What I Did Last Week

We spent last week at our lake house. It was super fun and relaxing. I hadn't been on the boat in so long, the whole time I was pregnant at least. The two most exciting moments on the boat were 1) going all the way to the far side of the lake, looking ahead at a beautiful blue sky, then turning around to see a giant black rain cloud following us. We pulled into the marina and waited out the storm in the boat and then, once we were able to tie the boat up, in the little restaurant with a glass of wine. And 2) A night ride on July 4th to see the fireworks. Our neighbors decided to do this... 

Our friend Derek made this photo illustration of all of their fireworks. 

I got to play with my new toy, the paddle board my parents got me for my birthday. Cooper, who would rather be a fish than a dog, jumped on it the first chance he got and I couldn't keep him off. After two days, I had taught him to lay on the front of the board while I paddled. He wore his little doggie life vest that has a handle, so if he jumped off, it was easy to pull him back onto the board. I also taught him to jump off the board when we got to the boat houses and swim into shore along side the board. It was a fun way to play with the dog, especially since he doesn't get as much attention as he used to get now that there's a baby in the house. 

The is me saying, "Don't take my picture."

Charlie had a fabulous time. He gave us lots of smiles and giggles and provided hours of entertainment for Mimi and Bebe (Preston's parents). 

And I found this hat on our boat.

Really, I asked Preston if he had an extra hat, thinking he might have brought an extra baseball cap from his large collection of baseball caps. He then proceeded to open and rummage through the little cabinet on the boat, where his parents keep the life jackets they purchased in 1984 along with other boating paraphernalia that has accumulated over the past several years.

Just when I said that I didn't think I was interested in a hat if it was coming from that far back in that cabinet, he pulled out this cool floppy straw hat. I don't usually like these. They remind me of fuffy ladies that don't like to get their hair wet, or the sales lady in Pretty Woman that wouldn't let Julia buy any nice clothes. But this one had a cool, retro, seventies feel. Probably because it's been in that cabinet since some fuffy lady left it on the boat during the seventies. And there were no spiders on it, which is always a plus. Totally keeping it.

Beautiful Nails

I'm feeling pretty good lately. I feel normal. By normal, I mean that I don't feel like a zombie. 

So I got a mani/pedi. Really, I got a manicure, and then a color change on my toes, so a cheap pedi. That's how I roll. Then I added a design to my big toes, which added an extra charge (unfortunately, also how I roll.) 

Although I feel more normal, I also feel fashionably stifled. I've got a postpartum tummy that shrikes at the mention of a waistband and sighs in comfort at the thought of nightgowns and empire waist dresses. I've got these giant breast feeding boobs that would end my most awesome strapless bra like a luchador team on steroids. Coupled with the fear that each piece of jewelry I wear exponentially increases the risk of scratching my baby, I don't have much room for creative expression.  

I left the house determined to return with toes that screamed 4th of July but by the time I sat in the chair, I wanted something that just kind of whispered it... or coral.

What I got were Wonder Woman Toes.

If you can't put a photo of your own toes on your blog,
it's not worth it.

I. Love. Them. I love their tackiness. I love the glitter. I love their spirit. Most of all, I love that I feel so confident. If I can wear these toes, I can do anything. I have never, at least as an adult, had any kind of nail art on my person. I didn't realize it would be so empowering. 

Baby slang part 2

Just a few more terms that you might hear around our house...

I Sold him to the gypsies: this means that we put Charlie down for a nap in the pack n play in our bedroom rather than the crib in his room. As in... "where's Charlie?" "I sold him to the gypsies." "oh, ok." I don't know where we got that. Just roll with it.

Put eyes on him: we say this when we want to check on him in person, not with the monitor. I just think its a sweet thug to say.

Gang gang (s): This is Charlie's first baby slang term. He says this when he is super upset and hungry. As if he is saying, "Im hungry and I want my gang gangs NOW, people!" He doesn't say it when he is just upset, or just tired. So basically, that what he calls my boobs. Gang gangs.

How to make a doctor's visit less horrible.

I didn't really know much about infant doctor visits before. What I knew was that sometimes, they are exciting. You get to find out hight and weight, see you baby on that little baby scale and go home and record the details in your baby book. And then sometimes, there's shots. And anxious parents. And crying babies. Etc.

Now, after my many visits (three) and extensive knowledge, I think this check list will make those doctor's visits less horrible during the horrible moments and get us in and out as quickly as possible.

- Try to get into a room as fast as possible, so you don't wait with your child next to the sneezy gross sick person in the waiting room. And once you are in that room, make sure they don't forget that you're waiting in there.

- Strip baby down to clean diaper before the nurse or doctor enters the room. Don't waste time doing this after the doctor gets into the room. Baby will need a clean diaper at the start to get an accurate weight. Bring a blanket to wrap baby in while you wait.

- Get the diaper changing gear out and organized on the patient table. At our first visit, we went through six diapers in one hour. We didn't expect any of them and had to dig around in the diaper bag each time. Don't waste time!!

- Even if you don't think you need a pacifier, bring a freakin' pacifier.

- Make a list of your questions. I keep mine in the reminders app on my iPhone, so when I think of something, I add it to the list right then. Spend your time on the questions!

- If both parents are at the visit, one parent checks out while the other parent takes baby to the car.

- Feed baby right before you leave the house.

- Wear a nursing shirt or dress and a nursing bra if breast feeding. Or take a bottle. Sometimes these things last so long that it's time for baby to eat again while you are there, or you can nurse to comfort baby after shots during the ten minute waiting time. See if you can feed baby in the room before you leave.

- The first set of shots was hard to watch, but not as hard as I thought it would be (again) based on what I've heard from other people or seen on TV. We brought a favorite toy that sings, thinking it would comfort Charlie during the shots, but he didn't even notice it.

- Take a snack and a drink. Take a snack and a drink!! If your partner is attending as well, but doesn't think he/she will need a snack and a drink, bring them a snack and a drink anyway.

I'm sure there is more, but you know, I haven't figured that part out yet. I do know that the less time I spend wasting time, the more time I can spend on questions.

Birthday Blast

When you turn thirty, your birthday should last three days. And you should take lots of pictures. I got to three days, but with no pictures. Not one.

Actually, I take that back. I took this one.

Play time after nursing. 

And this one.

I hope he never stops cuddling.

I did actually go out with friends. My friend Ashley gave me a wine glass with my age on it. It's bedazzled. I'm going to call it my pimp cup.

Charlie spent his first whole night away from us, which felt weird but not as crazy as you might think based on how people describe it. I only wanted to call at midnight, 5 am and 8 am. This is when I had to get up and pump so my boobs didn't explode.

My parents came to town, we spent the day swimming with family and friends and their kiddos. And Sunday has been very relaxing - read: I'm still wearing PJs at 6:37 pm.

It wasn't a balls to the wall trip to Cancun, but it was a pretty nice birthday.