Jax

Cute cards from Shutterfly!

2011-02-23T00:55:00.000-05:00

I am so excited about these cards I just made at Shutterfly! I was able to have them sent directly to the folks who live far away plus made a few extras for upcoming local birthdays. So easy & very personal!

Birthday Lime Birthday 5x7 folded card

Shop birthday cards and invitations at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Conversations with an (almost) two year old

2010-02-11T02:30:00.000-05:00

Actual conversation with my almost-two-year old one morning while I was still in bed:

JP: (crying, just barely)
Me: what's wrong?
JP: I cryin
Me: I know you're crying, why are you crying?
JP: I sad
Me: yes I gathered that, why are you sad?
JP: (pointing at the TV and no longer crying) Star
Me: (mumbling) I'm going back to sleep.

Next day at bedtime:

After reading Goodnight Moon as we do every night (lights are already out and he is tucked in)
Me: Goodnight Jaxon
JP: Good Night Ma Ma
Me: (awww first time he's said that) good night sweet boy
JP: Good Night Mama
Me: Goodnight
JP: Good Night Mama
Me: okay buddy go to sleep
JP: Gooood niiight Mommmy
Me: *sigh*

During snuggle time before bed the next night:

JP: (laying on the bed between Jack and I, points upward) Hi Fan!
Fan: (no rsp)
JP: whatcha doin Fan?
Fan: (no rsp)
JP: (turns to me) ceiling fan!
Me: yep that's the fan
JP: (looking back at the fan) eyes. Nose. Mouth.
Me: nope the fan doesn't have eyes, a nose or mouth.
JP: Hi Fan!

-- Post From My iPhone

No Resolutions

2010-02-11T01:55:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever. ~Mark Twain

I can't believe how fast January flew by already! Even though I tired of all the talk of resolutions & goals on every tweet, blog & Facebook status last month, January really does seem like a good time to take stock of your life, your dreams & make goals. Jack & I have never really jumped on the resolution bandwagon but this year I'm really trying to make some improvements in my life primarily to reduce stress.   Since I have a hangup about 'resolutions', I held off on this post for a month which gave me more time to think about it and make plans for the year. It also gave me time to see how quickly I can get off track just like everyone else!

"What does this have to do with the baby and where are the pictures?" you might be thinking.

Well, the pictures are mostly still residing on my camera (bad mama!) or worse, I've been lazy and thought I'd just get the pictures from the other people in my life (my brother & uncle have the best cameras, yes I'm jealous. Oh Papaw, if you are reading this, I need some pictures from our trip to Alabama *grin*). But I do have a few here to appease everyone since we all know a post without a picture is no fun.

Now to the point, I have plans to change this blog and that is part of the reason that I have not been putting effort into it these last few months.

What exactly are my plans? Well that is still in the works. I can tell you some of the ideas though.

1. Close or move the blog: Many of you followed me here from our infertility blog. During our 'adventure' in infertility, I blogged about the process, my feelings, and fertility resources. I had a passion for it at the time (and still do to some extent, I add posts there occasionally still & often tweet/FB about fertility). Of course we finally got pregnant & it became a pregnancy blog. Again I had a passion for it. Once Jax was born, we came here & though I love my little guy.. I am no longer enjoying blogging here. It's come to feel like I'm trying to document his life here instead of in an album. Which leads us to number 2...

2. Start a new blog: I really want to document Jaxon's life, but in a way that we can enjoy it as a family & it can be saved for generations. And a blog just doesn't do that. So instead of spending my time writing on a blog, I'm going to write in an album. I still love being on my computer so I've already pretty much switched from traditional scrapbooking to digital. But I'm not here to talk about that. I still want to have a blog, probably along the lines of a 'mommy blog' format. I love sharing pictures of the little dude, but I want to be able to share about more than just him. (Plus who knows, if we go back through treatments, we may have another child. Then it would just be silly to have a blog called "Jax").

3. Move to a new blog platform: I'm not convinced here yet, but I'm considering moving to WordPress (feel free to comment if you have advice on this item!). I'm a Google fan and I'm comfortable with Blogger. But I've seen some neat things on WordPress & I'm feeling a little limited here. We'll see where this ends up.

4. Redesign: Regardless of the platform, I'll be doing a redesign using Creative Memories digital products. I've already got some ideas & sketches. I've got to make up my mind on the above items before I can get to this fun part!

So those are my blog ideas. My other personal & business goals are higher up on the list though so it may be quiet here for awhile. In general, the main purpose of my personal goals is to simplify my life. As I mentioned earlier, stress has been an issue for me (Jaxon is learning emotions & has started to ask "Mama mad?" Nothing like a child to put things in perspective). I'm not going to spend anymore time on this post about my stress level, but suffice to say it's a combination of my personality, my 'day' job & wanting to do too much. I've been reading some great self-help books (reviews to come on my new/updated blog) that are helping me come up with concrete plans to simplify & focus on what is important. I also have some work goals between my regular job & my home business.

Finally as promised:

Here's JP 'reading' a book in the car as we headed home from Alabama last week. He's in PJs since I had the bright idea of leaving before dawn (yes Dad, I actually got up at 3:45AM!) so that he would sleep. He did not sleep. Well, not until the sun came up. That book is one of his new favorites from the 'How do Dinosaurs.." series. Not sure offhand which one that is in the picture. I went a bit overboard so we have about a 1/2 dozen of them from the library right now. I had my real camera with me, but I knew if I reached around to the back seat to get it, the moment would be lost. He was so cute sitting there reading. The book had just been in the seat next to him. He picked it up & opened it. He'd look at a page for a minute, then turn to the next one. Cutie pie.

One more... this is from a few weeks ago. Our absolute favorite Mexican place shut down, along with a few others locally (local 40/42-ers know why!?). This was almost devastating to us, really. We've been unable to completely agree on a new place & since we eat there at least once a week, it has been an issue. This was taken at one in Garner (it had recently changed ownership too - but was closed when we tried to eat lunch there since this picture - what on earth!?). Anyway, we were waiting for the highchair & little dude was heavy. So I let him sit in my seat. He immediately opened up the menu & started pointing. It was really adorable, more so than my little iPhone camera could capture.

Mr. Manners

2010-01-01T23:55:00.000-05:00

Mr. Manners, aka Jax, remembered to be polite even when he woke up crying tonight.

We've been working on 'please' and 'thank you' but ended up actually teaching him 'please' and 'you're welcome' by accident. Basically he uses 'you're welcome' in place of 'thank you' right now. It's pretty entertaining.

I came to check on him when he didn't settle back down on his own & found him looking for his paci. I found it quickly (by the light of the iPhone, hehe) and handed it back to him. "Here it is hun, shhhh you're okay" I said. He immediately replied, "You're welcome" in the sweetest and most pitifully sleepy voice.

Aww.

Of course that goes both ways too. It's not quite as cute when he's screaming 'PLEEEEEEZE!' thinking that will make us give him anything he wants.

-- Post From My iPhone

Word of the day

2009-12-13T23:56:00.002-05:00

Julie Quinn: That's so funny! That's so funny! Look how big that pancake is that's so funny
J.D.: [whispering at Turk] Make-her-stop

Funny is the word of the day for Jax. Like in the Scrubs episode quoted, he's been announcing when things are funny to him instead of always laughing. I love how he says it too.. Funn-ee. Sometimes I'm not even sure what's funny, but I know he's said it at least 20 times today.

He's also starting to interact more with the animals which is too cute. Tonight he was saying something about Raven who was in the kitchen (behind the baby gate). I wasn't sure what he wanted, but we reminded him that Sierra was right in the room with us to distract him. (Did not want him to rile up all the dogs in the kitchen). He said "Sera, sleepin" and then ran over to her. He had a car in his hand so we watched close to make sure he wasn't going to toss it at the sleeping dog's head. But she was well aware of him & he just sat down next to her. He held up his car to her & said "Look, Car". It was so sweet. Sierra did still get up to move away, just to be sure she didn't get bonked in the head with a car.

Funny boy

2009-12-03T08:02:00.001-05:00

Tues night as we drove away from dinner with family, Jack honked the horn twice. From the backseat JP piped up with his own 'BEEP BEEP'! We laughed so hard that it encouraged him & he said 'beep beep' all the way home.

-- Post From My iPhone

My 2nd Halloween!

2009-11-01T21:08:00.004-05:00

Our little lion! Since this was the first Halloween that Jaxon would sort-of know what was going on, we thought it would be more fun if he was dressed as an animal he could name, plus he makes a great roaring sound! Of course he wouldn't roar for anyone hardly that day.

We had tried the costume on just before I left for Brazil to check the size and see how he handled it. He kept pointing at his feet & saying 'shoe' (he says it so sweet - shew). I guess the paws at the bottom of the pants were funny. The hoodie part he was less sure about, the first time I pulled it up, he stood very still & did a funny head shake. Almost a shudder really. We showed him in the mirror & he didn't seem to understand that.

We took him around to see grandparents & other family but did not actually make it to do any trick or treating. That was fine with us though. He really enjoyed giving out candy at my aunt & uncles house & then running around with the big kids at Papi & Gigi's house.

More pictures are posted on Facebook. Everyone should be able to see via this link here without requiring an account. And to get the full appreciation of this picture, click on it to see the full version. I was so excited with how this one turned out. I love my new Memory Manager software!! So much more user friendly than I was used to with Photoshop.

BTW Mamas & Dads, we thought the costumes by Old Navy were fantastic! The quality is amazing, especially for the price. ON didn't have the size we needed in stock so we actually got this on eBay & it looked great! Mostly I had picked it out because it is basically just a hoodie & pants. So I wasn't too worried about him pulling off a hat or fussing about having his hands covered.

18mos Checkup

2009-10-30T20:56:00.001-04:00

Little JP is 18 months old! I was in Brazil so Jack took him to his checkup. Thankfully our doc sends a nice little report card so I could see all the details myself :)

Weighed in just over 23lbs (25%)
Height was also 25%
Head circum was 70%

He also had a TB screen & a flu shot. He's got to go back for a followup flu shot in a month. Apparently they were also out of one of the shots he was supposed to get, but they said it could wait til his 2yr checkup.

I had planned to get a flu shot & a Tdap booster this week myself. But the folks doing the IBM clinic (read: free shots) were completely out. So the clinics have been rescheduled & are still only tentative based on supply at the time. But hopefully we'll both be flu-resistant by the holidays. (We're pretty sure Jack already had the flu this year, he definitely had all the symptoms).

Jaxons 1st Haircut

2009-10-23T20:19:00.007-04:00

At 18 months old, Jaxon finally got a haircut! He had needed it for awhile but there was some dissension in the ranks about it. Poor kid didn't even have enough hair to warrant paying for a professional cut so I did it myself. It actually worked out fairly well that way because he was able to watch Go Diego Go the whole time. The hardest part was that he decided to chew on the comb while I did the snipping. Next time I'll get two combs.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Walkin in High Corn

2009-10-10T23:30:00.003-04:00

Fall is here which means corn mazes, pumpkins & sweet potatoes in the farms around us. We thought Jaxon would enjoy Ken's Korny Corn Maze down the street from us. At the start of the maze, he ran ahead & we let him 'choose' which path to take (aka pick the path straight ahead most times). That lasted maybe 15-20 minutes and then he decided it was more fun to sit down to play in the dirt and sand! Jack ended up carrying him on his shoulders for the majority of the maze. Throughout the maze, you look for the letters & then punch them off on your scorecard. And they time it, we finished in 1hr 3 minutes. I think it's better for older kids. The ones that seemed to be having the most fun were in the 4-12 range. Jaxon had more fun playing in the playground areas especially on the tractor. Here's a slideshow of our pictures.

Sounds like life to me

2009-09-09T21:26:00.008-04:00

It's been one thing after another around here lately. I won't go into all the little things but my coworkers were swearing I'd better not drive or I'd end up with a flat tire. Suffice to say it was a patch of bad luck at the end of the month. In that string of irritations, the video card on my main home computer burned up, literally. The screen went gray which is never a good sign. Then it cut off & I smelled something burning. I had a moment of panic (please don't be my hard-drive!) while I opened up the case to see what was wrong. At first it looked like my TV tuner (lets me watch TV on my computer) but closer look revealed it was the video card (the thing that connects to your monitor). The fan had melted off the card & was hanging by the wires. Thankfully when I removed the card, the computer booted up fine (except I couldn't see it since I had no monitor connection now). Skip ahead to UPS bringing a new one (and even got to upgrade it a little, thanks Newegg!) and now I'm back! I'm a bit of a computer addict so I was unhappy while my primary computer was down. But I did learn a lot about video cards while I tried to decide on which one to order.

