Bible Class and Family Vacation!

Right now, I am enjoying a lovely cup of STRONG coffee that Colt made, watching a ridiculous Lifetime movie and listening to my child scream bloody murder in the other room. Yep, Cash has decided to boycott napping. Well, napping in his crib to be more specific. If he is in my arms, or in the car, its no problemo. It was to be expected I guess, because my mom said I never wanted to nap when I was little. Still to this day, I can go on very little sleep. I think his sleep schedule is thrown off a little bit from our mini-vacation. He is a once a day napper, but he sleeps about 12 hours a night, usually waking up once or twice if at all. I hate listening to him cry himself to sleep for nap time, but its the only way he'll learn.

This week started out with Cash's first time in Bible class on Sunday morning. He loved it! I got rave reviews of his good behavior from Ms. Lynda! He didn't cry at all, and sat listening to the teacher and touching the arm of his classmate, Deacon. Such a sweetheart! I have to say, I was choking back tears the whole time. I know it sounds weird, but its just another milestone proving that my baby is growing up too fast. He looked so cute in those little bucket seats.

Monday and Tuesday were spent at the Don CeSar Hotel on St. Pete Beach. Colt has been playing there, and really loves that gig. Its a gorgeous hotel! Cash loved swimming in the pool and the Gulf! He sat in the sand, running his feet through it, and grabbing handfuls to pour on his legs. Of course...adorable. Beach vacations are definitely different with a baby. The whole point of going to the beach is to relax. Relaxation is almost impossible with a cruiser who likes to crawl and pull up on everything. Instead of beach chairs, they gave us a really cool canopy bed with canvas sheets on the side, right on the beach. We put a bunch of Cash's toys on the bed, and laid around and watched him play. I didn't get much sun, but it was fun to see him discover a new landscape! Its funny how my beach priorities changed from getting a good tan to preventing my son from swallowing sand.

This should be an ad for Target Wipes :)

Well I guess that's it for now. I'll leave you with a video of this weird thing that Cash has been doing with his tounge. Its pretty hilarious! Thanks for reading!

A Friday in the Fall

It has been too nice outside not to enjoy the beautiful fall weather. What did we do today you ask? We went to the DMV. Ok, so its not really enjoying the fall weather, but its a favorite hangout for Colt and I. We discovered the entertainment value when we were applying for our marriage license several years ago. Since then, we look forward to every opportunity to visit. Its the best place to people watch. Today was Cash's first trip. We were served by a lovely lady named Ruth. Of course she was enamoured with Cash's good looks and charm. At the end of our visit, he left her something so as never to forget him. He barfed on her desk. Not a lot, but just enough to let her know he cared. I love running errands with Colt and Cash.

After a few more errands we went to Chick-Fila for lunch. Cash ate a french fry which the throughly enjoyed. He learned how to drink from a straw on Wednesday and ever since then he whines for a chance to try out his new trick when he sees an opportunity.

Now, Colt is playing, so Cash and I are at home, fresh from a grocery trip to Target. Cash got a swim shirt for our first family vacation to the Don Cesar on Monday and Tuesday. It looks super cute on him.

I'll let him jump in his jumparoo for a few more minutes, only because I love listening to him talk to himself with an occasional, "Mama" and "Dada" thrown in. I wonder what he's saying about us. All good things I hope.

UPDATE: Crib Sleeping

Last night (10/5/10), Cash slept through the night in his crib! He didn't even wake up once! We are so proud of him...and well rested!

8 1/2 Months: Crib Sleeping/Daily Life

We've finally done it. Cash man is now in his crib as of September 27th (last Monday night). Thankfully it was an easy process. Here's the story...

We knew the time had come because none of us were sleeping well anymore. He was waking up about 3 or 4 times a night, and because I was next to him, he wanted to nurse. This made for a very sleepy Mama. He was cranky throughout the daytime because he was waking up so much throughout the night. I knew the hardest part would not be the transistion, but missing having him in bed with me. Pathetic, huh!

We decided to start the process on a Monday night so we had plenty of time for him to adjust before having to wake up early for church on Sunday morning. We decided 11 or 12 would be a good bedtime for him, since we don't lead a "wake up at 6am" lifestyle. We figured if he were to sleep 10-12 hours, which the pediatrician recommended, that he would wake up between 10 and 12 which was perfect! On Monday night, we played with him for a long time on the floor in the living room to wear him out a little bit. I nursed him and then fed him his usual "dinner" solid meal. He eats A LOT (at least 8oz. but most of the time between 8 and 12oz., three times a day), so I knew that would help with his sleeping. In my experience, a full baby always sleeps better. After dinner, I rocked him while watching TV for a little while, so he was tired, but not sleeping. Then he kissed Daddy goodnight, and I walked him in his room and laid him down. Immediately he got up and stood holding the crib railing. He was looking at me like, "Where are you going?" Then his little lip started to quiver and he started wailing. It was so sad, but I knew from putting him in his crib for naptime, he'd soon stop crying and go to sleep. As I thought, it only took about 10 minutes, and he was sleeping. He woke up twice that night, but the nice thing was, Colt got up once, and I got up the other time, instead of me having to wake up every two hours and nurse him. When he woke up, we'd go in there, give him a sip of water (drinking out of a cup is one of his favorite activities), lay him down, give him some kisses, and gently rub his head, then walk out. He'd cry for a few mintues, but very quickly fall back asleep. We all woke up the next morning well rested and in a good mood!

As I said, we started this last Monday, and he's been doing basically the same thing every night. He's crying about the same amount of time every night, but he almost always falls asleep within 10-15 minutes. The transistion was easy, but the emotional aspect was hard for me. That first night, when I went to get in my bed, I could still smell him on my pillow. There were two pee pee diapers that I had changed the night before on the changing table on the pack-n-play, which made me miss him even more. Even though he was just across the house, it felt like he was worlds away. I didn't cry which was good. I put the video monitor right next to my bedside and turned it up loud. What did people do before video monitors?!?! My attachment phase has gotten better as we get more used to this sleeping arrangement. :)

I never knew what having Cash would mean to me. Colt and I always talk about how he really is our best friend. We love waking up in the morning, and going into his room to start our day. He is always in the sweetest mood when he wakes up. After he wakes up I'll nurse him, and then eat my breakfast while he plays with his toys on the living room floor. After my breakfast he gets his solid breakfast, then we prepare to go for our walk. He gets all sunscreened up, and puts on his "workout clothes". Haha! He literally squeals with excitement when I open the door to push the stroller out at the beginning of the walk. I love our walks because it gives Colt and I time to talk and hang out without destractions of the TV, feedings, diaper changes, etc. etc. etc. Cash is just along for the ride. Moe came with us today (he is the most out of shape dog ever), and Cash loved watching him walk beside us. We have our designated water break spots, and Cash loves drinking out of my water bottle, even though he has his own sippy cup filled with ice water. At a certain point on our walk, Cash always begins to talk. We laugh everytime, because he's quiet as a church mouse until that one speed bump, when he begins to babble like a mad man. When we get home from our walk, I usually nurse him again and he goes down for a nap. The rest of the day is either spent running errands or playing at home. On days that Colt doesn't have to work, we usually go to dinner, although we're trying to do better about staying home and cooking. It really is a blissful life.

Well I better run. I'm going to try and start updating more often, even if its just a paragraph about something funny he did that day.

My "funny story" today would have to be about his "Marlon Brando voice". He immitates the Brando voice a lot when he is in serious conversation. It is hilarious. I will try to get it on tape. Well...that story wasn't really funny. I guess you have to be there. HAHA!

Thanks for reading!

Cash's 8th Month

At 8 Months, Cash is a big ball of personality. He has had so many new milestones in the last few weeks. To keep it brief (which I'm not very good at), I'll put it in list form.

- Most of his clothes are in 12 months although he wears some 18 months. He even has a few pajama sets that are 24 months!

- He weighs about 19-20 lbs. I've only measured on my scale at home, so I don't know how accurate it is.

