Almost 8 Months Old Already

Loves his baths!

Crazy how time starts flying by once you have a child. The first few months dragged on and on but now we can't get them to slow down. Baby boy is quite active these days. Crawling like a champ and pulling himself up to stand on everything. He even stands up on his own sometimes if he's watching his baby channel on TV. He goes 50 MPH through the house in his walker, and even the dog knows to stay out of his way. His "ahhhhhhhhhhh's" are turning into more babbling sounds now. We try to pick out a "mama" or "dada", but it will be beter once he says them intentionally.

Jonny finally has a few weekends off from his race schedule and Ollie and I are taking full advantage of him being home. This week we finally started putting him in his crib in his own room. Went cold turkey from him sleeping with me every night. I dont know who's more sad, him or me. I loved cuddling him every night and put off making the switch for way too long. His separation anxiety was getting worse by the day. He'd cry every time I walked in the room just for attention. Yes, after years of saying I'd be the stickler, he labeled me the softy. It was clear it was time to make the big change. Plus, you never sleep well having a squirmy baby next to you all night. Let's just say Jonny is thrilled to be getting his bed back. We started the process Monday night and each day gets consecutively better. He's no where near as cranky during the day, he's finally getting a good rest. He's only been waking up twice a night now rather than 5 times. He's eating less and less overnight also. I felt like such a bad mom for letting him sleep with me so long, especially seeing how well he's accepting this change. I think it was harder for me to realize it was time than it was for him to adjust. We got him a crib soother from Babies R Us. A whopping $50 bucks for lights and lullabies. But hey, if it helps (which it has), it's priceless. We got one that has a remote so we can shut it off or turn it on without him seeing us enter his room. When turned on, it gets quieter and dimmer every ten minutes until it eases it's self off. We were originally just going to go with a light up mobile, I'm so glad we went this route instead.

Mr.Purple Lip 7/14

Two weeks ago we had a little scare while Jonny was out of town. I stayed with my mom for the weekend since she's so much closer by now. Ollie woke up from a very late nap one afternoon and we noticed his lips were turning blue. We took him down to John C. Lincoln's children's ER, Mendy's Place. I'm not usually so fast to go to the ER, but since we were 30 minutes away and didn't know what was going on (in fear it might be respiratory related), and didn't want it to get worse, we made the call to take him. Initially they thought he might have had a mucus plug or GERD situation where he might have lost his breath for a while. I've seen him also suck on his bottom lip, but they said a baby couldn't bruise his lip from sucking/chewing (without teeth). His lips were back to normal once we got there, of course! So they didn't have much to go off of. They took his sats and kept him on a pulse ox for a while and everything was completely normal. They discharged us to go home within an hour. I felt so bad for wasting their time, but I'd rather be safe than sorry since we live so far away from hospitals. Of course, the doctors were wonderful and tried to tell me he was fine. I barely slept that night and kept checking to see if he was breathing and if his lips were turning any bit blue again. His lips only turned blue when he'd wake up for bottles.... so strange. The next day we caught him chomping and sucking on his lip A LOT! The little dude bruised his bottom lip (basically gave himself a hickey). Even his pediatrician had never seen anything happen like this, so we took in pictures and had him checked just to be safe. Ollie hasn't taken a pacifier since he was a newborn, but he seems to like his lip just fine. Things turned back to normal after a few days. The bruise progressively turned all shades of purple before disappearing. That's going to be a lovely hospital bill for a hickey...  ***Sigh***

Desert Ridge splash pad with Daddy 7/21

Cool guys with their shades

Over pictures and ready to play!

All in all, things are great and we are doing wonderful. Each week gets easier and harder in new ways, but we're loving every minute of it! In my spare time I've been training for a 10K race in October and am getting ready for my goal half marathon in Dec/Jan. I'm dying to have a pink 13.1 sticker on my back windshield. I used to run every morning before I got prego, so making the jump back in was pretty easy. The first few weeks were a bit tough, since my cardio endurance is shot. However, I'm using a training app called Couch to 10k (then 10k to Half Marathon), and it really helps get back into the swing of things. I'm in no way as fast or fit as I used to be yet, but I feel better everyday and have really started to enjoy my runs again. Pants are getting looser and I'm a happier me again. Combine that with more sleep at night and I'm a lucky girl. Woot woot!

Happy half birthday, Ollie!

My little man is 6 months old! 

• Everyone warned us how fast he'd grow up and I still wasn't prepared.
• He's eating all kinds of baby food and oatmeal.
• His sippy cup is one of his new favorite things.
• Any time he's on his back, he immediately flips to his tummy.
• Changing diapers is now quite challenging. Especially wrestling him while there's a poopy one.
• He'll be crawling in no time! He's trying soo soo hard.
• He loves his walker and is good at navigating it around the kitchen to find the dog (his BFF missy).
• He's already in size 3 diapers.

