Cliche 2013 Roundup

I got no problem with cliches.

2013 in 1 word?  PERFECTION............need proof?



There ya go!  2013 gave me the first 8 1/2 months with my baby girl.  True every day wasn't perfect and there is always room for improvement, but if having this face to wake up to every day and having a happy family that loves me isn't perfect than I don't know what is.

Emma's Christmas was more than she could have asked for (especially since she can't talk) - Here are some highlights from my new IPHONE :)

We officially moved Emma's playroom to the basement!  I think it's perfect down there, just need to get a space heater and we'll be in business!

So as 2013 comes to a close I count my blessings and again try and think of ways to better myself in the new year.  If you read this blog and go to the gym regularly, do me a huge favor....don't judge the people who are crowding "your" gym at the start of the new year.  Ain't nothin wrong with trying to be a better you, even if it doesn't last long.  We're trying!

I am so excited to see my baby girl grow through this next year and I hope to appreciate the small things that I get to experience with my family.  Her 9 month check-up is in 2 weeks and it's her first appointment without me.  I know she'll be fine, but I'm the one missing out!  Work trips have officially started (1 on the 7th and 1 on the 14th)  I could use a prayer or two that I don't break down on the plane without her.  Then again our San Francisco trip on the 17th should give me more than enough baby plane time (could use some prayers for that as well)

Until next time :)

The Christmas Season

I'm sure as all people know, the weeks leading up to Christmas are crazy busy with holiday parties, shopping, wrapping, baking and everything else under the sun....therefore I don't feel bad for a short post this week.

Emma is officially 8 months old!  She went to see Santa yesterday.  DH was really into it and I was honestly dreading it.  I thought she was going to scream and cry and I just didn't want to put her through that.  We decided to go ahead and do it anyway and boy was I wrong!  She did great.  True after about 3 minutes of 20 pictures and sitting on his lap she started to get a little upset, but I swooped her right up before a tear came out of those pretty baby blues. We actually ended up buying the digital cd, because there were so many good pictures. See:

We head back to Scranton for Christmas on Monday, than do our annual Christmas morning trek to Coatesville to my parents house for the night, than back home!  It's a lot, but I love family time and holiday celebrations.  

I struggle with thinking about the future and wanted Emma to wake up in her own home on Christmas morning, but I think I'll save that debate for a future date :)  

What else............we got to celebrate Savannah's 2nd birthday and that was a lot of fun to see Emma and her cousin McKenna interacting really for the first time together since they can both finally sit up.  It makes me very excited for the future!

Back to holiday planning for me......... Until Next time!

Pittsburgh Trip

We headed out to Pittsburgh last Thursday for a long weekend.

We stayed at one of my dearest friend's house and it was so much nicer than staying in a hotel.  I don't know how she felt about the complete takeover, but I'd like to think she enjoyed the extra company for a few days since she lives alone.

We decided to try something new and left at 6:30 pm for the 4 - 5 hour trip.  Since Emma sleeps most of the time in the car, we thought this would coincide with her sleeping schedule the best.  She slept the whole way and when we got in around 11:30 pm (because of Squirrel Hill Tunnel Traffic!), she went right to sleep after about 10 minutes of hugs and snuggles. WIN!

Friday DH went in to work (his company is based in Pittsburgh) and my friend Jessica and I went shopping.  We were out from 11:00 am until 4:30 pm when we picked DH up from work.  Emma was such a trooper!  Never really cried until our ride home because she was exhausted.  Then the 3 of us went to dinner at a new pizza place partly owned by Dan Marino - Delicious.

Saturday was Tour de Jour Day! We started at Mount Washington for the obvious tourist pics....

 (notice the Steelers Stadium in the background)

Then we headed to PPG Place downtown so Emma could see the tree.  

We also went to market square to get some Primanti Bros. sandwiches. Can't go to Pittsburgh without getting one of those :)

 We finished off the day at PITT! Our Alma Mater!

We got this same pic above for our engagement pics by Leeann Marie and decided to try for a repeat!  Definite success. :)

Emma got some new gear!

It was bittersweet...... Pittsburgh will always hold a special place in my heart.  I think partly because I spent the 5 funnest years of my life there!  College and then my first year as a professional. We went out all the time and went to great restaurants, was surrounded by most of my best friends and made some great memories.

The ride home took 7.5 hours through a snow storm and to make a long story short, it was awful, but we made it safe and sound!

Emma's Favorite Things

I see "favorite things" blog posts all the time. I think they are so helpful to get real life perspectives on things, because there are soooo many choices out there.

I actually based part of my baby registry off of someone else's favorite things post. :)  A lot of these I'm sure you've seen before 1,000 times, but it doesn't hurt to have one more opinion.

So in the spirit of sharing, here are the things that have gotten us through the first "almost" 8 months of Emma Jean's Life....

1 - MAM Pacifiers - we tried 3 or 4 kinds and she didn't like any of them, until we tried these.  To this day, Emma hasn't met a MAM she didn't like :)

2 - Swaddle Me Blankets - Excuse my french, but it is a hell of a lot easier to use one of these babies when you're baby is screaming at 2 am, rather than trying to fold one yourself.

3 - Aden & Anais - When you actually do want to use the blankets, these are awesome!  Soft and breatheable. And cute designs :)

4 - Tommee Tippee - Full Disclosure - I never tried any other bottles.  But these did work great. I think the fact that they are a little fatter helps Emma hold them herself.

5 - Sheep Sound Machine - I like this, because you can adjust the sound, it plays for 45 minutes (or shorter) and they are white noise sounds.

6 - BUMBO - For some reason, Emma doesn't mind sitting in this thing as long as she is around us.  She gets fussy if we put her in her bouncy seat, her walker or her high chair, but as long as she is in this thing, she seems to be OK. I will say it is better to get the one with the strap, we strap her in all the time now, because she wiggles out of it trying to reach for different things.

7 - Vick's Humidifier - We had a different humidifier, but we wanted one you could add vicks to when a little cold comes on.  It also pumps out warm vapors, rather than cold.

8 - Johnny Jumpup - I just posted about this, but honestly it's a life savor when you have to shower or do something when little babe can't crawl yet, but doesn't want to be stationary.  I highly recommend it!

There are many other things, but these are just a few of the staples!  I can also tell you Pampers Swaddlers were our diapers of choice, Similac Organic is our Formula of choice and Sprout Just brand is our baby food of choice.

Bring on the Christmas Season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!