Growing up

Hi Friends-

I meant to follow up Isla's Cake Smash post with a birthday recap but wrote a letter to her instead. You can read it on our personal family blog: Here.

Tonight I thought I would write about Isla getting bigger..... growing up that is ...

(sniff, sniff....)

I never ever expected to be one of those sentimental Moms who misses her 'baby' but I have to admit I do. This was slammed in my face and punctuated ("Hello !!!!!!") two weeks ago when Isla lost her baby face (a byproduct, I suspect, of getting 4 teeth in a month) and cutting back on nursing.

I thought she was completely done...... just cold turkey- "see ya later Mom- been nice knowing ya and that boob" and let me just tell you, it sent me into a TAILSPIN.

An emotional, hormonally fueled tailspin I wasn't prepared for.

Thankfully she wasn't going 'cold turkey'.... just cutting back to 3 times a day and going through some serious teething issues....but it made me wake up to the fact that I may really struggle when she's decided milk in a sippy cup is in her new 'jam' and the boob is for babies (which she apparently is not). I am trying to prepare myself for that transition because I have a strong feeling we're headed in that direction quickly. I'm hoping that acknowledging the hormonal shift and feelings will ease the transition for my mind and body. It was a blessing in disguise that I had a little preview of what's to come.

In the midst of 'missing' the baby who is rapidly transforming into the toddling little girl I find moments so precious I log them into my memory bank and will myself to never forget them. I had one of those tonight and I cherished it because it was just so 'normal.' There wasn't a big event or holiday or celebration. We weren't with a bunch of people and I wasn't trying to 'make a memory' ... it just happened.

As I was getting Isla ready for bed I was carrying her on my hip and bustling around her room getting her crib ready (i.e.: arranging her stuffies :), stacking up our bedtime reads, preparing her bottle and as I walked into her closet I looked at her ..... she looked at me out of the corner of her eye and slyly twitched a half smile. There was a sparkle in her eye--a glint of mischief, of ease, of knowing.

It was in that 'look' she gave me that I knew my baby was growing up.
That 'look' was all hers.

It is one I will see the first day of Kindergarten, the night of Senior Prom as she walks out of our house...pausing to look over her shoulder (even just for a second) and the day of her wedding as she vows commitment to her lifetime partner. It is a look I locked in my memory because it was the first time.... the very first time I saw her as a girl, a teenager, a woman. I saw her life roll out in front of me....all of the moments, the milestones, the memories...one after another like a choppy black&white home movie.

As I write this by lamplight tears are falling from my cheeks for no other reason than I feel blessed. I get to be a part of her story......of all of those moments. I get to see that sly little smile and that twinkle--over and over and over again throughout her life and no matter how much I miss my tiny baby, my heart desires nothing more than to watch her grow and see who she becomes. I can't wait to meet that woman. She will be wonderful.

(time for a tissue)

xoxo.
S

1.Year.Big.

Today our girl is .....

The big O.N.E.

I have so much to say and yet the words are still building into sentences and clear thoughts in my head. I think I'll wait for the 'quiet' to come tonight after all of the birthday festivities are done. In that space and time I hope I can put words to what being Isla's Mom has been to me for the past year. (It sounds daunting I know..hmmm) For now....cake smashing fun on our girl's big day. 

Happy-Happy-VERY-FIRST-Birthday Isla James. 

You are the most fun we've ever had :) 

Hi Friends!

I have really been trying to vary the veggies in Isla's diet. She is a great little eater even though she pretty much demands to feed herself. She loves finger foods and is good about trying almost anything as long as it isn't too squishy :) I love this recipe for Zucchini Patties.

 It's simple, has few ingredients and I can make it with her in the kitchen--which is a miracle since she's always underfoot. 

You can change the cheese based on your kiddos taste- sometimes I go light on the cheese and put it on top since she likes to eat each little piece of shredded cheese at her own pace :) 

 It's a good way to get zucchini in your little ones diet! Try it out! 

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Zucchini Patties

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Recipe by Sherlie A. Magaret 

"These cheesy zucchini patties are an excellent way to use up that abundance of zucchini from the garden. Serve with a bit of tomato sauce or sour cream dabbed on top."

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Ingredients 

• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and salt. Stir well enough to distribute ingredients evenly.
2. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop zucchini mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls, and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden.

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MIA

Hi Friends!

Sorry for being crazy MIA lately--I'm being completely fanatical over Isla's first birthday. I told myself that it is "only a first birthday party." I mean she won't even remember it....but in usual first-born, perfectionist fashion I have loaded myself up with craft projects, planned errands every day this week to space out my 'must-dos' and obsessed about everything from the invite that went out two weeks late to the photo booth that I haven't even started (don't worry- it will get done. It's not a 'Sandi' designed party without a creative photo booth). So that along with editing one.million.AND.one photos has bogged down my life....in a good way! I haven't even let myself think about the fact that we're going to Miami in two weeks--I'll leave that obsessing for AFTER Isla's party :)

I'm pretty convinced Isla found out she was turning the big o-n-e this weekend and decided to conquer fifty-five milestones and grow out of her baby face (sob!!) She has a big Toddler face now with lots of teeth (I think we're up to 4- since New Years Day!) and she's walking all over the place. If she was capable of navigating the internet I seriously think she'd sign up for the 60 MILE breast cancer walk just to get her practice in--(some day Isla!)

