Jon just ate a very generous portion of peas and carrots at lunch, and we celebrated by clapping : ) So he is back on veggies and has finally started clapping!
He is very proud of himself : )
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Long week = Long post
Life is starting to settle down from a pretty busy week, and now I need to try to reclaim a routine. After sickness, travel, lots of exercise, more sickness, and more travel...I would like a vacation please : )
Last Tuesday, I held and rocked Jon most of the day. He NEVER lets me rock him, but this time it was because he was sick and pathetic. Although we both shared a sweet day of snuggling, I learned that I am very glad to have a kiddo who goes to sleep on his own and does not demand being picked up all the time. I really did not accomplish anything at all last Tuesday because I was holding Jon most of the day.
Last Wednesday, I frantically tried to get laundry, cleaning, and packing done because Jon and I headed out on my trek to the St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon. Thankfully Jon was feeling better, and more importantly falling asleep on his own like normal. After packing up the Subaru, we drove up to Dallas and crashed at my parents house. (Jonathan had to stay in San Marcos unfortunately).
Thursday I drove to Memphis from Dallas. It was the longest drive I've done by myself with Jon, and it went pretty well. (For those of you wondering why I drove instead of flew, it was a) the cost, and b) not wanting to lug suitcases, a car seat, a pack n' play, and all other stuff one needs to take care of a baby for 4 days through an airport by myself.) Driving during the week is nice, because there is not really much traffic on the highway or at rest stops. When I reached West Memphis, Arkansas and caught my first glimpse of the Memphis skyline since August I totally teared up. Not gushing or anything, but just a feeling that I was coming home, and then a reminder that Memphis is no longer home. The city is a pretty beautiful site after driving through East Texas and Arkansas for 9 hours. With a brief stop at Becky's apartment to unload valuables (we were in Memphis, after all), we headed downtown to pick up our race packets. In the ten minutes we were at the convention center, I saw 4 people I knew. The only time I see 4 people I know in San Marcos is at church on Sunday. Not kidding. This was pretty much the first of many occasions throughout the weekend in which I was reminded of how much life would be different if Rhodes had just hired Jonathan instead of some random person who doesn't even have their PhD yet. After packet pickup and a swing back to Becky's to feed Jon, we went to Bosco's for a dinner treat! Except it wasn't such a treat, because they wouldn't take my temporary TX drivers license, so I couldn't have my beloved Midtown Brown. (Note: In Texas, if your old state DL is not expired, they take it from you and give you a piece of paper as a temporary DL until your card is made. This makes it very difficult to prove you are who you say you are when outside the state of Texas.) Jon also threw up half way through the meal. Yep. Poor kid.
Friday I slept as late as I could, and then took Jon to say hi to folks at Youth Villages and Davis Kidd story time. The YV Development Department continues to do an awesome job at raising money for kids and families - over $70,000 raised at the Hauntedweb of Horrors this year!! It was great to see my old work mates, and although they all told me that I am doing a very important job of staying at home with Jon, I missed work a lot while walking through that building. Becky met us at DK and we hit up Jason's Deli for a healthy pre-race lunch. I, of course, ran into more people I knew at lunch. While Jon napped, we vegged in front of a movie. Then an early dinner of carbohydrates and early bedtime for the race.
All day Friday we were monitoring the weather predicted for Saturday. The last time I ran the Half Marathon, the temp at the start was about 28 degrees - not fun at all. I bought Jon a hat and mittens, figured out how to use the weather shield on the BOB, and had everything set to go for a below freezing race. Becky had spent hard earned money from her book sales on a new running outfit for the weather. But instead of freezing weather, the forecast was for a 47 degree start. This caused some wardrobe reworking Friday night. Then we woke up at 5:30am to 55 degrees. 55 degrees! At 5:30am in December! The warmer temperature was not going to affect my race all that much, since my only goal was to finish the thing. But Becky had been actually training for the past 6 months, including going to track practices, short group runs and long group runs each week. A temperature change not only affects wardrobe, but can affect how much fluid you take in and your pace.
