Whoo hoo!

I was realizing that many of my recent blogs have been pretty negative. Life is not that bad I promise. It's just that the bad things stick out more. Well, today was an awesome day, so I'll share it with you. =)
Jon, Jared, and I went to Westmont to help our friends the Reimers pack up because they are moving to Kansas. =( The morning before we left was pretty normal. Jared entertained himself for a bit in the morning while Jon and I took turns getting ready. In the car Jared took two little tiny naps. He was sleeping when we got there, but woke up pretty quickly. I was a little concerned about his naps while there.
Well, he did awesome the whole time we were there! He was up for several hours without fussing. There were lots of little ones there because of other people that were helping, so he had lots to keep him interested. He also stopped eating every hour!!!!!! Whoo hoo! Maybe he's done with the eating part of his growth spurt. When he was ready for a nap he fell asleep really easily in the wrap and looked adorable. Then he played some more. He eventually got a little fussy, but was fine when I put him in the wrap. =) He fell asleep on the way home and then went to sleep in his crib for at least an hour and a half! It might have even been close to 2 hours. I'm not sure because I was napping too. =)
When he woke up he was super smiley. He ate his cereal and then was laughing at Daddy. He also figured out that he can't push the legs of his octopus hard enough to make noise, but if he pushes on Daddy's hand the noise will happen. He is such a smart guy!
He was absolutely loving his time with Daddy and I loved watching it! He stayed up a little later than usual tonight, but he was such a delight! He even went to sleep easily. Maybe, just maybe there will a little more sleep for Mommy and Daddy tonight. Well, we can hope. =)
Here's Jared and Charlie saying bye.
Here's Jared and Lillian saying bye, well kind of.

Bye Reimers. We will miss you!

Adventures in Food

Last night I decided to make a recipe that I had seen on Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals called Oven Baked Corn Dogs. I thought it would be nice and easy and there's a nice twist because there is a spicy kick to the corn batter.
While we were making dinner Jon and I also discussed out we were recently introduced to the blog of some friends of a friend and how they have awesome pictures of the food that they make. There's actually a whole section devoted to food.
Well, the corn dogs did not look the way Rachael Ray's did (does it ever?), but Jon and I thought that it would be funny to take pictures of it because they looked so funny. Also, I will make it known that this is definitely not one of our most nutritionally sound dinners. We normally have a little more color.
Here are our amorphous oven baked corn dogs:

Rachael Ray eat your heart out!! =)

Growth Spurts Are the Worst

I know I should be happy that Jared is going through a growth spurt since I want him to gain weight, but this is a crazy one! The little guy started waking up every 2 or 3 hours at night last Saturday and has been continuing up through now. It's probably a little closer to 3 hours now, so that's good. =) He is also eating like crazy during the day. Before this growth spurt he was eating every 2 hours, which should be spreading out, but apparently he's a snacker. He would eat when he woke up from his naps. Now he's eating before he goes to sleep and again after. Wow! No wonder I'm starving and tired. Hopefully the growth spurt won't last that much longer and he grows a ton (and not just in length). =)
Today we spent the whole day eating and napping together (the only way I can get him to take a longer nap). Yay for a "relaxing" day.
Also, something funny: Jared now loves getting his diaper changed. He laughs and smiles. He even grabs his toes and lifts up his bum so I can slide the diaper under. What a funny guy. =)

Some Things I've Realized About Jared

I've had a rough couple of days with Jared, but it's helped me articulate some things about him, myself, and our relationship.
1. He is a very needy child and this is made more difficult by the fact that I am pretty laid back. I'm a very go with the flow kinda girl, but at least so far Jared is not this way. Most infants probably aren't, but I know that some are. I think this will be interesting as he grows. I will definitely need to adapt greatly, but what parent doesn't?
2. Jared wants to do things on his own already and gets very frustrated when he can't. Case in point, we started feeding him solids and he does not allow me to feed him in the way that most infants do. He must grab my hand that is holding the spoon and he will guide it towards his mouth. The other thing that goes along with this is that he is impatient. I mean super impatient. When he wants something he wants it at least a minute prior to when he thinks of it. He always cries when I feed him and have to switch sides and suddenly he'll decide that I'm not giving him his food fast enough. Once again, this will be very interesting as he grows.
3. He is so smart! My aunt bought him a toy when you push a button on top and balls inside pop around. He loves pushing the button. Sometimes he has trouble because his hand eye coordination isn't great yet, but you can see the wheels turning. This also goes back to number 2. Poor does he get frustrated when he wants to do something, but he physically can't yet.
Well, I think that's it for now. I know that many children are like this, but it's helpful for me to articulate what he is doing and why. It helps lessen my frustration with him, not always, but it helps sometimes.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. =)

4 Month Info

Jared will be 4 months tomorrow and I took him for his 4 month appointment yesterday. He is doing pretty well. The Dr. said that he was meeting all of his developmental milestones. He is a little concerned about his weight though. The poor little guy doesn't even weigh 12 pounds yet. The Dr. and I discussed what we should do and he suggested that we start solids and see if that will help at all. I think the Dr. was a little stumped because Jared is doing everything he is supposed to and his height and head circumference are still on his growth curve. So, I started by giving him sweet potatoes.

