I'm Itching for A Baby

Why you may ask, you have one at home.Well yeah, but I've been thinking a lot lately whether or not we should start trying to conceive this summer. We always said that once we started to have children we were going to have them back-to-back and then be done with. Of course getting pregnant this summer would not be back-to-back but close enough in age. I'm still very leary about my thoughts and funny thing I haven't even talked to Hubbs about it, ha considering I do need him in the process:) We will be moving into a much bigger house (our forever home) sometime next year. Hubby had said that once we moved into our home we would immediatley start trying, however the planner in me wants to get pregnant in the summer so if its not this summer then we won't try again until the next (2011).

Being a teacher is ideal to get pregnant in the summer, I will share my reasons for getting pregnant this summer below:

1) Baby would be born in Marh/April which I could take 12 weeks of maternity leave and then the entire summer. I would not return to work until baby is about 5 months, this is of course if I even return at all.

2) Baby and Gabriella would be approximatley 17 months apart-perfect in my opinion.

3) I would have my two kids before 30

4) I want Gabriella and my future children to grow up being very close, play together, and enjoy the same things.

5) I cannot wait to see what our other future kids will be like (I would have 10) if it were at all possible.

Be aware, these are selfish reasons...

4) Baby would be born in March/April and I would have time to get back to ahem pre-prgnancy size in time for our summer trip (we want to do a big one that year).

5) Baby would be old enough to stay with grandma for my big 3-0, I want to celebrate!

Ok besides all the shallow reasons above, I mostly want my kids to be close in age and if we wait until next summer they would be almost 3 years apart. I think that is a little too much time apart for what we had planned. I also want to get my M. Ed but probably will wait once our kids are a little older 4+ and I dream of having my own business one day (yeah I want it all, ha). The longer I wait to have children the longer I will have to put that on hold. Also we thought we only wanted two kids, but once we had Gabriella and fell completely in love with her we have considered having a total of 3. If we do have decide to have 3 children I would like to have them all by 32ish. Of course these are all ideal wishes. It could take us longer to get pregnant, etc, etc. Like I said I'm a planner and like to plan oute everything, I know certain things don't work out that way.

So what are your thoughts? Yay or nay? I guess I have to brain wash  discuss this with my hubby but for mere entertainment I'm just bringing it up in my own brain:)

P.S. I've already taken all the responsible considerations such as can we afford a baby etc, all these are a GO. I  must add that a part of me wants to enjoy Gabriella as an only child a bit longer. I would want it to be just the three of us for a while so I'm definitely torn.

Half a Year Old-Gabriella is 6 Months!

I'm about a week late in posting this. Gabriella turned 6 months on Sunday the 14th but we were in Austin, which by the way it was Gabriella's first mini vacation. Yes, my little girl is half a year old, wow! I remember being pregnant like it was yesterday and here we are dealing with solids, crawling, and the initial planning of her 1st birthday bash. Gabriella is such a big girl.

This past week during Spring Break we (hubbs) put her high chair together and her big girl carseat. She also insists on sleeping on her tummy and cannot keep her socks on. She definitely lets you know when she needs/wants something and cannot get enough of bath time. We started putting her bath tub inside the big tub and let the water hit her like a waterfall-she loves it! She kicks, splahses, and squeals. She also transfers toys from one hand to the other, sits up completely unassisted, low crawls (as daddy calls it), has two beautiful pearly whites, can wear cute little bows, holds her sippy cup (cannot drink out of it yet) and is eating solids. Gabriella is also sleeping in her room (has been since 5ish months). We tried "sleep training" and it worked for us. I know we attempted it when she was younger and I said I would never do it. Well we did and it went great (that's another post though) .She is wearing 9 month clothes. I don't know her weigh/heightt stats since we will be going to the doctor until next week. Here are some more fun facts about Miss Gabriella.

Edit- Gabriella's 6-month stats:
18.5 lbs -90 percentile
28 inches-95 percentile


Months 5 & 6
Parents.com


Senses: Infants are born with a sweet tooth, but by this stage, they've also developed an appreciation for salty tastes, just in time for introducing solids. Gabriella loves sweet peas and carrots.



Body: Big news! Your baby rolls front to back and probably vice versa, and can sit like a tripod, propped up with one arm. Can she now? Gabriella is such a rolly polly! Seriously. She rolls over and over.



Brain: She begins to understand the concepts of putting in and taking out. Gabriella enjoys playing with her "farm" toy and demonstrates this concept when taking out the eggs and veggies. 



