Funny guy.

LJ cracked me up today. He was really quiet for the longest time while I was doing some picking up, so I went to find him. I found him in our bedroom in front of the closet-door mirror wrapping his blanket around his body, head, feet, laying on it, etc. just over and over again. It was pretty cute!

For the first time today he made a noise that may someday become a word. He's been walking around making a "puh, puh, puh" sound (like the letter "p"). Then again, he may just think it's something fun to do....

The stuff that LJ understands is growing so rapidly it amazes me! One day I'll swear he has no clue what I'm telling him, the next day (and from there on) he understands perfectly. Today's thing was...Me: "LJ, please lay down so I can change your diaper." LJ's response: walk in front of me a couple of steps, lay his head on the floor, followed quickly by his rear-end tipping over and falling to the ground, then laying there as still as can be until I'm done. Considering diaper changes have been a battle of wits for the last several months, this was a VERY WELCOME change!

My 2 cents on cloth diapering

This is a little info for those of you who have considered cloth diapering, but feel too overwhelmed to try it.
I have cloth-diapered LJ since he was just a day or two old. I started out with Bumgenius one-size diapers, and I loved them...UNTIL they began to repel water rather than absorb it. Apparently if diaper cream touches these things, then they all get washed together, they're a gonner. So, I decided to go with the Fuzzibuns one-size diapers which have snaps instead of velcro. The snaps are a bit awkward at first, but they hold up WAYYYYY better than the velcro (probably even through multiple babies) and you get used to them very quickly (like in one day). Also, you can get replacement elastic for the Fuzzibuns without replacing the whole diaper...which is GREAT! I have only 10 diapers right now, but it seems to be plenty. I have to do one load of diapers a day, but, for me, it really isn't a big deal because it becomes part of your routine pretty fast. (If I had 12 total, I could probably do a load every day-and-a-half). If LJ wasn't such a heavy wetter, I'm certain I wouldn't have any problem with even prefolds/flats and a diaper cover (although I'd use a Snappy instead of safety pins). If you do decide to use prefolds, get HEMP. Hemp is MUCH more absorbant than cotton. Also, always have a package of disposables on hand; for the occasional rash (although you can use the cloth diapers w/ diaper cream as long as you put a piece of cloth between the cream and the diaper, and DO NOT WASH IT WITH THE DIAPERS...a cut up receiving blanket works well) or person who is intimidated by cloth diapers. For wipes, I use a spray bottle with water and flannel cloth (you can buy flannel wipes for next to nothing). Overnight cloth diapering has proved to be quite a challange...I think I'm close to having the recipe, but I'll post about it after it's successful for more than one night!

Daddy's home!

LJ gets so excited when he sees his Daddy get home from work....Here's a picture Gary's Dad caught of the moment...

Eating w/ a fork....sort of

LJ's most recent "big thing" has been eating w/ a fork! I showed him how to do it once and he found it amusing, now he tries to do it himself. He has yet to actually pick the food up with the fork, but getting it to the mouth is no problem. He does poke at the food somewhat clumsily, so he's got the idea, just not the motor skills.

He's also been chasing Nala around a lot more, trying to pull her tail. I try to discourge this as best as I can, but there's only so much of me running around after LJ who is running around after the cat that I can do. So occasionally I hear a loud hiss coming from the other room (our cats are declawed, so they can't hurt LJ, but LJ could hurt them) followed shortly by a distressed Nala bounding into my presence.

Hummm...what else. He can finally turn the light to the stove both on AND off, and he randomly pushs things (especially chairs and step-stools) around the house; we find them in some of the strangest places.

New pictures!

LJ!

This was our first attempt at finger painting, and I was VERY glad I thought to do it outside. Yes, that is a handprint on the side of his head!



This is a classic LJ picture. He LOVES his Spot books, and he also likes sitting in his chair this way.

Story from the past

This is a story from the past that I thought I'd share. Several people may have heard it, but it really was quite funny.

