So Much Going On

I haven't blogged in forever and there is so much news to share, some good, some not so good. We had a great weekend. Mom, Dad, Mark, Matthew, and Jackie all came for a visit. I helped Mom make an early Thanksgiving dinner. It was so wonderful to have the whole family together. We hadn't all been together since Labor Day weekend and we didn't have much time together then because Matthew and Mark were busy with Brandon's wedding. I looked around the table as we were eating, wishing that I could freeze time and that we could all stay together.

I got to see Mark for the first time since he moved back from Baltimore. I feel like there is a different look in his eyes and I hate that I can't make it go away. I will never understand why Darbi did what she did and I don't think that I will ever be able to forgive her. I really wanted to talk to him about it but I never really got a chance. All I can hope is that he knows that I love him and that I'm here for him if he ever needs to talk.


Uncle Mark wasn't too happy after this when Sawyer spit up on him!

Dad has taken a job in Wyoming. He starts January 1. His last day with Frito-Lay is this Friday. He will be working for an oil company and will be checking wells and submitting reports. He already bought this huge 4x4 Dodge truck and he and Mom are going shopping for his travel trailer this week. He is hoping to work there for nine years. Mom still has three years at the school until she can collect her retirement so she will be staying in Van Vleck. I can tell that Dad is so excited, but I am sad because I just don't know how often I will see him. It's difficult enough to make a 300-mile trip to Van Vleck with Sawyer. I can't imagine making a 1,600-mile one anytime soon.

Jackie is going to have a baby this summer. Matthew e-mailed me a few weeks ago and said that he had a secret but that he really wanted to tell me. I could tell he was dying to tell someone. I was so happy to be the first one to know (other than the two of them of course). They are planning to get married sometime in the next few months I think. I'm so excited that Sawyer will have a cousin just one year younger than him. I'm hoping that they'll have a boy so that they can play and grow up together. Whether it's a boy or girl there's no doubt that it will be loved.


Sawyer and the Parents-to-Be!

Aunt Tisha needs our prayers again. She's having surgery next month to remove more tumors from her liver. I wish this dreaded cancer would just go away and leave her alone already. This time of year seems to be so tough for her. It was this time last year when she found out about the first round of liver cancer. She has already beaten colon and liver cancer so I know she can do it again. She is one of the strongest women that I know and I love her very much.

Sawyer has been having some plumbing problems lately. I called a week ago Thursday and they told me to give him some water in a bottle. I tried that but he has decided that he doesn't want a bottle anymore. I bought him a cup to see if he would drink out of it but so far he seems to think that it's just another toy. I took him to the pediatrician Thursday. We saw Loyette so that I could let her watch me nurse Sawyer because he's been crying and straining while I'm feeding him. She said that he is constipated and we also found out that he had strep. She sent us home with a prescription for Amoxicillin. I told Lorne that it was like a flashback from our childhoods. We always had it in the fridge because we both had so many ear infections. Velma said Lorne had his first at three weeks of age.

Loyette also said that we should feed him oatmeal cereal and peaches or pears instead of the rice to get the pipes working again. He wasn't too sure about the peaches. Lorne said he must be the milkman's son because Lorne loves them. We tried pears last night and he LOVES them! I'm not too surprised since I eat oatmeal and pears pretty much everyday for breakfast. He couldn't get enough this morning. I actually made him another batch. I even snuck in some formula and he didn't seem to care. I can't wait to feed him again this evening to see how he does. I went crazy at Wal-Mart. I bought peaches, pears, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, and peas. I abhor peas so I'm curious to see how he does with them. We're supposed to wait three days to introduce a new food so I think we'll try green beans tomorrow. I bought a book called Super Baby Food. It has lots of recipes for making homemade baby food which is something I'm thinking about trying. I'm here at home all day so I might as well.


Sawyer wasn't quite sure what to do with this new cup.


He was not a fan of the oatmeal and peaches.


"I know what you're up too Mimi and I'm not buying it!" :)

I got a key chain at Weight Watchers on Wednesday because I've lost 10% of my body weight. It is in the shape of a ten. I've lost 22.6 pounds and I'm back in Onederland which means that I weigh less than 200 pounds! That is such a great feeling! I keep telling myself that I will not get over 200 pounds with my next pregnancy because I will be more cognizant of my weight gain and what I'm eating. I need to keep journaling what I eat because that really helps!


I had to take a picture as proof of my accomplishment. I know, I am a DORK!

My friend Laura had her little boy, Logan Patrick, on Thursday, November 10. He and Sawyer are exactly 22 weeks apart. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 3 ozs and was 21 inches long! He was also two weeks early! Sawyer didn't weigh that until he was seven weeks old! Sawyer and I went to see him last Monday. He is a cutie. Mom and baby are doing well. I need to call and check on her today because they have their first pediatrician appointment. I still remember how nervous I was about taking Sawyer out of the house on his first outing other than coming home from the hospital.


