Lucas :: 10 months

written Tuesday, October 14th. 

Happy TEN MONTHS, my son!  You are growing up quicker than ever and your little personality is starting to shine.  Every day you show us something new you love.  Yesterday you learned to clap and you've been pointing at everything and squealing with delight. You are so darn proud of yourself as you can walk around the coffee table with quite speed these days.  Eating Cheerios is your jam, and I'm pretty sure you'd eat the whole box if we didn't cut you off (and if Sadie didn't eat half your stash).

           

I love to watch your little mind process all of the new things you encounter. Opening and shutting the kitchen cabinets entertains you for quite some time.  You've mastered opening drawers, too. New people and large groups are very entertaining to you, but you'd like to stick with your mama and take it all in before you run free.  

As far as sleep and schedule go, it has been nice that you have become quite flexible.  School (what we call daycare) days are much different than weekends, but you seem go with the flow very well.  You still breastfeed in the morning and evening, and have 2 pumped bottles during the day.  One of my favorite times with you is in the middle of the night (well, about 4am), when you are so sleepy and cuddly.  I usually end up rocking you for a while, not because you need it, but because your mama does.  I know you don't need to get up then, but I guess I'm still holding onto our little moment for a little longer. :)

Weight: Not sure, although you seem to have grown up a lot this month. 

Length: 

Diaper Size: 4's, but considering switching to 5's very soon.

Clothes Size:  Definitely 12-18 month clothes now.  It's officially chilly so we've broken out the warm weather clothes.

Hair Color: Strawberry blonde.

Eye color: Blue.

Health: I'm so grateful to report an uneventful month in this category.  You have been your happy, healthy self and I could not be more thankful.

Eating:

You've definitely upped the food intake this month and we're working on introducing more and more "finger food" soon. Typically you have about 4-5 ounces for breakfast, 6 ounces for lunch and dinner. Plus cheerios a few times throughout the day for practice feeding yourself and because you absolutely love it.

Milestones:

Standing between furniture (transferring while walking)

"Da Da"

Pointing 

Clapping

Your favorite toy:

Anything that makes a sound… banging blocks, the door stop, the air vent, drawers, cabinets.  Also anything you can pull up on… chairs, tables, drawers, stairs.  Yeah, all the dangerous stuff.  I think you would LOVE a musical toy, so we’ll probably look at getting you something like that soon :) (Ya, I know what I’m getting myself into…)

Firsts:

"Da Da"

Pineapple

Puffs

You make your dad and I so very proud.  Love you to pieces!

Love, M

Lucas :: 9 months

I realize this is extremely late, but better late than never :)

written Thursday, September 25th. Yeah… a little late, whoops!

Nine whole months old! (Plus about a week and a half)  You are definitely on. the. move!  Crawling and pulling up are your two favorites, along with saying “BA BA BA BA”, which just started last Sunday.  For some reason, this has been my FAVORITE milestone of yours and my heart just about melts into a giant puddle every time you mimic your dad and I. 

However, this month has been quite the whirlwind, as you can probably tell by the tardiness of this post.  We’ve had many doctor visits and unwelcomed sickness in our house.  Here’s to hoping that is a thing of the past!

You are becoming more and more interested in books and get particularly excited when reading “Brown bear, Brown bear”, squealing whenever I say, “Ribbit! Ribbit!”.  I can definitely tell when you want more food, down on the ground, to be held, tired, etc. much better than ever before.  You love to watch other people and are very interested in what they are doing, where they walk, what they have in their hands, etc.  So much to learn!

Weight: 21 pounds 13 ounces (72%tile)

Length: 29 cm (70%tile)

Diaper Size: 4's.

Clothes Size:  You are in between sizes and we are in between seasons.  Mostly 12-month clothes at this point. 

Hair Color: Dirty blonde, maybe a hint of red.

Eye color: Blue.

Health: Saturday, Sept. 6^th turned into a very long day at our house.  We had been planning to have some friends over for the evening and had the house torn apart preparing for them.  We had run some errands together that morning and I fed you lunch about 11:30am.  Not long after you ate, you started crying quite suddenly.  Your dad and I were confused, because you had just gotten up, had eaten, and rarely cry for no reason.  We changed your diaper, and put you in your crib to see if you were tired.  After just a minute or so, I went and got you and could tell something was bothering you.  You were inconsolable and then started getting very “sleepy”.  It was almost as if you were passing out, but not quite.  We called 911. (Scariest moment EVER).  The EMTs showed up and you were crying (good sign) but we still couldn’t figure out what was wrong.  They checked you out and found nothing, but we decided to take you to the ER.  You started vomiting at that point, and cried all the way to the hospital. 

