Hi - From LJ

I am so glad that mom and dad’s conference is over! I sure missed them this past week. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED spending time with SJ…and I’m very sad that she will be gone this summer…and gone from here from now on. She will be on the west coast for the summer, but then she’ll be in her new town with her new job in September. I sure have had fun with her! But, I sure did miss mom and dad this week. On Tuesday, they left the house right after I woke up and didn’t get back until I was in bed. I just couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. But, I think they came in a looked at me sleeping…a baby can sense these things. I overheard mom telling dad that she just couldn’t imagine not seeing me almost all day everyday and not being able to play with me all the time. I guess that means there is little chance that I’ll ever get sent to day care! I don’t think mom and dad could bear to spend the time away from me. But, this weekend, things seem to be back to normal…and I like that. A baby needs to know what to expect!

But, the unexpected has happened. Mom bought baby food! She said that she was feeling as though she wasn’t having time to make any new foods and she was feeling badly that I haven’t been introduced to anything new in so long. So, she bought me some fruit. I tried bananas this morning and I must say, this is the food I have loved the best so far! She also bought me some hard, little biscuits…they are FUN! AND, they get all over me and I love them! Mom was muttering under her breath while cleaning me up after I ate one, but I’m sure she wasn’t saying anything about those biscuits…how could you not love those?

Speaking of things to love…here is a list of things that make me VERY happy. When I’m happy I smile, laugh, and kick my legs straight, so it is easy to tell! Oh, and these are in no particular order!

I love:

My jumpy seat – hangs from the doorway
My green frog
Mom’s spatula
Mom’s wooden spoon
When someone new walks into the room
The Veggie Tales Theme Song
My baths
My bouncy seat (this is for when I’m in a contemplative mood)
The Waltons
Sucking on Mom’s hair
Getting the mail (I pull the handle all by myself)
Being outside
SJ’s glasses
Eating books


This is all I can think of right now, but I’ll keep thinking about it!

Question:
When you were in grade school – what did you do after school?

Not Exactly What I Had in Mind!

Little LJ slept much better last night...only woke up once (at 2:30) and then slept again until 6:30. This is preferable to his "up 2x a night" routine of late. Of course, we decided to give him some Tylenol as he went to sleep last night..."he might be teething". I don't know if we'll give him Tylenol again tonight or not...I bet we don't. He is taking a nap now...and it is turning out to be a 2 hour nap! Yippee! Except, he started this nap at 4:45. This cannot be good...to take such a long nap so late in the day. But, what can I do? He didn't nap too well earlier in the afternoon and he was clearly tired when RJ put him down.

I made acorn squash today...some for LJ and some for RJ. I haven't cooked it before today and I have not eaten it before today. Mom used to make it all the time, but I refused to eat it. I remember that she put butter and brown sugar in the little hole at the end of the cooking, so I did that for RJ. It was pretty tasty, so I'm sure it was the texture that kept me from trying it as a child. You know that I'm a texture person. I did not put the butter and brown sugar in LJ's batch. I am going to feed some to him today...as soon as he awakens.

LJ is sitting up all right...when I sit him up...especially if he is strapped into something, like a booster seat or a high chair. I don't see him sitting himself up anytime soon, but the skill he does have is probably good enough for me to switch to the larger car seat we have purchased. The car seat doesn't require him to be able to sit up, but I fear I will miss being able to easily remove him, car seat and all, from the car and put him in the shopping cart or on the table at a restaurant.

We are crazy busy at work this week as our department is hosting a conference (re: the program RJ directs). We're thankful that SJ will be able to watch LJ next week...I fear that we will really miss her availability once she is no longer in town! I KNOW WE WILL! She has been too great for words and it has been so nice to be able to leave LJ with her and have no worries at all. We will miss her for many reasons, but I know LJ will miss her fo 'shizzle.

