soft foods and growing teeth

After a few restless nights, I finally stuck my finger in Cruz's mouth. Next time someone might want to remind me to wear gloves because those little razor blades chomp down on anything that dare go near them. Lucky for NO ONE he grew all front teeth first so fingers really just don't have a chance.

Currently a left molar is breaking skin. So, over the next few weeks one of us will be doped up on drugs. We'll flip a coin to figure out which of us gets the pleasure and which gets the pain.

sucked in

When Cruz first climbed up onto Jason's lap to watch him play cell phone games we were surprised.  And then it happened more.  If its late, and he's tired, Cruz will sit and watch for a good 10 minutes or more.  It starts early.

Photo Contest

I entered Cruz into a few contests, one being the American Baby Cover contest. They offer a grand prize, editors choice prizes, and on top of that kids can win a weekly contest. When I opened my mail this morning I saw this...

I can't even explain the level of amazement I experienced. I'm pretty sure I email it to everyone I've ever met and told them to vote.

He is still in the running for the grand prize, and I've uploaded his album which you can see here (press the like buttons whenever you get the chance). But more importantly this week you need to VOTE DAILY HERE (until Oct. 31) so he can win a weekly prize.

treats

In case you were wondering, graham crackers and juice equals sugar.  And that makes the kid a little hyperactive.  He doesn't get a lot of sugar, so while we see this as a sugar frenzy other parents see this a normal behavior.

a week ago

Last Friday Oregon State held a little pep rally in downtown Portland. I was not aware of this until the night before as I lay in bed reading my twitter feed and low and behold I see this beauty:

Imagine my excitement because, well, I NEVER know about these things ahead of time. I don't even get text messages from my OSU betrothed colleague warning me about these things. I mean, I sit right next to the guy, would it be so hard? At this point I'm feeling like a kid planning her Halloween strategy, and I decided I would do harm to myself if I forgot my camera that next morning.

During that pep rally I captured this shot. In one weeks time it has been viewed roughly 116 times on Flickr and is by FAR the most viewed photo in my photostream. I think its the colors that draw people in for a better look.

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My one week commitment...

I'm only promising myself I will do this for a week as a type of cleanse.

Roughly 15 months ago I lost an impressive 8lbs in one day, thank you Cruz for being born, and every day after that I was losing 1-3 lbs a day. I'm not getting into the sticky details, but if you’re a mother you know what I am talking about. Three months later I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Three months after that I was gaining some of that horrid "baby weight" back, but instead of baby weight it was "I like ice cream and potato chips" weight. This did not bode well for the self esteem especially when I never stopped feeling like a pregnant cow.

Fast forward to present day and the only thing that has changed is that I've lost a few minor pounds, I've come to terms with feeling like “ick”, and I'm constantly thinking of how to make myself feel better. I'm a pretty realistic person, some people say negative (ahem, Jason), when it comes to things. I mean, I've lived with myself for 28 years so I know my own shortcomings. Folding laundry...check, camping in the forest...check, exercise...double check. The easiest way for me to lose weight is changing my diet, so this is where I shall begin.

I'm committing myself to eating simple low-fat foods combined with a relatively modest amount of exercise. I say modest because for those who work out on a regular basis it would be the equivalent of jogging a block. I don't want to throw too much on my plate at once because if I find any sort of blip I will most likely throw it aside for other things. In the long run I am trying to convince Jason to join a gym with me. We would make it work by alternating days at home with Cruz with days working out, but that is getting a little ahead of myself.

Its only a week for a test run. It could continue after that, but first things first; I need to get rid of the junk in my cupboards. I’m not saying I’m fat, because I honestly don’t think I am. I’m just saying I feel gross and unhealthy.  I would also like my cloths to fit a little looser so I don’t need to buy more shit. I just need to get myself into the mindset of 5 years ago when I was single,  poor, ate protein, made sandwiches, and rarely ate out. In fact, on some level I blame Jason because he took me to Macaroni Grill on our first date (back when it was good), and thus my love affair with white carb loaded foods was reintroduced. I'm kidding...mostly.

Sauvie Island Pumpkins

This year we decided to sit in a car for about an hour and a half waiting for traffic to move so we could get to some damn pumpkins. Well, that is how it FELT. I was having a serious case of road rage and I kept asking Jason, "Should we just go back home?" or "Should I just go straight and get in line coming the other direction?"

We were a little overwhelmed with the madness of if all. There were lines for food, other lines for drinks, animal barns, haunted mazes, kiddie mazes, and hayrides, oh my. Kids were pushing and shoving adults and parents were yelling at children. Then there was our kid who ran from pumpkin to pumpkin until he was tired of running...and smiling.

The boy had a good day.

Because its funny

Yes that is really me. And yes, I brought my camera.

Shots seen here: http://bit.ly/cbkxjH

Smooches

When he's this quiet and docile, I just want to wrap him up in a blanket and rock him in the rocking chair until we both fall asleep. But then these types of moments only last about 20 seconds, just enough time for him to give me a hug and a smile before he runs off to play some more.

Trident Seafood

Its been a few weeks since this photo was taken. It is one of my favorites from the trip and I can't even explain why.

LARGER VERSION HERE

...I think it has something to do with it being so candid.

Peek-a-What?

before

after

Remove the food, check. Soften baby skin, done. Dark circles under his eyes, gone. Scab from his run in with the fireplace, remains awesome.

For this I am thankful

Over the weekend I learned something: vacations are never "vacations" when kids are involved. At least not the kids that need supervised every second, wake up multiples times in a new environment, scream at the top of their lungs, throw food, etc. This list could continue, but then I would be getting away from the point. Which, I guess, is that sometimes you do these things for other people. Like grandparents.

Also, "vacations" make everyday seem blissfully peaceful.  Please remind me of this next time I complain.

Time Rewind

This is the very first picture of Jason and I, taken on my very first cell phone. I know I look like a teenager, but at 23 year old I was VERY late to the cell phone brigade. This was back in the days where I would do my makeup EVERYDAY flawlessly, which has since been replaced with just making sure the cloths I'm wearing don't have any stains on them.

I see you

Wherein Spiderman appears

I arrived home tonight at the same time as Jason, who was getting ready to walk back out the door. I took Cruz into the back room to let out the dogs, so imagine my surprise when I looked down to see Spiderman sitting on our antique trunk.

Turns out Jason found while camping this last weekend and just sat him there for Cruz. I think I can have some fun with Spiderman in the future.

Walking the beach

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