I think we've made it!

The horrible teething has passed. The early morning wake up calls have ceased. My boy is a smiling ball of silliness. For now:) He pushed out teeth #s 10, 11 and 12 in one long drawn out miserable process!! Only 8 more teeth to go:) Hopefully there will be a little lull of happiness before it starts up again. I'm enjoying the moment. Enough about teething...

So, I lost 12 pounds in January. I would normally be thrilled about this but at this rate I will definitely NOT be winning the Barlows' Biggest Loser competition. Believe me, I'm trying to stay positive but most people are shooting for a 20%+ weight loss and I don't think that is possible for me in 3 short months!! Oh well, at least I'm feeling better about myself, right?! After the weigh in on April 15th, I plan to go back to my fertility doctor and get the ball rolling on getting preggers again. I'm not getting any younger and although I got pregnant pretty quickly with Cole, there is no guarantee with PCOS that it will work so easily this next time. I was going to try to get down to my goal weight before I had another kid but that would probably take a few years AND my little sis is getting married in Oct. of 2010, so I want to have my baby early next year and drop a few pounds for the wedding. I will NOT gain another 80 POUNDS with this next pregnancy and I also plan to work out (safely) the whole time:) For now I am focusing on eating better and I exercise everyday. I have definitely been putting on muscle, so I know that is effecting how much I am "losing" as well. It's too bad we aren't competing in inches lost. I just might win that one:) I can already buy a size smaller in jeans:) Focusing on the positive...

The EVIL canine...

Don't worry, all of my posts will not be about teething. I just have to say that this canine is an SOB!! Not only is it making Coley's gums sore but it is also pushing against the surrounding teeth and making him even MORE miserable!!! Last night Travis went in to calm him down so that he could fall asleep and he just kept asking for me:( So, I had to rock him to sleep and he kept lifting his head off of my shoulder and hitting himself in the mouth and sadly repeating, "teeth teeth teeth". How sad is that!! He's still cute as a button though:) I promise my next post will be a happy one:) Congratulations to Sarah and Anthony who just had a baby boy yesterday! Welcome to the world Conley:)

So...

In an effort to keep true to my resolution, I am posting a little blurb about my boy. Cole is teething and it is nothing like the teething when he got his front eight. When those first teeth came in, he took 'em like a champ and hardly fussed at all. He busted out a huge one in the back about a month ago and it was a little tougher on him and he had one solid day of being a crank head. But nothing could have prepared me (or him) for the unending boo hoo fest that is occuring with these TWO HUGE teeth that are coming in in the back on the top. Oh my word!!!! He is as miserable as I have ever seen him and I feel so bad for he little butt. Luckily, he has been sleeping through the night (knock on wood) but he does wake up EARLIER at about 530 am!! I am having the utmost patience with him because I know it must hurt like heck but everyone else is having a pretty short fuse with his attitude. He is unhappy doing EVERYTHING, except for when I'm holding him, which is lovely when I have a bunch of work to get done:) He'll chew and chew on frozen teething rings but they can only help for so long. Yesterday, he was puching himself in the sides of his cheeks and gnawing on his index fingers. I keep him happy most of the time by running around outside with him but again, not so convenient when I have work to do. He is always such a happy go lucky kiddo and it just kills me to see him SO miserable. I can see the points of the teeth now, so I'm hoping that an end is in sight. Up until now, it has been five days of red swollen gums. So, I'm looking forward to the day when I get my goofy smiley boy back:) Until then, I will entertain him as best I can, to keep his mind off of his poor little mouth:( And I'll try and look on the bright side...only 9 more teeth to go!! Oh lordy...

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years...in a nutshell

My New Year's Resolution is to write little blogs more often than write big ones not so often. But before I start that...I need to recap end of the year stuff.

Thanksgiving was weird this year. Don't get me wrong, my mom and older sister came to town and that was AWESOME! But we didn't see Travis' family at all and as much as I didn't miss the driving from one end of town to the other and having to eat TWO Thanksgiving meals, I still missed seeing them. SO to any of the Stanleys reading this, I missed you. Silly, I know, especially because we see them a few times a month anyway but it still got to me a bit. Anyway, we had about 20 people at my dad's house and ate some YUMMY food!! I made my first turkey ever and it was dang good. I also made my homemade mac n' cheese (from scratch), which is super yum. Oh yeah, I also made some tasty deviled eggs. We had three turkeys and TONS of stuffing. I was so grateful to have my mom and big sister there. They are so wonderful and Cole loves them so much, so it's also nice to get a break while they play with him. My Aunt Libby was here with her husband and two kids and just before she arrived at my dad's she competed in a triathlon in Arizona. She is amazing. She just took up running a few years ago and now is a triathlete!! Crazy cool. Oh yeah and she's also like 50 (or somewhere around there). My Uncle Neil came down from Oregon and it was nice to spend some time with him too. Travis, Cole and I took him to see the dolphins and tigers. I'm not sure who was more excited...Cole or Neil:) Cole LOVED seeing the tigers. He growled at them constantly and cried whenever we moved to see another enclosure, until he saw another animal in it:) He was a bit confused by the dolphins until he really got a good look at one, then he was in love. He screamed wildly every time they swam by. Everyone thought he was adorable and hilarious...of course:) Travis, Cole, my mom, Sarah and I went to see Louisa be an elf at the Springs Preserve. She was also in a little play there. Cole got his picture taken with Santa and from there on he was obsessed with Santa. He started to say Santa over and over again. It pretty much became his favorite word, other than snowman. Louisa was one of Santa's helpers and she was great in the play:)

