Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!

We've had Gran Jen, Jake's mother, here to help us celebrate both Jake's birthday (Today! Happy Birthday Jake!) and Halloween. We were able to get a huge, 70+ lb pumpkin through Nicole DeBacker and her neighbor's farm.... and *of course* we had to get photos of all the kids!

  

The end of nursing...(?)

After struggling hard the last several weeks, I think we are giving up on nursing. The goal was always to go as long as seemed right for both Xander and me, and at least past his surgery. That goal has been met, and Xander is now refusing to nurse so often that my supply has dwindled to next to nothing, which only makes him less inclined to nurse, and both of us frusterated.

It's really too bad. I was actually really happy that now that I'll be home for a little while that I could nurse him more and longer than we might otherwise have managed with me working. Alas, it does appear Xander has other ideas.

On the bright side, I'll never have to experience the otherwise inevitable first "bite" now that Xander has teeth coming in!

So congratulations to Xander and me for making it this long, and here's to being able to poke Jake more often and say "your turn!"

-Erin

A second tooth

Xander has a second tooth coming in right next to the first!

Enjoying the Fall Leaves

Fall is one of our favorite times of the year. This year fall is bringing Jake lots of running (me, not so much because of my calf injury) and lots of time with good friends and family.

This fall I am also taking some additional time off thanks to being laid off from GE- but there are already interviews scheduled, so it may not last! One day into being a stay at home Mom and there is lots to do! Household projects, job hunt, play with Xander....Halloween is coming soon but first we wanted to get in some good fun with the falling leaves. This was not something that Xander especially loved- maybe he needs to be older, or maybe he just wasn't in the mood. I did get a couple of good photos of him though! This kid can laugh through anything!

The lamp

We're going to work on getting the uncropped version of this old picture of me as a 6 month old next to the orange lamp. The lamp is important because my very Catholic, very proper grandmother liberated it from her old office long long ago and always felt guilty about it, even though I think it was destined for the trash there.... she loved this photo but could never show it to anyone! Anyway, the other reason this photo is fun is to compare me at 6 months vs. Xander at 6 months.... next to the same lamp! My boy is starting to look more like me now!

-Erin

Bathtime is Fun Time!

Requisite Baby Bath Pictures


Xander absolutely LOVES bath time. He will play in the tub for as long as we let him. We're hoping this is a sign of a love for swimming.


Even better is bath time with his buddy Leah. Remember the binkie incident? Apparently so does Xander.... but no hard feelings :)

First Tooth

Xander is officially "toothed" with his first tooth coming in on the bottom right (his) side. So lucky (?) that he is on pain meds for surgery and hasn't complained much about the teething. So far he's been gentle to me... but on a related note, seems to be weening himself. He occaisonally refuses to nurse with me even when hugry and really prefers the bottle at this point. Between the two challenges, I'm not sure how long breastfeeding will continue, but I do know for sure we'll keep at it a few more weeks while he heals from surgery! Right now we are both enjoying the comfort it gives us.

-Erin

Xander's Surgery Day

Xander's surgery went really well yesterday. He survived his pre-op fasting much better than I expected and after an hour under general anesthesia he was willing and able to nurse right away. The doctor was very pleased with how the procedure went- and informed us that the initial assessment was correct- it was absolutely the right call to get things "straightened out" now when Xander is young- he would have had some challenges as an adult otherwise.

We returned home and have been alternating Tylenol and Motrin every 4 hours. Xander is just a little stoned from the meds I think- but very, amazingly cheerful. This is not at all what we expected! With my mother's help, I was even able to spend the entire day cooking casseroles and breakfast burritos for the freezer!

Mom's been great with Xander, and with us. While the surgery did go exactly as planned, it was still a stress for Jake and me- and it was wonderful to have her here to take care of us all!

Running - a lot

I've been running a lot lately in preparation for the California International Marathon, December 6th. I've never trained this much for a marathon before. Typically my training plans have peaked at 50 miles a week. This time I'm going up to 70 miles a week. Now, that may not sound like a lot more, but it is. It really is. 70 miles a week, running 6 days a week, means that you average more than 10 miles a day. A typical week looks something like this:

Monday: 8 miles with 10 100m sprints
Tuesday: 15 miles
Wednesday: 5 mile recovery day
Thursday AM: 11 miles speed workout
Thursday PM: 4 mile recovery
Friday: 7 miles with 6 100m sprints
Saturday: 20 miles
Sunday: Rest :)

I'm on my 4th week of a 12 week schedule. I feel really good, I'm getting really fast, but it is hard. It is hard to get up in the morning, when it is dark and cold out, and head out the door to run 15 miles, and then go to work. The good news is that I have lots of company on my runs. Blitz runs with me all the time, and he is always enthusiastic. Xander often accompanies me in his chariot. Afterwards he needs his "recovery drink" too. Since he kept trying to steal my bottle, I gave him one of his own.

