Christmas short and sweet

Christmas

Every Christmas I realize and learn things that make Christmas day more stressful, and that I say I won't do next year. 

I am this close to cornering down the perfect Christmas routine. 

Yes, a Christmas routine.

However, this Christmas fell on Sunday, which ironically completely screwed up my routine. 

My family always does Christmas in the morning, and around 2ish we leave for Jason's family until the evening. 

But this year Everyone wanted to do Christmas at noon, so they could go to the 11 o clock church meeting. 

eff. 

so it got a little sticky, Henry didn't get his second nap making for a very cranky afternoon and a tired mom by the end of it. 

But, Christmas was perfect. 

I can't say it was fun having Henry, cause he didn't care, but I am sure next year will be more fun. 

There will be 2 kids! yikes. 

yummy

So my tablet of food I can tolerate has expanded slightly. 

 I can have and keep down:

Steak

Sushi

Ice Cream

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Cheetos

Gumballs

Clementines 

Grapes

Orange Juice(Which I have ALWAYS hated)

Popcorn

Pizza

So that is what I eat on a rotating basis, and boy when those sushi and steak days come around I am in heaven. 

only 3. yep 3.

So today, while bathing, I came to a realization about my family. 

some background:

I wanted 3 or 5 kids, because 4 was too cliche. 

Jason wants 4. 

But today, I decided for sure, I only want 3. 

I had this notion is my head that in order to be a big close family, I had to have at least 4 kids, like my family growing up. 

But, I have learned a lot from observing other families, and that's this: The families that had more kids, generally were a little more out of control, and weren't as close as I though, and the mom was stressed to the max. 

The families with 3 or less, seemed like the mom had more time to devote to each child as an individual, and that because they were smaller families, they seemed to be a little closer. 

See, having 3 kids has always felt right to my soul, but to my mind I always said oh no that's not enough. 

As my usual disclosure goes, I know my thoughts, and feelings can always change. 

  But for now, thats my feeling. 

So, 1 child down, 1 in the oven, only 1 more left!

Henry David

I thought I would give you a little Henry update since I stopped doing the monthly ones. my bad.

Well he is a couple days shy of or was when I wrote this 8 months.

tall

skinny

big head.

HATES eating.

shockingly I dont have a super recent good picture of him. I know, I suck.

To our grateful surprise he has become a fantastic sleeper. 2 2-3 hour naps a day and he is sleeping through the night at 10-12 hours hours a night.

HEAVEN.
crawling like mad and trying so hard to balance and stand.
says B sounds, bah bah bah bah.
I have never seen a cuter boy. Really. I haven't.

Jason, I am pregnant...

This is how I told Jason. I wrapped up a frame with a poem, some candy, and delivered it to his work. He was surprised. :)

This is the poem:

Aint it cute? 

End of pregnancy posts. :D

I found this post that I meant to post at the end of my pregnancy with Henry, then went into labor. :)


Well friends, now that this pregnancy has come to an end, I shall wrap up the pregnancy posts with this last one.

I am writing this before Henry is born because they say after the baby comes, you forget all about what it was like to be pregnant.

For some stupid reason, I want to remember.

Finding out we were pregnant was the most exciting thing ever. When we REALLY found out, I had been sleeping all night, and had the thought come to my mind that I should take a test as soon as I get up. Luckily, I had one. I woke up, took it, waited 3 mins and it said pregnant! I rushed into the bedroom, jumped on the bed and showed the stick to Jason.

From then on I walked around, like I had a purpose. I no longer felt like a regular person going about my own life, I felt like a guardian to this little angel inside me, and that I was special.

The first trimester was terrible. I am sure you will remember the posts. I never threw up due to morning sickness, but I was constantly nauseous. Nothing sounded good, and even if it did, after a few bites it made me sick. If I waited too long to eat, it made me sick. The first trimester was also nerve wracking, because you are so paranoid of miscarriage. Boy am I glad thats over.

When we found out we were having a boy, it felt real. Before then it doesn't seem real that you are having a baby, I mean, how can it when there isn't a gender? We found out 2 years TO THE MINUTE after our wedding what we were having. We spend the rest of the time in San Fransisco enjoying each other. It was perfect.

