Sunday, May 31, 2009

The Herndon Festival

Tom and I decided to take Stasa to the Herndon Festival on Saturday. We slathered her up in sunscreen, threw on her sunhat and drove off to the festival. We knew it was going to be crowded before we even got there - Elden St. was backed up all the way to the road from our house. Yikes! So we turned off and parked at a Catholic Church (after giving a donation, of course) and then hiked a few blocks to the festival. It was PACKED. Elbows to buttholes, as Tom would like to say.

We checked out some of the craft tents and then got in line for some food. We saw a bunch of people walking around with huge plates of butterfly fries and we originally wanted those, but while we were standing in line we saw someone walk by with the nachos platter. We both immediately changed our orders.

After eating our ginormous nachos platters (I didn't quite finish mine), we checked out the rest of the craft tents. I was kind of disappointed that we didn't see anything I was remotely interested in buying. Once we had seen all of the open craft tents, we decided to head home and get Stasa to bed.

On our way in to the festival


People watching
Where we got our food (you've got to love carnival food)

The nachos platter, complete with nachos, cheese, beans, ranch, salsa and fries (they come with a choice of beef, lamb, pork or chicken). Oh, and this is already half eaten.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

19 weeks old


Sorry we skipped the 18 week picture, but we were up in Michigan and I forgot her bear. She's finally back on her schedule after a 4 day weekend of lots of stimulation and late nights. She's rolling over like a pro now and scoots all over the place. She does whatever she can to turn herself around to see the TV and is really pushing up high when she's on her tummy.

Tom and I are pretty certain we've got a Chatty Cathy on our hands. She has conversations with just about anyone and everything - Tom, me, her heffalump, her hand, her foot... We can't wait until she's really talking, but for now we'll savor the peace and quiet.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Basket fun

Stasa and I had a basket photo shoot today and she had a lot of fun sucking on the blanket and her fingers. Look at those pretty blue eyes!




Weekend pictures

Monday, May 25, 2009

We're back!

Here's a recap of our trip:
Thursday: We planned to be on the road by 2:00 AM, but I didn't wake up until 3:00, so we didn't get started until 4:00 AM. I drove the first leg of the trip (3 hours) and then we stopped for a bio break and then Tom took over. We stopped once more somewhere in Ohio to eat and feed Stasa and then continued on. Stasa cried the first 45 minutes of the trip and then passed out after having a bottle. She slept the majority of the trip, only waking when we stopped and then again when we hit Dearborn.
We checked in to the hotel around 1:30 PM and got settled. I showered and changed and Stasa and I headed over to the Bagga's for the Mehndi party. Tom and the boys came a little later. We ate, drank, danced and got adorned with henna (even Stasa got some done).

Friday (aka partial Free Day): We got up and had free breakfast with the family and then headed out to go on the Ford factory tour. I think every school had the same idea because there were a TON of kids there on a field trip. Unfortunately the factory isn't in production on Fridays, so we just walked around and looked at the set up. After that we went to lunch at bd's Mongolian Grill. DELICIOUS! We went back to the hotel and got ready for the wine and cheese party for the attendants.
The wine and cheese party was nice. They had four different rooms set up, with different wines and complimentary food in each room. We began with sparklings and champagnes, moved to whites, then reds and finished with dessert wines. Joe and Sharlene gave their attendants gifts - shaving sets for the guys and bags of goodies (beach bag, pashmina, jewelry for Sunday, bath products) for the ladies.
We stayed out pretty late Friday night - past midnight and poor Stasa was exhausted.

Saturday: The guys went out for a straight razor shave in the morning while Aunt Peggy, Grandma and I went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. I met my second cousin, Pam and her husband for the first time ever at the restaurant. From there we headed over to the ballroom for rehearsal. There was a ton to rehearse - the vow exchange, Sikh ceremony, walk through the Milni and Barat...
We had a couple of hours between the rehearsal and the dinner/reception. Tom and Stasa took a quick nap so I headed over to Aunt Peggy's suite to hang out with her and Jennifer. Then back to get ready for the reception. We met up with the family for a gift exchange (I can't remember what it was called) and then we all headed down for cocktail (Shartinis and Johitos). After eating, drinking and dancing, Tom and I called it a night a little early since we had a big day ahead of us.

