It's been a busy 2 weeks...

So here is an update of the last two busy weeks. Yes, my life is that important that you need an update or better yet, my son is just that cute that he is worth showing him off with all his new pictures and accomplishments.

Christopher is now in the crawler stage! He is still doing the army/mountain crawls but he is on the go & fast! He of course started the forward crawl when Tim & I were both at work but luckily he was with Aunt Kasey so she was able to capture some video for us! 

I came home from work on Friday to a messy kitchen & the baby gate set-up and immediately I stopped and thought to myself, what happened here? Not in regards to the mess but what happened to my little itty bitty baby boy. He is crawling all over my house, eating various fingers foods all by himself (or dropping on the floor for the cat to eat but still, it is all in good fun & practice!)

I am sure there are so many other Mommies out there that have these exact moments as well. Whether there child is 8 months old, 8 years old or even 28 years old...it is crazy to sit back and watch your own child grow & learn so fast. I swear that song "Don't Blink" explains the life of a parent so well. You seriosuly stop to blink and next thing you know your little baby is doing things that you kept thinking about or explaining to people "no, he is not crawling forward yet but he is trying." Or "he is still eating puree food because I am a new Mommy and too scared to give him even puffs just yet." 

These monumental moments that my little boy has been achieving what seems to be a new one each week really are not just changing him but also my parenting style. I will be the first to admit that I was super crazy, over-protecting, by the book Mommy when Christopher first came. I was just so nervous for him to be touched, held, fed, thrown around, etc. I am sure there are many other Moms out there that were exactly like I was. Many first time Moms are just like this. The sense of control that you have over that itty bitty baby and how he/she grows up really kicks into high gear when they are brought into this world that it really hit me head on. By this I mean that I was in need of being in control of everything in regards to my son. The way he ate, the time he ate, how to change his diaper, how he should be held, when and where he should sleep, what his favorite toy or blanket was, and the list could go on & on. Yes, I was that kind of Mom. 

Key word, WAS! It is really amazing that you start out as neurotic, over-protective and even mean Mommy and as your child shows you that he/she is able to accomplish things such as eating on his own, you slowly make your way out of that shell and start allowing your baby become who he/she really is. Obviously as a Mom of an 8 month old I am not like sure go ahead, have a party, smoke a ciggarette, drink a beer but I am making progress on things like, go ahead crawl around the living room and if you bump your head, I promise I won't cry as hard as you do. Or sure go ahead Dad, feed him a little bite of your sandwich, it won't give him some "House type disease" that can/never will be cure-able. See, I am making progress...

Yes, you are seeing correctly. My child is eating a pork rib bone that did contain small pieces of very delicious & tender pork ribs with bbq sauce on them.  The second picture is a pickle & he was in love. So much in love that he sucked 3 pickles dry and HAD to do it all by himself. 

I call these pictures evidence that I am slowly coming out of my "new Mommy" shell and making my way into the "I am about to have another baby" shell. I am sure there are some parents that don't ever come out of the new Mommy shell or takes them a bit longer, which does not make them a bad parents. Or for that matter, me a bad parent. But our family tends to move fast on things, hence the new baby on his way in just 11 short weeks (hopefully not a day sooner!!!) So I define the "I am about to have another baby" shell as this (with the held of other Mommies with multiple children): You are about to have 2 children, which will then mean that you don't love your 2nd or 1st child more or less, you just have learned the tricks and trades of being a Mom. This meaning that rice cereal may have waited until the doctor gave the okay for Christopher, but with still nameless baby boy #2, he might be getting rice cereal a bit earlier. Or an example that many Moms may relate to very well with is: yes the doctor said to wake your healthy baby every 3 hours to eat but if he/she is sleeping, let them until 5 hours (note: I know this is only for healthy babies, I would never starve or harm my child for the joys of getting extra hours of sleep!).

So in conclusion to my update of two weeks, I would like to say that I am learning to be a calmer & a more trusting Mommy all the while still keeping that "I am his Mommy" title in the background just in case I need to whip it out if someone gets out of line.  Also, I am starting to get ready for my new role as a Mommy of 2, and by 2 I mean 2 boys! As the lady said in line behind me at Acme this weekend, "God bless me & enjoy every moment because before you know it, they will be grown up and be out of your control." -That woman to me is a very wise lady!

Kerplunk

Finally a weekend where it is nice and my husband is actually home. & it was a holiday weekend, double score! What better way to stay cool & enjoy the weekend then a trip to Walmart for some outdoor fun stuff. 

Mommy scores a new patio set, Daddy scores the satisfaction of putting it together sometime soon (hopefully) and Christopher scores a new chair & a POOL! 

I am a fish. My husband tells me all the time. If there is a body of water & I can swim in it, I will. So why not start Christopher young with becoming a fish just like his Mama? He already loves bath time so a pool is similar. Daddy blows up the pool, starts filling it up & in Christopher goes with his swimmy diaper, bathing suit compliments of Grandmom & Coach and his favorite starfish toy he uses for tubby time. Remind you, the pool is still filling up with freezing cold hose water and do you think my child cares, nope not one bit. He shivers, gasps a bit but still persist on wanting to be in the water. I was in all my glory realizing how much my child is actually my child since his looks don't always show it but his love for water does. 

Well about 20 minutes until playing he realizes that the top ring around the pool would make for an awesome teether. It is like 1 giant teething ring. Christopher was so proud of himself and got a bit too daring for my liking. I told him "no" three times when he tried to pull himself up so then he scooted his little butt closer to the edge and started gnaw-ling on the top ring of the pool again. Well that lasted all of 30 seconds before my son thought he could do this hands free. In he slithered like a snake and KERPLUNK! My heart jumped out of my chest and Christopher was flopping around like a fish. Poor guy went under and Mommy went diving in the pool, cell phone and all. There were some tears shed from him & I  and even a nice spit up of water but do you think that stopped my daredevil of a child...nope! He was ready for more...as you can see in the picture next to this post. 

My child is a fish, just like his Mama. Sometimes he gets a bit scared but he is a little daredevil. I am currently online shipping for some swimmies for his guns and a float for when he goes into a big pool because I am sure we are going to have to keep a close eye on our little daredevil fishy.

A situation like this really made me scared but also made me think of how grown up my little baby boy is already. I cannot believe all the new accomplishments he is making each & everyday. It really is amazing watching this once teeny tiny baby he  grow up to become such a fun, loving, crazy, happy little boy. 

Now if only we could get some teeth to try some new foods & get him to stop grunting at us due to frustration  of crawling backwards, we'd be set! But for now, I will enjoy my little daredevil fishy just the way he is and realize that pictures like above, new experiences like swimming in a pool (regardless of the almost drowning experience) really make being a Mom so amazing. 

oh & p.s. check it out, Christopher already got haircut #2 from Daddy just in time for the hot Summer! :)

 

CRAP!

Yesterday was a day full of crap. Literally for one instance. 

The morning started out like usual. Alarm sounds at 6am and my husband and I groan that we have to get up and most of all get up & go to work. I find that being the worst part of my day, getting up to wake up my baby boy just to feed, burp & change him and then leave him. The life of a working Mom sucks but bills don't pay themselves & we don't have a money tree in our backyard (yet) so for now, this is life. Get over it Kerin, it is only 10 hours away from home. No big deal. Okay, I am done complaining (for now).

So we go on with the morning routine of warm bottle, change baby, make coffee, feed baby while taking turns getting showers/dressed and watching Christopher. He has been getting to that age where watching him is now where you need to be at his side at all times. He is so curious and active even for 6:30am!!! So did not get that from his mother. It was just about time to head out the door and CRAP! It happened. The thing that everyone warns you about but like mostly everything in life, you need for it happen to actually realize that it can/does happen to me. 

Christopher fell off the bed! My poor little man not only fell off the bed while going after the remote, he planted the side of his head on the base of a lamp. All those parents that told you about this happening and how it feels like your heart jumps out of your chest were right. I am pretty sure I caused the excess of tears because my initial reaction was worse then Christopher's. This moment was the scariest moment of my life (which I am sure is the first of many other moments like it). Thankfully there was only a small red lump hidden in his excessive crazy hair that went away before he even got to the babysitters. The conclusion to the first crap moment of the day is that Christopher just got bored with watching the news and wanted to change the channel but next time he will need to learn to stay on the bed to do this or better yet, he will watch TV from the ground from now on, just in case. This Momma doesn't need a heart attack or early labor just because the news is too boring. 

Luckily the next crap moment had nothing to do with endangering my child and was the complete opposite.  When I got home from work, you would have never known my child jumped off the bed in the morning. He was the happiest little man ever. We followed our night routine with playtime, dinner, bath, more playtime, a bottle then bed. He didn't whine or cry once. It was such a nice night, especially since this Momma got a new fridge! Christopher was asleep without a fuss, my husband/dad/sister's fiance brought me a new fridge and I got to eat leftover apple pie while watching my TV shows. Overall, that is a pretty awesome night. I am pretty sure you are jealous. My husband and I also stayed up late, 10pm, don't judge!  It was time for bed so I went in Christopher's room to check on him and thats when the CRAP smell literally hit me. 

