My Little Mermaid

As a little girl I really wanted to be a mermaid. 

I  mean...

It doesn't get any cuter than that!

Blake Olivia Turns One!!!

I can't believe it!  This year has gone by so fast.  Even with our sleepless nights, it still flew by.  I swear I'm going to turn around and she will be asking for a car.

The party was awesome, except for the fact that Orange County is baking right now.  It must have been 95 degrees inside my house that day.  Ok so the theme was luau but I got really into flamingos towards the end of my planning so it was sort of pineapples and flamingos.  I don't really know what that technically is but I don't care...it was super cute.

Some highlights:
-We had a great turnout and Blake had tons of amazing people to celebrate with.
-There were tons of babies here, all about the same age, and not one meltdown.  Good job moms and dads.  We have some really great kiddos :)
-Blake participated in the cake eating but didn't really love it.  Yessss, I hope she doesn't get her mama's terrible sweet tooth.
-She wore her adorable gold Gap sandals all day and didn't have a fit about it.
-She received tons of really cool toys and super cute outfits.

And for my last monthly post for the 1st year...
Here's what's been happening this month:

• Cruising and walking holding on.  She is so fast now and has even taken a few steps on her own.  She's really close to just letting go.
• She had a clingy phase toward the beginning of the month and a total sleep regression.  This could be tooth related or just developmental, I don't know.
• She now has 8 teeth in and 2 more cutting through.  We brush twice a day every day now and she loves it.  I have to sing the Raffi "Brush Your Teeth" song every time of course.
• She loves to be sung to and we sing at every bed time and nap time now.  I have to sing to get her to eat, to let me change her diaper, etc etc.  She must love my terrible singing voice.
• She also loves Sesame Street songs which I will admit right now that I'm a terrible mom and she does get a little "screen time" on the ipad watching them. She dances and sings along to them.  I highly doubt I'm doing that much permanent damage ;)
• I'm still nursing on demand and my stock answer every time someone asks when I'm going to wean her is " when we are ready."  So basically I have no idea and we are totally fine with that.  It's so hard in the beginning and we have just gotten to the good part a few months ago so I'm definitely not ready to give that up yet.
• I tried to stop nursing to sleep to see if that might help her sleep longer and it backfired on me.  She was just going through a phase and we are back to the old routine and she's getting better and better.  This week I've had a 8 hr stretch and a 7 hr stretch, which makes me feel like a new person in the morning.  I might try some more light training in a month or two and see how she does.  By that I mean trying to night wean for part of the night and keeping her in her own bed for the whole night no matter what.  We are already starting some of that so it won't be a huge transition. 
• Blake's current loves: books, bath time, Curious George, doing things she's not supposed to and getting caught (she's an adrenalin junkie), flirting, waving, her sippy cup, driving (going for walks in her pink push car), swim class, and cheerios.
•  She's waving and saying bye bye but it sounds like buh buh buh.  I have heard hi a few times also and of course the mama/dada babbling still but they don't have the real meaning like bye bye does.

Over the course of this year, I have experienced extreme sleep deprivation, highs of confidence, lows of insecurity, the fear of baby's first fever, the thrill of her first crawl/steps/word, the amazing feeling that comes when she leans in for a kiss without being asked.  I learned how to do just about anything with a baby strapped to my chest/back or on my hip.  I'm learning to let stuff go, to lead by example (put myself in check), to take one day at a time because you just can not predict what will come up, and I'm even (a year later) starting to find myself again and do some things just for me.  This year, I have learned more than I have in the last 25 years in school.

It's been the most challenging and most rewarding experience of my life and I can't wait to see what I have in store with year #2.

Cody vs the Skunk

Well, my biggest fear (besides a coyote of course) has been realized.  We had been seeing this skunk around  the neighborhood and had a run-in with it in the backyard once before.

A couple weeks ago, Cody woke me up barking because he needed to go out.  It was 3am and although this is super annoying, it's not uncommon for him. Long story short, he got sprayed.  It could have been worse.  I pulled him into the house as soon as I realized there was a skunk.  In the morning, I called his groomer and she said no tomato juice.  Just mix peroxide, baking soda, Dawn dish soap and water together and bathe him in it.   This mixture was a lot less messy than tomato juice and got the smell completely out.  I scrubbed him and left it on for maybe 2-5 minutes, rinsed and the smell was completely gone!

Blake Olivia: 11 months

What's been happening this month:
***I can't believe this is my last monthly post before she's 1 year old!***

• 7 teeth. 4 on top and 3 on bottom. We started brushing everyday.
• Sleep regression.  She never has slept well but it has been a little bit worse this month.
• She is a master crawler and is much more sturdy standing up(still holding on).  She is taking steps pushing the toy stroller with her baby doll in it.  She is cruising on the furniture also.
• Clapping, pointing to what she wants.
• Understanding my signs: nurse, eat, all done, etc.  Signing herself: all done, more. I should work on this a little bit more.
• Longer naps occasionally, which is always a pleasant surprise.
• Understands a lot of words.
• Very secure and confident.  Will go to pretty much anyone.
• Got sick with a fever.  Turned out to be Roseola we think. The doctor was no help on this one.
• Very easy going and easy to take out.  She loves being around people and just watching her surroundings.
• She ate dog food, oops :)
• Started swim lessons.
• Got a bruised cheek falling at Grammie's when mommy had her back turned. Another oops.
• We have had lots of play dates, concerts in the park, walks, shopping trips (getting ready for her b-day), backyard pool days, 1st trip to Del Mar, US Open, and other fun summer activities :)
• We have checked off almost everything on our summer bucket list.

