More Reid-isms

So on the last entry, videos took forEVER to load...here's attempt #2 with the rest. Really did try to get these uploaded sooner, but it's been a crazy week. Guess that's the new normal. It is still heart-wrenching to leave Reid each morning and force him to get up at a much earlier time than he'd normally sleep until. I often feel like a bad mommy, especially on weeks like this one where I drop him off at the last possible moment (7:18am) and pick him up as soon as I'm able (twice this week, it was 4:50pm). Last week I had report cards to prepare (I kid you not...it's like finals or a dissertation to prepare for) and this week I've been preparing for parent conferences. Weeks like this, I wonder what on earth I must be thinking, especially with my kids at school being nuts all week. But then again, kindergarten was exhausting w/o the infant ;) Just comes with the territory. Overall, my class is okay but in kinder any little thing affects them, be it a full moon, the weather changing, Halloween coming up, sugar (you'd be amazed at some of their "lunches" that they so proudly packed themselves...I'm assuming the parents trust that their five year old will pack a healthy lunch, but the kid just thinks, "Awesome--I can have all the sugar I want!!"), the DEA helicopter landing starting out your Friday morning, etc. etc. At least parent conference day is the day after Halloween this year, so one less cranky sugar-low day of post Halloween kids this upcoming week, hahaha. I really do count my blessings and know God has me working this year for a reason, but weeks like this week, I just really wonder why and if I am making any difference at all in the world.

But on to more entertaning, happy things! We are now adding rice cereal to Reid's diet. Here's what he thinks of it:

But thankfully, he doesn't seem to mind it in the bottle. Our pediatrician's info clearly states to NOT serve it in the bottle, but every mom I've talked to (plus our sitter, w/ kids of her own and 15 yrs experience w/ childcare) swears by it. I figure if it makes him have a full, happy tummy (which means more sleep at night for the WHOLE family) and it's not a choking hazard, there's nothing wrong with it. He'll learn to use the spoon eventually and hopefully be a pretty adventurous eater like his parents :) I tried to expose him to lots of tastes in utero, so we'll see.

And here's why diaper changing is so hard these days...but you're nearly always guaranteed a laugh and a smile!

I just enjoyed a wonderful lunch with my friend Tyler, who's just recently moved to Dallas. We enjoyed catching up over some Corner Bakery goodness, but the best part was talking about what God has blessed us with in our lives. You never understand why you're going through what you are, but in retrospect you can often figure it out. Essentially, Jason and I are just so thankful that our little Reid is a happy, healthy, growing boy these days and love seeing what each new day holds for us. I do wonder if other "normal" couples (who haven't been through something crazy like infertility) truly appreciate each little moment quite as much. He was WELL worth the wait :)

New Reid-isms

Our little guy (a nice, hefty 15 lbs. or so by now--shouldn't my arms be buff after all the picking up??) just gets funnier and funnier. Here are some of his latest favorite Reid-isms. He loves mouthing everything...blankets, clothes, mommy's fingers, you get the picture. Even during diaper changes, he's got something in his mouth (and I have to REALLY make sure his hands are clean, now!).





As Thanksgiving gets closer and closer, his body shape just reminds me of a little Butterball turkey (but with arms, legs, and a head). This one cracked us up:




Last week, he was practically inconsolable every day when we'd get home from picking him up at the sitter. I know he's overtired (nope, still not taking REAL naps when he's at the sitter...guess he doesn't want to miss ANYthing), but he doesn't know what to think. The swing didn't help, the vacuum didn't help, so I finally resorted to walking him in the stroller (plus it lets me exercise at the same time). Fresh air does the body good!

This video took forEVER to load...so I'll have to do the others next week. It's been nuts at school between report cards being due Sunday and next Monday is parent conference day (might as well be back to back finals!!).

Retarded.

Yep, that would be me. I wrote the wrong date on EVERYthing yesterday and it wasn't until this morning that I realized yesterday was the 21st...my mom's birthday. I even talked to her on the phone. Sheesh. So mom, I am very sorry!! :( But here's a little something for your b-day from Reid:

Don't Let the Sweet Smiles Fool You...

He has been a holy terror the past couple of days (at home, anyway). I was sooo exhausted yesterday that I was showered and in bed with the lights out by 8:25pm. Yep, must've been a premonition b/c Reid fussed/cried/screamed most of last night, all for no apparent reason. We have an unspoken rule at our house that you now let the kid fuss for awhile in hopes that he'll go back to sleep unassisted (and lately, it's worked so well!). Last night, I don't think the fussing really ever ended. I was up nine (yes, NINE) times and absolutely nothing worked....rocking, bouncing, singing, diaper changing, burping, patting, rubbing, pacis (which he will no longer take, but can't always find his thumb to suck when he's really upset), extra clothes, clothes off, you get the picture. I can only reason two things--he's either having a major growth spurt (ate nearly 40 oz yesterday!!!!) and was hungry again OR his "I'm not taking a nap!" after the sitter caught up w/ him later that night. So that made today just absolutely wonderful. Being the week grades and report cards must be entered (and I'm still giving each of my kindergarteners 6 tests apiece basically, one on one) and comments must be written on top of crazy kids (full moon on Saturday?), I feel like I'm putting out brushfires (bonfires??) all day long. So tonight, Jason so kindly offered to be on Daddy duty (mainly b/c he doesn't want to put up with another grouchy Stacey day, I think) so I can get some rest.


