A gift from dad

As you may know, Steve has an Etsy store front for his furniture (Check it out if you haven’t seen it: http://www.etsy.com/shop/RecArtFurniture?ref=pr_shop_more). So we are constantly on Etsy checking out cool, unique things for kids. Steve came across this amazing married couple who sells hand-made organic wooden toys and teethers, Little Sapling Toys (Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlesaplingtoys?ref=ss_profile). They have lovely things for children and for every purchase made, they plant a tree! How neat is that? Steve couldn’t resist getting B a personalized teether-rattler for Christmas.

For your entertainment

Today B learned a new trick. By trick, I mean pure awesomeness! Not too shabby for this 5 month old. While he’s still unsure about crawling or rolling over, he can certainly do acrobatics! Steve fully expects to be able to toss him into the air with a flip and catch him one-handed - time will tell. I’m pretty sure he thinks we’re crazy and his assumption wouldn’t be too far off. Happy 5 months baby boy!

Thankful...

As we approach the five month mark with our little man, we are aware how fast time is flying and how many new things he is doing. This past weekend was one of the best since the day he arrived. Steve was able to be home with us and took some time away from work despite how busy the shop is. We haven’t had much family time (in the sense of spending entire days/evenings together) since the houseboat trip in July. Cherished every moment from the time we woke up on the holiday to Sunday. We really didn’t do much at all but it was just us. We mostly stayed home (except for Thanksgiving), went for walks, played games, etc - but it was our time and I couldn’t be more thankful.
This past month has breezed by. For Halloween, we planned to walk through the neighborhood in East Sac with some friends but B didn’t feel well and had a slight fever for three days. We dressed him up as a little Rastafarian/hippy (didn’t quite turn out as planned but it was fun making his costume that consisted of a tye-dyed onsie, dreadlocks, and crochet cap). His motor skills are getting better this month too. He is picking up toys, holding his bottle, grabbing his pacifier and putting everything in his mouth. B loves to practice sitting up and standing. He will lift himself up with our help and push off the ground to stand. He is far more interested in those exercises than rolling over. He has rolled over a handful of times and prefers playing/sucking on his toes.
Earlier this month, I was asked to be a part of the Uptown Fashion Night Out Show for KrazyMary’s boutique in East Sac. It was a fun, interactive show dressing in some casual and dressy holiday fashions. I couldn’t be happier being a part of Mary’s show and supporting local businesses here in Sac.
The big news of the month is that we started B with some rice cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes. He LOVES eating and is eager to help spoon food into his mouth. I went a little overboard feeding him food and probably “should have” waited to feed him one food at a time. I was “informed” that I may have introduced too much to him in a week span. Experts suggest feeding one food per week just in case there are some food allergy reactions. To each their own. I have reverted back to sticking with bananas and rice cereal for now. I was just so excited to feed him some mashed and sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving and couldn’t wait! He loves them all.
And finally, B no longer wants his pacifier to soothe! We are pretty stoked on this! When B was born, I had hoped to not give him a pacifier and hadn’t introduced it until he was about 4 weeks old (maybe 3 if memory serves me correctly). I just had this dread of weening him off of it and didn’t want to have a walking, talking toddler with a pacifier. Much to our surprise we won’t have to go through that phase!
In closing, the holidays are an exciting time of year. I haven’t been one to go crazy around this time of year and I have been known to call it the “Holiday Headache” - things are different now and I couldn’t be more excited to set up a tree, play some Christmas music, and enjoy fun holiday memories with B. I know I’ve said this in a previous post but having a child really does bring out the kid in you. Everything is exciting and new again. We love showing B new things, letting him touch everything from fruit to leaves to Steve’s guitar, etc.
How can life feel slow and in the moment when 5 months has already approached us? Neat!

Quick Halloween photo op with a fever. Poor guy.

Uptown Fashion Night Out Event with KrazyMary’s Boutique

Lovely ladies who cheered us on

Sleep-walking…4.5mos

Walking with dad

Fingers

Brisk evening walk

At Micah’s Art Reception at Sac State

4.5mos old

Playing in the bouncer borrowed from Jax

Chowing down

My love

Happy Thanksgiving!

At Grandma’s for Thanksgiving

Leaf exploration on a walk in midtown

Banana time!