- He started crawling on September 5th (about 7 and 3/4 months old) and is pulling up on EVERYTHING! We love to watch him discover all kinds of new things now that he is mobile. Although I could have lived without him discovering Moe's food and water dishes.

- He started saying "Mama" on September 10th. Sometimes he switches from calling me "Nana" to "Mama" but I've been correcting him after he says "Nana". The first time I heard him say, "Mama" was in his bedroom while Colt was at a gig. I put a Disney movie on in his room, and I was doing chores (in his room) while he was playing in his crib. He kept trying to get my attention, and finally he just said, "Mama". At first I thought it could have been a fluke until he said it again later that night. I can't even describe how happy it makes me to hear him mumble my name all day long.

- It seems that he is beginning to understand what "NO" means (now that I have to say it all the time). It could be the tone of voice, but he definitely pauses and looks at me everytime he hears it.

- He had his first low grade fever, accompanied by a sore throat at the beginning of his 8th month. That was no fun, especially for our sleep schedule, but he's 100% back to normal now...well at least he doesn't have a fever or sore throat anymore.

- His sleep schedule is so weird now. He went from sleeping 8-10 hours a night, straight, to waking up about every 3 hours to comfort nurse. We may try to put him in his crib, but plans for that have been on hold since Colt has been so busy with gigs. Its hard to get a baby on a conventional schedule, when the parents are on an unconventional schedule, but I think we do a pretty good job.

- On that note, he is still sleeping with us, but takes naps in his crib.

- Another problem with the sleeping in his crib thing is that he is going through a BIG attachment phase. Sometimes he'll just fuss unless I am holding him. I could be sitting right next to him, but unless he is in my lap, he isn't happy. I LOVE that he loves me, but I'm trying to train him to be able to self-soothe.

- I love this story...My parents, and Emilee babysat for us so that we could go to the Tom Petty concert after Colt played before the show. They tried to give him formula for the first time in several months. Immediately upon sticking the bottle in his mouth, he wiggled, spit it out and said, "NANA...MAMA!" My mom said he was looking all over for me. I just love love love that story.

- He eats so much! He is eating 3 solid meals a day, and sometimes he'll eat a whole jar of oatmeal or mixed grains right after a solid feeding. I haven't dropped any breast feedings either!

- He loves books. He may even love books more than his other toys! He's really into colors, sounds and lights.

- He loves the guitar and music in general. When we went to see Colt play before the Tom Petty show, Cash was waving his hands to the beat! Its really weird, but he does that almost all the time.

- He's started to "sing". We were at my brother's soccer game when my mom started singing to him. He started "singing" back in response to her song. Now he does it in his car seat sometimes when we're listening to the radio. One of his favorites is "Red Cord" on my Uncle Josh's new CD, "Seven Years of Lean".

- He bit Michelle Mitchell at church twice while we were in the nursery. I hope that he doesn't make that a permanent thing. Haha!

- Cash has discovered the joys of having a brother...a canine brother at least. He loves to play with Moe. His favorite game is fetch, when we throw Moe's duck toy across the house and he runs back to us with it. Cash just about crawls out of our arms with excitement when Moe brings it back.

- He is allergic to cow's milk. We discovered this after seeing little red spots appear around his mouth after letting him taste some of my ice cream one night. It happened again after tasting some whipped cream off of my fruit dessert at Matt and L'Von Qualls' home one night. We confirmed that it was a milk allergy after he had one of the yogurt bites for babies, and his mouth broke out in the semi-swollen, spots. They say milk allergies usually fade. Hopefully that's true.

- We also think he is left handed. He picks up everything with his left hand. If I hand him something, he'll always take it with his left hand.

- I really wish I could videotape him all day long because he does something cute nearly every minute. I did catch his first laugh on tape, as well as his first time crawling. The gazillions of pictures will have to be sufficient for the rest. :)

We are already half way through the 8th month. He is the most handsome, smart and fun loving little boy. Everything I ever dreamed of. Love Love Love him.

