Picture

I just had to share this.

My MIL sent me the outfit that Mike wore on his 1st Birthday and we had this picture of him in it.  I love that Weston is looking at the picture.  I do wish that you could see the outfit on Weston a little better but I think it is a nice keepsake picture for them.  Who knows, maybe my grandson will hold this picture one day while wearing the outfit.

Halloween pictures coming soon...

Crafting

 Recently, and thanks to Pinterest, I have gotten really into making things.  Actually, it started with Weston's  party and then Pinterest added to it.  I'm actually having a lot of fun doing it but it takes quite a bit of time.

The major project I had for Weston's party was the "army of sock monkeys" as Mike liked to call them.  I'm so sad I didn't get a picture of them when they were all done but I made about 12 as favors for the kids. Here are three of them.

As you can see, they are far from perfect but I'm still pretty proud.

I put them in the favor boxes here along with a monkey book, MumMums, Earth's Best Strawberry and Apple snacks, Birthday Blowouts.  The two older kids got some playing cards, bubbles, and a monkey coloring puzzle.

Another one of my favorite projects for his party was his month banner.  All of those monthly pictures I struggled to get were used for it.  I just printed 5x7 prints of each one, clued them to construction paper and hung them from a string with mini clothes pins.

I also made a birthday banner with his name out of scrapbooking paper and those punch out letters that teachers use.

 Finally, the candy buffet, cake and cupcakes. I ended up not doing fondant for the smash cake.  I just realized that, while it looked nice, it wasn't all that practical for a one year old.

The invitation:

We also blew up all of the balloons.  I really wanted more but we ran out of helium and time since we only had about 30 minutes to set everything up.  All in all, I was very happy with how everything turned out.

Recently I taught myself how to knit and am having fun with that.  I finished this scarf and am working on another.

I am also making Christmas stockings.  Weston has a really nice one from Pottery Barn but Mike and I have dollar store stockings.  I'm done with one but will post pictures when they are both done.

And keeping with the holiday spirit, here are our pumpkins for this year.

I'm still debating about carving out the letters and sticking our led lights in there but I'm not sure that we have time.

Here is our boy picking out his pumpkins.

Picture Overload

I'm still too tired to write much so I'll just let the pictures tell you about the party!

Birthday

Birthday Party

I will write a more detailed post about the party later.  I'll also post pictures of one of the sock monkeys that I made.  I'll get a little bit of a break after everyone leaves tomorrow, I kind of can't wait.  Is that mean?

Here is his "short" slideshow

And the long version...seriously, grab some popcorn if you watch this one.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

ETA: I'll add this one later.  Apparently, I need to upload it first.

Well, It Happened

He turned one!  We had a wonderful day with the little man.  He had his first haircut, a nice dinner, both grandmas and a piece of cake.

The party is tomorrow so I'll do a more thorough update after that.  I've been going non-stop until this very moment trying to make sure everything is ready. 

I can't wait to share pictures with you so check back soon!  Here is one to tide you over.

We're Getting Closer!

We're almost at the year mark which means I need to get my butt in gear making these sock monkeys.  They are taking much longer than I had anticipated.  I'll get there though...I'm determined to finish.

I'm getting really excited for his party.  We found out that some unexpected guests will be coming in from out of town to attend!

We went apple picking yesterday and had such a good time.  Weston LOVED walking around the orchard and eating an apple by himself.  He wanted to pick up every apple he saw and literally squealed with delight whenever he got one.  He did get very sad when we were leaving and I was sure to capture the face.

What a difference a year makes.

9/18/2010

Back to the sock monkeys.

September!

I can't believe we have officially entered the birthday month!  This time last year, I was dreaming of when my baby boy would make his appearance.

We had just found out that Mr. Weston was breech and were scheduled to go through the lovely experience of an external cephalic version on 9/2/10.

Today, Weston is walking, talking, crawling, and voicing his opinions like they're going out of style (even if I can't understand them yet).

Happy September everyone.

Wordless, ummmm...Monday (kind of)

How did we get here so fast?  Watch out for next month, I'll likely be a sentimental, blubbering mess. LOL

What is that?

