Category Archives: Baby

Weekend Recap

Is Tuesday night too late for a weekend recap? Hopefully you won’t find the pictures too out of date. Our weekend started out great went downhill in a hurry and I am finally feeling like things are returning back to normal.

Jack and I started our 4 day weekend together with a trip to the zoo with our friends, Nina and Meyer. (Isn’t Jack’s little safari hat adorable??)

And Meyer is such a happy guy! I almost don’t believe his mommy when she says nights are a little rough.

And we met up (unpictured) with friends Emily and David for happy hour. Although Jack was a good sport I know our days of having (relatively) easy dinners out are numbered. Once he gets more mobile we will have to have some sitters for sure.

We had family workout time on Saturday and did lots of little home projects. And we played lots of games with Jack like how fast can Jack kick, peek-a-boo, and “this little piggy.” He was also much more interested in books this weekend and likes to help turn the pages, and likes trying to put the book in his mouth.

Sunday morning was a little rough with more wake-ups than usual, but seemed promising when Jack decided to sleep until 8am. He wasn’t super smiley but sometimes he is a little more reserved in the morning (like Matt). Thank goodness not everyone is smiling and talkative at 5am! Jack and I went to the grocery store and when he didn’t get even the littlest bit excited about our pineapple purchase I knew he was really off. Pineapples are really his thing, you see. He can turn his head exorcist-style to check ours out at home (slight exaggeration but you get the point). He had a slight fever and some coughing so we took him into the pediatrician. (How wonderful is it that we can get a last minute appointment on a Sunday afternoon?!) And she diagnosed him with his first ear infection. Matt and I felt so bad for the little guy. He never got to the point of screaming or lots of crying so I’m glad we didn’t wait out the weekend to go see his doctor. So the rest of Sunday and Monday involved lots and lots of cuddling. He didn’t want put down, and his doctor said to make sure to give lots of liquids, which is breastmilk at this stage of his life so he and I spent lots and lots of time together. I think we were both exhausted!

Monday afternoon Jack and I went for a run together and he seemed to really turn around. He gave his big smiles again and was excited to play with his toys in the afternoon. I think that run saved my sanity and got us both in better moods.

This weekend was not like Matt and my Memorial Day weekends of the past. No drinks at the pool, no long run at the park, but there was some good food.

Nutella Banana Bread – Gone at the end of the weekend. Very good! I’ll share the recipe soon.

Matt used my rice cooker to make wonderful cinnamon apple steel cut oats. Seriously one of the best breakfasts ever. He put everything in the rice cooker the night before and set the timer to be ready at 7am and we woke up to a wonderful smelling breakfast.

I also used my crockpot to roast a small half turkey breast for turkey quesadillas and turkey sandwiches this week. Very easy – put the turkey breast (bone in) half in the crockpot and add enough water to cover the bottom of the pot. I seasoned the bird with lots of red pepper, black pepper, and some sea salt. Turn the crockpot on high for one hour and then on low for an additional 3 hours. Juicy, perfect turkey breast done! (adjust cooking times if you roast the whole breast)

And, of course, the salad jars for the week:

Layered, in this order starting from the bottom of the jar:
2 Tbsp Italian dressing
A handful of chopped bell peppers
*A new addition* chopped and roasted sweet potatoes (a great addition)
Chickpeas
Spinach and romaine
Grated Swiss cheese

I taught a great spin class tonight and need to get myself to bed to get up for another great spin class early tomorrow morning. Hope your week is off to a great start! Any suggestions of something to use my crockpot for next week? I think crockpots are even better in the summer because you don’t have to heat up your whole kitchen to do some cooking.

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Why I Love the Rain and Other Weekend Info

I hope your week is off to a great start and that you feel refreshed after the weekend. Last week was a little draining and made me enjoy my weekend even more than usual. Jack and I spent a lot of time outside on Friday. It was his first time to play on a blanket in the yard and the first time to feel grass on his little tootsies. He was one happy baby!

