More Fun With Swimming

One of my absolute favorite things to do with Graby is to take him swimming. It's not really swimming in his $10 plastic pool, but I still think it's a blast. He really enjoys laying on his back and splashing. It's kind of like swimming.

Here are a couple cute pictures.

End Of The Week

Thankfully it's Friday evening and Graby asleep (for now) in his bed.

It's been a long week - a stressful week, but overall a pretty good week (with the exception of Graby and Buttin being sick).

Graby had a good week at school. He's made the transition very well and I have too. It seems like right when Graby started school we got REALLY busy at work. It was good timing.

My favorite part of the day is picking up Graby from school. Most of the time, he's asleep when I arrive, but I just sit by his little bed, play with some of the other little kids (they're all boys) in his room and talk to his teachers.

Today one of his teachers recommended that we bring Graby into a steamy shower. Here's the picture of Graby in the shower that Buttin let me post.

Lots of Family

The past couple days we've had family in town (well really, my Aunt has had our family in town and I just go visit).

This is the first time that B-Ma and Papa have gotten to meet Cash. Right now I'm a little tired from the busy work week so this little picture will have to do.

Tired

I'm feeling tired. It has actually taken some adjustment to working an uninterrupted half-day. I know that probably sounds silly, but it's the only thing I can think of to explain my general fatigue.

Graby decided to sleep a little differently last night and as a result I think I got more sleep, but I still feel tired. He was down around 7:30, but woke up a couple of times until he was finally down for the count at 8:00. He woke up about 15 times between 11 - 11:30, but I just patted his back to sleep and he slept until 4:00 (whoppee). At 4:00, he kind of wanted to play. He ate a little, we chatted on the couch a little, then he ate a little more and went back to bed at 5:00 where he slept till 7:30!

Not sure what magic combination of things we did last night to get Graby to sleep more, but I kind of feel like an athlete with "lucky socks" or a special routine. Whenever Graby has a good night's sleep I try to duplicate as many of the things we did as possible the next few nights. We'll see how it goes.

Now here's a little picture of a chubby Graby. To me, it looks like he just ate a big meal.

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today, we found out I was pregnant with Graby (at that time, Lumpy).

Our lives have changed so much during the last year. As cheesy as it may sound, my heart is forced to grow on a daily basis because of our son. He is everything that is good (except for maybe all this snot) about Buttin and me and I don't think I fully appreciated life until I met him.

How could you not love this sweet, chubby, slobbery hunk of love?

Quick One

Just a quick little picture on this Saturday night.

Graby at bath time with his new tattoo.

Don't Judge Me

OK, here are a few photos from the last couple of days demonstrating my horribleness as a mother.

Letting him watch TV . . . I love the TV.

Letting him play with a plastic bag . . . Isn't there supposed to be something IN the bag?


Watching him fall over and taking pictures instead of helping him back up.

Starting out sitting up . . .


Going . . .


Going . . .


Gone . . . but it's so funny.


Taking so many pictures . . . Please, no more mom.


But look, here I made him start reading. Clearly, this is a scary part of the book.

In Running News

I am now consistently running three miles on my two weekday runs (there is nothing consistent about my weekend run, not even the frequency) which I know doesn't sound like much, but it's a milestone for me.

Also noteworthy about the three miles, I don't feel so drained by the heat and humidity as I did four weeks ago. I think my body is starting (slowly) to adjust. This is a relief because I honestly didn't know that I would ever get here (even though HERE is not very far yet).

No picture of the Graby today - I honestly didn't have a chance. We had a tiny meltdown on the way home from school, so we made a pit stop at work (for a snack and a nap). When I got Graby's report card from school he had only taken one 15 minute nap all morning!! Needless to say, he was earning his Graby nickname.

When I finally brought Graby home all he wanted to do was eat and sleep (plus he still had a stuffy nose). Buttin came home a little early (Graby was still sleeping) so that I could go to an apartment association meeting and by the time I got back home, it was bath time. I promise pictures tomorrow.

Late Blog Posts

Dear Blog Reader,

I apologize - I know that my blog posts are being posted later and later in the evening.

There was a time (a long, long time ago) when I would write my blog posts in the morning, but now it seems like my only real free time is in the evenings after the Graby goes to bed. Recently, the Graby doesn't seem to want to go to bed.

Actually, the Graby has no problem falling asleep - it's staying asleep that's a problem.

He can't seem to decide what he wants - swaddle, no swaddle, half swaddle, on the back, on the tummy, incline, no incline, nap nanny or no nap nanny. We honestly change his sleeping attire and position about 15 times a night.

It's difficult to know whether we're doing everything wrong or everything right (regarding the Graby and sleeping). All we have are our instincts and mine cannot let him cry alone. I'm hoping this is just a phase (maybe something to do with starting daycare) and that he will go back to his normal (or better) sleeping schedule soon.

Now that I have SOME (very small amount) of free time in the morning while Graby is at school, I'm hoping to be able to start my blog posts (and finish others) while at work.

Speaking of Graby - here he is complete with drool soaked chin and kissy face:

Yours truly,
Stephanie

The First Cold

Little Graby caught his first cold - just the sniffles (with copious amounts of snot) and a shallow cough.

