He's On the Move!

Our little bubba is getting so big! I have a feeling by the middle of August he might be a full blown crawler. If you put something infront of him he will just go after it. He just happens to love my car keys. Go Bubba....Go!

This is my life....complete chaos!

Well...now we are officially staying put where we are at. Well, we still have to move out of this condo that is about to get foreclosed on us. Oh, yeah our landlord still has not told us that it is being foreclosed. Nice huh? Anyway, my hubby's transfer did not go through. So we are staying here. Which is kind of nice in a way because I really did not want to leave all my personal training clients. But what a nightmare now. We have to find a place ASAP!

On the Will front he is absolutely loving his rain forest bouncer. He goes crazy in it and starts laughing out of control. I will try and get video of it tomorrow and post it b/c it is the cutest thing ever. He is scooting a lot. Trying to get into everything. We are now going to lower his crib b/c he can reach up on things, we do not need any accidents! I am very paranoid about the whole crib thing to begin with. I think that is why I let him sleep with us for so long. I constantly check on him, it is almost to the point of OCD. Lew thinks I am a little nutso about this. I do to. Also I have noticed after the last round of vaccinations that Will has not been himself. He has been fussy, irritable, not really having interest in his food. What gives? I know he will get fussy after the shots but it has almost been a week. Any other mom out there deal with this? Just curious. Will is also growing so much, he is getting a little to big for all his summer clothes. Winter wardrobe, can't wait to shop for that!

Oh, I had to mention this, did anyone catch the Randy Pausch special with Diane Sawyer last night? What an inspirational man...his book is wonderful and insightful. Every time I hear something about cancer, it just hits close to home. I wish this book was out when my mom was going through her battle. This is a must read if you haven't already read it.

Well...I am off to watch Project Runway. I just love that show!

Is Kate For REAL?

So last night Lew and I were watching Jon and Kate plus 8. I love love love that show. But lately I have noticed Kate changing a bit. I feel a bit bad for Jon. She is so bossy over him, sometimes the guy can't get a word in edge wise. Do any of you who watch this program feel the same way? Sometimes I do not know why he puts up with her yelling at him, smacking him, and putting him down, saying he has a belly. Whatever Kate, he is now working with a personal trainer, which we saw on a previous episode.

Then she was so worried about getting the kids out of their wet bathing suits before they got in the car. Kate it is over 100 degrees out, I do not think they will be wet by the time they make it into their car seats. She is just over the top sometimes. So does anyone think that the fame is getting to her a bit, have you noticed that she dresses so much better now then she did last season? Well, this is just an observation. Lew would probably think I am totally weird for writing a post like this but I just want to see if anyone else out there agrees.

Also in the news here at our household, Will has tried his first noodle, and loved it!

I WILL tell you how it went...

Get Naked. It's cold Mommy. Get Weighed. Get Measured. Get Wrapped in my blanket. Wait forever for Dr. P. Take his stethoscope. Give lots of smiles. Hear mommy asking questions about me, oh boy. Get Dressed, thank goodness. Wait forever for the nurse with the cool glasses. Drink some weird cocktail, oh..no, what are those, are those needles? Lay back down, here it comes, brace yourself, you can do it, you are 6 months old, you are a big boy, ahhhh.....waaaaaaaaah......Big crocodile tears. Mommy hold me. Where's my binky? Nurse with cool glasses trying to play pick a boo with me. Lady it's not going to work, you just poked me several times. You are not on my nice list right now. We are out of here. I need a nap Mommy. Rascall Flatts. I'm in dream land.

What did I get out of my appointment? Mommy and Daddy can give me something called "People Food".
Sounds pretty yummy!

The doctor said he was amazed that I was already scooting around. I could see Mommy smiling big about that one, thinking she has an advanced child on her hands. Doesn't she know I will be golfing at age 3? C'mon woman do you know who you gave birth to?

He said that I was probably ready for a convertible car seat, since I am getting so big. SWEET! I get to pick out a new stylish ride for myself. Mommy and Daddy won't mind, they give me whatever I want anyway.

I am in the 95% for my height, yeah I might be a star basketball player one day. I am 50% for my weight and head circumference, which Dr. P said was OK. I have always thought I had a big head, since I have so much brains in there!

Well, I better scoot off to bed. Alfred (my lovey-thanks for the hint McMommy), and my binky are waiting for me to sleep tight.

