Christmas is coming

And I'm not at home. I am spending the week here in Ottawa with my parents. I surprised them by coming up a day early with Paul. So we've been here since Friday night and we're staying until next Sunday. It has been great so far! I got my chocolate peanut butter balls made as well as my tuna dip! I might make some gingerbread cookies later in the week but we'll see. There are already so many snacks for Christmas.

Paul has been doing well. He came down with another infection so he's on antibiotics. He also came down with a cold Saturday night but it already seems to be gone! It's really strange and not common for a baby to have infections like this (especially a boy) so I'm guessing they are going to have to do some tests to find out what is wrong. I hope it's nothing too serious. I would hate to see him go through so much. Please pray that it's something that can be fixed easily.

Dan quit his job at the credit union so he'll have to find something soon. I'm guessing it won't be till after Christmas, realistically. I have to admit that it is kinda nice because then he can relax and we can take as many days as we want to visit and enjoy the holidays. Still, a job is nice too!

I'm semi-excited for Christmas this year. Time is just flying by so fast! I got a bunch of shopping done early and then that kind of died off so now I have to finish this week. I'm hoping that I won't have to do any once I'm home next week so I can just focus on wrapping and preparing food. We're having Dan's dad stay over for Christmas this year at our house so I want to be prepared for that. I'm saying "semi-excited" partially because I'm feeling like it is going to be busy and Paul isn't at the age yet where he understands it at all so it's not exciting that way yet. There's a part of me that feels stressed about it and the joy of it all isn't quite seeping in. I know that come Christmas Eve I'm going to be excited. I'm not looking forward to Christmas day when I have to cook a whole meal by myself (turkey and all) and then clean it all up by myself. Honestly, are Dan and Peter really going to help? Probably not. I'll see what I can discuss with Dan ahead of time...maybe I can munipulate him into helping...LOL!

Anywho, that is my update for now. I might not get a chance to post again before Christmas but, I'll try!

Photo Shoot

I'm hoping to get a good camera soon but for now all I have is a regular one. We're just trying figure out finances to see what we can afford. The other day I did a mini photo shoot with Paul which ended up producing a few good photos!

Time

It's funny how time slips away from you when you have a child. Every minute just gets lost. Even if they're tucked away for a three hour nap it seems to just fly by. I never get as much done as I plan and it's really frustrating sometimes! Before I know it he's awake! Or I think "I've got three hours to do this and this and this" but that's the day he decides to only sleep 1 1/2-2 hours! Argh!

Maybe I just need to become more organized. I need to plan ahead. Especially with meals. I have been terrible in that department. I used to love to have dinner ready for when Dan got home from work but I feel like I've just lost that, you know? If I plan ahead for the week maybe I can actually accomplish it, though. Paul is content enough to sit in his chair in the kitchen while I make meals. It will be really nice when I can use the high chair...it won't be long!

Speaking of, I can't believe how fast Paul is growing! He's chubbing up (although he's not a super chubby baby) and he's getting longer. It just amazes me when I look at him sometimes. It's sad sometimes thinking that he will never be this way again - this is it. Time is just stealing my baby away from me! I know he's not even four months old but that's four months of his life (and ours!)

Maybe I'm just feeling a little sentimental today...I don't know. I'm enjoying him at this age. He jabbers away and smiles a lot. He's now sleeping 9 hours at night (without a feeding in that time) so I am LOVING that! I just don't want to miss anything. I definitely know I want another one, that's for sure! Not yet, but we have plans to start trying again in about a year to a year and a half. We'll know when it's time again. Until then, I will enjoy this little bugger!

Much Needed Update

I can't believe how long it has been since I've posted! I make sure to stay on top of things like Facebook and the MAMA board I am a part of but I have been slacking in the blogging department!

