Me and CC

3 months.

Already.

My daughter is 3 months old. Where has the time gone?

Actually, when I think about it, I know very well where the time has gone. I can remember weeks, days, moments in Coralynn's short life. She has quite a few milestones already:

getting newborn photos taken
visiting with Santa
smiling
shots at the doctor's office
loving her nightly tubby time
copious amounts of zoey kisses and kitty rubs
blowing out her diaper at the cop shop (we had to hold her up in the locker room shower to clean her off)
discovering her hands and shoving them into her mouth non-stop
two trips to Florida - flying!!! - to see Nai Nai and Ricky
seeing monkeys and tigers and giraffes and other exotics for the first time
putting her toes in the ocean
falling in love with 'blanky bear'
sleeping poolside
staying in a hotel

These are awesome memories for me to keep... and to tell her about in the future. I just thought I'd share...

It's raining baby stuff!

Ok, not really (referring to the title) but today is the day of our baby shower!!! Yay - we're so flippin' excited!

We're having a Jack 'n Jill shower so SuperFutureDad gets to share in all the glory he created!! We rented out a couple of room as the Fargo Billiards and Gastropub so boys get one side, girls get the other, but it's all one open space so we can still interact with each other.

Punch, chips and salsa and bean dip, salad, pizza and cupcakes are on the menu - nothing extravagant but enough to keep everyone happy through the Vikings football game that will be on all the big screen tv's!!!

Yeah, this is really more of an excuse to get a big bunch of people together and party! And we can say we did it all for the Butterball!

My family is in town from Florida and SFD's family is all in from MN so we are so happy to have them all. Plus, so many of our friends are sharing this awesome day with us and we are sooooo thankful to them.

Finally, I bought a GORGEOUS dress for the occasion and am super-psyched to wear it!!!

I will post pics and more details once I get everything uploaded later this week so you can see more from Butterball's Baby Shower.

Until then... to catch up on what I've been up to in my 7th month of pregnancy (how did that happen so fast!!) have a look at my latest MyFirstBaby.com vlogs:

This one tells all about BB's global travels so far.

If you're looking for maternity style tips, click here!

As always, please leave a comment and a 'like.' I really appreciate you stopping by and helping MyFirstBaby.com grow!!!

You've Got a Friend

I am coming off a hella work week. Thanksgiving went by in a blur of stories about a turkey fryer fire and early Black Friday sales. No family gathering for me (hope everyone had fun in Florida)! Yesterday I pulled a 13-hour shift (so worth it though - check out my story tonight or find it on the web tomorrow) so I'm giving myself a little break. I'm snuggling with a furry member of the Jungle Larry entourage and chillaxing in my pj's.

You probably know by now that Tales is not normally a blog for commercial purposes. But I'm making an exception today to help out and promote a good friend's business. Abbie and I graduated high school together when ER topped the television charts. In the years since, Abbie has become a loving wife and mother to two adorable little nuggets (hopefully they'll be featured in the future on BBW!). Abbie is also the genius behind Thing-A-Ma-Sling, but why don't I let her tell you about it!

"In early 2004, shortly after the birth of my first child, I began making baby slings because I couldn’t find any comfortable, stylish slings for a reasonable price. Once I started wearing the slings with my daughter, and then later on with my son, I was constantly stopped in public by interested parents who were just as frustrated as I had been.

Unintentionally, THING-A-MA-SLING, LLC was suddenly born! The quality of the materials we use and the amount of attention we pay to every detail of your sling make our products unsurpassed. Your infant will be safely secured in the comfort of our slings and we are confident your baby will love the product as much as we do.

At THING-A-MA-SLING, we care about our community and our environment. We regularly give back to our community through donations to organizations that support our military and those that promote rights in birthing, breastfeeding and holistic parenting. One of our favorite organizations is Birth Without Boundaries, Int’l. As an advocate for women and children’s rights, it is so important to me that we make informed choices for ourselves and our children.

We are honored that you chose THING-A-MA-SLING! Your purchase makes it possible for us to help parents make informed choices when it comes to their pregnancy, birth and the care of their children."
 

There you have it! I'm really glad I have the chance to help out my pal. My friends are my family.

Have a wonderful Sunday ya'll!

Sharing Simple Pleasures

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve already begun thinking what life would be like with a little nugget to call my own. I try not to let the thoughts go too far… I don’t want to jinx it.

But there are some things about my childhood that I can’t wait to share with my kids. And, there’s a few ‘firsts’ that I anxiously await. Here we go…

In the… our-baby-is-so-precious category:
Lying on the ground in the park reading with them nestled in the stroller that I gently rock with my toes
Holding them in my arms for the first time
Coming home to find the baby perched on SuperFutureDad’s chest, both of them fast asleep
Bonding while breastfeeding at night
Listening to them breathe hard while deep in slumber

Representing the… aren’t-they-so-cute category:
Reading books together snuggled side-by-side in a cozy bed
Nesting by the fire
Watching them eat sand as we make sandcastles on the Florida beach
Seeing them run into Nai Nai and Ricky’s arms
Helping them swing a tennis racket for the first time

Nominees for the… not-that-they’ll-give-a-crap category:
Introducing them to the Mickey Mouse Club, Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley High, Judy Blume
Playing old episodes of Friends, 90210, Psyche, Gilmore Girls, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory
Showing them tapes of my tv stuff and magazines featuring my articles

In the… it‘ll-be-nice-to-have-someone-to-play-with category:
Catching them in my arms as they jump off the edge of the pool
Sharing the joy of a warm, creamy cup of hot chocolate in the middle of winter
Sledding
Chasing each other with squirt guns

Entries for the… just-like-mum-and-dad-used-to-do-with-me category:
Dancing to Motown oldies while doing the dishes
Sunday morning family breakfast (I’ll whip up blueberry pancakes, SuperFutureDad will take care of the bacon)
Continuing the annual tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree
Having nightly dinners together

I also commissioned SuperFutureDad to come up with a few items.

Nominees for the… I-just-want-to-be-a-dad-already-darnit category:
Teaching them sports and outdoor activities
Having the baby fall asleep in my arms
Watching them take their first step
Seeing them interact with the dog
Laughing when the baby poops or pees on mummy
Watching them learn new things for themselves
Spending time as a family

I know that this list make parenting sound easy and delightful. And I realize (through watching other mums and dads) that it’s not like that all of the time. But I’m hopeful that these simple pleasures will outweigh any daily trials we endure.

What were/are some of your parenting pleasures?