Setting Goals

I've finally started working towards my New Year's Resolution. I decided that I would try to run 300 miles in the year 2012. I would have loved to have set the goal of 366 miles {a mile for every day} but I wasn't able to run in the first few months of the year. I would love to be able to make it to 366 miles, but my goal is 300 miles this year. There are 276 days left in the year and so far I have 4.75 miles under my belt!

I was excited to get back on the treadmill and start to get back into the groove of a regular exercise routine. I'm trying to make sure to take it easy and start slow since it's been a while since I've run, I started the couch to 5k program again and I 'm starting from scratch. I started week 1, day 1 on Sunday and I've run one other day this week. I'm hoping to keep up with it and be able to run a 5k this summer.

A friend of mine, Angie, has said that she would make the commitment to running a 5k with me this summer. I still have to find one, but I'm hoping to achieve this goal sooner than later. The 5k goal is only part 1 of a 3 part goal. {I'm hoping that by putting it in witting that I'll be more likely to work towards it} The remaining 2 parts of my goal are to run a 10k this fall and a half marathon before the year is over. Oh help me! It looks scary when its on paper, but I'm going to strive to make it happen.

1 Month

I know this post comes close behind Hunter's 4 week post, but that's what happens when you're born in a short month! He's officially one month old and growing like a weed. He had a well baby appointment today and he passed it with flying colors. Doctor wasn't worried with his spit up episodes because he's gaining weight {he was 9lbs 9oz} and is in the 75th percentile for weight.

She didn't have much concern with the baby acne that we're battling, but she did have recommendations. She said that we can put some mild lotion on it at bed time. She also said if it does't start clearing up that I can start cutting things out of my diet to see if it's allergies. I thought she would tell me to start with dairy, but she actually said to start with peanuts and eggs. I'm going to cut out one food at a time so we can narrow things down and I'm going to start with peanuts. I can more easily cut those out of my diet than I can eggs. There are eggs in everything! Even more so, there's milk in everything. I'm hoping it doesn't come down to that and that his acne just clears up with time.

4 Weeks Old

Oh wow! I feel like time hasn't stopped for one second since Hunter has been born. We've said hello and goodbye to Mimi and Pop and we're in the middle of our visit from Grandma and Grandpa now. Hunter is still thriving and doing well. He's starting to eat every 3-4 hours except for right before bed time. I'm alright with him eating more often then because he sleeps more at night. For the past 2 nights he's been getting up twice and he's starting to master his nursing sessions so they aren't lasting as long. This is a true blessing since his sister is a wild child! In the past week Hunter has started spitting up after every meal, so he's causing us to do a lot more laundry around here! He's not seeming to be uncomfortable by this, but I feel like he's losing more food than he's keeping down sometimes. He also has a bad case of baby acne. I joke with him and tell him that he already looks like a teenage boy. He's staying awake more and more, though he's most commonly found resting in someone's arms and not getting much alone time. I guess that's what comes with grandparents being in town, huh?

Cabrillo National Monument

While Mimi and Pop were here we made sure to do some sight seeing and get out to do more than just story time and things like that. Pop heard from a co-worker that the Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego was a beautiful place to visit. He didn't steer us wrong! We took a scenic route to get to the monument and enjoyed some views on the way there. 

I can't even tell you how far the monument is from our house because we drove in circles to get to where we were going and to see the beaches/houses along the coast. It was pretty, but the sassy toddler and hungry newborn were starting to push my buttons and we just kept driving in circles! We made it, it was better than we thought it was going to be and I'm glad Lane and Pop insisted on the scenic route in the end.

*Hunter was eating most of the time we were at the monument, so there aren't any pictures of the 2 of us in this set of pictures.*

The view from the monument. It was like we were on top of the world.

Cute Eden! She smiled her true, natural smile!

And this is her "forced" smile. She's still just as cute.

Daddy and Eden with the lighthouse behind them.

Mimi and Pop with the city of San Diego behind them.

Breathtaking!

Mimi and Pop Were Here

Mimi and Pop came out to visit so they could see us and meet Hunter. They got here on Friday the 16th and were able to stay until Sunday the 25th. We were excited to have them and we were able to get things done around the house and enjoy their company. Here are some pictures from their visit.

Morning #1 with Mimi and Pop.

Mimi and Hunter at Eden's party.

Hunter and Pop at Eden's party.

Mimi relaxing with Hunter.

Pop helping Lane put in new baseboards.

One thing Mimi wanted to do was see the Pacific. Since I hadn't seen it yet either, this was a perfect opportunity to go check out the beautiful blue water.

We were able to enjoy an evening in the hot tub. One of the perks of owning a hot tub is that we can lower the temperature enough for Eden to enjoy it with us too!

Lane got a new motorcycle while my parents were here and everyone got to go for a ride. To begin with, Pop didn't want to ride, but after everyone saying how pretty the short ride was that we went on, he decided to try it out.

Pop got some seeds to take home with him and he let Eden plant a few to keep here before packing them up to take them home with him.

Pop and Eden enjoying the SoCal sun in the back yard!

Pop wanted to go to the Cabrillo National Monument. This was the view from the monument - breathtaking!

Mimi and Pop looking out over the ocean. 

Cute Kids

I might be a little biased, but I think these kids are TOO CUTE! I took these pictures on March 24th. I didn't include them in my weekly pictures because I wanted to make sure they weren't just looked over. I really wanted to be able to look at them and remember how cute these kids really are without the distraction of having other pictures going on!

Stretch-y face!

He must be comfortable after that stretch to give us such a cute smile!

Cooperating with great smiles! I love it.

Motherhood Is...{12}

Confusing

As if being a first time Mommy wasn't hard enough. I've hit a few moments in my second-time-mommyhood that has me baffled. I feel like sometimes I'm worrying about totally different things than what I worried about with Eden. When Eden cried, she got a paci. When Eden slept, she was on her back. When Eden was going to bed, she was swaddled. Eden didn't eat more often than every 2 hours - no snacking allowed. None of these are big deals, but I've been stressing myself out about these things. Do we pacify Hunter? Do we let him sleep on his belly even though "back is best?" Do we swaddle him for bedtime? Do we feed him when he cries and roots even though he just ate?

I'm not against giving Hunter a paci, but he doesn't always seem to want one. I've tried a few times when he's grunting at night and he's gagged on it. There are other times that he takes it just fine. I know when we got rid of it with Eden she was fine, but the stress of when to take it and how to take it is still fresh in my mind, so I'm not sure I want to give him a paci when he's pretty easy going for the most part. Tummy sleeping is a bit more serious than the paci. They say letting babies sleep on their back is best for them to prevent SIDS in the first year. Oh my goodness, the kid loves sleeping on his belly and sleeps much longer when he's on his belly than when he's on his back. I've seen him pick his head up and move it side to side, so I'm not as worried about it. I've also talked to other parents who let their kids sleep on their bellies - so that's what he does, sleep on his belly. We've also stopped swaddling him. Of course sleeping on his belly doesn't allow for being swaddled, but he plain didn't like it! Kind of a relief because Eden was swaddled {and it was a must} until she was about 4 months old. Getting rid of the swaddle was just about as hard as getting rid of the paci! Snacking seems to be a big deal with Hunter. Eden only ate every 2 hours and that was that. Hunter would eat every hour on the hour if given the opportunity. My boobs hurt because of it and I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to keep it up. He's going to have to slow down eventually, right?!

So yes, motherhood is confusing. Just when you think you've figured it out, things change!

March 18 - My 2 favorite men!

March 19 - Someone is in a milk coma. I love this shirt, it couldn't be more perfect for our family.

March 20 - They're silhouetted, but it's Pop and Hunter on the couch together. 

March 21 - Eden reading a book to Hunter. I love how she loves him so perfectly. She knew instantly how to be a big sister. It is just amazing to me!

March 21 - Loving the beach!

March 22 - Eden got a belated birthday gift along with Hunter getting some burp cloths from our good friends the Zackmans! They're too good to us and we sure do miss them since moving from TX.

March 23 - Hunter was a little bit hungry! He's always hungry. He would eat every minute of every day if I let him. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that he's spitting up a lot these days.

March 24 - Our little man hanging out on the couch in his "upright" so he can try to hold his food down.