4/365

Brayden hasn't quite mastered the spoon yet. He always starts the meal using utensils, but usually gives up and starts using his hands. I've learned to not worry about mealtime messes- he's learning and eating (he was late to the "enjoying anything other than milk" game). Tonight it was black bean soup- at least it was chunky enough he could get it from the bowl to his mouth!

3/365

My current library stash shows where my reading focus has been lately: a;; over the place. A bit of parenting advice, a dash of feminism, a whole bunch of politics, with some young adult fiction to round it out.

From the top: the movie The Ghost Writer, Give Me Liberty by Naomi Wolf, Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading by Lizzie Skurnick, Notes from the Cracked Ceiling by Anne E. Kornblut, The Wet Nurse's Tale by Erica Eisdorfer, The Essential Feminist Reader edited by Estelle B. Freedman, A Family of Readers: The Book Lover's Guide to Children's and Young Adult Literature by Roger Sutton and Martha V. Parravano, and The Successful Child by Dr. William and Martha Sears

18 months

I know I begin these all the same way, but I still cannot believe how fast you are growing up. You won't understand this until you have a child of your own. My favorite thing about you this month is your expressive face. The gamut runs from exaggerated smiles to furrowed brows and everything in between. Your language and signing are picking up speed. I'm so glad I didn't give up on signing. It's so cute- you can sign milk, more, please, thanks, and you're learning "I love you" and help. Your vocabulary is at least 23 words, and I'm sure I am missing some.


You're hitting all of the other milestones too- stacking blocks, identifying body parts (head, hair, ears, eyes, mouth, teeth, nose, neck, belly button, back, and toes so far), running, kicking a ball, etc. You're still hitting some physical ones early- for over a month you've been going up and down the stairs without holding our hands and sometimes you don't even hold the railing! The doctor said that you're early on that and on walking backwards.

Speaking of the doctor- until a few weeks ago you had only seen him for well child visits. You got a bad rash that wasn't going away so we took you in before Christmas. He said it was a virus. It went away, but is back again so we might be giving him another call.

I really love spending my days with you. I know I don't always show it, but you are my favorite person. Believe me, no one else could leave me so happy yet still being so sleep-deprived. No, you're not sleeping through the night yet. Please start! Our bed is getting too crowded, and you still hate the crib, so we're trying just putting your crib mattress on the floor in your room. I really hope it works! Seriously, though, I love you so much Brayden. I am so blessed to be your mommy.

2/365

It still melts my heart to see my baby (yes, I'm still going to call him my baby even though he is 18 months today!) and his daddy taking a nap together.

1/365

Just some light reading, you know?

2011 goals

I did okay on my 2010 goals. I read 40 of the 50 books I wanted too, but since I read 124 books altogether I'm going to call that one good. On the health one, it's a toss-up. I'm at about the same place I was last year (weight-wise), but I got back on the WW bandwagon last month. I didn't even talk myself into waiting until the new year so that's a start right? I've lost 11 lbs so far (probably less now since I haven't officially weighed in since before Christmas). And I decided my last goal about "creating" was stupid. I know I tried a lot of new recipes and I did some crafts, but definitely not one a week. I'm also calling it good because I created something I (and hopefully Brayden) will treasure forever. In May I bought my sister the coolest journal to use as a baby journal, and decided to do the same for Brayden, even though it meant I had 6 months to catch up on. I really love it though, and I hope he appreciates it in the future.

Here are my goals for 2011:

1- Go on a vacation (all 3 of us).
2- Help Adam paint/finish the cupboards and backsplash in the kitchen.
3- Lose at least 25 lbs to be at a healthier pre-pregnancy weight.
4- Take a picture every day.
5- Increase and vary my writing. I've got the blog, goodreads, and B's journal (and I want to increase what I do with all of those), but I feel the need to start a personal journal again. And as for the variation? I hope to maybe tackle anything from poetry to op-ed pieces to creative writing.

2010 media review

Books

This will be long, as I read 124 books and gave 20 of them 5 stars and 38 of them 4 stars. I'll break it up so I can include more. My favorite authors were Stieg Larsson (the Millenium trilogy), Roald Dahl (especially Matilda and Danny the Champion of the World), and Nancy Werlin (Extraordinary and Impossible). My favorite genres were dystopian literature (The Giver, Matched, Mockingjay, Birthmarked and 1984), and non-fiction (The Family Dinner, Earth, Half the Sky, White Like Me and Adventures in Gentle Discipline). Outside of those groupings, I also loved The Help, A Fine Balance, These Is My Words, and The Phantom Tollbooth. Note: I'm able to remember all this thanks to the wonderful website Goodreads.

Movies

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, Easy A, The Social Network, Tangled, How to Train Your Dragon, The Town, Iron Man 2

Ones that would likely be on the list if I had had a chance to see them: Toy Story 3, Despicable Me, The Kids Are All Right, Black Swan

TV

Modern Family



Glee



The Sing-Off



Also: House, The Office, Community

Links

100 Best Signs at the Rally to Restore Sanity

G is for Gumption

Fictional feminist icons

I have read countless blog posts, stories and articles on breastfeeding, but this one has to be one of the most heartwarming and inspiring.

And I'll end with this, one of my favorite clips of the year. PSA: If you don't know Colbert's schtick, don't get offended. He is a devout Catholic in real life and even teaches sunday school. This is just a character he plays.