9 weeks

sofia's 2 month dr's appointment was today. i can tell she's doing great, but it's always reassuring to talk with the doctor, just to be sure. before we went in, i guessed she was 12 lbs. i was just about right!

here are her stats:
weight: 12 lbs 3 oz / 80th percentile
length: 23 in / 75th percentile
head: 40 cm / 80th percentile

she is tracking just about where bez was tracking at 2 mos. apparently, we make big babies. i was reading back through old blogs and can't believe it was only 3 weeks ago where she was at her peak fussiness. it's hard to believe that this chubby-cheeked, smiling, laughing baby was a fussy newborn just a few weeks ago. she's changing so fast! it's so different having an almost-six year old - the changes happen so much slower, but are so much more significant (he can read! tie his shoes! do the monkey bars! swing by himself!). sofia changes are less significant (she can lift her head! she grabs my hair!), but come so much more frequently.

one of the things the dr and i discussed was sleeping. sofia has been sleeping with us (don't judge!), but i'm feeling like it's probably time to start transitioning into her crib. it's so hard because i LOVE sleeping with my babies - i find it so comforting to have them right there instead of across the room or in a different room. that being said, we transitioned bez to his crib when he was about 6 months (i think?) and it was pretty hard. when we had her we agreed to do it sooner. the dr. also advised that babies who are in their own bed tend to sleep for longer periods at night. so here we go! tonight i am going to attempt to put her in the crib next to our bed - wish me luck!

in addition to her stats, sofia also got four shots. bez was so nervous for her - "mom, i wish that shots were bad for you, like ice cream". he has decided to invent vaccines that can be taken by mouth and taste like "juice and candy and other stuff" so babies don't have to get them. he's a good big brother.

last weekend we went up to my mom's house on whidbey island. bez loves to be there and it was nice to get a little mom time. being on whidbey on a sunny day reminds me of why i live here. it's so beautiful. being with my mom reminds me how much we do every day between working and the kids and the house. when she's there, i feel like i'm able to take a deep breath and just really and deeply enjoy it all. thanks mom.

chocolate cupcake yummm...

bez's birthday is coming up soon. he wants chocolate cupcakes with strawberry frosting. so i'm practicing. because there have been birthdays where i haven't practiced and it's been gross.

i love making cakes and cupcakes for birthdays, but every time i try to make chocolate cupcakes, they turn out too dry, too moist, too flaky, or something else. they never turn out right. also, making chocolate cupcakes from scratch is a pain in the toosh. it takes forever and it's sooo messy.

well, i'm so happy to report, i've found the perfect recipe. it's fast, it's easy, and it's yummy. my foodie friends will find this lazy. i'm going to put it out there - it's from a box. well, a couple of boxes. but, it's too good to share. the other thing? you don't have to tell people it's from a box. unless you write a blog entry about it.

i adapted the recipe from this one. you'll see the similarity.

makes 24 chocolate cupcakes

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 3-4 oz box instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs

preheat the oven to 350 (ish). if your oven was made in 1962 (like mine), put the dial somewhere between the actual line for 350 and the line you drew on the stove where you thinkg 350 actually registers. then continuously monitor the thermometer inside your oven until it's 350.

throw all the ingredients into a big bowl. mix them until it's not too lumpy.

scoop about 1/4 cup (slightly less) of batter into cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.

bake for 20-25 mins, until you press on the top and it bounces back all spongy-like.

wait for them to cool completely, then spread buttercream frosting on them. try not to eat two. especially if you're breasfeeding and trying not to eat chocolate. just try it, i dare you.

yummmm.....

quick yum

section of toasted baguette
chaivre (spreadable goat cheese)
roasted tomatoes
peppered turkey
salad greens

strawberry and blueberry salad

yummm......

things i know...

today we watched cbs sunday morning and they were featuring a story about merle haggard. originally from ok, his family moved to ca during the great depression and he grew up in a converted train car right next to the tracks. on the show, he played a song he had been writing about what happy memories he has of that time and it got me thinking...

As parents, we spend so much time focused on things we think really matter (no tv until he's 5! her nursery isn't the right shade of retro-mod pink! my diaper bag doesn't match the car seat!)- i've been guilty of all of these. Here is what i've learned about what's really important:

don't worry about your child being some perfect expression of who you are. let them be themselves. let them dress in silly clothes. let them get their best clothes messy. they don't need a faux-hawk. by the way, they are going to ruin those shoes within a month.

teach then to respect others. don't let them stomp, or whine in restaurants, or chew with their mouth open, or forget to say please and thank you. when they are riding their bike, tell them to get out of the way of other. make them take turns on the swings.

kiss them more than they want, hug them more than they need. snuggle them when they sleep. Sleep in their room sometimes so you're there when they wake up.

do things for them you wouldn't do on principle before you had kids (buy that toy at walmart, go bowling, go to Disneyland). You will appreciate the look on their face more than your own stick-to-ittiveness.

make friends with people who have kids. you'll be lonely if you don't. you'll see less of your friends without kids and it'll be hard. put yourself out there. it's weird and you won't have anything to talk about besides poop, but you'll be glad.

talk about poop. it changes all the time and your pediatrician won't always be available to discuss.

read to them every night. let everyone who is in the house at bed time read to them if your child asks. let them make friends with your grown up friends.

feed them what you are eating. don't feed them dessert until they have eaten a good dinner. don't make special food for them. feed them veggies from the beginning like it's no big deal, make them eat veggies with every meal.

sometimes mcdonald's is the cheapest, easiest option for lunch. it'll make your kids happy. don't beat yourself up about it, just get the apples instead of fries and enjoy the fact that you don't have to stress about what to feed them.

make them play outside at least once a day - it'll force them to be creative. they will say they are bored. make them go back outside. don't tell them what to do.

don't worry about it being perfect. do the best you can. if you mess it up, it's not going to scar them for life. just don't do it again.

breastfeed your baby if you can for as long as you can (or until it starts to feel creepy). your big kid will be so much healthier as a result. and yeah, it hurts really bad for 2 weeks, but then it gets better.

love love love them. don't worry about spoiling them with attention, the more attention you give them without them having to ask, the less they will ask for it.

off to go enjoy this morning!

zuniparty

let me say first - the zunigas are not good at parties. our strengths do not lie in planning, cleaning, or entertaining. we always second guess ourselves (did we plan it on the right day? did we buy enough food? what do people like to drink?) so, going into hosting our "meet the baby" party, we were prepared for disaster.

july 2nd (party prep day) came along and there was cooking, beer-buying, sangria making, and cleaning taking place - all while holding a squirming, fussy 7 week old who seemed to be extra grumpy (or were we just extra busy?). our lovely friends invited bez to spend the night at their house, so we could prep, which made the prep so much easier.

the menu:

pasta salad (homemade)

fancy sausages (trader joes!)

chips (potato and tortilla)

guacamole and salsa (homemade)

berry salad (nature made)

yellow cake cupcakes with strawberry frosting (awesome easy recipe)

artichoke dip (homemade)

on july 3rd (a weird day for a party - i said we were bad planners) - the day was here. we told our friends to show up anytime between 1pm and 6pm. not sure what to expect (will people come all at once? will everyone come late? will everyone flake? will everything be ready on time?) what a surprise that none of that mattered. people came in shifts, so we could catch up with old friends (tony's roommate from 10 years ago!), new friends and enjoy the food and people at our house. there were lots of arms for baby-holding and lots of babies! there were breaks for nursing (a total of 4 breastfeeding babies), pregnant friends and slip and sliding in true seattle fashion. 60 degrees? no problem, just sit in the sun until you stop shivering. the older babies held hands and played on the floor, while the big kids played soccer in the backyard.

at the end of the day, we realized what a nice, interesting, and friendly group of people we know. we realized that there are people we are so glad to know well, people we want to reconnect with, and new people we want to get to know better. we realized that maybe we aren't so bad at this afterall.

fuss budget

holy cow weeks 4-5 has hit us like a ton of bricks! sofia had a few rough nights in a row this week. according to our doctor, fussiness peaks around week 5 or 6, so we probably only have another week or so of fussiness increasing, and then it will hopefully wind down.

bez had his last t-ball game last weekend and we got to have a pizza party with the team - while i don't know if he has a future as a major-league player, this is the first time he's really enjoyed an organized sport. he'll start soccer in the fall and hopefully it will be as much of a success!

