New Pics of the Bubbas!

"See my teeth Mommy? I've got 2!"


"Shhh...don't tell Mommy"


"I love electronics!"


"Gimme that Wii!"


"I've got a pee pee diaper. Hurry up Mom!"


Angelo and Mommy - May 9th

9 Months Old!

Angelo is 9 months old today and doing all sorts of great things! In the last entry I said that the Bubs pulled himself up and now that's ALL he wants to do. Yesterday I caught him walking while pushing a box of diapers. We're still trying to get him to balance himself with his walker toy, but he gets distracted by all the gadgets on that thing. He takes good steps just by holding our fingers and when I say "flat feet", he gets off his toes. It's awesome! It looks like I'll be ready to get him his first pair of shoes soon.

Our goal is to get him walking better by the end of next month. He's also in cruise mode with the couch and anything that appears to be stable. This child is everywhere, I tell ya! When we have to put him in his Pack 'N Play or Jumperoo for a few minutes, he throws a fit because he wants to cruise and crawl. He doesn't like being confined, that's for sure. I caught him lifting his leg to climb out of his crib the other day so Dave lowered his mattress.

Angelo has said "Mama" at random times in the last few months, but yesterday he crawled over to me, looked up and said, "Dada" very clearly. About 2 minutes later he started rambling "Mama Mama Mama". The other day I swear I heard "Up!" I can't wait until this kid can verbally communicate. A lot of people tell me not to wish that too soon, but I can't help it.

Now, on to the best news ever!

Angelo has finally cut his first tooth!

I'm going to have a hard time getting a picture of it since every time I try to get him to smile, he sticks his tongue out. His tooth is at the bottom center. The one next to it looks like it'll be popping soon, along with his two front teeth.

The Bubs is sleeping through the night most days, but he has moments of waking up around 3am. That hasn't happened in a week or so and only occurs when he's slept too long during the day. We've been keeping a good schedule.

He's now wearing size 12 mos, but they're just fitting him. Now I have to try and find 12-18 months, but that's been difficult. I have a lot of hand-me-down clothes that are 18 months, which I believe have shrunk so that's what I'm going to try next in effort to save a little cash.

That's about all for now. I'm sure I missed a few things, but I'll be posting another entry soon.

Cristin

Lots of Growth!

Angelo and Mommy (8 mos)


Dave and I - After the ceremony

Hey everyone!

As most of you know, Dave and I got married on Saturday, April 4th. It was quite an eventful day even though we had a very short ceremony. I'm so glad it was short because I was terrified that I would flub my words and sound like an idiot. The wedding was great! We rolled in, got married and rolled out. Nice, eh? Once the weekend was over we had to get back to normal with the kids, school, work and everything else.

Angelo has been doing a lot of new things this week. First, he's picked up a lot of speed with the scoot-crawl and yesterday he started crawling using his knees. He's been pulling himself on to his knees as well and is able to stand on his own while holding something stable. He's also starting to get off his tip toes and stand flat on his feet. Yesterday afternoon Dave went to get Angelo from his crib and found him standing on the mattress while holding the crib bars. I can't believe I missed that! He was screaming pretty loudly because he couldn't find his way back down, LOL!

The Bubs is into discovery mode big time now. If it looks new, he wants it and goes after it. We were looking at baby gates yesterday, but I decided against it because I really feel that Angelo needs to explore the house. I'll just designate certain times for him to do so under my or Dave's supervision. We did get those outlet plugs because I caught him trying to put his fingers in the holes. We bought a new Baby Einstein video. It teaches them terms for items around the home and uses sign language.

Finally, I got this walker toy that the babies push around and it's supposed to help them learn to walk. Angelo was able to stand while holding it and he took a few steps and pushed it on his own. Right now he gets distracted by all the neat toys on it, but I'm guessing he will be moving with it soon enough. We took all 3 kids to the park by our house the other day. I put Angelo in the baby swing and he giggled the entire time. It's still a little big for him, but he leans forward and holds on to the chains just fine. I'm mad at myself because I forgot my camera. I will get a shot of him the next time we go.

Dave and I took him to his 9 month appointment yesterday. He weighed in at 22 pounds and was 29 inches long. He's still coming in the 90th percentile for weight and length, but he's cemetric and doing just fine. Our doctor told us that we can start transitioning him off baby food to mashed table foods such as potatoes and veggies. He suggested that Angelo get more consistent with his sippy cup and be off of formula by his 1st birthday. We can also be done with baby food by then, YAY! His first birthday is less than 4 months away. Can you believe it? I can't...

