Splish splash I was taking a bath

Hello... my name is Meg

There's a fire starting inside my heart

Reaching a fever pitch and its bringing me out of the dark

                             -- "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele

Hello.... my name is Meg.... I feel like saying that to myself in the mirror some mornings lately.  I feel like I am greeting a long lost friend.  Its a strange sensation to feel yourself again after not feeling that way for so long.

To clarify the situation, the last few months have been rocky, to put it mildly, in my personal life.  This following 4 years of medical school, three years of residency and (almost!) 1 year of motherhood.  But the most amazing thing is that I feel like *I* am coming out of the haze and becoming my old self again.

I feel the urge to read books, exercise, be creative, express myself, laugh, watch stupid TV, watch documentaries, learn, research, and push myself.  I have not felt like that in a long, long time and I have not done a lot of those thing in a long, long time.  I have felt like I just existed during these hazy years, I did not live.

Yes, some of those years are hazy due to sleep deprivation and being over-worked... Boards are 6 weeks post-partum, are you kidding?? But, I let some of myself go -- not necessarily voluntarily, but it happened. But I'm done with that. 

Its an amazing feeling... I feel like I am finding my groove, my rhythm, I'm "sitting in the pocket" to quote my favorite summer TV show.  This week, I actually busted out my arts and crafts box (complete with detailed label on the front) and did an art project for Libby's 1st birthday party.  I even thought about writing poetry again.  I can't remember the last time I did that.  

I am slowly learning through a lot of help and guidance to embrace me, just as I am.  Yes I like to bake cupcakes and dress my daughter in pretty dresses, but I also can build swing sets that I design, I can call what play should be run on 3rd and 20 and I can cook.  No, I don't fit into many molds but I'm learning to be ok with that, I'm learning to wear my own skin comfortably.  I hope this all leads to being a better friend, a better daughter, a better woman, but most of all, I just want to be me. 

Blueberries!

 

This past weekend we headed into the blueberry fields to pick berries.  I haven't gone fruit picking of any kind since I was a child but I have very fond memories of eating strawberries right off the vine.  Libby feels about blueberries the way I felt about strawberries.... the greatest thing ever.  You can't put them on her tray fast enough and she is consuming them at every meal.  When the blueberry farm across the street opened its doors for picking, I knew it was a family adventure in the making.  Here's some pictures from the picking session!

Hmm these look yummy

Yum yum

Daddy doing the hard work

It takes a while to pick a gallon of blueberries

It was totally worth carrying her around in the sling for an hour because the berries are amazingly sweet and delicious! We are all reaping the benefits of our picking session... blueberry pancakes, blueberry compote, blueberry everything!

Visitors from afar

We had a surprise this weekend! Uncle Erik and Miss Rachel visited from NYC! They were able to spare a little time during their busy weekend to drive to Winston and visit Libby.  Craig and I can pretend it was to see us too, but we'd only be fooling ourselves.  Here's a few shots of the fun!

Its a party in the bonus room

Too cool for school

Taking pictures of Dada

What's up?!

Grrrrrrr!!

Mommy can I keep them??

I love Miss Rachel

Father's Day Weekend

We spent Father's Day weekend in Henderson with Gram and Gpa.  We spent Saturday out on Kerr Lake - Libby's first day on the boat! Overall it was a good day, complete with a nap in the car seat.  And what would a day on the lake be without a little water skiing?

 

We had a yummy waffle breakfast with Gram and Gpa before heading home.  Craig and Libby played in the nursery during the afternoon and smiled for a few Father's Day photos.  Craig is an amazing Dad - always ready to play, read books, whatever it takes.  He gets up with Libby every morning and fixes her breakfast.  He loves getting to play with her and making her laugh.  He gets so excited whenever she does anything for the first time and delights in her happiness.  He is willing to sacrifice his own time, comfort and dignity all in the name of a sweet baby girl's happiness.

He is a great Dad and he makes me a better Mom.

9 month WCC

Woo hoo! A check up without shots!! Libby has no idea this is the easiest check up she is going to have for a while but she still had a good time.  Showing Dr. Adams and Ethan Stonerook all her tricks during the visit.  But the best news for mommy was that she has finally cleared 18 pounds!!

This mommy has been uber-stressing about Libby's weight.  Plotting her on personal growth curves and micro-managing her eating, while many folks have assured me that fat rolls on your legs mean that you are doing well.

So yeah! I'll take the 45th percentile for weight and 95th for height! Who knows where she got that body type.  But I'm working on "letting go" of my stress and relaxing a bit ...  this should be comical to those folks who know I've been working on these goals since I was about 5 years old :)

On a rather funny note, once again, Gram brought out her motor milestone magic.  After Libby's check up, she took her afternoon nap.  Now we had to sheepishly admit that Libby is not pulling up or cruising at her visit but upon entering the nursery we found.... a standing baby!!!

If we didn't know it before, we definitely know it now... we are in for a world of fast-moving trouble!

Mid-June report

Long time no see!

So things have been a little nuts around our house.  Instead of posting a series of posts on our adventures since the beach, its going to be a blogathon post! I know you are excited!!

So as previously mentioned, Libby started crawling the day before we left for the beach.  Many of you (presuming that "many" people read this) know that I have not been the most encouraging mom in the mobility department.  My stationery baby was just fine with me, but my planning went awry when we took her to Gram's the night before the beach. If you make it all the way through this post, you will see that if we want Libby to do a motor milestone, apparently we have to take her to Gram's house!

The morning we left for the beach, Libby unveiled her army crawl.  Private First Class Alden could make it under any obstacle course! Be prepared to be amazed at the very serious and high skill crawl you are about to see.

But first, I must explain the second amazing feat that was accomplished at Gram's.  Clapping! Craig has made teaching Libby to clap his personal mission.  During our Memorial Day visit to Gram and Gpa's, while swinging on the A #1 Gpa swings, Libby unveiled her next trick - clapping!! Craig looked like he had won an Olympic Gold medal.

Here, showcased for the very first time is a video of Libby crawling, pushing up to a sit and then clapping.  All skills acquired within two weeks of each other and all at Gram's. Magic!!

 

::Here's the mommy commentary: The set up is that there was a pile of toys on one side of the room and a pile of books on the other.  Libby ALWAYS goes for the books.  As she crawls over, she not-so-lovingly casts aside the book about Baby Jesus, hopefully not a future trend.  But only because her favorite book is hiding behind it - B is for Bear!! I love her total ham moments as she realizes the camera is on her.  She is such a goof!!::

Other discoveries in the last few weeks.....

• The Tupperware box! Libby loves to shake, rattle and roll with the Tupperware

• Libby likes to practice "choosing" her books and toys.  This entails crawling over to her bookshelf and toy basket and individually pulling out each item.  This results in a happy baby and big ol' mess!

Did I mention making a giant mess makes a happy girl?

• Big girl bath tub! We officially ditched the baby tub and plopped her into the big tub. The general soapy fun ensued and the transition was seamless. Go Bath Time Daddy! 

 

And last but certainly not least.... GRANDPARENT VISITS!!

Sue and Al visited this past weekend.  Our first get together since the beach trip.  Happy to marvel at Libby's crawling, clapping and chaos creating skills, they enjoyed a weekend at the house.  Al and Craig tackled many projects, including adding wheels to Libby's high chair and hanging shelves in her room.  But the big experiment was the Alden Redneck show.  Blow up swimming pool and the Alden family.  Hopes were high for Libby to provide the entertainment and she didn't disappoint... but the problem was that the much anticipated reaction was 100% the opposite of the desired effect!! Check out the pictures - I dare you not to laugh.

 

Al showed off his Father's Day gift - A #1 Opa

At least Kenzie enjoyed the pool

Clapping Libby with her wonderful Alden grandparents

Over Memorial Day weekend, we visited Henderson to see Gram and Gpa.  Gpa built Libby a swing set in the backyard - which she LOVES!! We spend most of our time out in the backyard now and the addition of the swings is wonderful.  Then Gram came to visit for Libby's 9 month well child check.  

Look at my cute mom!

We both love Gpa's swings