Goodbye 2009

On this the last day of the year, as I always do, I am reflecting on the year past. The year began with the wait for our child. Is this labor? Is it time? Then on January 7, I went into labor. 2 days of lots of pain later, Chesley was born, 6 lbs. 3 oz., 19 inches long. He filled our hearts with so much love. And as the year has past and we have watched him grow before our eyes, we love him more every day. I'm thankful that there were no major tragedies or hardships for our family this year. No deaths, sicknesses, hurricanes. Not every year is so good as this one. We were able to fully concentrate on our child. He does something new every day. He is getting close to being able to stand, but still a ways from walking. That's fine by me. I think it will be a while for him. Nathan and my relationship has grown a lot this year, trial by fire, I would say. Hopefully we can build on our marriage and make it stronger in the new year. A child was gracefully bestowed on us, and we tend to put him first, and our relationship falls to the side. I feel a new closeness to my mother after having a child. So I do want to be with her tomorrow on my 29th birthday.

The end of the year also marks the end of my blogbook. So here the year end, the book ends, but the story keeps going!

Nursing a big boy

Nursing a big boy is much different than nursing a newborn. He definitely has figured out where the milk comes from. When he is ready to nurse, he digs in my shirt and tries to open it up. It's cute and funny. If he sees it, mouth open, ready to go. He's gotten much better with the biting. I think he is figuring out that "Ouch!" means pain and pain is bad. But he still pulls my hair. So maybe not. We all slept till almost 10:00 today. Super lazy. We are really messing up our normal routine which I'm sure we will pay for when we go back to work next week. He didn't go to bed till almost 11:00 last night. He slept a little better last night, but he is still waking up all through the night. Our house is over-run with toys! Toys everywhere! Hopefully we don't get many more toys for his birthday. We could use some shoes and money for his college account would be nice. We've got a few hundred in there so far. Grandpa gave him $50 and it's going to the college account. I set up a 529 savings plan. We will put $100 a month.

Me again

I -think- I just finished my book. I will still add posts from today through Thursday. Friday will start a new year and a new book. Nathan is holding Boo and watching tv while Boo is napping. I was working on my book when I heard the smoke alarm beeping super loud. Oops... I guess those french fries burnt. I was really into the book. But I'm downstairs and Boo is upstairs so I don't think it woke him up. It is really sweet to see Nathan singing Boo to sleep. Boo really fights his naps, but he's too tired to play. Oh, being a little boy. I think we are going to go shop a little bit as a family. Tomorrow I have three appt. for myself. It seems crazy. Mom bought me a facial and massage for my birthday (Friday). I told her it is too much, but she spoils me. Then I'm getting a much needed haircut. I'm also supposed to go to the mall with Paulina, and I might take Boo with me. But I will be a busy girl tomorrow. Friday Mom wants to cook dinner. Nathan was wanting to take me out, but I might like to see Mom on my birthday. Something about having a baby and raising a child makes you want to be with your mom on your birthday. So I will be getting pampered and spoiled tomorrow. Being a mom, I don't spend hardly any time on myself. I might feel a tiny bit guilty, but I will surely enjoy it.

Family Pics

Finally we have some family pics to show. I'm usually the one behind the camera, so I don't get into many pics. But I'm sure Chesley might like to see a few pics with his mommy one day, so I'm glad we got some. We are planning his birthday party. I ordered the cake and spent way too much money on decorations, plates, cups, and party favors. He may not remember it, but it will be fun. And I will make sure to take lots of pics.

I wrote a book!

Yes, you heard right, a book. I've always wanted to write a book. Then I realized, hey, I already wrote a book, this blog. Sometimes I write every day or so and forget to look back and see where I've been. This blog serves as an outlet, a source to share my thoughts and my life, and a journal. I searched for a service that will print a blog and found one that looks like it is perfect, www.blurb.com. The Booksmart software made it easy to take my blog posts and pictures and let me build my book. It will have every picture, maybe with a little editing to make some of them look better, and most of my posts. I think it will be something special for Chesley to read one day and see how his first year was. He will know how much he has always been loved and how much trouble he was too!! I usually comment on his milestones so this will also serve as a babybook, except it will look really great. All I need to do now is write a dedication, pick a picture for the cover, and send it off.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone. We had a wonderful night with family. I was a little worried something would go wrong, but everything was perfect. There was food... laughter... presents... and love!

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve and we are gearing up for the big party. Nathan's family is all coming over this evening to eat, open presents, and visit, and whatever else we all do. The house smells like baked beans and bacon right now. Boo is pulling wires out of the computer. Nathan is outside. Life is sweet. Boo has some strange looking bumps on his head, under his arms, and between his legs that are looking a lot like chicken pox. He slept really bad last night and seemed to be itching a lot. But the bumps are not sprouting up all over the place. So we think it might be a mild case of chicken pox. We are trying to figure out what we should do for tonight. If everybody has not already had it, we may have to keep Boo upstairs. That wouldn't really be a problem.

I hope everyone has a lovely night tonight on this magical night of time with family and loved ones, eating, giving and receiving presents, and remembering the birth of our Lord.

Learning to kiss

Boo is learning how to kiss and hug. He is very good at hugging and will usually do it when I ask. Sometimes he bites my shoulder. We are working on that. The kissing is a little harder. He will do it sometimes. He will pucker his lips when he wants a kiss. Sometimes I get the mouth open kiss... Yum... Last night he bit my lip instead of kissing me. He likes to bite. I just can't fugure out how to get him to stop. Biting is a way for him to communicate. I try to say no and put him down. He really bites when he wants to nurse. He will crawl up to me and bite my leg. Ow.

He waves bye-bye sometimes. It's more of a normal wave though, not the typical baby wave.

He constantly says, "Mamamamamama mamama" even just playing and crawling around.

I'm happy that I am off this Thursday and Friday and all next week!

Time at home with Boo is precious. I do sometimes feel the need to get out of the house and go somewhere, but I mostly stay at home. Boo does better when he can nap and eat when he wants to. We do enjoy walking to the park and hanging out outside. Hopefully Nathan will spend some time with us next week.

Holidays

A lot of things going through my mind about the holidays and how I am trying to make everyone happy and not succeeding. Being sick and missing work last week has left me a little behind. Not a good feeling. Sometimes I feel like I am always chasing something that I am never going to catch.

I am sad about Brittany Murphy's passing. Of course I see the talk of what her problems may have been. Whatever happened, I'm sad that she did not receive the help she needed.

Christmas Tree

Boo helped Daddy put up the tree. Boo really likes playing with the ornaments and the silk flowers.

Christmas Spirit

I am trying to get excited about Christmas. I sometimes tend to get upset when things don't go exactly my way. So it's really my fault that I get upset. I feel like my child's first Christmas is something sacred, like his birth was. I just want everything to be perfect. Instead I am going to try to focus on enjoying each moment, no matter where we are and who we are with. That should get me much further than being mad when things don't go my way.

Our annual Christmas party with our close friends is tonight. I am very excited to see everyone. Normally, kids don't go, but I think we will be bringing Boo along. I'm still not quite ready to leave him somewhere all night, and I didn't plan out for a babysitter. Mom said I could bring him to her house, but I just don't feel like driving there, going to the party, then driving back when he would probably be asleep and waking him up and going home. Too much trouble. So hopefully we will be able to have a good time anyway. It will be nice for our friends to see him.

