Zoe's first Halloween!

Zoe's first Halloween was great!! It was our first Halloween as a family and in Oxnard, so we weren't really sure what to expect =). Mike went home a little earlier so we could do our trick-or-treating before it got too dark and to also be back to pass out candy to the kids in the neighborhood (and also to catch the rest of the MNF game =) ...). We didn't really go to too many houses since we weren't really aiming to get tons and tons of candy (the pictures of Zoe with buckets full of candy were actually the candy we gave away to the kids). We just wanted to let Zoe experience her first trick-or-treating. I think she had fun watching all the kids ... she seemed interested in all the costumes and the pumpkins and the candy wrappers =).

She looked absolutely adorable in her costume and it was very functional -- it kept her nice and warm and allowed her to move around as much as she wanted. I'm sure next year she'll be more aware of what Halloween is and will be begging to go to more houses to get more loot =) ... I can't wait to see all the crazy costumes she'll wear throughout the years!

Check our our little chick with her farmers (or Costco chicken as Mike calls it):

And of course, here's the video footage of her first ever trick-or-treating!

Tips for a mommy-to-Phee/mommy-to-be

My good friend Danrochelle finally went on maternity leave this week and we've been talking about any tips and advice I could offer her post-baby. She's read lots of books about what to expect when expecting, but not so much about what "really" happens after the baby is born. I know all women go through similar but totally different things with their babies so I thought I'd share some insight with her on just a few things I've learned along the way in hopes to ease any of her fears or anxieties about mommy-hood.

The following is a list of what I told her ... sorry I had to cut-and-paste the first four (I needed to save time before Zoe wakes up from her nap). For those of you who are pregnant, just replace "Phoebe" with whatever your baby's name will be and "Dennis" for your husband/partner's name ...

