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After the blog underwent a name change I was having some Bloglovin' troubles (i.e. I'm a total noob). But alas, all issues have been resolved and you can now follow the fun on Bloglovin!

P.S. Real post coming soon-I swear.

5 Lessons Learned In 9 Days

Erik comes home tonight after being out of town for 9 days (!!!!).  The good news: Sofia and I survived. The better news: only a handful of things were damaged (my ego, quite possibly being one of them).  Let me begin by giving all the praisejesushands to moms and dads who do this solo everyday. Like some sort of novice, I thought this would be super easy. I could get so much done! I would have so much free time! Oh, the possibilities!  While maybe there wasn't a whole lot of productivity going down, memories were made and lessons were learned.

Lesson #1: Don't get cocky and think you can take a solo trip to the bathroom.  Your child will find and break a full bottle of balsamic vinegar all over the kitchen floor.  Luckily no one was hurt, and unfortunately no photos of the crime scene exist, except for those that came and went on Snapchat (christinarienzo in case these kind of shenanigans interest you).

this happens a lot on Snapchat too

Lesson #2: Drink wine while sitting on the floor at your own risk. My brother and sister-in-law came for dinner one night, and before we ate, we were all hanging out in the living room playing with Sofia.  Kobe started barking, I looked over at him, and from the other direction, Sofia came crashing into me. Wine. Everywhere. Including all over my brand new VS Pink sweatshirt. Side note: after I purchased the sweatshirt, the thought of "am I too old to be wearing Pink?!" crossed my mind. Maybe now that it has been completely ruined within a matter of days, someone is trying to tell me the answer is YES.

Lesson #3: When in doubt, park it out. We started going a little stir crazy being home all day on the weekend, but the park was our sweet, sweet escape. The weather was absolutely perfect! And after each trip, Sofia came home and promptly took a nap. Win-win.

Lesson #4: Whatever you're about to reach for at the moment your child starts having a meltdown in the grocery store, double check you've grabbed the right thing...... or you will get home and realize that 12 grain bread you thought you bought, is in fact cinnamon raisin bread. Avocado toast on cinnamon raisin bread ain't too bad though---said the starving mom.

Lesson #5: Get yourself some good friends.  The kind who bring over pizza and Chinese food. The ones who hang out with you & your baby on a Saturday night and invite you to sushi on a Sunday.  My heart is seriously so full from the girls week Sofia & I had, and all our girlfriends who came to hang out with us along the way! But we are so so ready for Dada to come home!!

xo

Guess Who's Back (Back Again)

I’m baaaaaaack! And I don’t know where to begin. Should I discuss why I stopped blogging? What’s been happening since my last post? (when Sofia was THREE MONTHS OLD). Why I decided to start blogging again?!

Well. This is the blog formerly known as “Would You Like Some Cheese With That Whine?” and I’m Christina, the “Bubbly Brunette” behind the blog. When I was trying to come up with a more concise blog name, I enlisted the help of my husband (kind of a mistake, but also made for some good laughs). He thought up gems like “Moms Who Drop Bombs” (like what does that even mean?!). Oh, and yes! I have a husband now! Erik and I got married on June 13, 2015 at a winery in Temecula, CA. It was beautiful and we were surrounded by our closest friends and family. 

Sofia was almost 8 months old on the day of our wedding, and was just the cutest flower girl you ever did see! (biased? maybe). If you’re doing the math, you’ve figured out she is 15 months old now and I’ll save the deets on that for another (anxiously awaited, I’m sure!) post.

After signing back onto the ol’ blog earlier this week, I got kind of sad I ever decided to stop. I love having this little space to write down my memories of Sofia (even if the only other person who reads those posts is my mom). And just seeing her so itty bitty made me feel all the feels. One night (apparently around the time she was 3 months old) I woke up and thought, “oh my god! I need to get my child off the internet!” I was deep into the rabbit hole of some pretty scary articles about babies and the internet. But today, I think the good of these little spaces and big communities they build far outweigh the bad. And I just want to be another small, positive space over here at The Bubbly Brunette. So come along for the shenanigans, I promise it’ll be fun!!  

Sofia Belle [three months]

I intended to write a few posts between Sofia's two month update and her three month update, but alas, I did not. Last year, one of my New Years' resolutions was to blog more. Obviously, that wasn't on my list this year; using my GPS less is my number one res for 2015.

Sofia is three months old!! (technically 14 weeks, as of yesterday).  It is amazing to watch her grow and learn and discover the world around her. She started daycare 3 weeks ago (which I plan to blog more about later) but she is doing great (minus the cold she caught that just doesn't want to seem to go away. HELP!!!!!!!!!). She is just the happiest and cutest little bean there ever was!

[three month update]

stats: She was 13lbs 2oz when we took her to the doctor a couple weeks ago for her cold. She fits into her 3 month clothes now and her 0-3 month pants are way too short. 

eating: Still loves eating. Since she started daycare, she drinks formula during the day and I nurse her in the evening and night. I'm so happy she didn't go on a "formula strike" like the pediatrician warned us some babies do after starting daycare. 

sleeping: She goes to bed around 8:30-9 and wakes up once during the night to eat. I have to wake her up to get ready to go to daycare around 6:30 and she seems to take a morning nap everyday while she's there around 7:30. Girlfriend is not a morning person! 

likes: eating, bath time, loud music, watching videos of herself on my phone, looking at her reflection, being "Super Baby" (I lay down on the floor and prop her up on my legs and fly her around like Superman), playing on her activity mat.

dislikes: waiting for milk. 

milestones: Her neck strength is really improving and she can prop herself up during tummy time, she socially smiles and grabs at objects around her, especially her blankets and burp rags. 

Sofia Belle [two months]

I can't believe we have a two month old!! In the days & weeks after Sofia was born, time started flying and every day she got a little bit bigger, I got a little bit sadder she wasn't that itty bitty baby I felt like I had just given birth to. Then around 3 weeks, I noticed she was noticing us, getting more of a little personality and now she smiles at me!! She can be on the verge of tears (as long as she's not hungry-can't blame her, no one is funny when I'm hungry) and I'll make a silly face/sound effect and she'll smile!! It is the best. 

So although she isn't that teeny tiny newborn anymore, I love so much the person she is becoming and the person she has made me.

[two month update]

stats: 11lbs. 8oz. (55%) & 23 inches (75%) at her two month appointment yesterday.

eating: Girlfriend still loves eating. She eats about every 3 hours during the day and can go for longer stretches at night now! Holla!

sleeping: She goes to bed around 9pm and wakes up around 3-4am, eats, goes back to sleep until 6-7am, eats and goes back to sleep until 8:30-9:30am, then she's ready to partay! Her nap schedule during the day is much more inconsistent. 

likes: eating, bath time, country music (we were watching something on TV the other night and country music was playing and all of a sudden Sofia is dancing around in her boppy, making all kinds of happy noises), looking at Christmas lights, reading her Sofia the First books, and being in the Baby Bjorn.

dislikes: when bath time is over, getting shots (she got her two month shots yesterday and was not a happy camper all day), and when Kobe barks after the doorbell rings. 

Twenty-Six.

Since I turned 26 eight days ago, I thought I'd share 26 facts about myself, because why the heck not?!

Sofia and I hanging out this morning. So it's applicable to this post, right?

1. I am so sooooooooo afraid of bugs and rodents. I wasn't always like this. I had a pet hamster as a kid for crying out loud. But now I have dreams nightmares about bugs invading our house and over a month ago Erik saw a mouse in our backyard and I haven't been out there since. 

2. I really like being short(ish)-I'm 5'4" and a half. I can wear heels and still be shorter than Erik and can easily fit into small spaces (and suitcases).

3. I think teeth and feet (specifically toenails) are disgusting. On a related note, I was at H&M with my mom a couple weekends ago and the cashier said I had pretty teeth, which is odd for many reasons, but mostly because I barely had my mouth open. My mom was the one checking out and talking to him-I was just standing oblivious on my phone. 

4. I stopped drinking coffee while I was pregnant and can't drink it anymore, but I so badly want to, I try at least once a week and immediately regret it the second I start getting that jittery feeling. I know, I know I could drink decaf, but eeehhhhhhheee.

5. My favorite show is Shark Tank.

6. Also Vanderpump Rules and Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce and Ellen.

7. I am SUCH A SAP. I literally never used to cry and now I cry at least once a week-and I'm not even sad!! I'm just way more emotional than I ever used to be. I blame the pregnancy hormones that must still be lingering.

8. Eight is my favorite number. I was born on December 8, 1988 at 8:22-so yeah, 8 is my jam.

9. My least favorite food is raisins. It's really the only food I can't stand to eat, although I say I hate a lot more foods than that-it drives Erik nuts!!!

10. One of my favorite pastimes is annoying Erik. Sometimes he tells stories reeeeeeally slowly, so I interject and finish the story with what I think he's about to say. Although, I know it's never what he's about to say, just something I find to be hilarious and ridiculous. 

11. Speaking of being hilarious and ridiculous, I find myself to be hilarious, but most people would say I'm just ridiculous. 

12. My car was stolen 2 years ago and was later found at a border checkpoint with 100 pounds of marijuana in it. The women driving it had NO IDEA there was weed in the car. Imagine that!!!!!

13. I hated buying a new car. 

14. Naming a baby was a lot harder than I expected. We decided on Sofia's name less than 2 weeks before she was born. One of her names prior to that was Mila, until Erik discovered that was the name of our neighbor's dog.

15. I never knew how much love I was capable of until I met Sofia. 

16. I'll never forget how I felt in the days I first met Erik, those are some of my best memories.

17. I think I was an animal that lived near the water in my past life (yes, I truly believe in past lives) and was friends with the fishes. I mean my fiancé is an aquarius and my best friend is a pisces. 

18. I love cooking.

19. I can't stand when people don't give the courtesy wave!!! 

20. I wish I had a better sense of style, but the older I get, the more I accept that's never going to happen.

21. I'm very patient and optimistic. Because being anything else is really just ruining your quality of life.

22. Twenty-two was a big year for me! I graduated college, moved to Tucson to live with Erik, and started my teaching career. Before graduating, I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to move to Tucson (I saw a psychic and she told me I was going to) but it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

23. Rap music is my favorite. 

24. Neutrals are my favorite color, but if you ask me I'll tell you purple is my favorite because saying "neutrals" is kind of weird, right?

25. I'm a little weird and a little crazy, which Erik reminds me every now and then, but I quickly remind him, he'd be bored if I was any other way.

26. I couldn't love my little family more, they are the best things that ever happened to me!!

xoxo

Farewell Twenty-Five, You Were Great!!

Is this not the greatest birthday gal picture ever. I shall use it for all eternity. 

I can't believe it, but today I am turning 26 years old! 

As I think back over the past year, I'd have to say 25 has been the best yet. As I rang in my 25th with an 80's Birthday Bash, I had no idea all the goodness to come in the year ahead. Between getting engaged and having a baby, 25 was filled with excitement and surprises. So, farewell twenty-five, you were great and I cannot wait to see what 26 brings!