Seven Months!

So, seven months! SEVEN MONTHS, people.

I don't know - we've tipped over into the now closer to a year territory and that is crazy to me. Just crazy. But here we are - and where to begin? Six months was a big one in our world - we mastered crawling, had two teeth show up (finally - the drool!), and just as quickly as we mastered crawling we decided that was boring stuff and have moved on to standing and trying to walk. Now, I'm sure that this process will take a while but really the whole standing thing has added a whole new dimension to our lives. Particularly bedtime...lay him down and he pops right back up. He now yells for me while standing and it's amazing how much louder he sounds now that he can cry for me from above the crib vs. laying in it.

Oh, and the standing/walking ventures have also made me question this child's IQ level. Seriously, NO CONCEPT of gravity or fear. Unlike some kiddos I've watched who tentatively attempt to walk while holding on to the side of the couch, table, etc...no, Tobin literally smiles and lets go and then looks genuinely confused (and sometimes offended!) when he finds himself on his back after falling. So needless to say, he requires constant (as if it weren't constant before) supervision. We've done the baby-proofing thing, but let's be honest we can't very well pad our walls/floors so we think we may be in for some fun times ahead - say a prayer for him now, will ya? Or better yet, say a prayer for me!

But really. Oh man, I can't even put into words how much I've fallen in love with this boy. I think I've said this before but sure you love them the minute they enter the world but then this relationship begins to form because you get to know them...you get to see their little personality develop and this guy is just the best. And while he's "so boy" and as active as you can be - he has a really gentle spirit and he is just the happiest kid you've ever met. He has this fabulous laugh and he opens his mouth all wide and his eyes get squinty and I'm pretty sure he's got dimples in BOTH cheeks. 

But enough with the words, here's a lot of pictures to catch you up on the last month!

We tried to capture the standard bear+ Tobin photo, these were are attempts...thanks to Julie for our favorite onesie!

We still really, really, really love bath time!

Standing+eating+drooling = Tobin's favorite.

This was his first time ever standing up in his crib, he was very proud!

These are my most favorite pictures taken to date, they are quintessential Tobin. Love that face!

Where-oh-where will this month take us!? We can't wait for what's ahead!

Our new favorite game...

This afternoon we discovered Tobin's new favorite game - had to share the fun!

In other news, we are all SO ready for Friday - just one more day till we can play all day! Hope you all have a great Friday and wonderful weekend!

Pinner Winner

So, as we all know Pinterest is the devil's work, right? I can get lost on that thing for hours and yes - this picture below definitely holds true for me...

BUT - I do have moments where I put all those pins to good use and actually bake/make/create something and I figured I'd go the extra step and share my review of my winning pinnings:)

Disclaimer - all of the following are baked goods. And no, they were not all baked at the same time...I've just been lazy in getting to this post.

Banana Cake - when I saw that this recipe was on Bake or Break, I knew I'd like it. And like was an understatement. I hardly ever have something that cooks up just like the picture shows, but this one sure did. It was a jacked-up version of banana bread. Really fantastic and really easy. I did alter the recipe by adding a few dashes of allspice and cinnamon because - well, because I love allspice and cinnamon. This will be a regular on my Easter/brunch menu.

Salty Chocolate Chunk Blondies - Oh, look! Another Bake or Break recipe. And again, it's a winner. This was new territory for me because I don't do much baking with whole wheat flour and I also hadn't ever done a "salty" dessert. These were AMAZING. Mine weren't quite as pretty as the picture, but the flavor was there. Definitely worth making again in my book.

Cheesecake Sugar Cookie Bars - The title alone tells you these are totally horrible for one's diet. BUT OHMERGERD. These are evil they are so good. Of all the recipes I'm listing today, these were the hardest to make but that was largely because I was under a major time crunch and I was making the salty chocolate chunk blondies the same night - I should know this, but do not attempt two new recipes in the same night. I want to make them again when I have more time and patience - so I guess, I'll be making these in heaven. See you there!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars - Last and least in my book were these - I'm a big fan of all the ingredients and I almost always love anything that involves yellow cake mix (I'm fat like that...), but these were just okay. They were super easy which was nice, but they were almost too rich? I know you're laughing since I just declared my love for the Cheesecake Bars above, but I think it was the chocolate in this recipe that did them in. But again - worth trying if you're into chocolate and peanut butter!

Okay, so there you have it. I really should try to do some pins that don't involve high fat/calorie contents, look for my healthy board coming soon to a Pinterest near you:)

The Half Yearly

I look forward to the half yearly sale at Nordstrom - the "half yearly" of my baby boy's life...not as much. Don't get me wrong - I'm so very blessed and really there is not a single day that goes by where I don't look at him and think - "Wow, he's mine." So, I'm happy we're here and we're healthy. But today was a bit emotional for me (I know, I know - what am I going to do at the year mark?!?!) because of just how amazing these last six months have been and that I really can't believe we've reached the half yearly mark.
Today I really wanted to stop time. Just a little.

But time marches on - or in Tobin's case...crawls on! Can you believe it? He officially started really crawling the day before his six month birthday - so.much.fun! I'm sure I won't be saying that once he picks up speed and the newness wears off, but right now, Ty and I are in just as much amazement of it all as he is:)

So where are we at six months?