1. Be patient with yourself. You will get to know Phoebe more and more every day ... you will know her better than anyone else. But you have to be patient with that. It takes time to figure out the beautiful miracle God has blessed you with. There will be times were you feel like you have no idea what the heck you're doing and there will be other times where you will know exactly what to do to make her feel better or just your mere presence alone will bring comfort to her. There are tons of baby books and blogs and advice from women who have gone through it already (like me) but in the end, only you will know exactly how to care for your child. Just trust yourself enough to know that you are already and always have been a good mom. After a few weeks with baby, you will figure out a routine that works best for you and Phoebe. And once that routine is established, it's smoother sailing from there. You will figure out when you should take a shower (I take mine while she has her bottle or during her nap), when you should do the laundry, when you should clean the house, etc. etc.
2. Yes, having a baby will change your lives -- but in the BEST way possible!!! You and Dennis can still do what you did before ... all it takes is a little more prep time. Part of that prep time is making sure you have a fully stocked baby bag. Me and Mike are away from the house for long periods of time so I always make sure there are plenty of bottles (with enough powdered formula) lots of bibs, burp cloths, extra change of clothes, plastic bag for her poopie diaper or poopie/pukey clothes (hahaaha), etc. It also helps to have baby stuff at your parents place so that you won't have to keep lugging around so many diapers, wipes, etc. etc. I don't think Mike has ever packed a baby bag since I prefer to do it myself to make sure I have EVERYTHING I need =) ... I know Bing is just the opposite. Joe packs the baby bag ... so I have no idea what you and Dennis' thing will be =)
3. You will GROW. It's amazing what motherhood does to a woman. Once a baby arrives, your capacity to love and your energy and strength level will grow tremendously. Yes, Dennis will be an amazing father to Phoebe ... but you will have to take care of both the baby and your husband. Thus, God somehow lets you tap into your superpowers and you will be able to not only care for your baby, but also run your household. You will somehow be able to take care of both of them and yourself and still manage to keep yourself together =). It's the most fulfilling thing to be able to care for my entire family and still manage to be "me". And yes, you and Dennis will "co-parent" Phee, but ultimately, you will be the team captain (it's an honor, actually, and is also a big responsibility). Dennis will still rely on you to know what to do when it comes to the baby. You will always be the one more willing to change her diaper, give her a bath, rock her for hours on end if you have to just so she can sleep soundly ... it doesn't mean he's a bad father or he doesn't love Phoebe ... I think it's just different. Moms know no end or boundaries when it comes to their child. Like I could literally rock Zoe for an hour or more and not feel too tired or feel like quitting, whereas Mike will more easily be the one to say, "can we switch off? my arms are killing me!" I don't know if that makes sense, but it's just something I observed between me and Mike and I also confirmed the same was true in other relationships. Who knows -- maybe Dennis will be the ironman of fathers and will totally put what I'm telling you to shame. Lol. But yes, I do think more is expected of mothers -- we have to care of our children, run the house, make sure our husbands are taken care of and still be able to do other things we want to do like hang out with friends or get a pedicure. It's not a bad thing. Like I said, I find it to be incredibly fulfilling and I think you will, too (you and I tend to have the same outlook on things). Besides, fathers have their own new role and pressure in having to provide for their growing family. That's not easy, either. It's just everyone has their own roles to play in life and I firmly believe that's how God intended it to be ... that's why He gifted us women with super human strength =)
4. Don't be afraid to leave your baby with family so you and Dennis can go out on a date or hang out with friends. This may not be possible or easy when she's really young, but whenever you guys do feel comfortable to leave her with your mom or his mom, please do so! It's good for them and it's good for you guys. Just make sure you are clear with how you want them to take care of her (i.e. feed her only every 2 hours and not every 5 minutes, don't wait until her diaper is dragging on the floor to change her, don't use baby powder, etc. etc.). It's important that you and Dennis take care of your relationship, too. Trust me, it's VERY easy to make it all about the baby. Mike and I fell into this rut without even realizing it (it totally snuck up on us!) ... it's extremely easy to make it all about the baby and it may take a little more effort than usual to remember it's about the husband and wife, too =)
5. You will learn very early what your baby's normal body temperature is. A LOT of people (especially your parents, in-laws or any older woman in your family) will mention to you "Don't you think she's cold?" "Do you have a jacket for her?" "She might be cold, don't you think?". I know Zoe actually runs warm and sweats very easily so I learned early on that she doesn't require ten layers to stay toasty. Sometimes it can get a little annoying when someone is insisting that your child is cold when you know for sure she is not. While a simple "No, I think she's ok" sometimes works, other times, it's just easier to put a blanket or a sweater on your baby to appease them =). Just remember they are coming from a place of concern, and not criticism =).
6. Your husband (or any one else taking care of your child) will never run fast enough to calm your crying baby. A friend of mine told me this while I was pregnant and I didn't fully understand what she meant until I had Zoe. For me, whenever Zoe would cry, I would run at lightning speed to appease and comfort her. I never walked; I always ran like the wind whenever the slightest whimper came out (good thing she wasn't a crying baby!). There were times where Mike was closer or it made more sense for him to tend to her where he walked and didn't run and it kind of irked me. Even my body would internally react when I heard Zoe cry -- like i would feel this strange pang simultaneously in my stomach and the back of my head (or maybe that's what it feels like when someone/something yanks at your heart strings?!) I didn't want to say "hurry the eff up!!!" because I remembered what my friend told me. It made me just put things into perspective. I chalked it up to being a "mom thing" in wanting to comfort your child STAT. It's not that Mike was even taking his sweet time to get to Zoe and he let her cry for hours on end; he was just a few seconds slower than I would have liked ... that's all. I know it sounds weird, but it's true. It's a mom thing.
7. Boys aren't the only ones who can pee upwards like a water fountain. There were a few times when Zoe was peeing so hard as I removed her diaper that she peed vertically like a boy!!! I thought for sure girls were not capable of this and the only thing I had to worry about was her peeing down as I changed her diaper instead of in my face. I guess I was wrong =).

Again, these are just a few things that I learned these past 9 months. I have no idea if other women go through the same thing or not, but I know it's helpful to hear about others' experiences so that you can maintain perspective as you go through you own mommy adventure =)

Pre-Halloween festivities!

We finally made our way to a pumpkin patch!!!  For some reason, now that we have a baby I felt the need to take the quintessential Halloween/Fall photo of your kid at a pumpkin patch =) (I blame all the pictures I've seen on Facebook of cute little kiddos posing at their local patch).  It wasn't really a big one, but we finally made it to one (The pumpkin patch was part of the farmer's market at the Americana). Since there were soooo many kids with there parents pleading with them to sit near a pumpkin so they could take a picture (see, we weren't the only parents who procrastinated on their patch pictures!), Zoe was a little preoccupied with her baby watching (to her defense, it was pretty chaotic -- kids were tripping left and right on the pumpkins and the hay).  Anytime there are a lot of kids, she always looks so worried or concerned (I guess that means she needs to hang out with kids more often!!! She looks like a worried adult in these pictures! Lol!).  Next year, we'll go to a "real" pumpkin patch ... there's actually a HUGE one in between Oxnard and Camarillo that we keep passing by on our way to or from LA.

After we were done with the pumpkin patch, we headed back to the Sunbeam Hotel where Zoe modeled her new headband =)

Later that evening, while me and Mike were at the Yumul's for dinner, Wowa and Mamay dressed her up in her Halloween costume (and also her cousin Kaylan's old princess costume) for a pre=Halloween photo shoot:

All the modeling pooped her out!  I love this picture because she looks like a model who's tired after a long day of shooting: