For the dogs...

As I'm cooking dinner (Please overlook that statement. I probably wasn't actually cooking--because I just don't do that, but rather shuffling my feet in the kitchen trying to figure out what my now-refusing-purees-because-she'd-rather-eat-steak-10-month-old wants to eat. Moving on.), I immediately become acutely aware that things are silent in the room (that's 5 feet from my kitchen) where my daughter is playing. Then I hear VERY quick crawling knees with a giggle building in her.

Yes, you can actually hear E before she laughs. She gets very excited beforehand, and there's a definite ring in the air before she lets her giggle go. It's pretty darned cute.

Anywho, I know right where she's headed, and by the time I can peak my head into the living room, she's poised and ready: kneeling above the dog bed, she waits to make sure I'm paying attention, then throws her FACE directly into the I-have-no-idea-when-the-last-time-my-dog-had-a-bath dog bed.  She did it on purpose. And wanted me to see it.

With the advice of my mother and many other mothers in my life ringing in my head: Redirect, redirect! She doesn't understand that it's gross and wrong! Redirect! I calmly tell her, "No, no, sweet girl. Doggie's bed," and take her to her toys, "E's toys. These are yours to play with."  All while trying desperately not to gag at the fact she just exposed herself to God knows what from the dog bed, while also biting my cheeks to suppress my own giggles at the fact that my daughter has a pretty gross sense of humor (what I didn't add was that she laughed hysterically through the whole event, mouth full of dog hair and all). Thanks Mr. Kuda... Your genes are getting the blame for this one.

Starting Over 2.0

Right, so it's been awhile, mostly because I haven't found my stride as a blogger, but also because life has become much more than me waking up each day and enjoying my little girl while keeping house. It's become what I never thought my life would be: schedule coordination, day care, stressful jobs, unexpected travel plans gone awry, getting excited just to sit and watch tv with my husband for a half an hour prior to passing out at 8:30 at night, only to do it all over again the next day. I look back at my eight month maternity leave as a seriously sleep deprived extended vacation.

Which at this point, I realize all sounds utterly depressing.  My 25 year-old self would look down her nose at her older, more settled future Kristin, and think, Really? Sooooo BORING.

But that's the thing. It's not either of those things.

This summer has been a season of change, of personal growth, of learning more about myself than I ever thought was humanly possible in such a short time. And despite the stresses of everyday life, including my suddenly and surprisingly rambunctious (albeit, amazing in every way) 10 month old, I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life, and have come to discover that I'm exactly where I'm meant to be, with the people I'm meant to spend it with.

Which brings me to my final point. Up until now my blog has been a handful of excerpts of life at home with a baby while trying to balance home life, but it hasn't been a true glimpse of what I'm feeling, thinking, or in all honesty, not wanting to feel or think. It's time for my self-realizations be put down on paper... Or microns? Or something electronic given the plugged-in nature of my computer?  Anyhow, it's time to be a bit more honest with myself and with those around me. So, here goes!

And I promise to continue to include super-cute pics of little E. And I also promise to not make any other "start-over" blog posts. This is it!

My Gran

She wasn't just "my" Gran. In fact, she had so many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and those who weren't officially either, but rather just inherited, I can't even begin to count.  But that's how our family is. Once a part of it, you're in for life.

Gran's picture could be placed next to a number of definitions in the dictionary: matriarch, mother, grandmother, friend, storyteller, comedienne.  But what she opitomizes most to me is unconditional love. Despite having had a rather large family, she had the unique talent of making each and every one of us feel like her favorite. I was actually her favorite, though. Just saying.

I was painfully shy growing up (I know, hard to believe). My typical place in residence, particularly during large family events, was on my mom's lap. I remember having a particularly shy moment when I was probably about six years old. My cousins weren't being very nice (as I was their favorite thing to pick on growing up; I now consider them as if they were my brothers). Gran pulled me aside and asked me, "Want to learn a secret handshake?" She squeezed my hand four times: "Do you love me?" And told me to squeeze back, three times: "Yes, I do." She then squeezed twice: "How much?" And told me to squeeze once, showing how much.  Then we did the reverse, so I could feel how much she loved me.  She told me to come back to her whenever I needed to know how much she loved me, as a little reminder.  This became something I did any time I was feeling down or insecure, and I could do it without anyone having to know. Later, this was passed on to my father and me, and often turned into an arm wrestling match, but it was something Gran had passed on. Emma will learn this secret handshake as soon as she is able.

That was Gran. Always finding a way to sneak in a little alone time, despite the chaos.

The last time I saw Gran was the Thanksgiving of 2009. Paul and I went to visit her at her nursing home with two of my cousins.  That weekend there was to be a mustache contest between some of the men in the family, and Paul had grown a doozy.  Despite sitting in her wheelchair with a curve in her back, Gran smiled from ear to ear every time she looked at Paul... She LOVED his mustache. All five of us giggled the entire time we were there at the ridiculousness of Paul's facial hair.  Gran told several of her famous stories we've heard a thousand times. I drank it in, knowing that it might be the last time I saw her.  Gran squeezed my hand four times before we left. I let her know how much I loved her, but it was our own little secret.

I inherited my nose from Gran. And her eyes. But most of all, I took from her an ability to tell stories, and hopefully to help others feel special in this crazy world.

Sunday morning, God took Gran to join Him in heaven. I have a feeling she's having a great 'ole time, finally seeing Grandaddy again, standing straight and tall with her beautful olive skin and almond eyes. She will be missed for a number of reasons, but all she has to do is look down and see the family that began with her.  So many of the traditions, love, and friendships that have occurred in my life are a direct result of her.

I'll miss you, Gran, and love you more than I was ever able to squeeze.

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda

Mysterious Number Two

The time has come, my friends, to discuss number two. Yes, that number two. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think this would come up in my blog, but here we are.

Little girl does not disappoint when number two appears. She is a purple faced, grunting and groaning monster. And the sigh of relief afterwards? Priceless! So yesterday we were playing around (putting off my 21 days of organization, mind you), and all of a sudden I could smell something not so appetizing.  Now because of E's "shows," it never occurred to me to check her.  I wandered around the house (with baby in tow) searching for the culprit.  Giving up, I check little girl's behind, and wheewwww! I don't know how I missed it. The mysterious number two. Not only was this occurrence perfectly silent, she was also perfectly content about it. I really think us adults should learn from babies. We'd all be a lot happier.

Which got me thinking... Babies can teach us so much about how to live life, reflect quietly (or not so much), and be the happiest humans in the world, and this brings me to today's topic...

What I've learned about life via my little one's number two:

*Do what feels right on the inside, even if you look like a purple-faced grumbly monster on the outside

*If you feel like you need to go, GO for goodness sake! You might not get another chance for quite some time

*Speaking of going, go with the flow. It's nice to have a schedule or routine, but sometimes flexibility is our closest ally

*While speaking your mind is not necessarily a bad thing, sometimes self-reflecting and keeping your mouth shut for a bit might do some good

*Observe the world and learn from it

*Smile at most things, laugh at everything else. Life is so much more fun with happy people in it

*If at first you don't succeed, stare at it for awhile, then try, try again (I actually learned this from my dad, but I think it still applies...)

*Surprise people. You never know what you might find...

That's all for now! Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda

21 Towels, and Other Nonsense

Those of you who are keeping track, I may not be sticking to the whole 21 days of organizing, but I am doing my best to keep up with some of the challenges. I'm also skipping around (sorry, Toni!) to better suit my schedule. Well, E's schedule, really. Teeth are coming in, and all I can say is that things have been a bit wonky around here...

I digress!  I have tackled three more challenges, one of which I was dreading the most: the linen closet!  There are two reasons for this: 1) because it also doubles as our medicine cabinet (you should see the size of our bathroom-tiny!), and 2) because I knew there were a lot of things to be purged.

From afar it doesn't look too bad, but I can assure you that this closet is almost 2 feet deep, so there are a lot of little things lurking in there...

Which brings me to the title of my post today: TWENTY-ONE TOWELS. In our house. For three people, one of which has just surpassed the 2 foot mark, so she doesn't really count.  The humor in this is actually that Paul and I are so set in our ways that each of us really only uses one of two towels, and then I just wash them.

One bag off to Goodwill!  Check!

Oh wait... It gets better.  There is ONE queen bed in our house, plus the queen air bed used for guests when they come.  We have SIX sets of sheets in our house.  ?!?

Two bags off to Goodwill! Check and check!

The tension in my shoulders has released.  Purging feels GOOD.

Ahhhh... So much better.

Then there's under the kitchen sink, and the spice cabinet.  Actually, neither were too bad. Although there was the brand new scrubber I found, and when Paul got home he asked, "When did you buy this?" Of course my reply was, "I didn't." Turns out it was the previous owner's scrubber.  I feel like I may be needing to clean out things more often...

Before...

And after!

 And finally, my crowning achievement in the kitchen: the spice cabinet.  All in all, we (yes, 'we!' Paul helped with this one, as he is the chef in the family) threw away about HALF of what we had in the cabinet, including some hot chili oil from 2003. What?!

Before...

Sweet organization!

I am really starting to feel great about all of this organization... And I think I'm starting to inspire the rest of the family.  The desk downstairs has miraculously been organized! It's definitely catching on.

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda

Catching Up...

All right, so I've had a couple of days off from my 21 day challenge, although the celebration of Christ rising from the dead is a pretty good excuse, so I'll just continue on from here...

As a side note, E in her Easter dress :)

Day 3 of the Challenge was to clear out the Tupperware cabinet.  Honestly, I like how my Tupperware drawer is organized. We use everything in it, and it works for us.  That being said, it doesn't mean we can't clean things up a bit.

Before:

This is the most organized space in our house. I'm not kidding. I think it's the plethora of items that fit into one another. It helps with the whole "organization" thing.

E, of course, helped supervise...

I simply cleared everything out, vacuumed the dust behind the pull-out drawer (or as my husband in his New England accent would say, "draw." Leave it to New Englanders to leave 'r' out of words...), and cleaned everything up with Clorox wipes.  Ta da! Clean Tupperware cabinet!

Approval from the princess...

The first three challenges have not actually been too, well, challenging. It really is the small things, like a couple of clean drawers in the kitchen, that truly make my life so much easier! I am however, dreading the next two: under the kitchen sink and the linen closet...  The thought actually makes me want to ditch the entire effort, but of course, this too shall pass.  On to the next!!

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter Sunday, and took time to appreciate all of the small things in your life.

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda

Day 2: The Computer Desk

 Before I get to today's challenge, I just want to let everyone know that I did complete my challenge last night. Yay!

News flash! We have 1100 square feet, and around 400 of that we hardly use (it's the basement).  My computer desk is anywhere I can find a place to put my little behind long enough to check some email or blog. The equivalent however, would have to be the top of the wine cabinet. It collects everything, from bills to the Bible.

Honestly, it has seen worse days, but it could still use some help.

I do have a confession.  I took everything out and put it in the basement, in piles to be organized. They're organized piles, and Paul and I do have plans to file everything this weekend, but the job is much too big for just one nap, or even for a day.  But ignoring that completely, look how pretty!

I feel so accomplished for these two days of organizing during nap times! I don't dare sneak in to snap a pic, but here's the little girl snoozing away...

God bless the person who invented video monitors...

Until next time!

Mrs. Kuda

Things are going to change around here...

