On the move!

That sweet face is always getting into something!  Month 8- cutting first two teeth at last! Notice the amber teething necklace?  So cute...supposed to help soothe and calm fussy babies suffering from teething pain...maybe the ancient Egyptians were on to something?? Eh- I'll try anything once, assuming it is non narcotic and non invasive!!

I feel like I am looking straight into his daddy's eyes in this picture.  Definitely a GOOD thing!!  Love him.

I realize I do not have many pictures of myself with Wyatt...I should probably change that or I will look back and have none!!  You all will just have to deal with the braces...I look like teen mom.  I assure I am not, I am going to be 29 next month...SAY WHAT?!  When did that happen?  Oh well, life is good.  

Looking forward to many friends who are expecting babies this fall and early 2013...such a fun and blessed time in our lives.  Wyatt still is not really feeding himself yet...working on that one, but when he does eat he loves everything!  He is loving my quinoa in the crock pot medley and he also loves salmon burgers crumbled up with black beans.  He's a good little eater, hope he stays that way!  Other highlights from the summer would be the fact that he loves the water, he loves crawling into the kitchen and grabbing onto only my shorts and standing- scares mommy to death knowing that all that is holding him up is a thin piece of fabric!!  This phase has created a few bumps and bruises, I'm sure that will only get worse as we approach toddler-hood! So our cute living room will probably just look like a day care center for the next few....well probably years! 

I am enjoying getting back into my own skin since I stopped nursing almost a month ago...I signed up for a half marathon in the end of October!  Looking forward to that, I guess I should start training?!  It is a halloween theme race and I will be needing a costume...Mom is going to do it as well and probably a couple of friends.  Costume ideas?  Mom was thinking we go as Super Girl and Wonder Woman.  I like it.  More updates to come!  Cheers.

Meg

8 months of WOW!

Little man started crawling around 7 months...by 7.5 months he has been pulling himself up and attempting to stand on his own like a crazy man.  He turned 8 months on the 4th of July and he's cruisin' around the house just pulling up on everything he can get his hands on.  We spent some time in Ponte Vedra over the 4th of July, and we celebrated Curran's 1st birthday, (which is actually the 10th of July).  Here are some fun photos from our time at the beach :)  These first few pictures are of Wyatt at home from about 6.5 months til now.  

Little buddy sits with me in the kitchen and plays with his alphabet (by play, I mean he slams it on the ground haha), Thanks for the great toy, Aunt Erika.  

Wyatt got a boat load of hand me down toys from his older cousins, Brody and Ryan.  Boy was he spoiled!!!  This is his current favorite!

Since I stopped nursing things have been good- he has his first runny nose in months, so I'm trying not to beat myself up over that and get him well soon!  I also started adding oatmeal to his bottle to help with the spit up- which the GI doc recommended...it has actually been helping quite a bit.  He still spits more than the average baby I'm sure but I'll take any improvement!

My little helper.

One of the highlights of the summer was a visit from our friends, the Petersen's.  We met three years ago in Key West when we all stayed at the same bed and breakfast for vacation.  They are from Denmark and visit the US often, which is great because this is the second summer they have been in Florida and visited us!!  Viktor and Nikoline are 4 and 2, Wyatt had so much fun with them.  

Wyatt has a Danish girlfriend, she's a cutie :)

Off to Ponte Vedra!  So I started off my trip by going to my 10 year high school reunion.  That was an absolute blast- unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures :(  However, a good time was had by all and I enjoyed seeing people I literally grew up with since Kindergarten.  Then it was a beach and family filled week.  Wyatt had a blast getting to play with his cousins for a week.  He enjoyed tearing through Isabelle and Curran's play room.  

Always on the hunt for something he can grab a hold of.

Mr. cutie pants showing off

On the move.

Attacking the camera!  Love this picture of his sweet face.

Curran a.k.a. Mini Jeff

Running like a mad man through the house.  He is so funny how he just keeps walking or running looking for something to get into. (especially the toilet haha)

Beach boys and their snacks.

Curran likes to steal Wyatt's snacks.  Give Wyatt a few more months to catch up and it'll be on!

Mom (Mimi) just moved across the street from the beach into a condo, sweet for us!!  We took this beauty of a stroller across the street and parked it under a tailgate tent for the 4th of July.  Then Mimi took the boys back to the condo for naps and we got to enjoy some chill time on the beach without the babies!

Down at the pool before dinner.  These kiddos are little fish.

Especially this one.  She's a little cutie and swims all day.

Mimi enjoys the "pool lifestyle"

In he goes!

