1st Chritmas!!

I cannot believe that the Booger's 1st Christmas has come and gone! I have a whole post-ful of 1sts he's mastered lately as he ridiculously quickly approaches his 1st birthday! Still working on wrapping my head around that...

1st and foremost though... the joys of his 1st Christmas. Amidst teasing from his daddy and his uncle, I helped a very distracted, uninterested, impatient baby go through his stocking and unwrap his gifts. Note to self: practice opening gifts this month, so he can open his birthday presents... He was surrounded by his cousins' easily accessible, conveniently unwrapped toys, so really- why bother with all that work unwrapping? Come on, Mom!

He did well going through his stocking in the beginning- he got the idea of reaching in and pulling things out. Alas, after he found a couple fun board books, and I wouldn't let him eat the animal crackers, he was over it. So we moved on- the result:

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Favorite Florida Fotos!

We had a wonderful time and were terribly unhappy to return to snowy, cold Michigan. Especially when we noticed the snow halfway up our fence and had to literally dig our way in! *Insert sobs here*

I have an exorbitant amount of pictures to share from Florida, so I thought I would start with a few of my favorites. I'll share more after I spend what I am sure will be hours with Smilebox!

Look at those teeth!

This is one of the few happy moments in the sand!

Two for Twosday

Lucky treat! (Or maybe not..)
A picture of the Booger and I.
In ....Panama City Beach Florida! Woohoo

Don't mind the sleeve o' drool.. he was getting hungry and apparently my sleeve seemed delicious.

We arrived yesterday after a long overnight drive. He did so well, but was absolutely ready to be out of his seat by the time we approached the strip. After we settled in and ate lunch, we went for a drive to see what there was to see. We have lots to do on our list, but decided to stop at a fun outdoor mall, and just wandered and chatted with the nicest people- all of whom the baby had to wave at.

He's napping now, (he's a little tired since he woke up at 4:30) then we are off to wave at more friendly Florida folks.

Don't forget to stop by Deanne's for other Two-fers! Happy Tuesday!

Baby Picture Sundays

This week's Baby Picture Sunday theme is Peace on Earth. Nothing makes me feel more peaceful than cuddling up with my boys. Here are some of my favorites.

Stop by Debi's for some more peaceful pics!

Cuddling right away, only a few minutes old.

Warm and cozy after a bath.

Cuddled up in his seat.

Cuddled up with daddy.

Smiley Joe

This is the best thing to come home to every night. And I am very much looking forward to having both of my boys to myself for 6 whole days in sunny, beautiful Florida! Picture these huge smiles on my face right now too. (These are so much cuter though, I thought you'd enjoy them more.)

Check out those chompers!

He hasn't let me get a picture of his teeth- and I got two in one night!

And the famous nose scrunch- also hard to capture

He's gonna be fighting them off with a stick!

Ahh, *contented sigh* that's all I am thinking right now. All is right with my world. (I'll return to conquering all things wrong in the rest of the world later...) My bachelor's degree is officially completed as of 3:00 tomorrow, I have a signed teaching contract, and great people to work with after Christmas break, and the best boys in the whole world here with me. Can it get any better? The great thing is, I know it can, and I am so looking forward to it.

Thanks so much to my wonderful husband who has helped and supported and put up with me over the last thousand years while I've been in school and juggling school, work and being a wife. He's been patient and sweet, and somehow did not strangle me in my sleep. Not that he didn't have plenty of opportunities- I often fall asleep first!

Of course, thanks rightly go to the rest of my family too. I am lucky to have supportive, loving parents who often reminded me that I was doing well, and there was an end in sight, especially when it really didn't seem like it. My sister offered lots of advice and help from her own experience along the way. And my big brothers- one of whom started school after I did, and somehow managed to finish first. Mom and Dad raised us well and we all look out for and cheer for one another.

I hope all is just as terrific for the rest of you, especially going into the holidays. If not- just remember you get to look at the sweet smiles of your little loved ones (even the furry ones), and bask in that wonderfulness for a few minutes.

Stay tuned for some warm sunshiney pictures. We'll wish you were there!

Two for Twosday

A boy and his monkey...

Poor thing- just along for the ride.

Be sure to check out Deanna's blog and all the other Two-fers.

And now for the fun stuff

Now for some Booger updates, I know you’re really waiting for those.

The rough spots, at the moment, he is getting over an ucky virus. The poor thing ran a fever for a couple days. His daddy has been taking great care of him, the poor boys have been cooped up in the house from Wednesday to Saturday. Despite all of this, he was a pretty pleasant baby. Lots of cuddling, sleeping, and tylenol and not much eating or playing.

On the bright side, the rash he has had under his chin and on his neck was diagnosed as eczema, but with lotion and a prescription cream, has cleared up beautifully. His little neck looks so sweet and soft now.

And on the fun side, he is learning and doing more and more every minute! It is so much fun, and just so amazing all of the little things that make up this terrific little person.
Let me list the ways…

1. He gives kisses on demand. Even to his monkey. (Thanks Grandma!)

2. He will blow kisses to Daddy if Mommy lets him use her hand. (This is super cute, but yet to be caught on camera).

3. He has attempted to stand on his own a few times- with a few brief moments of success.

4. He is cruising along furniture like there’s no tomorrow.

5. He is talking up a storm and signing ‘more’ and ‘what’

6. He scrunches up his nose when he thinks something is funny.
**See below for #' s 5 and 6

7. He understands everything you say to him-we’ll see how long that skill lasts.

8. He feeds himself, and loves just about everything. He is our son after all, why wouldn’t he love to eat?

9. He thinks it is hilarious when you make monkey and cow noises (not simultaneously, but I imagine that would be a hit too).

10. He insists on wriggling around on his changing table until he has thrown every toy and has his hands on the nose drops….maybe he knows as long as he has them I can’t use them against him…

11. He drinks out of his sippy cup, if we hold it.

12. Yet… he holds his own bottle.

13. He knows how to play peek a boo and will do so with any object that he can- baby gate, door, hands, walls, books.

14. He is super cute!

Celebrate good times!

A few non-Booger updates from the rest of our daily lives. I am finished with my undergrad work!!! It has kept me busy, getting things finished up and turned in, but what a relief! The semester is over next Thursday, graduation is Saturday. I will officially have my Bachelor’s degree. Woohoo!

And to celebrate… we’re going on vacation. Okay, not really for graduation, but the timing is perfect! Let me fill you in. My husband is a wonderful, hardworking, great- at –his- job type of employee and it paid off. He managed to get employee of the year, and we are lucky enough that this is the first year they are paying for a trip to Florida.

Let me remind you- We are not ‘lucky’ like win the lotto lucky, we do not go on vacation. We work hard, but are usually just rewarded with the regular old paycheck and inner satisfaction. So how excited are we!! We got to choose our hotel, and settled on the Sugar Sands Hotel. It is right on the gulf, and there are many things close by that will be fun for all of us. And best of all- neither one of us has to worry about work or school for 6 nights, 7 days. Zippedee doo. In nearly 8 years the only times we have been on vacation together were our honeymoon, and a trip to Traverse City with my sister and BIL.
Lots of pictures will be taken and lots of rays will be soaked up. For now… the count down is on! 7 days and the clock is ticking!

Color Me Red

It's Baby Picture Sunday, and I'm excited to say we're here to play along! I imagine many mommas are showing off some rosy red Christmas pictures. But, last season, the Booger was still floating around in his Christmas free belly residence, so we'll go with these.

My little cueball was right around 4 months old, and if I recall he was figuring out how to switch toys from one hand to the other at that moment.

Stop by Debi's to see all the rest of the red babies!

Now returning...

My oh my! What a busy couple weeks it has been. Forgive me while I catch you up! The Booger turned 10 months old on Thanksgiving. I’ve got some great pictures of Thanksgiving… in my head. Ugh- I completely forgot to bring our camera with us when I packed up for the long weekend. So- the next best thing, I’ll blog all about it before I forget it because we all know how quickly that could happen.

The Booger already appreciates the wonderfulness that comes with pigging out on the holidays. My boy ate like a champ! He fed himself turkey, rolls, green bean casserole, cranberries, and stuffing galore. He gobbled up squash and mashed potatoes, and of course pumpkin pie. And then he reveled in Turkey Day leftovers on Friday.

It was fun to watch him play with, well… near, his cousins. He is just enough older than our last family get together that he paid more attention and was able to keep up with his cousins. It was pretty cute, him and little baby self crawling after them, watching them get up and walk around. He got some good aunt, uncle, grandma, and grandpa loving too.

We relaxed and played all day Friday, then packed it on up to head to Flint for the twinkie’s birthday party on Saturday. He fit in quite well there as well, making himself at home with their toys, crawling over other babies to get at what he wanted.

For all the differences and changes and lack of naps, he was a happy boy and seemed to enjoy his first thanksgiving.

Despite my lack of Thanksgiving pictures, I do have lots of other fun pictures and videos of some of the fun things he has learned lately- which is quite a lot! I’ll keep it coming this time.

Just trying to stay out of trouble

Did you think we got lost? Nope. Just staying out of trouble. Sort of...

Wait for it.... wait for it...

Hey, give me that tail back!

Will return to regularly scheduled blogging... and a multitude of things I've been tagged for...in the near future!

So much to blog about

I have lots of posts roaming around in my head currently. There are tons of sweet little things the Booger is doing that I want to remember. So, I'll start with his newest favorite activity in his room...then a few other fun moments from the past week or so.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Mommy moment Monday

It's Monday. Welcome to the week. Monday isn't so hard after a weekend like we had. It was wonderfully lazy.

The three of us spent all day yesterday in our pj's. We napped and cuddled and ate and played. The Booger was all about cuddling and being cute. It was one big Mommy Moment. Here are some pictures of the fun that's been had lately.

Baby Picture Sunday

I love baby piggies! The Booger has little monkey feet. And, his toes are one trait I can attribute to me. He lookes so much like his Daddy, that they are all I can claim. I can't tell you how many pictures I have of the Booger's toes and hands. I am super excited to come look at all of your little piggies. Stop by Debi's to see else who is playing!

See that little gap? And how the second toe is as long as the first? All me!

A masterpiece

Last week, in all his sickness, the Booger created his first work of art at daycare!



Here it is in it's rightful place on the fridge...

Poor baby, sorry mommy

On top of starting daycare and the time change, my poor son has been (unbeknownst to us) fighting a ear infections. His new trick of tipping his head to the side and looking at us turns out not to be much of a trick... :-(

He's had a runny nose for weeks, but was still himself. Then, he was super cuddly and seemed ucky Tuesday evening, and started a little cough so we decided we'd call the doctor in the morning.

Then, he woke up crying and wheezing and coughing at 2:30 AM! Panic! I roused the on-call doctor for her to listen to him and she successfully calmed me down byreassuring me it sounded croupy, gave me some advice, and told me to call in the morning.

So, I went to the IEP we had scheduled next morning and returned home to whisk him to the doctor. After a screaming, wriggling check up, he was prescribed his first antibiotic (hopefully very few more follow) for not one, but double ear infections! Then we came home and cuddled on the couch all afternoon.

We both felt so bad thinking back about how long he'd been sick, and not noticing that his ears were hurting him for who knows how long. But, we are both enjoying how cuddly and loving he is right now. First time he's stayed still since he learned to crawl.

After a couple days on the antibiotic he is getting back to his normal self. The folks at daycare are now beginning to believe me that my son is a happy, easy-going baby. He's starting to sleep better again, and I am looking forward to the weekend with my boy!

Newsflash!!!

Babies do NOT observe day light savings time!

Dinner: 6:00 pm (formerly 7:00 AKA bedtime) November 2



And: Dinner: 5:00 (formerly 6:00 AKA bath time) November 3

Not again. Is this the way it's always going to be?

What?!?! Another hour until bed time?

Really, Mom, just put me to bed. Seriously.

Hey Big Eyes!

I love Baby Picture Sundays because I have a legitimate reason to spend an uncensored amount of time searching for just the right picture! Thanks for hosting Debi!


The Booger has his Daddy's gorgeous eyes, but it was a waiting game to see what they'd end up as. Everyone, and I mean everyone- my parents, my siblings, and all the grandkids ('cept the Booger) have blue eyes. My sister's twins and my nephew all have beautiful blue peepers. And when the Booger was born his could have gone either way, they changed a bit day to day so you couldn't really tell. Even now, they look a little green on occasion. This is my brown (buggy) eyed boy just after getting his first taste of cereal.

The Booger's first Halloween!

I took a break from the school day and came home to dress the Booger and bring him to school for the parade. He was Captain Adorable for the festivities. I made a cape, but his mask was a no-go. He loved seeing all the kids during the parade, smiling, laughing, and kicking his feet the whole time. We visited some of the classroom parties, which he enjoyed too. Then he played in our classroom until the day ended. He explored and played with lots of things. His signature move of pulling books off the shelf was of course displayed! Then he decided to make a break for it. Right out the door and down the hall. Maybe he was looking for one of the cute babies he saw during the parade? Or he heard the dismissal bell? We'll never know...

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Tired baby

I've been so busy lately, that I haven't blogged about the Booger's first experiences in day care. (Or kept up with the meme's I've been tagged for, they're coming, promise!) He started going to the Oakland Child Development Center last week. My mother in law had been watching him two days a week, but was offered a full time position in a surgeon's office. We are very happy for her, but bummed that he didn't get to hang out with her anymore.

When we were pregnant, we had looked into a variety of centers and kept eyes and ears out for information and feedback. I also had some insight from having worked in a center for a few years. My work with kids and families around here that use daycare also helped. I knew a few I did not want to send him to, so that was easy! We had narrowed things down, but needed to check into openings, last minute details, etc. It was a busy few days, but after picking up paperwork and visiting, we were all set to start last Tuesday.

He is just starting to have some intense seperation anxiety, so my poor husband has had to leave a screaming baby each day. His first day was described as 'rough' by one of the care-givers, with barely an hour of napping all together. I had to wake him up when I got there to take him home, and he barely even realized that I was lifting him out of his crib. The second day he refused to eat anything but his bottle. Today, he napped for almost a whole hour, plus a few catnaps, and ate most of what they offered. Progress!

But it caught up with him, he was so tired last night he could barely eat dinner. He fell asleep immediately upon entering his car seat. He hardly sat up or kept his eyes open while he ate, and was so tired he stopped eating before his dinner was gone- which is quite a rarity. He was even falling asleep on his changing table. I tried to capture the look of tired desparation, but I don't think this does it justice...

Geez my head is heavy

Keep...my....eyes...open....

Trying to get comfy on his changing table, who needs a crib?

9 month check up

The Booger also celebrated his 9 months with a doctor's visit and a flu shot. :-( On the bright side, it is confirmed that he is growing like a week. He is 30 1/2 inches tall (95th percentile) and 22 pounds 1 oz. (75th percentile). Conveniently- the doctor also checked his ears and throat to make sure his cold was just that, and examined the (yet another) rash he has had for the past couple weeks. He recommended Lotrimin for his rash because it is like a baby yeast infection from all his drooling.

So- last night's bedtime routine included a vast amount of lubrication! First- lotion for the little dry patches on his ankles. Then, Vaseline on his nose because it so raw from being wiped 10 times a day for the past few days. And finally, lotrimin under his neck and chin. Poor baby was shiny from head to toe!

I'll try and snap a picture tomorrow- it's quite a sight.

The 'out' day

Today, the Booger has officially been out as long as he was in!

Yep, he's 9 months old! I know, technically it was 10 months... we'll celebrate next month too.

Holy cow. What do all you moms with 'big' kids do? This is crazy! It all amazes me so much, everything he can do and how much personality comes out of that little boy. It is also wonderful to be able to share it all with my terrific husband. The Booger has grown and changed unbelievably, but so have we. We are doing pretty good, if I do say so myself. We share the good and the bad- including wrestling matches involving snotty baby nose and tissues, as of late. He picks up where I leave off, and it works pretty seamlessly. (If only I could say the same about the laundry!) He takes great care of him and loves him so much (almost as much as me!) It's so fun to watch them. They just exude love and happiness.

As for the Booger's 9 month old abilities-he is becoming a pro at feeding himself and evading diaper changes. He loves pictures, especially of himself. He torments the cat to no avail, and will chase down a water bottle before it knows what hit it. He loves to read and eat books. He is 'talking' tons and moving everywhere without fear. He thinks it is really funny when I sign 'more', but has yet to attempt it on his own. He can, and occasionally chooses to, wave bye-bye. There are sooo many things, I can barely tell you! Especially when I think about what he could do when he was born, which was pretty much limited to: eat, sleep, dirty a diaper or 10, cry, yawn, and stretch.

Happy 9 month birthday baby boy!

9 month rewind:

Disclaimer- this was ready to be posted yesterday, but I was having troubles with technology.