What a funny kid!

UGH!  It's been too long since I've posted!  Kellen is 8 months and 3 weeks now.  He's doing awesome...back in the Montessori school for daycare.  He seems to do really well there, but he's got a perpetual runny nose.  Next week is his 9 month pediatrician appt!  He's been holding steady at 20-21 lbs, but he's getting really tall!  His length is half of his crib!  He's happy most of the time unless he's tired or hungry.  He stares at everyone, but sometimes he's smiley and playful with strangers.  Sometimes he just wants mommy or daddy.  He can pull himself up onto anything and then stand unassisted!  And yesterday for the FIRST TIME, he waved bye-bye to our neighbor, Mary!  It was so cute!  He wasn't sure about it, but he brought his hand up and curled up his fingers and was staring at me like, "Am I doing it right?"  He says Ma ma ma ma ma, da da da da da, ba ba ba ba, ya ya ya ya, na na na na.  And he loves to shake his head side to side like he's saying "no".  I don't think he knows what it means, he just likes doing it and it's SO Funny!  I just love spending time with him...his smiles are pure HEAVEN!!  Check out the video of him below...I crack up everytime!!

Kellen's first time in the big bathtub!

So, yesterday evening, I got Kellen into his baby bathtub, but he was sitting straight upright in it and grabbing at the whirlpool jets in the tub, trying to fall OUT of the baby bathtub.  So I thought...oh what the hey...I'll just put him straight into the tub.  After all, he is crawling and sitting up really well on his own.  So, below is a video of him being super cute in the tub!  I love his babbling too...just brings joy to my heart.

Today, I was cancelled from work...census must be low, which doesn't surprise me since it's a holiday weekend.  But it was okay...cause Patrick is off and he and his brother, Steve and his family were going to go to Six Flags...so I got to go too!!  BUT, it was a little bit of a bust...we only got to ride a few rides because of the thunderstorm clouds.  And it was HOT and HUMID!  I was downright melting...it was really miserably hotttttttt.  Then, while we were eating lunch, a big thunderstorm came thru and it turned into an all-out severe thunderstorm with hail and really high winds.  Me and my two nephews, Mitchell and Logan, were stuck in Steve's Expedition while Patrick and Steve ran to be with Steve's wife Jean and daughter Maggie--they got shelter in the girls' bathroom--hahahaha!  It was scary being in the truck, though...it was super hot...but we couldn't really open the doors because the rain and hail was coming down so hard.  And then the truck was rocking back and forth because of the winds.  Trees went down in the Six Flags parking lot...it was crazy.  Poor Logan was freaking out because he didn't know if his dad was okay and it looked like a tornado outside!  So, we had to leave early....which was a total bummer.  Of course...didn't rain in Plano at all.

6-18-10 Kellen saying La La La!

The biggest love in the world...

I sit here staring at Kellen while he's on the floor playing with his activity mat.  I love it when he looks up at me and then smiles real big and kicks like he's so excited to see me.  His smile is the most wonderful thing I have ever experienced. It is all the joy I have ever felt all wrapped up in one little baby boy.  I love watching him learn and explore and play.  When either Patrick and/or I are holding him, we kiss him constantly. I wonder if he ever gets sick of it.  I just want to kiss his little head forever and ever.  I look at him and honestly I can't imagine loving someone more, and I can't imagine a more beautiful child.  I wonder what I did to deserve this love that I have dreamed of for years and years.  I prayed for this, back when I was living in Florida and feeling very alone.  I remember staying up late at night thinking about how I wished my life would be...and this is it.  Except I wish my mom were here.


Kellen woke up today with the MOST horrible god-awful diaper rash I have ever seen.  It made me want to cry.  The only thing I can think of is that I fed him avocado for the first time yesterday.  And probably the last time!  We put, as Patrick calls it, the "butt spackle" on...and it was better this evening...although still not pretty.  If I could beat up an avocado...I would.


Today I bought some organic pears at Target and made some fabulous pear puree.  Funny...it tastes a lot like applesauce!  Next vegetable will be carrots.  Next fruit is peaches.  It is so hilarious to give him his first taste of anything.  He makes the most hilarious face...like I'm trying to poison him or something.  And then he opens his mouth for more!  Funny boy.

OH my aching back!

So, I was supposed to work with the employee health nurse today, but that flexeril (muscle relaxant) I take at night makes me all jello-like.  Not pretty.  I don't like it.  My back still bothers me and the other medicine the doctor gave me (Mobic) doesn't work very well, either.  Ibuprofen works way better, so I'll just stick with that.  What I think will REALLY help is some massage.  I have a gift cert to Massage Envy; I need to just go in and make an appt.