Nathan's family is coming to our house for Christmas Eve. I am glad it will be here so when Boo is ready to go to bed, we are already home and don't have to deal with keeping him out late. I just hope I can get everything together. I don't get much of a chance to get things done around here. I haven't wrapped any presents yet either.

Home with Boo

Today I stayed home with Boo since I am feeling yucky. Dr gave me round 2 of antibiotics. Boo is really wild and assertive today. But I love him to pieces.

Temper Tantrums

Yes, we are having them already. Full-fledged throw your head back, scream, lay on the floor tantrums. He's not even 1 yet! Nathan thinks it's hilarious and laughs the whole time... not helping. Boo gives no thought to banging his head around. If he reaches for something, and I stop him from getting it, throw your head back and scream. Whew!! This kid is going to keep us busy. Strong-willed child, wild, however you want to put it. And he bites! I think he is getting another tooth. He will just grab my hand and chomp down!

Doing Better

Boo is doing better and getting into everything again like normal. I'm happy that he is nursing again. I thought he was going to wean himself, and that would have been fine, but I would like for him to nurse a little longer. He's been sick a few times already, and I like to think that nursing longer may protect him from being sick. He's not quite back to normal, but much better. He slept almost all night last night, which was wonderful.

We got Boo some cute Christmas presents. It's really hard to wait till Christmas. We know that he won't know the difference. We'll probably cave early, but we will try to wait. We got him a little tricycle, one that is very low, and he will use his feet to move it. It will take some time for him to figure it out, but I think he will like it.

We've stayed in all weekend, except for my trip to Walmart by myself. Boo's strong antibiotics are giving him diarehea all day long. Not good for shopping. It is nice when he gets to stay home and take his naps when he is ready and nurse when he is ready. I feel bad when we are out and about too much and he gets cranky. But he does sometimes enjoy the mall and seeing everybody. So we usually strive for a nice balance. I'm sure we will be busy enough for the next few weeks to make up for our lazy weekend at home.

We did put up our Christmas tree yesterday.

Resting

Here are some b&w pics.

Boo slept from 6 am till 10 am and woke feeling a lot better. We played and ate and now he has been sleeping since 2:30. He is still congested but not quite so miserable. Last night was really bad. He really cried all night. We were worried. He did nurse a little bit before his nap. Still not taking much fluids at all.

Poor Boo

Poor baby is sick. He is super congested and has a fever around 102. I think he is achey and miserable. He is not sleeping hardly at all and not nursing. He tries to nurse, but because he cannot breathe through his nose, he can't. So I am pumping right now since I am in pain. He's pretty sad and pitiful. Nathan took him to the dr yesterday, and he said it was a sinus infection. I was thinking flu... So we are giving decongestant, tylenol, antibiotics, and lots of love to our poor Boo.

Busy girl

I have been a busy girl so far this week. My project at work is keeping me running around. It needs to be installed Jan. 11 during the turnaround (when unit will be shut down for a short time). I'm calling it my Christmas project. I hope I don't have to work when I was planning on being off. But this needs to get done. So I'm working hard for my money right now!

Mya spent the night last night while Micah and Paulina went to a concert. She was really good. I was hoping we wouldn't have a bad night. Boo woke up on and off from 4 am, so I'm tired, but at least Mya was good. It's really hard when they both wake up 100 times and cry... So I'm thankful! I was up early, got ready, got Mya up, got her ready, got Boo up, ate breakfast, got Boo ready, and off we went!

He's wild

He has so much energy. He loves playing in my bathroom and digging in my purse. This is the cutest outfit in the world. It's from Gap. It's snowing here today!! Very cold!!

No rest

Poor Boo just can't sleep well at night. Last night I swear he was up every 15 mins crying. He seems fine once he actually gets up so I don't think he is sick. So obviously I have not been getting any sleep. I did just find out that some of the work for my little project at work has already been done. So I should be able to coast through this. If I can get the first part done this week, that will be very good.

So much fun

I really had a good holiday break. Of course it wasn't long enough. Here I am back at work. Boo is growing up so much. He's so wild and crazy and curious and I and wild and crazy about him. He is doing some new things these days. He balances standing up! I almost had a heart attack the first time he did it. But he is trying to stand up on his own. He shakes his head no. All the time. Just for fun. And he says "NAH NAH NAH" when he tell him no and shakes his head. He points at things. He is always too busy for a nap. He did not take a nap yesterday till 4 pm. Too much excitement with church and then Mya being at the house. He slept till almost 7 pm.

I am really enjoying my new lens! I got a 50mm fixed lens for my Olympus E-500. The pics of Boo "reading" the circuits book were taken with it. It gives a nice effect to the picture with the background being out of focus. It also allows pictures to have enough light without using the flash. I am getting much better with the camera. I've figured out that shooting in RAW and then processing in the Olympus software is the way to go. I get more control over the exposure and white balance rather than shooting in JPEG and editing in Photoshop. Of course the lens arrived while I was at mom's house taking pics of Omar, Mya, and Seth, but I think they turned out nice. I need to edit them just a little bit more and then I can give about 20 nice pics to Paulina. Seth lives in San Antonio with his dad, so the kids dont' get to be together a lot.

Notes on breastfeeding. We are still nursing, but Boo is usually too busy during the day to nurse unless it's nap time. And we have to be at home for nap time. It's hard on me when he won't nurse till 2 pm like yesterday. So I'm tempted to wean. But he does nurse a lot at night. I seriously doubt he drinks all that I pump. Maybe I can just pump less at work and nurse mainly at night. I do want to continue nursing.

Notes on spending the night away. Boo has not spent a night awaw from me. I really don't feel ready. He likes to nurse all night. I think he would be sad. And I would be sad. I would rather wait for him to spend the night until I think he will enjoy it. So sorry everybody. Not yet. I am under a lot of pressure to let him spend the night away. Not yet!

My little turkey

Following in the footsteps

Most of you know Nathan and I are engineers. Well I like to think I am more than just engineer. But I did go to school and learn about thermodynamics and calculus and electric circuits...

Photo Shoot

Some pics of Omar, Seth, and Mya. More details later.

I love MPIX

I have a new love... MPIX and professional quality photo paper. It really is better. You just have to see for yourself. The metallic paper is really awesome. It gives a very slight pearl/metallic glow to your picture. It makes Boo's blue eyes really come alive on the paper. And skin tones look golden and warm and very beautiful. Green grass looks very pretty too. I used www.mpix.com for mine. I also ordered some key chains that are super cute too. And the monitor calibration kit should help my pics turn out truer to what I see on my monitor. My monitor is tricky to calibrate. I can't get it to really be just right. But MPIX tunes your pics a little bit (if you want them to) and I found that all of my prints look great. I'm excited to share with my friends and family. So sorry walgreens... I may not be printing with you anymore.

I'm thankful

For my family, my precious son, our health, our jobs. I have learned a lot this year. One of the biggest lessons is to appreciate all I have and never take one second for granted. I wish I could stay and linger here in thankfulness, but my little precious one is crying upstairs. He is playing with daddy while I have been cutting veggies and preparing my food for tomorrow. So Happy Thanksgiving!! Mom on the run...

Just saw Twilight. So good!

Just saw Twilight. So good! 1st movie I've seen in a long time. Teenage girls giggling n talking the whole time.. not good.

Fun with Mya and Boo

Mya spent the night Thursday night. I love the girl but she really gave me a run for my money. Peed in the bed, drove me crazy. But I do love her. Then Friday morning the electricity went out. So the pics in front of the window were taken with near darkness inside the house and rainy weather outside. I finally figured out how to take decent pics without a flash! Slower shutter speed, low aperture number! I really like these. All of these are with no flash. I was very proud of myself...

