Eating healthy, and learning new tricks...

So Carter keeps learning new tricks every day lately. It's funny to see him figuring out new things every day. Well, funny might not be the best word to describe it...

Like his ability to grab the phone right out of my hand when I'm holding him while talking. My mom can attest to witnessing this accomplishment because she heard it crash to the ground the other day as I was midsentence talking to her

He now also likes to help me "drink" water...if I take a sip while holding him, he swats at the glass resulting in water running all down the front of my shirt.

I carry Carter in my front facing carrier at the grocery store. Today while perusing the maze of baby food jars, he decided to select one himself, and of course it went crashing down in a shattered/splattered mess on the floor. (it was applesauce if you must know)

He also LOVES to bang on things with his hands now and his exersaucer has a toy that makes animal noises and plays music. It has 5 different animals, but of course Carter only likes to hit one over and over again (the lion, which is leon in Spanish I am so glad to now know)

Carter had his first taste of prunes today, scrumptious! And he discovered that whatever fell onto his plastic bib could be licked off at the end. I walked to the sink to get a damp paper towel to clean him off, and when I came back he had the whole bib pressed up to his face to lick the stray prunes which were now all over his face, chin, forehead and in his hair...

On a side note, I found this interesting article/website with the most unhealthy food listed...pretty shocking: http://www.menshealth.com/eatthis/20-Worst-Foods/

The more natural you can eat, and the less dining out, the better!

Vacation anyone?

Well, after months of being cooped up in the dreary winter weather, even though things are warming up now, I think we are finally going to get away for a long weekend. Hopefully we aren't being overly ambitious, but we are planning a hiking vacation in the Shenandoah/Blue Ridge Mountain area. This week I'll be busy packing and organizing a boatload of stuff for our newest family member. I can only imagine what the car will look like when it's fully packed. :) At least we were able to rent a minivan...my car would have been extremely tight I'm afraid. I'm sure we will have some fun stories to tell of the adventures/misadventures of vacationing for the first time with an infant. If anyone has any tips I'd be glad to hear them.

Carter was up till almost 11 last night then up at 2 and 4:45-6 am. Still sleeping now, thank God. Maybe he is teething?

Feeling of accomplishment

So today is Friday. We started the day off with a 6 am wakeup call...or more like cry. But that was fine. I had training for work from 7:30-8:45 during which I entertained Carter also. But it seems to be going well and I'm finally understanding it more. At the end of the call he fell asleep on my lap so I went upstairs and put him in his crib and he slept for 2 hours!!! I got so much done, it was amazing. I finished mulching all our flower beds, did 2 loads of laundry, pulled weeds. I took Carter outside for a quick photo shoot after he woke up because it's another beautiful day here.

Doesn't our backyard look like a golf course in this photo?? Trust me it ain't all that great close up! :)

So my tip for frugal Friday is something my hubby and I did a year ago. We traded in my cell phone with the expensive annual contract and instead purchased a pay-as-u-go phone. It now costs about $100/yr saving us around $500/yr!

First bites

Carter tasted his first "food" today. Rice cereal...yummmmmmmy! So delicious looking I was tempted to try some myself...uh, not quite. But he absolutely loved it and just scarfed it down. Apparently he was ready for food..had no problems eating and swallowing every bite. Derrick fed him his first spoonfuls, so cute. I can't believe how fast he is growing up.
Also, Carter took a 45 minute nap in his CRIB today. Not a first but the first time in a long time he's actually done that. It was wonderful. I got to do lots of fun things during that 45 min like cleaning the floors and paying the bills. ;)

Faith...some thoughts

I took Carter outside to look at the pretty flowers this morning and was describing all the beautiful colors to him. His intense fascination with the world around him never ceases to amaze me. I tell Carter now that God made the flowers and this harkens to mind the scripture instructing us to have faith like a child. I look at Carter's innocent face and see absolute trust. Do I trust and have faith in God the way I see Carter trusting me? Get back to you on that one....

Nowadays people look to "science" for all the answers and like to cut God out of the picture. This is really inconceivable to me though when I see the intracacies of the world around me, the fine balance of life, the change of the seasons, the birth of a child... Faith is so much more than just memorizing some verses or going to church on Sundays or labeling yourself a Christian. Faith is a day in and day out HABIT of trusting God. Faith is knowing that you don't know it all. Faith is knowing there is someone greater than you, looking out for you.

I realized yesterday that my thoughts have been very consumed lately with things, events, and people around me but not so much with God. I want to make a more conscious effort going forward to keep my thoughts focused on God. I want to do this, not only for myself, but for Carter, so that he can see examples of faith in my life. And I think I might just learn a few things from him about trusting implicitly and having the faith of a child.

What a weekend

Carter got to meet LOTS of new friends this weekend. We took a trip back home to NJ and had a blast visiting cousins (second cousins), parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, and friends. Carter experienced his first trip to the beach as well.

It is always a blast going home but so hard to leave. The drive back is so tough because I know it will be a while before I see some of my friends and family again and that is very difficult. I know I'm in Pittsburgh right now for a reason, but never a day passes by that I don't miss everyone back home or wish I could be there more often. Thanks to everyone for making this visit so special for us.

Being home these days really brings back a lot of memories of my own childhood. I am so much more appreciative, by the day, of my own upbringing and all that my parents did for me. It's amazing how much we take for granted as children and never take the time to think about or appreciate. I am deeply grateful for my parents instilling in me an appreciation for the world around me, a caring spirit, willingness to help others in need, and a strong faith in God, which has already sustained me through many trials (parenthood included!) Being back home this weekend reminded me of all the blessings throughout my life thus far and also brought back some fun memories from when I was a kid. The beach is certainly a place we made many great memories together.

We miss you all already!

First tulip...

Well, spring is officially here today. It is 75 out right now and our first tulip just opened. I had to take a picture I was so excited. :) Somehow Derrick managed to fend off the deer this year. (Last year they ate all of our tulips!!) He's been concocting some lovely deer repelling potion that he pours on the tulips every couple days...it smells so bad it's probably keeping our neighbors away too!

It's the best feeling in the world after a long, dull, color-less winter to see some beautiful spring flowers. Spring is really a season of renewal. You feel more energetic as the days get longer again and feel renewed by the sunshine and beauty all around.

We head off to NJ for the weekend. Busy packing all day today...there is so much more gear now that we have a baby. I swore I wouldn't get caught up in buying all the gear and gadgets, but somehow we've managed to accumulate quite a stash already.

A woman in my MOPS group announced last week that she is pregnant...with her 8th child!!! That really blew my mind. I don't think I'd seriously have the psychological or physical fortitude to do this 8 separate times. You gotta respect that! Parenthood is definitely the toughest job in my opinion. Tough but so worth it when you get a cute smile or giggle or baby just cuddles up to you.

A Day at the Museum

We took a trip with Carter's cousins yesterday to the Natural History Museum. It was a lot of fun, I don't even know the last time I went to a museum but it's been a looonnngg time. Carter really enjoyed the dinosaurs as you can see.

Today we ventured out to Home Depot and Babies R Us. Got some gardening supplies at HD and more diapers at BRU. We are planning a trip to NJ this weekend so we needed to stock up. Carter will get to meet some of his NJ cousins for the first time on Friday so that will be a lot of fun.

The warm weather has finally returned so we're going to try and get outside for as much of the day as possible. Biggest Loser finale last night was great. How about that, a woman finally won. YAY!!!

Reading Fun

So I was thinking I'd like to hear from some of you what your favorite children's books are. I created a poll but would also like to hear your comments. What books do your kiddos enjoy the most. Or if you don't have kids, what books do you remember enjoying from your own childhood or from babysitting. I am really fond of the Dr. Seuss books and they are totally entertaining to read. Let me know what some of your favs are!

Tried a new recipe tonight on a side note...asparagus. Really liked it a lot.

Another that is my favorite this month is

Brandied Shrimp
makes 4 servings
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 TBS olive oil
3 garlic cloves finely minced
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp Tobasco
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
1 TBS oregano (fresh if possible)
2 TBS brandy
2 TBS (fresh) parsley

Melt the butter with olive oil in a large skillet over medium hear. Add garlic and cook stirring often until fragrant, 1-2 min. Stir in the shrimp, Worcestershire, Tobasco, S&P. Let mixture simer until shrimp are partially cooked and beginning to curl, about 2 min. Stir in ketchup & Oregano and simmer 2 min or until shrimp are opaque and just cooked through. Add brandy and parsley, stir to combine. Remove from heat and serve.

Nutrition: 253 cal, 24 g protein, 10 g carbs, 11 g fat (4.5 sat fat)

Finally Friday

So today is a rainy yucky day in Pittsburgh. Carter and I took and exciting trip to Target this morning. Nice to get out for a bit. I had a short training for work and basically she told me their work instructions are completely out of date so it looks like it will be a slow start till I can really get 100% trained.

I've decided that the best medicine for these dreary days is laughter. Whether it's goofing off to get the kiddo to laugh for me, watching a silly show on TV, reading a funny book or magazine. It really is healing to the soul to have a good laugh. I think that's why I enjoyed "Notes from the Underbelly" so much. I read it right after having Carter and I seriously don't think I've ever laughed out loud so much reading a book. I wish there were more funny (clean) shows on TV...just seems like there isn't much decent. I do enjoy The Office, but it hasn't been as good the past year as the first season.

Well, bedtime for kiddo now...gotta run....

5 Months Old

Carter is 5 months old today, I can hardly even believe it. He sure is growing up fast! Too fast! It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant and now he's 5 months old and weighs 20 pounds already. (no I'm not exaggerating...he is huge)

It's another gorgeous day today. Supposed to be 67 by afternoon so we're definitely going running again.

I went to MOPS this morning and they had a woman come in and speak about decorating in the home, layout of furniture, colors, etc. It was interesting and definitely makes me want to try some new things in our home, but we'll see when that happens. I did buy some material to cover our one chair with but I am not really sure how to make a cover...have to look online for ideas I guess.

OK, well that is it for now, kiddo is hollering for me. :)

Falling kitty...

So we went for a short walk last night and when we came home our cat Cirrus was sitting outside on our deck. This was strange since we hadn't let him out so I walked around the house to investigate. When I went upstairs the screen in our bathroom was hanging out the window. Poor kitty had jumped up to sit on the windowsill and fallen about 15 feet down onto the hard deck. Fortunately he was just fine.

Work is going well so far and I've been able to get a decent amount done during naptimes. Carter is napping a bit now, thankfully. Last night he was up till 10, awake at 12 and at 4 and got up a 7. Ugh!

70 degrees

My thermometer made it past 70 degrees today! For some folks this might not be all that thrilling, but to me it was a little piece of heaven. I strapped Carter into my carrier this morning and was able to water all of our new flowers. He seems to like watching. :)

Going to try a new recipe for coleslaw tonight...sounded easy and yummy so we'll see how that goes. Maybe since it's so warm out Carter and I can convince Daddy/Derrick to go to Rita's later. Yummmmmmmy We've only been once this year so far and that was on the first day of spring which is just a crying shame if you ask me. hehe

The sermon this past weekend was about obedience. I definitely was convicted to make obedience more of a focus and a habit in my life. It's very easy to get selfish and feel like my life is mine to do whatever I want with and I need to keep in mind that following God's commands should be first and foremost importance. When I look at Carter now, it's hard to imagine him disobeying me, but I know he will all too soon. Then I stop to think about how God must feel whrn I ignore and disobey Him and it's definitely very sobering.

Well just a few thoughts for the day. My fav show is on tonight, The Biggest Loser, woohoo. Yes I know I'm a dork but I really enjoy watching it.

Back to work

Well, I ventured back into the working world for a few short hours today. Had to go in for training which definitely sent my head spinning but hopefully it will start to make more sense soon. I'm going to try working from home part-time..rather daunting to imagine finding any time right now but hopefully I can figure something out...or find a way to exist on less sleep than I'm already getting...haha!

Reading my good friend Mama K's blog tonight really hit home for me the concept of losing your self identity after having a child. It certainly has been tough to completely step away from my career at the height of my successfulness to take on this new job. But after those 5 hours away today, I can't describe how anxious I was to come home and see my baby and hold him again. (Even though he quickly found a fistfull of my nicely styled hair, grabbed it with his slobbery-barfy hand and shoved it in his even more barfy mouth.) :)

Spring Flowers...

We got outside yesterday and were able to do some spring cleanup and plant a few flowers.As you can see, Carter and Radar were a big help.

It's certainly nice to see some color in the yard now!

Early Riser

Carter has caught onto my scheme of getting up early to get a few things done before he wakes up. Today I got up at 5:45 and he was awake by 6. Grrrr!! At least I have a new babysitter to help me. hehehe :)

I finally heard from my work and they want me to come in on Monday for training. Then I'll be working part-time from home. Should be interesting and I'm sure it will be a new challenge to juggle that with taking care of the kiddo, but nice to have some adult things to work on whenever I do get a few spare minutes.

Encouraging words...

New day, new blog. I'm going to give Google a try to see if it's a little easier to use. Carter's taking a short morning nap so I'll just write a brief post for now.

Listened to an old sermon on Barnabas' role as an encourager this morning. The pastor explained that had it not been for Barnabas supporting and backing Paul and then Mark, we may never have had the books written by those disciples. Pretty amazing to think about but and encouraging word does go a long way. Paul was the new kid on the block and the Christian community doubted whether he was truly genuine in his conversion, but Barnabas supported him and won over the church.,...thank goodness! (www.acac.net link for Audio Teaching - March 2nd Sermon)

Third day of the jogging stroller and for some reason it's not getting any easier! Could that be because my child is still gainig weight at the rate of and ounce a day? Could it be from my 70 lb. black lab who likes to dart left and right and run in front of the stroller causing an unpleasant collision? Could it be from the ever-increasing pain in my arms and neck from lack of using those muscles in this manner before? Who can really say...

Another blast of winter...

Well, so much for it being April and springtime...once again the cold has returned. 33 degrees out right now...Brrrrr!

Carter was up at 6 am and it seemed like he was going to stay awake, but finally by 6:40 he quieted down and it still resting now at 7:30. I think I will try to exercise for a bit since he's still quiet.

Later the same day...Exercise never happened before the kiddo awoke. I thought things might be getting a little more predictable by now...hahaha! We did another trek around the neighborhood in the jogging stroller...I noticed new pain in my arms/shoulders/neck...must be from pushing a forty pound load up enormous hills (did they get steeper overnight??) Derrick found it exceptionally funny when I told him that I was running so slow going up the hill, that the dog was actually walking beside me. I didn't really find it all that funny.

This new parent gig is a lot tougher than you think it will be. There is no rhyme or reason to it!

Jogging stroller...

We took our first jog in the jogging stroller today and boy did I underestimate the workout you get pushing a 20 lb. baby and ~20 lb stroller with a dog in tow up and down the hills in Pittsburgh. Needless to say by the time I got home I was quite winded and red-in-the-face!

It's 60 degrees here today and finally feels like spring. So nice to get outside for some fresh (warm) air. Now Carter is dozing so I can get started with this website. I'll post some pictures later on!