Monday, Monday...

Hi everyone!

I know I'm behind on posting pictures of my adorable son (no? lol) and I'm so sorry for that... I do have them, it's just been a little busy around here with the holidays and such. I promise they'll be us soon! Hopefully with some new posts as well... happy Monday everyone!

Aiden - 11-13 weeks

*this was written at 13 weeks, was just waiting for a second to edit the photos... so please ignore the present talk tense... it was actually a week ago*

ok, ok... I know I've missed a few weeks of updates but I didn't think there was enough to talk about from week to week. I'm sure there was but eh... :-)

He sure is growing like a weed! He won't go in for another check-up until 4 months so I can't tell you what his height and weight are exactly but I tried at about 13 weeks and he weighed about 13 pounds and was about 24 inches long.

Now onto the BIG news! On Veteran's Day (11-11-11) Aiden decided he was ready to roll over (belly to back)! I was so proud... exactly 12 weeks! He's rolled over in the past (since a few days after birth even!) but this was the first time it was intentional.

As I write this I'm watching Chris and Aiden carry on a conversation. It's absolutely hilarious! These are definitely the moments I'm going to miss as he gets bigger...

He also turned 3 months this week (Saturday)! So here's the rundown...

Likes:
These are still pretty similar to last month... Snuggles, being warm, mommy, daddy, eating, your rock n play, your tummy time machine, snuggles with mommy, the sound of the vacuum cleaner, sleeping (and mommy misses you when you sleep from CDC pick up until morning), your hands (especially eating them!), to talk and sing with your mommy and daddy, dancing, laughing

Dislikes:
Being cold, diaper changes, your crib (although I think we're going to try to change this soon), waking up in the morning

Nicknames:
Baby, Monkey, Monkey-face, Monkey-bug (family nickname)

Current size:
You are still in 0-3 right now. They all fit wonderfully so we'll see how long they last. Maybe you'll be in 3-6 by Christmas... but I'm not too sure. You're still in size 1 diapers as well.

Ok, now onto the fun stuff.... pictures!!

**The fabric is in honor of Veteran's Day**

On the 16th Aiden's class had a military appreciation day... All the babies were told to ask their parents to decorate a white onesie for them to wear that afternoon (Aiden was the only one who followed those directions!)

Next up? Thanksgiving! :-)

Halloween 2011

9 Years ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful little boy. I was diagnosed with Pre-eclamsia and had to be induced the day after the results came back. He was born at 3:32 on Halloween and weighed in at 6lb 12oz and 21 inches long. 9 years later he's only 6 inches shorter than his mommy... haha. I couldn't be more proud of him. He's sweet, considerate and oh so smart. Straight A's and in the Gifted and Talented program at school! I love him so much and wish I could see him more often. Thankfully I'll see him in a few weeks when we head to Arkansas for Thanksgiving (30 family members in one place??? OH MY!) haha.
This photo was taken last summer while we were in Indiana. I can't seem to find any from Christmas last year :-/ Thankfully, I'm sure we'll have some from Thanksgiving and Christmas soon! :-D

Here's some pics of Aiden too. This wasn't his actual costume, it's just a sleeper we had... his actual costume was being washed since he wore it to a Halloween party on Friday and got it dirty... silly babies... haha
He makes an absolutely adorable skeleton baby... :-)
Happy Halloween everyone!

Aiden - 10 Weeks

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*Sidenote: this image was actually used as part of a wedding gift for Chris' brother and Sister in law... We never heard if they liked it or not though :-(*

Anyway, on to Aiden for the week :-) He turned 10 weeks today! This week was much better for me. I'm still not too fond of the fact that he sleeps most evenings so we don't get to spend time with him but either he'll adjust to sleeping at daycare or we'll just have to wait till the weekends... lol. At least we get to stare at him! He hasn't been eating in the mornings when I get him up to get ready. 20 minutes to eat an ounce and a half? :-/ I don't think he's awake enough to eat yet but I'm not sure how to fix that except wake him up earlier and I don't really want to do that since it's already so early. Guess we'll figure it out soon! Happy November everyone!

As I'm sitting here finishing the edits Chris is telling jokes making Aiden laugh up a storm... lol. It's absolutely hilarious! I love watching him laugh and coo...

Another week for 2 photos! :-D

How cute is he??

**The fabric this week is in honor of Halloween and Logan's 9th Birthday (which is Halloween)!!**

Aiden - 9 Weeks

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Aiden turned 9 weeks this week (yes, I realize that this is late. There's explanations below). It was definitely a rough week as it brought upon my first week back so work... *tear* Monday was definitely tough... it brought MANY teary moments, but no tears. As the week went on it got easier. It's still rough to leave him in the morning but I know he's being taken care of. He has some wonderful teachers in his class that are learning how he is (which is what i was originally worried about). He's eating well while he's at daycare but he's not sleeping as he usually does... :-( 15 minutes here, 10 minutes there but definitely not like he does here (usually a few hours in the afternoon). The good/bad part of this is how he sleeps at night. Most nights I pick him up, head home and he falls asleep in the car. We wake him up after we eat and he barely wakes up to eat and then he's back out for the night. I'm sure this is because he's not sleeping at daycare but it's so sad that we don't get to spend time with him in the evenings.

He also turned 2 months this week! So here's the rundown...

Likes:
These are still pretty similar to last month... Snuggles, being warm, mommy, daddy, eating, laying on your tummy, your rock n play, car rides, laying on mommy, the sound of the vacuum cleaner, sleeping (and mommy misses you!)

Dislikes:
Being cold, diaper changes, your crib, waking up in the morning

Nicknames:
Baby, Monkey, Monkey-face, Monkey-bug (family nickname)

Current size:
You are definitely in 0-3 now. Your pants are still a little big on you but overall your clothes fit great... they still have room for you to grow so I think you'll be in them for a while. You've also moved up to 1's in diapers.

You're an absolutely wonderful baby and we are so blessed!

Purses for Paws

My wonderful cousin is a consultant for Thirty-One Gifts. This month she's hosting a special called Purses for Paws to help a local no-kill animal shelter. Please visit her blog and take a look :-)

Hi ho, Hi ho, it's back to work I go...

The day has arrived... I have to return to work. That's right, my 8 weeks off is up... :-(

Aiden will be going to daycare at the CDC (child development center) on base. It's not too far from my work if anything happens and I can technically go see him on my lunch break. I'll be pumping while I'm at work so we'll see how that goes as well...

I pray that it's a smooth transition for Aiden into daycare and that things go well at work as well. I sure hope it's not too busy of a week... I'm not sure I can handle that.

I really don't want to leave this little guy... but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Aiden - 8 weeks

8 Weeks!

These 8 weeks have gone by WAY too fast :-( Come Monday, I'll be returning to work and Aiden will be making his first trip to daycare. I've heard lots of moms say (or insinuate) that you're not a good mother if you're not at home with your child all the time. That's just not an option for us. I firmly believe if you can stay home, great... but there's no need to make working parents (moms) feel less adequate because they can't. Even though I could technically get out of the military soon I refuse to put all the stress of working on Chris! He's already working full time, attending school full time and doing photography. There's no need to add any more stress, work, etc to his place and I REFUSE to put any more on him (to include ever asking him to get a second job so I can stay home). I love him far too much for that! OK, onto the Monkey this week :-)

He had his 8 week check-up this week and things went wonderfully! Remember how much trouble we had with him getting back up to birth weight? Not the issue any more! At 4 weekshe weighed 8 lb 5.5 oz. 5 weeks brought him up to 9 lb 5 oz (a whole pound in a week!). 3 weeks later? 11 lb 5 oz! He's up 2 pounds in 3 weeks... he still looks so small to me, it's just unreal. The doctor measured him at about 23.5 inches. We're still not sure how accurate this is since it seems to change all the time.

8 weeks brought the horrible experience of his first shots as well... boo! My poor baby screamed so hard he turned purple. :-( He's been running a low grade fever and has been very cranky since his shots but we're hoping that that ends soon (it's so unlike him to cry so often). *Update: this actually seems to have subsided today!*

On the upside; he's started smiling more and cooing in response to mommy and daddy! It's absolutely amazing and such a blessing to watch him develop and grow!

*Not a fan of the white onesie on white material... probably won't happen again*

Out in the Country

Chris had Monday off of work for Columbus Day so we decided to take a trip with some friends of ours. After meeting up at our house we decided to grab a bite to eat on the way. While Chris and I searched the gps for something of interest (we were thinking just something quick) J saw a sign for this place. I absolutely <3 Cracker Barrel! Since J had never eaten here before (practically un-American, right? hehe) it was decided. After a short wait J was able to see the magic that is Cracker Barrel. Cute store, sweet people, absolutely delicious food at amazing prices! She loved it! :-) Onto our first stop!

Our first stop was Hartland Orchard. Sadly, our trip here was cut short. Most of the apples had already fallen from the trees (who am I kidding... ALL of them had fallen) and the ones that were on the ground were rotten. After wandering through the orchard and being eaten up by bugs (seriously the stink bugs and bees were UNREAL!!) we decided we needed to leave and head to our second stop. This is definitely a place we'll visit again but earlier in the season (strawberries in May? Yes, please!).

Our second stop was Cox Farms. In hindsight, we should have made this our first stop. There was so much to do and was great watching our friend's son, N, run around and having a blast :-) Here's some of the photos from the evening:

Just an overview of some of the things to do

Me and my adorable Monkey

D and his beautiful children

Piggies!