All right. So, I guess there have been HUGE changes over the course of the last 5 months, but I ran across a blog about organization, and it got me thinking. My type A personality was what I was known for at work, but not so much in my personal life. My desk was organized, I was a stickler for deadlines and paperwork, and I was known to be a person to go to in order to get things done because of said Type A personality.

At home? Not so much. I have a clean house that is relatively picked up, especially with the help of my dear hubby. I wish I could say that it was pristine, but who are we kidding, here? I have a 5 month old! Not happening!

But wait a second! I have a new job as a stay at home mom (at least for now), so why am I not practicing my 'at work' habits? It occurred to me today that what's missing from my day-to-day is my internal desire to organize every morsel of stuffs in my house!

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but laundry and house cleaning while baby naps just isn't cutting it for me any more. (An earlier post update: She does nap!  Success!!) So I'm going to take the 21 day challenge, thanks to Toni at A Bowl Full of Lemons.

For the next 21 days (Or more. Let's be honest with ourselves, here), I will post my successes with my cutie in tow as we strive to get the Kuda household a bit more organized.  Just the thought of little organized bins of our things makes me smile :)

Day 1: The Junk Drawer

Oy. We have two.  And a junk basket. One day at a time...I'm on it.

So, the words, "I don't even know what that is..." came out of my mouth at least five times. I'm not kidding. I love my husband, but I feel like this is on him.  As a result of this, I made one little addition to Lemon's challenge of a keep pile, donate pile and throw away pile. The Paul bag. It's a nice Ziploc baggie designated for him. He knows what these things are, so he is likely better able to determine which pile they go into.

A tool? A pen? We don't know. Into the Paul bag it goes.

And for the record, we don't ever need to buy pens ever again. Ever. And if you need a pen? Just give us a call. We have a few dozen we could lend you. And how many hi-lighters does one need? Anyone?

One out of two ain't bad... Right?

Until tomorrow... The TOP of the desk. Sigh...

Mrs. Kuda

Mushy Bananas

All right, let the food making begin! Since one of the two foods that don't require cooking prior to pureeing was sitting on my counter top, I just couldn't resist mashing it up for little E the other day.  I know, I know, every veteran parent has told me: "Don't do fruits first! She'll like the sweet and never eat  her veggies!" Well, guess what??  I don't cook, and Paul was out of town, and the banana was speaking to me! So there!

Sorry for the rage.  Anywho, I took a bit and put it on Em's lips, and she loved it!  So, off to mash I go... For those of you who know my eating habits, you know my adventurous side as it relates to the culinary arts is somewhat restricted. Despite this, I am determined to have a kid who will at least try foods that I won't dare put in my mouth.  You may also know that mushy foods make me gag.  A lot.  I want you to imagine the scene I'm setting: E grinning ear to ear while drooling at the chance of inhaling the sickeningly sweet banana, while her mom is trying her best to make it look appetizing while holding back gag after gag, which happens to be worsening as the banana gets closer and closer to the correct texture.

As a caveat, I'm a speech pathologist who works with folks who can't swallow, which often requires pureed food, thickened liquid and cleaning out really awful things from peoples' not so clean mouths. Yes. I gag at work, too.

So I got to this point:

4 perfectly divided 1 ounce portions

And then I needed a break.  But my sweet little girl is staring at me! Drooling! She has to have it!  And then I remember something wonderful passed down from my sister-in-law... A food mill!  AHHHHH...  Relief.  Something about this makes me feel so much better, that I push through and get 'er done.

Best. Invention. Ever.

E has had bananas for breakfast now, and absolutely loves them. And to you "no fruits before veggies" folks, don't worry, I will make up for the fact that this was her first food, and give her the veggies she will most undoubtedly love next week.  I'm not sure if I was clear enough in my last post. The kid loves to chow.  No joke.

Post-banana tummy time

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda

4 month stats

Our little girl is 4 months today! I can't believe how quickly the time flies.  Here are some stats:

Weight: 12 pounds, 11 1/2 ounces (the 1/2 is important!)

