2 Month Stats

Wow...what a whirl wind these past two months have been.  It really does go by fast.

Growing like a weed.  

2 month fun facts:

• Weight - 12 lbs 11 oz 
• Height - 2' 0.5" (95th percentile!)
• Likes include sleeping at night (thank God), flashing smiles at all the girls (me being his favorite of course) and his Ergo Baby.
• Dislikes include ???  Now I know you guys are probably thinking "Hey bi-polar Betty...what about your previous sob story post?"  Well the thing is that he really doesn't dislike anything in particular.  He just dislikes EVERYTHING if he is overly tired.  I really have to keep a close eye on his napping situation, making sure that he gets enough sleep during the day.  He still displays some crankiness, but we can deal with that.  We have realized that he is just a bit more sensitive to things than Kaci ever was.
• And yes, if I were asked to describe his hair color at this stage, I would have to admit that "ginger" may be an accurate description.

Kaci is still liking the job of big sister.  Very inquisitive, some new questions include: "Where is Baby Dean?"; "Aren't you going to bring Baby Dean with you?"; "What about Baby Dean?".  Thanks Kaci!  Not sure I could handle this motherhood thing without you!

Loves to jump in bed with Dean each morning

Just one more month and then I am back to work.  I will soak up every last second being at home, but do have to admit that the thought of going back to work does excite me.  Not the work so much, but the people.  Though I do wish that 10 to 2 was the schedule instead of 8 to 5.  If anyone can offer me this, with a salary match of course, give me a call!   

This Too Shall Pass...Right?

If I were asked to describe myself in 5 words, my first word would be routine.  Say it with me now....ROUTINE.  Don't you love how it rolls off of your tongue?  Other words that come to mind include plan and goal.  Uptight you may be thinking...actually no.  Oddly enough I do not think that this word even remotely describes me.

Now, let's move on to my blood pressure.  It is low.  Want to spike that though?  Throw a wrench in my routine, mess up my plan, divert me from reaching my goal.  A huge reaction...of course not.  I choose to internalize my problems.  Duh.  I realize that this is probably not the healthiest route to take.  I may be years, hell even months, away from my Walter White-esque mental breakdown.  (Yes I finished Breaking Bad.  Yes I loved it.)

Where am I going with this?  Well Dean is throwing a wrench as hard as his 2 month old arm can.  So sweet and handsome, he really is high maintenance.  Feeding issues, napping issues and a lot of crying is what has been filling my days.  It's hard.  This is due in part...o.k. a big part...to the fact that I can not take things day by day.  Like really can not do it.  My mind jumps days, weeks and months down the road.  Take this trip with me:

• Does this unraveling of his daytime routine spell the demise of him sleeping through the night?
• Can I regrow my tooth enamel that I am grinding down each and every afternoon?
• Is Kaci destined to a life of crime due to all of the extra t.v. time she is getting while I deal with her brother?
• Will anyone be able to give him the smiles and hugs that he deserves when I go back to work if he continues to be so cranky? 

Shit...each morning I turn over a new leaf.  I resolve to live in the now and take it one day at a time.  I hope for a little less of this:

And a lot more of this:

This took me a long time to write.  I hate discussing my short falls.  And that is exactly what I see this as being.  Dean's fussiness and such is really not the problem.  It is me and my inability to deal with the situation.  I am not the one calling the shots here, Dean is.  But I believe that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.  

Serenity now folks, serenity now.  This too shall pass.

Hands Free Device

This is a post about how the Ergo Baby changed my life.  No really it did.  I was on my way to becoming the Hunch Back of Notre Dame's twin sister with my old infant carrier.  Not a good look or feel for me.

The carrier I was using was an Infantino.  I bought it when Kaci was born.  I never really put it to much use.  Having Dean though, along with a wild 3 year old, I do find that I need to have my hands free.  Well I quickly found that my old carrier was garbage.  My back would ache after just 15 minutes of strapping my little Dean Bean on.

The Ergo Baby is what I went with.  It cost a pretty penny, but I found that it was well worth it.  Aside from the fact that it doesn't hurt my back, it also has a large zipper pocket.  My old carrier had one teeny, tiny pocket with no zipper.  So small that it would not even hold a binky.  Useless!  This new carrier is also much easier to put on.

Sorry son, these hands are needed for other activities!

Dean taking a peek around

 As an added bonus, it boasts the ability to carry a 4 year old toddler weighing up to 48 lbs.  Ummm, why would anyone need to carry their 4 year old in a pack for extended periods of time?  Attachment parenting at it's finest?  Probably not for me.  But I figured I had better make sure my carrier was not defective.

Don't get used to this Kaci!

It should be noted that even Kaci was embarrassed about this photo.  She would like me to remind everyone that she is not a baby.  It should also be noted that this is the second time that Kevin's Women In Waders calendar makes an appearance on my blog.  

No Words

I am kind of at a loss of anything of substance to write about tonight.  I am going to resort to a bullet point list of my thoughts....maybe that will jog my creativity.  Or maybe not.  Hey - at least it includes pictures!

• The sunshine lately has been NICE to say the least.  We have enjoyed a few walks.  As long as we walk near the river Kaci does pretty well.  She likes to throw rocks, leaves, sticks, her gum (she now knows that this is littering and is NOT allowed) and anything else she can find into the water.  Attempt to walk anywhere that does not follow the river though and Kaci reaches exhaustion quickly.  Like 2 minutes quick.  "My legs and hands are tired" will soon shatter the tranquility of any nature walk.

 Taking a much needed break

• Bryce got voted off Survivor.  The producers never should have let that happen.  Any man who wears purple pants to the game of Survivor should make it to the final three.   "Clearly they wanted the cutest, most fashionable member out" - Bryce.  
• I was super excited to share some of Dean's smiles.  They are becoming more and more common.  I guess you will have to take my word for it because as soon as I get the camera in position this is what I capture:

Working on spring cleaning and losing weight.  No glamorous pictures to share of either projects.

Kaci caught a fish with her own bare hands.  Literally.  She was down fishing with Kevin and spotted a single smelt floating up on the beach.  Not quite dead, I am sure it wished it was.  Kaci grabbed that fish up and it became her buddy for the morning.  She buried it in the sand, placed it near the fire to warm up, washed it in her bucket of water.  She did try to talk her dad into bringing it home but failed.

• Even after a hard day fishing she still found some time for beauty:

• I have had no beers on this St. Patrick's Day.  Now that deserves a pinch!
• Goal for the week is 2 days of yoga and 2 days of outdoor cardio.  Well I did neither today, so I best get started tomorrow!

That is all I have in me tonight.  I am off to watch a little Breaking Bad before bed. 

Namaste Bitches

Yoga put me down both literally and figuratively speaking.  Oh where should I begin?  Let's start a few months back.  Groupon began running a deal for hot yoga.  I wanted this...but I was unable to due to being pregnant.  This honestly was the only reason for my not purchasing it.  My lack of experience did not ever cross my mind.  Well, this morning Kaci and I completed our first at-home yoga workout.  Boy was I mistaken.  Let's just say that I should probably keep my downward dog in my living room for quite some time before I go traipsing into a thousand degree yoga studio.  Although at least there I probably would not have a 3 year old laying under me asking me for some saltine crackers for snack.

We did the Yogalosophy workout.  Apparently this is what Jennifer Aniston does.  It worked for her.  And I am sure she used this exact same DVD that she ordered off Amazon.  No personal trainer, chef or plastic surgery was needed.  Nope...just this DVD.  Right?  Well anyways I am already sore.  Yikes.  It combines classic yoga moves with strength training.  Today reminded me that I have a long way to go in regards to getting my core strength back.  I did enjoy the workout and will keep it.  I am also going to look for one that focuses more on the yoga portion though so that I can work up to a hot yoga class.  

Keeping with the fitness theme, Kaci had her first swim lesson this week.  She was a ball of nerves on the drive in.  She even shed a few tears.  She was scared about the water being too deep, and also upset that I was not going to get in the pool with her.  Luckily we arrived early, so we had time for a quick pep talk in the car.  A little Eye Of The Tiger will pump any athlete up.  As will the promise of a donut the next day.

She even looks like an Olympic athlete in that suit!

Once she got inside and saw that her lessons would start out in the smaller, shallow pool she was stoked.  She loved it.  It was all she talked about during dinner.

Pre-swim rinse.  She was pretty excited about this part as well!

Dean apparently hates swim lessons as he cried all the way home...after both lessons this week.  It's a 25 minute drive.  

How can he cry when he has the coziest seat in the car?

 Oh and here is a better shot of his little shoes!