So now that you know why it's been all quiet on the blog-front, let me update you on the fun stuff:

Vocab - Jaxon's adding words all the time, pretty much tries to mimic any one syllable word he hears. Bear, taco, ding, car, etc. We tried to teach him 'Go App' in time for the football game but no luck there. He did pick up on football (booball).

Signing - I've been showing him some new signs. 'Bath' was a sign he picked up on with only a few tries (search youtube for 'sign bath' if you are curious) and he runs to the bathtub signing it and saying 'ba'. I've also been teaching him signs for words that are harder for him to say like drink, milk, thank you, airplane, grandma & grandpa but he hasn't repeated them yet. He's close on 'drink', but it still is hard to distinguish from 'eat'. Anyone have a copy of Signing Time I could borrow? I have it on my iPhone but he constantly flips away from the app.

Advances - He can now tell you the sounds made by not only dog & cat, but also cow, lion, & tiger. He understands to take something to someone (whether he'll do it is another thing). He loves to shut doors & open drawers. We often open our dresser drawers to find something odd like a paci, diapers, sippy cups & toys. Mostly though he just rearranges all the clothes (baby clothes in the sock drawer, socks in with pjs, etc) or pulls them all out on the floor.

Physical - Climbing is still his favorite activity & can be the most frustrating (like when he tries to climb onto the end tables from the couch & then screams when you make him get down). Sitting still (like at a football game) is not likely to happen. Even when he watches TV, he stands still for a minute or two at a time & then goes to find something to do. He's especially wound up outside & doesn't want you to hold his hand. We've been dealing with some teething too. Doc had noted that at his 15mo checkup but now he's working on (I think) four teeth. There are definitely two molars, one on each side on the top, that are nearly in. But I think two canines are coming in on the bottom as well. Poor little guy sometimes holds his hand to his face & fusses.

Now that I'm back up & running with my computer, I've got a few other posts to make soon. I still don't have my camera back (Best Buy warranty was still good so they are working on it) but I still have a few pics to post, some from friends & family too. I'll try to get those up soon. Jack & I are not feeling well (and trying really hard not to get Jaxon sick) so it may be next week before I get to those.

August update

2009-08-27T23:10:00.002-04:00

My main camera is broken so I have not been taking many pics lately. (Anyone know a local place to get that looked at?). But here's a pic of Mr. Busy playing in Fayetteville last weekend. More to come on that later.

So what's JP up to lately? He's been working mostly on expanding his vocabulary. I've long since stopped bothering to count his number of words but I'd guess that it's nearly doubled in the last month.

Some of my favorites:

Green beans : mean meeens
Cat : caa
Meow : aaow (high pitched & funny)
Oh man (from Swiper on Dora the Explorer)
Bye (used for outside, let me down or just bye)

He's also become an expert at the sign for food. He uses it to mean food, more food, different food (as in I'd rather have fries than a burger), drink, and paci. Now if we can just get some new signs or words to replace those extra meanings.

He's also into everything as can be expected of his age. We constantly find something new that he's able to do. He loves to be outside especially to play in the rocks on the driveways in the neighborhood. Playing with other kids is something he does not get to do daily since he's not in daycare. But he loves it when he does get a chance. Last night one of the neighbors stopped by with his kids about some home owners stuff. When they left, JP followed them right down the front steps, up the driveway, and out into the street. Barefoot. So we both ended up following them up & down the street while they talked to all the neighbors. Both barefoot. At one point we even had a neighbors cat join the procession. It was a trip. He just loves to be outside.

-- Post From My iPhone

15 mo. checkup

2009-08-04T20:50:00.001-04:00

Jaxon had his 15mo checkup this week. He's doing great healthwise and is still small. He was a little shy with the doc but didn't even make a peep when he got his shot! JP was more interested in trying to pull off the bandaid than anything else.

Weight: 22lbs 4oz (25%)
Height: 29 3/4in (10%)
Head: 47.7cm (70%)

Next checkup is at 18mos.

I'm a big boy

2009-07-25T23:32:00.006-04:00

Everyday it seems like JP's doing or learning something new. Here's some of the fun things he's doing now:

- Says Bye, Dog, Ju (juice), & Pretty (sorta). Signs 'eat' and 'more', often at the same time. Also will sign 'all done' but usually only if we have signed it first. He pretty much tries to mimic anything anyone does or says.

-Helps put on his clothes, he can put his arms through the holes with little or no help & will try to put his feet through the pants too

- Brings you a book to read to him. If you don't take it, he'll pull open your fingers & push the book into your hand. Snuggle Puppy is his favorite I think. One of the first few times I'd read this book to him, he laughed hysterically as I did the song part.

- Understands more words than we realize! For example, one day we were talking & said the word 'outside' in our conversation, JP jumped up & ran to the front door. Another time I was asking him if he wanted a few things (cuz it was funny that he said no to every question). When I asked if he wanted some oranges though (mandarin), he started signing 'eat' very adamantly. I ended up getting him some oranges!

- Knows a dog says Woof Woof. But ask him 'what does a ___ say (insert animal of choice) and the answer is also Woof Woof. If he hears a dog, sees a dog, thinks about a dog, he'll start saying 'oo oof'

- Will whisper if you whisper, sometimes. One night recently I was trying to get him to sleep & whispered something to him (about it being time to sleep probably) and he whispered back some gibberish. It was so sweet & now I can only get him to do it again when he's really calm.

- Climbs. Ok this is not really a fun one, but it can be funny for a minute or two. Mostly it's just tiring & frustrating. He climbs up the back of the couch, on the side tables, stands on anything he can get to, climbs on & over us in bed & will try to climb out of your arms onto anything nearby. Thank goodness we don't have stairs in our house!

- Dances & drums. See the attached video of him drumming. He will drum on anything and sometimes randomly start dancing. Of course he dances to music but sometimes I think he's got songs stuck in his head (Noggin is particularly bad with the catchy kid songs but I like that it has no commercials, plus Yo Gabba Gabba is still his all-time favorite).

Some typical toddler struggles we are having: hitting, head-butting, tantrums. This story is for you Grandma - If JP has a particularly bad tantrum, he'll start by stomping in place while he scrunches up his face. Then he runs straight for the nearest bed or couch & flings himself onto it to scream into the pillow or mattress. I don't have the slightest idea where he got that temper from. :)

2009-07-12T23:09:00.001-04:00

It's always an adventure around here. You just never know what an animal, baby or husband (love you!) might do....

The kitty likes to get up in the highchair. Sometimes he even curls up & sleeps there.

This shirt on JP cracks me up. Jack couldn't find a shirt to put on him so he grabbed this white one. It looked a bit big to me so I asked him where it came from (I didn't remember buying him a white tee that big). Turns out it was one of mine!

JP can now reach the power button on the TV in the bedroom so he can turn on Noggin anytime he wants. It was funny the first few times, and convienent in the mornings, but it gets a little tiresome at naptime. He either stands there staring at it or backs up & sits down leaning against our mattress (which I think is too cute).

And the boy loves music & dancing! Here he was providing backup dancing to our Guitar Hero band. Grammy & Mama got a little addicted & stayed up all night until we beat the first level.

Guitar Heroes

2009-06-28T01:00:00.004-04:00

While trying to concentrate on my digital album (which has been failing tonight), I found this cute picture. Taken 6/12.. this was the first time Jax 'played' Guitar Hero with Daddy. He really was more interested in the guitar that Daddy was holding.

Sweet Boy/Wild Boy

2009-06-19T21:23:00.003-04:00

I am completely behind on updates. I've been working a lot & not spending much time on the personal computer. I'll be posting some pics from June & July over the next few days.

Isn't this a sweet picture? I really love how this one turned out. (Though it would have been a little better if he had not knocked the blinds all askew. It's funny how sweet & innocent he looks there, but below is what he was really doing when I managed to capture that shot (and you can understand why the blinds were messed up)

Sing-a-long

2009-06-18T13:06:00.002-04:00

This has to be quick because my lunch break really should be over already.. but JP has been funny this morning & I wanted to share.

This AM while I was changing him, Daddy & I were talking about the goofy kid songs we had stuck in our heads. Daddy started singing the one over & over that was stuck in my head (just to make sure it stayed there) & my cute little boy started singing along. Of course he couldn't sing the words, but he was gibbering along to the tune & was swaying while singing. His first performance!

bumps & bruises

2009-06-01T22:08:00.008-04:00

Living with a 13 month old boy keeps you on your toes. And teaches you to keep a stocked first aid kit.

Jaxon loves our kitty, Thumbtack. He follows him around pointing & laughing. If the cat stays nearby, he'll 'pet' him which is really more hitting until we remind him 'gentle'. But Saturday he decided something more along the lines of a tackle was in order. The initial tackle didn't seem that bad, the cat had already been laying down so he didn't really move much. It was too close to the wall so Jax ended up bumping his head (since he didn't seem to mind, it was a little funny). But I guess in the process of trying to get up, he did something the cat didn't like (looked like he used the cat as leverage to push himself back up), so he got a quick swipe to the head. He's got two small scratches on his forehead which are already fading. Kitty is amazingly patient with Jax, and even his scratches seem held back, like he didn't really want to do it but just had to. Of course, Jaxon is still following the cat around everywhere.

Yesterday afternoon, Jaxon tripped on a DVD on the floor (he pulls them all off the shelf) and landed on a metal trash can (which he had put in the middle of the floor, upside down so he could climb on it). Jack & I both were right there in the room but could do nothing to stop his face from hitting the lip of the bottom of the trash can. Actually, we both thought we saw him hit his forehead so when I rushed to soothe him, I was looking for a bump on his head. As the tears & sniffling gushed, I noticed the trickle of blood out of his mouth (at which point I starting counting tiny teeth). Jack got some ice & a cloth and we got him all doctored up. It was really very minor & stopped bleeding quickly. I couldn't even tell for sure where the cut was at the time. And he pretty much forgot about it after that. Of course this morning when we woke up & he took out is paci, we saw it had turned a nice purple color. I couldn't get a good picture of it, but the bruise even has a little bit of a curve up his cheek, like the Joker, to show where he hit the curved lip of the can. Thankfully he still seems oblivious to it.

Of course here's the punchline: we have portraits scheduled this week.

root beer floats

2009-06-01T16:23:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, June 3, 2009, Sonic Drive-In is giving away free root beer floats from 8 P.M. - Midnight.

http://www.sonicdrivein.com/prmtns/2009/frbf/index.html

I'm this many..

2009-05-24T20:23:00.009-04:00

We celebrated Jaxon's 1st birthday with family & friends at Lake Benson Park in Garner. I'm sure he had no idea what all the fuss was about, but it was a great time! I had camera issues (all fixed now) so I had to gather pictures from others. That's why I'm just now getting around to posting. All the ones here are courtesy of my aunt & uncle.

No Mama

2009-05-19T10:11:00.004-04:00

Oh the joys of toddlerhood!

I heard Jack talking to Jaxon in the tub as I was getting some things ready for bedtime, "Mama's coming, you better sit down or she's going to yell". (This is one of my pet peeves). I came around the corner to see my little dude still standing up in the bath of course and I told him to sit down. "No" he says and shakes his head. I give him 'the look' & say "Yes, sit down now" and he quickly squats back down in the water. Two seconds later, JP stands back up. "Sit down", "No" (shakes head), "Yes" (sits down). He stands up again and at this point Jack is about to burst into laughter. "Jaxon sit down", "No no" (shakes head again), I barely managed to squeak out "Yes" without laughing. As soon as his bum hit the water, he stood back up & shook his head no before I even said anything. *Sigh*

Sometimes I'm impressed by all he has learned already (before this I wasn't sure he knew what 'sit down' meant). Often though, I'm just frustrated that he tells me no all the time! He's lucky Daddy usually handles bathtime, I would have already given up & hauled him out!

