Triple Digits... again

For those of you lucky enough not to be stuck in Texas this summer (I like Texas, but seriously I am tired of summer) you havent experienced the unending heat that is summer here- this summer is one of the hottest on record (arent you glad you signed up to visit us?). I sincerely apologize to those of you headed out here this week... the weather is supposed to be in the triple digits all week, actually it is supposed to stay toasty for the foreseeable future- bring your swimsuits you will need them! Who knew that a day in the high 90's would seem downright frigid and that not only would we pray for rain, but we would be thrilled just to see a cloud?

Daddy's Boy

Before Michael was born I wondered who he would look and act like, I wondered if he would have hair, or a funny smile, or be a happy baby, and I wondered if he would like us. Granted, Michael is currently all of 3 weeks (and one day) old, and his personality hasnt come through much, but I think he has one great like- his dad. I am pretty sure that if Michael was a formula fed baby he would prefer his dad (since he isnt I have an unfair advantage at the moment). Don't get me wrong, I am not jealous, I think it is adorable that the little guy loves his dad, and even more than that, I think it is adorable how much Brian likes his little buddy. Michael is content to sit and listen to his dad talk about Starcraft or watch a documentary, and more than happy to cuddle with him in the morning before dad wakes up and goes to work, he likes to sit on his lap while he works on the computer, and likes it when his dad gives him a bath (he does funny voices), basically this little guy loves his dad. To be honest, his dad aka Brian has been fantastic since day one- he changes diapers (in the middle of the night too), cuddles the little guy, and got everything ready so by the time Mikey showed up all we were set.

PS dont you love how this blog went from my insane ramblings to all about Mikey... this is out of control.

Sleep Deprived Parents Rock My World!

For the past two nights Michael hasnt been the best sleeper. On Thursday night he just didnt want to sleep, he wasnt fussy, but he didnt want to close his eyes. Last night (friday) he didnt want to sleep either... I passed him off to his dad (horrible I know), who stayed up with him for a few hours- what a good Dad! Instead of one sleep deprived parent today Michael has two!

Falling Asleep is Hard Work

Sometimes it's hard to take a nap by yourself. Sometimes your mean mom tries to make you sleep alone and you have to scream and cry (not too loud though because your acid reflux makes you hoarse) until she gives up and lets you sleep on the Boppy on her lap... then you are nice and happy... being a little guy is tough.

Oh Wow!

Tonight I went in our room to put the baby to bed and guess what I found on my pillow... the sixth season of the West Wing! I already have seasons 1-5, but season 6 magically found its' way to my house... really my wonderful husband bought it for me as a surprise- what a great husband, seriously he changes diapers and surprises me with the West Wing, what else could I ask for!

This is me trying to reinact my surprise... not quite as good as the real version.

The Many Faces of Mikey...

Auntie Em aka Emily reminded me today that I failed to post photos of Michael for several days in a row now. In an attempt to remedy the situation (and of course placate Auntie Em) here are just a few photos from the past few days.

Michael needed his nails trimmed, like his hair, these are growing out of control! My mom (Grammy) volunteered to do it (I cut my nails really short so I think she was trying to save him). He didnt appreciate her kind gesture...
This was the beginning of the nail cutting process...
Yesterday Mikey and I took a nap (I have taken less than 10 naps since he was born so this was a rare(ish) moment). While we were sleeping Brian snuck in and took these photos of us.
Oh Mikey!

One Project Done!

A couple of months ago I saw this and knew I wanted to make a version of it. With my mom here, and willing to cut out all the pieces (can you believe that she was nice enough to do that?) we "closely mirrored" the pages from the original book... with a few alterations and without all the hand stitching. I doubled up the pages (two sheets of felt) to make the book sturdier and put rivet things (this is not their technical name) over holes so the book can be assembled like a three ring binder... oh yeah and I hot glued where possible, none of that time consuming hand or machine stitching for me (have you tried to machine sew felt, seriously not a good idea). All in all I like the book, I think the original one is much cuter (and let's face it better quality), poor Mikey will have to deal with my hot glued imitation instead of the hand-stitched masterpiece.

The cover... I may need to come up with another way to hold the whole thing together, but in the meantime these ribbons will work (the rings I have are too small, I have to get larger ones, but that involves a trip to the store which requires a tiny bit more planning these days).

The Whale- this one I did come up with, it was originally a Jonah and the whale page, but Jonah freaked me out (his eyes followed you), so I used a fish instead. Yes, I am aware that many whales eat plankton and krill, and the likelihood of finding a whale the size of an island, let alone a cute yellow fish the size of a house is... really small, but hey work with me here.

