Things Loved Thursday

Things I love this week:

1. Tulips - what a wonderful sight after all the cold and gray of winter to see these beautiful and colorful flowers poking through the earth every spring!



2. My little boy's potbelly stomach. He loves getting kisses and raspberries on it almost as much as I love giving them. Oh how he smiles!



3. Entourage - we've been watching this on netflix for the last month or two and are now all caught up. So crass yet so funny! Ari cracks me up. Of course, after watching it, Tim swears like a truck driver, so maybe it's better we're at the end of the available episodes.



4. Baby tylenol - Barrett got his 4 month shots on Monday and was the saddest little thing for about 48 hrs. We're talking fever, bright red cheeks, crankiness, crying, the works. My poor little boy!

Michele's visit

My college roommate and wonderful friend Michele came to visit for the weekend and met Barrett. I think he brought his "A game, " right, Michele? She was there to witness his first rolling over at home and gave him lots of extra hugs and kisses, as if he doesn't get enough from us anyway! We found some great deals at Ann Taylor Loft and introduced Barrett to the fun of shoe shopping. And of course it was also nice to have a girls' night out and go to dinner, drink a glass of wine, and have some girl talk over a caprese salad and big bowl of pasta while the baby slept at home. We only wish Michele lived closer so that we could see her more often - the drive to Minneapolis is a long haul! I can't believe it's been 13 years since we lived down the hall from each other in good old Dorsey Hall. Like a fine wine, we've only gotten better with age!



Giving a pre-roll pep talk

He's a rolling man!

Barrett rolled for the first time on his 4 month birthday. Sadly, he did this for the first time at daycare. :( But we've seen it since, so I guess that's what counts, right? He had looked awfully close last week so I asked his daycare teacher if he had and she said nope. But then two days later, she said he did, twice! I guess he finally believed me when I told him the only way to escape tummy time was by rolling over!

After the roll - making it look so easy!

Barrett - Four months old

Dear Barrett -

Blessed. That is how I feel every day that I'm your mother. I cannot imagine my life without you. You have become such a wonderful part of our family and we are so lucky to be your parents. This month you seemed to erupt from a tiny helpless baby to a little boy. I can see the changes so dramatically and it makes me want to hold you close and keep you from growing too fast! On one hand I can't wait to see the little boy you'll become, to hear your thoughts and see you explore but on the other hand, this time is going so fast and I just want to slow it down!

You have changed so dramatically in the last few weeks. You're completely aware of everything now and will crane your head to look at us when you hear our voices. You grab at your toys, LOVE to talk and babble and, after much tummy time reluctance, rolled over on your 4 month birthday! You love to sit up and stand, with our help, and I know you're anxious for the day that you can do that alone. You usually wake up babbling and smile when I walk into your room to pick you up, which gives me such a wonderful feeling!

Each day I think my heart is going to explode with happiness and love for you and then, to my surprise, I love you even more the next day. How do I even have room in my body for my heart anymore? Being your mommy is the best job in the world!

Love,

Mommy

Tulips and tummy time

My parents were up visiting this weekend! It was oh so brief, but lots of fun. My dad hadn't seen him since he was just a few weeks old, so he had changed a LOT. I really wish that we lived closer to them, it's hard for us they are missing so much of his little babyhood. At the rate this time is going, I feel like he'll be 18 next month.

Cuddles with Mimi








Um, doesn't this one look weird? It looks like he was superimposed and his head looks about double the size of my dad's. Not sure what that's all about...


We ventured out to a nearby park, where the women got to admire the beautiful flowers...


and the men got to admire the beautiful tanks.












Tim introduced my dad to Call of Duty. Somehow I don't think my mom appreciated that introduction as much as he did.






Barrett gets confused at tummy time. He thinks the objective is to smoosh his face into the mat and lift his legs as high as he can, while screaming like a banshee the entire time. In this rare picture, he actually has his head up briefly. I'm pretty sure he'll be walking before he rolls over.


Drool, drool, everywhere is drool

Monday morning

The first day I dropped Barrett off at daycare, I was a wreck. I cried on the way there but was determined to pull myself together before going into his classroom and into work. Well that lasted all of about 30 seconds until I broke down in his room. His very sweet teacher hugged me tight, with tears in her own eyes, and told me she understood how hard it was.