The second trimester was heaven. My morning sickness disappeared, I had tons more energy, and I was ready to conquer my to-do list tasks. If only someone hadn't rear ended me giving me daily back pain. :( Although I still had energy, it just hurt to do certain thing, thus putting my workout routines, on hold. This was completely devastating to me as I had planned to work out up until the first last day. I think the car accident combined with having to stop exercising is really when my dislike for pregnancy began.

One of my favorite parts of the pregnancy was taking weekly pictures. I took one every single week from week 12. I wanted to remember ever size, every growth, and it was fun to see. I laugh now because I look back on the earlier pictures, even as late as 22 weeks and laugh hysterically at how fat I THOUGHT I was.

The third trimester was almost like the first, constantly tired, peeing all the time, no energy, and slight nausea, only slight. It was really fun though to feel the babys movements during this time, because it really felt like a person was in there, not like a fish was swimming around. I could touch his bum, find his feet, oh it was fun. The third trimester was the most painful, lots of back pain and towards the end immense pelvic pressure.

The last couple weeks are exactly how "they" say they are, you feel so huge, you are so uncomfortable and you just want the baby out. You are done being pregnant, you are getting swollen, and you are counting down the hours until its time.

tid bits:

The most times I have pee'd in a day is I think around 18, and that was today lol.

Having a baby strapped to your stomach feels like this: Stick a 2x4 from your pelvic bones to your rib cage, also one in back, wrap something going all the way around you holding them in place, and try to move. Thats what it feels like, like something hard is in the way.

my baby never kicked me in the ribs.

I was always able to see my feet, and tie my shoes.

my wedding ring didn't fit at about 6 months.

I was obsessed with reading about my weekly progress online.

Google was my best friend, and worst enemy.

I looooved my Dr.

I still, having gone through a pregnancy, can say I don't believe in typical pregnancy cravings. I think women lie. I am blowing the lid open ladies.

Next pregnancy I will plan to be pregnant in summer, even though its hot, at least its a happy time, you can be outside etc. being pregnant in winter is just grumpy and gloomy.

I always could get a deep breathe.

I loooove my maternity pictures.

decorating the nursery was definitely a highlight.

I actually never cared about hearing the heartbeat, after the first time. And even the first time I was like, ok thats cool, but I didn't have that oh my gosh moment women talk about when they hear it. For me it was seeing him on ultra sounds.

No one ever told me I looked like I was about ready to pop. It was quite the opposite.

I never had to get maternity "underwear", thank goodness.

My hands got swollen towards the end, but my feet never did.

I didn't notice that my hair grew faster, but I did get a bunch of little baby hairs growing all over the place.

Things I learned:

I learned a lot of patience. I knew I was going to need it from day one, and there was no way around it, so I learned to practice patience. Towards the end it got hard ;)

I learned about muscles I didn't even know I had! lol

I REALLY learned how to bite my tongue. Those that know me well, know I speak my mind when my mind speaks, but being pregnant everyone thinks you want their opinion, or that they somehow have a right to tell you what to do, and it took a lot for me to refrain from saying what I wanted to say.

I learned to

There is one thing in this pregnancy that has been absolutely perfect.

This guy:

I love this man. I love our relationship. I love how he looks at me, and how it makes me look at him. I love how well he takes care of me, and I know he would do anything if it meant my happiness. I love how important it is to him to support our family. I love how humble he is about what a successful person he is. I am so proud of every accomplishment he makes. I have said it before I will say it until I am blue in the face, you should not have kids until your marriage is 110% solid. If Jason and I weren't on the same page, and weren't so in sync and in love, I could not imagine how hard not only the pregnancy would have been, but parenthood. he cares so much about me, and is so in tuned to me that I really never had to tell him when something hurt, or something was wrong. And I NEVER had to tell him what I needed to make me feel better or be happier, Jason is fantastic at that, from buying me a new wedding ring that fit, to littler things like bringing me home my favorite candy. I am so blessed to have the best husband and I wake up every day and think what I can do to make his life better, because he makes mine better every day. He is my best friend, in every way possible, I can not wait for an eternity with this man. Jason is going to be a fantastic father, because he is ready. He is completely selfless with his time, and sometimes I have to convince him to do things like golfing, because he wants to be with me. If Jason ever reads this, he will probably be embarrassed because he doesn't like it when I toot his horn, but I can't help but be filled with so much gratitude for him, that I would be ungrateful if I didn't give him the credit he deserves. :) He is perfect for me.

baby, you're the right kind of wrong

Something has gone terribly wrong, while going terribly right. 

