Friday

Well it's Friday.

I think booboo is getting a tooth. He has a bump on his bottom gum, he is drooling like a madman, and is SUPER grouchy. I got him one of those freezable gel teething rings and he's loving it.

I am ordering a Maclaren stroller. Any suggestions? Do you have one? Love it? Hate it?

I am listing some stuff on craigslist. I've never done this before. Should be fun. If your interested in a twice used (as in he was in the swing twice - it was brand new when we bought it) Graco Sleep Peace swing let me know. Also I've got a never opened box of Bright Starts Bounce Bounce baby exer-saucer amongst other things.

Tomorrow is dinner at my favorite place in NWA - Ruth's Chris. Yummo.

And a Jon and Kate update...now they are being investigated for a possible child labor violation. Like that poor family doesn't have enough to deal with. I hope they can work through this mess and pull together for their kids.

Have a great weekend!

What's B Up To? And a Award!

If you haven't had your chance to tell me what you think about J and K +8 yet, I'm still reading the comments on the below post!

This is another post for me...I want to remember what B is up to these days!

This is what I found this morning...a boy who rolled over from his tummy to his back in his sleep (he had done it once earlier in the day too!)!


- You still sleep through the night. We have a strict routine that starts at 8:40pm every night. You get your bath, your eczema prescription, your lotion, PJ's and then a bottle with rice. We rock you in your room while we feed you and then put you to bed once you are asleep.

- You are starting to dislike the bouncy seat. I can usually get you to sit in it while I'm in the shower, but that's it.

- You LOVE your jumperoo and your walker. You wear your little self out!

- You've been eating rice and applesauce for awhile now and like it.

- Your rolling over - in BOTH directions (last night you started rolling from tummy to back).

- You love to watch TV!

- You love to sit on my hip so that you can look around in all directions while I'm carrying you.

- You love to ride the horsey (bouncing you on our knees).

- You went on your first plane ride and did great!

- You are very attached to your momma and daddy! Which we love of course!

- You enjoy stroller rides with mommy while daddy is at the driving range.

- You love being "Superman." Mommy and Daddy pick you up and fly you up into the air! You smile so big at this!

- You repeat sounds - Mommy says "ooooo" and you love to say it back!

-You can sit without my help for about 5-15 seconds before you lose your balance.

I'll keep adding as I think of things!



Now for the award part!

A big thank you to Charlotte at The Happy Hamilton's!

So the rules are that I have to name 7 awesome things about me and then pass it on to 7 awesome people!

Let me preface this by saying I am fairly boring and don't find myself awesome, so bear with me here!

1. I'm a good mom. It's taken me awhile to feel this way, but I can say honestly that now I know I am. I had a lot of guilt over Brayden being sick and it's taken me a long time to get past that and KNOW that I didn't do anything wrong. In fact, according to the doc's I did things right by having an induction and a c-section. Sometimes people try to make you feel bad for the choices you make, but in this case, I did the very best thing even if others don't agree.

2. I'm a hard worker. Whenever I'm working on something I give it 110% or I don't do it.

3. I'm a loyal person. If you're my friend then you never have to worry about me having your back. I'll defend you to the grave!

4. I love my husband. I could spend every second of every day with him and never be bored.

5. I have a very sarcastic sense of humor. You have to really know me to get me. I'm like Bethenny from NYC housewives but without the foul language. And if I'm not comfortable around you yet, I don't say much because you'd think I'm nuts.

6. I'm a traveller. I don't know that that makes me awesome, but I love to be on the go. Once we got the green light to take B out of the house, there have been maybe 3 days when we've not gone anywhere. We fly at least 10 times a year to different places. Love it.

7. Lastly, I'd say I'm awesome because I'm real. I tell it like it is, and if you don't like it sorry. I think a lot of people (especially here in the South) don't quite get me. But I was raised differently, and I'm not afraid to share my mind or my heart. A lot of people here are very guarded and don't really know how to be open, and I'm just not like that.

So I nominate:

Lianna
Tootie

Jennifer

Sarah

Julie G

Emily N

Kacy

Jon and Kate..Your Thoughts?

