18 Months Old & an Island Trip Down

Where to begin....
I am trying so hard to keep up with life that blogging takes a back seat. 

Mommy has also not been great with the milestone pictures. I take at least one every week or every other week but we live so much in the moment that I forget.  Having the memories will be good for her, I have absolutely no baby pics of myself to share with her, the most I have is an old passport pic that is not that clear. Unfortunately growing up in the Caribbean there was not too much money to go around, and pictures were a once in a while thing or extremely important occasions. I never even had a birthday party growing up, my first was at age 18 and the 2^nd at 30, I really do not plan on more.  

Our daughter seems to be absorbing everything these days and I’m continually shocked by how quickly she picks up new skills and tricks. She watches our lips move so intently to try to replicate words and noises and loves pointing at her nose .

She is very vocal and loves to sing, babble, scream, laugh and talk all day long.
Her diet is not that great.  She goes through phases when it is difficult to get her to eat proper food and not just rice!  At the moment she likes chicken, white rice, fungi (Antiguan dish) and she adores fruit.

All in all, life is good, we cannot complain and I am still on the fence about going for number 2. I am staring down the barrel of 40.

Note to my Daughter.
So much has happened in the last six months, the changes in you are immeasurable.   You have gone from cruising around, and nervously walking to full on running from Daddy and I.
You are so active and we rarely see you walk anywhere.  You much prefer to jog and run.  I think your brain works to fast to allow you to walk.  You want to be everywhere as quick as possible.  There is always something in your hand, you like nothing more than collecting things and sometimes struggle carrying your stuff around but mainly you put them in your mouth. Mommy & Daddy absolutely hate that.

It seems as if every day you learn something new.  Your vocabulary is coming along and the new words this month have included no, stop, salute (Spanish for bless you), “oh shit” courtesy of Dad plus a few others.  You adore chattering, and you spend most of the day talking.  You are so bright and have a smile that could light up even the darkest of days.
Taking after Mummy and Daddy, you are really tall.  People are always surprised when they learn your age.  You still don’t have much hair, but it is coming along.  

You love to try to do things yourself and it is a struggle to feed you because of this. Mummy and Daddy and are gaining much more understanding of what we are saying.  Being able to carry out tasks and it is so nice to start this proper communication with you.

The last couple of months have been challenging.  I think you are being bothered by your teeth and have been throwing major tantrums and meltdowns. I exercise more patience than Daddy but we both love you so.  The meltdowns have resulted in lots of crying and shouting, which is draining for us all.  We know it is just a phase and it will settle soon. Your sleeping has changed and I have been sneaking you in our bed at night, Daddy wants me to leave you in your bed but I love to snuggle with you.

You are bright, funny, beautiful, determined, loving, independent and I hope you always will be. Every day you make me laugh, you make me smile, you make me proud, and above all you make me very grateful to be your mummy.

Oh, before I forget, we went to Antigua for a few days. You did aright on the plane but we think a 2-hour flight is your limit, 3 hours and we were pushing it. We went from July 4^th to 8^th and your family were happy to see you and upset with us that it was such a short trip.

In reality we wished we could have stayed longer and planned better. It was incredibly hot so we have decided as a family, travel will be in the spring or the fall/winter for the islands. 
Thinking about this more.......the island will be hot year round. :-) 

We stayed at this Resort.
Starfish Jolly Beach Resort and we loved it.

Life keeps trucking on by

 

Not my images both from Google

Yesterday was Easter and we had a great family day.

We were invited to his friends for dinner and our little munchkin played and enjoyed her time out with the other kids. Next Week she is 15 months and I will go into more details about her at this age but for now I am basking in the joy of our toddler.

Mini Word Monday? No? Ok enjoy the memes I am in a rush as always.

Slow Down Time

 

Complainy and Whiny Post

We are in April and I have yet to be pampered and so much has happened.

Let's see....her Dad traveled with his friend and came home with the FLU. I am was so angy. 
Ok I know it was not his fault he got sick BUT he is also not vigilant so I feel he could have prevented it.

Yeah....yeah I know it sounds crazy but...alright am just stressed and tired and trying to get life back to normal.

It has been almost 3 weeks since he has been mostly quarantined to one side of the house & have not so much as picked up his daughter. He is still recovering but technically he was fine after 5 or so days. He is still coughing and mama is taking NO chances.

