Happy Dance!

I just finished my final final. I turned in my final project. I have nothing more to do at WWU. Except I'm still here. In one of their computer labs. Not at home with my lovely family. Why? Because I get 500 pages to print each quarter, and this is the last time I get to use it. My mom wants her iPod manual printed out (72 pages) and I have some half sheet mailers to put in packages when I sell diapers. Instead of PAYING to print them at Kinkos or the expensive ink for my home inkjet printer, I'm taking advantage of what's already included in my college tuition. I'm being thrifty!

I'm so glad to be done though. Once I get home I might relax for a little bit, but my house is a disaster. The last couple weeks have been whirlwind, so laundry and vacuuming have suffered. I did clean the bathroom this morning, but I think all my floors are due for a good scrubbing. I don't think a mop will cut it.

Of course, then I need to get going on opening my business! I now own www.DilleyDally.com (it doesn't go anywhere yet) and I set up my new official business email address too. I think I need to purchase some good accounting software, just because I did just get a degree in business, and it would be hypocritical if I just did this without any forethought for the future. I have fabric on order, but I really need to sew some diapers too.

When Gary is here next week I'm going to have him help me do the site design for my shopping cart online. He is a graphic designer, and Baxter does nap, so he's obligated to help me, right? :) I think he wants to help me, but it's more fun to say he has to!

It takes a long time to print this much... But I can't imagine doing this at home. I'll probably have to do the paper cutting at home, but that's manageable. I can't believe how much it costs to set up a business! And I'm still attempting to save toward a new camera too. I can't even tell you how much I want it like 5 days ago. I've got the photography bug, and I just can't scratch it! I've even found myself reluctant to take pictures with my current camera in favor of waiting. I might be waiting for a while though, and I know you all still want pictures, so I suppose I'll have to continue to take them anyway!

We have a playdate with a friend tomorrow morning, then a second flu shot for Baxter (babies get it in two doses). Fun stuff. Ok, well I'm done printing now, so I suppose I better go home!

Happy Day!

Sit down and buckle your seatbelt, it's a long post today!

Happy Pi Day everyone! March 14th is Pi day in the US. Pi is a mathematical symbol used to represent the non-repeating decimal 3.1415.... And since the number is 3.14 March 14th is the day it's celebrated.

Now how appropriate is it that Jason, my math teacher of a husband, was BORN on Pi day? That's right, Jason turns 27 today! I made him a cake. It was vanilla with lemon curd filling and a lemon cream cheese and buttercream frosting, with fresh strawberry accents. It was amazing.


Today we're going to celebrate by going out to breakfast at Little Cheerful downtown, and then do some errands. I'm also making him corned beef and cabbage, his favorite meal, that's only really available around St. Patrick's day. It all works out!

Baxter has been pulling to standing more and more every day. He can do it on virtually anything now, including my guitar. We were having a photo session and he really wanted to play with it. There's more pics on Flickr, but this one cracks me up:


He's pretty good at getting around with it too. He pulled up on the baby gate, used the wall, the couch, and the buffet and made it all the way to the TV. He figured out how to open the cabinet doors, and likes to push buttons. Guess what's getting childproofed this weekend?

The funnies thing this week though? Our high chair is on casters. Sometimes I put Baxter in the chair, wheel him into the kitchen and let him eat while I clean. Works great. Also means I rarely lock the wheels on the highchair. Well, Baxter figured out how to pull up on it, then use it as a walker... Jason was quite surprised to see the highchair rolling around the dining room seemingly on it's own.

Going back to childproofing, I ordered a babygate for the top of the stairs. I had to have it shipped. Now it just needs to be installed. I also made sure to be a good mommy and put outlet plugs in all the exposed outlets a while ago. Well guess what Baxter figured out?

CHILD SAFETY FAIL

At least he's more interested in taking them out then putting anything IN.