Several years ago, Gary and I had gone to Springfield to see a Jim Brickman concert. Gary parked alongside an unusually high curb and when I opened the door, I banged it on the curb. Of course Gary cringed and told me to be more careful, and I got defensive saying he would have done the same thing if the curb had been on his side.
After the concert, as we were walking back to our car, Gary reminded me to be careful opening the door, so I (still on the defense) snapped back with "why don't you just open the car door for me?!" As he was opening the door, we overheard the female behind us say to her male counterpart "Now THAT'S a true gentleman, WHY DON'T YOU EVER OPEN THE CAR DOOR FOR ME!!!???"
Needless to say, we laughed about this for a good while on the drive home.

Our antenna is here

Gary hooked up our antenna recently....here's the pictures....

Accident filled weekend!

Goodness, I don't know what's got into LJ...maybe he's trying to walk and climb faster than his coordination will allow...but he was one accident after another this weekend. First, he thumped his head; no biggie, just add it to the rest of the bumps and bruises on his forehead. Then he and Gary were on the front porch and LJ just decided to take a leap of faith right off it...into our boxwoods. Gary caught him just enough to break the impact of the fall, so he was fine, not even a cry...just a bunch of boxwood leaves stuck to him. RIGHT after that, our front screen door got stuck; once I finally got it unstuck, LJ stuck his finger in it right as I closed it resulting in the most dramatic display of pain I've seen him have yet! At first I thought his finger might be broken, but after he got a death grip on my tongue, I realized it was fine and he was just very tired. After his nap, he put his blankie over his head and started walking around, slipped and hit his head on the wood floor. He hit pretty hard, but since he had his blankie over his head, it was cushined a bit. Then, the next day, he was trying to climb on top of a trunk in our bedroom, tripped, and smashed his mouth into the trunk. I thought his front top teeth had been crammed back into his gums, but I think that was just the illusion created by all the blood on his teeth. After about 15 minutes, the bleeding slowed enough for me to see the extent of his injury was a pretty nasty gash out of his gums. His teeth are fine. Gary and I are still unsure how a relatively round-edged trunk could have possibly caused such a nasty gash, but leave it to LJ to figure out a way to make it happen! I think I need to come to grips with the reality that my son will probably knock out his front teeth long before they're supposed to fall out.

Bye-bye cable

Well, after much debating...we finally decided to shut off our cable. We're still keeping our internet, so our e-mail addresses and such are still the same...just no more cable television. Gary and I debated long and hard about this for quite awhile now, and we finally bit the bullet. After LJ was born, we find that we really don't have much time for tv, and when we DID find 30 minutes to watch something, it was something that was on the major networks that we can get for free over the air (even in HD). So, for $4 more than what we'd spend in one month on cable, we're getting an HD antenna and pre-amp that will get us most, if not all of the local channels. Gary is going to hook up a computer to be a media server (for all practial purposes, a "dvr", except we'll also be able to access any dvd that we own at the touch of a button...or two). The only things we'll actually miss are games that we care about on ESPN; and perhaps those would be a great excuse to get together w/ someone who has cable. Total savings: $1,008.00/year (I don't think ESPN alone is worth that!)

Birthday Pictures

This was my first attempt at using fondant on a cake. I messed it up pretty bad, but I suppose for my first try, it could have been worse.

LJ's personal "rubber ducky" cake

Lounging with Momma after a big day.

This will have to do...

Still haven't got the birthday party pics off the camera. This will have to do until then.

Update on life in general

Golly. I can't believe LJ's birthday is this Sunday (along w/ father's day). LJ is officially walking now. In the mornings he crawls more than he walks, but buy the end of the day he's walking more than crawling. I have pictures from his birthday party which was this past Sunday that I'll post soon. It went well, though...as well as a 1-year-old's birthday party can go I suppose.

