Baby Brooke is One Month

Baby Brooke--

You are now officially 

1 month old!

How time really does fly, with a child...

I can honestly say this has been the best month of my life.

With all of the twists and turns of being a new mommy,

I look back

with my sleep deprived eyes

and am so proud of the three of us.

In one short month,

we've become a beautiful family of three.

Loving you is easy little girl!

You really are the sunshine of our lives.

Your 

coos, 

smiles 

and endless looks

 keep us wanting more from you each day!

You love to be bounced on that ball!

You make the best faces.

As girlie as I try to make you,

I have that feeling you'll be running around in camo,

hunting with daddy and playing sports soon enough,

as you seem to love your 49ers binky

over any other girlie one we have!

 For now I'll put you in legwarmers, tutus, and headbands

 for as long as you'll allow.

 Are we done yet? I have better things to do.

One Month Stats:

11 lbs 2 oz

22 1/4" long 

3 months fits you perfectly

0-3 is too snug.

You can really hold your head up for a long while.

You enjoy play time on your activity mats.

You seemed to have noticed our doggie Holly finally!

You sleep swaddled for up to 4 hours at a time

{in your own crib!!}

You are SO strong baby girl!
You pull mommy's hair so much, it really hurts!

You turn your head side to side, recognizing mommy and daddy's voices.

You've been such a good girl for your grandparents who've babysat a few hours at a time!
You love love love bath time!
Daddy trims your nails {baby raptor claws, he calls them} while you're asleep.

You're so alert.

You only cry for three reasons:

1. You're hungry

2. You need a diaper change

3. You're overtired

You are a very well behaved baby, and for that we are very thankful.

Happy One Month Baby girl!!
You are so very loved.
I love you with my heart and soul!!!!

And in case you wanted a video update...

I ended up taking a 2 hour nap after I recorded it,

so pardon the tired voice/eyes.

Enjoy :)

Girls' Night with my Girl

Our monthly girls' night has been something we all look forward to.

It was a little wacky, in December Matty was out of town

and in January, I was super prego and my friends just stopped up

at the hospital to visit Brooke and I when the time came.

So, for February, they all came here again.
Last Wednesday it was Alison's turn to 'host'.

She cooked in my kitchen,

so that this new mommy

 and newborn didn't have to travel out and about just yet.

Thank you!

Kristin brought a fun little dip:

Cream cheese

Wasabi sauce

Soy Sauce

Sesame Seeds

Rice Crackers

Yummy!

Matty brought a healthy salad.

Alison prepared Shrimp & Cheesy Grits

{this recipe looks somewhat similar}

 Alison also roasted butternut squash, cranberries, & onion in the oven.

I think there was EVOO & salt/pepper...totally making that again!

{Yes, that's my baby laundry on the end of our huge table--ahhh!}

And I spent all day cleaning, then tried to get ready, and 

realized that I never estimate enough time with a baby!!

She was wide awake and demanding my attention.

 

 Thank goodness she loves the sound of my hairdryer?!

A little pre-girls' night fun.

CK onesie

Baby Legs Legwarmers

She was ready for her first girls' night!

But then she decided to do this the entire time...

There's always next month!! 
So...my plan was to whip up an elaborate dessert.
I didn't factor in feedings and cuddles, so it turned into

 Tastefully Simple's

Sugar & Spice Chai Bread

paired it with a Chai latte and it was still scrumptious!
{even though I don't consider it ' real baking' this new mommy was pleased!}

{yes, I stole your pics on Instagram Kris!!}

So it was a fabulous night.

Great food.

Wonderful drinks.

Better friends.

The first picture where I told them I was pregnant {May 2012}

 And here is one now that lil miss Brooke is with us!

Next month we're in the city at Matty's!

First Date Night Since Baby and a Recipe

Our first official "Date Night" since baby!

Saturday night Joe's parents came over to babysit.

Wow.

So many memories flooded through my mind

of when I used to babysit for other couples,

and also when my own parents would go out Friday nights.

Now, it was my turn.

And in typical fashion,

I wasn't ready to leave when they got here! 

I got caught up in feeding/changing 

and my hair wasn't quite finished.

That's ok, because grandma was more than eager to get a hold of Brooke!
We kissed our little love goodbye,

and scurried off.

Our first of two stops was Trata.

The trendy, newer restaurant/bar here in the Roc.

I've heard the food is not great,

[and you know we are huge foodies!]

So we just stopped in to check it out and have a drink.

It was a cool building and my pinot noir was divine. 

google images

More importantly, we were out of the house,

 I was as dolled up as one can be one month post-partum

{I totally wanted to rock heels, but the foot of snow prevented me!}

I'm still wearing maternity jeans, but some flowy non-maternity tops fit nicely.

