Brrrr

I know we choose to live in Montana, therefore, it would be silly for me to complain about winter....but come on! This year has been snowier, colder, and so windy! It's safe to say that we have had enough... I long for the day of flip flops and sundresses. Plus I can't wait to see Penelope's little baby butt in some short-shorts! Eeeeek... Too cute. But until then, we will stay bundled up and race from our vehicle to the front door. Cuddling with this little bug keeps me nice and toasty though! 

Dinner & dancing.

So I realize yesterday's blog post was a little out of the usual for me. They are normally pretty fun and light. So here is one that is fun, light, and even a tad corny. 

Starting with a nap...and lashes for dayyyysssss....

Then to help mom cook some dinner. With Ingrid Michaelson radio playing on Pandora and a glass of red wine... Me and Penelope were pretty darn happy. Now here's the corny part.... All of the sudden P was just smiling and kicking her legs which I though meant...."mom, I want to dance!" So we did. A sweet dance with my little girl in the kitchen. It was just too perfect. 

Oh and I let Pen hang in her pajamas all day. Lucky! 

We made chicken Gloria for dinner, delicious and very easy. My picture doesn't do it justice but I will include the link to the recipe. 

The green you see are some leeks that I needed to use up. Recipe doesn't call for them but I think I will include them next time as well. 

After sharing my mashed potatoes with a certain someone.. She was thirsty! 

Here is the link to the recipe! Enjoy! 

http://www.cookingwithsugar.com/moms-chicken-a-la-gloria-a-family-favorite-chicken-recipe/

Mom to mom?

Lately being a mom - without a mom, has been rough on me. Although 9 years have flown by since the passing of my mother, having a baby girl of my own seems to make me think about it quite often. To be honest, when we found out we were having a girl, my heart kind of sunk. Not due to the lack of excitement...but I have come to find that girls/women are extremely emotional and complex creatures. Was I up for it? Well I had to be!

I have always been a dad's girl. Not to say that I didn't love my mom equally but my dad always seemed to understand me and accept me for who I was. But looking back, I only had 14 short years with my mother...and I can acknowledge the fact that I don't remember my adolescent years as well as my preteen years. Therefor, my preteen experiences and emotions are what I best remember my mom having to deal with. Being a teenager is hard. Being a parent of a teenager, I imagine, is harder! Add the fact that she was fighting cancer at the young age of 29-34... Wow. As I am growing older I am starting to realize just how tough on my mom I probably was. 

Anyways... People all have their own stories/struggles/triumphs. Penelope is teaching me not to be defined by mine. Not to let it make me hard. I want to be someone that she can look up to, I want her to be proud of me, as I am of her. This sounds easy but I will basically have to rely entirely on instinct because I only had a smidge of the amount of time I should have had to figure this out with my own mom. I am proud of my mom, and I know she would be proud of me... But hearing it would help. I would give anything to be able to call her and say "Penelope did this, what should I do? What did YOU do, when I was a baby?" 

This isn't a pity party blog.. It's a simple realization that being a mom is the most important job in the world, and who better to talk you through it than your very own? 

So far, I am happy to say that I've done what I think to be a good job. Still learning with the help of mine and Michael's family. I can't help but wish my mom had left me some words to live by, some advice....but I will chalk that up to her having enough trust in me to do the right thing as I see fit. (Which has been cloudy, or even downright wrong, at times.) I'm human. 

So I am going to give Penelope what I wished I had. Advice? 

Be honest with yourself and others. The truth might be sad, disappointing, or not ideal but it's your truth. I have struggled with this, but just know that insecurities are ok. Not being perfect is ok. And you. will. be. OK. 

Be sweet. Keep an open heart. Don't be hardened by the world. 

Be smart. It's ok to disagree with people, to think your right, to be stubborn. (To an extent.) I have a feeling it may be one of your known traits... Dad and I are kind of know-it-alls. This will be fun when you are 15...

Know how beautiful you are. And see it in others. Love yourself. 

Know that mistakes will be made, forgive yourself but take them as lessons and move on. 

You have the biggest, most beautiful eyes..use them to see the best of situations. 

Keep your family close to your heart. We have one life and these people will truly make it worth living. They are amazing. You got lucky. 

Be silly. Laugh at yourself. Laugh as much as you can... Have a sense of humor. (Being serious is overrated!) 

You are your own worst critic. This is actually what my dad has always told me and it is so true. When the time comes, you will understand this.  

And finally............................

Listen to everything your dad and I say..........just kidding. We too, will be wrong at times. Please forgive us and know we are trying our best. 

On a side note, while I have written all of your blog posts that I am saving for you, don't think your dad isn't involved. He LOVES reading them and he's going to kill me for saying this...but....he gets teary-eyed just about everytime he reads one. He is a great dad and he loves you soooooooooooooo much. He also finds the need to sing... Yes sing...just about every word that he says to you. To which I am not a fan of but you think it's funny. Things like "Penellllllllllaaa wheeeerrre arrree yourrrr sockkkkssss." < In a rocker like voice. I should stop, he's really going to kill me now.  

To end this long post, I just want to say how lucky I am to have such a sweet little girl. You are so content all of the time and I find that comforting. Getting to know you is unlike anything I ever imagined having kids would be... Far better. So thanks P. 

We will dedicate this post to your grandma Kayla. Love you always. 

4/15/1971 - 5/26/2005 

Story time pt.2

Dad didn't want to be left out of story time, so this morning he sat Penelope on his lap and they had their very own. I am pleased to say that eating the books is just as important while Michael reads to her as when I do. Yum. 

Just some quick phone snaps again but pretty sweet if you ask me :) 

Story time

One of my new nightly goals is to sit down and have 30 minutes of story time with P. She finally seems to enjoy it and I love seeing her reaction to my voice while reading different stories. Tonight we read 6 different books and really took our time. She gets excited when I make animal noises and talk in a high pitch tone. 

She also enjoys eating the books.. Any book will do. Actually I think she'd prefer I just let her eat the books rather than read them. But I'm not going to give up ;) Forgive the dark phone snaps, it was just handy.  

 

Genius?? ^^^ I'd like to think so.....

Yesterday Penelope started her day in a sweet Valentines Day dress and ended it with a pajama party with her pal, Bentlee! Precious! 

Daddy's valentine.

I talked Michael into a little daddy and P photo session. Watching them talk and play on our bed was just about as sweet as it gets. Penelope was being a little wild one-her dad brings that out in her. Last Valentines Day we found out we were having a baby girl.. Here she is 7 1/2 months old and everything we could have asked for. 

Daddy's Valentine.