Oh, Baby!

I think this Little All Star outfit is just adorable! Mr. Handsome thinks so too. It's hard to tell from these pictures how much he has grown. I'll have to take some photos of him in the bassinet. He looks like a giant baby when he is in there. It's a good thing his Crazy Granny has a crib for him to use.

Owen went with me to see the doctor today. The bad news is that Owen's giant head caused some trauma when he was on his way into our bright, shiny new world and my body hasn't finished healing yet. I have to see the doc again in a few weeks to determine whether or not the doc needs to intervene. The good news is that I've lost 27 pounds! I only have to lose 10 more to be at my Pre-Owen weight. Then I'll only have to lose about 15 more pounds to match my wedding weight. The doctor recommends Weight Watchers. I calculated my daily points and discovered that I get 10 extra points each day because I'm nursing. For those of you who aren't familiar with WW, 10 points is equal to 3 Krispy Kreme Donuts or 5 bananas or 2 PopTarts. With any luck, I will soon be blogging about my rapid weight loss and showing off a hot bikini bod (Not that I would actually wear a bikini ever again).

We Need Your Help TODAY

Donors Choose is an organization that helps public school teachers get the supplies and materials they need for their classrooms. So far, I've received 50 free copies of A Raisin in the Sun, a bulletin board, and 130 copies of Spark Charts to give to the seniors. I've been seeking funding for some nonfiction books for my classroom, but time is running out. I only have a week left to get the money I need. Check out the link below to read my proposal...
http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=252181&sharebar=true&utm_campaign=exp-soon-teach

Chunk-A-Saurus! (Owen, not Me)

I weighed Owen this afternoon. Are you ready for the grand total? Owen weighs 13.2 pounds! He's only 6.5 weeks old! He has already outgrown almost all of his newborn clothes, and he's on his way to being too big for the 0-3 months clothes he has. Goodness!

Joel dressed Owen this morning. The photos don't do him justice. He's wearing a green turtle one-piece and his camo shoes. Too cute! This is the first Sunday that my Mr. Handsome has been awake for church. He loved staring at the bright lights on the ceiling and listening to the singing. As soon as Pastor started preaching; however, Owen fell fast asleep like a good lil baby.

Saturday Afternoon Play Time!

6 Weeks Old!

Owen and I celebrated his first six weeks of life with a Spit Up-Free dance party. Check out Owen doing the Macarena...

Our dance party was so much fun that we had to pause to take a Smile Break!

I should definitely mention that my super smart baby ROLLED OVER TWICE YESTERDAY. We were hanging out on the couch, having some quality mother-son time, when Mr. Smarty Pants decided that he was too cool to stay on his back all the time. (He's embarrassed by the flat area on the back of his head and can't wait for it to go away. He wants a nice, round melon. I keep telling him that he's beautiful the way he is, but you know how babies can be.) He rolled from his back to his stomach! To make sure it wasn't some freak accident, I rolled him back to his back and told him to do it again. Owen isn't one to disappoint his Mama, so he rolled to his stomach a second time. We have yet to see an encore performance, but we are mighty happy by yesterday's show.

Owen's dance party video...

Why Me?

Owen was hanging out in his bassinet this morning when I made the mistake of picking him up. He let rip the loudest burp I have ever heard come from any living creature. Then he spit up on me. It was so chunky and so smelly that I couldn't help but gag and rip my shirt off. Then I cleaned up Owen's face and neck and took him to the changing table to get a clean diaper and onesie. That's when the real trouble began...

How to Change Owen's Diaper:
1. Remove dirty diaper and place a clean one underneath his squishy tushy.
2. Wipe his cute lil tush.
3. Take cover while he poops on you and the clean diaper and the changing table.
4. Wipe his cute lil tush.
5. Take cover while he pees on you and himself.
6. Wipe his cute lil tush.
7. Get out a clean diaper and place it underneath his squishy tushy.
8. Take cover while he poops on you and the clean diaper and the changing table.
9. Wipe his cute lil tush.
10. Rub baby cream on his cute lil tush and quickly fasten diaper.
11. Wipe the second round of spit up from his cheek, chin, and neck.
12. Remove the dirty pajamas.
13. Carry Owen to the couch to dress him because the changing table is covered in disgusting fecal matter.
14. Wipe the third round of spit up from his cheek, chin, and neck. Don't forget to rub it into the couch cushion.
15. Dress Owen.
16. Pray that he takes his morning nap soon.
17. Forget the whole event as he smiles at you.

