10 Months

Dearest Sully,

You were 10 months old yesterday!! I can't believe how quickly you are growing and how much you are learning.  I am in awe of you all the time!  You started crawling a day after you were 9 months and now you are EVERYWHERE.  I have to say "no" to you a lot so you definitely know what it means and you don't like it.  You get a pouty face and sometimes you give a fake cry but you stop what you are doing...for a few seconds. 

I refuse to put of a million gate or corrals in our house so you wander pretty freely and we just follow you around.  The only real baby proofing I did was put outlet covers up.  You are getting better and faster on the stairs everyday.  You are not yet ready to climb them without someone close by.  Sometimes you just quit and sit back and give a fake cry because you are frustrated (sorry bud, you get that from me). 

Solid foods continue to be a challenge.  Some days you will love pineapple or sweet potatoes or bananas and the next day you push such things right out of your mouth, repulsed by the texture.  You like to snack on Mum Mums and puffs.

The sippy cup also continues to be a challenge.  You will really only take one small sip a day off the things no matter what I put in them (different juices, water, formula).  I also started just leaving one next to you when you are playing but you simply are not interested.  Bottles are still your thing. 

You absolutely MUST sleep with a blankie, or two.  You never liked a pacifier and you are not a thumb sucker but you are pretty attached to your blankie, especially when you are sleepy.

You now have 8 teeth.

You still get up at night for a bottle, usually once but sometimes twice.

You LOVE your dog and cat but they are not as fond of you as you are of them.  I have had to stop Lita from swiping you with her claws several times.

You love to watch Curious George and The Cat and the Hat in the morning while we are getting ready for work.  You may have inherited that Groth TV watching gene.

You are still in size 3 diapers.  You were only in the 10th percentile for weight and 26th for height at your last appointment.

You have had 3 ear infections so far.

You love to laugh, giggle, be tickled and be silly.

You are perfect.

Fall Fun

Did I mention I love fall?  Oh, well in that case, let me tell you what I have been up to. 

Here are my new boots:

I love them 100% and I try to wear them as much as possible.  I can't wait to get them scuffed up a bit.  My style is changing lately.  It must be this new mom thing.  No, I am not sporting mom jeans.  I am wearing leggings a lot.  I would have never done such a thing before as I thought I was "too fat."  I am more overweight than I should be right now but honestly, I don't really give a damn.  If I want to wear cute boots with leggings, I am going to do it!

I am also trying new things in the cooking department.  I made Curry Butternut Squash soup this weekend.  I love any food that comes with directions on how to cook it so butternut squash fits the bill perfectly.

It was super easy.  I used one butternut squash sliced in half, deseeded, and baked in the oven. 

Sauteed some minced onions and butter in a pan while the squash was baking.

When the squash was done, I removed the outside peel of the squash and put it and the onions, butter and a little water in the food processor and dumped it in a large pot.

Then I added a few cups of chicken broth, chopped cooked sweet potato and regular potato (you can add whatever veggies you want), a cup of cream, pepper and a handful of hot curry powder.

Bring to a simmer and serve.

It was quite tasty but I did not think we would eat all the leftovers so I did something else I have never done, froze the rest!  I was clueless as how to do this without getting it all freezer burned but my friend, Kaiti, helped me out (thanks lady!)  I just let it sit out until it cooled and threw it in a tupperware container and put it in the freezer.  Easy!

He looks like...

It is so funny, when you have a baby, everyone has ideas about who he or she looks like.  I remember the very first time I saw Sully, I thought he looked like a mini Clayton, albeit a blue mini Clayton.  The second time I saw him, I thought he looked identical to my nephew, Jack. 

On average, my family thought he looked like a mini Tara and Clayton's family thought he was a little Clayton- no doubt.  I would say most of our friends could see more of Clayton than me in him. 

I will let you decide:

Me

(Try not to get distracted by my dad's sweet mustache)

Clayton:

Sullivan:

What do I think?  I think he has his father's head shape, hair line and the silly part of his personality.  I think he has my smile, eyes and temper.  A perfect mix of both:) 

What do you think???

Another first

While the hubs was mowing the lawn this morning, I decided to take Turbo and Sully to the park by our house.  It was Sully's first time there.  See how much he loved it:

Swinging fun...

After much fun on the swing, we headed over to the slide but the sand on the slide was much more interesting...

Then we visited the super creepy panda...

We were having such a fantastic day.  And then, after we got home and ate lunch, Turbo jumped off the couch getting stuck on the blanket which had the remote on it which somehow rocketed off the blanket straight into Sully's head.  Of course...

Fortunate

It was one of those days. 

One of those days that remind you just how fortunate, blessed and lucky you are. 

I know everyone has these days but working in the healthcare field, I feel like I have these often.  I see people everyday who are living their lives in certain situations that are out of their control, with illnesses that they did not ask for, without enough support.  They are doing the best they can and most of them are thriving despite their circumstances.  I don't think I would be thriving if I were in their shoes. 

I am fortunate to brush shoulders with these inspirational people and am thankful. 

Baby jail

I finally had to do it. I had to set up the baby jail today so I could get a few things done and be sure Sully was safe.  We have a tri-level home so I was able to vacuum the lower level while Sully slept in the upper level.  I really wanted to get the rest of the house vacuumed today so I thought I would try the baby jail and see how he did.  He played quietly for a good 15 minutes while I finished vacuuming and putting the laundry away.  However, once he saw me, it was all over and there was crying with arms raised to get him out of there.  It looked like this:

I know, that cry face is adorable!  Also, the baby jail was given to me by my Grandma who used it for my youngest cousin who is 12.  Yes, it is a vintage model but still works!

Busy Bee

I have been a busy bee lately.  I finally finished my office reorganization mission.  I moved some things around, purged some and put up a new shelf.  I feels great to be organized again.  (See before photos here)

Why would I just have one project going?  I wouldn't!  Here is what else I was doing.  From one of my favorite blog sites, Rambling Renovators, I saw this fantastic idea.  (I really wish I could take credit for this idea but I must give credit where credit is due)  I LOVE chalk boards despite the chalk dust so I just had to make my own.  Plus I have been dying to try out the chalkboard paint and this is the perfect opportunity.  I found this picture at Goodwill for $4. 

I was too lazy to take the frame apart to put a piece of wood so I just taped it off and painted the glass.  I don't plan on having this within Sully's reach so I figured it would be okay and I would not be worried about him breaking the glass.

I hung it up in the kitchen.  I am hoping that this will help me finally buy some toothpicks.

 I have more plans for the chalkboard paint with some pumpkins in the near future.  Stay tuned...

Addiction...

My late summer/early fall addiction is......

ICED MOCHAS from McDonalds!!!! 

OMG so delicious!  Hey, it is a great way to get a serving of dairy since I do not drink plain milk as I find the taste completely repulsive.  I highly suggest you get it made with whole milk verses the skim milk option- much tastier with whole milk.  Seriously, just try it;)

Apples and Plaid

Is there anything that says fall more that apples and plaid?  Ok, you are right, maybe football.  But apples and plaid come in a very close second.  Fall is by far my favorite time of the year.  The air is crisp and refreshing, the smell of school supplies fills the stores, you get to wear more clothes, layers and scarves, we get to eat chili again and football wakes from its hibernative state.  And, it precedes my second favorite time of year, early winter.  Yes, fall is here!

This was taken with my new professionalish (of course that is a word) camera, a Canon Rebel T3i, thanks to my wonderful parents.  Every year my mom asks me what we want for our birthdays, which are both, now all, in November, and Christmas and I am at a loss as we don't "need" anything and we have a hard time thinking of what we want. Not this year, I put my request in early, August to be exact.  I wanted a nice camera or at least some money to put toward one.  About 2 weeks ago, I get a surprise in the mail, a check for a new, nice camera!!!!   (I realize I gave them no choice as I have one of their adorable grandsons in my possession and I do feel a little guilty about that)  I quickly ordered my camera online and it arrived about 5 days later.  So far I can only point and shoot but I am determined to learn how to use all the features, or at least try them all a few times.  Now, to find a photography class...anyone in the Madison area want to take one with me?

'round here

What have we been doing 'round here lately?  Oh, so many new, exciting things!

Someone got a new car seat!  Clearly, he loves it!

We went to the Taste of Madison on sunday.  Sully's first pic in front of the capitol!

We got several "new" toys courtesy of the Shager family.  And boy, do we love them!

