Cream of Potato Soup

Last night we took Evan to Zoo Boo, even though it was cold and drizzly. It had snowed south of here, but we were spared that, so we ventured out into the spooky night with Ev bundled in three layers of clothes under his costume. It was fun, and Ev got to go trick or treating. Of course, he won't be able to eat most of the treats for a few more years. Don't worry, Daddy and I will help him out!

What we're really excited about is tomorrow night. I hope Ev can keep up with our mad rush of trick or treating. I think we'll go easy on him this year. I'll wait until he's a little older to teach him the fine art of getting the most candy possible in only two hours.

Posted by jenny at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

True to form, after putting the clocks back an hour Evan got up at 6 this morning instead of 7. That's okay though, because he slept until 4 or so in his crib, so I can't complain. And this was after Mike and I got last night out, so it was really good all around.

Being parents is funny and all consuming. We went out to dinner last night, did a little shopping, and then it was only 7:45 and we had nothing else to do. We thought it would make us look super lame to go home that early, so we went out for drinks with Jerry and Stacey and had a really nice time. How sad though that we can't even fill a whole evening--being Mom and Dad almost makes you forget you used to be just normal people with social lives. What happened to those? Most of our friends here in town are either blood relatives or have children also, so we can do family type outings. I forget what the rest of that social stuff is like!

Today was busy with a trip to the pumpkin farm and then the excitement of carving said pumpkins. We got a big one for Daddy, a medium one for me, and a little tiny one for Ev. They turned out cute and Mike took some great pictures, so I'll have him post them as soon as he can.

Posted by jenny at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, Ev got his new carseat. And after much puzzlement with directions and pulling of straps, it is safely installed in our little Jetta. He seems to really like it--though he is still rear facing for a few more months, he sits up higher and can see out the windows better. It has better cushioning for his little butt too. So he's a happy guy.

Today we went to work with Daddy so Ev could meet more people on campus and be shown off to everyone. He played up his cuteness and did his best to impress. While in Meadville, we also visited the Wal-Mart (where Ev got a nice fleece hat with ear flaps to match his winter jacket) and Mommy's friend April (where Ev got frightened by the dogs that barked, but he got over it).

Daddy then had the afternoon off which gave us an opportunity to rest and take care of the carseat thing. We just chilled at my dad's for a while, had pizza, and visited with the family. Quite a pleasant evening all around

Now the whole family is home and warm and safe on a rainy, chilly night. Tomorrow Evan's grandma is coming from Cleveland for a visit so that should make for a nice weekend.

Posted by jenny at 09:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Evan has been very vocal lately. Everything elicits some sort of response: a yell, grunt, sigh, babble. As I write this he's screaming his little head off in excitement about being in his car. Now he's quiet for the moment, concentrating....and then it's back to yelling. "EeeYaah! MmmBbbbPpphhh" Whatever that means. Now if we could just get him to say actual words. I've been coaching him on "Mama" and "Dada" for a week now, but nothing yet.

The time has come to get Ev a new carseat. He's been expressing his disgust with the one he has, as his feet have started hanging over the end. He's still light enough that he could stay in it, but Mike and I are hating how heavy he is when we use the seat as a carrier. Maybe this weekend we'll splurge. It's just so confusing to me--which one do I get. I'll do some internet research today and we can go make the rounds at Toys R Us and Baby Despot (yes, I know it's Baby Depot, but let me have my fun).

Another new Ev-ism is that he wants to eat everything we eat. Actually, this isn't too new, he's always stared in fascination as we ate. But now he demands to try some, and gets mad if we don't share. Mike calls it giving him table scraps, as if Ev is our little dog. It's pretty funny. He seems to like everything, and want lots of it. Unfortunately, that leads to more tummy trouble. I need to get a good idea of table food that are good for baby, I don't know enough about all this stuff.