Then we went to the mall and rode all the little kid rides and the train. And the bungee trampoline jumper. She loves it. And Boo was so good. He loves gettting out and seeing people. He didn't give me any trouble. Mya had a couple of little meltdowns. She wanted me to buy everything. I did go to the mall to buy her some shoes and a jacket and got some cute ones. The jackets were all 50% off at Gap, so I got her a really nice warm one for $34. And of course they have the cutest baby boy stuff in the world. So I HAD to buy Boo a bunch of stuff. SOO cute. Christmas colors and warm clothes.

At the mall

Some edited pics of the Christmas train at the mall.

Practice practice practice

If only I had more time to practice taking pictures. If you are not photography inclined, feel free to skip today's post. I am trying to really figure out how to use my camera. I have an Olympus E-500 DSLR that does a lot of fancy stuff. I read the manual (genious I know) and have been researching how to use the camera as it was intended to be used besides shooting on auto all the time. I played with it yesterday in aperture priority and tried manual mode. I didn't really see a lot of difference when changing aperture. (Gasp.) I was hoping to get more blurry backgrounds. The shutter speed was acting funny in manual mode. Got to work on that.

I really hate the saying, "You have to have a degree in engineering to..." Just because I have a degree in engineering does not mean I know how to do everything, like use a camera or put toys together.

I'm already convinced I need a fancier lens for my camera. I'm thinking I need a 50mm prime lens. I also discovered I can order my prints online and get professional quality prints. I would like to take some more pics and then make an order. My goal is to try and make my own birthday card invitations. Yes, I'm currently thinking yes for the birthday party. I got some super cute shots of Mya Sunday and a few great ones of Boo. But now I want some shots with hopefully blurry backgrounds SOOC (straight out of camera) instead of having to do so much editing to get blurriness. Ok so the editing is not so hard, but it should look more natural SOOC.

Wish me luck.

Special Announcement

I am going to have a new niece/nephew next summer!! Paulina (my brother Micah's wife) gave me the go-ahead to announce that she is pregnant. We are very excited. She is trying to get in to see a dr and figure out how far along she is. She is feeling pretty crappy. This will be her 4th! Her other children are Omar 15, Seth 10, and Mya 3.

Boo will have a little baby cousin to terrorize. I am nervous about him hurting the baby. He's a wild man right now, and he's not walking yet. And I am not sure what I will do about childcare when Paulina can't babysit. She is my everyday babysitter. Maybe I'll find someone who can take care of Boo for a little while or do daycare... yikes. So yes, I am thinking about how this will affect me. But first and foremost I am excited to welcome a little one into our crazy wild family.

Offer to my readers

Since I am having so much fun editing pictures, I am offering to edit a photo for you. Email me a pic or two that you would like edited, and I will edit and email it back to you as soon as possible, depending on how many I get. Let me know if you have a certain look you are going for. I'm not really great with black and white or sepia, but I will try. Or let me know if you want it to be a certain size or orientation or borders or whatever. I will do my best. My email address is in my profile.

Silly Boy

Boo is feeling much better. Antibiotics do a number on his tummy, so that will make this a fun week. But it doesn't seem to bother him too much. I am still a little sickly, but getting better.

Boo's new thing is clapping. It's so fun to see him get excited and clap. He wildly flails his arms and his hands happen to hit each other some of the time. So cute. It wasn't so cute two nights ago at 1 am when he woke up, sat up, and started clapping and laughing... in the dark... for about an hour. I guess that's better than crying. Funny boy.

Nathan has spent a lot of time with us this weekend. That's been really good.

I spent some time editing pics and taking pics. I got some really magical ones. It's funny how some pics look great on the computer screen but not so great on paper. Some look crappy on the screen and great on paper. Some look great wherever. Here are some of my favorite ones.

Sickly

We are still sickly in this house. I am feeling much worse and will probably go to the dr later. Boo went yesterday and is going to take antibiotics for his sinus infection. He seems much better today, but his throat and ears were mucus-y so we will try to clear that up. I went home early yesterday after Paulina called me and said he had been screaming all morning. I could hear it. Heart break. I was feeling crappy anyways. So we are home. Boo woke up at 6 am like normal. But he's my little love and we will try to have fun today even though we are sickly.

Health Care

Today we will take a break from the everyday baby talk and talk about health care. I've written before of my views of capitalism vs. socialism and my views on welfare and hand-outs. Lack of affordable, good quality healthcare is a major problem in this country. What is the solution? Well, I don't know. There is no possible way to have a perfect solution that will please everyone. We could have "free" universal healthcare. But most of us realize that nothing in this world is free. This would come at a much higher income tax/business tax rate. MUCH higher. You like your paycheck? I sure do like mine. At least the part of it that actually goes into my bank account. After taxes, medicare, social security, health insurance, etc. about 30% of my check is gone. I wouldn't be able to pay my bills if another 10% was taken for this "free" health insurance. What then? Check out this table from Wikipedia to see some comparison. Countries with "free" healthcare have much higher tax rates. I think I would rather keep my own money and be responsible for my own healthcare. Check out Belgium and Germany! Yikes! I realize that they probably don't have to pay extra for their own healthcare. It's included in their income tax. But the plans Congress is coming up with will cost us money, plus we still have to pay for our own healthcare plan! Then when our companies decide that they can't afford the extra taxes that they face, they will cut out healthcare benefits, and we will all be on the govt. plan! And we will be considered "RICH" and will have to pay more money for less quality of care!!


Of course something really does need to change. Many companies don't offer health insurance. And many people make too much money for Medicaid, but not enough to afford to pay $500 a month to buy their own policy. So people with good jobs are penalized and have to pay outrageous amounts for healthcare while non-working people or low income people get healthcare for free.

I like the idea to require companies to either provide healthcare plans for employees or to pay a fine, but some companies are not doing well right now. So money spent to healthcare WILL equal lost jobs.

Some of my ideas:

1. Govt. or private insurance pays for birth control for anyone who wants it. Less babies that are not wanted, less welfare, less Medicaid, less spending.
2. Govt. or private insurance pays for stop-smoking aids!! Get people to quit smoking/decrease healthcare spending!
3. Make people pay at least a LITTLE bit for Medicaid and for Medicaire. Maybe they would be more selective about unnecessary dr visits, tests, and emergency room visits. $5, $10, something that makes people think, "Do I really need to go?" I don't want people not being cared for when they need it, but I do think twice before going to the dr, and I think long and hard before going to the ER.
4. Work harder to prevent and expose Medicare/Medicaid fraud. It's out there. It's eating up our money.
5. Expand programs like CHIP to cover more children. Make people pay a reasonable amount.
6. SPEND LESS ON OTHER COUNTRIES!! How can we justify giving money away and going to war when people here are dying?? Our infant mortality rates is much higher than other developed countries.
7. If people are on any type of welfare, all of their personal spending should be tracked. They should have to meet with a financial advisor. They SHOULD NOT be able to spend money on drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and then take MY money to buy food or pay rent.

You don't like my ideas? Think I'm mean? Think Obama should save us all?

Would I like to add - Govt to provide free healthcare to everyone.?? Yes, I would. But at what expense? A soaringly high deficit? That would put our country in grave danger. Soaringly high income taxes? Business taxes? Job losses, home foreclosures, major economy pitfall. So I don't have all the answers. But I do have ideas. I should be a lobbyist.

