B is for...

...Babies R Us. Yes, I went back to my own private hell last Thursday to pick up some things for my baby boy before he starts daycare. Why do I keep going back there, you ask? This is why: I got the bigger carseat, umbrella stroller, some learning toys, the rest of his crib bedding, pump supplies, summer rompers, a bottle warmer for daycare, and some odds and ends that totalled $290 for $175. The baby monopoly bastardos keep sending me discount coupons. I had a handful of my own coupons (I'm telling you new or soon to be moms, get a baby email address and register and every single diaper, baby food and formula, and toy site), plus a few BRU coupons and some $10 off cards. I have learned my lesson, and I do not go alone. I always take a friend with me.

...Baking and Cooking. I have made 5 nights of dinners and froze them for back to work. So far we will be having Chicken Pozole, Pork Adobo, Shepard's Pie, Tia Hessie's Tuna Noodle Casserole, and Chicken Enchiladas. I am going to attempt to make Chili tonight. After that, I only want to make 2 more. That is 2 weeks of dinners.

...Back to work. I officially will be at work this time next week. I took Isaac to daycare last Friday while I got my hair cut and ran some errands. I forgot how quickly these things can be done without being pregnant or toting a baby in and out of the car. I stopped by my office and arranged to come in this Wednesday for an hour or so to reclaim my desk and get re-situated. It absolutely breaks my heart to leave Isaac. I only cried a little when I dropped him off, but I left him when he was happy, so that made it easier. I had myself a good cry in the shower that morning. I am trying hard not to be depressed about it. The bottom line is that this has always been the reality. I have always known I had to return to work. I could take more time, we could afford it, but that will pull from time off I want later in the year, like at Christmas. I am going to take a full 2 weeks then, when everything slows down. Going back to work is for the best, for all of us. I know, I know, Isaac can't be cared for better by anyone but mommy, but in the long run this will make our lives better. Isaac did well at daycare. He was happy for the most part, but still needs some bottle work.

...Bottles and Boobs. As the previous "B" so nicely sequed, Isaac is still have issues with the bottle. I haven't given him one the past two nights, and you will see why in the next "B." I am pretty sure he is still going through a growth spurt because he wants to eat about every 1.5-2 hours again, and my boobs are in milk production overdrive. I am getting a good 5 ounces when I pump, even in mid-day.

...Belly. I think Isaac is developing some acid reflux. He has started to puke (not spit up, puke) more frequently after meals. It makes him pretty upset, and he has returned to the fussiness of his newborn gas in the evenings. Mylicon holds him off a bit, but it wears off pretty quick, I think. If it isn't better this evening, I am calling the pediatrician. He has been so fussy, that he doesn't want to sleep alone. I have had to cuddle him. I have noticed that when on his belly, he sleeps like a rock. But belly sleeping is bad, isn't it? What if it is with Brother Kitty watching over him?

...Birthdays. Isaac celebrated his 3 month birthday on yesterday and hit 13 weeks today. He is getting so big! He laughs all the time now. His new favorite trick is to be pulled from laying into sitting and then he pushes himself up with his legs to our cries of "big boy!" It makes him so happy, so we do it in the morning and the afternoon. Still not so much about tummy time, but he can hold his head straight in line when we do the aforementioned trick. It doesn't flop back, he is able to hold it steady. If I had to fathom a guess, I would say he is at about 12 lbs. And in all the Baby hulabaloo, I completely forget that my 28th birthday is rapidly approaching. Here he is at 3 months:

...Blueberry scone. Seriously. I have been craving one for about 2 weeks now, and no one ever has them! I am on a crusade to find a good recipe, so if you have one....

...Baby nicknames. Oh the things we call our little Isaac: Big Man (this is Ben's), Mr. Man, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Face, Poodle, Oodley Poodley, Pudding, Pudding Pop, Angel Face, and my favorite...Little Monster. :)

...Baby time. My husband is gone for most of this week for a work conference. As much, as we miss him and I know he misses us, I am very glad to have these few days just me and Isaac, before I return to work.

Lazy Day

Isaac and I have been having a lazy Wednesday. We stayed in our jammies until about 12:30, and took a big long nap this morning. It is way, way, way cooler out today so I have the doors open and it is really nice and cool in the house. Isaac is currently napping (again! finally he will nap in the afternoons!) on my bed which is his new favorite thing to do. :)

When I say lazy, I guess I should clarify that I am actually getting some stuff done, like cleaning and laundry. And I have started makingmy first freeze-it-for-work dinner, Chicken Pozole. I am procrastinating doing any real work for my new side job (I will talk about it one day I swear), and instead I have decided to play around on CafeMom.com.

It just feels like such a relaxing day, and thus seems a shame to clutter it with chores and such.

Remember my project list? I did start tackling the filing one last night...and man, it has been a while since I have done that! I have stuff from 2003. And not tax related stuff. I am trying to remember my rationale in keeping it, but no can do. It's getting shredded.

I also have started to try to track down Ben's old stock option plan from his job in Ohio before we moved. I found the last statement that he received before we moved,dated for 4/2003. We moved 8/2003, so I am guessing he might have a few more shares. However, the company now has a different name, and the website provided is no longer valid. I called the company, and of course, they are closed....damn time difference. I did however, compare the stock quote from today for that company and it has tripled since receiving this letter. That is of today. I am not sure what it has done in the 6 years between, and I am not sure what happens to it when the company changes hands. I have to call the HR department again tomorrow.

Speaking of investments (which I don't do because I know nothing about them), Ben finally opened his new retirement fund with his new company! They do contribution matching (yay!) and we decided on a set amount, which is actually fairly low. We picked this amount since I haven't worked in 14 weeks, and the SDI people seem to hate on me everyday. Plus this year is debt reduction year. We can always increase it later. Anyway, the point was that he has techinically woked for this compnay for 5 years, even though he worked in a franchise store. Now he works for corporate. In order to catch him up, they took the amount we specified and retro-ed it from the number of paychecks he has received since starting there. So....yeah. It was kind of alot to take out of one check. The only good thing is that the company matched what they took so we got a good jump start on the plan.

Ok this post is boring. I have to put up a picture of my baby to reward you for reading it. :)

Ghost Hunters: Sebastopol

My dear husband has recently become obsessed with the paranormal every single show related to this obsession. My DVR is thus filled with such programs as "A Hau.nting," "Par.anormal Sta.te," "Gho.st Adven.tures," "Most Hau.nted," and "Ghos.t Hunt.ers (which is the only one I will watch)." These programs FREAK ME OUT. I am not saying that I do or do not believe in ghosts or demonic possession or poltergeists, etc. All I am saying is that watching hours upon hours of these programs and then being by myself most of the time kinda gets me jumpy.

For example, my grandmother gave Isaac a little musical stuffed frog that plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (or the alphabet song, whichever you prefer) when you press him tummy. When we first got the frog, you had to pound on it to get any music out of it. Well, the other night I woke up to feed Isaac and I heard the frog going off in his bedroom. And not just once, MULTIPLE TIMES. When I was done feeding him, I put Isaac back in his bassinet and went to get my pump...frog still blazing away. So I went to investigate. Sure enough, there he was wedged into Isaac's stuffed animal basket having a good ol' time. I figured that he must be wedged in to tightly and the other animals must have shifted or something from the weight of all of them. Whatever. I pulled him out and set him on top, silencing him.

Or so I thought. The next morning, what do I hear? Yep, the damn frog!!!! It kept going off at random times, and each time it freaked me out more. I don't think Ben believed me.

Finally on Sunday, the wretched amphibian went off while Ben was home. I sent him to investigate. I heard it go off several more times and finally stop. According to Ben, the music box inside had shifted and was now hyper sensitive and s slight jiggle would set it off...like slamming doors or heavy footsteps or a cat jumping on the bookcase. He put the toy into a plastic toy container up in Isaac's closet, and we haven't heard it since.

According to my paranormal investigator husband, the case of the ghost frog has been debunked. He is now ready for his own show on SciFi. :)

Blessed

I didn't plan on posting again tonight, but in my attempt to indulge myself in mommy-blogs, I fell across the story of Maddie, and it broke my heart.

I am not ashamed admit that my heart broke for a total stranger, a woman and family I will most likely never meet. I am not embarassed that I cried as my heart broke while looking at pictures of this beautiful, miracle baby girl. I do not feel guilty for the money I sent to March of Dimes in her name.

If our biggest problem is an overheated home, than I will take it. Ben and I are truly blessed. We have a beautiful healthy baby boy who arrived without complication. My pregnancy was smooth, and gestational diabetes was inconvenient but absolutely nothing to complain about. We got pregnant without even trying, on our first try, and my heart breaks for all the loving people who have infertility struggles and pregnancy complications. My child's biggest issue is his lack of love for a bottle...and that is nothing.

I know my precious Isaac is sound asleep, but I just want to cuddle him. I want to pick him up and tell him how much he has lit up my life already, how he has enfused me with new passion and inspired me to be a better person since the moment he was born. I want to tell him how much I adore him, and how ferociously I love him. Everyday I have, will have, and have had, as a mother is a blessed gift. Every smile and laugh from my adorable baby is a gift that no one else could ever give me. I have never known love as I have known it as a mother. Isaac has given me so much and he has no idea.

I am going to lay next to his bassinet and fall asleep watching the little love of my life slumber peacefully.

Hot in Here!!!

It has been 90+ degrees here the past two days. It is supposed to cool down over the next few days and possibly even rain. This wouldn't be so bad, and we are actually used to the 100+ degree dry heat summers...except we just move into a house with no A/C. To increase the horrendousness that was yesterday and today, there are no screens in the windows, so I can't open them. Well, I could but then I would be running after two feline family members outside in the heat...

Getting some sort of cool airflow, especially through our room and Isaac's room is on our list of things to do once our tax refund hits our bank. Since we rent, I don't think central air is an option, but we are certainly and strongly considering two window units. And I am calling the landlord to ask about the screens ASAP.

My husband and I grew up in Ohio, where the humidity and heat raged rampant from June to August, so we are used to uncomfortable heat. Isaac, of course is not. :( Poor baby. I have had all our fans going, and the doors open. Isaac has been in his onesie and diaper. I have been changing his diaper frequently and dousing him in powder. I have kept the curtains drawn across the big windows and closed the blinds in our rooms once the sun hits them. I have even been wiping him down with a tepid cloth. We've sat in the shade to catch the breeze. It is just so hard to hear him be so uncomfortable and not be able to help him more. We took an air conditioned car ride today, and he liked that.

I am not usually so ill-prepared for weather extremes (with the exception of the snow in Ohio 2 weeks ago), but we didn't think it would get so hot so fast. Prepping the house for a hot summer is definately on the top of the list now.

Since I spent most of the day trying to keep the baby cool, not alot else got done. We did get an HD cable box for the bedroom for the new TV (did I talk about that? Hmmmm), and I did get some bills sorted out and some stuff set up for my "supplemental income" (no it's NOT drugs!!!!). Speaking of bills, I got the official itemized hospital bill, and have sent a copy off to my madre to check over along with the list of what we used, asked for, etc. My $819 total does include the happy drip! I only had a few questions, so hopefully I can get that sorted out by the end of the week and paid before I go back to work.

Ok, my attention must be averted elsewhere....did I mention that "the Hil.ls" is my guilty pleasure?

New Projects

I made a decision about the stocking kit I want to order for Isaac. I am not allowed to order it and begin a new project until I have finished the projects on this list:

Pull all old bills and statements to be shredded; file current year's statements, etc.; and reorganize file cabinet
Create Financial binder so all relevant info is in one spot (part of my hardcore buy a house prep)
Isaac's baby book....currently a pile of mayhem
Finish Christmas cookie book (indulging my in Christmas addiction)
Go through old magazine and pull out all recipes to put in recipe binder

These projects will not all be done by the 4th, but I am aiming for the end of May. We'll see.