Things have been pretty good around here! They're about to get busy, though! This is the last weekend Dan and I will have alone until after Christmas. Next weekend my brother, Garrett, is visiting and the weekend after that my brother, Galen, is coming to stay. The next weekend is Dan's staff Christmas party (an evening with adults! yay!) and the next day Paul and I are going to stay for a week with my parents. We come back on the 20th or 21st and then the next weekend is over Christmas and we will be at my parents again! It will be a lot of fun but I'm sure it will also be quite tiring!

So, I know you're just itching for an update on Paul! Well, he's doing a lot better than he was the last time I updated. I tried to go back to full time nursing but it STILL wasn't enough for him. He was cranky most of the time and it was getting very exhausting. So we started supplementing with formula and things got a lot better. We were never able to go back to nursing full time and he is now completely on formula. Every couple days I can nurse him once for about 2 minutes! The most part is he is strong, healthy and reaching milestones.

A few weeks ago he spent two days in the hospital for a UTI (urinary tract infection.) Those were a long couple of days. I slept beside him on a cot and stayed with him all day. Dan only had to work one of the days so it was nice to have him with me the other day. Paul slept a lot and didn't eat a much so I pretty much watched TV (we don't have cable at home so it was nice to have it) or talked to the woman across from me. He is fully recovered and hasn't had any problems since! He still hasn't even gotten a cold. Dan and I got our H1N1 shots last week since Paul can't get his yet. We felt fine after, just a sore arm for a couple of days.

Paul is now 24 inches and close to 12 pounds! He's still small for his age but he is gaining and the doctor is happy with that. We had a month of weekly appointments and that was no fun but now that he's on track we don't have to go that often. He got his first set of shots last week and it wasn't too bad. He bawled while it happened but five minutes later he was asleep in the car! I didn't even cry while he got them done but it was still hard to watch. I had to give him some baby Tylenol that evening because he was SO cranky (and ONLY wanted his mommy...aww.)

We are just really enjoying him! He is smiling lots and jabbers away like crazy! He's always jumping in on conversations, especially ones that I am in. He is starting to laugh but right now only does it a couple times a day. I'm anxiously awaiting more!

Well, I should get some cleaning done before he wakes up from his nap!

Fun With Hallmark

These are a couple of things that I put together with Hallmark's Smilebox. I just might end up with a lot of these! LOL!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Slow Climb

So, Paul is finally back to his birth weight! Well, he's actually a little more now. Because of his tongue tie he wasn't latching properly and wasn't getting enough to eat. Yesterday we got it snipped and already it's better! I weighed him at the doctor's yesterday and he was 8 lbs 3.5 oz! Yay! I was really happy to see that because they're supposed to gain it back by a week and a half, not 3 weeks!

It was frustrating because I was having to pump for five minutes on each side after every feed and also give him an extra ounce through a syringe (he would suck on my finger while I slowly gave him the milk or formula through the syringe.) It was very exhausting! I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore. Although today he is really hungry and I'm trying to just breastfeed him and not give him extra. I'm waiting to see how it goes. It might be a looong day...lol! But, the more I feed him the better my supply will be so I think it's a good idea.

I gave him another bath today and he HATED it! Probably because he was STILL hungry...lol! The last bath he seemed to like a lot better but today he wasn't going to be happy. No way! But I got him clean and that's what matters most! lol!

Anywho, he's finally asleep in his swing so I'm going to take the small amount of time I've got to do a few dishes!

Hanging out after a good eating.

The syringe feeding.

Wearing the hat his Uncle Blaine brought back for him.
It's a little big now but he'll grow into it!

I LOVE this one! This is after waking up in the morning.

On a walk with my little man!

Life Is Good

So, life with Paul is pretty darn good! He's not too terribly fussy (only when he's really hungry...lol!) I can't imagine life without him now. Everyday I feel more and more like his mother. As he becomes more alert and is interacting more with me I am enjoying him a lot. I am anxiously awaiting his first smile. When he's falling asleep I get a lot of "sleep smiles" but no awake ones yet. I'll make sure to post a picture when I get one!

Well, I need to eat something while Paul's sleeping 'cause once he wakes up I won't get a chance! LOL! I'll continue to give you little updates when I get the chance.