PICTIONARY

Right before we were married Rob asked me some of the things I was looking forward to the most after we tied the knot. I answered the obvious; living together, waking up next to him every morning, building a home together, raising a family together, blending our traditions, creating new ones, etc, etc. There was one answer that deviated a little and is kind of hilarious. Before I tell you what it is let me back up to how I got there..

1. Remember the movie the Break Up? Remember the scene when they are very on edge with each other and a game of pictionary turns into a screaming match? Rob and I love that movie and dyed during that scene.
2. The bulk of our dating happened when I lived in LA and Rob lived in the Bay Area. We were doing long distance, seeing each other just on the weekends. Because we didn't live in the same place Rob had his Nor Cal friends and I had my LA friends but we didn't have a lot of mutual friends, especially other couples.

So my answer... to have really good friend couples that we can play pictionary with! Rob looked at me a little stunned, smiled and then said yeah, me too. To my delight we have AMAZING friend couples and they are even (barely) willing to play pictionary with us. This amazingly fun night was a few weeks back. We played boys vs. girls and it got pretty heated. A bet was placed for the losing party to prepare dinner for the winning group. Sorry to say the gentlemen won. Next time ladies!! 

^^Our three favorite friend couples: Rigbys, McGanns and Jacobs (no one sitting with spouses)

^^I love this man and even more that he rarely makes that face :)

MOMMY WRIST

clearly no baby wrist here! ^^

New mothers, me included talk about all the positive, wonderful things about their baby.  Of course this is so lovely because babies are so lovely but since I have been in a depressed-i-hate-work-mood I decided to share some facts about my depressing mommy wrist. People this is a real thing, trust me! For me it started right when Brooklyn was born. Both my wrists began to feel weak while I was nursing her. It spread to my thumb, especially my right hand to the point that I could not do simple things like change a diaper, dress b or even send text message without severe pain. Holding her in the nursing position, forget it! Around four months the pain peaked and fortunately has been on a downslope since. Today, at six months the pain is significantly less and most days I don't even notice it. I kept thinking about going to the doctor but with everything I could never find the time. My sister's cute boyfriend gave me a wrist guard for Christmas. I wore it at night for a few weeks and the started lessening. I don't know if it was the wrist guard or timing but either way, thanks Jon!

I found the real deal in this article, "De Quervain's is a condition in which the tendons from the thumb to the wrist become inflamed and rub against the "tunnel" that encloses them, causing sensations from mild discomfort to severe pain on the thumb side of the wrist."

I know some women get it bad enough they need therapy, cortisone shots or even surgery! I was lucky to escape these more extreme measures but there were times the pain felt unbearable. Good luck to all the mommy wrists out there! 

SIX MONTH CHECK UP

Maybe its because I am a first time mom but for some reason I am SO EXCITED Brooklyn is six months old. I feel like she is {such} a big girl now! I constantly look at her and think possibly, maybe, perhaps she will start speaking to me, in full sentences of course. It hasn't happened yet however I still have hope for tomorrow. 

Brooklyn's six month stats; weight: 14.2 lbs 25%, length: 26 1/4 75% 

We have decided to break up Brooklyn's shots so she is not getting too many in her small body at one time. Because of this we bring her to the doctor once a month. This is actually kind of nice. New mom can ask all her crazy questions and we get to see Brooklyn's height and weight. Plus we get to take a fun "in the tub" picture and see how she is growing! Below is two weeks, two months, (we forgot on three months), four months and five months. Our little model baby is getting taller and skinner each time!

ONE.OF.THOSE.DAYS

Yesterday was one.of.those.days. I left the house at 6AM and didn't get home until 9PM. I drove six hours and worked {every second} of the other nine. It is so depressing leaving my daughter and even worse when anyone that knows my working situation says "I can't believe you do that!", "I could never leave like that!', "HOW do you do it?", etc etc, etc. I'm sure anyone who is a working mama can relate to me here....

Why am I at this job you ask? I signed a contract for my dream job, a month later we found out I was pregnant. At this point I very strongly wanted to continue pursuing the career I have worked so hard to build over the last several years. Rob has been unbelievably patient and supportive through this entire journey. Journey sounds more positive than nightmare, right? Until my marriage and Brooklyn's birth my career was the center of my life and the most important thing to me.

I often wonder if I would have moved forward with this job knowing I was pregnant. I also wonder; Am I making the right decision? Am I doing the best thing? Am I being selfish? Is this negatively affecting Brooklyn? Would she be happier with her mommy home full time? What happens when we have baby #2? Is this just as hard for every other working mother?

Sorry friends, just needed to vent a little.



On a happy note BROOKLYN STOOD TODAY, just for a few seconds. Of course I was not home to see this first. But heres a picture for you to enjoy :)

A VALENTINES DAY CRAFT

I love being a mother but even more being a mother to my baby girl. I love girl clothing, girl activities, girl talk, girlfriends, girl crafts, everything girl. I remember when I was young all the fun arts & crafts projects my mom did with me. I am so excited to start making those memories with Brooklyn. I am definitely not artistically talented but that doesn't mean a girl can't love her crafts. 