After the craziness of Thanksgiving was over, it was on to Christmas, which proved to be one of the most stressful Christmases I have ever had. I planned ahead, did all of my shopping relatively early and even started my crafty projects early and it still came down to the wire. I finished a bean bag for my BIL, Josh, CHRISTMAS MORNING! It was a 50" beanbag and it was pretty dang rad, if I do say so myself. I also made 3 32" bags for a fellow blogger named Stephanie. She even put pictures of them up on her blog. I think things on Christmas were so hectic for me because on Christmas eve as I was finishing the sewing of the beanbag, Travis was SUPPOSED to be wrapping all of the presents and stuffin ghte inner liner for the bag. He, uinfortunately neglected to do any of this and fell asleep on the couch. I checked on him twice and reminded him of all of the things that needed to get done and he fell asleep afetr each time and did NOTHING!! So, needless to say, we were running around like mad men in the morning trying to get everything finished, so that we could leave for Travis' parents house. Once Travis accepted that it was all his fault, we stopped stressing and just laughed at how lame we were:) Cole got lots of clothes (which is exactly what I needed for him). He also got a dancing Brobee, which he LOVES and dances along with it daily:) He got a big bouncy castle from my dad and Gail. Some coloring books, cars, trains & tons of other stuff:) Travis got me a Nintendo DS, which is so much fun! He got me all of the brainy games, like spelling, crosswords, sight training, etc. My sister Lou got me GUITAR HERO for my Wii!!! It is one of the funest things I have ever played. Honestly, I'm addicted. I got a pressure cooker from my dad and it is the most amazing cooking apparatus I have ever used in my life. Cooking entire meals in one pot in half the time is my way of cooking. And so far we have cooked the best tasting food I think we've ever had. I've made about 5 meals in the thing since Christmas and have yet to not love it. We went to the Stanleys' for scones Christmas morning. Exchanged presents and got to talk to Travis' younger brother Josh, who's on his mission in Puerto Rico. Then it was off to my parents for more presents and an AMAZING dinner. We had veal shanks (sp?) and mushroom risotto. It was one of the best meals I've ever had.

New Years was uneventful and I rang it in by kissing Travis on the cheek while he was passed out in bed next to me. The best news came from Sarah Barlow in the form of an email!! She is having a Biggest Loser contest of her own and everyone who participates puts in $20 and whoever loses the largest percentage of weight loss will win all of the money. So far the winnings are up to $600 and it is SOOOOO mine!!! In early November my dad had a little scare and had to have surgery. After he was recovered, the doctors told him to start losing the weight. So, we decided to start up a gym in his home. Louisa, my dad and I are the only members and we call it "Fitness Club" and we meet every day of the week (minus a few days during the Christmas holidays, when things were INSANE!) and do some type of work out. So far we do a Taebo video, trampoline video, step video, yoga video, tai chi video, eliptical, spin bike, Bowflex machine, free weights and walking outside. So, we always have something fun to do and we don't get bored. Usually we do circuit training, which is 6 minutes each on at least 5 things and then we do the entire Taebo video. So, it's pretty convenient that I just entered Sarah's competition and I'm already working out everyday. I'm still working on the food part but so far, since the 1st, I have lost 8 pounds!!!! Where's my money??!!!!

I never have time to write...