I'm almost scared to say it out loud but I actually feel happy.  Like, really happy.  All my life, whenever I thought things were starting to go right, something happened.  I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop but today, today I feel happy.  I have a wonderful husband that works really hard for his family, I have a gorgeous son that is smarter than anyone knows and who holds the key to my heart, things have been falling into place with the possible move back "home", and I have the best job in the whole world, my dream job really!

There, I said it.  Now, I'm going to lay low for a little while and hope for the best.

So, strange happenings lately, huh?  A major earthquake on the east coast?! A major hurricane heading up the east coast?! My FIL taking me on a shopping spree?!?!?!

That's right, in the eight years we have been together, my FIL had never really bought anything for me.  Don't get me wrong, it really didn't bother me, I actually didn't even think about it.  Whenever he visited, we went out to nice dinners and did nice things so I guess I can't "really" say that he never bought me anything but he never bought me an item for say my birthday, Christmas, etc.

So he came to visit us this past weekend and all of a sudden he said he wanted to go to the outlets and buy some stuff for me.  I was a bit shocked at first and didn't know what to say!  I will admit, I had a hard time getting into it but only because I felt so strange about it.  We first got me a shirt and I asked if that was it.  LOL.  Mike told me to keep going.  I got two shirts, a sweater, a pair of pants, and a shirt dress.  It was really sweet of him to do that and it was really nice to be pampered for a little while.

It was also a lot of fun watching him with Weston.  He is completely enamored with him.  I love seeing people with Weston.  He is so loved.

So back to the earthquake.  Did you feel it?  It freaked me out when I realized what it was.  At first, it was really soft and only made our display cabinet move.  I thought Lizzie (the cat) was messing with it so I yelled at her.  Then I realized she wasn't anywhere around it.  At that moment things really started moving!  I grabbed Weston and ran to our door to stand in the doorway.  Next, I grabbed the keys and booked it outside since I don't fully trust our building.  It was over in less than a minute but my heart was racing for a while after that.  I came back in to a things on the floor from shelves and in the kitchen but nothing broken or damaged.  That was so strange though.

And now, we wait to see what Irene has planned.

Other than shopping and standing in doorways, I have been busy with the rest of Weston's Birthday plans.  We have the restaurant booked, the decorations done, the candy buffet ready, the invitations ready.  I have about half of the sock monkeys done but still have a lot to do there.  I'm so excited for Weston's pictures this Saturday!

Weston update!
We officially have a walker!  He took 4 steps on his own today (after I had to stop him from messing with the Wii) and then kept doing it while we were on Skype with Mike!  He was having so much fun.  He also started giving high fives!  He also had his first glass of whole cow's milk.  It made me a little sad but he really enjoyed it. The kid loves trying new things which I'm so grateful for

Nine times out of ten, you will find Weston with something in his mouth.  He walks with stuff, crawls with stuff.  I'm not sure where he got that from but it's "his" thing.  Don't mind the avocado on his outfit.

Making Some Changes

I know this might be confusing to some, given my previous post, but I have decided to stop taking the Zoloft.  I was on such a small dose as it was and I really have been feeling so much better lately. I do, on occasion, have a bad day (like the other day) but for the most part I am happier than I have been since I can remember.

This is something that I have been thinking about for a long time so I'm not jumping into it.  I really think it is time.  I have also figured out that it may be playing a role in my weight frustrations. 

My weight gain has completely baffled me lately.  I watch what I eat, I exercise, I run after a baby all day, I still breastfeed but I was still slowly packing on the pounds.  I actually talked to Mike about it last weekend and told him that I was going to call our doctor about it.  My mom has thyroid issues so they know to be on the lookout with me and I was actually tested when I went in to my OB for the ppd because that is often the cause but it apparently came back clear.  I figured it didn't hurt to have it checked again though because I couldn't figure out what else it could be. 

The next day I started looking things up on Dr. Google and realized that a lot of people taking Zoloft report weight gain.  Even though it is not officially a side effect of the drug, many people seem to have this same problem.  I'm certainly not knocking Zoloft though.  I feel it really did help me pull myself out of a really dark place, I just don't think the side effects are worth continuing now that I'm feeling better.