Communication Skills: By 6 months, babbling begins to imitate speech in tone and pattern. It also becomes language-specific, so a French baby (oui-oui) and an American baby (wah-wah) will start to sound different when they jabber. Hubbs says that Gabriella will have a motor-mouth like her Momma. She loves to talk (babble), especially at the most inaportune time, like bedtime.



Aww Factor: She can see you from across the room now and will probably react with a big smile. This is definitely true. Sometimes I peek in her window at daycare and she responds with a huge smile or even a cry when she doesn't see me anymore.



Fave Toy: She's starting to learn how to transfer objects from hand to hand. She like anything and everything she can put in her mouth, especially her feet. However, recently she's been amazed with Momma's wedding ring and wants to grab it, smart girl:P



Playtime: "Tell me a story." She can focus her eyes and attention better, so make reading a part of your daily routine. Gabriella likes story time and loves to hit on the books and put them in her mouth.



Mealtime: Add cereal, bananas, and other appropriate, easy-to-mush food to your shopping list. The tongue-thrust reflex subsides; your child is now ready to gum and chew soft solids. Gabriella started solids on her 6 month birthday. I made her sweet peas, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Her fave have been peas and carrots. We'll begin with fruits next week:)

Our trip to Austin

Random Pictures at 5 Months

Sweet Peas Where a Success,Sweet Potatoes Weren't and a Rose Butt!

So we started Gabriella on solids Saturday. We started with sweet peas and I was pleasently surprised. I'd heard that many babies do not like the bitter taste of sweet peas, but Miss G had no problem. She gobbled them like a pro and would open her mouth for more and even reach out for the spoon-no kidding! I was really glad that we decided to wait on introducing solids until 6 months because she is much more ready for them at this point. I remember seeing babies get fed to only have most of the food come right back out, due to the tongue-thrust reflux. Believe me, people gave us a hard time about not feeding her solids at 3 or 4 months or even before, but as long as her pedi agreed we stuck to our guns. She opened her mouth as if she had done it a million times before and enjoyed them.

Hmm, the sweet potatoes on the other hand were not so tasty according to Gabriella. I diagree. Our house smelled so good when I was baking them and I couldn't resist to have a taste when they came out fresh out of the oven, Gabriella however made a yucky face and was not at all interested in them. Bummer, but we'll try again.

The rose butt you might ask? That's what hubbs calls a diaper rash. Don't ask me why, that's just what his family calls it so we call it that too. Well Gabriella has one. A bad one, horrible I may add! I'm thinking it's due to the solids but moreso the sweet potaotes that she was not too fond of. Her poor little butt is so red and iritated. She doesn't exactly have diarrhea, but she is going so often that her little bum is very irritated, poor G. Per the doctor's recommendations, we've had to stop feeding her all solids (that's what I get for being too excited), we have to wash her bum with unscented mild Dove soap and warm water every single time she has a dirty diaper, blow dry her bum until its completely dry, then apply Aquaphor, and last allow for air to hit the irriated spot a few times a day (be naked) which she enjoys:) Needless to say this whole solids thing has not been as fun as I anticipated. I wish she hadn't got a rose butt but she did. We will continue with solids and its adventures next week, wish us luck will ya?

Gracious May Giveaway

Mrs. B at Feels Like Home is kindly having a Gracious May giveaway. These shoes by the way are absolutley a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e!! I've been wanting to get Gabriella some of these for a while now, but since they're a bit pricey I've wanted to wait until she's a little more mobile so she can "show" them off a little more:) Anyhow visit Mrs. B's blog and enter to win these cuties.   

Spring Break, Baby!

Ha, I sound like a college student awaiting to go party it up! Nothing to risque is in my plans but I'm pretty excited either way. I too have a Spring Break though and am pretty excited even though it consists of baby food making and dr's appointments.

Tomorrow we are going to start Gabriella on solids. I've gone and bought all the veggies that I will be making. She will start with sweet peas. We'll do the green veggies, then the orange, and then move on to the fun stuff-fruits last. The plan is to prepare everything in the morning and feed her a brunch. Who would think feeding my girl "real" food would be this exciting? Well it is people, it is.

I've set up several appointments for Miss G and I during the week but also plan on spending some much needed R&R. We have Dr's appointment (6 months), her 6 month photo shoot, my dentist appointment, and ahh a spa appointment for this Mama:) We also would like to take the boat out (if the weather permits us), go to the park, and spend quality time as a family. Spring Break usually consists of Spring cleaning at our house, but thankfully we have gotten that out of the way.