I can not eat anything.

well that's a lie. 

but I can not stomach most things. most dinners. most lunches, and most breakfasts. 

its awful, because I adore food. got me through some hard times. 

There are 3 things I can stomach, at any moment, of any day. 

Steak

Sushi

Sherbet ice cream.

(this isn't sherbet ice cream, but love potion is by far my favorite)
the 3 S's. 

Save my life. 

Its sucks that I can only have such a limited amount of steak and sushi, and really the ice cream, a week. 

Not to mention the fact that the h ubby hates when I go out for sushi.(I tend to splurge.)

and the steak must come from Costco, because they have the most glorious thick juicy pieces of steak ever. 

They too, are a little pricey though. 

So most days, I starve, and puke. 

But on the few days a week I get to indulge in the gloriousness that is those foods, I am in a food coma for the rest of the evening heaven. 

Tell me, I need to know.

Tell me, cause I really need to know.
Is going from 1 child to 2 really the hardest?
its what everyone says. "they" say its worse than just having the 1.
is it true?
are "they" right?
and for those who have done it, what do you wish you would have known before baby #2 came?
I need to mentally prepare myself.
Any help you have would be appreciated. :)

How will you parent?

Henry is to the point now, that we need to develop our parenting habits.
What kind of parents we will be.
what our discipline strategies will be.
One thing I know for sure, you won't know until you get there.
but for now, here is what I want.

I don't want to yell, or even be stern.
We only said the word NO, when its dangerous.
I do not want my kids to always be hearing the word no, and especially in a stern voice.
So when Henry needs to be told a non dangerous no, we phrase it differently. "Henry thats mommys toy." "Henry we have to be soft with the cats." "Hands are not for hitting, hitting hurts." I want to EXPLAIN life to my child, not just say no all the time.

I picked up a book long before Henry was born called "Calm down time" by Elizabeth Verdick.(Google it cause blogger isnt letting me post pics or hyperlinks). This book teaches children, in a child way, that their feelings are normal, but that they need to learn to calm themselves down. I think its incredibly harmful to just put a child in time out everytime they are naughty or angry, it tells them that those emotions are bad and they will be punished. It teaches that kids should have a calm down place, maybe a bean bag chair with a blanket, or just somewhere cozy, by themselves where you and the child can read the book and teach them about their feelings.

Now I know this method with probably be harder to do than just throwing the kid in time out, but I think in the long run it will be better for OUR family.

So there ya go. Thats all I have got so far and I am sure as I need to put it it in to practice that things will change and develop. I know that. But this is where I am starting.

I feel completely awful.

So nauseous every single night and the only thing I want, is pizza.
during the day, its sushi.

I am 9 weeks.

Savoring the moments of just Henry
savoring the sleeping through the night.
I cry sometimes thinking about the newborn sleep schedule, or lack there of.
I have no idea how I will do errands with two kids, and it stresses me out.
how will I put two kids to bed at the same time?
I know it can be done, its done all the time.
but I still worry about how I will manage.

I am excited to find out the gender.
to see the little one on ultra sounds.
I am SOOO excited for the labor and delivery experience again.
I am excited to see if it looks just like Henry, boy or girl.

So I feel awful, scared for a lot, and excited for a lot.

2nd pregnancy Q&A

Alrighty I will try and answer all the questions people keeping asking me about the pregnancy.

Was it planned?

sort of...a couple months ago we had a pregnancy scare and were totally freaking out. But after it sank in, we were really excited. When it turned out to be a false alarm, we decided we wanted to start trying. We didnt plan on having our kids this close, it took us 6 months to get pregnant with Henry so we were expecting it to take that long, but it only took one cycle.

When are you due?

July 23, 2012

How far along are you?

I am 7 weeks. Yes, I know, thats super early to announce a pregnancy. Originally when we decided to get pregnant we agreed we wouldnt announce it until the second trimester, but then when we got pregnant earlier than expected and thanksgiving was right around the corner, I couldnt pass up the chance to announce on thanksgiving, and it was awesome. Besides, if something does happen, I would want my friends and family to know to help me deal with it.

Are you hoping for a girl this time?

