At Mom & Dad's

We came to Mom & Dad's on Friday. Justin did fabulous on the trip. We were traveling solo, so I wasn't sure how he would do. We left home at 7am and he slept for the first 2.5 hours and then played the next 2 hours till we met up with Aunt Elaine for lunch. We had a great lunch and visit with Auntie....then we got back in the car and Justin slept another 1.5 or so hours (till I stopped for Cofee and he woke up)..then he played till we got home...about another 2.5 hours....no screaming and yelling...when he got a bit fussy, I put in some new kids music CD's that Justin got for his bday and we sang songs (old mcdonald, etc)....he did great!!!

1 year checkup

Yesterday Justin had his 1 year checkup. He is doing great!

He weighs in at 22.06 pounds (50th percentile) and is 31 1/4 inches tall (90th Percentile)

He is sure growing up quickly. He is moving all around the furniture, stacking his toys, eating more variety of food, and just every day seems to be growing more.

Finally, a hair cut

Well, here we are earlier today...I actually trimmed Justin's hair out of his eyes about a week ago....still shaggy boy early today.


Another pic so you can see the side.


So, today we all three went to get our hair cut by Auntie Meghan. She did a fantastic job....Justin is getting better at getting his hair cut - but still doesn't LOVE it. :) Daddy and Justin with their new do's.


A close up...Aunt Meghan couldn't resist spiking it.


Even Mommy got a trim. I love how she did my hair, but I know I will never be able to give it the fluff that she gets...She did cut about 3 inches off.....and did layers...I love it.

First Quad Ride

On Sunday we drove over to see Grammy and Grandpa....Justin got his first ride on the Quad. He and Daddy had a lot of fun. When Todd would stop, he would reach his hand out to get it moving again, he knew Daddy twisted that handle up there, and he would take a try at it. When I asked him if he was done, he would shake his head "no"...

Just Born Justin

Happy Day Video and Pics

I am so funny!



Justin hanging out with his favorite Dog.



Happy Birthday to Justin (Mommy's singing isn't the greatest)

Justin's First Birthday

Wow,

it is so hard to believe that it has been 1 year today. In 6 minutes Justin will be exactly 1 year old. He was born at 10:46am. I look back at the blog and see how much has changed in just a short amount of time. And, just how much you can love someone. It is really amazing. We won't be having any big party today since some of the house is still under the weather, but will plan something later this month.

pic to come soon

Stayin' Home Blog

My sister-in-law, Dana, and I have started another blog. Check it out it is Stayin' Home. It is for moms to communicate about the ins and outs of staying at home with the kids. We hope that we can share money saving tips, child rearing advice, funny antidotes, and emotional support when the going gets tough. All are welcome to comment and be contributors even though the emphasis is on staying at home.

If you'd like to be a contributor please just comment on this blog, Dana's blog, or the new Stayin' Home blog.

Cell Phone

Hi all,

well, my cell phone seems to be dead. I talked on it for about an hour yesterday, the battery was depleating, so I plugged it in and it auto turned off......so, last night I went to turn it back on and there is no screen. It looks like it turns on, but no screen. Will have to go get a new one I suppose..we pay for the insurance every month....so, if you call, you might get V/M for a few days.

Update - turns out it works, but the screen doesn't work, so I can use the speaker to get to contacts and make a call...and I can rec've a call, I just won't automatically know who you are.

Day 6

I finally called the doctor today. I feel like I am taking two steps forward, one step back. I actually just called to check about OTC meds while nursing....when the nurse talked to me and heard how bad my voice was, then that I was also caring for a little one (she thought I was a saint for going 6 days)...and so she talked to the doc. They wrote me a prescription over the phone to our local drugstore...so I didn't have to drive to town and back, it was so very nice of them. No co-pay either. Now, if I had known they were going to prescribe me something, I would have gotten some for Todd too, but didn't think of that till after the fact, so since he isn't nursing, I got him some Zicam...the Mucinex just isn't working for him.

hoping to feel really good tomorrow.

Hello. . anyone on the other end of this phone

Well, here it is Wednesday (I think)...anyway, we are all still sick (yes, somehow the bug is lingering with us). I have laryngitis - so the house has been pretty quiet...I try to talk, but can only whisper...Justin on the other hand can scream very well. Right now he is in his crib screaming like crazy (he isn't too hot on this back in his own crib at naptime yet, but I think I will let him cry today). The problem is that I cough and then he hears me, so he gets all riled up again. I hope this all ends soon.

But, even though the nap thing isn't working, he is in a fairly good mood. He still has a very runny nose and he is coughing too. He is still on his antibiotics...oh, and he is teething...both sides on the bottom are really swollen. Nothing helps!

I did try to catch some fun photo's for the day to let you know we will survive :) Here is Justin talking on the phone.

This is Justin's favorite dog named "Spot"...it actually is on his shirt too...he came from Mervyns and he loves him. Last night we went to check on him and he had a hold around spot with his arm, they were head to head...it was adorable. And, last night went well, in his own crib, only woke up once at 2am.

Daddy comes home for lunch every day. Justin loves his daddy. This is them today, Justin insisted that Daddy read him his book. Not that he really listens, but he likes it. Yesterday, Todd was getting ready to leave for work and Justin went and sat in front of the door - like he was guarding the door and daddy couldn't leave.

I think he is very puzzled here

Oh My . . .

Cold Toilet

Okay, so have you ever been sick and realized just how cold the toilet seat is? I guess I never really realized today. I thought it would be so much more pleasant if the seat were just a tad warmer....and I wondered if it existed..so I Googled it.....The Ultra Touch Heated Toilet Seat does exist. I won't be getting one, but it is sure a funny thought.

still sick

well, we are still sick here. It is a slow process and Mommy is now sick too. I got sick on Saturday....today we have been just hanging low here at home. Not much to share. Wish we weren't sick - we had a play date scheduled for tomorrow, but had to cancel :(

I am looking forward to feeling better. Justin has been sick since Wed AM (1am)...and is still working on getting better - 2 more days on meds, but at least no more green goo coming out of his eyes!

a slow road of recovery

Well, last night was terrible! We were up a lot, and then at least an hour at 3:30am. It was insane. When Justin finally woke up in the am, we got in the car and headed the 45 mile trip to town. I had called the Dr. and got the answering service, but found out they opened at 8:30, so I called at 8:35 and they said to come in as soon as we got into town...a relief that they would see us so soon. And, Todd took part of the AM off so he could go with us. I was a bit frazzled, to say the least, so the extra hands and driver was nice....yes, he is still sick too.

Anyway, Justin has an ear infection. He has green goo coming out his nose and his eyes, his eyes are all red, etc. He is looking a bit better tonight, as Todd just got home at 8pm and says he looks so much better...attitude is better etc. He is on a prescribed med....so, we will see how the weekend goes.

Fever today

Well, I went in last night to feed Justin at 1:30 and he was having a hard time BF and breathing...his nose was a bit stuffy...I put him back in his crib, but he moaned for about 15 minites..so I put him in our bed to watch him.

He slept until 6 and then ate again, and slept in my arms on the couch until 7:30...woke up and he had a fever. I took his temp 3 times, got 101.5, 103.2, so I didn't know which was correct. He had 2 layers of clothes on to sleep in, so I took a layer off, but he was still not feeling good, we snuggled for a while, called Daddy and Grandpa said to put him in the tub..did that and now (9am) he is a bit better, playing with toys, etc...not too much of an appetite though..we have a stuffy nose still, green and grose!

Now it is 9:30 and we are playing hard, temp seems to be back to normal, but I am not sure about my thermometer....I took my temp and it was good, so it must be right, just seemed like J's temp was all over the place this am....

Yup - I am 31 today

Thank you to all of you whom wished me a Happy Day. It has been a very busy day. I got my first call at 8:30 and was on the phone almost the whole time with various people until around Noon. Justin did pretty well not having my full attention, but he did bite me around 11:45 - cue to Mom, I am hungry...so off the phone to be with Justin. Daddy came home and we had lunch. Justin got a nap, although it was only 20 minutes....I think he was feeling deprived of Mommy, so I held him for another hour (I know, bad bad, but I do love to hold him and watch him sleep sometimes).

Off to Wally world for a quick trip of a few needs, and home to play with Justin until Daddy get's home. Sorry I haven't responded to all my wishes via email yet....Thank You....it felt so nice to have so many friends call/write, etc and wish me a good day.

Todd came home and cooked me dinner....pork chops, potatos, and fresh bread....desert is yet to come - he is napping at the present time, but will wake him in a minute for desert....YUM!!!

I hope to find a picture of myself 31 years ago...but it is late and need to be with Todd for a bit..hopefully tomorrow I will find it.

January

Yes, I am still here, just haven't blogged in what seems like forever - at least not with pictures. Justin is continuing to grow like a weed. He is becoming very independent - as he likes to have his own utensils when eating...not that he uses them to feed himself, but he wants to at least try. If I try to feed him without him having a spoon or fork in hand, his mouth is shut!

