Look at Me

I am sitting in a high chair at a restaurant- and now I have a full range of things to grab, knock over, chew on, etc. Yesterday I growled as loud as possible over and over at a restaurant with mom, dad and honey. I can't wait to get on the airplane on Friday and show everyone how squirmy and shouty I am. Things are getting really fun these days.
Adios,
Davis

Growth Spurt

I can't get over how much Davis has changed and learned in the last few days. Here is a quick list- so I can both keep you up to date and remember to add it to his baby book.

- He is full on army crawling. I thought he was doing this before, but really he was just inch-worming. Now it's literally like a soldier, low crawling through the trenches. He can get anywhere and he especially likes to get under things, like his crib or the table, etc.

- Also, he props himself up on his hands and knees, sways back and forth, moves one knee forward, and then tumps over on his head. Once he figures out that you move one knee, and one leg, he is golden.

- He is eating little cracker puffs. This took a little getting used to- but now he loves them. Every once in a while, one will get stuck on his front lip, and it will just dangle there. He can feel that it's there, so he just slowly leans his whole body forward, thinking that might help...it's hysterical to watch.

- I put a little wrist rattle on him the other day, and he figured out what to do with it for the first time. He raised his little arm straight up in the air and shook it back and forth, smiling all the while. Before- he just chewed on it and tried to yank it off.

- When I go to pick him up in his little rainforest, I just stretch my arms out toward him, and he puts his up like "lift me up!"

- He is sitting up more and more, though he's not really so into it. He'll sit there for a while and play, but then he gets bored and starts army crawling or rolling around.

- I've started telling him "no" when he does the high pitch scream. I just calmly say "noooo" in a different voice, and he pauses and looks at me with a funny face, just trying to figure out what is going on. It seems to be working- probably more so because he hasn't heard that tone before- so it's nice to hear him say "blat bla bla bla bla" instead of a high pitched "SHRRIIIIIEEEEKKK!"

Aside from those measurable things, this is truly a week where I cannot stop thinking "where has my little baby gone?" He is such a different person. He cracks up over things, he smiles more, he asserts himself, and it's really gotten so fun. He turns 8 months old next week and I have to say- I really love this age. I've always loved him- but this is WAY more fun than 4 months ago.

Oh, p.s. gained a pound last week at WW. WHAT THE HECK? I have been busting my tail and I gained a pound? I'm hoping/thinking it's because I am doing serious weight lifting/stabilization workouts with Ahmad and gaining muscle. The positive side is that I did a little shopping this weekend and I'm down a size...plus I can feel the difference in my body- so I know it's working. Also, these workouts make me feel great. I contemplated "fake" sleeping through this morning. Like literally turned off my alarm...then I laid there and thought "who am I pulling a fast one on?" Just me. So I got up, went and worked out, and now my arms feel like they might fall off.

Nurseries

So while I am not ready to have another baby any time soon- I would love to do another nursery. I love design and decor and of course it's twice as fun when it's for a little one. Luckily, I am able to live vicariously through Katie and Kirsten.

Kirsten is having a little boy named baby Andy in early September and Katie is having a sweet baby girl, name TBD, in early October. I can't wait for both of them to arrive- and in the meantime- here is a sneak peek at Kirsten's nursery...and I'm still hoping for more pictures from Katie. Katie if you are reading this- I couldn't get the image you sent me from my phone to my PC, so please send me more pics so I can upload them to my blog :)

Enjoy!

Lately

Juggling

That is what I feel like I am doing these days. I know, I know...this is part of being a full-time working mom and I know, I know, a lot of people have it a lot harder than I do...but this is the truth: this is hard.

Right now, I'm at work or working from home most of the hours of the week, I scramble to pick up Davis at a time that will allow me to see him for 45 minutes before he goes to bed (which is actually requiring me to leave work earlier than most, which makes me feel like such a heel), I put him to bed and I either work more or try to work out. With Davis traveling more, this working out is difficult, because I can't exactly leave to go running or go to the gym, even though little D is just snoozing away in there.

Then there's just normal stuff that needs to be done- groceries, cleaning, taking care of stuff. When do I do that?

Not to mention- some semblance of a social life. When do I see my friends?

I don't get it and I only have one kid, and I have a helpful husband. How do people do this and feel effective in all or at least most areas of their life? I cannot stand doing things if I can't do them well.

