Picture Pages...Pictures Pages...

This is in a new outfit that our friend Melanie gave us. Isn't it too cute!?

He was enjoying his bath...in his tub in the BIG tub. He kind of looks Asian here? This was on Sunday when he found his lower lip. Can you tell his lips are pursed because he's sucking on it?

Holy Buddah baby. You don't even see a neck. All chin...How many fingers can he stuff into that little pie hole of his? He was very seriously watching American Idol.

Again with the Americn Idol. He was not appreciating the snarky comments that Simon was giving...and Paula was acting like a ding dong. The TV captivates him...Bad Mommy!!!

Did I post this already? If so, sorry for the repeat. This is what he looks like every time we try to feed him cereal. He's just not into yet. Thank goodness we can mix it with his bottle!

Danny is 4-months!...tomorrow.

I swear, I'm not a total slacker! I've got a few ideas to blog about. I really need to post happy thoughts much quicker after a sobering post like "Bittersweet". What I need to do is add some darn pictures. Danny is growing in leaps and bounds. I've packed away all of the 0-3 months, and he's busting out of some of the 6-months...so I've actually got him in a few 9-month pieces. Yikes!

Tomorrow he is officially 4-months to the day, but on Saturday, he'll be 18-weeks. Annoying math and hard to keep track of. We have his 4-month appointment Friday afternoon. This will include some shots. I rescheduled it from a Tuesday after work to a Friday after work just in case we're in for a long night. He has done well so far, but you never know when the tides will change.

I know I've mentioned that Danny has discovered his hands. Yesterday, he discovered his bottom lip. All day he kept sucking on it. He looked like he was sucking lemons. It was really funny. My nephew Jack used to do that too...but he did it so much he would have this red chapped mark under his lip...hopefully Danny won't go bananas.

He still wants NOTHING to do with the rice cereal when fed by spoon. So we're slipping into his bottle to fill his belly at night. He seems to be adjusting well. I'm going to ask the doctor on Friday when I can try to introduce something new. I mean come on, rice cereal sounds disgusting.

Last but not least on the Danny front, he is starting to laugh. I bust my ass trying to get the kid to give me his big dimple grins. Sometimes, he does them so easily, other times, I have to act like a complete idiot to get one. But it's so worth it. I also find myself singing the dumbest made up songs. And lately, I've been singing him songs from the SOUND OF MUSIC. "Doe a Deer..." never gets old. Making up lyrics is quite a hoot. For example, I couldn't remember the words to "twinkle twinkle little star", so instead of looking them up, "like a diamond in the sky" became "like a castle in the sky". Close enough, right?

More pictures coming soon. Dave got some good ones of him in the bath yesterday. He was so serious.

Bittersweet.

Yesterday it was exactly 18-months since we lost Angela. A year and a half. I was shocked when it occurred to me. I was trying to get Danny to sleep and I had my cell phone in my hand and I looked to see what time it was, and I saw the date. January 17th.

My heart sank. I almost didn't remember. Me the person that knows every date. Remembers the most mundane dates. I almost didn't remember.

I sat there and thought about it. I tried to be logical. I tried to have perspective. Finally, I decided, maybe it was OK that I almost didn't remember. Not because I don't miss Angela and not because I don't think about her everyday. But because my life is so full and I am so truly blessed. For petes sake, I was holding my son. My perfectly healthy beautiful baby boy that smiles endlessly and brings us so much joy. My son that smiles at the distance and I always say he is smiling at Angela. Or she's telling him a joke. That they have their own club. And that because of her I have him. I have these conversations with him all the time.

Last year, I remember wanting to be pregnant again so badly at the 6-month mark. I took a test, and it came back negative. But she tricked me. Angela tricked me. She just wanted her day. Just like being born the day after our anniversary. She doesn't like to share, and I don't blame her. My test was negative, but I was pregnant with Danny. She made me wait an extra 6-days for that positive. But I was patient. I had a feeling. I just did. I've talked about the song I heard on the eve of her 6-month loss. "A hundred thousand angels by your side". I knew. It was sign.

Baby girl, I almost didn't remember yesterday, but I've never forgotten.

Now...Let's talk about Danny

Danny has been sick with a cold all week. He sounds so congested it could just break your heart. He's on the up and up, but it was still a rough week. He slept in his car seat for a few nights, and in my arms the other.

