A baby by any other name...

My poor child is not going to have any idea what his real name is. We call the kid pretty much everything BUT his actual name. He responds to most of them. Just for fun, here is the current list of nicknames:

Hunty
Hunty Bunty
Hunty Bunts
Hunties
Booger
Booger Bear
Boogey
Boogey Man
Hunty Bunches of Oats
Hunty Bunches
H.
H-Man
Big Big Boy Man
Little Man
Bugaboo
Buggy Man
Buggy Boo
Buggy Boo Boo Bear
Stinky Winky
Booby Head

Yes. We are THOSE parents.

Baby Brezza!!

As I've said before, Hunter hasnt started solids and wont for a few more weeks. At my baby shower I was given a Baby Brezza, which is a one step baby food maker from my dad and stepmom. Over the weekend I decided that I would start making some baby food to see just how easy it is and to start stocking up. All I have to say is O.M.G. I freaking love this machine. With Avah, I had to steam the veggie, transfer to a food processor, and then end up with a very large quantity of the same veggie. Either that or I had to do a million small batches and wash all of the stupid little food processor, steamer basket, and pots over and over again. No thank you. The Baby Brezza, on the other hand, is genius. I made sweet potatoes first. I peeled the potato, chopped it up, and threw it in. I hit a button, and twenty minutes later we had preservative free, fresh as can be baby food. It steams and purees all on its own. It makes about 2 cups of puree, which is the perfect amount to stock up on a food item without it being way too much.

The amazing Baby Brezza

We pour it into glorified ice cube trays (3/4 ounce for each cube) and then freeze. Once its frozen, we pop em out and stick them in ziplocs. Amaaazing. Once he gets to be eating combinations of foods he can have a little sweet potato here, a little bit of peas there, instead of having a whole jar of one barely recognizable vegetable. I love that he will get variety.


I could go on, but I wont. This little gadget is a gem.

Prescott

Last weekend me and the family went up north to Prescott to enjoy the cooler weather and visit some family. Its SUCH a beautiful place. If we were to choose anywhere in Arizona to live, Prescott would be it. Unfortunately for us, there is no where for us to work up there. Even so, we are lucky to have family up there to visit and we are lucky its only about an hour and a half to two hours away.

Before we went to visit Justin's Aunt Diana we went and saw Lynx Lake. Its about 5 minutes down the road from the local Costco, but it feels miles and miles away.



Avah looking out on to the lake



A rare photo of Avah without her "photo face"



My little family



Hunter had just spit up and Avah was convinced she was covered in the stuff

We were worried about the drive up and back with Hunter, but he was a little angel. He started getting fussy on the drive up so we stopped and I changed him and nursed him for a few minutes. He cried for about 2 minutes and zonked out. On the way home he slept the entire way.

Overall it was a really enjoyable day. Its inspired us to get out more!

POP Walk for Tim Barber

I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Tim Barber a few years back. He was the (very lucky) new boyfriend of my sister's gorgeous high school friend, Autumn. He was a Tempe police officer, a husband, a father, and an all around good guy.

I just learned today that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009 and lost the battle just last month. On Saturday, September 24th there is a walk supporting the POP. Please, please come if you are able to. Early dedection saves lives.

Please visit this link to Autumn's blog for more information. Thanks.

5 years ago...

Me and Justin, about 4 years ago

Today I had a pretty startling realization. I was just sitting here, doing my work, and I realized that me and Justin's wedding anniversary is also the date in which we first laid eyes on each other. That was not planned at all, but for some stupid reason it just solidifies the fact that we are meant to be together.

Justin and I met 5 years ago on October 3, 2006. We both worked for GE. I was a new hire and he was a tenured employee. He stopped by my training class on the first day to meet us all, and that was the very first time I saw him. My mom also worked at GE at the time, so I had heard stories. I knew of him, but never actually met him. It was many months after that first meeting that we started talking on a friendly basis, but I still remember the exact moment that I saw him for the first time.
Four years later, to the day, we were married. Its crazy where life takes you!

Baby Command Center!

Hunter's new favorite toy (courtesy of daddy):

A New Day

Avah, waiting to leave for school



Lately I have felt like every day passes so  quickly that its almost like watching my life in a movie. I watch my  two kids grow up before my eyes and its almost like they are running ahead and I can't catch up. My dad tells me nearly every time he talks to me to "spend more time with your kids" and I understand exactly why. They grow up SO fast. He spent so much time working he missed out on a lot and I think it is his biggest regret.

When I was admitted to the hospital to give birth to Hunter I was a whopping 60 pounds heavier than when I got pregnant. I was already about 5-10 pounds larger when I got pregnant than I like to be so I felt like (and was) a whale. Fast forward to five months later and I am still 40 pounds away from my norm. That's a LOT of weight. I have a closet full of size small and medium shirts and size 6 and 8 pants that I cant even think about fitting into. This may not seem like THAT big of a deal to some people but its a huge deal for me because I don't feel like myself. I almost feel like I am suspended in time waiting for "me" to come back...all the while my kids are growing like weeds and my life is going in fast forward around me. I have been really conservative about attempting to lose weight because of breastfeeding, but I need to do this for me. I am trying desperately to find a balance between making enough milk for my son and eating less calories so I will lose weight. It seems like every time I eat less my supply takes a dip. Ill keep you updated on my progress, but I thought I would share my struggles with people. If anyone has any suggestions or advice I would love to hear them!

Hunter: 5 Months

Hunter and daddy "flying"

Hunter is 5 months old on Saturday! Its absolutely crazy how fast time flies. He is a really smart little man and his personality is starting to really come through. He can do the following:

- Roll over both ways
- Lift his upper body up 90 degrees
- Smile and laughs (a lot)
- Chew on anything and everything
- Reach for toys
- Objects when you try to take a toy away
- Razz and babble
- Bear most or all of his weight on his legs
- Sit upright, supported

He is still exclusively breast fed and we have not started him on solids yet. He has stupid reflux still so his pumped bottles of breastmilk (while I'm at work) are thickened so he can keep them down. Hopefully that gets better soon. We will start solids sometime after he turns 6 months old. We are also still cloth diapering and using cloth wipes as well. We absolutely LOVE them, and this is coming from a VERY busy mom that works full time.

We also have Justin's cousin, Haylee, watches the kids while we work. She is absolutely AMAZING and so so so much better than daycare. We are so lucky to have her.

Avah has been growing like a weed. She put on a pair of shorts she hadnt worn in a month or two and they were so short they were like daisy dukes! She mustve grown like 3 inches! Shes doing well in school and is really starting to mature. She has about an hour of homework every night as well...its insane.

In other news, me and Justin's 1 year wedding anniversary (4 years together) is coming up in a few weeks. Crazy! I got a job as a loan processor within the same company I am working for now. That starts on October 1. Things are going really well for us as a family. If only I could stop time from ticking away so fast...