Tag Archives: first
1st Birthday Preparation
Maggie turns one year old in exactly one month. I just started preparing for her birthday party. I tried to reserve a pavilion at a Lake Balboa park, but found out everything is taken. Talking to a friend, I was informed that everyone starts planning birthday parties, much further in advance. I wanted to tell her I tried but I wanted to scout park locations and didn’t have time until this past weekend. Now that I say that out loud, it seems silly. At the same time, it is her first birthday and it is a big milestone. I don’t want to be momzilla, but I want her party to be memorable at least for us. Of course, it really is funny how blown out of proportion birthday parties have gotten.
Am I a bad mom because I’m not getting a bouncy house or a miniature horse for her to ride? Should I hire entertainment? I could get some musicians to sing kid songs, but will she care? I would get a costume character, but I’m sure a 6 foot clown, Elmo or any other character would scare the crap out of her.
I really just wanted to have an awesome day at the park with family, friends and everyone else that I have met in the past year. 
Kidding…kinda. Maggie has made a bunch of friends in our mommy & me class, at Stroller Strides and not to mention our friend’s babies. I wasn’t planning on being the social mommy/baby duo, but it has happened. Maggie and I have a social life, its not like my old social life, but maybe one day we’ll go clubbing together. I’m actually planning on it for her 21st birthday.
Have you been to any crazy birthday parties? I’d love to hear about them. You never know, the momzilla side of me, might like some of the ideas.
Father’s Day blog written by dad
When I thought of what my first Father’s Day would be like, I imagined it would be free of diapers, and babies, and bottles. I imagined it would involve golfing, and running around outside and being generally irresponsible – all the things I can’t really do anymore.
Then I thought of the story that would be told in Maggie’s book about me. In the page that said, my first father’s day my father took me… I imagined it would be blank or perhaps filled with sad faces.
For me this would not stand. Instead of making my first father’s day about me, I realized that it was her first father’s day too. So, I dedicated every possible minute to her.
We cuddled together in the morning and then played together until breakfast. I gladly fed her her bottle and we went out to breakfast. We took her to the farmer’s market where we picked out fresh vegetables and food for an intimate family bbq. We stopped at the petting zoo where Maggie saw her first goat (cool), held her first rabbit (cute) and pet her first pig’s snout (eww). I carried her in the Ergo carrier the mile plus back home and held her as she fell asleep.
On this day, I picked out all of her clothes (kind of) and changed all of her diapers (mostly) and it was splendid.
I grilled lunch for my family (the in-laws were in town en route to Vegas) and watched joyfully as Maggie laughed and smiled and played.
Soon after, my first father’s day with Maggie came to a close. With Grammy and Pops in town I had to relinquish cuddle duties to them. After all, it was Father’s Day for them as well.
For my Father’s Day present, they offered to watch Maggie while we went out. I think it was as much a present for them. She loves seeing them and they her. It’s really fun to watch, though it makes me wish we all lived closer.
With Maggie well tended to, Jenny took me out to Firenze Osteria for a little private celebration. It’s a restaurant whose executive chef is Fabio from Top Chef and we both had high expectations. It wasn’t as good as we expected it to be, but it was nice to celebrate together and it was a great ending to a truly special day.
As I think about the day and all the giggles and smiles and fun we had, I know that now, in Maggie’s book about me, the page about her first father’s day will say “Best. Day. Ever.” The real reason I know that? Because that’s what it says in my own book about me.
Jenny vs Sassy Part 2…
Okay, this is really AJ vs Sassy, but Jenny vs Sassy part 2 sounded better.
When AJ got home from work, he told me he had read my blog and was ready to try and open the Sassy teether/feeder. I gave it to him. First he tried to just open it with his hands, then he began to use his teeth to turn the handle while holding the buttons down and turning the cap. (I immediately told him to stop, I was 100% certain that he was going to break his teeth). Finally, he was able to “meathead” the teether/feeder open. He agreed with me that it was ridiculously hard to open, but in our case it was definitely screwed on too tight. He seems to think if we don’t screw the pieces together to tight, we should be able to use it.
I’m still skeptical, but I’ll try this. Obviously with adult supervision. She is my first child, so I’m sure by my fourth child I won’t care as much about choking hazards. I’d have to defer to my sis Lynn on this, all four of her kids seem normal. Of course, it depends on what your version of normal is. Kidding Lynn!
