12 Month Letter to Skylar:

Dear Skylar Joy, You are 12 months old. 1 year. Right in this minute August 8th at 1:46 you are a whole year old. In that moment when you were born my life forever changed. I knew it would, but nothing could have prepared me for just how much you would change my world. I will be forever grateful for you... for all that my life has become. Thank you for giving me so much purpose. For loving me unconditionally (there truly is nothing like experiencing love from a little baby). For helping me see the world again with brand-new-wonder-filled-eyes. Thank you for discovering and learning and showing me your beautiful personality (independent and sweet and expressive and so very curious).

My mind boggles to think of all that has happened during this year. I can hardly believe I'm sitting here typing this note to you, baby girl. Last year I was incredibly exhausted, but seeing your little face, touching your hands... holding you in my arms gave me strength and energy I didn't know I had (even after 40 hours of labor). We had some beautiful moments, dear one, before the hard stuff became reality. But let's not focus on those things -- they are in the past -- they are over and done and you are perfect, none the worse for wear. This year has definitely shown your Daddy and I that you are full of life, so very strong, and beautiful in so many ways.

This whole letter won't be about the last year... but give me a few more moments to think about all it held, baby girl. It started with a tiny little baby girl (7 pounds, 8 ounces worth) who snuggled and cooed and cried and overwhelmed this momma with so many feelings of both love and inadequacy. We moved 6 weeks or so after you were born and, really, considering everything, you did so very well. After that we settled into a new house in a new town in a new state with new neighbors and lots of new routines. We got to know each other, sweet girl, and now we're in a place where we communicate pretty well. I know there's so much more to come for communication (I have a feeling you're going to be a "talker" -- surprise, surprise), but I'm so thankful for where we are now. I love it when you tell me nonsense stories and when you try to say words and when you communicate with gestures. I love that you are learning to communicate all the time!

You say a few new words now... One is: "book" (7/23) well, actually you say "boop," but you're really sure that it's the same as "book." You even enunciate the "p" sound when momma stresses the "k" sound to you. It's the cutest thing. There's a video of this floating around somewhere on facebook or something, but really, I'll remember these moments in my heart forever! You also say "dog" now. This was particularly fun when we visited Steven's dog last weekend (he wasn't there -- Steven and your Daddy were in Seattle visiting Chris). More about the dog later. You also experiment with the word "get" and we think that "mamamama" when said a certain way basically means "food" or "drink" or "give me boobies." Haha. We think that since you usually get these things from me that your go to word for all of them is "Mama".

So the "big news" for this month is that you are walking!!!!!!!!!! You took your first steps the day after your 11 month birthday (7/9). I was sitting in the play-area with you and you were standing there holding a toy and you wanted to come over to me and just walked 3 little steps before falling right into my lap. You did it twice that day (one other time was prompted by me so that Daddy could see). A few days later you took a couple steps away from holding onto the wall and/or the couch but to nothing (in other words you weren't walking to me or your dad 7/12). And that started this whole thing called "walking". Soon after you started taking steps on your own your Daddy helped you walk around and around in a circle. For the first half of the month you walked with help a little bit like you were drunk -- your steps were uncertain and very disjointed. But with practice and help you've been getting better with the walking motion.

By the end of this month your walking has become much more steady and sure. When you had your 1 year photos with Liz last week you walked the most steps in a row thus far! It was somewhere around 10 steps!! You're still not walking everywhere yet, but you're starting to default to walking instead of crawling. You seem determined to walk places and only fall to your knees when you get tired or lose your balance. This is still usually after only 6-10 steps, but you keep getting back up and trying again.

You now give repeated kisses and sometimes with your mouth closed (7/10). The repeated kisses happened after I was gone for 4 hours having a root canal (major ouch) and got back to you clamoring to be held by me. You were so excited to see me! It was very cute. You also started giving Daddy (and sometimes other people) kisses this month (7/16). Your "closed mouth" kisses were pretty short-lived and you're back to the open mouth ones. You also will give kisses without me pointing to my mouth. All I have to do is say "kisses" and you lean in (or sometimes dive) to kiss me. Sometimes you kiss me when I just use the word "kiss" in a sentence. Haha. Oh! and you've now added a "muah" sound when you give kisses (just like the one that usually make when I give you kisses). You are incredibly cute, little one.

You are a pro at going up the stairs now, baby girl. Mommy and Daddy have messed with this "fun" a bit by added a gate at the bottom of the stairs. We still let you climb when we can follow you, but neither of us wants you to get hurt trying to get back down the stairs (or getting upstairs and into things that can harm you). You're still pretty unsure about going down the stairs, but successfully backed down them at least once this month (7/12). I'm sure you'll figure them out in due time. ;)

You have mastered climbing off the couch. You easily push yourself off and onto the floor and don't fall or have any issues getting down. You have also tried this with Mommy and Daddy's bed. It's much higher so you are more careful and uncertain when you do it, but you've pushed yourself off onto the floor a couple times successfully. This is something you Mom isn't thrilled about -- but doesn't surprise me considering how independent you tend to be. At least you're no longer diving off the bed head-first. You've figured out that going feet first is much better! :)

Another first is jumping on your bed! (7/15). Sometimes when you're waiting for us to come get you after you wake up you jump holding onto the side of your crib. The first times you did this we were surprised by how much noise you were making! We checked the video and there you were jumping over and over till you tired yourself out. Usually you're saying "MamamMamMaMa!" in a happy tone. Calling for me -- but not too upset that I haven't come yet. You make me smile so much, little girl.

When we were in VA visiting with Asher and Amanda (and others) you were very thrilled by attention from Steven's dog Chaucer. It started with him licking you/giving you kisses all over while you giggled and squealed. It was so cute! Then for the rest of the weekend you would squeal and giggle when Chaucer would head your direction. Most of the time we were on the couch and you would half-hide behind me like it was a game you were playing with him. I think you see Chaucer as the "tickle monster" because every time he licks or noses you it makes you giggle like you're being tickled. Your interactions with the dog (who is also around a year old) were incredibly cute. Momma tried to show Daddy via video chat, but hopefully you'll show him next weekend when we go back to Virginia for Amanda's birthday.

Speaking of the Virginia trip: You were soooooo good, baby girl. With the exception of one day when you wouldn't nap and one night when we had some trouble sleeping, you slept well, and napped well, and were generally in a very good mood! You were very friendly during this trip and warmed up to people you didn't know quickly -- even guys! It was fun watching you make friends with people. Oh! That reminds me! Tommy taught you to eat popcorn while we were at his house (8/2)! At first you were uncertain about putting it in your mouth, but after some coaxing you dove in and were eating kernel after kernel of popcorn. You also enjoyed watching Tommy play his Ukelele and got into the action and plucked a few strings yourself. When at Steven's house you let Asher watch you while Mommy did things sometimes and you walked all around the room holding onto Aaron's hand (and Will's too! I believe). You also used the lazyboy chair as a thing to "circle" and would walk around and around it -- minimally holding on and practicing your walking. You would pause from time to time to push on the chair to make it "rock" and would giggle at the movement. You rocked your 1 year photos, sweet baby girl... and Mommy's including some favorites at the end of this letter. You also did really well on the trip to and from VA. I'm glad we've figured out car trips -- at least short ones. ;)

A couple weeks ago you learned to throw (7/23). We haven't practiced much since then, but you threw toys back and forth with Daddy. You're not really able to catch yet, but the throwing you're pretty good at. We'll have to practice more with your Daddy soon.