So today is Fun Friday here at school and the kids are pretty psyched to be off for a week, as I am also. We're kicking off Spring Break by going to the Rodeo tonight to go see Toby Keith. Rodeo here is huge and last year we didn't get to go. It'll be nice to unwind, hang out, and sip on a glass of wine, come on 3:30...let Spring Break begin! 

Layla Grace

I recently came across Layla Grace's blog and it has kept me reading for hours. Its such a sad story that no child nor parent should ever go through. I cannot even fathom what its like to be in their shoes and it just hits home because I have my precious Gabriella. Layla is now battling her final days with cancer that has invaded her precious little body. This angers me to no end, because It's Just Not Fair! Life is Just Not Fair sometimes! No child should ever have to endure the pain that sweet Layla has gone through.

In her short little life she has touched so many lives, and personally has made me realize not to take my beautiful baby for granted. I just want to go hold Gabriella right now, snuggle up with her, kiss her and hug her, and make sure she knows how much I love her; make her laugh and play with her and smell her sweet baby smell. It's situations like Layla Grace's story that reminds me to cherish and never take for granted every single moment I have with my daughter.

I ask that you say a prayer for this family and for Layla Grace. That her final days be peaceful and the suffering gone. Give her family the strength and faith to endure the circumstances and that they will continue to find peace in His name.

Please visit their blog at www.laylagrace.org if you're interested in hleping with a donation.

So guess who's sick now?

Yup, that would be me, ugh!!!! I hate being sick. Wednesday I woke up with a sore throat, and I was like ehh just ignored it. A sore throat has never killed anybody and besides I can't afford to get sick. Literally, all my vacation days are all used up and anytime that I miss work I get docked, not fun and besides I have a sick baby to take care of. So yesterday I woke up and felt dizzy, crummy, and my sore throat felt worse-still ignored it. Well after lunch I felt horrible, and I mean horrible! I had the chills and was freezing. I was walking around the school with a sweater and jacket on. I know ridiculous, but I didn't care. You saw me and you knew I was sick, in other words I looked like shit crap I mean. Gabriella and I got home and I told hubby she's all yours. Lucky me, I had forgotten that our realtor was going to come out and have us sign papers to finally put the house on the market. I really didn't feel like dealing with anything so I politely excused myself and Hubbs took care of everything. I'm sure by looking at me she figured it out. I had dark circles under my eyes and again, I was walking around with a jacket on and the heater full blast.

So I decided to stay home today after hubby convinced me, I really don't like to miss work but I needed medication fast! This morning Gabriella still went to daycare (she's doing much better by the way) so mommy could sleep in and go to the dr. By the way I totally forgot how life without baby was-pretty boring that's for sure. The house was so quite, but I did get my rest oh and I have strep throat...fun fun.

Right now I decided to get up and blog a little. Hubbs and Gabriella went to visit my mother-in-law, which Gabriella hasn't seen in 4 months. We were in non-speaking terms for that long but that's another post. The house is silent. I'm going to take a warm bubble bath and take a nap. Have a great weekend everyone!

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN’T LOOKING

Author Unknown

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you hang my

first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately

wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you feed a

stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind

to animals.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you make my

favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little

things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I heard you say a

prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always

talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you make a

meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I

learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you take care

of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have

to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw how you

handled your responsibilities, even when you didn’t

feel good, and I learned that I would have to be

responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw tears come

from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things

hurt, but it’s all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw that you

cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I learned most of

life’s lessons that I need to know to be a good and

productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I looked at you and

wanted to say,"Thanks for all the things I saw when

you thought I wasn’t looking"

Little G is sicky-poo

In other words she's sick. Sicky-poo is just a word my sisters and I have said since we were kids and still continue to use it to refer to someone that is sick. My husband even uses it too:) Anyhow Gabriella had been very cranky for about a week and had not been sleeping well-AT ALL.  The whole time I thought it was her teeth, poor baby. They called me from daycare on Monday saying that she had a low grade fever. We picked her up but then it went away and she had been doing good on Tuesday. Yesterday they called me again saying she had fever so I quickly called her doctor and thank God they were able to squeeze me in-I love G's dr. Once they examined her they concluded she has an ear infection-ouchy. I picked up her actibiotics and she started taking them right away. I really hope she can get rid of that nasty infection and feels better soon. Last night she slept much better so I hope the medicine is helping. My poor baby is sicky-poo