Toenail Time

Well, today was the first day we cut Ian's toenails. We have trimmed his fingernails several times. I actually freaked out a hospital nurse because I did his fingers before we even left. The nails had grown long in utero and he was scratching himself. We didn't have any mittens there and I didn't want his little face all scratched up. So I very, very carefully trimmed them the morning after he was born. The nurse showed up to get him and gave me a reprimand. I think she thought we were bad parents. I can understand where she was coming from, but still! Fortunately, by that afternoon she realized we were not such horrible parents after all.

Peekaboo!

Ian never ceases to amaze us with his developments! The latest one is peekaboo! He will actually pull his blanket, burp cloth, towel - whatever is handy - up and pull it away again for a good laugh. He won't do it for very long, but it is super cute while it lasts. Here's a video I managed to get of him playing peekaboo today.

A is for Apple, B is for Burp Rag

Like I mentioned in my post yesterday, Ian has discovered the back of his throat. He has spent the last two days happily growling at everyone and everything around him. Today, he finally settled on a favorite growling sound. He loves to say "aaaaaahhhhhhh" over and over. Of course, James and I had a blast with this! There are all sorts of things you can do to make a 3 month baby look like a genius.

"Ian, what letter does the alphabet start with?"
"Aaaahhh"

"Good boy! What does apple start with?"
"Aaaahhh"

"Great job! What does alligator start with?"
"Aaaaahhhh"

We must have sat there for a good ten minutes letting our child's phonetic ability shine, cracking up the whole time. It is so fun to watch Ian grown and master each new sound and action. Here is a video of Daddy playing sounds with Ian.



One of Ian's favorite games to play is "Nose, Mouth". My mom started it and it basically involved Ian touching his hand to your nose and mouth and then to his nose and mouth. Usually, he when he touches his mouth he licks his hand and we often kiss his hand when he touches our mouths. He likes to play this game several times a day. Of course, Daddy has added his own variations of it and has taught Ian to box his cheeks as well as touch his nose. Here's a video of them playing together (without the boxing).



In the past couple of weeks, Ian has gotten much more adept at being aware of and grabbing onto clothing, blankets, burp rags, etc. Today, he came up with his own variation of the nose/mouth game. He grabbed his burp rag and put it in his mouth. Then he held out for me to put in my mouth. Fortunately, it was clean, so I did. Then he put it back in his mouth and promptly held it out for me again. It was really cute and neat for me to see him "sharing" his burp cloth with me.

Daddy's Day Off

James has split days off this week. Today was the first and Friday will be the second one. I love his days off! I love getting to spend time with him and Ian together as a family. I love getting to see him for more than a few minutes as we do our own version of the changing of the guards ceremony.

Unfortunately, I had to spend part of his day off at the dentist's office getting two fillings and a crown. That meant I didn't get to see him for part of the afternoon. :-( I also had to take my mom to the airport this afternoon. Since I had to work tonight, I wouldn't have gotten to see James at all if he hadn't come with us to the airport. Being the great guy that he is, he played chauffeur so we could spend a little more time together.

On the way back from the airport, we got to talking about how we wanted Chinese food. So, we decided to stop by Panda Express on the way home. Yummy! We almost never eat out, especially if it is just us. Having some yummy Chinese food that I didn't have to cook was great.

Also, on the way home, Ian found the back of his throat. More specifically, he found that he can make sounds using the back of his throat. So he growled the whole way home. It was hilarious and the cutest thing ever! I'm so lucky to have my two wonderful boys!

Ian's First ER Trip

We had such a busy weekend! It started off Thursday night with something I hoped would never happen...taking Ian to the ER. Earlier that day, he and I had gone shopping at Michael's to get a couple of picture frames for his baby pictures and one for the canvas painting Aunt Lissie gave us. I had a hard time finding a frame to go with Aunt Lissie's picture, but finally settled on one.

We brought the frames home after nursing Ian, I immediately set about putting the pictures in them. Ian was happily playing on his jungle gym mat as long as he could see me. If I walked out of sight, he started to fuss. So I grabbed Aunt Lissie's art work and the frame for it, sat down about four feet away from Ian (I didn't want him touching anything!), and set about getting the art in the frame. For a $60 frame (granted it was half off), the glass was pretty flimsy. The edges were sharp, so I was trying to hold them carefully while I cleaned the fuzz off the glass.

I guess I didn't have a good grip and the glass fell onto the carpet. It wasn't a hard fall by any means, but unfortunately, Ian had turned on his side and stuck his hand out towards me. This put him out far enough for the glass to land on the middle of his open hand on his fingers. At first, he just looked surprised. I had been holding my breath, waiting for his shrill "I'm hurt" cry. When I didn't hear that right away, I let out a sigh of relief. He started fussing a bit, so I picked him, thinking he was just startled.

