Where did my life go?

As I was scrubbing my feet with my foot scrubber in the shower this morning I thought, "this is the closest to a pedicure I'm going to get for a while...." Sad thought.

I've always been pretty self-conscious about my looks. I ALWAYS have to have on some sort of foundation/tinted moisturizer to even out my horrendous skin tone and to cover up my acne and teen acne scars. I've never had nice skin, something I have been waiting for now that I am no longer a teenager! I always have on mascara and let's not forget my eyebrows. Ugh. If I could change any part of my looks I'd totally skip over my fat baby belly and all the sag that comes with pregnancy and get new eyebrows! I don't even know where to start...they are too thin and too light. I call my eyebrow hair color invisible because they pretty much are. I have let them grow out but all those Jr. High days of over-plucking have taken a toll. I have to fill in my brows every freaking day with shadow and I loathe it. I wish I had enough courage to leave the house looking like shit. But I don't.

I used to get my hair cut and colored every 5-6 weeks. On the dot. I never missed. Now I color my hair from the box making my hair dry and brittle and I haven't had a haircut in about 6 months....

Now my obsession is anti-aging. I was a lifeguard for the City of Henderson for 7 years. That means 7 summers in the sun all day, every day. I was pretty good about using sunscreen but I was a teenager. I didn't use it religiously like I should have. Now I am constantly putting sunscreen on my face, chest and neck. If we only knew then what we know now.

29 Weeks

What happened to my cute little figure? Well, I have never been little, 5'9" with long legs and ginormous hips. But I used to be fit. I had a nice figure. I didn't feel awkward in my clothes like I do now. My boobs don't sit the same way anymore....I have MOM BOOBS! Ugh. I know that's what comes with being pregnant and having a baby. Your body truly is never the same. But I want my comfort back! I was tipping the scales at 199 when I was 41 weeks prego and ready for my stubborn little girl to get out of me already! That was 40lbs of pregnancy I put on. The unexpected C-Section completely threw me for a loop. It was a lot longer recovery than I had imagined. I had the baby blues so bad I cried constantly and my husband didn't know what to do with me. I gained more weight than I wanted to and I can't find the motivation to get rid of it...until now.41 Weeks Day of Induction

I have decided that I deserve to feel good. Here's to exercising, eating better and getting rid of the baby belly all together! (at least until I get pregnant again) :)

It's been a while.....

It's been a while, a long while since I blogged last. I guess I didn't feel like there was anything going on to talk about. Kenzie WAS the only exciting thing going on in my life....until now!

Russ and I are currently in the process of buying a brand new home! We decided we are sick of apartment life and we need a bigger(permanent) place to live. Building started May 10th and is estimated to be done mid-end of September. Kenzie has also been up to no good so I guess I can share a few things about my soon-to-be 18 month old:

• She refuses to talk! She says a few words like: dad, hat, cat, hot and hi. She is so dang stubborn! If you ask her what any animal says, she'll do it. If you ask her to go get you something, she'll go get it. She's smart as a whip and she knows I'm just dying for her to say "mama" (which she has said in the past and then decided to stop) so she doesn't! I'll tell her, "say mama." She points to me. That's all I get. That's another thing she does, if you ask her, "where's Papa....or Nana, Auntie Kelly etc...she can point to whoever. Smarty Pants.
  
• She LOVES puzzles. She can put them together in seconds now. She has a number puzzle, 0-9 , and she puts them all back without any help. She does her shapes and can point out whichever ones you ask her to.
  
• She is progressing very well with silverware. She uses a fork to feed herself and switches between her right and left hand constantly. (Same with when she colors, she also LOVES to color!)
  
• We haven't really begun potty training but I think she is catching on what it's all about by me taking her with me when I go. She'll sit on her little chair fully clothed when I go. Then when I flush she waves at the potty and says "Nye." I'm guessing that means "bye."
  
• She has a REALLY BAD HABIT of putting her hand down her diaper. I always say "yucky" and she sticks her tongue out and laughs! I couldn't believe I had to go buy 18 month onesies so she couldn't do it anymore! She also knows when she isn't supposed to be doing something and does it anyway. Then when you catch her she closes her eyes, like you won't be able to see her. I have to try so hard not to laugh sometimes!
  
• If you ask her if she wants something of if she pooped her pants her response is always a shake of the head "no." (even though most of the time it's YES!)
• She does 2 signs. "all done" and "more." She sometimes gets them mixed up too! ;)

Sometimes I can't believe how grown up my little girl is. I can actually have some sort of "conversation" with her now. I talk to her. She understands. Everyone knows this is part of growing up and learning, but it is completely different to be the one molding and teaching this little human being.

I feel like the only thing I am depriving my baby from is social skills. We have NO friends to hang out with. NO kids her age for her to interact with. I know I'm not the most social, outgoing person, but I'd like to be for Kenzie's sake. That's the next thing on my list....find a friend for Kenzie!

