family fun day



1st trip to the aquarium, I wish M was looking!

checking everything out



 

On Friday we had a family fun day! Ben took the day off of work and I found some aquarium passes at the library (highly suggest). We got into Boston and parked at a garage $35 holy moly I had no clue about parking, thankfully the library passes we had made it $16 to get in (no passes would have been $42). Michael was very interested in the penguins but was distracted by all the strange voices, he also kept making sure mama and Dada were still there. He also enjoyed the small colorful fish. We walked around for almost 2hrs and hit the gift shop... we left there with a new book and a penguin!! We couldn't resist. After the aquaruim we went to the Olive garden and Michael sat in a big boy highchair and ate his yogurt and people watched. It was a great family day and I cant wait to do it again.








new book






m's new friend



1st time in a restaurant highchair



I'm motivated

During my pregnancy I gained 70pounds, that's like a 5th grader and lost it by the time Michael was 4.5months! However I need to tone up and loose some weight and I'm finally motivated (i saw my stomach). I signed up for stroller strides at my mall and I have my 1st class on Tuesday, fingers crossed I enjoy the class and make some mommy friends while loosing my spare tire! Ben and I decided to have NO CARBS at dinner this upcoming week- lets see how that goes! I REALLY want to start running, I hope the weather warms up for me and M to take a jog.

At my friend Steph's bridal shower
(L) me, (R) Steph

**My goal is to loose 10lb by Stephs bachelorette party on 4/16

happy baby

Here is my happy little man, waving HI to mama!! His lungs are 100% clear and I can stop his nebulizer treatments.  Yippeeeee

He is wearing his 12month jammies from his auntie Jackie!

Thats $20 please

Every week I hear the same thing, that will be $20 please, that comes from the receptionist at the pediatricians office! This week we were in because M was trying to amputate his ear and was wheezing a bit. He had the start of an ear infection and mild RSV. Kill me now. We had a nebulizer treatment at the office and got one for the house. He is reacting well to his meds but HATES the treatments that last around 15min. He is in better spirits during the day though. We have scheduled a hearing test and ENT consult for tubes for the end of April, I hope we are able to get in sooner. Fingers crossed.

1st nebulizer treatment at the doctors office

life is good.

Life is good. I mean life is GREAT. I'm so blessed to have my precious baby boy.

We had a good week, the weather was nice, Michael slept 7pm-5:30,6am most days and he had a follow up appt on his ears. His weight is back up to 21.14 (OMG) and his ears are all good, Woot woot!! We are officially antibiotics free and I plan on staying that way for a LONG time. I started using  wally's ear oil for M's ears since he still has a cold and I fear another ear infection will be coming our way. Its a natural way to avoid/help ear infections. Fingers crossed it works as well as the reviews said it did!

Spring is here

Spring is finally here, I think! The weather has been nice enough to go on some family walks and M doesn't need his snowsuit 24/7, win-win! I have been meaning to go for a run this week, even put M in the jogging stroller to find my husband in the driveway home from work early and wanting to go for a family walk instead (buddy too).
I have noticed my front flower garden has a few early buds and is in need of some maintenance especially since I 100% neglected it last year while pregnant. Ooops. I cant wait to clear it out and plant some new flowers. My backyard vegetable garden is also in need of repair,  I cant wait to plant some organic veggies for us this year. I'm sure Michael will enjoy helping me dig in the dirt!

At trader joes this week Michael helped me pick out a hydrangea, fingers crossed I don't kill it. I have a history with hydrangeas!!

sometimes you need to stop and smell the flowers



sometimes you need to touch them too!



The Luck O' the Irish

Yesterday was St.Paddy's Day but technically we have been celebrating all week! I lucked out at carters last week and got all St.paddy's stuff for 60% off! I'm planning on going back to get some cheap stuff for next year, fingers crossed they have 2T (currently we are in 12months). My little man is Irish, not sure if you can tell! We celebrated by going on a family walk and I had a glass of wine, M was fast asleep by 7pm! can't wait till next year, I see some green pancakes in M's future!

The mompetition

First things first, I didn't come up with this fantastic posting title. It comes from a blog I follow- http://www.themompetition.com/ its friggin' hilarious. But its all true. As a new mom I have encountered every ones advice, I mean everyone. I feel as if people are always judging me for how I raise M. Boob vs. bottle, organic vs. not, sleep training, teething, crawling, etc etc etc. I have learned that you cant 'win' when you are talking about your family dynamics with another opinionated mother. There shouldn't be a winner and a loser when it comes to parenthood.  The way I'm raising M works for my family and that's the ONLY thing that matters. I'm not in a 'mompetition' and I dont think anyone should be.  I have a happy and healthy baby and I'm happy.

 This video is fantastic and there are plenty more on the blog or youtube!

8 months ALREADY

Its hard to believe that my little man is 8 months old. Its crazy. When you have a baby people tell you all the time, it goes by so fast and all you want to say to those people is shut up, I know this. I don't want a reminder that my baby is growing up! haha. I can honestly say I cherish everyday with M, even the crying days, the ear infected days the sleepless nights. My favorite days are of course the smiley days. Everyday is an adventure over here; we are cruising the furniture, walking on`our hands and opening cabinets. The current favorite room in the house for M is the kitchen- because it has Buddy's water/food bowls. This child is obsessed with splashing in the dogs water bowl. When I catch him going towards them I say Michael where are you going, he stops crawling looks at me and goes faster while laughing- its hilarious!

I havent introduced new foods this week because we have been batteling colds over here. I did give M some watered down cheerios the other day with his yogurt, he loves eating on his own. He was so excited that he passed out!

Always go with your gut

What a week it has been. On Wednesday I brought M back to the doc since he was tugging on his right ear again and slept like crapola the night before. We saw a different doctor in the practice. His last name happens to be the same as my biological father so maybe I had a preconceived notion that he was a moron. Always go with your gut. He checked out M's ears and said the left was clear and the right had wax, he checked the right ear 3x and said he was fine, had a cold and sent us on our way. This naturally put doubt in my mind but hes a doctor that went to 100 years of schooling so I must be a crazy new mom. I left. M then developed a nasty cold and continued to tug at his right ear. Saturday night he threw up his bottle because he was coughing so hard. He did this again this morning. I called the doc and brought him in.

My sicky baby

They checked his oxygen and he was good, had a low temp and was in good spirits, but has lost 1.5lb since Wednesday. She said its just part of his cold and not to worry. I asked her to check his ear and she said what the moron doc said- he has wax. Then she cleared the wax- imagine that and found his ear infection... She said it must have just developed since he was clear on Wednesday. I said no and explained our appt. I asked her why he couldnt have cleared the wax to see the infection but she didnt know. We were given a new perscription and sent on our way. In the parking lot we ran into our doctor and explained what was going on, she said she was sorry for Wednesdays doctor and hopes M gets better soon. She said that they normally refer babies to ENT if they have had 4 ear infections in 6 months and since we are at 4 in 3 months if we have another thats the place we are heading. Fingers crossed spring brings us healthy ears.

hint,hint mama

On Thursday Michael and I were at work and I think he was hinting to something... I think he wanted to go outside!

So we ended up going for a family walk on Saturday! He loved being in his big boy stroller and watching Buddy and Dada

rubber ducky

Michael has been enjoying his baths lately, splashing away and having a blast. He was however outgrowing his tub and getting curious about the jets in the tub. So during our Tuesday ritual outing to target I picked up the 'munchkin inflatable safety duck tub' for $12, score! We got home and I blew it up and and quickly realized how out of shape I was, I found my exercise ball pump (at least its being used for something). I let M play with it in the living room- he thought it was pretty cool and the beak quacked at him. So tonight I decided to try it out. He wasn't so sure at first, but was quickly splashing away. Minutes later he changed his tune :( I hope it was his cold that made him angry with the duck cause that duck is soo friggin cute! haha.

**PSA This duck is a large piece of plastic but after contacting the company I learned its BPA free!

finger foods

This week I decided to introduce M to some finger foods. At first it was to keep him busy because he no longer wanted to sit still during meal times. But after doing some reading I realized I was kinda 'behind' in this department. Finger foods help him with eye and hand coordination, using his pinchers and exposing him to new textures and foods. Teaching him some independence is always a plus too! I started with bananas, cut into chunks but he couldn't grasp them. I decided to roll them in some crushed cheerios and they were a hit. He then wanted the full banana, so I caved and let him go at it! Since then we have tried sweet potatoes and real potatoes, apples, and strawberries! All organic and made by yours truly!

This is making meal times easier on me and messier on him, but thats what being a baby is all about!