My Little Book Worm

As part of my New Year's Resolution this year, I am FINALLY learning how to use my Nikon D3300. I have had this camera for 2 years and have yet to take the time to learn how to shoot in manual mode. This camera takes good pictures in auto, but with this cute little boy in my life, I just can't settle for good pictures anymore...I need GREAT ones :) 

In addition to learning how to use my camera, I really want to make sure to capture some of my favorite moments. Time goes way too fast, and while I can't pause time and freeze these moments, I sure can take a million pictures that I can look back on forever <3

One of those moments was a few weeks ago, on a day off from work. I had a whole day home with my sweet little boy and he was FINALLY healthy, happy, and enjoyable :) Christmas break and the weekend prior had been filled with a sick, clingy, non-sleeping baby...so this day was MUCH needed for all involved.

Ever since he was about 6 months old, Bennett has LOVED books. He loves holding them, flipping the pages, and being read to. He especially likes the books with animals and when we make animal noises :)

In his room we have a book shelf hanging on the wall next to his crib, and when he wakes up in the morning or after naps he always reaches for his books. Most days we are in a hurry, and don't have time to stop and read...but on the weekend and days off like this one, we always take the time to snuggle up and read a few books. This is something that fills my heart with SO much happiness and I know it's a memory I will want to hold onto forever.

I tried to narrow it down to just a few of my favorite pictures...but they are all my favorite, I can't help it! Seeing him read a book just melts my heart <3

He even points at the different pictures on each page...it's seriously the cutest!

I just love watching him flip the pages and look at each page of his book.

He read through all the books within reach, and decided he just wasn't quite finished yet!

Reading books is serious business for this guy...

It's always important to get comfy when reading ;) 

Making sure he got ALL of his books out of the crate!

He especially loves the books with the flaps he can lift up and see what is underneath!

He was so into his books, he forgot mommy was even in the room!

Intense concentration!

Sorry for the picture over-load...but I just can't get enough of this little book-worm!

November/December Book Review + End of the Year Review

You guys...I did not think this was going to happen. I did not think I was going to meet my goal of 24 books this year. You see, I started off really strong...and then this fall I kind of fell off. I blame it on being a mom, going back to work full time, and marathon training.

I cheated a little...one of the books I added to my list I read aloud to my class...

but it was the highest rated book on Goodreads (from my list) so that makes it okay ;) I added it back in October and added it to the list because I wasn't sure I would make it to 24 otherwise...turns out I didn't need it to reach my goal, but it was a nice cushion ;) 

I was skeptical at the beginning of 2017 that I would be able to finish 24 books with the arrival of a cute little distraction

But, turns out, he's a big reader too...so it worked out! 

I mostly read e-books this year and read them while either rocking my cute little guy to sleep or running on the treadmill...Mom Life is all about multitasking, plus these days when my head hits the pillow I fall asleep pretty immediately ;)

While I had a pretty slow fall...my reading picked back up for November and December. Thanks to a couple of breaks (Thanksgiving and Christmas) and colder weather that forced us indoors (along with more treadmill running) I was able to finish 3 books...which is less than my intended 2 per month, but it was more than I had been managing prior...so I call it a win! 

Sarah Jio has been a favorite author of mine for years. I have never read one of her books that I didn't like...and this one was no exception. What I love most about her books is the dual setting/time period and how she perfectly weaves them together in the end. This story explores a young woman's past and the unfinished business she has with an ex-boyfriend who mysteriously disappeared from her life 12 years ago. She is currently in her dream job, living in a beautiful home with her perfect fiance when she comes across her first love, and discovers that he is homeless. She makes it her mission to help him, and get to the bottom of how he came to be homeless. I only gave it 3 out of 4 stars on Goodreads because I wasn't crazy how the story wrapped up...it wasn't awful, but it kind of left me feeling like there should have been more to it. 

Earlier this year I read One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid and loved it, so when this one was available for check out from the library I jumped at the chance. 

This book was TOTALLY different than One True Loves, but I enjoyed it just as much. In this book we hear the story of Evelyn Hugo's past as she divulges all of her secrets to a down on her luck reporter. I found myself completely entranced in Evelyn's story and could not put this book down. I would HIGHLY recommend this book! 

This book...I have to admit I am at a loss for words when it comes to describing it. This book sucked me in straight away and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. 