The only time he seemed really affected by the cold was at night. Otherwise, he was happy as a camper. He played and kicked on his mat everyday. Played in his new Rainforest Jumper (LOVE IT!) and enjoyed the swing. All the while finding his voice and making enough ruckus to wake the neighbors. It's so fun to hear him just chatter. The louder he gets the more excited he is. And he is always smiling. Always. Even when I used the snot squeezer. He would cry, and then smile when I was done. As long as he was on his changing table when I used it, he was happy. He loves that changing table!

He has also found his hands. This is cute, but has quickly gotten annoying. He grabs at you while you're feeding him. Uses his hands to knock his pacifier out, then throws it across the room. He bats at my face, and pulls my hair. He constantly startles himself awake with them, and now I'm ready to cut them off and send them to the moon. Would that be considered child abuse?

Here's a funny story that's also kind of gross. On Wednesday, Danny hadn't pooped all day. So when he finally did, Dave brought him up to me, handed him over, and ran. He knew it would be a doozie. I didn't care. I was so damn happy my kid finally pooped it was like music to my ears. So, I go to change him and I'm just beyond proud of how much he actually pooped, that I call Dave into the room. This took some convincing and Dave wasn't in any hurry. So as I'm waiting, Danny is "airing it out" and for the first time in a long time...PEED! Like a stream from the hose, he is relieving himself into the palm of my hand, which I quickly used to prevent him from peeing all over himself, the changing table, and the wall. Dave said I deserved it for exploiting his poop. Whatever, I'm still proud of that diaper!

At Danny's doctor appointment on Friday, he officially weighed in at 16.2 lbs. 16 pounds at 16 weeks. Not bad. Dave has been dying to give him cereal, so I finally caved. Note to self, don't introduce cereal to a hungry baby. He was ready for his bottle, not an experiment with food. We ended up putting some in his bottle, and he responded ok. Now that he has discovered his hands, I explained to Dave that feeding him food is only going to be more difficult, but he's just too excited...I'm beginning to understand the value of the 18,000 bibs we received at the showers. What a mess our short attempt was. Next time, we will try in between feedings when he's not hungry.

It's was a long and hectic week and I am continually impressed with how little sleep I need to function.

What I am slightly frustrated with is the lack of time. I haven't had the time to call and catch up with girlfriends to check on wedding plans, new babies, and other fun stuff. I'm updating the blog for the first time in over a week. And without pictures. I need to vacuum like you wouldn't believe..and that will be next. I have more ideas to write about. Things that crack me up. Dates that have come and gone. More Danny stories. More of lots.

It's Sunday...time to "lather, rinse, and repeat".

What a Week...

Last week was a week that I certainly hope we don't have a repeat of. It all started on Saturday when I went to use the water dispenser from the fridge, and the lever completely snapped off. This required a "Hey Dave, you might want to come here". So, he ordered the replacement part, and that was that.

Sunday, I went to move something into Dave's work room when I noticed a wet spot on the carpet. My initial reaction was that Freddy had an accident. He has NEVER peed in the house, so as upset as I would have been, I would have been more concerned then anything. So, I stick my nose close, and know it's not pee. I confirm with a paper towel. Water. Water! Where the hell did it come from? It was like this island of wet carpet. Oh crap...so again, I call for David "Hey Dave, you might want to come down here..." Two days in a row, this is not good. Dave proceeds to investigate, and with the help of his dad, they determine it's the water heater. Awesome. Not to mention, that Danny is sick with a cold and congestion, and we had to go to the doctor.

Monday, the water heater was replaced. Well, I guess it could be worse, if the water heater had been purchased within the last 20-years, but nope, it was from 1981. Not a bad run for a water heater.

Tuesday, Dave gets home before me with Danny. I walked into a $hit storm. My husband, God love him, is cursing like a sailor. Finally I ask, what is the problem? The furnace is broken. You're kidding right? No. He is convinced he's not flipping a switch somewhere because the pilot is still lit. What the heck? More cursing. And more cursing. And more cursing. Lot's of superlatives. Dave calls a company, and they can come out and look at it between 7-9pm. Fortunately, my in-laws were coming over because Dave and I had something that night.

We get home from our evening out to find out that yes, our furnace from 1988 needed to be fixed or replaced. Because of the age, we are better off replacing. The switch Dave couldn't find, is a safety switch that was "tripped" because of Carbon Monoxide. So, the kind furnace guy did a temporary fix, told us to buy a CO2 detector, and he would come back on Thursday to fix/replace.