It was so fun to people watch,

and just be the two of us.

As we finished our wine and headed back to the truck,

I turned to him and was just so giddy,

"I'm having such a great time already!"

Our next stop was the newer sushi joint that opened while I was prego.

I had been dying to go, but obviously had to wait until after baby.

NIKKO

 google images

It was a decent place;

a tad over-priced,

however the sushi was really good.

We most likely won't go back,

as there are plenty of other great sushi places ,

but were so happy to have tried it!

It was the perfect 'first date' out since having Brooke.

Just long enough to fall in love all over again with each other,

and yet by 9:30 we were home racing to get our pj's on.

 His parents were shocked we were home already,

but it was just long enough for both of us.

Sunday all three of us lounged around,

being absolutely lazy.

It was perfect.

We watched the movie
Flight

With Denzel Washington

It was a bit intense, but a pretty good movie.

Dinner time rolled around and I decided upon this...

Easy Mac & Cheese Broccoli Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

8 oz pasta

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

1 bag of frozen veggies thawed

2 cups of diced cooked chicken

4 tablespoons butter melted

1 cup of milk

1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1. Boil pasta according to box

2. In a casserole, stir in chicken, broccoli, pasta, 3 tablespoons of the butter,

milk, cheddar cheese.

3. Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, Parm cheese & Panko and sprinkle on top.

4. Bake at 400 for a half an hour uncovered

Hubs loved it and it was super easy for this lazy mama!!

Curling Hair with a Flat-Iron VLOG

Happy Friday Dolls!

 

I had been requested a few times to share how I curl my hair

with my straightener...

It's been on my You-Tube channel, 

but I never shared it on the blog!

Looking back,

(first week in December)

omagaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

I was huuuuuuuuuuuuge!!

And I oddly miss it.

sometimes

But I just love holding and having my little baby girl here!!

So, it's not the best tutorial, but hey, it's something!

Just remember:

"Like curling a ribbon with a pair of scissors"

and lots of practice.

Happy curling!!

3 Weeks & Late Weekend Re-cap

As per the life of a brand new mommy,

I have no schedule, real routine, or really know what the hell I'm doing.

I'm just doing the best I can,

with the time I have!

That said, this post was started on Monday,

and well...

I'm just finishing it now.

-enjoy-

Our little girl is 3 weeks old!!

Some facts about you baby girl:

-You are starting to really "coo" & talk quite a bit!

-You're definitely a morning person.

[Smiley and friendly first thing in the morning.]
-We gave you your first bath {finally your cord fell off!}
and you really enjoyed it.
Such a big girl; no tears for you!

-You are starting to notice so much lately;

-You LOVE your mirrors

and lay on your activity mat and bat away at the toys.

-Your favorite binky is still the 49ers 

-However, you've taken all of your other ones too now!

-You love going for rides in the truck (faster than 35 mph)

 -0-3 months don't always fit over your head,

or button up over your chubby little legs

-3 months is fitting quite nicely!

-You take a bottle and still nurse beautifully.

-I've caught a few smiles, but none of which are on camera.

-You're holding your head up for a few moments at a time.

-We tried the K'Tan baby wrap/carrier and you LOVE it!

{Once I figured out how to get your head to not be covered}

You fall asleep within five minutes, all snuggled up in there.

-You're getting stronger and stronger each day!

We are so in love with you baby girl!

Nighttime snuggles

and lunch time cuddles

It was such a lovely weekend, since Joe had Friday-Sunday off.

We live for that first weekend each month.

I really love it now,

that Joe wakes up and takes over the 6am feeding/baby time.

Sleeping in never felt so good.

Friday his cousin Mary stopped by to spend time with baby Brooke.

We just relaxed by the fire and enjoyed the day.

I also got out and grocery shopped, all by myself, and not prego!
It was glorious.

I just walked up and down the aisles and took my time...loved it!

We had sushi for dinner and fell asleep kind of early.

Being parents of a newborn,

you tend to nod off around 8:30, if you didn't get a nap!

Saturday morning was low key,

and we mustered up some energy to go to the mall for a bit.

We are still hesitant with her being so little to go out too much, 

but man, cabin fever has hit me hard and I need to get out and about with my fam!

Sunday morning we were finally able to spend time with my in-laws,

as they're now healthy {yay!} and so we enjoyed coffee and canolis

and of course lots of cuddles with baby girl.

We had some family over to watch the big game,

{which we're really not talking about...maybe next year boys}

*tear*

My sister made this delicious "Taco Ring" which I will definitely make again.

{recipe modified from here}

We gobbled up our Ceviche

and I certainly got a little cozy with my good old friend,

Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio.