Joy

Today has been a joyful day in so many ways. I think Little Man must be the happiest baby around. I lost count of all of the smiles we saw today. After every time he ate, he would just beam and coo. Sometimes he gets so excited, I'd swear he's trying to laugh. I really don't think it will be long. Usually, there's about a 10 minute window where, if you act really silly, he'll give you a couple of smiles. Not today. We barely had to try at all. Earlier this morning, he was just staring at the wall (he might have been looking at the clock; we couldn't tell for sure) and grinning. Even when he was completely exhausted, he still had smiles for us. Tonight there was a point that he was crying and smiling at the same time. It brings James and I so much joy to see him happy. I hope he stays this happy; hopefully he's got his dad's disposition.

Looking GQ in one of his Calvin Klein onesies that Aunt Nikki gave him.
My boys cuddling before we left for work the other morning.
I can't get over this kid's hair! Look how curly it is when it wet!
Some of the smiles we saw today. These were the "staring at the wall" smiles.

I Watch Way Too Much Food Network

I stumbled across this fun quiz online today as I was blog-walking. Since I know many of you are Food Network addicts as well, I thought you might enjoy it. I'm embarrassed to tell you my score, but I'll just tell you that I did pretty well.

Check it out here: Food Network Quiz

Tomorrow's Friday. Wa-hoo!

Milestones

We experienced another miracle here last night. Little Man slept for 7 hours straight! Granted, the seven hours ended at 3 am, but I'll take it. It felt wonderful to get so much sleep. I was so excited I felt like I should do something nice for him to say thank you, like buy him a present or bake him a plate of cookies, or something. I really would have if I thought he would have appreciated it at all.

When James got home on Saturday, he couldn't believe how much Little Man changed in just four days. It made me realize all of the little milestones he's reached in the last little while...
1. He is a great burper. In the beginning, I felt like I'd pound on his back forever, and still not get the burps out of him. Now, all I have to do is sit him up and pat him once or twice, and he gives big belches. A couple of days ago, he belched so loud he startled himself.
2. He is holding his head up all by himself. My favorite is when I've got him on my shoulder to burp him and he holds his head up and looks around. Every once in a while he's a little wobbly, but most of the time, he's a pro.
3. He has mastered smiling. For the last few days, he just grins and beams at us everytime we talk to him. I love it. He's even started smiling at things besides us. When we put him in his bouncer, he grins at the animals that hang above him. He also grins at my boob alot, but I kinda hate that.
4. He's starting to make lots of cute baby noises. He's cooing and gurgling. It's nice to hear noises besides crying and screaming. I actually think he'll be laughing soon. When we smiles, he makes some really cute noises that you can tell would be giggles if he could just get them out.

My little baby is growing up so fast!!

Lonesome

I can't wait for this day to be over. Not that anything particularly terrible happened, I'm mostly just bored and tired of being alone. Little Man got me up too early (someone really needs to tell him that we sleep in on Saturday mornings) so I've been even more tired than I was yesterday. We did go get some groceries this afternoon. I put Little Man in the carrier and walked around the store with him. It so funny the way people react to seeing a baby in a carrier; they seem to make a bigger deal about the little one than when they're in a car seat. I had people ooh-ing and ahh-ing over him the whole time. I had one lady tell me all about her adopted Hispanic daughter and what she was like as a baby and I even had one elderly man come up and pat him on the head (which was slightly awkward considering his head was laying on my chest). But he's pretty dang cute so I don't really mind showing him off.

I'll be so grateful to have James home later tonight. The last couple of days I've been so busy that I didn't even have time to notice that I was alone, but today I'm really missing him. I do have to say that he took good care of me while he's been gone. He asked everyone in his family to call me while he was gone; I've been checked on everyday since he left. And he's been very patient with all of my phone calls. My cell phone died yesterday and he has the charger with him, so I've only got the home phone. Since everyone I usually call is long distance (and I don't even know their phone numbers without the speed dial), he's the only person I've been able to call all day. He's probably getting sick of my calling every hour, but he's not showing it.