Yesterday we did a Father's Day photo shoot. We got ome great family shots too!

I can't wait to see them all done and get them blown up for Jonny's shop.

It's been a while....... (the 5th month)

Every time I plan an evening to blog, life happens! Things have been so busy around here. We've been helping my mom move back to Phoenix ( she's literally 9 minutes away from us now :).  We also took a trip to Vegas for 4 days and Jonny has started traveling again for work. Now that Ollie is getting more active, we've been taking him to the park and splash pads whenever we have down time. He's really starting to get around in his walker too. He sits up by himself with out falling for quite a while in between. 

My first Mother's Day was wonderful! Jonny & Ollie had a mommy ring made for me that says "Oliver". It's beautiful! We usually celebrate at my grandma's every year. This year, everyone decided to take her to Talking Stick casino. We made a quick appearance and headed off to brunch with momma. We went to Z'Tejas which is my favorite place! We had mimosas and bloody mary's and great food! We got home early and spent the rest of the day relaxing. 

Ollie is enjoying all his pool time now that its heating up. He loves splashing is the waterfalls and fountains. He moves his legs like a little froggy, he's going to be a natural! We swam all weekend and went back to my moms last night for a dip before bed. It tuckers him out fast and he sleeps well :)

Father's day is coming up soon too! Jonny was nosey and found out what I'm planning. A friend of ours is going to do Ollie's pictures on his dirtbike rocker, in a pile of dirtbike tires, etc. The good news is now Jonny can be in the pictures. I'm going to have them blown up and put in his new workshop in some masculine frames. Can't wait for our first family photo though! 

4 month check up & shots

Practicing his Michael Jackson moves while we waited for Dr.Jackson

Ollie had his 4 month check up today! I had a love hate relationship with our pediatricians office until now. We loved the staff but didn't feel the pediatrician was our style. Now Ollie see's Dr.Jackson. He's animated, funny and makes Ollie smile. My favorite thing about him is that he explains what he's doing during the exam and what his findings are. I was dead set on Ollie only getting one shot today, how quickly that changed. After the last round of shots I was not wanting another overly fussy baby for 2 weeks. I started Ollie on Tylenol before our appointment and so far so good. Every four hours he gets another dose. Dr.Jackson said since he was only getting two shots today, he should do better. Even though they tricked me into the third vaccine being a drink.... 

Little boys growing fast!

26.5 inches tall -  91st percentile

17.1 lbs- 75th percentile

17 inch head- 85th percentile

He's so tall! I'm not sure where he gets it from! Jonny and I are so short/average! So glad we don't have to go back until his 6 month visit in June :)

Happy boy!

Ollie's first Easter (18 weeks)

First picture with the Ester Bunny! (4-7-12)

Even though Jonny and I aren't very religious, the plan is for Ollie to grow up with traditions. I think they are the most important. We decided we will each teach him a little about our family's religions and let him make the decision from there. In a few years it will be much easier for Jonny to teach him about passover. For now, we're having fun with the Easter Bunny!

Meeting a furry friend

Saturday we had a nice walk around Kierland. We grabbed some coffee and let Ollie play in the fountains. He loved splashing in the water! Now that he's getting older, the plan is to do at least one family outing a weekend when Jonny is home. We also got Ollie's first picture with the Easter Bunny! Wow, those bunny's must make a fortune! $30 bucks for a few pictures? I convinced Jonny that it was worth the memory alone :) We also met some people who were walking around their real bunnies on leashes.... kinda cute. The lady told me she's gotten little gifts here and there from Juicy Couture and Coach from just taking her bunnies by. I need to get me a bunny STAT!

Playing in the Kierland fountians

Rocking his first mohawk on Easter

If he can't put it in his mouth, he's not interested!

Hip Hop

4 months old :)

Yesterday (April 2nd) was a great day! I turned 25, a quater of a century...my baby boy turned 4 months old, quarter of a year. I got the best birthday present ever! My little guy belly laughed for the first time! Such a sweet sound... I play the video over and over. He's pretty stingy with his giggles though. He makes us really work for them!

Last weekend Ollie went to grandma's by himself. I missed him sooo much! It was so weird sleeping without cuddling him. I'm so happy to have him home. I feel like he changed so much in just 2 days! I snuggled him all night on Sunday to make up for our time appart. So good to have him home! I love going to work and having a break. Even leaving him to work out in the afternoon is easier now. But I LOVE having him to come home too.