I can't believe how busy I am...all of the time! I know that it is almost Christmas, so I am doubly swamped and freaking out but having a full time job and a baby with you all day is NOT easy!!! The day goes by and I just think about everything I would be getting done if I were a SAHM. The best part though is that when I am feeling overwhelmed by all of the things I need to get done, I just go spend time with my boy on the floor and he takes my mind off of everything else. It's too bad that it is so hard for adults to just live in the moment. With a baby, you have no choice. They are only focused on what is right in front of them and I love that! I'm pretty sure that when I have another baby, I will need to quit my job. I honestly don't think I would be able to do it. But I'll worry about that day when it comes:)

The snow here was awesome and so much fun. It was Cole's first snow and he had the best time playing in it. He kept repeating "snow" over and over again (well, his version of snow..."nooonoowwoonnowowooo"). I'll post pictures of him in it when I get a chance. We still have snow in our backyard and were able to make a snowman yesterday! The night it snowed, he got freezing cold and soaking wet but he could care less. He got SO upset when we brought him inside to thaw out:)

Cole LOVES Santa!! He says his name on a daily basis and he runs to the Christmas tree EVERYDAY and finds the Santa ornaments and points to them and says Santa over and over again. He also loves snowmen. He waves to the one in our yard out the front window several times throughout the night and if he sees a snowman anywhere, he squeals, "NOMAN!!". I can't wait for him to be older and really understand who Santa is and what he does:) But I think he feels the magical appeal of Santa already. He is such a sweet boy.

Back to my Christmas freak out! I am scrambling to finish all of my shopping and homemade presents. The stress I feel resembles that of having a paper due in the morning for school and you are just starting it the night before. The good news is that I always got an A on papers like that (I think all of my papers in high school were written the night before)!! I know that all of this will work out in the end & I will be filled with nothing but joy on Christmas day. I just have to keep reminding myself of that:)

Cole 13 months:)

I'm just writing a little bit about Cole because I haven't in a while and since I am terrible about journaling, this way I can have something to record my brilliant spunky boy:) He has definitely mastered walking...he still trips over everything though:) He loves to ride his 4 wheeler but when he runs into a wall, he just sits there and spins out:) He LOVES to wear his shoes. When he gets up in the morning or wakes up from a nap, the first thing he wants to do is find his shoes and put them on. I definitely prefer that to him refusing to wear shoes. He knows how to sign more, all done, eat & wash hands. He says banana, mama, dada, shoes, nose, Bella, more and all done. He can point to your nose, ears, eyes and mouth. When he wants to give the dogs a treat, he clicks his tongue (not sure where that came from) and he does the same noise when he wants a cracker. He still refers to any motorized vehicle as a vroom vroom. When I ask him to sing he says la la la. He loves to hug Trambo and Wendy and give them kisses. Sometimes when he laughs, he throws back his head like a mad scientist:) He knows the sounds made by a lion (roar), monkey (ee, ee, oo, oo), cow (moooooo), dog (oof oof), pig (tries to oink but it comes out as a mix between the dog and lion), train (woo woo), Cole (lalala) and horse (he makes the neighing sound). His Gampa works on animal sounds with him every time he comes into work:) Cole has been having a problem with biting me when I won't let him do something or if I try to make him come with me by the hand and he doesn't want to. Sometimes it hurts my feelings but mostly I can empathize because I was like that when I was little. Fun, crazy, smart and happy but I had a TERRIBLE temper:) I'm sure I bit my fair share of people I loved. I just tell him no biting and that he is hurting mommy and then I ignore his fit or take him somewhere else and ignore his fit or invite him to do something else with me. He gets over whatever he is freaking out about pretty quick. I think we are making some head way though...yesterday he went to bite my hand because I wanted him to come inside and had asked him several times and when I told him not to bite me he stopped and dropped to the ground and threw a fit. I don't mind the fits but I cannot stand for him to bite me, so I think he might be getting the idea that it is not ok. Overall, he listens very well and understands things that I wouldn't think he could. He amazes me everyday with how smart he is and the things he says and does. Oh how I love that boy of mine. He is also starting to give closed mouth kisses, so that is nice and a little less wet for everyone:) He is a sweetheart.

HALLOWEEN!!!

One of my favorite holidays!! Since we are broke, we scrounged up stuff that we already had to put our costumes together for Halloween. Cole was a bear, I was a hunter dude and Travis was a werewolf. Travis and I usually try to be themed but since we were on a budget, we didn't worry about it. Although, I guess you could say we were themed, in that I could hunt both of them:) Here are some pics:

Cole is of course the most adorable bear ever:)


I told him to say cheese. He posed. I love him.


Here is Travis in his human form...


I know I look scary. Travis thought I was cool, so I felt good that I looked just like a dude:) The secret to looking like an authentic guy is to have big eyebrows and look completely bored and a little pissed off...I think I got it down.


Here I am with my kill...Travis the werewolf:) Yeah, that's right...I had a Red Ryder BB Gun:)



As it is almost never my goal to be skanky or beautiful on Halloween, I think I accomplished that with flying colors!! We went to Heather's ward's trunk or treat. It was fun to see all of the costumes. Cole had fun seeing all of the little kids. He had no interest in candy, which I found a relief. I'm sure next year, he'll go nuts trick or treating:)