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.

Blake Olivia: 10 months

This month's little photo shoot was not a huge success.  She was clearly not in the mood for this and I didn't have a plain white onesie in her size so I tried to cover up the writing on one with her month sticker.  I'd try again but it's just too much trouble.  I kind of like these pics anyway.  She rarely cries so these are pretty funny.  

This one cracks me up.  The look on her face says so much.  I really pissed her off ;) 

Also, she is the spitting image of my sister. 

What's been going on this month:

• Her hair is finally really starting to grow.  I was worried there for a bit that I would be doing headbands forever.  Her curls in the back are the cutest and she has hair exactly like her mom and dad.  Blonde with natural curls (yes Kyle and I have really similar hair).  Sorry girlie, you will need to learn early how to use that flat iron because frizz runs in the fam on both sides.  
• She is (some of the time) waving, clapping, & kissing.  She's also understanding more signs now and is sometimes doing them back.  She can do "all done" and she understands "nurse/breastfeed" and "more".  When I make the sign for nursing she gets a huge smile on her face.  It's really cute.  Now that she is understanding more I'd like to start doing more signing.  
• She in finally crawling.  I feel like we waited forever for this one but in reality she has been right on time with all of her developmental milestones, including crawling.  
• She loves to spin around in circles on her bum too.
• She is also pulling up to standing and cruising along the couch and coffee table.  She stands up on any and everything she can get her hands on and is getting stronger by the day.
• At the end of her naps I find her sitting up in the crib now.  It was a little shocking the first time.  
• Blake went on her first vacation to Cabo.  She loved it and we didn't have any of those problems that baby websites will tell you about when travelling like sleep problems etc.  Probably because we still are co-sleeping most of the time anyway. She loved swimming in the pool and all of the attention she got from strangers.  Our server one night said she literally "had to hold her" and Blake went right to her.  She also loves the attention so much that she has started staring people down who don't acknowledge her.  It's funny but probably a little rude ;)
• She still does not sleep through the night but I guess I have given up on that.  It will come when the time is right and it doesn't bother me that much anymore.  I just wish we had a bigger bed so we would all be more comfortable.  I keep her in her crib until that point in the night where I'm just too tired to try again and she gets in bed with us. 
• After Cabo/at the end of our trip, we all got a cold.  This was the first time Blake has ever been sick but it was really minor.  Still, it's hard to see your little one struggling to breathe through her nose and having even the smallest discomfort.  
• Blake's facial expressions have gone to a new level.  She started with duck face and then to a pissed off scrunched up face.  Her eyebrows are so expressive and I find myself always making excuses for her saying "it's not you, she just makes that face all the time" but who knows if that's the truth.  
• She has 5 teeth now.  The top 2 and 3 on the bottom.  They are practically popping up weekly now
• We are all loving the new house and Blake adjusted just fine to her new bedroom.  She has tons of room to play now which is awesome.
• She HATES having her diaper changed and has to be distracted with something when on the changing table every single time. 
• She loves her Cheerios and has expanded her palate to lots of different foods now.  She pretty much likes everything.  She usually lets me know she's done by smacking the spoon out of my hand and spilling the food everywhere. This is why we are working so hard on that "all done" sign ;)
• She also loves her books and story time.  She loves to turn the pages and I only read her the board books now because she is too destructive with the pages in the paper books.
• I am still nursing and still pumping at work.  The whole experience has been so worth it but pumping and working really sucks.  It's been difficult in my line of work because it's really hard to step away from my busy section of tables to take a break and my co-workers, who are forced to help me out, really don't care or understand the importance of it.  I don't expect them to but still it makes things hard when you work for tips.  That 15 minutes away from a table can really cause things to go south.  

German Nivea

I've been hearing about German Nivea for a few months now.  The rumor is that it is basically the same recipe as Creme de la Mer.  I compared the ingredients and it is very similar but it's not exactly the same.  The reason that it has to be German is that, apparently, America puts things in their products that are banned elsewhere.  America uses petroleum in skin care products all the time, which is, I am told, bad for our skin.  Anyway, I figured why not try it since it is seriously cheap.  This huge tin, I think 13.5 ounces was $15 on Amazon.com.  So far I really like it.  It smells great and is really thick and moisturizing.  I have somewhat dry skin so someone with oily skin might hate it.  

Pineapple

I think it's so funny how food can be trendy.  I understand how healthy "superfoods" come and go in trends but fruit, really?  Pineapple is having it's moment right now.  It's all over fashion and parties.  Pineapple themed this and that.  A little while ago it was lemons. Anyway just to jump on board, I bought an Old Navy tank with gold pineapples on it and we are having a Hawaiian luau themed 1st birthday for Blake (Kyle's idea BTW).

I love this presentation for pineapple.  My step mom has been doing it for years and I tried it today and it was surprisingly really easy.  I might even try doing a bunch for Blake's birthday party.  Then again maybe not.  We'll see...