Sunday (The Day): We were up at 6:30 AM to begin getting ready. We got dressed and headed down to Aunt Peggy's suite to meet up with the family. We stopped by Joe's room and then grabbed some breakfast. Then it was a whirlwind of pictures - family pictures, bridesmaid pictures, groomsman pictures...I was running back and forth since I was in both. After the bridesmaid pictures, I ran over to join the Barat since I was part of the groom's family, too. After lots of dancing and walking, the Barat arrived for the Milni. The families exchanged garland and took more pictures and then we all went back inside for tea and snacks. Then we went up for the actual ceremony.
Then, you guessed it, more pictures. LOL The photographer, Heather, is a pro and got us in and out quickly. After the ceremony, we went outside for lunch, then the bridal party separated for dessert and to prepare for the vow exchange. The vow exchange was officiated by Greg and consisted of Joe and Sharlene exchanged vows they wrote and their wedding rings.
Break time! We got a few hours to hang out before the reception. We went and hung out in Aunt Peggy's suite with the rest of the family and had snacks and drinks. Then we got dressed again and headed down for the reception. After drinks, dinner and dancing we said our goodbyes and then went up to our room to pack and put Stasa to bed.

Monday: Tom wanted to be on the road by 5:00 AM, but we didn't wake up until 5:00, so we started out around 6:00 AM. I was exhausted so Tom started out the driving. Stasa and I both passed out and then woke up almost 3 1/2 hours later. I woke up with a ginormous headache and uneasy stomach. I think my stomach was still adjusting to all of the Indian food and spices. I changed and fed Stasa and then we got back on the road - Tom still at the wheel. Stas and I passed out cold again. We woke up somewhere in PA and got a bite to eat. I still felt ill and tired so Tom continued driving and we fell asleep again (seeing the pattern yet? lol). We hit Virginia around 2 something and finally got home around 3:00 PM.

So all in all a pretty easy trip with a baby in tow. We're all tired from all of the events and the long drive. Tom was the smart one and took tomorrow off, so he'll get to rest a little more than I will. I'll post pics of the Mehndi party and factory tour in the next post.

Monday, May 18, 2009

4 month well baby check

Tom took Stasa to her 4 month well baby check today. She weighed in at 13 lbs 9 oz and was 23" long. She's in the 75th percentile for her weight and the 25th for her head (Tom couldn't remember the percentile for her height). She got 3 shots today which included 5 innoculations. Dr. Hunter said she's growing fine and we don't have to start solids until 6 months, though we can start rice cereal now if we want. She also said we can get her ears pierced at any reputable piercing place. We're definitely going to hold off on starting solids since breastmilk is free and she's doing fine on it.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Nights 7 & 8 of Ferberizing

Stasa has responded so well to being Ferberized. It has made bedtime much easier. I can't wait until she is able to fall asleep without tears. Luckily she only cries for a bit right now.

Tomorrow we're hosting Tom's dad and Aunt Jeanne for dinner. Before that I'm going to start putting together the stuff we need to take up to Michigan. Fun!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Night 6 of Ferberizing

Last night we increased the first cry time to 10 minutes. She cried the whole time. Tom went up and comforted her and put her back down. Then we waited 12 minutes and she stopped crying, but then started up again. Tom went back up and comforted her. Then we hit the longest wait. 15 minutes. She only needed 2. Passed out and slept through the night.

17 weeks and 4 months


Stasa was 17 weeks old yesterday and is officially 4 months old today. She's such a fun baby and is becoming very interactive. She loves loves loves sitting up like a big girl and I'm sure that when she finally does, we'll never get her to lay down again. She's consistently rolling over, but most times it's in the middle of the night and in her crib. She goes in on Monday for her 4 month appointment and shots. I'm sure the doctor will clear us to start solids, but we're probably going to wait until closer to 6 months to start. If you have any good recipes for baby foods (or cooking methods), please send them along!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Night 5 of Ferberizing

I am a total believer in the Ferber Method. Stasa has responded to it so well. Tonight I put her down awake and left her. She cried for 5 minutes and then I went in and comforted her for just a couple of minutes and put her back down. She cried for maybe 2 minutes and then passed out.

