now that was one great day!

My super awesome cousin rae was in town this weekend with her lil family adam, mac and rory. We started the festivities last night with a mac + cheese dinner at my moms…without my mom ironically. she was at a work meeting. lame. but oh well. after dinner we mapped out our adventure for today and NOTHING went as planned. but let me tell you, it was wonderful.

The plan was to leave at 9am for the Shedd aquarium. Instead we left at 10:30 for target! ha! The kids needed a few odds and ends and then we were off to Chicago. We went directly to their hotel to drop off their bags and get settled. I cut a deal with their parking attendant and they held my car in front of the hotel for almost 7 hours for, get this, $20! TWENTY BUCKS. yesssss. See, we took 2 cars down there and I pulled up behind them. I popped out of the car to let them know I was going to go to a parking garage. Mr. attendant ran over and mentioned parking. I told him that $36+ is just too much. I only want to pay $20 and he so kindly said OK!

Danny quickly lost his stuff after we checked in, so I whipped out his food beneath the secrecy of my hooter hider and he went to town. By the time Danny was stuffed, changed and dressed it was already noon. We though it be better to lunch it first, then Shedd. We walked over to the Grand Lux Cafe where ERICA + MILO (!!!!!!) met us. My word has Milo grown and he’s just as cute as ever. Our service sucked beyond words but the food was delicious and even better than that, Danny slept almost the entire meal.

When we were finally stuffed it was already 2. We decided shedd would be tomorrow morning in efforts to avoid the crowds. Instead we went to the lego store where Mac went to town on a stash of legos. We then cabbed it up to the northface store, aveda, and (duh duh duh) the american girl store. I’d been so terrified of stepping within 10 feet of that store for eons. I was really going to go against my better thinking and do this for rory. She was sooooo excited. She asked me more that once if i’d go with her to the american store girl (yes, in that order). OF COURSE! how could i let a 5 year old down. I couldn’t. So I went. and maybe it was the time of day or the fact it was 20 in chicago, but the place was almost empty. Rory eagerly got her doll and we hightailed it outta there to make way for the 95th floor of the hancock building!

Oh the hancock building, it holds some memories I tell ya. I hadn’t been up there since I was 7 and one of rae’s friends had her wallet stolen in the elevator. That trip ended at a police station where I was the definition of a bored child. It wasn’t pretty. Anyhow, I honestly can not remember the last time I had seen the city from that perspective. The view was amazing and almost as I remembered it. We had some drinks.. I had a raspberry fizz. freakin’ delicious. light + refreshing. mint. lime. raspberry puree. soda water. YUM. Danny enjoyed his millionth serving of milk. We finished up there and made our way back to the hotel, cutting through buildings to keep warm. smarty pants.

Going into today I was terrified with carrying danny all day in the baby bjorn. Having to carry all his gear on my back. How was that all going to work. I’ll tell ya, EASILY. Danny was a champ in his fuzzy winnie the pooh snuggly one piece zip up. He received adoration from every stranger in town. He slept almost the entire time he was in the bjorn. and mama had a blast. It felt great to get out for the day and show danny something else than the house. I know he wont remember this adventure but I’ll show him the photos when he’s older and let him know that today was a great day.

2 months

somebody went and grew himself to 2 months old. and for someone who doesn’t do much, he sure has accomplished a lot this past month.

He started smiling around 5-6 weeks and they have gotten bigger and cuter each day. When he’s really happy he’ll smile all big and curl up his fists & arms and bring them to his face. It’s seriously one of the cutest things I’ve seen in life.

Bob caught the little man making raspberries. I think I saw danny do this one time, the other day, but I could be wrong. It sounded like a raspberry!

This little guy drools constantly now and bubbles burst out of his mouth nearly every second he’s awake.

and somebody loves his fist, especially when he’s got the munchies. yum.

We tried the bottle with danny this month. the first 2 attempts were a startling success. thereafter, FAIL. 2 nights in a row attempting the bottle created the beast, resulting in a car ride. last night though was eh. everything in the bottle made it to danny’s tummy but getting it there was a little lazy if you will. He kinda just gummed the nipple. Lamest attempt at a latch on to date.

His neck is getting so strong, he’s almost able to hold his head up completely. nearly gone are the days of my bobble head boy. He is also able to put lots-o-pressure on his feet and legs. It’s almost like he’ll take off walking, or jumping, if you let him go. which we don’t!

Every 3 days bath time gets more entertaining. When I put danny in the tub he’s scared at first and gives us almost an approval look. Like ‘hey guys, is this ok, this hot, wet, tub of something… am i ok? you aren’t going anywhere, right?’ then a few seconds later, water everywhere. he kicks and kicks and coos and kicks. He arches his back and stretches his legs. He also poops. Those are the super fun baths. Especially for bob who kindly fills the tub for me thanks to my uber weak upper body strength.

Just yesterday danny really took notice of his jacques the peacock toy in his co-sleeper. He laid there for a good 15 min reaching his arm up, hitting jacques and staring at him. Then he would do it again. Sometimes he’d smile, but mostly just hit and stare.

Danny has seemed to create his own schedule, which the books (readable, not family) say most babies tend to do. He’ll take 2 very long naps during the day with food and a half hour of play after each nap. He has a long stretch of up time in the evening where he eats, plays, hangs out with dad, fusses, eats and another short nap, more food, a long nap, food, and bed time which can last anywhere from 3-6 hours. I personally love the 6 hour nights. That’s on his good days. There are also the days where he’s just a beast. There is nothing that will soothe him and I waste a few hours of the night trying everything when I should have just listened to that cry and took the boy for a stroll to target and back.

Back to the good days. When danny is awake now we have conversations with him during his chatty time. He loves when you say danny to him. He’ll get a great big double chinned smile all over his face. He’ll coo and goo if you coo and goo. and some words come with 2 consonants.

It’s just amazing that he’s 2 months old now and he does oh so much and this is just the tip of it all. It seems like everything has changed from day 1, and then everything changed again from day 30. And now we are here and it’s all about to change again. I think rolling over might be next. Oh boy!

note about the song. i’m sure bob is thinking ‘why on earth did she pick that song’. well. one day this month I whistled this to danny and he got the biggest smile on his face! it took me 2 hours to come up with this. i need a nap.

stressystress

I’m still stressy. I’m attempting to adapt to it but it’s not easy. I’d love to go back to 6 weeks ago when I was in baby bliss and the mess did not exist.

Since I can’t do that I can look towards the future. Just last weekend my super cousin rae came in for a visit and she’s coming back again this weekend. This time her husband and kids will be in tow. She is named so appropriately as she brings in a ray of sunshine everywhere she goes. Last weekend I cried for her to not leave. Thank god she’ll be here again…TOMORROW! YAY!

In the mean time, while danny naps I’m on the hunt for a nanny or something like that. I would love the neighbors gal but if she doesn’t work out I need more eggs in our baskets.

tea

mmm. I think I’m in love with the mother’s milk tea that I’ve been downing just in case my stress overtakes me. With a dash of sugar it’s delicious. just sayin’.

nanny or something like that

sigh. my stomach is in knots with this concept. we need to find childcare for danny for 2 days a week. barf. almost literally.

I spoke with my neighbor a couple weeks ago and she offered up her gal on the days that she is not at their house. they love her. their kids love her. and i greatly trust their opinion on people they have watching their kids. so I called her and she sounds so cute! she’s coming by on thur to meet us and danny and we’ll see what happens.

why would this gal be ideal. well. she knows the neighbor boys and play time would be so perfect once danny gets a little bigger. duh.

ideally I would like to only have 1 person be coming over twice a week. less confusing on out lil guy, right. so we may have some schedule juggling to work out as I do not want to steal our neighbors gal on the days they need her.

regardless. the process has begun. it’s going to be ok in the end. I might cry a lot but who am i kidding. i cry a lot anyhow.

while in target today…

I ran into our doula and she provided me with an hour of entertainment and stress forgetting. I haven’t seen her since before christmas (I think) and it was a great pleasure to run into her!!

I also discovered that target does not carry black clothing for humans danny sized. lame.

and that they are turning my target into a super target. coming in april!
YES!!

royal rumble

danny had himself his own personal royal rumble last night. we have no clue what happened. he was sound asleep in his swing while we enjoyed the rumble. just as a GIRL ran into the ring, danny lost his pants! I’m guessing he’s not a fan of the ladies participating in the royal rumble. At any rate, bob walking him, bouncing him, food, diapers, he was not having it. And he started making even more sounds we’ve never heard before. I took him for a lil car ride which seemed to reset his demeanor. he ate a bit when we got home but laying him down was not happening. We rocked in the rocking chair and that finally did him in! My lil bud slept for 6 hours after that! good job little man!

oh no!

not only does dannly like to splash in his whale of a tub, he also likes to spit up and poop in it! 3rd bath in a row where bob has had to refill his tub thanks to the floaters.

ugh

i’m so fucking stressed out. i have no clue how i have not spiraled into PPD or how my milk has not gone completely dry. and it doesn’t seem like there is an emotional break in sight. for a second, i thought maybe just maybe… i was wrong.

hear danny coo

danny’s makin’ lots of noise lately especially if i make some noise too. It’s like we have a conversation full of ooohs, goos, and ungahs. The video is a little dim and noisy due to dim light and zoom. oh well.