Holidays...Phew

I think Blaine will need like 3 weeks to recover from the holiday bustle! Everyone is home from work / school and he has been around family all day everyday! It is so great! But it definitely has messed up his sleep schedule, potty usage, and he just came down with his 2nd cold. Boo!

He is such a good sitter now so that makes mommy very proud. It is so impressive seeing how that has improved dramatically over the last week. He used to be so wobbly and now he rarely tips over.

Video: I CAN SIT!

Blaine is figuring out sitting more and more! Sorry the video is long but just a few seconds can give you an idea. He started with the box, and then we worked on smaller objects. He can sit pretty well these days if he wants to.

Video: Look Mom, I Can Stand! **

**if holding on for dear life to something grippy such as adult's hands, the tub rail, a toy, or a footstool with a blanket on it.

Century Home

I'm running out of time to do this post! And I've been meaning to do it all year long.

I always saw the descriptive words "century home" in real estate ads and never knew what that meant. I thought it was a type of architecture design or something. My mom said "DUH, it means the house is 100 years old!". Ahhh!! Well as of 2010, our home is now a Century Home! Yep, it was built in 1910.

Our house is very unique, very piece-meal, and I just love it to death! The original structure was only 2 rooms and a basement that you had to get to through the "Dorthy and Toto" type trap door. No bathroom, just an outhouse (which I've located by doing some digging while planting marigolds! Found glass bottles galore!). So yeah, bathroom is added on, kitchen added on, and most recently in 1997, the two bedrooms. My grandma claims my house was once a little grocery store, but that is open for debate because the people at the historical society seem to disagree. I'll have to keep asking around!

So, happy 100th birthday house! If only I could transport myself back in time to see what it was like around these parts in 1910, I'd be a happy girl!

5 Months

This really is becoming my favorite age. I swear the kid gets cuter by the minute and his little smiles and laughs are so plentiful he's just a pleasure to be around. I used to look at my baby pictures and say "wow I was a cute baby" but the other day I got them out again and said "oh man I wasn't so cute after all compared to Blaine"; he is stinkin ADORABLE! (I know all mommies say that about their babies though hehe).

Firsts: Rolling tons in both directions. In fact he rolls so much getting diapers put on is a challenge. Grabbing at objects with much accuracy. "Walking" with help is his absolute favorite. Got his first illness, a little cold with runny nose and cough. The only thing in his way of being able to crawl is his budda belly because he's got the arm and leg motions down pat!

Food: No solids yet. Starting very soon! He is so active I think it is time to get some extra calories in the kid. His wakeups have increased from one per night to sometimes 3 per night and he acts hungry at every wake up so it is about time! I've been so lucky that breastfeeding has been a breeze for all 5 months (knock on wood!!!!!).

Naps: Still a struggling point for us. Although lately I've been able to get him to sleep in 10 minutes or less by using music, swaying, and nursing. However, naps are usually only 30 minutes so I guess that means he wakes up after that first sleep cycle. The only way to get a 2 hour nap is to call someone and make plans for a certain time; he'll for sure still be in bed when that time comes! ;)

Potty: Still a potty champ! But his first cold definitley through a loop in the potty use. Sometimes he is too squirmy to even sit on the thing but normally that just means he doesn't have to go!

These 5 months have flown by; I cannot tell you how much I love being a mom and how thankful I am to be off work thus home with the little guy. I wish my hubby didn't travel so much (2 weeks straight right now) but am very fortunate that both his and my families are close and helpful!

It Was a Starry Night

Since I'm in the mood to share fav Christmas songs, this is easily in my top 3. I could listen to it on repeat for hours and I sometimes do! :)

Click here and it will start playing immediately. If I was good at singing I'd want to sing this one at church for the midnight service. Only problem: I stink at singing and I can't stay up that late! (LOL)

Christmas Magic

Christmas is a magical time and I've got some of the cutest pics of Blaine lately. Can't wait to enjoy this first Christmas with him!

In other news: having a baby and all, our church seemed it was a good fit to ask us to light the advent wreath candles on Christmas Eve. The service is 7:30 and Blaine normally goes to bed between 7 and 8. SHOULD BE INTERESTING!

A Baby Changes Everything

Love love love this Christmas song. I heard it for the first time last year when I was pregnant, and still this year, every single time I hear it I get tears in my eyes. This Christmas will be a special one for sure.

Walkin

Someone has discovered that he'd rather walk around the house all day than do just about anything else. It is so cute; he just has the biggest smile / excited look on his face when he's walking. The only problem: he needs adult help!! Now if only my back would cooperate and meet his demands! We finally froze the last of the squash. Cooked, pureed and ready to be eaten by a baby! THIS KID HAD BETTER LIKE SQUASH! WE'VE GOT A TON FROZEN!!

Thanks a lot, Glee

I never watched Glee until this summer when I decided to get the DVDs from the library and catch up to speed. Of course I fell in love with the show because it is so funny / ridiculous and everyone on there is VERY talented. Plus it is set in Ohio (!!) and at a high school (I'm very familiar with both of these locations LOL).

When we picked out the name Blaine, it was because we stumbed upon it in a baby book and both liked it. Yes, we had to resort to going through books from the library because Nick hated all the other names I had on my list and had no suggestions of his own. I wanted something rare; I'd only ever heard of one Blaine before in my whole life, one of my favorite male gymnasts, Blaine Wilson.

Imagine my excitement / shock / HORROR when the newest character on Glee appeared, named Blaine. I know pop culture / TV shows are like the #1 influence on naming trends. Let's hope hundreds of moms-to-be don't like that name or my child won't be the only Blaine at his school afterall.

My Mortal Enemies

I had to google "mortal enemy" to make sure was using it in the right context. "An enemy that wants to kill you". YEP, right context. I've got two mortal enemies in my life right now as a mother:

1) Carseat

2) Breastpump

Yesterday, I figured Blaine was 4 and a half months old, and napping much more predictably, so he could handle a trip 120 miles from home if I timed his naps out right. (The same trip he took at 2 months old and handled like a champion). Well, I was WRONG. Armed with earplugs, some toys for him to play with, and a blanket for him to grab, we took off. Counting drive time to and from, and driving time in the town we went to, I think I endured over 3 hours of high pitched, hysterical, scream-crying. Earplugs can't even save you from that. The only time he didn't cry was when he was out of his carseat (gas station, reststop). Gah. I've had suggestions to play his favorite CD so next time I'll be armed with ELVIRA on repeat (that never fails me). It didn't help that it was dark and rainy the whole way home, when the scream session was in full hystericss.

Now, breastpump issues. I've found the best time to pump is at 3 AM when my boobs are full full full. But what I call "success" is getting 1 oz out so actually my success is actually a big fat FAIL. So when I go away for a couple hours (we are talking 2 to 3 hours away) and feel obligated to leave 4 ounces, that literally is like 6 pumping sessions. Last week I left 4 oz and Blaine only ate 1 oz so I had to throw away 3 oz. THROWING AWAY THAT MUCH LATE NIGHT TIME KILLED ME. Then I realize with his size he needs a bottle that is like 8 oz and I know that is like 2 weeks of pumping. Yes something is enemy like in that situation because I know most girls can pump 5 oz at a sitting. And I know there is easily 5 oz inside of there, I can feel they are still full but nothing is coming out! Gah.

No one said motherhood would be easy!