Despite the unexpected high temperature, Becky did awesome! She finished in 2 hours 14 minutes, a good hour faster than the first time we did the Half Marathon four years ago! I hobbled across the finish line at an embarrassing time, but I finished the darn thing. I told Becky that I am never, ever going to participate in a long distance race that I have not trained for...ever. I did enjoy the walking tour of Midtown and Downtown, and I ran into an alarmingly high number of people that I know : )
We met up with Josie, who had been taking care of Jon during the race, and we had very large hamburgers for lunch! The afternoon was spent resting and trying to entertain Jon while expending the absolute least amount of energy possible. Unfortunately, both Becky and I woke up at different points Saturday night puking our guts out. Throwing up is bad enough - throwing up when your whole body is sore is no fun at all.
I managed to make it to church Sunday morning and really enjoyed worshiping at 2PC and saying hello to friends. After a post church nap due to still feeling pretty bad, I repacked the car and headed back home. It has taken me about a day and a half of being home to feel back to normal. I'm still a bit queasy from whatever caused the vomiting, and Jonathan has been such a big help with Jon while I have recovered.
So that's my week! Now to try to reestablish a routine back at home : )
Last Tuesday, I held and rocked Jon most of the day. He NEVER lets me rock him, but this time it was because he was sick and pathetic. Although we both shared a sweet day of snuggling, I learned that I am very glad to have a kiddo who goes to sleep on his own and does not demand being picked up all the time. I really did not accomplish anything at all last Tuesday because I was holding Jon most of the day.
Last Wednesday, I frantically tried to get laundry, cleaning, and packing done because Jon and I headed out on my trek to the St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon. Thankfully Jon was feeling better, and more importantly falling asleep on his own like normal. After packing up the Subaru, we drove up to Dallas and crashed at my parents house. (Jonathan had to stay in San Marcos unfortunately).
Thursday I drove to Memphis from Dallas. It was the longest drive I've done by myself with Jon, and it went pretty well. (For those of you wondering why I drove instead of flew, it was a) the cost, and b) not wanting to lug suitcases, a car seat, a pack n' play, and all other stuff one needs to take care of a baby for 4 days through an airport by myself.) Driving during the week is nice, because there is not really much traffic on the highway or at rest stops. When I reached West Memphis, Arkansas and caught my first glimpse of the Memphis skyline since August I totally teared up. Not gushing or anything, but just a feeling that I was coming home, and then a reminder that Memphis is no longer home. The city is a pretty beautiful site after driving through East Texas and Arkansas for 9 hours. With a brief stop at Becky's apartment to unload valuables (we were in Memphis, after all), we headed downtown to pick up our race packets. In the ten minutes we were at the convention center, I saw 4 people I knew. The only time I see 4 people I know in San Marcos is at church on Sunday. Not kidding. This was pretty much the first of many occasions throughout the weekend in which I was reminded of how much life would be different if Rhodes had just hired Jonathan instead of some random person who doesn't even have their PhD yet. After packet pickup and a swing back to Becky's to feed Jon, we went to Bosco's for a dinner treat! Except it wasn't such a treat, because they wouldn't take my temporary TX drivers license, so I couldn't have my beloved Midtown Brown. (Note: In Texas, if your old state DL is not expired, they take it from you and give you a piece of paper as a temporary DL until your card is made. This makes it very difficult to prove you are who you say you are when outside the state of Texas.) Jon also threw up half way through the meal. Yep. Poor kid.
Friday I slept as late as I could, and then took Jon to say hi to folks at Youth Villages and Davis Kidd story time. The YV Development Department continues to do an awesome job at raising money for kids and families - over $70,000 raised at the Hauntedweb of Horrors this year!! It was great to see my old work mates, and although they all told me that I am doing a very important job of staying at home with Jon, I missed work a lot while walking through that building. Becky met us at DK and we hit up Jason's Deli for a healthy pre-race lunch. I, of course, ran into more people I knew at lunch. While Jon napped, we vegged in front of a movie. Then an early dinner of carbohydrates and early bedtime for the race.