These last two weeks he's become way more coordinated. He holds his teething ring in his mouth... even though he sometimes gets too excited and gags himself. He's even been sitting up all on his own too! Still a bit wobbly but I'll take it! Rolling from side to side on his play mat is also a new favorite thing! This whole mommy thing just keeps getting better :)

We go to Ollie's 4 month check up on the 12th. We're thinking they'll let us start him on some baby food. I can't wait to start making it and to try out our baby bullett! I'm just dreading the shots again! Yuck!

Chillen with daddy!

GQ Baby!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! (3/17)

Happy Baby! 3/24

Loving his new Ergo Carrier!

Lynx Lake w/ momma

17 Weeks!  (4/2)

3 Months Old.... Has it been that long since i've been sleep deprived?

Dear Ollie,

You are a whole 3 months old!! You're learning so much and doing new things each day. Everyone still can't believe you're already teething. In fact, you have about 4 coming in right now. Baby Orajel and frozen washcloths are our best friends. Last week you slept 6-7 hours in a row each night. I was one happy momma! This week didn't start off that way though. Last night you were up 4 times before 1am. I'm hoping your little teeth give you a break tonight so we can both catch up on sleep. Even though you're napping now :) Lucky boy!

You're always smiling and almost giggling at us (you giggle lots in you're sleep though). You have the biggest smile ever :) When we talky to you, you try to coo back to us. I swear you're already wanting to talk to us!

Here's a few videos of you from last night. You love when we make you dance! Even though it looks like I'm rough with you, you love it! We made up a new saying- "play hard or go put on your tu-tu". Gotta get you a onesie that says that. The other video is you doing you're new feet trick. I don't know when you started doing it, but you love to put your feet together and pull them into your tummy. It a cute mixture of yoga and reverse crunches :)

Week 11... Almost 12

All was good after Ollie's appointment... until the Tylenol wore off. He woke up from his nap screaming hysterically. I thought something was really wrong because he NEVER does that. After another dose of Tylenol and 40 minutes of straight screaming, we took him back to the doc. They checked his vitals and said he was fine and we just needed to work through the fussiness. I've never heard Ollie cry that way. Broke my heart.  I didn't realize shots would do that to him :( Apparently the shots go into the muscle and make him super sore. Poor lil guy. As of today, he's pretty much back to his happy baby self. Thank goodness!

Visiting Grandma Dodie

Shopping in Prescott

Jonny went out of town for a race last weekend so Ollie and I headed up to visit mom. I never realized how much packing I would have to do for a two day trip! Since Ollie was extra fussy from his shots, I took lots off extra stuff too. We didn't use half of it, but it was nice to have everything with me just in case. Mom actually had everything there for me. All I needed to bring was milk and the baby. Mom took Ollie for half the night on Saturday and it was nice to get some rest. We got in some shopping for marketing supplies/ referral gifts. I love spending other people's money :)

Finally able to see over the windshield

Work is becoming more of a routine for me again. I've been making individual goodie bags for the past week. Next time I'm getting smart and just doing an office gift basket. I really need to add in a workout to part of my day. A friend and I went to advanced spin last weekend. It pretty much kicked both of our butts. We're gunna mix in some hot yoga eventually, I'm excited! That should be fun! Hopefully I can just sweat out 10 pounds!

My Valentine

Valentine's day was much more relaxed this year. Last year on Valentine's day, we went to PF Changs and had our first talk about getting prego. This year I celebrated with my two boys. Jonny and I decided not to celebrate, since we both have everything we want. Ollie got me a TomTom for work so I can always find my way back to him for mil and diaper changes. That's what Jonny wrote in his card anyways :) He also got me my new favorite perfume, Viva La Juicy!

Love Him :)

Last Friday (17th) was the first date night Jonny and I have had for 5 months. Before baby, I was feeling too huge to go out. Since Ollie's been here I never feel like leaving him if I don't have too. It was REALLY nice to get away though. Now I know why Jonny and I need "our" time. It's just nice to reconnect as a couple ( not mommy and daddy). Thank goodness for Momma- aka grodie, who came to watch Ollie while we went out.

Photo booth @ Sam's wedding

9-10 weeks old!

