Swaddless in Cumming

Well, we finally did it! We said good bye to Lottie's swaddle. Bless her little heart, but I do think that he new found freedom is something that she is taking a liking to. We woke up this morning and it looked as though she has frozen in her place while making a snow angel. There was not much that could have been more precious. We tried this several weeks ago and gave in. We are on night two and I know that we can make it. In the end, she will be much better without it. Now comes the big question.

Should we take the pacifier away and let her have her thumb or let her keep the pacifier and never develop the thumb sucking habit? I am just so torn on this. Part of me says, you can always take away the pacy. The other side says, I have to keep up with pacies, pick them up off floors, take them out for photos, etc. Needless to say, Lottie had one day with out the pacy and I am including some pictures of the results. She also has been working on holding up her head. Sometimes she just forgets and falls flat on her face. It is so cute. She can keep her head up for about 5 minutes in the morning, but I took this video of her watching Baby Einstein in the late afternoon. Enjoy!

The Unconventional Lunchbox

So this week, Blake has made some yummy food. I work with a great group of people who are constantly reminding me how wonderful a husband I have. I guess I tend to take my leftover lunches for granted. I really don't like sandwiches. In fact, I think they are super boring as the eating experience is simply boring. I have tried everything to like them more. I have added fancy meats or toppings, but it doesn't work. I could make a sandwich out of Filet Mignon and still feel bored about my eating experience. If you think about it, eating is a pretty important part of the day. Other than breakfast, it is the most social portion of my day. At lunch, I eat with all of my work friend. For dinner, we make each night a date night even within the confines of our own home. So, if I am going to eat, it will rarely be a sandwich.




All that being said, I thought I would share an example of my lunch. Blake packs it the night before so I am ready to go in the morning. This is steak, rice and Brussel spouts with a peanut-cilantro sauce for dipping. Blake is rather meticulous with the spacing of each element. Also, he takes into consideration that I will have to microwave my meal for at least two minutes so he cooks the steak less to account for the cooking time in the microwave. I guess he does kinda rock.

A few other meals he made this week:

He made a giant Bison and spinach ravioli. It was delicious.



He also made chicken francese with garlic butter beans



This was the twice-baked potato that he whipped up one night to go with the Ribeye

Roly Poly

So, when I went back to school one of the things that was I was most upset about was to miss all of Lottie's “firsts”. Well, today I got to see one before I left. I LOVE that she decided to roll from her tummy to her back the first time when I was home. She was laying on her Baby Einstien play mat on her tummy. She was working on holding her little head up. She was doing so well. I looked at her and she was going strong but starting to fuss. I slipped into the closet to grab some socks and was out withn 15 second. I looked over, and there she was. She was on her back and had the most precious smirk on her face. She was thinking “take that tummy time, mommy”. I loved it. Though I did not see the actual action, I know I was there when it happened.

It is amazing what we consider a feat in different stages of our lives. When we are infants, we are commended for rolling over, burping and holding our heads up. As we grow older, the expectations increase. We are commended for earning new degrees or receiving awards for being the top in the state or country. I just love the innocence if being a child, and being a parent, reminds me of how important that innocence is.

Yesterday was Lottie's 4 month doctor's appointment. I had to miss it as I have exhausted all of my sick and personal days at work to have my maternity leave. Blake took her in. He said he was the only man anywhere near that office. I can imagine how adorable he was. He even put her into my favorite dress and topped her off with a pink bow. This man is amazing. Lottie had to get her next rounds of vaccines which is brutal for the parents. She was laying in Blake's lap just staring into his big green eye when “Whap, whap, whap” the three shots stuck into her thighs and then it was over. She screamed her head off and turned beet red. I think the hardest thing about this is the peace that is in their eyes right before they get stuck. But we got it over with for 2 more months and this is one of those times that I was happy to be at work.

I can't say that I am not jealous of the relationship between Blake and Lottie, but on the other hand, I feel like the most blessed person in the world for my daughter to have such a bond with her father. I think when I was home, it was easy for Blake to just watch Lottie grow up with outside eyes. My absence during the day allows both of us to create our own bonds with her. I am not stealing her attention away. They are so in love. Each day, Blake shows me a new trick that he has done with her and the sparkle in both of their eye's when they look at one another is truly priceless. I am so thankful to have the family I have. I don't know how I became so lucky to have such a supportive, capable, providing and honest husband. He is definitely the backbone of our family.

Lottie is 12lbs.
She is in
<25% for weight (but the doc says she is fine and not to worry or try to bulk her up),
50% for height
a whopping 65% for her head.

Daily Fresh Poultry Special

I am not sure how I feel about the sign at the grocery that says “DAILY FRESH POULTRY SPECIAL”. There are several reasons I am not comfortable with it:

1.) Why is the type of poultry not specified. Blake and I deduced that it was turkey after consumption, but neither of us are totally sure.
2.) Is it really fresh or is it just the opposite and the butcher is trying to get it off the shelf?
3.) I simply don't like the word poultry. I can't decide if it is better or worse than fowl, but I would like for their to be a new word created for said category. Perhaps it could be called porkless white meat or winged meat?

That being said, last night Blake made a new dish. It was delicious. It was a “daily fresh poultry” breast stuffed with bacon and spinach. I don't know how he does it. He served it with a zucchini-cilantro relish and grilled zucchini spears. Have a look at the final result. He also made a variation of shrimp scampi so I could have some lunch at school.

Food for Thought

Blake and I have always loved cooking and eating. We cook very differently. I am a by-the-book recipe follower, and I don’t think Blake even knows what a recipe is. I think that this would explain his inability to bake. I am just going to put a few picture of some of the best meals that we have made thus far. From here on out, when we create something wonderful, I will post it as well as the recipe. We LOVE Asian based food. We spent some time in Thailand for our honeymoon and have been hooked ever since.

Just Getting Started

Well, I should have started doing this 4 months ago when Lottie was born. There is so much to catch up on. Lottie has changed our lives and our marriage so much. Blake and I absolutely love her so much. We also love FOOD. Through this blog, I would like to keep people posted on Lottie's life, our lives and our new recipes. Blake is the cook in the family, but I will try from time to time. We love to play "Chopped". This is where one of us will select 5 items and put them into a bag. The person who cooks opens the bag and has 30 minutes to create a meal that incorporates each of the items. Through this game, Blake has created some amazing dishes.

Lottie will be the other main focus on this page. She is growing like a weed, and each day she does something new. We are so lucky that Blake works from home. He stays home with her during the day while I go to work. This has been such a blessing for us. 5 more weeks and I will be home with her every day again for the summer. I was lucky to have 4 months off with her before I had to go back.

The week before I had to go back to work was brutal. I cried every time I looked at Lottie. I felt like I was abandoning her. I quickly learned that it was not that bad. The first morning was hard. I woke up at 5:45 am. This would allow me to take my shower and get ready and have breakfast before Lottie woke up at 7:00am. The moment I heard her little "meep" (This is what Blake and I call her little 'I am ready to get up cry'), I began bawling. I was so sad to be leaving for 8 hours when I wanted to be holding her. I grabbed her and did her morning routine. She ate, pooped and played. Then it was 7:50am, and it was time for me to go. I carried her to the door, and Blake followed me. It was time for me to hand her off. My eyes filled with tears, I passed her to her daddy. Blake proped her up on his shoulder. She was looking at me and smiling. Blake was facing the other way, so Lottie would be looking at me. As I put my hand on the doorknob, she let out a little burp followed by a huge spit up that ran down Blake's freshly cleaned shirt. Immediately, my tears dried and I smiled as I left. I pointed to his shoulder and said "you might want to get that babe. Have fun and welcome to my world." I giggled as I kissed my daughter and husband and instantly became a working mom. It was nice to leave on a funny note so I didn't cry my way to work. The adult interaction at work is also a nice getaway.

Lottie is four months old now and getting cuter and cuter everyday. I hope you will enjoy following along with our journey and our lives. Here are two videos of her way of talking.