Spudders is 18 months old today. And in honor of it, this is for all of you :)




18 months old today!




Happy Birth Day to ME!

So I guess I haven't been very good about updating huh? On Wednesday Spud is getting tubes put in his ears. It's not a big surgery, but he gets put under general anesthesia so I'm freaking out. We went and saw the ENT doc a couple weeks ago. I wasn't really thinking he would have the surgery, but he had just gotten over his 14th ear infection, so I figured I would go hear what he had to say. Turns out Spud already had another double ear infection.

They think that this ear thing he has been dealing with has played a big role in his sleep problems, eating problems (he's stopped eating in the last week or so), and the fact that he is behind in vocabulary. I know this is the best thing for him, I'm just panicking a bit.

Once we get home and everything is better, I will be sure to post another update.

I'm not sure when it happened, or why, but I have become a cynical mommy.

One of my friends just had a baby 2 months ago. Her daughter is gorgeous, and I am very happy for her. She blogs about her life with the new little one and I have been doing my best to keep up.

A week ago she wrote about how her daughter slept the whole night in her room and how she is getting closer to sleeping through the night. My first thought? "Yeah, that won't last." But then I remember, "Oh wait, my child is the only one who still gets up 6 times a night at 16 months of age."

Today she posted about how she resigned from her job so that she could stay home and raise her daughter. She made comments about how she doesn't understand why mothers go back to work after having kids, and how it would make her feel like the worst woman in the world to pay people to raise her child for her. The one that got me was that women are supposed to be there for their children, so she quit her job so that she could do that, and she knows that God will provide what they need financially. Yeah, know what would happen if I tried that? We'd be living in Scott's car (mine would be repo'd since we're still paying on it) or with his parents. Spud would get to spend 24 hours a day with me, wandering the streets because we wouldn't be able to afford to do anything fun. I have NO choice but to work. I have no choice but to put my son in daycare and hope that he is happier to see me at the end of the day then he is to see his teachers at the beginning. I have no choice but to work my ass off at work all day and then come home to do the laundry, clean the house, make dinner, and take care of my kid because it's not like I have any support.

I love my son. Spudders is the best thing that has ever happened to me, but sometimes people say things and I have to wonder if I am the worst mother ever. Maybe because I work all day and am not home with him, he gets up all night to play with me.

Maybe this whole parent thing was just one big mistake.....

It has been awhile since I last posted anything. Two major things have happened since then.

1) Two weeks ago, Forest got bit my my in-law's dog. It was on his face, cutting right through his lip. It got infected, but we had another follow up appointment this morning, and it is looking better with no sign of infection! Thank goodness.

Here's how bad it was (actually the pic doesn't do it justice):



2) Forest graduated at daycare and is now in the toddler room 5 days a week. He loves it though he is exhausted at the end of the day. I am happy he is there because I feel like he is learning so much more now. He already has a new word. Unfortunately it's "no" which he likes to say a lot now. Oh well.

Here he is graduating:

Blond-haired, blue-eyed, 14 month old ball of energy looking for new home. Current on all shots. Not yet housebroken, but a fast learner who should pick it up quickly. Sleeps 5 hours a night in 1 hour stretches broken by 2 hour wakeful periods. Enjoys dogs, destroying property, and screaming as loud as humanly possible.

Current Mommy being committed due to insanity caused by lack of sleep.

This is a great deal! Act fast while he is still available!

Here's a new pic for you, of my favorite germ factory and the Giant Microbes:



Key to the microbes: Green= Sea Sparkle; Green and tan= algae; Cow print= Mad Cow; Black and Purple= T4; Turquoise and Green= Penicillin; Red= Typhoid Fever; Tan with tentacles= E. coli; Blue Grey= The Clap; Brown with Black cape= MRSA (aka Superbug)

I can't believe that one year ago today our little man was born. It just doesn't seem possible! He has changed so much!!!

I love you Forest!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY



Forest at one day old!



Forest at one year old!

Supd had his first Halloween yesterday! OMG FUN! It was great. Babies in costumes are just about the cutest things ever. Want proof? Here is Forest and his friend Dawes at the daycare Halloween Party:

Because I'm a sucker and can't help myself, I took Spud to get Halloween portraits taken. If you would like to see our little bat, check him out at: https://www.searsphotos.com/?shareid=S205725790l44B524WH36

Munchy said his first word last night! Not Mama....not Dada....not anything you would expect.

His first word? DUCK!

He has about a dozen rubber duckies he plays with during bath time and last night he was playing with them and called them "duck". It was very cool!

We have entered a new stage....I'm concerned! LOL

Our little munchkin is 10 whole months old! I can't even believe it. He's crawling and trying to walk and stand. He says several words, though we have no idea what they mean. LOL He's still not sleeping, but I'm about to give up hope on that one. Maybe someday he will, but I don't think its going to be any time soon.

Ok, here's your pic, plus a bonus one!( Read more... )

Its been forever since I've updated this journal! SORRY! So tonight you get a brief Spud update, and the 8 and 9 month pictures! YAY....UBER BABY OVERLOAD!

Updates: Spud is now crawling. He can crawl like a "normal" baby, but he is much much faster army-crawling, so he does that 80% of the time. He now has 6 teeth (4 on top and 2 on bottom). 2 more on bottom should be through any day now. He's still not sleeping through the night and Mommy still feels like poking her eyes out every single time he gets up(2x a night on good days, 4-7 on bad days). I have come to the realization that my milk is not enough for him these days so now he's about 60% formula fed, 40% mommy fed. Not ideal, and definitely more expensive, but hopefully now he will start gaining weight again. (He gained 2 ounces between 6 and 9 months. The doctor wasn't concerned since he was so huge to begin with, but I was still worried...I'm a mommy, its what I do). So yeah, thats about it from here.

Have some pictures!
( 8 and 9 month old Spud! )

Spud celebrated this Independence Day by trying to gain independence from his crib!

He says "Happy 4th of July to everyone!!""

Ok, so I'm a slacker and am just now getting around to posting the picture....but at least I remembered to take it!

Spud cut his first tooth today! YAY SPUD!

Ok, this is the baby part of the trip...he was such a good boy. No crying on the planes, put up with long car trips with very little complaint. He even slept a lot. Couldn't have asked for a better baby!!!

( BABY...in Virginia )

Our little Spud is 6 months old today. He had his 6 month check up and was declared perfectly healthy by our doctor. She said she had no concerns about him whatsoever. He's 19lbs 13oz and 28.75in!!! His weight puts him in the 90th percentile and his height puts him above the 95th percentile! Quite the change from 2 months! The doctor thinks his first two teeth will be coming in this week...probably on the airplane knowing my luck.

And as always ( the monthly picture )

So I have to say one of the best things about having a munchkin is watching him learn how to do things we take for granted. Lately he's been experimenting with new facial expressions. Here are two variations on his newest one.

( Angry version )

( Not angry version )

This weekend was Forest's baptism. It was great. Especially seeing all the family! Here's how the weekend went down:

Tuesday (ok not technically the weekend, but bear with me...): We went up to Spokane and picked up my brother at the airport. We hadn't seen him since Forest was 2 weeks old. Needless to say, he's changed a bit! My brother is so in love with the kid, its awesome. We hung around Spokane, picked up the portraits (which are also awesome) and then came back to Pullman. We watched some TV until his wife arrived. My sister in law had never met Forest before so that was fun. She's a natural with kids! She'll make a great doctor someday. We went out to dinner then they went down to Lewiston for the night.

Saturday: Spud got me up early so we got the house cleaned. Scott was just finishing the vacuuming when his parents arrived. They stayed for a few minutes then had to head off to the track meet. About 20 minutes later my family arrived (well, my mom's side anyway). We hung around the house for a little bit then headed out for Orofino, ID where my sister in law's dad lives. They had a BBQ welcoming Josh and Jessi home, so we hung out in this tiny town in the hills. It was very quiet and peaceful, a place that would be fun to visit but I think I would go crazy living there. Spud started getting fussy after a couple hours, so we came home and ordered pizza. Around 8 or so, my family showed back up, this time with milkshakes, so we drank our milkshakes, watched Harry Potter, and Grandma ironed my church clothes.

Sunday: We were doing coffee hour at church so we got there about 45 minutes early. We got everything set up and then went in to service. Forest slept through most of it, and woke up rather groggy towards the end of the sermon. After a song, it was baptism time. Spud got handed over to Uncle Josh and Aunt Jessi (his godparents) and the 5 of us went to the center of the church (round church...kinda weird). Eventually we made it over to the baptismal font. Spud was still pretty groggy so his expressions were priceless.

"I baptise you in the name of the Father"
::very concerned look::

"and of the Son"
::not so happy now::

"and the Holy Spirit."
::full on screaming baby::

He calmed down as soon as he got his bottle. Church finished and we went out to coffee hour, only to find the coffee pot shorted out, so there was no coffee (a cardinal sin in a Lutheran church). We got it fixed and eventually there was coffee. After cleaning up, everyone headed to our place for a BBQ. It rained a bit, but we had a lot of fun anyway. It was so much fun just to hang out with our entire family. We don't get to see people very often, so it was a nice time. After everyone left I felt very drained, and progressively got worse. By 9PM I was pretty sure I was dying so as soon as Spud was in bed, so was I. I dozed through Iron Chef America and then went to bed. Spud didn't sleep well, so neither did I. I ended up taking Monday off to sleep and get better. I do feel better now.

I should be posting pics from the baptism soon. Forest looked so cute in his sweater vest and khakis, and in a strange coincidence, Forest was in khaki and blue, Josh and Scott were in khaki and blue, and Jessi and I were in khaki. I'm sure we look perfect in the pictures! :)

My baby boy is growing up too fast! Today he is 5 months old. I can't even believe it. He has got to be the cutest baby ever. I'm certain of it :-D Tomorrow my brother and sister in law get to see him. Uncle Josh hasn't seen Forest since Spud was 2 weeks old and Aunt Jessi has never met him. Now we just need to hope the weather on the east coast holds out long enough to let him get out of there.

And of course:
( The 5 month picture )

Compare to:
( The 1 month picture )