breaking (it) dawn...I mean down

The other day I was ripping on Twilight to Kent. At the time I felt justified in doing so because it IS a cheesy love story and the characters ARE sort of pathetic. (I didn't go gaga over Edward like everyone else and I thought Bella was kind of boring.) Truth be told, it took me two years to finish the first book. I couldn't get into it. I read the first 100 pages like one always should before discarding a book, then put it down and didn't pick it up for another two years. Peer pressure made me feel like I needed to give it another chance. Am I happy I did? I guess. At least I understand Twilight references and who's who, but I didn't catch the craze. Just tell me the end already.

Here's the thing I realized though, although I don't love Twilight and I am constantly amazed at how into it people get, I am in no position to judge. Have I written a novel? No. A highly successful one at that? Not even close. Do people want my stories so they can make movies out if them? Nope. I don't even have stories to give even if they asked. Suffice it to say, I am impressed with Stephanie Meyer. Twilight fans are cuckoo for this vampire saga just like I was crazy about Harry Potter and the Hunger Games. (By the way, have you seen the trailer for the Hunger Games movie? Kent showed it to me the other day and it left me emotional. Check it out for yourself.)

In conclusion, I want to say that Twilight is all right. I've come to grips with the fact that it is a teenage love story that exploded onto the adult scene. It took control over women's hearts (maybe men's too) young and old. So, who cares if I didn't love Twilight. Mrs. Meyer did something original and I have to commend her for taking the vampire-loving world by storm.

I just have to ask, is the baby a vampire?

davy

Our boy is Davy Crockett for Halloween. The inspiration? A coon hat we found on sale at Gymboree. The rest just sort of came to us after looking at Davy Crockett pictures online. My mom sewed the fringe onto the onesie and I made his pouch which happens to be the perfect size for his pacifier. He also has a "bear skin" belt on with a claw - so tough. The shoes were given to me at shower and they made perfect moccasinesque footwear.

Kent and I joined in on the frontier theme, but Win was the star.

He's not feeling well tonight, but we got to show him off at the Trunk or Treat on Saturday.

Happy Halloween!

7 months

He's actually 8 months now so he has changed since I first began this post a few weeks ago, but month 7 was a big one.

Here are his 7 month stats:

Weight: 17 lbs. 1 oz.
Height: 26 3/4 inches
He cried when he got his 4 shots, but he calmed down and took a little snooze on the way home. Win is a trooper.



Highlights:

Win is mobile, and I mean mobile. He is crawling on all fours now and rarely reverts to the army crawl.




He pulls himself up on everything: dresser drawers, coffee tables, chairs, chests, laundry baskets, his crib railing, etc.



Food has become his new best friend although I think he still loves the food mommy provides. He has tried all sorts of baby food including bananas (mashed and in the jar), peas, squash, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, pears, peaches (mashed), avocado (mashed), prunes and I think that’s it as far as fruits and vegetables go. He has also had a few bites of watermelon and some orange as well. He also eats rice cereal, Mum-mum rice crackers and Cheerios.



He loves it all. He also really enjoys drinking water out of his sippy cup. He can’t quite manage it by himself, but he really tries.



He just seems smarter these days as well. Win has always sort of understood things, but he is a smart boy. He laughs at things I do now like pretending to eat his food and saying “mmm…” and he is starting to understand what his toys do. He is also starting to drop things and seeing where they land. As they say, he is “testing the law of gravity”. Especially at meal time.

Win learned how to sleep through the night which was a miracle. We let him “cry it out” which was rough, but it felt like right timing. At 7 months old he didn't need me to feed him every 3 hours. He had two crying periods that lasted about an hour each. One from 11:30 pm – 12:30 am (maybe a little less, maybe 50 minutes) and another one from 3:40 am – 4:30 am. Those are estimates, but you get the idea. The next night we didn’t hear a peep until the early morning. I think he found his pacifier and fell back to sleep until 7:30 am. From that point on he slept through the night religiously until we went on a trip to Utah where he decided to cut his first tooth!

