Vote For Stella

Today is the last day to VOTE FOR STELLA!!!

Please go back and vote for her: http://www.doggystylepetshop.com/contests/11_r1_128_confirm

I'll post an update once I know more. Thank you!!!

Nursery photos

A few misc photos from the nursery. Ben wearing flip flops (thank you Gables) - I can't wait to get them out on the street. They are hilarious on his little feet, so 'resort-wear'. A standing shot - we are doing a ton of aided standing and he loves the new vantage point. It is funny watching him gather his senses over time - slowly able to talk and turn his head while doing so. And then a pic of him chillin' in his chair watching Carrie and I hang his name on the wall.

A couple notes - I am still BF and pretty much wearing a nursing tank top 24/7; as such I'm featured in one in nearly every photo. I have 50 of them and it just makes things easier, especially in the morning and on the weekends. That said, my old fashion-sensible self cringes every time I see another picture of me in one. I promise when we do go out (albeit rarely), I try to look cuter.

Secondly - my house now looks like a Babies R Us that has just been robbed. I don't know how it happened. The first couple months I would put all the baby gear away each night -- I'm a minimalist, I like clean. Yet we keep acquiring stuff and it seems like a losing battle. I am looking for efficiencies where I can find them and this is the path I've chosen. So I'm embracing it. I laid down the CUTEST floor tiles from Skip Hop so Ben can lay down and play in the family room on the wood floor. Things just spiraled from there. But again, I look at these pictures where you can see the chaos in the background and a part of me still bristles.

This is our life now and I wouldn't change a thing.

Sooo Big!

A couple pictures of us practicing "sooo big" where Ben raises his arms - to show how big he is.

Baby Pool!

We bought a baby pool! Hubby initial called me white trash but I think after seeing how much Ben liked it he has warmed to the idea. Huggies little swimmers on, mom in full clothes b/c we weren't sure how it would go on the first try - everyone got into the pool. It was a success...or rather there was no hysterical crying (which I was expecting - it was kind of cold). We piled in all the bath toys and he lasted about 20 minutes which is pretty long considering his overall attention span. Best $10 I've ever spent.

My sis came in this weekend, hubby was in DC for the end of last week. A great weekend, though for some reason totally exhausting. So nice to finally have tolerable weather, lots of walks and time spent outside.

Everyone says it just keeps getting better and each day I find it to be true. Ben is so smiley and happy all the time, it is hard not to rally even when it is 5:30am and he should NOT be awake as was the case today.

I could have 20 of these little guys if I had the energy. I've never known such happiness.

Happy weekend :)

Stella and mini Stella

Pretty hilarious - this is Stella and her friend from the dog park, mini Stella. Same name, basically identical except mini Stella is (obviously) smaller...

Glitch

There is a glitch in my posting mechanism and I can't find the source. I am writing posts and scheduling them to upload in the future (as I often do - when I have time to write, I'll crank out a few and stagger when they post).

Last week you saw a duplicate post of Ben - Sitting Up. I repeatedly scheduled its posting and it never went live so I reposted it, only to have it appear a couple days later. I have a cute picture of Stella in the que and it too is stuck.

Not sure what the deal is...thought maybe it was a Mac thing since I'm a tiny bit Mac-challenged, but alas I'm having same problem on work computer.

Humph.

Any ideas?

Little Giggle

Still working hard to capture the giggle but this is close...sorry it is sideways, but it's worth it. Turn up the volume.

Cubs Game Highlights

Happy Father's Day!

We celebrated early with Ben's first Cubs (Indians) game yesterday. He cheered on Cleveland, while hubby cheered on Chicago. It was the perfect day. Our seats were in the shade, Ben had a great time and we made it to the 8th inning before heading out.

We ran into friends and then caught up w/my cousin Lori who was in from NY with her son to watch the game. Overall a big success!

Today we relax and catch up after a long weekend!

Happy Father's Day to our dads and hubby on his first celebration!

The Nanny

If you'll recall, I had great anxiety about the nanny selection process. For a thousand reasons, but primarily, wrestling with the idea of leaving my baby for work, and the fact that it is really hard to determine if someone is qualified while I'm still figuring out how to take care of him myself.

I mentioned I interviewed about 15 people, and ultimately went with Paula who was one of the first gals I met. She just felt right. I don't know how else to explain it. They all have the essentially the same experience on paper, so it comes down to who you think will fit best with the family. And she seemed great, had exceptional references, was good with Ben and Stella. What else could I ask for?

I was afraid to jinx things in the beginning but I'd be remiss not to post something at this point about her. She is awesome. She has initiative and came in ready to set schedules - feeding, napping, playtime. She has helped him master the morning nap, and is working on the afternoon one. She has stretched his feeding times to four hours which works wonders beyond explaining. She has fattened him up with her 8 oz bottles but my milk production has fallen right in line. Maybe he was always eating this much and I never noticed?

He adores her, and surprisingly it doesn't upset me (I'm the first to admit I want him to love me best, yet find myself calmed by him having more people to love in life than just us). She kisses him and really means it. She is as excited by his developments each day as we are, and eagerly reports them to me at the end of the day when I get home.

I'm just so thrilled it is working out. I'm working on getting some pics of her and Ben so you can see them together, but in short, I love knowing she is here with him when I can't be.

Sitting Up

With some support, Ben is sitting up (as you've seen in previous post). He loves the new vantage point and just looks around constantly. Here are a couple cute pictures of him sitting big time in the glider. He is getting SO cubby, these pictures give you a hint but not the full picture. I bought all new 6-9 month onesies, washed them and before even folding them, Paula (the nanny), told me they are too small. We are squeezing him into them for one week on principal. The adorable "organically grown" outfit is from Jennifer (thank you!).

Funny Face

this is just funny, right? over posting tonight but we laugh everytime we look at this one so I thought you might enjoy it too.

Sitting Up

With some support, Ben is sitting up (as you've seen in previous post). He loves the new vantage point and just looks around constantly. Here are a couple cute pictures of him sitting big time in the glider. He is getting SO cubby, these pictures give you a hint but not the full picture. I bought all new 6-9 month onesies, washed them and before even folding them, Paula (the nanny), told me they are too small. We are squeezing him into them for one week on principal. The adorable "organically grown" outfit is from Jennifer (thank you!).

Please Vote for Stella!!

Please take a minute to support our first ‘baby’ Stella in the photo contest below. While you will find her in both a Snuggie and a chicken suit, I think chicken suit is best. You can vote once a day all month and we appreciate your support. If she wins, not only does she get a $100 gift card to Doggy Style (our neighborhood pet store) but she’ll also be featured in a calendar. Help her rise to fame and say you knew her when she was just a regular puppy!

http://www.doggystylepetshop.com/contests/11_r1

(Yes, I realize how ridiculous this is but we have a lot riding on this with hubby's dog park friends. And apparently we are people who regularly dress up their dog? I didn't know...)

Thank you!!

Hubby and Ben survived their two days alone while I was in Miami with flying colors. I hear they had a big pantless party and watched the Cubs game together (mom doesn't let Ben watch TV yet). Thanks to his savvy tech skills, he sent me pictures of their every activity. So minus the baby Ben hugs, it didn't even feel like time away. Happy to be home and start the day with countless smiles and talking this morning.

Landed @ ORD with approx 45oz of "baby food" in luggage w/no questions asked. Success! Hubby sent pics of Ben every hr which helped tremendously. Almost home!!

Enjoying Sunday

It's suddenly crystal clear why people with children don't go out drinking. Big night out doesn't make for a refreshed mom come 7am. Fun dinner with K&J but could have done with a few less glasses of wine. Was there saki too? Oy.

Today we are just relaxing at the house. It is a beautiful, sunny day. Here's a pic of Ben and I in the hammock.

I leave for Miami tomorrow for an overnight trip. In addition to the anguish of leaving my yummy yumster for the first time, I need to work through the logistics of pumping and storing while on the road. I think I need an extra suitcase just to transport all the crap I need. We'll see how it goes.

Hope you had a great weekend and enjoy what is left of it :)

Look Who's Talking (and Sitting Up)

Ben laughed out loud for the first time today and it was the best thing I've ever seen. He was sitting up on the couch and Stella gave him a big kiss and he totally started giggling. She loved it as much as we did and went in for another. It happened about five times before the novelty of the dog smooches wore off.


Here you will see a little laugh, smiles and some talking. He is literally growing before our eyes, perhaps the 8 oz bottles he is eating during the day with Paula? He's still going to bed really early so I only get about 45 minutes after work but today the time was awesome.


Enjoy!!

Happy Three Month Birthday Ben!

Today marks Ben's three month birthday and I'm both wondering how it went so fast and marveling at all we've experienced the past few months. I can't even remember life without him. He truly is the light of our lives. Happy Birthday little buddy. Can't wait to see your smiling face tomorrow.

My mom took a thousand pictures this weekend, per my request, making up for the lack of photos captured since going back to work. We'll have lots of good ones for the days to come. Happy Monday!

