A Baby Heavy Post

I'm visiting my parents for the week, so there's not much to talk about. Unless you want to discuss my child, because lo, I am spending A LOT of time with my child. Not that I don't spend a lot of time with my child every other day of my life, but when I visit my parents, I actually do MORE work because they can't help out as much as Alex can. So it's all Jack, all the time 'round these parts.


So here's my question, who said my child could go grow up so fast? He is cruising like a rock star and I'm terrified that he'll be walking very soon. I was all set to officially announce that we had skipped crawling altogether, but then he started doing this weird...thing. I hesitate to call it a crawl because it seems so unnatural. But he does this odd little crab walk where he drags a leg and scoots along to get to his destination. Picture a peg legged pirate walking. Now convert that to a crawl and you've got what Jack considers an acceptable method of locomotion. Except he exerts quite a bit of energy doing that and has to stop and sit down for a break after a few seconds. Then he carries on to his next stop on his tour of destruction. (Are those wires? An electric plug? Some sort of electrical device I'm not supposed to play with? Let me at 'em!)


I suppose we're not helping ourselves with this growing up thing seeing as how we bought a new car seat this weekend. It was really obvious that Jack had come to HATE the infant car seat. I felt guilty buckling him in there and he was pretty cramped. Granted, he still had an inch and a half-ish left to grow, but it just LOOKED uncomfortable. Fortunately for us, Babies R Us was having a big sale on Earth's Best this past weekend and we decided to try out a few car seats while we were there. And unfortunately for us, they had a Graco My Ride 65 on sale and we were sucked in. So what originally began as a trip to spend 10 bucks on baby food ended with spending 100+ on a car seat and baby food and uh, bibs and a food mat and new pj's. But! It was worth it because he seems to like his new seat quite a bit. And he sleeps really well in it too, which, as we all know, is AWESOME.


Jack has this new habit of wanting to sleep ON me. This is very, very new considering he would sleep well on his own, even as a newborn. We are definitely going through a clingy, needy, MAMA MAMA! phase right now, so maybe this is a part of it. It's precious and endearing that he wants ME, ME, ME all the time, but by the same token, Mama needs a break, yo. And I can't sleep with him on me. So I lay awake and try not to move too much while I watch him breathe. Which is nice for a little while, until I get restless and want to be comfortable and sleep ON MY OWN. Tonight, he would ONLY fall asleep if he was touching me. And he pressed his chubby body against me and pushed his red hair against my cheek while I melted into a puddle of sap. I couldn't help but think how amazing this moment is and how amazing HE is. My sweet baby boy who can wave bye bye and clap and pirate crawl. And soon he won't want to hug me or kiss me or cuddle me. He'll sigh and roll his eyes and say, "Mo-om!" But for now, he feels comfortable and safe enough with me that he can fall asleep on my shoulder (and my stomach and my leg). So I laid there and listened to him quietly snore. And I whispered in his ear, "I love you, sweet baby."

Seven Quick Takes - 1/22/10

1. We got cable today! I am so excited to have the Tee Vee back. And of course, NOTHING is on right now. A million, bazillion channels and I have Law and Order: Criminal Intent reruns on. But dude, I have MISSED the DVR. It's like welcoming a old friend back into your home.

2. I bought Jack a pair of sunglasses yesterday. It's just so darn sunny here! Like...ALWAYS. So I thought he needed some cool shades of his own. Here he is modeling a pair at the store.


3. Yesterday, I went to a fancy, healthy grocery store that is INCREDIBLY close to our house. And I nearly passed out from the prices. I want to go organic and get rid of hydrogenated oils and preservatives and artificial flavors, I really, really do. But DANG, YO. That stuff is EXPENSIVE. I bought two boxes of cereal, two frozen meals, and a 6 pack of root beer. And the only thing that wasn't on sale was the root beer. And the cereal? Not even organic! It's a kid's cereal too. But I gotta admit, it's VERY tasty. If not very healthy.

4. Speaking of going organic and such, I watched Food Inc. earlier this week and holy canoli, y'all. I knew very, very little about the food industry before I watched that movie. I still know very little, but at least I have a better understanding of what all that grass-fed, no anti-biotic business is all about. Also, I know a lot about soy beans too. It was a definite eye opener and a very interesting movie. Even if we don't make any big changes to our eating habits, I like knowing where my food comes from, you know?

5. My child is officially old enough to be annoying. He waited until I was settled down with my breakfast this morning to come over and stand right next to me and SMACK HIS LIPS. Smack, smack, smack! Stop eating and give me the rest of that bottle I SOUNDLY rejected a few minutes ago. Smack, smack, smack! He was happily playing away until he saw I had food and then BAM! I'm all up in your face, mom! (And really, he had JUST eaten. Yogurt and a bottle. I promise I wasn't starving him.)

6. So. Bugs. I forgot that the south had so many bugs. Especially here where it gets cold for maybe 2 weeks out of the year. (Seriously...it's in the upper 70's here. I am wearing t-shirts and flip flops. Jack is wearing t-shirts and no socks. I saw people wearing SHORTS this week.) So the bugs don't get a chance to die in the cold, which is sad. Because I have to call upon Alex to kill them with whatever is handy, instead. I guess that's the price you pay for warmth year round.

7. And because you haven't seen him in a while. Here's my own personal Jack in the Box. Look at what a big boy he is!

San Antonio, You're Alright

So...we're here! Surprise! I know I've been MIA for a few weeks here. Sorry about that. I didn't realize it had been so long and I am just not a good enough blogger to try and post from my phone.

So, hey there internet! What's up? I'm in Texas! So far, things are going well. It was in the high 60's today and I wore flip flops. The sky was blue and it was super sunny. In other words, I am in heaven.

We've been here for a little over a week. It took us three days to get here, which isn't too bad except that we had planned for a two day trip. But the state of Kentucky was not willing to let us quickly and easily pass through its hallowed interstates. We spent hours in a traffic jam. We had to stop multiple times to clean off windshields and de-ice windshield wipers. Some doohickey on our moving van broke and we lost not one, but TWO tanks of diesel on the interstate. (Goodbye $100! It was nice knowing you!) So we then spent hours in a gas station parking lot, waiting for someone to come fix the van. By the time we got to Tennessee, I was giddy with relief. I don't have any hard feelings towards Kentucky, but it sure felt like the entire state was conspiring against us last week. It took us 11 or so hours to get to our first stop. It should have only taken 7. Oy.

The next two days were pretty much uneventful. We stopped at Ouachita so I could show Alex and Jack my alma mater. I bought a sweatshirt and then cried sad, salty tears because it is SO. DIFFERENT. and I am SO. OLD. It felt like a different campus in many respects and I suppose that makes sense since it's been, oh, 10 years since I went there, but STILL. My memories are all I have left of what it looked like back in the day. Which means that I am old and will shrivel up and die SOON. After I had a panic over my new found elderly status, we headed to Dallas and spent the night at the Griswold's house where they showered us with pizza and ice cream and attention. It was, BY FAR, the highlight of our trip. I am pretty sure my brother-in-law didn't want to leave. Once we made it to our tiny, empty apartment, it felt so...unwelcoming.

My brother-in-law flew out on Tuesday, leaving Alex, Jack and I all alone in a new city. So far, we've enjoyed it. Mainly because we are eating out all the time and there is some seriously good food in this city. Mexican! Barbecue! Burgers! Nom Nom Nom!

Jack has been a trooper through everything. He became an expert on going from laying to sitting while I was sick with The Mono and then learned how to pull up the night before we were supposed to leave. So he's hitting all kinds of big milestones in the middle of a huge life change. Which is why I am pretty sure he is refusing to go to sleep. I am also suspicious that he might actually be teething (For real this time! There is a lot of drool! There is fussiness! It might be happening! Maybe!), which could be contributing to the problem as well. But overall, I could not ask for a sweeter, easier kid. He is a CHARMER and we can't go anywhere without people talking to us. He always smiles and squeals at the attention and it is the most adorable thing in the entire world. He ALSO learned how to give a high five this week. And friends, if you haven't seen a 9 month old give a high five, then you haven't lived. It is CU-UTE.

