Breaking barriers

Ok, that title sounds like I just won the nobel prize or something, but all I did was lose a few pounds. But oh how significant those pounds!

I'm going to break Woman Rule #1 and tell you how much I weigh/weighed: right before I got pregnant, I weighed about 190. This was the heaviest I'd ever been, a number I swore I'd never reach. Luckily I didn't gain a whole lot with pregnancy: my highest was about 205. But for a couple years before then I was in the 180s: sometimes high, sometimes low. I went on Weight Watchers a couple times and had some success, but I just couldn't get below 170. And after weeks of hovering at 170.2, 170.4, 170.0, I'd give up.

SO...imagine my delight when I stepped on the scale yesterday and saw 168! Woo hoo! I haven't seen the 160s for years! And I hope not to stay here long. I have 33 more pounds to lose before I hit my target weight of 135. That's toward the top of my healthy range, but it's a weight I think I can maintain. And considering that I weighed about 150 when I got married, it's a long time coming. I have no need to be a size 2 or to have ripped abs or Michelle Obama arms. But I want to be healthy, I want to be more active, and I want to be stronger.

And I just bought a sewing book that has cute skirts and dresses I want to make and look good in. It always comes back to vanity, doesn't it?

Anyway, I just had to share my success. And I'm going to need a lot of support to lose the rest of the weight, so I hope you don't mind if I post periodically about my progress.

Possibly the coolest cover art ever

I like lots of music, but Neko Case is consistently fabulous. Her new album is no exception, and it only improves on multiple listenings. Like all of her music, it is best listened to over and over again on headphones. Or live, of course. She was Atty's first concert when she was here last summer, and the time before that I was at the front of the stage, literally staring up her nose. She is coming again in May as part of the Red Butte Concert Series, but of course it's on a Sunday. Maybe I'll have to make do with some good headphones and the volume up high.

Atty's 1st Birthday

He didn't really know what all the fuss was about. But he had fun squishing whipped-cream frosting through his fingers. (His hair isn't really as red as it appears in these photos. Maybe someday...)


I love this picture. He looks more like a little boy and less like a baby. Ok, that makes me the tiniest bit sad, because that means he's growing up, but I love love love watching him grow and learn new things and discover the world around him.



Because it was Pi Day (3.14), we celebrated at the Pie with my mom, my sister Erin, and our friends Brook and Linwood Biddulph. We considered (briefly) throwing a big party, but we figured Atty wouldn't know the difference and might get overwhelmed by a crowd.

Here's a video of him playing with his cake. He wasn't sure what to do with it, but he seemed to enjoy himself regardless. And check out the vintage high chair James found at DI. We think it's pretty groovy.

It was a good day. We love having this little boy around. It still blows my mind that we have a son. How did we get so blessed?

One year ago today....

...was the day my little Atticus was born. I'm sorry to say that it was not a happy day. Right now it is 10:24 p.m. One year ago this minute I was on morphine, our sweet little boy was on a ventillator, and James was feeling lost in between us. It was two more days before I was allowed to leave my bed long enough to go see my tiny son, and another day before I could hold him.

I wanted so much for his arrival in this world to be a happier event. I ached to hold him and rock him and kiss his sweet head. I wanted him to sleep next to me so I could listen to him breathe, and hold him on my chest so he could hear my heart.

And although I will freely admit the blessings we all received during this difficult time and the unforseen benefits of Atty's hospital time, I so so so wished it to be different.

But tonight I rocked him to sleep and kissed his sweet head and told him how wonderful he is and how happy I am that he's here. Tonight I got to do what I missed out on a year ago. Tonight I get to listen to him breathe in his sleep and marvel at how absolutely beautiful he is.

I'll post about today's festivities tomorrow. Tonight I just want to bask in the wonder of our son, our sweet Atticus, and how far he's come. We love you, little boy, more than you will ever know. You are the treasure of our lives.

The boy likes beans

He's not so fond of cereal and vegetables. Strained carrots are ok, but to get him to eat barley cereal and peas I had to make him laugh to get him to open his mouth so I could sneak the spoon in. Today he caught on and figured out how to laugh with tight lips.

But man, sit down on the couch with a bowl of beans, and he's all over you. Last week James and I had chili beans and cornbread for dinner, and Atty came begging. So I gave him half a bean (sauce sucked off), and he kept asking for more. Once I was too slow so he started yelling. Then today I had curried lentils and rice for lunch (so yummy and soooo easy!), and he came begging again (this was after the tight-lip feeding debacle). I thought the curry would be too spicy for him, but he didn't even seem to notice. He wouldn't leave me alone until it was all gone.

I loved seeing his little happy face with curry sauce around his mouth. I think for his dinner tonight I'll skip the cereal and open a can of beans. :)

Atty Photos of the Week

It has been impossible to get a picture of Atticus's teeth. He just cut his fifth one recently, and his desire to gnaw on things has never been greater. Still, he gets really coy and sheepish when you bring out the camera and aim for his mouth. It is like the teeth retract. The shot normally ends up like this:




But at last, with the help of a cell phone camera, we now have evidence that our boy is no longer toothless. Sorry the image is a little grainy, but when you're dealing with something as elusive as a sasquatch, you take what you can get.