Guess Who's Getting a Pony?

Last night, we attended my friend's son's 2nd birthday party, and there were pony rides (what a lucky 2 year old right?). We got Matilda her party-wear:

As, I stared hazily off at the kids on the ponies (and I say hazily because Matilda hasbeen not great at sleeping this week), and say to her: "Matilda, if you sleep 6 hours in a row tonight I will buy you a pony."'

Well, unfortunately for Matilda, she missed it by 30 minutes. i think she WOULD have made it but a storm came through and I'm fairly certain the loud cracks of thunder woke her up.

And so a few more lesson's of motherhood came my way yesterday:
1) She is her mother's daughter. Just give the girl a goal.....
2) Don't offer up bribe's you aren't willing to follow through on, although I feel like a miniature pony would totally fit in our backyard and maybe alleviate the lawn-mowing duties.

And as an added bonus, Matilda got her first pony ride:

I am headed north with Matilda to spend a week with my parents so there will be air silence for the next week, but  I promise lots of cute out-doorsy pictures of Matilda when I return!

7 Weeks

This week Matilda weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds, 4 oz. And I am proud to say that at 7 weeks, she has finally caught up to what I weighed at birth. Whoa.
 This week started a little rocky, with Matilda continuing her war on sleep, but by the end of the week (and our new "babies only should be awake for 2 hours max" schedule) things started to look up (also, Super Grandma was in town....always keep this in mind).

Every week brings new fun milestones now.


Matilda started blowing bubbles (and drooling)


We spent our first night apart, with Matilda transitioned to the nursery and her crib. She did great! Slept for 5 hours straight which was a huge win from the previous nights of only 2 hours at a time.


Matilda had her first night of being babysat by Grandma! Nate and I went to a movie, where Nate enjoyed the movie and I checked my phone every 10 minutes hoping everything was alright (but I also enjoyed the movie)


And in general, there are more smiles, more coos, and more activity. She is really liking some of her 'toys' now, and likes to spend a few minutes under a mobile, or her activity mat. She likes to listen to you read books, and still LOVES her changing table (which continues to baffle Nate and I--but we don't ask questions).

Feats of Strength

Watching Survivor, Amazing Race, or any other reality show that required people to hold onto a bar  for a long period of time, balance a bucket on their head for a long time, etc I knew I could never be on those shows for those challenges alone.

I simply did not believe that I would ever be able to endure something like that for that long without just giving up.

Enter my appointment at the VW dealership yesterday. It was an 8:15 appointment. I went in early hoping to beat teh other 8:15 appointments as Matilda would need to eat and get back to sleep by 10 in order for our day to go alright. It had already been a weird morning from a feed/sleep perspective.

We got to the waiting room at 8:04, and by 8:09 Tillie started fussing. So I snuggled her into a blanket and started the sway, shush, paci move.

And I did it for 90 minutes. And she slept.

My left arm had ZERO feeling left in it (in fact I am surprised I still have use of my hand). And I made a lot of promises to a lot of people that if this child would just keep sleeping until they called my name I would....(fill in the blank). And she woke up, but I got her back down (a major accomplishment in my book).

The main takeaway for me was that now I can apply to be on reality tv, because all I have to do when I am standing above a mud pit balanced on a little log holding onto water buckets trying to do it the longest...is envision that my daughter sleeping depended on me continuing to do this task.

Because I would honestly do anything to get this one, and keep this one, sleeping. :

Magazine Cuisine: Episode 15

This is not a fake out. We actually tried a new recipe this weekend. Which also means we actually cooked and are not thriving solely off of food others have made for us. HUGE win.

Of course, the only reason we were actually able to pull this off is the extra hands we had around (see previous Super Grandma post), but let a victory be a victory. We cooked. Something new.

And the lucky dish was: Green Bean and Potato Salad. It is from a quarterly magazine called Cuisine At Home. Lots of yummy recipes!

As an added bonus, this was the first of the green beans from our garden (yes, we have a garden and yes it is severely neglected), and we used up the potatoes from our crop share in way beyond just putting them in foil and grilling them along with the protein of the day.

It was a good dish. Mom and Nate tried to sneak some onions in, and were successful in the getting them in, not the sneaking part....

Super Grandma

The last 7 weeks have not been easy. I wish I could write about how much Matilda and I are on the go, and how we take family naps in the middle of the day, and cuddle while she sleeps so peacefully. But Matilda is a 'spirited child' and has definitely given me a run for my money.

Don't get me wrong. I still get to enjoy snuggles and cuddles. And am loving her smiles, coos, and personality. But the point is, I have had some difficult days.

And luckily, I am blessed to have a Mom that is 'Super Grandma' and has come to the rescue a number of times. It feels like every time she comes up there is a different 'need'. From just general recuperation after having Matilda, to providing an extra pair of hands to help cook/clean/swaddle/cuddle/etc. And this weekend Super Grandma even managed to get Nate and I out of the house on our first date (where we went to a movie), and our first run post Matilda.

Nate and I are so appreciative of all of her help, love and support, and we couldn't have gotten through the last few months without her.

I swear I need to make her a cape--she could wear it whenever she comes up. I don't have a picture of Super Grandma, but here is a recent pic of Matilda!

The New Form of Communication

What I am learning with every passing day, is that the more sleep matilda gets, the better and more she will keep sleeping.

So I am on a vigilant war path to ensure she gets every possible minute of sleep she will take.

Exhibit A:

I hung out at my neighbor's house on Sunday who kindly let me squat in her air conditioning since ours was broke and it was disgusting outside. Fast forward to Matilda falling asleep in my arms, over my shoulder and her napping for about 1.5 hours--while my bicep is shaking and Sina and I exchange very soft whispered conversation that whole time. I think I am going to have one really large bicep and one tiny one by the end of this newborn stage.

Exhibit B:

Nate stays home from work on Monday. I get Matilda to sleep and am so petrified of her waking up (because her morning snoozes were lackluster at best) that I refuse to talk to him. So he sits at the kitchen table to do his school paper and we communicate via text message. Yup. Text Message. Even though we were approximately 12 feet away from each other.

I know I need to get better about putting her down to sleep. But if she falls asleep in my arms or on me, I would rather sit and watch paint dry for 4 hours if it meant she would sleep. And with each nap that that happens during, I become more and more accepting of the fact that I can't and won't get anything done. Well, maybe becoming very acquainted with every scratch, nick and dent in our walls. But other than that, nothing.

6 Weeks

We did it! We made it to the 6 week mark. The week that I've heard so many Mom's say things start to turn around, get better, more enjoyable etc! It feels like a huge relief and accomplishment all at the same time.

Matilda continues to grow, and although I don't know exactly how much she weighs, I know for sure it is over 9 pounds. She is destined to be a chunk just like her Mom.

 We had lots of first this week:

1) First smile at Mama! It was one of my favorite moments of motherhood so far. I hope the smiles keep coming.
2) Starting to make eye contact.
3) First week of acid reflux medicine. Poor little thing gags and writhes anytime I eat anything acidic. It seems to have definitely helped.
4) First trip to the MN zoo with some of Mama's friends.
5) First date with Daddy while Mom went to get a pedicure!
6) First new Mommy class, with 9 other babies (where you promptly pooped your pants twice, one of which was a major blow out)
7) First week you decided you really do enjoy the bathtub--well for about 10 minutes...

8) First time checking out (and enjoying) the mobile that Max and Otto are letting us borrow.

9) First Book Club appearance where you were very well behaved--and up for like 4 hours

10) First time sleeping for longer than 4 hours at night! (which was greatly appreciated by both of us, especially since it happened 2 nights in a row!)