Happiest Baby in America

I am so blessed to have the happiest child in America.

I mean sure, why wouldn't Moms only put up the sweetest, smiliest pictures of their little munchkins, but truly, 90% of the time, this is my child. What an answered prayer!

Now for your viewing pleasure, Older Davis:

This is what time in the work bathroom pumping will create.

Lions, Tiger, and Bears

"How boring" used to be my thought process when it came to golf. Never had I played, never had i cared. My mother always said "You will find the best men on the golf course."

She was right. Mostly. (Tiger, keep your growl in the cag...nevermind)

Let me clarify: In MY case she was right.

When Matt and I first started dating, he taught me the ways of golf and from the first time i hit that little round ball, i was hooked. From all of my time spent in high school working at the country club golf shop, i got nothing. I schmoozed with the high rollers and could talk the talk but you wouldn't DARE find me walking the walk. (too hot, too sticky, too quiet, no golf cart...limited snacks...blah...) So, when i found out my boyfriend was a golfer i thought that it was just a cruel joke. BUT I went to drive the golf cart and spend time with the boy of my life anyway, and what i found was not only bonding time with my hunk, but something i really enjoyed:

I was naming my future dogs Bogie and Birdie (i still don't have those golden retrievers yet either, but their names, just like their purpose, is pre-determined).

I was chucking golf clubs and big pieces of grass because of bad shots.

I was ready to sign up for the next big tourney.

I was swinging like a baseball player but the tomboy in my came out and i just wanted to WHACK things.

I was planning our anniversary every year for the rest of our lives...

i even wanted to WATCH it...like on TV. WHAT?!?!?! what happened to me?

I LOVED it and every time Matt said "Jenna, you really are good and a natural" or "You have a GREAT swing!" it just drove me to be better and keep playing. Don't get me wrong...i am NOT good. But that is a moot point...If i have heard him say it once, i have heard it a 1000 times: (and he tends to repeat himself, sooo...)

"All it takes is ONE GOOD SHOT to keep you coming back."

Well, as frustrated as i get b/c i haven't been asked on the tour (yet), my one PAR 4 or Par 5 a round DOES bring me back. Weird.
Now you understand my excitement for this:

Hey Baby Wise, where do i go now?

Putting D on a schedule when I went back to work was critical for me and it helped him sleep (and give me peace of mind that i knew what was going on). I read “Baby Wise” which was GREAT but you take some and leave the rest. You can’t live and die by a schedule but it does give them (and you!) a little to “expect” ya know? And for US it has worked WONDERFULLY! Wonderfully until i DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE!

So it is an hour and a half of awake time and hour and half of sleep time. Mine has been:

6am: Wake D up to feed, back to bed
9am: wake D up, feed, change diaper and awake/play time
10:30: nap time
12pm: wake D up, feed, change diaper and awake/play time
1:30: nap time
3pm: wake D up, feed, change diaper and awake/play time
4:30: nape time
6pm: wake D up, feed, change diaper and awake/play time
KEEP AWAKE THE WHOLE TIME!
9pm: feed, change diaper and down for the night

I stuck to this and once the doc gave me the go ahead at 2 weeks old to drop a late night feeding I went to “on demand” feeding at night. (7 feedings a day) So I put him down at 9 and only if he cried I fed him and put him back down. It taught him to sleep more. Then at 6 weeks, he quite crying in the night to eat, just whimpered a bit b/c he was waking up, so I dropped the night feedings all together and if he cried I would put a paci in his mouth and he would go back to sleep. (6 feedings a day). Now he is on 5 feedings a day and that is about right. 3 “meals” and 2 snacks. or some variation of that.

here is my question: WHAT NOW?!?! Do you have to sacrifice a schedule to let them figure out the nap thing on their own? What is best? I have him on somewhat of a makeshift schedule but i need to know what other moms out there do to have some predictability?! And how do you keep a good "supply" up for those of you who nurse? I know some of this may seem silly but seriously?!

Here is what i am working with:

6am: feed and back to sleep
9am: wake D up, feed (plus solids), change diaper and awake/play time
11:30ish: nap time (2-3 hours, but no more than 3)
1:30 or 2:00 or 2:30: feed, change diaper and awake/play time
3:30 or 4:00 or 4:30: (but not later than 4:30) nap time
5:30 or 6:00 or 6:30: (but no later than 6:30): feed (plus solids), change diaper and awake/play time, KEEP AWAKE THE WHOLE TIME
9:00: feed and bed time

Ready? INPUT! go!

my feet are freezing (please come back sun)

...and that is a big bummer after the BEAUTIFUL weekend that we had here in Tennessee. 65-70 Friday and Saturday then rain/snow mix on Sunday night. "Pull the fleece and the sinus medicine back out honey" b/c it is back to the high 60's on Tuesday. KIDDING?!?! But can i mention that i for sure have an outside boy.

