Happy 1 YEAR!!!

YEAP!  We made it!

You are officially 1 today and the last 12 months have been 

an adventure.

You have gone from being in "blob" form to crawling, to cruising, to walk, to almost running.

From drinking nothing but Breastmilk to eating table food.

From being not able to communicate with us to being able to sign a couple words, say a couple works, and gesture with your hands. 

You have 6 teeth!

You are over half mommy's height

(We will not get your officially weight and length until your 1 year appointment in 1 week.)

You are no longer a little baby...

You are our little man!!

You are like me in so many ways:

1) You love sleep

2) You are becoming a little stubborn (which i like)

3) You love to talk

4) You are very independent

Then at times you remind me of your father:

1) You have your father's gentle heart

2) You love your dog brother so much even when he is in trouble...just like daddy.  

1 year ago today as Paula placed you on my chest,

I remember saying "I love you so much,"

I really do not remember what made me say this as I was very indifferent to becoming a mom,

but the moment that you were in my arms,

I knew that your father and I were going to love you so much.

I knew we would have good days and rough days

(many more good than rough), 

and I knew that being a parent would be challenging,

but it is also so rewarding.  

So on your birthday, your father and I have a special birthday message...

"Collin,

Your first year has been a magical one.

You have brought so much happiness to our lives;

so much pride to our hearts;

and so many tears of joy to our eyes.

You have taught us so much about love, about life, and about ourselves.

Our lives are richer for it.

We are so lucky to have such an amazing son as you and to have the privilege of watching you grow into our 'Little Man'

Love,

Mom and Dad"

Your World Will Be Rocked- Part 2

You may remember back in May I wrote a blog on "Your World Will be Rocked,"

a phrase that many people said to us with regards to a child entering our life.  

I thought it would be interesting to revisit this now that we are only 3 weeks away from Collin's 1st Birthday.  I also wanted to add some interesting topics on how our life has changed- ways that I would have never thought about before.

1)You will never get any sleep

Previous blog- False

Current- False

I realize we have it good, probably too good!
Collin goes down at 7 am and sleeping till about 7-7:30.  Occasionally he will wake up at 6:30 but really I can not complain.

He also takes 2 naps a day- both averaging 1 1/2 each.  

2)You social life will change.

Previous blog- False

Current-  Somewhat.

Now that Collin is on a nap schedule and a bedtime it has changed a little.

That being said we still find time to catch up with friends and family.

Yes we probably spend more Saturday nights home now watching a movie or relaxing but that is not something that I complain about.  My parents also love to babysit Collin which is a true blessing.  

3) You will fight more

Previous blog- False

Current- False

Again we are not big fighters. 

4) You will never have time to yourself

Previous blog- True and False

Current- True and False

I have my time at night time and also my Saturday mornings which I normally do my long runs.  If Joe is feeling extra generous, I will also run on Sundays.  Besides that I have a couple hours here and there when Collin is napping.  

5)Breastfeeding is the greatest bond ever!

Previous blog- False

Current- TOTALLY FALSE

I am SOOOOO Happy to be done with pumping!!!!! 

6)You will do much more loads of Laundry

Previous blog- False

Current- False

Our laundry has really not changed- do it once a week.

7) Babies are expensive

Previous Blog- False

Current- False

Now that we have to pay for diapers, and still pay for some baby food and are getting to the point that we are having to buy some clothing (up to this point we had been gifted a lot of clothes) it is more than it was in the beginning.  Also now we have daycare but again- not horrible as one might think.  

8)You will totally love being a mom

Previous blog- True and False

Current- True and False

I love Collin and becoming a mom is amazing.

However, it is hard balancing a home life and working.  You feel like you are always giving on something.  For me I realized that this would be work.  At first this was hard, but I looked at it this way- I have been giving at my job for 5 years and it is my turn to go in punch my card and come home.  

9)It will take you twice as long to do anything with a baby

Previous blog- False

Current- False

Yes it does take longer but not that much longer.  The problem that I have found is the tolerance of a toddler is unknown.  For example- today we ran three errands and he was so happy.  The other day I barely made it thru one.  

10)  You will have moments you lose it.

Previous blog- True

Current- False

I feel now that Collin is pretty much an easy toddler.  If he is unhappy it is because he is tired, hungry, or teething- and that is really it.  I think that last time I lost it was when he was 6-7 months and teething at night which was horrible, especially since he has been an amazing sleeper from day 2.  

11) Your relationship with your spouse will be different.

Previous blog- True

Current- True

I now rely more on Joe than I did before.  

