We made it back to Atlanta safe and sound today. Joseph and I both took a good nap on the plane! We had a wonderful time in Minnesota - at the fair, seeing houses with Debbie (she bought one!) and everyone getting to meet and visit with Joseph.
I'll have pictures up on smugmug soon and I'll post them to the blog over the next week.
August 29 - September 4
Joseph is sitting while assisted now, and he can do pretty well for a few seconds on the bed (where it's easier for his arms to reach the "ground") I got a funny 1 second video of him falling, though. If he's holding on to something - in this case, the pillows - he can sit for quite a while!
We're heading to Minnesota tomorrow night for five days of visiting! I'm really excited, not in the least because it will be really COOL and Joseph has such cute stuff that he can wear right now!
We'll be hitting the state fair with my parents, seeing all of my siblings and their families, doing a little shopping, and relaxing, of course! Joseph can't wait to be held by everyone and show them his new skills.
I'll be sure to update when I can.
Not sure if we're turning a developmental corner, or if I'm just giddy from our 3 hour nap on Sunday, but today was just plain FUN with Joseph!
We played in the morning, he napped while I cleaned (in the Ergo on my back!), then we went to our play date and did some errands. All normal stuff. And tonight he hung out while I made myself some dinner, he had a bath, and off to bed.
All day though he was just cheerful and content! Every time I popped into view he'd giggle a little, and he just seemed to be enjoying my company today. Like I was novel or something. Usually it's hard for me to get a rise out of him.
Anyway, I'm rambling, but I wanted to document this in case it's another turning point!
Well, I've learned my lesson about ignoring gauge. The baby sweater that I've been working on since before Joseph was born and just picked up again is freakish. The collar is larger than any of my shirt collars, and the shoulders are "puffed" weird from the way I added on. :'( ::tear:: I will have to pull it all out, which really stinks. I'd say I was about 50% done.
I think I may refocus my efforts on a pair of longies, since I love the pair that Teresa made for Joseph so much. And I can practice my "mattress stitching" some more.
Another post-partum update of sorts, though I'm not even sure I ever blogged about this condition. I had the WORST joint pain after Joseph was born. From my ankles, to my wrists, to my hips and pubic symphosis. It hurt to lay on my side too long, hurt to walk after sitting, and it KILLED my wrists to pick Joseph up at night - it felt like they were sprained. I don't know if it was some sort of pregnancy induced arthritis or what - but it's mostly gone! Yey!
So pregnant ladies and new moms, if you experience this, it may "only" take 5-6 months to clear up. I'm sure that makes you feel better. Riiiight.
August 22 - 28
I went to a consignment sale today and got an awesome hip carrier for only $10! It retails for $85, so I got a great deal.
It's an Ellaroo Mei-Hip - here's the pattern:
And here is the carrier type (the above is a regular mei-tai)
I may have gotten $40 worth of clothes, too... all good deals!
Joseph is currently about 75 minutes into a nap that is usually 45-60min long. His first nap today (also usually 45-60 min) went 150 minutes.
I know I should be happy about this, but I was hoping to move his naptime UP today so that I could put him to bed at 7 or 7:30 and hit the knitting group I found last week. At this rate, he won't be awake from his 3rd nap until 7pm!
Murphy's Law?
On the positive side, he is asleep on my back in the Ergo, so I was able to put away 3 loads of laundry and clean the kitchen during this nap! We'll see how long he goes...
I have conquered the "nurse in sling" phenomenon that had so far eluded me. I used the Ergo, but I'm not splitting hairs! I think he just needed to get a little older and steadier.
I managed to nurse and grocery shop at the same time today! And nobody even knew. ;) I admit, it did slow me down quite a bit - we're not used to nursing while walking - but I think this could make life even easier! Perhaps we'll be pros by the time we hit the Minnesota State Fair next week!
In other news, I made my own taco seasoning today! This is not difficult stuff - everyone should do it! We're getting ripped off with those tiny packets.
Just "keeping it real" as fellow blogger Ree likes to say.
Body: I'm 5lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. That means I have like 12 lbs to go to my "ideal" weight for myself. I can fit into a couple pairs of jeans again, though I have a fantastic muffin top. Woo! Spanx rock my world. I have like 3 tops that aren't old navy tanks that fit me, which is a bummer, but it's not like we have much to dress up for, and it's still hotter than hades in Atlanta. Tanks work well. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the progress, but totally jealous of my mom friends who seem to have a normal looking belly. Mine still looks like a deflated balloon. Ew. Yey for the tankini.
Emotions: Change from week to week. The couple weeks before we went to Michigan I think I was feeling pretty drained. Seeing all of my best friends really did something great for me though! I feel like I have a whole new outlook on life. I also feel a little guilty about how I may have portrayed motherhood as a lifetime of drudgery. Really, it probably is only a few (or 18) years. :) It really does have its positive side, which I've been experiencing more this past week. It's always good to recharge the batteries. And we get another chance to recharge in a week when we head to Minnesota!
Work Life (or lack thereof): Nope, I don't miss work. Not even a little. I have more than enough to do here, and I think that T.J. enjoys having me home as well. Sometimes it can get monotonous, but if that isn't true of any job, I don't know what is. And we have a few great activities that we do every week to break things up. It's also nice to plan travel schedules based on only T.J.'s schedule, instead of both. We were always busy at different times, which made things tough.
Goals: I'd love to start exercising soon - all we need is for T.J. to get home at a semi-decent hour! Nobody wants to go to the gym at 10pm after eating dinner and putting a baby down to sleep. Hopefully as September and October hit and things cool off, Joseph and I can go for long walks at least.
We finally got his birth certificate! Only took 5 months. Ha. The birth is listed as "Home (unsure if planned)". I guess they have a don't ask, don't tell policy?
Now to plan the trip to Social Security. Ugh.
Joseph made it over 5 months with the KL0 diapers (some sort of record, believe me!). They are the "newborn" size of Kissaluvs - most people I've talked to use them 2, maybe 3 months max. Mommy thanks Joseph for sticking with them for so long! You saved us tons of money.
Sometime next week I'm planning to strip, boil, and sun them all before storing. I just want to make sure they are 100% clean for #2.
STOP RIGHT THERE. Don't even go thinking that #2 is coming soon. You are living in lalaland. DomerBabyII will not be arriving for years.
So here's the update for you CD'ers. Joseph is about 14lbs and 26 inches. He's a total string bean. Now we're onto bigger things - right now we have a hodge podge of diapers -
August 15-21
We had our mom's group, and I took it upon myself to photograph it. Nothing fancy, just tried to get every baby (except our Joseph - oops!)
Nathaniel liked his onesie!
Elliot has the giggles!
Will and Edison munching on toys
Wide-eyed Jackson watches all the big kids
Miss Sophie isn't sure what I'm up to!
Jane is such a cherub - look at her eyes!
T.J. stayed home from work yesterday to take a golf lesson and go to the dentist. So he and Joseph had a nice time playing. T.J. was the offense, and Joseph was "all time goalie". It was very cute.
Joseph had his second appointment with the audiologist yesterday (the first one was inconclusive) and passed with flying colors! I also made sure that it's OK to have him at places like weddings, so T.J. doesn't feel compelled to give him "ear muffs" anymore (how cute is that?)
Anyway, today we went for Joseph's shot visit, and I had them do a weight check. He's now 13lbs 14oz, so he's gained 9 oz in a month. Not too bad. I stretched him out to get a quick height measurement, and by my crude calculations he is 26 inches!
Per an online calculator, that puts him between 5-10% for weight and between 25-50% for height. We'll see how that stacks up next month. I'm sure that the pediatrition will give us the side-eye for him being even tinier, but I think he's generally been gaining 1/2 lb per month lately. I am curious whether she will suggest putting off solids since he will not hit the "double his birthweight" milestone usually suggested. I'll have to make a note to ask her about that.
He was a real champ with the vaccine - he only cried for about 10 seconds.
We traveled to Michigan for Taylor and Todd's wedding on Saturday. We had the.most.gorgeous condo that we shared with our other friends, which looked onto the East bay of Lake Michigan in Traverse City. I mean, it was out of this world. 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, huge great room with everything top of the line, and fit all 10 of us comfortably! Joseph was in heaven from all the attention and excitement, and I was in heaven from being around all of my best friends. ::sigh:: It was hard to leave.
Joseph did really well on the flight and the 5+ hour drive from Detroit. We flew on Wednesday and drove up on Thursday, which definitely helped.
We went wine tasting (There is a penninsula that actually makes decent wine due to some freak climate conditions) on Friday, the wedding on Saturday, and to Saginaw to visit some more friends on Sunday. It really couldn't have been a better trip. I could go on all day, but the point is that it was awesome. Tay, your present is in the mail! Have fun in Sonoma!
I have lots of pictures on our smugmug page, but here are a few favorites:
Kathy and Pat in the kitchen
Kyle and T.J. manning the grill
Teresa and Mike fooling around (how is this the only picture I have of Mike?)
Tay and her dad on their way down the aisle
The whole crew after the wedding. Oops - we forgot Todd!
How T.J. spent the whole night - what a trooper!
Mike, Kathy, and Teresa getting down
Kathy, Teresa, Tay, me, and Emily - Yey for the 7B girls!
August 8-14
Joseph is quite the traveler. We had a blessedly uneventful flight to Detroit tonight. Let's hope that our 5 hour drive to Traverse City goes just as well! We're heading up for Tay and Todd's wedding, I cannot wait!
Here's 4 of the 5 of us girls last year at Emily's wedding. Emily isn't in this picture - she was too busy off getting married!
Well, I took the scissors to Joseph this morning during his nap. Here are the results:
Before:
After:
August 1 - August 7
© Blogger template 'Isolation' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008
Back to TOP