You were examined by a nurse and doctor and then diagnosed with an intussusception after an ultrasound.  That meant a trip in the ambulance to the hospital downtown for an air enema procedure and possible surgery (L).  You were so tired and uncomfortable and dehydrated.  They finally got an IV in you (5^th try) and were able to give you some medicine to help with the pain.  You slept in my arms and I soaked up every second of that.

Luckily, the procedure went very well and you did not need surgery.  We were able to go home late that night and you seemed to be back to normal, although understandably very tired.  

Looking back, I am so thankful that this happened on a weekend, during the day, while both your dad and I were home.  I am so grateful for the amazing care that was given to you throughout the day, but most importantly that you are WELL!!!!!! You will never understand how much your dad and I love you.

The following Friday, you had your first fever of 101.7… we kept you home from daycare, took you to the doctor, and found you had a double ear infection. Surprisingly, you never once seemed bothered or uncomfortable by the fever or your ears! You are a trooper, son. By Saturday you were back to normal.

Like I said earlier, here’s to having the sickness behind us and to a healthy fall!

Eating:

The only new food you had this month was yogurt, and you seem to like it! There really is no food you don’t like.  You gave it the intial “ick” face, but then begged for more. J  You are eating about 6 ounces of food for lunch and dinner, and about 3 ounces for breakfast.  We’re still working on you feeding yourself.

Milestones:

Pulling up on all the things.

First tooth! Bottom, left middle.  There is a top left middle coming right up, too!

First big boy bath (Monday, Sept. 22)

Your favorite toy: 

Anything that makes a sound… banging blocks, the door stop, the air vent, drawers, cabinets.  Also anything you can pull up on… chairs, tables, drawers, stairs.  Yeah, all the dangerous stuff.  I think you would LOVE a musical toy, so we’ll probably look at getting you something like that soon J (Ya, I know what I’m getting myself into…)

Firsts:

Yogurt

Bath in the big tub

Tooth

Ambulance ride

Your smile continues to be the best part of our day each and every day.  I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have you as my son. The Best. Best. Best. Job ever is being your mommy!!

Love, M

Lucas :: 8 Months

LUCAS NEAL

EIGHT MONTHS

written Sunday, August 17th.

What an amazing month you've had! Not only did you learn to sit up on your own, but you are also crawling all over nowadays. You officially are not a tiny little baby anymore. It is absolutely the most fun thing to watch as you learn and grow, it just happens so darn fast.

You are becoming more and more aware of everything around you. This has made the transition to daycare quite tough... not only are you having trouble being away from mom and dad, but you are so distracted by the other kids that you hardly get a nap while you're there. I'm hoping that this improves this week-- your teachers already tell me you are doing much better!

Your dad and I are getting to know you better, too. You love food and will move your mouth and reach out your hands when you want a bite. Whenever you are tired, and in your carseat, you will grunt yourself to sleep :) You get so excited whenever you see other kids and will laugh and laugh and squirm to get to them!

Weight: Heavy, but not quite sure how much you weigh.

Length:  ?

Diaper Size: 4's.

Clothes Size: You grew out of quite a few clothes recently, and are wearing mostly 12-18 month clothes at this point. I can still fit some 6 month stuff on you, but definitely not pants or jammies.

Hair Color: Dirty blonde, maybe a hint of red.

Eye color: Blue.

Health: You caught a cold during your first week of daycare, but luckily it doesn't seem to be bothering you all that much. You're also *maybe* teething. I swear we've thought you have been getting teeth for over half of your life. The drool is in full force now, so maybe we're actually right this time. We shall see!

Eating:

Oh you love your food. Lately you eat solid food at lunch, snack, and dinner, generally about 4 ounces (or cubes) at for meals, 2 ounces for snacks. We gave you a few cheerios and peas to see if you could feed yourself, but you were more interested in smashing them and playing around. New foods this month included chicken, blueberries, mixed veggies, spinach and peas.

Milestones:

You mastered sitting up all on your own on July 21st, but I first saw you in your crib sitting up on July 18th. You were so proud! You wouldn't nap for a few days because you just wanted to practice sitting all. day. long. You started crawling on August 3rd and have been off and running ever since!

Your favorite toy:

Now that you are crawling, you are interested in EVERYTHING!! You want to feel and taste it ALL. Throwing things across the floor and chasing them is also one of your favorites.

Firsts:

-Sitting up

-Crawling

-Daycare

-Attempt feeding himself

This summer was the absolute best. So many laughs and so much fun. I can't imagine our days without you!

Love, M

Ramblings.

