Fifty-One Weeks!

Today Nick is fifty-one weeks old! Only one more week until his birthday. Last year at this time I thought I still had 3 weeks until I became a mom :) We hadn't even properly installed the car seat base in my car or washed Nick's newborn clothes yet! Luckily we got everything together in time :)

Last weekend was a roller coaster. Friday night Nick had a very rough night with dad :( Couldn't sleep without mom. Saturday I tried to make up for it by spending every minute with Nick! We wanted to go to the park but it was a little cooler than we expected. We just played at home, and then after Nick woke up from his second nap we went to Grammie and Grandpa's to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. Nick enjoyed his first filet mignon :) And had oranges for dessert. Sunday I headed out to Katie's bridal shower, so Nick and Jeff had some more quality time together :) Nick had a rough time going down for his nap, but he was asleep when I got home around 4. Grandpa came over and we played in the basement for a while. Then Grammie stopped by, but by that time it was Nick's bedtime.

Monday it was back to work and daycare. This week Nick tried salmon for the first time. He loved it! I'm running out of new foods to give him though, LOL Nick seemed especially cheerful this week, very cuddly and fun. He also slept in his crib for a little bit one night. That's not so easy on me though - I have to lay down with my head at the foot of the bed to nurse him :) Tuesday and Wednesday I had to pick Nick up cause Jeff worked late. It's such an amazing feeling to walk into daycare, where Nick is perfectly happy playing - and then have him look up at me, drop what he's doing and crawl over to me with a huge smile on his face! I hope he's always that happy to see me :)

Tomorrow I am going to try to make it to a big mom2mom sale in Canton. At night Ms. Amanda is coming to baby-sit Nick so we can have a date night. Sunday we're having a playdate with some other little boys around Nick's age. We are working hard to find him some boy friends! All we know are girls :)

This week is a short week for us, because we leave for Raleigh on Thursday - Nick's first plane ride :) We're going to visit Aunt Krystyn and Uncle Zack for Nick's first birthday/Easter. Friday we're taking him to a kids museum called Marbles. Saturday we're giving him a little birthday party at Aunt Krystyn and Uncle Zack's house. He has a cute little "birthday boy" onesie and a hand-made "Nick's 1st Birthday" bib that I bought from an Etsy seller - it's so cute :) Sunday is Easter, so we're having a traditional ham dinner. Then we come home Monday.

It's so hard to believe we've been parents for almost a year. It's been both easier and much much harder than we thought it would be! We've loved almost every minute of it though :) Nick is such an amazing little guy. So easy-going, cuddly, friendly, curious, fun, funny . . .We are so proud of ourselves, too. We've stuck with everything we said we would do - cloth diapers, no pacifier, exclusively breastfed, baby-led weaning, no processed foods and no refined sugar, co-sleeping, and babywearing. We don't think this is the only way to raise a happy and healthy child, but this is the way we've chosen to raise our child and we're glad he is happy and healthy :)

Nick Laughing!

Fifty Weeks!

Today Nick is fifty weeks old! Whoa. Only two weeks till his birthday - I remember when he was only two weeks old! I've been spending a lot of time lately looking at his newborn pictures. He was such a little cutie :) Now he's a big cutie!

Last weekend we had a blast! Saturday morning Nick and I hit up some mom2mom sales. We went to the Plymouth moms of multiples sale - my third time going! - and bought Nick a couple toys and some 12 month onesies. Then we went to a big one at Livonia Franklin High - it was big but mostly girl clothes. I only bought him one thing there - a totally adorable UM warm up suit for when he's 18-24 months. Then we came home and Nick took a nice nap while Jeff and I got the house ready for our big potluck, which started at 4. People started arriving right at 4, and we didn't clear the house until just before 8. It was so much fun! Someone counted and we had 68 people! There was tons of great food (and even better desserts!) and everyone seemed to have a blast. We met a lot of new families and saw some of our oldest NAMI friends too. Some of the very first moms I ever met, when Nick was only a couple weeks old, couldn't believe how big he is now! We were so glad we were able to host such a great party - but we definitely won't be doing it again anytime soon :)

Sunday we took the day to just relax. We played and napped with Nick all day, and then we went to Trader Joe's real quick to grab groceries for the week.

