Barefoot is better

Rob & I decided that in our new place, no shoes are allowed. That means, everyone (EVERYONE) can leave their shoes at the door. There are a few reasons for this. First, I know this is super weird I am somewhat concerned about the germs that your shoes pick up. I mean you walk all over the place, parking lots, public bathrooms, restaurants with dirty mops and spilled food, etc. and then you bring the germs back into your house when you wear your shoes in. This is a strange concern, I realize. But I always look at the floors of public places and wonder how many germs and disgust I am gathering. I even went so far as to lysol my shoes after returning from our honeymoon in NYC. I mean the NYC streets, EW! Plus, L will be crawling in no time, so we figure this is one way to keep it cleaner. Now, Rob told me I could even buy a cute sign for the entry way alerting people of our rule. So when I googled it, the first hit was an entire blog about why everyone should take their shoes off at the door. I mean, seriously, an entire blog. Someone has really done their research. Check it out

a CRAZY week

Just a few things that are going on here in the Patterson household:

1. MADDNESS!!! Complete and total choas. And anyone who knows me, knows I do not do well with disorder. The house is falling apart!!!!!! Ok, well not really. It's just that when you have a baby, your husband works 12 hour shifts 4 days in a row, and you are trying to pack up by Friday...your house gets a bit C.R.A.Z.Y. So here you are folks..maybe this will give you a warm fuzzy feeling on this Monday just knowing that your house isn't possibly this messy.

2. Lorelei's 6 month photo shoot. Also makes me nuts! Let me explain, on days that she has pictures, or even in the days leading up, I start freaking out. (Luckily I do not freak out during the session, because we have an oh.so.sweet & patient photographer, Brittany.) "What is this rash on her checks? I hope it goes away by picture day" "Oh no! She scratched her face!" "How can I time it so that she is completely rested, not hungry, but not so full that she is spewing milk during the pictures? (HA!)" Picture days just make me nervous. Oh and then the last minute thought is, "What can I wear that doesn't show post-baby weight?" Which brings me to...

3. 9 months to put it on, 9 months to get it off. That's right people. The ultimate challenge. I have 3 months to get the last lingering pounds (any and more lbs that just might feel like dropping off) off this belly. And, call me crazy, but I am not too concerned with the stretch marks. They are reminders of a very happy pregnancy and proof that I have a beautiful baby to show for them. So, I'll keep em!

4. This week is possibly the busiest we have had in a very long time. Filled with dentist appointments, last minute get togethers with friends, last minute Lubbock errands, photo session, work, selling things on Craigslist to make for lighter packing, a massage (in which we greatly deserve after all this packing), and oh yea-packing up the whole house.

5. Tis time. Time to get rid of the clothes in my closet that I keep because, "oh maybe someday I will wear it again" They are taking up space in the closet and taking up one of my new precious wonder hangers (you know, the super thin ones), in which I had long debates about getting with my BFF Leslie. In which her husband replied, "I can't believe yall are having a conversation about hangers.."

Happy Monday :)

Tutti Frutti

FINALLY!! A fruit that Lorelei will eat without making this face...

We have tried bananas, peaches, and avacados. Since she detested all of those, I pulled out the handy Beaba Babycook yesterday and got to cooking. Cooked up some apples, pears, and plums with *hope* that she would get excited about one of them. This morning, she found pure goodness in..PEARS! YUMMMMYY!!