Friday Faces...

Today we are off to Dr. P's for Will's 6 month checkup. Wish us luck b/c there will be some shots involved. Here are the latest faces of Will w/in the last 2 weeks or so. Enjoy!

His fingers are always attached to his mouth and he just loves to be naked before his bath.

We gave Will a minature cupcake on his 6 month birthday. He was not really interested in it. He did however enjoy smearing it all over his face and in between his hands. What a mess!

Saucer time. He usually ends up sucking on all the little attachments. I end up disinfecting it like 10 times a day!

Daddy used to have a lotus...and all I got was this bib. Maybe one day I will have one.

Just love this pic. It is his snow hat my sister got him to come home from the hospital in. It never really fit him until summer! So I had to get a shot of him in it.

Bath time and drool time!

Will and his sister Ella. Too Cute! They just love each other. He will pull her ears and pretty much annoy her and she just takes it.

Bloggy Hiatus..

I cannot believe it has almost been a week since I have blogged and yes to get my blog reading on! We have been really busy these last couple of days. Will and I went away for the weekend with my sister (pics to come soon on that). We had a blast and Will got to play in the pool which he totally loved! But we have been busy packing and getting ready for our move, so I guess I have a little bit of an excuse. I do miss reading all the blogs though. Exercise of the week will be back next week for anyone who follows with that. Sorry this is it for now as I have to get back to packing and cleaning, the story of my life these last 2 weeks.

I wanted to say a Happy 1/2 Birthday to my sweet little bubba! I cannot believe that he is 6 months old today! He is growing so quickly. My baby is already starting to try and crawl! He lifts his whole body up and then drags his legs. Sometimes he gets up on his knees but he tires quickly. I can't believe it still, I am just in awe of this little being that is mine. Happy Birthday lovey!

Is there such thing as NEW MOM SYNDROME?

I am sure there are other new moms out there asking the same thing. Sometimes I feel I have got this mom thing down and then there are days that I question the skills that I have learned from watching my sisters. One day it works and the next it doesn't. Is it because babies are just so unpredictable?

I find myself questioning the whole food thing, how much should he be eating, when, what etc. Then I tell myself not to put to much pressure on the issue and just go with the flow. Sometimes it works and other times it does not. My sisters and I am beginning to think that Will was not getting enough food i.e. the growth spurt/not sleeping through the night. So this is when I got serious about trying the baby food and really adding it to Will's diet. At first he was not interested in it but now he cannot get enough of it! I am now feeding him the stage 2 dha/organic Gerber baby food. He scarfs it down too! So yesterday I kept a mental note of what he ate and how much, down to the smallest detail(yes I know a bit crazy) and this is what he ate. 5-8oz bottles every 4 hours. After his second bottle of the day he at prunes and apples, the whole container. Then when we were eating dinner I gave him sweet potatoes/squash, again he ate the whole thing and was grunting for more. So then I gave him bananas/granola, he ate it all! Then around 7:45 he had his last bottle. Get this, he slept through the night, well tell 4:30 this morning, but quite an improvement.

It is true though that when you do have your first baby that the mom instinct does kick in. Before I had Will I was really nervous, could I really take care of something so fragile? What if I do something wrong? But I am slowly learning that they will not break, everything is trial and error.

Do I think that I have a little case of New Mom Syndrome, yes. But I think that I am on the way to curing it.

Binky Monster no more...Winky monster oh no!

Well our sweet Will has now accomplished the task of holding his own binky in his mouth and now likes to chew on the nipple of it. We leave several binkys in his crib for him at night and you can hear him playing with all of them, it is the funniest thing. So thank goodness the Binky Monster is gone!

But now there is a new monster in town, now known as the Winky Monster. Yes, you heard me right. I am hoping that I am not the only mom who is experiencing this, maybe the only mom blogging about it. Over the weekend, Will was in the bath in his bath seat, just chillin', when all of a sudden I saw him put his hand down in that area! Then he starts laughing about it! So I remove his hand and try and entertain him with his bath toys and then he puts both hands down there! Then laughs again! Now I think that it has become a game because when I remove is hands he is laughing and then he just goes right back to putting his hands down there. The other day I was changing his diaper, and he decides he is going to stick his hands down there and play. I moved his hands and he played the same game again. He thinks it is funny!
Every time he is in the bath he is doing it and the poor thing is getting red! I have had to put ointment on it because of it. So... please tell me that I am not the only mom that this is happening to. Can you believe this?!

