7 Months

I can't believe Blip is seven months old.  The time is flying by....the days are passing so quickly I don't feel like it's even fair.  He is such a joy....and adds so much to our little family.  From the second he was born, I knew I couldn't survive without him, but I had no idea how much he would truly change my life.

Blip is our Rockstar.  He learns and grows and does new things every single day.  His smile is infectious....and he does it the most for his daddy.  I get random videos of Blip laughing while I'm at work...and Blip and Daddy are home together in the mornings.  Those videos get me through the days I wish I was at home...working on projects with my son, getting the laundry done, making lunch, putting Blip down for his nap, and running crazy with him and Mike.

Blip is sitting up on his own, but is still a teensy but wobbly. We still usually use the Boppy pillow around/behind him for a little extra support and padding.

His taste palate is expanding each week.  He is still eating purees, but a much bigger variety.  He will eat just about anything...even those green beans he refused a while ago.  With everything new, he makes a funny, scrunched up face, but continues to eat whatever it is I am feeding him. 

In the last month Blip has tried carrots, mashed potatoes, pumpkin, yogurt, brown rice, barley (not alone, gross), pears, blueberries, prunes, plums (LOVES them), raspberries (Oops, Daddy...but no bad reactions, so no harm, no foul.  Now he eats raspberries), and apricots.  He still eats green beans, peas, avocado, sweet potatoes (his fave), squash, bananas, apples, peaches, and oatmeal.  Oh...and a taste of ice cream.  He, of course, loved that little treat.

I also have been giving him the Gerber Puff thingys....he loves them and he now eats them on his own.  It's funny to watch!  He can pick up the pieces, but he is still learning how, so it takes his whole hand.  Then the food is stuck in his hand in a way he can't put it in his mouth....but he sure does try.  He moves the puff from one to the other until he can get some part of it in his mouth...he tries hard and is (almost) always successful.  If he drops it, the whole process starts over.  I have a blast watching him learn and try new things.

Blip is nosey....very nosey.  At least that's what we call it.  He has always been this way....looking around at everything and everyone....not wanting to miss a thing.

He has really taken to Henry over the last couple of weeks.  He wrestles with Henry in bed, tries to chew on Henry's toes, and likes to have him around.  He doesn't quite "need" anything yet, but he should be entering that stage soon.

Shopping is much better for both Blip and me now that he can sit in the cart by himself.  He seems to really enjoy being strapped into a shopping cart.  He is up high enough to look around at everything and everyone.  Perfect for my little nosey bear.  He is also really loving his doorway jumper now that he is stronger.

In one month Blip learned how to rescue himself at his ISR classes.  We all feel a teensy bit less stressed with one more barrier in place between Blip and the pool. It is definitely not a 100%, but if there was ever an accident, Blip can turn himself over and float until help arrives.  I pray we never need Blip to use this skill, but I am so thankful he has the ability.

We experienced our first diaper rash.  It was awful too.  Poor baby!  It lasted a few days and looked like blisters on his bottom.  I know he will get a rash or two (or ten) in his life, but ouch!  It was awful.

It seems most of the last month was consumed with ISR lessons.  They were all consuming those four weeks.  Worth it, but it was hard!  I can imagine with my next kiddo it will be even harder, but we'll make it work.  

Speaking of which.......we are trying to figure out when the right time is to start "trying" again.  I wasn't planning on doing anything until next Summer, but I'm not sure we'll wait that long.  We wanted 2-3 years in between, but we aren't as young as we once were.  That helps push us toward "being ready".  Are you ever really "ready"?  I doubt it.  We may try it on our own for a few months (if we can emotionally handle the negatives every month...not sure I can...don't know about Mike) before we decide to transfer one or both of our embryos.  (Two embryos sounds like a lot more now that we already have a baby....zero to two sounds a lot more manageable than one to three. Yikes!)  It's hard to know when to "try" or what our exact plan should be, but maybe before our next yearly storage fee is due would be a good target date. Maybe.

