happy days

it was just one of those weekends that is so good and you don't even remember why, but you're left feeling sadder then usual that monday is here. there was friends (both 2 and 4 legged kind), food, sunshine, and more baby snuggles then you can shake a stick at, all leaving me wishing that weekends were just a wee bit longer. 

one day we'll win that dang lottery and live the dream of the 7 day weekend!

one of those days...

yup, it's one of those days you hear about before becoming a mama, but you just don't fully grasp it until you're smack dab in the middle of it...

penny's teething situation is still giving her quite a hard time it seems. we got these homeopathic drops the other day, and while they do help to give her some instant relief, they don't really help her sleep any longer at night. so basically for the past two nights she's been waking up every hour and a half, to two hours, crying and wanting to nurse to comfort herself. poor little bean :( it's making for a sad little baby at times, not to mention a sad zombie-like mama too! so today i'm doing my best to not lose my mind, or at least not lose it again (there may have already been one minor breakdown earlier), and just enjoy this time best i can. i'll nap when she naps (even if it means just closing my eyes for 10 mins here and there), i'll snuggle my sweet cuddly girl, and i'll try not to stress about the 30 other things that need to get done. the dishes, the post office, the laundry, they'll all be there tomorrow too!

and let me just say that these really tough nights have been pleasantly balanced out with some really fun playtime in the afternoons. penny is starting to show us glimpses into her personality. she's testing out those vocal chords all the time. she'll "sing" quietly to herself in the backseat as we're driving along, and screech with excitement when we give her a new little toy to explore. we've discovered that her belly button seems to be ticklish, and that makes every diaper change into a little giggle session. the biggest news of all perhaps, is that we've reached one of those milestones that every parenting book talks about. i'll just let you see it for yourself HERE! as much as you we don't go by everything books say, it's still pretty darn exciting when these things happen.

so that's what this parenthood thing is all about i guess. the highs and the lows doing there best to balance each other out, and keep you from going crazy. oh yes, and i'm fully aware that this is only the beginning...

a blogger in the making!

penny made her very first vlog today (anyone else think that word is just silly?). she had been super chatty all day, and then naturally as soon as i try to get it on video she clams right up. what's up with that, girlfriend?!?! so here's a lil' bit-o-penny, the tiniest blogger in town! oh, and don't mind the disaster of a living room in the background. we found a leak in our kitchen and both rooms have been turned upside down because of it... but that's a whole other story!

family time

the other night penny and i met up with evan after he got off work, for a little pre-dinner, sweet treat date. i know just how lucky i am that i get to stay home with penny, and i often feel sad that evan has to miss a lot of her first's because he's at work. so long story short, penny and i decided a family date was needed! also, it was about 84 degrees on said day, and mama had a bit of a sore throat, so frozen sorbet goodness sounded perfect for lots of reasons! 

i know people always say that you have to plan time away from your baby to keep from going crazy, but really, when your baby is as sweet as this, why would i ever want to be away from her? i love our little family to bits, and i know eventually this may change, but for now i'm just happy as a clam when it's the 3 of us doing anything at all. penny, you make what was already a good thing pretty darn incredible!

teething...

it would appear as though the dreaded time has come... teething time! we've got all the tell tale signs going on here. drool, check! chomping everything in sight, check! disrupted naps, check! and more poops then you can shake a stick at... big check!

it started last week and i felt so bad for our poor little lady. she would only take a 30 minute nap, wake up super cranky, and then take another 30 minutes just to recover from it. so far today it's been a wee bit better. she at least took a 50 minute nap this morning, and woke up her normal smiley self. that's the little birdie i know and love! we're thinking about starting to do some sleep training to extend her naps and get her sleeping longer stretches at night, but mama needs to mentally prepare for that first. and as i've been a bit under the weather myself, that will just have to wait a few more days. we're using the methods described in this book, so if anyone out there has read it and done it, feel free to let me know how it worked out. the cry it out method just isn't for us, and this has a nice alternative. some friends of ours said it worked great for them and their little girl, so fingers crossed we get the same results! i'll be sure to let you know...

home goods...

lots of new goodies have been added to the ol' shop recently...

 you can check these, and others, out HERE!

oh, hello again!

eeeep... i've been such a bad blogger as of late! these past few weeks have been jam packed with activities and right now i'm going to attempt to catch you up on all of them! here goes nothing...

my birthday was at the end of march and we celebrated by taking penny out to bike night at pinky's.

 she stayed sound asleep even with all craziness of the bikes!

i went prepared with a bottle so that mama could enjoy a birthday beer!

after staying up to party for a bit, penny then zonked out on aunt steph's shoulder.

that following weekend i toted all of my goods to an etsy pop up shop event at west elm. this was so much fun and i'm hoping they do it again. there were about 10 or so other sellers, a dj, and smilebooth was even there. good times indeed! evan and penny came along with me to help out and enjoy the fun too...

 ...and penny might have stolen the show just a bit :)

she rather enjoyed our comfy set up!

and at the end of the day she got a little bunny for being such a good helper!

then april 4th was our 3 year wedding anniversary. crazy how fast these past few years have gone by. funny though, evan and i both forgot it was our anniversary till about noon that day. woops!

and of course there was just some general penny cuteness mixed in...

 new shades...

new hair pulling tricks...

sweet new denim cut offs...

new appreciation for her chilled teether...

and new love of standing up!

then to top off all of our activities, we drove down to atlanta to be with my family for easter... and it was chock full of good times!

 penny went with her cousins to see the easter bunny for her first time...

 with all the fam around mama was able to snag a few minutes of sunny quiet time. it was amazing!

my niece and i covered grandma & grandpa's driveway in chalk...

and our little bunny enjoyed her first easter...

last but not least, i'll end this uber update with a sweet lil' video of our gal getting her giggle on. all you have to do to get a chuckle out of this baby is say her favorite words, poopie, mama, dada, and gaga (short for grandma). oh and pardon the shaky camera work here. i have to hold it off to the side or she gets distracted by it and stops laughing. enjoy the chuckles...