Today was fantastically beautiful...it was a balmy 75 degrees here this afternoon!! We went rollerblading with Colin in his jogging stroller all around the neighborhood and had a blast. For dinner we tried out a new pizza joint just around the corner from our house and it was actually good, which was a total shock. YEA! :-) These random warm days are my favorite part about Texas...even in the coldest of months, you can always get a day of relief here and there.
One thing became very evident to me today...I have got to lose weight. Not only do I not like the way that I look anymore, but I also don't like how out of shape I have become. The time to buckle down is NOW. I will report on my progress as we go. My goal is to slim down in time to actually fit into the shorts that are sitting gathering dust in my closet by the time it gets hot here again. I don't want to get winded playing with my little man, so it is shape up time!! No more excuses!!
In Colin news...I am pretty sure that he said Mama today. It was so funny...I heard him babbling, "ma ma ma ma ma ma ma" in his crib a couple of times today and went running to him. I told Jer about it and he laughed and basically told me that I was crazy. Then as I was putting him to sleep, I walked out of his room and he started doing it again. "ma ma ma ma ma". This time Jer was standing there and heard it! I know that he is probably just making noises at this point, but in my head, he said MAMA! :-)
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
Baby Hands
The one thing about Colin that absolutely slays me are his hands. Don't get me wrong, all of his parts are adorable, but the hands just kill me. He keeps them clasped in front of him all the time and he wrings them a lot, which is so sweet. Tonight as I was putting him to bed, I layed my hand on his chest to soothe him and he put both his little hands over mine and fell asleep that way. I have a crook in my neck as we speak because I stayed there watching his little hands on mine for a good long time. I don't remember a time that I was not in love with Colin. Isn't that strange? I really don't recall what it felt like to be without him!
In this picture, he was smiling up a storm at me as I folded laundry beside him today. Then as soon as the flash comes out, the smile is gone! AGH! Anyway, I think he is the cutest thing ever! :-)
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Learning About Myself
Okay, so I am almost through my third consecutive week as a stay-at-home mother. And I have learned a few very important things about myself.
1. I took my job entirely too seriously. I jumped into my career at the ripe old age of 22 and never looked back. I am proud of being good at what I did, but I let the career become me. My whole existance was wrapped up in who I was at work. It was unhealthy and I know that now. I loved my job so much that I forgot it was important to have other things in your life. I will remember that.
2. I am a good cook. I always thought that I was a horrible cook and it turns out the problem simply revolved around what I wrote in number 1. I spent so much time at work that there was never time to do something like practice cooking. Turns out that not only do I do a pretty good job, but I also enjoy it! I find it cathartic.
3. I could be happy like this for the rest of my life. I always said that I would not be the type of woman who could happily stay home. I thought I would go crazy and be unfulfilled or something like that. As it turns out, I was wrong on so many levels. Nothing that I have ever done in my whole life compares to spending my days with this little boy. He completes me and makes me realize how unimportant so much of what I used to do actually was. I love each and every moment that I spend with him and I am so thankful that I am getting to do it. Sadly, I will have to go back to work someday (unless I win the lottery). But at least I will have each of these days as a memory. I was meant to be a mommy. Bottom line.
4. I need to write again. I got lost in my sales career and stopped writing. That was my true passion and I am going to do it again, somehow! Even though I love sales and will go back, I will still write. I am not going to lose myself into my career again. I am going to remember to keep other parts of me, like being a mommy and a writer.
There are tons of other insights that I could add here, but since Colin fell asleep at 6:45pm (good lord!), I better get some sleep before he wakes me up. There will be more to come as I am learning a whole hell of a lot about myself these days.
1. I took my job entirely too seriously. I jumped into my career at the ripe old age of 22 and never looked back. I am proud of being good at what I did, but I let the career become me. My whole existance was wrapped up in who I was at work. It was unhealthy and I know that now. I loved my job so much that I forgot it was important to have other things in your life. I will remember that.
2. I am a good cook. I always thought that I was a horrible cook and it turns out the problem simply revolved around what I wrote in number 1. I spent so much time at work that there was never time to do something like practice cooking. Turns out that not only do I do a pretty good job, but I also enjoy it! I find it cathartic.
3. I could be happy like this for the rest of my life. I always said that I would not be the type of woman who could happily stay home. I thought I would go crazy and be unfulfilled or something like that. As it turns out, I was wrong on so many levels. Nothing that I have ever done in my whole life compares to spending my days with this little boy. He completes me and makes me realize how unimportant so much of what I used to do actually was. I love each and every moment that I spend with him and I am so thankful that I am getting to do it. Sadly, I will have to go back to work someday (unless I win the lottery). But at least I will have each of these days as a memory. I was meant to be a mommy. Bottom line.