She's walking, talking, giggling crazy and I love it. Every sweet little second of it.

For a couple weeks now I've been suspecting that her nap schedule was changing. She always seemed tired for her morning nap but resisted her late afternoon nap. Last week she basically dropped her late nap and didn't seem tired at her normal morning nap time.

Over the weekend I decided to try out one nap instead of two so we did it and it worked like a charm. Even when we were out of town! (That's the real test!) So all this week she's been going down between 12:30 and 12:45. She is tired when I feed her and she always wants to be rocked. It's so nice to lay down a sleepy baby who rolls over and goes to sleep. Ah-MAZING!

She also had a pretty successful sleeping trend when we were in Long Beach over the weekend. It really helped that our room had a partition so she couldn't see us but she knew we were there. The beach was REALLY windy and the night was really loud. I was convinced she was going to be a restless sleeper but she did really well. (This is where bringing her noise maker made ALL the difference!).

She also wet through her diaper (and peed all over me at 5AM! Being a Mom is SO glamorous! :) so she didn't have her normal sleep sack that she usually wears to bed. I have been thinking about transitioning her to a small blanket for a while now because she walks around in her crib when she gets up and has tripped on her sleep sack and hit her head numerous times. I tried a small blanket during nap time when were at the beach (and checked on her like the neurotic first-time Mom that I am) and she did great. She kicked it when she didn't need it and laid under it when she first went down. I think she likes having just a little bulk to sleep with.

So yah- my girl is growing up (sniff, sniff)....it's so very bittersweet. When I thought she was done nursing last week I had a hormonal meltdown. Thankfully it was a false alarm- just some teething stuff she was going through but it really made me realize that I was going to have a harder time with that part of her growing up than I first anticipated. I'll have to write about that more- I'm still sorting out my thoughts on the subject ;)

Well friends- time to get back to my birthday craft projects, edit a session and try to sneak in an episode of Downton Abbey (I'm hopelessly addicted :)

Hope everyone is well! Stay tuned for Isla's one.year pics this Friday! I think I'll post early so I can post party pics on her actual birthday. Happy Tuesday :)

xo.
S

Genius Momvice!

Hi Friends!

I've been meaning to put this up forever!

My little one was having serious diaper rash issues for weeks. I tried everything! At one point her rash turned into a yeast infection that had to be treated with Lotrimin & A&D. Once we cleared that up the rash kept returning. It was so frustrating! I could never get a handle on it and it looked like we weren't treating it- it made us feel like terrible parents :(

I was talking to a girlfriend about it and she recommended, Bepanthen which is what her Australian Nanny used for her Daughter's diaper rash issues. Her Nanny was nice enough to give us some since you can't buy it 'in-store' locally and it cleared up Isla's rash in 2 days. That is real! It's now been 3 weeks and we've had no issues. I've returned to using Burt's Bees and A&D when needed but we really no longer have any diaper rash issues. If you can't seem to get back to normal give this a try- it's a miracle cream! You can buy it on Amazon- link above :)

xo-
S

Teeth. Crafts & TP

Hi Friends-

Sorry for being so MIA....a certain Toddler's current teething issues have taken over my life.

Literally TAKEN OVER.

Miss Isla has gotten 3 teeth since New Years. It took her 11 months to get one and now they're taking over her little mouth. She is constantly chewing on something, drooling through her clothes, breaking out in a rash on her face, blowing out her diaper (how embarrassing for her) and sticking her fingers in her mouth whining. As of tonight she seems to be on the verge of another upper tooth...and the saga continues.

This week has been a serious challenge. I keep repeating "this too shall pass" to myself....I should really just get it stamped on my arm. I wonder if B's into a tatted up lady :) Isla refuses to nap which I completely understand considering all those chompers she's working on. I still go through the routine twice a day with her but for the most part she just can't quiet herself enough to sleep. This in turn gives me NO break during the day. I usually use her nap time to clean the house, catch up on emails, blog and lately to plan her birthday that I'm hopelessly late on arranging. (I swear- next year, I'm planning everything BEFORE Christmas!) B has had to work late so I've literally had no time to myself between the hours of 7:30am-7pm. That's a really long day with an 11 month old. yi-yi-yi.

