Wednesday, August 31, 2011

We like our birthdays (and our desserts) in twos

Chris's birthday wasn't the only one we celebrated this weekend ... Scoop turned 2 on Tuesday! We decided she needed her own dessert, so we stopped at the dog bakery Sunday and got her two pupcakes - one to eat Sunday while we celebrated Chris's day and another for her to eat on her actual birthday.
It says "yappy birthday." Hehe.
She was very interested ... right up until I lit the candle. Then I think she was afraid of the flame.
It was pretty adorable - we gave her the pupcake outside assuming she'd make a big mess, but instead she licked off all the frosting and then came and whined at me to cut it up for her to eat. Tuesday she had eggs for breakfast, a walk with Chris and Lila, and another pupcake for dinner. Pretty good birthday for a Scooper Dog if you ask me!

Monday, August 29, 2011

The Family Man

I asked Chris several times what he wanted to do for his birthday, and finally he said he just wanted to have dinner at home with me and Pumpkin. And then he added that he still wanted a dessert bar, so I agreed to make two desserts (I thought more than that for just the two of us would just be out of control).
So, Saturday night we started the celebrations early with some Mud Pie.

On Sunday, Pumpkin modeled the present she got Chris - football leggings to wear while they watch games together on Sundays :-) Since he really liked some blueberry beer he tried at a homebrew fest we went to, I found some blueberry lager to surprise him with. For Scoop's part, she said she would like to take Chris for a walk as her gift.

Chris wanted steak and mashed potatoes for dinner, and since I am only good at burning things on the grill, he had to make the filets himself. Everything was delicious!

Finally, we finished the celebration off with cherry cheese bars, which I make for him every year.

It was a nice, quiet family weekend and just what Chris wanted. Happy Birthday to the best husband and father we could ask for!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Big Sister?

We had to have a little photo shoot this morning with Scoop in her "Big Sister" T-shirt while it's still true ... Pumpkin weighed in at 10 pounds yesterday, and Scoop only outweighs her by a couple of ounces now!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Well Loved

Before Pumpkin turned one month, she had already met all of her grandparents and her two aunties who all came to visit!
First Grandmama came from Quincy

Then Grandma and Grandpa from Phoenix

And Auntie Alison

Then Grandma Deb and Grandpa from LA

And then Auntie Mena from D.C.

There has been no shortage of hugs and kisses and cuddles for this little one!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

One month!

Look who turned one month on Monday! And today she weighed in at 9 lbs, 6 oz. She is getting so big! I'm so excited for all the things she will be learning and doing, but at the same time I wish time would slow down a little :-)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Babyness

It's hard to do much blogging with little miss Pumpkin capturing most of my attention and we have had many visitors in the form of grandparents and aunties. But now that I have a minute, here is a random collection of thoughts from a new mommy ...

Pumpkin is the cutest thing ever and I don't think the pictures even do her justice (I know, I know, every mom thinks this about their own child). I love her so much and lay in bed watching her to make sure she's okay and Chris comes in to tell me I need to get some sleep. (What's that?)

We were home from the hospital probably three days before I realized I could lay on my stomach and play on the floor with Scoop again. Hooray! Also exciting:
  • Turkey sandwiches. I realize not everyone gives up deli meat during pregnancy, but I did (with the exception of one microwaved-to-steaming sandwich at work) and after Pumpkin was born I sent Chris to Deli Towne with an order to bring back to the hospital and it was so great. We've been eating turkey sandwiches a lot ever since. I still have not had caffeine. Baby steps.
  • Sleeping on my back. I'm a natural back sleeper and I (like all pregnant ladies I'm sure) did not sleep comfortably for weeks at the end of my pregnancy so it's nice now to sleep comfortably in any position I choose, even if it is lightly and in small chunks.
  • Clothes without elastic waistbands. I fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans! Also my wedding and engagement rings, which I hadn't worn in a while. I should note that only one pair of jeans really fits - the rest are snug and I have a ways to go to get back to my old self. Also, I'm pretty sure my maternity wardrobe was more extensive than my pre-maternity wardrobe so I'll need to be finding some new things for work. But I didn't expect to get back into my jeans so soon so that was a happy moment.
  • Walking. One day when Chris was working and company was gone I got out the stroller and took Scoop and Pumpkin for a walk around the block without running the dog over. This felt like a pretty big accomplishment.
Can you believe that Pumpkin will be one month tomorrow? It seems like it's gone by so fast, and yet it also seems like we've had her forever. She is growing fast - she put on a pound in just the last week! And seems to be learning and doing more things all the time. One night I was holding her while she slept and she actually giggled in her sleep - it was so adorable. She has a really strong grip and seems like she can see things better all the time. It took three weeks for her umbilical cord to fall out, and that was exciting because now she can wear more of her clothes and take baths - she was not a fan of the sponge baths but loves being in the warm water. This week I trimmed her nails for the first time without incident which felt like kind of a big deal (getting her dress on yesterday was a more traumatic event) but she can still scratch with them so, like everything else, I will be needing more practice to do it right.

Pumpkin is not on any kind of a schedule yet so we will be attempting that during the next two weeks before I go back to work. (Going back to work is kind of a touchy subject. I cry every time I think about it. Luckily my job is understanding and I can bring Pumpkin in with me if I need to. Also Chris will be home with her two days a week. Also I can go to the daycare as much as I want and nurse her while I'm there. Still, I am quite emotional at the idea of being away from her all day.) She has, however, over the past few nights, slept for four hours at a time so that has been nice.

So, I guess that's it for now! Coming soon (or, eventually) we'll post about our visitors and Pumpkin's first trip to Quincy ... stay tuned!