X-Games

2009-05-17T16:24:00.007-04:00

My little daredevil (no babies were harmed in the making of this blog)

I don't know how he went so quickly from just barely toddling around to standing up on the back of his mini ATV! Of course I didn't get a shot of him standing straight up on the back of it (look Ma! no hands!) because I was rushing over to move him away from the TV stand. I thought the one of him laying on the floor was pretty funny with this series. He actually did that while he was sitting on it properly though. Then he just laid there kicking it & hitting the horn button which gave me the time to grab the camera again. B warned me that the climbing phase was a challenge.. here we go..

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-04-30T22:30:00.001-04:00

I love Chuck E Cheese (and apparently Bob the Builder as well)! Mama and Daddy took me there today to celebrate my birthday and I didn't know what to look at first. After we got our tokens & ordered pizza, they let me play in the 'toddler zone' where I started off with the Bob the Builder ride. I was still a little groggy from the nap I took in the car so it took a few minutes to realize how cool it was. After a few bites of food (Daddy let me try some of the cheese from his pizza too), I was ready to get back to the games. I played on the slide, rode a few other rides, played Toddler Whac (thats whac-a-mole with ABCs - not whacking toddlers!), got on a giant rocking horse, and played some of the big kid games with Mama & Daddy. Of course, they had to weasel in on the fun & used some of my tokens to play a football toss game & skeeball (Mama was better at skeeball & Daddy broke the record on the football toss). Whenever given the chance, I walked back to Bob the Builder & tried to climb up into it myself. On the way out, I got a small ball & bat with our tickets.

Mama did drag me & Dad through Babies R Us since it's in the same shopping center, but I had my new bat to play with. Later in the afternoon we went to the credit union to open a savings account with my birthday money. They gave me a tshirt, some stickers & a growth chart with my account register. And even took my picture for my own ID card. We had Moes for dinner & Coldstone for dessert (I begged for ice cream & made Mama nervous as I walked around in circles on the concrete patio outside the ice cream shop). And I even got to stay up past my bedtime! I love being one!

posting probelms

2009-04-14T23:07:00.002-04:00

I've been having problems posting pictures from my iphone.... I'll try to figure out later this week or over the weekend. Very busy work week for me (still working at 11PM tonight & not even done yet! ugh)

Birthday Party

2009-04-13T21:10:00.000-04:00

Party invites went out last week! I had let indecision on the locale delay too long & then my first choice was taken. But Jack & I visited another park that I now think is a better choice. It was also taken so we changed the party to Sunday May 3rd.

I am so happy with how the invites came out even though I didn't have a great picture to use. (I had grand plans of doing a photo shoot with a party hat or balloons or cake. Time just did not sllow for that). The invites are cute anyway. And, thanks to a coupon at Walgreens, I had 50 of the printed for just $5!!! (I have a ton left over, but it was a 50 for $5 deal. Anybody want some extras?) I really love my Storybook software!

Now I can work on the fun parts of the party planning like theme, decorations and cake!

-- Post From My iPhone

Road trip

2009-04-10T15:02:00.002-04:00

We're ok our way to the beach for Easter weekend. Just stopped at the SC welcome rest stop for a quick diaper change & leg stretch.

-- Post From My iPhone

Cousin Jacqueline

2009-04-10T00:05:00.001-04:00

Jaxon has a new cousin! Miss Jacqueline Rose was born yesterday afternoon. She is a sweet little lady and we got to finally meet her tonight. I have some cute video to post but I probably won't get to that until this weekend. (We head to the beach tomorrow). For now, here's a few pics.

-- Post From My iPhone

Walking video

2009-04-08T23:18:00.002-04:00

Video of the wild man!

He walked!

2009-04-04T20:46:00.002-04:00

While at Jack's parents house today, Jaxon walked!!!! We missed the first time but with some coaxing he showed off his new skill for us. (Actually, he did it as soon as we walked in the door but I misses it that time too because I was gabbing on the phone. But he did it one more time for me later).

He moves way too fast for my iPhone but I still thought this picture was fun. I'll try to get some video of him walking this week to post.

video

2009-03-30T10:18:00.002-04:00

I know many of you are getting blog updates via email only. When I post video, it does not come across in the email updates or give any indication that the video is missing from the email. I'll try to remember to mention there is a video so you will know to go to the website to view it. You can click on the title of the blog post (from the email) to bring up the webpage. The last post, titled 'nearly 11 month update' had two videos of him walking with assistance.

Easter Egg Hunt pictures coming soon!

Nearly 11 month update

2009-03-25T22:16:00.006-04:00

Our little guy is almost a year old! He can now say Mama, Dada, No, Uh-oh, and Baby. He stands by himself for a few seconds at a time especially if he's busy paying attention to something else like a toy. Sometimes he dances without support & that usually makes him fall but is so cute. Just this weekend, he figured out how to use his walking toys. He'll push them all over the room and right into the dogs if they don't move! So far, he hasn't tried to take a step on his own even though we have of course tried to coax him to do so. Inevitably he drops to his knees or just lunges forward without moving his feet. Mealtimes are becoming more interesting as he prefers to feed himself finger foods. He does try to use a spoon but I only let him play at that after the meal is done or we end up with a giant mess. Birthday party invites will go out as soon as I figure out where we are having the party (I think my first choice is not going to work out).

Swingtime

2009-03-13T00:13:00.001-04:00

Lost my first post & too tired to retype it. So here's the pics which is what everybody wants anyway.

-- Post From My iPhone

Daddy

2009-03-13T00:07:00.001-04:00

Gargle

2009-03-12T22:06:00.006-04:00

I don't know where he learned to gargle. There he was, sitting on the floor holding his purple straw-sippy-cup thing (thanks Bushie), sipping water & then tilting his head back to loudly gargle. Hysterical. Of course I couldn't get my camera fast enough, but he kinda did it again later so here's a little video.

Just like his parents, JP is an electronics junky! He loves cell phones, cordless phones, entertainment centers, cameras, & remotes. And has an uncanny ability to actually use these items! We started him off by letting him play with an old remote with no batteries but now that's no fun (doesn't beep or light up at all). He progressed to the cordless phone but after speed-dialing great-grandma one night, I try to keep him away from it (unsuccessfully most of the time). I gave in on the iPhone & just ended up downloading some actual apps designed for toddlers. This one is cute (and the only one he can operate himself), it has pictures of animals and when he touches them, you hear "This is the sound a dog makes, bark bark". His latest development is finding the button on the computer that will turn it completely off. Not fun for Mama & Daddy.

Cropping & Fundraising

2009-03-10T21:40:00.003-04:00

Saturday,my Creative Memories team held a Crop for the Cure benefiting the American Heart Association. Several scrapbookers got together and spent the day cropping. All crop fees went directly to the AHA and we even had a silent auction. I worked on a baby album during my crop time! We had snacks, lunch & seven hours of cropping. It was a lot of fun & we hope to repeat the event in the fall.

If you are local to the Triangle, please check out our silent auction page & bid to help us continue our fundraising! Thanks!

iPhone addiction

2009-03-01T02:02:00.002-05:00

My sorority sister S has given me a hard time lately about my
stagnated blog. While I do have valid reasons for falling behind
(work, baby, reading a ridiculously long book), one of the biggest
probs lately has been my iphone addiction. I admit it. I have a
problem. Jack will vouch, I have the thing in my hands all the time.
It's funny that I've had it for over a year and still get so
excited. Thank you AppStore! Here's an example of my handiwork. This
is an impressionist painting of Elmo (LOL) that I made from an iPhone
pic I took near Halloween. I do have actual useful apps on my phone
too, but they don't lend themselves to pictures and what fun is a blog
without a picture? Oh, and I am posting this blog from my iPhone. Of
course.

Big Man

2009-02-28T21:19:00.009-05:00

Here's a new pic of our big man! Last Saturday we went to Fayetteville to see family & this was taken at a pizza joint there. I just loved this shot because you can see his little personality. I think he has a little bit of a fascination with teeth. His Grammy picked out the new hat which I just love. It's not actually camo like it appears, but bunches of little green geckos!

Jax is now cruising pretty well on the furniture & can occasionally stand on his own for a few seconds. He's fast when crawling now that he's mostly given up the army crawl & he's going to be a climber. He can crawl up onto the bed (our mattress is directly on the floor) all by himself. Of course, he'll try to climb just about everything else too. It is so cute watching him try to climb INTO the bathtub but some of the other things he tries to climb are a little more nerve-racking. We recently taught him how to crawl off the mattress backwards (thanks to advice from other co-sleeping mamas I 'met' online, I never would have thought to try to teach him that) in an effort to keep him from flopping down face first. It took him a little while to figure out what we were teaching, but now it cracks me up to watch him do it. He'll crawl down to the end of the bed, then start turning his body to the side so he can sling his feet off the edge. Then he pushes himself backwards until his feet hit the floor at which point he gives us a big toothy grin (and I do lots of clapping & goofy cheering). He's so smart... says the non-biased mama. Sometimes he'll remember to do the same thing off the couch, but it's a lot higher so we still have to help him there.

Jaxon's other recent updates:

- Has 4 teeth now with a 5th trying to pop through this week

- Eating more adventurous non-pureed foods lately including diced plain tofu, yogurt, spaghetti bolognese, mushroom alfredo, rice cakes, Baby Mum-Mums (some sort of rice biscuit thingy), avocado chunks, Mexican rice, strawberry pieces & shredded cheese (but still doesn't like peas, go figure).

- Still nursing a few times a day plus one bottle of expressed milk in the afternoon with the occasional bottle of formula when Mama hasn't pumped when she should.

- Drinks water from a straw very well but not a 'regular' sippy cup

- Throws things when mad (which is sometimes funny & sometimes so not funny)

- Favorite toys are the cat, remote control, iPhone, home phone, DVD shelf & tablespoon - in that order.

Sunday morning

2009-02-22T23:47:00.000-05:00

Iphone cameras suck but I had to catch this moment. (I can hear Jack
already, it's a phone not a camera!). I was beat from being out late
last night so I turned on Noggin to entertain Jax. We've just started
letting him watch the occasional show and there are two he seems
particularly interested in. Yo Gabba Gabba & Jacks Big Music Show.
This morning JBMS had a goofy story about a music genie that liked to
yodel. I think it looks like the cat is watching too.

Quick weekend

2009-02-22T23:40:00.000-05:00

I really forgot how quickly the weekends fly by when you are working.
Friday afternoon I took Jaxon for his 9 month portraits which I can't
wait to see. He took a little while to warm up to Ms. Geri this time
but he did great. Afterwards we went out for Mexican, then spent the
rest of the evening at home. Saturday after I met a ChiO in Cary, Jax
& I headed to Fayetteville to see my Grandma. She had hip surgery a
few weeks ago and was in a rehab center until this Friday. She seemed
to be getting around pretty well considering. Timing worked out that
we also got to visit with Grammy, uncles Chris & Dave, and cousins
Cody & Landon. Pictures to follow soon.

how much is that puppy in the window?

2009-02-07T21:42:00.003-05:00

Don't you just love that doggie towel? Jaxon loves baths but usually hates the post-bath time. Apparently its no fun to put clothes back on.

Jaxon 9mo checkup

2009-01-31T21:29:00.002-05:00

At Jaxon's 9mo checkup, he weighed in at 18lbs 3oz. His length is 26.5cm and his head is 45.5cm. He's at 25% on weight, 10% on height & 50% on head. It was a short visit since they really only needed to check his measurements & give him 2 shots (final HepB & a Flu shot).

Patience

2009-01-22T21:48:00.002-05:00

Everyone always asks me how the baby & the dogs are doing together. Here's a sample. Such a sweet doggie.

Another recall

2009-01-21T13:37:00.002-05:00

More recall news - Fisher Price Rainforest Playyard

http://www.babycenter.com/204_simplicity-play-yards-recalled-following-child-injuries_10305199.bc?scid=momsbaby_20090120:3&pe=2UuBAps

Storkcraft Cribs

http://www.babycenter.com/204_recalled-half-a-million-stork-craft-cribs_10305209.bc?scid=momsbaby_20090120:3&pe=2UuBAps

This is brought to you by the letter J

2009-01-19T21:37:00.000-05:00

Just for fun:

My sorority sister Nicole posted a game on her blog, the "Alphabet Super Game", where you name 10 of your favorite things that start with a letter. Then you assign a letter to the others playing the game. She gave me the letter J... now I wonder why? :)

1. Jaxon - Of course my baby boy is one of my favorite things!
2. Jack - Love of my life (all together now - aww.. )
3. Jaqueline - The spelling is still to be decided, but this is the name my brother-in-law & his girlfriend are giving to their baby girl, my first niece! She's due in March!
4. Jerry, Joy, & Joe - just a few of my uncles & aunts whom I love
5. Jensen Ackles - one of my favorite actors who has been in two of my favorite shows (Smallville & Supernatural).
6. January & June - I love the 'newness' of January, the chance to start clean, but I also love summertime
7. Japanese food - my #2 favorite food (Mexican is #1)
8. Jacket - I love my black leather jacket, I hate that it's starting to show wear & tear
9. Junk food
10. Jesus

Only a few of my friends have blogs, so I don't have a lot of letters to hand out. Here's a few, play if you want:

Bethany - P :)
StephE - L
Suz - M

Peanut Butter

2009-01-19T15:43:00.003-05:00

FYI for all the mommies of peanut butter lovers: there is a recall due to possible Salmonella contamination. My understanding is that actual retail jars of peanut butter are not affected but bulk PB sold to other companies is the focus. So anything made with peanut butter you should check out like cookies & crackers. Several companies are pulling items just in case. Here's Food Lion's info on the stuff they are recalling including some Keebler & Little Debbie crackers. Check out the FDA for more info.

Working 9 to 5

2009-01-14T17:24:00.002-05:00

Back to the grind! I started back to work on Jan. 5th and so far I think it's been pretty easy on our family. Jack has been home with us for awhile so he knows all the routines & we've gotten used to both being home together everyday.

The first week we all got a little stir-crazy thanks to the weather but otherwise have been doing well. Jack & Jax have gotten into their own little routine & then I join them for meals. I try to stay out of sight most of the day (though I do need breaks) because Jaxon sometimes gets upset if I am coming & going out of the room. We also learned that I'll wake him from naps if I don't close my door when I'm on conference calls (oops). It took me a little longer to get used to pumping regularly again as I'd pretty much only been doing that when Jaxon & I were separated. Plus trying to setup & do that while working on the computer is a lot more awkward than lounging on the bed watching TV!

Overall, we're pretty happy with the situation so far and so thankful that we didn't have to put Jaxon in daycare!

Job cut rumors

2009-01-14T17:16:00.008-05:00

If you've heard the rumors (here, here and here and here for example) you might be wondering if I'm being affected by IBM's supposed job cut that is coming later this month (possibly this week). At this point, it is still all rumor as IBM is not confirming anything.

I was informed the week I came back to work that I (and the two folks that I have left on my team) are being transferred to another division. I just met with my new manager on Thursday and didn't get much information from him. (He is located in Cali so I won't be meeting him in person anytime soon). But I can't imagine they'd go through the trouble of transferring us just to lay us off so I think that I'm safe.

I'm not sure yet what I think of this transfer, but supposedly we're going to be doing the same work just for another manager. Our initial meeting with our new manager leads me to believe that we'll have less opportunity for career growth (promotions & raises) in the short term but more freedom from paper-pushing & busy work. It's not official until Jan. 29th, so it'll probably take a few months for me to really know the impact.

Alabama trip

2009-01-06T22:08:00.004-05:00

Since we had the time, I thought it'd be good to visit my brother and my grandparents who I usually only see once or twice a year. We started off by heading to Alabama to see my grandparents in Huntsville. Let me tell you that a 12 hour car ride by yourself with an infant can be trying! He actually did great for most of the ride, we stopped often for diaper changes, food, etc. But the last two hours he screamed non-stop. There was nothing I could do to help him but get us to our destination. Jaxon loved having all the attention to himself! Grandpa rocked & held him for pretty much all of his naps :) and he was able to crawl around just about everywhere in the house. His favorite activities were climbing up in Grandmas magazine basket and thru Grandma's coffee table. We got to see lots of people while there including one of my elementary school teachers, my friends mother, and many of Grandma & Grandpas friends. Jaxon increased his physical skills while in Alabama by learning to climb stairs! We don't have any at our house to practice so he'll have to work on that one when he's at Papi's house.

Coupon time

2009-01-06T22:03:00.001-05:00

Chattanooga

2009-01-03T23:21:00.006-05:00

Jax & I spent a week travelling to Alabama & Tenn. earlier this month. We visited my grandparents & my brother. More details later.. but here's a few great pics my brother took.

Big Cats love Christmas Trees?

2009-01-03T22:38:00.002-05:00

My cuz Shannon was on TV, check her out & the odd story about Christmas trees. She went with her boyfriend Brad.

I can feed myself, thank you!

2008-12-31T15:13:00.001-05:00

Well.. maybe there is some room for improvement...

Here comes Santa!

2008-12-18T16:15:00.005-05:00

We took Jaxon to see Santa this morning at Crabtree Valley Mall. He was neither impressed or concerned. He did start to pucker up for a little fuss right at the end, after we'd taken several pictures. He's going again tonight with his aunt & uncle for more pictures with Santa.

Deck the halls

2008-12-02T22:24:00.001-05:00

After skipping decorations last Christmas (bah humbug, I know, but we were okay with it), this year we dug everything back out. A lot of it was lost to mildew two years ago (we do not have a suitable spot for storing our decorations) so we had to get a few new things. I found cheap ($.99) stockings at Target and a matching ($5) tree skirt. I actually like the felt tree skirt, it lays nice & I don't have to stress if the cat scratches it up. I had already bought the doggies & kitty new stockings at the dollar store last year after Christmas so we still had those. It's really not obvious here, but we have two kinds of white lights on the tree. There were two strands of standard white lights left in our stash and we updated with two new strands of LED (energy-saving!) white lights. The LED ones are actually a blueish white (and BRIGHT, don't stare right at them) while the old fashioned ones are more of a yellow. And this is the first time we've had a real tree! I think we're both happier with this choice.

Help local animals

2008-12-02T21:04:00.002-05:00

Vote for a shelter to win $100,000! I voted for SAFE HAVEN FOR CATS, which is where we got our kitty Thumbtack. They are a NO-KILL shelter in North Raleigh and were #2 on the results list for NC when I voted.

Still here

2008-12-01T23:24:00.002-05:00

I've totally dropped the ball on blogging yet again. I have tons of pics & updates from the last couple of weeks (birthdays, thanksgiving, baby shower & more) that I need to get to.. soon I promise.

2008-11-25T14:21:00.001-05:00

I found this older pic in my draft folder & thought I'd post it anyway. This was back from November at a sorority sisters baby shower. JP was one of 3 babies there. I have this pic up on my desk right where I can see it while I'm working. :)

No more phone books

2008-11-21T15:19:00.002-05:00

I was very excited today to come across this website - Yellow Pages Goes Green. Jack & I receive multiple phonebooks each year that we never even open. Who needs to? If we are at home, we use the internet. If we are out, we still use the internet (on my phone). Worse case, we'd call 411. I'm so glad to be able to stop unsolicited delivery of phonebooks to our house!

Toothus Eruptus

2008-11-18T16:23:00.005-05:00

If you can get a him to grin and then look fast, you just might see Jaxon's first tooth. It popped up this weekend on the bottom gums and is a sharp little bugger. I sure won't be sticking my fingers too close to him anymore.

He's also doing an army crawl/scoot thingy (which he's doing right now trying to get to one of the dogs, boy are they in trouble now!). It is so funny & sneaky. It doesn't look like he's moving very fast, but if you turn your back he's suddenly moved several feet. And he can do pretty good turns too, I just looked back at him and now he's off after something else on his playmat in the opposite direction of the dog (with the dog now licking his feet!).

I just got a sneak peak at our portraits from the weekend and they were fantastic! I can't wait to get my hands on all of them (still being edited). I do need to get him some new clothes though. In one of the pics it looks like he's got on shorts but it's just his jeans that were too small riding up (I had to put him in a disposable diaper instead of cloth just to get them on!). I've only seen four of the pics so far but I think I already know which one is going on our Christmas cards.

2008-11-17T16:29:00.002-05:00

I spent a ridiculous amount of time on this hunt today! But if you register, you get a coupon code to use for discounts at many sites (not necessary to find the icon to get the discount).

Family weekend

2008-11-16T22:02:00.005-05:00

Please forgive the red-eye.. I snapped these pics quickly this weekend & have not taken the time to edit it out yet. We had a busy few days with Jack's family in town & family portraits today.

Jack's grandparents & cousin came down from Balitmore so we spent most of Friday & Saturday with them. Jax was of course the main attraction, but we also played cards, watched football, had yummy food & just generally enjoyed the time together. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperative on the day they were all over at our house, so we had to bring in (and wipe down the paws of) four rowdy dogs and close them up in the bedroom.

I can't wait to see how the pics from today's photo shoot turned out! My girlfriends at Lux Photography met us at Pullen Park near NC State to take family portraits. We had a little trouble as Jaxon is not big on smiling for the camera, only when the camera is put down! It also got a little colder than I thought, so his little nose was pink toward the end, we'll see if that affected any of the pictures.

6 1/2 months

2008-11-12T23:59:00.002-05:00

The little man is 6.5 mos old already! We're still enjoying having us all home together and have been pretty lowkey lately. Starting this weekend, the rest of my maternity leave is going to be hectic! We have so many birthdays, holidays and other plans coming up that I can barely keep it all straight. I'll probably fall behind on posting these next couple months but will try to keep it up at least a few times before January.

So what's Jaxon up to? He's had some playdates, got to see Grammy & the greatgrandparents, tagged along on all our errands of course, spent another overnighter while Mama had a night out, and then more time with the Shipleys. Today he had his first big-boy bath! We put him in the tub without the baby bathtub so he could sit up & play. He doesn't really sit on his own & the addition of a slippery tub didn't help that, so we held him up the whole time. But he seemed to enjoy it, especially when he could splash. Apparently we need to get him some bath toys .. all we had were two rubber ducks. Still no teeth yet & we've added several new foods (pears, green beans, carrots) recently. He's started trying to drink from our cups so we let him if we have water & that's pretty funny. So I pulled out his new sippy cup but he just chews on the spout, I think he likes the regular cups better for drinking. Sleep is still an issue in the 7PM-11PM timeframe but the rest of the night is pretty calm. We're back to cosleeping more than cribsleeping but most of the time I really don't mind. I'm just glad he's sleeping when I'm sleeping for the most part. Socially, he's become more concerned about new people or ones he's not seen in awhile, but is getting better about his anxiety around the men in the family. Once he warms up though, he plays & laughs with anyone. He's very clingy to me which is both cute & annoying depending on the day/time/circumstances. We'll see how this works out for his two upcoming photo shoots (one family shoot & one just for him).

Pictures

2008-11-12T23:35:00.005-05:00

Kitty decided the cloth diaper stack was a comfy place to sleep

Jaxon with Aunt Sophie & Uncle Noah

Playdate with HJ & MH who made birthday cake for MH's mommy

Mama's night out for KK's birthday!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T20:33:00.004-04:00

I hope everyone had a fun & safe Halloween! Jaxon was a chili pepper and made the trick-or-treat rounds of family in Raleigh before staying at Dad's for his first sleepover. His costume was a family hand-me-down tradition that at least 4 other family members including his Aunt Sophie & Uncle Noah have worn. It was hard to hold him with his little feet stuck into the pointy end of the pepper, ha! And I did make it through his first time away from me without too much freaking out & no tears! I was thrilled to get a full night of sleep, but I sure was glad to see him this afternoon!

6mo checkup

2008-10-30T22:17:00.000-04:00

Our sweet little guy has the funniest stats. He weighed in at 17lbs 3oz and was 24 3/4in long. which put him at 50% on weight, 5% on height, and 45% on head size! So he's more average on weight this time, lower on height and jumped up on head size. He had to get 3 shots and one oral vaccine. He did great with the shots this time. Cried of course during the actual shots, but was over it shortly after Daddy picked him up! I had planned to nurse him for comfort like last time but he didn't even need it. We just waited until his next regular feeding. He did give the doc the puckered-up face and a little crying like he does with most men right now. Doc did most of the rest of the exam either with Jack holding baby or with Jack right there next to him. That seemed to work fine and keep him content. The mirror mounted on the wall by the table was definitely his favorite part of the checkup. He played on his tummy staring & banging on the mirror, such a cutie.

Sweet Potatoes Everywhere

2008-10-30T11:48:00.001-04:00

Jax started sweet potatoes last week... yummy.. (He also started applesauce & bananas this week, but they didn't really lend to funny photos or video).

The next day, I had a random chance to gather sweet potatoes directly from one of the local farms. They were done with the harvest and were letting folks take what was left. Of course all the 'big ones' were gone but there were plenty to be had. I wandered out in the fields in my Rainbows (ha) with one of my reusable shopping bags to see what I could find. I don't usually eat or buy sweet potatoes, so I wasn't 100% sure on how to determine the best ones. A helpful lady basically told me to get the biggest ones... duh. I filled my bag as full as I could and Jack made fries & chips from them this weekend (soooo good!!).

Fair food heaven

2008-10-22T19:52:00.010-04:00

Fried cheese. Fried mac & cheese. Fried pecan pie... well you get the picture. It was all sooo good & I'm already wishing we were there again!

We took advantage of our current at-home status to go to the fair during the day. Since we usually go at night, this was a nice change, but it was still crowded. Jaxon was very alert and interested in all the people walking by. We tried to show him the animals & the rides and he really just wasn't impressed. Except the piglets! I guess the squealing got his attention. They really were funny squealing & fighting with each other! The rest of the time he just looked around from his stroller and never really made a peep except when he was hungry. The rest of us indulged ourselves in all the lovely fair food. The new thing this year was fried pecan pie which is one of Jack's favorite pies. He said it was really good. The only thing new I tried was the fried mac&cheese but it was not all that - tasted like Kraft blue-box mac.

Some other cute pics to share from this week:

Child Seat Safety

2008-10-19T10:36:00.002-04:00

Are you using your child car seat correctly? 5 out of 6 car seats are installed incorrectly! Wow!

I came across this video in my random web surfing and it prompted me to review our car seat usage. (Don't you love the old fashioned car seats in that video? Scary). After watching the video I referred back to our owners manual for the seat & found a few items we needed to adjust which I did immediately. I challenge each of you to take some time this week to review your car seat usage even if you have been using it awhile & think you are doing it right (we thought we were). If you do not have your manual, you can either call the manufacturer for a new one (should be a phone number on the seat itself), or check their website for a PDF version.

We found that the soft strap covers I picked up recently at a consignment sale were preventing us from putting the harness clip at the right level. Soft straps are no good if they don't hold him in properly. We removed those & I also re-adjusted the shoulder straps to the proper level (they should be at or below the shoulders, not above). I also removed the toys from the handlebar (at least while in the car) after the video pointed out that these could hit the baby during an accident. I talked to a friend about the position of the handle itself & am wondering if we should put it down. Our manual says that is okay it the upright position but she said the customer service told her not to have it up (same manufacturer) even though it was clearly different information than what was in the manual. (I am not even sure if it's possible in the Mustang). One item we were unable to change was the location of the seat. It is safer in the middle seat but this may not be feasible for everyone. For us it's not possible. Jack has to have his seat back so far because of his height and the Mustang has bucket seats in the back so the seat would not fit in the middle.

I had heard that fire stations locally were no longer doing checks due to liability (don't remember where I got that from) but that's not exactly accurate. The City of Raleigh does offer a car seat safety program but you must request an appointment which is only available at a few local stations & they will education you on how to install the seat. You can also go to BuckleUpNC.org to find other places for a check. For those in other states, the resource page of buckleupnc.org has links to programs around the country. SafeKids.org is another resource. I found a couple of places that are nearby I can try.

AB turns one!

2008-10-18T20:22:00.006-04:00

I really failed on the photography at AB's birthday party so forgive me.. you'll see this is not up to my usual standards. Sadly, I had setup some good shots, but at some point had messed up the settings on the camera (prob when I was holding the baby). Ugh. Anyway we had a good time at the party. AB was gorgeous, really got into the gift opening portion, & was not all that interested in the cake (ha!). Jaxon did great, mostly giving everyone is patented serious stare. He thought AB's new gifts were pretty cool especially the ones pictured here.

Catching up

2008-10-17T20:58:00.022-04:00

I am still here. I have not abandoned the blog. Not intentionally anyway. For the last few weeks I've had items to post but each time I sat down to the computer I got distracted. Can bloggers have writers block? Hmm..

So this post is my attempt at catching up. I'll attempt to make it a quick summary of the last fifteen days but I am prone to lengthy descriptions.

Jaxon went to his first football game at the beginning of the month! We usually go to NCSU's Homecoming with the alumni association so he came along with us and did amazing! We carried him (didn't want to deal with a stroller at the game) either in my sling or Jack's arms, which was a bit rough from our parking spot in practically the next county. The alumni assoc. tailgate left a lot to be desired, so we met up with KK briefly before going into the game. We found a great family bathroom (with a nice changing table) in the newer part of the stadium so I was able to get Jax taken care of before we went down to our seats. Our seats turned out to be really good, about 10 rows up from the end zone. That's a lot better than where our seats have been for previous homecomings. I think Jax was mesmerized by all the newness. He was quiet but very alert and surprisingly sat rather still through most of the game. Everyone around us was impressed at how well he behaved though he did once grab the hair of the man in front of us, ha! He downed a 10oz bottle at halftime which was really the only point he had fussed at all. And he even somehow slept through an entire quarter in my arms. We thought we'd have to leave early but he did fine & we really only left a few minutes early because of the long walk back. After the game we went by to see Gigi and ended up having her babysit while we ran to PeiWei for dinner (soooo good!). Papi was at the UNC game so we missed him. We also stopped by Grandpop & Grandmas house while on that side of town. Uncle Chris, Uncle Brinn & Aunt Gabi were all there too so it turned out to be a big family day. Jaxon was beat by the time we finally got home.

Another reason I've not been posting regularly is Jaxon's new sleep patterns have been wearing on us. I got to a point this week when I told Jack that I wished we were back to the days of feeding every 3 hours all night. At least then I knew what to expect, usually he was sleeping soundly between feedings, and I was actually less sleep-deprived than I've been the last few weeks. So here's our routine lately: bedtime ritual sometimes starting with a bath (such a cute soap covered thing) and always ending with nursing, then sleep 30-45 mins, wake up screaming, soothe by mama or daddy, sleep 30-45mins, scream, soothe, repeat. Usually he gets in bed around 7pm and the fits usually stop around 10pm. Then he sleeps until normally 4-5am when he wakes for his morning nursing & finally gets up around 7am. Some nights are much worse, very few are any better. Our best guess is that this is all related to teething. When it first started (see catch a cold) we thought it was teething or an ear infection, but then he had that little cold. He's well over that now, but the night wakings continue. I watched a video tonight on a baby in a similar situation (though worse) and it gave me some hope. See the video here (4mins). I've already started reading the book mentioned, and will review it when I am through.

Jaxon is still not 100% sure about his Bumbo seat, but we try it every few days. It seems to be more fun if there is a doggie nearby as there was in this video. I love his little 'huff' at the end. He's getting very close to mobile which is my theory on why he's not crazy about this seat (holds him too still). He lunges for things he wants when he's in your lap or arms, can do some goofy scooting moves using mostly his face & legs, loves to stand while you hold him up, and recently started this tent move where he pushes up on his hands & feet into a A-shape briefly. I think he'll be crawling very soon.

This week we started Jax on rice cereal. His first foray into the solid food world seemed to be enjoyable. I'm not sure how much of it he actually swallowed, but that's to be expected the first time. I mixed it very thin using expressed milk based on what we'd read, but what a mess! I knew this was a messy experience, but I wasn't expecting him to actually blow bubbles in the food on the spoon. I think that it was mixed too thin for his age (maybe that advice is better for the parents who start cereal on younger babies). I had better luck when mixing it a bit thicker the following couple days. Our local grocery did triple coupons last week and I had a ton of baby coupons so I stocked up on all sorts of organic cereals & baby foods for him. We still plan to make our own but I'll still stock up whenever deals come by for convenience. I'm sure we'll have more fun pics with lovely carrots & other pretty colored food all over the place soon!

How do you 'catch' a cold?

2008-10-03T22:52:00.004-04:00

I knew better. I really did. I just had to let everyone know that JP was sleeping thru the night (whether real or perceived, the pressure to get him sleeping thru the night was strong & though I tried to ignore it, I was so glad to tell everyone that we'd "finally" hit this milestone).

But the mommy-jinx got me.

The VERY next night, JP woke up suddenly & screaming within less than an hour of going to sleep. This was not his usual fussing, it was painful, face turning red, 'help me' screaming. We tried everything to calm him and nothing was working. No fever, no symptoms other than the screams. We thought maybe it was teething so we gave him some Tylenol and I tried to calm him with nursing. Eventually he fell asleep next to me. I was NOT going to move him like I usually do so he stayed there all night. He still slept most of the night thankfully. The next three nights were very similar though not quite as bad. We tried altering his sleep schedule & moving his reflux meds to night-time but neither seemed to help.

During this time, I'd been dealing with a sore throat myself which finally turned into a bit of a stuffy nose. It has been minor, but we think that's what was bothering him. Last night he sounded awful and could barely breathe. I took on the unenviable task of putting saline drops in his nose. He did not think much of that. It went over better today, so I think it was the combo of it being a new experience and his already worked-up state. Doc & Gigi both had pretty much the same advice - elevate the head of his bed, saline drops, humidifier. Call if it gets worse or if he gets a fever. It's only bothering him at night, and apparently only in that first couple of hours of bedtime, so he'll be fine.

But he's still technically sleeping through the night! Ha...

The timing was probably bad, but we moved him to the crib this week as well. I wouldn't have done it while he was having a rough week, except that he really was getting too big for the bassinet. It wasn't a big deal to him but has been an adjustment for me. He's really not slept in there more than a few hours since he was born. So I'm not used to the little things like remembering to put the siderail down BEFORE I try to gently move the sleeping baby to the bed. Picture shorty me trying to lean over the rail while my feet come off the floor and I'm crushing my ribs with the rail.. all the while trying not to plop the kid down too hard on the mattress - oops woke the baby. Or trying to hold him still in my arms while figuring out yet again how to operate the siderail.. oh yeah, lift first, then kick.. CLANK... oops woke the baby. Of course I hear you.. put him in the crib 'drowsy but awake'.. yea right..

The Cost of Diapers (CD Part 2)

2008-10-02T23:12:00.006-04:00

Did you know that disposable diapers through potty-training usually costs $2000-3000?! That's a lot of money! A simple cloth diaper system (I'll explain all the types another time) can be very inexpensive but $300-500 is probably most realistic. That's a savings of at least $1700 on the first child. Once you add additional children, the savings are even higher as most cloth diapers will still be in great shape for years of use. As I mentioned yesterday, this was the primary factor that had me sold on cloth.

There are a ton of different types & brands of cloth diapers. The most economical choice in CDing is always prefolds with covers. Basically this is the typical white cloth diaper like what some parents use as burp cloths. Covers vary, but the wrap style is most common. A basic prefold costs $2 each and a typical velcro-type wrap costs $10. (There are a ton of articles and calculators on the costs of diapers, but I'm going to use what I've seen or paid myself at my favorite and most frequented companies). Prefolds usually come in two sizes, infant & toddler, while covers can come in all sorts but normally S,M, & L. We have about 30 prefolds which is more than enough to get through 2-3 days, plus you need at least 3-4 covers in each size (depending on your laundering schedule). So thats $120 for prefolds & $120 for covers from newborn through potty-training, at a total of $240! This is the most basic system and the costs obviously go up as you add quantity or more variety. Some of the most popular (and what we use at night-time) are BumGenius and FuzziBunz which are easy to use and require no folding. These usually are about $15-20/each but even with splurging on a few of these, cloth is still very inexpensive.

If considering it, you should also take into consideration laundering. We found our water bill did not increase at all in the 5 months we've been CDing. Our electricity bill has been slightly higher in these 5 months compared to the same time last year. But, we've also been home at lot more often including cooking at home more and keeping the A/C cranked, so it's hard to say how much of the increase is from the the washer/dryer. If you want to be sure, there are calculators online that will help you figure out the cost of the extra loads, we just didn't think it was worth the effort to calculate.