40 Bags in 40 Days

**UPDATED ON 09/15 FROM 09/02**

I got this idea from here, but tweaked it to meet the needs of our home.  I have only been working on this for a short time, but I thought I'd share.  I'm loving this!  

Here's the list I am working from:

1. junk drawer
2. utensil drawer
3. blip's drawer/cabinet (kitchen)
4. pantry
5. pantry
6. under the kitchen sink
7. inside fridge
8. spice cupboard 
8.1 cleaning above the cupboards
8.2 wiping out the inside of the upper cupboards 
8.3 oiling the cupboards
9. officer desk drawers
10. magazine rack
11. closet (my clothes)
12. closet (my shoes)
13. closet (mike's)
14. dresser drawers (mine)
15. dresser drawers (mike's)
16. night stand drawers (mine)
17. tv / dvd storage / cd storage
18. closet shelves (accessories)
19. jewelry drawer(s)
20. make-up bag
21. bathroom drawers/cabinet (mine)
22. kitchen cupboards
23. playroom closet
24. under bathroom sink (mike's side)
25. playroom (general de-cluttering!)
26. upstairs closet (hall)
27. upstairs closet (raelynn's room)
28. upstairs closet (office)
29. office (general de-cluttering) 
30. master bathroom linen closet
31. night stand drawers (mike's)
32. laundry room cupboards
33. under sink in laundry room
34. garage (cupboards)
35. garage (shelves)
36. garage (general)
37. my car
38. car center console
39. outside fridge
40. entryway closet/coat rack


I can't believe how great it feels to throw out a bag of crap from so many spaces around the house!!  Doing it this way makes each task so much less daunting.  Just pick one and go for it....then you can be done for the day.  I cleaned out about 1/2 my shirt section of my closet and about 20 pairs of shoes.  Blip's playroom is finally a playroom...and now I can start on some of the fun ideas I have to make that room complete.  And being able to close the junk drawer....what a concept, huh?

I will keep this updated as I move forward...I should have taken before and after pictures of the spaces I've done so far. Dang.

Grandparents' Day

I decided to step outside my comfort zone last week.  I am NOT artistic.  I am NOT crafty.  I am NOT.....but I want to be, so I decided to start now...while Blip is young.  That way....maybe by the time he is old enough to care...I won't suck as bad. :)  Or maybe by then I will just go back to normal and we can purchase our gifts like normal people. :) haha

I found a project I thought I could handle.  I actually bought all the supplies BEFORE the week after I needed to have the project completed.  This gave me a much more likely chance of actually doing the project.

Since I spent all the money on all the supplies, now I HAD to make the stupid project.  So...I locked Blip in his high chair and went to work.  After he had enough of me and "our" project, I bathed him, put him to bed, cleaned up my mess.....and was happy to be finished.

It wasn't as bad as I thought....and actually turned out pretty dang cute.  I guess it wasn't a complete mom FAIL.

And that's a good thing.

[I will have to update this post when we actually see the Grandparents.  Hopefully soon....since Grandparents' Day was LAST Sunday.  Then I can post pictures of the final product AND pics with Blip and both sets of Grandparents.  Looks like I need to work on my timing still.  I finished the project BEFORE the date, but my delivery timing is a total FAIL.  Oh well....can't be good at everything. :)]

Namesake

I am big into middles names having meaning.  I don't usually fall in love with the idea of naming someone's first name after so and so, but I guess it worked for my own child's name.

Mike and I talked long and hard about names....first and middle. A lot of thought and time and effort went into our discussions.  It was a serious business....it's Blip's real name FOREVER!  It had to be cute, but something that could be taken seriously.  It couldn't be overly popular...we didn't want everyone to have Blip's name.

We originally talked about using "Patrick" or "Scott" for the middle name....depending on which first name we chose.  We didn't really talk all that much about it because I never thought we'd actually have a boy.

The day we found out Blip had a penis....Mike expressed how much he really wanted to use his first name for his son's middle name.  I loved the idea....it's Mike's dad's middle name too, so it's special times two.

