Laundry

Here are some photos of Paprika "helping" me with the laundry! She likes to play with the clothes while I fold them. Yesterday we went to Toys 'R Us and picked out some new toys for her. Now that she's 6 months, she is playing with everything and gets bored with just the same few toys. So, we selected some age-appropriate toys for her to play with. One is a toy xylophone like the one they have at our Mommy & Me class. She loves it!

The thought of moving is overwhelming me a little bit. I am able to take care of Paprika and keep up the house, etc., but adding moving to that is going to be a challenge. I know I need to start going through everything and eliminating things we don't need to move. We're planning on having a yard sale in a few weeks, so I need to get everything ready for that. Part of me just wants to drop everything off at Goodwill and save myself the trouble of a yard sale. We'll see how ambitious I'm feeling!

I still have to hire movers, get a cleaning crew for our new place, and box up everything here. I have no idea how I'm going to do that and take care of Paprika at the same time. Her naps are only about an hour and a half each day, and I use that time to do dishes, pay bills, clean up, eat lunch, check email, and take a shower! So, squeezing in time to go through everything and then box it up for the move is daunting. And adding a yard sale to that-- well, it seems like just a lot more to handle since I'll have to price everything, get organized about laying it all out, set up and clean up, etc. And then during the actual yard sale, Mr. Mustard will probably be working, so I will have Paprika and will be trying to do the yard sale at the same time by myself, which may turn out to be a recipe for comedy.

I guess I should just focus on baby steps-- starting in one room, getting a few things boxed up and then sorted for either moving, donation, or the yard sale. If Mr. Mustard does end up working, maybe I'll just box everything up to take to Goodwill and save the yard sale for our next move! :-)

Sitting Up All By Herself!

Paprika can now sit up all by herself and play for long periods of time. She's been working up to this for awhile. At first she sat for a couple of seconds before teetering over. Last Wednesday, she sat up by herself for a little while but she was still a bit shaky. Well, look at her now. She can sit up and play with her toys for as long as she likes- she's sitting very sturdily now.

We had a good weekend. Mr. Mustard worked both days, but did make it home in time for the Oscars last night. It was so fun to watch it, especially since Ellen was hosting. She is so upbeat and funny- she kept it light, which I like.

Paprika slept a lot this past weekend- I think it must have been a growth spurt. She now weighs over 21 pounds, which is just great, I think! I was concerned because she hadn't gained much in the past two months, but it's normal for growth to level off at this point..., and even so she's still gaining and growing. I guess I got spoiled with her gaining a pound a week in the beginning that now I expect that! :-)

Great Friday!

We had an exciting day today. Mr. Mustard's mom came down to visit for the day. We all went to the Mommy & Me class, and then came home and had lunch. I went out for a short shopping trip while Paprika spent some quality bonding time with her grandma. She took a long nap while I was gone, and was still sleeping when I got home! Luckily she woke up in time to say goodbye to grandma! Since she had such a nice nap today, Mr. Mustard and I are going to try to go out to dinner tonight with Paprika in tow. I think we'll bring her Bumbo seat to the restaurant. It helps her sit up on her own, and will hopefully keep her happy and occupied during dinner. Mr. Mustard has to work again this weekend, but hopefully he'll be home in time to watch the Oscars on Sunday! I don't know why I even care about the Oscars, it's not like I've even seen a movie in a year-between studying for the Bar and having a baby!

Busy Bee

Paprika is growing and pushing herself every day. She is doing a "military crawl" where she inches forward or backward with her chest on the ground. She can lift her torso off the ground and reach for objects that are up high, but she's not yet to the point where she can get her legs into a crawling position. She's actually very good at kicking her legs and lifting her back half up, but she hasn't yet coordinated that with her upper body. I have a feeling things are going to click for her before too long and she'll be crawling everywhere.

She is very interested in books and we read to her a lot. She likes looking at animal faces and baby faces the most, but any book will do!

Fat Tuesday

Last night we celebrated our very own Fat Tuesday. Not quite New Orleans style, but we celebrated nonetheless. I've decided to give up desserts and reading celebrity gossip columns for Lent, so yesterday I got my fill of reading all about Britney's shaved head, and I baked some yummy chocolate chip cookies for my one last dessert. Today is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. I feel really good about cutting back on all of the sugar, and it will be nice to take a break from reading about people I don't know and who do nothing to improve my life (celebrities).

