SWW

 

Happy Halloween!

 

This week I'm saying So What if:

 

-We didn't carve our pumpkin until last night. Procrastination at it's finest.

 

-I still need to go out and buy Halloween candy for tonight. We knew if we had it before now (especially in the storm) we would eat it ourselves.

 

-I have to miss Hunters "Fall Festival" aka Halloween party at daycare today. It's my first day back in the office after the storm and I just can't get out early. Somehow I don't think he'll care.

 

-I sent Hunter to daycare yesterday even though I was able to work from home. I knew he was going stir crazy and we would both be happier if he could go play with his friends for a few hours while I worked.

 

-Being able to work from home (while a blessing) is also a curse. It means that we never get true "days off" when we have a big snow storm or in this case a Hurricane.

 

-Kristian and I can't stop staring at our new granite countertops. We are both madly in love with them. Only about a week left before our renovation should be done. Thank God!



10 Months Old- 10/30/12

My Sweet Hunter-

Today you are now in the double digits for months! Even though you are only 10 months old you seem so much older to me and it feels like you've been in our lives for much longer. Every month you are even more fun as you learn and interact more and more. You are the light of our lives little man and I don't think you will ever know how much you are truly loved by us.

Love,
Mommy 

Weight/Length- According to our home scale you are 24.5lbs. I suspect you're right around 29" tall.

Eating- You are still getting three 5-6 oz bottles of breastmilk during the day in addition to nursing in the morning. You get a 9oz bottle of formula before bed. As for actual food, you have really gotten better this past month with table food. You are now starting to eat the food that daycare provides in addition to multiple snacks throughout the day. In the mornings you will have everything from pancakes to sausage to muffins and toast. For lunch you will get veggies and some kind of meat. For dinner you eat whatever we eat (if it's safe). For snacks you will have crackers and puffs and fruit. Your daycare teacher has commented on not only how much you eat but how well you are eating table food at your age. You LOVE sitting at the little table with the other kids in your class. Eating is definitely one of your favorite activities.

Sleep- With the exception of the past couple nights when you weren't feeling well you've been sleeping GREAT this past month. You sleep from 8pm until 6-6:30am straight and take 1 or 2 naps a day.  The weekend of daddy's birthday you slept for 12 hours straight Friday and Saturday night. It was amazing. I think a combination of all you eat and all the activity you get at daycare has really helped you to sleep better.

Clothes- You are now wearing 12 and 18 months clothes. A lot of the 12 months clothes are getting small on you. However all your pants are still pretty long on you. 

Diapers- Still in size 3 diapers but plan to move you to size 4's when we run out of these. 

Appearance- Your hair has started to get really curly in the back and a lot thicker. It's still very light brown and getting quite long. A haircut is going to be happening in the near future. Your eyes are still a grey/blue/green combination. You just started to cut your 4th tooth on the bottom and 6th tooth total.

Personality- You are still such a happy baby. The ladies at daycare always comment on what a good and happy baby you are. It's very rare that you are super fussy and is usually a sign that you are teething or sick. You've become extremely curious and are always trying to get into things you shouldn't. You are quite determined and when you see something you want you get there in a hurry. You love to play and get attention and get quite unhappy if you are being ignored. You also get upset when we take away something you want. You've slowly started to develop an apprehension around strangers or people you haven't seen in a while but that doesn't typically last very long. You are also becoming quite the daddy's boy, your face just lights up when you see your daddy. It's the sweetest thing. You are such a sweet little dude.

Likes-

All the same things from last month including:

-crawling around
-climbing the stairs
-standing up against the coffee table and couch
-remote controls and phones
-any toy that makes noise
-being in the big bathtub
-being outside
-eating table food
-banging on pots and pans with a wooden spoon
And always you are really starting to like your dog and cat, Moxie and Halpert

Dislikes-
All the same things from last month including:
-Having your clothes and diaper changed
-Being stuck in your pack n play
-Being in your high chair if you aren't eating
-Baby gates
-Being ignored

Milestones-

-You primarily crawl on all fours now.
-You pull up and cruise using furniture for support
-Eating mostly table foods
-Cut your 6th tooth
-First trip to Urgent Care for an infected abscess on your finger
-Learned how to go down the stairs by sliding backwards on your belly
-First trip to the pumpkin patch
-Celebrated daddy's birthday
-First Hurricane (Sandy)

First Boo Boo

This was the scene of our Saturday morning.

Hunter had his first of what will probably be many (if he's anything like his father) trips to Urgent Care. I should back up to Friday first. On Friday morning Hunter woke up and was extremely fussy. He's typically only ever like that in the mornings when he's sick or teething and I mentioned it to his daycare teacher when dropping him off. I had also noticed a little spot on his finger that looked like a wart but I didn't think too much of it.

Well around 1pm I got a call from daycare saying Hunter had been extremely fussy all morning and had a temp of 101.8 and they wanted us to pick him up. At this point I still thought he was probably just teething. I got him home and gave him some Tylenol which seemed to help. That night when Kristian got him I pointed out the "wart" on Hunters finger which was now red and swollen looking and seemed to be infected. We thought maybe he had gotten a splinter or teeny shard of glass in there that had become infected. We took him next door to see our neighbor whose a nurse to get her opinion because we were also worried about him having MRSA. Our neighbor said that so long as the Tylenol was helping with the fever than he should be okay for the night and we could wait til morning to take him in.

So Saturday morning we took him to Urgent Care right when they opened. The doctor took and X-ray of the finger first to see if there was anything in there causing the infection (there wasn't). He said it was definitely infected and he would need to drain it. So they had to strap Hunter to the bed in a swaddle type contraption to hold him still (see picture above). I sat next to him and rubbed and kissed his head the whole time. The doctor first gave him a shot to numb his finger. Hunter SCREAMED during the shot and basically screamed during the whole procedure and was even shaking which broke my heart. I just wanted to pick him up and soothe him but I couldn't do anything but rub his head.

The doctor lanced and drained the infected abscess and then wrapped his finger. Fortunately he didn't need any stitches. We asked the doctor if he thought it was MRSA and he didn't think so but wasn't quite sure. He prescribed an antibiotic and said that so long as he doesn't spike a high fever and the finger doesn't get worse then he should be fine but to follow up with his pediatrician on Monday. He also told us to give him Tylenol as needed for pain.

His first bandage.

Hunter seems to be better now. He keeps looking at and playing with his "boo boo" but he doesn't seem to bothered by it, with the exception of 4am this morning when he wouldn't stop crying, after I gave him some more medicine he calmed down and fell back asleep.

The whole experience was pretty traumatic for all of us. I thought watching him get his vaccination shots was hard, but this was a million times worse than that. Kristian even had to go sit down during the procedure because he started to feel light-headed. He said seeing the blood didn't bother him but seeing the ones he loves in so much pain  makes him feel faint (the same thing happened when I got my very painful epidural).

I'm just grateful that Hunter won't remember any of it. But I know that raising an already mischievous and curious little boy will probably end us in Urgent Care or the Emergency Room several more times in the future. Just one of the joys of being a boy mom.

SWW

 

This week I'm saying So What if:

 

-I'm ready for this kitchen renovation to be DONE. It's already gone longer than planned and will be at least another week minimum. Our house looks like a hurricane went through it and I hate it.

 

-I was annoyed yesterday to find out that when Hunter transitioned into the next level classroom (which is the "older" infant room) at daycare his tuition didn't go down like I thought, apparently it won't drop until he's in the toddler room which won't be until he's 15 months old. So another 7 months and then it only drops $20 a month.

 

-I hate that if/when we have another child is dependent on being able to afford having two kids in daycare. I still don't know how other people do it.

 

-Holding my coworkers 5 week old baby last week surprisingly didn't make me want to have another baby right now. My hands are full with one.

 

-I was thrilled that Hunter slept for 12 straight hours two nights in a row over the weekend. First time ever! However, he was up bright and early at 5am today. Sigh.

 



I Love You Because...

As I posted yesterday, it was Kristians birthday and since he's already had what I consider to be his birthday present for more than a month now I didn't really have a gift to give him yesterday. So instead of a present I stole borrowed an idea I saw AP post on Insta-gram a few weeks back.

Since I worked from home yesterday I was able to implement this idea while Kristian was out hunting with his dad. I took 35 colored index cards (35 for the age he was turning) and on one side I wrote "I Love You Because..." and on the back side wrote one of the 35 reasons why I love him. I then taped them all over the house for him to find when he got home.

 

 

I tried to put the card in a place that corresponded with what the card said. For example on Hunters bedroom door I taped that I loved him because he made me a mommy. On the microwave I taped that I loved him because he always cooks such great meals. Etc.

 

 

When he got home he had so much fun finding and reading all the cards. He even took a break at one point because he wanted to spread it out for longer. One thing I should point out is that Kristian really doesn't like greeting cards, he thinks they are a waste of money, you read them and then throw them away (actually I keep mine and have shoeboxes full of greeting cards I've received). He said that this was SO much better than getting a store bought greeting card and it's the sweetest birthday gift he's ever gotten. He was still talking about it today.

 

 

In addition to the cards I bought him a cake (we still don't have a working kitchen so I couldn't bake him one) and we ordered take out Chinese Food. Nothing exciting but he said between hunting with his dad and what I did for him he had a great day. 

35

On this day 35 years ago the man that would grow up and become the love of my life, husband and father of my child was born.

Happy Birthday My Love!

Hunter also wants to wish his da-da a very happy birthday.

Things I Don't Get

Things I don't get:

-People who dress their kids predominantly in monogrammed and personalized clothing. Every now and then and for special occasions sure but some people seem to only dress their kids in items that are personalized. My question, what do you do with it once they outgrow it? You can't sell, giveaway or even use them for future kids. Seems wasteful.

-Decorating for "Fall". Fall is not a holiday. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas I can understand. But decorating for "Fall"? And how come people don't decorate for Winter? Winter is like the unwanted step-child of the four seasons.

-Posting political rants on Facebook or Twitter in the hopes of changing someones opinion. Hint- you will NOT change anyones already set political opinion.

-Why traffic is always, inevitably worse when I either a- really need to be somewhere or b- really need to pee.

-Why anyone would spend $145 on a baby cashmere sweater that they will either puke on immediately or outgrow in 2.5 seconds. Seems like you could put your abundance of money to better use.

-Certain outfits that various "fashion bloggers" wear. Look, I know I'm not the most trendy, fashionable person but seriously, some of the outfits I see on these people I'm just like "dude that's hideous" and not only that but they then get 100 comments saying how cute the outfit is. WTF? Am I missing something here?

-Why the Kardashians are rich and famous. Not sure how I would feel about myself as a human being if I was rich and famous because my sibling made a sextape that went viral.

 

What are some things that you don't get?

 

 

*If you do one of the things listed above, or if you are a Kardashian, please don't take offense. I'm feeling a bit snarky today.* 

 

More Family Pictures

My friend Laura who took our photos Sunday, showed me the rest of the ones that she finished editing. I think they all turned out great. I was really nervous we wouldn't get that many good shots since I know it was hard to get Hunter to not only look at the camera but to smile. But we definitely have plenty to choose from now for Christmas cards, Christmas gifts and hanging around the house.

Aren't my boys the cutest?

Photo evidence of him eating dirt. Sigh.

Yes this makes me nervous, but you can't deny Hunter is enjoying himself.

This is Kristian's favorite picture. Hunter's face is priceless.

Hunter has a bit of a WTF look on his face but I think this picture is still pretty cute.

We are so lucky to get to live so close to water.

 

This is one of my favorites. His cuteness just kills me.

He loved the little bear rocker that Laura brought.

Hunter has a sock monkey that he just loves so I couldn't resist a picture of him in this hat that Laura brought.

 

 

SWW

 

Another Wednesday and another week where I'm saying So What if:

 

-I CANNOT wait for this damn election to be over, especially since Kristian and I are voting differently and I'm tired of debating with him.

 

-I really don't like either candidate or politicians in general.

 

-I have no idea what I'm going to do for Kristian's birthday on Monday.

 

-I had to convince Kristian last night to NOT give Hunter one of the toys that we bought him for Christmas early.

 

-I couldn't stop laughing watching Hunter wolf down his graham cracker when I picked him up from daycare during snack time. It's like he thinks everytime he eats it's a race.

 

-Hunter ate a fistful of dirt when we sat him on the ground during our family photo session. He's a true boy through and through.

Family Photo Sesh Sneak Peek

This past Sunday my friend Laura from college came over to take some family photos of us in the woods behind our house. Fortunately we did not get rained out again and the weather was beautiful. Laura is the same person who took Hunters newborn photos and my maternity photos almost exactly a year ago in the same spot. Crazy how fast time flies.

Kristian isn't a big fan of having professional photos taken, he doesn't see the point but he knows it makes me happy so he eventually gives in. I knew I wanted some nice ones to update the frames in our house, for Christmas cards and Christmas gifts for the grandparents.

I'm still waiting for the DVD of all the photos but Laura posted some sneak peeks on Facebook and I LOVE them. If anyone in Northern VA is looking for a photographer I definitely recommend her, she takes great photos and has so much patience when it comes to photographing easily distracted babies and dogs!

**The outfit I chose is the one most people liked when I posted options on Instagram. The cardigan, belt and boots are all from Target. And Hunters sweater is from Old Navy.

How cute is my husband?!

Nothing is stronger than a mother's love.

Not sure how we ended up with a little blondie but he sure is cute.

This was taken about a half second before Hunter had a meltdown, he did like this pose.

Does it get cuter than this?

He totally looks like a Baby Gap model.

I can't tell you how hard it is to get a baby and a dog to look at a camera at the same time. This was pretty much the best she could get. Moxie is totally eye-balling a squirrel off in the distance.

Required Fall Activity

I don't usually do weekend recaps, mainly because most times our weekends are pretty mundane. But this past weekend was pretty close to perfect. First and foremost, Hunter slept AWESOME (and I've now probably jinxed myself). He slept from 8-6:30am straight (Fri/Sat/Sun nights), I changed and fed him at 6:30 and then he went back to sleep for another 1-2 hours. Normally he's up at 6am on the dot (if not earlier) and ready to go for the day). In addition to the awesome night sleeping, both days he took a 2 1/2 hour nap. I love naptime. I'm praying to the sleep Gods that this pattern continues. As Kristian said "He finally gets it" sleep is a good thing.

In addition to his great sleeping, there were other highlights of the weekend which included a trip to the pumpkin patch, followed by a solo mommy/Hunter trip to Michael's and Target in the afternoon without any meltdowns. Sunday we took our family pictures and Hunter did really well all things considered (sneak peek pictures coming tomorrow). After about an hour he was over it and fussy and ready for a long nap. That afternoon mama got to go get a much needed massage. It was just a very nice weekend with my little family and my son couldn't have been a better behaved child. Oh and we had the trifecta of football wins, VA Tech, ECU and the Redskins ALL won, that almost never happens.

Here are the pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch. And by pumpkin patch I mean the flower nursery down the street that has pumpkins and activities for kids. We didn't feel like driving out to a "real" pumpkin patch.

 

Every little boy need a camo puffer vest.

My little pumpkin surrounded by pumpkins.

"Hey Moxie, what are these?"

My cute little family.

Maybe next year he can actually go down the bouncy slide. For now he just gets to sit on it.

My little Dracula

Hunter and Moxie refused to look at the camera.

Our pumpkin haul. The mommy/daddy pumpkin and one for Hunter, Moxie and Halpert.

 

This is a family picture of us at the same place last year, 7 months pregnant.

 

 

Here is our family picture this year.

Last year my belly was the size of a pumpkin and this year my baby is bigger than the pumpkins.

 

 

 

 

No Turning Back

Our kitchen renovation FINALLY got underway this week. After months and MONTHS of talking about it, it's finally happening. And I can't WAIT for it to be over. Living without a kitchen basically sucks. All of our kitchen stuff is now in boxes in the dining room and basement. I've had to move Hunter's highchair into the living room (with a towel underneath in case he drops food). I'm having to wash and prepare his bottles in the bathroom, which grosses me out and the house is just cluttered and disorganized which is driving me batty. We should hopefully have it done in about two weeks.

In the meantime we are having to eat out for most of our meals. I plan to go to the store this weekend and get some stuff for sandwiches and microwave meals (we have a small microwave we can use) so that it's not all fast food because I'm already sick of it.

Another downside of the renovation is that I'm having to lock our cat Halpert in the unfinished part of our basement so that he doesn't try to sneak out while the workers are there during the day (which he totally would). It's where his litter box already is located and I moved his food and water and a comfy dog bed in there and I leave the light on. The first day he meowed as soon as I put him in there but the past two days he hasn't made a peep and seems fine when Kristian lets him out in the afternoon. I know it's a bigger deal to me than him but I still feel bad.

Anyways, here are some of the progress pictures i.e. what it looks like now that we no longer have a kitchen. They gutted it on Tuesday and today they plan to do the plumbing stuff since we are rearranging where the sink and dishwasher will be.

The first three pictures are the kitchen all packed up. I hate packing up kitchens and this just reminds me that I really don't want to move anytime soon.

 

 

And here is the scene I came home to on Tuesday night. I would be lying if I said this didn't give some anxiety. No turning back now.

 

They left the old refrigerator plugged in so that we can keep our food and Hunters milk. Hopefully we won't need to be without a fridge and can just transfer stuff from the old one to the new one when the time comes.

 

 

And just as a reminder here is our inspiration photo and what we hope our kitchen will resemble.