tuesday ten

1. There's Gemma up there, flippin' the bird. She uses her middle fingers for everything, even picks her nose with them. Hoping this will work itself out sometime soon...
2. Also, while we're speaking of Gemma, she's teething again... Sense my excitement. She just cut another bottom tooth (total of 3 on the bottom now) and I can see one on the top just starting. Oh, and she's rubbing them together- essentially, grinding them... Yikes.. Hope she only does it while she's teething!
3. If you do not have one of these blankets, you are missing out on the best sleeping experience of your life. We've had one for a couple of years now. I bought a king size, knowing I'd want to curl up in this stupidly soft blanket, and it was one of the best purchases I've ever made. I am giddy with excitement for the weather to cool down so I can throw this back on our bed until it's summer again.
4. Things I'm terribly afraid of: snakes, octopus, and centipedes. Maybe I should reword that to "Animals I'm terribly afraid of"...
5.  I've been starting to wrap my mind around Gemma's first birthday party. Namely, more that my baby is turning one in just a few short months... Excuse me while I go cry a little.
6. Wedge sneakers- what do you think of these? I've been all over Pinterest this morning, and I'm thinking I could totally rock these this fall! Comfy mom attire for the win.
7. Completely unrelated, why is cutting bangs such a dang commitment? I always am so on the fence about bangs, mostly because it takes me a whole year to grow them out. But it's almost fall and I've got this unreal regrowth from postpartum hair loss that looks ridiculous and maybe bangs will camouflage the ugly regrowth? {Talking about many of my struggles in this post.. shifting gears now}
8. Okay.. the thing that cures all listed above remedies? Well, prayer, and also... a glass of Red Velvet by Cupcake... This is my favorite wine. I haven't really ever found my favorite wine. But this... this is it. 
9. Someone mentioned *NSYNC might be performing at the VMA's this year? What?! I will be my 12 year old screaming self and jump around like a lunatic and actually tune in to the VMA's this year! Usually I could care less, but for *NSYNC, well of course!
10. We're watching LOST again and I'm off to drink Cupcake wine and keep on knitting Gemma's baby blanket- which I'm still working on.

Happy almost-midweek! 

mama's girl

This girl. My sweet, silly Gemma girl. Right now, she's a mama's girl. To the core. Gemma loves her Daddy like no other, but right now, she's a mama's girl. Especially right in the thick of teething. And while it can sometimes be tough to be her everything... I'm secretly a little happy that she wants and needs me so much. Makes me feel like I'm doing something right, makes me feel like I'm a good mama. And I'm going to cherish every moment of her being a mama's girl. Right now, I'm soaking it in while I can. I love this girl with all my heart.

*And when she looks up at me and kisses me while I'm holding her.. My heart explodes a little bit. 

And let it be said, I really love her dad too. I'm so blessed to have these two in my life!

*all photos from June

100 degrees in the city

This past Friday, Gemma and I decided to head into the city to meet Bryan at his work and visit all of his L'oreal coworkers. I actually love New York in the summer so we were all excited to meet Bry, even with the continual heatwave. It was forecast to be about 100 degrees, but we decided we were going to head in and and just figure something out. Wing it, essentially. Because even with an 8 month old.. sometimes you can wing it and things actually do work out.

Gemma and I took the train in and met Bry at work. We visited with his coworkers and then decided it was time to get some lunch. Over to Bill's Burger Bar in Rockefeller Center. Walking around afterwards, we got pretty hot... really fast. Plus, our sweet little angel would not nap. And to be quite honest, I don't blame her. Who can fall asleep in 100+ degrees?

After walking up 5th Ave a little bit, we found this little oasis. Inside the Trump Tower lobby {which is open to the public}, there's this little glass terrace, I suppose? Where it looks like you are outdoors, but the AC was flowing from the building. We were in heaven. I ended up feeding Gemma her bottle and then putting her in her stroller just to walk back and forth against this boring black wall to get her to nap. A baby going 5+ hours without a nap in that heat will drive a mama a little crazy. But we made it. 

^Come on, Gemma! Nap already!!!

After Gemma's little nap, we walked to FAO Schwartz to meet up with Brad, Jacki and Luella. We walked around the beautifully air-conditioned store for over an hour! We took the girls to the Big Piano and they were in awe of the music and the lights! So fun! Luckily, Gemma's not at the age where she can ask for anything yet, so we left without buying anything. I'm sure we will make up for it with her upcoming 1st birthday :)

^Mid-clapping

We always, always wait til last minute to figure out what we want to eat, and this night was no exception. Since we were somewhat close, we went on over to Serendipity for dinner. It definitely past both babies bedtime, but we were making the best of it! Of course, the girls were fussy, but I finally got Gemma to sleep on my shoulder before our food came. 

^Peanut butter Frrrozen Hot Chocolate... ummm, please!

