Dear Giuliana: Month 2

My beautiful little Giuliana,
I’m writing this late- two weeks late, actually. But I’ve been spending almost all of my time with you, and it’s precious time better spent enjoying you rather than blogging about you. But I have been taking more pictures than I can count and when I have the time, I jot down little notes so I can make sure to remember as much as I can. I didn’t know it before you came into our lives, but so much happens within the first months of life. You amaze me everyday with how strong you’re growing and how beautiful you’re becoming- and that’s pretty spectacular because you were such a strong and gorgeous baby from the minute I met you.

You like to grunt. It’s really cute. You and I accompanied daddy to his dentist appointment and a lady in the waiting room overheard your grunting and told me that you’re going to be a talker. Considering the family you’re coming from, she’ll probably be right! And I’m excited to hear everything you have to say!

You’re starting to smile more and more. You smiled last month, but as difficult as it was to admit, we all knew they were gassy smiles. Now they’re real. You respond to us and our facial expressions. And when you smile back at me, it’s one of the best feelings in the world. ♥

You really are a strong baby. You’re getting bigger- at your 2 month check up they said you were 10 pounds, 10 ounces and 24.5 inches… average weight and 97th percentile for height! It will be nice if you continue on that trend. I told the doctor that maybe you’ll be a volleyball player. He replied, “yeah. Or a model.” (See, even your doctor thinks you’re beautiful!)

You’ve started to roll- well, trying to roll, at least. In that picture to the right- of you and dad sleeping- you rolled to your side on your own right there. I had to snap that picture with my phone because you and daddy were sleeping the same way, and it was adorable. I love you both so much!
You’ve rolled to your side multiple times now and it makes me so proud and I can’t help but cheer you on. Like, I literally startle you because I get so excited and loud. I’m warning you now- whether you become a volleyball player or a model, a dancer or a pianist- I will be at every game, recital, and/or show and I will be cheering you on. Always. I will be your biggest fan.

I know this is probably going to embarrass future teenage-Giuliana, but I couldn’t help but post another PJ picture because you are so. darn. cute. I can’t get over it. And especially cuddled up with Kevin. He loves you and is so protective of you. In fact, whenever someone new is holding you, he will go and lay down in front of them. And you got to meet a lot of friends this month! Pretty much the whole gang. And let me tell you, you are a loved baby! What a lucky way to enter the world- so many people to love you and teach you and look after you! We are a lucky family!

But I need to go back to the PJs… you are so cuddly in pajamas. You’re cuddly all the time, but even more so in long sleeves and footies. And since you were born right smack in the middle of summer, the only time I get to hold you in so much clothing is at night or early morning in your pajamas. You seem to like cuddling as much as I do and I hope that continues because it brightens my day. Sometimes my arm starts to fall asleep or I really want that diet Dr. Pepper that’s just out of my reach, but cuddling you relaxes me and there is no better feeling than holding you and feeling you squeeze me back.

You’re not always sleeping though. You were the first month, but now you’re awake A LOT more. So we have dance parties. You really like music. Disney and LMFAO songs to be exact. As far as I can tell, your favorite song is a tie between Part of Your World and Sexy and I Know It… what can I say, you like to wiggle.

Usually, you’re laying on your back while I move your arms and legs around. When you were smaller, I had to do most of the movements but now, you’re doing a lot on your own. You like to kick and punch now! And you always keep your little fists and toes all clenched up! I think music is going to play a very important role in your life. When we’re in the car and you start to cry, we pop in turn on some Disney and you’re a happy camper. Good thing daddy LOVES the Disney, right?? It’s been a lot of fun- we all sing and laugh together. They’re songs that bring back happy memories from childhood, and I hope they’ll do the same for you.

In such a short time, we’ve already had so much fun….

We go on walks. Sometimes they’re just quick ones to take Kevin out. We’d stay out  longer, but it’s hot outside! Sometimes it’s with Daddy and Kevin in the evening. You love your Ergo carrier. And you love nature. You like to watch tree branches blow in the breeze. You like to look at flowers. When we’re outside, it’s like you’re in constant awe and your eyes constantly scan back and forth. When we’re stuck inside because of the heat, you love to look out of the widows.