I'll try to write more this week, but it's going to be pretty busy. I have my final day of anything school related on Monday, and then I have to clean and do various housework the rest of the week. We're going to Seattle next weekend, and then my dad will be here for a few days right after that!

So I'll leave you with some adorable and funny pictures of Baxter.

Sleep, or lack thereof

I think Baxter knows when I have something to do. On nights when I have school the next day, he sleeps badly at night. On days that I have a ton of homework to do, he either naps terribly or is super clingy. I suppose I should be happy that I'm so close to graduation. But in the mean time I have a LOT to get done, and I could use some cooperation from the Goomba!

Seven

Baxter is seven months old today. Jason and I will have been married for seven years at the end of this month. Amazing! Time has flown by. I think being in school has kept me pretty busy, and I can't wait to graduate (done in 16 days!!!). Of course, then I will be busy sewing diapers, but I will at least get to somewhat make my own schedule then. 

I got labels for my diapers made, and they look fantastic. I should probably start a second blog about my diapers so that in case you don't care about diapers as much as I do you don't have to read about them all the time. But for now it's here. 

Baxter is getting a top tooth, you can see and feel it through the gums. He hasn't been too fussy, but we shall see. He's also really close to pulling up to stand. And he started making a funny scrunched face where he wrinkles his nose. Too cute!

But that's all my update is today, since I have two papers to write, a case study to do, three chapters of reading, and an exam to study for. The last 16 days are pretty packed. 

It's True

In case you didn't quite understand, or just missed it from my post last night, it's true.

Jason and I are DEBT FREE! (besides student loans)

I'm so excited! And I'm done with classes in just under three weeks. I'll be able to start my "real life" whatever that means.

Bax has napped terribly today. So he went down at 4pm for a third nap, and he's still asleep. His bed time is in 10 minutes. I guess when he wakes up I'll just put a night time diaper on him and put him back down. No bath tonight!

Chasing Shadows

The other day I was putting away Baxter's laundry while he played on the floor. He's been working on the pincher grasp, where he picks something up with his thumb and index finger. In the past this is only been used on me (i.e. nursing, pull off, look pointy thing! pinch, OUCH! resume nursing). Well he saw my dancing shadow in the rays of sun and was trying to pick them up! It was super cute, so I took a picture:


I also picked up some teething biscuits for him, since he seems to like table food more then purees. He loved it. He smelled of teething biscuits all day. He also made a big mess!



Shortly after this photo there was actually remnants on his forehead as well. I gave him half of one later, but planned it so he went straight into the bathtub afterwards.

He's also been laughing and ticklish a lot more. He especially loves mirrors. There are handprints on ALL of them in the house now. So next time I get them cleaned I'll try to video him playing with mirrors again. But in the mean time here are some fun videos of Baxter playing with Mommy and Daddy.





On other notes, I finished and shipped my diaper order! Now I have papers to write, but what else is new? Baxter can also scoot quite far now :)

Photo Ambitions

As Baxter becomes more mobile, he becomes harder to catch on film. My camera will do an okay job on action shots, but it starts getting what is called noise. Like where there is supposed to be black it starts looking like a disco ball. As some of you may know, I loved photography in high school, and seriously thought about becoming a professional photographer. I had a nice Nikon SLR, and worked at a Photographic Supply store. After working in the industry for almost five years I realized that I didn't want to be a photographer, I just love great photography. Sometimes I can do it, but not always when prompted to perform. So instead it turned into a hobby. But I had a film camera, and the hobby eventually went dormant. A few years ago I bought a nice point and shoot to take with us on our three week road trip. Don't get me wrong, I love that camera. It's perfect for slipping into my pocket or purse, and it's great for toting around to various places. But if you have visited my flickr site, you know that I try to take good every day photos, the kind that would be amazing with a digital SLR.

I suppose reading My Charming Kids doesn't help. She has the most amazing story (it will take forever to read, and it WILL make you cry) and she takes beautiful pictures of her kids. I'm not nearly as good of a writer, but her blog is what I aspire to be someday. With graduation about a month away, I thinking about all the time I'm going to have during the day with just Baxter, and I'm pondering all the photographic opportunities. And then it will be spring, and I can take him to explore parks!

My photography bug has bitten again.

Of course, the camera I want is SUPER expensive. But I'm going to be a responsible adult type person and start saving my money towards it. We have a savings account that's linked to our checking account that we currently use for budgeting our childcare money. After I graduate that becomes the camera fund. We're going to make a monthly budget, and whatever extra I save outside of the budget gets to go to my camera fund. And my graduation present and anniversary gift are $100 toward my camera. We also have a Best Buy gift card from our credit card points that will be all the extras (memory card, extra battery, etc) so I just have to worry about the camera part.

Ready for the big number? I've done my research (I know, I'm very researchy when it comes to this much money and getting what I really want) and decided I want the Nikon D80. I've always been a Nikon girl, and this camera will last for a very long time. I could spend $200 less, but it would limit me in the future, and has a few things missing.

$800

Ok, now pick up your jaw and close your mouth. And start giving me good tips on how to save money. I want this thing bought before Baxter's first birthday! Or maybe a lot sooner... Of course, if you're wondering what to get me as a graduation present, this may also be a strong hint. I promise you would get to see benefits!

I am so not ready for this

Starting last friday, Baxter started getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth, getting ready to crawl. He continued to do this all weekend. Sometimes he gets up on his hands and tip-toes, like a funny push up. And this morning he army crawled about two inches. I keep telling him to wait another month!


Last weekend we went to Seattle. We stayed with Jason's parents, which was nice. Baxter couldn't figure out if he liked the dog or if it scared him witless. It was a lot of fun! I got to meet someone from my online forum. I'm part of the July Firecrackers playgroup, even though Baxter was born in August. They're a great bunch of ladies. Kyliee and I met and walked around the Commons at Federal Way with her daughter Natalie and Baxter. It was a lot of fun.



After that Baxter and I went to a baby shower for April, my step-sister. She's due on March 16th, the same day as my last class! Baxter was a huge hit, and the party was fun too.

While Baxter and I were out and about, Jason went with his sister Jessica to an orienteering meet. Orienteering is something that Jason did in High School and loved. It's kind of like a race, but you have to use a map to find different check in points before you can finish it. He wasn't going to run it because he is out of shape, but at the last minute he decided it would be fun. He was sore for three days.

Jason will find out on May 11th if he has a job or not. The irritating thing is that the job fair is on April 16th, so he's not sure if he's going to go to that or not. He might just for information gathering. We're somewhat preparing for the worst, which most likely means a move to Seattle. If we moved to Seattle I would have to find a job, which would be difficult with bottle-refusing Baxter. But with what we could afford rent-wise, I wouldn't have space to sew my diapers. So pray that Jason gets to keep his job!!!

I have a debate on Wednesday for my leadership practicum class, and a mid-term too. So not fun. On Friday we have a recertification appointment at WIC, and then we might go see Great-Grandpa and Grandma for a late lunch/early dinner. And I'm busy making diapers in my free time! Good thing I enjoy sewing them :)

Double

Baxter is now double his birth weight. At his 6 month appointment today he weighed in at 19lbs, 12oz. That's 6 whole ounces more than double his birthweight. And I think that means his growth has finally started to plateau! That mean it will be much easier to clothe the boy. He's almost grown out of his 6 month sleepers. I recently had to explain this to my father, so I'll explain it again. Baby clothes are stupidly sized. There is NOT consistent sizing between brands. Carter's is much more generously sized than other brands. In Carter's Bax can squeeze into some 6 month stuff, but he's generally too long. 9 month fits well, and 12 month works, but is really wide. In Old Navy, he's in a 12-18 month onesie (that's the only thing he has from there). In American Apparel he's in 12-18 month t-shirts, and they're slightly on the large size. He got some 6-9 month stuff for Christmas that's just too short, and some others that will be fine this summer if I turn them into t-shirts. I pretty much never put him in onesies, it's mostly t-shirts. And he usually wears the wool pants I knit him. I think he's set on clothes for a while!

