It has been way to long!

It has been almost two whole months since my last post. Oh my. So much has happened that has kept me away. Not only have I been working and going to school, but my darling husband got transferred out of state for these last two months to work. BOO! This has been a really trying and stressful time in my life, thankfully it is over... for now. We have had some excitement also, Ty got baptised after mass a few months ago, and we just celebrated his first Christmas! I am looking forward to his birthday coming up, except that I work that day of course! However, I think we may have cake for his FIRST birthday and my sisters 16th birthday the day after. I can not believe that this first year has already gone by this quickly. It seems like just yesterday I was still pregnant. He has gained so much character in these last few months it is too funny. We still are not walking or saying mama, however we do have one tooth on top with two more trying to pop through, and we eat anything that mom and dad eat. Ty's favorite being mashed potatoes and roast beef. lol I took a bunch of photos through out the last few months. I have gotten some developed but the more recent ones haven't made it that far yet. When I get them finished I will post them. But here are a few.

Daycare

Yesterday was Ty's first day of daycare. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it may be to leave him, I guess since it was my third week back to work that may have help. I have some of a routine down with him. So back to the sitter, we got to her house around 7:20am and we got his seat in her car and we both left. At lunch I checked facebook like usual, I know I'm an addict lol and she had posted about how her house isn't as baby proof as she thought it was. Haha I know that feeling, he can find even the smallest particles or anything else he isn't supposed to be into. When my grandmother watched him he was opening up her kitchen cabinets, and he started to pull himself up to standing in his crib and reach for stuff so I had to lower the mattress. He sure is growing fast. When I went to pick him up she said he was great, and I hope that he was and continues to be because I really like this sitter and don't want to have to go through the hassle of trying to find another.

Our mouth is starting to fill up!

Sorry for that lapse in posting lately, things have been busy! I wanted to stop by and let everyone in on our newest baby development... teeth! I knew he had been teething for a while and we had been patiently waiting for them to finally get in. However I didn't know it would be such a chain reaction. He started with just one, not even a week later he had a second, now two weeks from his first we have a third. I think even a fourth one is breaking through! I can not believe how quickly this all happened, I thought it would be a long drawn out process of getting teeth, but I was wrong. They haven't came through enough to get a good picture of them, but when they do I will be sure and post a few.

Finally

As you all may know I had an interview earlier this week. I did not believe that it went well, so upon returning to Sullivan to pick up Ty, I went to the drug store and picked up an application and talked to the pharmacist. Well the next day the pharmacist called and asked if I could come in and speak with her about the job. Well that interview went much better and I am now the newest pharmacy tech, at the drug store! I am so excited, pharmacology has always really interested me, I think it is because of all the chemistry behind it. So I go in Monday to set up an appointment to be finger printed and find out when I can start work. I have talked to that babysitter and just have to call her with all the information on Monday. I am sad that I won't be able to stay home with Ty any longer, but I am very thankful for this extended amount of time that I have had with him. It will only be four days a week so I will have a little time for just the two of us each week.

We also went to the doctor this week for our nine month check up, ( I will update the growth post, shortly) and we got a flu shot. My strong brave little boy did not even cry for a second when he got his shot, I was impressed. His nonchalant reaction really helped me not to be upset about him having to get another shot. I am a big baby when it comes to him being in pain. : ( Luckily he didn't get that from me.

Keeping Fingers Crossed

Yesterday I emailed my resume to an attorney, among a few other places, and got a phone call from them a few hours later to set up an interview! I am so excited, I hope I get it because I am so tired of filling out applications and sending out resumes. I job search every day and send out any where from one to seven applications or resume a day! So now I go in Tuesday morning for the interview, and am hoping for the best. This is exactly what we need to get us going again! Well I better go and do my daily job search just in case things don't work out. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Scrapbooking

So I am back to work on Ty's scrapbook and baby book! I absolutely love working on it, it is so much fun. I thought I would upload some pictures of what I have done so far to see what everyone thinks and see if anyone had ideas for some more pages!

