11 Months!

          June is eleven months old. This is the first month where I have felt more on the side of "she's been in our lives forever and ever" than the side of "how is she growing up so fast?!" She is growing up fast but as we're nearing a year, it feels like we're about to hit thirteen instead. June's...passion...shall we say, is becoming more and more evident by the spectacular fits she has been throwing. It's amazing to me that such a small human can have so much emotion inside of her.

         She has started to "kiss" us. It's a rare occurrence but every so often I can ask for a kiss and she'll come at me open mouth and smother me. This has caused the greatest joy in my heart. For a girl who is so anti-cuddling it means a lot to her highly affectionate mom that she's starting to love a little bit.

          Before I overload you on overly adorable pictures, let's take a look at our handy Baby Center chart.

11 months

Says "mama" or "dada" to the correct parent Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo Stands alone for a couple of seconds Cruises

Understands "no" and simple instructions Puts objects into a container

Says one word besides "mama" or "dada" Stoops from standing position

          June calls Thomas "Dada" and me...nothing. Unless she's mad and then she yells, "MAMA!" Which usually means she wants me. She's a huge fan of peek-a-boo. Stands for more than a couple of seconds and does nothing but cruises.

          She definitely understands "no," not that she likes it but she gets it for sure. She loves taking things out of a wipe container and them putting them all back in. 

          Junie says a lot of words: hey, hi, yeah, bub (Henry, our dog), Lisa (I'll explain that one in a minute), Pop (my dad), and baba (bottle). She can definitely stoop from standing and uses that to horde toys. 

          My mom runs a family daycare out of her house and that's where June goes while we're at work. My mom's name is Lisa. The other daycare kids call her Lisa. June now calls her grandma, Lisa. It's hilarious. I don't know how to correct her when she's around other kids that don't call her Grammy all day! I've thought of trying to figure out a cute nickname that goes with Lisa so that Junie can call her that but nothing is working. At least she even calls her something. I still don't get a name unless she's angry.

          June's favorite thing to do, beside stand and hold as many things in her arms as possible, is reading. Books are her activity of choice. I currently write for Parenting OC and just chronicled my love of books and the hope I have for June. I'd love if you'd pop over there, too. 

          And now, some pictures of my hilarious, sweet, smart and precious ELEVEN month old!

She loves books, I wasn't kidding!

We needed a break at the beach.

She LOVED crawling in the sand. This is a huge change from our last beach day!

Some wild hair and her constant companion, bunny.

Are you even kidding me with this face? I don't know how I got so lucky to be her momma.

Working Moms Working Out

Friends, I need to confess something. 

  

I love work. 

I am challenged every day and learn something new. The field I'm in is interesting and the company I work for is on the cutting edge of technology. The people I work with are smart, friendly and hardworking.

It is hard to leave Junie and to not spend every day with her but I think working is truly what is best for our entire family. I'm so satisfied coming home each night to her and Thomas knowing that I made a difference in our financial state and I'm showing June that being a smart woman and mom aren't mutually exclusive. 

My body, however, isn't so keen on this whole being awake and mentally active for 10+ hours plus sitting for 8+ hours. I'm trying to eat well while making this transition and attempting to drink more water. I feel like I need to try to exercise, though. My body is tense and my nerve pain is acting up. But guys, how do I fit in exercise when I'm already out of the house from 730am to 630pm? 

I get an hour for lunch but with how red and hot I get after working out, I hardly feel like that's enough time. 

What do you suggest? When do you fit in exercise? What are your favorite snacks to keep your energy up throughout the day? Any tips or hints?

Proof that my child is a genius. Reading "The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck" by Beatrix Potter, while standing. Also, not ripping said book.

 

Hashtag: Where's Mark to Clean My House?

Oh, friends, I've had a crazy week! I started my new job (amazing) and went to my baby sister's bachelorette party (double amazing). What I didn't do was clean...or cook...or even pick my house up in the least. 

I've never been a great cleaner. Actually, let me rephrase. I'm a good cleaner but I've never been a very tidy person. I'm a little cluttered and create piles throughout the house of things to "put away" that tend to just sit there. I'm good at vacuuming. I'm good at deep cleaning. I just can't deal with the clutter. 

Now that I'm working a full time job, I'm out of the house from 730am to 630pm. Not only do I come home later than I'm used to but I'm also just exhausted. ((To be honest, I'm less tired than I was staying home but it's a different type of tired.)) So here's where you come in - HELP! What do you do to keep your house clean? Do you save all of the cleaning until Saturday? Do you do a little every night? 

I have to say though, I have the best husband. Seriously. I came home Sunday afternoon to a clean house and a terribly happy baby. He is so good to us.

Here's a fun picture from the weekend:

My sister, Emily (in the hat) and her bridesmaid, Marie (with the cute foot pop) riding in our sweet Cadillac golf cart!

Nerves

Today was my last Saturday as a stay at home mom. I tried to soak it in and enjoy it but my nerves got the best of me. I'm excited, don't get me wrong but there's also a feeling of anxiety and nervousness. I can't exactly put my finger on it. It's not because of June going to daycare - she'll be with my mom all day long and she's going to love it and it will be like being home. I think the sense of anxiety is coming from a place of insecurity and self doubt. 

Am I good enough? 

Will I be able to handle a full time job and a baby and a husband and maintain my house? 

Will June think I'm abandoning her? 

What if it turns out that I'm actually really stupid and can't do anything right? 

What if I get lost on my first day and arrive really late? 

(just kidding, that one would never happen.)

Moms, how did you handle going back to work? Or in my case, going to work for the first time? Any tips, ideas, hints, positive vibes you can dole out? I'd love to hear about how you get out the door in the morning and manage to look presentable! 

And now, the highlight of my life:

Playing Dress Up

Being a stay at home means I get to wear sweats as long as I want on any given day. It also means that even if I put on real pants there are no guarantees that anyone will see my efforts. I love shopping but I often leave feeling silly for spending money on clothes that have no place in my real life. 

However, times are changing. I was just hired full time at an amazing company. I still can't believe that after nearly 10 months of being with my Junebug every single day that I will be away from her the majority of the week. It will be good for our entire family and I know she's going to love being with her friends all week. 

The office that I'll be working in is very casual and while I do have a few good staples in my wardrobe, I kind of panicked thinking what the heck do I wear? I have two pair of maternity jeans that fit okay and a pair of non-maternity jeans that give me severe muffin top. I have a few tops that will work but I'm quite lacking in the non-sweats department, to put it lightly. 

I somehow managed to drag Thomas to the Block to go shopping. I ended up with two colorful sweaters, two nice tops, a pair of white jeans and a pair of dark wash jeans. So now guys, what do I wear on Monday? Here are a few options: 

So friends, what do I wear? Brown top? Black and white stripes? Pink sweater? Orange sweater? Any of these can be paired with white jeans also. Comment and let me know what you think!