This post has been swirling around in my head for the past week or two.  The end of summer... back to work... starting daycare... keeping it all together... you get the picture.  I'm not usually so open with word vomit, but for the sake of documenting the everyday, here's my babble:
Warning: I can be sickeningly optimistic, and am rambling about the bright side in most of what follows. :)

Reflecting back on this year so far, I remember my resolution, or more specifically my word for the year (or however I put it). BALANCE.  I feel as if I've been tested in keeping my life balanced more than ever lately.  And I know that this is no new feat for all of you veteran parents out there, but let me just tell you, the struggle is real, ya'll.

It is really my strong belief at this point in my life that being happy and successful has a lot to do with BALANCE.  (As cliche' as it might sound)  Yes, there are a billion other factors, many of which are out of our control, but keeping a centered, solid ground between the extremes has served itself well for me thus far. Now, actually following through with this is the tough part.

This summer I've had the opportunity to catch up with so many friends that I just do not have time to stay in touch with during the school year.  I LOVE reconnecting with these people, and I wish I had time to see them all more often. However, being a mom has also meant having to say "no" to some of these get-togethers.  If you know me, you know that I'm somewhat (okay, a lot a bit) of a people-pleaser.  It KILLS me to let people down.  I hate backing out, or skipping out. I want to be everywhere at the same time. BUT, what I also hate is leaving my son.  And so I'm learning that its OKAY to say no, and I have to step up and be honest when my family's needs are first.

I left Lucas for the first time overnight to visit some of my favorite ladies for a little trip to Nashville.  We seriously laughed for 48 hours straight. I dragged my pump along with me (through security and all!-I'm also getting less self-conscious with age, ha!) and took and early flight home after a late night out, and it was so worth it! I love that I can go months, even years, without seeing these friends and can just pick up where we left off.  These are true, lifelong friends, and I'm so grateful for this time that I had with them.

With some extra free time this summer, I was able to pick up running again.  I forgot how gratifying a good run can be.  Luckily, J goes into work a little later some days so I was able to squeeze in a run in the morning, or when it's cool enough, save a run for after Lucas goes to bed.  It is definitely much harder to find the time, and motivation, to keep up my workouts with a baby, but I've found that I feel so much better when I make the time.  I'm no where near where I'd like to be, but I'm getting better! I was surprised that I was able to run 2 miles straight (and very slow, mind you) pretty much immediately.  I've done some longer (3-4 mile) runs with my mom (who is a rockstar, BTW) as well. I'd like to plan a 10K or possibly a half-marathon (oh man, did I just write that...) for the fall. But I'm also not going to kill myself to make it happen, so we'll see.

I officially started back to work today.  It's tough being the newbie, but I really think I'm going to appreciate being closer to home and daycare. I also met so many new people that I love already.  I've never been in a building that has been so gracious, warm and welcoming.  It really feels right.  Adjusting to leaving right away and figuring out how to get more work done is less time will be interesting, but it will be worth it... I think.

So yeah, daycare started today, too.  TOUGH STUFF, peeps. Thankfully, J did the drop-off, which, in my opinion, is the hardest.  When I picked Lucas up, I could tell he had a hard day.  He only slept for 20 minutes, when its usually close to 4 hours.  It will get better, right? Honestly, it kills me.  I've already run all the "what if's" through my head, but I'm trying to convince myself that it will be good for both of us.  I know he really likes interacting with other kids, and he just doesn't get that opportunity at home with me.  I think I really like our daycare, too, so I know he will learn a lot and get lots of love. And selfishly? I really do like my job.  It challenges me and pushes me in ways that I know will help me grow personally, and professionally.  And practically? We're not really at a place financially to easily support our family on one income. (I warned you about trying to convince myself of the positives in this post...)

So, in my attempt to cohesively wrap up the randomness of this post, I'll continue with my efforts in seeking balance this year.  Lots of veggies, but still some chocolate.  A lot of work, but still good time for play.  A clean house most of the time, but no stress over a mess.  Lots of family, but time for friends, too.

Hope you're having a good week!
-m

Lucas :: 7 Months

LUCAS NEAL

SEVEN MONTHS

written Monday, July 14th. Warning: photo overload. Also, Ash, if you're reading this, I still have your camera. And I am sorta figuring out how to use it, FINALLY! I need to get that back to you soon :)

Closer to age 1 than your birth. This time with you has both flown by, and at the same time it seems as if you've been with us forever. You have kept us on our feet this month as you are SO close to crawling! You roll and roll to your heart's desire and are especially interested in, well everything. You are very busy checking out all that this world has to offer.

Schedule?! Who needs a schedule in the summertime anywho? You've switched it up on us and are NOT sleeping through the night anymore. Wah wah. Also, totally not consistent in when you wake up in the night, either. I thought maybe you were teething, nope. I also thought you might be going through a little growth spurt. I do think you look and definitely FEEL bigger this week.

