Hotel Orvin

The past couple little bit has been back-to-back house guests. We've been busy having fun, being social, and washing sheets and towels.

First up was Ruby dog. I've already posted about her stay with us...but she was easy to watch and is beautifully house trained.

Next was Cody's sister Jana and her husband Dave. I don't know how many people are as lucky as I am to enjoy their in-laws as much as I do, but being around Jana and Dave was a good time. Unfortunately, Dave has had a year of surgeries and pain, so walking around too much was out of the question. As a result, we just relaxed by going to the beach, eating out, and playing a game or two.

Here we are in Huntington Beach on the Pier:







This lady worked for 45 minutes to catch this sting ray. She said it was her dinner. I can't think of anything more disgusting.



Here we are at Crystal Cove beach after eating at Ruby's Shake Shack:









Then my parents came to stay with us for a couple of nights. If ya'll don't know, my parents are remodeling their house. My childhood home was sold at the end of the summer and their new house is under construction so they've been renters for the past couple of months. But their lease had ended and the construction is about over and they had a trip planned to Montana for 10 days, so staying at Hotel Orvin it was. I can't wait for their house to be done...it will be so nice to go hang out there (I'll probably post about their house for those of you interested).

Next up were Cody's parents, Connie and Jere. Again, I love my in-laws. And now that I'm a mom, I'm very interested in seeing them as much as possible since I want Alivia to be very close to her Grandma and Grandpa (my parents are Grammy and Bop). We went to the Jay Leno show while they were here (guest was First Lady, Michelle Obama!), ate out, went on walks, and rented some movies. Unfortunately, I had the stomach flu for one of the days and Alivia got a cold, so she was a tad fussy during their stay :(


Alivia in a high chair for the first time at one of our nights out.


And we've had my parent's dog Maggie staying with us. She is not house trained however, and spent her days outside in our patio. At night though, after I took her to pee and poop, I'd let her in for a couple of hours to lay on her bed. On one night, I had just let her out to go to the bathroom and was sitting on the couch feeling gross from the flu, and I notice Maggie on the carpet (which was a no-no). Turns out she was pooping, and it was all runny and gross. I could have killed her! She also peed three times in the house, and I was really disciplined about taking her outside on a regular basis to pee. Let's just say she's lucky I love her butt because I was close to locking her in her crate for the rest of eternity!

Then my college friend Frances and her brand spankin new husband Andrew came to see us for a night. Remember the wedding I went up to Utah in September to go to, but missed by one night? My airhead move of the year? Well, I finally got to see my friend Frances married. To a wonderful man. We had a great time chatting and reminiscing. We went to Balboa Island so Frances can get a Balboa Bar. And we went to church. That's about the extent of it. It was way too short of a stay for my liking. I needed me some more Frances time.



My parents have since returned and taken Maggie back with them. They stayed with us for two more nights after Montana, but opted to go stay in a legit hotel seeing as their house won't be done for weeks and I think my dad wanted his own space.

Our house seems a lot more quiet and boring these days since all our guests have gone.

Love Day

I sure hope all of you had a fun Valentine's day.

Here is how ours went down via photos and captions.

Cody made German Pancakes and Alivia had to feed herself her morning bottle.


Cody spoiled his daughter, since she doesn't have a Valentine of her own.


Cody showered me with love too. He's good like that.


My mom was super thoughtful and brought us some yummy treats!





Alivia went to her Aunt Brooke's while we went to dinner at El Torito Grill where we had our pre-nuptual dinner. We also saw "The Vow."


Our little Valentine.

Being MaMa

I've always wondered what it would be like to be a mother. And I thought I'd be able to articulate my experience by now, with 7 months experience, but I, I just can't. I guess it's just one of those things. I likewise thought I'd be able to describe my love for my spouse on the day of our wedding, but I tried to describe my love for Cody at our reception and failed miserably. It was just too hard to find the right words, beautiful words, that described my affections that day.

Sometimes I'm this way with religion. I could begin to try to describe the existence and importance of Deity, but I would sound elementary and confused and in the end, I would think that my description was different from how I really see and experience religion. Sometimes I feel like bearing my testimony is a futile endeavor, but if I go super micro and focus on specific topics about my faith, then I feel much more articulate and true.

There are some things in life that are just too huge, too awesome, too close to the heart that it makes conceptualizing them, let alone describing them, near to impossible.

Motherhood is that way to me. I have a beautiful 7 month old baby girl that I made and grew in my belly and have cared for all this time. Could this little girl I hold really be that little mouse I saw in the ultrasound this time last year? Really? Could that even be possible?

In terms of science it all makes sense, I know. I'm not stupid. But when you really stop to think, it is crazy that my little mouse on the screen is my almost crawling little one.

My whole life I've watched mothers in action, I've practiced being a mom with dolls and purses and babysitting and by being an Aunt. And now I'm a mama. And it is surreal.

Here is what I have so far on motherhood. And I'm going specific here to help with my discription. I also doubt this list will capture how I experience motherhood, but I shall try.

1. At any given moment I could feel like a babysitter, but too often, I'll look at Alivia and have all the love in the world consume my heart. And I've never had that happen to me as a babysitter.

