Accomplishments

Within the last week, Carter has started waving bye-bye, does soooo big (with his arms up in the air) when you ask how big he is, pulls things over his eyes until you say "where is Carter?" and then yankes it down so you yell "peek a boo," and is starting to hold up one finger when you ask how old he is going to be.

And today, he started in his new room at daycare.

Hold me.

Weight Watchers Wednesday

I didn't do this last week because I was in FL, and now today I have been crazed so this will be quick. :)

I lost 1/4 inch in my bust and left thigh, and lost .6 pounds (YES, those pesky .6 lbs again!). However, on the WW meeting scale, I was down 2.2 since my last weigh-in. I'm down a total of 6.4 right now. A few days ago, I was down a total of 8, but weighing yourself every day is bad because you seriously change up and down all the time - it can change so easily.

I'm happy to far (especially with this past week because I was at a conference in which they fed us well and when I didn't get a chance to exercise), but am ready to kick it up a notch.

Sappy Moment

Seriously, our baby boy is almost 10 months old. I can't believe it, and I'm sort of refusing to believe it. He's in a stage where he is learning so much and trying so many new things, so it is very fun. And, on Monday, he moves to the "big boy room" at daycare. Of course, it made me all sad and I kept saying "he's not ready, he's not ready."

This morning, I talked to one of his new teachers. She was wonderful and sweet. She said that the past week or two during his "transition phase," he has been in that room for part or most of the day. All of my worries were washed away this morning when she told me he is such a good eater (hmm, you think?), is wonderful with his pincer grasp, has so much fun playing and romping with the other kids, and takes wonderful naps on his cot (HUH!? Really??? This is my biggest fear). Plus, she said he is a lovey and is so cuddly and affectionate which made me all weepy and proud inside.

When I was leaving, my big boy was sitting in a little chair at the table, eating pancake pieces with all the other kids. I turned around on my way out the door and said "bye, dude. Mommy loves you" and smiled really big at him.

And then, he smiled and waved back at me. At the perfectly appropriate time.

I almost lost it in my car. Love that kid.

What We've Been Up To

Things have been fairly hectic around here the past week. I was in Jacksonville, FL for a marketing conference Wednesday through Friday, which left Seth in charge of the little guy most of the week. I prepped what I could food-wise and laundry-wise before I left, but Mr. Mom did a great job with him all week and really enjoyed the one-on-one time they got. I missed them a lot, but really learned a lot at the conference and also got to spend some time in the 75 degree sunny weather. It was a nice change of pace.

On Saturday, Seth's parents and Aunt Cindy came for the weekend. We hung out, played with Carter, had lunch and pretty much relaxed for the afternoon. On Saturday late afternoon/evening, Seth's parents watched Carter so we could go on a date night. We went to see a movie (which we had not done since Carter was born) and then out for dinner. It was so nice to get out for a bit and I think Oma and Opa liked watching Squirt. Thanks, Oma and Opa, for watching him!!!!

Carter seemed to be feeling not quite himself a lot of the weekend, but the poor child is teething so much it is almost to be expected. He had one pop through over the weekend (one of the top center ones) and he has about 5 more ready to come in (we can see the white ready to burst through any day now across pretty much the entire top gums). So, needless to say, there is some irritability, lots of drooling, lots of chewing on toys, and some trouble sleeping. I guess it could have been worse though. He slept from 7:30-6:20 from Saturday into Sunday but then fussed a bit throughout the night Sunday into Monday.

Oma stayed home with Carter on Sunday while Seth, his dad, and I went to church. I was on nursery duty at our church and Aunt Cindy and MK went to MK's church. Afterwards, we had lunch and some naps. A dinner out to Isaac's and some relaxation topped off Sunday evening. 

On Monday, Oma and Opa watched Carter while Seth and I were at work since Carter's daycare was closed for President's day. He had another semi-rough day with the teething, but things were much better Monday night after some Tylenol and dinner. Thanks for watching him Monday too, Oma and Opa. We appreciate it! Opa also spackled the drywall in the garage which was super helpful. Thanks!

And now, back to the swing of things. Carter had a fairly good night and is back at daycare for his last week in the baby room. Next week, he moves up to the "big boy room" with kids 9 months to 18 months. Big adjustments coming our way (though I think he'll enjoy it - he LOVES that room with the older kids).

Have a great week!

Excited!

The work trip to Florida has been fun...and WARM...and SUNNY. But for now, I am most excited to get through today's air travels without any hassle so I can maybe see my baby love before he goes to bed tonight. I miss both of my loves tooooo much! :)

Love.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres.

