Thank you presidents!

February 21, 2014 (is time really going by this quickly?!?)

On Presidents' day I was greeted by a wonderful surprise when I came home from work: dinner and family! Grammie had come over earlier in the day to babysit for Gus and I (we even had a great bike ride together before I went into work), and Auntie Lyn came by a little later. Auntie had been cooking all weekend... for Gus and I. I almost cried when I saw it all when I came home from work that day! Gus and I had been feeling the strain lately (with our new schedules) and cooking has just taken a back seat to all of the other things we need to do. You can see Gus taking a snoozer in the background here (sleep is a commodity).

Lyn picked up on it, with her keen instincts, and made us trays of food to freeze and eat at will! I have literally been eating it all week! Gus and Grammie were able to make baby food for the week together too; so life just felt more simple this week for us. I say thank you to the presidents because baby Sierra was able to spend some QT with her family really. Grammie also babysat for us on Tuesday, and when I got home from work I could tell that Anne was able to tell the difference a few months make in Sierra's activity levels! GO GO GO!

Although I didn't get any pictures of Sierra and Grammie this week we did sneak a few at Crepeville a few weeks ago that I hadn't posted yet.

Life is changing ever day still. Our chickens have adjusted now to their flock of three, our bulbs are starting to push through the mulchy leaf layer from "winter," Sierra continues to stick everything in her mouth that she can get a hold of, and the dogs well they sure do love the family runs we take (I have now roped Gus into them 3 times a week).

 

I was able to see Lisa and Jill this weekend at a play group I hosted. Two other wonderful mom & baby duos came as well! We all had a great time. I had to keep our little one from grabbing other babies' faces; it's her way of saying she likes you (but it's not taken well by other babies). At the ends of our weeks we tend to spend our Sunday nights on the floor with Sierra; we all crawl around and play our fair share of peak-a-boo! She is a joy for us to be with... She actually stood up for a few seconds tonight unassisted; she just decided to let go of my shoulder and stood there before I reached my hand out for her.

I love this adventure called life and this amazing part we call parenthood is beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I find myself with deeper emotion and empathy for others than I have ever had before. When someone tells me about their children my ears perk up and I clue in. It's like the background noise of the day goes silent and I really stop to listen. Being Mom helps me understand a broader scope of our human, more appropriately, the animal life we are living.


The pride that I named this blog after, the one that cared how fast I finished all of my races and the one that cared who I was stronger than is slightly different now. It is the pride that I hold in myself as a mother, which is about being strong but in such a "bigger picture" sort of way. I still hold myself accountable to be healthy and strong, but my emphasis has shifted. I will always love to push myself physically, but now I see how much pride I have in this being we have created which is so much further beyond myself.

Won't you be my valentine(s)?!

February 14, 2014 (7 months and 2 days)

Baby girl turned 7 months this week, and what a great 7 months it has been. Although, full-time work and mommiehood sometimes leave me with my head spinning now; Sierra always finds ways to make me smile. Her personality is just shining through at this age. She is so funny, I think she knows peek-a-boo now. She buries her face in the blankets and then pops it up at us as we say peek-a-boo (mind you this was immediately after we did it to her, but none-the-less it was cute as hell). She won't stop trying to stand up either... whenever she finds a prop she pulls up on it.

She just wants to explore everything about her surroundings. My dad keeps saying, "The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree." With parents like Gus and I, I am truly not surprised either! She is learning how to get our attention, and feigning whining noises. Gus was putting her in the car seat the other day and she would pretend to whine until Gus looked at her, and then she would giggle at him. Here's the photo... HOLY CUTENESS!

Oh boy, does she loooove her Dah Dah. The way she looks at him, makes my heart melt. She open mouth smiles when he's in the room and follows him with her eyes where ever he goes. I am so lucky!

The blur of the week has been palpable to both Gus and I. My longing to have my prior home presence back is still felt on a daily basis. I do love my job though; it's just hard to be away on long days. Gus's new shift has left our sleep schedules out of whack as well. He needs to sleep in later since he gets in so late, so I *try* to take night duty and wake up duty, but I have also been trying to stay up just to see him when he gets home at night too. Needless to say we are both in another lack-of-sleep cycle currently.

So last weekend when the weather (precipitation) finally hit the area, we canceled our plans to meet my best friend Crystal and fiancee, Onkar, in the Tahoe region for a hike (40 degree downpour with baby... no thank you) and had a family weekend playing in the rain.  We took out the hiking pack and put Sierra in her raincoat (which actually was Auntie Lyn's when she was a baby) and played outside in the rain.

Here she is in her carseat when we were out running errands... someone likes the camera (she likes to chew on our phones actually).

Afterwards Gus and I made "little delicious sandwiches" (as he was calling them from earlier on that day) and played with Sierra continuously. We had so much fun creating these little melted masterpieces that Gus documented it. And so it was: the day I posted my first "food porn" picture:

"What did we get for Sierra for Valentine's Day?" I was asked by some of my athletes today... Well we gave her love and we gave her life, what more could a 7 month old ask for. As for Gus and me, well, we're just two old foogies now; just kidding, he gave me flowers, a card and chocolate and I gave him 3 very special beers (porters and a stout - they're chocolate enough for him)! Let us not forget OUR LOVE! I am so happy for the two very special valentines in my life <3

A dinner date with Auntie... AND Grammy too!

February 7, 2014 (approaching 7 months)

The week "started" out with our wonderful family helping Gus and I share a Valentine's Day gift. Auntie Lyn and Grammy Anne sitting for us while I brought Gus to dinner for our (as is Erin-style) early Valentine's gift. They had come over earlier in the day for lunch and catching up too. Apparently little Sierra took a nap for most of the evening, and woke up right before we got home. 

 The following day I met up with Auntie and Grammy, while Gus was working. Later in the morning we headed to the volleyball banquet in hopes that Sierra would hold up for the whole thing. She started crashing 30 minutes in and "Dah Dah" took Sierra for a car ride for the rest of the banquet (so she could nap). She used to hate the car seat SO much, and now she is quite fine (with short ones at least).

During the week Gus and I live in a bit of a blur... between work schedules, prepping Sierra's bag for day care, cleaning, cooking and the daily life tasks. I am consistently grumpy the night before my long days at work. I know that I will only have a short time in the morning and evening with her. When she falls asleep in my arms on those nights I hold her a bit longer before putting her into her bed. Even then, I can't help myself... I go in and peek on her snoozing.

 Gus has gotten to spend some extra bonding time with her on those days I am off to work early. He feeds her all of the new veggie fruit mixes we have been making in our WONDERFUL baby food maker that Grammy gave us last Christmas. Unfortunately, her switch over to "solids" has had some consequences to her booty. The poop sticks to her bum and has given her a bad case of diaper rash (the acidity is too harsh for her delicate skin). This reminds me of the Turbo Tax commercial; "Did you make a person last year that's really bad at eating?"

The mornings without Mommy have also been productive in terms of getting the led out... Gus and her have been practicing the guitar. Every time she sees her Dah Dah she smiles so big, and keeps her eyes locked on him. Gus always lets his goofy out for her. My new desktop image at work:

She is getting so big, so fast, and sometimes I just feel like I am missing out on these precious moments when I am at work.  I love her so very much and it is truly so difficult to be away. Like I keep saying, it doesn't get easier to say goodbye each day.