More 10-month fun

Capturing the monthly Reid photo isn't what it used to be. =) But oh that face.

Month 10

Earth to Reid... sloooow down!

I kid, but seriously though, this first year is moving all too fast. In one breath I find myself sad that my baby is quickly transforming into a toddler while in the next breath, I'm thanking God that I have you, here and healthy.

He's given us a real gift Reid. You are a gift in yourself but the fact that I was able to have a full-term pregnancy, deliver you safely, bring you home, and oh yeah, you're healthy too... wow... we are fortunate sir. We are fortunate that we get to know each other and be 'us'. I love you and I am so incredibly grateful.

I don't really have much else to say right now buddy. I couldn't possibly touch on everything you've learned or every way you've changed over the last month. Just know that my heart is more than full and you fill the majority of my thoughts too.

Love you,

Mama

Highlights:

• You continued eating some regular stage 2 baby foods. We also started giving you some heartier stage 3s for supper. In the past couple weeks or so, you've started eating more finger foods. I'm still sending baby food to Connie's and you eat an afternoon snack there but are getting a mix of baby food and table food in the evenings and on weekends. So far, you've had cut-up banana (which you like much better now), as well as cut up baby carrots, green beans, corn, sweet potatoes, peas, blueberries, chicken, bagels, mac-n-cheese, and probably other things I'm forgetting. =)

• You wore mostly size 4 diapers.

• You wore mostly 12-month clothes and size 12-18mo pj's

• You're up to 8 teeth now! This last one took it's time and you struggled for several days. You also started working on your molars but they didn't pop through yet.

• You began cruising around furniture.

• You sit up better and for longer periods of time (when you hold still long enough) and you crawl more like a big boy now.

• You get an 8 oz bottle first thing in the morning, then a 6 oz bottle around 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and then 8 oz again at night. You eat solids for lunch and supper.

• You started babbling more and stringing more consonants together (so far I've distinguished lots of B's and a few K's and G's.)

• You crawled more on your hands and knees.

• I had my first night away from you and you spent your first night away from Dad and I at the same time. You were in good hands though.

• You had your first hotel stay.

• You also had your first major fall. =( 

• You started being a bit of a mama's boy at times.

• You began to point your finger when you wave.

• You started pulling the pillows off the couches and wallering all over them. You think it's funny. PS - I do too.

• You started to understand the word "NO". You test us now and when we remind you you're not allowed to do something, you look back with the most adorable but oh-so-ornery grin and try to proceed. We tell you no as many times as it takes. Sometimes you get really frustrated with that answer and come crying to me for a hug. It doesn't work, of course, but I'm all for the extra cuddles. =)

Midweek Randoms

• Do you ever think of dumb things you've said and replay them in your mind? I think about this one instance I had during a PR class in college. Everything that came out of my mouth was wrong, stupid, embarrassing, or all three. I can still remember what seat I was in, who the professor was, who was surrounding me, the words that came out of my mouth, and the mean girls behind me snickering. Weird. I wouldn't mind losing that memory. =)

• I went a couple weeks with no polish on my toes (gasp) but now they have pretty orange polish on them again. The world is OK.

• My heart is very heavy for several people in need of healing and comfort. =( 

• My foot is all healed up and I started back to Zumba. I leaned like a cholo. =)

• I've started to think more about Reid's first birthday. Lord help us! 

• We've been more busy with photography lately. Had a session with these two little dolls. =)

• Reid has started to pull all the pillows off the couches and waller around on them. He loves it. It's so funny.

• I'm all but certain my endometriosis is making a comeback. I had surgery (second one) to remove it back before Christmas of 2012. Not long after, I was pregnant with Reid then was breastfeeding so I was fortunate enough to go a good year and a half without it. It knew, short of a miracle, it would be back. My goal is to suck it up and go without surgery (or other ridiculous treatments, like the Lupron shots I despised) for as long as possible. I knew from my original research that endo can be helped by a major change in diet (ie: no caffeine, no dairy, no wheat/gluten, etc...) I was never willing to do that before but now, I just can't imagine living my life this way forever. SO - while I haven't cut those things out completely, I've really tried limiting the wheat and dairy in my diet. So far I've done great for a few days then failed for a few days (ie: our trip)... it's a cycle I hope I can break with time. My goal is to give it a good month and see what, if any, relief I have. I've tried some new foods and recipes - and so far have ate a few things I would eat anyway! I think Dac has enjoyed me cooking dinner more again.

• I tried this Chicken Cantina Bowl from Taco Bell. It was pretty tasty - even with the lettuce BUT I was sad that it was quite a bit more expensive than other items plus, just as many, if not more calories. 

• I think I showed you my sweet potato, sausage, and asparagus hash last time. I was really impressed with that and so was Dac.

• I also made spaghetti squash with a creamy cauliflower sauce. This is something I would have never tried even just a couple years ago, so gold star for me! =) It was actually quite good. My only suggestion would be to scoop out the "spaghetti" and serve in a bowl instead of in the shell. (Those things are slippery!!)

• This is nothing new or special really, but still good and still gluten and dairy free. Sweet potatoes with shredded chicken (I used rotisserie without the skin) and sweet baby rays bbq sauce on top.

• This lovely dish is NOT gluten free, but it does lack dairy and I already screwed up all weekend anyway, so might as well. Love some red beans and rice. Fall is my favorite food season. =) 

• I don't know how well I'll be able to keep it up or if it will even be worth it, but I feel like I owe it to myself and my family to try. 

• Reid is now 10-months old. HOW!?!? I'll be posting his 10-month update soon!

• I am so enjoying the fallish weather. Then I realize I don't really have any shoes for this weather. Sigh. I need to do something about that. I did finally buy a pair of jeans that weren't maternity. Another gold star! =)

• What else do I love about fall? TV, of course!!! =) I'm loving watching some of my long-time favorites like Grey's Anatomy and Criminal Minds. As always, Parenthood is fabulous. I also started watching the new series The Blacklist and LOVE it. Just what I need right, another show in my lineup? Ooooh, and Scandal comes back on this week!! OH, and Revenge!!! =) See, I have a real problem here, people.

• Have a happy day!!

She's got Hays for days

We spent last weekend in happenin' Hays, Kansas with some great friends. We left Friday after work stopped in Derby for some Spangles and of course went in so Reid could eat too. Then, stopped again for a diaper change/bottle break before arriving at the hotel in Hays. Reid tends to slow down trips. ;) 

We shared a room with Matt and Kelly (never again, I felt horrible that Reid kept them up and kept everyone from having a good ol' loud, fun time.) but they were coming in later. It took a while to Reid to sleep since he's used to having his own room but he settled down! He slept through Matt and Kelly coming in a couple hours later but woke up around 1:30 a.m. soaked in pee. =( Talk about a mess. SO - I through a bath towel down in his pack-n-play and changed him into the first outfit I could find so he'd be quiet. 

When he woke up for good, we headed downstairs for some breakfast. Reid made some friends in the older people who were also eating at 6 a.m., ha! 

Once Matt and Kelly were up, we went back up and got ready for a day-o-fun! =) Not much later, John, Anna, and Ruby got there!

Reid and Ruby seemed to have fun but I don't think Ruby was impressed with him being in her personal space! haha! She's so funny.

Later, we grabbed some sandwiches and snacks from Wal-Mart and had a picnic at the park.

Sweet Ruby and her mama.

Side note: Anna is expecting a sweet new baby!!! HOORAY! Does she not look fantastic? Beautiful.

After lunch we head back to the hotel for naps. Reid refused to go down. He was cranky and just not having it. A little later, everyone headed down to the pool (except Reid and I since he was still awake) and he took a major fall. I don't typically get too freaked out by falls because I know that's how he learns but this wasn't so pretty and I was majorly concerned. (ie, horrified) I won't go into the whole shebang here, but ultimately, he is fine. This is him finally sleeping on my chest once he got calmed down.

That evening we went to Gella's Diner and LB. Brewing. It was a cool place... I was pretty impressed. The food was delicious too. They were also family friendly which I've come to appreciate more. Reid knocked over Ruby's chocolate milk and the waiter was super cool about it.

John and Anna had been before and suggested this appetizer. YUM.

Dac got a sampler of their beer.

I didn't get any beer though I did taste of his and Kelly's. I just wasn't feeling it that night. I was more into this:

Reid enjoyed two things of baby food, some puffs, sweet potato fries, and some of Ruby's mac-n-cheese. He's a tank.

The group. =) PS - you can't totally see it in this picture, but Kelly has the funnest pixie cut. I love it!! I wish more of the group could have been here. =/

Checking out the goodies Matt brought.

Playing sequence:

Once Reid finally hit the hay, we brought out the big guns.... CATAN.

It was super fun times!!!

Then Reid interrupted it with lots of crying and refusing to sleep, so once he was back down again, we quickly finished up the game and went to bed. Old people. Geesh.

Breakfast was a little earlier Sunday. I made a waffle. I enjoy making a nice big waffle at hotels. haha!

After cleaning up the room and loading the cars, we went back to the park. The guys threw a frisbee around.

Reid had fun.

There was acting like children. =)

Then lunch at Jimmie John's before heading out.

Friends. =)

I'm glad we took the trip!! Mini Reid-crisis' aside, it was fun! It was definitely a learning experience being in a hotel with him but our friends were good sports. We had a great time seeing everyone and can't wait for next time! Thankful for friends like these.

Being Mama: Workin' It...again

I decided I would go ahead and post this here, just so it will be included when I finally print a book of the blog posts.

About Me:

Hi! I’m Alisha - a 29 year-old Kansas girl married to my high school sweetheart (Dac). We dated through high school and college (long distance). Once I graduated from Oklahoma State, we got married (2006). I’ve had various gynecological issues which resulted in some infertility troubles.

Still, I’m fortunate enough to be mama to an alllllmost 10-month old baby boy (Reid) and a 7-year old amusing pug-dog (Peety).

I’m a working mom - doing public relations for a school district by day and co-running a photography business with my husband on the side.

You can find my blog here. I just post about daily life… it’s kind of a virtual scrapbook for us. I post a weekly random update which has now kind of turned into a dumping ground for photos of Reid! =) I documented my pregnancy with “Monday Morning Pop Tart” updates, and now have a couple series’ - “Being Mama”, where I talk about mom-type things and my limited experience with them; and “About Me” where I work through a list of things I want Reid to know about me.

I’m so happy to be here. I’ve quietly followed Melissa’s blog for a few years now and I’ve enjoyed seeing how she has made working outside the home work for her family. I signed on to write this post before I really thought it through. The truth is - I have SO much to learn about being a mom who works outside the home. I hardly feel adequate enough to write much more than “HELP ME!!” on this topic. Maybe if nothing else I can provide a sense of  “you’re not alone” to someone else struggling to find balance. =)

Then:

I’ll start out with the words I blogged the day I went back to work after maternity leave. “Pregnancy hurt. Labor hurt. C-section recovery hurt. Going back to work hurts worse.”

Oh my, it was hard. I knew it would be. I just underestimated how hard it would be. It hurt big time, and there at first it was all I could do to just keep going each day. That in itself was a victory but it sure didn’t feel like it. I felt like all I did was work, pump milk, and prepare for the next day of working and pumping. Repeat.

Now:

Since then, I’ve given the pump the boot and have become a little more relaxed in our daily routine. I really try to keep myself in the moment and enjoy Reid as much as possible in the little time we get together each day. It’s still a struggle and sometimes (probably more often than not) I fail, but I’m working on it. =)

Our typical daily routine/schedule:

Since I knew I’d be returning to work, we started Reid in a routine fairly early. We weren’t strict and it wasn’t scheduled per se, but we did kind of help him find the routine that worked for him then tweaked it as we needed to. Here’s a look at a normal day NOW.

5:00 a.m. - I wake up, shower, eat something quick for breakfast, do makeup, hair, etc... This is also when I might unload the dishwasher, prep some items for supper, get my lunch ready and other quick, fairly quiet tasks.

6:30 a.m. - I usually wake Reid up, change his diaper and feed him his bottle (he really feeds himself at this point but I still like to hold him so I can get some snuggle time in.) Once he’s fed, I’ll usually let him play for a few minutes while I finish getting dressed and get stuff ready to walk out the door. Then, I get him dressed and off we go!

7:00 a.m. - We’re usually loading in the car by shortly after 7. Sometimes, if I realize we’ve left a little early, I’ll swing through Sonic for a drink. =) I drop Reid off at daycare at around 7:15 and am clocking in by 7:30. I usually spend my lunch hour running errands or doing quick chores at home. Sometimes I fold and/or put laundry away, load the dishwasher, do some basic surface cleaning, or vacuum. I’m fortunate to live close to work so this can be a pretty productive time in my day.

4:30 p.m. - I get off work and pick Reid up from daycare. When we get home, I go ahead and re-stock his daycare bag so I know it’s ready to go the next day.

5:00 p.m. - I usually feed Reid around 5 or so. He has just started eating more little table foods, so a lot of times I’ll set something on his high chair so he can munch while I start supper. Then, once dinner’s underway, I’ll feed him some baby food. Or - if supper prep is more intensive, Dac will feed him while I work on that. It just depends. Then, of course, we eat! =)

6:00 p.m. - I’ve really started making it a priority to get on the floor with Reid. He is just SO busy and it’s a blast to watch him explore and interact with him. If it’s Reid’s bath night (usually every other night) we may not get long, but those few minutes really make the day seem a bit more right. We try to go for walks some evenings too. On nights when I have a meeting or something, Dac and Reid get boy time - which is important too.

7-7:15 p.m. - By 7:15, we’re usually done with his bath and I’ll get my second cuddle session in while I feed him his last bottle. Reid is typically in bed asleep by about 8. When I put him in his crib, I set out his clothes for the next morning.

8:00 p.m. - By this time, I’m usually worn out! Whew! =) BUT - I’ll spend the next half hour or so finishing up housework, or, on a good day, Dac and I will have a chance to sit and chat. Then, most nights I’ll watch a tv show while Dac does some work or edits photos. This is my ME time and I use it to just wind down before bed. Dac stays up later than me most nights but I have to go to bed by around 9:30 or 10 in order to not be a grouch. =)

Our weekends are spent doing laundry, mowing the yard, grocery shopping, shooting photo sessions, editing photos, hanging out, church, etc… They always seem to go too fast.

Time with the Big Guy

I have always struggled with quiet time. I’m someone that goes, goes, goes until I crash in front of the TV at night. When Reid was a newborn, I would hold him and pray. Strong, from the heart prayers. I prayed for guidance, for his safety, I thanked him for such a wonderful gift. Sometimes I just cried out in desperation. If Reid was extra fussy when I’d pray, he would almost immediately calm down. Perhaps he sensed my sudden calmness as God gave me peace. I’m not sure. Our church got a new pastor this summer and she started a Bible basics study. We’re working through the Old Testament in chronological order. Now, Dac and I have attended church our whole lives but we’re still learning a lot. This study has helped get me back in the Word and it’s great.

Working Out

Until just a couple weeks ago - I flat wasn’t doing it. Now, I’ve started going to a morning Zumba class 2-3 times per week and try to walk a couple times on top of that. On the mornings I do Zumba, I get up at 4:40, Zumba from 5:15-6, then rush rush rush like a mad-woman to get us ready and out the door on time. It’s doable though. =) When we walk, we usually go as a family after supper. It’s a good time for Dac and I to visit uninterrupted and I’m really starting to treasure it.

Friend/Family Dates

Generally speaking, we see a group of family-friends every other week. We take turn cooking dinner and basically just sit and chat and hold babies. I have other close friends that I make little mini dates with. Sometimes it’s just a coke or ice cream, sometimes it’s a walk or lunch on a Saturday, sometimes it’s birthday pedicures and a day of shopping. We each have a good group of out-of-town friends (Dac’s friends from high school that are scattered and my college roomies/friends in Oklahoma). We really value these friends and try to get together AT LEAST a couple times a year and we’ve started skype-type sessions with some of them too. As for our immediate families, they both live close and we usually see them every other week or so. We’ll go out to eat on a Friday night, or they’ll stop by to play with Reid, etc... Our family and friends have both been huge assets in the babysitting realm when we have weddings or photo sessions on weekends. We are fortunate to be surrounded by so many great people.

Dac+Me Dates

Dac and I used to be pretty dang good at having a weekly date night. I knew at the time it would be even more important for us to have that once we had kids. Now that we’re here... it’s not seeming quite as easy to pull off. The truth is, we already use a babysitter more than we’d like with daycare, photo sessions, etc... Plus, we enjoy spending time with Reid and as a family. Our marriage has certainly felt the impact of an “in passing” relationship and it needs to become a top priority again. Recently, we’ve made more of an effort and I notice the difference. We might stay up and watch a movie after Reid goes to bed, take a lunch+Target trip together sans Reid, or, like earlier this month, we took a mini trip (my first night away from Reid) to celebrate our anniversary. It always feels good to be ‘us’ again but we just don’t make it enough of a priority all the time.

SO, clearly I don’t have it all figured out. It’s gotten easier in a lot of ways - sure - but I still feel like I’m spinning my wheels trying to fit in all the ‘work’ of life while trying to just be relaxed and enjoy our family. It’s tough! I know this phase of life will all too quickly pass and Reid is just... wow... growing up way too fast. Each day gets a little more manageable than the day before. We’re making it and that’s what matters. =) Life is good.

A recent blog post I wrote on working mom guilt.

We are currently re-vamping our photography business website/blog - but you can still visit www.dacandalisha.com/blog or find us on facebook under On The Wall Photography! I’m also on instagram as alishacall and pinterest as acall.