We had a CO2 detector, but it was in the drawer. Good place for it, huh? After it had acted up in the summer, randomly beeping when the furnace wasn't on (and it wasn't the battery), we put it on list of things to buy before baby. Let's just say that the special man I call Husband was tasked with replacing the detector. Very quickly on Tuesday night he shot me the look of "OMG, I'll get one tomorrow." We are the proud owners of a new CO2 detector that has all the bells and whistles.

Fortunately, as much as replacing the furnace SUCKED, we were both beyond grateful for the safety switch. We would both rather part with the money then our lives, and more importantly Danny's. Enough said.

Danny stayed home sick all week. I caught his cold. Dave and I were both grumpy and tired and relieved for the weekend.

Praying that next week is better and less expensive!

Finally, A Few Pictures!

I love some of these. I need to take a few more of Danny because his smiles are getting so big! He is such a happy baby. The ladies at day care say he is "laid back". What a wonderful description of your child when he is in someone elses care.

I love the close-ups that our fancy camera will take. He loves his hands and paci!
Very focussed...

In this picture, Danny's eyes look just like David! I swear, I took this picture and thought what a mini-Dave!

First picture of 2009. I think this was taken at 12:01 AM

Hello Cheeks!

Enjoying his mat...

Seriously, he is bulking up!

Loving his swing...although here he looks so serious!

Happy New Years Eve! Can you tell I didn't get dressed for he occasion?

Happy New Years Eve...loving on my baby...

Getting Caught Up

This week has been a bit chaotic with Danny starting Day Care. All good stuff, but we're readjusting just a little bit to make sure we're getting everything done...and not forgetting the bottles again.

My weekend goal is to add some new pictures and provide some updates on my little "Munkin". That's his newest nickname that seems to be sticking. It's a cross between Monkey and Munchkin/Pumpkin.

As I'm typing this, he's staring back at me in his bouncer, playing around when he really should still be a sleep. Hopefully he'll adjust to day care and his napping soon so that we can get back to our routine. I sympathize for the guy. Napping during the day used to be a peaceful experience. Now, he's got to block out the other baby noises. It seems that everyday, he's getting more comfortable and getting a little bit longer of a nap in...here's to hoping.

The biggest night time challenge right now are his hands. He has discovered them and he LOVES to put them in his mouth to gum on them. He even found his thumb...but seems to only figure that out about 50% of the time. While it's great he's discovered his hands, he uses them to knock out his pacifier...which is something he loves. It's like a vicious cycle. Pacifier in, Hands knock it out, Cry. The annoying factor is that when he knocks the paci out, he doesn't use his hands to soothe him. He panics, begins to flail, and it's all over. That's when finding his thumb would be nice! Although, it would be harder to break the thumb then the paci...

OK. This weekend there will be some new pictures. He's getting big. On Christmas, we unofficially weighed him, and he was 16-lbs. YIKES!

Got Milk?

Today was Danny's very first day of daycare, and we forgot to bring his milk. It was one of those husband/wife moments where we probably wanted to kill each other, but we were both to blame. Minor mistake. Needless to say, I darted home while David set up the mobile on Danny's crib and got him settled. I bawled the whole way there and back. Seriously, who forgets the ONE thing there baby needs....US!

It was a rough morning. I really did cry a lot, but I was prepared. I wore my glasses and zero make-up. I looked like shit and I didn't pretend not to. I also knew that I only had a few meetings today and they were informal.

The thing is, where he's going is great. He seemed to do very well today. He took his bottles, played in the swing, all good stuff. He didn't nap super well which is why he's been zonked out since 6:30...Is this how it's going to be? Spend an hour in the morning with him while I rush to feed him, dress him and make sure I have the daily supplies (milk post-its will be going up!) only to get home and have another hour or so with him before he crashes? If that's the way it's going to be, that SUCKS!

My kid is a hoot though. He looked shell shocked when I brought him in today. He just looked at me with this exhausted glazed look on his face. It wasn't until I changed his diaper, that he returned to the "Mun-kin" I know and love. I think his favorite place in his room is on his changing table. When we change him now, we give him an extra minute to "air out" (if you know what I mean) and he just kicks his legs like a wild man all the while giving this huge smile. It's fantastic.

Hopefully tomorrow I won't cry. No promises.

Tonight we set up his new Rainforest Jumper, and I'm so excited for him to try it out! Hopefully, we'll have time to tomorrow night. Dave wasn't too thrilled about this toy since it's HUGE and we really don't have a lot of floor space. I'm hoping the joy it brings to Danny (and us) will be well worth it. It really is huge.