Vanilla Cupcakes

 My weekend baking project was vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I used Martha Stewart's recipe for both the cupcakes and frosting. The cupcakes turned out yummy... they tasted like sugar cookies.  Oh yeah, I also bought a new frosting tool and got to try it out!  It makes the cupcakes look so pretty ;0)

TV Baby

Jimmy had the TV on during story time... it seems that Amelia has an obsession with the TV.  Jimmy thinks it's cute, but I don't like it at all! 

Jimmy and Amelia both distracted by the TV.  Like father, like daughter.

 Amelia is more interested in what's on TV than the book.

At least she likes to watch football!



Daddy's Favorite Outfit

Amelia is wearing what we call the "Chi Chi" sleeper.  Chi Chi is the name we gave the white bear on the front.  It is Jimmy's favorite outfit and Amelia owns it in every size until she turns one.  Jimmy likes to pair it with a turquoise cloth diaper, which we call the Chi Chi diaper. 

Sometimes, Jimmy will do a load of laundry just so she can wear the Chi Chi sleeper.  Amelia ends up wearing the sleeper every other day!  Below is our Chi Chi montage...

 Amelia is very ticklish on the bottom of her feet.  It makes her giggle ;0)

Oh no!  Not a happy camper :(

She still looks cute...

Amelia is reading a hippo book with her hippo friends

 Chillin' with her bumble bee

 Amelia loves the mirror

Back to work!

Last week I officially went back to work and the transition back went surprisingly well.  I missed Amelia so much!  I kept looking at her picture and feeling guilty :(  However, I'll be working part-time, so will only be going into the office 2 days a week, so I feel it will be manageable. I also think having my brother, Steven, as our "nanny" will help me ease me into it.  Knowing Amelia is with family while I'm at work is a good feeling.

My first day back was crazy busy and I was immediately thrown right into all of the chaos.  I had always known that my job was fast paced and high stress, but after a 15 week break, the chaos was more apparent! 

I didn't take long for me to get back in the swing of things and it was surprisingly refreshing to not do anything baby related for a few hours.  As much as I love going to all the mommy group activities and being at home, it's nice to be back in a professional work environment. It kind of gives me a sense of self, independent of Amelia, which I think will be good for me.

I think absence makes the heart grow fonder because when I came back to work, they decided to give me a raise!  I was very flattered and happy!  They also told me that if I wanted to, I could come back full time whenever I wanted... I think they were just "dangling the carrot" in front of me and trying to get me back full-time. 

Because I'm still nursing, I have to pump 2-3 times while I'm at work, so that's been a huge adjustment.  NIH has special lactation rooms and pumps for employees, so it's convenient.  I'm so thankful that there is so much support for nursing mothers at NIH. 

I have to admit that I still feel weird when I see Amelia feeding from a bottle... I feel like she's cheating on me, ha ha ha!  But it's still reassuring to know that she can still get "mommy's milk" even though it's not coming directly from me.  I know she really misses me because when I get home from work, she'll nurse for a hour!

A day in the life...

Tummy time

Check out the drool on this girl!

"Elephante" in her new elephant shirt

Her new favorite toy is her hands

She could stare at them all day!

Amelia likes Mommy's hands too!

 

Amelia in a milk coma with cute pouty lips

Grandma's Recipe

For my weekend baking project, I wanted to make cookies again, so I asked Jimmy if he had some suggestions.  He mentioned that he had always loved his mom's chocolate oatmeal cookies, so I called up his mom and got the recipe.  It turns out that it's actually a family recipe and that Jimmy's mom got it from her mom (Jimmy's grandma).  Knowing that made it more exciting and special.  We're hoping when Amelia gets older that she will make them and enjoy eating them too.

They are what's called "no bake" cookies and they were easy to make.  The funny thing is that, my cookie project turned into Jimmy's project.  Jimmy was craving the cookies and wanted to get started, but I was nursing Amelia.  I told him start without me and I would help him after Amelia finished.  The recipe was so easy and quick, that Jimmy was finished, before Amelia was done nursing! 

They turned out great and so yummy... I ate so many!

 

Meet the "Manny"

I'm going back to work next week!  Thankfully, I'll only be working part-time, two days a week.  My brother, Steven, was nice enough to come stay with us in DC and be our nanny, or as he likes to call himself, the "Manny."  He's going to watch Amelia if I have to go into the office and help me out while I work from home.  He'll be with us for a few months, so we're excited!  After he leaves, Amelia will have to go to a daycare two days a week... so we hope he stays for a while ;0) 

Uncle Steve

Thankful

Amelia decided to take a 4 1/2 hour nap during her first Thanksgiving.  She slept through the whole thing!  We think she's going through a growth spurt.

Best Thanksgiving day memory:  Jimmy and Amelia dancing to Taylor Swift... so cute!  She was smiling and laughing and eventually fell asleep.

I made my mother-in-law's signature dish:

Nancy's World Famous Crowd Pleasing Broccoli Casserole (It's topped with Chez-its!)

We loved her pumpkin picture so much, we decided to try a Thanksgiving theme.

Big smile!

Lucy "Snout" wanted to participate in our photo shoot too, ha ha ha.

"Bad kitty!  Get out of my picture!"

"Stop smelling my head; that tickles!"

"Please don't stare at me."

Sleepy time

Amelia's favorite sleeping spot.  She falls asleep when ever I carry her around in the Ergo.

I love my baby ;0)

Heads up!

Amelia has never really liked tummy time.  However, in the last week, she has really started to hold her head up!  She can hang out on her tummy for a few minutes now before she freaks out.

Okay, I'm done!