Love these two to pieces.  Such cuties, and enjoyed the pool on a hot day.

Jeff and Curran practicing his moves in the pool, he's such a strong boy!

Hangin' on the screened in porch after pool and bath time.

Mom's new place has quite a view- from the front porch we could see the fireworks at the Ponte Vedra Club and from the back porch we could see the fireworks at TPC at Sawgrass.  Pretty blessed we are.

Cousin cuddle-time.

Look out!

Birthday boy to the rescue!!

Pre-Smash cake photo.

Singing "happy birthday," Curran doesn't seem to know what is going on!!!

Daddy helping blow out the candle.

First he almost started to cry  because the icing was all over his hand- and then he TASTED IT! and immediately he smiled and started making his cave man noises that mean give me more!!

The finished product.  Super man was whisked off to the bath tub!!  Excellent first Smash cake experience I'd say.  

(thinking nobody is watching) Miss priss stayed busy by the cake.

Time for gifts!  Curran got a tunnel and a few different riding toys and balls etc.  

Home at last after a long week of fun.  Love my fam and PVB but love being home :)

First Father's Day

 This blog is dedicated to my two favorite boys...My baby boy and his amazing Daddy!  These are two peas on a pod if I've ever seen it.  Nick has amazed me at how quickly he has taken to loving his role as a dad.  He is protective, responsible, loving, affectionate, (increasingly) patient, and literally obsessed with this little boy.  It has been such a blessing giving my hubby a first born son, what a cool and amazing thing?! For Nick's first Father's day, Wyatt helped me make "man style" pancakes, which basically just means I fried and egg and stuck it on top of his stack of cakes (thanks for the idea, Corrie) and we ended up staying home and watching church online this week.  Wyatt went down for an early nap, which was strange but he was obviously very tired, so that threw a wrench in going to church, so we took the morning off and watched it in Nick's "man cave.."  see a resounding theme???  Pastor Rummage gave some very wise words of wisdom and guidance to all the Fathers in the audience.  I took some notes, I'm going to record them here so we can refer back whenever we want!

1. Always honor Mom (woot woot!!! Go pastor!!)

2. Teach children respect

3. Provide spiritual direction (you are a mirror, thermostat, and compass to them)

4. Encourage your children (tell them they have what it takes and that you love them.)

5. Invest quality time

6. Walk with God.

Colossians 2:6-7

Just as you received him, WALK WITH HIM.

This was his basic message for the day. 

 This is one of my absolute favorite pictures!! My two boys huggin' and squeezin' and laughing together.  Wyatt and Nick have such a beautiful connection as father and son.  I can't wait to see the fun they have and what amazing things Nick will get to teach Wyatt growing up.

The rest of our Father's day we spent doing some of Nick's favorite things.  We went to Tampa Bay Brewing Company for lunch and sat outside.  Wyatt loved this because there were lots of other people and kids around and he also could see the cable car passing by from where we were sitting.  It was a beautiful day.  We made sure to have some real manly food too....sliders with all kinds of things on them..and of course a mug of home brew.  We spent the afternoon just enjoying the day as a family.  The new dad's last request(s) was to order pizza (which we have not done in almost 8 months because of the elimination diet I had been on so that I could breastfeed Wyatt).  So ordering pizza was  BIG DAY in this house over the weekend!!  And lastly, he cutely asked if we could watch a tough guy movie in the man cave once Wyatt went to bed.  Of course I said YES! So we bunked up in the man cave after our pizza and watched "Saving Private Ryan", which I had never seen, amazingly enough.  Nick mentioned that I should take notes on this Father's day and remember all the details because it was perfect.  That is what BLOGGING is for!! Because my pea brain will forget in like 5 days what we did on Sunday.  It truly was a great weekend. 

Weaning

Not the best quality pictures in the world...but just a reminder of those early days...having my little snuggle bunny so comfy sound asleep on me.  PRECIOUS!  I will never forget how that feels.  

 I somewhat abruptly weaned Wyatt last week.  It has been a constant battle trying to make his tummy comfortable and minimize the acid reflux.  I was determined to nurse him for as long as I could and give him the best possible start in life, as well as that bonding experience between me and him.  I was anxious, sad, excited, hormonal, and so many other things once I needed to stop.  I was weaning gradually because he needed to gain a little weight, which he was not getting sufficient calories from nursing anymore.  He actually seemed to gain quickly and had more energy, and was also less fussy on the hypoallergenic formula as opposed to breast milk.  We were reaching that point of needing to do what is best going forward, as sad as it is to leave this beautiful stage of motherhood behind.  So I have been in the process of stopping milk production (not fun).   Basically my mood swings are ridiculous and I just feel over all emotional!!  It's quite silly.  Today I am feeling MUCH better, day 4 of no nursing.  I'm anxious for my body to go back to normal...hopefully within a week or so, we will see.  Another manly progression of the weekend, I guess.  Wyatt moving on to bigger and better things!! (bottles).  It has been such a bitter sweet transition, but I'm sure there will be MANY more of those to come as a mother.  So, I didn't necessarily get to my goal of nursing him for a year, but I also had no idea I'd be on an elimination diet of milk and soy proteins....considering that's the curve ball God threw me, I'd say I'm pretty proud of myself.  Almost 8 months of having to obsess over everything I ate just so that he would not have a reaction was equivalent to like 2 years of nursing a baby that has no issues!!!  That's what I'm going to tell myself anyways.  So cheers to Wyatt, to his daddy, to mommy having some freedom, and to many more milestones to come.  

Foodies.

It seems like everyday he is learning or accomplishing something new.  It's amazing how quickly he catches onto things...smart little booger that's for sure.  This week he has been trying lots of new foods...I think we are at the point where it's pretty safe for him to experiment a little as long as we stay away from the NO NO list!  Today Wyatt had pears and banana mashed into his oatmeal for breakfast.  I make most of his food using the Baby Bullet, which I love..but not everything is so simple or readily available.  I like the organic Plum pouches of baby food or Earth's best because they're organic also.  Today we tried quinoa cooked in chicken brother.  Nick and I have been eating a lot of it lately because it is so healthy and way cheaper at Costco by the way.  (It's also easy for me to eat with the pain from the braces)

So here's what I did...

1 cup dry quinoa

2 cups chicken broth

bring to fierce boil

reduce and cover 20 minutes

VOILA!

For baby dukes' lunch I spooned a little of the creation into his little bowl along with about half an avacado and mashed it in real well and served it up!  He LOVED IT.  He will be eating more quinoa I can tell already.  It's such a perfect food so I hope he digests it easily.  

 We have also been experimenting with the "puffs" that are so famous at this stage of infancy.  Ahh the joys of letting him learn to pick things up and eat on his own...well not quite.  At least he is picking them up..boy has got good hand-eye coordination.  As far as getting them in his mouth- we are working on it.  I usually end up putting them in his mouth and he gums at them until they dissolve.  Today we tried dipping his puffs into hummus...yummmmm....he's tried hummus before because mommy stands around and picks at it everyday.  Here he is playing in his saucer having some puffs.  (organic happy bellies green variation of puffs).

Little dude is getting big and strong.  He's a lean machine.  Sometimes I wonder if I'm feeding him enough but honestly the kid eats whatever/whenever I tell him and sleeps great...I guess that's all that matters!  

For my own future reference, with Wyatt's milk intolerance, we've been using Enfamil's high dollar stuff called Nutramigen Lipil.  It's broken down so babes like him can digest it without having colic/severe gas, rashes, etc again.  (it was AWFUL when he was newborn due to the milk protein in my diet...took weeks to eliminate it, and a lot of sleepless nights and even more tears). I started using some formula recently because I was making less and less at night when I would pump.  He prefers at bottle at bedtime, and honestly so does mommy because it gives me a little break from nursing.  So when he was like 4 months we started bedtime bottle and from then on out I'd pump before bed...welll....long story short it became futile to even pump at night because I was making less and less, thus now he gets formula at bedtime.  Eventually I may make the switch all together but haven't made that decision yet.  We tried a couple of different formulas mixed with the spendy stuff to see if he could tolerate it now that he's 7 months old.  Didn't go well.  Three nights of getting a mixture of Nutramigen and Good start Soothe, he was a grumpy, screaming, gassy mess until about 9 pm (bedtime is 7 pm nightly).  Poor guy- we have been taking turns going in to rock him and help him pass his gas.  Moral of the story...if Wyatt gets formula ITS THE EXPENSIVE stuff. 

 But, it is good that he can tolerate something other than breast milk well.  I'm tiring of being ragingly hungry, yet miraculously dairy free, even the hidden milk that's in sneaky stuff...now top that with SUPER sore teeth from getting my braces cranked every few weeks- eating is as much of a challenge for me as it is for him sometimes!!  SIGH.  enough of that- it is a JOY :)  

James 1:2-5 says it.

 ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, (and breast feeding mommies) whenever you face trials of many kinds,³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you (and your sweet little baby) may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
my emphasis, obviously, although Jesus should consider adding this in.