Length: 24 inches

Amount of times she has rolled from her back to stomach while in bed and completely freaked out: 2

Poor thing. She was so freaked out by this, she just screamed! And all I wanted to do was take a picture and tell her how proud I was of her, but of course I needed to tend to the banshee in her crib first.

I digress...

Four months!  The "first" I have been looking forward to most is starting solids. Despite my mother's recommendation ("You were eating solids at 3 weeks old!"  Yeah, remember when she said I was also sleeping 12 hours a night at 3 weeks old?  Me too.), I wanted to postpone solids until Doc said it was ok.  And we got the ok! Poor little girl has been staring and drooling at me at each meal, but I was disciplined and waited.

The results?

Sheer joy and happiness. This kid was born ready to eat food from a spoon.  She actually gets angry if I go too slow. At first I thought she was fussing because she didn't like it, but as soon as I picked up the pace she just looked like a little baby bird waiting for the next drop of goodness.  Even though this has only been going on for three days, when I put E in her chair (just so I can get some things done in the kitchen) she starts smacking her lips waiting for the deliciousness to come.

By far my most favorite 'first' for little girl!  Can't wait to see what she does next :)

Have kid, will travel

After 892 miles, E has now travelled through 6 states, slept in a hotel and her grandparent's house, met  a few handful of friends, had her first cold, and lived to tell the tale!  She and I took advantage of a business trip, and adventured the streets of Boston while her daddy worked hard during the day.

First stop? Worcester, of course!  E oggled at Uncle Tony's significant tan, and then met her great-grandmother for an Irish lunch. Grammy was enamored with E, as was E with her.  There was even a surprise visit from her cousin MK! It was all very exciting, especially after a 6 1/2 hour drive.

 

Once we got into Boston and checked into our hotel, we headed (in the very unseasonably warm Boston weather...a whoppping 50 degrees!) to the one place that upon speaking aloud makes my mouth start to water, Pacliuca's!  There's something about the family feel, homemade pastas and carafes of wine that Paul and I have always loved.  We decided to pass on the tradition...

Baby's first carafe... 

And baby's first meatball!

We happened to visit another favorite restaurant of mine, The Paramount for a little baby play date with some old friends. It turned into a walking tour after breakfast.  It was a beautiful day, and felt so good to be back in one of my all-time favorite cities. Oh, Boston, we miss you!

If you've never been to Boston this time of year, you have no idea what St. Patrick's Day means to Bostonians.  It turns the city upside down in a haze of green beads, leprechauns (We actually saw one right outside of Emmet's Pub.  I'm not kidding.) and Guiness inhaling citizens from all over the state.  It was actually hard to find a place to eat that was semi-suitable for a 3 month old! But we did find it, and our little lucky charm was a hit with all of the patrons.

Our baby's first St. Patrick's Day was complete with a stroll through the Common and Public Garden on what turned out to be one of the most beautiful days of our trip.  65 degrees! There were bands playing, folks tossing frisbees, and just lounging on the hill overlooking Charles Street.  To top it off, we had a great dinner with friends on their roof deck overlooking the city. Sigh...

Though she was asleep, this is E's first visit to the Public Garden ducks!

As if our trip hadn't been complete, we spent our last day in Boston celebrating March Madness with some of Paul's buddies.  Needless to say, E was quite the hit with all of the boys.  Despite all of the cheering and jeering at Game On, she slept for a nice long nap, ready for her first trip to the Cape!

It really was quite a trip!  We did end up (BOTH of us) getting a bit sick by the end of it, so had to forgo a stop in Brooklyn on the way home, but it seems that we have survived our first roadtrip as a family!  E is still recovering, but I think that's likely from her cold and not the trip.  We had such a great time, and can't thank everyone enough who made it so along the way!  Happy to be back south of the Mason Dixon line and in our own beds, but look forward to our next adventure!

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda

The Love of Molos

Poor Molos.

What is he? A lobster. But you can't really help but feel sorry for him. He's not very cute. At all. His eyes are misshapen, and he can't possibly see well with all those swirls in his left eye.  His reds don't match, and though you can't see it, he has a potato sack for a bum (don't even get me started on the fact that lobsters do not really ever sit on their bum).  Who could ever love such a homely little lobster?

You guessed it! Our resident cutie has always enjoyed looking at Molos, but this week the feelings have grown much deeper.  She gazes into his funky eyes, and gnaws on his polka-dot tentacles. Her 3 month old abilities are just beginning to develop as far as purposefully grabbing onto toys, but with Molos? She will do anything she can to hold onto him!

Stuffed animal love.

Apparently, this is a bond in which the ties cannot be broken. Little E has even resorted to crying when Molos is taken away!   What can I say? The girl knows what she likes.

Don't. Touch.

The moral for me, here, is this: When Paul decides to buy some crazy, scary looking toy from France (Les Deglingos) for E, maybe I shouldn't question his judgment. Clearly, like his daughter, he knows what she likes.

Until next time!

Mrs. Kuda

A case of the Mondays...

And writer's block :/

Why, you ask?  Our little girl turned three months on Friday, and I had grand plans for an epic my-baby-is-three-months-and-I'm-so-happy blog post. I started and deleted a total of FIVE posts! I'm not sure what it was, but I just couldn't get into words what I actually wanted to say. Hrmph. And here it is Monday without so much as a peep from yours truly.  So what do I do in a time of a writer's block? Adorable pictures of my three month old, of course!

The face I make when mommy can't think of anything to blog about.

I laugh all the time now!

What I can say is that we really do have the best little girl in the world, and that's just my unbiased opinion.  Happy 3 months, little one!

Until next time!

Mrs. Kuda

Spring has...sprung?

Or maybe not, given that it is still mid-February.  Despite this, we Northern Virginians were given a bit of a respite from the cold winter air, and as a result, E went on her first playdate at the park!  It was a picture perfect day, and she absolutely loved it.  Thanks to her friends V, J and B for such a fantastic time!

Em's newest favorite activity...standing!

Just us girls

Some disappointing news is that next week it's supposed to be cold once again, but there's something about these middle-of-the-winter-warm-ups that happen every year that get us thinking: Spring will come once again, and we have something to look forward to!

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda

Loving some Love :)

It's Valentine's Day! And while the Kudas believe in celebrating love EVERY day and don't typically celebrate the holiday, I thought it was a perfect excuse to dress up our little girl for an early morning photo shoot :) Thanks to the Puris for such cute tights from Hanna Andersson.  Who doesn't love a little baby girl with a ruffle-butt?

Happy to be awake at 6 am... Couldn't wait to
celebrate Valentine's Day

Pulling off ruffles in the best way

Loves to be on her belly :)

On a particularly corny note, I think the word 'love' as it relates to our family has truly been redefined since the arrival of our sweet baby E.  Unconditional seems like such an understatement, albeit so true!  So, Happy Valentine's Day to the two loves of my life, and I hope to show just how much I love you each and every day of the year.

Until next time!

Mrs. Kuda

No pacifiers! And other things I said I'd never do...

I think this picture really says it all...

This is how we nap.  Note the pacifier.

Ok, so maybe it's not how we nap ALL the time, but after putting E down for her nap this afternoon, I found her 10 minutes later in her crib happily cooing at her ceiling fan.  No nap.  Wide awake. Now this kid had been up for over 2 hours, and I know she's tired, but alas, no nap.  Car seat?  Nap!

Not only is she napping in her car seat (and ready to go for a voyage from the looks of it), there lies the dreaded pacifier! A background story here... If there was one thing I was certain of going into the hospital to deliver our precious little girl, it was that I would not by any means offer her a pacifier.  Visions of 5 year olds still holding onto their binky between their teeth haunted my brain. How long did that last? Twenty-four hours.  That was it.  Baby E was one day old.