We debated about the first name.  I think we both knew what it would be, but I really wanted to see the baby before I made any official decisions.  Jackson has been my #1 boys name for well over a decade....long before it was popular.  I brought up the name Cody as an alternate because Mike didn't love the name Jackson. We both loved the name Cody and we both loved the one Cody we knew.  Cody is married to Rebecca........one of my oldest friends.  

I didn't know Cody all that well before they got married, but I think I know him well enough now.  And I love him.  Not in a romantic, mushy way....more like a brother.  And I love that he loves my friend.  And I love that he is a good husband...and I love that he is a fantastic daddy.  Cody is good looking, strong, he's a hard-worker, he's handy, he's funny, he's smart, he is selfless.....he is everything in a man that you would hope your daughter to find and bring home.

The more I thought about my name choices, the more I loved the name Cody.  I love what it represented.  I still wanted to wait and see what the boy looked like.  I didn't want to give him a name that wasn't fitting....what if he didn't look like a Cody OR a Jackson?  We would have been in trouble....big trouble.  :)

Mike and I finally named our son the morning after he was born.  After we snuggled, kissed on, stared at, and breathed in his air....we knew he was a Cody.  It fit him.

After seven months.....he is definitely a Cody.  After seven months...I finally got a picture of my two favorite Cody's.

Don't worry....he will always be Blip to me (at least on here).

Swingin'

I have 30 more pounds to lose in order to hit my goal of my pre-pregnancy pre-IVF and then pregnancy weight.  I have been pretty "lazy" this summer.  It's way too hot to be outside....especially with an infant.  I am on the go for about 15-18 hours a day, so I have needed to slow my pace down in order to fit in some much needed quality time with Blip (more than the shortest amount of play time I get every evening...and more than car rides to/from swim) and some much needed quality time with a workout schedule.  

I have been counting down the days until the weather was nice enough to buckle Blip into the jogging stroller and take off.  He LOVES to be outside, and I need to find my love of running again.  I have to get this weight off!  I'm done carrying it around.  I'm done feeling uncomfortable in my own skin.  I am done feeling like frumpy cow constantly, done having only a few things that fit, done not fitting into my uniform....and feeling like I have to qualify my fatness with "I just had a baby!"  I'm not sure how long that statement will justify my butt size, but I'm guessing it's nearing its expiration date. Ugh.

So today was the day.  The weather was beautiful....and swim is finally over.  I walked in the door, changed my clothes, loaded Blip into the jogging stroller, grabbed my camera...and we were off.  I did a little walk-jog-walk for my first day...mostly walking, but at a good speed.  We talked the whole time...so basically I rambled on and on to myself about the cars driving by, the trees, the birds, my day, his new eating schedule we are trying, the park....I'm pretty sure he was rolling his eyes at me, but luckily I can't see them from behind the stroller.

We made our way to the park.  I wanted to see how he liked the baby swings.  Blip is still a little small for the swings, but he loved them.  He did great...I just pushed slowly while we laughed and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.  When we were done, we continued on our way.  We made our way about 1.7 miles before we found home again.  By the end, Blip was worn out.  And so was I.

Grandpa Dale

I've know Rebecca for well over half my life.  I've loved her since the very beginning....even if there were some dumb girl moments thrown in the mix.  One of the many things I've always loved about Rebecca- her family.  Her sweet brother Chris loves my sweet sister Raelynn....and vise versa.  They were buddies before Rebecca and I even met.  He even seems to know me...and gets happy when he hears my voice too.

I have loved her parents since the very beginning.  Her mom is awesome. She is so thoughtful, and she has always been so nice to me.  I've never felt anything but welcome in their home.  Rebecca's dad is no different.  Dale was intimidating to me as a young friend of his daughters, but it didn't scare me....he reminded me of my dad.  Except my dad's bark was much louder.  We laughed that our parents were so strict.  Dale has always been so kind to me....and he is so fun to talk to.  Down to Earth and LOVES to hunt. He may be one of the nicest guys I know....always happy to see me and treats me like family.  I don't see all that much of Rebecca's parents, but when I do...you'd think I spent every weekend with them.  They treat me (and Mike too) like old friends.  They are wonderful.

