10 Months!

This picture pretty much says it all.  I thought her picture was hard to capture last month but this photo session was just hilarious.  This shot perfectly captures her right before she lurched towards me.  I can't get enough of this little girl.  Here are some thoughts from this month that went by too, too fast...

• We've been wondering what we did before Polly was here.  On Thursday I had a killer headache so I came home from work a little early to try to nap.  When I felt my normal wakeup excitement to see Polly only to realize she was still at the sitter.  The entire house feels so sad and empty when she's not here.  
• She's not walking yet and I can't imagine how much of a handful she's going to be when that happens.  She is all over the place!  She knows all of the things she's not supposed to get into but she gets into them anyways just so you will come and get her.  
• She cried the other day when my BF Meri started walking out the door and it nearly made me cry too.  I'm lucky to have so many people in my life that care about me and I love that now Polly has them too.  
• I've been finding myself really missing her during the day.  It seems like it's been harder to leave her this month which is funny because I thought it would get easier.  I think it has to do with the fact that she's such a little sponge now.  She copies your sounds and movements so much and I just wish I could be here to teach her EVERYTHING.  But then I think, as I've mentioned before, that I want her to grow up admiring her hardworking driven momma.  I know she'll learn a lot from that too.  
• We went home to South Carolina earlier this month for my cousins wedding and it was great to get to share her with my family again.  I can't wait until she is a bit older and I can teach her about where her name came from but I also try not to wish too hard for the future because I know it will be here too soon.  
• I love, love, love how much Ben loves Polly.  It's crazy to have been with someone for ten years and feel like you know everything about them but then you get this whole new person to get to know as you watch them become a dad.  
• I could still definitely use more sleep in my life.
    

9 Months

Each month that passes I'm shocked by how quickly the time is moving and how much she changes from one photo to the next.  The weather is starting to cool off and I distinctly remember this time last year anticipating her arrival and now, a year later, we have this little lady wearing us out!  Here are some highlights from this month.

• Her first official word: duck.  About two months ago she got attached to her pink rubber duck that she plays with and her yellow rubber duck that she takes a bath with her.  When she sees them for the first time in the day she gets super excited and says, "du, du, du!"  It's pretty exciting.
• I continue to parent with my assistant Google.  Polly at 9 months still has no teeth which my boobs appreciate but the worrier in me is stressing about it.  This month I found myself Googling "baby never gets teeth" which was a TERRIBLE idea because apparently it's a thing that happens which can be caused by defects and all sorts of other scary things that you can find on the internet.  Tonight however she bit down on my finger and I'm pretty sure I felt a tooth!  
• Just when you think your house is baby proof your husband thinks she's found a piece of yarn on the floor but it's a baby snake that the cats brought up from the basement.  It didn't make into the mouth but I can't stop thinking about what if it had!  Then you freak out because THERE WAS A SNAKE IN YOUR HOUSE!
• Two weeks ago Ben and I were driving home from a wedding and while driving about 55mph down the highway someone rear ended us...while driving.  Think about that for a moment.  We were moving, rear ended and still moving.  It really freaked us out because we didn't see it coming and Polly was in the car.  No one was hurt but it scared Polly awake and gave me a nice neck ache for a few days.  What really freaked us out was that the person didn't stop.  We never even saw them.  I've had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that my little Polly lives in a world that I can't control.  That has really messed with my head.  
• It's a mistake to decide to use a rocking chair as the place where you want to take a monthly photo.  It takes about 50 tries to get one good one.  
• I'm tired.  So, so tired.  

Year Two

Today we celebrated two years of marriage and we took Polly to our tree where we tied the knot.  Last year we tried so hard to picture what this day would look like with our daughter in tow.  In my imagination she was as sweet as she is in reality but maybe less wiggly.   It is nearly impossible to take a family portrait under a tree with her looking at the camera which is really far away.

We opted for the close up with the forward facing camera because she loves looking at herself the most.  She also loves her Monchichi monkey which I have reluctantly allowed her to have even though it was MY TOY!

