Oh my gosh...what are we thinking doing an 18 hour road trip with an infant?!? We have to pack at least 100 outfits (or so it feels like) just in case she blows through all of them before we can reach my parents and their washing machine. We also have to pack her swing (my savior), a pack 'n' play for sleeping and changing diapers, numerous toys, blankets, books, her white noise machine, her CDs, diapers to last 10 days, wipes to last 10 days, baby shampoo, baby lotion, and everything else I'm forgetting. Eek! I hope I don't forget to pack for myself!

I took Miss F down to work today. The kids were so excited to see her. I see every student in that school (approx. 700) every week. They feel like this is 'their' baby, too. She was totally decked out in pink onesie, pink pants (with a ruffled bum) and pink butterfly booties. At least 60 kids asked "Is it a boy or a girl?". I guess I'm glad they haven't been influenced yet by 'that's for girls' or 'that's for boys'. I can't wait to get back to work! I bet that will change when I get back to work and then I'll be blogging about wanting to be home. At least I work about 5 weeks, get spring break, then there are only 9 or 10 weeks to go before summer! This school schedule is nice when you have a kiddo (who am I kidding--it's nice without kiddos, too!!)

I probably won't be blogging until the New Year so....Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Jolly Kwanzaa and Happy New Year to all and to all a good night! Oh and one more picture of Miss F to get you through January 1st!

Dun-dun-dun-dah! Introducing the newest member of our family (and the one sure to be treated more like a baby than even Miss F)....our new Honda Pilot! I have to say it's a pretty sweet ride but feels like a tank after my little Honda Civic (and before that the even smaller Geo Metro). It's also quite a luxury for a gal that's never had a CD player in her car to now have a 6 disc CD changer AND a DVD system. I can't wait to drive to AZ. We've said one of us can ride in back with Miss F and watch a movie while the other drives. Then we'll switch. Should make it much more fun, especially in the barren areas of TX.

I have to admit I was very sad to see the Civic go. It's part of the history between Mr. B and myself. That's the vehicle that brought me to him every other weekend (hence why it's a 2001 with 100,000 miles on it!!) However, we've added a new Honda to our lives to create new memories in our new chapter--parenthood. Speaking of parenthood, I need to rent that movie again. I remember it was pretty funny.

We had a great weekend. We left Miss F with our friends and snuck off to see "Harry Potter" and grab a bite to eat where both of us could eat at the same time! She had a great time and I think the L's might even babysit again because she was so good for them (it's part of our plan for them to think babies are cute and easy so they'll have their own ASAP). We also saw friends that are expecting a girl in a couple weeks. Another playmate for Miss F! YAY!

She sleeps! I couldn't believe it--she slept for 2 hours straight. Granted, she's in her swing and it's probably a bad habit to get started but she fell asleep and I've been told to never wake a sleeping baby---so....sleep in her swing she did! This is one of those precious moments that make you want 5 of these creatures. However, in Miss F's case, these moments are few and far between so I don't think crazy thoughts too often!

I won! I won! Beverly Allie joins our family. Not only was she born on Miss F's birthday but she has butterflies in her hair. Butterflies always remind me of my sister, Melissa, so when I saw the butterfliesI knew this was a special doll for Miss F to have. I'll tell her its a gift from her Aunt in heaven( and Aunt Melissa always did have expensive tastes so it's even more appropriate--I can't believe I just spent $50 on a Cabbage Patch Kid)

Miss F got her shots yesterday. I will count it as the first experience where the pain my child was in was nothing compared to the pain I felt watching two nurses hold her while she screamed and cried and all I could do was stand there and wait until they told me I could pick her up. It took everything in my power not to just snatch her up and run after they gave her the first round (there were 4 shots total). She was pretty upset for an hour or two but after some infant Tylenol and a warm bottle, she was back to her normal self. She didn't even miss getting fussy at her 'witching hour' (8 p.m.)

Less than 12 hours before I win the Cabbage Patch Kid! Stay tuned. I am letting Miss F sleep as long as I can before taking her to her doctor's appointment. I am dreading watching them give her shots.

So she slept until 5 a.m.! From 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.! AND--I slept from 10:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. so I'm starting to sleep through the night, too! Yay me.

I'm working on Miss F's baby book today. I've been slacking off on it. In fact, if Miss Woolf hadn't asked me (in my 9th month) about my baby book--I probably wouldn't even have one! I'm such an unprepared mom. There will be a blank page in Miss F's book because I was supposed to clip a newspaper headline from the day she was born--AND list all the big news of the day. *sigh* She's just not getting a good start in life. Mom can't even complete a baby book and she's the first baby. I know the 2nd baby gets the shaft on photos/baby books, etc. but the 1st baby isn't supposed to....

Off to the Dr.

OOh! I did a great blog and then when I went to publish, my internet went down. ARGH! Anyways...here's a photo fo Miss F. Notice the blurry. That is her arms going like windmills. I fear we have ritalin in our future.

I'm still winning on the Cabbage Patch Kid that I want (er, I mean for Miss F). I put in an outrageous bid (Mr B if you're reading this it's for our daughter, really it is) so I think I may get it.

