recent pics and video

Still likes to sleep with limbs hanging out of the bed
Just out of the bath (it looks like he has teeth here b/c of the light, but he doesn't yet!)

This first video is kinda long...sorry. I couldn't figure out how to cut it and just post the beginning. He's giggling in the beginning and then he's just interacting for the rest of it. The 2nd on is of the great work of art he made with the powder he spilled everywhere.

Casen update

I know that every parent says this about their child so i wasn't going to say it but it's just so true that I can't not. (nice double negative, eh?) I just can't believe Casen is 8 months. Okay, actually that part is believable seeing as how he was born in June. counting the months up until now that makes perfect sense. It's more the fact that he can do all these things that makes it hard for me to believe that he's old enough to do this. (you think you can do these things nemo, but you just can't!...sorry, i couldn't resist. it fit so well). And i guess something that contributes to that is there is no specific age that a baby may do these things. Some babies walk at 9 months, others not until 15 months or later and it's all considered common and developmentally okay either way. so i never really know when to expect him to do these things. so i just sit back and wait and watch. I guess I just didn't expect it to happen this fast. Anyway, I'm sure that's enough about my issues of fully accepting his developmental growth. We are happy that he is developing and it's fun to watch him learn new things. He has been such a happy, easy going boy (at least with me, I can't account for others who care for him) and brings such joy into our lives.

I realize this list is rather long but since we haven't updated about this since he was 5 months we have a lot to catch up on. And seeing as how this is sort of our journal for him I thought I'd try to be accurate. So just skip it if you get bored. Here is a run-down of what he is now doing at 8 months:

· Weighs 17 lbs and is 26 in. tall. Yes, he’s a small fry!

· Currently grows out of clothes lengthwise before he grows into them width wise

· Can army crawl but is picking up regular crawling more and more

· Pulls himself up to stand

· Can take a few steps holding on to something more stable (like a table)

· Is generally happy and easy going

· Is warming up to daddy more often- he used to have an extremely strong preference towards mom and that’s definitely still there but now he reaches for dad and likes to wrestle and play with him sometimes. And sometimes will snuggle up and watch movies with him.

· Is starting to dance when he hears music by moving his head and awkwardly attempting to move his body

· Opens his mouth really wide, breaths in and out of his nose really fast, and moves his head up and down when he gets really excited

· Is starting to understand the meaning of “no” and loves to smile while waiting for your reaction when he does it anyway

· Talks a lot and sometimes really loudly

· Can pick up small things to eat-really anything off the floor…scary! I never knew there was so much on the floor even right after I have swept. If there is even a minuscule piece of anything he will find it and ingest it.

· Is not a picky eater but prefers table food to be mashed rather than pureed.

· Is still an angel when going to the store

· Has graduated to sitting in the grocery cart instead of his car seat in the cart

· Drinks less formula, eats more table food

· Loves to wrestle and play

· Loves to “lead” music. Whenever he hears any kind of music, i.e. in the store, at church, on movies, when we sing songs, etc. he will raise an arm and start waving it around to lead the music. His favorite is to stand on our laps and lead along with the chorister in church.

· Loves to sit and unload his toy basket and spread toys all over the living room and kitchen

· Is a great help to mom because his is usually happy and likes to be my buddy so I can take him anywhere and he’s usually well mannered. Hopefully that stays with him his WHOLE life!! (yeah, right. But I’m loving it while it lasts)

· Still LOVES getting attention from anyone. Anytime we go anywhere he looks at people and smiles or just gives an innocent look to catch their attention. I swear he knows that since he’s a baby people will notice him and he’s milking it for all it’s worth. And it’s working.

· Gives kisses with a wide open mouth and usually lots of drool

· Can say ‘ma-ma’ and ‘da-da’, but probably doesn’t know what he’s saying

· If he ever sees anything he wants, he raises his hand in the air as if he’s using “the force” to bring it to him

More pics and video to follow!

HELP!!

Okay so this post might be really long and somewhat whiny. Really I’m just looking for some advice because what I’m doing isn’t working for us and I really need some help. So if you have any advice whatsoever please feel free to share it because if I don’t figure this out soon I’m going to go insane. And as a disclaimer I am not saying that I don’t really love being a stay at home mom because I do. I really enjoy it. Seriously. It’s just that I can’t seem to find a way to balance things even just a little bit.

Basically it comes down to this: Even though Casen now has a schedule and has had one for some time, I still haven’t been able to figure out how to get things done and be productive while raising a child. Now before you roll your eyes and think, “Krista, no one gets things done as a mom. You just have to be okay with chaos for the rest of your life because that’s what being a mom is like” I want you to know that I’m not expecting perfection here or even what it used to be like before Casen was born. I’m fully aware that the definition of productivity changes once you become a mom. At least it has for me and realizing this has helped me a ton. However, I do believe that having balance in life is essential and that’s what I’m addressing here. My life is disorganized and chaotic ALL the time. I’m constantly running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to find some type of routine that will work and it’s not working!!! And it’s driving me insane!!! I feel like there is so much to do between laundry, errands, groceries to buy, my job once a week, not to mention the housework. My problemo is that I’m lucky if I can get any 1 or 2 of the above done in a day but I can’t find time to get to anything else. And it seems like even though I clean it one day it’s ready to be cleaned the very next day! We just moved mid-december and there are still a lot of bins that need to be organized and other spots of the apt. that just need a de-junking. I feel that if I ever take time to do these the rest of the house falls apart in the meantime. So my question is…what can I do that I’m not doing? Do you have a routine that works for you? Do you have a day for certain things where you only work on that one thing?

Thanks for letting me get that out. Not that you really had a choice but if you are reading this and/or commenting I appreciate it. I LOVE being a mom and wife but the fact that I’m drowning is not only affecting me it’s affecting my family too. I’m finding that it’s hard to keep the spirit in a place of constant chaos and it’s a million times easier to get stressed out when things are not in order. I want our home to be a place of peace and safety so our family WANTS to be here.

Okay I have a few other things to post about Casen so watch for those to be coming soon. He just turned 8 months old yesterday!!! Crazy to think about and has grown so much in the past few months so I will post an update and hopefully some pics and videos too. Soon.