I realized that I haven't been very good about posting pictures lately, so I took a bunch today. He sure it getting big, isn't he? I actually have noticed in the last couple of days how heavy he's getting. He's still tiny, but there's definitely a heft that he didn't have even a few weeks ago.

Ok, so I'm the meanest mom ever for showing you all this picture, but while I was rubbing lotion on Little Man after his bath the other night, I notice his bum crack is crooked! I thought it was so funny that I had to take a picture.
James likes to call Little Man "Little Farmer" (Who knows why. He calls me "Turkey" alot and I don't know where that came from either.) I put him in these overalls for the first time yesterday and thought that the nickname fit.

Here he is looking cute after his bath last night.


He was feeling super happy about being in his bouncer this morning. What a doll!


Hanging out in the bouncer again this afternoon:

Exhausted

I made it through another day. Today was even better than yesterday. It kind of feels like I never left. Little Man did not do as well today, but I don't think it had anything to do with being in daycare. He has been pretty gassy and pukey all day. He wouldn't even eat when I tried to nurse him earlier today. Poor baby! I think he's feeling better now (thank goodness for Mylicon!).

I really feel like doing something relaxing tonight. I thought about getting a movie, or curling up with a book, but my eyes are already drooping. Little Man has not been on his regular schedule for the last couple of nights. Last night, he woke up at 11:30 and 3:30. I got back to bed about 45 minutes before the alarm went off. Yuck. So here I am on a Friday night, with big plans to be in bed by 8. I'm super lame.

We Made It

Little Man and I made it through my first day back to work. It wasn't so bad, actually. I knew he'd be fine, but I did better than I thought. Part of the reason was that we were on a weird schedule at school today, so I didn't actually have to start to teaching until almost 10 so I was able to hang out with Little Man all morning. I was able to nurse him in the morning, then snuck a few snuggles in at lunch, and went and got him right after school. It is so nice having him right there in the building with me. Its truly a blessing.

It actually felt kind of good to be back in the classroom. (Does that make me a bad mom?) It was fun to interact with the kids again and use my mind a little. I'm not really sure what happened while I was gone (apparently, they watched ALOT of movies), but I don't really care. My feet hurt now from standing on them all day and I'm exhausted, but I think tomorrow will be better. Hopefully Little Man sleeps a little better tonight!

Meanwhile, James is living it up in Cali as we speak. They spent the night in Tahoe last night, then drove the rest of the way to Stockton today. When I talked to him this afternoon, they were trying to decide what to do until the concert starts. Tomorrow they're headed to Six Flags, then its home on Saturday.

Wish Me Luck

I'm feeling very unsettled right now. James left about an hour or so ago for his big road trip to California and Little Man is down for his nap. The house is strangely quiet. I know I've got a big day tomorrow and I feel like I should be preparing for it somehow, but I'm not quite sure what to do. I can't really pack the diaper bag or my lunch yet, and I can't think of anything else that can be done ahead of time. I just know that I'm going to forget something. (Bryanna can attest to my forgetfulness lately, right?) I just hope its not something important like my breast pump or the diapers or something. I'm getting butterflies just thinking about what tomorrow morning will be like. And to add to the stress of the day, I'm supposed to go visiting teaching in a couple of hours. I felt like I couldn't say no, since I've missed the last several months, but its really going to throw a kink in the nightly routine. We've only got one visit to make, so hopefully we're not gone too long and I can still get everyone to bed by 8.

I had my 6 week checkup with my midwife today. While we were there, she weighed Little Man for me. You'll never guess how much he weighs! Nine and a half pounds! He really is getting big; its not just my imagination.

Wish me luck for tomorrow....

