Sickies, Teethers and Play Mats

It's been a fun, fun week so far! Of course, we'll all a bunch of sickies in the house so outside contact hasn't really been happening. We did manage to go to a dinner cruise on Friday night...thank you to Nick and Diane and Joey for being the best babysitters ever!

So Luca is now teething a little. There's nothing cutting through yet but you can feel the ridges if you concentrate really hard. She's been drooling up a storm and chewing on everything, including her bottle nipples and my hands. She doesn't really appear to be in any pain yet (knock on wood there)...

She loves her play mat, especially in the morning while I put her down for play time while I run and check emails and do things like post blogs and upload videos. She's been doing well with the cold. She has a ton of congestion so I went out yesterday and bought her this Lil Noses chest vapo-rub. MAN, that stuff smells good. I think I might buy a vat of it for me. She's really got a cute little sneeze and cough. I'm not saying that because I'm her mother....she really is adorable. LOL....nothing like saying that your kid's snotty face is better than the rest.

I'm getting to the end of my maternity leave and I'm not happy about it. Just sayin'.

Here are a few pics to tide you over:

The Beauty of Dreams

We all have dreams at some point...things that we swear we'll do, things that we hope we can accomplish, things that get left undone, things that we fight all sorts of monsters to achieve....no matter which way you look at it, we all have dreams. The other night, I was talking on the phone with a friend who really, really wanted to go to Africa. The time is right. She's about to lose her job. She's finished school. She's living in a city that means nothing to her.

Logistically, it's a stupid move. To all of those conservative, money-minded people that believe "I can't do this because the time isn't right", it's a stupid move. But for me, as we spoke, I found myself really hoping that she decides to just go ahead and do it. Sure, I'd be jealous as all hell. Sure, I would wish that my scenario was the same as hers. Sure, a part of me wished that I could have that simplicity to just drop everything and head out to parts unknown, to explore and to be part of that adventure.

I can't be a part of her dream right now, but I know that eventually I'll get there. So this post is dedicated to her and to everyone else who has dreams and they're not certain if it's the right time to make things happen: Stop talking yourself out of it. Live the dream!

Otherwise, it will never be the right time. You can't have perfectly planned out dreams....carpe diem, motherfuckers.

3 Months!

OK, so here's what's new in As The Luca Ages (my newest title for the soap opera that she is): she is beginning to show impatience (she gets it from her Momma) especially with holding things and controlling her body. She wants to sit up and stand up by herself more than anything and she gets really pissed off that she needs help. If I give her my hands, she'll plant her feet and pull herself up. Seriously amazing. If I have her in a sitting position, she is no longer limp....she has to try to sit herself up fully and hold it. It'll be some time before she's able but it's fun to see her try. She is also starting to hold her bottle when she's eating.

So I went to the store the other day because someone mentioned that babies love play mats or floor gyms. I wasn't necessarily sold on it because Lu doesn't really have the desire to play with toys....she actually gives them dirty looks most of the time, or she'll just flat out ignore them. I got the stupid play mat in hopes that I might be able to flop her down for a few minutes during the day while I do the mad laundry-dishes-check my email dash. I faced that ridiculous wall of pink, shiny, flashy things and finally chose a mat that had some color and personality.

She freaking loves it. It has this one disk that has a picture of a dog on it...I was on the phone with Liv and looked down to find her French-kissing the damn thing. Yes, full tongue. My baby is growing up so fast!!!! Already French-kissing. She's so advanced.

Here's the funny thing though: if I take the toys off of the play mat (they hook onto a beam and hang temptingly in her face), she has absolutely NO interest in them. She's an odd duck.

Lil LuLu woke up at six this morning and I finally got her to sleep at 9:30 tonight. Did she nap, you ask? No, she didn't. But hey, she's asleep now and she misses her Papa and Auntie Christy. Check out facebook for the video.

Bird Shit, Mariska Hargitay, and Tears

Mariska Hargitay.

Going through the aviary at the zoo, Christy had only joked "What if a bird shits on Luca's head?" Seconds later, her joke proved true. I opted to wipe it off her face instead of taking a photo of it and I'm wondering now about my choice. After all, how many parents have a pic of bird shit plastered on their kid's head? It would've been priceless.

Mariska Hargitay.

Since Christy and Papa have left, Luca has been screaming for her baby whisperer. Who else had the comforting arms and shoulder that could lull her to sleep? Who else has that comforting voice and kind smile? Who else wants to hear her stories over and over again (well, besides her parents)? She misses you both intensely.

And to that, I say, "Mariska Hargitay".

JD misses you too. He keeps looking for hidden donuts.

The Baby Whisperer

My father, the baby whisperer! Luca is going to miss her Papa and so are the rest of us! He has the magic touch, for sure!

And then, of course, Luca will miss her illegal godmommy, Auntie Critty!

Homecoming

Little does G-Ma know that when she sent Papa and Christy all the way across the country, with the nefarious plan to tuck Luca in their carry-ons when I wasn't looking, that I would be kidnapping THEM. BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

We're having a great time! Coming soon to this blog near you: pics of us rocking the casbah in San Diego.

Intrigue

I never thought that I would be the person that was emotionally invested in anything, because I am essentially a selfish being. But tonight, as I stared at Lu, I was absolutely enthralled with everything she did.

As she was sleeping, I found myself focused on simple, stupid things that we take for granted: the way her eyes flinched at some unknown dream, the beautiful tender purple color of her eyelids, the perfect shape of her lips, the indentation below her nose, the way she sucks at the air, or the way she moves her hands up in a defensive position against a nocturnal villain....

It's amazing what will suck me into a different realm now. I could watch her sleep for hours.

Where's Papa & My Illegal Godmommy?

I'm ready to watch some sports with Papa!















What do you mean I have to wait three more days? WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!















Fine! I guess I can wait but they better get here soon.....















I got sleepy waiting...














We can't wait until you're here!