Happy 16 months Rowan!

 Another month down!! How is this happening so fast?!?! Anyway, this post is late, as usual. I miss Rowan's little baby stage, but right now she is getting to be so fun!


Age:16 months, 14.5 months adjusted age

Weight and clothing size: 
My tanker is 26.8 pounds, and  boy is that deliciously chubby girl  taking a toll on my body! My back and wrists ache with pain from holding her! We try to not overly hold her  (mainly to encourage walking) but holy heck when we do, everything hurts! She is now getting too big for 2T! We are headed in the 3T direction. Still size 4 in diapers though honestly I think we could move up to 5.

Eating:
Rowan is still a pretty decent eater. and eats in big quantities. She is very sensitive to textures and gets easily grossed out. She's starting to eat more meat, which is good! She recently tried popsicles and loves them!

Rowan can:
-sign "please" (in addition to more and all done)learning to say "mama" in sign too.

-Tries to dress herself. It is quite funny, but amazes me that she is trying to do this! She'll try to put shirts over head, pants/shorts on top of her legs.  Knows where to put her shoes and bows (of course can't put them on )


-She is crawling at lightening speed and cruises with such confidence. If she can't reach something, she gets on her tippy toes and tries to reach.

-doing some pretend playing. This is amazing! She recently got a play kitchen and will pull out pots and pans and stir them. She will then put things in the microwave, etc. I am LOVING all of this!

-Can identify where the lights, trees, moon are when asked.

-can now say "yeah", which cracks me up.

-When she wants something, she will point, look at you and say "kneeyah kneeyah?" LOL

-Sometimes in bath she will try and "bathe" herself which consists of rubbing her body wash all over

-can show you how old she is when asked

-If you ask her what the dinosaur says, she will growl at you!

-tries to put puzzles pieces back where they go. She can't put them back perfectly, but the fact she's trying is incredible.


Rowan loves:

-Sofia the first and Doc McStuffins. For my TV Nazis, don't worry, we don't do it all the time. We do it mainly when she needs breathing treatments because that's the only way she sits still. ANYWAY, she absolutely loves those 2 shows! She lights up when she sees the show come on! I have to admit, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Doc McStuffins, its so freaking cute!

-finally enjoying her stuffed animals. For a long time, she didn't really pay too much mind to her stuffed animals. Now she LOVES them! Her "squad" (sorry that word  makes me laugh!) consists of Goldie the sheep, Petunia the hippo, and "Fia" aka her stuffed Sofia.

-loves playing with her play kitchen! Her amazing cousin Abby gave Rowan her old kitchen. Rowan loves it and is thoroughly entertained. It's situated in the kitchen and has been a life saver when I cook!

Rowan doesn't like: 
 -hates when meal time is over. Girl likes to eat! She is truly her mother's daughter!

-STILL doesn't like cake with frosting. I thought we were over that fear, but she had a cupcake for a birthday celebration and she cried like she got a shot. WHO IS SHE!?!?!

-doctors and nurses. Sigh. We have seen the doc twice this month for different things and every time she is terrified. They took her temp under her arm and she dramatically screamed and was shaking. What a drama queen! I heard this can happen around this age. I hope she gets over it, it's going to be a long winter :(.

 Sleeping schedule:
Sleep has greatly improved this month! She sleeps well at night and takes good naps. She will occasionally fight a nap or two. Sleep is horrific if she is teething.


 New happenings this month:

-Holy traveling!! We did a HUGE trip down to So. California last month. I honestly didn't know how babe would do, but my gosh, she was a ROCKSTAR! She did beautifully in the 12 hours drive (f-you LA traffic) and melted down just once because she had poop. It helped we took lots of car breaks.

-Rowan visited the zoo while down south! We met up with hubby's dear friend Shannon and her littles! She and I connected through facebook so it was fun to meet in real life.

-ROWAN VISITED DISNEYLAND! It was so much fun!! You can read it here.

