Easter 2011

We had so much fun visiting with family and friends this year for James' first easter! We went to church with Anthony's parents since they only live about an hour away from us now and it is always a blast to go to their ward since it is the ward Anthony grew up in. So many people commented on how, to them, Anthony is still 15 years old, not graduated from college, married, and with a baby! It was also fun to get to show the baby off, I definitely cannot get enough of other people telling me how cute he is. Isn't he so cute?? :)

After church we gathered at Anthony's parents' house for an early dinner and a long visit. James did so well, he was curious and happy a lot of the time and even took a long nap during dinner so Anthony and I were able to just eat and visit. There was even one point during dinner when I just looked around and thought how nice it was to be able to eat leisurely :)

Here is James with his cousin, Teya. She was so good with him and such a good helper!

James also got to meet his great grandmother for the first time:

Since my mom wasn't able to be there in person, luckily she was there in spirit since his "My First Easter" outfit was provided courtesy of Grandma Lynn:

Farmer's Market

One thing I love about our new city that we live in is that there are so many farmer's markets close to us. Today was our second time going to a weekly one held at the county fairgrounds and it is so much fun! I've never really been to any other farmer's market, but this one is more of  a farmer's market/flea market. Not only did we get some awesome deals on produce, but there are so many fun and interesting things to see. As I walked through, I kept thinking to myself, "I  have to remember to tell Anthony that I saw...fill in the blank". I think you could literally buy anything you could ever think of at that place.

Here is a list of some of the random things I saw for sale (that I can remember anyway): tile cutters, weed eaters, lawn mowers, t-shirts, giant tubs of cheese balls, knock off designer handbags (at least I think they are knock offs. I don't know how to tell the difference really), kettle corn, any and every "as seen on TV" item ever advertised, rugs, dog crates, plants, day old bread, discounted groceries (boxes that are smushed and cans that are dented, that sort of thing), handmade baby accessories, antique tools, samurai swords, hats, jewelry, decorative glass, vacuum cleaners, guns, I could go on and on!!!

I had a really fun time power walking around and looking at everything. It was windy and overcast today and the market is so large, I didn't want to get caught far away from my car should it start raining, so I tried to see everything at a quick stroll :) I've started to get my groove as far as the logistics of going there. I always park in the same section of field. Since it is so far away from the entrance, no one parks there and I can get a spot in the shade. Then I pull out the stroller to use as my shopping cart and put James in a sling on my chest. I put his hat on him, I put my big floppy hat on me and away we go! James is usually asleep by the time I get to the entrance :)

Today I only brought $11 with me with a plan to buy fruit, veggies, and bread. I got everything I wanted for exactly $11!

Here is the list of what I got:

Day old bread: $1

2 Bunches of Asparagus: $3

2 baskets of apples: $5

1 basket of zucchini (locally grown): $1

1 basket of squash (locally grown): $1

I've also started to find which vendors are my favorites as far as price and quality. I am definitely going back to the stand where I got the zucchini and squash. Not only is it locally grown, but you can't beat that price for such yummy looking veggies! It is fun to get to see the same people every week, they always ooh and ahh over the baby and ask how he is doing. It feels very neighborly.

There is also a farmers market every Saturday in New Smyrna, which is much closer than the one I went to today. I think I am going to try it out this week while my family is in town. Hopefully it will be just as much fun!

I don't like Fridays anymore

So we are starting to not be a big fan of Fridays around here anymore. With Anthony's new schedule (his schedule has changed at least three times since he started his new job) he works a 12 hour shift on Fridays which means that he leaves around 8am and comes home around 10pm. So not cool! Then when he gets home, he goes straight to bed because it is back to work on Saturday at 8am for another full day. Thankfully he gets off at 5pm on Saturdays, but still! During the week he gets home around 1:30 and it is so nice. It feels like I turn around and he is home again. Sigh. I try to find ways to entertain myself and the boy during these long days...

So picture time!

I love his blue eyes. I don't know, they haven't gotten any less blue in almost 3 months, so maybe they will stay that way

That is such an Anthony face!!!

I caught the tail end of a smile. You got to be quick to get a picture of a smile on this guy.

Usually when he is done trying to hold his head up, his go to move is to try to eat his arm :)

He is coming up on three months and it is true what they say, he is a much easier baby at three months old. It has been gradual over the last few weeks, but he has slowly gotten more and more mellow. As long as he is fed, he will chill out and play for a good while. He loves to look at new things and new people. He just started doing this specific cry when he decides that he doesn't want to play by himself anymore. As soon as I go to see what he wants, he starts to smile or calm down just because I am there, before I pick him up or do anything. He certainly has me trained! :)

Last night he started crying in his crib only about an hour after he last ate, so I didn't think he was hungry. I went and got him and sat with him in the rocking chair. He actually just sat there awake and cuddled with me for a good 15 minutes!! You have no idea, this kid does not just settle down and cuddle. He either wants you to be feeding him and screams his head off until you do, or he wants you to bounce him, play with him, anything as long as you are moving and being entertaining. When I rock him to sleep, usually he has to be swaddled really tight and I have to keep a tight grip on him so that he is forced to not move and fall asleep. I actually started to tear up, it was so precious.

