Welcome to Mommyville

8 Days of fun!

2010-06-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Park

Alyvia LOVES to go to the park. She finds joy in every single aspect of it. This particular day was the very 1st time that she went up in the playground equipment and down the slide all by herself! I actually tried to stop her and felt like I was on the verge of a heart attack the entire time, but she's amazing and so very independent! My baby girl is growing up!

Day 2: Pool

Alyvia's 1st time in her cute little bikini! She hasn't been in a swimming pool since she was only a few months old. Since she absolutely LOVES baths, I knew she would love this pool too. I didn't think she would ever be ready to come inside! I love my little fishie!!

Day 3: Park

This baby girl cannot get enough of the park! All I have to do is say "slide" and she is at the front door waiting for me! Especially now that she can do more than swing, play in the sandbox, and throw playground bark, (which is all still fun) the park seems to be her favorite place. She is a very friendly girl, too. Every time she sees someone even close to her size, she immediately goes up to give them hugs! Precious.

Day 4: Shoe Shopping (and the park again)

Alyvia's little feet are growing so fast! I tried to put a pair of her size 4's on her and after a couple minutes, I gave up. My little beauty queen has a thing for shoes just like her mommy, so she was quite upset when I wouldn't let her wear the toe squishers. So it was decided. We were going shoe shopping. First we had her feet measured. Unfortunately, her big toe is perfectly even with the size 4 line. This means size 4 is too small and size 5 falls off of her. Do you think they make size 4 1/2? Nope. So we still got a pair of super cute shoes that she will grow into. And since the shopping was more fun for me than for her, we went to the park again afterwards!

Day 5: Monkey Bizness

This place is so much fun! Not only is there plenty to keep Alyvia busy, but I also enjoy going down the HUGE slide with her! She sits in my lap and giggles as we slide down at top speed! She wants to go over and over and then sleeps the whole way home. I was literally dripping sweat by the time we left, and I'm not the sweating type! After we share a Tigers Blood snow cone of course! Ahhh...peace.

Day 6: Ice cream Zoofari

An evening at the zoo! A Creamcicle and a soda. Mmmmmm. Alyvia and Daddy climbed the tree like two little monkeys! Alyvia was a big hit in her new sparkly gold shoes! She's oh so fashionable and loves her accessories, too! The best part of all was when she "barked" at almost every animal she saw! We will definitely be going back to the zoo. She fits right in with all of the other animals!

Day 7: Blue Cow Frozen Yogurt:

There were two reasons for the frozen yogurt trip on this particular day.

1: Alyvia and I LOVE frozen yogurt.

2: I figured it might help my little dare devil's busted lip!

After the zoo trip, Alyvia fell from the couch landing with her mouth hitting the edge of the coffee table. Lot's of blood. pretty scary. Stupid driving. Hospital. She's ok thankfully, but needless to say, we don't have a coffee table anymore. Oh yeah, and Banana Bread frozen yogurt is delectable!

Day 8: Saturday Market (by mistake):

So, this day's event was originally supposed to be the parade downtown. But if you know me, you may know that I have a little bit of anxiety about going downtown by myself. I'm so ridiculously scared of getting lost. Silly, I know. So I drove partially downtown, parked, and we started walking. I didn't even remember that the Saturday Market was this day as well. So that's where we got sidetracked. Alyvia had so much fun running around in the water fountains and dancing in front of the bands and random guys with guitars! Super fun day with my little beauty face! And I didn't get lost!!

One Smart Cookie!

2010-06-27T00:21:00.000-07:00

Tongue

Hair

Ears

Nose

Toes

Preface to Potty Training

2010-06-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

And so it begins!

The 1st day with her new pink potty seat, Alyvia went #1 AND #2 without any hesitation! I almost cried! And then I laughed because I knew I wasn't the one that would be cleaning it out. Daddy is the best! She even stated that she had to go both times saying "potty" or "poop!" Ahhh I can't wait to say goodbye to diapers!!

