summer days...

its been a while since jayme and i have had a "normal" stay-at-home kinda day (really the term "stay-at-home-mom" doesn't always seem a fitting title)... after our costco run i decided it was hot enough to enjoy our new pool (and the fact ryan and i used up every last bit of lung capacity the night before to fill the darn thing- note a pump will be a good future investment- i wasn't about to let it sit in the yard just to look pretty!)... we took her favorite snack (watermelon wedges) and soaked up the sun for over an hour until the lil princess was ready for her beauty sleep (mom break nap)

my dad thought this was hilarious (glad we both have stellar lung capacity!)

her morning surprise

testing the water

ready to check out the slide (note the watermelon has not left her hand!)

i think my favorite part is that she still has the watermelon in a death grip!

annnnnnnd it still tastes yummy (extra watery i guess)

and because i'm that obnoxious parent with one child and plenty of memory card space... i figured i'd show just how obsessed i am with her watermelon face

ordinary friday...

i feel that it is important at this point to mention in every "ordinary day" blog post how much i truly appreciate ordinary days! and i can not say it enough how blessed i am to have a husband who works his tail off so i can stay home and raise our child... in order to cherish my daughter's childhood (or is it babyhood right now?) i like to have my camera ready (yup. i am oldschool... no iphone, blackberry, etc. to upload in the moment, just a good ole' fashion digital camera) to capture "ordinary moments" as they unfold...

i had to include some thursday night bathtime with uncle buck pics... what can i say... they're priceless!

if you're gonna bathe with baby, you gotta towel off like baby

friday morning, 80 degrees @ 10 am... time to explore the back patio

making laps between the door and the grass...

settling in for snack time on her "snack-time saucer"

i like to call it organized chaos... ryan has other choice words for my craft/office/dining area... i spent all of 2 minutes trying to make sense of my "projects" before miss. teething-fuss-alot demands my undivided attention again...

so we switched gears to make lunch (grilled sourdough ham and cheese sandwiches)- which she inhaled!

post-nap fruit chiller snack... thank's aunt tay for the suggestion! she <3's these!

annnnnd so do i :-)  

 after snack time, someone (hint: it wasn't me at first) was cranky... enough to the point where i gave in to the paci and turned on sprout for about 3 hours while i gathered my sanity (note the lack of pictures at this point- not my finest parenting moment)... by the time ryan got home @ 7:00, she was fed and ready for bed, and i was ready for anything but a home-cooked meal for dinner... after once again giving in, princess fuss bucket got rocked to sleep, dad ordered pizza, and mom finished the day with a beer (we were out of chocolate ;-)

weekend wrap-up...

a look back at some of the highlights from last Thursday through Sunday....

Thursday... 90 degree weather in early April makes for a great day to go to the park! Rockin her Longhorn gear (thanks Aunt Tay!) we lathered up the SPF 50 and let it soak in for a few minutes before heading off on our walk to the park... of course we had to start off on the swings, since little bug squeals with delight as we neared the playground... after 5 minutes of pure excitement on the swings, we made our way to a shady spot on the grass to share a snack and have some play time (note- her favorite "toy" was the lid to her snacks- cheap thrills!)... I even let her play on the grass for the first time (her sensitive skin paid the price later with rashes, but i think she'd agree it was worth it... it was as if she was visiting Disneyland for the first time as she was in awe for about 30 uninterrupted minutes!)