4. I need to write again. I got lost in my sales career and stopped writing. That was my true passion and I am going to do it again, somehow! Even though I love sales and will go back, I will still write. I am not going to lose myself into my career again. I am going to remember to keep other parts of me, like being a mommy and a writer.
There are tons of other insights that I could add here, but since Colin fell asleep at 6:45pm (good lord!), I better get some sleep before he wakes me up. There will be more to come as I am learning a whole hell of a lot about myself these days.
Late Night!
Well, this should be an interesting night...Colin went to sleep at 9:15!! That is two hours later than normal!! It was so strange! He was wide awake and hanging out, so we let him play in his exersaucer beside the dinner table while we ate. I had already fed him as usual at 7:00pm in preparation for his normal bedtime. He did not take any extra naps or anything unusual today, so we shall see. I am really hoping that he is changing his patterns and is getting ready to sleep during more normal hours...even if he were to start sleeping until 6:00am...that would be huge for me! I am crossing my fingers!
We had a fun trip to Target today to purchase new "stage two" foods. The pedi said we should go ahead with them, so I got all kinds of yummy sounding things to feed him. He tried "Sweet Potato with Apple" tonight and seemed to love it. He has not been eating as much by way of solids this week and I think it may have something to do with teething. He has been picking at breakfast and even dinner (which is normally when he shovels away food) has been light. Also, he has a new move that is too cute for words...he will play a kind of peek-a-boo with my husband when he gets home from work. I will be holding him and Jer will start to kiss on him and make silly faces. Colin will grin from ear to ear and then tuck his head under mine and giggle. He will wait a second and then pick his head back up to grin again. It is SO FREAKING CUTE!
We had a fun trip to Target today to purchase new "stage two" foods. The pedi said we should go ahead with them, so I got all kinds of yummy sounding things to feed him. He tried "Sweet Potato with Apple" tonight and seemed to love it. He has not been eating as much by way of solids this week and I think it may have something to do with teething. He has been picking at breakfast and even dinner (which is normally when he shovels away food) has been light. Also, he has a new move that is too cute for words...he will play a kind of peek-a-boo with my husband when he gets home from work. I will be holding him and Jer will start to kiss on him and make silly faces. Colin will grin from ear to ear and then tuck his head under mine and giggle. He will wait a second and then pick his head back up to grin again. It is SO FREAKING CUTE!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Is this really better?
Okay, so it is 4:08 am. The good news is that my precious boy just slept straight through until 3:45am! He went to sleep at 7:30 as usual and woke up once briefly at 10:45. I put his paci back in his mouth and he went right back to sleep. This is huge! Almost 8 hours straight of sleep. The problem? Now he appears to be wide awake for the day. AT 4:00am! This is not exactly what I had in mind. Oh well...I think we are probably heading in the right direction. Hopefully. :-) I have started to dream about sleeping.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
I HEART MAMA!
Well, Colin had the worst day yesterday and the worst night last night and was still not happy today, either! I know he was feeling crappy after his shots yesterday and he continued to be really fussy all night long. Then today he started something new...he would fall asleep in his crib for his nap as always, but started waking up every 15 minutes or so screaming! This went on until he finally passed out at about 2:00pm. He has never done that before!! My friends seem to think it is the separation anxiety hitting him for the first time...I wonder how long this is going to last!? The poor little guy was just so upset all day...he finally perked up after his late afternoon nap.
For dinner this evening, I attempted Curried Beef with Onions. It was out of my new healthy cookbook and it was okay, but not the best. It seemed to be missing something, but at least it was not bad. I am really putting in the effort on cooking now. I never EVER cooked before I stopped working. I was Mrs. Full Time Career Woman whose idea of cooking dinner was to be the one to pick up the take-out. I find myself really enjoying trying my hand at this and I am really not bad!! I am a little obsessed with turning into a good cook for Colin. I want him to love what I make and have his own favorite dishes that he will ask for just like I do with my mom. Here is a silly story...to this day, we always ask for a "Mama Sandwich". Now, keep in mind that this is simply a sandwich of any kind that my mom makes, but for some reason, when she makes it, the sandwich is heaven. We started calling them "Mama Sandwiches" when we were still kids. They always taste better than when we make them. Over the Christmas holiday last month when I was at home, she made me a Mama Sandwich on old school white bread with left over turkey. She served it with Frito's on the plate and a little pickle. EXACTLY like when I was little. It was probably the best meal of all time, and I told her so. She always says it is simply because she makes them with love. I hope Colin feels the same way about his "Mama Sandwiches" one day.
