New State. New Blog

So...I figured that with all the new things we would be encountering with our move to Omaha I thought I would start a new blog. This blog is going to be the place where I journal and share my journey of making our new house a home. I am no interior decorator and I am going to be working on a tight budget but I think it is going to be fun and I hope to learn a few things along the way.

If you're interested in joining me for this journey check out my new blog My Design Dreams at mydesigndreams-ml.blogspot.com.

Bath Time

Baby g has come a long way.
From screaming. . .


. . . to this. Totally loving his nightly bath. I think it actually might be soothing to him now.

3 Months

Our little guy is three months and of course I can't believe he is already that old. He is getting so big!

We don't have another Dr. appointment until he is four months but doing the little scale trick I would say he is close to twelve pounds! I would also guess that he has probably grown another inch in length.

This kid just gets to be more fun every day. His smile completely warms and melts my heart. There is nothing like having his big blue eyes meet mine and then break out in a huge grin. It seriously is the best!

I sure love our little guy! Happy three month b-day baby g!

the happiest place on earth

. . . is the changing table at our house. Yep this kid loves his changing table or more specifically the picture above the changing table. He is mesmerized by it. Now I just need to figure out how to get that kind of happiness other places in the house particularly places where mom can get some things done.

growing up

I love watching this little guys personality come out. He is such
a cutie!









Props to dad on the great
photos!

the mom do

I once had long hair.
Then I had a baby.
Now I have a "mom do."




... and I love it!

Baby Boot Camp

Recently baby g entered baby boot camp and subsequently brought d and I along for the ride.

Sending a baby through a boot camp sounding a little rough? Well don't worry it isn't as bad as it sounds although there may be a little delay of gratification involved there isn't much pain experienced.

I purchased a book titled "12 Hours Sleep by 12 Weeks." Sounds awesome right? I thought so too.

In the book the author lays out a four step program to wean your baby off night feedings and get them to sleep 12 hours!

After reading a good portion of the book I have started implementing some of the techniques and steps the author lays out.

Ironically I haven't actually started on step one because I had to work baby g up to being ready for step one.

Now here comes my dilemma. . .the first step of the program is to start to encourage your baby to eat every 4 hours once they reach 8 weeks. Well baby g was still eating every 2 hours at 6 weeks old. This is where the prep to even start the program begins. For the past two weeks I have been pushing baby g to eat every 3 hours in preparation to move to eating every 4 hours and we are just now really falling into the 3 hour schedule.

Now all that being said here is my problem, being the concerned parent that I am I asked the pediatrician whether or not it was ok to be pushing baby g to eat every four hours. She said that babies really should be eating every 2-3 hours. Then in the literature they gave me it says he should be eating every 3-4 hours. Go figure.

The idea behind the methodology is that you aren't decreasing the amount of food your baby gets you are simply condensing it. Makes sense to me. I am still leery of sending baby g through the rest of boot camp however as I worry it would be detrimental to his health.

What is your opinion? Boot camp or no boot camp?

Creighton University

That is where we are headed for the next 3 years of our lives. Omaha Nebraska home of Creighton University law school.

Things I am excited for:
- chance to experience living outside of Utah
- moving to a new place (I am working on the hubs for a possible 3 bedroom, maybe even a small house or townhome)
- opportunity to meet new people and make new friends

Things I am not so excited about:
- being far from away from family
- being a widow (I hear law school keeps you pretty busy)
- moving all of our stuff across a couple states

I know this is going to be a great learning and growing experience for us and even though I am scared and very nervous I know that we are in good hands and everything will work out for our good.

iPhone

The title says it all.

I have the best husband a girl could ask for and frankly he spoils me rotten.

I am currently in heaven. If you need me that is where I will be, playing with my new toy!

the perfect chocolate chip cookie

Many of you know that I have been on the hunt for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe and had many failures.

Recently I was talking with my cute sister-in-law and she mentioned a chocolate chip cookie recipe that she said was the absolute best recipe ever.

Being the sucker I am for a great cookie I just had to try it. The recipe was on Americas Test Kitchen called "the perfect chocolate chip cookie" and let me tell you it truly is the perfect chocolate chip cookie and I was able to successfully make it!

This cookie doesn't go flat. It is chewy and absolutely delicious. I may or may not be addicted. This is definitely my new go to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Give it a try I dare ya! You won't be disappointed.

i love poopy diapers

That may seem weird that I would love poopy diapers but I do. Baby g was a little under weight at his two week appt. so we have been very conscientious of the amount of food that baby g takes in and the amount that comes out. That is right poopy means it went all the way through him and didn't come back out via spit up. So this mama loves her a poopy diaper.

Please note this mama doesn't like blowouts. I definitely prefer these poopies to stay in the diaper but I suppose I can't be too picky. I guess I will just have to take them however they come.

birthday continued

On Monday I got the sweetest birthday gift from my family, a day of pampering and shopping!

My mom came to Orem and whisked (really it was more like a strategically planned and choreographed departure) baby g and I away on an outing to Park City.




Once we arrived in Park City I was treated to seriously one of the best pedicures ever at LaBelle Salon. This was an incredibly relaxing pedicure and it didn't cost an arm and a leg. I highly recommend it if you are ever in PC.

My mom was so awesome and babysat baby g while I enjoyed an hour of relaxation and little worry.

After my pedicure we ventured to the outlets for some shopping. Baby g quickly expressed his dislike of shopping (typical boy) and so we dealt with a little fussing but grandma is a pro and even got him to take the binky. That is a sign of a true veteran.


We did most of our shopping at Eddie Bauer and I was able to find some really cute things. Now if summer would just show up then I could wear them!

As always any time spent with my mom was absolutely awesome. I couldn't have had a more enjoyable day. So if you are reading this mom THANK YOU!!

24 years old

Yesterday I turned 24 years old and to be honest I can't believe I am that old nor do I feel that old.

I had an AMAZING day all thanks to my sweet hubby and loving family. Here is a little recap of how it went.

D made me breakfast of muffins, eggs, bacon and orange juice. It was delicious! Then D held Gavin while I showered and got ready. I love the weekends because I have D here to help with baby g so a longer than five minute shower is possible.

I fed baby g around 10:20 and we were out the door for church by 10:45. Things went really well at church. Baby g slept through most all the meetings. It was great! We then came home and ate some lunch. D made me a mean PB&J. After lunch D and I took turns holding and loving baby g until D began making dinner. The menu consisted of Ranch chicken, peas and toast. It was delicious!

After dinner D surprised me with an ice cream cake! It was Oreo and very tasty! D was also very sweet and got me a couple of gifts. He bought me a really cute hat and a sweet new North Face jacket so that I can FINALLY throw away my grey jacket that he has wanted me to get rid of for forever. Lets face it the thing is totally trashed and it is overdue for retirement.

D did a great job with the gifts that he bought and truly made me feel special all day long. I ended the day with a nice gift from baby g, sleep from ten to twelve. It was heavenly.

I had a marvelous birthday and look forward to all that my 24th year has in store for me.

smacking

One of my biggest pet peeves is smacking. You know the sound someone makes when they eat with their mouth open. I can't stand it. It drives me up a wall.

I have recently discovered however that it mostly matters who the smacker is.



Baby g is a smacker. In his sleep that is and let me tell you smacking has never been so cute! I love watching him do different things with his mouth and yes I even love the smacking sounds he makes.

So guess a pet peeve doesn't always span across the board. In this case a little person turned something that is annoying when done by adults into something cute. How do they do it?

starting

I have known for awhile now that I am a little special when it comes to certain things. I definitely have some OCD tendencies.

One of these such tendencies is feeling that I can only begin something at the beginning. For instance I can't start exercising tomorrow because it is Friday and you can't start your new workout regime at the end if the week. It should be Monday.



Well no more. I am going to put my ridiculous notions about when I can and can't start things behind me and I am going to start tomorrow!

That is right I am going to start tomorrow, a Friday (assuming baby g gives me 30 minutes). Jillian Micheals and I are going to become best friends.

Do you have any weird tendencies like not wanting to start something new and the end of an old week?

something new

Last night we tried something new. We gave baby g his first bottle of breast milk.

How did it go you ask?



Absolutely wonderful! He took it no problem. D was also an all star bottle feeder! I was so excited! I can't tell you how freeing it was to have baby g's nourishment needs being met and I wasn't doing it. It is so nice to know that if for any reason I can't be around to feed baby g then someone else can! Yippee!

Now I've just got to get pumping.

six weeks

It has been six weeks since baby g was born and I can't believe it. Time is flying. Hours are blending into days and days are blending into weeks. It is crazy how much has happened and changed in just a few short weeks.

I had my six week check up today and I have got the green light on exercise and I couldn't be more excited. I am anxious to get back into shape and be more active.

There is a part of me that is nervous because I can't use the fact that I am recovering as an excuse NOT to exercise. I also am worried because some days getting a shower is challenging let alone squeezing 30 minutes of exercise. I am just going to do my best and I am sure things will get easier as baby g gets older.

Here's to getting back in shape!

it's a wrap

. . . around baby g that is.

This past weekend I was able to get some material to make a homemade version of a moby wrap. I lucked out and was able to get material regularly $10 a yard at 50% off so it was only $5 a yard and in the end I got TWO moby wraps for just $25!




I am pretty much loving this thing and baby g loves it too! It is almost like I am pregnant again except he is on the outside now.



I used it today and was able to get all sorts of things done. It was fabulous! The main reasons I am liking it over say a sling or other baby carrier is because

1) baby g can be upright which is his fave position to sleep in

2) I can keep the wrap on and still nurse so that when I am done and baby g is sleeping I can easily put him in the wrap without putting him down which is what usually wakes him.

So pretty much I am lovin my wrap and the freedom it gives me while still keeping my babe close.

day in the life

I think on occasion I will write a little more in detail about a specific day in the life of the Leavitt family. This may or may not be information you care to know but since this is my blog I can write whatever I want. So here I go!

What a day it has been! It started out a bit rough coming from a more challenging night. I felt I got significantly less sleep than usual and I was tired. I was finally able to get back to bed around nine and thankfully was able to sleep until around eleven. I fed baby g and then he just wanted to hang out. I used this time period to eat, tidy the kitchen and clean the bathroom. It was great how much I was able to get done. Then it was time to feed again and this time take a nap afterwards. Baby g went down with a little love and rocking from D. I then got the longest span of free time I have had in a long time thanks to D doing some baby g holding. I was able to. . .

- clean the shower
- start and finish two loads of laundry
- get myself completely ready (makeup, hair blow dried and straightened and dressed)
- transitioned winter clothes out of closet and summer clothes in
- prepare and eat lunch

Can you believe all that!? I was beyond thrilled that I could get that much accomplished. I am so thankful I have an amazing partner in this parenting business so I can have opportunities to do other things outside of baby care.

After feeding baby g we loaded him up and headed to Walmart to do some MAJOR grocery shopping. We ran into a bit of a glitch when baby g decided that he was unhappy in his car seat. D ended up having to push around the cart holding the car seat with one hand that while holding baby g in the other. I was in charge of getting all the groceries. It was pretty intense and D was a total trooper.

Once done at Walmart baby g was actually being pretty good and D gave me the go ahead to make a quick stop at JoAnnes fabric store to pick up some fabric to make a wrap that i can use to tote around baby g. This final stop however pushed baby g over the edge and by the time I got back to the car he was not happy. He cried hard the entire way home and then proceeded to fall asleep right as we pulled in at home! We laughed about his impeccable timing.

Our torture of the poor child didn't end with the Walmart trip. Oh no, baby g was in dire need of a bath. This isn't necessarily one of his favorite things although he actually only cried through washing his hair which I thought made his bath quite a success. I think one day he is really going to love baths. After the bathing, diapering, lotioning and dressing torture were completed he FINALLY got to cuddle with mom and eat. He definitely liked that and mom was able to take a big breath and relax.

It is days like today where I am grateful I even survive but at the same time I am so grateful for all the good that occurs. Slowly but surely we are figuring out this parenting stuff and by george it sure is an adventure!

in 'n out

I have the best husband in the world! He takes such good care of me.

I may have texted him the other day saying that we have no food, I have no idea what we are going to eat and that I was craving French fries (all these things are very common occurrences).

D comes home. I am caring for baby g. We talk briefly about our days and then he says "so should I see what I can come up with for dinner?" I said yes and good luck. A few seconds later he walks in with an In 'N Out bag full of two delicious hamburgers and plenty of fries!

All I have to say is HEAVEN.

I told you I have the best husband ever.

when life gives you lemons. . .

. . .make lemonade!

Motherhood is wonderful but that doesn't mean it doesn't come with a few challenges every once and awhile.

Recently I have been trying harder to make the best of hard situations. For instance when baby g is wide awake at 3 am and I am so tired I may have put my shirt on backwards I decided to organize baby g's dresser drawers to help distract me from my exhaustion. My tactic worked and before I knew it baby g was finally tired enough to go to sleep.

Another instance of making sour to sweet was on Mother's Day I had been working off and on (you know cook a little, rock the baby, cook a little more, rock the baby) to get a scrumptious dinner made. I was literally just about to take my first bite and baby g decided he no longer wanted to be rocked back to sleep. He too was ready to eat. As I left my plate of delicious food on the table and headed to the confinement of the rocking chair I nearly broke down in tears. It was then that I decided that I wasn't going to be bummed out about this and asked d to move dinner into the nursery where I skillfully ate my dinner one handed.

I am slowly learning that things are not going to always work out just how I'd like them to but there is always a silver lining to any situation. Focusing on that silver lining is what makes all the difference.

Do you want to be better about seeing the glass half full instead of half empty? Check out these inspired words, here.

motherhood-womanhood

I am a mom.
I am a NEW mom and I am cherishing every moment.

What an incredible blessing it is to be a woman.

Motherhood thus far has taught me of the grandeur and importance of the role of women. We as women play such an important role in creating a brighter future by raising and teaching children no matter our relation to them.

I am grateful for all the influential women in my life and most of all my own mother. I have a mother who embodies motherhood through her unfailing love and sacrifice. I couldn't have been blessed with a sweeter mom and I am SO thankful for that.

Today, on Mothers Day I am filled with gratitude to be a mom and even more so to be a woman and daughter of God.

back to blogging

I am back at it people! I am determined to start writing about all the things I THINK about writing about. I want to try and post something every day this month starting today. I know it is already the 7th but hey give me some credit I am a new mom and my schedule is a little let's say unpredictable.

Anywho. . . wish me luck! This ought to be interesting.

my new best friend

. . . actually my TWO new best friends.

Of course my first new best friend is sweet baby g. We are buds and are having a great time hanging out with one another.

My second new best friend is my iPod Touch. We had a bit of a falling out when we first got together because frankly it couldn't do all the cool stuff I wanted it to because I had to have Internet connection in order to do anything. Well now that I am home and rocking chair bound we have rekindled our relationship and let me tell you we have become very close!

This little device has been awesome because I can still get SOME things done while I care for baby g. We're talking answering emails, keeping up on friends lives via Facebook, writing in my journal and now blogging! Pretty stinkin awesome if you ask me.

P.S. This makes me want an iPhone more than anything now. Can you imagine all this power at your fingertips NO MATTER where you are? What a dream.