Dang cold

I'm still dealing with a nasty cold and feeling crappy and tired. I was --this--- close to staying home today. But I went. Now day is almost over and I'm trying to make plans to get home. We usually meet at moms. Some days I just want to get home. Mom likes to see Boo. And sometimes Pawpaw comes over too. It's just too much to visit for long after I've worked all day and I have a million things to do at home. Yesterday I left work at 3:45 and got home at 5:45. I am not in the best of moods sometimes at the end of the day. Paulina isn't feeling the visiting today either. We are meeting at Walmart. I HAVE to get a few things. And by the time we would visit at moms and I head home at 5:30 and Boo is cranky, I will not want to go to the store. Crazy how I have to justify all this. Mom just assumes we will come over every day. Once or twice a week, ok, everyday, not ok. I love everybody, and I enjoy visiting, but I have a lot to do at home. So mom texted that she would see me in a little while. I said that we are meeting at Walmart. She wants to see her babies. Sorry mom. I'm feeling crappy and tired and I need some stuff at Walmart. That's about all I can handle for today.

10 months ago

10 months ago I met my sweet little boy. Every day since then has been full of adventure and love. I cannot imagine life without him. He is crawling a little bit, but the preferred method of transportation is still scooting. He is doing much better with eating lumpy foods and really likes trying what we are eating. I have been letting him sit on the bathroom floor and play/dig while I am in the bathroom. That's been fun. He always goes straight for my purse and straight to my makeup bag. And we've decided that he really just does not like toys. He knows that they are not real adult items, and he would much rather have some trash to play with. We had fun together this weekend even though we have had nasty colds.

I still haven't decided whether or not to do the whole big 1st birthday party. Maybe I'm lazy or just selfish. Maybe I don't want to share him. Maybe it's too close to Christmas to have to do a big party. Maybe I'll change my m ind.

Finally!!

Boo is officially crawling!! I saw him take some crawling strides last night. I was so excited. Almost 10 months and crawling!! He still alternates to scooting and seems to really like scooting better, but it's good that he is crawling. He is feeling much better now. I am starting to feel worse, getting his nasty cold. And now he's got big bumpy mosquito bites all over his head. So we will try to keep him inside this weekend.

Baby signs

Ok, so you all know I'm a little cuckoo! I like doing things even if they are not quite mainstream. Like extended breastfeeding, cloth diapering, co-sleeping, and my next adventure will be sign language. I've heard and read different ideas on how it affects children's development. But I like the idea that Boo could let me know what he wants before the time where he learns to talk. Talking is hard and takes a long time to learn. Maybe signing will be easier for him. And it will be fun. I ordered a few things to help us learn the basics and for some techniques. I'm just wondering why I didn't think of this sooner. I taught myself mom, dad, more, again, milk, and eat from www.lifeprint.com to get started. I will just try to use these while feeding Boo and playing with Boo until I get the books and DVD. I know it will take a while before he starts signing back to us, so I hope I can remember to keep doing it. Boo says "mama" and "dada" and that's about it. He tried to imitate words sometimes. Like if we say "kitty", he says "tuh". He does not try to wave or shake his head yet. So I don't know that he is actually ready to sign, but if we do it, eventually he should do it.

Any thoughts? You tried it?

Sick Boo

Poor Boo has a nasty cold. At least I hope that's all it is. I ended up staying home with him yesterday, but today I am working. As a mom, I just want to be the one to take care of my child when he is sick. He wasn't completely miserable all day, but he was more cranky than normal and wanted me to hold him, which I did, of course. He really hates the booger sucker. And having his nose wiped. It hurts me to do it to him, but I know he must feel better when he can actually breathe. I would like to avoid taking him to the dr's office because he might really catch something there. He seemed slightly better this morning.

Yesterday afternoon when he was feeling a little better, I seriously wanted a Dr. Pepper, and we didn't have any. Plus I was feeling the need to get out of the house. A walk around the block would have been nice, but Boo already has a couple of nasty mosquito bites, and I didn't want him to get any more. So... we went to Walmart. We looked at toys. We got a little cute car. I was too overwhelmed with choices to get anything else. Boo would rather have a remote control or real cell phone anyway. Boo thinks everybody should talk to him. He says, "Huh!! HUH!! HUH!!!!" to everybody. Even the weird people. He does really well shopping and has fun.

I love Picnik!

I am certainly not a professional photographer or editor. But I am really enjoying using Picnik at http://www.picnik.com/. I think I've mentioned it before, but I did some more edits and finally made a screensaver of Boo on my computer at work. And I've somehow discovered some pics from when he was newborn that I don't remember. And I love them. Some of them were too dark or he looked too red. But with a few clicks, it's all perfect. Seriously, what is sweeter than this pic of Boo in his sling when he was super new. If this doesn't make everybody in the world want another baby, I don't know what will. The little hands, the sleepy eyes... I could spend all day editing pictures. A tool like this really makes it hard for me to spend money on a professional photographer.

Dang it!

One of the kids in the nursery yesterday at church was sick. His parents brought him to church anyway. Grrrr…. I went back there a few minutes before church was out, and the kid was cranky. I mentioned that to his dad, and the dad said, yeah, he was puking and sick last night. Great!! Why did they bring him to church? They will not go to hell for staying at home with their sick pukey kid!! I am ready to quit going to church altogether. Boo spit up last night, so I was thinking maybe he was getting sick. Then he was ok last night and this morning. He puked at Paulina’a and has diarrhea. I will probably stay at work today unless he gets worse or super cranky. What is wrong with people??

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has a fun day! We will go to church later, then maybe home to see some trick-or-treaters, then maybe to a friend's party for a minute.

Can you believe this?

I actually painted my toenails! Red! Every time I see my feet I do a double take. I haven't painted them in about 8 months. I painted them one time when Boo was super little. I painted them last night while he was playing in the bathtub.

Thanks

Thanks for the support. We got along much better last night, so I hope it is an indicator of good things to come. All we can do is take things one day at a time. Boo did not sleep much at all, so neither did I. He was super hot, so I stripped him down, but he was still cranky. I took his temp when we finally got up, and it was ok. He really has a hard time sleeping. He napped a little in the car this morning. I'm off tomorrow, so I hope we can nap together and catch up on some sleep.

Touched

I am really touched by MckMama's blog today. Stellan has been sick and is starting to improve, but is still in bad shape. Her post on her marriage really touched me today as we are dealing with some problems. Nothing "major" or terrible, just hardships that come up with a young child. That sounds terrible. It's not Boo's fault, and I never get upset with him. It's been hard for us to get along and to cooperate with each other on making a house run and taking care of a child. I'm trying not to say that I think I'm perfect and he is completely wrong, but of course that's how I feel. MckMama's blog talks about some of the difficulties they have had and that marriage is difficult and is something that has to be worked on. I think that with a young child, there is not much time to spend on your marriage. And it may be typical for the mother to feel that she does everything. Or that any help from father is hard to get. So we are having some hard times right now. We are not really even fighting. Just not working well together. I guess I always thought that problems in a marriage meant screaming at each other. It can be just as miserable to not talk sometimes. We have our good days and bad days. I try to concentrate on the good. But it's hard.

