10 Month Update

My little Liam,

This entry is about 10 days late...this month has been a hard one and Mommy has just been emotionally drained. You lost your great Uncle to stage 4 melanoma a couple weeks ago. I am going to keep you lubed up in sunscreen your entire life mister. Right after your great uncle passed, mainland Japan got hit with an 8.9 earthquake and a massive tsunami that hit 30 minutes after the quake. The wave moved houses out of it's way like they were little toys. Since we live in Japan, this earthquake has hit home and has affected us emotionally. It is so heartbreaking to see footage on the news. This month has been a devastating one...

On a lighter note, you are now 10 months old! I don't believe it. You have been out of my tummy as long as you were in it! You are becoming more and more independent and it tugs at my heart strings. My little boy is growing up!

You are talking a lot more. You try to repeat a lot of things Daddy and I say. You repeat "all done" except it sounds more like, " aa-daa" and you can say, "nite nite." It is so neat to hear you talk! You are always laughing or singing it seems. You are a very happy little dude. We NEVER see you cry. If there are tears, something bad must have happened. The only time you whine is if you are super tired and grumpy.

You are still taking 3 naps a day. They will range anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Your day is pretty much down to a predictable schedule. You wake up around 7:30 every morning. Your naps are always 2 hours from the time you woke up. And you are in the bath at 6:30pm, and in bed by 7pm. Routine has always worked so well for you since you were a tiny infant. You sleep through the night most of the time, but when you are teething, all bets are off.

You officially have four teeth! You no longer look like a tiny little baby...You are still eating pureed foods, but for the most part you love fingers foods and you love being able to feed yourself. It's fun being able to experiment with different foods. So far, I haven't found a food you hate. Last night I made some broccoli, and you were literally licking your tray trying to eat every last crumb! Your most favorite foods are bananas, toast with a little bit of jam and butter, cheerios/puffs and spaghetti. Breast milk still takes the cake. Nothing wins your heart over more than milk straight from the tap. We are still nursing, but you have definitely cut back a ton. You nurse before naps/bedtimes and that's it.

You are taunting Daddy and I with this whole standing thing. Some days you stand a whole bunch, other days you refuse to do it. You are capable and have the strength/coordination to do it, you are just nervous. As soon as you realize you are standing without support, you fall down onto your butt.

You love playing peek-a-boo with your shirt and you love when you sneeze. Every time you sneeze you look at us and wait for us to give you a reaction. Then you try to mimic the sound of your sneeze by making a spitting noise with your mouth. You find it hilarious! Every time a jet flies over our house, I shout, "airplane!" and you quickly put your hand over one of your ears and you laugh and laugh. If your hands are being occupied by a toy, you quickly lay your head down on the floor so your ear is against the carpet. It is so hilarious! I get a kick out of watching you do it every time. If there are lots of jets, the whole family joins in and we all sit there with our hands on our ears. You think it's the funniest darn thing.

We don't watch much tv, but if it's on, your favorite show is Sesame Street and some creepy show called, " In the Night Garden." It freaks Mommy out and I hate when we have to watch it. Nothing beats Baby Einstein though. Those will always be your favorite.

You are huge. Every time we go out, people think you are at least a year old. You should see their faces when I say you are only 10 months old. It doesn't surprise me, you are in 18 mo clothes, and size 5 diapers!

We have started to plan your airplane themed birthday already. I can't believe you will be 1 in less than 2 months!

We love you more than we will ever be able to describe!!

Dear Boobs,

I found this online and was highly entertained by. Breastfeeding Mamas, (past and present) I know you can relate.

Dear Boobs,

I just wanted to write and say thank you ... and sorry.

I'm sorry for all you've been through over the past five years what with all the pregnancies and nursing for months on end. I'm sorry for all of the tenderness, the cracked nipples (why couldn't that kid get his latch right?!), the mastitis, the clogged ducts, the thrush, the chemical burn (that was totally my bad! I had no idea putting straight grapefruit seed extract on nipples would cause 2nd degree burns). I'm sorry for the time Leo intentionally bit you and drew blood. I'm sorry for the time he twisted your nipple so hard it turned purple for days. I'm sorry for flashing you to the general public on a regular basis. I know you're shy by nature, but I just couldn't get that stupid Hooter Hider to work. And most of all, I'm sorry that you went from being two buoyant, glorious orbs to the deflated, sad rock-stuffed socks you are today.

You've been such troopers. I'm sure it hasn't been easy. I see you staring at the ground, demoralized and it breaks my heart (not to mention my back).

So please forgive me. I'll buy you fancy bras and I promise I won't ever let another infant use you as a chew toy.

Love,

Saggy Sistah

P.S. I do have one last favor to ask you. I know you've been through a lot, but could I talk you into a boob job?

Up, Up, and Away!

So, as most of you may know, Liam's first birthday party is right around the corner. After many discussions with the Hubs, we decided to go with an airplane theme! Cute, bubbly, cartoon-y airplanes that is, not realistic ones.

The colors are going to be red, baby blue and white. I am snagging a few ideas from this here website. Yesterday I bought some red napkins, balloons and streamers. It looks like I will be making most of the decor, and ordering a few things here and there from etsy.

I will be making 2 cakes. One big, and one small smash cake for the boy. I haven't decided if I want to do the cakes in fondant or not.

I'll keep you updated on the planning of the big day. I am so excited! I love planning parties!

...however, I dislike the fact that I almost have a 1 year old...

Where did my tiny baby go?

12 Photos

There are suppose to be 30 pictures, but good ol' blogger wasn't letting me add anymore, so I will do it in segments..Grrr...

1. A photo from a great night. (Night boat cruise down the Siene river in Paris-Our first date.)

2. A picture of something you are terrified of. (Iraq-Kyle deploying again.)

3. A picture of someone you always have a good time with.

4. A picture of your parents when they were (around) your age.

5. A picture from last summer. (We pretty much didn't do anything since we had a newborn and were too scared to go out and do things in the crazy heat hah.)

6. A picture from your engagement. (South Lake Tahoe, CA)

7. A picture of you on your favorite vacation. ( Cliffs of Moher, Ireland)

8. A picture of an accomplishment. ( When I delivered Liam without any drugs!)

9. A picture of your first home as a married couple.

10. A random picture of outside where you live.

11. A picture that always makes you smile. ( This is the first time we got to see Liam:))

12. Someone you will never let go of.

My walk in iPhone pictures.

When the weather allows, Liam and I go on a walk around the neighborhood. I would say this walk is at least a mile and a half.

This is our new home. It is said that the 3rd floor is haunted. Luckily, we live on the 4th floor! The outside looks like poop, but the insides are nice and renovated.

Halfway up the hill that I walked daily when I was pregnant. Now the boy and I run up it. I have a love/hate relationship with this hill.

These are the new renovated houses on base. They kicked us out of our old one to renovate them to these. Instead of moving us into these sweet new houses, we got put in the dusty old towers. Thanks....

This picture makes me so sad. This is Liam in front of our first home. (The top two windows on the right were our bedroom and the living room.) The home where I told Kyle that we were going to have a baby. The home that I spent so many hours nesting, and making the nursery just perfect for his arrival. The home where my water broke. The home we brought him to when we came home from the hospital. These cement walls holds so many of my memories that will always be a part of me. It makes me sad that I will never be able to take Liam back to this building and show him the first house he lived in. It is now just a pile of rubble, with my memories tangled up in the cement and metal.

Jungle vines! Every building or sidewalk on base is hugged tightly by super dense jungles that are full of all kinds of crazy noises.

You can hardly see the huge ol' bird in the bottom picture

Fresh Herb Dinner Rolls

I decided to try my luck with making dinner rolls tonight. I was slightly intimidated because I don't have a bread machine, but I figured, what the heck?

These rolls are SOOOO good! Don't be intimidated by bread-making.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 cup warm water

1 cup milk (room temperature)

2 eggs

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons of butter, softened

6 cups bread flour

1 egg white

2 tablespoons water

Whatever herb/seasoning your little heart desires

Directions:

1. In small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in 1 cup warm water. Land stand until frothy/creamy; about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the yeast mixture with milk, eggs, salt, butter, seasoning and 4 cups of flour. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough has pulled together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic; about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and out in a warm place to rise until doubled in volume; about 1 hour.

3. Grease two cookie sheets ( I used parchment paper.) Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into little balls and place on prepared pans. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume; about 40 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, slightly whisk the egg white with 2 tablespoons of water; brush egg wash over the tops of rolls.

5. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy!!

Rise little dough ball, rise!

The house smelled SO yummy!

Yummm!!

Dear non-pregnant women...

I stumbled across this gem while using Stumbleupon.com. I wish I wrote this, but I did not. I love this, so I decided to share.

Dear Non-Pregnant Person,
I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women, as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn’t mean me – then you should probably read this twice.

1. The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is ‘Congratulations!’ with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you a jerk.

2. Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father – not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase ‘my baby’.

3. On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth, and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it…

4. The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone’s stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix, or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5. Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight…ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is ‘You look fabulous!’.

6. By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don’t need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. Nor do we need to know how badly you will feel for us because we will be pregnant during the summer and how glad you are that YOU will not be pregnant this coming summer.

7. There is a reason that tickets to Labor & Delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL, or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. You weren’t invited to be there when the baby was created, you probably won’t be invited to be there when it comes out either.

8. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital, and the parent’s home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to ‘help out’. If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9. If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules, and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10. The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.

Sincerely,
All the Pregnant Women in the World