trucks

Just because my little girl wears pink - 

Uncle Mike and Aunt Jill bought her trucks!!

She certainly enjoys them.

Pushing the race car.

A little help from Daddy.

This is her really happy "cheese" smile. Oh boy.

- doesn't mean she won't play with trucks!!

Sunday Snapshot

I married my best friend.   And if f***ing rocks!!

flashback friday

Going through some old albums, I found one of the first pictures I ever took of Andy.  We were at our first (of many many) hockey games together, and I snapped it will my cell phone. I just find his smile so contagious.

And I know this was when we were first starting dating, because he was nice enough to let me take the picture.

It wasn't long before my attempts of cell phone pictures at hockey games looked more like this.

His hand just doesn't have the same effect as his smile.  That's for sure.  Hahahaha.

Happy Friday!!!

The wean is on.

I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to give breastfeeding a go.  And being a working mom, I knew that it would come with some obstacles and inconveniences.  All along, I targeted six months as my goal.  From what I've read and researched, the first six months are the most crucial for providing your baby with your antibodies.  And hey, let's be real, breast milk is way cheaper than formula.

The first four months came and went.  We didn't have the perfect nursing relationship, but we did well.  I managed to pump plenty at work to keep up with her milk needs during the day and she nursed evenings, nights and weekends.

Around four months, however, I noticed she was going to bed unhappy.  I think my supply was dipping at night, and since she was unsatisfied, she was up a few times in the middle of the night looking for food.  Being a working mommy, I decided to try to supplement her last feeding at night with a bottle of formula.  And it was a success!  She started sleeping through the night and the bags under my eyes started to disappear!

What do you mean you pump for three hours a day?!?

Around five months, I caught a series of colds and my supply started to go down a bit.  I continued to pump pump pump, but she did get an extra bottle of formula here and there.  We were so blessed because Taylor has no problem going back and forth between breast milk and formula.

Just before her six month birthday and after a series of extremely frustrating nursing strikes, I dubbed myself an exclusive pumper.  I pumped four or five times a day and Taylor was still almost exclusively fed breast milk for her liquid diet.

Since things were going swimmingly, I ignored my six month goal and kept trucking pumping.  At around month seven, I started to dread my time hooked up to the pump.  The weather was getting nicer, Taylor was getting more and more interactive and fun and it seemed that my pump time was interfering with events and time with my family.

So after talking it through with my husband, we began the weaning process.  I'm currently in week two of said weaning process.  Taylor's liquid diet is now part formula and part frozen milk and I have enough stored milk to easily get her through her eight month birthday.  She's taken to it like a champ.  No issues at all.  It's been way easier on that front than I could have ever hoped for.

Milk? Formula? Whatevs. I'll drink it.

My boobies, on the other hand, are a tad traumatized.  In the weeks prior to this decision, I started slowing my pumping down to three times a day and then two times a day right before I went cold turkey.   At first, I had to pump a liiiiiitle bit every day or two just to relieve the pain.  I went 72 hours before pumping a little this past Sunday, and I haven't pumped since.  They still have milk in them, but I can tell I'm drying up.

And you guys...it's HEAVENLY!!!

I haven't had my body to myself since 2010 and it feels amazing!!!!  I know every family makes different decisions regarding breast milk vs formula, nursing vs pumping, baby led weaning vs parent led weaning, but I'm very much happy with this decision.  This one was the right one for our family.

So even though my boobs feel like softballs may be a tad uncomfortable for the moment, and Taylor is now a formula/frozen milk drinker exclusively, this weaning process has been a good experience. 

And for that, we're grateful.

dill pickles, parades and doggy pools...

I adored this past weekend.  Andy, Taylor & I had such a wonderful time together.  The weather may have been a tad TOO hot, but we made the most of our extra time together.

Friday after work, we took the two mile round trip walk to the local grocery store to get some fresh food for dinner.  After dinner, while Andy did all the lawn work, Taylor and I played outside.  We even brought her one big toy out for a while.

Saturday, after her morning nap, we ventured into the city and walked the Erie Basin Marina.  We stopped at the Hatch for hotdogs and beer and Taylor tried her first dill pickle.  She loved it!!

Saturday after Taylor went to bed, our good couple friends came over and we celebrated over a bottle of champagne that the wife of the couple graduated from pharmacy school and accepted a job in Buffalo.  Andy & I are THRILLED they are staying local.

Sunday morning, we woke up and took the two mile walk to the grocery store again.  This time, we picked up fresh donuts.  Totally not healthy, but totally delicious!

During the day on Sunday, the theme was SLEEP.  Taylor decided to take two two hour naps, and Andy & I joined her during both of them.  It felt so good to catch up on sleep. 

Sunday evening, our friend and his new girlfriend came over and we played Rock Band until one in the morning!  Good thing we got all those naps.

Monday was a super busy day.  Tay, Andy & I got up early and headed to the Clarence Memorial Day Parade.  It was Taylor's first parade and she did so well.  Especially since we were dealing with temps in the high 80s.  Andy's parents, sisters and brother in law were in the parade, so we had a very good reason to watch.

Excited to be at her first parade!

Waiting for the parade to start.

Dancing to patriotic music.

Memorial Day baby!

Watching the parade with Daddy.

After the parade, we went to Andy's parents house for a brief BBQ before heading off to another couple friends' house to celebrate our friend's birthday.  After Andy & I enjoyed a few drinks and a lot of cookie cake, our sweaty little baby (who hung out in a doggy pool with her "Aunt") let us know she was ready for a long nap, so we headed home.

So flush from being in the heat (not sun).

Needless to say, Andy & I were in bed EARLY that night.  We had a fantastic weekend with our baby, family and lots of great friends, but we were ready to hang out with Mr. Sandman by the end of it.

How did you spend your Memorial Day weekend?

Growing Up Buffalo

Andy, Taylor and I had a wonderful long weekend together.  But before I share our weekend, I wanted to share a photo I took of Taylor for a photography contest.

My company (which locally employees ~1200 people) is hosting a photo contest which ends this week.  The theme is "Best of Western New York".   The picture could be anything that encompasses the WNY (Buffalo) spirit.  I knew right away that I wanted to focus on people who grew up "Buffalo".

Both Andy & I were born and raised in Western New York.  And although Buffalo gets a bad rep for being a dying blue collar city with terrible winters, we love it here.  We have four distinct seasons, amazing food, Niagara Falls and Lake Erie, die hard sports fans, and friendly people around every corner.   It's home.

So on Saturday, we visited the Erie Basin Marina, ate yummy food at the restaurant on the water and snapped a picture of Taylor "Growing Up Buffalo".

I have some pretty stiff competition, so I don't expect to win the contest, but I'm pretty proud of the picture.  And I'm pretty proud that we are raising Taylor in Buffalo, NY.  And even if she decides to venture to a new city, state or even country when she grows up, I know she'll always look back fondly upon her Buffalo roots.

catchlights

Last May, when I was five months pregnant, Andy & I took a basic photography class together.  The purpose of the class was to learn how to use our "fancy" camera.  We learned so much from that class, and from that point on, I've become pretty obsessed with photography.  I know I'm far from great at it, but it's still a hobby that I love and that I can continue to improve upon.

This past month, I took another photography course.  This course focused on lighting.  Lighting is the key to good photography.  And since my favorite subject just happens to be my seven month old ladybug, I realize that I'm not always going to be in ideal lighting scenarios to capture the perfect photo. 

But I'm trying.  And one thing I'm really focusing on is getting catchlights in Taylor's eyes.  So, when my mother-in-law made this adorable dress and bonnet for Taylor, I had to take advantage of this for a photo opportunity and a learning opportunity.  Using the natural lights coming in from the window and the fill flash from my speedlite, I snapped these two pictures that came out with GREAT catchlights in her eyes.

Oh, and she looks friggin' adorable in these pictures too! Win win!

Happy Memorial Day weekend!!