I see bugs and sticks-in-pockets in my future:

i love seeing the wheels of curiousity going...

such a big boy. (6 months old! Can you believe he started out as this?)

Oh i just love him so.

I want a whole SLEW of them... ;)

the world as i know it is changing

"wait, what is this...what are you doing to me?! Ack. Im scared...

ok, this is weird...and you wont stop flashing that thing in my face...and now you are laughing.

hmm. it's aiight. can i try another bit of that slop?!

OH! So i can put my hands i my mouth WHILE i eat too? i'm all in.

You keep making that silly face at me of course i am going to smile. But this isnt so bad.

Oh! Hi there to you again too. Arent i cute?

Please make this stop...

seriously, i am done."

raspberries & maybe a lil something sour

we are just experimenting with new sounds & ideas here:

That's his way of saying "Hi. How are you today?"

Such a polite young man. ;)

atta boy. being raised right!

Calgon- Take me away

I need a vacation in the worst way.

give me the beach.

give me the mountains.

give me the italian countryside.

give me a ticket on the first greyhound outta here.

give me an airplane going ANYWHERE.

i'm not sure i care where i am going.

I just need it.

We didnt get a getaway last year because i had to save every ounce of vacation, sick time, personal time, money, EVERYTHING for maternity leave. Is that a joke? why yes, yes it.

So where do we go? My vote is beach. Hawaii? Yes, please. But Florida will do too...Did i mention i dont care? We've already got a little swimmer on our hands:

cutest baby contest

i have gotten at LEAST 5 "Vote for my baby" cutest baby contest requests in the last month. i agree that your baby is ogga-booga adorable. But just look at this face:

"Pu-pu-pu-leese vote for me!"-Davis

HA! Kidding. No contests here...
But he would win.

How do I even still have hair?

Oh.My.Gosh.

You spend 9 months racking up the most gorgeous, smooth, full locks of love just to slowly lose it and go bald when your sweet bundle of joy pulls it all out or it falls out on its own. ha! And it seems as though I'm not the only one talking about post partum hair craziness these days.

But lucky for me, i prayed over my hair and now we are seeing what i like to call "new growth."

God is STILL in the business of answer prayers. He is concerned with even the hairiest of matters.

P.S. i thought about taking a picture of a glob of hair from my shower drain, but i decided against it. You can thank me in my comment box. WHY is it that as soon as hair leaves your head, it becomes gross? Oh the oddity.

squealie mcgee

it seems that every time i put a camera or video camera on Davis, he stops what he was doing. i came in with a sneak attack this time.

slow down already

Sweet Punkin face on the road back to Tennessee from meeting some Texas Family. This is our second 7 hour road trip with him and both times he has been great! As much of travelers Matt and I are, it doesn't surprise me that he falls right into too.
I cannot believe how fast the last 4 months has gone. He is now cooing, squealing, laughing, rolling around, grabbing toes, reaching for things, reaching for Mommy (and saying, "Mommy, i love you!), and fighting nap time. duh. And might I add that he has slept thru the night since 5 weeks old! I always and hoped and prayed that he would inherit Mommy and Daddy's inapt ability to sleep through anything. So far, so good! OH! And I'm pretty sure he said "hi" this morning too. He is so advanced. ;)

I always knew i would love being a Mom, but i never knew i would love it like this. He is such a blessing, and no matter the stage, i count it as a blessing to parent him, love on him, and speak over him and just want to learn all i can. I get so frustrated when people say "Oh just wait till he is ONE and running around..." or "you have it easy now...just wait." Every stage is new and difficult because you have never been there before, and there is always a learning curve. We aren't supposed to have it all figured out. That is where the Grace of God comes in! Being a parent will never be "easy" but i chose to speak blessing over him, over us as parents, and others. Why would we speak a curse?

I just love every stage. I look forward to the next. I could have 10 more just like him.

Go ahead...tell me how cute he is. I KNOW! ;)

sweet potato fries

i LOVE sweet potatoes.
really love.
Maybe not as much as pumpkin (we all know i have a problem), but they are close cousins, so it makes sense.
I'm so predictable aren't I?

about a month ago i tried my hand at Sweet Potato french (baked) fries and they were FANTASTIC but i felt like they were missing something, so i tried again with some different spices, less oil, broiling to make them crispy, but something seemed to be missing and off.
THEN i found the secret from Annie Eats:

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil greased with cooking spray.

Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into long spears. (Soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes before continuing for crispy texture outside. Drain well and pat dry.) Place the potato spears on the sheet pan and toss with olive oil. Spread them in a single layer. Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn with a spatula or tongs. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve hot.