It was such weird, dark, and twisted book that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I read it. Like I mentioned above, I am having a really hard time describing this book...but basically it is about a woman who gets married to a seemingly perfect man after a very short courtship and things change drastically once they are married. She is in a desperate situation and has to do whatever she can to escape and protect her family. I would highly recommend this book. I won't say it's similar to "Gone Girl" or "Girl on a Train" because it's not...but it does have the same dark and twisty type story. 

So, that's it...my last 3 books of 2017! I have to say I never regret making this resolution for myself. I love reading and sometimes I just need a little push to turn the TV off (or put my phone down) and pick up a book...and setting my yearly goal on Goodreads does just that!

For 2018 I decided to go a little easier on myself...because #MomLife and while I met my goal last year, I got a huge head start with books in Jan, Feb, and March before Bennett was born...and while he is sleeping better and I am managing to stay up a little later these days I still don't have quite as much free time as I used to...so for 2018 my goal is to read 20 books...I am still aiming for 24, but I don't like to fail so the official goal on Goodreads is 20 ;)

Have you set a goal for reading? Do you have a Goodreads account? If so find me on there and add me as a friend...I always love to see what other people are reading because it helps me to get ideas of what to read next!

New Year; New Goals

It has been a hot minute since I have talked about running on the ol' blog...and if we are being honest it's been awhile since I have talked about anything other than my sweet little guy. 

 

People aren't lying when they tell you life is all about your kids once you become a mom...and I have to tell you I don't mind one bit :) 

While life has been #AllAboutBenny since before he was even born, I have still managed to make running a big part of my life. Running has been important to me for years, and while I am not putting in near as many miles as I was pre-baby, running still plays a really important role in my life. 

Many people assume that I run to stay in shape...and while that is a perk of it, I run more for my mental well being. Running gives me an outlet for life's every day stresses and since having Bennett it has given me something that is all my own. 

Life changed drastically (for the better of course) when he was born, and for several weeks after I struggled with feeling like myself. Returning to running and training for the Gobbler Grind marathon allowed me to grab onto a little piece of my old life, and while at times it wasn't easy, it was so worth it when I crossed that finish line.

I knew going into 2018 I wanted to set some running goals, but I also wanted to be realistic and not put too much pressure on myself. Running a postpartum marathon was a feeling like no other, but the pressure (and early mornings) of training for 26.2 was a lot. 

4 years ago I signed up for my very first half marathon as a part of the Heartland 39.3 series. I ran my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd half-marathons all within 5 weeks of each other. It was a lofty goal at the time, but it was so satisfying. Since that first year I have since run that same series 2 more times. Last year I had Bennett and couldn't run in the series but promised myself I would do it again in 2018 as a "comeback" 

As I started getting the emails about registration for Heartland 39.3 I started to second guess myself. While I wanted to run these 3 races, I also didn't want to put the pressure of training for 3 half marathons on my plate. I then thought about just doing one of the races...but again wasn't sure I wanted to train for a half at all.

While looking at the Garmin half I noticed there was a 10k series with 4-10ks in 5 weeks all being held close to my house. For the first time in awhile I got really excited about a race(s) and decided that THIS would be my running goal for the spring. 

Not only do I want to run the 4-10ks, but I want to get a 10k PR. I am not 100% sure what my 10k PR is since I have only ran a handful of them...but I think it is around 50 minutes.

I'm really looking forward to training for a shorter distance than normal. This will allow me to focus on getting some speed back and long training runs won't take over my life ;) 

I'm only making a goal for the spring...and once those races are over I will reevaluate. I am thinking I might want to run a half this fall...but who knows. I'm just doing life by the seat of my pants these days ;) 

  

Life With Benny: 9 Months

9 months flew by in the blink of an eye! Every day is a new adventure I cannot wait to have...sweet boy you have changed our world forever <3

Diapers

Not much has changed in this department. We switched over to the 3s earlier than we needed to and they were really big on him at first and while he is still wearing 3s they are definitely getting a little snug. We got a little off on the timing with our Amazon subscription so we ended up having to buy a small pack of the Target Brand (Up and Up) and we have been really happy thus far. They are a little cheaper so we may make the switch permanently.

Clothes

He is officially in 9 month clothing and his his 6-12 mo sizes from the Gap and Old Navy are less on the baggy side and fitting better. I put away all of his 6 mo outfits and was sad to see some of my favorite outfits go...luckily he got TONS of cute new clothes for Christmas.