I am completely in baby mode lately. I am so ready for another little munchkin. Kenzie is going to hit the 18 month mark next week and from my view there's not another baby in sight. Russ is convinced that if we decide to have another baby he'll get laid off. I understand looking from all angles but at the same time one scary thought shouldn't be the deciding factor.

Okay, I can get pretty frustrated with Kenzie. I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to rip my hair out or just scream at the top of my lungs because she is just so naughty sometimes. But that doesn't mean I want to give up or that I don't want to do it again or that I don't enjoy the times where she is so dang cute I think I'm going to explode. I have to get out my frustration by talking about it. I need to vent so that the next time I look at her face I can smile. Let me tell you, the better times with Kenzie highly exceed the bad times.

So there you have it. A few months of venting.

Halloween!

Halloween didn't turn out quite how I expected it to. We decided Kenzie is still too little to understand Trick or Treating so we just wanted to take her out and people watch. My mom found out The District was having Trick or Treating from 5-8 so we decided that was what we wanted to do. We showed up around 6ish and there was not one place to park! We went across the street to GVR to valet and then walked over. It was a mad house! People were actually standing in a line ( a NON-Moving line) to get candy! It was ridiculous! So we decided to walk down the middle and back and just let Kenzie see all the costumes and hear the music. She danced in her stroller and watched all the people. We saw some pretty unique costumes and even stopped to take a picture in front of the giant ghost!
She was our little Kitty Cat that barked! She apparently thinks every animal barks like a dog!
So our little adventure ended quicker than we expected, so we went back to GVR for some dinner. Kenzie had a blast. Every person that walked by our table stopped and asked how old she is and told us how adorable she is.....That girl knows she's cute and she uses it to get what she wants! She is so incredibly smart and funny. She laughs at her farts and she even pushes them out on purpose, she gets that from her dad! Haha!
She is becoming very vocal. She says cat, dad and everything else is "THAT!" She points to everything and says "that!" She loves looking at pictures of all the family and extended family. She started saying "mama" very well today while we were shopping at Babies R Us! I got really excited! She says "mom" most of the time and when she gets upset it's "mama." I can't believe in just one month my little peanut girl will be ONE!

San Diego!

Last weekend Russ and I got a great opportunity to go to San Diego and watch the Chargers and Dolphins game. Oh, did I mention it was all expenses paid?! Yeah, it's something to do with Russ' job and suppliers or something like that. They gave us 2 tickets to the game, plus they paid for our amazing hotel room for one night, they took us out to a nice dinner and out for drinks.....lots of drinks! We got to ride on the Trolley and when the Trolley wasn't running later in the night we got to ride the bike carriage things....Kinda like a horse and carriage, but no horse, only a guy pedaling the bike! Our bike driver guy was very interesting, he carried medical marijuana in his canopy for all to see...weird. After bar and club hopping we took a cab back to out hotel. Lemme tell you, it was the most exciting cab ride I think I will ever experience. It was a minivan, it had tv's in the headrests and a sub woofer so loud my whole head vibrated. He proceeded to change songs/music videos while driving on the freeway and making crazy turns....oh man, it was fun! Haha, I couldn't stop laughing.
Now it's time to talk about my baby girl. My mom and dad too her to the Doctor today for her 9 month checkup, even though she is 10 months tomorrow.....she's a month behind, oops! I had to work so they asked the questions and she even got a flu shot! Here are her stats:
weight: 18lbs 8oz-30th percentile
Height: 29inches-80-85th percentile
head: 17.75inches- 71st percentile
She has two new teeth popping in, on the bottom joining her first two teeth! We got the ok to start brushing with a toothbrush and some non-fluoride toothpaste. We are switching her formula for a better transition into milk when she turns 1! She is doing great! She loves to eat fruit-peaches, bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon. She eats scrambled egg whites and toasted bagels....she's a great eater! She has turned into such a cuddler. She will just come up to you and bury her head into yours and squeeze you. Ugh, I can't believe how big she is getting!

She's walking!

Kenzie is walking all over the place!

I can hardly believe my baby girl is walking, she is only 9 months old! I feel like she JUST started crawling and getting into everything. Now, she is walking and getting into more stuff than ever! We have baby gates and locks everywhere, I think I kick one at least once a day stepping over. I would have to say that the walker did her good. I know everyone is against walkers because of safety reasons, but if they were that horrible would they still be on shelves available to purchase? I don't think so....She used in moderation. She was in it only at Nana's house, downstairs only, and for not more that 10-15 minutes at a time. Now she is a walking machine, she pulls herself up anywhere she can and then walks across the room, or through the kitchen into our bedroom...she's so funny! She laughs and giggles when she's walking. She does this cute new thing where she shrugs her head to to side and smiles so big, like she's being shy, but she does it ALL THE TIME! When I try to feed her her first bite of food she does it....weirdo! Lol. I have yet to take her to her 9 month check-up....I know, I'm slacking...but when we do I will post her stats to see how much she's grown....she is tall and skinny. I feel weird saying my 9 month old is still wearing 6-9 month clothing when everyone else is talking about their 5 month old wearing 12 month clothing! Kenzie eats a lot, she eats fresh peaches and bananas....all her baby food, cereal, puffs, wagon wheels and bottles galore.....she's still skinny!