-This mama did her first weekend away! I have never been away from Rowan for more than a night, let alone by myself. The weekend before school was my dear friend's bachelorette. I drove up to San Jose on Friday, ate lunch by myself and had a pedicure! HOLY RELAXATION!!! I forgot what it is like to do things by myself and it was glorious! I met up with one of close friends, Kristen. We had dinner and drinks with another friend,  and went to a movie with some more friends. I embarrassingly slept through some of it :(, but that's #momlife for ya! The next day I went to Santa Cruz to meet up with the girls! Lots of fun, a little too much debauchery, but it was great! I sure missed my tribe though!!!

- Rowan started back up at Mom's preschool, and I started back at teaching at the end of July. She cried the first few days (despite she is in love with my mom) and I did too. I sometimes really HATE being a working mom. Thankfully, we are adjusting. I am so THANKFUL I have an amazing group of only 16 littles! They are a dream!




Here is my obligatory Rowan dump:

How we survived taking a baby to Disneyland

 

This post is SUPER long over due, and I am so excited to post!!

Back in the day when we were baby-less, I scoffed at the idea of taking a baby/toddler to Disneyland. I saw the beleaguered parents, dealing with screaming, angry kids. Wasn't this supposed to be the happiest place on earth?  I vowed that we wouldn't take our future children till they were at the VERY LEAST 7 years old...

2 years after that vow, here  I was preparing my first trip with my then 15 month old, HA! Talk about eating your words!!!

Hubby and I had been planning this trip for months. We were supposed to go in March, but postponed thanks to the stupid, preventable (oops did I say that?) measles outbreak. We decided to rebook our trip for July.

We got a lot of wide eyes, snorts and kinda rude comments when we would tell people we were taking Rowan. A lot would say we were crazy, she's too young, she won't remember, make sure we take an entourage, etc.

On the flip side, my Disney loving friends were beyond encouraging, and all have taken their children young.

I pored over different mommy blogs who wrote about Disneyland with babies and toddlers. I picked my friends' brains over their experiences. I felt prepared.

The one glaring difference between all of these experiences and ours was that we WEREN'T taking an entourage of family. My family wasn't able to go, plus I wasn't about to ask them to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a trip they didn't plan for. Plus, I wanted to be able to experience Disneyland just us and see if we could do it.

I will admit, I had VERY LOW expectations for our trip. I imagined it would be super stressful, hotter than hades and packed to the gills. Turns out I was right, except for one...

it actually wasn't stressful

Yep you heard me right. So, here are some things and tips I learned...

1. You can do it on your own- 

I was so afraid that we weren't taking family, but honestly, I think this is the easiest it will ever be! It was 2-1 ratio, and plus since she wasn't walking, she wasn't dying to get out and run. It was doable! Having patience and low expectations was key. That was huge!

2. Rider switch pass is your best friend-

Holy best invention! I was certain I wouldn't ride anything big. Um, not true!  Rider switch pass is basically like a fast pass for those waiting behind. You simply jump in the fast pass line and boom you are on! What we did was grab fast passes first thing. Hubby would wait a MAX of 20 minutes and get a rider switch pass. At this time, I would feed Rowan a snack or shop. He and I would trade once he was done! I rode pretty much all the big stuff, and it was great!

3. BRING EXTRA EVERYTHING -

We learned that we went through wipes like no one's business! This is common sense but pack extra everything, ESPECIALLY snacks ( we ran out day 1)! Water bottles especially since its so dang hot! However if you do run out, the baby care center is legit, which brings me to my next point..

4. the baby care center will be your best friend-

I had heard of this magical place, and it was everything! It has every baby supply you can imagine (of course for a price) and it is CLEAN! Every time Rowan pooped, I insisted we go there to change. I am a GERMAPHOBE so the center was my new bestie. If you are nursing/bottle feeding or want a calm place to feed their lunch, this IS the spot!

