Monday, January 29, 2007

No nap Monday

As I type this, Shepherd is refusing his afternoon nap, leaving one very grumpy boy and one very exhausted mommy. I finally had it with his grumpiness, and put him in his crib, where he is currently screaming because he's mad at me. I know, I'm the worst mother ever (which I know is totally not true, because sometimes we mothers just need a gosh darn BREAK).

Anyways.. I haven't been the best at writing lately, probably because the only things I can think to write about are the morning sickness, the exhaustion, and again with the morning sickness. (Ooo, the screaming stopped! maybe he's asleep?) I know you guys have heard enough of the "whoa is me! I'm sick" shpeel, so on to better things.

Shepherd is learning things super fast now. Faster than I'd expected, and honestly, I'm surprised at how smart he is. It's amazing what these little ones are capable of communicating at such an early age. On Friday of last week, we went over to Sarah's house for a playdate with Claudia, Ian, and Mia. Sarah has these two cats, which Shepherd totally ADORED. The entire time we were there, he chased them and kept calling after them, "tat!" "tat!" Yes, it's official, my son now knows how to say "cat". Over the weekend, I showed Forrest how Shepherd will wave bye-bye to the apartment when we leave to go somewhere, and on Saturday, as we were putting his coat on, he started waving and saying, "ba-ba" over and over again until we left. It's so amazing that he can say and understand that concept.

This morning, after he woke up, and spent a good 30 minutes crawling around the apartment calling out for "da-da", he finally walked into the living room, and looked at me, then turned around, leaned against the sofa, and waved to the apartment, "ba-ba". This kid is SMART! He was telling me he wanted to either go get daddy, or he just wanted out of our tight quarters. So I bundled him up, and we headed to DC. We went to the National Museum of Natural History to look at the dinosaurs and the other animals there. Shepherd was totally fascinated with everything, and would squeal out in joy at every new thing he saw. It was so adorable. After a while there, we left (I was beginning to feel sick again). On our way home, we stopped for lunch, and I ate my first "real meal" (something that consisted of something other than bacon and yogurt) in over a week. And so far, I've kept it down. YAY! Ever since, we've been home playing. I'd love to report that Shepherd is STILL napping, but no such luck... he's screaming again, so I'd probably better go...

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Looking up

Yay! Mommy feels okay enough to play!!!


Today things are better. I realized that my last several posts have been "poor, poor me" posts, and realize that there are many worse things that could be going on right now than morning sickness. For that I am thankful.

This morning was wonderful... Forrest brought me breakfast in bed (am I lucky or WHAT?!) A wonderful breakfast of bacon and Eggo waffles. I can't help but wonder if it wasn't that very thing that has helped me today. I was able to eat breakfast before getting out of bed, and I actually haven't been sick at all today. I've actually cleaned up a little, and straightened up the house, which feels great. I can't tell you how bad it makes you feel to see your house go to shambles when you have no energy to do anything about it.

I've been able to play with Shepherd today, which he seems to really enjoy. In fact, he's been worn out from all the walking, and the dancing we've been doing. Yes... dancing. It's so adorable. When I put some music on, he'll walk up and down the hall shaking his hands in the air and shaking his head back and forth. Either that, or he'll find something to hold on to, and bounce up and down while shaking his head. It's great... the better the music, the more he gets into it.

He's really learning SO much and so FAST! He's been signing for "food" for a while, and last week, Forrest introduced the sign for "bath" since Shepherd really, really loves his bathtime. Right after he finishes dinner and we're cleaning up his tray, he starts patting his chest and rubbing it up and down, which is the sign for bath. It's amazing that he knows that bathtime comes right after dinner. :) So smart!!!

Other than the morning sickness... I'm definately feeling more and more pregnant. I've got that heavy feeling in my lower abdomen letting me know that my uterus is growing in size... it's so exciting to think that there's a little person inside of me, growing daily, and that in a few short months, we'll get to meet this little person. Craziness.

Well, I think I'm going to go sprawl out on the couch, to take advantage of Shepherd's naptime and catch a few winks of sleep myself. Hope you all are having a wonderful day!!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

7 week list

Things to do:

-Eat small meals often.... check
-Purchase and take Vitamin B6 supplements... check
-Purchase and wear Sea-bands... check
-Drink Gingerale... check
-Eat Saltine crackers...check
-Stick with Bland Foods...check

Things that don't work:

-Eat small meals often
-Purchase and take Vitamin B6 supplements
-Purchase and wear Sea-bands
-Drink Gingerale
-Eat Saltine crackers
-Stick with Bland Foods

Things I've done today:

-Phoned Ralph on the big white phone
-Gone shopping
-Attempted to eat something
-Spent time hugging Johnny
-Attempted to drink something
-Practiced some more of the lateral cookie toss
-Slept
-Sat here wondering if I should try some more food...

Saturday, January 20, 2007

11 months

Shepherd,

Today you turn 11 months old. I feel every one of these letters starts out with some exclamation that "I can't believe you are already x-number of months old", but it's true. I can't hardly believe you are growing up so fast! This month has been a whirlwind of changes, and you've managed surprisingly well.

At the beginning of the month, we found out you were going to be a big brother. I can't tell you how excited I am to see you function in this capacity. You adore other children, smiling at them, and gently patting their hair (sometimes not so gently, but we're working on that). We are so excited to be adding a little brother or sister to your family. You see, mommy and daddy are very close in age to their own brothers, and we wanted that for you. Everyone has asked if this was "planned", which, as you grow up, you'll realize how incredibly rude this is. And our answer has always been emphatically yes. Just as with you. I don't know that anyone knows for sure exactly when to get pregnant, just as we didn't know with you... but, you and your little brother or sister, were always planned. From the moment your father and I said "I do" we knew we'd have children. We both loved children so much, and knew that one day, God would bring you into our lives. And He did... and oh, how he blessed us with you.

You are the most lovable little man I know. This month has really drawn out your personality. You love to imitate us, especially when we make funny faces at you. You laugh and giggle when I kiss you. You chatter on and on and on all day long, in the car, playing, in your high chair, in the bathtub, and sometimes, in the quiet of night, I hear you chatter softly in your sleep. I wish I knew what you are saying. Sometimes, it sounds as though you're telling a story. At others, as if you're issuing a grand proclamation. And still others, when your voice goes quiet, it sounds as though you're whispering a secret, only known to you.

You also started walking this month. Which completely took me by surprise. You had been cruising for several months, and you had tried walking from chair to chair, but showed little interest in walking until this past Monday. My theory is that you saw several of the kids your age at church on sunday, and a handful of them are walking too. So Monday, you decided to walk, full steam ahead. Thankfully, Daddy had the day off, and he was there to witness your first steps. You were playing by the bookshelf, and I turned away to put up a toy you'd been playing with. I was sitting on the floor, and I turned around, and there you were, halfway from the bookshelf to me. And you continued walking to me. I cannot describe what that moment felt like. The only way I can try is to say that it felt as though my heart exploded inside of me, and the only thing I could do was squeel and laugh and kiss you all over. All afternoon, you kept trying again, and trying again, and you did surprisingly well. By Tuesday, crawling was a thing of the past. Your main mode of transportation, walking.

With the walking, has come an incredible exhaustion for both of us. You now sleep entirely through the night, waking up at 5:30am for a bottle from Daddy before he leaves for work, then you go back to sleep, waking up for good around 7:30. This comes at a perfect time, as mommy really, really needs that extra sleep to help the little baby inside of her grow.

You've also developed a strong attachment to Daddy. You regularly look up at the picture of daddy and you in your room and say, "Dada!" When Daddy comes home, you squeal with joy and either run (if you're walking or standing) or crawl to him. When he goes out of your site or when he has to leave for work, you cry. The other night, when Daddy got home, you greeted him as usual, and as he sat down on the floor with you, you gently rested your head against his chest. You'd never done that before, and it was such a special moment that daddy and I almost cried. It was as though you were saying, "Thanks for coming home".

There are so many other things I want to say. Every day, I love you more and more, and every day, I'm amazed at what you can do. I don't want to miss a single moment with you, and find myself missing you when you're napping... wishing I could just snuggle right up next to you and hold you just so I don't miss a moment of you growing up, because, man, does the time fly.