Even sick, I still manage to get smiles like this - he's such a good kid.

Transition - Day Four

The last transition day.

Today, the plan was to drop Graby off and pick him up at the same times we will do going forward (8:30 AM/1:00 PM). My dear MIL (the Gigi) is in town so she went with me to drop him off at school

I've come to realize that I'm OK so long as I drop him off real quick and never give him a chance to cry (not that he cries when I leave him, but I don't want to see him upset for any reason). Well Gigi wanted to play with him outside - I had to grab her by the shirt to pull her out the door. The longer I stay with him, the worse I feel (even though I didn't feel bad at all this morning) about leaving him.

At work it felt VERY weird. I was only there half a day, but I had all this time. I actually read stuff on the interweb! I still kept my phone right next to me on the desk.

When I went to pick him up . . .shocker . . .he was asleep! He was working on his second nap of the day. I spoke briefly to the lead teacher and she said that he was adjusting really well and that the only thing that really bothered him was hearing the other babies cry (like mother, like son). She said this is an adjustment for most children and had actually warned me about it on transition day one. Also while at school, Graby ate 5.5 oz of milk (3 oz at one time and 2.5 at another). I learned of this from his daily "report card" that I get from school. I wonder how many of these little pieces of paper I'll keep . . .

When we got home little man was very tired and very cuddly. I didn't mind one bit. Looking back, I think the two of us did pretty well during our transition week. I know that like most other things parenting related - it'll probably be a few steps forward, a couple steps back and I'll be patient with myself and with Graby while we both get used to this new schedule.

Here's a cute picture of little man sleeping (speaking of which, he now prefers the tummy and slept that way last night)

Transition - Day Three

Today the plan was to drop Cash off around 8:30 and have him stay (by himself) until 11:00.

Cash had a not so good night last night and he did not take a nap this morning. My only thought was that he was going to have an awful time at school because he was so tired.

He (of course) fell asleep in the car on the way to school. I brought him in (still in his car seat asleep) to school and stayed with him till he woke up. After he woke up, I handed him off to one of the sweet teachers and said good-bye.

I told the teachers that the could call me at ANYTIME and that if he was crying inconsolably for longer than five minutes - I MUST BE CALLED. They were incredibly sweet, but I'm sure they were thinking - yeah, yeah, yeah, crazy mom who can't let go. They do understand that this transition is more difficult for me than it is for sweet baby Cash.

Well, I still hadn't done our school paperwork so my plan was to come back around 10:30 to do the paperwork and take him back to work around 11.

The 1.5 hours at work was strange . . . I kept watching my phone and the clock -tick tock tick tock.

I drove up to the school exactly at 10:30. Thankfully, there was no screaming Graby on the playground (whoppee). I hurried it up to the front door and walked to the window of his classroom. I looked in (the room was dark) and HE WAS ASLEEP ON HIS BED!! Oh, sweet relief - I could not have been more proud than if he had solved the whole BP oil spill debacle. He had also eaten 2.5 oz of milk (he had previously been on a bottle strike) before taking his nap. He slept till 11:15 (I actually had finished my paperwork and everything).

Tomorrow is our last transition day - he goes from 8:30 - 1:00 (what will be his full day). I feel like I did a lot better today and I'm hopeful I'll do well again tomorrow.

Now, here's a cute little video of Graby & Molly:

Transition - Day Two

Today was Cash's turn to cry.

I got to the daycare around 8:20 - the plan was to stay about 10 minutes and then leave him there for an hour - by himself!

When I arrived they informed me that the power was out (something had melted - not in the school, but on something that controls the power going to the school) and if they couldn't get it back on the school would close at 10 AM. Thankfully for us - we would be long out of there before 10 AM. I was originally planning to fill out some paperwork (thereby only technically leaving the room, not the actual premises), but since the power was out they were busy dealing with that issue and they just told me to leave for 45 or so minutes.

Honestly, the drop off was better than I had expected. I handed him off to a very sweet teacher and met the mother of one of the other little boys in his class. I ran to a bakery (to pick up some goodies for my mom's group) and to work for about 10 minutes and then headed back to Cash's school.

I thought for sure Cash would be fine - he loves being held and loves the breeze (and thankfully there was a nice breeze outside since there was no AC inside). As soon as I drove up I saw the same teacher holding him while he was wailing. It wasn't his normal little cry (that I rarely hear), it was red-turning, breath-holding, tear-crying wailing! I pretty much ran (sprinted, not jogged) into school and grabbed him away from the teacher (vaccine-style). She said he had been really good until the last couple of minutes when she could tell he was really getting tired.

He was BREAKING my heart. Usually, I can calm him down by just holding and talking to him. It took me five minutes PLUS the magic power of the boob to get him calm. I couldn't help but feel like I had abandoned him. I know I'm being dramatic, but I just wasn't expecting him to be crying after such a short amount of time. I guess it was a combination of a not so good night last night plus new people, new location and no boobie.

Tomorrow (for Transition - Day Three) the plan is to drop him off at 8:30 and abandon (I mean leave) him there till 11. I really hope he decides to sleep because momma's heart can't take much more.

