I said I would never ...

It's so funny when you think you have life all figured out and then everything changes.  Anyone with any kind of wisdom and life experience would think "well duh".  But in my youthful ignorance I found myself making plans with all sorts of "never" and "always" statements; when in fact, there is hardly anything in life where you can use the word "never" or "always". (notice I didn't say there would never be a time in life where you would use the words never and always ........... I digress)  But as I grow older, I'm learning that life is much more fluid than I expected.  And all those things I said I would never do ... well, life changes.  For instance ...

I said I would never go to school at North Central University.  People get shot there.  I started my freshman year at NCU in 2002.  And I didn't get shot.

I said I would definitely minor in music in college. I finished 10 credits short.

I said I would never get married before I graduated from college.  Chris and I were married in July 2005.  I graduated from college in May 2006.

I said we would always live Big Lake, MN.  We moved to Sioux Falls, SD in March 2008.

I said I would always be a Children's Pastor.  In two weeks, I will be stepping down from my position at church to do something WAY different.

I said I would never be a stay at home mom.  As of April 12, 2010 I will officially be a full-time stay at home mom!  I never expected my life to change the way it did after my son was born, but it has in ways only a mother would understand.  And it breaks my heart not being with him everyday - watching him grow and learn and experiencing life.  And so after much thought and a lot of prayer, we have decided that I will stay home with Brooks.  I'm excited and nervous and anxious all at the same time.  But we know God is in this and I can't wait to invest more of my time and energy into my family.

And lastly ...

I said I would never own a mini van.  Well, I've held true to this one so far.  But they are pretty handy, and well, who knows?

Eat Baby Eat - Part 3: Still Skinny

Brooks had his 9 month check-up last week Thursday.  I was hoping his weight would have increased in the last two months but when they weighed him we discovered that, guess what?  He's still skinny.  He's weighing in at a whopping 16lbs 1oz.  He has officially fallen off the doctor's growth chart, which prompted her to strongly suggest having the blood tests done - the same one's we refused 2 months ago.  I still wasn't comfortable with the idea of a major blood draw on my 9 month old baby so I told her I'd talk it over with my husband before making any decisions.  Ugg, decisions.  I still don't see anything wrong with my baby - he still eats well, sleeps well and poops well.  He's happy and content ... just a little skinny.  But I don't want to overlook any health problems if there are any.  (sigh)  So here's what we did.

I remembered at a La Leche League meeting a few months ago a mom told me that there's a separate growth chart for breastfed babies.  The one's used in the doctor's office are for mostly formula fed babies.  So we did some research and sure enough!  The World Health Organization (which is supported by the CDC) had a separate set of charts for breastfed babies.  We plotted Brooks' growth on that and discovered he's still ON the chart!  Granted, he's at the low end of even that chart, but he's still on it no less.  So here's the game plan.  (remember I like having a plan) It's time to change your diet and bulk up, baby.  I did some more research on baby food and realized I should be giving Brooks meats.  We really haven't even tried that.  He's been eating mostly fruits and veggies - which looking back isn't so great for gaining extra calories.  So here's what his menu will look like for the next few weeks or so.

Breakfast - fruits
Lunch - veggies
Dinner - one of the following: chicken and rice, avacados & cream cheese, egg yolk omelet, cheesey mashed potatoes (I'll keep adding foods as he becomes comfortable with these)

My biggest challenge will be to see if he actually eats these things.  It took four attempts before he hesitantly ate the chicken and rice.  Ah, the fun of parenthood.  I'll keep you posted on how things go.  We have another weight check with the doctor at the end of April.  Hopefully we'll see some progress and we can avoid these stupid blood tests.

teething much?

This morning I put Brooks in bib overalls (which I hardly ever do) and I found him doing this.

Yep, chewing on his bibs.  I guess it shouldn't suprise me.  Ever since he could hold stuff in his hands it went straight into his mouth!  But I think, he has to be teething with the way he chews on everything!  He already has 8 teeth, but I guess it's been a few weeks since one popped in so I suppose we could be due.