Monday it was back to work and daycare. This week Nick tried kiwi for the first time - and he loved it! Monday and Tuesday we had such gorgeous weather here. We went for walks right after work with Nick both days - Monday Jeff wore him in the Ergo and Tuesday I wore him in the Moby. Wednesday was St. Patrick's Day! Nick looked very festive in his Carter's holiday clothes. I posted pictures that day :) Thursday Nick had our Wednesday night dinner for lunch - whole wheat pasta shells with sauteed tomatoes and cannellini beans. He did ok with the pasta and beans but he had a hard time with the tomatoes - I guess I have to stick to raw tomatoes or just sauce for now.

Today I am soooo nervous - it's kind of my first night away from Nick! I am going to my friend's bachelorette party and I probably won't be home until 3 or 4 am. I have never not been home before midnight since Nick was born. I'm so nervous about how he's going to do getting back to sleep without me here to nurse him :(

Saturday is a family day. We're just hanging out at home, then we're heading over to grammie and grandpa's to celebrate grandpa's birthday. Sunday is my friend's bridal shower, so I'll leave the house around 10:30, and I won't get home until 3 or 4 - so Nick gets more time with his dad!

We are getting really excited for our trip to Raleigh for Nick's birthday. His first plane trip, his first time out of Michigan, and he gets to see Aunt Krystyn and Uncle Zack again :)

This week Nick found "his" cupboard in the kitchen. It's pretty fun! We put all of his plastic plates and cups and some measuring spoons in there for him. He can go in there, pull everything out, play with it and we don't have to worry about anything breaking or having him hurt himself. This week he also indicated to me when he was done with his bath - the first time he just reached for me, and then last night he reached for me and started climbing out. Wednesday he and Jeff pulled into the garage right before I did. Jeff took him out of his car seat and pointed at me in the car, saying "look there's mommy, do you see mommy over there?" At first he didn't see me, then when he did, he got a HUGE smile on his face and started waving! I melted into a puddle in my car :) It was adorable. He is learning so much, and we can see it - it's very exciting! Pretty soon he'll be running around here and talking :)

Nick Goes Down the Slide!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Forty-Nine Weeks!

Today Nick is forty-nine weeks old! It seems like he's more and more a little boy every day - where did my baby go??

Last weekend it felt like we were going nonstop! Saturday we headed out after Nick's first nap. We dropped off some coconut milk to a friend, then stopped for lunch at Leo's Coney Island in Dearborn Heights on our way to Dearborn to pick up some Craig's list purchases. Nick sat in a high chair at Leo's and shared my salad with me - while charming all the ladies who passed by :) We went for a quick walk to the nearby Target too, so he could stay out of the car seat for a bit longer. Then we headed to the house to check out the Craig's list purchases. We bought Nick a ton of clothes, including the cutest Polo swim trunks ever, a nylon tunnel and a pool float with a built-in canopy. We were looking at that at Target, since our subdivision has a community pool - at Target it was $17.99 and we bought it for $7.50 :) Then we went to Costco. At Costco we picked up his amazing birthday party invitations that Jeff designed, some paper plates and other items for our potluck, and some shelves for our garage, among other things. Sunday we had a relaxed morning - I made some homemade sugar free whole wheat blueberry waffles, but Nick was not that impressed - I think they were a little too crisp for him. He enjoyed the fresh blueberries I piled on top though :) Later on Sunday afternoon we had a babywearing meeting at our house. It was so fun! Two of our friends from our Bradley class brought their babies, and a bunch of moms from my message board came, and we all hung out, watched the babies play and talked about slings, Ergos, the Moby, etc. It was so fun we're doing it again in April :)

Monday it was back to work and daycare. Monday was picture day at TLE. I took Nick a cutie outfit - a plaid shirt and jeans. Turns out lots of parents forgot it was picture day, so after Nick was done with his pictures, the teachers put his outfit on another little baby whose mom forgot an outfit! I think that's so sweet, I can't wait to see the pictures :) Unfortunately the shoes I bought for Nick to wear when he's outside didn't fit him, so I had to buy him some more. Tuesday I met someone at Target to buy a Chicco umbrella stroller and a booster seat for Nick. We were supposed to meet at lunch but he had to reschedule for after work, so I used my lunch hour to find Nick some news shoes. I bought him some size 4 and 5, that way I won't have to buy them again for a few months. This week Nick tried some new foods - oranges and brown rice. Nick loved both! I was nervous about giving him citrus but he ate it up. Wednesday I had court in the afternoon, so I came home instead of going back to the office. I picked up Nick's special St. Patrick's Day outfit and the rest of his birthday clothes at the Carter's outlet in Howell, then headed to TLE to pick Nick up. It was such a nice day I took him for a nice long walk in our subdivision - the first walk of the spring :)

