No time to blog

I can't believe it's been 15 days since I wrote a blog post.  I suck.  In those 15 days we did a lot - Colby has changed a bunch - and we celebrated his first Christmas!!!

Alas... I still don't have time to blog.  Tomorrow is opening day of Eggo in the Oven - my online shop selling handmade goodies by yours truly.  So for a little while I'm going to be a bit preoccupied.  But I will return!!!

Happy New Year to all my bloggy friends - what a year 2010 was and I'm sure 2011 will be!!!

my bff

Text conversation from this afternoon:

Me: "I am pretty sure the swing is my very best friend.... ever.  That's right, I said it - we're bff's"
Jimmy: "You might be bff's but your also sdd (super dorky dork)"
Me:  "Well you married me... and really, who's the dork - I used a well known and popular abbreviation.... you made one up."

Oh, and yes, he still doesn't know the difference between "your" and "you're".  There, their, and they're are also an issue.

It's true though.  Thanks to our swing, I am not a stinky, starving, cranky mama (most days).  Thanks to our swing I can, on occasion, blog with both hands (reducing my writing time immensely).  Thanks to our swing, our house isn't the messiest house ever.... it's just a really messy house.

It makes me sad to think about the day that the swing does not hold the magical powers it has since Colby was probably only a couple weeks old... or the day that he gets bored with it.... or the day he doesn't fit in it.  So I don't think about those days.  Those days are *way* off in the future, right?!

So thank you, swing, for all that you do for me.  I use you all the time, and you don't put up a fuss at all.  You provide a safe place for my baby boy to relax, nap, or just hang out chatting away while I do things that are very difficult if not impossible with a baby in tow.

This blog post, and the shower that preceeded it, are brought to you by my bff.

Weightloss Wednesday

I know it's been a while.... and that's not a good thing!

I think the combination of stress and being sick for a while has taken a toll.... I'm up a few pounds - and not budging!  Grrrrrumph.  I'm 37 pounds off my big weightloss goal..... a long way to go!

But until the new year my goals are:  make it to the gym 3-4 times a week, drink more water, make more meals at home, and eat healthier.

I'm doing decently with those goals.  Days like today I'm just lazy and don't want to go through the process to go to the gym.  It's not just as simple as heading to the gym - you have to get dressed, make sure baby is in a disposible diaper, make sure you have extra clothes and diapers for baby, feed baby, make an extra bottle for baby, head to the gym (hoping he falls asleep in the car), check in, drop off kiddo at childcare, start workout (hopefully make it through the whole workout without the childcare girl coming to get you), pick up baby, often feed baby, drive home, maybe grab a shower (either at the gym or at home).  It takes about 2.5 hours to get a hour workout in!!!  But I'm not making excuses.... just recognizing that some days I just don't feel like doing it!

A positive post!!!

We have fallen in love with GroBaby / GroVia diapers.  They have worked for us very well, we rarely have leaks - we love them.  Well they debuted some new prints on December 10th - and did a special that everyone who placed an order on the 10th would be entered to win a free shell in one of the new prints (they would randomly select 40 orders from that day).  I found out yesterday morning I was one of the winners!!!!!

Sooooo excited!  I ordered two shells and will get a third for free!  They are soooo cute!  Don't tell Colby but they'll be wrapped up under the tree for him!  (I know, so exciting)! :-)

Here are the two diapers I ordered:

Sooo cute!!!

Can't wait to see which print the free one is in!!!  And to take some pictures of our little guy in his new stylish diapers!!! :-)  I'm thinking I'll need to make some shirts for him to wear with just the diapers (around the house)!

This mama stuff is stressful!!!

I know I'm usually a happy, upbeat, carefree mama - but I'm a bit stressed right now!!!
On Saturday (I think) Jimmy asked me if I had noticed lately that it seems like Colby gets a little pooch down in his groin area when he gets really angry. Colby has had an umbilical hernia since birth - and at his 2 month appointment the Pediatrician said it looked just fine and would heal itself - umbilical hernias don't tend to be an issue. But if we noticed any others pop up in other places, to give them a call. I hadn't noticed the one down in his groin (of course, making me feel like a bad mom - I change his diaper how many times during the day and dad changes probably 2 diapers a day and has noticed?!), and Jimmy pointed it out. It doesn't portrude that much, but it feels exactly like the umbilical one. So I called the doc's office first thing Monday morning and we're set to go in and have the Pediatrician check it out in the afternoon. 

Of course, Colby was happy as a clam during the whole appointment, which meant that the hernia didn't show itself.  But based off my description, etc., his pediatrician determined it sounded like a "textbook" inguinal hernia (hernia in the groin area).  This means she sent a referral to a surgeon at Children's Hospital.  The plan was I would call them on Thursday or Friday and set up an appointment for evaluation / consultation.  Then, most likely, he'd eventually need surgery to repair the hernia.

