Numero Uno

One year ago from this moment, I was lying in a hospital bed downtown, writhing and screaming in pain. I was six days past my due date, and my water had broken that afternoon as I walked in the door from work. I was determined to have a natural, drug-free delivery (hence the writhing and screaming). I did have a moment when I wavered and asked for the epidural. In the time it took the anesthesiologist to get there (a mere 15 minutes or so), I had gone from a 4 to an 8, and I was feeling the urge to push. I sent the anesthesiologist away, figuring I'd done the worst of it. The nurses quickly called my midwife and by the time she got there, I was at a 10 and ready to push. I pushed for less than half an hour, and then my beautiful son was here! He was blue and slippery, but absolutely gorgeous. In the matter of about 5 1/2 hours, I had gone from a miserable pregnant woman to an elated new mother. We had gone from a married couple to a family. It was miraculous.

And today, my baby isn't really a baby anymore. He's a little boy, who toddles around the house, exploring, investigating, and learning. But he's still miraculous. Sometimes I catch myself watching him, my mouth hanging open a little, in awe of all that he has become, and is becoming. I am so proud of him every time he fits two blocks together, or makes a new hand gesture to communicate what he wants. I know every mother must think so, but I'm convinced everyday that my baby is the cutest, the smartest, and best all-around kid that has ever been born. I love you, Little Man. Happy Birthday.

The Week in Photos

Little Man has been "talking" on the phone lately. When he holds it up to his ear, he starts jabbering "Lalalala." Cutest thing ever.

Today we gave Little Man a mixing bowl and a spoon to play with. I have never seen him so excited about a toy.


Here he is with James' hat on his head. He put it there himself and he sure was proud of it.
I left him alone for a minute last night while I was cooking dinner. When I came back, he'd dripped formula out of his bottle all over the living room. My shoes got the worst of it.
Little Man getting a guitar lesson.
Little Man has been loving his daddy this week. Here they are cuddling.

If I had any energy...

Here's a list of things I would blog about if I wasn't completely exhausted:

• Little Man is walking! He's not just taking steps, he's walking across the room now.
• Little Man is very sick. He's had a fever all day, and a cough for about 2 weeks. The doctor says he has a little bit of an ear infection, so he's on antibiotics. He made it almost a year without needing them.
• James is going to start watching Little Man instead of taking him to daycare on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. I got fed up with not being in control of Little Man's day, plus we're super poor these days.
  
• My car is still not fixed from the accident. It probably never will be.

Now I'm going to bed.

A Quick Update

A few very exciting things happened today. First, and most importantly, Little Man took a step today! Well, he actually took several, they just weren't consecutive. Yea! He'll be 11 months old in a week. I'm sure he'll be running circles around me by his birthday. (Can you believe my baby is going to have a birthday! Crazy...)

Also, on our way home from work tonight (for the second time; don't ask) somebody rear-ended me while I was stopped at a light. It turned out that the other guy didn't have insurance, so I think they impounded his car. My bumper is cracked and I have a bit of a headache, but I think we'll all be ok.

How's that for a crazy day?

What an exciting weekend we had around here. Nikki, Kade, and their new tiny baby came down to tour the Draper temple with us. (Sadly, Mom and Dad didn't make it. We missed them!) It was an adventure from the beginning. Right after we got on the bus to take us to the temple, a car turned in front of the bus (I think that's what happened, anyway), the bus driver slammed on his brakes, and the tour guide who had been telling us all about the new temple, flew into the windshield and then fell down the stairs. We all just sat there with our mouths open, wondering what just happened. The poor guide got up after a moment (he said he was fine, but I noticed he was not our guide on the trip back), and the tour resumed as if nothing had happened. The tour of the temple was wonderful. If you haven't been, you should go!

The other big event of the week is that I've been trying to ween Little Man. I just decided one day last week that I was being selfish by continuing to nurse, because my milk had dropped off to the point where he wasn't getting enough. I realize now that I tried to stop too quickly. Within just a few days, I was down to once a day. He was finally getting full, but, holy cow, my hormones went berserk. I didn't even know that weening could wreak such havoc with the mom. So I've struggled emotionally, because all of the sudden my quality Little Man time has decreased significantly, and then, on top it all of, my hormones have been raging. Poor Jamesy thought he was going to have to admit me yesterday. I feel a little less volitile today, and Little Man seems to be adjusting quickly, too. And the good news for all of you, is that this means an end to all boob-related discussions. I promise.