this week is my first full week home with both kids and the last week i have "off-off" before i start working from home. i read an article recently about how to balance feeling like a good mom and working. the pieces of advice i really took to heart are:

schedule time to work everyday - tell your older children so they know when they need to occupy themselves. make a routine for the kids while you prepare to work so they know what is happening.

write a list of things you want to accomplish during the summer with the kids - try to get them all checked off before the end of the summer. here is the start of my list:

1. bike riding at the park
2. walk at greenlake
3. beach
4. zoo
5. jetty island
6. grandma's house on whidbey island
7. fish ladder
8. edmonds saturday market
9. swimming at the ymca

i'm so excited to spend the summer home with the kids, but also a little nervous about how it is all going to work! the last 5 weeks have passed soooo fast - i can't believe i'm going to be handing sofia off to another person in 7 more weeks. my friend natalie (who has a little girl about 2 months older than sofia) and i are planning to do a nanny-share and we meet with the program director tomorrow.

one fun thing - my mom came over last for the day and we had so much fun! we tried a new restaurant in edmonds, five. had a deeelicious pear and gorgonzola pizza and a yummy salad with miso vinaigrette. then we walked on the edmonds waterfront and saw a blue heron's nest and two big babies. we topped off our walk with ice cream. it's not often i get to spend time with my mom with work and everything else, so it was great to spend time with her.

this time home has been so nice. i've loved the extra time to get stuff done that when i'm working always seems to get backburnered. i'm loving cooking yummy, healthy meals, seeing friends and of course, naptime with sofia. this week, bez starts swimming lessons and i'm looking forward to the ymca's monday and friday mom/baby yoga class. the ymca by our house has a great indoor play area for bigger kids (like the mcdonald's playhouse tubes), so bez can spend time playing there while sofia and i do yoga.

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Planning

planning, planning, planning... it's summer in seattle, which means we have to cram in events and parties in between t-ball, bday parties, shows, baby showers, weddings, bbqs and etc. in the weekends we have left before it starts raining again (did it ever stop raining?).

this year it's tony's 20th high school reunion in las vegas at the end of september. we are trying to cram a vacation to the california coast during the same week without breaking the bank. it will also be my first month back at work, so it will take some creative planning in order to make it work. right now we are trying to decide between san diego (sd zoo, beaches, etc) and the orange county beaches (our favorite book store in laguna, disneyland, etc) for a three day jaunt before heading back to las vegas for the rest of the week. tony's high school band, isolation, has been asked to perform at one of the reunion events. i'm so excited to hear him play with his hs friends cj and joe!

since this is our second baby, we decided not to have a baby shower, but decided instead to lift the idea of having a "meet the baby" party from one of my favorite blogs. once again, because it is seattle and summer, we have baby showers, bbqs, vacations, etc to plan around. looking at the calendar, july 3rd is the only free weekend we had to plan the party. it's a weird date to have a party, but the weather should be nice, so we compromise. i love making cupcakes and i am excited to make super-girly cupcakes, chocolate with strawberry buttercream frosting (also lifted from helen jane's blog). we'll also have sangria for the grownups and i'm going to cheat and use the super-easy and super-yummy red sangria mix from dish d'lish. it's also going to be the weekend after i turn 30 (ack!) so we will be "celebrating" that as well.

bez is turning six this year and we've decided to celebrate his birthday by hosting a party at stone gardens in ballard. we can't think of anything better than allowing 5 six yr old boys and 1 five year old girl to climb to their hearts content! it's always weird to plan birthdays for bez, because the weather can never be counted on and it seems like everything books up in seattle a long time out. we originally wanted to have his party at this great park near our house, but the park is reserved for every weekend from june 1 - september 30! oh the joys of living in a big city with only 3 months of predictable weather per year. the good thing is that it forced us to think outside of the box and he is really excited about having his party at stone gardens!

amongst all of this planning, and baby-having, i managed to squeeze in a mom-baby yoga class yesterday. it was so nice to do yoga for the first time in 6-7 months, but it made me wish i had kept up yoga through my pregnancy. i was surprised by how much my body had forgotten! hopefully it won't be a long road back to where i was before i got pregnant.

sofia continues to be a sweet, easy and sleepy baby and we relish the moments when her eyes are open. i'm looking forward to having both my babies home this summer!