At first he didn't seem too excited and didn't really understand the spoon. Then I offered him the food on my finger and that went much better. After a little while he used to spoon. He even grabbed my hand a few times and pushed the spoon towards his mouth. Overall, I would say that it was a success. I have a video, but I'll have to upload it later. Our internet is too slow. =(
Back to his appointment, he was smiling and flirting with a lady when we walked in and the nurses. He was being really good until I had to lay him on the table and the Dr. started his exam. Then Jared started screaming and I mean screaming. He had a red face and everything. I got him settled down after the exam, but then he had to get his shots. He started crying while they gave him the oral vaccine and normally he likes stuff in his mouth. It kept getting worse and worse. The nurse gave him the first shot fine and then the second one wouldn't go in. She wasn't sure what was wrong so she went and got someone else. They decided that it was probably a bad needle. Poor little guy. He recovered really well though. He was definitely done crying by the time we left the room.
In other news, he appears to be cutting a tooth. He won't really let me look in there, but I think I see a white spot and I definitely feel a rough/sharp spot. He's doing really well though. I don't think it bothers him too much except when he's trying to go to sleep.
We also finally got the crib put together and in Jared's room. Tonight is his first night in the crib instead of the pack-n-play. Hopefully it goes well. Jon said he didn't seem to notice anything when he went down.

Things That Make Jared Laugh

1. Seeing himself in the mirror. The kid cracks himself up.
2. Mom clicking her tongue at him.
3. Having Mom tell him that he's cute while poking his cheeks.

I'm hoping to get a video of the third one soon because he was doing some great belly laughs. When I pulled out the video camera all he would do is look at it so I'm going to need Jon to help me.
So, my little man thinks that he is hilarious and cute. =)

Babysteps

Well, flylady is going well. I'm having trouble with one thing though. She suggests getting up early and getting ready and everything before the kids wake up. I'm thinking this would be easier for a) a morning person and b) someone who's infant is not still waking up multiple times a night. I'm trying really hard though and have woken up early about the same number of times that I've "slept in." My sleeping in days basically consist of me bringing Jared to bed with me around 6 and we both sleep until 8. My goal is to get in the shower and get ready after he wakes up for this feeding and before Jon leaves for work just in case Jared decides to stay up.
The little guy still does not have a very consistent schedule, but he's getting there. He normally wakes up between 8 and 8:30ish. Then throughout the day he's normally up for about an hour and then goes down for a nap. His naps still only last about 45 minutes (if you have any tips for how to make this longer I would love to hear them). Then we repeat. If we go out somewhere though and he has enough new stuff to keep him entertained he'll stay up longer without even being crabby. Sometimes this translates into a longer nap and sometimes it doesn't. Jon and I give him a bath every other day and then start the bedtime routine around 6:30ish. Jared is then asleep by 7pm (whoo hoo). Unfortunately at night his waking schedule has been pretty inconsistent. Sometimes he wakes at 10:30ish, but then sometimes he waits til 12 something. Then he's up again around 3 or 4 and then again at 6. Then the day starts again. Sorry, this is all a pretty boring post, but I just wanted to explain why I'm having trouble waking up at 6ish. I'm so ready for some uninterrupted sleep...maybe someday. =)
Otherwise flylady has been going well. I'm working on the babysteps and trying not to get ahead of myself so I don't get overwhelmed.
Also, for those of you not on facebook new pictures have been posted.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054176&id=40802369&l=0914175f70

New Game Plan

Recently I was on babycenter.com and someone mentioned a website that helped them get organized and I decided to check it out. The website is www.flylady.net and I'm ready to start on it. Basically it's a way to get your life/home in order. I'm going to work on this for awhile and then hopefully get back to the food fun. You should check out the website, especially if you feel like your house is out of control and maybe we can encourage one another. I've just started, but I've already got a little routine going and my kitchen already is nicer and it does make me feel better. Hopefully I can use the baby steps to really keep this going. =)