I am a full time working mom. I wake up at 5:30 most mornings, get ready for the day, go to work 'til midafternoon and continue my role as a mom and wife. It is not easy. I don't have time for many things, one of those unfortunately is time for friendships. It is something that I have struggled with for a long time. When I am actually home from work, I choose to spend my time with my husband and my son. I am 100% okay with that. I am perfectly okay with staying at home with my family. I don't need to go out with girlfriends. I don't need to occupy myself with groups of moms with little ones. I don't need to meet up with friends. I am happy coming home to a toy-filled house to make dinner for my family and relax (ha! when do I ever relax) while watching One Tree Hill with Grant. I am okay with that!
I have recently learned a little bit about myself that has startled me...just a little bit. I am not really 100% "okay" with all that. I see so many friends online with all their girlfriends. I go to church and most moms all chitchat in the halls with their kiddos. I go to church and sit by myself because I am "okay" with that, but really I am not "okay" with that. I don't have a lot to relate to these woman. Most of these woman are almost or at their thirties. Their husbands have college degrees and good enough jobs that they get to stay home with their kiddos and not work. It's normal to not shower 'til noon. Most women take their kids to the park or pack a sack lunch to enjoy outside. Most get together with other moms and take day trips with their kiddos. I don't get that right now in my life, and although I am "okay" with that, I am not really "okay" with that. I would love to get together with other moms and talk about what is stressing me out in life, laugh at silly things my kids did, cry with them about worries we have....but I don't.
When other husbands were on church missions and in college, my husband was in the United States Army fighting for our country. When other husbands were interning at some corporate office, my husband was in Iraq hoping he would make it home. Yes, we are both 26. You would think that our lives would be on the mend of starting to all even out and calm down with the "standard" of what life would be like. I have been working to help with our family. Grant is starting a new job next week (Heavenly Father, you are so good to us!). Other factors have come into our lives to help us be where we are right now and for that, I am "okay" with being a stay at home while I watch other moms get to stay at home. I will get my time. I am "okay" with my family being my rock and sometimes slippery stone, but without my family I would not be who I am today. I know that even though I don't have what all those other moms have, I am important in this world but most importantly as a mom and wife. As a working mom, I have a stronger sense of purpose. My role as being a mom is not any better or worse for being a working mom. It is not any better or any worse because I wasn't able to do all those things with Hutson. I am so grateful for my husband! I am grateful that he is my best friend and the one that makes me "okay" with staying home when I get off work.
*Now please don't get me wrong here. I am not asking for any sympathy. I am bearing my heart out to the fact that lifestyles are different. Our desires and wants are all different, but in the end we are all trying to make it work for ourselves and our families.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Christmas in Nebraska
Before we left for our week long Christmas adventure in freezing Nebraska, we did a few things around the local area. Last year Hutson was only a month old so it was fun to introduce him to the Christmas festivities and start some of our Christmas traditions.
Grant's Aunt Nancy lives up near Omaha, NE. Her kids and all the Joyner's joined together for a memorable week of Christmas. My in laws have a 40 ft RV that we were going to drive up in, but decided due to the unknown with the weather that we would end up driving up there and stay in a hotel for the week. We (mostly me) were worried what it would be like driving ten hours with a one year old. With numerous requests for advice and prayers, Hutson did very well! On the drive there he slept most the morning and ended up watching Despicable Me about three times while in and out of a couple cat naps. I was totally ANTI entertaining my children with technology, but desperate times come for desperate measures and it worked out great! I also was panicking because Hutson (mostly myself) are on a schedule. We have a certain way to do mornings and an even more certain way we do bedtime. How was I going to do this while sharing a hotel room with four other people and not actually get back to the hotel for three or more hours after his normal bedtime?! I just had to go with the flow and considering there were three other cousins for Hutson to play with, there was no way he would have allowed bedtime to have been around the normal 7:30pm. I learned to let it go, and was blessed when we returned from a crazy week with Hutson stepping right back into his routine (for the most part).
It was really nice to spend time with Grant's family whom we don't get to see too often. I come from a family where holidays mean time in the kitchen telling stories, making food, and eating way too many sweets. It was so nice to have just that. Most of the week was spent talking with one another, watching Christmas movies, and eating way too much delicious food.
Christmas is always different for me considering Grant's family does Christmas so much different than I grew up with (I'm sure I'm not the only one that married into different traditions). We would always get new pajamas Christmas Eve. We read the nativity story out of the Bible and go to bed. The first person up Christmas morning has to wake up everyone else. Once everyone is awake we go to the family room where all the presents are and separate presents amongst ourselves. We open our presents. The middle of the room is a mess with ribbon, bags, wrapping paper all over the place. We show off our presents, eat our traditional breakfast casserole, and spend the rest of the day with one another until Christmas dinner. All of our Christmas morning pictures show us with crazy bedhead hair and groggy faces. Grant's family always gets up for the day, gets dressed, has their traditional breakfast, separates presents amongst themselves, then goes in a circle opening one present at a time. Its a much longer celebration, but it is nice to have another way of Christmas celebration.
This year for Christmas was nothing less of a crazy hectic Christmas day with things never going the way they were planned, but lots of memories made. Brunch was planned for 10am, but of course we didn't end up eating 'til 11. It was their traditional eggs with shrimp sauce, grits and cheese, with delicious muffins (a Joyner tradition). The opening of presents didn't start 'til around 1 or so. It was so much fun opening presents with so much family around. It was quite an event considering there were so many presents to open. This year I decided to do homemade gifts considering we were really tight on money. I noticed this time around, I was so much more anxious for everyone else to open their presents than I was to open mine. I was blessed with great in laws who always know me so well when it comes to gifts (a brand new KitchenAid mixer!!!), and a husband who buys me exactly what I want each year (a bigger Coach bag so I can forgo the monster diaper bag).
The day after Christmas we went to the Omaha zoo, which was incredibly impressive. It was so nice to spend the week with family. It is such a blessing to have married into such great people who are so Christ-like in their love for family and making time for one another. No one is perfect, we each have our flaws, but it is nice to come together.
We went to downtown McKinney.
Everyone has to have their screaming Santa picture, Hutson included.
Of course, he wasn't scared of mean 'ole green Grinch. That's our Hutson for ya.
All dressed up at our ward Christmas party.
Grant's Aunt Nancy lives up near Omaha, NE. Her kids and all the Joyner's joined together for a memorable week of Christmas. My in laws have a 40 ft RV that we were going to drive up in, but decided due to the unknown with the weather that we would end up driving up there and stay in a hotel for the week. We (mostly me) were worried what it would be like driving ten hours with a one year old. With numerous requests for advice and prayers, Hutson did very well! On the drive there he slept most the morning and ended up watching Despicable Me about three times while in and out of a couple cat naps. I was totally ANTI entertaining my children with technology, but desperate times come for desperate measures and it worked out great! I also was panicking because Hutson (mostly myself) are on a schedule. We have a certain way to do mornings and an even more certain way we do bedtime. How was I going to do this while sharing a hotel room with four other people and not actually get back to the hotel for three or more hours after his normal bedtime?! I just had to go with the flow and considering there were three other cousins for Hutson to play with, there was no way he would have allowed bedtime to have been around the normal 7:30pm. I learned to let it go, and was blessed when we returned from a crazy week with Hutson stepping right back into his routine (for the most part).
It was really nice to spend time with Grant's family whom we don't get to see too often. I come from a family where holidays mean time in the kitchen telling stories, making food, and eating way too many sweets. It was so nice to have just that. Most of the week was spent talking with one another, watching Christmas movies, and eating way too much delicious food.
Christmas is always different for me considering Grant's family does Christmas so much different than I grew up with (I'm sure I'm not the only one that married into different traditions). We would always get new pajamas Christmas Eve. We read the nativity story out of the Bible and go to bed. The first person up Christmas morning has to wake up everyone else. Once everyone is awake we go to the family room where all the presents are and separate presents amongst ourselves. We open our presents. The middle of the room is a mess with ribbon, bags, wrapping paper all over the place. We show off our presents, eat our traditional breakfast casserole, and spend the rest of the day with one another until Christmas dinner. All of our Christmas morning pictures show us with crazy bedhead hair and groggy faces. Grant's family always gets up for the day, gets dressed, has their traditional breakfast, separates presents amongst themselves, then goes in a circle opening one present at a time. Its a much longer celebration, but it is nice to have another way of Christmas celebration.
This year for Christmas was nothing less of a crazy hectic Christmas day with things never going the way they were planned, but lots of memories made. Brunch was planned for 10am, but of course we didn't end up eating 'til 11. It was their traditional eggs with shrimp sauce, grits and cheese, with delicious muffins (a Joyner tradition). The opening of presents didn't start 'til around 1 or so. It was so much fun opening presents with so much family around. It was quite an event considering there were so many presents to open. This year I decided to do homemade gifts considering we were really tight on money. I noticed this time around, I was so much more anxious for everyone else to open their presents than I was to open mine. I was blessed with great in laws who always know me so well when it comes to gifts (a brand new KitchenAid mixer!!!), and a husband who buys me exactly what I want each year (a bigger Coach bag so I can forgo the monster diaper bag).
It was such a blessing to have a week off work to spend wit this handsome boy.
Hutson loved playing with other kids.
Hutson's First Birthday
At Christmas I was kindly reminded (cough, Aunt Nancy, cough, cough!) that I haven't updated this blog in quite some time. The baby is in bed, the husband is at his cousin's house, and the house is cleaned from the crazy day we had; therefore, its time to blog!
Our big boy turned one towards the end of last year. I am so blessed to be Hutson's mother. He is such a sweet boy who is constantly reminding me to keep things simple and take advantage of my family and the time I have on Earth.
We had a birthday party the day before Hutson turned one. Lots of friends and family were there to share the day together. Hutson made out with some pretty awesome toys and cute clothes. We are so blessed to have so many good people around us.
Our big boy turned one towards the end of last year. I am so blessed to be Hutson's mother. He is such a sweet boy who is constantly reminding me to keep things simple and take advantage of my family and the time I have on Earth.
We had a birthday party the day before Hutson turned one. Lots of friends and family were there to share the day together. Hutson made out with some pretty awesome toys and cute clothes. We are so blessed to have so many good people around us.
My favorite decoration was the pictures on the fire place with pictures of him through the first year. It was so cool to see the changes in him.