Logan already loves his bouncer!

Larry and Velma are coming up late tomorrow and staying with us through Sunday. I think that we may try and do some shopping while they're here. We've been sending gifts home with them so that we will have less to pack at Christmas. We'll be bringing everything but the kitchen sink as it is!

Sawyer is Five Months Old!

He is growing and changing everyday! I love to take him out because everyone always comments on what a good and happy baby he is. He is so good natured and easy-going. I went and had Freebird's with Lorne for lunch today and his boss asked if Sawyer was as laid back as Lorne and if Lorne was the same way as a baby. It was yes to both questions!


He looks like such a big boy in his new jeans.


He is constantly kicking those feet!


Here's a picture where you can actually see the bear. As if anyone is looking at the bear! :)

I had a great weigh-in today. I lost 6.2 pounds this week which is crazy! My body is really doing weird things these days. I have been losing and gaining the same three pounds for the past month so I think that I was due. I really didn't do anything any differently other than to not have any BLTs (bites, licks, and tastes), those extra calories that I don't count over the course of the week. They can really add up! BLTs were the topic of our meeting last week so I just made it a point to not graze. My total is now 21 pounds and I have one pound to go until I get to 10% lost! Very exciting! I am hoping for that next week but I guess we'll see since my *last* birthday is Friday (I'll be 29 and holding for those of you who are keeping track). I can't believe that I only have one more year to be in my twenties.

I finally got a picture of Sawyer's teeth. He is chewing on everything these days, including me, but I won't elaborate! :) Let's just say that I'm hoping to break him of the habit really soon or it will be bottle city for the little man!


Here's the toofers! I know his Godmother Dr. Tammy must be so proud!

I also got a picture of him grabbing at his foot. I took this one first thing in the morning so that's why he looks a little groggy. He probably wishes his paparazzi Mommy would leave him alone with the flashbulbs already.


He still hasn't found his right foot, but he loves that left one!

The roofers came and finished our roof yesterday. They were supposed to be here at 7:30 Monday morning but they weren't here by 8:15 so I called and they told me that the crew went to Mississippi over the weekend because they could make a lot of money really quickly with the hurricane rebuilding efforts. Who could blame them? They did end up sending out a crew on Monday around 3:00. Anyway, we went and hung out with Denise and Sophia yesterday because there was no way Sawyer could get a nap with all the pounding and banging that was going on around here. He slept three hours before I went and woke him up! This boy is really taking his napping seriously these days!

It Wasn't Mashed Taters, but

Sawyer had his first cereal Saturday. It didn't appear that he was overly impressed. He seemed to have spit most of it out. I made it pretty watery so that the consistency wouldn't completely freak him out. Lorne fed him in the morning and he's usually pretty full then so we tried again yesterday evening because my supply is generally lower then according to what I've read. He didn't really seem much more receptive but it's still early. I know we're supposed to do only cereal for a week. I'm trying to find out when I can start jarred foods but I haven't found a definitive answer. I'm going to keep reading and also ask some of my friends who know more than me about this sort of thing than I do.


He was more interested in his foot than the cereal.


I think he was glad that we finally stopped bothering him!


Cereal take three!


He was happier about the whole situation yesterday.

He also had some great naps this weekend. It didn't start out that way though. He cried for an hour Friday before I gave in and let him sleep on me in the glider upstairs. I was so worried because Lorne's parents were here and I was afraid that they were thinking that I was a horrible parent. He rolled over onto his tummy on Saturday morning while he was crying his lungs out and that immediately quieted him down. I thought I'd experiment so I put him on his tummy Sunday morning. He cried about fifteen minutes and went to sleep for over an hour. That afternoon I did the same, he cried for about five minutes and slept over two hours. It was awesome! He didn't cry at all this morning and he's been asleep for about thirty minutes. I'm still worried about SIDS because I should keep him on his back until he's six months old from what I've read. It does mention that he will begin to roll over himself and that I shouldn't disturb him once he does. Lorne is worried that he will want to start sleeping that way at night too which worries us because we won't be able to monitor him like I can during the day. I hate to mess with his nighttime routine since he's sleeping at least nine hours these days.

We finally decided when we're coming down for Christmas. We'll leave on the 16th or 17th and stay until the 27th or 28th. I'm trying to decide what to do with Sawyer. I don't know if I should wean him before we leave so that we can do formula on the road and while we're there. I can tell as I'm typing this that isn't something that I want to do. I know that he'll be six months old by then, but I think it might be overwhelming for him to wean and travel around the same time. I wish that there was a right or wrong answer on what to do. I hate to wean just to make the drive down easier and just because he's six months old now. Once again I think that I will talk to some of my friends and see what they think or what they did.