A week with Grandma

This last week my parents were in town.  My dad and brother were gone almost all day everday, so it was just Brooks and Grandma most of the week!  What a treat.  I took Brooks out of daycare so he could spend some time with his Grandma.  They had a blast together.  They read books, went for walks, and played on the floor.  Then I took off work Thursday and Friday and we went to the Butterfly House!  What a fun week.  Grandpa & Uncle Adam were around too when they weren't shooting geese.  It was great to see my family for a whole week and I miss them already.  Brooks misses them too!  He had a really sad day on Saturday after they left.  In fact, he's still adjusting to hanging out with just Chris and me.  Here's a few pictures.  I realized most of them were on my parent's camera and I forgot to copy them before they left.  Oh well.  I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

Brooks wearing Grandpa's camo hat!

Reading stories with Grandma.

Brooks and Daddy snuggling before bed.

Grandpa gave Brooks a slice of apple to chew on; hence the major drool running down his shirt.  But now that's his favorite way to eat an apple.  Go figure.

Little Mozart

The other day Chris pulled out his keyboard and started playing again.  Tonight, Brooks decided to join in on the fun.  What a fun way for Daddy and his boy to spend time together!

Watching to see how it's done.

Joining in!  If only you could hear the great music they made.

Tumbled

If you remember this post, then you'll remember that my child is already ALL boy and has no fear of ... well ... anything!  So on Sunday while he was sitting in his rocking chair, he reached forward for his dropped toy on the floor.  I convinced myself that the stoppers on the rails would hold him up, but of course as soon as I turned my back, he gained enough momentum and tipped that blue chair right over.  He landed face down on the linoleum floor and the chair fell on top of him (remember he's strapped to it).  I rush over and flip him back upright and he had this shocked look on his face.  Then he ... wait for it ... 3, 2, 1 ... CRIED!  And cried, and cried, and cried.  I held him.  He cried.  I rocked him.  He cried.  Then he laid his head on my chest and just cried.  Awww.  (Ok, I know I should be sad that he bumped his head, but I really enjoyed that snuggle time with him ... he's not a good snuggler at all!)  And after a few moments, the crying turned to whimpers, the whimpers turned to sighs and eventually he was good again.  That's right baby.  I am Mom and I can solve all your problems (at least for now)!

And I know we will have MANY more adventures and bumps and scrapes and probably a few stitches along the way.  But this was the first.  A big day for him ... and me.  I was kinda waiting for the cool bruise to appear so he could show it off at daycare.  But (sigh) no bruise.  I guess that's good.

So we've put that blue chair away.  At least until he's a little older to use it as a toddler chair, when he hopefully won't fall face first out of it!  Yep, I love having a boy.

weekend away

This last weekend Chris, Brooks and I traveled to Monticello, MN for JD (Chris' brother) and Pamela's wedding reception.  They actually were married in Antigua a month ago, but their reception was over the weekend.  So we packed up and hit the road for a weekend filled with friends and family.  It was kinda overwhelming for Brooks, but he was a trooper and had a smile most of the weekend.  Here's the three of us at the reception.  Chris was a groomsmen for the re-enactment of their wedding ... hence, the tux.

This picture was taken at the end of the night and Brooks was soooo tired.  Not too many smiles left.

While we were there, we stayed at a hotel in Becker and they had a pool!  Which means that Brooks went swimming for the first time this weekend.  It was a blast!!!  This picture made me laugh.  He was wearing these huge swim trunks so his skinny little legs looked like toothpicks sticking out the bottom.  You'll also notice the swim diaper sticking out the top.  It was so big on him.  The smallest size we could find was for babies 16-25lbs and he's right at 16 pounds.  So we still had to wring out the diaper after swimming.  Oh well.  We had so much fun.  Here's a few more pictures from our water aventures.

Brooks was giggling and laughing ... which made Daddy laugh too :)

 He loved swimming on his tummy.  He kicked his little legs and splashed and splashed.  I think we have a little swimmer on our hands!

I tried putting him on his back, but he didn't like that as much.

I can't wait for this summer to do some more swimming.  There are a few free splash pools here in Sioux Falls and I'm sure we'll be spending lots of time there.