Fun weekend

Friday I went to the dentist, got a flu shot, and got an eye exam. I went home between appts, but Nathan was with Boo pretty much all day. It's good for them to spend time together. My bill at TSO (eye place) was $850!! Vision insurance covered about $300. I am getting new regular glasses and new sunglasses. The frames were about $130 each, not too bad. They are really cute. My prescription is really high, so my lenses are super expensive. I got the super duper extra thin for my clear glasses, and they will still be sort of thick. My eyes haven't changed this year, which is good. I saw a different dr than normal, and she was super nice. I worry that Boo will have crappy vision. She suggested testing him out to see if he sees objects from far away. And definitely an eye exam before kindergarten.

We went to Tiffany's birthday party Friday night, and it was super fun. It was a surprise, and she was really surprised.

Saturday I had Boo and Mya.

Sunday we went to Nathan's parent's church and to their house most of the day. It was nice to visit with them. Boo has been acting a little weird. He keeps sticking out his tongue like it hurts. Maybe he bit it, but I don't see anything wrong.

And he is really having a hard time with lumpy foods still. I fed him some little puffs and bananas the other day and he vomited everything. He just gags and coughs and turns red and throws up. He likes sticking things in his mouth, but he doesn't like swallowing them. I read about sensitive gag reflex, and it sounds like it's fairly common, but then one of the articles mentioned that it could be an indicator for developemental delays. So of course that makes me worry. I try not to worry, but I'm his mom. I have to. I feel so bad when the food I give him makes him sick.

More

Finikin, Winikin, Wo

Finikin, winikin, wo,
I think we shall have some snow;
And Charley and Ned
Must have a new sled,
Finikin, winikin, wo!

Sing a Song of Sixpence

Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye;
Four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing;
Wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the King?

The King was in the counting-house, counting out
his money;
The Quenn was in the parlour, eating bread and honey.
The maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes;
When down came a little bird and snapped off her nose!

I kid you not. Nursery rhymes.

Just for fun

Whistle Daughter

"Whistle, daughter, whistle;
Whistle, daughter, dear."
"I cannot whistle, Mummy,
I cannot whistle clear."
"Whistle, daughter, whistle;
Whistle for a pound."
"I cannot whistle, Mummy,
I cannot make a sound."

From Holly Hobbie's Nursery Rhymes 1977

There are some strange ones in there. I can't whistle to save my life. Nathan is very good at whistling and Boo loves it. I remember my grandmother trying to teach, but I was hopeless. Paulina can whistle super loud!

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill,
Went up the hill,
To fetch a pail of water;
Jack fell down,
And broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

Then up Jack got,
And home did trot,
As fast as he could caper;
They put him to bed,
And plastered his head,
With vinegar and brown paper.

Also from the same book. Also strange.

Rough n tough

Being a mom of a little boy, I guess I should get used to being beat up on. I almost always have lots of bruises on my knees from getting up and down from the floor, where I spend a lot of time. I usually also have a slightly busted lip from getting smacked around or Boo smacking his head on my mouth. It's funny when I wonder for a second why my lip is hurting and then I remember getting slapped. LOL. He has been pretty cranky the past couple of nights, crying a lot and waking a lot. I just hope he is not getting sick. I'm excited that I'm off for 3 days. Tomorrow I am going to the dentist and the eye doctor! All in one day. So Nathan is going to be with him. That will be good for them to have some time together alone. Usually we are all together and Boo wants only me. They need some boy time.

Going wrong

Seems like things are going wrong for me today. It all started well. We woke up super early, got ready, got Boo ready, loaded up, left, met Paulina, realized I forgot Boo's milk at home!! She had to drive back to my house and get them. Then I get to work at 7:30 am (WAY earlier than normal) for a dumb meeting... meeting was cancelled!! I was ticked!!

Quiet Sunday

Well, it's quiet at the moment anyways. Mya spent the night last night. It's so fun to see her growing up in front of my eyes. She says something new every time I see her. She is really getting good with her manners. She says "Yes M'am" a lot now. In the South, it's really something that is nice to hear from kids. It's much better than "Yeah" and "Hmm" and "ok". She says "please" and "thank you" and "so sorry, didn't mean to" also. She is a little bit bossy with Boo sometimes, though I know she means well. She imitates me and Paulina with the way we talk to Boo. We tell Boo "no sir" when he is getting into something. So she says that. And "enough" when he is getting on our nerves. He has a major attitude. When I am feeding him, and I go to stir dinner or get myself a drink, he gets super mad and screams. I mean really screams! And his whole face turns red, fists clenched, arms shaking. He is funny. He is sleeping on Nathan on the couch right now. He fell asleep in the car on the way home from church about an hour ago and just kept sleeping. We kept the babies during church. We had 2 boys and 2 girls. All of them fell asleep and were in the playpens when church was over... except Boo...

The weather is so nice right now. Cool, windy, sunny. I love this. Yesterday me, Mya, and Boo went to the park and played. There were still a lot of mosquitos though. There were quite a few kids playing, so Mya fit right in at the park. A very nice weekend.

Dr appt

Boo is little! He only weighs 17 lbs. 10 oz. for 8% and I think 28" long about 50%. Dr didn't seem worried about his weight. He said that when babies start moving around more, they tend to go down in weight. I do feed him a lot. Sometimes he doesn't want to eat his food. The dr seemed more worried about the fact that Boo doesn't like to eat chunky foods. Boo chokes and gags. Dr said something about oral desensitization. Sounds scary. I will have to research that one and get back to you. Dr said to try chunky foods now and then and not to push the issue too hard just yet. Goal is table food by 12 months. The kid does have 6 teeth. So we will work on that. Boo got the first dose of the flu shot. He cried for half a second. Then I picked him up and he was fine. Then he got blood taken for routine bloodwork. He did very well. He cried only because we were holding him still. Then he was fine. It was crazy busy at dr office and we were there over 2 hrs. It was hard holding Boo and keeping him entertained! But a good report. Now he will have to go back next month for flu shot #2.

When we got home and I changed Boo's diaper and clothes, he was cranky and tired and screaming. I thought... hmm... he cries way more for a diaper change than for getting shots! Silly kid.

9 months

Today is Boo's 9 month check up. I don't think I ever really posted to recognize his 9 month birthday. So here are the milestones he has met:
scooting with belly on the floor
pulling up
learning to fall down with some control
babbling (baba, mama, dada, gaga, goo goo, etc)
screaming
laughing
loving his bathtime
being the cutest kid in the world!

Here are a few we are behind on:
crawling
eating foods that are chunky
saying anything with meaning
sleeping through the night.

Oh well. He's got the cute milestone down. And he's learned how to get me wrapped around his tiny little finger. He does eat the "biter cookies" but that just turns to mush when he chews on it. We have tried the chunkier foods, but he still gags and chokes. And we tried the little puffs. He did ok with them if I broke them up and smooshed them. We will continue to dabble with them. We'll see what the dr says about all this.

Overall, I'm pretty sure I have a healthy happy child. The rest should come in time.

It's too much

Mom is killing me with the candied apples. Her and dad have been on a kick lately. Every time I go over there I'm eating candied apples. They are so yummy!! And sticky and messy and bad for my teeth. I was eating one last night at 10:00 while I was doing my nightly routine of getting my coffee pot set, bottles made, and breast pump accessories and bottles together. So when I took out the bottles they are sticky with candy. Ha. And when I go to the dentist and they ask why my teeth are rotting out... it's mom's fault!

Our pics

We got some prints made of our pics, and then look pretty good, especially the close up. The family really liked them. I couldn't really see a couple of the faults until I had them printed. And walgreens.com is not the most user friendly site to use. But I wanted prints quick. I was picking out my prints and it just erased my whole cart. So I had to do it again. And I messed up on some of the cropping.