Once we have her putting herself to sleep regularly, we're going to start swaddling her with one arm out. I'll post an update in the morning about how the rest of the night goes.

UPDATE: She slept through the night! NOW I remember what real sleep is like. Pleasepleaseplease let her do it again tonight.

Evening walk

Tom and I took Stasa on a walk this evening. We went up to the Safeway for some Starbucks to relieve my headache and get in some exercise.

On the way I spied with my little eye...
Lots of recently mowed lawns
Wannabe thugs
A blonde family taking a stroll
A gang of tent caterpillers
Japanese (or red) maple trees

Here is our walk in pictures
Ali Pasha lounging in her ride

Tom pushing our little Buddha down the street

The gas station by our house that caught fire a while ago - check out the prices


Walking home

Ahhhh, sweet coffee

Pooperilla got tired of being pushed around and decided she wanted to be carried the rest of the way home.

Nights 3 & 4 of Ferberizing

So night 3 was pretty much the same as night 2. Out while nursing for the initial sleep time. Then up around 2:00AM for another feeding and she passed out while nursing then, too.

Last night was night 4 of Ferberizing and I was pretty pleased with the progress. She didn't fall asleep nursing at bedtime, so we put her down swaddled, dry, full and AWAKE. She didn't even cry the full 5 minutes and then she passed out. She woke up at 1:30AM still swaddled and hungry. She fell asleep nursing (thank God) and I crawled back in bed still half asleep. She was up AGAIN at 3:30AM completely unswaddled and on her tummy, face in the mattress. This is quickly becoming her new trick. Since she already ate, I scooped her up, reswaddled her and put her back down - as fast as I could. She squawked maybe twice. I had braced myself for the worst and was prepared to wake Tom to take care of her, but mercifully she passed out.

Even though last night was a success, I'm still exhausted. She's got to stop waking up for the middle of the night feedings. They are killing me.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

POTW

This week's Picture of the Week (POTW) theme is "Baby Got Back". I didn't want to put a picture of Stasa's naked butt on a public blog, so I made this fun "censored" onesie for her to wear. We better win.

Here are some more pictures of our little cutie.


I love chewing on my fingers



And just for fun - a pic of me in my new shades. I'm stylin'.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Introducing the '71 Chevelle






Night 2 of Ferberizing

Stasa didn't nap at all today, so she was wasted by 6:00PM and ready for bed. I swaddled her up and fed her and she passed out. She hasn't made a peep since I put her down and it's been about 3 hours. I fully expect her to wake up at some point tonight since she went down so early. And I'm not looking forward to letting her cry it out in the middle of the night when I need to be sleeping for work tomorrow. sigh.

And in other news, I'm sitting here struggling to write my self assessment. I loathe writing it every year. It would be so much easier to just have my assessor write it as he/she interviews me.

Happy Mother's Day!

I woke up this morning to 3 Mother's Day cards - 1 each from Tom, Stasa and the cat. I hope all of you mothers have a relaxing day today!

Night 1 of Ferberizing

I braced myself for a rough bedtime since we were continuing to Ferberize Stasa. Since she got a bath after her nap, we just swaddled her to get ready for bedtime. I nursed her while Tom read her a Berenstain Bears book. She slowly fell asleep so we finished the story and then put her in her crib and walked out.

Not 2 minutes later she started crying. We knew she was dry and full. Time to start crying it out (CIO). We checked the clock and waited 5 minutes. She was still crying after 5 minutes, so Tom went in and soothed her - walking her around to calm her back down. He put her back in her crib and walked out. She started crying again. We checked the clock again and waited 5 minutes. She stopped crying after 3 minutes and then just fussed, "eh, eh, eh" for a couple of minutes and then went quiet.

Yes! Tom and I looked at each other with a feeling of accomplishment. No sooner had we looked away, she started crying again. After 2 minutes of crying, Tom went back in to comfort her. Once she was calm he put her back in her crib and walked out. We checked the clock AGAIN and waited 5 minutes. She only cried for about a minute, then fussed, then passed out. We waited a few more minutes, then checked on her. Yep, passed out. SUCCESS.

