Absent Blogger Updates Life with a Monster!

Life around here has been nuts, however I have been inspired to write a little bit tonight.

Monster is a whopping 17 months, has 11 teeth (3/4 of his molars) and is constantly looking for something new and dangerous to try and climb. He will have a bruise somewhere at any given time, and is often covered in peanut butter or dirt.

We have also ventured into what I can only describe as "terrible-twodum-ness" which means we have regular battles with the word "No" and a sceaming/squeeling/flinging-himself-onto-the-floor-bull-headed-ness toddler. It's not all loud defiance in our home though. A lot of the rest of the time is spent giggling and chatting. Monster hasn't shown a lot of interest in speaking English, but he is quite fluent and assertive in Monster-speak.

Monster-speak is mostly questions. If you listen closely you can pick out words that sound familiar, but for the most part Monster-speak is my Monster's primary language.

Since the majority of my days are spent out of the home, I have become a better parent to Monster when I'm actually with him. The lack of time we have together has provided me with mommy patience I have never experienced before. Plus, I know my Monster misses me just as much as I miss him while I'm gone, hugs are certainly not in short supply when I return home.

The most recent photo I have of my Monster and I. Please note the ugly yellowing bruise on his forehead.

First Steps

Every Wednesday my two oldest nieces come over and babysit my Monster. They take over for Hubbs around 2:30 in the afternoon and tire my tot out by hours of playing and laughing.

February 16th was no ordinary Wednesday, it was the day Monster took his first REAL steps!

Let me back track a little. On February 11th was my oldest nieces Birthday party. Typical Birthdays in our family means everyone joins in the fun, even if you're a teenager and all your friends are going to be there. ;) It was a cool snow covered evening where we all gathered at my in laws. The highlight of my night wasn't the cake (much to my surprise) but watching the two boys running back and forth the length of the rec room in the basement. Reed, my nephew was running full speed back and forth laughing non-stop. Monster on the other hand was stuck waddling behind him pushing a walker-toy.

Apparently, that was NOT good enough for Monster. Within three days he had completely learned to walk. He would no longer be left behind by his older cousin!

The reason I started this blog the way I did was because the first official steps where taken on a Wednesday. I walked in the door, K.Honor (my oldest niece) stood Monster up and had him walk over to my welcoming arms! I was ecstatic! I couldn't deny, however, how proud my K.Honor looked having witnessed Monster's first steps before anyone else in the world. A small part of my is saddened that because I chose to work, I miss milestones like this, but what would bring a family closer together then being able to share those moments with the ones you love?

If it couldn't be Hubbs or I, I'm glad it was K.Honor and Telly!

Diary of a One year old

A lot of life has happened between now and my last blog. I can't even believe how long it's been since I typed about my Monster.

I'm going to start with life today, and work backwards trying to catch everyone up a little bit. Since I last blogged a HUGE milestone happened! MONSTER TURNED ONE!

Just before his epic 3-day-weekend of Birthday MADNESS, came a total of six teeth (four on top, two on bottom), his first steps, and a diet fit for a one year old. We're officially down to two bottles a day, of 3.25% Milk one at 4pm (as a late afternoon snack) and one at 7:30-8pm as a bedtime snack before his bath. Next step is exchanging his 4pm snack bottle with actual food, but that will come with time.

My one year old now runs, plays hockey with daddy, sits on a potty and LOVES cheese! Notice I said "Sits on a potty" he hasn't actually done any kind of business on his throne, but it's sure cute to see him perched up there playing with his pull-up. My one year old puts on hats, takes off clothes, throws toys on the floor, pets the kittys and puppy and even helps mommy holler outside the door when it's time for Lola to come back inside.

One year went by too fast and it makes me realize how becoming a parent is like entering a time machine...

Lifestyle Resolution -- And the Sales Approach?

Today is a new day! I was sitting in a seminar this afternoon that had absolutely nothing to do with weight loss or healthy eating but I did hear a wise piece of advice that is most definitely transferable.


It takes twenty-one tries to change a habit into a routine or a better habit. The seminar was regarding sales and creating a routine in order to ensure we've covered every base that we need to. If you fail to meet your new routine anytime between your first attempt and your twenty-first attempt, you must start back at one until you achieve your goal.

Once you've reached your twenty-first time, without fail you should congratulate yourself on creating a new habit or routine for yourself. How does this translate to a lifestyle change, or weight loss? I don't know. If I chose not to order french fries the first 21 times I'm offered them, then by the time I'm offered them the 22nd time I've created a habit and wont ever be tempted? I will never be tempted by the salty, golden wondrous things we call fries again?

I doubt it. What are your thoughts on the whole thing? How does changing a habit or routine in one aspect of your life translate to the part of your brain that controls your eating habits or exercise routines? So far on my weight loss journey I've been able to say no, or just "taste" tempting high point foods but I don't know where that sudden will power or self control even came from? I don't know. I guess for as long as I have will power and self control I guess I don't really need to worry about where it came from.

Cheers to 200 Posts!

Dear Readers,

Right this minute you are reading my 200th post. Whether you started following my Monster and I on our adventure right at the beginning or this is the first post you're reading I want to Thank you for your love and support on my journey into mommyland!

In this blog you'll find almost a day-to-day account of my life as a mom from the time Monster was about 3 months old onwards. I started this blog for myself, so that I could record small everyday things that happen to us as a family, and HUGE life changing events like Monster's First Christmas. I plan on printing my entries and fashioning a book of some sorts so that I can look back on this stage of my life and in all honesty cry. I'm a crier, so it's not hard to make me cry.

I also hope that my children will read my entries and see what it was like for Hubbs and I at the beginning. I can't see how they'd be even remotely interested until they're on thier way to making a family for themselves. A time so far into the future that it kind of scares me to even think about!

Anyways! Thank you form the bottom of my heart for those of you who read and contribute to this tiny piece of history for me and my tiny family.

Love.

Returning to work = Bad Mommy!

That's how I'm feeling right now anyways. I'm not in a sulky, beat myself up kind of mood either!

Today as I was rocking my Monster to sleep for another night in a row, I flashed back to a memory when I could just lay Monster down into his crib, AWAKE, and he'd fall fast asleep on his own. I flashed back to a time when Monster didn't wake up each night been midnight and four in the morning and come to our bed so that everyone in the house can finish their nights sleep.

These facts make me feel like a bad mommy. I returned to work and sacrificed my consistency for sleep. I sacrificed my self-soothing Monster for a well rested feeling the next day at work. I told myself over Christmas time that I'd spend my time off sleep training so that we'd reverse this new habit and return to normal. I made an excuse for myself and my Monster over Christmas time because he was teething. I'm embarrassed to even admit all of this because of my fellow parents who read this.

I'm at a loss and don't even know where to go from here. Monster sleeps in his crib until his middle-of-the-night wake up, when instead of spending the time and effort rocking him or soothing or god forbid letting him cry I dutifully pick him up and bring him to bed with me.

I am a bad mommy whose laziness created a bedtime Monster.

Infant Fruit Snacks!

All along my Monster has adored most food I feed him, or place on his tray to feed himself. That is the main reason why I've avoided feeding him junk. He'd probably love it!

From day one of Monster's solids eating career fruits and veggies have been the major staple in his diet. That hasn't changed in the slightest, even now when infant snacking is taking front seat in our daily challenges. If I want a snack I might grab an apple or some crispy minis, both of which Monster can't eat.

Yesterday when I walking around the grocery store searching for the perfect infant snack I thought about Monsters favorite food. Fruit. I came across frozen blueberries and raspberries and thought they'd be perfect. Thaw however many you want for a perfect serving size and place them on Monsters tray to feed himself because they're the perfect pincer grasp size.

This morning Monster had blueberries with his porridge. It was perfect in every way! Today at snack time I thawed some raspberries and mixed them into yogurt! Monster went bananas over it! He liked it so much that I stole a bite, it kind of tasted like a frozen yogurt dessert! I approve! A word of caution to the mommies out there: Thawed blueberries and raspberries make quite a mess when you leave your infant to their own devices! Spray and wash is a must! ;)


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Bottle Weening and Baby Snacks

A couple of months ago I talked about Monster's daily eating schedule and how I had set it up so that it would be an easy transition when the time came for bottle weening.

Monster schedule looked something like this:

Wake up - Breakfast (Solids)
Mid-morning Snack - 8oz Bottle
12-1pm - Lunch (Solids)
Afternoon Snack - 8oz Bottle
530-6pm - Supper (Solids)
Bedtime Snack - 8oz Bottle

Having his eating schedule set up like that allows us to slowly transition his "snacks" (bottles) to real solid food as he began eating more at meal times. This has been a brilliant plan! So far we've only replaced his mid-morning bottle with solids because a 10 month old is still supposed to have breast milk or formula as a primary source of nutrition.

Although, we are nearing the time when we can start thinking about eliminating the 4pm "snack" (bottle) as well. As this stage in Monster development the only thing holding us back is finding more snack and meal options for our two-toothed little Monster.

What are some snack and meal options you provide for your growing 10 month old?