1st Mother’s Day
My first Mother’s Day came and went so quickly. Not to say it wasn’t amazing, because it was amazingly perfect. It was a simple day. AJ let me sleep in until 8AM (huge for me), Maggie and I cuddled on the couch watching TV (not common, we usually don’t have the TV on if she is in the room), and then we went on a picnic / hike to see the waterfall in Monrovia.
One of my favorite things to do is to get outside and hike. Usually its Runyan Canyon or Fryman Canyon, but this was a day for a new adventure….family adventure.
There’s not much to say…the pictures say it all.
Happy Cinco de Mayo
I’m sure every new mom wants to celebrate as many milestones as possible. So today, we have decided to celebrate Maggie’s 1st Cinco de Mayo. Of course, Maggie doesn’t have any Spanish blood, but I’m sure at some point, she’ll enjoy a good margarita. Hopefully the next time she really celebrates it, she’ll be 21.
Also, thank you to Maggie’s Frauntie Lisa in Guatemala for the adorably authentic outfit.
Let's take a shot!
First Flight
The dreaded 1st flight with baby has arrived. AJ & I are prepared. Let me rephrase. We are prepared to have angry passengers glare at us for 5 hours, possibly throwing things at us, as we fly from LA to NY.
We have argued about which bags to take and we have argued about what baby will need in flight. We have argued about which pacifiers she would need and which types of blankets. Now that the flight is over, I’m not sure why he argues with me. I’m always right, at least when it comes to the baby.
Once we arrive at the airport we are kind of calm. Actually I’m kind of calm, I kind of took Xanax. AJ is not so calm, but that’s his problem, I offered him a Xanax and he said no. Don’t worry, though, I checked with the doctor and he assured me it was A) ok to offer my prescribed drugs to my husband and B)perfectly safe to breastfeed while on Xanax.
Once we get to the gate, AJ leaves me to get a coffee. Fact is, AJ always falls asleep on planes while I sit there awake & panicking until we land. So this time, he’s drinking coffee. He assured me he would stay awake to help me with the baby on the flight.
While AJ gets coffee, Maggie decides to poop very loudly. Passengers around me are staring at me and I know what they are thinking. “Please don’t be sitting next to me.”
AJ gets back and I have to quickly run to change Maggie because the plane is about to board. Oh no I’m starting to stress.
We board early but it’s not early enough as we don’t quite have the time to get everything in order before other passengers start pressuring us to move faster. More stress.
6:30 departure time comes and goes and we still haven’t moved. More stress.
Baby starts to cry. Oh no. This is my nightmare!!!
I get up to walk with baby to calm her nerves and mine. And for the first time ever it worked. On my way back from the bathroom I see a Kardashian is on our flight. Once again, the world is right. Nothing bad can happen on our flight, there is a “celebrity” on our plane. Even better a reality celebrity that makes a lot of money for a lot of people. E! won’t let anything happen to our plane, unless it’s good for ratings.
When I get back to our seat, baby is calm but husband is asleep. Note to self: Lace AJ’s coffee with N0-Doz. It’s my only hope of keeping him awake on the plane.
I give baby a bottle as we take off and like everyone says, it works perfectly. She didn’t utter a peep and fell right to sleep on the makeshift bed I set up on my lap. I was uncomfortable all flight since I had to push on my tip toes in order to give her a flat bed to sleep on, but it was worth it. She slept until the last 45 minutes of the flight. We gave her another bottle as we landed and she didn’t fuss a bit.
It really wasn’t that difficult and my calves got a great workout. Now, if only I could have a Kardashian on all of my flights…
First Flight
The dreaded 1st flight with baby has arrived. AJ & I are prepared. Let me rephrase. We are prepared to have angry passengers glare at us for 5 hours, possibly throwing things at us, as we fly from LA to NY.
We have argued about which bags to take and we have argued about what baby will need in flight. We have argued about which pacifiers she would need and which types of blankets. Now that the flight is over, I’m not sure why he argues with me. I’m always right, at least when it comes to the baby.
Once we arrive at the airport we are kind of calm. Actually I’m kind of calm, I kind of took Xanax. AJ is not so calm, but that’s his problem, I offered him a Xanax and he said no. Don’t worry, though, I checked with the doctor and he assured me it was A) ok to offer my prescribed drugs to my husband and B)perfectly safe to breastfeed while on Xanax.