Yes - TWO posts in ONE day! If you missed Brayden's First Flight, see the post below this one!



I'm sure you're all caught up on the Jon and Kate drama, but if you aren't here's an overview:



- Jon was caught partying with a 23 year old school teacher. He says it was innocent.

- Above-mentioned teachers brother (who she lives with) says it wasn't so innocent.

- Kate spends about 1/2 of each month gone doing speaking engagements and book tours (she was here on Mother's Day weekend).

- Jon no longer works outside of the home, but stays at home to take care of the kids.

- Kate has been accused of having a relationship with her bodyguard.



Those are the major points. There's a lot of other "stuff" but that should catch you up if you aren't following the story.



So what do you think about this?



Did Jon cheat?

Did Kate?

Will they stay together?

Can their marriage be fixed?

Will you keep watching the show?



Personally, I think they can overcome anything - they just have to want to. I think Kate has some major changes to make. I would never, ever speak to my husband the way she speaks to Jon. As for Jon, he needs to step up and take control a little more and not be so pushed around by Kate. I don't think Kate cheated on Jon and I don't know what I think about him cheating on her. I sure hope he didn't.

I watched an interview on the Today show with Jodi and Kevin (Kate's brother and his wife). If you've watched the show over the last several years, you'll remember them - they lived down the street from J and K. Jodi seems like the nicest person. She used to watch the kids every Friday (and she has 4 of her own!). Apparently, the show offered to pay her and Kate threw a fit and refused to have much to do with them after that. (You can read about that on Jodi's sisters blog). Anyway, they are concerned for the kids, and I agree. I can't imagine dragging them through this - and if they do divorce it will be so overly documented on their show.



So what are your thoughts?

First Flight! Chicago!

We decided last minute to head to Chicago for Memorial Day (Sun-Tues). It was Brayden's first flight and I was a little nervous...I had to carry on his medication which I thought would be a nightmare to get past TSA (it's a liquid). I called the airlines and they didn't know what to tell me! I had to get a manager in order to find out the protocol for taking a liquid med with me on the plane.

We took a carry on rollerboard with us that had all of B's stuff...that way if they lost the big suitcase we still has his clothes, diapers, formula, Thick-It, rice, etc etc. We also took the carseat base not realizing that we didn't need to -you can lock the carseat in with just a seatbelt. Opps.

Here is B in his very first taxi!




He slept through the entire plane ride (88 mins) out to Chicago! It was great! I had him suck on his bink throughout the flight to keep his ears popped.

Here he is eating with the gals...mommy, grammy and great-grandma.
Striking a pose with GrandDaddy....
It was way colder than I had planned for (not for B - I had jackets, blankets etc, but I didn't bring enough warm stuff for me). It downpoured on Monday. It was okay though, and I learned a lot for future trips. Monday night the boys caught a cubs game (well, not B of course). I was worried that being in a new place would through his sleep schedule off, but he did great! Monday he slept until 7 and Tuesday he slept until 8:30!

We flew home yesterday and he did pretty well, though he didn't sleep on the plane this time. On accident I packed my liquids in the wrong bag and TSA took everything...ugh. They are so nice about it too...(picture me rolling my eyes here). Chris had already gone through with the bags and I had Brayden and for some reason they decided they weren't going to let my stroller go through the scanner and the TSA guy made me pull it back out (it was halfway through) and get it down and wouldn't let anyone help me - AND I was holding B. I was soooo mad. That thing is heavy and I could have hurt B trying to do it one handed. So in the future Chris won't go through until ALL of our stuff has made it to the other side.

So all in all, great trip and a lot learned!

I Heart SYTYCD

I just have to share that the world's best reality show ever starts tonight!

So You Think You Can Dance?

Oh, 10 years ago I would have been all over this. Thanks to knee surgery #1 (#2 should take place in a couple of months) and infertility drugs wreaking havoc on me (and my weight) this dream is lonnnnnng gone. But I love living vicariously through others!

So do you watch? What's your fav show?

