6 Months!!!!!!

At 6 months Peanut:

~ weighs about 18 lbs

~ is about 28 inches long

~Is obsessed with rolling onto his tummy, but can't remember how to roll back

~Still hates falling asleep. But once he's actually asleep, it's usually for a long time. He's pretty grumpy right after he wakes up (like his momma)

~ Can sit up on his own (until something interesting comes along)

~ Favourite word is "bababababababab"

~ Has his 2 bottom teeth and is just cutting one on the top! 

~ Is a little unsure about eating "real food". He loved rice cereal, but now is pretty indifferent to it. Hates applesauce. Thinks avocado is alright. Mostly, he just likes to eat so he can blow raspberries with the food. Messy boy...

~ Still squeals like a madman. Mostly when extremely happy, or when extremely upset. 

~Has discovered he has ears, which means he spends a lot of time flapping them with his hand

~Puts absolutely everything he can get his hands on in his mouth

~Reaches for the person he wants to hold him (and makes my heart melt each time he does)

I seriously cannot believe that it's his half-birthday already. These past 6 months have sure been a huge learning curve, but every time I see his adorable little smile, or spend a minute cuddling, or watch him try something new, my heart bursts with love. I can't even imagine what our life was like before him. Can't wait to see what amazing thing he is onto next! 

xoxoxoxo

P.S. excuse the excessive picture post...we just got a new lens, and Hubby and I were trying it out, along with my new skills I learned from my photo course I took. Plus, the model is inspiring. 

One of those nights...

So, this is one of those nights where I was sitting down to finish off a post I will now be publishing later. Because I can't finish it. Because I have had a really hard night with Peanut. He's just crying and crying and then screaming and then crying some more. All because he is so overtired, but he just won't sleep. And we are so overtired too. I just don't know what to do anymore, and it's at times like this when I feel like the worst parent in the world. Nothing I can do seems to be working. And it's all well and good to have people give you all this wonderful advice, and for them to think you are probably doing something wrong, and if you just did this it would be fine, or this worked for me, or blah blah blah blah...but nothing actually works. If it was as simple as just following someone's advice, we would have done it like 18 times already. I know that this is just one night, and that it will pass, but right now in this moment, it feels so hopeless, and I feel like I am ruining my baby. If I let him cry, my heart breaks. If I try and comfort him, he screams more. And Hubby doesn't know what to do either. 
This is one of those times when being a parent is hard. Like, really hard. And I am out of strategies, and out of answers. 
And I wasn't going to write about this, but I wanted to be real. This is what parenting is really like sometimes. There are nights when you feel like a complete and utter failure. 

Tag, I'm It: Random facts about me

There has been a tag game floating around in blog-land. Courtney from She's Always Loved Larking was kind enough to tag me (thanks Courtney!), and I decided to play along. I don't normally do these sorta things, but this one seemed sort of fun, and I thought it would be a good way for you guys to find out some random stuff about me. Enjoy! 

1. What's your favorite zoo animal? The apes are my favourite. Especially the gorillas. I love watching them! So amazing and so human-like. 

One of Hubby's photos from the Orangutan rehabilitation centre we visited in Indonesia. They're so beautiful! 

2. Baby Sitter's Club or Sweet Valley Twins? I used to read both (well, Sweet Valley High...not sure about the twins thing...). If I was pressed to say which I liked better I suppose I would choose BabySitter's Club, simply because I think I read them longer. 
3. What's the worst gift you've ever been given? Hmmm...to be honest I don't really know. I guess it would probably be one of the ones I have gotten from those work Christmas exchanges. For some reason I always seem to get some sort of holiday candy dish.

4. Floral or polka dots? Polka dots, hands down. I wish I could pull off either of these without feeling like a little girl though. But I love the retro polka dot look. 

I wore polka dots once...but it was for Hallowe'en. 

5. What's your No. 1 guilty pleasure song? Oh man, questions like this reveal my lameness. I don't really listen to new pop music all that often. And any guilty pleasure song would need to be pop-y. Any suggestions?
6. Can you cook? I think so...I love to cook, and my husband is always very impressed. I don't know if I would win any awards, but I am pretty sure my cooking is at least tasty...
7. Have you ever done karaoke? Yes. And it's never good. 
8. What's one country you would like to visit? Just one?!? Yikes. I've always wanted to go to India. But there are like 25 countries on the list of "places I would like to travel next". 
9. Heels or flats? I love the look of heels, but I almost always choose flats. Sometimes I feel like I walk funny in heels, and it bugs me.