Diaper Rewards

So all of us mothers or mothers to be, have recently seen the price of diapers and wondered how they could get away charging that much for something your child is just going to ruin!? Well Pampers and Huggies is trying to help relieve those feelings buy starting two programs, https://en.giftstogrow.pampers.com/ and https://www.enjoytheriderewards.com/. Both companies put points on their product packages that you can enter on these websites and redeem for different things. From coupons to Radio Flyer Wagons all depending on how many points you accumulate before redeeming. I personally love this because we use Pampers diapers and Huggies wipes, so I get a few points for each site. Well I have accumulated about 25 promotion codes that can be reused by multiple people, so I thought I would put them out here for all of you other mothers to increase your stash of points. These promo codes are only for Pampers and some may not work any longer but some will for sure. Another way to get Huggies codes is taking polls and watching videos on their website.
WELCOMEBONUS089

THRIFTYMOMMYGTG

OHAMANDAAWGTG08

JUSTBECAUSE2009

JOINTHEFUNGTG09

WELCOME2GTG0809

XKCMYXFVD96VXVK

STARTEARNINGNOW

WELCOME2VILLAGE

GTGPLAY2USA2010

GROWWITHVILLAGE

GRATUIT89102009

WELCOME2GTG2010

GTGTEAMUSA2010

GTGSUMMERFUN5PT

GTGFIVEMONTHS10

GTGGETREADYSOON

TWITTERPARTYWTP

FBMEMORIALDAY10

GETSTARTEDNOW10

GTGLEARNMORE089

FACEBOOKMAY2010

GTGSPRINGFREE10

GTGPLAY3USA2010

GTGCOUPONPOINTS
If anyone else has any promotion codes they would like to share feel free to leave them in the comments and we can keep this an ongoing project to help each other. : )

Yay Me

So everyone I have had some good news come in today! No I have not found a job, yet! However, I have heard back from my academic advisor and I only have five classes left to complete to finish my degree. What may you ask is my degree going to be in? I will finally have my Bachelors of Arts in Psychology! I am so excited. I will have all of my classes finished in time to graduate in May. I thought I was going to need one or two more on top of this five but apparently my original calculations were incorrect, and I am so happy that I was wrong. : ) In other great news for moi I have less then ten pounds left till I reach my goal weight or my pre-pregnancy weight. For all you other mommas out there you know how big of a deal this is and how difficult it is to lose weight after you have a child. I had a hard enough time working out and going to school before I had a child, but some how I managed like every woman has before me. I feel really empowered today with all this good news... who knows maybe a job offer will be right around the corner for me. It could happen I have filled out applications or sent resumes for probably 70+ open positions in the last two months. Lets keep our fingers crossed!

The Chase Is On...

As many of you may know Ty has become mobilized! Which means no more resting for mom and "dada". He had started getting up onto his knees and rocking around and now he is crawling all over the place. Just today he has started trying to pull himself up onto things, he hasn't quite mastered this yet, thankfully. He can only get pulled up to more of a knelling position. He is also working hard on his sitting skills. He will try so hard to sit himself up and he does achieve it sometimes, but he still is real wobbly still and doesn't stay up long without support.

Labor Day Fun

This Labor Day we took a family trip up to Saint Louis for some fun at the Zoo. (My favorite and soon to be Ty's too.) The weather was perfect, so we loaded up the stroller, diaper bag, and everything else you must need when going anywhere with a small child and headed off to meet up with the Grandparents! Ty loved it... But I think it was the stroller ride that he loved more than the zoo since he really couldn't see any of the animals. Either way we all had a blast! I couldn't believe how well behaved Ty was all day, we didn't hear a peep out of him unless it was a giggle or a coo. No crying or fussing during the whole trip! I think he must love the zoo as much as I do!

I really like how they have redone the zoo from when I was younger. They have made it so neat, everything seems so much closer! The hippo tanks have glass walled sides that you walk right up to and can watch them swim by a few inches away! I really want to go into the penguin house, but every time I have gone there has been such a long line, maybe next time : ) They definitely put a lot of work into this place and I can see why it is one of the top 10 zoos in the United States.

Top 10 List for this New Mom

 

1. Ty absolutely loves these pacifiers. He has used the since day one, literally. I am so glad that I brought one with me to the hospital! They did give him a soothie but he just couldn't seem to keep it in his little mouth. He has also never been a happier little baby! He has also converted two other little ones to the dark side of the adorable styles and comfort of the MAM pacifier.