As I picked him up, I saw his finger was bleeding. Of course, that made me feel horrible, especially when I saw it wasn't just a drop or two of blood. We ran into the kitchen, where I grabbed a clean kitchen towel to wrap around it. I was pretty shaken because the blood was soaking through the towel. I was thinking we might have to go to the ER, so I called my mom (James wasn't off work yet). All I said was the glass cut Ian's finger and he was bleeding. I think my mom could hear how shaken I was because she just said, "I'll be right there" and hung up.

Ian was spitting up while I had been holding him trying to keep pressure on his finger while talking to my mom, so it was a little crazy trying to get us both cleaned up and dressed. We managed though. When my mom arrived, she looked at it (we were on our second towel at this point) and thought it would be okay. She said it didn't look broken. The finger being broken hadn't even occured to me, but the idea scared me! So, I decided we needed to go to the ER.

Off we went. By the time we got there, the bleeding had stopped and I'm sure they were thinking no big deal. However, at that point, he had been bleeding for 25 minutes. One of the nurses did tell me that I had done the right thing by bringing him in. There wasn't a long wait at all and we got to see the doctor within a reasonable amount of time (for an ER anyways). He cleaned the cut and put some surgical glue on it. James met us there and we were on our way home before too long.

Ian is doing fine and dandy. I'm sure he won't remember it, but I know I always will! (Pictures to come soon.)

My Sweet Baby

I love being able to stay at home with Ian all day and play with him. He really is a good baby. We've been reading "Busy Baby", a cloth book that Grandaddy and Grammy Jen gave Ian. Ian likes to turn the pages and touch them. Lately he's taken to licking them too! Seems he likes to lick everything these days. He also licks his floatie when we go swimming. And of course, he likes to lick his hands, our shoulders, his toys, his blankets, and anything else within his reach.

We go swimming a lot. I'm still trying to get back in shape and Ian enjoys being outside. This past week, he has started being able to sit up in his floatie more. He holds his head up and watches the world go by as I push him around the pool in his floatie. He is also starting to be more aware of what is going on in the pool around him. He really enjoys watching the water fall on the long side of the pool.

Here he is sitting up.

Here he is in front of the waterfall.

Anyways, the whole point I am trying to make is I love my baby! I was cuddling with him today as he was nursing thinking I can totally understand people who would give up their lives for their children. He is so sweet and precious and I would do anything for him! We are so blessed to have him in our lives.

Lingering Effects of Hyperemesis

Well, having hyperemesis was definitely a new experience for all of us. I had no idea you could be so sick for nine months! Everything has pretty much returned to normal though. I can now eat foods other than bread and chicken. I can talk without throwing up. I can even spend the whole day out of bed and not feel a teensy bit nauseous! It's absolutely wonderful.

Before I was totally cleared of the toll hyperemesis takes, I had to go see the dentist. Excessive vomiting can cause tooth decay and I read several stories of women whose teeth were ruined (or at least severly damaged) by hyperemesis. So, I made my appointment and went in today. They did their thing - taking x-rays, probing into every one of the 190 pockets between the gums and teeth (I had to watch an info video beforehand), etc. I was expecting a pretty clear bill of health on my teeth. I have always brushed and flossed regularly, even while I was pregnant and sick.

So you can imagine how shocked I was to hear that I had eight cavities! Not one, not two, but EIGHT cavities! I nearly cried. At first, I couldn't figure out how in the world I had gotten eight cavities in one year (I had x-rays last year and those cavities were not there then!). Kind of ironic since I was actually at the dentist for a post-partum check-up. I just seriously did not expect that. Granted, I threw up for two months straight until I got the Zofran pump and then occasionally afterwards, but still! I just didn't think it would happen to me I guess.

Ian is totally worth it though. Everday with him is precious. We love every smile and coo, and even his little cries (okay, we just love those some of the time).

Our Fourth Anniversary

Well, here we are - married for four years now! It's hard to believe it's been that long. I remember being married for only 11 weeks and meeting a couple who had been married for three years. I wondered what it would feel like to be married for three years (much less ten or twenty!). Three years have come and gone and we are now starting our fifth year of marriage together. For all the hard times we have gone through, we have had many good times. I certainly can't imagine being married to anyone else! I so see how God uses James and I to strengthen, balance, and encourage each other.

Here's a few pictures of past anniversaries: (coming soon)