I feel really silly posting about this, but thought I needed to add it so one day I could laugh at myself. I have always decorated with elephants with Hutson. His room has matching elephant curtains and bedding. He has about six or so elephant stuffed animals and most his toys somehow correlate to elephants. Well when Hutson was about six months old I found this elephant birthday cake that I just fell IN LOVE with! It was really simple and I thought it would be easy to order. I didn't care about anything with his birthday as long as I had this cake! Of course I waited 'til the last minute to order all of the decorations for the birthday party and waited even longer to get his cake ordered. I went to multiple places to get price quotes. All of them could get the cake made for me, but they all quoted me between $200 and $400 (Mind you, I wanted the smallest cake possible and it was just fondant with a simple elephant, and a few other small decorations on it.). I was floored by the cost of such a simple cake! Grant was out of town this weekend so he was out of touch to talk. I had to make this big decision without him. Poor guy, when he came home Sunday night the first thing I said to him was the news about the cake, and of course I started crying like a mad woman. He has always been so good about noticing when things are important to me and allowing it to happen whether we have the time or money for it. He told me to go ahead and order the cake wherever I could get it in time for the party. He knew how important it was for me, but of course I came to my senses and realized that it was absurd to spend that much money on a gosh darn birthday cake for a kid who isn't going to care about it let alone remember what his first birthday cake was. He was so confused as to why it was a big deal, but to me this meant the world. I see so many of my friends (and Pinterest) who have these perfect parties for their children, and I felt like this cake would make it perfect.
After all the headache and stress, we ended up getting the most perfect cupcake cake in the shape of an elephant. As silly as it was, it was an answer to my prayers and a lesson learned. I learned a valuable lesson to never compare my doings or my mothering to any of those around me. I am the best mom for Hutson, and I need to keep it simple!
Hutson's favorite toy from his GREAT Aunt Becky!
The end result: Elephant cupcake cake
For some reason I gave him the chocolate cupcake instead of the vanilla one.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Half a year already!
Holy moly, my kiddo is already six months old! Where in the world has time gone. Before I had Hutson I always heard from people "Be careful, they grow up way too fast." How is it that time went by much slower before we had Hutson and now I blink and he's sitting up on his own.
We went to the doctor the other day and these are his recent stats:
Weight: 16 lbs 13 oz (36%ile)
Height: 26.25 inches (42%ile)
Head Circum: 16.5 inches (8%ile)
Hutson's development:
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| What a handsome little guy! |
Weight: 16 lbs 13 oz (36%ile)
Height: 26.25 inches (42%ile)
Head Circum: 16.5 inches (8%ile)
Hutson's development:
- Hutson started sitting up on his own this week. He gets so proud of himself that he starts flapping his arms and either ends up falling forwards or backward. I love watching himself be so proud.
- Hutson can roll over back-to-front and front-to-back, but it doesn't do anything for him. He knows he can do this and that's about as far as we get. He doesn't choose to do it. We talked to the doctor about it and since he can do it she isn't worried. Most mornings we find him on his belly facing the opposite direction we put him in. He sure is mobile.
- Hutson scoots himself across our bed. I don't think it will take too much to get him to start crawling.
- The hemangioma on his forehead is looking better. We go to the dermatologist every two months to monitor it. So far it's not growing. In the next couple months we will be starting on a steroid cream to slowly stop the growth.
- He loves eating big boy food. We started with the level one bananas, apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, and pears. He started off eating at dinner time. This last week started on level two foods and he is much happier with it because he kind of has to chew it a little bit more. It's not straight liquid.
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| Yummy carrots! |
- He loves sitting in his Baby Einstein play set. He loves scooting himself around the circle and seeing all the toys. He's figured out that he can pull out one of the rings and bang it on everything else. He is hilarious in this thing! He jumps up and down and gets so excited that he pushes off the ground and leans back to fling his body.
- He loves attention! He grins at strangers and shows off his dimples. He makes everyone he sees so happy. I truly think this is such a talent of his at such a young age. I'm sure most babies have that talent, but there is something about Hutson that is so therapeutic. Depending on the person he will get giggly and smiley. I love watching him change the moods of strangers. He does the same thing for all of us.
- Hutson loves to be outside. He is perfectly fine with being outside in the sun with his sunglasses on. We try to keep him in the shade as best we can, but he insists with being in the sun. I can't wait for it to be a little bit warmer so we can put him in the pool. We went to Tyler State Park last weekend and while Grant went out on a boat we just sat under the trees and watched people and nature. It was so relaxing! Hutson was so happy even though he didn't have many toys with him.
Watching Daddy play soccer - Hutson LOVES his Daddy! I absolutely adore watching these two together. Grant lives his life now for this little guy. Hutson knows that Grant is the playful one. He will giggle and laugh and screech. There is nothing better than hearing them across the house play with each other. Their relationship is something so special.
- He loves his Bauer boy. They are best friends. Every night Bauer sits at the front door because he can hear Hutson, but he can also hear us. Bauer always gets on the bed and makes sure that he's right next to Hutson. Hutson then proceeds to grab Bauer with both his hands. He pulls handfuls of hair out. Also as much as we try to stop it, Bauer licks the heck out of Hutson's face and Hutson just sits there with a smile on his face.
- When this boy is hungry he wants to be fed like ten minutes ago. He's not very patient. He just looks with this stare as he's crying like "Why don't you understand me!?"
- He does not like grass! When we take him to Grant's soccer games we keep trying to put him on the grass, but he screams every time.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Two years down and eternity to go!