Friday.... PERFECT day for Seal Beach with Kristi and Riley. Days like this make me truly appreciate my hubby making it possible for me to stay home so I can enjoy middle of the week days soaking up the beautiful Southern California weather with friends (not gonna lie, I feel a tad bit guilty at the same time). Some highlights include brunch @ Blackboard Bistro where the girls made friends with fellow diners... playground time with their favorite swings... some playtime in the shade (where my little lady decided to bully her older friend Riley- we are gonna work on friendly manners :-) ...ice tea break for the mommies while the two little ladies kick back in their strollers... and finally passing out on the car ride home

Saturday... A typical family weekend kinda day complete with family breakfast followed by dad working on mom's car, while mom cleaned house and gardened and little bug played, played, and played... and took a 2 hour mid day nap! After we cleaned up the house and ourselves, we headed over to the Pessa house for Charlie's famous fish tacos and some playtime for the little ladies Audrey and Jayme. Mommy is realizing that perhaps Jayme needs to have more friend interaction as she is a tad bit excited/aggressive with her little friends (I think she thinks they are like her baby-doll that she can knock around)

Sunday.... To top off our weekend, we headed out early to the Rose Bowl to walk in support of our cousin Jillian (over 6,000 people turned out to walk for a cure for MS!) Karen made sure the entire White family (i.e. Jayme included with matching hair accessory!) had team Jillian gear... opening ceremonies included a flash mob, tributes, and the start of a nap for Jayme... we didn't even cross the finish line courtesy of one of those "baby moments" (apparently when the child wakes up and wants to eat, the child wants to eat!) so we went to the car instead of the finish line... we finished the day off with lunch @ Panchos, a quick hug & hello to Auntie Age, and a 2.5 hour family nap!

just another ordinary day...

and I am so blessed to be able to stay home with my little lady and experience "ordinary" days... its these kind of days that often go unmentioned, unappreciated, or taken for granted... I want to have these little memories documented every now and then as a reminder of how lucky I am to be a SAHM... its these ordinary type of days that I will one day look back on and appreciate the little things that made us happy on a daily basis in our little White family world... and if I don't every now and again document with photos or writing, these precious little moments of my daughter's childhood, might just become a foggy memory in time... and I don't want to regret, or FORGET any of it!

 

fresh from her morning nap, we took advantage of a little fresh air before the rain resumed... note- she's bundled in 3 layers plus a blanket so i don't have mommy guilt making her stuffy nose worse in the cold air

40 minutes and a 2.5ish  mile walk & jog later... she thinks it's hilarious that i am "glowing" with sweat

my favorite thing to make (super cheap, fresh, fast, and easy!)... we shared a few slices (turns out she loves basil AND tomatoes)

note- a quiet baby is most likely a baby getting into mischief

diaper bag bandit busted!

so much for diverting her attention... she is obsessed with my clutch!

busted AGAIN!

at this point i should have been smart enough to move the bag out of her reach

the "i swear it wasn't me mom!" face... <3 her!                               

typical californians in january...

80 degree weather calls for being outside and soaking in some pure vitamin d... so we packed up bob, lathered on spf 50, and went to the park up the block... and in typical new mommy fashion, i didn't leave home without my camera... (sorry i'm obsessed much with her)

spf 50 baby... she is a white after all ("pasty-melanoma-prone" may as well be tacked onto our last name)

"swings please" (maybe next time i'll bring the sanitizing wipes, they looked absolutely disgusting)

staring at the other kids on the swing (in envy of those whose parents aren't germ-a-phobes)

like 3-5 minutes straight of staring at the kids on the swings (i felt bad at this point)

distraction (clearly when she's focused... she's focused... no matter what is in her hands)

8 months and already knows how to beg

when all else fails, try to distract again...

hamster wheel is spinning trying to find a way to get to the swings herself

babbling away some good conversation with her mama (even though all she wants to talk about is "dadda")

piggy-back baby...

my lil' bug helped me clean today (more like helped me burn extra calories by providing an extra 18lbs of weight on my back)...

 after some vacuuming, laundry, mopping, and counter detail, someone became less active... (about an hour-and-a-half into my cleaning spree) i took a look in the mirror and found this :-)

 

thank you ryan for the upgrade ergo carrier (she is too big for the bjorn i wore her in everyday)... however, i'm not so sure i want to tell him how much i got done in an hour-and-a-half while wearing her, he might expect that kind of productivity all the time now that its "more convenient" to wear her comfortably on my back.