5. Have low expectations and have PATIENCE. Seriously- 

I have a tendency to be a perfectionist, which isn't a good thing most times. I let go of any notion I had in my head, kept very low expectations of the trip. I told myself to simply go with the flow (sometimes hard for me) and it lended itself well for our trip. We had the best time, and did so many fun things. Also this is obvious, but be patient. I am not a patient person (LOL) and I had to really prep myself that there were be lots of people, lines, and some people who are stupid (i.e. not paying attention, pushy, etc). I only lost my cool once when we were walking through a massive crowd. Someone pushed me while I was wearing Rowan and I may or may not have said "touch me again and I will break your nose". I know, tacky and ridiculous, but don't mess with mama bear. They wisely kept quiet and moved away.

6. Parades and shows are a great distraction-

We didn't see many shows, but managed to catch a tail end of a parade. We also got to see of World of Color, which Rowan loved! They serve as great distractions and good time to take a break.

7. Be prepared for your baby to be loved on!

This is a fun one. Rowan gets complimented (like every other baby) when we are out and about. However, she was a hit at Disneyland! Workers and other people were so sweet and kind over her. My heart wanted to burst!

8. Baby wearing and stroller naps are a life saver

There were times Rowan could hardly stand a single second in the stroller! Cue in my moby (which wasn't that bad)! She enjoyed the closeness while still being able to be out of the stroller! Oh and stroller naps are a lifesaver! Rowan would NEVER nap in the stroller but she did in Disneyland! Holy miracle! 

9. Knowing how your baby is, know when to stop-

 I feel "lucky" that Rowan is a decent traveler. However, I do know my child and her breaking points. One of the days we left early to rest, etc. Don't try to over do it, take breaks! Everyone is much happier and things going even more smoothly.

I was so happy with how our trip turned out. We got annual passes and plan on going multiple times this year! If you are a newbie like me and are hesitant to go, don't be! It will be better than you can imagine!

Some of my favorites:

Happy 15 months Rowan!

Can't believe my baby is 15 months! I swear we just brought her home from NICU! Honestly, this has been the best summer. Rowan is so much fun right now and enjoying all the fun perks of summer. With that brings her sassy toddler side, but she is still such a joy!

Age:15 months, 13.5 months adjusted.

Weight and clothing size: 
Rowan got weighed to day at the doctor's and she is a few ounces away from 26 pounds! My arms and back are already aching, LOL! Size 2t in clothing, size 4 diapers, but size 2 in shoes, LOL!!




Eating:
I'm forever thankful my baby likes to eat. I have heard horror stories of babies and toddlers refusing everything. I know this can change, but praying she keeps the way she's going! Still doesn't like meat. I have to be creative in how I give it to her. She also STILL doesn't like pasta. Who is this girl?!?!?


Rowan can:
-more of a confident climber. Thanks to starting My Gym (a post on that later), she is super curious and loves to climb on anything she can get her hands on!





-crawls even faster and even on her tippy toes, lol!




-a much more confident cruiser on furniture, though she gets  so scared when she falls!




-can sign "all done", along with "more"




-last month she could point out nose and mouth, now she can also point out ears and eyes.
-"pretends" to put on her shoes and head bands. Sounds weird, but she will grab her shoes and tap them on her foot or grab her bows and try to put them on her head! So cute!



Rowan loves:
- the ocean. Holy crap! I didn't think she would like it because its loud and the water is freezing, but it was quite the opposite! She loved getting splashed by the waves, would joyfully shake and scream. She would get angry if the waves didn't hit her, or if we tried to take her away.


-Quesadillas! She is a massive quesadilla fan. She loves them! She also took a huge shine to Greek yogurt and smoothies!


- She loves to bang on everything!


-She loves to scream at the highest pitch level when she gets excited. It can be funny, but now I think I am partially deaf!
-showing off her belly. Sis likes to lift up her shirt or dress and show off that yummy belly! She's a nut!









Rowan doesn't like: 
 -being left alone even for a second. She is going through MAJOR separation anxiety, and will cry real tears. Its so sad! Even if I'm just tossing laundry in the wash, she will melt down. 
-once clicked in her high chair, she doesn't like waiting for her food. She literally loses her mind if she doesn't eat immediately. What a diva.
-hates falling! While pushing her walker, she has taken a few tumbles. She gets so afraid and will often refuse to try again. We keep encouraging her, but she gets so scared.
-when I hold other babies! I work nursery each month, and for the first time she nearly lost her mind when I held another baby! She has become quite jealous, lol!
-eggs. She's decided she's off eggs, which stinks because she already doesn't like meat. Oh Rowan.

 Sleeping schedule:
OMG. This month has been horrific for sleep! Her schedule was completely destroyed because of our vacations. However, the last week and a half she has been in the process of cutting her back molars. Nights have been HORRID and you would think we have a newborn in the house! She will constantly scream off and on, sometimes stand up wide awake and scream! We are beyond exhausted! I do try and remind myself that this is temporary and this will not be our life forever!


 New happenings this month:


-Lots of travels for our babe! It has been so much fun discovering life through our baby! She did her first beach trip, first train ride, first boardwalk experience, first strawberry picking, etc LOL! It has been so fun!
-Rowan is officially a member of My Gym, which is essentially baby gymnastics! I plan on doing a proper post, but I have been so excited about this! She does everything but walk, so I am super hoping this will help with her gross motor skills! She loves it!


This has been such a fun month! I start back at work in 2 weeks and the thought of leaving my babe is making me sick to my stomach! Love being with my baby girl!


My obligatory Rowan dump:

Angels and beaches

This sure has been one crazy summer, filled with lots of fun and memories!


In between play dates, pool time and enjoying Rowan, we have done 2 family vacations and they were wonderful! I am not planning on recapping every minor detail, as I pretty much talked a lot about it here.


Our first trip was to Angel's Camp with my family. In theory, it may not be the fanciest place to visit, but its super relaxing for us and especially for the year we had, we need to relax.


Some fun things that we did was go on a family hike in Big Trees! I hadn't been there in ages, and it is SIMPLY amazing to marvel in God's beauty and these gigantic trees! We carried Rowan in the Kelty backpack. She actually really enjoyed everything and the sights, but mid hike she WIGGED out. She was a hot, hungry mess and this newbie mama left the snacks in the car, d'oh! She calmed down thankfully during lunch and even tried her first homemade cookie! She was HYSTERICAL to watch with that cookie!

The rest of the week consisted of exploring the little town of Angel's Camp, family games, eating, relaxing and LOTS of swimming. Rowan could barely contain herself with swimming and just loved it! Since my mom was with us, we were able to do a double date with my sister and her hubby! Since Angel's Camp isn't a booming metropolis, we ended up seeing a movie which was still super fun!


Some of our pics below (FYI I'm not posting my sister's babies since my blog is public, per her request :) )

After being home for a week and half, we repacked our suitcases to go to Santa Cruz!


Our first stop was a mini reunion with some of my dearest girl friends from college! We met up with  Kristen, Vanessa (with her baby in tow) and their men in Los Gatos. We brunched, the babies enjoyed each other and we did some shopping around town while the boys hit up a pub.
I am very fortunate to have made some pretty amazing friendships with a incredible group of girls! Even though we all graduated college 10 years ago (WHAT!?!?) we still get together as much as we can!

After we went up the hill towards Santa Cruz! We stayed in a beautiful beach house that was so neat! I am SO bummed I didn't take the time to take pictures of it, but it was charming, cozy, and big enough to accommodate 2 families! One of my favorite things was that you could see the boardwalk from our balcony!

 The week consisted of many trips to the boardwalk, strawberry picking in Davenport, lots of beach time, a trip to Roaring Camp, gorging on yummy food and zip lining for the boys! I wasn't sure how Rowan would handle the beach, but she LOVED it! She would shake and joyfully scream at the waves, try to sit in the water, and laugh! She would get angry when the waves wouldn't come to her, lol! I truly believe we have a water baby in our hands! Rowan also enjoyed her first train ride at Roaring Camp! My sister's in law family joined us, which was so fun! Rowan also loved strawberry picking, but would get furious when I wouldn't let her eat every berry, LOL! She had fun squishing some in her hands!

