Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day Baby Lijah!
I have to tell you the truth about something buddy - Memorial Day has become a day off work and a grilling holiday for us rather than what it is intended to be. We should be celebrating all of those people out there who have served our country or are serving our country. While I think both your dad & I have a surface level appreciation for those folks, neither of our families are deeply involved in the military so we don't have a day to day connection to the military. But, we will have to do a good job of raising you to have a better awareness because each day we are here, it is due to some stranger out there protecting us! I did think that today would be a good day to remind you about some of your Grampas who did serve in the military. Great Grampa Lang, Great Grampa Faiman and Grampa Bob all served in the military in their younger days.

So, how exactly did we spend the day? Well, you slept all morning, went to Gramma Debbie's, went over Great Gramma's for a bit in the afternoon then fussed all night. I think you were so overtired from a long weekend and you were just fighting sleep! You were quite a handful once we got home from all of our errands. You ended up sleeping with us last night. For once, I didn't even notice you were with us - just felt your head in my back every once and awhile. Your dad was up a lot checking on you though :)

Tomorrow is Daddy's birthday but we have done a lot of celebrating already! I made him breakfast two days, he had his favorite cake, he had special ordered ice cream, we went to Outback, he got a card from you in the mail and we bought him a flying lesson where he will get to fly the plane. So, tomorrow, we will give him a happy birthday smooch, send him texts with photos during your photo shoot and that is it :) Next up - Father's day. Man, these back to back celebrations are difficult!

Here is your photo for today - you hanging out with daddy at outback!

May 29 - May 30

WOWWEE - it was a long weekend wasn't it buddy! You should be just plain wiped out! You saw so many people and played so hard with so few nappies!

On Saturday, we went to Little Kory's graduation party where you saw all of your Lang & Naven family. You got a few pictures taken with Baby Jake. Then, we went shopping with Auntie Val and you hung out with Great Gramma and Auntie Val while we went to Babies R Us and dinner. When we picked you up, you were SO MAD at me. You did not want to be moved to go into your carrier! You screamed at me and it took me 3 tries to get you back to sleep in your crib.

On Sunday, your stinking mom woke up at 4:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. I went to the store and cooked daddy breakfast before you even woke up. We took a nappie together from 9-10:30. What I don't understand is why you like to be so sucked up next to me when we are both sweating like fools :) We took our nappie back to back and both of our backs were just wet with sweat when we woke up. Your little patch of hair on the back of your head was dripping. But, you never moved from my back to cooler places :) After your nappie, Kylie shark wanted to hang out with you and you had fun! You played outside with Tucker, Jeremy and Kylie. You gnawed on her fingers. You took a short nappie then it was off to Gramma Lang's for Uncle Zachary's party. We tried a new food - sweet potatoes with apples. You ate a ton and made a big mess at Gramma's. For the rest of the day, you played, cried and generally avoided sleep because there was too much going on all around you! We brought you home around 8:30 and thought you would just crash immediately. WRONG. Your daddy was holding you and you started going crazy with your legs. You wanted to bouncy bounce! You were in your bouncer for an hour going nuts. It was like you had gone through withdrawal for 2 days and needed some bouncy bounce time.

Something new these past few days - you are really starting to notice the dogs. You reach out to touch them and pull their hair. You watch them running around. Kylie said you liked touching Tucker! So far, all of them have been really patient with you. Speaking of hair, you really like to pull everyone's hair now. OUCH. You also seemed more aware of Baby Jakey - you were looking at him and reaching out to touch him too.

I have lots of photos for you from this weekend!!

Little Kory's graduation party. Look at Baby Jake's smile!


Your Uncle Zachary - the guest of honor on Sunday.



Big Baby Jakey smile, fussy pants Lijah.



Someone flipped your hat over and it was so darn cute!


Great Gramma with both her boys!


Both grampas with fussy pants boys! Jakey hiding his face and you a fussy pants!


We bought you a swing for our house but we ended up installing it at Grammas. Uncle Jeff helped move the hooks so it fit. The family consensus is that all of your cousins swung from those very hooks :) You were sleeping so we tested it out on Baby Jake first. He seemed to like it but he probably would have liked it more if we didn't wake him up to test it.


