3 months old...

Chad is three months old... well that is, three months old plus a few days!! I was unable to upload pictures until today but here is our 3 month picture. He is getting so big already, catching up to his bears size quicker than I could have imagined.

At 3 months old Chad is:

• Batting/Grabbing at toys


• Sleeping less during the day and more at night


• Eating 5 ounces regularly


• Rolling over onto his side


• Smiling and Laughing


• Sucking his thumb

We cant believe how much our second little man is growing and developing each and every day. I know before too long he and Gibson will be all grown up so all I can do is cherish the time they are little, and take as many pictures as possible.

Speech

Gibson had an appointment today with a speech pathologist and a child development specialist about his issue with talking. Unfortunately he is pretty far behind, as we suspected.
After running numerous language and development tests on him, as well as asking me questions we found out that he is at about a 10 month old level for speech, but his understanding of language is that of a 21 month old. He is obviously behind in both, but most concerning is the speech. We have been aware of his talking problems for a while now, and are gladly accepting help from an amazing program that sends people to your home to work with your child.
Sometime in the next week we will have someone come to the house to setup another appt with our very own speech pathologist who will work consistently with Gibson on getting his speech up to the level it needs to be at. They said that this is something that happens more frequently than people think, so its nothing to be too terribly concerned about, but we want to get him as much help as we can before he goes off to school and is far behind the other students.
Hopefully he will get better with the speech with lots of help and encouragement from all of our family and friends. I will keep everyone updated on his progress!

All about me...

Saw this on another friends blog, and since I still have yet to setup my photo software I figured I would do a post that doesn't need pictures... although I promise to get it set up soon. :)


Me:


I AM... a mother to two beautiful baby boys, and a wife to a wonderful man.


I WANT... to finish a ton of projects at my house... the biggest one being the wall in my dining room which I will be filling with black and white photos of our family, especially the kiddos. I haven't really even started it except to hang the saying on the wall "All because two people fell in love"


I HAVE... everything I could ever ask for, and amazing family and a blessed life.


I KEEP... way too many clothes that don't fit anymore in hopes that I will fit into them again. I know they say that's not the best thing to do... but I cant help but hope that one day my pre-pregnancy body will return. I am not overweight really... its just that things have shifted, and if you are a mother you know what I mean. I think there are some things I will never be able to wear again, but I still hold on to hope. ;)

I WISH... for all the best for my children; now and in the future.

I FEAR... anything bad happening to my loved ones.

I HEAR... Gibson playing in his room instead of taking the nap he is supposed to be taking. lol.

I DON'T... like house work... period! I sometimes wish I had a live in maid that would pick up after me like my mom did when I was a kid. Maybe it would make it easier if I got paid to clean our home?!?


I REGRET... not much of anything actually.


I LOVE... my family!!

I AM NOT... good at giving up my addiction for Dr. Pepper... I have tried many a time before and it never works out for me. I have to say though that I am not, and never have been, addicted to anything else... but Dr. Pepper is a tough thing for me to get rid of. Since I started my diet I have been drinking diet DP... but still have yet to kick the habit.

I DANCE... not near as much as I would like. For about half my life I lived in a dance studio that my mom came into owning. I miss all the girls I danced with so much... we were definitely like family to each other back then, and I have sadly come to the realization that I haven't talked to most of them in a very long time. I wish I could be a part of something like that again. Maybe one day.


I SING... in the car or at church. I usually try not to sing by myself because I am really not that good. Even Gibson sometimes looks at me funny when I try to sing along to the radio in the car. I am sure he is thinking that his mommy cant quite carry a tune. I sing at church because it gets my spirit ready for the sermon, and I love the songs... plus its really hard to hear me over everyone else, and I know God doesn't mind that I don't sing well. ;)


I NEVER... remember where my phone or purse is. I always have to ask where those two items are. Maybe one of these days I will put them in the same place every time I set them down, and I wont have trouble finding them. I chalk some of this problem up to being pregnant and so called "losing brain cells".... but mostly I am just forgetful!

I CRY... frequently. I am a very emotional person, and pretty much anything can get the tears-a-flowin'. I cried last night watching the Biggest Loser... in fact I think I cry every time I watch that show.

I NEED... a bigger SUV! We have a Tahoe right now, which should be enough, but when we travel with two kids... golf clubs, luggage, a pack'n'play and all the other items needed for our family on a trip the Tahoe is just too small.


I SHOULD... be doing the last remaining laundry... but I don't really feel like it.

Happy Thursday to everyone!!

RIP Dell...

