Operation Christian sleeping in his crib is a SUCCESS!!

Christian has been taking 95% of his naps in his crib and sleeping all night in his crib for almost a week! Yahooooooooooooooo!!!!! Once this mama stayed diligent Christian made the transition with little problem. The first night I was sure he would be up on and off all night long so I prepared myself to be awake and watched two movies I have been wanting to see on Netflix (Safe Haven and OctoberBaby).  He woke up a few times during the first movie but then he slept while his silly mama watched yet another movie.  The movies were awesome, he slept amazing and I was one exhausted mama the next day getting 3 hours of solid sleep.  LOL!! He wakes up once in a while but goes right back to sleep once I give him his pacifier.  I am pretty sure the transition has been a bigger deal for me than him but isn't that true of so many of the transitions our kids make in life.  My heart skipped a beat when I went to check on him and he was sleeping on his stomach.  I turned him over to give him his pacifier.  I've since calmed myself down, he's a strong boy and if he wants to be a tummy sleeper he will be a tummy sleeper. Sleeping upstairs in our bed again after 5 months of sleeping in my recliner has been an adjustment.  Our King size bed is so cozy but my back has grown accustom to the recliner. Downstairs in the recliner  was placed strategically to  be able to protect both my kids. Upstairs I am closer to Christian but still not close. I am working on knowing they're always protected by God, our alarm system will warn me of any intruders and I am pretty confident if it came to it I would dig deep, open up a can of whoop ass and figure out how to protect both of my kids because that is what a mama bear does!  Tonight I will try to remember to use my quiet camera to get a picture of him sleeping in his crib. Thanks for joining me on our journey and celebrating one of many milestones in Christian's life! :-)

Time is FLYING - Christian is 5 months today

It's so hard to believe that Christian is already 5 months old today. Going from one child to two has been quite the adjustment. Definitely twice the work and a lot less down time. This summer was brutal because when Christian was sleeping I was spending time with LeAnne and getting cleaning done. Now that LeAnne has gone back to school the days are a little more mellow, I am able to get more done, and relax while he naps. I am blessed to have an awesome husband who is the best partner in parenting I could have ever asked for.  We compliment each other very well and take turns with the kids while looking out for each others needs.  I am blessed!

The newness of having a little brother has definitely worn off with LeAnne. She is still awesome with him but the other day she said "Mom, he is fine, he is not crying, he doesn't need you, I NEED YOU!" Every other week (John's weekend's off) as long as she has had a great behavior/responsibility week once of us will take her to do something fun.  Last week her and I had a girls movie night. It was a lot of fun!  She is settling into her new school. It was fun to see a friend call to her as she walked into school and she ran over to him.  Her teachers are still working on making sure she is challenged academically and I work with her extra at home as well.  I felt terrible after taking LeAnne to the doctor.  She has been complaining that her backs hurts and I've doubted she has been telling the truth.  Figured she hears John say it all the time and it was a way to get attention.  The Dr. says she had a knot in some muscles in her back and we should apply heat and massage it.  It has since improved a lot.  We got her birthday presents in the mail yesterday and I so can't wait until her birthday. I can't believe my baby girl will be 6.  WOW!

Yesterday I started Operation teach Christian how to sleep in his crib. Up until now he has taken all naps and slept at night in his swing. He is starting to out grown his swing and this mama wants to sleep in her own bed. I've been sleeping in my recliner most nights.  He took two naps yesterday and one nap today in his crib.  He wakes up some but its not bad.  I just give him his pacifier and he goes back to sleep.

He is such a strong and active little boy.  He in loves playing on the floor.  He is rolling over from his back to his tummy in both directions and sometime he will roll from his tummy to his back.  He is starting to scoot all over the blanket.  He hold his head up very well.  He loves to play with toys.  We raised him up a little in the exersaucer and he has begun to bounce more and turn himself around to see different toys.  All in all he is a very content baby boy!  I love to hear him laugh out loud and cherish our little chats. This month we have been giving him cereal mixed with apple juice and various fruits and veggies. He has had squash, pears, peaches, and peas.  I would say he likes the cereal mixed with apple juice the best.  He sure is a lot bigger than his sister.  He is now starting to wear 6-9 month clothes.  We are still successfully cloth diapering and love it! I have some custom diapers on order that I can't wait to get.