Nope. I want another boy. I want Henry to have a brother and to be honest, I think Henry is just so dang cute I wouldnt mind all boys. Seriously.

How are you feeling?

AWFUL. I forgot how miserable the first trimester was, and this time its a tiny bit worse. I am tired all the time, sick all the time, very picky about food, and this time I have had a headache for two weeks, and insomnia.

You're going to have two kids in diapers!

lol yes, we know this. We will probably also have 2 kids in cribs. but ya know, it just felt right. When we got a false alarm positive, it felt like(spiritual cheesiness comin on)that was the lord's wa of telling us its time to have another, but that he needed us to do it on our own to show that we trust in his timing. So thats what we did.

Is it hard being pregnant and having a baby?

surprisingly not as hard as I thought it would be. I almost think its easier than with an older child because Henry takes 2 long naps, so I get to nap also. I am sure it will be much harder once I start getting bigger.

So thats that. I wont post as much with this pregnancy as I did with the other, because I have Henry keeping me busy and I suspect I would just have the same things to say.

Christmas ornaments

Every year we get a christmas ornament for each of us that represent that year, so here they are!

Mine was a chocolate covered strawberry, because through the pregnancy it was my FAVORITE treat. :)

We got a little peanut for Henry, obviously.

Jason got a deer on a 4 wheeler, mainly just for the 4 wheeler part to represent camping since we bought a trailer this year.

Jason also decided that all the ornaments for the same year should be hung next to each other, so against the rule of clumping ornaments, that how we have decided to do the tree. :)

Henry's big announcement

Henry has an announcement to make.

Can you tell what it is?

How about now?

Ooooook, what about this?

Yep. Thats right.

Better believe it.

Baby Powell #2 is on its way.

I can not live like this

Help a mommy out.

Henry has transitioned from 3 naps, down to 2.

Totally ok with it, because he goes to bed earlier.

bedtime used to be around 9 pm, now its 7ish.

BUT

He used to wake up around 7 to 8 am, now he wakes up at 6am, sometimes even 530 am!

I can not live like this, people.

How do you take away a nap which makes them tired earlier for bed, but get them to still wake up at their normal time in the morning?!

am I the only one who has/had this problem?

remember the overhaul redo?

Remember how I am completely redoing my house?

Well its SLOOOOOOWLY coming along.

Come to our house and the front room will currently look like this:

The front door will look something like this:

And the dining room did manage to get a little thanksgiving decor here:

I am DYING to decorate for Christmas, but I need to finish painting first. Its actually almost done. I started a couple months ago, slowly doing the hallways, dining room, etc during Henry's naps, and today my BFF came over and helped me basically finish the entire front room. She's awesome I tell ya.

anyway, I guess stay tuned to see what else changes.

the stillness

Meditation.

Ah....

I recently started meditating. I just thought it was something that would help keep balance and harmony in my life and I have to tell you, I love it.

I may never go back to a non meditative life.

Its not about sitting down and going ,"ooooohhhmmmm....."

Its about awareness, but not engaging. Its about a finding the stillness in you. The stillness is where you find harmony and balance. The stillness is where you recharge, and relax. Its about the stillness in life. That is why people find so much clarity at church or in the temple, its the stillness, its the peace, where you can be alone inside you, not necessarily "with your thoughts" but more like among your thoughts.

If you haven't tried meditating, you should.

this is the site where I am learning to meditate and I recommend if you are just starting, to use a guide, like a mediation cd, something that guides you through the process. This site even has apps for iphones and droids, which is actually how I do it, and let me tell you, going to sleep at night has NEVER been so sound and so easy.

It doesn't take long, the app has a 5 min, 12 min and 24 min option.

Its soooo worth it.

Seriously, just give it a try.

Pinterest has brainwashed us

Pinterest.

its a lovely thing isn't?

OR IS IT?!

The other night I showed Jason this picture, found on Pinterest:

I said Jason we have to do this! Its so cool!

He looked at it, looked at me, and said,"It just looks like melted crayons..."

Then I looked at it, and thought, IT DOES LOOK LIKE MELTED CRAYONS!

Here's the thing about Pinterest. Its fantastic for sharing ideas and getting inspiration, but its got us all warped on what we actually like.

Just because it is on Pinterest, doesn't mean its cool, pretty, trendy, etc.

So I am going to blow out of the water all the Pinterest brain washings.

The Keep Calm signs

I never liked these, but seriously? Its a picture of large bold fonts with a really ugly crown. Its not pretty or appealing to the eye, and really? I don't even like the quote.

The scrabble letters

Wow, I don't even understand who started this, but really, its soooo overdone and to me just looks like you missed some pieces when cleaning up a childs game.

Ugly girl clothes

This child looks like she is wearing rags. It looks awful.

The paint samples

SO TACKY!!! I can't even begin to explain how tacky I think it is to decorate with these.

Ugly pillows

Why are people putting ruffles on pillows? you aren't going to rest your head on a pillow like this and frankly it just looks unfinished.

SO.

There you have it.

If you find yourself liking any of these pictures, ask yourself, are YOU Pinterest brainwashed?

I love that little giant.

There are times being a parent when you just look at your baby and in your head yell,"WHY?!"

Like tonight for instance.

We went to the grocery store about 7:30, on the way home around 8:30 he had fallen asleep.

Yeeeees.

We moved him from his carseat, to his crib, and he went to bed.

Till 9 pm. He woke up slightly, so we hurried and made a bottle, tried to feed him, but he wasnt having it, and he was awake.

This was a moment when in my head I would typically yell in my head,"WHY?!"

But not tonight. Tonight was different. Tonight as I cradled him in my arms and bounced him while walking trying to get him back to sleep, I looked down at him. He was looking back at me, and just staring. He had the sweetest smile on his face, he was as calm as can be, and for a few minutes in his quiet nursery we just stared and smiled at each other.

Its a moment I hope I never forget.

In that moment he wasn't just a baby, he was a fellow spirit here on earth with me, and I felt it.

My mother in law always says that babies cry because its hard for such strong giant spirits to be trapped in such a tiny body.

Tonight I realized this is true of Henry. He has such a strong giant spirit, and I am sooooo grateful to be able to be his mom.

I love that little man.

He is why I am here.

I know I was born to be his mom.

I born to love him.

I was born to teach him.

and he was born to teach me.

Gosh I love that little man.

(I am going to go sneak into his nursey now and peak at him.)

Christmas...er I mean Happy Halloween!

Yep, Henry has 2 Halloween costumes.

Deal with it.

I didn't want to do any cheesy typical baby costumes, and I thought if I was a boy, what would I want to be?

Harry Potter of course.

I mean, Henry Potter.

But lets face it, as much as I am trying to be in the Halloween spirit, my true love awaits in the Christmas season.

Tomorrow I am making a prop for family christmas pictures, and then working on a new set of stockings for my little family, that I am super excited about.

I am also trying to finish painting my house, so I can rearrange my living room to fit the Christmas tree and new decor where I want it.

Basically, I loved Christmas before, but I adore it even more just thinking about Christmas with this guy:

Can't, wait.

its almost here...

(3 new blog posts, scroll down.)

On this day, I dressed Henry in adorable Christmas PJ's, turned om the fireplace, and snuggled with him and a nice cozy blanket. He fell asleep like that.

loved it.

I can not wait for the christmas SEASON. Not just the day, in fact not even the day, but the season.

these are a few of my favorite things

Now that Henry is 6 months old, I am gonna share with you some of our favorite baby items.

ya know, for fun.

Infant Fruit Feeder

Oh my, we love this. just keep it in the diaper bag and when you are out, maybe to dinner or lunch, just put a piece of fruit in there and they go to town on it. It seriously keeps him happy forever. MUST HAVE. Since they are eating it fresh, there is no need for any preparation! just stick it in there! $4.

Snuggle Banket

Henry loooooves blankets. But we won't let him sleep in his crib with one, for obvious reasons. So recently I bought him one of these blanket snuggle things, and he loves it. He chews on it, rubs it on his face, and doesn't get tangled in it. Genius. They are like $5-$15.

Fisher Price Swing

I have already blogged about this swing, but it deserves to make the list. This swing saved my life.

although next baby I am getting this one, for a bunch of reasons.

Raspberry teething toy

Henry is constantly teething, he has two teeth already but more moving around and he LOVES this teething toy, and hear a lot of babys do. Its nice because he can move it all around his gum line and get way in the back, when he wants. He doesn't use binkies, so he holds it in his mouth. They are like $5. good investment.

