All hands (and feet) on deck
it's time to PLAY!
6.30.2009
6.29.2009
Weekend Fun
Ahhh what a nice weekend. I feel totally refreshed and ready to tackle another week. Not that weekends are so completely different than weekdays for me now that I am home full-time. But having Jerry here makes all the difference! He's fun!
On Fridays we typically have pizza. And it's typically frozen. I knew the weekend was starting off right when Jerry, who went to Mellow Mushroom to celebrate a co-worker's birthday, brought home a Kosmic Karma. Yum! Then of course, we finished out the evening with an episode of LOST. We have been catching up and are currently on season 3. We are FLYING through it. Such a great show! I don't know how we will wait a whole week for new episodes once it comes back in January. But I digress.
Saturday we got up and had coffee and then Jerry went to hang out with Seth for his bachelor party. They went skeet shooting! I think that is such a great idea. And he had a great time! While he was gone, Oscar and I went to Jude's 1st Birthday party! Jude is Oscar's best bud and we had a lot of fun. I even let him taste a little icing off my thumb (which he then sucked for about 5 minutes). He did great at the party and went right to sleep when we got home.
Saturday night, Monica, Ashley and Jacob came over to cook out. More yummy food! I love summer :-). Oscar was pretty tired at that point so he didn't last very long before turning into a pumpkin - a very loud, inconsolable pumpkin. But after he ate (and ate and ate) he went to bed like a pro. Not even a peep. We had a alot of fun with the fam!
On Sunday we went to church and Oscar went into the nursery for the 2nd time. The first time he went in there he did great and I was hoping for a replay. But I was also a little worried that he would remember it and all of a sudden decide he didn't like it last time. Babies do that....anyway, he didn't! He did great in the nursery again and was so sweet and huggy when I went in to get him. Yay! I have so missed being able to pay attention in church and I really think it was taking a toll on my heart and mind. It was really wonderful to hear the whole message. When we got home, Oscar hunkered down for a 2 hour nap!
Last night we had the pleasure of making dinner for some dear friends and love on them. We made enchiladas and strawberry shortcake. Oscar wasn't too keen on me cooking while he was awake so Jerry and I took turns getting things done. It just reminded me what a great team we are. I feel all kinds of blessed.
Of course we closed out the weekend with a couple more episodes of LOST :-) Today is a new day, and Jerry has a 3 day weekend coming up. It's going to be a good week!
6.26.2009
5 Months
I have no regrets. It's all part of it. I tend to think I will laugh when I look back at these times and wonder what I ever had to complain about. Once my mommy-amnesia kicks in and I become one of those people who say, oh Oscar was such an easy baby. We just had a great time all the time. And, man I don't remember if I felt that way or not. For now, I am fully aware of my shortcomings and mishaps and questions and nagging pressures that are mostly self-imposed. That's where I am at 5 months.
Oscar is an entirely different story! He is thriving and loving life. He still isn't rolling over very much but he will do it from time to time. He tends to scoot around in circles with his butt as the axis. I have found him turned completely 180 degrees in his crib on more than one occasion. He loves his toys, especially Buzz the Bug by Lamaze and his Monkey from Old Navy. He loves to play with his blankets and is really getting into his stacking cups. He loves eating from a spoon and then playing with the spoon and trying to drink from a real cup. He has zero interest in sippy cups. He is also losing interest in his pacifier. Up until the past week or so, he would take his paci at bed/naptimes and then again after I nursed him in the middle of the night. Now he only uses it to fall asleep initially and doesn't want it after a night feed. We only use it for sleeping so I see it phasing out over time. He loves it when we made hard consonant sounds and blow raspberries! He is so ticklish. Loves to laugh at Daddy and pet Krusty's fur. He sits well in a high-chair and bumbo and when in his bouncy seat he tries to sit up and can maintain a crunch for over 30 seconds...it's amazing! He is a HUNGRY boy. That one is hard for me to keep up with but I am trying. He's wearing mostly 6 month sizes and some 9months. He still isn't sleeping in very long chunks. Most nights he is up every 3-4 hours and every now and then we'll get a heavenly 6 hour stretch, though not often. Every morning he wakes up and happily plays in his crib, making sounds to himself or his mirror. He gets the cutest cheese grin when we go in to get him and Jerry and I often fight over who gets to do it. He's growing up so fast!It's an honor to be his mama. Read more...
6.24.2009
Drinking?
Today my son grabbed the glass of water I was holding, pulled it to his mouth and tried to drink. So I let him do it and he drank. And then he took another drink - I tipped the cup for him - and smiled at me. Where is he learning this? Since when do 5 month olds drink from cups?
Read more...
6.21.2009
Chew on this....
I nursed him first and then mixed the cereal with some breast milk yesterday. Bib and camera in hand, we got to feeding. I wasn't expecting much (if any) to make it all the way to his stomach, but holy cow, you would think the boy has been eating forever! He took each and every bite with gusto, smacked it around and swallowed it. He had both arms outstretched for more while we would dip the spoon back into the bowl. So cute! He was so very into it. After he finished the whole bowl (1 tbsp of cereal/4tbsp milk) we let him play with the bowl and spoon and he was putting both of them in his mouth and having a ball. Today I tried again and he did the same thing. In fact, the only cereal that got on his bib was when I dripped it off the spoon. Anything that went in his mouth stayed there. I have one growing boy!
So the books went out the window. I'll still wait a while for other foods, but I am glad we followed his cues and our instincts on this one! Now for the pictures!
mmm...this is new
what do I do with it? I think I like it!
Gimme gimme!
this is the greatest!
my hands are sticky...that's so funny!
I can totally do this myself
finished! More please!
6.19.2009
6.18.2009
You know you're a mommy when....
you laugh when you find a booger stuck to your arm and you can't remember how it got there, you sigh when you haven't worn makeup in a week, and you put videos on the internet where you sound like a drooling idiot because your baby did something new.
Yep, I'm a mommy!
6.17.2009
Sewing!
I've been a sewing fool lately. In the past couple days I decided to make a shirt! I found the pattern online and I think it turned out pretty well. I used fabric I already had so it wasn't optimal. I also didn't have anything to contrast with so we'll call this a trial run. I think I could change a couple things to make it fit me better, but I need the practice! I need to get some lighter fabric for summer so I can make more things like this. Nursing brings a whole different set of issues to shopping for clothes so I need to get creative. Anyway, here is my new shirt!
6.15.2009
Mush
We had a great weekend and I hope to have the energy to post about it tomorrow. But today I am just mushy. Oscar had shots and has been extra cuddly and fussy.
So in the absence of an actual post, I give you his latest discovery - buttons :-)
6.12.2009
The Onion
Love is like an onion, and you peel away layer after stinky layer until you're just... weeping over the sink - Pete from 30 Rock.
Yesterday was one of those onion days. It was just crazy. It was up and down and back up and then WAY down. One minute I'm saying, this is the greatest, I love my life! And the next I am crying and counting to myself before trying to console my baby at 10:30pm.
The day started out innocent enough. Oscar woke a couple times in the night but it wasn't too bad. So when he decided he wanted to start the day at 6:30 I rolled with it. I try to get up at 7 but if he wakes 30 minutes early or late it's all good. So we had a nice morning. Jerry and I joked around before he left for work, Oscar had an excellent morning nap and I got to planning our day. After Oscar got up and was fed, we went to the Library and Fresh Market for lunch. It was a good day! We came home and it was time for another nap. I decided it would be a good time to sew. I made a couple things that I am really happy with and am now excited to keep going! I made a block for Oscar and a headband for me. I want to make more shapes to go with the block and also more headbands! There are a bunch of really simple sewing tutorials through The Long Thread. I will have plenty to do for a while!
This headband is a little snug for me...more to come!
Since Oscar's first nap was so long (2.5 hours) the last two were only about an hour each. Normally his big nap is around lunchtime. So by about 6pm he was fading fast. We usually have him to bed between 7:30 and 8pm but I knew he would need to go down sooner than that. So I fed him at about 6:40 and that's when the screaming began. This is the second time this week with newborn/colic-like behavior and it doesn't take very much to send my nerves to the shredder. Jerry and I tried everything we could think of. Oh this 4 month battle is ugly. It's so very very ugly. I looked back at my log and we have been having problems for 5 straight weeks. At first it was naps and night-wakings. Then it was just night wakings. Now it is DON'TEVENTHINKOFMAKINGMEGOTOBED for 2. hours. straight. The child would not sleep or calm down. Not in our arms, not in the crib, not nursing, not cuddling. That is, unless we left the nursery. Step into the hallway and it was magic. The crying ceased. Back into the nursery, mayhem.I know what you might be thinking, OH he doesn't like his room, he's afraid of the crib, etc. And I might agree if he hadn't taken 3 perfect naps in that very crib that day and is currently sleeping there now! So we thought pain? Gas? Reflux? Interesting that he only cried in his room. If it were pain wouldn't it be pain in the kitchen as well? I think we have a strong-willed baby on our hands. A little before 9pm I finally decided he was fine and by this time so overtired that he was just bonkers so I put him in the swing and started the white noise that used to calm him as a newborn. He was asleep in about 90 seconds. So what's a mother to do? When it was time for me to go to bed, I moved him to the crib while I brought the swing into his bedroom and after feeding him again, plopped him right back in that bad boy for the duration. And guess what? He slept FOR 7 HOURS.
Happy ending right? Well, maybe if it were the end. I am starting to get used to the crying and a lot of the time I think I can help him through it. But it's those moments when you know he is ok and he still won't stop that really make you sit on your hands and cry. At least I did. This is the part that I think moms aren't good at talking about. I mean we say, "oh yeah it's hard sometimes". But the word hard doesn't even cut it. It didn't matter that we had a great day. In those moments I was a failure. I was neck deep in screaming, agonizing, mysterious hopelessness. There was no tomorrow. No yesterday. Only screaming. It's actually paralyzing. Once Oscar finally relented to the swing, I was almost shaking as if I had just been in a car accident. sitting on the couch in a post tantrum haze and hardly seeing in my wakefulness. When I moved him to his room and the crying started again, I just sat on the floor in tears. Jerry was not home at this point because he had a show. It was only me. I don't know how single mothers do it. I really don't. Thankfully this time he ate well and went right back to sleep in the swing and I went to bed.
Jerry got home at about 2am and we both slept peacefully until 3am when his pager went off and off and off about 10 times. He had to get up and work the rest of the night. I woke up a few more times after that listening to Jerry's clack clack clack on the keyboard and wondering if Oscar would wake up soon. Today we started the day at 6am. Oscar and I got up and Jerry went to bed at 7. It was a weird weird night.
I know the temptation is to tell us that it will get better, or just look at how cute he is! It's all worth it right? Or, suck it up I have it WAY worse than you. Or just wait til your kid is doing ___________ (insert whatever your kid is doing right now). But really, it's not a competition. Sometimes being a mom is awesome and sometimes it sucks and rips you apart. I don't really believe people anymore when they say it will get better. I don't think it will. I think this problem will go away to be replaced by a new problem. I think I will hate that one too. I also think that Oscar will soar to uncharted heights of cuteness and genius and I will bask in the glow of my love for him. But it won't mean the bad stuff isn't bad. It's bad. We'll get through it and hopefully be stronger on the other side.
New moms, single ladies, wives, friends, this is real. It's scary and it's ugly. I love being a mom, but at times it is open heart surgery with no anesthesia. So prepare yourself for the journey. I'm only just getting started. Read more...
6.11.2009
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
It's my parents' wedding anniversary. They were married 42 years ago today! Can you imagine? I am so thankful that they have set such a beautiful example of marriage for us to follow. It matters what you believe! Happy Anniversary mom and dad, I love you!
Veggie Garden Update
Our garden is coming right along! We got a late start but I think we will still see plenty of veggies. So far our tomatoes, cucumbers and squash are flowering. And we already have peas! We've also been munching on the fresh basil and cilantro as often as we can! Here's an idea for mini pizzas you can make in the toaster oven:
English muffin/sliced
spoon on marinara sauce
layer sliced mozzarella, tomato and basil leaf
sprinkle with garlic salt
toast!
6.06.2009
Lies you believed before you had kids.
It's the weekend. Let's make this one interactive! I was thinking about how all the research in the world (whether it be for pregnancy, newborns, sleep, development, discipline, etc) can only take you so far in preparation for the real live world of baby-wrangling. So let's poke fun at some of our favorite lies! To be fair, they may not all be lies, but no one thing will fit all babies. Plus, I think first time parents have so many good ideas that never pan out and it's no one's fault. They just didn't know the reality yet. So, here's to all the first time parents! We were all young once :-) Let me know what you were wrong about !
Here are some of my faves:
- I will never let MY child ____________ (scream in a store, not let others hold him, have a runny nose). PLEASE. The first rule of test-taking is that the always/never questions are false.
- There is no excuse to stay in your pajamas all day. I would personally like to apologize to anyone I may have said this to. There are plenty of excuses. And most of them are acceptable.
- I can't wait to quit my job so I can actually do things during the day. Sigh. This one really got me. I was convinced that grocery shopping would be a breeze because I wouldn't be competing with the after-work crowd. However, when your store's carts aren't compatible with an infant seat and he is too small to sit up and to irritated for the sling, you have to put the carseat in the big part of the cart which really makes shopping a challenge. However, it helps with the grocery bill.
- You just have to make a plan and stick to it. Seriously, when in my life have I EVER done this? Why is now any different? And who's going to inform the baby?
- MY house will always be clean. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA
6.04.2009
Mental Health Check
As you can see, parenting is getting more and more fun each day. Oscar is such a happy baby and smiles all the time. We're getting out and about more and spending quality time with friends. We're getting things done around the house and falling into a nice little family routine. So I thought it would be a good time to reflect. With Oscar having turned our lives around for the past 4 months, I have done a lot of soul searching and hopefully some discovery. But it isn't rocket-science and I like to think a lot of what I have gone through is pretty typical. Here is what is running through my mind most days:
- Is Oscar hungry?
- Is Oscar sleepy?
- Why isn't he sleeping?
- Am I over thinking things?
- Am I missing something?
- Is his diaper clean?
- I need to wash diapers
- I need to do laundry
- Am I doing enough?
- Am I doing too much?
- Will I ever lose this weight?
- Am I spending enough time with God?
- No I am not spending enough time with God.
- I need to spend more time with God.
- That show looks funny
- Man I am tired
- Is it really grocery day again already?
- What should I make for dinner?
- Why are there always dirty dishes?
- I want to go on a trip
- I wish Oscar was better with other people
- One day we need to get a babysitter
- We need a date night
- Was that the baby? (turn everything off/down and sit in silence)
- Ohhh cheese is on sale
- When was the last time I took a shower?
- If I can't remember, I probably should take a shower.
- I need to let the dog out
- Ahhh thank you Lord for A/C
- Mmm...Wheat thins
6.02.2009
Mustaches
Jerry LOVES the mustache. He loves how it looks, what it stands for. To Jerry the mustache is the epitome of manliness. He can not understand that to me it is the epitome of creepiness.
Show me a man who loves the mustache, and I will show you 5 women who cringe at the very sight of it. Of course there are SOME exceptions. For example, our son.
Striking resemblance, no???
6.01.2009
Garden Update!
This weekend was all things front yard. We spent most of our time outside and it was just so much fun! We got the garden all planted and we just need to add the mulch. We decided to do it in phases. We are almost there! It was a family effort and hopefully the first of many. I look forward to watching our garden grow, just like we watch Oscar. Maybe I'll call it Oscar's garden :-) Now, the pictures!
Digging holes
Oscar is Supervising - a born Leader!
Krust is testing out the new grass
Jerry watering the new plants
Just need some mulch!
4 Month Stats
Oscar did awesome at his 4 month appointment! He was smiling at the nurse and Dr. Bo. and just in a great mood. Everything looks great and he has grown quite a bit!
Height - 26inches (90th percentile)
Weight - 14 lbs 5oz (50th percentile)
Head Circumference - 17 1/8th inches (75th percentile)
Looks like we have a long and lean baby! Oscar takes after his dad in so many ways! We get a break before his next appointment so that will be nice. But I have to admit, I look forward to seeing his growth! We have the go ahead to start oatmeal if we want, but I think we'll wait a little bit longer. It's more us than Oscar though, he watches us eating all the time! He'll even stop nursing if I try to eat a cracker or something while he is eating. He just looks at my mouth then my eyes and back to my mouth and then he smiles. I know that when we do take the plunge it's going to be lots of fun!
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