Yesterday after Isla couldn't sleep on her first nap I decided we had to get out and get our errands done- no matter what kind of a mood she was in (I'm sorry to all of those other shoppers Isla may have harassed--completely not intentional- I was just SO desperate to get her birthday done!) I made a Michael's run and grabbed a ton of birthday crafting supplies and then headed to Bell Square to go to Apple. My stupid iPhone has been losing it's charge pretty much immediately. I fully charge my phone at least 3 times a day. When it went from 65%-10% in 30 minutes while I was waiting in line at the god-forsaken USPS (where I got to turn in more documentation for my lost Christmas package- FOR THE LOVE- JUST PAY MY LEGITIMATE CLAIM!) I decided it was time to head into Apple and get it looked at. Unfortunately I didn't know you can schedule an appointment before you get there so when I arrived and Isla was not 'making nice' with her stroller they told me it was a 1.5 hour wait.

Seriously?!

I decided to suck it up and pace around the mall and try to get things done. By the time our appointment arrived and they told me my battery needed to be replaced which would take another 30 minutes I happily obliged instead of doing what I really wanted to do--which was scream from the over-lit mega store that they should have an express lane for Moms juggling kids, Isla was LITERALLY doing somersaults in my arms. It was a total upper body workout.

I headed to Nordy's to try and find her something to wear for her birthday. When she started scream-crying in her stroller and flailing I knew it was time to release her from the Britax. I found the ladies lounge and let her play with two other little girls whose Mom's were feeding their siblings. As I watched these two ladies nurse their babies and yell at their daughters who were tying balloons around each others necks and scaling over-plushed arm chairs that they were using as a faux-baby gate I thought to myself, "never, never will we have two kids. Isla will be an only child. That is it." And if our future family was decided yesterday Isla would probably be an only child.

After terrorizing Apple some more I got a text from my Sister who said she was coming over to help me craft for Isla's birthday....It was the BEST NEWS I'VE HAD ALL WEEK! She came over with Taco Time (our secret fast food habit--that we don't consider fast food ... "Hey, it's local!"), we crafted a ton of cute birthday projects and we drank glasses upon glasses of wine and watched the Great Outdoors. It was an evening full of interesting conversations like "Did Jim Belushi die?" (upon which she told me that I was confusing him with David Duchovny...and let me just tell you, I know my Belushi....this is coming from the girl who earlier in the night confused Glen Close and Meryl Streep--seriously?) and how your feet are naturally supposed to lay when you go to bed so they don't fall asleep. Just add some fancy initials behind our names....it was pretty scholarly. :)

 Today I realized just how ironic it was that on the day I decided Isla would have NO siblings my own came to rescue my evening (and sanity!) I don't know what I'd do without her- Thanks Min!

Today we also met our friends from the East (i.e.: Snoqualmie :) for a morning playdate at Mom&Me Crepes in Gilman Village in Issaquah. The place is brand new and still settling in but the play area was perfect for all the kiddos (ages ranged from 6 month old, Kenley below to almost 3 years old). The play area was super clean and well kept. It was lovely to get together with the ladies and chat about babies and play with the kids. It was also good to know that Isla can hold her own with bigger (i.e.: 2-3) kids and is getting better about motoring around. I definitely can't leave her alone but she does pretty well and it was fun to see her making new friends :) She was so tired when she got home she slept for a blissful 40 minutes while I frantically made 50 phone calls I'm delinquent on. Thanks I.baby!

Although I may sound completely cynical about this little lady, her phases and the craziness of Mommyhood there is truly nothing better. She has changed my heart in so many ways - every day I'm grateful for her. Today I tried to rock her for her second nap. At one point she looked at me and smiled that new-toothy grin and laughed a giggle right in my face. I couldn't help but laugh back and then we had lots of laughs and big smiles together. There's something to be said for just 'rolling with the punches' and being adaptable. One day I know I'll look up and she'll be going to Prom and graduating college--these moments are precious. I want to remember every last one of them--no matter how sleepless I am, frustrated I become or bad I think it can get. At the end of the day, I rock our sweet girl and say my own little mantra wishing for protection and love as she sleeps. It puts my heart at ease and is the perfect way to wind down our day together.

I mean really....who could resist this smile? :)

oh....and PS- 

If you see this at our house. 

It's because girlfriend loves the taste of some Quilted Northern (and if she can't get it off the roll she goes for garbage- bluggghhhh!)

 Time to submit this to the 'baby-shaming' website :) 

xoxo. 

S

Gummy-Grin-Gone

Hello Friends!

I'm SO glad we got these sweet gummy-smile shots on Christmas Day because as of Sunday Miss Isla FINALLY has a tooth! (Yes, she started walking before she got teeth ;)

We were sitting at brunch at Citizen (so good-try it!) and B looked at her and said,

"Babe- I think there's a tooth in there."

We of course had to coerce Isla to open her mouth and show us her new addition! It's a sparkly, brand new little 'lizard' tooth :) Her favorite new thing is sharpening it on my shoulder blade when she's hungry before her nap--it's super awesome :(

Time to get out the "no biting" book and be on the lookout for more teeth-- bring em' on!

Now....if I could only get a picture of it ... I predict my chances are not good :)

xoxo.
S