Last night when I got home I was greeted by a walking baby! DH was holding his hands and they were walking together and then Handsome saw me walking in the door. DH let go of his hands and Handsome squealed and took four little steps towards me before he fell. It was too cute!! Then after I picked him up to say hello, I wanted to set him back down to push my luck and see if he would walk again. It was already past his bedtime, so I knew he was going to cry as soon as I let him down. Well, luckily the crying led to an extra zeal to get to me and he took six steps to get to me! Yay!
Then this morning he walked twice before I had to come to work.
This walking thing is so exciting!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Face Cleaning
Whenever you take a wet cloth or paper towel and go to wipe Handsome's face, he licks the rag. Every time. As soon as he feels the rag on his face, his tongue comes out. If you take the rag away without wiping his mouth, he keeps his tongue out and just looks at you.
It's the funniest thing.
Why does he really want to taste the rag??
It's the funniest thing.
Why does he really want to taste the rag??
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Handsome walked!
Ok, Handsome has been taking steps here and there for a few weeks now. The most I've seen is two steps. He does it when he has the confidence that he could just reach out, but he gets lazy to put his hands out, so he takes the two steps that it takes to get to the bed or table he wants to get to.
I just got a call from DH. He was all excited because Handsome walked!! He said he took about four steps just out in the open complete with his thumb in his mouth trying to get to a toy on the floor. He fell down when he realized he was walking.
Handsome took four steps all by himself!
I wish I was there.
I just got a call from DH. He was all excited because Handsome walked!! He said he took about four steps just out in the open complete with his thumb in his mouth trying to get to a toy on the floor. He fell down when he realized he was walking.
Handsome took four steps all by himself!
I wish I was there.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
7 Random Facts
Michelle tagged me. 7 random facts.
The rules?
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Ok, so here's my 7:
1) I like warm weather and I can't handle more than 3 or 4 days of cold. I'm not one who is meant for cold weather climates. I fit much better close to the equator.
2) I don't like living in an area longer than a few years. I get cabin fever if I can't move. It's odd since I lived in the same house growing up for years, but ever since I left home I love the adventure of moving to a new place and having to figure out how everything works in the new place. Now I want to keep Handsome in the same place, so hopefully I can get over that. Or if I get to a point where I can quit work then I can move to Ghana every couple years and home school for a while where I can live in my little hut and teach my children humility by showing them how people other than those in the US live.
3) I like plants, dogs, and cats. If I could I would make my living room look a little like a jungle with plants everywhere, two cats, and two dogs. Unfortunately, my husband would never allow it.
4) I want four children. Two boys and two girls. Is it going to happen? Don't know if we could afford it or if I could handle the discipline and have enough patience, but I still want four.
5) My husband is the best. He's gorgeous, kind, helpful, strong, and has the best smile. He shares my values and supports me when I'm down. I know he hates not being the one bringing home money, but he doesn't complain. He left his family and learned an entirely new culture for me.
6) I have wide feet. No one makes cute shoes for wide feet. I don't understand that. Isn't it common for women to get wide feet after they have babies? Shouldn't there be more shoes for those women?
7) I bought a tree called a 'Money Tree" and I really wish its leaves were actually money. Even if each leaf was only a dollar, it would eventually grow into a decent amount.
I don't really have anyone left to tag, so if anyone would like to play along, feel free!
The rules?
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Ok, so here's my 7:
1) I like warm weather and I can't handle more than 3 or 4 days of cold. I'm not one who is meant for cold weather climates. I fit much better close to the equator.
2) I don't like living in an area longer than a few years. I get cabin fever if I can't move. It's odd since I lived in the same house growing up for years, but ever since I left home I love the adventure of moving to a new place and having to figure out how everything works in the new place. Now I want to keep Handsome in the same place, so hopefully I can get over that. Or if I get to a point where I can quit work then I can move to Ghana every couple years and home school for a while where I can live in my little hut and teach my children humility by showing them how people other than those in the US live.
3) I like plants, dogs, and cats. If I could I would make my living room look a little like a jungle with plants everywhere, two cats, and two dogs. Unfortunately, my husband would never allow it.
4) I want four children. Two boys and two girls. Is it going to happen? Don't know if we could afford it or if I could handle the discipline and have enough patience, but I still want four.
5) My husband is the best. He's gorgeous, kind, helpful, strong, and has the best smile. He shares my values and supports me when I'm down. I know he hates not being the one bringing home money, but he doesn't complain. He left his family and learned an entirely new culture for me.
6) I have wide feet. No one makes cute shoes for wide feet. I don't understand that. Isn't it common for women to get wide feet after they have babies? Shouldn't there be more shoes for those women?
7) I bought a tree called a 'Money Tree" and I really wish its leaves were actually money. Even if each leaf was only a dollar, it would eventually grow into a decent amount.
I don't really have anyone left to tag, so if anyone would like to play along, feel free!
The Big D
No I don't mean divorce. My marriage is good. I mean depression. I don't know why I'm so close, but I know I am. I wake up to my alarm in the morning, and I'm fully awake, but I just can't force myself to get up. If Handsome cries, it's easy to go get him. I love getting up for him. Not the getting up so much, but the 'for him' part.
When I have to get to work, I just can't force myself to get up and go. I hate work. I make excuses and mention all the things that I do like, but really, I'm not meant for it. At this point it's a matter of how long I can force myself to work there. Any other job won't give me the flexibility that I need in my work schedule right now nor the pay that I need. I need to be able to make it another three years. That can't be too long can it?
I hate it when I get this way. My life is near perfect. It's just that I want to be home instead of working and it is eating me up inside.
When I have to get to work, I just can't force myself to get up and go. I hate work. I make excuses and mention all the things that I do like, but really, I'm not meant for it. At this point it's a matter of how long I can force myself to work there. Any other job won't give me the flexibility that I need in my work schedule right now nor the pay that I need. I need to be able to make it another three years. That can't be too long can it?
I hate it when I get this way. My life is near perfect. It's just that I want to be home instead of working and it is eating me up inside.
SAHM vs WOHM
Disclaimer: I'm probably going to make people angry with this post. Sorry.
It's the never ending battle: Stay At Home Moms vs. Working Moms
This battle makes me so angry. I understand why this battle is so emotional. This involves the raising of people's children. Everyone is trying to do their best and feels like they have weighed all the options and come to the best decision. When a mother is told they are doing the wrong thing and causing their child harm of course they are going to get irate! So why to mothers keep doing this to each other?!
I ask this question like I don't know the answer, but I know. I have my opinions too.
My heart's greatest desire is to stay at home with my son. I am working right now so that someday I will be able to.
But here's where my frustration enters the picture. Women who share my view that I should stay at home with my son are telling me that "if I really wanted to stay home" I would find a way. That I would make sacrifices to be able to stay at home. I get so angry when I hear comments like that. Not that I need to explain myself, but I am working full time right now to put my husband through school so that in three or four years I can stay home and he can go to work. My son stays at home with my husband in the interim.
The thing is, I don't want to have to explain myself. I shouldn't have to explain myself.
I hate when I see meetings that are for stay at home moms that discuss all the reasons that mothers need to stay at home. I understand stay at home moms get bombarded by comments saying that they don't need to stay at home and they need support within themselves, but really, do they really need meetings like that?
I also sympathize with the mothers that work. I believe that every woman is different. Some women aren't made to stay at home all day. Some women need to have the independence that a job gives. They need to challenges that only a job can provide and the social interaction. Some women aren't cut out for reading Goodnight Moon all day and night. And as the saying goes, if mom isn't happy, no one is happy.
I seriously need to find a group of mothers in my area to socialize with. I need to find mothers with children Handsome's age so that he can socialize and eventually learn to share. But I can't find a group. If I find a group of mothers that work all the time then they will be badmouthing the stay at home mothers. I want to be a stay at home mother, so they would in fact be insulting me and what I believe in. I can't hang out with the stay at home mothers because they would look down on me for going to work everyday. So where do I fit in? Is there such a thing as a group of women who don't badmouth the other group?
It's so frustrating.
It's the never ending battle: Stay At Home Moms vs. Working Moms
This battle makes me so angry. I understand why this battle is so emotional. This involves the raising of people's children. Everyone is trying to do their best and feels like they have weighed all the options and come to the best decision. When a mother is told they are doing the wrong thing and causing their child harm of course they are going to get irate! So why to mothers keep doing this to each other?!
I ask this question like I don't know the answer, but I know. I have my opinions too.
My heart's greatest desire is to stay at home with my son. I am working right now so that someday I will be able to.