This morning Paprika woke me up at 6:45- Mr. Mustard went into work early, so it was just me and Paprika. We walked to the park and played on the swings. Doing that always tires her out, so by the time we got home (about 10am), she fell back asleep.

We are moving in about a month-- lots to do regarding packing, etc. I want to get rid of a lot of stuff before we move, so I guess the first step is to go through everything before starting the boxing up process.

Life is good- we're enjoying all the little moments and focusing on the positive!

President's Day!

Paprika and I had a great day today! We missed our Mommy & Me class because she was taking a long nap and I didn't want to wake her up. After she woke up, we took Hauser for his walk and then came inside and set up some toys and books for her to play with. Then she got exhausted from playing so much and went down for another nap! After that, she had her bath and now she's playing in her exersaucer. All in all, a pretty ordinary day-- but perfect nonetheless!

I took these pictures right after she woke up from her afternoon nap!

Beautiful Weekend

Mr. Mustard had to work both days this weekend, but we still managed to have a wonderful weekend anyway!

Today we started off the day by going to church, which always seems to start the day off on the right foot for me. Paprika was great. Last time we went, Mr. Mustard took her to the nursery and played with her because she was really fussy, but today she did just fine. I did walk the aisles a bit with her when she started to get tired. Then, the second that we got in the car to go home, she fell asleep in her carseat.

We decided to take that as a sign to enjoy a nice drive in our new car. We drove up PCH, stopped at La Salsa to pick up some yummy burritos and quesadillas, and then went to our favorite park overlooking the ocean in Malibu. To say it was gorgeous would be an understatement. I wish I would have brought my camera, because it was just breathtaking- truly incredible. We ate at a picinic table overlooking the crashing waves and then went for a short hike. Afterwards we thought out loud to ourselves that maybe we should look into moving to Malibu before too long. I love it there. Afterwards, Mr. Mustard went back to work, but it was so nice to spend the morning and early afternoon together.

Yesterday, Mr. Mustard worked a lot of hours, but came home for a lunch break, which was great. I made lunch and we just enjoyed the time together, hanging out and playing with Paprika.

Friday was Paprika's 6 month birthday. We ceremoniously started her on solid foods, but she politely refused. I prepared some delicious avocado for her as her very first food, but she wouldn't open her mouth and kept pushing my hand away. Maybe we'll try again in a few weeks. For right now, she seems to be doing just fine being exclusively breastfed. And it's nice not having to do extra dishes, too!

6 Months Old Today!

Paprika turns 6 months old today! It is amazing how much more independent she has become over these short 6 months. She is laying on her tummy on the floor right now, reaching out for toys, playing independently, and rolling wherever she needs to go. She loves looking through books, and wants to grab and rip out every page. When we brought her home, she was a sleepy little bundle, and now she wants to move, kick, stretch, and use her voice at every opportunity! She inspires me to do better, to be better, and to see the world with a renewed sense of awe and wonder. She has made me learn to prioritize in a way I never could have imagined before having her. Mostly, she has taught me how to be grateful for every moment and to greet each day with joyous enthusiasm. We are so blessed she is our daughter!

My Funny Valentine!

We had such a great day yesterday- Paprika's very first Valentine's Day! During the day, Paprika and I did a lot of cleaning up around the house, and went out shopping to get Mr. Mustard's present and a card for Paprika, and to the grocery store to get something particularly yummy to make for dinner. Before we started making dinner (luckily), we got a call from Mr. Mustard telling us not to cook anything because he was going to bring us home dinner. Mr. Mustard surprised us by ordering food from The Cheesecake Factory and picking it up on his way home- yum! He also got Paprika and I both Valentine's Day cards and a flower for me! We enjoyed our super delicious dinner, watched American Idol and Lost, and just enjoyed hanging out around the house. This was the first Valentine's Day that we haven't gone out, and I must say, it was a really nice change of pace!

Footsies

Paprika has recently discovered how much fun it is to play with her feet.














Here she is eating one of her socks:















Examining her feet:




















Kissing her toes:
















All Done. Here she is, doing the sign for "Milk"- playing with your feet sure builds up an appetite!

Beach Baby!

What a wonderful weekend we had! On Saturday, Paprika said her first "official" word- mama! If was the first time that she said it alone and definitively, without stringing it together in a long chain. So exciting! On Sunday, we took Paprika to the beach. It was amazing! The beach was deserted, and there was a swingset with infant swings right on the beach. It could not have been more perfect. She really liked feeling the wind on her face and listening to the waves crash against the coastline. She even dipped her toe in the Pacific ocean for the very first time! It was all too fun for words. :-)

Fun With Cups!