Today marks our second anniversary and I couldn't be any happier. What a life we have had in the past year, let alone two years. What a crazy up and down life we have. What memories we have created. The tears we have shed together, the laughs we have had together, the jokes and the life changing events who have made us such a great couple.
I remember the night before Grant and I got married. I never was nervous. I never had a doubt in my mind what was before me. I was so anxious to spend the rest of my life waking up to him and never having to say good bye.
Our first year of marriage was full of nonstop events causing time to fly by! We moved into our neighbors basement, packed up all of our stuff and moved from Washington to Texas (I had no idea what I was getting myself into), moved in with my in-laws, moved into our first real place together (I loved that apartment!), got a dog because we had no plans to get pregnant (ha!), and found out we were pregnant. My wonderful in-laws surprised us with a hotel on the water in San Antonio for our first wedding anniversary. We had plans to go, do, and see so much while we were there, but instead relaxed and walked around the water while spoiling ourselves with way too much delicious food.
My coworker recently asked me what our plans for our anniversary were this year. I had absolutely no idea. Grant and I planned to go to Galveston just the two of us. I was going to surprise Grant with a fishing expedition and a relaxing weekend at the beach. Having a baby has definitely put a little bit of a damper on being able to pick up and go without thinking about it. I would never change it for anything, but because my in-laws were going to be out of town (free babysitters) and Grant had drill both this last weekend and next we decided to move our weekend getaway for later this summer. Last night we still had no idea what we were going to do today, and for some reason I was totally okay with it.
Grant and I have never been big planners or needed much to occupy ourselves. That is one thing that I am grateful for. Just being together makes us happy and content. This morning Hutson woke us up at 6:30am (much earlier than normal). I fed him and the three of us cuddled together in bed for another hour and a half. Grant spoiled me by getting us donuts for breakfast. I gave Grant his card and a gift to him to get his CHL. He has been wanting it so bad! We laid in bed while watching Private Practice (Yes, I have watched almost two whole seasons in the last three days. That's what happens when the husband is out of town). I asked Grant if we could go out to lunch, but he was way too anxious to get me my anniversary gift. He told me that I needed to pick it out. We left the house and my mind was running through ideas of what he could be getting me. Note to anyone that knows Grant: he CANNOT keep secrets! I was impressed. We headed down 121 and into Allen. He told me he didn't really know where the place was but we would figure it out. The outlet stores are in Allen and the only one we ever shop at is the Coach store (my addiction!). He told me I could get anything in the store. I ended up getting a diaper bag (surprise, surprise!). The rest of the day we spent walking around the outlet mall, dealing with a baby who had his first blowout diaper (boy was he angry!), bought Grant some new soccer shoes in exchange for getting his CHL, then headed home to waste a couple hours until our surprise dinner. Grant surprised me with a DELICIOUS dinner at Jinbah (a Japanese hibachi restaurant). He spoiled me with lobster and filet mignon dinner. What a stud he!
Yes, I am impressed by the amount of effort Grant put into today. But at the end of today, while Hutson is asleep in his room and Grant is gone playing in a soccer game, I reflect on how none of those materialistic things matter to me or made my day as great as it was. I don't need any "thing" to make me happy. I don't need any trip or any amount of money to make me happy. Grant and I don't have a lot of money right now due to lots of bills from the past couple months, but today it didn't matter. Today, I am reminded just how blessed I am to have such a thoughtful and amazing husband. I know that almost any women can write this as they reflect on their spouse, but I feel the need to do it myself.
I have a husband who has gone through amazing trials in his life. He sacrificed years of his life to fight in the Army, who continues to sacrifice years of his life in the Army to take care of his family's health needs. Those years of trial and anguish still haunt him and probably always will. He has been teased, embarrassed, and manipulated for his beliefs and morals. He has stood up for himself and our family when times have tested us. He has needed a shoulder to cry on and constant words of encouragement, but at the end of the day he is my hero. He is my best friend and my constant companion. I don't need any fancy day or fancy gifts. Laying on the couch, watching TV, laughing at silly faces our son makes, playing fetch with our dog...those are the moments that remind me just how lucky I am. Those are the moments that remind me why I married him. They are the moments that I hope we continue to have for eternity.
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| April 28, 2012 - Sealed in the Seattle, WA temple I had no idea what my future with this man could bring! |
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| April 28, 2013 - Anniversary trip to San Antonio A month and a half pregnant with Hutson boy. |
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| April 28, 2014 - Anniversary dinner Baby slobber and a purse full of toys is my new life. |
Our first year of marriage was full of nonstop events causing time to fly by! We moved into our neighbors basement, packed up all of our stuff and moved from Washington to Texas (I had no idea what I was getting myself into), moved in with my in-laws, moved into our first real place together (I loved that apartment!), got a dog because we had no plans to get pregnant (ha!), and found out we were pregnant. My wonderful in-laws surprised us with a hotel on the water in San Antonio for our first wedding anniversary. We had plans to go, do, and see so much while we were there, but instead relaxed and walked around the water while spoiling ourselves with way too much delicious food.
My coworker recently asked me what our plans for our anniversary were this year. I had absolutely no idea. Grant and I planned to go to Galveston just the two of us. I was going to surprise Grant with a fishing expedition and a relaxing weekend at the beach. Having a baby has definitely put a little bit of a damper on being able to pick up and go without thinking about it. I would never change it for anything, but because my in-laws were going to be out of town (free babysitters) and Grant had drill both this last weekend and next we decided to move our weekend getaway for later this summer. Last night we still had no idea what we were going to do today, and for some reason I was totally okay with it.
