Meet the Robinsons

Cloth Diapers Revisited

2010-11-01T09:11:00.002-04:00

As you know by now, I love me some cloth diapers. On a personal note, 5 years ago I never ever thought I would utter the words "love" and "cloth diapers" in the same sentence, let alone actually use them!! We ran into some leaks along the way (get it, leaks haha!), especially at night time. My beloved Bum Genius diapers had failed me, and off down the disposable road we went. I was given a few suggestions for some night time ones to try and I finally made a decision to go with Sloomb Sustainable Babyish Cloth Fitted (aren't they pretty?) with a wool cover. We are 2/2 in staying dry at night and I have fallen in love. My only regret - that I didn't find these sooner! So, I found a giveaway for another fitted diaper, I'm hoping to win and get the mocha one this time! Check out 29 Diapers for the giveaway, and also for tons of information on cloth diapering, saving money with babies, and all sorts of other fun things! Pictures of Dax in his new undies will be coming soon...

Loss

2010-10-25T14:54:00.002-04:00

When I was pregnant, I joined a message board with other women who were pregnant and due in October 2009. We all grew pretty close, and now that our babies are here we continue to talk. We share our lives with each other - some of the women on that board are the closest friends I have. One of the ladies on my board had a 2 year old daughter fighting leukemia. I read the blog that she kept, staying up to date on her daughter's progress. Sometimes it seemed like she was winning, other times it seemed like leukemia was winning. I found out that her daughter passed away Saturday evening and is now in heaven. My heart is so heavy and aches for them. To lose a baby at 2 years old, I can't even fathom the pain they are going through and the emptiness they are feeling in their family. Life is short, two years seems so unfair, but I find peace in knowing that the sweet little girl is no longer in pain, and is up in heaven with her Father up above.

Girly Burp Rags

2010-10-22T10:57:00.003-04:00

My friend Ashley is due in a couple of weeks, expecting a baby girl - Anna Elizabeth. She picked up some super cute fabric on clearance and asked me to make her some burp rags for baby Anna.

I decided to do a cute zig-zag stitch around the edge to finish them off:

They are all set for Anna to start using :)

All I want for Christmas...

2010-10-20T09:31:00.003-04:00

or I should say, all Dax wants for Christmas are his 2 front teeth! The bottom 2 are taking their sweet time coming in, with no sign of any others at this point. You can barely see the second tooth coming in, it's the one on the left when you look at the picture - it started coming through Saturday morning.

Yes, that is pumpkin on his face, I've been mixing it in with his oatmeal in the mornings for breakfast and he loves it! He loves his new teeth, he's constantly moving his tongue over them to feel them out, and his new favorite thing to do is feel our teeth. This sends both him and us into peals of laughter.

Dax's First Birthday Party

2010-10-17T11:24:00.003-04:00

We went with a Halloween themed party this year, and it was a success! I was pretty stressed out about getting everything done, and I wish I had made and/or bought a few more decorations, but this was truly the first birthday party I have ever thrown, and it was a pretty big learning experience for me :) I am also proud to announce that I did not have a breakdown until after Dax went to bed last night, I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that my baby will be 1 on Monday.

The cake is not what I had originally attempted to do, but it was the next best option when we didn't have a cake the day of the party :)

I also made up some cupcakes that were inspired by my friend Joanne, who made some Candy Corn Cupcakes (for what it's worth, I used a cream cheese frosting, which I probably wouldn't do again if I wanted to pipe frosting on, it doesn't hold it's shape very well once the frosting gets room temperature):

We also had some homemade pumpkin cheesecake bars with oreo crusts, and little ghosts on top (these are so delicious, i had one for breakfast!):

The table setup:

The decorations:

And the birthday boy himself with his first piece of cake!

It was everywhere :)

And here he is with his present from mama and daddy:

Delux Tag Blankets - Baby Crafting Part 2

2010-10-14T20:36:00.002-04:00

I believe I have caught the crafting bug from my friend Joanne, over at Ready, Set, Craft! Today, I tackled some tag blankets. I just did mini ones, the first one was a 10"x10", and the other one was 8"x8". The fabric I picked up is so fun - it's textured, but really really soft as well, perfect to attach to a carseat, stroller, or use for a lovie :)

Here's the 8" one:

Here's the 10" one:

Baby Presents - Getting Crafty Again!

2010-10-13T15:54:00.003-04:00

I am on a homemade gift kick! One of my good friends had a baby on Sunday (the coolest birthday ever - 10.10.10), she and her husband kept the gender a surprise until their baby was born. I personally don't think I could do that, it would drive me nuts!! They had a boy, and they didn't have much boy stuff since their first was a girl. I've been making a few different "boy" things to send them instead of the traditional gift of clothes. This might end up being a series of 3 post, because I have 3 different things I am making her.

Today, I attempted some burps cloths. The key - having really really cute fabric :) I didn't have a pattern, but I did hold up one of our burp rags to the fabric for a rough idea of how long and wide the cloth should be. My favorite fabric is the one with the dinosaurs....I just might need to make Dax a blanket or pillow case out of it!!

Pumpkin Lane

2010-10-12T16:34:00.003-04:00

We took Dax to Gull Meadow Farms where they have Pumpkin Lane. It's a little area set up with different cut outs to pose with, pumpkins, activities, and great picture taking opportunities. The weather has been wonderful here, so last night we packed up and went over to check it out!

Stay tuned for pictures from Dax's halloween themed first birthday party this weekend!!

A Tooth!

2010-10-08T17:21:00.002-04:00

Dax finally has a tooth, and just 2 weeks shy of being 1 year old as well :) We were beginning to think that his almost 5 month old cousin was going to beat him in getting some pearly whites.

Bilingual Baby

2010-10-06T21:46:00.000-04:00

Dax has started saying his first word in french "chat", which is cat. Everytime he sees a cat he starts saying "cha cha cha"...we love it!

Birthday Planning

2010-10-02T10:42:00.002-04:00

Dax's first birthday is almost here and I have been working like crazy trying to get everything pulled together for this special day. We have decided to do a halloween-themed party, mainly because there is an abundance of halloween decorations available right now :) The first thing I took care of were the invitations. I enlisted the help of my friend, Joanne, who is also a Stampin' Up demonstrator, to make some invites. You can see them on her blog here.

I have since moved on to figuring out our menu. We are having a mid-afternoon party, so we'll be doing desserts and finger foods. This week, I tested out some carrot cream-cheese bars.

I'll be changing the colors used so the "spiders" are a little more noticable :) Up on the menu to try next week, pumpkin cheesecake bars with an oreo crust.

Getting Crafty Again

2010-09-29T08:00:00.002-04:00

In a week or so, I will be going to a baby shower for a friend who's having a baby girl in December. I was going to make a wet bag, but she isn't sure if she's going to cloth diaper or not, and even though it would still be useful, I wanted to do something more fun! I picked up some great fabric and fleece at Joanne's during a HUGE sale, and here is what I made:

Shopping Cart/High Chair cover:

A view of the leg holes and toy loops:

The ruffle - this was my first time making a ruffle since I've only made covers for boys so far, it was fairly easy and I'm really pleased with the result!

And the cover reversed (yes, they are reversible!!)

Temporary Hiatus

2010-09-18T11:35:00.002-04:00

Excuse the absence and lame posts from me over the past week or so. We moved yesterday, and are still in the process of moving. We are about 1/2way into our new apartment, but do not have internet set up yet and that isn't really on the top of the list for today. Dax is loving the apartment, there is a long hallway that he cruises up and down with a crazed look on his face and giggles the entire time. Nighttime and naps are a different story, he doesn't know the place at all, so he wakes up, even more frequently, screaming himself scared. When I go get him from his crib, he's sitting up, and looks petrified, I hate seeing him so scared. Hopefully this adjustment phase won't last forever.

Jail Break!

2010-09-15T21:40:00.003-04:00

Meet Dax, my adorable almost 11 month old son.

See Dax Land where Dax plays.

See Dax get too smart for his own good and climb onto his car in an attempt to escape the confines of Dax Land.

F is for Football

2010-09-13T13:31:00.002-04:00

College football to be precise! Fall is my husband's most favorite season, mainly because it means the start of college football again. To say he loves watching college game day, following his favorite team, and participating in college pick'ems with his buddies is an understatement. Lately, he and Dax have been playing lots and lots of football together. Dax is learning how to tackle and catch, he even has conquered spiking a ball. Just watch...

Second Attempt at Crafting

2010-09-12T12:08:00.003-04:00

and the results came out much better!! The zipper was a lot easier to sew this time and I was extremely pleased with the results!

Dax has been romping around everywhere these days. He and Derek have been enjoying playing football together, and we have even taught him to do the touchdown sign when we say touchdown!

My Attempt at Craftiness

2010-09-08T09:43:00.003-04:00

I made a wetbag for dirty diapers, or wet clothes, or really anything wet! The zipper gave me more problems than I care to remember, and my first bag is going in the trash, it really can't be salvaged. I'm pretty pleased with this, although I'm not so sure it's good enough to give as a gift.

Crawling Explosion

2010-08-31T13:51:00.002-04:00

Ever since Dax has started crawling, it's as if all of these other light bulbs in his head have gone off at the same time. He's EVERY WHERE at once, trying to walk all the time, crawling up, in, out, through, down, pretty much anything, pulling up on everything, this boy is ready to run. Here are a few "action shots" of him crawling and going up the stairs.

So Long Mr. Walrus

2010-08-23T20:36:00.000-04:00

As of Sunday, Dax has officially transitioned into doing a normal crawl. As happy as I am to see him hit this milestone, I will definitely miss seeing his goofy walrus crawl.

Tupperware

2010-08-15T20:46:00.002-04:00

Dax finally found the tupperware/plasticware cabinet at my parent's house and he went to town!

Craft Project

2010-08-13T13:36:00.002-04:00

I'm not very artsy...I try, but I'm just not gifted in that area like most of my other family members are. I have, however, started sewing various things. Surprisingly they aren't turning out all that bad :) Several of my friends are having babies in the next few months, or have a little one already, which means that I have first birthday gifts I will need to get and new baby gifts to give as well. I've always enjoyed something that was more unique, something that you couldn't find at just any store, something more personal. This year, I have decided for most of the first birthday and new baby gifts, I will be making them. I'm not sharing just yet what I'm making, but here's a sneak peak of the fabric I already picked up at the store. I think I may need to get some more, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there!

