6 months

This beautiful girl is 6 months old. Well, she has been for about a week but amidst the move, my computer crash, and having my Dad in town it has been rather hard to find time to sit think let alone sit down.

Alex Marie has two teeth on the bottom that have broken the surface. She bites. Hard. She is strong. And if you leave anything that looks interesting near her she dives for it and then sits herself right back up. She is sitting really well on her own but we still put her Boppy around her just in case. She loves the new house. She has a big carpeted living room that she just can't wait to crawl on! At her 6 month checkup she was "off the charts" in height. Big shock. She is growing like a weed! She has been eating avocado and peas and loves them both.

Update!

The Carlson Clan is moving! Yay! We move at the end of the month and if you can't tell how excited I am, I am ecstatic! I did a drive by of the house today... (dont mind the cleaning ladies car in front) but this is it! I am excited to have a little yard but bummed I can't really take my growing garden with me. But this place has a little one already build into the ground that will definitely be getting filled. It needs some work but it is so much more liveable than our current residence.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

I can't believe two years have gone by. Time, seriously, is so precious. Here are just a few of my favorites from that special day two years ago...

Thank you to all our friends and family for your support over the years. We love you.

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.)