Playing Catch Up

I thought when Michael got home, we would have a couple of crazy weeks and then things would slow down and we'd be trying to find things to do. That didn't happen. And I thought the same thing after we got back from Arizona, but so far it hasn't been slowing down at all. There's always something to do or some place to go.

So, I'm going to try and summarize the last few weeks the best I can.


We helped my sister move out of her house and into their rental house that they'll be living in until their new house is built. Jaime, Nate, and I stayed at the house gathering/packing the stuff up while Michael and Jeremy loaded it all. Nate did an outstanding job the whole day. And it turned out to be a very long day. They are all moved in now and getting settled. It will be weird to visit them in a different house, and although I am probably the only one feeling sentimental about the old house, I am super excited for their new house to be built. I know a lot of new memories will be created there as well.

Michael's cousin Gearry is moving to Georgia for a new job and so we went to a cook out at Lake Monroe. It was good to see family again and eat yummy food. It was SO hot so we went down by the lake. I dipped Nate's feet in the water and he instantly started crying. I knew he would the second I felt the water, it was nice and refreshing for me but I knew it would be too cold for him. Disappointing because I wanted him to be a little water baby and play in the pool all summer.

We got Nate's 6 month pictures done. I did wonderfully and we got several good shots. He's such a good, happy baby. We are very lucky. Now he's 7 months old. Still a big boy but I think his growth is starting to slow down. He's exploring things all the time and gets super excited to reach things. Well, he gets excited at nothing too. We joke that he's our simpleton because sometimes it doesn't take much to keep him entertained. He's not crawling and actually gets up on his hands and knees less than he used to. He is trying to sit and is doing a lot better with it, but still not good enough to leave him unprotected-still doing the faceplants into the ground. He's loving eating solids (well, most of them anyway) and I've been enjoying feeding them to him. It's a mess but so much fun.

We went to Arizona to visit my Grandma, but I will go more into detail on that trip in another entry.

My job search is continuing, but mostly just to reach dead ends. It's hard when there's over 300 applicants applying for the same job. I really want to work, I love teaching, but if it doesn't work out that way, then I will probably be staying at home again this year. Which I will love too. It's just hard to not get discouraged. I've never applied for a job that I really wanted or really loved before.

I know there's a million other things that I'm forgetting, but I guess that's the way it goes. I can barely remember what I ate for dinner tonight, let alone last night! Now we're just getting things done around the house--fixing the dryer and stove, repairing doors, putting up new blinds, etc. etc. The list is never ending and constantly getting longer. But it just means that have a home and family to take care of and for that I feel blessed.

Family Get Together

On Saturday we went down to Michael's parents for a homecoming cookout. It was really good to see family we don't see very often and catch up. Michael's dad opened the pool up and the kids all went in. I dipped Nate's feet in and it must have been a little too cool still for him because he would instantly cry. Hopefully he'll warm up to it because I had big plans for him and pools this summer (and his papaw bought him a cute little floaty I really want to use!).

I fed Nate mangos for the first time tonight and he loved them! He ate the entire jar, which I usually use one jar for two feedings. He's just like his big cousin, Lucas, who also loved mangos when he was a little guy.

A Preview of Our Life?

Michael and I watched my sister Jaime's two boys today. Does it make me want to reconsider having 3 kids? Honestly, no. The day actually went better than I had thought it was going to go. The hardest part was probably running on empty since Nate was up ALL night last night. I swear it's getting worse. Although it may be because I'm trying to get him back on a schedule AND I'm not giving in to his cries for night time feedings anymore. We had started that when he was sick because he was only eating a couple of ounces at a time and he needed his meds in the middle of the night. Since then it's just been easier to give in and I've decided we have to stop and get back to normal--not that he ever slept through the night, but he was definitely not getting up every 2 hours either.

The day was filled with arts and crafts, a walk around the neighborhood, some tv, lunch, play-doh, computer games, and toys. We balanced everything quite well and I was surprised how well Michael did. He helped make bottles, play with Lucas and the babies, make lunch and snacks. Especially considering this daddy stuff is still relatively new to him.

At one point all the kids were down for their naps. When Michael put Nate in his bed we ran downstairs and crashed on the couches. Our "naps" probably lasted a total of 5 minutes before the UPS man came ringing the doorbell. After that neither one of us could sleep. Oh well, at least there was peace in the house for a little while before they all woke back up.

It was a very full, non-stop day, but overall it went well. I love my nephews and was glad that I was able to spend some time with them.

On a side note, Nate's eye infection has had some lasting effects. His eye is cleared up and looks a lot better, however we did have to take him back to the doctor's office last week because he broke out in a horrible rash. The doctor said it was an allergic reaction to the medicine, which I didn't think about until later, but both Nate and I started and stopped our medicine at the same time so now I don't know if it was my Augmentin or his Clyndamycin that caused the reaction. It did clear up in a couple of days, but was extremely uncomfortable for him, making him itch like crazy. Another wonderful result of the antibiotics is a horrible diaper rash. I mean bad. It's starting to clear up now, but it was so red and raw and he would just scratch at it and kick his legs and twist his body; you could tell he was just so uncomfortable. We tried so many different ointments but the thing that seems to be doing the best is plain ol' Vaseline. Poor baby just can't catch a break these last few weeks.

Nate is 6 Months Old

Nate turned 6 months on Sunday. A half of a year has gone by since he was born and I cannot believe in that same amount of time he will be turning one. But I won't think about that just yet. :) He had his six month check up on Tuesday. It went well. His eye is much better and actually had his last round of medicine tonight. Thank goodness! He hates it and it gives him the poopies-bad. He's 20lbs 14oz, up only about a pound since his 4 month check up, and is 29" long. So he's still off the charts for his height but is now at the 95th percentile for his weight.

We have started him on foods! He's not much of a fan so far, but he usually finishes it. I've given him rice cereal and peas so far. He always seems to make faces when eating it but doesn't spit it back out and so he must not hate it too much. I think it's so much fun now that he's eating at the table with us for meals. I also haven't been producing as much milk, probably because I haven't had time or been making time to pump. So we've started supplementing with formula. I was afraid he wouldn't take it, but he drinks it right up! I usually give him a few ounces at the end of the night. Let's see if this helps him start sleeping through the night!

He's getting up on his knees and rocking now too. He may be doing this for awhile before he starts to crawl, but it's neat to watch the progression of skills. It's crazy how babies teach themselves how to do all these things.

That's about all that's new. He's just enjoying Daddy being home and all the attention!

Nate's First Solids

We fed Nate rice cereal last night. He didn't seem to care for it too much and was more interested in chewing on the spoon than anything else (go figure). But it wasn't a complete disaster either. My goal was to feed him cereal for breakfast each morning and that already hasn't happened! I just hate to force more things he hates into his mouth--have I said how much he hates his medicine and giving it to him is the worst, I hate it and feel awful that I have to put him through that 3 times a day! And I don't know the rules on mixing the cereal with juice yet--I know there's the feed the same food 3 days straight to see if there is a reaction--so I'm not sure if I have to give him plain cereal for 3 days first. And, I also want to start him on vegetables...so I'm not sure if I can do that yet AND I don't want to put juice in his cereal and have him like the sweetness so much that he won't like the vegetables. Any suggestions?

Michael's Home

Michael finally arrived home from demobilization at Camp Atterbury on Thursday afternoon. It's still so new, like he's not really home, or he is, but just for a couple weeks on leave. It might take awhile to register that he's really home for good.

We've been enjoying spending time together as a little family, shopping or just playing at home. And of course, life doesn't stop and things still need to be done, so the focus today has been getting things back in order (like the jungle that is our backyard).

It's going to take a little while to get used to having him home (and having the extra help!) and it will probably take awhile for him to get used to being home, let alone being a dad and learning ALL about babies. But we are definitely enjoying having him home and all being together again.

Sammy and the Vet (again)

Seems to me I already have a post with this title! Sammy has been constantly licking her wound and acting strangely (lying behind the couch all day, needy, etc.) so I decided to bring her in the vet to have her checked out. Sure enough, the wound is bad, but not too bad. He said he didn't want to have to put her under for sutures, and thinks that a couple staples would do the trick. So that's what she got, along with a fancy e-collar. He said she was lucky, that if the bite was maybe an inch over it would have gotten her colon and been a lot more serious. So now she has to wear the collar, is on antibiotics (my counter top is now filled with medicine bottles as 3 of us in the house are now taking medicine), and has to go back in 10 days for a check up. It's funny to watch her try and manuever through the house with the collar on. She keeps running into things and getting stuck. It's pitiful.