Babysitter

I feel like I am a pretty good parent (so far at least). I make my own organic baby food, I hug and kiss Ryan about a million times a day. I read to him and talk to him and sing to him and dance with him. I make sure Ryan is fed, happy, clean(ish) etc.
So I am in a bind. I need to study for the bar, it isn't a normal test, it is the mother of all tests. You are supposed to designate about 8 weeks of your life to nothing but studying. If I didn't have a child that would be doable. But I am a stay at home mom of an almost 7 month old who is starting to crawl.
I can't study while he is awake. he sleeps maybe 3 hours sporadically through the day. This is simply not enough to get quality study time in. My mom tries to come over and help but she is an attorney and has to work around her clients schedule which isn't consistent. My brother comes on Fridays, but again it just isn't enough. I don't want to study less then what is required and fail and have to start again.
So I have been forced to do something I don't want to do. Don and I are starting to interview potential babysitters. Ugh. No one is going to be good enough. No one will be up to my standards, he is my baby, okay I take that back, no one who lives in North Carolina and who is available will be good enough (yes Rachel and Jess you would be good enough). So while I have given Ryan everything I can think of up to this point, I cannot give him myself for about 8 weeks starting in January. We will see how it goes. If I can't bear to do it after meeting the potential caretakers I am going to figure something else out. What I don't know but something (I could study all night, who needs sleep?).

Embarrassing Parent Conversation

Embarrassing Parent Conversation of the day.
background information needed: I call Ryan Bud Sometimes.

Me: Hey Bud
Don: He is a baby, so he is bud light, hahaha
Kathleen: Wow, you are embarrassing
Kathleen: Well you are older and wiser so you are Budweiser.

Christmas Time Is Here Again!

It is that time of year again, CHRISTMAS! I love Christmas, the tree, presents, music, smells, food etc. We went out and got our Christmas tree today. We were going to go to a farm and cut one down but David has exams and it was chilly outside so we decided to just go pick one up. Ryan helped us pick out a lovely tree and we made it home no problem.

We proceeded to break the stand (oops) and the tree is currently laying on the floor. But we have started the process and when Ryan wakes up from his nap we are going to go get another stand. I took a few pictures as we were opening the Christmas decorations box. I'm sure there will be a lot more Christmas pictures... a baby who is starting to crawl and a wobbly Christmas tree... the possibilities are endless!

The whole process wore him out

Protective Baby

I went to the dentist yesterday. I have to admit I am not as good as I used to be about going, I had put it off for 3 years! Health insurance doesn’t always work out the way it should…. But anyway, I went. My mom met me there so she could watch Ryan in the waiting room.

Let me begin by saying Ryan doesn’t like me leaving the room, he is fine if he can see me. So he was kind of upset that I left the waiting room. My mom brought him back (our family knows the dentist well so she can just walk back there). He could see me, but he didn’t like the woman sitting over me putting things in my mouth, he did not like her at all. Whenever she put the sucker thing in my mouth he would scream and yell like he was angry. It seemed like he thought she was hurting me, he was trying to protect me! He would only calm down when I would look him in the eye and tell him I was okay. He is already protective. The dental hygienist said that it probably looked to him like she was hurting the love of his life and he didn’t like it one bit.
I understand his pain; I feel the same way when we go to the pediatrician.

The good news is that I don’t have any cavities so I won’t be back for awhile.

Baby Munchies

This week Ryan has decided that all food is good food. The baby will eat anything. I was at lunch and I got a pickle with my sandwich, he kept grabbing for it. I thought to myself if he tries it, he will realize he doesn’t like it and back off… he loved it and was sucking on it for the next 10 minutes. He has in the last week also tried Kiwi, cheese, blackberries, tomato sauce, and salmon. He loved all of them; he was even willing to give peas a second chance!
Apparently this growing boy needs lotsa food and he isn’t very particular about what it is. I don’t mind though, I hope he continues to be adventurous! I read somewhere that babies develop most of their taste for foods in the second 6 months of their life, at this rate he is going to like everything!

Thanksgiving Highlights

So here is a quick rundown of our thanksgiving in the mountains:

- My mom, brother, Ryan and I headed to the mountains on Sunday, it was a super easy car ride we didn’t have to stop at all.
- Ryan was teething, so he didn’t sleep the first few nights... not good when Don isn’t there and Ryan was freaked of my mom.
- It took until Tuesday for Ryan to warm up to my mom, but when he did he became a big fan.
- Thanksgiving dinner was super good, my mom made the turkey and stuffing, Don made potatoes, I made sweet potatoes and veggies, my brother made dessert. It was so, so good.
- We sat by the fire, read books, watched movies, cooked, hung out etc. The house was beautiful, oh and did I mention the hot tub!

Overall it was great, who doesn’t love a vacation! Lots to be thankful for this year!

Vacation Pictures

Ryan and his daddy

The Boys watching some football

Ryan helping prepare the potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner.

Cold Weather!

Hanging out with Uncle David

Trucks !

Happy Thanksgiving

I admit I haven’t been very good on this vacation with updating the blog. Worry not I have taken pictures!

I wanted to take a few seconds to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are a few things (there are many) that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving (in no particular order except for the top one… that one is there for a reason):
(1) Ryan (duh) he is so healthy, smart and overall amazing
(2) My wonderfully supportive family
(3) The fact that I can stay at home with Ryan
(4) My friends who understand when I sometimes fall out of the loop and love me anyway
(5) The fact that I live in a warm & safe home, that I don’t have to worry about my next meal
(6) That I am DONE with law school
(7) My wonderful husband
(8) Pumpkin pie!

In the Mountains

We are out of town for thanksgiving (the NC mountains). We get home next weekend. I will try and update my blog when I can. I am taking fun pictures and trying to relax. Don doesn't get here until Wednesday so I actually have more work (24/7) then I do at home. Right now Ryan is "talking" from his crib instead of sleeping... BOO.
I will probably post before Thanksgiving, but if not: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Backing Off

As a parent I try really hard to be the best parent I can be. I really do, I always have the best intentions. I have learned something really important in the last 24 hours, which is that sometimes it is better to take a step back then trying to fix the problem. So last night Ryan had his first stuffy nose, it doesn’t sound that bad but with infants EVERYTHING is magnified. So a simple stuffy nose turns into a nightmare when Ryan can’t breathe when his all important pacifier is in his mouth. He freaked, no joke it was an all out hysterical freak out. I tried rocking him, hugging him and singing to him… he was screaming. You know the crying that comes when you can’t catch your breath? Yeah it was that type.
Don in his infinite wisdom took the baby from me and set him down on the bed and asked if he wanted to play. Ryan cheered right up; he caught his breath and was actually smiling. Apparently all he needed was a distraction, and playing for 2 minutes was enough to calm him down enough that he could go to sleep.
This morning Ryan would NOT take a nap. I mean he was tired but every time I went into his room with him to wrap him up and rock him to sleep he would scream or cry. I finally got so frustrated that I needed to take a moment. So I put him in his crib with him wide awake and walked out, I was just doing it to calm myself down. Ryan never even cried, he laid his head down and fell right asleep.
So I am learning that sometimes backing off is the way to go. Lesson learned.

Goofy Baby Pictures

Laughing

Blanket on the head :)

"Mom, where did you go?"

Picture the Future

Do you ever look at a picture of a child and see exactly what he/she will look like as a teenager?

6 Month Stats

Here are Ryan's six month stats:

He weighs 17 pounds 15 3/4 ounces, which is the 51st percentile. He is 24th percentile in height at 26 inches. and his head is 94th percentile (BIG brains).

To put that in perspective, at his 2 week appointment he was 8 pounds 5 1/4 ounces and 20 inches long.

Apparently all the eating is helping him grow! The doctor says he is perfect (which of course I already know). His next appointment isn't until he is 9 months old.

Happy 6 Month Birthday!

Happy 6 month Birthday to Ryan!
Can you believe he is already six months old? How did that happen?
He is growing up so fast. He is so close to crawling, he gets on all fours and rocks back and forth he can push himself backwards and around in a circle, all we need now is forward. I will post how big (measurement wise) he is after his doctors appointment on Tuesday!