Pants

I am going on day 3 of wearing PRE-pregnancy pants.  Different pants.  Not the same pants for three days.  And not stretchy pants!  This is really exciting to me, as I only have 2.5 LBS to go.  My body is different though.  My hips are w  i  d  e  r, my belly is softer, and my poor poor boobies are showing the effects of being tugged, pulled, filled, and emptied on a daily basis. I want to embrace my new curves and love this new body, but I still miss my old one. 

What I do love about my mama body is that it is keeping an adorable 7 month old baby girl alive.  It nourishes her day and night.  It soothes her teething pain, it fills her belly, it puts her to sleep, it gives her energy to learn new things.  Jade and I have been breastfeeding for 7 months and I am still pretty obsessed with it.  We nurse in the morning and then cuddle all night so that we can make up for the time lost while I am at work all day.  This is not how I thought things would be before she was born, but I wouldn't change a thing.  I used to think I wanted to nurse for just a year.  And now I often joke that Jade will nurse until it's time for college.  (seriously, JOKING.)  But truthfully, I think we will go until it no longer works for us.  I have no timeframe.  Being a new mom, I doubt every decision I have had to make so far.  However, I remind myself often to just do what works for our family.  We are happy and healthy.  I coulnd't ask for more.

When Jade is not nursing, she is enjoying all sorts of new flavors and textures.  Her favorite snack at the moment is a cool cucumber.  We have been exploring different foods.  In the event you wish to have her over for dinner, note that she does not like green beans.  Avocado, carrots, butternut squash, pumpkin, blueberries, mangos, peaches, prunes, and pears are what she prefers.  It has been so fun watching her learn to eat. 

Major milestones include TWO teeth, sitting up un-assisted, and a one-time army crawl into my lap.  I am excited for mobility, but happy for it to come slowly.  She needs to ease me into this baby-grows-up thing. 

 

 

xoxo,

 

the howells



Thank You

I am really good at buying adorable thank you cards.  I am also really good at writing them.  I am even good at putting names on them! I am terrible at sending them.  Do you know how many stacks of thank you cards that I have come across around the house- too many. 

 

Within 2 weeks of Jade's arrival, I had beautiful announcements created with a hand written note of our gratefulness for all the wonderful gifts we received.  Six months later, these notes still sit on our coffee table. 

 

Although this is not as personal as a hand written note, I wanted to say thank you so much for all the well wishes, congratulations, and generous gifts that you have given our family.  We are very grateful and appreciative of your kind words and thoughtfulness.  THANK YOU!

(stack of thank you cards collecting dust)

Love,

 

The Howells 

5 months

As we get close to jade's half birthday (wtf!?) I want to take a few minutes to enjoy month five. 

Five things about five months:

1.  She loves her puppy-brother.

2.  She rolls this way and that way, depending on where she wants to go. 

3.  She prefers to nap on a warm body. 

4.  She loves peek a boo and itsy bitsy spider. 

5.  She is obsessed with my water cup, straws, and beer bottles. 

Love,

The Howells 

jet-setter

In July, we went back to the east coast for the second time.  We celebrated family and friends, all while sweating our booties off.  It was hot and humid, oh and humid. Jade met a lot of family and friends, so it was a productive trip.  I took a million photos, so here are a few.

your friends,

the howells

Toys

I definitely have spent a stupid amount of money on bottles, pacifiers, and toys that rarely get touched. Or if they do, boredom kicks in 5 minutes later. Jade has not agreed to the bottle or pacifier, so we have accepted that and are moving on. So now I'm working on building my sippy- cup collection as if she will suddenly love to drink milk from anything other than my boobs. She's lucky I enjoy breastfeeding...

This kid already has more toys than minutes in her attention span and she can barely use her hands.  She is definitely becoming more coordinated and her concentration is intense. I love watching her figure things out. Watching her roll over, grab a toy, and put it in her mouth is more entertaining than anything on tv.  As I am mesmerized by her doing new things, here are some photos of her playing with her favorite things:

Wipes

Water Bottle

Tag. 

Oh and her favorite... Feet. 

Working Mom

I am officially back to work.  My leave went way too fast.  Being a working mama has me having mixed feelings.  I loved every minute of being home with Jade and I would love to be with her everyday.  Maternity leave should be a year is what I say!  Who is with me!?  However, it is not a year, so here.i.am.  I know that I want to work later, so I must sacrifice something now.  I selfeshly don't want to give up my momentum that I have going in my career.  I have worked too hard for my position and I intend to keep it. BUT, I do miss my baby girl.  AND, I feel guilty about not being at home with her.  On a good note, she is doing just fine.  I imagined lots of tears, both by me and her, when I returned to work.  This doesn't seem to be the case.  The transition has gone surprisingly smooth.  Since Jade doesn't take a bottle, we have moved onto learning to drink from a cup and the medicine dropper.  She also visits me once a day for a quick snuggle and nursing session.  I am extremely grateful to have a job that allows me to continue nursing my baby.  I also have wonderful support and help that make this all possible.  Oh, and can you believe that she is rolling over?  and found her feet!  and is super chatty and giggly!  It was only yesterday that she was a sleepy newborn.

Jade is almost 5 months (What!), but I wanted to post these amazing photos taken by Jen Seelye last month.

 

xoxo,

 

howells

Vegas with a baby

We are those parents. We brought our kid to Vegas. On the hottest day of the year. And...

I'd do it again!

It was fun and relaxing. Jade used her float for the first time and we wandered the mall a bunch. It was a nice change of atmosphere. 

P.S. you can't gamble or order a beer with a babe strapped to you. 

Xoxo,

Howells