10. Do you have Bieber Fever? Nope. Not at all. I think I am a wee bit too old. But I am happy for his success, and definitely don't hate him. I suppose I am "Bieber Indifferent". 
11. Coke or Pepsi? Oh man, this is a loaded question. Growing up, my dad has worked for both companies for rather long periods of time, so the choice is always a political one. Haha. For the last few years, our choice is Pepsi. However, in Thailand, I would often dream about getting to the 7-11 to grab an ice-cold bottle of Coke. Really, they both have their places. But I must officially say that Pepsi, is by far, hands down, the most superior cola (for now)!  ;)

We were in the Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) airport in Vietnam and we paid $9 whole American dollars for these 3 cans of pop. But man did they taste goooooood...

The second part of the challenge is to name 11 random things about myself. So here ya go:
1. I can play the piano, and have since I was a little girl. I also used to play the clarinet in highschool. 

Hubby's photo, my hands :)

2. I like even numbers (and multiples of 5). So if we have event tickets, I always take the even numbered seat. 3.  I have the very strange ability to remember song lyrics to almost every song I hear. Sometimes I wish I could clear some of them out to make room for more important stuff. 4. I must have something sweet after eating lunch and dinner. A cookie, a piece of chocolate, anything that will leave a sweet taste in my mouth. 5. My first job was in a movie theatre. After that, I worked at Blockbuster Video. So I have seen a lot of movies. 6. I had an article published in a Thailand tourism magazine. 7. I have bungee jumped. I will never do it again. Ever. 8. I have been scuba diving with leopard sharks (not people-eating ones). I would do that again in a heartbeat.9. I am a big fan of Marilyn Monroe, and have a bit of a collection of books and photos of her.

10. I love crossword puzzles. 11. I had never seen the movie "Back to the Future until 2 weeks ago. Hubby forced me to watch it.

So, as with most of these things, I am supposed to come up with my own questions, and then tag 11 other people. However, I never pass on chain letters/emails/Facebook statuses. Sorry! I suck, I know. I take all the fun out of everything. Boo! Hiss! Feel free to tag yourself though, and get it rolling again! 

What I Wish I Could Tell the Pregnant Me

So, if there was a way for the Mommy-Me of the present to be able to go back and talk to Pregnant-Me of the past, I would have a few things to tell me. These are a couple of those things. 
You will not regret any decisions that you make. Holy cow, there are so many decisions you have to make as a parent, and they start right from the moment you see that plus sign. You are inundated with information and advice about all the things you should or shouldn't be doing and why. Making these big decisions is overwhelming, and you always feel like you are maybe making the wrong choice. Guess what? You aren't. It may seem like it's a life or death decision of whether or not to give your newborn a pacifier, or whether or not you have all the 'essentials' for when the baby arrives, etc., but it isn't. So pregnant-me: Decisions don't stop once the baby is born. In fact, there are even more to make now. But don't worry. Every choice you make is the right one for you and your family. Be confident in them, and don't stress about what other people think!

Poor, fat, naive preggo me. You don't know what's coming...

You will miss being pregnant. I had a relatively easy pregnancy. However, there were moments when I felt like utter crap. Actually, many moments. But still, looking back I only see the moments I loved, not the hard ones. It was a pretty awesome time, and I am excited to hopefully do it again one day. So pregnant-me: It may not seem like it when you are hunched over the toilet for the 20th time today, or you just can't get comfortable no matter which way you move, but you will miss this. All of it. So try and enjoy! 
The whole labour thing is NOT what the books say it will be. So, as the days of my pregnancy were winding down, of course my thoughts were consumed with labour. When would it start? How would it go? How would I know it was labour? Every little twinge started me thinking "Is this it? Is it a contraction? Should I start timing?" I was waiting patiently for all the steps of labour to play out nicely like the books said they would. They were waaaayyy wrong for me. I am sure it is because I was induced, but still. Man, there was no mistaking a contraction when they arrived. So pregnant-me: don't spend the last week stressing about whether it's a contraction or not. You will know. Oh trust me...you will know. And also, don't fret about your water breaking in public. It will break in the hospital bathroom, and you won't care one bit.
*alert! alert! The next point has to do with...boobies! Specifically my boobies. If you are a person of the male gender who knows me in real life and you don't want to read about my boobies, proceed with caution. Also, please don't construe my feelings on this matter as what I think is best for everyone. I have no desire to make any judgements on other parents for the way they feed their precious little babies. This is just my experience.*

Breastfeeding is easy...eventually. One of the hardest things about having a new baby was trying to breastfeed. Looking back I feel it was the biggest cause of stress for me of living with a newborn. From the get-go we had some issues because poor little Peanut's head was very sore from the failed vacuum attempts, so he would only latch on one side. Also, it took a long time for my milk to come in, and my large little dude was hungry. I was exhausted after the whole birthing ordeal, and had a newborn with me all alone in the hospital room in the middle of the night who was cluster-feeding; it was a nightmare. The nurses were so patient with me, and after trying so very hard, one of them finally said I had tried everything I could, and it would just take time. They offered to give him a supplement of formula, and I started crying because I felt like a failure. Wasn't this supposed to be easy?! It was obvious he was starving, and we just weren't there yet. After a couple weeks, he was feeding like a champ, and we didn't have to supplement. Once it was all sorted, and I finally got over the initial pain that comes with breastfeeding, I ended up getting thrush, and so feeding times once again became awful. I would cry with the anticipation of him latching on. It was so incredibly painful. I remember thinking to myself that I just had to make it to 6 months. That was my goal. 6 months and 1 day? Done. But, after the thrush cleared up, it's been smooth sailing ever since. We are coming up to 6 months, and I am in no hurry to stop. So pregnant-me: Hang in there. Once that baby is born, breastfeeding is going to be HARD. It may seem like the worst thing ever at the time, but it will become like second nature, and you will be so happy you stuck with it. 

Meet the January Sponsors!

I'd like to introduce you to some very awesome ladies: the January sponsors for Up Mommy Creek. One of the best things about blogging is all the wonderful bloggers you get to meet. These blogs are some of my favourites, and I'm really excited to share them with you! Hop on over and show them some love. I promise you won't be disappointed. :)

Blog - Etsy Shop - Facebook - Pinterest

Hi, my name is Lish and I am the creator behind my blog, Imprintalish. Imprintalish is my little spot to share tales of life with my 2.5 year old and 9 month old boys! Since the arrival of my youngest, my blog has grown from being a little corner just for my friends and family to so much more. It is my spot to promote my Etsy shop and share all my inspirations. Loaded with photography and pretty finds, I also share my love for anything crafty! The best part of my blog though, is meeting all of you! So come on over and don't be shy, say hello and join me in my quest for balance as a WAHM! 

Blog - Facebook - Twitter

Hi! I'm Lacey the blogger behind Little Miss Nerd Girl. When you have a moment, I'd love for you to hop on over to my blog and join me as I share my crazy tales as a stay-at-home mom (to three kids ages 5, 3½ and 2½), wife, full-time student and all around wannabe domestic goddess.

Blog - Twitter

Hey there! I am Lindsay from Two Men and a Mommy and am honored to have a spotlight on Amy's blog : ) My blog is full of a little bit of everything. I write about my son starting kindergarten, my husband traveling the world, building a new house, anxiety, and other random stuff. I have been a blogger for about five years but this blog is fairly new. I use to be a blog designer/blogger at Happy Housewife Designs but stopped to spend more time with the family. Now, I just do it for fun. When I am not blogging I love to shop online for new house stuff, running, scrapbooking, and watching way too much reality TV. I am way too addicted to The Bachelor but thats a whole other post! Please follow me on Twitter and stop to say "Hi" to me on my Blog! 

Blog

Hello! My name is Ashley and I blog over at Mommy...A Work In Progress. I married my high school sweetheart and almost five years later we have two little ones. On my blog you will find the serious, the silly, and everything in between. I even "attempt" to be crafty and share some of my favorite recipes too. Stop in and say hi. I love meeting new bloggers!

Blog - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest

Hi, I'm Taylor from Domestic8d. This is our story of a boy and a girl who fell in love, got married and had a good crazy idea to renovate their first home together with little to no experience. Follow along as we tackle life after “I do’s” one DIY project at a time.


Hopefully you can head on over and say hi to these lovely ladies. And while you're at it, head on over and check out the fabulous Smitten 4 Life, Sunny With a Chance of Sprinkles and the gorgeous jewelry of the {posh} daisy. Love 'em all! Thanks so much for all of your support, ladies! 

Those Small Things

I feel like it's the time of year that is leading to a very difficult time in the inspiration/motivation/productivity department. Let's call it the January Blahs. Well, I have them. Big time. Now that the holidays are over, and life has returned to "normal", we are back in our same old routine. So now it's the small things that happen that make the days stand out. 
The small joy of cozying up on the couch under a big blanket with a mug of cocoa and a good book.
The small joy of not getting out of pjs all day, just because you can. 
The small joy of baby giggles for no reason. 
The small joy of cuddles with Hubby after the little one finally goes to sleep. 
The small joy of waking up every day to see this adorable face

Sometimes the small joys are the things that make life interesting, and it's important to remember to be thankful for them. So thank you! 

"30 Sucks" Birthday Party for Hubby

Way back in November, Hubby turned 30. I wanted to throw him a fabulous birthday party. I knew I wouldn't be able to make it a surprise, because it was going to be at our place. It's pretty much impossible to decorate and cook and bake without arousing SOME suspicion. 
I wanted to have a really fun theme, but couldn't come up with anything that I loved that didn't require a ton of work. After all, I had to pull this off while caring for a 3.5 month old, so I couldn't really put all the time I wanted into the preparation. I chose to use the "30 Sucks" theme I have seen floating around internetland and used that for the decorations. I made my own banner and centrepieces. 

For the centrepieces I used a piece of floral foam and pushed 30 suckers into it, then wrapped it in cardstock. I also hung up a few strings of lighted Chinese lanterns that we had from the wedding, but never ended up using. It gave the house a nice, soft, festive atmosphere.

The best part of any party, in my opinion, is the food. I needed food that would be easy to prepare and would feed a lot of people. I pulled out my favourite recipes and also browsed around to find some new recipes to try. I asked Hubby what sort of cake he would like, and he said he likes chocolate and peanut butter, so I decided to try chocolate peanut butter cupcakes I found on Pinterest. And OH MAN where they ever delicious. 

You may notice that one of the cupcakes is missing a peanut butter cup...*ahem* Chad...

My menu:

Mexican Layer Dip from The Pioneer Woman (this is my most favouritest dip)

Slow Cooker Meatballs in Peanut Chili Sauce from Crockpot365 (these are a new favourite. So delicious and easy!)

My mom's famous chicken wings

A tomato/feta dip

And of course, the most delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes from Glorious Eats

It was a ton of fun, and it was so nice to get together with our friends. It doesn't happen too much anymore, since Peanut has been added to the mix. 
Unfortunately, I barely took any pictures...and the ones I did take with my point and shoot weren't that great because of the awful lighting. I wish I would have taken a few of all of us together. Although, there were quite a few photos from that night floating around on Facebook, as one of Hubby's friends got him a life-sized standee of Justin Beiber as a joke. He even got someone to sign it "To Adam, Keep up with the music! Justin". What a hilarious gift! So there were many photos taken with the Beibs. 

It was also the end of Movember...icky moustaches were rampant.

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Handy Tip: How to Keep Your Duvet From Bunching Up

One thing I love is jumping into a nice comfy bed and crawling under a huge cozy duvet. Even better if the duvet cover is flannel. However, it only takes about 1 night before the duvet migrates through the cover and ends up in large bunches. Usually the duvet ends up on Hubby's side, and I end up with just a thin, measly cover to try and keep me warm. Less than ideal to say the least. 
And don't even get me started on trying to fix it. It's like some strange mix between a wrestling match and yoga. Holding one end up in the air while trying to somehow inch the cover back down. You get one corner in, only to have it back out again when you try to work on the next one. It's a nightmare. And definitely a 2 person job. 
I know there are clips you can purchase that supposedly solve the problem, but to be honest they looked like they wouldn't really help much at all. I had a feeling we would spend the money, install them, get our hopes up and then find out that they didn't work well and be stuck back in our original bunchiness, but this time even more frustrated since our hopes were dashed. 
So, when I was reading a forum I belong to and someone mentioned using ribbons, I was flabbergasted. Could the solution really be so easy?! And free?! Well, let me tell you that it is! 

You need:some old ribbon (the colour doesn't matter, as it will be hidden)A needle and some threadA lighter (if your ribbon will fray)
Start by cutting the ribbon into 2 lengths: 1 for the loops and one for the ties. The loops should be fairly small, to keep the duvet close to the corners. The ties should be long enough to tie a bow, or to double knot if you prefer. Once you cut your ribbon, be sure to hold the ends close to a flame so that they won't start to unravel when you wash them. 
Using your needle and thread, stitch the loops onto the corners of the duvet and the ties onto the inside corners of the duvet cover. You could also add ones in the middle, so that the sides don't sag if your duvet is thick and heavy.  (This is one project where it doesn't matter that my hand-sewing skills have not improved since Girl Guides. Phew!) 
And there you have it! Simple and free solution to an annoying problem! Thank you ladies of the internet!