Now, on to me...

I haven't been working out much lately due to all the excitement with the wedding and Halle's 5th birthday. I've been able to maintain my weight and not gain, which I'm happy about. I feel like I'm just now able to get back to my normal schedule so when Angelo goes down for his nap today, I'll be able to get a work-out in.

We have had some crappy weather lately and I'm DYING to get out of the house for walks with Angelo and the girls. Cabin fever and I just don't get along. The other thing I'm dying to do for some reason is buy new clothes. I feel like frump girl again and it's pissing me off. Other than that, things are going really well.

8 Months Old!

Angelo is 8 months old and so much has happened since my last update! First of all, Dave and I got engaged on our anniversary, March 17th. We will be getting married on April 4th. We’re having a very cheap and simple ceremony, thank God! After having to go to the mall for dresses, I cannot imagine what it would be like for me have a big wedding that takes about a year to plan. No thank you! Dave’s ring came in early, but mine aren’t here yet so I’m a bit nervous. I don’t want to be rushing around at the last minute.

Angelo has been fantastic. His scoot-crawl is almost an all-fours crawl now. He can pull himself up to a kneeling position when he’s found something to keep his arms stable like his wipes box or crib bars. He can also balance for a few minutes while standing and leaning his back against the couch. He goes back and forth from standing on his toes to flat feet. We’ve noticed that he’s really getting into his toys, especially his penguin roller coaster. He also found his way up over the step from the living room to the dining room. Now it’s time for baby gates!

The Bubs is showing some disinterest in his bottle and formula lately, so we’re giving him solids about 3 times a day now. He hasn’t been eating much in the last couple of days due to his teething and he’s been taking more naps. We’re anxiously awaiting his teeth as his gums are still very swollen.

This child is now into size 9 months for clothing. Only a few 6-9 months still fit him so pretty soon I’ll need to do some shopping. I have some stuff, but not nearly enough. I weighed him on my Wii Fit and he’s coming up 24.4 pounds. He has a doctor’s appointment on April 8th, so we will find out exactly how heavy and long he is. After me coming up short a few inches last time, I’m guessing that he’s about 30-32 inches long. We shall see.

We haven’t gotten him to say “Da Da” yet, but we’re working on it. I’m getting ready to buy him another Baby Einstein video. There are a few choices, but I’m going to get him something to teach him his first words. We’re almost done with “Baby’s First Moves”.

Now, on to me…

I’ve lost almost 20 pounds since the beginning of February. Dave told me that he’s been checking me out lately…nice! I still have another 20 pounds to go before I reach my pre-Dave weight, but so far, so good! I wanna reach my goal weight by the time we take our family vacation to Hilton Head at the end of May.

New Stuff

The ‘lil Bubs is no longer little. He’s a big boy now! We got back from Vegas on Wednesday and he caught a cold. Dave’s mom took him all over God’s country to show him off and I’m guessing someone had it and passed it right along to him. The poor kid is snotting all over the place, ewww!

I mentioned in my last entry that he started the scoot-crawl before I left for Vegas and that made me very happy. Now Angelo is rolling over from his back to his tummy and then popping up in the crawing position and off he goes! He’s picked up a lot of speed since we returned from vacation. He’s still doing the scoot-crawl, but is trying really hard to go full throttle with the natural crawl. While he’s on a roll, he grunts until he’s reached his destination. Too cute!

We also got him a new car seat. His feet and ankels were hanging out the end of the infant seat and it was time. He seems a lot happier in the upright position while in the car. I was really happy because the one we wanted was $55, but it rang up $39 so YAY for us, woo hoo! Ya gotta love Walmart.

Angelo has got the bottle holding thing down pat now, but only on his back. We’re trying hard to get him to do it sitting up and I’m using the new car seat as a teaching tool. Once he gets the hang of that, he’ll do better in the play pen/Pack ‘N Play. We put that back together so that he can play with his toys and I won’t have to chase after him all the time. Once he’s on the floor he’s off and scooting and that makes it hard for me to get stuff done while he’s awake.