Once we get to the gate, AJ leaves me to get a coffee. Fact is, AJ always falls asleep on planes while I sit there awake & panicking until we land. So this time, he’s drinking coffee. He assured me he would stay awake to help me with the baby on the flight.
While AJ gets coffee, Maggie decides to poop very loudly. Passengers around me are staring at me and I know what they are thinking. “Please don’t be sitting next to me.”
AJ gets back and I have to quickly run to change Maggie because the plane is about to board. Oh no I’m starting to stress.
We board early but it’s not early enough as we don’t quite have the time to get everything in order before other passengers start pressuring us to move faster. More stress.
6:30 departure time comes and goes and we still haven’t moved. More stress.
Baby starts to cry. Oh no. This is my nightmare!!!
I get up to walk with baby to calm her nerves and mine. And for the first time ever it worked. On my way back from the bathroom I see a Kardashian is on our flight. Once again, the world is right. Nothing bad can happen on our flight, there is a “celebrity” on our plane. Even better a reality celebrity that makes a lot of money for a lot of people. E! won’t let anything happen to our plane, unless it’s good for ratings.
When I get back to our seat, baby is calm but husband is asleep. Note to self: Lace AJ’s coffee with N0-Doz. It’s my only hope of keeping him awake on the plane.
I give baby a bottle as we take off and like everyone says, it works perfectly. She didn’t utter a peep and fell right to sleep on the makeshift bed I set up on my lap. I was uncomfortable all flight since I had to push on my tip toes in order to give her a flat bed to sleep on, but it was worth it. She slept until the last 45 minutes of the flight. We gave her another bottle as we landed and she didn’t fuss a bit.
It really wasn’t that difficult and my calves got a great workout. Now, if only I could have a Kardashian on all of my flights…
Time to get out…
There comes a time as a new mom when you decide it’s time to get back into the world. I believe this time is different for everyone, some may do this just after a few short weeks others may take longer. For me, it seems as if 8 weeks was my breaking point. It’s funny, I didn’t think this was early but everytime I take Maggie out to lunch, to a store or where ever. It never fails that someone makes a comment that I am brave for bringing her out so early. Did I miss something? Should I be keeping her in a bubble at home? If so, I’ll do it. I’ll do whatever is best for her, but I’m not sure if the home bubble is. As long as a stranger doesn’t touch my child with their grubby (I don’t know where they have been) hands, then I am fine. Note to non parents: Always ask if you can touch or hold someone’s baby, never assume its okay. I even cringe when adorable old ladies want to touch Maggie, especially when they are on their way back from a public bathroom (bacteria parade). I prefer the zoo mentality, look and enjoy but don’t touch or feed.
Obviously, I don’t want to turn into the neurotic parent that everyone talks about. But at the same time, I’m the first of most of my friends to have a baby, so I’m pretty sure they don’t know about a baby’s non existent immune system. Actually, most have been happy when we have asked them to wash their hands before holding her. No one really wants to be the person that gets the baby sick. Can you imagine?
So what is the baby etiquette for getting out into the world? I’ve read countless blogs, magazine articles and tweets about mommy and me groups, varying from the basic informative groups, to the yoga mommy and me classes. Each group has their age qualifications vary from group to group. Which leads me to believe that the only opinion that matters is the one of the mommy (or daddy).
I guess what I’m saying is…
To the lady at the zoo who told me my baby was too young to be out: “Mind your own business, I didn’t tell you I was offended by you breastfeeding one child, while your other two children caused havoc on the playground.”
To the grumpy old man at CPK: ”You shouldn’t be annoyed at the sounds of a baby cooing, you should be pissed that the guy on the other side of you has loudly used the would f*#k in every sentence.” We should all be offended at the poor vocabulary! At the very least he could have used more than just the one curse word.
To the patron at Starbucks: ”Pay attention to your computer and screenplay and don’t roll your eyes while watching me fumble around balancing, baby, purse, diaper bag and my iced chai tea. (Not a hot beverage, don’t want to spill on baby) I have a screenplay too, so you aren’t that cool.”
All in all I’ve decided Maggie and I will go out when we feel like it. If somehow our presence disturbs you, then I apologize. Maybe you should tweet about it, because I’m going to tweet about you too.