Daddy and Monkey

N absolutely LOVED all the slides!

Miss L... how beautiful are her eyes?

As much as I miss San Diego (and that's a TON!) I do love fall out here. Happy fall everyone :-)

Aiden - 7 weeks

7 weeks!

Another week that's gone by way too quickly! Only one week to go until I return to work. *sigh*

Have I mentioned what a wonderful sleeper our little guy is? It's truly amazing to me! 8 hours a night; no matter what time we put him to bed. Last night he actually slept for almost 9 hours! I sure do hope this continues next week when I go back to work. (I've heard that sometimes sleep schedules change when babies are introduced to daycare... boo).

We spent some time apple picking and at the pumpkin patch this weekend with some wonderful friends... Oh so much fun. Pics of that will be up soon!

We couldn't decide on a picture this week so ya'll get see two!




**The fabric this week is in honor of Columbus Day. Yay for a three-day weekend for hubby! :-)**

My hubby...

the comedian!

So I snapped a photo of Aiden this afternoon (he has some of the funniest faces when he's pooping... gross? perhaps... but absolutely hilarious!). Anyway, this is what I get sent back to me

*sigh* Absolutely hilarious... way to go darling!

Note to self...

When Carter's brand says 3 months it really means 0-3. Thanks for completely messing with my early clothes shopping for my little monkey... looks like I don't have as much 3-6 clothes as I thought I did. *sigh*

Aiden - 6 weeks

6 weeks!

A friend of mine does weekly updates on her beautiful baby girl. In her updates she puts likes and dislikes. I thought this was a fabulous idea so I'm going to incorporate it into Aiden's updates as well :-) Since I didn't do it or 4 weeks I figure I'll post it this week and pick up from here! Soooo... here we go!

Likes:
Snuggles, being warm, mommy, daddy, eating, laying on your tummy, your rock n play, car rides, laying on mommy, the sound of the vacuum cleaner

Dislikes:
Being cold, diaper changes, burping (seriously... must you scream every time we try to burp you?), your crib, being sleepy (you fight it to no end!)

Nicknames:
Baby, Monkey, Monkey-face, Monkey-bug (family nickname)

Current size:
Who actually knows... lol. Most of the NB clothes are too small for you (they're just tight... MOST you can still actually wear just fine) but the 0-3 are absolutely HUGE! I fear that you'll have the same problem your brother did as far as clothes goes. His pants NEVER fit :-/ So any outfit that we bought that was a shirt and pants the shirt would fit but the pants wouldn't fit for months... I see this happening again.

He's had a few rough nights the last few nights... I think he's having some tummy issues :-( Poor little guy... Prayers it gets better!

I truly love this little guy more and more every day... I could sit and stare at him for hours, days on end... *sigh*

Dedicated?

Someone asked me today if we were planning on christening Aiden. My response? No, we're not Catholic (this is strictly a Catholic thing, right?). This started the discussion (again) between Chris and I about dedicating Aiden.

Christening is defined as: the ceremony of baptizing and naming a child.

Child Dedication is defined as: a ceremony in which believing parents, and sometimes entire families, make a commitment before the Lord to submit a child to God's will and to raise that child according to God's Word and God's ways.

By the above definition does this NEED to be done in public? Is there a NEED for this to be done in the church, in front of people that we don't know (or barely know)? Or is it just necessary to make the commitment? If the thought is to have the church (or people) hold you accountable to your promise to raise your child in a Christian household then why not just make the dedication (or promise) to those that you care about... family... friends... those that have a vested interest in seeing you raise your child right? Would it be the same to ask someone you know, say... a cousin, to personally hold you responsible for this instead of people you barely know? Chances are I'd be more likely to listen to the thoughts and opinions of someone I trust and love vice someone that I feel may just be judging me because they don't know me as well.

Just some thoughts about this that I'm having. Does the Bible say we are to dedicate our children? I must investigate... and pray about this...

On the same subject... are God Parents strictly a Catholic thing too? hmm....

Life is hard enough for my little guy... does he need to worry about this too?

Orientate what?

*I'm not actually sure if that's a word but who cares... haha
**It is by the way... Webster defines it as: verb: to face or turn to the east

Aiden and I had CDC (Child Development Center) Orientation today... Talk about enlightening (that's sarcasm by the way...). We were told to be there by 0900 because the orientation would start PROMPTLY at 0900. Well when 0930 rolled around and we were still sitting there someone was slightly upset that she skipped breakfast to ensure she was on time (that would be me).

The things I learned in the hour and a half that I was there (this was supposed to be 30 minutes... did I mention I missed breakfast?).
- Bottles must be labeled daily (name, room number, date and ounces)
- Diaper bags - no
- Diapers, wipes, 2 changes of clothes and bottles - yes (but no bag)
- No tummy-time (suffocation hazard?)
- They make you wear little surgical booties when you enter the room (is this odd or normal? lol)
- Formula must be mixed already (they don't mix it)

And the #1 thing I learned?
- I'm so not ready to hand my monkey over yet... As frustrated as I get from time to time I absolutely love him and hate to not see his precious face all day... :-(

Here's to hoping the next 2 1/2 weeks go by a little slower!

See... adorable, right??? :-)

And look how protective the pups are! haha...

Aiden - 5 weeks

5 weeks! So for those that have been following; you know that as of last week Aiden still wasn't up to birth weight. Last Thursday he was 8lb 5.5oz. The doctor wanted us to start supplementing with formula in order to try to get his weight up (and to ensure it was just a skim milk issue vice a liver or stomach issue). He went back yesterday for another weight check.; the doctor wanted him to gain 1oz a day (that would've brought him up to 8lb 12oz in a week). Apparently I have an over-achiever on my hands... my little guy went in today and showed that doctor who's boss. Little Guy weighed in at 9lb 5.5oz today... he's gained a whole pound in a week!! That's 2oz a day vice the 1 that the doctor wanted. Way to go Monkey! :-)

We moved Aiden into his own room last weekend as well. He's not in his crib yet but he is sleeping wonderfully in his room, in his Rock n Play. Most of this week he's slept from about 2130-0430! This varies from day to day (Wednesday he slept from 2230-0600). A friend of mine thinks we're blessed with a good sleeper because Logan wasn't so fantastic when he was little. Don't get me wrong; Logan was a great baby but he was definitely more fussy and slept less than Aiden does. Whatever the reason, we are truly blessed by having such a great baby.



**The fabric for this week is in honor of the first day of Fall! Happy Fall everyone! :-) **

New job prospects?

Yes, please!

Hubby put in for a new job this weekend. He's perfectly qualified for it (probably overly so) and the raise would definitely help with paying off bills...

What is this job you ask? Why it's the EXACT job he is currently doing only as a government employee instead of a contractor. So see... he really is perfect for it... hehe... ;-)

Here's to praying for God's will and guidance in this matter.

What's Currently on My Nook (9-22-11)

My Nook is currently VERY busy; I've taught it to multitask just like me... hehe. I'm currently reading 1 book for fun, 1 Bible Study and 1 parenting (not to mention the Bible Study we're doing with our church group that is a hard cover book).

1. A Confidant Heart - Often the biggest obstacle to living out our faith is our own doubt--about our worth, our abilities, our relationship with God, and situations in our lives. A Confident Heart gives voice to the questions, doubts, struggles, and hopes so many women have. Author Renee Swope shows us how to identify, overcome, and learn from our self-doubts so that we can live confidently in God's assurance, truth, and grace. Perfect for women's small groups or individuals, A Confident Heart is an authentic, insight-filled and encouraging message for any woman who wants to exchange defeating thought patterns with biblical truth that will transform the way she thinks, feels, and lives.

My cousin received an email about doing this book as an online study and asked if I wanted to do it with her. It definitely looked like a study I would be interested in so I was all for it. The study started this past Sunday and so far I'm enjoying it. I'm not exactly the best at keeping up with things so I sure am praying I can keep this one up!

2. Bringing Up Boys - Dobson, a psychologist and family counselor, takes a decidedly conservative approach to the "special challenge of raising boys." Celebrating the natural differences between boys and girls, Dobson outlines biological differences, particular issues in disciplining boys, and the different roles of mothers and fathers. He scoffs at those who attribute differences to social factors. Dobson is particularly critical of feminists and their influence on American culture, for example, the advent of nonsexist toys. Dobson sees the "future of Western civilization" dependent on how we handle the "crisis" of raising the next generation of men. Much of his advice on boy-rearing issues, from discipline to attention deficit disorder to coping with divorce, is biblically based. Each chapter ends with a question-and-answer format. The most controversial chapter examines the origins of homosexuality, calling it a "disorder" that can be cured. Conservative and Christian readers may enjoy Dobson's book; other readers are likely to take issue with some of his observations.

The last 2 weeks a few women from church, all with new baby boys, have met up for a 'play date'... I use this term very loosely since right now the babies are all really little and aren't exactly 'playing'. We decided that this would be a good book to read and discuss together. We're reading the first chapter this week and will discuss it at 'play date' next week. I read the first chapter today and was quite entertained. I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of this book but am not looking forward to returning to work and having to stop attending these play dates :-(

3. Passion - Luce would die for Daniel. And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . . Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last. Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history. Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames. . . forever. Sweeping across centuries, Passion is the third novel in the unforgettably epic Fallen series.

