The perfect project - the photobook

Haven't written in a while, if only because this baby thing is time consuming, along with the other hundred things on my daily and weekly lists. And while this blog is supposed to an annual compilation of random yet important thoughts and observations about being a mom to little V, I secretly have got caught up in another similar project - the annual photobook.

I am somewhat obsessed with taking pictures - ask anyone - I am always snapping away and up until a  few years back, would get photos printed and put them in labelled albums (yes, there is type A popping up again...).  

Fast forward to the last year or two, and photobooks have become the latest rage.  Now after an important trip or event, I resort to amassing all my photos and putting my best creative input forward to produce amazing photobooks.  My sites of preference?  Definitely mypublisher.com and more recently, shutterfly.com.  which brings me to my current project...the annual photobook.  

Essentially, I made a commitment to myself that I would document Vanessa's first year in photos and thought it made the most sense to start building the book, as the year progresses, so I would not be overwhelmed by the volume of photos and how to organize the whole thing, at the end of the year.  So while I should be spending hours on composing content for this blog about little V, I am now spending hours on this yearbook.  Part of the all consuming nature of the project is because it is really about more than photos - you can put in stories, captions, and even scrapbook pages with virtual stickers and cut-outs.  Yes, I am officially obsessed with it.  

Hope V appreciates the love and labour that is put into the final product.

Vanessa - 21 weeks old

Vanessa - 20 weeks old

Vanessa - 19 weeks old

Viva Italia and what I have learned so far

First and foremost, I am happy to report that travelling with bebe was a breeze in Italy.  All my angst quickly went out the window once we got on the plane - she fell asleep for most of the flight and awoke just moments before we landed wanting a bottle. Can you say easy baby?  And things only got better - she slept through the night the entire time we were there and had no problems adjusting to the new time zone.  It is times like this that I actually contemplate travelling the world with her while I am on mat leave....

Daddy, Mommy & Vanessa in Assisi, Italy

I also have become introspective about Vanessa over the last few months - I can find myself lost in her face just thinking about the past and future as well as what could possibly going on in that wee brain of hers.  But most of the time I just take it all in, because I know how quick and fleeting this time with her will be.

What have I learned so far?

• that sleep deprivation isn't as scary as I thought it was going to be
• that a parent-led schedule works best for me
• that shopping for little girl clothes is one of the best activities in the world
• that nothing warms the heart more than your kid smiling at you
• that every milestone your baby hits is like them winning an Olympic gold medal
• that it is important to make time for yourself to recharge
• that taking a sleeping baby to get a manicure is a bad thing....because they always get up sooner than you think and your mani is never 100% dry
• that look of pure bliss in the morning, when they see you for the first time, is priceless 
• that a great Dad makes for a much happier family

Vanessa - 18 weeks old

Vanessa - 17 weeks old

 

Vanessa - 16 weeks old

 

 Vanessa - 15 weeks old

 

Have bucket and baby - will travel again

So here I go again - traveling with little miss V. And while I feel more or less worn in as a result of our recent travels, I am still somewhat concerned about this particular trip, since we are flying solo to Rome!

Eight hours on a flight with a four month old - what am I thinking? Three hours to Hilton Head is a wee bit different than eight hours - lots can happen (eg go wrong)  during that time.  However I am banking on the fact that V is a pretty chilled baby.  Unfortunately she is also predictable in that everyday is like groundhog day to her - I know what to expect from her and vice versa and so we rarely fall off course, if at all. So...I am about to turn her world upside down not only with an eight hour flight but also by changing time zones - yikes!! And this comes on the heels of the first night she has slept from 730 - 730. I guess I can say good bye to that golden nugget for a while....

The good thing is that I seem to have the plane organizing thing down pat as well as efficiently packing the right baby gear required for travel - the upside of being a somewhat seasoned traveler with a "bucket" baby.

So here's to la vita bella with bambina in Italy - all stress and craziness aside - it should be a trip to remember!

Vanessa - 14 weeks old

Vanessa - 13 weeks old

I am loving this

I thought I would be one of those career women, who no matter how they sliced it, would yearn for a cubicle over a change table or a computer bag over a diaper bag.  I guess because I was focused on achieving success in my professional life for such a long time, I thought I would never shake that mindset.....even with a bebe.

Enter Vanessa and how I was so wrong.

I secretly love getting up in the middle of the night (even if my eyes are burning).  Night nurse, pshaw. It is such a wonderful feeling to know this little life is counting on you to make them feel better and get them through to the next day.  And our routine of burning down each and every street in our neighborhood with our glistening Uppa Baby stroller, along with our morning trek to Starbucks is absolute heaven.  Work seems like such a distant memory and right now, I could not imagine outsourcing this to someone else to enjoy these daily moments with her.  As everyone reminds me, they are fleeting.

It already amazes me how she has rapidly transformed in such a short amount of time.  My little Vuvu is growing up so fast.

PS:  Traveling with her to Hilton Head and last week to Montreal to meet maman and all my gfriends was super easy.  She is a flying "rock star".

PPS:  Weight loss continues at a gradual pace.  So far my motto, which is getting me through on a daily basis is "try don't deny".  I have a mind of steel when it comes to self discipline esp when it comes to eating and shedding the pounds.

Vanessa - 12 weeks old

 Vanessa - 11 weeks old

Vanessa - 10 weeks old

Give Mommy Some Sugar....But Only in a Few Months

While I am officially at my 11 week post-baby mark, my body looks like it is locked at 11 weeks into my pregnancy.  Now I understand why it is so hard to lose that baby weight - for some like me, it literally feels attached with crazy glue.

Now don't get me wrong - I would not trade the 50lbs I gained for a bitch skinny body because I know those pounds were critical to little V's success.  In my mind, every pound was important.  And because I am 5'10, I carried it well.

So fast forward to today, and I still have 25 lbs to lose and I have been stuck in this plateau for the last three weeks. Now to be honest, it is not that I have been committed to the weight loss.  In fact, I have thrown caution to the wind and have been "pleasantly" eating.  Translation?  Haagen Dazs cookie dough ice cream is my best friend. Well sort of.  It prob takes me two days to finish a pint.  But you get the picture.

So this week I made a commitment to myself that I will drop the excess pounds and hope to rock a bikini by August when we head to Nantucket for our annual two weeks.  In order to help the process, I have posted a chart on our fridge for all to see to not only publicly out myself to all who come into our kitchen but to visually motivate me to stick to the plan.  J is also supposed to come along for the ride.  His high blood pressure, which was recently identified, is supposed to be his motivator.  As you can see below, he just got comfortable outing his weight......took him a week to post it.......he had not stepped on a scale for more than a year!

I think this exercise will also serve as a good role model for little V.  As a breast fed and formula fed baby (heavy on the latter), she is off the charts for her height and her weight.  However, I know this is temporary, since all babies do at the age is sit around, play toys with mom, spend a few minutes on their tummies and get carried around.  Plus, I love my buddha baby belly and know that once she hits that active stage, she will get to a healthy weight. And having a pair of good role models, who exercise and eat healthy should help that process!

Vanessa - 9 weeks old

 

 Vanessa - 10 weeks old

Vanessa - 11 weeks old

Can I do it? Travel with a 2 month old bebe?

They say you should do something everyday that scares you. While I don't engage in that action everyday, though I would like to, I am about to embark on my first trip with little miss Vanessa tomorrow, which does scare me a tad.  In fact, this one day of travel should last me at least one week's worth, if not two weeks worth of "scares".

The "scary" part of this trip is fear of the unknown as well as the fear of "everything going wrong" with Vanessa e.g her having a meltdown during the entire plane ride, Vanessa having a huge pooie diaper that explodes all over our seats and us, running out of bottles while on the plane, and losing our passports and my mind, just to name a few. I never had these types of anxieties before - I'm actually not an anxious person BUT travelling alone with my daughter seems to have created this neverending list of "what if" scenarios in my head.  

But like most things in my life, once I tackle something at least once that I have deemed "scary",  the scaredycat in me is released and I will have no problem doing it again.  Wish me luck!

 Vanessa - 8 weeks old

Le birth announcement

Call me old fashioned - but I just love a beautiful birth announcement (In fact, I love all paper products, cards, stationery, etc. .....but that's another story.) And that is why weeks before little miss Vanessa was born, I spent hours combing through various catalogues and websites, looking for sample templates (yup, there is that type A in me, coming through loud and clear).  I narrowed it down to a few, convinced dear hubby of the necessity,  and we picked our winner template a few weeks ago.

As far as birth announcements go, I am in love with the layout and design - classic, clean and elegant  - quite fitting for a spirited and beautiful creature like Vanessa.  It is her official "calling card" - letting everyone know that she has arrived - so I want to make sure it makes a lasting, yet stylish impression. And did I mention that I also love those belly and thigh rolls of her - so yummy!

Part of the success of such an announcement are the picts and I have to thank dear hubby for that.  No, he wasn't the photographer, but he splurged with an extravagant "push present" - a sitting with a newborn photographer who did an outstanding job.  We both agree that the five hours spent in her studio with Vanessa were precious memories that we will forever treasure. The investment was a small fortune, but well worth every cent.  I can't get enough of my wee beauty!

Hard to believe that the weeks are flying by and how much she is evolving - so I will continue to capture them well.    

Vanessa - 6 weeks old

Vanessa - 7 weeks old