One arrangement my sister and I had was that we would babysit each other's kids so the other could have a date night! That was glorious! We went to a adorable Italian restaurant practically on the beach! The wait was a little long, so we went to wine bar next door. We had a bit too much fun there, LOL! We bought a bottle of barbera (our favorite!) and brought it over for our dinner. It was so nice to getaway, and reconnect with my hubby. After, we went to the boardwalk and went on some rides. It was perfect!

Our fourth of July was low key. We went to brunch, and got the beach early. We stayed nearly the whole day on the beach and it was the most perfect weather for it. After, we came home, ordered in pizzas, and made s'mores. My niece Abby was a little sad we weren't going anywhere to see fireworks (Santa Cruz doesn't actually have a show). However, we saw so MANY illegal fireworks near the board walk that it felt like we had gone to a show! Some people were setting off some pretty big fireworks! It was nice to stay in, because Santa Cruz was a ZOO on the 4th!

I was so sad to see our beach vacay come to an end, I almost cried! However, we had one more stop! The boys and Rowan went home, while my sister, niece and I drove to Palo Alto to visit the American Girl store! My niece Abby brought her doll, as well as me! I know it seems super weird for a 32 year old woman to be carrying a doll, but it was so fun! I got my Samantha doll when I was 8 years old and I knew someday I wanted my daughter to have her! I brought in Samantha mainly to get her cleaned up so I can eventually pass it on to Rowan. My doll got a full "spa treatment" and even got her hair done, LOL! She's all ready for Rowan! That store is no joke! There is SO much to look at! My inner 8 year old was thrilled!

I am truly thankful that we have had these super fun vacations! Not only did we make amazing memories, but it was awesome to see life through Rowan's eyes! Next up, Disneyland!!

traveling with a "toddler"

Ahh, the joys of traveling. Prior to having baby, we enjoyed many little vacays and trips. Our love for travel started with our honeymoon to Ireland. Since then, Shannon and I were constantly going somewhere.  Sure, our vacays weren't sunning in Monte Carlo or traveling all over France, but we had so much fun. We built a lot of memories in our 5 years of just us. We vowed that once we became parents, our little travels would continue. Rowan went on her first trip when she was 3 months old. Honestly, I think we would have gone earlier except I was so paranoid about her getting sick!




Rowan was a champ that trip, and from then on we went on various road trips with her. Each time she did great and adjusted well to her surroundings. Sure it wasn't all sunshine all the time, but I felt mighty proud I had what I called "an easy traveler". I felt like we had it down and I was quite smug.


 I'm sure the good Lord got sick of my cocky attitude, because that all changed once she turned one.


This past summer, we had 3 trips planned, 2 of those trips would be with my awesome family. Our first trip was to Angel's Camp. Rowan once again did decent on the drive, enjoyed discovering our cabin that we were in. However, the night was crazy. Usually on trips she would settle to sleep. Her first few nights she would scream off and on throughout the entire night. She wouldn't settle down, would wake up ready to go at 4:30 am, etc. It was  crazy. I had no idea what the heck she was doing, lol. Naps were even harder. We tried to respect her schedule, but she would take horrible naps those first few days. Thanks to that she would be an ABSOLUTE pill, rightfully so thanks to her lack of sleep. I felt frustrated and I wanted her to enjoy her trip.


After awhile, it got better and she was able to enjoy her vacation. Next trip was to Santa Cruz, and we would be gone a little over a week. I felt a little wiser and made sure to pack a little differently to help her transition better. Sure enough, the first two nights were rough. Her naps got completely messed up, despite our best efforts. However, the trip overall was great, and we created some incredible memories! I have to say a major shout out to my family, who were beyond amazing, flexible and helpful with the baby!


So, what did I learn, as a newbie mama?


1. The first few nights might be rough- In general, when I travel, I often don't sleep great the first night or two. That's the same way with Rowan. These surroundings are so different to her, and she needs time to adjust.


2. Be flexible-I am a stickler to her routine, mainly because she does so well with it. During these trips I have learned that she may not always take a great nap, and every little snooze counts. Sometimes even a half an hour would be enough to perk her right up. With that being said...


