June & July OVER!!

So, June and July have been SUPER busy! We had Brian's parents, my mom, anniversary trip, and a trip to Seattle! Soon we will even be headed to IL we are just a traveling family lately!

Jude is doing well, he has acquired two premolars (one on the plane to Seattle and one while in Seattle), he is running around, LOVES being outside in WA, and loves being in the water! He really is becoming such a sweet little man (that is when he is not throwing a temper tantrum... gotta love that red hair/German attitude)!! 

Brian is amazing and is the sexiest Major in the Army I know! He is working hard and enjoyed vacation time with us! I was flabbergasted on the flight to Seattle at how unhelpful other fathers are with their children and I just leaned over and kissed Brian and thanked him for being wonderful! 

I am doing well also, I am trying to keep my migraines at bay with Botox injections and Physical Therapy 1-2 times a week. I am also doing well with relaxing more and not stressing the little things! I am looking forward to our upcoming trip to IL to see family and hopefully enjoy some cooler weather. 

On a sad note our FAVORITE neighbors have moved away and PCSed to West Pointe and we already miss them so very much! :( 

PHOTO BOMB!

 Gaming with Dad

Fun with Grandpa Snyder

 Savannah Fountain with Grandma Stueckrad

 Promotion to Major!!

Escape Artist at Work

 Flying High in WA

Fun in the Sound with Mom at Tolmie 

Babyland with Grandma Stueckrad

Anniversary Trip with Hubby

Snuggles with Grandma Snyder

Donut Day! 

Ball Pit Fun with Mom

Cousin Love

Two Peg Leg Men

Hey There Cutie! 

Sprinkler Fun in Roy, WA

Yelm Farmer's Market!

Space Needle Family Pic

One of Jude's last visits to the neighbor's house! 

May is done and so is half of June... Ooops...

May was a pretty easy month. We celebrated Mother's Day, Jude had his 15 month appointment, and Brian got all set for his surgery this month. All in all everything was amazing! Mother's Day was spent hanging out with my friend Phoebe and the next day my dear husband and son pampered me, cooked for me, and loved me! It was AMAZING! :) 
Jude's 15 month appointment went well and he seems to really like his new doctor. He did well with his shots and was so patient during all the waiting. 

Now for the check in: 

Stop Eating Fast-Food: We are continuing to do really well! We did get my choice this month for the 3 month mini goal. So, we had McDonalds... Ummm YUM! 

Read One Book A Month: I was able to read two this month so I made up for my failure last month. I read: Sliding Into Home the next book was The Art of Chasing The Rain both were really good. I enjoyed the second book much more and I HIGHLY recommend it! 

Get Jude More Socialized: Still not much progress on that front. We are still hanging out with friends and their children. He is a sweet boy and is really playing well with others. 

Quality Time With Brian: Brian and I did not get a chance to get out this month, but we are looking forward to our little getaway for our Anniversary. 

More on June at the end of the month! 

A few photos: 

Walking on his Monkey Leash

Waiting at the Doctor's Office

Playing in the Pool 

Yummy! First Ice Cream 

Climbing on the couch now!

Playing with his best friend Ashley (next-door neighbor) 

April is over

So, this was a fun filled month! We enjoyed Easter with the neighbors again (Brian was working of course), my mom came to visit and get some quality time with Jude, and we went on a long weekend (mid week of course) to Nashville, TN to visit friends! 

It certainly was an amazing and busy month, which makes me look forward to May where we don't have to do ANYTHING or go ANYWHERE or host ANYONE! :) It will hopefully be a relaxing month, though it hasn't been so far... 

I really don't have much to say this month I am kind of fried over all. I am patiently awaiting our Anniversary trip in June where I feel like all I will do is sleep! LOL! I am trying very hard to keep my stress down and not worry about the little things which always seems so difficult for me... Ah well.... I AM TEFLON! ;)

Monthly Check-in:

1. Stop Eating Fast Food - We successfully made it to our mini goal of 3 months and decided that we would treat ourselves once every three months. So, we got Dairy Queen (Brian's choice obviously) and it was okay, but not what I had hoped. I am hoping in June/July for some McDonalds or Jack in the Box... yum!

2. Read One Book A Month - SUPER DUPER FAIL! I don't think I even got a quarter of the way through my book. It just didn't grab me and I found it dull. So, I am going to start a new book this month. The book I attempted to read, but didn't was: The Cat Who Blew the Whistle. I used to LOVE The Cat Who... series, but this one just didn't grab me... :(

3. Get Jude More Socialized - Jude had the opportunity to play with Jack-Jack our friend's child who is one month younger then Jude. They had a great time and were as thick as thieves! I am glad to see he can play well with others! :)

4. Quality Time with Brian - While my mom was visiting we went out to see a movie together which hasn't happened in over a year, probably more like 2! It was great to sit and relax together. We also finished A LOT of projects around the house before my mom arrived and loved coming together for a common goal. 