You are very close to cutting 2 more teeth, baby girl, but still have only 6. In fact, you're so close, that your 7th tooth may show sometime today! You have also been working on your molars this month. They're progressing slowly, but your gums in that area on the bottom have been swollen off and on all month. So, basically, you've been teething all month. You've handled it pretty well, though at night you do have a tough time sometimes. We're hoping your teeth will cut soon and give you some relief from the tooth pain! At least for a little while!

You are still eating lots of purees that your momma makes for you, but you are also eating cut up fruits and avocado, baby girl! You're actually doing really well with chunkier solids and we will start transitioning you to more of these foods in the coming month. It's exciting to give you more "big people foods." You are learning to eat from your snack-cup. In fact you learned how to get sweet potato puffs out of the cup on your own while Mommy was driving to Virginia last Thursday. I gave you the cup and you first tried to shake them out and then dump them out holding one corner open and then you figured out that you could put your hand in the cup and pull out what you wanted. You also put the cup in my hand when I reached back to add more to it for you. You're so smart little one. I love watching you problem solve!

You are slimming down as you move around more and it's definitely bittersweet to see you losing your baby chubs. You are back to fitting into 12 month clothes and even some 9 month old onsies. ;) I love your little face... you're losing some of your baby-look and looking more and more like a little girl. It's adorable and heart-wrenching at the same time! Such mixed emotions your Momma has this month, little one! I love feeling it all... the happy stuff... the sad moments where I know I'll miss you being small... the joyful discoveries and changes... and leaving some of your baby-habits behind. It's all beautiful in its own way.

Well, I'm not sure what else there is to say, my sweet girl... but at the same time I feel like there are so many more things I could write about. You are forever, indelibly, fully, imprinted in my heart. I'm so thankful for you and everything that comes with you -- even the hard stuff. You have helped me stretch, grow, become a better person during this last year. I've made mistakes that's for sure and I'll make more in the future, but I love this life we live together, the three of us. Words can't express how much I love our little family. Your Dad and I are both looking forward to all the next year will bring and we both are excited and a little sad to see you getting so big and growing so much!

I love you so much, baby girl. You are my sunshine. You are the light in my day. You are beautiful and amazing and oh-so-special and unique. I'm so excited to celebrate you today and can't wait to celebrate so many more birthdays in the future.

I love you always and forever.

-Momma

A quick sample of your 1 Year Photos taken by the lovely and incredible Liz Cook Of Sincerely Liz Inc (there will be more of these photos to come!):

P.s. The tulle skirt & the large flower headband were both custom-made for Skylar by the wonderful and creative Carolyn of Two Sparrows Headbands. I love her work. She has items for baby girls, boys and even for adults!

11 Month Letter:

Dear Skylar Joy, Hey there, pretty girl! You're changing so much every month... and this one is no exception! Your communication with us this month continued to grow and change and get better! You now wave consistently when prompted to say "bye-bye". It's especially cute when you wave goodbye to your daddy when he's about to leave at bedtime. You're telling him "okay, go bye-bye now so I can nurse with Mommy!" You also now communicate with motions. For example: You will point to your head and motion with a toy that you want us to put it on our head like you are. So we'll take it from you and put the toy on our head and you giggle and smile so big! You are more and more interested in telling us about your day and showing us what you want to do and how you want to play. We don't always understand you, but it's been fun trying to decipher what you're communicating.

When you see something new or discover something you say "ohhhhh" with so much wonder. It's incredibly cute. I love hearing you make that sound and watching you learn.

You loved it when your Gram Gram and Pop Pop came to visit. You seemed to know they were special to you pretty quickly. We wonder if it's because of all the video chats you've had with them! You certainly are interacting more and more in those chats. This month you were also away from your Daddy for a while (and in New York visiting with your other grandparents and two of your uncles). We video chatted most days while we were apart from your daddy and you loved seeing him every time. You would smile so big and often clap (you guys clap back and forth a lot as a type of "game"). You also would wave "bye-bye" to your Dad on video chat when it was time to say goodbye.

Speaking of going to New York, you were very good on 4 different flights this month, baby girl (2 each way on the way to New York). On one of the flights back to North Carolina several people in the plane remarked that they didn't know a baby was on board the flight. I was so proud of you in that moment, sweet girl.

You crawled up the stairs for the first time this month (6/23). We're pretty sure you could have done this earlier, but your Mom and Dad were far from encouraging you to start experimenting with the stairs. You cannot go back down the stairs yet (though this is definitely to be expected). It's probably time for us to get a gate and limit your stairs access a bit. We want to keep you safe, little one!

You can turn light-switches on and off with no help now. You like to turn off and on the switch in your room at bedtime. Daddy limits you to doing this a couple times so that you can settle down to reading and relaxing for bed. It's kinda a fun little game you guys play during reading time. :) You also can now close the garage door when we hold you up to push the button.

You started smiling with a "crinkle nose" smile like your Momma this month. You used this smile more than any other expression this month. It was super cute to see myself mirrored in you, but it's funny that you stopped smiling other ways this month and only smiled that way. I'm sure this will change in the coming months, but we'll enjoy it while you're doing it. :)

You kissed me for the first time this month, my sweet girl. You always have your mouth open when you do, but you kiss me when I point to my mouth and say "kisses?" I'm not sure when this started (I didn't keep track of the date), but it warms my heart every time you do it. You are so sweet, baby girl!

You saw the ocean for the first time this month, my little one (7/4). You were not quite sure what to think of the waves at first and I don't think you were super happy about how chilly the water was, but you warmed up to it pretty quickly. Your Dad and your Mom played with you in the water and eventually you started enjoying the ocean just like you do the pool! Sand was a whole different story. You were sitting on a towel under an umbrella and kept looking suspiciously at the sand. We tried putting your hands and feet in the sand and you pulled back like you were scared of it. We think that because it shifted and moved under your feet you thought it wasn't stable enough to crawl on or stand on. Eventually you figured out that sand was at least "okay" to interact with, but it was certainly not something you wanted to have all over you. Your cousins Autumn and Colden were also at the beach when you were. You loved interacting with Autumn and weren't always sure what to make of 6 month old Colden. You also kept looking at him funny when Colden was trying to eat the sand. Your expression was something like "why would you want to EAT that?!?!?" It was pretty cute. You also bumped Colden in the head a few times on different occasions. We're working on teaching you to be gentle, but it's certainly a work in progress. ;) I should also mention that you climbed the beach house stairs while we were there. It feels notable because they are not carpeted and much harder to climb.