This was my middle of the night feeding, quick read. It was number 3 in a series and extremely quick and easy to read (pretty sure it's actually a teen novel... lol). Either way, I enjoyed it. OH, and I say 'was' and 'enjoyed' because I just finished it today (while I was waiting for my tire to be fixed). Time to find another 'fun' book to read :-)

What are ya'll reading right now? Anything of interest? Any suggestions for my next middle of the night read?

Happy Friday everyone!

Footprints Through Time - Part 1

What does this


plus this


equal? Why a new art project of course! :-)

Chris and I were looking for a interesting way to document our little one's foot prints. He decided that the neatest thing to do would be to document them throughout his entire first year of life. So, for every month we will take a ink print of his feet and place it on this canvas. It will be interesting to see how much our little one grows in his first year...




Aren't little baby feet the cutest?? Happy Monday everyone!

Post Baby Workouts

4 weeks postpartum and I am DYING to start working out and to get myself back! I hopped on the elliptical the other day for 15 minutes; 5 slow, 5 more vigorous, and 5 as a cool down. I thought I would be just fine but where I had stitches is feeling really sore :-(

Perhaps I'll try a little slower for the next two weeks instead of trying to just jumping back into things. Especially since I'm not technically 'cleared' to work out yet. I have 4 weeks left until I return to work and 2 weeks left until my 6 week check up. I'll have to make a trip to the uniform shop at my 6 week check up if my pre-baby uniforms don't fit... I sure am hoping it doesn't come to this! Wish me luck!!

Chris bought me Zumba and Biggest Loser for Kinect today! Has anyone used them? I cannot WAIT to try them out!

Anyone else have any ideas for getting back into shape after baby?

Aiden - 4 weeks

OH MY!! My Monkey is already 4 weeks old!! This means I only have 4 weeks left until I return to work... I sure hope the next 4 weeks go by a little slower then the past 4... :-(

He had his 4 week check up on Thursday. He's still not up to birth weight (8lb 9oz) but had gained 5oz this past week bringing him up to 8lb 5.5oz... I was THRILLED with his progress!! Apparently the doc did not share my sentiment :-( He's in the 35% for weight and 89% for height... Doc basically thinks that I'm producing skim milk instead of whole milk (she doesn't think my milk has enough calories for him). Soooo... she decided that I need to feed him the 3oz of milk that we've been giving him (he JUST started asking for more than 2oz at a time Wednesday) and THEN offer him up to 2oz of formula. She wanted us to try while we were there since he had just eaten. I was extremely skeptical that he would take any of it since he just started wanting more than the 2oz but he literally took the 3oz of milk and the ENTIRE 2oz of formula with no issues!! He's been eating like a champ the last few days but not looking forward to the added expense of formula (although I assumed it would come to that at some point). He'll see what the doc has to say about his weight gain this coming Thursday.

We made a trip to base Friday and surprisingly it was the easiest dealing with the Navy I've had in quite a while! I added Aiden to DEERS, put him on my page 2, added him to Tricare AND talked to CDC about his spot. They didn't think there would be an issue with him getting a spot by the time I head back to work (Oct 17th) but couldn't guarantee anything. We'll see how it goes :-) We also made a trip to work! Surprisingly he needed to have an 'escort required' badge in order to get into the building... I found this OVERLY humorous. I'm not sure I'd be worried about a 4 week old running rampant around the building or telling insider secrets... haha. But everyone loved him and thought he was just adorable!

Here's to a great week!! :-)

Aiden - 3 weeks

**Posted just a tad late but better late then never!**

Monkey turns 3 weeks today. On Wednesday he had his 2 week follow-up (yes, at 2 1/2 weeks...). Doc weighed him in at 8lbs .5oz. Still WAY under his birth weight of 8lb 9oz but doc said not to worry. With the fact that he lost so much right after birth (1.1 lbs or 12% of his weight) it's reasonable for him to still be under his birth weight. He did say that he was gaining enough per day (about 20 grams) to be considered just fine and perfectly healthy! He also measured him at 21.75 inches. This part is humorous to me. When he was born he measured 22 inches, 5 days after he was born they measured him at 20.5 inches, Wednesday they said 21.75 inches. Who knows how long my baby boy ACTUALLY is... haha.

He's not particularly a fan of tummy time. This usually ends up with TONS of screaming or he turns it into nap time... haha. Today he decided that it would also turn into 'roll myself over time'! Yup, he decided he didn't want to be on his tummy anymore and rolled onto his back! :-) Growing up far too fast for my liking!

The material for this week is in honor of football season starting!

Happy Friday/weekend everyone!

Outsider Looking In

One of my English teachers from high school, Mrs. Reitz, recently posted this article. While reading it, I couldn't help but see myself... how I felt, how I act, and how I react.

I've mentioned on here before that being from a military family and being in the military I've had to move around and therefore have missed out on having those life-long friends that most people have... the ones that they grew up with, the ones they went to college with, the ones that they'll never be without. I don't tend to open up to people I don't know. I don't usually go up to people I don't know and insert myself into conversations. I've been told on multiple occasions (by some good friends) that I can come off as a b***h because of these things... I've tried to change how I come off but I'm not sure how it has worked out. I have some fantastic friends that I've come to love over the years... sadly, most of them are in different states due to the military.

When Chris and I moved to VA we joined a church, met some great people and became good friends... or so we thought. I put myself out there, I opened up, I let myself be vulnerable and I was hurt, tremendously. Enough so that we ended up leaving the church in order to find another one. A few months later we found IBC after looking at MANY other churches. I love the church but even after a year I feel like an outsider at times. It's truly hard to move into a new area, where friends already exist and groups are already formed. In order to try to counteract this Chris and I joined a small group and have tried to become involved in the happenings of the ABF (Sunday school). Most recently someone (multiple someones) invited me to join the church's MOPS group. I thought long and hard about this... I prayed about it... I tried to come up with excuses why I couldn't/shouldn't join. Instead I decided to put myself out there... You can join and pay either all at once or one meeting at a time. I decided to bite the bullet and pay for the entire year hoping that this would ensure that I would attend.

So tonight was the first meeting. I was excited to be going... more so for the opportunity to NOT to be the outsider anymore, the opportunity to hopefully make those life-long friends that I long to have... friends I can trust and that are there for me... friends that are at the same place in their life that I am. Chris came home from work, I fed Aiden, I left... sadly, on the way to the church I hit a pothole and destroyed my tire. :-( We're still not sure if it's the tire or if I messed up my rim as well. Hopefully we can find out tomorrow. Maybe I can go to the next meeting without it being so eventful... we shall see! Here's to hoping

Aiden - 2 weeks

Our wonderful little monkey is 2 weeks old! I can't believe the last 2 weeks have come and gone. Chris returned to work today (just in time for a 3 day weekend), his mom is coming into town this afternoon/evening for a week and we're hoping to go visit Chris' brother, Danny, down in North Carolina this weekend (he's in the hospital down there after he was hit with an IED July 24th).

Once he hits a month I'll probably start giving information on what he's liking and doing, etc. But for now he's not doing much except eating, sleeping and pooping ;-)

He's sleeping decently off and on (as I sit here and type this he's been fighting sleep for over an hour... lol)

He's eating like a champ (2oz every 3 hours or so)

And steals my heart more and more every day!



OH, the fabric this week? It's in honor of his Uncle Danny, who he will get to meet tomorrow!

You Call this Healthcare?

As most of you know, Aiden Christopher was born on August 19 at 0609. He weighed in at 8lb 9oz and 22 inches long (definitely gets his height from his daddy!). Being active duty I had to deliver him at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda (about 45 minute away, on a GOOD day). Within my 9 months of pregnancy I've come to realize that Military medical stinks! Want some reasons? No worries, I've come prepared :-)

1. In the 9 months of my pregnancy (of which I was only seen for 7 months since they won't even SEE you until you're 9-12 weeks) I was seen 12+ times and saw 8+ doctors. This is absurd to me! If I can see the same doctor for the entire pregnancy out in town, why not in the military? Is the military that understaffed? Do they not think continuation of care is important? Or do they just think it's humorous to have a pregnant lady tell the different doctors the same information over and over again because none of them know the issues that have been going on? None of these are acceptable reasons to me.

2. Aiden was seen 3 times at NNMC within his first week of life. How many different doctors did he see? Two. Now again, is it not important for the SAME doctor to see the my child continuously? Would make more sense to me... especially since they don't appear to put the information that was discussed in his record or on the computer.

3. When discharged from the hospital the pediatrician said that Aiden had an appointment the following Monday at 1030. We get up, get ready and are about to leave the house when we get a call from the hospital saying that the only opening the actually had was for 1530! Then please tell me why I was told to be there at 1030... we live 45 MINUTES AWAY! This is now in the middle of rush hour... not acceptable.

4. All babies are required to have a 2 week follow-up with the doctor after birth. This is to ensure that their weight is going up, jaundice is non-existent and that circumcisions and such all healed properly. While at his third appointment at NNMC (he's 1 week old at this point) I tell them I need to make his 2 week follow-up in a week (they wouldn't allow me to make it earlier because he was still coming in to be seen), this SHOULD have been on either 1 or 2 September. What does the receptionist tell me? We have 7 September open. ummm... that's 3 weeks... it should be his 2 week follow-up, is that ok? Sure, as long as it's not before 2 weeks... THEN WHAT'S THE POINT OF IT BEING A 2 WEEK FOLLOW-UP????

Do I need to go on at this point? I didn't think so. Here's to hoping things get better in the healthcare department! :-)

Aiden - 1 week

I follow this blog. One of the most unique things they posted about was taking weekly photos of their little bean. Basically they take a new photo every week on a different yard of fabric and superimpose the week on a plain white onsie.

I thought this was a fantastic idea and decided to do the same with Aiden. After his first year we'll take the 52 photos and create a photo book. Who knows what we'll do with the fabric... I'm thinking maybe a quilt (YHL actually made a runner and some pennants for bean's first birthday). No matter what we decide to do with it, I think it's a fabulous way to track Aiden's growth in his first year. :-)

Enjoy!

Life With Baby - Week 1

For those that aren't aware; we have had our baby boy! Aiden Christopher Gronde was born Friday, 19 August at 0609. He weighed in at 8lb 9 oz and 22 inches long! He's absolutely precious, and perfect, and wonderful, and stunning... and well... I could go on and on... haha!

Anyway, things around Casa de la Gronde have definitely changed... but I'm not sure I'd have it any other way. There's less sleep, more noise, more stuff and definitely more smiles going around these parts! I'm absolutely in LOVE! *swoon*

Aiden is still trying to figure out the whole sleep pattern thing. One night he'll sleep for 6 hours at night and the next he'll be up every 3. The good thing is that he usually goes back to sleep pretty easily. He's currently sleeping in our room in this. It's truly been a blessing! We tried letting him sleep in his crib the second night we were home but that didn't go over too well (he was literally up almost every HOUR!); this just wouldn't do... Rock and Play it is! :-)

Chris started back to school tonight (technically he started yesterday but he/we lost track of the day and he missed his class... oops!); it's the first time just baby and mommy... he decided to sleep through most of it... haha!

OK, time for bed since monkey is out... will post pics soon! :-)

Photography for a Photographer...

Being photographers, it was a no brainer for Chris and I to get maternity photos done prior to Aiden arriving. But the prices for maternity shoots in our area are RIDICULOUS! $500 and you DON'T give me a CD? Chris and I love the fact that we offer reasonable prices to our clients; and with some minor research we've realized that clients WANT their pictures... to post, to print, to share. How do we accommodate both of these aspects? We charge a little more than we did without offering a CD while still remaining in a good price range and giving our clients what they want. Problem solved! But alas, that is not what this post is about... it's about our hunt for a photographer.

So how does a photographer find a photographer they love without having to pay an arm and a leg? They pray... A LOT! lol... We asked around our studio and had a few people say that they would be happy to take some for us, but I really wanted someone who had done some before... and that shared our type of artistic eye; so the hunt was on!

A few weeks ago Chris found an ad on Craigslist for a photographer that was looking to do a photo swap. Talk about answered prayers! We exchanged a few emails and our websites to ensure we had what the other was looking for and decided to meet up. Andrea was absolutely wonderful! We met, we talked, we bonded. We decided to go through with the photo swap.

Last weekend we shot Andrea and her lovely daughter for a few hours. We got some great shots and hope she loved them as well. Tomorrow it's our turn! We're off to Leesylvania State Park in Woodbridge to shoot some maternity photos and I couldn't be more excited to work with Andrea on this! I'll put up some photos as soon as I can! Until then, here's some pics the hubby took of me last weekend!




Did ya'll have maternity photos done? Does anyone else find it difficult to find a decently priced photographer?

Happy 4th of July

*ok, so I had this written yesterday morning and then we got busy with the day :-( Better late then never!*

As I sit here this morning, I ponder many things. Mostly, the many men and women that have given their lives or are willing to do so for our Country. I come from a family of many service members (grandpa, mom, dad, aunt, sister, me) as does my hubby. It's amazing to me to think of all the people in our country that get angry with our military or that blame them for the wars that we fight. It is not our military, they are only following orders, they are doing their job; and by doing so are willing to lay down their lives in order to protect the liberties of this country (to INCLUDE freedom of speech). So on this day I would like to say Thank you to all the military; past, present and future and the sacrifices that they are willing to give.

Wide World of Diapers!

Over this past weekend I've come to the realization that our beautiful baby boy will be here in 9 WEEKS! Perhaps, less than that... EEEEK! Can you say freaking out over the stuff that still needs done? So here I am, sitting at work and trying to research diaper options, ideas and figure out what they're all about. I've pretty much convinced the hubby that I would really LIKE to cloth diaper. Mostly because it's better for the environment and it's apparently better for babies bums... so that's where I'm at. Now onto the decision of brand, type, etc. Is there truly a difference between bumgenius, fuzzibunz or any other cloth diaper out there? And what's the difference in pocket, prefolds, fitted and all in ones? Talk about confusing! So far I'm comparing cloth diapers to photography... it's all a matter of preference... Nikon vs. Cannon... does it REALLY matter?
So while I sit here and contemplate the complexity that is cloth diapering any advise is welcomed!

To See... or Not To See...

That seems to be the question lately...
Lots of people have been asking me to upload baby bump pictures on Facebook so they can see my progress. We'll I'm not going to do that... mostly because I think that although 10% of the people on FB want to see photos, the other 90% have no desire to see me gaining baby weight :-) So, the decision has been made to post them on my lovely blog instead! Aren't ya'll happy?

So I'm 21 weeks (yesterday). So far I've gained a whole 13 pounds. Now, this is based on MY scale, at MY house, that I weighed myself on prior to getting pregnant so I consider this pretty accurate (the Navy scale shows SEVEN pounds more than mine). I have yet to feel him kick (boo). I have felt him a time or two (he's not a fan of me laying on my stomach to watch TV lol) and I can feel him when he's laying on the front of my tummy but that's about it. I can not WAIT to feel my little boy moving about... :-)

Right now baby Aiden is about the size of a banana. Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you want your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch. Hmm... perhaps McDonald's wasn't a good idea for dinner ;-)

But enough stalling, here's some pics :-)

8 Weeks


21 Weeks



Don't really see much of a difference if you ask me!

The list that never seems to end...

Our to-do list... *sigh* As my pregnancy progresses, it appears that our list just continues to grow... or perhaps it's simply that we're so busy we have yet to get things accomplished when we want them done. Below are our lists (yup, there's more than one!)

MUST DO (Baby's room):
*Get rid of Queen Bed
*Clean out closet
*Insulate
*Repaint
*Install chair rail
*Install molding
*Shampoo carpet
*Buy furniture
*Decorate
I'm sure there's more but this is all I can think of. Sadly, with our work schedules, both of us in school, and normal everyday stuff none of this has been touched just yet. But rest assured it will be! (kinda has to be, right?)

NEED TO DO:
*Frame and finish doorway in laundry room
*Turn open space in laundry room into usable storage
*Make storage in basement bathroom
*Declutter... EVERYTHING

WANT TO DO:
*Redo our back porch
*Paint dining room
*Paint kitchen
*Put down hardwood floors

See what I mean? Seems kinda long, right? The good thing is that none of it is TOO daunting; and it's only March. But when I think about it all at once I get a little overwhelmed... that and the fact that we usually only have the weekends to work with. BUT, God will provide us with the time, energy and means to get done what NEEDS to be done; and THAT'S what matters ;-)

There's just so many things...

that I'm not happy with. Ok, so this may sound just awful but I'm not sure that's how I mean it. I love my life! I have a fabulous husband, a wonderful house, wonderful pets and some great friends. This post is more about me, and why shouldn't it be? ;-)

As I enter my last year of my 20's; I realize that some things need to change. I've been in the DC area for a little over 2 years and have few (if any) good, dependable friends. Mostly meaning that I have few that I could turn to and vent, that I could call and say 'hey wanna hang' and they would, that I can vent to and would understand what I was talking about. This is upsetting to me. I'd like to consider myself a good friend. I'm invested, loyal and a great listener. My downside? I'm not very out going. I'm extremely shy when I don't know people and I think this seriously hurts me when it comes to meeting people. :-( Chris and I have been going to a new church for almost a year now and I think it's safe to say that I still don't have a single person in our class that I would consider a 'friend'. Don't get me wrong, there's lots of people that I talk to and that I completely like but none have really shown the interest to take it any further. I would love to have friends that when we miss class would notice and ask where we were... wonder if everything is ok... we just don't have that right now. Now again, I'm not saying that I'm not to blame :-( Because I am so introverted it makes it difficult.

SO, with all this being said this is one of my changes! I will be more open and try to be more outgoing. Now is the time for change! This will be extremely hard for me but I vow to try; that's what matters, righ? :-)

Next on my list is to continue to be healthier. Now, this kinda flew out the window in the last few months because with little bean I've been STARVING TO DEATH! Seriously, I feel like I eat all the time, like I just can't seem to eat enough... but lucky for me, this seems to have tapered off a little in the last few weeks. This means I can get back to normal :-) I can go back to eating normally and on the healthier track that I was headed. Now that I'm not so exhausted (seriously I felt like could just pass out every time I got home from work) I can get back to exercising. Not being able to work out because I didn't have the energy was rough for me but my energy level seems to have come back to normal! YAY energy!!

Other things I'm changing are my organization, time management and home improvements... all of these things will be slow and steady but they WILL happen :-)

So, that's my 29 year resolutions :-) What do ya'll think??