SOAK THE FRIES!!!! of course! (who am i kidding? i never would have thought of that!)
Crispy yumminess!
One other thing that i added that you might like is just a DASH of was Red Pepper. YUM!

give it a shot! great alternative for kiddos too!

funniest thing ever

VID00032, originally uploaded by jenna_cox.

laundry/blogging metaphor

You know how when you leave something for later, like the DOING the laundry or PUTTING UP the laundry, and you keep saying..."I'll do it tomorrow", and it piles up, and it gets bigger and taller and creeps all over the bedroom floor, whether clean or dirty, and instead of just doing it, you start to avoid it because it's so overwhelming that just the thought of carrying it to the laundry room is enough for you to put it off another day? "I'll do it this weekend when i really have time at home to do that and clean house and organize" you tell yourself, but then the weekend hits and you would rather slam your head in the wall than TRULY accomplishing it, AND then you realize that you are talking to yourself. (wait, is this metaphor for blogging or actually doing laundry? not sure anymore...)
Whew.
Well, that was me with the blog. SO much has happened and as the days went by, the thought of sitting down to catch you up to speed seemed like such a big task, that I kept saving it for another day. I still feel like that actually...AND i have laundry to do...LOTS of it, but you know how it goes. I really will get to laundry later since i am home now on an ice/snow day. uh, huh...thats what i always say...
So here is my pledge to you: i promise to be better. IN FACT, i have quite a few things to put up today so stay tuned: recipes, baby pictures, family, teething, snow, NKOTB, windows, etc.

did i resolute?

Looking back at 2009 and the things i said i wanted to do, here is a list of things i ACTUALLY did:

1. had a baby

Yup, thats about it...but it is the greatest...

Happy 2010!

poopiness

I have heard that breastfed babies can go up to 6 days without a poop and that is normal and nothing wrong with that. (How can that be normal?! ew.)

Well, we have had two-three situations of 6 days without one and it required the following:

1. separate bags to dispose of (immediatly taken outside)
2. soaking clothes
3. baths for everyone
4. change of the changing table pads
5. SO MANY WIPES it is ridiculous
6. minor throw up in my mouth…

Now Lil Man goes every 2-3 days. My baby is growing up...

STILL requires most of those things.

Oh Davis, how i will miss these times. (No.)

giggles at high speed

you get the idea

granted this is from a phone video camera, so obviously the quality isnt top notch, but please tell me this little laugh isnt the cutest thing you have ever heard:

when he does this, we stop everything we are doing and watch him. it is so fun to see what he is checking out and laughing at, or if he is just laughing cause he is bored. (not even possible with parents like us)

And then secondly, just go ahead, fall in love with this smile:

back to life, back to reality

coming back to work after having such a wonderful time being a stay at home mommy was very difficult and frankly a cruel joke ("here, have a baby, fall in love with him, have a great time, then leave him..."). It is one of those times you remind yourself WHY you are doing what you are doing. Anyway, here is how the first week back has gone:

Monday was like a special outing! I had so much to catch up on (9 weeks worth) that the day flew by. Plus when you are just "makin' memories" pumping on the bathroom floor of your office, that takes away a good 20 minutes a session. It was like I was playing "work" (although who in their right mind would play work?! crazy people...and who pretends to pump at work. dear Lord, i hope no one.)

Tuesday- 8:15 i get to work, 9:00am i get a text from my WONDERFUL HUSBAND who has so graciously dedicated his Tuesdays to working from home to watch our little one. This is what it said:

then i cried more

and i cried some more.

then i finally gathered myself with box of tissues in hand....and then cried some more.

called my mom at lunch and cried some more.

i get a call from my friend Vanessa and then cried some more. Sheesh.

ROOKIE MISTAKE Matt. (but i love you so so so so so so so much...)

Wednesday i only cried once. Thursday got misty eyed but held it together. today i have a sniffly and runny nose little boy so i really wanted to stay there with my little guy, (especially when i layed him back down after feeding him and he sniffled and smiled at me) but no tears as of yet and my work day is almost over.

So overall, i would say it has been a success. (???really? i would say that? Who am i?)

But lets be honest: WHO would want to leave a sweet punkin face like this:

a Marvin Gaye song

What's Going On:

• cooing
• giggling
• cuddling
• sweetness
• pooping
• back to life, back to reality
• work
• new levels of exhaustion
• coffee
• LOTS of coffee
• crying (me)
• hungry
• pumping in the bathroom floor at work
• pumpkin bread
• making memories
• Christmas music
• Kenny & Dolly
• iPhone pictures
• pumpkin pie
• praying
• believing
• Pumpkin Spice anything
• hoping
• back to blogging
• my MOST FAVORITE punkin

Why is it easier to blog now that i am back to work then when i was on maternity leave?