The trip to the beach (9+ hours in the car) was not one of your happiest trips, my dear girl. And your Mommy and Daddy will be working on how to make future long car trips better for you. Neither of us wants you to be so upset while traveling again. We're hoping that as you grow up you'll be able to play more effectively with things and maybe watch videos in the car. I guess we'll see what happens. For now 3 hour trips are just fine and we'll limit our travels to that for a few months.

You are SO close to walking, baby girl. You can walk backward with the help of your highchair (it has wheels on the bottom) and while holding on to other chairs you kinda "walk" around them a bit (7/2). You are becoming more independent with things like moving from place to place. You climbed down out of your highchair with very little help this month (7/3). You also stood without having anything to help you stand up (7/6). I'm pretty sure we'll see you walking next month -- before your 1st birthday.

Finally, baby girl, you were very good during a family photo shoot we had with an old friend. We happened to get rained on a bit and you were fascinated by the water as well as by leaves on the trees and so many other things in nature. The photographer did a great job capturing your wonder and excitement at experiencing new things. So, those are the photos I'm sharing for your 11 month pictures. I love you, sweet girl.

Keep growing, learning, and, if you must, getting bigger!

Love Always, Your Momma

(Pictures taken by Anne Ryan Dempsey of Poema Photography)

10 month letter

(This is late and so will be the 11 month letter, but this is all leading to the epic 12 month (1 year) letter that will be coming up on Skylar's birthday on Thursday! So, here goes...) Dear Skylar Joy,

Lots of new things this month, baby girl... as per usual! You've been learning lots of new ways to interact with us! One big one is clapping. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but you like to clap after we clap and then we clap after you do and you clap again. Back and forth... it's so cute. It's all part of you communicating and having fun with people! Similar to clapping, you also are now "high-fiving" us on command (5/22). It's more like "mid-fiving", but the concept is there.

Another example of this is that now when I reach for something and ask you for it you will give it to me. You understand that I want to take it and you usually put it in my hand. A lot of the time you want to take it back soon after you give it to me... and this is another game we play! :) You also rolled a ball back and forth with your dad this month (5/19).

Your Daddy first "zoomed" you over the yard this month (think holding you facing the ground and zooming you over the ground so you can see it at high-speed). You loooooved it (5/27). Since you enjoyed that so much your Dad has started zooming you over the floor in the house and other places. Every time you open your mouth all excited and make little thrilled/happy noises. This typically makes you happy even if you're starting to get grumpy. I love watching you and your daddy playing, little girl.

Speaking of your Daddy, you fell asleep on your Dad and took a nap on him for the first time since you've been older than a newborn (6/1). You also fell asleep on Daddy during story time one night (5/26) and then another time when you fell asleep and let him put you down for the night (5/28). We'll see if this trend continues... It would be nice for you to go to bed for your Dad too. ;)

While we were at a neighbor's birthday party your nanny from next door started moving her head back and forth while looking at you and you mimicked her as best you could (5/25). Now you do this whenever Mommy or Daddy move their head back and forth. You want to do things just like we do!

You were a bit hit at the birthday party with the kids at the party! All the big kids crawled on the floor with you and hugged you and gave you kisses on your head. One bold little boy kissed you on the mouth. You definitely enjoyed all the attention. It was very sweet watching you interact with the other kids.

You learned to wave this month, little one. It's the cutest little wave, too! When we encourage you to wave you look at us and think and concentrate really hard and then put your hand up and fold your hand in half rapidly to try to move it like we are (5/26). It's so sweet and little... I love watching you learn!

You experienced being in a swing for the first time this month (5/16). I'm not really sure why it's taken this long for us to put you in a swing... but it did. Anyway, you enjoy it! You giggle and love swinging. Soon after the first time we went back to the park with Daddy and he got to push you on the swing. You loved that too.

Finally, baby girl: You are starting to have a bit of a temper when we won't give you what you want (6/4). This first happened when I wouldn't let you have one of the remotes. You seem to be much more aware if we prevent you from doing what you want to do and you don't like that much. I fear we have much more of this coming in the future, but we'll deal with it as it comes, dear girl.

I love you so much, baby girl! Keep growing, learning, becoming you! I look forward to each and every day with you!

Love Always, Your Momma

My Little Jellybean

This week Skylar Joy turns 1. I know. I can hardly believe it myself. It's crazy. In celebration of Skylar's birthday week I'm going to post every day about her (lofty goal considering I haven't blogged in a while -- but I'm hopeful!). My plan is to blog the final two letters to her and a couple other surprises and finish up with a 1 year letter to her on Thursday.

I'll leave you with a few photos from a recent family photo shoot. These were taken by the lovely and talented Anne Ryan Dempsey of Poema Photography:

9 Month Letter to Skylar

Dear Skylar Joy, Mommy loves you so very much! I wish this wasn't late! But I do want to celebrate all the milestones you achieved your 9th month of life!

So, here goes... Last month I told you about how you started standing up! It was such a fun new thing for you and you were standing often, baby girl! But you weren't able to get down (you would yell for me when you got tired of standing) and were afraid of letting go to let yourself "fall" on your bottom. Well, on your 9 month birthday (also your mommy's birthday) you finally figured out how to get down from standing!!! This was quite a relief for your Momma! No more "Ma-Ma-Ma-MA!!!" yelling from you to get helped down from standing (though I do have to admit looking over to see you stuck standing up somewhere will be something I miss on some levels... you were so cute stuck and calling for me). Your independent streak took off this month starting with being able to sit-down and get down from standing.

You also said "Da-da" on your Mom's birthday and we were pretty sure you meant your Daddy. We confirmed this a few days later when I was out of the house and you called for your Daddy saying "Da-Da-Da!" (4/10) You're trying to say other various words too. You often repeat words that you think sound interesting. A good example is that you repeat "click-click" ... it sounds more like "kik-kik," but you're trying to say what we say. It's pretty cute. The only other word we're sure you're saying with meaning is "kitteh" (4/16). You say "keh-keh" when you see Harley and you still try to pet her -- though very roughly (we're working on the concept of "gentle," but it's slow going).

In terms of food: You're a pretty good eater. You eat pretty much all the purées that your Mommy makes you. You also have started trying some pieces of fruits and other foods with mixed results. A few "successes" are when you you tried pineapple at Kroger one day while shopping and when Aunt Mary gave you a strawberry (4/10).

You are enjoying story-time with Daddy as part of your bedtime routine. Your Dad likes to read you Winnie the Pooh stories and sometimes reads you stories about animals. During one of those animal stories you recognized a cat illustrated in the book and pointed out "kit-teh" to your Daddy. You showed your Mom when I came in to finish putting you to bed. You're so smart, little one!

One of your most exciting "new things" you've done during your 9th month was standing on your own without holding anything. You did this for the first time on the couch where it's soft. You were standing up holding onto the back cushion and you just pushed off and stood on your own (4/26). Your Daddy saw you do this first and then you did it again so your Mom could see! I'm sure you'll be standing without holding on very soon!