One last thing: I'm so dang proud of Little Man tonight. Since we've been weening, I've been trying to get him to take the cup. I decided today that we needed to get serious. I tried post-poning lunch until he'd drink his formula from the cup, hoping that he'd get hungry enough to give in. After two hours, I was the one that finally gave in. Whenever I would pull out the cup, he'd scream and shake his head no. So while we were at Target today, I picked up some new cups (the super cheap, throw-away kind) and tried it at dinner. He picked it up with both hands, put his mouth on the spout, and tipped it back. He drank it all! I've been having visions of bottle-feeding a 3-year old, so I'm super proud! He's getting so big!
Little Man is also getting very good at walking with his push-toy. It won't be long before he's walking without it.



Hurray for new jammies!
All ready for bed!

Back to the Grind

I don't have much news to report, but I've been experiencing blog-guilt again, so I knew I'd better post something. Everyone is back to school and work now, which is good and bad. I'm glad to be back, mostly just so I can get it over with. I've been very overwhelmed with everything I have to get done at work the last few days, so I've been even less enthusiastic about work than normal. James is still looking for a job, but he is going to start giving guitar lessons and lined up his first student this weekend. Hopefully, it works out. Also this week, James tried out for the guitar program at Utah State and was accepted! Yea! He'll be able to earn his (2nd) degree and get a teaching license at the same time. The program has 100% placement, so he's guaranteed to have a job at the end of it, which is reassuring. So, if all goes according to plan, we'll be moving to Logan this summer.

Little Man continues to amaze and frustrate us. He has once again gotten into the bad habit of getting up in the middle of the night. And we've fallen into the bad habit of giving him a bottle in the middle of the night, not because he's hungry, but because it's an easy way to make him sleepy. We've got a game plan for tonight, though, so hopefully we can all get some sleep soon.

He's been learning to do so many cute things lately. He's cruising like a pro now and has started to play "chase" games with us. I spend a lot to time crawling after him on my hands and knees. The best, though, is when he'll chase me. This weekend he learned to clap his hands. I'd never even seen him try to do it before, but yesterday, he just did it like it was something he'd always known how to do. And at church today, he was waving at the family sitting behind us. I didn't know that he knew how to that either. He sure is a sweet little guy.





Here's Little Man looking sharp for church. He's had a haircut since this one was taken. I forgot what beautiful curls he had.Here he is climbing on James's guitars one morning.We also discovered last weekend that he can climb stairs.
We welcomed a new little man to our family this week. Our Little Man was pretty un-interested in his new cousin most of the day, but got curious toward the end of our visit.

Giving Little Man a bath used to be one of my favorite parts of the day. Now, it's so much work that I dread it. The moment I lay him down to lotion him, he flips over and speed-crawls away. Here he is cruising along our headboard.
A happy picture from tonight. Doesn't he look so much like his cousin "Tricky" in this picture?

Looking Ahead

2008 is over. It was a good year, wasn't it? We were blessed in March with the birth of our first-born son, Little Man. He really is the sweetest baby I've ever seen. My favorite new thing he's doing these days is giving kisses. They are open-mouthed and slobbery, but very sweet. I cherish every one of them. I feel very blessed to be his mother. I've become a "mommy" this year. It's something that I always wanted to be, but never really understood how it would change my life. I would do anything for that kid. It reminds me of that part in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"; my heart has grown at least three sizes this year.
The year ended with some stressful news; James lost his job yesterday. The guy he works for sold the route James had been doing, and met him at the terminal last night with the news. James was going to give his notice on Monday, anyway, but he feels a little betrayed. We were hoping to at least be earning a paycheck for a couple of more weeks while he looked for a job that would work with his school schedule. James is a hard-worker and I know he'll find something. It makes me grateful for my recession-proof job. I've been pretty grouchy about my job lately, so it's been kind of a reality check for me. I have a job when a lot of people don't right now.
Looking ahead to 2009, I'm hoping for an even better year than this year was. Little Man will continue to grow and learn, delight and confound me, I'm sure. James is scheduled to graduate in May, and after that, who knows? I'm hoping that I can be successful at my job this year, especially with my AP students. My resolutions are to be more organized, do a better job of fulfilling my callings at church (did I mention that I just got called to the Primary? I'm excited, but unsure how I'll juggle Little Man while I'm in the Primary for a two-hour block), and, most of all, be a better wife to my dear husband. I hope that you all are safe and warm on this New Year's Day and wish you luck with all of your resolutions!