Blog Hopping!

I was doing my daily blog hopping this morning and went to Mommy Learns to Blog with Rachael, she is did this cool word association game that I thought would be awesome to play along with. So join in and check out Mommy Learns to Blog, she has some great blog reading!

I am… very tired right now and my body is sore from too much ab stuff
I want… our move to be over
I wish... for everyone in my family to be happy and healthy
I'm not a fan of… garlic
I miss… my mom
I fear… cancer
I feel… happy when I look at my sweet little bubba Will
I hear… Will's rain forest jumping toy
I smell…Will's last poopy diaper...yuck!
I crave… sweets all the time...yes I do eat sweets! oh..and a tropical vacation!
I search… for happiness all the time
I wonder...a lot but mostly about how life would be if my mom was here and how she is doing
I regret…not getting through school sooner...but life happens
I love… my Lew and Will, and my whole family
I ache…when I see something sad
I always...organize and clean obsessively
I dance…for my Will, crazy silly dancing
I sing... in the car or the shower...I am sure people in the car next to me think I should roll the windows up
I cry… when I think of something sad, hurt, or watch Beaches
I don’t always... clean out my car when I say I am going to
I write… because it makes me feel good...a release...I am in the midst of writing a book for and about my mom
I never… drive fast because I am late for an appt...I am usually 10 minutes early
I listen…to the feelings of others
I need… to be done with school and the move

So now you know a little more about me...

PS . Stay tuned for some more on the binky monster named Will! Coming soon!

OUR BIG NEWS!

Ok..so there is no baby on the way...thank goodness! Maybe in a couple of years. At least 3, that way Will is potty trained and self sufficient, somewhat. What 3 year old is self sufficient though?

Anyway, back to the news at hand.It all happened right after Will was born in January. Our landlord called us and let us know that he would be selling his condo because he could not make his payments. Well, that is exactly the news that you do not want to hear after just having a baby, and loving where you are currently living.

To make this story go a little quicker, the other day a huge packet of papers were dropped off. It was not in a folder or anything and on the front of it, it had our landlords name and some attorneys names. Then it said FORECLOSURE!

So...our landlord has been taking our money and then NOT paying his mortgage. Nice huh?! Lew and I have been going back and forth since January deciding where we would move and when we would move. Our lease is up at the end of July and we have always wanted to move to Texas. But unfortunately right now is not the time, with student loans and such to still pay off.

With that we have decided to move to Chicago!! Yes, I know it is a big surprise. I am still in a little shock because I have been a east coast girl my whole life. But Lew has family and friends there and he is able to transfer his work there. It will be nice to be close to his mom and for Will to have a grandparent around. We will have a lot of support there and I can finish school online and get a job training and not have to worry about Will going to some stranger or to some daycare. (not offending any mom who sends there child to daycare, nothing wrong with it, but if you can stay home with your little one, that is awesome!)

Can you believe this though, that our landlord has not even called us to tell us that his place is being foreclosed? I mean I would think that he would since he has told us everything else! What gets me to, is that he has had at least 100 showings and no one has even made an offer on the place. The other day Will and I were out when there was a showing and I saw this woman and a 3 or 4 year old go in also. When I came back to our condo, almost 40 minutes later, Will's toys had been moved all over the house, someone sat on our bed ( i know b/c i am fanatic about making my bed neat). Then they sat at our dining room table, outside on our deck, with our dog Ella. Plus they left every light on in the house and all the closet doors were open! I was so annoyed! I know I kind have gotten off the path of us moving to Chicago, but I had to throw this in there, since that really set me off.

We will be moving at the beginning of August, so it is soon! We just started packing and I hate it! I have started throwing stuff away and selling stuff on ebay that we have not used because I just can't stand all the stuff. Most of it is Lew's! He is a horrible pack rat! He cannot get rid of anything.

I am sure I will be filling you in on more details of our big move to come. But here is a little something to enjoy...

Skyline of downtown Chicago

Two week old Will...Already a Chicago Bears fan!

Work the BOOTY time!

Let's work the booty today! Anybody idolize J-Lo's or Jessica Biel's? Well this is the exercise that will get you that fab rear end. Very challenging, you will be sore, but isn't that a good thing?

