Baby J is Two Months Old :)

Dear Baby J,

You turned 2 months old on August 27! I can’t believe two months have passed since we were here.

Time is flying so quickly! I already have trouble remembering what our family was like without you in it. You are such a sweet little spirit and we thank God for you every single day.

You are smiling all the time in the mornings (our favorite time of the day!) and sometimes at night. You coo and "talk" to us a lot. You love to have us talk to you and read books to you as well. Your dad especially loves to "jibber jabber" with you :)

You’re a big boy, but still not as chubby as Mom would like. You weighed 11 pounds, 10 ounces at your 2 month appointment and were 24 inches long. You've been so distracted while nursing this past month that I'm afraid that you're not eating enough! There's just too much to see in this big world to focus on eating - right, Nugget? You're currently eating 6 to 7 times a day, usually for 30 to 40 minutes. You've also had some digestive troubles that have made eating not so fun. Gripe water was our best friend for awhile this month!

You have become such a good little sleeper in the past couple of weeks. You sleep 8 to 9 straight hours at night without being fed and then go back to sleep for 1 to 2 more hours before we start the day. Naps during the day are a different story, though! I've been trying to let you form your own nap schedule by observing when you like to sleep during the day and then just enforcing it, but you haven't been very consistent. And you often cry and refuse to go to sleep when I put you down for a nap. It's been a little trying at times, but I'm sure we'll figure out your daytime sleep together soon :)

You’re such an observant little guy. You especially love looking at lights and at yourself in the mirror. Your activity gym has been a hit so far!

Baby J, you’re getting more and more control over your head movement. You hated tummy time for most of the month, but recently you have been more OK with it. You’re still a little bobble head though! I love seeing your head bob and weave when you stand up on our laps or when we carry you around. 

After Dad goes to work, you and I read books, walk around the neighborhood or park, do tummy time, look at your mobile, or run errands.  We even enjoyed Story Time at the library for the first time this month!

You've been a very busy little nugget this month: traveling to DC and Annapolis.  And we take you to church every Sunday where you behave very well during the service (and pay serious attention to the sermon, of course!) You continue to be agreeably portable so long as the car is zipping along... much like your parents, you have no patience for stoplights and traffic jams that slow you down.  Both on your travels and at home, you've met many new friends and family... including your Aunt Sue, Uncle Chip, and Aunt Laurel. While normally so sleepy and snuggly at night, you are so social if there are guests over... Twice this month you've hung out with the grown-ups when company stayed late - content to be passed around or just chill out in your swing... you didn't want to miss out on any of the gossip or action!  

Look how much you’ve changed in one month!

Two Month Stats & Milestones

• Weight: 11 lbs 10 oz = 45th percentile
• Height: 24 inches = 85th percentile (a future NBA player for sure!)
• Diaper Size: 1
• Clothing Size: 0-3 month with some 3-6 month (especially in Kissy Kissy)
• Nicknames: Jacaroo (or just Roo), Rabbit, Munchkin, Lovebug (or just Bug), Nugget 
• Trip to Library of Congress: August 8
• Trip to Annapolis: August 9
• First Story Time at the Library: August 22
• First Trip to the Pool: August 31
• Visits: Nan and Aunt Sue (August 7-10); Uncle Chip and Aunt Laurel (August 15-17)
• Smiling and laughing regularly (with some "squawking" thrown in)
• Mini "push-ups"
• Bearing weight on legs
• Grasping for toys sometimes
• Tracking objects with eyes

Baby J, you continue to be the greatest joy... and just keep getting more and more fun as the days pass! We can't wait to see what next month brings!

To the moon and back, 

Mama

Baby J is 1 month old!

Dear J,

I cannot believe how quickly your first month has flown by. For most of the first two weeks we had our struggles with you being a “lazy eater” and losing too much weight. Now that we are more adept at breastfeeding, you are thriving.

Some days it seems like you spend all day sleeping and some days you are very very alert. You have the brightest eyes and seem to be just taking everything in.