We have been having a lot of fun with Paprika teaching her all about cups and incorporating her into our nightly dinner routine. We usually put Paprika in the swing or in her exersaucer next to us while we have dinner, but she decided a few days ago that she wants to be a more integral part of the conversation. She was not happy unless she was right up at the table with us! So, we have started putting her in her bumbo seat and pulling her up to the dinner table with us while we eat. We give her some cups to play with while we are eating, and she pretends to drink out of them!

Paprika continues to babble, babble, babble! Sometimes she chats for an hour at a time, and other times I can't get her to say a word. She is entering the stage of being much less cuddly. I miss that cuddly baby! Now she just wants to explore everything, try to crawl, examine her toys, and put anything and everything in her mouth. She still likes being rocked ot sleep at night, thank goodness!

Paprika usually wants to go to bed around 9:30pm, and wakes up at about 7:15am. A lot of nights she doesn't wake up at all. Sometimes she wakes up once around 4:30am to eat and then goes right back to sleep. The nights she wakes up at 4:30, she often sleeps in later, which I love. I think I like it better when she wakes up once during the night and then sleeps in later in the morning. I am really not a morning person at all, but I can stay up all night.

She is now taking two naps a day--one around noon, and one around 5pm. Her first nap is usually about 1 1/2 to two hours long and her second nap is shorter--about half an hour or 45 minutes. Sometimes she just takes one big nap of two to three hours, which is great because I get so much done around the house! I attribute this increase in napping largely due to changes in my diet. I cut out all soda and caffeine about a month ago, and this has made a huge difference. Also, I have since cut out 90% of the dairy in my diet (I find it irritates her), and also most of the extra sugar. I still have some maple syrup in my oatmeal in the morning, but other than that, I am sugar free. It's a day by day thing, but I really like the healthy changes I'm making in my diet. It's benefitting both of us!

Fun Stuff!

Paprika is almost 6 months old. I can't believe it! Time is going by too quickly already. We had another Mommy & Me class on Monday, and I think Paprika is really enjoying the classes. The teachers focus mainly on motor skills, and already she is sitting up better since we started the class last Friday. I think it's good for her to get out and meeting people, too. She already has one baby friend named Ella from the Mommy & Me class. She likes to roll the big red ball back and forth with her. It's really cute! Paprika especially likes the big ball pen, where she gets to play with lots of differently colored balls. Looks pretty fun to me!

This past weekend was majorly exciting, not in a small part because the Colts won the Super Bowl! What a dream come true! I'm not a huge sports fan, but I still love to root on my home team and all I have to say is, "it's about time"! I've never been so proud to be from Indianapolis! It was just really a wonderful moment and I am so happy that they won!

Mr. Mustard had to work all day on Saturday, but because he got overtime, we celebrated by ordering a nice dinner in on Saturday night. On Sunday, we took Paprika to the zoo!

The weather here has been unbelievably hot-- we are roasting most days. I've been keeping all the windows open and may even have to turn on the air conditioning before the week is finished if it keeps up like this. I've heard that other parts of the country (Indiana, for one), are freezing and buried under inches of snow! Right now I would welcome a little bit of snow to cool things off. If only we could all reach a happy medium!

I bought a mini tripod for our still camera, so hopefully there will be more pictures of Mr. Mustard, me, and Paprika together. Usually we just take pictures of Paprika, or her with either me or Mr. Mustard. But, since we have the tripod now, we can experiment with the self-timer mode and get some great pictures of all three of us! This is our first test photo. I think it turned out pretty good!

Hauser and Paprika

Hauser and Paprika have a great time together! We can't seem to get enough of catching their interactions on tape. Too cute!

Mommy & Me!

We had our first Mommy & Me class at My Gym this morning. It was fantastic! There were two instructors, who were very nice and helpful. Paprika really liked interacting with the other babies. She practiced sitting up, and got to play in a swing, roll on a ball, and work on her standing and grasping skills. She had a great time and fell asleep on the car ride home. Success! When we got home, she slept through her normally scheduled feeding and didn't wake up for two hours. I guess the whole experience really took a lot out of her. Since she woke up this afternoon, she has been really talkative. I think she's trying to tell me all about how much she liked the class today!

Paprika Makes Friends With The Animals!

Paprika is doing great sitting up. She loves playing with her toys and stuffed animals and she is so interested in the world around her. She is such a joy!