Rambling Robin

I think it is so dumb that babies need to develop so quickly in such a short period of time. Alivia has changed so many times in her short 9 months of life. I love her ridiculously now in her 9 month old stage, but I miss my little 2 month old, and 4 month old, and 6 month old, and - you get the point. It might sound dramatic, but I mourn the loss of that little little nugget who had a bobble head when she stood on my lap.

I've never been a big fan of change. I think that has been well documented in previous posts. It's a compliment to my life that I love things to remain as they are, I just do. Looking back, I guess I was excited to get married and welcomed the chance to leave bachlorettehood. And for that matter I was excited to become a mother. But with both of these examples, I was still nervous about saying goodbye to all the good times as a single lady and as a newlywed. I distinctly remember crying to Cody thinking about how a baby could change our marriage relationship. We had so much fun together and I didn't want anything or anyone to mess that up.

So disliking the quality of change, or in this instance, the pace of change I see in my daughter, is not surprising in the least. And people always warn you and say, "They grow up way too fast" or "They'll be gone and out of the house before you know it," but it doesn't really mean much until you have a baby and see it for yourself.

I went to go see my friend Lori's new little boy Davis. He is so, so, so, tiny to me...but he is only a few ounces less than Alivia was when she was born. And Alivia next to him looked like such a big girl. Which made me pick her up and hug her because before I know it, she will be the size of James, Lori's firstborn, who'll be 2 in June.

Years of my life have flown by before without a care from me, but this past year of feeling her kick and have hiccups in my belly, meeting her, and seeing her grow is so overwhelming to me. Both because of the pace by which it has flown by, and because of the amount of milestones that have been packed into this year's time frame (April 2011-April 2012). It makes me filled with gratitude for the amazing experiences and growth my family has had while, at the same time, producing sadness for time too quickly experienced. I almost feel robbed.

I try very much to saver everyday, every quirk, every stage. Because before I know it, that quirk has disappeared, that day has left, and we are on to new stages. My bobbing head baby of three months is a 9 month old with good muscle control. And I'm grateful she is healthy and strong, but I wish, I wish I could have had that bobbing head baby for just a while longer.

Nine Months!

She says mama when she's sad.

I call her "silly, silly" or more like "siwy, siwy" all the time.

She grinds her teeth and it drives me nuts! She has 6 teeth: 4 on bottom, 2 on top.

She tantrums when we change her diaper. She's talented at it - like she's already 2. Makes me wonder what changing her diaper will be like at 2.


She is starting to stand while holding onto things, BUT I'm not confident in her ability and I'm always so close.



She's been standing in her crib all the time.


She shakes her head no when she is excited. She now gets excited with her whole body. I love it even though she hits me in the face with her excited, flapping arms.

She crawls all over the place. Started crawling about 4 days after turning 8 months. I love that she can explore and self-entertain.



She makes a sour face (like she's eating a lemon) when she has refried beans. It is so oddly cute. She loves beans and lemons actually.


She has started sucking her thumb randomly. I doubt it will develop into anything, but I think it is so cute.


We floss and brush her teeth every morning.


She still doesn't hold her own bottles. For a baby whose been exclusively bottle fed since the hospital, she should be feeding herself by now. She's either lazy. Which is very plausible since I'm her mother. Or she's brilliant, since she knows we'll hold it for her and then she can play with stuff while she eats.


I just started eliminated one pumping and now I only pump 3 times a day. I can't wait to pack up the pump until we have another baby. The body freedom will be pure bliss. Frankly, I can't believe I've lasted this long pumping. It's not beautiful or a bonding time for me and Livy or anything thing like that. It's just healthy Livy and economic for us.

She is giving big open mouthed kisses. Sloppy yummy kisses!


She is just now getting a bit ticklish in her belly.

Hunger Games

Tonight I both finished the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy, "Mockingjay," and saw the movie Hunger Games.