For the most part, you’re really laid back. You manage to sleep through church services and loud noises like the fire alarm. You fall asleep on your own sometimes for naps and every bedtime. You don’t need to be rocked all of the time, but I still sneak in a couple of minutes of rocking before I put you in your bed for naps.

Right now, we feed you between 7:00 and 7:30 pm and put you to bed. We wake you up for a “dream feeding” at 10:00 and put you back to bed. You sleep until 3:00 or 4:00am, eat a little, and go back to sleep until 6:00 or 6:30. You take a morning nap until around 9:00.

You’re a good baby and have fit in so perfectly with our family. We just love you so much!

 I’m so excited to measure you up next to your Jelly Cats monkey every month to see how big you are!

We love you, Baby J!

Mommy

1 month stats:

Weight: 10 lbs
Height: 22 inches (estimate)
Eating: 8 times per day
Clothes: 0-3 month and some 3 month
Diaper: Size 1

Introducing ...

This post is way overdue, but life has been a little intense since Baby J arrived and it's been really difficult to find time to post (and when I did have time to post I preferred to sleep instead!).

Baby J arrived at 10:12 pm on June 27 after a long day of labor beginning at 5:20am. He weighed 8lbs 12 oz. He's a big boy :)

26 & 28 Weeks

26 Weeks

28 Weeks

Yes - I know that a 27 Week pic didn't make it into the line up :) I was counting on having some pictures from my baby shower to document that week, but those pictures didn't materialize for various reasons (Bummer!) so one week will be missing from the preggo progression. My little friend in the 26 Week picture is Baby Boy's "Junglie Monkey" from Jellycat. Peter and I have fallen in love with him :) Monkey will help me document baby's growth in his first year, and I hope that baby loves him as much as his mommy and daddy do!

Let me just say that at this point I'm in awe of all of the mamas-to-be who have their stuff together enough to do weekly postings from the second they find out they're pregnant. I totally struggle to find the time!

Musings on Weekly Photo:  Heinously unflattering. I'm blaming the bad lighting in our home :)

Weight Gain:  22 lbs. WELL, HELLO.  I'm blaming the shoes that I was wearing when I stepped on the scale at the doctor's office this past Tuesday (those clodhoppers had to weigh at least 5lbs each, right?). I'm also blaming the extremely large baby hanging out in my belly right now (he has to weigh at least 5lbs by now, right?) Oh, and I'm blaming ice cream. Definitely ice cream :)

Maternity Clothes:  I finally found a cute, colorful springtime dress at Old Navy Maternity a couple of weeks ago. I wore it for Easter but of course forgot to take any pictures of the Mr. and me in our dressy duds. I was SO excited to find a maternity dress that wasn't black or brown :) I also bought some jean capris for spring from Old Navy Maternity since the temps are warming up here in good ole MD. I would love a pair of white maternity jeans as well, but I refuse to pay $98 for them (ahem, Boden Maternity - I'm referring to you!) If anyone knows of any nice-looking, cheaper white maternity jeans, please let me know!

Fruit of the Week / Size of Baby: Eggplant last week {27} and eggplant this week {28}.  

Movement: Baby Boy is becoming quite the busy bee - he's much more active these past few weeks! He also seems to like his space - whenever I wear pants that aren't full-panel, he kicks right at the waistband. Smart boy. He still will not allow Peter to feel him move, though. Every time he's doing his little kickboxing routine in there, I'll tell Peter to put his hand on my stomach. And every time baby immediately turns as still as stone. I'm afraid that we might have a very stubborn child on our hands :)

Cravings: Anything Mexican. I made Bow Tie Fiesta the other night for dinner (thanks, Blue-Eyed Bride!) and it was SO good! I also have a hankering for Indian food too. A trip to our local Indian carry out might be in our near future :) And Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs!

Annoyances: Fatigue - I'm a little worried since this is only the start of the 3rd trimester and I'm already really tired.  I'm also running out of room in my rib cage; baby boy is enjoying sticking his hands and feet up there which is a really odd sensation.

Highlights of the Week:  Receiving Baby Boy's crib and dresser. Ordering his bedding. A great Easter with friends and looking forward to Easter next year when I'll have an adorable little boy to dress in a smocked outfit with little bunnies or lambs on it (or something equally as cute!).

Medical Updates:  I'm now going to my ob/gyn every two weeks. I had my glucose tolerance test last Friday so I'll get my results at my next doctor's appt. Crossing my fingers that I don't have to do the 3 hour glucose test!

24 & 25 Weeks

This photo and update will have to do for both my 24th and 25th weeks since I didn't take a picture last week (my 25th). And - yes-since I'm currently in my 26th week this post is a bit late :)

Marination Time: 25 weeks last Saturday

Weight Gain:  17 lbs at last appointment (almost a month ago) ... It should be "fun" to see the scale at my next ob/gyn appointment this Friday!

Maternity Clothes:  I'm rethinking my current maternity jeans. They'e the low-rise, demi-panel type and they're majorly cutting into my mid-section right now. I don't think Baby Boy likes them either because he tends to direct his kicks at the waistband :)

Fruit of the Week: Eggplant (The Bump) or Rutabega (BabyCenter)

Movement: Not as many to-the-belly japs and kicks this week, making me think he's found a new position he enjoys.  

Cravings: Not any specific cravings, but the Chipotle burrito bowl that I had for dinner on Friday night really hit the spot :)

Annoyances: Fellow passengers on an overcrowded train on the DC Metro who do not offer their seat to a very tired pregnant lady carrying too many bags and wearing really uncomfortable shoes!!!

Highlights of the Week:  Fatigue, pregnancy congestion, and hip pain during sleep aside, I can honestly say I'm really loving this part of pregnancy.  I'm actually looking the part, but the belly isn't huge enough to majorly get in the way, and I'm still feeling generally great.  

23 Weeks

Musings on the Weekly Photo: I kind of forgot about taking a photo this week until last night after I returned home from my Pregnancy Yoga class, hence the workout clothes :) And Peter was at his men's Bible study last night, hence the oh-so-professional self portrait :)

Marination Time: 23 weeks last Saturday

Weight Gain:  15-16 lbs total.  Yikes! I've never been this heavy in my life, and I'm pushing the boundary of what you are supposed to have gained at this point in pregnancy. When I went to my ob/gyn last Friday, I had gained 15 lbs. But then when I went to another doctor's appt. this Monday, I had apparently gained 1 more pound over the weekend. I'm totally into believing that it was my heavier shoes on Monday that made the difference and not the brownies that I made Sunday :)

Maternity Clothes:  Pregnancy yoga pants are the best! If I never had to leave the house, I would probably be in these all of the time. Side note about maternity clothes: Why is it so hard to find maternity wear in colors other than black, gray, brown, and navy? Has intensive marketing research found that pregnant women do not like bright, happy colors? I've been looking for some pretty spring dresses for my upcoming baby shower and Easter, and even though all of the colorful spring clothing for non-preggos is on the racks in stores, maternity shops still look like it's the dead of winter.

Fruit of the Week: Mango, according to Baby Center. Pomegranate, according to The Bump.

Name: Nope. Peter has to mull each possibility over for a few days before rejecting it. Baby Boy will probably still be called Baby Boy when he's 5 years old at this rate!

Movement: Pretty constant now.

Cravings: Pizza! Looking forward to partaking of some cheesy goodness this weekend ...

Annoyances: Frequent toe cramps and occasional leg cramps. I had a bad leg cramp last night which was not a fun thing to wake up to! Allergies are still bad :(

Highlights of the Week:  Wedding dress shopping with my recently-engaged friend, KJB :)

Guess who's preggers?

