the most magical sound

When I was pregnant with Hannah, and nervous throughout the first few months, I got an at home doppler so I could listen to her little heart beat whenever I wanted.  From about nine weeks on, it became a nightly ritual after my evening shower.  I'd spread baby oil all over my lower stomach and put on my headphones and search.  Before too long I'd find it and just soak it in.  As the weeks progressed and the belly grew, that little heart beat became stronger and wiggly.  We'd play a momma and baby game of hide and seek.  

Tonight, as I was getting Hannah ready for bed, I paused for a second and put my ear against her chest.  I heard that familiar little heart beating and beating.  What a comforting sound.  She's so full of life and light. I'm so blessed to be her mother.  I think in the stillness of these shared moments, our hearts have been forever knit together.

tiny baby Hannah

Scenes from a Sunday Afternoon

I love Sundays because I get to play dress up with Hannah!

This might just be the cutest dress ever.  Thanks Aunt Kayleen! 

Hannah likes it too.  Especially when she can get it in her mouth!

baby laundry

Isn't baby laundry so cute? All those tiny socks, polka dot burp rags, rainbow leggings, and stuffed elephants...and Hannah of course!  She's such a good helper!

Mondays and Tuesdays

Mondays are good days for me.  Now that I'm not working, somehow I enjoy Monday.  It's a new start, a chance to be productive.  On Mondays I do things like scrub the bath tub, vacuum carpets, load the dishes, wash and fold four loads of laundry, and make sure Hannah gets good naps.

Tuesdays, are not so good days.  Somehow all that productivity backfires or something, because on Tuesdays I fall asleep on the couch while Hannah plays on the floor.  Then I fall asleep on her bedroom floor while she sleeps in her crib.  Yesterday was a particularly vicious Tuesday for some reason.  I felt so foggy.  Around 12:00 I decided enough was enough, and that Daniel could take a break from programming to watch Hannah.  I got myself dressed in exercise clothes, pulled my hair back and went for a run in the rain.  Normally I hate running, and rain, but somehow this was what I wanted, needed, to get going.  I went on my old route, from when I was training for the triathlon.  I impressed myself with how much I was able to actually run, since it has been over a year and a half since I did much strenuous exercise at all.

There are five minutes left of Wednesday.  Today I decided I needed to get out, so I went to playgroup this morning and skipped Hannah's morning nap.  Somehow that morning nap is much more important than most people give credit.  Without that morning nap, she struggles with sleeping the rest of the day.  Daniel is now having his turn at getting her to go to sleep.  It's a shame that overly tired babies fight sleep, the one thing they really need. 

Unrelated, but cute:

I sure do love her!

To answer some questions

A couple of you had asked some questions about the great deals I got while couponing.  I will do my best to provide a little insight/answers.

1. Where do I get my coupons?  Some I get from my parents Sunday paper, but most of them I print from various coupon websites.  Instead of listing all the coupon websites, or searching through them each time I want to find a coupon, the easiest way is to check out the coupon blogs.  The Krazy Coupon Lady has lots of deals, and is updated very regularly.  She also has an awesome section under the link 'print coupons'.  This goes through a huge list of products alphabetically, and will link you through to any coupons available.  For instance, I needed to get aquaphor for poor Hannah (who like her mother, suffers from dry skin). I was able to print a coupon for Aquaphor using her website.  Another website, which has good deals, especially on groceries and happens to be local to where I'm at, is Queenbee Coupons.  This is another site which links to coupon printing websites.  Those are the two main blogs I use, along with my friend Alyshia and her sister Audrie's shopping blog.  They have been so helpful cluing me into deals I might have otherwise missed. 

2.  How do I get such good deals?  Really, I'm just a novice at this whole coupon thing.  I've gotten a couple of good deals, but there are so many more that I've missed.  The trick is to match manufacturer coupons with store coupons/sales. The best way to get good deals is to stay on top of the blogs.  Last weekend I was alerted by the blogs previously listed that Albertsons would be doing 'double coupons'.  They then listed the appropriate combination of coupons and where they could be found or printed, in order to get things free (like the sweet potato fries) or really cheap (like my eye shadow).  Albertsons is doing doublers again through tomorrow (if you don't get the Sunday paper, you can ask the customer service counter for a copy, to get the coupons), so I'm hoping to get some good finds again! I have been kind of busy with Hannah over the weekend so I haven't had much of a chance to put together a shopping list yet, so I'll be looking for deals tonight.

Like I said, I'm really a novice at this whole thing, but if you have questions/want to talk coupons, I'm up for it!

Unrelated: Hannah tried her first momsicle tonight.  It's a hit!

Sparkly me!

I got some good deals couponing today.  I went to Albertsons, and was able to get two bags of sweet potato fries for free, and some cover girl eye shadow for $.86.  I was trying to find a neutral color of eye shadow, so I selected bedazzled biscotti, thinking it looked safe.  Turns out the bedazzled part means sparkles.  It kind of takes me back to middle school when I intentionally wore glitter around my eyes.  So if you see me, and I look extra sparkly, it's because I am.

4 Months!

Somebody had her four month check up today and weighed in at 16 lb 4 oz (92%)!  I think she's in some sort of race to grow up.  The hospital where she was born is on the way to get to her pediatrician, and each time I see the hospital now, I get chills, remembering how wonderful her birth was (it makes me want to do it again and again and again...although that's kind of crazy, and I'm in no hurry to have another baby).

I don't know how four months have passed already, but they have, and they've been the best ever. I have no regrets about my decision to stay home with her.  Each day may seem like we do the same things over and over, but each day is also full of love and smiles.

Hannah's blessing day.

I realized I haven't posted about Hannah's blessing yet. It was on December 26th, so yes, a little over two months ago now. It was in the middle of a couple of really busy weeks for my family, but I'm glad we could do it when family was in town, and before our good friends moved up north of Seattle. Hannah looked like a little angel, and was so good during her blessing. Daniel performed the blessing, and he had my Dad, his Dad, my brother Nathan, brother-in-law Tyler, my uncle Mike, and our friends Joey and Randall stand in the circle with him.

I've said it before...

...and I'm sure I'll say it again.

what a difference a year makes!

the camera battery is dead, so a phone picture will have to do!

I love her more than I could have imagined!

hmmm

I was going to post about something, but now I can't remember what it is.  So I'll share some thoughts.

I just spent 2 hours rocking/feeding Hannah to sleep.  She was getting really good at putting herself to sleep for a while, and then she got a cold.  All of our routines went out the window with that cold.  When I called the nurse, they said no medicine, just a vaporizer and extra feedings.  Those extra feedings turned into feeding her to sleep for a week and a half, so now we're back to square one.  At least once she finally falls asleep she's asleep for a good 8-9 hours...(here's to hoping I haven't jinxed myself tonight!)

Nursing is the best thing ever, except it gives me such a sweet tooth.  I am currently enjoying Daniel's mint chocolate ice cream from Christmas (with his permission of course).  I love the convenience of breast feeding.  I've never had to heat up a bottle or measure formula in the middle of the night. I love that she's getting immunity boosts from me, and I love that she has been such a healthy baby.  I also love that I'm losing weight nursing.  If I could find the motivation to actually add exercise to my routine, I might be able to make it to my pre-wedding weight... But then again, there's that sweet tooth, and a serious lack of self discipline.

I got my hair cut a couple of weeks ago. The lady I normally go to had a baby, so I figured I'd go with my mom to Fantastic Sam's and save a few dollars. Not really my brightest idea, and definitely not worth the money I saved..  The lady who cut my hair was nice and all, but it has taken me two weeks to figure out how to style it.  I ended up switching the side I part my hair on, and this has finally made my haircut work.  I take the same picture with me each time I get my hair cut, but it always looks different in the end.  I'm going to go ahead and stick with my original stylist, assuming she comes back from maternity leave. 

We've had snow the last couple of days, and I haven't wanted to interrupt Hannah's naps to go to play group or exercise group in the mornings, so I've been feeling really closed in...cabin fever if you will.  Tomorrow I will get out and about, I hope.

I've been trying to post more regularly.  I love reading over my old posts, and I want to make sure to document our daily lives, especially now we've got a little one.  If my mom had blogged when I was a baby, I'm sure I'd love reading it today.

I have all these post ideas floating around in my brain throughout the day, and when I sit down with my laptop in the evening, my mind goes blank. 

Who knows what I originally intended to post...I guess tonight, random is all you get.