Weight: You shocked me last month and didn't gain much weight. You were 19lbs and *only* in the 70ish percentile. I'm guessing you've passed 20 by now.

Length:  29 inches.

Diaper Size: 4's.

Clothes Size: You're starting to grow out of most 6 month clothes, but 12 month is still a tad big.

Hair Color: Dirty blonde.

Eye color: Blue.

Health:

Lots of prunes. 'Nuff said.

Eating:

You eat anything and everything we offer you, although you are a tad picky on the temperature. Nice and warm is best. We've been feeding your 2-3 times each day. New foods this month include peaches, bananas, apples, avocado, garbanzo beans and prunes. Wiping you off at the end your meal is your absolute LEAST favorite thing, but you are just so messy, man!

Milestones:

Like I said before, you are SO close to crawling. You are up on all fours constantly, and will rock back and forth. You lunge forward and face-plant quite often. Talking is also getting more entertaing; you can say "oooo" and "baaaa" and "maaaa" and lots of "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!".

Your favorite toy:

You like to play with most anything, but you're especially enjoying toys that make noise. You also love to listen to us sing songs and read books.

Firsts:

-I can't think of anything "new", although I'm sure there were lots!

We love, love, love, love, love ya, Lucas-son. The days are so much sweeter when spent with you.

New Closet Additions :: June

This month was all about prepping for my cousin's wedding and rehearsal dinner.  I searched and searched for the perfect dress and after buying and returning a frew, ended up finding one the weekend before the wedding at JCrew Factory. You're shocked, I'm sure.  I didn't even try it on.  I think it's safe to say my it's my go-to store!

1. JCrew Factory Shift Dress. $30
2. JCrew Factory Denim Jacket. $42
3. Piperlime Shift Dress (bought in green). $59
4. JCPenney Sandals. $16
5. JCrew Factory Earrings. $5
6 and 9. Old Navy Shorts. $5 each
7 and 8. Old Navy Tanks. $5 each

Total: $172

A little "life" update...

2014 is already proving to be another exciting year in this household!  For memories sake, I figured I should document some of this stuff before I forget how it all went down.

(1) We moved!  After selling our old house (it sat on the market in 2011-2012 for 9 months), we moved to a rental house for a year.  Not to say we weren't blessed to have a roof over our heads, but needless to say, we were SO happy to be getting out of that place! Between vines growing in the walls (no, really) and the FREEZING winter and HOT summer, we were more than ready to move.  Now, I've moved nearly every. single. year. since I graduated high school.  That's ten years, y'all.  (Which is a whole other WHOA).

After the struggle selling our first home, we weren't so sure about jumping into another purchase.  We weighed all of the options and eventually decided that we were ready to settle.  The search began!  Looking at house is so fun, but it's also so overwhelming!  The market in February/March in this area was insane.  We literally watched houses fly off the market the day they went up for sale... in a snowstorm.  We saw probably 10 houses and found what I thought was THE. ONE.  With some hesitation, we made an offer.  So did another couple... and they got it.  I was so bummed.  It would have put us moving during spring break, and it seemed just perfect.  Luckily, my husband had a much better attitude it about and was able to get me out of my crazy bummed-out state.

About a month later, after touring another 10-20 houses, we found our new place!  Driving up, walking in, we both knew.  We called to make an offer right then and there (this was day 1 on the market BTW).  Our realtor informed us that this would be the 5th offer, and they had others possibly in the works.  WHAT!@?!?! To say I was on pins and needles for the next 24 hours was an understatement, although I managed to keep myself together.  We ended up writing a letter to the sellers explaining how grateful we would be to live in their house.  I was just so shocked-- We were begging them to sell us their house?? Why couldn't we have had people doing that for us just 15 months before? ;) Oh how times change.

You can see how this ends, we got the house!  We moved in mid-April and have been so, so happy making it our home.  We've gotten to know a few neighbors, spent a few afternoons at the neighborhood pool, and already have projects in mind for the next few years.  If I've learned anything in the past ten years, it is that you cannot predict the future, but I hope we have a good future ahead of us in this home.  We are so, so grateful to be settled.

(2) J got a new job! Somewhat out of the blue, he was contacted by a consulting firm for an interview.  A friend of his had passed along his name and recommended him to this company.  It happened quickly, and in the midst of closing on the new house, but he is very happy with the change.

(3) I got a new job! (Well, sort of.)  During the last week of school this year, another 7th grade math position opened up at a different school in our same district.  Again weighing all of the options, I decided to apply for a transfer.  Not only will this school be closer to home, but it will be within 5 minutes of the daycare we have chosen.  I have yet to move my classroom, and have hardly let this sink in, but I'm excited for this opportunity.