On The Shoulders

2010-08-10T10:27:00.004-04:00

My dad has been eagerly awaiting the first day when he could pop Dax up on his shoulders and walk around with him. That day finally arrived on Sunday. We took a walk over to Somerset Beach Campground to go on the playground before bedtime. After going down the slide...

After swinging in the swings...

Dad finally popped Dax up on his shoulders

Was the answer that simple?

2010-08-06T19:41:00.002-04:00

The past few nights with Dax my patience is done after about 30 seconds of screaming and flailing. I've quickly called in backup (aka Derek), and within 15-20 minutes Derek has our monster snoozing. We approach getting Dax to sleep from 2 very different ways.

His way: He puts a blanket over his shoulder, holds Dax against him and helps put Dax's head on his shoulder. Then while humming or quietly singing, he bounces up and down, often he'll say "heyheyheyheyhey" sounds weird, but it works. Roo falls asleep on daddy's shoulder.

My way: Pop Dax on the boob to let him nurse, then once he's done, keep him sideways in my arms and rock him to sleep while singing "the wheels on the bus" and our beloved Michigan State fight song (his daddy is so proud haha!).

My discovery today: Derek was gone all day and including bedtime tonight. I decided today to try his approach if and when Dax fought me for naps and bedtime. The naps took a little longer to get him to sleep doing the upright bouncing because I had tried to rock him for about 5 minutes or so before switching to Derek's approach. So, I decided tonight, as soon as little D was done nursing, I'd just put him on my shoulder and rock him upright. I kid you not, he was out within 3 minutes of doing that. Was the answer to our bedtime fights really that simple?!

Sleepless days, nights, and zero patience left

2010-08-04T19:36:00.003-04:00

It's one of those times in our lives right now where it just seems that all the sh@t has hit the fan. Nothing seems to be going right or well, and every day feels like an uphill battle that never ends. I've done my best to try and keep a good attitude and focus on all the great and positive things we do have in our lives, but honestly I'm sick of trying to be positive, sick of dealing with crap, and sick of things not changing.

Dax is the perfect child, except when we're trying to put him down for a nap or for the night. Then this little monster unfurls, and he screams and screams and screams, and doesn't stop. Then, once he's asleep for the night, he wakes up 2, 3, 4, 5, sometimes even 6 times each night. Derek doesn't always hear him, but I do - I get up with him nurse/rock him back to sleep and try to keep sleeping myself. I'm exhausted. 4 months ago he was sleeping through the night, 10-12 hours easily, and then all of the sudden he stopped. I HATE bedtime now, I dread it every day because it is such a fight with Dax. He locks his body up, thrashes everywhere and screams like he's in the most amount of pain he's ever encountered before. Nothing calms him down except to take him out of our bedroom and let him keep playing. Usually this results in him not going down for the night until 9:30 or 10pm. The later he goes to bed, the more times he wakes up during the night. Funny thing about that, is that no one that lives with me understands this, so when I try to put him down earlier I get major flack (sorry hubs it's true though), and I am sick of it.

I have zero patience left, I love my son, I really do, but I'm exhausted. I have no idea what's wrong and why he's been doing this, but it's progressively gotten worse over the past 5 months. I feel incompetent as a mother, and irritated with myself for being so frustrated with a 9 month old child. I need a break, but can't get one because he's not ready to be away from his mom at night and we're still breastfeeding. I wish he could talk, or I could read his mind to know why bedtime has become the battle that it is. It feels like we have a toddler with all of the tantrums he throws at night. Here's looking forward to him being old enough to spend the night at my parent's house so I can get a break!

Fresh Veggies!

2010-07-29T17:16:00.002-04:00

We have been taking care of my dad's garden while he and my mom are road-tripping out to Colorado and back. It's been a lot of fun picking the various veggies as they get ripe. Each day, Dax and I check the green beans and pick any that are ripe. So far we've had 2 :) They have been a great teething toy for Dax, they're hard enough on the outside that he can gnaw away, and then if the seeds on the inside pop out, he can mash them between his gums.

Here's the tomato plants, not quite ready to be picked - maybe by this weekend

The zucchini that is almost ripe - we've already eaten a few of them, yum!

And here's my little man eating the green bean...he loved it!

Adventures in Cooking

2010-07-28T10:08:00.003-04:00

I like cooking. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that I love cooking. I enjoy being in the kitchen, eating food, preparing recipes, using new ingredients, learning new techniques, I just like the whole cooking/baking process. One of my husband's favorite dishes is lasagna. We haven't had it in a long time, so yesterday I decided to make it for dinner. This required me to boil the lasagna noodles in a large stock pot. Now, it's been a long time since I've been injured while cooking/baking. The last serious incident happened when I was in 4th grade and I pulled a pan of lemon bars out of the oven without hot pads. Although I was in a lot of pain, I was more upset over the thought of not being able to attend horse camp because of my burns.

Anywho - once the noodles were done, I took the large stock pot of boiling water and noodles over to the sink to dump into the strainer. With my height, or lack there of at 5'2", I couldn't really see the entire strainer, just the back end, plus there was lots of steam coming up at I poured the water out. Apparently the strainer shifted towards me, causing the water to splash out of the strainer onto me. My left leg took one for the team, and now it hurts very badly.

I now have a slight phobia of dumping boiling water into strainers....

Baby Fever

2010-07-26T09:38:00.004-04:00

You could say that I have been hit with baby fever....you see, a lot of people I know are pregnant or have just had a little one. Blame it on the hormones if you want, but I've been getting sad lately when I look at Dax and see how fast he has grown over the past 9 months! He's now 21lbs 2oz and 28" long - when he first was born he was only 8lbs 4oz and 21.5" long. His little foot no longer is the size of my palm. He now requires 2 arms for carrying and rocking instead of 1. Diaper changes now require a certain finesse for speed and the ability to keep him entertained long enough to snap the diaper back on BEFORE he flips over - he used to just lay there not wanting to squirm all around. I love seeing my son grow and develop, I do, but I miss the itty bitty newborn stage. This was the first time I saw my former itty bitty (it's a bit blurry - my mom was taking the pics and she was a little choked up from seeing her second grandson be born)

So, if you're pregnant, or have a newborn, and somewhat close, I may or may not be bugging you to come hold your baby :)

Fun on a Swing!

2010-07-25T16:17:00.002-04:00

Dax loved swinging in the baby swing at the park the other day. Every time he would come close to us he would crack up laughing, it was so precious.

Beach Day!

2010-07-22T22:26:00.003-04:00

While house sitting for my parents, we've had the opportunity to take Dax to a place that is really special to me, Somerset Beach Campground (SBC). When I was little, my grandparents spent their summers at the campground, they had a more permanent RV and each summer we would make the trek up from Pennsylvania to Michigan, and would always spend about a week camping at SBC. I even worked there as a lifeguard for a couple of summers. Dax was able to play in the sand for the first time (he even ate a few fistfulls!), and had a good time on the infant swing!

He even went down the slide with Daddy!

Happy 9 Months!

2010-07-18T21:15:00.003-04:00

Dax is 9 months old today. It is hard to believe that he is only 3 months away from being 1, when it seems like just the other day he was my 8.4lb newborn baby boy! He's now up to 21lbs 2 oz, and we haven't measured him yet, but that is on the to-do list for tomorrow. While he's not crawling yet, he is definitely mobile as of last friday. He has started doing "the walrus" and is pretty fast once he gets going.

He's still really only saying mama, but he's so close to saying dada or papa, I just know it! He loves smiling, laughing, and stealing the show everywhere we go. He continues to be such a great baby and a joy in our lives. I must admit, being a parent is nothing like what I had imagined. I used to think being a stay-at-home-mom meant hours upon hours of endless boring days, with a baby who just cried all day long. I used to think that I would feel that my life had no meaning or purpose if I was at home, and I would just waste away in boredom. It is the complete opposite! Every day is spent playing and teaching Dax new things, and each day I wonder if he'll do something new, or say a new word. The most current feat we are waiting to capture is him actually crawling - trust me I have the video camera on hand at all times these days! Here are some pictures that were taken this past week by a friend of mine.

(my newest favorite picture)

my little stud

Scrunchy face

2010-07-10T16:43:00.002-04:00

Dax makes this scrunchy face - he scrunches his nose up, squints his eyes, and breathes in and out really fast. We have NO idea what it means because it is so random when it happens. Sometimes it is followed by crying, sometimes by laughing, and sometimes with a goofy smile. So far I have yet to capture it on video, that is until today hahaha. I was feeding him some lunch (bananas and peaches) and all of the sudden he started doing it. So I busted out the video camera, and he kept doing it and even said mama at the end. Enjoy!

Where did you go?

2010-07-07T08:45:00.002-04:00

I've been pretty absent from the world of blogging lately, and I'm not sure why. I skipped a few days here and there and soon it became easier to just not update than it was to write a quick post! So I'm back and trying to be better about blogging somewhat regularly :)

We celebrated the 4th of July this past weekend by walking in a parade for a local campaign. Dax was all decked out in his red, white, and blue, including some blue flip flops that had stars on them!!

Dax went swimming in our neighbor's pool and LOVED it! He seems to be a natural in the water, he does really well kicking when he's on his belly, and he even holds still when i lay him on his back with his head on my shoulder. Of course, all of those years I taught swimming lessons to little squirts is coming in handy now :)

We also hung out with some of Derek's friends, and while they played a game of backyard baseball, Dax and I hung out in the shade.

Dax is now feeding himself finger foods (but we only give him the yogurt drops and puffs haha), and is obsessed with drinking out of his water bottles. Most of the time he won't let us help him with the bottle, and he loves that there is a straw in there!!

His First Word

2010-06-27T11:46:00.000-04:00

Dax said his first word on Thursday, and it was........MAMA!!!

8 Months, Father's Day, and Cupcakes

2010-06-24T19:42:00.004-04:00

Dax is officially 8 months old now - time has flown by. It is hard to believe that we are now closer to Dax's turning 1 than we are to when he was born!! He is ringing in at 20 pounds now, and not sure how long, but we'll measure him tomorrow :)

We celebrated our first father's day, and gave Derek a framed picture of him and Roo in their matching Michigan outfits, as well as a much needed pair of jeans. Sometimes you just have to give a practical gift instead of something fun. I don't think Derek minded too much. We met up with my parents and enjoyed a nice dinner to celebrate as well.

