Mirror Mirror

My daughter, Annaliese. Age: 5 months. Loves looking at herself in the mirror.

iLove. My. iPhone.

Many of you don't know me yet, even through my thoughts and words because I'm still very new to the blogger world. You may eventually gather that I'm a lover of my cell phone and one of those who can't live without it. Just to show you where I'm coming from, I'm currently lying in bed at 12:30am after getting up and feeding my daughter and not being able to fall right back to sleep and writing this on my birthday gift - my iPhone. (thanks, babe!) 


After having this thing in my hands lastly before falling asleep and firstly when I woke up, I began to reminisce about the days long gone when a phone was just a phone. I sat here and thought of all of the phones I have owned since day one of joining the wonderful cellular world about 11 years ago. I had 2 Samsungs, 2 LGs, a Nokia, a Motorola, 2 Palms, a Blackberry, 2 HTCs and now an Apple iPhone. And believe me folks, the train stops here. 


That is literally more than 1 new phone a year on average. How can that even happen when the standard contract is 2 years in term? Well I have paid early termination fees to leave a phone carrier and switch to another for a better plan and a new phone. I have also paid for phones outright just to upgrade early. 


Most of these phones were only phones but some were smartphones. The kind of electronic cellular device that serves as so much more than just a phone. In fact, unless you're a business man/woman or in another career where you require to be on your cell phone all day, it probably not likely that you use your smartphone much as a phone at all. Nowadays on almost any "non-basic phone" you can browse the Internet, listen to music, text, email, play games, take pictures, record movies, watch movies, blog, video chat, develop apps, make ringtones, browse the news, participate in one of the hundreds of social media sites...the list goes on and on. You can do just about anything but cook (but you can look up recipes and make a grocery list or even buy an appliance to cook with) on a smartphone nowadays and I love that. The geek in me is happy. And it only gets better! 


Everyday it's: Kid-check! Keys-check! Purse-check! iPhone-check! There's no way I could go anywhere without my phone! I may not even need to use it but it's almost like my security blanket. If I needed to make a call, I could. If I needed to look something up on the fly, I could. If I needed to capture a priceless moment on film, I could. My previous phone, HTC Evo, had the ability to do all of those things, but because there are so many smartphones to choose from, you're allowed to be picky, right? I personally like the UI (user interface) ...yes, I'm trying to sound intelligent... better on the iPhone. It seems much smoother. I also like the Apple apps better than the android market apps. I love the camera on this thing! It helps me take better pictures of my beautiful daughter when we're on the go.




 


And I'm becoming quite fond of my "pocket bff", Siri. All in all, I've waited a long time to get this phone and now that I finally have it, I'll never let it go! :) 


Come to think of it, how did we ever survive without smartphones? Ok, ok. That's a little far stretched but I believe that our technological generation from here on out is destined to be way more advanced than we are now. It's very exciting and a little fearful at the same time. I'm excited for the fact that I'm looking forward to the ambitious minds of geniuses being put into action and raise the bar every year to see what else they can make a phone or computer do. But it's also scary because of the bad guys out there who can use almost anything positive and turn it into a negative thing. For example: identity theft, corporate security breeches and stuff that you thought only belonged in movies of the far future. 


Anyway just be careful and mindful of what you do with your smartphone. They are VERY fun "phones" but could also be very dangerous if not used with caution. 


Do you have a smartphone addiction that you can't live without? Please let me know I'm not the only one :) What are your primary uses for it? 


So I believe I've said enough for this sleepless night with a side of rambling (and snoring thanks to my husband). Gotta go beat the next level of Angry Birds then catch some Zzzz.

5 Months Old and Spring Is Here!

The "million dollar smile"

Pretty blue-eyed angel

Anna on her first walk around the neighborhood

It has been wonderfully abnormally warm for March, but people (at least ones that I know) are welcoming spring with open arms!  Usually winters are long and cold and dreary, but we lucked out this year.  Had only 2-3 snowfalls and it didn't even get that cold for a Pennsylvania winter.  I'm okay with that!  I love the spring!  The sooner the better, if you ask me!

Annaliese is growing like a little spring weed!  She is full fledged teething, enjoying every vegetable on the shelves and if she smiled any bigger her little dimples would explode!  Although mommy and daddy are back to losing sleep again because the teething monster is quick to interrupt my sweet sleeping baby at night, but after a warm bottle with a little tylenol or ibuprofen, she usually falls back to sleep for a few more hours.  Speaking of losing sleep, we've lost an hour recently with Daylight Savings last weekend.  What perfect timing!  Oh and by the way, what they say is right!  Once your baby starts sleeping soundly through the night, that comes to a screeching hault and the teething monster appears out in plain sight!

Anna is also getting better at sitting up on her own and is still a pro at rolling over to her back.  She still looooves her Mickey Mouse Club show too!

