Single moming it

I know I've been a bad little blogger and I'm way behind on my BGT monthly post. We have been so busy lately! Last weekend we headed to Chattanooga to visit friends and celebrate Sean's grandmother's birthday. BGT did great in the car and she had so much fun playing with all the kids. I took a tom of pictures that I will post when things settle down.

Sean has been out of town on business all week and comes home for more training this weekend. Being a single working parent is so not easy!!! So much so that I actually ended up shacking up at my parents for a few nights so I didn't have to cross town to drop BGT off and pick her up. Sean normally drops BGT off with my mom because she is on his way to work. She is very much NOT on the way to mine. Im talking add an hour at minimum round trip out of the way. On top of that, BGT just cut another tooth so it has not been an easy week. Anyway, we've survived but are ready for daddy to be home even though he will be right back of to training and I can get back to blogging.

It's Friday! Yaaaaay!

Is it summer yet??

I think I've jumped right over spring fever and moved on to dreaming about summer. I don't know why but I've been on such a summer kick lately! Maybe it is all of the cold and rainy weather.

I'm so excited to be planning trips, arranging for BGT care for the summer and best of all buying up tons of tiny smocked outfits. (Naturally)

If I go missing, Sean has found out how much I've bought. Is anyone else obsessed with all the cuteness?

I can't post too many things for fear that Sean may find them and use them as evidence against me but here are a few screen shots of my most recent purchases... I even broke my rule about two pieces for BGT. Oh well I've never been a stickler for the rules anyway.

Checkups and Baby Gates

Today was BGT's (belated) 9 month check up! She is up to 27 inches (30th percentile) and 18 lbs 4 oz (50th percentile)! I can't believe how fast she is growing. It was funny because my mom and I were talking after the appointment and BGT at 9 months and 11 days is the same weight my youngest sister was at her 2 year old check up :) Love my chubby bunny. She also got one teensy shot today and she was so brave. I'm pretty sure I take it worse than she does.

My mom rode with me to BGT's appointment and my dad hung out at my house while we were gone. When I got home I found him working away at installing baby gates :) love my daddy! He's so handy and he LOVES BGT! They have the cutest bond. She lights up when her Papa D is around and he pays such good attention to her. She also has started to say Papa D... Still no Mommy... I'm not bitter... Really... It's totally fine... Er... Totally fine.

I can't believe we are already at baby gates. And on top of that I can't believe that today I made BGT's appointment for her ONE YEAR OLD CHECKUP. Where is time going???

The Time Has Come

Things are about to get interesting...

Balancing Act

I knew being a working mama was not going to be easy. I knew that when we were considering starting a family, i knew that when we were trying to start a family, i knew this when I got pregnant, and I knew this when I was on my maternity leave. So in theory I should have been prepared. Not so much.

I completely underestimated exactly what it takes to maintain a healthy work/life balance when you have a little person waiting for you when you get off work. The long days at work feel longer. The weekends feel shorter.

While I was out on my maternity leave my partner at work left to accept another position within the company. The decision was made not to replace him so since that time it has just been me. At first it was just work as usual but lately I have felt so overwhelmed and like no matter what I do, it is an uphill battle. Last week I stayed at work until nearly 7 three nights in a row. BGT was still asleep when I would go to work and I would average about an hour a day with her. It was no fun, I'll tell you that.

Thursday after a really long day, a coworker stopped by my desk and said "don't stay too late and remember, you will have lots of jobs but you will only have your baby once." I know he and his wife have had fertility issues and it took me back to when we were right there. Since then it has been playing over and over in my mind. He is so right. We waited so long for our munchkin and it is not fair to her or me for that matter to spread my self that thin.

So now I am working on balance. I fear that it will always be a battle but I'll promise you this, I will not lose this one. She is too important to me and she's growing up way too fast.

Snow Day

I know for many people snow is a common occurrence, however in Alabama it NEVER happens. When the forecast calls for snow there is sense of immediate panic in the air and for reasons still unknown to me, grocery stores are literally emptied of bread and milk within minutes of the first forecast.

As a kid I loved it when it snowed. There was the hope that school would be cancelled and we could play in the snow all day. As an adult, regretfully I am very aware of the chaos that "snow" brings. I say "snow" because usually "snow" in Alabama means flurries and ice. Considering the fact that I handle serious injury claims for a living (many of which are caused by ice), I generally get a feeling of nostalgia mixed with dread.