Healthy No Bake Snacks

I came across an old friend and co-worker's blog the other day and tried out one of her recipes.  They are delicious little no bake snacks packed with healthy ingredients.  You can see her original post here.  I might start experimenting with different ingredients because these are so easy and are perfect for guilt free snacking.

I doubled her recipe because the first time I made them, I liked them so much I felt we needed a bigger batch :)

All you have to do is throw...

• 2 cup of pitted dates (I'm obsessed with these right now)
• 1 apple (whatever kind you like)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 cup flax seeds
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1 cup almonds
• 2 tbs melted coconut oil

into the food processor, roll the mixture into bite size balls, and put into the fridge.

Chalkboard Wall

I'm so excited about this because I've been thinking about my chalkboard wall since we decide to move.  

I just taped off the area and painted chalkboard paint right onto the wall.

Then we went to Home Depot and bought molding to make the frame.  Kyle cut it into 45 degree angles and screwed it into the wall.  I touched it up with paint and then it was ready to go :)

We got it done just in time for the 4th.

Why I love my OB

I just saw this sitting as a draft in my blog posts and I'm not sure why I didn't publish it way back when I wrote it

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There are a million reasons why I love my doctor but lately I am so confident that I made the right decision to stick with her.

I have been going to my OB/GYN forever.  I have always really liked her but I did consider changing docs when I first found out I was pregnant.  Looking back now, that would have been so stupid.  I actually had people telling me to change doctors because I would want to deliver at HOAG in Newport Beach instead of Long Beach Memorial. "HOAG has ocean views and a candle light dinner the night you deliver.  They call it hotel HOAG."  Well that's nice and all but Long Beach Memorial is an excellent hospital and trauma center.  Their reputation in medical care far out weighs the "luxury" benefits of HOAG and I can't believe I even considered this in the beginning.  Not to mention I think I will be more concerned with looking at my child than looking at the ocean.

The other reason I considered switching was because I soon found out that my doctor works at a practice of 6 doctors and I would have to now rotate my appointments with all of them because I was not guaranteed my doctor for my delivery.  I would get whom ever was on call that day. This was the biggest disappointment.  In the end I decided to stick with the doctor I already knew I liked and give the others in her practice a shot.  Well they all were nice/fine but what I quickly learned was that my doctor had told them to schedule me with her at every other appointment and when I asked her what my chances were of having her be there on the day she said she will do everything in her power to be there.  I honestly think she really does care and wants to be there for my delivery.  At this point even if she isn't, I've been so impressed with the care I have gotten over the last 10 months it doesn't even matter if she's there.  I will still be singing her praises.  She has taken such good care of our family.

I think the most important thing when choosing a doctor is making sure you are on the same page with what kind of pregnancy and delivery you want to have.  This is where my doc and I are perfectly matched.  I would read about something new or alternative and ask her about it and she was always up to date and knowledgeable about it. Basically she's up with the current trends.  No more episiotomies, trying perineal massage, walking around during labor, less checking the cervix for dilation (in fact I wasn't checked until 39 weeks because it is now seen as unnecessary and uncomfortable), helping me to do everything in my power to avoid cesarean section etc, etc. She was an advocate for exercise, healthy eating, and maintaining a normal life style during pregnancy.  She doesn't treat pregnancy like an illness when it's actually a really healthy time in your life.  I was surprised at how many people were told to lay around and act like they were sick. "Here's a list of 50 different medications that it is ok to take but be sure not to overdo it on exercise".  That seems crazy to me. On top of that I heard people say their doctor asked them if they wanted to do an elective c-section. I think if she had asked me that it would have been an immediate red flag.

I had an unbelievably healthy and comfortable pregnancy and although I know some of that is lucky, I know a lot of it is the advice and care I received from my doc.

Thank you Dr. Koe and I really hope to see you at my delivery :)

If anyone in the Orange County or LA area needs a great OB/GYN, here is a link to her website. Long Beach OB/GYN  Her name is Dr. Karen Koe.

I was also really impressed with Dr. Laurie Endo.

**One warning, there's a receptionist there that can be very rude in a "I just can't put my finger on it" passive aggressive kind of way.  She talks down to the patients and can be disrespectful in keeping people's private info private at the window.  I can hold my own and haven't really had a problem but I did see an elderly woman and her husband get pretty upset one day while I was waiting.  It's annoying but worth suffering through to get to see a great doctor.