My long week of school is over, but next week I have two short papers, one long paper and a mid-term. This sounds worse than it is, since the long paper is already written. And the two short papers are reflections on other people's papers. The mid-term I am slightly concerned about, but I'm not going to stress out about it.

We're going to Seattle for the weekend! I love seeing family. We're staying at Jason's parents this time. On Saturday I'm meeting up with a friend, and that afternoon Baxter and I are going to my step-sister April's baby shower. Fun times! When we get home, I have a TON of diapers to make!

See, I just knew that I had to write this and wait for bed. Baxter woke up. I'll put him back down and then put myself to sleep. Good night!

Sunrise, coffee, and alternate forms of fiber

There's one thing they never tell you about being a parent. "Sleeping in" means you got to sleep until 8am. Most mornings you are up between 5 and 6am, and if you're LUCKY it's 7. Jason and I take turns "sleeping in" on the weekend. He gets Saturdays, I get Sundays. But there are benefits to waking up early! Yes, that's right, benefits! For instance, I get to see the beautiful shades of pink and coral in the sunrise every morning. True that it's through the slats on his blinds, filtered through the bare branches of the maple trees outside, but it's still sunrise. And I see it six days a week.

Regardless of whether or not I get to sleep in, I need my morning coffee. I stopped drinking coffee while pregnant with Baxter, but now I drink it again. However, my coffee habits have changed. I now drink decaf, which still wakes me up. I think I'm just conditioned that coffee in the morning wakes me up. The other thing that I'm doing, is contributing my part to save third world countries. I now buy fair trade coffee, and it tastes great. Especially freshly ground in the morning. I swear, I wasn't a coffee snob until I visited the east coast and had to drink their "coffee" for a few days. But if we go back to the sunrise paragraph above, sometimes I don't feel like grinding my coffee in the morning. So today I had a brilliant idea. Why not have some of the coffee pre-ground, and some of it whole bean?!? Fantastic! But where do I PUT the ground coffee? Since Baxter refuses to take a bottle, I have some large bottles sitting around doing nothing. I think to myself "Hey, these bottles are airtight containers! And I paid good money for these!" Hence my new solution:

Enough about my rambling solutions. You want to hear about Baxter. The man child is doing fine, and he's more and more mobile every day. He seems determined to roll where ever he pleases. In fact, when he sees my shoes he gets excited, and makes his way over to them as fast as he can. He then promptly sticks them in his mouth. We did start him on solids (so far he's had carrots, banana, and avacado. Sweet potatoes or oatmeal are next) but by far his favorite food is wood. You know, door frames, chairs, the doors themselves. Seriously, the boy cannot get enough of them! I keep telling him that wood is not an appropriate source of fiber for a six month old.

On my end, things have been going. I'm not sure if they have been going good, or going bad, they're just going. I had a super busy week at school last week, including writing 5 papers. Pretty insane. I actually think my busiest week of the whole quarter ends tomorrow. Then I have a mid-term next week, but overall it calms down for a while. I also got some really great news on saturday. The CPSIA legislation that was passed last August that would virtually end business for small crafters of children's items was put on hold for another year. That means that I can officially start selling diapers in march when I graduate! I'm working on my first large order right now, and this morning I ordered labels! I can't even tell you how excited I was to order labels for Dilley Dally diapers. And on Sunday night I had a "mamas night out" with some of my good friends. It was amazing, and I just need that once a month.

Jason just finished up his first semester and is gearing up for the next set of lessons. He's been great, like always. I really have nothing to complain about with him. Oh wait, there is one MINOR thing. And it's not entirely his fault. He works at a public school, therefore he's ALWAYS SICK. Or bringing home germs. That part I could live without!