For dinner this evening, I attempted Curried Beef with Onions. It was out of my new healthy cookbook and it was okay, but not the best. It seemed to be missing something, but at least it was not bad. I am really putting in the effort on cooking now. I never EVER cooked before I stopped working. I was Mrs. Full Time Career Woman whose idea of cooking dinner was to be the one to pick up the take-out. I find myself really enjoying trying my hand at this and I am really not bad!! I am a little obsessed with turning into a good cook for Colin. I want him to love what I make and have his own favorite dishes that he will ask for just like I do with my mom. Here is a silly story...to this day, we always ask for a "Mama Sandwich". Now, keep in mind that this is simply a sandwich of any kind that my mom makes, but for some reason, when she makes it, the sandwich is heaven. We started calling them "Mama Sandwiches" when we were still kids. They always taste better than when we make them. Over the Christmas holiday last month when I was at home, she made me a Mama Sandwich on old school white bread with left over turkey. She served it with Frito's on the plate and a little pickle. EXACTLY like when I was little. It was probably the best meal of all time, and I told her so. She always says it is simply because she makes them with love. I hope Colin feels the same way about his "Mama Sandwiches" one day.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Beautiful sisters...
I had this on my mind tonight, so I thought I would post. I have stunning identical twin sisters. They have always been stunning, so it is not like this is something new, but I thought I would point out to blog land just how hard it is to be a fat, post-pregnancy lump when you have sisters that currently look like these two. HOW ARE THEY RELATED TO ME?!?! I am so proud of them and so very jealous all at the same time. I think I will go have a high fat snack now. ;-)
Colin at Six Months!
Today was the big day...Colin's six month well baby checkup! The stats:
18 lbs, 7 oz (50 - 75 percentile)
28 inches long (90 percentile)
The growth rate is the same, which is great! He has been at those percentiles all along the way, so his progress is steady. It looks like my little man is going to be taller than me by the time he is five. HA! He was a very brave boy during his shots and flirted up a storm with the nurses, as usual. I was very glad that we were seeing Colin's original doctor, so I asked all kinds of questions. As far as the soy formula, he thinks that Colin is probably not lactose intolerant, but simply finds it easier to digest the specific proteins used in the soy formula versus the cows milk. He told me to keep up the soy, but to go ahead and introduce cows milk at the one year mark to see what happens. He is confident that Colin will have no problem drinking regular milk. Either way, I am just glad that I have found a way to ease his stomach problems for now! He also told me that stage one and two foods are fine now, but to wait on the meats and crackers, etc until the 8 -9 month point. Developmentally, the pedi said not to worry yet about that fact that Colin does not want to roll all the way over. He said that since Colin hates being on his stomach, he has probably already figured out that he would rather not roll over to it! The little man has already started to outsmart me! The pedi said to keep working on it and focus more on getting him to sit without assistance by the 7 month mark. (right now, he topples over after about a minute on his own). He thinks everything else will fall into place on its own and to stop stressing. Easier said than done! :-) Lastly, the tear duct in his right eye has still not opened yet and I am still cleaning the eye out constantly. We are going to wait until 9 months and then see a specialist if it is still closed. (I think we may be heading for the same surgery that Shannon's little guy Carson is having).
All in all, the appointment went great and the pedi said we are doing a great job with Colin. He is big, healthy and happy! The poor little bear had the worst afternoon after his shots...this is the fussiest I have ever seen him. I finally got him off to bed a few moments ago with his monkey and I am hoping that he gets some quality sleep. Have I mentioned that he is the cutest little thing in the whole world?