Poor kid was sleeping with squashed up poop in his diaper. I could not let him sleep like that & knew my husband didn't get to say goodnight to him so what better way to say goodnight then to change a poopy diaper on a sleeping baby. He He He, I am a smart lady. Well, my child didn't really cooperate with my evil little plan. He actually slept through it all. I don't know many people that could sleep through something like a diaper change, but my son has just been added to that list and I have just made note of this. 


For a day filled with CRAP, amazingly it was nice, relaxing and rewarding. I guess in the end I have learned that even if you are given CRAP, it doesn't always have to be classified as a CRAPPY day. 

Look at my happy little man, how could I ever classify a day to be CRAPPY ever again when looking at him??!!

Queen of the "Castle"

I am now officially going to be the Queen of our home aka "my castle." We found out on Monday that we are having another boy! We are beyond happy and most of all pretty much ready for him to come, just not yet since it would not be safe for medical reasons and for bills to be paid.

Here are a list of reasons why this Mama is so happy that I got to hear the words "It's a boy AGAIN!"

1.) We have all the boy stuff ready and many friends/family are already willing to give us more

2.) I cannot do hair so I need to master that prior to having a baby girl

3.) My house is not ready space-wise for a baby girl's clothes to fit anywhere

4.) Our bank accounts would not be able to handle my tutu and headband obsession

5.) Two big brothers instead of 1 to protect my non-existent but hope to be baby girl for baby #3 one day will make her life so much safer (even if she hates being bossed around or her boyfriends being threatened.) (yes, I am talking about baby #3 already. I live my life by planning and this is my life plan.)

Drum roll please.....my favorite reason of all is.... 

6.) Seeing the smile on my husband's face the moment the lady said it was a boy was priceless. I wish I could have whipped out my cell phone and took a picture of his face but I am pretty sure the X-ray Tech did not want me jumping off the bed with my pants down just yet.

I think regardless of the sex, and how crazy our lives are about to become, it is amazing how many times a baby can make you laugh, smile and even cry tears of joy in just the few short months being here on Earth. (I say the on Earth part because I am a firm believer that yes an ultrasound is all good and nice but truly, all babies in them look like aliens to me. Especially the creepy waving hands.) So I cannot even imagine how much joy and happiness Tim & I will get from Christopher and his little brother. Aaahh..I get chills every time I say big or little brother. I am just so in love with the fact that Christopher will have a little brother to love, push around, teach new things to (probably both good and bad) and most of all be best friends with. Tim has always said he wanted a Tim & Nate. For all of you that are unfamiliar with who Nate is, it is Tim's little brother. They share such a special bond like most big & little brothers do and ever since I found out I was pregnant again, I just knew that is what I wanted for Christopher and for my husband. 

Words cannot express the adventures that our lives are about to embark on but so far the adventures have been nothing but pure happiness. Yes, there were bumps in the road where I felt like giving up or just needed a break but I would not trade the feeling of being a Mom and having a family of mine own in for anything in the world. I now know what it feels like when I used to hear my parents tell my siblings & I how much they loved us and let me just tell you, it is the most awesome feeling in the world!

So for all of you out there thinking or even saying (behind my back) that we are crazy, go ahead, keep laughing or talking, because not a word or a thought could change the happiness I have in my heart right now. I am and will always be the Queen of my "Castle" in a house full of boys to protect me and love me every single day.

Christopher after he was told by Aunt Kasey & Grandmom that he was going to be a Big Brother in a few months.

oh teething, i hate you

Let the teething really begin. Christopher has been drooling since about 3 months but not 1 tooth has popped through yet but I think those teeth are stepping their game up because not only is my little man drooling but now he is refusing to eat after a few bites or ounces of the bottle. The worst part is that those stupid teeth are turning my happy little baby into a cranky monster. I say monster because anything in sight must be put in his mouth for comfort. For instance this morning, he decided to use my fresh out of the shower hair as his comfort. Did I mention yet how much I hate these little stubborn teeth? I mean yes I am sure the pain is so much worse when those suckers come through but how much easier would life be for Christopher?