All day Friday we were monitoring the weather predicted for Saturday. The last time I ran the Half Marathon, the temp at the start was about 28 degrees - not fun at all. I bought Jon a hat and mittens, figured out how to use the weather shield on the BOB, and had everything set to go for a below freezing race. Becky had spent hard earned money from her book sales on a new running outfit for the weather. But instead of freezing weather, the forecast was for a 47 degree start. This caused some wardrobe reworking Friday night. Then we woke up at 5:30am to 55 degrees. 55 degrees! At 5:30am in December! The warmer temperature was not going to affect my race all that much, since my only goal was to finish the thing. But Becky had been actually training for the past 6 months, including going to track practices, short group runs and long group runs each week. A temperature change not only affects wardrobe, but can affect how much fluid you take in and your pace.
Despite the unexpected high temperature, Becky did awesome! She finished in 2 hours 14 minutes, a good hour faster than the first time we did the Half Marathon four years ago! I hobbled across the finish line at an embarrassing time, but I finished the darn thing. I told Becky that I am never, ever going to participate in a long distance race that I have not trained for...ever. I did enjoy the walking tour of Midtown and Downtown, and I ran into an alarmingly high number of people that I know : )
We met up with Josie, who had been taking care of Jon during the race, and we had very large hamburgers for lunch! The afternoon was spent resting and trying to entertain Jon while expending the absolute least amount of energy possible. Unfortunately, both Becky and I woke up at different points Saturday night puking our guts out. Throwing up is bad enough - throwing up when your whole body is sore is no fun at all.
I managed to make it to church Sunday morning and really enjoyed worshiping at 2PC and saying hello to friends. After a post church nap due to still feeling pretty bad, I repacked the car and headed back home. It has taken me about a day and a half of being home to feel back to normal. I'm still a bit queasy from whatever caused the vomiting, and Jonathan has been such a big help with Jon while I have recovered.
So that's my week! Now to try to reestablish a routine back at home : )
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Likes and Dislikes
What Megan likes today: Chocolate chocolate chip cookies! Why do I make these things?? I just gobble them up myself!! Thankfully they are so rich, I can only eat one at a time.
What Megan dislikes today: It is 80 degrees and muggy for the second day in a row. Uggh! NOT Thanksgiving weather at all! How am I supposed to cook for two days while I'm sweating just sitting here at the computer?
What Jon likes today: Exploring, playing with his pull-along wooden caterpillar from Great Gran Pollock, and "playing" X Box with Daddy (Jonathan took the batteries out of an X Box controller for Jon to use, because Jon has been known to turn on and off the X Box and try to purchase $80 video games by pushing the buttons), also reading his new library books we picked up today. We are reading "Cat the Cat, who is that?" by Mo Willems.
What Jon dislikes today: Vegetables. Oh no! My "eat anything" boy has been on a veggie strike for the past two days : ( Won't touch green beans, peas, or carrots! I even mixed up his veggies with puffs and banana pieces on his tray, and he picked out all of the bananas and puffs, leaving the peas. Hopefully avocado counts as a vegetable, because that is the only green food he will eat right now.
What Jonathan likes today: Chocolate chocolate chip cookies! I made them for him before he headed out to work this afternoon.
What Jonathan dislikes today: Ummm...probably college students who don't know how to work with fractions. That's usually a dislike of his : )
What Megan dislikes today: It is 80 degrees and muggy for the second day in a row. Uggh! NOT Thanksgiving weather at all! How am I supposed to cook for two days while I'm sweating just sitting here at the computer?
What Jon likes today: Exploring, playing with his pull-along wooden caterpillar from Great Gran Pollock, and "playing" X Box with Daddy (Jonathan took the batteries out of an X Box controller for Jon to use, because Jon has been known to turn on and off the X Box and try to purchase $80 video games by pushing the buttons), also reading his new library books we picked up today. We are reading "Cat the Cat, who is that?" by Mo Willems.