That being said, we really did have a fun weekend with our little guy. His new favorite position in the swing? Anything involving feet up in the air! (And take note of the weird way he sucks his thumb)


Dixie apparently approves of some freshly washed garage sale buys from last weekend (yes, she puked on it before Reid did...so back into the washer it went).



Reid wouldn't leave his thumb out of his mouth long enough for a pic of his cute new onesy:

Boo!

And here's what the little man is saying these days (lots of new vowel sounds...how exciting!).

More leg kickin' fun...

Thankfully, Reid approved of the garage sale toys, too. I love garage sales, especially for kid stuff...proud to say that I hit all the good looking ones I could find that day!

And Mommy is happy that he can entertain himself with his new toys and new Bumbo tray:

ER Scare

Wow...so not sure where exactly to even begin on this one... Reid got his 4 mo. shots on Thursday and was quite the trooper. He only screamed for about a minute, then calmed down and was his happy camper little self again--even slept while mommy was at Target buying the rice cereal the pediatrician said we could start (which was NOT a big hit on Saturday night--not even sure if any actually made it into his mouth, lol). He was pretty cranky a little early, so we put him to bed at 6 rather than his usual 6:30. He slept throught the night (fourth night in a row...a new record!!) and wasn't even cranky at the sitter's house on Friday. Friday evening, the crankiness began. He seemed beat, so I put him down just before six. Jason had daddy duty on Saturday morning so I could go garage saling in our neighborhood-wide garage sale (yes, thrifty me got some good bargains!) and he said Reid was cranky and had to be moving virtually the whole time. He didn't really nap well that day, but ate like a champ. He's finally taking more than 4 or 5 ounces at a time--yay!! After an attempt at the rice cereal (it was a joke--we'll try again in the next week or two) it was bath time. I thought he had a very vociferous and horribly gaggy smelling fart, but then I noticed that there were suddenly chunks of #2 all over. Lovely. Got it all cleaned up, then cleaned him all up with a second bath and got him to bed. The fun began in the wee hours of Sunday morning. He awoke SCREAMING at 2:30. As soon as I went into his room, you could smell that he'd poopied (very odd considering he hasn't made a poopie at nighttime in about five weeks) so I changed him, thinking maybe he was uncomfortable. He was totally inconsolable and went two more times. I finally fed him out of desperation (maybe with this big increase in appetite, he's having a growth spurt??) and he fussed for another 30 minutes and had yet another poopie, but finally passed out. So I was exhausted after battling him for an hour and went back to bed to pass out myself. Repeat the same thing at 5am...ending with his normal feeding just after 6am. He slept about an hour after that and then the REAL fun began. Imagine the most foul diaper ever, but add some bloody mucous. And not a normal amount, but just enough to warrant a diaper change. So long story short (and 5 bloody diapers later), at 4pm I finally called our pediatrician's after hours nurse line (which charges you $10/call--still ticks me off!) and they sent us to Acute Kids Urgent Care. From there, we were sent to the ER at Children's Medical Center Plano. Four hours, an x-ray, sonogram, CBC, and other fun things later, we emgerged exhausted with our poor crabby infant knowing that he thankfully didn't need surgery, but not really knowing why he's been having poopie issues. Sigh. Same thing at our follow up with the pediatrician today. So we've been given the green light to have him back at the sitter tomorrow and have been told it could've been a bug or a very late milk protein allergy. I don't buy either--he's been on this formula over two weeks (and obviously loves it since he's eating like a little piggy) and wasn't vomiting or having fever. My bet? The shots. But I'm not a doctor... We are just thankful that he seems okay (just tired, cranky, and blood-free "sharts" today) and didn't require anything crazy like surgery. And I've gotten to be a pseudo stay at home mom today, which has been a dream, even if just for a day. My little Reid and I enjoyed a long, sweet nap together this morning and it was wonderful :)

On a happier note, our deep freeze (which went out a week after I quit breastfeeding and housed ALL my hard work...breast milk I'd worked so hard to pump for four months--all gone!!) is working. Apparently, all of the outlets in the garage had been tripped. Jason pressed the reset button and voila-they're fine!

