~PuErTo RiCo~I

I had so much fun shopping for hats for this little guy :) 

I hate all photos of myself; especially in swimsuits! I'm looking at this as a "before" shot...

Papa and Jonah meeting the ocean for the first time :)

My handsome men

he LOVED the pool :)

A great purchase from Amazon... a travel high chair!

the view from our condo

the streets of Old San Juan

Hiking the rainforest. LOVE my Ergo carrier!

dipping our feet in the water from the waterfall

pictures never do justice

Old San Juan. This was actually my least favorite day of them all...

He's smiling because he just pooped in the sink! HAHAHA thank God for garbage disposals :)

A sandbox is on his birthday wish list :)

Nap time at the beach

my favorite photo.  Yes I am in swimwear.

Pina coladas taste so much better here

Luquillo Beach

I'm nuts about

coconuts!!! Coconut oil that is. I knew it was a true addiction when I scooped up a tupperware container full to bring with us on vacation. Initially I heard about it from my "pregnancy friends" as I call them. When I was pregnant I happened across an app which is an online community for moms. Several groups of women have different forums including: Trying to Conceive, Fit Pregnancy, Clean Eating, and my personal favorite: Postpartum Fitness. Those woman are both amazing and crazy. This is where the idea of the Paleo diet was first introduced to me (which is still just observational at this point). They've also helped me through some frustrating times in my battle of this baby bulge (more on that later).

Coconut oil was mentioned by said "pregnancy friends" as a super food of sorts. Someone mentioned bulletproof coffee as a way to kick start your metabolism and fat burning for the day and I was super intrigued. I drink coffee every morning anyway... so when I ran across a huge vat of coconut oil at Costco for only $16.99 I had to try it out. 

I've found I actually prefer it on my toast (so NOT paleo) in the morning, and I've also found so many other uses for it. I put it in my hair and let it sit for 30 minutes or so then shower and it feels like I've been to a salon afterwards it's SO soft. It's a great skin moisturizer. Since I typically don't wear bathing suits in the winter my skin was not used to the shaving required and I found myself with horrible razor burn in the most unacceptable area... so I slathered some coconut oil on before bed and it was GONE by morning!

I found this great article on Pinterest titled "333 uses for coconut oil". I'm so excited for my new find!

holy vacation batman

Nothing beats the sound of waves crashing in.  We were able to enjoy the instant relaxation that provides up north on Lake Superior last fall, and now again in Puerto Rico this time. Let the relaxation begin.

It was a long day!

but Jonah is all smiles still :)

It didn't take us long to find our favorite spot to sit

Jonah never ceases to amaze me. We were in flight for nearly 6 hours today and only once did he get a little fussy and it was because I accidently woke him up trying to get circulation to my hand. He’s just a happy little ham! At least 3 different people stopped to tell us what a good baby he is. I take that as us being good parents too :)

I’m trying not to think about Dustin’s flight home with him alone a week from now (followed by a week of being home with him alone while I’m at my work meeting here) and hope we can really unwind and enjoy ourselves. I pointed out to Dustin this vacation is nothing short of amazing for me- I’ve been gone and working so much to be able to enjoy my boys for 7 solid days is paradise!!! I’m excited to work on Jonah using a sippy cup- that whole situation has proved to be difficult and I haven’t had the time to work with him on it. I’m willing to bet he’s saying “dada” by the end of the week as he’s said it in passing a couple of times. One word he thinks is funny is “hat”. Dustin said one day he was playing with his baseball hat so he put it on Jonah and said “hat” and Jonah cracked up! Today while we were waiting for the rental car I said “where’s my hat?” and he grabbed the bill :D He’s so stinking smart.

He went in for his first “real” haircut on Saturday and was perfect. We went to Sport Clips so they had TV’s everywhere which helped avert his attention. I also had to wake him up from a nap when we arrived which I was afraid would end in disaster, but it actually helped the situation as he just laid on my shoulder and watched TV as the stylist trimmed away.

My boss rode with me last week and during lunch pointed out in the past year I’ve been through 3 of the 5 most stressful life events: having a baby, moving, and starting a new job. If someone would die and Dustin and I divorced I would have them all covered- :-/ 

Bring on vacation please~!!! xx

9 months!

I cannot believe we're at the 9 month mark already! I've started "pinning" ideas for Jonah's first birthday as I know it will be here before we know it.

Jonah is crawling faster than I've ever seen a baby crawl before, and typically he heads directly for something that belongs to the dogs-- their kennel doors are fun to swing open and shut, their water bowl is fun to splash in, and their kongs are fun to put in his mouth (I know- yuck is right!)

He's starting to "talk with his mouth closed" as I call it, as well as shaking his head "no". He's enjoying real people food which almost has me inspired to begin cooking dinner at night ;) xx

saturdays

gosh how i love saturdays. today the dogs are even feeling lazy- chopper didn't wake up and want breakfast at 5am like usual and the baby slept until 7!

Last night we went over to Dustin's cousins and played an awesome game and had a few cocktails. I said to him this morning: "last night is exactly the reason I wanted to come back... now are you happy we did?" and he is :) Friends and family folks, that's what life is all about.

Speaking of family- as two well deserving girls out east prepare for their little bundles of joy I know yet another mama patiently waiting for her turn to have a belly to rub. She opened up to me about it during a long phone conversation we had a few weeks ago. I wonder why God lets us wait...? I wish I had the answers. Some times I feel like even though I have been through a tiny bit of infertility I really don't have the right words to say. I do feel like God gave us Jonah right when we were ready for him, and that our life wouldn't be as perfect as it is right now if he had come when we were ready and waiting. I wish my sixth sense was believable...(okay please don't think I'm crazy but I swear I have a touch of ESP) I have no doubt she will have a baby of her own someday- I've had dreams! All I can do is pray for her to have peace and to embrace all the things she can do now before her world is flipped upside down for all the right reasons :)

I had a dream my sister in law was having a girl on the day she had her sex revealing ultrasound. I'm now on the other end of a couple knowing what they're having and not sharing... I want so badly to buy gender specific clothes! It is such a special time though and I totally get why they're keeping it a secret- it's the only time you have that baby all to yourselves. It's also nice to get the stuff you really need at your shower vs. a bunch of pink or blue that your guests just couldn't pass up buying. 

I finally got the invitations sent out for their shower, and due to the creative bug that bit me and caused me to doll them all up with with burlap they cost $2 each to mail! HA. It dawned on me the other day this is the first little party I've actually ever thrown for someone, so why not go all out. I'm so so so excited and hoping everything goes without a hitch. Since I'm hosting it solo I'm trying to recruit little helper bees- cousin Ashley is the queen of music... cousin Andrea is great for having "been there done that" so she has some game ideas... Aunt Karen makes cakes... Aunt Shanne is super creative and crafty so she's helping watch out for decorations... Aunt Jan is making blueberry muffins :) I started a new Pinterest board to come up with cute snack-y ideas. T minus 6 weeks!

We're also counting down until Puerto Rico~!!! A month from today we'll be enjoying some sunshine and family fun. My dad gave Jonah some Christmas money when he was here- and he also has a Target gift card from Grandma burning a hole in his pocket- all of which is going to outfit the little guy for our big trip :) So far we've gotten a few swimsuits, sunglasses, boat shoes and sandals, and my favorite purchase: a little baby fedora...! I just love Old Navy! I'll come back and post some pics; I'm having technical difficulties in that department at the moment.

Little man pulled himself to standing for the first time yesterday- Daddy told me when I got home. He is saying "mamamamamama" when he's upset- which was a lot this week unfortunately :( He had a little cold which caused for some serious sleeping issues. For the first time I actually brought my pillow and blanket into the nursery and slept on the floor while he watched his favorite movie- "Despicable Me"- on the ipad and played on the floor around me. 

Lack of sleep couldn't stop us from celebrating Valentine's the next day with dinner (at 4:30pm... HA!) and a family field trip to The NewBo City Market for cupcakes! Dustin got me a dozen roses, my favorite candy, and a sweet sweet card. Jonah surprised me by getting me a card too... I was so touched that Dustin thought to do that :))

my two handsome valentines :)

There's actually half of a French Toast cupcake calling my name right now... xx

Yes it does.

I think there's a new face every week!

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Naptime with mommy... except mommy stared at the sleeping baby rather than sleeping herself :)

Dinnertime out is becoming more of an adventure.

Monday

It's dreary and windy outside and I did not go to my 5:30 am class at the gym this morning.  So far I've had coffee, fed the little one, and bought some work clothes online :) Then I hopped over to my cousin's blog and found our pictures featured in a "best of 2012" post and had to share. Now I must quit procrastinating and get ready for my day. xx

this is what can happen when you attempt to do things you're not trained to do.  Jonah's first haircut was not traumatic for him, however, I'm wishing we would've brought him somewhere rather than try to do it ourselves~! HA.

follow up friday

Well we survived Dad's surgery!  They just took a look around his throat and removed the little thing they saw on his vocal cords. Dad came Tuesday night and proceeded to drink 11 beers (he actually left one in the 12 pack!) to try to calm his nerves. I was so proud of him as he donned his nicotine patch and smoked his electric cigarette in attempt to kick the habit for good. It really sucked seeing him so nervous before surgery- I don't think he slept a wink. Wednesday after surgery he was sore and popping hydrocodone every 1.5 hours. He didn't sleep at all that I saw, and when I woke up with Jonah at 0500 he had left for home already. He left the sweetest little note, but it still hurt to see him gone without actually saying goodbye. I spent all day yesterday with a knot in my stomach; I can't even put into words how I felt. A call from a friend put some of the hurt behind me, and today I'm determined to focus on my happy little life :) xx