Another shocker for me is our 10-year high school reunion is coming up in a couple weeks. I really can't believe it's been a decade since we graduated high school!!! (For those who may not know, I say "we" because Gary and I graduated together). Wow. It will be neat to see everyone again. Its so funny to think back to the "problems" I had 10 years ago...I suppose they were real problems at the time, but once you've delt with college, work, insurance, a mortgage, childbirth, child-raising, death of close friends and family memembers, and all of that "grown-up" stuff, it makes the "problems" of a decade ago seem so trivial.

Anywho, enough ramblings. I'll get some more pictures of the little man up as soon as Gary dumps them off his camera.

A year is sneaking up on me!

I can't believe it's been a year since I was waddling around 9 months pregnant, actually, let me correct that statement, it actually seems like forever ago that I was pregnant, but I'm dumbstruck that it's almost been a year since I first laid eyes on my little boy! His birthday is on Father's day this year, and his birthday party (family) is going to be this Sunday!

LJ is taking his first steps now; but I think it's going to be slow going, as he's a much more efficient crawler, and the only advantage of walking over crawling is he doesn't have to carry his toys in his mouth to get them from here to there, which really doesn't seem to be a big deal right now. He still has yet to say his first true words, right now he still speaks "LJish" and we can generally understand him (although I don't think we'd technically qualify as bilingual). He really enjoys playing with other kids, especially his cousins. Above is a picture of Jeremy, LJ and Olivea at my Mom and Dad's the other night playing on LJ's blankie (Jeremy is in my Dad's lap...grabbing LJ's diaper, Olivea and LJ are rolling on the floor).

Naptime nightmare!

Beginning about when LJ started pulling up on things, LJ has been increasingly difficult to get to take his naps. He just wants to play! But then he's crabby, and when he FINALLY goes down for a nap he wakes up a REALLY crabby baby! So, I'm trying letting him cry it out (while checking on him after a few minutes) and seeing how it goes. I'm more typing this to calm my frazzled nerves while I listen to him scream...............Silence???!!! Could it truly be?...or have I spontaneously gone deaf??? It took 15 minutes this morning, and he slept for almost an hour and a half....this time it was about 5 minutes of playing followed by about 6 minutes of screaming.

LJ Pic

Here's a quick picture of LJ that my aunt took at my Granny's birthday party! Thanks, Loretta!

Happy Retirement, Jack!

Gary's Dad's last day on the job was today. (I hope I don't get any details wrong) He's been with the postal service for 37 years! He was the mail carrier for all of Farmington for a long time, until it started growing by leaps and bounds, and additional routes became necessary. The post office had a big going away dinner at Joses' Tuesday night, and they "roasted" Jack. It was pretty funny...then today they had a celebration at the post office; Mayor Penn gave a nice speech and presented Jack with a key to the city, Pat (the postmaster) also gave a nice speech and presented him with a gift. Then as he left the post office, he got a police escort to his route as family, friends and co-workers stood along the street waving at him.

Here's to a happy retirement, Jack! We love you!

BIG prayer request

Okay, I'm probably going to get a whole ration of crap for having posted this, but since it was in the paper on Sunday, it's become public information, so anyone who cares to know can find out easily. My parents had to file for bankrupty. In order for them to keep their home, they have to be able to make the payments. Which, due to the bankruptcy, my Mom could potentially loose most or all of her share of her business (my mom is a registered nurse and part-owner of a thriving home healthcare business). Furthermore, my Dad's business is struggling to drum up work as civil engineers are in VERY low demand right now (I'm sure any of you civils reading this can say "amen" to that). Anyway, I'm asking that you please keep my parents in your prayers. Pray that they do not act rash and/or without devine guidance. I know if they will just ask and seek God's will, he WILL give them the guidance they need.

Finally...some pictures

A new favorite of LJ's is to climb the steps to the sunroom and play with the bi-folding french doors.


His two outside incisors are trying to come in, so anything with a ring shape to it has been chewed to death.


LJ and his blankie.


LJ will give me "kisses" by ever-so-gently putting his nose on my nose.


