The New Year
We have had such a wonderful ending to a very long and hard year. This was our first winter holiday as a couple, as parents, and as a family. It was such a joy to be able to spend so much time with both sides of our families.
As a couple, Joey and I have been working hard to be healthier physically and emotionally and to create a growth-culivating environment for our family. I joined the gym, Olympus, that Joey was already a member of and we have both been going many times a week. I do yoga and he lifts weights. I also do cardio on the other days that I am not doing yoga and some light weights. The gym is awesome as it is small and such a great price for all the things you get with it. And it has child care! So now, when I want a break from Alden, I go work out! It is so cool. I am still doing weight watchers, and I now weigh less that I did before I had Alden. But I have mainly seen deductions in inches rather than pounds. It is so nice to be able to fit into jeans again! Joey is eating about double the calories I am. He is trying to gain weight while I'm trying to lose! And Alden is still just on formula and cereal- he occasionally has veggies. He loves to eat from our plates, but he really can't yet.
Joey and I are doing very well as a couple. I feel we have very clear and open communication as we always have. I have become more confident and capable since my panic attacks are under control, so that helps tremendously. I have recently gotten into scrapbooking since Pam and Currie bought me a huge lot of scrapbooking stuff for Christmas! And of course, I am selling stuff on eBay. I am about to embark on a new phase of selling as I might start buying items to resell and make money from. I'm working on it. It is going to take some careful planning.
We got to decorate our bedroom- FINALLY! With all the money we got for Christmas from parents and grandparents we got an awesome gray and black microsuede bed set with luxuriously soft light blue sheets. We got a light blue velvetly soft curtain hung with a black rod. There is a big picture of a nautilus on one wall and we are going to buy a beachfront picture for the wall our bed is on. Our bedroom is now my favorite room in the house...well, second to Alden's wonderful room. But isn't that always the way of it? The kids get the best. Not because you have to but because you want to.
Speaking of which, we have been trying some new things with Alden now that he is able to do a little more for himself. He is almost crawling and he can reach and hold onto things very well. He is incredibly smart and amazes me almost every second of the day it seems. The RIE approach to child rearing has some good aspects that, together with some aspects from attachment parenting we were already practicing, make for a wonderful way to raise Alden at this stage in his life. We are focusing on respecting him more- his space, his wishes, his individuality. It is wonderful. I let him play by himself more. I don't interrupt his play unless I have to. We don't hand him toys he is reaching for, but rather, we let him learn how to get it for himself. We don't pick him up at the slightest fuss or shush him when he cries. We allow him to feel what he feels and express himself. We tell him when we are going to do something with him, like pick him up, and we let him know what we are doing when we change his diaper, dress him, feed him, etc. This pattern of respect will be one we can carry on his whole life and will be of utmost importance. We are hoping family and friends can do the same with him. He really has responded well to his newfound independence. I love letting him grow just how he is going to. This approach really does allow him to anticipate what is next and be prepared to participate so he is not just an inactive participant or object when being cared for.
Well, those are just some of the things we are getting into over here. And I think I already mentioned before that we moved to a bigger place. The new place is great- except that we don't have water today, so far, for some unknown reason. But I'm sure it'll get turned on soon. If not, we'll be going to Gramma's!
As a couple, Joey and I have been working hard to be healthier physically and emotionally and to create a growth-culivating environment for our family. I joined the gym, Olympus, that Joey was already a member of and we have both been going many times a week. I do yoga and he lifts weights. I also do cardio on the other days that I am not doing yoga and some light weights. The gym is awesome as it is small and such a great price for all the things you get with it. And it has child care! So now, when I want a break from Alden, I go work out! It is so cool. I am still doing weight watchers, and I now weigh less that I did before I had Alden. But I have mainly seen deductions in inches rather than pounds. It is so nice to be able to fit into jeans again! Joey is eating about double the calories I am. He is trying to gain weight while I'm trying to lose! And Alden is still just on formula and cereal- he occasionally has veggies. He loves to eat from our plates, but he really can't yet.
Joey and I are doing very well as a couple. I feel we have very clear and open communication as we always have. I have become more confident and capable since my panic attacks are under control, so that helps tremendously. I have recently gotten into scrapbooking since Pam and Currie bought me a huge lot of scrapbooking stuff for Christmas! And of course, I am selling stuff on eBay. I am about to embark on a new phase of selling as I might start buying items to resell and make money from. I'm working on it. It is going to take some careful planning.
We got to decorate our bedroom- FINALLY! With all the money we got for Christmas from parents and grandparents we got an awesome gray and black microsuede bed set with luxuriously soft light blue sheets. We got a light blue velvetly soft curtain hung with a black rod. There is a big picture of a nautilus on one wall and we are going to buy a beachfront picture for the wall our bed is on. Our bedroom is now my favorite room in the house...well, second to Alden's wonderful room. But isn't that always the way of it? The kids get the best. Not because you have to but because you want to.
Speaking of which, we have been trying some new things with Alden now that he is able to do a little more for himself. He is almost crawling and he can reach and hold onto things very well. He is incredibly smart and amazes me almost every second of the day it seems. The RIE approach to child rearing has some good aspects that, together with some aspects from attachment parenting we were already practicing, make for a wonderful way to raise Alden at this stage in his life. We are focusing on respecting him more- his space, his wishes, his individuality. It is wonderful. I let him play by himself more. I don't interrupt his play unless I have to. We don't hand him toys he is reaching for, but rather, we let him learn how to get it for himself. We don't pick him up at the slightest fuss or shush him when he cries. We allow him to feel what he feels and express himself. We tell him when we are going to do something with him, like pick him up, and we let him know what we are doing when we change his diaper, dress him, feed him, etc. This pattern of respect will be one we can carry on his whole life and will be of utmost importance. We are hoping family and friends can do the same with him. He really has responded well to his newfound independence. I love letting him grow just how he is going to. This approach really does allow him to anticipate what is next and be prepared to participate so he is not just an inactive participant or object when being cared for.
Well, those are just some of the things we are getting into over here. And I think I already mentioned before that we moved to a bigger place. The new place is great- except that we don't have water today, so far, for some unknown reason. But I'm sure it'll get turned on soon. If not, we'll be going to Gramma's!
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