It's just a phase

Hey Blog... it's been a really long time. I've been pretty busy with little Miss Isabel. Somehow, I'm surprised that she is kind of demanding, stubborn, and very vocal. (I should have seen this coming.) I don't really know what to say. She is amazing and makes us work really hard. I'm really enjoying my time at home with her and don't want to think about returning to work just yet. Luckily, I don't go back until the 2nd week in January. I'm not really in a place where I can write very well so I'm going to give you some lists.

Things Isabel has taught us:
- The hairdryer calms her down. It's her favorite white nose followed by running water.
- She's a fan of big bounces and bath time.
- A ride in her ergo calms her down and puts her to sleep.
- She hates being burped.
- She also strongly dislikes car rides.
- Once we get her down for the night, we're good. We just have to get her down first.
- Ceiling fans and lights are magical to her.
- She likes listening to her dad play the guitar.
- Don't swaddle her. She loves to suck on her hands. (I'm not going to fight this battle yet)

Getting ride from Dad in her Ergo.

Highlights of being a mom:
- I love nursing her. It's one of the few times she snuggles me. I strongly encourage everyone to try breast feeding. It's so good for baby and you.

Post nursing snuggles with Izzy - 1 week old - so tiny

- Her smile in the morning is AMAZING!
- When I can sooth her, it feels better good.
- Did I mention her smile? I think she pretty darn cute too.

I love her huge smile! It just makes me laugh.

- She can have little conversations now by cooing. I can't wait for her to laugh... she's trying.
- Holding a sleeping baby is one of the best feelings in the world.

Sleeping pumpkin

- It's really exciting to see how quickly she is growing and learning new things.
- You learn to get by with little sleep.
- Some days I feel like I know what I'm doing.
- The demanding baby diet is amazing! Lost all the baby weight within 6 weeks. Now I'm losing pre-baby weight. (Don't worry I eat all the time. I also don't sit down and bounce most of the day.  Oh and the breast feeding helps too and rarely drinking helps as well.)

Less glamorous side of motherhood:
- What's makeup? Paint my nails...HA!
- My getting ready to go some place routine is less than 5 minutes.
- I'm usually covered in breast milk, vomit, or other bodily fluids.
- I've already stopped wearing a necklaces because she grabs them.
- I'm exhausted.
- Some days I feel like I suck at being a mom. It's not easy.

This is the post blow out photo at Barnes and Nobles. She was hungry and I had just used the last diaper. UGH! Bad one Mom... so she had to wait 10 minutes to get home to eat. Don't worry she eats ALL THE TIME! She was upset but ok.

Proof she was ok waiting 10 minutes for a feeding. (Nap after eating) I still felt horribly guilty. 

- I never know how much sleep I will get so I have to go to bed early.
- Leaking :( can be a little embarrassing.

Life has definitely changed for the better and will continue to get more exciting/fun. Everything is just a phase and it will pass. I'm trying to enjoy each phase or parts of a phase. I'm so thankful to have Isabel - our healthy little lady. She's teaching us a lot of things everyday. Sure things could be easier if she was a little more mellow or didn't fight sleep, but she wouldn't be our Izzy. One thing is for sure, our little lady has a strong personality. That makes me really happy. I think she will be a leader and not a follower.

She makes so many faces.

I also want to give a huge thank you to my sister and all my friends who are moms.  Especially my mommy friends that also have demanding kiddos - you know who you are. Your tips and our conversations have meant so much to me. If you have a easy baby, it's hard to get it. I'm so thankful for all the support and encouragement we have received.

A little advise to my friends who will have kids someday. Join a moms group or a breastfeeding support group!(ours is free through the hospital) I have made some amazing friends that have babies just a few weeks older than Izzy. We go to class with the kids once a week and get together for lunch or mall walking. We also exchange messages regularly. They are the best cheerleaders! We can pick each other up when we are feeling frustrated.  I'm so thankful to have their support.

Isabel's friends from our mom's/breast feeding support group.