3. Sometimes a stroller nap isn't an option-I learned my child WILL NOT sleep in the stroller. Good grief we tried every trick in the book, she wouldn't cave! I did learn that she doesn't mind conking out in the moby wrap. She would sometimes sleep almost an hour in it! Despite that I have a chubby baby, the moby actually provided a lot of support and it wasn't so bad on my body! I love my moby wrap!


4. Keep your expectations low- I have a tendency to build things WAY up in my head. I tried as much as I could to keep an open mind and just simply go with the flow. Things would always end up better that way!


5. If you are traveling with family, consider it a blessing!- We did Angels and Santa Cruz with my family, and they were BEYOND helpful with Rowan! I know it may not always be like that with every family, but I felt so supported on these trips. I was so thankful for their help! Also, we got to have a date night on both of those trips, which is a MAJOR bonus!


So, what's next? Only a 6 hour drive to Southern California, and a trip to Disneyland! This time, there is no family, just us! Precious Lord help us, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 14 months Rowan!

I am pretty sure I am beyond late with this post. I thought I would have been a much more efficient blogger, but in reality, I suck. I am determined to keep up with these posts though. Rowan is changing so much. It blows my mind how much babies change. I am trying to soak in every minute! I truly can't believe how fast time is flying! So, this post is a bit old, but here we go....







Age:14 months, 12.5 months adjusted

Weight and clothing size: 
Rowan is a sturdy 25 pounds! Officially done with 24mo and wearing 2T clothing. Wearing size 4 diapers.



Eating:
Holy crap, I think I have a teenage boy on my hands rather than a baby! This girl finds so much joy in eating, and eats a TON. NO JOKE. She can pack away food like a guy, and in return, her poopies are HORRIFIC, LMAO!!!  Breakfast consists of a whole waffle, milk, and lots o' strawberries. Lunch is some sort of protein, sippy of water, and a good amount fruits and veggies. Dinner is usually whatever we eat, plus fruit and water. She gets snacks with water and a bottle at bedtime. Phew!



Rowan can:
-Is starting to cruise a little! She also is slowly learning to walk with her learning walker. She also likes to "walk" while holding our hands. No official walking, but again, not too worried. I remind myself that walking takes place between 9-18 months.





-do some climbing! She likes to climb into her toy box tubs, climb all over us, you get it. She is SO busy, and crawls so fast! She gets into mischief just fine. If she's this busy now, I can't imagine what she will be like when walks!




-mimics noises we do. If I clear my throat, she will do it. If I make clicking sounds, do silly screams, you bet that she will mimic almost immediately.




-can sign "more". We are teaching Rowan American sign language (daddy is fluent in ASL). We try to sign as much as we can. She now can confidently sign "more",which has helped from her screaming when we don't feed her fast enough. Oh Rowan.




-can point to where her nose is when asked  and knows where "ears" are. Love my smart cookie!




Rowan loves:
- to eat. I know this is repetitive, but seriously, she screams and squeals for meal time. She especially loves fruits and vegetables. Its quite hysterical! She starting to say "mmmmm!!!" with her favorites too, LOL!!
-actual babies, LOL! She joyfully screams at babies, points to them, and wants to touch (sometimes roughly) them. It's the cutest thing ever!

-puzzles. Girl is obsessed! My in law family got her some for her birthday and she is nuts for them! Now she isn't putting them together of course, but she likes to feel the pieces and put them in her mouth.


-the pool. We have gone at least 6 or 7 times in the last 2 weeks. Thank the Lord! Shannon and I were swimmers and water polo players all throughout high school. Shannon has been coaching swimming for nearly 25 years. So obviously we want her to carry on what we call "the Potter swim legacy" (it's even a hashtag, LOL). Anyway, she LOVES the water. Despite our best efforts to stop her, she also loves to drink it. I find that part so gross, LOL.




