done.

i did it.
my first night away from micah is now behind me, and i am proud of myself.
it was a fun and relaxing couple of days, but i did miss my little guy like crazy...and i only cried a little once i was actually there....getting there was the hard part!
i will have another night away in march, and hopefully it will be easier next time!

i am loooooving being home with my little man. not having a babysitter actually worked in my favor this time because i came home early from the trip and as much as i love everyone i was with and i hate missing out on the fun today, i really needed to be home with my guy.

time.

today i'll leave my little guy and head out to la quinta for a couple of days with the family ministry staff. it will be fun and relaxing for sure, but i'm going to totally miss my men. it's the first night that I'll be away from micah which means that Wednesday is the first morning that he'll wake up without me. i'm guessing the anticipation is going to be worse than reality but right now that really doesn't make a difference. i know micah is in great hands with alex and my parents, i just know i'm going to miss his sweet little face.

sigh.

cuteness.

i'm working on choosing pictures to replace the ones we've had up for 2 years in a big collage frame. we literally have one printed picture of micah up in our house and after our re-do, his face will be plastered everywhere :) as i was narrowing down the pictures, i came across this perfect scrunchy little face. 9 months has flown by. but seriously, are you dying of the cuteness?? i am.

nine months.

this post is almost a week late..which i hate because he changes every.single.day. I'll try to keep it true to last week!

micah,
the past nine months have flown by. when you were born, i thought about the point at which you would be nine months and how big you would be...and big you are! at your nine month check-up, dr.brown let us know that at 30.25 inches long, you are officially off the chart! your weight is slowing down, but you're definitely still beefy!! you weighed in at 21 lbs. 12 oz. you are mama's big guy!! you still only have two bottom teeth, but we're hoping that the two top ones that have been hurting you will come through SOON!
if i had to use one word to describe this stage, it would be FUN!! we laugh together and just have so much fun playing, crawling around (you love to chase us around the house!), dancing, and being silly. we just love spending time together and watching you explore your world. you are very curious and still very busy :)
right now you are an adventurous eater and have begun eating just about everything. your newest favorite was a clementine. you loved it. you are still not eating bigger quantities of anything, but we're just thankful that you're eating solids again.
when you were sick last month, you started waking again every night to eat. even after you got well, you kept it up. last night was the first night in 6 weeks that we didn't feed you. you cried for 15 minutes, then fell back asleep and we didn't hear from you until 7am! we're hoping that after a few more nights of crying will be all it takes to get you sleeping solid again! you are much happier when you have slept well...so are mama and daddy!
speaking of daddy....you say da-da all the time. it's the only thing you can say, but still. you have started to call out to your daddy when he walks out the door and cry for him and call his name (da-da) when he leaves every day for work. it's very sweet. you LOVE your da-da and get so excited to see him.
my little man, you are in the final stretch towards your first birthday....that your mama is already planning :) you will be moving to your big boy carseat this weekend because in another inch and a half you will have outgrown your infant seat! we are looking towards the future with excitement. we love you more than words could express.

love,
mama

love.

(micah thinks valentine's day is VERY funny)

independent woman?

today i am going to see a very good friend in a play...a musical, i think. she set aside a ticket for me, and only had a limited amount, so i'm going alone.
solo.
by. my. self.

i don't normally go places by myself. i don't dine alone, i don't see movies alone...who are we kidding, i rarely get to even go to the bathroom alone anymore! tmi? me? never!

so i had a mini panic attack when i realized that i have to find the place all by myself. that i will have to figure out where to park and figure out where the will call window is.... i have never been independent...just ask my parents ;) as i type this, i want to laugh because i know it's silly.

but, i am a strong girl. i run a ministry. i oversee dozens of volunteers. i am a mama. i communicate with hundreds of families. at any given time i play the part of carpenter, doctor, interior decorator, party planner, spiritual advisor, psychologist, painter, and many more....but finding that theater?? no way. super anxious. what the heck is that about??

so what did i do? i text my friend at 10:30pm to find out the specific address one more time. poor girl was probably already asleep since she has a show to put on in the morning!! sometimes it's so funny the things that paralyze us. for me? finding the theater and parking. here's hoping i can do it ;)

first haircut.