I am beginning to get more comfortable being a stay at home mom/house wife.  It's something I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember and I am surprised at the adjustment it has been.  At first I was really uncomfortable, put a lot of pressure on myself to be working at all times, it took a bit to figure out my new role.  I am still working on a house cleaning routine, it's getting easier as Christian gets older, I am managing my time a little bit better and have realized I need to let myself have some down time because this job/role is 24/7, 365 days a year and if all I do is work, work, work I will go insane or collapse of exhaustion.  One thing I must do if incorporate a time to exercise into my daily routine.  I also find myself craving adult conversation and time with my husband and friends.  I have faith it will all come together in time.  It is a huge blessing to be home with Christian and here for LeAnne before and after school.  I love my family so much!  I pray God will help me be the best wife and mother I can be!!

Christian's 4 month Well check

Christian had his 4 month well check with Dr. Wren on August 22nd, 2013.  Our chunky monkey weighs 14 pounds 13 ounces, is 25 inches long and his head is 41.5 cm around.  Dr. Wren says he is one healthy baby boy. Christian was so happy during his whole appointment until he had to get 3 shots. He recovered quickly but was a bit sleepy the whole day so I spent some time cuddling with him.  Dr. Wren said we could start him on solids and suggested starting with yellow/orange veggies, then some fruits and then the green veggies. Yeah I get to start making him baby food!

On August 23rd I made him some Yams.  I baked then pureed the yams.   Then I scooped the puree into an ice cube tray and put it in the freezer.  Once they were frozen solid into individual ice cubes I put them into a zip lock freezer bag with and labeled. That night I gave him rice cereal for the first time.  I am not sure how much he actually ate but he was loving the spoon.  Then the next morning I gave him some yams for the first time.  I quickly found out that I had not made the puree thin enough and their were chunks. Next time I need to cook the yam longer and add more water to the puree.  He wasn't sure what to think of yams.  He kept trying them but wasn't sure he liked them.  The next day I made Spaghetti squash and that pureed up a lot nicer.  I will give them to him next week.

His 4 month photo shoot was interesting. LeAnne picked out his outfit. Started out with him not wanting to sit up straight in his boppy then he puked on his shoulder. I was able to clean that up but then he spit up ALL over the front of his shirt so off came the shirt and onto the floor we went to take photos.  It's all about improvising and capturing real life moments.

Cuddle Butts Toy story diaper

On August 20th after working really hard for a few weeks Christian rolled over from his back to his stomach for the first time! Once he did it that one time there was no turning back, I lay him on the ground and he almost immediately turns himself over onto his stomach. He is getting so strong!!

Christian went on his first vacation this month too. I was quite nervous about how it would go but he was a champ the whole time.  We were gone a whole week and once again packed way too much into one week. Next year Daddy plans vacation.  Our first stop was Salem, Oregon to Grammy and Grammpy's house.  He got to meet his sister Amanda for the first time.  Then we were off to Ocean Shores, WA. He slept like a trooper the whole trip in his travel swing .  Next week headed to Great Wolf Lodge (water park & more) and then onto my brother's house for a few days.  He adapted very well to being in different places,and having different people hold him. There were only a few times when he had enough of being in the car that he let us know.

This month he has become a lot more interactive by smiling, tracking us and objects, reaching for and holding toys, putting toys into his mouth and laughing.  We go through a TON of bibs and burp clothes daily! I do a load of his laundry every other day just so we have enough bibs and burp cloths.  He spits up a ton after eating. It's nasty!  Dr. Wren had us keep him in the generic Zantac until he is 6 months and said as he eats more solids he will spit up less.

Tonight we are going to LeAnne's school open house.  We are looking forward to meeting her teacher and exploring the school.  I am praying that her transition to her new school is successful. School starts August 27th. OMGosh that is tomorrow! Okay I just had a mama freak out moment!  I am praying that she will be challenged academically and have time to mature emotionally/socially.  It's time to start planning her 6th birthday party.  I believe she wants a Hello Kitty birthday party at Jumpin Jellybeans.

I have visions of having time at least once a week to blog and I would love to get my scrap room cleaned up so I could actually start getting my books caught up. I also want to start walking daily during the fall and work out on the Wii this winter.  Will any of that happen?  I hope to make a valiant attempt.

Summer picture of LeAnne takes me back a few summers ago...

When LeAnne was having these pictures taken with the watermelon it made me think of the time Uncle Stan gave her a huge piece of watermelon when she was younger. It was August 2009, I had just given her a bath at grandma Marcia's during a family gathering and Uncle Stan thought for sure LeAnne needed a huge piece of watermelon.  So much for the bath. Watching her enjoy her watermelon was worth the sticky mess afterwards.

LeAnne Lost Her First Tooth and other happenings of the summer for our girl

On the evening of July 26th LeAnne came to  me and said her mouth was hurting. I told her it could be a tooth getting ready to get loose and gave her an ice pack to suck on.  The next morning sure enough she had a loose tooth on the bottom in front.  She was so excited she had to call EVERYONE and tell EVERYONE she knew and complete strangers that she had her very first loose tooth.  Well the novelty wore off that afternoon because she was in pain.  Then she began to panic because it hurt and she didn't like having a loose tooth anymore.  I gave her some Children's Aspirin, had her keep eyes then heat on her face and relax in front of a movie.  That worked for a while then she started crying again and almost in a panic because she didn't think it would ever come out and she would always be in pain.  Oh my!  I called my mama and she brought over some medicine to numb the area.  That evening was quite comical because she was crying and Christian was crying at one point. John was getting ready for his night shift and I was pulling my hair out.  I had just finished giving her more Aspirin when she pulled out her tooth.  OMGosh she was so excited!  She didn't even freak out about the blood which surprised me.  Then she says "look at my new smile mom". Oh how cute it that!! Then we had to call everyone to tell them she had lost her first tooth.  We put her tooth in an envelope and put it next to her.  That night the tooth fairy came, left her a cute note and a $2 bill.  :-)  

See how loose it is

LeAnne's New smile

Our girl is doing amazing with her swimming lessons this summer!  It's night and day compared to last year. She isn't afraid anymore, is so much stronger of a swimmer and is having a blast.  She dunking all the way under to do bobs, doing front/back floats almost on her own, her kicks are improving a lot and she can swim with a noodle by herself!  She looks forward to swimming lessons everyday!!

LeAnne set a goal the beginning of the summer to read 100 books and she made her goal!  She was a reading machine when summer first started.  She was a ravenous reader. She read anywhere from 2-5 books a day and dove into her first chapter books.  Towards the end she lost a little momentum and didn't want to read.  I really wanted her to make her goal so I encouraged her daily to read at least two books and she met her goal! One of the ways I encouraged her to read was by having her read to her little brother. He loves listening to her read.  She is great to show him the pictures and tell him about the book. I told her she is helping brother to learn about things which is so important.  Daddy and I are so proud of her!  I hope she always loves to read!!  

Reading to Christian

Just finished reading her 100th book of the summer

Pictures of our family

Title page to 10 pg story LeAnne write based on one of her fave books

All Ready for summer with her new suit

Letter she wrote Daddy about going to the beach

Reading the comics to us on our way to get Groceries one Sunday

Blue wig I bought her at garage sale. She asked me if she could color her hair blue when she was 20, I said go for it! :-) 

2 months old today

2 months old (check out my blue truck diaper)

Chilling with Lightening McQueen and Mater 

Love you sister

Getting ready to go to 5th grade graduation for mama student

 t

Loving my sister

Sporting my first ever cloth diaper!!

Handsome boy

He loved meeting Grandpa Larry! LeAnne loved seeing him too!

Snuggling with mama on a rainy summer day!

No Time

I keep meaning to blog, I really want to keep our blog updated but I am not finding the time.  Christian is a very content baby during the day. He alternates days where he is really active in the day and is very sleepy during the day.  He takes a few long naps most mornings is when I  get my cleaning done and spend time with LeAnne now that she is home for the summer.  If there is any spare time during the day I sit down to relax and even catch a few winks if daddy is home. I use to blog a lot at night or early in the morning when LeAnne was little but this time around I use that time to sleep.  I learned a lot from LeAnne. I was very sleep deprived which triggered depression and anxiety so I am trying really hard not to go there with Christian. Christian has been very colicky since around 8 weeks.  He has had many nights where he will cry for 2-3 hours at night.  I have been able to hear the gas bubbles in his tummy and he spits up a lot. The absolute worse feeling as a parent is knowing your child is in pain and there is nothing you can do to console them.  There have been a few times I have gotten very rattled to my core and been so thankful John was there to take him or offer encouragement.  I have been trying to watch what I am eating as to not upset his stomach more, Dr. put him on Ranitadine (an antacid) and we are now experimenting with give him Similac formula for gassy/fussy babies his last bottle at night only.  I am struggling daily with the decision of whether to continue breastfeed to switch to formula.  I've begun pumping so others can help feed to give me a break.  I don't want to give up breastfeeding because it's a huge cost savings, when I am not in pain I enjoy the closeness with my son, and breast is suppose to be best.  I am considering giving up breast feeding because I have been having a lot of pain (working through latch issues/still having other pain at times) I am thinking things I am eating are making him extra gassy, and at times I am really feeling like I need to go back on my depression/anxiety medication.  I do very well until I don't then its no fun at all! I waited a long time (almost 2 years) after I had LeAnne to get help for depression/anxiety and I feel I really could have enjoyed her first two years more if I had not been struggling.  I don't want to wait that long to get help this time around.  I have been off my medication since becoming pregnant with Christian and had very few incidents where I really felt terrible but I am noticing myself getting more and more overwhelmed and anxious.  I told John the other day I completely forgot how overwhelming taking care of an infant can be. The rely on you for their ever need 24/7 and that's exhausting.  I am not complaining, I wouldn't trade my son for anything and I know this will pass.  The only reason I have time today is because Christian is taking a good afternoon nap and LeAnne is at grandma's baking.  :-)

LeAnne is very happy to have Grandma Marcia home and loves spending time with her.  LeAnne has set a goal to read 100 books this summer and as of this morning she has read 41 books. I love that she is a ravenous reading and pray it stays that way.  I have really enjoyed reading with her and hearing how well she is reading. I am amazed that she will be just 6 in October and is reading at a 2nd grade level.  She has a lot been doing a lot of journal writing.  She loves to write stories and draw.  She has been having a lot of fun having us play kick/catch with her in the back yard. I can't wait to get her swing set put up in our back yard. I just picked it up from Walmart today.  I am thinking John will get to work on it early next week because this week he has a TOUGH week of school.  He has taking 2 classes this summer working toward earning his Bachelor degree in Criminal Justice from WSU online.  The summer courses very difficult because its a compressed schedule. Sometime like 15 weeks crammed into 6 weeks.  LeAnne has also been enjoying arts and crafts and the library and can't wait to go to the beach in August.

Christian weighed 11 pounds 10 ounces and was 23 inches long at his 2 month well check last week.  The Dr is impressed with how alert he is.  The first comment we get from people who see him is something about how much hair he has.  Thinking he'll need his first hair cut before LeAnne and she had her first hair cut at 6 months.  He is smiling at us all and started to coo and make other adorable noises. He is wearing 0-3 months and some 3 month clothing.  I can't wait until summer gets her so I can have him just wear tee-shirt and his cute cloth diapers. Cloth diapering is going well.  I have 1 adorable custom diaper on the way, an Army one. Then can't wait to order a few more custom diapers in July or August.  Loving his little fluff but.  After he settles down for the night he is sleeping one good 5 hour stretch at night.  He and I are still sleeping downstairs. Him in his swing and me in my recliner.  I have tried to move him upstairs to his bassinet or the pack and play and he wakes up.  One day I will get to sleep laying down again. :-)  LeAnne still really enjoys her little brother and gets a big kick out of him smiling at her.  John adores his son! He is a huge help with both LeAnne and Christian! I appreciate his help with the kids a ton!  

I better get some pictures loaded up before little man wakes up.  I would like to say I will blog more but for now I just can't say that. I'll try but no promises.  I do need to document his milestones or I know I will forget.  Motherhood is really the hardest yet most rewarding job EVER!  oh speaking of jobs... I am officially now a stay at home mama! It's going to be interesting financially but I am praying we'll make it work.  So now I am working on figuring out my new role in life.  :-)