Sippin with Nana and Rowdy

I had to work late so Nana and Rowdy very courteously agreed to pick up Holden from Mrs. B's, bring him home, and play with him until he passed out.

Nana took this sweet picture of Holden at dinner hamming it up.

-Carmen

Trick or Treat!

I just finished assembling baby boy's first Halloween costume.

Can you guess who/what he is?

-Carmen

Half the Length of Mom

The only upside to Holden being sick ... yes there is an upside ... is that he wants to cuddle with me all the time!  I've held him more this last week than I have since the first weeks he arrived.

Last night I was standing in the kitchen holding him, his forehead to my forehead and we were rubbing snotty noses.  Jordan examined the length of our offspring, head to toe and said he is almost half the length of ME. 

He is starting to look like a little boy and less and less like a baby.  

I look back at his "baby baby" pictures and think, "ewww, he was kind of funny looking."  At the time, though I thought he was the most gorgeous angel on earth.

Holden is all over the place.  He is walking back and forth on the rug with the aid of the sofa.  He is banging blocks together, and he has figured out how to play his toy bongos with the blocks, the palms of his hands, and of course ..... his head!

He claps his hands, but instead of hitting palm to palm, he smacks the back of his left hand with the palm of his right.

It is so creepy that now he can grab the top of the side tables, pull himself up, and clear off said table with one broad sweep of his arm.

He even climbed 4 steps on our staircase last night (I was right there, don't panic Mimi.)

.... argh .... coughing fit ....  gotta call it a night.

-Carmen

Nyquil, anyone?

Now, I'm sick.  Poor Jordan.  Two sickies to deal with.

Ugh.

So, so, tired.

-c

You Give Me Fever

Holden was super restless last night. I checked in on him frequently and it seemed he just couldn't snuggle into his bed with his blankie deep enough.

This morning I put him in his boppy chair and gave him his sippy cup while I readied myself for the day. He quit drinking 3/4 of the way through - very unusual for him. When I got out of the shower I noticed he was soaked in milk. I assumed he spilled it from the spill-proof sippy cup, but later realized he puked.

Holden was very lethargic and looked like he would drift off into sleep at any second.

I had already dressed him for the day and since I needed to change him out of his milk-soaked duds and he seemed so sleepy, I put him in PJs and decided to pack clothes for Mrs. B.

Poor baby started crying. I noticed he felt warm, but thought it was due to his frustration and need for extended sleep.

I sat Holden on the living room berber so I could put on my shoes .... and then he hurled ... and proceeded to crawl through it.

I scooped him up to strip him down and took his temperature "the hard way."

101.9

I start flashing to all the things that may have made him sick.

Was it the flu shot? No, that was too long ago.

Was it the shopping cart strap I extracted from his mouth that he was so diligently sucking the life out of over the weekend?

Maybe it is the FOUR teeth on top trying to come in all at once!

Jordan stayed with him and when I returned home this evening, he said that this was the first time in 9 months that Holden fell asleep in his lap.

Holden slept most of the day .... on his daddy's chest or in his lap.

Jordan is staying with Holden tomorrow, too and if he is still running a fever they will go see Dr. Frank.

I want to take care of him. I SHOULD be taking care of him.

Mommy guilt ... this stuff sucks.

-Carmen

Water, Water, Everywhere

Holden pee peed on the bathroom rug.

I normally wait until I've run some water in the tub before stripping him down so he can "go" one more time if the mood strikes upon hearing the rushing water.  

Tonight I got ahead of myself and sat naked baby on the rug before filling the tub.

I turned on the water .... Holden turned on the water.

Then I forgot about it.

Ever step on a tinkle soaked rug ............... in socks?

-Carmen

Sweet K's Shower

Last week I had the great pleasure of attending one of Mrs. B's granddaughter's wedding shower.  Mrs. B's whole family is absolutely gorgeous and I was granted the special task of documenting the occasion.  K, the bride-to-be was so sweet and so much fun.  I have tried all week to keep this picture on the "hush," but I just can't resist any longer.  

This is K with her momma.  Click to enlarge. 

(K - I hope it is ok, I'm posting this ... you made a big impression on me!  Thank you for letting me "stalk" you at your shower!)

-Carmen

Now You Go, Muhmuh

I can hardly keep up with the new stuff Holden does each day!

Holden thinks Da-da was made to wrestle with and Muh-muh was made to fix stuff.

When Jordan tries to help me out and take the "getting ready for bed" shift with Holden, the bath, pajamas, and/or evening bottle usually result in a screaming baby that refuses to go to bed.

Holden still fights me a little, but he seems certain that daddy is there to play ... momma is all business.