What Jon dislikes today: Vegetables. Oh no! My "eat anything" boy has been on a veggie strike for the past two days : ( Won't touch green beans, peas, or carrots! I even mixed up his veggies with puffs and banana pieces on his tray, and he picked out all of the bananas and puffs, leaving the peas. Hopefully avocado counts as a vegetable, because that is the only green food he will eat right now.
What Jonathan likes today: Chocolate chocolate chip cookies! I made them for him before he headed out to work this afternoon.
What Jonathan dislikes today: Ummm...probably college students who don't know how to work with fractions. That's usually a dislike of his : )
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Life according to my iPhone pictures
Below is what my iPhone pictures say about my life. My first observation is that I must like sleeping babies.
This next picture is from my regular walk to and from the library. When my sister visited in September, we passed this metal structure and wondered what it was for. It looks like it has lights strung up on it to form a Christmas tree. That can't possibly be it's only purpose!
A few weekends ago, we went to New Braunfels for Wurstfest (a 10 day celebration of sausage). I was a bit ill the next day because I am not used to that much animal fat. But we had fun while we were there and even ran into a family we know!
Below is a baby hat that I made for another mom at church who is having a baby girl any day now. I experimented with embroidery for the first time. Although it looks like a 5 year old did the embroidery, I think it's kind of cute.
Jon reached the point a long time ago in which I decided I just cannot physically keep my eyes on him at all times. I have learned the #1 mom rule that if you can't hear him, he's probably doing something he shouldn't. Here he is wedged under the buffet in our dining room, as happy as can be. He was able to get out just fine on his own this time. When he crawled under there later in the day, Jonathan had to help him find his way out.
Jon turns everything into a drum, and he really enjoys banging things together. He has an actual toy drum that he loves. Here is a picture of him using Duck as a drum stick.
In other news, I have ordered my turkey breast from Whole Foods for Thanksgiving. I am trying my hand at a roulande since it is just the 2.5 of us this year. I asked Jonathan if he had any 'musts' for the holiday table, and then immediately followed that with a 'but I don't do casseroles.' I refuse to use cans of condensed soup to cook!* His only request (after I shot down all of his boyhood favorites) was that the stuffing have bread in it. I think he saw my Cooking Light opened to a page with bread-less stuffing.
I also joined www.seemommyrun.com to try to find a running partner. My attempts to run with the San Marcos Running Club have not been so fantastic, since I run slower than all of them. Pretty much it just feels like I'm running by myself, because after mile 1 I am actually running by myself. I really do enjoy running, but I just can't seem to motivate myself to run on my own. Here's hoping I find a running buddy : )
And lastly, I packed up the Baby Bjorn, Jumperoo, and Jon's 3-9 months clothes today in a box to send with my parents when they come visit after Thanksgiving. We're using their attic as storage for our stuff that won't fit here. It makes me just a little sad to pack up his baby stuff. We used the Bjorn sooooo much when he was teeny tiny! I took him out in it to run some errands when he was 6 days old, only to find out from our pediatrician at his two week check up that we probably should wait until he was a month old before taking him out to stores or church, etc. Oh well, the kid is still with us!
* After writing that I remembered that one of the possibly three people who reads this blog actually owns a cookbook with recipes centered around cans of condensed soup!
This next picture is from my regular walk to and from the library. When my sister visited in September, we passed this metal structure and wondered what it was for. It looks like it has lights strung up on it to form a Christmas tree. That can't possibly be it's only purpose!
A few weekends ago, we went to New Braunfels for Wurstfest (a 10 day celebration of sausage). I was a bit ill the next day because I am not used to that much animal fat. But we had fun while we were there and even ran into a family we know!
