A compliment goes a long way

I love to give compliments.

Giving a compliment is a win-win situation.

You make someone feel good about themselves, and in turn, you feel good for making them feel good. 

Also, the good karma couldn't hurt.

Today was a doozie. One of those days.

Where you want to shout at the sky "Ok universe! What else do you feel like attacking me with? What could you possibly do more to make my life more miserable?"

I physically and mentally could not absorb any more stress. 

I had a scheduling problem at work that left my boss very unhappy with me, I was still having issues with school and classes (thank you UVU for having the worlds most ridiculous website, the most ridiculous academic advisers, and the most ridiculous math class policies.) Not to mention that class starts Monday. And I am having issues with getting my grant and a loan I applied for (Thank you DMV for not letting me change my name on my drivers license because my marriage certificate "didn't count" and now my name on my license and social security card don't match.) 

And to top it all off, I couldn't convince a single friend of mine to go to lunch, or go shopping, or just come visit for anything in the world. And of course there was always some reason; "sorry, I would  have loved to come hang out, but I didn't get your message because my phone was in the other room... for the last day and a half..."

I'm not gonna lie, I have had several meltdowns the last 48 hours.

I was at the end of my rope this afternoon. I was at the climax of my problems and I was re-evaluating what I wanted to do with my life, why I wasn't where I wanted to be, re-evaluating friendships and whether or not the stress from trying to keep those was worth it, whether school was worth it. Everything.

Then, I ran out of diapers. 

Of course I ran out of diapers.

So it was off to wal mart I went. The one store on this planet that stresses me out just thinking about having to go there. I looked at myself in my mirror before I grabbed my keys. I had makeup smeared on my bloodshot eyes. I looked tired. I looked stressed. I looked like I was 6 months pregnant, 5 months after I had a baby.

I smoothed a new coat of lipstick on, wiped the smudged eye liner off and did a once-over-finger-comb through my hair that I didn't bother to brush through when I got out of the shower today, all in attempt to look semi-decent.

I felt terrible.

I looked terrible.

And here I was, walking into my least favorite place on the planet (besides UVU) and a little girl, maybe 5 or 6 was walking with her mom leaving the store as I was walking in. She stopped and we made eye contact.

"You have really beautiful hair!"

She meant it.

I suddenly felt like crying, but this time out of happiness.

That one, little compliment made all of my problems suddenly disappear.

I really hope she continues being that kind to people throughout the rest of her life. It's such a good quality.

Five Months Old!!!

Little Savannah turned five months old yesterday!

Seriously. Where did this summer go?!

She has grown so much and is learning more and more every day. We weighed and measured her about two weeks ago and she is now over 14lbs and grew an inch! In just 2 weeks!

I decided to wean her because between her sleeping through the night, me going back to school and working, there isn't much time for me to feed her anymore. Plus, I've been consistently feeding her rice cereal at least once a day for the last month and that fills her up for a while. 

She has become such a busy-body. She wants to grab and pull and chew on EVERYTHING! Bryant's parents, Ed and Robyn, sent her one of those chairs that bounces, and it's saved me a lot of time (and sore arm muscles). It has everything she loves: the ability to stand up, jumping, and loud toys. I can set her in there, turn on Sesame Street, and she is happy and content for at least 45 min at a time. The funny part is that when she's not in the chair, she still tries to jump when you're holding her. She just doesn't stop!

 (Having fun in her jumper! Don't mind the trash that was on it's way to being taken out behind her. Oh yeah, and the fact that she looks like a boy in her 49ers onesie. Obviously, her dad was in charge of getting her dressed that day)

She's now a pro at rolling over, but she's not a fan of it. It frustrates her that she can't crawl yet. She will lay on her stomach, stretch out her arms, pull her bum up and push with her legs and pull with her arms to try and scoot. I'll have to video tape it sometime and post on here cause it's too funny.

 (She literally played so much that she wore herself out!)