L o v e   n e v e r   f a i l s.

♥

Happy Valentine's Day.

So glad I have the two most perfect Valentines in the world
to love every single day.

[I've heard this and recited this a million times in my life, but when you take the time to type it out and really read it, it is like brand new information.]

Funny Husband Story

The other day, while driving in the car, the song "Until the Whole World Hears" by Casting Crowns came on the radio.

There is a section of the song that says "Ready Yourselves, Ready Yourselves...."

Seth looked at me and said "I really don't understand what radio sales have to do with anything."
Thinking he was kidding, I said "huh?!?!"

However, he was not kidding. He really thought the line said "radio sales."

Oh how I love him.

Weight Watchers Wednesday

Well, I'm going to be honest. I found this week to be much tougher than any other week. I can pinpoint exactly why, too. For starters, I was out of my normal routine several times this week. We went out for dinner Friday night to a place where there weren't too many healthy options (though I think I did okay with grilled shrimp, a baked potato and a side salad). Oh shoot, I just remembered we ordered a piece of pie to split for dessert. So I did okay until that point. :)

Also, I was at my parent's house Saturday and was much more lax about what I ate. Sunday, we had lunch at my grandma's (some serious home cooking), and then a Superbowl gathering on Sunday night. Yikes. A Weight Watchers nightmare.

On top of it all, I didn't track (write down everything that goes in my mouth and its points+ value) this week which I now know is bad, bad, bad for me. I had no idea how much I was eating and how much I was still allotted to the rest of the day. I need to have that gentle reminder that "hey, you only have 12 points+ left for the day, so chill out." When you don't track, it is extremely easy to get off plan.

I worked out alright, but I'm still bored. And it is still not remotely fun. Any ideas for winter working out that is FUN???

When all was said and done, I gained .6 pounds this week (yep, the exact .6 I lost last week). HOWEVER, I had a really good week measurement-wise. I lost 1/2 inch in my waist, 1/2 inch in my hips, 3/4 inch in my right thigh, 1/2 inch in my left thigh, and 1/4 inch in my left biceps.

The total inches lost so far:
Bust: 3/4
Waist: 2 1/2
Hips: 1 1/2
Right Thigh: 1 1/4
Left Thigh: 1 3/4
Right Biceps: 3/4
Left Biceps: 1 1/4
TOTAL INCHES: 9 3/4 inches

This gave me some much-needed motivation to track every day this week (including the airport food, and any food I consume while at the conference in FL).

Nine months.

Carter, at nine months, you:

- Weigh 24 lbs, 11 oz. (95th percentile)
- Are 30 inches long (95th percentile)
- Wear size 4 diapers (though they are too big on you...size 3s were getting tight and we had several boxes of 4s so we switched you)
- Wear size 12 month clothing in almost everything, though you can still fit into a few 9 month onesies. You also have some things that are size 12-18 month.
- Are MUCH more mobile than last month. You army crawl everywhere and are really working on getting up on all fours. You also pull yourself to standing all the time. We have to watch you like a hawk because you pull up on the coffee table, couch, people's legs, chairs, the ledge of the bathtub. You also take baby steps when we hold onto your hands above your head. You definitely like being mobile, and are bored with just sitting still.
- Have separation anxiety. It isn't bad when we take you to daycare because there are lots of kids to play with and other people, but if we are at home and we leave you in a room alone, even for a second, you let us know. You also get worse when you are tired.
- Are (off and on) doing much better with sleeping. You slept through the night 3 out of 4 weeks in January, but then you got a cold. Shocker. That is always how it works. The one complaint we have is that you get up SO EARLY. Sometimes as early as 5, but mostly 5:45-6:15. Also, the past week or so, you've been fussing several times during the night but we don't go in your room until morning. You almost always fall back asleep within a few minutes. We're not even sure you know you are fussing. Almost like a dream or something...
- Say "da-da" all the time, and the past few days what sounds like "uh-oh." You make babble sounds that sometimes sound like "mama" but I don't think so yet. Stinker.
- Continue to love bathtime except now you are standing, playing with the faucet, knocking shampoo over, etc. - You are a little wrecking ball.
- Still have only 2 teeth but you have been working on the top 2 all month....trust me. We had your well visit on Friday and the doctor said they are literally right under the gums. We are praying they come out soon if you know what I mean.
- Still love to touch faces, especially lips.
- Love to be rocked when you are sleepy.
- Are switching to the convertible carseat this week. You still have 5 pounds to go on the weight limit but you are too long. That should be very interesting with a rear-facing convertible seat in a two door car.
- Eat almost exclusively table foods. You have 4 or 5 jars of baby food left and then no more!! The doctor said that, aside from fish, peanut butter, and eggs, you can have whatever we are having for dinner by now. YAY!!!!
- You have an amazing pincer grasp and can pick up even the tiniest pieces of pasta with your thumb and forefinger.
- You aren't really that into formula at all anymore. Some days you drink all 4 of your bottles and some days, you drink 12 ounces.
- Learned to stand in your crib during the night, though you still aren't too good at sitting back down and you always hit your head because you fall instead. Aunt Salli said to practice helping you sit back down now that you've learned to stand, and we will certainly be doing that! :)
- Have SO much personality. You "flirt," stare at people in restaurants until they look at you (and then you shy smile), laugh all time, put your lip down when you're sad, throw mini baby temper tantrums, are stubborn, and independent. Oh, and dramatic. But as we've discussed, we have no idea where you got that. :)

