Sunday, May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day friends!

I really love this holiday. Mostly because the whole fact that I get to celebrate it centers around what I consider my biggest accomplishments, my kiddos. I don't know if I could have every imagined how much I love being a mommy, but I really do. Now, don't get me wrong, it is by no means all sunshine and rainbows. Especially now that L is talking back and L2 is in the throws of the terrible twos, I often find myself yelling at them, and issuing time outs and counting down the hours until S gets home and I can hand over parenting duties to him. Some days being a mom is really, really hard. Some days it is disgusting. (This week we had a stomach bug run through the house that resulted in me cleaning up puke and many, many blowout and diarrhea diapers. It was gross.) I love being a mom, but I can honestly say I didn't love any moment of the bodily fluid cleanup that I endured this week. Some days I find myself getting so frustrated with them that I have to walk into another room and catch my temper before I go back in and start dealing with it again. I am by no means a perfect mom, but this is real life, and, damn it, I try. And some days that's all you can do. But, the bottom line is, even on the worst of the worst days, even on the days when they are driving me up the wall, I would rather be with them than anywhere else in the world. That's what being a mom is all about.... even when it kind of sucks, it's better than anything else you could imagine.

And I'm so lucky to have a husband who recognizes that being a mom is a hard, fulfilling, wonderful, challenging, frustrating and rewarding job, all rolled into one. (So is being a dad!!) I love that he gets that even though I stay home, I work hard, He gets it, and he makes me feel appreciated everyday, not just on Mother's Day.

But he did make today special for me. He let me sleep in (for all you mom's out there, you know that "sleeping in" means sleeping until 8) and then he made me a delicious breakfast of crepes and coffee and mimosas.


The boys gave me a card and L made me this beautiful necklace at preschool. I love it, and he is so proud of it. I definitely cried a little when he gave it to me.


My present from S was something that I asked for and have been wanting for a long time. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a bit of a gym/workout rat. I go about 5 days a week and love running and yoga. But lately I've been feeling a bit discouraged about firming up from the last pregnancy and I think I need to do something new. My gym offered a week free of personal training which I did and it was amazing. Having someone coach me and push me and show me new moves felt amazing. But, unfortunately, personal training is ridiculously expensive and there is no way we could afford it after the free week. (At my gym your looking basically at several thousand dollars) I was bummed, but it is what it is. Then the trainer I had been working with approached me and told me that she had a member who had moved and had a fully paid for personal training package that she was looking to sell. It was 62 one hour sessions for only $200 which is beyond a steal! I was so excited and when I brought it up to S he immediately agreed to get me them for Mother's Day. I start tomorrow and I am so excited!

Anyway, after our delicious breakfast we spent the day window shopping at Nordstroms Rack and the mall. (something I never get to do and requested). Then we came home and S let me take a long afternoon nap followed by a bubble bath while he did all the grocery shopping and gave the kids dinner. I couldn't have asked for a better day!


Friday, May 9, 2014

R's first food

Well, I finally bit the bullet and gave R his first food. Pureed organic Peas..... yum!!! (so yuck, actually... I can't stand the smell!) but regardless of what I thought, he loved them!

The truth is, I think he's been ready for awhile. He's had awesome head control since about 3 months, has been sitting on his own, and is constantly trying to grab out food when we are eating. I actually started L and L2 on solids (well, purees) at four months, but I held out with R until he was at least 6 months. A big reason I waited is because the more research I did and the more I talked to my doctor the more it seemed like even though he might be ready at four months, his body and his digestive system was really more likely to be ready closer to six. I also felt like with him breastfeeding like a champ and being in the 75% for weight while being exclusively breastfed, there was no reason to rush it.



And, honestly, I really could tell a big difference in the waiting for six months instead of starting at four. I remember with both L and L2, they really didn't like the first few tries, and they still had the "push out" reflux much more than R does. R was more than ready and I was really surprised by how much he seemed to like pureed peas!  (Did I mention yuck?)


OK, and here's my honest mommy part..... I think I am, no, I know I am, holding on to R's milestones a little longer. I think with L and L2 I was always so excited for them to hit that next stage, but with R I can see myself holding back a little. Not that I'm not super proud with every new milestone that he hits and not that I don't fully encourage him, but with every new thing he does there is this small part of me that wonders if this will be the last time I get to witness this. We haven't made any decision as to if we are going to add more to our family (and obviously R is only 6 months old, so we won't be making any for a while yet) but just the thought that he could be my last baby (OMG, that just made me tear up) is making me want to hold on to his baby stage just a little longer.


But, my little guy is growing up and I couldn't be a prouder mama! And, with any luck, maybe I'll finally get a kid that's not a picky eater!!!

**Oh, and please excuse the quality of these photos! I was trying to take pics with my iPhone with one hand while feeding him!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

the cupcake bandit

What do you get when you have a mischievous two year old with a huge sweet tooth who knows how to get the fridge open and combine it with some anniversary cupcakes?

Well, my friends, you get a little criminal in the making:




Our little cupcake thief. His execution of the crime was pretty good, however he needs to work on hiding the evidence!

six months

My sweet baby R is six months old!!!

He actually turned six months this past Saturday, but I was out of town for the weekend for a friend from college wedding and then yesterday was a rough night because poor baby had to get all his six month shots, so I'm just now updating.

OK, let's see. Well, at his appointment yesterday he was 18 lbs and some change, so in the 75% for weight and in about the 66% for height. He is officially sitting completely unassisted and he is also crawling!!! He's been trying and sort of army crawling for about a month, but he is not up on all fours and all over the place! He has also been pushing up on his little music table and getting his legs under him to attempt standing.

He is still exclusively breastfed. We will probably be introducing rice cereal this weekend and then other foods right after that. I'm very proud of the fact that he has had nothing but breast milk for six months! (And is super chubby, so obviously it's doing a body good!)

He is still not sleeping through the night, and we are still mostly co sleeping. He starts out the night in the pack in play in our room (he has outgrown the bassinet!) and then usually wakes up around midnight to come into bed. He cuddles with me the rest of the night and we usually end up side nursing about twice throughout the night while we both are still dozing. S is starting to bring up moving him to his room..... but I don't see that happening any time soon! Truthfully, I love having him with me, and as long as he's still waking up at night I would prefer to have him right there.

He is starting to babble a bit and he seems to love hearing himself "talk". He loves his brothers and L is really good at comforting him when he's upset, although he's really not upset to often. He's pretty easygoing and usually only cries when he is hungry, tired or poopy. (Except for last night after the shots.... he cried all night last night! Poor babe!)

He's very into toys now and I feel like I am constantly on the lookout for little toys that aren't safe for him. That's one of the hard parts of having three boys all at different stages, but the big boys seem to understand they have to keep the little toys away from R.

I can't believe he's six months. I know, I know, I say that every monthly update. But man, do we love this little guy. His brothers adore him and his daddy and I just can't get enough!

Happy six month birthday, my sweet boy!