Well, this afternoon Colby took a great nap (probably around 2.5 hours - I'm not sure - I didn't quite keep track!), woke up, and I changed his diaper.  Then I proceeded to feed him - he should've been pretty hungry and usually when he's very hungry he's pretty serious about eating - he won't mess around.  But he was kinda distracted as he was eating, fussy, and just kinda kept pulling off of me and screaming.  So I switched him to the other side, figuring I had just run out of milk on that side (I've been having issues with keeping up with him - see below!).  Again, he ate some, but was fussy.  At the appointment yesterday, the pediatrician said that if we were noticing increasing fussyness we should check his groin area and see if the herina was bulging.  So I did.  And freaked out.  It was portruding much more than I had seen before - and it was pretty taught - and when I poked at it it seemed to make Colby even more unhappy.  So with tears in my eyes, I called Jimmy.  I described what was going on and he said he had seen that before too (which instantly put him on my shit list - I didn't realize it had been that bad before and hadn't told our pediatrician that!).  He said I should call the pediatrician's office and talk to the nurse (which was already my next step, but I wanted to let him know what was going on).

My call to the nurse took a while.  She confirmed that the referral had been sent, so she said I should call as soon as I was off the phone with her and ask to set up the consult - and let them know that I thought it was getting worse.  The nurse also said that if we noticed he wasn't eating well, wasn't having as many poopy diapers, seemed to be in pain, was vomiting, or had a fever, we should head straight to the emergency room at Children's - that would get him an immediate consult and he'd be where he needed if they decided he needed surgery sooner than expected.  Of course, just the thought of that makes my belly turn!

So I called Children's.  I gave them a bunch of info to basically pre-register, and then worked on scheduling the consult.  Amazingly enough, they do clinics outside of the Seattle area, and tomorrow they're going to be in Everett - at the Womens & Children's Pavillion where I delivered Colby (and where all my prenatal doc appointments were)!!!!  Perfect!  And they had an opening at 2pm!  So Colby and I will be meeting with a surgeon (I believe) tomorrow to see what they think.  I hope they have a way to feel / find the hernia better than the pediatrician could - otherwise I'd guess we'd have to try to piss him off to get it to show itself!!!

I'm prepared for the fact they'll likely say our little guy needs surgery.... but still not happy about it!  I know it's a very routine thing, and many babies have hernias and need them repaired, but it still isn't fun to think about!!!
Finally, I'm not sure if Colby's going through a growth spurt or what, but suddenly Sunday he basically wanted to eat on both sides every feeding (usually he just eats on one side). This was fine for part of the day, but by the evening, I was about empty even when he was hungry! When I went to feed him before bed, I don't think he really got more than an ounce or so from me! So we had to pull some milk from the fridge (not really that big of a deal) and feed him a bottle. He did great, downed it, and went to sleep. Then this morning when we got up for the day, I fed him on one side and pumped the other (my usual). Well only about an hour later, he was hungry - and I had nothing to give him! I fed him the pumped bottle (again, totally fine, but a little frustrating), and he was happy. But again today he's wanting to eat on both sides each feeding. My body doesn't seem to have gotten the memo!!! So I'm slightly stressed 'cause of this too!

I know that giving him bottles of breastmilk is just fine - and even if we needed to give him some formula that would be okay too - but it is just kinda the icing on the cake right now with me being confused / stressed / etc.

Luckily Colby doesn't seem to be too bothered by any of this - I mean, he was fussy today at one point (when I saw the hernia popping out more), but basically he's his happy self most of the time!

Will update as I know more!!!

Giggles!

Today as I went to change what I knew was going to be a messy diaper, Colby decided to giggle at me on the changing table!!!  We knew he was close, he's been cooing VERY happy sounds a bunch lately, and smiling uncontrollable smiles when you tickle him.  It was sooo cute!  I actually caught a little bit of it on video, too!

Of course, Jimmy was at the grocery store.  But I sent the video to him instantly!

I had a very brief repeat performance from him the next time I put him on the changing table.  I think he was giggling 'cause he knew his diaper had come undone and he figured I was going to have a mess to deal with! :-)

I don't care why he laughs - I just want him to do it!!!!!  Can't wait 'til he's giggling uncontrollably!!!

3 months!

Really?  How did I miss the 3 month post?!

Colby turned 3 months on Saturday 12/4.  I have no clue how much he weighs - I'd say at least around 12 pounds... but I could be waaaay off.  I do know that 3 month clothes now fit him pretty snug (and most of them say up to 12.5lbs), and he can wear some 3-6 month clothes (though he can only wear the "right" size pants if he's wearing a cloth diaper - if he's in a disposible they just fall off - he's got Daddy's butt / legs (or lack thereof).

