Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Happy Wednesday!

My little JOE is 12-weeks today! I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by! She has recently started trying to roll over during tummy time! She hasn't succeeded yet and I don't think she'll be doing it for a bit longer but it is just too cute to see her try. It makes me very excited with anticipation. Here she is after a long (very brief) tummy time, she needed a nap!



She has also decided that she LOVES to gnaw on her hands. Her first attempt was to try to fit her entire fist in there. Since she's realized that it won't fit, she not does just her forefingers. I thought babies only sucked their thumbs? I haven never seen one that goes for her forefinger but I am sure it isn't too too unusual. Even though I like to think she is 1 in a million!



In other news, it was very nice yesterday in my neck of the woods. So much so that I decided to take little JOE out for a walk. It was our first mommy-daughter walk and only her second time going out for a walk. The first time, we went with daddy. This time, it was just us gals. Loved it! I am definitely going to try for a summer baby next time. This winter thing is no fun! I enjoyed being able to go for a walk with her. The fresh air did my body good.



How is your week going? I hope great!

Happy Hump Day!

Monday, January 28, 2013

How I met your father...

Ok...that's just a play on words from the show "How I met your mother". I don't watch it but I thought this sums up my blog post today.

J & I met online. Not from an ad I posted (I have done that in the past) but from one my sister posted. She thought it'd be a good idea for me to meet someone nice since I hadn't had any luck on my own. I had just broken up with a guy who was by all accounts a closet alcoholic. I don't use those words lightly either. He actually was drinking in the bathroom when we went out of town and stayed in a hotel! Anyways, I digress...back to the story...

My sister posted an ad but initially, I didn't know about it. I suspected something was up when I started getting responses to an ad I never posted. She later came out and confessed! I should be mad at her but seeing as how her actions led to my little JOE, I can't complain :-).

J was one of two Johns I received an email from..OK saying "two Johns" sounds perverted but he was one of two guys named John who rsponded.

Anyways, of the two of them, J was far more interesting. During the course of our electronic conversation (email) we discovered that we actually lived within a 10-minute walk from each other. Things didn't end there. Turns out J bought the townhome I initially wanted to buy but decided against because I wanted to have the financial abilities to continue to travel. Good decision too because if I bought it, J might never have moved to the neighborhood :-).

Everything went great until J and I went on our first date. I waited in the parking lot of the blockbuster in our community. I saw his foot wear and was tempted to turn around. Check out the BATHROOM slippers he wore on our first date! I am not materialistic but I felt that he should have put in a bit more of an effort. I decided to stay and just go out since I was dressed up anyways.



That is a decision I am glad I made.
Our first date was to Dave and Busters. We were having a great time until J decided to order a drink and then another. That concerned me because I was thinking "oh no! I went from a closet alcoholic to an open alcoholic!" Thankfully, I have since come to realize that I actually drink more than my husband and that says a lot considering I don't drink much.
Needless to say, that evening was a success. J has been with me through many trips and adventures.

Our first out of town trip together. We went to Atlantic City.


Our first trip to Boston. We went to Fenway. I grew up there but had never actually been inside the stadium!




Almost 2 years ago, we took the ultimate step by standing before God and man to become husband and wife.

@ our traditional Nigerian wedding.


@ our official wedding ceremony.


I have never regretted getting out of my car that summer day in August 2007 and as I sit here looking at my daughter, I am thankful to God for bringing J and now JOE into my life.




I hope as you read this, you remember to acknowledge that special someone in your life.

Have a fabulous week!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

My weekend and count down...

First weekend recap...Saturday was relaxing. J & I had a couple of friends over. I decided to cook dinner. I made some rice, cooked spinach stew, fried plantains and fried tilapia. Our friends are on a 6-week fast from dairy products. I didn't realize that also included all animal products. So J and I had quite a bit of leftover food since they couldn't eat much. They did oblige us and ate some food. They typically enjoy my cooking so I hope to have them over again after they are done with their fast. Besides, they were here to see baby JOE. She loved every minute of it.

On Sunday, we went back to church for the first time. We got up at 7am to make it to church for the 10am service. I was scheduled to teach Sunday school to 6 & 7 year olds. We were very late! We got there at 10:30am. Since it was our first Sunday back to church, we weren't too hard on ourselves. We have figured out what we can do next week to make sure we are not late.
I missed the kids! A lot of them are all grown up and most of the kids were new to my class. Made me realize that time FLIES even when you're not keeping track of it!

On Monday, we spent the day packing and also watching the inauguration. Regardless of who you voted for, it was a momentous occasion and hubby and I were really happy to see history be made for the second time.

The count down has officially begun. I go back to work full time on February 4th. I started working part time (20-hours) on January 8th but I was working from home. I go back in the office on February 5th since Monday the 4th is a telework day for me.

With each passing day, I find myself missing JOE more even though I still get to see her all day most days. I worry about the things I'll miss and I worry about her thinking I have abandoned her every time I leave home for work. I am thankful I will be teleworking on Mondays which means I will only be away from her 4-days a week but I am still will miss her a lot.

I love the last pic of hubby and JOE. They had just spent the time playing while I got ready for church.
Also, JOE has discovered her hand! Se keeps trying to fit it in her myth. So cute!

Hope you had an awesome weekend!











Thursday, January 17, 2013

Name change and updates...

I decided to change the name of my blog because life as I know it has changed. I LOVE traveling and don't plan on giving that up entirely but with marriage comes more responsibilities and having a baby adds even more. So now that I have a newborn, we will be traveling as a family. Translation...higher costs which means fewer trips. At least until we become independently wealthy :-).

We will make the most of the trips though. We'll still try to do one family vacation each year but it might be more within the US as opposed to outside of the US.

In anycase, my new blog name says it all.

Without further ado, here are some pics of our little game (or life) changer.

Look at those cheeks! I can't help but kiss them several times each day. I know she likes it though cause I always manage to get a smile out of her when I do.


OK...this is the look on my daughter's face whenever she passes gas. Yup...its a surprised look. Makes me laugh each time cause the expression is saying "wait, who did that???"


My daughter still HATES tummy time. But if back time was an Olympic sport for babies, she'd win gold!!! There is an Nigerian adage about looking up instead of looking down. Since she is part Nigerian, I wonder if that's why she'd rather be looking up than down? I am sure I am reading too much into that but still...



On a not so cool note, postpartum shedding has begun :-(. NOT cool!!! I thought for sure I'd be the exception. I guess not.



On a cooler note, they are making progress on our new home! We hope to be moved in by mid-March. Yay!!! Hurray for more space! I can't wait to spread out! Hubby moved into my condo so we could save up faster for a house. When I bought the condo and lived here alone, it was spacious. When we got married and J moved in, it became cozy. After I had JOE, it became CRAMPED! That girl has more use of the space than we do. But I wouldn't trade it for the world.



So how has your week been so far? I'd love to hear from lurkers as well. Drop me a note to say hello. I promise to visit and comment on your blog.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Progress Report - Two months!

Our little girl turned 2-months on Monday. I can't believe how fast time is flying and how much my little JOE is changing right before my eyes! It really is a miracle and each day, J & I thank God for this precious gift he has given us!

So I'll try to post 3-things on JOE's progress each month. I didn't post one last month so here are 6-things on her progress report.

Months 0 - 1: (Height: 19-inches, Weight: 6lbs 5oz)
1. We co-sleep with JOE (yes, I know...this is not for everyone but it works for us). When she gets in bed, she almost always rolls towards me. But when it comes time for feeding, she turns to her daddy since he does the night feeding while I am pumping.
2. JOE is a great eater! She loves her some milk! She now consumes 3-oz of breast milk per feeding and feeds every 2-hours.
3. JOE is fascinated with ceiling fans! It doesn't matter what type of fan it is, she'll stare at it every chance she gets.

Months 1 - 2: (Height: 22.5-inches, Weight: 10lbs 3.5oz)
1. JOE can now roll from one side to another!
2. JOE now tries to put her entire fist in her mouth! I don't think its very yummy though because after she makes several unsuccessful attempts, she screams out loud for her milk! Speaking of, she is now up to 4-oz of breast milk per feeding but she now feeds every 2-3 hours!
3. JOE smiles A LOT now. If you smile at her, you are almost assured to get a smile back. I LOVE this about her!

So here are progress pics of our little JOE. She looks different! Still very bright eyed! I think she is fascinated with the flash from the camera.
You can't tell but the top half of her iris are blue! Yup...very unusual. I freaked out thinking it was a digestive problem (thanks Google for sending me into panic mode!). The doctor checked her out and it is a genetic trait. Her grandfather on her daddy's side has blue eyes! Not sure why I didn't think of that in the first place.



For comparison, the picture on the left was taken the week after I brought her home (@1-week) and the picture on the right was taken last night (@9-weeks). This co-sleeper is supposed to last up to 25-lbs. Somehow, I don't think she'll be 25-lbs by the time she outgrows this thing.



I am now back working part time (20-hours per week from home) which means I'll be turning on my computer more often. Translation, I can blog after work or during my lunch breaks. YAY!!!

 That's all folks. Hope you're having a fantastic week so far!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

New year, new beginnings. Happy 2013!!

Happy New Year everyone! I am looking forward to the many blessings the year has to offer.

I have a hodge podge of pics from our time in Boston. Mostly, the pictures are of our little JOE who is growing so quickly!

Here she is trying to hold her bottle. I think she thinks if she lets go, my sister will take away the bottle. She even has the "don't mess with me" look!



And there's my little girl wearing her first "Church" outfit. Its already too short for her and its a size for 3-months! I think she'll be tall like her daddy!



What a long day! She was pooped and so was her dad! Lol!

I love watching her sleep and can't help but take a pic. Makes me wonder what she dreams of.



We were in Boston with my family for 11-days and spent both Christmas and New Year's there. I figured I likely won't be able to spend that long in Boston again anytime soon so I took full advantage. We went to Copley Place in Boston and had a great time walking around. The decorations are still up!
All of the ornament on the tree had pictures of cats in them. Its a tree to encourage donations to animal shelters. A pretty cool idea! J loves cats (I'm a dog person) so he kept looking at the pics.


I thought this was pretty cool. Its what you see when you walk into the Copley Place mall in Boston.


And this here is the first ever Microsoft store! They are trying to compete with Apple.The place was PACKED! AND, when we got to the airport on our way back to MD, there were stations with the new Windows tablet. I think they are really putting in a lot of effort to beat the iPAD. I won't lie though, I still love my iPAD. Well, except for the fact that I hate the blogger feature on it :-). Everything else works great!





J and I rented a car after the Christmas festivities and took our little JOE out every opportunity we had. Unfortunately, JOE and I both caught a cold. To compound it, she had her 2-month shots yesterday and she's been very cranky since.
Even though I also have a cold, it's been really difficult seeing my baby battle a cold. It really breaks my heart and I am looking forward to her being over this cold.


Seeing her smile though let me know she'll be just fine!


Wishing you all a fun and fabulous New Year!!

AyoBE

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