I was literally too excited to sleep when I went to bed last night, still over stimulated from the totally amazing weekend. We had such an awesome time with all the family and friends who joined us. I just laid in bed smiling and recounting every minute all over again.

We kicked things of with a big get together at the house Friday with everyone coming over as they got in town. First my p's and sis, then Joe, Molly and their kids, grandma Marsha and grandpa Joe, and sisters Jennifer and Mary Ellen. It was a beautiful evening and we spent it hanging out on the porch, catching up.

Saturday was Ben's big day and he was an ANGEL. I worried all week about how he would be at the baptism b/c it was schedule for 6:30pm, long before he settled into his 6:15 bedtime. As it turned out, he loved all the attention, kissing and adoring because he couldn't seem to get enough. He smiled and cooed through the whole baptism and didn't even peep when he was blessed with the holy water.

I dropped him off at home for bed and joined the group at Club Lucky. Cathy, Bryan, Alex and Emily; Barb, Scott and Eric; Brenda and Rachel; Dot and Curt, and aunt Mary Anne. Our friends joined us as well and the evening was a great success. It was so much fun to have everyone together to celebrate Ben's big day. It couldn't have been more perfect.

Thanks to everyone who made the trip. We loved every minute of the weekend!

A few highlights in the post to follow.

Mother of All Relay Races

Years ago I heard about Hood to Coast, the "Mother of all Relay" races from a fellow runner.

Teams run 195 miles from the top of Mt. Hood (OR) to the coastal town of Seaside. It takes place over 36 hrs (I think), involves two vans, 12 runners and a heck of a lot of coordination.

It is reportedly one of the hardest races to get into b/c the field is limited and if your team ran the previous year you have first right of refusal. I put it on my list immediately and have talked about it with anyone who will listen for the last 10 years.

Somehow, I'm not even really sure how at this point, we got in the race this year. We received word late last fall and it seemed perfect. It would scare me into getting back into shape post baby and be the "forced" first trip away from Ben. Left to my own devices after he was born, I knew it would be 2020 before I willingly left the little guy.

While medically cleared to work out in late April, I quickly realized having permission to run and time to run are two different things entirely. Slowly, I am working running back into my regular routine. And the good news is, with little certainly on when I'll get my next run in, I make the most of every outing. No more slacking, skipping the extra mile, etc.

I downloaded the training manual this week and need to get busy figuring out how to participate and not embarrass myself and my team. Did I mention people running this race (that I've talked to anyway) are typically logging a 6:30 per mile pace? That isn't going to be me.

I'm pretty excited. It's in August, so there is plenty of time to train (famous last words). And I'm going to do this in place of the marathon this year. Hubby, sis, Gaston and three other Chicagoans make up our van. The rest of the team are friends of friends.

Did I mention the race starts at the top of Mt. Hood? At the lodge where the Shining was filmed. And you basically run up and down hills the whole way, beginning at an elevation of 6000 feet?

Crazy by all accounts.

First week down!

A couple pics of the little guy this week. I especially like the one with hubby. I've officially made it through my first week (I work from home on Fridays so at least will see him in passing and gain commuting time with him). Hooray :)

We have a huge group coming in this weekend for Ben's baptism which will be awesome. Lots more pictures to follow!


Happy Friday!!

Radio Silence

Ok, so this whole work thing is taking some getting used to but I think I'm going to be able to do it which is an exciting development for me.

One (major) draw back is that I have SIGNIFICANTLY reduced the amount of time I'm spending with Ben (obviously) so there is less time for photos, less time for noticing new developments and subsequently less content to post. With a little time, and a weekend, I'm sure I can get back into the grove.

The hardest part naturally is going from 12 hours of togetherness to 1.5 hours (best case scenario). The little guy, God bless, has slept through the night two nights in a row, which now proves he can and means he is no longer rescued from his crib with crying. And brilliantly, he is crying much less.

Big advocate of sleep training but (hopefully) that is another post for another day. He is still going down at night super early, fussy at 5:45 and down by 6:30 which is tough. So the morning is our special time. He is awake, smiling, happy and we hang out for almost an hour. I love it. It keeps me grounded.

Anyway, this is garbled and rushed but I wanted to post an update. I am much more confident that I'll be OK with a couple days under my belt and that in and of itself is encouraging.

I promise to figure out how to fit some more pictures and videos into the day and share soon.

After 3 very long, sleepless nights Ben made it to 7am last night. Combo of nap training and new final feeding - a wonderful development. Perfect timing my love