Here are some cute shots from our monthly photo shoot:

Hanging with Daddy after the photo shoot. :-)

a movin' and a shakin'

Don't worry - I don't have a crawler, yet..... but Colby has definitely started some moving, etc., that will lead to crawling!  I swear it's like a lightswitch just flipped right before Thanksgiving - and suddenly he was okay with tummy time (at least more okay then he was before), and interested in arching his back / rolling / playing independently.  It's awesome to see him grow and change!

He rolled over for the first time the day after Thanksgiving.  Of course Jimmy and I were both out of the room - but Grandma and Grandpa Wells witnessed it!!!  I heard the shrieks from the next room over!  That time he went from back to front.  Of course, we tried to get him to repeat the feat.... but with no luck!

Well, exactly a week later, on December 3rd, while we were having a breakfast playdate with Dawn, Niko, and Kai, I put Colby on his belly to do some more tummy time (he had done a bunch already, and hadn't gotten sick of it, so I figured why not!?  He instantly rolled over!  It looked pretty deliberate!  So I flipped him back over, to see if he'd do it again!?  Yup!  Rolled from tummy to back - again!  Of course, I grabbed my cell phone to take a video - but would there be a third roll?  no.

Since then, Jimmy and I have been trying to get him to roll over again - Jimmy's dying to witness it.  But no luck.  He's close - and I know he could do it if he wanted.... so we'll wait! I bet you can imagine the number of videos I now have on my cell phone of him doing tummy time!!!  Just trying to catch the next roll....

But he's also moving around A TON on his back.  I lay him under his baby gym (a blanket with toys above it), and he will scoot around it - exploring the whole thing - and often the floor / rug outside of its bounds.  He often kicks off at least one sock - I think the bare feet help with traction!!!  I KNOW we're in trouble when he starts crawling because he is CONSTANTLY in motion!!!

Here are a couple pictures to prove my point (not sure why they're uploading sideways.... but I can't get them to go the right way):

When I put Colby down, his feet were pointed towards our couch (so towards the top of this picture).  Less than 10 minutes later - this is how he was situated.

The following picture was taken about 3 minutes later.  I moved him from this spot because the heater vent isn't very comfy to cuddle with.

Oh - and he's "talking" like crazy.  He'll go on and on for 20 minutes straight!!!  Lots of "agoos" and "aboos".  Those are his favorite words! :-)  I guess he IS my son - he can talk forever!!!

Quick update!

I'm a bad blogger.  But that's not the update - that isn't news to anyone!!!  Days just go by so quickly - I have the best of intentions, but alas.....

So.... we had a pretty busy week.  Last Thursday and Friday we spent the days (and nights) at the Hyatt in Bellevue for Jimmy's company meetings and service awards dinner / holiday party.  This was a fun little trip - we got to stay in a fancy hotel for free, I got to hang out with a good friend and her two little ones for two days - and Jimmy and I got to get dressed up like real adults and do a couple events WITHOUT Colby *gasp*! :-)

Here are some photos from our adventures:

Jimmy and Colby hanging out on the fancy bed

Our family in front of the huge Christmas tree

Colby happy to be out and about - shopping! :-)

Tummy time!!!  Look at how strong he's getting! 

Niko (21 weeks) and Colby (13 weeks) - Colby's trying to catch up!!!

My little cutie pie!

Friends

Jimmy and Me at the Service Award Dinner 

Jimmy and Me at the Holiday party

I'm a dork - but I'm sure the guys were talking about something inappropriate!  That's Will (our good friend) and Jimmy - wish they still worked on the same job!

Our "fancy family" :-)  Even Colby has a tie on his shirt! 

Baby Half Off and other addictive sites

There are a multitude of awesome baby websites out there that sell baby gear, etc., for around half off or other big discounts.  Some of my favorites are:

BabySteals
MamaBargains
Baby Half Off
Green Baby Bargains

These are just some of my favorites.  I got most of my cloth diaper stash from BabySteals - and have had fun trying other things and browsing the popular baby garb.

Right now, Baby Half Off and Tanga.com are doing a giveaway!  I've entered a bunch of giveaways through blogs, facebook fan sites, etc., and still haven't won one - but one of these days hopefully I will.

I apologize if you are now addicted to these sites too....

:-)

Weight loss Wednesday

Well, we're on vacation, and I don't really want to track down a scale.  So instead, I'll report on some recent weightloss / fitness goals.

Last week, it was my goal to go to the gym four times.  This was because we'd be on vacation this week (thus away from the gym and around WAY more junk food), and because I'm really enjoying going!  Well.... I did it!!!  Tuesday I did Zumba, Wednesday I just did some cardio (elliptical), Thursday I did zumba again, then Friday I tried aqua Zumba - and swam some laps beforehand.  At least 2 of the days the girls at the childcare had to come get me 10-15 minutes early because Colby was freaking out (he was hungry and decided he no longer liked the bottles we had been using).  Oh well, still got *most* of my workout in!

For this week (while in Utah visiting family), my goal is to use their in-home workout room three times (it has an elliptical, treadmill, and weight machine).  Well, so far I've used it once.  I'm supposed to use it today.... we'll see.  I had a wicked sore throat yesterday, and I'm stuffy, etc., today, so we'll see.  But we're here 'til Saturday.... so I might still make my goal.

I was also hoping to not eat toooooo much crap.  Well.... I fail at that one.  Hard to do when there's ALWAYS chips & dip, candy, soda, etc., around!!!  Oh well.... one week won't kill me!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!!

More Utah fun!

Colby has been enjoying some quality time with family here in Utah (oh, and we have too!).  Here are A BUNCH of pictures from the first two days! :-)

Hangin' with Grandpa on the couch

Being cute in his new penguin outfit! 

Add in the hat - ready to go check out the snow!

Playing with Daddy and Grandma!

Playing with Grandma

Telling everyone a story while he plays!

Checking out the snow

Jimmy even helped shovel some snow!

Taking a bottle from Grandma (this means we get to go on a date night!)

Spending some time with Grandma!

3 generations of couch potatoes! :-P 

Watching football - or watching the baby!

Mittens the cat had to check out Colby

Not so sure about this baby thing.....

Grandma practiced changing a diaper too!!!

Oh, and what would vacation be without a nap with Grandpa!?

.... more to come, of course!

Visiting Utah!

We are spending the week visiting Jimmy's family in Utah for Thanksgiving.  Colby went on his very first flight yesterday - and he did great!  Lame-o me didn't take any photos with my camera at the airport or on the plane.  I snapped a couple with the phone, so those will have to do for now.  I'll try to get the camera out on the way home - but it was a bit of a circus already! :-)

For our week long adventure we brought the following:
1 Large rolling suitcase (with my clothes, Colby's clothes, Colby's diapers) - Checked at the counter ($25 - boo)
1 Baby Carseat - Checked at the counter (free)
1 Carseat base - Checked at the counter (free)
1 snap-n-go stroller - Checked at the oversized luggage window (free)
1 infant in the Baby Bjorn (except when we walked through the security gate)
1 diaper bag (carryon)
1 breastpump (carryon)
1 small rolling suitcase (with Jimmy's clothes in it) - carryon (but gate checked 'cause it was a small plane)
1 gym bag (with blankets, shoes, and other miscellaneous stuff) - carryon (but gate checked 'cause it was a small plane)

Yes.... we looked like a travelling circus show (especially when we got off the parking shuttle before we checked the bag and carseat / stroller).  But it went VERY smoothly.  Everyone at the security check was very nice.  We actually breezed through (I woudn't have even been annoyed if I was behind us!) security.

Colby and me at the gate - bad pic because of the backlighting!

Turned around the other way - now we're washed out 'cause of all the light on our faces! :-P

Of course, when I printed our boarding passes, the computer was trying to put us in an exit row (even though I specified we'd have a baby in our lap when I bought the tickets).... so when we got to the gate we had to have our seats assigned.  With Colby in tow, we got to board the plane first (we were literally the VERY FIRST people to board the plane!).  We quickly found that they had put us in the last row of seats.... the ONLY seats on the plane without a window.  Lame.

Colby didn't seem to mind, though!  I nursed him when we took off because I heard it would help with his ears.  He snoozed a little just before we took off, but was awake the whole flight - just checking everything out!  We got to go through a little bit of turbulance as we came into Salt Lake City.  I nursed Colby for a little bit, but he passed out.  So he slept for the turbulance and landing.  Silly guy!

He really didn't scream at all - he was just a little fussy right at the beginning (it was taking them FOREVER to get moving!).  We just figured this picture was perfect because it's exactly what you DON'T want to be sitting near! :-)

 Warming up to the idea (notice, the gal on the other half of the aisle had a 2.5 year old - coincidence?!)

Excited about flying!

Ready to go!

Wait a second - he was supposed to stay awake 'til we took off!!!

Since we were the last row, we were the last off the plane, but it only took a few minutes to empty the plane because people couldn't bring on bigger bags at all.

Grandma and Grandpa Wells were very excited to meet us at baggage claim!!!  They met Colby when he was 1 month old - so he's changed a bit since then!!!

When we got to their house Colby finally got to meet his Auntie Cori!!!

We got in Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening was a poker night with a bunch of Grandma and Grandpa's friends! 

Of course.... Colby had a special shirt for the occasion (I made it Friday)!

Oh.... and it snowed!!! 
We were pretty happy it happened AFTER we got in!