Six Months

My sweet lovebug made the half year mark a couple of weeks ago, but I was patiently waiting for his stats from his doctor's check-up to write this post.

Six months!  I am proud to say that we made it this far... not that I had any doubts, but it's a nice pat on the back to think how far you have come from the first few days in the hospital as parental newbies.  We co-hosted a baby shower for close friends (and G's god parents) today.  They threw our shower last summer, so it was nice to return the favor and also crazy to look back and think how much has changed since then.

I wore the same dress this year, just minus the big 'ole belly :)

G is such a happy, easygoing baby.  He is still a good eater and will accept whatever you offer him, whether it is from mama or from a bottle.  He is eating solids twice a day like a champ.  He gets impatient when I sit him down in his bumbo because he knows what is coming and wants his food NOW!  He is opening his mouth eagerly for each bite and his current faves are pears, peaches, applesauce and carrots.  He is not a big fan of peas - just like his daddy!  His doc gave us the green light to add yogurt and meat to his diet, so those will be the next things we try.

He recently slept through the night (!!!) for the first time ever.  Coming from a mama who is used to waking up twice a night on average, this was HUGE!  He did this three nights straight but has since been inconsistent.  I am so ready to sleep train and everything I have read on the subject (and what G's doc has also told me) says that by 6 months babies who wake up at night and want to eat are doing it out of habit than out of need.  Now that I know he is capable of doing it on his own, it is game time.

He is also finally content going for walks in the jogging stroller for extended periods, so I think actually using the jogging stroller to jog with him in it is next on my list.  The half marathon has motivated me to start running again.  

He has decided that he was over being stationary and is now army crawling all over the place.  It's not the most conventional method of crawling, but it gets him places.  Gone are the days when I could put him down unsupervised for a few minutes while I went to the bathroom, got a glass of water, etc.  We are about to start the baby proofing of our house phase.  When he is not crawling, he is flipping over ALL the time.  If I put him on his back, he will immediately flip over to his tummy and start moving towards something that he sees.  I will often go and check on him while he is sleeping only to find that he is in a completely different position, side of the bed, etc. than the one I had laid him down in.  Funny boy!

He is a new fan of reading books with his absolute favorite being Where is Baby's Puppy?  He loves his jumperoo and walker the most but will still play in the bouncer and on his tummy time mat.  

He is much easier to put down at night and we keep the same routine every night - bath, bottle (or the other), and bed, or the 3 B's as I like to call them.  Once I get him out of the tub and start putting his pj's on, he is ready to have his milk and go to sleep.  I feed him, lay him down, and turn his sleep sheep on.  He very rarely cries and is always asleep by 8:00.

Six month stats:

Weight - 18 pounds, 2 ounces = 70th%

Height - 27.5 cm = 75th%

Head Circumference - Ummm... off the charts.  Yeah, he has a big noggin but the doc is not concerned.  

Also, no teeth yet but drooling like crazy.  He has a very good grip and has surprised us with his ability to swipe and knock over things in record speed.  

Dear Sweet Love,

Time keeps flying by and each day just keeps getting better.  I love being your mama!  Every time you see me you break out into a grin and always have the best, slobbery open mouthed kisses to give me.  So many people comment on how sweet and laid back you are, and it makes my heart swell with pride.  I love you to the moon and back.

Love,

Mama

No pain, no gain

I'm not sure I  like the saying, "No pain, no gain."  I mean, sure, it can work as motivation in some settings.  But do I really want pain?

Last week R and I were casually talking about the weekend ahead and wondering what we were going to do when he thoughtfully reminded me, "Aren't you running the half marathon?"  Oh yeah.  That.

To say that I haven't been training for it is a bit of an understatement.  After getting that nasty head cold at Christmas, my short lived running regimen was dropped and never picked back up.  I started work, we moved back into the house... all good reasons, but yes, excuses nonetheless.  Let's face it - if you really want something, you make it a priority, and training this year wasn't high on my list.  It didn't even make the list.

So fast forward to yesterday morning.  My alarm went off at 5:05 (not sure why I didn't just set it for 5:00, but I guess those five extra minutes seemed crucial) and then proceeded to close my eyes and fall back asleep until G woke up at 5:50.  I reluctantly peeled myself out of bed, went to feed him (running with the ladies full didn't sound like fun if you catch my drift), and then proceeded to get ready.  My plan was to GET to the race area at 6:15.  It was more like 6:50 but I made it and had ten minutes to spare until race time.

I didn't have any breakfast except for a few protein bar bites I forced down on the drive.  I didn't drink any water beforehand but made sure to grab water and/or gatorade at all of the water stops along the race route.

This was by far the least prepared I had ever been for any race, but I knew I was going to do it and finish it.  R suggested switching from running a mile to walking a mile so I didn't hit a wall at the end and not be able to run anymore.  It was good idea in theory but I had a really hard time trying to follow this in the beginning with all of the adrenaline.  That quickly wore off after about 3 miles and I settled in to a nice and S-L-O-W jog.  I would stop to walk as needed and just told myself I was doing an "abnormally long" Sunday morning jog.

