Whoa! Time just seems to slip away when you have almost a year old baby, better yet when you have a baby in general. Those mothers who told me “first year goes by fast,” you all weren’t kidding.

Well,  baby girl is actually nearing 8 months old! She wants to get into everything, especially when I’m on the laptop trying to compose a post.

[WARNING! This post contains humorous information, followed by adorable baby photos.]

Quick Update:  

  • Crawling.  She loves to crawl freely! Sometimes in the middle of the night she will climb through mountains of pillows, just to remind us she is wide awake and ready to play.
  • Enjoys slamming her rattle on anything that she comes across.
  • Standing.  Let me tell you, this little girl will randomly stand unassisted, stare at me, then giggle, as I reach to catch her before she falls.  This in turn I secretly think she does to taunt me, because I know one day after her sweet laugh, she will run not walk; RUN for me to catch her across the living room.

Oh the joys of motherhood, each day brings something new, and with it more common sense knowledge I really should of known before becoming a parent.

THINGS I’VE LEARNED: 

1. Activities & classes! If you google ‘mommy and baby classes near by’, you’ll find numerous scheduled events for you and your little one to do. Most of them are fun, outdoors, and free!  Earlier this month we attended a farm themed, sensory play class, that had a  petting zoo. This class was hosted by One Smart Cookie in Tallahassee, FL.

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2. Pack one suitcase! Recently we accompanied my husband to a work conference in Columbus, Georgia.  Now for some crazy, idiotic reason, I thought it would be easy to pack two suitcases. You know, one for baby and us. WRONG! I really should of packed one big suitcase with all of our stuff in it. In addition to a baby bathtub, uh no. Never again.

3. Get out there! Not wanting to be cooped up in a hotel, I took full on advantage of just immersing myself in our surroundings. I walked all over the city, strolling baby girl along the side walks, meeting friendly homeless folks. To my surprise, I stumbled upon a local Vietnamese Restaurant called Uptown Vietnam Cuisine. There they served some deliciously legit Pho, which I enjoyed with some Boba of course! It really reminded me of the Pacific Northwest.

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 IMG_3700Also found a their near by Columbus Botanical Garden!

4. BUBBLES! Who doesn’t enjoy bubbles? Plus it’s a sure way of helping your baby with their hand and eye coordination. Watch their amazement and wonder, as they try and catch the shiny, sparkly, and clear spheres!

5. Market days! On the weekends, usually your local city will have a Farmer’s Market. What better way to teach and show your baby the vast array of colorful fruits and vegetables? Not to mention shopping locally, supporting farmers, and some cool finds!

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I snagged a sunflower mug with some coffee!

6. Caffeine and water! Other than eating enough food and getting sleep, my mommy energy comes from homemade, cold brewed tea (not sweet tea, just tea left in the fridge for days), good coffee, iced coffee, and H2O with tons of ice. Why cold and with ice you ask? It’s because I need that initial shock of cool liquid running through my veins to get me through the day! Who doesn’t?

7. Go to meals. So you are granted some lazy days.  What I’ve learned to be helpful, is to sticking with meals I already know how to cook. Then preparing them in different ways! They’ll never know, it’s genius! For instance, garbanzo beans aka chickpeas, can be converted in these yummy dishes; Hummus with veggies, Falafel, Vegetarian Chickpea Tikka Masala, Vegetarian Chili, and the list goes on.

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I cooked Falafel several times! Recipe here!  🙂

8. Swinging! I highly enjoyed swinging when I was younger. Heck! I still do. So as soon as my little one was stable enough to sit up, I found the nearest park with an infant swing and propped her right in.  Don’t worry I made sure it wasn’t sanitized,  moldy, and with rust all over the chains. I taught her to hold on tight and away she went!!

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She LOVED it! <3

9. Festivals.  What better way to have a family outing and widen baby’s view of the world, by with wonderful music and tantalizing smells! In addition, you as parents get to have fun too!

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🙂

10. Diaper change!  Last but not least, and naturally through trial and error, my motto for diaper changes forever will be:

“Smells funky? It’s probably chunky. When in doubt, check it out.”

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Don’t let their cuteness fool you! :p