Listening to dad sing and play guitar

Loves music

Feel the music

Watching intently

Interesting article on NPR about Toys and Children’s Imaginations

I will have to remember this article as B grows into a full-fledged walking, talking, little tyke.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19212514

Children’s imaginations are an important part of development and I hope to encourage our son to play make-believe, use his imagination and be active instead of relying on a toy. Our society is heavily focused on buying children the latest and greatest toys. The research findings in the article surprised me a bit at first but after letting it sit, I had to agree with their findings. So many children today are being diagnosed with behavioral problems (such as ADD, ADHD, etc) and not to say that this is solely the reason behind it but it brings up some valid points such as this simple exercise below (taken from the article):

We know that children's capacity for self-regulation has diminished. A recent study replicated a study of self-regulation first done in the late 1940s, in which psychological researchers asked kids ages 3, 5 and 7 to do a number of exercises. One of those exercises included standing perfectly still without moving. The 3-year-olds couldn't stand still at all, the 5-year-olds could do it for about three minutes, and the 7-year-olds could stand pretty much as long as the researchers asked. In 2001, researchers repeated this experiment. But, psychologist Elena Bodrova at Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning says, the results were very different.

"Today's 5-year-olds were acting at the level of 3-year-olds 60 years ago, and today's 7-year-olds were barely approaching the level of a 5-year-old 60 years ago," Bodrova explains. "So the results were very sad."

I hope to be more conscience of my child’s play as he grows and encourage an imaginative playtime with less focus on “things”.

Update: Today the little man is 4 months old

Thought I’d write an update since it’s been three weeks and the last time I checked in was to chat about B’s first shoot. Well, we finally got the pictures back and they look great! He was just 3 months old when we shot and he already looks so much bigger now than the photos. He changes everyday and does something new every week. The time is going by so fast. We have an official rollover from back to belly and he rolls over with ease form belly to back, thanks to that heavy noggin of his. He can also sit up with his hands bracing the front of him. I have been speaking German to him, what little I can remember and its so much easier to do with him since he doesn’t mind my awful accent. We have been blessed with continued summer weather here in Sac which has allowed us to be outside and enjoy the fall. Hung out at a couple of art and music festivals this month. We toured the inside of the CA State Capitol this and B may have been one of the smallest ‘tourists’ they’ve had - the Capitol is 6 blocks from our house so we like to walk around there to check out rallies and people watch. B had his first day at the river last week and then we went to a dear friend’s Garden Party - Indian Summer Soiree last Tuesday, it was a beautiful evening under twinkling lights with friends and live music. Yesterday, we went for a four hour walk in midtown - everyone was out in the sunshine. Weaved in and out of the kiddos trick-or-treating at all the local shops, checked out a pooch costume contest, ran into many friendly faces (that’s the amazing thing about midtown, you always run into friendly faces), toured newly opened shops/galleries/event spaces, watched the celebration dance ceremony at the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), lots of local chatter and people watching.

First Commercial Shoot (Age: 3mos)

Commercial Shoot (Age: 3mos)

Touring the Capitol

Garden Party - Indian Summer Soiree

1st day at the river - Oct 20, 2011

Bat!

Photo Bomb time!

It’s been a minute since I updated some photos of the little man so I thought I’d toss a few up. B is officially three months old (on Sept 30th) and doing wonderfully. He continues to excel in all things a babies do. He’s packing on the pounds, measuring taller, eating a ton, playing, exploring, semi-rolling over (one official roll-over from back to front which I missed but dad was right there cheering him on), lots of drooling, giggling, and he pretty much oozes cuteness. He’s still sleeping through the night between 8-10 hours straight (we’re so lucky and grateful for this). The other day, a stranger on the street mentioned to me that I ‘looked too well-rested to be a new mom’ and I think that is one of the best compliments a mama can receive. Yesterday, B had his very first commercial paid shoot to continue a series I was doing for pregnancy. He did amazing and the photographer was very pleased. We can’t wait to get the photos back! Until then, here are some of his latest shots from this month:

My little man - 3mos

Intensity at its finest 13 weeks

Drool 

Baby Feet

We must be sneaky to catch a smile on camera

For a good laugh - caught this photo by mistake but its a keeper

He loves being outside with the trees

Guten Morgen! 3mos

Sleeping at the Sammies event with dad - 3mos

I can still be me…and a mom

This past weekend I was invited to do a fashion show for a designer. I was hesitant to do the show since giving birth. Nerves overtook my emotion for two weeks leading up to the show. I worked out, practiced wearing heels (which is a workout in itself), and tried my best to get my mind in ‘model-mode’ versus ‘mommy-mode’. It was challenging to get my brain back into model-mode and I had never experienced more nervousness before a show. Loved ones said 'not to worry' that it 'will all come back to me' and I’d do great. I half believed them, crossing my fingers, and hoped that I wouldn’t become fashion roadkill. My stomach was knotted and my throat carried a lump the entire car ride. Thankfully, my friend was doing the show with me. She was in the same boat as I with mixed emotions since she also had her son in July. So here we were two mamas stepping out onto the runway for the first time in a year, post baby.
The jitters slowly seemed to fade with every brush of makeup and every curl of hair. We checked out the stage, listened to music, chatted with staff, and soon enough those nerves turned to full-on excitement! We couldn’t wait to dress and we carefully planned a time for me to pump right before hitting the runway. Finally, it was call time. We lined up, waited for the music, and stomped on stage as if we hadn’t missed a beat. After the show, we squealed and high-fived each other like we won a game. For us, it did feel like we won. We overcame our fear and nailed it!

And just like that, two mamas were back doing what they love!

Driving home I thought to myself, I can still be me and a mom! It feels great to be able to continue doing what I love and coming home to my family. The best part of my day/night was walking in on Steve and Bennett all snuggled up sleeping in our bed. This is the life.

Backstage with FrockLA

Two mamas - she is so lovely!

With the designer for FrockLA & Miss Ilona

Reversible dress. So sexy, soft, and comfortable

With the FrockLA team

Sleeping through the night…now what?

B has been sleeping through the night for the past three weeks perfectly (Happy 11 weeks today bub!). He typically wakes up at about 5am for his first feeding of the day. We are very grateful for these good sleeping habits and enjoy our couple time as soon as he dozes off for the night. We cook dinner, hang out, talk about our day, watch a movie, play a game, etc.
So what’s my problem? My problem is that I have been consistently waking up at about 2am every single morning - like clockwork. I am restless and wide awake as if I could get up and start my day. During this time I try really hard to fall back asleep by tossing and turning. Occasionally, I’ll get on the computer but that only stimulates my brain and wakes me up even more! I like to peek in on B and watch him sleep; both he and Steve are so peaceful at these hours. The house is quiet, the streets are empty, and there’s nothing left for this mama to do. No baby to feed, no diapers to change, no soothing to do...just little ‘ol me awake in my thoughts.

Hope tonight is a different story (one of which includes a full night’s rest).

Discovering his fingers - 6 weeks old

Excited to watch Artsee Smartsee - 8 weeks old

10 weeks old - Sept 8, 2011

Excuse the poor quality. Videos taken from my phone.

2 Month Check-up

2mos check-up appointment 8/31/11

Yesterday was B’s two month check up. He weighed in at 15lbs and measures 25 inches (he’s officially in size 3 diapers and 6-9mos clothes). Growing like a little weed! The doctor says we’re doing a fantastic job! He also received his first set of shots. He was so good and let out one little “wah”. He looked up at me as I kissed his forehead and was fine. No tears from either of us.
After the doctor’s we had coffee with our friend Ilona and Max (Bennett was passed out the entire time otherwise I would have loved to get a picture of the two of them together - next time). I met Ilona back in Oct of last year. We shot a magazine spread together and became friends on Facebook. Neither one of knew at the time of the photo shoot that we were both pregnant. She had Max three days after Bennett was born. It was nice having a preggo buddy and now a first time mom with a son so close in age to B.
We have kept to the same activities for the remainder of the summer: walking around midtown, pool time, going to the park, bbqs, etc. B has continued talking and smiles all the time. He bats at objects and follows your voice, objects, or sounds from across the room. Today he laughed for the first time! His little voice is the sweetest thing. He loves bath time and on occasion we use it to help soothe him if he’s having some tummy troubles. As of three days ago, we re-introduced his swing and he has enjoyed it since - hooray! Bed time is a little iffy starting last week. He now fights going to sleep and tries his best to stay awake which requires one of us to rock/swing/bounce him while the other cooks dinner. He just doesn’t want to miss out on what is going on! He’s in bed asleep between 7pm and 9pm and sleeps for 8-9 hours. I’m very grateful for the long hours of sleep.
Looking forward to fall. This summer has been great and I cannot wait to share the fall adventures. Dressing up for Halloween, pumpkins, Apple Hill, the holiday coffee drinks at Starbucks (oh wait, that’s more for me than Bennett), Thanksgiving, family time, and of course the beautiful fall weather and trees.

Everyday after a walk in the Bjorn

Love that face

Entertaining ourselves with Photo Booth on the Mac

Shark Day at the Capitol 8/15/11

Stumbled upon a breastfeeding rally at the Capitol 8/4/11

Bath time

Ilona and I for M Magazine - both pregnant (Nov 2010)