I thought the fish page needed at least two fish, otherwise the lone fish would be... well lonely. The fish can be moved around the tank using the velcro patches.

The butterfly has moveable and squishable wings, sure a butterfly is "girly", but who can resist the smiling face?


The frog's tongue can be used to "catch" any of the velcro flies on the page. The original book used snaps, but I figure Mikey is a ways off from understanding how to use a snap... plus snaps are harder to sew on.

This is my favorite page... the owl peekaboo page. So cute!
Mommy Owl... and Baby Owl!

Monkey and the banana, I didnt get a good photo of this, but the object of the page is to "peel" the banana- basically the top yellow piece folds down to reveal the banana.

This might actually be my favorite page. This touch and feel ribbon lion is just too cute!
I think I just like ribbons.

Seagulls, Heartburn, and a Cozy Baby

My baby squeaks. There really isnt another way to put it, he squeaks. Well no, to be fair he sounds like when seagulls fly overhead, but at first your initial thought is "is that a baby or a chew toy". Mikey has made this sound since birth, and at first it can be a bit unnerving. The sound is loud, not a typical baby sound, and if you are unfamiliar with it, he sounds like he is struggling to breathe. In the hospital they checked his oxygen levels frequently, the pediatrician has checked him, and yes we have even taken him to a pediatric ENT to get his throat scoaped (twice)- the results have been pretty conclusive- he is fine, he just squeaks. No really, he is fine. As of yesterday the ENT concluded (for now) that the sound is caused by... acid reflux or heartburn. He doenst spit up a ton, doesnt cry when he does, and doesnt really give any indication that this might be the problem... except the sound (and the swelling we saw inside his throat). The acid has caused swelling in the vocal chords which have resulted in not only this sound, but also a hoarse voice- what does that mean in an infant? It means he has a very quiet cry. Poor little guy he needs some TUMS, no really he is now on medication for his acid reflux. For his sake I hope it works, heartburn is the worst!

Despite his quiet cry, Mikey makes plenty of sounds, not just the squeak, but lots of sighns, groans, and shrieks. When he is in the other room napping and we are listening on the baby monitor we often have difficulty disguishing between awake and asleep because there is so much sound all the time.

Sitting nearby while Mikey cuddled with Daddy.... who knew two weeks in I would look this tired.

Mikey and Daddy cuddling
Mikey and Daddy napping, if you listen carefully you can hear them both snoring.

Oh the Joys of Motherhood...

Tonight, while watching one of the most depressing and boring movies ever, Michael peed on me. That's right... just peed all over me. I was feeding him when all of a sudden I felt like someone had poured warm water all over my lap... wrong, it was baby pee. Not only did he pee, but he smiled about it, granted he didnt mean to, but still he peed and laughed at me... oh the joys of motherhood!

Sleeping...

Michael doesnt always want to sleep.

Obviously he wanted to here, but that was after he had eaten (or while he was eating) and after a toasty bath.

He didnt sleep... at all... between 3:21 and 5:42am today. It was great, I loved it. Around 11am the lack of sleep was starting to show, even with that going on he is a pretty cute guy.

Cuter still.

But even cute guys need to take a nap.

Sometime around 4:30am it occurred to me that I hadnt tried the drier... not putting him in it (obviously) but putting him on top. I tried holding him, thought about putting him in his car seat, then dumped out the clean laundry and made him a bed in the basket... it was the perfect size. Around 11am when the meltdown was starting we revisited the drier... and it worked... again.

Brian wondered why we bought him a crib, a carseat, a stroller, and a pack in play when he is perfectly happy in a $10 laundry basket from Walmart.

cozy baby

Oh too bad I didnt think of this sooner.

Not Napping...

We went to go take a nap this afternoon. We changed him, fed him, changed him, fed him, and then did it again and still... no nap.

A Haircut Already?

There are some kids that don't get their first haircut until their first birthday or even after, not Michael, this cute guy didn't even make it two weeks. The kid was born with enough hair to part like a missionary, which we did shortly after his first bath. By this point though his hair was a little bit shaggy around the ears (not BYU approved) so we gave him a quick trim... you know in the event that he needs to go to the testing center sometime soon.

Look at that hair over his ears... not good (his sideburns are too long too, but come on what baby has sideburns, you cant mess with those!)

Brian needed a haircut too, dont worry I didnt attempt to cut it.

The actual haircut, we had my mom do it since she had done it before.

After the haircut we decided it was time for a bath. It turns out the little guy really likes floating in warm water, imagine that, after 9 long months in warm water that he would like this.
Despite the grumpy face and how he is clutching the washcloth he did like it, he just makes lots of funny faces.
This one if for Auntie Em, she thinks it is funny when he yawns, I have to agree, he mouth is so big!