(Oh, and because I also Heart my son, - and for the sake of my sarcastic humor - I've changed my background. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, scroll down a few posts and read "Monkeys.")

Big News

Well, big news for us.

Houston, we have a roll over. My sweet little man decided that tonight was the night. Every night before his bath/bed routine, we lay him in bed with us while we watch reality tv that we've DVR'ed and he kicks and plays. Lately he will roll onto his side while we sit there cheering for him to totally roll over, which he never does.

So tonight he rolled onto his side and we didn't get over excited. So then he rolled onto his belly. And we LOST it. We were clapping and cheering and he looked at us like we were nuts. Like duh Mom and Dad, I've totally been able to do this all along I just just didn't feel like it. Oh yes, he's my son.

On another note, please pray for baby Avery and her family. They are from Fayetteville and are down in Little Rock now. Avery hasn't been given the best news today. But as we know, we serve a great and mighty God who can do ALL things.

Monkeys.

Since having Brayden, I've gotten used to things going ... well, not according to 'plan.'

Obviously, not getting to hold him for 9 days, and having him be in the hospital for 5 long weeks was not my plan.

But I thought that certain things would be easy for me to control. One such thing? Monkeys.

I know this sounds ridiculous. I cannot stand monkeys. Hate is a strong word...but I can almost use it when talking about monkeys. YUCK. ICK. GROSS. I think they are dirty nasty little creatures (and I realize I'm offending monkey lovers everywhere, so if you are a monkey lover, sorry).

When B was in the hospital he could only have hard plastic toys...so I got him this:

Notice it is monkey free. It's got a zebra, a lion and a giraffe. Well, B fell in LOVE with it. So when we got home my mom and Chis set out to get most of the rest of the collection:

He has the gym, the jumperoo, a walker and a bunch of toys...and they ALL have monkeys. ALL. OF. THEM. And what does B love? The monkeys. He stares at them. He carries on LONG conversations with them. He touches them, pats their heads, hits the one on his walker so it will talk to him. Augh.

Brayden Hearts Monkeys.

I could rebel. I could purge my house of all monkey related articles. But I won't. One look at that sweet little smiling face and I can almost like the monkeys. Almost.

4 Months Old

Today is Brayden's 4 Month Birthday!

I took this pic before heading out to his doctor appt and before he got his shots. Poor baby had to get shots on his birthday!


This was last months pic!

He did really great at his appointment. He saw the nurse practitioner for the first time. She didn't know that he had been in ACH for 5 weeks with PPHN and was shocked when I told her because of how great he is now. I don't think she was happy that he is on rice and applesauce but that's okay because his doctor is fine with it and he is tolerating it very well.

She tested his development and he was ahead on most things and on par with everything else...except he isn't rolling over. I've read that most babies don't roll over until they are 4-6 months old. She thinks that part of it is because I still have him in a sleep positioner, so tonight we are stopping that. Also, I need to give him more tummy time. He HATES tummy time and screams during it but she told me to just let him scream. We will see about that one...ugh.

Mother's Day Weekend

I was so excited about my first real Mother's Day weekend! Chris' mom and stepdad came in Sat morning to spend the weekend with us. Saturday Chris and his step-dad spent the day together and ran a bunch of errands while his mom, my mom and I got pedicures, ate at Mimi's and then had spa treatments! We all met back up at Abuelos (YUM) for dinner to celebrate his Mom's birthday which was last month.

I dressed both of my boys alike:

Today at church we had baby dedication day. I have more pictures but they haven't uploaded yet and I have to get Brayden in his bath in 5 minutes so I dont have time to wait on them but Kelly, if you're reading this, I have some pics I need to send you!

I thought I already got my mothers day gift from Chris (my bracelet). But today he SHOCKED me with this:

And this:

Long story short, when we were in Dallas I noticed on the Kate Spade store window they were going to be having a signing with Tim Gunn (whom I LOVE!) and we were going to miss it by a few days. I was so sad! Chris knows how much I love him and he called the store after we came home. The manager called him back and asked why this was so special so he told her about our struggle to get pregnant and then what we went through with Brayden being sick. She apparently told Tim and he sent me a signed picture and a signed book (totally FREE!)!!!!

I would attach the picture of me opening my gift but it would scare you. My eyes literally popped out of my head. I looked like Ramona from Real Housewives of NYC.

Can I just say I LOVE MY HUSBAND?!?!

And because this day is really all about my little man, here he is for the first time in his walker!!! He didn't walk but he played with the animals!

Double The Fun

First, a big thank you to Wunderwoman for my blog award!

The rules are that you have to accept the award and post with the person who gifted you, and give this award to 15 new blogs you've discovered. I'm changing the rules to 5 blogs because I havent had as much time as I'd like to look at blogs lately!

The award goes to (in no particular order...I'm watching DWTS, can you tell?):

1. Tiffany

2. Bethany

3. Lauren Kelly

4. Sarah Creamer

5. Kendra (Though I admit, she's not a new buddy!)

So why a title of double the fun? Because my big ol' chunky monkey now weighs DOUBLE his birth weight! He's 14lbs 2ozs now!

Oh and he loves bath time now too! A far cry from the baby we brought home who screamed bloody murder when he got near the water let alone in it. We call him Senor Crazy Legs because he has figured out that it's hilarious when he kicks his legs in the water and splashed Mommy.

Every night at 8:40pm I bathe him, Chris dries and Jammies him and I make his babba. We take turns doing the night feeding and putting him to bed. And then, with any luck he sleeps through the night (which in the last 2 or 3 weeks we've only had one night where he woke up at 4:30). The other day he slept almost 12 hours (woke up at 8:50am). I was in shock. I was able to shower, do my makeup and get dressed before he woke up!

Appointment Cancelled

When we got home from ACH our appointment cards from ACH mysteriously disappeared. Now, one person in our household keeps track of the mail, bills etc, and that person is not me. Not that I'm pointing fingers...

So yesterday I called the newborn clinic at the hospital and left a message. I wanted to move our appt back a little (it was at 10am and it's a lonnnng drive) and was waiting for them to call me back. The phone rang this afternoon and it was Dr. Prince, the doctor that discharged Brayden! I was so excited to talk to her! She asked me a few questions about him, how he eats, what he weighs etc and decided that we didn't have to come!

So I'm sad that we wont be seeing our favorite people down there at ACH but glad that my boy is healthy enough that he doesn't have to go!

A few pics

First, thanks for your help on Mother's Day! I've got a few ideas now...I'll share soon!

And here are a few pics to share...

Mr. Pouty Face:

Me and the Lil' Man - We went to Ruth's Chris tonight to celebrate my parent's 33rd wedding anniversary (If you listen to KLRC, you heard Mom's dedication to Dad yesterday!):

And finally...THE shoes. Ahh.

Today Daddy (Chris) took care of Brayden for about 3 hours while I was at a wedding shower. Of course, Daddy did a great job. When I got home he had fed him, cleaned the bottles, dressed him and Brayden had spent time in his Jumperoo, Swing and Bouncy Seat. Oh and he had a short 30 min nap. Pretty impressive! I'm so glad Brayden is equally attached to both of us, because it makes it much easier for me to be able to leave and vice versa.

Brayden has been sleeping consistently 9:15 - 7am or later since we got back from Dallas. That's a big WOOHOO! I give him rice in his last bottle and it really fills him up and helps him to sleep. I also learned that when we put him to bed at 10 it was just too late and he would get over-tired and therefore wake up. So I think we've got a program down. If he keeps it up for another week or so I am going to move him upstairs to his room. Scary! I'm not sure I am ready to do that, but Chris wants to regain our family room (it's COVERED in stuff...pack and play, jumperoo, bouncy, swing, super seat....).

Gift Ideas

I STRUGGLE at coming up with good gift ideas. I need some ideas for mine and Chris' mom for Mother's Day.

Things I've thought about:
-Jewelry (already done - when B was sick)
- Flowers (will do)
- Pic's of B
- Brag Books
- Willow Tree figurine

I'd like to get them something really nice. Any ideas?