Ollie and I -2/4/12

Time has been flying by. Ollie turned 2 months old last week. He's also graduated to a size 2 diaper. My little man is getting bigger by the day. He's found his hands and spends his day shoving them in his mouth. We showed him his reflection in the mirror and he loves looking at himself, it's so cute! His other favorite thing is laying on his changing table. He loves moving around and doing his little "dance". He's always bright eyed and bushy tailed while on it :)

Going to pick up Uncle Marc from the airport 2/3

Work started again on Monday and it's actually going fairly well. People think I must be so ready to jump back into things, but I would LOVE to be a stay at home mommy. Getting ready to go back to work has been fun. Got all primped and pampered last week so I feel somewhat like myself again. I had my minor breakdown the first morning about leaving Ollie for a full day, but after that I was fine :)  We are sooo lucky to have family watch Ollie during the week! It's so comforting to know he's with someone who loves him rather than a stranger.

Ollie in his classic car walker! He's a bit small still :)

Ollie had his 2 month check up today. He weighs 14.4 lbs and is 24" tall. He is in the 85-88 percentiles for his age (he's pretty husky). The doctor said it's a sign of good nutrition and that at around 6 months genetics will kick in to determine his weight and body type. We were originally thinking his percentile height today ment he might turn out tall, but we'll have to see the numbers later this year. We saw a new doctor, Dr. Jackson, today and I love him. Same office, different doc. He's soo good with Ollie and he explains everything he's doing and what he's looking for during his exam. I feel so much more comfortable with him than the doctor we've been seeing.

                         
Ollie giving daddy a surprise on the changing table :)

8 Weeks!

Our little guy is getting huge! So excited for his two month check up next week to see what percentiles he falls into. I'm guessing he's about 13 pounds now. The crazy thing is our friends have 6 month olds that are only 16 pounds. Ollie loves his milk and it shows! He's fitting into most of his 3 month attire... some of it was to small already though. Better start taking out the 3-6 month stuff.

This week Ollie and I are finally sleeping back in bed! Woot woot! We slept on the couch a lot for the last few weeks. We decided to buy a co-sleeper, it's like a bassinet and playpen in one. It's level to the mattress on our bed and the side drops down. He's literally right next to me but not in our bed. I love it! Now I don't have to worry about the covers going over his head or Jonny and I being squished with the baby in between us. The only down fall is.... I love my bed. Instead of popping right up to make bottles like I did on the couch, I opt for 5 more minutes of fussiness with my head on my pillow. Bad mom, I know! I know the exact tone in his fussy mood that means business and I push it to the brink every time.

I'm still dreading going back to work. Trying to get in as much cuddle time in with Ollie as possible, even though I know it won't ever be enough. Sooo much to do next week to prepare myself mentally, physically and emotionally. I've lost over 50 pounds after having Ollie but still have about 35 till I'm back to pre-preggo body. Buying clothes to go back to work in isn't going to be fun, but hopefully it will be more motivation to get my but into gear so I can bring out the skinny girl clothes again. I used to think it'd be easy wanting to go to the gym again. I love my spin classes when I'm there, but leaving Ollie is pretty hard still. Working all day and taking an extra hour to go workout seems so selfish, even though I know Ollie won't notice. My priorities have changed so much and I'd rather be spending time with Ollie. The good thing about going back to work is getting prettied up again. I'm so excited to get my hair, nails and toes done! Maybe throw in some tanning so I don't look like a pale ghost. Gotta look the part, right? I'm excited to get my first few weeks back under my belt and for things to start feeling normal.

Videos this week of Ollie laughing, taking a bath and waking up...

7 Weeks Old

It's been a rough week to say the least. I was sick with pneumonia and completely out of commission for 4 days. We were so lucky to have help from family! Jonny was able to keep working and I was able to sleep. It feels like this week flew by since I wasn't awake for half of it.

Ollie is a whole 7 weeks old! I can't believe how big he's getting! He's turning into a chunky boy :) He must be about 12.5 or 13 pounds and he's getting really tall. This week he's starting to smile a lot more. He's especially smiley in the morning. He's still belly laughing in his sleep but I can't wait till we can make him laugh like that. He's loving his baths, thank goodness!

The bad news for the week is I'm having to go back to work sooner than I anticipated. I was really looking forward to having a full 12 weeks off. Unfortunately my maternity leave is only covering 8 weeks, which means I'm back to business. It's going to be soo hard to leave Ollie during the day. I've only left him for a few hours at a time, never a full day. Luckily, my hours will be a bit more flexible now that I'm marketing. Ollie will be staying with my aunt 2 days a week and Jonny will take the day shift on the other days I have to be on the streets. We are so lucky we don't have to do the whole daycare thing. I love that he will be with family, that should make things easier. Next week will be full of getting things ready and tying up loose ends. I was planning on having another 5 weeks off so there's lots to cram into 2 weeks. 