Potty Dance

2010-06-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Well, wish us luck as we will soon begin the trials and tribulations of Potty Training! Yay! I couldn't believe the huge array of potty seats that I found online. I though this was one of those things that come in a few different colors, maybe some play music, and that would pretty much be the extent of the potty seat options. WRONG! Some of these royal potty thrones were even priced up to $120.00! Some turned into step stools, some had toilet paper holders, some even had toys and cup holders attached! Ahhh decisions, decisions. I finally found one that was reasonably priced, cute, and comfy. Hopefully Alyvia will be excited to take a ride on this thing!

(Prince Lionheart Potty Pod)

Road Trip!

2010-06-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

Alyvia's first road trip! I don't know how this all happened, but it happened very quickly. We woke up, found out there was a wedding the next day, and decided to go. That easy.

Alyvia did amazing! She slept most of the way and when she wasn't sleeping, she was happily playing and eating crackers. Troy did all of the driving, so I got to kick back and enjoy the ride!

Troy's family is amazing. Some of the kindest & most genuine people I have ever met. Everyone was so welcoming and generous and it made me miss my own family. It was fun to meet everyone and celebrate such a beautiful couple getting married! (Getting $1.00 everyday from the "Bed Fairy" was awesome!)

Just a few highlights from our Utah adventures:

In-N-Out Burgers:

Everyone in Boise always talks about how amazingly wonderful this place is and how they need to get one here, but I'd never had it before...until Sunday, June 13th, 2010, when I ate the most delicious double cheese burger that my mouth has ever tasted. It was then followed by some surprisingly disgusting french fries, but fortunately, the burger made up for it. So there. Now I can say I've had In-N-Out Burger! Thanks Utah.

Bridal Veil Falls:

Troy drove us up into the mountains for a little sight-seeing. Not long, and we came across Bridal Veil Falls. Beautiful double waterfall coming down the mountain with steep trails to take you up close and personal. On the top you can see the remains of a tram and visitor center that had been destroyed by an avalanche in 1996. The scenery was beautiful and I didn't want to leave! The cold cloudy day gave it an eerie feeling, especially after reading the story behind the name of the falls. An Indian woman and a brave from a rival clan fell in love and planned on running away to get married. The woman was confronted by her angry tribe the very night she had planned to meet her lover to elope. Fearing that they had killed him once they learned of their secret, she jumped off of the mountain to her death. The falls split in the middle and looks like a bridal veil formed by Nature itself, who'd been touched by the woman's wild beauty. The mountain protruding between the falls is said to represent an alter where the doomed couple was to marry.

Alyvia's 1st movie theater experience:

Since this vacation has been a mini family reunion, we all decided to go see a movie
together. And by "we", I mean everyone except me. All I could think of was trying to keep Alyvia quiet in a movie theater. I was secretly dreading the entire experience until we actually got there and the movie started. Thankfully there were other babies in the theater, and that's how I know how good Alyvia really did behave. The other parents had to get up and take their crying children out of the theater multiple times though out the movie. I didn't even have to take Alyvia out once! I was so proud of her. She even said "grandpa" for the 1st time while we were there! Oh, and the movie was cute, too.

Indoor Rock Climbing:

I've been talking about going rock climbing for a couple years now and we finally got around to actually doing it! I wish my body had recovered afterwards as quickly as it had 10 years ago when I last climbed! It was so much fun climbing and meeting the challenge to keep pushing myself to the top, but my muscles are still suffering! I can't wait until Alyvia is old enough to enjoy it more! There was a tiny wall for little kids which was really cute, but Alyvia just wanted to watch Mom & Dad this time around.

Baby Rattler Display:

On our way home. Too much Diet Pepsi. Have to pee. Gas station in the middle of no where.

The gas station's front doors advertised a baby rattler display inside. Heck, we're in the desert. A rattle snake display, although weird seeing in a convenience store, wouldn't surprise me much. The display was positioned immediately when you enter the store. There were 3 steps leading up for you to look over the top, along with a sign warning no sudden movements and to approach slowly. At this point, the bathroom was my 1st priority until I saw the sign on the bathroom door: "Paying Customers Only." Great. My cash is in the car and I didn't really plan on buying anything. Back outside, I told Troy to check out the baby rattlers inside. He approached the display in anticipation ever so slowly, up each step, and carefully extended his neck to look over the top, and that's when everyone burst into laughter. These are the "baby rattlers." At least I didn't look first!!

Family:

I met so many new and awesome people, and Troy was so happy to finally see his family after so many years. Showing off Alyvia was fun as usual, and tons of pictures were taken!!!

Extended Rear Facing Car Seats

2010-05-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

Alyvia's new car seat. She will probably be rear facing until she's out of the car seat completely. When she's 12. :) This is a great article that I came across showing the safety benefits of keeping our children rear facing as long as possible. Something to think about!

Rear-Facing or Forward-Facing–What To Do and When To Do It

Princess

2010-05-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Bath Time

2010-05-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

Alyvia's Adventures

2010-05-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

Blackberry

2010-05-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

Easter 2010

2010-05-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Beauty Face

2010-05-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

One Year Old!

2010-05-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

Flying Time

2010-05-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby girl has already turned 1 year old! It's truly amazing how fast my little one has changed and grown and learned in just over a year! Alyvia took her 1st steps at 8 1/2 months and hasn't stopped since then! Everyone was so amazed to see such a tiny girl walking. Now at almost 13 months, she is climbing, jumping, running, and being so independent. She says lots of words including: shoes, hat, outside, baby, elmo, bite, bath, of course mama and dada, and so many more. She has become a little copy-cat! Little Gym has been a ton of fun for Alyvia! She loves playing along side the other babies and going through all of the obstacles. Bubbles and balls are especially fun at the end of each class. We also have a blast at Monkey Bizness where even mommy & daddy have fun going down the huge slides! Everyday brings us something new and I couldn't have ever asked for a more wonderful baby and loving family!

Things We Do

2009-09-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

Now that Alyvia is sitting, crawling, and pulling herself up on anything that will support her weight, we have to find different things to keep us all entertained! Alyvia loves to go the the park. There are so many new things and people all around to look at. I think she would stay in the swing all day long if I let her. Apparently she thinks it tastes good, but my stomach turns at the thought. Next time I won't forget the sanitizing wipes! We always go to the park with daddy while he plays disk golf. She loves it when I have her in my carrier and she can see everything as we walk through the whole park. She's especially mesmerized by the huge trees. Recently we went to the Hyde Park Street Fair. Alyvia had a blast with all the music and getting to play in the grass. She was in awe at all of the colorful things to look at in the candy shop as well! She's getting to the point where she will get mad if we don't share our treats with her! It's just crazy how much she had grown and developed in the last few weeks. She even had her first tooth come in just a few days ago! Unfortunately I discovered that tooth while nursing her! Wow that little sucker is sharp!! She will be 6 months old on 9/30/09! I can't believe that it's just about been a half a year already! Now we are just prepping for Halloween. I'm still looking for the perfect ladybug costume for my little baby boo. Tinkerbell was our 1st try, but I made the mistake of buying a size too small! She won't stop growing long enough for me to get the size right! Oh well, I just wonder how long I have before she starts walking!!

Alyvia is Sitting!

2009-09-07T11:46:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my little tiny baby girl is sitting already! Honestly, who knows how long she's been able to sit on her own, as I realized I never put the poor girl down! We were at the park and stopped to sit for a while. I took her out of her stroller and TA-DA! She sat up with no help, no problem. Ahh I'm spoiling her, but I don't care. I love her so much and cherish every single second I can spend with my little munchkin! She is so close to crawling and can already move around the living room amazingly fast! I wasn't quite ready for this. For some reason I thought I had more time! But I can't stop her now. Everything she does, she is so determined. I love waking up to her on her hands and knees and just barely seeing her eyes peeking above the edge of the bassinet at me! It's the most beautiful thing ever to wake up to! She loves to laugh at daddy, as anything he does is absolutely hilarious to her. I love my little family!

Troy's Trip to Alaska

2009-08-17T23:17:00.001-07:00

July 27th- August 7th, Troy was in Egegik, Alaska for a huge concrete job. It was soooo hard to be without him for so long, but at least I know I can survive! He can back with hundreds of beautiful pictures. I love this one where he drew in the sand for us! He may have been so far away, but he was still thinking of his little family at home. The sunsets are beautiful and apparently the place is swarming with bears! He came home with 25lbs. of the freshest salmon you could imagine and some mouth watering smoked salmon! Yummy!

~My Big Little Girl~

2009-08-17T23:05:00.000-07:00

I swear Alyvia gets bigger everyday! She is doing so much these days. Sucking on her toes, rolling all around the house, holding grabbing and throwing things, talking up a storm!

