Waterbabies

RJ got called for jury duty on the first day of waterbabies. He was kind of bummed and could have gotten out of it or gotten it rescheduled, but us Js actually like jury duty and actually wish that, one of these times, we’d actually get picked to be on the jury. So, LJ’s Aunt M of RJ’s side of the family came over to go with us. She took many pictures, so we have good documentation. I wasn’t sure how well this would all go since waterbabies starts at 9:45 and LJ had been going down for a nap around 9:00. You have to have a 9:00 nap when you wake up at 5:30. But, I had high hopes that waterbabies would force him into a later morning nap and maybe, somehow, with a lot of prayer, LJ would sleep later in the morning by the time this class was all over. LJ did great…he loves the water and I’m not sure that he realizes it is any different from land. The teacher thinks he’s a natural because he kicks his feet to get to the floating toys. I don’t have the heart to tell her that this is how he gets around on land. He conked out on the way home and was so tired he stayed asleep through the “from the car seat to the crib” transition. That never happens.

Tuesday, he sneezed while “swimming” toward a toy. When he sneezes, his face goes forward. Since I was holding him on his tummy…he sneezed his face into the water. He didn’t mind one bit…he even looked a little proud of himself.

Today, he did “ice cream scoops”. This is where he uses his hands to “swim” as well as his legs. Once again, I didn’t tell the teacher that this is how he pulls himself forward on land. I’ll just let her believe that we have a swimmer of Olympic caliber on our hands. Once again, LJ conked out on the way home and slept through the transition.

Oh, and this morning he slept until 7:15!!!! This is BIG news…BIG. That makes 11 hours at night. BIG NEWS.

And…yesterday, LJ started crawling on his knees. He’s done it several times, so it is now in the “skills” category. He makes a bee-line for everything he’s not supposed to touch…electrical cords, plants, etc. He is trying to pull up and get things off of tables too. It is like he can sniff this stuff out…he’ll crawl under a table to the other side of the room…and behind a chair to find an electrical cord. Persistent.

LJ's Domain

With LJ's ability to move forward...at a rapid pace, we have made the back porch his domain. It is baby proof...so far as we know. When he sees something (or someone) he wants, he can pull himself forward pretty quickly! It is very cute and I'm always glad when he gets the thing (or person) for which he worked so hard. He is sitting next to me, playing with his new favorite toy...a water bottle.

This weekend is "Finish Phase I of the Bathroom Remodel". Phase II will happen several years from now and will involve replacing and moving the bathtub and toilet. But, as I said, that is for several years from now. Phase I includes: finishing the jacking up of the house, taking out the rest of the floor, laying the sub floor, laying the new floor, replacing the lower paneling, painting the walls, replacing the mirror, and adding new lighting. RJ projects "we" can finish this by Monday evening (he is taking Monday off)...and screw the boards onto the back deck. RJ laid them out there, so the deck looks complete...and it looks GOOD! RJ knows how to put a little bit of design detail in so that it looks better than just a deck. That will be dependent on it not raining and the reason I'm updating you instead of walking is that...it looks like rain. So, we'll see. Now, "we" might be able to do this...I think there is some help that I can provide while LJ is napping or playing in the hall. But, his mobility may mean that I have to take several breaks.

LJ's "Law & Order"

LJ's cousin DL (my sister M's oldest) had a peculiar fascination when he was a young toddler. Whenever the "Law & Order" theme would play, he'd drop whatever he was doing and stare intently at the television. It was like one of those spooky mind control things from "The Manchurian Candidate". But, it was also very funny to watch. LJ has been demonstrating a similar fascination for a couple of months now (I guess he's not technically a toddler, since he doesn't toddle...but he is army crawling forward now.) LJ's "Law & Order" is...the Countrywide Home Mortgage Commercial. It has a man with blondish hair and several blocks of different colors on the screen...and there is a little tune that plays in the background. I don't know if it is the tune, the colors, or the sound of the man's voice, but when this commercial comes on...LJ drops everything and stares at the TV. Everything includes playing, nursing, crying...everything. He does smile and laugh at some point, so I think he enjoys the commercial which makes me feel less spooked by it.

I don't want to jinx anything, so let's leave it at...sleeping has been super this week.

