Happy 5 Months Brody!

Oh my gosh!  You went from infant to baby right before our eyes.  You have grown up so much this past month, I can't believe it!  So many things happened at once and now you are a little man!  You still bring us so much joy and are getting cuter and cuter by the day!  We love you so much and couldn't imagine life without you!
Here's how you've grown...
You:
- seem to have gotten longer because some of your 3-6 month pjs are getting tight on your toes!
- still LOVE your bouncer.
- drool and chew on ev.er.y.thing.
- grab for things.  If anything is put in front of your face, you reach for and pull it to your mouth! :)
- seem right hand dominate.  If you are sitting up and something falls to your left, you still cross your right arm over your body to get it.
- celebrated your first Christmas!!  (which reminds me I need to blog about it!)  You got so much stuff!  People sure must love you!
- started waking up in the middle of the night again!!!! :(  Good thing it started the night I was off for Christmas break and pretty much ended the day I went back.  You would wake up sporadically throughout the night but were always comforted by your paci and would go back to sleep.  I think this is due to some ***milestones*** you hit just in the past couple weeks.
- ***started saying 'bababa' sometimes 'mmmmammma' and dadadada.' !!!!!  We absolutely love it!  And when you get really mad and want to go to bed, you say yell BA BA BA BA!  It makes me smile. :)
- ***roll almost completely over from your back to your belly.  The daggern arm gets in the way!  But this leads you to be a lot more mobile and if I set you down- 5 minutes later you are 180 degrees from where you were and have scooted off your play mat!
- ***not really a milestone, but you started to stick your tongue out! It's the cutest thing!  Last weekend daddy was doing it to make you laugh and you did it back!  Now whenever we do it or you are really happy, you stick it out!  Just like mommy showing the 'bullet' when she was little!
- ***started sleeping in your crib!!!  This made mommy soooo happy! I was so worried you were going to be attached to the swing for forever but New Year's Day, you were so tired and I just laid you in your crib with your blanket and soft minky and you went right to sleep.  I tried it again later and boom!  I try to lay you down there now every time.
- haven't started solids yet.  Still waiting...
-drink about 5 oz. a feeding.
- love your taggie blanket that I made you!  You crinkle it for a good 15 minutes before you tire of it.  (which is a long time baby-wise)
- are soooo squirmy.  Long gone are the days where we can just cuddle up with you.  You still love to be held but move around and look at everything going on.
- still can't sit up very well but we are working on it!
- you love your feet!  You love grabbing on to them and pulling them into your mouth!  It is precious!
- still think bath time is the best thing that has ever happened and you kick and splash with those long, chubby legs!


Your 5 month picture:

January 10, 2012

Now for some outtakes:

This time the blanket fell because you were sooo squirmy!!

Hey dad!

Peek a boo!

Some highlights:

:)

Love this one!  Wish I would've thought of it sooner for our Christmas card!

You love bath time!  Especially when daddy puts every bath toy you own in there!

Such a big, strong boy!

Haha!  You fell asleep sucking on your finger!

Getting in the Christmas spirit!

Your new trick!

Taking a nap IN YOUR CRIB!

How did you get way over there?! Perpendicular to where I lay you down!

Your taggie blanket I made you

You are one cool dude!

My goodness that's a lot of presents!

Well, that about wraps up the past month!  Lots of learning going on!  Babies are amazing!  We love every second of parenthood!  It's easy with a little dude like you!

<3, Mommy

Progress?

Well, guys-it's one week in to the new year and yeah......haven't switched completely to a vegan diet and haven't exercised every day.  While I FULLY support eating a vegan diet, I think I need to slowly transition into it due to breastfeeding, whereas before I cut out everything cold turkey.  This is due to the fact that I have noticed a decrease in my milk supply because I was eating such a high calorie diet and then switching right into beans, veggies and salad.  There were a couple of days there where I might have consumed 1200 calories but probably less.  Also, I felt like my body was going through withdrawal which is normal because processed foods are like an addiction and had no energy.  I knew this wouldn't always be the case but it's hard to be so tired and give your baby all the time he needs.  Plus, I didn't purge all of our food that was not vegan friendly.  I am trying really hard not to waste money on food and I would feel foolish to throw away a carton of organic eggs or a full box of pancake mix for the cause.  SO, I plan on adjusting slowly and when things run out, replace them with healthier options.  I am trying to eat healthier overall though.  Incorporating lots more salads, beans and fruit smoothies and minimizing the meat intake (chicken and eggs).  I feel better about my food choices now than I did one week ago and that's what it's all about.  Making small changes for the better.  A marathon not a sprint.  Here is my 'tip' for you though.  While it may not be possible to eat a 100% organic diet while on a budget, there are certain foods I would suggest you splurge on.  I found this nifty printable from foodnews.org that has a list of 'the dirty dozen' and 'the clean fifteen.'  You may have heard of this before.  The dirty dozen are the foods that you should really try to buy organic because they have the highest level of pesticides.  The clean fifteen have the lowest level and are safer to buy non-organic.

If you click here, it will take you to the PDF printable.  Keep it in your wallet as a reminder when you go to the grocery store.  It looks like this:

Just here to help!  Cheers to healthful living!

Will It Ever End?

The stupid pain in my heart.  The way my throat tightens up when I hug you good night.  This is not the way it's supposed to be.  Not the way I pictured our life together.  Having regrets already as a mother.  You  are growing too fast and I am missing so much of it.  I want to hold you just a little while longer before you don't need me to hold you anymore.  These are the best times.  Last week was everything I ever wanted it to be...me, you, and daddy.  Our little family-so much in love with one another.  You are a rare find, baby. A precious, sweet, innocent boy.  A kiss every second would never be enough.  I see you in everyone.  The children in my classroom, a random passerby, your daddy, every other little boy.  I feel love for them because they were once like you are now.  You teach me compassion everyday.  So thankful God chose you to be my baby.  Night night.  

Breastfeeding is Awesome!

Seriously!  I think it's God's gift back to us mom's after going through painful labor.  A: Bonding with my baby and providing his most basic need and B: BURNING 500 CALORIES A DAY DOING NOTHING!  Can I get an AMEN?!  I am writing this because I stepped on the scale today for the first time in over a month to see what my weight was and calculate how much I need to lose to feel normal again and I had lost 10 whole pounds.  Who loses 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas?  The mother of all feasting!  Can you tell I am ecstatic?  I have been eating craptastically and still lost weight!  Hallelujah!  I am now 6 pounds away from my pre-baby weight BUT I gained weight before getting pregnant due to summer school and stopping any form of exercising cold turkey and shoveling peanut M&Ms into my gullet.  So maybe (hopefully) this weight will come off faster than expected!  Here's the scoop:  I gained A LOT of weight whilst preggers--let's just say I was closer to 200 lbs. than to 100 lbs.....okay, I'm an open book: One hundred eighty pounds!!  Holy mackerel whale!  It just doesn't hurt as bad if I type out the words.  Well, now I am 141 lbs. (still a hoss) and I was 135 lbs. when I got pregnant.  So, so far I have lost about 40 lbs. in 4 months, which is pretty awesome but I'm not done yet because this jiggly ace sho' ain't gonna be seen in a bathing suit this year if things don't change. So, I am aiming for 125 lbs.  Respectable and average for my height (5'3").  I was 113 lbs. in high school.  My glory days.  Anyway, so that's 16 lbs.  Completely doable, right?  I want to be a firm, minimal cottage cheese 125, knowwhatimsayin'?

113 pounds spring '02

inner thigh fat will always plague me!

125 pounds spring '10

at present

Showers are....

bittersweet.  I am NOT the type of mom that wakes up an hour before my baby to get ready for the day (unless I am working, of course--we're talking weekends and holidays).  It takes me forever to get enough motivation to actually get there because I would much rather search Pinterest for craft ideas  do the dishes and laundry while Brody is taking a nap.  But then, once I finally decide to hop in I never. want. to. get. out.  WHAT WAS I THINKING?  I should've done this an hour ago so I could stand there until the hot water runs out.  But alas, as soon as I start conditioning my hair, I hear that sweet gruntled cooing of my little man coming through the monitor.  So mama rushes out and decides the leg shaving will have to wait another week day.  One thing that I have discovered to entertain him while I finally dry my hair for the first time in 10 days is the God Loves... DVD series.  Now, I do not condone sitting your baby in front of the tube all day and turning their brains to mush.  This is a short 20 minute vid. that is baby-friendly (not overly stimulating).  And trust me, your babes will be hooked the whole time.  It has worked for my 4 nieces and nephews and it works for Brody too!  No joke.  Plop them someplace safe and you just bought yourself a little 'me' time.  I have never tried the Baby Einstein videos, but I heard these were better.  There are a few different kinds available and they are all equally awesome.  Check them out here.    You can thank me later.

A Weighty Issue

hi!  Hope you are awake after the Christmas induced coma!  I plan on doing a Brody's First Christmas post but this requires uploading pictures and, once again, importing pictures from 4 different cameras/phones will just have to wait!  I still haven't learned!  Anyway, this Christmas, I received two items that will change my life: a sewing machine and a treadmill!!!!!!
New Year's is coming up and that means a fresh start....resolutions....creating goals.  Now, a lot of times, resolutions are a crock and are thrown out the window by February.  BUT!  I am planning on doing things that I have done in the past that I know work for me!  I also have pretty good self-control and am pretty accountable to myself when I really set my mind to it.
Here are my goals:
1.  Be healthier-mind/body/soul
2.  Learn how to use my sewing machine and make awesome stuff!
How I will get there:
1.  Mind--this correlates with #2--finding a hobby that I enjoy where I take time for myself to create and make cute things for my house and son.  RELAX
Body--this is where the treadmill comes in.  I have one. in my garage. waiting. it was not free. no excuses.  I must use it.  I have lost weight in the past successfully and have been happy with my body.  I am hoping it will work again!  This was a combination of exercising and eating healthy...DUH!  This included running/aerobics and yoga.  I upped my endurance level to burn the calories and then did yoga to strengthen and tone.  Really, yoga is amazing and gets such a bad rep.  I see it as an awesome total body workout that completely relaxes me for an hour.  It's just stretching and muscle burning.  awesome.  I am planning on doing some form of exercise everyday except maybe one or two days to give my muscles a rest.   Also, one day a week, I am not going to do your typical exercising but rather CLEANING!  This burns so many calories and makes the house looks nice! BADA BING BADA BOOM!  I mean full on cleaning not just picking up.  This produces great results on both ends.  Cleaning should produce sweat :).  How am I going to be motivated to do these things?  BY DOING THEM.  TAKING ACTION.  I have learned that you have to exercise to get motivated to exercise some more.  It's a conscious effort.  I noticed in the past that after getting into a regular exercise routine, like running every day at 4:00, my body will remember this and at 4:00 I will actually feel like exercising.  My body will have extra energy it needs to burn.  Our bodies are way cool like that.
Okay, and here's the eating healthy part.  This is where a lot of people get turned off.  But really, what you eat is the most important decision you can make to successfully lose weight and be healthy.  If you eat high fat foods, you are going to have a high fat body.  If you eat bright, fresh fruits and vegetables you are going to look and feel fresh and bright.  High calorie foods taste sooooooo good but they make me feel like CRAP 30 minutes later.  I am listless and heavy.  BOO!  I used to eat a vegan friendly diet.  You must think I am such a crunchy hipster--I cloth diaper, breastfeed, do yoga, and was vegan.  Really, I am the type of person that LOVES to research stuff.  Cloth diapering is cheaper and better for the environment and my baby's bum, breastfeeding jumpstarts his immune system and bonds me with my baby, yoga strengthens and relaxes the body and eating a vegan diet is detoxifying and can actually reverse a TON of diseases and cancers.  FACTS, ladies and gentlemen.  Okay, I digress.  I know from experience that eating a plant-based diet made me feel like a million bucks.  Everyone always asks, what about protein, aren't you always hungry, etc.  But there are plenty of other sources of protein that aren't coming from animals and guess what?  It's better for you!  No cholesterol, low fat, antioxidants, low calorie, high fiber...mmmmm what's not to love.  The best part--I don't have to count calories and can eat as much of it as I want because of all the awesomeness I mentioned above.  Really, if you're interested you should read Skinny Bitch (life-changer and really funny) and The China Study (research based findings on the relationship between diet and health).  Anyway, I will get off my soap box now.  Even if you don't adopt a plant-based diet, try to incorporate more fruits, veggies, beans, and grains!  DO IT!
Okay and last----soul.  Ahhh.  The most important.  I really need to strengthen my relationship with God.  I know I will be a better wife and mom for doing so.  This means reading the Bible more and finding a place to serve at my church.  It is the best feeling to help others and I want to do more of it.  I want to start now so that when Brody is old enough to model after his parents, he will see positive, uplifting people who trust God in all things.
Alright folks.  Those are my goals.  Let's see if I stick with them!  I was considering posting a 'before' picture so we can all track the progress together but then I thought you guys might barf.  So, I may take a picture now for my own keeping and then once I reach the 'after' body I am hoping for, I will post both so you can think, 'phew. good thing she doesn't look like that anymore.'  It's been over a year since I have done serious exercising and watching what I eat.  Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

WAAAAY too busy to be writing here but I have a second since Brody's doin' his thang and I have a free hand!  We are going to my parents' house in Charlotte to celebrate Christmas early since both my brother's are in town and we are hanging out in North Carolina with Brian's family for the holidays.  I have sooo much to do before we leave in a couple hours!  It hardly feels like Christmas time since it's sunny and in the 60's outside, but this why I <3 NC.  Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all three of you that read my blog!  haha  Of course a post-Christmas update will be coming in after the craziness settles!  So excited to have the whole week off with my 4.5 month early Christmas gift!  But remember the greatest gift of all-Jesus Christ whose miraculous birth we celebrate!   Be grateful for the blessings you have!  Love ya!