Discovering the World

Wow… I can’t believe it’s been a week since I updated last. I really need a new laptop so I can have computer access from home.



It’s been really hot here the past couple of days. We’re talking high 90’s on Monday, and yesterday when I drove home from work, the digital thermometer in my car read 106 degrees outside. Yeah! This is after our entire summer going by without the temperature breaking much higher than 80 most days. Basically this means that it doesn’t cool off AT ALL before we go to bed, since we’re in bed between 8 and 9, and the sun sets at about 8. Since it is so warm, I’ve taken Jake outside for little walks with me the past couple of nights at dusk. He absolutely LOVES being outside. He loves looking around, looking at the sky, the plants, the trees, etc. Everything is just so new and wondrous to him, and he loves to touch everything. So, I walk around and name things off as he touches different plants and things. He grabbed one of the branches of leaves on the tree in our front yard and of course looks at it, feels it, then immediately tries to put it in his mouth. I grabbed his hand and he looked at me, and I said “No, baby. We do not eat trees.” And he literally looked like he understood, and he let go! Of course a couple of minutes later he had lost it, and tried again to eat the leaves lol. But amazing that he really seemed to understand what I was saying. I took this picture of his little hand reaching out to touch the tree leaves, which I love, because it just makes me think of him learning about his environment and surroundings, everything being new and interesting.

If only we could all look at everything as if it was brand new and interesting. :)

This is What I Live For!

These kinds of moments. :) They make me so happy. It was hilarious, actually, because I was carrying him around the house trying to keep him awake. He got tired earlier than normal (like 7:30ish) and he doesn't usually go down until 8-8:30. So I was bouncing him around and talking to him and I carried him downstairs and he just konked out in front of everyone (we had some friends over), out of nowhere. Literally, just bent over and passed out in a matter of two seconds, like he just gave up on being fed and cuddled before bed time like a normal night, "Ok, mommy, I'm done." Everyone was laughing so hard. I wish I got a video of it. I think moms should be equipped with some sort of internal video cam that stores all memories in a video library, so that you can pull it out later and project it so everyone can see. Anyway, I just flipped him around and cuddled him, and my friend Allie shot that photo. Looking back, I should have just put him down when he was displaying his tired signs. He probably would not have woken up out of hunger in the middle of the night because he ate a whole container of sweet potatoes at 6pm! He's really getting the eating thing down. Tonight he gets to start his fruits, which I'm 99.9% sure we will not have issues with! Bananas here we come! :)

Speaking of internal cameras, I was able to get a video of part of an awesome conversation between Jake and his daddy the other day, and I finally figured out how to post it here!

As I said above, we had a couple of or best friends over for dinner. All I hear from her is how much she loves Jake, how smart he is in comparison to other kids his age that she knows, how interactive he is etc. It makes me SO proud, and he's not even talking yet! I can't wait to see what this kid is going to be like as he gets older. Every day it's something new and exciting. He is literally like a sponge, and everything he does shows just how smart he is. Anyway, I woke up this morning to this post on my Facebook from her:

"I love this person! She is Amazing!! She is one of my Best Friends and a person who I deeply admire. Allie~ You made a perfect little tiny person and he fits right in to our lives like a piece of a puzzle. You have done an extraordinary job in your Mothering Jake and he is growing to be such a wonderfully happy and well adjusted baby!! Congrats to you for conquering the most challenging times of all… Motherhood! You are a wonder and an inspiration to me. I love you deeply and your son is proof that you are one of a kind. It seems you were made to do this… be a mother to Jake! Xoxo Always, you are the best!"

That is another thing I live for. Knowing that I'm admired as a mother by others just makes my day. It helps to know that others think I'm doing a good job. Obviously my day started with me in tears, but for a good reason.

Happy Hump-Day!

Back to the Grind

If there was one thing I learned this weekend, it is that this momma is OUT.OF.SHAPE and needs to work out!! (Not that I didn’t already know that… I think I’ve just been in denial.)



