Winter Walking

We've made a conscientious effort to make walking a regular part of our family culture.  When TJ and I were engaged I would frequently invite him to go walk with me - there's a fabulous park with a walking path halfway between our parents' houses - and I think he turned me down every time.  :)  After we got married he started joining me on my walks and, after a while, came to love them: it's so relaxing and rejuvenating to be out in nature.  It's a great way to have conversations.  It just feels good to move your body and it's a nice way to spend time without being tied to devices.

So we've made it a high priority to make sure Reed is comfortable being in his stroller for long walks (60-90 minutes) since he was born.  After we returned from the hospital (he was born via c-section) we started putting him in his stroller at 6 days old and walking down the street, just a few houses at a time, as I built up strength and stamina.  We've walked hundreds of miles now as a family and even taken Reed with us on many runs.

But sometime in the past few months we got out of the habit of walking.  It was probably a combination of issues: TJ being in the bishopric, starting teaching school, the days getting shorter, morning sickness then sciatic pain, then frigid temperatures.  I realized I was missing walking a couple months ago and tried to resume, but it was super cold and Reed would pull his mittens and blanket off again and again, then sob because he was so cold.

Finally we've found the appropriate cold-weather outfit for him to wear: snow pants (that I can't get over - I love how chubby his legs look and how he waddles when he wears them), fur-lined boots that he has asks to wear all the time, a warm coat with a hood he can't pull off, and mittens so long they stay tucked into his coat. 

Today marks the third consecutive day we've bundled up and headed outside for our walk.  He's been so happy to go!  I love that he doesn't cry when we put on his mittens and he walks right to the garage door when it's time to go. 

A favorite trait of the mittens?  We haven't figured out how to work together to get his thumbs in the right spot, so his hands always appear to be turned wonky ways, since they're just in fists at the end of the glove.

While we're walking he calls out when he sees a truck or a bus (especially exciting).  He makes bird sounds anytime he spots a bird and he frequently sings to himself.  It's so nice to get out, soaking up what little sunshine there is, and we're both happier when we get home.  Hooray for walking!

My Family

Two months ago my little sister got married.  She's #10 of the 11 kids in our family and it was such fun to gather and celebrate HER and her darling husband.  

I went through the 1,000 or so wedding pictures yesterday and found a few shots of my (growing up) family that I just adore.  I feel so darn lucky to have been raised by fantastic parents, with a whole crew of deeply good people around me.  

Sometimes when life gets overwhelming I remind myself that I have a whole army of people cheering me on.  These are some of my biggest supporters and I am truly grateful that they're my family, forever.

The 8 Milar Sisters

All my siblings.  I am the very middle in order (#6 of 11) - the oldest is the blonde right above me and the youngest is the sister right next to her.

My parents, siblings, and their spouses.  Tiny (on my left) is the last single sibling.  Can't wait to meet her husband!

Noo Noo

We recently spent a week and a half staying with my sister's family while she and her husband were on an international trip.  One of the (many) great things about being there was Reed's exposure to new foods and kids eating so many new-to-him things!  I didn't realize the positive impact it would have on Reed to see kids eating foods: I feel like he tried lots of things he had refused before and came home with a few new things he really loves.

Presenting: noo noo.  Brown rice Ramen noodles that Reed now ADORES.  There was one day in Alpine when he refused to eat anything but noo noo, pointing to the cupboard they were in and sobbing "noo noo" over and over and over again. 

Now that we're home, we've tried to space out how frequently we have noodles, but Reed's love seems pretty unfazed!  He is incredibly annoyed when they stick to his fingers but is also at a very independent stage where he insists on feeding himself (I think we're averaging four outfits a day right now).  Noo noo are pretty tricky for a little guy, but he's getting some in!

Beeeeeans

Reed loves black beans.  Really loves black beans.  He eats them right out of the can, cold or room temperature, plain or with rice, it doesn't really matter.  For several months now he's averaged about a half can of black beans per day - today it was nearly a full can - which also means he's very good at saying, "Beeeeeeas." 

I get the feeling one day I'm going to really miss his little black beard.

Baby #2

This week I am 29 weeks pregnant.  We are excited to meet this little one (which never feels real to me, though I feel the baby kicking all day) and are truly grateful to be pregnant. 

But man, this pregnancy has been much harder than my first.  Maybe I went into it with the wrong expectations, anticipating that it would be similar to Reed's, and being totally surprised when it went differently. 

A bit before Christmas I had sciatic pain start.  Holy smokes - that's no joke!  The pain was terrible for a few days/nights, with the only neutral-pain position being on my hands and knees (seriously).  The pain migrated to my knee and then to my ankle and after about four weeks seems to have disappeared altogether.  I am SO GRATEFUL it's gone.  I did some stretching (probably should have done more) but not much seemed to help.  It's amazing how much more I love walking (I always have loved walking) after I couldn't do it for several weeks.

Two weeks ago I failed my glucose test.  Then I failed the three hour glucose test.  Now I have gestational diabetes, which I did NOT see coming.  Maybe I'm just pathetic, but these past ten days have been hard for me!  I am testing my blood sugar four times each day and recording everything I eat.  This afternoon TJ and I went to a three hour class about gestational diabetes that was incredibly informative.  My/our biggest worry is the likelihood of me having diabetes after pregnancy, which is a real risk/concern.  We are hoping and praying I don't and TJ has (of course) been incredibly supportive as we've overhauled our diet (again) to count carbs and try to keep my sugars in check.  So far my scores have been pretty good but it will become more difficult to manage over the next ten weeks, so we're buckling up for what may be a rough ride. 

But we are going to have a baby!  And with all this work we hope to have a very healthy baby.  The eating changes should really be beneficial for all of us - both now and in the future - and we have the time and money to make them pretty painless.  I've even managed to squeeze in chocolate basically every day. 

Baby #2 - here we come!

Builders

TJ's love for Legos runs deep.  He tells about the hours and hours and hours he spent as a child playing with Legos: with his brother, with his friend, with his imagination.  In fact, he attributes his love of math to Legos, those 3 x 2 blocks that made him think through how to build things mathematically. 

For Christmas we got Reed some Duplo blocks.  I anticipated that Reed would enjoy them and that TJ would help them, but I did not foresee how much TJ would LOVE building with Reed.  I've watched time and time again as TJ builds elaborate (or simple) creations just for the joy of building: Reed promptly tears them apart and TJ starts again.

Last night TJ taught Reed to put the flower pieces on all by himself - I think it's the first thing Reed can actually build instead of just destroying.  When he realized he was doing it on his own he would announce "ta da!" after he put one on.  It was such a pleasure to watch these two sit and play together.  I think Reed sat in that exact position for about thirty minutes, which is maybe the longest he's ever sat in one place. 

Saying cheese, but he hasn't quite figured out how to look at the camera while saying it.

Blurry, but I adore his focused face.

My Laundry Partner

This morning I grabbed the basket filled with clean laundry and took it to our bed to fold it.  Reed followed me, climbed on the bed, and started emptying everything (faster than I was folding). 

I called for a truce, dumping the clean clothes by me in exchange for giving him the laundry basket (which is what he really wanted anyway).  We spent twice as long folding laundry as necessary because he wanted to keep jumping to me and I had to keep taking pictures of him jumping onto the pillows.  It was perfect.

This is how he says "Please catch me."