Hush Little Baby

My son has developed a new sleeping pattern which I can't decide if I love or hate. For the past three nights, Isaac has gone to sleep at about 10-10:30 with little feeding. And then he sleeps until 4-4:30. I have gone to bed around the same as he has the past two nights because I am soooo tired and sore (from the massive 3 hr. walk around the lake with a Lamaze friend). I have really enjoyed the 5+ hour stretch of sleep I get.

What I don't really enjoy is that when he does get up, he is ravenous....and WIDE AWAKE. This means the schedule that took place previously at 6-7 am is now happening at 4-5 am. And when I say wide awake, I mean smiles and laughing and kicking and cooing. The full "I'm awake, Mommy, play with me, cuddle me, love me, I don't care if your eyes are still unfocused and crusted shut with sleep deprivation."

But I do it. I try in vain to put him back in the bassinet with the magical FP seahorse he has grown to love (or is that me?) but it has yet to be successful. So we get up and come out to the family room and hop onto the packnplay for a diaper change. I let him kick forcefully while I put everything away from our night and make my oatmeal and oj breakfast. Usually by this time, his eyes are looking a little heavy as he has been awake for about an hour and a half (I let him kick in the bassinet for a while, as long as he is happy). Thus far I have been able to put him in his swing and he falls asleep while I snooze on the couch for about 3 hours.

This schedule is fine now but will not be very good in 2 weeks when I have to go to work. Daddy will not want to get up at 4 am.

I am happy for the most part with how and how long Isaac sleeps. We have finally taken the hot water bottle out of the bassinet and he sleeps completely flat on his back with his arms over his head. We have moved to the half swaddle for his legs only since he loves his arms free (which probably isn't necessary anymore, but we are trying to adapt him to a few new things so one thing at a time, right?).

Bottle feeding...yeah, not so much. The past two nights have been tough. I don't understand what is going on because he used to take the bottle so well when we introduced it at about 3 weeks. He has had consistent bottles since then so it really is like he made the decision to hate them. Last night I got abou 2 ounces down him over about a 45 minute period in which I was talking to him constantly. You should have heard the things I was saying. If I stopped or paused for a second, everything unraveled. I have some more methods to try so we will see how it goes.

Today is Family Funday Sunday, so we have aBBQ to prepare for. :)

Christmas in April....

So I do not consider myself to be a crafty type person. I made Isaac's baby shower trains, and I just finished painting a picture frame for his room, but compared to certain godmothers who shall remain nameless ( he he :) ), my craftiness could fit on the head of a pin. However, I have this burning desire to make my son a Christmas stocking. I did some browsing today via internet and I found this one that I really like from Buc.illa:

I love Christmas. I love decorating, baking cookies (which may be an understatement given Christmas cookie weekend), buying and wrapping gifts, Christmas music....you name it and I love it. I am thinking that making this stocking will take me quite a bit of time given my new distractions and what seems to be A.D.D....seriously, right now I am supposed to be making a mexican meatloaf for dinner. And what am I doing? Shopping for a stocking that I should not buy yet and won't be able to start for about a month or so. I guess it is just my new compulsive nature or OCD to have everything done and done right now....except the meatloaf. :)

Oh! and I got my first insurance statement for my labor and delivery. The hospital billed them over 13k. My insurance believes that they only need about 4k, of which I only have to pay about $800. Whew. I was expecting way more. The Dr.'s contracted rate for labor and delivery and post partum care is covered 100% so I don't have to worry about that. Whew again. (Ps. his rate was over 5k....and he was seriously in my room for 20 minutes.) The only thing that I haven't seen yet is the anesthesiologist (sp?) bill for the happy meds. EPIDURAL = LOVE. However, I do not believe that will make up the balance of my OP max which is $2500 per year. And of that amount I had already used about 200 I think. We kept notes on every pill, pad, and napkin we used in the hospital. Everytime I asked for something or they brought me anything, we wrote it down (by we I mean my husband....I was otherwise occupied with pushing a baby from my loins). Thankfully, my madre is an insurance coder and biller, so she will go over everything before we pay a cent.

