Sniffle, Sniff, Sniff!

I want to start this post by stating LOUD & CLEAR, that I love my husband; he is my perfect match. Anyone who knows me intimately would probably agree that Aaron should be Sainted by the Diocese for putting up with me.

That said, every couple does a few things that drive the other nutso. I can openly admit that I consistently fail to put the caps back on anything (salad dressing, Tupperware, toothpaste) and it drives Aaron crazy.

Aaron, on the other hand, does something less intentionally that, never-the-less, drives me to insanity.

Poor Aaron has the sinus functioning of a pug. He struggles to breathe properly at night and the only thing he has found to give him relief are Breathe Right nasal strips. I am so glad he has found something that allows him to get better sleep at night but, I HATE these nasal strips.

Why? Because at some point in the middle of the night Aaron will peel them off (while he's sleeping) and they will inevitably end up somewhere. I have found them stuck to the headboard, stuck to the sheets (after they went through the wash!!!) I've had to pull them from Bing & Manny's fur and even had to disentangle one from my own hair. I seriously find these things everywhere and it's so annoying.

This particular day, unbeknown to Aaron, he wore one on his shirt all through breakfast. I neglected to inform him until after he got dressed for the day. Evil? Yes. Funny? For sure!

 

Do you see it?

Toby: 4 months

On Sunday, September 23rd., our little man turned 4 months old. It is so hard to believe he has been with us for that long yet, on the flip side, it's so hard to remember what life was like without him! He is so awesome!

Here are some pictures and facts about Mr. Mister, all happening in the past month!

 

As of his last doctors appointment on Monday

Toby is 2'1" and 12.3 lbs (peanut!)

• He has had 797 diaper changes!
• He is in Size 2 diapers!
• He eats about 5oz. per feeding (not including breast milk.)
• We're getting ready to start integrating solids into his diet next week! Yikes! We're going to start with avocado and then sweet potatoes. We (Nanny and I) will be making all of his baby food (although, I will be using some organic canned foods at some point in the future.)
• Over the last month he has been able to control his motor movements much more than in the past; he reaches for things, tracks objects, blows raspberries, "talks" and mimics.
• He has a great personality. He's still really relaxed and very happy.
• He caught his first cold :(

• Over the last month we started sitting him at the table with us when we eat our meals in hopes that he will become more interested in solid foods.

 

• He sleeps like a champ. He's sleeping MUCH less during the day, but lots and lots at night. He sleeps from about 8pm to 6am (we are SO lucky, I know!)

 

• We sit him in his bumbo often so his neck muscles will strengthen even further. He seems to like the bumbo a lot.
• He wore denim for the first time this month (yes, I'm that lame that I keep track of even the smallest of details.)
• He loves Nanny; loves loves loves his Nanny. That makes me happy!
• Nanny, Aaron and I read to him several times per day. He loves his books and he loves his music!
• We suspect he's going to start teething pretty soon so at the beginning of the month we bought him a Baltic amber teething necklace (the necklace you see in most of the pictures.) He keeps it on all of the time except when he's in the bath or sleeping at night. **There are arguments as to whether these necklaces actually work but, I can say I really feel there has been a difference in fussiness since we put it on him. I'm also one of those Moms that will exhaust my resources finding more natural ways to soothe him rather than introduce a lot of Tylenol, Aspirins, Orajels, gas drops, etc. (that said, I do own all of the medication I listed "just in case.")

Updates on Mama and Daddy:

• Mama has pumped ~110 ounces of breast milk (not including what Toby has nursed.)
• My milk has seriously decreased as of late... which is stressing me out (which further decreases my milk supply.) I continue to pump and pump and pump and pump. It is what it is, I guess.
• I started teaching for the fall semester.
• I have to admit, I'm having a really hard time going to work. It's hard to leave him and find a healthy balance in all my responsibilities. Usually I start each day with some goals and then I spend a good part of it playing with Toby.
• We went on another family vacation to North Conway for a weekend (pics to come soon).
• Daddy is really good at making Toby laugh; he can be quite silly sometimes.
• Daddy likes to take Toby on long walks.
• We absolutely love being Toby's parents. We are so lucky to have such a sweet little boy!

