sling

she was tired and ready to sleep, so i pulled out the sling.

my thought?  she can sleep and i can finish dinner.

her thought?  uh, no way, lady.  i'm not sleeping in that.  it's my chance to watch.

of course she squirmed and cried until i faced her out and she could see what was going on.  i wasn't the happiest woman ever when aaron got home, but oh well.  dinner was done!

3 months

last week bivi turned 3 months old.

i can't believe it.

it feels like she's been with us forever, but i also can't believe that much time has passed.

i still go crazy thinking about the day she was born, but i'm sure time will eventually mellow me out.  on to bivi!

she is super fun.  a ball of energy.  she loves to move.  whenever in her carseat, she is always moving both arms and legs.  no wonder the girl eats a lot.  now that she knows how to roll, it's all she does.  put her down and she's on her tummy instantly. 

she loves being talked to and anything that involves movement.  dancing, bouncing, walking.  she is one curious cat and always wants to look around.  anywhere we go, i put her in the front carrier and can't get enough.  costco, walks, making dinner, she wants to view it all.  she especially loves trees.  whenever we go under trees she twists her head around to get a better view. 

i'm discovering she loves water.  we went in the pool for the first time the other day (i'll post a picture soon) and she was all about that.  laughing and totally amazed that her feet could make the water move. 

with aaron working and in school, she is my constant companion.  i love her to bits and am so thankful she is part of our family.  we waited so long for her and she is worth the wait! 

cool relief

we moved to some wicked heat.

there is no ac in our apartment. 

finally, after about a week of near death we installed our window ac.  it provides some relief, but it is still pretty nasty.  the only true relief will be fall.

i think bivi has been quietly suffering through the heat.  how do i know this?  everytime she feels a drop in temperature, she's loving life.  yesterday we went to costco and i was worried about taking her in the fridge units.  i shouldn't have been.  she instantly loved it.  cooing and laughing the whole time.

this picture is of her in her favorite spot.  propped up on the couch in front of the window ac.  she'll stay right in the breeze until her hands and ears are freezing.  as you can see from the smile and the steady stream of drool, she's one happy camper. 

bumbo

this was bivi's first time in her bumbo.  she did great.  a little wobbly, but she was feelin' it.  i'm sure sitting up for the first time is a trip! 

blessing

we blessed vivien on july 8th and had family join us in san diego.  we waited 6 weeks to bless and her and i honestly can't imagine doing it any sooner if family comes to town.  love em, but when they all get together it can be a lot!

we went to the beach, balboa park (of course), dinner at a friend's house (thanks, hg and family!), and lots of other stuff. 

vivi got to meet all of her cousins and they got to know her.  they were all great and so nice to the new baby!

it turned out great.  i still can't believe we have a baby.  amazing.

a little help from my friends

I need some baby help.

Ok, here's the info:

She is 3 months and can easily roll from back to stomach.  We are still swaddling her at night.  Without it, she gets a small catnap at best.  However, when she is swaddled she seems like she is frustrated and rolls on to her stomach, then freaks out because she can't get back.  She goes to bed ok at night, but wakes up frequently at night and rolls.

A few weeks ago, she slept 8 hours at night, woke for a quick feeding and went back to sleep for 2 more hours.  I think she's gong through her 3 month growth spurt, so she wants to feed a lot more, but what to do about the rolling?  Try to break her of the swaddle?  Duct tape her to the crib?  Really, I'm open to anything.

Advice would be appreciated!

Oh, and I'll get my act together soon and post some pictures.

Baby olympics

Aaron recently made a video of bivi, called Baby Olympics.

I can't find time to post pictures of her but he makes a movie.

Maybe it's because my sanity is gone by noon, but that is beside the point.

Anywhoo, check it out.  She's a cutie.

recent deliciousness

i've been doing a lot in the kitchen lately.

we blessed bivi two weekends ago and i baked up a storm for family in town.  i should get around to posting pictures of the weekend sometime this century.

stay tuned.

however, on to the important stuff; food.

i made almond joy cookies and they are t-tasty.  will make again and love them again.  they flew off the platter and, when asked, everyone heartily agreed to take some home.  they make a bunch.

peanut butter sheet cake is a nice treat.  since it's a sheet cake, it makes a lot, so take it to a party.  note, the frosting doesn't react well to hot weather.  keep that in mind.

brooke's best bombshell brownies are an amazing alliteration and a decadent dessert.  really, these are crazy good.  i added nuts to cut the sweetness and feel that was the best decision i made all week.  very dense and rich, so share immediately.

and, just so you don't think we only subsist on sugar around here, i made mexican flatbread pizzas last night.  they're the homemade version of taco bell's mexican pizza.  aaron is the skeptic-in-chief in this house and he approved. 

i'm always looking for new recipes, so i thought i would share. 

enjoy!

rolled over

Bivi rolled over for the first time yesterday! Back to front in the morning after breakfast. Since I'm a first time parent, I know I could be wrong, but doesn't that seem a little fast? She's 7 weeks old. It was fun to watch and I can't believe she's getting so big!

run

i received clearance from my dr yesterday, so today was my first post baby run.

it was nice.

early in the morning, cool, sunny, not a lot of people on the road.

there's a lot of room for improvement, but i'm excited i can start working on it!

i can't wait to have my body back!

introducing...

vivien michelle gough.
born 05/22/12 at 12:19am
7lb 9 oz of cute

a lot happened that day and i can't fully put it into words just yet.  maybe in a month.  maybe in many months.  who knows how long it takes to digest sudden events like that.

however, she is here.
she is the light of our lives.
we love her so much and are constantly amazed by her.
bivi is precious and we are thankful for her.

first family photo.

fully cooked?

i'll soon be marching toward 42 weeks and have no signs that my baby wants to vacate the womb.

i'm ready.

aaron's ready.

i've tried lots and lots of things, but no progress.  i'll just apply patience and see what happens.

images from mother's day

per request, aaron drew me a picture for mother's day.  i love his artwork.  i have a binder going and our walls are lined with his framed pieces.  he did a beautiful picture of the san diego temple for me as a valentine's day gift while we were dating.  i knew i was pretty lucky at that point.  i love seeing this pile of all his carefully gathered shavings which represent his hard work. 

he was sick the night before so he didn't go to church that day.  as i was walking in from the car, i smelled delicious chocolate wafting through the courtyard and i thought, 'man, i'd love it if that smell was coming from my house'.  however, knowing aaron's disdain for anything kitchen related, i was sure it wasn't.  wrong.  he was melting dark chocolate (using a double boiler, no less) so he could dip some strawberries for me.  i had to capture the beautiful and delicious results.

                                                 

bow tie

i had a meeting before church the other day, so I wasn't around when aaron got dressed.  he sauntered into church wearing this.  i wasn't even aware he owned a bow tie.  but i love it.  many compliments followed and he has requests to wear it again.  sometimes it's great to have a husband very concerned with fashion, but it's times like these that i realize i need to step up my game.

Mount Helix

About two weeks ago we decided to head to outdoors on a Sunday afternoon and put our new camera to use.  We know about 1/16 of it's functions, but wanted to get the basics down before the baby comes.  One of my 5 outfits that still fits.

Aaron took this lovely aerial shot.  The toes are so long gone.