Will be back soon

A lot has happened in the last year and now that things have calmed a bit...for now anyway, I will be resuming my posts. 

Watch for new posts coming soon!

Comforter

I searched for the longest time for a new blanket or comforter for our bed.  I didn't see anything I liked and then one day I found just what I wanted.  It was on clearance even at Bed Bath & Beyond.  It had to be mine!!!  So I bought it.  I decided I needed to take it out and put it on the bed to see what it looked like.  It looked great.  I slipped under it to see how it felt and was in love with the weight of it.  I thought it was a little too much for the current weather though and put it away under it was a bit cooler.

When the weather started getting cooler I was so excited to put the new comforter on.  I couldn't wait to go to sleep that night and when it was bedtime I crawled into bed with a smile on my face feeling like I was going to sleep so good and maybe even feel like I was surrounding myself with a bit of luxury.  Did I mention I had a dog sleeping in my bed for 12 years and never had nice bedding because of it? 

I was in for a surprise not long after I was in bed.  That comforter made me HOT!  I used to keep it really cool in the house and it would be great for those temperatures, perhaps even warm for that.  Since having the baby, however, the temp I keep the house is a little higher.  I can't get him to sleep through the night with a blanket.  In fact, for a long time I couldn't even put a blanket in his crib at all because he would pull it over his head or get upset because he got tangled up in it.  I really look forward to the day he will sleep like a big boy with a pillow and blanket and can tell me if he is hot or cold.  For right now, I have to keep the temperature a little higher and make sure his room is kept warm.

I am leaving the comforter on the bed though.  I may kick it off in the middle of the night, but I still like the feel of it.  Maybe if I run across something else that looks good and will work, that isn't too much money, I will change my mind and get something else.  But for now I will enjoy how it looks and feels and know that I won't be going cold at night!  Oh wait, except when I kick it off and wake up cold :)

Not my baby anymore

Everytime I look at Max now I think about how he is getting so big and is not my baby anymore.  Thinking about it too much isn't easy.  In many ways he is still my sweet little baby, and in other ways he is a boy.  He's in that in between stage and walking the line between both worlds. 

I'm not sure when the official change will be, I just know I'm not ready for it yet.  There is so very much that I love about this stage.  All of the new things he notices, tries to do and tries to say.  He tries to exert his independence all the time and then will turn around and reach out his arms to be held.  Lately he cries when I leave the room.  This is nothing new, but he just does it a lot more than he used to.  Separation anxiety is kicking in.  He has had stranger anxiety before, but now he is crying when we drop him off at daycare.  I'm not sure if it has to do with spending so much time at home over the holidays or if it is just his age.  Either way I feel bad for him and wish I could always be there for him.

Nothing in my life has ever made me happier.  What an amazing experience it is having a child.

Off the bottle

Ok, somedays I feel like a bad mom because my nearly 18 month old son was still drinking from a bottle at night.  But there was just something so sweet about it that it was hard for me to give up.  This week I decided that I think we are both ready.  The last time I tried it was some time ago and it didn't go well.  I didn't want to push it so I went back to the bottle.

This time is different.  We have not used a bottle in nearly a week, although he has been clinging to the sippy cup now when I give it to him.  I think I may even try to pack the bottles\
up and get them out of sight now.  I'm worried that he won't drink as much milk as he was before, but I know there are other ways he can get what he needs.

Now...the pacifier is another story.  It really is a great comfort to him.  He will go back to sleep easier in the night if he can find his pacifier in the crib.  Yay glow in the dark pacifiers!  The doctor mentioned the other week that we need to start taking him off the sippy cup and onto cups with handles and to make the pacifiers disappear once he was healthy.  UGH to both!  I would have no trouble switching cups if he wasn't such a wild boy that likes to drop his cup and carry it around with him .  I want him to have access to water at all times, and he is great about putting his cup on tables, he just isn't the gentlest.

As far as the pacifier goes, I will be trying to slowly wean him off that.  My original goal was to have him off by the time he turned 2.  And with him still working on those last two molars which seem to be taking forever to come in, I don't think it is a good time to take it away.  So I will try to slowly wean him off of it to the point where he just gets it at night(which doesn't last long usually anyway since it usually falls out of his mouth after he is asleep).