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Traumatic Experience #1 -- Cat Flea Bath

Ok, something weird happened today. It was pretty much the only thing that happened today worth talking about.

Turns out, our pets have fleas. It sucks, I hate it and it sucks. Today I gave a cat a flea bath, it was terribly challenging. I decided to do it in the afternoon after Hubbs had gone to bed which was a bad idea in itself. Monster crawled along behind me to the bathroom to join in the festivities.

I started the bath to get the water warming and then put Sassy into the tub. She let out a cat howl which triggered a monstrous baby howl. I felt a tug on my pant leg followed by the biggest baby tears you'd ever seen! Monster screamed, and cried through the entire flea bath. I couldn't possibly drop the shower head to comfort my sad little boy and have a soapy cat running around the house. I finished the cat bath while reassuring Monster to no avail.

Monster, Sassy and I all recovered for this trying event, but I'm still not entirely sure why this was so traumatic to Monster. I've narrowed it down to two theories:

1. He has an over sized heart when it comes to people and animals, therefore he was so sad and angry that I was making his kitty howl in fear or pain.
2. He was angry that I was giving the cat a bath and not him.

As traumatic as the event was for Monster, I couldn't help but laugh. The reaction was so unexpected it was hilarious!

10 Month Photo Shoot - Photo Blog

 Every month I try to document the small changes that happen with Monster in a couple different ways. I blog about his achievements on the milestone check list found in What to Expect in the First Year. I also do a mini at home photo shoot with Monster on the 6th (the day he was born) of each month so we can see the gradual growth and face changes.

Here are a couple shots from his 10th Month Photo Shoot and one that was taken by Hubbs later that day (the last one). I just can't believe how much he's turning into a little boy. Toddlerhood is so close I can almost touch it.

Here is the happy boy smile that I was hoping for when we were playing outside in the snow for the first time!

Monster's First Snow Adventure! -- Photo Blog

Most of you who are frequent readers know that my Monster is a happy boy. He is one of the happiest little boys I've ever met. I am so lucky he is mine.

Do you think I could get a smile out of him while he was playing in the snow for the first time? Heck NO! He hated it! At one point he even cried. We spent maybe a total of 15 minutes outside, which was 15 minutes less then it took me to get him fully dressed in his snow gear! These photos were taken early December. Enjoy Monster's first time in the snow!

Full body shot of Monster in his cute snow suit. It's was really hard for him to sit,

bending at the waist with all that extra clothing on. :)

My artsy photo. Profile of Monster sitting beside a tree.

Really not so sure about this who ordeal. 

10 Month Milestone Check List!

Each month I review my copy of What to Expect in the First Year and see how my Monster is rating on the scale. This month I am admittedly a couple days late, but I don't think Monster has hit any major milestones in the last couple of days.

Each month is divided into categories as follows;

By the end of this month, your baby...
...should be able to:

• Stand holding on to someone or something thing: Check! He's been able to do this for months now
• Pull up to a standing position from sitting: Check! The first time he did this was three weeks ago in the bath tub of all places. The first week he'd show us his new skill only if we were lucky. Now, he's a big big show off. 
• Object if you take a toy away: Check, that is if you mean everything but a toy. He almost hissy-fits when you take the remotes, or gaming controllers away. 
• Say "mama" or "dada" indiscriminately: Check, for a long long time now.
• Play Peek-a-boo: Check, this is a hilarious game if you see Monster pulling something in front of his face making an abrupt "Ah! Ah! Ah!" noise it's because he's playing peek-a-boo with you, or one of our pets. He doesn't quite get that you pull the fabric away from your face and say the "Boo!" or in his words "Ah!"

...will probably be able to:

• Get into a sitting position from stomach: Check! Basically, as soon as he could crawl (8 Month 2 days) he knew how to do this. 
• Play patty-cake (clap hands) or wave bye-bye: Check. He can do both of these things but he chooses when to do them. He usually doesn't wave anymore until after the person is out of sight, as for clapping he does it when he likes something. It's so cute!
• Pick up a tiny object with any part of the thumb and finger: Check, for a long long time now!
• Walk holding on to furniture (cruise): Check! For about two weeks now he's been a cruising maniac. Pictures coming soon!
• Understand the word "no" but not always obey it: Check, he obeys it for about 30 seconds and then continues with whatever bad thing he was about to do. Rotten baby! ;)

...may possibly be able to: 

• Stand alone momentarily: Check. Pictures coming soon! 
• Say "dada" or "mama" discriminately: Half? I know he can say Dada discriminately, as for mama, I'm not so sure. He did call for me from his crib but that was only once. 

