2011 Resolutions (Including a Blog Upgrade)

Earlier tonight, Ryan and I talked about our resolutions. Here's my list:

1. Focus on fitness and health (cliche but relevant in the post-baby world)

2. Do my best in all aspects of life (e.g., motherhood, work, wife-hood) and don't beat up on myself or others for not being perfect

3. Engage in at least one fun adventure every month (e.g., a hike, river float, or artsy excursion)

4. Expand our blog to include our favorite recipes and food finds

I would like to briefly explain my rationale behind each of these resolutions, so bear with me.

Fitness and Health: Pregnancy was my first ever introduction to obesity. For the first time in my life, I reached a weight considered to be obese for my height. My body aches more than it used to, and I don't feel strong. The proof is in the picture below, which while taken two weeks after I gave birth, shows the true magnitude of my recovery.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not beating myself up or looking for compliments (see resolution #2). In fact, I'm proud of myself because I've lost about 30 pounds from my highest pregnancy weight, 15 since Arlo was born. However, I think many women have a hard time recovering from having a baby and adjusting to their new bodies. I also think we don't talk about it openly and honestly. We all aspire to be the woman who is in a bikini a month or two after giving birth, but 99.9% of us will not reach that aspiration (remind me to tell you about the new mom with a 4 month old, a perfect body, and a string bikini at Arlo's first swimming lesson). And cosmetic surgery isn't an option for most of us.

Frankly, it's natural to be a little more "insulated" than before having a baby. Pregnancy is a journey and the recovery is a journey too. As a mom, I want to do my best to take care of myself both to improve my quality of life and provide a good example for Arlo. Of course, I'm not seeking perfection, just goodness, whatever that means.

Resolutions 2 and 3 are pretty self explanatory, so I'll jump right to resolution #4.

While reflecting on a tremendous year, I started looking at some of my favorite blogs. Of course, I started with my good friend's blog, Plums in the Path. Then, I went to Cannelle et Vanille, Diggin Food, 101 Cookbooks, and a few others and noticed that I really like food blogs. I also, not surprisingly, like to cook and eat (see picture above).

In thinking about the obvious connections between my resolutions and my love for food blogs, I will add food entries, recipes, and other fun tidbits to our blog this year. I will also provide some observations -- hopefully all clever and entertaining -- about reclaiming my body. I hope you enjoy the new stuff.

Happy New Year!

A Christmas Tale

See the captions of the photos for the story. Just be warned: the plot is a little thin.

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Christmas Cheer

At the risk of getting preachy, I've spent a lot of time lately thinking about how the world has changed. In reality, I don't think it's changed as much as some claim, but I think one thing that seems to be decreasing in importance is the value of community and a shared belief that we are in "it" together. Whether it's politicians urging people to "keep what's theirs" or attacking collectively-driven acts as socialist and evil, I think our increasing social isolation undermines our democracy and decreases our quality of living. I'm all for independence, but not at the expense of compassion, empathy, and humanity.

In short, I'm a bleeding heart, and I don't think that's a bad thing.

Why raise such deep thoughts on a blog? Last night, we went to a Christmas party hosted by our good friends, Amy and Byron. Byron is in a brass quintet and organized a caroling event where his brass group would knock on doors in the neighborhood and play a song or two. When he went to the first house, the person seemed shocked to see his neighbor offering some Christmas music and holiday cheer. Obviously, the neighbor and the rest of the neighborhood warmed up to the music right away, and it made me wonder why we don't see more caroling or general neighborliness.

A week ago, we hosted our second annual cookie exchange for our neighbors. It was a lot of fun, and I wished we had events like that more often. At Halloween, I was surprised at how many parents didn't want to Trick-or-Treat in their neighborhood. They preferred the "safety" of going to a mall or shopping district over knocking on the doors of their neighbors. I respect the decisions of parents to do what they think is right, but I found their perspective troubling.

I love all the holiday traditions of socializing with people you may never get to know if you didn't live next to each other. I love the idea of teaching Arlo about the importance of being connected to the people around him and the value of being part of a community. To me, it's as important as being connected to our world in general: to know where your food comes from, where your water originates, what plants and animals are around you, what art or music is in your midst. All of these things make us cultured and form our individual and collective identity. Without these connections, how do you have the awareness and sensitivity to know how to operate as a society?

Ok, enough commentary. Now for some photos and a video of last night's festivities.

Byron's brass group in warmer digs.

Christmas sweets!

Bundled Up Boy

Apparently, Arlo can sleep anywhere, as he fell asleep during the quintet's performance.

Apologies for the dark video, but this is a clip of the outdoor performance by Byron's brass quintet.
The video also gives you a sense for the Christmas extravaganza that is the Olympic Manor neighborhood. When we moved into the house a few years ago, we started a tradition of walking through Olympic Manor on or near Christmas Eve. It's truly a sight to be seen.

The Nonericks wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

"Forget rolling over, I want to stand!"

It's no surprise to seasoned parents that babies change on a daily basis. This week, some of Arlo's changes include standing and early signs of teething. Arlo now prefers to stand over more conventional forms of hanging out like sitting and laying in someone's arms. Check out the picture below for proof.

As for the teething, Arlo has been drooling like crazy and chewing on almost anything that you put in or near his mouth. He also had a number of rough nights so that he could take his discomfort out on his poor parents. Good thing he's so darn cute.

Our nighttime routine is a bottle, a book, and bed.
Sometimes we throw a bath in there to keep Arlo smelling baby sweet.

Finally! Chubby thighs!
Another change is that Arlo is growing like crazy and gaining weight. He's not the skinny baby he used to be!

Arlo in the Jumper, Part 1

Arlo in the Jumper, Part 2

Rockin' and Rolling

As you know, Arlo hates tummy time. He spits up on Ryan in protest or fusses until we pick him up. One plus side to his disdain for tummy time is the fact that Arlo has been rolling over from belly to back since he was born, albeit not very consistently or gracefully.

Now that he's 3 months old, however, he's a pro.

Santa came early for Ryan and Darcy

We hate our camera. For years, we've been complaining -- well, I've been complaining -- about our point-and-shoot digital camera. The battery compartment door doesn't close all the way, any low light photo comes out blurry, it's slow, blah, blah, blah.

Now that we have a baby, it's time we thought about our blogging public and had a camera that allows the pictures on our blog to match the high quality of the commentary.

Ryan and I must have been pretty nice this year because Santa came early and delivered a swanky new camera. Below are some of our test shots, but we hope to learn how to use this fine piece of equipment to take photos that will make you want to visit our blog each and every day.

Ryan and Arlo say "cheese."

Bath time!
We are practicing back floats and dripping water down Arlo's face in order to prepare for the next round of swimming lessons, which start in January.

Time for your close up, Arlo!

Puppy Dog Eyes

Another picture of A-to-the-lo.

Ryan reads Arlo his bedtime story.
Tonight, we chose The Night Before Christmas. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Gibson!

Oh, the camera takes videos too, so we will post a video in the next day or two.

Now I'm off to bed to get a good night's rest before my first day back at work tomorrow!