Getting a piano lesson. :o)

Quick update on a few things...

It's been awhile since I've posted, so I thought I'd give you a quick update on our lives.

We haven't had much luck w/ the selling of our house, and although we haven't "offically" lowered the price, I'm fairly certain we will. But we'll continue to pray about it and whatever happens is what's best, I'm certain of that.

Starting about Wednesday of last week, we've all had a cold at one point or the other. Of course, LJ had it the worst. So now we're dealing with the aftermath of that (runny nose, chest congestion, and a mild ear infection), but otherwise are all well.

LJ is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything his little hands can grab!!! He can climb up the steps to the sunroom by himself, he opens and shuts doors and cabinets, flips lids and light switches, chews on everything that fits in his mouth (either willingly or by brute force), and grabs everything that can get in arms reach (including poor Nala's tail...3 times in a row). He has yet to say any true words (and I honestly think he'll be a late talker), but the other day, he had been playing very quietly in the sunroom for at least 15 minutes, then out of no where (I even had my back turned on him), I hear "mama" as clear as clear could be...but he hasn't said it since.

Also, Gary is working on getting me MY OWN computer up and running!!! YIPPIEE! So hopefully after that's up and running, I'll be better at posting pictures!!!

A new chapter in life...

Well, LJ opened a new chapter in his life as of last night. He's crawling! I can't believe my little man is mobile! He's been trying to crawl for quite some time now, but last night he got all the mechanics working together to get the forward momentum he's been striving for. I don't know how to get to the pictures we have (they're on an external hard drive). Gary has it locked down (being a computer security guy and all) so I usually screw it up when I try to pull pictures off of it.

Anywho, LJ's top two teeth are almost through, and of course both his bottom front teeth are in. He still doesn't talk, but has interrogatory, exclamatory, and even the occasional declarative grunt that he uses to communicate at this point. He knows several objects and people, and turns to look at them when we ask him where they are. He also pushes everything that even distantly resembles a button...be it the remote control, the hole where you inflate a ball, or my eyeball.

Gary has been quite busy with work and other commitments, and I've been keeping busy with work, LJ and my garden. I decided to start out with a small garden this time (about 600 sq. ft.), then each year I will upsize until I figure out how much garden I can handle. I got red potatoes, onions, spinach and a couple types of lettuce in so far. Not sure what else I'll plant in regards to early crops...maybe some carrots.

A sad happy day.

I'll start off by apologizing that I don't have pictures up yet. I need to get Gary to take the pictures off my camera for me.

Well, we finally decided to trade in my Corolla for a more family-friendly vehicle. I've had my Corolla since 1999 (it was a 98 I bought used), and she has been good to me (had over 180k on her, and still going strong!), but she got to feeling cramped once LJ came along. So I'd been keeping my eyes open for about 6 months for a dependable vehicle that I could hope to get around 100k-150k miles out of, and I've looked at several, but none just struck me as "the one." So, for the millionth time, I was checking out auto ads on star shopper and I came across a 98 (go figure, same year as my Corolla) Camry, with only 76k on it (whoa! there are people who actually drive that little???). Being the skeptical pessimist I am when it comes to used cars, I checked out carfax expecting bad news, but to my surprise it revealed it had only had one owner, was locally owned, and was routinely serviced, etc. After I went to look at it, I also found out it had just had a major service done (alignment, timing belt, transmission fluid changed, etc.). So, I gave it a spin, and was shocked at how smooth it drove, braked and ran. No unusual noises, no pulsating or wobbling, drove straight, just to name a few. I had a couple other cars I was intersted in, so I checked them out and prayed about it all before feeling that I needed to pursue the Camry. So I prayed again that if this was the car that was meant for us, for us to be able to work out a price on our limited budget, and we did (I even got several compliments on my haggling abilibies) :o)~...so we now have a new (to me) car. So, now, we're needing to find Gary a truck. If anyone has a 4x4 extended cab Tundra or Double cab Tacoma that you're wanting to sell (or planning to trade in), let us know!

Size Preditions Revised

Okay, after doing more research on infant/children's clothing sizes (why the hell do they have to make it so complicated???) I have to correct myself.

I'm going to skip 12 month clothes for LJ in ONESIES, and anything that is a solid piece of material between the shoulders and the crotch (jumpers, sleepers, etc) ONLY! Onesies, sleepers and jumpers are always small on him, so I'm going to go straight to 18 months for them. For pants and shirts (seperates), 12 month until around his birthday is my best guess, then 18 month until around Christmas time, and 2T (or 24 month) around the first of the year. Just go one size bigger in onesies, sleepers and jumpers.

Random Ramblings

Well, it dawned on me this evening, that I have spent every evening since daylight savings time ended trying to get LJ adjusted to standard time, and failed. Today I found out that daylight savings time begins just 4 weeks from tomorrow. So, with 4 weeks left, I'm throwing in the towel. He can go to bed at 7 and wake up at 5. Afterall, I've been doing it for around 12 weeks now, what's another 4???

LJ was so funny today. Gary was off work so we all spent the day together, and Gary and I both agreed that after LJ's nap this morning, it was like he woke up a new baby. He was playing with his toys and watching Big Bird on TV like he'd never seen any of them before. He was just engrossed in them.

Update on blowing food in my face....

Go figure, the most effective way I've found to keep him from blowing food in my face is simply not to react to it in any way, shape or form. I just keep my composure and continue feeding him. If he continues to do it, it seems to be out of boredom, so I give him something to fidgit with while he eats (it has to be washable, a walmart gift card or "little people" do well).

Clothing size predictions for LJ

SEE EDITED EDITION ON FEBURARY 9!

I've been trying to make some predictions of LJ's clothing size so I can hit some garage sales as soon as it warms up. If any of you are wanting to do any holiday shopping while winter stuff is on super-duper clearance, here's what I've come up with based on his percentile on the growth charts:
At 1 year (in June): probably a 2T or 24 months (although he might fit in 18 months for a short while)
At 1 1/2 years (in December): Probaby just growing out of a 2T and getting into a 3T.

Right now I'm about to put him in 18 months. He's in 6-9 months now, but he's suddenly completely outgrown all of them, and his 12 month clothes are tight on him! So I'm just going to skip 12 month clothes altogether (with the exception of the ones I have), and put him right in 18 month.

Storm post edited below

Ramblings about LJ (non-storm related)

LJ's other bottom tooth is starting to come through. It seems to be particularly bothering him today. Also, his personality has just blossomed over the last couple of weeks. He's such a funny little man. He finds humor in almost everything. Especially blowing food all over me (any suggestions to get him to stop this would be great, I've tried popping his hand (not hard), blowing food back in his face, and walking away until he gets fussy...all are SOMEWHAT effective, but not 100%).

I've finally got him off the hypoallergenic formula, and he seems to be doing well. Furthermore, we've stopped breastfeeding altogether. This little man is WAY too active and inquisitive to breastfeed anymore. It got to be more of a fight for both of us, so I finally threw in the towel.

He takes 2-3 naps everyday, and sleeps around 10 hours at night, most nights. He weighed 19 lbs. 12 oz. at his last checkup, so I'm certain he's a good 20 lbs. now, and he was 28" long, so maybe 28 1/2" or so, now. He's been consistently in the 95th percentile in height and hoovers around the 75th-85th percentile in weight.

Ice Storm....roughing it Edited...more about the storm

I have a lot to type, but very little time. Our power went out on Tuesday and we got it back on last night. Most of my immediate family are still without. NWA looks like a bomb hit it...literally. Here's a couple pictures of us "roughing it" and some of the ice. I'll type more later.

Edited:
For those of you out of the area, we began getting bits of freezing rain on Monday, but Monday night was when it got really bad. We were fortunate here, and didn't loose power until late Tuesday (around 4:00-ish), but it did finally go out. That evening, I stood out on the front porch and listened to all the tree branches giving away under the weight of the ice. Not 5 seconds went by without the sound of branches breaking (that is NOT an exaggeration). After nightfall, I looked out the window into the darkness, and all I could see was the bright green flashes of transformers blowing off in the distance. It looked like some sort of alien warfare. Gary, LJ and I did our best to close off the living room and kitchen to conserve what little heat our fireplace will give off, and stayed fairly warm during the daytime hours, but got pretty chilly at night. Melody, Nic, Olivea and Jeremy joined us one evening, and it was definately nice to have company. Thursday, we got a generator loaned to us from my Pawpaw. So, we had LJ's room nice and toasty for him when his bedtime rolled around. We had planned to sleep in there when we got ready for bed, but as I was heating up pizza on our propane grill, some sparks caught my attention on our roof. I thought the roof was on fire! Then I realized it was coming from our flue. So we had a minor flue fire, but we did call the fire department and have them check it out. Phil Dewey, among others from our church, were among the firemen who arrived. He more or less said we had a very minor flue fire, that we probably would have never noticed had I not just been standing right there and seen it (if any of you are reading this, thanks guys!), but I did have a big mess to clean up as a result of the fire extinguisher. But, our electricity came back on while they were here! Yippie! Our yard, along with the rest of NWA, looks like a bomb hit it. Clean up is going to be slow going, especially if the ground doesn't dry up quickly. Everyone over around my parents property (on hwy 16) are still without power, but they all have generators going now. Oh, and I almost forgot, I've got to give God his praise. We had 2 limbs that were right over our electric service to the house. Had that line gone down, we would still be without power. We prayed and prayed that those limbs wouldn't take down our line. One of the limbs fell, but managed to miss the line, and the other limb was just dangling over the line, but finally raised back up after the ice fell off and didn't break. It was the ONLY limb on this tree that didn't fall (literally, the rest of the tree broke away).

Everyone I talk to (even those who have been around this area three times longer than I...and I've been here over 22 years) have said this is the worst ice storm they have ever seen. Over 22,000 were still without power(as of last night) in Ozarks Electric territory alone, and, driving around, it is unbelievable to see the damage the ice caused. It will be many years before this area resembles what it looked like before this storm.

A tooth!

LJ is trying to cut his first tooth. The bottom right. He's actually done pretty good, just a bit clingier and whinier than usual. His appetite also seems to be a bit heartier, but that's probably growth and not tooth-related. I can't be certain, but I think LJ MIGHT be trying to say "Mickey". For those of you who don't know, this kid LOVES Mickey Mouse. Apparently they became pretty good buddies since Mickey has sat above his crib since he was born. He'll repeat a distinct "ick-y" sound only when he's fully engaged in something with Mickey Mouse on it. Although he doesn't do it everytime. So it's hard to tell. I'll see what I can do to get some pictures, and try to get a short video on my camera.

Most of us are on the mend....

This picture was taken a couple days before LJ was his sickest. You can tell he wasn't feeling very good. The poor little guy. Gary and LJ are both on the mend, while I'm just coming down with it. My sister (Melody) and her family are all going through the exact same thing. Ugh! Hopefully we'll all be well by the end of the week.

RSV SUCKS!

This RSV virus has LJ just feeling terrible! The poor thing sounds just awful! Any suggestions for a runny nose that is making it's way into his chest? I'm doing all the elevated head, saline and baby vicks (when I can remember to). Plus percussion on his back and of course the dreaded aspirator, AND humidifier. Anybody ever use a homemade vapor tent with any luck? Everything in his chest is loose, he's just not coughing enough to really get it up well.

I have to brag on Gary for a minute. He has been FANTASTIC. He's been sick as a dog too, but he really has been the only one who can calm LJ down when he's upset. And it's really strenuous activity...nothing anyone would be wanting to do while they're sick! My hat's off to him.