Took the infant car seat out of my car and put the Britax car seat in. This way, I'm not lugging around Kellen + car seat.  When I'm holding Kellen close to me, he doesn't feel heavy. Of course, now, whenever I go shopping, he gets to sit in the front seat of the cart like a big boy!!!  That should be interesting!  Hopefully he can hold himself up.

MAN, I'm not looking forward to packing up this house!!!  It's a tad overwhelming.  Anyone up to packing  boxes???

Gotta move!

We just got notice today that we have to move out; the owner of our condo needs to move back in.   AGH! Fortunately, Aunt Ida works with someone at the Plano Symphony office that is renting a house in Plano (less than a mile from where I work)!!  So, this is it.  It's a little dated, with slightly horrible wallpaper, but nothing I can't live with. Heck, maybe they'll let me paint and stuff and reimburse me???  We'll see!  So, it's in an awesome location, probably 2-3 miles from Aunt Ida and Uncle Paul, less than a mile from the hospital where I work, and less than a mile from the Montessori school where we take Kellen. Patrick is also fairly close to work, too. 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage! Lots of storage, big master walk-in closet, huge bath in the master.  It's not a huge house by any means, but it's nice. Patrick gets to see it on Saturday. The neighborhood is awesome too...very pleasant, clean, nice lawns.  What does everyone think??

What it feels like to be eaten by a baby...

I did some pretty-ing up of the place...you like?

I am now on forced paid vacation because of hurting my back. Woe is me. Actually, I was stunned to realize that I DON'T wanna miss work! I LOVE work! What the hell am I going to do at home?? Well, tomorrow is day one...and I'm going to make some homemade Kellen-food. I have a few sweet potatoes and some peas. I'm going to boil them and make some puree and add some spices. Kellen needs some SPICE in his life! Nothing crazy mind you. But a little cinnamon with the sweet potatoes??  YUM! I have a baby food making book...I will have FUN!

You won't like it when I'm angry!!

Tonight was rough. I got off work 3 hrs early because they didn't want to pay me OT (rrr!), so I picked up Kellen from day care, went to Babies R Us and got his FIRST sippy cups ever (!!), then went home. Little man and I hung out on my bed for a while...he was pretty content to roll around and bounce on his knees, but he started to get a little fussy. They told me that he last ate at 4pm, so next bottle was at 8pm (or bedtime). Needless to say...he did NOT make it to 6pm without having a total meltdown. So I tried to feed him some oatmeal and mashed bananas. He had a few bites, but for some reason started to really lose it, as if I had put a giant quantity of cayenne pepper in his food. He would stop crying when I put the spoon up to him, but as soon as I pulled the spoon out of his mouth, he would get so PISSED OFF! He wanted to just sit there and gnaw on the spoon. After a few more bites...he was just crying constantly, I had to stop.

I put him in the tub...which chilled him out for a little bit...but then he lost his little mind again...again acting like I was killing him or something. I was actually a little worried! So, I had the bottle warmed, which of course settled him down immediately. He sucks down his bottles in 5 mins flat. He was rubbing his face and scratching his head...TIRED!!  So, I sat him up...he proceeded NOT to spit up, but actually projectile vomit all over himself, me, and the floor (which I managed to forget about and then step in later with my bare feet...NICE).

I took him straight to bed...and he turned over on his side and fall asleep without protest within minutes.  He actually doesn't usually EVER protest when he goes to bed...I hope this little quality of his lasts FOREVER!

This week will be his last week at the Montessori school till August. My awesome 16 yr old cousin, Jamie, will be watching Kellen for us on the two or three days that one of us actually isn't home. This will be a HUGE savings in $$ for us...maybe now I can pay off my medical bills from having the baby!  Plus, it will make me so happy that he's with family...at home. I hope he doesn't drive her crazy, although she sits with him whenever we go out, so she's familiar with his hijinks. Actually, Kellen has very few hijinks. I'm sure he will gain lots of hijinks in the next month or so as he learns to crawl...

It's Kellen's First Blog!!! BLOGTASTIC!

What kind of baby doesn't have a blog??? P'SHAW! Not MY baby! Seriously, people, have you MET me? Sure, I could be cleaning or doing something productive...but I happen to think this is VERY productive. It's a diary for Kellen. He just fascinates me (us) every day with the things he does, and I really would love to have them recorded for posterity and also allow everyone else to rejoice in his growth as well.