I thought that the first day of a new month was a good time to write my first post in forever (seriously - forever!) and how better to introduce a long-overdue post but with some big news :) I'm pregnant! 22 weeks to be exact. Which means that I'm way behind in weekly baby bump updates :) But I've really only had a baby bump for the past week. I'd thought about starting earlier but I really didn't look pregnant at all yet so I decided to wait. This past week when my belly just sort of popped out I knew that I needed to get on the ball so here's update #1.

Musings on the Weekly Photo: We are officially bumping :) This was taken in the evening so I look bigger; in the mornings I'm not as big for some reason. Does gravity make your belly bulge more as the day progresses? Or is Baby stretching out before bedtime? Not sure but it's kind of funny. My allergies have been horrible for the past two months (a lovely, not-well-known side effect of pregnancy!) and my energy levels have hit bottom so I've been rocking the disheveled ponytail a lot lately :)

Marination Time: 22 weeks last Saturday

Weight Gain:  I think 15 lbs, but I have a checkup with my ob/gyn tomorrow so I'll know for sure then.    

Maternity Clothes: Love this striped boatneck top from Gap Maternity! It was my first maternity clothing purchase and on sale to boot! I'm not loving my maternity jeans from Old Navy so much this week. The demi-panel bootcuts were supposed to last the entire pregnancy, but I see some oh-so-sexy full panel jeans in my very near future! The waistband is cutting into my stomach so I think a larger dose of stretchy material up front is needed :)

Fruit of the Week: The Bump says Papaya. Baby Center says Spaghetti Squash. Hmm ... peeps need to compare notes on these fruit choices.

Sex: BOY! We've known for 3 weeks and couldn't be more excited :)

Name: Not yet! We have some strong contenders, but nothing is finalized. And I'm impatient to get it finalized (ahem! - husband o' mine are you reading?) because I have my eye on many pieces of monogrammable baby loot.

Movement: Yesterday his kicks were strong enough to make my stomach move for the first time :) Last night I tried to watch for him to do it some more so that Peter could feel, but I never caught the right moment. Hopefully, this weekend Peter will be able to feel him move for the first time! 

Cravings: Nothing specific except junk food of any kind (i.e. corndogs, chips, candy, etc.) and any food that I'm not allowed to have while I'm pregnant (i.e. deli meat, alcohol, soft cheeses, etc.). Not a good craving combo :) I haven't eaten anything I'm not supposed to, and I'm being very cautious with the junk food. I wish that this baby like veggies and fruit more!

Annoyances: The aforementioned never-ending allergies. Hip soreness while sleeping on my side at night (a 5-foot long body pillow is now my best friend). Multiple doctor appointments in one week.

Highlights of the Week:  Seeing daffodills blooming this morning on my way to work :) Spring is almost here, and I couldn't be more excited about it!

PSA: Girl Scout Cookie Ice Cream. I have a deep, abiding appreciation for Edy's genius in thinking of adding Girl Scout cookies to already delicious ice cream. Limited edition so hurry and buy a few hundred gallons!

 

(image via Google)





Happy Halloween!!!

I'm still struggling with finding enough time to blog, but I couldn't let the last day of October pass by without a little recap of some of the fun stuff we've been up to this month :)

A few weekends ago, Peter and I took a little trip to Woodbine, MD, to do some apple picking and pumpkin selecting at Larriland Farm.

 Obviously, we were not the only people at Larriland Farm that day :) It was quite the happenin' spot!

I had never been apple picking before, and I loved it! Part of the reason I loved it was probably because we only spend about a half-hour picking. Some of my fellow apple-pickers looked like they had been there all day and had bushels and bushels of apples. I wondered what they were going to do with all of those apples?!!!

Searching for only the best!

Gotcha!

We also visited the punkin' patch which I had not done since I was a Brownie in Girl Scouts. We had some trouble picking our pumpkins so we created a pumpkin line up of sorts :)

And the winner is ...

We also made sure to sample the apple fritters that the local high-school cheerleading team was selling as a fund-raiser. Yum! So much appley goodness!!!

