Spring is Here

I love the month of April. It's when the grass gets greener and the days are longer and flowers start blooming. I love waking up and it's light outside and going to bed and it's light outside. It's hard not to be happy when life is blooming all around.

The most exciting thing happening in my life this week is that I am going to be an aunt to my first nephew either Monday or Tuesday, May 2nd or 3rd! I can't wait to hold that baby and see how much he looks like my brother and Cara. I'm excited for Ben to meet his cousin and hope they grow up to be best friends. My parents, Ben and I are driving up to Wyoming to be with Zach and Cara as they adjust to having little Tucker at home. I'm excited to see their home and spend time with my family.

Ben had his 6 month checkup today and weighed in at 18 lbs. 4 oz. and 27 inches! He's 67th percentile for length and 54th for weight. He's growing so big and is completely healthy and on track with all his milestones. We couldn't be happier as parents!

winning

I set a personal goal for myself to lose the last 5 pounds that I gained while pregnant with Ben by March 31st. As of today, March 30th - I have lost 4.4 lbs. Not quite 5, but pretty dang close. I'll take it. Maybe I'll wake up and have lost that last 0.6! I'm very proud of myself and my hard work.

In other news, my parents moved into their new house this past weekend, so we spent the day Saturday moving boxes and furniture and whew - it was exhausting. We had a great time seeing my parents and having lunch with Dustin's mom on Sunday! I love that Ben lives close enough to his grandparents that he gets to see them often.

Now, as for American Idol - I am pretty obsessed with Paul and Lauren and Pia. I love Casey, too. That's all. :)

learning as I go

Last week, the Wheeler household went through our first round of teething. It started with a low-grade fever, tons of saliva, fussiness and constant chewing of fingers. It ended after a few days and surprise - Benjamin has his 2 bottome teeth! We were so excited when we woke up Monday morning and felt those little guys.





I can't believe he's growing up so quickly!

In other news, I've recently discovered Barre3. It's a workout consisting of pilates, ballet and yoga and I'm obsessed! It's the most intense hour and I am already seeing results. If you live in OKC, check out barre3.com/okc.

My current workout schedule looks something like this: Mondays - pilates reformer, Tuesdays - Zumba, Thursdays - mat pilates plus two or three days of cardio. So thankful for my work's gym and all the amazing classes they offer!




Also, totally loving Smart Ones breakfast sandwiches right now. I have been eating one every morning on my drive in to work. So delish!

babies, babies, babies

I have attended or hosted a baby shower at least once a month for the past 6 months. I am so happy that all my friends are going to have kids around the same age as Benjamin. It's also a tiny bit overwhelming when we all get our babies in the same room! I loved that we were all pregnant so close together so we can share tips and advice and I love having meetings of the mommy minds and swapping the latest baby 411.

My sister-in-law Cara was so sweet and let me come to her 4D ultrasound. Seeing little Tucker was the most awesome thing! He looks so much like my brother, but I think he's going to have his momma's smile and chin. Such a doll already! He was making the cutest faces and reminded me a lot of Ben.

Cara asked me for some advice on what to take to the hospital the other day and it got me thinking...
I feel like I should use this blog to keep a diary for myself in the future in case Ben gets a brother or sister someday...so future self: here is some advice:

-keep your little one on a schedule and try to stick to it every day - it makes life so much easier.
-don't be afraid to ask for help.
-bring your own pillow to the hospital.
-call the pediatrian as often as you want - that's what they are there for!
-if your baby hates swaddling, don't force it. if they love it, wrap that baby tight!
-the Boppy newborn lounger is amazing.
-pumping is weird at first, but you will get used to it.
-let your husband help you on some of those middle of the night feedings and get some sleep.
-you will make it past those first few weeks when the adrenaline wears off. Promise.
-love every single moment because they grow up so fast!

I'm sure I left out a thousand key points, but that's the great thing about blogging - you can always write more later!

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!