We went shopping Saturday while Larry and Velma were here. I actually nursed Sawyer in the Tahoe in the Sam's parking lot. Lorne said that I was a walking Dairy Queen so we might as well take advantage of it. I was surprised at how well it worked out. I really don't take advantage of the convenience of breastfeeding while I'm out. I just run errands until it's time for him to eat again and then we head home. I may have to do that again, especially once we start our Christmas shopping. We normally do all our shopping in one day. I can't imagine that working out this year but I guess we'll see.


Poppa read to him from his new book

I KNEW It!

We went back to the ped today for a two-week follow-up. Lorne went with me so that he could observe since I didn't have a very good experience last time. I brought notes from each time I fed him over the past two weeks. He nursed eighty-seven times and was fussy during eleven of them. Whaddya know, he DOESN'T HAVE REFLUX!! I feel like I've scored a major victory! She said that if he's only fussy every now and then it's probably because he isn't that hungry, is teething, or it may be something that I ate that he doesn't like.

He weighs 14 pounds 1 ounce so he has officially doubled his birth weight and then some. He has gained six ounces in the past two weeks and she said that she would like for him to have gained more but that he is "obviously not going to blow away" or something like that. They also checked his length and he's gone from 24 1/2 to 25 1/4 in two weeks so that's a good sign. She said that she would see us again at his six month appointment. She also said that it was okay to start cereal! She suggested that we mix it with formula to add more calories. I am so excited! I'm also kind of sad because it will be the start of him officially not needing me exclusively anymore. We'll probably do it this weekend because I want Lorne to feed him his first "real" food and it's recommended to start new foods in the morning so that it's easier to watch for allergies throughout the day.

I feel like everything is going by so quickly all of a sudden. Sawyer will be five months old next week. I now convey his age in months instead of weeks. He is "talking" more and more, rolling over, and he's grabbing at everything (including his feet). I promise to post a picture as soon as I can get one. It is too cute! He now has two teeth, will start cereal soon, and is sleeping eight to ten hours at night. I've decided that one of the caveats of motherhood is to complain about something in the moment, wondering when it will end, just to feel the tug of regret when it does. My guess is that this will always be the case!

Our Little Leopard

I have quite a few pictures to share today. I've been lazy and haven't blogged in a while. I thought about just posting a few each day, but I decided that I'd better take advantage of the time I have now because there's no telling when I'll get another chance. I've been working on getting Sawyer to nap in his crib and that hasn't been easy. He is so rotten that he only wants to sleep on me during the day. I will get him to sleep and his eyes shoot open the moment he hits the crib. Oh well, we're taking it one nap at a time.

In other news, he's cutting his two bottom teeth! I read that it usually happens around seven months but can happen as early as two and as late as twelve. The little ridges have cut through the gumline. Lorne tried to get pictures of them this weekend but they all came out blurry. We'll have to try again once they're completely in. So far so good on his mood. I've heard kids can be bears when they're teething so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. He's also nursing better now that they have come through. I'm hoping that isn't just coincidence and I can tell Dr. Darrow on Thursday that I was right and that he doesn't have reflux after all.


You can tell he wasn't very impressed with Lorne trying to get pictures of his new teeth!

Sawyer was a leopard for Halloween, much to Lorne's chagrin! Lorne wasn't quite sure why a four-month-old needed to dress up for Halloween, but he got overruled! I thought that he was very cute and I think Lorne agreed. He wasn't too happy about the part on his head, probably because he was too hot, so I kept it off until the doorbell rang. I think the trick-or-treaters were more impressed with Rosie though. There's just something about dogs that kids (and adults) love!


He kept trying to eat his paws.


What a sweetie!


Notice the drool...there's a lot of that at our house these days!


OK, last one!


Sophia the Lobster came trick-or-treating.

I thought that maybe he was big enough to take the sling out of the bathtub, but he isn't quite holding up his head well enough. We got some cute pictures out of the deal though.


He loves bath time!


Notice the strategically-placed bath toy. That was Lorne's doing.


He likes to look at himself these days.

Lorne put the Exersaucer together this weekend. I think it was the first thing he's put together since Sawyer's been born. Everything else was assembled BS: Before Sawyer. :) This was the first of many no doubt, especially with Christmas right around the corner. It is meant for babies four months to walking so I thought we'd give it a shot. He really seems to enjoy sitting in it. Of course he wants to put all the toys in his mouth. Big surprise there!


Sawyer was a big help while Daddy assembled his Exersaucer. He was trying to figure out how to get Lorne's toes in his mouth.


Thanks Liz, Kristi, and Patti. He LOVES his Exersaucer!

Sawyer has rolled over three times that I know of and I've missed each one. Once was while he was on the couch with Lorne and I was in the kitchen, the second time he was in his crib and I turned my back to get his clothes, and the third time was on his Gymini and I'd glanced away. One of these days I'll actually get to see it!


I think he's liking tummy time a little more these days!