Meeting Adam (Adam, by the way, was amazing with Toby. I couldn't believe how much of a natural he was with a baby!)

 

Meeting Auntie 243- Hilary read Toby one of his favorite books and even used silly voices!

 

Toby went to his first fair

 

He went to his first covered bridge and he said, out loud, "Yesss!" (as you can clearly see by the picture that's what he's saying.)

 

We love Mr. Mister!

One Year!

One year ago TODAY, I woke up to pee for the umpteenth time. I had already taken a series of pregnancy tests that came back painfully negative so, I expected this test to yield the same heartbreaking "not pregnant" result. This one, however, was completely different; it said "pregnant."

One year ago today I had absolutely NO idea how much that little test would change my life. I had no idea how much love I was capable of giving. I had no idea how much I would fall completely in love with my little man.

So much has changed in one year. Not all the changes have been easy, but they have definitely all been worth it.

 

My living room went from looking pristine, like this

 

To looking like a tornado traveled through it.

 

My dogs went from being the kings of the castle...

 

 

(By the way, the above picture was taken about 12 hours before I had Toby!)

 

To sharing the throne. Who am I kidding? Bing and Manny are still treated like royalty.

 

 

I used to buy whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.

Now, I'm more mindful of my purchases.

 

I used to love having "me" time and being ALL by myself.

Now, I miss my son and husband when I leave the house.

 

Errands or chores that used to take me hours?

I can now complete in half the time.

 

I used to obsess over my job.

Now, I very much dislike leaving my baby.

 

It used to be tough to get me to crack a smile.

Now, I giggle if Toby does anything even remotely cute.

 

I swore that I wouldn't wear yoga pants every day.

They are a major staple of my wardrobe.

 

There used to be days when my husband would annoy the sh*t out of me.

Now, well, that hasn't changed ;)

(I kid, I kid. I could NOT ask for a better partner. I've said it thousands of times. He's amazing.)

 

I  used to obsess over Facebook, blogs and other websites.

Now, if I have a few minutes I'll look at them.

 

There are probably a lot of other challenges, changes, sacrifices and surprises I've encountered over the past year. But really and truly, only one matters.

 

We went from this:

 

To this:

 

 

I am so incredibly lucky, beyond happy, and I wouldn't change a thing. I have never felt so whole and complete in my entire life.

 

Who knew one year would make such a difference?

 

Bucko

Before Toby was born I was a maniac on Craigslist. I was buying and selling like it was my job. I became a little obsessive.

One day I saw an ad for a "sock monkey." Naturally, I clicked on it.

New/unused sock monkey. $1 in (a town near me)

I responded with cat like reflexes and wrote:

"Hi! I'll take the sock monkey for a buck!"

I arranged pick up and the lady agreed to meet me right off the highway on my way home from work one evening. When I met her she said, "I had about 10 emails for the monkey but your email was the funniest so you get him. I hope your baby enjoys it!" (I was extremely pregnant at the time.)

My mother made me a sock monkey when I was a little girl. I loved him. Toby loves, loves, loves his monkey, who we aptly named "Bucko" (we're so clever!) He will choose Bucko over many other toys and he always has to be touching him. It is the sweetest thing. Ever.

 

 

 (Don't worry, I only allow him to have Bucko if he's under strict supervision!)

It's only FAIR!

Over Labor Day weekend we went up to Maine and, while there, we went to the Windsor Fair; Toby's first fair!

I only go to Maine fairs. I'm a traitor to New Hampshire because I really don't think NH fairs compare to Maine ones. I'm kind of a fair snob.

Without further ado here are some pictures from Toby's first ever fair!

His first "hayride."

 

 

Overall he was really good the entire time; mostly he slept. He did wake up when we were eating at a hot and loud diner. He immediately became overwhelmed and cried :( We left shortly after that.