...may even be able to:

• Indicate wants in ways other than crying: Check. Monster rarely cries until he hurts himself, he is usually just "communicating" in his own way.
• "Play ball" (roll a ball back to you): Check, we haven't actually tried it with a ball, but he'll roll one of his trucks back to you.
• Drink from a cup independently: Check, he is more then capable of doing this, but I don't leave him to his own devices. He tends to throw things when he's done with them.
• Pick up a tiny object neatly with the tips of his thumb and forefinger: Check, Monster has had the pincer grasp perfected since he was a young'n .
• Stand alone well: No, certainly not. He can stand alone for about 30 seconds max.
• Use immature jargoning (gibberish that sounds like the baby made up a foreign language): Check. Monster talks all the time. He points while say things and I wish they were words so I could talk to him.
• Say one word other then "mama" or "dada": Check. He says "Dawt" which translated is "Dog", that's all I've picked up on though. Lola Puggins is Monsters best friend so it doesn't surprise me that he'd want to talk to her, or about her.
• Respond to a one step command with gesture: Check, he knows what "Come here!" means. That sounds terrible, like I'm training my 10 month old like a puppy, but it's true. He always comes!
• Walk well: Definitely not! 

Well, according to that checklist I am ecstatic about how Monster's development is just zipping on! He is doing so well! Every day is a new adventure, and a new milestone hit!   

New Lifestyle Resolution -- Part Two -- Weight Watchers

I've made a conscious decision to change my life and am now accountable to this decision. Not only to myself, or my support system but to you beautiful people who read my blog. Any advice, or encouragement is always welcome!

Along with setting small goals to change my life and lifestyle I've also joined Weight Watchers Online in order to learn portion control and how to make better choices when it comes to eating. This I started a week ago tomorrow. Apparently I chose the perfect time to join because they've completely revamped the points system. For those of you who have attempted Weight Watchers in the passed, they've now changed the system so that all fruit and vegetables are 0 points, but have adjusted other things to be higher in points values.

It's all new to me, but so far I love it! If you sign up for the whole shabang (meetings, online) or just online you get full access to the Weight Watchers app. As long as you have an iPhone you have the opportunity to find out the points value of whatever you're going to eat, where ever you are.

In the spring, basically when it's in the plus rather then the minus around here I plan on taking Monster for a stroller walk every evening when I come home from work. That's in the future though because as it stands now it's far too cold, dark and late when I get home from work. We all could use some fresh air at the end of the day to clear our heads before bed.

Stay tuned for more New Lifestyle Resolution Blogs coming soon!





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New Lifestyle Resolution -- Part One -- The Decision

I've made a promise to myself a couple times in the last 10 months to change my ways. To become a healthy, active mommy and yes, I've also broken that promise a couple times this year.

It was approximately mid December when I decided to make a lifestyle resolution. Every time I made a New Years Resolution I failed, so this time as the New Year approached I decided why wait? Why let myself gorge myself on holiday cheer (chocolate, turkey, egg nog, etc) because starting January 1st I'd be different, I'd change. I made the decision on a random day, and thus far have stuck to it.

Something a fellow mommy-blogger said really hit home with me. She asked herself why she was so willing to feed her baby only healthy, balanced meals but not put that kind of effort in for herself? Since Monster has been able to eat solids I've been obsessive about what he eats and when. As you all know, Monster doesn't need any help from a high fat, high carb, high sugar diet to be a big boy.

Since the day I made the conscious decision to turn my life around I've been setting weekly and monthly goals. For the remainder of December my main goals were:

1. Don't go crazy with holiday treats, at least maintain current weight.
2. Focus on 5 small meals a day in order to keep your metabolism going throughout the day.
3. After lunch switch from coffee to water.
4. Drink at least the daily requirement of water a day.

(To be continued...)

Absentee Blogger!

I have been an absentee blogger. I had to really cram for my licensing exam and that meant little time for me.

My life lately has been work, spend time with Monster and Hubbs, study and some how find time to *try* to keep my house in order. I use the term "try" as loosely as possible because I haven't been doing a heck of a lot of cleaning, more delegating actually. Hubbs has been so supportive during the last two months and I couldn't have done it without him.

Now that the exams are done and over with (for now) I'm finding a little more me time. That means blog time folks! I have a lot of catching up to do! Here are some blogs to look forward to in the coming days:

Christmas Photo Blog, Infant 10 month milestone check list, 10 month photo shoot, and New Lifestyle Resolution blogs! Stay tuned!

I hope everyone has a safe, happy and memorable holiday season! I also hope you lives have returned to some normalcy!