The person that suffered ( besides him) has been me. I have baby all the time...unless I am at work. Honestly once he is better which I think he is milking at this point, I might go away for a night to sleep but let's be honest I would miss my little honey bun.


I feel drained, run down, even able to concentrate, & I need a little break from the crazy train of life. 

On another note.
My daughter is 14 mouths teething and sleep through the nights mostly, she is such a treat and I am so blessed.

 

Spring Is that you?

Spring is in the air ( well not really) I am a Floridian so really it is spring/summer mostly all year round. I must admit that I LOVE it when we get cold fronts and have 60 degree weather to combat the humidity. As a matter of fact one should be here soon..WOOT WOOT!!

So.... let's see, nothing is truly new. Life has been rather mundane and albeit even somewhat boring so I have a few things I plan for 2019 to spruce things up.

In March I plan to cut my hair and get a mini makeover....I am so nervous but it is time to refresh my look. Not sure what direction I am going but I know it will have to be short since I had post partum hair loss ( or I think I did ). Mama needs a little pampering. Hoping to do it for $200 or less which is ambitious.

I think it is time for me to make a career move, this company I work for is great but the pay sucks plus with the added expense of a child it is just  not feasible, there is no point to work at this point except to not burden my husband with all the bills which I wont.

Next up on the agenda is to start crafting..depending on how it goes I will expand on this blog to make it better and share/sell items. Crafting has been a fun hobby for me but over the years I have lost my mojo so to speak. I did lots for my wedding and recently for my daughters party. It is more of an outlet but I think I will eventually turn it into a business. We shall see.

The current priority has been to de-clutter, this has been a headache. I am realizing that I tie my emotions to things & I am slowing letting them all go.

I just purchased this beauty all the and while Hubby has been reminding me that we need to be very careful with spending. 

If you want to know more about the Silhouette Cameo 3 there are tons of information on Google and Youtube. 

For now I need to unbox and get to know my new toy....stay tuned for projects to follow.

My Girl is 1

Happy New Year 2019

My daughter turned a year old last week on 1/30th ...... and is a walker. She started walking at 11 months just as we are getting into the New Year.

There is something incredibly inevitable about my feelings right now. I'm pretty sure that most parents feel them as their babies turn one, or as any major life milestones are about to be crossed off the list. That feeling of life running away from you a little bit; a mixture of happiness and sadness,

excitement for the future and bittersweet feelings about the fleeting nature of childhood.

My baby girl. One.

...One!

 

 

 

One whole year old ( these highlighted words are EXACTLY what I feel and she summed them up so eloquently. Go read the rest of it, I my sentiments are the same.

 

How is it even possible? My husband and I sat down and looked at old pictures shaking our heads at how time has flown by. I am so very proud of this sweet little head strong little toddler of ours.

It’s funny how it is almost impossible to remember life before her.  And I don’t mean what I did, or what life was like – that I remember just fine (and with an extra dose of gratitude for how ‘easy’ things were then!)  I mean that it defies my brain’s capacity to remember what life was like – and what the meaning of my life was – before having her.

Was my life meaningless without her?  Absolutely not.  Would I have made less of a difference without becoming a mom?  No – not that, either.  But for me, the depth of love, sacrifice, and the all-encompassing richness of life that comes from having a child to adore, nurture, and watch grow is something that words can’t do justice to.

She is reaching cords and banging things together, clapping, waving, saying NO, maaaaaaa, dada.
She has been singing Happy Birthday to you since her birthday party on 1/26th.

She still hates diaper changes, getting in the car seat, & being changed. She also is disliking her pack and play to sleep so we are thinking of a wider option but for now she likes to sleep 1/2 the night with us. I know...I know...I know.......

She is such a treat and to know that she is here is nothing short of a miracle. We are grateful and thankful.
Me and hubby had a rocky start for the first few months, and even the D word came up. While we are settling as new parents he still thinks I neglect him so I am working on that.

Tragedy did hit for Black Friday last year.....I didn't get into and I am not sure I will.
But heaven received an angel unexpectedly.

If any of you ladies come across this and you are still going through a cycle, don't give up.
You can see my timeline as well as follow my whole journey and see how long it took but I made it on the other side.

Your journey may not be the same but don't you give up.....