Davis Family Photos 2014...James Turns 9 Months

You've seen some already (if you're on Facebook) but I'll add some you haven't seen yet. 

Warning: This will be picture overload but James is insanely cute so it's o.k.

I can't tell if he's laughing or crying!

Where did he get that good posture?!

That tongue.

That tooth!

That lip.

Cute smile :)

You want me to do what?!

Why are those adults over there doing crazy things to make me smile...I just don't get it.

Chillaxin'

Buckeyes? Eww. Where's my Razorback gear?!

If I have to wear this, I'll at least look cute doing it.

Old school.

No words needed.

9 months old!

Colts family

His best Heisman pose

Big ole head along with his most serious face.

Handing Off James

For those who follow my blog, I've talked about my struggles with leaving James. I'm not referring to leaving him at the sitter while I'm working. What I'm referring to is those times outside of my work routine.

Those times when Jimmy and I go on short dates about 10 minutes away from my house because I can't stand to be further than that...those times Jimmy has to take my phone away from me because I want to keep checking on James or look at his pictures even though we've only been gone an hour.

I think you get the point.

In the last week, I've had two different leaders at our church (which doesn't have a nursery on Sunday mornings) ask if a nursery is something that I would take advantage of if our church had one. On the surface, it sounds great! Hand James off to one of my fellow church attenders so I can focus on the message?!

One of my biggest complaints since having James is that I really haven't heard a church sermon in 9+ months because of caring for James. The more I thought about our church having a nursery, the more I thought I wouldn't bring him to it. Honestly, I still have issues letting him go. When I figured this out in my wonderful brain, I then thought, "WHY?! Why do I feel this way?"

Here's where I want y'all to chime in:

I wonder if it's because I'm away from him daily while I'm at work and I feel guilty for leaving him any other time. I feel like I need to take advantage of every single moment that I'm not at work.

That's all I could come up with! I would really like to hear from stay at home moms or part time working moms on this one. Is it really hard for you to leave your babies for dates, etc. even though you are with them a lot during the week days?

I need more perspective and understanding as to why I can't just LET GO! Does this end when they turn a certain age?

Talk to me, ladies.

Conflicted...My Struggle With Envy

1st: This is my 300th post! I wish it wasn't so serious! LOL.

 

2nd: Formal definitions help me.

 

Conflicted: be incompatible or at variance; clash

 

Envy: a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.

 

 

I'm a mom/wife and I work full time. I love my job, but I love Mr. and Baby Boo more. I've had many, many thoughts, the past couple weeks or so, about working part time. I think about how awesome it would be to:

•  Get JUST ONE extra hour of sleep (which means waking up at 645 instead of 545)
• Drink my coffee in the comfort of my own home (instead of in my car between work duties)
• Spend more time during the week with James
• Run during the day so I could spend more time with Mr. Boo in the evening
• Do my devotional while James is napping (rather than in the morning when every single thing seems to interrupt me)

 

...and the list goes on and on.

 

I am so thankful for the wonderful job that I have and for the things it provides for my family, BUT I also get super annoyed by the fact that, because of my career choice, I have student loans up the butt. Jimmy and I are doing a really good job paying extra towards them but we still have a long way to go...then we start saving for retirement...UGH!!! IT NEVER ENDS!!

 

There is more to life than being worried about paying stupid bills. Sometimes I hate being responsible! I wish I could put some of our bills on pause for 5 or 6 years until our kids (no I'm not pregnant) are in school. I want to enjoy these first few years because they go fast and they are so precious.

 

Because  of all of these things above, I am very envious of moms who stay home with their babies. No matter which route you take, being "mommy" isn't an easy road. I want more time with my baby. I'm not saying I want to be full time stay at home mom but I do wish I was part time stay at home mom :)

 

 



An Exciting Week In The World of James....

My boy decided to end his 8th month with a bang! He has been eating more consistently, talking up a storm, and hitting some developmental milestones.

Even though I have a ton of frozen homemade food in my freezer, James seems to prefer those squirt pouches. When did those become a thing, anyway?! I'm pretty sure we didn't have those when I has a kid. Sometimes he likes me to squirt it straight from the pouch; other times, he likes it with a spoon. We'll just agree that feeding him takes a lot of patience nowadays but it getting a lot better.

"Talking up a storm" does not mean actual words but he is definitely more vocal and we take turns talking as I pretend to know what he's saying. SO FUN!

Finally, James had two developmental firsts this week. At our family photo shoot, we were all on our bellies taking some pics and J decided to scoot/creep/crawl forward (I seriously do not know the difference between the terms). He has been getting all over the place for a while but mostly via rolling, scooting backwards, and wiggling. This time, he actually progressed forward using his arms but his belly and legs were just there for the ride...kinda like the military crawl. It was so cool to see...Jimmy and I were speechless.

Then, yesterday, he decided to go from his belly to the sitting position by himself. Jimmy and I both missed it! We were both in the living room, Jimmy looked over and saw him sitting. We were like "what the what?!" J pretty much did that the rest of the evening ;)

(you can skip the video to 1 minute to save time)

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Besides those fun things, J's cousin, Maggy, was born and J went to the zoo for the second time (but his first time going while awake!).  He LOVED the fish at the aquarium but wasn't the biggest fan of feeding the giraffes.

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My boy turns 9 months tomorrow! I am so happy that he is healthy and growing. He goes to his 9 month appointment on Wednesday so we'll get his recent stats. I'm dying to know how much he weighs!

A Weird Feeling: Marriage and Pregnancy Post Baby #1

James will be 9 months this weekend. I have yet to be separated from my sweet, precious baby boy for more than a work day or a 2 hour date with Mr. Boo. The thought of leaving him over night with someone absolutely makes me want to cry. I know he would be well cared for, but I don't want to be away from him! I guess I feel like I'm already away from him too much during the week because of work (hashtag full time working mom problems).

 

Where are these thoughts even coming from, you ask?

 

Mr. Boo and I will be celebrating five years of marriage next year...5 YEARS! Jimmy wants to go on a vacation, of sorts, to celebrate. We have so much to celebrate in our five years (and 15 months of dating). I do feel it's important for us to get away and be together, just the two of us (we can make it if we try...anyone else singing the song?!)...especially after becoming parents.

 

 

One of the biggest challenges in my 9 months as a mother has been staying connected with my hubby. We have been on dates (thanks to the grandparents) but I always feel the need to rush back to James. I feel like I've been an awful wife and a mediocre mother. I know we need to make this anniversary vacation happen but there's one thing stopping me:

 

 

THIS BOY!

 

 

James will be around 16 months during the time we would be gone. Hopefully, he'll be eating real food and weaned off of breast feeding at that point.

Another bummer...we wanted to start to get pregnant after my race season is over with, late October/early November. There's no way I'm gonna be preggo on my 5th anniversary vacation! Therefore, if we decide to go away, baby making round two will have to be postponed by 6 or 7 months :(


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Fast forward 3 hours from the time I typed the above:
 When we got home, Jimmy said he thought we just needed to pick a week near our anniversary and plan for family to watch James. I agreed, even though I know it's going to be hard!

The cool part? Jimmy said he wants to pick the destination and surprise me! SWEET!!!! I thought that sounded like an excellent idea! Looks like Baby Boo #2 won't make an appearance for a while longer.

Waving, Another Tooth, Eating, and Massive Dooking

My little cutie had a first this week...

HE WAVED! 

It was so stinkin' cute! At first, I thought I was trippin' but he has been doing it ever since. It's still hit or miss but I'm still a proud mommy :-) I'm also starting to teach him how to high five. He's starting to get the idea but isn't quite there.

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This was one of MANY takes. We could never get the perfect picture because he hated the light!

James popped out his second tooth about a week ago! He was unusually fussy last Friday so we finally broke down and gave him Tylenol. It really seemed to help his mood. The next day, we noticed a big ole tooth in his mouth! It looks a little weird, though, because the second one is significantly bigger that his first tooth. Hopefully it all evens out!

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My boy is FINALLY starting to eat willingly! He doesn't eat everyday and it takes a lot of patience on my part, but at least I don't have to force it in his mouth. His favorites seem to be the squirt pouches (usually something fruity), mum mums, and, most recently, puffs. He seems to prefer me squirting the food in his mouth rather than me feeding him with a spoon (although, he will occasionally take food from the spoon). I think he likes the mum mums because they are big enough for him to hold on his own. He doesn't quite have the pincer grasp yet but tries really hard to pick up the puffs with his two little fingers. 

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Funny boy ;)

Now that he's eating a little more, I'm starting to deal with a change in his poopy diapers. The following may be TMI if you don't have kids or care to talk about poop. Lately, it seems like every time I change a diaper, he has a little poop around his booty hole but none on his diaper. I just knew there would be a massive explosion in my future. I was secretly hoping it would happen to Jimmy or Jane (his sitter)...love you guys! LOL. 

Today, J was grunting like he's never grunted before...and, then, I smelled it....the massive dook I've been anticipating. I'm just thankful he didn't let more out when I was changing him (I recruited Jimmy to help with this one!). An hour or so later, it happened again...but worse! It's like this boy had a poop reserve. Hopefully his body will adjust well to the changing diet so my boy doesn't get an upset tummy :(

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Coming Soon: 

We have family pictures next week and James has his 9 month appointment the following week!

Half Marathon Training Weeks 6 & 7: Motivation Has Been Hard To Come By But Humidity Has Not...Also, Gnats and Deer

If I compare the first 5 weeks of training to the last two weeks, my motivation has definitely decreased. I think it's the dang weather! It has been so humid that it's just draining me. It's the getting-out-of-the-door part that's hard. Once I get through the first mile, I'm ready to go!

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Week 6 of training is the week following that lovely 12 miles of rolling hills in Nashville. I surprisingly felt fine after that adventure. Here's what week 6 looked like:

Day 1: Rest (still in Nashville)

Day 2: 6 solo miles (one of my few without J), no GPS, just a watch- 52:41 total time, 8:46 average

Day 3: Intervals, stroller run- 2mi WU, 16x400m with 200m jog between, 1mi CD (9 miles total)

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: 9 mile stroller run- 2mi WU, 3x[1mi marathon pace, 1mi 10k pace], 1mi CD

Day 6: 10 mile stroller run- 9:27 average, range 9:02-9:53

Day 7: Heart Walk 5K (walked)

Day three was slightly annoying because I had this grand plan to use the track up the road for my 400's. When I got there, I saw a big fat sign that said no strollers. The annoying part? I've been passed that track many times and I know I've seen people with strollers. Maybe it's my fault for being such a rule follower.

Day five was so challenging. I couldn't seem to get to my 10k pace but it was so stinkin' hot that I didn't let it get to me.

The real adventures seem to come during long runs. Jackie and I did our run on Friday evening at The O trail (we meet at Antrim Park). We debated all day about when to meet due to the weather reporting rain. We finally had to say screw it and bring the rain covers for our boys just in case. Despite the humidity,  the first couple miles were o.k. but THEN (cue music) gnat-nado made an appearance. In all my years of running and being a hillbilly in Arkansas, I have NEVER seen gnats this bad. They were all over us, the boys, our gear...it was SO DISGUSTING!!! It got so bad we had to stop and swat them off of our boys and put their rain covers on the strollers just to keep them from being attacked!
Towards the end of this run, three deer ran across the path which is always cool to see but, a few moments later, we saw two bucks staring us down. It kinda freaked us out because it looked like one of them was coming after us! EEK!
After we finished this run, Jackie and I didn't even stay to chat and stretch. We just got the heck out of there, went home, and showered off the grossness that was that run.

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Week 7 looked like this:

Day 1: 8 mile tempo stroller run,  splits ranged from 8:30 to 9:39

Day 2: 6 mile stroller run, easy, 9:25 average

Day 3: Rest

Day 4: 7 mile stroller run- 1mi EZ, 5mi marathon pace (range 9:09 to 9:35), 1miEZ

Day5: Rest

Day 6: 13 mile stroller run (9:25 average)

Day 7: Rest/watch football

I've been dreading this week since training started because of the long run...13 miles?! I can't believe I did it with James in the stroller. It would have sucked a lot more if Jackie hadn't been there. It seriously amazes me how cooperative our boys are during these runs. Peyton slept pretty much the entire run and James slept the first half of it then mostly chilled (whine free) for the rest of it (he had a bottle to hold him over until we finished). Jackie and I have the best running buddies EVER!

We ran through Westerville and hit up the Genoa trail (thanks to my friend, Pam, for the idea). Once we hit the trail, it was nice and shady...perfect for the hot day we were having. I wasn't paying much attention to the times from MapMyRun so I was shocked when I saw our split times. We had negative splits the entire second half of our run! No wonder I felt pooped.

I might have mentioned in a recent post that I've been taking Gu gels during longer runs. I'm starting to wonder if they're upsetting my stomach. TMI: I was having some major bowel/gas issues during this run. It was awful. I may try the gels for my training runs this week to see if I notice the same thing. If I do, I need to find another option.

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I can't believe we only have 5 weeks until our first half marathon! I hope all of this hard work pays off!