I have a new goal in life. You might think it's raising Miss F to be an upstanding citizen, or maybe keeping my house clean or being Superwoman and doing it all--work, childrearing, housekeeping. It is none of those....though I do plan on trying to be Superwoman, complete with the cool blue and red spandex outfit...nope, my goal is to complete my The Firm workout video. So far I can last for 20 minutes and then my muscles fail and I pretty much fall to the floor. Miss F enjoyed watching me attempt the video from her vantage point in her swing. She was sleeping when I started but my groans must have woken her up because I looked over as I collapsed and she was awake and watching mommy be a wimp.

The doctor had recommended that I gain 25lbs during pregnancy. There must be a magic formula for figuring out how much will just melt away after the baby is born because 25lbs went bye-bye in the first 2 weeks. However, I gained 29lbs and those last 4 lbs are just hanging in there, enjoying being a part of me. I was also informed by said doctor that even if I lose the weight, my body won't ever be the same and I may not ever fit back into my old clothes. I guess I should be happy that I basically have a doctor's note to go shopping for a new wardrobe. I am using The Firm video to try to prove her wrong....me against the medical world.

Miss F has the hiccups. She's a very hiccupy baby. She wakes up hiccuping. We go to her doctor (my doctor's husband so I'm sure we help them with their mortgage each month) on Thursday and I'm going to find out how normal hiccups are. Maybe she'll beat that woman (or was it a man) in the Guinness Book of Records who hiccuped for 24 years or something like that.

I can't believe after giving birth and going through labor that I'm still scared of the dentist. It rarely hurts but it did once, a long time ago, so I cringe just waiting for the pain every time I go. However, NO CAVITIES! Whoo-hoo! I still want Santa to bring me an electric toothbrush.

Miss F fell asleep in the car and is now a sleepy, nap time baby. She's been sleeping for 2 hours! That never happens so I'm letting sleeping babies lie. While she's doing that I am trying to catch up on emails and, I'm embarassed to admit this, bidding on Ebay for a Cabbage Patch doll born on Miss F's birthday. I keep telling myself and Mr. B that it's for Miss F but really, I think it's for me because I only want one particular one. The one I think is the cutest and not just one born on the same day. There is laundry to be done, bathtubs to scrub and I'm on Ebay. Oh well.

Whew! Miss F was on a mission yesterday to exercise her lungs and wear mom and dad down. It was our first "bad" day since around Thanksgiving. She'd been doing really well on napping which made her such a happy baby and yesterday, she regressed, forgot how to nap and was in one of her overtired spirals that end in screaming (her, not us, I promise). Living in such an old house with single pane windows, I cringe when she's on one of her jags because I feel like the whole neighborhood can hear (and yes, I've gone outside to check and you can hear her crying outside). I know I heard my neighbor cheering on the Astros during the World Series from inside our house.

I head to the dentist today. I can already tell pregnancy has done a number on my teeth and am bracing myself and preparing to buy the dentist a new BMW with all the work he'll probably have to do on this mouth of mine. I sure hope I don't pass on bad teeth to Miss F. I've even gone so far as to ask Santa for an electric toothbrush this year in hopes of holding off any more crowns, fillings, etc. in 2006

No photos today. I'm planning on emailing out her 2 month photos this week!

I did it! I let Miss F sleep as long as she wanted last night. I woke up at 2, 2:30, 3, 3:30, 4:00, 4:45 and Miss F finally woke up at 5:15 a.m. We were out a little late last night looking at lights so she went down at 10:30 which is about an hour later than her 'bedtime'. We'll see how long she goes tonight. I hope my internal mommy feed clock eventually resets because it would be great to get 7 hours of continuous sleep after 2 months of 2-3 hour spurts.

Sundays are the best. I'm still in my PJs at 10:45, I've read the paper (I only read the fun stuff and the ads), watched a little Food Network (love Paula Deen, Sandra Lee and Rachel Ray) and of course I've been having fun with Miss F (she's sitting with me at the computer right now). She decided to spit up on every possible surface this morning--her playmat, her swing, her bug toy. Thank goodness my dryer is working again! Having an infant and not having a working dryer for 3 days is torture.

Time for another feed for Miss F. Here's another photo of the crazy girl. She is happiest on her changing table so I put this Christmas bib on her trying to catch a shot for Christmas cards.

Hello and Welcome to our Blog. I decided this would be a great way to keep everyone updated on all things B without blowing up your inboxes.

It is Saturday, December 10th and Mr. B is feeding Miss F. She's following in both our footsteps and gets really crabby if she doesn't eat on time. I think she's ready to sleep through the night but I'm not quite ready yet. Two nights ago I woke her at her usual 2:00, I told myself that last night I would just let her sleep. Nope. 3 a.m. and I was waking her up and pulling her out of bed to feed. Tonight, I swear, I'll let her go.

We are going to see Christmas lights tonight. A funky neighborhood just south of us closes off its streets and they go all out decorating. Each house provides some sort of entertainment, too. My favorite last year was a house decorated as the Griswolds (from the movie 'Christmas Vacation') complete with a guy dressed like Cousin Eddie in a blue leisure suit. They were projecting the movie for all passerbys to enjoy.

Here's a recent photo of Miss F. She is on her playmat and loves to talk to a little red stuffed cardinal that hangs from it.