Question:
What is something about LJ's mommy (a quirk or story, if you like) that you doubt I would ever share with him. (Keep it clean! This blog is rated G...but, hey, for the most part my life has been rated G!)

Another "Growth Spurt"?

Starting Saturday, May 7th, LJ has been in a sleep regression. He has not napped well AND he has been up 2x (instead of 1x) each night. That wouldn’t be so bad except that he has not gone back to sleep with his usual ease. The result: cranky parents. I guess he is going through a “growth spurt”, but this is hard to believe as he actually lost ¼ inch between months 4 and 6. Yep, he actually shrank since his last doctor visit. I suspect this is due to rather inaccurate measuring (especially since the nurse at the 4 month visit didn’t seem too capable…she didn’t know how to use the percentile charts).

6 Month Stats:

Weight – 17 pounds 15.5 ounces (50th percentile)
Height – 26 ¾ inches (75th percentile)

We have introduced peas and then stopped them as LJ had a horrible red rash in the diaper area in conjunction with a diaper that was obviously caused peas. If you can’t understand how this was obvious, trust me, you can tell exactly what a baby of this age has eaten recently. I’m going to get an acorn squash and make that, but I haven’t done that yet, so LJ has been “eating” rice cereal, oatmeal, and the occasional sweet potato.

This past weekend, we had the Js (MJ’s Js) in town for SJ’s (LJ’s cousin and favorite Friday companion) and RJ’s graduations. Ok, they came for SJ’s graduation, but RJ graduated too. SJ walked on Friday night and they didn’t get home until after 11:00. We were in bed, but not for long considering LJ’s growth spurt. RJ’s graduation was Saturday morning and the Js babysat while Mom and I went to his ceremony. We were home by a little after noon and LJ was down for a nap (that ended up lasting 1 and ½ hours). We had hamburgers and hot dogs and then all took part in various afternoon activities.

Sunday, all the company left and we went to visit LJ’s grandma, grandpa, and Uncle B. LJ took about a 2 hour nap on the way there and was pretty pleasant while we visited. He took another nap on the way home, but there was some screaming involved. He can be really pitiful!

Last night, we started to get him ready for bed at 7:30 and had him asleep by 8:00. He slept until 3:30 (imagine angels singing) and went right back down after nursing. He started the day at 7:30 and has had 2 naps of about 1 and ½ hours each. So, maybe his need for food is over and he needs to rest?! Or, maybe he is transitioning to a new schedule that involves longer naps? Who knows?!

Question:

What is a favorite cartoon…one that you woke up to watch on Saturday morning?

Mother's Day

What a wonderful first Mother's Day I had! LJ (and RJ) certainly knows what I enjoy.

For us, Mother's Day started the week before with family effort to make gifts for LJ's grandmothers. RJ has taken almost all the pictures since LJ was born, LJ has been the subject of most of said pictures, and I have edited most of these photos. We made a collage of pictures, framed the collage and sent them in the mail to be received by our mothers sometime before Mother's Day. We enjoyed doing it! It gives me practice using the software I will use when I get around to being serious about this digital scrapbook I'm thinking about making.

My Mother's Day was grand. LJ woke to eat at 6:20 am, I fed him and then I went back to bed while RJ was up for the day. I slept until 8:30...WOW! RJ had made me coffee...his 2nd pot to make...ever! He quickly made his third pot...ever as I tasted it and could tell (by the strength) that it was not decaf, so he threw it out and made a pot of decaf. Then, RJ took LJ to Lowe's with him and I got to read the paper and drink my coffee. When they returned, LJ was asleep and slept for another hour. RJ had come home with breakfast tacos, so we ate those while LJ napped. LJ awoke and it was time for me to open LJ's gifts to me. One was a nice journal in which to write and the other was... (And this is where LJ knows his mama) a DVR receiver for the dish! Of course, LJ is like his father and bought a refurbished one. This is amazing! Now, if I am watching a show and LJ wakes from his nap...I can push "pause". If I am feeding LJ and he gets so fussy I can't hear the TV...I can push "pause". You get the idea. This is MUCH fun! It has many more features, but I love it! Later, I did the normal things mommies (especially those who work) do on the weekend...go to the grocery store and do the laundry. We went to Mass that evening and I got to stand with all the other mothers during the prayer for mothers. This was my first time and it was very special!

