9 Months

      Dear Colin:

Today you are 9 months old! We can’t believe how quickly your first year is flying by! We’ve already started talking about how to celebrate your birthday.

During these last three months you have made leaps and bounds with your development.

-You have gotten 3 teeth and the fourth one is working its way out.

-You have started eating regular food. You’ve had pork, chicken, fish and lots of fresh fruits and veggies. You can thank Uncle Trevor for introducing you to cake frosting and pickle spears!

-You have learned to sit up all by yourself. You love to sit on the floor with all your toys spread out in front of you. Although you don’t really play with your toys, you mostly hit/punch them.

-You like to pull the visor on your car seat all the way down. This gives you a better view of Mommy and Daddy in the front seat!

-You can also stand up for a few minutes all on your own while leaning against a chair.

-In the last month you’ve really found your voice. You love to scream with joy (and anger!). You make lots of raspberry type noises and find it hilarious when we make the same noises back to you. It won’t be long before you’re saying your first words and talking non-stop!

      - You learned to spit – much to our dislike! But you look so cute when you do it!

This summer also gave us a lot of family time to go out and explore our city. We have gone to the state capital, the state fair and Saylorville Lake. You also had your first experience with swimming at a local wading pool. You liked it until the water got on your belly. You enjoyed your own personal wading pool in the back yard much more.

 You and Mommy had to spend a week without Daddy while he was traveling for work. You were very impressed with your first visit to the airport! We missed Daddy a lot but luckily the week went by fast! In a few weeks we have to do it all over again, only this time he’ll be gone for almost two straight weeks. You’ll also be starting a new daycare soon. Jill is very nice and we’re all excited for you to start with her.

We can’t wait to see how much you’re going change in the next three months and what you’re going to learn. Every day is so much for fun us as we watch you learn and grow.

We love you to the moon and back,

Mommy and Daddy

Redecorating

Recently I sat in my living room and realized I was surrounded by a sea of brown...brown furniture, brown and beige curtains, beige carpet. My soul was craving some color and vibrancy (is that a word? it is now). It just so happens I had that day off work so I packed up the kiddo and headed to Target to get some color scheme ideas. It was a big day for baby C, too. It was his first time riding in the cart like a big boy (aka sitting up front sans car seat). Please forgive me because I seriously teared up. My little bebe is turning in to a little boy :-(.

Moving on...

I quickly settled on lime green and grey. These two colors would be a nice contrast to the brown furniture since replacing it wasn't in my budget. Side note, throw pillows in the bedroom section are ridiculously cheaper than in the home section. I saw these and almost fell over. They were PERFECT!

Next on my list was to find the right curtains. I knew instantly that these curtains were it. They were not cheap (I needed four panels, they cost $30 for two panels) but I love that they are thin enough to let some light in but thick enough that people can't see through them.

{{Excuse the lack of photos. I'm new to this whole documenting-your-whole-life-in-photos thing}}

Once I got my loot home, hung up the curtains and threw the pillows on the couch...the room was still missing something. The mirror that sits between the two windows just wasn't working with the new scheme.

See? Not good.

Once the hubs got home, I quizzed him on what should be done with it. Paint? Trash it? I didn't want to trash it. It's actually a nice mirror and it's nice having one near the door so I can do a quick lipstick check before leaving. So we settled on painting it. The hubs suggested orange and I was totally down. The room needed a pop of color...and it's just paint. It's easy to change if it doesn't work out.

TA DA! Much better

The mirror turned out much better than I expected it to and it really just brings the whole room together.

Couch with pillows

At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to leave those two paintings where they are. We got them in New Orleans on our honeymoon and I was worried they would look too small for the space...which they do. Plus they're centered on the wall but not over the couch so it looks sort of funny. But I bought some red cube shelves to hang between them and that yellow one is going to get moved over so it's even with the end of the couch. Hopefully that will help fill up the wall space so it won't look so empty.

Still on my list of improvements is to paint that bookshelf next to the couch white and convince the hubs to move an oil painting on the other living room wall...it matched the old decor but not the new and improved!

Colin at 8 months

At 8 months (um...wait? where did the year go?), Colin has changed so much. I feel like I need to keep a piece of paper with me to make a list of everything new he learns daily. Here's what I can remember:

-He got his first tooth at 7 months. At 7 and a half months, he got his second tooth. Both are the bottom front teeth. He hasn't been too cranky, thankfully. Hopefully it stays that way.

-He's can pretty much sit up unassisted. He does fall over but it's usually when he tries to look around and loses his balance.

-He's eating about 4.5 ounces of baby food every day. We're working on food with texture. He's had fish, toast and pancakes. He LOVES pickle spears and can take small bites of them but usually he just sucks on them.

-He's consistently sleeping all night finally. We had a rough week a few weeks ago but he was working on that second tooth so that was expected.
-He took his first "big boy" bath the other night. It was a "big boy" bath because it was the first one where he wasn't in his infant tub. He did so well. He sat up all by himself and played with the washcloth and his rubber ducky. I may have shed a few tears.

