Mixed nuts - Mix Master P version

Can you believe it has been 7months!!

He can crawl with purpose, sit alone, get up on his knees, bang his head on the floor!, and just about has 6 teeth.  He is sure in a hurry!
The one thing he isn't in a hurry to do is eat solids :(  We keep trying and trying and trying with no luck,  He did voluntarily enjoy a mum-mum the other day.  Step in the right direction!  But the waking up twice a night STARVING, has got to stop.
We have a few new ideas to try... hopefully the parents can get a good nights sleep SOON!

Excited that Young House Love is a Red  Wings fan!! :)

Riding in the BOB like a big boy - next month running!!

Enjoy!
E&P

Baby P's art wall

This wall has formed organically - a piece here, a piece there.  The placement isn't perfect and there are numerous tutorials on pinterest on how to layout a collage of pictures.  I'll try that in the next house since I think we are done!  I say that until we go to another craft show....  Regardless I like it!

The pillow is from Crate and Barrel after Christmas sale.  Not a perfect fit, but I like the colors for the room.  It actually looks better on the grey chair in the opposite corner.

The clock is set to the time P was born.  2:50.

My 2 favorite latest additions.  The turtle was a birthday card I received this past year!

I got this during the summer.  We had a boys name picked out since February!  The girls name was still under debate.  Good thing baby was a boy!

Enjoy!
ELH

Happy 2014!! and December mileage

Tired baby P on Christmas morning.  Check out those socks!!

Running - 17.46miles

Walking - 16.86miles

Yearly totals - 

200.17miles running

367.31miles walking

I met my running goal for the year!  200 miles.  This is down 202 miles from 2012, but baking a tiny human will do that.  On the plus side, walking was up 100 miles!

I am not sure what running and walking goals I will have in 2014 (full-time job and baby don't leave a lot of extra time, but I'll figure it out!) As I type, I think doing a fall 1/2 marathon seems like a good goal, but we will see.

I wish you all a great, happy, and healthy 2014!

ELH 

Best Baby things

Baby P is now 8weeks young and I feel like I have handle on some of our favorite baby things.

1. Baby Sleeper -This is our favorite thing!  It was a recommendation from friends and we can't thank them enough!!  Baby P has slept in this every night since coming home.  He isn't a fan of his crib, but is fine in this sleeper in the nursery.  One of the great features is how easy it folds up, can be moved from room to room, and is easy to transport!  I can't recommend this sleeper enough!

2. Burp cloths - These are extra thick and wonderful for wiping P's chin and to protect your clothes while burping.  They also make bibs!  I am ordering some now!

3. Nursing cover - I don't know if this is the best nursing cover since it is the only one I have, but it is great!  I really like that the corners have terry cloth edges that can be used to wipe P's face or catching dripping milk.

4. Swing - This was a recommendation from my bestie who had used it for her two babies.  P sleeps in this during the day.  The best part.....the AC adapter!!  Now if it only came with a remote....the swing noise drives me crazy when I want to nap (I'm like the princess and the pea - any constant noise drives me bonkers!)

5. Ergo baby carrier - I think "wearing" your baby is one of the coolest things.  This is great because most of the weight is on your hips.  I do have a Moby wrap, but haven't quite figured it out.  I am going to a local Baby Wearing International meeting on Friday to get help!

6. Paci - Our friends got P a mustache paci, but he hates the shape of it.  I think he likes this paci because it is the same shape as the bottle nipples and the girls.  Fortunate for us, he isn't too attached to it!

7. Pottery Barn Kids blanket - I am a sucker for all things personalized.  Probably has something to do it my uncommon name!  My mom got P this blanket in grey with his name in orange.  Matches the nursery and the BOB.  P does have another great blanket from The Uncommon Kid, but it looks like she isn't selling anything now.  We have a few other great blankets, but I don't know where they are from.  Soft is the key!

8. Bottle brushes - Great for cleaning out all the bottles and pumping stuff.

9. Swaddle wraps - P does not like to be swaddled.  He likes his arms out and kicks his legs a lot.  We don't use these to wrap him, instead they make great car seat covers when we go out in public!  I keep one in the car and one in the diaper bag.  Some people are super noisy with a baby and this keeps them out!

What other favorite baby things do you recommend?
Enjoy!
ELH

October Mileage

First some Halloween pics -

My mom and I when I was 6 or 7 years old - notice the chair...

Same chair!  New cover.  I figured that P and I won't be able to be pumpkins, so the next best thing, sort of matching shirts and matching hats that I made!  Showing off my Halloween creativity!

My knitted hats!

Definitely better than last month!
Running - 1.19miles

Walking - 37.96miles

Yearly totals - 

167.46miles running

321.18miles walking

Enjoy!

E&P

 

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The great stoller purchase of 2013

Once we found out we were having a baby I knew I wanted a BOB stroller.  Went went to REI during their members spring sale and test drove the Motion and Revolution SE.  I liked the compact form of the Motion, but G and the sales guy convinced me that I needed a running stroller.  I don't plan on running regularly with baby P once he gets older, but I will want to run when G goes out of town, so we went with the Revolution SE.  Also, because of the sale we decided to get the matching Britax B-safe infant car seat.

We picked orange to match Molly!

And that is were the fun ends...

The BOB is great for walks but it is large and awkward for taking in and out of the car and into stores.  I wanted/needed something smaller and easy to deal with.  Based off of friends recommendations I bought a snap n' go stoller that says it will fit most infant car seats.  I guess it depends on how you define "fit."  The B-safe didn't "snap" or fit level on the frame.  The extra strap to wrap around the car seat seemed like a bad idea.  It went back.  Fail #1.

During all this, our friends gave us their Baby Jogger City Mini.  Wonderful!  It isn't as small as I would like, but I thought I could make it work.  We just needed to get the infant car seat adapter...
The Baby Jogger website said this adapter would work with the City Mini and B-safe.  It didn't.  Fail #2.

Our friends were able to find the adapter pieces that came with the stroller.  We installed the adapter and again our car seat didn't fit.  No snap/lock the car seat in place.  You could balance and wrap a strap around the car seat to hold it in place.  Sure, let's put a bungee cord around the baby and call it a day!! I don't think so!  That baby needs to be snapped in place!!  Fail #3.

At this point I was feeling super defeated and frustrated with our decision to purchase the B-safe.  Obviously, the B-safe wasn't made to play with other brands.

I went to the Britax website and searched for stroller options.  After watching the B-Nimble product video, I was sold!!.  An umbrella stroller that fits the B-safe, is only 14lbs, folds up flat, and will grow with baby.  The only down side, the price.  According to Britax, B-Nimble sells for $200.  Ouch!! 
I was able to find one on albee baby for $90 with free shipping!  It came with correct car seat adapters, cup holder!, and a rain shield.  And since it is an umbrella stroller, baby P will able to grow into it as a toddler and maybe even last for another baby.  Win!!

I actually purchased the B-Nimble the morning I went into labor! That morning, if you would have asked me if I would go into labor that afternoon, I would have laughed at you!

The only downside, if you even want to call it a downside is the color.  Albee Baby sold the red version for $90 and for $170 we could get it in silver to match our orange car seat.  Hummm, not interested in almost double the price for silver fabric.  Red and orange it is!!

Moral of the story - there is no such thing as universal when it comes car seats and
strollers!  Do your research and make sure you get strollers that are compatible with your favorite car seat before buying anything.

Enjoy!
ELH

September mileage

Not that exciting!

1st family walk with 6day old baby P!

Running - 0miles

Walking - 13.28miles

Yearly totals - 

166.08miles running

283.22miles walking

3week old!  Love his faces!

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

ELH 

WWW - It's back!

Sort of...

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Sept 9^th – 24^th – mostly off recovering from labor.  We did take a few short walks of less than a mile, but I didn’t record them.

Sun, Sept 22^nd – My mom came into town to help/hang out/meet baby P.

Mon, Sept 23^rd – My mom walked…. P and I napped!

Tues, Sept 24^th – 1.7mile walk with my Mom, P, and Molly.

Wed, Sept 25^th – it rained ALL day.  We didn’t leave the house.

Thurs, Sept 26^th – 1.7mile walk with my Mom, P, and Molly.

Fri, Sept 27^th – Lazy!

Sat, Sept 28^th – My sister was coming for the weekend to visit and we had to leave the house ~10:30am to pick her up.  It takes P and I awhile to get ready in the morning, so my mom just walked alone.

Sun, Sept 29^th – 2mile walk with Molly, Mom, sister, and P.  My mom and sister left later than day – sad. 

If G is too busy to walk with us, then Molly will be staying at home.  She is a puller, I can’t deal with her and control the stroller.  Especially since P is so little.  Maybe when he is bigger and can sit in the BOB without the carseat we can try taking Molly with us.

Mon, Sept 30^th – 1.65miles with P in the stroller.

Tues, Oct 1^st – 1.63miles with P in the stoller.

Wed, Oct 2^nd – Happy 3^rd Anniversary to G and I!!  It is the leather anniversary (traditional) and I got G a credit card holder wallet from leatherology and he got me a fancy leather purse.  It has been an amazing year and even better 3 years.  I look forward to many many many more!

P and I had to run some errands for dinner and buy cupcakes, so we didn’t go for a walk.

Thurs, Oct 3^rd – 1.0mile walk with P.  P was pretty upset at ~half a mile, so we turned around and went home to eat!

Fri, Oct 4^th – 0.77mile walk around the block with P, Molly, and a visiting friend.

Sat, Oct 5^th – talk about lazy!  We didn’t get out a bed until 10:30am!  We did go on a family walk – 2miles.

Sun, Oct 6^th – Family walk on a nearby running/biking path – 2.34miles.

Monday will be 4weeks since P was born, so I technically have another 2 weeks workout free.  I will keep walking and maybe start adding some arm exercises with my 5lb weights.  My mommy arms need to be tone!

Enjoy!

-ELH

WWW

Mon, Sept 2^nd – Tired and lazy – day off!

Tues, Sept 3^rd – 1.64mile walk with Molly and G before work.

Wed, Sept 4^th – 1.7mile walk with Molly and G before work.

Thurs, Sept 5^th – I borrowed my friend’s gym pass and went swimming.  I was feeling pretty stuffed from the cold I caught, so it was a little tough.  I just did 1000yds – 100 swim, 100 kick.

Fri, Sept 6^th – 39 week Dr appointment early in the morning.  I napped after work, since this cold has been kicking my butt.

Sat, Sept 7^th – Slept in since I was tired and we had a busy day with G’s family watching the nephews play football and soccer.

Sun, Sept 8^th – When I woke up this morning, I realized I had lost my mucus plug… not a big deal but usually means that labor could be in the next few days or weeks.  I did mean that swimming is not allowed and probably need to make our walks more casual.  We did take Molly out for a short walk (0.77miles) in the morning before going to brunch and running errands.

Weekly Workout Wrap-up is taking a break….

As is turns out, passing my mucus plug did mean labor was starting.  We went to the hospital at 5:30pm on Sunday, and our son was born at 2:50am Monday, September 9^th!! 

We will be doing some walking, but nothing too strenuous for a few weeks and definitely not anything resembling a workout for 6 weeks.

Baby P is doing great as a 1week old.  We are all figuring out our new life and loving it.