Ten-Month Photos

I realized, just because I don't have much say about Lucas's tenth month doesn't mean he didn't look super cute during it! Here are some photos I took during my biggest boy's tenth month of life. Enjoy some cuteness!

How big is Lucas? So big!

The face he gives me when we're about to read his favorite book, Little Blue Truck

I'm coming to get you, Mama!

Let no one claim that Lucas does not love his Mama.

He gets his face-making skills from me.

Playing in our fort on a rainy day.

Looking more like a kid every day!

Ugh, it's been a really rough day, Mama.

Sporting our new summer hat at the park.

Roar! I'm a scary monster!

What Lucas does if you stick out your tongue at him.

Love this sweet face.

Stink faces after he ruined my run with a stroller tantrum.

Learning to walk with our new toy!

Mini Sleep Training Update and Progress

Shockingly enough, I feel like I am making a little progress with Lucas's sleep training. I'm not following any of the "systems" (Ferber, No-Cry, Babywise, etc.) and not being very strict or consistent, so it's probably going to take a while. But the combination of Lucas's stubborn personality and my overly-sensitive one is complicated, so I'm doing the best I can.

Sleep-training for naps is completely out for the moment. He fights naps so hard and sleeps so briefly during the day, all my feeble attempts did was turn a 30-minute nap into an hour of hysterics followed by nursing to sleep followed by a 30-minute nap. No, thank you! We have been working more on teaching him to fall asleep in the crib right at bedtime and during some night wake ups.

I guess I'm doing sort of a modified Ferber? I let him fuss in there for a few minutes at a time (no more than 7, so far) and then go back in and sing to him and rub his back until he calms down. Then eventually he falls asleep while I'm in there (never by himself, yet). I think I'm just replacing "rocking to sleep" with "rubbing back and singing to sleep" but I figure this can be a transitory step toward teaching him to fall asleep completely on his own. I think he sleeps a bit better when he falls asleep in the crib, because he doesn't wake up expecting to still be in my arms.

Plus, the past couple nights, he's been fussing in my arms while we rock, and when I put him in the crib, he immediately calms down and starts rolling around trying to get in a comfortable position. So it seems like he's ready to sleep train, which is probably why we've started making progress. It's cute to watch him flip around, rub his face, and try to get comfortable, and I love that he hasn't been screaming himself to sleep in the crib, which is what happened when we tried it before. Instead, he's just shifting around until he drifts off on his own. Progress!

My next task, if I choose to accept it, will be night-weaning, I think. I haven't decided for sure when to do this, but I may try it in the next few weeks.

Adventures in Cooking: Flank Steak and Veggies

I made such a delicious dinner tonight, I must brag about it.  I was inspired a bit by Tabitha, whose family has gone Paleo recently due to her son's food intolerances, and has been cooking a ton of delicious-looking veggies. I'm not giving up my bread or cheese anytime soon, but since we are trying to eat healthier lately, I gave it a try. I don't know if these recipes are Paleo or what, I don't really know the rules, but you should eat them regardless because they are way yummy. Also WW-friendly!

Marinated Flank Steak

Made this marinade and let the steak sit in it for about four hours. So tender and tasty, we seared it in our cast iron skillet for 2-3 minutes per side on medium-high heat. Let rest for ten minutes, then slice.

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

Got this recipe as a recommendation from my sister. The only time I've ever eaten cauliflower before in my life is boiled and smashed so as to pretend they are mashed potatoes. YUCK. This recipe, by contrast, was freaking delicious and Brandon and I finished off an entire head of cauliflower and could have eaten more.

On the side of these two dishes, I sauteed a pile of spinach and kale from our CSA box in a little bacon and sliced shallots. Brandon is far more likely to eat sauteed greens if they are bacon-flavored. Hard to go wrong with those ingredients, this tasted excellent as well.

All three of these recipes fit my qualifications of short ingredient list and less than 30 minutes prep time. I did have to start dinner earlier than usual because the cauliflower roasted for about 40 minutes, but it was so worth it.

I love it when healthy eating is as tasty as regular eating.

Scatterbrain Updates

Sorry I've been MIA for the last week or so. I wanted to write a 10-month update for Lucas, but frankly I can't really think of anything to say. He didn't hit any significant new milestones this month. We're starting to work on sleep training a bit, but there's no point in writing about that until we've made a little more progress. He is VERY resistant and I am currently resentful toward all babies that fall asleep easily. So if you have one, keep it to your damn self.

The thing I REALLY want to write about I have to hold off on for another 4 weeks. Sneak Preview: It rhymes with "less crow." Hopefully we'll have a fun announcement to make in early April.

To be honest, we've gotten a little derailed on Weight Watchers, but we plan to recommit this week.

