8 months

Weston turned 8 months old on Monday, September 20th, and I still can't believe that he is already eight months old! Where has the time gone?! It's unbelievable to think that in less than four months, he'll be a year old, and you know that I'm already planning his 1st Birthday Party! Weston is SO much fun, and Grant and I are loving it and already looking forward to our next one! Ha-Ha! :)

At eight months, you are such a ball of energy. You are constantly moving and rarely stop playing unless you are exhausted or not feeling well. You are SO loving, and you still love your Mommy! It makes me SO happy! Since I last posted your statistics, you've had your first ear infection and the Roseola virus! Not fun, but we made it through it!

Here are your eight month statistics and milestones:

• You weigh approximately 22 lbs. I took you to the doctor last Friday, and that's what you weighed then, so I'm assuming that you are close to that now. I have no idea how long you are, but I'll find out next month at your nine month check-up. We are still exclusively BF'ing, and we haven't yet had to supplement with formula. You LOVE food, and I've been making all of your food. You've had SO many different types of food, and you still love it, but you are starting to push away your vegetables. You LOVE fruit, yogurt and meats...Turkey is your favorite! You are a chubby, healthy little boy!

• You still enjoy feeding yourself. You would much rather feed yourself than take a spoon that mommy or daddy gives you with food on it.
• Still wearing Size 4 diapers. You are wearing size 12-18 month clothes with some remaining nine month items thrown in, as well.

• You ONLY sleep on your stomach. You hate sleeping on your back, and you always roll over to your stomach during your sleep, so I've just stopped putting you on your back. It scared me at first, but I've gotten used to it. If you roll over onto your back during the night, you'll wake up and roll yourself back over. It's SO funny to watch on the video monitor.
• You have not been sleeping through the night lately, and it's frustrating, but I know that it'll change again. We had gotten so used to you sleeping for 12-13 hours, so it's tough to adjust. You've been waking up some nights once or twice and some nights not at all, but you've been waking up earlier in the morning, so we are trying to push your bedtime back to 7:00-7:30 PM to see if that helps!

• You still like to go to sleep on time! It's getting easier to keep you up late, but you don't like to stay up too late. You still don't like to be held when falling asleep or tired.
  
• You love to sit up and play by yourself. You are Mr. Independent and can be content to sit by yourself and play with your toys for at least a half hour.
  
• You NEVER sit still! If we put you in one place, you are gone in just a few seconds. You are crawling all over the place, pulling up on everything and standing. It's so crazy how quickly you are growing!
  
• You still only have two teeth, and we thought some more would appear, but they haven't yet. We are hoping that your teeth bothering you is the reason why you aren't sleeping, as well, and you will start sleeping better once they pop through.
• You still prefer to drink out of a sippy cup during the day, but at night, you want your bottle or your mommy. I had to go out of town for a week, and you wouldn't let your daddy give you a cup, you wanted a bottle instead.
  
• You still LOVE water, and we haven't given you any juice.

• Mommy has been traveling for work some lately, and she has had to leave you overnight with Daddy. Mommy is missing you, but Daddy is really great and handles it very well. He has had NO problems! :)
• You LOVE Banks, the dog. You think he is so much fun! Every afternoon when we get home, we go and let him out, and you just LOVE it. You kick your legs and get excited. You are trying to say "dog", because we say it constantly, but it comes out as "Doh".
• You are also saying "Da-Da". You say it constantly as you are playing and when I ask you if your Daddy is coming home, you start crawling around saying it. It's SO cute, and now, I'm just waiting on "Mommy" to come out of your mouth next! :)

I'm sure that I'm missing something, but I've posted enough for now. Life is so much fun with our amazing son.

Weekend at the Beach

Snack Time!

With fall on the way, we decided to take one last beach vacation in 2010. We packed everything up on Wednesday night, and we headed out on Thursday after work. We headed to Jekyll Island to stay at the 4-H Center. My family has gone to the 4-H Center over Labor Day every year since I was a kid, and we don't want that to change now that Weston is part of our family.

Being mischievous and preparing to crawl off his blanket...

We had a great time though Weston had a fever for two days and broke out in a rash on Monday morning when we were preparing to head home. Turns out he had the Roseola virus...we even took him to the Immediate Care center at the beach on Saturday, because he was feeling so bad. He was just getting over his first ear infection, so we were worried that he still had the remnants of the ear infection, and it wasn't getting better. His ears were clear, and it was all viral! Thankfully, he is feeling much better and the rash is almost gone. The last night at the beach...he woke up EVERY TWO HOURS! It was worse than when we first brought him home.

Loving the sand!

We had to keep the pacifier in, because he continuously wanted to eat the sand! Ha-Ha!

We had fun though, and he got to watch his first Georgia game while we were there with his dad! Grant had fun and can't wait for him to be able to watch the game and cheer along with him! Now, some pictures from our beach vacation!

Smiling at Mommy

Blog Sale

So, I've been cleaning out my closet of things that I don't wear, and I decided to host a blog sale to see if anyone is interested, because I've seen them done before. They aren't anything fancy, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

SOLD - Banana Republic Long Cream Jacket - Size XS - NWT - Originally $198 - $75 OBO

Gap Pink Long Sleeve Shirt - Size XS - $5 (Worn only once or twice)

Gap Long Sleeve Cream Sweater - Size XS - $5 (Worn only once or twice)

SOLD - Gap Long Sleeve Gray Sweater - Size - S - NWT - $10

Banana Republic Brown & White Striped Shirt - Size - XS - $7 (Worn only once or twice)


SOLD - Gap Dark Wash Trouser Jeans - Size 4 Ankle - $15 OBO


SOLD - Banana Republic Dark Wash Boot Cut Jeans - Size - 4P - $20 OBO


Express Boot Cut Jeans - Size 4 Short - $10 OBO



Tan & White Seersucker Cropped Shorts/Pants - They are just below my knees, and I'm only 5 ft. tall, so they would be long length shorts on most people. - Size 4 - $8

We are trying to do some "clean out" at home, as well as, preparing for a yard sale in September. We are attempting to empty our current office to make it a "play" room, so we can get some of the toys that we are accumulating out of the way of traffic. My close is overflowing, so I'm cleaning out things that I don't wear often or at all.

All items comes from a smoke-free home, and they are very well taken care of. Please email me if you are interested in anything or have any questions. I will ship upon paypal payment.

rlh.harvey@gmail.com

Shipping is a flat $4 rate.

Thanks everyone for your interest!

6 Months

Even though tomorrow, Weston will be seven months old, I didn't want to miss posting about all his current milestones and update on what was going on in our lives at six months. I won't lie, things haven't been easy lately with life in general, but Weston has been an angel, so I don't have any complaints with him! He's perfect...I'll elaborate on everything else in another post, because I do have so many things to update you all on. For now though, I'm going to post photos and an update on Weston at six months. :)


At six months, we've made it half-way to your 1st birthday, Weston. As each month goes by, I can't believe that my little baby is not so little any more, and he's approaching his toddler days quickly. It makes me sad to think that he's growing so fast, but I love each new phase, and I enjoy everyday we have together. I love that you need me and you prefer me over anyone else. It makes me feel so happy, especially when I've had a tough day.


Here are your six month statistics and milestones:

• You weigh 18 lb., 13 oz. We are still exclusively BF'ing, and we haven't yet had to supplement with formula. You LOVE food, and I've been making all of your food. So far you've had sweet potatoes, green beans, winter squash, pears, peaches, apples, carrots, avocado, yogurt and bananas. I'm sure I'm missing something, but needless to say, you LOVE to eat. You are a chubby, healthy little boy!
• You've started to get the "pincher grasp", and you enjoy feeding yourself. You would much rather feed yourself than take a spoon that mommy or daddy gives you with food on it. You love Puffs, but you always try to feed them to the dog from your high chair.
  
• You are 27 1/2 inches long at your six month appointment in July.
  
• Now wearing Size 4 diapers, but you can still wear Size 3, as well, but the 4's are more comfortable for all of us, because you were wetting the front overnight.
• You ONLY sleep on your stomach. You hate sleeping on your back, and you always roll over to your stomach during your sleep, so I've just stopped putting you on your back. It scared me at first, but I've gotten used to it. If you roll over onto your back during the night, you'll wake up and roll yourself back over. It's SO funny to watch on the video monitor.
  
• You can no longer wear any 6 month or 6-9 month outfits. You sometimes wear 9 month outfits, but most of those are too snug, as well. You are mostly wearing 12 month clothes, and you have some 18 month clothes already.
  
  
• You are still sleeping through the night. You usually are in bed and going to sleep by 6:30 PM, and I wake you up at 6:30 AM during the week. On the weekends, you will sleep until 7:30 AM. You never wake up mad. You always wake up and will just play in your crib until I come and get you. No screaming to get out!
  
• You still like to go to sleep on time! It's getting easier to keep you up late, but you don't like to stay up too late. You still don't like to be held when falling asleep or tired.
  
• You love to sit up and play by yourself. You are Mr. Independent and can be content to sit by yourself and play with your toys for at least a half hour.
  
• You NEVER sit still! If we put you in one place, you are scooting and moving to another location. You aren't crawling yet, but you can get where you want to go! It's SO cute! :)
• You still only have two teeth, but we are confident that you are going to get more as you are constantly drooling, and we can feel the teeth just below your gums.
• You've gotten to the point where you don't like to drink milk that much...you went from drinking 8 oz. per bottle to drinking maybe 4 oz. per bottle. You drink anywhere from 7-11 oz. while you are at daycare during the day. You used to drink 16 oz. while you were there! You drink well in the morning, but you don't in the evening. I'm lucky if I can get you to drink 1 oz., but I'm trying to do different things to get you to drink better. You are still sleeping through the night regardless. Your pediatrician told me not to worry, because you are on the "bigger" side, and you are probably getting what you need.
• You are no longer drinking out of a bottle at all...we think that the nipple must have been bothering your gums, because you chewed on it, and you never would drink out of it anymore, so we switched you to a cup, and you love your cup, so it's been working well, and you are drinking better.
• You LOVE water. You think it's the best, and I have to limit how much you drink, because you would drink it before milk, if I would let you.
  

I'm sure that I'm missing something, but I've posted enough for now. As I said before, I can't believe that he's growing so fast. It's been an amazing journey so far, and I love being a mother to this sweet little boy.

Just a little clarification...

...in my last post, I mentioned that Grant made two comments that hurt my feelings, and yes, they did hurt my feelings, and yes, I do feel like I can't get it all done. I mentioned the comments to Grant, and he was extremely apologetic, and he didn't intend to hurt my feelings. He does understand that I can't get it all done and be superwoman, just like he can't be superman, and he doesn't get everything done either. Just because he apologized and didn't mean any harm by what he said, doesn't make me feel better. And even if he hadn't said them, I would probably at some point broken down about it. I used to be able to "do it all", and I never had any trouble getting it done. Now, it's just harder, and I'm having to face that reality.

Also, Grant does help around the house a lot and more than I could EVER ask for...I'm SO grateful for him. He bathes Weston every night and prepares him for bed, after I nurse him, he typically reads him a story, says his prayers and puts him to bed. He cooks breakfast for us every morning, he feeds Weston regularly and plays with him non-stop. He also cooks dinner for us 50% of the time, and he cleans up the kitchen after dinner every night. When it's house cleaning time, he does his share of cleaning, and I've never cleaned a bathtub or shower in this house. If Weston happens to wake up in the middle of the night, which is now rare, thankfully, Grant gets up with him. He gets up early with him, and he takes him downstairs and they play after I nurse him, so I can get a little extra sleep on the weekends. He does a great job, and I'm SO grateful for him.

He is a great husband and a great father...if I haven't had a chance to finish ironing, he does it. He hates it though, so I feel like that's one thing that I really have to do. He also does all of the work outside...he mows the grass, trims the bushes, kills the wasp and yellow jacket nests, etc. The list of outside work that he does could go on for miles. He painted the entire outside of our house last summer, and he painted the entire inside of our house the summer before. Grant is a hardworking man, and I'm SO thankful that I'm married to such an amazing guy. We are just very different, and we handle stress much differently from one another. And after the list of things above that Grant does, what do I have to be stressed out about?! :)

I can't do it all...

...and I'm finally realizing it and feeling a little down about it! I want to stay at home with Weston so badly, but unfortunately, it's not in the cards for us right now. Maybe at some point, but we just aren't ready to take that step financially yet and rely one income. I've posted my daily schedule on here before, but since it's changed slightly, I'll post it again.

5:30-5:45 AM - Wake-up & prepare for work, pack car and pack Weston's food, bottles, etc.
6:30 AM - Wake Weston up, dress and nurse him
7:00 AM - Leave for work and daycare
7:20 AM - Drop Weston off at Ms. Mary's (lady who keeps him everyday)
7:30 AM - Arrive at work
12:00 PM - Run any errands or take care of things, i.e. Post Office, etc.
4:00-4:15 PM - Leave work
4:20 PM - Pick up Weston
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM - It changes everyday...here are some of our possible activities:
- Grocery store or other necessary errands that I didn't have time to do earlier
- Swim Lessons at the YMCA on Tuesday's & Thursdays'
- Walk in the neighborhood, if it's not too hot
- Swim in the small pool in our backyard
- Play inside with toys, read books, etc.
- Weston plays alone while I cook dinner
5:30 PM - Weston eats dinner
6:00 PM- Begin Weston's bedtime routine...Bath, Lotion, PJ's, play in room, red books
6:30 PM - Nurse & Bed
6:45 PM - Grant and I eat dinner if I've already cooked or cook or find something to eat if I haven't
7:30 PM - Grant cleans up the kitchen, while I straighten the house
8:00 PM - ?? - Laundry, Iron clothes, as needed, prepare Weston's bottles and food for daycare the next day, make Grant and I lunch, pack clothes for Weston and I, if it's a swimming day and jog / exercise. I'll sometimes watch a show on TV, but rarely.
9:30 PM - Shower
10:00 - Pump
10:30 - Bed

I try to go to bed at 10:30 PM, but I sometimes don't go to bed until 11:00 PM or after. I'm exhausted, and I feel like I never get it all done. I know that I'm complaining, but it really hit me when I realized that Grant feels like I'm not getting it all done either.

I had a friend of mine come visit from Columbia, SC over the weekend, and she spent the night last night. We were sitting and talking, and she mentioned cooking dinner, and he immediately said, "See Rachel, she cooks dinner every night and probably irons too." I know he didn't mean anything by it, and he didn't think it would hurt my feelings, but it really upset me. I didn't act like it, but I just started crying as I was falling asleep later that night. I also tried the coupon clipping, and I enjoyed it, but it's time consuming. It's REALLY time consuming, not only to keep everything organized and clip coupons, but to go to the different stores. So, I stopped when I realized how much time I was losing with Weston or doing other things. After the comment about cooking and ironing, we got on the subject of coupons, and Grant said, "Rachel only did that for about a half week." Again, it hurt...I don't think he means it, but it hurts to know that he sees me right now as someone who can't or isn't getting it all done or giving up and only doing the job halfway.

I feel defeated, disappointed in myself and like a failure...I'm trying not to feel that way, but I can't get it all done, and I am just upset with myself. I used to be so organized and always get everything done, but I just can't do it now. I feel guilty, because I'm not doing all the things that I should be doing around the house as a wife or mother. I'm very sad, and I don't know if there is anything I can do about it. I want to stay at home with Weston, and I feel like if I did, I would be able to do more of those things. When Weston was napping, I could start dinner clean or do laundry...I want to do more. And for those of you that are SAHM's, I don't think that your job is easier. I know that it's SO difficult, and not at all easy. I admire all of you, as well! And I'm sure that you guys don't always get everything done at home either. :)

I've been MIA lately, because life has been so busy and as I said above, I can't get it all done. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions on how to change things around, please let me know. I'll take any advice that I can get on scheduling and planning. Now, I'm sitting on the computer, and I can only think about taking a nap. I'm exhausted. I don't want to get up and clean right now. I'm mentally and physically tired!

Find Your Wings

5 Months

Here is my little boy at 5 months...he is growing so big SO fast! I'll post his monthly update and stats tomorrow. The little guy has had a rough day. He's got teeth coming in along with a stuffy, runny nose and a cough, so we've laid low and laid together a lot. He's in bed, and I'm hoping to get there soon. Our daycare lady is on vacation for the next two weeks, so we are taking turns with Weston. Grant and I were home on Monday, I was home with him on Tuesday and Wednesday, Grant is home with him tomorrow, my sister is watching him on Friday, my mom is watching him on Monday, my dad is watching him on Tuesday and Grant's parent's are watching him Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It's going to be a busy time for all of us, but we are excited that we get to spend a few days with him, and he gets to spend time with Gram and Gramps, Aunt Amanda and Grant's parents. :)

It's going to be hard to break him of the pacifier. He almost RARELY takes it out, but he never needs it or wants it at night. He's a mess!

Just Remember...

...to cherish your little one!

You just never know. I found Hayley's blog, and I read it in tears as she writes about the loss of her 4 month old, Gabriel in May. Her sweet baby boy died in his sleep. I often unintentionally take Weston's life for granted. I am so grateful for him, but I think that he's "out of the woods", and he's not such a fragile little baby anymore, so I don't worry nearly as much as I did when he was a small baby. But you really just never know, and they could be taken from you in an instant.

Just a reminder to all of you to cherish EVERY moment you have with your babies, even those times that may you want to scream or pull your hair out! There are so many things that you worry and stress about...schedules, naps, sleep, feeding, etc., and they are mostly so unimportant. Each moment that you have with your son or daughter is a gift and blessing. Hug them tight and give them lots of kisses today and everyday. Enjoy every single moment of life with your little one!

If you read this, please take a moment to lift up this dear family to the Lord as they grieve the loss of their precious son.

Day of Blogging Silence for Cohen

Please join in this day of blogging silence to remember Cohen and in support of his parents Megan and Brent. For more information go here: Send Love to Cohen