I'm in Love with White Noise

Any of my former roommates out there (Meagan, Sarah, anyone else???) may remember my air filter, and my love for it.  It was there by my side in the dorms my freshman year, off campus with me my sophomore year, and it came along when I got married.  It even spent the night in the hospital with me when Hannah was born.  Basically I can't sleep without it.  Apparently Hannah can't sleep without it either.  Her first night on earth was a very long, stressful night.  I'd heard babies were supposed to sleep all the time, and mine definitely did not.  The nurse pointed out that she had never known quiet before (what with all my digestive noises, and there were a lot of those during pregnancy!).  That hospital room was sure quiet.  I hoped that with some background noise, maybe she would be happier.  The second night I had Daniel grab my wonderful air filter from home to create beautiful white noise.  It was a better night.  Then we came home and she spent the next three months sleeping in her bouncer (vibrate turned on, please!) on our bedroom floor, sharing our white noise. 

When we went to the tri-cities last month, (air filter came along, of course) Hannah made it very clear she was done sleeping in her bouncer.  She wanted nothing to do with sleeping scrunched up anymore.  She was ready for her crib.  So as soon as we got home, we had her start sleeping in her own room, in the crib, and I gave her my air filter.  She obviously needed the white noise more than I did, and her room is right next to the living room so it helps muffle any noises we make while she's sleeping.  She started sleeping through the nights, but I would wake up and struggle to go back to sleep.  I'd go check on her, find her peacefully sleeping, but toss and turn myself.  Enter my parents and the wonderful world of Good Will.  They found us a second air filter, so now we're all happy. 

I know this is a lame post idea, but I'm curious who else has to have white noise to sleep? I know Hannah and I do!

a new hobby perhaps

A week ago I went to a beginning couponing class taught by these lovely ladies.  They gave tips, advice, and instruction, and it was just what I needed to get going.  Yesterday evening, our family of three headed out to target to make good on some deals they had alerted me to.  I got free dishwasher soap, and two pairs of jeans for cheap.  I'm not a pro-couponer yet, I don't even have a binder or very many coupons, but I'm headed that way.  I'm making a point to check the couponing blogs, I might even get a newspaper subscription and hopefully soon I'll get the hang of it.  I'm all about finding a bargain, and it seems like it could be a good hobby as well as help our budget go further.

Speaking of which (our budget, that is), Daniel is looking for a job.  Thankfully he has been doing some programming recently, but it's not full time or permanent.  He's looking for anything really, so if you have leads/ideas we're happy to hear them.  We're also willing to relocate if necessary, although it just might break Hannah's grandparents hearts...and mine too. 

I love Olympia.  I go through phases where I have a relocation fantasy.  The most recent is New York City (this one happens a lot).  I watched You've Got Mail twice last week.  My excuse is that both Hannah and I were sick, so it's ok to be lazy when you're sick.   In my fantasy I imagine we're moving somewhere.  I then wikipedia the location, go on craigslist, look at all the apartments on there and imagine what life would be like somewhere else.  Then I remember that I like only paying $750 in rent and having my parents five minutes away. 

Last night I had some tangerines kicking around from a bountiful basket I got the end of January and I juiced them by hand.  The sweet freshness of the juice kicked in my southern California fantasy (another favorite).  I could get used to fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast...but for now it'll just be a day dream. 

All in a days work

Why I think Hannah's advanced:

Last night while I was getting Hannah's bath ready, Daniel was working on a computer program he's been writing for an optical scanner.  I left Hannah in his able care, and when I returned I was informed that she had mastered the "alt tab" shortcut.  Twice!

Seriously? I was a sophomore in college before I learned that trick...Kids these days!

sometimes

Sometimes Hannah takes her binki and naps in her own crib just like the books say she should. Sometimes like today, she won't have anything to do with her binki and starts gagging if I try to encourage her. She'll sleep for 45 minutes or so, and wake up. I wasn't sure she was ready to be awake yet, so we remedied the situation. I've found that sometimes being a mother means dropping everything and just snuggling.

Happy weekend to all!

Already

It has already been three months.

Three months of:

joy
learning
worry
guesswork
wonder
awe
curiosity
work
naps
growing
selflessness
hope
and sleeping on my stomach again!

Hannah my dear, you get cuter every day and I'm grateful you're such a happy baby.  You give your smiles so freely (except for the camera), and everyone around you loves you.  You've all but doubled your birth weight, and you're back to your cheerful happy self.  Sometimes I still can't believe you're mine.   