So that is the plan...and I think this is the first time I am disagreeing with what his doctor has advised.  But she is not the one here all the time to see how he is feeling and what he needs.  So I will go with my gut and hope for the best.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

Happy New Year!!!

I can tell this is going to be a great year.  I'm looking forward to seeing more changes in Max and of course to getting married.  How much more exciting can life get?!  I really only have a couple of goals so far for this year.  Continue to work on saving money, work on my health and fitness, and find ways to do more travelling.  I'm sure more goals will come up, but so far that is all I can think of.

Looking back at last year, I would only change one thing...daycare cooties!!!  Other than that I would say we have been pretty darn blessed.  The best gift I ever received was my son.  He is so beautiful and smart and brave...I may not be very subjective here, but I don't care.  He is awesome and I am the luckiest person I know.  Thank you Daren for giving me this gift.

Now to start off this year right, I got Max when he woke up just after 5 and brought him to bed with us where we slept in.  I can't believe we got to sleep in so much.  Then Daddy made us some pancakes.  Yummy!  Can't wait to see what happens the rest of the day and the rest of this weekend.  Since I have Monday off I do have one goal (besides some errands) that I really want to get done...painting the darn kitchen!!!!  Please, please let me be able to paint the kitchen! :)

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Photo Friday


I haven't put a lot of pictures out recently, so here are some from the Family pictures my friend Donita Jacobson took, and some others from Christmas.  The snow is now gone due to the wacky 50-60 degree temps we have been having and I already miss it.  Well I miss it around my house anyway.

Cuddling with Teddy



Yes, he is that cool :)

Playing with Lilly

Walking in the leaves

Someday we can get him to smile in a picture!

Wait...what is that?  A smile!!!

Such a big boy!

Just hanging with Santa.  Just wish he was feeling better for this one.  I think you can see it on his face.

Going for the Ralphie look...all we need is a super long scarf!.

The snow for Christmas was so beautiful.  What a perfect view on Christmas!

Oh Christmas tree

I know Christmas is over :(  but I don't want to take down my tree yet.  I really don't care that much about the other decorations, but I love the glow of having the lights turned on at night.  Because we have such an active and curious little one we had to come up with a good solution on how to put up the tree so he couldn't get to it.  Hopefully this will be the only time we had to do this...but we actually took an extra dining room table and put it in the living room with the tree on top of it!  Thank goodness for high ceilings and smaller trees.  We were hoping to get a bigger tree, but it looks like it will have to wait until next Christmas...although if I can ever make it out of the house to go shopping, I'm hoping I can find a tree on clearance.  Somehow I doubt there will be any left at this point.  But a girl can dream!! 

Maybe I will break down after this weekend and take the tree and the rest of the decorations down.  It makes me sad so I have to look at the bright side...we will have more room for the ridiculous amount of toys that Max has in there.  I'm serious...it's insane and I am currently trying to weed through the toys to sell them or give them away.  Thankfully I didn't purchase most of the toys and Mom got them at the resale store.

Holiday Joy

It has been a struggle to make the time lately to update my blog.  I had a couple days off from work and although I had appointments most of my first day off, then some Christmas shopping to do, I did have one day that I got to spend with Max.  I got him all to myself and we had a wonderful time.  Such a good day playing and cuddling! 

Christmas this year had felt a bit rushed for me to the point of wanting it to be over quickly until Christmas Eve.  We had snow on the ground and were set to get more snow and I could not wait to see how Max would react to his toys.  Knowing that we would surely be getting the video camera out and how early we normally wake up in the morning I felt lucky to have been able to put on some clothes and pull my hair back before Max woke up and the Christmas fun began.  Ah no make up, circles under the eyes...can't wait to see that video :)

Santa got Max a battery powered car and he likes to sit in it and push the button that makes all the sounds but pushing the one that makes it move forward is trickier.  He is starting to figure out that he needs to hold it down, but he keeps looking behind him to see if someone is pushing him.  Really cute.

