Vegas Vacation - Memorial Day

Ahhhh to go to Vegas again. It is so fun! My home away from home! (and that has nothing to do with the craps tables, slot machines, or Thunder from Down Under, OK?)

It was fun even if it was quite a FULL HOUSE! Becca and Phil and Jordan and I decided to meet in Las Vegas as Michelle and Andrew's house....and then Mom and Dad wanted to come, and then Heather and Jay wanted to come, and well, why not? The more the merrier right? It was great. We went bowling (I didn't bowl, but had fun taking pictures of the little cuties and nursed Claire on a cushy chair there in the bowling ally/hotel area and she spit up all over it...nice)

Bowling at Redrock Casino: Sydney and Kaylin with their favorite "Aunt Nunu"

Jordan and the nieces and nephew and Claire

We also went to the Bellagio to see the gardens and that was really fun...it's always great to see how they change things!

Becca, Michelle, and Me...Becca's pregnant, not fat :) hehe.... and Michelle is too, but very early still so she still looks like a twig!!

A little family photo :) Note the burp cloth on Claire's Baby Bjorn. It's not so much that she's a major drooler...it's mainly that all she does all day is suck on her hands, and that creates..well...drool :)

My favorite "work of art" in the garden

And then we went to see the fountains...this one was to the theme of "Somewhere in Time" So great!

Random picture of Claire...just because getting one of her smiling is really rare!! It's like once she sees the camera, her little smiling muscles just stop working :)

We also went to this shopping area/park where there is a cool place for kids to play and these fountains for them to run around in.... Here's my sexy honey with our little sweetie in front of H&M (which we didn't go into...bummer)

And the girls were so cute and funny playing in the water! Lauren was fearless!

So, we also tried out Michelle & Andrew's pool...but can I say FREEZING???? I was going to die of Hypothermia if I got in, so I didn't :) But of course, the kids did...so funny:

It was so fun. Thank you Michelle and Andrew for your hospitality!!! You guys are so great! It was so fun to finally get a chance to hang out with Becca and Phil and their cute family too!

Driving Along, Heading to Vegas, Tired as H#@%

So, I have NEVER been great at driving, period. But this time, I'm not talking about all of the 'caused-by-me' accidents I've incurred in my ever-aging lifespan. I am talking about the practice of getting behind a steering wheel, accelerating to a comfortable speed of 80mph, and taking a hard long look at a barren, straight, fairly smooth road for 6 hours. It is TIRING. I don't care what time of day it is, how sunny it is, how dark it is, how many hours of sleep I got the night before, etc. etc. I can never do it--at least not for very long. I think the whole new mommy sleep deprivation hasn't helped either to be honest. AND, I want you all to know that when I am tired, I TOTALLY pull over and sleep. I don't drive drowsy.

So we're on our way to Vegas for Memorial Day weekend, and Jordan had worked all night the night before we left, so he was done. Thus, it was my turn to drive. About, you know, a hefty 10 whole minutes into it, I was pretty much asleep with my eyes open. So, I exited, deciding to get some "munchies" and a drink of sorts for the road. This never usually helps much, but hey, I was desperate!

So I walk into the gas station. I look at the "munchy" aisle. Very appealing, but not very helpful to my problem, in the end. But I did pick up a few items. Then, I go to the refrigerator section, and start thinking that maybe something Red Bull-ish might help, but think of all the caffeine and how unhealthy it is, etc. etc. and go to the register instead.

And there I see it.

I had seen a few people drink these 5-Hour Energy shots before, and they weren't the Red Bull addicts or anything, so I picked one up. The bottle boasts 5 hours of energy with NO crash at the end. Caffeine makes you crash, and they say no crash, so does that mean no caffeine? I look at the ingredients: Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, and a bunch of other "harmless" supplements. Great. I get it. In fact, I get the "extra strength" version even! I drink half. Then, Jordan says, "Honey, what are you drinking??" I explain, and he is very...skeptical as to my "healthy" find. He grabs the bottle from me, and takes a look as I explain how great it is that it doesn't have caffeine, and I was going to get VITAMINS even! Folic Acid! Great for Moms!

"Honey... did you look at the other side of the bottle??" Guess not. HIDDEN in the back (How they hide these things from my all-seeing eye on a 4 oz. bottle of goo is unimaginable!) is the description of how there is TONS of caffeine in that little bottle, in fact, a full 4 oz. equalling 12 cups of coffee!! NOT to mention that it said that pregnant or nursing mothers shouldn't drink it at all. GREAT. I'm an idiot. An awake idiot for the day... Fortunately, I only drank 6 cups of coffee--I mean, HALF a shot.

I felt pretty guilty. Especially on Sunday when Claire was up from 4am on........ I think maybe something to do with the major dose of awakening drugs in the breastmilk???

P.S. I just found out that that shot is equal to 12 OUNCES of coffee. HONEY. You read it wrong. That's slightly better than 12 CUPS. I was wondering how they could fit it all in there.....

Make-Shift Bouncy Swing

Anyone who knows us knows that my husband is the ULTIMATE Jack of All Trades. I've never met anyone like him...EVER. It's pretty crazy how many things he can do...from knitting to electrical wiring to...well...making baby toys, like this!

Yep, that was how he kept Claire entertained while Mommy napped and he worked on his garage-organization project :) Of course, he says that this is "only temporary" and that he will be making her a new "perfect" one later.... hey, I thought this one was good enough! Jordan is a perfectionist to be sure!

And another thing that is SURE is that he LOVES his little girl... and I'm pretty sure she loves him back :)

Play Date with Lauren

Yesterday I had the privilege of babysitting cute little Lauren--my sister, Heather's little girl. She's a year old, so she and Claire will be good friends! It was fun to see them interact, and don't worry, Lauren, only tried to poke her eye out 9 times, but she didn't succeed! I was able to intervene :)

Lauren: "Oooh what is this? A baby? Hmmm those eyes look fun to poke at..."
Claire: Help.
Lauren: Hmmm just saw Claire suck on her entire hand. Wonder if that would taste good? *insert hand in mouth* Not bad...not bad...

Claire: I'm just glad your hand with it's pokey fingers is occupied elsewhere...

I took them to the park in my neighborhood, and put them in the little baby swings. Lauren was very hesitant at first, and pretty upset to be put in, but then she warmed up to it...I think. It's actually pretty funny to just watch the video..... yeah. They are FULL of excitement, lemme tell ya.

It was a very fun day! Good practice for two kids--although I won't be having my second that close together because that might be impossible, but if it were, the thought of being pregnant again really makes me want to hurl--well, pregnancy does anyway....

Claire's 4-Monther

It was that time again...time for Claire to get shots again :( and also to get measured/weighed. As of Friday, she was:

Weight: 12 lbs. 13 oz. (36th percentile)
Height: 24 inches (89th percentile)
Head Circ.: 16 inches (53rd percentile)

So, basically everything she puts on, by the time it fits width-wise, is too short! I really need some more of MY fat to transfer onto HER. Seriously! Oh well :)

This is what she's like right now...

1. Claire LOVES to suck on her hands. It's pretty much becoming an obsession! It goes from one hand to two, fingers to thumb, etc. etc. Today her church clothes were soaked from all of the hand-sucking. The funniest though is when I'm nursing her, and she tries to drink AND suck on her hand at the same time--crazy girl!

2. Claire is a very smiley girl. 90% of the time if you smile at her, no matter who you are, she will smile right back. It's so cute!

3. Sometimes when I sing to her, she'll look up at me and move her mouth, as if she's mouthing the words I'm singing.

4. When I trill my tongue or babble at her, I can really get her laughing.

5. Jordan can get her laughing the hardest though, by talking to her in his funny Asian accent.

6. Claire loves blankets...well, eating them at least... when I put her in her carseat and put a blanket over her, she automatically grabs it with her hands and puts it in her mouth.

7. She also loves eating her stuffed animals. Of course. :) Anything soft.

After nearly a decade...it was time for a change!

SO I CHOPPED IT OFF. YES. I was at Natalie's the other night, ready to get my hair done...and she said, "What do you want to do...the roots, and then a trim? Or do you want to cut it?" When I replied, "Let's just chop it off," she about had a heart attack. "Are you freaking kidding ME???" She said... I said "Nah, let's just do it. I've had my hair long since freshman year of college...it's time for a change."

She quickly did an initial "chop off" before I could change my mind (and to use less color, let's be honest...) I don't think it's been THIS short since I was....14? Yes. That is actually 14 years ago. I figure though, it'll grow if I want it long again...I have plenty of years ahead of me (well, less and less...I AM almost 30!! I think this is my mid-life crisis hair cut!)

And just for the record, I TOTALLY didn't cut it because of "New Mommy Syndrome." She isn't pulling my hair too much or anything. I just needed the change.

OK fine, who am I kidding??? It's like nesting. We all go through it. We all chop the hair off after the first kid. I'm so cliche. It's sad. But oh well. I guess I'll be cliche for now...and spend less time doing my hair.