And that is all. We are not all the way unpacked because WHERE DOES ALL THE STUFF GO!? And we don't have cable or DirecTV. We just got the internet on Friday. So we are slowly but surely working into a normal routine. I like it so far. Here's hoping that sticks, eh?

Monnnnnnoooooooooooo

So! I didn't sleep AT ALL last night. And it wasn't because I had slept all day and fulfilled my sleep quota for 24 hours. Nope. I napped for a few hours and then I just.couldn't.sleep. I was in too much pain and my mouth was really dry and I am so freaking tired of MOUTH BREATHING, OMG.

I called the doctor this morning and they were able to get me in pretty early. Alex didn't feel comfortable with me driving, so we took a family trip to the doctor. Except half of the family stayed in the car and one third of the family napped.

And guess what? I don't have the pig flu. Or the regular flu. Nor do I have the strep throat. But it could be the MONO. Oh ho yes! MO.NO. That would be just lovely, wouldn't it? I doubt it is, but my doctor took my blood (The actual doctor...he couldn't find a nurse to take my blood. I was so nervous when he walked in with the needles and vials. I wanted to ask, "When was the last time you drew blood?" But I didn't because I didn't want to make him mad and/or nervous before he stuck me with a needle. But he did a great job! Way to go doc!) and will call me tomorrow with the test results. But seriously? It's not the flu? We ALL thought it was the flu. Since he wasn't exactly sure what was wrong with me, they gave me a steroid shot and sent me home with a Z pack prescription in the hopes that it would make me feel better. Because I was, in my doctor's words, "really, really yucky."

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And seriously, I am not sure what was in that shot, but it must have been unicorns and rainbows and puppies and baby smiles because I am feeling TREMENDOUSLY better this afternoon. Like, I feel like a human again. A HUMAN! I have a feeling once I go to sleep tonight, I will GO TO SLEEEEEP.

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In other news, my child officially weighs 20 pounds. TWENTY POUNDS! Bless his little solid self. He's also 28 1/4 inches long and has a ginormous head of 18 1/4 inches. I'm still really hesitant to hang out with him since I might have FREAKIN' MONO and I'd like to avoid giving my child a virus that could last for months. But I did give in and held him a few times today and put my cheek on his head and kissed the air, so it was sort of like kissing him and I can't wait until I can be normal around him again, heissocuteIcan'tstandit, OMG. Also, he did great at the doctor's office and even SMILED at the nurse who gave him his shots. Which makes him a better person than me, because I most certainly did NOT smile at the nurse who gave me my shot this morning. (This is all second hand as I didn't go to the appointment for fear of infecting all small children with The Sickness. Hooray for good dads!)

(And uh, still no pictures. 9 month shots = sleeping baby, on the real, yo)

*groan*

Yes, the baby turned nine months old today.

We didn't get any pictures of him though. I am sick. I am pretty sure it is the flippin' pig flu. I have all the symptoms and I am planning on visiting my doctor tomorrow and begging for a Tamiflu prescription. I have only puked once though, so...hooray?

And yeah, this is the worse timing EVER since we are supposed to move on THURSDAY. And Alex picked up the truck today and had to take care of the baby all by himself. My mother and brother in laws came over to help pack, load, and watch the child. I laid in bed all day and was miserable. I am so annoyed that I didn't qualify for the H1N1 vax when we got Jack's because I was too old. Because this seriously SUCKS.

I am so stressed out and I miss my baby so, so, so much. I just sat here and looked at a bunch of PICTURES of him because I am that big of a dork. (Also? Alex and I went out for New Year's Eve and we spent most of the time talking about and looking at pictures of the baby. We're such goobers.) Alex has been a trooper since he has had to do all of the parenting stuff and moving stuff for the last day and a half. I feel terrible for leaving him stranded, but having a sick baby would be much worse.

I hope I feel better soon.