Muffin Top Status

I'm lazy! There I said it! 

My entire life I have never enjoyed working out, it just never seemed to work into my daily plans. When I do workout, I'm "that" person who stops 10 minutes early because I can, only finishing if I have someone to push me forward, when in reality I just don't want to be the lazy one who stands out. 

I've finally hit a spot in my post-pregnancy life where reality has sunk in and opened my eyes to view my new "friend", her name, Mrs. Muffin Top. I guess I've never really considered the fact that I need to tone up, I just kept putting it on the back burner of my list of things to complete. I've been loosing weight like crazy with my dairy free diet, I can tell, I have another "friend", I like her A LOT better, her name, Mrs. Sexy Collar Bone. 

The other day my mom came over, she brought me over a present, I love her! A cute pair of wash shorts, just what I had been needing, I was in love! When I tried them on, my legs looked great, (they are usually getting strangled, pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy), I was so happy, that is until I saw Mrs. Muffin Top waiving hello. 

Long, sad, disappointing story cut short; I need to workout, tone up, and stop being lazy! Here is what I have come up with so far.

Healthy foods... check

Signs of weight loss...check

Exercise... NOPE! (WHY ME!)

You see, waist-up pictures are what I hide behind, this needs to stop!

There is a new me coming your way, a new healthier, toned, hot mama coming your way! "Sad" to say, Mrs. Muffin Top is getting the boot, I only have room for one BFF in my life!

P.S. Show us some love and vote for us daily, that's every 24 hours, here!

Anxiety

Have you ever left your little one alone, while they were still so tiny, for a couple of hours and had anxiety the entire time you were away?

That was me tonight, I hated it! Though I knew Aleena was safe with her daddy while I snuck away to my brother-in-laws birthday dinner, I still had the feeling that it was wrong for me to leave her. I need to get over this, but I know it will be a while! The funny part about it all is that she was asleep for the night when I left and she didn't even take notice of my absence! Oh the joys of being a mother! Overreacting when it's obviously unneeded!

I came home, checked on my sleeping beauty, then came to the computer to watch slideshows of her! I just can't get enough of her! I love that girl to death, I'm addicted to everything about her, her love, smell, smile, dimple (right under her right eye!) If their was therapy to fix my overpowering addiction to her, I would stay far far away! 

My two loves are fast asleep right now, taking up the entire bed! I know I'll have to scoot her over in a little so I can get some shut eye, but for now, I'll let her be! 

I found these pictures of my little love while she slept as a newborn!

 So sad! She's grown so much!

P.S. Vote for us daily! Show us some love!

The Numbers Are In!

I've been blogging about our little love for a little over a year now, time sure does fly! It has allowed me to keep a daily journal that we plan on sharing with Aleena in the future!

As most of you know, the numbers on TBB have reset, and we sure have gone up on the charts! (Previously #256) I thought I would do a little begging, I guess that's the norm during this reset time, and ask you all to please keep us going!

You can show us some blogger love by voting for us, one vote per day (of course you can vote for us everyday!), we sure do love your support!

Click the here, then click the left owl, it just takes two clicks!

Ok, no more begging... for now! Have a great week!

"Hey Mom, do you think they voted for us?"

Our Birthday Boy!

Aleena,

Raising you is a blessing that has been given to your Daddy and I, it is a life long journey that consists of love, love, love, and tons of hugs and kisses! Each day with you that passes gets added to our long and meaningful book of memories that will forever stay locked in our hearts. Your dad and I love every moment of every day with you, more than we ever thought possible.

I can't imagine venturing down this wonderful path of raising you without the help of your Daddy, I know that I will never have to worry about that because your dad is unlike any other man I know. I've known that he was someone special since the day I laid eyes on him, the way he looked at me made me feel loved even before I knew his name. I never knew what love really was until I met him, I knew that we would forever be together. Starting a family together was always the plan, though we were young, we knew that we were ready to bring you into this world and smother you with love for all the years to come.

Though you are only three months old, you are already so deeply in love with your dad and I, we see it in your everyday happiness. The sight of love in your eyes is breath taking when you look at me, I try my hardest to show you the same love back, I hope you can see it. It warms my heart to see how in love you are with your daddy, whenever he comes in the room he has your attention. You sit in his lap so calmly, I can tell you feel so safe on his chest. The way he holds you in his arms so delicately, kisses your head when you're sleeping, holds your hands while you are eating, and hugs you tight whenever you are crying, is such a wonderful sight to see. Your Daddy is the greatest dad ever, and I mean EVER!

Today is your Daddy's birthday, he turned 23, and we were able to spend this special day with him!

You woke him up with your cute baby sounds, which he says was your way of singing happy birthday to him! He loves the card that you made, your handprint and toes are so tiny on the card, it's the best card ever! 

We spent all day at BBQs with your daddy, when we finally got home we were able to sing to him by ourselves with the yummy cheesecake that we made for him! Though it's not the end of the night just yet, and your Daddy hasn't said it, yet, I know that this has been the best birthday for him, I can see it in his eyes, more than he could have ever imagined, all because you were here to spend this day with your Daddy the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday Love, I hope your day was amazingly amazing!

Giving your Daddy some birthday Love!

Oh, and do you see this frostingless cake? That's your Daddy's favorite!

Your Daddy is a cheesecake lover!

Today was your first time in a sprinkler! You loved it until your cousin accidentally sprayed you in the face! You took a nap after that "trauma"!

P.S. We would love to see your support! Vote for us, it just takes two clicks!

Memories From Me to You

Growing up in a large family, your aunts, uncle, and I all had our fair share of differences when it came to what movies we thought were the best. There were numerous times where we argued over what movies were to be watched after dinner, or on movie night, however, all of the movies had one thing in common, they were all Disney classics!

My wish to you baby girl is to share with you the movies that I watched, loved, and grew up with as a child. I want you to have a chance at seeing some of my favorites and love them as much as I did, so I can see the happiness on your face that I still get when I watch these movies! I know they are only movies, and some might think I'm taking this a bit far, but I feel that this is a memory I want to share with you forever! Your dad thinks I'm crazy, (he can just hush) he gets to pass along his favorite musical classics that he grew up with as a child, (which I might add that your grandparents shared with him, hum hum) so he can butt out of the movie department, I know what's best!

Now I'm not saying that I won't love whatever movies you'll grow to love, you know I'll love whatever you love, but I feel there is just something missing from the Disney movies today, I feel as though they aren't as magical as they need to be! You need magic in your childhood, and tons of it Aleena!

I'm not going to sit here and make a long list of movies for us to watch together, but I know I could. Instead we are going to take baby steps with this exciting movie madness of ours because I want these classical movies to grow up with you, allowing you to drift off into your imagination at all times, and form life long memories that you can pass down to your children in the distant, distant future!

So get ready little lady, here is where we are starting!

Swiss Family Robinson- The best treehouse ever!

Bed Knobs and Broomsticks- My favorite, it can be yours as well!

Sleeping Beauty- Because Princess Aurora is the best princess, she has 3 fairy godmothers!

Mary Poppins- Every little girl needs to know about the bottomless carpetbag and learn the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (though it's not Disney, it's still an all time favorite for me!)- All kids need to see a flying car, and know what toot sweets are!

We ask you to make a promise for us Aleena; please don't grow up too fast, stay little for Mommy and Daddy forever, and enjoy every bit of your childhood as you possibly can! Here is our promise to you; we will love you forever, till the end and beyond, and we will make your childhood as magical as it can be, plus more!

P.S. We would surly appreciate a vote from you!

So Quickly You Grow

Growth: Your our big/little lady that seems to be sprouting over night! Every time we look at you it amazes us with how much bigger you have grown since the previous day. I send your daddy pictures of you throughout the day, and his number one reply is, "Wow, she is so beautiful and getting so big!" I don't know what it's like to be away from you for an entire day like your daddy, but I know that if I was then your growth would stand out to me far much more than it already does. The doctor asks me every time we go for a visit, (your last one was a month ago) who has the height in the family, our reply; your daddy's side. Your height is 25 inches, that's the 98th percentile! Your current weight is 12 lbs. 13 oz., putting you in the 85th percentile, and your head measures 15 and 3/4 inches, 80 percentile! Your growing so fast, the majority of it in length! It makes me so sad when I am rocking you to sleep and your feet are always dangling down and touching either the rocker or the bed. Soon, very soon, I know that its going to be uncomfortable for me to continue holding you like a newborn, wrapped tight and secure in my arms. When that day comes I plan on crying my eyes out, (happy tears of course!) It will be too much for me to see you grow so quickly.

Obstacles: You have been able to turn from your tummy to your back for a little over a month now which blows our minds! Its so cute to see such an adorably small little woman moving so much at such a young age! Your new challenge is to go from your back to your stomach, which frustrates you so much. You kick and scream, trying your hardest to get to your tummy, if only you would know that it's your chunky little arm that's blocking your way! I have a feeling that you'll master that task in the next couple of weeks as long as you keep trying daily. Its funny to see that once you give up you quickly find your hands, while you lay on your side, and begin to devour them with slobber! You are trying to crawl, your at the stage where your arms stay at your side most of the time, while your little legs scoot your straight forward or around in a circle! I love it, except for the fact that you always end it with a shrieking cry because your not satisfied with your progress. You sat up for the first time yesterday, if thats what its even called. You put all of your weight on your legs, sitting at an angle, after I squared you off to make sure you had balance. It was funny to see you look around for me, curious as to how you were sitting on your own without me by your side. We love how much you take in and learn everyday, your such a fast learner!

Talking: You have been able to hold a conversation for quite some time now. Always looking to see if we are around to respond, even that doesn't stop you! My favorite time is when I am putting you down for a nap, right when your about to fall asleep you lift your head, look me straight in the eyes and start goo-gooing away! I know I need to keep quiet in order to let you get your rest, but an occasional laugh comes out and we get lost in our secret language with one another! Your daddy talks to you often, always wanting to make sure he's not missing out on anything while he is away at work during the day. I love watching you two together, it shows me more and more just how loved you truly are!

Sleeping: You're a pro, and have been since you were a month and a half! You're on a routine to where you fall asleep an hour after your daily feedings, and twenty minutes after your night time feedings. You're asleep for the night by 8 or 9, and you don't wake again until 4-5. It's so thoughtful of you, it's as if you want mommy to catch up on sleep! You're a tummy sleeper and I'm okay with this because I'm by your side making sure your okay throughout the entire night. We co-sleep and have since your birth, I wouldn't have it any other way, I love being by your side while you dream of milkshakes, mommy, and daddy, you sleep so peacefully, with an occasional fart that we smirk at! I'm usually the one who puts you asleep, but daddy is working on finding a way to help out. You see his problem is that he wants to talk to you the entire time, not realizing that you wont fall asleep because you're being stimulated, daddy's a dork!

(Your Aunt Lala isn't going to like this picture!)

(You sat away from me the entire time, I was lonely.)

Social Life: You love our outings! Your curious little eyes wonder from color to color, soaking in all the wonderful things that are around you. We take walks to the park, visit your cousins, go to baseball games, have picnics, go to BBQs, and recently you explored IKEA! You are such a happy baby no matter where we are, never fussy, always smiling, and letting all who want to, hold you. At times you look for me, but once we meet eyes, you are right back at socializing with all! You have been sick a couple of times since birth which makes me wonder if I should risk you being exposed to so many germs, I've learned to calm down a bit. Our best friend is the hand sanitizer, which gets applied before anyone can hold you, so far so good!

Your Loves: Daddy bought you your first love at the hospital the day you were born. He is a colorful giraffe named Moose, and you love him so dearly! Mommy and daddy wanted you to have a soft friend that is always near you to comfort you and put you at ease. Mommy bought you your blue elephant, which you seem to have replaced Moose with. Daddy wants you to go back to Moose, but I know you only like your elephant because its easier for you to hold, you see its a lot smaller than Moose! By the way, his name is Moose because your Aunt Eia suggested it, I fell in love, and your daddy thinks it's weird! Though I feel you're a mommy's girl, and your daddy thinks you love him more, (jokingly of course) I can see the truth in your eyes whenever you see either of us. You love us dearly, you always will, you can see that we both love you with all of our hearts, and that's all we will ever need to know!

P.S. We would really love a vote from you!

Dairy Free Lifestyle, Not Intended

About a month ago, Aleena woke up early in the morning with a high fever. I was scared, worried, unknowledgeable, panicked, and did not know what to do for her. We went to the hospital. 

