The photo above was taken last spring. I can remember that time so vividly, as I was pregnant, and finally moving out of the throw-up phase. It was so nice, but I fully demand that this spring and summer be even better!

There is at least one moment during every day when I look at his sweet face and just try to freeze time. I want to be able to hold him in my arms like I do now, forever. I want to remember how sweet he smells and to bottle up all of those ornery little glances he shoots my way. No amount of photos will capture the true essence of him as a baby. Needless to say, I completely understand why people crave that second or third baby a few years down the line. There is nothing more fulfilling than squeezing your baby and showering him with kisses.

I am not sure how long it will take Evan to start walking, but he is so strong that he can now stand (supported) for long periods of time. It’s so strange to see him gaining even that kind of independence. He’s going to be cruising soon enough, and it’s almost time to REALLY start babyproofing our house.

His favorite thing to say right now is “ba-ba-ba” or “bla-blah-blah” but he can definitely say mama too!

I do a lot of fantasizing about summer. It’s been such a long, cold winter. It will be so wonderful to be able to take Evan outside this summer to let him experience the outside world. Spring can’t come soon enough!

The colic finally faded, but a routine was still hard to find. I’m not sure when it happened, or how, but eventually things started falling into place. Most days now, Evan’s routine follows a pretty predictable pattern. I know when he’s going to wake up, when he will need to eat and when he’ll be ready for his naps. My ultimate goal over the course of my day is to have him ready to get into bed at 9:00 p.m.

I never could have fathomed that I would be so thrilled and proud of having my child in a good routine. It makes me feel accomplished. I love being able to place him in bed at the same time every night. It’s also pretty darn amazing to have a couple of hours to relax before getting into bed myself. It makes ALL the difference in my mental well-being!

I chose to write a piece about my experience breastfeeding (or not breastfeeding, in my case) after Evan was born last August. Click here to read the full article!

I have been borderline late for every single doctor’s appointment that Evan has had. Two weeks ago, he was supposed to have his 6-month shots. We were staying at my mom’s house due to a power outage and poor road conditions in our area, and the night before his appointment I warned my mom that I am notoriously late for his doctor visits, and that we needed to be out the door at least 40 minutes prior to the scheduled time. Well, my dad had just installed a new “big boy” car seat for Evan in their car, and I stupidly did not do a test run with the seat before we tried to leave. Of course, it didn’t fit him right, and required the whole seat to be pulled apart and adjusted–something I had no idea how to do. I was certain that we wouldn’t be able to get it fixed in time for his appointment, so I called to see if they could work me in later. The receptionist snapped: “He won’t be able to get in for another month.” What? A MONTH?

Needless to say, I did my best to speed read the manual for the car seat, and was able to get it adjusted with just enough time to make it.

This is just one crazy thing that has caused me to ALMOST be late for his doctor’s appointments. I have another appointment tomorrow, and I am starting to feel anxious already!

I waited until I was 29 to have my first baby, but I’ve got to say, I can see one big benefit to having a baby closer to age 20 than 30. Stamina. When I was in college I used to stay up all night, and then work and go to class the next day with little problem. I guess I must be creeping dangerously close to old-ladyness now, because if I don’t get at least six or seven hours of sleep my body literally begins to shut down. Needless to say, my little non-sleeping baby had me going nuts for the first few months.

As the weeks progressed, and I noticed more and more moms on the August 2009 Babies forum that I frequent were bragging about their baby STTN (sleeping through the night), I wondered if Evan would EVER reach that point. My kid rarely went to sleep before midnight, and woke up two or three times a night for the first four months of his life. Finally, when he turned 5-months-old, something changed. We were able to get into a better routine in the evenings, and as long as he had a full belly, he would usually sleep seven or eight hours through the night.

Now that he’s six months, things are even better, and he typically goes to bed at 9:00 p.m. and wakes up between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Now, there are still occasions (like last night) when he is wide awake at 4:00 a.m., but those times are fewer, and I couldn’t be happier.

You really don’t realize how vital your sleep is until it is ripped from you completely, and replaced with a screaming baby. I sort of feel like throwing a party at this point; I am so grateful to be a member of club STTN–finally!

After Evan was born, losing weight was really the last thing on my mind. I was entering into an entirely new territory, and his needs were really the only thing that I could focus on for months. Finding time to eat period was a challenge, much less to eat the right foods.

Now that Evan is 6-months-old, and we have settled into a routine (which includes sleeping through the night) I have had the time to really take a look at myself–literally. I realized that it was time to start taking some control over my health and my body, and since Weight Watchers had worked for me in the past, that would be the route I chose.

I have been following Weight Watchers, and counting my points, for five weeks now. I am not losing an extraordinary amount of weight yet, but I am losing. Each week, I am losing. I have lost 11 lbs. so far, and have really started to feel motivated about continuing toward my goal.

You could not pay me enough money to post my weight stats online for the world to read, but, I will be documenting my journey over the coming weeks, as well as posting my results.

“OOO, Snuggle Puppy of mine! Everything about you is especially fine. I love what you are. I love what you do. Fuzzy little Snuggle Puppy, I love you.”

As you can tell from this video, Evan had a grand time with G’ma and G’pa while we were away!

I even feel incredibly guilty for not writing here more often. Just look, my last post was titled “One Month” and now, he’s almost three months old. THREE MONTHS OLD. How is it that three months during my pregnancy seemed to last an eternity, and now it is everything I can do to just capture as much of each day as I can before another day dawns?