2. This timer is amazing for the breastfeeding mother, especially. However, it can be just as useful for a bottle feeding mother. It tracks diaper changes, bottle feedings/ nursings, sleep, and anything else you would like. It also has an alarm on it and will keep track of what side you last nursed on. This thing was like my nanny for six months, all I had to do was look at it and see what he needed no memory needed on my part ( which was good because at 3am I am not really that good at remembering anything). When he had thrush I set the timer on it so we would never miss a dose of medicine, we got rid of the thrush quickly and it never came back! My sister joked with me that taking care of a child didn't require a timer because it was easy enough already, well guess who carries one in her diaper bag every day? Yes, she does and loves it! Child care might not be brain surgery but why not make it easy on ourselves if we can. :)

3. The boppy pillow totally saved my back while breast feeding, I even brought it to the hospital with me! It is helpful to use when holding them to help support their weight, not just for mom but for anyone. My husband uses this when he feeds bottles to Ty. We have also used it for things that the manufacturer says not to on the label ( sleeping, laying, playing ) I believe these are okay if you keep a close eye on them, just don't tell on me. lol

4. This Precious Planet Projection Mobile has been a life saver. Ty finds it so entertaining and you do not have to wind it by hand, it even had a remote control. I could just lay him down and turn it on and go shower and get ready for work. It would stay on for 20 minutes I believe and if it went off I could just walk to the door and just hit the little remote button and finish getting ready. Now that I stay home with him, when it is time to go to sleep I lay him in bed an turn it on and let him watch it and play till he falls asleep and it works like a charm the majority of the time. When they out grow the mobile part and can pull up on it you can take it off and it will still project onto the ceiling giving it a longer time of use than most other mobiles on the market!

5. There are many baby carriers on the market these days and the one that most appealed to me was the Moby Wrap. I really liked how you could use it in multiple different ways, I mean they even have ways so you can wear both twins at one time! I think the only downside to it is getting used to tying it at first, however with the newer Moby Wrap D being shorter it really creates a lot more ease of use for the product. I really liked it though, I think it really drew to my creative side. This has been really helpful for us, I have used it grocery shopping, doing home work, and doing dishes, anything I have done before I can easily do with Ty also. The closeness soothes him to if he is cranky or not feeling good and it had a tendency to put him to sleep.

6.We use the Bumbo Seat all the time at this house, and for many different things. We use it to just hang out and play in, we use it to feed Ty in, we have used it multiple times for photo opportunities, and just recently we started using it for bath time since he out grew his tub. I think this is an all around great product.

7. Ty gets so excited when he sees his fresh food baby feeder coming; he always knows he is in for a tasty treat. These things are wonderful inventions: you place regular fresh food in the mesh bag and your child chews and sucks on it. It helps to keep them from chocking because they can only get pieces that will fit through the mesh. Ty has gotten to try so many new foods this way: strawberries, peaches (fresh from our tree), potato, avocado, banana, green beans, and mandarin orange. Anything we eat I try to let him try, which he loves to do.

These next three products have helped out our home lives so much through out the last eight-ish months. They are all so easily moved from place to place, and are moved daily. We use them in the kitchen while doing dishes, in the laundry room when we do laundry, and in the computer room when I do home work. They are just all around great products.

8. We still use this Precious Planet Snow Globe Bouncer even with Ty being almost 8 months old, I think he likes it even more now. The music and lights on this seat really attracted me to it and they do the same for him. It has really grown with him as he has developed: at first we didn't even use the toy bar, then he just watched and listened, now he can interact with it, and turn the music on by moving the whale. He is actually in it right now!

9. I love this Precious Planet Cradle Swing, it swings two different ways, plays a total of three different songs or sound, and has a cute little animal mobile. The only thing I wish ours had was an AC adapter option so we didn't only have to use batteries. However, two points to make on that. 1. We have only had to replace the batteries once since he was born and that was last month, so not that bad on batteries. 2. They now make it with the AC option. With Ty's heavier weight it doesn't swing quite as well anymore but he still loves it so we aren't retiring quite yet.

10. As you have probably seen from the previously posted video Ty really seems to like his Precious Planet Jumperoo. This thing has so many activities for them to do, with a seat that rotates they can move to all the different toys on it and the stuffed animals hanging above. This is one of his current favorites, there is never a dull moment when he is in it.

All the picture are linked by Amazon. If you want to check anything out just click away.

A BIG new first!

Ty has been working very hard on his verbal skills, making lots of noise that is. These last couple of days he has began repeating a certain syllable, and today he has turned that into a word. Since I am his mother you can almost guess what I want that to be. Of course it is "dada" (mom never gets her way lol)! When he first started doing this a few days ago Griffen brought it to my attention and I didn't believe him (haha), but now it has gotten even clearer and there is no hiding that my sons first word is "dada". I am super excited though, and a little nervous because from here on out he isn't ever going to stop talking. :)

In other Ty news, we are getting very close to crawling. He moves around quite well; he just hasn't mastered getting up on his knees yet. He moves in circles really quickly and can slowly get across the floor to what he wants. Once he gets this down, WATCH OUT mom and "dada".

Ty Jumping

Here is the video I promised of Ty in his Jumperoo! Hope you enjoy!

The Great Outdoors

So I have always wanted to do a mini photo shoot with Ty outdoors in just some overalls and his little bumbo seat. Yesterday, I decided to do this and I think it turned out fantastic. He was such a good sport for mommy. We only had one little mishap other than him getting hungry and tired, and that was when a snake decide to venture right on through our little area and slither right under Ty. Not that either of them seemed to mind, but my mom freaked! I did all his pictures with my 35 mm camera that I got a few years back and one of my sisters used my digital to get some colored ones since I only had some free black and white film on hand.

In other baby news Ty has learned a few new tricks: pinching ( thankfully not very hard, yet), how to stick out his tongue which is very cute, to reach for me when I go to pick him up, and how to growl. He changes a little everyday, I feel so blessed to be able to spend this time with him.

Say Hello to A new Stay at Home Mom!

Okay well where to start, its been almost two whole weeks since I have posted anything and so much has been happening to us. We have had family visiting from out of state, family in the hospital, meetings at work, meetings with babysitters, ups and downs. So at my work meeting I found out our census would be to low for me to remain full time so my hours would only be 20 per week so I couldn't afford to keep working there. I am not sure how I feel about this, I had just started to get excited about going back to work, but I am really excited about staying home with Ty longer! After my meeting I did go ahead and have my meeting with the babysitter and I love her, she is the best person I could imagine to care for my child other than me or a family member or friend, now to just find a new job!

Now for the downs of the week: our electric bill has been really low lately and I have been so proud of us, saving money and electricity. Until, we got a call from the electric company to tell us the meter is broke! So now we are going to have to pay an average or something :( Aagh! Just when I thought things were going great! It really didn't help my stress level, which by the way has been at atomic levels lately! I really need to get out and do something other than house work or homework! I think I am going crazy!

However, to end on a happy note Ty has found his favorite toy, his precious planet jumperoo. He gets some major air in this thing it is hilarious! He loves it. He just jumps and laughs the whole time he is in it. I will have to get a video and post it.

Tasty Strawberries

So yesterday I bought Ty a mesh baby feeder and some fruit and veggies to snack on. So far he has had strawberries and loves them! The doctor said he needed three meals a day with two snacks so I thought we would incorporate more solid real food in his diet. We have already tried much of the baby food (and he approved) applesauce, carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, bananas, and just lately green beans. He makes a complete mess of both of us when he eats, he is always grabbing the spoon and trying to get the food off of it, and you can never feed him quick enough.

Growth

• Birth- 6lb. 14oz. 21.5in.


• 1 Week- 6lb. 8oz. 20in.


• 1 Month- 7lb. 8oz. 20.5in.


• 2 Month- 9lb. 6oz. 21.5in.


• 4 Month- 12lb. 24 in.


• 6 Month- 14lb. 3oz. 26.5in.


• 9 Month- 18lb. 5.5oz. 29.5in.


• 12 Month- 20lb. 31in.


• 15 Month- 20lb. 15.5oz. 31.5in.

I will edit as time goes by and we get new measurements.

Summers over... Already?!

So my summer vacation is going to draw to an end in two and a half weeks and I am not ready for it at all. I want to be a stay at home mom more than anything. I am very grateful that I have had this much time with him, when many women don't even get that. It just breaks my heart to know that I am going to miss out on all the other firsts in his life... I am determined to make whatever caregiver he has not inform me of any new amazing things he does for her. That way when he does them for me I can assume it was his first time. :) Ignorance is bliss! Now I have the task of finding some one I can trust to care for the person that I would give my life for. I think this is going to be harder than labor. Well this just stinks!

Who needs sleep?

My little man is back to sleeping in his crib... most of the night. He had been sleeping in there all night up until we went to the lake for 4th of July weekend. All weekend he wouldn't stay asleep unless I was holding him so he slept with me. Since we have been back I put him back in his cradle next to me since he was still having issues sleeping. (I think he was having nightmares since he was just crying in his sleep) So the last two nights I put him in his crib. The first night went great, however last night didn't go as well. For one I miss being able to roll over and watch him sleep in his cradle, and really wanted him in our room once it started to storm. I wasn't going to wake him since the storms never bother him. So not only was I missing him last night but he decided to wake up to play at 3 a.m. and I could not get him back to sleep until 5 a.m. I tried everything we rocked, we layed on the couch, we watched the mobile, we snuggled in bed, finally when Griffen left for work I layed him on his side of the bed and he went to sleep. So tonight I guess I am not going to lay and dwell on him not being in the room with me since apparently he knows when I do that. :) As tired as I was it was great to get to snuggle up with him.

Frustration

So for quite a while now I have been planning on finally being able to graduate in December. Well my advisor called and talked to me the other day and I will have all my required classes finished by December! Yay! Then he tells me I will only have 111 credit hours (okay what do I care); Oh I have to have 120 to get my degree. 9 stupid hours are going to make me have to wait 6 more months to finally get to graduate, that only equals 3 classes. The upside to it is I can take any 3 classes I want, and they do have some neat ones I would like to take, but of course they cost an extra 500+ dollars in equipment (photography classes) BOO.


Well on the bright side of my weekend I got to go work on my tan at the river, and get my nook which I have already loaded 15 classics onto. I am currently reading Little Women! I love it!!!

Books... My other love.

So for those of you who don't know, I am an addict... a book addict. I believe I am on my eighth book of the summer! I have fallen in love with the Pretty Little Liars book series! I have been reading one of the books a day since I bought them. In other book news I should be getting my nook this weekend, and I can not wait. I have been wanting an e-reader for a while now. I did want a kindle but since I found out about the awesomeness of the nook I have been hooked. I need to come up with some more books to read so if anyone has any ideas let me know?

The Life I Love

Lets begin six months ago. January 6, 2010 I was admitted to the hospital for "impressive contractions" as the doctor put it. Through that night the contractions went away, they discharged me the next morning. Leaving the hospital with out my baby in my arms was very disheartening. I went to the doctor and we planned on inducing the next day, so I went home cleaned and made sure everything was ready. At nine o'clock that night I started having contractions about five minutes apart. I worked through them till eleven, and then called the hospital. They told me that I could go ahead and come in early for the induction. I woke Griffen and we left the house at 11:40 p.m., it was 0 degrees out and still snowing. We finally arrived at the hospital at 12:15 a.m., I was dilated 7cm and 90% effaced. I got my epidural at 2 a.m., and was at 8cm and almost 100%. At 4a.m. my water broke and we were at 9cm. The nurses called the doctor, and we started pushing at 5 a.m. It took about four contractions and Ty was here. At 5:35 a.m. January 8, 2o1o I became a mother, to a 6 pound 14 ounce little boy.

When the doctor first laid him in my arms, was the most exhilarating moment in my life. I can not even describe how it felt to hold your child for the first time. We have been through so much together now as a family. We had our struggles with different things that we have overcome together: refusing to eat, thrush, and ppd. Thankfully though my darling boy loves his sleep as much as the rest of his family.

Now fast forward six months. It is July 8, 2010 and my son is six months old, today. So many wonderful things have happened. We have had so many firsts:mothers and fathers days, smiles, laughs, and even rolling over. I still can not believe how quickly things have changed. It seems like his personality develops a little more everyday. I am so grateful for the gifts I have been given, especially Ty. He is my world, and I love him dearly.