On the way to the theater I felt like a school girl going to a Justin Bieber concert. I could have squealed and peed my pants I was so excited and giddy with anticipation. But I'm a grown woman, and passionate "groupy-like" tween feelings are a tad embarrassing and ridiculous at my age. The worst of it is that I don't even think I could have hated the movie if I tried, since I think I decided to love it before I ever even saw it.

Cody has started calling me Katniss at times. Katniss or Catnip. He always has odd nicknames for me: Rizzo, Bizbon, Trick, etc., but these new nicknames sit perfectly with me. I wish I was just like Katniss: fit, influential, important, desired, skilled, and an absolute rock star.

Oh man, as I type this I'm embarrassed. Do you see? I'm a 31 year-old woman calling a book character/young actress a rock star. Just be glad I'm not describing how I pined for Gale's actor (hunka, hunka).

Bad Hair Day

Everyday is a bad hair day for Mr. Einstein.


Mr. Einstein, as we affectionately call him, is one of our house plants with seriously unruly parts. He is our only plant with a name (because we are normal-ish) and the only one that Livy is tempted to touch.

Thanks for always making our early morning hair look tame Mr. Einstein!

The Chief's Day

Let me tell you a little factoid about yours truly, I - love - holidays. I love everything from Christmas to Veterans Day to Thanksgiving to Labor Day. I love them all. My experience is that if you want life to be more fun and festive, you maximize the celebration of any and all calendar holidays.

Now if you've followed my blog from its infancy, you know that I find the Nixon Library to be particularly beautiful. When searching for reception locations for our wedding, it was my first choice. It was also everyone else's first choice so my reception ended up being at Santa Ana Country Club instead.

But even though I've toured the library's replica of the White House's East Room, I had never gone through their exhibits and Cody had never been at all. And when we heard admission was F-R-E-E! on President's Day, we had to go. Because really, could there be a more appropriate activity on such a holiday?

Here are the beautiful grounds:





Nixon's childhood house his dad built from a kit in 1912. He was born in this home:


Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford's helicopter:





Inside the Library:








Some of my favorite girl next to my favorite flower:



As we were leaving we saw the presidents of Mount Rushmore taking photos with kids. I politely asked which president would like to hold Alivia and these two below were the quickest to answer. She did fine at first, but then totally lost it.




I learned a ton at the library, since I'm embarrassed to say that all I really knew of Nixon's political life and presidency was the Watergate scandal (which is well represented with an exhibit called "Watergate"). That is why I particularly like the following quote displayed at the exit of the library:

"May the day of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life and career come to a close." -President Bill Clinton

Back Bay Adventure

I grew up down the street from this beautiful bay. Seeing as SoCal is super populated (or overpopulated), having grown up next to such an open space of nature is extremely rare.

Our little family went there on a family outing the other weekend to enjoy the sun, have some fun, and do some mild exercise. It was a great day. I should have worn better clothes though cause I was H-O-T. (ok. maybe I was hot because our "mild" walk felt more like a "moderate" one and I'm a bit out of shape.)




Wild Flowers:


Poser:


Wild Beast:


Horses:


Beauty:

Centennial Farms...

Cody and I love this place! We came here when we were engaged and saw a pig named Rosie give birth to tiny little piglets. Now, every time we go back, we love going and seeing the animals, but especially the pigs.

This is Gingersnap and her piglets. They are only a month old, and super cute. There were two other female pigs: one was due the next day! and the other in about a week.




This trip in early February was Alivia's first trip and she liked most the animals just fine. But the cows and steers made her "moo" in her pants. They absolutely petrified her (unfortunately none of these pictures show her fear). It was so cute and sad and silly to see her grab onto Cody closer, and crawl up his shoulder to try and get away. Who knew you could think such a pretty animal was scary? Just look at this beautiful animal.




Oh wait. Now I kind of get it Livy. Holy cow, that bad boy is too big for his own good.



Here is a sampling of some of the other fun animals:





Centennial Farms also has gardens in which they grow tons of fruits and vegetables.






Still looking out for that cow...