8 months old!!

From B's old myspace page:

Yep, I am 8 months old today!!!!

Let's see....what have I learned to do since last month....

I have learned to fake cry. Mommy falls for it everytime. Heh.
I have learned to sit up by myself, even sitting myself up from laying down on my back or tummy!
I learned to scoot all over the place, which as of Sunday September 28 turned into CRAWLING!!!!
I have learned that if I wake up in the middle of the night that Mommy snuggles me back to sleep.
I had pancakes for the first time!!

Just making it known....

I have the world's best husband!!!!! Seriously. I do not think that it gets any better. He is absolutely my best friend, and I am so lucky!!!!

It was not always this easy. Brian and I have had our rough times. If you would have asked me 3 years ago if we would have ever made it to our 5 year wedding anniversary, I probably would have said that I doubted it. It took effort, patience, and determination to get where we are.

Oh, and has it paid off!!! I look back to when our relationship was new and fresh. For those that are in a relationship, do you remember when you first started dating and there were all of the grand gestures of love and attention?? Things like poems, flowers, or something else particularly unique to your relationship that made you fall head over heels?? How long did you think that kind of stuff would last?? I never thought that it would last 5 years. Granted, there are lapses, but there are still little things. Even when there are breaks in the little gifts and poems, there are still little things that he does to make me feel loved and special. Brian, if you are reading this, sorry if I embarrass you....hahaha

He is so cute! Every morning, he kisses my forhead before he leaves for work. He also checks to make sure that I am still breathing...hahaha. I love it! He covers me up if the blankets are pulled down. He gives the best foot massages ever! He makes sure to keep the gas tank full. He always drives because he knows that I hate it. He carrys things so I don't have to. He still opens my car door, and any door that I go through. He pulls out my chair at resturaunts. He calls me Love. We still play together. We laugh at everything. We have the same sense of humor. We have many of the same beliefs, but when we have differing views we are ok with it. I don't have to agree with every view that he has. I don't believe things just because he does, and that is ok with both of us. He allows me to be myself without fear of judgment.

The list goes on, but my main point is, our relationship is great. We are both imperfect individuals, and that is what makes us work. He is an amazng person. He sacrifices so much for our family. He would give anything just for Brandon and I.

I guess that I feel like I need to clarify this fact because I don't want to defend him to people any more.

Let's all try to live by the mantra, If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all

Whew.....finally, a good night's sleep!

Last night was AWESOME!!! I will preface this first:

Since birth, Brandon has always been an excellent sleeper. He started out sleeping in 4 hour blocks at night. Believe it or not, that is a great block of time. It allows to you get just enough sleep to function, especially considering that newborns sleep so much, and he would go right back to sleep after a diaper change (by Dad) and some nursing. So, it was nice. At about 2-3 weeks, he started sleeping through the night. He went to sleep around 11 and slept until around 5 or 6 am. He would then get a diaper change, and a bottle, and went back to sleep until around 8 or 9. That worked out great as well. Around 3 months, he started sleeping for 12 hours a night!! He went to bed around 9pm and slept util anywhere from 8-9am!!! He has comtinued to have the same sleep schedule since. It has been pure bliss. Anyone that kmew me pre-baby, knows that I LOVE my sleep!!! Haha. So, I am truly blessed with an excellent sleeper!!!

So, here is the problem. I should say that I feel bad for even complaining because I have been so lucky, but for the past week, Brandon has been waking up at least once a night. If he wakes up more than once, the first time is usually between 11pm and 1am. He usually falls right back to sleep after I pick him on and snuggle him a little. The second time he wakes up is usually around 4-6am. THAT is the bad one. He wakes up for good! I have been able to get him back to sleep around 4am, but it requires a great deal of patience, rocking, possibly a bottle, and time. All of which I don't feel like doing at 4am. I do it, because I am a Mommy, and that is my job, but it makes for a grumpy Mommy later that day. There are a number of reasons why he could be waking up all of a sudden. It could be that he is going through a growth spurt, teething, not feeling well, getting older thus needing less sleep, or trying to reach a milestone. I did not know that when a baby is getting close to reaching a milestone that it could interfere with their sleep, but I read that it can. They want to practice their milestone instead of sleep. Isn't that cute?? Anyway, I have been trying to figure out why he isn't sleeping as well, and I am still confused. I have tried giving him more formula at night thinking that he is hugry. This worked one night, but not again. I have tried making sure that he has tylenol and oragel when he goes to bed in case it is his teeth that are bothering him, but that has not helped. I am sure that the medicine is wearing off in the middle of the night, so it isn't really helping at 5am. I took him to the doctor to have his ears checked because he is pulling at them and smacking the side of his head sometimes, but he does not have an ear infection. The doctor said that it could potentially be allergies, so she started him on some claritin. Last night was his first night with the allergy meds. It says that they do not have any side effects, so it isn't supposed to cause drowsiness. She did say that if I gave it to him at night, if it DID cause drowsiness, it could help him sleep better. So, last night he got the meds. I also gave him tylenol and oragel because the doctor also said that his gums are swollen and he is teething. So, that was in my arsenal for the night. He went to sleep around 8:45-9pm, and slept until 8:15am!!! I took a long, hot shower, and went to bed around 10pm, and slept until 8am! Oh man, I slept SO good!!! So, I am hoping that this new regiment will be the key to getting him back to his normal sleep routine. It is so much more convenient when I have to do school work and study. A good night's sleep also helps in that department as well. Especially the night before my first exam......tonight, in Psychology. Wish me luck!!!! Oh, and THANK YOU BRANDON for sleeping so good last night!!!!

7 months!

From B's old myspace page:


Things are super in my world!! Mommy cannot believe that I am already 7 months old!!! She says that I am developing well and getting SO big. I am not sure how much I weigh, or how long I am, but I am outgrowing my 9-12 month clothes, and am wearing 12-18 month clothes!!! I am sitting up all by myself now, and am trying to crawl. Daddy thinks that I will be crawling by the end of September. I hope so, because that would make it so much easier to get my toys when I want them. I started gymnastics with Mommy!!! It is SO much fun, but it is a lot of work!!! I have to balance myself on my arms, do flips, hold myself on the bars, stand on the balance beam, and shake a parachute. The best part is the bubbles and balls that we get to play with. The grown ups also sing songs to us. The other babies and I just laugh at them because they are so silly. Gymanstics is really fun. My other favorite thing to do is fingerpaint!! Mommy bought me these really cool fingerpaints and lets me go to town with them in my highchair!! It is SO much fun! I love getting messy. I am also graduating to the big boy tubby because I have outgrown my baby tubby. Mommy bought me some bath letters to play with, so that is fun. I got a new toybox the other day because I am getting so many toys that I was running out of room in the drawer they were originally kept in. So, now, I have lots of room for my toys, and plenty of room for new toys!!! Yep, thinks are going great!!! Now, if I could only figure out how to hold my own bottle......

Parenting styles...

First, I must start this blog off by stating that in no way shape or form do I believe my parenting style to be perfect. I understand that there are a variety of parenting techniques and beliefs out there. That being said, please feel free to give me your opinion on whatever I duscuss. No judgments.

Brandon has developed a new habit. He has learned that he can scream at the top of his lungs. Like, screeching, ear piercing screaming. He is not crying. He is not hungry, wet, or hurt in any way. It is mostly to get attention and because he is bored. As soon as he is distracted with something else, he is fine. It is quite irritating, but I have become very good at tuning him out. I rarely hear him scream anymore unless he is really upset and crying. That being said, it isn't always the easiest thing for others to deal with. So, that is where the dilema lies. When I take him out in public, I am usually very good at distracting him and keeping him entertained. He is also very aware of our surroundings and when we are out and about he is very interested in what is going on, so he doesn't scream as often. The exception to this is when we are stationary for any length of time. For example, if we are in the dressing room, or out to eat. He will occasionally scream and I have to distract him. Usually, one of the million toys that I carry with me will work, or if we are out to eat, I will give him something to eat as well. Every now and then, those things fail, or he will become impatient when I feed him and the sceaming will start. In public, I talk to him and tell him that it is not ok for him to scream when we are in public and he needs to use an inside voice. I do not raise my voice to him, I just calmly tell him to stop screaming. At home, I allow him to scream. If I am on the phone, or having a conversation with someone, I will attempt to distract him. If not, he screams until he is tired of screaming. I try not to pay attention to him screaming because I don't want him screaming as a means of getting attention. Other people aren't the best at being patient with his screaming, which is understandable. Of course, when we are with other people, I am panicing in my head trying to think of ways to get him to stop screaming. My biggest problem is with other people trying to discipline him. Granted, relatives automatically feel a sense of entitlement when it comes to the disciplining. Especially my parents. They are the worst. I guess they feel like because they raised me, they should be able to raise my son as well. This gets under my skin like you would NOT believe. Mostly because their parenting styles are different from my own. For example, Brandon was in his highchair screaming last night while I was heating up his dinner. A family member (to remain undisclosed) got irritated with Brandon screaming and raised their voice to him and said, "Brandon, you need to stop screaming right now." The entire time they were scolding him, they had a mean look on their face. This made me really upset. Instead of losing my temper, I simply said, "That isn't going to work." Nothing else was said, and Brandon continued screaming. Duh. He is 6 months old and has learned that screaming gets people to talk to him. He is GOING to scream. My thought is, if I ignore his screaming, he will eventually learn that it doesn't get him attention and he will stop. Plus, he is just learning to talk and is practicing his vocal skills. So, I don't want to hinder that growth. As irritating as it can be sometimes, it is a phase. I realize that. I just wish that others would too. My biggest pet peeve is those that think that they can teach a child to stop yelling, by yelling. Or even better, teach a child not to hit by hitting. A little hypocritical I feel. Now, that being said, I am NOT anti-spank. I am a firm believer that if Brandon runs out into the street that he is going to get his little bottom smacked. If he does something that he KNOWS he is not supposed to do after being told NOT to do it, he will probably get a spanking. For sure, after he gets a spanking, Mommy and Daddy will talk to him and tell him why we don't want him to do whatever action caused the spanking and then tell him that we love him. I don't want to raise my child to fear me. Granted, a little fear in the sense of discipline is beneficial, but I don't want him terrified of his parents. I just don't believe in using spanking as the only form of discipline.

So, what are your thoughts? Any suggestions to get the boy to stop screaming?? lol The ignoring is working, but it hasn't conquered the screaming yet. Anyway, that is my soapbox.....

The goings on.....

Well, I need to blog about the things that are going on lately....

So, here goes. I am going to attempt to make this brief because it is after midnight and I need to get to bed, but I have a tendancy to go on and on about things, so we shall see.....lol

August has been fun so far. Not a whole lot happened in the beginning of the month, but the last few days have been kind of crazy! Heather left for Sam Houston State on Thursday, so this past week was spent helping her get ready and spending time with her before she left. We capped off our time together with a traditional trip to the movies! We saw Pineapple Express and it was EFFING AWESOME!!! Hahaha it was SO funny! lol After she was officially out of the house, my Mom and I started transforming her old room into my new room! We had to prime the walls, paint them, paint the ceiling and trim and doors, fix the bed, get all of my stuff moved in and set up. I am finally completely in my new room and I am LOVING it!!!! I FINALLY have space for all of my stuff and it is such a relief! Brandon's room was getting cramped and his rapid accumilation of toys was not helping matters much. So, I am finally in my own space and things are SO much more peaceful!!! Yay!

I start school tomorrow!!!! I CANNOT wait!!!!! I am so excited to be able to start working on the main reason that I moved to Texas for the duration of the deployment in the first place. Is that sentence correct?? I can't tell, and I am too tired to analyze it too much. Anyway, I start school tomorrow! I am taking 4 classes this semester, and luckily they are all in the evening so Brandon doesn't have to be in daycare. On Mondays and Wednesdays I am taking Speech from 6-7:30. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I am taking History and Psychology from 6-7:30 and 7:50-9:10 respectively. On Fridays, I am taking Intro to Education from 6-9:10. So, I am hoping that almost everynight I will be home to put Brandon to bed. I am sure there will be some nights that he is already asleep, but I am going to try to be home before he goes to sleep everynight. My mom is going to watch Brandon while I am at school! I love the he is able to stay in his environment and doesn't have to be put in daycare while I am in school. My mom is under strict orders to video tape as much as she can. :) I hate the idea of not being with him for such a long stretch of time in the evenings, but I think it will end up being good for both of us in the long run. He's so wonderful, I hate to be away from him even for a second. Is it strange to miss your baby when they are sleeping??? lol Not enough to wake him up, but I do miss him when he is sleeping. :)

Oh, see? Did you catch me rambling that last paragraph??? lol Told you.

Well, I am REALLY tired and I need to get to bed. So, that is all for now. I may add to this blog later, but that's it for now folks! Try to return to your regularly scheduled life. I know that my life is so fascinating and it will be hard. Hahaha....ok, for real....goodnight!!!!

"Da-da!"

From B's old myspace page:

I said my second word today!!!!!!!!

I was playing on my tummy mat and Mommy had that video camera in my face again. While I was playing, I said Dada!!!!! I had been TRYING to say that one for awhile, but I couldn't get it out. I finally did, and Mommy was able to video tape it for Dada! So, yay for me!!!!!!!!!