Weighing In

As you may remember, Miss Elsa had her big half birthday last week. This week, she had two doctor's appointments.

The first appointment was a developmental check-up. Elsa spent part of her first week of life in the NICU due to a head trauma (Mama fell asleep while holding her, so the Little Miss bumped her head on the floor... oops!). So, to ensure that she is on-track developmentally, she will be having these check-ups periodically until she turns 3. Yesterday was her first of these appointments.

I'm happy to report that Elsa "passed the test" and is developing at a proper pace. Carl and I were also given some great advice and exercises to start practicing with Elsa to help keep her on-track. At the end of the appointment, the nurse took Elsa's measurements and we learned that she was 16 lbs 1.5 ounces and 26 1/4" long. These place her at the 50th percentile.

Today, we had Elsa's 6 month well baby appointment. Her pediatrician agreed that Elsa is doing fantastic with her development (woot woot!). They also took her measurements again. It's always fun to compare measurements from office to office because they inevitably are always different. Here is the break down from today's appointment:

Weight: 16 lbs 5 oz (52nd percentile) - woohoo!
Length: 27 inches (82nd percentile) - yeah... she most definitely did not grow that much overnight, lol!
Head: 44 centimeters (90th percentile) - the curse of the Claussen head...

Celebrating in style

Today is Miss Elsa's half birthday! We decided to celebrate the day in style with a fabulous, poofy, pink skirt (thanks for the awesome skirt, cousin Amanda!).

Elsa's 6 month appointment isn't taking place until Tuesday, so come back next week to see how much our baby girl has grown over the past two months.

It's a good day to turn 6 months!

It's not a party until a pink poodle is involved

Check me out, sitting pretty on the stairs

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!

My Dirty Little Secret

Okay, this likely isn't much of a secret for anyone who has ever lived with me or has visited my house... I really dislike cleaning.

I get no joy out of the task. It seems like you exert all of this energy and the house ends up looking just as dirty within the next 24 hours. So, I typically wait to do most of the cleaning until I know someone is coming over. And when doing so, I throw a bunch of items in the various closets of our house and make sure to close the door to our bedroom.

Because of this laziness, our bedroom gets neglected big time. I do vacuum in there (you kind of have to when you have a dark, long-haired dog!), and our clean clothing gets put away fairly promptly (I like the general public to believe I'm a tidy, put together mama), but it never feels fully clean or organized. And this makes it a less than relaxing environment for poor Carl who works extremely hard every single day and is not the person in the family who has cleaning issues.

So, two Friday's ago, I finally got motivated to clean our room. Well, specifically, I got motivated to clean my closet and dresser, the two biggest disaster zones in our room. I wish I would have taken some before pictures (not really because I would be ashamed for you to see the piles of maternity clothing that had been sitting in space saver bags waiting to be sealed, vacuumed and stored away for the past five months) but, alas, I did not; so you will have to use your imagination.

However, I was so proud of the job that I did, that I have taken some after pictures (see the end of the post). It's really quite silly, but over the weekend, I found myself standing in front of my closet staring in amazement at how beautiful it is. This project has really motivated me to improve my cleaning skills. If I can be this excited about my closet and dresser, think about how excited I could be about the entire house if it was organized and tidy.

Of course, I am typing this while sitting on my couch and staring at the stacks of junk on our family room coffee table... obviously I'm in need of a little more motivation! What type of cleaning schedule do you have for your house and how do you stay motivated to clean??

The Only Thing Better than Babies and Free Fro Yo...

Is babies and free frozen yogurt from Pinkberry!

Those who know me know that frozen yogurt is my favorite dessert food. However, after my recent sugar fast, I've found that "American" frozen yogurt can be a bit too sweet at times. Pinkberry, however, offers yogurt that leans more toward the "European" frozen yogurt that's tangy yet sweet—a great way to beat the Sacramento summer heat.

So, how did this Mama score free Pinkberry? I'm a member of Crowdtap, a website where consumers give their opinions on products and brands and sometimes have the chance to try out free merchandise. I was selected to host a Pinkberry Style Party, which equaled free frozen yogurt served in style.

Our Pinkberry creations waiting to be devoured

Yummy, Mommy, give me more!

Strawberries, raspberries, watermelon Pinkberry, oh my!

I had to dig in before my picture was taken. Oops!

Miss Elsa slept through the entire outing

Best 4th of July Ever

It's amazing how having a baby can make holidays more enjoyable!

Monday marked my 28th Independence Day and I have to say that hands down, it was the best one yet. We spent a good part of the day with some of Carl's family, hanging out by the pool and enjoying tasty food and great conversation. Then, we had a relaxing and quiet evening at home.

Several years ago, I would have thought this was the recipe for a snooze fest but now I know that alcohol and fireworks aren't needed for a good time. All you need is a baby, a dog and a good-humored husband!

And of course, a camera to capture some of the moments:

Wearing my patriotic onesie. Gotta sport the Red, White and Blue!

You've got to be joking, Mom. I'm not going in that GIGANTIC bathtub!

This is much more like it!

Lynn teaching Ethan how to get into trouble

Duck!

Getting a ride from Daddy