Transition - Day One

Today was transition DAY ONE at daycare. It was horrible . . . for me. For Cash, it was sensory paradise.

The plan was for Cash and I to go in and hang out with the caregivers and other children in his group for one hour. That's it - no big deal, I wouldn't even have to leave him.

On the way to school the song "You're Beautiful" started playing on the radio. The song has nothing to do with children, but I started to cry -- thank goodness it wasn't something like "Letting Go". I also got a wonderfully, sweet email message from my friend Kara. She told me that it would be so much easier on him than it was on me and that going to school would be great for him AND ME. I received a similar email from my dear mother-in-law last night.

Cash and I arrived at school at 8:30 (I wiped my tears and pulled it together). We spent about 20 minutes with the head-teacher of his group. She's very hippyish and incredibly nurturing. She played with Cash and said to him, "you must have had a really good birth." I told her that having him was a very good birth experience and she said she could tell - I have no idea how, but I think it has something to do with magic.

Next we met the other two caregivers and the other children in his group. There are seven children total in his group and three teachers. We hung out with the group for about 40 minutes. Cash was tired, but he just looked around and took in all the new scenery.

I brought a camera and meant to take pictures, but I was having a little trouble working on NOT crying so I didn't take any.

At 9:30 we promptly left and told everyone we'd see them tomorrow. As soon as my feet hit the parking lot pavement I started to cry. Poor Cash - all he wanted to do was sleep, but I didn't want to put him in his car seat.

I drove the 2 minute trip to work and I couldn't wait to see Buttin. I pulled it together (again). As soon as I got Cash out of the car and walked in the building I saw Buttin walking out. I was fine until he asked me - what's wrong? - then I started crying. I couldn't go into work - I was a mess. Buttin and I had already planned to go see a movie so I just decided to drive around and get to the movie early.

I can't really explain why I was so tearful. I really expected to be so much more practical as a mom. I know that school will be wonderful for Cash and I know I'll enjoy the time we have together even more now (something else my friend Kara mentioned).

The thing that made me most uncomfortable was hearing the other little boys (yup, they're all boys) cry. None of them really cried like full on tears crying, but it just made me a little sad. I know Cash sometimes cries when both Buttin and I are with him, but I just never, ever want him to be upset (if I can help it). I know they'll take excellent care of him and I know I'm only two miles away and I know it's only for a half day -- these are the things I keep repeating to myself.

Tomorrow, for transition DAY TWO I stay with Cash for about ten minutes and then leave him for about an hour. Yikes.

Here are a couple pictures of Cash today:

I've learned that if I let Cash watch some cartoons - he likes tummy time - aren't I a good mother?
I only filled up the pool about an inch today and put Cash on his back and let him flop around - he really seemed to enjoy the freedom of moving around in the water.

In Denial

Cash starts his transition to daycare (thankfully only half days for now) tomorrow.

I don't think it's quite hit me.

Buttin told me last night he didn't expect it to effect him, but it is. Buttin usually spends a good couple of hours with Cash every morning at work (while I try to get some of my work done) and now he won't have that time. Sniff, sniff . . .

Tomorrow Cash and I just go in for an hour and hang out together at the daycare. It shouldn't be too horrible.

Tonight I went through all of Cash's clothes and packed up all the stuff that doesn't fit anymore. So much of it just looks so tiny now. It probably wasn't the best idea to do this the night before he starts going to daycare, but it had to be done.

Here's a little picture of Cash today doing tummy/fist time.

A Few Quick Pictures

We had lots of sunshine today so that meant lots of playing outside and pictures!

Here are some pretty silly ones:

Back To The Couch

This morning our living room TV was fixed.

Buttin and Cash took their regular positions on the couch about five seconds after the repair guy left.

Camping Out In The Bedroom

The past couple of nights have been like my dream come true - in bed by 7:30 PM!

The bulb on our living room TV is broken so Buttin has been forced to watch TV in our bedroom in the evening. We watch TV together, but for me it's wonderful to be in bed so early.

This afternoon Cash and I decided to camp out (it's as close to camping out as I'll ever get) in the bedroom. I brought all of the toys we usually play with in the living room onto the bed and we just hung played and took naps.

Here he is sitting up (with pillow and Boppy support) doing one of his favorite things - eating his blanket.

I Have An Addiction

I'll admit it.

I'm addicted to taking pictures of Graby.

I have a Shutterfly site so that the grandmas can look at and purchase pictures to their hearts' content. Well, I learned today (while uploading the final pictures for month three) that the maximum number of pictures allowed in one album is 1,000. Yup - that's right I uploaded over 1,000 (1,088 to be exact) pictures of Cash for the time period of June 6 - July 5. And this number is just a subset of all the pictures I've actually taken.

Apparently, even my dad thinks I take too many pictures of his grandson. I called last night and he said, I wasn't expecting you to call, I thought you'd be taking pictures. Everyone's a critic! I'm glad I have all the pictures though and I think he is too.

Today Cash and I were rained in and couldn't go swimming. We still went outside to take a few dozen pictures.

Here's a silly one of Cash & Peenie - I like to think they're a gang - a really tough gang: