was thicker and less stringy and I let it get longer than it had been in a long time. Unfortunately, when my pregnancy ended, so did the good hair days. It has been falling out in clumps and it's a wonder that I still have any hair left at all. I saw an episode of Law & Order SVU and decided that my hair needed to look like Detective Benson's. I ran in to a friend at a get together who does hair and I begged her to take me in and fix it all. When it was all said and done, Jan said that she cut off about 4 inches. I have never felt better and I think my hair shows it! I wanted to take a picture of it, so I just made it a lot cuter by adding Autumn to it. Now if I'd only fix it once in a while...
First of all, last Wednesday, I got all of my hair cut off. Now I have really never had long hair, but pregancy was kind to my hair! It was thicker and less stringy and I let it get longer than it had been in a long time. Unfortunately, when my pregnancy ended, so did the good hair days. It has been falling out in clumps and it's a wonder that I still have any hair left at all. I saw an episode of Law & Order SVU and decided that my hair needed to look like Detective Benson's. I ran in to a friend at a get together who does hair and I begged her to take me in and fix it all. When it was all said and done, Jan said that she cut off about 4 inches. I have never felt better and I think my hair shows it! I wanted to take a picture of it, so I just made it a lot cuter by adding Autumn to it. Now if I'd only fix it once in a while...
On July 4, we celebrated by having a block party in our front yard. It was incredibly hot, but luckily we have a lot of shade. As we all know, Autumn absolutely loves being outside. We put a quilt down in the grass and Autumn just played until she passed out. Everyone kept commenting on how they couldn't believe how good she was! She didn't make a peep the whole time and was perfectly content the entire time. We didn't take many pictures, but I did get a couple of her nap.
Today, we began our swim lessons! I knew that Autumn would love being in the water from our time in the Frio River. As I expected, she loved every second of it. She didn't even cry when we dunked her little head under water (unlike her classmate!). This lesson, we learned to blow bubbles in the water: 
We learned how to make Autumn comfortable on her back while being pulled through the water (and I sang her favorite song, thanks to Tenley, to keep her interested and calm)
She even learned how to pull herself out of the water! They swear that she can do it, but I know that we have got some practicing to do. Right now, she can grab on to the side...
But inevitably, she ends up face first with the concrete poolside in her mouth.
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