Liars and Frogs, 2.0

Welcome to those of you who came from my old Babysite! I decided to move to blogger so that I can include pictures, videos and links into my blog posts, and also have a more customizable format. I hope it's not too confusing for you, but it's certainly easier for me! I'm working on archiving and updating all my previous posts, so bear with me a bit as I work on that.

Classes have been crazy busy for me the last few weeks. This quarter I have two "writing intensive" courses, which means a lot for me to do. Oh, and the CPSIA gave us a one year reprieve on testing requirements, so that officially means that after I graduate I will be opening up Dilley Dally Diapers!

And a quick Baxter update, since he just woke up from his nap:

Last night I had a girls night out with some of my friends. When I'm home I put Bax to bed, and Jason does it on Mondays and Wednesdays when I have class. So last night he was distressed that I nursed him and then handed him off to Daddy to go to sleep, because he KNEW I was there! I went into the other room to finish getting dressed. When I left his room, he started crying, and called for "mama!" So I was his first word, but I MISSED it! Sad! I hope I get to hear it soon :D

Peek-a-Boo!

Baxter now understands peek-a-boo and giggles or smiles. It's great. And sometimes he's ticklish under his arms! He's smiling soooo much more. He's finally sleeping through the night (mostly) again. He keeps getting sick (thanks public school system!) so we keep having him sleep in his chair in his crib. He's almost outgrown the co-sleeper! I have no idea what we'll do when that happens. I don't do super well when he co-sleeps, because I barely sleep or wake up with sore hips. So we might put the bed on the floor with our toddler mattress next to us. But that means buying toddler sheets and a bed-rail so he doesn't roll off. Not that he would anyway, because the boy still sleeps swaddled! We've tried to wean him off of it, but it results in more of a headache for us because he constantly wakes himself up. I try to do unswaddled naps during the day, but the longest he goes is 40 minutes. His swaddled naps are 1.25 to 2.5 hours long... He's also started putting himself to sleep better. We changed pacifiers, and he the new ones put him to sleep. He doesn't like them unless he's sleepy though, which is nice.


School is... stressful. The quarter is almost over, and there's only one more from here. Jason is sick yet again, but his classes are going well. I can't think of what else to post. I'm putting more pictures up on flickr, and a video of peek-a-boo up on youtube.

Ungrateful

I realized how ungrateful I had been when Baxter was sleeping though the night. If he starts again (which I know he will eventually, but I want it to happen now) I will be ever so thankful. I was so used to it, and now I'm sleep deprived! He's gotten a little better, but still not great. He was up 3 times last night, but one of them was for over an hour and a half. Last Thursday he woke up at 2am, and we tried for an hour to get him back down, but Jason ended up holding him and watching a movie until 5am because he would not sleep. He had to be held, not just cuddled in bed. But since then we got the teething necklace, and at night I wrap it around his ankle under his PJ's. It did reduce the number of wake-ups from 5 down to 3. And he's not nearly as fussy during the day and naps are a snap to put him down. Except for today, because I had meetings on campus that conflicted with his naps, and he was NOT happy. He's currently napping on Jason, even though bed time is less than an hour away.

I better go check on the boys, Jason lost the remote so he's probably irritated with what he's watching and unable to change it and unable to yell for me to go change it, hehe.

reaching...

I forgot to add yesterday that he's been starting to reach for toys. He's pretty good at getting them into his mouth to chew on too. But mostly he prefers my finger... He'll gnaw for ages on my knuckle. Last night he woke up 5 times. Not necessarily to nurse, but because his mouth hurt. He only nursed once out of all of that. He just wanted to know I was there, and to gnaw on my finger for a few minutes before falling back asleep. Did not make for a good exam this morning. It wasn't terrible, but it could have gone a lot better.