Date Night

We'd been having a rough time last week.  Hannah had regressed to waking every two hours though the night, and was fighting going to sleep daily, along with general fussiness. (I'm chalking it all up to her shots she got the previous Friday)  So on Friday as soon as my mom got off work, I called and asked if she and my dad would be able to watch Hannah for a couple hours so Daniel and I could go on a date.  Our last date was a long time ago.

Saturday evening rolls around and I get Hannah ready to go have some Grandma and Grandpa time.  I send her off with a couple of bottles to hold her over till I'm back, and Daniel and I had the best date ever.

It may have just been a quick dinner at Arbys and a stroll through target, but it was so very nice to be out together. 

As a side note:

I have begun the great postpartum shed.  It is as nasty as I'd heard, and I thought I'd be lucky enough to avoid it since I'd made it almost 3 months without it occurring.  If I'm bald within a month, don't be surprised. Also,  it turns out Hannah's getting the worst of it.  She gets my hair stuck in her fingers (which then go straight to her mouth) in her neck, and I've even seen hairs in her diapers.  Not sure how that happens, but yuck.  Poor Girl.

I had the greatest thing happen this week.  On Thursday morning in the shower, I was remembering things that I've been meaning to do.  Things that I usually think about right before falling asleep, and then forget all about.  So in this thinking I remembered that I have been meaning to look for a couple things online. One of them is a swim skirt.  I plan on doing a lot of swimming this summer with Hannah (I can't wait to buy a baby swim suit!), and I have some stretch marks that appeared during the third trimester that a swim skirt would cover perfectly.  I'm thinking of something like this.  But that's not the point of this post.  The other thing I remembered that I want to look for, is a pair of red shoes.

Four years ago, I happened upon a perfect pair of shoes.  They were cute and red and comfortable, they went with jeans, skirts, yoga pants, etc. These were shoes that could match anything and everything.  However, the years weren't kind to them.   They were worn and torn and not so waterproof anymore.  Yet I kept wearing them nonetheless.  

 

This story does have a happy ending though.  When I googled red dockers shoes, the first thing that popped up was a brand new pair of these exact shoes in my size on e-bay.  I'm not normally an e-bay person, but I was so pleased to find the perfect replacement for my old shoes that I hurriedly clicked 'buy now' and the next day they showed up on my door step.  It may seem trivial, but I feel so blessed to have found new perfect shoes!

a side by side comparison!

yes, that's Wesley sneaking into the picture. he has boundary issues.

 

Have any of you seen my camera cord?

Neither have I.  Which is why this post is pictureless.  Which is really sad, because I have so many cute pictures and even a couple videos of Hannah.

I'm enjoying Hannah so much lately.  She gets more and more fun each week, and continues to be a very good baby.  Her most recent achievements are finding her voice (she has the cutest coos, and has perfected her sigh), learning to use her hands to grab her toys, and sleeping all night long.  Her longest stretch has been 9.5 hours, and it felt so good!  Unfortunately, she doesn't sleep that well consistently...for example last night we were up every 2 hours.  I suppose it'll come with time, and at least it's nice to know she's capable of such things.


The last month of our lives has been so busy.  We had a bunch of Christmas festivities while my siblings were home from college.  Then my sister got married on December 28th, so we had wedding stuff going on.  Then we had New Years, and things calmed down for a little while until we made a quick trip over to Eastern Washington last week for my grandma's funeral.  Hannah has been so good through all this, and I think I'm pretty lucky to have such an easy going baby. 

Hopefully I'll be able to find my camera cord soon...Daniel cleaned the living room, and while I appreciate it a ton, I have no idea where it went.  Wish me luck!

All are welcome to attend!

We will be blessing Hannah in church on Sunday December 26th, at 9:00 am. I know it's early, but with a little girl this cute, you won't want to miss it!

This is her first smile caught on camera, and I love it. 

At six weeks Hannah weighed in at 11 pounds 6 oz (90th percentile).  The girl knows how to eat!

Somebody tell her to slow down, she's going to outgrow all her cute 3 month clothes before we even get a chance to enjoy them all!

more Hannah

Someday I'll post about something other than Hannah, but don't count on it for a while.  She turned one month old on the first, and gave me the best gift a new mother could ask for: a smile while she was awake!  It makes me think she actually likes me, and it melted my heart and made my day.  I love this little girl and can't get enough of her.  I weighed her on the 1st cause she doesn't have an appointment for a while, and she weighs 10 lb. now.  I can't believe it...such a chunk already!  Enjoy some more pictures!

mo