Dax celebrated his 8 month mark by taking a ride in a swing for the first time. His Grammy R was blowing bubbles for him while swinging and he had a great time.

We also celebrated Derek's younger sister's high school graduation with her open house. It gave us a chance to see his older sister, her husband, and our nephew and 2 month old niece! We took advantage of the opportunity to get a photo of the 3 kids together.

Lastly, as a part of the preparation for the open house, I made about 100 mini cupcakes into graduation hats. See below (the blue and white were her high school's colors):

Sisters....Cousins

2010-06-06T21:25:00.003-04:00

We took advantage of the nice weather and matching outfits to take some pictures of our boys together. Dax is so precious around his cousin, he wanted to hold his hand and was very intrigued at seeing another baby.

My Anniversary Gift

2010-06-05T15:07:00.002-04:00

Today, Derek and I are celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe it's only been two years - a few weeks ago I was convinced that it was our 3rd anniversary! My sweetie gave me a huge surprise - he helped my sister Kelsey make a surprise visit to the U.S. She's been wishing and hoping that something would work out for her to meet both of her nephews, and with the help of Derek they were able to pull off the surprise trip.

She has loved every minute of her time spent with Deagan and Dax. She even woke up at 5:30am with Dax to come play :) Here are just a couple of pictures, there are definitely more that will be taken before she heads back to Romania.

Dax and His Grammy

2010-06-01T14:55:00.002-04:00

Dax loves his Grammy R. (he loves his Grandma W too!), and he is lucky to be able to see her everyday right now. When he first sees her each day, his eyes light up and he gets this huge grin on his face, and sometimes he'll even giggle. His Grammy makes him giggle all the time. Their latest adventure is working on crawling. Grammy will take Dax, and put him on all fours, and then bounce him up and down the blanket telling him "Crawl baby crawl". This always results in peals of laughter from both Grammy and Dax.

11:59pm

2010-06-01T00:02:00.003-04:00

It's 11:59pm and once again I am unable to sleep. Derek and Dax are peacefully sleeping in the room next to me, and I'm wired as if I had drank a 2 liter of mountain dew today. When I lay down and close my eyes, I have annoying songs that are on repeat that start running through my mind (why oh why does it have to be a britney song?!), and when I try to block those songs with peaceful images of the beach and France, my mind starts to wander. I start thinking about my day, things I would have changed, things that I want to forget, and moments that I want to hang on to. When that is over, I start to write my life story. I've probably written a hundred chapters in my mind. I always thought it would make a nice 7 or 8 book series one day - the only problem is that I can't come up with a title or an appropriate pen name. See, I wouldn't bare my soul for all the world to hear and actually use my real name, that would be far too embarrassing. Other times, instead of writing out my life story, I start to write letters to Dax. I've been working on his 7 month old letter in my head for some time now, and if I discipline myself tomorrow, I'll finally write it out on paper. I find that my best inspirations come to me when I'm trying so hard to fall asleep and yet can't manage to drift off. I should probably keep a notebook by my bed and write down what comes to my head, but that would really put a damper on my attempts at sleeping! My body has programmed itself to stay awake until Dax has woken up. see, he's been waking up somewhere between 10:30-11:30 pm lately, and until he's woken up and then rocked back to sleep I cannot shut down. Funny thing is, tonight he hasn't woken up yet and tonight will be the night that he will give me a belated mother's day gift and sleep 9 hours for me. Off to try and enter the dreaming world once more....

Baby got back....

2010-05-28T13:28:00.001-04:00

My baby has quite the booty on him, I blame the cloth diapers. Anyway, here's his latest attempt at crawling.

Quarterback ?

2010-05-26T16:36:00.002-04:00

Derek picked up a Dax-sized football the other day, and it has quickly become one of his favorites!! We're slowing teaching him how to play catch. Derek think he's going to be a good catcher because as soon as the ball comes towards him, he puts his hands out and catches it....we kinda roll the football right now instead of chucking it at him, but he's really getting good at catching the rolling pass.

New Flippies

2010-05-24T16:19:00.003-04:00

We purchased Dax's first pair of flip flops (or in Arwen lingo - flippies) yesterday. I had to try them out today, and with temperatures near 90, and the sun shining it was the perfect day for a walk.

Here's roo in his new flippies

could his chubby baby legs and cankles get any cuter?

let's go on our walk mom!

Great Great Aunt Jennie

2010-05-24T13:59:00.002-04:00

On Friday, Dax went to meet his Great Great Aunt Jennie. This is my Great Aunt on my dad's side. She really enjoyed meeting Dax, and he was pretty happy to meet her as well!

He fell asleep on the way to meet her

But once we were inside, the charm was in full swing

Cousins

2010-05-22T12:09:00.002-04:00

We took Dax in to meet his new Cousin, Deagan. He was very intrigued by him and wasn't quite sure what to think! When Dax saw me holding Deagan for the first time, he seemed a little perplexed. It will be fun to watch these 2 grow up together, I have a feeling they will be quite the little trouble makers once they are both mobile!

Doesn't my sister look great - only about 14 hours after birth!!

Well hello little pumpkin, we're so glad you're here!

Proud new grandma!

My New Nephew!

2010-05-20T10:26:00.003-04:00

Deagan Michael was born just after midnight, 8lbs 15oz, 20.75" long. I'm so proud of my sister Jessie, she did such an amazing job through the labor and delivery. I haven't met him yet, but here are some preview pictures that my parents were able to take.

Dax, my parents, and I spent the day at the hospital yesterday. My dad willingly took over Dax duty so I could be my sister's birth coach - Dax made me so proud yesterday! He did great, he was entertaining everyone in the waiting room and was the happiest little baby.

7 Months Old!

2010-05-18T19:44:00.003-04:00

My little pumpkin is 7 months old today. He has grown so much since October! He fills our days with so much joy and happiness that it is hard to imagine how we ever had fulfilling lives before we were parents. His laugh and conversations continue to be my favorite sounds and bring a smile to my face every time I hear them. For those of you keeping track, he's now 27.25 inches long and a whopping 19lbs - no wonder my biceps are continually sore :)

Here's my baby, 1 day old

1 month old

2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

5 months old

6 months old

7 months old

We love you sweetie!!!

Churching it up

2010-05-16T14:59:00.002-04:00

My freshman year of college (2004), I found a church I LOVED, Riverview. I quickly got involved with their college group, and started going to a house church with about 20 other college-aged people. We were all so different from each other, some of the people in the group I probably would have never talked to or been friends with if I wasn't in a small group with them (just being honest!), but despite all of our opposite personalities and weird quirks, we clicked and it just worked. One of the pastors and his wife (and their 5 wonderful kids), opened up their house to us each week. That group was more than just a weekly Bible study, those people who attended quickly became my home away from home - they were my family. We shared our joys, our pains, our struggles, our questions, our fears - we shared our lives with each other. We could rely on that house church to be there for us, we were so close. After that school year was over, the college group underwent some massive renovations, and our little house church broke apart. Since then, I have sought out new small groups without much success. I often think back to that house church and wish it was 2004 again so I could have that "home" back in my life.

Fast-forward to present-day. We've been really struggling with making it to church on Sundays. It seems that no matter what time the service starts, Dax is either just going down for a nap, or taking a nap. On the rare occasion that Dax is awake and we make it to church on time, we usually have to leave early because he's ready to take a nap. It's been really frustrating for Derek and I, because it's been negatively impacting our spiritual life.

Today, we all woke up and got ready to go to the 11:15 service, and surprise surprise, Dax went down for a nap at 11am. After talking for a few minutes, we decided that we should just do our own house church. We have a couple of friends that go with us so we called them up and asked if they wanted to come over and we would listen to a message online, talk about it, and pray. So, that's exactly what we did today, and it was really nice! We're really excited about this, and think it will be a great way to reach out to our friends, and a new way to stay accountable. We're going to work our way through some online messages, starting out with the "How to Kill a Church" series. Where we go from there is still to be determined, but what we do know is that God will definitely show us the way.

New Things

2010-05-13T10:44:00.002-04:00

My sister, Jessie, loaned us the bumbo chair she picked up for her son (still waiting for him to have his birthday!), and while I don't know that it is worth $40 new, it has been quite handy to have around! Dax doesn't love the chair, but he doesn't mind being in it either!

While I have yet to capture this on film, Dax started waving yesterday. It is the CUTEST thing! He takes his fingers and closes them towards his palm and then opens them up again when we do it to him saying "bye-bye". I will get it on video and post that soon!

Favorite Toys

2010-05-11T16:33:00.002-04:00

I don't know why we bother to spend money on fancy toys that light up, crinkle, play music, and claim to enhance your baby's IQ level, when his favorite toys are ones that are free.

Enter exhibit A, the empty paper box

It's not just a box, it's a space ship, a car, a ship, a horse, a transporter, but most importantly it makes my son squeal and laugh.

Other favorites include: my cell phone, empty water bottles, and empty plastic measuring cups.

Chow Time

2010-05-10T11:56:00.002-04:00

Dax has been doing better with eating solid foods. So far he's had: peas, sweet potato, acorn squash, applesauce, bananas, and prunes (only because he was pretty plugged up). He gets excited when it's time to chow down. He starts banging his hands on his high chair tray and can't wait to start eating whatever is on the spoon.

He even likes to try and feed himself

But usually, by the time we're done with his snack, his face looks like this

Flashback

2010-05-06T18:15:00.002-04:00

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the first 48 hours after Dax was born and remembering all of the emotions that we went through in those first 2 days.

I still remember that day in the hospital like it was yesterday, sometimes I wonder if it will always be like that. If 25 years from now, I'll still be able to remember that day just as if it had happened the day before. That morning, the nurses came in to tell me that my mid-wife, Sameerah, was going to wait to start the induction around 11am. After they left, I started crying, and Derek - being the amazing husband he is - rushed to my side to see what was wrong. I finally told him that I was scared to death of the pitocin and being induced. I was so worried that it would hurt so bad that I would need an epidural, that I wouldn't be able to have an all natural birth like I had hoped. Derek took my hand and prayed with me that God would lead that birth and that He would help us through the induction and that my fears would be removed.

Shortly after, Derek and I were talking about the fact that we were going to actually become parents that day, that we would soon be seeing our little baby boy. We would finally be able to see what he looked like, and hold him in our arms. I don't remember this, but Derek does, apparently I looked up at him and was all excited, telling him "we get to meet him today!!"

I remember the labor and the pain, and I remember that it was close to 3:00pm when the contractions finally started to hurt. Derek and my mom were at my side, coaching me through it, reminding me to relax, applying hot water bottles and pressure on my back as needed. Right around 5pm it was time to push. Just after 6pm I experienced the worst pain I have ever felt in my entire life, to say that I was screaming is an understatement. At 6:18pm we finally met our little boy, Dax. I remember being so elated and happy and of course RELIEVED (mainly because I was no longer pregnant). I couldn't believe that in my arms was my son, my beautiful and perfect son. It felt so right and natural.

We left Monday evening around 9pm, in hindsight, I wish we had stayed the additional night at the hospital. Before we went home, we headed to CVS to pick up some much needed pain meds, only to find out that at 9:20pm their pharmacy (which was closing at 10pm) was no longer filling prescriptions. This brought me to tears, so over to Meijer we went. Their pharmacy was closed, but my husband asked a guy who was behind the desk if there was any chance he would fill my RX's. The guy asked Derek what they were for and he told them, and told the guy that I had just had a baby. So the worker said sure, even though they had been closed for 30+ minutes. We headed home and promptly turned the heat on, even though it wasn't cold inside. We decided to barricade ourselves in the bedroom and shut the cats out. The cats went crazy, they were pawing at the door and meowing...they wanted to meet Dax and they were not happy to be excluded. They kept pawing the door open, so at one point we had 2 laundry baskets and a suitcase shoved against the door to keep it shut.

At some point in the evening, Dax started crying, and he wouldn't stop crying. We couldn't figure out what was wrong. We tried everything, but when he continued to cry this brought me to tears (again!), because I couldn't fix what was wrong, I didn't even know what was wrong!! After about 2 hours, Derek was changing Dax's diaper, and Dax peed all over him - after that, the crying stopped. We realized that he was crying because it was painful to pee with his circumcision.

I look at my baby now and he is more than double the size he was at birth. He's grown in so many ways, but when I look down at his sweet face, I can still the first time I met him all over again.

1 month down 4 to go!

2010-04-29T11:41:00.002-04:00

Well, I've completed month 1 of my elimination diet, and it has been a complete nightmare. Among my list of foods I cannot eat are: gluten, yeast, dairy, sugar, and that's just the beginning. Do you realize that there is sugar in EVERYTHING? No lie - next time you buy chicken stock from the store, read the label and you will find sugar! What in the world? I have had an impossible time finding food to eat and adding flavor to it, for the simple reason that everything seems to have at least 1 ingredient that is on my "do not eat" list.

I guess the only good side to this diet is that I've dropped 10 more pounds, although I had already hit my pre-pregnancy weight and wasn't really looking to lose anymore. Someone pointed out to me yesterday that I would probably gain back a lot of weight once this diet is over. I sure hope that doesn't happen, although I would give a few fingers and toes to have a piece of pizza right now.

In other news, Dax hates eating solid foods. I think we may hold out and try again in a few weeks. He'll take 1 or 2 bites and then keeps his mouth shut the rest of the time. It's pretty comical to watch, but slightly frustrating at the same time, I guess my baby just prefers his mommy milk!

Win an Action Baby Carrier

2010-04-26T13:33:00.003-04:00

I love my ABC, so does dax, he's such happy baby when I pop him in it and go. It also makes my life easier to have 2 hands instead of just one when I'm carrying roo around.

I picked up my ABC from Heavenly Hold she has great prices, and it ships out just as fast. Even more impressive, Amber sends you a personal email making sure that you're happy with your carrier! So, would you like your own baby carrier? You can enter to win one here from Baby Wearing Videos Blog . Good luck :)

Peas

2010-04-17T23:11:00.002-04:00

Dax's first food encounter was with peas mixed with breastmilk. He was not a fan. It was the cutest thing watching him try to figure out what we were giving him. Several times, we had to stop putting the spoon up to his mouth because we were laughing so hard! He would squish his whole face up with this look of utter disgust, as if he was eating a lemon wedge.

Here's the pea and breast milk puree that I whipped up

Here's the bowl, all ready to go

First bite...a little apprehensive

Not so sure...

Please mom, just stop

I have to eat more of this stuff?!

It's. so. gross.

Bath time fun!

2010-04-10T20:23:00.002-04:00

We picked up a new bath chair for Dax to use during bath time. He's quite the squirmy wormy in the tub and loves to kick and splash. This also means that he doesn't stay in his infant tub, and requires one of us to get in the tub with him to ensure that he doesn't dunk himself!! The chair was a huge success! (don't you just love all of dax's rolls, they are so cute!)

Happy Belated Birthday

2010-03-30T21:48:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my 25th Birthday, and landed itself on the list of one of the worst birthdays I have had thus far. Surprisingly, the events that took place caused me to not even give a care that I am now closer to 30 than I am 20, that I am not a quarter of a century, that I am OLD, and that I'm depressed about getting older.

It all started a couple of months ago when I sought out the care of a homeopathic doctor to find the cause of my daily headaches and sometimes daily migraines. I wanted an alternative approach that would hopefully end in a medicine free solution. I willingly let them take several chunks of hair from the back of my head, and I even gladly let them take far too many vials of blood to try and get some answers. Yesterday, I went in to get my results. I don't think I was even somewhat prepared for the information overload I experienced. It turns out that I am allergic to all the good, processed, non-organic food. Like wheat, gluten, dairy, yeast, and the worst one GARLIC. Garlic is a staple in my diet, I seriously put it in almost all of my dishes (except desserts), including scrambled eggs. The list goes on about the allergies, but it didn't stop there. They handed me a personalized handbook explaining what I'm allergic to and the foods that I need to avoid, they also provided me with a much smaller list of foods that I can eat. Did I mention that they took away chocolate and sugar?!

I have taken this with a HUGE grain of salt. See, I would sacrifice all the foods I love if it means that I will never get another migraine or headache, but it's a little frustrating right now trying to figure out what to eat! I ordered a cookbook and hopefully that will give me some ideas. In general I just feel pretty discouraged and a little helpless in the eating category, especially with breakfast! I think by the time I get the hang of what I can and can't eat, it will be time to check in with my doctor and get my diet adjusted! Here's some cute pictures of Dax from this weekend.

Hanging out with cousin Zachary

Zach and Dax testing out soon to arrive Baby Ellena's playmat!

Hanging out with Uncle Dan

Chillin in my exersaurcer on loan from Aunt Lisa

Mr. Chatty

2010-03-27T14:48:00.002-04:00

Mr. Dax-a-roo has been a little chatterbug lately. He's a talker, but he's really trying to speak lately, his tones have been changing and when he moves his lips it's like he's just trying to spit out a full mouth of words! Today, he has decided to squeal more than he's ever squealed in his life so far - he sounds like a 3 year old little girl getting her first barbie.

Our happy sweet little boy has turned into a crying angry monster. He's started teething, his smiles have become cute little pouty lips, his eyes that sparkle when he laughs have turned into sprinkler systems, and he's been fighting low-grade fevers for the past 2 weeks. Today, however, my sweet baby boy woke up his usual self and was the happiest I have seen him in awhile! While there aren't any pearly whites poking through yet, I believe I can see one on his bottom front gums just under the surface. Here's hoping they pop through soon and that he gets a break from teething for a few weeks!

Seriously?

2010-03-24T10:28:00.002-04:00

Occasionally, in the mornings, I watch morning "news" tv shows. I really shouldn't watch them, but they do provide me with some much needed comic relief when I do watch them. This morning, I happened to stop on one show, and they were highlighting new and revolutionary products for women. I thought I had heard it all until they came to this product: the butt bra. Here I thought I had heard it all....

A New Ride

2010-03-17T20:18:00.002-04:00

When we officially switched Dax over to his convertible carseat because he had outgrown his infant one, I realized that my mobility with him would be limited until he was a little sturdier. He sits up, but is still pretty wobbly, and toting around the stroller can be a royal pain at times. While Dax rides well in the stroller, he doesn't do well in it for long periods of time - he can't see me, and depending on where we're at, I am hard to hear!

Not really sure what to do, I asked some of my friends what they suggested. Some of my friends are really into baby wearing and convinced me that I should give it a whirl. I found a great baby carrier on sale and it arrived on Tuesday. It's an Action Baby Carrier and Dax can be worn on the front or back - it also has a belt that goes around your waist and the straps are really comfortable and criss cross over your shoulders to distribute the weight through your whole body.

An extremely happy baby!! (excuse the blurry picture - they were the best we could get!)

Yes, I cropped myself out of the picture - when you haven't showered for 2 days and the camera adds an extra 3 chins, removing yourself from pictures is not only a courtesy it's a necessity!

If you're interested in baby wearing, Amber, at Heavenly Hold has several different types of carriers, mei tais, slings, wraps, and buckle carriers (like mine), and she also has a great page dedicated to the history, benefits, and safety of babywearing. I am loving baby wearing, it makes my life, and Dax's so much easier! For the first time, I went to the grocery store with just Dax yesterday. Today, we went on an hour long walk, and thanks to the nap hood, Dax was able to take his nape while we were walking! This could become an expensive habit...

Vote for Dax!

2010-03-15T13:56:00.002-04:00

Remember this picture?

It was 1 of 4 pictures I entered into the Parents magazine, cute baby contest. If you win, your baby will be on the cover of Parents magazine. Well each week, the staff goes through all of the photos that were uploaded and they select some that they really like to win "Parents Photo Faves" of the week. Dax is one of those faves this week for the picture above. If we win, we will get some money to put towards a college savings account for him!

How can you help? You need to vote , in case if you missed that, copy and paste this link into your internet browser: http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/167325

A Walk in the Park

2010-03-10T15:10:00.002-05:00

More like a walk around the apartment complex! With the gorgeous weather that we have had lately, Dax and I have been taking lots of walks around the complex. The only problem was that the sun was always in his eyes no matter which direction we were facing. I was scrounging around in his bedroom looking for something I could use to block the sun, when I came across this baseball hat that my mom picked up for him. When I told Dax about the hat, this was his reaction:

Not wanting to deprive my sun of his happiness, I willingly obliged and let him wear the hat:

Updates Across the Board

2010-03-09T14:43:00.002-05:00

Wow it's been awhile since I've been on here. I would go into detail, but let's just say I've been a little distracted! Here's a little bit of what's been going on in the Robinson apartment lately:

-Dax got a new carseat, and LOVES it. It's like a luxury car for him, equipped with 2 cup holders too! Since he's not using those right now, I tested it out on our latest trip when I sat in the back with him.

-Derek got to parade Dax around the office while I went to an appointment. It is confirmed again, we have the world's most adorable baby :)

-Dax has been talking and laughing a lot more, and his sounds have been changing. He's got a lot to say when he's awake! He even has started squealing like a little girl quite a bit lately, I'm sure once he goes through puberty it will sound more manly lol!

-I have lost all of the baby weight....now if only I could get a gym membership to really work out

-Derek and I are moving into a new apartment so we've been packing like crazy people, but someone it feels like we haven't even made a dent in all of our stuff (and we don't even have that much stuff!)

-Dax and I have been going on lots of walks this week. The weather is BEAUTIFUL here, sunny, mid-50's, it's the warmest weather that Dax has ever experienced so far and he definitely enjoys the sunshine - except when it's in his eyes. Note to self - find some baby sunglasses

That's about it, I'll try to get some pictures up soon but hopefully this will tide everyone over for a little bit!

Favorites

2010-02-27T22:19:00.002-05:00

I've managed to grab some cute pictures of Dax lately and have added some new favorites to my collection of Dax pictures.

I am cute, that is all

Captain Drooly Face to the rescue!!

Snow Day!

2010-02-23T14:08:00.002-05:00

With all of the snow we were dumped with on Sunday night, Derek and I wanted to make sure and get some snow pictures with Dax last night!!

He was laughing the whole time, except when the camera was on - silly boy!!

1/3 and belated Friday Fun!

2010-02-19T20:14:00.004-05:00

It's official: Dax is 1/3 of a year old and 2 days!! To celebrate, I had a chocolate shake, and Dax we went to the pediatrician for a 4 month checkup. Dax is now 16lbs 15 ounces and 25" long, which means he has doubled his birth weight and grown almost 4 inches since he was born. My baby is growing up way too fast.

We also tried out some cool new sunglasses, and Dax got to sit in his brand new booster seat from grammie Patty! He sat with us at dinner tonight and doubled fisted 2 of his favorite toys while we ate some lasagna.

such a stud

hmm i'm not so sure about this just yet

mommy when do i get some lasagna?

Twins

2010-02-15T15:44:00.001-05:00

For some time now, whenever I put Dax in his blue patagonia hat, he looks eerily like Blue Toad in the New Super Mario Bros game - especially when Toad gets the penguin suit. Could it be that Dax has a cartoon twin?

Toad:

Dax-a-roo:

Operation Break the Swaddle Addiction T-1

2010-02-12T12:00:00.003-05:00

Dax has an addiction. He has to be swaddled in order to fall asleep 99% of the time. I know what you're thinking, that's not such a bad thing. You're right, it wouldn't be so bad if he still fit well into his swaddle and wasn't becoming more mobile. Most of the time when Derek or I pick him up after a nap or in the morning, both of his arms are free and flung high up next to his head, as if he's saying "don't shoot". See Exhibit A:

Derek and I have decided it is time to break the swaddle habit and help him learn to fall asleep without it. Since Derek has a 3-day weekend (thank you president's day!!) we have decided this is the weekend to start Operation Break the Swaddle Addiction.

Since I haven't posted any pictures lately, here's a little montage of Dax's favorite things, reading, and eating his monkey teether ring:

Poops I Did It Again

2010-02-10T09:08:00.004-05:00

No, I did not mistype that, it really should say "Poops" and not "Oops". If I could put a title on my day yesterday, it would have been that. What would have been even more appropriate is if I had put Dax in the onesie that my mom bought him at a yard sale this past summer that says that on it. Had I only known....

Let's backtrack for a minute. At one of my baby showers someone made me a diaper cake using size 2 diapers. They told me that it would be nice to use those instead of cloth diapers when we were out and about. Well they've just been sitting in Dax's room and he's almost out of what would be considered size 2, so Derek and I decided we should just use them for a few days so we don't waste them. We still wanted to use our cloth diapers at night because of how well they hold the pee and how well the keep the moisture off of Dax's skin.

Fast-forward to yesterday afternoon. Dax woke up to eat and was ready to go back to sleep again when I heard the explosive rumblings below. I waited a few minutes to make sure all of the aftershocks were over and started to unswaddle him. I knew it was going to be bad when I saw the poop drippings in the swaddle me - and when I turned him around, his entire onesie was wet with poop. I took him into the nursery to change him, and by that point poop was EVERYWHERE. It was on his arms, legs, all over the changing table, it was disgusting. Even worse, I know that had we used a cloth diaper we would not have had the massive blowout that we did have. In addition, my poor child is addicted to being swaddled and getting him to sleep without the swaddleme blanket is a very difficult task. It was a rough day, but the cloth diapers are back, the disposables are probably going to get thrown away because I get mad just looking at them, and it is going to be an all out PJ day for Dax and I. Did I mention we're snowed in?

Future Heisman?

2010-02-04T10:57:00.002-05:00

don't touch my football!

possessed by the football (i couldn't get the red-eyes out with my editor lol)

future heisman?

Just Breathe

2010-02-02T16:08:00.003-05:00

"...patience is a deep breath. It clears the air. It stops foolishness from whipping its scorpion tail all over the room. It is a choice to control your emotions rather than allowing your emotions to control you, and shows discretion instead of returning evil for evil."

Today's Love Dare, from yesterday's reading, was to demonstrate patience and say nothing negative to Derek. I have to be honest here, patience is one of the LAST things I do well. I am a results oriented person, I want to see things happen when I want them to happen - waiting is not something I enjoy doing. That carries over into my attitude towards Derek more times than not, and it can be hurtful. Often, I find myself getting frustrated over little things that don't matter, but at that moment in time, they seem like they are the most important thing in the entire world. Sometimes, if it were up to me, I would have a magic wand that I could wave in the air and everything would happen that I directed. Thankfully, that is not the case, but sadly I'm sure my husband has felt the wrath of Arwen more times than not by my impatience and desire to see instant results.

Just the other day, I was on the phone with my sister and was going to meet up with her. I had to time the meeting just right, and she called to let me know what mile marker she was at. I instantly turned to Derek and said, where is that, when do I need to leave? As I sat there for a total of 5 seconds waiting for a response, I got really angry because I didn't have an answer yet. I blew up at him, and he ended up getting frustrated with me (and rightly so!), because I wasn't willing to patiently wait for him to think about where she was at and figure out when I would need to leave the house. This is just ONE example of thousands that I could provide you with that have taken place over the past week!

I need to learn to love my husband by being patient and not being negative towards him. I have been blessed with an amazing husband, but sometimes I admit the way I treat him does not reflect how wonderful he is. So today, I have been working on being patient, and just breathing. If I find myself getting worked up or wanting an instant answer or immediate result, I have resolved to take a deep breath and trust my husband. Derek listens to me, and one thing that I have learned is that if I ask him to help me with something, he ALWAYS follows through. My problem, is that he doesn't always follow through when I think he should. The point isn't when something gets done (at least 95% of the time), but that it gets done. Reading this segment of The Love Dare, made me think of this song. Anytime that I've gotten impatient today, I just hit the "auto-play" button in my head, take a minute to chill out and relax. Enjoy the song!

The Love Dare Challenge

2010-02-01T12:50:00.003-05:00

The Love Dare journey is a process, and the first thing you must resolve to possess is patience. Think of it as a marathon, not a sprint. But it's a race worth running.

For our first wedding anniversary, we received the book The Love Dare from my parents. I have a confession, I glanced at the book, and then put it on our bookshelf only to collect dust for several months. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate the gift, or wasn't interested, it was more that I didn't think Derek and I needed a book on how to love each other. I didn't want to take the time to read this book with my husband and see what it had to say.

You see, we had read another book not too long ago, Sacred Marriage, and had read great reviews on the book. After reading the book we were pretty disappointed with what we had read and didn't feel as if it really helped us see something new or change our relationship at all. In fact, we felt slightly ripped off and wanted our money back.

Where am I going with this? Since we've had a baby, Derek and I have had a difficult time finding time for us, just him and I. Between working, changing diapers, feeding Dax, putting Dax to sleep, playing with him, and getting in sleep to do it all over the next day, we seem to have left ourselves in the dust, and have forgotten that we need to make our marriage a priority as well. Not getting enough sleep, having new responsibilities, and trying to adjust to one of the biggest changes that we have ever gone through can sometimes leave us a little stressed, tense, and crabby - especially with each other. Without wanting to spend a lot of money, but recognizing that we need to do something to spend more time together, a light switch went off in my head - we have a book, and we can read it together!

This is a 40-day challenge, we will read each day together, read the Bible verse(s) that they share, and then after the 2 page reading, there's a dare or challenge that each person has to try and do for the other. Today's dare, "Love is Patient". I'm excited for this new journey, to see where this takes our marriage, and more importantly I'm excited about the time Derek and I will be spending together to strengthen our marriage and fall even more in love with each other.

Cracking Up

2010-01-29T22:58:00.002-05:00

The other night Derek and Dax were talking, and all of the sudden Dax started cracking up, he was laughing so hard it was adorable. I managed to grab a quick video without him noticing, although he seems to be warming up to the video camera - the regular camera, not so much. I'm still having a difficult time capturing his precious smile, but don't worry I will prevail!

Baby Weight Update

2010-01-26T16:15:00.002-05:00

It's been about 3 weeks since I've been trying to lose the last 10 pounds of baby weight, and I can successfully report that I have lost 4 pounds! I have 6 more pounds to go by March 29th. After that I have an additional 7 that I'd like to drop by June 5th - just in time for swim suit season :)

What have I been doing to lose the weight? Well, I'm a big slacker when it comes to working out, but I have been doing Wii Fit of EA Sports Active about 3-4 times a week. Along with breastfeeding, I've been trying to make healthier choices about what I eat. This means no more impromptu brownies, cookies, or other sweets, and instead eating salads and veggies for snacks in between meals. I've also been trying to eat more consistently throughout the day so that I'm fuller longer, and have increased my water intake.