You liked it too as long as it wasn't going too fast. When it went too fast, you got all tense like your mommy does on rides. Your daddy doesn't believe me but I think that you are not going to enjoy rides like he does. I think you are going to be a wussy thing like your mommy :) I also think you liked everyone standing around and giving you lots of attention while you were on the swing!!

May 24 - May 28

Hi Baby!
It sure does seem like we had a crazy week. We had 3 days where I didn't even take a picture. We were taking a break from snapping a camera in your face every minute :)
This week, you were more talkative than ever! You were non-stop talking. On Tuesday, you went over Grampa Keith's and Heather's and they said it was the most you ever talked. Gramma Debi D came over and watched you while we went to a concert. When we got home, you were awake so we threw you in bed with us and you just started talking up a storm. I think you were even talking in your sleep!!

On Thursday, we had big drama in the neighborhood. There was a car accident in front of our house and the whole neighborhood was outside. You loved watching all the people and the cop lights! You love being a part of the action. Mary said you have to be isolated when you eat because you get too excited with the kids and won't eat. We also tried carrots on Thursday. You have made it out of the orange foods and into the greens now!

On Friday, you had to go to the doctor as Mary thought you had thrush. You got a big dose of medicine and had a big purple mouth. It was kind of funny :) Then, you hung out with Great Gramma and Auntie Val while we went out to a movie.

As I was finishing writing this, you needed some food and some rocking. You snuggled up on my lap and we rocked you to sleep. Sometimes, I get frustrated wanting you to fall asleep sooner but I realized something the other night. I only have a few precious moments in life where you are going to want to be in my lap and having me rock you. Pretty soon, you will be too big for that and eventually, be too cool to snuggle with your mom! So, my outlook has changed and I relaxed while we rocked together and smooched you up!

We have a busy few days coming up - Little Kory's graduation party, Uncle Zachary's graduation party, Daddy's birthday on Tuesday. I am thinking we may try the pool on Monday if is warm enough. Hopefully, your mommy will stop being so lazy and get the camera back out :)

Here you are as our Orange-carrot-oompa loompa (your dad sings that song to you and you just laugh). When you were done eating, you had carrots in your eyes, up your nose, on your forehead - all over. :)

Then, here you are as our purple oompa loompa.

May 22 - May 23

Hi Lijah!
We had a whirlwind weekend didn’t we? Saturday, we ran errands, did an unsuccessful photo shoot, went to a graduation party and then walked around Village Point for a bit. It was so nice for all of your daddy’s family to see you on Saturday – all those Morris girls loved you up! You know what the best part was? You weren’t scared of any of them! You will just hang out with anyone who is showing you love. Eventually, we will have to have the stranger danger talk but, for right now, I really like that you aren’t scared of people you don’t know. Although, that does remind me of a story that your dad told me. On Saturday, you hung out with him for a bit at the bank. An employee that I really despise came up to talk to you and you started screaming. So, it isn't that you love ALL people, you just have really good taste :)

On Sunday, you hung out at Gramma Ruth’s house while your Grampa, daddy and I went to your Uncle Zachary’s graduation. I think you enjoyed all of the dogs and seeing your cousin. I noticed something for the first time yesterday – we might have to start early in teaching you how to share. I was holding you and your cousin Tyler was playing with one of your toys. You would not take your eyes off of that toy for the entire time. You were almost throwing daggers at him. I bet that all of your friends at daycare will help with learning how to share too. Afterwards, we went to see Great Gramma Lang for a bit since you missed your date with her on Friday. You were rolling all over the kitchen table then Gramma busted out a new treat for you – she found a walker at the thrift store for you. We plopped you in it and you were content playing with the toys. I have a feeling that Great Gramma’s, Grampa’s and Gramma Debbie’s houses are all going to end up being filled with your stuff soon!

Last night, I was pondering some things in my head and came up with a really important fact for myself. I am about to get deep on you. You won’t care now, but, maybe when you are older, some of this will resonate with you. See, your mom has a hard time shutting her brain down at night. I constantly think things through, get myself all worked up and then wonder why I don’t sleep well! Another few downfalls of mine are that I take things way too personally, get my feelings hurt too easily and invest myself too much in things that shouldn’t matter to me. When I whine to your cousin Brandi, she will basically blow me off on a lot of things because they don’t impact her life and they are a waste of her time. I see what she is saying but I don’t know how to turn myself into that person so I came up with an ingenius plan last night. First off, I asked myself what the most important things in my life were. Obviously, that answer is you and your dad. Then, I looked at all of the events in my life that were bothering me and I put them through a new litmus test – do these issues have anything to do with you or impact your life (positively or negatively)? If not, then they need to be swept away and ignored. It wasn’t too long after that, I fell asleep. I think it is going to take practice on my part but I need to step back and invest my time in what matters the most to me – my kiddo!

The other thing I came up with is that I spend too much time investing in stupid computer stuff like facebook and twitter. I realized that it doesn’t really matter to me what my high school classmates are doing – I went 17 years without hearing from them so I don’t really need to hear from them now! That is time that I could spend hanging out with you, maybe exercising or *gasp* cleaning the house. There are people on facebook that I am truly invested in – most of your family (on both sides) are on there so I had a slight bit of a panic when I thought of how much I may miss. But, your wise cousin Jeremy popped into my head. Sometime in the past year, he had told me that he doesn’t read your blog because if I have something truly important for him to know, I will email him directly. I realized that if people truly have something important that they want us to know, they will tell us in a more personal matter than facebook! So, I deleted both of those accounts.

There you have it buddy – some of your mom’s rambling thoughts. I haven’t shared those with you in ages. We just get so busy with the everyday stuff – playing with you, keeping up with you, etc.

Now, here are your photos for these two days:
Saturday – taking a nappy with your daddy. He ate breakfast while I gave you a bottle then you both crashed on the bed. And, I am adding two from our failed photo shoot. It failed because you were tired & fussy. It also failed because it was supposed to be a surprise for your daddy’s birthday next week and he accidentally saw the photos in my email.


I love this first one - it is like you are just lounging in your bumbo!



Sunday – we did sweet potatoes today & you liked those a lot more than the squash. You opened your mouth every time the spoon came near you & you didn’t spit as many out. It was our best feeding session yet!

May 18 - May 21

Hi baby!
Not a ton to tell this week buddy. You visited Grampa and Heather for a bit on Tuesday. On Wednesday, you hung out with Gramma Debbie while dad & I went out on a date. We walked down for tacos on Thursday.

Today has been a weird day buddy. You went to bed last night at 8:00 and slept all the way until 7. That wasn't a big deal but you hadn't eaten since 5. You slept 13+ hours without eating so I was a bit worried about you. After you ate, you came into bed with me and talked to me for about 10 minutes then you crashed. I woke you up to change your clothes so you could go to Mary's. You crashed immediately again. You had never done that before and you felt a little warm so we kept you home with me. When I called Mary, she said that one of your friends at daycare was also sick this week. We did OK on our own today. You ate, slept a TON, played on your mat and played on your exersaucer. it was a big rotation between those activities. It was difficult for me to juggle you and get my work done but we made it. Definitely not something I would want to do everyday but we made it through. Because you stayed home, we missed our date with Great Gramma. We are going to go visit her this weekend.

This week, you have been on your tummy 80% of the time. No matter how many times we flip you, you roll immediately back over then you holler at us because you are on your tummy. This week was also the first week you seemed to enjoy the exersaucer that Gramma Ruth brought you. You are such a big boy - your dad and i can't believe it!

Next week, you are going to be 5 months old. it is amazing to think that you are that old. We will have to revisit your goals for last month and see how you did. :)
Monday - daddy playing with you in your Be Green onesie


You look so big in these photos since you are standing up. Daddy is just balancing you - you are holding your own weight!



Tuesday - It takes a lot of concentration for you to play on your mat. I was trying to get artistic on you and get some shots of your and also of you in the mirror.



Wednesday


Thursday - you are almost too big for your bath tub. Means daddy and I have to get the real tub ready for you.


Friday - in between your long naps and eating, you played

May 17

Hi Lijah!
I have a new story that we will share with your fiancee down the line! Tonight, we did food (no further progress on the squash) and a bath. Our routine in the tub is that I fill a cup with your bath water and I pour the water on your belly. You shake a bit in shock then you purr. So, we settled in and entered our routine and life is going good. Then, I look in the cup right before I pour it on you and, ummm... there were ummmmm....floaties in the cup. You were so relaxed and comfortable that you decided to let lose. We had to hurry up and get you rinsed off and dried off. Despite being gross, your dad and I had a hearty laugh.

Like I told you yesterday, you have kind of been a fussy pants lately and we don't know why. Today was really no different. In the blink of an eye, you were a fussy pants!! I have been trying to do what I did when you were a newborn - squeeze you really tight in the rocker so you can't move your arms or legs then sing to you. I know that I don't have a good voice and won't do karaoke unless I have had too many margaritas. But, it soothes you a little bit. I wonder if you remember it from when you were a newborn and it makes you feel better. I don't know if it really does soothe you or if it is in my head but it makes me feel better that my voice helps you feel better.

I took some pictures of you today in your Be Green onesie from your cousin Brandi. I don't know that she expected you to be in your 9 month onesie so quickly :) I went through your clothes and started pulling out your 6-9 month stuff that was long sleeve because you won't be wearing them much longer as the weather gets warmer.

Talk to you soon, monkey!

Photo Catch up

Hi Buddy,
I have been behind on adding your photos so here are the ones from last week.
Monday
Last minute lame photo in your bed! You roll all over now. We never know how we are going to find you in the morning. I kind of like this one because you don't have too many shots of the back of your head and your hair :)

Tuesday
Hanging out on your boppy.

Wednesday
Still working on training you to hold your own stinkin bottle :)

Thursday
Trying to train you to chew on your teether rather than people. Little Brecken at daycare told Mary that you "Bite me, bite me...."

Friday
Hanging out with daddy on the love sac after our walk in the neighborhood.

Saturday
Playing on your mat and looking like a big boy!

Sunday
Your Squash adventure!

May 13 - May 16

Hi baby!
Your mom kind of deserted you this week, didn't I? On Thursday, I had book club. On Friday, I had an appointment until 7:30 then we went for a walk together. On Saturday, I had to work and today, we just hung out. You and your dad had some quality time together all week.

We tried something new today - we gave you squash baby food. You seemed to do better with it than you do your cereal. You made funny faces but you ate quite a few bites. Next up is carrots or sweet potatoes in 3 days. Can't wait to go to farmers market and get you some good veggies this summer.

You have been out of sorts these past two days. You are a bit fussy. We don't know if you are coming down with something, teething, or what. Today, we just didn't know what to do with you - kind of like when you were a little baby!

You are definitely a pro at rolling from your back to your front but then you get really crabby because you can't get back over! It is so weird for me to put you on your mat and then turn around to see you on your tummy with your arms pushing up and your head looking all over.

Finally, we have decided you are a genius. Last night, you took your pacifier out of you mouth and put it in mine. Then, you took it out of my mouth and put it in yours. Granted, you haven't mastered getting it in nipple first but I was amazed that you made the connection of your mouth, my mouth and that is where your pacifier goes.

Well baby, not a busy week but we are busy for a few weekends - graduations, parties, holiday then vacation!!

May 11 - May 12

Hi buddy!
We are getting so boring around here - work/daycare, eat, sleep! You have been working through a new sleeping schedule so you have been getting up once a night to eat. That is ok as we work out the kinks. Your mom read a book that we should put you in your crib whenever you look tired so you get better naps and that you should be sleeping 12 hours a night! I think that you want to sleep that long but you also need food. When you wake up periodically, it isn't to play, it is to eat. I have noticed in the last 2 weeks or so, you certainly do know your bottle & you are getting more coordinated in reaching for it. I was walking from your room to ours to get you settled to feed you. I had my arm under your bum and you were looking over my shoulder. I had your bottle in my hand and you twisted yourself all around (bent down, forward and to the right) to get to it! I didn't realize what you were doing then you CRACKED me up!

The other thing going on recently is your total love of your bouncy. You will play on your mat for 30-45 minutes before you get bored. You will stay in your bouncy for 2 hours before you get bored! It is so funny watching you that your daddy even busted out the video the other night. He said that you were planting your feet, bending your knees and catapulting! We did learn that you only like to play that long when you know one of us is in the room with you!

I do have pictures for you that I will add later - of course, you are always cute but these aren't that spectacular. However, I will add 2 new scrapbook pages for you now.

Talk to you later gator!

May 10

Hi Lijah!
Mommy doesn't have anything to report. I picked you up then I was gone for the evening. You & your daddy had a guys-only night. He fed you, bathed you and put you to bed. We are trying a new sleeping schedule so you were out EARLY and he was lonely for you. My photo for today was just you sleeping in your crib so I figured I would share some scrapbook pages with you instead. Talk to you later gator!

May 4 - May 9

Oh man Elijah - I am so far behind, aren't I? It isn't a reflection of how much fun we are having together but that we are so busy! Let's recap what we did this week -

Tuesday
Nothing much to report this day baby - work, daycare/Grampa Keith's, food, sleep!


Wednesday
Today was the day that I was dreading! We went to the doctor and you got your shots. It was much better than I expected! You didn't scream as much and we didn't get in a lot of trouble with the pediatrician! You weighed 15 lbs 14 oz and were 27.25" long. You are still a tall boy but you went down a bit in the percentile for weight. Guess that means you are well proportioned. Dr. Macklem said that we did a great job of flipping your head and it is now growing exactly where it should be. Yeah mommy & daddy! At night, we went over to the Beaty's house for dinner & you were able to meet Debbie's mom and dad.


Thursday
Fussy pants today because of your shots. For the first time, my phone rang with the special ring tone that meant it was Mary calling. My heart stopped for a second and then I figured you might have a fever with your shots. She just wanted to juice you up with Tylenol to help you feel better! We kept you juiced up at night too so you would sleep through it. Darn it - we hate shots!


Friday
Not a ton to report here either - work, out to eat, juiced you and hoped that you would feel better. It is hard for us to watch you be in discomfort and know that you don't want to be because you smile at us in between those sniffles. Even though it didn't look like it in the picture below, you were mostly fussy with a few spots of happy Lijah. I didn't take you to Great Gramma's because you were fussy pants.

Saturday
We went down to Farmer's Market and walked around a bit then it was all about Baby Jake as we did our photo shoot with him. You slept through most of it but then I think you were a bit out of sorts because you are so used to having your photo taken. :) You still had a touch of fussiness in you because of your shots so we had to juice you up a bit. I am hoping this is the end of it. We went out to dinner and I had the most unreal experience. I had you sitting on the table with my hand in front of you. You started sucking and chewing on my thumb. It was a weird sensation to feel you gumming my thumb and sucking. Kind of like the Sting Rays at Sea World. You sure did love your bouncey today - you were in it for about 2 hours!! It cracks me and your daddy up to watch you.

You & your newest cousin - Baby Jake!


Quick shot of you in your crib while we were taking Baby Jake's photos


My favorite two Baby Jake photos


Sunday
Today was Mommy's day. It was a good day Mister! You & your daddy had some doughnuts for me when I woke up along with a card, flowers and a movie I wanted. He let me sleep in while you two played together. HEAVEN :) You and him went to see Gramma Brigham then we went over Auntie Sheila's for dinner with the Langs. It was a packed house! The highlight of my day was our mini-photos. I really wanted some photos with my son on Mother's Day. And, we even got your daddy involved and some really good photos. Then, we went to see Gramma Debbie. Since I am going out with her tomorrow, our visit was all about her having some Elijah time :) Thank you buddy for being here and treating me to a great Mother's Day.

I have to be really honest with you about something though. During the time that I was by myself, I had a really rough time. For some reason, this Mother's Day was the hardest day yet. You would think that it would be the best Mother's Day ever since my baby is here but realizing how great you are made me sad to know that so many little ones aren't with us. I am not sure if it was because people were so nice to me and said "Happy First Mother's Day." It was great to celebrate my first Mother's day but not the first year I felt like a mommy!