We watched the MLB All-Star game together. I hope you like sports because you’re going to be watching them a lot. At the very least, I think you will definitely grow up with a healthy respect for athleticism and competition.


We took a family trip to the zoo! You slept through a lot of it, but when you were awake, there were tons of trees to look at. :) And Daddy and I had a fun day too. It was our first real family adventure- just the three of us, and we all handled ourselves quite well. Then you even let me and dad eat a nice lunch and go Costco shopping. A perfect trifecta of a day! And Miss Giuliana, you are quite the monkey lover!


We celebrated Grandpa Howie’s birthday! You let us go out to a nice dinner that night too! There were other babies in the restaurant that got fussy and their parents had to switch off taking them outside. YOU, however, slept through the entire meal and allowed me and daddy to feel all nice and smug. Keep up the good work baby!


And finally, in some of my favorite pictures to date, you and I had a photo shoot while daddy and Kevin slept… you started off asleep and I was taking pictures of the 3 of you on the bed, but then little Miss Personality woke up and now these pictures make me smile every time I see them!
Giuliana, I have loved watching you grow these last couple of months. You have brought me so much joy and although my life is 100% different than it was at the beginning of summer, I wouldn’t trade any of it. You  delight me, frustrate me, teach me, and amaze me. I love you so, so much!
Love,
Mom

Pinterest Challenge: I Heart U Alphabet Art

I kept looking for different ideas for displaying the alphabet in nurseries. When I saw these cute I ♥ U alphabet ideas, I knew it was something that I had to recreate for Giuliana's room and hang in the reading nook I'm in the process of creating.

1) Anna C: http://pinterest.com/pin/29062360065507057/

2) Hopscotch Haiku: http://pinterest.com/pin/121949102380538295/

3) A L-Sand: http://pinterest.com/pin/236509417901639621/

4) Colleen Tolliver: http://pinterest.com/pin/31032684901873814/

Cute, right? And when would be a better time to share then the Summer Pinterest Challenge? :)

The DIY link-up brain-child of Katie and Sherry? Count me in!

To make my alphabet art, I used an Ung-Drill frame that my brother and his girlfriend had given me as a gift last year.

It was so easy- the colors in G's room are pink and brown, so I busted out the paint and made the frame pink. I also bought some wood letters and painted them brown- except for the I and the U which I painted the same pink as the frame. I also painted a wooden heart pink to use in place of the letter O. Then I arranged and rearranged the letters on some recycled wrapping paper until I liked the way it all looked. 

Once I felt good about it, I glued it all down, slapped it into the frame, and ta-da!...

I love it! I'm so happy with the way it came out and I can't wait to finish the nursery and get everything hung up- update to follow!

And just because I think she's so adorable- 

I love that face!!!

Edit 7/12/12: I also hooked up with HOH!

Dear Giuliana: 1 Month

Dear Giuliana,

Yesterday was your one month birthday. You spent it getting to meet your aunts and uncles on the Rodner side of your family at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Everyone loves you and thinks you're beautiful. (Naturally!)

This past month has gone by incredibly fast and it blows my mind to think that you're actually still supposed to be in my belly for 2 more days!

Your birth was really scary at first- dad and I weren't sure if you were going to have any health problems and how severe they might be. You still seem to choke a little sometimes while you're eating- and that makes me hold my breath- but you cough and sputter for a bit and then all you want is to continue eating. It scares me, but your doctor says he likes the fact that you can clear your own throat and he would be more worried if you never choked while eating. So here you are now, 4 weeks old, growing and strong, and our healthy baby girl!

Now that the worry is (mostly) over, I am truly enjoying the fact that you came so early. Don't get me wrong, you're a lot of work! Sometimes I feel like all I do is change diapers and wash dishes and do laundry... not my favorite tasks. And you'll kill me when you're a teenager for putting this out there, but you've already thrown up on me (4 or 5 times), pooped on dad (3 or 4 times!), and showered us both with pee... we're still learning this diaper changing thing. But it's all worth it.

Sometimes I just sit with you in my arms and I stare at you. Sometimes you're seeping, sometimes you're awake. But I can watch you for hours- hours that make time go by so fast. The hours have turned into days that have turned into weeks. While I hold you, I like to feel your lungs expand in your chest as I watch your little belly go up and down while you breathe. It amazes me that dad and I created you and sometimes I get so overwhelmed with emotion that I cry. I cry tears of joy because I feel so lucky to have you in my arms. You look like a perfect little doll with perfect, chubby, rosy cheeks that I can't help but constantly kiss. Then you'll smile or open your eyes or grunt, and each time, I think it's the most adorable thing I have ever seen.

 I have been filled with an unconditional love for you and I didn't think was possible to develop such a deep love so fast. I know most of it is still your reflexes, but when I hold you face to face, you wrap your little arms tightly to my shoulders with a little Giuliana hug. While I'm feeding you, you wrap your hand around my finger.

I love how small you are and I don't want to wish this time away, but I look forward to meeting the girl you will grow into. I love playing with your crazy spiky hair and think about what it will look like when you're bigger. Will it turn curly and light like mine or stay straight and dark like dad's? I love looking at your perfect face and I daydream about how beautiful you will continue to get. Your grandma is one of my best friends, and I look forward to the day that you and I can have the same relationship. I'm excited to teach you how to throw a ball, and go shopping with you, and talk about boys with you. I am so grateful to have such a perfect baby girl in my life.

I cherish this time I get to share with you. In the last month, you have shown me how strong you can be- this tiny, helpless premature infant that scared doctors before her arrival and then made them fall in love with her. An itty-bitty 5 pound creature that was hooked up to all kinds of wires and machines for her first five days of life. But now, just a few short weeks later, you've gained weight steadily (over 7 pounds now!), impressed everyone with your eating skills, and you've been lifting your head up- really, you're so strong! You were ready to be born- you were ready to show us what an incredible and resilient little person you are.

In this short time, you've also shown me how strong I can be. I have felt physical and emotional pain that I never could have imagined, but I have gotten through it. Because of you, I feel like a more powerful woman. I feel like I can get through any challenge that I come across. You have challenged me to be patient. You have challenged me to work harder with less sleep. And you have challenged me to learn (and practice) what it means to be selfless. Let's continue to challenge and teach each other.

G, you are an amazing baby girl and I am so happy that you are in our lives. I love you.

Love,
Mom

San Diego Babymoon Day 1

Now that it's almost been a month, I figured I should recap our little "babymoon" vacation. We debated where to go. Ideally, we wanted to go to Hawaii. It's one of our favorite places to visit, it's not that long of a plane ride, and who knows when we'll be able to make it back after the baby is born.

But it was still a little nerve wracking to be so far from home at 26 weeks. Plus we were planning our vacation for spring break and it would have been more expensive to go for a couple of days than it was to go for our honeymoon.

We decided that San Diego was a perfect location for what we wanted to accomplish (relax) and what we wanted to spend (not much).

On the drive down, I asked Brian if we could stop in Temecula for a couple of hours. That's where I went with Alexis and Rachael for my bachelorette party, and I thought Brian would enjoy it there. 

I was right! We had some awesome cheeseburgers for lunch and walked up and down Old Town antique shopping. We found a gift for my brother and some awesome old Golden Books (remember those??) for 69 cents each! Baby has quite the book collection started! Then we were on our way.

It was kind of like coming full circle because our first little vacation together was in San Diego.

San Diego Zoo, April 2010

The last time we were in San Diego, we went to the zoo, Little Italy, some museums... it was awesome, but we wanted to do some different things this time around.

We decided to spend more time in the downtown area- the Gaslamp District. So that's where we stayed! We spent the first two nights at the Gaslamp Plaza Suites Hotel.

Our view

It was an awesome location, right in the middle of the downtown area, within walking distance to all kinds of restaurants and shops.

The hotel itself was a new kind of experience! It's a historical site that was built in 1913 and at 11 stories, it was the city's first skyscraper! It used to be an office building and it was converted into a hotel in the 80s. Each room is a suite with a little kitchen and living area. They served breakfast each morning on the rooftop. It was quaint and unique!

After we checked in that first day, we explored the hotel and then decided to go for a walk around the city. We made our way down past the convention center and over to Seaport Village to explore their shops. 

I got really excited when I spotted a duck and her ducklings. Motherly instinct kicking in?