I Hate Growth Spurts

Little Man will be 6 weeks old in two days. He decided to begin celebrating early by having a growth spurt. He has wanted to eat every 1 1/2 to 2 hours all night long. I don't even think he slept between feedings. I barely slept between feedings. He seems to be holding up better than I am, though. His timing is a little unfortunate because we are supposed to go get our pictures taken this afternoon. I figured I'd be able to time his feedings and naps so that he'd be awake and happy for pictures, but I'm afraid my plans have been thwarted. I'm just crossing my fingers at this point, hoping that it works out ok. I really should be grateful that this is happening today, though, and not in a couple of days when I go back to work. I can't imagine being up all night, then having to go to work. He should (hopefully) be back to normal by Thursday when I go back. Heaven knows it will be hard enough without having to be sleep deprived on top of everything else.

Mr. Independent

I must have the world's funniest baby. Yesterday I was packing Little Man around in the carrier while James and I rearranged some furniture and after about an hour he woke up. He started fussing and I was trying everything to calm him down. I gave him his binky and he spit it out; I took him out of the carrier and just held him and he still cried. Finally, mostly out of frustration, I sat him in his bouncer. Instantly, he stopped crying. He sat there for the next hour and just looked around. What kind of baby cries when you hold them? Don't babies usually cry when you put them down? He did the exact same thing at bedtime yesterday, too. He was fussing, so I laid him down in his crib, and then I didn't hear another sound out of him until almost 2 am. I'm afraid he got his mom's independent streak.

In other news, Little Man finally made it through the whole three hours at church. (Ok, fine, we were 15 minutes late, but that hardly counts, right?) I fed him a bottle during relief society (I had one handy because I was afraid that he'd get hungry while I was teaching my Sunday School class) and he let out two of the loudest belches ever. So embarrassing. I felt so inappropriate, like it was bad manners to burp like that and not say "excuse me." After church, we went to J and B's for dinner and to celebrate their son's birthday. It was a beautiful day and we were able to hang out outside for awhile. It was a wonderful evening.

A Well-Deserved Break

James and I had a great time on our date last night. We went to Texas Roadhouse (romantic, I know, but it's James' favorite) for dinner. It felt so good to just sit and talk. It was nice to be Tiffany and James for a minute, instead of Mom and Dad. Little Man did great, too. He ate his bottle like a champ and J and B were even able to get some smiles out of him. I think he might have been a little mad at me when we got back (is he old enough to get mad?) because when I picked him up, he immediately started screaming in my face. He was probably just hungry because he calmed down after I fed him, but my mom guilt took right over when I saw that sad face.

I left Little Man with James for a few hours this morning while I ran a bunch of errands. When I got home, James said something that amused me. He told me that he had tried to clean up a little, but didn't get much done because "that baby is a lot of work." I just smiled.

Lost and Found Photos

I haven't been able to add any pictures for a couple of days because I misplaced the cord that connects the camera to the computer. We found it today, so here's a week's worth of pictures.

Here's my favorite one. We finally got a picture of that gorgeous smile I've been bragging about. Here he his hamming it for Dad.
Here's Little Man snuggling with his Dad the other morning. This is a favorite family ritual.
Here he is in his froggy outfit. He's our little frog prince.
Here he is just hangin' out. Compare this to the picture a couple of days ago; he's in the same outfit and propped up in the same position. You can really see how he's growing!

The other news going on around here is that James and I are going on a date tonight. We're leaving Little Man with James' sister for the evening. I'm interested to see how he handles waking up in a strange place and getting fed by a strange person. Since I'm going back to work next week, we'll both have to get used to it, I guess.

Miracle Baby

Guess what! Little Man only got up once last night! He went down without a fight at about 9:30, slept until 2:15, was back down by 3, and woke up for good at 7. I don't think we've ever had a night that good. If only I had slept as well as he did...

On a related note, here's a question for any mom's out there. What do you do about all the milk you're making in the night when your baby sleeps so long? I woke up at 1:30 in agony! Does it get better or will I just wake up soaked every morning? I hate being constantly soggy. And Little Man probably hates getting a milk shower every time he eats.