Tonight Nick went to bed at his usual 6:30, and we are getting ready to host a big potluck tomorrow - we're expecting about 60 adults and kids! Should be a blast! Sunday we have no plans - just recovering from tomorrow. This week I am going to give Nick another new food - kiwi! I hope he loves it as much as I do.

Nick's newest skills are "blowing" his nose - he'll sit still as we hold a cloth diaper to his nose, then sniff or blow and let us wipe his nose - and blowing kisses - although he often doesn't do the hand part and the nose at the same time. He also reaches for us a lot when he wants a hug or to be picked up - it's so adorable! We are anxiously waiting for those first steps and first words. Could be any day now :)

Forty-Eight Weeks!

Today Nick is forty-eight weeks old! He is getting so big and he is starting to look like a toddler :) Still not much hair though :)

Last weekend we had a blast! Saturday morning I made whole wheat sugar free blueberry pancakes. I put some fresh blueberries on top for Nick and syrup on top for us. Nick had so much fun and made a big blue mess of himself :) We immediately gave him a bath, and he loves his bath now - splashing around and playing with toys. After he woke up from a nap, we all went to Costco to buy some things we needed for the house and to pick up some dessert for the CP potluck. After Nick's second nap, we went out to Ann Arbor for the potluck. We had such a great time! It was awesome to reconnect with those parents, talk about issues we're having now, and see Nick playing with the other kids. The last time he saw them he wasn't even crawling yet :)

Sunday we made a family trip to Ikea. We needed to get some shelves for Jeff's office and some items to get ready for a potluck we're hosting here soon. We ate lunch at Ikea and we ordered Nick his own Ikea kids meal. He had organic pasta with organic sauce, steamed vegetables and carrot sticks (which we saved for later, then forgot about and had to throw out). He loved the pasta and he was so adorable eating it!

Monday it was back to work and daycare. This week Nick surprised us by waving bye bye whenever he was about to nurse. It took us until Wednesday to realize he wasn't waving bye, he was signing the milk sign! We are so excited he's picking up the signs :) Wednesday Nick turned 11 months old! I just can't believe it. Wednesday and Thursday Nick stayed up a little later than usual, so we had some play time with him. We took him in the ball pit and let him crawl around the basement. He is so active now! He hates to be cooped up, he likes to be able to crawl around, touch things, look at things. It's so fun to see the house through his eyes! I sent pasta with sauce a couple times this week for Nick's lunch. He is starting to eat three times a day at TLE - morning snack, then lunch, then afternoon snack, like the big kids :)

Tonight he went to sleep as soon as I got home, so I went out to a mom 2 mom sale in Farmington. I bought him some shirts and pants, and two pairs of shoes to wear when he goes outside at daycare. We don't plan on buying him new shoes until he starts walking. These shoes are more for warmth than anything else.

This weekend we are going to be busy! Tomorrow we are going to pick up some Craig's list purchases for Nick. We also plan to make another trip to Costco. We have to print out Nick's birthday party invitations and some supplies for a potluck we're having. Sunday we're having a babywearing meeting at our house - we are so excited to see lots of mamas and babies with their baby carriers! Next week Nick has picture day at TLE again. Hopefully they go better this time! I haven't decided yet what Nick will wear . . .

Well, Nick's birthday will be bittersweet for me. When Nick turns one, I am 'hanging up the horns' - I will stop pumping at work. I don't plan to wean Nick, so he can nurse when we are together, but while he's at daycare we're going to have him drink goat milk instead of my milk. I am so excited to not have to lug that pump back and forth to work every day - but it makes me realize how big my baby is getting. I am so proud of myself for pumping for his first year. Lots of people said I wouldn't be able to do it, wouldn't want to do it, would give up after a few months - but they were wrong, and I did my best this year to do what I thought was best for my baby and provide him with my milk even though I wasn't with him all day :)