Road Trips & Flat Tires

I've been driving for 15 years, and in all of those 15 years I have never gotten a flat tire.  That was, until this past weekend.  With my sister, Amy, in town from Maryland and Memorial weekend coming up, Kate and I decided to take a little road trip back to Maryland.  This little road trip started with hitching a ride with Amy.  The plan was Kate and I would ride to MD with Amy, visit my grandparents, my friend, and my brother and sister-in-law, and then Kate and I would fly back to Columbus.

Seems simple, right?  Wrong.

First, Amy, Kate, and I left Columbus, OH driving to Maryland shortly after 7 am on Thursday.  15 minutes into our drive and we hit some serious traffic, like, road closed due to a terrible accident traffic.  I think we went a total of 3 miles in an hour.  When we were able to get back up to the speed limit, we had to stop so that I could feed Kate.  Shortly after we got back on the road, we heard a pop sound, realized we had no control of the car we were driving, and found out that we got a flat tire on the front left tire.  (The "no control" part was very scary.)

We pulled over to the right side of the road and starting exploring our options.  My independent and oh-so-car-savvy sister was determined and convinced that we could change this tire ourselves.  I was not as confident, but I knew we would figure it out together.  Luckily, we really didn't have to.  A very good Samaritan pulled over and changed the tire all by his lonesome which we were extremely grateful for.  That left us driving on a spare, so we then had to go to a tire place to get a new tire.

By noon, 5 hours into our 7 hour drive, we were only 1.5 hours away from Columbus.  When it was time to get back on the road again, my heart ached to simply turn around and go back home to Columbus as opposed to drive another 6 hours, but we pressed on.

We arrived in Maryland just after 7 pm.  Our 7 hour road trip took 12.  Kate was an absolute angel the entire trip.  I couldn't have been more proud of her...or more sorry for putting her through that.

Fortunately, once we finally arrived in Maryland, we saw everyone we had set out to see - my grandparents, my friend - Tamara, and my brother and sis-in-law.  It got a little hectic staying at a different house each night, but we managed, and we took Kate's very first flight back to Columbus.  Which, again, she did very well despite being sleepy and slightly restless.

It was so nice to see my wonderful family and friend, but after such an ordeal getting into town, home was a very welcome sight.

Trip to MD.

Thirty-One

When I turned thirty last year we were nearly half way through our pregnancy.  We were a week and a half away from finding out we were having a sweet baby girl, and I distinctly remember thinking, "this time next year we will have seven month old!" 

And here we are - this time this year - with our darling baby girl, and I am now thirty-one. 

I had an extra special birthday this year not only because Kate was with us but also because my sister, Amy, happened to be in town, so I got to celebrate with three of my very favorite people!  I am so much more for quality time over presents and homemade presents over store bought, so having a lovely little home celebration was just my style.  Plus, while I do love to travel and explore, I am a complete homebody at heart.

Erin's 31st Birthday!

Thanks for making my 31st birthday so nice!  ♥ you guys!

Columbus Zoo & Aquarium

We made our very first trip to the zoo this weekend!  Columbus Zoo & Aquarium is ranked #1 in the top zoos in America, so clearly we had to get season passes!  (Note to all non-season pass holders: If you make 2.5 or more visits to the zoo in any one season, you have already made up for your season pass cost.  Zoo admission, parking, and snow cones are not cheap.)

Anywho, while we did get to see a lot of animals, I honestly was kind of surprised that this zoo was ranked numero uno in the nation.  It was very theme park-esk.  Now, I'm no zoo connoisseur or anything, but I grew up going to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and the Baltimore Aquarium in Baltimore, MD.  I won't complain about the fact that we have a number one ranked zoo right in our backyard, oh, and that we have a daughter that I can assure you will enjoy going to the zoo, but to call this the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium is laughable.  There is one aquarium.  It's one room, and it's big, but it's no Baltimore Aquarium.

I was a tad disappointed in that, especially since I thought the aquarium would provide the most entertainment for Kate at her age.  I know that we will grow to love and enjoy every aspect of our backyard zoo, but you better believe that we will be going to the Baltimore Aquarium every now and then too!

Kate's very first zoo adventure!

Being A Mom

Today is my very first Mother's Day, and if I could describe the love that I have for my sweet baby girl I would.  But I can't.  I don't think there is enough time in the world for me to even begin.

Being a Mom is nothing that I thought it would be - it is so much more.  Never did I once imagine that Kate's darling, toothless grin could melt my heart.  Or that even on the hard days just a little squeeze and snuggle from my baby girl would make everything better, or at least make the hard stuff seem unimportant.  She is absolutely the center of my world, and there is not a day, a moment, a second that I can imagine doing anything without her.  Having a child and being a Mom has uncovered a depth of emotion that I never knew existed.  It is one that lies deep within that only your children have access to.

If you've read our blog, you will notice that this post is very similar to Welcome Mommyhood.  Perhaps it is a part two.  Perhaps it is a continuation.  Perhaps it is me still growing and learning as Mommy.  Irregardless, it semi-sums up some of my feelings of being a Mom and what I am experiencing.  I say "semi" because just like there is not enough time in the world for me to begin describing the emotion and love that I have for Kate, there are also not enough words.

On Baby Soft
Being smooth as a baby's bottom is something you just have no idea about until you are powdering a baby's bottom.  How is baby skin so undeniably perfect?!  And I've noticed that it's not just their bottoms!  Their entire bodies are so stinkin' soft that you can't help but snuggle them at all waking hours!  The person that comes up with a baby soft skin lotion for adults is going to be a gazillionaire!

On Baggage
When I go into work this is what I carry: my purse, my laptop in a laptop bag, and my pump.  Three bags.  When I drop Kate off in the morning this is what I carry: my purse, my laptop in its bag, my pump, Kate's bag, Kate, and Kate's carseat.  Five things and one human.  I joke that wherever I go I am "moving in", but I literally don't have too much beyond the minimums and still need to carry all of the above.  Loading/unloading a car and running a quick errand is very different in this day and age.

On Diaper Bags (or lack thereof)
Speaking of bags, when I am home on the weekend and Brian, Kate and I decide to run errands together as a family, I have noticed that I have completely forgotten the diaper bag on more than one occasion.  I am so used to gathering everything together on the weekdays that I completely lose sight of what I need on the weekends.  Fortunately, we have lucked out when we haven't brought the diaper bag.  No poop-outs or outfit changes needed.  Kate is looking out for us until we get it together.

On Teen Mom II
When I drop off or pick Kate up at daycare, I see other parents doing the same exact thing.  And they all look so together and with it.  I, on the otherhand, feel like I'm some sort of teen mom - like I should have a film crew following me around documenting life as a teenage mother.  I'm not sure if this is because I feel young or if it's because I'm new at this and maybe a few years in I'll be that same confident Mom that I pass in the hallway or what.  The thing is, I am more confident being a Mom than in any other role I've had in my entire life...but it still feels like this is the Erin - Teen Mom II show.

On Crying
I cry at everything.  Commercials, gifts, thinking about anything relating to Kate, life, or the future, watching the birds, seeing Kate learn new things, etc.  Tears are never far from streaming.  I cried before we had Kate, but my tear ducts must now always be on the brink of over flowing because every little thing evokes my tearful emotion...

On Being Tired
I thought I was tired when we were pregnant.  I had absolutely no idea that I could be more tired.  I am, and not because Kate isn't sleeping well at night.  Quite the contrary actually.  There is just too much to do in a day.

I know that I have a lot to learn as a Mommy.  I know that my emotions will only grow deeper over time.  But I am looking forward to all of it.

Being a Mom is more awesome than I ever could have imagined.

Kate and I on my very first Mother's Day!

Kate's school made me a little gift!

Kate helped me open it!

It was her handprint and on the back it said, "This is the
hand you used to hold when I was only six months old."

I cried.

Pretty Perfect

Those were our doctor's exact words when describing Kate at her pediatrician appointment today (although Brian and I both say it nearly every day!), and it was music to our ears!  (I think she is trying to get some brownie points...) Our Baby Girl is progressing just as she should be and it appears that we are doing something right!  She weighed 18 lbs. 9.5 oz which put her in the 90th percentile for weight and was 26 3/4 inches long which put her in the 75th percentile for height.  Trust me when I say her noggin' has been a-growing too. Again, I didn't write down what exactly her head circumference was, but it was good.  She's absorbing information about the world around her and that little brain of hers is expanding!

More interestingly though was the paper that Kate sat upon while waiting for the pediatrician to do the check-up.  Kate could not get enough of the crinkly material that was sooo much fun to rip apart. And Brian and I couldn't get enough of watching Kate play!

We thought bringing a little teether would occupy Kate...
Boy, were we wrong.

Once she discovered that she sat upon a long sheet
of paper that teether saw no love.

"Look, Mama!  I can pull it!"

And then she figured out she could rip it...

"It's just so much fun to tear it to pieces!!"

"Can we get some of this at home, Mama?"

This is what the pediatrician saw when she came in...
...We promise we are responsible parents.

See Kate in action below!

For the record, we apologized to the pediatrician for the mess and we cleaned up after our child ourselves.  Our pediatrician did not mind one bit.  After all, a girl's gotta explore, right?!

The Itsy-Bitsy Spider

Climbed up the water spout.
Crawled across the carpet floor.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Down came the sock covered heel and the spider was no more.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.
Out came the paper towel and scooped up all the [spider] brain.
And the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.
And the typically tardy Mommy was late for work again.

Let me explain.


Kate slept through the entire night last night - 8 pm to 6 am.  She has done this before, but she typically wakes anywhere from 2 am to 4 am for a quick night cap and then she’s back snoozing.  Because she didn’t wake up, I obviously didn’t feed her in the middle of the night, so when I woke up this morning, my breasts felt like they were about to explode.  (Sorry if that is tmi, but it’s the truth.  Oh, and this isn't the first time that they've felt like this.)

Because my morning routine typically involves me running behind in some fashion, I was … running behind, so when I got out of the shower, I devised a game plan as to how I was going to feed Kate and pump before I had to leave for work.  Because I normally feed her in the middle of the night, I normally don’t pump in the morning.  Anyway, that genius plan involved feeding Kate and pumping at the same time. I've done this before.  It’s not that easy, but it’s doable plus I thought the constant lull of the pump would put Kate back to sleep and keep me only being a little late and not extremely late to work.
Seems logical, right?!  WRONG.

First, I set up on the floor so I could reach the wall outlet with the pump cord.  Kate quickly noticed we were not in the normal comfy chair in her room and kept her eyes open, exploring the new scenery.

Second, the pump noise was not lulling but intriguing, and Kate wanted to know what that thing was making the noise, so she was slightly distracted while she fed.

Third, mid-feed, with one hand on Kate and the other on the pump fixture, I saw something dark on the floor.  My first thought was, ‘I need to pick up that dark fuzz on the floor before I leave.’  And then I saw it move and I thought, ‘Oh, hell no!’  The only light in the room came from the hallway which shone through the door that was cracked, so I was working strictly with my night vision.  I think Kate sensed my apprehension when the dark fuzz started crawling toward us.  She looked up at me like, “What’s going on, Mama?”  With no free hands, no shoes and a spider, big enough to see in the dark, crawling toward us, I had two options: one, let said spider be (this was not really even an option in my book), or two, smash said spider...somehow.


We went with option two.  I wouldn't do well knowing there was a free spider lurking about in my baby girl's room.  I resorted to smashing the spider with my heel that fortunately was covered with a sock, but only after I had devised a game plan as to what would happen if my heel-eye coordination were off and I just spooked the spider and sent it crawling even faster toward us.

Luckily, that did not happen.  I smashed the spider, with my heel, in the carpet.  At this point, Kate was not going back to sleep at all, I had spilled the milk that I was trying to pump with my erratic movement during this pumping/feeding session, I now needed to change my clothes because of the milk spill, and I, once again, was going to be late for work.

C'est la vie.  Fortunately, I can rest easy knowing that there are no more creepy crawlers lurking about Kate's room, but it's going to take me a little while before I pump on the floor in the dark in there again!

A Walk in the Park

We are fortunate enough to live very close to Northam Park.  Northam Park is a lovely park with baseball fields, tennis courts, a pool, playgrounds, and large fields for kids, dogs, and grown-ups to play in.  It is also where the local fireworks display is set-off so we are really in a prime location.  I already know that Kate is going to love being so close to this park.  There are literally FOUR different playgrounds to play on!  There is one at the park, two at the elementary school right next to the park, and another at the church right next to the park.  I can already envision us stopping at all four of them when we go out to play!

We've been on quite a few walks past the playgrounds with Kate, but today was the very first day that we officially stopped to play!  Kate rode down two slides, swung on the baby swing by herself, and swung on the big girl swing with me.  She was way more interested in watching all the other kids playing than she was in sliding or swinging by herself, but it was still a fun stop!  It's only a matter of time before she is running, romping, and jumping like the rest of the kids she was watching!

I ♥ you, baby girl!

The Look-Alike Game

One of the very first questions everyone asks about Kate is who does she look like?!  If Brian and I are both with her we usually get the once over with folks looking intently at us and then to Kate and then back at us before a final decision is made!  I will say that after perusing some photos of Baby Brian Kate definitely has some similarities, but there have been several moments starting with one right after Kate was born while we were at the hospital where I felt like I was looking at myself as a baby.  It was absolutely surreal.  As has each moment thereafter been where I've felt the same way.

Anyway, I have finally rounded up some photos of Baby Bri, Baby E, and Baby Kate, so you be the judge!

Who does Baby Kate look like?  Her Daddy or her Mommy?!

Baby Bri, Baby Kate, Baby E.

Note: I'm not sure why Brian's photos look like they are from 1929, but they are all we had to work with.  I can assure you that Brian is not 84 years old.

Overnight

That's how it happens.  One day your Baby is doing one thing and the next day she has added to her repertoire of tricks.  This is exactly what happened last night.

On Wednesday night I laid Kate in her crib to put her to bed.  She laid on her back, moved her head from side to side a little bit, and fell asleep on her back.

Last night, I laid Kate in her crib and she rolled...and rolled...and rolled.  From front to back and back to front.  There was no stopping her!  This was the first time we had seen her roll from front to back!  And she was definitely enjoying her new found freedom!  We sat there and watched her roll on the monitor until she fell asleep...on her belly.

While we were both extremely impressed with Kate's skills and extremely proud of her for perfecting her 360 degree roll, there was a part of me that was just a little bit sad because my Baby is growing further and further away from being my Baby and moving closer and closer toward being my Toddler.

Brian reminded me that Kate is not even crawling yet and that we still have plenty of more Baby moments and that we will have some absolutely amazing Toddler moments when the time is here.  Then I snapped out of it.  Thank goodness for Kate's Daddy.

Sometimes I really need a reality check.

Bad Hair Days Weeks Months

Hair.

My hair.

This has been a battle my entire life.  My hair is curly/wavy/some days I don't know what it is.  It is also frizzy.  On warm, humid days I don't even bother doing anything but putting my hair up because of that frizz.  I do everything in my power to not look like Simba when I wake up in the morning.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  I always have a back up plan in the form of multiple hair ties around my wrist AND bobby pins in my purse.

This is such a battle that I got my hair cut today and I literally asked my hair dresser if she would come home with me.  And I was not kidding.  Because she can somehow tame this mess atop my head.  And I need that sort of help every day.

I've always admired those girls that can pull different hair styles off so flawlessly.  I like to try new do's but more often than not I end up wanting my hair out of my face at some point in the day and up it goes.

More recently, my hair battle has been an even more difficult one.  My hair has been falling out in clumps.  Clumps so big that I would actually be kind of worried had my hair dresser not forewarned me that I may start loosing hair after we had Kate.  It turns out that your body typically absorbs so many more nutrients and you end up shedding less hair while you are expecting that when you are not expecting anymore your body releases all the stray strands that otherwise would've been dropped.  It's just now your body makes up for nine plus months of minimal hair loss all at once.

This hair loss has left me with what I call bald spots at the very edges of my hair line.  I am told that this is not noticeable, but I see it every single day glaring back at me in the mirror and I've contemplated googling how to manage peach fuzz because I no longer have long strands of hair.  Nope, they broke off a long time ago.  Now I have fuzz, growing back in the form of hair, which makes my hair look even more frizzy.

Lovely.

I'm not sure how long this hair loss is going to last.  I'm not sure how long it will take for my hair to grow back.  I'm not sure if it will even grow back.  But I am going to continue to fight this battle.  I am also going to continue to always have a back-up hair plan.

Click to see the good,
the bad, and
the frizzy.