Posted by jenny at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ugh, my web cam is still broken. Those stripes were cute at first, now they are getting on my nerves. I wish I knew enough about computers to fix things. I knew I took the wrong classes in college...

This morning Ev and I went to Wal-Mart with Mikaele and her boys. I honestly don't know how she does it sometimes...going out can be a major production. Two mommies and three boys under 2 certainly provided some adventure anyway. And they were all well behaved, so I can't imagine what it would be like if one of them started getting upset!

While there, Ev got a cute little sweater (sorry, I couldn't resist), new light bulbs for his fish tank, a punch ball and best of all, a pumpkin. One of those plastic jack o'lanterns with the handle that you can collect treats in. It was 68 cents, and it has the same face as the one I had when I was little. This will make our Halloween pictures complete. I was thrilled with my purchase.

That was all our excitement for the day. The rest has been laundry and napping and applesauce and dishes, so I won't bore you with the details.

Posted by jenny at 04:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy 9 month birthday to our little babus. Tonight we celebrated with Mommy getting a haircut and barbequed chicken nachos at Smokey Bones. Believe it or not, Ev enjoyed it (especially when we let him taste the barbeque sauce)!

Mommy also got Ev's scrapbook caught up today. Every time I work on that I realize just how fast he is growing. We're coming up on a lot of firsts now: first word, first steps, first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, first birthday. It's an exciting and wonderful time for our little family.

Posted by jenny at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today we went and got Evan's 9 month pictures taken. He was more interested in all the nifty gadgets and bright lights in the studio than in the weird lady trying to get him to smile, so they weren't the best pictures ever. But they were okay, and I can't complain--they only set us back about 7 bucks. We'll go all out for some neat ones for his first birthday.

The rest of the day we just hung out--walked around Best Buy, had a visit from a friend, took a little drive. A nice quiet Saturday. Now Ev is sleeping in his crib, and Daddy and I are off to get some rest while we have the chance.

Posted by jenny at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since our last report, Ev has been doing okay in his crib. He goes to bed at 8:30 and usually sleeps in his crib until about midnight. After that he wants to be with us. Even last night, he woke and Mike went to him, held him and calmed him until he went back to sleep. But then Mike tried to put him down in his crib again and he was awake within seconds. Oh well, we're trying.

Not much else to report. Ev is going for his 9 month pictures tomorrow. That should be fun. I'm hoping they turn out as well as his 6 month pictures did. Too bad he looks about the same as he did for his 6 month pictures--the only thing different is his haircut! Maybe I'll have them use a fall background so we can tell the difference.

The best news is that Daddy's hell week at work is finally over. We feel like we haven't seen him in years. I think we're both looking forward to spending some time with him this weekend.

Posted by jenny at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By the way, I have just been alerted to the fact that Ev is going to be a cheetah for Halloween, not a leopard as previously reported. Mommy didn't bother to look at the costume label before she opened her big mouth. I guess I need to brush up on my wild animals. Cheetah, leopard, whatever, he looks really cute in the costume.

Posted by jenny at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I knew it wouldn't last...he only slept in his bed until 11:45 last night. Drat.

Posted by jenny at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ev must have been worn out from the weekend, because he slept all night in his crib. Yes, you read that right. He slept from 9 pm until 5 am in his crib, and then he was in bed with us from 5 to 7, when it was time to get up and start the day. Pretty spectacular, huh? I really enjoyed it, but I woke up (or Mike woke me up) every hour from 2 until 5 just to tiptoe down the hall and make sure everything was okay. I'm such a mom.

Today has been pretty quiet. We're just playing and enjoying the day. I'm hoping Ev will take his afternoon nap soon so I can clean the bathroom. Ah, such excitement.

Posted by jenny at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We had a decent weekend here, and now it's Sunday night again and we wonder where the time went. Friday we just chilled. Ev's baby pal Kaitlyn came over for a little while, as did Aunt Cara, and we went out to Best Buy and Sam's Club to browse and pick up some essentials.

Saturday started off low-key as we just hung around the house and played with Evan. Later in the afternoon we took a jaunt around the mall and then came home to visit with Aunt Jo and Aunt Beth. Ev was having so much fun he didn't want to go to bed, so we had to take a ride and visit Uncle Tim at work so he would eventually settle down.

Today was the busiest day of all. Evan and I got up early, got all ready and went to Mass at eight, then on to Grandpa's house for a little visit. We then stopped to see Cara's parents before leaving Ev to play with Grandpa while I went to brunch with the girls. E had a good time and kept Grandpa very busy. I had a good time too--it was nice to be just one of the girls for a few hours. We came home, and then it was back out to the grocery store with Daddy to pick up food for the week. Now were home, Ev has had a bath and some cereal, and he and Daddy are playing in the bedroom.

Aside from the weekend, Evan has been sleeping a lot better. He does half the night in his crib now (usually until about 2:30). Then he shouts out for some company, and I bring him back to bed with us for some snuggling and a snack, and he goes right back to sleep until 6:30 or 7. I really can't complain about that too much. This weekend that didn't happen though--he gets so excited when other people are around. He doesn't want to sleep for fear he'd miss the party. He's so funny sometimes.

Posted by jenny at 07:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mistakes were made.

I decided that Evan needed a hair cut--his bangs were growing down into his eyes and the whole thing was just getting out of control. So I started to cut it last night at my dad's house, using the electric clippers. He thought those were very cool, but didn't like them near his head. With Jerry and my dad's help, I got his bangs cut reasonably straight. Not bad.

Then today I decided to take it one step further, and get the big long hairs growing over his ears. Bad idea. Mikaele suggested I wait til Ev was asleep, but he was being so good this morning that I thought, why not. Well, I got one side cut okay, and it doesn't look too bad. The other side, not so much. Ev flinched just as I made my cut and it's a lot shorter on that side. Oops. I decided not to try to even it out because I know I would make things much worse. And of course I was skittish, and afraid that I was going to cut his ear off.

Enough hair cutting for now. We'll let the professionals handle it next time....

Posted by jenny at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've posted some pictures today that we took the last 2 weeks or so. Enjoy!

Click here.

Posted by Mike at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been trying to get Ev to sleep in his crib for the past few days. So far, not working. We've had him in our room since he's been home--for convenience of night feedings and for comfort. Since we don't have central air, the three of us slept in the only room with a window unit. But now fall is upon us, and Ev is way too big for his bassinet. So we try the crib.

Ev does not want to sleep in the crib. He wants to play in the crib. That's what he's been doing there for the past few months--playing with his piano gym or his animals, and more recently playing "stand 'em up". And now Mommy is telling him that the crib is for sleep, not play? No way! It's totally my fault for letting him play in there at all, but here we are and I have a feeling it's going to take a lot of practice to get him to sleep in there. Otherwise he's in our bed, which I love, but Mike has always been a little hesitant about. We'll keep making an effort anyway.

I feel miserable today. My eyes are watery and I have a runny nose. I can't decide if it's a cold or a reaction to all the dust I've kicked up in the past few days. I'm cleaning out closets and cabinets, getting rid of old junk and trying to get organized. But the whole thing makes me sneeze. I wish I could take something, but I'm in the same boat I was in last year at this time--no drugs for breastfeeding mommies. Though I wonder if a little NyQuil would make Ev take an extra long nap...

Posted by jenny at 01:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Evan continued to do well eating over the weekend. I think we'll keep watching him for a while before we decide to head back to the doctor. If nothing else, we'll mention it at his next scheduled appointment if it's still a concern.

Bad mommy award goes to me today. Last night Mike and I went to the Otters game with a bunch of friends (it was our first night out alone in a while), and Mike's mom was in town at her sister's so she watched Ev. It went fine for her, and E was mostly well behaved. She fed him cereal before bed, and gave him juice and water to drink. This was totally fine (and approved by me--the mommy authority), but unusual for Ev since he mostly drinks only breast milk...he was really thirsty! Anyway, it was into his jammies and off to sleep.