i can't believe my baby boy had his first hair cut today. it was much more emotional than i had anticipated...especially when they turned him around so i could see him. there may or may not have been tears welling up.

alex and i have known this day was coming since micah started crawling. he is such a mover and his hair is in his eyes all. the. time. if only there were hair barrettes for boys ;)

knowing i wouldn't be trusting of just anyone with my boy's beautiful hair (spoken like a true mother, right?), we enlisted the skills of our friend Jason. he works at Salon Gregories across from fashion island, and it felt a little funny taking our baby there for a cut at just under 9 months :)

jason did a fantastic job, and didn't change the overall look of micah's hair but trimmed an inch off the longest sections to keep it from going into micah's eyes, and trimmed around his ears. micah looks SO big now and all of a sudden seems that much older...i'm not ready for him to grow up so quickly...but he sure is cute :)

pink.

i've been making some paper heart garland and i wanted to share it. i used different paper in different shades of pink and patterns with pinks and reds. alex thinks it's pretty girly, but hey, valentine's day is a totally girly holiday...plus i'm outnumbered by boys in this house and need my girlyness in there somewhere! it was such a quick project with my sewing maching! no gluing necessary :)

micah's new ride.

micah spends a lot of time in the hallway at church. usually that means he's strapped in to the becco, the stroller, or in someone's arms. micah does really well on sunday mornings, however, he likes to be on the move so being strapped into something for 5 hours doesn't typically make him the happiest baby by the end. this week, we sent alex to target during the first service to go get a walker. we never bought one because we have carpet, and because of the risk of injury, but since he's only going to be in it once a week and we will always be with him so i am not worried at all. and, well, he loves it!

preparing.

very soon i will be leaving micah overnight for the first time.

everyone tells me that it will be so nice to get away. they say that i will love it once i'm gone. they also say that the time will pass quickly. they obviously don't know me very well.

i am dreading leaving him. dreading might be an understatement.

i know that there will be some fun, relaxing times, but i also know that every time i pump, and when i lay my head down at night, all i will be able to think of is my little man having to go to bed without his mama. i just keep telling myself...it's just one night...it's just one night...

i am coming home from the retreat early because thursday is my day with micah so i'll need to be back before alex has to leave for work on thursday. i've never been so thankful to have to be home early. would you want to leave this face??

sweetness.

yesterday i came home to this.

after teaching a room of preschoolers while having a splitting headache, this was exactly what i needed. some sweetness.

homemade chai.

(photo from the orignal post)

i saw a recipe for a yummy looking chai concentrate on the Tasty Kitchen blog. i knew i had to try it, so i went to Henry's to grab the spices (did you know you can measure out spices there so that you don't have to buy a whole jar?! it's my new favorite thing!), and then in true angelina style waited 2 weeks before actually making it :) i'm a working mama, i don't have a lot of time (that will be my excuse for everything). I followed the instructions exactly, except that i let it steep for a lot longer than it says to. it's darker than any concentrate i have ever seen, but still delicious! i actually really love the way it came out. i don't have any pictures of the batch i made because my photographer is slacking :) if you're a chai fan, i would highly recommend this recipe!

...i am enjoying an iced chai right now while little man sleeps and the snickerdoodles bake :)

a moment.

i love the way alex captures moments in our lives that i might otherwise forget. this is a new favorite.

giggles.

we took this video of micah yesterday. it was his first time in a big boy swing, and he loved it :)
i must say, his laugh is music to this mama's ears...especially when he's teething especially bad today.

first project.

i don't know if i posted it, but i got a sewing machine from alex's parents for christmas. for my first "real" project (one that i had to buy the fabric for and figure out all by myself), i spruced up some plain cloth diapers to be cute burp cloths for a mama-to-be. I think they turned out pretty cute for my first time. I made three, and the last one was definitely less wonky than the first one :)

i will be making a few more tonight for another new baby. Here is what I learned from last time ::

there is more ironing than actual sewing.
i definitely need to ease up on the perfectionism or i will never finish anything.
i need to pay attention to which way the pattern runs on the fabric.
there are not enough hours in the day for me to learn a new hobby, but i'm sure going to try!

the best way to start the day...