Saturday started with morning cuddles before heading off to teach spin class. I had a woman stay after class to say she came to my last class before Jack was born and that the class changed her perspective on fitness. She was viewing exercise as just another thing to check off the list, but got a kick out of seeing how much fun I seemed to be having even with a belly full of baby. What a great feeling to be able to have a positive influence on someone! It is easy to take our bodies and our abilities for granted. There are plenty of people side-lined out there who would love to be able to have your capabilities. Being able to move your body is a gift. Get a smile on your face and get going!

The rest of our Saturday involved grocery shopping with my sidekick, HopFest with friends, plenty of laundry and a graduation party. Sunday started with jogging with(out) Jack before Jack’s BFF, Meyer’s, baptism party. What cute boys!

Sunday continued with more picture taking and lots of family time.

During his last nap of the day, Matt and I chatted, chopped and put together these salad jars for the week:

Quinoa/Lentil/Chickpeas Mason Jar Salads

Bottom layer: Italian dressing
Next layer: chopped carrots, chopped celery, chopped bell peppers
Next layer: lentils and quinoa mix
Next layer: chickpeas
Next layer: spinach and romaine lettuce
Final layer: sharp cheddar cheese

This has been my favorite salad so far! I love, love, love cold quinoa and lentils on my salad. It is always my go-to at the salad bar at Whole Foods. I cooked the lentils and quinoa together in my new rice cooker. I think I’m in love with this appliance…after I experiment more I will give some details.

I saved the best for last (at least by my new standards). I am making an effort to live in the moment and slow down to enjoy the little things. Time is going by so quickly, and I am reminded of this fact every time I look at Jack. Sunday was his first big rainstorm. Matt, Jack and I stood in the door and let the wind hit us as we watched the rain together. He kept turning around to look at us with his eyes and his mouth open as if to say, “Do you guys see this?!” I think I was as thrilled to watch Jack’s reaction as he was to see the rain falling.

I hope your week brings many happy small moments and the ability to slow down and enjoy them!

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Hi, Again!

Another week gone incredibly fast. I am sitting on the couch drinking decaf cinnamon vanilla coffee right now. We have no sweets in the house (on purpose, I suppose) and I am trying to satisfy my sweet tooth with some good spices in the coffee. Its good, but a cookie would be even better!

Here’s what’s been going on with me this week:

We celebrated our first Mother’s Day together. I was spoiled by my boys all weekend with love and gifts. Jack did his best to wake us up super early on Sunday to make sure we were the at the door when our favorite breakfast spot, Succotash, opened.

I am pretty big into liquids apparently and had water, coffee and my favorite juice, the Lawnmower (cucumber, celery, green apple, spinach and lime) all at the table. I was so inspired that I bought all of the ingredients to make my juice at home this week…still hasn’t happened but hopefully I’ll make the time for juicing tomorrow.

Sunday also included a nice family walk. How cute are Jack’s baby sunglasses?! He tolerates them really well and loves walks. Matt asked me if I think walks are like TV for him. He zones out a little and is very entertained. What do you think?

This week included some good (unpictured) workouts. I subbed a spin class at City Gym tonight and am teaching again Saturday morning. Workouts were a little cardio heavy this week, so my 545am TRX class with Jenny tomorrow will be a needed change for my body.

Eats were a little repetitive but good this week. Jar salads from the week were layers of: raspberry vinaigrette dressing, cucumbers, red peppers, cherry tomatoes, black beans, romaine lettuce, spinach, and sharp cheddar cheese. Two of the jars have a boiled egg in addition to all of the other good stuff. Matt took two days of salads this week too. I made some mini turkey spinach meatloaves and had lots of leftovers for dinners. Good enough dinner but not really recipe worthy. Tomorrow morning I hope to do some menu planning so that I can go grocery shopping early in the weekend. Any suggestions of something that you made recently that was especially good? I need some inspiration!

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What I’m Loving This Week

Yay! Friday! I hope you’re getting ready to head into a wonderful weekend. Any Derby or Cinco de Mayo plans? Jack wants to party but they are already starting to know his name at our favorite watering hole so we might have to keep his sombrero wearing shenanigans to a minimum.

It has been an eventful week around here. Some quick iPhone pics to catch you up on the week:

Workouts this week were great! Highlights include Tuesday morning running group. What an awesome group of gals! (And Lewie, the dog)

I don’t have a picture but I met up with one of my favorite workout buddies, Emily, for a great Crossfit workout and catchup. It is seriously the best to have friends with whom you can share your start of the day with good conversation and fitness. We did “Jackie” with me modifying the pull-ups.