He’s been sleeping through the night consistently again. The earliest he wakes up is 6am, which has been real nice. Now that he’s sick, his naps are about 2-3 hours and he needs about 3 of them to feel good. Hopefully he’ll feel better soon.

I heard “Mama” again today and this time he wasn’t crying, he just wanted up from his crawling position. Now he mumbles and throws his hands up when he wants to be held. Yesterday, the girls and I were having and indoor picnic and Angelo was giving hugs. It was absolutely ADORABLE!

I’m going to try and get some new pics and video in the next day or two. He’s changed physically so much, it’s unreal.

Now on to me…

Vegas was a blast and we did a lot of walking. I did the best I could with eating healthy, but honestly, there isn’t a whole lot available for a reasonable rate. We saw the Criss Angel Believe show and that was good. If you’ve seen his reality show then you won’t be surprised.

I didn’t gain any weight while in Vegas, but I haven’t lost much since then either. I’m still trying to get back into the swing of things with my work outs, however, I’m sick again and I’ve been exhausted. Dave and I are on a new visitation schedule with the girls and we have them more now. I’m still trying to adjust to that. This time though, we have every other full weekend off so now we can plan more stuff for when we do get them on full weekends.

That’s about all for now. I’ll be back soon with more updates on Angelo and hopefully he’ll be doing more cool stuff.

Milestones

"Good morning to you!"


"Get me out of this pee pee diaper, please!"



I was trying to capture his morning smile, but he got distracted



"Hi Mama!"





Bubbas in the big boy bath.


Angelo is turning 7 months old in a few days and is crawling now, YAY! Apparently he's been doing it for a while, but only with Dave when I'm busy working...go figure. Last week, however, I happened to be in between calls and off he went! I let out a HUGE "Gasp and Oh my God, woooo hoooo!" which scared the living crap out of my child, LOL. His crawling technique is hilarious. He gets up on all fours, sways back and forth and starts pulling himself forward with his hands. Then he hops with his legs for a couple of paces. When he realizes that doesn't get him where he needs to go fast enough, he gets on his tummy and does the "army crawl". The Bubs will go between the hop and the army crawl to reach his destination.



The other night Dave and I were watching TV. Angelo was done crawling for the moment and was messing around with his play gym. For some reason he got pissed off and the next thing we hear is a really loud, "MAMA!" Dave and I whipped our heads around in shock and I said, "Did you hear that?" He just nodded in total disbelief. It was a very clear and distinct "Mama", thank you very much! Now I am comfortable moving forward with "Dada" since I got what I wanted and all of it happened before our trip to Vegas. I was so worried that Angelo would do all the cool stuff for Dave's parents and I'd miss out.


I think I mentioned this before, but the Bubs is going through a major bout of "mommy separation anxiety." I feel like I have to sneak around once he's occupied or else he'll throw a fit. For example, when Dave has him at night and I'm working he's okay at first. After a while he's totally done with Daddy. When I come upstairs and Angelo sees me, he starts whining and wants me to get him. It's gotten so bad that sometimes Dave brings him down while I'm working so that Angelo knows I'm still here.

Angelo is holding his bottle really well now while I'm holding him. I am going to try and get him to do it on his own while he's sitting up. Once he's got that down, we're going to the sippy cup. Dave's mom gave him a top to a sippy cup the other day and it looked as though he had no trouble getting it into his mouth the right way. It was on the bigger side, so I'll try to find one that's smaller and we'll see how he does. It's not time yet, but we're getting close. He's doing great with the solids and we will be transitioning him to meats in the next month. My doctor told me that he should be on them by 9 months, but we'll see how it goes.



His sleep schedule isn't so bad these days. Most of the time he sleeps throughout the night (bedtime is around 10 or 11pm), but he'll still get up around 6am and want to go back to bed until about 10/10:30am. I'm thinking about keeping him up when he does that because I'm not going back to bed at 6am anymore. I've decided that staying up helps me get more accomplished during the day.


Now, on to me!

I've lost 15 pounds this month so far and I'm reallllly excited! I have 5 more left to lose and I'll be at my pre-preggo weight. 25 more to go for pre-Dave weight, sweet! Dave's parents complimented us on our weight loss and yet Dave and I haven't noticed a significant change in our bodies yet. That's probably because we see ourselves every day and they don't.