 

We walked, shopped, and people watched. Some of our favorite things to do!

We walked back towards the hotel and we passed Petco Park, where the Padres play. We had tickets for later in the trip, but it was cool walking around the stadium. It's so much more fan-friendly than Dodger Stadium. (Another reason not to like the Dodgers??)

We started discussing dinner. We were both still pretty full from lunch, but we had noticed a Ghiradelli chocolate shop near our hotel. So we split a chocolate banana sundae. Perfection! By this point, it was past my bedtime after 8:00 and we were tired from walking around all day, so we decided to call it a night. 

We had an early wake up call the next day anyway... Sea World!

To Be Continued...

DIY Silhouette Tutorial

Silhouettes seem to be all the rage right now and with a new room to decorate, I wanted to get in on the action! I found several tutorial that seemed easy enough- but I don't have a projector and after seeing how expensive self-adhesive vinyl can be, I decided to forgo that route for a first time project. This is my super easy version of  DIY silhouette art...

First, you find (or take) the picture that you want to use. I would say if you're just using someone's head, use a profile picture. But if your subject is an animal, it could be fun to use a full-body shot in an off-beat pose, like I did here. For this project, I decided to take a new picture of Kevin. The only problem was that Kevin happens to be a total ham.

He will pose for the picture and then as soon as the shutter clicks, he will lunge for the camera. He really enjoys smiling. Needless to say, it's not easy to get him to focus on something other than the camera to get that profile shot.

Unless I catch him looking out the window. In fact, that's what he's doing as we speak I type.

Cute, right? Neighborhood watch at its finest. Anyway, I said something to the effect of, "Kevin, look at that bird!" and I pointed out the window. (There was no bird. I feel kind of bad. But I got my shot!)

Boom! He looks intense, right?
I uploaded it to my computer and changed it to sepia so I could see the definition around his head better.

Next, I printed that bad boy out, cut out around his head, and gathered my supplies...

Supplies:

• cut out of your picture
• canvas in the size you want
• acrylic paint
• paint brushes
• something to mix paint in (if you don't care for the colors the paint comes in)
• double sided tape (not pictured)

Once my supplies were laid out, I stuck some double sided tape along the edges of the back of my cut out.Then I positioned it on the canvas. Because Kevin was looking down when I snapped the picture, I thought he looked kind of sad. I wanted to make sure he looked more proud in his silhouette, so when I attached the picture to the canvas, I titled his head at the angle I liked.

Next, I mixed my paint. I wanted a soft pink, but only had hot pink, white, and brown. So I mixed a lot of the hot pink with a lot of the white and a dab of brown to get the shade I was looking for.

Then I painted around the edges (cutting in, I suppose), brushing out from the picture to ensure that my paint started at the edge of the picture and didn't seep underneath. I wasn't sure if this technique would work until I was finished...

After I finished the edges, I filled in the rest of the canvas so that the pink would be on the outside and the actual silhouette would be white. (If you wanted another color for the silhouette, paint the canvas that color first, let it dry, and then begin from the start of my instructions.)

After I finished my painting, I peeled off the picture, and ta-da!!!

 It still looks a little splotchy in the picture because it was drying, but it looks pretty sweet now that it's all dry!
And Kevin approves!

Now I just have to find the perfect spot for it in the nursery! :)

Week 23

This whole last week has been kind of lame. The weather's been kind of cold and crappy, work was dragging on all week, and Brian had to work a lot of overtime. Kind of the opposite of perfect. All of the down time led me to try something new- attempting to crossover to a self-hosted blog. Turns out it was a little bit more complicated than what I was expecting and my patience was just too short to try to deal with it. And for as much crap as people talk about Blogger, I've really liked it. That's kind of all that really matters. I'm sticking with this for now. Enough of that.

This is what I'm looking like now:

Pretty hefty, huh?

I think the camera may have added those 10 (or 20) pounds though. I mean, obviously I'm getting bigger, but I look like a cow in the 23 week picture. In my own defense I ate a pretty big burger for lunch and I had just downed a cup of almond milk.

Or maybe it was a bad angle.

Or maybe I'm just that effing big now. I don't know... more pictures to come soon though.

On a positive note, I managed to squeeze into my old jeans last night (which I hadn't tried in a couple of weeks, so that's a good thing, I guess).


On another positive note, the baby is definitely getting bigger and stronger. She's kicking a lot more, which is very reassuring. And now, not only can Brian feel her, but we can see her moving! It's nothing too crazy yet, but if I lay down, all of a sudden my stomach will twitch. Right now it just kind of looks like a muscle spasm, but it's neat. :)
Saturday
Brian had to work all day yesterday, so that kind of sucked, but I got to spend some time with my family, so it worked out. My mom and I went to our step class in the morning. I noticed that although my energy level is back up, my dexterity level is down. Like, if I make the wrong move in class (which happens more frequently than I'd like to admit), I can't adjust my body in time to catch up anymore, so I have to stop and figure out where the class is, and then join them again. It's kind of frustrating, but if I concentrate, I think I can manage. Or I could just look like an idiot. Either way.

After class, we went to Joann Fabric to get some quilting supplies so we can finally begin our project. While I was there, I got a canvas to I could make an art project...

A Kevin silhouette for the nursery! I'll post a tutorial tomorrow- it's super easy. And Kevin-approved!

That night after Brian got home, we went over to our friend Rachael's house for some corned beef and cabbage. It was St. Patrick's day, after all! It was nice to get to spend good quality time with our buddies.

Sunday
Today was a good day. We rounded up the moms and went to Buy Buy Baby to start our gift registry! Buy Buy Baby is affiliated with Bed Bath and Beyond and it's basically laid out the exact same way- a huge store filled with baby stuff. We've been in there 4 or 5 times now and each time, I get super overwhelmed. Like, I don't even know where to begin to shop for things.

Brian put up with me pretty well because I was kind of being a jerk. Not to him, but in general. The long week caught up with me, I was exhausted, and being in a huge store and not knowing what's what was making me feel like a pretty inadequate mom-to-be. But the moms were patient with me and Brian calmed me down. So between us, the moms, and a very helpful saleswoman, I think we made some pretty good decisions about what we want to get for the baby. Oh, and we bought a crib, so that was pretty exciting! Things are starting to come together and I'm feeling a lot better. And I got to spend more time with this guy today,

and what could be better than that? :)

Passing on my inner nerd...

I always enjoyed reading while I was growing up. My parents have a picture in of me that is still hanging in their hallway from when I was like a year old, fast asleep with a book opened up and resting on my chest. My mom used to continues to tell people that I brought a book to my first Dodger game. Before I got a TV in my room, I used to put myself to sleep with a book every night. I still have my huge collection of Baby Sitters Club books hidden away in a closet, and you know I've read each one at least twice.

Needless to say, I like getting lost in a good book and I believe all the reading I did as a child helped me immensely in school and broadened the range of my imagination. I want my daughter to enjoy reading as much as I do, so like I discussed in my last post, I want to create a reading area in her room from the get-go.

Over the weekend, my dad and I started working on a book case. My dad's pretty awesome- as soon as I told him what I wanted to do, he sprang into action by creating plans and drawing out dimensions of shelves. We went shopping for a bunch of lumber and started construction on Saturday morning.

A couple of hours in, Brian came over and jumped right in to help. Why wasn't he there from the beginning, you ask? It's because he's the best husband ever! He stayed home to vacuum and do dishes while I went to go play with power tools. He's awesome! ♥

But like I said, as soon as he got there, he jumped right in, so this piece of furniture is really going to be a collaboration of love for this little girl! We're still not done yet. We still have some trim to add and then some sanding and painting to do, but it's looking good!

One of the highlights of my week was coming home to one of my first purchases for the baby... books!!!

Sure, they're well beyond the reading comprehension level of a baby-toddler-young child, but they're classic stories (that I want to read/reread myself), so I'm going to start young! I felt kind of silly at first, but I'm looking forward to diving into some of these stories with her. Plus, Brian and I found a bunch of Golden Books (remember those?) and Disney books that we'll read to her too.

I'm so excited for it all! These books are really cool too- leather bound with shimmery pages and even some very pretty illustrations.

Purdy!

