6 months

I officially have a 6 month old as of Saturday the 18th! 

We've been practicing sitting up

In the next couple of weeks we're going to a portrait studio for her 6 month pictures and some family pictures, too. She's such a cool kid! 

She's still exclusively breast fed and the plan was to give her some avocado on her half birthday, but since she had a cold we ended up waiting. Maybe this weekend will be the big day!

Resolutions

I make resolutions every year and by the time the next year rolls around, I've forgotten those resolutions… 

Oh well. 

Here's the list anyway. Maybe if I document them better, they'll more likely be followed? 

Walk the dog more (stop being a shitty dog parent)

Wake up earlier ….and go to bed earlier

Write the due dates of bills on the calendar

Get in the habit of actually folding the laundry and put it away

Don't let the clean dishes just hang out in the washer all day

I've made some resolutions for Matt, too: 

Stop throwing dirty laundry behind doors

Quit leaving dirty dishes in the sink

Go to sleep at a reasonable hour (!)

I guess the theme is to develop better habits…but isn't that always the theme for the New Year?

credit to J.G. 2014

My sweet girl rolled over!

It actually happened! 

She's been able to roll over from her tummy to her back since she was about 3 months old and today she rolled over from her back to her tummy! 

Miss M. was playing on her quilt in the living room when she decided she needed to get to her teddy bear and she just freakin' rolled over without any warning! I happened to be sitting on the couch and saw her moving out of the corner of my eye. She rolled over a few more times after that and I tried recording them on my iPhone but I kept catching the aftermaths… ugh. 

My girl is growing up so fast!

30 Day Squat Challenge

I've hopped onto the bandwagon! 

Well, kind of. I decided to try a 30 day squat challenge again. I don't remember how far I got last time, but this round, I've written the days and number of squats on a sticky note by the TV. Hopefully, by crossing off each day and seeing my progress on paper, I'll end up seeing some progress with my sad mom butt. 

I like how it's kind of all over the place but it looks like there's a definite pattern of easing into it and backing off a little bit. 

What I really need to do next is get into better eating habits in general. I'm never going to give up Dicks Drive-In and thankfully that's kind of a drive for me, but I do need to really eat 3 meals a day and stop putting bags of tortilla chips and popcorn on the couch for convenient snacking…. asdgjk;

In other news: we're almost ready to start introducing solids! We got her high chair set up by the table and she seemed to like it (for about 10 minutes). It's the Graco 4-in-1 in Blossom. So far, we like it, too!

Her first food is going to be avocado and so far that's all I know… I found a really helpful website that gives great advice on foods to start with and then a great list about what to avoid altogether until certain ages in order to avoid allergic reactions and whatnot.

New Year

This past year has been amazing for so many reasons. I'm excited to keep up with this blog since I do love writing.

We spent New Years Eve at this sweet little indoor play place with another little boy and his mama. There was a kids' party with "champagne" (Italian soda with fruit) and bubbles. We counted down til noon! Too cute!

I don't have many resolutions besides the ol' eating healthier and exercising more routine. Hopefully that doesn't fizzle early on. I guess I have some resolutions for Matt such as: stop throwing your dirty laundry behind the bedroom door, and quit leaving dirty dishes in the sink!!!

Anyway, here's a survey: 

1)What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before? had a baby!

2)Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't remember my resolutions from last year! I'll save my resolution list for another entry.

3)Did anyone close to you give birth? Besides myself, I met several other new mamas with babies the same age as Madeleine! 

4)Did anyone close to you die? I lost my grandpa (Papa Tom) last January. I'm sad that he never got to meet his first great granddaughter, but I'm glad he's at peace.

5)What countries did you visit? We didn't do any traveling this year :[

6)What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013? Self-discipline! 

7)What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory and why? The whole month of July! I turned 24 on the 3rd, experienced labor and had a baby on the 18th, celebrated our first wedding anniversary on the 21st. Such a cool month!

8)What was your biggest achievement of the year? Starting a tiny family and graduating from the University of Washington!

9)What was your biggest failure? I think I had a bunch of smaller failures, like not letting things go when I should have or letting myself be lazy.

10)Did you suffer any illness or injury? Thankfully, no!

11)What was the best thing you bought? I didn't buy it, but Matt got me a violin for Christmas! I cried! I'm also very happy to be the proud owner of a Keurig that we got from my parents for Christmas. 

12)Where did most of your money go? Easy. Iced caramel sauce americanos.  

13)What do you wish you'd done more of? I wish I had spent more time outside doing outdoorsy stuff…that, and I wish I had been more organized. 

14)What do you wish you'd done less of? Complaining. I'm very skilled at complaining.

15)What was the best book you read? Mayim Bialik's Beyond the Sling. Certainly one of the most crunchiest pieces I've ever read, and although she does many things parenting-wise that I don't, I really admire her!

16)What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 24 and ate a ton of sushi with friends. This was just a couple of weeks before Madeleine was born.

17)How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013? Uhh….maternity/nouveau hippy? I'd like to tone back up so I can wear more of my pre pregnancy clothes so it looks like I at least tried to look decent when I leave the house!

18)Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013: Life seems shorter and shorter, so appreciate every moment, no matter how challenging.