Here is Justin wearing his New Happy Heiny......I tried to make my first cloth diaper all in one and I don't really like it...I might still try some more...or not. I do know that for our second baby (no I am not PG)...I do want to do cloth. We have the G's with prefold inserts for his size now and I have 3 Large G's...so really Justin is set...I really like the Happy Heiny's, but since I already have stuff that works, it seems like too much $$$ for something I don't REALLY need.

On the cloth front, we are doing well. There are days that we use more disposables, just out of need. Like the other day, it seemed like we used all the covers, etc...so we used 2 more disposables than normal, but we are back to cloth today. And, I can say that changing a diaper in the car is awful! The only great place for him to get changed is in the front seat, but he is so uncomfortable....so it isn't an easy chore and sometimes a D is easier......



Justin and Daddy are playing with his push car....


And, this is what you do when Justin goes to bed and the power is out! Play RISK....coarse I was loosing and by 10pm I was ready for bed....so we bailed on the game, but Todd had about 80% domination.


Other than that, this weekend we treked to Ikea......didn't buy much - but sometimes it is fun to get ideas, etc. I wanted a coat rack for the front door (since we have a closet, but the coats typically end up on the couch)....and we found one we liked, but it was already stained and not in a color we liked, so Todd is going to make it for us.

Other than that...not much else going on.

The Sleep Easy Solution

So, while Todd was home for his vacation, we decided we were determined to get Justin Sleep trained. It has been a battle for some time now, and Mommy & Daddy are ready for some sleep - by themselves! So, once we got home from our trip, we instituted that Justin sleep in his own bed at night and during naps. It was amazing...the first few days was a little rough, and then it seemed it was a breeze for a few days...then we hit a rough night or two, and alass, today seems to be going better.

I read the book "The Sleep Easy Solution" It has really helped...I now understand a little better that I shouldn't just run and get him, let him cry a little and he might go back to sleep, etc. So, any of you Mom's out there struggling like I was, read this book. It actually gives you sleep solutions by age group...and if you can only read 2 chapters, it tells you what to read, and to read the rest later. I thought it was a great book.

We are still working on this. Last night Justin was up every 2 hours. By 3 am I was so done, so I sent Todd in to check on him, but Todd thought he might be hungry, so I got up with him....hoping someday soon he will sleep through the night.

Happy New Year

Well, it has been a while since I have posted. We have been keeping busy around here. Daddy was home for a week, so we were able to get spoiled with him around.

The weekend before New years we spent 3 days with Mom & Dad. We ended up coming home a bit earlier than expected, since a storm was coming through...we had gone to visit Grandma and hit black ice on the road, so the next day we headed home. We drove home New Year's Eve and got home around 10pm, so Todd and I stayed up till Midnight....

We spent New Year's shopping in town, although we only bought groceries. The next few days we stayed at home and Todd was able to clean the garage and get it organized (although I think he wants to do more too). I worked a little bit on cleaning the office. It is amazing how much recycling piles up. I keep a bin of "to be shredded" and it took me an hour to shred it all. And, daily I have recycling to keep up with - lot's of junk mail.

On Saturday, we went to town and went to Little Nellie's (our niece) birthday party - she turned 1 today. Happy Birthday Nellie!

Sunday was a day at home, just a trip to the local store here...not too much going on round here. And yesterday, I was off to town to do deliveries, and run a bunch of errands. Of coarse I didn't get them all done, so I have more to do here in town today.

I did go to the baby re-used store. I am about a 95% cloth diaper Mom now and it really isn't that bad. I thought I would just be discusted at the #2's, but it isn't too bad - really! So, i have been drooling of Happy Heiny's for about a year now..they are kinda spendy, so yesterday I bought one to test it out. I still have yet to wash it, but will do that today. I looked at how it is made and it is so easy, so If I like them, I plan to make my own! In all my spare time - RIGHT :)

No pics for today, but hopefully soon. Just thought you would all like to know we are still here.

Our Christmas

We spent Christmas Eve with Grandpa and Grammy, Meghan & Mike, and Derek & Jenn. . .

Justin had so much fun - here he is hanging with Aunt Meghan....he adores her.



Justin got a car from Santa. Here are the guys putting it together. .


Justin was enjoying helping Daddy and Grandpa with the car, and he loves Grandpa's knife


Christmas morning here at our house. . just a few little items from Santa at our house. He got a phone in his stocking.


A great green chair for camping this next summer. . and he is opening his gift from Oma and Opa here....a cool drive drive (like a car, you turn it on with a key, etc)....he loves it!


Christmas day we went over to Grandma Nellie's house for dinner and visiting. We had a wonderful time with everyone. Justin is getting into this whole opening of the gifts, but wasn't sure which to open first.


Here is Nellie and Justin together. Nellie is standing on her own and taking steps already - we are no where near that at our house and we are okay with that :)


Playing