The Winter of our Discontent (Lincoln Park Conservatory)

On Saturday, we headed to Lincoln Park Conservatory.  It was freezing, we were looking for something to do indoors, and their Christmas Train exhibit was still going.  This trip was a huge success for us.  I dropped Allan and Henry off at the door and lucked into a great parking spot less than a block away.  We were able to take off our coats and just feel good!

It was lush, green and warm inside!  

Not a shabby exhibit.  The trains were slow, but we did not mind.

Mom, this is AWESOME!

Mom, you may as well sit down, we are going to be here for awhile!

For me, Lincoln Park Conservatory has several points over its more famous cousins.....  It is not as big or extensive as Garfield Park Conservatory (which is amazing), but it was closer for us and an easier drive in the snow.  The trains were not as amazing as those at the Chicago Botanic Gardens (where we are members), but it was closer and FREE!  It was also not as busy, which made it easier for us to relax while our crazy 2 year old ran around like a crazy child.

We left and headed out to an early dinner, passing William Shakespeare in Lincoln Park.  He looked cold, we were cold, Henry wanted none of this picture.

Back to Blogging?

After a whopping two posts in 2013, one of my new year's resolutions is to blog (at least) once a week.  I like that there is a record of what is happening, much more fun to look at than my google calendar.

For the (my) record, here are my other New Year's Resolutions.

1.  I will no longer complain about being tired. This is my life, I make the choices that cause it to be this way.  Your words create the environment in which you live.  I actually started this in December, while I am still working on my internal monologue of "I'm tired, I'm exhausted", they won't escape my lips.

2.  Blog once a week.  I want to try to do some sort of "Toddler Tuesdays" posts of things Henry and I are up to and Favorite Things Fridays - reminding myself of things I love.  I figure out I can make it up as I go.

3.  See a nutritionist at least once.  I am working on writing down what I am eating before my first appointment.

4.  Fitness/Weight - really, keep going, maybe lose some lbs via diet changes.  My working out is good, I feel healthy, my weight is virtually unchanged from this time last year.  Sure I weight more than I would like, I but I also want to be content with who I am.

Anyone still out there?  Any suggestions?

Sometimes, it is easier to let things play out....

When I was expecting Henry, I was terrified that River would be a problem.  He is a bit of a skittish, high strung dog who is VERY attached to me.   When we brought Henry home, River was honestly terrified.  This of course terrified me since I know that terrified dogs are more likely to snap.  River would not only not stay in the same room, but would leave the floor Henry was on (I think he slept two floors down by the front door for at least a week after we came home).  The good news is that River never seemed to mind crying and is not all that sensitive to noise (baby, storms, TV, etc.)

I never pushed the issue, did not make River come close to Henry (although rewarded him for doing so), kept his crate and his dog bed as his safe places.  This lasted for at least 8 months until Henry got really mobile.  As with most kids and dogs, Henry LOVES River and wants to be on his bed and in the dog crate (preferably with him).  While I don't have ANY pictures of Henry sitting on River or them cuddled up together, River has become more and more accepting and protective on Henry.  Yesterday, Henry actually unlatched the dog crate, opened it and crawled inside with River.

Henry was sick on Tuesday.  I was doing laundry and peeked in on Henry during naptime to see.....

One year, 6 weeks late:)

It is amazing how fast a year flies by.  I feel blessed and happy when I have a chance to stop and breathe.   This last weekend we had a combo birthday party for Allan and Henry.  Below is a picture from Henry's "real" birthday.  How can you not love that face?:)

PT, Chiropractor and 15k

At some point in the last month, I seemed to have clicked in on diet and exercise.  I am down 5lbs from the last time I looked and am making better choices overall.  Since he Henry was born, my left hip has been wonky, it hurts, gets "stuck" and generally makes me miserable.  Six months ago, I asked my OB for a PT referral - and let it sit.

Allan finally got really sick of watching me limp around and told me if I did not make a PT appointment, he would make one for me.  My first appointment was tonight.  The PT thinks I need a hip x-ray and that something is wrong in there (either arthritis or a piece of cartilage).  Ugh.  She also mentioned a cortisone shot - is she crazy?  Has she been watching the news?  ACK!

In the meantime, I started seeing a chiropractor in my office building.  I've always been a little leery of chiropractors, but she is very gentle (no "cracking adjustments").  It seems to be a combination of PT and massage (painful massage).  The best part is the physotape she puts on me.  It is like a new adventure every week!  The first one was a patch  on my left hip, Allan told me it looked like it was covering my plug for recharging.   If only it was so easy!

Finally, I signed up for a 15k in the middle of this.  I ran 5 miles on Sunday and Monday, 3 last night.

So do I keep running or stop until I get the x-ray to figure out my hip?  I don't know why I ask, I am going to keep running till a Dr. gives me a real reason not to.....

I am spinning tomorrow - come hell or high water.

I have also realized I need to stay off the scale and do what I know is right.  When I saw the "good" number on the scale, I promptly had two food filled days.  No more scale, back to eating when I am hungry and making good choices.

Henry - 10 Months

Things keep rolling along here.  Henry and I had our 9 month appointment.  He was 90th percentile for head circumference, 95% for weight (25lbs) and 99% for height.  He is wearing 18-24 month clothes.  He can fit into 12 month clothes but they are all to short!  I am doubtful we will make it much past a year in the rear facing carseat.

Henry is crawling!  He is better on the carpet, but is getting faster and more mobile daily.  He really prefers to stand.  I find him up on his knees a lot now.  We are crashing a lot more, which leads to lots of bumps and bruises.

Teeth!  We are up to SEVEN.  Three on top, four on bottom.  He gets a little fussy on days he is teething, but nothing that bad.  He still constantly has his hands in his mouth, so I am sure more are coming.

Sleep: Henry continues to go down at about 6:30pm and sleep till about 7:30am.  He is still getting up in the middle of the night about once a week to eat.  The dog and Allan wake me up more than Henry does.

Tricks:  WAVING!  Henry just started to wave yesterday.  So cute, makes me teary.  He loves songs, bouncing, being thrown around, peek a boo.  He LOVES the dog and says "hi" to him in the morning. He is ALWAYS looking for the dog (and laughing).  Henry LOVES the swings at the park and stroller rides. If he is fussy, we head out - I am shuddering at the thought of a cold winter.

Henry now HATES the exersaucer (which he used to love).  He also hates his highchair - but calms down once I put out some puffs or goldfish.  He is eating everything.  Still prefers most things pureed.

Our trip for the month was to NOVA/DC to see my sister and catch up with friends.  Henry is getting harder to deal with on the plane.  On this flight, he squirmed nonstop, barfed on me, fussed, and then fell asleep as we were landing (literally).  To say I was thrilled to be off the plane is an understatement.  Allan, Henry and I do NOT fit in two airplane seats comfortably.

9 months! Henry

Sleeping:
Henry is sleeping about 12 hours a night.  We recently moved his bedtime up to 6:30pm since he seemed tired.  He goes down easily and sleeps anywhere from 12-13 hours.   We are bouncing between one and two naps a day.  Last night he went down at 7ish and slept till 8:30am.  Allan said he was up when he left at 7:00am but he did not start crying till 8:30 so I left him alone.    He gets up to eat in the middle of the night one or two times a night.  No big deal.  He either takes one or two naps a day to equal  2-3 hours.

Eating:
We are moving towards solids.  Henry loves baby yogurt, puffs, cheese, chicken, fruit, veggies, pancakes, waffles, etc.  No problems.  I am trying to get him to use the sippy cup for water at meals, but he normally just chews on it.  Today he grabbed the spoon and kept using it as a chew toy.   Four teeth!

Talking:
Lots of reduplicated babbling with /t/, /s/, /d/, /b/, and /g/.  He will repeat sounds.  He loves finger play soungs, will lift his hands up for me to pick him up.  Loves peek a boo!  Of course, as long as he is social, I don't really care about anything else:)

Play/Movement:
Henry wants to stand ALL THE TIME, but needs help.  He even goes stiff as a board when I try to put him down.  He wants to be held and bounced all the time. No crawling yet but he is slithering, rolling and army crawling everywhere.  We have baby gates up.  He loves the jumparoo and the exersaucer.

I realized that I missed blogging and was not sure how to start again....so I just decided to do it!

Workouts: 5/28-6/3/2012

Workouts: I had a great week working out. We were up in Michigan for the Memorial Day holiday and got back to town late Monday night.

Sunday: Allan and I hiked around Rush lake (2ish hours). Auntie N was nice enough to watch Henry (apparently he slept almost the entire time we were out. I was able to see where Allan's Dad proposed to his Mom. It is MUCH easier to hike without an infant *duh*. No HRM or numbers

Monday: River trail hike (about an hour). No HRM or numbers. 

Tuesday: no workout - DOR

Wednesday: Group Groove - kicked my butt. We had a sub and he did some old stuff. 55 min 428 calories

Thursday: Group Grove was replaced with a crappy "hip hop" class 48 minutes, 298 calories. I walked on the track afterwards with a friend for 40 minutes but did not turn on my HRM

Friday: Spinning - old stuff which kicked my butt. I also got there 10 minutes early to get a full hour in on the bike. What a difference! 104 minutes, 522 calories

Saturday: Running for 30 minutes, then run/walk for 20 minutes. Trying to finish zone 2 on my HRM program. I am waaayy over for zones 1 and 3 already. 52 minutes, 439 calories

Sunday: Running: 27 minutes, 2.3 miles, 222 calories (I put the foot pod back on my shoe!. I also walked to and from the park to run as well as to brunch (another 1.8 miles). I'm proud of this run. I woke up feeling a little creaky but wanted to finish my FT60 HRM program and I needed more minutes in zone 2. Did it! My numbers for the week: Time: 4 hrs, 11 minutes (this does not include the hiking in Michigan or my 40 minutes on the track on Thurs.) Calories: 1913

Memorial Day in Michigan, 2012

We headed up to the UP for Memorial Day again this year. The weather was beautiful and we made it up and back with minimal traffic and stopping both way. Henry was a champ.

Allan and River took care of unloading critical supplies....

We worked on getting Henry used to the hiking backpack with some success....he still likes the bjorn better, but there is only so long you can walk with a 20lb baby on your chest.

This cool moth was laying eggs on the screen door while we were there. Unlike last year, the bugs were not all that bad.

Still working on getting a good picture of Henry and I.

Henry - 5 1/2 months

I can't believe Henry is 5 1/2 months! He is super social and a very happy baby. I feel like I am being suckered into a second baby, because I could TOTALLY handle two kids like him!:)

I love that I have this happy human. Of course my goal is to keep him happy and on a good schedule! He is currently sleeping about 11 hours a night and taking three naps. Usually two of the naps are short (30-45 minutes) and the third is longer 1-2 hours.

His new trick of the week is grabbing his feet and sucking on his toes (if his socks are off). He is rolling from side to side, but not over yet. I'm also seeing lots of fine motor development. He is holding toys and transferring them from hand to hand. He is sitting, but only with support. The jumparoo is his FAVORITE thing.

We are working on introducing solids, but it is going slowly. We have tried rice cereal, carrots and peas. He will eat a bite or two and then start spitting food out. His favorite thing is to suck on apple slices. I figure it will come.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE