Risen from the dead

Every day, I think about how I need to update my blog. As Katelyn gains mobility, I feel like I lose my freedom to do the things I enjoy. Heck, I don't even get done with things that NEED to be done.  Many of my days after work are spent right on the floor with her playing ("because mom, it's so much better when you play with me!"), then feeding her, then cooking for the adults, then yada yada yada. All you moms know exactly.
My girl is going on 8.5 months old, and is crawling here and there in short clumps, but she hasn't taken off quite yet! (thankfully) My friend Jenny has a 6-month old who is already crawling everywhere and pulling to stand like nobody's bid-ness. So sorry for you, my dear!
We had a great 5-day trip to Texas for my brother's wedding (baby in tow) and 4 GLORIOUS days to follow in Vegas sans baby. At first, I missed my baby girl, but I got over that pretty quickly! When we got back, it took her a minute to remember who we were, but once she did, she clung to me and didn't want to let go. Oh, how I will miss that when she's older.
Hopefully, pics and more verbage tomorrow!

Loving Summer

The summer seems to be flying by, especially since it doesn't stop raining until 4th of July, and that lasts only until about October...so we've been out and about as much as possible to make the most of it!  We are gearing up for a 5-day trip to Texas for my youngest brother's wedding in August, immediately followed by a baby-free trip to Las Vegas for my 30th birthday...eek!

I think about this blog daily and about how I've really dropped the ball with keeping it up-to-date. I'm sure that once the weather becomes gloomy and rainy again, I'll be stuck inside and writing lots more!

Katelyn is now 7 1/2 months old, 17 pounds and I don't know how many inches! She LOVES sitting like a big girl, face-forward in her stroller. She's sitting very well, pulling up to kneeling at her learn 'n groove table:

She likes to scoot on her butt and push up on her knees when on her belly, but she is nowhere near crawling at this point. I wonder if she'll skip that all together, because she loves to try to stand up when she gets the chance!

My 3 Musketeers:

She loves nighttime bottle with daddy (and falling asleep in the middle of it almost every time):

Thanks to daddy and Auntie Amanda, she's already an Oregon State Beavers fan!

She adores woof-woof doggy Tech and anything involving water:

She doesn't have any teeth yet, but still chewing on anything she can get her mouth on!

On July 11th, Katelyn got to go to her first Mariners game ! (even though they really suck, daddy still likes them)  It was daddy's Father's day gift.

The same day, Katelyn spotted her first celebrity! How fitting is it that it was Jason Biggs, one of the stars of daddy's favorite movies...the American Pie series.

What a month!

Catching up on the 6th month

I hope everyone had a happy 4th! As I was uploading pictures, I realized the only ones I took of Katelyn yesterday were on my iphone, and those were few at best. This little girl is suddenly deciding she wants to sleep a lot, except for nighttime! Things are turning around in that department slowly, so I'm sure she'll STTN on a regular basis soon.
With the arrival of summer (if that's what you want to call it...cloudy and in the 60s is not my idea of summer), we have been busy on the weekends. We've made treks up to Washington state the last 3 weekends (except the past one), and we'll be headed back up to Seattle on the 11th for Katelyn's first Mariners game!
Last weekend, Jenny and Kevin so graciously invited us to an open house (they're not selling, just super welcoming), and we got to meet little miss 5-month-old Fiona and a few of their friends and family. Ironically, that was a nice, sunny day. Jenny even went the extra mile and rented a bouncy house for all the kiddos...(good call, Jenny!)

Meanwhile, Katelyn is growing like a weed, changing every single day. She will be 7 months old on Wednesday...where did the time go?  I'll write a separate post that day to list her milestones, more for my sake than yours, because I bet you really don't care one way or another!  :)

Here are a few pics from the past month:

(Future centerfold?? Lordy, I hope not!!!!)

Father's Day

First time in the pool, and we didn't even bother with her bathing suit!

Getting the hang of these things is hard! (Daddy thinks I look like a snaggle-tooth here!)

Still not living up to my own expectations.

I sit here, on my day off, groggy from a night of Katelyn screaming every hour. It's not a good day. All I can think of is how I don't want to clean the house, or finish laundry left over from the weekend, or even get dressed. We're headed to Texas, then Vegas,  in 6 weeks, and I am down on myself for not exercising as much as I need to or eating the right things all the time. I am the heaviest I have ever been, and while I know I need to give myself more time, it doesn't help me feel any better about myself.

It's just not a good day, and I want to go back to bed [and sleep for 8 hours] and wake up on the other side.

Too bad I have no control over this anymore, for that little 15-lb 6.5 month-old rules the roost these days.

