Independence

I walked into the church nursery this morning with Coranelle, as I have done many many times in the last 11 moths. I am the annoying mom who doesn't hand her baby over the gate, but insists on coming in and getting her child settled before sneaking out. I wouldn't be that way, except that for the last gzillion times that I have tried handing her over, she instantly screams and cries. So, I try to sit her down and get her playing so that she is distracted when we leave. Typically, she simply sees the room and freaks out and cries. Even if I sit there with her, she'll fuss and cry and crawl into my lap and hold onto my shirt, somehow pleading with me not to leave her there. Today was different. I walked in with her and she remained calm. We entered the gate together and I put her down. She looked up and me, and crawled away to find a toy. I was stunned. I didn't know what to do, so I looked at Ryan and one of the volunteers who knows Coranelle's typical behavior, and just shrugged and walked out. It felt strange. Wonderful, but so different. This past week, she seems to have gained a new sense of confidence and independence. Grandparents take her and she smiles, her uncle holds her and she doesn't even seem to notice. Last night, she was crawling all over Vann without a single regard to where I was. So, I guess she's growing up. She's not really a baby anymore and that's hard to believe. At times, she'll have pulled up onto something and she'll let go to play with the toy in her hand and stay standing on her own. I hope walking follows soon! With all of her changes, my roles as her mom change and shift too and I am so excited about each new stage that we get to go through together!

Story time

Eating a lemon at the restaurant.
Loving the Beer Gardens with GPS.
The new hairstyle.
A hike in the pack.
Enjoying the view from above.
Eating some turkey by the river.
Happy now that she's not in the pack.
A family picture in Jerome.
So Big!

Once upon a time, a little family of three took a trip to Arizona for a wonderful Spring vacation. There was a mom, a dad, and a beautiful baby girl. They had to take a plane to their destination, and it was the baby's first plane ride. Surprisingly, the baby did pretty well (maybe a B+). She fought sleep (even after a dosage of benedryl,) but finally took a little snooze. The parents were quite pleased with their little one. Once the family arrived in Phoenix, two very nice grandparents picked them up at the airport and took them back to their wonderful home in Cottonwood. The grandparents had brought down a pack n play, a carseat, and all sorts of baby toys and clothes. This made it really easy on the parents. The grandparents even bought all the food for the parents and baby! Upon arrival, the adventures began! The families got to enjoy walks, hikes, bike rides, and warm afternoons at a pristine swimming pool. There were always free and willing babysitters so the parents could enjoy some strolls, bike rides, trips to coffee shops, and swim practice for their upcoming triathlon.
Before going on the trip, the stubborn baby had decided to stop nursing. This was actually really freeing on the vacation for the mother. She did not have to work her schedule or adventures around nursing. She, her husband and the grandpa even went on this crazy 25 mile mountain bike ride while Grandma babysat. It was wonderful for the mom to not have to worry about nursing or the baby taking a bottle while she was gone. The baby could just have her water or juice and eat her applesauce, carrots, mac and cheese, kiwi, strawberries, and turkey. That was good for everyone! Now, many of this story's readers are wondering if the baby is drinking any milk yet. No. No milk yet. The thing is, whenever the mom tricked the baby into drinking milk out of her sippy cup, she'd get mad and reject the sippy cup for days at a time. The mom didn't want to fight the baby on this when the weather was 80 some degrees outside and the baby needed to be hydrated.
Back to our story- a few little highlights from the trip:
The baby started pointing on the trip. She discovered her love for birds and the family said the word "bird" and she'd point.
The baby also started babbling more and more- chatting up a storm of unrecognizable words.
The parents got to go out on a long, beautiful bikeride for the first time in many many months. Though the mom is still sore from falling off her bike multiple times (once into a cactus)- she is proud of her battle wounds and the challenge of a great bikeride with two of her favorite people!
The baby loved the Beer Gardens and was hilarious to watch as she pointed at birds and fed them popcorn while sitting with her GPS.
The baby did wonderfully sleeping in a new place and being off schedule. She was flexible enough to go to a few restaurants and on many walks. The only thing she did not like was being in the backpack for a hike. She got to meet a great grandmother and some other family friends and was quite charming! She was great fun to be around and seemed to grow up in just the few days away.

All in all, the family had a wonderful few days away with the grandparents in the enchanted land of Arizona! When they arrived home to their little place, all of the Mom's tulips were in full bloom and colorfully greeting the family. Although they loved their vacation, it was nice to come home to their cozy home in Colorado.
Hope you are all doing well!

worth

Watching kiddos at an Easter egg hunt.
Vann, Ken and Ryan with their daughters.
Grams with Coranelle before naptime.
Three generations of Munson women.
Coranelle with GPS.
Our little family on Easter. Horay for beautiful weather!
Her own little easter egg hunt.

