Sorry I didn't get a chance to post Ian's 16 month update. We've been very busy (I guess most people have though, with the holidays and all). This will be a long one.
He seems to have officially hit his I'm-learning-everything-and-will-pick-up-on-anything-you-do/say/etc age. He tries so hard to talk, it's amazing. Most of his words still don't sound quite like they should (he calls my dad's dog Lacy "IT-seee"), but he tries. His "made up" words are also getting much more detailed, having two or three syllables. He'll just sit and talk away to just about anything--people, toys, walls, mirrors, dogs...
He has mastered the telephone. He will not talk on it for real with anyone, but he will pick it up, push some buttons, and then hold it up to his ear (actually, it's usually his shoulder--I'll explain) and say "Hello?" then he'll have a nice detailed little conversation. The shoulder thing is that he sees me rest my phone on my shoulder and walk around the house while I talk (I CAN NOT sit still when I'm on the phone--it's impossible), so he'll set the phone on his shoulder and walk all over the place. He's my little clone. :)
He waves bye-bye now, but only when he wants to--the child will not do ANYTHING on demand. Everything is always on his terms. He's also picking up more signs--he can do "dad", "mom", "auntie", "more", and "all done". He picked up auntie, more, and all done within a few days of each other--it's like the light finally went off in his little brain that "Wow! Those all MEAN something!". "All done" was killing me--we use only actual ASL signs with him since Hazen's sister is deaf (hence him learning "auntie"), but for whatever reason, he would just throw his arms in the air and say "a-do!" for all done, not use the actual sign. Then finally a couple of nights ago, he actually watched very intently as we signed it and then he signed it back (as best as he could--all done involves a little too much coordination for a one-year-old). Of course he gets lots of claps and praise when he gets a sign right, and he just LOOOOVES applause (he'll gladly join in with a big grin).
All his molars are now in, bringing the tooth count up to 12. He's also got at least his bottom "eye" teeth coming in so that's been a nightmare. I've heard those are the worst, and it has totally been proven true--he knaws on everything, randomly cries, gets clingy...it drives me nuts sometimes. All I can say is thank goodness for teething tablets!!! (which reminds me we need to pick some up when we're out today...)
His personality is really developing. He shrieks and laughs all the time, seemingly over nothing a lot of the time. It's really cute. :)
Oh, and finally, he can drink out of a straw! We're going to pick him up some straw sippies today. he just loves to do it, and now whenever he sees a cup with a straw he wants it (doesn't matter what's in it, he'll drink it). I'm glad to get him to this point since regular sippies are so bad for their teeth and he's not too good at letting me brush his yet. It will be some worry off of me--I want my kid to have nice teeth.
Okay, and now onto the second portion of this blog: the last three weeks.
We went to Montana. The drive was horrible, with rain in Utah (ALL of Utah...the entire state of Utah...) which turned into snow in Idaho (ALL of Idaho) and then turning to beautiful blue skies in Montana. It took us 17 hours, but we left at night so Ian slept through the majority of the trip.
In Idaho we got an interesting call from Hazen's flight chief asking how we slept. Hazen reminded him he was on leave and we didn't sleep--we were in northern Idaho. Turns out there was a shooting in our apartment complex the night we left--an active duty air force guy was taking out his trash and walked in on people robbing him and was shot twice. Great. A couple of days after that, 6 high school kids were shot at a school bus stop near here. I don't know what happened--we leave and our neighborhood falls apart.
Hazen had his test for the Helena police department on the 10th. He did really well, getting an 85 average (you have to get a 75 to pass). When he gets out, he'll also get another 5 points for being a veteran, so that will bump him up to a 90. He also aced his fitness test with a 60 (you need a 12 to pass that one!!). We're really hoping that Helena will hire him, but since he doesn't get out until at least August, they can't offer him anything yet. They really seemed to want him though, and he's pretty sure he'd have gotten the job in January if he weren't still in for 8 months. They told him to keep calling to keep him in their minds and to let them know that he was still interested. He did get a job offer yesterday for the police department in Fairview (a tiiiiiny town on the North Dakota border) but told them he's holding out for Helena.
We got the chance to look at some house ads in Helena, and we're so excited--there was a LOT in our price range that met what we were looking for, so it's awesome. :) The house prices really excite us.
Other than that, there isn't much else to say. We got to spend Christmas in Montana with my family which was great. We left for home on the 27th (this time in the afternoon because I didn't want to drive through Montana at night with all those stinking deer...I've only hit three of them...). The only bad patch was about 100 miles in Idaho where the road turned into pure ice. Ian did GREAT. Did not cry at all until about 10 minutes out of Vegas. We made it back in about 14 1/2 hours, definitely an improvement over teh 17 it took us to get there.
Oh, when we walked in our door our smoke detector was beeping at us (you know, the annoying random beep of a dying battery). We called maintence yesterday afternoon (we got in around 4 am and went right to bed) and they haven't come yet. We would deal with it ourselves but we have vaulted ceilings (I think they're about 15 feet high) and the smoke alarm is up near the ceiling (whoever designed that is a dummy) so we can't reach. Obviously we dont' have a ladder in our apartment, so we're at the mercy of waiting for the maintence people to come. I'm guessing an irritating smoke detector isn't at the top of the list (which, considering how long it took to get our a/c fixed in the middle of a Vegas summer, I have no idea how long we'll be waiting for this...maybe we'll get used to it...).
Ah well, the kid is waking up (for teh first time since he was put down at 9 last night! Woo Hoo!).
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
15 months
The little man turned 15 months on Friday. It is so amazing how fast it's going. Since the one year mark, it's like all of a sudden he's gone from baby to little boy--he is CONSTANTLY learning and trying new things. His personality is really developing (he is a STUBBORN little thing...not like his mommy at all...yeah...).
He loves to dance now, and he is just so completely silly when he does it. He just starts shaking his head and bouncing. I will try so hard to get him to do it while there is music playing and he'll just look at me like I'm nuts. Then the music stops and a few minutes later I catch him walking around shaking his head and grinning. It's hilarious. :)
I can't get anything on video. As soon as I pull out the camera, he stops what he's doing and comes towards me. Then he throws a fit because I won't let him have the camera. He starts off being so sweet, and then by the time I get the camera rolling he's in a full-blown tantrum. It's really not fair.
He laughs randomly. There will be NOTHING going on and he will just suddenly start laughing (like belly laughs...he thinks there is something hysterical going on at the time, apparently). He has started to point at everything and I think he's working on "What's that?". He'll raise his arm and point and say "Da!". This is generally followed by the slightly psychotic laughter.
On Friday I let him wander around the little park at the complex while we waited for Patty and Patrick (we went to the mall). There was a pair of 2 1/2 year old twins and a five year old there. They were of course climbing all over the gym, and I had just finished telling their mom that Ian was just starting to try climbing, but he's really not good at it. Wouldn't you know that two minutes later the little booger figured out how to climb up the thing?! I think the other kids were motivation--he wanted to do what they were doing. Whenever one would try to go down the slide, Ian would go sit in the bottom of the slide and start trying to climb up it. It was very cute, but exhausting. I spent most of the time taking him out and telling him that he had to move if the other kids wanted to slide down.
Daylight savings was mean to us, but he seems to have adjusted well now (he just woke up at 8:45!! he never sleeps that late!). Originally, he was waking for the day around 6 after DLS, but obviously that's getting much better. His naps are still off, but that's okay. As long as he's sleeping passed 6 am, I'm happy.
The teeth are still coming in. He is up to 12 (or almost 12). The top right molar was the first to come in, then the top and bottom left ones, and now I just felt the bottom right one the other day. They have all broken through now (thank goodness...mommyhood is not nearly as much fun on the teething days as the non-teething ones).
I finally gave up on the bathseat. I think the age limit on it was 11 months, but he still fit in it and it was so convienent. He was starting to look pretty squashed though, so it finally had to go. Now I get teh fun of saying "Ian, sit down. Ian, sit down". Over and over. I know he understands because usually he'll listen, but there are other times where he'll give me a look and start bouncing or walking away.
Oh, funny story. Last night Hazen was watching UFC and Ian was just totally into it. He would stand there and watch, and after a little while, he started to squat and totally look like he was getting into some wrestling moves. Hazen just gave me a look like "I TOLD you he was going to be a wrestler". It was really cute.
Unfortunately due to the Air Show, Hazen has been working the last 4 days. Ian has apparently really missed him because as soon as he hears the door opening he starts grinning and starts "running away" so that Hazen can play with him. Poor Hazen doesn't even get the chance to get his boots off before Ian starts giving him that "Hello!! Come play with me!!!" look. He also very seriously said "Dad" a few times yesterday. Not "da" not "dada", a very deliberate "Dad". Such a sweet boy. :)
I know there is more, but I just woke up. Ian is in his room "talking" so I'll go get him out of bed now. Just figured I'd do an update while he was still happily waking up. :)
He loves to dance now, and he is just so completely silly when he does it. He just starts shaking his head and bouncing. I will try so hard to get him to do it while there is music playing and he'll just look at me like I'm nuts. Then the music stops and a few minutes later I catch him walking around shaking his head and grinning. It's hilarious. :)
I can't get anything on video. As soon as I pull out the camera, he stops what he's doing and comes towards me. Then he throws a fit because I won't let him have the camera. He starts off being so sweet, and then by the time I get the camera rolling he's in a full-blown tantrum. It's really not fair.
He laughs randomly. There will be NOTHING going on and he will just suddenly start laughing (like belly laughs...he thinks there is something hysterical going on at the time, apparently). He has started to point at everything and I think he's working on "What's that?". He'll raise his arm and point and say "Da!". This is generally followed by the slightly psychotic laughter.
On Friday I let him wander around the little park at the complex while we waited for Patty and Patrick (we went to the mall). There was a pair of 2 1/2 year old twins and a five year old there. They were of course climbing all over the gym, and I had just finished telling their mom that Ian was just starting to try climbing, but he's really not good at it. Wouldn't you know that two minutes later the little booger figured out how to climb up the thing?! I think the other kids were motivation--he wanted to do what they were doing. Whenever one would try to go down the slide, Ian would go sit in the bottom of the slide and start trying to climb up it. It was very cute, but exhausting. I spent most of the time taking him out and telling him that he had to move if the other kids wanted to slide down.
Daylight savings was mean to us, but he seems to have adjusted well now (he just woke up at 8:45!! he never sleeps that late!). Originally, he was waking for the day around 6 after DLS, but obviously that's getting much better. His naps are still off, but that's okay. As long as he's sleeping passed 6 am, I'm happy.
The teeth are still coming in. He is up to 12 (or almost 12). The top right molar was the first to come in, then the top and bottom left ones, and now I just felt the bottom right one the other day. They have all broken through now (thank goodness...mommyhood is not nearly as much fun on the teething days as the non-teething ones).
