A Very Trying Few Days...

I know it has been a while since I have blogged. Bishop has been very fussy lately and I have been frustrated with him.
This weekend was nice and quiet for the most part. It was great.
Monday was Bishop's 6 month checkup. He is weighing in at 17lbs 8 oz, and 25 3/4 inches long. Also he has an 18inch head circumference. He is in the 75th percentile in height and weight but 90th percentile in his head circumference. I hope that means that he is just really smart. Pobrecito did, unfortunately, had to get 4 shots in the legs and he was not very happy about it. We are now going to give him two meals of rice cereal and fruit twice a day along with his bottle. We found out that he might not be ready for peaches yet but we will start including carrots and other veggies into the mix over the next few weeks. After his appt Bishop was fussy. Partly because the shots, partly because of the cold he is getting but mostly because of his fever and teething. He has another tooth coming in, it's the same one that has been coming in for about a week or two now. It is really giving him some trouble. I can see it trying to break through. His poor little gum is red and raw but that tooth just won't come through. He has developed a new cry. Ok maybe not a cry exactly, it's more like a high pitched yell. And he yells every time I am out of his line of vision. That means even if I am a foot from him but he happens to have turned over. The first day was rough, then Tuesday was even worse. I feel bad for him I know he is miserable but there isn't a thing I can do but pick him up and keep him comfortable.
Today seems to be much better. he has been smiling and happy for the most part. He loves laying on our bed and playing with my face. And we have discovered a GREAT CD set. For anyone who is interested http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/mediaplayer.asp?ean=011661811928&track=2&disc=1 Bishop loves the song "Sing Verdi Very Loud" It comes on Noggin music channel and when it does he stares at the TV and me, because I am usually singing along at the top of my lungs, and just laughs out loud. I am hoping to get the set so I can play it for both boys. Hopefully they can learn an appreciation for opera and classical music. I wish I hadn't given up singing when I was young but that is a story for another day. Bishop loves to sit in my lap and watch me type. He bangs on the laptop as I type and I have to turn off the mouse pad so he doesn't make my computer do things I don't want it to. Maybe he'll be a techie like his Daddy.
I am so excited. Tonight our friend Jean is coming over to watch LOST with Jason and I. She loves hanging out with the boys and she and I are a lot alike only somehow she has that filter between her brain and her mouth. Unlike me who just blurts out whatever comes to my mind.
Well I better go and get dinner going for tonight. Plus I am tired of deleting what Bishop keeps typing. :)

Feelings, nothing more than feelings...

Bishop was very chatty yesterday. He is discovering his voice and how to use it. He squeals with excitement, and has learned that not only does it make different sounds, it has different volumes. He can be quiet just talking to his hands as he watches them open and close. He intensely watches his wrists move back and forth and squeals in delight as he watches his hands pick up toys and bring them up to his face so he can get a closer examination of them. Then he tosses his hands back, and usually the toy with them, and squeals loudly. If I walk away out of the room, he makes a hollow "Ah" sound loudly to see if I respond. Usually I will call his name from the other room so he knows that I can hear him. I am trying to encourage his communication. I talk and coo right along with him. I play music games and sing him to sleep in the evening.

Bishop is different from Lucas in that way. Lucas never liked it when I would sing him to sleep. He would cry louder as soon as I started so I stopped after a couple of nights. But I do constantly talk to Lucas. Lucas is learning about emotions. We try to encourage him to tell us how he feels. You know...I am mad, sad, angry, happy, silly etc. I feel it is important for him to understand feelings. I grew up having to suppress my feelings. We weren't allowed to be upset or sad. Once my Dad said after I was upset about something that had happened at school "Why are you sad. You have no reason to be sad. You have a roof over your head and food to eat. Stop crying and cheer up." I grew up not really knowing how to explain my feelings so I try to be sure that my boys are in touch with them. They don't have to be guitar playing tree hugger or anything but just be able to understand their feelings.