Formula Dispenser

Obviously for formula fed babies only, but this thing is handy. most people use it most when they leave the house or leave the baby with a sitter, but we use it most for the night feedings. Its nice because we dont have to go to the kitchen to make a bottle. They are like $2.

Playtex ventaire bottles

These bottles are awesome. The bottom of the bottle is a ventilation cap that lets the air come in the bottle through the bottom, instead of the nipple hole. It makes it so Henry swallows less air, but the best part is it makes it faster for him to finish a bottle. When we use the other ones that are just regular ones, it takes him twice as long. $8 a bottle.

Hooded towels

Obviously these are awesome. Henry has outgrown most of the store bought ones, but a family member made him one out of a regular sized towel, and I love it. I am sure its no big deal to just use a regular non hooded towel, but he looks so cute in hooded ones. :) $8

Toddler car seat

Did you know that your baby can ride in one of these once they are 5 lbs? so basically when they are born. Henry has been riding in one of these since he was 4 months old and he absolutely loves it. At first it was annoying cause we had to hold him whereever we went, but now that he sits its a lot better. He just hated his infant car seat.

Well those are just a few of our favorite things. They make life easier and more fun. :)

best time of day

My FAVORITE time of day is Henry's bedtime.

Not because he is going to bed(although that helps), but because I love our routine.

Its soothing, bonding, and so relaxing.

Step 1: dinner. we eat our dinner, and he eats some solids and a bottle.

step 2: a little bit of play time, usually with Daddy. Henry absolutely adores his dad, and no one can get him to laugh the way Jason can.

step 3: bathtime. henry LOVES bathtime. He splashes like mad, and Jason squirts him with his toys. When its over we wrap him in a warm towel and snuggle him till he's dry. Then we get him dressed in adorable PJ's.

Now in the summer this is when we would go on a walk with the stroller, but now its too cold.

step 4: Little bedtime snack, and a bottle, in his nursery.

step 5. I cuddle him in the rocker and sing to him this song:

Lean on me, when you're not strong

and I'll be your friend

I'll help you carry on

for it won't be long

til I'm gonna need

somebody to lean on

just call on me brother, when you need a hand

we all need somebody to lean on

I just might have a problem that you'd understand

we all need somebody to lean on

I love this song and I love that it talks about leaning on each other and not just one way.

step 6: family prayer

step 7: Then we put Henry in his crib, turn on his crib toy, give him his tiny snuggle blanket, and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Kiss him good night, and see him again in the morning. (well for me I see him again at midnight and 4 am. stupid wakings)

I love his bedtime routine, and I think he likes it too. It goes so smoothly and he goes right to sleep. I read a few books during the newborn stage about sleep, feedings blah blah, and while I learned a lot from each book, Henry's digestive system doesnt really allow us to strictly follow any of them. BUT the bedtime routine theory is the best thing ever, and works like a charm. We have been doing this same routine since he was born.

love it, and love that we do it as a family.

General Conference

As we prepare for General Conference I was reflecting on the last session of General Conference, and I remembered how much I loved one of the talks.

This one.

If you have a minute you should go read it, rather listen to it, it can get a little confusing with his wording.

" as a parent, when can I check a child off my list as done? We are never done being good parents. And to be good parents, one of the most important things we can teach our children is how to be more like the Savior."

There are a lot of passages from it that I like, but its more powerful if they are in context. I loved this talk because its one of the few that I felt actually told you how to parent, instead of giving guidelines, ideas, feelings, etc. I felt so much more prepared to have my first child after hearing this talk, and Henry came 3 days later. :)

Happy Conference everyone.

unplugged

my gorgeous friend Brittany, did something that made so much sense to me. she unplugged. you can read about it here.

I have always wanted to do something like that, but Jason's not really into that kind of thing. weirdo.

Sundays would be a great day to do that, but I also think I will try doing it during the week sometime. I think a tech free day for reflection and growth in the middle of the week would do me some good. She is calling her days unplugged, I am going to call mine tuning out to tune in. Meaning, tuning out the worldly things, TV, Facebook(eeks), blogs, internet, etc. to tune in to myself, my child, and the spirit.

Do it with me, I have no doubt that only good can from it.

152 days old

My little guy turned 5 months old yesterday.

awesome.

I can safely say we are not one of the parents that are upset their baby is growing up.

we have the best, cutest baby ever, but we still have realized we are not really baby people.

