Time flies

I'm so often amazed by the changes I see in my son that I sometimes forget that the rest of the world is changing too. Case in point, every summer for the past five years, my niece has come to visit. This year was no exception.

The first year she came, we did all the typical touristy stuff. She was 13 and looked like this:

The two summers after Milo was born were a little less exciting for her. The first summer, I had a 3-month-old and was exhausted from the every-two-hours 24/7 breastfeeding. But we still had some fun. And my then-15-year-old niece looked like this:

This summer, her visit was shorter (mostly due to our living arrangements at the moment) but it was probably the most fun since that first visit. She and I went to Paint the Town for some girl time without Milo or the S.O. We also did some shopping and made our annual trip to the zoo.

My little niece has grown into a young woman. She's smart and confident and totally opinionated. She's also beautiful. And loves her little cousin so much.

He loves her too, though you can't tell from this photo

I love this kid like she were my own. Her dad should be one proud papa. (I'm sure he is.) Too soon, she'll be all grown up, out in the wide world on her own. And she'll do great.

Moving on up

Sorry for the recent radio silence, but I'm back and making a concerted effort to write more.

We are in the process of moving into a new house. I say house because it won't really be our home. The plan is to stay there while we figure out where we want our home to be. Will it be in our current town? Will it be somewhere near by or somewhere far far away? We just don't know right now. And moving is stressful enough without having important things up in the air.

We really like our current neighbors, but many of them are also moving away, so it's time to go. Plus, Milo is young enough right now to not miss this place. Our next home will be the home we all chose together.

We have had many ups and downs in this house -- this home -- but it wasn't a place the S.O. and I picked out together. I moved in here with him. So, while it's been my home for the past eight years, it's never exactly felt like *my place.*

I think Milo is resilient enough to quickly bounce back from any stress he might experience in moving. And besides, he will get some extra time with his grandma -- who spoils him terribly. And he's getting some new toys out of the deal.

I'm sure the S.O. and I are also resilient enough to bounce back from the stress of moving. It just might take us a little longer. Grandma won't spoil us as much.

Friday Flashback

Look at these little ones from Milo's first birthday party.

Milo

Caden

Kaylee

Robbie

Darian

Abi and Braeden

The same kids a year later, at Milo's second birthday party.

Milo

Caden

Kaylee

Robbie

Darian

Abi

Braeden

Friday Flashback

Milo and I are going to the zoo today with some friends. I think Milo will enjoy it a lot more than he did the first time we went.

 

He may not have gotten much out of the zoo, but at least it was relaxing.

Friday Flashback

My little Easter egg hunter, shortly before his first birthday last year.

Friday flashback

The S.O. and me just a few days after finding out I was pregnant

As we plan Milo's first birthday party, I scroll through old pictures -- pictures of the S.O. and me before Milo. Sometimes it's hard to remember what I was like before becoming a mom. Sometimes it's hard to remember what life was like before Milo came along. Looking back at the pre-Milo pictures often makes me miss my pre-pregnancy figure but I wouldn't change anything else.

11 Months

Dear Milo,

Another fun month with you has passed. This month -- up until two nights ago -- has been great.

Unfortunately, you caught something that's been going around and you woke with a fever pushing 103 degrees. Which the triage nurse told your daddy and me is actually considered mild. It didn't feel mild. You felt like you were burning up. We ended up changing you out of your jammies into a short-sleeve onesie. You slept between us until you got too fussy about 5 a.m. We took you back to your own room and you slept until after 8. You spent the day taking cat naps and alternating between being playful and being cranky.

The rest of the month has been really nice. You moved up to the "Birds" class at the Little Gym, joining a couple of friends who had already moved up and making new friends with the bigger kids. You're practicing your walking all over the place, even at the park. While at the park, you enjoyed your first experience on the swings.

You've taken to coming over to me when I try to take your picture. It makes for some cute close ups but it also means I have a lot of pictures of you hanging on my legs or trying to grab the camera.

You love your Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear, snuggling with him when we put you to bed, using him as a pillow and telling him all kinds of stories when you wake up in the morning. Some mornings I'll lie in bed and listen to you babble. It always makes me smile. You seldom wake up crying anymore.

Your personality is really shining. You mimic Daddy and me now. Which means we will have to really watch what we say because before we know it, you'll be talking for real. Sometimes it seems you are already using real words -- you definitely say, "dog," "dad" and "mama." So it won't be long before my baby is a toddler.

It's so exciting, watching you change and learn. You still amaze me every day. I hope I never forget to tell you how you amaze me and how proud I am to be your mom.

I love you, Sweetness.

Love,

Mommy

Growing baby

Milo in his bouncy seat at two weeks old

Milo in his bouncy seat now

Thank goodness that seat has a 25-pound weight limit. Milo is growing so quickly.

Week 26: Milestones

I can't believe how time is flying by. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was announcing my pregnancy. Now I've got just a little more than three months before I welcome my son into the world.

This week my newsletter from Fit Pregnancy tells me my little alien weighs about 1 1/2 pounds (about 1/4 pound more than last week) and "would be about a foot tall if (he) could stand." That seems huge! No wonder I feel like I'm starting to have my own gravitational pull.

This week marks a major milestone in Baby's hearing and sight, they tell me.

"Your baby's hearing system (cochlea and peripheral sensory end organs), which began fine development during week eighteen, is now completely formed, and over the next few weeks, she'll become increasingly sensitive to sound. In about a month, you'll feel her jump if she hears a sudden loud noise. Sound passes easily into your uterus, which helps her ears develop."

And his eyes are almost fully formed, they say, telling me that all babies have blue eyes in the womb, no matter what their genetic inheritance is. Apparently, baby's eyes don't get their final color until he's a few months old. However, according to my own baby book, at birth my eyes were "dark." And Mom told me my eyes were so dark, no one could tell what color they actually were. So, I'm either a freak of nature, or Fit Pregnancy isn't totally right.

As for my changing body, they're not telling me anything I haven't known for a while now, when they say, "Sleeping is definitely getting uncomfortable." They don't offer any advice on how to make it more comfortable. They just tell me:

"Try sleeping on your left side. Your baby has to battle with your backbone when you're lying on your back, and sleeping on your back will also position your uterus over a major artery, cutting off blood flow."

I've been doing that. Still doesn't make sleep comfortable. Lots of extra pillows helps -- helps me. The poor S.O. has very little room left for himself. Good thing he's a heavy sleeper.

New-style Sunday

I got new hair.

Why do I always forget that I really don't like my hair long. After several months of growing it out, I always go back to a short 'do. Plus, I know when the baby comes, I won't want to deal with styling long hair and I would end up with a pony tail every day.

Then and Now

That was then:

Boxing on May 15, 2010

 This is now:

Dec. 1, 2010 and 19-weeks pregnant