Tonight Jason has parent teacher conferences, and won't be home until about 9pm. So I have to put Baxter to bed by myself. I'm hoping to get my prep done for tomorrow, and just go to bed with him. Tomorrow night I'm volunteering at the Mother Baby Center auction (www.motherbabycenter.org). I highly recommend supporting them, they were a great support to me, and they're a fantastic addition to the Whatcom County community. But Jason gets to return the favor, and he gets to put Baxter to bed by himself tomorrow. We'll see how that goes, Baxter has never done that before, he's always had me to nurse him, then Daddy walks with him. It's a two part, two parent process. I'm glad he wants both of us though!

Happy Halloween!

Baxter was a gnome for Halloween this year. Which mostly meant he was subjected to a photo session while wearing a beard/hat combo that he wasn't particularly thrilled about. But it was still super cute. Next year we'll take him trick or treating. We only had ONE knock tonight! Two little girls in witch's outfits, and really bad face makeup. We have a ton of leftover candy. I guess "the thing" to do now is take the kids downtown. I hear Fairhaven is the place to go.

Baxter is just the cutest baby ever. I'm sure every mom thinks that, but he really is great. We need to get back down to Seattle so family can see how great he's getting. I'm not sure that's going to happen before Thanksgiving though. Travel is expensive, and we have a lot going on with school and work.

He's getting soooo much more social. Grandpa Gary was visiting from New York last week, and Baxter was great with talking and smiling. We went and spent the day with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Spears on Monday, and he could not get enough of them. He was telling them all sorts of stories and grinning up a storm. I know they're already in love with him, but he could have charmed a complete stranger that day! He's really developing a personality. We're trying to not let him watch TV, but it happens (in moderation). But Baxter, who was so huge at birth that we called him "Daddy's little linebacker," has decided he LOVES football. And sometimes baseball. Seriously, if football is on TV, he's glued to it. If you turn him around, he'll twist back to it. If you change the channel he'll whimper until you turn it back. It's actually pretty cute.

And he has the most adorable sad face! I know, I try not to let him get too sad, but he sticks his lower lip wayyyy out and gives a tiny whimper. If he hears another baby crying he'll do this in sympathy. To cute! And he continues to be amazing in all things physical. He holds a rattle pretty well now, and sometimes sucks on it. And he rolled over. He's been rolling over from front to back since mid-September, but he doesn't do it often. He likes his tummy time too much. But on Wednesday (at 12.5 weeks) he rolled over from back to belly! On the bed too, where it's supposed to be more difficult! He's taken to laying on his side when playing with toys though, it's so funny.

Lets see, I think he's starting to teeth. I just bought him an amber teething necklace to see if it helps with his fussiness at all. Although I shouldn't complain, he really is an easy baby. But he just doesn't want to be put down at all when he's fussy, which means I don't get things like laundry or homework done. And he doesn't nap well, so I don't have that time either. If you're curious about teething necklaces, more information on them can be found here: http://hyenacart.com/inspiredbyfinn/index.php?c=64&p=14913. I actually got two for Baxter, and one for Jason and I too. I had a discount code :D

As far as not quite so Baxter related, I'm still doing OK in school. I have an exam next Thursday, and I have 180 terms to work through, as well as 250 pages of reading that I haven't been able to do with Baxter around. The plan is to skim it this weekend, and hopefully get most of that done. Of course we're taking pictures tomorrow, and have errands to run, but I have high hopes! I tend to get more done when Jason is home. Weekends are their time together. That and bathtime. Baxter loves baththime.

Laundry is one of the hardest things to keep up with now. I always wash diapers and Baxter's clothes first priority, and those are generally fine. But the adult clothes and the towels get postponed, so this weekend was a major laundry day. Things are much better on that front now.

I'm still really enjoying making diapers. I don't have nearly enough time to do it right now though. I'm working on developing my own pattern. I've run into a fit issue with some of our diapers, and I'm debating selling them. Of course, I could only get less than $10/diaper for them, and the ones I want to replace them with are $35 each... I've found a new diapering love. I really like fitted diapers, and for me I'd need two sets for each child. Newborn (birth to 12 lbs) and then Onesize (usually 10lbs +). We recently tried Goodmama onesize diapers, and they're so great. None of the fit issues I was having with my other diapers. Containing the poo is worth it, right?