Speaking of Lucas...Jason decided to shave Lucas' head. I can't believe Lucas let him but Jason and I checked and checked and asked and asked to be sure he was ready for this. And he wanted to shave his head. I will be posting the pics onto http://www.flickr.com/ for all to see. I just hope Jason's mom is able to talk to us again.

Last night, Tim posted pictures from the Rock Band party. I had a lot of fun hanging out with the girls. All of the girls said "You look good", knowing that I had gained a lot of weight with Bishop. It was all that bed rest....and sugar free chocolate, note to self sugar free is not calorie free. :D I had gotten my weight down before I got pregnant (which the doctor said may have been a big factor in me getting pregnant) but I gained 70lbs with my pregnancy. I have lost some of the weight and was pretty proud of myself, but last night all of my old feelings about my weight came flooding back. I look horrible in the pictures. My thighs and hips and tummy just look aweful. I need to work harder at my weight. I am at home all day and I play with the baby but unfortunately playing "Patty Cake" doesn't burn as many calories as I had hoped. I am going to start going for walks more. Bishop loves going for a walk in his stroller.

I think Bishop is getting another tooth in. I have noticed that he is fussier than usual and has been feeling really warm. Keep ya'll posted on the teeth. :)
Love ya'll.
hmmm....I feel like having sushi for lunch.

GOD bless Grandmas

Yesterday was a very busy day. I have to begin with Saturday night. Jason's co-worker and friend Tim gave one of the famous XBOX parties. This was the first time that wives and girlfriends were invited to come. Jason's mom and dad watched Lucas until bed time, and my parents watched Bish.
I like to think that I have grown up a bit since having kids. Something happens to us when we get a chance to get out with other grown ups without kids. I had fun. My friends Susan and Jean and I hung out all night long acting like idiots and being crazy. I called my mother and she assured me that the kids were asleep and fine so to stay out as long as I wanted and not to worry. Before I knew it, it was 1:30 and we were all driving to IHOP. Then it was 3:00 when we left IHOP, so we went back to Tim's house to watch a movie. we didn't get home until 4:30 am. WHAT WERE WE THINKING?! We aren't teenagers. We are parents of children that wake up at 8:00 in the morning. Thankfully my mom and dad spent the night. My mom watches my neices and nephews for my sisters all the time so when she comes over and I ask her to hold the baby or feed the baby, I feel bad. I want her to have fun and relax but yesterday my mom was wonderful. I needed to take care of the boys in the morning so I could let Jason sleep in. So my Mom held and fed the baby while I made Lucas some breakfast, then she watched Lucas, Bish and my niece Ava while my dad and I replaced the brakes and tail light on the truck which took a few hours. Jason woke up and then had to go and help my brother in law so he was gone all day as well. It is awesome to have that support system. I love being so close to them. By the time my parents, and my sister left. The boys were in bed and Jason and I were exhausted. We went to bed and fell asleep takling. I enjoy having my family over. Jason loves having them over too.

I'll show it who's boss....

Bishop is discovering how to work the rattle. Watch the video. He shakes it and tries to get it into his mouth. As you can see the rattle is much bigger than his mouth. He gets so frusterated and yells at his rattle like it is the rattles fault he can't put it in his mouth. It is funny.

Bishop is getting more and more like me. I don't know if that is a good thing. My mom says that when I was little I was a good baby. I was quiet and sweet. Now I get frusterated easily and can be kind of moody. Bishop is generally quiet and sweet but I see him get super frusterated quickly when he can't do what he wants. But maybe that is all babies. It is amazing how big he is. He is growing so quickly and is getting such a little personality. It is wonderful to watch. He is Nana's buddy (Nana is my mom) and Bobka (Jason's mom) just can't get enough of him either. Nana calls him her Buddy Bam. It will be interesting to see as he grows who he is going to be like, me or Jason.

Lucas loves being a big brother. He has this amazing way to send Bishop into hysterical laughing just by being near him and talking to him. Yesterday after I picked him up from daycare, Lucas said, " I think Bammie wants to ride withteh windows down, Momma" I said ok and reluctantly, because it was kind of cool, put the windows down for the boys. Bam started laughing hysterically which send me into laughter. It was the wind in his face and Lucas smiling and laughing at him that made him laugh even harder. I wish and hope that the boys grow up to be good friends. They don't have to be best friends but have a good relationship like I did with my sisters and like Jason does with his brother now. They are going to have fights and won't always like each other but if in the long run they remember that they are brothers and no one can make fun of their brother but them. Then I'll be happy. But for now I'll enjoy watching them laugh and talk and play together.

Hello, my name is Christie and I am an addict....

I am a Facebook addict. It started as a once every other day thing. Just something to do to keep in touch with my cousins and sisters. Very innocent and social, but slowly I found that I had to log on once a day to take care of my Pet Pupz, dog that I adopted. Her name was Gus and she was a bulldog. She depended on me to feed and take care of her every day and in return I got points to buy her more imaginary stuff. I couldn't go a day without logging in to take care of her. Then someone invited me to try....*gulp* Bowling Buddies. I found myself spending an hour trying to beat my sister, Stacie's score. I would get a great score and Stacie would get a better one. Then it was "Word Challenge" and "Who Has The Biggest Brain". I couldn't stop I was hooked. I was logging in 4 or 5 times a day. Then just playing the games wasn't enough. I began sending invites. Inviting people to save the oceans, rainforests, ozone, etc...anything to play more games. That is when it started....I began being rejected. My family and friends stopped accepting my invites. They stopped returning my comments, they stopped suggesting friends for me. One of my friends even asked that I stop sending him invites. That was when I new I had a real problem.
I am unable to cut it off cold turkey but I do manage my addiction by allowing myself small amounts of Facebook time. I connect with friends, play my games and send invites in moderation. I dropped a lot of the games that I was playing, my puppy is probably dead. My husband has been very supportive in my addiction and I choose my friends very carefully. Don't let this happen to you....WHAT THE....Stacie just beat my frickin' high score in GEO CHALLENGE!?!?! Oh I'll show her....
Don't judge me. :)

Big, Baby Steps.

I had lunch with Jason today. I picked him up and we went to Chipotle on Broadway across from the Witte. I love that part of town. I know it is high crime and all but the homes are old and beautiful and it just feels like an old town within the city. I love it. Anyway...

We were sitting at the table and talking and Bishop started to cry. I realized it was almost 2:00 and he still hadn't eaten lunch so I picked him up and began to feed him. Now I have been thinking lately that Bishop though a beautiful baby may not be up to speed on some of the skills that he should be learning. Afterall he HATES being on his tummy so I don't make him do it for very long um...ok not really at all :(. We are still working on getting him to sleep without crying for an hour, and lately he hasn't wanted to take naps during the day. He cries and coughs in his swing until I pick him up. Well today we had a breakthrough. :)

I was feeding him his bottle and talking to Jason and not really paying attention, when all of a sudden I looked down and he was holding his own bottle. I know it is such a small step but he was doing it all on his own. Jason and I looked at each other in amazement. I couldn't help it I started crying. It was so strange. I have never felt so proud in my life. Except for maybe the first time Lucas called me "Mom". I felt so happy and sad at the same time. Alot like when I found out I was pregnant. He looked up at me while he was holding that bottle and smiled with his big blue eyes. I could tell he was proud too. I love it.

Lucas has started showing some jealousy. Maybe not so much jealous but craving attention. I have to make a point to spend more time with him. he has taken an extra interest in his cars and he loves "The Cat in the Hat" and Curious George. And he especially likes Sid the Science Kid. I hope he takes to math and sciences. I always struggled with those subjects so I am lucky Jason is so good at them. Also he has his Uncle Josh to help him out too.

I am so proud of my boys and I know that they are going to grow up so fast. It amazes me that 6 months ago Bishop wasn't here. And 3 years ago Lucas wasn't a thought. Our family has changed so much and I know that it will only keep changing. I am not good with change but these are all good changes. And I know that soon the boys will be in school and then college and then getting married and having families of their own. Ok that was just more than I can handle. I need to go and get a tissue. I suddenly have an urge to watch "Fiddler on the Roof"
Better go... you know...Sunrise, Sunset.