All the ladies...oldest to youngest (right to left) All within 3 or 4 weeks of each other

Baby Valley's Arrival

So it's been a while. Life has changed a great deal  and our priorities have been shifted. There have been so many things I have wanted to share, but I haven't had the opportunity. Isabel is sleeping in her crib next to me so I better type quickly because I have no clue when she will wake up.

Here is the last belly photo we took:

We made it to 39 weeks and a few days before Isabel arrived a few days early. 

I want to share some highlights from her birth story - not the whole thing. If you think it's TMI, I figured you would stop reading. The reason I want to share some of the highlights are for my friends who are expecting. It's nice to know what's ahead of you. If you want more details, call me.

- My first contraction happened as the bell rang for school to start. Of course, I thought it was a false alarm so I stayed at work. 3 hours later I had my next contraction, which I also thought was a false alarm. An hour later I had another one. I finally started to think something was going on. Once my contractions were 30 minutes apart, I knew I had to leave. There were only 20 minutes left in the school day when I left. 

- I wanted to drive home, but my principal wouldn't let me so she drove me home. On the ride home, I called Chris to tell him to come home. At that time Chris was on a microscope in a room with poor cell phone reception. When I couldn't reach Chris, I called his lab. His coworkers were very concerned and sounded more panicked than me. They got the word to Chris and he was home shortly after I arrived. 

- The first this I did when I got home was shower and shave my legs. This was great advice my friend gave me.

- We labored at home for 3-4 hours. I waited as long as I could before going to the hospital. 

- When we got to hospital, I was already 5cm dilated, 100% effaced, and baby dropped. It was NOT a false alarm.

- Then started the 12 hours of natural labor. I wasn't super sure about going natural, but I am glad I did. Around 8 cm, I wasn't a happy camper to say the least. I really had nothing nice to say to Chris - sorry.  Here are the things that made labor bearable: 

- The tub ~ I spent hours in the tub.

- Our L&D nurse ~ she was more of a doula ~ we would have been lost without her!

- yoga ball

- Chris opening alcohol wipes so I could smell them ~ helps with nauseous - SERIOUSLY

- Chris

- ice chips

- relaxing music 

- I totally lost track of time. It hurt... really hurt, but you do forgot about the pain quickly. Isabel arrived and she was perfect. I got to hold her for a really short period of time. Then started the worst part, my placenta didn't detach so they had to manually remove it. OWwww! That really hurt and I couldn't hold Isabel again until after they were done ~30min. 

- I have been fortunate to recover quickly. We are even more blessed that Isabel is healthy and we think she is BEAUTIFUL!  We are doing really well, are so in love, and can't remember life without our peanut. 

Heading home as a family of 3!

Hopefully another solid nap time will happen again soon and I will have had "enough" sleep that night so I can try to write.

Wisconsin

I headed to Wisconsin for a short visit after visiting in MN.  I had a great and relaxing time in Wisconsin. I'm always surprised by the amount of construction going on in Madison and how much it has changed. While so many things seem to have changed, some always feel the same.

WiScOnSiN HiGhLiGhTs:

1. Sleeping in my old bedroom.

2. Swimming laps with my mom at Shorewood

3. Breakfast with Dad at his "office"

4. Family dinners

5. Shopping at UBS - Baby girl and myself needed a few new badger items.

6. Seeing my college friend Stephanie!  She drove from MKE to have Michael's Frozen Custard with me. :) Thank you! I love how we can just picked up where we left off.

2 of Marquette's finest info desk employees!

7. Lunch/coffee with Jill and her adorable 1 year old daughter. (I failed to take a photo.) We were high school and swim team buddies. It was wonderful to catch up!

8. How could I almost forget...CHEESE CURDS!

It's always a little bittersweet going home because my closest friends have all moved away, but so did I. Photo montage of my Madison Ladies!

My West girlfriends.

I was so lucky that the 3 of us lived in MPLS for a few years. As you can tell, no matter what we did we always had a good time! I wish I knew what song we were dancing to.

I did get to see Megan twice in MPLS. :) She is the last one of us there.

My sister from another mother who is a Texan now! Her daughter will be just a few month older than ours.  I hope they will be just as close and have almost, but not quite as much fun as we did.

Reunited with the Edgewood ladies for TAM's wedding! 

My two California girls

Minnesota

We have had a busy summer and were away for most of July so here's an update for you. We were really lucky and got to visit home! Chris had to return earlier than me for work. Aww, the joys of having the summer off. Here are some of the highlights from our trip home.

1. Valley Family Cabin

Well, I think we have officially out grown the 2 bedroom 1 bath place with 8 adults and two dogs, it was still fun. It may be one of out last over night trips to the cabin. Chris and I talked about what next summer will look like and we have no idea how baby girl and all her things would fit in the cabin on a busy weekend. If there's a will, there is a way. Who knows...I'm sure we could make something work.

Other highlights of the cabin include a trip to the St. Joe's Meat Market, St. Joe's Carnival, visits from James, Pam, Mimi, and Grandma, Reese's smores, and the mosquitoes didn't eat me alive.

No luck with the Ring Toss this year.

Action shot of enjoy mini donuts

Chris' Aunt Mimi stopped by to say hi. It was great to see her and get an update on her daughters.

Chris and his Grandma. She quilted a beautiful quilt for our little lady.

Grandma Carlin and all of her Valley grandkids 

2. BBQ

My sister and her family were in town from CT. Her in-laws invited us over for a delicious BBQ. (They seriously are the best cooks!)  We got to spend some time with our niece and nephews.

Teaching them how to use silly string

It's blurry, but look at how much fun he is having!

Uncle Chris help A get me.  Thanks! She is so proud.

O and Chris have a lot in common like playing video games. They were very happy playing together.

This little man was sick. :( All he wanted to do was cuddle! Poor guy.

First photo of Sladky Cousins! (kind of)

3. Couples Shower

My parents and my sister threw us an amazing couples shower at Chris' parents' house. It was so much fun. It was also very humid! Sadly, I was too busy talking to take photos. I really wish I had a photo of my sister and me.  We were both wearing practically matching outfits plus we have been told a few times that we look a like. It was so great to see so many of our friends! We miss them so much.  Baby Valley was spoiled and is loved by many.  Thank you!

My sister made these cookies while on vacation with 3 kids. Oh and one of those kids was really sick.  She is super mom and wonder sister!  Thank you Claire! Not to mention they tasted so good!

Thanks Mom and Dad for bringing all the WI beer to the shower.  Even MN natives will admit that WI makes some pretty good beer. I can't wait to have a Spotted Cow! :)

4. Lots of visits with friends :)

- Happy Hours

- Supper Trucks with Movies

- Kickball

- Ladies Night at Pig Ate My Pizza - An absolute blast! 

- Walk around Lake Nokomis

- Lunch dates

- Pedicures

- Coffee dates
- Valley Cousins visit

You all kept me/us busy! I really need to learn to take more photos.  I don't have a single photo from all of these fun events. The photos I do have are thanks to my friends taking photos. I feel so lucky to have so many great friends. We miss you all so much!

Lauren - Thanks for taking photos! One of my most favorite dogs, Marty! 

Miss you!

Sweet little lady! This was taken second before a massive blowout diaper. 

Valley Cousin Photo - I promise the next time we get these two girls together the photo will be way cuter.

Valley Cousins- Chris and Nick are about 10 month apart - Our girls will be closer in age than these two about 4 months apart.

5. Juernes (jueves + viernes = juernes) and MTKA friends Shower

I have written about my Juernes friends before aka other white girls that speak Spanish too. We all taught together and started the Spanish Immersion Program in our district. We made a really great support group for work issues and for life.  Juernes has changed a lot over the years. I think there are almost as many babies now as adults. 3 of us have moved away too. We have been there for each other through good times and bad. I feel truly blessed to have these ladies as friends and colleagues too.  Thank you for an amazing shower! Next time we have to play Mexican Dominoes.

¡Gracias guapas!

6. Visits with students

I stopped by to see the family I babysat for last summer.  We had a great time hanging out! The 3 year old was obsessed with my tummy. She kept asking if they baby was still there and what would happen if the baby came out right now. Ha!

I also went to a big play date at a park with a bunch of my former students from over the past 5 years. It was amazing to see so many of them.  I loved having conversations in Spanish with the older kids.  They have learned so much since first grade!  I got so many hugs, even from the boys! It was great to see their families too. I taught so many siblings that I felt like I really knew their family after the 2nd or 3rd child. 

Needless to say, I drove away in tears. I felt so loved and missed all of them so much. I had it so so good - great school, excellent community, involved parents, and sweet students. I started teaching at that school when I was 22 years old! Talk about landing a great job right out of college!  ( Don't get me wrong, I really like my current school too. It's just still new and I'm still the new teacher.) 

I actually have lots of photos of this play date, but I don't want to post any photos of students without parental approval.

7.  Maternity Photo Shoot

One of my AZD sorority sisters lives in the Twins Cities area and is also a very talented photographer.  She was renting a cool lens for the weekend and asked to take photos of me. I said of course. It was great to see her and catch up with her. I loved watching her smile behind the camera.  Here are a few of my favorites. The only thing I would change about the photos would be to add Chris.

If you're in the Twin Cities and need a photographer, check her out at https://www.facebook.com/RebeccahParksPhotography. 

8. Connie's Wedding!

My coworker, mentor, and close friend, Connie, got married! And I was there to celebrate it!  She was at our wedding 5 years ago. She means so much to me and has done so much for me.  Sadly, Chris couldn't stay in MN long enough for her wedding, he had to go back to work. I'm so very happy for Connie and her new hubby Kurt! 

Sealed with a kiss! Congrats! 

Another amazing coworker, mentor, and close friend, Janelle!  I've learned so much from her. :) Miss her!

I got this great photo with the beautiful bride!  

Next stop Wisconsin!

This Guy I Met

Long story short, 9 years ago today I met this pretty awesome guy at a 4th of July Slip'n'Slide party. Two of my besties were there with me, Tam & Sara. We were totally out of place, but we were having a good time. I noticed this guy in a white t-shirt. I kept trying to talk to him, but he was quiet.  His friend*, Zach, kept talking to me and the guy I had my eye on just listened.

It was about time to leave for fireworks and we were walking back to the car. I told my friends I had to go back and get his number.  Clearly I had some liquid courage to help with this reasoning. Luckily, my girlfriends were supportive.

We walked back to the party and he was sitting in a big circle so it would have been awkward to ask for his number. All of a sudden he got up. Tam and Sara got to him first and explained that I thought he was cute and invited him to go see fireworks with us. He said yes! If you ask Chris, he will say it was beyond obvious that I was coming for him so he left the circle to talk to me. I didn't think I was that obvious, but I got what I wanted. :)

Our first photo together at the Union in Madison

1 year anniversary trip to Chicago

The ironic thing was I wasn't looking for anything serious. I was leaving for a semester in Spain in a month and a half. I really didn't want to fall for some guy before I left. Of course, I did. We did long distance from Spain to WI, Milwaukee to Madison, and Milwaukee to Minneapolis. Once I graduated from MU, I joined him in MN and we have been together ever since.

Rose Garden near Lake Harriet in MPLS

4th of July Parade in St. Joe's MN - a few weeks before he proposed

Wedding Day - photos at the Union of course!

Since we have been together a while and I was pretty young when we met, all of my girlfriends know him really well. I would say they all like him too. (He had to win over, Kate, my protective friend, but he did.)  So if I ever call to complain about him, they side with him sometimes. It's a little frustrating, but it makes me smile.

Camping and Hiking in the Porkies UP of  MI

Badger vs Gopher Hockey Game

East Coast Trip for Nick and Kerin's Wedding

I feel very lucky and happy to be with someone that can make me so happy and also drive me crazy at times. I'm really excited for our next adventure. I've know since the summer of 2004 he was great with kids and would make an excellent father.

Celebration of Excellence Awards - Chris has 2 teaching awards and I only have 1.

Parc Ciutadella in BCN

Our next adventure - a little late on the upload

*Zach is a great guy and I would say he is our friend now. He picked a really awesome wife, Nicky, who is a great friend too!

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!! For many good reasons it is one of my most favorite holidays!