We got inspired Saturday at a cute paper store on Santana Row. We almost bought a pre made kit but instead just picked up the string and mini red clothespins. Brooklyn and I had the funnest time cutting out the hearts. She contributing by chewing on the extra pieces, handing me the hearts and offering her hand for the center piece. I was a little disappointed when I asked my husband how it looked and he said "cute, like you made it." I thought our work was pretty darn professional, almost store bought to the untrained eye. Guess not! However we do have a festive Valentine's craft on our wall and got to spend quality time together. In my book that equals perfect.  

SIX OF THE VERY BEST MONTHS

Our Brooklyn is SIX MONTHS old today! Seriously, where does the time go? Rob and I have been looking at old pictures and reflecting on all the memories of Brooklyn since last July. It is so fun to be able to look back at all the pictures and videos. This mile stone has made me want to keep up with the blog even more so we can always remember these precious moments. Another thing I have done is write letters to Brooklyn so she knows how loved she really is. Here is one more:

Our little Brooklyn,

If you ever read this silly blog know mommy and daddy love you more than anything in the whole wide world. The moment the doctor put you in my arms we knew nothing would ever be the same. And it hasn't, its been better. To say the last six months have been the best of our life would be an understatement. You bring a joy and light into our home that wasn't here before. You make us happier than we ever thought possible. Your smile, your laugh, the sparkle in your eye all make you such a special little girl. We are so excited to watch you grow and learn and support everything you choose to do in your life. For now you are our little girl and we will continue to kiss and hug you every chance we get.

Love you to the moon and back, mommy & daddy

LIFE LATELY VIA OUR IPHONE

-brooklyn vs heimlich, daily stare down
-happy girl giggling under her play mat
-reading books. this one, Count to Sleep Massachusetts (a favorite!)
-sitting on daddy's chest, not wanting to be photographed
-posing like a a little model with her patent leather shoes & matching headband
-sleepy, chewy time with Sophie the giraffe to ease new teeth
-adorable little piggies, one through ten
-being a mini mommy organizing photos

BROOKLYN'S BIG GIRL STROLLER

Over the weekend we set up the {seat} attachment for Brookyn's stroller. We have got stopped several times by people complimenting or asking questions about this stroller called the Quinny Buzz.

The stroller is able to be assembled with a a bassinet, car seat or upright chair. We did not purchase the bassinet mainly due to the high price tag. Thus far it has been really convenient to attach her to the stroller directly from the car while she's sleeping. Now that she is a little older she is usually not sleeping in the car and wants to see more so the option to have her face forward is nice.

I also like this stroller because it uses hydraulic technology to unfold itself, has only one wheel in front that is easy to maneuver, this wheel can also be fixed so you can use it to run (i think thats off label), its narrow so easy to push around in tight spaces and in the stroller world its a pretty good looking carriage.  

daddy setting up the new seat

she looks like a pretty big girl! 

Carseat & stroller combo

What stroller do you use?

Do you like it, would you recommend it?

OUR DAY IN SAN FRANCISCO

It all started when I was reading Brooklyn Goodnight San Francisco, one of her favorite children's books. I love this series because these books highlight all the best places of each major US city. This July I will have lived in the Bay Area for four years so not having seen several of these sites made me feel still like a visitor instead of a local. I showed Rob the book and said we must visit every one of these places. My husband grew up here so he actually had seen them all, and the ones like the Golden Gate Bridge, ten times but because he's awesome he said lets do it!  On Saturday we started on the book.

Our first stop, Stow Lake is the center of Golden Gate Park. There is a cute boat house where you can rent paddle boats and get food. We walked around the lake and got hot dogs for lunch while we waited for a paddle boat. I would love to say Brooklyn had the best time on the boat but she actually hated it. This little girl is so easy going and happy all the time, I was really surprised upset she was. She started crying as soon as we got on the boat. We tried to feed her which proved challenging primarily because I did not want to drop her in the lake. After she finished eating she continued to cry so we ended the boat tour a little early (one hour rental, $15) thinking she was tired. However the second my feet touched land she stopped crying and started smiling, little devil!

miss anti boats brooklyn

brooklyn at stow lake, showing stow lake in her book! 

Our next stop was the Golden Gate Bridge. I have been to this iconic SF landmark several times but never actually {walked} across. The full span of the bridge is 1.7 miles, me in boots and stroller in tow we decided to walk to the halfway mark and turn back. There is a popular quote "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco," but not today! It was 65, sunny and b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! After we finished our walk we got hot chocolate at a little stand near the bridge and just sat and talked (my favorite thing ever). 

us at the golden gate, showing golden gate in the book! 

We finished this awesome day by grabbing dinner in North Beach at Restaurant Viva . We had fried calamari, Alfredo with prawns and Penne Vodka with chicken. I had eaten here before and loved it, this time not as much. The appetizers and bread were very good, the main dishes were a little under par. With all the amazing options in North Beach we will be trying somewhere new next time. To satisfy our sweet tooth we ended the night with gelado from Z. Cioccolato, "the sweetest spot in north beach." I loved every part of this day. San Francisco we will be back soon!