April 28, 2011

What He Wore On Wednesday

Good morning, friends!
Yesterday was a weird day. It involved a couple of  frantic embarrassing calls to the pediatrician, weaning off the swaddle (like a champ!), adventures in infant probiotics.
And apparently a lot of orange.
I won't even tell you what happened to his first outfit of the day. Unless you're my mom, and then you already had to sit through that fun play-by-play. 
Thanks for the romper, Auntie Co!

Off to watch the Fulham game!
Last night Chris Harrison tweeted about the Fulham match... it was like a twitter representation of our marriage. Worlds collided.
Thanks for the cool soccer sneaks, Tia Milady!
Cruz is obsessed with this orange cup. Let's be honest, I am too.

xo

April 27, 2011

Haaaaave you met Emily?

Emily is a cool friend of mine from college. 
Emily and I met during our freshman year Honors English class.
This class was held on Thursdays from 7-10pm. 
Needless to say, we were a little punchy. 
Emily is fun fun fun, a great writer, and always ready for a Cotton Eye Joe line dancing.
She has a great blog (get ready for some hilarity) and today she let me be a guest blogger!

Check her out!

April 26, 2011

Do You Think Albertsons Reads My Blog?

Because we went yesterday and had a great time!
1. We ran over, which is totally fun. Without a baby, I would never run to the grocery store. That's weird, right? Somehow, with a baby, this makes total sense.
In our trusty BOB
2. They had organic baby food, so we tried a jar. Cruz loved it! Apparently the lovingly prepared homemade stuff is not what the cool kids are eating these days.
3. A young man let me go ahead of him in line at the deli because of the baby. First time ever!
4. As we were leaving, a cashier ran after us... to give us these!
Balloons!
Abby was really scared of them.
5. I got hungry on the way home and ate some ham right out of the package. 
Liz Lemon approved.
"You're the best! You're on top! Somebody bring me some ham!"
6. And how did I thank Albertsons for a great morning of shopping?
Well, when I got home, I put away the groceries, and realized that I had accidentally stolen a carton of eggs.
That's how.





April 25, 2011

A Very Cruz-Man Easter


Easter is one of my all-time favorite holidays. 
Wanna know why?
Because I'm a big nerd, that's why.
Growing up, Easter meant a lot of church.
Sunrise service.
Breakfast at church.
Hymn sing.
Regular service.
Etc.
And I LOVED it!

But it has been a lot of fun for our little family to start our own Easter traditions.
And this year they started very early in the morning as well.
That's Heather! My old Bible study/puppy playdate/running buddy.
Our church sponsored the first annual run4hope to benefit Bridges of Hope, 
an incredible ministry we're associated with in South Africa.
Tovi decided to run in the race!

I was impressed. Cruz... less so.


Good thing Tovi runs fast! As soon as he finished, we rushed home to change outfits

 and then raced to the Easter service at the Santa Barbara Courthouse.
Ok... so Cruz has trouble staying asleep in his own room, which at this point 
REVOLVES around sleeping, 
but outdoors with thousands of people singing? No prob. Perfect time for a nap.
Then we were off to a lovely Easter lunch with Gramby, Grandpa, Cruz's 
Tio and Tia visiting from Mozambique and his Prima Teka. 
Naps all around and then it was time for Easter baskets.
The basket itself was definitely the most fun part. 
Later, Tovi and I were talking about how Easter had so much more meaning for us as parents. 
The nature of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross... the overwhelming love the Father has for us... it all has new meaning.
 I am so thankful for that new perspective.
And thankful for these silly guys!
Happy Easter! He is Risen!

April 20, 2011

What He Wore On Wednesday

This week we had a harder time finding an outfit because this boy is GROWING.
I just went shopping to "get him a few things" in the 6-9 month area, but he really needs them now. Crazy pants.
Our dream has come true-- Abby and Cruz are friends!
Also, it is incredibly difficult to get a picture of both of them looking cute!
I've noticed that Cruz was more round-faced than usual today. Must be all those bananas he's eating now!
Sleeeeepy baby. Every night we read a chapter out of The Jesus Storybook Bible. Even if you don't have a child, you should get this book immediately. It is beautifully illustrated and profound in its theology. Also, I cry in almost every chapter. 

Love YOU!

April 18, 2011

My Life As Liz {Lemon}

So a big thing to do in your average mommy blog, is to do a post on the awesome craft projects you regularly make with your cute children. 
If you know me at all, you know that I am not crafty. At. All.
But I thought... what the heck! Might as well give this a try.