Last weekend the carving of the pumpkins and the roasting of the pumpkin seeds took place :)

 Pumpkin guts seriously make me want to throw up, but Peter is definitely OK with them. Gross!!!

The finished products. Mine is supposed to be winking. Peter's is supposed to have been maimed in some kind of pumpkin brawl :)

We also roasted pumpkin seeds which Peter always did growing up. It was super easy, and the roasted seeds were pretty tasty (and I'm assuming extremely healthy). We washed them off really well, sauteed them in a couple of tablespoons of butter, spread them out on a cookie sheet, and then roasted them for 45 minutes in a 200 degree oven. Ta-da!!!

Whatever your plans are for tonight (trick-or-treating, handing out candy, awesome costume party, etc.), I hope that you have a very fun Halloween :)

Checking in ...

 (image via Google)

It was not my intention to take a 3-week break from blogging, but that's what happened :) And the reason why it happened was because I started a new job! The job is within the agency where I've worked for several years so I didn't have to change my commute, get used to a new building, etc. But the work is substantially different from what I've been doing for the last 8 years so there's quite a learning curve. I think that it's going OK, but the trying-to-keep-on-top-of-things hasn't left much time for the ole blog. I hope to get back to more regular blogging soon because I miss it, but I need to nail down my schedule a bit more so that I can actually figure out when I can post (and not be exhausted and distracted)! This new job could be a really good change for me, but I have to confess that I hate change :( I'm a traditional kind of girl who likes her routines, familiar faces, and everything to just stay the same. But change is a part of life that I can't change so I need to learn to get used to it :) And grow from it! It's humbling to go from a position where I had a lot of autonomy and was sort of "expert" at what I did to one where I have to work as part of a team and know next to nothing about what I'm doing, but a good dose of humility is a good thing now and again and I know that I need to challenge myself once in awhile (I was getting very bored in my previous position to be honest!). The next year will be much harder than the previous one at work, but it could be loads better too :)

A First Taste of Fall ...

I know that autumn doesn't officially start until this Friday (Sept. 23), but I caught a glimpse of it this weekend when Peter and I went canoeing in Seneca Creek State Park.

I was so excited to see that little bit of red foliage! Fall's a'comin' :)

 Except for the persistent cloud cover, this weekend's weather was great - temps in the 60s every day! I wore my first long-sleeved shirt and fleece jacket of the season :)

I haven't been canoeing since our St. Mary's 7th grade (or was it 6th grade?) class trip to Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky (where my friends and I were stuck on the lake for hours since none of us could figure out how to paddle back to shore!) so we thought it best if Peter handled the steering (very capably too - I might add).

I became quite the nature photographer on this trip. I expect National Geographic to be calling me with job offers any minute now :)

This crane (or heron? I never know the difference between the two) let us get really close to him and never flew away. It must be because of my awesome photography skills and Peter's awesome steering :)

 If you look really closely, you can see two really cute, little wood ducks standing on that log in the water. And yes - the water around the log is fairly disgusting - partly from algae and partly from garbage that people have chosen to decorate the lake with (Seriously, people! Find a trash can!)

We call these "the ducks that kind of have heads and necks like snakes," but I'm pretty sure that's not their real name :) These guys were very nervous as we approached but tried their hardest to pretend to be cool with it!

I'm looking forward to other fall activities - long hikes in the woods, apple picking, a trip to the pumpkin patch, etc. And, of course, sipping my first Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks of the season :) What are you looking forward to this fall? 

The Beach!

Wow! It's been awhile since I've last posted, and there's good reason for that, I promise :) Peter and I were on vacation last week and didn't have internet access at the place where we stayed. And I haven't had internet access for most of this week because some fiberoptic cable decided to break somewhere and severed our connection. Cue severe internet withdrawl symptoms for me :) Just kidding - it hasn't been that bad, but I am excited to blog about our vacation to Panama City Beach and share some pictures finally!

