Newborn Posing Guide Giveaway!! =D

After months of not posting, what's the first thing I do? Post about this awesome giveaway on www.inspiremebaby.com!! =D It's for a Newborn Posing Guide for photographers! Awesome!!

Jackson is due in two weeks and you know the "paparazzi" is going to go nuts. So when I saw this giveaway I thought it would be great if I won and got some great ideas and tips for posing him. Even tho I'm an amateur photographer, I love learning new things. So fingers crossed I win!! =D

Now that I'm "back" ... let's hope I post a little more often! Fingers crossed for that, too!!!

Our Little Upi

Well, we're on the ride again! =D

In December we found out we're going to have another baby! I had an ultrasound and doctor's appointment a couple days ago and we got to see our little 'alien'. =D S/he had a strong heartbeat and waved to us! The ultrasound tech put me at about 10 weeks and my due date is August 10th, two days after Jaimie's birthday! Maybe he'll get an early present! Let's hope Upi doesn't come late like someone else I know (psst, Jaiden! lol).

So here's our little alien squiggling around in Hanger 18. =D

Our next appointment is on February 11th! By then I'll be in the second trimester (and hopefully feeling better ... morning sickness is kickin' my butt!). We're super excited and can't wait to see our little Upi again!

A Year Ago Today ...

...I was in a delivery room pushing out my beautiful (pumpkinhead!) baby boy!!


I was so amazed that this beautiful little creature was *my* son. I'd always imagined myself as a mother, but it was so surreal (and sometimes still is).

Now my little baby is getting so much bigger! He's one year old today!! *sniffle* I don't know where the time went. But Jaimie's always telling me, "Don't blink." And, boy, was he right!


I am amazed and in awe of this little guy every day. He is my pride and joy and I look forward to watching him continue to grow into a wonderful little boy, teenager, and man. I love my Baby Ohz! <3

For all the birthday pictures, check out Jaiden's blog!

I am thankful for ... (2009 Recap)

** my wonderful husband, Jaimie **

** my beautiful son, Jaiden **

** my funny step-son, Miah **

** my wonderful family **

** a car that runs **

** snow **

** my fantastic neighbors **

** Elmo, for putting a smile on my son's face **

** filtered water **

** my local library **

** popcorn made on the stove **

** playdates **

** the thrift store **

** holding hands **

** sleepy-time music **

** hot baths **

** the dollar menu **

** snuggling on the couch (heck, snuggling anywhere!) **

** socks to keep my toesies warm **

** cheese-ball smiles **

** laughter **

** naptime **

** alone time **

** friends all over the country **

** homemade mashed potatoes **

** distractions **

** my rock **

** sleep **

** hard working Americans **

** love **

What's a Blog?

So I've totally blown off my blog ... and I feel bad 'cause I love my blog!! I just get so wrapped up in a million other things -- Baby Ohz, Facebook, WoW, crocheting, spending time with Jaimie, going for walks, etc -- that there's no time for blogging!

My little man is just getting bigger and smarter every day! He is an utter joy to be around ... yes, even in his "bad" moments when he's not feeling good or just pissed in general. But those moments are so few and far between.


Jaiden can do so many things now, it's hard to imagine that only nine months ago he was just a tiny little human that only cried, pooped, and slept! He's crawling *everywhere* and, I swear, he can find everything he's not supposed to play with. As Jaimie says, "Pour a whole bunch of toys and candy on the floor, and the kid will go straight for the razor blade in the middle." Baby-proofing is no joking matter! Mostly, I just make sure his play areas are free of things he shouldn't touch so I'm not saying "No!" every five seconds! =D And Jaiden is able to explore (and oh! does he love to explore!) and play without worry that he'll get hurt or stick something in his mouth that he shouldn't!

Jaiden goes for his nine month well visit this month. I'm excited to see how he's growing and to show him off to our wonderful nurse who absolutely adores him! =D I'm such a mom ... I love taking Jaiden with me wherever I go to "show him off". He is my pride and joy!! =D

As for me, I'm trying to walk more, especially with the weather getting *much* nicer. Granted, today it had to go and rain and now the cats are meowing at me incessantly and it's driving me nuts. I have fun strapping Jaiden in his carrier and walking around the neighborhood or down to the store. Yesterday, I put him in his carriage and we went to Goodwill to find a Halloween costume. We had some luck and I found an adorable costume for him. =D I have yet to dress him up in it entirely, but I'll probably do it sometime today and take a couple pictures. I thought about playing a guessing game on Facebook to see if anyone can figure out what he's gonna be. =D I know, I'm mean! =D

Anyway, there's a baby who needs a boobie banshee-screeching at my side. So, until next time...