I finally gave up on the bathseat. I think the age limit on it was 11 months, but he still fit in it and it was so convienent. He was starting to look pretty squashed though, so it finally had to go. Now I get teh fun of saying "Ian, sit down. Ian, sit down". Over and over. I know he understands because usually he'll listen, but there are other times where he'll give me a look and start bouncing or walking away.
Oh, funny story. Last night Hazen was watching UFC and Ian was just totally into it. He would stand there and watch, and after a little while, he started to squat and totally look like he was getting into some wrestling moves. Hazen just gave me a look like "I TOLD you he was going to be a wrestler". It was really cute.
Unfortunately due to the Air Show, Hazen has been working the last 4 days. Ian has apparently really missed him because as soon as he hears the door opening he starts grinning and starts "running away" so that Hazen can play with him. Poor Hazen doesn't even get the chance to get his boots off before Ian starts giving him that "Hello!! Come play with me!!!" look. He also very seriously said "Dad" a few times yesterday. Not "da" not "dada", a very deliberate "Dad". Such a sweet boy. :)
I know there is more, but I just woke up. Ian is in his room "talking" so I'll go get him out of bed now. Just figured I'd do an update while he was still happily waking up. :)
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Online "group" projects, AKA dumbest idea ever
Online "group" projects...AKA dumbest idea EVER Current mood: angry
I'm so sick of this. I am in two senior level classes: senior project and auditing. Both classes have team projects. Auditing has nothing due until week 5, but here we are in week 1 and my ENTIRE team has already stepped up and started on it. It's amazing, seriously amazing--they're acting like *gasp* SENIORS!!!!
However, senior project. This entire course is a group project--we are a consulting firm. Everything we do in this class is as a team. As is typical Stefanie, I have been posting several times a day, everyday trying to get this done. Our assignment for the week was to post our resume, critique our teammates resumes, come up with a team name, and write a team contract. It's really not a lot--everything was pretty simple (I would know...I did it ALL...).
I have not heard from my team since TUESDAY. Not a single flipping person (I have 4 other teammates). On Thursday, I posted my opinions on what should be included in the contract--I wanted the draft done by yesterday (Friday) but no one was posting anything so I did a big chunk to get things rolling. No one said anything. Finally, one girl posted "This looks great, Stefanie!" when I had specifically asked that EVERYONE critique it and CONTRIBUTE. I said this was NOT the draft, just some ideas, and EVERYONE needed to give opinions and input on each section. I had one "great job" and 3 nothings.
Today (Saturday morning) I emailed my team this:
"Guys:Here we are on Saturday and the only one who has given me any kind of opinion on the contract is Sandra. I didn't mean for my draft to be "it". I had hoped for more opinions and input. It's a TEAM contract--I expected the TEAM to write it.We haven't decided on a team name. Team Velocity is going to be it if I don't hear anything else. James had a suggestion of Con Go also, but Team Velocity is the only thing that has any kind of input. Also, does anyone want to volunteer for making the final draft of the contract? I don't feel comfortable assigning it to anyone because I don't know if the person I assign it to will know I've assigned it. Everyone has kind of disappeared."
This is just insane to me. How do you ignore a team project? These are all smart people (according to their resumes...liars...). It's going to be a looooong eight weeks if this is any indication how it's going to go. This was our "easy" week and everyone blew it.
Oh well, as this week's leader I get to write the team status report which details what everyone did and submit it to the professor. When their grades are posted, maybe it will motivate them a little more to get moving. Such bs.
I'm so sick of this. I am in two senior level classes: senior project and auditing. Both classes have team projects. Auditing has nothing due until week 5, but here we are in week 1 and my ENTIRE team has already stepped up and started on it. It's amazing, seriously amazing--they're acting like *gasp* SENIORS!!!!
However, senior project. This entire course is a group project--we are a consulting firm. Everything we do in this class is as a team. As is typical Stefanie, I have been posting several times a day, everyday trying to get this done. Our assignment for the week was to post our resume, critique our teammates resumes, come up with a team name, and write a team contract. It's really not a lot--everything was pretty simple (I would know...I did it ALL...).
I have not heard from my team since TUESDAY. Not a single flipping person (I have 4 other teammates). On Thursday, I posted my opinions on what should be included in the contract--I wanted the draft done by yesterday (Friday) but no one was posting anything so I did a big chunk to get things rolling. No one said anything. Finally, one girl posted "This looks great, Stefanie!" when I had specifically asked that EVERYONE critique it and CONTRIBUTE. I said this was NOT the draft, just some ideas, and EVERYONE needed to give opinions and input on each section. I had one "great job" and 3 nothings.
Today (Saturday morning) I emailed my team this:
"Guys:Here we are on Saturday and the only one who has given me any kind of opinion on the contract is Sandra. I didn't mean for my draft to be "it". I had hoped for more opinions and input. It's a TEAM contract--I expected the TEAM to write it.We haven't decided on a team name. Team Velocity is going to be it if I don't hear anything else. James had a suggestion of Con Go also, but Team Velocity is the only thing that has any kind of input. Also, does anyone want to volunteer for making the final draft of the contract? I don't feel comfortable assigning it to anyone because I don't know if the person I assign it to will know I've assigned it. Everyone has kind of disappeared."
This is just insane to me. How do you ignore a team project? These are all smart people (according to their resumes...liars...). It's going to be a looooong eight weeks if this is any indication how it's going to go. This was our "easy" week and everyone blew it.
Oh well, as this week's leader I get to write the team status report which details what everyone did and submit it to the professor. When their grades are posted, maybe it will motivate them a little more to get moving. Such bs.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Weight loss update
I've lost two pounds so far--woo-hoo! Just by making sure I get out of the house EVERYDAY for at least 30 minutes of exercise (generally it's just walking around with Ian in the stroller, but I try to go to the gym a few times a week, too) and paying attention to what I eat. Yay!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
My weight loss challenge begins
So, I've decided to finally get serious about losing weight. I've realized that sitting on my butt all day stuffing my face and then complaining that my pants don't fit isn't the best solution. I have started to go to the gym regularly, with the goal of improving how far I run and how many calories I burn each time. Last time I did just over 2 miles (sad, I know, but it's an improvement over last week), and burned 317 calories in 35 minutes. The biggest motivator is that I could easily do 3 1/2 miles when I was 8 months pregnant--it's amazing that I was in better shape then than I am now! On days I don't go to the gym, I take Ian out in the stroller for a long walk. Some days my friend Patty comes with me and that helps a lot--it's good motivation when someone else is pushing you. :)
I've also found a website, www.thedailyplate.com, that lets me enter in how much weight I want to lose a week and then figures out how many calories I should consume in a day to make that happen. It then allows me to enter in everything that I eat in the day and adds up the total calories. That alone has helped me cut back on my snacking--I had no idea how the calories added up! I was eating nearly twice as much as I should have been!! It also let's me enter in the exercise I do in a day and then factors that into my total calories for the day.
I have no real weight loss goal. I am about 15 pounds heavier than before I got pregnant, so I would like that gone. But for the most part, I just want my pants to fit right again, and for me to like the shape of my body again.
Wish me luck--I'm on week two!
I've also found a website, www.thedailyplate.com, that lets me enter in how much weight I want to lose a week and then figures out how many calories I should consume in a day to make that happen. It then allows me to enter in everything that I eat in the day and adds up the total calories. That alone has helped me cut back on my snacking--I had no idea how the calories added up! I was eating nearly twice as much as I should have been!! It also let's me enter in the exercise I do in a day and then factors that into my total calories for the day.
I have no real weight loss goal. I am about 15 pounds heavier than before I got pregnant, so I would like that gone. But for the most part, I just want my pants to fit right again, and for me to like the shape of my body again.
Wish me luck--I'm on week two!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
14 months old
Mr. Ian is a whopping 14-months-old today. He is taking his nap (finally) so I have a few free minutes. What has he been up to this month? For starters, crawling is a thing of the past. He has been walking for awhile, but in the last few weeks, he has started to refuse to crawl. He can now stand himself right up in the middle of the floor, it's not even a challenge to him.
He thinks EVERYTHING is funny right now. He'll be walking around talking to himself and then he will just suddenly start to laugh. It's actually a little creepy. He can say some more words now. He repeats "all done" (he says it "ah-doe!"), and "yes" ("yesh"). He still says "Hmm" after most stuff, like he's thinking about it. I'll point to something and say "That's a chair", and he'll say "Hmm".
He loves his sippy cups. Oh, and the toilet. Yeah, that's a lot of fun. I had some of those toilet thingies that keep the lid closed--absolute crap! It took him all of two minutes to figure out how to rip it off. So now he loves to lift the lids and put his hands or whatever else is within reach into the toilet. It's fantastic.
He still loves books. He will take his books off the shelves and bring them into the living room and just flip through them. He can spend a surprising amount of time doing that. I'm not complaining--it's quiet time for me!
Hazen has taught him to "headbutt". Ian can be anywhere in the apartment and if Hazen says "Ian! Headbutt!" he'll come running in and give Hazen a headbutt. He also gives big, wet, slobbery kisses--on the mouth. It's sweet but pretty gross, too. :)
Okay, as you can see from my mood I'm not feeling great today, so I'm going to end this now. Just wanted to give a quick update on the little man. :)
He thinks EVERYTHING is funny right now. He'll be walking around talking to himself and then he will just suddenly start to laugh. It's actually a little creepy. He can say some more words now. He repeats "all done" (he says it "ah-doe!"), and "yes" ("yesh"). He still says "Hmm" after most stuff, like he's thinking about it. I'll point to something and say "That's a chair", and he'll say "Hmm".
He loves his sippy cups. Oh, and the toilet. Yeah, that's a lot of fun. I had some of those toilet thingies that keep the lid closed--absolute crap! It took him all of two minutes to figure out how to rip it off. So now he loves to lift the lids and put his hands or whatever else is within reach into the toilet. It's fantastic.
He still loves books. He will take his books off the shelves and bring them into the living room and just flip through them. He can spend a surprising amount of time doing that. I'm not complaining--it's quiet time for me!
Hazen has taught him to "headbutt". Ian can be anywhere in the apartment and if Hazen says "Ian! Headbutt!" he'll come running in and give Hazen a headbutt. He also gives big, wet, slobbery kisses--on the mouth. It's sweet but pretty gross, too. :)
Okay, as you can see from my mood I'm not feeling great today, so I'm going to end this now. Just wanted to give a quick update on the little man. :)
Thursday, September 13, 2007
13 months
There is only one word to describe a 13-month-old: busy. The kid never stops moving! He is officially a "walker" now. After taking his first steps the night before his birthday, he slowly started taking more and more steps at a time. Now the only time he crawls is when he's finding something to help him stand up so that he can start walking around some more. All he does all day is walk places. He's so cute when he does it because he holds his little arms up by his chest. He's very wobbly--Hazen says he looks drunk.
