Christmas

My sweet sister-in-law took some pictures on Christmas Day, thank goodness, because I'm the awesome parent who didn't take out her camera one single time over her first born's first Christmas. Geez. What was I thinking?!?

Actually, I wasn't really thinking at all... I was soaking up every single second of that wonderful day. Christmas with my son and family was just amazing.

As all babies seem to be, Carson was more interested in the packaging than the gifts. He really loved Christmas cookies and had more than his fair share. He didn't really get the whole stocking thing... maybe I should have stuffed it with tissue paper and ribbons, he probably would have loved it! His teething seemed to take a break for the holiday and he was able to enjoy all the fun- and so were we! Looking at the pictures makes me laugh because for such a happy baby, he sure doesn't smile for his picture! What a stinker!

Over the past few weeks, Carson has become almost an entirely different baby. It really amazes me! He is now super, super busy all. the. time. If he's awake- he's moving. He LOVES climbing things, which is getting a little scary. I swear, I just turn my head for a second and he's in the dishwasher or on the fireplace mantle or is attempting to climb the kitchen chairs and coffee table.

He's such a fast little crawler too- and he loves to be chased around! He'll just giggle and giggle if you act like you're going to "get him!" He's not walking, but is taking a few little steps when holding on to something.

He's not saying any real words yet- but his "word" for everything is "BA." He points to whatever it is he wants and says "BA!"

Popcorn? "BA!"

Deer heads mounted in the office? "BA!"

Mommy? "BA!"

He LOVES his daddy and just about everything except green beans, eggs, and getting dressed! If it wasn't January, I'd just let him be naked all day long because he's much happier that way! Just like his daddy, he loves all things carbohydrate- bread, crackers, pasta, popcorn... they're two of a kind. I sneak in as many fruits and veggies as I can- for them both!

If you'd have asked me about 11 months ago (yes- he's almost a year old!) if I liked being a parent, um... not so sure. But ask me now... It's AWESOME! Sean and I are having SO! MUCH! FUN! I guess Carson may have a brother or sister after all (all grandparents let out a sigh of relief). I think I may have caught a second baby fever...

Jet Obsessed

Carson is totally obsessed with our dog, Jet. Everything Jet does is hilarious and everywhere Jet goes is the place to be. If Jet goes to the door... Carson goes to the door. If Jet is drinking water... well, Carson tries to drink water too. I only wish he hadn't spilled the entire bowl of water all over him in the process.

Carson is also obsessed with dog toys, and best of all, the kennel! This probably sounds terrible, but whenever Carson gets fussy, I'll take him to our room and set him in front of the dog kennel... endless enjoyment!

Ooooooh.....



Ahhhhhh....



If I could just get in here...





I give up, where's Jet?



Oh, Jet, your tail is the best. thing. ever.



No more pictures, please Mom. I'm busy eating this dog's tail.



Alright, just one more, if you must.

iPhone Pictures

Yes... I'm just as obsessed with my iPhone as my husband is. I finally admit it. Moving on...

Today I had Sean help me remove the thousands of pictures I've taken on my iPhone (literally thousands. And yes, I need his help. I'm obsessed with my phone, but I have no real tech knowledge.) and I have just vowed to myself the following:

I will take more pictures on our actual camera and not so many on my phone. The picture quality is terrible. My son is much cuter when not fuzzy and blurry.


But, I do feel the need to share a few of my iPhone favorites... fuzzy and blurry as they may be...


How could this not be one of my favorites? Only minutes after this precious angel entered my life. I tear up each and every time I look at it. Life is amazing, isn't it?




Funny little guy... was he ever really this small?



Love his smile in this one... it was one of his first real "he knows he's smiling at me" smiles.



Precious sleeping face.



Man how I wish he still loved this toy... he would jump his little hiney off! Those days are gone!



Love watching him play.



Oh, man, those bananas were nasty!



Sweet, sleepy baby.



It used it crack me up to watch him take every single toy out of the basket. Used to.



Best Friends. LOVE!



Shopping. I love this picture! I love shopping with him too... he's such a good sport! I'm sure that won't last forever, so I guess I should do as much shopping as possible right away!



He's such a little stinker! His ability to get around is getting ridiculous! He's ALL over the place! I pretty much get nothing done while he's awake.



This pumpkin suit was not going to stop him!




Blurry, but fun little pictures, right? There are about a thousand more.

First Spaghetti

Last Tuesday, at Carson's nine month check-up, I was made to feel like a terrible mother because I wasn't feeding my baby mostly table food. (Not really. Dr. Pielop is awesome, but he did tell me to lay off the baby food and bottles and feed this boy the real deal.) So, I've been diligently feeding Carson exactly what we've been eating... plus a few extra fruits and veggies (like most mothers, I feed Carson much better than I feed myself).

Tonight I served my men spaghetti and turkey meatballs... and they both loved it.








It was absolutely adorable watching him completely cover himself in spaghetti sauce. It almost made me forget that he screamed the entire time I was cooking. I guess he's training us to eat earlier than we used to. (BTW- at Carson's nine month appointment, I asked Dr. Pielop about why Carson is all of a sudden way fussier than he used to be... his answer... "Their personalities start showing around nine months." Great! My kid's personality is awesome!)

I was impressed that he ate all the onions and garlic... I wonder when kids start deciding they hate things? A battle for another day, I guess. Thank God they don't all come at once!

Before his bath we let his spaghetti-lusty dog have a go...






I just posted pictures of my dog eating spaghetti off my baby. Someone nominate me for mother of the year.

Mission: Fit into Dress continued

Day 3

Weight- 133.6 lbs. No kidding!! I lost over 2 pounds!

Breakfast- a HUGE omelet with veggies and cheese, quickly devoured and then washed down with some coffee that would have been so much better with some sugar in it.

Lunch- Leftover grilled pork and veggies.

Snack- trail mix!! Yea for chocolate chips!

Dinner- Roast chicken, carrots, and Brussels sprouts. It actually turned out perfectly and was pretty darn good.

Celebrations- I guess this is working... in a way. I am losing weight. I feel thinner to be sure. Not nearly as bloated. I didn't have to suck in at all today.


and right on to Day 4

Weight- 132.4 I am not making this up. Dead serious here. I have lost 4 pounds in 4 days.

Breakfast- eggs. AGAIN. I am so stinking sick of eggs. What other low-carb breakfast options are there? I can't keep eating eggs everyday. BORING.

Snack- a couple spoonfuls of almond butter with some dark chocolate chips. YUM.

Lunch- a hell of a lot of chicken salad. Double YUM.

Dinner- grilled shrimp and veggies, by Sean. Very, very good. And I just couldn't help myself- a glass of red wine. It's supposed to be good for you, right?

Celebrations- this good-for-me food is actually staring to taste good. This is not my first ride on the hippy-dippy eating train... I've just been off track for a while now, so getting back on has been HARD. This is a good sign! I am no longer sugar's bitch.


Well... I tried on my dresses today. I got into them, but it wasn't pretty. I think they will look better once I've lost a few more. But, the good news is I do have a couple other dresses that will work and they both look even better now that I'm not sucking in a fat gut the entire time. This is starting to seem less tortuous and more like just being a responsible adult. Plus, I like myself so much better when I don't hate how I look.

Mission: Fit into Dress continued...

Day 2 (Or, more appropriately, HELL.)

Weight- 136.0 lb. Are you KIDDING me? I've tortured myself for a day and all I lose is 0.4 of a pound!!! Total BS.

Breakfast- scrambled eggs and a tomato sliced. Oh, and some coffee. With cream, but no sugar.

Lunch- Chicken salad salad with avocado and tomato.

Snack- trail mix (admittedly, with chocolate chips in it. It was HEAVEN.)

Dinner- pork tenderloin and grilled asparagus, peppers, and onions.

Celebrations- I didn't punch anyone in the face today.


THIS SUCKS!!!!! I know I need to be an adult and have some self discipline and not whine like a baby (OMG, baby whining was intollerable) but I absolutely could not control myself today. I feel like poo! I am DIZZY and have a headache and I'm so irritable that anyone in my path is liable to be physically assulted. I feel so flipping angry that I'm NOT eating a cupcake right NOW! I honestly lusted over Carson's banana/pineapple/orange blend baby food (it smells so good) and his teething biscuit (it's the closest thing to a cookie I've seen today). I think I'm seriously going through SUGAR WITHDRAWL. I hate it. I hate it so much.

Here's to hoping Day 3 will be better... because I'm not quitting! In the name of science, I must know if crash low-carb dieting will get me back into this dress by Saturday night!

Mission: Fit into Dress

Sean is in a wedding this coming weekend, and that means I've got a rehearsal dinner and a wedding to dress for. About a month ago this wouldn't have been a problem at all and I actually would be looking forward to it, but now... no so much. I have gained at least 5 pounds in the last few weeks, maybe even close to 10. (It SO sucks to type that.) I have two beautiful dresses that I love and really want to wear, but at this point, I do not fit in them. Period. (I also don't seem to fit into a lot of my clothes, and rather than wear my maternity clothes again, I need to harden up and lose a few pounds. Sigh.)

So, my goal in the next 5 days is to lose just enough weight so as to squeeze into my dresses this weekend and not have to spend money on two new outfits. Is it impossible? Instead of just giving up and going shopping for something that actually fits me, I figure I can survive anything for 5 days so I'm going to be extremely serious about this and see if I can actually lose enough weight. If not, I'll head my happy, fat self over to Target and try to find something on the cheap. So let the experiment begin... and let me be clear right now: some people might be annoyed to hear me talking about losing weight since I'm technically not overweight but I don't care. If you have any comments about why "you would love to be my size" or "stop complaining you skinny bitch" please keep them to yourselves. This is an experiment people, and I'm simply documenting it here. I think the internet world has a right to know if I can actually accomplish this, or if it truly is impossible. Here goes nothing.

Day 1

Weight- 136.4 lb. Terrible. Horrible. Am HUGE cow who can only wear one pair of jeans in closet. Have to do something. Now.

Breakfast- scrambled eggs, avocado, and salsa... and a little cheese. Not bad, but not a doughnut.

Lunch- leftover hamburger from yesterday's football grill-out, guacamole and salsa. Yes- two meals with avocado and salsa, but right now options are limited until trip to grocery store. Oh, and a Lara Bar.

I haven't made it to dinner yet... will update later.

Goal: No grains, no sugar (follow Sean's caveman diet- www.marksdailyapple.com). Go on walk with hubby and baby. Do some sort of exercising with weights... I'm not a cardio-a-holic and I will not be aiming to run five miles, people, even if I am signed up to run a half-marathon in January (I know I'm ridiculous, let's just save that for another post).

Celebrations: Threw away tons of left-over buttercream icing and did not eat any of it. Super hard. Had to put it directly into trash can, cover it with other trash, and promptly take it out to the curb. Feel like this must be what a crack addict goes through when they stop smoking crack. Maybe on a slightly lesser scale.

Feeling motivated by the wedding cake I will be awarding myself if I actually do make it until Saturday.