But here's where my frustration enters the picture. Women who share my view that I should stay at home with my son are telling me that "if I really wanted to stay home" I would find a way. That I would make sacrifices to be able to stay at home. I get so angry when I hear comments like that. Not that I need to explain myself, but I am working full time right now to put my husband through school so that in three or four years I can stay home and he can go to work. My son stays at home with my husband in the interim.
The thing is, I don't want to have to explain myself. I shouldn't have to explain myself.
I hate when I see meetings that are for stay at home moms that discuss all the reasons that mothers need to stay at home. I understand stay at home moms get bombarded by comments saying that they don't need to stay at home and they need support within themselves, but really, do they really need meetings like that?
I also sympathize with the mothers that work. I believe that every woman is different. Some women aren't made to stay at home all day. Some women need to have the independence that a job gives. They need to challenges that only a job can provide and the social interaction. Some women aren't cut out for reading Goodnight Moon all day and night. And as the saying goes, if mom isn't happy, no one is happy.
I seriously need to find a group of mothers in my area to socialize with. I need to find mothers with children Handsome's age so that he can socialize and eventually learn to share. But I can't find a group. If I find a group of mothers that work all the time then they will be badmouthing the stay at home mothers. I want to be a stay at home mother, so they would in fact be insulting me and what I believe in. I can't hang out with the stay at home mothers because they would look down on me for going to work everyday. So where do I fit in? Is there such a thing as a group of women who don't badmouth the other group?
It's so frustrating.
Friday, March 21, 2008
A new quote
I heard this quote a couple days ago on CNN and it has stuck with me. I am living the depth of its truth.
"The most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning."
- Barack Obama
I didn't notice it until I married DH. I thought about going back to the Presbyterian church that I grew up in. And then I tried to remember how many African Americans were there. None. There are white Presbyterian churches and black Presbyterian churches. If the wrong color walks in then heads turn. We have stuck with the Catholic Church partly because that is where we both fit in.
I just think it is interesting that the time where Christians are supposed to be living their faith to the fullest - the time where we are sitting in the pews - is the same time that the segregation of the past thrives.
Each church proclaims that anyone who would like to join them in their faith is welcome, but are they really? I went to a Ghanaian church around me where I was of course the only white person around. They were friendly, but honestly only the children were accepting. The children ran up and greeted me and wanted to play with Handsome. The adults smiled, one offered me a chair and then walked away.
Why do we need a distinction between white churches and black churches? Why do we need asian churches? If we are all claiming to be of the same faith why do we worship in different, separate buildings?
Where do couples like my husband and I go? I am not fully welcome in the black church and he is not fully welcome in the white church. This is one of those times that I am thankful for the Catholic church even with all its quirks. There is no such thing as perfection I suppose. We all just look for where we fit best.
Think about it:
"The most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning."
- Barack Obama
"The most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning."
- Barack Obama
I didn't notice it until I married DH. I thought about going back to the Presbyterian church that I grew up in. And then I tried to remember how many African Americans were there. None. There are white Presbyterian churches and black Presbyterian churches. If the wrong color walks in then heads turn. We have stuck with the Catholic Church partly because that is where we both fit in.
I just think it is interesting that the time where Christians are supposed to be living their faith to the fullest - the time where we are sitting in the pews - is the same time that the segregation of the past thrives.
Each church proclaims that anyone who would like to join them in their faith is welcome, but are they really? I went to a Ghanaian church around me where I was of course the only white person around. They were friendly, but honestly only the children were accepting. The children ran up and greeted me and wanted to play with Handsome. The adults smiled, one offered me a chair and then walked away.
Why do we need a distinction between white churches and black churches? Why do we need asian churches? If we are all claiming to be of the same faith why do we worship in different, separate buildings?
Where do couples like my husband and I go? I am not fully welcome in the black church and he is not fully welcome in the white church. This is one of those times that I am thankful for the Catholic church even with all its quirks. There is no such thing as perfection I suppose. We all just look for where we fit best.
Think about it:
"The most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning."
- Barack Obama
More Teeth
Handsome now has six teeth. Four on top and two below. He chews on anything he can including: fingers, cribs, coffee tables, and shoulders. Somehow it always hurts when he chews Mom or Dad, but it never hurts when he chews himself. Amazing how that works out. Is it bad that I wish my child was still toothless sometimes? They look cute, but it is deceiving.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Cold Carrots
Handsome does not like cold carrots. Not at all. He was still hungry after I fed him sweet potatoes so I decided to feed him some cooked carrots from the fridge. He's eaten carrots before and quite liked them, but we always warm food up for him. I thought I would try cold carrots that hadn't been processed so we could try the finger food concept.
It was a no go. He tried it once and then thereafter he would come to me so that I would hold him, but as soon as he saw the cold carrot coming to his mouth he would run away as fast as he could. Carrot disappears, baby comes. Carrot appears, baby runs away. I tried to get DH to film it, but he hasn't quite figured out the video camera yet.
At least now I know, if Handsome gets too clingy, I'll just get some cold carrots out of the fridge for him to try. ;)
It was a no go. He tried it once and then thereafter he would come to me so that I would hold him, but as soon as he saw the cold carrot coming to his mouth he would run away as fast as he could. Carrot disappears, baby comes. Carrot appears, baby runs away. I tried to get DH to film it, but he hasn't quite figured out the video camera yet.
At least now I know, if Handsome gets too clingy, I'll just get some cold carrots out of the fridge for him to try. ;)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Hello from an old lady
My birthday was this weekend. I'm now an old lady. Don't get alarmed though, I say that every year. I have a wonderful husband and a beautiful son, and I think this was my best birthday ever. My bf flew in for my birthday and it was wonderful to see her.
On my birthday we went and ate bbq for lunch. DH held Handsome so that I could eat without juggling Handsome at the same time. It was great to eat hot food at a restaurant. After lunch we went shopping and I bought a few shirts for Handsome. For dinner we went to eat sushi and Handsome slept through the entire meal in his little carrier! It was a beautiful day. DH even bought me a new flash for my camera without me even asking for it!!
Handsome has been sleeping like a champ lately. I'm sure it's from our constant going this weekend. Yesterday for instance he went down late for a nap so he slept from about 5:30pm -8pm. Then I woke him up and he was up from 8 till almost 10pm. Then he woke up at 5am to eat and then slept again until almost 11am this morning!! It kinda makes sense since he normally sleeps from 8pm till 9am; so he basically just pushed it back two hours.
He started consistently saying Mama this weekend! Yay! He still doesn't know what it means, but I like to hear the sound nonetheless.
He is SOO close to walking. He's taken a couple steps by accident this weekend. He constantly walks around the coffee table all day.
I have to go back to work tomorrow. I REALLY don't want to go back. This is the biweek that I have an ungodly amount of work to do. Yes, it is my own fault. If I get this work done then I can get my promotion the following biweek and start working from home at least one day a week. A promotion also means higher production requirements though. As far as work goes, I can't win.
On my birthday we went and ate bbq for lunch. DH held Handsome so that I could eat without juggling Handsome at the same time. It was great to eat hot food at a restaurant. After lunch we went shopping and I bought a few shirts for Handsome. For dinner we went to eat sushi and Handsome slept through the entire meal in his little carrier! It was a beautiful day. DH even bought me a new flash for my camera without me even asking for it!!
Handsome has been sleeping like a champ lately. I'm sure it's from our constant going this weekend. Yesterday for instance he went down late for a nap so he slept from about 5:30pm -8pm. Then I woke him up and he was up from 8 till almost 10pm. Then he woke up at 5am to eat and then slept again until almost 11am this morning!! It kinda makes sense since he normally sleeps from 8pm till 9am; so he basically just pushed it back two hours.
He started consistently saying Mama this weekend! Yay! He still doesn't know what it means, but I like to hear the sound nonetheless.
He is SOO close to walking. He's taken a couple steps by accident this weekend. He constantly walks around the coffee table all day.
I have to go back to work tomorrow. I REALLY don't want to go back. This is the biweek that I have an ungodly amount of work to do. Yes, it is my own fault. If I get this work done then I can get my promotion the following biweek and start working from home at least one day a week. A promotion also means higher production requirements though. As far as work goes, I can't win.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Life gets busy
I keep meaning to post. Throughout the day I'll think, "I need to write about this tonight." And then tonight will come and I don't have time to post. By the time I can, I've forgotten what I was going to write. Boo.
Yesterday Handsome got almost hysterical with his crying. He doesn't even cry this much when he falls and hits his head. Any time I set him down he would just start screaming. At times even when I was holding him it didn't make him stop crying. That rarely happens, so I was afraid he was sick or had some stick in his socks since we went out to the park to take pictures. When I was cooking I asked DH to change his diaper just to see if there was a diaper rash or dirt somewhere. Of course there was nothing. He must have been tired, but it was around 6pm when this happens and the past few nights he has been going to bed at 9pm, so I still don't really know what it was. When I went to put him to bed he only stopped crying to nurse and then continued crying when he finished. Typically I just lay him down in his crib and he will fall asleep on his own. Last night that was not happening. He returned to hysterical crying as soon as I laid him down. I can't handle hysterical crying, so I held him until he calmed down and fell asleep in my arms. Of course he woke up as soon as I put him down and started crying again. This time I decided to give him a few minutes to see if he would quiet down and he fell asleep in less than a minute.
I hate when he is so upset and I don't know why he is so upset. If I knew why he was crying then I would know how to handle it, or at least have more of an idea. If I knew he was just tired then I could have let him put himself to sleep the first time and not worried about it, but what if he was sick?
Off to a happier topic, Handsome's new favorite thing to do is climb. He's climbed at least the bottom stair, and would probably continue to climb higher, but we don't let him get beyond the first step. If I am sitting next to the coffee table, he will step up on my legs and hold onto the table. He also purposefully chooses the most difficult path to whatever he is trying to get to. If he could crawl slightly to the right on a clear carpet path to get to the toy he wants to get to, or he could crawl to the left and go over the leg, over the stuffed animal, and over the coke bottle, he will choose the more complicated path.
He looks like he has two more teeth on the top that are starting to come in. Once those come in, he'll have six teeth.
He's starting to know when things are being taken away from him and when DH or I are leaving him. He cries in both instances. Boo. I was enjoying the happy go lucky personality. Hopefully that will return soon.
I took pics yesterday in manual. The majority turned out well. I think I got the exposure right, but the color is kinda blah. I think part of that is the fact that all the plants are still dead, so they just don't have vibrant colors right now, and another part of that should be the white balance. I want to buy a gray card to see if that would fix it, but we got to the camera store at 6:05pm and learned they closed at 6pm. Boo.
Yesterday Handsome got almost hysterical with his crying. He doesn't even cry this much when he falls and hits his head. Any time I set him down he would just start screaming. At times even when I was holding him it didn't make him stop crying. That rarely happens, so I was afraid he was sick or had some stick in his socks since we went out to the park to take pictures. When I was cooking I asked DH to change his diaper just to see if there was a diaper rash or dirt somewhere. Of course there was nothing. He must have been tired, but it was around 6pm when this happens and the past few nights he has been going to bed at 9pm, so I still don't really know what it was. When I went to put him to bed he only stopped crying to nurse and then continued crying when he finished. Typically I just lay him down in his crib and he will fall asleep on his own. Last night that was not happening. He returned to hysterical crying as soon as I laid him down. I can't handle hysterical crying, so I held him until he calmed down and fell asleep in my arms. Of course he woke up as soon as I put him down and started crying again. This time I decided to give him a few minutes to see if he would quiet down and he fell asleep in less than a minute.
I hate when he is so upset and I don't know why he is so upset. If I knew why he was crying then I would know how to handle it, or at least have more of an idea. If I knew he was just tired then I could have let him put himself to sleep the first time and not worried about it, but what if he was sick?
Off to a happier topic, Handsome's new favorite thing to do is climb. He's climbed at least the bottom stair, and would probably continue to climb higher, but we don't let him get beyond the first step. If I am sitting next to the coffee table, he will step up on my legs and hold onto the table. He also purposefully chooses the most difficult path to whatever he is trying to get to. If he could crawl slightly to the right on a clear carpet path to get to the toy he wants to get to, or he could crawl to the left and go over the leg, over the stuffed animal, and over the coke bottle, he will choose the more complicated path.
He looks like he has two more teeth on the top that are starting to come in. Once those come in, he'll have six teeth.
He's starting to know when things are being taken away from him and when DH or I are leaving him. He cries in both instances. Boo. I was enjoying the happy go lucky personality. Hopefully that will return soon.
I took pics yesterday in manual. The majority turned out well. I think I got the exposure right, but the color is kinda blah. I think part of that is the fact that all the plants are still dead, so they just don't have vibrant colors right now, and another part of that should be the white balance. I want to buy a gray card to see if that would fix it, but we got to the camera store at 6:05pm and learned they closed at 6pm. Boo.
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