Mama Chop.

When I was pregnant with Hayes I would sometimes toy with the idea of "chopping" all of my hair off. Then I would remember this one haircut I received many years ago, that other people in the hair biz referred to as a bi-level. Think Florence Henderson of the Brady Bunch. Let's just say it was not a style that suited me and in an attempt to fix it, the lower half of the haircut was cut off. This left me with a haircut that landed somewhere around my ears and I can say that after that experience my hair hasn't been short since. After the momentary lapse in judgement I decided to not only not cut my hair, but also see what the natural color was, as I hadn't seen it in nearly 20 years. You know the whole ombre look? I thought I would find luxurious, prenatal vitamin treated locks. Instead I found hair that looked suspiciously like what other people refer to as grey. Say what? No, Brooke Shields-in-a-Jordache-print- ad-hair? Fast forward to 6 months since I had Hayes. I felt like it was time for a change. I guess I came to grips with the fact that longer hair requires time and at this stage in my mama life, I don't have it. Also, that baby of mine has a crazy grip and he loves to yank on my hair whenever he gets a chance. Perhaps I could go shorter and achieve a more uniform color? I know, it is only hair, but I want to love mine. Saturday I went to see Bobbi and explained my wishes. She is used to me wanting to be brunette, then blond, then think about red, then a different shade of blond, so I think she was pleasantly surprised. "You never wait long enough for me to perfect it," she told me. I told her I was ready to commit to a color for a while and that I needed a mama chop. I came across several articles about women, who during or immediately after their pregnancy, chopped their hair off. If you google pregnant women who cut their hair, it is like a phenomenon. It turns out I wasn't having a lapse in judgement, so much as my pregnant belly was making me want to cut my hair off. I am just happy I waited.

Since we are on the topic of hair. I recently took an inventory of products that I owned and then just those in the style-my-hair category. It made me think about how much money I spend on these products, what they are made from and how much goes to waste. Since becoming a mama I have become more interested in products that can be up-cycled, repurposed, are locally grown and made not purchased. I found a recipe for a styling pomade that is simple to make, so I gave it a try and love it.

1 TBSP aloe, 1 TSP grapeseed oil and 5 drops of an essential oil of your choice (I used red grapefruit). Mix together, let sit over night and then it is ready for use. Used in photo below. I enjoyed making something that is natural and safe for the whole family. Happy mama, happy hair, happy baby and hopefully, happy Papa (if he likes to use the pomade too, we shall see.) P.S Even with shorter hair Hayes still grabs little baby fists full.

One Half of a Year.

DOB

April 10

May 10

June 10

July 10

August 10

September 10

On Tuesday baby Hayes celebrated being out of the womb for one half of a year. We celebrated with him by getting his 6 month well check, playing with toys, telling him how much we love him, carrying him everywhere we went, having other people tell us how much they love him and giving him lots of smooches.

I was hoping to take him for his first swing at the playground and Papa and I were planning on kicking off solid foods, but instead he took a long nap after his shots and fell asleep early in the evening, so we will try both a little later this week...if he is game.

Here are a few things to know about Hayes.

Stats: 19 lbs 8 ounces and 28 inches long.

Blue eyes, blond hair (barely any) baby rolls and elbow dimples.

Favorite time of day: He smiles like crazy in the morning.

Bath time: He is still lying in the tub and loves splashing.

Affection: He pats us, squeezes our neck, holds our face with both hands and leans to one side to be held by one of us and recently started to rest his head on us.

Teeth: We felt a bottom nub on Tuesday of this week.

Food: He nurses only but is very interested in what we are eating.

Mobility: He rolls from stomach to back and back to stomach with a little army crawl wiggle.

Language : He blows raspberries, hums, and screeches.

Interests: He likes beverage containers (cups with straws and bottles), people wearing glasses, balloons and Jake and Georgie.

Toys: He plays with books with crinkle paper, wood and elastic geometric ball, wooden anchor.

Clothes: He is wearing up to size 18 months.

Music Preference: He stops crying when he hears Rockabye Baby- Lullaby Renditions of Bob Marley, Coldplay and when I sing "You are my Sunshine" out of key.

Laughs : He laughs when we contort our faces, make silly high pitched noises, Papa sounds like a duck, we squeeze between his neck and shoulders and whenever Jake and Georgie move.

Travel: He has been to 15 states by plane, train, taxi, car, subway, ferry, boat, bus and/or trolley.

Sleeping: He sleeps in a co-sleeper and crib.  He has a few naps during the day and sleeps a 12 hour stretch at night with a few wake-up calls.

Diapers: He has gone through 6 sizes.

Hands: He uses his left and right equally.

Personality:  He is mostly happy and when he is upset he screeches loudly but settles quickly. He is tactile and enjoys nursing frequently and wiggles the entire time; feet kicking and arms waving. He is comfortable being held by people other than mama and papa and engages in smiling with strangers. His eyes widen when seeing either of us after we have been away from him and it is clear that he is aware of our presence. He is accommodating and tolerant of our schedule or lack there of, and as a result has proved to be a brilliant traveler. One caveat to that statement is his evolving displeasure for his car seat. He is inquisitive, alert, vibrant, and connected to life around him. He turns his head like a windshield wiper to observe as much as possible. He squeals with joy when he gets excited about something and if it happens while he is being held, he rolls up like a potato bug. He is so different than he was 6 months ago. He is changing daily and fast.

