A Few Christmas Photos

We're home from another trip out east to celebrate Christmas with my extended family. Here are a couple photos...I'll try to post some more once we finish unpacking and I find the digital camera cord!

My Dad's Parents with Justin

We were able to spend some time catching up with friends Alison and Dominic in Cleveland on the way.

Justin Learns About Hanukkah

Justin likes Daddy's new glasses.

We had a nice trip, although Justin has turned into a Stage 5 clinger. If I'm out of the room, he is completely fine being with anyone else. But, as soon as he catches a glimpse of me, he will start whining and will not be satisfied until he is back in my arms. Although it's nice to feel special, I do hope he grows out of this soon!

It was so fun to see Christmas through his little eyes. He, of course, loves Christmas trees, lights, and ripping wrapping paper. One of the funniest events was Justin getting a sheep skin from my grandparents. This was a strange family tradition that I never really understood until now. As soon as he saw it, he started cooing, petting it, and rolling all over it. Hilarious! Bill and I determined it was like cat nip for babies. :-) He also started taking a few steps...so far he can do 3 in a row. But, who knows when this will turn into full-fledged walking. He had taken a step or two when he was 9 months old, and then seemed to forget it all until he reached 11 months. :-) We hope you all enjoyed the holidays and wish you all the best in 2009!

Merry (early) Christmas!

Dear Friends and Family,

As Advent draws to a close and the words of “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel” reach their culmination, we pray that you open your hearts once again to the birth of the Christ Child within you. And, may you all know how much you are loved and appreciated throughout the coming new year.

With Love,
The Osmun Family

We get together with our friends from high school for a Friends Thanksgiving every year the Saturday after Turkey Day. Here's a photo of Heather, her daughter Nora, Justin, and I from that day.

Sleep Update

A couple weeks ago I blogged about Justin's sleep issues. Well, here's where we're at. Justin may cry for half a minute (but usually no longer) when we put him down. The amount of crying is greatly reduced if there is an exciting toy in the crib that he can play with until he wants to sleep. Lately, the favorite toy has been this plastic school bus that makes sounds when you press various buttons. He still won't sleep through the night. Out of his 10.5 months of life, he has only slept through the night for about a month (if I remember correctly). Usually he just wakes up once, but this depends on teething pains, sickness, extra hungriness during growth spurts, etc. After I feed him, he easily goes back to sleep. Getting him to sleep longer in the morning has been MUCH easier due to the fact that it is super dark at 6AM. Maybe I'll get some of those light blocking curtains for the spring. We no longer need to do daily baths (yay!), but he's on a nightly nebulizer (since the doc thinks he has asthma), so that gives him the same calming effect. He's definitely not great sleeping in strange places, but if we bring his space heater that helps a lot. Then we can get things to his comfortable temperature and the white noise is a MUST for this boy. We also had a lot of luck putting him to sleep in his sleep sack, but have started getting away from this, since now he trips on it trying to walk around his crib and bashes his head on the crib walls. Yikes! The warmed, footed pajamas are a nice replacement though. Things are still going relatively well!

Winter Fun

Justin Meets Prancer

Sledding with Daddy

Snow Bunny

Sharp Teeth

When my friend Kerry and I were little kids, our families went to the circus together. We kept pointing at the elephants and tigers, exclaiming "Sharp Teeth!" And that's about all I remember.

Now, Justin's 1st sharp tooth is emerging! Yes, up until now he was still a muppet baby. But, a couple days ago we felt the first little sharp point had broken through on the bottom and it's fun to watch it slowly turn into an actual tooth. Justin has also become much happier, now that it's broken through the skin. We thought for months he was going to get a tooth any day with all the drooling, chewing on anything, and wines of pain. Little did we know it wouldn't come till now (at 10.5 months old)! Poor Dad has been empathizing, as his wisdom teeth have been acting up. Bill actually took Justin's Baby Orajel in a moment of desperation and accidentally poured a little too much in his mouth, numbing the whole thing. Needless to say, there was a lot of poking fun at the big, bad football dude with the crazy lisp. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

From Chief Little Butt


* Another photo compliments of my mom.

Finally Healthy...Again

One of the most heartbreaking things as a parent is to see your child suffer. Justin came down with pneumonia 2 weeks ago and boy did it come on fast! Monday he woke up with a slight cough that you wouldn't think much of. But, since I have asthma and Justin had bronchiolitis a few months ago, I had fears the cough would go into his lungs. The next day I was unfortunately right, and that night we ended up at an Immediate Care facility after he puked like he'd never puked before…at the AT&T store. :-) Good thing everything ended up on me, and not their brand new carpet or that would have been pretty embarrassing! After a chest x-ray and an RSV nose-swap (that was negative), they made the bacterial pneumonia diagnosis and had to give him simultaneous shots in both legs. Supposedly, it is a very painful shot and stings when entering the blood stream. I've never seen him scream so hard, and that was my first piercing of the heart. Over the next week I saw my usually happy, energetic boy start constantly wimpering in pain, turn sluggish, and was covered multiple times a day in every bodily fluid. His fever rarely dropped below 102, unless we gave him Motrin which he would immediate throw up. And the coughing would shake his whole body anytime he moved. The worst part was that he wasn't getting any better and the doctors disagreed on what the actual sickness was! But, a week later his fever just disappeared and we started him back on the nebulizer treatments for his lungs. A week after that he could finally breathe well (no more congestion or fluid in the lungs), could hold down food, and wasn't continuously filling his diaper! Yay! My wonderful mom watched him during that second week (since he wasn't allowed to go back to daycare yet), held him down to give him his nebulizer treatments, helped clean my house when he was napping, and even brought us dinners. What a huge help! Bill's parents were also wonderful in giving us breaks, especially when I had to work evenings and weekends to make up hours. It is soooooooo hard to go to work when you know you have a sick baby at home. It's hard even when he's healthy, but when he's sick and I can't be there to hold him and pretend that my love is going to make him better…that's the worst.

Now that those LONG 2 weeks are over, he's back to his regular self! His personality has returned, as well as his energy and he's as determined as ever to start walking. It's like he's trying to make up for lost time. He pulls himself up on my fingers and immediately starts taking steps…and then gets mad when I stop to give my back a break. :-)

Favorite Baby Items

There are so many baby items I've been thankful for over the past 9 months, and I just wanted to list some of my favorites for the other parents out there or for people looking to buy baby shower presents. Here they are!

1) Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier: www.babybjorn.com
This carrier is a life saver in airports, crowded areas (like museums and festivals), and stores with cramped aisles.

2) Kiddopotamus Bibbity Rinse and Roll Bib: http://www.kiddopotamus.com/p_bib.php
Less laundry! Yay! This bib is made out of BPA-free plastic that can be easily rinsed clean in between feedings.

3) Evenflo 3-in-1 Exersaucer: http://www.evenflo.com/product.aspx?id=181&pfid=92
This exersaucer has entertained Justin for months. It transforms from tummy time, to before a child can stand on their own, to the walking stage.

4) Baby Einstein Seek & Discover Activity Gym: http://www.babyeinstein.com/en/products/product_explorer/?state=category
This is another item that has entertained Justin for months. It has bright, contrasting colors, a mirror, lights synchronized to music, a rattle, etc.

5) Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe: http://www.kiddopotamus.com/p_swad.php
This swaddler got us through Justin's first week home from the hospital. He wouldn't sleep unless he was swaddled tightly in this. It is made of soft fleece and is easily secured with velcro.

6) JJ Cole BundleMe: http://www.jjcoleusa.com/
This can be used until a child is 1 year old and easily straps onto an infant car seat. It acts as a jacket, so you don't have to go through the hassle of a real jacket.

7) Happy Heinys One Size Cloth Diapers: http://www.happyheinys.com/
I've posted about these before. A great money saver and easy to use and launder!

8) Nuby Nibbler: http://www.nuby.com/products/tableware/5360.aspx
This is great for food that may pose a choking hazard if eaten alone. You just put it inside the sock-like thing and it acts as a seive, so the baby only gets bite-sized pieces. Bananas and mangos are Justin's current favorites to eat in his Nibbler.

9) Sassy Aquatic Bobber: http://www.sassybaby.com/category?cattype=category&catid=23&productid=11&product=Aquatic%20Bobbers
These bath toys are so clever! They float, but if you push them down in the water they bubble. Then, when you lift them out of the water, it rains out of them. Justin also loves using the edges to teeth on, since they are made of a soft BPA-free plastic. They are also fun to shake, because they little animal in the middle is on a spring and jiggles.

10) Medela Advanced Pump In Style Breast Pump: www.medela.com
This extremely well made pump has allowed me to keep breastfeeding. This is not only wonderful for my son's health, but a huge money saver. Plus, the Medela bottles can attach to the pump so you can pump directly into them. So easy! Since I bought this pump, Medela came out with a new one...the Medela Freestyle. It costs a bit more than mine, but looks amazing.

11) Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags: http://www.lansinoh.com/index.php?src=directory&srctype=display&id=23&view=Products_detail
The Medela breastmilk bags are nice because you can pump directly into them. However, these Lansinoh bags are still my favorite! You can lay the bags flat in the freezer so they take up so much less space! And, they have a double zipper to protect your milk.

12) BabyTrend Snap N' Go: http://www.babytrend.com/products.php?CategoryID=0002.0004.0000.0000
This stroller is to be used with an infant car seat. The car seat snaps directly onto the stroller frame, which is super lightweight and takes up sooooo much less space than the regular strollers! It makes running errands with an infant a piece of cake.

13) Graco Jumpster Doorway Jumper: http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.aspx?modelNumber=8740JJB&subCatId=142
I think this has been Justin's absolute favorite toy! He's huge into jumping, and this jumper is easily to take off and put on.

14) Fisher-Price Healthy Care Booster Seat: http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Healthy-Care-Booster-Seat/dp/B0000DEW8N
We take this thing everywhere! Thanksgiving dinners, restaurants, etc. We know it's clean (well, at least we know who's been slobbering on it) and know Justin will have somewhere to sit while he eats.

Just a quick note...many of these items we bought used on Craigslist or Ebay and have still been thrilled with them. For example, the exersaucer costs over $120 brand new, but we were able to buy it for $30! It looked like it had barely been used, even though we found out 2 kids had grown out of it.

Justin's Halloween Costume

Happy Halloween!

Fun in Grandpa's Boat

9 Month Update

Justin in Daddy's First Football Jersey

Justin and Mommy in a Petting Zoo

Well, Justin turns 9 months old next week! I can't believe it! Here's what we've been up to:

1) We've finally worked through some major sleep issues. As soon as Justin learned to stand up in his crib about a month and a half ago, he would get up over 3 times at night and wanted us to come see him practicing his new skills. I also got into a bad habit of nursing him to sleep, so he would scream hysterically when I would try to lay him down fully awake. For anyone struggling with sleep issues, here's what worked for us!
* Make sure everything is a good temperature. For us, this meant putting Justin to sleep in his sleepsack so that his cold sheets wouldn't wake him up. Yeah, he has some high maintenance tendencies. :-)
* Follow the same sleep ritual every night. For us, this meant starting nightly baths, but it's been soooooooo worth it!
* Put the baby to sleep half an hour earlier. I was amazed at how magical this was for us! I hated to do it at first, since it meant less time him. But, now I get the same amount of quality time, but less screaming.
* Put baby down awake, and with no pacifier. I think this was the other thing that got us into trouble. We relied on the pacifier for months, and he'd go to sleep almost immediately! But, he began to look at his pacifier as a teether/toy and ended up chucking it out of his crib in the middle of the night. Then he'd wake us up to come get it for him and the cycle would start over again.
* Instead of walking away during the screaming, it helped us to just sit on the floor by his crib so he knew we weren't abandoning him. Sometimes this meant sitting there for an hour or longer!
* Don't pick up the baby during the screaming. However, rubbing Justin's back and patting him on the head were okay for us.

So, after about 5 days of horrible nights, things turned WONDERFUL. Justin will sleep from 7:30PM until somewhere between 3 and 5AM, eat, and will then sleep again until 6:30AM (when I have to get him up to get ready for daycare). We're going on about 2 weeks of great sleeping, and now he doesn't even whimper when I put him to bed! But, I'm not naive enough to think this will last forever. I'm sure a day will come when he learns how to climb out of his crib, and a new sleep adventure will begin (if not before then).

2) Justin now likes walking along the furniture, and can stand unassisted for about 8 seconds now. This is exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time.

3) Justin loves watching toys fall. This can be dangerous! One night he was in the tub and his toy turtle fell overboard. As I was reaching down to get it for him, he literally slipped out of the tub trying to get it and was stuck upside down in a heap of towels! I was laughing so hard (does that make me a bad mom?). Good thing those towels were there!

4) Justin thinks animals are hilarious. He giggles like crazy around them, and is really getting into books with pictures of animals. Bill's parents have a black cat, and whenever I open his animal book he reaches right for the picture of the black cat and starts laughing. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to understand that animals don't like their ears, tails, or hair pulled very much. :-)

5) Justin is slowly starting to link different sounds to different objects. He crawled over to Bill's desk chair and guitar today saying "da-da". But, he never reaches for Bill saying "da-da". Maybe it's all coincidence, but it's fun to think he might have a better idea of what's going on than we adults think.

6) Justin loves balls...especially tennis balls. He rolls them and chases them and it's a good half an hour of entertainment.

7) Justin believes he lives in a Willy Wonka world where everything he is able to pick up is edible. I've caught him lately with pennies, dust bunnies, shoes, and paper. At least he shows me what I need to clean. :-)

Baby You Can Drive My Car

Oh Wait, Not for 15 More Years

Getting a Different Perspective on Life

My Current Favorite Toy (the VCR Flap)

With Freedom Comes Pain

For some reason, Justin has decided that the only things worth pull himself up to standing on are the ones that are the most unstable. Think laundry baskets, his car seat, a box, etc. This always ends badly. It's hard, because I want him to experiment and learn which things are sturdy. But I also hate to see him get hurt! Of course I don't let him experiment with anything too dangerous. Bill and I have been practicing our poker faces when he does crash. On the inside we're freaking out, wanting to run to him to fix his pain make sure there's no permanent damage. On the outside, we're trying to be calm, rational, and smiling. They say babies sense stress, so I don't know if we're fooling him. I just know he stops crying a lot quicker when we put on the poker face instead of the "Oh my poor baby! Are you okay?!!" face. Here's some of the latest pictures.

The Best Toys Are Free

Happy Crawler

Big-Eyed Boy in the Bjorn

Uh-Oh!

Well, it started out as getting on the hands and knees and rocking back and forth. That graduated into crawling with just his hands, and then with just the knees, but never at the same time. Next came crawling about 2 "steps" and then launching himself at whatever object he was going for, or sitting back on his bum. Then, last night came. And we officially have a crawler! Oh no! Bill and I sat and were having him crawl to each other. He can get about half way across his bedroom now before taking a break. It's so funny to see how hard he concentrates on it! All the babyproofing I had hoped to get done last weekend never happened. But, now there's no more room for procrastination. It's funny because although we were dreading the moment he would start crawling, we were also celebrating his new accomplishment at the same time. I think this is going to be a main theme in parenting.

Cloth Dipes

Just wanted to throw in a quick plug for cloth diapers. We have to admit, our reasons for choosing these diapers were more selfish than "green"...we wanted to save money. Most people thought we were crazy when we told them of our goal. But, 7 months later we're still using them as our primary diapering solution! Of course when we're running errands we choose disposable. But, it's so nice when we see the diaper stash running low knowing all we have to do is throw them in the wash and not make an emergency trip to the store.

Our brand of choice is Happy Heinys (http://www.happyheinys.com/) and we use the one-size version. This style fits a baby from 8-35 lbs, so there's no need to buy a bunch of different sizes (also helps our cost-saving goal). These are not your parents' cloth diapers...they have elastic and velcro and are super easy to use. Our daycare providers had no problem putting these on Justin for us once we showed them how easy they are. The other nice thing is that you can adjust their absorbancy, unlike disposables. Just stuff them with better cloth (like hemp) or more layers and they can handle a lot. We just have to stay on top of the diaper changes. Some other great brands (gotta love the names) are Fuzzi Bunz and Bumgenius. Check out www.diaperpin.com for more info on product ratings and cloth diapering. One other benefit is that children who wear cloth diapers usually potty train faster than others, since they know when they are wet. Please let us know if you have any questions if you are contemplating cloth dipes! It's always nice to have an advocate in this arena.

Action Osmun

Sorry we've been away for so long! This summer is definitely racing by.

So what has Justin been up to lately, you may be wondering? Eating solids, sitting unassisted, and getting on all fours/scootching (if that's even a word). After his 6 month appointment the doc gave us the "okay" to start real people food...if you can call rice cereal real food. The first bite was hilarious and was captured on video. Check out Bill's myspace for that. Since then, he's experienced bananas, peaches, carrots, sweet potatoes, and peas. His favorite so far has been the peas. Maybe it's due to the neon green color. :-) I've been using the blender and food processor to create his meals, and the following website has been super helpful: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/. I did have one bad experience involving the stench of burned carrots, but have learned to put more water in the steamer from now on.

This baby loves to be in constant motion. Whether it's jumping, kicking, rolling, or getting into the crawling position and shaking his rear it's getting to be a wrestling match to get clothes or a diaper on. His crib and playpen once seen only as a place to nap have become playgrounds. He is always hitting his head on the crib rails or kicking them so hard he starts crying. Too bad the doctors are all about keeping bumper pads out of cribs! Also, for some strange reason Justin finds his best sleep laying sideways in his crib. If only he would lay normally he could kick pain-free! I think it's a metaphor for life at times. We get wrapped up in our daily events and routines and when we try to stretch our life beyond those we feel the pain. But, we can fit these extras in if we just reposition things. I think God laughs at us like we laugh at Justin, knowing how much easier things would be if we could see His whole plan, not just the daily pieces.

Plank (or Justin Does Yoga)

Another Nora/Justin Playdate

We had a fun playdate with Heather, Sean, and baby Nora this weekend. The first time they met, Justin grabbed Nora's hand and this time he puts his head on her shoulder. Looks like they're friends already!

My Mom's Side of the Family

The Proud Great-Grandparents

My Dad's Family

(Some of) The Grandkids and Great-Grandson

Grammy and Justin

Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary, Grandpa and Grammy!

July 1948


July 2008

Aunt Kelly Meets Justin

B & O Railroad at Ellicott City

The 4th Out East

We’re back after a whirlwind trip out east to visit my family. We flew out to Baltimore last Wednesday night, and thanks to a borrowed Baby Bjorn, Justin slept like a champ. My sister Kelly lives in Catonsville, MD and we stayed with her until Friday morning. It was the first time she got to meet the baby, and I think she enjoyed one-on-one time with him while Bill and I slept in. Then, we all piled in her minivan, explored the beautiful campus of Johns Hopkins University, and headed to Gratz, PA to visit my mom’s side of the family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins). My mom, dad, sister, brother, and brother-in-law drove in from Illinois and met us all there. This leg of the trip included delicious Pennsylvania Dutch meals, a family game of softball, lots of baby nabbing by various relatives (we were always loosing track of where he was), and Justin baptizing his aunts in pee.

Saturday we headed to Levittown, PA to visit my dad’s side of the family to celebrate my grandparents’ 60^th wedding anniversary. My aunts from Colorado flew in, along with one of my cousins, and it was the first time we were all together in probably 10-15 years! We had the party at my grandparents’ favorite diner and enjoyed time going through pictures, watching them dance like newlyweds, and showing off Justin. Then it was back to the house (where my dad and his siblings all grew up and where my grandparents still live) for more catching up, and trekking to New Jersey for sleeping.

Sunday we all headed out again, with the rest of my family off to Illinois by car and Bill, Justin, Kelly, and I back to Catonsville. We took a walking tour of historic Ellicott City along the original B&O railroad (yay Monopoly!). Most nights away from home we made Justin a little nest of blankets on the floor to sleep on and would wake up in the middle of the night only to find him in a totally random location (not where we put him to sleep). This night was no exception! Justin somehow ended up halfway underneath Kelly’s dining room chair with his arms petting her fuzzy bathrobe. :-) We’ve gotta watch out for that little wiggle worm! He’s definitely perfecting his army crawl.

Monday we went to the B&O railroad museum, the Orioles park at Camden Yards, Charles Carroll’s house (signer of the Declaration of Independence), and then flew back home. Luckily, Justin slept through that flight as well…even though two other kids sitting right by us tossed their cookies.

All in all, it was a quick but great trip. My favorite part was watching the joy in my grandparents’ eyes as they held their great grandson for the first time. Words cannot express how special that was. Hopefully I’ll get ahold of some pictures to post soon!

Out of town... waaaaaay out of town.

Summer is Here

Happy Fathers' Day!

Finally Healthy

It's taken about 2 weeks, but Justin has finally recovered! At first his lungs got worse and he was put on a nebulizer twice a day (in addition to his baby inhaler). The first time we did this was horrible! He squirmed and screamed like he was being tortured. Luckily, he got pretty used to it and as long as he's entertained by toys or our songs/dancing he tolerates it. Bill and I have gone through quite the reporatoire...fight songs, nursery rhymes, Junior High music class songs, VBS songs, etc. Hopefully just one more week of nebulizing and then we won't have to use the machine again unless he gets sick. His doctor thinks he may have asthma, but now that we have the nebulizer I'm not too concerned about it.

I don't know if it's a result of him being on drugs or being worn out from fighting sickness, but Justin's slept through the night 3 nights in a row now (8PM - 6:30AM). Yay! He then gets up to eat, and naps with Daddy for another hour or two. Bill's home with him for the summer and I'm sure he'll post about their adventures.

We hope you have a great weekend!

Justin Being Nebulized

Bronchiolitis

Sounds made-up, doesn't it? I've heard of bronchitis before, but never this. Poor little Justin came down with it over the weekend. It started with a cold-like cough and runny nose, but quickly turned into wheezing, deep coughing fits, and more (see http://www.drgreene.com/21_1040.html). When he breathes, he sounds like a cat purring! The doctor prescribed an inhaler and Singulair due to my family history of asthma, and it is quite a feat to get a squirmy baby to take this medicine! The inhaler also makes him super hyper, kind of like when I've had some caffeine and it gets into his milk. So, he's pretty happy even though he's sick. The upside to all of this is that I've been able to stay home and "mother" him for the past 2 days. Yay! During one of his hyper moments, I got a picture of him munching on his gator. Bill coached football at Central High School for a couple years, and the Gators were their biggest rivals.

We Have an Ambi-Turner!

Derrick Zoolander would be jealous. :-) First Justin got the belly-to-back flip (just a couple), but his new favorite is the back-to-belly. Bill got it on video Friday night! Now it's all he wants to do...flip to the back, flip to the belly. Very entertaining!

Justin at 4.5 Months Old

Here are some pictures taken by my mom while babysitting last week. Enjoy!

Mother's Day

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the moms reading. This was technically my second Mother's Day, but for my first I didn't know I was pregnant yet! We had a really special day celebrating with both sides of the family and enjoyed making our moms feel special. As the day was wrapping up, I was reminded of a feeling I've had since Justin was born. Staring into those beautiful hazel eyes, I can't help but feel that he is a gift on loan to me. Somehow I feel like I'm just babysitting him on this earth, but that he is truly God's child first. Throughout the Easter season we were reminded each week at church of our baptism. Through baptism (a sign of the new covenant), God adopts us into His family and we become brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. How amazing is that?!

This week Justin had his 4 month doctor's appointment. He is now 13 lbs. 14 oz., and 24.5 in. long. He loves rolling from his back to almost his belly. He hates being on his belly, and I think he knows that is where he will end up if he keeps with gravity. So instead, he will have his legs and shoulders flipped over, with his head and arm keeping him on his side and gives me this face like "Ha! No tummy time for me!" He's also turned into quite the drooler, talker, and puker lately. He even managed to puke in his daddy's mouth when Bill was playing airplane with him. I laughed so hard I was crying. :-) Bill wasn't as entertained.

The picture at the beginning of this post was taken by Mike Boehmer at his sister Kerry's baby shower. Kerry and I grew up together and I'm so excited she will be having a girl this summer!

Draft Day

I have been accused of being lazy when it comes to the blog. So be it.


Today is the NFL Draft, or, as I like to refer to it, the Most Overrated Day in Sports History. Brandon is over talking about a project we are going to be starting int the near future. Tina left for a jewelry party and ditched Justin with us, so below is a picture of Justin wondering how the Bears could pick a cornerback when there are still good offensive linemen and quarterbacks left on the board.


One round left and it looks like all three of us here will be free agents again. I suppose its good because it means Justin is still eligible to play pee-wee and high school. As for Brandon and I, we will need to find other ways to become multi-millionaires.

Not much else going on. The job hunt continues. My summer break starts in two weeks. I am not looking forward to it.

More later.

Back to Work

Well, it's been awhile since our last post and so much has happened! The biggest thing is that I went back to work on March 24th. I really really wish money grew on trees. It was horrible to leave Justin, but great to see all my co-workers whom I missed when I was home for 9 weeks. The first week, Bill was at home with the little guy since he was on his spring break. Then, it was back to work for Bill too. Justin now attends a home daycare (state certified) in Elgin run by a loving Christian couple who watch only 5 other kids. That makes it a little easier to leave him each day, knowing how they treat him and how much they enjoy having him. But, I can't help being extremely jealous that they get to spend all day with my child, and I just get a few short hours before going to sleep at night! Plus, since I want to spend all my time with him when I get home, things like cleaning, laundry, and cooking take a back seat. Hopefully we'll get into a better routine. Bill is teaching until the middle of May, and will then be home with Justin until he starts the school year in August. It really makes me happy knowing that they will have those special couple months together. Then, when Bill starts teaching, I will work part-time. I CAN'T WAIT!!! I don't want summer to fly by or anything, but I am SO looking forward to more time with my son.

Hmm...what else has happened? Oh, Justin grew out of his size 1 diapers and all his 0-3 month clothes. I'm guessing he's about 13 lbs or more now, since at his 2 month appointment (the first shots=horrible) he was 11 lbs. 8 oz. He's been eating like crazy, so it looks like another growth spurt is coming. We're really enjoying his cooing conversations with us, all the smiles, and the laugh he's working on. I also think he started teething, since he's always drooling, shoving his fist in his mouth, and looks uncomfortable. I'm still breastfeeding, so I'm not really looking forward to the arrival of teeth!

Speaking of breastfeeding, I am so amazed and how God designed our bodies! I've been reading a lot about it and found out that I create exactly the type of milk Justin needs when he needs it. Also, breastfeeding burns 500 or more calories a day and has gotten me back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Yay!

One last major thing that has happened was that Justin was baptized on April 6th. It was WONDERFUL having so many of our loved ones attend the special service! I'll try to include some pictures in the next post when I get them from my mom. Justin's godparents are Jeff and Corey Spella and we are so honored to have them serve in such a special role in Justin's life.

That's all for now! Sorry so long...I had to make up for not blogging the past couple weeks. Enjoy some of the latest pics!

Thinking of Spring

Chillin' With Daddy

Chomping on Daddy's Nose
(a "welcome home from work!")