Garden Update

After being away from my beloved growing garden for 3 weeks it needed a little TLC. I will admit that Dane did a great job keeping it watered but things like the lettuce "bolting" need a little work. For those of you who are not sure what bolting is it is when lettuce is in too hot of an environment and the stalk gets really big and thick and the leaves remain small and not very crunchy. SO my lettuce needs to come out. The one thing that is really thriving in my garden is the eggplant. I have two of the actual eggplants and one more bloom that will so turn into another.

 All of my flower seeds have sprouted and are doing good. I am trying for the second year in a row to grow sweet peas (one of my favorite fragrant flowers). I will keep you posted on how well they do once I transplant them.

5 months

Alex Marie is 5 months old today!

She is getting better with hand-eye coordination like seeing something and grabbing for it... then putting it straight to her mouth! She is getting closer to sitting on her own but not quite there yet. She has rolled over from her side to her stomach on her own about a half a dozen times now. She is so observant... she must see well with those big brown eyes!

Losing the Baby Weight: Juicing

I haven't done a post about losing baby weight in awhile but now I am back home and back into my own routine of eating healthy and hopefully exercising.  We will see.

As most of you probably have noticed the whole juicing thing is really popular right now. I am not doing a juice cleanse of any sort and I dont think that is a good idea for any breastfeeding mother but it doesn't hurt to go to your local farmers market and stock up on fruits and veggies and bust out your handy dandy (Jack LaLanne) juicer. It is just another way to get some essentials into your diet.

Today's Juice:

1 whole peeled beet
4 large carrots
2 inches of ginger

(I love ginger, so you might want to use a little less if you dont like it spicy)

Clean, peel, juice, drink.

Since it was hot today I threw in a couple ice cubes and voila!

                                           Love my Ergo carrier. I can juice while Alex naps!

California Trip: Part II

What a whirl wind of family, food, shopping, and fun! These past three weeks have gone by in what seems like three days. Of course we missed Dane but it was so nice to be able to get out of the house and do things for myself- like take pilates and do a couple photoshoots- and have so much support with Alex. That is the hardest part about coming back to Hawaii but we are home and enjoying being together as a family again... Alex has already developed a bit of a heat rash and I am down to my bikini every day.

Our last day in California ended up being on Mother's Day so we just hung around my parents back yard because we knew a few people wanted to stop by and bid their farewells to Alex. My dad had the grill going all day long. Hot dogs, steak, veggies and all sorts of goodies for whomever stopped by.

Three generations of brown eyed girls. 

Having fun with everyone!

California Trip: Part 1

The plane ride from Oahu to California was a success! Alex was an amazing baby. She slept half of the flight and was just lounging taking in the new sights the rest. I did what everyone was suggesting, breastfeeding on the way up and the way down. I think it really helped because she did not cry at all on the flight.

Since we have arrived in California Alex has been meeting so many new and loving faces. On our first day here she had eight new visitors! I think she got a little overwhelmed and over stimulated because she was rather fussy towards the end of the day. Everyday since then she has been great. Alex is getting used to her new surroundings. She does Facetime with her Dad every day. She talks and laughs with him. I know she misses him.

She loves her Baba! (Don't mind my Mom's eye- she is still recovering from eye surgery.)

Infant Travel Essentials

Since Alex and I will be traveling for the first time together on Wednesday. Eeeek! So nervous! I thought it would be good to write a little about some essential items I picked up for our voyage...

1. Along with 2 packs of Wet Ones (I am going to look so crazy wiping the seat and just about everything down), I also wanted to have wipes safe for baby. BabyGanics hand wipes are what I found!

2. PaciGrip is a pacifier holder. So it snaps onto babies clothes and has a little tether to wrap around the pacifier. I also really like this one because you can use the tether to wrap around any toys or teethers that might fall on the ground.

3. I was a little worried about getting the car seat and stroller dirty and all banged up at the airport but I found these great travel bags. I also got something similar for my stroller but a lot of people prefer to stroll their baby onto the plane and then load the stroller at gate check.

4. Toys. Something to keep 'em occupied. Hopefully. A new favorite of ours is Sophie the Giraffe. This is great because it makes noise and is great for a teething baby.

5. My carrier. Ergo Baby, I think, makes the best carriers. This will be my life line.

6. For breast feeding moms, it is going to be essential to have some sort of cover. The probability that you will be annoying other passengers is pretty high, so might as well not make them uncomfortable too. I prefer Aden & Anais muslin swaddle blankets as my cover. They are big, breathable for baby, and easy to tie onto your bra strap.

4 months

Alex Marie is 4 months old today!

Alex is growing so fast. I know all parents say that, but geez! 

She is still drooling like crazy (picture above- drool chin). She is grabbing at everything lately, and of course it ends up in her mouth (picture below- even my camera strap while I am taking her picture). She found her toes. She has yet to try and eat them. I am not sure if she is just not flexible like her mom or if she just hasn't thought of putting them in her mouth yet.  No, she thought of it. Just hasn't happened yet. Soon.

She has begun to use her leg muscles as if to walk. She hold her legs straight and stands on them for a lot longer now which is exciting especially because it makes her laugh. Life is good.

Baby Beach Day

Alex had her first official baby beach day. She loved it! There was so much to see from the pounding waves to little chickens running free. Her Aunty Julie put her little toes in the water for the first time. She got really stiff from the chill of the water.

I, on the other hand, had a difficult time. Taking a baby to the beach is stressful! But those that know me understand how I stress about quite a lot of small things. I am an over thinker. Taking Alex to the beach I have all these things going through my head; is she over heating, is there sand somewhere it shouldn't be, is she getting sun burnt, is the sunscreen going to give her a rash, is it too bright for her, etc. Like always, I just needed my other half to remind me I was stressing about the small stuff and from there on I tried not to worry as much.

All in all, it was a great first experience and with summer around the corner there will be many more beach days to come!