Tonight we went out together for the first time since she was born.  We missed her and I felt naked from not carrying a thousand things into a restaurant but it was nice to just be us for two hours.  We talked about things other than Polly for at least a portion of the dinner.  I didn't worry that much about Polly because she was in good hands with my best friend Meri who at this point is a pretty familiar face to her as she will be forever!  I'm feeling like a lucky lady tonight.  What a crazy two years this has been.  

8 Months

These pictures are getting harder to take because she is in constant movement!  This is the least blurry one from today.  This time 8 months ago I was in a daze with a quiet tiny baby in my arms and today I'm exhausted from work and spending my evening chasing after this baby.  Here are a few thoughts from this last month before I collapse.

• As you can see we are still sporting a headband because we still get quite a few "he's so cute".  My favorite from this weekend was, "he's da bomb!".  I just said in response, "he is the bomb!"
• Baby proofing has been taken to a new level since Polly started crawling this month.  She went from crawling to pulling herself up on everything in the span of a week.  Just this weekend she crawled from the living room to the bedroom where I was getting ready, there is no hiding from her now!
• She doesn't understand gravity.  I'm not sure when that happens but she seems to think that she can just leap out of my arms at whatever she wants on the floor.  It's a problem.
• I love that she can reach out to be held now.  When she holds her arms up for me to get her, it's the best feeling.  
• Her version of a kiss is putting her entire open mouth on your face.  
• She can now chase the cats and even though they are still bigger than she is, they seem scared.  It's like they know what is coming.  
• Ben and I are convinced that she can almost say the word duck.  She loves her pink and yellow rubber ducky.  It's the cutest thing ever when she get's so excited to see them.  The word duck also reminds me of another word that I need to edit out of my vocabulary very soon.  
• She HATES going to sleep.  Nearly every nap and nighttime is the worst thing to ever happen to her.  
• I need to stop reading perfect life blogs.  There are several blogs that I read regularly and it is very valuable to me as a new mom to hear stories from other women.  There are a few though that seem too perfect and I find myself stressing out about not being the perfect always there mom.  I realize that I'm the only person putting this pressure on myself and I need to STOP IT!  
• I didn't watch the VMA's but I couldn't get away from Miley Cyrus today so let's just add her to the list of people that I hope my daughter does not choose as a role model.  Yikes.  Thank you MTV and Miley Cyrus for setting us back.  I don't mind sexiness or a woman pushing the envelope on entertainment but there has to be some talent in there somewhere.  

7 Months

Polly is 7 months today!  It amazes me how just sitting her in the rocking chair each month makes me realize how much she's grown.  Today she was sitting up and holding on to both sides as she rocked herself in the chair.  It was nearly impossible to snap a picture of her that wasn't a complete blur.  Here are some thoughts from this months adventure with Polly:

• I'm up past my bedtime writing this post at 10:26 p.m. on a Friday night.  Someday she will sleep through the night right?  For the last two nights she has only woken up once but of course now I'm trained to wake up several times and think about work and how we are going to pay for her college education.  
• The female body is amazing.  I'm not saying that I'm amazing, I'm just realizing what this body can do.  It can still somehow make it through the day with maybe four hours of sleep and I haven't been fired yet. It's feeding a human that is quite chubby. It still fits into most of my old clothes even though at this time last year I was packing on the pounds. AND it can carry a 17 pound human in a bucket seat, a diaper bag, a computer bag, a lunch bag, a purse, and a breast pump up and down my front stairs each day.  Yes I look ridiculous.  
• Screw the Duchess of Cambridge and her makeup assistant for that day after delivery hospital exit.  I looked like I had been hit by a truck the day after Polly was born and for much of the month afterwards.  (if you, the Duchess of Cambridge happens to be one of my six readers, I don't mean it.  I wish you and your baby well but come on why are you setting the bar so high!?!)
• I have never had someone be so happy to seem me as Polly is when I walk into a room.  There is no better feeling in the world.
• I still know how lucky I am and everyday I try to really appreciate it even when I miss sleep and meals with friends that aren't during a time usually associated with a senior citizen discount.
• This time next month she will be into everything as she is days away from crawling.  We still have a lot of baby proofing to do!  