Grandma Penny & Grandpa T's Visit

It's been (another) crazy week. I guess this is the new normal...there is never, ever any down time and it seems like we go, go, go all the time. Between work, dr. appts, events on the weekend, and attempting to do housework, cook, and normal daily activities, it's amazing we can get any sleep at all (and believe me--it's never enough!). So I meant to get this uploaded closer to the actual visit, but better late than never, right?

Last weekend was Grandma Penny's first visit to see Reid. We also had the privilege of meeting her new husband, Tim, who compliments her perfectly. They decided that he will be called "Grandpa T." We were happy to have them stay with us and Reid loved watching him walk around--we think mainly because he is so tall it must've been fun to crane his neck back and watch him way up there. I didn't take nearly enough pictures (hard to do when you're holding a baby all the time, lol) but here are a few from our weekend. Reid was a bit out of sorts because he refused to sleep on Friday evening when we all had dinner at Patrizio's (the five of us plus Steven, Aimee, Hayden, and Henry). We did his normal evening routine, then got into the car at bedtime instead of into the crib...it was downhill from there. As soon as we were seated (thankfully on the patio, where I could make an easy escape), he began wailing so I figured if I walked him around in the stroller, it might lull him to sleep. 30 minutes later (and JUST to sleep), I parked the stroller at the table...only to have it jostled two minutes later by the waiter. So I am quite grateful that others took turns walking him around, too, and I could scarf down some dinner.


I had a sneaking suspicion that the evening would go that way, so here's the onesie he wore. (It says, "I'll sleep when I'm good and ready" if you can't read it)

The next day...and a very tired mama... He was a good little guy, but still cranky from missing sleep the night before. We headed over to Steven and Aimee's that evening and Steven grilled some delicious goodies for dinner. The weather was great, Reid went down without a fuss, and all was good. (He popped awake an hour later and was fussy until we got home, though. This kid can't sleep anywhere but his crib or swing...not sure how we're going to rectify that problem!! Any advice, mommies out there??)

Henry with Grandma Penny and Grandpa T.

I can't believe Hayden is in kindergarten this year! He, in true kindergartener fashion, asks tons of questions (some are so funny!) and has typical kindergartener reasoning... Check out what he has to say about his new brother/sister (who will be making his/her debut around Valentine's Day). It cracked us all up!

If you couldn't quite hear the end, he would like a sister because "she won't hit me."

After a bunch of naps on Sunday, our little guy was back to normal on Monday. He loves his bouncy seat (and yes, I realize it is quite odd that it is in the master bath tub, but that is the only place I have room for it in the bathroom...and he has to come with me when I get dressed, etc.)

Please ignore the really irritating noises I'm making in this one... At first I was just trying to get his attention for the camera, but the crazy noises ("Wanna hear the most annoying noise in the world?") were making him laugh and giggle, and of course I wanted to get that on video.

And for the last laugh, Reid officially crapped on himself in the bathtub for the very first (and hopefully last, but I have a sneaking suspicion it won't be!) time last night. It was absolutely revolting and I don't think there are enough cleaning products on earth to make me feel like I really, really got it clean... Oh, joy.

4 Months

I can't believe it...Reid is four months old!! Here's our little guy (not so little anymore!) in his latest monthly photo:



Some of his latest favorites...his new glow/music toy from Gamma and Papa has been a big hit! Some nights when he wakes up in the middle of the night, I can put the little seahorse on and it 'lullabies' him back to sleep. One night, I cracked the door again after turning it on because I thought I heard him. He was just caressing the glowing tummy. It was precious!! This was the best pic I could get.

And I have been videoing like crazy, thinking of all the cute things I thought he'd do for much, much longer (but has since quit)... Here he is after our weekend of visitors (preview of an entry soon to come--Grandma Penny's visit!). Jason and I were laughing so hard that the couch had to be shaking, but somehow I managed to get it. I was also graced by the presence of Dixie, who normally avoids any area close to Reid. Guess she was feeling especially auspicious that day.

And his latest feat...rolling from his tummy to his back (on a regular basis) independently! Watching football had to be a part of it, of course.

And we just (finally!) found a mobile to put in his crib. Since he seems to love animals and sports, it combines the two...and still matches the nursery decor fairly well. Back when the showers were going on, we had gotten the cutest monkey mobile off of our registry from Jason's Aunt Lynn and Uncle Nigel, but I found that it had recently gotten some bad write ups as far as safety is concerned, so I took it back. My backup mobile was a precious lamb mobile, which has basically been on back order since I chose it. The nursery's "theme" kind of accidentally ended up being sheep/lamb along with my original color scheme....which has been absolutely perfect because Reid is a little "lamb of God" and my maiden name is Shepherd :)

And, finally, tomorrow will be a happy day... I'm turning 34, but this time it's not the, "Oh, no...another year passes with no baby...and I'm not getting any younger." My birthdays are traditionally disasters, but this year is already off to a great start with my two favorite guys :)