It's My Problem

I've recently realized that I'm the one with the problem when it comes to transitioning Jaiden to formula. I know he'd take formula and a bottle perfectly fine, but I just can't let go of breastfeeding. Even in those moments when his little teeth chomp down on me and I say to myself, "That's it! He's done!" ... I still find myself not wanting to give it up.

Last month I told myself that by my birthday I would have him weaned from the boobie. Now, nearing the end of July, two weeks *after* my birthday, he is still a boobie baby. LOL. So much for that plan.

When we took Jaiden for his 6 month appointment, I told the doctor that he was getting about 4-8 ounces of formula a day. I explained that I wanted to switch him, but that *I* was having difficulties with breaking the "habit." She said that if I don't want to, don't. She fully supports me breastfeeding as long as I want, so that was nice to hear. =D

My biggest worry is that I'm not producing enough. I see my friend giving her baby an 8+ ounce bottle of formula very frequently, and I worry that Jaiden's not getting enough from me (I still only produce about 4-5 ounces total). But he seems satisfied ... so I don't know. I guess we'll just have to see how he keeps doing. His weight was low at his appointment (well, not *low*, but in the 45th percentile), which the nurse said could be because he started solid foods.

Overall, I *don't* want to give up that special bond that I feel I have with Jaiden when I'm breastfeeding. It's something only I can do for him and I want to hold on to that as long as he'll let me!

Losing Weight

After I had Jaiden, I lost pretty much all the weight I had gained during the pregnancy. But afterwards, I seemed to have lost sight of how to eat well. Finally, after six months of more weight gain instead of loss, I opted to go to Babyfit's site and follow their meal plan for breastfeeding (and pregnant) women. Their main site is Sparkpeople.com, but since I'm breastfeeding, they sent me to their sister site (Babyfit).

So far, I've been doing good! [This is only day 4, so it's not like I've been at this for long.] I swear, I feel like I'm eating just as much as I was before ... but I know I'm eating a lot better food instead of snacking on stuff that's not that nutritious. I'm totally looking forward to lunch today (Salmon sammich with lettuce and tomato, a pear, and some cottage cheese!), and so far there's not much on the menu I dislike ... with the exception of grapefruit, V8, and OJ (bleh!!). I've also discovered a few things I wasn't sure I'd like ... for example, hummus. That's some good stuff!! Especially the garlic hummus! Mmmmmm!!

Even if I'm not rapidly losing weight, I feel better about eating right. It's not just for me either ... I want to show Jaiden how to eat well, even if he's too young to understand that right now. I can do this!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a fantastic day! Jaimie got Miah and I the internet back for our birthdays (Miah's b'day is today ... so Happy Birthday Miah!!). It's great to finally be able to hop on the computer and email pictures to my mom or look up an address on Google maps or read articles about baby stuff. I missed it!!

I had Jaimie take a picture of Jaiden and I that morning. We "matched"! ^.^ Not only was it my birthday, but it was Jaiden's six month birthday too!


The rest of the day was relaxing and fun. Jaimie did one of the sweetest things ... albeit, in other peoples' eyes this might be considered "dorky." He went on World of Warcraft and asked in the trade channel if people would mind sending my character some "Happy Birthday" greetings thru the in-game mail system. When I logged on, my mailbox had three pages worth of cards and presents. =D Here's a few that were sent:

So, we may be dorky, but it totally made my day! I knew how cool it was to get mail from nice strangers, so this morning I went on and asked that people do the same for Miah. So we'll see how that turns out! =D

The only small downer to the day was the realization that I didn't get a card from my grandmother. It's still strange to think that she is no longer with us ... sometimes on Wednesdays when I call up my Mom, I expect her to be over at Gma's house after taking her out shopping. I really miss her a lot, and yesterday even more so.

It's good to be back in the world of the internet. Until next time ... and thank heavens that doesn't mean a few months from now!