Author Archives: Molly

Audrey – 3 Month Update

Where did our newborn go?  I am really feeling the stages go so, so fast with Audrey.  I know she isn’t approaching milestones at a crazy pace, but I am so much more aware of how fleeting the baby stages really are and I am trying to savor the moments before we are off and running to the next stage.Audrey 3mnths

Audrey is SO happy!  She giggles now too.P2-84c78

I am back in class and doing research as of this last week.  We have another new normal.  My mom (whom Jack lovingly refers to as Gigi) was with Audrey all of this week while I was gone.  It took Audrey two days to take a bottle!  She wasn’t as grumpy about it as you would think, and was more than happy to wake me up throughout the night to make up for it lack of milk.  But, mom figured out that walking while giving Audrey her bottle worked.  Thank goodness!

She also “plays” now.  She loves her playmat and her mobile.  She loves being sang to, sweet baby talk, and kisses.  She hates car rides – go figure!P3-e3ee4

No doctor’s appointments this month so I don’t have any stats but she seems to keep getting longer.  She is wearing 3-6 month clothes right now and I know that the next size is coming up soon.

I think she is starting to drool a bit, and I fear that teeth might be on their way.  Jack got his first two bottom teeth right after he turned three months so I wouldn’t be overly surprised if she were an early teether too.  We are enjoying her toothless grin while we can!P15-da50e

Weekly Workouts and a Treadmill Workout

I mentioned last week that I have a goal of getting at least 5 workouts in a week.  It takes a bit more planning now with two little ones but knowing what my goals are for the week has been really helpful and very invigorating.  I’m very happy that this was a 6 workout week, and today’s workout was especially good.

This week’s workouts:

Monday:  P90X “Eccentric Upper.”  Time under tension strength training for upper body.

Tuesday:  Taught Tuesday night spinning.  Love!

Wednesday:  P90X “Eccentric Lower.” Time under tension strength training for upper body.

Thursday:  Taught TRX and got to jump in for most of the workout.  2000m row after class.

Friday:  Taught my usual Friday 6am spinning

Saturday:  This was easily one of my favorite workouts of the week.  If you give it a try, let me know if you like it.Slide1

AND….If I can work it into the family schedule tomorrow I would love to get in a yoga class.  I hope you were able to get out there and get as much movement as you could this week!

Weekly Workouts: Kicking off 2015

Hi!  Hope your 2015 is off to a great start and that if health is a priority to you in the new year you are making strides every day to your goal.  I love the fresh beginning of a new year and enjoy the time to set new goals.  As we adjust to being a family of four I’m recommitting getting balance back in my life by getting at least 5 workouts a week.  It makes me feel good to get plenty of movement in a week, and I am much more patient mommy when I take time to do that.  I wanted to share a couple of these workouts in particular because they are great to do from home or could be fun to mix in to your week.

This week’s workouts:

Monday:  Mustered up the motivation after getting everyone in bed for as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) in 30 minutes of:
10 squats
10 TRX rows (sub band or dumbells if you don’t have a TRX)
10 push-ups
10 sit-ups

This is a great one to do at home if you weather keeps you from getting out.  Go at a fast pace to keep your heart rate up.

Tuesday:  Taught spinning to a crowd of awesome students.  Always a great workout with them!

Wednesday:  Tabata sets. (Get the app for your phone – So worth it!)
#1 Mountain climbers & push-ups
#2 Air squats & jumping lunges
#3 tricep dips & pulsing plie squats
#4 burpess & jumping jacks
#5 V-up sit-ups & Bicycles

Thursday:  P90X “Isometrix” – combination of balance, coordination & flexibility from “tough” yoga poses.  Taught TRX (but it was much more coaching than my own workout) + 1 mile run

Friday:  Taught spinning – my crazy 6am crowd. Love them!

Saturday:  1 mile run warm-up then this rowing workout from Peanut Butter Runner

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Here’s to a great start in 2015!  What was your favorite workout this week?

Audrey – 2 months

Our little miss has been with us for over 2 months.  Even though time flies it seems like she has been a part of our family forever.IMG_4690

At her 2 month doctor appointment she weighed in at 12 lbs 4oz (73rd percentile) and 24.5 inches (99th percentile).  She is looong!  I packed away the 0-3 month clothes last week and moved her into 3-6 month clothes.  The little baby days are quickly ending.

Her eyes are still a very pretty blue, so we’ll see if she gets Matt’s pretty blue eyes.  IMG_4701

Eat
I have another excellent eater.  She probably eats 9ish times a day, but I track things so much less with her.  She only takes about 20 minutes to eat so I feel like to much more of our day is available.  However, we have not had luck yet having her take a bottle.  It makes this mama very nervous about leaving her.  But if she gets hungry she will have to eat, right? (sigh)

Sleep
She is a pretty good sleeper for a 2 month old.  She gets a long stretch of sleep around 7:30/8 for about 5 hours.  She hasn’t fallen into a consistent pattern after that though.  Sometimes she’ll be up every 2 hours for the rest of the night…but sometimes not.  When she wakes frequently she doesn’t take long to eat but loves to “talk” and smile at me.  I might be sleepy but at least we are both smiling. She has at least one looong nap a day and does well with her others too, even if they aren’t as long.  She is only awake for about an hour and a half at a time.IMG_4381

Personality
She is (in my completely unbiased opinion) the sweetest baby girl I have ever been around.  She gives away smiles all day long, and loves coo-ing.  She laughs at us and likes watching Jack run around.  She is happy to just hang around rather than being on the go.  Lucky us!IMG_4400

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We are stuck at home because Mr. Jack has a stomach bug.  Bah humbug!  But he is on the upswing and hopefully will be 100% soon.

In between bleaching the house I have been distracting myself with pictures.  This was from a Santa dinner at LBC.  Super fun event that we will be sure to go to next year.  Although Jack’s face doesn’t say it in these pictures he was thrilled to see Santa and jumped into his lap as soon as we saw him.

IMG_0780And this one? Ha!  Poor kiddos!  Its clear what Audrey is thinking, but what do you think is on Jack’s mind?

IMG_0803Have a wonderful Christmas evening and stay happy and healthy!E1

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jack!

Jack is two!

2 years

Here’s a little update on Jack as a two year old:

Height/Weight:  Our big boy!  He’s in the 99% for height and 97% for weight and is solidly in 2T clothing for a bit longer.IMG_4228

Likes:  Music (especially Christmas music right now), trains, blocks, reading all books (Dr. Suess is a favorite), playing with mom and dad, talking, blankets, tousling his baby sister’s hair, his balance bike, watching sports, playing basketball, helping grind coffee beans and use the food processor (anything loud in the kitchen).

Dislikes: His two year molars…what a drooling, emotional, hot mess!

Talking:  Matt and I were trying to come up with a real number – and we think he’s close to a thousand.  He speaks all day long and usually in sentences.  “Excuse me daddy, I come through now” is his record max that I’ve heard.  He is very good at please and is getting better at unprompted thank you’s.  He can count to 10 but really only seems to comprehend up to 4 objects.  Jack recognizes letters now like J, C, D and M.  We walked into Monical’s last week and he pointed to the sign and said “M for Mommy!”  And I am amazed in the last month how many songs he knows.  He knows all the words to Santa Clause is Coming to Town and Jingle Bells.  He requests Christmas music. Every. Single. Day.

Sleeping:  After a rough start his first few months, he is an awesome sleeper.  He goes down somewhere around 8 pm and sleeps until at least 7 am with one nap in the early afternoon.

Looking forward to:  Taking Jack to his first college basketball game this winter (Illinois vs. Purdue), Seeing him sit on Santa’s lap tonight, watching him interact more with Audrey, potty training…not the process so much as no diapers.IMG_4389

Christmas (gifts) of the Past

Jack was born very close to Christmas and I was walking around in a fog of new mommy love and complete sleeplessness.  His second Christmas was celebrated after big changes of us moving, me finishing my first semester at Purdue, and on the heels of his first birthday.  We kept Christmas gifts pretty minimal that year, but he was absolutely thrilled with his Fisher Price lawn mower.  He pushed it all over for over for a good 8 months and it was a hit.

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This year he is really getting into the Christmas spirit.  He LOVES Christmas music!  He has been fascinated with our Christmas tree, and gets very excited about Christmas lights.

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Matt and I have been putting more thought into his gifts this year.  In thinking about a gift that would be meaningful to him I have been reflecting on my childhood Christmases.  I can clearly remember my favorite Christmas gift – my doll Martin.

Martin joined the Hathaway house around Christmas of 1988.  I remember coming down to the Christmas tree and seeing the doll in a carriage Santa had left for me…and thinking it was not a very pretty doll.  I was relatively unimpressed and moved on to other toys for most of the morning.  When I came back to the doll I decided to change “her” clothes (as all little girls enjoy doing) and was surprised to find that my baby was a boy!  (Anatomically correct doll for the win, Santa!)  After finding out that I had the unexpected, a little boy rather than the typical little girl doll, I adored my little baby boy.  He went on vacations with us, he got presents from Santa in following years, and my grade school friends definitely remember him.20141208_162133

Lucky for me, Martin still lives at my parents’ house and Mom was able to snap some pictures of him to send to me.  Do you think this little boy should come live at our house with Jack and Audrey?

Are you still rounding up gifts to share with your loved ones?  I’m partnering up with Coupons.com in The Good Stuff 2014 Holiday Sweepstakes.  Be sure to check it out!  They have gift guides including budget friendly gifts, gifts for enthusiasts and hostess gifts.  PLUS they have a chance to win one of three $100 Amazon gift cards or a grand prize $500 Amazon gift card.  The sweepstakes will run from 12/8 to 12/25.  Good luck!

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Audrey – 1 Month Old

One month ago we welcomed this little girl into our lives.  It is already hard to remember what life was like without her!IMG_4319

We just had our 1 month doctor appointment.  Audrey was 8lbs 1oz , 20.5 inches at birth and is now up to 10lbs 7oz (81%) and is 22.5 inches long (96%).  I am so excited about my big baby!

Personality

IMG_4325Audrey is smiling! She started smiling right at 4 weeks and it melts my heart.

She also has the funniest expressions – this is the Audrey frown.  Can you picture this look on her as she tells Jack he is gross in another couple of years?  Or, “Mom – are you really going to wear those shoes with that skirt?”P5

And she has such an even personality and really doesn’t fuss much.  When she cries waking from a nap all I have to do is tell her “Mommy’s here” and she seems to immediately calm down and wait for me to get her and change her diaper before eating.  Fingers crossed she stays this patient!P1

 Sleep

IMG_4185Sleep is going pretty well for a newborn.  She gives us some longish stretches of sleep at night (up to 4 hours) but more importantly, when she wakes up she gets a quick diaper change, nurses and immediately goes back to sleep.  I can handle wakeups when it isn’t hard to put a baby back to sleep.

Naps are ok during the day most days but other days she seems to only stay asleep if being held.  Although I don’t get much else accomplished those days, getting extra cuddle time in is pretty special.  I now know just how quickly these days go by and I am trying my best to be present and soak up this time with my sweet little girl.

IMG_4311And just for fun – here is a comparison of Jack and Audrey at one month.  What do you think?  Do they look alike?J&A 1 mnth

A New Type of Anniversary

Baby Audrey is here!  It has been a whirlwind of a week, and has been wonderful in so many ways.  Matt and I also celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary this week.  Eight years ago we were celebrating starting our lives together.goldstein_1046
goldstein_0559We have celebrated our anniversary in Portland/Willamette Valley, Boston/Martha’s Vineyard, Savannah/Tybee Island, Santa Fe, Europe, and the Grand Canyon.  And now, on our second night home from the hospital, we spent the day celebrating starting our lives as a family of four…at home.    IMG_4103Matt and I are a little older than the couple in the first pictures, but we couldn’t be happier with the changes on the horizon.  Our local anniversary celebration is one of my favorites yet!

Jack at 22 Months

I really had intended to do a 20 month update with Jack because I felt like he had changed so much from his 18 month update.  But then life got busy with Matt’s work travel schedule and my fall classes starting back up…and enjoying life with a really fun little toddler.  However, I feel like I need to do a quick update while Mr. Jack is an only child.  (Who knows?  Maybe for only a matter of days?)

We’ve been packing a lot of fun into the last couple of months.  While I was in the middle of my readiness assessment for a few weeks (aka PhD Qualifying Exam) Jack and Matt built a playset in out backyard.  Now Jack loves tools and knows that Daddy has much cooler toys than Mommy.IMG_0640

IMG_3763Our typical hangouts have included the park, the waterpark, and evenings of Scotty’s (a restaurant) followed by a walk to check out the fountain, pedestrian bridge and train station.  Jack now will request “Scoggy’s” at random meal times – Creatures of habit.IMG_0666

Milestones since our year and a half update:  He counts on his own to ten (making diaper changes more tolerable for everyone), is a much faster runner and much more coordinated jumper.  His balance bike is getting a lot more use – and he is getting better and better each ride.

His language developments are really fun.  It is so much fun to have mini conversations with him.  I asked him this morning if he was tickled last night and he answered “yes” and told me “doggy tickled Jack” and then gave me a big grin.  He has some good 3 and 4 word sentences.  My favorite?  Jack love Mommy.IMG_0576IMG_0558

Current likes:  all sports – playing and watching (with the ranking of basketball, football, soccer, baseball in that order).  He will request watching sports on the weekends and Matt is pretty happy to oblique.  I’ll try to post a quick video of his spectating this weekend.IMG_0699IMG_0698

And this past weekend we went to our first Purdue football game.  We went to visit the Boilermaker Special before the game (yay – Trains!) and saw the band warm up.  He loved cheering for Purdue (go, go go!  Fall down!  Pur-doooo!)IMG_0686

Other likes include:  Trains, books, his stuffed animal “doggy”, and blankets.  He is slowing down a bit on food compared to where he used to be but is still a really good eater.  He will try everything and is pretty adventurous.M&J Oktoberfest

And Jack has been talking about his baby a lot.  I know his world is going to change so much, but I think he is going to be an amazing big brother.  Wish us luck in the next few months!IMG_0616