Wordless Wednesday: First day of "school"

A day of firsts

Take a look at this hair...

It's even bothering him!

Though I wasn't sure a cut would do much to tame it, we decided it was about time to at least tackle the hair in Drew's eyes.

He was so good! So what does every good baby deserve?

Ice cream! He loved it. Unlike cake, which I thought he would love, but didn't. And Bruster's was so awesome they gave him his own little cone for free!! Thank you Bruster's!

P.S. The hair is NOT any tamer. But at least it's not in his eyes anymore!

We were finger painting again today

Happy Fater's Day!

Last year we were supposed to have a baby before Father's Day, but that didn't happen. So, instead, we are finally getting to celebrate Jason's official first Father's Day!

As I told him in his card, I didn't know it was possible to love him more than the day I married him, but as I watch him with Drew each and every day I somehow fall deeper and deeper in love. He is so amazing with Drew, in ways I never imagined possible. Just a few of the things he does that I love:

1. He roughhouses with Drew in a way I never would/could/will. I think it's great for Drew to burn off energy, and even build muscle and coordination that way. I also love that they have that as a bond. I love the way Drew squeals and giggles and always comes crawling back for more.
2. Jason wakes up with Drew most mornings and feeds him breakfast and gets him dressed. I love that Jason always manages to find the strangest thing to put him in- completely mismatched shirts and pants, Christmas onesies in February, long-sleeves in June... I always scoff, but really it makes me smile. There's something so endearing about it, "what? I thought red plaid shorts and a striped orange onesie would look good together!".
3. Jason and Drew give each other "headbutts" as a way to give kisses. I find it adorable.
4. Jason tries to spend good quality time with Drew. Some days he works late and doesn't get off until after Drew goes to bed. Before he leaves he always spends lots of time playing with him. He's been disappointed with me if I've gone off with Drew to run errands on a day like this because it cuts down on his Drew time. Before he leaves for work he always gives him a big hug and kiss and says "Be good for mom, I'll see ya' in the morning!"
5. He already works as a team with me, "you heard what Mommy said" he'll often say. (It may mean nothing to Drew now, but it will!)
6. The way he looks at Drew... you can just see the love and tell that he is so proud of his son already.

To celebrate Jason's first Father's Day, this was his gift...

Father's Day Roulette!  

Gift-giving with Jason can be difficult. Not because he's difficult, but because together we're difficult. He's one of those people that doesn't like surprises. He likes to tell you what he wants, then expects to get just that. I, on the other hand, don't like giving something that's expected. I enjoy listening for little hints of things he might like, then I enjoy surprising him with something he wanted but didn't expect to get (likewise, I don't like to tell him what I want- I want him to figure it out). He thinks in terms of value and what he needs most, and I think in terms of showing I care by listening. The two gift-giving personalities don't mesh. In the past I've gotten him things and could tell he was disappointed, so now usually what ends up happening is I get him something, but tell him all the other things I considered, then allow him to exchange for what he wants. 

This time I made it a game. That way I could show him the things I wanted to surprise him with, but ultimately he made the decision as to what to get. I didn't have to feel bad if he returned my gift, and he got to pick what he felt like he needed most. I acted like he had to pick one "prize" without knowing what they were, but in the end I revealed all the prizes and let him pick. It was fun! (He chose a set of surround sound gaming headphones, btw).

He also got some handmade gifts. A card made at church (once again, thanks to Ms. Terry!!). Look! Drew even got one in the hole! And a cookie cake, one of Jason's faves, decorated by me at my favorite grocery store- Publix! (You may have read my comments about Publix on Facebook- love 'em!). The cookie cake decorating was a little activity they had set up yesterday, and I knew I had to do it since Jason loves cookie cake. I also knew I had to put the "World's Best Dad" plaque on there because Jason saw a "World's Best Dad" mug and jokingly told me he better get one for Father's Day.

Unfortunately Jason had to work today. His bosses apparently neglected to realize it was Father's Day and that Jason is the ONLY employee with kids. Oh well. We had a good morning at church, and he's off tomorrow (as am I) so we're going to go hang out at our local pool and have a nice lunch. :)

P.S. Did you notice my spelling error on Jason's game? Somehow when I'm spelling with stickers I almost always miss a letter. It's wonderful that I gave that to Jason along with a cookie cake! :-/ I, of course, didn't notice my mistake until hours after having given it to him. And he actually didn't notice until I pointed it out. Oh well!

Does it count?

Drew has had a lot of "firsts" lately... but do they count?