Last night I bathed Holden and asked Jordan to take care of the magical task of stuffing squirmy wormy baby into footie pjs. Under much distress from them both, Holden was eventually clothed. I stepped back in for the last bottle, and Holden discovered a new game.

Holden would take a few gulps from his bottle and then hold the bottle up to my mouth so I could have some milk, too. I pretended to "slurp, slurp, slurp," and "gulp, gulp, gulp." He smiled and giggled and put the bottle back in his mouth. Over and over again he took a few drags and offered it to me. My heart absolutely melted.

He remembered the game tonight, too. "Here, Ma. You look vitamin deficient. Take a swig of this!"

I say it all the time, but who IS this kid? He's half me and half Jordan. How did we get so lucky?

-Carmen

First Day at New Job

Well, I survived! I am exhausted. I met a lot of the other staff members and got a crash course in my daily responsibilities.

I also met several of the seniors that I will be working with. One sweetie could not hear me when I told her my name, no matter how loud I was. She kept calling me "Carpet." Another woman leaned in right against her ear and said, "you know, like Carmen Miranda?" She still thought my name was a popular form of floor covering, calling me "Carpet," again. So, I wrote it down, C-A-R-M-E-N. "Oh," she said, "who's that?"

Too cute!

I wish I could say more about my first day on the job, but I am beat. I got home just before time to put baby boy in bed and he did not want to lay down. So he won and played a while longer.

Holden has been running his tiny fingers through my hair at the nape of my neck when I hold him. It is the sweetest thing. He lays his head on my shoulder and gently combs my hair. It seems to soothe him ... and me.


-Carmen

There's a Rumbly in my Tumbly

Tomorrow is my first day at my new job.

Gulp...

Double gulp....

I'm kind of nervous.

So far everything is too good to be true. I'm waiting for a piano to drop on my head.

Glass half full...

Repeat after me ... GLASS HALF FULL!

-Carmen

He’s Up! He’s Down…

Last night Holden figured out how to go from crawling and lying down into a sitting position. He was so impressed with himself he repeated the actions over and over, and each time looking at Da-da for approval.

Holden has also started pulling up into a standing position this week. Again, very impressed with his new trick he looks to his parents for affirmation.

We lowered the crib mattress about a week ago, and yesterday I removed the bumper pad since he can easily pull up. Poor baby likes to snuggle up against the plush padding while sleeping and last night when I checked in on him, his face was smashed against the crib slats. Ouchers!

-Carmen

Visit with Dr. Frank

Holden and I went to see Dr. Frank this week for his 9 month checkup.

Holden weighs over 21 pounds and he is now 29” long. Holden has officially graduated from his infant car seat. Jordan is installing his new seat, today.

A neighbor that repairs cars gave it to us. A customer of his forgot to take it out when he dropped his car off for repairs, and bought a new one. This one looks brand new. We are very lucky to have it, it is very nice and not the kind of seat we could go out and get ourselves.

Holden had a little blood drawn by one of those devil sticks to the finger. I would have passed out, but he seemed fascinated. No tears and no screams … just a little squirming.

Then came the flu shot! After the nurse stuck his chunky thigh I could see him winding up for the wail …. eyes wide, mouth open, and shoulders drawn up. And wail, he did! For a whole 10 seconds, and then he was over it … just like that, he was done. He was just clingy the rest of the day … I didn’t mind.

Only one bit of bad news, but we will get through it. Holden’s head is tilted left and his shoulder is drawn up. Not a really big deal, just something that needs to be corrected before it gets worse. When Dr. Frank pointed out the leftward lean, I immediately said, “it’s my fault. I know it’s my fault," while trying to force my head upright. I tilt my head to the right most of the time and he is mirroring. I tilt my head to the right so much it actually strains my neck to tilt left! Holden will be starting physical therapy soon and mommy will be stretching and making more of an effort not to LEAN with him.

-Carmen

A Little More of the Orange Stuff

Just a few more pumpkin pictures.

This is what the opposite of camouflage looks like ..... where DID that kid go?

I've said it before, but why is this kid so pale ... see-through, even?  Oh, wait!  I'm see-through, too.

Anyone remember that movie, Flowers in the Attic?  Holden looks like he has NEVER been outside.

-Carmen

Punkin and Pumpkins

We went to the Arboretum this afternoon. I had grand plans to get there early to catch some early morning light and shadow, but I overslept ... by a lot.

Our little family had a great time. The gardens were stunning. I wished we lived closer.