Grant and I have never been big planners or needed much to occupy ourselves. That is one thing that I am grateful for. Just being together makes us happy and content. This morning Hutson woke us up at 6:30am (much earlier than normal). I fed him and the three of us cuddled together in bed for another hour and a half. Grant spoiled me by getting us donuts for breakfast. I gave Grant his card and a gift to him to get his CHL. He has been wanting it so bad! We laid in bed while watching Private Practice (Yes, I have watched almost two whole seasons in the last three days. That's what happens when the husband is out of town). I asked Grant if we could go out to lunch, but he was way too anxious to get me my anniversary gift. He told me that I needed to pick it out. We left the house and my mind was running through ideas of what he could be getting me. Note to anyone that knows Grant: he CANNOT keep secrets! I was impressed. We headed down 121 and into Allen. He told me he didn't really know where the place was but we would figure it out. The outlet stores are in Allen and the only one we ever shop at is the Coach store (my addiction!). He told me I could get anything in the store. I ended up getting a diaper bag (surprise, surprise!). The rest of the day we spent walking around the outlet mall, dealing with a baby who had his first blowout diaper (boy was he angry!), bought Grant some new soccer shoes in exchange for getting his CHL, then headed home to waste a couple hours until our surprise dinner. Grant surprised me with a DELICIOUS dinner at Jinbah (a Japanese hibachi restaurant). He spoiled me with lobster and filet mignon dinner. What a stud he!
Yes, I am impressed by the amount of effort Grant put into today. But at the end of today, while Hutson is asleep in his room and Grant is gone playing in a soccer game, I reflect on how none of those materialistic things matter to me or made my day as great as it was. I don't need any "thing" to make me happy. I don't need any trip or any amount of money to make me happy. Grant and I don't have a lot of money right now due to lots of bills from the past couple months, but today it didn't matter. Today, I am reminded just how blessed I am to have such a thoughtful and amazing husband. I know that almost any women can write this as they reflect on their spouse, but I feel the need to do it myself.
I have a husband who has gone through amazing trials in his life. He sacrificed years of his life to fight in the Army, who continues to sacrifice years of his life in the Army to take care of his family's health needs. Those years of trial and anguish still haunt him and probably always will. He has been teased, embarrassed, and manipulated for his beliefs and morals. He has stood up for himself and our family when times have tested us. He has needed a shoulder to cry on and constant words of encouragement, but at the end of the day he is my hero. He is my best friend and my constant companion. I don't need any fancy day or fancy gifts. Laying on the couch, watching TV, laughing at silly faces our son makes, playing fetch with our dog...those are the moments that remind me just how lucky I am. Those are the moments that remind me why I married him. They are the moments that I hope we continue to have for eternity.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Four lovely months into this journey
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| Such a handsome little guy! |
Here's little man's stats from his appointment last week:
- Weight: 13 lbs 10.5 oz (27%tile)
- Height: 24.5 in (36%ile)
- Head Circum: 15.75 in (7%ile)
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| I'm so hungry! |
Likes:- He loves to be changed and he loves to be naked! As soon as you put him on the changing table he immediately starts to smile. If for some reason he is crying and upset, you put on the table and VOILA we've got a changed kid.
- He loves to be talked to. This has started in the last couple days. He wants to have conversations all day long with people. With Grant and I, he'll start conversations and keep going. With others it takes him a while to get started. He seems to read people before he gives them the go ahead with any facial or verbal response.
- He loves to stand up and sit up. If he could stand up all the time he would. If he starts to get a little fussy, stand him up. As for sitting up, it won't be much longer til he is sitting up completely on his own. When he lays down he is constantly moving his neck upward so he can sit. Also, when you put him in his car seat. He will sit up, but realizes it's not too comfortable.
- He loves his ball. We got him this new ball a couple weeks ago and boy has it become his favorite. It used to be the purple cow toy, but he has since upgraded. He falls asleep with it in his hands. He has to have it with him in the car seat.
- When he is really tired he wants his binkie. I'm hoping we can keep it this way. I don't mind him having it when he's tired and ready to fall asleep. Let's hope it stays that way!
- When he's really tired he likes to be swaddled. It's actually a necessity for him to fall asleep. I know it is something we need to stop doing here in the near future due to the almost rolling over deal, but I don't really want to jump through that hoop quite yet.
- He loves to be on this toy mat. He loves pulling down the animals and putting them in his mouth. He thinks it's so cool to pull one animal down with this feet and another with his hands. This boy LOVES playing with his feet. Anything that gets near his feet is pulled/touched/felt.
- He LOVES his feet being touched/rubbed. It calms him down and flat out relaxes him to a tee. He is a little ticklish at first, but once you start rubbing them he gives a deep sigh of relief.
- He is starting to like tummy time. This has been a HUGE battle since day one. We didn't do it often because it ruined the whole day. Literally the moment you put him on his belly he would just scream. When you would pick him up he would continue to scream. It lasted FOREVER. Totally not worth it for us. We had him on his belly on our chests (the doctors told us this counts just as much) and called that good enough. Now it's a much better experience. He especially loves tummy time on our bed (I don't blame him. It's much softer than the rug.). He will crawl/scoot his way all over our bed. There is normally a drool trail all over the bed. He looks up for us, smiles and then lays his head flat on the bed like "Mom, aren't you proud of me?! But now that you believe I can do it, I think I'm done for now." It's the cutest thing.