I'm ready for the old Stacia to be back.

Short and Sweet

And yet again, I am MIA. I am pooped right now, so no long post tonight, no cute pictures. :) Maybe in a couple of days?  ( I fear that I may be losing readers, though!) Please hang around?

With a cherry on top?

Absent for a good reason

I've not been blogging regularly. Usually, I'd feel insufficient about that. I know several amazing, busy, working moms who are managing enthralling, hilarious, informative[lucrative] blogs. However, I am not interesting enough to even attempt to be a Heather or a Blair. (Umm, yeah, I really don't "know" these girls, but they're popular!) 

The reason for my lack of blogging, frankly, is that I'm out enjoying life more! I'm spending less time doing non-productive things and being able to enjoy my girl, my man, and my happiness more. It is SO liberating. I've forgotten to take my meds a couple of days, and I can really tell the difference. On those days, I'm more inclined to be lazy with everything: work, relationships, household chores, and my own grooming. You all know what I'm talking about, so don't pretend like there haven't been days when you didn't want to get dressed, let alone shower.  Let's face it. Every mom does it, and I have no shame in admitting it.

The bad part about not blogging is that I haven't been showing off my growing, smart girl. She will be 6 months old next week. SIX MONTHS! I'm inclined to already start planning her 1st birthday party (can you say Winter ONEderland party, anyone?)....OK, I've already got ideas. :)

More pictures of the darling girl to come!

Running for Lillian

A couple of years ago when I knew Glen and I were ready to expand our family, I found an online group of gals all with the same goal of getting pregnant. Over time, the group dwindled to a select 75-80 (maybe a few more), making it easy to get to know each other. I find daily support from this group of girls and try to give back as much as I can. One of the ladies gave birth to her first baby, a girl named Lillian, in September. Lillian was soon after diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome. Since then, her parents Sarah and Phil have sought out the best of the best care for her, and they have inspired the rest of us that belong to this special group of internet friends. None of us had heard of PWS before, but it occurs in 1 in 15,000 babies and can cause a variety of difficulties both for the child and caregivers. You can learn more about PWS through the link above, and you can also go to Sarah's blog, Falling for Baby , to read more about their story.

Another member of this group, Vanessa, has decided to run in a 10K, raising money to donate to PWS research.   I have already donated, but if you do feel so inclined, every bit of money they can get helps. Please click on Lillian's picture below if you care to donate, and also feel free to mention this story in your blog to spread PWS awareness. Thanks in advance. :)

Productive Naps

The brains of babes just amaze me. Yesterday, K took the longest nap ever---almost 4 hours from 10:30 to 2:15. After that point, it seems as though she has discovered wild use of her tongue and "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah" along with "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma"! Of course, I'd love to believe she's saying "mama", but I know better than that.

She also sat unsupported for over 3 minutes after that red-sea-parting-nap, and I can't help but wonder just how many little brain cells muliplied over the course of her long slumber. If only my adult brain could do so much!

5 month milestones

Katelyn is now almost 24 weeks old...yes! 5 1/2 months! Where did the time go? (And why hasn't my belly gone with it?!)

Here's what she's up to:

--sitting unsupported for 5-10 seconds, no hands
--tripod sitting 15 seconds
--rolling belly to back, back to belly, but not across the room yet.
--eating in her big girl high chair
--now eating oatmeal, prunes, sweet potatoes, green beans, avocado, and next up: butternut squash!
--not really sleeping through the night consistently, usually up 1-2x/night
--holding her bottle herself 5-10 seconds
--gnawing on everything in sight
--plays in her Exersaucer up to 30 minutes at a time, thoroughly engaged in all the toys.

This girl is growing so quickly!

No longer a Vlog Virgin

So I have recorded my first blog, and let.me.tell.you. What a learning experience about myself. I really should have tried to get better lighting. To record from overhead a bit to disguise my double chin. To not say "Um" so much. To look straight into the lens rather than at the flipped view screen. To not do the crazy wide eyes once in a while. To wear a top that doesn't slide down my shoulder to reveal my brastrap. Ah, the picky little things one can point out on themselves, right? 

If nothing else, this video gives me more motivation to keep going with the diet/exercise/attempted weight loss! The great thing is, those lovely little light green pills prevented me from crying about myself and just allowed me to laugh at myself instead. One other thing---I really do look a lot like my mom. I shall say no more about that. :)

Here I am in all of my shining glory---and even if you have a negative thought, please leave a fake nice message so you don't hurt my feelings...or I might throat-punch you.
(Just kidding, y'all!)