...is with this little man snuggled up next to you.


we loved the week break we got. what break you ask? oh the one week that we had our very sweet, very happy baby who wasn't sick or teething. the teething came back in full force today and it was rough for little man. it's so hard when we've tried everything and he still is in pain. it breaks my heart.

in other news...i just realized that i will be leaving my little guy overnight (2 nights even!) for the first time next month. sad, sad, sad. totally not ready, but it's a work thing and i have to go. hmmmpf.

guess this is a pretty nothing post. i guess i just really wanted to post that picture because it makes me happy. there we go...we'll end on a happy note :)

this guy...

...melts my heart.

eight months.

micah,

eight months feels old to your mama. like too old. like i feel like you were born, and then i blinked, and all of a sudden you're big! but to be honest, you are more fun every single day and i would go backwards for anything.

you have a scratch on your eye in this picture that i asked your daddy not to photoshop out because it tells a lot about this stage you're in. you crawl over to something, pull yourself up, play there for a bit, and then fall down. over and over again, this happens. it's fun to watch and at the same time, it's incredibly hard to not coddle you. mama doesn't like to let you fall, but she knows that sometimes you just have to. on the day you turned eight months, you had a fall that caused your bottom teeth to puncture your upper lip :( mama got the call at work and rushed right home to be with you and daddy. we eventually took you to the doctor because you just wouldn't stop bleeding. Dr. said you were fine and to expect lots more falls.

despite what it might sound like you are incredibly strong and balanced. we love watching you figure out how to get from the ottoman to the couch, and back again. sometimes i think you forget that you can't walk because you turn away from whatever it is you're holding onto and act like you want to go forward. you just fall forward. it's pretty funny for us to watch.

you had your first cold over the new year, and also went on your first eating strike. both caused you to eat less and sleep less. poor little buddy. your cold lingered for a solid 2 weeks, but you're back to your normal joyful self.

speaking of joy...that is the way everyone describes you...happy and joyful, and it's SO true. you are smiley and friendly with everyone you meet. you have your favorites, and you do get grumpy, but in general you are a very happy baby and even at the youngest of ages, you are full of joy. you are truly a people person and you especially love other babies and kids. i love watching you crawl right up to other babies and touch them...we have to remind you to be gentle and that other kiddos might not like you to grab onto them :)

our days consist of a lot of time on the floor and we can't take our eyes off of you for a second. your favorite toy right now is this car steering wheel that you got for Christmas. you also love your keys and anything you can bite on. more than anything, you like the things you aren't supposed to have...like a lip gloss container and an empty wipes case.

we so love being your mama and daddy. you light up when you see us and our hearts are full. we love to be with you and still can't quite remember what life was like without you...it must have been pretty boring without a little boy to chase around ;)

xoxo.

our little crawler

micah started real crawling on Christmas and really hasn't looked back! just this weekend, he started following us when we go ahead of him and call him towards us...here's a look at him coming around the corner being SO cute :)

Micah Crawling down the Hall from Alexander T. Pavone on Vimeo.

(i love my new flip cam!)

awake is the new sleep.

yep. this has been my motto for the past 12 days. twelve days of interrupted sleep. i am not used to interrupted sleep anymore, and i could not be more thankful that micah FINALLY slept through the night again last night. i couldn't help but start singing our family ministry anthem (aka the doxology)...."praise God from whom all blessing flow...."

let me tell you. this mama has had 5 months of uninterrupted sleep and i was about to go bonkers after twelve days....how did i survive 3 months?! oh wait, that's right, i slept everytime he slept for 3 months :) this whole get up and go to work thing got in the way a bit!

micah's first cold is the reason he hasn't been sleeping. being sick/teething again made him not want to eat which in turn left him starving around 4am!

my solution? dream feeding him twice after he goes to sleep. while he's asleep he doesn't have the same resolve to not eat. thank you dream feed, thank you.