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so very tired

Alex was feeling a bit under the weather this last weekend.  He had a fever and diarrhea.  Instead of eating his normal of 4 meals a day of 6 ounces each, he decided he wanted only 4 ounces-or less.  We were worried, of course, and took him to the doctor on Monday.  She said she wasn't worried that our little one (who is now 14 pounds 4 ounces) fell from being in the 75% to the 25% for his weight.  She reminded us how many times he was on antibiotics in the last couple of months and that when he felt better, he would eat normally again and gain weight.  This made me feel better, but not good.  At least his ears finally look completely healed!

Last night he decided to wake up several times between 2 and 6 a.m.  He completely woke up at 2:45 ready for a party.  I fed him a little and turned on the turtle that shows the constellations on the ceiling.  He liked that and settled down.  But, about 45 minutes later, he wanted his pacifier.  Then he was lonely.  Then he decided he didn't want his swaddler and filled his diaper with so much pee it weighed nearly 5 pounds!  Then he wanted to be patted and given his pacifier again. 

My goodness!  I hope this isn't one of those times when a baby who slept so wonderfully all of a sudden decides to revert back to his first week schedule.  I had three cups of coffee this morning and still about lost it with my kids at school.  Please pray I can get some sleep tonight.  Even five hours straight would be welcomed.

Rice Cereal

This weekend Alex got to taste his first rice cereal on a spoon! He did very well.

New Pictures for Gianna!!!

I now have some of my pictures listed on Picasa!http://picasaweb.google.com/home

Taking a few days off.

Alex apparently has come down with Bronchiolitis and is contagious. The daycare said they would take him since he has no fever, but would prefer we keep him home. No problem for me!! I am taking off three days and then getting off early on Thursday to take him to his well-baby appointment. (I hope he is well enough by Thursday.)

I did not complain at all about having to stay home with him. I am enjoying getting my house cleaned, making dinner and just being with Alex.

We even took Roman for a walk today! These are getting fewer and farther between since his arthritis is getting worse. As soon as we stepped out the door a hyper sled-type dog (still a puppy) bolts up to us and startles the cackles up on Roman. The dog had only a Rabies tag, so I let her walk with us around the block. Roman eventually realized this dog was harmless to us and calmed down. I tried to look for open gates where she might have run out, but found only one, and the owner had never seen her. She was so sweet. I tried calling the Banfield number on the tag, but no one answered. I figured the only way to find out whose she was was to take her in to get scanned at the vet. Well, by the time I decided to try, she had run off. I guess that was a good thing. Maybe she will find her way back home.

On a side note. . . our pediatrician is starting Chemo this week for breast cancer. Please keep her in your prayers. I couldn't even begin to think about what she is going through-or how she is still working during this terribly emotional time.

I know I need to post more current pictures, so will try to get some up soon.

Could it be?

Yesterday, Patrick and I noticed that Alex was snotty again. We started thinking that he may indeed have his daddy's allergy problem. Supposedly babies do not have allergies, but I have heard other mothers beg to differ. With the weather changing and the fronts coming in, seasonal allergies could very much be the cause of Alex's ear problems--too much snot! Oh me. How much Kleenex will we buy if they both have these allergies? My house will be filled with Kleenex everywhere you turn!!! Oh me.

Lots of Love

Lately, Patrick and I have been closer to God and each other than we have in a long time. He has shown us so many blessings and has protected us in our times of need, especially lately. I find myself overlooking God's love for me and concentrating on my love for Alex and Patrick. I want that to change. How can I love them as much as I want to if I can't even show that love to God? This has been haunting my thoughts. I am going to start concentrating on the love He shows me through his blessings, and less on those things themselves. It overwhelms me when I begin to list, in my head, all of the things that He has provided for me. That is the love I want all of you to see in me: pure, noble, and without hypocrisy.

Sicky

Well, our poor little one is on antibiotics for the third time now. Yesterday, he woke up at 4 AM and cried almost non-stop until 9 AM. I gave him Tylenol to take the pain away and he felt much better. I decided to stay home with him so I could "Mommy" him. He slept most of the day.

He apparently has an ear infection again. He has been really snotty since getting off the last antibiotics and I guess that caused the new infection. The meds tear up his little belly pretty bad, so I am not excited about having him on them for another 10 days. The doctor said that if this continues, he might end up needing tubes in his ears.

Even with all this going on, he still finds it in him to smile and laugh every time I look at him. I love him so much! What did I ever do without him?

I have a new Niece!!!

Clementine Marie Shaw was born today!

She weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces. Her Mommy is Patrick's sister, Christine. I have not been able to see them yet as it is Friday big weekend traffic in Austin and she is way up in the north west corner of Austin. (About 1-2 hours maybe to get there from Buda.)

He rolled over!!!!

Splish Splash Alex Takin' a Bath!

I know this is a naked baby but, hey, he is a baby and precious. Put your finger over the part you dont want to see if it bothers you.

He LOVES to take a bath. I started bathing him in the kitchen, but he made such a wet mess, I finally moved him into the big tub. This way, if he pees or poops in there, it is really easy to dump and refill the tub!

Swings and Screams

When I went to pick up Alex from daycare Monday, the teacher told me that he was a very good baby. He was so interested in everything going on there that he only took two 30-minute naps!!! That is quite different than the 2-hour naps he takes at home. The teacher tried to put him in a swing to get him to sleep, but when she turned it on he screamed! We don't have a swing at home so it was a new experience for him. He apparently did not like the automated movement.

It was a slow day for both of us. I have no kids yet and so spent the whole day trying not to watch the clock count down to when I could see my little one again. He was awake when I got there after just having had floor time talking to another baby, but very quickly fell asleep in my arms with a smile. I stayed for about 30 minutes talking to the teacher about his day and how the class worked. The staff there is so great. She didn't mind me hanging around and actually engaged in conversation as she went about her duties. There were only five kids that day and by the time I got there, only four remained including Alex.

Yesterday was much the same. . . watching the clock and racing to pick him up. This time he was fast asleep. They had used the strap-down method we taught them to keep his arms in the swaddle. (We use a cheap, thin cloth diaper to wrap up his arms inside the swaddler blanket.) He still can get out, but it makes for a longer nap.

I want to be a SAHM (stay-at-home mom) so bad! I hate leaving him all day with someone else and then getting to feed, bathe and swaddle him to bed for only 1 1/2- 2 hours a night. He went to sleep by 6:30 both nights! My house is getting messier because I am so tired after being at work all day (regardless of the work I have or don't have to do) and then making dinner while trying to spend some time with Alex before his bedtime and cleaning the house. When Patrick gets home, he has been taking over dinner prep and letting me attach to Alex. I love this, but then I am taking the one-on-one time away from Patrick, too. At least he gets to spend some time in the morning with him before he takes him to school. He is not yet awake when I leave.

First day of school

We got a call Wednesday from the daycare that we had been interested in. We were on a wait list that could last until October or later. Miss Michelle, the director, said that one of the people who was to start on Monday could not start due to her husband losing his job. So. . . we got the spot!

He will start on Monday. They provide all the diapers and wipes, burp cloths, blankets and his own crib! When he starts eating real people food, they will provide that, too. Pretty cool, huh?!

I don't know how we are going to afford it, but I feel that this was an act of God and He will see us through if it is His will. We have enough saved up for a month and a half of daycare so far and will penny pinch for the rest.

This will make birthdays and Christmas almost non-existent for us, but that is okay. All I really care about is that Alex is with us for his first Christmas. It isn't about the presents anyway.

We are so excited!!!! I am extremely comfortable with the daycare teachers and knew God wanted us there since I first stepped in the door of Buda's Bright Beginnings. Alex is going to school!

I Made It!!

Well, I made it. Yesterday was the first day of school for Austin teachers and my first long stretch without Alex. Sunday night I broke down in Patrick's arms thinking just how long that stretch would be and how I hadn't been away from him over 30 minutes in a full year now. Patrick offered to bring him up to my school for lunch. Patrick has taken off all this week and is being the Stay-at-Home-Daddy. I was much less scared of Monday.

Monday morning I had just enough time to nurse him before I left. Patrick held Alex and stayed in the drive until I left, both waving their arms. By 9:30 anxiety set it. I couldn't keep my eyes off the clock. Alex would be there at 11. At 10:15, my principal decided to switch around the meetings for the day and have lunch at 12 instead. That was an entire hour!!! I let Patrick know-he was having a hard time getting everything together and out the door anyway.

When he came, I was pacing outside my portable. I ran to the car and grabbed my little man and hugged and kissed him as only a mother could. They stayed for two hours until the next meeting was scheduled. So, I had about 4 hours away, two hours with, and then another hour and a half away until I got to be with him for the night. Alex was very tired with the excitement of the day (everyone at school had to hold him and get him to smile at them) and went to sleep a little early.

Today was a little easier leaving in the morning. We had convocation for half of AISD until 11. At 12 I made it back to my school where fifteen minutes later, my dear husband came bringing Alex and lunch.

This is a nice way to ease back into returning to work. Thanks for the prayers. God was listening.

Rattles

My Parents had just returned from watching the Cowboys at practice in San Antonio. Mom had bought this little outfit and we are so excited that it almost fits. I have been told that he is to wear it when The Boys are playing. Being that I don't watch football myself, she is going to have to let me know when that is.

We finally were able to capture his gorgeous smile. He has a tendency to get business-like when the camera comes out. I can't keep a straight face when he smiles. It lights up my life.

Ouch!

Yesterday was Alex's first set of vaccinations. I held him on my lap and the nurse held his legs while giving him three shots. One in one leg, two in the other. As soon as she poked him, his head turned bright red and he cried so hard. Then, with the other two shots, it got worse. I have never heard or seen him like that. I teared up too just thinking about how I couldn't make it go away for him. I had to let him hurt for his safety. Well, one of the side effects of two of them was vomiting. Dr. Collins said that it is more like spit up, so I didn't think much of it when he spit up his dinner yesterday. But today was different. While feeding him lunch, right before he finished, he acted like he had a big burp working up, so I decided to sit him on my lap and work the burp out. He vomited everything up. It was like I had the Excorsist on my lap. Milk went everywhere! Poor thing did not feel well after that and ate very little later even with an empty stomache. He is fussy and sleeping a lot today. Keep my baby in your prayers.

A visit at Grandma's

Last weekend, we went to visit my parents and had a special surprise. Gianna came too! We had a great time and ate very well.

Sweet Rolls