James has also become very vocal. He coos and makes noises all the time. Anthony even wondered aloud one day if it means that he is going to be very talkative when he gets older. I guess we will see!

Attention Publix Shoppers!

To all my friends that shop at Publix, I just went grocery shopping and discovered an awesome deal on shredded cheese! This week (until Saturday) the Kraft shredded cheese with a touch of Philadelphia cream cheese is on sale for $1.66. At my Publix in Edgewater there is a dispenser in front of the shredded cheese with coupons for $1 off one package. That makes one 8 oz package of shredded cheese 66 cents!!!

If you are in Publix, you should totally check it out and see if that dispenser is in your store too. You can't beat getting a deal like that, you don't even have to print or clip coupons before you go! I have some room in the freezer, so I am seriously considering going back and getting some more (I won't tell you how many I got already). We always use shredded cheese, and I usually pay around $2-$3 for one package so it is definitely worth it :)

How could so much come out of such a little body?

We had the biggest poo-splosion to date this morning:

All I can say, is thank goodness we were at home and I could put him right in the bathtub, clothes and all! He actually didn't mind the bath so much, I think because I confused him by not undressing him before I put him in. How can so much poo come out of one little body?? He has started going days at a time without going #2, but it seems like when he does go it is a doosey!

Things are looking up!

Well folks, thank goodness things are definitely looking better. I don't know what he was going through, maybe a growth spurt mixed with getting his two month shots? Either way, Saturday morning he decided he was done screaming (not that he really could any more because he completely lost his voice) and spent the entire day sleeping and eating. It was so adorable, he would wake up to eat and almost immediately afterwards drift off back to sleep. I started to worry that he was sick, but he wasn't feverish and he did spend a few happy hours awake so I concluded that he was just catching up on all the sleep he missed out on :) Of course, he isn't a completely different child. He is still fussy and particular and quick to get angry but he is more manageable for sure!

Another exciting development is that he has started smiling and laughing so much more!! We used to be lucky to get one smile out of him a day and now he has started going 5 minutes or so at time smiling and laughing at us. It is so cute!! Of course, ususally when we pull out the video camera he decides that he is done :) Here is a video of him in his bouncy seat. He was throwing me all sorts of smiles so I called to Anthony to come see and once he got there with the camera he was done. You can see a little bit of what he was doing at the beginning:

We also videoed him during tummy time and I am always impressed by how much he holds his head up. I think it is from all of the muscle development he does fighting us all the time. He also has started throwing himself over and he rolls onto his back. I don't think he does it on purpose, he is just so ready to get moving that he throws himself off balance!

Why won't he sleep??

I am dying. This is some kind of sick torture. My kid has not stopped screaming for the past 2 days, it feels like. When he isn't asleep, he is screaming his head off and he has barely slept. He has even started to lose his voice and he has this hoarse little squeak that goes along with the screams now. The night before last I had to get up with him literally every single hour and then last night I had to move into the living room and try to nap on the couch because he would wake up and want his pacificer put back into his mouth, I'm not kidding, every 10 minutes from 3:30am until 6 am. I am so miserable and tired and exhausted. He got some shots at the doctor's office a few days ago, so we've been giving him tylenol in case he is hurting, but it feels like he just wants to cry.

I've tried putting him down and letting him cry for a few minutes, but that resulted in me sitting on the floor sobbing my eyes out wondering why my child hates me and isn't comforted by anything I do. Every one says that this is a phase and that it will pass, but it is so hard to see that light at the end of the tunnel when every single minute of every day seems endless. Last night I was so tired I just wanted to cry at how frustrated I was, but I physically didn't have the energy.

I don't know what to do. I feel like other moms would be able to handle this better than me, that they wouldn't get so miserable and upset but it just feels so horrible when he is crying and there is nothing I can do about it. I also don't have any close friends that are near me since we moved, and it is so hard to talk about this kind of stuff because I am always afraid that people are going to judge me or think that I am a bad mother because I'm not happy with this newborn stage of my son's life. Honestly, Anthony and I are counting down the days until he gets older and hopefully grows out of this. I have all this guilt because I feel like I should be cherishing these days when he is so little, but I am so miserable that I just can't. Maybe only people with easy babies can cherish those days? Or maybe they only long for it in hindsight? I don't know. I just needed to get that out.

2 Months Old

Here are pictures of James at 2 months:

Things he loves: staring at faces, new things, getting his diaper changed (or being on the changing table, I don't know which one), being swaddled really tight, his pacifier, being jiggled on your knee, funny noises you make with your mouth, any type of mobile, his Benjamin Bear that makes white noise, sleeping on his side (I feel more comfortable with him in this position for now ever since the choking incident), being outside.

Things he hates: getting a bath, getting his outfit changed, being put down out of someone's arms when he is awake, getting kissed when he is mad (which we can't help doing because he is just so darn cute!!!), his carseat and carrides (which he used to love!!), any time you aren't paying attention to him :)

He has his 2 month check up tomorrow, so I will update his stats later.

Update from his check up:

Weight: 9lbs, 4 ozs

Height: 20 inches

Comparison Photos

I always meant to take monthly pictures of James in the same place, but somehow that never really happened with the move and everything. However, Anthony and I realized yesterday that we do have pictures of him in his car seat and you can definitely tell a difference in his growth by how he fits in it:

We must be doing something right, because this kid is getting big! He has his 2 month check up on Tuesday, so I will have the actual stats then. I'm guessing that he will be around 9.5 to 10 pounds, so we will see!

Catch Up Pictures & New Friends

 My sister just posted these pictures she took of James at around 4 weeks old. We were in build a bear, going crazy buying cute outfits meant for stuffed bears but were the perfect size for our little guy!

                                               

 Life with a newborn is exhausting, mentally and physically. There are moments in each day when I am so in love with my little guy that I just want to squeeze him and kiss him all over. Then, when he has been crying and squirming for what feels like hours I start crying too and think that there is no way that I can do this parent thing. It seriously is such a roller coaster!! I'm sure the sleep deprivation doesn't help at all :) Everyone says that it gets better once they hit the three month mark, and when I've talked to other moms they all seem to have had a similar experience with this newborn period so I don't feel too alone. Plus, after a dose of Zantac for acid reflux, James slept for 5 hours straight last night!!! It was wonderful. I didn't think he would ever do it and he has been much less fussy today, so I think we will be sticking with the Zantac for now.

Here is what a typical day is like for us right now:

Midnight: Anthony and I make it to bed after settling James down after his 11PM feeding
2 or 3AM: James wakes up hungry. Anthony changes him and gives him a bottle so that I can sleep. We've discovered that this time of the night is my witching hour where I get really depressed/frustrated/crying and having Anthony take over this feeding has saved my sanity.
4AM: Anthony gets back to bed
6 or 7AM: James wakes up hungry. I grab something to eat really quick and then I change and feed him. After about 45 minutes, I move to the couch to go back to sleep with him:

Just for reference, I was NOT playing Xbox :) We don't have cable, so I watch Netflix on the Xbox while I am nursing him.

9AM: James wakes up hungry again. I change him and feed him. Then I open the blinds, let the dogs out and try to "wake up" the house so that James will transition into daytime. I try to play with James, let him stare at my face while I talk to him, play with him on his activity mat, or see if he wants to sit in his bouncy seat.
10:30AM: James starts to get fussy, so I swaddle him and rock him in the rocking chair or bounce him on my knees until he gets good and sleepy.
11AM: I put James down for a nap in his swing. Anthony usually wakes up about now (he hasn't started his new job yet). I check my email and try to motivate myself to exercise. I get myself some lunch and if I have time I will take a shower. I am kind of wary of taking showers now because I have yet to take one without James waking up crying before I am out and dressed :)
12PM: James wakes up, I change and feed him. Play time again. He is starting to really like new things. If there is something new to look at or a new place to be in the house, he is mesmerized!! He discovered the mobile in his crib yesterday and he spent a good 20 minutes just staring at it going around and around.
1:30PM: Fussyness sets in, I swaddle him and sit in the rocker and rock him until his eyes get really droopy. Sometimes he likes it if I read to him, so I've started just reading him whatever book I'm reading.
2PM: I put him down for another nap in his swing. I usually go and do the dishes about now and put something in the slow cooker for dinner. Then I look at my list of productive things I could do and proceed to shop online instead :)
3PM: Awake. Diaper change, then feeding time. Play time. Sometimes we go for a walk around the neighborhood about now. I grab something else to eat.
4:30PM: REALLY fussy. Much more crying and he is much harder to soothe. We start the walking around, bouncing, anything that will work really. He doesn't really sleep after this. He usually fusses and dozes in someone's arms until the next feeding.
6:30 or 7PM: Change, then feed. If it is a bath day, I give him a bath before I feed him. He HATES baths, so we don't do it unless he is especially stinky or he pooped on himself that day or something. No play time, he usually just crys and fusses until we can get him to sleep. Anthony and I have started taking turns holding him so that the other one can eat dinner.
9PM: Finally drifts off, we put him to bed in his crib with his soothing sounds bear. I named him Mr. Benjamin Bear :)
10:30 or 11PM: Wakes up crying, change him then feed him. Usually he falls back asleep pretty quickly and Anthony and I can make back to bed by midnight.

Are you exhausted yet? This is the good schedule!! It was way worse in the weeks right after he was born.
Luckily for me, every once in awhile there is something new and exciting to look forward to that changes things up. Yesterday I got together with a bunch of other young moms in our new ward and we had so much fun visiting, getting hand treatments, and asking the host for beauty advice. I don't know everyone yet, but I am pretty sure that almost every one in this picture had a baby in the past year and it was so funny to hear so many women say something like "Suck it in!" whenever a picture was taken!