The other day a friend asked me if it was still financially beneficial at this point to switch over to cloth from disposables (her son is 13mos). My gut reaction was that yes it would be, but let's figure it out. She purchases diapers today at a club warehouse for $32 which covers about 35 days of diapering (176 diapers/pack). For ease, we'll only calculate the cost up to the start of potty-training which WebMD says usually will start between 22-30 months (ending at about 38 months for boys & 36 months for girls). So my friends baby has at least 9-10 months of diapers left at a cost of $288-320. If she goes with the simple prefold system I outlined, she'll only need 30 prefolds in the toddler size and probably 4 covers in large. That's $60 for prefolds and $40 for covers at a total of $100. Is that worth it? Well yes, financially it is definitely cheaper and even leaves some room for some nice FuzziBunz. Of course there is more to it that just the money...

The Diaper Debate (CD Part 1)

2008-10-01T22:32:00.001-04:00

You have got to be crazy. That's what I said to Jack the first time he mentioned cloth diapers while I was pregnant. I didn't consider cloth even an option, like most new parents of our generation. Diapers are disposable, that's just how it is.

Fast forward eight or so months later, and I have to say I've done a complete 180. Now I'm the one explaining: No we are not crazy, Yes we wash them ourselves, No we are not hippies, Yes it is easy to do. Since so many of my friends are here with me in the diapering days of our lives, it seems I'm talking about our baby's fuzzy bum a lot. We are the only cloth diapering trio that we know, we sometimes get honest questions from interested parents. In fact though I'd already started this post, I even had a request to blog about it!

For a quick background, I'm the oldest of four siblings and the oldest of all my cousins, on both sides of the family. Being the oldest and female, I'd changed a fair share of diapers before even getting married. All disposable of course. I knew what to do with disposable diapers and disposable wipes - ball it up and throw it away. I even knew how to work various diaper disposable contraptions that 'seal away' the odors. I had NO IDEA what to do with real cloth diapers. When we first considered it, I had visions of archaic large flat diapers that had to have some complex fold & pin method to wrap up baby. I had no confidence in my ability (or my husbands) to apply this method without poking holes in our child, nor in the feasibility or quality of cloth. Jack went to a daddy-only prenatal baby class (Daddy Bootcamp) where two new dads brought their babies in and spoke to the class. By luck, one was cloth diapering his little girl. Jack came home telling me about cloth diapers that look just like disposables. What? I didn't understand. He said they looked just like a 'regular' diaper, with velcro and elastic and everything. This is when the adventure started...

4wks old in his AIO diaper

As I do with just about everything else in my life, I turned to the web for answers. After a few weeks of researching cloth diapers (type in 'cloth diapers' in Google and see if you don't get information overload!), and the types, costs, washing methods, etc; I was convinced that it was the way to go. So what was the primary deciding factor? Well money mainly. But also that I thought we could do it. (What good is saving money if it's not feasible?). When I learned how much money we could save over disposables I was shocked and more than willing to give it a try. After five months of CDing, there are lots of reasons why we love it and are still doing it.

...to be continued.

10wks old in a prefold and cover

What goes around, comes around

2008-09-28T21:51:00.007-04:00

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Everyone knows these three R's these days, but how many of us put this into action? I've been thinking (and reading) a lot about 'being green' lately, which has been sort of a by-product of choosing to cloth diaper Jaxon. It's nearly impossible to research or purchase cloth diapers without being inundated with other green products or propaganda. I've always recycled the basics; plastic, glass, aluminium and newspaper plus use CFL light bulbs. But I know there are so many other ways we can help the environment, our wallets and our lives. Today, two different companies promoting green living caught my eye, one on TV and one on the web. I wanted to share these with you.

This evening while nursing Jaxon, I was flipping through the channels and stopped on Sara Snow's show on FitTV. Though I often find her ideals a little high (I'm sorry I'm not ever going to take a 5 minute shower), I like to see if I can learn something new that is feasible for me. She visited a company called IceStone that makes beautiful durable surfaces (kitchen countertops, bathroom vanities, flooring, etc) out of recycled glass and concrete. It looks similiar to other stone products but is renewable. Besides the recycled content, the products emit no VOCs and are manufactured in a day-lit factory. Plus the company has socially responsible programs such as free ESL classes for employees and advocates for greener practices in the community and industry. I have no idea what this equates to in cost to the consumer but is definitely something I'll consider when we either move to our next home or remodel the current one.

After finally getting Jaxon to sleep tonight (last two nights he's woken up less than an hour after bedtime with screaming unconsolable crying), I noticed something my brother had posted online. Rock/Creek Outfitters is running a promotion this month giving a discount to customers who bring in old T-shirts to be transformed into reusable shopping bags. As an avid shopper (aka woman), this is one of the areas where I have lately been trying to reuse and as a result; reduce. I picked up a reusable shopping bag from Target (they sell ones that fold up into a tiny wallet-size packet for $.99) which I have been using at, of course, Target but also the grocery store, the library, baby consignment sales, and anywhere else I can remember to use it. I was surprised and happy to find another larger reusable shopping bag from StrideRite shoes in my freebie kit from the fertility clinic reunion this month. If you are interested in reusable shopping bags & not in the Chattanooga area, you can find diy patterns online or purchase bags from multiple places (Google 'reusable shopping bag'). Many places sell canvas bags which are fine, but I prefer the ones that you can fold up & fit in my purse or diaper bag. Now you can even get cute ones if you don't like having a store logo plastered all over your bag. Some I want to try: RuMe ($28.50/set of 3), Flip&Tumble ($12ea), Envirosax ($8-24ea), & Baggu ($8). Of course I usually need more than just two bags so I may just have to send some of my favorite old tees down to my brother!

Shhh.. Baby Sleeping

2008-09-26T22:35:00.002-04:00

Jaxon slept through the night!

It took 4 months, 3 weeks and 5 days but he (we?) did it. Of course, I'll probably get the mommy jinx since I've told the whole world. But now when I get the dreaded question "Is he sleeping through the night?", I can honestly say yes. It seems like the last 5 months I've heard every story of babies that miraculously sleep through the night at 2 weeks old or have heard the pity in folks voices as they give me unsolicited sleep advice. The funny part is that since we started bed-sharing, co-sleeping, family bed.. whatever you call it, neither Jack or I have been particularly concerned about the night wakings (most nights). Those first few weeks, when Jaxon had his nights & days mixed up, were certainly rough! I won't lie. But once I started nursing him in a side-lying position, I was able to sleep pretty well even with him nursing every 2-3 hours all night. We were able to give up any nighttime bottle feedings so neither of us have to actually get out of bed, and Jack usually doesn't even wake up unless I ask him to change a diaper.

Over the last month, his sleep routine has been changing. He slowly was stretching out his nighttime feedings to a 5-6 hour stretch once a night. We moved up his bedtime to 7:30-8PM because he was getting too tired to stay up until his old 9PM bedtime. He was usually waking up around 2-3AM, and then every few hours after that. But last night he went down at 7:30PM and I didn't hear a peep out of him until 5AM!! (And that's even with Jack & I coming to bed at different times plus an accidental 4AM phone call we received). The good thing about the gradual change was that my milk supply was able to adjust slowly as well. Though the extra several hours last night still caused me to wake up sore. So you think he can do it two nights in a row? We'll see...

Playdates Galore

2008-09-25T20:08:00.000-04:00

Jaxon and I have been keeping busy lately! Over the last two weeks, we have been running around town to various playdates and lunches.

Last week we went to Durham to hang out at the mall with AH and her two kids (3 & 2mos) plus JJ and her son (2 1/2). We spent most of the time at the food court playground where Jaxon loved watching the big kids run around. While walking through the mall with them last week I got a kick out of how different our lives are now. The three of us used to go to the same mall on our lunch break, sans kids, to hit up the food court or one of the nicer restaurants. And then make a run by a store or two before rushing back to work after being gone too long. Now here we were all pushing stollers and barely all fitting into the Nordstrom's elevator. From there AH & I took the kids up to work to visit (JJ no longer works there so she didn't join us). Our cube of cubicles looked & sounded like a daycare while we were there!

Later in the week we went to see one of my high school friends in Wake Forest and her 3 year old twin boys. They've moved into a new house they have built and are still finishing parts of it. It was such a great house! She's pregnant with another boy and due in a few weeks so I'd wanted to catch up before she's too busy with a newborn. The boys were adorable and rowdy. They warmed up to me quickly (last time I saw them they were still crawling) and were very interested in baby Jax.

This week we had lunch with SB & her beautiful little girl who is 11 mos. Jaxon just stared at her most of the time while I marveled at all the milestones AB has passed that will sneak up on me soon enough. We also went out to JJ's house in Pittsboro with AH & kids again. I think we're going to try to make it a regular routine until AH & I have to go back to work. JJ's house was perfect for the older kids to run around and we were still sitting around chatting when her husband came home. He's an avid mustang enthusiast as well, so he and I always swap car stories on the rare occasions we are together. I let him take the stang for a spin which I think won me a friend for life.

More pics here

Baby Reunion Pics

2008-09-24T23:06:00.005-04:00

Carolina Conceptions posted the pictures from the baby reunion! Check them out at here. We're front & center right next to the twin stroller in the group shot :) It was so hot & almost everyone was holding their babies. Everyone (us included) kept running for the shade while they were trying to gather everyone up for the shot. Finally they just took one with those that were already together, lol. Oh, we didn't make it into any of the other shots that are posted so you don't have to click through all 70+ looking for us :) But they are really cute if you just like looking at babies. There's one that is so adorable- baby girl's shirt said 'product of hope, prayer, and Carolina Conceptions'.. some people are so creative.

Reunion Weekend

2008-09-14T23:41:00.001-04:00

Jaxon & I went to two reunions this weekend which kept us pretty busy. I'd already planned to attend my mothers family reunion when I found out that the fertility clinic was holding the first baby reunion. Luckily, Mom & I were able to work it out to attend both.

Saturday morning we headed over to the fertility clinic and thought we were in the wrong place at first. It looked deserted as we rounded the corner to the clinic, but they had blocked off the whole parking lot for the event. I heard they had around 300 people show up! I've never seen so many strollers in one place. We were welcomed by staff and stopped by several vendor tables. Then we registered for the door prizes before going under the deck to chat & get food. I got a chance to quickly speak to both of the doctors that helped us and walk around looking at all the lovely little babies! There were mostly singleton babes like Jax but there were plenty of twins and pregnant women plus a couple sets of triplets! There were some fun things for the older kids like a moonbounce and a train. The event was catered so we had burgers and hotdogs. Best of all, I won one of the door prizes! A $100 Visa giftcard!!

From there, we headed to Pilot Mountain for the family reunion. We stopped at a scenic overlook to grab a few pics...

Once we got checked into our hotel, we headed over to Uncle Bobby's for a cookout. Jaxon is fully into the 'men are scary' mode now and would have nothing to do with any of my male relatives, even Grandpa and my brother. He let any of my female relatives hold him.. oh well. The actual reunion was on Sunday which had a lot larger attendence. I don't know exactly how many people we had at the reunion, but Bobby did say our family is now up to something like 108 living decendants on this branch of the family tree! Wow! It was great to see so many family members especially since I'd not been to the reunion in a few years. One of my uncles was already down in Texas for disaster-related work (and another headed down there on Monday) so I hated we missed seeing him. But those of us who could make it all had a good time. There was lots of food, a door prize (one of Bobby's carvings), tons of visiting, and nice weather. All in all, a great weekend.

Click here for more pics

Dog Day Afternoon

2008-09-11T19:56:00.005-04:00

It might be an understatement to say I'm a sucker for animals.. especially dogs.

***pause for sarcastic comments from the peanut gallery***

Anyway, when I pulled into the neighborhood after lunch today, a stray lab mix crossed the street in front of me. By the time I got out of the car, the dog was out of sight. As I turned to go back in the house, I noticed another dog at about the same spot where the first had appeared. I grabbed the extra dog food out of Jack's trunk (leftovers from a previous car trip with one of the dogs) and headed off after it. I caught up to him a few houses down where he was pilfering cat food & water off a neighbors porch as an unconcerned cat stood by watching.

He was a big dog, a Rottweiler, and paid me no mind at all. I called to him several times while shaking the dog food, trying to determine his temperment before approaching. Once he had polished off the cat food, he searched around the porch & driveway for more food before noticing me. I threw a few pellets of food in his direction which scared him at first. Once he realized what I had, he came closer and in this fashion I led him down the street.. dropping pellets on the ground along the way. Out of habit mostly, I told him to sit for more food and he surprised me by doing just that. Certainly faster than any of mine would sit! I called Jack to bring out a water bowl and help me decide what to do. He was too covered in mange, fleas & dirt to take him to a shelter in our car so Jack called Animal Control while I kept an eye on the dog in the backyard.

He was a sweet and calm boy. I fed him treats which he repeatedly would sit for and take gently. He didn't mind being locked in the fenced yard at all and really just seemed unconcerned as if he knew he was safe. I led him on a tour around the yard, but after just one trip around he was satisfied and found a cool spot under the porch to hang out. He laid there quietly while I read a book (we were concerned about leaving him unattended as he may need to potty. Too many diseases could be passed to our pups that way so I had to watch for & clean up any poop).

When the officer came, the dog followed me to the gate but would not let the large man get ahold of him and retreated to the safety of the porch. As the man went for the grab pole, I coaxed him back out but again he retreated. The officer instead gave me the slip lead and a small can of cat food. With the food in hand, it was very easy to get him out from under the porch stairs (which he barely fit under as it was) and slip the lead on him. We took him out to the officers truck and with the aid of the food and the strength of the officer, he finally was safe in a crate. Mr. Officer said they'd had several reports of this particular Rottie but had been unable to catch him (not sure why, he was no trouble for me). He was being taken to the animal control center in Raleigh where hopefully he will be okay. I notified two of the Rottweiler rescues I know in the area and will call to check on him tomorrow. Once back in the house, I had to hand over all my clothes to be washed before leaving the foyer. With a baby and five animals, we can't have any fleas or other nasties getting in the house! And everyone, even the CAT, had to get an application of flea medicine. The dogs are used to it, but I had one angry cat on my hands!

10 Things I Love about Breastfeeding

2008-09-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

With the introduction of solid foods coming up soon, I've been doing a lot of reading so we'll know what & how we want to feed Jax. One article refered to starting solids as the beginning of weaning. Oh gosh! Mama's not ready for weaning! This article forced me to face the fact that he is eventually going to have to be weaned and he is going to grow up on me (NOOOOOOO!). That got me to thinking about all the things I love about breastfeeding and I thought I would share some of them here. Especially since those of you following this blog have heard so much about all my issues with breastfeeding. If you've wondered why I kept going through all difficulties, here ya go.

In no particular order:

It's FREE! Out of curiosity for this post, I calculated how much formula Jax would be taking now and looked up the cost of that formula (top selling brands). $140+ a month! With us out of work, that's extra $$ we don't have. We do give Jaxon some formula on occasion if I don't have any expressed milk but we're still working off the all sample cans we received in the mail, docs office or at the hospital.
Healthiest choice! Even the formula companies admit that breastfeeding is best. Jack & I agreed early that our goal was to make it a year with breastfeeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics breastfeeding policy states "Human milk is uniquely superior for infant feeding and is species-specific; all substitute feeding options differ markedly from it." and "It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired."

Only mama can do it! This one actually can be both a pro and a con depending on the day & time. But most of the time, I love that this is something that only I can do for my baby.

No Equipment! I've been almost exclusively nursing with only the occasional bottles over the last two months. Unless we are going to leave him, it's just easier to nurse him myself, even in public. So no worrying about bottles, bottle parts, bibs, coolers, and cleaning all those things.

Always have a meal ready! It's so easy to take the baby anywhere and I don't have to worry about whether or not I have enough bottles with me. One day I went to lunch with a friend and ended up staying at her house all afternoon. I fed Jaxon 2-3 times while I was out. I hadn't planned to be out that long and would not have had enough bottles with me.

Can fix anything! When all else fails, nursing makes him feel better. See my post on nursing after vaccines.

He loves it! Jaxon gets excited when he realizes I'm settling in to nurse. We usually nurse in the same spot and I lay him on the Boppy. Soon as he hits that Boppy, he opens his mouth, grabs my shirt & kinda grunts in excitement. It's funny & cute. By the time I get him in place & my shirt out of the way, he's latched on.

Bond baby! Of course all the books tell you how it's such a time to bond. Seems a little cliche. But it is a time for just the two of us (at home anyway). I hold his hand (to keep him from wriggling around but it's sweet just the same) and sometimes he hangs on to my shirt. Other times he looks up at me with those big blue eyes.. awww...

Laugh it up! Since he started smiling & laughing, he'll sometimes stop to smile or laugh. He lets go, leans back a little, looks at me & laughs or talks to me. Of course that sets me off laughing too.

Relaxing! It forces me to slow down. No matter what I was doing, once I sit down to nurse I am not going anywhere for at least 10 mins, usually more. Most times I end up relaxed & calm (lately I have not been doing anything else while nursing at home - no TV, books, etc).

Did i mention its free?

Are you ready for some Football?

2008-09-07T22:19:00.012-04:00

Though this milestone means little to Jaxon now, it was a big deal for us. His first STEELERS game!! His Grandpop had given him the black & gold getup he wore today (except his Steelers diaper, I got that on eBay). Grandpop & Grandma joined us for the game and it was a great start to the season. Steelers won 35-17 against the Texans.

When it rains, it POURS!

2008-09-06T19:42:00.001-04:00

Jaxon's update:
We started Jaxon on his new medicine yesterday. It's hard to tell yet, but it didn't seem like he was very fussy either day. He also has a little reaction from the vaccines - a large red spot about the size of my thumb that is still red today. He has been way off schedule the last few days though. He's gotten up at 7 (nearly 2hrs earlier than usual) even though he's going to bed at the same time. That then throws off our nap schedule. We still haven't adjusted really so we're just reacting to his sleepy cues more than putting him down on schedule. I don't know if this is going to be his new routine but hopefully not! With neither Jack or I working, there's not much reason to get up so early :)

Mama's update:
I woke up yesterday morning with some soreness and knew right away that it was a plugged milk duct. What else could possibly go wrong four months into breastfeeding?! I thought this was when it got easy. Luckily this is not a big deal compared to the other problems. Reading about plugged ducts makes it sound much worse than it really turned out to be. I had a tender lump on one side first thing in the morning. The only treatments are to keep the milk drained (nurse or pump) and apply moist heat (shower or wet cloth) so thats what I did all day. It was pretty painful & red by the evening but I could tell the lump was loosening up. Right now it doesn't hurt at all and the lump is nearly gone. The books say to call the doc if it continues past three days but looks like that won't be necessary.

What's up Doc?

2008-09-04T23:23:00.009-04:00

One thing new moms dread is vaccines. Besides the debate on whether or not to vaccinate & when to vaccinate (my sister Steph already covered this one pretty good), there's the added dread of baby's reaction. The first time we saw Jax get a shot at his 1mo checkup (they take them away to do that in the hospital) we thought it was kinda funny. Sounds awful, but really he had a delayed reaction which cracked us up. He had been smiling & happy and then after the needle was out he scrunced up his face and screamed. Once we picked him up though he pretty much forgot about it. We gave him some Tylenol when we got home, just one dose, and never thought much about it again. Then after having 5 vaccines (1 oral, 4 shots) at the 2mo checkup, we were in for a rough day & night. He of course screamed with the shots and then he was so fussy the rest of that day, even with the Tylenol.

So this time we went in prepared. I gave him a full dose of Tylenol right before we left (ended up being about 1.5hrs before the vaccines) in hopes of heading off any reaction. This time he did the vaccines at the end of the visit after we'd covered everything else. So as the doc left the room, I put a screaming baby to my breast to nurse. It took about 5 seconds for him to forget about the shots! I didn't really plan that ahead of time, it more hit me on the spot. It happened to be roughly time for him to eat anyway & our doc is very encouraging that we take our time in the exam room. (No rushing you out so they can get another patient in). What a great idea it turned out to be!! All you new breastfeeding mamas out there - that's a tip from me!! Nurse after a vaccine! We left the exam room with a happy smiling baby with two big yellow bandaids on his legs. He even was calm enough to sleep through our lunch at Ragazzis. We kept up the Tylenol doses (doc said every 4hrs) the rest of the night and managed to have a only slightly fussy baby. Nothing like last time and really not noticably different from any other day.

So what about his reflux? We said we really didn't see much difference on the increased dose of Axid (see last post) so we're going to try a new med. Prilosec - the purple pill. I think it's funny (and surprising to me) that all these reflux meds are basically the same for babies as what you see on TV ads. Though it's the same med, for Jax it's a liquid instead of pill and we have to get it at a compounding pharmacy. (For my JoCo ladies - Medicap at 40/42 is a compounding pharmacy that files insurance! I wish I'd known that a couple months ago when I drove to Cary just for that & paid a fortune). I'll pick that up tomorrow & it only has to be taken once a day. He did say that it should be night & day difference. No wondering is he kinda better? He said we should be able to tell a definite difference if the medicine is working. So if it's still a problem in a week, we should call him back. *Fingers crossed*

With all his reflux, he sure is not having any issues whatsoever with weight! He's a whopping 15lbs 13oz which puts him at 70th percentile on weight! Length is 23.5 which is only 12th percentile and head circum. is 25th %. Ouch! So he's short, fat & has a tiny head. I'm sure glad those are cute stats for a baby. Doc showed us this on the charts and assured us it's all normal and no indication of his later size. Then added the gem that a baby's height comes from his parents and he'd likely be somewhere between our heights. (For those of you that don't know both of us, I'm 5ft nothing and Jack is about 6'2" - so it's a big range).

The only other interesting nugget out of his checkup was the discussion on solid food. He said anytime between now & 6mos is find for starting solids (pretty much what we'd read) and to start with cereal & move up from there. They gave us a handout with what to signs to look for indicating readiness, what foods & qty, etc. He also said that it may help with the reflux because it is not as easy to come back up.

So be looking for pics of his first food all over his face soon!

I'm having trouble controlling the VOLUME OF MY VOICE!

2008-08-24T15:37:00.010-04:00

Our blog has faltered these last few weeks thanks mostly to a seriously slow computer. Now that I've got that problem all fixed up we should be back bloggin pretty regularly! So what have we been up to while on a blog hiatus?

Jaxon's update:

He's learned how to make increasingly louder sounds with his mouth. The books call it a happy squeal but I call it hilarious. I've been trying hard to catch it on video, but here's the best I was able to do (this does not give the full effect). If he sees I'm taping him, he stops & 'poses' which is great for taking photos, not so much for video.

He's not into tummy-time really so we haven't made him stay on his tummy much. He's got a great new mat that has toys in just the right spot for tummy-time, but even that only keeps his attention for a few minutes. He'll only tolerate the tummy for less than 5 mins right now before getting fussy. He'll get there eventually.

I'd posted about his fondness for his fingers before, but it's taken on a new level lately. Now he pretty much has at least one finger in his mouth at all times. Usually though it's several, maybe even a few from each hand (pretty goofy looking).

Watching the animals is his newest pastime. Raven was the first dog he smiled at (she the only one that doesn't lick his face when he gets near). But Max is the most fun to watch. Probably because he's got so many spots and moves so fast. Jaxon will watch any of them, even the cat, if they don't run by too fast.

Last week I had a lacatation consultant come to the house again to help out. I am continuing to fight soreness and JP has been increasingly uncomfortable while nursing. Unless he's really starving or sleepy, then he is arching his back, kicking his legs, and pushing me away (all while still latched!). Towards the end of a feeding, he started letting go & talking to me. It was cute at first, but then he started 'diving' back on. He would do this several times if I didn't stop him. I feel like I'm trying to wrangle an octopus. Needless to say this is no fun for either of us. Within minutes of seeing what was going on, the consultant said two important things.

My soreness is not thrush! Thank goodness! After going thru every treatment out there, I don't know what I'd do if I still had it. The soreness is from all the thrashing around he's doing.

All the problems are a classic sign of reflux. I explained that Jaxon has been treated for reflux for a little over 2 months and gave all the details. She believes his current medicine is not controlling the reflux. She recommended having the peditrician change the dose or switch to a different Rx. Our doc opted for increasing the dose which we've been doing for nearly a week now. We go tomorrow for his 4mo checkup so we can discuss it further then. I think we'll end up on a different Rx because I've not seen much of an improvement this week.

Mama & Daddy update:

Not a lot going on with us really. We've gotten into a pretty good routine with both of us home. Unfortunately, I do have to go back to work soon (exact date not yet decided) so our routine will change again. My job is somewhat flexible, so I should still have time to see my boys during the day. We also got to view the portraits that we had done awhile back. They were SO good that I had a really hard time deciding. I'm actually picking them up today & cannot wait!

Jumpin' Jack

2008-08-17T13:08:00.005-04:00

Jaxon just recently got big enough to use his Jumperoo and he loves it! (Thanks B!) I had tried putting him in it a couple weeks ago & he still sank down too far in the seat & couldn't get his hands out to play. Now his feet just touch the ground enough to jump a little & he can reach some of the toys. I'm always amazed when I notice he's managed to turn himself around (the seat swivels 360)! He still gets a little stuck sometimes & just ends up sucking on the seat (thank goodness we can toss that part in the washer). Jack added an elephant toy to the hanging part so it would be within his reach. Like most toys, he has limited tolerance for it right now, but he still loves it.

We ended up with several pieces of this Rainforest set just by coincidence & they seem to be really great. We registered for (& got from a friend in VA) a small folding swing that we use in the kitchen. Then B offered up this Jumperoo that P no longer needed (I had to move it down to the smallest setting, P is a lot bigger than Jax!). Then SB picked up an activity mat for us at the last consignment sale that looked brand new & just happened to be the same set.

Saturday Fun

2008-08-16T19:54:00.007-04:00

This is what happens when Daddy picks out my clothes...

We met up with family for lunch and I managed to snap a few quick pics of the kids. Jaxon had already lost his patience with the carseat by that point. Cousins C & L weren't much easier to catch smiling & holding still.

Portraits

2008-08-14T20:12:00.001-04:00

I can't wait to see Jaxon's portraits! He did so well for the majority of the session, only getting fussy toward the end. It was supposed to be an hour but ran over, so I am not surprised he got tired of it. I was a little surprised when I showed up that the studio was in the basement of this woman's house, but it was a full studio with everything we needed. She even had a changing table, diapers/wipes, tons of stuffed animals, a mini-fridge and a full bathroom in addition to all the photography stuff. It was a neat setup.

She started off with the 'naked' pics with just his white diaper. Then I changed him into an outfit that I had been given recently and she did a ton more. Last we tried to do some where I was a 'prop' in the picture. Basically JP was the focus but I was in the picture holding him or whatever. We did some where I was kinda tossing him up in the air & I had to sort-of pause in the air so she could take the picture. Oh my gosh! My arms are so sore! I started that just to get him smiling but then she liked it (my own fault) and had me do it a dozen or so times. She wanted to get some of him sleeping since he was tired, but he just kept fighting sleep & finally I just said he's had it. No more.

The portraits will be ready for viewing next week but I still won't have them until a few weeks later. I didn't get to see any of the pictures fully today though I did see a few on the camera as she was working. I know I'm going to have a hard time limiting my choices!

The Odd Couple

2008-08-13T22:25:00.001-04:00

Only in the country...

Shortly after I woke yesterday, my husband said "Hey, there's a goat in our yard! And it's wearing a collar". Huh? I got to the window just in time to see a brown & white goat dart around one of our cars and off into the road. I couldn't get to the camera fast enough unfortunately. As I stepped out onto the porch, he was just trotting down the street following a black Lab mix. Then this morning as we pulled out of our neighborhood, we saw the strange couple again! The dog was running alongside the road, tongue flapping, with the brown goat in tow. Apparently the goat & the dog are buddies! I swear they looked so happy to be playing together, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Even though we're outside the city limits, seeing a goat in our yard is not normal! We live in a small one-street neighborhood that is relatively new (less than 7 years), was previously farmland, and is now your typical young family neighborhood. Though we do pass horses on our way to the main road, usually there are no goats for at least a few miles. I don't know where this guy came from, but he sure did give us a laugh this week!

You're turning violet, Violet!

2008-08-11T22:32:00.007-04:00

Flashback from Willy Wonka, anyone?

I've been struggling with thrush on/off (mostly on) throughout most of my breastfeeding experience and getting desperate. I've been trying everything & anything to get rid of it. Today I called my doc and asked them about using gentian violet. I'd read it was effective & had a few people recommend it. They agreed it would be ok to try so Jack, JP & I went off to the drugstore. Who can beat a $2 over-the-counter solution if it works?

After the next feeding, I swabbed up my nipples per instructions. It was bright purple.. even looked kinda like that weird car paint that looks purple one way & green another. Jack was thoroughly disturbed but I could care less if it works. Instructions from my doc said to make sure it was dry before feeding again or pump. My breastfeeding books say to apply to the inside of the baby's mouth once a day to make sure they don't have it either. Dr. Jack Newman says apply it to the baby's mouth & then breastfeed so that it gets applied from the baby to the nipple.

I nursed Jaxon well after the medicine had dried. He latched on with no problem. No concern about taste or appearance for him apparently. But when he was done & pulled away, I could not stop laughing. Jaxon even laughed with me though he was looking at me like I had lost it. I couldn't get a pic with his tongue showing. He looked like a kid after a grape popsicle disaster.

It's really purple and really doesn't come off very easily. We have a date with a photographer on Thursday morning so I quickly decided we need to hold off on this remedy until then. Hopefully he'll be back to pink lips in time!

LOL

2008-08-10T11:04:00.000-04:00

Jaxon starting laughing in the last week or so. It's so cute but very fleeting. He opens his mouth up wide showing all his gums and makes a short giggly sound. Every time he does it we try to get him to do it again but no luck (apparently we're not that funny).

First Steelers Game - sort of

2008-08-08T19:36:00.003-04:00

It's just preseason. But Jaxon saw his first Steelers game tonight, well part of it anyway. Jack propped Jax up on the couch next to him and I sat on the other side. Of course it didn't last because the little eating machine got hungry!

Mr. Preppy

2008-08-04T18:52:00.001-04:00

My friend AH gave Jaxon this adorable romper (and the orange hat you saw in all the beach pics). He was so cute & preppy looking it was cracking me up! We met AH and her 3.5wk old son for lunch at Jersey Mikes today. It was fun to see the differences between the boys. Baby H slept pretty much the whole time and JP was awake & alert (and thankfully quiet). Both of us ending up holding the boys in our laps while we talked the afternoon away (who spends 3 hours at Jersey Mikes? LOL). It's so nice having friends nearby to hang out with so I'm not always driving into Raleigh.

Date Night 2 & 3

2008-08-01T23:41:00.007-04:00

There were so many movies out this summer that Jack & I wanted to see and Jaxon is old enough that we don't mind leaving him for a few hours. So we had date night two Fridays in a row! Grandpop & Grandma were happy to keep him for us of course.

I had planned the dates based on the release dates of the two movies we wanted to see, X-Files 2 and Mummy 3. But a few days before the first one, Jack said he'd rather see The Dark Knight (Batman). I love anything with superheroes or paranormal so we decided to see that instead of the X-Files. That was last Friday and first we went to a nice greek restaurant. It was so good! Then off to see Batman. Tonight, Jack had a craving for pizza, specifically UNO Chicago Grill, then we saw Mummy 3.

We had fun on both dates, but I'd say if you are deciding between the two movies, go see Batman. I loved the first two Mummy movies, but #3 leaves a lot to be desired. Batman however was very good. I'd still like to see the X-Files too, but that one will have to wait. Today was Jack's first day at home, so we won't have any paychecks coming in until I go back to work.

Jaxon was sooo tired when he came home both times from his grandparents! Last Friday he was so tired he barely woke up for anything (except food of course). They must keep him good & awake the whole time! And this time they had all the baby stuff from the consignment sale already at their house to keep him entertained.

First Beach Trip!

2008-08-01T16:11:00.015-04:00

Jaxon's first beach trip went really well! It only took us about 3.5 hours to get there on Sunday(including stopping for a diaper change & bottle). We were staying with Papi & GiGi at their usual vacation spot, Pawleys Island. The condo was on a little lake & a short walk from the beach.

Monday morning we headed down to the beach for Jaxon's first time in the sand & surf. He's still too young to really enjoy it, but at least he wasn't miserable. I'd say 'tolerant' is the right word. He didn't smile or laugh at all, but didn't cry either. At one point, he did have a wave wash over him while GiGi was holding him. It was quick but did splash his face pretty good. I was ready for screaming, but he just made an awful face (like 'ewww what was that?') and then he was over it. Mostly though he slept on the beach in the stroller or on a beach towel. He would get fussy after a few hours. I'm sure the sand, salt & heat were a bit much for him. I know I was glad to get all that sand out of his diaper & clothes each day!

It was a lot easier to have him up at the pool. It was really close (just across the parking lot) so we could just run back for anything we needed or to feed him. They had this nifty little float thing that held the baby in one end & then wrapped around me. So we were kinda in it together. But I think the pool is where we got him a little sunburned. My pediatrician told us we couldn't use sunscreen on him til 6mos so we tried very hard to keep him covered. But I forgot that the sun reflecting off the water can still be very strong. That's about the only reason I can come up with for why his little cheeks were red & his nose peeling a bit when I brought him home (first thing Jack noticed of course!). Most of the time he was under the umbrella or stroller (or both). Other times he always had his hat.

With Mama in the surf -

With GiGi & Sophie - Pretty funny because Auntie Soph would not sit in the sand. We wouldn't let her hold JP without sitting down.. thus this picture...

Here he is with Cousin A.

This is how he spent most of the indoor-time - with kids surrounding him! I think he loved it! He smiled at them so much & then was a spoiled boy by the time we got home.

With Mama before dinner Monday night

Vacation

2008-07-27T13:49:00.002-04:00

Jaxon & I are headed out on vacation today! We'll be in Pawley's Island, SC with my family (Dad, Stepmom, sis & bro). They are down there for I think about 10 days, but we're just going for four days. Jack has to work so he's saying behind, bummer. This is the first roadtrip with the baby & the first overnight stay (plus his first time at the beach obviously) - so we'll see how it goes! I've got a ton of stuff packed up & hopefully not forgetting anything important. I'll try to post pics as soon as we get back - have a great week!

Consignment Sales

2008-07-26T22:55:00.000-04:00

Many of my friends & sorority sisters are new mommies too and they've all been going to all the local consignment sales. I've had some reason each time that I've been unable to go.

Well two of the girls went yesterday to the one at the fairgrounds & picked up a playmat for me. That was the one thing I coudl think of that I really wanted him to have. It is perfect & looks like new, even had the instructions. They found it for $23 when it would normally be over $60! I did find out later it was missing one of the little dangly toys, but Jaxon doesn't know any different.

I didn't want to miss out so I decided to go today. Tomorrow is 50% off, but I doubt I'll make it since I am headed to the beach. I had to drop something off at Jack's parents house & ended up taking Rita with me to the sale. I'm so glad she went because it was much more fun with someone else!

We could have spent hours there, but we managed to keep it down to a reasonable time by sticking roughly to the few things I said I needed to look for. Between the two of us, we spent right at about $100. We got him a bouncy seat, another playmat & a few toys to leave at their house, a ton of clothes in 6-12mos sizes and several toys for our house. One of the toys is a LeapFrog Tad interactive plush toy that lights up, plays music, etc that sells for $78 on Amazon!

So now I'm hooked! They have this same sale again in January. http://www.kidsexchange.net/

Smiley Boy

2008-07-17T20:27:00.003-04:00

Finally got a pic of him smiling - sort of...

These are from my phone. I'll try to get some better ones with my real camera.

First Laugh

2008-07-17T13:55:00.003-04:00

It probably doesn't really count but it made me smile anyway. Jaxon was fast asleep beside me on the bed when he suddenly let out a short little laugh, complete with a big smile afterwards. Then he was back to his normal expressionless sleep. You gotta wonder, what was he dreaming about?

My favorite commercial

2008-07-16T11:43:00.000-04:00