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!

Boston's First Christmas

Santa Claus is one smart guy... he came and visited Boston in Las Vegas this year! Boston went to sleep on Christmas Eve in his new reindeer jammies, had a blow out, and had to be changed, so we didn't get any pics of him in his Christmas jammies =(. Oh, well. When Boston awoke on Christmas morning, it appeared that Santa left him several presents!

Boston really enjoyed helping Mommy unwrap his gifts! I would get a corner started, and he would grab the paper and rip. Then he would try to eat it!

Boston got two Mickey Mouse Clubhouse movies from Santa this year! I'm sure his attention span will only last a few minutes on them now, but in the future he will probably be even more happy to have them. He did watch for about 10 mintues or so on Christmas morning while I packed. Such a cutie pie!

I love it! And I want to eat it!

Here's Boston and Daddy, anxiously awaiting more gift opening!

Cool wrapping paper, Dad. But I think I like your thumb better! Boston has been going to town on fingers lately. His own fingers, Mark's fingers, my fingers, whatever he can get. If you hold his hand, watch out. It's going in his mouth!

OK, I guess I'll try the teether, even though I was perfectly happy with your thumb!

This picture cracks me up! Mark is like, "Oh! What could it be?!"

Don't really care about my rattle, Dad. I've got your finger again!

Here it looks like Boston is pretty in to opening this present. Check out the determined look on his face.

Cool! Links! I love them, Dad!

But I think I would be happy with just the wrapping paper, as well.

OK, bud, just one more present to go!

Oh, I'm so happy mom!

I can eat this, too!

Looks like Santa brought Boston a pretty good haul this year! Teethers, and rattles, and movies! Yeah!

So what happens after an exhausting morning of opening Santa's presents? Sacked out! And just so everyone is aware, I monitored this nap while I packed up the entire time to make sure Boston wasn't being smothered... I am kinda freaky about stuff like that!

We just love this little boy so much and enjoy every second we have with him!

Boston and James

So the other day, we were looking at old pics on our computer, when we stumbled upon this:

At first, we thought, how did one of Boston's pictures get in with these old ones? And since when does Boston use a pacifier? Then we realized that this is NOT Boston, this is James! This picture was taken almost exactly one year ago when we were visiting my sister Nikki in California. I was just barely pregnant with Boston, and little Jamesy was about 4 months old, Boston's age now. I seriously cannot believe how much this looks like Boston! I think the only difference is that Boston has fatter cheeks!

So this picture is definitely not the best comparison, but looking through all my pictures, I realized that we really don't have any profile shots of Boston. So if you aren't convinced looking at these pictures, I guess you will just have to take my word for it!

One of the best things about it - James is still a little doll, and it looks like Boston is headed for the same path!

Be Jolly!

We had Boston in his B'JOLLY pj's the other day, but he wasn't being so jolly...Eventually, he decided he was OK...

But then we decided to see how he liked his highchair for the first time. He was, once again, not so jolly!
He did finally warm up to it, though. Too bad we can't say the same for the food we tried to feed him. I really wish this kid would find something he liked to eat!

Doesn't he look so dang cute? I must say I do like his little dangling feet, too!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Indy weather has been getting colder and colder. We have had to pull out the "big guns" when it comes to keeping Boston warm. I had him all ready in his winter get-up and thought he was so stinkin' cute, I just had to take a picture:Don't worry, I also had him bundled in blankets once I got him into his carseat! I love the look on his face - get me out of all this crap, mom!

Yummy Yummy, Oatmeal! (And talking out of my...)

Just before I had Boston, I had a conversation with Cami about "talking out of your butt." She told me how before she had kids, she had several opinions about things she would and wouldn't do when she did have kids. Then she had kids and learned that several of her opinions were just her, "talking out of her butt." I thought about that at the time, and I figured I had realistic opinions and expectations, so I didn't think I was talking out of mine.

Here are several ideas I had (pre-Boston):

1. I will never be one of those parents who cart their baby to the store at night, and the poor baby has to sleep in his carseat while they grocery shop. So selfish... Little did I know, this is probably the most efficient way to shop; Boston is quiet and doesn't need to be entertained. He's still sleeping, so he's not being deprived of that. So the shopping gets done quicker, and Boston never has to get PO'd that he's being pushed all over a store and not being held or played with.

2. I just won't go anywhere in the winter, except to drop the baby off on my way to school and pick him up on the way back home. Right... I think even Boston gets sick of being in the house all day. Just put a nice plush hat on him, some gloves, loads of blankets, and the carseat cover over the top, and he never even knows it's cold outside (although it is a pain to remove all that crap once inside so he doesn't roast).

3. I will never let my poor baby cry for longer than a few minutes without going to get him. I mean, if he's crying, something MUST be wrong... Ha! I laugh at that one now. Sometimes babies just cry. Actually, I think sometimes babies just LIKE to cry. Not that I let Boston scream and scream without attending to him. But if it takes him ten or twenty minutes to fall asleep, so be it. I know he's been fed and changed, so he's fine!

4. Why do parents let their babies get SO messy when they eat? I will never do that. It's not like it's THAT hard to scoop up what they spit out before it gets all over the place. I mean, come on! Yep, guilty of that one, too. And here's the picture to prove it!

Boston actually quite liked the oatmeal this time (I fed it to him in his swing), but of course, spits out as much as he gets in. And then takes his hands and smears the already-existing mess into an even bigger mess. But I'll never let my kids do that, right?

Bumbo Love (or hate)

Boston totally hates his bumbo chair. He is such a turd! This is not a case of "Oh, the poor baby isn't strong enough to hold his head up so he's flopping all around..." He is perfectly capable of holding his head completely steady himself - he sits on my lap unassisted all the time. Actually, he can even sit up completely if I just hold his hands. But the second you put him in his bumbo chair, he arches his back like no tomorrow to try and get out of it! We were trying to get a picture of him in this little outfit that one of Mark's patients got him, so we put him in the bumbo. And, of course, he kicks his legs out and arches his back.

"No, mom, I don't want to sit up in this chair... I want out!" In this picture, he is totally pushing (hard) against my hand. Such a strong willed little baby!

"Get me outta here!" Shortly after I took this, he started yelling at me. He totally kills me - he is very particular with what he likes and doesn't like. And apparently the bumbo is like the bottle - he CAN do it, he just won't!