A lot easier! He would have no issues with chomping on all the things Daddy wants to sneak him, like bites of pizza, limes and even crushed garlic (YUCK) He would also look even cuter with little white shiny teeth showing in pictures instead of still looking like Baby Grandpa! And maybe when the teeth come my child will stop thinking that all smiles must be with his tongue sticking out. Since I am the Mom that stalks my child for pictures, this does bother me. Yes it was cute the first couple times but the tongue out and panting like a dog is just not acceptable when you are a human being, even if you are a baby. Or maybe I am just expecting too much from my 6 month old? I mean shouldn't he be walking and potty trained within the next 3-6 months. He does have a little sister or brother coming right behind him and we have been so good to him that he could re-pay the favor by doing all these things much sooner instead of waiting for Mommy to be 9 months pregnant trying to chase his little wobbly legs everywhere while dodging the break-ables that are getting thrown across the room since we are the "will get around to it" type when it comes to baby proofing. oh, what did we get ourselves into???!!!

okay, back to teething. Another thing I hate about this process and those still non-existent little suckers is that my once perfect sleeper now decides that 3am is perfectly acceptable time to wake up and cry for his pacifier that is clearly right near his head where he left it back at 8pm when he fell asleep. Yes, we are a pacifier family and if you have a problem with it, I do not care! It makes life easier for all of us and no we do not care to hear how hard it will be to get him "off the pacifier" (like it is some sort of drug & my child could actually overdose on it.) When the time comes, we will take care of it, I promise.

Those teeth think they are some tricky little buggers waking my child up but little do they know the power of the pacifier. Yes, I may be a tired Mama that does not feel like getting up but I know all it takes is the all mighty pacifier and we have won. Teeth - 0 Pacifier -1 So take that teeth. Sleep may be disrupted for Christopher and I (Tim usually sleeps right through it, lucky man!) but you have not won the battle or the war.

The war on getting teeth I am sure is a sucky process. I have never had really bad tooth pain before and I knock on wood & count my blessings that I never do encounter these issues. Mainly because the dentist is my mortal enemy. I will not get into my complete fear of the dentist as this would take up a whole blog about me whining like a baby and I am not about to put myself out there like that. I like the title of Super Mommy - dubbed this name by Alexa since that has been my title for her for years now & I am feeling pretty darn high up there and I am not letting anyone knock me off my that horse just yet. Let me publically mess up instead of putting myself out there to be the coward that probably will never step foot into a dentist office willingly or without a fight.

So in conclusion, mad props to my son (& all those other teething babies out there)! You little guys (& girls) are some strong little suckers. Taking on the pain like champs by chomping down on anything edible or not. To those teeth, you shiny, little white creatures, you need to stop torturing my son and pop on through so I have some new milestone to blog about soon!

oh yeah, how could I forget an adorable picture of my son..so here ya go!

Story behind the picture is that he needed a daytime bath from my my sister right after he pooped all up & down himself. Because again, I hate you teething & all the nastiness you bring along with your annoying bad self!

Spring is in your steps

Aahhh..Spring is in the air! I never have admitted this to anyone, let alone myself before but I am pretty sure I have come to the conclusion that Spring is my favorite season. The sight of flowers blooming, sun shining when leaving for work and still up when I get home, families out for an evening walk, kids playing in the playground and most of all, the smell of bbq's. It just puts a smile on my face no matter how terrible the day is. I think my child shares this same feeling. 

My son is so calm, curious and happy when he is outside. He LOVES going for walks in his new car, just sitting watching the big kids play on their bikes or basketball and really loves watching our crazy cat climb trees and get stuck. It makes evenings after work and weekends so much more fun. I mean come on, who likes being cooped up in their house watching the same old TV shows (in our house it is usually the news so you can see why I have this rationalization.) I have learned that my son loves the outdoors so much that he actually will take his naps outside. I really wish my husband would have gotten a picture to post because the visual I get is enough to make me smile yet laugh. 

Apparently my husband had a lot of yard work to do on his day off while waiting for potential roofers to come so his plan was to have my son enjoy the beautiful weather with him so he could get his work done. My son was ready to go with is new Nike hat & Nike sneakers, blanket, toys & get this- a rain umbrella for coverage (since we are slacker parents and have yet to get him sunblock!) My husband came up with the brilliant idea that he can play and nap on the front lawn under a rain umbrella. Are you getting the visual I am? I am sure my neighbors got a short giggle at the sight of my son just napping out on the front lawn under an umbrella. But hey, as a parent, you always find methods that work best for your child even if it may be frowned upon by other parents. Doesn't make you a bad parents. I in fact think it made my husband a very smart parent. We may patent the idea so stay tuned - hehe!!

So not only did my son have an adventurous day with hanging outside with Daddy but he has learned two new things. Prepare yourself, these are not the typical he said this word, he crawled kind of things. They are a typical my child kind of thing to learn. You know, the only my child would do this kind of thing. Yes, that is the best way to describe his new actions. 