Below is a baby hat that I made for another mom at church who is having a baby girl any day now. I experimented with embroidery for the first time. Although it looks like a 5 year old did the embroidery, I think it's kind of cute.
Jon reached the point a long time ago in which I decided I just cannot physically keep my eyes on him at all times. I have learned the #1 mom rule that if you can't hear him, he's probably doing something he shouldn't. Here he is wedged under the buffet in our dining room, as happy as can be. He was able to get out just fine on his own this time. When he crawled under there later in the day, Jonathan had to help him find his way out.
Jon turns everything into a drum, and he really enjoys banging things together. He has an actual toy drum that he loves. Here is a picture of him using Duck as a drum stick.
In other news, I have ordered my turkey breast from Whole Foods for Thanksgiving. I am trying my hand at a roulande since it is just the 2.5 of us this year. I asked Jonathan if he had any 'musts' for the holiday table, and then immediately followed that with a 'but I don't do casseroles.' I refuse to use cans of condensed soup to cook!* His only request (after I shot down all of his boyhood favorites) was that the stuffing have bread in it. I think he saw my Cooking Light opened to a page with bread-less stuffing.
I also joined www.seemommyrun.com to try to find a running partner. My attempts to run with the San Marcos Running Club have not been so fantastic, since I run slower than all of them. Pretty much it just feels like I'm running by myself, because after mile 1 I am actually running by myself. I really do enjoy running, but I just can't seem to motivate myself to run on my own. Here's hoping I find a running buddy : )
And lastly, I packed up the Baby Bjorn, Jumperoo, and Jon's 3-9 months clothes today in a box to send with my parents when they come visit after Thanksgiving. We're using their attic as storage for our stuff that won't fit here. It makes me just a little sad to pack up his baby stuff. We used the Bjorn sooooo much when he was teeny tiny! I took him out in it to run some errands when he was 6 days old, only to find out from our pediatrician at his two week check up that we probably should wait until he was a month old before taking him out to stores or church, etc. Oh well, the kid is still with us!
* After writing that I remembered that one of the possibly three people who reads this blog actually owns a cookbook with recipes centered around cans of condensed soup!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
First Word
Jon may have said his first couple of words (outside of dada and mama). The words aren't correct, but he has assigned meaning to them, and they are kind of on the road to being real words.
For cat, he says "dat" or just "t, t, t, t, t, t." He knows that Sigma lives in our bedroom, so he will make a beeline down the hallway saying, "t, t, t, t," and when he actually sees Sigma, he says, "dat." Jon loves Sigma, wants to touch her, chase her, and be her friend. Sigma, on the other hand, does not like Jon at all and seems in her best mood when Jon is either sleeping or away from the apartment.
For duck, he says "dut." I can ask him to go pick up his duck from a pile of toys, and he will get the duck in his hand and say, "dut, dut, dut."
So, do we count these as his first words? If so, I think we'll count cat as the first one with duck as a close second.
For cat, he says "dat" or just "t, t, t, t, t, t." He knows that Sigma lives in our bedroom, so he will make a beeline down the hallway saying, "t, t, t, t," and when he actually sees Sigma, he says, "dat." Jon loves Sigma, wants to touch her, chase her, and be her friend. Sigma, on the other hand, does not like Jon at all and seems in her best mood when Jon is either sleeping or away from the apartment.
For duck, he says "dut." I can ask him to go pick up his duck from a pile of toys, and he will get the duck in his hand and say, "dut, dut, dut."
So, do we count these as his first words? If so, I think we'll count cat as the first one with duck as a close second.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Back in the saddle
Full disclosure - I am eating M&M's as I type this.
Megan-the-runner is making a come back. I'm going to sign up for the Austin Turkey Trot 5 mile road race. This is for a multitude of reasons: (for more on lists, please listen to the 9/5/10 Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast here.)
1. I did not train for the St. Jude Half Marathon, and that got me super depressed. I need a small, more 'do-able' race to train for and regain some of my self-worth. Note: I am still participating in the Half Marathon. I will just suck hard and probably finish in four hours.
