Thursday Thoughts

::: Leo rolled over for the first time on Monday, December 7th at 10.5 weeks old! He did it three times and then this morning he did it again! I think it may have been more than a fluke, so it looks like we have a roller on our hands!

::: Same day - same excitement level - I finalllly finished my pregnancy scrapbook! Praise the lord that task is over! It was super time consuming, but I did it all on Shutterfly and it should be here in just about two weeks. I know I'll cherish it but I'm so glad that its done!

::: Next task that I'm ready to finish is picking and ordering prints from our newborn shoot. That job HAS to get done this week, so I'm hoping that I can crank it out over a nap period and get them picked up this week. My mom comes this weekend and I know my time will be a lot more limited when she is here, so I'm using that as my deadline date.

::: I love our annual Christmas cookie exchange but holy hell have I eaten more cookies this week than I have over the last 9 months. My pants feel tighter now than they did 2 months ago! I'm really hoping the new year brings some clean eating motivation because I am majorly slacking in that department.

::: One of my least favorite tasks ever is cleaning out pictures on my iphone. It gives me such anxiety...I think that's one of the main reasons I keep up this blog so that I have some place to put all of the random pictures that take up too much room on my phone!

::: I have no idea what I want for Christmas because I mainly want everything but don't really need anything. I mean, new sunglasses would be fun, a new wardrobe is necessary, a day at the spa sounds nice, gift cards for workout classes could be useful, new boots are needed, a new necklace that I can wear everyday to replace my current one, diamonds would be great.....poor Joel

::: Joel had to work from home two days this week because his office lost power and their server got all goofed up, so we got the added bonus of having him here. I'm not sure he loved it....mainly the Christmas music that plays non stop, but it was so nice to be able to walk the dog without trugging along the stroller - AND I got to run to the grocery store solo over nap time! I mean, we were living!

::: I cannot watch the news for one more second. My heart breaks every time I turn it on. The shooting in San Bernadino has me, yet again, yearning to find a bubble and never leave it.

::: I'm not sure I really care to have a picture with Santa and Leo together. Is that bad? I don't think we really had any of my sisters and I growing up, and we seemed to manage just fine. I guess if I find one without a 3 hour line, I may be convinced but it's not high on my list.

Our decked halls...

Few things excite me more then pulling out our Christmas decorations boxes from the closet every year. 

 

As a kid, my Mom's Christmas decorations somehow made the season that much more special, so this year, I tried to think about Christmas decorations through Leo's eyes.

 Since our open shelving unit is new to us this year, I had fun finding a way to make it a little more festive. I made this garland for under $10 dollars using all sort of goodies at Michael's and a $2 string of lights from Target and I think it makes such an awesome addition - and looks even more festive at night. 

The only other new decoration I picked up this year (besides a monogrammed "Leo" stocking), was this Santa advent calendar from PBK. I like that it's sort of an active decoration, and once I stopped getting creeped out by the long red man on the back of our front door, it became one of my new favorites.

I put a mini tree in Leo's room, and swapped out all of the candles and soaps in the house, and called it a day. Its festive but not over the top and we just love coming home at night to all of the lights on....there really is something special about this season.

Weekend Report

Seriously, I've never looked forward to weekends more than I do now. It's so nice to have Joel home with us and we packed a ton in this weekend. 

Friday night we stayed in and made a double batch of chicken meatballs so that we could get a freezer meal out of it. We've really tried to make at least one freezer meal over the weekend because it makes life so easy during the work week to just pop something in the oven. When I was done cooking, I gave Leo a bath, and then Joel put Leo down and I snuck in a really adorable moment with a glass of wine from bed. 

 

Saturday morning Joel was up before 5am and out running, and once Leo was up, and fed, I snuck away during his morning nap for a run and a mani/pedi. 

 

I still have to stop a lot during my runs, but they are starting to feel better so I'm not really focusing on the time much at all - and thirty minutes to just jam out to my music leaves me feeling so refreshed for the day.

When I got home, we played with Leo and then that afternoon we decorated Christmas cookies for the cookie exchange that I hosted on Sunday.  

 

That night we made a ton of chili (and froze extra for another freezer meal) and had our friends over to watch the big Iowa game. 

 Isn't my little Hawkeye precious?? We were so sad to see them lose against Michigan State, but it was a great season and with their bowl game in Pasadena, it means that we may get a few visitors from back home!! 

 

That night we skipped Leo's bath and we were nervous it might bother his sleep schedule since it's been part of his routine and very rarely missed since he was just a peanut. Well, it most definitely didn't bother him - because he slept almost 9 hours that night! It was absolutely glorious! 

Sunday I had my 3rd annual Ornament & Christmas Cookie exchange. 

It was great to get our group of girls together and just spend the afternoon catching up. Joel took Leo to a friends house for an afternoon playdate, so the entire afternoon felt very indulgent!

 

I'm so mad at myself that I didn't get a group picture! I'm seriously slacking on that lately! 

Sunday night we had leftovers, watched Elf, and turned in on the early side. This is our last "normal" week before all of our winter visitors get into town. My mom is the first to arrive on Saturday and we are just about counting down the hours! 

Five on Friday

::: 1 ::: 

This week just flew by and I'm so happy to see the weekend again! Leo had his 2month appointment this week and we were very thankful to get a great report card! He took his shots like a champ, but that night we had to give him some tylenol because he was just screaming in pain. Thankfully that seemed to do the trick and was totally fine by the next day. 

::: 2 :::

Not only did we go to a church play group this week, we also ventured out to a baby sensory class at this cute store in Santa Monica called Books and Cookies. It was a 30 minute class for babies 0-12 and the instructor just sang a bunch of songs, read books, and let the kids explore. It was such a cool spot and Leo absolutely LOVED the class. 

He smiled the entire 30 minute class and was obsessed with the instructors voice. One of the nannies that was there made my day because on our way out, she was like "your little boy, I can tell, he is very smart!". And ya gotta think those nannies know what they're talking about! Ha! 

::: 3 ::: 

Leo and I have been so lucky to have our friends Beth and Grady as buddies. Grady and Leo are just a week apart, so it's been a ton of fun to have Beth along for this wild ride. This was her last week of maternity leave so we celebrated all the fun we had with burgers and beer as our boys took naps after their class. 

 

::: 4 :::

I'm hosting an ornament and cookie exchange party on Sunday for my girlfriends and I had the hardest time picking which recipe to use. I want to decorate sugar cookies "with" Leo this weekend, so we're going to do that, and then I'm going to make these pumpkin chocolate chip bars because I have extra pumpkin and they are SO freaking good if you are in need of an easy and delish recipe. 

::: 5 :::

I have a LOT of Christmas shopping left to do and about ZERO motivation to get it done! I want a lot of the gifts I give this year to have something to do with Leo which makes them a little more time consuming, so when I only have 2 hour blocks of free time, it's like the last thing I want to think about. I know it's only December 4th, but the month seems to be flying by already so I REALLY need to get a move on it! 

Leo - Month 2

 

::: 1 month recap :::

Weight:  You are growing nice and steady! At your 2 month appointment you weighed in at 10lbs 3oz (4th%) and were 22.5in tall (17th%)

Clothes: Most of your newborn clothes have been phased out, and you are pretty much filling out 0-3month and 3months clothes. I absolutely love picking out your outfit in the morning, and you wear a lot of stripes, just like your mommy.

Sleep:  You are a great sleeper! This month you take your last bottle (4.5oz) at 7:45ish, and once you get down to bed around 8:15, you sleep until 3 or 4 in the morning! You take 2 long naps a day, and 2-3 cat naps which you typically get in the stroller if we are out and about or in a carrier at night.

Schedule: No two days are the same, but right now you are waking up between 6-7am, eating, and then giving us about an hour of playtime/alertness before you start to fuss and are ready to go back down again. We pretty much follow that loose schedule during the day, but try to line up a 4:45 feeding and a 7:45 final feeding after your bath, as best we can.

Health:  I took you in to the doctor this month for a bit of a cold. I probably overreacted just a bit, since you really only had a runny nose for a few days, but it was nice to get the doctors reassurance that it was nothing more than your first little cold. We'll keep the rest of those at bay, and just be thankful for your perfect health. 

 

Crying: You cry....Wearing you and your pacifier are my best friends.

 

Feeding:  You are a really good eater and breastfeeding is still going really well for us. You feed 6-7 times a day, and take 1 bottle (4.5oz) at night. Right now, you will nurse for 12-25 minutes depending on the time of day.

 

Likes:  You love a mirror! It's pretty hysterical to watch you, and you are very taken with your moose stroller toy. You love lights, being in a carrier and your pacifier.

Dislikes: MUCH to my dismay, we haven't gotten you to really enjoy the swing. I'm hoping to change that soon here because it would be a big help. You hate to be cold and when hats cover your eyes.

Milestones:  Your neck is getting so strong and your doctor even commented that you are starting to prepare to get your crawl on! How is that possible?!? You track items really well, coo all day and give us big, gummy smiles that melt our heart. 

Places You’ve Gone:  We're busy buddy! This month you went on your first hike, to church twice, and you saw your first movie in a movie theater!

Visitors: Your mimi and Grandpa Shields came in from Chicago over Thanksgiving and pretty much held you for 5 straight days. You were so good with them, and they fed you bottles and even babysat so we could escape for a few hours. Uncle Andrew came up from San Diego to meet you as well - but your cousin was sick so had to stay back, so we will meet him in December. 

 

Postpartum:  After getting the all clear to exercise, I've been trying to get in a run or two a week, and they're hard but feel so, so good. On Thanksgiving I ran the 5k turkey trot. I went slow, but ran the whole thing except for the hills and went for an easy hike the next day. It feels nice to be getting back to myself.

Roscoe: Roscoe really loves you, and every time you cry, he is the first person running to your side to make sure you are being tended to. Roscoe follows us around all day and seems to enjoy having a little brother ;)

Thanksgiving Weekend Report

This long holiday weekend was just amazing.

 Joel's parents got into town on Wednesday afternoon. It was the first time they had met Leo, so it made their visit extra special - and they were just enamored with him. 

They also couldn't get over what a "mini-Joel" he was. 

Can I tell you how nice it is to have Grandparents at your house to help. They stayed in our guest room/nursery, and while I was worried that we all may be too cramped, it was actually amazing. I felt like I was on vacation having them here! 

Wednesday night we ordered in thai food, prepped a few Thanksgiving dishes, and just hung around catching up.

 

Thanksgiving morning Joel and I have a tradition of running a turkey trot, and I was so proud of us that we made it happen this year too. 

 

I think I was rewarded for my 5k efforts, because as I was waiting for the race to start, the Affleck family showed up next to me. Ben and Jen were there together (with one nanny per kid) which made for a pretty solid sighting. And if you're interested, Ben does not seem like a very friendly guy and Jen seems adorable. 

 The race goes through the Pacific Palisades and is absolutely beautiful.

I ran pretty well, just stopped at the hills (and beat Ben and Jen)- and Joel polished the race off and was the 7th overall finisher. 

We stopped for coffee and bagels on our way home, and then after showers got to Thanksgiving prepping! 

 

We started the day off with my Holiday Crack Dip and shrimp cocktails and lots and lots of champagne and baby cuddles! 

We served dinner around 6, and in typical holiday with a newborn fashion, Joel wore the Solly wrap all through dinner.

 

All of our dishes turned out amazing, and even though we only had 4 eaters, we made enough to feed an army so that we would have leftovers for the week. 

  

After a great dinner, we stayed up way too late playing Trivial Pursuit and eating my favorite pecan pie. It was an amazing Thanksgiving - and even more special with my sweet little turkey. 

Friday morning we decided to try and work off all of our indulgences and went for Leo's first hike. It's been really cold in LA in the mornings, so we stuffed him into a little bear suit and made our way to Westridge Canyon. 

 

We timed it over a morning nap, so he pretty much slept the entire hour that we were hiking. We had breakfast at Coral Tree Cafe before heading home and just hanging out for the rest of the day. 

That "night" (around 4), Joel and I took advantage of our free babysitters and snuck away for our first date since the baby was born. 

We've been wanting to try Ester's in Santa Monica since I was pregnant, and it did not disappoint as a perfect spot to indulge in drinks, cheese, and (somewhat) baby free conversations. 

 

We had a great bottle of wine and it just felt so good to be out and about. We were home by 7:30 to give Leo and bath and put him to bed - but it was still such a fun break. 

Saturday, Joel's brother Andrew came up from San Diego to hang with us, and we spent all day just lounging and watching football.

When Andrew left, we ordered pizza and played another few rounds of Trivial Pursuit and stayed up way too late for a baby who still wakes up at 3am and 6am! 

Before Joel's parents left on Sunday, we made it back to Church for the second time and Leo did great. 

 

Joel's parents left early that afternoon, and we were all so sad to see them go. It was so nice having them here and we will all miss them terribly until our next visit. 

And now, it's officially time to get back to reality...