For all y'all who thought we exaggerated...

Here's proof of how much snow we have had!Check out those scary icicles... (Does that totally look like it's spelled wrong? Icicles?) And you've gotta love the snow all over the camera lense.

Snow all the way up to the window sills... (Sill? That looks wrong too...) with Starkisha looking on from the inside.

And to give you some context, there's Mark standing by the big heap of snow... up to his thighs! He's had so much fun shoveling it, like, five times this month! Let it snow, I guess...

La-la, la-la, ELMO'S WORLD!

OK, here's a real post. Enough of the nasties, bring on the cute! We gave Boston his bath yesterday and put him in his Elmo towel. I have to admit this has been sitting in the bottom of his hamper untouched for several months. Not because I am behind on his laundry. On the contrary, Boston's stuff gets washed and put away much more quickly than ours (if it didn't, he would probably grow out of it before we got around to it). The reason this cute little Elmo towel has not been used is because it has to be washed SEPARATELY (ugh!) or else everything in the wash gets red fuzz balls on it. But I decided it was time to do a special laundry batch for this towel, because I knew Boston would look so cute wrapped up in it. I was right.

This is Boston showing off his mad sitting-up skills. He's not leaning back against the couch - that's why he's lunged so far forward. Cute for the camera though.

Here it looks like he's trying to give a teaser peep show! Ta-da! Here I am!

I love his little toes hanging out the bottom. And, of course, his cute little arms, chest and tummy!OK, mom, I'm really tired from sitting up for these pictures. I think I'll lie down and chew on my towel (a habit he has picked up from night-night time with his blankie, which he loves!). So how's that for better than a nasty, dirty house?

A prettier picture...

...and sanity restored.

Feeling like a SLAVE (to dental school)!

SO... Kristin comes walking into the family room with her lunch all ready to eat (toast, and yogurt with granola). I am thinking, oh, that looks pretty good. Then I start to notice what she is using to eat it (a rubber spatula) and what the yogurt is in (a mug). [Note the stack of bright orange cards on the back of the couch - those are flash cards and will make sense later.]

Now you may be wondering... Why the odd use of these items? Well, here is the picture to show exactly why.

Look at that hell hole of a kitchen. You may wonder who in their right mind would live with such a mess. The answer is nobody, in their right mind. We lost our right minds a few weeks ago, shortly after signing up for board exams and intiating our final semester of dental school. This represents the sad existence of two beyond-stressed-out dental students, trying to study for boards, take care of a six-month-old, and struggling to graduate on time. Kristin has had to face the fact that her days of putting in "part-time" at school are over if she ever wants to graduate. So, with school from 9-5, quality time with Boston until he goes down for the night (around 9 or 10), and attempting to study for boards, it seems there hasn't been much time for anything else. So weekends are our "catch up" days. Hopefully we'll be able to post a prettier picture by the end of today.

Six Month Well Check

Boston turned six months old on Feb 6, and today we had his well check. He weighed in at exactly 20 lbs (80th percentile), he is 27.5 in tall (75th percentile), and his head circumference is 18.25 in (97th percentile). So he's just a big guy all around. He got his shots today and showed us (and the medical assistant) just how strong his lungs are. I've never seen him cry like that. It was so sad. Real tears and everything. Luckily he won't need vaccines again until he's two. Glad to be done with that for awhile. One funny thing is, we always get a handout on what your child should be doing at this age. Today it said that putting him to sleep with a stuffed animal or favorite blankie can help settle him and make bedtime easier. We were always so worried to have anything with him in the crib, because until now they say any loose anything in the crib can suffocate him. But with the go ahead, we decided to let him take a nap with his little mallard duck that Vickie got him and his extra soft blankie from Jena. He went right to sleep without protest, and when we checked on him he was asleep with the duck right up by his face. So stinking cute! So once again, for bedtime tonight, I put him in with his blankie and duck. He was very excited when I handed him the duck after I laid him down. He immediately grabbed it from me and started sucking on it. A few minutes later I went back in to find him asleep right up next to his duck again. He's getting so big!

(And yes, that is him asleep for the night in his pack and play. Mark and I - or maybe just I - still cannot bear to have him in his own room. I just feel secure knowing he's right there, and all I need to do is lean over to really check on him. Or maybe I just want him to stay a tiny little baby. Either way, our little guy still bunks with us.)

almost SIX MONTHS

We are a couple days shy of six months today, but I had to snap some pics of Boston. He is getting so dang big and just gets cuter by the day. He has his six month check-up on Monday, so I will post his stats then, but here's what he's been up to lately...

He has one tooth. It is barely just cutting through, but it's there! It's tooth "O," or the bottom left front tooth. He has been a little cranky with it, but not too bad yet.

He absolutely loves food. Can I get a Halelujah?! He is slightly picky with it (imagine that!)... He has to have his veggies mixed with rice and his fruits mixed with oatmeal. He hates the runny consistency of the baby foods themselves, and he hates the taste of the cereals themselves. At least, that's what he told me... But when you mix them together, my little boy just dives for the food! It's the cutest thing ever. He really goes to town!

He still loves his play gym as much as ever, although we have been trying to encourage the exersaucer a little more. He does OK with it but doesn't love it yet. He does really like his swing now, which is nice. But still the by far favorite is the play gym.

He can sit up for about 30 seconds or so by himself, but then he tumbles forward (or sideways). We'll keep working at it.

He still HATES being on his tummy, and as a result, he has yet to roll from back to tummy. Because he doesn't want to be on his tummy. Stinker!

He still sleeps really well. Don't know that it could get much better, actually. He is on a great schedule for us: he goes down between 9-10 PM, which gives us time with him at night after school. He usually wakes up once, around 5 AM, then sleeps until 7 or 8 (I actually have to get him up to feed him before school sometimes, because weekends he'll sleep until 9 or so). He takes a good morning nap and a good afternoon nap. And I get to spend time with him at lunch, in between when he's awake. So most of his waking hours, I am with him, which makes me feel much better about being at school.

We are, as always, just loving this little boy to pieces. And I really can't believe he is six months! Where has the time gone?!

Oh, and something I've thought I should add. I've seen a lot of people's blogs who list their baby's nicknames. Well, Boston has a lot of them. Hopefully I remember them all...

Here are the ones frequently used:

Sir (or any variation thereof, little sir, sir baby, baby sir, etc)

Lewby-Lew (or Lewby, or Lew)

Turd (usually Turd-bird, sometimes little turdie, turdie-birdie, etc)

Bean (or little Bean, baby Bean, Beanie baby, Beanie butt, etc)

Ones used, but not quite as frequently:

Bubba (or bubba guy, little bubba, etc)

Little Man

There are many, many more, but those are the ones that come to mind. We love our little Lewby-Lew (that one is Boston's favorite - he always laughs when we call him that)!

Boston - Bean and Red Sox

Boston is finally big enough (or his head is) to fit into his Red Sox hat. He totally doesn't mind wearing it, and he is so dang cute in it!

What a little stud, right?!

My little Bean makes the Sox look good!

And I thought one little "hoodlum" shot would be fun... He didn't really like his hat turned sideways though. He started fussing as soon as I did it!

I love this cute little boy! Sometimes I just can't get enough of him!

Scissors and Insomnia

I got my hair cut Saturday... but it didn't look like this. Saturday night, I got two hours sleep.

I'm getting ready for church early Sunday morning, and I decide the "side bangs" my stylist cut aren't short enough. They are almost as long as my hair, so what's the point? So I take matters (or scissors) into my own hands. I grab the hunk of side bangs, and I cut. Only, I cut the wrong angle. So now they're longer in the middle than the sides. That just won't do, I think. So I "fix" it. Only, now they are so short that they just stick straight out. Not to mention that even if I can get them to lay flat, there's just this random hunk of about an inch wide of very short hair. That won't do either, and I'm late for church. Mark comes in and looks like he is going to crap a brick. Yup, it's that bad. So I do a little twistie in the front of my hair, secure it with, like, five bobbie pins, and pray it will hold. I'll figure it out after church.

At church, people tell me my hair looks cute, and I want to cry, cuz I know the truth.

I get into the car on the way home from church and undo the bobbie pins. Oh, no! It's worse than I thought. It looks about an inch long. Crap! There's no coming back from that. I pray it just looks that bad because it's been all rolled up in the bobbie pins.

I get home and get my hair all wet, willing it to grow... OK, now that it's wet, it just grazes my eyebrows. Maybe I can work with that... So I cut full on bangs. I get them all blown dry, and they are super short and won't lay flat. Crap. So I get them wet again, slather them with mousse, gel, wax, you name it. I guess I can live with the result (above) until they get a little longer. If anyone at school asks, though, it was very much intentional. I just needed a change. Change I got.

White Trash Mommy

As you read this post, keep in mind it's about 30 degrees in Indy today... So my afternoon patient canceled today, which meant I got to stay home with Boston (yea!). I had lots of errands to run, so I decided Boston and I would just take Mark into school, do our errands, and then come back to get him when he finished. It started off great. We did our first errand, and Boston was perfectly happy even being in the car. Then it got even better - Boston fell asleep in the car, so I decided it would be good to just go sit outside the dental school and study while Boston slept. About a half hour passes, so far so good. Then I realize I have to go to the bathroom... really bad. If you know my family, you know almost all of us get "spells," AKA gastrointestinal attacks that mean you need to find a bathroom, and pronto. I tried to ignore it for a few minutes (bad idea). Finally, I realized I needed to go, NOW! And I prayed and prayed I would even make it inside! So I dragged poor sleeping Boston into the school bathroom. He wakes up hungry and wants to eat, NOW! So I feed him (yes, right there in the bathroom). He's eating and all of a sudden lets out a huge fart that I just KNOW is a blowout. So I go and change him. Yep, it's a blowout. Luckily I always keep a spare outfit in my diaper bag. I decide to go to a more appropriate location to finish nursing him (the coat closet in our dean's office, AKA the "lactation station"). Just as he's finishing, guess what? Another HUGE toot! So I change him, again. And find that he blew out, again. Only this time, I don't have a THIRD outfit for him. So I get him all cleaned up, and this is how he looks:

Yep, that's certainly picture (and blog) worthy. As I'm getting him all put in his carseat, he starts crying (remember, he was rudely awakened from a deep sleep so that mommy could have a spell in the nasty bathroom prior to all this fun). So our dean comes out of his office to check Boston out (he has seven kids of his own, so he loves kids) and sees him sitting there with no pants. I have to defend myself, explaining that I do not make a habit of bringing my baby out in the dead middle of winter, with no pants. So I tell him what happened, and he just laughs. Actually, come to think of it, I think Boston has had a blowout every time I have fed/changed him at school. Just never two blowouts. So word to the wise: always carry TWO changes of outfits in your bag. Lesson learned.

Oh, and as an aside, I had several blankets with me, so Boston was perfectly warm on the trek back to the car...

FIVE MONTHS OLD

I cannot believe my baby is five months old! The time is just flying by WAY too quickly. I took him into the doctor about a week ago, (he ended up having a sinus infection, nothing contagious) and he weighed in at 19 lb! I can't believe he is so BIG! There was a new medical assistant there who just went nuts over him (who wouldn't?). We have had to get out, yet again, more of his bigger clothes the past couple days. He just transitioned over to Carter's 9 months onesies, Gerber 12 month onesies, and most of his clothes are 6-9 or 6-12 months. So big! He is the cutest dang thing in the world, if I do say so myself. And here's proof: He is such a joy to be around everyday. I relish every second I have with him! Here's what Boston has been up to lately:

1. He still loves his little play gym, but now he really gets going on it! He grabs the toys and shakes them with such force that the whole gym moves back and forth. At the same time he has his little legs kicking a hundred miles an hour. It scares the crap out of Daisy! She won't go by him when he really gets going!

2. Where he used to give me "open mouth" kisses, he now sticks his tongue out every time I go to kiss him! He has learned to mimic me when I stick my tongue out at him, and he just loves it!

3. His talking and coo-ing has turned very LOUD. Now he just babbles to himself, in a very loud and low voice, as he plays. He even tends to do this as he is being rocked to sleep - he'll turn into me and start babbling loudly as he lets his eyes shut. It's so loud that I had to take him out of church for doing it!

4. He is eating solid foods fairly well now. I have discovered that he likes things to be the consistency of mashed potatoes. Actually, he would just eat mashed potatoes all day if I would let him. But if I mix his oatmeal or rice cereal to that consistency, he does well with it. I think it is for this same reason that his favorite vegetable is peas. They are a lot thicker than the other baby veggies.

It is so hard to be away from him each day, but it is nice to know I am leaving him with someone I trust and someone who enjoys taking care of him (thanks, Jessica). He has come up with a pretty nice schedule, though, since we came back from Vegas. He now goes to sleep around 11pm, pretty much sleeps for Jessica most of the morning, then I pick him up for lunch, bring him back an hour or two later, and he takes another afternoon nap. I really hope this continues, because then he is pretty much awake the entire time I have him, which I love! And I think it makes it nice for Jessica, too. I just love this kid so much! I am really praying that I can find a job that lets me stay at him with him a little more. I would love nothing more than to just be a mommy right now, and nothing else!