We love you so much, dude. You are practically a little boy already. Though you give us a run for our money many days, we love you so much. You are the love of our life and we can't wait to see how much you've changed til next month.

A New Sleep Hurdle

As if we don't already have enough trouble getting our almost NINE MONTH OLD to sleep (and sleep well) at night, he thought he'd add another hurdle into the mix.

Sidenote: After 3 weeks of sleeping through the night every single night, he is now waking again a few times a night. We have just been letting him fuss/cry and he falls back asleep (though still waking anywhere from 5:45-6:15, which, quite frankly, is absurd.). Turns out, we've figured out the culprit.

A few nights ago, he just sounded different while he was crying, like something was definitely not as it normally is. So I peeked in his room, and sure enough, he was standing up in his crib.

The past 2 weeks, he has advanced like CRAZY with standing and (army) crawling. He pulls himself up on everything in sight - the couch, people's legs, the bathtub ledge, the exersaucer, TV stand, everything. And he can get from point A to point B in no time flat.

So now, he thinks the perfect time to continue practicing these new developments is during the night. He continues to stand in his crib, pull down stuffed animals, yell for da-da, do his creepy laugh, knock the monitor to the floor...

....and then fall backwards and bump his head, which leads to hysteria. He's slightly dramatic.

I have no idea where he gets that. Ahem.

Last night, this scene happened twice (sleep, wake up, stand up, be a menace, fall backwards, scream, need mama to rub head and help him fall back asleep). By 3 a.m., he was in new hysterics because not only did he hit his head, but now we were leaving the room after he settled. Silly, mommy, trying to go back to bed during the night.

I'm sure this is just another (lack of) sleep phase that will pass sometime soon, but for now, we'll lower the crib even more and buy those ugly, padded crib rail protectors to prevent bite marks and hopefully soften the clunk to the head.

Weight Watchers Wednesday

Well, I just wrapped up week three of Weight Watchers. The novelty has definitely worn off, but I am now consciously thinking about what I eat. I won't lie...I am hungry some days and just want to go out for fries and burgers. And I have had a KILLER ulcer in my mouth from all the fruit.

Last week's meeting was about activity, and how any activity is better than no activity. I've been continuing to strive for my 4-5 times a week, but this time was more like 3 or 4 (I can't remember because I didn't track my food or exercise all week. Boo.). Exercise was already getting slightly boring for me. Seriously. Week three. This is my worst fear. SO, drastic times call for drastic measures. We dipped into our fun money and bought a nice TV for the "home gym." I work out so much better (and less grudgingly) when I have some form of entertainment. I'm looking forward to spring and summer when we can play frisbee golf, go for nice walks and hikes, go swimming, etc.

Anywho, when all was said and done, I lost slighly over 1/2 a pound this week (1 1/2 on the WW scale at my meeting this morning, but as always, I keep track on the blog with my home scale since that one is never moved and I weigh myself every week without clothing), which isn't exactly what I was hoping for (though should still be happy about since we had Seth's work party and we weren't quite the best with food choices). As far as measurements, I lost the following this week: 1 inch in my waist, 1/4 inch in my right thigh, and 1/4 inch in my left biceps (a little fact if you didn't know: the singular and plural form of "biceps" is the same).

I'm sooooo close to being back into my favorite pair of jeans (though I hope those will be history before real long), and I'm hoping I manage to lose a few more pounds before my work trip to Florida in 2 weeks.