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| He's going to be a soccer player like Daddy. |
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| He's so proud of himself when he hits the buttons and makes the music play. |
Dislikes:
- There isn't much right now that he doesn't like. He is pretty content throughout the day unless he is hungry or tired. He does not like to be ignored and has started freaking out when you walk away from him. He follows your every move and if your out of view he starts crying.
- He likes his new jumper, but after awhile gets upset in it. I think it's mostly because he gets bored of where he is out, notices there are other toys around it, but gets frustrated because he can't figure out how to get to it.
- This kid is seriously going to keep our life interesting! He is the funniest kid and has the biggest attitude already. When he drinks his bottle he always folds his hands and places them on his chest. He is SO proper! It's like he is sitting politely (even though he is normally not too polite or patient) waiting for his supper. Well recently, he has started to hold onto the bottle. He wants to be a big kid so bad. He puts both his hands around the bottle and kind of pushes my hands out of the way like "Mom, I've got this." When that happens he stops drinking all together and just plays with the nipple. Half the time I let that go because I want him to figure out independence. Other times, I tell him it's my turn. At that point, I have to hold the bottle with one hand and hold down his hands with the other. It's quite an obstacle at times.
- He is 100% boy. He loves to be rough and tough with Daddy. Grant has recently discovered that Hutson LOVES to messed around with. Grant will grab his legs while he's on his back and turn him over facing the bed, quickly turn him back facing him, turn the other way facing the bed, and back to facing him again. Hutson laughs and smiles the entire time! He loves his Daddy because he is much more playful than me. Grant loves this stage. He admitted to me that he is much more excited for this stage because he is more responsive/interactive. Before Hutson just ate, peed, pooped, slept, and sat there. Now Grant loves to talk and play with him.
- He is unbelievably happy! The last couple of nights I have put him to bed, laid myself in bed and just ponder at how incredibly blessed I am to be his mom. We had some rough patches when he was two months old, but man he is the greatest kid (Yes, I know you all say the same thing. It's okay - I won't argue with you because I understand it comes with the territory). He loves me unconditionally. When days have been difficult at work or I have a negative thought all I need to do is look at that boy. My whole attitude changes. He lights up when he sees me. Especially when I have been at work all day. His dimpled smile melts my heart! He is very much an old soul kind of guy. When people see him they don't get much out of him, but it's because he soaks everything in. He reads people and environments. He takes everything in. When he gets comfortable you better watch out because your heart will melt just as much as mine has.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
A mothers job is never done
Boy has it been a day. I feel the need to document this so one day I can laugh at what I went through...
Last week Hutson was much more crankier than normal. Monday and Tuesday were rough days. He had this cough, but we didn't think much of it. Wednesday it was much worse so I had Grant call the doctor. He just did not seem like himself. They gave us an appointment for that evening. It was the one night that our pediatrician works late nights. (Blessing number 1) I had gotten off work at 5 and his appointment was at 5:40 so I had literally been going all day with that alone. Poor Hutson was diagnosed with RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). Dr. Dollins told us that sadly there wasn't much we could do for it except to wait for it to go away. That's the joy of a virus! She had us focus on his breathing and wheezing. If he were to wheeze or breathe hard for a consistent 30 minutes then to have us bring him back into the doctor. This nasty thing could last up to a month long. She sent us home with the request to keep the humidifier on at night, keep him elevated, and to try whatever you could to make him more comfortable.
We left the doctor, got groceries because we were on the verge of absolutely bare cabinets, got Grant some dinner and headed home. We were supposed to hang out with our friends Kayla and Ethan that night, but decided that might not be a good idea. In the drive thru getting Grant's dinner I had a complete meltdown. My poor little baby was so sick. I could hear him in the back seat just coughing and moaning because it hurt to cough. For the first time in these last three months I realized what it was like to be a mom with the sacrifice and pain you go through. I would do anything to take this sickness from him and have it ten-fold myself. My first thought was to have Grant utilize his Priesthood and give Hutson a blessing. I texted Kayla and they headed over to help give Hutson a blessing of healing (For those of you not familiar with blessings or much of our LDS faith, we believe that the worthy men of our church are given the opportunity to bless those in need. This blessing in particular is meant to heal the sick. It is amazing the power given to these men through our Heavenly Father. I have seen these blessings heal people when there was no medical way possible).
Thursday I only worked a half day so I could get enough work done for Monday. I had already taken off Friday because Grant had drill Friday-Sunday. Thankfully my mom came over Thursday night-Saturday afternoon to help while Grant was gone. Friday the wheezing got really bad. I called the doctors office and sure enough they wanted us to come back in. We made an appointment for that afternoon. They tested his oxygen level. It was at 98% so they were not too worried. They tried a breathing treatment on him. Dr. Dollins said that most the time it doesn't do anything for babies, but it was worth a try. She listened to him breathe, we gave him the breathing treatment, and she came in to listen to his breathing again. She was impressed with the difference. We were sent home with a nebulizer machine and medication for it. We were told only ever 4 hours for the constant wheezing. If he was still wheezing then to try it with saline solution instead. Grant ended up coming home that evening (Blessing number 100). Saturday we got out of the house. We went to the SPCA to look at their dogs, got some lunch, had a picnic at the park, and relaxed at home. That evening his wheezing got much worse. We called the on-call nurse and they sent us to the Children's Hospital which is thankfully only ten minutes away from us. They tested his oxygen level again. It was constantly between 97-100%. The doctor came in and said that he didn't see any sign of pneumonia and sent us home. He told us only to worry if his breathing was about 70+ breaths/minute. It was the most refreshing thing to be sent home from the hospital with a sick baby (Blessing number 116).
