...Surprise!

Well hello again! It's been a while...3 months to be exact! How terrible is that?! I start my blog and then a couple months later take a few months off. I would be the worst new-hire ever if I was employed by this blog. I promise I have a good excuse...

Baby #2, expected arrival: October 1, 2013

Yes! We are pregnant with our second baby! Told you I had a good excuse. Ok, not really. There are too many super moms out there who can disprove my theory that pregnancy should mean you get a 9 month vacation in the Bahamas.

I'll be 100% honest. Pregnancy is not my favorite thing. When I was pregnant with Audrey, I missed feeling energetic and longed for the day when I could jump out of bed in half a second or move around at work without having to worry about knocking an IV pole with my baby bump! I get very clumsy. So these last few months, it's not hard to guess that I have been in hibernation mode. I slept when Audrey slept and it still wasn't enough. Thank the sweet Lord for the 2nd trimester!

Another thing that has been completely overwhelming is thinking about how we're going to attempt to handle having two kids under age two. God help us! And just the logistics: do we need two strollers? double stroller? two high chairs? do we get another crib or put Audrey in a toddler bed? how will two car seats fit in my car? how will I ever go to the grocery store, bathroom, take a shower? blah, blah, blah! I'm so over it! I stressed myself out way more than was necessary. Now that I'm well into my 2nd trimester, I'm as cool as a cucumber (check back in a few weeks if this still holds true). My husband and I are so incredibly blessed with Audrey and God has given us another miracle...how can I choose stress over excitement?

And guess what.............we're 90% sure we're having another girl!!! At least that's what our ultra sound tech told us at 13 weeks (it's amazing what can be seen!). While my poor husband will be totally overwhelmed with all the estrogen in our house, I can't be more excited about Audrey having a little sister. It's a relationship I never had, cursed blessed with two little brothers :-) Plus being 15 months apart, I can only hope they will be best friends, how fun! The hubs and I want a pretty big family (by today's standards at least) so this will not be our last chance for a boy (can't wait for the day when I can buy little baby bow ties and argyle sweaters <-- hope my husband won't read this one!)

That was a lot of words for a 1st post back after my blog vacation hormonal, nausea-filled hibernation! Snaps to you if you're still reading my rambings! I will have to post pics and updates on what else our family has been up to. Here's a preview: "How you need eyes in the back of your head when your baby starts walking." And my saint of a husband could write a post called "How get my pregnant wife and teething daughter to stop crying." (I kid...sorta!)

6 Months

Wow! Recovering from the holiday season and getting back into the swing of things is no joke and has been keeping us busy over here! Therefore, this little blog has been neglected and I am almost exactly a month behind with posting this 6 month update! Even though Audrey will be 7 months in 4 DAYS (Oh, good grief!) I can't ignore this month which has been stuffed full of development for our girl.

At 5 months, Audrey was pretty much crawling around but at 6 months she became a professional crawler. She is so stinkin' fast and we can't take our eyes off her for one second without her finding something she shouldn't (despite my best efforts to baby-proof our house!). With that being said, it's worth noting that Audrey would rather play with anything but her toys (who needs toys when you have electrical outlets, right?). Luckily my husband baby-proofed our electrical outlets but she always manages to get to a lamp cord or something of that sort. Another favorite past time of Audrey's is hanging out by our fire place. I think she knows it's mom's worst nightmare, having her bump her chin on that brick and cutting her lip with her teeth! I'm constantly having to reign in my anxiety when she's hoisting herself up on the brick hearth and calmly move her away.

Speaking of "hoisting," 6 months marks the time when Audrey has decided she has two legs for a reason. As soon as she master her "speed crawl," she was on to bigger and better things. This girl pulls herself up on EVERYTHING! She almost pulled my pj pants down in the kitchen one morning as she was trying to stand up using my leg! She loves holding our hands as her little feet flail around beneath her, trying to get coordinated. Still no kisses and waiting on her first "da-da."

Yes, this is my 6 month old, holding herself up while wearing mommy's uggs. There was no parental assistance with this (minus putting her little feet in the boots)!

I may not win "Mom Of the Year" with this photo but how stinkin' cute is this? Baby plumber butt with her baby jeans!

In other news, the Midles Family is officially going to Europe in May! We may be crazy taking an 11 month old across the world on a marathon flight but it's too late now, tickets have been booked! We'll be visiting England to introduce Audrey to my mom's side of the family, as well as visiting friends in Germany, Switzerland, and Rome. Can't wait!!

Also of note, after the holiday season, I really started ramping up my workout routine to get rid of these last 10 $%*&^ stubborn lbs. After many friend's recommendations and reading about it on LittleBabyGarvin, I started doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, as well as running a couple times a week. Holy cow, this woman is NOT messing around. It's just 20 minutes a day and it's a "butt kicker," especially when you get past level one. I already notice a huge difference and I'm only half way through. Then yesterday after getting off the treadmill, my knee was killing me. This morning, I am hobbling around like a 90 year old without a cane...lets hope this is only for today!

Have a happy day, everyone!

A Belated "Merry Christmas"

It is January 7th (11:32 P.M. at that!) and I'm just recapping our Christmas. Good grief. Although I'm not surprised. I drive my husband nuts sometimes all the time with my amazing procrastination skills. What can I say...I work better under pressure...?

Our tree before we brought all the gifts to their Christmas gatherings.

For Audrey's 1st Christmas I was really confident that I would be easy going and didn't set expectations too high for certain things. I mean, come on, a 6 month old isn't going to be able to open all her gifts by herself, stay awake for every holiday meal, or keep her dress on for more than a few hours. Turns out I got a heavy dose of reality for Christmas.

Audrey barely slept all day on Christmas Eve. I guess all the anticipation that Santa was coming really got to her. About 15 minutes before my whole family arrived at my parent's house for Christmas Eve dinner, she finally fell asleep (go figure!). When she woke up from her super short 30 minute nap, she was in no mood to eat and refused her Christmas feast avocado and oatmeal cereal combo, screaming in protest. I finally gave in and took my husband's advice and just gave her a bottle.

I was so excited to get her into her sparkly dress and headband I had custom made to match, but Audrey had different plans. I managed to get her in it for about an hour before she got the sparkles from her dress in her eyes after rubbing those tired baby blues. She did enjoy opening a some presents  eating some wrapping paper with the family. We went to Midnight Mass with my parents and instead of her fancy outfit, I sadly admitted defeat and put her in her Christmas PJs. We ended up leaving Mass early so we wouldn't have a tiny version of the Grinch in the morning. She still slept through her 1st round of gifts on Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve, before we ditched the dress

Please note that her adorable headband switched sides a few times, no idea what happened here.

Ok, so I feel like I'm complaining now....let me explain myself a little better. It's no lie when I say that our daughter is seriously one of the easiest babies alive and yes, I know every parent says this, but I really mean it! She is always super happy and easy going (albeit, energetic and curious as ever!), but all the Christmas cheer proved to be a bit overwhelming for our tired girl, that's all. And apparently, although I felt like I had really low expectations going in, turns out Mommy was a little too aggressive with all the "Christmas-ness" for rookie-Audrey.

On Christmas Day we drove south to be with Zack's family. My husband and I have always loved the movie, Elf so for the first part of the day we chose to wear our Buddy the Elf and Jovie costumes (yes, we are that cool!) while Audrey wore a "Raised by Elves" onesie. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of us dressed like this on Christmas but this pic is from Halloween...you get the idea.

Audrey was still tired and slept through gifts from Santa a second time but later had a blast playing in the boxes with her 1 year old cousin, Abby. Grandpa Midles entertained the girls for quite some time pushing them around the living room in their boxes. It's totally true that kids care about the boxes more than what's in them! The girls were moving too fast in their race cars boxes to get a good picture from my phone but here is one of Audrey trying to swipe Abby's toy. Seriously so excited for all the years of fun with these two growing up together!

Adorable "cat-hat" was a gift.

This girl just LOVES to be in boxes!

It is totally true that Christmas is a million times more fun with kids...even if they aren't seasoned veterans yet. Zack and I agreed to make a contribution to Audrey's college-fund instead of getting her Christmas gifts this year. We figured she was going to be spoiled by grandparents and aunts and uncles and she wouldn't remember this year anyways. But after making this deal, I figured she needed her stocking filled at our house in addition to her other stockings from both sets of grandparents. She also just couldn't go without some new clothes for her closet (because it's just sooooo empty). Finally, this 6 month old is obsessed with our cell phones so I found her a toy phone that was designed to look like our iPhones. I never thought I would be that mom, but oh well. What's done is done :-)

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and that this New Year is full of blessings, health, and happiness! Can't wait to do it all again next year...351 days to go!

A Peek at 2012's Christmas Festivities

Well, the wait for next year's Christmas season has begun all over again. So sad. I had big expectations to post updates of our Christmas happenings, but of course that didn't happen (who was I kidding?!). Now to play catch-up and show you all what Life in {the} Midle(s)' family was like this past month. Our Christmas Day will be another post soon. Warning: many photos ahead!

I put a ridiculous amount of lights on our Christmas trees...like seriously, sometimes I think I'm trying to one-up the Rockefeller Center tree (don't anyone worry, I'll get there someday)!

Beautiful flowers my hubby surprised me with: romantic AND festive...this is why I married him!

This fireplace drives me absolutely insane. I think fireplaces are the one of the greatest places in a house to decorate but how the heck are you supposed to decorate a 1980's wood stove with a giant pipe that covers the center of the mantle?! I'm still working on it but I did whitewash the brick a couple months ago which has toned it down a bit (possibly more on this later if anyone is interested). And just ignore the plethora of "baby gear" hanging around!

Stockings: Pottery Barn

Trying to display some of the adorable Christmas cards we received this year (well done, everyone!). I originally only had one string up but the hubby wanted more cards displayed, so I made another one. In an effort to not take over all our walls with cards, I put the rest in a basket. Please ignore the poor lighting of the photos!

I'm totally in love with this little hutch (no idea what it officially is called) from Target (where else?!).

Oh What Fun printable is from jandpaper

We drove around one night to look at all the lights in our neighborhood. Zack humored me as I crisscrossed all over the place and we listened to Christmas music (I'm obsessed!). And look what we found!! Clark Griswold would have been so proud!!!

Audrey and I tried to make cinnamon handprint ornaments. After experimenting with two different recipes and trying to get an overtired 5 month old to put her handprint on about a dozen ornaments, we gave up. The finished product isn't even worth showing...maybe next year. Side note: my mother-in-law was over at our house watching Audrey and preheated the oven, unaware that I had left some of the ornaments inside. Before she knew it, the house was filled with the overwhelming scent of cinnamon from a mystery source. I got a confused text while I was at work. I'm still cracking up about this.

Halfway through cookie making. I got waaay too excited and made 5 different kinds of cookies. After giving them to family and friends and a huge plate to my husband's coworkers, we still have a ton left over. Anyone want to help me get rid of them?

Audrey's 1st snow just a couple weeks before Christmas! I'm loving this adorable snowsuit but she was pretty immobile in it and totally reminded me of little Randy from A Christmas Story ("Ralphie! I can't get up!"). She was absolutely perplexed by the snow.

Opening an early Christmas gift from her Aunt Kenzie (it was an adorable outfit which I'm sure you will see in later posts!). Audrey seemed to think wrapping paper was always some sort of super delicious snack.

Can't forget that at the very beginning of the Christmas season, Audrey turned 5 months old (let's all please ignore the fact that she will be 6 months in two days and I'm super late on posting this photo!).

SANTA!! I know him!!! Actually, Audrey acted like she did know him and didn't even do a double take when we put her on the lap of a stranger in a giant red suit. This girl seriously loves the camera, such a ham! I found it funny that I was super excited and felt the same anticipation I had as a kid when I was about to visit Santa. I guess the Big Guy never loses his magic.

Dress: Target, Headband: Custom order from Jameson Monroe

And after bombarding you with pictures of our lives the past few weeks...I'll leave you with this festive little baby butt under the tree...

Merry Christmas!

'Tis the Season

Every year, without fail, I can be found at the local mall on December 23rd. I frantically criss-cross the whole mall at least twice and fight through crowds of shoppers as I try to finish start my Christmas shopping. You would think after years of doing this, I would have learned my lesson. So this year I've decided to be a rebel and start early (aka mid-December). Smart? Yes...just ignore the fact that I decided to take my almost 6 month old on a Friday evening during rush hour to start my Christmas shopping expedition.

 Just look at that face...I think Audrey had better insight into my poor shopping decision than I did. (of course, Sophie was in tow!)

It didn't take long for Audrey to warm up to the Christmas shopping experience (a girl after her momma's heart!). 

Here she is showing off a gift for her Uncle/Godfather. Look at the pride in her face at finding this deal!

Turns out Audrey seems to really enjoy shopping, just like her mom. She was patient with me while I walked Macy's floor plan at least 3 times and even took an interest in the merchandise tried to put everything she could get her little hands on in her mouth. 

She fell asleep while holding on for dear life on the ride home...get used to it kiddo!

Welcome to your 1st Christmas Season, little Sweet Pea! I hope it is a time always filled with magic, love, and the true meaning of the season!

Be Merry!

Every day we spend with Audrey takes us one day further from the life we had before she came along. Don't get me wrong, life gets better every day with our sweetheart. But sometimes memories of a simpler time are impossible to ignore, especially when you're trying to make a bottle. Try measuring formula, pouring water, putting all 4 pieces (yes, 4!) together, shake and test the temperature with one hand while two tiny ones reach frantically for it. It should be some sort of Olympic sport!

One of these flashbacks haunted me while Audrey I was getting some much needed caffeine at Starbucks. Let me just say, I absolutely love this time of year for so many reasons but the Starbucks holiday drinks are hard to beat. I was looking forward to my hot peppermint mocha before the munchkin and I did a little Christmas shopping. We had already been out running errands for a while and Audrey was starting to get hungry. I ordered my drink, grabbed a table, and fed Audrey as I eagerly anticipated that first sip of Christmas in a cup.

disclaimer: if you don't have children, are never around children, or don't care to know about what those children can do in their diapers...stop reading.

Mid-bottle, Audrey started grunting, loudly. While a few people around us thought it was funny, I watched (while still chugging her bottle) as her little face got red and her eyes started watering. I knew what was happening. I let her finished her meal and then off we went to the bathroom. Someone needs to rethink the diaper changing stations in these bathrooms, but that's another issue.

I learned very quickly after Audrey was born to pack one multiple extra outfits in her diaper bag for occasions like this. Slipping a very dirty onesie over a squirming baby's head while not making the situation messier is a skill in itself. Anyways, Audrey was successfully cleaned and changed (after running out of wipes and having to use wet paper towels on her poor little tush = mom-fail). Excited the ordeal was over, I picked Audrey up and she spit up all down the front of my shirt. Maybe she wanted me to change my clothes too?

Needless to say, my coffee was completely cold and I was in a less festive mood than when I had started. Long gone are the days of quietly sipping hot coffee and people watching. Good thing she's cute! :-)

Audrey's Birth Story

I feel like I have to recap so much and I'm kicking myself for not starting this blog earlier. It's kind of like the feeling you got when you were starting a paper the night before it was due. I'll do my best to tell the story of our lives these last four or five months in a non-boring simple and quick fashion.

The Birth of Little Miss Audrey

My official due date was June 16th. From the beginning of my pregnancy I had a feeling Audrey would arrive late. I also knew due dates weren't exact and most first time moms deliver after their due date...no big deal right? Wrong! Audrey was exactly 2 weeks late and let me tell you, those 2 weeks were a big deal to me. I had reached my goal of working full time up to June 16th and then came the 2 weeks of clock watching, excitement, and major anxiety over labor starting at any moment. My day would consist of waking up, eat breakfast, sit on the couch, nap, eat lunch, sit on the couch, nap, go for a walk, sadly tell all inquiring friends and family there were no signs of baby yet, make dinner for my husband, fall asleep on the couch, drag my butt to bed, roll around a lot trying to get comfortable. Oh and throw about twenty trips to the bathroom in there! I was so bored and large uncomfortable!

It was decided that I would be induced and on a Thursday evening, Zack and I drove excitedly to the hospital. I was still scared but oh so ready to meet our baby girl. I was given labor inducing meds all night long without too much response. I wasn't dilated at all when I was admitted. The hospital bed was so uncomfortable and my back was so sore that I didn't sleep a wink all night. I was also trying not to move too much because every adjustment I made, the monitors I was hooked up to would need to be adjusted (and I would need to go to the bathroom)...Zack slept great!

4AM rolled around and I'm pretty sure I was just staring at Zack as he slept, totally jealous and mad that he was getting the sleep I needed when my nurse came in and wanted to give me some sleep medication. I was super reluctant but took it anyways because I was so desperate. Apparently taking Ambien for me means getting 30 minutes of sleep (I have some words for the drug company about this!). The pitocin was increased every hour and it didn't really start working for about another 4 hours...dang stubborn cervix!

The abdominal labor was totally tolerable but the back labor was no joke! Baby was sunny-side up and pushing on my spine and coccyx with every contraction...after a few hours of this I tearfully admitted I needed the epidural (so not in my birth plan).

One of Zack's favorite memories was when I was in the tub trying to get comfortable, just minutes before sobbing, "I need the drugs." Our nurse was trying to talk me through a contraction but somehow she and Zack became tabloid reporters, talking about how Katie Holmes had just announced she was divorcing Tom Cruise. News to me! I stopped mid-contraction to get the scoop. Forget Lamaze or deep breathing, just hand me a People Magazine next time!

Another 12 hours of labor, 1 hour of off-and-on sleep, half an hour of pushing, the most intense feeling of simultaneous thirst and nausea later (one of the worst parts of labor), Audrey made her debut! Zack and I had never felt so much love, joy, and relief. She was perfect. The most precious part of the whole experience was Zack singing to our crying little girl and she immediately stopped crying and stared up at him.

I didn't get much sleep that night again. I was so overwhelmed and I couldn't stop looking at Audrey in the crib next to me (making sure she was breathing and not suffocating in the intense swaddle), but I was utterly exhausted...Zack slept great!

I know I promised a brief birth story but when I start thinking of Audrey's birthday I get carried away recapping the events of the day that turned into the best day of my life. I told Zack after it was all over..."That was fun! Let's do it again!"

Now 5 months has gone by in a flash and my sleep deprivation heart has grown so much watching our little Sweet Pea grow and learn new things every day. She is so curious, happy, and VERY energetic (I may be in trouble for the next 18 years).