His accomplishment: Drew said his first word!
The real story: Drew fell down and said "ow". The "ow" sound is one of his favorites right now- he says "ow", "how", and "wow" all the time, but not as words, just as sounds (as far as I can tell- though he often makes the "how" sound towards Rico and I wonder if he's trying to "meow")
Does it count? Was "ow" really one of his first words (Lord help us!) or was it just coincidence that he said it when he fell?

His accomplishment: Drew said "mama".
The real story: I put him down on the floor to make him a bottle and he did NOT want to be put down. He wailed then screamed "mama!" while reaching for me.
Does it count? He hasn't said "mama" or even "mmmmm" since.

His accomplishment: Drew stood on his own for 5 solid seconds.
The real story: I set him down to make a bottle and he did NOT want to be set down (common theme?). He crawled to my leg and pulled himself up, then started grasping up at me while crying hysterically. I stepped to the side slightly to grab something and left him standing there, quite literally, screaming at me.
Does it count? He didn't even know he was doing it. He was in the middle of an "I'm screaming so hard I can't breathe" moment. And he hasn't really done it since.

His accomplishment: Drew took his first steps!
The real story: Drew was playing with Daddy while I made a bottle (seriously!). I sat down in the living room with the bottle and when Drew saw it, he WANTED it. Jason took his hands and they "walked" towards me, Drew screaming the whole time. Jason let go and Drew flung himself towards me, falling into my arms, but managing a few steps along the way.
Does it count? Did he actually walk or did he really just "fall" into my arms?

Drew's baby book has spots to write the dates of his "firsts" but it is so hard to tell when that actual "first" time is. With sitting, rolling, and crawling it all happened so gradually... one day it was like "I guess he really can crawl now, huh?". What counts as the "first"?

First time.... oh, who am I kidding?
This isn't a first, it's just cute and I wanted
to add it!

My First Mother's Day

I had a fabulous first Mother's Day! It was very low key and simple, but that's what I like.

I started the day off with a simple but delicious breakfast. Nope, not breakfast in bed. Prepared by me (thus the "simple"). Jason unfortunately had to work today, but it was either 6am-12pm or 2pm to 9pm. I opted for the opening shift so we could have the afternoon together as a family.

Drew and I then ventured solo to church, where he made me my first hand made Mother's Day card! (With thanks to Ms. Terry! Seriously, I don't know if she knows how much this made my day!)

Love his "signature"

We spent the afternoon being lazy and napping while Drew napped, then headed out to the park for some outdoor fun. I had thought it might be fun to climb Stone Mountain, but perhaps you read about my toe?

Names and photos blacked for the sake of privacy

Yeah, I sat on my toe. Not just sat on it, but placed the chair leg on it, then flopped into my chair. OW! Not quite sure how one manages to do that.... but it's purple and blue today and it hurts to walk. I'm hoping it's just bruised and not broken, but I'm heading to the doc tomorrow to be sure.  Anyways, no mountain climbing for me, so we just hit up our local (packed!) park and had some fun on the play ground.

Just love Jason in the background of this one.

We finished off the evening with a not-so-simple dinner of grilled steaks, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, grilled sweet peppers, and red wine! Fab-u-lous! Oh, and I can't forget the molten chocolate lava cakes (don't give Jason TOO much credit, that was my doing- I couldn't resist!)

My mother's day gift? Well... I'm not going to share Jason's gift to me, but it was very sweet. Drew's gift to me is *hopefully* a DSLR, but that's a combined Mother's Day and birthday gift! (Only 10 days until I turn 27! Eek!)

Off into the sunset

This week past two days Drew has:

1. Had a tooth break through (even though I didn't even know he was working on one!)
2. Made his first big forward crawling movements (not just the wiggles and rolls that eventually get him somewhere)
3. Pulled himself up to standing completely on his own (and stayed there for 30 or 40 seconds before flipping forwards over his piano causing a few tears)

I'm afraid he's going to be riding a motorcycle by next week and driving off into the sunset!

It's so rewarding to see how much he grows and changes each day, and I look forward to the little boy (and eventually grown man!) that he will become, but with each new skill I'm reminded how short my time with my little baby is.

P.S. I haven't managed to snap a picture of his tooth because a) it's only barely showing above his gums and b) anytime I try to pull his lip down to take a pic he just sticks out his tongue and licks me. I also did not capture a picture of him standing on his own yet (actually, that's the reason he flipped over the front of the piano- I was searching for my camera!). I do have a video of him "crawling" though! Yay me! (And yay for you since you get to watch it!)



(Electronics are about the only things that have enough "draw" to actually get him moving....)

Oh, and here's a picture of him sitting at his piano. The picture was, of course, snapped the moment after he fell down after standing.

It's not easy being green

Drew is venturing into the world of solid foods. We've been feeding him rice cereal since the day after Christmas and he's really been enjoying that. Even during the very first feeding he was grabbing for the spoon and trying to feed himself. And since then, as soon as I set the bowl full of cereal on his high chair tray he starts going "ooo ooo" and reaching for the spoon.

But rice cereal is apparently a bit... for lack of a more delicate word... constipating. We've been having issues in that area so I thought adding some veggies might help. The doc recommended moving from cereal to veggies anyway; she says babies pretty much all love fruits, so we're better off starting him on veggies to try to get him to like them (I honestly can see the logic both ways... since he's not used to different flavors, why not start him with something he WILL like as a way to introduce him to foods that taste different so he'll be more open to the flavor of veggies?)

In any case we opted for green beans. And he... well... you can take a look...

Maybe the bib tastes better...

Green bean goatee?

I still love to smile for the camera!

He was gagging on them! After I added a little breastmilk to thin them out and give them a bit of a familiar taste he did a little better, but overall green beans were not a favorite. I've read many times that it takes 15-21 times of feeding a baby something new before you (or even they) know whether they like it or not. That's good because I made a lot of green beans!

I know, I know... there I am trying to be "supermom" again... or perhaps just trying to be frugal. Either way, I've decided I want to make Drew's baby food at home. It seems so much healthier, cheaper, better for the environment with less packaging, and really it was quite easy- steam up some frozen green beans (did you know that frozen veggies likely have more nutrients than the fresh veggies you buy? They are flash frozen at the peak of freshness where fresh veggies are actually likely a few days old, and with each passing day they lose some of their valuable nutrition), throw them in a blender with some of the steaming liquid, liquefy, pour in ice cube trays and freeze! Now all we have to do is heat up one or two cubes when we're ready to feed him! I have to laugh at my little green ice cubes though...

I think sweet potatoes are next on the menu...

P.S. The third photo down in the green bean line-up is one of my favoritest photos ever!!

Back to the grindstone

2010 was a spectacular year, and now that it has come and gone and I'm staring 2011 in the face, I have to admit I am not all that excited. Because now I have to truly face what I have been dreading for the last 6 months- returning to work. The paperwork has been filled out, the calls have been made, and everything is set for my return on Monday. Yes, THIS coming Monday.

I am NOT ready for this. I am trying so hard to be excited about the prospect of doing something new- my new position will be an ESOL Screener at the International Center. That means I will be testing incoming international students to see if they need English for Speakers of Other Languages classes. I think working at the International Center will not only be fun and different, but I really feel like it's a great fit for my skills and background.

But... as much as I keep telling myself I'm looking forward to this, I really am just dreading it.  Not because I don't want to work, but because I'm not ready to leave my baby. I keep pushing thoughts to the back of my head so that I can keep moving forward and keep getting the stuff done that I need to get done. But as each day passes and I get closer to Monday I have to pause a little longer and longer to remind convince myself that everything will be okay and to stop the tears from welling up in my eyes. And as I get closer and closer to Monday more of those tears are slipping out. I am spending more and more time just sitting and watching Drew and sneaking in snuggles when he'll let me.

I know there are lots of working moms out there. And I remind myself of this frequently. But when I sit down and do the math and realize I will only have 3-4 waking hours with Drew a day, I wonder how other moms do it. Because Drew is the reason I wake up in the morning. His waking smiles brighten my day, and I won't even get to see them anymore except on weekends. And he's changing so much, so fast! Just check out these photos...

First solids... I like rice cereal!

Standing! Sorry it's blurry... Mommy was a little nervous.

If I could choose not to go back to work I would in an instant. But first, and foremost, I'm under contract and if I break my contract I risk having my teaching license suspended or revoked. Second, we get health insurance through my job (and good health insurance at that since I work for the state). And third, we simply can't afford for me to be a stay-at-home mom right now.

Sigh.... it's going to take a lot of strength to get through the first day, then the first week, then the first month and so on until I make it to summer and decide from there what we will do next year. I know Drew will be in good hands, they just won't be mine, and that makes me very, very sad.

Not just dreaming

Can you see Drew's little snowman??

Merry 1st Christmas Drew!

What a fabulous Christmas! And now I'm enjoying some hot chocolate while the hubby and I are in bed watching The Santa Clause and Drew sleeps quietly in his crib.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas!

We hope you are having a wonderful day like we are!