It is beautiful of course. I watch the sun rise almost every morning on my runs. Sometimes it is clear and the horizon brightens to a beautiful red and orange, then the sun comes up casting a glowing golden light on the mountains. Other days the sun comes up into the clouds and paints a warm rosy glow on the wheat fields. On the cold days, a light mist hangs over the ponds and streams and glows orange and gold as the first rays of the sun peak over the horizon. Almost every day I see hawks perched in the trees and and soaring above the fields hunting. Some days I even see owls, looking like giant cats perched on the power poles.

Getting out of bed is hard in the morning, but I never finish a run wishing I was back in bed. Love - hate. It hurts some days, but some days I pulse with energy, feeling like I could run faster and faster. Why? I'm not sure, it's a test, it's a challenge, it's miserable, it's beautiful, I love it.

-Jake

Xander's 6-Month Doctor's Visit

The new stats are in....

Xander is still growing steadily in the 75-90 %ile.

Length; 27"
Weight: 19 lbs 8 oz
Head: 45 cm

A few interesting tidbits:
#1 Xander was probably at least .5 lbs heavier this afternoon before giving Nicole a memorable blowout to clean up on his last few hours of daycare with her for awhile. (It required not only new clothes, but a complete head to toe bath.)

#2 Xander's Length, at least right now, is closer to the 75th %ile whereas his Weight is closer to the 90th %ile- he is quite plump, and ready for his 6 month growth spurt to kick in.

#3 Growth and other spurts aside, this is the first week since he was born that he hasn't gained at least 5 oz.

6 Month Xander Portraits

For Xander's 6 month birthday we decided that some new portraits were in order. I really haven't done much with Xander in the portrait studio since he was really little. Boy, what a difference a few months makes. Before we struggled to get photos of him with his eyes open. Now, he laughs and plays and giggles for the camera. What fun!

Xander warming up for the photo shoot. You have to get comfortable with the camera before you can take really good pictures.









-Jake

Xander is 6 months old!

Today we all hit a major milestone- Alexander Jackson Lewis, known as Xander to his friends, is now 6 months old! We thought of all sort of elaborate ways to celebrate, but truth be told, Xander is a child of simple wants and needs. We settled for taking him for a nice morning run and later picking him up early from daycare, reading stories, playing for hours with songs and blocks and the dogs, and loading up his dinner plate with all his favorites: home-made carrots from Sarah, home-made applesauce from Lori, mashed bananas, and some beef puree.

Xander is now strong enough to assume the crawling position, but has no idea what to do when he gets there!

We also bought a new Sherpani backpack/kid carrier so we can take him adventuring a little more comfortably. Xander had gotten heavy enough that it was hard on my back to carry him in the Bjorn anymore, and tall enough that Jake feared his long dangling legs would jeopardize any future consideration of a sibling. We're looking forward to our first outing with it!

It's what's for dinner

This year I have been reading a lot about "nutrition" and the American obsession with food. Living in Boulder, we are quite inundated with options when it comes to eating all types of yummy food, be it at restaurants, or buying from natural food stores, whole food stores, Asian food stores, farmer's markets, food suppliments, etc. etc. etc. With Xander starting to eat solid food, I want to give him "the best" whenever possible. But what is best? What is worth the extra money? Organic? Natural? Local? What's best for the body? What's best for the environment? Is high fructose corn syrup any worse for you than sugar really? How much good fat is still good?

One things is certain- there's a lot of uncertainty. But I do like what I read about eating locally, and I like what I read about eating meats that are raised on their natural diets, as they tend to have more concentrated nutrition and flavor. To this end, I researched some local ranches and asked a bunch of friends if they wanted to go in on buying a cow raised and finished on grass pasture vs. corn. A bunch of folks all thought it was a good idea, and so today we got a shipment delivered of 1.5 cow's worth of beef. 1150 lbs of hanging weight ends up being approx. 700 lbs of finished meat. What does that much meat look like? Like this!

Oh, and by the way, you can taste the difference and it's delicious!

-Erin