Jackie
For time:
1000 Meter Row
50 Thrusters, 45lbs (30 lbs women)
30 pull-ups

Two great spin classes thrown in the mix, and another spin class tomorrow. I’m teaching – hope some of you can join me at CityGym at 7:45am tomorrow!

Matt indulged me in one of my favorite quick dinners: an open faced egg avocado sandwich. This one features two over medium eggs on sourdough with an herb cheese and half of an avocado sliced on top. Delicious!

And of course, our little guy is big love of mine this week. He has really started to enjoy looking out the window. I think he is going to be a big outdoor lover like his mama and daddy.

And I love that we had some warm weather this week. Jack has so many cute warm weather clothes (Thanks Grandma!) and I love dressing up my little doll.

This weekend is going to continue with a fun friend’s wedding tonight (yay!) and Jack’s first non-friend or family babysitter. Wish all of us luck!

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

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Happy Friday

I hope you are heading into a wonderful weekend. We are getting ready to head to a doctor’s appointment for Jack. Wish us luck! Shots!

I though I’d share yesterday’s workout in case you’re looking for a good equipment free workout for the weekend:

0.25 mile run
25 push-ups
25 squats
25 sit-ups
Repeat for a total of 5 rounds

It was a great one!

Yesterday Jack said he would like a dog:

But I told him that Daddy says no dog until he is old enough to help take care of one.

But a couple of rounds of “How much is that doggy in the window? made Jack happy again.

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Prepping for the Week

Hello! I hope your weekend was great. Mine was so refreshing. Matt and I had our first big night out (longer than 1.5 hrs) since Jack was born just the two of us (Thanks to our wonderful friends Rachel & Dave) last night. It’s amazing how much more we were able to really talk…even if half of our topics involved Jack.

So after a great night, I woke up ready to have a productive day. I did more extensive menu planning on Thursday night so that I could get groceries on Friday afternoon. So with the kitchen stocked I started some food prep. On the menu for the week:

White bean kale burgers (recipe to come later this week) over romaine

Beef braised in wine with onions (based on this recipe) With sweet potatoes and steamed asparagus

Chicken stir-fry with bell peppers, onions, snow peas, and broccoli

Lots of veggies in these meals so I cleaned and chopped all of the veggies this afternoon so that our evenings will be a bit easier and so that we can have dinner on the table quicker. Jack is really interested in dinner time lately. He likes to imitate us chewing so we are trying to have dinner before his 8pm bedtime so he gets plenty of big people practice.

A couple of time-saving tips:

I almost always make a 4-pot serving of steel cut oats on Sunday and individually portion them out so that I can have an easy breakfast. Today I added cinnamon to the pot as they were cooking. These oats smell heavenly!
I “cooked” the asparagus quick method. I chopped the stalks in half, put them in a microwave bowl, added about ¼ cup of water to the bowl, covered in saran wrap and mircowaved for 3 minutes. Perfect texture.

While the burgers were baking I put my workouts on my calendar to make sure I planned a variety of workouts and would make them a priority.

Monday: Strength training/Dirty 30
Tuesday: Run group
Wednesday: Spinning
Thursday: Run group
Friday: Strength training
Saturday: Teach Spinning (at City Gym)

Now that I’ve typed it out I feel even more committed. All of these are morning workouts which works best for me. You see, I have this funny little guy at home and I have an impossibly hard time leaving his side after the work day. Here’s a video of his new vocalization:

Any big plans for the week?

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A Week of Gratitude

Happy Saturday! I’m checking back in because I want to document a little bit of this week. A year ago this week we found out that our little family was growing. I knew I was pregnant before taking the test. It’s strange…I was traveling for work and wanted to wait for Matt but when we talked at night I told him I had never been so sure of anything. I just felt it, which was such a welcome feeling.

I’m a pretty private person (sounds odd coming from someone who blogs) but I really didn’t share our journey of wanting kids with many people. I don’t know exactly why…but I think women often take on the guilt burden in many fertility issues even if there is no diagnosed issue, as was our case. I’m also a pretty upbeat person, but these were some very dark months for me. Now that Jack is here it doesn’t seem like it was that long of a wait but 19 months of praying and hoping for your little miracle is very trying. We were prepared to undergo major fertility treatment but our Jack decided to make his appearance.

And even on the sleepiest morning, I go into his room overwhelmed with so much gratitude. Overjoyed doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel that he is all ours. And to some very special friends out there praying for your little bundle of joy please know I’m praying along with you on your journey. I know you too have a lot of love to share.

Before I get too heavy with emotion I thought it would be fun to do a quick look back at the last year. Matt was so great at documenting the pregnancy through photos. The fruits/veggies showed Jack’s size for that particular week.

Isn’t the female body amazing? I was more appreciative and amazed with my body over the last year than I would have ever imagined. I am so grateful that my body could grow such an amazing little human, and I am so grateful that I was able to bounce back. Today’s 5K was so much fun!

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Please share something you’re grateful for this week in the comments!

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4 Month Update

Another month gone in the blink of an eye! It has been a very exciting month around here.

We made our first trip as a family of three back to Illinois last weekend for Jack’s baptism. Generations of Matt’s family on both sides have been baptized at St. Anthony’s and with all of our family in Illinois it was a perfect choice for us.

Auntie Kate and Auntie Tina are Jack’s Godmothers.

Even though Jack has no cousins he is blessed with 4 very loving grandparents and 5 amazing great-grandparents. What a lucky little boy!

Matt’s sister, Tina, and her husband, Brandon came home from Italy and met Jack. Jack was pretty smitten with Auntie Tini – and has requested some cousins when they live in the US again. 😉 And Matt’s brother, Doug, came home too. Doug might not be a “baby” person but I know he and Jack will be fast and furious friends through his toddler years.

It’s really amazing how quickly babies grow and change. I had coffee with friends today and I found myself saying, “Oh yeah, Jack would do that when he was younger.” Younger than 4 months?! They really do change. The giggles and shrieks of joy are the biggest descriptors of the month. I look forward to his laughs more than anything. Matt gets the best shrieks when he picks Jack up from day care. We can tell that he really knows us now, and loves entertaining us. He is becoming more independent and is happy to play quietly in his crib or playmat too. Such a big boy!

Check out the 3 Month Update for comparisons. By the way, I walked into his nursery this morning before heading to the gym to make sure he was still asleep. Somehow he had turned on his mobile! (Must have pushed the button with his little feet!) Something new with Jack every day.

Mommy update after 4 months: I have been back at work for about a month and have adjusted really well. I am working 4 days a week (I am so lucky!) so I have been put on great projects but also get an extra day of Jack time. Fitness-wise things are going really well. I am back to early morning workouts for the most part, which means that I can make my workouts a priority and get in about 5 a week. I’m working on getting faster and stronger every week. And tomorrow I have my first postpartum 5K. I’ll give you all an update after the race.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Happy Easter!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter with those you love. Mine started with early Easter Mass. Jack was up in plenty of time to eat and get to church by 7:30 (wow! Have our weekends changed). We included him in our Easter tradition of scones and chai after church, and then took lots of pictures after we got home.

(Thank you for Peter Rabbit, Grandma Laura!)

And check out Jack’s two bottom teeth!

We were a little too busy this year to get distracted with chocolate bunnies. But if you had an indulgent day I hope you savored every bite and have plans to get back to it tomorrow. Have a great rest of the weekend!

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Midweek Break

Just a quick stop in to say hi. Wonderful start to the day here! Jack is back to his happy self now that the second tooth has pretty much broken through. So I was well-rested headed into spin this morning and got a great workout. Right before class my friend, Emily, lovingly bullied me into a 5 minute plank. Love friends who push you!

And to help your day get off to a good start I have to share some quick videos of Jack from this weekend. He thinks he is playing a game when I take his onesie off and giggles as he tries to pinch his arms to his side. Matt will come to Jack’s nursery and ask if I’m changing a onesie again…and I give a huge smile and an unapologetic yes.

And the second is Matt with Jack…our sweet little boy is an equal opportunity laugher.

I hope your day is full of smiles too. Anything making you laugh lately?

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