And I do love www.picnick.com. It makes editing fun and easy. I am no expert. They also have some cool Halloween functions. I made some scary pics of Nathan. I will try to post it later.

Not too bad!

I think our pics turned out pretty cute! Nathan is definitely a better photographer than me. And I do pretty good with the editing. So together, we are a good team. We bought a set of bright lights from Walmart for $35, and they did help. We probably could have used another set. We didn't get to take many pics before Boo got cranky, so we only did that outfit. I bought a dark navy sheet last night to try using it as a backdrop. And I think it will be nice because you won't be able to see the shadows. We are certainly not pros, but the pics are cute.

I can't stop myself from buying baby clothes!! It is just now our first cool day here in SE TX, so I am excited that Boo can wear one of his many many long sleeved shirts that I have bought. We went to the mall yesterday just to get out of the house, and I needed some Clinique stuff. And of course I bought him some clothes. Gap was having a good sale, so I got some cute stuff from there. We will try to take some pics with those outfits. $20 for a dress shirt for a baby. Crazy I know. He can wear it today to Steph's house.

Our pics

Still here

I am still at work with no further news. I am still pretty worried about it, but there is not much I can do. I tried to get here earlier today, and I was a little earlier, but it's hard. Next week we are going to plan on meeting earlier and we will see how that goes. There is just so much to do in the mornings! And I don't like to rush, and I don't want to give up feeding my child breakfast. But I don't really want to wake up earlier... But I know I'm not the only one dealing with these issues. But sometimes I do feel all alone in this. I thought my job was just fine with my schedule, but obviously not. But even if I get here "early" for me, I will never be able to be as early as other people. I just can't see myself getting to work at 6:00 am. I would have to get up at like 4:00 am! So again, I feel like someone is out to get me. And I am worrying.

Here's my funny story:

A couple of weeks ago when mom spent the night, she was taking a nice long bath in my jacuzzi tub. I was holding Boo and he was sleeping and I was watching tv. It was dark outside. So I noticed that the lights in the bathroom appeared to be off. I thought maybe mom had left the bathroom and I didn't see her leave. I can just barely see the bathroom door from the couch. Then a few minutes went by... no mom... So I got up and went in the bathroom. It was pitch black.

Me - "Mom?"
Mom - "Yeah?" - Laying in the bathtub quietly...
Me - "Why is it dark in here?"
Mom - "The electricity went out."
Me - "No it didn't??"
Then I realized her long bath and running jets must have tripped the breaker.
Me - "Ohhhh.... You tripped the breaker. Hold tight one minute and I will have it back on.
Mom - "Ok"

I just thought it was funny that she just sat there in the tub and didn't holler out for me.

A little discouraged

I had plans on writing a funny lighthearted post today, but something came up at work that has me feeling discouraged. My boss came and talked to me, and his boss is having some kind of issues with me. Part of it is the hours I work. My boss doesn't have a problem with it, but somebody else does. Part of it is my actual work, which I take pretty seriously. I am working on a big project. It takes time to get things done. There is a lot of paperwork. My boss was very nice about it and has some ideas to get things looking better. Hopefully that will help and this other person will be happy. Otherwise I may be in trouble. At least I know something is going on. I need to try to get here earlier really. My boss says I don't have to, but it would probably help. I am not the only person here who works part time, but the others get here early and leave early. I don't see what the difference is. Another issue this person has is that about 2 years ago, I was offered another position within my company. I work as a contractor here. I was going to take the job, more money, new position, and someone didn't want me to leave. So I stayed. To this day, I don't know who it was that said I could not leave. But my company made me stay because they don't want to harm their business relationship. And somebody must be holding it against me that I was going to leave. There were no bad feelings from me that I was staying. So I don't understand. I like for things to be simple. But in this case I feel like no matter what I do, there is going to be a problem.

I am going to talk to the person I work with on this project about some of this and see what he thinks and see if he has heard this negative talk going on. I really don't want to get fired.

My goal

My goal for Friday is to get Nathan to work with me and take some pics of Boo. I'm really wanting professional, but I want to see what we can come up with. We have a great and expensive camera, so we'll see what we can do. We really need to get some more lighting and come up with a backdrop and maybe even read the camera manual! I know professionals can do a good job, but I want to own the pics and have them on my computer. And we need to send out Christmas cards to a lot of people. Professional ones are very expensive. If we don't like how they look and I still want professional, we will do it then. I think Nathan has some portable bright lights we can use inside. A project! I will talk to him about it tonight and see what he thinks.

Normal?

Dare I say today seems to be a normal day? Boo was pretty unhappy this morning. He didn't really want to get up, didn't really want to eat breakfast. He wasn't too happy or too sad when I handed him over to Paulina. Maybe he needs a nap. It's a quiet day at work today.

My friend Rachel already has her daughter's birthday party planned! I haven't given it much thought yet. I wish we could invite everybody we know to celebrate this day. It's been such a fun and exciting year so far. But we have a lot of family. I started a list, just for fun. With family and close friends with small children, I've got 50 people. Yikes! I know not everyone will be able to make it, but that is a lot! I think that is about max. There are probably another 50 people I could invite too, but I think I would go crazy! I will talk to Nathan and see what he wants to do. If we are going to invite more than that, we could try to have the party somewhere bigger. But somewhere bigger means lugging food and decorations somewhere... And more cleaning... So I'm voting for 50 people at our house. I just want to be able to thank all of the people who have helped us out this year with our little love!

It's Sunday

And I am enjoying being home with Boo today. See my guest post on Nancy Mommy blog
http://theotherlifeofnancy.blogspot.com/

And you have got to read this post. It might be the funniest thing I have ever heard!!
http://thenewlifeofnancy.blogspot.com/

I don't even know what to say about the ugly man thing! If they researched it, than I guess it could have some truth. But how do you rate the attractiveness of a man? Do you rate what a certain number of women think? Measure the angles of his face? Muscle tone? I think attractiveness is very subjective. I think my husband is very attractive, and from all the testing we had done, the infertility was all on me!

Can you believe it?

I actually went out with the girls last night! It was a lot of fun. We went to Easy's and had a nice dinner, drinks, and lots of laughs. Nathan n Boo had boy night. I really need to make more time for my friends. They have been there for me for many years and will be for many more.

Today is Tab's wedding. I am very happy for her and excited to be there.

Tune in tomorrow for a nice surprise. I am guest blogging for a friend and will post the link!

Silly kid

Boo's new thing is to use me as a jumper. He holds my hands and jumps in my lap. He loves it. He was so happy to see me come home yesterday. He was laughing and jumping and screaming. I was happy to see him to of course. And he takes in a super deep breath before he laughs. It is so cute.

Sad

I'm sad today. Boo is with Pam and Jessie Mawmaw (Nathan's aunt and grandmother). I am super grateful that they were able to put aside everything to babysit. Boo is really having trouble when I leave. It's almost harder leaving him now than it was when he was super little. At least then he didn't cry for me. It breaks my heart. He was cranky last night and this morning. When they got to the house, he just stared at them, then looked at me with big wide sad eyes. I hate leaving him. I feel like a horrible person. I know... I know... Everybody does it. I'm not horrible. Whatever. I feel horrible. I called them when I got to work, and he was doing better. And I know it's good for him to spend time with them, especially mawmaw. She really doesn't see him very much, and when she does, there are usually a lot of people around, and she doesn't get to hold him and talk to him. But it's still hard for me to know that he was crying when I left.

I'm off tomorrow! So Yay!