• Tobin is 22 pounds and 28 inches. Yup. We get lots of stares and questions about his size as of late...yesterday leaving Target a lady asked me turn around so she "could see the face of my baby, because she had been staring at his amazing thighs for too long." I happily obliged:) He can sit by himself from the crawling position (another fancy new trick!), and he loves to dance. His favorite happens to be what we call the "granite dance" - which is just when you turn on Chris Brown (I really need to start downloading the edited versions of my favorite dance music, huh?) and you let his feet hit the granite counter tops...he's got some moves. I'll have to video it soon!
• Good eater. I was relaying this to our pediatrician at today's appointment and he kind of laughed and was like, "Well with his height and weight, I kind of assumed he loves to eat..." Since introducing rice/fruits, the only thing that's been a no-go has been peaches. Everything else is welcome!
• He's just a lot of fun. I know everyone's got to feel that way about their kid, but really - Tobin is just a joy to be around. We call him Joy Boy (we've got major rhyming skillz over herrre - represent!). He's always quick to give you a smile and a laugh. The best are the ones right after he wakes up - there's something about that sleepy face and big gummy smile that's impossible to resist.
• He has pretty much moved on from snuggling, there's too much to see. And since I miss that so much, we still get up once in the middle of the night for a feeding and while I know I could train him out of it, I don't want to. How bad is that? I love those 15 minutes of alone time I get with him where he's all cuddly and just wants me. I'm pathetic. I know it as I type it. But oh, he is just so sweet!
• Speaking of sleep, he is a super scheduled kind of guy. Regular naps and at night he goes down by 7:30 and sleeps till roughly 8:00. 

As always, I could go on...but really the bottom line is that we are just so blessed. And while Tobin has been doing the bulk of the growing over these last six months, when I think back on where we started - it seems Ty and I have been growing right along side of him and I'm so thankful - for all of it...the wonder of having a child, learning that there's so much out of our control, and that most importantly as Tobin's name reminds us every day - God is good!

The post on partum...

I'm about six months out from having Tobin and things are getting hairy over here (literally, keep reading)...so I thought it was about time for a post on this whole body after baby deal. So, I had been told just how gross I would feel after having a baby and that for as huge as you are right before you have the baby, you will look pregnant and feel icky for quite some time afterwards...fast forward to having Tobin and literally I dropped the 25-30 pounds I gained instantly. All of a sudden I could see a waist line of sorts, there was a "flat-like" quality to my stomach that hadn't been there for the last six months, it was all so thrilling! But, I got ahead of myself. See, the REAL body you're left with sets in about month five. Yeah, that's right. You only think you look great because (well in my case at least) you were HUGE. The first few months after you have the baby your body is just trying to figure out what it's going to do with itself.

Then you realize you've got a whole new body you're working with - and while I'm sure others have fared better than I have - I look something like Adam Sandler did in his scene in "Click." See picture below - and this was the best I could find, when you do a google search for Adam Sandler+Fat, things get real interesting real fast...trust me on that one.

 

So, you decide it's to the gym you must go. But guess what? You.Have.A.Baby. This may be a very obvious statement but your time table is completely flipped - you only get to do "you" when the baby is set and taken care of. In my case, that time generally comes around 7-7:30 at night. Which translates to a late night at the gym and then a quick shower followed by a collapse in bed. Don't get me wrong - the time of day I get with Tobin is by far my favorite, it's just the rest of my day (aka stupid work) makes it next to impossible to get any time away, and that's what I resent at times:) But, c'est la vie!

If you're still following along, here's the gist. Just when you think you couldn't look frumpier, have any less time to resolve said frumpiness, and you're literally using every hour of your day for a specific purpose - your post partum self takes it up a notch and you LOSE YOUR HAIR. I thought the hair loss thing was exaggerated, but no 'tis not, I'm afraid. Around month three I started losing it by the handful, but I've got thick hair, so no biggie. But want to know what sucks the most? When the hair comes back. I look like I burnt off the entire front section of my hair. No lie. I took a picture for you all (lucky you!):

It was about this time that I realized all hope is lost. So, yesterday I sunk to a new low. I was out of time (remember there is no time?!?!) and I couldn't handle my uni-brow. I was about to give Frida Kahlo a run for her money. I did the most logical thing I could think of - I shaved off the middle of my overgrown eyebrows with a nose hair trimmer. I even knew it was a bad idea at the time, but I couldn't stop myself. My hand involuntarily picked up the trimmer and did the deed.

I am sharing this as a plea for help. I think it's time for an intervention.

Help?!

A quick note of thanks...

There is something so special about sharing in the ups and downs of pregnancy/childbirth/parenting with your closest friends.

There is something even more wonderful about friends who have gone before you and share their knowledge, including their insecurities and fears, as they go along. So, just about that time where you're really wondering if you should be committed to the loony bin, that friend comes along side of you and laughs and says "oh yeah, me too." There is such comfort there - in the knowing that you aren't crazy...or perhaps aren't alone in the act of being crazy...

And the most fun of it all, is when one of those friends come out to visit and all they do is just love on your kiddo. Without comparison to their own, with no judgement, no qualifying statements...they just come along side of you and love your kid unconditionally, because that's the way they love you. I'm so lucky because one such wonderful friend came out for a visit and did just that!

Thank you, May - thanks for the visit, the mornings over coffee, the time out, the stuffed bear (Go, Ducks!), for loving so much on my boy...But most of all - thank you for all your support of the mother I am becoming.

Jumping in...

To say hello!

This is what we're up to these days...well that and lots of other things that include movement of some sort. We're either moving or eating. Oh, and as evidenced above - laughing. Kiddo's got a great sense of humor;) He laughs and yells while laughing.

And while the picture above is a little blurry, it couldn't capture Tobin more perfectly - full of excitement and missing a sock:) Always missing a sock (or socks for that matter!)...any tricks for socks that stay on? I don't believe they exist...