 

(Like a good mom, I left her in there long enough to snap a few pics, before I took her out and let her sleep in her crib)

She likes sitting up, and she has the strength to sit on her own, but she's such a wiggle worm that she grabs for the nearest object and topples over. I'm thinking it won't be too long before she figures out her balance. She won't even sit in her bumbo chair for very long before she arches her back and rolls to the side to get out. Needless to say, I've had to catch her one too many times from falling out to ever leave her alone longer than 3 seconds. The only time she sits still in it is when she's eating. 

She has become a huge fan of food and if you are eating (could be anything, pizza, spaghetti, tacos...) She opens her mouth when you open yours to eat and she shakes her fist and growls (my little grizzly bear!) if you don't give her a taste. 

She loves books. Any time you sit down to read to her (we read in our jammies first thing in the morning after breakfast) she giggles every time you turn the page. Her favorite books are touch and feel books, and she loves trying to grab the pictures.

 

(One of her favorite toys is her pink giraffe!)

She has learned to give kisses, but only does it on occasion. Like this morning, my little brother was kissing her tummy, and she grabbed his cheeks and planted a big kiss on his nose! 

Oh yeah, and she learned how to take her diaper off this morning.

Awesome...

Summer Days

This summer has gone by way too fast.

I don't know if it's because I don't want to go back to school,

Or if I'm not looking foreword to cold weather and snow

Or the fact that I have a little girl that I think is growing up too fast.

It's been an amazing summer. My first summer as a Mom. 

And it was perfect.

There has been way too much going on this last month to write it all down, so I'll just post a few pictures so you can get the general idea.

There were lots of Owlz baseball games

 

(Savannah thought Hootz was a giant stuffed animal and kept grabbing him)

 

We celebrated my Grandma's Birthday

 

We love you so much Grandma!!!

There were a couple neighborhood get-togethers

 

Savannah even made a new friend! (What you don't see, is that right after this picture was taken, she grabbed his ear and pulled as hard as she could. Poor guy!)

There were a few trips to the pool

 

And there were a few hikes

 

Summer, I'll miss you. I love your sunny days and your warm nights.

I love your smells of BBQs and afternoon rain showers. I love your sounds of crickets out my window, lawn mowers humming on Saturdays, and the neighbor girls screaming and laughing down their slip-n-slide. I love your tastes of chocolate moose bars and strawberries and cream. And I loved your feel of sun on my face and Savy's slobbery kisses on my cheek.

Thank you for being one amazing summer!

Just thought I would share...

I just HAD to share this bit of awesomness!

So last night, I was eating dinner with my parents when my dad tossed me their newest Netflix rental:

The Human Centipede

Yeah, you read that right.

So my family had ordered a different movie, and this one showed up by accident. I laughed at the title and the mix-up and my mom said "No, you have got to read the synopsis! Out loud!" And so this is what I read:

"After their car breaks down while in Germany, Americans Lindsay and Jenny wind up at a remote villa and soon find themselves trapped in a nightmare. Dr. Josef Heiter kidnaps them for his demented experiment to create a human "centipede". The plan includes removing their kneecaps so they must walk on all fours, then surgically connecting them to a Japanese man to create a bizarre human chain."

No joke, that was word-for-word off the back of the envelope!

I was laughing so hard I couldn't breath! Really, who thinks this stuff up?! I want to know the writers who went to a producer and say "Listen, I've got this great idea... It's going to be a movie about some Americans in Germany, getting their kneecaps removed and then being attached to a Japanese man to create... get this... a human centipede!".

Oh boy, I got quite the chuckle out of this one. The best part? I thought maybe this would be one of those old black and white "the creature from the black lagoon" type movies. It's not. It was made in 2009! Hahaha!

We haven't watched it yet, but I'm thinking this could be pretty awesome to watch with a lot of caffeine and sugar, possibly on no sleep at 3am...

Sleepy Heads

I'm sorry I've been lacking in blog posts. 

I feel so behind in whats been going on, that by the time I sit down to write, I feel like this:

 

So cute, right?

I was feeling light headed (probably just a little dehydrated was all) So I passed Savy off to Bryant and headed for the bed for 20 minutes. At first, I could hear him in the nursery singing Beatles songs to a fussy baby, but eventually, it grew quiet and so did Savy. After I felt better, I got up to go check on him and I found this adorable scene.

My life is perfect.

Watch out, she kicks and spits!

I can't believe it. My baby girl is 4 months old!

I took her to the doctor today and it was so weird, sitting there holding her and realizing that the last time we were in there (for her 2 month check up) she was just barely trying to hold her head up and now, she was standing on my knees (with help, of course) checking out everything in the office and grabbing handfuls of my hair to munch on. 

 

 

 (Wearing her onesie from her aunt Chantel!)

 

She's growing and developing so much and so fast,

The doctor visit went fantastic! She is right on track for every milestone and super healthy and happy. She even gave her pediatrician a great big gummy smile when he walked in.

 

 

She now weighs 12lbs 10oz (30th percentile)

She's 23 3/4th inches long (28th percentile, a HUGE difference from 75th last time.)

and her head circumference is 41cm, (46th percentile)

 

 

I discussed starting her on solid foods with her doctor. I've been giving her rice cereal once a day and she loves it, and he said that between rice cereal, formula and breast milk, she was getting great nutrition and said I could even puree my own vegetables and fruit to give her, which is what I was planning on doing anyways.

She did really well with her vaccines this time. She only got two in her leg instead of 3 and the first one didn't even phase her. But after the second one, she looked straight at the nurse with a worried look, then at me and began to cry. But as soon as I picked her up, she stopped. Literally 5 seconds of tears. She was such a brave little girl!

 

 

She is really starting to become a lot of fun, but also a lot more work. She now can roll over tummy to back, and she tries really hard to roll from back to stomach. She has gotten a lot more control over her hands, which means that everything goes in her mouth. And by everything, I mean toys, fingers, my hair, her toes, everything. It really frustrates her because I will put a pacifier in her mouth and she will pull it out, then try to put in back in but she can never get it back the right way, and she will hold onto her bottle and pull it out and try to put it back in, but gets milk all over her face.

She smiles and everyone and everything, and her favorite thing to do it make spitting noises until drool soaks her clothes. She's also started giggling, but Bryant and my dad seem to be the only ones that can really get her going (although, I once was eating a sandwich and every bite I took, she giggled. Crazy kid.) She's also started yelling. No, not because she's mad or upset, she just likes yelling. She can sit and yell and yell and yell and be happy as a clam!

 

 

She never likes laying down or even sitting, she is happiest when you pull her up on her feet and she will stand all day long as long as you hold her arms or waist. She's gotten such chunky legs lately that I was surprised she was only 12 lbs 10oz!

 

 

Her personality is starting to become evident. She's always happy, she's interested and curious about everything and she is a go-er! She doesn't like sitting still and it frustrates her that she can't go anywhere on her own yet. She's going to be hard to keep track of once she's crawling!

(first time eating rice cereal. She was mad because I wasn't feeding it to her fast enough!)

Savy! Slow down on the growing will ya? Mom can't keep up!

Busy

Sorry for the lack of posts, but not much has been going on lately. I've mostly just been going into work a couple times a week, then being home and doing the mommy thing.

Recently, I've felt like my apartment has gotten a little out of control. As I was reading this blog, the other day, she did a vlog where she explained how she cleans her home in zones. She basically divides her house into sections, then each day of the week is assigned to that section to clean. So I sat down with a pen and paper, and did that for my apartment. Even though it's fairly easy to clean in a couple of hours, Savannah is now only taking 15-30 minute naps, which only leaves time to pick-up, not deep clean. So far, it's been working and I've felt a little less stressed about my messy apartment.

Two things make me feel stressed and anxious around here:

The poor lighting and clutter.

It's crazy how much better I feel when I open the blinds to get sunlight down here and when I have a clean floor.

Yesterday, Bryant had the day off, and graciously took care of Savannah for most of the day so I could get some time to recharge. I took a chair out on my walkway, and parked it under some trees and watched the overcast sky move across the valley and listened to the thunder.

It was beautiful and peaceful. It was just what I needed.

Hopefully I'll have more time and more interesting things to write about soon.

Only 2 more days until the weekend!