Dear Little Baby

Dear Lorelei,

Whoa Baby! 6 months old! You haven't been to the doctor for your 6month check up yet, so we don't exactly know how much you weight and how extremely tall you are. But you are just now growing out of the 6 month clothes, and will soon be in 9 month clothes. You have been eating fruits and veggies each day. In the mornings, you have a fruit. So far you have tried avacados, peaches, and bananas. You didn't like any of them. At night you have a veggie. You have tried squash (your favorite), carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, and peas. You like all the veggies, but peas are your least favorite I think. We started a little bit of baby sign language for you and are working on the signs for milk, eat, more, finished, momma, daddy, diaper, grandma (or in your case Mimi and Nana), and Grandpa (grandpa and Gdaddy). Lots more sign language to come! You still wear size 2 diapers, but we are slowly experimenting with cloth diapers so hopefully we will find the perfect cloth diaper soon. You love playing in your pink bath tub and reading bath books and playing with bath finger puppets. Your jumperoo and play mat are still your favorite, but you also enjoy the bumbo seat and swing. Your favorite toys are your whooz-it, Sophie the giraffe, wubba dog paci, and books. Yesterday we got out the Follow Me Fiona toy for the first time. You loved it! The little dog sings and barks and walks on the floor and the idea is that you are suppossed to crawl and follow Fiona. Not so much yet, but I am sure you will follow her around in no time at all. You think your dogs, Maggie and Milo, are hilarious. But mostly Milo. He is so funny to you. (probably because he is funny looking!) You are not yet sitting up, but we try to practice with you daily. You roll over a lot though. At night, you are good for about 12 hours of sleep. That does not mean continuous though. We put you to bed around 7-7:30 and you usually wake up several times before midnight crying...and crying...and crying louder and harder. It can sometimes take hours before you go back to sleep. Last night you were throwing such a fit, you kicked your pajamas off. Just busted right out of the leg snaps! This past month, we celebrated your first Valentines Day. You had a Valentine's party at your school. Your Valentine's cards were so cute. We also visited Dallas twice. Your great Nana passed away on Feb. 28, 2010. It was a very sad day, and we are all still very sad about it, thinking of her often. You got to meet your great Nana in January, when we traveled to Atlanta. She loved you to pieces. Seeing her in January was a highlight of this year for sure. We went to Atlanta for the memorial service in early March and you met lots of family that you hadn't met before, as well as you got to see Nana, Grandpa, Bug, and Aunt Me. In the upcoming month we are MOVING! We are packing up and moving to Prosper, Texas. A little town just north of Frisco, where your Mimi and Gdaddy live. AND your Grandpa and Nana are *hopefully* going to be buying a place in Plano or Frisco soon, so I am sure they will be in town often to visit you. We are sad to leave our first house, our little town of Lubbock, and all the memories we have here. I will never forget bringing you home to this house and your Daddy and I felt perfectly complete for the first time ever. In honor of your first 6 months of life, I have done some reflecting & remembering. It seems like yesterday when you were born...

Remember when the night after you were first born and you were in the nursery at the hospital and your Daddy said to me, "I miss her!"

Remember when you were about to be born and the nurse told us that she could tell that you had hair and were were oh.so.excited. HAIR! YOU HAD HAIR!

Remember when you were first born and we just kept saying how cute you were!

Remember when you had jaundice and you had to stay on the bili-light 18-20 hours a day? You were so tiny and only a few days old. You Daddy was so worried about the time you spent on the light, he created a spreadsheet to keep track of how many hours you were on the light. What a sweet concerned Daddy you have.

Remember when your little clavicle was fractured after birth so they wrapped it up next to your body? And I was so worried about you.

Remember when you wouldn't nurse at the hospital so they would bring you to us in the middle of the night and make us give you formula? But remember when you wouldn't even take the formula so the night nurse had to help us? Remember how she held your tiny little body and told you to "sit up to the table" and asked you if those were good groceries?!

Remember when we first brought you home from the hospital and your Nana and I were in your nursery with you when you spewed projectile spit up all over the place? That was when your Daddy began the 3 hour search for an inclined baby sleep positioner.

Remember when you came home from the hospital for the first time and the dogs (especially Milo) went psycho and we thought we would have to send them away for a few days?! Momma had to call the vet ASAP to get him some medication!

Remember when you would lay on our chests and snooze for hours?

Remember when you had your days and nights mixed up? Everyone said "Keep her up more during the day" and I just about died! If only they knew!