She loves playing in her exersuacer and jumping up and down on mommy or daddy's lap. She also loves to get herself in the crawling position & rock back and forth. Usually this ends in a total face-plant, but she gets right back up. Her energy is endless and amazes me every day! It seems like she might be teething, so we have been putting ice cubes in her mesh thing. This usually makes her feel better and entertains her for a while. She also loves to read books with mommy & daddy and can hold the book all by herself! Tonight we tried solids for the 1st time. We thought peaches might be yummy, but Alyvia wasn't very impressed with the whole situation. She made the most disgusted face and spit out every bite! Soon, we will be going to her 4 month check up (2 weeks late) and we will finally find out how big she really is! Ahh I'm so in love with this little baby of mine!

Milestones Part 3

2009-07-18T22:49:00.000-07:00

Alyvia is getting big so fast! She's now rolling over from back to tummy and vice-versa! She loves to play with her toys and of course wants to put everything in her mouth! Yesterday, Alyvia was sitting on my lap when the kitty came and sat with us. She grabbed her with both hands and ripped big chunks out of the kitty's hair! Poor Kitten, but she was good, didn't even flinch. Now her feet touch the bottom of her exersauser when 2 weeks ago she couldn't even reach! What a perfect baby! She is even making new sounds recently! "Mmmmmm..." (which I'm currently trying to push towards "Mama") LOL!

4th of July

2009-07-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

Alyvia's 1st 4th of July!
She loved the fireworks! She was in a complete trance!

3 Months Old!

2009-06-30T16:13:00.001-07:00

3 Months old today! I can't believe how fast she is growing!!

Milestones Part 2

2009-06-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

Alyvia is reaching for things and holding toys on her own! My earrings and my hair are at the top of her favorites list, but toys are fun sometimes, too!

Beauty

2009-06-29T16:50:00.001-07:00

Through all the messy spit-ups, burps, poopy diapers, snotty noses, and changing table accidents...I love her more than anything in the whole world! I'm so blessed to have such a beautiful baby girl. I love being her mommy!

Milestones

2009-06-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Alyvia rolled over for the 1st time. She actually rolled over a couple times at only about 4 weeks, but she wasn't on a completely flat surface, therefore had a little help. This was her 1st flat surface, no assistance, all on her own roll over, and I missed it! I laid her down in the crib for a nap, poured some food in the cat bowl, and walked right back to check on her only to find her on her back. It actually took me a moment to realize that wasn't the position I had left her in!

This made me think of all the milestones we have reached. Head and neck control, smiles, giggles, finding her hands, self soothing, grasping for objects, following objects with her eyes and recognizing voices... Sometimes it's hard to believe that she's only been around barely 3 months! I feel like I've know her my whole life! I love her more than all the pebbles of sand on all the beaches in the world!

Alyvia goes to the park!

2009-06-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

Rose Garden

Boise, ID

Easter Pictures

2009-06-09T00:04:00.001-07:00

I asked the photographer if she was sure she wanted to do the naked baby pictures. Alyvia only peed on me 3 times!

Alyvia Capri Darling

2009-06-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

Alyvia was born March 30th 2009. Seems that this little one had gotten quite comfortable growing in my belly. The daily countdown began around 4 months along, and every day past my due date of March 20th seemed more like a year. Finally, two days before my scheduled induction, I felt the very first flutter of a contraction! I was in denial. "Maybe I ate too much spaghetti..." But I knew this must be "it". I hadn't experienced even a hint of a contraction through my entire pregnancy, until now. I had the hospital bag packed for weeks. A list of things to grab before we left, at this point completely memorized from reading it over and over. I was afraid that if I mentioned this probable beginning of labor, it would stop. Or maybe just terrified that this fantasy inside my belly was soon to become a reality. I silently timed each contraction for two hours. When the pain became rather intense, I finally spoke up and said, "Ok, I think it's time!"

Troy immediately jumped into action. Put the dogs in their kennels, grabbed the hospital bag, looked for the list that had been growing over the past weeks. He had everything completely under control as I waited in the car praying for him to hurry!

The drive to the hospital seemed to take ages as I feverishly sent text messages, between contractions, letting friends and family know what was coming. With every bump and turn, I thought that I was going to lose it. I begged Troy to slow down, or hurry up... I couldn't decide. Once we arrived at the hospital, I was tickled to see the sign at the parking spot we had turned into. "Expecting Fathers". It was suddenly real. The next time I would get into our car, I would be a mother.

The walk into the hospital, up the elevator, and to the check in desk I had stopped to sit twice. I was sure that I wasn't going to make it. If I wasn't a blimp, I would've asked Troy to carry me! Finally, I had my hospital gown on and was ready for the first check. Heartbeat is good. Blood pressure is fine. Contractions are 1-2 minutes apart and going strong. 1 1/2 cm dilated! That's all!?! Suddenly I realized that this was just the tip of the iceberg, the beginning of a long night!

My next stop was the jacuzzi tub. The thoughts of the sweet relief of hot water and shooting jets were running through my head. I had already completely stripped down before realizing that the tub would take 10 minutes to fill up. Once in the tub, I finally felt like I could relax! A few more text messages to let people know the baby probably wouldn't be here until the next day before I got out and committed myself to the hospital bed for the next 13 hours.

The nurse asked if I would like to get an epidural. At this point, the thought of the pain from a needle going into my back was enough to force me to endure the pain and discomfort of the contractions I was facing. "Is there anything else?" I asked. The next thing I knew, the nurse was telling me to close my eyes as she was injecting something for pain relief into my IV. Within seconds, I could no longer feel the contractions! I wondered why someone would ever get an epidural if they could just have this magic medicine!? Troy had already made himself comfortable on the tiny bed that was once a chair before being unfolded. It was well past midnight.

Within an hour, I had answered my previous question. The contractions were suddenly back and in full force. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I asked the nurse if I could have more of the pain killer. This time, I didn't close my eyes like she had instructed and the room was suddenly spinning out of control. But it was ok, because again the pain was gone. "I can do this", I thought as I fell asleep. Almost exactly an hour later, I woke up to the intense pain once again. This time stronger than the last. The nurse told me I could have another injection, but that they will be less effective each time. This time the magic medicine had lost all of its power and I was ready to succumb to the dreaded epidural.

Amazingly, the epidural didn't hurt at all! It felt like a cold trickling down my back, and the pain slowly started to fade away. I can barely remember the whole ordeal. People were coming in and out of the room, nurses lifting my gown to check me, my phone vibrating away... It was nearly 3:00 a.m. and I closed my eyes for some well needed rest.

I woke up to a nurse telling me the doctor had just broken my water. My water was broken and I didn't even wake up! 5 cm I believe. Back asleep.
I woke up a few more times to throw up, and then back asleep. The last time I woke up, I had woken up crying. At first I didn't realize why I was crying...until the next contraction started. I told someone to get the nurse quick, something was wrong! I could feel the contractions. The epidural must have run out. I could kick my legs and all numbness has subsided. The nurse reassured me that the epidural was fine and that I just needed to deal with it at this point. "There must be something!" I pleaded. As I continued to sob, she told me there was one more thing we could try, but that it would cause me to not be able to feel my contractions. "I don't care!" I was practically yelling when the nurse finally said she would ask for the doctor's permission since I was getting so close to delivery. When she came back with approval I was elated! I felt like once the pain was gone, I could really focus on the task at hand. To my dismay, the injection had no effect on the pain. Not even a dent. I couldn't stop throwing up. I wondered how much more of this I could take. Then the nurse checked me again, one last time, and told me it was time to start pushing!

I was terrified! Push? How? Now? But the doctor is not here! I'm not ready! But, as I was told, I started pushing. Push. Throw up. Push. Throw up. I felt like I wasn't making any progress. Was this ever going to end? I was so exhausted that I was falling asleep in between contractions. Then the nurse told me to stop pushing until the doctor arrived. Now you're asking me to stop?! I couldn't believe what was happening. After over 2 hours of pushing with all my might, Alyvia was born March 30th at 12:58 p.m., 10 days past her due date.

At 6 lbs. 11 oz. and 20 in., she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! Suddenly, the last 10 months, and the last 16 hours, were a thing of the past. This was the beginning of a new life. Welcome to Mommyville.