Out of Hibernation

Apologies all around for not updating this blog in over two months! I swear, those were the fastest two months I think I have ever experienced. I couldn't believe that it was over two months ago we took Josie to the aquarium -- it feels like three weeks ago. March is usually the yuckiest month because of the weather and the fact that it is LONG but this one flew by.

Part of the reason is that I have been working away at my other blog, Mommie Cheapest. It is a full time job in and of itself, which I hope will pay at least like a part time job one day. The good news is, I got my first check for the blog. I'm rich!

 
The bad news is that having good content and gaining readership is key in making that blog a money-making reality, and both of those things take lots of time. And then of course I have Josie. So balancing giving time to the blog and to my family has been a trial and error process. In all of that, this blog fell by the wayside, though it is always on my mind.

Josie is now 13 and dating. Just kidding! We aren't planning on letting her date until she is minimum 32. No, she isn't even 11 months yet, though she will be in 3 days. Here's a retrospective of her last two months, which amounts to 1/5 of her little life so far.

Josie finally figured out how to sit up on her own:

 

Which meant we could break out a lot of those toys she had received but was still a bit too little to play with. Which meant we needed a toy box. Well you know me, I was NOT going to get one of those Little Tykes monstrosities. Maybe if she had her own dedicated room with all kid stuff, but this was going to go in the living room. And I swore to myself we would never have anything made from brightly colored molded plastic in the main parts of the house, no matter how many kids we had. So we headed to Target and got her this storage unit:

She loves to pull out that bottom drawer and back herself into the cubes on the bottom. Then of course she cries and can't get out. And I laugh.

She LOVES to be out, provided she has had her morning nap. We torture her by making her do things like try on sunglasses, but she just ignores us and texts her friends about how lame we are.

 

Her First Dinner Out, At Night, Where She Actually Ate Food, Not At Home:

 

First time riding shotgun (no carseat) in the shopping cart:

 

Her first visit to a llama:

 

And LOVING her latest discovery: The Swing

 

We had a fun and very low key Valentine's Day. Josie got two t-shirts (this one she's wearing and another one that says "mom's little love bird") and her Daddy bought her a Valentine's bear:

 

We also took a mini-road trip to Portsmouth, NH and Ogunquit, ME... one last overnight before we become parents of TWO. Josie had her first dining experience on top of a bed while Stevie looked on. I am not sure if she was praying something would drop or if she was just jealous that her younger sister got to be up on the bed:

 

Eventually we caved anyway!

 

We went out on a chilly walk in downtown Portsmouth:

 

 

Josie did great sleeping in her Pack & Play at the hotel, even though she didn't look very comfortable:

 

The next day we headed to the beach at Ogunquit. We also tried to go to the beach at Kennebunkport but all the open beaches were populated by jerks private. Snoots.

 

We tried to get a family portrait but *someone* wouldn't cooperate:

 

 

Then *two someones* wouldn't cooperate:

 

Stevie was loving the beach, too!

In baby development news, Josie has made some strides these past couple months, like growing two bottom teeth:

 

She likes to make sure they are still there from time to time:

 

She can now reach to the top of her toy bar on her Exersaucer, which she uses as a monkey bar:

 

Then she tries to escape, and very nearly accomplishes it. Danny had to raise the Exersaucer:

 

and lower the crib mattress.

 

She can also turn her tongue completely perpendicular, which is creepy:

 

She will go on her hands and knees but refuses to crawl. It's annoying.

 

And she is starting to pull herself up on things and play on her knees:

She has also gotten really adept at destroying the house. Yes, she got a hold of the tissue box while in her crib.

 

TWICE.

 

 

Other than that, she has just been looking cute.

 

 

 

 

 

and torturing Stevie.

 

 

Stevie has been SO good with Josie, we rewarded her with her own official dog bed.

Other than that, things have been pretty low key. Danny and I are just a couple weeks away from celebrating our 3rd anniversary. I am just a couple months away from celebrating our second time at Brigham & Women's hospital having a baby. The baby is doing fine, it is measuring two weeks larger than the due date and is breech, but is fine. I am feeling pretty good. The good old prenatal anemia that plagued me with Josie finally caught up with me with this one, so I am a little low on the old energy, and the aches and pains that come with being knocked up are a little stronger this time. But it's all for a good cause! Hope everyone on your end has been great!