You like to offer your teether and other toys to your Dad and Mom. You do this especially during storytime with your Dad. It's fun to see you sharing so young. Hopefully this will be a trend, baby girl! :)

Other changes include a few more teeth: You have 6 teeth now! And that you are able to help more while getting dressed. You push your arms through sleeves when I say "push" and still love to laugh when clothes are over your face and when you "pop" out of the neck hole.

You are growing so much every day. We cannot wait to see what you discover next.

I love you, baby girl. Always. Forever...

Love, Your Mom

These pictures are from when you tried the strawberry... you were so uncertain but wanting to try it with Aunt Mary's help. You were so very cute!:

Cowfish: A Review

Last night Jimmy & I went out for "date night." This might not seem like a big deal, but since we haven't gotten any sitters used to watching Skylar at night yet, we rarely go out just the two of us. Thus far we've only gone out just the two of us when we've had family in town... and that's pretty rare. So, when we were trying to figure out where to go last night it was a big deal to find somewhere good because we don't have time to mess around with mediocre date locations... (lol, i'm so dramatic). Anyway... A good friend suggested the brand-new restaurant: The Cowfish as a possible location. After looking at their menu we decided to go for it!

The Cowfish is brand new to the Raleigh area, but is only the 2nd location for this restaurant. So, I'd still consider it to be a fairly "local" type restaurant. It's gotten a lot of hype from what I can tell because it was PACKED when we got there. At 8:30. Yes, that's right... at 8:30 at night there was a wait for a table for 2. So, I would recommend reservations (though I will say that they only accept reservations till 6 pm -- at least on weeknights. I'm not sure about the weekend).

First impressions: The dining room is rather understated... except for the giant fishbowl in the middle of the bar section. Seriously. Giant:

They have an interesting outdoor dining area that seems like it would be really hot a lot of the time, but gives them more room for guests. Fortunately we were seated indoors (it was muggy as anything last night -- I'm pretty sure it wasn't very comfortable outside). It was also LOUD. But I suppose that's to be expected with a very busy restaurant. I'm sure it's even more so on the weekends... eek! ;)

There was a good selection of music... right up until they played . But .. withstanding it was a nice atmosphere in general. Not super fancy, but not run-of-the-mill either. I also LOVED the tongue-in-cheek artwork on the walls. I only snapped a picture of one of them, but check this out:

Heheheheheheh... Love it.

Okay. On to the real review... the FOOD. It took us a while to settle on what we wanted to order... but we finally did. We started with two Appetizers:

Crab Rangoon Dip Classic crab rangoon filling served as a creamy dip topped with a parmesan panko crust, served with wonton crisps and sweet chili sauce

Lobster & Crab Spring Rolls Maine lobster, blue crab, Napa cabbage, ginger, bok choy and carrots rolled in spring roll wrappers and flash fried until crispy. Served with cilantro pesto, Thai chili sauce and Cajun marmalade for dipping

The verdict: We LOVED the Crab Rangoon dip. Jimmy really likes regular Crab Rangoons and this was sort of a deconstructed version of that. It was very flavorful and not too fishy. We felt the opposite about the Lobster & Crab Spring Roll. These were low in flavor and pretty underwhelming. We both felt like we'd rather eat any other part of our dinner again except for the Spring Rolls. So, my recommendation is to skip this one (easier on your wallet and your waistline too).

On to the Main Course:

The menu is filled with regular entrees as well as sampler platters of burgers and sushi. We both really wanted sushi rolls of some type for dinner so we went with that and skipped all the rest. Here are the two we picked out:

“The Prime Time” Filet & Lobster Roll Filet Mignon, portabella mushroom and asparagus rolled inside, topped with our famous lump crabcake mix and baked to perfection. Served drizzled with spicy cream sauce.

Master Chef Rifali’s Nirvana Roll Avocado, cream cheese and yellowfin tuna roll, topped with whitefish and baked with spicy mayo and sweet eel sauce. Finished with a drop of our delicious cilantro pesto and 4 different types of roe.

The Verdict: These were both phenomenal. It's worth noting that "The Prime Time" roll was a full 8 pieces, but the picture is only of 4 because I didn't get a good picture until half of it was gone. The "Prime Time Roll" has a lot of depth of flavor. The meat is perfectly rare and the truffle mushrooms on top bring the perfect amount of richness and saltiness to the roll. The Nirvana Roll was equally yummy. The Yellowtail was very good and the flaky fish on the outside was cooked just right. The cream cheese and avocado added a delicious creaminess to this roll. My only "complaint" is that there was no texture in the roll. I typically prefer something a bit crunchy in my sushi. Jimmy preferred the Nirvana Roll and I (very slightly) preferred "The Prime Time" roll. They were both amazing... and it would be difficult to not get the very same rolls again if we go back to The Cowfish in the future. So. I highly recommend both of these rolls!!

Finally... Dessert. I have to admit that I failed completely at taking a picture of this whole. We got the dessert to go and after we arrived at a friend's house to play with her baby chicks I completely forgot to take a picture before diving into this yummy treat. But here's a partially eaten picture:

Chef Dave's Not Factory Made Cheesecake Rich and creamy coconut almond cheesecake atop a golden fortune cookie crust. Finished with almond coconut and raspberry sauce

The Verdict: This was HUGE. I mean HUGE when it was whole. I think 4 people could share it and still get a decent amount of the dessert. This was also pretty tasty. The coconut flavor could have been a bit stronger for my taste, but generally it was actually pretty light -- especially for cheesecake. I enjoyed the fact that the coconut was very summery and gave it a creaminess (although it's cheesecake, so how hard is it to make it creamy? ;))

Overall thoughts: The service was attentive though not particularly memorable (our waiter specifically seemed both busy and kinda quiet -- he was otherwise very good and our water glasses were never low and he was around often in case we had questions). The dining room was definitely busy and somewhat loud, but not otherwise bad. Their bar area is not very comfortable (the chairs are not what I prefer and were definitely not meant for someone to sit in for long periods of time). Fortunately we spent very little time there since our table was ready pretty quickly. In terms of price we were both impressed by the quality of food for the price. The Cowfish is by no means an inexpensive night out, but our bill (with tip) was actually under $100 (it also included a glass of wine and a beer). The bathrooms are a whole other experience that I'll let you discover for yourself.

But I will leave you with the Buddah Belly Elvis who greets you in the restroom area:

Peace, Love, Burgers & Sushi, Emmie

Homemade Mayo (Instructions, Review & more!)