I also started thinking about Christmas. Even though Jason is working full time, I am not working, and we have another member in the house. So presents are mostly going to be homemade this year. Lots of knitting.... So I've started working on many of those projects. I think I'm going to make a gift registry/wish list for Baxter though, with maybe a few ideas for Jason and I on there. He doesn't need a whole lot, and he's growing so fast. He's almost completely in 6 month clothing now, with a few 3 month shirts that still fit. Clothing is hard, because he changes so quick! But I'd love him to have some wooden blocks, a wooden train set, wood cars, lots of books, and some balls to play with. Toys for him don't have to be "organic" we're just trying to stay away from plastic or overstimulating (noisy) toys. He already has a ton of stuffed animals too. But one of the goodmama diapers wouldn't go amiss either... :D But that's a project for another day.

This ended up being another long post, didn't it? Ok, it's way past my bedtime, and the dryer just finished. So I can fold this last load, put the diapers in the dryer (we put them in and get the dryer started once before bed, so in the morning we can do one more dryer cycle and they're ready to go for the day) then go to bed!

I think I broke it

I think I broke my toe... but now that that's out of the way, I'll update you on the important things. Mostly Baxter. But I'll start with some funny Jason stories (I know, I know, but if I write about Baxter first you won't read about the parents!).

Jason is having a great time teaching. One of his students asked him about his contract with the school. When Jason told her that he had a "continuing" contract, and that unless he was dismissed during his probation period (which he won't be) he'll be there until he chooses to leave. She told him that he had to stay for a few more years so that he could be her teacher for the rest of her education, because she'd never had a better math teacher. The kids seem to like him and respond well! And he had a review with the principal, who only had good things to say. He also went to a math conference and got to know some of the other math teachers better. All good things there!

While at the conference he heard a funny story. At Sedro Woolley kids are allowed to choose teachers for subjects. The first week several kids transfered out of his classes. He heard that one girl transfered out because he was "a creepy coin collector". Jason was pondering this, and the only thing he had told the kids was that he went to the Penny Arcade Expo, a video game conference. She must not have been paying much attention, but funny nonetheless!

We went to Sedro Woolley's homecoming football game last night. We had to leave at halftime, because Baxter was not enjoying himself, and we felt bad for him. It's a totally different culture down there. They had a parade, and the stands were full. They played Ferndale, and the Ferndale stands were packed too. I guess Ferndale is pretty good. I don't know the final score, but I'm pretty sure Ferndale won...

Ok, now to Baxter. He's so great. He smiles more and more and more. He's the most adorable baby in the world. He's getting better at rolling over. He's enjoying playing on his floor mat too. I bought him a mat that has two soft bars that curve up and hold toys. I put him on it wonky, so his feet can touch one of the bars. He quickly learned that if he kicks his feet, his toys move. He'll happily kick away for up to 45 minutes! I'm getting better at keeping the kitchen clean as long as he feels like playing.

I'm doing fine at school, and when I get home on Tuesdays and Thursday's Baxter is a Mama's boy. He wants to be held the rest of the afternoon. I guess he misses me! Breast-feed babies usually eat about an ounce an hour. For the first few weeks Bax was a chow hound, and was taking 14-16 ounces in six hours! But now he's slowed down and for the last week he went on a bottle strike and only took 2-4 ounces in six hours. And then attached him self to me for the rest of the night. I'm sure it will even out eventually. I just don't want him to starve while I'm gone.

