sara without an h

worth a thousand words.

 

blog anniversary.

january 9th was my one year blogging anniversary. it's been a pretty incredible year as i've watched this blog grow from a handful of page views per day to hundreds. it's humbling, to say to the least, to know that people i've never met care about what i write. 279 posts into this journey, and i feel like i have learned so much. i've learned that real, true friends can be made online. i may never meet any of these people, but they have helped to shape who i am as a person and a mother. i've learned to take the bad with the good. with this wonderful community inevitably comes a few haters. speaking of which, i've learned that it's perfectly acceptable to block cruel comments. this is my space, and i have the right to censor it. i've learned that this community can also be a detrimental thing. there are thousands of other mothers to compare myself with and thousands of other babies to compare sylvie to. there are mothers who appear perfect, but we all know how easy it is to post only about the good times. there are mothers who have berated me for my decision to stop breast feeding my daughter, which was the best call for her. she is a happy, healthy, giggly, thriving 5 month old. i've learned to ignore (pardon my french here) the bitches. those girls who insist on being self-righteous and hurtful. you may have nursed your child into toddlerhood, but are you really setting a good example for little susie by cutting me down? i've learned that i LOVE blogging more than i thought i would. i've learned that writing everyday is good for me. it's fun, cathartic, and it gives my mind some exercise. i think writing, like anything else, takes practice. i've enjoyed having an audience of willing readers to practice in front of. i've learned that my readers are incredibly kind people. thank you for making 2010 such a fantastic year for me and this little blog. thank you for stopping by to read what i have to say. thank you for commenting and for offering support in those times that i needed it. thank you for being family, friends, and strangers. your overwhelming kindness inspires me to be a better blogger, friend, wife, and mother. 2010 was the year my life changed forever. i think 2011 has the potential to be even better. thank you. i think the best way to end this post is with the reason why i started this blog in the first place. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Tf1mVqKHk]

do you love me?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1-YEUG5ZoM]

sylvie sits!

sylvie can sit up unassisted for short spurts of time. just before i took the following video, she sat on our bed for almost a full minute! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15vCpNVI3Wc] this amazes me because just the day before she couldn't sit up for longer than a second or two at a time. it's incredible how fast she learns and adapts. we started spoon feeding her brown rice cereal just a few days ago, and she's already so much better at it. i must say, a face full of rice cereal makes for some awfully cute pictures. i can't believe my little bean will be 5 months old tomorrow, but more on that in my next post! here's a picture of day two of the red lips challenge. i wore them to go to goodwill, target, and barnes and noble. then i cooked some dinner. this is a small town and my bright lips got me quite a few strange looks. oh well. i love them and that's all that matters! i hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

laughter.

travis cracks sylvie up. he sang these two songs for 30 minutes tonight, just to hear her laugh. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt8uF-y1VIo] (by the way, these were some of her first laughs.)

smiles.

i had to post another video today because i finally caught some of her sweet smiles on camera. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KgvcRa1ACA] today has been a hectic one. we are in the process of switching out our bedroom so sylvie can have her own room. i know it's a little john and yoko to have a bed in the living room, but this is our best option at the moment. sylvie is going to bed earlier and earlier these days (her bedtime went from 11 to 9 in the span of a week), and neither travis nor i care to be confined to our bedroom at that hour. this way wiggle worm gets her own space and so do we. i think it'll work out well! right now she's asleep in her crib and we're working on getting our bed put back together. wish us luck!

in honor of sylvie ' s i-don ' t-wanna-eat-much fussiness:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClQepFF-Sr0&feature=player_embedded]

when sylvie met meme and pop-pop.

travis' grandparents stopped into town today as part of their annual cross-country RV tour. here is a video of pop-pop singing her a little song. never mind the shoddy camera work. travis momentarily forgot that turning the camera sideways doesn't translate well in video. oops! it is a sweet moment, nonetheless. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR882yPVQMg] and a picture with her great grandmother, meme: we're off shortly to a little cookout at a friend's house. go go gadget porta-baby!

the park and tummy time.

today we went on our first real family outing to the park. by real outing i mean that i had to change and breast-feed her in public for the first time. we had a great time lounging under the trees, reading aloud to each other, and just being there together. sylvie slept most of the time: look at those lips! after she woke up we got her changed. she peed all over herself. being the novice parent that i am, i forgot to pack a change of clothes. no matter. with her belly full, we laid her in the sun to dry out. our first public feeding: tummy time/tush drying time: shortly after tummy time it started to get a little warm for her. we packed everything up and headed home. she is still napping in her car seat. we started doing tummy time just a few days ago. this is a video of her first time. she picked up her head and turned it over no less than 3 times her very first go at it! it may be silly to get so excited about such a small thing, but i think it's pretty impressive. i can't believe that her original due date is still 6 days away. she's grown so much already. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyuhY6cZ0zk] the song in the video is "tick eats the olives" by devendra banhart.

THANK YOU.

this has NOTHING to do with anything baby related. i just wanted to personally thank the person who took the time to compile this video. THANK YOU. you've made this uncomfortably pregnant lady very happy. bless you. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXqY8EZ21-g&feature=player_embedded] nothing big to report today. i'm still experiencing a lot of low pelvic pain and pressure, some mild cramping, a bit of quality time with the toilet, LOTS of little kicks in the ribs, and head butts in the you-know-where. we're really getting to the end! i'm chomping at the bit to meet this baby girl.