You know the baby on e-trade? Well yes, he better put in his termination letter soon because Christopher is taking over that job ASAP. He now moves his mouth open and closed for long periods of time without any sound coming out. We think it may be him mimicking us when we are saying things are yummy or the constant pressure of my husband and I each trying to get him to say Mama or Dada first but the E-Trade baby scenario just works and sounds so much better. We could make money off this kid. E-Trade better get ready for us! Unfortunately there is no way to post a video of this but I think you get my point and if you don't, commercials will be airing soon on your TV so better not spend too much time outside in the beautiful weather, I don't want you missing my child being all famous E-Trade baby style. Side note: We also refer to these actions as his fat baby syndrome and it is just him making motions that he is hungry but this doesn't make money so we will stick with E-Trade baby instead. 

Christopher's second trick is pretty darn fancy too. Nothing we can make money on but still makes him probably the smartest baby EVER! I am biased but so what. In my opinion, every parent has to be their child's biggest fan! He now recognizes foot steps. He hears foot steps coming down the stairs from any room of the house and he  goes into full curious/I am waiting mode. He turns his head directly to the stairs waiting for a face to match with the foot steps and once he sees your face, you get the best smile EVER! A grin from ear to ear, arms going and sometimes it is followed but some baby conversation that just melts your heart. See, I told you my child was super skilled and of course this goes without saying, the cutest little guy ever. 

On that note, lets end this by saying Happy Friday to everyone! I hope the Easter Bunny treats you well, you get to eat lots of delicious food with family and/or friends and most of all GO PHILLIES! 

 Christopher on a walk with Aunt Kasey

 Christopher and his cousin Nolan. (My son  looking guilty for causing Nolan's unhappiness. Makes me laugh every time I see this picture.)

Happy Friday!

I know I am sure glad it is not only Friday but that we will hopefully despite the weather forecast be able to have a weekend with family & friends instead of hugging the toilet, laying vertical while not wanting to speak to each other with the baby quarantined at my parent's house. Oh the little things in life.

As I filled everyone in with the last blog, Christopher got the sickness which then started an epidemic. I am not lying here, it was pretty much Outbreak 2 all around us. Outbreak the movie was one that I watched time and time again and every time it still gives me the chills on how sick everyone got but also left me feeling so bad for the poor little monkey. So in comparison to this movie, luckily no monkeys were injured in our Outbreak and there is a happy ending, we are all sickness free! Woo hoo!!!

I think despite the sickness the end of the week turned out to be pretty awesome. In summary, this Mommy got pretty much all my chores done without yelling at Tim every single night due to pure exhaustion. This baby #2 sure is taking a lot out of me compared to Christopher did, or maybe that is because I didn't have Christopher around and could be a fat lazy mess, aahhh those good ol' days!  Also on the awesome side, Christopher has learned to love my "special avocado" Recipe follows- mash with a dash of formula & a pinch of applesauce and your child will tear it up! Oh & the best part, besides not being sick anymore, Baby #2 is doing great, Mommy is doing great at 17 weeks along ALREADY and the sex will hopefully be determined on April 30th!!!! We are Team Boy, what are you?! 

So all in all, avocado loving in a clean house with clean sheets, clean clothes and clean dishes to eat on are all not only pretty awesome but a great success. Pat on my own back. Now I am ready to start our busy weekend and I don't even care if mother nature wants to cry a rive on us. We are sick free and going to enjoy ourselves, gosh darn it! 

Tonight it is Mommy & Christopher time while Daddy takes a Midterm so I am hoping mother nature lets us get a short walk in after work.  See below for a picture of why Mommy & Christopher can't wait to go for another walk soon. He lub, lub, lubs his car!

But if mother nature decides to start her crying fest all early, like I said, she is not raining on my parade. Plan B: We will just watch a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, rock out to rap music, eat some avocado & carrots, sip on some beverages (non-alcoholic for the both of us of course) and then get some rest so we are ready for fun with Daddy, family & friends on Saturday and Sunday! Can you already tell how excited I am not to be sick and to actually have a weekend where my husband is not kidnapped by the Army and we can have family time? 

The rest of the weekend is going to be spent watching Daddy play softball, a little bridal shower talk, catching up with old friends, chit chatting with Family of their adventures across the world, well really the U.S.A. but hey, it is much more exciting then being stuck in boring PA, and eating some delicious food which always puts a smile on a pregnant lady's face. 

So this blog has absolutely no point but to express how utterly excited I am not be down with the sickness anymore and most of all getting some well overdue, very appreciated and deserved Family time. I just adore my little family and hope mother nature decides to be on our side so my husband can get his BBQ on because I am craving a hot diggity dog (We watch a bit too much Mickey's Clubhouse in our house). 

So, Like I said, Happy Friday everyone!

p.s. Is it Opening Day yet? I REALLY NEED a hot dog!