Peter and I flew down to Panama City Beach, FL, last week to meet my parents (who drove from Memphis) for a week at the beach. We rented a condo here - the Majestic Beach Towers - on the 14th floor. All of the condos here are directly on the beach and have fantastic views :)

Growing up, my family always vacationed on the Gulf Coast, usually in Destin, FL (a.k.a. "Little Memphis" - the entire city vacations here in the summer :) ), and this was the first time that I had been back since high-school. I had kind of forgotten how beautiful it is!

We chose to stay in Panama City Beach since the major airport for the area is there and since I have a cousin who just moved there, and while PCB used to be called the "redneck riviera," let me tell you that PCB ain't what it used to be :) There are still quite a few airbrush T-shirt shops and 24-hour tattoo places, but the newer condo buildings and houses are really nice. There are also some great new shopping places, like Pier Park, which have more upscale stores and restaurants.

You certainly can't tell from this picture which was taken later in the trip, but when we first arrived, Tropical Storm Lee was brewing off the coast and on our first full day in FL she hit, bringing rain and plenty of wind. Certainly not evacuation conditions, but certainly not nice beach conditions! We did get to see some pretty awesome waves, though :) After that one day, we had wonderful weather; I think September is one of the best times to be at the beach (if you can manage to avoid hurricanes/tropical storms!) - warm but not super hot, very low humidity, and clear waters.

As Peter is demonstrating in the above picture, there were sandbars out in the ocean that you could swim to and stand on. He's fairly far out but in waist-deep water.

Our condo was very "beachy" and cute with lots of pink and green which I loved! How fun would it be to decorate a beach place :)

We celebrated my birthday while we were there, and I woke up to a sweet sign that Peter had "inscribed" in the sand for me :)

We went to dinner at an old-time fave, Captain Anderson's. Capt. Anderson's is one of those old-fashioned seafood restaurants where all of the waitresses have worked there for at least 20 years, there's a lot of wood and nautical decor, and the bartender knows how to make the best cocktails. They also broadcast the nautical forecast in the restrooms :)

We had Publix cupcakes for dessert (the best!) and ice cream.

We also took a side trip to Seaside, FL, (the planned community where The Truman Show was filmed) which I had wanted to see for awhile. It's just as cute as in pictures! I think this is where we will want to vacation the next time we go to FL :)

Is it time to go on vacation again? :)

Peter's 30th Birthday :)

My husband turned 30 recently, and we had a small party for him with some of our closest friends :) Peter usually does not like any kind of attention for his birthday and has actually kept the date of his birth a secret from friends for years because he didn't want any hoopla. Since he was turning 30 this year, however, I convinced him that it was time to celebrate. I had a good time planning the festivities, and I think that everyone had a good time at the party. Peter especially had fun, and I suspect that it might not take as much convincing next year to throw a little shindig for him :)

I, being the forgetful photographer that I am, forgot to take any pictures of the actual party (which I'm quite sad about) - probably because I was having such a good time with our friends! I did remember to take pictures, though, of the set up for the party so here's what it looked like when the guests arrived.

This was the dining room table ready and waiting for the dinner buffet to be set. I was so happy that I was able to buy white hydrangeas for the arrangements!

Coffee table arrangement. As you can see, we are well-stocked with board games and always ready for a party :)

Our very small dessert buffet (not including his birthday cake which I brought in later).

This was my first time making glazed sugar cookies and I think that they turned out well! Peter loves mint and chocolate and toffee/almonds and chocolate so those were our candy choices for favors. I was very excited to use some of my Willow House glass serving pieces for the first time (Thanks, Callie!)

Peter's favorite color is green so that was the main color of the night, but I also threw some white and brown in to give some variety (and because those seem like "manly" colors!). It was really difficult to find matching green party supplies, though; there are so many shades of green!!!

At first I had wanted to go all out and have colored poms hanging from the ceiling, "Happy Birthday" banners everywhere, etc., etc., but then I thought that that might not look very masculine and I didn't want to overwhelm/embarrass my husband. I think I'll just have to wait until we have kids to go overboard for birthday parties :)