And lastly, today we started on the stairs.  Ohhhhhhh....

Last week crawling, this week stairs, tomorrow...pommel horse?  We will see.

Honesty

There have been a few happenings in my life lately that have got me thinking back to when I was a brand new mom.  It was a time that was supposed to be so joyous, so glorious...but was really rough.  For all of you brand new moms, semi-brand new moms or soon-to-be moms, this post is for you. 

I really wished someone would have told me how difficult having a baby would be.  Oh, maybe they did but I just didn't believe them, didn't really listen or just didn't think I would have a difficult time.  I mean, I am a nurse practitioner, in my 30's and tried so hard to get pregnant at all, of course it was going to be easy and fantastic, right?

Not so much.  This is not going to be a post about postpartum depression, don't worry.  No, this is simply an honest post about my adjustment to motherhood.  I know there are those people out there who transitioned seemlessly into motherhood on a cloud of love and joy and ease and I really thought I would be one of them.  But I wasn't, here is how it went...

If you read Sully's birth story, you will see that things kind of dragged on and did not go as I had hoped.  Truly, I was hoping for a very natural birthing experience without drugs or a c-section but I ended up getting it all.  I really can't explain why that made me so disappointed or upset but it did...and I never really told anyone that, at least not right away.  For some reason, that nagged at me those first few months.

Next, the hormones were raging.  And I mean raging.  I knew this would happen, I mean I am a nurse for God sakes, of course I knew that.  But I really didn't know.  It first happened when I was still in the hospital and by it, I mean my first crying jag for no reason.  I was just sitting there, pumping, letting it all hang out and it just came upon me, like a tidal wave of emotion that I could not stop or explain.  I was not sad at all, but it was a sad sight to see (I am sure Clayton can attest to that).  It got more severe and much more often after we got home and the hormones tag-teamed with the lack of sleep to really get me good.  I simply had to look at my husband, whom I felt like I loved more than I ever had before, or my new baby, whom I felt deserved a much more stable mother, and I would completely break down.  And once the waterworks started, they just would not stop!  All day long!

On top of that, Sully would NOT breastfeed at all.  We had supplemented him in the hospital with a bottle as he was deemed a "lazy eater".  He would latch and start to suck only to have a complete meltdown 2 seconds later when there was no milk.  I never even wanted to breastfeed before I had him.  I was totally turned off by the notion but I found that after he was here, I really wanted to make it work.  In my hormone and lack of sleep induced haze I really tried to make the breastfeeding thing work for 3 long weeks.  I tried it all:  the nipple shield, dribbling formula or breastmilk over the shield, priming with the pump so he would not have to wait for the let down, absolutely withholding the bottle, giving the bottle first so he would not be so ravenous hungry, calling the lactation consultant but it just was not in the cards for us.  He just wasn't a breastfeeding baby.  I pumped religiously, every 3 hours, day and night, and still I could not make enough to feed him soley breastmilk, without supplementing with some formula.  At the 3 week mark, I gave up the dream and ALL of our lives got exponentially better.  Despite doing exactly what my baby wanted, I would constantly beat myself up about not being able to breastfeed with every bottle I gave him.  And every "So you are breastfeeding then?" comment stung terribly.

As luck would have it, I got an infection in my c-section incision a week after I had Sully which earned us a midnight trip to the ER with body aches and a temp of 102 F on a snowy cold December night with a crying newborn.  I had a CT scan with contrast so I had to pump and dump for 24 hours.  Ugh!  Then I was put on antibiotics for 10 days which, via breastmilk, gave Sully constant diarrhea and subsequent diaper rash (the only diaper rash he has ever had).

And so, it was rough.  I was pretty sure I was going to have to ship the kid to my mom so she could raise him for me.  But things turned around at the 6-7 week mark.  Sully started sleeping better and smiling, I started feeling more normal-physically and emotionally, I started sleeping when the baby slept and we sort of got into a routine.  I am not telling this to you for sympathy because I am very aware of just how blessed and fortunate I am to have a happy, healthy baby and supportive husband.  I am not telling you this to scare you.  It is just an honest account of my first weeks of motherhood and it might be comforting to know that you are not alone, you are not crazy, you are perfectly normal and you will be fine.