Father's Day and backaches....

Hi my sweet little pumpy-umpy-umpkin! Right now, I am sitting at home and you are at Mimi's house - it feels so weird to be here at home without you! I miss you like crazy, and I just texted Mimi to see how you're doing. She (and Grandma and Auntie Beth) know how much I miss you when we have to be apart, so they always send me pictures of you throughout the day. I really look forward to those texts. So, I'm home from work today because somehow I hurt my back yesterday and I can hardly move without it hurting really bad. I don't know how I hurt myself, but boy did I do a good job of it. The only thing I can possibly think of is that short little walk I took with you in your Bjorn. You LOVE going out in it, so we walked for about 15 minutes or so until Daddy came home, and by the time I took you out, my back was cramping up. You're such a big girl now!! Mommy needs to go to the gym more often and work on her abs! :)

**Mimi just sent me a picture of you in your high chair holding your spoon and the message said "Getting ready to rat peas!" Haha!! And you look sooooo cute. (as usual)

So this weekend was Father's Day, and it was a great one! It was a busy weekend - first we went down to Orlando for cousin Shea's first birthday party! You were so good in the car both down and back - you slept pretty much the whole time (which is sort of a miracle, since lately you and your carseat are not really friends). There were lots of kids and babies there at the party - Shea, Molly (8 months) and Levi (3 years) who are Shea's cousins, Eden (almost 2) and Avery (3 years) who are Aunt Katie's friend Megan's kids (plus Megan had a little baby boy in her belly), and of course, YOU! It was loud and rowdy, but so much fun. You and Shea played some, but it was harder for you since you aren't crawling yet, and Shea was all over the place! Mostly you sat on the floor and played or sat in my lap (which is fine with me 'cause I just snuggled and loved on you). Oh, and it was so cute, Daddy and Avery hit it off and talked a lot - she really liked him. She wanted to know if you still wore diapers (haha!) and told us that she wore panties because she was a big girl. I am very curious about how potty training is going to go with you....hmmm, it will be an adventure I am sure.

So that was Saturday, then on Sunday, we got up really early and went to the football stadium (the Swamp) and went up and down the corkscrew ramp 5 times. It was already so hot, and by the end you were pretty grumpy (and mommy was TIRED!) Then we went to Cracker Barrel to meet Grandma and Grandpa for breakfast. Yum! Once we got home, you and Daddy went to take naps, and I went out to run a few errands (pick up the cookie cake, get a couple of last minute gifts). Then you and Daddy went to Sonny's together for lunch so I could wrap the presents - had to get him out of the house for the big surprise! After lunch, we went out to Mimi's for a little bit because Shea, Aunt Katie and Uncle Billy had stopped by on their way back home. Already it had been a very busy day, and we still hadn't done the best part -- presents!!

We went to Carraba's for dinner with the family - it was delicious! - and then back to our house for dessert and gifts. You and I tricked daddy, we made him think he was getting a bicycle, but instead we got him an iPad!!!!!!!! Everyone chipped in on it - Mimi and Grandaddy, Grandma, Aunt Beth and Uncle JJ. He was SO surprised, and super excited. I told him that since this was his first Father's Day and because he is such an amazing dad, he really deserved something extravagant. He said the best part of the day, however, was knowing he had such a beautiful, sweet baby daughter to love. Happy Father's Day to Daddy, you and I are two lucky girls!

We love you more than words can say, my little Juli-bean. I keep thinking if I blog about how much I love you, or tell you how much I love you, or sing to you about how much I love you enough, I can even begin to scratch the surface....but what you mean to me is too big for words. I hope you feel how loved you are, my sweet girl, every single minute of every single day.

So here is the silly song that I referenced at the beginning of this post....it's been stuck in my head all week, but you seem to like it, so I will keep on singing it to you:

"You're my honey bunch, sugar plum,
Pumpy-umpy-umpkin,
You're my sweetie pie.
You're my cuppy cake, gum drop,
Snoogems, boogems, you're
the apple of my eye.
And I love you so,
And I want you to know,
That I'll always be right here.
And I love to sing sweet songs to you,
because you are so dear!!"

xoxo,

Mommy

Beach fun and nighttime freakouts...

