today

Meal time is always fun for me and 'lil Leon boy. On the menu was pureed beluga lentils with brown rice and green beans. He loved it!

moved by this....

I had so much time in my hands when I was pregnant and even more when I was told by the doc to take a minor bed rest for a couple of weeks. During that time I discovered this sweet blog Dear Baby. I just love the way she writes with such sincerity. I had some free time today during one of Leon's naps and visited Melissa's site and came across another blog "The Wonder Love" where I watched this moving video that I would like to share here as well....

The two messages that struck me the most were "you'll miss your mom" and "google does not have children"

Love this photo of my darling 'lil boy

That is Chris' arm holding him steady

When we found out I was pregnant and after recovering from the sheer surprise I began the search for the perfect stroller. Since I had no previous experience about parenting or baby items- I thought the expensive strollers out in the market must be the way to go. These strollers look so cool and hip plus most of the ones that are

retailing for $900++ offer the so-called travel system convenience.

So I ultimately decided on the Orbit Stroller Travel System. I loved almost everything about this stroller except two things: the cost- a whopping $900 and the weight. The heaviness did not bother me at first but now that Leon is about 16 lbs there is no way I could lift the car seat out of the car and unto the dock. If I had known we could not use the Orbit all the way to toddlerhood then I would have definitely passed. Oh well lesson learned and hopefully a lesson I could pass to other new moms. The expensive travel systems are not the way to go.

Knowing better I began my search for a reliable, reasonably priced stroller that we can use until Leon no longer needs one. After many many many reviews I've read and specification comparison with other strollers- I decided on a Maclaren Techno XT lightweight stroller.

I took it for a test walk today and WOW is all I can say. Extremely light and super easy to maneuver. Love the 6" double suspension wheels and the true one hand fold into a super

slim umbrella-like style. It even has a handle on the side so it can easily be carried through an airport or up a flight of stairs. I'm pretty sure we will be using this stroller for a LOOOOONG time.

Dinner tonight....

Easy and simple dinner not to mention healthy. Spring mix greens with garbanzo beans, sweet tender beets, cherry tomatoes and grilled chicken topped with yummy green goddess dressing

On his changing table... check out those ruby red lips!

Lunch date

Chris and I regret stepping out of our home yesterday. It was crazy HOT in LA. I mean really HOT. But as these photos show we made the most out of our short trip. We grabbed a quick lunch at Lemonade and then topped it off with some frozen yogurt at the new Menchie's Yogurt in Beverly Hills. Off back to home base we were!

I love our weekends. Simple fun.

Ergo

I'm in disbelief that the time has come for us to set the Baby Bjorn carrier aside. Leon is getting way too heavy for it. The Bjorn served us real well and to be honest- it's what Leon prefers. The only problem is mama can't handle the back strain any longer. Leon much preferred the Bjorn because since the beginning he has been a baby who liked to see everything. He never wanted to be confined in a fabric sling even though people said baby would like the snuggy feeling of being back in the womb. He also disliked being carried facing me. The minute I turned him around to face the world to explore- he instantly became a fan of being worn around. Good bye Bjorn, enter Ergo carrier! We're still working on getting a hang of it. I can tell that Leon and I both don't quite know how we feel about it yet. We have not decided. He hangs in it and seems to tolerate it. I know he misses facing out but this is the only way I can carry his weight without the pain. I must say that the Ergo definitely takes the weight off of my back. This is a carrier that puts the weight along my waist which makes a world of difference.

So far we've tried all three positions- baby in the front (facing me), baby on the side and baby on the back- made possible by Chris. I have no idea how anyone can safely maneuver their baby to their backs without any help and I'm not going to risk dropping Leon. I read the instructions on how to do so but it is just plain scary to even try.

Our weekend....

Leon at 5 months and 16 days old

He is an awesome eater. He especially loves mashed avocados and a new recent favorite- pureed butternut squash.

Our sweet boy has two little teeth on his bottom gum. It seems the combination of the amber teething necklace and Hyland's homeopathic teething tablets have given him major relief.

It was so wonderful having my sweet mom-in-law over for the weekend. We love her so much! It did not take long 'til Leon became totally attached to his grandma Mimi.

Serious case of teething all weekend. Our 'lil man is purely irritated and fussy and I can't blame him at all. He grabs my finger rubs it against his gum and I can totally feel his hard tooth that finally broke his gum. I bet it's just so freakin sore. I feel so bad for him but there is very little relief I can offer. I have the Orajel swabs but it does not seem to work.

We're just going to have to ride this one out too. Tooth per tooth.

I'm gearing up to our coming Thanksgiving trip to NC. My 'lil man does not have any winter clothes or shoes yet so I'm slowly building his wardrobe. My goal is to keep it simple with a few pieces that could be worn a lot of times.

I ordered these adorable booties and I can't wait to put it on his 'lil feet. It promises to keep his feet very warm.

fear

I once heard someone say "having a child is like having your heart walk around outside your body" I agree with this statement completely but never knew exactly what the words will feel like until today.

All three of us were walking down the hill towards home after coming from an afternoon bbq at our neighbors. Leon was strapped unto Chris in the Bjorn facing front and in a split second I witnessed Chris misstep and fall forward... all the way down on the concrete street. In an instant my head went numb and there was a buzz in my ears. Chris got up to face me and as I was bracing myself to see a bloody and bruised child- I reached out to undo Leon off of the Bjorn all while slowly realizing that our baby is intact. Despite the freak fall that could have caused devastating damage on our 5 month old baby boy- he came out of it with a quarter size red bump on the center of his forehead. My guess is that he screamed and cried more from being scared of the fall rather than the pain from his bumped head. Chris and I both agreed that even though Leon seemed fine as soon as we got home we could not take any chances so off to the ER of Cedar Sinai we were.

Leon was smiling, cooing and totally his old self by the time we got checked in. The doctor himself said that when 'lil babies get hurt it mostly is harder on the parents to deal with whatever caused their child pain.

I don't know how couples survive after a freak accident cause pain, damage or worse- the life of their child.

I have never felt the fear I felt today- not even for my own self. Chris and I would have never ever forgiven ourselves if anything terrible happened to Leon today.

As I sit here on our couch with my sweet husband across me, his one knee badly scraped and most likely black and blue by tomorrow- I thank God that him and Leon- the two people I love the most in this world are alright. Today more than ever I believe that there are guardian angels.

Happy 5th month Leon!

Just when I thought I knew exactly what to expect from Leon - he grows and changes right before my eyes. Suddenly what worked before don't anymore. He certainly keeps us on our toes.

I looked at some of Leon's photos from just a couple of months ago and got so wow-ed at how much he has changed. Now that he has mastered holding his head up he won't give it a rest. So much so whenever he sits in the stroller I see him push himself forward to raise his head all the time now. I'm beginning to think we need the toddler seat soon.

Although I'm incredibly grateful to be able to exclusively breast feed Leon 'til now- I still wish I had the security of knowing that he would take a bottle if needed be. This 'lil guy is very decisive though- I tried to acquaint him with the bottle for two straight months and yet no success. He knows what the sippy cup is all about and that brings me a bit if comfort.

Chris and I have been discussing travel plans for Thanksgiving and I'm just so excited. I love being with family. It will be so much fun to spend time with everyone in NC. I'm a bit nervous about traveling with Leon, his very first airplane ride ever. I've been researching and reading up on what we need to prepare for to make sure we are all comfortable during the flight.

A new adventure is upon us now that Leon is so sturdy... traveling!