Food

He is still a big fan of food. We do a combo of purees and bits and pieces of whatever we are eating for dinner. Raviolis, spaghetti, yogurt, and carrots are some of his favorites.

He is still nursing morning, evening, and before bed and taking 3 pumped bottles of breast milk (5-6oz) at daycare.

Sleep

Sleep has been a little less consistent this month with more middle of the night wake-ups and extra early mornings. It's far better than it was in the early days...but this mama got used to sleeping through the night so the days he wakes up in the middle of the night or early in the morning I am a walking zombie!

He also got croup again this month and we spent the night at Children's Mercy getting breathing treatments and being monitored. The next night was spent sleeping upright in the chair with mamma, and thus started a string of rough nights. He was up 2-3 times per night crying, and needing to be rocked or nursed back to sleep. It was a gentle reminder of how rough those first few months were.

-He is still quite the mover in his sleep and rolls to his stomach almost immediately after I put him down. I still panic a little when I wake up in the middle of the night and look at the monitor and see him face down.

-Naps have been kind of a mess this month. He struggles to fall asleep on his own (without being rocked) and has been having trouble staying asleep after I put him down. Sometimes for his evening naps I just hold him and read my book. I know it's a bad habit, but after being away from him all day I love the extra snuggles.

Milestones

-He now claps his hands whenever we say "Yay" and he gets a big grin on his face because he is so proud ;) 

-He is trying to wave, but the coordination piece still isn't there ;)

-He isn't crawling yet, but he isn't far off. He has started leaning forward while sitting and getting on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth.

-While he isn't crawling he is rolling around like a crazy man. We can't leave the room anymore because he is into everything...I know it will only get worse when he starts crawling!

-He said "ma-ma" once this month and it was after a long couple of days so it was definitely music to my ears! Now if I could only get him to say it consistently!

-He has started to dance and bop around to music...he definitely gets his dance moves from his dad ;)

-He is definitely responding to his name these days. We weren't sure before because he would look at us when we would say his name, but we weren't sure if it was just because he heard our voices or if he was responding to his name. Now he will turn his head when we say Benny or Bennett and get a smile on his face.

-We got to spend our first winter break together...and while his being sick was a bit of a bummer we still enjoyed our lazy days and extra snuggles!

-He met Santa Clause and very intrigued! No tears...this year ;)

-He got to attend his first "Christmas Lights Extravaganza" and this year we stuck with Deanna Rose, since he wouldn't be able to enjoy driving around the neighborhoods. I wasn't sure he would even care too much about the lights, but turns out he was a BIG fan! He was bouncing around dancing and laughing through the whole thing. It was seriously the BEST!!

 -We went to Union Station to look at the Christmas Lights and see the trains with Brandon, Caitie, and the girls. Benny didn't last long (bedtime comes early) but he had a blast and loved looking at all the lights and decorations.

Likes

-He still only has eyes for Gracie. He loves watching her play fetch and he will clap and yell when she barks...at least someone enjoys that shrill sound! He has also started to throw the ball for her...he doesn't throw it far enough for her liking, but we are getting him trained early :)

-Food...this kid loves any and all food. He especially likes to feed himself.

-Book still top his list of favorites. Even with all his new Christmas toys he gravitates toward his books every time. His favorite is Jimmy Fallon's "Da Da" go figure ;)

-He is a big fan of his Aunt Caitie and cousin Finley...he can't keep his eyes of either one of them and he gets very excited when he hears his Aunt Caitie's voice. This month he got to spend a little extra time at their house too. Finley "baby sat" for us when we went out for AJ's birthday dinner and on the half-day of school before winter break. He was in heaven!

-He love, love, love his new tool bench (so do we) and his VTech walker...and well pretty much anything that lights up or plays music.

Dislikes

-He is still so happy go lucky, and even with battling a nasty bout of croup and a cold that wouldn't quit through the holidays he managed to be pretty happy. He was definitely a little more clingy and didn't sleep much, but considering how terrible he felt it only makes sense.

-Falling asleep became a battle this month. After being sick last month and getting sick again this month we got into a pretty bad habit of nursing or rocking him to sleep...we are slowly working on getting back to our norm #WishUsLuck

This month was definitely a tough one (especially toward the end) and we are hoping for more sleep and less illness in the coming months! However, despite being sick our little man was quite the trooper. He was still mostly smiles, giggles, and fun!