Her top teeth should be coming in soon! She has been SUPER cranky and irritated and she has boogers like no other! She also chews on celery sticks, wash cloths and her teether with ice cubes in it like there's no tomorrow.....come in already teeth!

Here is a video of the cranky Kenz...well, she pretends to be cranky.....

Family Trip and new Milestones

Well it's been about a month since I wrote last....(it's not like anyone reads this anyway.) But we had our annual trip to Big Bear, CA and this was Kenzie's 1st trip...last year she was in my belly. Well, we had a GREAT time and enjoyed spending time with our extended family. I didn't take too many pictures, I'm not good with that stuff, but I did get some from our trip up the ski lifts and back down again.

Fell asleep for the hike down

Riding up the lifts


Last Monday Kenzie hit 8 months! I can hardly believe my baby girl is getting so big! She is crawling, pulling herself up and even trying to take steps. She cruises around the furniture and she lets go and stands, balancing herself. She is too much! She is still a babbling queen and she loves to laugh and giggle. She is definitely a girlie girl. She loves drinking juice from her sippy cup and she even tries to drink out of a regular cup (with my help and supervision of course!) Her top teeth still haven't come in, but I think they will be here soon! We have a walker at my parents house for Kenzie to explore in and she has a ball. At first, when she didn't know how to scoot in it, she didn't like it so much. But she finally figured out how to walk in that thing and she is gone in an instant. She zooms around, runs into furniture and the walls and she just repositions herself and keeps on going.


I am still working and it's wearing me out more than ever. I don't ever have a weekend with my family where I don't have to work unless I request some days off.....I would like my schedule to change, but that's not going to happen.
So things are going good overall. We are happy and healthy, ready for the cooler weather to hit. I'm so over summer! I want my power bill to go down! My goal is to lose some poundage before next summer, because if things are going up like they are now, we are planning to get pregnant next summer sometime. So this gives us about a year to get our finances in order and for me to lose some weight, and hopefully we will be buying a house here soon as well. Lots of goals and not too much time, but we will see! I really want to make sure our kids are somewhat close together.....everyone thinks I'm crazy. Well, I'd better get some rest. The little stinker wears me out during the day!

Time Flies....

So I am sitting here wondering how time snuck up on me. I guess being busy and being a first time mom I didn't realize how fast babies grow. I mean, I knew she wasn't gonna stay little forever, but she's really growing into a person. She babbles like there's no tomorrow, so forget watching a tv show or movie in peace. She is always on the go. She still doesn't crawl but she finds her way around just fine. I have a habit of just sitting her on the floor while I hop on the computer for a minute or two to keep my sanity, and she normally would just chill and play with her toys. Well today she made me realize I can't do that anymore....she was right next to me and the next thing I heard was the cat food bowl spilling over....she had crawled/scooted a good 5 feet or more within a few minutes and found the cat food bowl!! Her new "thing" is pulling herself up.
Apparently she is skipping the crawling stage, she wants to be upright and holding on to something. She can pull herself up to her knees, but not her feet....yet. She can move from lying on her stomach to a sitting position as well. She almost had me in tears today because she is growing so fast I can hardly believe it. When I went in to get her from her nap she was sitting up in her crib and she had somehow pressed the button on her crib toy so the nature sounds were on. (it hangs from the side of the crib and it lights up and plays music and nature sounds.) She saw me and got the biggest grin on her face...ugh it just melts my heart.

So we went to the M resort to check out the 4th of July festivities, but it didn't turn out to be what we expected. The hotel/casino is amazing, but the shindig wasn't. So we ended up going to the District with my parents where there was live music and people everywhere. We ate at Lucille's and got done just in time for the fireworks they had at GVR. Kenzie was interested for a few minutes, then she was over it. But overall she had a great first 4th!


My favorite moments being a mom are:

• The messes she makes. Even though I may not be too happy at first, I always get a good laugh out of it.

• When she sees me and smiles as big as she can when I get her up from her nap.
• How she lifts her arms up for me to hold her.
• Her screams and giggles when she thinks something is funny.
• How she laughs and hits the mirror when she sees herself.
• How smart she is. She tries to wave and is starting to do some sign language.
• When she opens her mouth wide and covered in drool and plants one on your cheek or mouth.
• When she grabs my hair and pulls me toward her.
• When she cuddles with me and puts her arm around my neck.
• How I get to hold her until she falls asleep at night.
• Kissing her cheeks just to her her scream and giggle with delight.
  

There is so much more, but those are the times when I get close to tearing up because I can't believe what a beautiful person she is becoming.....