tummy time

it usually starts out like this.


and then we roll over to our belly (assisted, of course).


we try flirting a little, because maybe we can get out of this?


and then we try scooting somewhere. she's going to be an expert at the military crawl, i just know it.


and finally we show off what a big strong girl we are.


good job, kiddo!

this weekend

is our fifth anniversary, so the kiddo is staying overnight with nana and we're having the weekend to ourselves. any suggestions/advice?

diaper update

much to my chagrin we are still not 100% into cloth diapers. we're getting a little closer every day though. i have a couple cloth diapers that my mother sewed that are a little big still, and a couple that need the elastic adjusted as they leak at the legs otherwise. and then i have my gdiapers. i mentioned before that i would report back on how i liked them once we started using them, so here you are.

i don't work for gdiapers and i'm not affiliated with them in any way. and i'm actually not using the ones i bought from them last month, either. the kiddo is only 12 pounds so doesn't fit the medium size i purchased. however i did find some in the small size on craigslist, which is what we have been using. and i love them.

LOVE. them. L.O.V.E. love them.

they do not leak. they are so cute and look like they are pretty comfy on tk. very easy to use and quite a clever system, with the polyester snap-in liner and the flushable pad. and those flushies? FABULOUS. i love flushing her poop away just like mine. no smelly diaper pail anymore! our diaper pail now holds only cloth stuff (wipes, changing pad liners, dirty diaper covers), which is how we intended it to be in the first place anyways. GREAT.

on the downside, those CUTE covers are not cheap. (SO lusting after these ones for tk, how ADORABLE are those?) i know cloth diapers in and of themselves are not cheap to begin with, but still. neither are those flushies. they work out to about 40c each, which is more than regular disposables, even the pennies-pricier nature babycare sposies that i prefer. so while i like the flushies and they are quite convenient, i think i'll save them for "special occasions," like when we go on vacation this winter and i won't have access to a washing machine when the diaper stash gets low. it's nice to be green and all, but i just can't afford to use gdiapers at that price, even with coupons.

fortunately i came up with a solution: cloth inserts instead of flushable ones. other cloth diaper brands do it all the time, so why couldn't i with these? i cut out three layers of terrycloth the same size as a flushie and stitched them all together. the terrycloth fits into the snap-in liner just the same as a flushie does, but i can wash and re-use these. three layers is nicely absorbent without becoming overly bulky.

then i discovered that gdiapers had just come out with washable cloth liners, just like me.

so that's where we are on the diapering issue. i don't have a ton of cloth liners, so we can only use them for about a day and a half before we have to switch to flushies or sposies. the cloth liners work great and i think are really the only way gdiapers could be cost effective as a cloth diaper. the flushies are great to use and all, a fabulous idea (the hybrid diaper - love it), but just don't fit into our budget on a regular basis.

definitely a contender for mommy of the year

we had a lovely lunch this afternoon with my friend kelsey, who had been dying to meet hannah. i took a few more precautions today than when we went to san francisco last month to visit my sister and my cousin.


that day, weather.com said it was supposed to be a lovely 74º so she wore a cute little top and shorts, and her backup outfit was a cute little onesie and pants. IDIOT i lived in san francisco long enough, i should know better. it was overcast and cool and i did my best to keep her warm. i forgot to pack socks, because it was supposed to be warm. and yet, i forgot to pack her sun hat as well, and she got pink on her nose and cheeks. (darn that san francisco glare!) (fyi: according to my lactation consultant, "they" say no sunscreen until 6 months NOT because of the chemicals, but because "they" don't want you to rely on sunscreen and take your baby into the sun without being covered up. POOH. we have since bought sunscreen and she gets slathered with it when we plan on being out at all.) so today we were prepared with sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses.

not much of a conversationalist

and then we got home, and she sat on my lap to have a nice eat because she had to endure the indignity of a bottle while we were at lunch, and after she ate she had a massive blowout. on my lap. all over my skirt. and then grinned at me, all proud of herself. i guess it must have felt good to get all that out of her system. did i mention that she got it all out of her system ONTO MY LAP?

i think brian should cook dinner tonight.

love letters: month two

dear hannah,

today you are two months old!

it is crazy to me to think how much our lives have changed in just two short months, and how much you have changed. you are so much bigger now than you were even just last month! i'll probably be saying that for the rest of my life. i realized this month how wonderful and heartbreaking it is, all at the same time, to watch your children grow. i am so excited to see you grow and to see the person you'll become, and at the same time i want to keep you teeny forever. daddy just can't wait until you can talk and tell us what you want. this whole crying-as-communication business you have going on is really getting to him.