I've been hanging out with a mom's group based in East County. The moms are nice but I haven't quite gotten the hang of them yet. Brandon says I'm being too "fancy." I dressed all preppy and cute for the first park meetup and they were all in yoga pants and/or covered in tattoos. Then for the picnic last week I made these delicious cucumber tea sandwiches with dill-green onion cream cheese (that were such a hit at Laura's shower in January). Besides me, I think one mom ate one teeny sandwich triangle. I had to bring the rest home, and the next day they were all soggy and gross and I had to throw them out. Pigs in blankets it is next time, I guess.

I found a fun "Novel Workbook" in the clearance rack at Target the other day. It was put together by the creators of NaNoWriMo. I'm having fun playing around with it when I have a free minute. It's mostly just little creative brainstorming exercises. Much easier than actually sitting down to write a novel, but I like having something creative to put my mind to on the rare occasion that Lucas is napping and I don't need to shower or prepare food. But I've been throwing around this haunted hotel story idea since about 2006 so I'm interested to see if I can make anything of it.

Last week, the 'on' switch broke off our dryer, the washing machine broke completely, and the Blu Ray player seems to be on its last legs. Annoying to have to replace the washer four weeks before a move, but less annoying than trying to keep Lucas entertained at a Laundromat (I shudder at the prospect). We're living with the other two for now, hopefully we can replace them soon.

Tonight I am making Cooking Light lobster po' boys with a spicy remoulade coleslaw. I've made it before with shrimp and it was amazing. No corned beef for us this weekend, and I'll be having chardonnay instead of Guinness. Guess I'm just too "fancy."

Okay, I think that's enough random updates for now. I'll try to update more this week if I can think of a topic and if I can get caught up on the mountain of laundry that's managed to accumulate since the washing machine broke.

Visit with Gram

Lucas and I have been having such a fun week with his Gram (my mom) the past few days! It makes me so jealous for parents that have family in town for reliable, free child care on a regular basis.

Here are some of the fun things we did:

- Went out for dinner and a movie for Brandon's birthday on Monday night while Gram stayed home and put the baby to bed. We saw Jack the Giant Slayer and ate at Red Lobster. I thought the movie was decently entertaining and the food was delicious. I made Brandon a chocolate cheesecake during the day that we had for dessert after we got home.

- On Tuesday, we took Lucas to the mall to find a small umbrella stroller and took him out to lunch at Panera. He did fairly well, he loves to flirt and make friends with all the other people at the restaurant.

- On Wednesday, I left Lucas with Gram and got a massage in the morning. Bliss! Then I ran a few errands on my own. We took him to lunch again at a Thai place, where he was confused by how determined the single young men at the next table over were to ignore his cuteness. He kept looking over, smiling at them, but they were utterly unimpressed. Not surprising, but Lucas seemed disappointed. I informed him quietly that not everyone loves babies but I don't think he believed me. He enjoyed the rice and curried veggies I let him try, though.

- After lunch we took him to a free trial class at Gymboree. He loved it! It was hysterical to watch him investigate everything. It was a "class" for 6 month-10 month babies, so he was one of the only ones crawling. His favorite part was when the teacher brought out a giant basket of wiffle balls and dumped them all over the floor, and when she blew bubbles everywhere. He would poke at each bubble he could reach with one little pointer finger, I wish we'd gotten a photo of it but we were too busy being delighted with how cute he was.

I must say, it is far easier to take care of a baby when there are two full-time adults available instead of just one. I can see why rich stay-at-home types hire nannies. It was sad to see Gram go, but she'll be back next month to stay with Lucas while Brandon and I spend our first night away from him for my 30th birthday! I'm excited and a bit terrified at the prospect.

A Small Adventure in Personal Health

For as long as I can remember, the following has occasionally happened when I stand up:

1. Light-headedness, dizziness

2. Vision blacking out

3. Legs going weak

This happens maybe a few times a week, max. It's never been that big of a deal to me, and I've never actually passed out. Until yesterday.

I was home with Lucas first thing in the morning after we'd gotten out of bed. I had just decided to get up off the couch to get my coffee. The next thing I knew, I thumped my head against the edge of a kitchen chair and then the dining room floor as I passed out cold on my way to the kitchen. Luckily, Lucas was nowhere near me, although he quickly came padding over to see what Mama was making so much noise about. 

I was fine, maybe a little shaken up, and Brandon decided to come home from work after I texted him what had happened. The three of us trooped off to urgent care to get me checked out. Let me tell you, dragging a 9-month-old to urgent care is awesome. Lucas did okay, although he was pretty frustrated that we wouldn't let him crawl around. 

They did lots of tests -- EKG, chest x-ray, and bloodwork to test iron levels, sodium, hydration, and electrolytes. Everything came back normal, hooray! Just your run-of-the-mill fainting spell. How Victorian of me.

Essentially, the doctor said that because I am tall and slender, the blood has a tough time getting quickly all the way up to my head. So I need to slow down a bit. And drink more milkshakes. Okay, the last part might be a paraphrase. Regardless, my Thursday ended up being a lot more exciting than I had anticipated.

In other news, the house hunting is going great! Or else is extremely frustrating, depending on what day you ask me. Hopefully we'll have a fun update soon.