He still doesn't say much. He'll repeat things sometimes, but he doesn't know what he's saying. He says Mama, Dada, baby, mmm, and that's about it. He's repeated "poo-poo" and "echo". He has signed "daddy" a few times--Hazen is really proud of that. His first word was "mama" but his first sign was "daddy".
My favorite thing to do is say "How big is Ian?". Then he'll throw his arms up in the air while I say "So big!!". He always has a huge grin on his face when he does it, like he knows he's a little genius. He also likes to drink out of cups and water bottles now. He can do it himself, but a lot of times he ends up spilling all over and coughing. Yesterday he decided he's too much of a big boy for Mommy to give him his yogurt, so he attempted to do it himself. There was yogurt everywhere. Eventually he gave up even trying to put it in his mouth and just started to take spoonfuls and rub them on his knee.
Last night Hazen and I were talking about how he's starting to understand that words mean something, and that when someone is behind a door they're still there. Yesterday Hazen was in the bathroom and Ian sat outside the door saying "Dada?". Hazen would say "Hi Baby" or "Hi Ian" and Ian would say "Dada?" back to him. The other day I was giving him a bath and I said "baby" to him, trying to get him to say it back to me. He just looked at me and said "Mom". So I said "Baby", and he said "Mom". It was adorable. He's also really funny because he'll cock his head and say "Hmmm?" all the time. The things he'll do amaze me--I can't believe how much they grow and learn in such a short amount of time.
We're still nursing. My goal was one year, but it's definitely not something I can just stop doing. It's part of our bedtime routine--he will not go to sleep unless he's nursed first. I really don't know how long we'll go--I like doing it and he's happy with it, too. I'm hoping he'll self wean within the next year, but we'll see. Whatever happens; I'm in no hurry. He loves "real" food (no more baby food for him). He can drink out of a sippy cup, and he eats pretty much everything. Last night he had an entire order of mini corndogs from Buffalo Wild Wings--the kid can eat! He's also just started feeding other people. He'll only feed me something after he's taken a bite of it first, though. He'll take a nibble out of a Puff and then put the rest in my mouth. He's such a good sharer.
His sleep has improved sooo much! I pushed his bedtime to 8 instead of 7 and it has made such a difference! Once last week he slept from 8-8 without waking. Other nights he's slept until 6 or 7. As long as he gets to bed on time he sleeps great. We did keep him out until 10 the other night and that was a disaster--he woke three times I think. He needs his routine or it messes him all up. I can't complain about the sleep though. I'm finally catching up after a year of waking every 2-4 hours.
He's napping, so I'm going to do some web-surfing. I should do homework, but that's just not as much fun.
He still doesn't say much. He'll repeat things sometimes, but he doesn't know what he's saying. He says Mama, Dada, baby, mmm, and that's about it. He's repeated "poo-poo" and "echo". He has signed "daddy" a few times--Hazen is really proud of that. His first word was "mama" but his first sign was "daddy".
My favorite thing to do is say "How big is Ian?". Then he'll throw his arms up in the air while I say "So big!!". He always has a huge grin on his face when he does it, like he knows he's a little genius. He also likes to drink out of cups and water bottles now. He can do it himself, but a lot of times he ends up spilling all over and coughing. Yesterday he decided he's too much of a big boy for Mommy to give him his yogurt, so he attempted to do it himself. There was yogurt everywhere. Eventually he gave up even trying to put it in his mouth and just started to take spoonfuls and rub them on his knee.
Last night Hazen and I were talking about how he's starting to understand that words mean something, and that when someone is behind a door they're still there. Yesterday Hazen was in the bathroom and Ian sat outside the door saying "Dada?". Hazen would say "Hi Baby" or "Hi Ian" and Ian would say "Dada?" back to him. The other day I was giving him a bath and I said "baby" to him, trying to get him to say it back to me. He just looked at me and said "Mom". So I said "Baby", and he said "Mom". It was adorable. He's also really funny because he'll cock his head and say "Hmmm?" all the time. The things he'll do amaze me--I can't believe how much they grow and learn in such a short amount of time.
We're still nursing. My goal was one year, but it's definitely not something I can just stop doing. It's part of our bedtime routine--he will not go to sleep unless he's nursed first. I really don't know how long we'll go--I like doing it and he's happy with it, too. I'm hoping he'll self wean within the next year, but we'll see. Whatever happens; I'm in no hurry. He loves "real" food (no more baby food for him). He can drink out of a sippy cup, and he eats pretty much everything. Last night he had an entire order of mini corndogs from Buffalo Wild Wings--the kid can eat! He's also just started feeding other people. He'll only feed me something after he's taken a bite of it first, though. He'll take a nibble out of a Puff and then put the rest in my mouth. He's such a good sharer.
His sleep has improved sooo much! I pushed his bedtime to 8 instead of 7 and it has made such a difference! Once last week he slept from 8-8 without waking. Other nights he's slept until 6 or 7. As long as he gets to bed on time he sleeps great. We did keep him out until 10 the other night and that was a disaster--he woke three times I think. He needs his routine or it messes him all up. I can't complain about the sleep though. I'm finally catching up after a year of waking every 2-4 hours.
He's napping, so I'm going to do some web-surfing. I should do homework, but that's just not as much fun.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
ONE!
My baby boy is one whole year old today. I've been a little sad this week, but I'm doing pretty good today (I only cried a little ).
He took his first three steps last night. He was standing up with the coffee table and then all of a sudden let go and "took off". He landed on his face, but he handled it very well. :)
Other than that, I don't know what else to say. He's very talkative. He makes all kinds of noises, but still not many real words--just mama and mom. He does say "mmm" and I think he says "Ow". Other than that, not much.
He loves to eat. He's all for the big people food now, and won't touch baby food. His favorites include macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, chicken and asparagus. Yes, asparagus. I actually have some that I'm going to try and figure out how to cook for his first birthday meal. Wish me luck (I have never cooked asparagus in my life).
His birthday party is this Saturday--just working on getting all the last minute stuff taken care of. Hopefully it will be a nice, fun day for him. :)
He just woke up from his nap, so I guess I should go get him out of bed.
He took his first three steps last night. He was standing up with the coffee table and then all of a sudden let go and "took off". He landed on his face, but he handled it very well. :)
Other than that, I don't know what else to say. He's very talkative. He makes all kinds of noises, but still not many real words--just mama and mom. He does say "mmm" and I think he says "Ow". Other than that, not much.
He loves to eat. He's all for the big people food now, and won't touch baby food. His favorites include macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, chicken and asparagus. Yes, asparagus. I actually have some that I'm going to try and figure out how to cook for his first birthday meal. Wish me luck (I have never cooked asparagus in my life).
His birthday party is this Saturday--just working on getting all the last minute stuff taken care of. Hopefully it will be a nice, fun day for him. :)
He just woke up from his nap, so I guess I should go get him out of bed.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
We're frying
I wish they had a "sweaty" option for the current mood. Because that is what I am. Sweaty. And that is what my baby is. Sweaty. Not fun.
I don't know if I posted about this, but last month we had a freon leak in our a/c. Ian and I went from 10am until 10pm with no a/c in the hottest month of the year. Not fun--I was pretty cranky by the end of the day.
Yesterday, the a/c stopped working again. You guessed it--another freon leak. We haven't had a/c since 4pm yesterday. The guy couldn't fix it last night because the unit was too hot to touch, and said he'd be back sometime today (I think he said he'd be back in the morning, but I'm not certain). It is now 1pm--we are nearing 24 hours with no cool air. Thankfully, the last couple of days have been cooler than usual (high of 98 today), but still. I called the office and they do have a note that he's supposed to come back out (apparently the a/c guys are contracted) but they have no timeframe. I will be calling again soon--this is ridiculous.
If anyone knows anything about these things, I'm wondering about the effect of a busted a/c on the power bill. Our last two power bills have been insanely high, and coincidentally, the last two months we've had freon leaks. My guess would be that since the a/c isn't running with the right amount of freon, it's working harder, therefore causing my power bill to increase. Makes sense to me. If the a/c guy ever shows up, I will be asking him the same question. If it DOES affect my power bill, I will be talking to the office about a possible rent credit or something similar. I wish I knew what my neighbors paid each month--that would make it much easier to know if we're paying more than we should.
Also, my baby will be one tomorrow. I can't talk about it or I will cry. :(
I don't know if I posted about this, but last month we had a freon leak in our a/c. Ian and I went from 10am until 10pm with no a/c in the hottest month of the year. Not fun--I was pretty cranky by the end of the day.
Yesterday, the a/c stopped working again. You guessed it--another freon leak. We haven't had a/c since 4pm yesterday. The guy couldn't fix it last night because the unit was too hot to touch, and said he'd be back sometime today (I think he said he'd be back in the morning, but I'm not certain). It is now 1pm--we are nearing 24 hours with no cool air. Thankfully, the last couple of days have been cooler than usual (high of 98 today), but still. I called the office and they do have a note that he's supposed to come back out (apparently the a/c guys are contracted) but they have no timeframe. I will be calling again soon--this is ridiculous.
If anyone knows anything about these things, I'm wondering about the effect of a busted a/c on the power bill. Our last two power bills have been insanely high, and coincidentally, the last two months we've had freon leaks. My guess would be that since the a/c isn't running with the right amount of freon, it's working harder, therefore causing my power bill to increase. Makes sense to me. If the a/c guy ever shows up, I will be asking him the same question. If it DOES affect my power bill, I will be talking to the office about a possible rent credit or something similar. I wish I knew what my neighbors paid each month--that would make it much easier to know if we're paying more than we should.
Also, my baby will be one tomorrow. I can't talk about it or I will cry. :(
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Am I done yet? Seriously
I am so finished with school. The thought of another 16 weeks is about to drive me crazy.
In my online classes, I generally have a weekly quiz per class, this term being no different. However, for the first time in 3 1/2 years, both classes are multiple choice AND essay. Fine, except that my teachers keep FORGETTING TO GRADE MY ESSAYS causing me to find extremely dismal grades in my gradebook. I emailed both teachers last week and my accounting teacher was really nice and fixed it right away, apologizing for the mistake. This week, she didn't mess it up at all (yay!). My business teacher didn't reply to my email, but did fix the error. This week, however, he did it again. My mulitple choice questions were clearly graded (all correct, thank you very much) but my essays were not, leaving me a grade of 8/20. So I emailed him:
"Hello, Professor.I was reviewing my quiz from week 2 and again the essay questions don'tappear to be graded. Thank you. :)Stefanie Noble"
The reply I got:
"Stefanie,I posted my schedule in an announcement several weeks ago. The plan isto have TDA participation posted on Mondays, the course project andassignments on Tuesday, and the quizzes on Wednesday. Your quiz will be looked at today and points given.OK?Chuck"
This wouldn't bother me if not for the "OK?" at the end. It hit me as rude and demeaning, like I'm stupid or something. Never, in the entire time I have been taking classes with DeVry Online, have I been able to view a grade before the teacher graded and posted it. But he's implying that I was saying there was no grade there at all and that I need to just be patient, stupid little girl that I am (okay, it doesn't say that, but that OK? really irks me).