Her fever was 101.7, not too high, but not low enough for an infant to be in the safe zone. Once we arrived to the ER, the 3 hour waiting ER, my nerves calmed down some, not a lot though. I knew we were somewhere where she could be helped as soon as needed without question. We were seen within ten minutes because of her age, my nerves shot back up again.

Infants between the age of newborn to 3 months, who have a fever, have to undergo numerous amounts of tests to rule out all possible causes. Including; infections in the blood, bacteria, cloudy spinal fluid, bacteria in the urine, etc. At that time, all I wanted was to make sure that she was okay, I would rather take every precaution than avoid a test because I don't want it to be painful for her.

On top of her fever, her poop had blood in it. I was about to break down at this point, but I knew that I needed to be strong for Aleena, she needed to see that I was okay, so that she knew everything was okay. That didn't happen, she still was traumatized.

She underwent two catheters, a spinal tap, two IVs, and two separate chest XRays. By the time the day was done, she didn't trust anyone besides Fernando and I. It hurt us so badly because we were supposed to protect her from all harm, comfort her whenever she felt scared, but all the tests made us look like the bad guys. I hated the looks she gave me when I had to help keep her arms still, or calm her cries while the doctors poked and prodded her. We were protecting her, just in a confusing way.

The tests came back, she had bacteria in her blood. Worried about what the bacteria was from, blood cultures started getting processed every 24 hours to try to narrow down to the name of the bacteria. It was a long process, we had plenty of time to let our minds wonder, to think about things that had no business being connected with a two month old. 

The night we slept there was rough, I couldn't sleep, I wanted her to be okay, be better, to be healthy. I wanted to know what was causing her sickness. 

The spinal tap came back clean, first great news of the day. Her fever cleared up, she was a normal 98.6, she was acting like her normal self again! Besides when the doctors came near her, she knew that the white jackets equaled pain. I hated when they came in, but loved that they were so concerned with her health. They were consistent and kept us up to date, for that I am thankful.

The next morning we waited for the nurses to make their rounds, we knew they had the answer we had been waiting for. Fernando and I were nervous, scared, and anxious. We wanted answers right then and there so we could knock this bacteria out once and for all. 

The answer; it was fake bacteria. Fake, what does that mean? Well, when the IV went into her arm, the bacteria from her skin went into her blood. So though it was real bacteria, it wasn't bacteria that grew from the blood, such a relief. It gave us a scare, but in the end we knew 100% that it wasn't serious.

As for the blood in her poop, we found out that she is allergic to dairy. The day before, don't judge me, I ate tons of dairy; milk, eggs, cheese, ranch, chocolate, etc. I caused her to have blood in her poop. The feeling that it gave me was horrible, I should have known better, I should have seen this coming, but how could I have known? 

From that day forward, I've been dairy free. Aleena is 100% better, and I can tell that her overall fussiness has subsided. Poor little lady, she just can't handle all that dairy. The hospital visit was sad, an eye opener to say the least, but its helped us get to where we need to be, and what we need to do for Aleena. We would go to the moon and back for that girl, she is our life. 

My body has changed a lot since my diet. At first it was confusing and overwhelming, but now I know that the nutrition label is my friend, and I am learning more and more about what I can and cannot eat on a daily basis. I feel healthier, less bloated, more energy, and for once in my life cooking and planning meals is fun to me! On the plus side, I'm dropping more weight than I was when I was only breastfeeding, (and I was losing a lot just from that!)

Fernando is trying to go dairy free also to support me, but he loves his cheese! Poor guy thinks he is teasing me, but now I'm at the point to where I feel sorry that he's putting those dairy foods into his diet. He will never know my new found dairy free satisfaction!

P.S. Please vote for our blog, it only takes two clicks!

Photo Shoot!

I don't know what it is about me and pictures, but what I do know is that I'm falling into a slippery slope of delayed reaction, (just like my mother) when it comes to passing out Aleena's current and up to date photos! Ahh I need to stop!

No one has received the pictures of Aleena that were taken when she was a week old, (ignore the fact that she has a pacifier in her mouth, she was twenty minutes passed starving!) 

Aleena with her two cousins Gabby and Ace!

I haven't even printed out the one month photos my sister did of her, which were all amazingly adorable, because I keep forgetting the memory card whenever I make a trip to Target. Even my brother, who lives in Sweden I might add, already has that session printed, blown up, and framed. Talk about being an amazing uncle! 

