What a Whirlwind

Whew, this was one busy weekend! Started out with a trip to my parent's on Friday night to see my brother, Zach, and his wife, Cara, who are here from Wyoming, had Cara's baby shower on Saturday morning, did some quick shopping for Ben and came home Saturday night. Sunday, we had tickets to the Thunder vs. Lakers game. It was a little exhausting, but we had a blast! I'm so glad Ben got to see both his Mimi and his Grandma this weekend.

Today, Benjamin had a big day! I have had such a hard time with figuring out when to start solids. There are so many conflicting views and opinions! He's been acting super hungry and has started showing all the signs that he is ready for more than just milk. So in the end, I am sticking with his doctor's advice and going to veggies first, then fruit, then grains.

His very first solid food - green beans! He wasn't too sure at first, but ended up smacking and licking his lips by the end. It was the cutest and funniest thing that Dustin and I had seen in awhile. We can't wait to try peas later on in the week!

Reality Rocks

So, I'm a little obsessed with reality tv. Some of my favorites: American Idol, Biggest Loser, The Bachelor, House Hunters, Next Food Network Star...but I digress. The point is - this year, I'm loving the new Idol format and judges! I was skeptical when I heard Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler were joining the cast, but I gave it a shot and am so glad I did!

Side note: Unlike most of the free world, I do not want Emily to win The Bachelor because I don't think Brad is good enough for her.

We have a March Madness-style bracket put together for the Top 24 of American Idol going with some of my girls from work. I have been trying to think of the logical top choices, but am really struggling with who I think has a legitamate shot at winning. Anyone reading this have a guess?

those pesky five pounds

So I have officially been not pregnant for 19 weeks. I had a personal goal of losing every single one of my 38 pregnancy pounds by week 20. The first 30 pounds literally fell off! I just woke up one morning and all of my pre-eclampsia related swelling was gone and I once again had tiny ankles! It was amazing! However, this last bit has been trouble. After much hard work, I have lost a total of 3 pounds in the last two months. Yikes.

I could blame it on my recent discovery of The Pioneer Woman or the Christmas holidays, but I'm not going to do that.

To the right, you'll see a picture of me at my goal weight. It's there to remind me that I have done this before, I can do it again!

So in a true all-out effort, here's my plan: continue with my 4 or 5 weekly workouts and starting tomorrow, back to Weight Watchers. My work is having a workout competition during the month of March and my Type-A personality really loves winning, so I'm hoping by March 31st, I can say goodbye to these last 5 pounds!

4 months and counting!

Benjamin had his 4 month checkup Monday and weighs 15.5 lbs and is 24 1/2 inches long! That's 50th percentile and his pediatrician says he is perfectly healthy! What a blessing to hear those words! I can't believe my tiny boy has grown so much and is now making little talking noises and wearing 3-6 months clothes.
Ben is getting his first cousin in 10 weeks. I can't wait to be an aunt and am so excited to meet Baby Tucker. One more week and I get to accompany Zach and Cara to their 4D ultrasound!
Dustin and I had our first weekend getaway and left Ben for 2 nights with my parents. Let me just say, it was pretty tough not putting him to bed or rocking my sweet boy. So super excited to see him in a few hours!
One of the best parts of being a mom is all the 'firsts' but first nights away was not my favorite! So here's to our next 'first' - whatever that may be!

part 2

So now that Ben is happily asleep and we are watching old episodes of The Office, I have a little time to just be. And because I feel guilty to just sit and do nothing, I decided to blog.
That's one of my fatal flaws - the inability to just sit down and totally relax. I am the queen of multi-tasking.
Probably started in fifth or sixth grade when I would hide my latest novel in the top drawer of my desk while watching my homeschooling tape, sneaking chapters in between fractions and handwriting classes. Yes - my homeschooling curriculum included handwriting - believe.it.
However, this skill has served me well in my twenty-something years thus far. I can juggle five or six things at once and still maintain a coherent conversation.
Good thing I learned this skill early because as a mother, multi-tasking is everything.

the beginning

We just got a new laptop, so I decided to give blogging a go!

Dustin and I are so blessed to have welcomed our little baby boy Benjamin to our lives on October 13, 2010. He came 4 weeks early and weighed in at a healthy 6 lbs. 9 oz. and was 18 inches long. We are so in love and our lives have changed forever.

Ben is a total doll. To highlight some of his accomplishments to date:

- started sleeping through the night at 9 weeks
- rolled over for his first time on Christmas Eve around 6 weeks old
- growing to be a big boy at 11 lbs 13 oz and 23 inches at 2 months
- currently wearing some of his 0-3 months clothes and some of his 3-6 months things

We go for his 4 month checkup on Monday - I'll be sure to blog...