More Magic?

I will keep you in suspense re: more magic...first, a "this old house" update. The leaky tub was indeed put back together in an "overnight fix" state and all of us were showered (ok, I elected to take my shower this morning...you ladies know that you can't really sleep well on wet hair and it was too late and I was too tired to consider the arduous task of blow drying) and in bed by 10:30. Not too late considering the amount of work that was done. Today, the "permanent fix" (are any home repairs really permanent)…the now-unleaky-tub pipe is joined with the now-unleaky-toilet pipe and the leaks are fixed. I think we are about to have a toilet again...we have been toilet-less for about 3 ½ hours. I'm ready to give it a try, so I hope I am correct in my estimation that it is almost useable again. Tomorrow, the house will be "leveled" - we are pier and beam and some of the beams were sagging, so RJ and Uncle B are jacking these beams up (RJ determined the appropriate heights a long time ago) and putting blocks under for support. Oh, and I'm hoping the holes (yes, there is more than one now) in the floor will have more substantial covers. Then, I think they are going to work on the back deck (if it doesn't rain). This is all necessary work and it is good that it is getting done!

LJ has been sitting himself up ALL day. He seems very content to be able to do this...it entertains him. He napped for 2 ½ hours this morning - with all the work going on...so this was great! He also napped for 1 ½ hours this afternoon...also great.

Here is what you have been waiting to read...you are thinking, "What is with the title of this post MJ?" So, I will reward you for sticking with it, reading all of this, acting interested in our home repairs, and not skipping right to the bottom.

...Last night, I fed LJ some avocado. He didn't seem to care for it too much - if his facial expressions are any indication. I think it might have been too thick for him. But, I managed to get 8-10 bites in him. Last night, he slept from 9:00 (he got to bed late) - 6:30...YIPEE!!!! Needless to say, I have already fed him avocado tonight. See, even if he doesn't really like it, he opens his mouth whenever a spoon comes near, so I have the advantage in this situation. I did mash it really well and I added a little water to thin it out a little. I have no idea if there is some nutritional property in avocado that would help sleep, but someone asked about it on the message board I read and I decided it could not hurt to try. I'll let you know if avocado does the trick tonight too!

New Skill

In the last 2 days LJ has mastered the skill that I thought would be most difficult…getting into a seated position from his tummy. This is a skill that is listed as a milestone in the “What to Expect the First Year” book, but I was having trouble picturing how he would do this. He has figured it out…I guess he knew it was something on which he was supposed to be working…he is a smart boy after all!

Right now, LJ has seated himself and is playing with the air compressor hose. See, LJ’s Uncle B is in town helping RJ work on the house. Since it has been raining (thank The Lord), they aren’t working on the back deck, but are working on our leaky bathtub and toilet. This has caused them to remove an even bigger slab of the bathroom floor and thus requires a larger rug (to cover the plywood that will be the floor until the “replacing the bathroom floor project” gets to the head of the queue). So, at 5:30, LJ and I went to Target to buy a bigger rug and to stop at Sonic for drinks for the guys (you know how important those sonic drinks are). I came home to “Gone to Lowe’s” scratched onto a napkin on the dining room table. I should count myself lucky to have gotten a note at all. It is now 7:40, LJ needs to go to bed, dinner is ready to be eaten, and there is no drain in the bathtub (thus, no showers for adults) AND there is a huge hole in the bathroom floor (remember, we needed the bigger rug…). I’m sure the remaining work to remedy the hole and the lack of shower will be noisy…and remember…it is LJ’s bed time!

Crawling is still to come, BUT he did move each knee forward once…in succession yesterday. We have the video camera ready…with new tape even.

Please, Let this be a Phase...

Please, let this be a short-lived phase! In the past two days LJ has become VERY clingy. The first day, I thought, “he’s just tired from his weekend in a strange place.” But, the clinginess continued, with more vengeance, yesterday. I follow the same routines as normal, but LJ is not cooperating. It goes something like this:

LJ wakes up at some time with a 5 as the first number. This is too early, so RJ puts him in his bouncy seat next to our bed until sometime with a 6 as the first number. Sometimes LJ falls back to sleep; sometimes he just plays quietly. LJ nurses – and he has taken to raking my hair with his hand as nurses. It is ok, but sometimes he grabs just a few strands and that does not feel good. I finally stopped losing my hair due to hormones, now I lose it because LJ pulls it out. After nursing, LJ and I go for a walk. Yesterday, about 15 minutes into our walk, LJ arched backward and raised his arms (the signal for me to pick him up) and screamed. This is the first time LJ has not enjoyed our walk. He continued to do this for the next 30 minutes. I even tried to put the canopy up in an attempt to make him forget that I was there. Didn’t work.

When we get home, LJ usually plays nicely on the floor while I get some water and fix our breakfast. Yesterday, he screamed to be picked up. I distracted him with some toys – which seemed to work…until he saw me again. Then…Holy Crocodile Tears, Batman. LJ’s eyes welled up and he belted out a loud scream. He does this while eating, he does this while I’m holding him…sure, he calms down when I pick him up, but only for a minute or two. RJ takes him and LJ is fine…until he sees me…then again with the wailing. It got so bad yesterday…I gave him Tylenol…just in case there was pain somewhere. This did seem to work, so…teething??? The child is 8 months old and has zero teeth. RJ jokes that he’s seedless.

Oh, and his naps are back down to 45 minutes – 1 hour. And, last night was a hideous night. I’ll spare you the details, but there was little consecutive sleep. Never fear, there was no milk given, but there was little sleep. As I type this, LJ is sitting next to me – in his lady bug – giving me his angry snaps, but if I really concentrate on something…I can tune it out for a while.

Please tell me that this is just a phase…a short one. I figure it is either 1) teething or 2) separation anxiety or 3) a combination of the two. RIGHT????

LJ's First Boat Ride

LJ rode on a boat for the first time Monday! I know this is a "first" that every proud parent documents...or maybe not. We had to search for an infant life jacket before this great event could commence. It wasn't too hard to find and once we were home we zipped little LJ into it and got in the boat. I don't think he was too thrilled...the life jacket is confining and makes his head sit "just so"...and "just so" isn't a way that he likes to hold his head. But, he was a good sport and we got some cute pictures.

LJ's lake vacation was great...he enjoyed playing with his cousins and his aunts and uncles. It was great for us (parents) to have people who were excited to play with him and hold him. He is at the age where he seems pretty tough, so I was able to really relax and let them all play with him...out of my sight even! Aunt KJ and MawMaw"baby sat" for about an hour while I went on the boat with all the skiers and tubers. That was fun...I like to ride on the boat, but skiing doesn't really do anything for me. RJ "perfected" his slalom and had a good time testing new techniques. The other RJ (my brother) pulled all the skiers and tuber and had as good a time as PawPaw used to have...trying to get the skier or tuber to either demonstrate great skill or fall off due to his fancy driving. Of course, he gave them time to enjoy themselves before the antics began.

Ok, I REALLY think LJ is about to crawl...now he rocks on all fours. I guess my "10-Day Guarantee" was off, but I'm serious this time!

5:00 - 5:59 AM is Too Early

LJ has become an early riser and by early I mean 5:00 – 5:30 am. This is earlier than any of us would care to wake, but we don’t seem to have much choice. Thursday, LJ woke at 5:30 and we managed to keep him somewhat quiet until 6:20. At 6:20, I gave up and brought him to the living room for his morning milk. As normal, I turned on the TV...but we found that the London tube had had a not-so-normal and not-so-nice morning. I immediately tried to remember if any of these stations are stations I have heard M&B talk about, but none sounded familiar…they didn’t sound unfamiliar either. I figured that this had all happened about 4-5 hours earlier, so surely I would be able to check my e-mail and find a message from M or B telling us that they were all right. LJ finished his milk; I went in to tell RJ the news and then headed for the computer. Sure enough, there was a message from B telling us that she and M (and B’s mother and aunt) were all fine. So, that was a relief! We have explained to LJ that terrorists are evil.

With the knowledge that our London family was ok and that things did not seem to be escalating, LJ and I went for our morning walk. LJ tried to fall asleep, but I would not let him. I can’t have him thinking that he can wake up at 5:30 only to take a nap at 7:30! In fact, LJ did not nap until 9:30 and he slept until 11:30…he has been taking a good 2-3 hour nap in the AM this week. LJ’s Aunt M came to town and we met up for lunch with RJ and then it was home for LJ’s afternoon nap…which lasted 1 ½ hours.

