Change is brewing...

I can tell.  It's just about the time when I can clearly verbalize what Jack's daily schedule looks like that things change.  He likes to keep me on my toes. 

Jack's schedule for pretty much the past month has been clear cut, concise, easy to predict...he wakes up around 7, has a bottle, plays for about an hour, naps for 1.5 to 2 hours, wake up, eats his cereal and fruit, plays for a few hours, naps for 2-3 hours, wakes up, has a bottle, plays, eats cereal and veggies, plays, has a bottle and then bed.  Like clockwork.

Not anymore.  I can feel the change coming.  He's been fighting the predictability lately. 

Like not wanting to go down for his naps, sleeping for only half of the time he usually does, but whining like he's super tired...is it teething?  That's what everyone asks any time my baby seems a little fussy...but this time I'm actually thinking, "Could this be it?"  I've done some investigating in those gums, and I mean, I might see where some teeth are getting ready to pop up, but there's no clear cut evidence for it. 

He still eats like a champ, acts like he could eat my entire dinner after he's finished his, so maybe it's a growth spurt.  I hope not!  My 5 month old is already in 9 month clothes!

He's a complete wiggle worm when he's trying to go to sleep lately.  Like twisting around, putting his face in the mattress...kinda being a freak.  So I thought that it might be a good idea that he not nap in his swing anymore, with all of his twisting and turning...I could see him popping out of that thing!  So we tried to nap in the crib this week...big time fail.  Like not having any of it.  Like talking to himself for an hour and a half, ending up in crying fit, but not sleeping...at...all.  Um, we can't have that.  So we're back to the swing, hoping he won't fly out of it, and trying a slow transitional approach to the "motionless nap".  Thankfully, the crazy night playing is a thing of the past...I say this and he'll probably be up all night tonight.  He's tricky. 

These transition times are always interesting.  It really makes me look at Jack and see what he needs and when he needs it!  It's not about doing what we've done because it's working...it's not working anymore.  Sooooooo, time to re-evaluate and see where that takes us!  Wish me luck!

Not sure...

if I like this new design.  I'm just saying...

Big reveal........................

And my kitchen is DONE!!  I love it.  It is AMAZING what new lights, paint, and cabinet fixtures can do to a place.  It's so much brighter in here.  The time I notice it the most is a night, when I walk in and it's not like I'm entering a cave for a glass of water...I can actually see what I'm doing! 

So, all of you need to come see my kitchen and be excited with me. It took me quite a while to put all of those cabinet doors back on. I was also in charge of putting on the new door pulls. Would have been super easy if I could have used the holes from the old door pulls...but no. The only pulls that come in that size are the same exact ones. Um, no. Not for my kitchen makeover! So, lots of drilling, lots of hanging, and not too much cussing...voila!

And I love my new kitchen rug...

Much more tidy, as you can tell.  Once I could actually see the clutter, it was time to get rid of it!!

My adorable oven, snuggled among it's remade friends.

My new cookbook corner!  Lovin' that.

Since our cabinets are old, they're also kinda short, as in not far off the counter.  And every square inch of our kitchen is covered in cabinets!  Our other coffee pot was perched precariously right between the sink and end of one cabinet and the steam from the daily coffee had ruined the side of the cabinet.  Well, I found this little didy that is made to go under counters ad it fits perfectly!  I love it.  Just completing my kitchen makeover!

It's been a big week!

First of all, Jack found his feet!
And then, he's sitting up on his own!
Sniff, sniff...he's growing up so fast!

Indian giver...part 2

So, remember back when I was bragging on how well Jack slept?  I was so proud that he was such a great sleeper, rarely woke up at night, and when he did, he just went right back to sleep? 


Well, I guess we're making up for lost time. 


