Like Mother, Like Son

Joey says, "two things I inherited from my mother; a big forehead and dimples!"

I Love it when...

• he first smiles at me in the morning and his whole body wiggles because he is so excited to see me.
• he kicks his legs up in the air when he's happy.
• he cuddles with me anytime I want.
• he holds onto my shirt while he's nursing.
• he stops sucking to look up at me and when we make eye contact he smiles and gets back to business.
• he sneezes and waits for me to say "Ooooo... God Bless You," and then he giggles.
• he coughs and waits for me to say "is that your bad cough?" and then he giggles.
• he stops whatever he is doing to find Ron in the room when he comes home from work.
• he sucks on his fingers and hands until his whole shirt is soaked and I have to change his clothes.
• he raises his eyebrows when someone new looks at him and he is surprised.
• people compliment how cute he is in the store.
• he smiles at anyone who talks to him.
• he cries and it sounds just like he is saying "ma....ma....." (I swear, this really happens)
• he listens so intently when Grammy tells him about "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."
• he finds himself in the mirror.
• he is fussy and cuddles his blankies to calm himself down.
• he tries to reach out and grab his books when I read to him.
• he wiggles his whole body and talks to the TV when Teletubbies is on.
• he looks just like a little angel when he sleeps.
• he looks happy to see me every time he looks at me.

Most of all, I love it when I feel like I have the most important job in the world, which is to be his mommy. And I feel that way every day.

COUSINS:

It's Turkey Time!

Joey's first Thanksgiving was a busy one. We started off by going to Ron's parent's house, where Joey was a HUGE hit and such a little gem. He totally loved being passed from person to person. He's coming down with a cold so I think he was extra snuggly! Then we went over to my mom's house. Or should I say, "my mom's zoo?" The kids had so much fun running around, and Joey and Mollie laid on a quilt together checking each other out. They were super cute, at one point they actually grabbed onto each other! Will post a pic. later.

My mom, my sister, and I went out for our Black Friday tradition. We don't wait in line at Walmart or Bestbuy or anything... we tackle the craft stores! :) Go ahead and laugh, but I got a new paper cutter for 70% off... now that is a deal to brag about! We also went to Kohls where I did all of Joey's Christmas shopping. Toys were 50% off then a 15% coupon... that almost tops my paper cutter deal!

Joey looooooooooved spending the morning with Daddy. When I got home he sat on my lap just staring and smiling at Ron! It was super cute. :)

Stay tuned for some new pics...

Sleeeeeeeeep

Joey is sleeping again. And so am I. I was such a crazy person last week. It is amazing what sleep deprivation can do. Seriously, there were times when I'd be crying about something and just wonder, "what the hell has happened to me?" But I think we figured it out, and things are going much better. I don't want to get too excited... I'm afraid I'll jinx myself and Joey will wake up 42 thousand times tonight. So... goodnight

POO

We are better. This has been one hell of a week. But we are soooooooooo much better today. I see the light. :)

I never thought I would get so obsessed with another human being's poop, but when Joey didn't have one for over 2 days I began to get worried. It was starting to make him uncomfortable, not sleep, and I hated that I couldn't help him. Talk about a weird phone call to the doctor: "Um, yes, hi. My son hasn't had a bowel movement in over 2 days." They told me it is normal for babies to take up to 5 days to go sometimes. She said to give him a little Karo Syrup to "rectify" the situation. It worked like a charm. I'm sure you are all quite relieved to hear that my little guy is pooping, sleeping, and eating at regular intervals again. Hallelujah!

I Caved...

I can't get Joey to sleep through the night. And I'm done trying. I'm more tired now after "sleep training" for 5 days than I was before. He cries and cries and cries in the night and I lay awake for hours. Not just during the crying... I lay awake after it wondering if I did the right thing?; is he really asleep?; should I sneak in to check on him?; when will he wake up again?; is he hungry?; did he poop?; is he cold?; etc. etc. etc. And last night, a new question came to my mind... how on earth is my husband capable of sleeping through all that racket? So I quit. I thought we were making progress and getting into a routine of him crying it out at the 4 hour mark, getting up to eat 7-8 hours after he goes to bed and then last night the little bugger threw a wrench into the entire program by not eating at all before he went to bed sooooooo tired, and waking up starving at 12:30am. I'm soooooooooo done. Don't ask me what I'm going to do now because I have no bloody idea, but it won't be cry it out. I feel like crying it out. I just might. So I'll probably have the 2 year old that is still waking in the middle of the night. Whatever. That's fine.

Busy Busy Busy

It has been a while since my last post for a two reasons:

1. I haven't been able to come up with anything interesting to write about, and I hate to be a bore.

2. I've been incredibly busy with lots and lots of stuff: making a scrapbook for Ron's entire family to give to his Grandmother on her 75th, traveling to VA for a week, traveling to another part of VA to go to my cousin's wedding, reading about vaccines in preparation for Joey's doctor's appointment this week, and trying not to get TOTALLY confused (that unconfusion is NOT going well), trying to finish a really good book that I've been reading for a month, getting Joey on a schedule, researching sleep solutions (cry it out vs. not, etc.), and still doing all of the regular stuff that goes along with being a mom and wife.

I'll be back when I have something good to say, and more time to say it. In the meantime, here is a video of Joey eating cereal.