Scenic Sunday

Waitsfield, VT - February 2009

Our trip to Vermont was one of our favorite trips; although it's so hard to really pick a favorite trip, this one was really fun. It was our first time to the Green Mountain state, and we learned how to ski together, and we stayed at a fantastic Inn where we snowshoed every day.  Just thinking about it, I can hear the Bob Newhart Show theme song playing ...

For more Scenic Sundays, please visit scenicsunday.blogspot.com.

8 months old

I cannot believe these months have flown by; it's true what everyone says.  Wesley is now 8 months old.

What's Wesley doing these days?

• Well, he's not crawling yet, but he can "plateau" -- where he can hold himself up on his arms and knees and rock a little. 
• And he can now stand if he's holding on to the couch, or his exersaucer; but he can't pull himself up to a stand yet. 
• It look like 2 teeth are about to pop - we can see the whites of them at his gumline, but they're not out yet.
• He's still sleeping in his Woombie (we've just bought the largest size ... Mega Baby)
• He loves when we sing all his songs from his music class, and to chase after the rubber duckies in his swim class. 
• He's really babbling more too. At 6 months, he was saying "b" and "d" -- now he says, "ba" "da" "ta" "ma" and "na" And sometimes even "bla" -- he's a real talker.
• He tries to feed himself with the spoon - even though it doesn't work yet and he makes a big mess.
• And we introduced the sippy cup. And that, too, is taking time. Sometimes he gets it, but mostly he likes to gnaw on the underside of it (it's rubbery). We just put water in it for now.
• He's still taking in 3-4 bottles a day + 3 meals of fruits and veggies. I'm going to start introducing some new recipes for him this month. Maybe meat and yogurt.

This Month:

• We went to the Garden Show at Navy Pier
• Wesley went to his first dinner party in the city (and was very well-behaved for a newbie)
• I started working from home, so Wesley has a new babysitter whom he loves.
• We started storytime at the Library and finished up our 1st semester of music (starting again next month).

Hi y'all: Gastonomique Society goes to the South

It was another Gastronimique Society dinner on Saturday and the menu was all SOUTHERN.

What is the Gastronomique Society? 4 couples including 4 guys who love to cook and 4 girls who love to eat what they make. It's as simple as that.

Matt's from Nashville and one of our friends is from Alabama, so it seemed fitting that one of the dinners should feature some southern cuisine - re-defined, of course.

The MENU

We didn't have a babysitter lined up for the night (we thought we asked my mom, but she had plans and so did everyone else in my family. And my normal babysitter hasn't done nights yet, so we weren't ready to ask her) so ... we got to bring him along. Yes, Wes got to go to his first dinner party at 8 months. Lucky kid!  Our hostess has 2 kids (including a precious 2-month old) so babies were "on the menu" that evening.

Shrimp & grits

The guys made a fantastic dinner - taking some traditional southern favorites and giving them their special twist. 

Catfish, pickled green beans & hushpuppies

Everything was so good, I was sad I didn't bring any tupperware to sneak home some of the pecan pie (the crust was from Emeril and the pie was our friend's mom's recipe).

Pecan Pie

 "Put Some South in Your Mouth" - Our P. Dean apron

More making Baby Food

So our baby food making has been going really well. I have a few jars and pouches in the cupboard, but we only pull them out occasionally - mainly when we go out, but even then the homemade babyfood works because it's frozen cubes. So you put the cube(s) in a container and by the time you need to feed him, it's defrosted.

I haven't done anything too interesting -- like pureed chicken and veggies -- but I've pureed up: pears, mangoes, peaches, blueberries, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, broccoli. I've given Wes applesauce (easier than making your own as long as it's unsweetened all natural), mashed banana, and mashed avocado (supposed to be excellent for a baby).

This is him smiling! (not crying)

This morning he had blueberries and applesauce and it got all over everything. 

 I bought a new steamer -- a metal one that sits on top of a saucepan. I had an electric steamer from ages ago (bought 2md hand) but people told me that it probably wasn't BPA-free and heating food in it probably wasn't the best. The new metal contraption is very easy to use.

Babbling Video

Wordless Wesley Weekly

I take these adorable pictures of Wesley and afterward I realize I have a stupid bib on him. Oh well... (and yes, I realize this is supposed to be wordless).

 He is learning to pose for the camera!

March 10, 2010 - 7-1/2 months

March 10, 2010 - 7-1/2 months

March 10, 2010 - 7-1/2 months

For KSPA

not sure if you will see this, but I can't post a comment on your blog - no idea why. I wanted to send you a CONGRATULATIONS!

From SAHM to WAHM

About 10 weeks into my 12-week maternity leave, I decided that going back to work full-time was not the right choice for our family. Before quitting, I asked about flex-time, part-time, job-share ... none of these options were available. My only hope? Contract work.  In order to do this,  I would need to officially leave the company and get re-hired through a 3rd party agency to become "project" status. So right before my maternity leave officially ended, I officially quit and let everyone know that I was available for projects. "Call me!"

So while waiting, I have enjoyed being a Stay-at-Home Mom. My favorite part is that I've really gotten to know my son and that we have truly bonded. These last 7 months, I've learned to become the baby whisperer. At first, I could never understand what he wanted and what I should be doing. I grew frustrated with him, and trying to get him to take naps would wear me out. I kept thinking about all the housework and chores to get done, instead of paying attention to his needs.  When I look back, I'm amazed at how much I have changed. I know how to read his cues and how to make him giggle. To say I look forward to feeding him, playing with him, rocking him to sleep, and carting him off to swimming/music is actually the truth. I relish all the moments I have with him and I don't get frustrated by his antics.

Now, just as I am in a comfortable position, I've gotten the call to come back to work -- part-time from home -- so I'll become a Work-at-Home Mom. It couldn't have come at a better time, because now I feel so much more confident as a mother that I can do this.

I've hired a part-time nanny to watch the baby 3-afternoons/week while I work in the home. She's come over twice already to play with Wes and get used to "cloth diapering." It was hard at first. I kept checking on them, "Is he okay? Does he need me? Can I show you how I do XYZ." Yep, there are a few strings that need to be stretched (never cut). But I'm glad I can work again and be close to the baby.

It'll be challenging -- I still have time set aside for activities and I'll need to get more organized -- but we'll see how it goes. I start next week.

Wordless Wesley Weekly

7/28/2010 - 3 days old

2/13/2011 - 6-1/2 months

Boot Camp: Week 8

I'm almost done. This was my last week, but we have 3 make-up classes next week (closed for the blizzard). In any case, I wanted to update my status. 

Again ... my weight has not moved an inch, but I'm still shrinking my hi.ps and wa.ist. This alone is making me keep it up (it's a tough class). This weekend, I needed a belt for my Size 10 jeans -- I was pretty happy about that. I'm wondering if maybe my pre-preg 8's will fit me now (i.e. Can I SQUEEZE into them?).

I'm already planning on signing up for the next session and adding some extra cardio over the weekend (biking, swimming -- will this weather ever get warmer??!)

Cloth Diaper prefolds: Shrinking & folding

We mainly use two types of cloth diapers. 1) prefolds with covers and 2) pockets.

With the prefolds, you need to wash them 4-6 times before they become absorbant. In the process, they shrink and look like the cloth diaper you're used to seeing.

Here's how they look before and after:

Pretty neat, eh? These are the new batch I just got (we finally had to retire the infant prefolds) and it's taken me a while to get them absorbant.

Also, these are still pretty big for the baby, and so we've had to modify how we fold them. We used to fold them and secure with a snappi before putting on the cover.  Now, with the bigger cloth, we just fold them in threes and lay them in the cover. This didn't work before, when he was smaller, but it does great now.

Even after 7 months, cloth diapering is an adventure, but I am hooked. I still wouldn't have it any other way.

Snappi -Greenmountaindiapers.com

Tri-fold - Greenmountaindiapers.com

See Greenmountaindiapers.com - How To Fold a Cloth Diaper

Swim class photos

 Matt was home Monday so he came to our swim class and took some photos and videos.

After seeing this video, I realize that I'm a big nerd.