The Return of Little Man

Little Man is back! I spent all day yesterday taking care of his evil twin. What a rotten day. I think he slept for about an hour all day (and that was only when I held him) and wouldn't eat for any longer than 5 minutes at a time (and wanted to eat every hour, because he wasn't getting full enough). Every time I fed him, he'd just scream. I know he must not have felt good (read the post from yesterday for that story) but I was loosing my patience. On top of all that, my computer wasn't working for a good part of the day. I know it's a dumb thing to worry about, but I was getting very frustrated. I took me about 3 hours to get that post from yesterday done between the baby crying and my computer giving my the blue screen of death. Luckily, I think I've fixed it. And this might be too much info, but I kept getting nose bleeds all day long. Totally inconvenient. And yucky. I finally tried to make Shepherd's Pie for dinner later, and about half way through making it, I realized the hamburger I had just browned was bad. So I had to dump it all in the trash and haul the family to the store for something better for dinner. Absolutely nothing went my way. Little Man had a much better night and was back to himself today. I really missed my well-behaved baby. I'm glad he's back!

We found out yesterday that James' sister is expecting a little boy! I am absolutely thrilled for their family. This will be their 2nd baby, and their 2nd boy. I was telling Little Man last night that his little cousin was coming down from heaven to play with him and he gave me a huge grin. He's so excited to see his cousin again!!

Because it was such a terrible day yesterday, I called my friend M this morning and told her I was busting out of here. I drove up to Layton and we went shopping with our babies at the mall. I got lots of cute new stuff for myself and for Little Man. I felt good to get out of the house and hang out with people who didn't scream in my face all day.

Thanks for all of your supportive comments yesterday. I really needed them. I've got the best friends and family.

(Worst) Mom of the Year

We've had a rough couple of days around here. I can't decide if Little Man is going through another growth spurt already or if he's sick. Well, actually, as of this morning, I'm pretty sure he's sick. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Little Man and I spent Friday visiting the fam up in Logan. My grandma got to meet him for the first time; I've never seen someone so smitten with a baby before. She was really cute. I got my hair cut, we got some Chinese food, and had a great time.

Saturday Little Man and I hung out at home and tried to watch conference while James went hunting with his brother out in Rush Valley. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to watch conference with a baby around! I had it on for all the sessions at least, but I didn't actually hear much of it. I was, however, struck by the difference I saw in President Monson. As Elder Holland expressed, it really was incredible to see the mantle settle over him. He was still the same President Monson that I've always loved, but different at the same time. It was really neat to be able to stand for the solemn assembly and sustain him as the new prophet. One talk that I especially loved was Elder Ballard's talk Sunday afternoon. He talked about mothers, and what an important job we have, and what other people can do to help. It was really applicable and timely, I felt.

I also went grocery shopping alone with Little Man for the first time Saturday. I strapped him to me with the carrier (our car seat doesn't fit in the cart) and he actually did pretty well. He started to fuss the last 10 minutes or so, which I can't complain about. I was really afraid I would end up ditching a cart full of groceries in the middle of the store.

Sunday we went to M and M's house to watch the rest of conference and have dinner. While we were there, I realized that Little Man hadn't made it 3 hours between feedings all day. He was eating every 2 - 2 1/2 hours instead. And he'd been so grumpy! I kind of thought it might be a growth spurt, even though he just had one a week and a half ago. He did really well yesterday, talking good naps and eating like normal. Then, at our 5:30 feeding this morning, he wouldn't eat very well and seemed really wiggly. I got some good burps out of him and he wouldn't latch back on, so I figured he was done. I laid him back in his crib and went to bed. He fussed and squacked for a little while, but never full-on cried until a little after 7. I knew he couldn't possibly be hungry, so I continued to lay there, hoping he'd work it out for himself and go back to sleep. James finally got up to get him, and I heard him say "Oh my gosh." I got up to investigate and James met me in the hallway and told me that Little Man had puked all over himself, all over the crib, and, somehow, all over the floor. I felt terrible, because I'm convinced it was my fault somehow. (Did I not burp him well enough? Did something I ate upset him?) We got everything cleaned up and I got ready to nurse him (he was starving at this point, having puked up everything he had eaten a couple of hours ago). I laid him on the Boppy pillow and was trying to get my arm out of my sweater, and he rolled off of the Boppy. Luckily, I caught him before he hit the floor. I started crying and apologizing for being the worst mom ever. I'm doing alright now, but he's still having a rough day. I think he'd feel better if he'd eat for more than five minutes at a time and take a good nap. My poor little guy!