I'm still having a bit of trouble with my calorie intake. I need about 1,200 per day to keep losing weight. I have to adjust it every week when I do lose though. The hardest part is remembering to eat breakfast. I'm great with lunch, snack and dinner though. This is why I'm changing my schedule. If I'm up at 6am, I have plenty of time to eat, but if I wake up at 8 or 9am, I get carried away with the baby, chores, errands and work.

I've been doing this 6am thing for the last two days and it's also giving me time for my exercise routine. I do the Wii Fit 6 days a week and my "wild dancing" 4 days a week. Wild dancing is me bopping around in my basement, doing random stuff. I know it sounds silly, but it's working out great. Once I master everything on the Wii Fit, I'm going to look into an Aerobics class and maybe adult soccer. When the weather breaks I'll be buying a bike and start running. I've already looked into a jogger stroller for Angelo. By that time, he'll be big enough for it.

Sorry about the spacing of the last few entries. This blog won't update properly when I try to fix it.

Changes, changes!

Hello all!

There isn't a whole lot to say about Angelo right now. He's doing pretty much the same things as I described in my last entry. Dave and I are going to Las Vegas from March 1st to the 4th and my fear is that Angelo will start crawling while I'm out of town. He's getting really close, I can feel it! At this point, he's able to prop himself up in the crawling position without assistance, but he still can't coordinate his hands and knees to get a move on. He's very good at turning himself around while on his tummy though and that's great!

His sleep habits are changing a bit, but he's still waking up a couple of times a week. Instead of it being 3:30am, it's around 6am. We'll put him down around 10pm, he'll sleep for about an hour, wake up and then go back to bed around 12-12:30am. Odd, huh? The other days he just goes to bed between 11pm and 12am, then wake up around 9 or 10am. I love those days. That gives me time to eat breakfast and work out for about 20 minutes.

The Bubs is getting some separation anxiety now. I noticed it a bit last month, but now he can't stand it when I go into another room, even for a minute. He'll start crying and it's oh so sad. If he's in his jumperoo and has his back turned toward me, he doesn't notice me moving around from room to room. Once he's bored, however, it's a whole new ballgame. He's sitting up on his own and not tipping over anymore, which is way cool. So if he gets bored of his jumperoo, I can plop him on his butt with a toy and clean or work out while in the same room.

Angelo is holding his bottle more steadily these days, thank God! He still needs a bit of work because he's easily distracted. When Dave is feeding him Angelo grabs his chin, trying to figure out what Dave's stubble is all about, LOL. Bubbas has also started grabbing my lips when I speak to him. It's too cute! I've also noticed that the Bubs is getting really attached to Trenity and Halle when they're here. If they're in the living room with him, he wants to play and when they leave, he cries.

That's about all for the Bubs at the moment, now on to me!

I mentioned before that we got a Wii Fit. I didn't realize how out of shape I actually was until I started the program. Yoga was always a pain in the ass, but now I can do it! I've been using the Wii Fit for 21 days now and guess what? I've lost 11 pounds!!! It took me about 3 days to get used to the exercises and I'm not a pro yet, but I'm getting there quickly.

I was a bit down the first couple of weeks because I couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing much weight, but then we bought The Biggest Loser cookbook and it turns out that I wasn't eating enough calories. Can you believe that? My dumb ass was skipping breakfast and eating my meals way too late in the day as well. Not a great combo if you want to drop some pounds. The other great thing about that cookbook is that we're learning how to make family meals in less than 30 minutes. This has saved my life, big time! Now we can't make up excuses as to why we're not eating right anymore, which is lovely.

So last week Dave and I upped our calories and adjusted our eating schedule. We're seeing amazing results and I'm VERY happy! I only have 9 more pounds to lose until I hit my pre-preggo weight and then I have 20 more to lose to get back to my pre-Dave weight, LOL. I'm hoping to achieve my 140 pound goal by the end of April.

Now, here's the best thing about me working out...I have more time in my day!

I know..sounds crazy right? Well, it's actually happening. I think it's a combination between me having more physical energy due to working out and Angelo being able to occupy himself more. What I found to be most interesting is that I'm motivated on a much higher level. I'm happier when I'm exercising and not just because I'm losing the weight. Even if I wasn't, my body chemistry is different, which has caused me to see things from a completely different perspective. I feel as though I'm ready and available to do the things I really want to do in my life. This is so exciting!