Use Those Legs

This weekend I learned that 'Rad, like his mother, is a fan of Katy Perry.  I put Teenage Dream in the CD player while we were cleaning up the house this weekend and the little guy started singing along in his long-vowel baby way.  And not just for one song; he kept up the backup vocals from at least Friday Night to Firework.  It made me love the dude even more.  Sure, he might not enjoy the swanky swinging sounds of the Rat Pack like his mom, but we can bond over some KP.  While driving him to daycare yesterday morning, I popped the CD in the car just to see if I could get an encore of Saturday morning's performance.  As my nephew would say, Bingo!  He gave us a little reprise before we pulled up to Amy's house, and I headed off to work a happy mama.

Tonight was night six (I think) of sleep training, and so far not bad.  We moved from waiting five, seven, then 10 minutes before checking in on him if he was crying to 7-10-12, and now 10-12-15.  On the first few nights we hit the max 10 minutes and had to repeat it a few times before he went to sleep.  But over the most recent few nights, tonight included, we haven't even made it to the max number of minutes, which makes me feel better and gives me hope that we're making progress.  Z started school tonight, so I put 'Rad down to sleep all by my lonesome, and burgeoning strong mother that I am, I held tight and didn't check on him before the 10 minutes were up.  As Rosie the Riveter says, "We can do it!"

'Rad is really digging his legs lately.  Using them, that is.  If you support him under his 'pits, he'll bounce like his legs are springs.  Sometimes he'll prod you to do his bouncing for him and won't be happy until your arms feel like lead from moving him up and down, up and down.  He likes flying through the air and looking down - it's almost a guarantee that you can get him to smile if you position his little moon face hovering above your own.

Those legs aren't only getting stronger, they're getting longer.  This isn't the best picture, but a few weeks earlier his tip toes would barely touch the ground.

Today, he was using those tip toes and the balls of his feet to push off of the ground and, you guessed it, bounce.

This pic is just thrown in because it really displays 'Rad's jowliness.  Num num num num nummm.

With the prospect of less pumping on the horizon and the time that will free up, I've been seriously thinking about how I can fit some fitness into my life.  It's not just the movement that's appealing, it's the indulgent "me time" that working out allows that has me racking my brain as to where I can fit that time in (well, even that is a bit of a lie because I think that working out will make me a better mom).  Morning seems like the only logical time, although a rushed jog on the treadmill at lunch is a possibility.  I'd like to try some yoga - I have a stash of DVDs to help me get centered and maybe get a toned tush in the process.  A good run would do me some good, too.  If you have a solution to this scheduling problem, I'd love to know.

I'm back to feeling like a bit of bitch when it comes to Z.  The dude does nothing wrong, but I find myself getting snappy or being intolerant with him for no reason at all.  Are those crazy post-pregnancy hormones still swirling around in my system, causing all the fuss?  Am I just short-tempered now, most of my patience and energy focused on 'Rad-a-dude?  It sounds like such a vintage way of thinking, but I want to be a better wife, just as I'm working on being a good mother and a sane person.  That doesn't mean that I plan on warming Z's slippers before he puts them on in the morning, but I think relearning how to be myself with him is a reasonable goal.