Well, lots of things have been going on since I last wrote. You've been eating a variety of foods lately - pears, apples, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, cereal. So far, you seem to really love the cereal with fruit in it and the sweet potatoes. Next up is going to be peaches! It's hard to find organic baby food in all the different varieties - we are going to shield you from pesticides for as long as it's reasonably possible. I know eventually we will have to slack off on that, but for now, we are doing our best to keep you in a safe little bubble. :)

You've been a little grumpy the last few days, and you have been waking more and more at night. Could you finally be getting some teeth? I haven't seen any, but you really hate letting me look, so who knows? You seem to just want to be held and cuddled all the time, which mommy is happy to oblige. Oh yeah, and you are just now starting to reach out for people you know! I love this!! It makes me feel so good to see you actively want me to hold you. You can reach out for me anytime, for as long as I live I will be there to take you in my arms.

It's been a while since I wrote -- we spent Memorial Day weekend at the beach for our annual Shuman girls getaway! Me, you, Mimi, and Aunt Beth went to Daytona (as usual) for 4 days and had a great time! Daddy came and spent Saturday night and Sunday too though, because he just couldn't be away from you that long. I don't blame him at all! We had fun on the beach and in the pool, and you got so worn out by all the fun that you slept a lot more than normal. You hate having sunscreen put on you, and you didn't much like the bright, blinding sun, so there were some crabby moments. Overall though, I think you loved it. Your favorite time of day was around 5 or so when the sun was behind the hotel and the pool was shaded - you laughed and laughed at everybody ducking under the water and popping up. Your laugh is the best sound ever!

Oh and one other thing: apparently you rolled from your back to your stomach at the hotel. Mimi saw you do it, but I missed it because I was playing Angry Birds! We tried and tried to get you to do it again, but you were happy to stay put on your back and side. Darn Angry Birds...

I was starting to get a little more relaxed about you here lately, but the most upsetting thing happened a couple of weeks ago that has put my neurotic self back into overdrive...
We bought the Snuza movement monitor for you to wear at night. It just clips on to your diaper and if it doesn't detect movement (breathing) in 15 seconds it buzzes you, and then if 5 more seconds go by, the alarm goes off. Well, the alarm went off one night when daddy was working in the office, and I was downstairs. The TV was loud so I didn't hear the alarm on the baby monitor next to me, and daddy couldn't hear it in the office. When we finally did hear it, we didn't know how long it had been going off and we panicked!!! Daddy grabbed you out of your crib and you were limp and not waking up even thought that alarm was so loud. I flew up the stairs at warp speed to see daddy trying to jostle you awake. Never in my life had I felt such sheer raw terror. I grabbed you from him and saw that your eyes were slitted open and that you were slowly starting to wake up. We put you on the floor and took off your pajamas and rubbed your chest and tummy until you finally started to cry. Then you really got upset because I think we freaked you out with our freaking out! I held you to me to calm you down and within seconds you were smiling at daddy and "talking" to us, healthy as could be and not fazed one bit. Our best guess is that the monitor just slipped off your diaper since you've taken to sleeping on your side and it was just not making contact. What worried us was why you didn't wake up when that terrible alarm was going off. Everyone, including Dr. Grooms, assured me that babies can sleep very deeply and not be easily awakened. I am so glad we have the Snuza, even if it does have false alarms. Like I told daddy, we would rather have a false alarm and you be okay, than no alarm when we really need one. I cannot begin to fathom what I would do if something happened to you. Every fear or worry I've ever had in my whole life seems so dwarfed by the fears and worries I have when it comes to you. Remember that when you are older and mommy seems like a major worrywart who holds you a little too tight. I just love you more than anything and can't imagine a world without you in it.

This blog is turning out to be much longer than I intended. Some other really exciting things happened this past weekend, but that will have to a post for another time...

I have to go and use the breast pump now. You have been sort of weaning yourself from me, and I'm trying hard to make sure you still get some breast milk every day. You are almost 7 months old and haven't had so much as the sniffles yet, and I want to keep it that way. Goodnight my precious baby girl, and mommy will see you bright and (very) early tomorrow morning!

xoxo,
Mommy