happy mothers day!

this is my new favorite picture. she wore this pretty fishy dress for mothers day, given to her by grandma just for the occasion. i was hoping to snap some great pictures of her in this dress for my birth announcements....so, just pretend that you didn't already see it here!! :) i couldn't NOT upload this to my blog!!! i was so proud of taking this one! :)

for mothers day, justin made me some window boxes for my porch. he even planted a variety of pretty flowers in it, which i will have to photograph when they all bloom. :)

*sigh* i am so in love with this child!! LOOK at that face! :)

why is it that....

whenever people see justin holding the baby, they smile and say (in a ridiculous voice) "awwww.....what a good daddy!" it's almost as though they don't expect him to even be HOLDING her....i mean....does holding the baby make him a good daddy? i find it bizzare.

why is it that certain family members of ours ooh and aah over the baby....how beautiful she is....how quiet she is....what a "good baby" she is....and then tell us that we "did a good job". hate to burst your bubble....but we have NOTHING to do with any of that. and why is it that we define good little girls as beautiful and quiet....still?

while we're on things that drive me crazy...here's one more, and then i'll stop, i promise. i cannot tell you how many people have told me that i need to "break her in" and let her "cry it out" in her crib when she begins to cry. she is a NEWBORN, people! my ONLY job in this universe is to make her feel secure, loved, warm, clean, and fed. she doesn't understand what "crying it out" is....she only knows that mommy or daddy isn't coming to rescue her. she isn't crying without reason...we just have to figure out what she needs, and love her up! you cannot SPOIL a baby with too much LOVE. i'm sorry, but it just isn't possible.

alright. now that that is off my chest---don't send me hate comments! i recognize that there are many different ways of parenting, but some of it needs to be common sense!

alright---with that in mind, i am off to celebrate my first mother's day. who knows what today could bring--hopefully a little sunshine!
have a fabulous weekend!

my two favorite things....

i know, i know....2 posts in one night?? but they were so different i couldn't combine them.

so, here are (so far) my two favorite things that avonlea does....

1. while she is eating, if my cell phone rings or if i check my voicemail on speakerphone, she furroughs her little brow, squints her eyes and with boob still in mouth, "tells me off". she grumbles and grunts with her mouth full. it sounds like "MMM!!! mrrrphh!!!". she does it until i get off the phone. it makes me laugh every time. she also does this if it takes me a long time to "rescue" her from her naps when she wakes up. it's freaking hysterical.


2. when we are in bed for our bedtime feeding, justin will come in and put his face right next to my breast while she is eating. then he says "daddy's gonna get your snack!" and pretends to suck on the side of my boob. avonlea's eyes get all wide, and she splays her hands and begins to suck furiously just so daddy can't get her snack. it's so adorable that i just want to eat her up!!

that is all. :)

let's do the time warp again....

I know it's been awhile since you have seen an actual TEXT posting, but that is because taking care of a newborn is ridiculously busy. i know....how can it be THAT busy?? but seriously....it is! sometimes i look up and it's dinner time suddenly- where did the whole day go?? being a new mother is like being in a time warp!

the past few weeks have been full of wonderful visitors bearing gifts, food (cupcakes-YUM! ;) ) and advice. with the help of some friends to watch avonlea, i got to get my hair done- which i needed sooo badly! i have made a few trips to various stores, mainly target or the grocery store, and one trip to the mall. (where i was mauled by old people and their "coochey coochey coos")

so...let's get to the nitty gritty. here are some random facts about being a new mom....

1. i used to kinda, sorta (sorry!) make fun of my friend amy (in my head) for telling me that she was soooo busy with her newborn that she couldn't shower. i remember thinking "WHAT?? put the baby DOWN, let her CRY, and BATHE forchristssake!". However.....it just isn't that simple. what has suprised me the most about being a mom is how that cry affects you.
there is a terrible, gut-wrenching, soul-eating effect on you when your baby is screaming her head off. (and especially when she gets so upset that her cry becomes almost inaudible from all of the gasping/choking---ugh! i can't even THINK about it without my stomach turning!). i can ignore every other child on the planet, but MY GOD, i can't just let her cry like that! it feels like my heart is ripping out! and i'm a PICU nurse! i deal with screaming children all the time! (ie: when they aren't intubated or sedated) it is just so different! i was shocked at how she affected me so viscerally.
so, i'm sorry i didn't understand, amy. we can be stinky together. :)

2. breastfeeding is HARD! babies REALLY should come out of the womb with this prior knowledge. can't they take a class or something?? it's insane! i spend most of the day battling with her over my nipples! it's ridiculous!

3. so far, it has been IMPOSSIBLE for me to get ready, get baby ready and get out of the house in under 2 hours time. i was impressed with that day it took two hours though! i was awesome and very proud of myself!

i'm sure i will think of more....but it's already time for another feeding! where did the past 3 hours goooo???

love it!

i love this pic:)

road trip!!

the moisao sisters take avonlea on her first road trip to NH- huge success!! she loved stopping for lunch in VT. :)

belly time

she's starving. not a good time to take pictures. :(

one month old!

Avonlea is one month old, and this is about as photogenic as she could get that night!! check her out sporting her cloth diapers that she now fits into!! yaaaay!

blue eyes...

delish!!

Fun times

Cailin and i spent an afternoon together so that Amy and Greg could go close on their new house!! we had fun- she is so delicious i could eat her!!!

grandpa tells me a story...

i wear my sunglasss at night...

tiny nails...

swing time

since all she does these days is sleep (except when i need her to, of course), here are some sleeping pictures. :)

and she sleeps....