2. I need a goal in life. I am a goal oriented person. Now that baby is here and I no longer work, I find that I actually have very few goals. Would you count getting dinner on the table every night as a goal? Or finishing the laundry before the weekend? Those are not the kind of goals that get me going every day. So, this 5 miler will be a new goal. Again, I will hopefully regain some of my self-worth.
3. I need to get in shape! This is more for my overall health. I'm not particularly repulsed when I look at myself in the mirror (perhaps growing a human being for almost 10 months has something to do with that), but I am very aware that I want my heart and lungs and brain and all that to be healthy. Since I need something to work for (see point 2) in order to exercise, a race will hopefully get me sweating every day in preparation.
4. We are not doing anything for Thanksgiving. I didn't want to travel with the baby (Scratch that, I didn't want to pick which side of the family got 1st Thanksgiving vs. 1st Christmas. Oh yeah, I am a 'withdraw-er' for sure when it comes to decision making), and although we have extended the invitation, no one is coming to Central Texas to visit us. So, I have the morning free and no deadlines to get the turkey on the table. Why not run 5 miles with a few thousand people?
This morning I ran to the library for Jon's story time. I am doing the San Marcos Running Club 3 mile run in about 20 minutes. Tomorrow I should probably dust off the pilates DVD that has been sitting out for three months (I thought that if I put it out on a shelf where I see it everyday, I would use it. But no. See point 2 again.). I will gladly accept any tips on maintaining a training schedule, what to do for Thanksgiving when you have no family in town and barely know anyone, or any other tidbits you'd like to share. : )
Megan-the-runner is making a come back. I'm going to sign up for the Austin Turkey Trot 5 mile road race. This is for a multitude of reasons: (for more on lists, please listen to the 9/5/10 Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast here.)
1. I did not train for the St. Jude Half Marathon, and that got me super depressed. I need a small, more 'do-able' race to train for and regain some of my self-worth. Note: I am still participating in the Half Marathon. I will just suck hard and probably finish in four hours.
2. I need a goal in life. I am a goal oriented person. Now that baby is here and I no longer work, I find that I actually have very few goals. Would you count getting dinner on the table every night as a goal? Or finishing the laundry before the weekend? Those are not the kind of goals that get me going every day. So, this 5 miler will be a new goal. Again, I will hopefully regain some of my self-worth.
3. I need to get in shape! This is more for my overall health. I'm not particularly repulsed when I look at myself in the mirror (perhaps growing a human being for almost 10 months has something to do with that), but I am very aware that I want my heart and lungs and brain and all that to be healthy. Since I need something to work for (see point 2) in order to exercise, a race will hopefully get me sweating every day in preparation.
4. We are not doing anything for Thanksgiving. I didn't want to travel with the baby (Scratch that, I didn't want to pick which side of the family got 1st Thanksgiving vs. 1st Christmas. Oh yeah, I am a 'withdraw-er' for sure when it comes to decision making), and although we have extended the invitation, no one is coming to Central Texas to visit us. So, I have the morning free and no deadlines to get the turkey on the table. Why not run 5 miles with a few thousand people?
This morning I ran to the library for Jon's story time. I am doing the San Marcos Running Club 3 mile run in about 20 minutes. Tomorrow I should probably dust off the pilates DVD that has been sitting out for three months (I thought that if I put it out on a shelf where I see it everyday, I would use it. But no. See point 2 again.). I will gladly accept any tips on maintaining a training schedule, what to do for Thanksgiving when you have no family in town and barely know anyone, or any other tidbits you'd like to share. : )
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
VOTE!
It's time to vote, everyone! If you didn't vote early, carve out some time today to exercise your right to vote! Don't know who to vote for? The League of Women Voters has a great rundown of all of the candidates in your particular precinct. 
Jedi Jonathan and Dragon Jon say, "Go vote!"**Dragon Jon is actually saying, "Is it time to go home from this party yet?"
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