Baby Jocelyn. Born 2/8/10 at 12:04pm
Weight: 9.45 pounds.
Length: 20.25 in.
Well now we wait. I am officially on maternity leave (one week in actually) and going out early has been one of the best decisions I have made in a while. Liam and I have been hangin out together getting everything ready for baby.
The crib and dresser are here and put together along with my new favorite piece of furniture….the rocker. When we were putting the crib together Liam was very into “helping”. He has been watching every move the contractors make over at Gramma and Papa Moo’s house as they do their remodel and I think we may have a future handyman on our hands.
This week we also got stocked up on groceries and diapers, got all the new clothes and blankets and stuff washed, house cleaned, and I even had time to finally patch Charlie’s pants and take a few naps! I sometimes wonder how I was doing it all before.
I was convinced that the baby was going to come early but now that I am off work and relaxed….I don’t know. I am feeling so much better it is unreal. The only lingering issue is my darn arm/hand going numb and tingly. I can deal with it just fine during the day but at night it wakes me up so sleep has been sporadic. Plus waking up at 4:30 am everyday for a year has made it hard to transition back to a normal wake up time. Either way, now that I am feeling better, I can imagine this baby taking her sweet time to arrive. We still have one week left until our due date so she has time.
Even Luci is ready…hopefully the next post is to share the great news!
Just for our records:
Lenght: 33 3/4″
Weight: 26.4 lbs.
Words: Phone, Foot, Toes, Nose, Gramma, Dada, Mama, See (Luci), Pee, Boo (Papa Moo), Nigh Nigh, No, Nana (Banana and Gramma sometimes), Yes, Uh Oh, Bite, Book, and a few more that I can’t think of right this second.
This month has been so busy. Gramma and Papa Moo took a trip at the beginning of the month so I took a week off with Liam again and it was awesome. We had play-dates with friends at the park, had time to cook dinner every night, and enjoyed just hanging out together. The last time I did this we were both sick so it wasn’t nearly as fun. The night before I returned to work we got 10″ of snow! That week Liam got to spend a few days at friends houses in the morning playing and having fun….Thank you to all who helped!
There was another storm that quickly followed the first one and we ended up with about another 10″ believe it or not. We went over to help clear some space at Gramma and Papa Moo’s house and Liam had a blast playing in the fluffy white stuff. These are pictures of him “helping”.
He and Sonnet made snow balls with the ball thrower.
The shovel proved to be a bit big for him.
Gramma and Papa Moo started the remodel on their kitchen, bath and entry. Everything is torn up but Liam is fascinated by all the work that is being done. Since the area is already torn up Charlie went under the house to help move a cable jack correctly and while he was under the house, Liam had fun trying to figure out what was going on.
Some pictures of the house. There is even more torn up now!
Bye Bye brick and hearth.
Liam usually finds time to cuddle with the kitty cats.
This series is funny to me because he got this new toy from Shawn, Mandy, Kylie and Cody and he loves it! He figured out how to climb inside and once he got in there he realized that he was stuck, sorta. Once he calmed down and realized that he could get back out, he had a total blast. Now it is in out, in out, etc. Not the safest way to play with this toy, but I have given up on some of them, he is just going to do it anyway right?
Charlie has been settling into his job a little more and even likes it some days. He seems to be getting home at a better hour most nights too. The hardest part right now is the snow. He drive a van that doesn’t maneuver the snow too well and climbing ladders that are situated on ice is a little nerve racking at times. But he does like being back to work.
We searched for and found a new doctor who we think will be great. He seems to have settled some of our fears about the anemia and other stuff that was unnecessarily worrying me. I have hit that part of pregnancy where sleep in inconsistent and even that is getting to be uncomfortable. I struggled with edema alot with Liam because I was on my feet so much, but this pregnancy I get to sit alot and haven’t really had any of that until the past week. Suddenly my rings don’t fit and my socks leave perma rings on my cankles, oh what fun! Baby J will be here in the end of January or first week of February. Due date has come into question with the new doctor because the baby is a little big and because early ultrasounds may contradict my estimations. We will see. I predicted about two months ago that she would come early so maybe we should get a pool going.
Hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying the cold weather that the entire country seems to be getting these past few weeks. Drop in and leave a comment, we would love to hear from you!
The Peaks
The good news is that our family seems to be feeling much better these days. We spent most of the month of October feeling yukky. Charlie still has a little bit left in him but overall we are much better.
