Sleeping Like a Baby?

I am not sure where that phrase comes from.  My baby has not been a sleeper since he was born.  People always say someone is "sleeping like a baby" when they are totally out and peaceful looking.  Let me tell you, I don't want to sleep like my baby... restless, always waking up, cat napping rather than really sleeping...  The last eight and a half months have been filled with lots and lots of work to improve all of our sleep.

We transferred Ephram into his crib in his own room this past Saturday.  Yes, he's been co-sleeping with us until now.  Honestly, I would have kept him in our room longer because it was working.  Unfortunately, he's developed into a very active sleeper.  I've woken up a few times to find him crawling near the edge, and I don't really want to take the step to put guardrails all around my bed.  So, to the crib we've moved.

It's been a shaky transition.  I have been sleeping in his room on an air mattress because he has been so unsettled.  The first night he woke up every 30-45 minutes.  The second we were up to an hour between awakenings.  Last night we actually had a three hour stretch.  It makes me so sad to see him crying when he wakes up.  It seems like he thinks he is lost and is wondering where we are.  I wish I could explain it to him!  Instead I just keep doing everything that I can to teach him to self-soothe, and praying that he'll feel safe and have comfort in his little crib.

I've had so little sleep in the last few days.  His awakenings have been much longer.  They used to be just 3-5 minutes, because I'd roll over and feed him and then we'd both go right back to sleep.  So, even though we were waking up 7 times a night, the disruption to our sleep was short.  Now I have to get up, get him out, feed him and calm him.  That takes at least 10 minutes, usually 20.  And transferring him back to the crib has been disastrous at times.  Although, I have seen a lot of improvement in this since we started.  The first night every crib transfer took at least 30 minutes.  Last night there were four times that he just rolled over and went to sleep without a whimper.  Progress!

I keep telling myself that this is just temporary and that it will be better for all of us, that we'll all be sleeping better soon.  I hope it's true!  Tonight I'm moving back to my own bed.  Wish us luck.

EMP and SFM with Liel

Years ago, when my little sister Liel was still in high school, I remember having acronym battles over Instant Messenger with her.  We would send strings of acronyms to each other and the other person would guess what each letter stood for.  It was quite fun, actually.  Liel came to visit us in mid-August for a few days.  And although I hadn't actually recalled the acronym game until just a minute ago, I do think it is very fitting that we took her to the one place in Seattle that holds two museums known largely by their acronyms.

 Andy and Charlie in front of the building.  Charlie was excited because he'd just seen a helicopter and a monorail go by.

We started at the SFM (Science Fiction Museum).  The rooms of the SFM contain just about anything and everything you might want to see if you are a Sci-Fi fan.  (And not a SyFy fan... I am among those that think the network's name change was silly.)  They have a ton of Star Wars and Star Trek memoribilia.  But even better, they have the jet pack from that movie The Rocketeer.

Charlie was very disappointed that these controls didn't do anything when he touched them.

Andy with the captain's chair from Star Trek.

Liel, Andy and Charlie just outside the entrance to the SFM.  Charlie being a goof, Andy showing little emotion, and Liel attempting to show little emotion as she pretends to be a Vulcan.

Once we were done looking through the SFM we crossed the hallway that seperates it from the EMP (Experience Music Project.)  This is actually the first time I'd been to the EMP.  It opened shortly after we moved to Washington, probably about 11 years ago, and I've wanted to visit it ever since.  Pretty sad it took me so long... but at least we finally made it there!

This collection of instruments stands in the center of the main hallway of the EMP. 

There were two special exhibits on display.  The first was a Jimi Hendrix exhibit.  They had collections of his handwritten lyrics and some bits of broken guitars.  Of course, they also had a ton of information about his life and performance history.  The second special exhibit was on The Supremes.  It was pretty interesting - they had a collection of outfits that were worn during Supremes' performances.  Our favorite room was probably a sound lab that is upstairs.  There was a huge drum table that we all had fun using.  There were also several small sound rooms where you could play various instruments.  We spent a lot of time in there!

Charlie would have played on this drum table all day if it were possible.

 Liel on the drums with Charlie next to her.

 Liel also spent some time playing a guitar in one of the rooms.

After awhile I had to leave the sound room because Ephram was starting to fuss.  Liel, Charlie and Andy came and joined me in the hall.  I handed the camera to Andy briefly so that there would be photographic proof that I was actually there.  In the process I obtained photographic evidence of Liel's silliness.

We had a great time at the EMP and SFM.  We headed from there to enjoy a little bit more of the Seattle Center...  (more to come.)

Standing Up

Ephram has been interested in standing for as long as I can remember.  When he was just a month or two old, he would get so excited whenever we held him up to let him bear a little weight on his legs.  Then came the Exersaucer and the Jumperoo... which gave him a whole new appreciation for what his legs could help him accomplish.  Since he was about five months old we have spent a lot of time helping him stand up.

In August, I started letting go and in just a couple of days Ephram was able to stand and lean on objects all by himself.  He also spent a good part of the month trying to figure out how to pull up.  Lucky for me, he has not mastered this one yet.  Once he does, I know it's all going to be over!

One day Ephram was in his crib and I was playing with him.  He was sitting right by the rails and trying his hardest to pull himself up.  (He hit his head on those rails a few times in his efforts, and kept right on going like nothing had happened.)  He was so cute, I just had to help him.

Once he stood up he was so proud of himself and so happy that he couldn't stop giggling.  He stood there talking to me for about 15 minutes.  I love these learning moments with Ephram...  can't get enough of them!