Does anyone else ever get the blues when they ponder their own worth? Why is it that in our society, one's worth is often closely linked to the amount on their paycheck? Well, what about people like me, who don't get a paycheck. Does that mean we are worthless? Clearly, that's a rhetorical question, and I know that I am not worthless. But, sometimes.... I have to fight against the ideas that I am. You see, I started working when I was 10 years old. No lie. I started babysitting and I was restocking shelves at the local chocolate factory. I have worked ever since. I have nannied, tutored, waited tables in 4 different restaurants, been a barista, done landscaping for the town, and then I taught. So, it is a hard concept to get used to, to not "work" and get paid. When you've done something for 15 years, and then it's completely different, it doesn't come naturally to depend on someone else to provide. This all came about because we got to see Stefan and Rachael and their fun new place last night. They have done some great decorating and gotten some awesome new furniture. I started thinking it would be fun to add a few new touches to our house. I don't know- a head board, some throw pillows that don't have holes in them and smell of breast milk, just little things. But, I cannot help buy them. That's a strange feeling. I have always taken pride in my ability to earn money, save it and then use it. I saved for 4 years in HS so that I could study abroad in England for a year. That's what I am used to. On the other hand, Ryan has his eye on a few things- and he has more than earned them. He's truly a brilliant and incredibly hard working engineer and has earned a few spot bonuses this year and can use those to buy a used road bike and other fun things. Don't get me wrong- it's not as if he won't buy a new headboard for us. He will, and takes great care of us- paying for the necessities as well as fun vacations, clothes, outings and upgrades to our house. But, it would feel great to be able to contribute. (More than $40 per week from my weekly childcare job).

I think I have to just adjust to this life change and remember that I am contributing- just without the benefits of a personal paycheck. My job is to make sure my husband and daughter feel loved and taken care of. So, that means my role today is to play with my girl, feed her snacks, fold her diapers, go unload the dishwasher and vacuum, feed baby more, head out to Sprouts to get some groceries, play some more, feed baby again, make some dinner, play some more, and enjoy this time of my life. Paycheck or no, I am rewarded when my daughter suddenly masters how to drink from a staw, or watching her crawl around while holding onto her hideously ugly pig that she has taken to. I get to pick her up out of the crib after naps when she is still sleepy and cuddly (for about 10 seconds). I am the one who gets to tickle her, watch her learn to clap and practice walking. And really, that makes our 28 year old furniture and bed without a headboard or frame- matter less. Truly, earning a paycheck would not outweigh the joy I get in being with our daughter every day. I would be so so sad to miss out on our daily time together.

So, thanks for reading that rambling of thoughts. I hope you are all doing well!

I think we're done

So, when this new nursing strike came along, I gave Coranelle and ultimatum. I said if she didn't nurse by Thursday night, we'd call it quits. Sure enough, yesterday rolled around and there was no nursing. I offered every 4 hours, as usual. Each time, she would see me lift my shirt and she would pull away and wail, or she would push my chest away from her. Other than her rejection of me, she has been relatively cheerful and good natured. I cannot even tempt her to try sucking anymore. So, I hesitantly say, "we're through". But, when we went to bed last night, I couldn't help feeling a little sad. I have nursed her for the past 10+ months and that part of my life is suddenly over. She will never fall asleep again nursing at night. I wont ever hear her little gulps or have her fiddling around with my necklace while she sucks. I kind of wish I had just one more day, to say good bye to this whole part of our relationship. But, life doesn't tend to work that way, I suppose. My baby girl is growing up. Wow! Although a part of me is sad, another part feels relieved that I don't have to worry about the biting, the hair pulling, or the scheduling anymore. It's bitter sweet, I guess.
Now, we have to work on getting her to take milk. Yes, cows milk. Yes, I know she shouldn't have it until she's one. No, I didn't call me pediatrician. I know that my child won't take formula. We've tried about 7 kinds on multiple occasions. And it seems silly to switch her to formula, only to switch her to milk in a month. She likes her sippy cup and will drink water and juice from it. So far, no luck with the milk. She might take a few sips, but usually makes a horrified face and spits it back out. We just signed up to have Royal Crest Dairy milk delivered. It is all natural and farm fresh, so maybe we can convince her that it's good stuff. I know with my touchy child, it will take time. If any of you have advice, I'd love to hear it.
Despite feeling a little sad that Coranelle is not a baby anymore, I do have to say, I LOVE this age. Ryan and I were talking last night about how much fun it is to see her learn, grow and change every day. She is so cute crawling around, getting into her toys and interacting with people. There are friends of ours who might have just looked at Coranelle and she would erupt into tears. Now, she is crawling over to them and climbing up them! We just love her SO much, I could never express it in words. We are SO thankful for her!
On another note, we booked a vacation last night to go visit friends who "summer" in WI. We are going with another couple and their daughter in August and we are so excited. We will be staying on a lake for a week and the 1 year old girls get to play in the water and together. It will be such a blast to be able to go out on a speed boat again, water ski, swim and relax by a lake with friends! I am thrilled that we have friends to vacation with. All of my vacations growing up were based around water. I went kayaking/rafting, to beaches, and to lakes. They are still my favorite type of getaways, so I am just jumping for joy that we're going to make this work.
Soon we're headed to Arizona for a trip to Cottonwood with my mom and Steve. I am also really looking forward to that. Ryan is ready for a much needed break from work and it will be fun to celebrate the end of tax season with Steve and enjoy family and warm weather.
That's all for now. I need to go get ready to have Mia for the day!
Thanks for reading!
P.S. I hope you have a very happy Easter!

