0 Jackson: 7 Months

Well I had been putting off this post giving my curious little baby time to heal up some of his battle wounds.  This child is such a dare devil!!  So here he is, bumps, bruises, scrapes and all. 

I have had to get really creative with taking pictures because this little boy is too busy to sit in a chair anymore.  He is all over the place!  He does like laundry baskets though.  At one point I thought he was digging under the chair for his binkie and when he turned around he had the dog's bone in his mouth.  GROSS!!

At seven months Jack is more fun than ever.  He is quickly getting around the house with crawling and cruising.  He investigates everything around him and takes it all in.  I can see him learning new things everyday.  Honestly I think I like this stage more than any other so far.  It just keeps getting better. 

We have a schedule!!  I know it is crazy but we have finally nailed down a very regular routine and I must say I am so relieved.  Jackson is sleeping 10-11 hours at night and taking two naps a day.  His first nap is usually 2 hours long and the afternoon nap is much more difficult to get but is usually about an hour long.  Although his schedule is very predicatable at home, he still struggles when he is anywhere else. 

Jack has 7 teeth!!  I guess this seems amazing to me because I don't know many other babies with this many teeth.  He is so cute when he gives me a big toothy grin!!

The biggest change this month has been with Jackson's eating.  I stopped breast feeding at the beginning of the month.  It was more his choice than it was mine but ultimately I didn't want to force the issue.  He is such a busy little boy and settling down to nurse was becoming an increasing chore.  He doesn't seem to mind taking formula and while I tried pumping for a few weeks to get him the breastmilk, without the bond of nursing I tired of that quickly.  Currently he eats three meals of baby food a day at regular meal times and then takes 4-5 bottles per day in addition.  He is growing well but has slimmed down since he started crawling. 

@ 8 months you love:

*Julie: When you look at the puppy you kick your legs and squeal with excitement.  She loves to give you kisses and you just laugh when she does.  When you catch her roaming around the house you try to chase her. 

*Eating like a big boy: you love to eat your baby food and you have tried lots of new things like peas, green beans, prunes, carrots, mac and cheese, and blueberries and apricots.  Your favorite is mac and cheese and blueberries.  You love to eat whole fruit out of your mesh eater and it makes a big mess.

*Mommy and Daddy's toys are your toys: anything electronic like cords, remotes, and things with lights are so fasinating to you.  You also like our shoes.

*Getting around the house and exploring.  You are getting so fast at crawling.  You like to pull up and stand on any kind of furniture and you have even been brave enough to let go and stand for a couple of seconds. 

*Showing off your personality.  You love to flirt with big smiles and giggles.  You also love to exert your independence by pushing us away when we try to help you clean up or do something you don't like. 

*Snuggles: Since you were born this has been yours and Mommy's favorite thing to do.  You and I can curl up and snuggle for hours.  I love the mornings when you will lay in bed and jabber and play until we both fall asleep again. 

One year is right around the corner.  I have started a bit of the planning process for his birthday but all that is on hold until after the holidays.  I can't believe how fast this time goes!  I still remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. 

I love you sweet sweet boy!!

  

0 Organized Mess

The past seven months have been the most blessed of my life.  They have also been the craziest whirlwind!  Amidst the craziness I have found a piece of me, and a love has grown greater than I will ever know.  I have also lost a piece of myself...organization.

I am sure it is normal for a new mom to get a little out of sorts, but it just doesn't feel normal for me.  I have always been a very organized, and driven individual.  You know that person who flawlessly keeps it all in check; the house, the job, school, is the perfect wife, friend, daughter, sister.  I lived off a to do list and gauged my successes by how many items I checked off each week.  These days I judge success by the number of smiles and giggles I get from my gorgeous baby boy or the minutes a day I get to spend with my family.

My new way of life is amazingly beautiful...but it could be better.  Many of the days I spend with my baby are overshadowed by a looming sense of stress about my house, the bills, grocery shopping, and an ever growing to-do list.  As soon as I get him to sleep at night I melt down.  The amount of tasks I have left at the end of the day far outweigh those I complete, and this leaves me feeling like a complete failure.  I have been telling myself for weeks that it is just a period of adjustment and that it will get easier; and while I know this is true, I have really not done much of anything to help alleviate the problem.

This week I reached a breaking point.  I'm not sure what the last straw was but I realized that I must get organized.  After some quick research I decided to make a home organization binder.  Nothing too crazy but a place I can keep it all straight.  I want to run a more organized home but more than that I want to shift my focus from what I don't get finished in a day to the things I am able to accomplish; no matter how big or small.

So this little book is my new partner in crime...

Sometimes the tasks are a bit overwhelming for me.  I used to be able to devote an entire day to getting things straightened out if it got out of control.  Today I need to take it one day at a time and too many things on my plate can get me overwhelmed and shutting down quickly.  Breaking it all down is the key to staying on top of it all.

There are lots of sites dedicated to these types of binders.  The important thing is to customize it to your life.  Some of the binders I found looked like these women would spend more time working on the binder itself than the things written in the binder.  For me it is about a quick goal setting, focusing session for each day.  If I know the plan for the day I can enjoy every second with Jack and then when he is napping or in bed I can flip right into business mode rather than think of the overwhelming amount of things I need to do.

So finally, here is what I put in my binder

Schedule: A monthly schedule with each family member's goings ons, My "daily docket" a breakdown of my goals for the day.

Cleaning: A daily, weekly, and monthly breakdown of what needs to get done around here using a page protector to make it a dry erase checklist.  Also a list for each season of things I need to do seasonally.

Planning: A special section with a master to do list and any special planning I am working on.  Right now it has a special section for holiday planning and one for birthday party planning. 

Menu/Shopping List:  This section has my weekly meal plan and a running list of supplies I need from the store.  Most of these sites suggest you plan meals by the month but I just don't have the pantry or fridge space for that kind of shopping. 

Contacts:  A quick reference to get numbers I will need to get things accomplished.  The doctors office, friends, relatives, etc.

I made this binder out of free printables from the following sites:
http://organizedhome.com/printable/household-notebook
http://simplemom.net/tools/downloads/
http://weloveourbeautifullife.blogspot.com/2011/11/holiday-planner-freebie.html

Today was my first day using the binder and I really feel like it helped me stay focused on the important tasks for the day and use my time wisely.  I do think I need a lesson in less is more.  I was a little surprised and somewhat disappointed that I was not able to finish everything on my list for the day but when I look back I realize there was a ton on the list for just one day.  Nevertheless, hopefully I am on my way to feeling a bit more sane and a lot more organized. 

I'm not looking for that flawless, perfect life...just an organized mess with a blissfully happy family!!

5 ONE...it is on the horizon!

Let the first birthday party planning begin...

Anyone who knows me, knows I love to plan parties.  It should have been my career path and if I thought it would pay the bills I would totally do it.  In the meantime I will just stick to planning parties for my little one. 

A first birthday is a huge milestone; a culmination of the whirlwind that has been his first year.  Most of you will think I am nuts but I want his first birthday party to be BIG.  Now don't confuse BIG with EXPENSIVE...most of what I have chosen can be done by myself very inexpensive.  I have been thinking about this party since Jack turned 6 months old and I have still not settled on just one theme.  I am just not going to be able to choose on my own. 

Here is where you come in...I want to know what you think!! 

Here is a little about each party.  Just leave me a comment with your selection and tell me what you think!!!

A Monster Bash
I love this party because it is simple and colorful.  All little boys are little monsters aren't they?  I feel like this is a cute little party that would be easy to pull off and a lot of fun.
Colors: Blue, Green,  Orange, and of course the lovely Chevron pattern found below
Activities:  Pin the eye on the monster, adopt a monster (each kid creates their own little monster doll), decorate monster cookies
Goodies:  their little monsters, a photo of them in the monster photo booth, crayons with monster coloring pages
And the decor...

Splish Splash Bash

This little party has been on my mind for awhile.  Ever since my hubby shot down my first theme and it was back to the drawing board I fell in love with this theme.  I am worried that it is too summery for the time of year but I think if I keep the focus on goldfish it should be ok.  I really like the colors.

Colors: Blue and Orange

Activities:  cute little fishing game (you know the one they used to play at carnivals when you were little)

Goodies: party hats, little tin pails full of goodies and candy, goldfish in a bag soap(trust me it is super cute)

And the decor...

Little Buckaroo

Jess has been in love with this theme since we found out we were having a boy.  I think he would want this to be his birthday party every year if he had any choice in the matter.  I do really love this idea but wonder if it would be better suited when he is older.  I guess there is nothing wrong with doing the same thing another year if Jackson really wants to.  I love the mason jars full of daisies and all of the texture involved with this party. 

Colors: Red and Blue

Activities:  horse races with hobby horses of course, cowboy photo booth

Goodies:  each kid would take home their very own hobby horse

And the decor...

Well there you have it.  One of these cute little parties will be Jack's first birthday theme, with my twist of course :) 

What do you think??  Leave me a comment with your vote and any thoughts you might have!!  I love to hear new ideas!

0 Little Lambie

Our first Halloween was as exciting as a first Halloween can get.  He doesn't know much about candy, or costumes but he sure was interested in what all the fuss was about. 

Our Little Lambie

We didn't get many smiles out of this little guy.  He was inquisitive and serious about just about everything. 

In the days prior we let him explore his pumpkin...insides and all!!

He seemed to like the taste :)

Our first family Pumpkin

Holidays are so fun; especially his firsts!!

During the day I dressed him up in this cute little number.  I think he enjoyed this outfit a little better than the lambie costume. 

Happy Halloween!!  The countdown to Christmas starts in our house this week...