Now I know why almost everyone who has approached us when we are with Hayes says, "enjoy every minute because it goes by fast." Somehow 6 months of my own life, pre-Hayes, never seemed as eventful as living the past 6 months with him. He is the love of our lives.

Happy One Half of a Year of Life Hayes. We love you.

xo,

Mama and Papa

Back to Work.

It was time for me to return to work this weekend. First, I spent 2 days this week in a training class because our hospital transitioned to a new computer system. During the week leading up to my return I was thinking about how to make the transition. What would it feel like to have to learn a new computer system and get up to speed on all of the newest processes implemented at work? How to nurse Hayes while I was at work? What it would feel like to leave him and go to work to care for someone else? How Matt would feel spending his days shuttling back-and-forth to my job (that is how I nursed him) since we live so close? The fact that I was working shorter shifts and they gave me a few days to become acclimated to all of the "new" made the return much more manageable.  

On my computer training days Papa and Hayes met me for lunch (snacks) and I would nurse the little babe. After each class they picked me up and I took them Papa out for ice cream. In a Dreyer's vs. Baskin Robbins free standing store competition, Baskin Robbins came out the winner! I could eat ice cream every day.

I had Friday off with Hayes. How cute are his star jammies? In the morning we played and Hayes learned how to grab his foot and stick it in his mouth. In the afternoon we went grocery shopping, Hayes had a bath in the sink but barely fit. How did he get so big? Papa had a late night at work so we attempted to bake cookies but only got as far as making the dough. Hayes was in charge of holding eating the spatula. We tried a new recipe and LOVED the change. Milk and semi-sweet chips together is a nice change.

Saturday and Sunday were my 1st and 2nd shifts back to work. Both days Papa and Hayes got up and strolled to get me coffee and a pastry (they got themselves some too) while I slept in a bit. Hayes has been getting up several times a night, so even an extra minute of sleep feels like 30 minutes. Jake and Georgie even got in on the action. I have a picture of my first day working as a nurse and now as a mama/nurse. I like the second one better.

 

After each day of work we went on a little adventure. Saturday mama got a manicure which is rare these day, but I sure love it when it happens. Papa went to the barber at Temescal Alley which meant Hayes and I were able to walk around the alley. I love all of the tiny shops filled with gems.  Then we went home for bunless gardenburgers and ice cream sandwiches. 

Sunday we BBQ'd. We ate delicious food, spent time outside, laughed and spent time with great friends at their lovely home. It was a perfect night. I had the yummiest salad and smashed potatoes and Matt loved the pork tenderloin.  Hayes loved the girls and they loved him right back. With a weekend this fun I barely remember going back to work...it turns out it wasn't as difficult at I thought it might be.

Happy Labor Day!!

We were definitely looking forward to the long weekend and kicked it off with a dunk in our "pool" and a coffee date with papa.  This little of ours loves water and he loves cups.

Saturday morning we had a relaxing start to the day by making breakfast. When I was in Brooklyn a couple of years ago, I ate at a place that served baked grapefruit. This is my take on that dish. A pinch of salt, a bit of brown sugar, a few mint leaves and under the broiler it goes, until the edges are brown. Bam! You're done.

 Hayes was able to wear his mini Sperry Top-siders for the first time. Thank you Greg and Taylor! This was his first time wearing hard sole shoes. Why are miniature man clothes and shoes so darn cute?

 We were busy squeezing our baby and catching up with our family, so we only managed to get a few pictures of Andy and Shilpa's baby shower.  We ate, played games, ate some more and were just plain excited about all of the babies about to arrive.

                                     

The little mister was lucky to be loved up by his "bay area grandma" and grandma Joanne. He also met his Uncle Jim and Aunt Gerri for the first time, as well as many of his cousins. He and Uncle Jim played in the water, had many conversations (secret guy ones of course) and they even had matching outfits.  It was a lovely celebration and we are just so happy for Andy and Shilpa. We are patiently waiting for their sweet bundle of baby boy goodness to arrive. May I add that it is rare that I attend a party where the majority of the food served is vegetarian. This party was just that and I ate like a queen! I spied a little person who may have been as excited about the food as I was.
           
The next day we put on our best denim on denim and readied ourselves for a day in San Francisco.
We walked the Embarcadero, ate lunch at Gott's and took in the incredible weather. Hot and blue. We ended the day by driving out to Tracy for some block party fun. Hayes was especially fond of the the tiki torches.

   
                                     

Our last day of the long weekend was spent mostly at home. Playtime, gardening and enjoying the fruits of our labor (the tomatoes are taking over our garden but I'm not complaining) seemed like a natural way to start the day.

Papa wanted to go browse the Labor Day sales and I wanted to get my favorite cupcakes. We did just that and also worked on our family selfies. We turned our little babe into art, his little toes dangling outside of the frame. Papa laughed while Hayes attacked his chin. Hayes made this funny "O" mouth. This is what he does when he is interested in something and wants to hold it, or taste it. In this case a water bottle. Water bottles are a big hit around our house. We ended the evening by having an indoor picnic. Papa had the last of his birthday cake, I made s'mores in the toaster oven and Hayes got his tiny hands on some cantaloupe.  It went by so quickly but we sure had a relaxing weekend. We hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend.

 He smiles or we do, but never at the same time.