and she strikes again!

This is the fort Ryan made Coranelle on Monday. She is trying to crawl down it here. She doesn't quite know her limits yet!
Crawling up it!
And through it.
Fishing around in the basket!
Looking for her elephant.
Hi daddy!
The first day that she got to wear a t-shirt, capris and sunscreen!
What a cute family I have!
Love that face!
And finally crawling for real!


On Monday, I was headed to a baby shower for a local organization that provides money and supplies for pregnant teens and single moms. I thought I should try to nurse Coranelle before we went since she normally nurses sometime during the hours of the shower. Apparently Coranelle had another idea, because she bit me HARD, on both sides. She's been biting recently, with those two little sharp teeth, and it hurts immensely! Ryan and my pediatrician told me I need to be more stern with her when I tell her, "No Bite". So, after she cut through the skin, on both sides and I was literally bleeding- I was pretty harsh. Too harsh, perhaps. She hasn't nursed since. It is so frustrating! I have tried everything- again. Nursing in a dark room, with the rocker, with the sound machine. I have woken her up from naps so she is sleepy to see if she'll nurse half asleep- nope. Nothing. I can't pump anymore. My hand pump won't allow me to let down anymore. So, I am going to give it the rest of today and tomorrow, and then I'm done. I don't want to be battling with her while I have another baby to watch on Friday. I just don't have the energy to fight it anymore.
Part of me is really sad. I had this vision of nursing her until she was a year old. Being the type that likes to have a plan and control things, it is disappointing that things might not work out according to the plan. But, I am not the only factor in this equation. I cannot force her to nurse. On the other hand, part of me is relieved that we might be done with this stage of parenting. I won't have to plan my day around when she needs to nurse every 4 hours. We'll see what happens in the next few days.
In other news, Coranelle has finally switched to crawling on all fours(most of the time), instead of the army crawl. It's fun to watch her! She's got such a cute little bum scooting around the house and getting into everything!
Anyhow, I hope you are enjoying your week, and that you Coloradans are enjoying the warm weather!

quick update

The famous Retro Rocket. It is a fun toy!
Coranelle and Charlie are fighting for the rocket.
Chaos before bedtime. The girls are rockin' out on the piano!
Adelaide eating a caterpillar!
Amy getting her baby fix at dinner, since her baby was with a sitter!
Feeding Adelaide her bottle Friday night. Adelaide came along instead of being left with a babysitter. After an hour of being away from my own baby, I was missing her and excited to hold another baby. Sad, huh?
Here's Coranelle in our snow storm! We got over a foot last Tuesday. And, I have lots more pictures of the past week, but for some unknown reason, I am having trouble loading them. I'll post them soon!