Remember when you would wake up and cry all night long for the first few months? We just didn't know what was wrong or what we should do. Oh how we learn so quickly!

Remember when you took your first trip to Dallas and you were crying in the backseat and I couldn't stand to hear you so sad and not be able to hold you.

Remember when you learned how to pull your bow in front of your eyes and I knew our hairbow days would suddenly be much more difficult?

Remember when you sat in your Bumbo chair for the first time and whined and fussed because your head kept slumping over?

Remember when you discovered the dogs and started looking at them and looking so startled when they barked? And remember when you started thinking they were HILARIOUS!?

Remember when you discovered the t.v. and all you wanted to do was watch it? And I consistently turned your head away from it so you would not be over stimulated by all the colors and noises!

Remember when you were just in my tummy and we had never met you? We barely remember this time, sweet girl. It feels as though we have loved you forever.

Happy 1/2 year sissy! We love you to the moon & back.

Momma & Daddy

Catching Up

Whoa! I think I have neglected my blog lately! The past few weeks in recap:

Put our house on the market on a Tuesday. Showing on Wednesday. Offer on Thursday. Contract on Friday. Yes, dear friends, there is a beautiful SOLD sign in the front yard. While we are so happy that we did not have to endure the 'keeping the house spotless for showings' process, let me just say the whole thing wasn't easy. We didn't exactly fall in love with our buyer. Let's just say she probably believes she is a DIVA and likes to be in control. Without going on a long tangent, I will end it by saying...She countered us by $50. Yes, friends, fifty buckeroos. And as Rob says, "that tells a lot about her character."

So, Miss DIVA would like to close on March 26. We will rent it back for 10 days and move to Dallas on April 5.

We went to Dallas over Valentines weekend and let me just say, I came down with a bug. I thought it was some serious food poisoning (won't ever eat at Olive Garden again), but Lorelei had the throw ups a few days later. So, turns out, I must have had some stomach bug. I spent a good most of the trip in bed or throwing up. It seems I have a throwing up episode at the same time every year. 2008-March. In Chicago. At the Peninsula hotel. I must say being sick at the Peninsula is the best place EVER to be sick!! Devine bed? Check. Big bathtub with a tv above it? Check. Staff to call to bring you ice? Check. 2009-January. Carnival Cruise Ship. Now, it should be noted that I was 6 weeks pregnant. BUT, most of the hallways of the ship were covered in throw up and the dining room was full of men only, as apparently we had a rocky ride! 2010-February. Rob's parents house. Wonderful husband to wait on me? Check. Wonderful family to take care of Lorelei? Check. I guess when 2011 rolls around, I can be expecting the bug to visit early in the year.

After this here package going missing for 4 days from Fed-Ex, it finally showed up on our porch and I was oh.so.happy. Nevermind that the 4 days late completely messed up Lorelei's food schedule that I created! What a beautiful little kitchen appliance. We started with green beans. This Beaba Babycook was fabulous. Can't wait to make more exciting recipes in it! Next up...carrots.

We are trying out cloth diapers. Now, if you are not "in the know" about cloth diapers, you are missing out! They are oh so trendy, absolutely adorable, better for the heiney, better on the pocket book, and better for Earth :) And not that I care one lick about what celebrities are doing, but apparently they are jumping on board. I ordered three brands that I have wanted to try and will test out each and make a decision about what we want to stock up on. The three that I am trying are all one size pockets. Which means they adjust in size to fit 10 lbs-end of diapering. And pocket diaper is the type of diaper I am going to use.

Smartipants One Size Pockets:

And just a little bit of cuteness:

Daddy Time!

FSU hoodie from Grandpa. But, I think she still has her GUNS UP!

Bath time is so fun!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A few days late but.. Happy Valentine's Day! Last year we sent cards to announce our baby on the way. This year, I am posting Lorelei's card for all to see on this here lovely blog :)

Dear Little Baby

Dear Lorelei,

As your daddy said, you are almost half a year old! 5 months!! I can't believe it has been 5 months since we first held you in our arms. Let me just tell you missy prissy, how much fun you are. You just become more and more fun and we love you more and more every day. Let's recap over the last month...

-You went to your "4 month" doctor's checkup. However, you were really much closer to 5 months. At this visit you weighed 15.8 lbs. and were 26.3 inches long. Whoa long girl! That is the 97% percentile for height! At this visit, we also talked to your doctor (Dr. Amanda Geutersloh) about any pediatrician recommendations that she had for us in DFW. Guess what? Her brother in law (Dr. Chad Geutersloh) is a pediatrician in Frisco!! So, finding a new pediatrician in Dallas? CHECK! I hope you like Frisco's Dr. G as much as you love your Dr. G here. I'm telling you, you really love her. I think she is super woman to have four small children and be a doctor. I can tell you like her because you just stare peacefully at her when she talks, never taking your eyes off her. She told me all about starting to feed you rice cereal and solids. I can't wait to cook up some baby food for you!!

-You wear size 3-6 months clothes and size 2 diapers. You wore jeans for the first time this past month and you were so cute in them! You looked like such a big girl.

-You LOVE to laugh and smile. We are so blessed that you are such a happy little girl. Your laugh makes us laugh too! You think your Daddy is especially funny and you love to spend time with him.

-You started teething. YIKES! This has not been my favorite thing. You drool all the time (which, by the way, makes outfits much less cute because they always have to be covered with a bib!). You also chew on everything, can be fussy, and get rashes on your tummy from teething. We give you teething tablets, orajel, and baby tylenol to help you. Plus, Sophie the giraffe is a favorite teether.

-In this past month we took another plane trip! Just you and me went to Atlanta, Georgia to see your Nana, Aunt Natalie (Bug), and to meet your great Nana and Poppa. On the plane ride there, you were extremely fussy. I was exhausted once we landed! However, the way home you slept the whole time! I was so happy that you got to meet & spend time with your Great Nana and Poppa. They loved talking to you, holding you, and watching you smile and giggle.

-You go to school two days a week and your teachers always tell me what a happy baby you are. I am right next door while you are in school so it is the most perfect arrangement. I see you ride by in the big kid stroller with your friends and you are as happy as can be. When I realize how much I am missing you, I can pop my head in next door and say hi to you!

-You got a jumperoo!!!! You love jumping around and making the lights and music go off.

-You had rice cereal (with a spoon) for the first time. It was so much fun to feed you. We took lots of pictures, and a video. The second night of rice cereal, your Daddy was gone and it was just me feeding you. You tried to grab the spoon, got more cereal in your neck rolls than in your mouth, and tried to catapult yourself out of your sassy seat!

-We put our house up for sale. This is a challenging task with a baby, two rowdy dogs, and a sleepy husband.

Even though you are so little, your stuff really takes over this house! I made a list of the top 10 baby things that we have loved having these past 5 months:

1. Miracle Blanket (Fabulous. Only you outgrew this lifesaver way. too. soon.)

2. Peg Perego Pliko P3 Stroller. Also fabulous and super cute!

3. Wubba Nub (Before having you I thought this stuffed animal sewn onto a paci was the dumbest thing ever. After having you, I finally understand...there is a purpose!)

4. Dr. Brown bottles.

5. Jewel Lullaby C.D. (Beautiful!)

6. Tiny Love Play Mat

7. Baby Praise DVD (When I let you watch tv, this is what you get to watch!)

8. Signing Time DVD (We do watch this too so we can learn to chat!!)

9. Fisher Price Cradle Swing

10. Boudreaux's Butt Paste (works miracles)

11. Ok, I know I said 10 but your beautiful hand crafted cradle (made by G-daddy) is a beautiful treasure that you loved! (And I love to look at)

Honey Bunny, we love you so much and are so excited about all of the upcoming milestones! You make life SO.MUCH.FUN!

XOXO,

Momma & Daddy