6 Months!

This month seriously flew by and I forgot Polly's 6 month birthday several times today.  While it's been a really quick month I also feel like so much has happened.  Let's review!

1. Props to single parents out there.  Not parents who are divorced and share custody but single, doing it yourself parents.  How do you do it?  Ben was out of town a lot over the last month and it was just the mom and Polly show around here and that was interesting for sure.
2. I will never wonder again, as I did in her first few weeks of life, how I would know if she is spitting up or throwing up.  I may have even called my doctor's hotline to ask.  Oh silly, naive me.  One ottoman and several loads of laundry later I now know that it's the volume.  Spitting up is sort of cute after experiencing it's evil cousin, throw up.   
3. As you can tell Polly had the stomach flu which then meant that I had the stomach flu.  True love is holding your little girls while chanting to yourself, "mind over matter, mind over matter" as she get's sick all over you and you do all you can to keep dinner down.  All of this happened during my few weeks of single parenting.  
4. Polly is eating real food!  So far we've only ventured into pureed bananas but she loves it and regularly takes the spoon out of my hand.  Carrots are the next adventure!  I learned after her first eating session that the bath must come after eating not before.  
5. She is also sitting up.  When Ben got home, Polly was just chillin' in the living room sitting on her own.  I think this time next month she will be on the move for sure.  We are not ready!!!  
6. She is completely aware of the cats now.  She laughs when she sees them and babbles to them like they are going to talk back.  Those poor guys have no idea what's in store for them.  

5 Months Old

At this moment 5 months ago I was still soaking in my first few hours of being a mom.  She has changed so much between now and then it's sort of mind blowing.  As she grows and changes, she stretches and grows me too.  Here are a few highlights from this last month:

1. We have a VERY gassy baby.  Since I don't have that much experience with babies to compare this to it could be all babies but I don't think it is.  She farts when she laughs, she farts when she coughs, she farts when she cries really hard.  She loves to wait for that moment on Saturdays when the store is quiet and the song on the radio is transitioning to the next song and there is one customer in the store.  It is then that she likes to have the loudest, gassiest poop of the week that requires a change of clothes.  That one customer can't exactly see this tiny baby nor do they know she is there so they just awkwardly look at me to the point where I have to point out the tiny baby.  They don't seem to believe me.  
2. This month Polly has learned to roll over from back to front but hasn't mastered the front to back.  She's also sitting up nearly completely on her own.  It's amazing.  She babbles and talks constantly and will smile at anyone who smiles at her.  Some mornings she's too busy trying to talk to me to eat properly.  It's the best thing ever.  
3. I'm amazed that there are women out there that successfully raise several kids.  Polly is the center of my world and brings so much joy but this is SO tiring.  Add in a full time job, a store, a semiannual indie craft fair and a husband that travels and it's all I can do to keep it all together.  Mothers of many babies out there, I salute you.  
4. I'm struggling with being back to work and still breastfeeding.  Polly hasn't transitioned to longer space between feedings yet.  She still eats every two hours during the day which means I have to pump every two hours at work and that takes so much time way from a productive day.  I have to leave in the middle of meetings, schedule around it and every once in a while I just forget.   It's frustrating but this is so important so I keep on but I have to say I'm looking forward to solid foods and a diet that depends less on me.  I also just wish the U.S. had friendlier maternity support for women.   Between sleep deprivation and the constant interruption, I find it hard to keep up with my old self and I see why women who have the option to stay home often take it.  I don't have that option.  
5. There should be a training for fathers about their role in Mother's Day.  Maybe it should be a pamphlet that they give you when you leave the hospital.  They need it.
6. I feel so lucky to be Polly's mom.