time, slow down.

(just fyi {mom} you can click on the picture and see a much bigger & better version of this collage.)

i put this together last weekend when i did his 6 month post, but for whatever reason i couldn't get it to upload. he's grown SO much, it just amazes me. i got to looking through some of his newborn pictures, and he looks so little and so different. and i know that in 6 months - i'll be saying the same thing about how he looks now. i love the stage he's at right now and i'm looking forward to him growing and reaching different  stages, but it also makes my heart ache to think about how much he's grown and changed already.

randoms

**i’ve been back at work for a week now.  it’s stinky, but getting better.

**take a look at my weight loss ticker! i’ve been doing low-carb for 2 weeks now and i’ve lost 6 pounds. SO excited!

**i’ve been so tired and worn out, so i haven’t blogged much.  maybe once i get back into the groove of working and keeping the house/housework up, i can post more often. (i’m on my lunch right now and c-man is with my mom.)

**i really, really, really want a new camera and i think i am going to try to sweet-talk my hubby into letting me buy one with some of our tax return money. i think if i had a new camera, i would take more pictures, and therefore i would post more often.

**i am tired of the winter olympics and i haven’t even watched any. but because of the olympics, there hasn’t been a new biggest loser in 2 weeks. sad face.

**i’m SO tired. i know there’s more i could blog (whine) about, but i can’t think of it… blech. sorry for the boring post!

Christopher Tyler - 6 Months!

C-Man…

You are half a year old!  I cannot believe that we are (over) half way to your birthday! The last six months have absolutely FLOWN by, and I know the next six will, as well.  I cherish each and every second I get to spend with you, and while I am SO SAD that time is passing so quickly, I am also SO EXCITED to see what the future brings us. You are my SUNSHINE!

So - at six months old…

--You have tried “baby foods!” So far you’ve had green beans, squash, and sweet peas - and you’ve loved ALL of them! You’re not picky like your Momma!

--You are still an AWESOME sleeper. You usually sleep 12 hours with MAYBE one wake-up for a paci.  I love you so much for “sleeping in” in the mornings!

--You are really starting to talk. You like to hear yourself scream. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not! Haha!

--You reach for people when you want to go to them. This makes me so happy!

--You’re wearing size 3 diapers, except at night - you wear an overnight size 4 diaper… and you fill.it.up! Switching from a size 3 at night to the overnight size 4 made a huge difference in your sleeping.  You overflowed the size 3s almost every night!

--You wear 6-9 month clothing.

--You take 2 naps a day - one morning, one afternoon.  They are both usually 1-2 hours long, although you do have an occasional “off” day.

--You are SO good at laying down in the crib and going to sleep by yourself. We have our little nap/sleeping routines and you almost always lay your sweet little head down as soon as I put you in your crib and go to sleep.  It’s so precious. =)

--I know there’s a ton of stuff I’m missing out on, but this is all I can think of right now! I went back to work this week and it was VERY, VERY tough. I absolutely hate being away from you during the day, but I know you’re in good hands with Granny, and I’m only working part-time, so we will still have plenty of sweet time to spend together. I love you, little man!

working mama = tired mama.

today is my sweet little man’s half birthday! i cannot BELIEVE that he is already 6 months old. i started back to work on tuesday, hence the lack of blogging. booooo.

i will post his “happy 6 month” blog tomorrow or this weekend - but i am just TOO worn out to do it tonight. i will tell you that his pictures are just precious, so you’ll definitely want to check back and see them. :)

night night!

green beans and chicken georgia

Christopher tried his first “solid food” this week - green beans!

He got really excited when he saw a bowl and spoon - probably thinking he was getting cereal.

Wait - this isn’t cereal…

 

What WAS that?

    

He did really well and seemed to like green beans!  He would make funny faces after taking a bite - like he didn’t like them - but then he would open up wide again ready for another bite!  He ate half of a (little) jar of them then finished them up the next day.  It’s so fun and exciting to get to try new foods with him.  Stephen has been waiting for months to get to do this.

On a different note… you may notice the big fat ZERO on my “weight lost” ticker.  Um. Yeah.  That’s because I haven’t lost any weight. :(  But I also was not dieting very well AT ALL and only half-heartedly working out a few times a week. Stephen and I started doing a low-carb diet together on Tuesday, and so far we’ve done really good! We are both “carbo-holics” so it’s a tough diet - but we’ve both had success with it and are hoping to “jump start” our weight loss with this diet. I’ve made several yummy things so far (sausage & cheese bites, peanut butter cookies, etc.) but I did try one recipe the other day that we both just LOVED and I know it will be a new favorite - even when we’re not low-carbing it!  It’s called chicken georgia, and it’s actually a Paula Deen recipe that I tweaked a little bit. It’s SUPER EASY and really delicious!

First, I sauteed some mushrooms in a little bit of butter & olive oil. I added 3 cloves of fresh garlic. (I used a zester to get it chopped really fine.) Next, I took two chicken breasts, salted and peppered the top side, and put that side (the seasoned side) down in the skillet with the mushrooms & garlic. I seasoned the other side of them and let them cook until they had a nice carmelization, then flipped them and cooked them on the other side. When the chicken is cooked through, top it off with lots of fresh mozzarella cheese.  The cheese will melt in just a few minutes.  One dish, super easy, and really yummy.

**Just to warn you - make sure your chicken breasts are pretty thin.  I ended up cutting mine after I put them in the pan because they were thicker than I realized and the outside was perfect but the middle was still raw.  Also, Paula used shallots instead of garlic - you could use onions, shallots, garlic, or whatever you prefer. I don’t like onions and I don’t think I would like shallots, but I LOVE garlic.

We ate ours with Stephen’s yummy garlic green beans. He uses lots of garlic and toasted, slivered almonds in them and they are SO GOOD.  The only thing that would have made this meal any better would be a big wedge of garlic toast served along side it.  :) Hahaha.  And yes, I realize that we are a garlic-loving family. It’s good for you! Well…as long as you don’t eat too much of it and start sweating it out of your pores… then you should probably cut back, just for other people’s sake!

Hopefully I can update my ticker SOON saying that I have lost a pound or two!

the story of a boy who wouldn’t nap

a certain little boy only took a 40 minute afternoon nap today.

 

after about an hour of being up, the same little boy started getting fussy, and his mama decided he needed to lay back down for a second nap.

 

but the little boy cried…

and cried…

and cried…

 

but the little boy REFUSED to take a nap. REFUSED!

 

his mama (1) let him cry in his room alone, (2)patted his back and sang quietly, (3) rocked him…

 

yet the little boy still didn’t take a nap.

 

SO… his mama decided he could skip the second nap and would just go to bed early that night.

 

so she put him in his jumperoo…

and for a few seconds, he liked it.

and then he didn’t.

and then he just wasn’t sure about it.

and when he got tired of the jumperoo, his mama took him to the couch to play with toys…

he played with his crinkle book…

 

and his jingle keys and his froggy all his other fun toys.

 

and he enjoyed doing that for quite a while.

and then he decided he didn’t want to play with his toys anymore.

so then the little boy played in his highchair.

but after he’d thrown all his toys in the floor -- he was tired of the highchair.

and that’s when his mama decided it was time to make the little boy’s night-time bottle.

the little boy closed his tired little eyes and drank the bottle very, very slowly.

and then.
he slept.