Boo n Pawpaw

Boo is with his pawpaw, my dad today. YIKES!! I'm freaking a little. Dad makes me nervous. He's so stubborn. I hope he at least attempts to do things like I asked. I went over there this morning to find their cat killing a bird at the back door. Nice. Bird was still alive and trying to fly away. Feathers everywhere. Then dad was still asleep. I tried to call on my way, but he didn't answer. So I was pretty late to work, but oh well. Dad had to get up and get ready, and then he had to dispose of dead bird.

I have gotten really into cloth diapers. I was buying something almost every day, which adds up in money! But I still have to wash every day or every other day to have enough. I am really going to try to stop buying, but it's hard when I see something cute. I'll try to just enjoy the things I get in the mail. Buying things on diaper swappers and etsy is addictive. Diaperswappers.com sells new and used. I have only bought things in "like new" condition with no stains or problems, and I have gotten some nice things and saved money vs. new. And it will be nice if I want to sell some things Boo grows out of. I will probably keep them though and hope to have another baby... one day... not anytime in the near future.

You ask - I answer

I like questions... makes me feel loved!

What does our dr say about giving baby juice?
Dr said that juice is ok once a day mixed half with water. I'm not sure why there are so many different views on juice. I know that babies need formula or breastmilk first of all. But we use juice as a back-up method, and he only gets it occasionally, maybe a couple times a month.

What cloth diaper do we use at night?
We usually do a green mountain red edge prefold or a little lions fitted with wool shorties. I do a big thick doubler for night and usually don't change till morning. We have only had that one leak. I am lanolizing those right now, and hopefully that will help. I like the idea of a pad under him in our bed. I will try one of his waterproof pads tonight. It's soft and doesn't even feel plasticy at all. Last night I did a prefold with a normal weight doubler because I didn't know he was ready for bed, with a bummis superbright cover, and he was fine at 5:30 am when I changed him.

Poor Boo had a rough day yesterday. I am very thankful for Nicole for watching him. When I got to her house after work, he looked content on the floor playing with his toys, and when he saw me, he screamed (happy) and grinned and kicked. I picked him up and he was just so excited to see me. She said he was depressed all day and moped around. He didn't scoot or climb or scream or anything. That makes me sad. I really hope Paulina can babysit again soon. Boo does better with her. I know he just can't remember people for long right now, and when he gets bigger he will. It just broke my heart yesterday. I am home with him today since our babysitter for today is sick. Tomorrow and Thursday I am supposed to have a sitter. And Nathan is supposed to come home after lunch for me to go to work for a little while.

Back to Work

It's hard to go back to work after being off for four days. I do trust and appreciate our friends and family that help with babysitting, so it's not really that. I just miss him. He was sleepy and sad when I left him this morning. I hope he didn't get too upset. Plus it's hard with the bottles. We are only doing breastmilk, so whatever was pumped it what he gets. It works out, but most people probably think I should give extra "in case" he gets hungry. But he doesn't take formula well sometimes. And sometimes when I mix the breastmilk with formula and he doesn't drink it all, the breastmilk gets wasted. I don't like that. I sit here and pump, so I want him to get it. I give a bottle of juice too. So it works out. He eats baby food too. It definitely would be easier for me to give him formula, but I am committed to BFing, and I only nurse him when I am not working.

I'm not sure what happened with the diaper last night, but we had major pee leak at 4:30 am. I will re-lanolize tonight. So I had to change him and change my clothes. He was completely awake and happy to get up, kicking his legs and laughing and screaming (for fun). He finally fell asleep around 5:30, just in time for Nathan's alarm clock to start going off. Boo slept, but I didn't. Nathan doesn't understand why I get upset when he snoozes on his alarm clock for an hour... Maybe sleeping in separate rooms isn't such a bad idea.

Silly Boo

Boo's favorite new thing to do is scream at the top of his lungs for fun. It's very loud. He's done it before, but now he really likes it. It's funny as long as it's not in your ear. Ouch! We had the nursery at church today with Abigail and Boo. She is Summer's daughter that is almost 6 months old I believe. She is super cute, and it was fun to see them play together. She just discovered her voice and started scooting around. I think it's important for Boo to see other kids his age. We are at mom and dad's right now, and I hear Boo screaming. I think it's just plain screaming, as opposed to mad screaming. Fun.

Pics for you

Home

Me and mom and Boo had fun yesterday. Boo got a lot more comfortable with Mom after spending the day with her. He slept better too. But we will be glad for Daddy to come home today! We miss him. I am really going to enjoy being home today with Boo! I just love him to pieces. He is very rough and tough. He bites, pulls hair, slaps me, jumps on me, climbs on me, and I still love him!

I have ordered some super cute woolie longies that I can't wait to get in. I love Etsy! Go to www.catchick6creations.com and click on past creations. OMG! So cute! They are meant to be diaper cover for cloth diapers. Wool is so awesome! I wish I would have discovered sooner. I can go all night without changing a diaper. It would work very well to contain leaks in disposable diapers too. I ordered a pair of long green pants with a bright green dinosaur, the one with multicolor in the body. They are custom made to fit for only $23! I would have bought any one of her pants from Etsy, but they are not the right size for Boo. Can't wait!

I also have some shorties from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6448034 that work very well.

Fun times

Boo has three teeth, two middle bottom and one of the pointy teeth on the top. The top tooth is not in all the way, just the pointy part. It does look funny having that one and not the front top teeth.

Mom spent the night last night. We had a good time. Boo was so excited so was there, he had a hard time falling asleep. Mom just thinks he's rotten, but it was just a big change for him to shake up his nighttime routine. And I think the crying for momma is a normal thing for babies to do. He cries for me every time I move out of his view. It's just funny to think that I'm his favorite person in the whole world right now and his lifeline. But in about 12 years, I'll be dumb ugly fat mom...

Babysitter Scramble

This is going to be a babysitter scramble week. Paulina's son is sick! Yesterday was neighbors and today is Stephanie. We are so blessed to have help. Tomorrow is mom. I think I am going to take off Thursday. Scrambline does a number on my nerves. I just worry. I just wish I could stay with him everyday. But I know his relationships to other people are important too. It's so hard to let go even a little bit! Nathan thinks I'm nuts, especially when I complain about little things. He is going out of town tonight, so it's all me! Mom may spend the night. It's really nice to at least have someone there with me for 30 mins to help with Boo so I can bathe and eat. Some nights, Boo takes a little nap or goes to bed early, but some nights... like last night... he doesn't, and help is nice. Oh, and he was grinding his teeth last night!! How crazy is that? I didn't know babies did that. Weird...

Oops

We actually slept late today! Which is great, except that we slept too late to go to church. Boo woke up at 8 am, and then he fell back asleep till 10 am. He woke up in the night too, but it was nice to get a little extra sleep.

We hung out with our friends last night and Boo went of course. It was really nice to see them and visit and relax and eat.

Children...

Mya spent the night last night and MAN, fun times, I tell you. She went to sleep on the couch in the living room connected to our bedroom. Boo was in the bed with me. Nathan was outside most of the night working on the car. At 2:30 am, she woke up and came and stood next to my bed whining. She was not wearing a diaper and is doing pretty well potty training. I said, "Let's go potty" but it took me a few seconds to get up trying to not wake Boo. She made a face like she didn't want to go potty and was still being whiney. Then... she started peeing on the floor. Then crying, then peeing more. Then I got up, then Boo woke up, I tried to put him down, and he started screaming. So I had to carry him around while I was cleaning her up and getting her to finish peeing on the potty. Then Boo was up and didn't want to go back to sleep. I'm sure this is all normal stuff for parents with multiple children. Mya has been great other than that. She really keeps Boo entertained and I just sit in the room and watch.