We visited the pumpkin patch for fun fall pictures of Holden. I resized them on my Mac and they looked great, but loaded them to this post on my PC ... for some reason my Mac and Google don't always play well together. They looked great on the Mac, but are very washed out here. I don't know why. Try clicking on them to enlarge ... maybe the color is better????

Holden loved the pumpkins and was VERY interested in the hay....

I took the cute hat my friend J made Holden ... I thought it would be cute and fall like, but who am I kidding - we all know it is summer here until November. Poor baby was too sweaty anyway.

-Carmen

Happy 9 Months!

Ok, so I missed it by a couple of hours.

Bad mommy.

My favorite thing about life with Holden this month is how determined he is.  He sees something on the other side of the room and he quasi-hauls after it.  Yes, it is usually something he isn't suppose to touch like the cord on the fan, but the look of will and concentration exhibited by his furrowed brow is priceless.

-Carmen

Twelve Boxes

I have officially packed my office and for all intensive purposes ... moved out.

Jordan came by work to get my things, yesterday.

There it all was, packed into boxes labeled "work" and "home," wheeled out on a cart, then divided between our vehicles.

I'm sad :(

Today is the last day.

-Carmen

Last Day Countdown

For the last several years I have made the morning crawl from my house to work, and I have noticed the crawl get a little slower with each passing year.

It has never really bothered me.  I NEVER LIKED the commute, but it was just part of the day.  Not my favorite part.  It ranks right up there with abandoning my pillow and doing dishes.  Just an unfortunate necessity.

Now that my countdown has begun I CAN'T STAND IT!!!!  

Last week .... probably around Wednesday morning, it hit me, "I only have to sit here in my car hoping that guy in the red pickup truck I see every morning doesn't bump my bumper 7 more times!!!!!  Eat it, suckers!!!"

Yesterday and today I felt very rushed and frustrated ... like getting there faster will mean I only have to make the trek 1 more time instead of 3.

____________________

Three more days.  

Three more days and then I'm off on another path.  

I have made a lot of really good friends at work.  They are good people.

I've avoided thinking about the leaving part too much because it doesn't really feel like it is happening.

Tonight I FORCED myself to sit and ponder things.

When something out of the ordinary happens at work, we joke, "that's going in the book!"  I started thinking about all the stories in that book and realized how much I am going to miss my friends.  Sure, I'll still see a lot of them and talk to them, but it will be different now.  They will have all the inside jokes that I am oblivious to.  I won't be readily available to help them and vice versa.  We will have to plan visits in advance and somebody is going to have a long drive.  

Just different.

So, to Lamby, Anni Ruth, The Puffy Hair Club for Men, Trudy, Mateo, Lil' Jules, Feisty D, Alberto, and Dougie Fresh.... thanks for everything! 

I did my crying tonight, so no tears at the party, ok?

-Carmen

Holden Crawled!!!!

He did it!  Holden crawled ... the real deal ... about 8 steps .... or shuffles ... or whatever you call them.

He was wedged under his swing and grunting.

I said, "Come here, Punkin'" and he started crawling toward me one knee and one hand at a time.  

When he realized what he was doing, he stopped, his eyes glazed over, and he fell flat to his belly.

He was done.

I'm so proud of him!!!!!!

-Carmen

Fried Pickles and Turkey Legs

I'm almost embarrassed to say it .... I went to the state fair for the first time ever, last night.

What?  How can that be?  What kind of citizen am I?

I know.  I know.  Shame on me.

Jordan suggested on a whim that we go to opening night and eat something fried.

It was a great night to be there.  It was fairly quiet and easy to get around.

I love, love, love the teeny tiny miniature Zebus.  I am a sucker for cows anyway because of their beautiful eyes and lashes, but shrink them down to pocket-size (not quite that small) and Jordan had to restrain me from running up and hugging one ... or two ... or all of them.  I must have said, "hi, pretty baby" a hundred times.

One of the ranches represented, TK Ranch is located in a nearby town (small world) and we talked to the husband and wife team for a few minutes about their precious cargo.

We made our way to the food and shared a turkey leg, but I could have devoured the whole thing myself ... side note ... when I was preggers last fall, I insisted we hit as many carnival/fair type venues as possible.  I was on a mission and HAD TO HAVE turkey legs, kettle corn, and corn dogs ... HAD TO!  Last night I also ate the best fried pickles with their special secret sauce from Gigi's Fried Green Tomatoes.  D-LISH!

The best part of the trip was just being together.  Little Bit was with his Nana and Rowdy.  Jordan and I talked and laughed more last night than we have in weeks.  

I get to see my girls, tonight!  Well not exactly tonight.  We are having dinner at 4pm.  Tee hee hee.  

-Carmen

PS

State fair = good people watching!

No News, just cute