And for anyone keeping track, I've moved into my 22nd week, so here's last week's picture:

And compared to the previous weeks':

Starting to get bigger! The cool thing is, aside from the occasional heartburn (which is bad when it hits), I'm feeling pretty darn good. I'm staying awake later, I have more energy, and I'm starting to look pregnant in clothes and not just fat and frumpy. I've been feeling good at the gym each morning and the ladies there have been very sweet and complimentary, which has been making me feel good too. I'm also starting to feel her kick (Jab? Upper cut? Swing a bat? Not sure but she's getting stronger!) and that's been very reassuring. It's been a good week!

More to come soon!

Reading Nook

So, first things first- this last week placed me at 20 weeks pregnant. In fact, today is 20 weeks and 6 days, which means that I am officially over the halfway mark! I've been feeling pretty good this week. My energy level has been up and I actually feel smaller this week than I did last week. Less bloated, I guess.

The proof is in the pictures!

Right? Don't I look way bigger at 19 weeks?? And whiter! But that's just the camera playing tricks. I didn't go tanning, I swear!


But yeah, it's been a pretty good week, so other than a little headache today, I can't really complain!

We got our new bed over the weekend so we set that up and it's so comfy! Our old bed was my old double that my parents bought me when I was like, 12 or something, so we were due for a new one. We got a California King and it is huge! I keep teasing Brian that I can't find him in the middle of the night!

We found this quilt deeply discounted from Bed Bath and Beyond. It's really pretty- pink with some light greens and tans. I never usually go for those colors and I thought they would probably be too girly, but Brian said he really didn't care as long as I liked it. So I steered away from my typical turquoise and went with something new.

Brian genuinely doesn't mind. Neither does Kevin!

I love that face!

And moving on to the fun stuff... setting up the nursery! Here's a quick before tour of the room that we're working with...

 That's the doorway into the room on the right and a walk-in closet on the left. Our room is the door straight down the hall. Once that mess is gone, the plan is to put the changing table/dresser/hutch on that wall. Notice the cathedral ceilings... they're like, 14 ridiculous feet tall...

 When you walk through the door and turn to your right, this is the wall you face. (Kevin says hello!) We're planning on putting the crib either directly on that wall, or in the left corner at an angle... we'll have to see once we get all of the furniture in there...

If you turn to the left after walking in, you face this wall. (There's a full bath all the right side of the picture.) I want to replace that old rickety turquoise book shelf with a sturdier bookcase, kind of like this one:

Just a little bit wider. And made with love- my dad and I already have some plans in the works to build it ourselves! I'm pretty excited about that!
Side note- I love that my parents are so on board with all of my shenanigans. Like, obviously they're excited about a baby in general, but I ask my mom if we can make a quilt together and she wants to, I ask my dad about making a book case together and he wants to... it makes me so happy! I love them!

Anyway, I'm pretty sure this last wall will end up being my favorite...

It's the first wall you see when you walk in the door. It's also the shortest wall in the room, so I feel pretty confident that I can paint it or stencil it or wall paper it without too much risk of falling off a ladder. So not only will I think it's going to be a pretty wall, but I want to make it a reading nook! It has close proximity to the bookcase wall (see the turquoise?). Under the window I want to put this love seat/sleeper sofa from Ikea:

I like it for a couple of reasons... 1st, it would give us a place to sleep guests if anyone wants to come stay with us for a night or two (hint, hint, SIL Melissa!). Second, I've read more than one mom say that they love having a sleeper as opposed to a glider in the nursery for those times that they fall asleep during middle of the night feedings. Third, it will be a good space for me and Brian to sit and hang out with the baby at bed time or in the morning or whenever. I know Brian will want to spend just as much time in there as I do, so we should both be comfortable, right? And last, as the baby starts getting older (heck, probably even before), I want to start a tradition of reading with her, and I can picture the three of us (with Kevin at our feet) curled up under the quilt, grabbing a book of the bookcase, and reading out loud. I actually already ordered some pretty leather bound books that are going to be decorative and hopefully inspire her imagination.

Don't act like you weren't thinking it...
:)

Oh, And I also want to hang this chandelier in that area too:

Cute, right? In my head, this is going to be the sweetest little nursery ever, and right now, the reading nook is one of my favorite ideas. Updates to come soon!