So....I've been wanting and waiting for my Blip to meet Rebecca's parents and her brother.  I need to take Raelynn for another visit.  I have felt overwhelmed with work and the baby, but I should really make the time.  Rebecca had their third baby about three weeks ago, so this past weekend they had everyone over to meet Miss Reese Ella.  She is a beauty....simply perfect (just like their other two girls).  #3 has a TON of hair....complete with awesome highlights....and she is perfectly tiny.  I need a picture! :)

Mike, Blip and I arrived for the party a few minutes after 2pm.  Darlene, Rebecca's mom, got to meet Blip a few weeks ago at Miss Lori's house.  But she came over to say hello....and she took the baby for a few minutes.  Dale made his way over to where we were so he could meet my son too.  He took Blip from me...and the baby took to him immediately.  Dale is the perfect Grandpa....I think it might be his true calling.  He has a beard, and Blip was so interested in it.  He has never seen anything like it, so Dale taught him all about it.

It's funny to me how much joy I get out of watching Blip interact with other people...watching him make friends and learn new things is awesome.

Eating

Richelle has been feeding Blip little puffs from Gerber since his teeth started coming in.  I started feeding them to Blip every few nights, but I skipped all of our swim nights.  I was just too tired...and we were always behind schedule.

 On Saturday, I decided to see if Blip could do it himself.  I was just curious.  I ended up getting the best few minutes of my life.  No joke.

Watching my little guy figuring out how it all works is fun in every category....but it is extra fun to watch him learn how to eat....and pick little things up.

I'm sure every parent feels this way, but I am just amazed how much he learns and grows every day.

ISR Grad

ISR is finally over.  10 minutes a day, 5 days a week doesn't seem like it would take over your life, but trust me....it does. From the second I left work....my complete focus was on rushing to pick up Blip, driving home, changing my clothes, grabbing Blip's bag (that I always prepared the night before), driving like crazy to Jen's house, changing Blip, rushing to the backyard......the quickest 10 minutes of lessons ever....then changing the baby into dry clothes...driving home....feeding him...bath time....bedtime routine...............exhausted.

I'm pretty sure I have gotten the least amount of sleep ever in the last four weeks.  There was so much to get done between 8:30 when Blip went to bed and the time I went to bed....which was way, way too late for a girl that works a full-time day job.

I am so glad we did it.  I am so proud of my baby boy.  He learned so much in such a short amount of time.  I will might sleep better at night knowing we added a layer of protection to Blip's water safety.

Here is a video from each week.  You can see such a difference from the first week to the last week.

Labor Day

I absolutely love the time I get to spend at home with my little family.  I love NOT going to work, spending time with my baby, and getting to work on the projects I have going. I love spending time with Mike too. 

I left work on Friday feeling elated!!  No work for three whole days!!  All three days with Blip....and some time with Mike, too...just not very much.    He had to work his regular schedule Friday night.  Then he woke up super early on Saturday morning to go hunting with some friends.  He came home and slept a few hours, woke up, went back to bed, and then he had to go to work.  

He slept until about noon on Sunday....we spent some time together and then it was nap time.  After a few hours of sleep, Mike was headed to work again.  Mike slept until about noon on Monday...then we had him all to ourselves.

I have been in need of some ME time.  I'm not complaining, but it's definitely hard to get a minute to myself because we work opposite schedules.  I also don't want to NOT spend the few hours a day I get with Blip, so it's hard in more than one way.

On Saturday I put the baby down for his afternoon nap when Mike went back to bed.  I was planning to RUN out the door for the two hours I knew Blip would sleep.  He is a great napper, so I was excited!!  Then he wouldn't go down.  He has NEVER done that before, but it last about 30+ minutes.  I finally picked him up (which I NEVER do once he's in the bed), removed his swaddle and started over.  He was asleep before he was back in his bed.

*sigh*

I left the house and headed out to run an errand or two...ALONE!!  I thought I should head home after about 1.5 hours, but I stopped off for a quick pedicure first.  I was desperate.  The girl was awful, but my toes were much better off even with a bad pedicure.   I got a phone call from Mike right as I sat down.....the baby was up, and so was he.  He asked me to please come home so he could sleep longer.  I told him I would hurry....30 minutes I was home.


