Colin's Six Month Pictures

It feels like we just took Colin's newborn pictures.  I'm not sure how it was time to take his six month ones but that is what the calendar said- so we did it.  Brett Dorrian once again did a fabulous job- styling, makeup and photography!  I can't say enough good things about Brett!  She really has become a good friend and we are blessed to have her lend her talents to us!  

So we ventured to the Guthrie Theatre and we got lucky to have a sunny day by the Mississippi!  Again, I will let the pictures do the talking...

 

And that's a wrap!

Two hours of pictures and not a single tear.  Way to go buddy!

Thank you Brett for your capturing these memories!  

Happy Monday Friends!

Ryan's Top 5 Surprises About Having Colin

Last June I did a post about Ryan's 5 biggest surprises about pregnancy.  Find it here!

So I thought it would be fun to follow it up with his 5 biggest surprises about having our baby.  And here is what he said...

1. Ryan was surprised at how easy Colin has been on a day to day basis.
I have to say we are really lucky that generally speaking Colin is a very easy baby.  He is only fussy when he is tired, hungry, or needs a diaper change.  Usually fixing one of those three items can make him happy again.   Day in and day out is fun with Colin and it makes these fast changing, soon to be gone infant days so great!

2. Ryan was surprised with how much the accumulation of raising a child can wear you down.
I find this to be so of funny after Ryan's first comment however I understand.  It is exhausting being a parent.  We have how many more years of this?!  Again we are lucky Colin is an easy baby but his constant energy and lack of needed naps, doesn't give us much down time until he goes to bed and by then we just want to go to bed ourselves.  So it seems that dishes, laundry, and other house chores fall to the wayside more often than not.  And those I have a large accumulation of these pictures...

 

 

3. Ryan was surprised at (and I need to quote) "how awesome my wife would be as a mom/home maker."
Awwwww- thanks babe!  I'm not sure how to expand on this other than I appreciate this statement!  It's funny that when you date and marry someone you dream about what they will be like as a parent.  And while you can have a pretty good idea, you really don't know until it happens to you how they will actually be.  You don't know how they will react to 2am feedings, blowout diapers that require an outfit change for everyone, the constant lack of sleep, and you don't know what it is like to see the person you are in love with love on your child.  It's amazing!

4. Ryan was surprised at how quickly Colin grows and learns.
It is simply amazing to see Colin learn new things all the time.  And even though at almost 6 months old, the things he is learning now are much more visible, it was so cool to see him learn the little things in the beginning- how to nurse, how to follow with his eyes someone walking in a room, how to recognize a voice.  But now the development is more interactive- sitting up, taking food and putting it in his mouth, reaching out for someone to hold him.  It is amazing to watch Colin take in the world around him.

5. Ryan was surprised at how amazing the littlest things seem to become when it is your own child.
It's true that when friends would tell us that their baby found his hand, or she "sort of giggled once"- you give the obligatory, "aww that's so great!"  but you really don't find it all that exciting.  But when these developments happen with your own baby, it is world shaking news-- worthy of an instant Facebook post!

I'm linking up with Kristin today for Baby Talk!

Cheers,

Sleep Training

I went back to work in January and shortly there after we transitioned Colin to his crib.  He had been sleeping in his Moses basket in our room until then and it was time for everyone to start getting some quiet sleep.  What I quickly learned after going back to work is that each week faces new transitions and challenges and we can only take them one at a time.  So my hopes of sleeping thru the night in his crib were quickly shattered when he struggled to sleep more than 3 hours at a time.  Some nights were heaven on earth and we would get 5 hours and even 6 sometimes but mostly it was 3-4 hours of sleep and then screaming.  I would go in Colin's nursery and feed him every time he screamed.  After refusing to nurse, we had bottles ready (with an awesome bottle warmer) for middle of the night feedings.  After he had a bottle, I would go in the guest bedroom, pump another bottle and then go back to bed.  It felt like a never ending cycle of pumping and feeding and a bunch of interrupted sleep.

Fast forward to February when we introduced solid foods and then formula.  Life changed and it was great.  Colin liked the formula and it seemed to help him last a little longer at night.  It also gave me a chance to catch up during the day as he was eating more than I could make.  It was so nice to not be stressed about feeding anymore but I would pump what I could and whatever I couldn't, formula would do the rest.  (Side note- we are using this Organic formula and love it!)  

But enter another curve ball- a growing baby who would unswaddle himself ALL the time!  Colin would unswaddle himself at least twice before his first middle of the night feeding.  It was more interrupted sleep and sometimes unsuccessful comforting which resulted in a crying baby and a stressed out and tired mama (and daddy).  So I did a little research and I stumbled upon the Magic Sleepsuit.  I read the reviews and I even consulted a few other blogging mamas who had used it to get their take on if it really was magic.  EVERYONE shouted from the mountains how wonderful it was and I decided that it couldn't hurt to try.

I had to laugh when Ryan asked when we could expect the Magic sleepsuit to arrive.  I said the shipping would be about 3-4 days as I only did standard shipping for $6.  I told him the expedited shipping was $22 and he shocked me when he said this was one of the extreme cases when expedited shipping would have been okay.  He must have been stressed and tired too. 

The first night Colin used the Magic Sleepsuit he slept 7 hours straight!  I sincerely believed it was magic.  My baby has never slept that long, without making a single peep.  WOW!

Unfortunately I was anticipating Colin waking up all night, so I didn't really sleep that well.  I was up every few hours, checking the monitor and hoping he was okay.  

I was so excited for the next night of sleep as I knew what to expect.  I knew he would be okay in the Magic Sleepsuit and so I went to bed excited for uninterupted sleep.  I was sorely dissappointed.  Colin was up every two hours.  What the heck?!  What happened to the magic?!  Ugh.  So the very tired me the next day decided that this household was now in sleep training mode-- whether or not we liked it.

So at 5 months (and two days) old, we began sleep training.  I had studied the cry it out (CIO) method and read Dr. Ferber's suggestions on what to do.  I found this website to be extremely helpful and insightful and the playful humor helped too!  I knew this wouldn't be easy but I also knew Colin was old enough to understand and learn this.  And this mama needed sleep.  

I tracked Colin's sleeping (we aren't using this for naps as we are pretty flexible with naps) and thought it might be helpful for some mamas.  I'm still tracking as I don't think we have mastered sleeping yet but I feel like we are getting close!  And we are still wearing the Magic Sleepsuit as I know it helps Colin.

 

So if you read this we are making 8-9 hour stretches now!! Yay!  I think its progress and getting closer to being a master sleeper!!  

Today I'm linked up with Kristin

One Year (and 2 days ago)

One year and two days ago (yes I missed it!) we announced our pregnancy!

It was such an exciting day to finally let the world know of our news.  Our family and friends shared in our announcement and of course this blog became consumed with all things pregnancy!  I can't believe it has been a year!  And now, we have this cutie in our life!

We feel pretty darn blessed!  Happy weekend friends!

Making Dinner

Is it every wife and mother's first thought when she wakes up- "What are we doing for dinner tonight?"  I remember my mom always saying she dreaded this question every morning.  And I find myself following suit.  Now that I'm meal planning, it's not so horrible.  I just look at my meal planner and pick up the ingredients on my way home from work.  It's definitely a little more difficult to make dinner with a 5 month old but it does get done.  

Here is my trusty Pinterest board that I affectionately call dinner.choices.

I get inspired here and search for easy, fun, new recipes.  What is your favorite place to find new recipes?  Any suggestions or spots that I'm not aware of that you frequent for dinner suggestions?  Or what is your favorite meal to make your family?  

The new Susie Homemaker,

Budgeting

I'm sure Ryan is almost laughing that I'm writing this post as he would say I live to shop.  I don't live to shop.  I love to shop.  I typically have 2 or 3 browsers open with items in cart waiting to be purchased.  That doesn't mean I always buy them but I contemplate it.  And I'm a sucker for a good deal.  But now that Colin is in our life, I need to be better about spending and saving.  And so, I have done a little budgeting/planning.

Meal Planning

A few weeks back I decided that I should probably do some meal planning since our biggest area that money is spent is eating out.  I don't particularly love cooking and I'm horrible about bringing my lunch to work so you do the math.  I like to eat out.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy either.  So anyways, I decided to start using this...

I plan each meal for the week and take an inventory of the groceries I need to make these meals.  Ryan and I have agreed that two nights can be non-cooking meals PLUS Ryan and I like to sneak in a lunch date once a week if we can when we are both at work.  It's a mini-date for us (we're lucky we work together)!  So 3 meals are week are not in our kitchen but the rest of life is budgeted and planned.  When I started this, Ryan was shocked and I think he fell a little more in love with me.  Ryan is much better at saving and budgeting so the fact that I was even trying was impressive to him.  I've done a pretty good job of sticking to this and I'm hoping we can make this our normal routine for the months and years to come.

Online Shopping

Okay so this is totally contradictory of my meal planning speech BUT when I do online shopping, I make sure to have coupon codes and free shipping.  Having a baby makes it more difficult to run errands so I tend to do as much shopping online as possible.  So free shipping and 5% Target discount are almost always MUSTS!  AND if I online shop, I'm not wasting gas or driving time.  It's the little things.

Coupon Clipping & I've Got an App for That!

Again Ryan fell a little more in love with me when I signed up for Cub Foods coupons and Target Cartwheel.  Every little bit helps and secretly, it's kind of fun to see how much I can save.  I get a little competitive with myself.  I'm a dork.  But it's really nice to pair this with my meal planning.  

AND LASTLY... drum roll please... I'm going to challenge myself for ONE month.

Kristin got me thinking when she did a No Spend Month.  I was blown away by this idea and I have accepted my own challenge to do this!  Yes Ryan you read that correct.  I am going to do a no spend APRIL.  In the month of April I will not spend any unnecessary money.  So unless it is gas, household necessities, or groceries, I can't buy it.  This is going to be hard people.  I'm a shopaholic but I need to be better about budgeting.  I will let you know at the beginning of May how successful and difficult this challenge was for me.  I know it's going to be hard!  I actually can't believe I'm going to do this!

Happy budgeting!  Ryan keeps reminding me that money saved now will help for retirement and I can't wait to be a snow bird in retirement!

Cheers,