{Don't you wish sarcasm came in a font?}

1. Start with your latest issue of InStyle. Decide which face you would like to cut out. Heidi? Reese? Gwen? For our project today, Cruz and I settled on Tina.

2. Cut out face.

3. Grab an extra chopstick leftover from Chinese takeout that has been sitting in your junk drawer, perhaps for years. Tape the face to one end of the stick.

4. After you have finished eating frosting out of the tub with a spoon (you heard me, sister!), rinse it out and cut a hole in the bottom. 
That's a dealbreaker, ladies!

5. Delight your child and wow your friends! We will now spend hours and hours playing "Where's Tina?" with our 30-Rock-in-a-Box. 
Isn't that hilarious? Are you lizzing??

xo

April 17, 2011

Finding Love

I've been thinking about a lot of things lately.
Like the role of Planned Parenthood in our country.
How to curl my hair with a curling iron. 
Living without a microwave.
(That last one is a serious style-cramp on my Trader Joe's based lifestyle, by the way.)
And what the heck am I doing with this blog.

Because, as it turns out, people are reading it.
In the last five months, this blog has been read over 12,000 times.
Frankly, I am staggered by that number.
Humbled. Challenged. Overjoyed.
so... Thank you! From the deep, dark bottom of my heart, thank you.

Writing a blog is interesting in that it's happening in real time and space. It's interactive, but I don't always know who I am interacting with.
You might be my mom and Grandma, who are probably thinking, "more pictures please!"
You might be my dad and Grandpa thinking, "Did we forget to teach her about avoiding sentence fragments?" And also, "more pictures."
Maybe we went to high school together and you read this blog, marveling that someone our age would be choosing to have a baby rather than go to grad school.
Are you pregnant? A new mom? Maybe you read this and think, "I will never make that mistake! Thank goodness."
Maybe you are trying to get pregnant, or are single but longing for a family. You read this, and it might cut you to the core because I seem to have what you want. And even though it hurts, you keep reading.

But whatever has brought you here, I hope that just one time I have shared something that made you think,
You too? I thought I was the only one.
As I think about where this blog will go in the next few months, that is the thought that keeps propelling me forward.
You are not alone.
I am small, flawed, insecure, jealous, and sometimes I leave our dinner dishes in the sink for far too long. And I'll keep sharing those things because you keep telling me that it makes you say, "you too?"
Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing the story of Cruz's birth and of Finding Love. 
There are parts of this story that I am scared to share with you, but I will because I am certain that I am not the only one. 

(And did I mention, thank you? Thanks for letting me share my life and my heart with you. Let's be besties, mmmkay?)

April 13, 2011

What He Wore On Wednesday

I have been trying not to buy too many new clothes for myself these days.
Fortunately, I get to shop for this smiley guy!
Cruz started eating solids this week! 
Ok, looking at this picture is the first time I have ever thought he looked like me. 
He's not too sure about it, but at least his bibs are cute!
And back to looking like Tovi!
My little guy is wearing 9 month clothes now... sniff sniff...
Oh yeah... and sitting up!
Whew! It's been hard to keep up with this guy.

Ok, may I be real with you for just a sec?
Until last week, I worked fulltime. 
Everyday, I managed to get myself and Cruz ready for work by 7:30am.
Showered and everything, people! 
I realize now that it was simply by the {Grace Of God} who must give special blessings to working mamas.
Now that I am home all day, I can barely shower and have spent many a day in my yoga pants. Fashion faux pas!
Which is exactly why I am in none of these pictures. 
Happy Wednesday!

April 12, 2011

Hi, It's Me. Six-Month Old Cruz!

Holla-back, y'all. It's my half-birthday.
I have a very busy day, but I'm glad I can stop by to say hello. 
I usually start my mornings with a good round of jumping in my jumperoo.
Then I sit in my high chair while Mama eats breakfast. She reads me her devotional for the day and we get to talk.
Today I even tried eating cereal for the first time!
But it was pretty gross.
The world is {such} an interesting place. I investigate everything that comes across my path. Some of my favorite things are my toys, music, sweatshirt strings, my daddy's scratchy face, paper....
Everything is within my investigatory jurisdiction.

My new favorite is Abby. That's what I look like when I see her furry face!
But really, REALLY, nothing makes me happier than just playing with the people I love.
Until next time!

Hugs and drools,
Cruz-Man

April 6, 2011

What He Wore On Wednesday

You may or may not have noticed that we are going through way less outfits these days.
Wait, you don't keep track of that the way I do? Huh.
I have been mulling the problem of how to showcase a lot of great outfits when he's only wearing one a day.
And I have come up with a solution...
Costume changes!
I tried to get a lot of chubby leg shots today. I hope you appreciate, as I do, the chub that spills over the kneecaps. Delish.
Thank goodness for drool, because that allowed us to change into a new outfit. 
Okay, I know that I'm the Mama here, and I'm incredibly biased... but I think Cruz is justabout to crawl. Here he is, trying very very hard to get his toys that I have maddeningly put just out of his reach. Bwahaha.
Getting ready for bed...
We like to devour our literature before bedtime.
Bedtime for Bonzo!

April 5, 2011

In Which Everyone At Albertson's Has An Opinion

I may have mentioned this before, but I am terrible at small talk.
There's a reason I always choose the self-checkout lines at the grocery store.
A reason I was reminded of today.

Cruz is a total flirt, so wherever we go, we get a lot of attention.
Aka, I have to talk to a lot of strangers.
I had to go to Albertson's today, which is Crazytown around here. When I go to Albertson's, I like to use the self-checkout line to avoid the inevitable small talk.
But I had too many items to do my own bagging today.

While we stood in line, a lady of seeming Eastern European persuasion leaned into Cruz's carseat. He's a charmer, so he gave her a gummy grin and babbled at her.
She leaned in, and snatched his paci out of his mouth!
"There's no milk coming out of there!" she cried.
Um, no. That would be awkward.

Want to know what's more awkward?

We get up to the checker and he also peers into Cruz's carseat and comments on his paci.
"Oh, I like that!" he tells me.
Me too, I say. So easy for him to put it in himself, etc.
"Want to know why I like it?" he asked.
Probably not.
"Well, my nickname? In school? Was Froggie."
I'm not asking why.
"I'm actually developing a whole Froggie brand. With greeting cards. You know, like a frog in a tuxedo..."
And on and on.
He was so excited about the catchphrase "I'll love you frogever!" that he bagged every single one of my items in a separate bag.
Every. Single. One.
No, hairspray does not need it's own bag. I mean, seriously. 
So next time we will be back at our beloved self-checkout line.
Even if it takes frogever.

April 4, 2011

Getting Pretty Comfortable Up Here On This Bandwagon

Or...
Can I bore you death with a talk about cloth diapers?
Last weekend two of my closest girlfriends were spending the weekend with us. We sat around in the living room chatting one morning, and later that afternoon I realized, 
"I talked to them about cloth diapering for thirty minutes. Thirty minutes. Do they even want to stay friends??"
Suffice it to say that there is very little I don't l-o-v-e about cloth diapers.
Get out of town. The diapers match his room!

Here are some other things that I've gotten on the bandwagon with:

Greek yogurt. That stuff is awesome!

Sleep training.  After several {rough} nights, I realized that I have spent weeks making excuses for why Cruz is no longer sleeping through the night. 
Time to get it together, people.
Our method du jour is The Baby Whisperer. 
Cruz hasn't slept through the night using it yet, but I am feeling much more in control of the situation. 
And I get it. Sleeping through the night is not necessarily the goal.
The goal is happy, healthy baby and a semi-coherent mum.
Cruz is allegedly taking a nap in this very crib.

Katy Perry. Cruz is a huge fan, so I have become one too. Weird, huh?

Meal replacement bars. I mean seriously... who is eating three great meals a day these days? If I have a bar for breakfast or lunch, I notice that I snack way less. This is good, because who has time to snack? Also, we are going to Hawaii in a few weeks. Are we crazy? Am I expected to wear a swim suit six months after giving birth? Don't get me wrong-- I am quite excited to go. But it wouldn't hurt me to keep hoppin' on the meal replacement bar bandwagon. Here are my faves

Well, I think that's about it for today! Wanna see a cute face? I thought you'd never ask!


April 2, 2011

i wish you were napping

do you want to know how tired i am?
too tired for capitals, that's how
someone has taken my sunshiney babe and replaced him with a fussy, non-sleeping, non-eating monster.
we better get some teeth out of this sitch.

i put him back down to sleep
tiptoe back to our room
turn on the monitor...
he's already crying again

so tired i haven't even taken a picture of his delightful chub for days
and it is delightful

oh sorry
i meant to keep writing
but i for reals just fell asleep


this is an oldy but goody
maybe one that will inspire the teething monster to take a snooze
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