18 lbs, 7 oz (50 - 75 percentile)
28 inches long (90 percentile)
The growth rate is the same, which is great! He has been at those percentiles all along the way, so his progress is steady. It looks like my little man is going to be taller than me by the time he is five. HA! He was a very brave boy during his shots and flirted up a storm with the nurses, as usual. I was very glad that we were seeing Colin's original doctor, so I asked all kinds of questions. As far as the soy formula, he thinks that Colin is probably not lactose intolerant, but simply finds it easier to digest the specific proteins used in the soy formula versus the cows milk. He told me to keep up the soy, but to go ahead and introduce cows milk at the one year mark to see what happens. He is confident that Colin will have no problem drinking regular milk. Either way, I am just glad that I have found a way to ease his stomach problems for now! He also told me that stage one and two foods are fine now, but to wait on the meats and crackers, etc until the 8 -9 month point. Developmentally, the pedi said not to worry yet about that fact that Colin does not want to roll all the way over. He said that since Colin hates being on his stomach, he has probably already figured out that he would rather not roll over to it! The little man has already started to outsmart me! The pedi said to keep working on it and focus more on getting him to sit without assistance by the 7 month mark. (right now, he topples over after about a minute on his own). He thinks everything else will fall into place on its own and to stop stressing. Easier said than done! :-) Lastly, the tear duct in his right eye has still not opened yet and I am still cleaning the eye out constantly. We are going to wait until 9 months and then see a specialist if it is still closed. (I think we may be heading for the same surgery that Shannon's little guy Carson is having).
All in all, the appointment went great and the pedi said we are doing a great job with Colin. He is big, healthy and happy! The poor little bear had the worst afternoon after his shots...this is the fussiest I have ever seen him. I finally got him off to bed a few moments ago with his monkey and I am hoping that he gets some quality sleep. Have I mentioned that he is the cutest little thing in the whole world?
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sunshine!
Today was beautiful outside! It got into the 60's today and it was bright and sunny...finally!! We took advantage of the great weather and went to a nearby park where we took our roller blades out for a spin with Colin. We got him a nifty new jogging stroller that has made a huge difference in getting the little guy out and about. My husband was flying down the trails with Colin and they were both getting a huge kick out of it. I am pretty rusty on my blades, so I gave them to my sister after awhile and just walked behind everyone. I found it really soothing to get some quiet time walking the trails...it was a much needed afternoon of sunshine. I also tried a new spaghetti meat sauce for dinner that I actually made from scratch and it turned out wonderful...so things went great all the way around today. :-)
Tomorrow is Colin's six month well baby appointment and I am so excited about it. I have a whole list of questions to take with me so that I don't forget to ask the pedi everything that I have been wondering about. I love finding out how big Colin has gotten!! I have been thinking seriously about changing pediatricians....I really do like Colin's doctor, but the practice has NINE doctors, so we hardly ever get to see the same one. I am still steaming over the fact that nobody thought about Colin being lactose intolerant and I had to make the diagnosis myself after six months of pain! We will see what happens tomorrow, but I do think that if I find a small practice that I like, I might give it a try. We shall see. We are seeing Colin's original doctor tomorrow, and he was the reason that I picked their practice. I will tell him about my concerns and take it from there.
Also...in other random thoughts...I am a member of a message board of moms who have babies born in July of 2007. Therefore, all of our babies should be around the same age and we are supposed to be able to share thoughts and questions with each other. I joined them back when it was an "expecting" club for July 2007. Lately, however, it has started stressing me out more than helping me. Some of the women are posting video of their little ones and all their milestones...one baby was CRAWLING today! JEEZ! Colin is nowhere close to crawling! Now, I know full well that he is not supposed to be crawling yet, but I about had a heart attack when I saw that little girl crawling on video! Good grief!!
I realize this post was all over the place, but sometimes that is just the way my mind works! :-)
Tomorrow is Colin's six month well baby appointment and I am so excited about it. I have a whole list of questions to take with me so that I don't forget to ask the pedi everything that I have been wondering about. I love finding out how big Colin has gotten!! I have been thinking seriously about changing pediatricians....I really do like Colin's doctor, but the practice has NINE doctors, so we hardly ever get to see the same one. I am still steaming over the fact that nobody thought about Colin being lactose intolerant and I had to make the diagnosis myself after six months of pain! We will see what happens tomorrow, but I do think that if I find a small practice that I like, I might give it a try. We shall see. We are seeing Colin's original doctor tomorrow, and he was the reason that I picked their practice. I will tell him about my concerns and take it from there.
Also...in other random thoughts...I am a member of a message board of moms who have babies born in July of 2007. Therefore, all of our babies should be around the same age and we are supposed to be able to share thoughts and questions with each other. I joined them back when it was an "expecting" club for July 2007. Lately, however, it has started stressing me out more than helping me. Some of the women are posting video of their little ones and all their milestones...one baby was CRAWLING today! JEEZ! Colin is nowhere close to crawling! Now, I know full well that he is not supposed to be crawling yet, but I about had a heart attack when I saw that little girl crawling on video! Good grief!!
I realize this post was all over the place, but sometimes that is just the way my mind works! :-)
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