Hubster's Birthday!

Yesterday was the Hubby's 24th birthday. I'd say we all had a pretty good day. Liam was in a great mood all day, until it came time to go out to dinner. We had planned to go out to a fancy teppanyaki place on base. About an hour before we planned to leave the house, things went south...I started the cake at 1pm, and it was 4pm and I still wasn't finished and I wasn't showered. I had to make the cake between taking care of a cranky baby, so it was taking me forever to get it done! I tried to put Liam down for a nap and he wasn't having it. He only got 2 naps yesterday, and there is no way I was about to take him to a fancy restaurant with the attitude he developed in the last hour or so.

So, we resorted to plan B. We got pizzas to-go from Macaroni Grill. We came home, put the baby to bed (after fighting him to go to sleep for almost 2 hours...stupid teeth...) and watched "Dinner with Schmucks" and ate pizza. It was a great day! Here are some random pictures throughout the day.

Daddy and baby sleeping on his birthday morning! Yay for birthday snuggles! Liam usually ends up in our bed early in the morning so we all can sleep in a little bit longer.

We took a morning stroll up to the coffee shop and to snag a small donut. We were up early and just wanted to get out of the house and to get some fresh air before it started raining.

Then we came home and I made some delicious banana and Nutella crepes. ( We were huge fattys today! We ate nothing but crap...Owell, it was his birthday!)

Liam finger painted Kyle a sweet birthday card.

I slaved in the kitchen alllll day and made this Black Forest chocolate cake completely from scratch. Totally worth the effort!

Happy Birthday to THIS dude!

NOM NOM NOM!!!

Happy Birthday to the best Daddy, Husband, Son, Brother, Nephew, Cousin and Uncle a family could ask for!

I love you!

Got Milk? A Dad's view on breastfeeding

I stumbled across this blog today, and I found this article very interesting and empowering. I am so proud to be a breastfeeding Mama!

The blog can be found here.

(a dad’s opinion on breastfeeding)

My name is James, and I fully support the breastfeeding mothers of the world.

“Ahhhh,” you say, “he must live in California.”

Nope. I live in New England.

“Well, then he must be one of those “dot-edu” types: lectures, tweed coats, and lettuce leaves all day long.”

Wrong again! I drive an 18-wheeler across all 48 states, and my ever-expanding beltline gives sincere testimony to my love affair with bacon cheeseburgers.

I also adore my wife -which some people might find odd since she is a breastfeeding stay at home mom to our four children. There are people who think it’s not possible for a woman to breastfeed her kids and still keep her man happy. But I’m not interested in what they have to say. What I’d like to do is give you the opinion of a real dad with a real breastfeeding wife and real breastfed children.

My wife has fantastic boobs. I love them. I could fill up the rest of this post telling how I feel about them, but there’s not enough time or room to do the subject justice.

When I first met my wife, her boobs were for my enjoyment.

She wore special bras to make them look a certain way… for me.

She would wear lacy things on them to make them a sultry sight… for me.

When she took them out she was taking them out… for me.

Then came the children.

At that time both of our roles changed, as well they should.

We were still awake at 4am, but instead of a post-Karaoke and beer gathering at Der Waffle House, it was tiptoeing away from a (please lord this time) lightly dozing bundle of noise. Our job as parents, above all else, is to provide what we think is the best start in life to our little adults-to-be. If this isn’t your goal as well then perhaps you should think about doubling up on your contraception.

To this end it seems obvious to me that the best food for baby comes from its mother. Let’s review that one more time… the best vitamin-laced, antibody-rich, brain-growing-fat-having, preheated, sterile, portable nummy goodness comes from the MOTHER. For those of you that have a religious outlook on life, if you believe in a creator (doesn’t matter what name you give them) do you really think that having created us in their image (and oh by the way witnessing a few thousand millennia of successful child rearing) they suddenly turned around circa 1950 and pronounced… “Holy crap! That whole mother’s milk thing was a mistake! What to do?? Wait, wait, got it! Dear Nestle, please make some petrified dehydrated powdery stuff in a distant factory, get some doctors on board and sell sell sell. There, that ought to fix the problem.”

I understand that some mothers have issues with breastfeeding complications, (I don’t actually “understand” the issues, because I’m not a doctor and I don’t have breasts, but I understand that they do exist) but what I don’t get is why a mother -given the option, with all the proper working parts- would CHOOSE formula feeding over breastfeeding.

Anyway, back to the Dad part of life.

Now my wife’s underwear drawer is still full of special bras, but now they have funny trap doors on them… for Cooper. She still gets her boobs out quite often, but now it is for Cooper (ever see a father and son drool simultaneously?) My “boobs” have become his “breasts”. And before Cooper they belonged to Willow, and before Willow they belonged to Patrick.

I still have a timeshare option that has become vested but I haven’t had outright ownership since 2004.

And that’s exactly the way it should be.

Guys listen, the reason that the bedroom activity slows down after birth has nothing to do with boob allocation schedules (thanks for the input anyway oh wise Rabbi Boteach) it has everything to do with hormone adjustments and lack of sleep. (Oh and by the way fellas as those lean weeks stretch into lean months, a maid service and a day spa is going to get you a lot further than whining about when is it going to be “your” turn) Give your wife your support and do not put pressure on her to stop. She and the baby will find their own way. The mother is the quarterback of team baby, you are the waterboy. Shut up and do your job.

Go buy a comfy couch -if you want to sleep you are going to be spending a lot of nights there. I have spent more nights dragging my pillow out of the bedroom in the vague direction of the living room at two-thirty in the morning than I care to remember. But at least that way I can get some sleep, so can the now-free-to-spread-out-and-not-worry-about-disturbing-me mother, and the baby gets a midnight miracle grow top up.

I don’t relish the split-shift nights, but as a husband and father my job is to support my wife when she is obviously more knowledgeable and better equipped to make decisions about these things than I am. Common sense really.

The comments from people like Rabbi Boteach, whilst probably drummed up to get attention, can still be dangerous and lead to the continued and unfair stigma attached to one of the natural cornerstones of parenthood. Everyday that your child gets to breastfeed is a gift, a treasure that will have longstanding physical and psychological benefits for both mother and baby. Support your wife and encourage her, put a spare sheet behind the sofa and be a proud breastfeeding Dad.

James Latham

*This is a repost- the original entry and comments can be read here: Got Milk: Part Two -there isn’t much difference I edited out some stuff that I didn’t think was important anymore- and fixed some stuff that was bugging me. I wanted my new readers to read the awesomeness that is the huz.

Today, I have an 8 month old

Height: 28.5in.

Weight: 22lbs

My Dearest Liam,

You are officially 8 months old, and I am not sure how I feel about that. I can hardly believe that your first birthday is right around the corner. I am watching your days of being a tiny infant slip through my fingers, and it makes my heart ache. I know this is just me being a Mom, because your Dad is ecstatic for you to get older so you two can wrestle, play baseball and so he can show you how to use a hammer. I however, could hold you wrapped up in a blanket while you lay in my arms forever. I do have to admit, the little personality you are developing is so much fun. I have a blast playing on the floor with you for hours each day. I guess this whole growing up thing won't be so bad after all. :) You are developing physically and mentally so quickly!

You are officially a crawler, and you are into EVERYTHING! There have been several occasions where I will put you down in the living room to run into the kitchen for a second, and by the time I come out, you are gone! I have had to search around the house for you several times. For some reason, you always beeline for the laundry room. You are very persistent as well. No matter how many times Daddy and I remove you from something you shouldn't play with, you just continue to try to get past us.

Your very first tooth popped through yesterday, and you are miserable. Each day it sneaks its way out a little more, and man is it sharp! I cannot wait for the day all your teeth are in, I hate seeing you so grumpy and in pain.

You are blabbin' up a storm. No real words yet, but you make a noise that sounds like, " hotttt" and you say, " Na na na na na" when you are hungry. Mostly, you crawl around saying, " Dadadada" and "Mamama" all day long. I am excited for the day when you realize what those words mean!

You are still breastfed, and we're going strong! You still hate purees, but you loooovvee solid finger foods. You hate pureed bananas, but you love chunks of banana. I am guessing it's just the texture. Tonight for dinner you ate a ton of broccoli and peas. I've decided I am going to just stop buying pureed baby foods.

Your personality is coming out and it's so much fun. You have suddenly become a little shy. When I am holding you and a stranger talks to you, you burrow your face into my shoulder. Also, when you get frustrated or mad at us, you growl. It is hilarious! Your favorite game is mimicking. If I pat on something, you will pat on something. Any face Daddy or I will make, you try to do it back. You find yourself quite hilarious. :)

You are soooo lovey lately. We taught you to give kisses, and you are always kissing on Daddy and I; slobbery, open-mouthed and all. You love giving hugs. It melts my heart! You are quite the flirt. Something about the locals here off base get you all giddy. Anytime they look or talk to you, you smile and laugh. You love them! The locals love you, and you love flirting back. Because you are light haired, and light eyed, you catch all kinds of attention.

You have been pulling yourself up on the couches for awhile now, and just recently you started walking along the couches. When we hold your hands, you walk perfectly. You are so strong and determined, I think you are going to be an early walker. ::sigh::

You are huge. You are still in size 4 diapers, and you are wearing size 12-18mo clothes! Nobody believes you are only 8 months old. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of us in the mirror when you are asleep in my arms and it catches me off guard. Where did my tiny 8 pound infant go?!

With your little personality coming out, I am anxious to see how this next month is going to be. I love you with everything that I am, and I can't imagine life without you. But please, slow down little boy, you are growing way too fast! :)

Snapshot Saturday

My poor teething and sleep deprived baby boy fell asleep sitting up in his crib.

Melts my heart.

Okinawa Fun Facts

Here are some random tid bits about the island:

Okinawa is 67 miles long. It is 17 miles wide at the widest point and 2 miles wide at the narrowest.

Naha (the capital) is the largest city. Urasoe is second. Ginowan City is third. Then, I believe it's Okinawa City and then Nago.

There are 1.3 million people living on Okinawa. There are 100,000 people that live on the other inhabited islands of the Ryukyu Island chain.

1% of the population of Japan lives on Okinawa.

There is one vending machine for every 7 people. They are everywhere!!

It is next to impossible to find a trash can out in town. Somehow the cities remain super clean.

Speaking of vending machines, you will never find this in the states. A BEER vending machine!

Chocolate and Pumpkin Shortbread Bars

These things are dangerously good!! I had one, and I feel like I can hear myself gain 5 pounds. I think I will be giving these to the neighbors as a small Christmas gift or something. There is no stopping me from eating them all if they are in the house. Out of sigh, out of mind!

Here is the recipe courtesy of my new favorite blog in case you are interested.

SHORTBREAD:

2 sticks softened butter

1 Cup granulated sugar

1/4 Cup packed light brown sugar

1 3/4 Cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

FILLING:

2 Cups canned pumpkin

1/2 Cup granulated sugar

1/2 Cup heavy whipping cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

CHOCOLATE TOPPING:

1 Cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

Sprinkles of choice if desired

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Slowly add in flour and salt until dough forms. Press into the bottom of an 8×8 inch baking dish that’s been lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.

2. To prepare pumpkin layer, mix pumpkin sugar, cream, eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg into a mixing bowl until well combined. Pour over shortbread layer. Bake for 45 minutes or until pumpkin layer is golden brown.

3. Let cool for 30 minutes then cut into bars. Melt chocolate over a double broiler or in microwave until smooth then spread over bars. Sprinkle with white sprinkles if desired and serve room temperature or chill until ready to serve.

12 bars

ENJOY!!!

Today, I have a 7 month old.

My dear little bug,

I can hardly believe you are only 5 months away from being a year old. Where oh where is the time going? It seems like just yesterday, I was holding you in the hospital in shock that I was now a Mommy to this delicate, precious gift from God.

You are growing and developing so fast. I wish I could pause time forever in this moment. The moment where you allow me to snuggle you, or blow raspberries on your belly. The moment when you use your entire hand to hold onto my thumb to pull yourself up from sitting. The moment when I walk in your room to get you up from your nap, and the smile you give me just lights up the world, like nothing better could have walked through that door. And the moment you use your tiny fingers to feed me your baby snacks while you laugh and laugh at the sight of the food going in my mouth.

You are not quite crawling yet, but you sure are close. You army crawl around the living room. You are into EVERYTHING! You are so curious about the world, and I love watching you grow. It does make things like feeding and diaper changes a challenge, however. We can't get you to sit still for anything!

There are a few things you are obsessed with, and you will go after them no matter what is in your way. These include: Mommy and Daddy's toes, the remotes, cords/plugs( especially the Christmas lights, phone cord and the cable cord) Daddy's shiny watter bottle and the telephone. We can hardly talk on the phone when you are awake because you are always trying to whack it out of our hands.

2 days ago, you learned to pull yourself up on the furniture, and it scares the crud out of me! The first time you did it, you smacked your cheekbone on the crib railing and it freaked me out. I know I have an entire lifetime of worrying about you hurting yourself. I have a loooong road ahead of me. You now can pull yourself up on the couch, and boxes. You get better at it every day.

You still are not a fan of solids, and that's ok. You will eat them when you are ready. You still love some breast milk, and that's totally ok by me. We have tried just about every fruit and vegetable and every one makes you gag. You do enjoy self feeding, but you don't really swallow the foods you chomp on. Your favorite snack is baby rice crackers and sweet potato puffs.

Christmas is in 10 days and Mommy and Daddy couldn't be more excited. We can't keep you out from under the tree! You are ripping open all your presents. Just yesterday you learned how to crawl on top of the presents to reach the ornaments on the tree (that I purposely hung higher so you couldn't reach them.)

As of tonight, you have decided it is much more fun to stand in your crib, than it is to sleep in it. You aren't wanting to sleep, because everything is so new to you. You just watch to touch and look at everything now that you can stand up and see the great big world outside of your crib railings.

You are in size 4 diapers. We got rid of the pacifier when you were just shy of 6.5 months and you are doing great without it. It was only a struggle for the first couple days. We are working on getting you to drink out of sippy cups, and you hate it.

You are sleeping through the night for the most part, unless your teeth are bothering you. They haven't broke through your gums yet, but I have a feeling they are close. Your bedtime is 7 on the dot, sometimes 6:30 if you had a rough day with less than 4 naps. You are a great napper. You tend to take a nap every 2 hours, and you will sleep on average for about an hour. Now when you're teething, it's a whole other story.

You love watching videos of yourself on my iPhone. You laugh so hard at your videos, or your reflection in the mirror.

You make a "pop" noise with your mouth when you are hungry. And you say, " Mamama" when you want to be picked up. I am not going to be one of those annoying Moms and say that you know that's my name. To you it's just a noise. Daddy likes to pretend you know that's my name so I have to change your diaper. He always says, " Oh, Liam wants you..." ;)

You are so incredible and you are the best thing that has ever happened to Daddy and I. I try to think back on my life before you and it just doesn't make sense. I don't know what I did to occupy my time!

You are growing up much too quickly, please slow down. :)

You are our everything and we love you so much!

Love, Mommy