We were definitely in our pajamas until well into the afternoon. We were just too cozy. Can you blame us? Who wouldn't want to snuggle with both of us?

Owen has outgrown the newborn insert in his car seat already! I weighed him about a week ago and he weighed 12.5 pounds then. I read the car seat directions last night and discovered that the insert should be removed when the baby reaches 11 pounds. Oops! No wonder he was so sweaty and scrunched up looking in there the past few weeks.

Projectile Poop and Father's Day

Owen and I have had a busy, busy week. We've been to the outlet mall and Wegman's and the post office and the credit union. We even stopped in to visit our English teacher pals as they were grading the Regents Exams.

Owen's favorite part of the week was pooping on me...twice. After our 3am feeding, we made our way to the changing table. It was unusual to find only a wet diaper at this time in the early morn (Owen will probably way embarrassed for all this delicate information being shared on the Internet). I went about my diapering duty as usual, when my darling son shot projectile poop across the changing table and on the Diaper Genie. "Crazy Baby," I thought. I grabbed a handful of wipes and starting sopping up the yellow goo. As I was wiping up my crazy baby, he pooped AGAIN. This time the warm goo landed on me and I screamed, waking my snoring husband who fortunately came running. I left him to deal with The Poop Monster while I cleaned myself up.

We had a relaxing Father's Day weekend and took lots of photos.

Lesson Learned

Do not do "The Twist" with a baby. He WILL spit up on you.

11 Months til Birthday Cake

Owen is one month old today! He celebrated by peeing on his face and the carpet and my leg. Feeling someone's pee run down my leg as I stood up was definitely an unusual sensation. And I'm sure that peeing on your own face is also an unusual sensation. We did something really wild and crazy this morning by giving Owen an unscheduled bath. He woke up with dried spit up on his cheek and in his ear and in his fuzzy hair. He enjoys bath time because he likes to have his head massaged. But I have to tell you...washing dried spit up out of a one-month old's ear is not an easy task.

We all survived Owen's first weekend at camp. We went for a quick walk outside, but it was windy so we didn't stay out long. We did make it to the village garage sale yesterday. Owen didn't get anything, but I made the ultimate purchase - DC Talk's "Free at Last" CD was only 25 cents! Can you believe it!

Owen is currently chillin' with his daddy on the couch right now. They're watching the Yankees and chatting about what they are going to do for Father's Day next weekend. Too cute!

Snorkeling Alligator

Why yes that is a snorkeling alligator on my new t-shirt. Thanks for asking. I want to look cool for my first overnight trip to camp this weekend. I'm totally syked about the village garage sale we'll be going to tomorrow. I hope someone buys me a swing.

Evidence of Sleep Deprivation

My favorite man and I decided to take a little trip to the outlet mall. We were going crazy being trapped in the house all day and wanted to enjoy that beautiful sunshine and fresh air. Opening the apartment windows just isn't the same as actually being immersed in the outdoors. And what better way to enjoy the outdoors than to go to the outlet mall?

As we were cruising by The Gap, Owen suggested that I go in and buy myself something nice. He told me that I deserve it for being the best mom ever. I just had to agree with him, so we fell into The Gap. While I was preparing to put on a fashion show in the dressing room I realized that the capris I had been wearing on our outdoor adventure were inside out! I have no idea if anyone noticed or not.

And while we're on the subject of fashion (of which I know barely anything), we need to talk about a post-partum line of clothing. We ladies have juniors, misses, womens, petites, maternity, and probably other sections of clothing to shop in. Why isn't there a post-partum line of clothes for new mothers? Someone get Mr. Macy on the line! We need to chat.

Guilty as Charged

This photo was taken right after he spit up on the couch. He's ready to give someone a "fist bump" with his right hand. :)

In honor of Owen's first four week's of life, I've been reflecting on all the parenting things I've done that I said I'd never do...

