Rice Cereal

Oh the anticipation of getting to feed your baby from a spoon is so exciting…for a new parent. I think once you have a baby you realize that the spoon feeing is actually just kinda of annoying…and makes daily living a tad bit more difficult! haha Do I sound like a grump? haha I don’t mean too! But bottle feeding or just breast feeding is easy…never have to pack anything more than bottles, formula or cover-ups. But NOW once the food is introduced…bibs, spoons, bowls, water, cereal, baby food, etc. ALL added into that tiny diaper bag for daily trips! Its annoying BUT at the same time I’ll admit it IS still kinda exciting!

Ella will be 5 months this coming weekend so I knew it was about that time to start introducing MORE than just breast milk into this girls diet.  Since being off work I haven’t really been pumping milk…its been nice. No stress…just nurse when she needs it and that’s that. I have some still stored up from when I was working and pumping like a crazy lady to store up for our weekend in Vegas. So I’ve been stress free! On the other hand…I have been kinda TRAPPED as well…never getting away for longer than 2 hours…gotta be back in time to feed Ella. So its mixed emotions BUT overall…no pumping is stress free for me! SOOO the idea of having to pump to mix rice cereal started giving me anxiety. Until a friend of mine said “why not just use formula to mix the rice cereal?”….((lightblubcomeson)) DUH. So that’s what we did…and lets just say…she didn’t exactly like it!

She was looking at me like “MOM WTF is this crap?!?!” Poor thing…then she gagged (typical). The consistency was basically liquid….not thick at all! SO I just figured…we have ANOTHER picky child on our hands! Surprise Surprise.

So I put this pic on fb…and got some great responses from friends…

People told me to use water to mix it, use breast milk (which I wasn’t hoping I wouldn’t have to do…because I don’t think I produce enough milk to feed her AND mix cereal!) or switch to Oatmeal.

So I gave it another go today…while Daddy was out…Owen was eating lunch…so there are no “real pictures”…all one-handed iphone pics.

I mixed rice cereal with water…made it VERY watery again…she was unsure at first…but man she LOVED it! She was actually kinda yelling at me to shovel it in faster than I was. (the iphotography was getting in her way! haha) Notice we skipped the high chair, skipped the bib and even had to get another spoon out half way through b/c she refused to let go of the first one! haha She had me cracking up! Little chunkster loved it! Man she was a mess…and I forgot how STICKY cereal was! Oh man!

So now…my crazy brain…did she not like it the first day because it was something new OR does she not like formula?? Ohhhhhhh crap. My thoughts were that I’d breastfeed for about 6 months…and when she started daycare I’d be sending formula for her…so I wouldn’t have to pump and worry about Martha having to warm breastmilk up and blah blah blah.

 

PS. I wrote this and forgot to publish it…but good things have happened since. Nana gave Ella a formula bottle while I was at a friends baby shower…annnnddd…she took it…and LOVED it! So the stress is gone! Thank god!

Ella’s First Beach Trip!

Beach + Little Baby = Nightmare! …Or so we thought!

Owen’s first trip to the beach (back in the summer of 2009)…

…was a disaster.  So much stuff, was actually hot outside, Owen HATED the bright sun, very worried Mommy about sun exposure, etc!
You know..picture it…first time parents…bringing the WHOLE damn house to the beach. We had the stroller, car seat, baby tent, towels, ice chest, umbrella, chairs, bags, etc. It was nuts. But hell…we didn’t know what it took so we just brought IT ALL! Well that experience scared my husband because when I even MENTIONED bringing Ella to the beach he said NO. Yes the thought of a baby, sand, and all the crap that you have to lug didn’t sound appealing BUT we have a 4 year old that LOVES the beach. So 3 weeks into summer break the hubs gave in…and we headed to the beach with baby in tow!

Since Ella didn’t like the sun, sand, wind, etc in Laughlin I figured this beach trip was going to be miserable and quick. BUT…surprise surprise…little miss diva actually seemed to LIKE the beach. She was talking, giggling, napping and just hanging out being a good girl the whole time!! Very enjoyable trip for EVERYONE!

Owen has gotten so brave…running out to the water and pretending to touch the freezing water. He even asked Daddy to bury him…eck.

It was cold in the shade…so I was so glad I brought warm clothes for Ella..she was able to snuggle in and take a great nap with the sound of the crashing waves in the background…real life “white noise” for her! Owen played and played…daddy rinsed him off in the freezing water after being buried, so he laid in the sun for a few minutes to try and warm up…he’s not laying in the sun for a tan…just in case you thought I was crazy! lol

My favorite picture of the day…

Ella napping while Owen built sand castles…talk about a PERFECT day!

 

Another first for Ella….first of MANY!! We love the beach and now that we know its totally doable with a baby we’ll def be down there more often this summer!!

Father’s Day

Trying to get a good picture of these three is like trying to get a rock to bleed…man its tough. So instead of trying to pick ONE good one for the blog…I’ll just post a few of what I was having to deal with! Ella laughing at Owen because Daddy is tickling Owen to get him to smile right…little ones NOT looking at the camera…OHHH well. They are cute no matter what! haha

Fathers day was a long day for the Souza’s. We left the river around 9am while Daddy was still “feeling it” from the night before (the daddies always get to go out and have fun at night while the mommies are in the hotel rooms with sleeping babies!).  

My parents were heading to Vegas for a mini vacation the next day so we stopped by there to hang out for a bit.  While at the river Owen was very content to have his lifejacket on the whole time. All the other kids were pretty confident in their swimming skills, and Ryland was in the middle of swim lessons and was instructed to NOT allow him to wear any floatation devices. Basically all the other kids were swimming…and Owen wasn’t. Well we got to Nana and Grandad’s house and that all changed…he was a swimming daredevil. It was crazy!

A little video of Owen in action

 

Ella watched from the sidelines…but daddy insisted he get her in the water. She lasted a whole 2 minutes (or less). She wasn’t a fan.

It was a challenge for Daddy to hold Ella and keep an eye on Owen…who was jumping off the steps trying to drown himself! lol

But we had some pizza for dinner…relaxed for a bit and headed home. Totally a low-key Father’s Day.

My dad HAD to have been in a good mood…he even let me take a “selfie” of us (don’t mind Ella’s face…haha). He HATES pictures…but seemed to be ok with me taking one on the day! I truly love my father…look up to him in more ways than I could count BUT also get frustrated with him in more ways than I can count too! haha 
He IS the strongest person I know…with Mom being the 2nd strongest person!! He has had to watch so much heartache in his life…from childhood into his adult life. Death, Sickness and tragedy. And he is ALWAYS the rock…sometimes a bit TOO much of a rock, often overlooking his own feelings to “help” the feelings of his girls (mom and I). He pretends to not have feelings…and he has always said it was because if a cop had feelings it would get himself killed…soft cops get hurt!! He cherishes his career in law enforcement and is VERY close to living his dream life in retirement with Mom. He isn’t the huggy lovey type…but that’s ok…he loves us and I absolutely melt when I see him with my kids.

A few days later we headed to see Papa.  We spent the day there…swam, played, ate and again just relaxed enjoying being together!

Why I didn’t get pictures of Yosh and his dad…I don’t know. But Al, my father-in-law, is so special to me. He has ALWAYS treated me like a daughter. I know he HAS a daughter (Hi Missy!) but has always made me feel a part of the family! He always sends cards or whatever the occasion and is So thoughtful and genuine! Missy and the fam life far away in New York…and Al misses them SO SO SO much! They come visit 1-2 times a year and every time they are here Al always tries talking them into staying to live again! Maybe someday! Al is probably THE most inspirational person to Yosh…he looks up to him, strives to be like him and wants nothing more than to make his dad proud! He’s a great role model in all aspects of his life! I love that Yosh idolizes his dad…just like how Owen idolizes his daddy!