On a related note, I was also determined not to have a thumb sucker.  Now, I'm not so sure as to how I was going to prevent this, but I was determined.  It turns out E likes to suck. Pacifiers AND her thumb.  And this week, she found it :)

Caught in the act!

On a positive note, I never thought I'd exclusively breastfeed my child, or ever want to be a stay at home mom.  Both are turning out to be two of the best decisions I've ever made in my life, aside from marrying Paul, and trying to have a baby. We're just so blessed to have such a happy, healthy little girl, regardless of whether or not she naps in a chair while sucking on her thumb next to Copley with the TV on in the background :)

Best friends :)

That's all for this week!  Hope everyone is having a happy one,

Mrs. Kuda

Sleep Deprivation

I'm a researcher.  I like to find everyone's opinion, so that once fully educated, I feel I can make a sound decision.  For the past 7 weeks, I have read what feels like every sleep book ever written. I have asked friends, I've consulted the internet.  While E is a great night sleeper, she is pretty stuck to her 3 hour routine both day and night.  And don't get me started on napping! We'll just say she's not a fan...

Ok, so you parent veterans are probably giggling to yourselves as I try to figure out this whole sleep thing.  As the echos of my mom's voice haunt me each and every night: "You were sleeping through the night at 4 weeks!" Let's go through the list of what we've tried here at Casa de Kuda...

Earlier bedtime, later bedtime, bath before bedtime, bath in the morning, wide awake before bedtime, napping before bedtime. The oh-so-fun dreamfeed!  Nothing seems to extend her sleeping at night!

So according to my schedule, I went in for my "dreamfeed" at 11 o'clock the other night, only to find E so conked that there was no way she was going to stir enough to eat anything.  I went back to bed, feeling defeated. Paul patted me on the shoulder, "Just try again tomorrow." What happens next? I wake up at 4 am panicking...Is E ok? As I snuck into her room, there she was, my sweet little breathing girl, sleeping away as if she has done it every night since she was born.  She slept through the night! I am a champion mom!  Baby books? Internet? I laugh at you!  I was actually so excited that I could not go back to sleep to save my life, and woke Paul to tell him the news.

Now, before I get ahead of myself I am fully aware that this may have been a fluke, and she is only 7 weeks old.  I am fully prepared for another night of every 3 hours, on the hour for another month or two. But God is good, and He knew both E and I needed more than 2 or 3 hours of sleep at a time last night.  This morning was a happy time, all of us smiling in disbelief of this first.

Happy E = Happy Parents!

Hope everyone is having a happy and restful week!

Mrs. Kuda

E's Baptism

Last weekend was a whirlwind of family and friends, but most importantly, E's baptism at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. It was a beautiful ceremony, and we felt so blessed to have so many come to celebrate with us!  E was such a champ the entire weekend. She didn't even cry while getting the holy water poured over her head. After the main event, we went to the Columbia Firehouse in Old Town Alexandria for some delicious brunch. Yum!

Here's a mini photo montage of the weekend...

Some firsts from this week...

Well friends, hell must have frozen over, because I have actually prepared our dinner for this evening.  This may have come to fruition as a result of an explicit list of instructions from Mr. Kuda over the phone, but I have officially put together the FIRST meal of our marriage.  I'm not kidding. For those of you keeping track, that would be three and a half years that Paul has been cooking for us. This is one for the records!  Meet my first pork roast:

E has been very busy the past few days, too!  She's learning to push herself up on her hands.  A few trial and errors, but she's getting it!

First try...

Taking a break...

By George, I think she's got it!

Today was also the first day E has taken 3 naps. Without screaming.  I'm almost euphoric, as is she!

I'm fully aware that the wonderful little nap schedule we had today will likely change tomorrow, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can.  Hope everyone is having a great week!

Mrs. Kuda