Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Carlee's new "do"

We're in our house! I don't have a computer (or TV) yet, so posts will be few and far between for awhile. Thankfully my sister's house is a short walk so I can check my email when I get desperate!

Today I dropped Carlee off with at Kerry's house so that Jenna's baby sitter could watch both of them while I went to my Weight Watchers meeting (I was the biggest looser today - 7.5 lbs in one week!) When I walked in the door to pick her up, I asked Kayla how they were...I noticed a little fear in her eyes..."They were good...but.....Jenna cut Carlee's hair", were her words. And Carlee came bee bopping around the corner with her new hair cut. A little spiky on top and layers in the back. Great. It's not a cut that can be fixed, so we're just going to get to live with it.

Kerry asked Jenna why she cut Carlee's hair, and she said "Memaw said she needed a hair cut. So, I cut it." Seems logical.

Oh my...I have a feeling this is the first of many.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

2 months

Eli's 2 month appointment went well. His pediatrician was still concerned about the hydrocele and the possibility of it turning into a hernia. We're just going to keep watching it and hoping that it goes away. If it turns into a hernia or if it's still an issue when he turns 1, she'll want him to have surgery. Other than that, he had a great check-up. He had to have his 2 month immunizations and was asleep when the nurse stuck him...but the sleeping didn't last long. Since he was asleep, I didn't ask for another nurse. He never opened his eyes, just screamed with them closed! He didn't get a temp and hasn't been too terribly fussy. In fact, this morning he played on his blanket for about 30 minutes cooing and smiling.

He's getting on a good eating/playing/sleeping schedule. I'm figuring out his "sleep cues" and know now when it's time to put him down for his nap before he gets fussy. That makes a huge difference in how long he sleeps.

My niece Jenna's prayer...

"Hey Jesus. Thanks for dying on the cross and for water. Hope you spend the night with me tonight. Oh, and thanks for the sun."

Love that! :)

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

House update
We're moving in this weekend!! I think our builder saw the desperation in my face today. The plan is to move everything into the garage on Friday then get it in the house Saturday...although I may just do it all Friday night. YAY!!

I would post pictures of the finished product, but my wonderful new camera got stolen while we were at the zoo...it had pictures of Eli, Carlee's birthday party, Carlee and Jenna in their bikini's playing in the sprinkler and the zoo trip - and I didn't have any of them printed. I cried the first two days, but now have just resigned to the fact that it's gone and I have to move on. It really stinks though. So, hopefully will get a new (much cheaper) one soon.

The kidos
Tomorrow is Eli's 2 month checkup...which means shots. Yuck! My mom went with me when Carlee had her first shots. I was a nervous wreck. I made mom hold her and I comforted her after it was over. I'm on my own this time. My friend recommended that I ask for another nurse to hold him...I'm doing that. Tonight I asked Carlee if she had ever gotten a shot - she said no. Guess they really don't remember!

I love how much Carlee loves Eli. She's really great with him. Yesterday she said, "mommy, I love my brother". Does it get any better than that?

Random thoughts...

I guess since gas prices are so high, there are lots more motorcycles on the road. Have you ever noticed the "motorcycle wave". Apparently, if you ride a motorcycle, you're in a special club and you have to wave at all the other motorcycle drivers...It's not a normal beauty pageant wave - instead you drop your arm to knee level and open and close your hand quickly. I noticed it a lot today and thought about waving to everyone driving a Nissan Altima - not the same effect.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Charlie Brown?

My sweet boy smiled at me for the first time today. Nothing like it in the world!

His dr. said he looks like Charlie Brown. He is kind of round and bald. We may have a halloween costume! :)

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

The house
We're almost in our house! We may be able to start moving stuff in this weekend...even though it it will be next week before we'll close and "officially" be able to move the majority of the stuff in. YAY!! (Becca, I'll call you when I know for sure!!)

The little screamer
Eli has been sick a little this week - he made it 7 weeks without getting a bug, but just couldn't hold off. Carlee had it first, waking up with a 103 temp one day last week. She fought it off though and didn't have the usual asthma attack. Poor little guy - since he's so little there's really nothing we can do for him but put saline drops in his nose and suck it out with that blue bulb syringe...he hates to see that thing coming! He seems to be doing better today though, so maybe we're at the tail end of it.

The attack
Yesterday as I was walking through my moms house I stepped down about 2 inches from a frog...IN THE HOUSE! At first I thought it was a toy so I flicked it with a piece of paper and it jumped at me - I'm pretty sure it was attacking - and I screamed! Carlee jumped up on the couch, looked at me wide eyed and said "what are we going to do mom". I thought I would try to sweep it onto the dust pan and throw it outside...but that thing had a crazy jump. So, I corralled it with the broom and after about 5 minutes got it to jump out the door. Whew...where is daddy when you REALLY need him?

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Happy 4th...a day late.

Thanks in part to a book that a friend at church told me about (her friend told her about it), I think we may have had a breakthrough with the little screamer. It's not that he doesn't scream any more, it's that I think we've figured out some tactics so that it doesn't last as long.

I was a Babywise mom with Carlee...not everything babywise, but I did let her "cry it out", was on a strict "parent directed" feeding schedule. Since I was going back to work and needed the same thing to happen every day, I felt like it was necessary. And we didn't have to cry it out for long. She pretty much figured it out within a couple of days. Don't get me wrong, there were nights even after she figured it out that she would have cried all night had I let her. All I had to do was pat her and she'd go back to sleep normally.

Not the case with Eli. Crying it out isn't an option for him right now. His own cries get him more overstimulated and he just doesn't have the ability to calm himself down. With the help of this book (The Happiest Baby on the Block), I've learned to swaddle him REALLY tight with his arms to his side (this keeps him from flailing his arms and waking himself up) and rock him really quick with shhshhshhshh sounds in his ear and he usually relaxes within a minute or two. Once I lay him down swaddled tightly, he usually doesn't wake up until time for his next bottle. In fact, last night he went from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. without waking!!

He still has fussy time from 7 -11 every night, but we can usually get him calmed down temporarily. Right now we have to hold him, but I figure that if holding him keeps him from going into hysterics, it's good for all of us! I know that once he gets things figured out and is more alert, he won't require us to hold him so much, so we're just going to go with it and do what works. I still keep him on a eating schedule. I'm a firm believer in schedules and knowing what to expect. So, we try to do the same thing every day.

As I write, he has been in his swing for a LONG time. Yay! I was feeling a bit like a failure, so it feels good to get it figured out just a little bit.

Now...for the house update...

The floors are completely done, the granite counter tops are in. All that's left is some trim stuff and the kitchen/master bath back splash. The back splash is my fault - when I saw the one I picked out with the counter top and floor I hated it. So, I sent it back and picked another...of course it isn't in stock, and with the holiday it's going to take a little time to get it. But, I figured I might as well make sure I like it.

It's hard to go down there now, because it's to the point that it looks like I could live there and I get anxious. Maybe by the end of next week!