Our laptop finally had a heart-attack and sadly passed away... well not really but we got fed up having to fix it so many times, and since the thing was an ancient 5+ years old we decided to get a new one.
We went to Best Buy to compare brands, and we FREAKED OUT when we saw that prices started at $10,000+ dollars. Gerod said they should fly for that amount. Finally we pulled an associate over to figure out the atrocious prices, to which we found out that because on the Windows 7 launch on the 22nd they wouldn't be able to sell the computers, and therefore had to list them at ridiculous prices so people wouldn't be able to buy them.
So today, we finally got a brand new laptop. I am still figuring things out on this thing, and I wont be able to upload photos till I get my camera's program loaded on here.
Until then, I am glad to actually be able to check my email... I have felt like I have been completely out of the loop for the past week. Amazing that ten years ago I wouldn't have cared if I was without a computer for a month let alone a week. Technology has truly taken over!

I need someone to organize my house

Do any of you other stay-at-home Mommy's out there need some serious organization? I have realized that organization would make my life so much easier.
I have looked into purchasing different things to organize just about every space in my house, but that stuff gets really expensive.
I am going to try and devote one or two days a week over the next month to try to reorganize my home, and get us back on track. I cant wait to have a home that is in order again...! Just thinking about it puts a smile on my face. :)

I will let you all know how it goes.

Dr. Phil show... Stay-At-Home vs. Working??

On today's Dr.Phil show he talked to both Stay-At-Home and Working mothers. It was quite the controversy which is the best way to raise your children.
I have been in both roles and see the good in both. When Gibson was born I worked until he was around 5 months old, after which I had an in-home daycare with 4 other kids just to make a little extra income for the house. After I found out I was pregnant with Chad I decided I would stop caring for other peoples children because I knew that two of my own would be enough of a challenge so I closed my in-home daycare about 5 months before Chad was born. Now I am at home most of the time... duties include the obvious, changing diapers, feeding, bathing, cleaning house, laundry and so much more sometimes. I feel like I should be paid for all that I do at home, and I am sure many other stay at home mothers can relate.
I love being a stay at home mom to both of my boys, but at times I feel like I am isolated from the outside world... thank goodness for the Internet which has become my outlet.
There was a mom on the show that talked about how wrong it was for mothers to go outside the home and work, and that it was bad for their children to be raised by someone other than the parent... that it was selfish. I cant disagree more with this woman's comments. There are so many families out there that have two working parents, because its the only way they can make ends meet. I don't feel like it is our right to judge others without knowing their situation.
It is such a hard choice to decided whether or not to stay home with your children, I am just glad that I am able to stay home with mine.
However, as much as I love my boys and being with them all the time, sometimes I feel like I just need a break. I personally have a direct sales business selling jewelry and I am able to get out of the house a few times a week to do home jewelry shows which helps me get some much needed "adult conversation", as well as a bit of a break from being in my house all the time.
My only hope is that whatever situation we are in that my boys are growing and thriving in the very best way possible. I hope that I can continue to stay home with them and see them change and grow every single day, but if God has other plans for me in the future I will roll with those punches. I only hope that in the future mothers don't criticize other mothers for their choices in this matter.

Sleeping Habits

So I just have to mention that for the last three nights in a row Chad and Gibson have both slept through the night! It is typical for Gibson to sleep from about 8:30pm to 8:30am but Chad... well that's another story. For the last few nights though Chad has gone down between 9 and 10pm and has slept till at the very least 8:00am!! I cant believe it.
Gibson did this when he was around 3 months old, then he started waking up in the middle of the night again... I only hope that Chad continues this routine he has been in and doesn't slip back into waking up once or twice. It is amazing how good you feel when you have a good nights sleep!

Weight Loss Wednesday...

Alright, so I finally decided to do something good for myself and my body.
I JOINED A GYM!!
On Friday of last week I joined a Lady of America gym that is amazingly only one mile from my house. Not only is the gym close but it also has childcare... SCORE!! This means I can work out during the day while Gerod is at work.
They have tons of classes to choose from including: Step, Zumba, Pilates, Spin and more! I am so excited about having the ability to take classes because that is where I typically feel like I get the best workout.
Another plus is that I will get 3 personal trainer sessions, my first of which was Monday.
I knew I was in "not so good" shape, but I didn't think I would hurt as badly as I did Monday night. After my first personal trainer session I took a Yoga class to relax and de-stress.
Tuesday I did cardio for over an hour, using both the elliptical machine as well as the treadmill.
Today I warmed up on the treadmill for 10 min, then did the same weight training workout the trainer taught me on Monday. I felt like throwing up afterwards, and thought my legs might collapse beneath me! WOW! I am WAY out of shape.
I am very proud to be back at the gym, working out, and getting back in shape. I know it will take some time, but eventually I will get the body I want through hard work and determination.
As far as updating weight loss... I was told by the trainer to wait to take my measurements and weigh myself for once every month. I wont be able to weigh in again until November 5th. :)
Here is to another GREAT week of workouts!!!