Getting back into the swing of things....

I realized I have not blogged in a year, so why not now? Here are a few things that have been going on:

Baby number two (boy) is arriving early January, that is pretty much the biggest news. His name will be Emmet John. It kind of feels weird this time, since we can't get his room ready yet at all. We only have three bedrooms, and we need the "guest" room for Jeff's parents since they are coming out to stay with us to help out. Not to mention Finn is still in the crib, and we are not buying another, so baby will just have to wait to sleep in it! I think we will still plan everything out so we can finish it once the grandparents leave. Still not sure what we are doing with the queen bed that is in there now...hmmm....

Finn started school twice a week last week, and since he went there part of the summer, he is an old pro. No tears, no crying- I feel like a proud mama. I think he really likes it now. It's nice too, that they have less of an age gap during the school year in his class. I think it is easier to get along with kids that are his age. It's amazing what a few months can do. It's only two days a week, but it's nice to have those days to get things done. Finn loves to "help" so it's hard to do it when he is around. I'm a lot slower doing stuff with a belly.

We are waiting for the weather to cool off to do some stuff to the back yard. We are having a pergola put in for some extra shade, and then we will put a patio down for furniture. Jeff has always wanted a fire pit, so I am sure that will be another thing that will go in the backyard. He has also promised to make me some beds for planting veggies; I have been dying to start a garden. Now that we don't eat meat, it will be nice to have out own supply of food from OUR garden!

No more trips really for the rest of the year. Jeff's parents come out for one more visit next month before the big one in December. We will go for a short trip to San Antonio or Austin for our anniversary. I'm glad Jeff and I will get a short time for just us before the next kiddo arrives. I'm sure we are in for a big change :)

P-R-O-C-R-A-S-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N

I should be doing many other things, but though I should update the blog.

So, Finn is now cruising...which means he is holding onto things and walking....I really hope he doesn't let go anytime soon, I am so not ready for this. He also has been spitting out food...well, he liked to "talk" with his mouth full, especially when it's a food he is not as interested in...which pretty much results in spewing the food at me when I am sitting in front of him.

Not too long ago the cat had been having some "accidents" in the house, and we bought this air sprayer that is supposed to deter her from going to the area. It works great, and even the dog is afraid of the puffs of air, she won't even set foot in that room anymore. Today, Finn crawled over to the corner and was shot with air before I could catch him..he was very upset and even started to fuss...I have to say it was pretty hilarious. It's too bad, he really will not have learned anything. I'm looking forward to when he learns the word NO (as long as he doesn't say it back to me!)...My day is full of chasing him around the house and saying no, don't touch that, no, don't get into that...no no no....and he just smiles and laughs...he is too cute

Watch out!

So, Finn is officially mobile....he hasn't mastered the full crawl, but he is certainly getting down the Army crawl. I can no longer put him down, go do something, and then expect him to be in the same place! He is even going through a stage where Mommy CAN NOT be out of his sight! It sure makes it hard to get anything done around here! BUT he is even more fun than before, and his personality blooms more and more each day! He has also borrowed a friend's walker, and he loves it. He started walking backwards first, but now is starting to get the hang of that too.
He has also become an early riser....he still goes to bed round 6, but he is up around 5:45 or 6 these days, and I'm not sure if it's because of the sunlight, or he is just dying to see one of us! Who knows, but I'm thinking about changing the bedtime a little later, and making mine a bit earlier!
We also have kicked the dog to the curb...just kidding! She no longer sleeps with us in the bed, I mean. Which has been wonderful! I have been sleeping great! It's nice to know it's not always exhaustion when you have kids and pets! Even if I get less sleep, I feel better because it is not interrupted 2-3 times!
In one month we will be making our big trip to the East Coast. It will be Finn's first plane ride and I'm hoping that he does well and has a great time! Even just the airport should bring him lots of entertainment with all the people watching. I'm very excited to get out of Enid for a while, it's been a long time since I've been out of town, since before Finn was born! It will be nice for Jeff to have some time off as well...I know we are both ready to have some time we can all spend together.

So many new things...

It feels like there have been so many firsts these last few weeks...Finn has been trying all kinds of new foods, and he is such a good eater! He is now eating three meals a day in addition to the regular bottles of milk. He has tried squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, pears, bananas, apples, and even oatmeal! He is great about opening his mouth wide to let me know he wants more...it's amazing the little ways he can communicate what he wants without even talking.

He has even started walking around the house with me; I hold his hand and he takes steps...a little wobbly, but much sturdier on his legs than I imagined at this age..I'm excited for him, but also scared that I may have to be chasing him around the house sooner than I want! he especially loves walking after Daddy, Boo, and Lily. Boo was so upset that he could chase after her, that she hid under the bed!

Tuesday was Finn's first swim lesson. He took to the water immediately, kicking his legs, and putting his face in the water- he was surprised to get a face full of it, but continued to forget what would happen when he did so! We had such a good time sharing this experience with him, and we even know another little girl in the class, so it makes for a good time for him to get to know another kid.

We had his 6 months check up Monday, and he did the best ever when getting his vaccines. he hardly cried at all! And he is about average on weight and height...he still has super cute pudgy legs and doesn't even look like he has wrists! HaHa! The doctor said his lower two teeth are starting to move up, so not sure when we will see them, but he's definitely chewing on everything he can get his little paws on.

As for me, I am still enjoying Friday school for Finn, getting to have a day to myself- I even spent last Friday at EPH (local vet hospital) and got to work on some vet tech skills. It was exciting to have adult interaction, as well as cleaning a dog's teeth! It was a first for me; very interesting and fun!

This weekend is my first mother's day, and I celebrate my birthday that day too! Even after 6 months, I still seem to forget I'm a mom, just like some days I forget I'm not playing grown up, it's real!

Finally, sleeping like a baby....

I always wondered after I had a baby, what people meant by sleeping like a baby, when mine was waking up all the time to eat. I was exhausted, grumpy, losing weight like crazy since I was breast feeding and trying to sleep when he slept to make up for the lack there of....that left little time for anything else.
Before we had Finn, we had received this great book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. Jeff's cousin had three very well behaved little children, and I'm sure they read a lot of useful information. If you have not read it, and have a child that is not sleeping well, I recommend it. Actually, if you are going to have a baby soon, I say get it now (Yes Amy, I mean you!). It really helped us understand what a new baby was going through when it came to acclimating to night and day, as well as sleep cycles and how they differed from adults.
It made me feel better knowing there was not much we could have done in the beginning anyways, to change his sleep.
So when 6 weeks came around, we moved him to his crib, and tried to implement a new sleep arrangement. He did well at night, still waking to eat, but going down right away after he was done. he went to bed late, around 9 pm, get up a couple times and sleep in til late morning. It was a pretty good schedule for me for a while....but I was still tired all the time! Slowly, his bedtime started moving earlier, and some nights he even slept through the night. Then we moved his bedtime to 6 pm. It worked well, but he was waking up to eat again because he went to sleep so early. So a few night ago (now he is almost 6 months), I decided to stop going to him- cold turkey. Now that he is double his birth weight, they say he doesn't need to eat during the night. He can sustain himself fine metabolically. I thought, there is no way I could make it through another few weeks trying to ween him....I wanted him to sleep through the night NOW. So, we put him down at 6 pm, and did not go to him, no matter what cries he made. Not to check on him, not to rearrange him, not to give him a pacifier....he was in that bedroom with the door shut until the morning.
And now, he goes down at 6, without a peep. No fuss, no cry, he sleeps....and last night he slept from 6 pm to 7 am.... I am one happy mommy:) I hope it stays that way.

Multi-tasking

So, I THINK I'm starting to get this hang of this "mommy" thing, especially when it comes to doing more than one thing at a time, since even though I now sleep less, there are not enough hours in the day to get all I want to get done AND be the stay at home mom. Even as I type this Finn is sitting on my lap and "contributing" to the post...which is drooling all over himself and me, as well as trying to shove my fingers in his mouth while banging on the keyboard....he is quite talented for just 5 months!
More examples of things I have started to do...the other day, I strapped him in his carrier and we vacuumed the entire house...boy, it was one heck of a workout! But it felt good that I didn't have to wait for his very short nap to get that done! We also have borrowed a bouncer from my friend Kate and since he is not as fond of lying down as he was before, I can sit him up, strap him in, and take him with me in the house. This morning he helped mommy wash dishes, and most days I take him with me so I can shower. And NOW, I am typing one handed because I am feeding him:)
Yesterday was Easter, and it was nice to have some friends over for an early dinner. We even put Finn in something other than pjs and took some cute pictures. (I will put them up later when I have both hands!) If we ever have a girl, I'm not dressing her up everyday when she will just drool and get messy anyways. Not to mention, your baby doesn't care what they wear as long as it's comfy! I already know some of Finn's clothes will be used since they are gender neutral. Actually, I plan on using most everything we got for him next kid, no matter boy OR girl- that is a little ways away still. It is good that he likes having his clothes changed, he thinks it's funny, or it tickles, but either way, it's easier for us. I am looking forward to warmer weather so I can just throw a onesie on him (less snaps)- it'll be great!

There always has to be a beginning...

So, I thought I'd give this blog thing a try...Not sure who will read, but what they heck.

Today I realized, OK not just TODAY, but it really hit me today, that I'm addicted to sugar. I always feel like I'm eating candy, chocolate, ice cream, etc...and I mean EVERY day I'm eating that crap. It's not like my teeth can handle it either, I've had lots of cavities over the years, and the sweet tooth is not helping my case. Anyways, as I write this blog I'm eating a bunch of Easter jelly beans, and I thought...you know every damn holiday has candy associated with it. The companies make special candy for EVERY holiday. Seriously, think about it....Easter, Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, St. Pattys, Valentines day....it's all the same candy just different colors or shapes. I still find the need to buy that special candy, though. Somehow, it tastes better than the regular old standby.
Then after thinking about all the sugar I eat, maybe if I cut it out completely out of my diet, would I start to feel different? Would my body go through withdrawal? It is an experiment I would be willing to try, but it will be hard for me to put he habit down...

Now that I've gotten that off my chest...

I figure, I'll have to write about mommy stuff on here. that is pretty much my life now:) Finn will be 6 months at the end of April, and all I can think of is, where the hell did all that time go? And how could it go by so fast when I KNOW I have not been missing it by sleeping all the time as I normally would (could!). I realized after the first 5 months- I am not a newborn mommy, I look forward to these next few months because he will be able to be more interactive with me....he already can roll over both ways, smile, giggle, grasp things, and he is on his way to sitting, and scooting...It's amazing how most of those things seemed to happen in just the past month! they are way more exciting for me than the months before. I am still grateful for all of the time; it has been amazing just to see him grow and change, even when it seemed like it would never come. It is great to be a mom.