Even though it had been two years since I’ve tried to get up on a wakeboard, I should have been able to as I was able to get up the very first time I ever tried. But out of four tries on Saturday afternoon, I got up once. It could have been the combination of a two year break, a few beers, and choppy water at 4pm, but it was definitely a fail. And I am SORE as hell now. All I can think of is how easy it used to be for me to do stuff like that, as I’ve always been fairly athletic. I guess having a baby, not being down to your pre-pregnancy weight, and not exercising would make a difference. Having a baby must have totally aged me. Haha! I really need to start getting on the exercising ball, especially with winter already right around the corner. By spring I’ll be unrecognizable if I don’t do something about this “little extra”!! I also want to be back to my solid self before we TTC again towards the end of next year.


Something I am excited about though… I’m finally going to get my Jake tattoo, and my sister tattoo! Thursday is the day. I think I’ve decided that I’m going to get my sister one (ACK<3) on the inner part of my right ankle, going vertical. The Jake tattoo is going to go on my left shoulder blade. It’s going to be a wide-set heart with his name in beautiful cursive with his birth date in roman numerals. (III.III.MMX) That way, when we have baby #2, I can get the same tattoo replicated on my right shoulder blade, with name and birth date. If we ever decide to have a third, which won’t happen, I can always center it on my back or neck somewhere.


Anyway, the rest of our weekend was good. Did some shopping yesterday, and had some chicken fajitas over at my mom’s house. Jake got to try squash, the last stage one veggie! Wednesday we get to start fruits and I know it will not be a problem. Haha!


Happy Monday!

TGIF

Friday afternoon. I have nothing witty to say today as I’m an absolute zombie already, and it’s only 3:20pm. On top of being exhausted from waking up five times per night with Jake, who is waking up because he’s recently learned how to roll over, I also had a beer at the company picnic. Haha! (Nice way to start the weekend… it’s five o’clock somewhere!) Anyway, I figure I’ll just write about my upcoming weekend, considering my laptop died and won’t be able to update again until Monday.



I’m out of here in about five minutes, and again, get to sit in traffic. The upside is that I don’t have to pick up the baby today. He’s already at home hanging out with his auntie. :) One of my BFFs, Gill, is going to come over, and we’re going to make a trip to Target and find a place with yummy burritos for dinner. I’ll make it to bed early tonight because we’ll be up early for a day trip to Lake Mendocino.


Other than the lake, I literally have nothing planned this weekend, and it feels so GOOD! It’s literally the first time in over a month that I’ve had a semi-free weekend. Amazing. Maybe I’ll finally be able to clean the bathrooms and plan our meals for a week.


Oh the life of a mommy and wife. :)

Adventures in Trying New Foods!

The day your baby starts trying solid foods is SO much fun. Then every time you introduce a new one every few days, it becomes even more fun because you get to see that they literally already have their tastes for things. What they don’t have down is the coordination, or really realize that they can be fed not only from a breast or a bottle, but from a spoon as well. (What IS this thing with all this goop on it going in my mouth?) You can see when they learn that spoons feed them too, because they start opening their mouths when you present them with the spoon, like little baby birds. I just love it!




Anyway, we started Jake on rice cereal right after we got the go ahead from his pediatrician (July 15th) because had been displaying the “readiness signs” for a couple of weeks already. He sits with support, chews on EVERYTHING, and seems interested in our food when Ryan and I are eating. The first few times were so funny… he would just twist his face into this little yucky grin, almost as if it was sour, he’d swallow a couple of drops, then the rest would just dribble down his chin. (I mean, think of when you try a new food. You analyze the taste and texture. Imagine how that would be if EVERYTHING you ate was foreign and unfamiliar! I’m pretty sure that we’d want to do the same thing a lot of the time, although we as adults have developed manners and tact, so our reactions are a little different!) Anyway, as I thickened it over those next few days, he did much better. Once he was eating cereal like a champ (pretty dang quickly!), we decided that veggies should come first so that he doesn’t get used to the sweetness of fruits, and prefer those all the time. So, first we tried sweet potatoes (pass), then peas (major FAIL, he gagged), then carrots (pass), and then last night we tried green beans (pass). So far, we know that he doesn’t seem to be very picky. I mean, what kid likes peas anyway? The sweet potatoes he’s not super into, but he will eat them. The carrots and the green beans, on the other hand, he LOVES. It’s obvious because between bites he beats on his tray with his hands, keeps his mouth open as if to say “More, mommy! More!”, and smiles after he swallows. So cute. Next on the list to try is squash. Then next week I can start introducing fruits, and then he can be eating a more “normal” diet every day of breast milk, rice cereal, fruits and veggies. Oh, and small amounts of water of course!




Bon Appetit!

Tuesday Ramblings

Magnificent



My life in one word. Even when it is as insane as it has been lately.


During the week, it’s the same routine: Up at 4am. Feed Jake. Drop Jake off at his grandmas. Sit in mild morning traffic. Work at 7. Pump at 8. Work. Pump at 11:30. Work. Pump at 2:30. Leave work at 3:30. Sit in moderate to severe afternoon traffic. Pick up Jake from grandmas at 4pm. Go home. Get everything ready for next work day. Feed Jake. Play with Jake. Make dinner. Eat dinner. Play with Jake. Bathe Jake. Get self and Jake ready for bed. Feed Jake. Put Jake down. Climb into bed. Cuddle with hubby and watch some TV. Pass out between 9-10pm.


That is my typical work week day, and it’s exactly the same every day except with the occasional dinner with friends/family, errands that need to be taken care of, or some extra time awake with the hubby. As boring as it sounds, it still makes me happy as a clam.


In reality, it’s not boring at all. Each and every one of those moments all day long have little things that make every second of every day worthwhile, interesting, and so much fun. It all has to do with Jake. Sure, the average person cringes at getting up at 4am. I used to, but now I get to see my son’s smiling face. (Who the heck is happy and smiling at that time of day!?) Not only that, but I get to see how much he has changed overnight, and what new things he has developed while he slept. Whether it’s a new sound he makes, a new face, or a movement. Then I work all day long, and no matter how stressed or tired I get during the day, I know that I’m working for a good life for my family because I make money to care for them, and I get benefits to keep them healthy and happy, as well as work for retirement. When I go to pump three times per day, while it is quite tedious, I know I’m doing it for the health of my monkey and that it won’t be forever. Breastfeeding can also become repetitive and tiring, but it is some of my favorite bonding time with Jacob. He stares at me, smiles, eats, rubs his hand across my chest and through my hair, puts his fingers in my mouth. I just know that he does those things to tell me that he loves me. And I feel it SO much during those times. I also get to watch Ryan with him, and it just makes my heart soar. He’s such an amazing daddy, and Jacob loves him SO much. He laughs more for Ryan than he does for anyone. He loves to touch Ryan’s face, and hair. It just makes me fall in love all over again.


Every little moment is like this. Every moment I’m not with Jake, I’m thinking about him and wanting to be with him. I know that through and through I LIVE for this boy, and I strive to make his life the best it can be and give him everything that I never had but always wanted.


These are the things that make my life magnificent.

Joining The Masses...

...and starting a blog. Although, I'm not doing it just to do it. I hope to provide my readers with information, entertainment, and emotion from my life. I also need a hobby, and what better hobby is there to have for someone who has limited time like me? :) Now, instead of getting my feet wet gradually and making it a point to say that I'm just getting started and I might suck at this for quite a while (wait, I just said it, didn't I?) I'm going to just jump right in as best I can.

What a better day than a Friday to create my first post. It has been a hell of a week, and it felt like it should have been today about four days ago. I'm very much looking forward to the clock striking 3:30, so I can hightail it out of here and get home. Oh wait... but first I have to sit in some lovely bumper-to-bumper Marin to Sonoma county traffic. I don't know what it is about the people who live in this area, but an eleven mile commute that would normally take fifteen minutes to drive can easily turn into a 45 minute one on a Friday afternoon. Apparently everyone is in such a zombie state from the work week that they forget what the hell they're doing. There's a gas pedal under your right foot. Press it! DRIVE, YOU F*@^&#*% IDIOTS!! The best I can do to contain my road rage is turn the music up and just sit it out. It's just so hard when all I want to do is be spending every possible second of the next 63 hours I have left to spend with my Jakey and Ryan before I have to be back at work.

Granted, tonight I actually have other errands to run before I can be at home relaxing, but at least I get to do them with my monkey and one of my besties. He's such a good boy when we're out and about. (Actually, he's good ALL the time! :-> ) I am also looking forward to spending some cuddle time in bed with my two boys in the morning and being able to sleep past 4:00am.

Off for my last pumping session of the day before I go home... yep, I still do mom duties while I'm doing my 9-5. (Or 7-3:30 in my case.)

Happy Friday!