Delinquent

So, it has been a while. My NaBloPoMo commitment has gone by the wayside. I have room for improvement next year...

Logan is doing great, though he sounds like he smokes a pack a day with the throat hoarseness he has going on. He is still working on crawling and is quite close. He can go backward really well, but gets ticked off that he isn't headed toward whatever it is he wants.

We went for a hike with H and M last Sunday that was more difficult than I thought it would be (stupid hiking book, the two stars are NOT easy hikes, I have been burned twice now...). I am by far the most out of shape of the group, but we all made it to the top. Logan slept the entire time, except when eating. He missed a good view and a nice hike. Of course I didn't take the camera so there is no record of the event. Way to go mom.

Baby legs

I purchased Logan a set of baby legs, which are wonderful little kiddie leggings. This way legs stay warm and pants don't ride up. Don thinks they are girly, but he is wrong. Here he is crying because Don keeps putting that hat on him all silly and inside-out. That would make anyone unhappy. Don would say it was the baby legs that made him sad, but again, he would be wrong.
Yesterday morning more folks were looking at our condo (it is sooo clean right now) so we were out and about. We went to a local diner called the Lumberjack that we have lived in close proximity to for over seven years, but never actually ate at. It was an interesting mix of clientele, your older patrons, the locals, the youngish couples like Don and I, and the uber-gay men. We wish we had gone sooner, it was tasty and Logan loved the waitstaff. What a flirt.
Oh, and last thing on sleep. We are getting some! He only woke once at 2:10 last night, needed a little help getting back to sleep and then we didn't hear from him again until 6:20 (!). This has been going on for a few days now. We love the sleep lady...

Thanks

Logan loved Aunt H's butternut squash soup. He was delightful all day and spent much time in the arms of the guests. It was our best SD thanksgiving ever. Truly great company and a good time was had by all. We couldn't be happier.

More sleep moaning

Started my day at 4 am. Must make it through G*lmore G*rls...

It isn't quite that bad, but I will be happy when we are all well rested. I know the whole sleep thing has been dominating the blog lately, so I promise to post something much better tomorrow. Like a video or something cool.

Hoagie has been spending his days with dad this week, and I am so jealous. I am working extra hours so I can have Friday off without taking a vacation day and working 8 hours stinks. Hooray for 4 days off!

The longest hour

Yeah, that was between 2:15 and 3:15 last night. He screamed almost the whole time . It was tough. I questioned the whole thing and cried a little myself. Don got frustrated and needed to be relieved. It eventually worked and he did fine. Happy as a clam this morning and he slept in until almost 7(!). Tonight he went down without any fussing, but he may have been too tired to care. I tried to wake him enough to get him down more drowsy than sleeping, but he just looked at me and smiled then rolled over. Hope tonight goes as easy. Ha!

Uno

Tonight was night one of the sleep lady shuffle. A stupid name for a good concept. Basically it is a cry-it-out variation where you sit next to said crying child and reassure them that you are still there and whatnot. I like this version because it doesn't seem as lonely. Anyhow, he nursed, got put down "drowsy but awake" per the SLS advice, fiddled a bit, and cried for about 25-30 minutes once he realized he wasn't going to get bounced to sleep. Oh how I hope this works for us. So far though, so good. (going to go knock on wood...)

Saucy

So last night we slept. Heavenly sleep...

The wedding was beautiful, perfect weather, gorgeous location, lovely couple. Reception was fun but short lived. I couldn't hang. We got a drink after, since we had a little time. Don wouldn't let me rest my head on the bar. He was embarrassed that I looked wasted, which I definitely was not. Just so. dang. tired.

Logan was watched by three wonderful ladies, Auntie J, her mom, and her cousin. He should have been in babysitter heaven. Instead he whined and cried until he went to bed. Silly baby. This signaled that we need to go out more. You know, so he can get used to the important babysitting folks who love him so. He was very happy to see me at midnight when he woke up for the first time (hallelujah!).

He is eating like a champ, and will ingest anything that is mixed with applesauce. Like mother like son.

One word meme...

Hoagie's Meme...

1. Yourself: hungry

2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend: none

3. Your hair: sparse

4. Your mother/stepmother: tired

5. Your dog: none

6. Your favorite item: pacifier

7. Your dream last night: none

8. Your favorite drink: milk

9. Your dream car: MINI

10. The room you are in: kitchen

12. Your fear: alone

13. What you want to be in 10 years: student

14. Who you hung out with last night: ladies

15. What you're not: clean

16. Muffin: milk

17: One of your wish list items: yard

18: Time: afternoon

19. The last thing you did: nap

20. What you are wearing: diaper

21. Your favorite weather: mild

22. Your favorite book: cloth

23. The last thing you ate: sauce

24. Your life: busy

25. Your mood: expectant

26. Your best friend(S): daycare

27. What are you thinking about right now? cereal

28. Your car: volo

29. What are you doing at the moment?: eating

30. Your summer: hot

31. Your relationship status: single

32. What is on your TV?: football

33. What is the weather like?: hot

34. When is the last time you laughed?: morning

Told ya

Yup, he's reeeeeeeeeealy close. Ms. T said she saw him move forward a bit today. Uh oh.