6 Weeks

Where does time go? Half way done with maternity leave and I'm dreading the inevitable and wishing it would never end. I love being home with Ollie. I now know why stay at home moms always say they have the hardest job of all. It's rough taking care of a baby and getting little sleep. When he sleeps I would rather sleep or relax then clean the house and run errands. It's nice to get some "me" time in before he wakes up. A friend of mine had her baby yesterday and I was thinking back to my time in the hospital. I absolutely LOVED those first few days. The new proud-loving-excited-scared-nurturing feelings that were soooo scary and fun all at the same time. Family coming to visit, being proud of accomplishing labor, feeling unstoppable. I wish I could rewind time and relive those days over and over again. 

Ollie's had a stuffy congested nose this week :( took him to the doc on Monday after he was up Saturday night snorting (from being so plugged up). We had used a cold humidifier, steam shower and saline spray/boogie sucker to make breathing through his nose possible again. I didn't know newborns only breath through their nose for quite a while. It allows them to suck on a bottle and feed without coming up for air. The doctor said his lungs sounded fine and to keep doing whatever we were doing. We had caught it right in the beginning and so far it didn't look like it was progressing. 

This week I started going back to spin classes again. Did a 5am class Tuesday and an afternoon class on Wednesday. It was sooo nice to get back to doing what I love! Spin class helps me work out, de-stress and just get reenergized. Friday and Saturday I did some hiking, which is slowly but surely getting easier for me again. My goal is to make it up each incline without stopping. My workout spree was short lived since I got pretty sick this weekend. Of course, the weekend mom and Jonny are out of town, I need help with the baby. I'm soo soo worried about getting him sick since it's RSV season. So many babies are ill this time of year, I've been practically bathing in hand sanitizer to try to keep it away from him. I'm so lucky my family was here to help! My aunt stayed with me Saturday night and it was really helpful to have someone to feed, change and sleep with him. This morning I woke up with a temp of 103. I packed up Ollie and went to my grandmas. Once again everyone was around to hold him so I didn't breathe on him. Gram even spoiled me by making some homemade chicken noodle soup. I'm usually pretty bad about taking meds and going to the doctor, I push it a week before I'll do something about how I'm feeling (hoping it will go away on it's own instead). I feel like Ollie is making me a healthier person. I have to be healthy to take care of him and I really miss snuggling with him the past few days. I've been downing airborne, vitamin c, hot tea, Tussin, Tylenol and vitamin C lozenges trying to kick this thing fast. Going to call the doctor first thing in the morning for an appointment too. 

I've been reading a "What to expect" book and was interested to know Ollie's developmental goals for 1-3 months.  

• Raise head an chest when laying on stomach- Ollie pushes himself up while laying on my chest, but is a bit apprehensive on his play mat when having tummy time. Definitely something to work on. 
• Stretches legs out and kicks while lying on stomach or back- Ollie is already doing this while on his changing table. He loves to stretch out and make me work for a diaper change. 
• Opens and shuts hands- He's been doing this for a few weeks now. They mainly just want to see his hands open and not in a tight fist all the time. 
• Pushes down on his legs when feet are placed on a firm surface- Our strong little dude does this too! He applies pressure and pushes himself up for about 30-45 seconds and drops back down. Then he'll take a break and pop back up again. 
• Bring hands to mouth- So far he only does this if he's hungry... I'm sure he'll do this more in the next few weeks.
• Takes a swipe at dangling objects with his hands- Gram got him and play mat for Christmas and he loves it! He waves his arms all around and bops the animals that hang down. He even tries to get them in his mouth to chew on them. 
• Grasps and shakes hand toys- He grasps but doesn't understand the shake part yet. 

He's learning more and more everyday. It's still hard to believe he's 2 weeks from being 2 months old. He's developing is own little personality and traits that make him "Oliver". Can't wait to see more of his personality in the future :)

Hello 2012!

2011 brought us many great things. New friends, work positions, and best of all, our baby boy! So many new obstacles are coming our way, this will be the year of change for us. After maternity leave I'll be heading into my marketing position. Ollie will be going to daycare and Jonny's race schedule is packed. It will take lots of learning and adjusting to new routines and schedules 

My New Year's resolutions are:

1. Be the best momma Ollie could ever want :)
2. Get back to pre-baby weight by my birthday.... plus or minus a few pounds.
3. Save more money. Spend less on wants...
4. Pay off credit card
5. Work: Get 20-30 new O2 patients per month

Ollie and I started working on our fitness today. It was nice being able to leave the house and work out with him. I'm slowly but surely getting back into my hiking groove. Hiking with a stroller is a whole lot harder than going solo. That extra 20 or so pounds takes some work to push up the climbs. I'm sure it will get easier and I'm happy to have a work out buddy :)