-He has definitely found his voice. He screams with joy when he's playing with his toys and when he sees Mark and I. He gets especially excited when we pick him up from daycare. He "talks" to Mark and me when we talk to him. It's really cute and melts my heart. I can't wait to hear him say actual words. It's safe to say I'm conditioning him to say my name. I always say to him "say mom, mom, mom". Knowing my luck he'll say "dad" first!
I am genuinely enjoying this stage of his life. He's such a joy. I love watching him discover new things and figure things out on his own. I have to remind myself that I need to stop helping him when he's reaching for a toy or putting the spoon in his mouth. He has to figure things out on his own and I have to figure out how to let him!

Not a fan of pictures

Sitting up!

First Fourth of July

Can we skip August?

August is coming...in 8 short days. I'm dreading it. Here's why:

-Mark leaves for a work trip. He'll be gone during the week. Which means I'll have to figure out how to get myself and Colin ready alone and make it to work by 7 AM.

-Mark's gone for pretty much the entire length of the Iowa State Fair...which means I'm going to miss it.

-Colin turns 9 months old on the 25th. Which means he'll be one in three freakin' months! Where the heck has the time gone?

So if time could just skip right over August, I'd be totally fine with it.

PBWL - An update FINALLY!

So this morning when I stepped on to the scale, I was expecting to see the number I've seen for as long as I can remember: 138.4. Seeing the same number over and over and over again was getting old but I just kept reminding myself  "You're maintaining, not gaining. That is a victory.".

As I was getting set to repeat that sentence to myself for the millionth time, this popped up on my scale...

{136.4}

WHAA?! Two pounds?! I can't believe it. THAT, my friends, is a victory :-)

Now let me tell you how I did it. I've started running. Not far, not fast, just running as far as I can for as long as I can.

Remember when I said I started going to the gym with a friend three times a week? We were doing so well, running on the treadmill and lifting weights. But recently some illnesses (mine and hers) have come up which hindered us keeping up with our schedule. I have been itching to test out my new {acutal!} running shoes and since I couldn't get to the gym, I decided to put my fears of running outside aside. I packed up the fam and we headed to Gray's Lake to walk/run the trail. Once I got a taste of outside running, I. Was. Hooked.

I've always heard running outside is harder than on a treadmill. It was quite the opposite for me. Running on concrete allowed me to run at my own pace and distance instead of "racing" the person next to me. I ran over half a mile - without stopping or walking - for the first time in my entire life. On the treadmill, I was constantly watching the clock instead of listening to my body. Outside, I just run. I push myself to just make it to the next tree, next fence, next driveway.

It's a glorious feeling to push yourself out of your comfort zone. I highly recommend you all try it :-)

Baby afro puff

Colin is finally getting hair. It's thin, wispy and blond. It also doesn't lay flat. It's what we lovingly refer to as a "fro-hawk". It's an Afro on the sides and a Mohawk down the middle.

The last picture makes me laugh uncontrollably whenever I see it. He looks like I use shock therapy on him every time I take his picture.

By The Numbers

This week the company I work for held a health fair. The premise of it was to "Know Your Numbers". Unfortunately, my family medical history includes almost every disease under the sun so it's important that I stay on top of my health. Because of that, I signed up for an appointment to have a health screening done.

I showed up for my appointment with a genuine curiosity about what my results would be. Of course, I was mostly concerned with my BMI and body fat percentage. I'll be honest, when I got my results I was pleasantly surprised. And because I'm all in to Keeping It Real, here are my actual numbers:

Total Cholesterol: 129 mg/dL. Optimal is less than 200 mg/dL
HDL (Good) Cholesterol: 46 mg/dL. Optimal is higher than 50 mg/dL for females.
TC/HDL Ratio: 2.8. Optimal is less than 4.0.
LDL (Bad) Cholesterol: N/A. They couldn't get a reading from my blood work (no idea why).
Triglycerides: Less than 45 mg/dL. Optimal is less than 150 mg/dL.
Glucose (blood sugar): 76 mg/dL. Optimal is less than 100 mg/dL after fasting, which I did.
Blood Pressure: 104/70 mm Hg. Optimal is less than 120/80 mm Hg.

Now for the good stuff.

Height: 5'3"
Weight: 140.8. The nurse kindly dropped the ".8" to make it an even 140. What an angel :-)
Body Fat Percentage: 28.8%. Healthy range for my age group (20-40) is 21-33%.
BMI: 24.5 kg/m(squared). A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered "Normal".

A few things I learned:
-I am in good health over all.
-I am perfectly healthy at this weight. If I keep working to maintain it, I'll be good to go!
-I need a new scale. I weighed myself like I usually do before getting in the shower and my scale read almost 2 pounds higher - and I was naked! You shouldn't weigh less fully clothed than you do naked...you just shouldn't.
-The Internet is an excellent resource to research your health concerns. Just make sure you use a reputable website. I was encouraged by the RN to use the net to learn more about what my results mean.

So there ya have it. I'm healthy! It's extremely important to be in charge of your health. A regular doctor can perform all of the tests I had done today so get to the doctor people! You are the only one who can change your health.