A while back a friend of a friend posted on Instagram and FB about making her own Mayo in order to make an Avacado dressing. I was instantly intrigued. I've never made anything like that... and was curious about what was involved. Recently I decided to try it to work on one of my resolutions and actually make the mayo myself! (remember a post about all of them will be up sometime near the end of January/beginning of February)! So, here's the video I used to make my very own Olive Oil Mayo at home: 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcKRj4E7m6M[/youtube]

And here are a few pictures of the process:

It was actually pretty simple and took me around 10 minutes (after the egg and lemon juice got to room temp for about an hour). The thing I did find interesting was how warm the mayo was when I scraped it into the container. I guess that makes sense considering the friction involved in this process & the fact that it started out at room-temp, but I wasn't expecting it. :)

Soon after I made the mayo I realized that I could just use the "dirty blender" to go ahead and make the "Dreamy Avocado Dressing". Since I obtained the recipe for that directly from the friend of a friend I will post it here for you:

Dreamy Avocado Dressing

• 1/2 large avocado • 1 tbsp lime juice • 1/4 cup olive oil mayo • 1 small garlic clove • 1 tbsp fresh cilantro (optional) • 2 tbsp water (optional -- I used it, but use or omit it depending on desired thickness) • salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Place all ingredients into blender and or food processor and puree to desired consistency. Add water 1 tbsp at a time if necessary. Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.  Store covered in the fridge! Like the Mayo the egg's expiration date is your dressing expiration date. :)

FINAL REVIEW:

I like both the mayo and the avocado dressing. I especially love the dressing for eating cut veggies. It's a healthy-er version of a regular dressing. I think both the mayo and dressing are better after sitting in the frig for a while. It helps add a bit of depth of flavor for all the ingredients to "mellow" together. Also, I didn't use fresh cilantro for the dressing (only because I didn't have any). I used some dry cilantro  but I *know* it would be better with fresh herbs. I'll try it again with fresh and update once I do!

If you try these recipes please let me know what you think and if you discover any new or interesting ways to update them!

Enjoy!

-Emily

5 Months Old!

Dear Skylar, It's been quite a month! Many highs and a few lows, but ultimately it was a good month with you, my love. It's hard to know where to start, but here goes...

You have learned to love the bouncy seat this month. You don't always want to be in it for super long, but you've figured it out and can now jump as much as you want! You also have learned to turn the bouncer around to see one way or the other and can do it quickly at will! Since you're pretty savvy with the bouncer now Mommy sometimes puts you in there when she's taking a shower or trying to get chores done. Your Dad likes to sit on the ground when you're in the bouncer. He talks with you and plays with you while you jump. One thing you don't like is being in the bouncer for a long time by yourself. You are very social and much happier when someone is interacting with you -- even when you are playing. You remind me of myself very strongly sometimes, baby girl.

Speaking of jumping, it's still one of your favorite ways to interact and play with your Daddy. He holds you and you jump on his lap. You've gotten really strong and can jump for a very long time without getting tired! You also don't like to jump slowly and usually jump at a very quick pace! It's so fun to watch you jump!

You're not eating foods yet, but often show interest in our food and what we're drinking. You sometimes drink water out of our glasses -- especially out at restaurants. You also suck water from my Nathan water bottle and we were able to get you to drink from a straw (12/17)! Lately we think you're wanting the water because it's cold and feels good on your teething gums, but in general you seem curious about what Mommy & Daddy are doing when we eat and drink. Food is probably coming in the next month or so. We'll see... it's a big step, but one you seem increasingly ready for!

You are turning over all the time now, baby girl... and you use it to help you get around and see things in your world. If you want to move from one toy to another on your playyard you "roll to it". You also have used this to roll around the living room/kitchen nook area. You're sooooo close to crawling, but rolling helps you get around for now.

Speaking of crawling: You may not be doing much with forward motion yet, but you can turn in circles. You turned all the way around several times on the office floor with Mommy & Daddy cheering you on! You still do this to a lesser degree to "get around" downstairs when left to your own devices. Mommy is having to watch you much closer to make sure you don't get into anything that you shouldn't. When you're really crawling we're going to have to keep a much closer eye on you -- at least until we can get some gated areas for you to play in.

Some of your other "firsts" this month are:

You experienced your very first Christmas, sweet girl!! You are still too little to really grasp much of what is going on, but you did enjoy the attention you got while opening presents. You're not quite old enough to really "open" them yourself, but you did try. You have enjoyed the lights and colors of the season. I have loved watching your eyes sparkle as you take it all in.

Your first tooth has peeked out of your gums. It's still not all the way up, but you "cut" your first tooth a few days after Christmas. You actually seem to deal with the pain pretty well, but do get somewhat whiny and needy when your mouth hurts. You also have the typical "symptoms" of drooling and chewing on everything when teething.

Crying when something is taken away from you! Before this month you didn't seem to care if we took a toy away or put something down that you were playing with, but now you whine or cry when we take something away that you're not finished enjoying. The first time you complained was when we put away the iPad.

You now grab for toys and other items with purpose. You can control your hands so much better and tend to grasp toys instead of just flinging your arms out to try and "catch" something with your hands. You also lean towards toys that you want. You seem to understand that you have choices and can pick which toy you would like to play with at that specific moment. You can definitely see better and understand objects better this month.

On Dec 18th you shook a rattle for the first time. You shook it after Daddy showed you how -- it is so neat watching him teach you things. I know this is just the beginning! You continued to shake rattles and other toys throughout the month as you learned that you could make noises yourself!

You first enjoyed looking at the world upside-down this month. You were on your daddy's lap on the stairs by the office. You leaned all the way back in his lap and were so excited to see the world in a whole new way! (I need to add pictures of this at some point!). You have continued to do this out throughout this month. It's a whole new perspective that excites you!

On Christmas Eve you cried and yelled because you were being left out of what was going on in the room next to you. You are very social and you continue to show us that as you grow!

A big first for you this month was seeing (and touching) snow! While in NY around Christmastime it snowed! You were quite interested in the cold white stuff and while you won't remember it, we enjoyed introducing you to snow for the first time! :)

At the end of this month you got sick. You actually were having trouble breathing and because of that we ended up at a pediatric ER with you. A few days before your "5 month birthday" you were being treated for Croup. Watching you struggle to breathe was super hard for me, but I do have to tell you how proud I am of you! You continue to be my little fighter! Even when it was difficult you worked hard to breathe and get all the oxygen you needed! Your oxygen levels never dipped below 97% and because of that you were never in danger of any lasting negative effects from being sick. You also still greeted people who came in the room and tried to smile at times -- even when you were obviously miserable.

While sick (especially in the hospital) you never wanted to be out of my arms. Your constant need for me was tough sometimes, but at the same time I was so glad to be able to offer you comfort and give you a safe place in my arms. I will never forget some of those sweet cuddle moments in the hospital when I knew I was giving you everything you needed and sleeping on me was helping you feel better.

You are much better now! And your Mom & Dad are both super thankful for that! I could go the rest of my life without seeing you in pain again and it would be just fine with me! (I know that's not realistic, but I'm your Momma -- so I will try to make it so!)

Favorite Toys this month: You still love your taggie and hanging rattle while traveling. In addition to these you've started loving your playyard a lot lately. You also are fascinated by your crinkly winged ladybug toy! Another fave for you right now is playing with the "Little Gems" game on Mommy's iPad. You love that you can "throw" the shapes on the screen. You are enjoying toys that make noise a lot. One favorite is a musical toy that your Aunt Lynne gave you for Christmas! It's a great distraction for you when you're upset about your mouth hurting.

I can't wait to see what you learn and are excited about next month, baby girl! Keep growing, keep learning, keep becoming you!

Love Always & Forever,

Momma

Snowy Day Pictures (featuring photos by this momma):

 

4 Months!

Dear Skylar Joy, You are 4 months old today! You're growing rapidly, little one. We're not sure how much you weigh yet (your 4 month check-up is next week), but I'm willing to bet it's 15 pounds or more. You're already in 6 month clothes and will probably be in 6-9 and 9 month clothes pretty soon!

It seems like every day you are learning something new, trying to touch a new item, or getting better at a motion you learned yesterday. My precocious little girl, you are always curious, and always touching and exploring your world. Mommy & Daddy have loved introducing you to many new toys this month.

The firsts for this month are very broad! Momma will try to list them all, but they are many! You are learning so quickly, baby girl!

Okay... This month Mommy noticed (while stopped at a McDonalds on the way to Virginia) that you smiled when I kissed you! Previous to this you didn't seem to understand (or know what it meant) when I kissed you. But in that McDonalds you first seemed to realize that it's a good thing! And something to smile about! This warmed my heart and made me so very happy. Ever since kissing you usually elicits a smile or a giggle.

This month you had your first looooong road trip (the first of many I'm sure). We drove from our old place in Virginia to Ohio for the week of Thanksgiving (and then all the way back to NC the Sunday after Thanksgiving). You rocked the trip, little one! We stopped 3 times on the way there and twice on the way back! Impressive! You were easily entertained in the car and slept most of the way there and back. Thank you for being such a good little traveler!

This month you started wanting to pull yourself up with your stomach muscles. When you do this it looks sort of like "baby crunches" and you can't get all the way up to a sitting position without help. Daddy has loved helping you do this, though, and you guys often practice this move. You started doing this the most while at Pop Pop & Gram Gram's in Ohio for the week of Thanksgiving. As part of the "crunches" you're learning more about your feet & I'm pretty sure you know they're yours. You grab your feet often and pull your socks off a lot. You also hold your legs or feet back for me when I'm changing you! You do this fairly consistently. It's so cute. It makes me laugh. Thank you for being so helpful, little one!

I mentioned we've been trying out new toys and items with you... well, one of them is your play-yard. It's basically a mat with hanging toys. You actually used it for the first time right before we flew to NY, but it's been used quite a bit this month and you've really gotten the hang of playing in it. A new item you started using this month is a bouncy swing that hangs in a doorway. You tried this out for the first time while in Ohio. You're still getting the hang of it, but you can bounce pretty well and seem to enjoy it! You don't like to stay in the bouncer seat for very long right now, but Mommy & Daddy are hoping that will change as your legs get stronger. :)

While in Ohio you also started teething for the first time. You still don't have any teeth, but we can see (and feel) some under the surface and you were chewing on anything and everything (including fingers) while we were visiting family in Ohio. You also were having trouble sleeping -- we think from the pain -- and we found creative ways to give you some Tylenol at bedtime. That seemed to help. Your teething has backed off some since we got home, but you still have some incredibly drooly days paired with lots of chewing. No teeth yet, but we're guessing you'll probably have some soon.

A lot of new things happened while we were in Ohio! You also drank from a tiny little cup while Mommy and Daddy were visiting friends. It was just a bit of water, but we tried it out after you were interested in Mommy's cup. You definitely drank water and swallowed it from the cup. It was so very cute. You started getting more interested in toys and interacting with us and the toys. You're still not really into being by yourself with toys -- but this isn't surprising considering how much you like attention. One of your favorite "games" while in Ohio was pulling magnets off the refrigerator with Pop Pop. It was neat to see how quickly you figured out how to "play" and you learned to grab just the right way to knock off the smiley magnets -- often in one swipe.

Another first was turning onto your side. But you didn't stop there! You turned all the way over several times in one day while in your "play-yard" on the living room floor. You also turned over a week or so later upstairs on your changing mat. I missed seeing you actually turning over each time because you did it right after I started to work on something. Silly girl! You're not turning over all the time, but you definitely can do it on purpose when you want to.

You are pretty social, baby girl, and seem happier when out and about with people. You still love being held and interacting with people. Being in Ohio with tons of family was a huge treat for you. It's been interesting getting back to "normal" with just Mommy & Daddy, but not too terrible... you just like a lot of attention!

One of Mommy & Daddy's joys this month was watching you work to "figure things out". You get this very serious look on your face and use your hands to try and grasp/touch things. Playing is very serious business and we love watching you! It's incredibly cute to see you care so much about what you're doing and we both love seeing you figure things out and explore.

You seem to have gotten over being easily startled and scared by things. At least you don't scream much anymore if you do get scared. It still happens -- but really rarely. This is a relief for both of your parents! When you scream in fear or pain it's hard on both of us! Fortunately you've never been too terrible about it anyway -- but it being more rare is definitely a good thing!

Your speech is getting almost like real words. One thing you say over and over is the sound "ma." You say "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma...." Over and over! We're thinking maybe "momma" or "mommy" will be your first word, but who knows if we'll even know you're saying it for real!?! ;-)

Another special moment I have tucked in my heart is the first time you put your elbows up on my chest while I was wearing you and stared at me until I looked down at you. It was *so* cute for you to do that and your expression was adorable! You do this from time to time in the Mei Tai (a loaner from the baby wearing group -- but we like it so much we'll likely get one of our own sometime soon!) and I love it every time. Speaking of the Mei Tai carrier, we did a successful "back carry" a couple days ago and 2 other times since then! You don't really seem to know what to think, but will sleep and chill in that carry for a while. Usually until you're ready for more interaction or until you want to be fed. It's really useful for me because I can get more done when I'm wearing you like that! & I'm so proud of my big girl being able to be on my back and relax there!

The final "Mei Tai" memory for this letter happened just a couple nights ago. We were out with the neighbors and I started nursing you at the table (you were hungry and letting me KNOW it!). Well, I was talking particularly loudly at one point and you stopped eating, pulled back, and waited for me to look down at you. You GLARED at me with the angriest look I've seen yet because I was being loud while you were eating. You kept this expression for a good 20-30 seconds until your parents laughing (Daddy had joined me by then) finally made you smile and then giggle. You definitely wear your emotions on your face, Skylar Joy. Just like your Momma.

As I typed the last half of this note you've been sitting in my lap. This is yet another new thing for you! You sit and watch TV with daddy & sit with me while I'm on the computer. The very first show you ever watched was a MythBuster's episode with your Dad. You loved the movements and all the colors. You also have started to love on the kitteh! You pet Harley for the first time this month. I love you two becoming friends! It's so cute & Harley is patient with your tugging -- to a point. We'll keep working on being gentle with the kitteh!