Not That I Believe In Horoscopes...

Or even read them that often for that matter, but sometimes, by coincidence I'm convinced, they are eerily accurate.

For example, the day we found out we were having a boy. We knew if it was a boy that we would name him Cash. We went in to the ultrasound tech's office, not expecting to find out the gender that early. I was only 13 1/2 weeks along. Early or not, we knew. Later that day, by chance I heard my horoscope. It went something like, "Today will be full of surprises. Strangers may give you unexpected gifts. Someone may even give you CASH!" Weird, huh?!?

Tonight I was perusing my favorite baby website, babycenter.com, and I saw a link to parent/child and parent/parent compatibility by horoscopes. I opened it and read it for fun. I entered Colt and I's birthday in the blanks, and here are the results... "Your family life could resemble one long freewheeling adventure, at least if you two have your say about it! Together, you'll value education, curiosity, learning, and personal freedom. You wouldn't want your kids to be tied down, ordered around or restricted any more than you'd sign up for it yourselves. This unconventional attitude can lead to a rather loud, messy and fun-loving household--not that you care what anyone else thinks!" WEIRD HUH!?! Not that I agree with everything about that statement, but I thought it described our lifestyle pretty well.

Again, not that I think there is any truth behind horoscopes, but sometimes they are good for a laugh!

At 7 Months...

At seven months...

- Cash is scooting all over the place. Its not technically crawling, but its definitely an army crawl.

- He's eating solid foods two times a day, and now loves thick rice cereal, mixed grains and oatmeal.

- He is still sleeping in our bed. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, and I am not right next to him, he'll pull himself over to me using the sheets, and curl up beside me.

- He can sit up completely by himself, and has really good posture.

- He LOVES books, colors, and sounds.

- He loves to listen to Colt play the guitar, and squeals with excitement when he sees it.

- As of today (7 months, 2 weeks-ish) he has two teeth

- He is around 19 or 20 lbs, but I don't know how long he is, although we get comments on how "tall" he is all the time.

- He is still the most laid back baby I've ever seen. My Aunt Paige calls him "Chill".

- We have so many nicknames for him! We call him, Cashy, Cashman, Scooter, Sweetieface, Gooey, and most recently Scratch...explanation to follow

- Cash likes to scratch everything so he can feel the material. I also thinks he likes the noise it makes. In church, he'll turn around and scratch the pew.

- He is very well behaved in church, and has never pitched a fit. I've only taken him out once, and still everyone around me said they didn't hear him make a peep!

- He is still breastfeeding, although he has gone from 10 minutes on each side when he was a newborn, to about 3 minutes on each side now. Sometimes its more, sometimes less!

- He has grown out of all of his size 2 shoes and wears some 6-9 clothes, but mostly 12 months because he is so tall.

- He LOVES Moe, and is becoming very "hands on" with him.

- He stood on all fours last night for the first time in his pack-n-play (August 21st). He attempted to crawl but the netting on the sides prevented him from going anywhere.

- He can go from a lay down position to sitting up on his bottom.

- Cash has the most facial expressions I've ever seen in a baby. He makes the funniest faces sometimes.

- He is very calm and quiet when we're around people, but loud, and jolly at home! He squeals with excitement all the time, and it will burst your ear drum if you're not ready for it. When he's at home with Mama and Daddy, there is hardly a minute that goes by that he isn't smiling. Literally!

- He loves to laugh, therefore, LOVES being tickled. His sides, the middle of his back, and under his arms are the most ticklish spots.

- He makes Colt and I SO happy, and we both get choked up seemingly on a daily basis by how much we're in love with him.

I think that's about it for now. I wish you all could see my "posts to be posted" box. I start so many new posts and never get a chance to finish them. September is a busy month for Colt's gig schedule, and August was a busy month for my photography business. We have been very blessed with a lot of work lately! We're so thankful that we can spend so much time with each other and really enjoy this time with your baby together. Seven months has been the most fun so far, with all the new things he's learning and how fast he's growing. Thanks to everyone for reading, my very sporadic posts! Love you all!