Relaxation and tiredness set in and I was ready to be home. Gemma woke up as we were walking to the train station and was up for the entire train ride home, but we had such a fun day in the city despite the heat and a little stinker who wouldn't sleep! 

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Also, I did not witness this in person, but Bryan was mistaken for Liam Hemsworth, once again. A group of teenage girls were walking behind Bryan and Brad. Bryan overheard the girls talking about good ol' Liam Hemsworth. All of a sudden, Bry saw a girl subtly walk up next to him and snap a pic on her phone. Of course, Bry had to look over and smirk, because... who could not do that? Guy definitely got a little boost in his ego after that! Be on the lookout for tabloids stating Liam Hemsworth has a baby, or something of the sort ;)

ten things on tuesday

1. This girl is just the sweetest... but I've probably already said this before. And I won't lie... it will be said again. :)
2. Bry and I are watching LOST again, for the third time together. Last time around, we'd watch 3 or 4 episodes a night, now we're lucky if we get 2 in, but at least we're watching it again! I can feel us gearing up to watch Friday Night Lights from the beginning too. Ahhh, Tim Riggins...
3. I have been living on cereal for breakfast and lunch lately. Best meal for this unbeatable heat in my opinion.
4. Gemma is quite the little character these days. She cries really hard when we take toys away,  she's started to be more open to eating solids, and she has [sort of] started babbling. Saying things like "HEEEE" and "YAAA"! I love seeing her personality! She's the perfect little quirky blend of Bry and I.
5. By the way... solid foods produce, ummm, unpredictable diapers? Yikes... every diaper change is a mystery and getting more interesting as little Miss G won't sit/lay still.
6. I'm not sure why, but I'm always drawn to knit in the summer. You'd think that'd be more of a winter hobby.. and I love knitting in the winter, but I seem to pick up knitting more in the summer! I'm working on a blanket for Gemma. Simple one stitch pattern over and over, but the yarn is really soft and I'm thinking of sewing a heart into the bottom corner. My goal is to be done by the end of July, but I'm only about half way done now and I've been "working" on it since, I'd say, January?
7. Speaking of working, I've recently started a home-based business with Arbonne- a company that offers botanically-based skin care, beauty, and health and wellness products. I didn't think this was for me, but I'm learning this is a great gig to have being a full time mom. This is something I can build in my own home in my own time. I'm so excited to see where this business will take me!
8. I cannot understand how I'm already starting to plan Gemma's first birthday party. I can't handle the fact that my baby is almost 9 months old! Time needs to stop. now.
9. Have I mentioned how much I love Bry? [I know I've stated this before too ;)]. He's such a hard worker for our family and I am forever grateful to him for all that he does!
10. I'm loving summer! And I'm definitely in the mood to take little weekend excursions everywhere. We took a short weekend trip to RI this past weekend and I swear I could go away every weekend for the rest of the summer! Even with Gemma waking up at 3 am each night and not sleeping well, we had a blast! Good thing we are planning to go away at least 2 more weekends. Summers are the best! 

And a few summer photos just to show you how much we all love this time of the year :)

^Poor thing won't keep sunglasses or a hat on for the life of her, but could probably use both! She was most likely squealing with delight too though...

^Not a huge fan of cold water yet, but we're working on it :)

^Selfies outside.. what else?

^Beach lovers

^My heart skips a beat over these two. For reals.

photos that didn't make instagram

I've been going through photos of Gemma in iPhoto, and I feel like there are several plenty that need to be shown and addressed.. so I've decided to share some of them on the blog.  Plus, who wants to wants to be overgramming all the time?

I'm sure there's going to be a bit of gushing on my end... Love this tiny little baby that is not so tiny anymore! 

Photos from months 1 & 2 of Gemma's life!

^ Just days old here.. Oh my heart.. how I want to snuggle this little newborn!

^Little ham lovin life in the Boppy

^This is my favorite part of having a newborn... the snuggles and sleepy cuddles!

^Mom.. wake up!

^1 month.. look at those little leggies! Eeeee!

^Do you think Gemma has enough stuffed animals?! Holy cow!

^Not sure what this face is, but it sure is cute!

^Possibly a little cross-eyed here?

^I wish this picture did her little toesies justice... No words can describe how teeny they were!

^I have about 1,000 photos of Gemma sleeping curled up to me!

^Bonnie meeting Gemma

^Cousins Gemma and Luella meeting for the first time!

^Gemma's first time in the city!

^Ohhh my this cutie little snuggly pink Gemma bear!

^Mean mug!

^They are just so cute sleeping next to each other!

^Her little smirk kills me!

