MMM: Sick Baby

My little guy has had his first bout of sickness this past week. He's been coughing, sneezing, and had a fever and a runny nose. It's been so hard to watch him suffer through it since he doesn't understand what's going on. He has been more fussy than usual, but all things considered, I have been proud of him for dealing with it so well. Last night he finally slept for 8 hrs. straight even though part of it took place in the car and the airport! He still has a little bit of a cough, but I'm thankful his nose has cleared up so he can breathe easier.

I can imagine it will never be easy to see him be sick. I don't like it at all, but I also know it's a part of life and that him getting sick now will build up his immunity for the future.

What a trooper... his first plane ride! 

To life... full of traveling while sick.

MMM: My First Mother's Day

Yesterday was my very first Mother's Day! My poor little boy was not feeling well over the weekend. He had a fever, a little cough, and wanted to be held (which wasn't so bad). But it was not fun to see him sick. It makes me so sad because he doesn't understand what's going on in his little body. Fortunately he has started to feel better, so I am very thankful for that, especially with our trip this week!

Lovebug made me breakfast and I received cards from both him and Zeke (plus, I received 4 Mother's Day cards in the mail from my family!). They were very sweet cards.  My lovely Mother's Day gift was Pioneer Woman's new cookbook, Food from my Frontier. I am excited to start trying the new recipes! I have looked through it several times already and there are several recipes I'm excited about... Cherry Limeade, Chocolate Coffee Cake, and her Cold Brewed Coffee to name a few. Where do I begin?

I also got one of the half price frappuccinos from Starbucks, so I felt quite special all day. With the addition of the Mother's Day special treatment, I believe May might have surpassed October as my favorite month of the year! And there's so much more to look forward to: our trip this week, my cousin's wedding, visiting New York state, my bro-in-law's wedding, my birthday, and Memorial Day weekend!

To life... full of anticipation and celebration!

MMM: First Day at the Pool!

Today was Zeke's first day at the pool. It wasn't quite as hot today as it has been the past few and Daddy had the day off, so we thought it was a great day to go! We had taken a little walk to Starbucks and he decided to load up his diaper, so we promptly walked home because I figured it was a great time to go ahead and head to the pool since we knew he had pooped for the day (Oh the new reasons to do things!) Anyway, it was one of those tear-inducing-my-gag-reflexes-work diapers. Once we changed the diaper, we put on one of his new swim diapers -- which the smallest size starts at 16 lbs.! Kind of silly, but we made it work. 

Sporting the new swim diaper 

His cute turtle swim cover

Daddy and Zeke testing the waters 

Mommy and Zeke getting wet 

Family picture at the pool 

The water was pretty chilly, so I'm not sure how much he enjoyed that. But he did not cry, so I'll take that as a rather positive response! We didn't stay for long either, he was getting sleepy. But we put him in to about waist deep and he was kicking his little legs in the water -- absolutely cute! I look forward to many more pool days with him this summer. When we got home we rinsed him off and put on a new onesie. I sat down to rock with him and he was SO tired he started making his little tired noise and was asleep in about 2 minutes! I guess the pool wore him out. A great day!

To life... full of splashing at the pool!

Prayer and a Time of Reflection

When I clicked on "new post" to write this up, I noticed that this will be my 200th post! And I realized that what I had in mind to highlight for today's post is great because it's something I'm striving for and would like to focus on, ideally, the rest of my life. There are three trains of thoughts culminating here, so try to stick with me :o)


I was reading an article from Livestrong.com last week and it contained the following quote that struck a chord with me. Check it out:


... It's about understanding food, finding what’s healthy, and then doing what’s best for your body. Few have said it better than Dr. Yoni Freedhoff:“Your real goal? Live the healthiest life you can enjoy, not the healthiest life you can tolerate. Yes, if you have weight to lose, you’ll have to make changes. But if you change so far from who you are and what you enjoy, odds are that it’s not a sustainable plan. Don't aim for your so-called "ideal" weight; instead aim for what I refer to as your "best" weight, which is the weight you reach when living the healthiest life you can actually enjoy.”Freedhoff's approach is both simple and brilliant--yet I'm guessing most people think that approach isn't enough to get in great shape and feel healthy. But this is exactly what should be done to see the type of results you want.
**Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/blog/the-healthiest-food-in-the-world#ixzz1tqBe37R2


I also updated a few things on my blog recently and added a new gadget on the side which highlights my top 4 posts. I scanned them over and read through "My New Healthy Outlook" in which I described that I wanted to be healthy, lose weight slowly, and still enjoy being me. I wrote this last year just prior to finding out that I was pregnant. Finally, this past Monday morning I was spending some time at our church's prayer house and started reflecting on my motivations and reasons for wanting to look a particular way or weigh a certain number on the scale. I came to the realization that in the past few years I have been very focused on my body - - trying to achieve a certain weight, eat particular foods, exercise (not necessarily for enjoyment, but to achieve a goal). This in and of itself is not a bad thing. It IS important to be healthy and take care of the body God has given me. It's a good thing to care about how I present myself, but I was missing out on what I think is even more important: WHO I am. I've noticed there are many people who would be considered overweight who are very happy people. They take pride in themselves, have good self-esteem, and seem to really enjoy life. There are also people who are very skinny and seem to be unhappy and have low self-esteem. (Please hang in there, I know there are also people in the opposite categories, etc. so please don't judge my writings yet.) I have been processing through all of these thoughts and came to this realization: I want to focus on having a beautiful HEART.