Smiling Pretty

Sporting a polo shirt with jeans

Great Aunt Judy came to visit

LOVES her Sweet Peas

Engaging in a deep conversation with Papou when he came to visit with Nana

Napping with Daddy

Napping with Papou

Loving her Step n' Play Piano

Caught in the headlights

Thinking of a way to get that zebra in her mouth

Enjoying a "handy" snack at Gabriella's 1st Birthday Party

Nibbling on daddy's hand

Having fun with mommy

Looking at all of the kids at the birthday party

Having fun with daddy

Playing with daddy

Sitting pretty on daddy

Staring at mommy

Playing with mommy

My New Shadow

Tonight as I was giving Annaliese her nighttime bottle her room was lit softly with her butterfly night light.  I looked around at the light purple color that Justin and I had picked out and painted ourselves (with the help from Uncle Ashley and Aunt Jenn).  I saw the multiple purple butterfly decals on her walls, the personalized shelves (again courtesy of Aunt Jenn) and the maternity pictures that we had taken and were signed by our family and friends that attended both of our baby showers.  Then as I put the empty bottle down on the bookshelf and stood up with her in my arms to walk toward her crib,  on the wall in front of me I saw my new shadow.  A silhouette of a mother holding a sleeping babe lay in front of my very eyes.  I found myself lost in another moment where time stood still.  Since Anna came into my life I never really realized that even my shadow had changed.
As a kid it was always fun to play with our shadow.  Heck, even now I still play with my shadow and tease our cat with shadow puppets.  Even at age 28, my shadow still likes to play!  Stepping over cracks in the sidewalk.  Jumping in puddles!  Waving "hello"!

Just like my favorite stuffed animal (Yes mom and dad, I'm referring to "Re" the raccoon), my shadow has been with me since I was born.  She's been there with me through thick and thin from coast to coast and back again.  And all this time she has never seen herself as a mom, until tonight.  As you all know, you need some light for anything to have a shadow.  


I have found my permanent light along with my new permanent shadow.  

 My dad has always told me that nothing in life is permanent except change.  Well I believed that until today.  I will always be a mommy.  And that will never change.

Linking up with Alison and Galit for Memories Captured. 

**My first time "linking up" and I don't think I fully understood the concept of the Memories Captured post. However now that I do comprende, I'll do it right next month!  But for now...I hope you enjoy my post!

Saving Daylight. Losing Sleep.

March 10, 2012- Officially Daylight Savings. The day that everyone but you Arizonians complain about losing a hour of sleep...except those already losing sleep. But look on the bright side! At least we get an extra hour of daylight, the sun is still awake at 7pm and spring is getting closer and closer! YAY! So it's not that bad! ...Unless you forgot to spring your clock an hour ahead and showed up for work late. Ooops! But it's happened to all of us at one point, right? Right??? 


 I can't even remember the last time I set my alarm. It never fails that I'm up at 3am, 5am or 7am with my daughter and never really need a clock to wake me up. Just a hungry baby and a hot cup of coffee usually does the trick. Of course kids have no sense of time, especially babies. So their sleeping schedule is pretty whacked out when Daylight Savings starts and ends and of course that affects sleepy mom and dad. We all eventually get used to the time change...about a month before we're supposed to change it again! But there are worse things to complain about. Sleep is only sleep... Most adults are good with 5-6 hours of sleep and can function regularly at their 9 to 5 job. I'm not saying that's healthy and that you should purposely deprive yourself of the sweet Zzzz's, but at least you know your brain and body will indeed work with SOME sleep. 


Thankfully my teething 5 month old usually sleeps through the night and has for awhile now. However as of last week teething is in full force and it was like we had a brand newborn baby again. Waking during the night, crying all the time and always seemingly hungry (but not really because she just wants something to soothe her gums, but pacifiers are out of the question since she won't take them). 


I never knew what sleep deprivation was until I had my daughter. You try to prepare yourself by just knowing that sleepless nights are in your future, but there is no preparing. You're never fully prepared for what's to come being first time parents. But aside from that, try making good decisions for yourself and your child's well being when you haven't slept in days. It's tough! 


I had that feeling again this morning. Like I was hungover and still half drunk from a fun night of drinking and dancing although in reality, I was in bed asleep by 10:30 and little Annaliese slept through the night from 10pm - 6am. That's 8 wonderful hours!!! What is wrong with me!? I got to sleep consistently for what is a really long time with a baby and I'm still tired! Ugh! Will I ever catch up on sleep before we even think about bringing Anna a brother or sister into this world and have the "no sleep cycle" start all over again? I suppose it doesn't really matter. As an adult there will always be a yearn for more sleep. More vacations. More relax time. Someday we'll get that time and it will fly by and we'll want more. 


Life lesson learned: Sit back, sleep when you're able to, and enjoy your life as it flies before your very eyes. 


How does Daylight Savings time affect your daily life? How much sleep do you get on an average night?

Annaliese and Her "One Man Band"

We received a very awesome toy/walker for a baby shower gift in September (what seems like yesterday).  Anna is finally big enough to be able to use it and I must say that I believe she enjoys it!  Take a look for yourself.

A Big Thank You

Every couple knows that it takes a lot of work to make things work.  And by that I mean there are sacrifices, compromises and lots of "meet in the middles" that you need to experience with your significant other in order to make your relationship work.  I'm not here to give you relationship advice because every relationship is different and I don't have the right or the Doctorate Degree to tell you anything but I do want to take this time to show some appreciation for my husband, Justin.

Thank You for everything you do everyday for our family.  

Thank you for going to work in a very difficult position Monday - Friday and sometimes even on weekends. 

Thank you for going to the store to get me soup when I'm not feeling well and coming back with a "get well soon" card because you know I love cards.  

Thank you for doing the dishes when I cook.  

Thank you for cooking.  

Thank you for helping with the laundry and cleaning.  

Thank you for feeding and bathing our daughter.  

Thank you for taking care of the yard work in the warmer months.
Thank you for taking out the trash.  

Thank you for grocery shopping and picking new recipes to try.  

Thank you for taking care of the budget so we can buy a home someday.  Thank you for starting a blog just so we can do something else together.  Thank you for your support when I'm having a doubtful day.  

Thank you for always believing in me.  

Thank you for always telling me I'm beautiful.  

Thank you for being the greatest husband I could ever have imagined.  

Thank you for being an exceptional father to our daughter and showing her how much you love and care for her everyday.  

And thank you for always telling me how much you appreciate me as well.

It really does take both parties in a relationship to give it their all.  It's hard enough to live life and spend needed time together with all of the busy daily activities, especially with a little one, and plans with friends and family, the sudden hardships that comes along, the big celebrations...  It all seems so chaotic at times, but I love our life together and I love our relationship.  He is my best friend.  Yes we have our differences, as everyone does; but because we communicate about everything, it really does make it easier to a degree.  We don't have to guess how the other is feeling.  We don't have to assume.  Our relationship is not a mystery from each other and I wouldn't have it any other way.  

Oh and Thank you, Justin, for being you.  I love you.

Picture taken on our honeymoon in Jamaica 2010. Edited by me.

END mushy stuff... 

Late Night Rambles

So, it's 2:17am according to my iPod which I'm currently using to write at the moment (nice app!) and my little almost 5 month old teether decided to wake up from her evening sleep at 12:30am.  So now I'm left with a rambling mind and a baby who won't sleep.  Might as well make the time useful and write.  Right? I've been wondering what to write about in this blog.  Wondering if the world really wants to hear what I have to say.  Then I started thinking that I want the world to hear what I have to say, so I better get to it!  Of course, I'm not going to go all out right now and blog my heart out at 2:30 in the morning.  I'd really rather be sleeping right now.  But definitely more to come soon!  I've always found myself interesting, as my friends and family have, so I'd like to invite you to take a look at the world through my eyes; my words.  That's mainly my goal.  That and to get a better grasp on blogging as a whole.  I want to reach out to people and attend conferences and make friends in the blogging world.  That I'm excited for!  I'll share my pictures, stories, poems, opinions and not worry about people pleasing.  I may not use perfect grammar or spelling (but thanks to spell check, those errors should be few and far between).  I'm very imperfect and I like it that way. 


Anyway, thanks for listening to my late night ramble of the evening.  Maybe if this starts a trend, I'll start a segment every night I'm awake and can't sleep.  I'm hoping it doesn't because again I'd rather sleep.  But while I'm awake and nothing to do, I'll share with you my thoughts, even if they are just rambles.  The more I write, the more I'll write.  Right?  G'night!

March Photo A Day

As you all know, a new month of March has begun!  That is unless you're still in hibernation from February.  I love March because it's the month that Spring begins and more importantly one more month until my birthday. Ha! Lately on Facebook and Twitter I am seeing more and more people participate in the Photo A Day Challenge by #FatMumSlim, even some celebrities.  It's fun and I enjoy it!  I began the Photo A Day Challenge in February on my other blog (http://fotofriendlyfamily.blogspot.com) but quickly realized that doing one post a day for a picture was not only time consuming in addition to trying to blog, but it also made the posts hard to find.  I blogged about half of February and just posted the rest on twitter.  I have decided to pretty much not be original and copy my buddy Lyndsey's way of doing things and will split the pictures up in halves by month.  So as I'm taking daily pictures and doing this challenge, stay tuned around the middle and end of the month to see what I have captured.  I would also suggest taking part in the challenge if you have a camera because it is a lot of fun! 


Do you like to explore the photographer in you?  What do you like to take pictures of?  Would you join me and millions of others and participate in the Photo A Day Challenge?




TTFN-Ta Ta For Now!