Maybe I should have just left it alone, but I don't like being made to feel stupid, so I replied:
"Sorry, I guess I misunderstood--I read the announcements whenever I go into class. I'm just confused since I see my quiz grade posted (8/20) with my multiple choices graded, but the essays aren't. Should I be able to see that? Are the multiple choices and essays graded seperately?
Stefanie"
I may be overreacting. I probably am. This guy has just rubbed me wrong from the beginning (he didn't like the way I responded to threaded discussions from day one and told me so, even though the way I did it is the way my teachers from the last 3 years wanted it...).
I think I just need to graduate before I hurt someone...
In my online classes, I generally have a weekly quiz per class, this term being no different. However, for the first time in 3 1/2 years, both classes are multiple choice AND essay. Fine, except that my teachers keep FORGETTING TO GRADE MY ESSAYS causing me to find extremely dismal grades in my gradebook. I emailed both teachers last week and my accounting teacher was really nice and fixed it right away, apologizing for the mistake. This week, she didn't mess it up at all (yay!). My business teacher didn't reply to my email, but did fix the error. This week, however, he did it again. My mulitple choice questions were clearly graded (all correct, thank you very much) but my essays were not, leaving me a grade of 8/20. So I emailed him:
"Hello, Professor.I was reviewing my quiz from week 2 and again the essay questions don'tappear to be graded. Thank you. :)Stefanie Noble"
The reply I got:
"Stefanie,I posted my schedule in an announcement several weeks ago. The plan isto have TDA participation posted on Mondays, the course project andassignments on Tuesday, and the quizzes on Wednesday. Your quiz will be looked at today and points given.OK?Chuck"
This wouldn't bother me if not for the "OK?" at the end. It hit me as rude and demeaning, like I'm stupid or something. Never, in the entire time I have been taking classes with DeVry Online, have I been able to view a grade before the teacher graded and posted it. But he's implying that I was saying there was no grade there at all and that I need to just be patient, stupid little girl that I am (okay, it doesn't say that, but that OK? really irks me).
Maybe I should have just left it alone, but I don't like being made to feel stupid, so I replied:
"Sorry, I guess I misunderstood--I read the announcements whenever I go into class. I'm just confused since I see my quiz grade posted (8/20) with my multiple choices graded, but the essays aren't. Should I be able to see that? Are the multiple choices and essays graded seperately?
Stefanie"
I may be overreacting. I probably am. This guy has just rubbed me wrong from the beginning (he didn't like the way I responded to threaded discussions from day one and told me so, even though the way I did it is the way my teachers from the last 3 years wanted it...).
I think I just need to graduate before I hurt someone...
Friday, July 13, 2007
11 months old
The little man will be the big 0-1 in less than a month. I can hardly believe it. I'm sad that my little baby is rapidly becoming a toddler, but at the same time I absolutely love this stage. He is developing his own personality and he learns something new everyday.
There isn't a whole lot to report on. The milestones are much further apart. He's still a crawler, but he can pull up on just about everything. Occassionally, he'll let go with both hands or hold onto a toy with both hands while standing. He does fine until he realizes what he's doing and he'll either grab hold of something quickly or sit down. He's a good little cruiser, but he still does it on his tip-toes. I'm kind of hoping that means I have a little longer until he starts walking.
For some reason, he is very into licking things lately. He'll pull up on the wall and lick it, he'll come up to me and lick my face, he licks the furniture--it's really pretty nasty but I haven't had much luck getting it to stop. I'm assuming this is a phase and he'll get bored of it soon (I hope). I admit I prefer being licked than bitten, although it's kind of gross when I go to give him a kiss and he licks my mouth.
When he is really happy or excited about something, he waves his arms in the air. We do it with him and say "yay!" since that's how to clap in sign language. If nothing else he'll be able to clap for Auntie Emily.
He is a tantrum master now--I really thought it took longer for that, but apparently 11 months is plenty old enough. He will scream and cry and seriously protest if you tell him "no" or take something away from him. I'm not looking forward to the "terrible twos" if it means he'll be worse than this.
He's got one more tooth coming in on the bottom, bringing our total up to 7. I try to check it everyday to see if it's out, but now that he knows how to use that tongue, he covers his teeth with it so I can't feel. Looking at it it looks out, but I really don't know for sure. It could still be at that white bump swollen gum stage.
He learned to open cabinets about a week ago, so that's a hassle. We haven't put locks on all of them yet (by the time we get to it he'll probably be done with that game anyway). And today he learned to flush the toilet. I think that is going to turn into a great game for him (and an annoying one for me). It probably didn't help that I started laughing the first time because then he got a super proud look on his face and did it again. It's time to put the lid latches on to make sure he doesn't start flushing my stuff down the toilet.
I think he's trying to cut out his afternoon nap, which is pretty poopy. I need my breaks in the day! On Wednesday our ac was messed up so it was too hot for his second nap. He was sweating and screaming so he wouldn't go to sleep. But yesterday everything was fine and he just kept on playing and laughing when he should have been getting tired. He didn't really wear out until after his bath. He went to bed around 7, so about an hour earlier than when he takes his nap, so I guess that's okay. But I'm really going to miss that nap if he cuts it out.
Well, he's napping (in the morning...) and I'm supposed to be working on homework. Guess I should get to that...
There isn't a whole lot to report on. The milestones are much further apart. He's still a crawler, but he can pull up on just about everything. Occassionally, he'll let go with both hands or hold onto a toy with both hands while standing. He does fine until he realizes what he's doing and he'll either grab hold of something quickly or sit down. He's a good little cruiser, but he still does it on his tip-toes. I'm kind of hoping that means I have a little longer until he starts walking.
For some reason, he is very into licking things lately. He'll pull up on the wall and lick it, he'll come up to me and lick my face, he licks the furniture--it's really pretty nasty but I haven't had much luck getting it to stop. I'm assuming this is a phase and he'll get bored of it soon (I hope). I admit I prefer being licked than bitten, although it's kind of gross when I go to give him a kiss and he licks my mouth.
When he is really happy or excited about something, he waves his arms in the air. We do it with him and say "yay!" since that's how to clap in sign language. If nothing else he'll be able to clap for Auntie Emily.
He is a tantrum master now--I really thought it took longer for that, but apparently 11 months is plenty old enough. He will scream and cry and seriously protest if you tell him "no" or take something away from him. I'm not looking forward to the "terrible twos" if it means he'll be worse than this.
He's got one more tooth coming in on the bottom, bringing our total up to 7. I try to check it everyday to see if it's out, but now that he knows how to use that tongue, he covers his teeth with it so I can't feel. Looking at it it looks out, but I really don't know for sure. It could still be at that white bump swollen gum stage.
He learned to open cabinets about a week ago, so that's a hassle. We haven't put locks on all of them yet (by the time we get to it he'll probably be done with that game anyway). And today he learned to flush the toilet. I think that is going to turn into a great game for him (and an annoying one for me). It probably didn't help that I started laughing the first time because then he got a super proud look on his face and did it again. It's time to put the lid latches on to make sure he doesn't start flushing my stuff down the toilet.
I think he's trying to cut out his afternoon nap, which is pretty poopy. I need my breaks in the day! On Wednesday our ac was messed up so it was too hot for his second nap. He was sweating and screaming so he wouldn't go to sleep. But yesterday everything was fine and he just kept on playing and laughing when he should have been getting tired. He didn't really wear out until after his bath. He went to bed around 7, so about an hour earlier than when he takes his nap, so I guess that's okay. But I'm really going to miss that nap if he cuts it out.
Well, he's napping (in the morning...) and I'm supposed to be working on homework. Guess I should get to that...
Sunday, June 10, 2007
More school (blah)
So, the girl from my last vent did eventually do the right part (late, and really poorly), but thankfully the instructor could see the work the rest of us had done and gave me 100 (yay!). But now...
I think my teacher is starting to get us confused. We have weekly threaded discussions that you need to enter by Wednesday. I got in on Tuesday to do my posting, but on Thursday I got an email (it was sent to some other students as well) that I needed to get into the threads since it was a big part of my grade. So me, being my paranoid self, first thought "Oh no! I must have messed up and hit the wrong button or something!", so I check it out, and nope, my posts are right there. But then I realize the other Stephanie (note the spelling) hadn't done hers yet. So right there I think the instructor confused us.
Then, the final draft of the project from my last vent is due this coming Sunday. The goal was to have it done THIS week so that we can all get our info straight and have everything combined and edited. NOBODY (except me, stupid overachiever) has apparently gotten anything done. I finished mine on Thursday, emailed a copy to everyone, and posted it in the threads. I asked for comments on it, and nobody has even acknowledged that they have received it. Then, I'm checking the team thread yesterday, and the professor wrote "Stefanie, here are my comments on the draft" so I assumed he meant me (seeing as it was a reply to my post and the spelling), but it was for the OTHER Stephanie. So I'm going to have to watch my grades really carefully this week to make sure he didn't get confused with that either.
So, even though I finished my paper 10 days ahead of time, I'm worried about the result. I have my last week of homework, and then finals starting on Saturday--I am doing my best to manage my time to avoid stress, and it is apparently useless.
A happy thing, though, is that I have only 8 classes left until I have my degree. I have 106 credits, 22 short of my degree (although I need another 27 due to some poor scheduling on my part)--woo-hoo!!! I cannot wait to be done with this!
I think my teacher is starting to get us confused. We have weekly threaded discussions that you need to enter by Wednesday. I got in on Tuesday to do my posting, but on Thursday I got an email (it was sent to some other students as well) that I needed to get into the threads since it was a big part of my grade. So me, being my paranoid self, first thought "Oh no! I must have messed up and hit the wrong button or something!", so I check it out, and nope, my posts are right there. But then I realize the other Stephanie (note the spelling) hadn't done hers yet. So right there I think the instructor confused us.
Then, the final draft of the project from my last vent is due this coming Sunday. The goal was to have it done THIS week so that we can all get our info straight and have everything combined and edited. NOBODY (except me, stupid overachiever) has apparently gotten anything done. I finished mine on Thursday, emailed a copy to everyone, and posted it in the threads. I asked for comments on it, and nobody has even acknowledged that they have received it. Then, I'm checking the team thread yesterday, and the professor wrote "Stefanie, here are my comments on the draft" so I assumed he meant me (seeing as it was a reply to my post and the spelling), but it was for the OTHER Stephanie. So I'm going to have to watch my grades really carefully this week to make sure he didn't get confused with that either.
