Not happenin' dude...

So, Liam still hates pureed food. Surprised? I'm not.

I officially have the world's most stubborn baby. I have tried every pureed food in the commissary I think. I only buy organic food, so the selection isn't very large, but he has tried: green beans, sweet peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas and prunes and hates every single one of them.

So, I decided to try giving him table food to see what he does. Low and behold, he loves it!

He absolutely LOVES feeding himself. He hates the spoon, and anything that has to do with it. He wants to hold it, but the second he sees me come at him with it covered in slop, his lips seal shut and there is no way I am getting anything in that mouth of his.

Another one of his favorites are these rice rusk stick things called Baby Mum-Mums. Basically, it is dehydrated rice in a cracker form. It basically dissolves when they put it in their mouth so he has fun slobbering it and making a mess out of it. I just let him go to town.

I started by putting some peas on his highchair table. He sat there for a good 20 minutes picking up the peas and trying to get them in his mouth. The next night, I chopped up some whole wheat spaghetti noodles to let him try out. He still makes a disgusted face when he actually gets the food in there, but it seems to be going over better than purees.

I still try nightly to get him to eat purees, and he does, but he puts up a fight.

I am praying one day it will just click, and all will be good.

Any tips from you ladies, send them my way!

Goodbye Fatty McFatPants

Well, I have hit the point of frustration when it comes to my weight. I am back to my weight when I was 10 weeks pregnant. Not exactly sure if that was my pre-pregnancy weight or not since I didn't get weighed until my 10wk doctor's appointment.

Anyway, I have plateaued at this weight at it is annoying me. I have lost 7 lbs so far with just attending my Zumba class, but there needs to be more. I want to lose these last 10 lbs. For my height ( I am 5'11") I should be around 165ish. I am in the

"normal" weight range for my height, but I feel disgusting.

So, back into dieting and exercising...well as much as I can while I am breastfeeding.

I attend Zumba Monday and Wednesdays, but there needs to be more. I drink a ton of water. I have the occasional sip of soda every once in awhile, along with fast food but I am going to go back to my old ways and cut out soda, juice, fast food and candy all together. I am going to feed my body with nutrients, and will cut out all the crap. No more coffee, only hot teas. I will cut waaayy back on dairy intake. I will work out 5 days a week and start doing my push-ups and sit-ups nightly again. I will increase my raw fruits and vegetable consumption.

I am tired of feeling like a pudgy slob. If a simple diet and exercise routine is the only thing stopping me from gaining my self confidence back, then by golly, I am going to win it back! If I am feeling ballsy, I will post before and after pics so I can track my progress.

Here we go!

Weight:179lbs

6 Months Old!

I can't believe Liam is already half a year old! To reward him, he will be getting shots... (and not the good kind.)

Happy half birthday, my sweet little boy!

He has changed sooo much within the last few weeks. 6 months old seems like such a huge milestone to me. I no longer feel like I have an itty bitty newborn. When we go out in public, I no longer get comments on how tiny he is, or hear " Aww look at that newborn baby.." Now I hear, " Oh he's 6 months? He must be getting into everything...better start baby proofing..."

I love watching him explore the world. Everything is brand new to him, and it just amazes me to watch his brain grow. I love this little boy so much, I can't imagine life without him.

He's my everything.

Liam has been developing so fast it seems.

Around Halloween, he started sitting up on his own with minimal assistance. A few days later, I walked out into the living room and caught him on his hands and knees. In just a few weeks, he has learned to fully sit up by himself (I still sit near him because his legs tend to launch himself backwards on occasion) and he is starting to crawl. He will move his knees up as if hes crawling, but he hasn't quite figured out how to move his hands at the same time, so he ends up face planting into the carpet. He is also able to go from sitting, to a crawling stance.

He still hates solid food. I have tried rice cereal, carrots and sweet potatoes and he hates them all. He takes to the sweet potatoes more than he does anything else, but it is still an ongoing battle to get him to swallow. He is a boob baby, and that's all there is to it. I will continue to try solids everyday in hopes it will just click one day.

He is still exclusively breastfed, and I don't feel like I am anywhere near the stopping point. I am totally content breastfeeding him. As a stay at home mom, I don't see any reason to switch to formula. It would make no sense to me to start paying for his food when I can make it for free. Plus, breast milk is all around better for him.

He is teething and it sucks. There isn't an actual tooth present yet, but I feel it will make its appearance in the near future. He is drooling everywhere, biting everything and he is super whiny and clingy.

On his 6 month birthday, he FINALLY slept through the night! I had him almost sleeping through the night around 5 months, but then he started to teethe which was causing him to wake up every hour....Ugh, talk about exhaustion! He goes to bed at 7pm every night, and he won't wake up until about 4-5am for a snack, then will USUALLY sleep until 830-9am. He is a good night sleeper! For the first time in MANY months (since I was around 7 months pregnant), I got SIX consecutive hours of sleep!

He is talking SOO much now! His new favorite thing to say is, " Ma ma ma ma." I know he has no idea that's my name, but I like to pretend he does. ;) He also says a lot of " Ba Ba's" and "Pa pa." It's so fun to listen to him babble all day.

He is absolutely obsessed with the remote controls, my Klean Kanteen water bottle and his Burt's Bees shampoo bottle. His eyes light up when he sees either of them, and he lunges at them with drool pouring out of his mouth.

Those are just a few of his major milestones this month. I still can't believe he's growing so fast!

>

Cuteness overload

I walked out into the living room today, and caught Liam like this while looking up at me. Go ahead, bathe in the cuteness :)

6 Month Well-Baby check-up

Yesterday we had Liam's 6 month well-baby appointment. Everything is going very well. The details of his growth are:

Weight: 17lbs 8oz (60th percentile)

Height: 27.5 in (90th percentile)

Head: 17.6in (90th percentile)

So at this point, it appears we have a tall, slender baby with a large nugget haha. He is not gaining weight as fast as he normally was. It definitely has slowed down some since his weight usually is in the 80-90th percentile, but nothing to worry about. He's average for his age so don't go freaking out Mom haha.

I talked with his pediatrician and she said there is never a rush to get babies on solid foods so soon, and since he still is spitting more back out at me than he's swallowing, we are able to wait a couple more weeks before trying again. This time I think I may just mix rice cereal with some veggies and see how he handles that. She did recommend that if he eats other foods, but continues to puke with the rice cereal, that we should get some labs done to see if he may have an allergy. So, time will tell.

Since his 2 mo shots were a little delayed, all his others will also be delayed. He will be 6 mo on the 15th, but he's not due for his shots until the 30th. I HAAATTEE getting him shots. It breaks my heart seeing him in pain, and they never get easier to watch. Good news is after this round, he should be good until he's a year old! WooHoo!

He has been tugging and rubbing his ear a whole lot lately, especially while he's feeding. Also, he is sleeping like poo! After I put him to bed at 7pm, he wakes up every hour on the hour until about midnight or so. He just wakes up crying, so I'm thinking he may be starting the teething process. I've read they tug and rub their ears when teething because their gums feel like they are tingling/vibrating, and they are unsure how to locate that feeling so they think it's in their ears.

Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that your grandson/nephew is growing like a weed and is doing well! Doctor said everything is going perfect! I will post more on his growth/development in his 6 mo blog. For now, I am going to take a hot bath and go to bed.

And yes, it is only 9pm on a Saturday night. This whole Mommy thing is a ton of work, but I wouldn't trade it for the world! :)

Words cannot describe how sickened I am by this.

Air Force child rapist pleads guilty at Ramstein

By JENNIFER H. SVAN

Stars and Stripes

Published: November 4, 2010

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• Reaction to the Smith verdict at the Ramstein Underground Web site

Staff Sgt. Joshua A. Smith

COURTESY OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — An Air Force staff sergeant who advertised his baby-sitting services to the Kaiserslautern military community and touted his compassion for children in an online forum pleaded guilty Thursday to multiple counts of raping and molesting three young girls in his care over the last year.

Joshua Adam Smith, a staff sergeant with the 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, faces a maximum potential sentence of life in prison without parole for his crimes against the children, ages 3, 4 and 8.

Officials would not reveal whether they suspect Smith of having molested other children at Ramstein or on other bases where he has been stationed, including Incirlik Air Base in Turkey and Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.

But in a posting last year under the name “Joshua” on the Ramstein Underground Internet forum — which military prosecutors entered into evidence against Smith — the sergeant boasted of having worked with children “since I was 13” and having been a baby sitter for many years in multiple locations.

“Been babysitting here for about a year, mostly to coworkers and good friends,” Smith wrote on the website. “But I’m trying to reach out further because its hard to find jobs.”

At a court-martial Thursday, Smith pleaded guilty to 18 criminal counts, including anal and genital penetration and penetrating the children with objects including a Sharpie marker and a plastic tube.

He also pleaded guilty to photographing and videotaping his victims, while posing them in a sexual manner and performing sexual acts on them.

According to the charging documents in the case, the crimes against the three victims occurred between November 2009 and April 30 of this year, when Smith was placed in pre-trial confinement at Mannheim.

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Air Force records indicate that Smith joined the Air Force in 2001 and arrived at Ramstein in December 2007.

Prosecutors did not offer Smith a plea agreement. He’s expected to be sentenced Friday by Col. Dawn Eflein, the chief military judge for the European region.

Dressed in his Air Force blues, Smith spent several hours Thursday morning describing his crimes in military court, speaking with a sure, steady voice.

“I did it for my own sexual gratification,” he confessed.

He also said he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he committed the crimes.

Smith told the court that he initially communicated with two of the victims’ mothers online, when they sought out his baby sitting services.

“I offered my services and they agreed,” he said, noting that he even provided references.

Some of the criminal acts occurred at the victims’ off-base homes and some took place at Smith’s military housing unit on Vogelweh, prosecutors said.

One victim was a German national. Another has a father in the Air Force.

Some of the parents of the victims were expected to testify Friday during sentencing.

Not revealed in court Thursday was how Smith was discovered. Evidence against him includes photos and videos he made of two of his victims, and numerous computer files containing child pornography.

In his online postings, Smith attempted to address the fears that parents sometimes express about male baby sitters. At one point, he offered advice to parents to be vigilant.

“One thing that I do want to point out to all parents out their, is that ANYONE could be a possible abuser, not just males or strangers,” Smith wrote. “...It doesn’t mater WHO you have baby-sitting. A male, female, grandmother, grandfather, friend, whoever, doesn’t matter. LISTEN to your child, they will tell you if anything is wrong. And follow that wonderful motherly instinct that you all have, If something feels wrong, its possible that it is and you should probably look into it.”

svanj@estripes.osd.mil

Rice cereal is still a no-go.

Last Sunday was not a good day for baby Liam. I decided, after a few weeks of waiting, to try rice cereal again. I mixed it up with a lot of breast milk so it was watery and he still hated it!

Every time he would see me scoop up another bite on the spoon he would cringe and try to roll out of his chair to escape the nasty food. I don't blame him, Kyle and I tried it and it tastes like poo.

Anyway, I continued to feed it to him in hopes that he would wave his white flag and surrender and just eat it, not knowing that later on I would be regretting my decision.

A few hours later, Kyle and I were on our way to the commissary to get groceries for the week. We were about a block away from the commissary when we heard choking noises coming from the back seat. Kyle shouted, " stop the car!" and I slammed on my breaks in the middle of the lane and threw on my hazard lights. I have never seen Kyle move so fast. He ran to the back seat and got Liam out of his car seat within seconds and flipped him over and started patting his back.

He was choking on his throw up.

Cars were pulling over asking if we needed help. It was crazy. We got back in the car and went to the store parking lot. Liam seemed fine, like nothing had happened so we headed into the store. Then he started making the choking noise again in the stroller so I got him out and patted his back again and he covered me in puke. I told Kyle we needed to leave, and Liam continued to puke whatever he had left in his little belly all over my chest, I was soaked. He got so lethargic from throwing up, that he just held his head on my chest the whole walk to the car, which he NEVER does.

We got to the car and he just kept dry heaving over and over again. He was getting so sweaty, and was simply miserable. He fell asleep on me when we got home, and woke up feeling much better. He was eating fine, and acted like nothing had happened. I was seconds away from taking him to the ER, but I know military doctors, and I know they would probably just say, " It's a virus," and hook him to an IV. I knew in my gut, and my mommy instincts told me everything was ok, and it was just the rice cereal. His little tummy is just not ready to digest solid foods. I'm going to continue to hold off for another couple weeks. I may even just skip the rice cereal and go straight to fruits and veggies.

He has a pediatrician appointment tomorrow so I will talk to his doc and see what she thinks.

That was the first time he acted sick, and it was scary! I know I have many many more of those ahead of me.

It sucks seeing your baby so miserable and I can't help but feel bad for "forcing" him to eat the cereal when he clearly was not ready.

Pumpkin waffles with apple cider syrup

Ok, so lately I have been on a strike where I don't like making things that come from a box anymore. Let's all admit it, food tastes MUCH better when it is completely made from scratch. As I was surfing the web for pumpkin recipes for fall, I stumbled across this little gem. This recipe is my favorite so far! If I could eat one thing for the rest of my life, these would be it. Please at least try making these, it's worth it my friends!!!!

Pumpkin waffles:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin or canned sweet potatoes
• 2 cups milk
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat a waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, salt, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the pumpkin, milk, and egg yolks. Whip the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until soft peaks form.
3. Stir the flour mixture and 1/4 cup melted butter to the pumpkin mixture, stirring just to combine. Use a whisk or rubber spatula to fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter, stirring gently until incorporated. Fold in the remaining egg whites. Cook waffles according to manufacturer's instructions.

Apple Cider Syrup:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

To make the syrup, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a saucepan. Stir in the apple cider and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to boil; boil until the syrup thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the 2 tablespoons of butter until melted. Serve warm.

ENJOY!!!!!

Sugar Cookie Recipe

Since the holidays are right around the corner, I figured I would share one of my favorite sugar cookie recipes. Kyle and I are hosting a huge bake sale at his work this weekend so I will be baking up a storm in my kitchen with many different shapes of sugar cookies. Pictures to come :)

Rolled Sugar Cookies-taken from Cookie Craft

3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla* or 1 teaspoon vanilla plus zest of 1 lemon
food coloring (if cookie design calls for it)

*Instead of vanilla, you can use other extracts such as almond or peppermint.

1. Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl.

2. Using your mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla (and lemon zest, if you're using it) or your extract of choice and mix until well blended.

3. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until the two are thoroughly blended.

4. If your cookie design calls for adding food coloring, do so now, and continue blending until desired color is reached and is evenly incorporated.

5. Turn out dough onto work surface and divide into two or three equal portions, Form each one into a rough disk. Use a flour coated rolling pin to get a nice even, flat disk and use whichever cookie cutters your little heart desires.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

7. After you have rolled and cut the dough and the cookie shapes are on parchment-lined cookie sheets, bake them in the middle rack of the oven for 12-16 minutes or until the cookies start to turn slightly golden around the edges.

8. Cool cookies completely on a rack before icing or decorating.