I also decided it was time to buy a stroller. I have to take him with me to meetings on campus sometimes. Last monday I walked across campus with Bax in the sling while I carried my backpack and the diaperbag. On the way back it was raining and much colder. So I had him wrapped in a blanket under the sling, which makes it less secure so I had to keep a hand on him. And I tried to put the blanket over his head because he didn't like the rain, but then he screamed. So I stopped at the bookstore and bought an umbrella. So I had two bags, Bax and the umbrella, and had to walk all the way across campus to the car in the rain. It was about 3/4 mile, and I don't want to do that again. So the stroller will be here on Wednesday. Too bad I have to do it again on Monday, but now with a broken toe. I think I'm going to pay for parking and hope for a quick meeting. $2.00/hour is pretty steep, but I don't think I can make that trek again.

I've been reading a book called the "no-cry sleep solution" and it's great! Bax has been sleeping through the night for a while now, but he doesn't nap well. There are some great solutions in there, and tonight we started doing a bedtime routine. He doesn't need it now, but he will later, and if we establish it now it will be even easier. So he went to bed at 7pm, and now after 10 we haven't heard a peep. And I didn't even need to nurse him down! He's such an easy baby (we truly are blessed) but it's nice to make it even easier. I don't think I can find one thing to complain about with Bax. I think the only thing Jason would say is the smell of his poop makes him gag, but I manage just fine :D

Wow, that was a really long update! I've been so busy with school I don't write as much as I mean to. My dad (Grandpa Gary) is coming to visit from New York next week, so that will be fun. I'm sure I'll have more to write about soon. Bax is growing up so fast! He's already outgrown all his newborn clothes, and the length of his 3 month clothes. So he has t-shirts from cut off onesies. And I had to buy more PJ's in 6 months so his shoulders don't pop out the top. Ok, it's really hard to stop writing... I'll close the floodgates now!

Big and Tall... with a small head

Baxter did great at his two month appointment yesterday. He cried when he had his immunizations (and was cranky last night) but he didn't pee on anyone! He's actually pretty good now and doesn't pee into the air anymore. He's grown a ton though! He's now 24.5 inches long (up 3 inches since birth) and 13 lbs 9 oz. That means he's in the 95% for both height and weight. But his head circumference is only 15.25 inches, which is in the 25th percentile. So he's really tall and weighs a lot for his age, but he has a tiny head. The funny thing is it makes him look more normal, because most babies look like they have oversized heads.

We also had pictures taken at Sears again yesterday. They were really impressed with how well he handled his head (maybe because it's so small?) and that he could actually lift it up so well. We got some great photos.

And on Sunday night he rolled over FOUR times in a row! The fourth one I got on video, but he's naked so I'm not going to post it on youtube. Every time he rolled over he had the most surprised look on his face like he couldn't figure out what just happened. It was hilarious!

Ok, enough doting mother, class is starting now :D

I love my husband

He's so incredibly supportive. He appreciates that I breastfeed, and understands how important it is. He feels bad for babies who don't get held as much as ours does. He thinks that cloth diapering was the right decision, that it's better for Baxter, the environment, and our bank account. What did I do to deserve him?

He took a bath with Baxter tonight. We have discovered that Bax LOVES to take baths with a parent. Having freedom in the water, and being able to play, and be warm and wet, he grins almost the whole time. It calmed both him and his dad down. Jason is grading tests tonight, which is not always fun.

I started classes again this week, and I have no idea how I will finish all my school work. Luckily I have one professor twice, and he's super supportive. He's been a supporter of the mother baby center for a long time and he told me that if I ever needed to bring Baxter to class I was more than welcome to! That's one stress gone, but that doesn't help me get the required reading done...

there's a first time for everything

Baxter poops made Jason gag tonight. I couldn't stop laughing. But at least we all made it though my first day of classes! I just hope Baxter likes it when I read, because there's going to be a lot of that this quarter.

They don't tell you...

That leaving your child for the first time is harder than labor itself....

I had to leave Baxter with Miranda (our babysitter) this morning. I cried, and didn't stop until I got to school. I can't wait to go pick him up, and classes haven't even started yet.