So, even though I finished my paper 10 days ahead of time, I'm worried about the result. I have my last week of homework, and then finals starting on Saturday--I am doing my best to manage my time to avoid stress, and it is apparently useless.
A happy thing, though, is that I have only 8 classes left until I have my degree. I have 106 credits, 22 short of my degree (although I need another 27 due to some poor scheduling on my part)--woo-hoo!!! I cannot wait to be done with this!
Saturday, June 9, 2007
10 months old
Ian is 10 months old today. He is getting soooo big and changing all the time--I love it! Today hasn't actually been the best; his sleep has been off for the last couple of nights, and today he decided he wanted out of bed at 6:30, but he's been fussy since he woke up. I am REALLY looking forward to naptime today!
So, what's new? He's always pulling up on things. I think he'd rather stand than anything. He can even get himself up if he has a wall or something for leverage. he likes my legs, he likes pretty much anything he can grab ahold of.
Playtime is a lot more fun. He's starting to understand how his toys work and he looks so proud of himself when he gets it right. Hazen taught him how to high-five, and that's really fun, too. He's also started to put things in my mouth. He'll put the toy to his mouth, then he'll put it up to mine--he thinks it's hilarious. He had a binky in his mouth yesterday, and I picked up another one from the living room and brought him to his room to nurse and put him to bed. I put the extra binky backwards in my mouth and took the one he had in his mouth out. THen he took the one I had in my mouth out and put it in his. At this point he realized it was lunch time, so he took his binky out of his mouth and tried to put it in mine, with a big grin on his face the entire time. I can't believe how much someone so tiny can make me laugh.
He's up to 6 teeth now, with two more coming in. He's crying at me right now, so I need to cut this short. I'll have to edit it later--there's a lot I wanted to say but I can't think of it with the crying going on.
So, what's new? He's always pulling up on things. I think he'd rather stand than anything. He can even get himself up if he has a wall or something for leverage. he likes my legs, he likes pretty much anything he can grab ahold of.
Playtime is a lot more fun. He's starting to understand how his toys work and he looks so proud of himself when he gets it right. Hazen taught him how to high-five, and that's really fun, too. He's also started to put things in my mouth. He'll put the toy to his mouth, then he'll put it up to mine--he thinks it's hilarious. He had a binky in his mouth yesterday, and I picked up another one from the living room and brought him to his room to nurse and put him to bed. I put the extra binky backwards in my mouth and took the one he had in his mouth out. THen he took the one I had in my mouth out and put it in his. At this point he realized it was lunch time, so he took his binky out of his mouth and tried to put it in mine, with a big grin on his face the entire time. I can't believe how much someone so tiny can make me laugh.
He's up to 6 teeth now, with two more coming in. He's crying at me right now, so I need to cut this short. I'll have to edit it later--there's a lot I wanted to say but I can't think of it with the crying going on.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
This is purely a stupid school vent
All I'm doin' is complainin' so if you don't wanna hear it, don't read it.
I am in senior level classes right now. They are hard. I am working my butt off, and I expect others in the classes to do the same. In my online business class, we were assigned a team project. This project was split into 16 "modules" and for a group of 4, we were each assigned 4 modules. Simple, right?
This week (today, actually) we have a draft due. I have spent HOURS on my 4 modules, which is not easy when I have Ian constantly at my feet or finding things to put in his mouth. I did a ton of research. Thursday afternoon, I emailed everyone on my team a copy of my part. I was missing some information, so later that night, I sent them all the edited version of my part. At this point, of the four of us, only ONE of the others had bothered to give us any insight into what he had done.
Last night before bed, I decide to check our message board and my email to see if anyone else has posted anything new. Well, someone did, but it wasn't what I wanted to see. The other girl in the group (who's name is Stephanie J.--notice the spelling) had posted hers. I was actually pretty proud of her for not being the last one until I started to read--she had done MY modules!!!
Me being the paranoid person I am (and always thinking, I must be the one who messed up) rechecked the module assignment. Thank goodness I was NOT the one who messed it up. And I think in total she spent less than 2 hours working on them which makes me think that either she doesn't care or that I am too thorough for what we're doing--it's very possibly both.
The big issue now is that it took her until Thursday of the week we were assigned teams to post anything to us, and this was after our instructor had emailed her several times that she needed to get in there. On top of that, I have been in the threads CONSTANTLY this week posting about my modules and the problems I was having with them (always referring to the modules by number), and I sent TWO drafts to everyone on my team on THURSDAY--3 DAYS AGO!! So this proves to me that she is not doing a "team" project, she's just in her own little world. There were plenty of opportunities for her to notice that she was working on the wrong part, and she didn't bother to keep up with it.
The funny part is that she left a message "if there are any comments, please give me a call at blah-blah-blah, but don't leave me a message, just call back to back". I am not going to spend my Sunday repeatedly calling someone because she made a mistake, but at the same time, I don't know how this is going to affect my grade. Thankfully I have copies of the emails I sent, and the instructor has been fairly active in our team threads, so I should be able to prove my case and that I don't deserve a lowered grade because of her. I really did so much research and worked so hard--I HATE team projects!!!
At least my baby is cute.
I am in senior level classes right now. They are hard. I am working my butt off, and I expect others in the classes to do the same. In my online business class, we were assigned a team project. This project was split into 16 "modules" and for a group of 4, we were each assigned 4 modules. Simple, right?
This week (today, actually) we have a draft due. I have spent HOURS on my 4 modules, which is not easy when I have Ian constantly at my feet or finding things to put in his mouth. I did a ton of research. Thursday afternoon, I emailed everyone on my team a copy of my part. I was missing some information, so later that night, I sent them all the edited version of my part. At this point, of the four of us, only ONE of the others had bothered to give us any insight into what he had done.
Last night before bed, I decide to check our message board and my email to see if anyone else has posted anything new. Well, someone did, but it wasn't what I wanted to see. The other girl in the group (who's name is Stephanie J.--notice the spelling) had posted hers. I was actually pretty proud of her for not being the last one until I started to read--she had done MY modules!!!
Me being the paranoid person I am (and always thinking, I must be the one who messed up) rechecked the module assignment. Thank goodness I was NOT the one who messed it up. And I think in total she spent less than 2 hours working on them which makes me think that either she doesn't care or that I am too thorough for what we're doing--it's very possibly both.
The big issue now is that it took her until Thursday of the week we were assigned teams to post anything to us, and this was after our instructor had emailed her several times that she needed to get in there. On top of that, I have been in the threads CONSTANTLY this week posting about my modules and the problems I was having with them (always referring to the modules by number), and I sent TWO drafts to everyone on my team on THURSDAY--3 DAYS AGO!! So this proves to me that she is not doing a "team" project, she's just in her own little world. There were plenty of opportunities for her to notice that she was working on the wrong part, and she didn't bother to keep up with it.
The funny part is that she left a message "if there are any comments, please give me a call at blah-blah-blah, but don't leave me a message, just call back to back". I am not going to spend my Sunday repeatedly calling someone because she made a mistake, but at the same time, I don't know how this is going to affect my grade. Thankfully I have copies of the emails I sent, and the instructor has been fairly active in our team threads, so I should be able to prove my case and that I don't deserve a lowered grade because of her. I really did so much research and worked so hard--I HATE team projects!!!
At least my baby is cute.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
9 months old
So, the little man is now 9 months old. I can't believe how fast the time is going.
We don't have any new milestones (since I updated 3 times last month...). He's got 2 more teeth--the two on the top, and one more coming in to the side of those (Hazen saw it, I don't know for sure where it is). His sleep has been horrible the last couple of nights, with wakings every 20 minutes (yes, you read that right) to every hour. I'm tired. I thought since the two finally came in it would start to get better, but Hazen crushed that hope by telling me about the next one that's working it's way out. Bummer.
He had his 9-month appointment on Friday. He is 19lbs 14oz and 28 3/4 inches. He's gained almost 12 pounds since birth and 7 1/2 inches. Oh, my big boy. :)
He's eating a lot of table foods now. He gets to try pretty much everything I eat, and he seems to enjoy that. He's had most meats, cheese, and bagels. He also loves macaroni and cheese, although I don't let him have too much of that. He really enjoys food. :)
Today was my first Mother's Day, and that was pretty fun. Hazen made me breakfast and gave me my present. We went out to lunch and got some ice-cream, and he gave Ian a bath while I did some school work. Here's my present from Ian--he pooped in the tub!!! He has NEVER done that (not even as a tiny tiny baby) and he did it for the first time to Hazen, who has given him a total of, I think, 4 baths. It was really funny--I enjoyed it a lot. :) I only felt a little bad laughing while Hazen was holding him out of the tub saying "Help! Help!". :)
He's a great crawler, he pulled up on the coffee table today. He follows me everywhere, he sits outside of doors and cries when someone goes in (I think he just wants whoever he can't see--he bawled while I was in the shower, then he bawled while Hazen was in).
We don't have any new milestones (since I updated 3 times last month...). He's got 2 more teeth--the two on the top, and one more coming in to the side of those (Hazen saw it, I don't know for sure where it is). His sleep has been horrible the last couple of nights, with wakings every 20 minutes (yes, you read that right) to every hour. I'm tired. I thought since the two finally came in it would start to get better, but Hazen crushed that hope by telling me about the next one that's working it's way out. Bummer.
He had his 9-month appointment on Friday. He is 19lbs 14oz and 28 3/4 inches. He's gained almost 12 pounds since birth and 7 1/2 inches. Oh, my big boy. :)
He's eating a lot of table foods now. He gets to try pretty much everything I eat, and he seems to enjoy that. He's had most meats, cheese, and bagels. He also loves macaroni and cheese, although I don't let him have too much of that. He really enjoys food. :)
Today was my first Mother's Day, and that was pretty fun. Hazen made me breakfast and gave me my present. We went out to lunch and got some ice-cream, and he gave Ian a bath while I did some school work. Here's my present from Ian--he pooped in the tub!!! He has NEVER done that (not even as a tiny tiny baby) and he did it for the first time to Hazen, who has given him a total of, I think, 4 baths. It was really funny--I enjoyed it a lot. :) I only felt a little bad laughing while Hazen was holding him out of the tub saying "Help! Help!". :)
He's a great crawler, he pulled up on the coffee table today. He follows me everywhere, he sits outside of doors and cries when someone goes in (I think he just wants whoever he can't see--he bawled while I was in the shower, then he bawled while Hazen was in).
Friday, April 27, 2007
8 1/2 months
Okay, okay. I know this is four updates in half a month. I think I'll be done after this one, though--I can't imagine him learning anything ele in the next two weeks!!