PICTURE TIME: 

Jude Hella Loves Oakland! 

Jack & Jude

Easter Egg Fun! 

Coffee with Grandma

Checking out the Kangaroos at Nashville Zoo

Justin & Jack with Brian & Jude

WOW Look at that Easter Basket! 

Antico Pizza YUM! 

Jude & Jack working together to move a chair

Jude Checking out the Trains 

Post March Check-in

This meeting has certainly been a busy one.  I started physical therapy (PT) this month for my migraines at my Neurologist office and it seems somewhat helpful and is a nice time to destress at least once a week. Jude had his 12 month appointment (though it was closer to 13 months) and that went... well... it was okay...
The doctor and nurse said that Jude dropped on the growth curve again and I was told that if this continued Jude would be fully labeled as "Failure to Thrive" which would require him to be in the hospital. Also in this appointment the doctor said to 1. Start Cows Milk 2. Take Away the Bottle and 3. Take Away the Pacifier. Yeah right doc! You can come to my house and do that if you would like. Anyways, when I went home with the mind set of "Okay to cows milk, bottle be gone by 14 months, and pacifier can stay" I decided to first look at my growth at home and "see the damage". Well, to my surprise Jude had not dropped at all and has maintained his 60th percentile. I returned the following day to the clinic, because there was a 4 day weekend coming up and they would be closed (closed for the holiday of St. Patrick's Day). They re-weighed Jude and he "suddenly" gained weight and went from the 34% to 45% in just 24 hrs. The nurse seemed unwilling to listen to me about having a different growth chart and wouldn't show me theirs thus I left and knew that my son was healthy and would continue to grow. 
The next week, I got to celebrate my birthday with my dear husband. We were able to have our neighbors watch Jude while we went to the Melting Pot. SO YUMMY! It was a wonderful birthday and I felt so very loved. The rest of the month went well and we enjoyed every moment we were able to spend as a family. Jude is walking around like crazy, only has one bottle a day (at night time), is talking more, and loves being active. 

Monthly Check-in:

1. Stop Eating Fast Food - Another month down, but I still crave it. I thought the cravings would stop by now, but man I could go for some Taco Bell or McDonalds! Ugh!

2. Read One Book A Month - I was a little late this month hence why I am not writing this until now. The name of the book was: A Break With Charity. It was pretty good, but not what I expected. 

3. Get Jude More Socialized - We had an older child over for dinner and Jude interacted with her some, ugh! It's just not going how I had hoped... 

4. Quality Time with Brian - We went out for my birthday as our date night. We are still trying to cute technology out of our meal times, but it seems that we are starting to slack on that. We have been spending time doing outings as a family which has been great. 

One Year Appointment

Today, Jude finally had his one year appointment. We had to wait until 28 days after his MMR vaccine that he got before our trip to Chicago. So, today we made the trek to Fort Stewart for our 0800 appointment (ugh so early!!). All in all his appointment went fairly well... he is developing well, his height and head circumference are on track, and his weight... well... that is to be determined. He has gained weight, but from what the doctor & nurse told me he dropped in percentiles again, but according to my growth chart he hasn't dropped at all. So, that part is still remaining to be seen whenever the doctor e-mails me back. We also had a discussion/disagreement on the presence of fluoride in the Richmond Hill water, which we then determined that the doctor would just give me a multivitamin with fluoride in it. The doctor also made three recommendations (on top of feeding him more food) 1. Add whole milk into his diet 2. Take away his bottle and 3. Take away his pacifier. I literally laughed in the doctor's face and told him he could come to my house and deal with my son if he intended all of that to happen at once. He said he understood and that we could work on it slowly. So, today we have started Jude on milk slowly. Next we will cut out the 2 bottles he gets a day and switch them to sippy cups and finally (and in no particular hurry) we will cut out the pacifier except at night & then all together. I just really don't want him to become a thumb sucker... 

Following the appointment Jude had four immunization and then a standard blood draw for anemia so we will await those results as well. All things considered Jude really was a champ through all of it and though he shed a few tears he got over it quickly and was smiling at everyone within minutes. 

After breakfast Jude had his first taste of cow's milk and he seemed to enjoy it for the most part. We will see as we slowly add more to his diet. My sweet baby boy is growing up and changing so much! 

