Cute pic and March for Babies

A quick announcement, I will be walking in the March for Babies to raise money for the March of Dimes. I will be sending out emails in the next couple of days, I hope if you are able that you can support me and this wonderful cause. As many of you know, this cause hits pretty close to home. Raffi was born 2 months early at 2 lbs 12 ounces. I'm so thankful for the advancement in medicine that allowed Raffi to thrive and grow. He is now a healthy, growing 19 month old. He is a little underweight still, but he eats well and is growing steadily.

Below is a picture taken while Raffi was in the NICU. I think he was only a week or so old.

Pics from Mom's Group Winter Party & Watching the Inauguration

Raffi not paying attention to Obama Inauguration (just like my Dad.)




Raffi with bubbles at the Party:



Raffi making coffee for the Party:

Colds again and being on the farm.

Raffi got another cold. It is such a bummer on so many levels. It basically cancels our playdates for the week, Raffi has a hard time sleeping because his nose is all clogged and so on and so on. But today, we did escape the house and went to a community farm where moms from my yoga group go to help harvest, weed and volunteer. You get to take some of the produce home with you. Today, we picked some broccoli, swiss chard, and spinach.

It was neat to harvest food right from the ground. Being a suburban gal my whole life, I haven't had this opportunity often. So I was giddy. And Raffi ran around, sometimes trampling poor defenseless growing plants. He dug in the dirt and rearranged the sprinklers and basically had a blast. I have a few pics but I haven't downloaded them yet.

I think Raffi's top incisors are finally cut through, because they do not seem to be bothering him as much. He is still chewing on plastic and such. But his whimpering at night has gone away. So that is a good thing.

Momentous Occasion

I just went to Target and only spent $4.28. I just had to record that amazing fact! We started an all-cash spending system to stop putting junk on our credit cards we can't afford. And it has worked, it really has cut down on my extra spending. Especially those dangerous trips to Target!

Oh, Random note: I'm not watching or will pay attention to anything Oscars this year. They didn't nominate Batman. And really that flick was so good it was painful. So basically this year is worthless. I'm sure that some of the other movies are good (I haven't seen them.) But really I'm done this year.

January Pics & Stuff

Raffi's top incisor teeth are coming in at the moment. He has actually been cranky for the past week or so(unlike the super cute pic above). He is also demonstrating more toddler like behavior: protesting when he doesn't get his way including dramatically falling on his knees with his head slumped forward. It is partly cute and other part frustrating. He is getting so tall, he reached into my bathroom sink cabinet drawer and got into my makeup bag. He took out a eyebrow brush and tried to brush his hair. ha-ha.

Leisurely Snacking:


Raffi enjoys music and loves to dance. Grandma and Grandpa got him a keyboard for Xmas which he like to turn on to a musical selection and dance around the living room. I actually have video but I need to trim it down, so hopefully I'll get it posted before summer.


Raffi at the Children's Museum

Catching Up.

Ok, what have I missed to talk about. The last two months, I've thought, oh that would be good to write about in my blog or that would be great. So still I have a blog written about not writing in my blog. I am probably not the only one with this problem. So back in it.

So to catch up & some xmas pics:

Christmas: Lots of fun. Visits with Family was a blast. Raffi didn't really care about xmas too much, I think next year he'll get it more.

Development: Raffi is chattering a bunch, mostly non-scensical. He can mimic tree, duck, fish, and other basics. He points and says "tis" for this and he says "see" when he wants me to pick him up so he can see what I'm doing in the kitchen. He is definitly understanding verbal direction more, whether he chooses to obey is another story. He responds to the no-nos, drop, lets go bye-bye, etc. It is wonderful to see him grow.
Raffi w/ Santa

When we were not traveling, we spent the time going to playdates with various moms groups, park visits, returning stuff at the mall, and hanging out.

I've started counting calories this January, coupled with a bout with the stomach flu I lost a bunch of weight! I have this great handy application on my Iphone where I keep track of my calories. I had no idea I was eating so much during the day. Those times in between meals snacking, really add up!

So I've been doing it for a couple of weeks and have increased my exercising (a bit, getting back into the stroller walks/hikes.)

So things are pretty normal crazy around here!

Commercials

Those darn commercials for ancestry.com make me want to join and track down my ancestors. And then I come to my senses...I don't have time to track down dead people with my DNA.! I just don't.

And those McNugget commercials from MacDonald's. Argh. I've already loved those fried chicken pieces since I was a kid. But those commercials just call to me. And I'm trying to watch what I eat.

Ummm.... Christmas.. what Christmas.