Some of your favorite toys this month were: your pink taggie made by Lora of Tater Tots! The soft penguin your Gram Gram got you while in Ohio, Your "first doll" who has very yummy feet, and the rattle attached to your car seat (it is the ONLY thing that will keep you from crying when you've become impatient with being in your carseat). I can't wait to see what your favorites will be next month!

Well, little girl, this letter is long enough! I'm sure I could go on for several more paragraphs about all the things changing, but I won't. These are the big things -- the things I will forever remember about this time in your life.

I love you, baby girl. Always & Forever!

-Momma

Some of my favorite pictures from this month:

   

2 Months Old (10/9/2012)

[Originally Posted on Facebook 10/19/ 2012] Skylar Joy,

This month has been filled with changes and growth. Your 2 month check-up at the doctor showed you are 12 pounds and 7 ounces. You're 23 inches long. You're in the 87th percentile for weight and the 75th for length! You're such a big girl! And so very strong. The doctor and nurses were surprised by how well you hold your head up and move your head around. Mommy wasn't surprised since I've watched you do that for a long time, but it was cool to hear others oooh and ahhh over you!

Here are your first this month, baby girl:

This month you started showing Daddy and Mommy that you are hungry by moving your mouth and tongue -- instead of just crying to eat. You still cry if we wait too long to feed you, but you've definitely started communicating more with us.

You slept longer than 5 hours for the first time this month! You actually slept for 7 hours two nights in a row while we were in a hotel room for our house closing. You surprised both Mommy and Daddy by sleeping for so long.

You smile consistently now and always smile "hello" to your Daddy when he gets home at night. You have little cooing conversations with your Dad to tell him what's going on. I love watching you two interact. It warms my heart so much. You talk to Mommy now too! It's usually while you are breastfeeding.

You laughed in your sleep a few times during this past month. You also have giggled a couple times when interacting with Mommy and Daddy. You're not consistently laughing yet, but so very close to it! The first time you giggled Daddy was around and you giggled at Mommy first and then Daddy when he came over to see you. Your timing was pretty perfect, little girl! Good job!

This month has had some ups and downs, but you've relaxed a lot, sweet girl. I think The stress of moving and everything that was going on took a toll on you. You were pretty fussy for a while, but have settled into a much more calm pattern.

Recently I noticed that you seem to be able to see much better. You watch the world from the safety of the Moby carrier. You also seem to be seeing much more from the carseat in the car. You look outside and watch the lights and everything passing by and are entertained by it. This is a huge relief to me because hearing and watching you cry in the car was really rough for me!

Another "first" for this month is you learning to fall asleep without having to be nursed or rocked soundly to sleep. When Mommy puts you down for a nap or at night you usually open your eyes and wake up some, but consistently you have fallen back asleep on your own without having to be picked up. I'm so very proud of you!

One new change that's very hard for your Mommy is that you are crying tears now. When you cry your eyes fill up and tears spill down your little chubby cheeks. It breaks my heart to see your tears, but I know this is just another way that you are growing and changing. Another thing that was tough for me was that you had your first cold this month, baby girl! You were very needy along with your cold symptoms. For several days the only way you would nap during the day was in the Moby. Mommy held you close and helped you feel better using the Kangaroo technique of skin-to-skin contact in the Moby. You're all the way better now and I'm so glad!

Recently you have found your lips and tongue. You smack your lips and brush them against my arm, my shoulder, my chest and you blow bubbles with your drool. (Oh, yeah, lots drool is another new thing. But that could be partially from your cold.) You play with your tongue and try pushing it against things. You often lick Mommy's shirt or chest (depending on how you're in the Moby) and pretty much lick anything that comes close to your mouth. It's cute and gross at the same time. But we love that you're growing and learning about your environment, baby girl.

Keep growing little bean -- but not too fast. Mommy wants you to be little and in her arms for a long time!

I love you. Always. Forever.

-Momma

New York Adventures!

I posted about the trip to and from NY, but not about the actual visit. So, here goes! We arrived Wednesday afternoon in Newark airport and met my Dad. Outside it was SNOWING (talk about a shock!) and we bundled up to head to the car. We headed to Panera for a quick lunch and then my Dad drove us to my childhood home in upstate New York. Here are a few pictures from the drive:  

Once there I unpacked some and waited for Mom and Luke to get home.... And then they were home:

 

Skylar didn't sleep well Wednesday night, so we slept in Thursday. We got up eventually to get ready to hang out with my wonderful friend Nancy!! I've known Nancy since I was in Kindergarten  She was my best friend growing up and I'm so glad we're still in each other's lives. I'm so blessed to have Nancy in my life. Nancy met Skylar and we talked and caught up for a while. Eventually we got down to taking photos. We tried to go outside but it was just TOO cold. We found some good light on the porch and I'm so happy with the photos I've seen thus far! I'll be posting separately with more pictures from the shoot -- so watch out for that, but there are a few in my 3 month note to Skylar.

Here's a quick picture I snapped of Nancy and Skylar:

Nancy left to make dinner for her husband and Lisamarie showed up soon after that. LM hadn't met Skylar yet either and I loved introducing her! Skylar is a little smiler and she grinned at Lisamarie (and at Nancy) so much! She loves meeting new people! Lisamarie, Skylar and I hung around the house, had dinner and ran to the grocery store for diapers and various other impulse buy items. I didn't get any pictures of LM and Skylar (sadness!), but here's one I grabbed at the end of the night:

(I adore you, Lisamarie!! I'm so glad we're friends!)

Friday was spent shopping with my Mom and Skylar for gifts for the two baby showers we were attending the next day (the main reason I was IN New York was to attend the showers). It was a fun day of shopping and looking at cute clothes and accessories. We laughed a lot! I love that the 3 of us had so much fun together. I cannot wait for the future when my daughter is a little bit more grown and the 3 of us can go on more outings!

Most nights Skylar & I used facetime with Jimmy. Skylar seemed to actually recognize Jimmy pretty well -- especially his voice. It was super cute:

 

Saturday dawned and Mom, Skylar and I got ready to head to Rachel's shower. After a few baby related delays and some traffic we made it to Rachel's shower! It was so great to see Rachel and celebrate her little one! I cannot wait to meet Sophie! Here's a fun picture of some of the preggo pictures of Rachel with Rob that were out on the table:

One of the activities at Rachel's shower was picking a card for Sophie for age 1-18 and writing a note for her. I thought that was such a neat idea! Mom wrote in the card for age 16 and I wrote in the one for age 3. I love how there are so many different things to do at showers! :) Mom and I had to leave before the shower was over to head to Nancy's shower.

Nancy's shower was an open house with everyone included! Girls, guys, kids! Everyone! Mom & I met some friends and family and hung out with Nancy and Jason. They aren't finding out the gender of their babe before birth, so there was much speculation about that at the shower. Here's the guess count at the end of the night (my guess was "boy"):

Hmmmm.... I'm pretty sure someone added 4 ticks on the girl side to even up the numbers. Hah..... No one really knows! Everyone has a 50/50 shot (except the college educated momma! She has a 70% chance of guessing correctly)! But we'll all know sometime in January! So exciting!