Henry is much more fun and easy now that he can be content playing by himself or just hanging out around us.

He laughs all the time, he looooves people, he is such an outgoing baby, and most of all he absolutely adores his dad. He gets so happy whenever he sees Jason and Jason can make him laugh hysterically. its so sweet.

He loves to stand, he just wants to stand all the time and he is getting pretty good at doing it on his own while holding something besides us.

He is also learning to sit, even though he hates it. He would much prefer to stand.

Jason is great at getting him to laugh and smile when I want to take pictures. :)

We have decided to stop trying to get him to roll from his stomach to his back. He just has no interest in it, and I kind of feel like he is going to skip crawling. He just loves to stand and it just makes sense that since he wants to stand all the time, it will eventually lead to walking.

so whatever.

Go with your own flow, Henry!

and Yes, he has a big head. 103%. and I love it.

almost 5 months!

Henry's such a sweet little guy. thats what everyone says. :)

Henry is doing REALLY well these days. He was sick for about 2 weeks, I slept on his nursery floor everynight, and we were constantly clearing his nose. Since then he is doing a lot better though. He is back to sleeping in his crib at night, he falls asleep on his own, doesn't need a bottle, and usually sleeps through the night. We are back on a babywise schedule which has been nice. He only eats 4 times a day now, but bigger amounts and with rice in his formula. 

He has no interest in anything having to do with being on his tummy. He LOOOVES standing, however. I suspect he will walk before he crawls. 

He still loves his daddy a ton. Smiles any time he can see Jason and he will just stare at him. I love the way Henry looks at Jason. 

I started going to the gym regularly now, and Henry goes to the daycare there. I was REALLY nervous about it at first, but I went in and took a look around, asked questions etc. All the workers there are moms themselves, so I feel 10 times better right there. Henry's first day he laughed and played, and fell asleep which means he was fine being there. I like him being in the daycare more than a babysitters, because if he needs me or I just wanna check on him, I can be there in 60 seconds. so I think its gonna work out good. :)

be my friend.

I took the plunge, I started a website for my photography. I am excited and also nervous. Its kind of a vulnerable thing to say you think you are good enough at something to make a website ya know? So help me out, its here, http://katiannphotography.blogspot.com/, follow me, and like me on facebook. help my ego. :)

rice and boys

This is Henry:

For those of you who don't know, Henry was born with an immature digestive system, making it so that digestive formula was painful for him. he spent the first month of his life crying all the time. After 1 instacare visit, 2 trips to primary childrens hospital, 9 formulas, and countless dr's visits, we finally found a formula that Henry was happy on, Nutramigen. Its expensive, smelly, and makes his poop absolutely rancid, but he makes him extremely happy. So we are happy.

Anyway, the point of that background, Henry can't digest regular formulas, and baby's on nutramigen typically don't start any kind of solid food until 6 months or up to 1 year. Before I knew that however, when Henry was 3 1/2 months I started putting rice in his formula and he loved it. He didn't have any issues with it, and he is gaining a ton of good weight on it. So the other day I decided to try feeding him just rice, I mean its the exact same as putting it in his formula only its a different consistency.

so we did.

and he loved it.

its too early to tell if he can digest it well, but I don't see why he wouldn't.

we aren't giving it to him a lot, just a little at dinner time in his high chair so mom and dad can eat their dinner together.

So there you have it. Isn't he so cute enjoying his rice?

I hope all I have are boys, and I hope they are just like Henry.

:)

oops...

Henry's really 4 months, but I am a little behind so here are his 3 month updates.

photography

sooo I have done about 10 photo sessions in the last little while. every time I do a session, it becomes my favorite. I feel like I keep getting better.

heres some of my favorites:

Henry is such a good little helper. part of his bedtime routine is actually spending about 10 minutes outside, after his bath. It happens to also be the perfect time for me to practice my "sun flare" effect. I don't like the look of sun flares, buts its trendy right now. I like bright vivid color, not a whole bunch of sun rays. but anyway, Henry is kind enough to be my model:

On a couple sessions he and Jason have come with me, and he hangs out in his stroller with his dad. I'd like to think he loves it:

P.S. I am not sure why, but these pictures look really dull and grey in blogger. they look a lot better on Facebook.

so there ya go. If you want a session, let me know. :)