Sunday afternoon we took Blip to Build-a-Bear. We also returned something, bought me some work pants that fit (a smaller size! yay!) and found a missing piece to one of Blip's outfits I've been looking for.

I was SO tired Sunday morning.  The only thing that got me out of bed (besides a cute little boy) was the thought of Mike letting me sleep in on Monday.  I was telling Richelle about my fantasy of sleeping in.....and how excited I was for Monday morning when she reminded me that Mike was working Sunday night too. Ugh.  I had forgotten.  Damn.

Monday morning came....and my little angel slept in for me.  He didn't waked up until after 9am.  We finally got up and made it downstairs about 9:40am.  I love this kid.  I was still tired, but there is no complaining about a 6 month old that sleeps until 8:30am normally....and until after 9am on holidays.

Mike slept late, but once he got up.....I got to kick my to-do list into high gear.  He made me something to eat while I was working on organizing the office.  It is definitely more than a one day project.  So I did that for a couple hours....then I headed out to the grocery store with my list.  I spent the majority of the afternoon cooking and prepping our meals for this week.  I will prep one more tomorrow for the week, but it's nice to be in the groove again.

I caught Blip watching his movie like this.  He started sitting up....then worked his way down to comfortable.

My boys watched a movie and played in the family room while I was in the kitchen.  I swear....life can't get any better than this. Hearing those two laugh and play brings pure joy to my heart.  

I made Blip some avocado/banana for dinner, and he had some plums.  Mostly he made a mess and lots of happy noise while I cooked.

I was able to get some silver polished, I made a new laundry "recipe" to make our white sheets white again.  I am letting them soak overnight, so I really hope it works!!  They are starting to look their age.  I should have taken a before picture.  I would just toss them, but they are our favorite sheets...they are sooooo comfy.  I wish I could find another set just like them.

Mike also gave in to me and let Blip try a little taste or two of  ice cream.

Our weekend went too quickly, but I got a lot done, and we definitely loved every second of it.

Henry

I have been on the lookout for the perfect teddybear for our Codybear. Blip is about the age he will start latching on to an object (stuffed animal, blanket, etc), so we wanted to give him a little something worth latching on to.

I looked and looked and looked, but found nothing.  I just wanted a cheap teddybear....like the little stuffed animals that Carter's puts out with their new lines every season.  They did put out a bear this season, but only for girls....lots of pink was involved. Bleh.

A friend of mine told me her boys struggled when their daddy switched to a third shift squad.  They took their boys to Build-a-Bear, let them pick out a special animal to make, and Daddy recorded a message for them.  That way, when they missed him at bedtime, they could hear Daddy's voice.  I loved this idea...especially since Blip's daddy works nights.

So, Mike & I took Blip to Build-a-Bear.  We knew he would not "get it, but he did choose the bear he wanted.  We offered him two different bears, and he grabbed the one he wanted.  (Or so we tell ourselves....but that is the way it went down.)

We picked a fresh bear skin from the bottom (so nobody else had touched it with their grimy hands), and then we picked a sound.  Mike and I each did our own sound....one in each hand.  We simply said "I love you" in our own way, but wanted him to hear each of us tell him....ya know...just in case.  It was super noisy in the store, so we went to the furtherest back corner possible and recorded and re-recorded our messages until they were perfect.

They asked us if we wanted our bear soft & cuddly....or big & strong.  We agreed on "in the middle".  We paid and typed up the birth certificate....and went on our way.  Mike thought the store was super-busy...and it did seem busy, but I have walked past the store on weekends and witnessed triple the people in there. Yikes!

When we made the birth certificate, we had to give our bear a name.  Mike suggested "Huggie Bear" like on Starsky & Hutch. I laughed, but said no way.  We discussed Yogi, Teddy...and a couple other "bear" names before we decided on Henry. I think it fits him perfect.

Once we were home, we handed Henry to Blip....he hugged him tight and then tried to eat his "toes".  We think he likes Henry.