Shopping!

My new addiction this week: clothes shopping!  There are dozens of boutiques in Cobble Hill and they are all ridiculously overpriced and don't have a return policy, but a girl gotta do what a girl gotta do.

I am not sure if Gene approves of this addiction but Violet is definitely on board!

A day in the life of a 2 month old...

From Violet's perspective...

5:00 AM : Time to wake up! Lady...Sir...Helloooo!!! (The lady wakes up and holds me for an hour or so because she's trying to train me to sleep until 6 AM, like a good baby. I love this time because we get to cuddle and I get to snooze another hour in her warm arms.)

6:00 AM: I see a huge boob coming at me!! Ahhh, now I am full. Time to go back to sleep.

6:20 AM: How dare you interrupt my sleep!!!  Why are you putting me on this table and taking off my diaper? Actually, this is pretty nice, it was getting pretty heavy.  Is there a reason you're saying....foooo fooo foo?  What does this all mean??

9:00 AM: Wow, has it been 3 hours already? Time flies when you're sleeping. I guess I will eat some more before starting my day.

9:15 AM : Time to play! Usually the one that calls himself daddy leaves for the day and the lady (says she is mommy) plays with me in my gym or bouncer. Sometimes we watch the DVRed Housewives of New York or New Jersey. Man, I can't decide who is nuttier: Kelly from NY or Danielle from NJ.

10:30ish : I have been up for over an hour...this is exhausting! Time for another nap!

12:01 PM: I demand to be fed!  What is this nonsense!  It's been hours!!!  I can't tell time yet, but pretty sure it's been three hours and one minute.

12: 15 PM: I am back on what these guys call a 'changing table'.  It's not so bad here.  I like to laugh and smile while the lady makes that funny face and changes my diaper.

12: 20 PM: Lady Mommy and I play some more!  Auntie Vika gave us these cool black and white flashcards, so I have been watching them very intently as mommy explains what each thing is.  I know what a cup of coffee looks like now!  Very, very important according to this mommy person.

1:00 PM: Hey, lady...why are you strapping me into this seat?? What is happening?  Where are we going?  Ohhh, this ride is bumpy!  Makes me sleeeeepppy....

I wake up from time to time and see this mommy character using my stroller as her own personal shopping cart. How rude!  Sometimes she buys all these funky cheeses and meats and the other day she even bought something called Beef Jerky for this daddy person.  She must really love him because it looks like the stuff in my diaper.

3:00 PM:  I am still asleep but I open my eyes from time to time to give mommy a warning that she better get her ass home now and feed me!

3: 15 PM:  Finally, we eat! The supply seems to be getting low.  Maybe mom should listen to grandma and drink some tea with milk!

3:30 PM: She takes my diaper off again and this time I decided to pee on her to teach her a lesson to NEVER, EVER, EVER be late with my feedings again. 

3: 35 PM:  I am being put into this stroller contraption again, luckily this time we're just going to the patio.  Mommy reads and I look around or drift in and out of sleep. She also keeps checking this thing she calls the 'blueberry' which has some program on it called 'mybook' or 'facespace' or something of the sort.

5: 30 PM: We are inside and I sleep while mommy is on the internet talking to her buddies.

6:30 PM: Yummy, yummy in my tummy.  I can tell mommy had sushi last night....tasty!!!

6:45 PM:  This is what mommy calls my 'up' time.  We play more games and wait for daddy to come home.

7: 30 PM:  Daddy is home!!! Yippy!  Sometimes I smile when he comes home but sometimes I make him work for that smile!  Who does he think he is leaving mommy home all day alone like that!?!?! She must miss him.

8:00 PM: Bath time!  This is my favorite.  I wait for it all day long. Daddy puts lots of bubbles in the tub and sometimes I make more of my own.  There are times I eat the soap, but it doesn't taste as good as mommy's milk. 

8:20 PM: Me, daddy and mommy all hang out together and daddy tells me about this thing he calls 'work'.

9: 30 PM: Man, what a day!  I am exhausted.  I will eat this one last time before going to sleep for the night...

9: 45 PM: It's dark in here.  I am alone.  I hear those two in the other room eating (probably that disgusting beef jerky) and laughing and watching movies.  Why do I have to go to bed?!?!?!?  Maybe I will scream a few times to get them to come in and give me my binky.  Once they walk in here, I will give them a big toothless smile to show them that I MEAN BUSINESS! 

10: 00 PM: Ok, I am tired of this game.  Time to sleep...

Hobbies...

Being a stay at home mom is wonderful but once I saw how much newborns sleep during the day, I realized I needed a hobby. Since I am not one to stick to any one thing for very long, I have had a new hobby each week. At first it was blogging, then it was clothes shopping (mostly window not to acquire new things in a larger size) then it was walking the promenade, then hanging out with other new mommies, then it was Trader Joe's and this week my new 'hobby' is cheese. Not just any cheese, but the most fattening one I can find. I can't seem to pass by a store without going in and buying cheese. Our fridge is completely empty except blocks and blocks of various cheeses. Yesterday I even bought a cheese that had apricots inside of it. It was disgusting. I am like a mouse roaming the streets of Cobble Hill in the hopes of finding that perfect cheese. Sometimes to switch it up, I search for crackers. Ahhh, that's the life!

Sadly, I only have 2 weeks of maternity leave left and one of them will be spent in the Hammies with the hubby and Violet. The hobby for that week will be swimming and tanning!

Fatties "R" Us

I know they say to never ask a lady how much she weighs but I will let you in on a little secret: I gained 37 lbs during my pregnancy.  It all started out so well in the beginning and I was on track to gain 25lbs.  Then I was on track to gain 30 lbs.  At some point along the way (last few weeks of pregnancy) I began to REALLY pack on the pounds.  Violet was born weighing 6 lbs 14oz.  If you add the placenta, fluids and a few cheeseburgers, I was sure I would be down at least 20-25lbs post delivery.  After getting out of my hospital bed and looking at my beautiful newborn, I limped on down to the scale and hesitantly got on.  Guess what?  I lost about 7lbs. Now if you ask me, something doesn't add up.

It is now 2 months later and I still have a good ten pounds to go.  As much as I love wearing maternity clothes, this muffin top needs to go!  I even began to implement Plan A: stop stuffing your face with cake. It was working well and I even lost 2 lbs.  Unfortunately, it was followed by Plan B - buy and eat everything you can find at Trader Joe's. This plan helped me gain an additional 5 lbs.  There is also this silly myth out there that says you lose weight while breastfeeding.  I don't know who the hell made this up but watching Violet eat 8 meals a day just makes me more hungry.

While diet is important, I realize that I will also need to start a work-out routine.  I asked my friend Andrey to burn a DVD for me with yoga, ab exercises and some crazy routine called P90X.  He was nice enough to make the DVD for me and even drop it off at my house the very next day. The problem is that now he asks me everyday if I started to work-out.  I can't take that sort of pressure!  If he keeps this up, I might have to quit before I even start.

Lastly, I have two weddings this summer.  One of which will require me to be in a bathing suit.  Luckily there is such a thing as a 'burka suit', so I should be covered...no pun intended.  My initial goal was to fit into all my dresses by July but now my goal is to find some time to shop for bigger dresses.

Violet is 2 months!!

I can't believe how the time has flown.  My little girl can now smile, hold up her head, turn to her side and look at various objects with tons of interest.  Each week a new milestone is hit and it's amazing to watch her on this journey of growth.  Here are some fun pics from her 2nd month of life...