FALLing In Love...

I have fallen in love, with, well, FALL. I already told you that Fall is my absolute favorite Season. Christmas is my absolute favorite Day of the Year, but, oh, how I love Fall. Yesterday and today, I was at Home with the pumpkin and maybe that is why I have felt like I was on cloud 9 the past two days! But, the past two days I have just been overwhelming in love with Fall, and loving every minute. I put up a few decorations in the house yesterday, which helped to enlighten my mood, and the rain falling steadily yesterday as I sat with the pumpkin, nursing, looking out the picture window in our living room, just filled my heart with joy! I lit some Fall scent candles and the whole house smells like a mix of cinnamon, apple, and just simply, a grand mix of the smells of Fall bundled in a jar! I get a little giddy with I smell them! How do they do that?!

There was a moment today, taking Nik to her 6 month check-up that my heart just did a little dance. The cool, brisk air just swept over me, and the sweet smell of Autumn in the air just overwhelmed me. Everytime I walk in a room, with the candles, and the small Fall rememberances, or walk onto our Halloween inspired porch, I just feel as though my heart is skipping in my chest with the excitement of the Season (I get this way at Christmas, too-I'm like a 7 year old, it's crazy! I literally do not sleep the whole Christmas Season!!! Ask my husband, I just can't sleep! I'm too excited, putting up decs, wrapping presents, thinking of gifts for family, anticipating giving the gifts, watching Christams movies, listening to Christmas songs. I'm a Nutball! But I love every minute of it!)

The pumpkin was so brave today for her 6 month shots and her Flu shot. She got 4 shots, and the oral Polio vacine. She just cried for a moment and then she was perfectly fine. She took three naps afterwards, and I did give her a little Childrens Tylenol because I could tell the Flu shot was aching (the nurse warned me it might!). And she nursed in between naps:) She weighed 19 pounds, 8 ounces, so she's in the 90% for weight, and at 27 inches, she's in the 97% percentile for height. Still eating good apparently! Ans she is so happy lately, my little chunky monkey, I just am loving her so much. The doctor said in a month, Nik can start eating the Gerber finger food puffs, and I cant wait! She will love them! The doctor said she looks great, very healthy, and she is moving along developmentally perfectly. He said, her curiousity is good (as she tried to grab everything in the doctor's office!). Yes, we agree, her exploring every tiny thing is amazing, but I have the feeling we will never be able to so much as glance away for a second with her, she's always into something, and she can't even crawl, stand-up, or walk! Dr.Emm says to invest in some cabinent locks now! Ha!

Happy 6 Months, My Little Pumpkin!!!

Happy 6th!

I'm half way to 1! I sit up so well by myself!

Loving peek-a-boo!

Loving my feet, and becoming quite flexible too!

Today, the little pumpkin is 6 Months. She has a check-up Friday, and hopefully, rain pending, a

mini photo shoot on Thursday with Auntie Rachael, and a play date with my cousins!

"They say it's your half-birthday...!"

So happy to be 6 Months old today!

Happy to have some straw to eat. "Nikolina don't put that in your mouth, Yucky!"

You can't barely see him here in the photo but we have a scarecrow on the porch. I've named him "Jeff" for the time being, till I think of something better. I'll have to take some photos of the whole porch, so you can see our "Spooky" porch. The last couple days, it's been crazy windy and stormy, so I had to bring the Halloween decs back inside. The other night, I brought Jeff in before I went to bed. In the morning, I was walking into the kitchen with Nikolina and as we walked by him, she started staring at him, and could not take her eyes off of him, as we walked past! I turned around and walked towards him so she could see him. It was hilarious, she thought he was a person! She couldn't figure out why he wasn't talking to her! When I finally moved his hand and talked to her as though he was a real person, she finally backed off, and seemed to accept that he was "okay" in her eyes now. It was fantastic! I must admit, I kind of forgot he was inside as well, and in the morning, when I went to the kitchen, I about jumped out of my socks, thinking he was a real person!

We had to spray the pumpkins and the Gourds this year, so I can't let Nikolina touch them. It makes me sad, but its better than buying brand new pumpkins and gourds. We used this spray that tastes really bitter/foul tasting, Josh tested it on diesel and he wouldn't get near them. Every year we have these crazy fat squirrels that eat all our Halloween decs! Each day I would come home from work, and they would've run off with another gourd or a part of our pumpkins. It's crazy! I can't house squirrels! It's like squirrel central at our house. We have one of those trees with the seeds that spiral off like little boomerangs, and they go crazy for them. Our next door neighbor has some kind of nut tree, so these squirrels are always running to our neighbors house, stealing nuts, then running back across our yard. They chase each other across the roof in the mornings, and make little chirpy noises in the trees at each other, and at diez.

Last year, Josh had stopped at a Market on the way home from a business trip and bought a box full of peaches. He set them on the porch railing to finish ripening, and each day he'd check them to see if they were ripe. He kept saying to me, "Those are good peaches, Huh?" and I kept just nodding and saying "Umm Hmm, " thinking 'Wow, he's really proud of those peaches.' Then about a week goes by and there is only a couple peaches left in the box, and he says, "You really went to town on those Peaches, Huh?" And, I said, "What are you talking about, I haven't had any." And, he said, "Well if you didn't have any, and I only had a couple, what happened to all of them?" The next day, we were leaving and as we opened the door, well, we must have startled him, b/c a squirrel jumped, I should say, flew, off the porch, and took off running/bounding away, and in his mouth...was a half-eaten peach! We pretty much figured it out after that. We took turns on squirrel patrol.

On another note about "Jeff." I brought him in last night again, and I was blogging, and it was pretty late at night, and the baby was asleep in her room with her sound lamb, and I was listening to it on the monitor, and Josh was asleep in our bedroom. All of a sudden I hear a noise, and I thought what is that? Josh has some weird ring tones/noises on his Blackberry, and he is always changing them, and my on my Q just re-programmed itself, so I thought, is that my phone or Josh's phone? Then I thought, is that Nik's sound machine? Then, I realized that it must just be a very noisy cricket outside. I listened again and realized that the noise was not coming from outside, but inside the house! There was a cricket hiding somewhere in Jeff!!! I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to go move it, and have the thing fly at me. So, I tried sneaking over there to see if I could see it, but I couldn't. So, I'm a big baby, and just left it there. So, all night, we had a cricket chirping in our house!

Dinner. I had some chicken that I had to use, so I used Josh's pizza recipe and made a pizza for dinner.

The finished product.

Nik loving her carrots and her Daddy!

Happy 6 Month!

"A Pumpkin Patching we will go..."

Pics coming soon.

Where'd you go???

Sometimes, I wonder what Nikolina thinks when I drop her off at daycare to go to work. Mondays are usually the worst, unbearable is probably the word. Does she think, "hey, where are you going, why are you leaving me, I thought we had a good time over the weekend?" Does she keep thinking any minute I will come back around the corner and smother her in kisses, blow raspberries, and make silly faces at her? Do the hours just drag on for her, waiting, expecting me? I know they do for me. Every moment I wish that I could be with her. I'd give anything to be with her. I tell Josh all the time that I wish we lived in a little one room apartment, or flat and shared my little Corolla, if it meant that I could be with her. To me, that is where I would be, if it means staying home with nik. If it means she gets that many more hugs, kisses, smiles, funny faces. One more shriek of happiness, one more squeal of delight. If it means she learns that much more, makes one more small developmental move, has one more glimpse of family, one more taste of life that I would show to her. One more "I Love You, one more touch, one more step to happiness and fulfillment. One more chance to grow as family.

I talked with someone today, whose husband stays at home, and she goes to work. they chose that path. I thought that was wonderful, and really great for them, and I was glad that their path worked well for their family. I told her I think it's great that her children are with their dad. I found her inspiring that she chose that path, sought that path, and I admire her desire to succeed for her family.

When I was little, I used to play "corporation" and I was the owner and manager of a large corporation. There were many other things I played:restaurant, hotel, shop owner, school, lawyer to name a few. But, I always thought that I would own my own company and be the "boss." Along the way, I made some choices that steered me down another path. But, I think I always aspired to be great. To make a name for myself. I enjoy work, and receive satisfaction from a good days work, and bringing home a paycheck. I enjoy working with colleagues, and interacting with customers. I have even introduced a proposal for a program for 'new and expecting mothers' to help guide them through pregnancy in the workplace and life as a working, 'pumping' mother. And, I have been allowed to put together a program to educate new and expecting mothers. This has given me some purpose in my current career, outside of working to help support my family. But, at the end of the day, what I aspire to be, to truly be, is a MOM. The absolute Best Mom I can be. A wholly, completely, fully, devoted Mom. I don't want to be a split-mom. I don't want to give half of myself to my career and half to my daughter. I want to give all of myself to one thing, and that to me, is being a Mom.

To me, nothing could be better, or more pure, more simple, more natural than a MOM.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

It promised to be a beautiful day...So, off we go to the Pumpkin Patch. Josh and I got ready, we got the pumpkin all ready to go (getting all of us ready takes a lot these days), and we start to head out the door and all of a sudden, it's POURING DOWN RAIN, and this huge storm front has moved in! Where did this storm come from? What the Heck! I'm been waiting for a month for this. Ugh! Even if it let up, which it doesn't look like it will, there will be mud everywhere! Wishing now, we could've gone earlier. Poop on you rain, pooey on you!

Dance Revolution

Have you seen the dancing baby on You Tube, dancing to Beyoncee. Oh my goodness! What a sweetie! Simply adorable.