-her wubbanub pacifiers . I know people have opinions about pacis. We didn't have a choice since day 1 the NICU nurses put one in her mouth. Thankfully she mainly only uses it for bedtime, but y'all, wubbanubs are amazing! I love the precious little animals attached to them, and she loves them too! She has the: caterpillar, elephant, duck and giraffe (we keep it at mimi's). Yes, we may have a problem with buying them.





Rowan doesn't like: 
 -meat, mainly because of the texture. If I cut it into super small pieces, she does fine.


-HATES when we put her  puzzles back together. If she sees we put the pieces back, she will literally stop whatever she is doing to tear it apart. OH ROWAN.


-well this isn't a "dislike" per se, but she is into the tantrum stage. I am beyond ashamed to admit this but I sometimes get frustrated when this happens. I seriously don't tolerate tantrums well at all. I know this is just the tip of the iceberg, which makes me nervous for the true toddler years. I think part of it for me is I just want to help her and take away what's making her upset.  However, I quickly remind myself the reason she is throwing these little fits is that she can't talk yet. This girl sure has some sass!

Sleeping schedule:
Little babe still has the same sleep schedule. However she was having a tougher time with naps. Thankfully she got back into her routine and its pretty cut and dry. The only drag is Rowan STILL wakes up at 6:30, a few times even at 6. I know she can't help it but man it sucks, lol!


 

 New happenings this month:


-Getting a taste of the SAHM life! I am with Rowan all the time and it sure is different from working. Whoever says being a SAHM is easy needs to get punched. Its a lot of work, but also so fun! Going back to work is going to be a serious RUDE awakening!
-Rowan has gone to many birthday parties, but this month she got invited to her first Chinese 100 day party! It was super cool and fun! We were so happy to support our friends Logan and Anna in their journey of parenthood! Their baby Liberty is so beautiful! Rowan LOVED her but I think Lady Liberty was indifferent! Their little pic is below in the first set of pictures!
-Lots of pool time so far! She enjoys it so much!
-We did a road trip to Angel's Camp with my family. It was super fun and relaxing! However, I am noticing traveling is starting to become more difficult, uh I mean different with a "toddler" LOL.

10 things I have learned from being a mama

HI friends,


Wow, super ridic I am just now posting! Sorry for the massive MIA...so much to talk about, so I definitely will be posting more!


Well, this particular subject has been lingering in my mind since I have been a mama for the past 13.5 months. Now, OBVIOUSLY I am SO NOT an expert, not even close. Heck, are any of us really experts? However, I feel like  a completely different person from when I first started this journey. These are 10 little lessons that I learned from being a parent thus far...

1. Being a parent isn't a horrific as some make it out to be...

Before kids, I was beyond terrified to have them. Heck, we waited 5 years (okay, more just me) because people made parenthood sound like a version of hell on earth. Turns out, being a parent is pretty darn cool. I love being a mother, and my baby girl is a pretty darn good baby. She is sweet, hysterical, joyful and deliciously chubby. While she is our #1 priority and comes first, we told ourselves that Rowan had to go with our lives, not the other way around. She has fit seamlessly into our world and sharing it with her is INCREDIBLE. I won't lie that it SUPER helps having an amazing spouse to help and do life with, but with that being said, comes this next one....

2. BUT being a parent can be hard too....

I know for my grammar people I used "BUT" in the beginning. Sorry, get over it, LOL! Okay, so being a parent is definitely be challenging. Even though Rowan is an "easy" baby in some ways, it hasn't been all kittens and sunshine. We have had our really rough seasons, and her health was HORRIBLE during the winter. When you have a baby, your life does get turned upside down. It is a massive life change. There are times where I feel panicky realizing I am in charge of this human for the rest of her life. There are days I wish I could just be alone or sleep in. However, I wouldn't change this life for anything.

3, It is okay to mourn your old life

To be quite honest, this right here is the BIGGEST reason why parenthood has been so hard. Having a child was a HUGE life change for me. I remember last summer sobbing into Rowan's tiny newborn head when I realized we wouldn't be going on our annual summer Vegas trip. I was longing for the yardstick drinks and nightlife. I know, lame huh? I went from doing whatever the heck I wanted to having to slow down completely to care for my infant. I really struggled with it in the beginning, and sometimes I super miss my old life. That's okay to feel that way but find ways to adjust. When Rowan was really little, we would go to the drive in. We would still eat out, go shopping, do day/road trips, the only difference is she came with us. Which leads me to my next one...

4. Take your baby every where!

As mentioned in my earlier bullet, we found ways to "carry on" on our old life by just taking her with us.  By the time she was 6 months old, she had already been on 4 road trips. It paid off in the end, because Rowan LOVES to be out in public. She loves to people watch and loves being out an about. Thanks to this, she actually is a decent traveler!

5. The first real sickness is the worst
We were very lucky we went 7 months before Rowan got really sick, and that's that she was formula fed (haha, sorry had to throw that in there!). It came to a crashing halt on Thanksgiving when we ended up in the ER thanks to having difficulty breathing. Rowan's chest was caving and I remember the car ride was the most terrifying ride of my life. Turned out Rowan had bronchiolitis, and it sure as heck wouldn't be our last.  I remember thinking she was going to die and it was pure trauma for all of us. That's when we were introduced to the nebulizer, abuetrol and pulmicort. Doing treatments and seeing her cry hysterically was more than this heart could take.  Thanks to her preemie lungs, every cold she would get from here on out would basically turn into bronchiolitis. Each time she got sick, we would do the treatments and each time it would get easier. I still get so sick to my stomach when she gets sick. However, she just keeps getting stronger and  I am too.


6. Always go with your gut
I am famous for being a germaphobe and hypochondriac. I think I need therapy, lol. However, every time I got a pit in my stomach, I was always spot on. Always trust your gut. God gave us that intuition for a reason!
7. SCHEDULE, SCHEDULE, SCHEDULE...
Some moms may not agree with me. I get it. I remember planning a meet up with a fellow mom friend. I asked her if we could meet after 7:30, which is Rowan's bedtime. She was shocked. She said her 9 month son's bedtime was 10:30, sometimes later. My eyes got big from hearing that. Now I get every family is different, and that's great. That may work for some families! However, I think my child is a great sleeper because of being on a schedule. She flourishes from it. Its  never a fight nor issue. As working parents, we also didn't have a choice.  I am also somewhat blessed that I have kid who likes their sleep (yes, I know this will/can change). I think that having a schedule was so important and vital for our family. It's also nice because hubby and I get alone time and bond together, which is so important.
8. Make time for hubby
I never realized that being a parent would put my marriage in the backseat. In the beginning it was very hard, and I felt like we were roomates. Especially in the early days, we were running on no sleep, and being downright snippy with each other. We realized we had to put ourselves first from time to time. Hubby and I have  BEYOND supportive family, and we have gone a good share of date nights and often trade babysitting with my sister. It has helped our marriage and recharge us!
9. Dem hormones are real...
Recently I did a blog post about my bout with the baby blues. It was CRAZY AS HELL in the beginning. I felt like it wasn't normal, because the movies and people make it seem like everything should always be sunshine. I felt like no one was going through it. I truly thought I had PPD, though it was just the blues. The hormones were insane and yucky. I felt so sad, angry yet sometimes elated all at once. Oh my land, these hormones are REAL, NORMAL, and its okay if you have them. I feel sad because I feel at times I didn't always savor those first 2 months because of it. It happens and it's totally okay. It gets better
10. Enjoy every season...
People said this to me all that time, as well as "enjoy it, it goes by quick". After awhile I would get annoyed but guess what, THEY ARE RIGHT. I find myself poring over Rowan's pictures/videos when she was tiny and at times, I catch myself crying. Every season with an infant can be amazing and rough. I remember during the tough times wishing she was bigger but now I want to stop time if I can. I learned that every tough season doesn't last forever and you don't get that time back. That saying is true, "the days seem long but the years are short". I get Rowan is only 13.5 months, but I swear she was 3 months old yesterday. Ugh, excuse me while I go cry....


Being a mother has been the toughest but most incredible experience of my life. I am thankful God deemed me worthy to be the mother of this extraordinary baby girl!