I love you so much little man... and I always will..

Love,

Mommy

Thursday, January 18, 2007

6 weeks

Nobody tells you how hard it is to deal with morning sickness when your 11 month old is screaming outside the bathroom door while you throw up.

It's official... I've got a pretty bad case of morning sickness now at 6 weeks. The nausea continues all day long, and the exhaustion from growing a baby AND keeping up with Shepherd toddling around is just too much.

I think I'll go back to bed

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Two vastly different but equally important things

1. Shepherd is walking. He is WALKING. Like, walking around the room, without assistance, giggling, walking, and WALKING. I have video proof, but I can't locate the stupid firewire cord to upload it. But yes... he walks.

UPDATED: I managed to fiddle with the settings on my camera and took multiple shots of Shepherd walking. Not exactly film quality, but hey, it shows he's walking!!











2. Dance, Dance... YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, January 12, 2007

Political Bent

Without delving too deep into politics, did any of you watch last nights presidential speech regarding the escalation surge? Not that it hasn't been well documented here before, but I am DONE with the president. I'm tired of this war, and have not supported it from day 1. I remember watching in sadness as the first bombs fell on Baghdad. There HAS to be other ways of dealing with tyrants other than violence. Anyways... I was honestly shocked that Bush accepted responsibility for the failures in Iraq. I sat in pure delight as he took the blame. As he said that, I turned to my husband and said,

"Those Dems have really got him shook up."

After the speech, they interviewed several key senators/possible candidates for '08. They interviewed McCain, Edwards, and Obama. First up was Edwards, whom I kind of like. The only thing is he's dripping in so much southern sweetness, that at times, I feel a tad nauseus (and I'm from the south!!!). Granted, that's only a superficial thing, and as far as men go, he's top notch. Then was McCain. In the past I've loved McCain. He's been my top man for president because he always carried that aura of a rouge Republican. You kind of never knew what he'd say or do, and I like that in a man... someone who does what's right despite party lines. Lately, though, I feel like he's pandering to the religious right and the hyper-conservatives. He's not the same man that I pulled so hard for in 2000. Then... there was Obama.

He's so articulate, and had so many important things to say. I leaned in towards the TV and sighed, then whispered, "Can you please be my president?"

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

A Heartfelt Thanks

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! It's so good to be able to talk about the pregnancy now, after waiting a week and a half. We didn't want to tell anyone because my brother-in-law's wedding was this past weekend, so we didn't want to take away from their special thing. :) I've been struggling to blog lately because all I can think about is the pregnancy... that, and I've been incredibly tired and trying to keep up with an almost walking kiddo.

Speaking of the kiddo, poor thing not only has strep, but now has a viral rash that's broken out all over his body. And to make matters worse, this morning, he was trying to walk, but fell and hit his nose. Normally, this would be okay, except this time, he hit it pretty hard, and there was a nice trickle of blood coming out of his nose. Nothing so far has made me hurt worse than seeing that little, tiny amount of blood trickle out. He's fine now, and he's back on his antibiotics (after a scare that the rash might be an allergic reaction), so hopefully, the whole thing will clear up soon. Poor kid is pretty miserable.

As to how I'm feeling... I'm actually feeling surprisingly okay. I'll have a sudden hunger pang here and there, and I've been sick once, but otherwise, knock on wood, I haven't had any morning sickness. The only thing I've had is an increase in fatigue and of course, I'm a bit "bustier" than usual. We figure the baby is due around September 12. We're so excited we can hardly stand it... I guess the thing I'm most excited about is seeing Shepherd as an older brother. He's already so sweet with other kids, I can't wait to see him with his brother/sister.

Maybe some of you out there with multiple children can help me out here... I think the hardest thing about this pregnancy is the guilt. I feel guilty for not being quite AS excited as I was with Shepherd, since he was our first. I know that this child won't get nearly the amount of attention, or at least he'll have to share that attention. I'm worried that I won't get as many pictures (actually, I'm positive I won't)... how do you guys handle it? Is it something that just happens, and I should just go with it? I'm also very much aware that Shepherd won't be getting the same amount of attention, so it will level off with him, too, and they will both share in our attention.

Again, thank you so much for all your congratulations... Your joy makes our joy complete, and we are SO excited to see how the next 9 months go. :)

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Our New Year's Eve conversation

In the bathroom:

"Am I imagining things, or are there two pink lines there?" I asked.

Forrest looked intently at the thing in my hand. "You're not imagining things." he said.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Sickly

Well, it's official... Shepherd has Strep Throat.

Over the weekend, while we were at the wedding, he developed a fever with little other symptoms. By the time we got home on Sunday, he was refusing to drink anything, and hardly eating. A quick trip to the doctor's this morning revealed he had strep, which according to my doctor, "Is unusual in children under 1". Which, you know, is VERY reassuring. I have no idea where he got it (one could guess the germ-pit play area at the local mall with the stupid parents letting their 8 year olds run loose in the TODDLER PLAY AREA...) but whatever...

Either way, Shepherd is not his usual self, but this afternoon, seems to be doing better. He's been napping now for about an hour and a half, allowing me some much needed rest and catching up on blogs. I can't seem to get anything done lately, as I'm always tired, and we've been so busy with traveling for Christmas, hosting family for New Years, traveling again for weddings, and finally, we're back here... and settling in, with Strep.

*sigh*

Strep.... what am I gonna do???

Saturday, January 06, 2007

They love each other


They love each other
Originally uploaded by meandscreech.
There is just too much cuteness in this picture to handle. I've got more pictures from our Mimosa and Donut playdate with Sarah and Beth that I'll get posted when we get back.

Only in the South

Yesterday, as we drove down to Georgia for my brother-in-law's wedding, we drove by a little country store. The roof had giant letters painted on it. I did a triple take after reading it. It wasn't the first line that got me, but the second. You be the judge:

Jesus is the Way
Cuntry Cooking

(and yes, it was spelled JUST LIKE THAT)

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Confessions

Last night, after I'd picked Forrest up from the Metro station (stupid buses weren't running because it was a "Federal Holiday"), we swung by Staples to pick up some paper on the way home. As we got Shepherd out of his car seat, it became apparent that his diaper had reached maximum capacity, and that his clothes were soaked through. First, I felt like a bad mother, because I should have put a new diaper on him before the jaunt to get his dad. Then, I remembered that, "Hey, I'm a good mom, I have a complete change of clothes in his bag!". So off we treked into Staples. We located the restrooms and I proceeded to try to find a diaper changing table in the restroom (big fat chance in an office supplies store). After not finding one, I realized that I had an oversized changing pad in the bag (which I always leave at home). "Success!" I thought, as I laid it out on the floor and proceeded to remove the soiled clothes and the soiled diaper. I tossed the diaper in the trash, and reached in the bag for a clean one....

and reached..

and reached...

and reached some more.

Shepherd smiled up at me, completely naked, separated from a filthy bathroom floor by mere centimeters of water resistant cloth. I smiled back at him, and then laughed.

I had no diaper to put on my baby, and the one I'd just taken off was in the nasty trash, and plus, it was completely full. What was I to do?

So I smiled, explained to Shepherd that he'd have to go commando until we got home, and made him pinky promise he wouldn't do any "business" until then. He laughed, and giggled as I put his clothes on without a diaper... and off we went.

Has this happened to you guys before or am I just a bad mom who routinely forgets diapers? (This is the first time the forgetting has backfired on me)

Monday, January 01, 2007

A New Year

So... um, Shepherd's walking (?!?!?!). Maybe not completely across the room, but he can stand freely and walk about 3 feet from one chair to another. This has only happened since we got back from visiting family and every day he gets exponentially better at it. It's amazing to watch him gain more confidence with each and every step. He's growing up SO fast, I can't believe it.

Last night, we rung in the New Year with some wonderful fondue and playing games. Around 11 we turned on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve.... it was so sad to see Dick Clark struggle to form his words, but at the same time I have to applaud his courage. After a while of that, we switched it to PBS and watched Garrison Keelor's show with Emmylou Harris playing (which, you gotta love you some Emmylou Harris!). Finally, we watched the ball drop and sat around talking about all the excitement 2007 holds. It's always so refreshing to have a new start...

Happy New Year to Everyone of you!!!!