Today we skipped church seeing as it was probably not smart to be around so many people with his low immune system. We went over to my in-laws and relaxed for the day. I made biscuits and bacon for breakfast, was able to take two quick naps thanks to a sleeping baby, and entertained myself on my Kindle (all things I really haven't been able to do since having this handsome boy). We decided around 4pm it was time to go home seeing as I had about four loads of laundry I needed to do before work tomorrow (towels, whites, Hutson's clothes, and the load of darks I had started Thursday night).
This is what I hope to one day laugh about....
We came home, and I immediately started folding a load of whites I had done earlier in the week. By that time the oven had already preheated. I put the pork chops in the pan, seasoned them, washed the sweet potato for me and the regular potato for Grant, put that in the microwave to cook and the pork in the oven. I went back to the couch to finish folding the clothes. By the time I was done folding, I had switched the laundry over, taken dinner out, cut the cucumbers and tomatoes, washed the salad, got both our plates ready and we sat down to eat. Of course the moment I sit down to eat, Hutson wants to either cuddle or eat himself. This time he wanted the first of the two. I hurried to scarf my food down so I could cuddle him with as little tears coming down his face. He decided it was time to take a nap. In the mean time I'm thinking, "I really hope I can get all the laundry done tonight...I need to put all the leftover dinner away and ready for my lunch tomorrow...I really hope tomorrow at work goes by fast....I hope Grant doesn't have a stressful day with Hutson...I wonder how my niece and nephew are doing today...Man I need to paint my toes again..." Seriously this and more were running through my mind as I'm keeping up on my latest Facebook and Instagram. Hutson wakes up from his nap, I hand him off to Grant so I can get bath time ready. Grant was going to take a bath with him in our soaker tub. I start the warm water, bring Hutson in my room, put Baby Einstein on my phone because he loves listening to the music. In the mean time Grant comes in and puts bubbles in the bath tub. I freak out because its not sensitive for Huton's baby skin. I empty the tub, start to put more water in, but no......no more hot water. Our light was out on the hot water heather. Grant tries to fix it. In the mean time I am putting important things on our new calendar while singing songs and laughing and talking with Hutson. We warm up just enough water to full just enough of the tub to give Hutson a bath. Quickly we give him a bath and start our bedtime routine after bath time. I give him a massage while Grant puts his hair up in his famous faux hawk and warms up his bottle. Oh man, I need to make sure that Hutson has his baby Tylenol before he eats (By the way, I am very against medicating my baby, but I feel like if he gets enough sleep at night he will get better that much sooner). Oh man, I need to put the blanket on the ground so as soon as I'm done feeding him I can wrap him up. Hutson has his pajamas on and he's in my arms feeding. I look around and gosh darn it I never filled up his humidifier. I'm also thinking "Man, I really hope that the towels actually dried this time...I hope Hutson eats enough so that he can sleep through the night. I really want some ice cream." Hutson finishes up eating, and I put him on my shoulder to burp.
This is my absolute favorite part...he cuddles up on my shoulder. He takes a deep sigh, and I can tell that he has relaxed and completely asleep. Then it all comes to me. I was made for this. I was made to have a thousand things go through my mind, stress out about all that needs to be done, but at the end of the day I was made to be his mom. I still cannot understand the immense feeling of love I have for Hutson, but I know that it is there and I wouldn't change it for the world. Today marks three months and I am so incredibly grateful for every single good and bad thing that has happened with this baby boy. I am grateful for his laugh that seriously makes me melt. His giggle and his voice when he tries to talk to me. I adore this handsome boy and wouldn't change my life one bit.
Last week Hutson was much more crankier than normal. Monday and Tuesday were rough days. He had this cough, but we didn't think much of it. Wednesday it was much worse so I had Grant call the doctor. He just did not seem like himself. They gave us an appointment for that evening. It was the one night that our pediatrician works late nights. (Blessing number 1) I had gotten off work at 5 and his appointment was at 5:40 so I had literally been going all day with that alone. Poor Hutson was diagnosed with RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). Dr. Dollins told us that sadly there wasn't much we could do for it except to wait for it to go away. That's the joy of a virus! She had us focus on his breathing and wheezing. If he were to wheeze or breathe hard for a consistent 30 minutes then to have us bring him back into the doctor. This nasty thing could last up to a month long. She sent us home with the request to keep the humidifier on at night, keep him elevated, and to try whatever you could to make him more comfortable.
We left the doctor, got groceries because we were on the verge of absolutely bare cabinets, got Grant some dinner and headed home. We were supposed to hang out with our friends Kayla and Ethan that night, but decided that might not be a good idea. In the drive thru getting Grant's dinner I had a complete meltdown. My poor little baby was so sick. I could hear him in the back seat just coughing and moaning because it hurt to cough. For the first time in these last three months I realized what it was like to be a mom with the sacrifice and pain you go through. I would do anything to take this sickness from him and have it ten-fold myself. My first thought was to have Grant utilize his Priesthood and give Hutson a blessing. I texted Kayla and they headed over to help give Hutson a blessing of healing (For those of you not familiar with blessings or much of our LDS faith, we believe that the worthy men of our church are given the opportunity to bless those in need. This blessing in particular is meant to heal the sick. It is amazing the power given to these men through our Heavenly Father. I have seen these blessings heal people when there was no medical way possible).
Thursday I only worked a half day so I could get enough work done for Monday. I had already taken off Friday because Grant had drill Friday-Sunday. Thankfully my mom came over Thursday night-Saturday afternoon to help while Grant was gone. Friday the wheezing got really bad. I called the doctors office and sure enough they wanted us to come back in. We made an appointment for that afternoon. They tested his oxygen level. It was at 98% so they were not too worried. They tried a breathing treatment on him. Dr. Dollins said that most the time it doesn't do anything for babies, but it was worth a try. She listened to him breathe, we gave him the breathing treatment, and she came in to listen to his breathing again. She was impressed with the difference. We were sent home with a nebulizer machine and medication for it. We were told only ever 4 hours for the constant wheezing. If he was still wheezing then to try it with saline solution instead. Grant ended up coming home that evening (Blessing number 100). Saturday we got out of the house. We went to the SPCA to look at their dogs, got some lunch, had a picnic at the park, and relaxed at home. That evening his wheezing got much worse. We called the on-call nurse and they sent us to the Children's Hospital which is thankfully only ten minutes away from us. They tested his oxygen level again. It was constantly between 97-100%. The doctor came in and said that he didn't see any sign of pneumonia and sent us home. He told us only to worry if his breathing was about 70+ breaths/minute. It was the most refreshing thing to be sent home from the hospital with a sick baby (Blessing number 116).
Today we skipped church seeing as it was probably not smart to be around so many people with his low immune system. We went over to my in-laws and relaxed for the day. I made biscuits and bacon for breakfast, was able to take two quick naps thanks to a sleeping baby, and entertained myself on my Kindle (all things I really haven't been able to do since having this handsome boy). We decided around 4pm it was time to go home seeing as I had about four loads of laundry I needed to do before work tomorrow (towels, whites, Hutson's clothes, and the load of darks I had started Thursday night).
This is what I hope to one day laugh about....
We came home, and I immediately started folding a load of whites I had done earlier in the week. By that time the oven had already preheated. I put the pork chops in the pan, seasoned them, washed the sweet potato for me and the regular potato for Grant, put that in the microwave to cook and the pork in the oven. I went back to the couch to finish folding the clothes. By the time I was done folding, I had switched the laundry over, taken dinner out, cut the cucumbers and tomatoes, washed the salad, got both our plates ready and we sat down to eat. Of course the moment I sit down to eat, Hutson wants to either cuddle or eat himself. This time he wanted the first of the two. I hurried to scarf my food down so I could cuddle him with as little tears coming down his face. He decided it was time to take a nap. In the mean time I'm thinking, "I really hope I can get all the laundry done tonight...I need to put all the leftover dinner away and ready for my lunch tomorrow...I really hope tomorrow at work goes by fast....I hope Grant doesn't have a stressful day with Hutson...I wonder how my niece and nephew are doing today...Man I need to paint my toes again..." Seriously this and more were running through my mind as I'm keeping up on my latest Facebook and Instagram. Hutson wakes up from his nap, I hand him off to Grant so I can get bath time ready. Grant was going to take a bath with him in our soaker tub. I start the warm water, bring Hutson in my room, put Baby Einstein on my phone because he loves listening to the music. In the mean time Grant comes in and puts bubbles in the bath tub. I freak out because its not sensitive for Huton's baby skin. I empty the tub, start to put more water in, but no......no more hot water. Our light was out on the hot water heather. Grant tries to fix it. In the mean time I am putting important things on our new calendar while singing songs and laughing and talking with Hutson. We warm up just enough water to full just enough of the tub to give Hutson a bath. Quickly we give him a bath and start our bedtime routine after bath time. I give him a massage while Grant puts his hair up in his famous faux hawk and warms up his bottle. Oh man, I need to make sure that Hutson has his baby Tylenol before he eats (By the way, I am very against medicating my baby, but I feel like if he gets enough sleep at night he will get better that much sooner). Oh man, I need to put the blanket on the ground so as soon as I'm done feeding him I can wrap him up. Hutson has his pajamas on and he's in my arms feeding. I look around and gosh darn it I never filled up his humidifier. I'm also thinking "Man, I really hope that the towels actually dried this time...I hope Hutson eats enough so that he can sleep through the night. I really want some ice cream." Hutson finishes up eating, and I put him on my shoulder to burp.
This is my absolute favorite part...he cuddles up on my shoulder. He takes a deep sigh, and I can tell that he has relaxed and completely asleep. Then it all comes to me. I was made for this. I was made to have a thousand things go through my mind, stress out about all that needs to be done, but at the end of the day I was made to be his mom. I still cannot understand the immense feeling of love I have for Hutson, but I know that it is there and I wouldn't change it for the world. Today marks three months and I am so incredibly grateful for every single good and bad thing that has happened with this baby boy. I am grateful for his laugh that seriously makes me melt. His giggle and his voice when he tries to talk to me. I adore this handsome boy and wouldn't change my life one bit.
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