Then I took Aleena's two month pictures at Target, received them three weeks later because when I was supposed to pick them up Aleena was in the hospital, (that post is coming within the next week.) Now she's already going to be 13 weeks and I have yet to divide, cut, and pass out those pictures to anyone! I don't know what it is with me and pictures, I feel bad I really do. I want everyone to be able to enjoy the print outs when they are current, not 3 months old, this is going to end I promise, I blame this on my mother. I know I need to pick a day to divide and conquer this problem of mine, but I just haven't found the time, story of a mothers life right! 

For now, scanning them onto my blog seems to be a step in the right direction. I'm viewing it as semi-accomplishing this picture mess of mine because if I dont do it soon, I know I never will! I hope you enjoy, it brings tears to my eyes to see how fast she is growing.

 Aleena stop okay, you just can't be a big girl, mommy said so!

P.S. Vote for our blog, it only takes two clicks!

Aleena's Books!

Reading has always been a huge part of my life, so naturally I want to pass that along to Aleena. I picture the walls of her room lined with bookshelves when she gets older, and having to pry her away from a good read just to come to dinner! Her getting lost in pages and pages, eager to read the next book when one ends so quickly! She already loves books so much!

Aleena has so many books but no shelves yet, (that will be changing this weekend thank goodness!) In the past few months I have read to her as much as I possibly could, but school also took up my time that should have been going to her. Now that I'm on summer break, we are getting into our daily reading schedule, Aleena and I are enjoying every minute of it!

She does so good sitting on my lap, relaxing, soaking in all of the words, and staring at all of the colorful pictures on each page! She loves her books, and I am blessed to be able to share a wonderful part of life with her, filled with many adventures, tall tales, cute little animals and friends!

These are her favorite three right now. It has a lot to do with the bright colors in them all!

3 Month Birthday Girl!

Aleena is 3 months today! Wow time sure does fly, but we had an amazing day and she was full of smiles... almost all day!

 Here is our day via Instagram!

Up and ready to go at 6:30am!

Adorable crochet flip flops from Nonie!

Tummy Time!

Cousin Love! She couldn't handle all his hugs and kisses!

LOVE!

Daddy and his girl!

Reading Amelia Bedelia!

Part Three..The Last Part!

After the epidural, I slept for two hours. I just passed out as soon as the pain was gone, everyone left us alone because they knew we had a long day ahead of us.I wish that I had slept longer than two hours though, I was exhausted!

I woke up with the sudden urge to start pushing. At first it wasn't anything crazy, but then it started to get very uncomfortable, as if Aleena was about to fall out of me on her own if I didn't start soon! The nurse came to check me and said that I was fully dilated but Aleena needed to come down a little further before I could start pushing. Thirty minutes later, at 6:00am I started to push.

Fernando was so nervous that he sat the entire time in the corner. I could tell he was hyperventilating but I didn't have time to worry about him.I had a lot of my family in the room, I knew that I didn't want them to miss her birth. My Nonie, Mom, sisters Elesha, Raquel, and Abriam, as well as Fernando obviously! My mom and sister Elesha held my legs and they really gave me the confidence I needed, although I had planned on Fernando holding one of them, it didn't quite happen. About halfway through, the nurses shift change started (thank goodness). That rude nurse was out of my life finally, and I was blessed with another one! Which I loved! She helped reposition me to make every push count, guided my breathing, and helped me in the best way possible!

I guess because I was counting in my head so often, that the time flew by. Pushing didn't hurt me, it was a sort of pain and pressure relief. I wanted to keep pushing right through the contractions so I could finally meet out baby girl. Two hours passed and thats when the ring of fire kicked in! Ouch, they really weren't joking about that either. I almost got her out when the ring kicked in, but I didn't push hard enough. I had to sit there in the worst pain ever for a few minutes waiting for another contraction. Finally,I was able to push my last push.

Aleena was born at 8:16am. A healthy 7lbs. 11 oz., stretching 21 in. long! Her head was 13 3/4 in. around, and her first scream was so precious! When she came out she just laid in my arms with her big eyes looking around, so curious as to what was around her! She didn't make a sound after that! The first words I spoke to our darling daughter were, "hi baby!"

Fernando cut the cord, cried while looking at her, and fell in love that very moment all over again! We were both proud parents and have been ever since!