2. Her cry pulls at my heart. I've always found babies crying a bit unnerving and annoying, even the babies I've loved. I'd be swift to pick the baby up and soothe it just to stop that unnerving sound. But Alivia's cries affect me in a very different way. From 0-3 months it was an "oh that little cry is so cute" pull at my heart because she hadn't yet found her lungs and that little quiet whimper cry was the cutest thing I'd experienced. Seriously. I wanted to video it so that I could remember it in all its cuteness, but then the cry would draw me to her side so that I could fix whatever it was that was making her cry and I never got around to videoing it. Now her cry is very different from that quiet whimper. It is louder without fail. But it still isn't what I expected. Now, it pulls at my heart in a "oh honey let mama fix it" way. The cry grew from cute to sad. And when she cries, I rarely even think of what my own ears are experiencing. Instead I think of what my heart is experiencing. The worst is when I can't fix what she's crying about. Like when she has a cold. Or decides to fight going to sleep and is overtired. Or when I'm driving and can't explain to her that we're almost home and we will get her out of that contraption of a car seat and play to her hearts content. This aspect of motherhood has maybe been the biggest shock.

3. I feel like we are best friends. Now don't be alarmed, Cody is my best friend and I'm never going to be that woman who dresses like my teenager and wants to know all of the high school drama so that I can be one of the girls and beg in essence for my daughter to think I'm cool and THE BESTEST, but I do feel a friendship with my daughter. After all, I spend my days with her and I talk to her all day long and she witnesses my emotions and experiences and I feel like we know each other and get each other. I wish we could have a conversation about the movie I recently saw, "The Vow", or about how my lesson went on Sunday or about how she could possibly like being carried on someone's hip all the time. After all, I'd much rather be strolled around.

4. I worry for her safety. This I expected in motherhood. But unlike some mothers I've spoken with, who worry about the future and feel the weight of molding and shaping a child into a responsible, contributing member of society, I worry about the here and now. Alivia's childhood, teenage, and young adult years are so far from my mind. And my main concern is really just about her physical health and safety. I worry about leaving her for a date, regardless of the capabilities of the babysitter (often a family member with more mothering experience and skills than me). I worry about nutrition and constipation and good weight gain and the like. Thankfully I no longer worry about Alivia's head shape. I also no longer worry about SIDS, but unfortunately that has only been replaced with the fear of her smothering/suffocating in her sleep. I'm good to let the worries stay in my head. I don't call the pediatrician and am the worst at remembering to ask during her regular check-ups about the physical things that do concern me (i.e. the bumps by her right eye or the weird way her belly button feels). But this worrying is my new norm I guess.

5. I long for childless shopping trips because doing such errands without a baby in tow is so much easier and faster. I often won't do many errands in a day because I feel guilty having Livy confined to a stroller or car seat for too long. But, when I'm out alone and Cody has Livy, or when we are on a date, it's amazing how she is always on my mind. And it's amazing how, without fail, I always end up missing her, and get excited to see her upon my arrival home. It surprises me that I haven't ever regretted going home because then I have to mother Alivia. I always thought I would. And maybe there is a small part of me that wishes I could arrive home and just take care of things without having to pump or feed or the like, but that small part is hidden by that larger part of me that is excited to creep around the corner and say, "hello" to a fresh smile staring back at me. Cody just isn't as genuinely happy to see me return from errands.

And that's about all I can say for now.

Hearts and Kisses...

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I hope your day is all things love-ly. I know many who find today a lame, commercialized holiday. And Valentine's Day often seemed depressing as a jaded single woman, but now I see Valentine's Day in all it's glory. Any day that provides an opportunity to celebrate one of the most enjoyable of affections is a great day. And any day that allows me to treasure the people in my life that bring me the most joy and fill me with love, well now, that's a holiday I want to celebrate!

Look at what my bestest friend, Shaunna sent me in the mail. Look at that hair bow for Alivia (she wore it this Sunday)! What a great friend I have in her!

And look at what I made for Cody this year. I am so impressed with myself...considering I do NOT do crafts or make things (other than dinner and Alivia). I got the idea from my sister.


XOXO
more love day festivities to follow.

January Outings

This is Alivia's first time at the park. And in a swing (12-29-11). She did some tandem swinging with her cousin Rockford. Rockford is the most bashful little guy when he smiles - it's adorable. He also loves to laugh at pretty much anything. Alivia on the flip side doesn't laugh but on very rare occasions. All funny faces and tickles in the world would maybe produce a millisecond laugh, if that, if she were the perfect combination of happy and tired.



They love each other!


On a separate day weeks later, we met up with Marci, Rockford, and Margot and had a picnic in Mile Square Park by the pond.

Alivia sure does love her cousin Rockford...maybe a little too much.





Being lazy and chill.


We also went to Ruby's on the pier on a Saturday.




We went to the Corona Del Mar farmer's market. Note how sexy my man looks pushing a stroller.



And to Pacific Whey off Pacific Coast Highway for lunch.



Alivia is so fly. This is her playing during lunch. Love this chubby cheeked face!






We've had a lot of visitors lately, and the fun outings have definitely continued.