He is in charge of the grocery shopping, the dropping off at daycare, the picking up a daycare, and pretty much all things that have to do with Clemson.  We still try to make time for date night at least once a week and it might not be much- a movie or takeout but it is at least time together.  

Things that I have notice that I never thought of until Collin

1) Where to park in the mall.  

Yes when you have a stroller and you need to run an errand, I am thinking in my brain, "Which is the closest store and which level can I park on that will not involve an elevator."

2) Elevators are a pain in the ass

Shopping, airport- you name it- i hate elevators but when bug is in a stroller it becomes a necessity.  

Malls tend to hide them in the back of stores and they are super slow and airports are the worse.  

3) You will have people judge you.

Whether you breastfeed or not,  whether your child goes to daycare or not, whether your child eats organic or not- pick a topic and you will probably be judged for it.  The most surprising thing is that it is mom's that judge you.  My advice-  thick skin.  Having Collin has made my skin really thick to the point that I really do not care what most people think of me.  As long as your child is safe, healthy and happy- then you are doing the best you can as parents!

4) You will lean on people.  

I have always been very very independent and have found that I do ask for help more now that I ever have, especially with Joe and my family.  

5) There is nothing wrong with asking questions.
I have two girlfriends and my mother who I rely a lot on for silly little questions- like product recommendation, experiences, etc.  It is good to have a non-judging group to tell you how it is.
Also, my dad works with a pediatrician on BMED that has become my favorite go to with all my medical questions.  Total I have emailed him 4 times since Collin was born but it has just been nice to have that resource.

Pinterest Success- Happy Valentine's Day

Let me start by saying I am not one of those mom's.

One of those mom's that is crafty and spending large amount of time doing crafts either with or for their children.  

That being said I was looking something easy and inexpensive to do for Valentine's Day of all the family...

Enter Pinterest.  

I have had a couple successes and a couple of Failures...

and over all this was a success.

I purchased a 10 pack of canvas at Jo-Ann Fabrics.

It was on sale for $20 and then I had a 50% coupon

so it was 10 dollars.

Already had the red paint and the brushes.  

Then my husband helped me and this was a saving grace.

I think this would have been impossible to do on my own.  

At first we thought just having him place his food in paint would be the best idea but after the first one we discover the painting his foot with a brush worked better.

We did all the left feet first and let them dry,

then all the right feet.

Then one day during his nap I painted the rest.

All and all they turned out well and are very cute.

(Also a very inexpensive way to document footprints and hands.)  

We did a couple with his hand as the letter "O" in LOVE, 

and then painted the L---VE.  

I forgot to take a picture of this but they turned well also.

We found painting the hand with a paint brush also worked better for this.

Well Happy Valentine's Day!!!

11 Months!!!!!

Yeap!

11 Months

In less than 1 month you will be a year!

I just can not believe how much of a person you have become!

You are officially signing.

You can sign milk and all done.

We are working on more, cup, thank you, please and a couple others.

You said your official first word-

And much to my dismay it was not "Mama,"  it was "Dog."

You love Clemson so much and are finally getting the concept of "Gentle Pet the Puppy,"

which means Clemson is finally starting to warm up to you.

You are walking and I believe any day now you will be running.

You are climbing and just on the move constantly.

It is a shame I have to wait until you are two to sign you up for Tiny Soccer.

You are in most 18 month clothing and still in size 4 diaper.

You are pretty much on people food completely except for some veggie packs because you are not a fan of veggies- go figure.  You love Mac & Cheese, Manicotti, Chicken Pot Pie and Grandma's Soup.

You have become such a gentle soul- loving to share- you want to share everything now.

Your sleeping has been good but I think this week we have 4 teeth coming in at the same time so you are waking up occasionally crying but falling back to sleep shortly after.
You still sleep around 11-13 hours a night and take two naps which total about 2-3 hours a day.  

You are becoming more verbal- babbling all the time.  

You love to mimic me now which is funny.
You also said "Wubba" today for your nap time pacifier
and said "Mama" yesterday but not really sure if you truly meant "Mama."

You are waving now and clapping all the time.
You love the songs "If you are Happy and You Know it Clapp your Hands."

You love everything music.
If we ask you to go bang on your drum you will go into your play room, open the cabinet,
find your drum and start banging on it.
I think you are going to love your music class that we signed you up for starting in March.

This month we slowed down a little after the holidays which I think was much needed.

We had play dates with friends to occupy most of our time 

and our weekends now consist of trying to keep you busy since you are into everything!!!!

Coming up in your 1st Valentine's Day which will be small,

Followed by your first trim to Sarasota to see your other set of Grandparents.

And then before you know it - you will be 1!!!

Good Support

Now that I am officially done with pumping...

WAHOO.....

my bra size has drastically changed.  

After thinking that I have not really purchased myself a Bra in the last two years other than 3 very cheap Maternity Bras, I decided that I was ready for some support.

Either due to my changing breast size or bra's getting stretched out,

I completely felt unsupported and uncomfortable in my old bras.  

Some were too loose, some rode up in the back, and some were just uncomfortable.

My bra's up to this point were just bought a Macys, or Khols- never spending more than $30 on a bra. 

I decided that it was time to make an investment.

I reached out to some friends to see where they had gone to 

1) Be fitted

2) And to invest in some good bra's

The two names that kept coming up with Nordstroms and Trousseau in Vienna.  

After considering both options I decided to go with Troussea because

1) It had awesome reviews

2) It was closer to home

3) Their reviews were particularly good about actual bra fitting which is what I was the most interested in. 

I woke up on Saturday and after putting Collin down for a nap at 1000- I headed out.

The reviews said that Saturday's are crazy busy so I was expecting to have to wait.  

It is located in Vienna between Fairfax and Tysons on 123.  It took me less than 15 minutes to get there.  I walked in and was greeted by two women who asked in they could help me. 

I said "Yes actually, I just stopped breastfeeding and none of my bra's are fitting me so I would like to be fitted and possible purchase 2-3 bra's."

I was shown to the dressing room by Karleigh who was awesome.  

She first measured me- boy was I wearing the wrong size bras!!!

I was wearing to big of a band size and too small of a cup size.  

After measuring me she asked what I preferred in a bra.

I request a demi molded cup bra. 

 I advised what colors I liked vs dislikes. 

She returned in 5 minutes with 8 bras.

She then showed me how to adjust my breast tissue and also make sure it is on correctly.  

EXTREMELY HELPFUL.

She was great about answering questions and never made me feel pressured to buy anything.  

I was in and out in less than 30 minutes with 3 new amazing bras (all by Chantelle) that not only make me feel supported but also made me feel good about myself.    I purchased two from the Essensia line and 1 from the Hendona line.

I hate bra shopping and it is one of my body parts that I would change if I could- yes we all those body parts that we hate.  

The bra's ranged from 50-80 dollars on average.  

Yes you might this this is a lot for a bra-

but it is amazing how much more comfortable and confident I feel in them.

Totally worth it.  

I was home before Collin woke up for his nap.  

I would totally recommend going here to be fitted even if you just learn how to fit yourself.

It was only 30 minutes in my day but left me feeling very happy!!~

Chibis

Now the Collin is officially on the move,

he wants to be moving all the time.  

With the crazy weather lately it has been hard to get out of the house.

So we asked some friends for some recommendation and 

one of the recommendations was Chibis,

an children indoor play center in Ashburn.

It is located not even 5 minutes from my parents so we decided to head out there 

on a cold Saturday.  

(We went after to visit them so they could see Collin.)

It is 10 $ per child for 90 minutes.  

We got there around 1230.

At first we went to the room that is just for children under 3.

Collin took a little time to warm up 

but was in love with all the balls!

After about 20 minutes we headed in to the bigger kid play 

area and the rest was history.

He was off walking and playing.

 We played in cars...

 And absolutely loved all the balls.

 We went in tunnels.

 We climbed....

 We looked thru fun objects...

 We played Peek A Boo...

All and all he had a blast and totally worth doing again

especially on a cold wintery day.

We ended up staying almost the entire 90 minutes 

and we were lucky that it was not that crowded but busy.

If it had been crowded I could see it being a little hard since Collin

is still mastering walking.  

Yeah for a family day of FUN!

Groupon #3

 I had another groupon

that I had been saving which expired the end of January 

so I decided to get some last photos of Collin.

After her turns 1,

I will probably only get pictures yearly. 

The Groupon was $15 dollars which included

a sitting fee

and 8 sheets of photos

at Picture People.

I have now use Picture People twice and

target once- 

Picture people wins hands down 

for a couple of reasons

1)You photos are ready in like 15 minutes

(Target you have to come back to pick them up 1-2 weeks later)

2) They have more background and props

3) Their photographers are much more helpful with suggestions.

Judging by the photos you would think Collin was having a ball

when in fact he was kind of difficult the whole time

but the photographer just did a great job.