New Years "Resolutions"

1) Blog more

2) Grow my cooking repertoire to include more challenging and unique foods, and actually BLOG about what we cook

3) Start a raised bed garden in our backyard...which admittedly, our whole back yard is the size of the garden I grew up with. Oh how I love city living.

4) Continue to explore making our own dog food.

5) Finally finish all of our planned major home projects (we should be done these by February), and to tackle any new projects in a timely manner.

6) Remodel our wine cellar. The previous owners installed it "upside down", ie: corks up, and it needs some serious TLC. Let me also note, that it also needs to be stocked...it's so hard to keep a bottle in it!

7) Enjoy every moment, both challenging and easy, with Anders. 

8) Take more pictures!

9) Laugh more. 2010 was a rough year for us all. It's time to enjoy life and take things in stride.

10) Focus on that which is important and ignore that which is not.

Happy New Year!
S, M and A

Christmas 2010

This Christmas was our first in Nebraska and it brought quite a few changes. We celebrated Christmas with S's family in Florida in early December, and my parents came out to NE for 10 days to celebrate with us. Traditionally, we spend the day, and Christmas Eve, running around to different homes to meet up with all of our family, and cook a huge meal to enjoy with everyone. This was our first year "offically" hosting Christmas for our family, and it was very calm, quiet and different.

We did not do a good job taking pictures, but, thankfully, my parents did. More pictures to come as they settle back into their lives in Vermont!

This time.....

This time last year, well, yesterday 12/27 to be exact, we packed up our SUV and left our home in Vermont to move to Nebraska. We left every single thing exactly where it was since S's company was paying to have it all packed by our movers, and we loaded our two nut dogs, a bag of clothing, 2 sleeping bags, our top tier of our wedding cake, some books, all important documents and some munchies into our car and we left.

S cried for about 3 miles. I waited until week 2 in Nebraska, when, after a long day of unpacking, I discovered our movers had destroyed our brand new carpet in our basement. And then I sat down and I balled for 30 minutes.

Now, we both knew everything would be fine, and now, 12 months later, it is. But what we also knew was that we had a very uphill battle facing us. We have lived and traveled outside of Vermont and the US. We have gone months without seeing our families. We have been lonely and we have survived. However, moving to Nebraska was the hardest thing we have ever done.

Essentially, we left our jobs (which we both loved), every single person we knew, our home (that S built), and our wonderful lifestyle, all for S to pursue a job he hoped that would bring him professional success. Thankfully, S loves what he is doing, and without moving he would have never gotten many of the opportunities that have been allotted to him in Nebraska. But that doesn't make life easier.

We are learning to lean on each other more than we ever imagined we would. We are learning what our strengths are and where we are weak, and we are trying so hard to be stronger and "better" for A. We have finally, and I mean FINALLY, started to see our home in Nebraska as our house, and we are ready to take the next step in our lives, which right now means growing our lives here and realizing that looking back is not a good thing.

And, we have learned that somedays, it will just suck. Flat out suck. Living 1500+ miles from all that you have known and being aware that there is no "summer break" to go home to will suck a lot.

And on those days, I am thankful we have a very well stocked wine cellar.

Hello December

how is it December already? I hate to say it, but it as been almost a MONTH since I had 5 minutes to sit down and blog....yep, I am a blogging failure!

In life news: Thanksgiving was a bust-S was getting over the stomach flu, A had a sinus infection and I had a nasty little cold. We all hunkered down with our turkey and caught up on our DVRed shows. Sad, but true. We went to Florida to visit S's parents and grandmother at their homes down in the sunshine. It was a great way to spend a cold December week, and it was wonderful to finally get to fly with S for a full trip! Right now we are all getting ready for my parents to come out for Christmas-which means that it may actually be time for us to finish decorating our house. We are so behind in all things home/life related simply because since the first week of November one member of our family has been sick with one ailment or another.

On the baby front: Anders is 6 months old! Woohooo!!!! He is becoming more and more of a "real child" (as S likes to say) every day. He can sit unassisted, he has outgrown his bouncer, swing and infant car seat, he eats a boat load of "real" food and he is learning how to self entertain.

One of the cutest things is to watch him eat solids. He loves pears, apples, peas and anything mixed with cinnamon. He's indifferent to green beans and sweet potatoes. This kiddo loves his food.

Oh yeah, and he is huge. Here's our stats over the past appointments:
Birth: 7 lb 8 oz, 20.5 inches
2 months: 12 lb12 oz, 25.5 inches
4 months: 17 lb 12 oz, 27.5 inches
6 months: 19 lb 9 oz, 29 inches
We are in 12 month clothing. Sadly for A, they are all too wide, so we spend the day pulling his pants up...which, of course, he hates.

Last weekend we went to see Santa, and A was wonderful.

He loved Santa's real beard, and Santa loved that A only touched it instead of pulling it....just you wait one more year!

Hiding under S's golf hat

Family shot at S's family Christmas in Florida.

Jolly little 6 month old!

Finally!

Anders rolled over this morning, for the very first time! Yes, he is 5.5 months old and lots of younger babies have been rolling over for a while, but I think each kiddo will hit his or her milestones when they are ready. Anders was just chilling on the floor on his belly while I was putting his clothing away this morning, and next thing I know he's on his side. This has happened a lot since he was about 3 months old-he gets to the side, chills there for a moment then rolls back to his belly. This morning he did his side roll, chilled for moment, and then flipped to his back. All the while with this look on his face like "Hey mom, I could have done this months ago, but I just didn't feel like it."

The only thing I can equate his look to is that of our dog, Bogey, who wouldn't "shake" at all, until one day about 2 months ago (yep, he was over a year at that point, and we have been working on this since day 1) when he just picked up his paw and was staring at S with this look of "I was born doing this, I just didn't feel like letting you in on in you measly human."

I wish I could say I am kidding, but I truly think our kid and dogs have a conspiracy to take over our house...they are just waiting for A to learn to walk.

Back in action

This was the first weekend in a long time where we were all home, healthy and rested. And it was SO needed. Highlights of the weekend included:
-Doing a little bit of Christmas Shopping
-Sleeping in until 8
-Drinking a bottle of champagne and feeling "mature", even if we did go to bed at 7
-Lots of cooking: Beef Pot Roast, Butterscotch chocolate chip cookies, Canadian Meat Stuffing, and lots of baby food-peas, pears, squash and green beans
-Cleaning up after the first snow storm. Yep, we now have a 5 foot high pile of tree branches outside our home waiting for our garbage day
-4 runs to Whole Foods (we totally need to write down a grocery list instead of trying to remember things sans paper)

In Anders news, A is starting to love baby food. For a bit he would just munch on the spoon and ignore the food, but over the past week he has become passionate about eating. He loves pears, peas and apples. Right now, he is iffy about green beans and will be trying squash tomorrow. I make all of A's food with organic produce, and he loves sitting in hs highchair in the kitchen and watching me.

A is also huge. At 5 months he was 28.5 inches long. We have our 6 month (yep, 6 months already!) appointment on the 10th and I can't wait to see how huge he is! He is a baby that very obviously grows out then up, one week he is chubby cheeked and the next he is a little rail. S is thinking he will be 6'5", I think about 6'4", but either way, I'm sure he will have as many issues finding pants to fit his length as I do. Can I just mention that I have a 36" inseam....poor kid is doomed to a life of highwaters.

S and I are both working a lot and getting ready for our first Thanksgiving without our extended family present. Thanksgiving day we will be delivering turkeys for the Salvation Army for 4 hours, and then we will be having our own small Thanksgiving and enjoying a day of rest and togetherness. "Black Friday" we are planning on remodeling our downstairs hallway and guest bath. This involves lots of painting, a new ceiling, tons of trim work, a new light fixture, and remodeling our pink bath. Pictures to come.

Here's a few shots of A from our most recent trip to Vermont:

Halloween

Smiley-4.5 months

I'll be back....

Eventually.

We got back Wednesday night and I have been super busy at work, and then A and I were plagues with a stomach virus for the weekend...joy.

Plus, I'm in a total life funk. Just a funk, nothing major.

So, give me to Friday, when I finally will have a few moment to catch up, unpack, and re-arrange my hott mess of a blog.

I promise, I'll be back.

October Updating...

Okay, so I can admit, I have been really, really bad the past month (okay, maybe 2 months) in updating our blog...but I can explain!!!!

Excuse #1-I am working...it may ony be 25-30 hours/week, but after spending all day at a computer Monday-Wednesday (and occasionally Thursday) I am sick and tired of the computer screen! Plus, I want the time I am home to be spent with S and A, even if the little guy does only stay awake until 5:30 on day care days.

Excuse #2-We are trying to spen more time with the dogs. S and I have been taking them to the dog park 3-4 times a week, which takes away from my blogging time.

Excuse #3-The house is "under construction", again. We are getting ready to remodel our first floor hallway and guest bath, and paint our master. Therefore, free time is spent taping.

Excuse #4- The most honest excuse... I am fried. S and I have been dealing with some stressful work scenarios (on S's end mostly), trying to remodel some of our personal goals, and we are trying desperately to have a social life. Sadly, there are hundreds of factors that seem to play into every decision we make, and every time we feel like we are getting our feet under us, the proverbial rug is pulled out again. At the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is sit down and revisit the good, the bad and the ugly, especially if it mas seeing it on paper.

Solution....we are heading off for a nice long vacation bak "home" in Vermont. S can only go for 5 days, but I know the 5 will be wonderful for him. Anders and I will be gone for almost 2 weeks, and I hope that he and I come back feeling refreshed.....

4 Month Updates

Anders got to experience his first time eating this week. S and I plopped hm down in his highchair and broke out the Earth's Best Organic Rice Cereal we had bought the previous week. Anders actually enjoyed it, he brought his head forward to the food and eventually wound up smiling between bites.

Hum...

Okay, I'm not sure about this, Dad.

More? Really??

Anders also had his 4 month appointment this week. Turns out, he's huge! 27.5 inches long (in the 98th percentile) and 17.12 lbs (in the 89th percentile). He also had 2 shots, and while I know some Moms say it breaks their heart to see their baby get a shot, it really doesn't bother me. I think that the alternative (illness) is much worse and painful for all involved. Plus, he only cries for about 30 seconds and then totally forgets about what just happened and is back to smiling at the nurses.

At this appointment, A also decided to poop on the thermometer as his temperature was being taken, and to pee in the face of the nurse taking his temp. Nice.

When we got home I popped him in his pack and play to chill for a moment while I took care of the pups. When I came back to check on him he was out, and has been asleep for over 2 hours! Here's a shot of the little kiddo post-shots:

And here are the pups waiting for him to wake up so we can go for a walk:

The Nebraska Social Scene

So A and I went for a lovely walk with Sarah and her little girl Blythe on Friday. Anders, in usual fashion, decided it was way too much work to try and stay awake in his moby, so instead of socializing he napped, and napped, and napped. After our walk, Sarah and Blythe came over for tea and for a chance for the babes to play a little. Oh yeah, and the two babes are only 1 day apart, Anders on 6/4 and Blythe on 6/5. Here's a few shots of the kiddos:

S and I also got to enjoy a beautiful Friday evening with our wonderful neighbors, their fun pup, a good outdoor fire and some champagne. I'm pretty sure bubbly and wood smoke are the best ways to start off a weekend.

The pups also got some "friend" time with 3, that's right 3 trips to the dog park. The guys love the park, which is a beautiful fenced in area about 10 minutes from our house, with space for the big dogs and the little dogs. Saturday, Bogey made a friend, a 20 lb beagle (yes, this is our 65 lb, hyperactive, leggy, 1 year old lab) who could easily barrel roll Bogey and kick his butt. Did I mention this beagle was 9 years old? And Bogey, in true insane puppy fashion, loved every minute of it. Cooper loves the park too, especially when there are fun weimeraners to play with...there's just something about them that makes Cooper have an extra bounce in his step.

Since I was too busy watching the pups and wearing Anders to remember my camera, here's a shot of the pups with Anders from 2 weeks ago (I'm a really bad blogger lately....)

No Baby legs were crushed in the making of this picture. Bogey and Anders with Cooper looking on in supervisory mode.

Bogey and Anders.

Bogey making sure Anders doesn't get all the attention.

Mildly Dreading Thanksgiving....

This will be our first Thanksgiving without our close family, and I am not looking forward to it. This will be our first "serious" holiday where it is just S, A and I, and, of course, S and I also have Friday off, so it will be a long weekend filled with thoughts about what our families are doing.

So, in order to minimize the loneliness, we are remodeling yet ANOTHER part of our house. We moved in 1/1/10 and have remodeled our dining room, living room, one spare bedroom (turning it into our nursery), our master bedroom stairwell, and all of our flower beds (that's 5 beds....and they were a hot mess). Left on the list includes: our first floor bathroom, first floor hallway, repainting the master and updating the outside trim. Let me just take a moment and say, we have a 1395 brick tudor, so everytime you touch something everything around you falls down.

For Thanksgiving we will be remodeling our first floor hallway and possibly our guest bath. Our hallway will be getting a new paint color, all of the trim (which includes 4 doorways and doors) painted ivory, a new ceiling and a new light. We are hoping to tackle the pink bathroom also...all depending on how much Anders naps!

End of month 3....

Today marks Anders' last day as a 3 month old!
Here's a few fun things we have noticed him doing in the past few weeks:

Reaching for toys on his floor gym and connecting with them:

Sitting in his highchair while I cook:

Sitting up against pillows without S or I holding him:

And we have exhaustion after daycare (and work for S):

When S is Out Of Town...

Everything falls apart. Okay, not really, but last night they sure did! Here was our fabulous schedule:

4:00-Get home from work/day care with A (we left at 8, so not too long of a day), arrive to dog vomit on our floor

6:15-Anders crashes 45 minutes early in my arms, then wakes up immediately when he's put in his crib

6:30-7:00-Spend 30 minutes reading to A while he is in his crib until he finally crashes and stays asleep

7:30-Sit down for dinner and to catch up on "trashy" tv, 30 seconds in our dog promptly pukes on our white carpet. 4 times. Begin monster clean-up.

8:00-9:30-Finally eat dinner, do laundry and go to bed with the pups.

10:30-11:30-Dog vomits on bed as I am falling asleep. Change sheets, clean bed and send dogs downstairs.

1:00-2:00-Dogs sneak back into bed and Bogey pukes again on my clean sheets. Put on 3rd set of sheets for the night.

3:00-3:30-A wakes up and starts talking to himself. This is common and lots of times he falls back asleep, but I am still half awake the whole time.

3:30-4:15-Anders starts squealing. I get to his crib to discover he has flipped himself 180 degrees around and is trying new acrobatics never before seen out of this kiddo. He eats 8 oz like a piglet, but is wide awake. We read Goodnight Moon 4 times and he finally crashes.

4:15-7:45-Chuck dogs behind their gate and I crash on the couch to get some sleep. Fall asleep around 6 to some movie about polygamy and dream that S comes back from his trip with 2 wives....

7:45-8:30-A gets up for the day, again he has flipped all the way around in his crib.

So far A has napped a total of 20 minutes since he got up, and I think we are on the verge of teething-which means everything goes into his mouth and he is kinda cranky. Oh yeah, and the vomiting dog is still at it. I think it's just a bit of gastroenteritis, so withholding food is on the docket for tonight...this should be fun.

Our Adorable Monster Baby

Here's a shot of A and I from this past weekend.

Can we just note how HUGE our little 3.5 month old is?! (Mind you, I'm 6', so the fact that he takes up a lot of my torso is nuts.)

I didn't quite realize how huge he was until I saw him in daycare with some other kiddos around who were quite a bit smaller and crawling and trying to walk. When I asked how old they were we found out they were 9 MONTHS! Anders outweighed them by only 2 lbs, but he was at least 3-4 inches longer.

Yep, he's a monster baby. I'm thinking 6'4"?

Oh yeah, and he's already in 6-9 month pants for the length, and 9 month rompers. It's pretty hilarious that you could fit two of him in them for the width, but they are just barely long enough.

Welcome to the world of highwater pants little guy.

Canada bound?

I'm thinking it's time to move to Canada. Not only does one reap the benefits of poutine, but also their fabulous health care.

Let me just say, we will have paid over 14k between medical bills and premiums (we have really poor insurance coverage), and our premium costs will increase from $6600 annually to $9768 as of January 1st, and our deductible is going up $1500. Let me just mention that S works for a large, well known architecture and engineering firm, one that due to their reputation, you would think they would offer better coverage for their employees....

I'm this close to setting up a flatscreen outside of our home and playing Moore's Sicko on repeat 24/7 for the next 3 months.

Growing Like a Weed

Remember our skinny little guy???

Anders at 1 week old, and only 6.5 lbs.

Yep, our little guy had such huge issues nursing that he lost 1.3 lbs in under 7 days. His birth weight was 7.8, and by 4 days after birth we found out that he was losing weight quickly and his bloodwork was not doing too well.

Needless to say, he is now a huge noodle baby! At 3 months he is 26.5 inches and 14. lbs. He can still get into some 0-3 month onesies, but he is in 6-12 month pants! I am guessing his height comes from S (6'2") and I (6'), but that's just a guess...

Anders sleeping on our bed at 12 weeks.

We are so thankful we were able to figure out A's feeding issues. I no longer feel like not nursing makes me an epic failure as a mom, and seeing the look of excitement on our pediatrician's face when she sees how huge A is, makes me feel like we have finally overcome all of our frustrations and that all of those tears the first few weeks were completely worth it.

She Works Hard for the Money

Yep, it's official, I'm going back to work.

After trying to be a happy and sane stay-at-home-mom for Anders I have decided that it's not for me, and I am re-entering the work force, also known as my first introduction to the Nebraska working world.

There are a ton of "ifs" that surrounded my decision: if we lives closer to family and friends would I be happy being at home?; If S was still working for a family business and I got to see him more often would I be happy?; If I went to more 'Moms' groups and spent my day with other stay-at-home-moms, would I be happy?; if, if if.... But all the "ifs" just added up to me knowing that in my heart, I had never wanted to be a stay-at-home-mom, and that the best thing I could do for my family is to recognize how I feel and actively work to make a change.

S and I both had to come to terms with the fact that me wanting to go back to work does not mean that I love A less than I should. It does not mean he will be being raised by someone else. It does not mean my time with my child will be any less meaningful. And, it certainly does not mean that I am harming my child by leaving him. Staying home works well for some people and working is best for others.

Thankfully, I have found a gold mine in landing the coveted Part-Time job, with flexible hours! My schedule is starting off with Monday-Wednesday, 9-3, and I can change it at any time. I'm thinking I will switch to working 9-3 Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, to give A a break from day care midweek. I will be working 10 minutes from our house, right in the "heart" of the city, for a locally owned all natural meat marketing and sales company. More details to come on the position later!

As for A, he will be in a day care a half mile from our home. We chose a child care center (and are paying out the nose for it!) because we wanted the reliability of a center that is always open instead of a home day care which can close due to illness or personal emergency. We also had to hunt to find a center that would accept a part-time infant since we only anticipate A being there 20-21 hours/week. To help with the "adjustment" for our whole family, A will be going to his day care Thursday for 4 hours while I am home as a trail run, and then officially starting up on Monday on my first day.

In all honesty, when I got the offer, I was relieved and excited. S and I have debated over and over if I should go to work since there was no clear "here's what we have to do" path. We get all of our benefits from S and we live off of his income, but for my mental sanity, we both knew me getting a job was the best idea for our family. And so, I can officially add "working mom" to my life job title...starting Monday.

Weekend

We had a great labor day weekend with my parents who came out for a visit from VT. We headed out to the "country" and visited the Arbor State Park out in Nebraska City. It was great to get out of the city and get some fresh air!

Anders decided to talk a lot this weekend. When you ask him a question he now giggles and talks back almost 100% of the time. It makes life so much more fun to have a happy little kiddo on hand! He is also smiling a ton, sleeping through the night about 90% of the time, and is a monster, wearing exclusively 3-6 or 6 month clothing. We no longer can rock "normal" footed sleepers, he has to be in 6 month ones which are huge around the midsection, but just barely long enough for our 26+ incher.

Our weekend also consisted of eating out at Blue, where we got to show off Anders' social skills. Most nights, if we want to go out, we aim for a 7:30 reservation, which means A is typically down in his carseat for his 7 pm bed time and we can eat with a sleeping baby. However, every now and then he decides to stay up and socialize with the rest of the world. We spent Sunday night at Blue and A was up the entire time. He chatted with Nana and Gramps as S and I passed him back and forth while mastering the eating with chopsticks while holding a wiggly baby skill. Thankfully, our little guy is a trooper and spent the whole time happy as a WIDE awake and very alert baby, which makes S and I very happy.

Overall, we had a great weekend and we cannot wait for S's parents to come out in a week and a half. They will be our last visitors until Christmas. We are headed to VT and NH in October, and we cannot wait!

Some shots from the weekend:

Our monster 3 month old with Nana (my mom) and his fabulous Janie and Jack hat

Flying baby in another fabulous hat.

We really, really like hats. This one was knit by a wonderful bartender S's parents chatted up at their favorite NE steakhouse bar. When A wears it he LOVES the attention he gets.

Family shot.

My parents.

And, finally, one very tired baby.

Giving Thanks-August

This week has been a rough one...S and I have been missing home terribly, we have all been sick (including Anders), we have had some broken appliances and a couple of broken toes. Realizing that our feelings of loneliness and discord are only going to get better if we make them better, I have decided it's time to appreciate that which we can and to focus on the "little" things that make our family complete.

That being said, here are the things I am thankful for in August:

1) Sunday Mornings. We try and spend about an hour every Sunday morning in our bed as a family. Typically, this happens around 7, when A is awake, the coffee has been made and we have the paper. We feed Anders and relax with the pups while watching sports center or the Sunday news.

Okay, this Sunday's isn't a great example...it was a rough Saturday Night.

2) Books, books and more books. S and I have loved reading to Anders from day one. We own the classics, Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny, Guess How Much I Love You, etc... but we really love to read from chapter books, especially at his night feedings which can take 30 minutes or more at times. This week we started A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond. This book is actually a copy that my parents gave me for my 4th Christmas-according to the note on the inside page.

There is something about reading a children's book to your child that makes everything in the world disappear and keeps you right in that moment.

3) The beginning of Fall. This was our first summer in Nebraska and it killed us to have week upon week of 90+ degree temperatures with a heat index reaching over 100. The past 2 weeks have been much nicer, 80's mostly and even a few 70's. We have finally gotten to have fresh air in the house and to use our oven again without getting severly overheated!

4) Family. This month we had a plethera of wonderful visitors. Starting at the end of July we had S's mom, my cousin, Judy, S's sisters and Anders and I went to Florida to visit S's parents and sister. We are so very lucky to have family that is willing to come and visit us in our new home. This week my parents will be coming out for a visit and then shortly after S's parents will be out for a long weekend.

 

S's sisters and a sleepy Anders.

5) Coffee. It has been a tiring few weeks, and coffee is my best friend to get through the mornings where all you want to do is go back to bed and sleep the day away. I like it think as sludge with a pinch of sugar and a splash of cream. There is something about that first morning cup that just gets me going more than anything else can.

Things I swore I would never do before I had a baby...

1) Wear Sneakers with Jeans: did this to the Farmer's Market last week since I was wearing Anders in his Moby and it's a rough cobblestone road.
2) Cry in Public: did this at Target 3 weeks ago when I saw a mom and her daughter with the daughter's new baby. It totally made me miss my family and I awkwardly hid in the diaper aisle for 10 minutes while I composed myself and moved on.
3) Leave Dishes in the Sink: unfortunately, this happens now, quite a bit, especially if it has been a long day....
4) Have Unwashed Dogs: Before Anders they got baths every 2 weeks...now it's about once a month and the poor guys smell like, well, like dogs.
5) Discuss Pooping: Anders occasionally goes 24+ hours between poops and he gets grumpy. If it's been more than 24 hours, poop becomes a hot topic in our household.

Anders' Baptism

Anders was baptised at our church this weekend. S's sisters were out for a visit, so it was perfect timing to get him baptised. Here's a few shots of the day:

Outside of our home

Getting ready to be baptised.

Getting Baptised.

And, finally, at brunch after.

Hiding from the camera.

Sleep Part 2

An update on our new sleeping adventures.....
For the past 2 nights we have had a baby who sleeps through the night. He goes down at 7:00(ish) and gets up around 6:30.
Life is good.

2 Month Appointment

Anders had his 2 month appointment Thursday (at 10 weeks since we were out of town and he visited the doctor a TON the first month) and he is huge!

Height: 25.4 inches, putting him in the 97th percentile
Weight: 13 lbs 13 oz, putting him in the 78th percentile

At birth he was 7 lbs 8 oz and 20.5 inches long.....I think we will have a HUGE boy on our hands! Our doctor was pretty surprised at his size, especially since at his last appointment on 6/29 and he was 21 inches and 8 lb 7 oz. Our little guy can grow!

And now, S and I are off for our first baby free dinner since the Sister-in-laws are out and will be watching him. Score!

Sleep!

We moved A down to his crib (which is on the first floor of our house, the master is on the second) at 6 weeks. Instantly, we started a sleep routine to get him used to his new room and schedule. Between 6:30-7:00 we go into his room and start our bedtime ritual: first he's changed into a new diaper and a sleep gown, then S settles into the rocker with A and feeds him his pre-dinner bottle (usually 3-4 oz) and I read-this week it's Alice in Wonderland. After the food is finished and Anders is burped he goes down in his crib while he is drowsy but awake and we head out of the room. Anders will typically talk to himself for about 10-15 minutes and then he is out for the night.

At first we had feedings around 1:30 and 4:30, then Anders would be up for the day at 7. As of Sunday, Anders has finally knocked himself down to one feeding a night! We put him down around 7:00 and he wakes up at 4:15 to eat. Sometimes he is waking up at 1:00, but when he does he just talks to himself for 10 minutes then falls back asleep. S has been taking the 4:15ish feedings, since that is when he typically gets up for work, and then Anders falls back asleep until 7:30.

After having 6 weeks of 3-5 feedings/night, and then 4 weeks of 2 LONG feedings/night, this 1 feeding thing is FABULOUS! S and I have not felt this rested in a very long time, and we finally have the energy to do more around the house. Admittedly, it means I finally have the energy to start a workout plan to lose the post-baby jiggle...but I would much rather be playing in the garden!

Baby Pudge

At 10 weeks old, Anders has officially entered into the world of Pudgy Baby. We have leg and wrist rolls, which is a wonderful thing since he started out with such extreme weight issues.

We will find out how much he offically weighs on Thursday, but I'm thinking low 11's.

Also, Anders slept for 8.5 hours STRAIGHT last night! I'm not sure if it's catching up from our traveling, or a new sleep pattern, but I will take it!

Sangria

Here is M's Sangria Recipe, which we are currently enjoying on our back patio....

1 Bottle Red Wine (I love Cab Sav.)
3/4 Orange
1 Lime
1/2 Lemon
1/2 cup fruit cocktail
1 cup White Rum

-Take red wine and pour it into a serving pitcher
-Slice the ends off of citrus fruits, then slice in half length wise and then again to get long quarters. slice into thin slices.
-Add 1/2 cup of fruit cocktail, removing grapes and reserving juice.
-Add 1 cup white rum
-Add reserved fruit cocktail juice for thinning out sangria as needed.

Add it together, serve over ice, and get:

Florida

Anders and I headed out on Tuesday for our first vacation to Florida. We had to leave S behind with the puppies because he has WAY too much work going on at the office to come with us, which made me nervous for our first flight with Anders to be a solo one. Needless to say, any worrying was done in vain since Anders slept the entire time, on our first flight, on our visit to the Atlanta airport, and then on our second flight. Hopefully he is just as good when we head home on Saturday!

Here's a few shots of the little guy in Florida:

Look Mom, I found my fist!

Getting his feet eaten.

Our awesome flying buddy.