At home

Me n Boo are just hangin out at home today. We got some new wraps to try out. One of them was majorly put to the test and held up! My favorite is still good old plain Prowraps. I also got some new wet bags which are pretty nice even though they don't exactly fit my diaper pail. I'm not sure what we are going to do today. We may go hang out at the mall and walk around. It's so nice to have a quiet day! No major plans! I might go get Mya if I get too bored. She always keeps things interesting.

Letting go of shame and guilt!

I am officially letting go of all shame and guilt associating with how I raise my child. I will no longer feel guilty or apologize for the following actions:

1. Public breastfeeding, including in front of male friends and family. I do try to be discreet.
2. Cosleeping. We have hesitated to call it that, but it is! And I think it's ok!
3. "Spoiling" our child. Ok, so he likes to get his way. And he ususally gets it. It's ok! He's a baby! If he wants momma, he gets momma, if he wants to nurse, he gets to nurse! He does have to cry for a minute if I need to go to the bathroom or wash my hands, but I'm not going to let him scream unless I absolutely have to. I worked really hard to bring this child into the world. I enjoy being with him and making him happy.

My grandpa actually made some comments about how the cloth diapers look on Boo, that his legs are spread too far apart. I'm not going to worry about that. He doesn't even walk yet. By the time he does, I think he will be big enough for his legs not to spread so much.

I encourage each of you to let go of something too. It feels good to be free!

25 Firsts

25 Firsts
I stole from Nancy.
1. Who was your first prom date?
Hmmm... Caleb. I wore a blue gown and he wore a tux. I remember having a good time and being with lots of friends. Nothing too wild.

2. Do you still talk to your first love?
That's a big NO.

3. What was your first alcoholic drink?
Probably a weak mixed drink given to me by my mother when I was around 12 and on vacation. I think it's ok to introduce an older child to alcohol. We'll see what Nathan thinks about that.

4. What was your first job?
I took clothes in and sorted them at a dry cleaners. Yuck!

5. What was your first car?
1994 Saturn 4 door. It was great and lasted all the way through college.

6. Who was the first person to text you today?
Paulina texted me after I texted her to tell her Boo didn't eat breakfast so she could try to feed him later. He was not interested this morning.

7. Who was the first person you thought of this morning?
What is morning? 2am, 4am, 5am, or actually time to get up? LOL. Definitely Boo.

8. Who was your first grade teacher?
I can't remember her name! Driving me crazy. Mrs. Harrington maybe? She was super sweet.

9. Where did you go on your first flight in a plane?
NYC in high school. It was so fun.

10. Who was your first best friend and do you still talk?
Hmm... I have to say my brother because we were very close growing up. Of course we still talk and we are still very close.

11. Where was your first sleepover?
Mawmaw and Pawpaw's house when I was one week old (so I've heard) my parents were both ill.

12. Who was the first person you talked to today?
Boo!

13. Whose wedding were you in for the first time?
I've only been in one wedding, Tiffany's.

14. What was the first thing you did this morning?
Nursed a baby.

15. What was the first concert you went to?
Rush when I was 15!

16. First tattoo?
None.

17. First piercing?
Ears.

18. First foreign country you went to?
Mexico.

19. First movie you remember seeing?
Ummm... Cinderella maybe.

20. What state did you first live in?
Born in TX, lived in LA for a few months (Louisiana)

21. Who was your first room mate?
Katie... we did not get along.

22. When was your first detention?
First and only. In middle school, some kids were being loud and bad at lunch, so they made a rule that only 2 or 3 could sit at a table together. We purposely protested by sitting our normal number. We were given detention and didn't regret it at all.

23. (Nancy didn't have a #23 and neither do i!) I'll make one up... How did you first meet your husband?
For those that don't know... we met in Physics II class at Lamar in 2001. We studied together, then were friends, then..... the rest is history.

24. What is one thing you would learn, given the chance?
That's a hard one. I would like to learn how to sew.

25. Who will be the next person to post this?
???

Attached

I never knew how attached I would be to my child. I think breastfeeding and cosleeping have a lot to do with it. And he is getting into the stranger anxiety stage, which is normal. At Nathan's aunt's house he really didn't want to be away from me or Nathan. I mean REALLY! I felt bad that he was such a momma's boy for a second, but I don't want him to be scared to meet new people. So I stayed close and played with him and integrated a couple of people at a time. A lot of people is overwhelming for him. Last night was funny. Me n Boo were snuggling down getting him ready to go to sleep. We were on the couch. I asked Nathan to come snuggle with us. Boo was so sleepy but not cranky. Everytime he looked at Nathan he would do this silly baby giggle. Nathan wasn't even doing anything funny. It was so cute. He loves daddy.

The kids

Mya and Boo are so funny together. They really are as close as brother and sister. It's so nice to see them together. Boo cracks up laughing when she is just sitting down being quiet. He thinks she is hilarious. Me, Nathan, and Mya were just sitting there watching him laugh at nothing. They really had fun when he was in his Johnny Jumper. He loves it. He loves standing up. I think he really wants to walk. Now also with the closeness comes jealously and fighting... already! In the backseat of the car, Boo started screaming. She had obviously done something to him and wouldn't say what. Finally I got out of her that she hurt his toe. She apologized. He forgives easily.

Boo did better last night and only woke up twice. I am really loving wool shorties! No leaks. We actually had more leaks with disposables, especially with nasty poo. So it's gross to deal with the poo diaper, but I would rather deal with that than deal with poo all over Boo and his clothes with a disp. diaper. I got my new dozen of Green Mountain Diaper (GMD) prefolds (PFs). I love! Now I just have to prep them which is a pain. I wash and dry 3 times. Our water bill is going to be high this month. I've spent about $450 on my stash of CDs! Yikes! I think I am done buying now. And I had to get enough to give some to Paulina to use and still have enough for nighttime. She really likes them. I will be evened out on costs in about 4 months or so by not buying disposables. I have plenty of Huggies for going to church or babysitters or just for a break. Then I think he will be in this size CDs for a long time. You wouldn't want to start using CDs when your child was at the upper range of a size, then have to buy another size shortly after. But diaperswapper.com is a good place to sell CDs, so I guess that would be ok, or if you are pretty sure you will have another child. Then you really save!!

We are going to see Nathan's family today. His cousin Seth graduated Marine boot camp! So we are celebrating with him. He is home. Hope everybody has a good day.

Good Boo

Boo has been so good with me this weekend. I do wish that all I had to do was play and hold him, but you all know there is a lot for a momma to do, especially one who is hosting a baby shower today. I am doing most of the food, and Jenn is doing the cake, decorations, and it's at her house. So it's a lot on both of us. I have tons of stuff to bring to her house. I LOVE the reusable grocery bags from HEB. Instead of 100 little bags, you fit everything into 5-6 big bags. Much faster to bring in the house. No tearing, breaking. And it will be easier to get stuff to Jenn's house. We are having deli meat/cheese sandwiches. I bought the good stuff. I got fresh fruits, veggies, dips, chips, drinks, salad. It doesn't sound like much. It seemed like a lot of work though. I went a little crazy at BRU yesterday. We are doing a clothesline for decorations. So you gotta have enough clothes to make it look cute right? I did get various sizes though. If it's too much, I may take a few things back.