April 2023
Hello everyone! April has been a busy month. Between juggling Olivia’s new fear of everyone who is not “Mama”, unusually long work days, and event after event, it feels like I’ve been moving nonstop! The weather has also been back and forth, causing my allergies and sinuses to freak out. It’s been a very back and forth kind of month!
The Wedding Phase of Life
I knew I’d be in the Wedding Phase of life for quite some time, seeing as most of my friends are in long-term relationships. I forgot about family getting married, however! Matt has a lot of cousins who are all close in age, so two of them have weddings at the end of this month. One was this past Saturday, and the other is this Saturday!
I’m excited about this part of the Wedding Phase because Olivia can come with Matt and I to his cousin’s weddings. It’s been fun shopping for fancy dresses! I try really hard not to treat Olivia like a “baby doll” because she’s a human being, and I feel like treating her like a plaything isn’t fair to her. At the same time, it’s fun to dress in clothes that aren’t every day clothes! I was just as excited to wear a pretty dress as I was to put Olivia in hers. She wasn’t too happy about the dress at the end of the day, but she was very good during the ceremony! She only cried when people cheered, which makes sense because it’s loud.
I also picked up my bridesmaid dress for my best friend Erin’s wedding a few weeks ago. I haven’t tried it on yet, mostly because I’m afraid it won’t fit right and I’ll have to get something else. I haven’t gained or lost weight since my initial visit (at least, not visibly) so I’m sure it’ll be perfect, but I still get nervous thinking about finding someone to do dress alterations. I should’ve saved the information for my wedding dress alterer!
I’m SO excited for Erin’s wedding in September. Erin knows how to throw a good house party, and she’s usually the one to plan hangouts within the friend group. I know how stressful it is to plan a wedding, but I have complete trust in her ability to plan a fun night. At its core, a wedding is just a really expensive party with a dedicated theme. I know it’ll be fun!
Olivia Update
Olivia is 9 months old this month! She’s amazing, and so smart and strong. She’s able to hold herself upright just fine, holding onto something sturdy with one hand! She still loves to bounce, and has taken to bouncing on my stomach/lap (latter is fine, former is painful).
Liv’s going through a “weary of strangers” phase right now. If someone has met her before only once or twice, she is very Not Cool with them. Forget about strangers! And even with people she’s been around her whole life, if I’m not there she goes into meltdown mode. It’s stressful leaving her behind while I go to work or hangout with friends, but knowing she’s in capable hands eases my own separation anxiety.
We found out today Liv most likely inherited eczema from Matt. It’s disappointing, but nothing a good, consistent lotion routine can’t help! It’s not bad right now, just little dry patches here and there on her skin. I’m worried about when she gets older, however. If she’s gonna flare up where her dry patches are now (like her back and shoulders), it’s going to be hard for her to take care of it on her own simply because it’s kind of hard to reach. I guess I won’t have to worry about that for quite some time, if at all.
Little Liv is growing like a weed! I feel like I say that every month, but it’s true. I’m starting to see different expressions on her face that I can imagine on her older-looking face, if that makes sense. It helps that she looks just like me; when I see her thinking, she looks just like Little Mary thinking. It’s kind of weird, but in a fun, cute way. At the same time, she makes faces that look just like Matt’s face, and she makes faces that are 100% Olivia. Watching her learn and take the world in is the greatest, most fulfilling part of my life. I’m sad that everything is happening so fast! I want time to slow down so she can stay little forever…but at the same time, it would be cool to fast forward to having an independent kid. We’ll get there eventually! I remind myself every day to soak it all in now. When I have another baby, it’ll be completely different!
The Mario Movie
(I might talk about some light spoilers ahead, for people who care!)
I went and saw The Super Mario Bros. Movie yesterday and absolutely loved it. It was a kid’s movie, for sure, but it was definitely made for Mario fans of any age. I think Illumination did a great job with the visuals. Every shot was gorgeous. The voice acting didn’t take me out of the movie (you win this time, Chris Pratt). Don’t even get me started on the music!
Jack Black was the perfect Bowser…honestly casting Jack Black in anything is usually a winning choice. I enjoyed how fun and goofy he was, but still as powerful and scary as he is supposed to be in the games.
Princess Peach’s badass attitude was actually in line with how Shigeru Miyamoto (Mario’s creator) initially imagined the character when creating her, which goes against a lot of initial fan reviews of the movie. Most people I’ve seen online say that they didn’t like the Princess’s “personality retcon”, but I’ve always thought of her being a princess who is fully capable of fighting her own battles. She just chooses to go with Bowser to save her kingdom, which is what happens in the movie.
As usual, I don’t really have very many gripes about this movie. Every criticism I have is directly related to the fact that it’s a kid’s movie (the story is rushed, some characters are flatter than most, the end could’ve been a touch better, etc.). As a kid’s movie, it’s as perfect as it can get. As a movie in general, it’s pretty good but there are things the most critical of viewers might take issue with. I would recommend seeing this movie if you’ve been a lifelong fan of Mario, have kids that are into Mario, or really like movies by Illumination Studios. If you are super, duper critical of movies, you will not enjoy the story, but you might enjoy the music and visuals!
Music Obsessions
This playlist came together thanks to putting my music on shuffle, the Throwback Thursday playlist on Spotify, and Matt’s music recommendations. There’s lots of oldies but goodies! There’s also “Peaches”, the song Bowser sings in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. I also sing one of these songs to Olivia to help her fall asleep. Guess which one!
If you’re interested in listening to the playlist, click here!
April has been quite the month. This is only a fraction of what’s been going on! The weather, while kicking my immune system’s ass, has been a big factor in my overall good mood. Hopefully it’ll stay warm in May!
Thank you so much for reading! I like doing these monthly posts, and I’m thankful that people like reading about what’s been going on in my life. Feel free to subscribe here and follow me on Twitter to keep up with my posts (and my day to day shenanigans)! I’ll see you here next week with something new!