I will say that despite being 6 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight, my body shape has completely transformed thanks to Dax. Clothes that would have fit when I was 10 pounds heavier than I am now, do not fit anymore because my body has redistributed my weight. Although I have more energy, and can tell that I am losing weight, it is slightly discouraging and frustrating to have boxes full of clothes that just don't work with my body yet. I'm hoping that as I continue to shed the next few pounds, my body will start to cooperate with my jeans again - those Lucky's will fit again one day!!

3 Months Old (and 4 days)

2010-01-22T14:31:00.002-05:00

On Monday Dax was exactly 3 months old, 1/4 of a year already, holy cow!! I weighed him on my Wii Fit and he came in at a whopping 15.2 pounds - he's up exactly 2 pounds from December 18th. This would explain my increased back pain over the past couple of weeks. Over the past couple of weeks Dax has been talking non-stop, and I still think he knows how to say "hi". He LOVES to talk with his daddy, they sit there and coo at each other and then Dax just cracks up laughing. Our best method to get him to calm down when he's upset, is to start "talking" to him, the way he talks to us, and he finds that funny so he'll crack a smile and start talking back. It's amazing and melts my heart everytime I hear it. He seems to have inherited my smile - which means his eyes disappear when he smiles and from here on out, people will probably tell him what I've been hearing all of these years: "your eyes are closed, we need to retake the picture" me: "let me look at it....no they're not closed, that's just how they look when I smile", my poor poor son - the hardships he will endure because of this smile :) I have a good feeling that he will survive.

Maybe it's just me, but he sure is getting cuter and cuter every time I look at him! He still is 99% dad and 1% mom, but that's alright - he has my brains and his dads looks, he's going to go places with that combination!

On a random side note, we're not starting solids and won't be doing so until he's 6 months old, but I found this online and have decided we will be getting this in March/April when we're getting ready to start solids:

What is it? This is Squirt it's a spoon that you fill with 3 oz. of baby food, and you squeeze the sides of the top of the spoon for food to come out onto the spoon. AKA mess free feedings, no bottles of baby food being spilled over on to the floor, oh I could go on. The BEST part, it's only $7.99, and I found 2 stores in Michigan that aren't too far away. They have 3 colors, Orange, Hot Pink (let's hope I have a girl next so I can get this color some time hehe), and Blue.

Cloth Diapering 101

2010-01-17T18:47:00.003-05:00

This post is for my friend, Beth , who is not sure if she wants to start using cloth diapers for her 3rd child (a girl!!) who is due in May. I told her that I would put together a little tutorial to show her how easy and mess free it really is. Now, if you're like me, the word cloth diaper brings this image to mind:

And if you're also like me, your parents STILL have those cloth diapers and use them as cleaning rags. So when I first heard of people who use CDs these days, I immediately thought of the rags and safety pins.

When my sister-in-law showed us the diapers she used, I realized that CDs, like everything else has kept up with the times, no more safety pins, no more plastic pants, now they look just like regular diapers and save me a TON of money, wooo hoooo! Oh, and they give Dax some junk in the trunk, but that's ok :) We use the Bum Genius brand, so Beth, here are your step by step instructions on what they look like and how to use them:

Step 1: The diaper all folded up

Step 2: How to expand the diaper as your baby grows

There are neat little snaps on the front, these will fit your kid from birth through appx. 50lbs, just an FYI, Dax is probably 16 or 17lbs and we're still on the smallest size, we may move up soon.

Step 3: How it works (excuse the skid marks lol)

This is the diaper opened, now notice by the velcro, you have what appears a little overhang of material - this is a pocket where the insert gets put in the diaper.

Step 4: The insert

This is what gets shoved into the diaper's pocket, and keeps the baby dry

Step 5: The pocket

This is where you put the insert into the diaper, and they come with an extra one that you put in once your baby sleeps through the night.

Just a small note: Dax rarely leaks through with these, we have the MOST accidents, blowouts/diaper explosions, when he is wearing disposables. Our overall invest on these was about $200 - we were given several for gifts, we started out with 24 which was great, I only have to wash them every 2 days, and if I ever get irritated about having to wash them, I just remind myself of the amount of money I am saving.

A Day in the Life of Dax

2010-01-15T14:35:00.002-05:00

Thursday Evening:

Go to bed 8:30pm

I decided to surprise my parents and wake up at midnight instead of sleeping through the night. I got a snack and went back to sleep.

Friday:

I was hungry so I woke up at 5:00am for another snack, mom put me back down to sleep.

I wanted to say bye to daddy before he left for work so I woke up to eat at 8:30am and daddy changed my diaper. I decided I really wanted mommy to change it, so after dad left I dropped a bomb in there just for her to clean up.

After a clean diaper, it was time for some play time while mommy made breakfast and coffee. Then around 9:30am I decided I wanted a snack before taking a power nap. I slept for a little bit, and when I woke up mommy and I went to Target and the bank! We got home around 12:00 pm and I was ready to eat and snooze again. I surprised mommy by only napping for 45 minutes, and I wanted to play when I woke up!

Mommy and I played for a long time until I wanted to eat again around 2:45pm, and then she put me down for another nap, I'll probably just do another power nap because that's how I roll

...and the rest of the day is to be continued :)

Camera Shy!

2010-01-12T12:12:00.001-05:00

Every time I turn my video camera on in front of Dax he stops talking, smiling, and laughing. The best I can get is the end of a smile/laugh, and then as soon as the camera is away - Dax is back in action. The little stinker!! This week I will get a video of him laughing, but for now enjoy this one I took when I was changing his ridiculous diaper this morning. His name is about to be changed to Dax-a-poo!

Mr. Talkative

2010-01-07T22:28:00.002-05:00

giggles and smiles
Originally uploaded by Arwen Rose

I was finally able to catch Dax in action on his playmat today. He is such a morning person and is so happy, he just laughs and smiles all morning long, I LOVE it!! I still think he can say "hi", so now my next goal is to get that on video to prove to everyone else that he already can talk :)

Baby Weight

2010-01-04T13:45:00.003-05:00

The brutal truth, I gained just shy of 50 pounds while pregnant (it was closer to 48, but I'm rounding today) and on my 5' 2.5" frame it was a lot to handle, it gave me a glimpse of what life would be like if I was seriously overweight. I vowed to never weigh that much again (unless if I'm preggers again, and hopefully I won't put on 50lbs with kid #2), and to do my best to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight ASAP. 40 pounds lighter, I cannot get those last 10 to go, and they need to take a hike.

So far this is what I've been doing to lose the weight:
1. Breastfeeding
2. TRYING to not eat as many sweets - now that the holidays are over it should be a little easier
3. Working out with EA Sports Active on my Wii Fit

My sister called me the other day looking for a workout buddy, someone to help keep her accountable and encourage her and she would do the same for me. Despite her living in Romania I figured it would be nice to have someone there to cheer me on, and it would help me stay in better touch with her too!

The new plan:
1. continue Breastfeeding
2. stay active on BabyFit and do the exercises they recommend and use their recipe planner stuff
3. Do EA Sport Active for 20 minutes 4x a week, and Wii Fit Plus stuff on my days off

I know, it took 9 months to put it on, it should take 9 months to take it off, but I've never been a patient person, those last 10 need to go, so here is my new goal list:

1. Lose the last 10 pounds by my birthday, March 29
2. Lose an additional 7 pounds by my anniversary, June 5
3. Do ab exercises to tighten up the jelly that I now call my tummy

And because my son is the cutest kid ever, here's a picture of him smiling and a small confession...he looks better in maize and blue than he does in green and white, something that I refuse to admit to Derek, but he'll read this soon enough anyway:

Smiles!

2010-01-03T19:24:00.001-05:00

Dax has been smiling for awhile now, but lately he will start smiling at you in response to your smile. If I make a silly face or start laughing he will respond with a huge grin - it melts my heart. He's also mastered the silent laugh, which usually comes out when he's on his playmat looking at himself in the mirror. Maybe he'll be a comedian one day since he seems to crack himself up : ) On New Year's Eve, he woke up around 5am and ate, and I just sat there and held him in my arms for a little bit once he was finished. I was enjoying seeing him smile and silently laugh...until he GIGGLED. It was the most precious sound I have heard from him yet! I have pictures of his smile, but once again the camera cord has decided to go into hiding so I can't upload the pictures yet.

On a random side note, I love having a boy, but I wish boy clothes were as cute as girl clothes!! Every time I look for things for Dax, I get sidetracked by all of the girls clothes - I have to say to myself "Arwen, you have a boy" and then slowly walk away...that almost didn't happen when I came across the pink diapers. The only thing that stopped me from buying them was knowing that Derek would cut me off financially for the rest of my life, or at least for a few months :)

Changing Table Confessions

2009-12-29T13:40:00.003-05:00

A good chunk of my day is spent changing Dax's diaper - and we have lots of conversations while he's getting changed here are excerpts from

"How can I teach you French when I don't know the word for elbow, diaper, crib, onesie...wait I don't know baby vocab in French, where's my dictionary?"

"I hate reusable wipes...disposable ones are so much easier, yet I love cloth diapers"

"I don't need to accessorize anymore - I have spit up and burp rags for decoration now"

"It's 11am and this is our 3rd outfit today - you better not pee on me...dang it, at least it hit the wall and not me"

"my word you're going to be fighting off the girls when you're in school....i really hope you don't date the dumb ditzy ones"

Those are the main ones from today - there seems to be quite a bit of overlap each day. My little man is growing so quickly, there are days where I look at his sweet face and realize that he is growing up and maturing. I get emotional thinking about the day when he'll be 18 (not sure if the tears are more because he'll be all grown up or because I'll be 42), or the day when he gets married, or when he has kids. I wish I could slow down my thoughts, and truly enjoy this stage that we're in right now. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my life as it is, I love my son, I love being a mom, I love being a wife, and I'm so thankful for everything that we have. But sometimes my mind gets ahead of where we're at, and I think too far ahead that I lose time in the present - make sense?

Pictures!!

2009-12-28T22:51:00.003-05:00

Yes, my camera cable has turned up - just as I was looking online for a new one to buy, talk about good timing :)

Here's a little montage of our Christmas:

Christmas Part Deux

2009-12-28T22:21:00.002-05:00

On Christmas Eve we headed over to Kalamazoo to be with Derek's family. Dax was looking daper in his little button down shirt and cordourys (pictures will be posted one of these days - has anyone seen my USB cord to upload pictures onto my computer??) and we headed out to a traditional candlelight Christmas Eve service. Now, I was a bit skeptical when I heard "traditional", because last year's Christmas Eve service was an abomination to Christmas. While I won't go into detail here let me just say the following: Eminem was played, glow sticks were used, and a computerized monotone voice sang Joy to the World - I shed a few tears after that service.

Anywho we headed out to church and it was great, the music was traditional, the sermon was about 10 minutes, and we even did a candlelight service that brought a flood of memories back from when my dad would do Christmas Eve services. We headed home and let Dax open up his first present - it was a book "Je t'aimerai toujours" (I will always love you). We went to bed, and woke up the next morning to a wonderful breakfast cooked by my brother-in-law. We opened gifts and Dax was pretty spoiled by his aunts and grandparents!! Thankfully he was given a lot of clothes that we will need to use soon, since he is growing like a weed and is outgrowing his 3-6 month stuff. Seriously, where did my 8 pound newborn go?? Derek gave me an awesome pocket video camera that I cannot wait to start using to get videos of Dax laughing and talking. I think the favorite present we received (we're dorks, I'll admit that right now) was the new Mario game for our Wii. The rest of the day was spent playing our new game in-between feeding Dax.

We also measured Dax while we were away, and his more accurate length is 24 inches. We'll reweigh him again soon, but I wouldn't be surprised if this little chunker is at least 14 pounds if not more. Next big holiday will be New Year's, and while I'm pretty sure he will sleep through the ball dropping, we will definitely take pictures to document it and show him one day when he's bigger. I will post pictures hopefully soon - I'm about to just buy a new cord online, I have looked EVERYWHERE for the stupid cord, even at both of our parent's houses and it is nowhere to be found.

All I want for Christmas...

2009-12-23T09:58:00.004-05:00

Thanksgiving through New Year's is possibly one of my favorite times of the year. This year is extra special because we get to celebrate with Dax for his first Christmas! A lot has changed over this past year for Derek and I, and we're trying to adjust to all that has taken place. A quick recap: In February we discovered that we were going to have a baby, we took a last hurrah/belated honeymoon trip to Europe for 2 weeks, my oldest sister Jessie got married, we had a baby, I quit my job, and how we're here.

In light of the holiday spirit (which I am seriously lacking this year, sigh) I have decided to share my all-time Christmas wish list. I realize I will not be getting these items, but a girl can dream, can't she?

1. A real camera, the Nikon D90 would be AWESOME

2. Camera lessons and photoshop lessons to go along with the sweet camera - I'm sick of all of my pictures of Dax having massive red-eye and the colors being blah

3. A tummy tuck, with some liposuction - or my pre-pregnancy body and weight!

4. Removal of my sweet tooth

5. 2 extra arms - this would make cleaning the apartment possible

6. A new diaper bag in pink daisy thank you very much

7. Season tickets to MSU men's basketball, courtside or at least lower bowl

I'm sure there are other things I could wish for, like the ability to be an amazing parent, to not make mistakes while parenting, to know how to raise my child as a Christ-follower, and the list could go on.

It will be fun to take pictures of Dax's 2nd first Christmas and show them to him one day when he's older. Even though he won't remember this time, and gifts aren't really appropriate, I still feel slightly guilty that we didn't really get him anything. We gave him a stuffed snowman that he received at my parent's house, and he will be getting a couple of books in French and a new swaddle-me blanket at Derek's parent's house.

What is the one gift you are hoping for this Christmas?

2 months old!

2009-12-20T14:13:00.002-05:00

On Friday, Dax turned 2 months old, my how the time has flown by!!! We celebrated by going to the pediatrician for his 2 month well-baby checkup. Boy has my little boy grown, he's put on almost 5 pounds since he was born, coming in at an impressive 13.2o pounds! They measured him, but I'm pretty sure the nurse did it wrong, she said he was only 22 7/8" long, but he was 21.5 at birth, and he's about to move into his 9 month sized clothing because he's too long for his 6 month sized stuff. Derek and I will remeasure him later this week for a more accurate length. I have some cute pictures of him that we've taken recently, but our usb cord for our camera has gone on hiatus.

Dax has really started talking more, smiling, and laughing. He loves playing on his playmat, we frequently find him staring at himself cracking up. He loves talking to himself, and batting the toys on his playmat. Bathtime is still one of Dax's favorite things. He smiles the entire time, and gets pretty upset when it's time to take him out. He is still sleeping 6-7 hours at night (way to go Dax), and is a very content and happy boy. While we've had some struggles nursing lately, he's been getting better, and is still eating like a champ. He's obviously gaining weight, and our pediatrician thinks he's going to be a big boy. She tried to convince us to look into baby modeling for him - she said he looks like he's 4 months old, which is how old the Gerber babies are. The older Dax gets, and the chubbier his cheeks become, the more he starts to look like my baby pictures - at least with how chubby he is :) He is still 99% dad and 1% mom at this point. Pictures are coming soon - as soon as we find our camera cord!

Holiday Cards

2009-12-17T07:59:00.003-05:00

This will be the first year that Derek and I are sending out a Christmas card. We decided to combine our holiday greeting card with Dax's birth announcement, mainly to save on the cost of doing 2 separate mailings. We wanted to do a picture card with several of the pictures that our photographer took. I contacted my friend, Sara, who does amazing digital cards - invitations, annoucements, holiday, etc - and she's also a great photographer too! She has an Etsy store for her creations, Less Ordinary Designs , and she can customize pretty much anything and create an amazing card for you. Her prices are inexpensive ($15-20/design), and she'll send you the file to print at the location of your choice. This is the design she pulled together for us, I can't wait to get the prints so I can mail them out :)

News Announcement (you may want to sit down for this)

2009-12-16T11:31:00.002-05:00

....I am officially not going back to work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would put enough exclamation points to show you how happy I am about that, but there would be about 5 pages of them and I don't want to lose any readers because of that :) Derek and I have spent a lot of time praying and wrestling with finances (yes wrestling, kind of similar to lassoing a bull I suppose) to see how this will work. Let me tell you, God is a miracle worker. This summer when I was looking at our finances to see if it was possible for me to not return to work and it was impossible. Our expenses required 2 incomes. I did the math a gazillion times this summer and nothing worked. A few weeks after I had Dax we sat down again, after lots of prayer, to see what was possible. Somehow God waved his magic wand, and with a little cutting here and there, it has become possible. We are both really thankful and I feel so relieved to know that I will be raising my son. I have another post with a picture to show off the awesome birth announcement/Christmas card that my friend, Sara designed for us. She does great custom design work (and is an awesome photographer too, she did our engagement and wedding pictures!!) and has super reasonable prices! More on her later :)

Breastfeeding Woes

2009-12-14T22:38:00.003-05:00

If you don't want to read about breastfeeding, then you should stop reading now :)

I have been exclusively breastfeeding Dax and intend to do so for an indefinite period of time, but that's not the point of this post. When Dax was 2 weeks old, he ended up getting a bottle of expressed breastmilk due to reasons that I won't elaborate upon here. We continued to give him 1 bottle of breastmilk a day, Derek would give it to him at night while I would pump.

This past week, Dax has been extremely fussy at night when I would try to feed him. Then on Friday night, we made our first mistake and could not get the poor boy to calm down, and he would not eat from me. So, we lovingly warmed up a bottle of milk that I had pumped, and Dax ate as if it was the last meal he was ever going to get. That marked the start of a 3-day (or maybe longer, I'll know tomorrow) scream fest every time I tried to feed Dax. What Derek and I quickly came to realize is that Dax was suffering from nipple confusion and had developed a preference to the bottle. After talking to a few people and doing some online research we decided to go cold turkey with Dax and eliminate all bottles and pacifiers for an indefinite period of time. This has temporarily turned my happy son who never cries into a screaming monster when it comes time to eat. I learned a trick though - if I can get him to eat while he's sleeping or just waking up, he doesn't put up a fuss. Today has been much easier, but I don't think we're out of the dark just yet. This would be mistake #3: we introduced a bottle too early. Next time around, a bottle will be introduced around 4 or 6 weeks instead of at 2 weeks.

Mistakes

2009-12-11T22:44:00.002-05:00

Tonight I would say that we made our first official "mistake" as parents. We had dinner with friends, so before we headed over we fed Dax-a-roo, got him all bundled up and headed over. I'm still a little uncomfortable breastfeeding Dax (even with a nursing cover) in front of non-family members, so we took some breastmilk and a bottle, and figured that 5oz of milk would be enough for Dax until we got home. That was mistake #1 - especially since Dax has been eating about every 1 - 1.5 hours this past week. We arrived around 6:15, and Dax was fed around 6:45. By the time we were getting ready to leave around 8:50 or so, I could tell that Dax was starting to get hungry, but I assumed that we could make it home in time to feed him. That was mistake #2, our 20 minute drive home drove me to tears, Dax was crying like I have NEVER heard before. We got home, I promptly pulled him out of his car seat, pulled out the girls and proceeded to feed him. I forgot to mention that he had tears streaming down his face, his face was ready, and he was sweating because he got so hot from all of his crying. My little boy wanted nothing to do with food, he was so upset it took about 20 minutes to calm him down enough to eat and when he finally was calm enough to eat he went to town.

Lesson learned, next time feed the baby, it is NEVER a good idea to think/assume that a 2 month old can wait 20 minutes to get home. I'm now happy to report that Dax is sound asleep and will hopefully get a full nights sleep out of exhaustion from crying.

Winters' Family Thanksmas

2009-12-09T10:26:00.003-05:00

This past weekend the Winters' Family celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas. Benj, Anna, Kyle, and Vas all flew in to celebrate, and we had Kelsey on Skype. It was a great time, here are some pictures:

Uncle Kyle and Aunt Vas with Dax

The Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake my dad and I made:

It was delicious:

Another family photo:

Telling stories to Aunt Vas:

Snoozin' with Uncle Benj:

Talking to Aunt Anna:

Look Mom...no hands!