February

Though it is the shortest month of the year this February has been jam packed! This month we took the LONG LONG (14+ hours) drive to Illinois for Jude's 1st Birthday Party! 

We had a great time seeing everyone and really loved celebrating Jude's 1st year of life! Jude was so lucky and thankful for everything he was given and for all the love and squishes from all in attendance. 

Since being home we have been working on getting over any and all sicknesses that we acquired from the weather, friends, and just traveling in general. Photos to follow!!

Now for the end of the month check-in:

1. Stop Eating Fast-food - This month was slightly easier, with the exception of the drive to/from IL. We did stop at a McDonald's for breakfast, but we were both very good and only had oatmeal & coffee! Brian even said today he feels like pushing it to 6 months!

2. Reading One Book a Month - I didn't quite make it this time, but I was able to finish it in the first few days of March. This month I read The Nanny Diaries 

3. Get Jude Socialized More - Not so much thus far. We did get to have the opportunity for Jude to play with some of his cousins, but I am still at a loss for what to get him involved in. Still need to get to the children's museum.

4. Quality Time with Brian - This month our date night was while we were in Illinois. My mom was able to watch Jude and Brian and I snuck off to Cheesecake Factory and Trader Joe's. We were also able to have a nice candlelight dinner the three of us for Valentine's Day!!

In the next month (this month technically) I plan on focusing on how to fix up my life. I need to be able to take some time to do the things I enjoy to do and really develop myself as a person!

PHOTO BOMB!! 

 From Jude's 1st Birthday Photo Shoot! So HANDSOME! 

 Cake Face

 Starbucks Lover

 A Year in Review

 Opening Presents at home before heading to IL 

 Actual 1st Birthday! Clothes from Uncle Dan & a Rib! 

 Cake Table at Jude's Birthday Party

Jude's Smash Cake at his Party

Jude Celebrating at Our Neighbor's for his Birthday! 

January is done

So, lets check and see how I did on my resolutions/goals for the New Year. 

1. Stop Eating Fast Food - We made it through the first month and I'm not going to lie it was tough!!

2. Read 1 Book a Month - I did it! Woot! I read Pretend You Don't See Her By: Mary Higgins Clark 

3. Get Jude to Socialize More - I have researched and there are NO Mother & Me groups in Richmond Hill, I did find a Children's Museum in Savannah I hope to go to. We also had dinner and a play date with Maddie! :)

4. Devote Quality time to Brian - We have eliminated technology during meal times and we are spending some time just the two of us at nights (when he is home). We also went on a date night to a couples massage - VERY nice!! :) 

So, all in all it seems to be going well. I am keeping busy with other little projects and getting ready for Jude's first birthday in a few weeks! I cannot believe our little man will soon be one! Thanks to Pinterest it will be a well decorated birthday party! WOOT!! 

11 months old! Holy cow!

I cannot believe that Jude is 11 months old! He is growing up so fast and soon it will be his 1st birthday! Our little man is now walking between two people about 10 -15 steps, he is crawling over everything, eating 3 meals a day, and signing food & more. We couldn't be prouder of our little man and we are looking forward to celebrating his 1st birthday with friends & family in Illinois! 

In the past month Jude has celebrated his 1st Christmas, 1st New Years (thankfully he slept through all the loud fireworks), and has enjoyed spending time with our neighbors. Which leads to one of Jude's new favorite words... "Kit-tay!" which at times is also "Kit-Kat" and even sometimes "Kit-tay Kat". 

We are so proud and love this little man so much it is sometimes amazing to us that he is all ours! 

A few photos...

 11 Month Old Photos! He is always on the go go go! 

Faux - Hawk!  

Game Day! Ready to root on the Seahawks to the Super Bowl!

Jude is ready to root for the Seahawks in the Superbowl! Go HAWKS!!

A Labor of Love

Making baby food has always been something I wanted to do. I wanted to know what exactly my son was eating, give him the healthiest option, give him an ever expanding variety, and limit the amount of crap he would ingest. 

So, making baby food has become my labor of love. Is it fun to stand over a sink and de-seed a bag full of cherries? No, but I love the smile on my son's face when he eats it and the yum sound he makes. Does it take more time? Of course it does, but I save time by not having to read labels on everything to make sure that I know what he is eating. All of this and people still treat me like I am crazy. They ask me when he will eat normal food (i.e. sugar, juice, etc.). They give me weird looks when I still excuse myself to breastfeed my 11 month old and ask "When are you going to be done with that?" 

So, lets clear some things up... my son has had limited exposure to sugar, but in the long run I just don't feel it is something he needs in his diet. It provides no nutritional basis and could cause eating problems in the future. My son will also get food off of mine and my husbands plate from time to time and he loves nearly everything we give him (the only thing he has not liked is green beans and I can't say I blame him). Also, my son at 11 months old only has 2 teeth and they are not even fully out (maybe half way) so eating things that require chewing and grinding is not the easiest thing in the world. Finally, my son will stop breastfeeding when we are ready... which is not yet. He will without a doubt be breastfed until one year old and my hope is that he does get breastmilk as part of his diet until at least two as recommended by the WHO. 

I have no problem answering any questions, discussing our choices, or explaining what my son is eating. Just please don't give me dirty looks or shame me in any way. You can raise your child as you like and so can I as long as neither of us are harming them in any way. 


P.S. As I step down from my soap box can I just say I LOVE LOVE LOVE Happy Puffs! They are Jude's favorite and he loves all the flavors. The best part of these puffs (which we give in addition to cheerios) is they have no added sugar, they are simply flavored by the fruits and veggies inside! 

P.P.S. If anyone ever wants to know some of my recipes or baby food combinations just let me know and I'll happily share! :) 

10 Months, Christmas, & A Year In Review

So, since I have been slacking this will just be an all inclusive blog post. 

As of December 19th we have a 10 month old! I cannot believe that he has been alive longer then I was pregnant with him now! He is such an amazing and happy little man. He is getting into everything, climbing on everything, and has learned the art of clapping and how to high five thanks to Auntie Heather! During this month Jude also celebrated his first Thanksgiving with the Snyder family and the Stueckrad family! It was great to see everyone even if we came home sick. This also led to Jude's first real sickness when he was diagnosed with pneumonia and had to be on antibiotics for 10 days. He is now all better and no worse for the wear. We are so proud of our little man and cannot believe that one year is just around the corner!! Photos: 

 Happy Turkey Day!

 4 Generations of Stueckrads

 4 Generations of Snyders

10 Months Old!! Woo Hoo!!

On December 25th we were able to celebrate Christmas as a family in Georgia and loved watching Jude discover all of his new toys and he really enjoyed ripping the paper! Soon after Christmas Brian and I rearranged the living room to make more room for Jude and his toys! The things we do for our little ones! We hope to see some family next Christmas, but that still remains to be seen. Photos: 

 Picture with Santa!

 Flour Facepaint while Mommy makes cookies

 Christmas Eve Book

 Christmas Eve Present from Grandma & Grandpa Snyder

 The new Candy Cane Addict

 Christmas Morning with Daddy

 Someone was good! Look at that present pile! 

 "I want my fox daddy" 

Mini Ball Pit

A year in Review:

January - Heather and Brian rang in the new year separated by thousands of miles and we hit the halfway point of Brian's Deployment

February - We welcomed our little man Jude to the world and Brian was able to see him via FaceTime within an hour (or so) of his birth. Heather's mom and dad came to help with the new bundle of Joy!

March - Heather turned 28 and Brian's parents came to visit and see their new grandson! 

April - Heather's mom came for a long weekend for Jude's doctor appointments to the Audiologist and Neuro Surgeon. Jude was given the all clear by doctors. Heather's friend from college, Kerry, came to visit! 

May - Brian came home and was able to meet his son in person! We went to Seattle and IL for a vacation and a visit! 

June - Brian returned to work at Winn and we celebrated our 4 year anniversary

July - Brian turned 31 and our friends had a sweet baby girl, Jude's passport photo is taken and his first time at the pool!

August - We traveled to IL for Heather's cousin's wedding & Jude visits the Atlantic Ocean 

September - We took Jude to experience the largest aquarium in the WORLD and he loved it! Jude also went to his first birthday party for his second cousin Lilly!

October - Family photos, Jude's first Ogeechee seafood festival, Pumpkin patch, flu shots, and Halloween! 

November - We traveled to San Francisco for Brian's conference and to visit family, Jude visits the Pacific Ocean, Thanksgiving in IL, and we finally have teeth! 

December - Jude and Heather are sick, Jude's 1st Christmas in Georgia, we rang in the new year together (and thankfully Jude slept threw the VERY LOUD fireworks!) 


Goals for the new year:

1. Stop eating fast food (for at least 3 months, but hopefully for the year)
2. Read 1 book a month
3. Get Jude involved in some activity out of the house or to socialize more
4. Devote time to my husband without electronics and go on one date night a month