you weigh twelve pounds now and you have grown almost three inches since you were born. grandma pam says you're quite the little porker! you eat like nobody's business, and you are starting to fit into 3-month sized clothes. i guess that is kind of a good thing, because we didn't have a ton of clothes to fit you in the smaller size, and we have mountains of 3-month clothes. i counted - you have over 40 onesies alone. not to mention the other things, cute little dresses and pants and tee shirts. if you could please stop growing for a little while so we can get some use out of all these clothes your father and i would be very much appreciative.


this month we celebrated your first fourth of july, independence day. you wore the dress i made you before you were born, even though it was a little bit big for you. i think it might fit you better on labor day or maybe even veteran's day this year. well, oh well. that's what you get with a mom who sews. you and i had a quiet day and just relaxed; daddy had to work but he brought home tri-tip from the barbecue at work and boy was it ever yummy. daddy wanted fireworks so you and i went out and got some for him, and that night we sat on the blanket on the tiny slope of our front lawn and watched daddy light them for us in the street. you watched the bright lights (i hope we didn't blind you) and then fell asleep. how could you sleep through all that noise?


i wanted to start the same kind of tradition as when i was a little girl. we lived in tacoma where fireworks are also legal (they aren't legal where i grew up in san diego county). every fourth, we would go over to my aunt pam and uncle harry's house in federal way for a barbecue. we would light sparklers and write our names in the air. they had a generous front lawn with a steeper slope - a hill, really - and my uncle harry, your grandpa mark, and your great-grandpa hap (who is doing fine now, by the way, and you'll get to meet him in august when we go down for aunt alice's wedding) would light the fireworks for us in the street. sometimes they wouldn't go off, and we would yell, "dud!" but mostly they would explode in a shower of bright colors and noise and we would ooh and ahh and applaud.



speaking of sleep, you having started cooing and giggling in your sleep. it's the cutest thing ever and it's nice to know you are having sweet dreams. (of what? boobs? tickles? dry diapers? you don't know much else yet.) the first time you cooed, i put you in your crib to sleep and immediately called your father to tell him. he said, i guess you had to be there? i guess, but it's still awesome to me and i don't want to ever forget it. i'm now trying to figure out how to predict when you'll do it, so he can see also because i don't think he really believes me.


this month you have become even more alert than ever. i think it's because you're sleeping so well through the night. usually you sleep 6+ hours at a stretch and some nights you bless me with 8 continuous hours of sleep. of course, when you wake up you scream to high heaven because during that time we have been depriving you of food and you are SO HUNGRY OH MY LORD FEED ME NOW, but to me that is a small price to pay for some much-needed rest. you continue to fight against the swaddle i put you in at night and i continue to do it, because you really do sleep so much better when you are swaddled. besides, i outweigh you by about twelve times and i like to abuse my power, and you are so cute when i unswaddle you in the mornings and your arms pop up.


the best part about you being alert is that you have learned to smile and laugh, and you are responding to us. you are so unhappy to have a wet diaper, but the moment i take it off it's like i have a brand-new baby. all you can do is grin and giggle and coo. you love to be tickled and when i kiss you, you squinch your body up and wiggle and coo. daddy talks to you when he holds you and you smile at him and coo back to him. in the past day or two you have started flirting a little also, coyly turning your head and peeking out of the corner of your eye as you give us a bashful little smile, and i am terrified to think of what you will be like in 14 years when you discover boys.


your smile is the best thing about my day, and i can tell it is the best thing about daddy's day as well. he started a new position this month and it has been super stressful, but when he comes home at night and sees you grinning at him, i can see all the stress of the day just evaporate from his shoulders. he just melts when you smile at him. i know you will be mad at us sometimes, and you'll slam doors and cry, as we try to balance your desires against what we feel is best for you, and i just pray that you never forget to smile at us and melt our hearts once more.

i love you, sweetheart.
love,
mama

nursery update

the nursery is ever-evolving, not unlike my house. i change things out and add new things, i think everyone does. for example, we got this fun print from a friend, a baby gift for hannah. the artist noelle dass even wrote a personal note to her on the back!

this cute little chair sits in the corner of her room (or would, if the air mattress wasn't there currently so i can catch some sleep in the morning and not be disturbed by brian getting ready for work). brian thought she should have a little armchair. why, i don't know, but it's so cute and i hope she loves it when she is old enough to use it.

this lovely gift was handmade for us by another friend. i love the flowers, the beautiful embroidery (especially since i can't embroider to save my life) and how her name is spelled out by the dragonfly's trail. unbeknownst to kelly, brian expressed to me after hannah was born that he really wanted something with her name on it for her door, a "sign" or something. then we received this in the mail, and were so thrilled and touched.


i put philodendrons in her room also (the only plant i can keep alive), so she can grow up with living things around her. they're up high, on the shelves, so she can't accidentally eat the leaves. i don't feel like making a trip to the emergency room later because i was an idiot and left them too low.