That's right. Win gained his first tooth on his lower left gum. He was so fussy at night while we were away. I blamed it on traveling, but I felt his gum one morning and lo and behold, there was a bit of a tooth popping through. Poor little guy. I feel bad we didn't put any teething gel on it or anything. We just didn't really know why he was acting so uncomfortable.

I wish I would have written more down from month 7. I'm just amazed at his accomplishments and how grown up he is getting. More to come in month 8.

my thoughts on marathoning

Back when I was pregnant with Win, or soon after I had him, I thought it would be a good idea to do a marathon. It would give me something to work for and help me regain my waistline. I had completed a marathon before and actually enjoyed it so I thought training would be kind of fun.

In real life it has been hard. After completing my Saturday long runs, I constantly ask myself (and Kent) why I'm doing this. Last time I ran a marathon, I had some vengeance brewing in my soul. I was going through a break up and had recently almost died (not literally) on mile 15 in the Great Wall Marathon so I had something to prove to myself.

This time, I have my reasons, but they aren't as clearly defined. Yes, I want to be back at my pre-pregnancy weight and shape, but is it worth these (see below) and some other aches and pains?

(My second toenail(s) turns purple and falls off when I run a lot.
Weird and sort of gross.)

Deep inside I am excited. I even looked up how fast I have to do the marathon in order to qualify for Boston. If you're curious, it is 3 hrs 35 min for women ages 18-34. That's fast and my training speed isn't even close to that, but I might as well shoot for something. My running schedule has been sort of on and off, but I have done what I can do with a baby in tow. I have also had a really supportive husband who doesn't understand my love of running yet gets that I like it and will help me accomplish my goal.

Once again, I am excited for the race coming up in a couple of weeks and gradually gearing up mentally. Like the experts say, much of the race turns into a mental battle and I am slowly but surely finding my fire and reasons for competing. Just to "lose weight" isn't going to carry me through 26.2 miles.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. And, I also think I don't need to do this again after baby #2. Maybe a half marathon or sprint triathlon would suffice? We shall see.

up and up

Some one is 7 months old today and is acting like a big boy...

He seems too young to be pulling himself up on things, but I caught this kid in action last night. He isn't the most stable on his feet, but I'm sure he'll get the hang of it before we know it. Time to get serious about baby proofing.

friday night fun

Last Friday, our night consisted of:

Five Guys Burgers and Fries (really delicious as far as "fast food" goes and only a brief walk from our house)

Petco



and

A sunset stroll along the Marina














It felt pretty perfect considering we've all been sick and I didn't want cook dinner, but wanted to get out of the house.

I love our little family of three and the stage of life we're at. Friday nights might be different with a baby, but they are just as enjoyable.

one is bad enough

I don't care if Justin Bieber has both ears pierced, it will never be an attractive style for males. Maybe the occasional tribesman looks all right with an exotic piercing or two, but that's it. We went to the U.S. Open in Huntington Beach a couple of weekends ago and for whatever reason, I couldn't stop noticing the amount of young boys, tweeners and teenagers alike, that were sporting this look. Kent informed that it is fashionable amongst skaters, hip hoppers, thugs, celebs, teenagers and adults alike. Personally, I can't stand it. I honestly wanted to put my thumb and finger up to those kids' earlobes and pull them out. I wouldn't want to hurt the guys, but eek, please remove those earrings - they make one look like a punk.

Am I being too critical? Do most people think men look good with earrings? Does it make me a hypocrite because I think it's normal and fine for women to have both ears pierced, but not men? Maybe I'm just conditioned to thinking it looks fine on women, but not on men. Or maybe it's just the fact that bejeweled men aren't my cup of tea. Although, I do think it's kind of hot when Kent pulls out his massive gold chain necklace (I wish it had a clock on the end like Flavor Flav) and struts around the house. Okay, that doesn't happen. Kent does have a thing for rap and baseball though, two things that encourage necklaces in males.

Anyway, this is apparently a "style", but the mom in me just can't support it. Sorry, Win, no piercings for you.