We hope all the mom's out there had a great day and we hope you remembered to be sweet to your mom as well!

Question:

What is a memory that you have of my (MJ) dad?

Oatmeal and More...

Thursday we passed the 4 days necessary to test the sweet potato...to make sure there is no allergic reaction before we introduce the next food. Now we are on to oatmeal. I've thinned it down quite a bit and LJ actually opened his mouth for it yesterday. This is an improvement. It is amazing what affect this little bit of food is having on his diapers! I think his little digestive system is shooting this stuff straight through with very little, if any, processing!

LJ is becoming more and more animated and fun everyday. He is a really happy baby and smiles a ton. When he is really excited, he opens his mouth wide, pants, and kicks his legs. This happens when he sees a new person, when he is playing with a cookie package, when he is jumping in the jumpy seat that hangs from the door, and too many other times to list.

He has not been napping in a nice way...meaning, once I put him down his eyes pop open pretty quickly. So, there isn't a whole lot of napping. When will he take longer naps?! Last night was a good night of sleep, so that coupled with it being Friday, add to that...school is out...and the Js pretty darn happy.

The weather has been nice, so we have been going for a walk every afternoon. Now I'm starting to think about sunscreen. This summer he is going to take a water babies class at the city pool and we are looking forward to that.

Question:

What was a favorite (no batteries required) toy from you childhood?

Sweet Potato

As promised, LJ tasted his first solid food on Sunday (as he is officially 24 weeks old). On Saturday, after a trip to look at travel trailers, I went to the store and bought sweet potatoes (among other things) and felt very industrious to be making LJ's baby food. Of course, I bought wipes at the store, and let's face it, I could make those too. But, a mother has to know where to draw the line and my line is between making baby food and making wipes.

Sunday came and I peeled and cut the sweet potatoes and then steamed them in a pot on the stove for 20 minutes. Once they cooled, I used our hand-held blender to puree the potato...I had to add some liquid along the way. I opted for water, but in retrospect I should have used the water in which I steamed the potato. Then, I put the sweet potato into these little plastic cubes with lids that I ordered expressly for the purpose of storing baby food. Each cube holds one ounce (and I learned the hard way not to overfill (there is a line)...food expands when you freeze it (I realize this is conventional wisdom...a fact actually) and the little top pops up as the food needs room to grow). Oh, and these cubes can go in the dishwasher. Nice!

Then, the moment arrived. LJ had taken a 90-minute nap, had his appetite whetted by a nursing session and was ready (whether he knew it or not) for his first taste of solid food. We put the bib on, sat him in his bouncy seat, had the still camera ready, and turned the video camera on. I put some sweet potato on his spoon and LJ immediately reached out to grad it. This is not surprising as he puts everything in his mouth. He'd put me in his mouth if he could! Together, we guided the sweet potato laden spoon into his mouth and he sat there with an odd expression. He didn't really swallow, but he didn't spit it out. We went for another bite...this bite he keep in between his lips until some made its way in and some made its way out. Every now and then, LJ would get some sweet potato onto his tongue, actually taste it, and his whole body would shiver. Think of how it is when you eat sweet tarts, or worse, atomic warheads...that face and that physical reaction. All told, we probably put a tablespoon of sweet potato onto the spoon and maybe a teaspoon made it into his tummy. He didn't seem to hate the experience, but he didn't go crazy with the eating either. We're going to try it again today!

Today is the last day of school for me...yippee!!! Now a break until summer school.

Question:
Where, in the US (we'll limit it for now), should LJ be sure to request we go for a family trip sometime in our lives?