Here's what our over night looks like lately:
8:00 - last bottle, and he literally falls asleep while I'm burping him and goes right to bed.  He's obviously tired.
1:00 - Awake!  Not awake and crying, just awake.  Talking, scooching around in his crib...and this goes on for about an hour.  Every once in a while he'll fuss, but pretty much just talking.  When I go in to put his paci in (remember, that used to do the trick!) he just smiles kicks his legs in excitement to see me, and tries his best to tell me what's goin' on!  He's so happy to see me...
2:30 - Back to sleep.  FINALLY!  And that's after probably 5 trips into his room to cross my fingers and pop the paci in. 
3:30 - Back awake.  Again, not too fussy, just awake!!  And a trip into his room every 15 minutes to try the paci. 
4:15 - Back asleep. 
5:00 - Back awake.  This time he had a sleep transfer into the swing...which I try really hard not to use as a crutch!  He sleeps so well in that swing...I don't know what we'll do when he's too big for it.  Selfishly, I would love to plop him in that thing at 1am and head back to bed for a good solid night's sleep, but I know that in the long run, it's best to just forge through this crazy sleepless time, teaching him to fall back asleep on his own, in his own time, and not try to solve it with something like the swing that will work for such a short time, teaching him to rely on something to soothe him back to sleep. 

As with everything with Jack so far, I know that this is a phase, and will not last forever (thankgoodness) so that's what I chant to myself as I trudge back and forth through the night.

Honestly, I love him so much, that I might be slightly annoyed as I walk the short distance to his room, but when I peek over the rail of that crib and see his sweet smile and excited kick of the legs, I can't be annoyed anymore!

It's snowing...again!

And this time was much more of an adventure!  12.5 inches of snow!!!!

To kick off the exciting snow fall, our electricity was off for 2 days.  Good times!  Randomly enough, our sweet neighbor, Wacel, still had electricity so we spent part of the day at her house!  She even fixed us potato soup.  Wonderful to have such great neighbors!!  We snuggled by the fire for one night but the next we were were off to Nana and Papaw's house for bedtime. 

Jeff and I snuck outside while Jack was napping to prove to ourselves that we are truly not pro's at making snowmen...this one might look ok, but it definitely toppled over after we snapped the last picture!

And we decided to take a few more Bumpo snow pictures!  Doesn't Jack look excited about it?  He kinda looks like he wants to beat you up in this one...
And here, he reminds me of the little brother in A Christmas Story who is so bundled up that he can't move...

Jack and Vincent love Valentine's Day.  How cute are they?



Eh...

It's hard to eat healthy when your kitchen consists of a microwave on the living room floor.  Needless to say, last week wasn't a good one...eating out every night is not good for the new lifestyle!  I usually do ok when I can plan what to order ahead of time, but chips and salsa are my eternal downfall.  I could eat them all day every day.  No joke.  So, lots of chips and salsa, too many dinners out, and not enough time at the gym.  That summarizes my week. 

I need to get back on the wagon...

Even though my kitchen is still in crazy disarray, tonight I dug out everything I needed to cook a healthy dinner, so hopefully this will be the start to a better week! 

Swaddle me this...

Ever since Jack was born, he has been swaddled.  The kid LOVED it.  Before he was born, Jeff and I were reading all of these parenting books that we never have time for anymore, and so many of them said to swaddle the newborn so he feels all snug and safe.  Well, we are pretty good at following directions and did just that.  I swear, for the first 3 weeks of his life, he was swaddled pretty much 90% of every day.  If he wasn't eating or getting a diaper change, he was swaddled.  And he loved it!  Look how tiny and cute he was!  So, since he no longer sleeps for 90% of the day, we've just been swaddling him for naps and at night. 

For a few weeks, Jack was doing great with his night time sleeping.  He was at the point where he was no longer hungry in the middle of the night, and would just sleep on through!  It was so great to get more than 4 hours of sleep at a time.  I was in heaven!

Well, a few weeks ago, that came to a screeching halt.  He was waking up again, not to eat, just to wake up and fuss!  And each time I would go in to his room, his arms were out of the swaddle.  Curious.  He seemed to love the swaddle when he was going down for bed, but obviously, fighting his way out at some point.  So I'd re-swaddle the bugger, he'd fall right back to sleep, and I'd head back to bed.  Not pleasant, but not too terrible. 

Well, last week, not only were we waking up, we were STAYING AWAKE.  Um, no.  You're not a newborn anymore where you kinda get a pass for such things.  You get to sleep, son!  As you can imagine, telling him that didn't really do anything, so I'd suffer through the hour, helping the little one get back to sleep and we'd both wake tired in the morning.  Not loving that. 

I'd asked my doctor at our 4 month check up if he thought I'd be swaddling Jack on his first sleepover, and he laughed and said no, and that I'd know when he was ready to stop swaddling.  Thanks for all the help and guidance there...

I got to thinking Friday (which is hard to do with an hour break in my night time sleeping) maybe this is it!  Maybe it's time to stop the swaddle.  Sad!  We'd used his newborn swaddles for the first 4 months, and finally Jeff's mom decided that we needed to stop trying to shove a 10 pound potato into a 5 pound sack and had just gotten us some extra large ones...yes, we jumped from newborn to XL...that probably gives you some idea as to how the newborn ones were fitting.  

So, Friday night, Jeff and I bravely zipped him up in a sleep sack (which is essentially a blanket that zips up) and left the swaddle on the chair.  We walked out of his room after kissing him goodnight and wondered how this would go...I've heard horror stories.  Well, it took Jack about an hour to go to sleep.  And no, that wasn't him just lying in bed, eyes closed and smiling.  There was quite a bit of fit throwing.  We'd let him cry for 5 or 10 minutes, the go in, pop the pacifier back in, and head back out to wait.  Eventually, he let out one big sigh and he was out.  He woke up a few times Friday night, but never never fussed!  He'd coo and talk, that's it!  And really, probably would have fallen back asleep if we hadn't gone in!  

Last night was night two.  Ten minutes of talking to himself and he was out!  And....wait for it....didn't wake up until 7:30!  Woohoo!! 

Don't worry, I'm not getting my hopes up for tonight.  Prayers, yes.  Hopes, no.  Here's to conquering the swaddle!  At least for one more night.

I eat peas with honey...

I've done it all my life
I know it may sound funny
But it keeps them on my knife!

My 3rd grade music teacher was a huge fan (and perhaps the author?) of this little ditty...and you're only saying it right if you use an extreme East Texas accent.  Especially on the long "I"s. 

I can't help think of this crazy song every time peas come up.  No, it's not often that they do, but they did this week when Jack had his first bite of peas!  And hated them.  Seriously.  Hated them.  And I can't say I blame him.  They smell absolutely horrid!  His cute little face was repulsed and he kept gagging!  I couldn't do it.  I couldn't make the poor boy eat them. 

He loves sweet potatos, he loves carrots, he loves squash!  He'll eat an entire jar of each one of these and still be wanting more.  But with the peas, he hated them so much that even when I went to switch it out for a jar of sweet potatos, he didn't trust me to stick to it and would...not...open...his...mouth!  He wouldn't do it. 

Oh well.  What can I say...I hate peas, too!

My kitchen is looking awesome...

I'm so excited.  It's actually happening!  My kitchen is coming out of the 1950's! 

Friday we had Steve the electrician come to do the lights.  Of course, it would be too easy for the lights to just be perfect fit.  Not a big deal, but we had to take the lights we'd gotten back to Home Depot and exchange them for some slighely different, so the electrician guys came back on Saturday to finish...and I love it!  The lighting alone has made a HUGE difference in the kitchen!  Aren't the grey tinged boxes on the ceiling pretty?  :)


The painters started yesterday and about half way through the disassembling of the cabinet doors and hardware, he commented that we sure did have a lot of cabinets in our kitchen!  Um, yes.  Yes we do.  That's why it looks like a Target kitchen section exploded all over my den and diningroom.

Anyways, they started painting today and it's going great! I already love it. 


They took all of the cabinet doors out to the back house to work on them.  If I weren't so cold I'd head back there to take a peek and snap a pic.  But it's cold and dark and honestly, the back house kinda scares me when it's daytime...

Steve the painter has done a great job of labeling the doors, drawers, and various assundry things.  A lot of little random things hold this kitchen together!


And in all of the taking down, he found this. 


I knew these cabinets had to be one of a kind!

I'm already in love with my new kitchen!

Monday!

Oh, gym, why do you elude me so?

I made it once last week.  It was a good workout, filled with old people in showercaps and speedos!  Hoping for more this week...we'll see. 

Eating was really good!  I told Jeff, Monday I'm great!  Tuesday and Wednesday, still really good.  Thursday...willing to fudge a little bit.  Friday?  I still have somewhat of a conscience on Friday during the day, but it's dinner out!  So there's that!  Saturday and Sunday are pretty much "Oh well"  days with a touch of "Oh, I better not eat that" here and there.  Monday, it's back on track big time! 

But...it seems like it's working!  7lb lost!  Woo hoo!!! 

That just truly lets me know how much crap I was eating prior to January 1...