This time, however, I was really excited when I heard we might see a little snow because this would mark Bennett Grace's first snow! Not to mention she might be in Kindergarten before it happens again. And it was perfect! The snow started around lunch and was actually pretty heavy by the time I decided to leave work. It was a slow but uneventful ride home and as I neared home everything turned into a winter wonderland. Even the less desirable scenery on the back way home looked so much better covered in white. Sean had taken Bennett Grace out when the first flurries started to fall, but he wanted to really venture out with her until I got home. We go BGT into her coat and headed out for pictures. Man she loved the the snow. She would crinkle her nose when the snow would blow into her face and she constantly scanned the area taking everything in. It was priceless. We got a little more snow that much of the surrounding area and it was still there in the morning and a little the following day.

All in all we had lots of fun with our mini snow day! Peace out snow. See you again in 2018.

Dear Bennett Grace (9 months)

Dear Bennett Grace,

You have seriously grown up before our eyes this month. You never cease to amaze us with a new skill, sound or word. It is almost unreal what all you can do when you set your mind to it. You are a constant source of entertainment for us and your smile is so warm.

Here is a little of what you've been up to:

-A couple of days before Christmas you started crawling. You didn't ease into it either. It was like you flipped a switch. You were stationary one minute then zooming everywhere. You are so fast and always on the move.
-One of your favorite things to do is sit down and rotate in a circle to take everything in.
-You are so curious. You want to see and touch everything.
-You pull up on everything and you try to stand on your own but then you fall down and get right back up. You are so determined.
-Speaking of determined, you love to get into things that you are not supposed to. You hear a lot of "no ma'am" and you shake your head "no". We try not to laugh but its really cute.
-You are getting good at following commands too. I don't remember if I mentioned it before but if we say wiggle-wiggle-wiggle or bouncy-bouncy you wiggle or bounce. It is precious. You've been doing that for several months.
-You are also loving to cruise around the house pushing your walking toys. You zoom with them all over. Your little legs used to wobble but now they are quick and strong it is amazing!
-You also love to "put things where they go" it is so funny to watch you. You know where things belong and you try to put them in the right place. You do that with your toys and also with other things too like the remote control. We got you blocks that fit into a bucket and you are getting good at putting them on the lid. You are so proud of yourself :)
-You talk talk talk. You still only use a few "real words" (daddy, bye-bye, hey and thank you) but you mimic other sounds really well and so you babble non-stop. You have little conversations with yourself and your toys and it is so precious. Sadly, the mmmmm sound has not made way into your vocabulary.
-On New Year's Eve you got your first tooth! It is the bottom front right tooth. It is all the way in now and you can see it really well when you talk or smile.
-You love to pick up things especially tiny things and pass them back and forth between between your fingers.
-You love to feed yourself. You feed yourself puffs but you are really getting interested in what we are eating so we have let you have a tiny bit of pancakes which you loved. We are starting to introduce finger foods to you and we know you will love it!
-Mommy is still making your baby food. You eat three meals a day now. Oatmeal and fruit for breakfast. A fruit and veggie for lunch and 3 veggies for dinner. If you are really hungry sometimes we give you an extra fruit for dinner too. When you decide that you don't want a food you will swat at it and shake your head no. We try not to encourage you but sometimes it makes us laugh. Right now you do not love green beans or bananas.
-You are still having bottles 4 times a day with 6 ounces of breast milk.
-You have your last bottle at 8 and then go to sleep around 8:15 and sleep until around 8 in the morning. You sleep on your tummy with your hands tucked under you and your tush straight up in the air. You love to wiggle down into the corner of your crib. When you fall asleep if we are holding you, you put your hands up by your head and purse your lips. You look so smoochy.
-This month you have been staying with Daddy as he prepares to start a new job. You will go back to staying with Gigi next week when Daddy goes back to work. You have loved spending time with Daddy and he has loved spending time with you.
-On the day before you turned 9 months old, January 17th- Papa D's birthday- it snowed! You loved your first snow. We took lots of pictures!
-You also had your first Christmas this month and we took way too many pictures! You are having a ball playing with all of your new toys. You got so many presents and saw so many family members! We were so blessed to have you with us this year.
-You love reading books, especially pop up books and books that rhyme. You love when we sing songs and read books to you. Your Mimi was so impressed that your eyes as we point to the words in the books. She won't let mommy bust out the flash cards just yet :)
-You also are really into knocking things down. Mommy will stack up your toys or blocks and you knock them down and smile so proud. You are so precious angel.
-You are still true to size, wearing mostly 6-9 and 9-12 clothes. You are still in size 2 diapers. We will find out your other stats at your doctor's appointment this week. We can't wait to see how uch you have grown.

Shuggie, we can not believe that you have been on this earth almost as long as you were in Mommy's tummy. The thought that in three short months we will be celebrating your birthday is almost unreal. You are so smart and beautiful and special. Each day with you is such a blessing. We love you so much baby.

With love,

Mommy and Daddy