Today, amidst the children and their noise and the routine of dropping him off, filling out his paperwork and leaving his bottles, I asked her how old her sons were. She told me they were killed six years ago. They were ages 12 and 17 and were killed in a car accident. I had no words. I cannot even imagine losing my children in such a swift and devastating moment. Her entire world changed that one day and I can't even begin to imagine the pain and grief she must feel.

As a mother, I am now so much more sensitive to atrocities in the world. I look at the sweet little face of my innocent boy and want to keep him as untouched and unaware for as long as I can. I hear about mothers losing their children on the news every night and I have a new understanding and sensitivity for them.

Barrett has only been in my life for 4 brief months but has changed me forever. I never want to live another day without him and I feel tremendously lucky for him. I will do everything I can for the rest of my life to protect him and keep him safe.

He got an extra long hug today before I left.

10 HOURS???

I woke up suddenly last night to the sound of...nothing. HUH?? I checked the clock. 4:40. I think back, did I get up during the night to feed him? Nope. Check the clock again. Really, 4:40?? Now panic sets in. The last time I awoke without the crying of a baby, a phone ringing, an alarm clock, dog jumping on me or husband getting up was, hmm, let's see, oh probably December 19, 4 months ago. I try to reassure myself that everything is okay, he's just sleeping longer tonight but paranoia gets the better of me and I tiptoe to his room, open the door quietly and see my sweet little boy, breathing deeply and fast asleep. I tiptoe back to my bed and fall asleep for another hour, until I wake to his cries at 5:45. He slept 10 hours!! I fed him and he went back to sleep for another hour so I could get ready for work. It was pure bliss for me.

Oh and when I put him in his carseat this morning, I swear, the child looks like he grew 2 inches and a pound overnight. Maybe that explains the sleep.

Exams, work and other nonsense

I have been unbelievably swamped the last few weeks with going back to work and studying for a section of my CPA exam. It took it today though so hopefully things will go back to normal. No clue if I passed it or not, the pass rate isn't that high and it was extremely difficult, so fingers crossed that I got the 75% and never have to look at that darn thing again. I'll have to wait about 8 weeks to see.

I really didn't take into account how difficult it would be to study, work and try to squeeze in time with the most important people in my life. It was hard to focus with the other million things I had to do and so frustrating to be missing out on time with my wonderful, sweet little boy. Every day I think he changes. From growing what seems like inches overnight, to learning new things, to making new noises, every day is an adventure.

His latest:
1) real chuckles. Now big belly laughs accompany his gummy smiles. They may sound like some strange screeching/squeeling, but rest assured, they are real laughs. Just you try to hear them and not laugh right along!

2) he's become much more interested in watching me. While I'm feeding him, he'll look up at me, stop, smile and just stare at me with a big smile on his face. I think he suddenly is realizing where the food is coming from!

3) thumbsucking. We knew it was coming and here it is...


Puzzle of the day. You're at the bottom of the stairs, have a baby in your arms and need to take the clean laundry upstairs to put away. Hmmm... and the solution is:


Multi-tasking at its finest


Watching Mommy put away clean laundry. How does one little creature generate so much?


Oh, YOU know!


And one more for good measure

Easter weekend

Happy Easter, He is risen!

We had our first overnight trip, down to Tim's parents, for Easter weekend. It was a little bit exhausting, since I didn't sleep so well with Barrett in our room and had to get up early to get out the door in time (somehow we still ended up late and sitting in the back row! That's what happens when you combine a very crowded house and a hungry baby - mom ends up with a cold shower and late to church) but it was great to see the in-laws and celebrate Easter. Barrett got his first Easter basket but wasn't much of a participant in the search for the hidden eggs. But it was cute thinking of him toddling around, looking for them next year!

And is there anything cuter than a little blue-eyed boy in blue seersucker??



Slightly sunny - I think the entire family could have used sunglasses






Cousins, together for the first time


During Easter lunch, Alexa wandered away from the table. Where do we find her? Singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to Barrett. We had told her earlier in the day that he loved being sung to so she decided to sing her favorite song to him. And he had woken up and was watching her while she sang. Talk about heartmelting! So sweet...

Low rise pants and belly shirts

Barrett must have had a gigantic growth spurt in the last week or two because when I dressed him this morning, the outfit that fit him perfectly a week and a half ago has now turned into low rise pants and a belly shirt! His belly hung out like Britney Spears circa 1999. But his is a lot cuter. I didn't have time to change him so I sent him off to daycare despite the indecent exposure.
On to the 3-6 month clothes!