When we picked him up, we got the report, bundled Ev in his seat and drove home. He didn't wake up when I put him in bed, and he didn't get up or fuss until about 3 am. At that time, I nursed him a little, and brought him back to bed with us. He slept on and off then until 7, and at that time he was fussing a lot and acting irritated. I tried to convince him he needed to go back to sleep. He was up though, so I decided it was time to feed him breakfast and change his diaper.

Now, we don't really change him at night anymore since he doesn't wake as much and might only pee once or twice during the night. But this morning, I went to take that diaper off and it felt like he had gone swimming. E was COMPLETELY SOAKED, even his jammy bottoms were damp. The inside of the diaper had turned gel-like, and even his skin was wet. He must have peed like a champ all night long, because those suckers are absorbent! Oh, I felt awful. The poor kid was trying to tell me he needed changed, and I was trying to tell him to sleep a little longer! I apologized profusely and we went straight to the bath and then a clean dry diaper. Hopefully Ev won't remember that I was a bad mommy this morning.

Today we spent watching football and going shopping with Grandma F. She fell into the Evan trap--when you take him shopping with you, you look at his cute little face and want to buy him things. It was nice to get out though, and we both enjoyed ourselves. Ev was so bored with shopping that he took a nap, but that's all good too. Hopefully this coming week will be a quiet one, with no major medical mishaps to report.

Posted by jenny at 09:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Again Ev shows signs of improvement. Last night he only had two night wakings, and those were brief and he easily fell back to sleep. We're still doing the smaller meals, and I moved some foods around so that he gets things at different times. He's still spitting up a bit, but it's more like what he's been doing all along.

Ev doesn't seem to be the least bit interested in crawling. He always wants to be sitting or standing (mostly standing) and if you put him down on his belly he will manipulate himself into another position. He's good at lunging for or creeping toward objects, or figuring out other ways of getting what he wants. Clever little guy.

He's getting better and better at pulling himself to stand, and will use whatever is available (crib rails, toys, me or Daddy). It's almost like he can't wait to start walking, because there is so much he wants to explore. Ev's favorite toys now are his walker, his jumper, and a little car that lets him walk behind it. He just wants to be on the go all the time. It's great to watch but a little scary too. It won't be long before he figures this out and is zooming all over the house.

Posted by jenny at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night was better than the previous night. Ev went to sleep around 8:30 (after a crying fit) and he only woke up four times. Luckily, he was not fussy when he woke, just looking for food or company. So I supplied whatever he wished and he settled again rather quickly. I'm still tired today, but hopefully things will continue to go well.

Right now, Ev is playing in his car. That's where he poops every morning, and chats with all his toys. He seems to be in good spirits.

I forgot to mention this yesterday, but Ev also discovered his peepee. This is an exciting time for all of us. Now he's forever grabbing at the waistband of his diaper, and if I take too long when I change his pants, he's got a hold on it. It was bound to happen sooner or later, but fortunately he hasn't become too interested in it. He'd still rather rip my hair out, or claw at my eyes.

Posted by jenny at 07:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was a better day I guess. Still some minor problems, but less spitting up, and E did take a long nap in the afternoon. We'll see how tonight goes.

Posted by jenny at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So far the smaller, more frequent meals aren't helping at all. You will note that this post was made at like 3:30 in the morning. E's been up every hour since he went to bed at 9:30. At 2:30 he seemed to really be in pain and would not go back to sleep--he screamed, arched his back, and wouldn't calm down. And he kept burping up breast milk or puking. We walked, rocked, ran the shower...he just drifted off again about five minutes ago. And of course I'm wide awake now. I just wish I could help him.

Posted by jenny at 03:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)