And he is saying da now. So far we have ba and da. Come on kid, where's the ma??? :-)

Still no sleep. Sunday plans are in the works. Wish us luck until then...

Duh...

Well, it seems like the Reflux may be rearing its ugly head. I do believe our sleep issues have to do with an insufficient dosage of the Prilosec and a dense mommy. Teething and illness (of which we have/had both going on) tend to exacerbate reflux, so there you go. Last night was better. Not amazing, but still notably improved. I think I need a weeks worth of sleep to even notice, but Logan seemed happy this morning so that is all that counts.

Oh, and crawling? Yeah, it's getting closer.

Slacker

Thanks to Hope at Cha Cherry Cola for giving the blog a shout-out! And wouldn't you know it, yesterday I slacked on my posting. Oh well, I will just do two today to make up for it. Hope, Megan, and Quinn are dear to us and it stinks that we live so far away. I will also decline to divulge the numerous ways we are doppleganger-y, as it really is quite freaky and I don't want to scare anyone. :-)

I am so tired that I can't remember much of anything. Hoagie is all messed up in his sleeping and it is really starting to take a toll. My first San Diego friend is getting married this weekend so we aren't going to start any sleep training until after that, as we would selfishly like to stay out later than 6pm. Don has next week off so he can deal with the night stuff (ha ha! like he will have any time to nap...). Hoagie seems largely uneffected, as he sleeps much more than Don or me. It is the transition from arms to flat surface that is getting us every time. Oh well, it will get better.

Flirt

Hoagie smiled at everyone today when we were out shopping. I forgot the Ergo (which I love!) so he was in the bjorn instead. Happy times were had by all.

Oh, and I stubbed my toe and it is so ouchy. I didn't even do it with panache, just a run of the mill toe stub. So lame.

Cheering NOT allowed

So we like ourselves some football. Don loves it anyway, but since he joined his fantasy league (dork) it has kicked up a notch. Every game has someone to root for so he will watch pretty much anything that is on. We are especially large fans of the Eagles (go Donovan!), Chargers, and Patriots (well, me anyway). We get excited. We yell and curse at the TV when things don't go our way. And when there is a good play? Well, Don has accused me of "screeching" on more than one occasion. Especially when it is against his teams.

Hoagie does not like the cheering. At all. We get a serious frowny face, followed by the silent cry, then a big, sad wail. We've got to work on our self control.

Official verdict--not an ear infection

So the sleeping is still dicey, but there is officially no ear infection (that was my thought too Hope). Evidently he just doesn't like to be congested and wants to be held all. night. long. Last night was most certainly better than the previous 4, but still not fabulous. Urgent care was just as riddled with coughing, snotty-nosed kids as it was two weeks ago, and amazingly they were all so cute. Go figure. I don't even usually like other people's kids.

We had to miss a friend's b-day bash last night because of the Hoagie and his sleep thing, but it was worth it. It is also the wonderful Auntie H's birthday today. Happy 32 years to one of the best friends I could ask for. Hoagie, Don, and I are very lucky to have you in our lives.

More baby crap

Yup, we bought a j*mparoo. We have a johnny-jump-up that I purchased used for the rock bottom price of $5. It was GREAT. He loves it. However we only have three doorways that it works on, all in extreemly close proximity to the litter box. Now, it usually doesn't smell, but that doesn't mean I want to spend any length of time 6 inches away from the darn thing. So we broke down and bought the one that is more portable. The footprint is ginormas. We are being overtaken by all things Hoagie. At least he is happy!



Last night was better in that we had no screaming, but he was still a.w.a.k.e. from 10 until 1:15am. This seriously blows. We tried motrin, hopefully something will emerge from the gums soon.

Shrieking

This is the noise we heard at 3 am last night. Of course the loudest noise ever to escape our son's mouth was preceded by a mere 2 hours of sleep, so it was even more special. I fell back asleep after calming him down and nursing him at about 4:30. I get up at 5. It was rough. I *heart* coffee.

We think teeth?

Hope

Ok, we all know this is not a political blog, but today's results have awakened a long-dormant feeling deep in my soul. Hope. She was there all along, but lack of nourishment had left her withered and dry. Arizona, South Dakota, California, and (let's face it) the nation have elected change. I write this post as a mother-- no longer does the world seemingly end when Don and I leave it. Hoagie deserves a beautiful and functioning country long after we are gone. I am so very pleased that we (the country) have made an attempt to head in that direction.

So thank you nation, for respecting choice, electing change, and (at least in AZ) saying no to a constitutional ban on gay marriage rights. It would have been greedy to ask you not to hand over the governing reins to a certain foreign (bad) actor.

Oh, and Rummy's resignation? It just might make this giddy feeling last clear through till Tuesday.

The post-monster ate my first attempt at this, which was alarmingly more eloquent. Darn it.

No on 85!

We did our most important civic duty today, did you? I cannot stress how important voting is, and I have never missed an election. Logan has voted twice so far! Well, he came along for the ride, which is just as good. The touch-screen voting in our polling place was working smoothly and both Don and I agree it was good. California requires a paper trail (which I didn't know until I heard that on NPR earlier in the day) so I feel ok about the computer voting in San Diego.

Anyway, there were many important state and local props and this is the most informed I have ever been at the polls. Hooray! The only real thing to be sad about is the fact that the Govenator will surely win a second term. Oh well. My candidate so rarely wins I am not sure what I would do with myself if he/they did.

Oh, and Logan is back to his usual happy self. He has even started saying "ba ba ba ba ba." And he was so patient while I tried on skinny jeans today. Yay Hoagie!

A new trick

So sunshine had reached goddess-like proportions in our household. Logan is both facinated and enthralled with her very presence. Even better when her tail brushes against his face. For her part, she has figured out that she gets TONS of attention when she is next to him so she is very accepting of Hoagie lately. The new trick is that Logan loves it when I play with Sunshine (or Na-na, as she is mostly called). Full on giggles and hysterical laughing. So it is really a win-win situation. A new dawning of Sunshine in the family. Go Na-na!

So talented

Ok, so I need to do two posts because I missed yesterday. Baaaaad NaBloPoMo participant. Here he is balancing plush rings. Even when sick he is a marvel!

Stepping out

Today I went to two events without the Hoagie. Two! One bridal shower and one voter education night (amongst friends, so it was fun). Very unusual and quite fun. Hoagie is feeling better today so he didn't give dad too hard of a time. Pictures tomorrow, I promise.

Home again

Hoagie hasn't quite recovered from this stomach bug as we found out at 4 this morning when he puked on Don (hee hee! I am giddy over the fact that it didn't occur on my side of the bed). Then all over me when I picked him up. I guess I am destined to get puked on every single episode this illness. Oh, the plight of being a mother. At least my side of the bed wasn't wet!

So I am home today and the largest thing on my plate is to go get a copy of our marriage certificate. A whopping $13 charge will give me the proof I need to get on to Don's insurance. Why take a sick kid out on an errand today you ask? Well someone procrastinated so long that today is the last day to sign up for benefits and this certificate MUST be submitted today or we lose out. And, shockingly, the procrastinator wasn't me. So out we will go.

You may notice that I am posting more than normal and that is because I have joined
NaBloPoMo or National Blog Posting Month. I will post once a day for the month of November. Woot!

In case you would like to tell me how lovely the posts are, or not, your perogative, please feel free to use the comments feature*. Just click the link, type in a witty response to my super-smart ramblings, pass the word verification, and hit submit. Voila! I'll know you really love me. And Hoagie. And I will tell him to love you who comment more than anyone in this world. You know, except me.

*this of course excludes the ever wonderful Hope, Megan, Cathy and Calliope who already comment and have Hoagie's undying affection

35 weeks (aka 8 months)

Logan is 35 weeks today, and has officially been in the outside world 1 day longer than he was in utero. *sigh* Where did my little bitty baby go? I look back at those first few weeks (months) through a haze. It all happened so fast and unexpectedly that I can only recall highlights. Like:

• We had intermittent water during the first few weeks at our condo and hot water only sometimes for weeks after the water was fully restored. Fun.
• Boxes upon boxes of shower gifts piled outside our door, in our condo, and in the car. The outpouring of gifts was remarkable.
• The reflux, researching reflux, and worrying about reflux.
• Reflux meds and dreading giving them to the poor kid twice a day.
• The nursing curve. Whoa. That was a steep one-- but totally worth it.
• Someone (who? Mother nature? The Govt? The hospital? Human kind?) let us take home this fragile little being. Um, we had no idea what we were doing.
• Pumping. I spent as much time pumping as I did nursing. Well, not quite, but it sure felt like it!
• Snuggling. He was so sleepy and little and malleable that he had no choice but to cuddle.
• Being totally sleep deprived even though the kid slept 20+ hours a day. Weird isn't it? If only those hours were all in a row...
• How wonderful our family was. How supportive, understanding, and generally great. We are very lucky. (Good SD friends included here, our west coast family...)
• Did I mention nursing? And pumping?
• Love. Deep, heart aching, bone crushing, utterly life-altering love. It didn't happen for me right away, but when it snuck up on me it was all consuming. How did I ever live without him?

Happy 8 months baby. We longed for you, never gave up hope, and rejoiced at your arrival.

Spooky Goats

Unfortunately Don and I caught the stomach bug Logan had, so Trick or Treating was out. But we did dress him up and take pics. He even came to the door a few times to hand out candy, so it wasn't a total bust.

Here he is deciding the head piece isn't the greatest thing ever...