After weeks and weeks of expecting it to happen at anytime, he is FINALLY CRAWLING!!! It is so cute. He's into everything now (like he wasn't before...), and we're busy and tired now (I'm chasing him everywhere), but I'm so proud of him. :)
He started it two nights ago, Wednesday the 25th. We were out the whole day running errands and we came home and took a nap together from 4-6. He usually doesn't get a nap that late since he goes to bed around 7, but he's still doing his thing where he'll go down for a couple of hours then be up until 11 or 12. We got up from our nap, and suddenly he knew how to crawl. I set him on the living room floor and sat next to Hazen on the couch. He had an empty jug of orange juice on the bottom tier of the coffee table (obviously he drinks out of the carton) and Ian saw it and wanted it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him crawl but I wasn't really focused on what I was seeing. Then I realized he was right next to the jug and I said to Hazen "Oh my gosh. I think he just crawled over here". So I moved the jug in front of the entertainment center, and sure enough, he crawled right over to it.
His first day of crawling was pretty funny. He'd get on his hands and knees and pretty much pull his knees along with his arms. His arms would get tired quickly and he'd have to stop and rest pretty often. But then his second day (yesterday) he got pretty good. He actually uses his knees, too, now. I thought the crawling might make him a little more independant, but not really. Today he was sitting with all his toys and he crawled over to me and sat down next to me. Oh well--it makes the baby chasing a little easier when he stays put.
I'm a little panicked because I didn't finish the baby proofing. I started doing all the cabinet locks the night he started crawling, but those things are a PAIN. I can't do them well at all. I've finished two and messed up two more. Blah.
His sleep is back and forth. He slept awesome for about a week, then the three nights before last night he was awake every 1-2 hours again. But then last night he slept from 7-2:30 and then 3-7. Then I brought him to bed with me and nursed him back to sleep until 9. I love those nights. I think all the crawling yesterday tired him out.
He's sitting at my feet crying (I think it's naptime) so I need to end this. I just had to share our exciting news. :)
After weeks and weeks of expecting it to happen at anytime, he is FINALLY CRAWLING!!! It is so cute. He's into everything now (like he wasn't before...), and we're busy and tired now (I'm chasing him everywhere), but I'm so proud of him. :)
He started it two nights ago, Wednesday the 25th. We were out the whole day running errands and we came home and took a nap together from 4-6. He usually doesn't get a nap that late since he goes to bed around 7, but he's still doing his thing where he'll go down for a couple of hours then be up until 11 or 12. We got up from our nap, and suddenly he knew how to crawl. I set him on the living room floor and sat next to Hazen on the couch. He had an empty jug of orange juice on the bottom tier of the coffee table (obviously he drinks out of the carton) and Ian saw it and wanted it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him crawl but I wasn't really focused on what I was seeing. Then I realized he was right next to the jug and I said to Hazen "Oh my gosh. I think he just crawled over here". So I moved the jug in front of the entertainment center, and sure enough, he crawled right over to it.
His first day of crawling was pretty funny. He'd get on his hands and knees and pretty much pull his knees along with his arms. His arms would get tired quickly and he'd have to stop and rest pretty often. But then his second day (yesterday) he got pretty good. He actually uses his knees, too, now. I thought the crawling might make him a little more independant, but not really. Today he was sitting with all his toys and he crawled over to me and sat down next to me. Oh well--it makes the baby chasing a little easier when he stays put.
I'm a little panicked because I didn't finish the baby proofing. I started doing all the cabinet locks the night he started crawling, but those things are a PAIN. I can't do them well at all. I've finished two and messed up two more. Blah.
His sleep is back and forth. He slept awesome for about a week, then the three nights before last night he was awake every 1-2 hours again. But then last night he slept from 7-2:30 and then 3-7. Then I brought him to bed with me and nursed him back to sleep until 9. I love those nights. I think all the crawling yesterday tired him out.
He's sitting at my feet crying (I think it's naptime) so I need to end this. I just had to share our exciting news. :)
Thursday, April 19, 2007
One more update on the kid
Told y'all it's been a busy week in Ian land. ;)
He said "mama" last night. And not just babbling, it was actually look-at-mama-smile and speak. Even when he woke up last night, he was screaming "mama! mama!"
I was hoping his first word would be dada because I feel so bad about all the time Hazen missed out on--I thought it would be really nice for him to hear "dada". But I admit I really love hearing "mama". I was doing all I could to hear him say it yesterday (he does it during hugs and also when I'm "walking" him around the living room-it's more of a drag really...)
Also, we went out and got him some 12-month jammies the other day thinking he'd grow into them over the summer. They looked so huge, I was certain they were too big. Out of curiousity, I put some on him last night and they fit PERFECTLY. We can't believe it. We've now realized we're going to have to go get him some 18-month ones to grow into over the summer!!!
He said "mama" last night. And not just babbling, it was actually look-at-mama-smile and speak. Even when he woke up last night, he was screaming "mama! mama!"
I was hoping his first word would be dada because I feel so bad about all the time Hazen missed out on--I thought it would be really nice for him to hear "dada". But I admit I really love hearing "mama". I was doing all I could to hear him say it yesterday (he does it during hugs and also when I'm "walking" him around the living room-it's more of a drag really...)
Also, we went out and got him some 12-month jammies the other day thinking he'd grow into them over the summer. They looked so huge, I was certain they were too big. Out of curiousity, I put some on him last night and they fit PERFECTLY. We can't believe it. We've now realized we're going to have to go get him some 18-month ones to grow into over the summer!!!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Eight months and nine days
My horrible sleeper of a baby--you know, the one I've been complaining about for the last 8 months and 8 days?? Well, last night he slept from 9:30 until 5!!! And then he went back to sleep from 5:30-9:30. I can't help hoping that this is the start of something wonderful, even though I'm afraid to even think it. I'm sure it was a fluke, but part of me is like "Please, PLEASE let this be an everyday thing now". I can't even believe that it happened. When Hazen's alarm went off this morning at 4, I was so scared. I thought something horrible must have happened. But when I got into his room, he was all curled up sleeping. No problems at all, no idea that I was even there.
In other Ian news, I can't get the kid to hold still! He is so busy all the time now. He used to always want to be picked up, but now he struggles to be put down. He can get himself into the sitting up position, he can roll anywhere he wants to go, he can scoot (especially backwards), and he can ALMOST crawl. He can take one or two "steps" and then he falls over or gives up. He gets into everything, which is amazing to me. I realize I need to vaccuum much more often now--he finds every little tiny thing on the floor. we also haven't finished baby-proofing. We really need to get to that (all I've done is cover the outlets and take everything off the bottoms of our tables).
Sorry to make this so short--he's napping and I have so much homework this week I'm a little panicked about it. I just HAD to tell someone about my awesome night. :)
In other Ian news, I can't get the kid to hold still! He is so busy all the time now. He used to always want to be picked up, but now he struggles to be put down. He can get himself into the sitting up position, he can roll anywhere he wants to go, he can scoot (especially backwards), and he can ALMOST crawl. He can take one or two "steps" and then he falls over or gives up. He gets into everything, which is amazing to me. I realize I need to vaccuum much more often now--he finds every little tiny thing on the floor. we also haven't finished baby-proofing. We really need to get to that (all I've done is cover the outlets and take everything off the bottoms of our tables).
Sorry to make this so short--he's napping and I have so much homework this week I'm a little panicked about it. I just HAD to tell someone about my awesome night. :)
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Eight months old
Ian will be 8-months old tomorrow. He's growing up so fast, I can't believe it.
He's grown a lot in the last month--he's changed just since Hazen's gotten home. Suddenly he has all this hair, and he's getting a little chubby. He's also getting long. He's still just got the two bottom teeth, but the top two are coming in and making for a cranky baby. He got moved into the convertible carseat last week. I was sad about the milestone, but he looks so much more comfortable in it. I also took apart the swing yesterday and put that up. I also had to go through all his clothes and box up what's too small. He's outgrowing everything.
We started him on finger foods a couple of days ago. He gets some of the Gerber puffs. He LOVES them. The first time he could not figure out what to do with them. He just kept grabbing the bowl and flinging it over his head. But now, he can get most of what he attempts to get into his mouth into his mouth. A lot of them still end up on the floor and in his lap, but it's a big improvement. It cracks me up how hard he concentrates on what he's doing--it's tough getting those chubby little fingers to do what he wants!
He's almost crawling, but not quite. I guess I'm glad since I enjoy not running after him, but at the same time I feel like it's time. I thought he'd be doing it by now. He gets on his hands and knees and rocks, but that's about it. He always changes his mind and either rolls onto his back or sits back down. Today for the first time I watched him go from his tummy to his bottom. I was pretty impressed. He also let me watch him roll around his bedroom last night. He's been rolling to get places, but I have never seen him do it. I'll leave the room with him in one place and get back with him in another, but finally last night he showed me how he does it.
Sleep still sucks. He did sleep for 5 hours straight last night, though--the most sleep I've gotten since he was born!! He even slept all night in his crib--I never brought him into bed with me. He FINALLY went to sleep just before 11 (he's been doing that lately. I don't know if it's because of the teething or what, but it's exhausting!!!), woke up at 1, then slept until 6. He went back down around 6:20 and slept until 8:50 when we got up for the day. He also took two naps today, one was 1 1/2 hours and the other was 30 minutes, and now he's been in bed for about an hour (since 6:30). Hopefully he stays asleep for awhile and doesn't think it's time to wake up for a few hours when he wakes up.
I know I have more to say, but I can't think of it. I'll update when I remember. :)
He's grown a lot in the last month--he's changed just since Hazen's gotten home. Suddenly he has all this hair, and he's getting a little chubby. He's also getting long. He's still just got the two bottom teeth, but the top two are coming in and making for a cranky baby. He got moved into the convertible carseat last week. I was sad about the milestone, but he looks so much more comfortable in it. I also took apart the swing yesterday and put that up. I also had to go through all his clothes and box up what's too small. He's outgrowing everything.
We started him on finger foods a couple of days ago. He gets some of the Gerber puffs. He LOVES them. The first time he could not figure out what to do with them. He just kept grabbing the bowl and flinging it over his head. But now, he can get most of what he attempts to get into his mouth into his mouth. A lot of them still end up on the floor and in his lap, but it's a big improvement. It cracks me up how hard he concentrates on what he's doing--it's tough getting those chubby little fingers to do what he wants!
He's almost crawling, but not quite. I guess I'm glad since I enjoy not running after him, but at the same time I feel like it's time. I thought he'd be doing it by now. He gets on his hands and knees and rocks, but that's about it. He always changes his mind and either rolls onto his back or sits back down. Today for the first time I watched him go from his tummy to his bottom. I was pretty impressed. He also let me watch him roll around his bedroom last night. He's been rolling to get places, but I have never seen him do it. I'll leave the room with him in one place and get back with him in another, but finally last night he showed me how he does it.
Sleep still sucks. He did sleep for 5 hours straight last night, though--the most sleep I've gotten since he was born!! He even slept all night in his crib--I never brought him into bed with me. He FINALLY went to sleep just before 11 (he's been doing that lately. I don't know if it's because of the teething or what, but it's exhausting!!!), woke up at 1, then slept until 6. He went back down around 6:20 and slept until 8:50 when we got up for the day. He also took two naps today, one was 1 1/2 hours and the other was 30 minutes, and now he's been in bed for about an hour (since 6:30). Hopefully he stays asleep for awhile and doesn't think it's time to wake up for a few hours when he wakes up.
I know I have more to say, but I can't think of it. I'll update when I remember. :)
Friday, March 16, 2007
Seven months old
Ian is 7 months old now. I am completely shocked--I have no idea how this is happening so fast.
He's a champion "talker" now. Babbles constantly. While he's babbling, we can babble back, and he'll talk back to us. It actually keeps him entertained for a little while (when he's in a good mood). He says "da" pretty regularly, but not "da-da". "Ma" comes out once in awhile, too, but not nearly as often as "da" (figures). When we say "ma-ma" and "da-da" to him, he just smiles. He doesn't try to repeat it.
He's also learned a new "fun" sound--he likes to pretend he's pooping!! He was doing a really serious job on a diaper the other day, and Hazen and I couldn't stop laughing. Wouldn't you know he'd figure out "Hmm, they think this is funny" and now he's always grunting and making faces. He'll even do it occassionally while he's cranky. At first I was worried he was constipated, but I'm pretty sure that's not the issue. He's still filling his pants a few times a day; he just seems to think this is a fun sound. He's also a really good shrieker now, also something that has just gotten regular in the last couple of days. There were times I heard a baby squeal and didn't know it was mine! Hazen was the one pushing him in the stroller, so I had no idea. He's getting so vocal!
His hair is finally growing back, thank goodness. He was as bald as bald can be for awhile there. I think we might even have to pull out the baby brush sometime soon (definitely not yet though). We still have no idea what color his hair will be. Both Hazen and his brother Joe have a million hair colors, so I'm thinking Ian will be the same. He has red eyebrows, super dark eyelashes, white blonde hair in some spots and light brown in others, with a couple little streaks of reddish blonde. I don't know. I thought maybe I'd be able to tell once his hair started to come back, but I still have no idea.
I'm a little worried I might have a crawler in the next couple of weeks. He tries so hard, he just can't figure it out. He loves to sit up and throw his toys. But then he'll decide he wants the toy that he just chucked. So, from the sitting up position, he will "walk" his hands out in front of him as far as he can until he either reaches the toy or falls over. He'll get himself with his tummy flat on the ground, but still have his bottom half sitting on the floor. He's also gotten up on his feet and hands a couple of times, but he falls over immediately after. He still has no idea what to do with his legs. Once he gets on his stomach, he just lies and kicks until he gets frustrated, and then he cries. I kind of think he won't be a conventional crawler. I think he'll do something other than the knees and hands method. He can wiggle himself to new places: we'll leave him in one spot, go somewhere else for a second, and find him somewhere else. Hazen thinks he rolls, but he's also able to use his hands and kind of scoot his butt where he wants to be. He never makes it too far, so I'm not too worried yet, but I know one day I'll leave him on his blankie in the living room and find him hanging out in the bathroom or something. We're not really ready for a mobile baby yet--we're not babyproofed, and his room isn't even done yet. Still boxes and no organization or furniture (other than the crib). I need to get on it.
Sleep. Ugh. Still up every 1-2 hours, though he's been nicer lately and is pretty much just waking ever 2 hours. It's something. This morning he came into bed with me for a couple of hourse because he WOULD NOT SLEEP unless I was holding him for over an hour from 3:30 on. It's not really his fault--he's got a cold and a plugged up nose so I know he doesn't feel well, so that was probably a lot of it. I was too tired to deal with it and Hazen was getting ready for work so I just brought him in with me. He still didn't go to sleep until almost 5:30 and slept for (you guessed it) two hours. I'm crazy and still keep hoping every night that he'll learn to sleep.
He's getting fussy at me, so I need to get to him. I'll probably update some more when I can. Not a lot of free time between the kid, husband, and school.
He's a champion "talker" now. Babbles constantly. While he's babbling, we can babble back, and he'll talk back to us. It actually keeps him entertained for a little while (when he's in a good mood). He says "da" pretty regularly, but not "da-da". "Ma" comes out once in awhile, too, but not nearly as often as "da" (figures). When we say "ma-ma" and "da-da" to him, he just smiles. He doesn't try to repeat it.
He's also learned a new "fun" sound--he likes to pretend he's pooping!! He was doing a really serious job on a diaper the other day, and Hazen and I couldn't stop laughing. Wouldn't you know he'd figure out "Hmm, they think this is funny" and now he's always grunting and making faces. He'll even do it occassionally while he's cranky. At first I was worried he was constipated, but I'm pretty sure that's not the issue. He's still filling his pants a few times a day; he just seems to think this is a fun sound. He's also a really good shrieker now, also something that has just gotten regular in the last couple of days. There were times I heard a baby squeal and didn't know it was mine! Hazen was the one pushing him in the stroller, so I had no idea. He's getting so vocal!
His hair is finally growing back, thank goodness. He was as bald as bald can be for awhile there. I think we might even have to pull out the baby brush sometime soon (definitely not yet though). We still have no idea what color his hair will be. Both Hazen and his brother Joe have a million hair colors, so I'm thinking Ian will be the same. He has red eyebrows, super dark eyelashes, white blonde hair in some spots and light brown in others, with a couple little streaks of reddish blonde. I don't know. I thought maybe I'd be able to tell once his hair started to come back, but I still have no idea.
I'm a little worried I might have a crawler in the next couple of weeks. He tries so hard, he just can't figure it out. He loves to sit up and throw his toys. But then he'll decide he wants the toy that he just chucked. So, from the sitting up position, he will "walk" his hands out in front of him as far as he can until he either reaches the toy or falls over. He'll get himself with his tummy flat on the ground, but still have his bottom half sitting on the floor. He's also gotten up on his feet and hands a couple of times, but he falls over immediately after. He still has no idea what to do with his legs. Once he gets on his stomach, he just lies and kicks until he gets frustrated, and then he cries. I kind of think he won't be a conventional crawler. I think he'll do something other than the knees and hands method. He can wiggle himself to new places: we'll leave him in one spot, go somewhere else for a second, and find him somewhere else. Hazen thinks he rolls, but he's also able to use his hands and kind of scoot his butt where he wants to be. He never makes it too far, so I'm not too worried yet, but I know one day I'll leave him on his blankie in the living room and find him hanging out in the bathroom or something. We're not really ready for a mobile baby yet--we're not babyproofed, and his room isn't even done yet. Still boxes and no organization or furniture (other than the crib). I need to get on it.
Sleep. Ugh. Still up every 1-2 hours, though he's been nicer lately and is pretty much just waking ever 2 hours. It's something. This morning he came into bed with me for a couple of hourse because he WOULD NOT SLEEP unless I was holding him for over an hour from 3:30 on. It's not really his fault--he's got a cold and a plugged up nose so I know he doesn't feel well, so that was probably a lot of it. I was too tired to deal with it and Hazen was getting ready for work so I just brought him in with me. He still didn't go to sleep until almost 5:30 and slept for (you guessed it) two hours. I'm crazy and still keep hoping every night that he'll learn to sleep.
He's getting fussy at me, so I need to get to him. I'll probably update some more when I can. Not a lot of free time between the kid, husband, and school.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
He's home
Hazen finally came home a little after 9 last night. It was the longest day EVER. Hopefully he'll be around for awhile, now. :)
Just wanted to let you all know he's home, so if you want to give him a call he'll probably answer now. :)
Just wanted to let you all know he's home, so if you want to give him a call he'll probably answer now. :)
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Woo-hoo!
I am having a great day and it is only 9:40am. I don't think I will stop smiling this week. :)
I finished my final paper. It's not due until NEXT Sunday mind you, so I now have the entire week to spend with Hazen and I don't have to worry about any school work.
Oh, right, Hazen... he comes home TOMORROW!!! I cannot believe that 6 months have already passed. I can remember bawling my eyes out while saying good bye thinking the end would never come, and now it's here. It's amazing. Right now, he's been out of Kuwait for almost 10 hours and will be back in the states later this afternoon or evening. That is completely insane to me.
Well, I have a ton of cleaning to do, and I'd like to maybe get more organized (I can't even walk through my room without stepping over or on things).
I am in a great mood. :)
I finished my final paper. It's not due until NEXT Sunday mind you, so I now have the entire week to spend with Hazen and I don't have to worry about any school work.
Oh, right, Hazen... he comes home TOMORROW!!! I cannot believe that 6 months have already passed. I can remember bawling my eyes out while saying good bye thinking the end would never come, and now it's here. It's amazing. Right now, he's been out of Kuwait for almost 10 hours and will be back in the states later this afternoon or evening. That is completely insane to me.
Well, I have a ton of cleaning to do, and I'd like to maybe get more organized (I can't even walk through my room without stepping over or on things).
I am in a great mood. :)
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Six months old
That's right, the little man is already 6 months old. I can't believe it. I just don't know where the time has gone. One day I was a miserable pregnant lady and the next I had a baby who's half a year old. It's insane.
He started to cut his first tooth today. It's just barely poking out. I was rubbing his gums this morning and felt something pokey. I looked in, and sure enough there is this little line of white making it's way through a swollen gum. it's exciting and sad. The gummy smile days are coming to an end, but at the same time, it's his first tooth. It's amazing how every milestone makes me excited and miserable. I love it all, but I'm already missing the newborn days and know that the infant days are on their way out altogether. It's a lot of fun, though. I have to say, you really don't know what it's like to be a parent and love someone until you are and you do. And it amazes me how much more I love him as time goes on. It's very cool. :)
The tooth was pretty much my big announcement. Not much else has changed. He can sit up with the best of them (he still topples over though), he loves to blow his raspberries, and sleep is still a distant memory. But, since being in our own place, he has been in bed by 8 (though only for 45-90 minutes at a time). I know that being in a new place, in his own room (even if only for half the night), and teething isn't helping the situation. I am going to start the methods in "the No Cry Sleep Solution" next week or so. I want to give him time to adjust to his new surroundings before I try anything on him. I don't think I could expect any kind of positive results under these circumstances anyway.
He started to cut his first tooth today. It's just barely poking out. I was rubbing his gums this morning and felt something pokey. I looked in, and sure enough there is this little line of white making it's way through a swollen gum. it's exciting and sad. The gummy smile days are coming to an end, but at the same time, it's his first tooth. It's amazing how every milestone makes me excited and miserable. I love it all, but I'm already missing the newborn days and know that the infant days are on their way out altogether. It's a lot of fun, though. I have to say, you really don't know what it's like to be a parent and love someone until you are and you do. And it amazes me how much more I love him as time goes on. It's very cool. :)
The tooth was pretty much my big announcement. Not much else has changed. He can sit up with the best of them (he still topples over though), he loves to blow his raspberries, and sleep is still a distant memory. But, since being in our own place, he has been in bed by 8 (though only for 45-90 minutes at a time). I know that being in a new place, in his own room (even if only for half the night), and teething isn't helping the situation. I am going to start the methods in "the No Cry Sleep Solution" next week or so. I want to give him time to adjust to his new surroundings before I try anything on him. I don't think I could expect any kind of positive results under these circumstances anyway.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Bed
Ian has been in his crib in his own room since 8:00 (it's now 10). He went down at 8, woke at 8:45, was rocked, and back to sleep at 9. I am amazed. I have no idea what the night holds (this is our first night staying in the new apartment), but I feel like we're off to a good start as far as getting him out of my room (and bed!) and into his own. My little boy is growing up.
Home
We are back in Vegas getting settled. I'm happy, nervous, sad, excited. you know, all that. :)
Hopefully the hubby gets home soon--I'm soooo anxious!!!
Hopefully the hubby gets home soon--I'm soooo anxious!!!
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Moving
My dad and I are heading back to Vegas tomorrow. I can't believe it's already been almost 6 months since Hazen left! I won't have internet access for a few days, but I will update once Ian and I are settled. Until then, everyone stay safe and know I'm thinking about you! :)
Monday, January 29, 2007
Insomnia
I have been wide awake since 4:15 this morning. He woke up to eat, I fed him, I went to the bathroom, and that's where I lost it. I should have never turned on that light. Now he's out and I'm up. Not good. Hopefully I can get back to bed soon, but I don't know. I was awake for about 40 minutes before I decided I should stop tossing and turning before I woke him up. Now I'm bored and not tired.
I'll be heading back to Vegas on Friday, and I move in on Monday. A little excited, a little nervous, a little scared. It will all work out fine, though. Not sure how I'm going to get unpacked, take care of Ian, and keep up my grades, but I know I'll manage.
Guess I'll head back to bed and see what happens. This is not fun
I'll be heading back to Vegas on Friday, and I move in on Monday. A little excited, a little nervous, a little scared. It will all work out fine, though. Not sure how I'm going to get unpacked, take care of Ian, and keep up my grades, but I know I'll manage.
Guess I'll head back to bed and see what happens. This is not fun
Friday, January 19, 2007
Update on Mr. Ian
Ian had his ultrasound on his neck last Thursday. We finally got the results on it yesterday, and it turns out he has a benign cyst and swollen lymph nodes. For now, all I need to do is continue to keep an eye on it, and let them know if anything with it changes.
He also finished his physical therapy on his tortecollis yesterday. I LOVE his therapist, and am a little sad I won't be seeing her anymore. She did tell me, however, that he's not "cured" and I need to keep a close eye on him until he's 3 or 4. As he grows, it will pull the muscles tight, and since they're already tight, he may revert to hanging his head to the left. So we may be seeing a therapist again in Vegas, and she wrote that on our release papers.
Sleeping is a nightmare. There is a method (actually, I'm finding most methods use this) that involves eat, play, and sleep. It's all about giving the baby a routine, something we don't have at all (it's difficult being at my dad's and establishing a routine, so it's something we will really work on once we get to Vegas in a couple of weeks). Supposedly, the better a baby naps, the better he'll sleep. LIES LIES LIES. Yesterday, I got him to take 2 naps, one was an hour, the next 1 1/2 hours. I was psyched for bedtime, totally thinking "Oh yeah, he'll sleep now". He woke up EVERY HOUR. I tried not to feed him everytime and just helped him soothe himself back to sleep, but it didn't go well for me and at one point I actually got so frustrated I yelled at him. I felt horrible, and it obviously didn't help, but I don't know what else to do. I haven't slept more than a couple of hours at a time since he was born and it's getting to me. I can't wait for Hazen to get home and help me with all this. I'm starting to lose it a little bit.
Oh well. he's been down now for about an hour, and hopefully he'll sleep a little longer. It's hard because he's asleep in his bouncy chair in the living room--he wakes up and screams the second I put him in his crib. He is a stubborn little thing.
He also finished his physical therapy on his tortecollis yesterday. I LOVE his therapist, and am a little sad I won't be seeing her anymore. She did tell me, however, that he's not "cured" and I need to keep a close eye on him until he's 3 or 4. As he grows, it will pull the muscles tight, and since they're already tight, he may revert to hanging his head to the left. So we may be seeing a therapist again in Vegas, and she wrote that on our release papers.
Sleeping is a nightmare. There is a method (actually, I'm finding most methods use this) that involves eat, play, and sleep. It's all about giving the baby a routine, something we don't have at all (it's difficult being at my dad's and establishing a routine, so it's something we will really work on once we get to Vegas in a couple of weeks). Supposedly, the better a baby naps, the better he'll sleep. LIES LIES LIES. Yesterday, I got him to take 2 naps, one was an hour, the next 1 1/2 hours. I was psyched for bedtime, totally thinking "Oh yeah, he'll sleep now". He woke up EVERY HOUR. I tried not to feed him everytime and just helped him soothe himself back to sleep, but it didn't go well for me and at one point I actually got so frustrated I yelled at him. I felt horrible, and it obviously didn't help, but I don't know what else to do. I haven't slept more than a couple of hours at a time since he was born and it's getting to me. I can't wait for Hazen to get home and help me with all this. I'm starting to lose it a little bit.
Oh well. he's been down now for about an hour, and hopefully he'll sleep a little longer. It's hard because he's asleep in his bouncy chair in the living room--he wakes up and screams the second I put him in his crib. He is a stubborn little thing.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
RIP little dog
Sandy was put to sleep on Friday, the 12th. It was one of the hardest things I've had to do, but I'm starting to admit it was the right thing. I wish he were still here, and I miss him so much, but he's not suffering anymore, and that makes me feel better.
I don't have much more to say about it. Thanks for everyone who gave me advice. It really did help. :(
I don't have much more to say about it. Thanks for everyone who gave me advice. It really did help. :(
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Four months
I can't believe I didn't update at 4 months--I meant to, I reminded myself, and apparently I just never got to it. So I'll try to do as much as I can now while he's napping.
He is doing really well. He rolls easily from his tummy to his back, which is a little bit of a problem since he's supposed to be doing a lot of tummy time for his tortecollis. He's pretty cute when he does it though. :) He's very close to rolling from his back to his belly, he just gets caught up on his inside shoulder. It should be any day now.
He can almost sit up on his own. He hunches over and holds himself up with his hands. He's about out of the bouncy chair because he'll get himself sitting up and hunched over the side. It's pretty sad--the bouncy chair was my only source of freedom and it's almost gone.
He pulls himself up into standing with the help of our fingers. With no effort from anyone else, he will grab on and pull up into sitting and then into standing. He loves to stand and he'll look around and smile.
His last appointment went well. On the 11th of December he was 14lbs 13oz and 25.4 inches. I'm sure he's well over 15 or 16 pounds now--he is HEAVY. He also started on rice cereal last week. I was very adament about not starting him until he was 6 months old, but he's been sitting up at the table with us and he looks around and acts like he's chewing. It was time. He does very well with it, and most of it is going in the belly instead of on it.
The tortecollis is really improving. We're finally down to appointments every other week with Karen, his physical therapist, as opposed to the twice a week appointments we were doing in the beginning. He has a lump on the back of his neck that we've been watching since he was 2 months old, and originally we thought it was connected to the tortecollis. However, Karen doesn't think so, and it's grown a bit, so we just got a refferal for an ultrasound today. My poor guy is having a rough start with the eczema, tortecollis, and the lump, but he is really learning to deal with new people and situations, probably better than he would if it weren't for all the issues.
He's still nowhere near sleeping through the night. Last night he was up at 12:15 (didn't go to sleep until after 11), 4, 5, and then 9:30. The big stretch from 5 until 9:30 was because I let him into bed with me (He wouldn't go back to sleep for over an hour, so around 6 I picked him up). I've been letting him sleep with me much more than I wanted to (I didn't want to do it at all) but it's the only way I get ANY sleep. I'm hoping it will be easier once Hazen's home so I'll have someone else to get up with him, but right now, I'm exhausted, and knowing he'll sleep if he's next to me is just too appealing when I haven't had much sleep.
Well, I think I hear him "talking" so I should probably get back to being mommy...
He is doing really well. He rolls easily from his tummy to his back, which is a little bit of a problem since he's supposed to be doing a lot of tummy time for his tortecollis. He's pretty cute when he does it though. :) He's very close to rolling from his back to his belly, he just gets caught up on his inside shoulder. It should be any day now.
He can almost sit up on his own. He hunches over and holds himself up with his hands. He's about out of the bouncy chair because he'll get himself sitting up and hunched over the side. It's pretty sad--the bouncy chair was my only source of freedom and it's almost gone.
He pulls himself up into standing with the help of our fingers. With no effort from anyone else, he will grab on and pull up into sitting and then into standing. He loves to stand and he'll look around and smile.
His last appointment went well. On the 11th of December he was 14lbs 13oz and 25.4 inches. I'm sure he's well over 15 or 16 pounds now--he is HEAVY. He also started on rice cereal last week. I was very adament about not starting him until he was 6 months old, but he's been sitting up at the table with us and he looks around and acts like he's chewing. It was time. He does very well with it, and most of it is going in the belly instead of on it.
The tortecollis is really improving. We're finally down to appointments every other week with Karen, his physical therapist, as opposed to the twice a week appointments we were doing in the beginning. He has a lump on the back of his neck that we've been watching since he was 2 months old, and originally we thought it was connected to the tortecollis. However, Karen doesn't think so, and it's grown a bit, so we just got a refferal for an ultrasound today. My poor guy is having a rough start with the eczema, tortecollis, and the lump, but he is really learning to deal with new people and situations, probably better than he would if it weren't for all the issues.
He's still nowhere near sleeping through the night. Last night he was up at 12:15 (didn't go to sleep until after 11), 4, 5, and then 9:30. The big stretch from 5 until 9:30 was because I let him into bed with me (He wouldn't go back to sleep for over an hour, so around 6 I picked him up). I've been letting him sleep with me much more than I wanted to (I didn't want to do it at all) but it's the only way I get ANY sleep. I'm hoping it will be easier once Hazen's home so I'll have someone else to get up with him, but right now, I'm exhausted, and knowing he'll sleep if he's next to me is just too appealing when I haven't had much sleep.
Well, I think I hear him "talking" so I should probably get back to being mommy...
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