Today, LJ woke at 5:45 and RJ took him to the living room – I fell back asleep until 7:20. Dear reader, I have not slept until 7:20 in a LONG time! We all 3 went for our morning walk as RJ took the day off to get some work done around the house. This is a double-edged sword…it is nice to have RJ home and to have him working on the back porch project BUT this includes loud noises that kept LJ from napping as he would normally nap!

We decided to try peas again. Last time we did peas (about 5 weeks ago) they did not agree with LJ, but this time around, he seems to be tolerating them well. Other than this, we have not introduced a new food in a while…except that I made some custard the other night and he had a few bites of that. He doesn’t appear to like any one food over another…he opens his mouth like a little bird for anything that comes near. But, I think he appears most eager for bananas.

This weekend, we are back to MawMaw’s house and are looking forward to a weekend at the lake. And, I haven’t gone stir-crazy yet!

School's Out For Summer...

No, I'm not just humming Alice Cooper tunes this morning...although the song is running through my head. This is the first day of my extended summer vacation. I filed for my leave, turned in my grades, and tried to make my office look not-so-horrific before leaving yesterday. Now I am off until August 12th. YIPPEE! RJ thinks I'm going to go stir crazy...he may be right, but I'm willing to find out.

This morning, LJ woke up at 6:30, had his morning milk and then we went for a walk. Now, he's playing on the floor and waving to me as I pay a few bills, check e-mail (of which I had nothing good), and update his readers. He is about to have breakfast and I am about to have a cup of coffee.

Our weekend went as planned. The baby shower for LJ's Aunt S was very nice. It was fun to see almost everyone...by that I mean, almost all my family came, not that it was not nice to see all the family who did come! Sunday and our backyard party at the boss's went well too. KK arrived late Monday morning while LJ was napping. He took a 2 hour nap that morning/early afternoon, so we were hungry when we finally went to eat lunch at that place that has the incredible tuna salad that I craved while pregnant. After that we went to a local museum and then came home. KK brought tons of little American flags and put them up the sides of our front walk, so we looked very festive!

LJ has been sleeping MUCH better...he'll usually go at least 8 hours at night...and sometimes the whole night without RJ's assistance. He naps rather well during the day AND about 75% of the time we can just put him in his crib and he falls asleep by himself! So, all the Js are sleeping much better.

Magic Pajamas? - This is for Chrissy!

Would you believe that those pajamas are not magic after all? We were so sure that they were, but on Wednesday night, LJ was up a couple of times, so Thursday night (last night) we put him in different pjs. It is kind of a relief…I didn’t want to buy into the superstition, but it was so tempting. This is probably a sin. Oh, and last night was pretty good. He slept until 4:30 and then needed a little help to get back to sleep…after which he slept until 7:15. Prior to his earlier success we would have considered last night a huge improvement, so we have to remember our roots!

Poor LJ though…he demonstrated that he didn’t NEED to eat in the middle of the night, so we have not fed him in the middle of the night. When he has woken up, RJ has helped him go back to sleep and that is that. So, we are on the road to LJ’s sleeping well on his own. We are without swaddle and without night time feedings, so it is only a matter of time and we will be without night time waking. Although, I’ve had many parents tell me that children wake up in the night for YEARS, but certainly this isn’t every night…or, certainly I won’t have to know about it every night?

Oh, and I must add that RJ has been quite successful at just putting LJ in his crib and then LJ falls asleep on his own. When I have done this, LJ has played nicely in his crib…for an hour, but no nap OR he has wailed and I have gone in to help him. I guess there are some things at which daddy is just better!

This weekend we have BIG plans. Saturday we are going to MawMaw’s house for the day to have Aunt S’s family “baby shower”. Her little girl is due in August! Sunday, we have a little back yard bar-b-q to attend. And, Monday LJ’s Godmother, KK is coming to visit for the day. We are going to try to get to the fireworks Monday night, but we’ll have to see how little LJ is doing that late in the day.

Happy Independence Day to all you Patriots!