Liam has discovered that there are some new things that he can do. We were driving out in Spanish Springs the other day and suddenly his door was OPEN! He has discovered the door handle and how to use it. So, now we use the child locks.
Also, we have been working on the idea of “time-out” and at first he really fought it and cried and tried to stand up and the whole works. Well, he is really too young to fully get it, but now he at least understands where it is in our house and he knows the usual stuff that will land him there. The other day he crawled into the middle of the dinning room table. All I said was “Liam Michael” with THAT tone and he crawled down and ran over to the time out spot which is under our bar area. A bar stool was in the exact spot that he normal is put to sit so he moved it over, sat down, looked at me and shook his head no as if to say…that was a no no huh mommy? I just sorta stood there stunned. I told him that standing in the middle of the dinning room table is a no no and thank you for obeying and going to time out, but then what? Make him stay there? So I let him come right out. For the most part there are no longer tears and fits, but it also hasn’t completely eliminated all the unwanted behaviors. So I guess somewhat effective, but hopefully it will help as he gets older and tries new naughty things.
He has really been building things lately too, but on a large scale. He will drag things over from different parts of the house and stack them so he can climb. His favorite is an old huggies box that is still packed with clothes. He has discovered that if he drops it to its side he can get on it and flip the light switch on and off and on and off and ….. Oh so fun. I finally gave in since it is very stable and not to high so that is permenantly in our dinning room. Oh how I love his redecorating style.
Baby J has been very active lately and she is starting into the night time activity which is oh so fun for me. I am usually up aroun 2 am so if you wanna chat, look me up, I usually check facebook at that time. My anemia has apparently gotten worse even though I am taking Iron supplements so now I am on two a day instead of just one. If I could get it under control then I guess my fatigue would improve greatly so that is our plan of attack.
I am taking a few days off next week and then my schedule will decrease a few hours a day which I am greatful for. Also, I am looking for a little bit of extra help from a few different people starting the 10th and going for about three weeks or so. Mom and Dad are starting their remodel and it will be hard for them to help with Liam as much as they do during that time. If you are interested in taking on a day, the schedule is 6:30am to about 12:30. I know it is early, but any extra help is greatly appreciated. Email me if you can take a day!
Nickie’s email: designingnickie@yahoo.com
Other than that, everything else is pretty much business as usual. Looking forward to the coming months and hearing from all of you.
Nickie
We have some news. Charlie has been job hunting for the past few months, applying for everything from sign-holder to delivery person, to sales, management, food service and more. This economy has made it difficult to find a family wage position (or any position really) that would include such things like benefits and time-off. But after much patience and many prayers, he as found a new job working with Sierra Communications as a cable installer.
The job is right up his alley in many ways because of his networking background and so far he has found it to be pretty easy. He is working a strange but welcome schedule….six days a week for now, twelve hour days. Really, he could work twelve on day and then only six the next, it will vary greatly depending on when orders come in.
He has been home with Liam for the past few months but playing Mr. Mom can be hard so he is actually enjoying being around adults again and there is a little spark in his voice when he talks about his day. I am greatful.
This job has opportunity for advancement as well. They have offices in Utah and plan to open a location in Oregon in the next year or two. With his background in managment and networking and the experience he will build doing install, there could be an option to relocate back north sometime in the future.
With Charlie back to work and grandma and grandpa out of town, I took this time to use some vacation days and stay home with Liam. I have been so excited for this much needed time off and ultimately have been enjoying it. It has come with a few bumps though.
Liam is a creature of habit and routine….apparently. He seems to be struggling with the changes to his day and this has been a source of frustration for him, and…well…ME. He has been grumpy and unconsolable at times. I really wondered if there was something physically wrong with him because he has been crying so much. He spent two hours straight crying on Monday morning. This is so not his personality.
Last night was the whopper though. He woke up from his nap grumpy, Charlie had gotten off pretty early yesterday so he was home and we distracted him somewhat and he was ok until dinner, that is when it all broke loose. He started fussing and crying as I got things ready and proceeded to cry through dinner, bath, and play. About two hours worth. Then it was bedtime (which he usually loves and goes to willingly with no fight) and continued to cry for another 45 min.
Finally Charlie said, call your mom (who is out of town in Oregon) but I did. It was decided that something was definetly wrong because it just wasn’t like him, so we did the unthinkable and we went into his room and let him get up with us for a few minutes. He was instantly fine, giggles replaced the tears and a graham cracker and water followed. As we sat on the sofa together as a family we realized that we had been had. He must have needed the extra re-assurance right now so I guess it is ok, but how frustrating.
It gets worse. We called it a night and went to bed, all of us, and he went right to sleep this time, the way he usually would have. About three AM he woke me up with his cries (another abnormality at this point he usually sleep straight through). I went to check on him and he was crying and shivering, it was only 59 degrees in our house! Somehow our heater got turned off. I turned it back on but he was ice cold so I did the second unthinkable thing of the day. I put him in bed with us. He was good for a few minutes, seemed to be relaxed and enjoying the warmth of us and our fluffy covers. Then out of nowhere, he rolled over toward Charlie and I hear a giant RASPBERRY! So much for special allowances. We were all cracking up at this point and realized that there was NO way that he would be able to stay in bed with us. By now the heater had picked the temp in the house up a few degrees so I put an extra pair of socks on him and and extra blanket in his bed and back he went. The little devil had successfully “gotten” us twice.
It is hard because I know his little world is being rocked by these schedule changes, and I want to reassure him. It just makes it difficult to believe him when he flashes that little smile at you that lets you know that he is up to no good.
First, I am glad every week that I had a great mom, but now that I AM a mom I have a new appreciation for some things I would never have thought of before and this week some new ones crept up.
1. I am greatful that my mom was/is a problem solver and that she taught me to be one too. I am not the worlds greatest problem solver, but I try. For instance, if the vacuum is not sucking junk up off the floor, WhY not? Figure it out, clean the filters, send a hanger down the tube to clean it out, fix it. It sounds simple but you would not believe how many (it seems to be mostly girls that I run into) people don’t take the time to at least TRY to solve a problem. It made me realize that I want to raise my little girl on the way (and Liam too) to think and do for herself. Letting her know that it is ok to get help, but to just wait for help forever just won’t cut it in today’s world.
2. I am glad that my mom still made dinners for the family after surviving us as little ones. I don’t know if there is anything more unfulfilling than taking the time to make a “home cooked” meal only to have the little one cry or be bratty the whole time you are working (hunger in the tummy no doubt) and then sit down to eat and more of the crying and bratty-ness. Charlie and I cheers-ed our spoons full of homemade chicken pot pie tonight as we sat trying to ignore the awful sounds coming from Liam. It is our understanding that giving no attention to bad behavior is the best solution. We laughed and tried to enjoy the first sit down dinner we have had time for in a few days, but really is it that funny? It made me wonder how my mom did it all those years, with three of us I am sure being total brats. Yet she cooked anyway, until we were ten, then teens, and still now. I will do it too, I hope, but it may be a battle some days.
3. I have been working to get the house not just picked up, but CLEAN for two days and I am not sure if it is actually possible. I remember that when I was growing up we were expected to help with cleaning tasks, but that was when we were older. How did she do it when we were little. I try, and Liam bless his heart wants to “help” even at his age. So I do my due mommy diligence and give him the baby sweeper and the dust pan, and he spreads the crumbs I just swept up into a nice neat pile BACK out to the ends of the room. I must say that I think it is important to let him help, who would want to discourage a helpful child right? So I am getting tricky-er. I try to divert him to a different area of the room while I quickly try to get my pile up before he realizes it is gone, but he is getting quicker. I guess this parenting thing is all about trying to be sharper and faster than they are until they finally overtake you, which I am sure will be when he turns TWO.
I am grateful that I had a mom who taught me to clean, and cook, and problem solve, and teach and be patient and love through it. I can’t imagine trying to parent without these skills, and I can only hope that I will be able to pass them on to my kids. Thanks mom, you are great!
Baby!
Ok, ok….so our doctor is 98-99% sure and I am 100% sure that we are having a baby girl! I know this isn’t the greatest ultrasound picture but this little one has been hiding during most of our ultrasounds so this is actually one of the best ones. We should be having at least one more (maybe two) ultrasounds before the due date since they have had a hard time getting certain measurements so we will post better pics if we get them. For now, this is it. The baby’s head is to the right, you can sorta see her face, then the body is to the left. No arms and legs viewable in this pic. Hope you can see her, it may take a little looking.