Mike knows to keep an eye on things and will let me know if he notices anything going on with me.  I also decided to stop taking the Zoloft when I still had some left so that I had it on hand if I found that I really wasn't ready.

I stopped two days ago and so far, so good!  Despite some withdrawal symptoms, such as some severe bouts of dizziness and headaches, I actually feel really good.  As a bonus, I have dropped 3.5 lbs in the last two days!  I know that could simply be a coincidence; but it also may not be.

Brooke, to answer the question you left as a comment on my last post: I am not seeing a counselor right now.  I had wanted to and still might try but with being a (basically) single mom through the week and not having anyone around here to watch Weston, it makes it nearly impossible.  I really don't think it would be beneficial to take him with me because I would be so focused on him and what he is getting into that I wouldn't be able to concentrate on the appointment. 

 I do know that I need to go though.  I do have some residual childhood issues as well as feelings about the birth that would be nice to work through.  I'm finally getting close with some other moms around here that I may feel comfortable with watching Weston soon.  We'll see. Either way, it seems more and more likely that we will be making the move back to PA at some point so I know I will have tons of people dying to babysit!

In other, more light, news; Weston is going to be ONE in less than TWO months!!!! Where did my squishy baby go? I booked the place for his party the other day and have been working really hard to get some diy things done.  I'm really excited but also sad to see him grow so fast. 

I have been working on the slideshow for Weston's birthday and it is at 45 minutes!  I will post the full one here with a warning so you can settle in with some popcorn.  I do plan to make a shorter one as well to share on FB and such.  I get so weepy when I watch it.  Oh, my sweet baby boy. 

And, here's a picture for your time.

One of Those Days

I would like to think that I've got my ppd pretty much under control these days.  So much so that I have considered coming off the Zoloft to see how I really am...then that one day happens.  That day that I let it get the best of me.  It's a somber reminder that this takes time.  I'm happy to say that the good days far outweigh the bad days but those bad days can really bring me down. 

I am now convinced that my ppd is tied directly to the c-section.  When I have a bad day, I often obsess about researching VBACs.  Keep in mind that I am not pregnant again and it isn't likely to happen for some time.  It makes me sad that I still have negative feelings toward the birth and it makes me sad when people dismiss those feelings.  After a bad day, I often remind myself that there are worse things and I'm grateful that I am moving in the right direction. I do worry that, with Weston's first birthday fast approaching, many of those feelings will come flooding to the surface.

I hope that one day, I will be able to get that experience that I had always pictured.  For now, I'll try to live in the moment and try not to focus on what cannot be changed.

I'm not very good at this...

The blogging thing that is.  It has been almost an entire MONTH since I last updated.  My only excuse is that life gets in the way sometimes.  We have been across the country and back, visited the beach, and some other "insane" stuff.

Cross-country
We went all the way to San Fransisco and back with Weston a few weeks ago.  He was such a trooper and wasn't really affected by the time change, flights, schedule change (or lack thereof). My legs on the other hand were complaining from all of the hill climbing and walking!  I didn't think I was that out of shape but SF showed me!  I'm not in the mood to go through everything we did there but here are some pictures to tell the story.

Still smiling after a five and a half our flight with multiple delays at the equivalent of midnight

I have so many pictures but I'm not going to add them all.  We did a lot in the few days we were there.  We had a blast but I was so happy to get home.

The next trip was to the beach!  We stayed at Mike's Aunt and Uncle's new place with my in-laws.  Weston officially loves the beach.  Again, we had so much fun but it was really nice to get home.

Look at that beach bod. 

 My little rule breaker

 My  new favorite family photo!

 The other "insane" stuff that I mentioned earlier is that I am doing the Insanity workouts right now.  I have had to keep restarting with all of the travel but I feel pretty good when I am able to do it.  It is the hardest workout I've done but I love it.  It's been way to hot outside to run which is why I started this program.  I'll probably continue to do this until I can run outside again without passing out.

I have been really busy with working on Weston's birthday and have almost everything done.  I still need to finish the mini sock monkeys that I'm making but that will take time.  I also tried another cake which I like so much better.  A friend suggested marshmallow fondant which is a bit easier to break through (it tastes better too).  Here is the new style:

 I have so much more to write but I'm tired now...maybe I should update more than once a month...