I'm tired. And feeling ineffective, like I'm doing a million things and none of them very well.

Things I am thankful for- trying to be positive:
- flexibility at work, modified work schedule
- help from my family
- being able to take davis places he loves while i work (the wyrtzens!)
- having friends that I wish I could hang out with
- weekends

Three Little Monkeys

Snuggling in a bed...

Chutes and Ladders and Baby Davis

Just got this email from Nikki at work. It cracked me up picturing Davis, avoiding the nap, shouting and playing instead. Oh and before you freak out- Nikki's bed is like 10 inches off the ground, max.

from nikki:
so, i put davis down for a little nap about 10 minutes ago. he just gave a few little happy shouts that let me know he was wide awake so i went to peek around the door to see what was going on and he had rolled off the bed, down the big euro pillows and was playing, on the floor, with the duvet. i think he's now got a taste for chutes and ladders.

and i think i better come up with a new nap spot solution!

Mom Guilt

I have it. And I've always been the person that thinks it's so silly to feel guilty over things which you clearly shouldn't feel guilty about. i.e. we are going to Cabo for our 5 year anniversary on Thursday...and I can hardly even get excited about it because I feel both guilty for and nervous about leaving little D behind (even though I know he is in great hands with Honey). I've got to shake this...because it's going to be amazing and we're going to be back before he knows it.

Anyway- someone asked me last night what Davis is up to these days. Here is a list.
1) moving everywhere, scooting, rolling, inch-worming, etc.
2) making sounds that sound more like words, like "yayayayayaya" or "blabababababa"
3) grabbing tiny things in one try- before it was like the claw just reaching around for whatever he came across- now he is into grabbing my earrings, my necklace, pieces of dirt on the floor, etc.
4) shouting, first it was screaming, and he still does that occasionally- mainly in restaurants, but now it's like little boy shouts or grunts
5) dunking his face in the pool- he leans so far forward and works so hard to get his face in, then he pops up looking so surprised at what happened

Summer Fun

Its amazing- he's figured out that I want him to smile when I point the camera his way. Pretty much a genius.

Firsts, All Around

Lots of firsts this weekend. Davis' first memorial day, his first swim in the Llano river, and his first boat ride. He seemed to enjoy all things Memorial Day, and I have some pictures and an awesome video that I will post later.

My first was a training session this morning (6 am!) with my friend Stacey and a guy named Ahmad. We've been referring to him as Ahmad Rashad, and so I accidentally called him "Rashad" a few times which was embarrassing enough and then it was amplified when we found out his name isn't even Ahmad Rashad. It's Ahmad Watson. Oops. Since today was the first day, we weighed in, did measurements, body fat percentages, etc. Sort of dismal. Okay, not sort of. Totally dismal. Then, for the second half of the hour, we started working out. And it was hard. So hard and yet I'm quite certain it's actually easy stuff- I'm just in horrible shape. So anyway...I'm already sore (3 hours later) and I am dreading the full hour on Thursday.

But on the flip side, I will say I feel great right now. The truth is, I haven't felt this good, like fresh from a hard workout in over a year. I forgot what it feels like. So anyway- I'm just going to press on, endure the torture and hope that it shows soon enough. The interesting, potentially frustrating thing is that when we were talking to him about weight watchers, I told him that I lose about a pound a week on average...and he said "Well here is the hard thing about training like this...for women especially. At first you aren't going to see the progress on the scale. Because while you will lose weight long-term, my focus is on building muscle and losing inches. So don't get frustrated. " Yeah Right Ahmad. That's what I wanted to say.

Anyway- for the most part, I'm excited about it all. MOMENTUM!
However I did gain almost a pound last week. Which was a bummer, but I'm not going to lie...really I enjoyed putting on every ounce drinking wine last weekend in Fredericksburg with my girlfriends. Se la vie.

Oh, one more thing...Davis is working so hard on crawling. He's almost figured it out, but in the meantime, he rolls to cross long distances and then he's figured out how to turn/spin on his belly like a turntable to get what he wants. He was super excited when he rolled on to the wood floor Sunday morning and saw that he could slide across the room with ease. He has also gotten a lot quicker with his thoughts and movements. I'll do this game now where he is lying on his belly with his arms out...I'll slap my hand on the ground in front of him, then move it away really fast. He'll start to smile and grab at my hand each time I move it...and he's pretty quick on the draw. What a doll. Love that kid.