So, let's get this out of the way... I really am blessed beyond words to have the best husband and baby boy on the face of this earth. Sure, we have our days where we frustrated about stupid stuff, usually money-related, but I think we are on the right path in THAT respect now...thanks to my Aunt Ida. She sat down with me for hours last night and we worked on our finances. When Patrick came home from work, I gave him the wonderful news that we HAVE to go on a money diet. He was very agreeable, and I showed him the hard numbers in black and white. Fortunately, we can pay off bills in a short amount of time, say...a year...and be in an excellent position to buy a house (finally). Needless to say, having a baby is slightly more expensive than NOT having a baby. And we are in NO rush to ADD to that expense! I never say never, but neither of us see another offspring in the future at this point. I do want to see how I feel after Kellen turns one...that may ALL change!!

But, despite the money diet...I am about as blissfully happy as I've ever been. There's nothing like the love of a GOOD man and a CUTE baby! I still have single friends or friends without children, and I just want to say to them...it really is AWESOME!! Having a child is all that sappy stuff you usually hear; you just never get it until it happens to you. All of a sudden my life has the most meaning it's ever had. Hell, my life is BURSTING at the seams with so much meaning...I can't even define it. (What that means, I have no idea) I really have very little desire to go out to bars like I used to...the whole time I'm thinking of Kellen. Yes, I am THAT girl now. It's awesome! Thank you God!!

So, really, enough about me. Let's talk about booger-face. No, really, he is a booger-face...especially in the morning. Especially yesterday! That boy has a constant stream of clear snot coming out of his cute nose. He really has had the snots for a WHILE. Probably a good two months. The snot ebbs and flows, and currently it is in the *flow* state. I was able to put the snot sucker away for a bit, now we're gonna have to pull it out again. I really can't wait until all this congestion goes AWAY!! The big debate is whether it's allergies or colds. The nurse practitioner told me that it's probably a cold, since he's in daycare. I've been really thinking it seems like allergies. WHY do I think it's allergies? Well...Patrick and I both have hay fever and mild to moderate allergies. My skin, especially, tends to react allergically to certain lotions, soaps, tapes. It's annoying as hell. Kellen, himself, has had baby eczema since he was weeks old. I have to put Eucerin on his face and behind his ears and he scratches the HELL out of his face and ears to the point of drawing blood. Not pretty. I've also noticed that you can see a very faint rash all over his chest and back (in good lighting). I just changed to All liquid detergent (it was a lot cheaper) from Gain, so I wonder if that's the culprit. (???) I've been reading, if a baby has eczema, they are more likely to have allergies to other things. So, there's my rationale.

Bottom line, I don't want poor Kellen to suffer! For now, I'm just going to continue using the Eucerin cream...it seems to work miracles and clears up the eczema on his precious face.

Eating is the other big thing...I have started feeding him pureed vegetables from Gerber. He's had green beans, peas, and now we are on squash. He loves it all! The trick is feeding him without getting it EVERYWHERE. Aunt Ida noticed that it's much easier to keep him clean when you hold him in your lap and feed him. I usually feed him in the Bumbo chair, because it allows me mobility. But then he's grabbing the spoon to put into his mouth, and he's getting pureed goodness all over the place. His thing lately is also to grab the bottle to put into his mouth, and he also grabs cups and puts them in his mouth...CORRECTLY! He looks like a tiny baby drinking from an adult cup...it's hilarious! We were told it's time to get him a sippy cup to start playing with and learning to use. Yesterday he was fussy, so I put 2 oz of filtered water in his bottle and just gave it to him. He grabbed the bottle and put it into his mouth like a 2 year old. It was amazing! He's so smart!

The only thing, though, he's not babbling as much as I'd like. He still just says "Ahhh, ehhh..." or any vowel sounds. He doesn't do the "Mmmah mmah duh duh" thing. Every once in a great while he'll make a "mmm" or "ddd" sound. He DOES seem to like to make sounds with the spit in his mouth! And I just love listening to him while we're in the car. I'll turn the radio completely off so I can listen to him go "ooooh" and "ahhhh" in the back seat...Kellen singing to me is WAY better than any Imogen Heap song. (Even better than NIN...sorry Renee!!)

On the crawling/mobility front...yesterday we noticed that he can get himself up on all fours! But that's it. He rolls around, does his Superman impression (a lot), and gets on his hands and knees. I'm thinking he's REALLY close to crawling! YIKES!

So, that's about it for our first blog... Hopefully I won't go a month before posting again. It feels absolutely decadent to sit here and type while Patrick has Kellen out grocery shopping!!!