But it gets even better.  Daren handed me a box to open from Max and then one from him.  When I opened the one from him, I saw fabric and was just sure he got me a snuggie!  I was wrong...it was a Halloween trick or treat bag...hmmm, something fishy here.  Inside the bag was a small box.  That's right you guessed it.  It was a ring.  Oh wait, did I mention that he had the video camera on me while I was opening everything?  Yup.  He was looking at me through the camera so I made him ask me 3 times if I would marry him until he looked at me.  LOL!   I did say yes though :) 

Does this mean that it is time for the seemingly obligatory pre-wedding weight loss attempts?  :)  But of course!  Ok, really my health is more important that the weight and I do need to do more to make myself healthier.  What I really need is a haircut so I can stop looking like a crazy woman.  My hair is so thick right now, when the weather is just right I look like I have had my hand on one of those static balls that makes your hair stand out all over.  Thankfully I now have an appointment for next week.  YAY!!!!

Weekend craziness

I think this last weekend may have been crazier than this coming Christmas weekend will be.  We had attended the birthday party for our friends 3 yr old daughter.  Max did so good.  I think it was because there was so much going on.  Right about the time we needed to leave he started to get a bit restless.  I don't blame him either.  He is a very active boy and he sat still for an hour and a half.  Good job!

I had to get Max to take an earlier nap than usual so it was even more challenging.  Plus he ate food that he normally didn't eat.  Oh and on Friday he came down with pink eye, so he wasn't happy about that.  Again, I don't blame him, his eyes went from normal to looking painful and swollen overnight. 

Right after the birthday party we had to run home and grab some things and drive for an hour to a family Christmas dinner.  He hasn't been in a car for that long of a period since before he was able to crawl.  He did well on the car drive over.  Another happy surprise!  Then we got to my uncle's and the great chase began.  I didn't get much time to visit with my family because we were chasing Max all over trying to keep him out of danger or breaking something.  They have 4 dogs and thankfully 2 of them seemed to be interested in Max and Max was very interested in them.  He tried a few times to give them hugs. 

He was so busy and having a blast looking at everything that I could barely get him to eat anything for dinner.  Finally, about an hour before his bedtime(after 2 hours there) he started getting cranky and we knew it was time to head home and try to keep his normal bedtime.  The drive home wasn't as great.  I was hoping he would doze off, but he had a couple crying episodes and I didn't know what was going on...if he was in pain, tired, had gas, or something else.  I tried rubbing his little feet to try to help him feel better until we could get home.

We got home and noticed that his thumbnail had broken where he had smashed it a little while back(we still don't know when and where it happened).  Half of his nail was pretty much hanging off, so we had to cut it off.  It doesn't look bad, I just worry about the top part of what is left catching on something and pulling off.  We got him to bed and that is when it got worse.  He cried in pain and woke up about every hour.  I was sure it was gas, but we never heard anything to confirm that.  Daren took him in the other room to sleep to see if that would help, but it didn't help much.  He woke up with blood all over his lips where apparently his lip split in the night.  Not sure if he bit his lip or it was from being dry from mouth breathing from being congested.  Also his other eye now has pink eye...oh the poor kid!

Sunday wasn't too bad, we got to relax and try to get Max back on schedule to see if that would help him.  He seemed to be doing better at times and other times you could tell that he didn't feel good and he would just cry and throw himself down.  His crying usually doesn't last long, but I felt bad for him and did everything I could to comfort him.  When he took his nap he woke up again with blood on his lip. 

Thankfully, I think things are starting to get better.  He still isn't happy with getting his eye drops and they still don't look great, but he slept though the entire night and his lip looked better this morning and there was no bleeding.  Woo hoo!  It's the little things that make me happy.  Hopefully today will go well, the weather won't get too bad and we won't have to cancel Max's Dr's appts.  Keeping my fingers crossed!!

Photo Friday

Thursday was the Christmas party in Max's daycare room and since neither Daren nor myself could go, Max was lucky enough to have his grandma and grandpa there.  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.  By the way...who brought pink eye to the Christmas party?  I don't think I saw that on the list of things to bring!

Here are a couple more pictures from our family picture outing :)

Definitely winter!

It is so cold outside!  I have to say there is one thing I don't like about winter...shovelling snow.  That isn't exactly true.  I didn't used to mind so much.  The thought of it doesn't bother me too much now...but getting out there and feeling the pain from it...well...it just makes me feel old :(  I was out there on my lunch today for about 40 minutes and stopped when my back started cramping.  I guess I need to add some back exercises to my list of things to do.  Oh that list includes exercising too.  Can I count today as working out?

Today wouldn't have been that bad if it weren't for the rain we got on Saturday and then the snow on top of it Sunday.  UGH.  Layers of ice and no ice skates?  LOL.  I'm sure if I tried ice skating anywhere right now I would be on my rear in a matter of minutes.  I think the last time I went skating was when I was in school.  Ummm...way too long ago to mention.  Maybe I'll be out there again some day with skates on with Max :)

Yes!

Ok, I'm ready for a break in the weather so I can get the last of my Christmas shopping done.  Ok, that's a stretch because I still have a lot to do.  A lot.  I am so far behind this year and the only one I'm done shopping for is Max.  And I still keep seeing things I want to get him, but then I stop and think about how much he already has and lord knows how much his grandparents got him.  I don't even want to think about it.  It already looks like we run a daycare from our house.  I need to go through all of his old toys and start to weed out what he doesn't play with and give them away or sell them.

Yesterday Max started doing another new thing.  At least it is the first time we have seen it.  He started nodding yes when we asked him questions.  It was slow and really deliberate and of course cute :)  I was also able to see in his mouth this morning.  I didn't get to see one spot, but he now has 2 molars fully out, both on the same side.  The top on the other side just has a bit of white  poking through.  I think the bottom on that side was the one that looked to be moving the slowest, so some of the tooth may be coming through, or it may still be trying to break through.  From all of the comments I have received from friends about the molars, it can be a really rough time, but I think Max is doing pretty well.  He still has a low fever on and off and I'm hoping it is from the molars.  All I want for Christmas this year is good health for the family.  If we can all be healthy and enjoy this special time...that is all I want.

He still wakes up about once a night.  Last night he slept until 4 am.  I tried for an hour to get him back to sleep and then gave up and took him to the guest bed.  The first time in a very long time since I have done that.  Daren has done it a couple of times when Max was sick but that is it.  This morning I think we probably fell back to sleep at 6 and then Max woke up at 7.  Daren got him and let me lay down for a bit.  I fell back to sleep and actually slept until 8:30!  Shocking.  Now if only my dream of waking up to Starbucks waiting for me in the kitchen came true...that was a good dream :)

Photo Friday

This morning Max was showing off...walking backwards through the family room and kitchen.  He had this look on his face like, "Ooooh...look what I can do!"

Here are a few of the pictures we had taken recently.  They were all great and I can't wait to share them with my friends and family.  I'm saving some of the best for some surprises.  Thanks Donita!!!!

Lots of hugs

One of my favorite things that Max does right now is running up to me and hugging me.  I LOVE IT!  It's not just me he does it to, he does it to his Daddy of course, his Grandma, Grandpa, and Granny.  I'm sure there are others as well.  I can't wait for the time when he can say I love you...I might just cry!  Boy do I love those hugs though.  The dog on the other hand does not enjoy it at all and lets everyone know it.  Doesn't stop Max.  He will just keep trying over and over to hug her.

Ok, I'm trying to keep my mind off of the persistent annoying cooties that are still in our house and apparently all over from the reaction at the Dr's office when I called today.  So I'm trying to think about Christmas and what happens...guilt!!!!  I'm not worried about Max...gift wise.  I'm going to get him a few more little things but for the last 3 years something has happened where I can't get out and do the shopping I want to and I am disappointed that I can't do for others what I want to do.  I love shopping for other people but I'm so frustrated with my shopping and this year is no exception.  So I apologize...hopefully next year my brain will be working better and I can think of better gifts and maybe even get them ahead of time!

I guess I should really focus on the fact that this year Max is a little more aware of everything and might be able to enjoy Christmas a little more.  I don't want to get tunnel vision and only focus on Max though...even though I really want to.  I am so deeply in love with my son that really, nothing would make me happier. 

Cooties be gone!

I just don't know what is going on with us and it just never seems to stop.  Daren had strep over our Thanksgiving days off.  We tried like crazy to keep myself and Max away from him so we didn't get it.  Then we all get some bug last week that gave us headaches and nausea and some other fun stuff.  Poor Max got sick and you could tell the vomiting was upsetting him.  He hasn't been eating well since and I'm not sure what is going on.  So we may have to make a trip to the Dr to see if it is something other than the molars coming in. 

Then I wake up at 2am on Monday with a swollen throat and a fever so I was sure I had ended up with the strep and made my way to the Dr's office on lunch...on the ice with a spare tire on the car(what a weekend we had!).    The quick test said it wasn't strep but they said they were wanting to wait for the official test to come back to be sure.  I mean if it isn't strep...what the heck is going on?!  So frustrating.  Especially during the holidays when there is so much to do. 

On to some more pleasant thoughts.  I have to say that I am amazed daily at the new things Max is learning and saying.  He is speaking more clearly and doing new things everyday.  Last night I had to smile when he took off a sock and ran over to the spot next to the chair where I put his clothes that I just took off that later go to the laundry room.  He put the sock there and then took off his other sock and put it there too.  In the past when I tell him we need to go get his pajamas, he will go look beside the chair first to see if there are any there.  Too cute.

Occasionally, when we have the TV on, Max will be playing with something(last night he was in his tunnel), then he will stop what he is doing and start dancing.  He is dancing to the music in commercials that sometimes I don't even notice until I see him dancing.  He also popped up last night in the little space between the chair and end table and started dancing.  He had been hiding back there playing with blocks until that.  He just notices everything.  At school they say he is very "curious".  LOL!  I know what that means...he is into everything and has to check everything out.  Hope they have some good running shoes!

The evolution of dance

I love love love to watch my little man dance these days.  It is so funny to see the little changes he has made since he first started dancing.  He started out just moving back and forth from one foot to the other and did that for several weeks.  Then he started twirling around and around.  Sometime recently he started raising his hands in the air while twirling and dancing.  Now...he does this squatting down bouncing type of thing that I just love.  He really gets into the music. 

I haven't necessarily found a certain type of music that he likes the most, may be the type or the beat, or something else that strikes his fancy that makes him dance.  The other night he started dancing to a commercial on tv that had classical music in the background. 

It really is the little things that make me happy!

So much to do...

Time flies and I'm not so sure it's because of fun!  Last week Daren got strep throat.  I'm still praying that Max and I don't get it.  His mom was in town for several days and I missed out on Black Friday shopping because of the cooties.  Then Sunday Max fell and bite his lip on the inside and outside and did a bit of bleeding, but after that slowed down we knew he would be ok.  Then last night he pulled down a heavy object off a table onto his head.  It got blue and swole up so fast we threw him in the car to take him to the after hours clinic to have him checked out.  This was our first issue with something hitting his head so it freaked us out. 

They said they thought he was fine but to check him every couple hours and to watch for vomiting and not being able to wake up.  Do I even need to say that I didn't get a lot of sleep because I kept checking the video monitor to make sure he was ok?  And wouldn't you know it...I have had to get up with him every night at least once and usually for an hour at a time for the last week...except last night.  He slept and I didn't.

This week is full of meetings at work and Dr.'s appt's for me and Max.  It is a crazy week and I had hoped to get some X-mas decorating done on my lunches, but I don't think that will happen at all.  I wish we could have gotten it done this last weekend, but we were trying to keep Daren away from Max and there is no way I could have brought the boxes up and worked on the decorating while watching Max.  He is a maniac lately.  Not sure if it is a preview of the terrible two's or a little bit of the teething he is going through with getting his molars in.  Oh, then I just remembered the cookie party for my mom's group and a baby shower this weekend.  I'm hoping it slows down next year sometime!!!!!

By the way I'm not sure if I said it before but his daycare acted like I was wrong about him teething when he got the last round of hand foot and mouth, saying that they have similar symptoms so it is easy to confuse the two...well I was soo right.  I think all 4 are coming in and taking their turns. They all look to be in different stages with one fully through, one partially through, one where you can see the tooth still under the gum and the last one swollen and soon to show white under the gums.  Of course this was last week when I checked and hopefully when I try to get another look tomorrow I will see more progress.

Ok, I just have to note some changes I have seen in Max lately and then I am totally calling it an early night and going to bed.  He just started changing what he calls his pacifier.  It went from "ba"(no clue why) to something that sounds like "pass".  It is really cute when he says it though.  Yesterday when I picked him up from daycare it was raining out and I was talking about it and all of a sudden I hear from the back seat "craining".  He also started saying "Granny" when Daren's mom got here, which I'm sure she loved.  I think my mom thinks she is going to run off with Max someday and I think secretly she is trying to get him to call her "mama".  Ok, maybe his attempt at "grandma" just sounds close...but I'm keeping my eye on her ;)

Hopefully I made a tiny bit of sense tonight, but just in case I didn't I'm blaming my recent lack of good sleep...and with that, I'm off to bed!

Internet down

I'm just starting to get back into everything since my internet went down right after my last blog post last Wed night and was completely down until Sunday.  I know it was only a couple of days, but it felt like it was forever!  Now we have family in town, staying with us, so I may not get any more time until this weekend to write any posts.  But I had to add in this picture....cracked me up!  I was trying to round up some things for Max to get his bath and when I turned around this is what I saw...

He was totally trying to see if there was any water that he could drink!  Silly boy...Thankfully there was no water there yet!

Full moon

I knew it!  I was right, there is a full moon this week and I wish it was already here and passed.  This week has been nuts.  I'm not kidding, the craziness really kicked in on Monday morning when I wasn't feeling well and found I had a low fever, looked in the mirror and noticed a gray nose hair!  I'm not even kidding.  I found  a gray nose hair...sticking out no less.  I just had pictures taken on Sunday.  Wouldn't that be funny if you could see it in the picture?  Now everyone who reads my blog and sees the pictures will be looking for the hair...don't lie, I know you will.

So I think I have a cold or sinus infection or something and I am praying that Max doesn't get it.  I swear everytime we try to make plans for anything he gets sick.  I'm not sure if we could plan a vacation if we wanted to right now.

Now if I can get a tiny bit of sleep tonight I might be able to face tomorrow and the next round of strange and unusual things to add to my list this week.  Just about anything has to be better than last night, so I will make sure that Max gets his medicine tonight to see if that helps him feel a bit better and therefore sleep better, and maybe I'll take a Benadryl so I can too.

Busy Busy Bee

Wow what a busy weekend we had.  It has carried over to this week and I think there may be no stopping the momentum at this point until a week after Thanksgiving.  We had family pictures taken.  I would be surprised if we get any shots back with Max actually smiling.  It is really rare for us to capture it with a camera.  He is usually very focused on something like playing or trying to get the camera that it just never works out.  Or the picture is super blurry because he is so active.

I also got to visit with my cousin Rachel who dropped off some Christmas stockings I asked her to make for me.  I saw some online that were a lot more than I wanted to pay and asked her if she could make them.  They were so good and I think they look exactly like the ones I saw online.  She did a wonderful job and I can't wait to see them up on the wall.

After that I went to the Chambanamoms birthday bash.  I got to visit with some local moms, have a bit of wine and had a good time.

Back at home, we are still trying to get back to our latest version of normal.  Ever since the last round of illness we have been going back through the sleep training process...or my version of it anyway.  Last night I only had to go into his room once for a few minutes and that was it.  He woke up a few times after that, but put himself back to sleep quickly.  I think I only checked the monitor once or twice after getting up.

I think the little man may be going through a growth spurt.  He is definitely eating much better than he had been.  I have been impressed several times this week already.  Especially that he seemed to really enjoy eating lima beans.  His daddy on the other hand does not share that feeling :)  I however, like them just fine.

There have been a few more changes too.  In the last couple weeks, Max has started talking like crazy.  Not just single words, but babbling like he really has something to say.  He talks a lot!  I wish I knew what he was saying though.  I'm sure it would be interesting.  I guess I will have to start watching what I say very soon.  My mom says that she thinks she heard him singing the other day.  I haven't seen it yet, but I can't wait to see that one.

I won't even go into all of the odd things going on so far Monday and Tuesday...not having the best luck and I would be willing to bet that there is a full moon soon.  I just hope it passes and our luck changes a bit..and quickly!  I need to keep moving forward instead of hitting walls and having to figure out how to get around them.