Stand with feet hip-width apart, legs straight, abs tight and chest lifted. Hold a weight in each hand, arms hanging by your sides, palms facing in.
Take a large step forward on a diagonal with the toes of one foot pointed out. Keep front knee in line with ankle and other straight. Push off front foot to bring feet back together.

Do 8-12 reps on one side, then switch sides and repeat.

Do 1-3 sets total with each leg.

I recommend starting with 5- to 10-pound dumbbells

I will post later about the news that is changing our little family...no it is not another baby! Are you crazy?! Stay tuned!

What's In a Name?

We decided to get even more creative and change the name of our blog. We call our Will, bubba so we wanted to make it a little more special and unique. Hope you all like it. Also, have some news to share but I am working on that post along with the exercise of the week. I hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Jenny-

It's a REAL special moment

It's Real Life day over at sweet Farm Fresh Jessica's. Click on her name to join in the fun of real life pics and stories.

I do consider the birth of my sweet Will, one of my most momentous occasions besides getting married to my wonderful husband.

I think experiencing the birth of a child and feeling something growing inside you, is just the must wonderful thing that can happen to a woman. Something you can barely put into words. I will remember his birth for the rest of my life not for all the pain but for the day that our family really began.

Here I am at 5 months pregnant, when I really started to show and when I really started to feel the first kicks of Will. He was a kicker and had the hiccups at least 4 times a day!

Here I am at 7 months pregnant when my back really started to hurt, if it wasn't for me still teaching aerobics and toning, I think my back really would have went out. Will liked to plant most of himself on my left side, which happens to be where I injured my back a year before.

This was right after Will came out. It was 12 hours of labor and about 5 hours of pushing! At the third hour I literally was out of gusto and just wanted to fall asleep. Being a first time mom and watching all those baby shows, I thought birth would be a piece of cake. Those ladies on the baby story make it look easy sometimes. Not so. Will had his hand up by his face and by the 4th hour the nurse was able to get it out of the way so Will could come out. My doctor had been in and out with the 5 hour push a thon. His office was in the building but he was seeing patients between checking on my progress. He finally made it back when Will's head was literally almost out, and I just remember saying, "Where is Dr. H?" He came in and was like let's have a baby, and was pretty much shocked that Will was pretty much out. Love my doctor but he was barely there for the birth. For a second I thought that my sister and husband were going to deliver the baby with Nurse Molly.
That is my most special moment. I would not change a thing with the months of kicks, hiccups, indigestion, and all that pushing was worth everything to have my Will.

Oh, please ignore the roots coming in! I was definitely in need of a major hair overhaul!

Midnight Snacking? Who doesn't like it?

I have come to realize that all of you moms are right. I think that Will is extra hungry at night. Last night when he woke up at 3:30am(well today), his little tummy was growling.


But maybe he is going through a growth spurt, right? During the day he is eating 8 oz. every 4 hours. In the morning he usually has cereal or some sort of Gerber organic baby food. Then in the late afternoon he usually has another wonderful choice of Gerber baby food with his afternoon bottle. Ladies he is eating it all too! Sometimes he grunts and now we have called him our little Raptor because he makes all these loud noises, that sound relatively close to that of a dinosaur. He will be eating his food and then stop and make these noises. Then goes back to eating. It is the funniest thing. We will have to get on video soon.


So...I told myself that I will continue to wake up for my sweet Will in the middle of the night and for go sleep so that my little man will thank me one day when he is the quarterback for the Chicago Bears! When he wins the Superbowl he will say, " I want to thank my mom for always giving me my midnight snack that made me what I am today. Thanks Mom!"

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK-CHICKEN WINGS

This week I have taken a request from McMommy who would like to work the triceps. Better known as the...Chicken wings, Bat wings, The Lunch lady arms, and the I do not want to wave because of the flappy skin. Ok, we got the drift right? Well this exercise is one that will definitely tone up those triceps so we can all have sleek, sexy looking arms like Jennifer Garner, or others might like Madonna's. Whom evers you wish to have this will get you into those tank tops that are hiding in the back of your drawer, you know the ones.

If you have any requests please leave a comment and I will put it on the list of exercises.

Dips with a swing

Sit on a step/chair/couch with legs slightly bent, feet flat on floor. Place hands on step/chair/couch by thighs and press palms into it to lift butt.
Next, slide butt off edge and bend elbows to drop hips 3 inches from floor. Straighten arms and slide hips back without sitting down.
3 sets of 12 reps

If you have any questions please feel free to leave me a comment.