1. "My baby will NEVER use a pacifier." Well, we lasted 8 days without one. After Owen's circumcision, he was all about the pacifier. Now we use one quite often and I know I was crazy to think that good parents don't give their children pacifiers.

2. "My baby will NEVER sleep in bed with me." We aren't officially co-sleeping, but I have pulled Owen into bed with me for a little cuddle time in the early morning. However, those few minutes of cuddle time have frequently turned into an hour or two of sleeping. Oops!

3. "I will NEVER communicate with my baby through baby talk." I'm the craziest googoo gaga baby talker of them all. Whoda thunk it? I love making up silly songs about the booger in his nose or about how much he loves me and singing them in funny voices.

It's only been a few weeks and I've already broken three of my rules. Who knows how many more things will change in the next year?!?

Do you think this is true?

On the Ellen Show, Sheryl Crow said drinking bottled water that was left in the hot car caused her breast cancer. It has been identified as the most common cause of the high levels of dioxin in breast cancer tissue. Sheryl Crow's oncologist told her that women should not drink bottled water that has been left in a car. The heat reacts with the chemicals in the plastic of the bottle which releases dioxin into the water. Dioxin is a toxin increasingly found in breast cancer tissue. So please be careful and do not drink bottled water that has been left in a car. Pass this on to all the women in your life.

A Joke from my Mom

A young boy had just gotten his driver's permit and inquired of his father if they could discuss his use of the car. His father said he'd make a deal with his son. "You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, get your hair cut and we'll talk about the car." The boy thought about that for a moment decided he'd settle for the offer and they agreed on it.

After about six weeks his father said, "Son, I've been real proud. You brought your grades up and I've observed that you have been studying your Bible, but I'm real disappointed you haven't gotten your hair cut." The young man paused a moment then said, "You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I've noticed in my studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair and there's even a strong argument that Jesus had long hair."

And his father replied, "Did you also notice they all walked everywhere they went?"

My Men

I love this picture.

First Trip to Ohio

So much has happened in the past week. Owen is getting a lot stronger and is perfecting the head lift. He can even turn his head when he lifts it. Another of O's new discoveries is his tongue. He sticks it out, licks the roof of his mouth, and even seems to taste the air with it like some wild animal.

We spent a long weekend in Ohio so Owen could meet his great grandparents and spend time with his grandparents, uncle, and other family members. While we were there Owen took his first trip to Walmart and his first trip to a restaurant. Before we left we visited with Dave and Michelle who just got married. They are pretty much perfect for each other and have the world's cutest cat.

Here are some photos from Owen's first trip to Ohio...

High Maintenance Baby

Well, we didn't sleep for 5 hours last night because Mr. Hungry Hungry Hippo didn't want to miss his midnight feeding again. My darling son talked in his sleep all night! We kept getting up to check on him because he was being so rowdy in his bassinet, but he was sleeping during his talking spells. He's a weird one, and he has been high maintenance all day. He just wants to be held and cuddled. Of course it's way cute, but I have packing to do. We're headed to the great state of Ohio this evening.

Spit Bubbles

Check out Mr. Handsome's new trick...

And here's a close up...

Man, I love those lips!

A Good Night's Rest

Look at those long legs!

We slept for 5 straight hours last night! Hooray! Owen slept through his midnight feeding, so we slept from 10:00 until 3:00. He wasn't interested in going right back to bed after the 3:00 feeding, but I was so excited that he slept for 5 hours that I didn't even care. I also didn't mind being peed on twice and spit up on before the sun was barely up this morning. We had a good day just hanging out and staring at each other. I decided to deviate from my usual "Jesus Loves Me" routine and did a little "You are my Sunshine." He seemed to like that too.

Yesterday we made our first trip to the grocery store. It was about time. You'd think I was Old Mother Hubbard or something. Our cupboards (and refrigerator) were bare. We were successful and made it home with any incidences. Owen is a good shopper.

We got O's birth certificate, SS# and both of our hospital bills in the mail. My bill is more than Owen's by about $500, but our insurance should cover it as soon as he is added.

Owen's Big Sneeze

When you're this small, everything you do is cute.