Soooo it appears I took a bit of an unplanned blogging hiatus! I haven't blogged since June!!!
So if you're reading this right now, thanks for sticking with me! Know I appreciate you :)
And guess what??? The only reason I have time to blog right now is because I'm doing it on my phone while this sweet sick boy sleeps on my chest.
Cold season has officially started here in Minnesota at the Foote household. Joy.
I'm super excited for fall! And can't wait to enjoy the new season and change of weather with my little man!
We definitely enjoyed our summer!
Well that's just a snippet of what we've been up to the past few months. I love doing life with this little guy!
Even when he's sick.
What have you been up to?? How was your summer??
Unfortunately this probably isn't the return of regular blogging...maybe again some day when my little man needs me less. In the mean time, my hubby is working hard on some changes here on the blog...Mommy's first year ended 3 months ago! The blog is getting a little update and a new name...Midwest Mama!
Well, after I think it was 2 weeks, of doing pilates with Robin and just tuning in to her blog, I kind of became addicted to her website. If you don't follow Robin, check. her. out. NOW.
No, this is not a sponsored post. Robin isn't paying me to tell you about her. I just think she's that great and has a lot to offer :) Plus, her little girl is the same age as Christian and well, Robin has become my inspiration to get my pre-baby body back!
Anyway, today Robin shared some posts from her "archives" and one of them..."Things I Don't Do" really got me thinking.
I can't tell you how often I find myself making comparisons because of social media... and those comparisons, well, they don't exactly shout my praises!
My life is simple.
Often, the things that others are doing are just things that I simply don't do.
AND THAT'S OKAY.
Saying that, embracing that, is freeing! Although, some of my don'ts definitely should become dos...I want them to become dos...
So here is a list of things that I just don't do.
I don't dress like I just walked out of a magazine. In fact, I mainly wear yoga pants every day and let me tell you...they aren't lululemon or any other big name brand ;)
Oh and I also don't shower every day...I know. Beware. I'm a mom, though, need I say more?
I don't live in a pinterest inspired house. Yes, I do have a million pins on pinterest, including pins of house projects. Will I ever do all of those pins? Definitely not. Will I hopefully someday do some of them? Maybe. I just like to pin :)
I don't cloth diaper. Disposables all the way. Don't judge.
I don't have a Victoria's Secret body. Never will. Maybe that's partly because I don't really work out. But I'm healthy and working on being even healthier.
I don't garden. I used to and then entered Christian. Someday I hope to again, especially now that we have a yard that I can do it in! Actually, it just occurred to me the other day that I should probably be watering our plants that are already in front of the house...the annuals? Or are they perennials? Either way, I'm far from having a green thumb.
I don't cook fancy new meals every day. In fact, the majority of the meals I make are basic...meat and vegetable or a single dish. What can I say? I'm not a chef.
I don't have a gym membership. {Insert sad face here} Boy do I miss you Lifetime Fitness!! or the pool anyway...
I don't blog very often any more. I used to dream of being that mommy blogger that shares about everything she is learning as a new mom to help other new moms in their journey. Guess what? I haven't been able to figure out how to do it and still keep up with my busy little boy and maintain my sanity. So I won't compare my little slice of the internet with anyone else's. This is just what it is.
My thoughts and my memories. Nothing more.
I do have fun playing with my baby boy every day, or just snuggling with him when he is a cranky, fussy, teething boy. I do play outside with him and go to the park and for walks. I do read him stories and teach him about the world. I do go to church and volunteer and read the Bible and lead a small group. I do cook dinner for us {most nights} and do the grocery shopping and laundry and keep a {mostly} clean house. I do spend time with my husband and relax at night. And when I do attempt a pinterest project or get to blogging or house projects, I do take my sweet time and not finish them for months and even then it may not have been what I envisioned or what pinterest said it would be like.
I also should add that I don't upload pictures from my camera very often...so those of you wanting smash cake pictures will just have to settle for these for now :) Someday there will be more haha
On his actual birthday
At his birthday party
So what don't you do? Share in the comments or link to a post! I'd love to hear!
Has it really been over a month since I've blogged??
Yes. It indeed has.
And GUESS WHAT!??! Christian is going to be ONE in just 4 days!!!!
How is that even possible!?!? Didn't we just bring him home from the hospital? And I mean, I haven't done a baby update post since he turned 9 months, so he must still only be 9 months...right??
Life has been very full lately and blogging has been left at the wayside. Not that I don't love just spilling my thoughts out onto my computer screen and sharing loads of pictures of my handsome little man. I've just been prioritizing differently lately. I value time with my ever growing baby boy and a clean house more than I've valued documenting our life lately.
I wish I could share a bagillion pictures...but it seems I have yet to figure out how to back up my photos onto disks yet *gasp* (I better not lose every photo I've taken over the past year before I figure that out!!!) and so I haven't exactly done a photo dump from my phone lately either...
Over the past 2 months or so, as I said, life has been FULL.
We moved into our new house and have been busy making it our home.
By that I mean we have been making lots of trips to Home Depot, attempting projects from Pinterest only to find out that the original pin didn't exactly include every step for the project, meaning the project doesn't really work for us and we have to start over....
It also means I've been painting...so far all I've painted is some trim in our bathroom and the bathroom door...painting with a baby means only painting during nap time.
Day #1 Nap - Tape for painting the trim
Day #2 Nap - Prime the trim
Day #3 Nap - Paint the trim
Let the paint continue to dry because I realized that I bought oil based paint.... ugh.
Several days later...tape for painting the walls
Wait for new paint brushes to arrive since I couldn't get the first paint brush cleaned from the oil based paint...
Day #10 Nap - Prime the door
Day #11 Nap - Go to paint the door and find that a bird pooped on it while it was drying...ai yi yi
Clean the door and then attempt to find something to use as a drop cloth so I can actually paint the door inside
Paint side 1 of the door
Maybe I'll actually be able to get the door finished tomorrow and back on and then get the walls painted in the bathroom so I can move on to the next room..
LONGEST. PROCESS. EVER.
And all of this has been for just ONE room. Ha ha
Maybe I'll find time to share some DIY tips after all of my projects!
**Note to self**
Oil based paint paints on beautifully but takes FOREVER to dry and is a PAIN to clean up! #newhomeownerfail
Goo Be Gone is a great fill in when you don't have mineral spirits!
On another note...garage sale season has started and we have been scoring some MAJOR deals!!!
But along with garage sale season has also come allergy season...the worst one YET! Boo.
The weather has been getting nicer, though, and we have been spending TONS of time outside...hence the allergies :) Christian cries when I make him come inside. We love walks and park time and time on the deck!
Christian has also started walking!!! Not fully walking but he has taken 4 steps on his own and will do this periodically.
Those are just a few of the highlights from the past 2 months.
In college, a very wise teacher once told me:
"You can have it all, just not all at once"
In this season of my life, I am realizing just how true this is.
I wanted to be a stay at home mom so that I could have time with my baby boy. As a stay at home mom my focus could then be on caring for Christian and our home and family.
This has always been my dream.
Lately I've found myself asking, "If this is my dream, then why don't I embrace it and live it? I don't need to blog...at least not in this season."
I still want to blog and hopefully will, but I want to spend this season enjoying what God has given me and the opportunities I have been blessed with.
In this season I'm going to be a mom.
Just a mom.
And that is enough. More than enough and all I've ever dreamed of.
And right now that season is calling. Somebody is awake from his nap and apparently doesn't want to just play with daddy.
Hopefully I'll blog again, but today I'm enjoying this season.
What season are you currently enjoying? What does life look like for you?
What are you having right now in your process to "have it all"?
Looks like I'm late once again with this baby update post. These last few weeks life has been a little bit crazy to say the least and blogging has been my last priority. We are pretty much all settled in our new house, with just a few boxes left to put away and get organized. Now we are just trying to get back into our daily groove...oh and get baby locks on our cupboards since they aren't empty any more!
So...since we were in the process of packing when you turned 9 months old, I may have accidentally packed your monthly belly stickers...so imagine a 9 month sticker on your plain white onesie :) The sticker will return at 10 months! Promise!
You are actually already 10 months old, but I'm going to do my best to remember all of your 9 month stuff!
You gained almost 1 more pound again since last month weighing in at
22 pounds 3 ounces.
You measured 29 inches long at your 9 month well check so I don't think you grew much taller this month...but mommy may not have had the most exact measurement at home last month, either.
You have outgrown all of your 9 month clothes now and are
fully wearing 12 month sizes only.
Still in size 3 diapers, but we have started to have some leaks again with Target brand in size 3 for overnights so we moved up to size 4 for overnights now.
Such a little mover and so curious!
You've also started to become a bit of a mama's boy...and I'm okay with that :) Daddy wishes you were a daddy's boy, though!
You are always on the go and hate sitting still!
You now nurse about every 4 hours and
eat 3 meals a day plus a snack.
You've also figured out how to
pull up to standing with your walker on your own
now and can really get around!
You love being able to just move around your playroom and find the toys you want when you want them! So independent!
You still are our happy little boy!
Everyone always asks "Is he always this happy and smiley??"
You are!!
We can't get enough of your smiles and giggles!
You LOVE finger foods! Especially fruit!
Raspberries have been your new favorite this month.
You will try anything we give you and haven't been picky...hopefully you stay that way!
Of course, just when I thought your schedule was getting more consistent, you went and changed it up.
You dropped your 3rd cat nap of the day this month and now nap only twice a day, usually around 10:30am and 2:30pm.
Your 9 month schedule looked something like this:
7:30-8am Wake up and breakfast
10:30am Nurse and Nap (about 1.5-2 hours)
12pm Lunch
2:30pm Nurse and Nap (about 1-1.5 hours)
3:30/4pm Snack
4:30pm Nurse
6pm Dinner
7:30 Nurse and Bed
Likes:
Baxter
Looking out the window
Getting into the cupboards
Crawling and pulling up on everything!
Mama :)
Dinosaur Train
Chewing on everything
Raspberries
Finger Food
Bath time
Waving
"Big kids" -- you always follow the big kids around at church trying to do what they do!
The remote
The fireplace...
Climbing the stairs!
Your ball popper...the dino and the elephant!
Dislikes:
Swallowing (sometimes you chew up your food but don't swallow it...)
Taking naps when there is so much to do!
Being told "no"
Not getting what you want
::Pictures and Videos from the Past Month::
Superbowl party with Daddy and your "girlfriend" Nora
Playing with your favorite ball popper! You crawl right to this toy, first thing!
Cheering for the T-Wolves
Walking with your walker...always on the go!
You and Baxter "fixing" the chair...or destroying it...
You love love love to play with Baxter!!
Daddy wanted to put this Easter Bonnet on your and see what it would look like if you had a sister...he wanted to get a dress for you to try on too...ha haha! I saved you! :)
Bedtime stories with daddy
Reading stories in Spanish
Sick, fussy boy :( Just wanted to snuggle
You love your Patty Cake book!
Avocado is delicious!
You run (crawl) to the bathtub whenever the bathroom door is open and if you hear running water you go even faster! You LOVE the bath!
You love peeking out the side of your crib when you wake up :) And Baxter loves peeking in at you!
Facetiming with Grandma Karen
You are becoming so independent that sometimes you will only eat if we let you feed yourself your bottle.
Daddy thought you could be a ninja boy and wear his tie on your head... ha ha :)
You can get your toys out all on your own now
Making a Valentine for Daddy
The Valentine you sent to your friends :)
Mommy's Valentines!
Daddy, Baxter and you!
You each gave me a rose :)
Facetiming with Cousin Sarah so she could read you a bedtime story!
Watching Toy Story 3 with daddy waiting for Grandpa Ron to come visit
You love Grandpa Ron's hat
Play time with Grandpa Ron
Grandpa Ron brought you a milk truck toy from his work ... Mommy thought you wouldn't be old enough to enjoy this toy yet, but she was wrong! You love pushing it around!
Bedtime stories with Grandpa Ron
This chair sure tastes yummy!
Sled walks! It finally got warm enough to go outside so we took advantage!
You love being able to get around with your walker
Great Grandma Greta sent you some dum dum suckers for Valentine's Day...you are still too little to eat them by yourself but you absolutely LOVE when mommy holds it so you can suck up its yummy goodness! Here your tongue is all blue after a cotton candy one!
You started doing some nose dives into your car instead of using the door...
You are working on some more teeth I think...and frozen blueberries feel oh so good and taste yummy!
Who needs a binky when you can suck your blankie strings
You think Jackson is so cool!
Just a little acrobatics climbing around under the table exploring
Playing peek a boo on the stairs
Snoring sleepy boy
Stuffed shells are delicious! Eating your first big boy meal with mama and daddy!
So yummy!
Bath time!!
Mashed potatoes are yummy but also feel really cool in your fingers!
You are a little climber...climbing right up in your bouncy seat on your own.
Pulling up to play piano...you seem to like this toy when you can stand up a lot more than you liked it when sitting down
You've started to not be a fan of purees and would prefer to feed yourself...
Here you aren't happy about your puree lunch...
Then after mommy gave you some big boy food instead -- ALL smiles!
Just moving around your room :)
I think you like to blow the air at yourself more than you like doing the balls in your elephant popper
Pulling up on everything!
Box sleigh ride!
We got one last big snow storm so you and daddy climbed the giant snow pile in our yard!
Then went sledding down it
Little nap boycotter...you learned to pull up in your crib and would just keep standing up instead of going to sleep...even though you knew how to get back down...
Finally mommy would have to rock you to sleep
We bought a new house!!!
Mommy and Daddy volunteered at church and you got to have a little date with your friend, Nora :) She has a really fun picnic table at her house!
You became very interested in the dryer this month...so mommy put you in to check it out!
When you were feeling sick the only thing that kept you happy was watching a show...and snuggling on the couch
Or hanging out with mommy in the moby!
Time is flying by way too fast!! But I'm loving every minute of it and love you more and more each day...which is hard to believe we could love you any more!
Hugs and kisses,
Mommy and Daddy
xoxoxo
Mommy actually needs to clean up her computer because she has been taking so many pictures of you she is running out of disc space....
Stay tuned for a 10 month post...hopefully before you turn 11 months!