I hung out at the party for a while after it was over. I'm so thankful to Nancy's sister and brother in law for being such a gracious hosts! I loved spending a bit more time with Nancy and Jason. They are both awesome people and I cannot wait to meet their little person!

One thing I'm struck by lately is how many of my friends are having kids (or already have had kids). It's honestly super neat to be going through all of this with several friends! Nancy & Rachel are both good friends and I'm so excited to meet their little ones! Rachel's daughter should be born (hopefully) when we visit New York around Christmas time. I'll have to wait a bit longer to meet Nancy's little guy (or gal), but hopefully that will happen in the early spring! :)

The rest of my trip involved lots of people meeting Skylar. I loved sharing her with everyone at church and spending time with Lynn and Chuck (family friends that I've known since I was a kid) one evening. It always feels so great when people love on my little girl. Skylar also enjoys meeting new people and being social (hmmm, I wonder who she takes after?). On Sunday I was blessed to sing praises to God with my brother Luke as one of the worship team members. He is growing into such a wonderful young man. I'm super proud of my brother. Watching him with Skylar was a blessing as well. He's really good with her. Here are a few pictures of them together:

 

(Skylar was pretty enamored with Apples to Apples)

One other moment I really loved while in New York was when she was watching soccer with my dad:

Monday dawned and I worked quickly to pack up while waiting for my friend Stephanie to stop by with her three kids. After Steph and her kids arrived we hung out in the family room to catch up while the kids played with blocks and various toys. Steph's oldest, Jade, loved on Skylar quite a bit and it warmed my heart. Here are a couple photos from their interactions:

 

Monday afternoon Mom, Dad, Luke, Skylar and I traveled to Newark and met up with my grandfather and his friend Rita. We had dinner with them and then went back to Rita's house. My grandfather had just gotten power back and Rita's house was closer to the restaurant. Grandpa got to meet Skylar and held her. I don't have a picture of it, though! I need to get a copy of the pictures Luke took!

We headed to the airport soon after dinner and you can read the rest of the trip back to NC in this post.

It was really nice to catch up with so many people while I was in New York! I looooooved introducing so many people to my little girl! And Skylar was really good for most of the trip! It was kinda overwhelming to me to think about traveling without Jimmy, but I'm glad we were able to go and enjoy the time with family and friends! I look forward to the next trip to New York WITH Jimmy, though!

Until next time, Emily

First Flights or When I Flew to & from NY with My Infant

Last Wednesday I did something brave. I flew with my 3 month old daughter. It may not sound like a big feat, but the unknown was pretty huge and looming! I didn't know if the air pressure changes would make her scream for the whole flight or if I would be able to navigate security with one arm or how TSA would handle me walking through with a tiny person. Turns out? It was simple, easy, and fun. For the most part. Flight to NY: Heading through security for the first time I was a little stressed (I don't like the unknown -- I mean really who does?). I apologized to the guy behind me in line as I struggled to take off my shoes without my hands and he was kind enough to tell me to "take my time" and that he has 2 kids that are grown and he understands what it can be like with a baby.  After getting our stuff on the conveyor belt I approached the TSA  agent by the scanner and asked "how does this work?" and he ushered me through the metal detector with absolutely no fanfare. Easy-peasy. As I was gathering up our stuff on the other side of the scanner another TSA agent walked over and asked me "Who are you flying with?" very seriously. I started to indicate my daughter nervously and the agent smiled and told me that she was impressed with how well I "worked it with one arm" while getting our belongings up on the conveyor belt. She then said there was no reason she couldn't help me on this side and that I didn't need to do it all by myself. It was very sweet and made getting everything put back together so much easier.

We walked from security to our gate and I couldn't help but see the smiles everyone gave my daughter as we passed them. Skylar was very chill for the whole experience. We got to the gate and hung out for a while until Skylar started to complain (re: cried) because she wanted to nurse. Fortunately she fell asleep after nursing on one side. Here she is sleeping at the gate:

A little while later boarding started. I got on the plane pretty easily (Skylar charmed everyone as she passed) and found our seat. We were on the aisle and every person who passed us smiled at Skylar. A little bit later the passenger sitting on the inside of us approached and we stood to make room for her to join us in the row. Skylar smiled at her and they made friends quickly. We soon were taxiing down the run-way and about to take off. I quickly started nursing Skylar on the other side and she nursed until she fell asleep again. This time I cuddled her into the Moby wrap (she's the MOST snuggly and comfortable in that carrier so I thought it would be perfect for "in-fight" wearing) and she curled up against me. Skylar slept practically the whole flight (about an hour and a half) and only started stirring at the end right before we landed.

Here are a few pictures from on the plane:

I met my dad in the Newark Airport (kudos and thanks to my dad for picking us up in Newark and driving us to upstate NY and then driving us back down 5 days later!) and we headed to the baggage claim. The car-seat and our suitcase were some of the first items off the plane. The lady who sat next to me made a point of telling my dad how good Skylar was and how impressed she was with us. It made me feel so good to know that others were, in the very least, not bothered by us during the fight.

See. Here's my thing... I have some basic ideas and rules I try to follow with regarding my child and being in public. One of them is that I try hard not to make others deal with my daughter's crying or fussing or issues. This is because it's MY problem to handle, not theirs. At some point I'll make a post about all my ideas or "rules" regarding this.... Just for posterity's sake. :)

The Return Flight: My parents drove us to the airport and after saying goodbye we approached security. I figured it wouldn't be too difficult when I noticed the the whole line was going through only the metal detector. And the TSA agents were helpful once again with packing up my things. In line the guy behind me was nice-- though not as talkative... we were in NJ after all -- but ultimately everyone was kind and/or helpful. The flight back was pretty simple, but I was surrounded by men. I was only slightly concerned about nursing, but was really touched by the attitude of the man sitting directly across from us (we were in a single row with no one immediately next to us). He seemed to be from somewhere in Africa (I'm not sure which country because I wasn't able to place his accent fully) and he was both encouraging and respectful while we were nursing. It was kinda neat how I felt completely comfortable nursing Skylar with him sitting a mere 3 feet from me and how he didn't act awkward or like it was anything out of the ordinary. He also smiled and talked to Skylar a bit (not while she was nursing -- hah) and she grinned back. It was such a simple, but very sweet interaction. I was very blessed by that man and thanked him for his help (he had picked up a few items I dropped in the aisle for me) when we were exiting the plane.

The flights to and from NY really reminded me that strangers CAN be kind, friendly, and helpful. It gave me some hope for the future of us as society. I know it's much easier to be nice when there's a sweet little baby grinning at you, but ultimately, those who want to be sour and bitter will be regardless of who is smiling at them. I'm so thankful that everyone who crossed paths with us allowed Skylar to brighten their day. Watching my little girl make someone's world happier is a huge blessing to me and one I never tire of observing. And I'm incredibly thankful for those who helped us during our flight adventure. I hope someday I can return the favor.

Till next time,

Emily