Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas to everyone! The new year is coming up soon!

Holy cow this has been such a crazy-whirlwind trip. I got into the USA on Thursday night and I'm leaving tomorrow! It's been fun to see as many people as I can, eat as much food as possible and just BE in America. We had a great Christmas and it's fun to be with family and friends.

All the best to you and yours in this new up-coming year!

2010 was amazing! Here's to hoping 2011 will be even better!

USA!

Tomorrow is the big day. Gosh I hate flying!

Going from Seville, Madrid, London, Chicago. Gonna be a loooooooooong day! Here´s to hoping all flights are on time and my luggage doesn´t get lost somewhere!

Can´t WAIT to see my friends and family. Living abroad is tough so I´m excited to get my fix.

Please pray for safe travels. See you on the other side of the pond!

chill pill please

Is there a reason why my daughter has an absolute FIT every single night while I'm putting on her pajamas? I'm talking ...crying so hard she's choking fit!

Also, you'd think that after "head banging" and bumping her mouth a few times so that it has actually started to bleed she would realize that's not such a good idea.

Right now I'm listening to her SCREAM her head off in her crib which has unfortunatley been our backdrop music at bedtime this past week. I'm not sure what's going on but I really hope it's a phase. Our sweet little funny Nora has disappeared and whiney monster Nora took her place.

All was awesome when we changed her into her own room a few weeks ago...she slept from nie thirty to nine thirty no problem. Not a peep. Now, every night she goes to bed at her normal time and then forty five min later she wakes up screaming. We try to rock her back to sleep but as soon as we step foot in her room she wakes up again.....so that's kind of pointless. Now we're doing the " let her cry it out method" She has been waking up a few times a night screaming like this. I'm hoping it's teething. Can't take it much longer!

I think this week our "real parenting" has begun. She's NON STOP and ALL OVER THE PLACE constantly. Let the fun begin!!! And I wanted another one....bah humbug!

10 months

Dear Nora,

Today you turn 10 months old and you are weighing in at 27 lbs. I think you are slimming down due to the NON STOP activity. You don´t crawl you ZOOM around the house! You are standing up now and ¨cruising¨ with the furniture and new walking toy that Nana and Pa bought you. I think you´ll be walking definitely before the year is out.

You constantly have something in your mouth and it´s incredible how observant you are and very much into detail.

Somewhere in the last month I crossed that line from caretaker of a baby to caretaker and disciplinarian, which I´m not quite sure I´m ready for. How do you discipline a baby? So far ¨no¨ and ¨caca¨ seems to be working quite well.

If you are tired and we say this to you.....the end of the world is near. You have a major melt down and cry like we´ve just torn out every single one of your finger nails one by one and then plucked out every hair on your head......and then some more. My heart then breaks into a million pieces and I apologize to the universe for giving you such a mean mean mommy.

I think you are teething again and this week you have been a bit unbearable! Super whiney ..maybe it has something to do with the minor cold you have too. I might also have to have a chat with your grandparents as they can´t bear to hear you cry even for a second.......which causes problems for mean mommy in the long-run!

Recently you´ve started to go to sleep like normal (in your crib in your own room finally!) and about two hours later you wake up screaming your head off. This has been happening for the last week! I´m hoping you outgrow it very very soon because your papa and I are tired!

I can´t get over your diva-ness and quite frankly it has peaked at ten months. I´m afraid, very afraid. You are such an actress and always have been and seriously have hte fake cough thing down to a T. Attention anyone? Do other babies do this? I have no idea where you got this from:O)

It seems like you have discovered ANGER and RAGE this month and heaven forbid the ball you are playing with goes out of reach or disappears behind the couch. Watch out world tigress Nora appears! Again, hoping this is a phase!

Either way you are so loved and have brightened the lives of all of those around you with your crazy antics and silly smiles.
Love you!
Mama

6 days!

In six days I´ll be in the USA! Hard to believe how time flies. It´s going to be my fastest trip EVER! I´m only going for six days so I have to get my X mas fix fast!

I decided not to take Nora since the trip is so short I think it would be awfully hard on her.

The only thing I´m worried about is I´m still breast-feeding. Can´t wait to pump in the airplane/airport/and wherever else I can find a plug-in.

I wonder if she´ll be over it when I get back? If so.......ten months! It´s been a long run!

Nora has been SOOOOOOOOO whiney and cranky this week it´s unbearable! I kinda wanna sell her on e-bay. Just kidding! I think she has a minor cold/teething which is not a good combo.

Even though she´s a crankster I always manage to get some cute pix!

Ps. the image from yesterday makes for a perfect X mas card. Hurry!

idea for next time

So, this is a great pregnancy pic that I'd like to try if we have another baby sometime.

Jill, Amber, Lynda......you can steal the idea if you'd like! HA

walker

Holy freaking crap Nora is going to be walking any second now. She´s only 9 mths old for Gosh sakes. SLOW DOWN!

She loves her new toy from Nana and Pa.

Top Ten Best Citites for Young Families

I recently came across this article naming the top ten best cities for young families. Surprisingly, IN makes the list!

1. Scottsdale, AZ
2. Ft. Wayne, IN
3. Lincoln, Nebraska
4. Pittsburgh
5.Portland, Oregon
6. Madison, Wisconsin
7.Phoenix, AZ
8. St. Paul, Minnesota
9. Oklahoma City
10. Boston
11. Seville, Spain (ha)

Interesting.....I´ve never been to AZ, Nebraska, or Oklahoma. Happy to see IN representing!

partaaaaaaay

last night i had the best time at my b day celebration. thanks for coming guys!

and a random pic of nora cuz she´s too cute.

sweet!

So, yesterday Nora decided to give me the best birthday present. She bit me. While I was feeding her. And made me bleed. This is not cool. She went through a biting episode when she was around three to four mths but I thought I had it under control. The teeth haven´t been a problem again until now. And now there are not two..there are eight.

I think it might be time to hang up the old rack a roo. I´m gonna need those puppies for later. Or even now. I kinda like em.

Then the gift continued when she woke up every hour on the hour screaming. I really think her teeth might be bothering her eh? Ok Nora, I get it! Just don´t bite me!!!

30!

Oh. My. Gosh. I´m 30. I´m not gonna lie, I cried a little bit last night at midnight. 30 I´m 30. Really? 30? How did this happen? When did this happen? Are you sure? Didn´t I just turn sixteen and get my drivers license? Wasn´t I just 18 heading off to college? Didn´t I just turn 21 and......well, drink a beverage or two? How the heck am I thirty?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Attached is a pic of the show 30 something. I used to watch this and think these people were SOOOOOOOOOO old. Um ya, that´s me. Old. I suppose age is just a number and 30 is so the new 20.

30. I guess I´m where I pictured I would be at 30..married, baby, working.

I´ve just decided...I´m going to kick 30´s ass!

deck the halls

Yesterday we finally put up our tree! I usually put it up the weekend right after Thanksgiving, but I had to find some sort of gate to put in front of it before I even attempted to put it up because I knew little Miss Nora would be ALL OVER IT!

I love listening to Bing Crosby and putting up the tree...ok Antonio puts it up and I decorate. I have decorations of mine from when I was little and new one´s to celebrate marriage, our new home and now new baby.

It seriously seems like we were just putting the tree up. How has a year gone by already????? Last year my belly was gigantic and we were wondering what Nora would be like. Even if we tried we couldn´t even have imagined ...what a blessing!

It´s my last day of my 20´s. Gotta enjoy it. 2010 was a great year!

hairy situation

my knee still hurts a week later! i think it´s going to take about a month until it is well again. i really miss the gym and so do my abs.

so, the other day i got my highlights snazzied up. you are supposed to go at least every three months and i go twice a year. i HATE going to the hair salon. at least here anyways. first of all they always start literally forty five minutes after i arrive. seriously? then just make my apt for forty five min later! then it´s the tin foiling and the taking out of the tin foil..my neck is so uncomfortable on those sinks and i have the most sensitive head in the world so each time she slides a piece of foil off i feel like a chunk of my scalp and soul have gone with it. tears literally sting my eyes and i tell her it´s just the product, when i want to start sobbing right then and there. then comes this other liquid stuff which i don´t even know what it does but it burns like a mo fo and it feels like she´s released a bag of african red ants on my head. finally the shampooing. even this isn´t even enjoyable because she always uses super cold water and i think she forgets i have ears that yes, water and soap does enter into..see that ear..you don´t need to wash it too!!!!!!

don´t forget the blowdrying and the combing. nightmare!!!!

so you see.......you´re lucky i even go twice a year!

man, i´m getting old.

new coat!

gotta be trendy around here!

surprise!

so, next week the two days i have class i don´t..since it´s holiday. so, today my students totally surprised me with a cake and candles.....surprise! how sweet was that? my first surprise party ever!

transitions

so, ever since nora was born she´s been sleeping in a ¨mini crib¨ right beside our bed. last night was the first time she slept in her room in her normal crib...she was totally out growing the other one and i was in complete denial. so what that her head and feet were touching on each end? she´s comfortable that way.

it was kind of sad having her ALL the way across the hall and it was weird...the first night in 9 mths i couldn´t just peek over and see her. but, all is well and she slept like a dream. i can´t believe i am one of THOSE moms!!