I just realized I haven't written in a while. I guess that's because we have been busy with all sorts of fun activities and people!
This past week was Heidi's spring break, so Coranelle and I got to see her Tues, Thurs, Fri, and Saturday! It was fun to take walks with her and have someone else to entertain and enjoy Coranelle. Heido helped me plant the first part of my garden, so I am excited to see things start to grow!
Friday, I did not have to watch Mia because it was her parent's spring break. So, I got to go to swim class again, and then spend the day with my mom and Heido. All four of us went out to lunch in Boulder and got to browse the Title 9 clearance sale. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love that store, but can never afford it unless I am using gift cards from my dad. So, I got some new pants, shorts and shoes, for a great deal. Coranelle was really good all weekend, despite having a cold. She was just happy and ready to play! We left her with Bruce and Heidi Friday night to go into Boulder to celebrate Amy's birthday. She has gotten so much better at staying with her grandparents. She didn't even cry when we left! She just played with them until she wore herself out, and then they put her to bed! We got to enjoy dinner on a heated rooftop and drinks with friends. Saturday night we had Amy, Vann, Charlie, Ken, Jenny and Adelaide over for a greek dinner to celebrate Amy's birthday. We had a wonderful time. The babies all went to sleep around 8 in their pack n' plays and we stayed up until midnight playing games and laughing. It was really fun and I am just so happy to have couple friends on the same page in life as we are. Our girls are going to have great fun growing up together.
Yesterday, Coranelle was the happiest I have ever seen her. She was just all smiles and giggles all day. She was happy to play, ride in the backpack during walks, she took long naps and ate well. It was fun to see a glimpse of her personality as she grows up. I really enjoyed spending the day with her and Ryan yesterday.
On a side note, we watched Food Inc. last night. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend that you request it on your next Netflix order or rent it. It was very eye opening and I think we will be changing the way we eat from here on out!
I also got to talk to my dad last night, who is home in NM after a LONG, miserable winter in Florida undergoing radiation. He is happy to be home! It was great to hear Kyle playing in the yard in front of him. I know he must be so happy to be back with his wife and toddler again!
Stefan and Rachael moved into their new place in Broomfield this weekend. We hope that having them closer will mean that we can see them even more!
Alright, that's all for now. Coranelle took a 30 minute nap and is rearing to go, so I think we'll head out to Whole Foods and see what we can find in the way of grass fed beef or cage free chicken. Watch Food Inc. and you'll know why!

so many changes!

Just for fun- this is where I was a year ago this week! 30 weeks along!


Christina, my step-mom, sent me this picture. This is my dad and my little brother, Kyle. Kyle and Christina have been in Florida the last week visiting my dad. Dad is almost done with his radiation treatments and will get to head home to NM soon. I thought this picture was precious- as I know my dad has missed Kyle SO SO much! Grams guiding Coranelle up the stairs- again!
Showing us her tooth. Her second one came through on Sunday.
Here we go again!
Playing with daddy.
Rockin' out! This piano is a good height for her to pull up on.
Pulling up- again and again. She is a hard worker!
Sharing some of Ryan's birthday cheesecake. Notice the "thank you" sticker on her bum? The grocery clerk at Safeway gave her that and she was thrilled. It was a wonderfully fun toy, until it stuck to her fleece pants and she couldn't get it off.

Enjoying the sunshine at the zoo!Loving her daddy on his birthday!
The silly smile- gosh, I love my family!
So happy it is getting warmer and we can play outside!
Hi momma!

Eating leaves!


I feel like in a week, my baby turned into pre-toddler. She is on the move and ever changing! She can pull her self up on anything and likes to tenatively walk around holding on to the furniture. The stairs are a magnet for her, and after a scary close call (in which she almost rolled down our bottom flight of stairs), Ryan put two more baby gates up. She loves to crawl up the stairs and can now do it pretty quickly. We stand behind her to spot her, because she'll often stand all the way up, and turn around to wave. If she was on her own, she tumble all the way back down. It is nice that she can now explore the whole middle floor, with our gates up, and we don't have to worry (as much) about her.

It is fun to watch her grow and change, but it is affecting her napping! Instead of lying down in her crib, she can now get up to sitting, and then she pulls up and starts jumping on her crib. She throws out her pacifiers and toys and does very little sleeping. Yesterday, it took her an hour to fall asleep. By then, it was 5pm, and I couldn't let her sleep long because then she wouldn't go to bed. It must just be so exciting for her!

She has also moved on to more grown-up foods. This weekend she had vegetarian pizza, ham and cheese sandwiches, Annie's mac and cheese, lots of toast with butter and jam, and anything else we were eating. The pediatrician said it was time to let her move on to more finger foods.

Speaking of the pediatrician, we went on Monday. It was a hard visit because Coranelle has no concept of sitting still. They gave me a 6 page packet to fill out with information on her development. Holding a child and filling out pages is no easy task. Then, when I was taking to the Dr., Coranelle was squirming, pulling my hair, shouting and trying with all her might to jump out of my arms. I think it is a job for two! But, even though Coranelle is now the 4th percentile for weight, the pediatrician said she is doing fine- physically and developmentally. She is not quite as tall anymore (44th percentile), so her height to weight ratio is finally on the charts! I am very thankful she is healthy and doing well!

We had a fun and busy weekend- seeing friends and family and enjoying the nice weather. Yesterday was Ryan's birthday and he took the day off. We really enjoyed spending time with him, and he took us to the zoo and out for a dinner date to get sandwiches. It was fun to have our whole family together for an extra day. I am really looking forward to the spring weather! My tulip bulbs are coming up and I bought seeds for my garden this weekend. We also ordered patio furniture and are looking forward to enjoying the patio that took so much work last summer!

I hope you are all doing well! Thanks for reading!