It so surprising how fast Little Man is growing up. He's fitting into all of his 0-3 month clothes now. He gets a little chubbier every day, too. Yesterday, we really noticed that he's getting a lot better at focusing his eyes. James was sitting across the room from us yesterday and thought Little Man was looking at him. He came over and sat next to us and as he walked over, Little Man followed him with his eyes and continued to stare at his dad. We've also noticed that he watches us walk out of the room after we lay him in his crib. And he's practically a pro at holding his head up. He's turning into a big boy!

The last news to report is that James tried out for a band yesterday. He got the phone call that they wanted him to come try out late Saturday night. He spent all day Sunday (he literally grabbed his guitar and started playing even before he went to the bathroom that morning) and all day yesterday practicing and learning new songs. He got an email today saying that they really liked him and they'd like him to join the band! Yea James!

Emotions

Its been an emotional couple of days around here, both good and bad. Firstly, as you have probably all seen on the news by now, little Hser Nay Moo's body was found Tuesday night. I stayed up late watching the news and just cried when I saw all of the people gathered around her apartment complex with candles. Its a real testament to the great community we live in. My heart is just broken for her poor family. Every time they show her dad and he says how she was his only daughter and he loved her most, my heart aches. What a terrible tragedy.

The other thing that's been going on is that Little Man has been smiling! (I swear!!) Over the weekend, we noticed that he was really starting to respond to us when we would talk to him. I was pretty sure I saw a smile on Monday, but on Tuesday, I was positive. I was holding him and talking to him after he ate, and he gave me a big toothless grin and his little eyes sparkled. I just giggled and my heart swelled. What a great feeling. I am realizing more and more what lengths I would go to make my Little Man happy. I've been acting like a complete idiot every time he's awake, trying to see that beautiful smile again. It makes me think of that Friends episode where Ross and Rachel are trying to get Emma to laugh, and the only thing that works is to sing the "I like big butts" song. Do you guys remember that? I can totally see myself being that dorky if it means my little one is finding joy in it.

Here's Little Man looking cherubic in his duck towel after his bath the other night. Gosh, I love this kid.

Heartache

I don't know if any of you have been watching the news this morning, but there is a little girl from our ward that is missing. We first heard at about 9:15 last night. The phone rang and someone knocked on the door simultaneously (I was a little annoyed at first; my baby had just gone down). The phone call was an automated message from South Salt Lake about the missing girl and the Elders Quorum president was at the door with a flier. The little girl and her family are refugees from Burma/Myanmar; they've been here since about November. They speak little, if any, English. I just can't even imagine the heartache her poor family is experiencing, especially her mother. (She had a baby just a couple of weeks before we did.) Can you imagine going through the experience of having your child missing in a strange country and not being able to communicate or understand all of the commotion? I've been thinking about them since we heard last night. Maybe its because I have a little one of my own now or maybe its because I know the little girl and her family, but this is really getting to me. I didn't even mind being woken up be the police helicopter as it landed at the church behind our apartment (the church has become the headquarters for the search). I can tell you I was much more attentive to Little Man during his late night feedings. I jumped right out of bed when I heard him whimper and held and cuddled him a lot longer than normal when he was done eating. Its also more than a little disconcerting that there might possibly be a child abductor in our neighborhood. I really hope that she just wandered to a friends house or something and will show up soon. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Here's a link to the KSL story about the missing girl: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2981916