And I will close with an Isaac update and picture: the cry it out method...not working so well. I did get him to nap though (still sleeping in fact) on my bed by doing the side nurse. Another skill he has mastered at least somewhat is that when I go to change his diaper, he pulls his legs up for me once the diaper is off. :) However, he refuses to put them down when the new diaper is in place and ready to be fastened. We are working on it. He also LOVES the alphabet song. Someone gave him a leap frog toy that sings it and he laughs and laughs. I took a video but haven't figured out the software for the video camera yet.

The picture was taken by the aforementioned disgustingly talented godmother...but we love her anyway. :)

Through these hard times...

It's common knowledge to everyone that the economy sucks right now and that people are losing their employment left and right. Thankfully, my husband and I seem to be holding on to our jobs, but nevertheless, we are saving as much money as we can just in case (which is hard to do...my SDI benefits just expired. I maxed out my 12 paid weeks and am now working on vacation time). However, I used to work for a company that recently made some huge cutbacks in payroll and laid off many people. This company is Victoria's Secret.


Now, I understand the need to cut back expenses in this difficult time in order to keep as many people employed and the company in the black. Recently VS did massive payroll cuts: One of my friends took a $6/hr cut. Additionally, they did major layoffs and pushed some full time managers to part time. Two women I used to work with recently were laid off. They were both with the company for over 10 years, one of them approaching 20 and was 2 years away from her retirement. VS supposedly gave them a weeks pay for each year they were with the company. However, the one woman did not get her retirement. Not a penny. AND...their benefits are being cut, or have been within the two weeks of their layoff. Both these women are over 60.


Neither woman was a manager. My friend that took a pay cut was, but that is another story. I suppose the rationale of these company decisions is that the employees with pay cuts will just deal with it because they know it is very hard to find a new job. As for the women that were laid off, I guess they think that they will be able to hire part-time employees at a fraction of the cost of these women's former salaries, but they surely have to know that they will be getting a fraction of the service quality.

These decision to do layoffs and paycuts by VS angers me for a couple reasons, not just because it hits close to home for me. First of all, I get 7 million catalogs per day. I know they have cut paper consumption and that it is a separate division of the entire company...but seriously. I know for a fact that some catalogs don't even have new prices or products, just a different presentation.

Next, CUT YOUR DAMN PACKAGING! I can use a filmsy paper bag or cheap box. I don't need a fancy box to create my own giftset. I don't need a shiny pink bag with the supermodels plastered on it. Which leads me to my next point....

DON'T PAY THE SUPERMODELS 13+million a year! Seriously, who sells more product for you, a high quality staff or an overpaid model that no one ever sees? Maybe you don't need a 15million dollar fashion show.

Bottom line: people will buy just as much from VS without those things.

I don't have a high opinion of the VS corporation anymore. I won't share my story as to how and why I left the company, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I will never work for a large retail conglomerate again, if I can help it. Sure it has its perks but the downfalls are not worth it.

Ok...I am done. Isaac and I are trying the cry it out method in attempt to get him to take a nap. Not going well thus far.

Evolutions

While we were in Ohio, my husband and I did alot of soul-searching and discussing of what we want for our future as a family. As I have talked about before, we don't want to be in California forever for three reasons that we agree upon: 1. It's too expensive to buy a gallon of milk, let alone a home. 2. We don't want our kids (yes, plural...we do eventually plan to have more) to go to school out here. Private school is way, way, WAY too much and the state schools are not so hot anymore with all the education budget cuts and increased class sizes. 3. It's just too darn far from our families.

Because of this, we were trying to figure out our "gameplan." It made me take a hard look at my life, and where I want it to go. Everything truly changes when you have a baby, and my dreams now include a wonderful life for Isaac. I spent alot of time thinking about how I can give that to him and still balance in my own life and my husband's.

I started this blog to track my pregnancy and give updates to those far away (who, by the way, do not COMMENT!). Now that I have a beautiful baby boy, it seems fitting that it has just kind of evolved into one that tells my stories of motherhood. Being so far away from most of my friends and all of my family, I don't have alot of people to talk to, or alot of time to really talk to them with time differences and busy schedules. It just kind of comes out here. I have tried to keep my posts focused on all things baby, and my motherhood updates, but I realized that at this point, those two aspects are truly defining in who I am becoming and my/our goals. Herego, I am going to branch out a bit and talk more about a few things, including work, finances (moolah) and preparing to buy a house and for the future, my volunteer work, my hobbies (or lack there of), and of course...I will still primarily focus on my beautiful Isaac and how I am dealing with being a mother.

Ok...with that all said, there are a few more changes in me and Isaac that I have noticed. :) Prepare for an all things baby update:

Isaac does not like to burp anymore. He is so hungry, I think, that he does not want to burp in between sides. We try so hard, but nothing. Because of this, he gorges himself and then usually spits up about half of what he ate from the second side. Yes, all my clothes are starting to smell of spit-up. He even got some in my bed the other night! We aren't talking a little drool of milk here. I mean about a full ounce come flying out of his mouth in projectile format. Because of this bad eating habit, my milk supply is increasing AGAIN. Since he is feeding more often now, it is starting to wear on me again. I think I may have to pump more, just so he doesn't overeat if he isn't burping between breasts. Maybe 1 ounce since that seems to be what is coming up. I still am trying to work on the burping, but seriously....I can't beat on the kid's back for 20 minutes. Even after he is done, we have hard time getting the burpies up.

In another aspect, we are hard-core preparing to buy a house and move. That means serious saving and debt reduction. I revamped my spreadsheet of debts and interest rates and payments, and am going to take a hard look how to throw more that way. Our tax returns are really helping. We agreed to use half to pay off debt and half to save to create a cushion. That way, we can push more toward debt reduction from our weekly paychecks. (NOTE: when I talk about debt reduction and saving money, I don't intend to ever use real figures as this not a finance blog, just what we are doing to decrease debt and spending, and increase saving.) I am returning to work with 4 9-hour days rather than 5 8-hours. It's only a 4 hour a week income loss, and I think we will be fine, even with the added daycare expense. I am looking into some supplemental income options, and will post more on that soon when I am further into it.

Ok...my tummy is rumbling and I am starving! Time to eat breakfast before baby boy wakes up from the morning nap. :) We are going to meet with our lamaze class friends today for a walk around the nearby lake.

Home Again

After almost 2 weeks of constant attention and spoiled-ness, Isaac, me, and Ben have returned home and are trying to get back into the swing of things. It was a great trip, and I am really glad that Isaac got to meet and spend so much time with his family and our friends. It was very overwhelming at times, and extremely tiring for everyone, but I am glad we took the extra days just so we weren't constantly running around with Isaac all the time. As it was, we really only saw one person/family per day with a few exceptions.

His dedication and family fish fry went so well! It was very overwhelming and there were a ton of people there, but Isaac was a champ. One of the best tips I can give to any one throwing a party for or with a new baby: Keep him close to you and establish limits. We put Isaac on his blanket in the center of the living room floor when he was awake so people could see him. If people asked to hold him, I of course said yes, but I didn't really volunteer him up to anyone. And when he slept, I kept him on me. That way he could sleep without people poking at him and such. He only really cried a few times, and he slept like a rock that night...I got a good 6 hour stretch from him.

Easter was great as well. Oddly, the family party was not as large as his fish fry, but still did the same protocol as above. He got lots of present in Ohio, and I discovered the beauty of the flat rate priority box. We got alot of books, which I asked for. Our favorite is Mars.hmall.ow. :) I also discovered a deep love for the Fish.er Pri.ce Prec.ious Pl.anet collection. He now has the monkey bank, hooded towels, washclothes, bibs, and two blankets.

The flight home was just as smooth as the first, amazingly so, as this one was 5+ hours. He slept for most of the flight. When he woke up, he ate and then had his diaper changed in the lovely bathroom cubicle. He spent the rest of the flight cooing and smiling at pther passengers. Did you know that you can't have a baby in a Snug.li during landing or take off? Does that make any sense to you? Wouldn't I want the baby attached to me in case of a turbulent/violent/rough landing or take off rather than have him pitch across the cabin? Hmmm....

Anyway, Isaac is 11+weeks old now, and has hit alot of mini and mega milestones/firsts during our Ohio trip:

~He rolls from his back onto either side now, as opposed to side to back to side.

~He will take a bottle from everyone but me. Like, he can't even see me in the room or he screams.

~Ben and I had our first two dates sans baby and they went well. He stayed with either set of grandparents

~He attended his first sporting event: my state-champion track star brother's first meet of the season.

~He had his baby dedication and first Fis.her Family Fish Fry and met his godmother and almost everyone in the Ram.sey, Fish.er, and Ols.on families

~He had his first exposure to large dogs, my parents' and Ben's. This did not go over so well. Especially when they bark.

~ He has actual tears now when he cries. Precious and heartbreaking at the same time

~He holds his head up like a champ. We are still working on tummy time, which he still hates, but when he is sitting up, his head is perfectly held. :) He also pushes out from my chest when I am holding him and stares at me.

~He grabs my hair, necklaces, and collars and won't let go.

~He figured out that if he kicks at certain toys on his bouncer, the music and bubbles turn on.

~He has moved to the half swaddle, only around his legs. This is because....

~....He loves his hands in his mouth. Hasn't found the thumb quite yet, but definately found the hand.

If I had to fathom a guess, I would say he is at 11 pounds. Many of his 0-3 month clothes are still loose on him, but he fits most of them. He is way more active in the afternoons now, often forgoing a nap of mention and opting for occassional 20-30 minute catnaps. He plays on his back most of the time with bouts of swing and bouncer action. We take walks, but not in Ohio...it was DAMN cold. He also has conversations with us. :) I still have him in his bassinet. I think we will get a few more weeks out of it. He is still definately in the size range, but I am starting to get anxious about the movements. He sleeps with both arms out and often above his head, and he is rolling from side to back quite frequently. I have ordered the Crib tent cover...I came home to discover quite a bit of kitty fur in the crib...

I think he has hit another growth spurt. He is eating about every two hours again and gobbling both sides, which I would guess to be about 5-6 ounces. I was going through his pictures alot while we were gone and I just can't believe how big he is getting. My itty bitty baby. :) I really want to get started on his baby book soon, and finish printing out pictures. I got a special frame for my desk.

I go back to work in about 2 weeks, on May 4th. I may take him to daycare for a half day next week and a full day the week after that. He is only going for 3 days a week, sometimes less. One of the great things from our trip was that he got used to being taken care of by other people and waking up to see someone else but me. I was there for most of the time, with the two date exceptions, but I let my mother and MIL do alot for him. I have gotten a daycare box around for him which has some emergency stuff in case I forget something in the diaper bag: tylenol, mylicon, aspirator, desitin, extra burpie clothes, a bottle brush, bottle warmer, extra nipples, extra binkies, socks, a hat, a wipes refill, and two extra bottles. I also have his extra adventure gym ready to go. I do want to get another carseat base for the sitter's car. We didn't use one in Ohio, just strapped in the carseat, which worked perfectly fine, I just feel safer with him in the base as well.

And since I muttled this post something fierce, I will close with pictures. :) Thanks for bearing with my randomness in getting out all things baby. :) The first is with his friend Luke:)

This is friend Lily....

4 generations at Easter....

With future girlfriend Lila....she's an older woman ;)

With cousins Gracie and AJ

And lastly....my little Easter bunny baby.... :)

O-H......I-O!

Just a quick update to say that we made it safely and uneventfully to Ohio! Isaac screamed through the airport out of hunger and then slept the entire flight, only briefly waking to eat once. He is having a great time meeting all his family and being spoiled and cuddled. He adjusted to the 3 hour time difference really well and his normal schedule is only off about 45 minutes, if that.

Ben and I had our first night out, sans baby last night. It went really well. We just went out to dinner at an old favorite restuarant and did some quick shopping. It was wierd to be without Isaac, but he was with my parents so I felt really comfortable. I only called once to check on him and that was more to see if I needed to come home to feed him anytime soon. I guess he took his bottle really well last night. :) Maybe the anti-fake nipple phase is over.

I love how he is getting tired out during the day! The past two nights he has slept in a 6 hour and 3 hour block. It's nice.

Today is his dedication and fish fry. He is already up and ready to party! :)