Happy 10-Month Birthday, Ethan!

Our little sprout is not so little anymore...and he's on the move! This month has proven to be the most exciting yet!

Stats: No doctor's appointment this month, so no official stats. If I had to guess, I'd say that Ethan is around 20 pounds. He doesn't look like he weighs very much, since he's so long, but trust me, I can feel all 20 pounds after holding him for a while.

Likes: Ethan's favorite toy is Tobi {unfortunately for Tobi}. He loves anything that has buttons, regardless of whether it's a toy or not. Our little explorer loves to investigate power cords, cabinet doors, and drawers. Ethan is also starting to open books and turn pages. This list continues to grow. Ethan exploring cause-and-effect relationships. A brand new "like" for Ethan, is pre-school! He loves his teachers and classmates, and comes home exhausted every day. He is transitioning to one nap a day, so that might also have something to do with his tiredness, too. 

Dislikes: As much as I hate to say it, Ethan does not like finger foods. We've tried everything from baked beans to grapes to cheese. He is hit-or-miss with table food, and he will only feed himself Cheerios {we've weaned him off of Puffs - YAY!}.

Tricks: Soon after he turned nine months old, Ethan started crawling. Now, he's one speedy little guy, and he is keeping us on our toes. He also started pulling up on the coffee table, his toys, walls, and pretty much anything he can get his hands on. One of our new favorite tricks is his clapping. He can do it on command {sort of}. If you say "Yay, Ethan", he will almost always start clapping. 

Mom: Although I am exhausted, I'm so glad that I was forced made the choice to go back to work. I love being in the classroom, interacting with students and colleagues, and having a little space of my own...even though I have to share it with 29 fifth graders! Each day, I'm reminded of why I went into teaching. On the flip side, I have so much to do, and not enough time to do it. Juggling mommyhood and teaching is quite a challenge, but I just find that I have less time worry about things, and I am grateful for that. I'm sure things will get easier as we continue to adjust to our new routines.

Best Buddies

Our two babies...just chillin'.

Jealous Puppy

Somebody thought he'd get more attention if he took over Ethan's spot. He was ousted shortly thereafter. Nice try, Tobi!

A Weekend of Celebrations

Phew! We had a jam-packed weekend, with lots to celebrate! 

On Friday, we got all dressed up {in a hand-knit sweater from a talented Hungarian friend, and some adorable loafers which he wore for 2 seconds}, and headed to Safta and Saba's house for another Chanukah get together. We had a yummy dinner, including Safta's homemade latkes. Ethan got some gift certificates to Gymboree Play & Music, which we will use in the new year. {He's really getting into music and loves kicking his legs to different tunes.}

On Saturday, we drove to Cincinnati to celebrate Momma's birthday, which happens to be on Christmas day. We watched the Bengals game, and Ethan and Daddy showed their support by sporting their team gear. We got to see Cousins Will and Eli {shown below, conducting his trains}, and lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Ethan especially enjoyed taking a snooze on Pops!

We got to bring Tobi home from the Pinsky Canine Recovery Center {my in-laws' house}, and the vet said he's doing quite well. He's got tons more physical therapy exercises to do, which are a pain, but he's on the mend! 

One of our biggest celebrations was Ethan's first official "Sleep Through the Night"! He slept 8.5 hours! He hasn't slept that long since, but he's been doing 7.5 - 8 hour stretches for the last four nights, which we are so very grateful for. He's a big boy!

2011 ~ Our Year in Review

I saw this type of post on another blog I enjoy reading, called Dear Baby, and thought it was a great idea! I hope you enjoy reminiscing as much as I did!

January: To kick off the new year, I decided to start a book club. I'm happy to say, that almost three babies later (two Ethans and a soon-to-be A.J.), we are still going strong, and coming up on our one year anniversary!

 

February: I spilled coffee all over my old laptop and got my new MacBook Pro. That little act of clumsiness, I found out later, could be attributed to my {then unknown} pregnancy! 

March: The Fox Hill Elementary Math Bowl team won their competition! These kids sure did make their coach proud!

April: Kevin and I, along with my brother, Yuval, and his girlfriend, Michelle, took a trip to San Diego. Among our favorite outings was a visit to Sea World!

May: It was finally made Facebook and Blog official...we were expecting our little bundle of joy!

June: We had a wonderful time {except for the flight delays and late luggage arrival} in Myrtle Beach with our family. Even Cousin Will and Ethan are in this picture!

July: We spent time with lots of friends this summer. Here we are on our friends, Andy and Allison's, boat on Geist Reservoir on the Fourth of July. It's one of our favorite things to do on those hot Indiana summer days!

August: It was so hard to pick a picture for this month, since there were a lot of things that happened. My favorite, however, was the birth of our nephew, Will. He has added new flavor to our family, with his big, beautiful smile, and easygoing nature. (Ethan has a few things to learn from him!)

September: During this month, we finally completed Ethan's nursery. It's a good thing, too, since he decided to make an early entrance in our lives...see next month!

October: Ethan Eric Pinsky entered our lives at 8:04am on October 22nd. He weighed in at 6lbs., 7oz. and 20 inches long. He is our greatest blessing this year.

November: We had a lot to be thankful for this year, like the Little Turkey above. This month, we were also thankful that I was able to take time off from work to start my stint as a stay-at-home mommy. We were very thankful for friends and family who generously gave their time to help us as we navigated the choppy waters of new parenthood!

December: Oh, Tobi! We were hoping to end this year with a bang, and boy, did we! Our dog-baby had surgery on his right leg (left leg to be operated on in early 2012), and began his recovery, which is going so well! In a few months, he'll be back to his old, mischievous self!

Turkey Leg

Tobi is back home after his first TTA (Tibial Tuberosity Advancement) surgery. He is recovering very nicely. Kevin is home this week, so I don't have to take care of a dependent dog and baby. We are using the "man-to-man coverage" method - I get the baby, Kevin gets the dog. 


Tobi gets three different pills, two twice a day, and one three times as day. He has special exercises that Kevin has to do with him, gets cryotherapy (READ: icepacks) three times a day, and has to be taken out on a short leash. He must also be carried up the stairs. I don't know how I'd get all that done, and take care of Ethan by myself!


Tobi is walking nicely on his leg, and using it to support some weight. He also never lost his appetite, which the doctor said he might do...shocker.


Here's a picture of my little turkey-legged dog. I was shocked when I first saw his shaved leg. I don't know why it never occurred to me that they would shave him, but boy was I surprised when he rounded the corner and I saw my bald dog!

Helpful Doggie

This morning, we were in a rush to get ourselves together and get out the door for Tobi's pre-operative consultation with his surgeon. I was rushing to get Ethan fed, and had his bottle in the warmer. He was being quite impatient and fussing/crying. I took him to the couch to unwrap his Miracle Blanket, heard some ongoing noise, and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. 

I looked down, and saw Ethan's travel Sleep Sheep laying at my feet. I remembered placing it on a blanket near his swing, which was a good 6-7 feet away from us. I picked it up and felt that it was a bit moist. Tobi had picked it up and carried it to where we were, inadvertently turning it on! I know this was probably an accident, but I'm going to pretend that he did this to help soothe Ethan, like the good big brother he is! 

In some funny news, while Kevin was feeding him, he noticed a moist spot on his back. That's right...Ethan pooped up his back...AGAIN. It was dis.gus.ting. Thank goodness he was still in his sleeper and we hadn't changed him into his outfit for the day!

Finally, today Ethan is six weeks old. Everyone says the first six weeks are the hardest, so I definitely feel that we've hit a big milestone!

Poor Tobi

Well, it's official. Our little dog baby, Tobi, needs surgery. He's gone from a fun-loving, energetic dog, to a little lump of sad puppy. Apparently, he has the equivalent of two torn ACLs. Not cool. The vet said he had the knees of a 12-year old dog...he's six. Once we figure out timing, we'll definitely be splurging on this surgery. Kevin needs to be home to help with the recovery, because taking a dog out on a leash with a newborn in the winter is not exactly my idea of a relaxing walk. 

While we are sad that this poor dog has to go through all of this, we are relieved that we know what's wrong, and that there is a solution. I can't tell you how many awful thoughts were going through my head as to what was wrong. Knowing that this is a fairly common problem for dogs, according to the vet, also puts me at ease a bit. 

I'll keep you posted on the surgery and our little Tobi's recovery.

 

Single Mommy-hood...Week 1

This is the week I've been dreading since we brought Ethan home from the hospital...the week Kevin starts work again. As most of my blog readers know, Kevin is an IT Consultant, so he travels for work. This means that I am on parenting duty by myself from Monday morning through Thursday evening. Needless to say, I'm a little nervous. 

I have a great support system around me, with tons of friends and family who are willing to bring me meals, hang out with me, or watch Ethan. It's not the days that bother me...it's having no break from day through night, through day through night...you get the idea. 

Here are some things I'm going to attempt to figure out this week, as a single mom of a newborn:

1. How you make an outing by yourself with a baby...and all his stuff. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow.
2. How to care for a dog alongside an infant. Hopefully, I can remember to feed him twice a day, give him his pills, and let him out to do his business!
3. Host Book Club...with a baby. Really, this is a favor to me. I'm not comfortable taking a two-week old baby to the restaurant where we normally meet, so my Book Club is coming over to my place.
4. Shower. I made sure to get one in on Sunday, but at some point, I'm going to have to do it! 
5. Make Defrost my meals. We're still living off all the food we made and froze during my pregnancy, plus the food people brought over (and we froze) these last two weeks. I still have to remember to take them out of the freezer in the morning, or else I'm out of luck for dinner!
6. Tidying up around the house...we'll see how far we get on this one.

Wish me luck, and if you have any advice for me on how to accomplish any of the tasks above, please share!

Puppy Love

"What? We're just hanging out!"

 

Newborns 101

On Saturday, Kevin and I went to our Newborn Basics class. I was a bit skeptical, since I had heard that this class was just common sense stuff and not worth the time. We were pleasantly surprised. The registered nurse, Diana, was extremely knowledgeable, and she made sure to address all of the new mom questions. Our class was quite small, and we were the most boring couple there. What I mean by that is that there was a woman who was artificially inseminated and another couple who was "freaked" because they were having twins. It was neat to have such a variety of baby stories in the room.


Here are some things we learned/decided:

• We are going bumper-free. I am having one custom made, but after hearing about safe sleep practices, we will not take any chances. I'm determined to find something cute to do with the bumper, though.
• Babies like white noise. Yes, this can include nature sounds, but apparently what they really like, is radio static. It reminds them of the womb, where they pretty much hear white noise. Thus, we swapped a cute sheep nature sound noise maker, with a more high tech sound machine that includes an option for white noise. It also allows you to hook your iPod to it and play music. 
• One of the tips for calming a fussy baby is to get close to their ear, while rocking them, and going, "SHHHHHH..." consistently. I guess that goes back to the white noise thing.
• It was suggested that we go to YouTube and find a clip of an annoying baby cry, and play it for Tobi so that he gets accustomed to it. Step two would be to hold a doll or stuffed animal and play the annoying cry. 
• Babies only need sponge baths for at least the first month of life. If the baby is dirty enough to need a full blown bath, we're doing something wrong!
• The most important things we can receive from people are diapers and services, like cooked meals/meal services, cleaning services, etc.
• When we have the baby, I can request to have him placed directly on my chest (skin to skin), rather than taken away to have initial testing and cleaning done. Diana said that most of that stuff can be done while he's on my chest, and they have an hour to do the stuff they can't do while he's resting there. They'll just let me know within the first hour when they need to take him for a few minutes. It has been shown that babies who are placed directly on mom's chest after birth inch slowly to mom's breast, and sometimes start nursing. Anything I can do to make that process easier on the baby and on myself, I'm willing to do. I don't care if I get a little (or a lot) messy in the process!

All Things Baby

Week 24 has been very baby-centered. As I mentioned in my last post, we have been focusing on prepping for our little one. The nursery looks wonderful, and I love spending time in there already. I've also been doing a lot of baby clothes shopping, with a trip to the outlet mall near us, and my new favorite non-guilty pleasure, Once Upon a Child. This store has the best deal and best selection of baby clothes. I'm not big into shopping at places like these, but the quality and organization of my local OUaC has made me an addict! I keep telling myself that I have plenty of time to explore the wonder of the store, but it's difficult to convince myself to stay away, especially in this outrageous heat! What else is there to do?

Speaking of the crazy hot weather, here is picture of Tobi lounging on the deck...he's working on his tan.

Our Vegetarian

Tobi has become quite the health fanatic. He is OBSESSED with vegetables. Up until now, we knew he was crazy for green beans and baby carrots, but his new favorite veggie is the sugar snap pea! Let's hope the baby has the same love for vegetables!

It's a Dog's Life

Just some cute pictures of our original baby, Tobi. He's definitely got a rough life!

Tobi's Diet

Tobi went to the veterinarian a few weeks ago for some shots. Apparently, we have been overfeeding our dog. I didn't even know that was possible! According to the IAMS dog food bag, a dog of Tobi's size should be eating three cups of food. Our vet said that he should only be eating a cup and a half!

We noticed something was wrong when he was having trouble get up after laying down for extended periods of time, and then walking like his hind legs were asleep. The vet thought this was due to his additional weight. 

Now, poor Tobi only gets one cup of food in the morning and one cup at night. I know the vet said a cup and half, but he was having to much trouble adjusting to such a drastic drop in food! Lately, we've been supplementing his evening cup with a small can of green beans (per the vet's suggestion), which he LOVES. 

I never thought I'd be one of those doggy-moms who let their dog get too big...who knew!

Quality Time

This weekend, Kevin and I traveled to Cincinnati to spend time with family. First, we had lunch with Kevin's parents, his brother Ben, our nephew Eli, Aunt Jo, Uncle Sherman and Aunt Nancy. We celebrated my father-in-law's birthday, and presented him with this present.

Later that evening, we celebrated cousin Beverly's 75th birthday. We were able to visit with family we hadn't seen for a while...some since our wedding! Here are a few snapshots from the party.

Before we came home, we were able to babysit our nephew Eli for a few hours. Here he is playing with me, and pointing out his head and tummy. The kid is a genius!!

Tobi's favorite part of the trip? Being able to lay on the bed!

Tobi the Trickster

Tobi can...

shake right... shake left... jump for treats... lay down... and most importantly, look cute!

Camping Trip

This weekend, Kevin and I went on a camping trip with some of his friends. Unfortunately, none of the wives were able to go so I was the lone girl. It rained for about 5 hours, and after trying to stay warm in my hoodie while by the fire and playing euchre, I gave up. I resorted to the tent, where I graded papers and tried to warm myself up. A few hours later, Matt and Mike showed up with the dining fly...but of course, as in all good comedies, the rain had stopped 10 minutes prior. We made dinner (Kevin's wonderful burgers), played cornhole, and I roasted and ate marshmallows...like 20 of them. The guys stayed up bonding, and I hit the sack. It was a nice trip. Oh, the dog in the picture is Keller's. His name is Miles, and he is AWESOME. Tobi went camping, too, but not with us. He spent the night at Camp Bow Wow in Carmel.

Eli's First Birthday

Today, we celebrated our nephew Eli's FIRST BIRTHDAY! We traveled to Cincinnati for this wonderful occasion, and had such a great time being around our family and, most of all, the birthday boy! And of course...the doggies. Sadie and Tobi enjoyed a day at home during all of the festivities. Here they are, clowning around in the yard. Happy Birthday, Eli!! Aunt Anat and Uncle Kevin love you so much!!

Gym Dilemma

I promised myself that this post would be brief, because it is an attempt to stall my going to the gym to run. It's not that I don't like to run, it's just that running after you've been educating young kids is almost like working out AFTER you've just run a marathon. So, here is the dilemma:

Gym right after work, or gym after a break?

Usually I go home right after work to let Tobi out, take a break, eat dinner, and then go to the gym. To be honest, the going to the gym part sometimes doesn't happen, because I have more time to talk myself out of it. I tell myself I really just need a break to decompress from the stress of school, but should that not be the reason I go to the gym??? If I go to the gym after work (after letting Tobi out, of course), I convince myself that I am a horrible pet owner because my poor dog is at home by himself again, while I am "selfishly" working out. Another cop out? I think so! What are your strategies to get you to the gym in the evenings??? Help!!!