Good Luck to you and your triceps!

Happy 4th!

Will and I just wanted to tell all of our bloggy friends Happy 4th! We will be watching fireworks from our balcony since we can see downtown Annapolis. What a perfect way to watch them!

Question to all the moms...Will is now sleeping in his crib without rocking or swinging. SO HAPPY! But now he has been waking up at 2 or so in the morning and wanting a bottle, what gives? My friend thinks it might be because he is teething and wants to suck on something. But he won't accept his binky. Hmm....? Any ideas or tips?

Happy 4th of July to all my baby friends out there in the the blog world. Be safe!

The MOMMY is Away.....AGIAN

Hello all you Bloggers out there! It's me, Will. I'm back. Mommy is out training her clients and she left me home with Daddy. I've decided to hit the blogs again since a few peeps out there liked my last visit.

(Daddy coming in the room): Will, buddy, what shall we do tonight?


Will: Ummm, I was thinking we should start off with a bang! This ones for you MCMommy!!

Reddi-wip shots all around!!

(Don't worry mommy's Will DID NOT have any)

Daddy: Great idea Will, now what?


Will: Let's go for a ride and pick up some munchies, but I'll drive, you've had one too many shots Daddy!

(Will and Daddy return from there little romp to the store)

Will: Let's pig out!!

Will: No more for me daddy, stick a fork in me, I'm done.

Daddy: Will, it's getting late, are you ready for bed?

Will: Not yet Daddy, just one more thing!!

Will: Let's go streaking!!!!

(Some images have been edited for your eyes)

Will: Good night my peeps, Will out.

My First Ear Infection...nope false alarm

Well yesterday I had to go and train in the morning and Daddy was watching the little man. Daddy does a good job but he does not deal well with fussiness. Pretty much when I opened the door Daddy gave me Will and said he has been crying the whole time you were gone and pulling at his ear. Nothing is making him happy right now. So I first thought the whole teething thing could be a cause of both of the symptoms. But then when I read my handy dandy parenting book it said possible ear infection. Being the first time mother that I am, I made an appointment for him later that afternoon.

When we got to the doctors, whom I love dearly, they are the best in this area except for the nurse that he had to see. She is not my favorite. But unfortunately his doctor was not available for a same day appt. Somewhat annoying. Then when they told me who we were going to be seeing, I was like great this woman just annoys the crap out of me and half the time she does not know what she is talking about. Last time we were there for a rash and she said his weight was not where it should be and made us come back in two days later and then his doctor said, why are you here? He is fine, I am not concerned with his weight.

Ok, getting back to the story. Well we waited almost 25 minutes for this nurse, luckily Will just had a bottle and was content until he started screaming with delight. You moms know those noises when they are discovering that they have one. Everyone in the waiting room was just laughing. I quickly went to the desk and asked when we might be seen. As soon as that happened they called our name.

They did a weight check on him and it is good to know that he has doubled his birth weight which they say should happen by their 5 month birthday. Well the nurse came in and looked in his ears, checked his heart, LOOKED IN HIS MOUTH, and rubbed his belly. She said his ears looked clear, thank goodness. Then she said it seems a bit early for him to start teething but he could be starting to teeth, which can cause them some ear pain. I said to her, he is teething, he has two teeth on the bottom. Oh. That is what she said. Break here...wait. i thought doctors never said that ear pain, loose bowels, fevers and all that other stuff was not directly related to teething. Or that is not what they are supposed to say. ok done. Then she said he could just be discovering his ears. WHAT?! I have never heard of anything like that. Plus he was literally almost tearing his ear off this morning. So pretty much I chalked it up to be, he is teething and that he probably was getting a earache. No ear infection for the first time mother. Thank goodness. Thanks for listening to me ramble. Here are some great pics of Will, who just so happens to love bath time and last week he actually started to eat cereal and baby food. Which he loves. He starts grunting when there is nothing left. TOO CUTE!

"Hey Mommy and Daddy are you going to rinse this shampoo out of my hair or are we going to take a few hundred more pictures?"
"Hello, I am still waiting for this to be rinsed, Daddy come on!"
"Yeah! Thanks for finally putting the camera down and giving me a rinse."
"Not only do I like to eat cereal and baby food now, my favorite is prunes, but I like to eat my feet. Yummy! "