I took a nap with daddy

I read stories with Grandpa (if anyone knows of a good tool to remove red-eye let me know)

In our family, everyone has a handmade stocking. Over the past few years I have taken on the task of making one for all of the newcomers (and my parents, because they didn't have them), so I got to make one for Dax this year:

Dax in his new Christmas PJ's from Grandma and Grandpa

Hanging out with Grandpa and my new snowman from mommy and daddy

Check out my new reindeer hat from Aunt Jessie and Uncle Dustin

We had a great time and it was wonderful seeing everyone, but really sad to see them all go. I sometimes miss the days when we all lived in the same house together - we never had to spend any holidays apart.

Baby and Holiday Pictures

2009-12-01T02:45:00.003-05:00

Do you like the new picture of Dax that I am using as my header? Me too. I've always wanted to take great pictures. In high school I took a photography class and would always try to capture artsy shots and images that would really stand out. I usually ended up with a roll of film full of pictures that looked like someone was trying to take an artsy shot instead of capturing something amazing naturally. Sadly, despite all of my efforts over the years to try and become the next Ansel Adams, I am still just your average jill when it comes to capturing those timeless moments. Since I am not anywhere close to being a professional, we decided to have a photographer come to our house and do newborn pictures, as well as family pictures for our Christmas card/birth announcement. When my dad found out that we wanted to get portraits done, he immediately recommended a woman from his church, Brooke Borton. She does amazing work, much better than a session at your favorite place in the mall. Plus, she comes at a time that's good for you, brings props, backgrounds, and takes amazing pictures. She took the one that is on my header and these 2:

This one is my favorite so far:

As many of you know, when I have had a great experience with a product or service, I am very vocal about that experience and will do what I can to spread the word. Even though I haven't seen all of the pictures yet, I am highly impressed with the sneak peak and know that the rest will be just as good if not better. If you get the chance, check out her facebook page , she's a mom who takes amazing pictures and is willing to travel :)

Turkey Day Part 1

2009-11-29T21:13:00.005-05:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Robinsons on Friday. Since my family is celebrating this upcoming week, we spent Wednesday and Thursday with my parents helping decorate the Christmas tree. Here are some pictures from our adventures.

Dax also got to meet several people for the first time. Here's a picture of him and Uncle Dustin.

This was also the first time his great-grandma Adam got to meet him as well.

Last but not least, he met our Aunt Carol, Uncle Clyde, Cousin David, and Cousin Rachel (below). He also met his Uncle Dan for the first time, but I didn't get a picture of it...next time!

More pictures to come next week from the Winters' family celebration of Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Answer to prayer

2009-11-24T23:40:00.002-05:00

Praise God! Derek and I have had a HUGE, and I mean HUGE answer to prayer today. The final details need to be reviewed, and a few teeny-tiny questions answered, but we have just had an enormous burden lifted off of our shoulders. The stress, anxiety, and tension that I have been carrying around since this summer has just lifted and has been replaced with a peace that can only come from God. I can't share just yet, but I just wanted to share how thankful I am this week and what an irony it is that God would answer this specific request the same week of Thanksgiving. More to come in the following weeks :)

1 month old ( a day late )

2009-11-19T20:00:00.005-05:00

Dax turned 1 month old yesterday! The first month has been an adventure for Derek and I filled with lots of memories. Derek and I are quickly learning to function on a lot less sleep than normal, and are both thoroughly enjoying our new roles as mom and dad. Here's a look back on the past month.

Dax enjoying his lamb chair, this is a mid-sentence picture. He's become so much more vocal since he was born. He likes to grunt and squeel, and coo at me. He's especially noisy when he's trying to wake up - a process that takes him about an hour to do.

Dax about to roll over (he did this for the first time yesterday!) Tummy time is going really well, although he's been holding his head up really high since he was born, so it's a breeze for him!

Snoozin on daddy's lap, one of his favorite places to sleep. He hates having his arms confined, and no matter how we swaddle him, he manages to houdini his arms out of the blanket.

Wide-awake on mommy's pillow, there are some nights where little D likes to stay awake instead of going back to sleep after eating. I usually try to take over night shift when he's wide-awake, since Derek gets up for work in the morning. Derek has been a HUGE help with Dax at night when he does wake up for his 1 feeding.

Out like a light at the hospital. Such a little doll, it's hard to believe he's only been around for 1 month, it feels like he's been with us for so much longer than that. I am starting to forget what life was like before we had Dax, it just seems so natural having him a part of our lives.

His birthday! This was taken after he was all taken care of and swaddled up at the hospital.

And last but not least a video of a major milestone - Dax rolling over for the first time. He actually did this yesterday, but we took the video today to send to my mom for her birthday. He still hasn't done this in front of Derek yet, but we will keep trying!!

Post-pregnancy me

2009-11-19T10:23:00.003-05:00

I hate how I look post-pregnancy, I'm sick of feeling fat, I spent 9 months feeling ginormous and now it just continues. I don't have anything that fits right now, I have maybe 4 tops that fit, and that's because I bought 2 of them, and the only pants that I can wear right now are my maternity pants. Can I just say that I'm sick of wearing elastic waist-banded pants?! They're too big on me, so my plumber's butt is constantly hanging out, and I always have to pull them up, but NONE of my pre-pregnancy pants fits. Not even my fat ones. I have one pair of pants that I can pull up, but I look like this in them:

I'm still not allowed to work out yet, hopefully when I see my mid-wife on the 30th I'll get the all clear to start some sort of work out regimen again. I've been trying to take 30 minute walks with Dax each day, but our lovely Michigan weather has made it pretty difficult for me to do. Most days I'd rather take a nap during "walk" time anyway, especially since I usually have a migraine thanks to the weather. Yes it's wonderful being a mom and having a son, but that does not eliminate my frustrations about my body right now or solve the fact that I'm chunking out and don't feel like I'm losing any weigh. Sigh.

Weight Gain

2009-11-16T15:36:00.002-05:00

2 weeks ago at the pediatrician, Dax weighed in at 8lbs 14oz. His doctor was really happy with his weight gain. I know Dax has been getting big so on Sunday, we weighed him naked and much to our surprise our little chunky monkey came in at a whopping 11lbs 4oz! That's 38oz in 2 weeks, it just blows my mind how fast this little one is growing.

Day of Grandpas

2009-11-14T21:14:00.003-05:00

Today was our first road trip and will be our first weekend away from home! While Derek is out hunting Bambi or Bambi's mom, Dax and I headed down to my mom and dad's house for the weekend. I'm not ready to spend the night alone with little D yet!!

Since we were in town, we headed over to Dax's great-grandpa's place for his first visit and a photo shoot. Needless to say, my Grandpa Bill was so happy to see his newest great-grandchild.

Dax really was in a good mood during this picture, we just caught him mid-stretch. He had been sleeping up until I took him out of his carseat, he woke up long enough to get a few pictures with his great-grandpa McKinley, and then promptly fell back asleep after the short visit was over.

My dad was also thrilled to see Dax today. Dax loves his Grandpa Winters and even was able to get a bottle from him tonight. I think they both enjoyed the bonding time, this picture shows it all - Dax looking up at my dad.

I am enjoying being off of diaper duty while I'm here, although I will be back on it tonight while everyone is sleeping, but I've had a nice break so far. Speaking of diapers, I cannot be happier with our decision to use cloth diapers. They are working out so well and we are saving so much money by using them. I don't mind the extra load of laundry every 2 days. So far we had more leaks and accidents when we were using the disposable diapers we received from the hospital than we have had with our Bum Genius diapers.

3-6 Month Size

2009-11-13T16:01:00.004-05:00

Today Dax has officially started wearing his 3-6 month size clothing, I am still amazed at how big he is getting. I was in denial for a couple of days about him needing to move into the bigger size...all of his 0-3 month size onesies were way too small, the neck would come about halfway down his chest because we were stretching them to fit. I suppose he should start wearing his 3-6 month size pants too, I don't know if I'm ready for that yet!

This was taken after his tummy time for today. His neck is getting so strong, the only pictures I managed to take of it were not very good ones. I'll try again next time.

Look at how big I'm getting!!

Grandpa Robinson

2009-11-10T17:02:00.003-05:00

On Sunday, Derek's parents and sister, Bethany, came up for a visit. My father-in-law hadn't seen Dax since he was born. We were able to get a couple of shots of them together.

Dax has been growing so big lately, we think he has inherited Grandpa R's height genes!!

Thumbs and Walks

2009-11-05T16:56:00.008-05:00

Dax has HUGE thumbs, in general I think he has pretty big hands for a newborn. He's going to be a thumb war champion!! Up until now, he's managed to suck on his fist. He somehow manages to get most of his fist into his mouth and then proceeds to suck it while I get ready to feed him. Yesterday, as I was getting set up to nurse him, his fist started to creep up towards his face, and at the last minute, he opened his hand, and managed to find his thumb, and started sucking on his thumb. I cannot believe he's sucking his thumb already, I shed a few tears. I know this is just the first of many milestones to come, but I just can't believe my baby is almost 3 weeks old already!!! I don't have a picture of him sucking his thumb yet, but here's a picture of his sweet little hands and thumbs : )

I know as his mom, I am biased, but seriously how adorable is my son?!

And here is his massive thumb :) I'm sure it will come to good use one of these days!

Today we also went for a walk. We went around the apartment complex and it felt great to get some fresh air. We have a snowsuit type of outfit for Dax, and he looks like a little bear with it on! It's a little big, but he is just too cute when we put him in it, and then put him in his carseat. I was able to get a good picture of it today.

Big Boy Bath

2009-11-03T19:03:00.004-05:00

Since Dax lost his umbilical cord on Saturday, Derek and I were able to give him his first "big boy" bath on Sunday! The only part he didn't like was getting out of the tub because it was a little chilly, otherwise he enjoyed every minute of bath time.

Things have been going really well. Derek and I are adjusting to having our beautiful son around all of the time. I think each day we fall even more in love with him - if that's even possible. We went to the pediatrician yesterday for a 2 week check up and little Dax put on 1lb 4.5oz in 10 days!!! He is now up to 8lbs 14.5oz. His doctor was very impressed with his weight gain and said that it means he is extremely healthy. Apparently babies tend to put on 1-1.5oz/day, and with him putting on 2oz/day, she was thrilled. All of the nurses at the doctor's office are in love with little D, they love his blond hair and have all commented on how beautiful he is for being a newborn! We're slightly biased, but Derek and I both think we made a great looking kid : )