Update

Seems like I have no time to write these days. There has been a lot going on around here though so I'll steal from Lauren and make a bulleted post :)

• Pete had surgery on his thumb today. He could be home from work healing from 1 week to 3 months! There are a lot of variables. We'll see what happens.
• Mason has 4 teeth. Two on top. Two on bottom. He loves to eat! He now patiently waits with his mouth wide open for each bite of baby food. Yay!
• Still making home made baby food and pumping at work. In the eating area we are doing really well. Yay again!
• Mason is moving like crazy! Using a combination of rolling and scooting (mostly backwards) he is getting around some. He isn't on all fours, but he practices some so I'm thinking that he might start moving that way soon.
• He can move from sitting to all fours and vice versa.
• First semester of school is over! I made it through the first nine weeks of being away from by little dude. He loves his babysitter and so do we :)
• Mason started his hungry cry the other day while he was playing with a book on the floor. I sat down with him and asked him what the matter was. He looked at me and cried and waved his hand back and forth bending his wrist. I said something to him and he did it again. I think he was trying to sign! Pete thought I was crazy until Pete was holding him the next day trying to rock him to sleep. Mason was a little fussy. Pete called me in and said that he thought he wanted milk. Mason looked up at me and did the hand thing again. Pete couldn't believe it. Either we are just over reacting to some impatient hand movements or this kid is actually learning some sign language! I've done it with him since birth so its definitely possible!
• Mason is going along for the wagon ride for Halloween. He will be dressed as a lion and hanging out with his little buddies but just riding. He's too little for the door to door stuff. I'll be sure to post some pics.

That's all for now.

Monday Blahs

Its Monday night and I'm baking a cake. At Pete's request, not mine. But trust me... I didn't hesitate. For some reason since I gave birth I love eating sweets. I always have liked desserts and such but only when I was in the right mood. Not all the time - there were definite times I passed. But lately, its like I'll take any excuse to eat cookies, candy, cake, ice cream... you name it. I didn't even eat that much sugary stuff when I was pregnant. I tried to eat very healthy. I don't know what happened. I'm working on that though.


On a more pleasant note, I've lost 5 lbs. I think its weird considering my guilty pleasures mentioned above. I don't know how it happened. It just happened. I'm going to try to keep that trend going though. I could stand to firm up a little more. I'm definitely back to pre-baby weight now which makes me pretty happy. Although my body is different now. I don't feel as toned as I used to feel. I think I just need to exercise more, or... at all. Oops, more secrets revealed. Well, I do exercise actually. I walk a lot at work. AND a friend comes over 2x/week to walk in the evenings. We tend to do more chatting than actual exercise, but at least its an attempt. Maybe those are the reasons for the weight loss. Sounds like a logical explanation, right?



I'm exhausted today. Little Dude hasn't been sleeping like he used to at night. He USED to go to sleep around 7 or 8 and sleep until 7 am only waking one time around midnight for a short feeding then straight back to bed. Ahhhh, the good ol' days. NOW, he goes to sleep around 6:30 or 7. But he wakes a hundred times. Okay, well, not really 100, but a few. He started slowly and I used to be able to grab him and bring him to bed with us. Feed him and he'd be out. In those transition days he might have woken up again, but gone right back to sleep. He'd end up back in his crib at some point in the night when I would wake again and realize that he was still there. A few nights ago, he woke about 4 times and wanted to eat every time. The next night was much the same. After a few nights of that, I decided to not make a habit of him eating all night long. I took him to the rocking chair instead of my bed and only fed him one time like the good ol' days. He took it well. I don't think he was hungry, he just was in the habit of eating every time he woke in the night. Its been 3 nights of rocking instead of just going to pick him up and bringing him to our bed and I'm tired. I'm not complaining too much. I try to savor the time I have with my guy while he's still little. And, a reason might be because I'm working now so he's waking up at night to make up for one on one time lost during the day. I read somewhere that that might happen. That makes it even more okay with me. Plus he's teething, he had some kind of unexplained allergic reaction lately where he broke out in hives for 3 days, and he's going through a developmental transition - learning to crawl and eating solids. My doctor said that a lot of parents have concerns about baby's changing sleep habits at this age. I didn't even ask her - she just offerred the info. Makes me feel like it MUST be pretty darn common. BUT - I'm still tired. Blah! One day I'll have an uninterrupted night and morning of sleep. It might be 18 years from now, but it will happen. So until then, here's to strong coffee in the morning. Cheers!

EWWWWW! Sweet Potatoes!

For now, Youtube.com and I are at odds. So there is no video of Mason trying out solid foods for the first time. Its hilarious and heartbreaking to watch and I thought it would be able to speak for itself, but it looks like good old fashion writing will have to do this time.
We were very excited for his first meal. There was a lot of anticipation and preparation (home made sweet potatoes). Pete and I were very excited since he has been so interested in food lately. So we sat down like we do for meals with Little Dude in his high chair. I took a bite of the baby food, Pete took a bite of the baby food. We talked about how good it tasted. Then his turn. A teeny tiny tip of the baby spoon bite of sweet potatoes for Mason. He mouths it, looks at me, then looks at Pete. "YUM-EE!" I say. Picture this... bottom lip pops out and tears. One out of each eye. What a heart breaker. He swallows it, but he doesn't like it. Awww... we feel horrible but we aren't giving up yet. Pete eats several more bites all the while singing and talking about how good it tastes. One more try for the babes. Nope, does not like the sweet potatoes. He eats it, but its obvious he is not enjoying it one little bit. Fine. Eating time is over for that day. We plan to try the next day.
Day #2 and Mason takes bites of food with a reaction that I can only describe as the same reaction someone has when they do a shot of whiskey. His chin fell to his chest and his shoulders shivered as he swallowed. Yikes!

So now its been a few weeks and I have continued to make food for him and offer him bites during dinner time on week days and every time we eat on weekends. As soon as he shows signs of non interest I put it away. He eats a bite or two sometimes more everyday. I'm not going to worry about it or let others make me worry about it. He will continue to eat more and more as time goes by. He's obviously getting plenty of nutrients. He weighed 22lbs and 13 oz at his 6 mo well baby visit! Big boy!

Eating now is fun (it stressed me out those first few days). So far I've made and he's eaten sweet potatoes, banana, avocado, pears, nectarines. He likes the pear the best so far. He's also had baby oatmeal cereal that I only bought because my mother made me feel like the reason he didn't like the food was because he needed to eat cereal first. It just made him constipated. He'll probably eat more of that too eventually since I have it. Next will be carrots and green beans. I've had fun making his food. I've looked forward to going to the Farmer's Market to pick up his next new food to prepare. This is just the beginning and I know before long this little dude will be eating us out of house and home!

Favorite Pics

Here are some of my favorite pictures from September. I've been trying to add the video of Mason's first meal, but I encountered some technical difficulties. Stay tuned. In the meantime check out my Babsy...





September 1st - Front yard photo shoot.



September 25th - 6 mo birthday. (please ignore the laundry- ha ha)