I look at pictures of myself a lot, too much, if I'm being honest... constantly criticizing myself -- look at the way my belly sticks out; ugh, my arms are so flabby; I wish I had worn something different. But who was I in those pictures? Was I enjoying the time with my friends? Did I give my friend a hug who was having a rough day? Was I showing my husband love or kindness the day that picture was taken? When I've been looking back at pictures it has been with a selfish and single-minded thought: what did I look like then? And if I looked good, when will I look like that again? I want to start thinking about the other people in those pictures. Think about the memories being made because those snapshots in time are too brief to focus more on the outward appearance than the hearts of the people in the photos.


This concept is still taking form in my mind. (The last paragraph actually just came to me as I was typing this up.) So it will take some time for this to permeate my being and really stick with me. But I wanted to get it down on "paper" and take some time to really look at where my focus has been. Yes, I will still exercise, but I want to do it because I ENJOY it. I will eat good foods because they taste good and I know I am taking care of my body. Because, truly, my new mantra really goes both ways: having a beautiful heart means I'm taking care of my heart, making it stronger through exercise and healthy by the foods I eat. But ultimately, I want to have a beautiful heart by being compassionate, kind, forgiving, meek, gentle, thoughtful, putting others first, being slow to get angry, building others up through my actions and words, and truly loving others. Because when I look back at the pictures of my life I want to see the joy in my eyes and the eyes of those around me. I want to be so at peace and content with who I am that it's evident to all who know me.


To life... and striving to make my heart beautiFULL!

MMM: Baby Smiles

He smiles... and my heart melts. 

To life... full of precious smiles! 

Three Months!

Ezekiel, you are 3 months old!

• You are wearing size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes. 
• You weigh about 12 1/2 pounds and are 24 inches tall.

• You have laughed a time or two in your bath, but I can't figure out how to make you laugh otherwise. You do give us lots of beautiful smiles though. 
•  You are still nursing about every 2 1/2 - 3 hours. 
• Typically you sleep for 5 or 6 hour stretches at night; a few nights last week you kept waking up every couple of hours, but there have also been a couple 7-8 hour stretches this past month as well as one 10 1/2 hour night -- WOW!!
• You like to talk back and forth with Mommy, especially if I'm singing the "Oooooh" sound. 
• We saw a picture of your friend Audrey in her bumbo, so we decided to try putting you in yours. I wasn't sure that you would be able to sit there, but this picture is proof of your ability. 

• You have been sleeping every night in your crib since April 1st!
• Sometimes if I'm wanting to get things done in the kitchen I'll bring you in there in your bouncy seat and you are content to sit and watch me work. 
• You kick A LOT at the toys that dangle on your bouncy seat. You really get your chair to rocking! The other night at nursery you tried kicking some more even though the toys there are for swatting with your hands. 
• You have started moving your hands a lot more too. When we were talking with Aunt Teresa on skype it looked like you were waving your hands, nearly the whole time. 
• You have a long attention span. You will stare at the toys and other objects like you're really trying to figure out what they are and how they work. One of the nice ladies at nursery says this means you will be perseverant and smart!

Interested in the camera... Mommy's blog is in the background.

• We have started reading books together. There have been a few times where I can tell you are looking at the pictures and paying attention because when I move the book to turn the page you follow it with your eyes and head. 
• Your eyes are still blue!

(Random note -- I typed everything up to this point with one hand! Because you were sleeping in my arms at the time.)

• You pooped in the bath tub for the first time a few days ago. 
• You got your two months shots earlier this month and you were a trooper! You cried and got really red in the face, but we gave you some tylenol later in the day (along with lots of cuddles!) and we made it through together. 
• You have found your hands and have been sucking on your fingers, especially your thumb!
• You've started shrugging your shoulders. You have no idea what you're doing but it's totally cute!
• When daddy comes home from work late at night and gives you a goodnight kiss you sometimes smile in your sleep.
• You move a lot in your sleep! I will put you down in the middle of your crib at night and when I come to get you many times you are against the side of the crib or your blankets are completely off and you've moved several inches higher in the crib. You've even set the alarm off on your monitor because you snuggled into the side of your crib so far that it no longer sensed your movements. 

I love your smile in this picture! 

These past three months have been wonderful! We have learned so much about taking care of a baby already and we know we have much to learn in the weeks and months ahead. You are a joy to be around and seem to be such a happy, contented baby. We are thankful God has blessed us by adding you to our lives. We look forward to learning more about you as each day passes. We love you, Ezekiel! 

To life... full of learning and developing! 

MMM: My Cheering Team

On Saturday I ran my first race since the Zoo Run 10K last year. It's been 12 weeks since Zeke was born, so I didn't think I'd have quite enough time to be ready to run 6.2 miles, so I signed up for the 5K. I'm very glad I did because when you have a baby finding time to exercise is quite difficult! Each day is different, we are still working on a schedule, but I tried to average at least two runs each week.

For the most part it happened, but it was still sometimes difficult to find time to go twice a week! I was pretty nervous when I went down to pick up my packet on Friday and even just thinking about the race on Saturday morning, but I knew once I got there I would get more excited and enjoy myself.

Friday night Zeke slept horribly! I could hardly believe how often he woke up and cried. But somehow we made it through the night and got to the race on time. These two cheering me on as I began...

Daddy carried Zeke around in the carrier and he apparently did very well. I finished the race after having to stop and walk once and one water break. I finished in 36 min. and 20 sec. Most definitely not my best time, but I finished and was glad to be back in the "racing" mode. I plan to continue trying to run at least twice a week and maybe find one or two other days to work out on my Wii, lift some weights, and also continue to take walks with Zeke. I have enjoyed starting to work out again and am looking forward to the opportunities to be active, healthy, and a good example to my little guy.

To life... full of being a healthy role model!