SWEET P at NINE MONTHS

Sweet P at Eight MonthsSweet P at Seven MonthsSweet P at Six MonthsSweet P at Five MonthsSweet P at Four MonthsSweet P at Three MonthsSweet P at Two MonthsSweet P at One Month

Pippa with Gramps and Stormy

 Another month has flown by with Sweet P! At every phase, I say I wish I could stop time…but then Pippa learns a new skill or another part of her personality shines through. And my heart swells as I realize that each stage just gets better. This month is no exception-- Pippa has become quite the happy, charismatic, curious, and loving little girl.

  

Auntie K

Pippa is crawling and standing up by grabbing and leaning on furniture. It won't be long before she stands on her own and takes her first steps. She observes and explores constantly, and she loves pulling at zippers and tags and squishing new foods in her fist. Quite the little chatterbox, Pippa babbles with babababa and mommommomomom as her favorite words (I don’t think she associates mommomomomom with me yet though!). She's developed a sweet and friendly side to her personality blowing kisses, clapping and waving. She enjoys tubby time with her squeaky rubber duck and loves splashing! Hopefully she will have just as much time swimming in the lake this summer. 

  

Pippa smiles with her whole face by showing her four little bottom teeth and wrinkling up her nose. Her first tooth came through on May 17, and she has taken teething like a champ.While teething rings and terrycloth chew toys are never far from her mouth, her pacifier is her favorite way to ease discomfort. With her new chompers, Pip has been eating solids three times a day. Peanut butter and bananas elicit the loudest mmmmm's. At her last doctor’s appointment about a week ago, she weighed 16 lbs. 15 oz. She’s still petite at 23% in weight.  

If you couldn't tell just by looking at her, Pippa is surely a DeSantis. Fun fact: Like her Daddy, bright sunlight makes her sneeze. There will be lots of ah-choos coming later this month when we take our first family vacation to Cape Cod.  

Highlights: 

Visit with Auntie Kara

Birthday party with the M Family

Mother’s Day Brunch 

First real boat ride of the summer

Pippa with Meme

Fitness Friday: 20 Minute Killer Circuit

It's probably no surprise that working out has looked a lot different for me since Sweet P's arrival. Gone are the days of spending hours at the gym or running for miles. I'm all about efficiency these days, which is the reason I am loving speedy twenty to thirty minute circuit workouts.

Why didn't I think of that? Capsule Wardrobe and Life Hacks

I am so late to the party on this one-- The Capsule Wardrobe. The idea of having a limited number of articles of clothing that work together for each season is SO appealing these days. I know I have my favorites on rotation in my closet already, so I just need to commit to the capsule. Annnnd toss (or store) the many, many things I rarely wear...

As I look at the ways I've changed and my life has changed, I'm embracing simplifying. There just aren't enough hours in the day to maintain all kinds of "stuff," whether it's organizing, washing and folding tons of extra laundry or dusting once-meaningful knick-knacks cluttering every room of the house. The capsule wardrobe is all about lifestyle, and I'm ready to give it a try.

Nesting: A Return to Autumn

Brrr. It has felt like autumn again here in the northeast over the past few days. That gave the Sailor and I good reason to settle in and do some cooking this weekend. I tried this recipe for healthy chocolate chip chickpea blondies, which fell far short of my expectations. The recipe has been pinned over 28k times, so I'm pretty sure that I have to give it another try.

The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of oats or ground flax, and I used flax meal. It should have given the blondies a slight nutty flavor that complemented the peanut butter in the recipe, but they ended up tasting a little earthy. Flax is high in fiber, which lowers cholesterol, stabilizes blood sugar and keeps the digestive system in working order; full of antioxidants and omega 3s that fight inflammation causing heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and some cancers and packed with B vitamins and magnesium. 

Serenity for Sweet P: Nursery Reveal

Thanks to the Sailor and Sweet P for making my first Mother's Day so special! They supplemented my big gift (a treadmill) with lots of thoughtful little presents from Pippa and this gorgeous flower arrangement. I was so surprised to see a wood vase like the one on my wish list! I love the romantic blooms with the rustic, earthy-ness of the vase.

Fiesta!

I'm a big believer in "holidays" or just special days that break up the everyday ho-hum. Who doesn't love to get dressed up and celebrate? Just give me a reason. Take last month, for example. Sweet P had a special theme day every Wednesday at the Lodge (aka daycare). We went all out for PJ Day, Tropical Day and Sports Day.

Time Flies:: My Super Power Wish

Mother's Day is coming up in just a few days, and it means more to me this year than ever before.
I can honestly say that I celebrate being a mom every day though.  I have cherished (nearly) every second.

There were lots of moments early on when Sweet P would be sleeping contentedly in my arms and I'd stare into her perfect little round angel face. It was pure bliss and easy to embrace my new role as a mother. But even during the hours of bouncing on the exercise ball trying to ease P's colicky cries, the long (lonely and painful) nights of pumping every two hours, and the mental exhaustion of worrying I was going to break the baby, I appreciated how blessed I am to have Sweet P.

With each passing month, I watch Sweet P grow and am in constant awe of her new skills and the way that she looks at the world with such wonder. She's developing quite the little personality-- or rather BIG personality-- and she's learning to express herself by smiling with her whole face and wrinkling her nose, grunting with frustration, excitedly waving her hands and kicking her feet, giggling and laughing with delight and stubbornly balling up her fists.

I find myself often saying with eager anticipation I can't wait until... she smiles. I can't wait until... P crawls. I can't wait until... she can talk. But the truth is if I could choose my own super power, it would be the ability to stop time and preserve Sweet P at each stage. Many cliches about parenthood ring true but "Time Flies" is the one that hits me the hardest.  When I first had Sweet P, a friend introduced me to the Darius Rucker song, "It won't be like this for long." Makes me cry. Every time.

I already received my mother's day gift a little early this year, but here are a few other things I've had my eye on lately...

one / two / three / four / five / six

one Paisley Print Boho Dress
two Zodiac ring with the babe's astrology sign
three Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir- hints of raspberry, plum and lily
four Beach ready with a coral turkish towel
five A new diaper bag replacement?
six White Hydrangea in a birch pot