Now the hard part begins. If she wakes up later tonight, after I feed her I'm going to have to do this all over again. Sigh.

Let me say that it's heartbreaking to hear my little girl cry. It takes all of my will power to not run right in to scoop her up. But I know it's important to let her learn how to self soothe. It's important for her and for us. She's so much happier when she sleeps through the night.

UPDATE: Stasa slept until 2:00AM, then got up to poop, eat, poop & pee and eat some more. After she finished eating, she passed out and didn't cry once. She stayed asleep until 6:30AM, when she decided it was time to be up for the day.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Day 1 of Ferberizing

This weekend marks a first for us. We're Ferberizing Stasa. We should have started last night, but I was too exhausted to even get off of the couch. So, we started with today's morning nap. She woke up this morning around 8:00, played with Tom while I showered, then played some more on her playmat and jumperoo. I fed her and changed her and then brought her upstairs for her nap. She usually naps in the swing downstairs, so napping in her crib is a first, too.

I put her down unswaddled at first, but she was screaming bloody murder, so I picked her up and calmed her down. Then, I swaddled her tight in my makeshift muslin miracle blanket. I walked her around for a bit and then put her down in her crib. Of course she immediately started crying before I even left the room. I went and sat in our room to wait 5 minutes. She cried the whole time. And then stopped at the five minute mark, just when we were getting ready to go in and comfort her. As soon as we breathed a sigh of relief, she started whimpering and fussing. We went in quietly and peeked at her and she wasn't crying, just whining "eh, eh, eh." Before we left her room, she was passed out cold.

So, Ferber attempt #1 was a SUCCESS.

We're going to let her sleep for another hour and then get her up for a bath since she spit up all over herself. And then we're going out to McCormick and Schmick for a Mother's Day lunch. Yum!

Oh and Tom brought the Chevelle home today and we took some pictures of him in it. I'll post them later today. Here are some pictures I took yesterday afternoon.

Yawning kitty


Naked playtime!


Hanging out in her Bumbo in her new Ralph Lauren romper


Thursday, May 7, 2009

16 weeks old

Stasa's 16 weeks old now! Besides her "fun" sleeping habits, she's become much more interactive. It's so cute when she looks at you and then scrunches up in a big grin. She's also "talking" to things now. Mostly her toys on her car seat, but she'll also chat it up with Tom. I've secretly been saying "mama" to her to see if that will be her first word. I guess I should do the same with "dada".

I'm so glad I work from home on Fridays because I put her down for tummy time this morning and SHE ROLLED OVER onto her back. I put her back on her tummy to see if she would do it again and she was not thrilled. So I put her on her back to play on her playmat and she rolled over onto her tummy and then back onto her back. She's a genius! I'm going to keep working on this. It's so exciting!



I think we're to blame for all of the rain we've been experiencing. The day after we put this slicker on the flamingo, it started raining. Oops!
Post rain fun with daddy

"Is there a rainbow, daddy?"



"Nom nom nom, I love my fingers."

Saying hello to our neighbor, Julie. She's OBSESSED with Stasa. (and I sterilized Stasa's hands after Julie went in)





"Mommy, I'm flying!"



I hate using my flash, but it was so dark inside and she was being so cute. Look how slimy her fingers are.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Sleep deprivation

Everyone on The Bump kept talking about the "4 month wakeful" period where your perfect sleeper becomes a partying night owl. I refused to believe this actually existed. I mean, everyone also said Sophie was the best teether out there. Well, for $20 I wasn't going to find out since she prefers her $0 fingers anyway.

Where was I? Oh, right. 4 month wakeful. I'm now a believer of it. Because my little sleep-through-the-nighter is slowly turning me into a mumbling zombie. It now takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to put her to sleep and she only sleeps for about 3-4 hours before she's back up, ready to party.

Needless to say, we're Ferber-izing her this weekend. For those that don't know, it's a method of sleep training that involves crying it out (CIO) and checking on the baby at different intervals (3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, etc.).

So, since I'm a walking zombie, I'm not going to attempt any more words. Instead I'll leave you with these pictures.

"Hey, mom, check out my new war wound."



"What are you doing, daddy?"

Stasa watching American Idol