More photos that didn't make instagram to come again soon! xo

**Also, this was about the time where Gemma was struggling to gain weight and was having a tough time with feeding. So I know she's very skinny minnie in many of these photos, and it was rough patch for us all, so I ask that you please be sensitive when commenting on this post or on individual photos. Thanks! 

a choppy post about teething

*Doesn't this just make you want to cry? Gosh this face breaks my heart.. right in the thick of teething.

This post was written in increments... a portion written a few weeks ago... and the rest finished today.

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Holy cow. Teething, man... There's a lot that goes into it. Everyone thinks teething is this short few days of miserable baby and sleepless nights and then its over. The whole process is actually a LOT longer.

My little Gemsicle has been teething for quite some time now. She's been drooling and putting everything in her mouth since about 4 months. However, after her pediatrician left the room at her 6 month check up (who said, "Oh ya, they're right there!), I noticed a little white spot on her bottom gum. Only one side, but what could only be described as a little pimple if that makes sense? That was April 30th.

Fast forward to today, May 26th. Gemma is currently, and quite literally, fighting her morning nap, crying in her room while Bry rocks her, only to push her bottle away, when it's obvious that she's hungry and tired. We're still trying to get those suckers into her mouth. She has two tiny little teeth on the bottom. One came through first, and just when I thought we were in the clear, the other one's white spot appeared and we started all over again.

Lucky for us, she still sleeps okay at night (except for that one week where she woke up every morning at 2:30 and then 5:00 for the day), but she fights me all day with everything- eating, sleeping, playing, only wants to be held, etc. I love her to pieces, but after four weeks, it can be a little wearing on Mama.

We've given her baby tylenol at night to help her sleep (that's since helped the waking at night) and I give her teethers, let her chew on my fingers, try to give her cold things to chomp on (but she doesn't always take well to them), and just give her all the love and snuggles that I can to comfort her.

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Now, again fast forward to today... we've completed round one a few weeks ago.. And look at these two little crooked teeth!!

*this photo taken on June 1st- only a few days after writing that horrible rant up there! And look how happy she is!

I'm sure as soon as I hit "publish", the top two teeth will start pushing their way through Gemma's gums, but we've survived the first chunk of teething, and we'll do it again! 

jumping back in...

One of my goals for the month of May is to get back into blogging, so we'll see how long this lasts {ha}! I have been missing blogging alot lately so I'm going to jump back into this little blogosphere!

Here's the update...

Gemma's almost 7 months old now.. She's started solids and definitely sleeping through the night but isn't a great napper. Hey, as parents, we pick our battles right?! She's close to being able to sit up on her own and has rolled over both ways but mostly just wiggles her way around the room when she wants to move. I have a feeling crawling is a little ways off though but we will see. Gem's quite the happy girl almost always too, no lie. However, currently, she's teething big time. She still is one of the happiest babies I know, just one that will turn on a dime into a grouch. Can't wait to see those little teeth when she smiles!

Both Bryan and I deactivated our Facebook accounts a few months ago. We both had our reasons, namely, we both felt we spent too much time on Facebook. I really just found myself wanting to use my time and energy on other things. I wanted to stop checking my phone every 35 minutes to see what was going on in the Facebook world. I wanted to live life instead of being a spectator. So I took myself off for about two and a half months. And while I'm back on the good ol' Book now, I'm much more "relaxed" about it. I used to think I was going to miss something if I didn't check in every so often. But this time away from it has been completely refreshing. {There was also a tiny part of me that got sick of hearing everyone's parenting advice- wanted or unwanted-- on every picture or status that I wrote... but I think that's a topic for another day :) }

We've moved into a new apartment with SO MUCH SPACE! We are loving our new place and I am slowly decorating it.. It's going to take a while because of budgeting and time. But! I kinda forgot about Pinterest for a while, but now I'm scouring it for ideas and remembering how awesome of a site it is!

We are getting into the swing of things here and I feel like we're actually getting into a somewhat-regular of a routine with our little family of 3 {and hey, once I actually state this out loud, that "routine" is going to go right out the window.. am I right?} April was a really crappy month for us, or at least me. I had an ingrown toe-nail that needed to be cut by a podiatrist. This little procedure happened 5 days before we moved. I had to hobble around and soak my feet twice a day for a while... Plus I was weaning from breastfeeding, or rather, pumping exclusively, which, again, might be a topic for another day. Once we moved, I came down with the nastiest of colds. Then Bry got it. Then I got it back. Luckily, little Miss G came out healthy as a clam. Next, I came down with Strep throat... I mean, WHO gets Strep throat past the age of like 12? Geez... it threw me for a loop. Then came Gemma's 6 month check up at the end of April... where I found her little swollen gums which has preceded this lovely little teething experience that's still happening. 

...I think that's all for now. And what post wouldn't be complete without a few pictures of the cutest girl in the world?! I'm so in love... It's not even real sometimes!

From her 6 month photos I took- 

Ahhh, I can't even stand how much I love her sometimes.