It was the slowest 13.1 miles I have ever posted, but I finished, and I am proud of myself for that.  I honestly enjoyed myself - there is something to being a part of that kind of atmosphere.  There are SO many different people who are just as crazy as you are to get up that early to run 13.1 miles - the even crazier ones go for 26.2.  There are SO many awesome people who come out to cheer you on, to give you high fives,  to sing and play music for your entertainment, and to give you nourishment (thank you to the random lady with the bowl of candy at mile 6 - that tootsie roll was amazing).  I loved seeing all of their smiles, hearing their words of encouragement, and reading their funny signs.

This wasn't my first half, so I did know that mental toughness would make up for some of what I lacked in training.  Each mile marker I saw helped me to mentally check off the remaining miles, and I thoughtfully (hehe) reminded myself that there would be plenty of food at the finish line.  :)  Whatever works!

I am happy to say that I did not collapse in a ditch and I was able to cross the finish line running.  I plan on signing up again for next year's race.  But this time?  Maybe I'll also plan on training too.  :)

Future runner in the making...

p.s. Livestrong was the sponsor for this year's race and Lance was in attendance running the half as well.  I am sad to say that I did not see him AND that his time was half of mine.

My Little Lovebug

Today has been my favorite Valentine's Day thus far ... that I can remember anyway.  :)  V-Day is definitely very low on my holiday list.  I personally think it's over commercialized and over indulgent, but I do enjoy promoting love and kindness.  Anyway, off my soap box...

I realized recently that G's half birthday will always be on V-Day, which seems appropriate since he is my little lovebug.  (Side note: I'm not sure why I just came to this realization since his birthday is one day before mine... I'm going to blame it on PIA: Parental Induced Alzheimer's).

G's class at school had a V-Day party and the parents were invited to come.  Part of me thought it was cute, and the other part of me thought it was a little silly considering they are all 8 months or younger.  I spent a couple of hours yesterday making V-Day cards for his classmates and a personalized shoe box to hold all of his cards (yes, all 8 of them).  We also had to sign up to bring something to the party - my item was fruit punch, which was obviously not put into any of the bottles.  Admittedly, it was a nice way to celebrate G's first day of love ... and G had the best cards to pass out!  I am giving myself a pat on the back for this one since I handmade his while everyone else just had store bought cards.  This may have to become an annual tradition.  I enjoyed making my classmates their cards when I was a kid and I hope G will one day enjoy it too.  I will try my hardest to impart some of my craftiness on him.  :)

I had a moment yesterday where I just had to let some of my perfectionist tendencies go.  Two weeks ago I ventured out to the mall to have his picture taken at Picture People for Valentine's cards I was going to make and mail out.  I found this great deal online and decided to take advantage of it to force myself to send cards: http://www.picturepeople.com/_assets/docs/Jan_2011_Coupon.pdf

Funny enough, my first experience with Picture People was five years ago when I met up with my sister and my niece for her first V-Day pictures.  Yes, we have come full circle!  This was my second visit to the store, and my first as an actual paying customer, and I thought they did a great job.  I am partial to my favorite photographer Meghan Heller but decided to do these photos on a whim, so off we went!  G cooperated nicely and I was able to select my favorite pose fairly quickly without getting sucked in to buying more prints - yay for perseverance!

I knew I wanted to make the card myself but faced the problem of having all of my scrapbooking stuff still in storage somewhere in this house.  I managed to find some things at Michael's and Jo Ann's to use and tried not to set my standards too high.  I am pretty happy with the end result given my time and tool constraints...

I would have preferred to have actually had made one for each and every person I mailed a color copy to, but c'est la vie.  Once my V-Day cards were done, I faced the task of making cards for G to pass out. I had already gathered the supplies for his and had envisioned the end result.  I wanted a painted handprint to go on the back of the cards that I mailed and on the front of the cards for his little friends at school.  Only problem?  It is basically impossible to get your 6 month old to stay still while you attempt to paint his hand red and then put it nicely on said card without getting paint on anything but the card... while doing this alone.  (R left for a business trip so I am flying solo.)  We didn't make a mess, but G wouldn't unclench his fist and the handprint just didn't look as nice as the one I had envisioned in my head.  After two so-so attempts and 30+ cards still awaiting, I called it off and let it go.  Maybe next year...

Happy half birthday to my sweet (big) boy!  I will do a six month post very soon after we go to his dr. appointment on Friday.  I can't wait to find out his latest stats!

And also, why is it that I always wake up way too early (thanks to my birthday boy) and my first thought while crawling out of bed is, "I can't wait until I'm back in bed tonight!" and then I ALWAYS end up staying up late?!?