Splash!

This is the look of a four year old boy that is completely soaked, a little cold, and beyond exuberant after a romp at the splash park.  We are so lucky to live only a ten minute walk away from a very nice park.  One of its features is a spray pad.  We enjoyed some summer days there this year, and I actually remembered my camera once.

Charlie absolutely loves running up to the different fountains and playing in the water!

He also loves running over to the water fountains to get drinks while he's playing.  He has been obsessed with water fountains lately.  Check out how he is filling up a pretend cup in the first shot.  Shortly after this he ran over and told me he filled up my cup too.  Of course, I pretended to drink it.  His imagination is awesome.

The spray pad also has some big guns that you can aim to shoot water at other things or other people.  Charlie loves using them, and has learned the art of waiting patiently until they open.  I think his favorite part is when the person at the other one decides to hit him with their water.  He loves to pretend that he doesn't like it.  And he screams and laughs all at the same time.

Now that Labor Day has come and gone, the spray pad is closed until next season.  I hope that we have as much fun there next year!

Studio Pictures

I finally took Ephram and Charlie in to get "real" pictures taken in the beginning of August.  We went to Sears and had a fantastic experience.  We'll be going back!

The main reason that I wanted to get pictures was to capture little Ephram in his blessing outfit before he outgrew it.  We got some great pictures of him alone, and of him and Charlie together.

Of course, we also took some pictures of Charlie before having the boys change.  This outfit made him look so old to me.  He's lost all the toddler look now, I think.  I love the personality in these two pictures.

We also took the opportunity to take some diaper shots of Ephram with his blanket.  I love these too!

And finally, I wanted some street clothes pictures of the boys just being brothers.  Love how these three turned out!

There are many, many more pictures that I haven't posted... but these are my very favorites.  I so enjoy taking pictures of the boys at home, and feel that I have good ones of every stage along the way... but there's something about being in a studio that I just can't duplicate.  Actually, it's easy for me to identify what I'm missing... backdrops and lighting.  Hmmm...  I'm either going to have to go into the studio more often or find a way to bring the studio into my home!

Sitting Pretty

One day Ephram went from army crawling everywhere, to suddenly wanting to sit.  A lot.  Now, he's been sitting for months with a pillow to prop him up.  But, all of a sudden, he was able to sit on his own.

It did take him awhile to get used to balancing.

And we still had the occasional flop over onto the floor.  Well... that still happens, but he's become much more graceful at it.

He loves his new vantage point for playing with his toys!

90 Pounds Later

And now for a self-absorbed post.  I'm allowed one of those every once in awhile, right?

That's right.  The title of this post says 90 pounds.  That is what I have lost since I began my weight loss journey three years ago.  Yes, that's a long time to be on a weight loss journey.  I had a baby in the middle, so my efforts had to take a backseat for a year.

How did I do it?  I started on Weight Watchers.  About 30 pounds into it, I quit Weight Watchers and went solo.  I lost the remaining weight by following a low sodium diet.  For me, reducing sodium was like magic ... the weight slowly and steadily kept dropping away.  I also increased my exercise and eliminated most eating out.

I don't like the pictures of me before.   Because of this, I have very few.  And the chances that you've seen any of them are slim.  Unless you happened to take some of me.  And then you probably didn't show them to me, because they weren't pretty.  I'm joking.  Kind of.  But for the purpose of historical documentation here, I am posting a before picture.  Don't look too long.

Now I still don't much care for the way I looked.  But today, when I look back at these pictures I often don't recognize myself.  And I know that I was a happy person then in many ways, but I feel so much more healthy now.

Again, for historical documentation, here is a look at the three years following the picture above...

2008 and look at cute little Charlie!!!  (Yes I cropped out the other half of my family because, after all, this is a self-absorbed post.)

 2009 and very pregnant with Ephram.

 2010 taken just a couple of weeks ago.  The blur next to me is my little sister.  Someday I'll actually blog about what we were doing in this photo.

Can you see the difference?  I can.  Not only in the pounds that have dropped away, but in my whole countenance... I think I look lighter.  Like a weight is off my shoulders.  Maybe I think I can see it because I just know how I feel now.  I feel great.

But...  am I done? For now, yes.  I have a.... wait for it.... normal BMI!  I have exceeded my original weight loss goal by more than 20 pounds.  I think I could lose another 10.  It would be fun to be able to say I lost 100 pounds.  I'm also down from a size 24 to a size 10.  (Is that 14 dress sizes or 7?  I never know!)  I think I could lose more inches too.  But I've been sitting comfortably at this weight for about three months.  And I am still a nursing mom, so I don't want to push it too far.  Once I am done nursing, maybe I'll conquer those last 10 pounds.

For a long time I have been thinking about starting a new blog to share some of the tips that I have developed for my low sodium diet.  To celebrate maintaining my loss for three months, I've actually started this blog.  You can find it in my blog roll to the right.  It's called "My Low Sodium Life."  I plan to put tips up at a rate of about once a week.  Don't hold me to that though.  (Again, nursing mom... time to do the things I want often eludes me.)

So, did I mention this is a self-absorbed post?  Also, to celebrate my weight loss being achieved, I got a new hair cut about a month ago.  I really like it.  And now that I am no longer ashamed of how I look, I decided to take a few pictures of it.  So here are a couple of my self portraits.  One with glasses, and one without.

This concludes the self-absorbed portion of my blog.  Back to my beautiful children soon!