Teeth or Not the Teeth that is the Question?.

Today James was a bit of a pill. He didn't get his normal nap this morning. He woke up an hour early from it and you could tell he was still tired. I tried feeding him his bottle, giving him a snack, tried twice to get him down for a nap and he refused, and the different things to play and keep him amused. None of this worked and he was so fussy. I know that he is working on 2 top teeth, they look to be his canines. The only thing that I can think of is that they are bothering him. He won't let me feel his gums and he has been chewing on things for the past week like a mad man. I just hope that they come through soon and relieve him of his misery. I have dosed him with some Tylenol and hopefully that will help him this evening. I have tried Orajel in the past, but he hates it. He screams bloody murder after I put it on his gums until the numbness goes away. So that is not an option here unless I want him more miserable than he already is. So Tylenol it is and has to be for now until I find something different. I hope he sleeps well tonight he needs it after a day of not much sleep. Poor little buckaroo, I wish that there was more that I could do for him. I am so glad that they only have to go through this process once. I know that they have said if you had to go through it as an adult the pain is so bad that most people would shoot themselves or come really close to it. This might be another night that he ends up spending the night in our bed, especially if he wakes up too many times this evening.

I have some more things to get done before bed so I will go now.

Professional Pictures of Family and Grandparents

I thought that I would share some pictures with you. These are of James' Great Grandma, Grandma, Kevin, Myself and James.

James and his Mom, Dad,
Grandma and Great Grandma


James and his Grandma and
Great Grandma


James and his Great Grandma

So Far So Good

Well so far today we have avoided the projectile vomiting. James has spit up a little once, but other than that he has done ok. I am hoping that it is all over. He is spending the day in his jammies. I figured that he is probably more comfortable like that than to have to wear the different layers of clothing. He is currently bouncing in his jumperoo and seems to be quite happy. I could tell this morning that he was feeling better. He looked better and was his happy self again. I know that his teeth are still bothering him because he is still a little fussy, but other than that he seems to be doing well. What ever it was that got to him last night I want it to stay far away. Needless to say we didn't go to church this morning. For one I decided to let James sleep as late as he wanted, and two I was afraid of what might just come up.
(Yes pun intended) Well I think it is time for another nap. So wish us luck that whatever had James feeling bad is gone far away.

I am Back.... You Have Been Warned

Well it has been quite a long time since I have posted anything. So let me make this my post to update everything that has happened since my last post.

OK here we go....

My Grandma and Aunt came in from Texas on the 11th. So I had been trying to get as much done around the house so I could spend as much time with them as possible. My Grandma is 87 and at that age you just never know if you will get to see her again and her memory is going so unfortunately she isn't quite like she used to be. This was the first time she was able to see James in person and you could tell she enjoyed every minute of it. So I wanted to make sure she was able to spend as much time with him as possible.

On the 14th we has 2 family reunions to go to. The first one was in Connersville, Indiana then the second was in Mt. Orab, Ohio. That was quite a tip between the 2. We picked up our niece (Paige) at the first one and she went with us to the 2nd one. She is 13 years old and just adores James and he feels the same about her. She is a really good kid so I don't really mind her hanging around, heck most of the time you don't even know that she is around. We had plans to go to the Newport Aquarium the next day and Paige w as hinting that she would like to go too. :) So she ended up spending the night with us so she could go. She was supposed to be spending the weekend with her Grandparents, but her plans changed a bit when she heard about the Aquarium.

The 15th we all (Aunt, Grandma, James, Paige, Mom, Kevin and Myself) went to the aquarium. I really think that James enjoyed himself. He was so intent on watching all the fish in each tank. I know that Grandma and my Aunt had fun, especially where you could feed the birds. I got the one that liked to unbutton things and of course my shirt buttoned up and he was trying to get them all unbuttoned. Boy would that have been quite a show that no one would have wanted to see. James stayed awake the entire time in the aquarium. I was quite surprised. After we were done we went to Johnny Rockets to eat. James crashed out on Paige's lap while we all ate. Did I mention that she Loves him? If Paige is around she constantly has James and takes care of him like a little mother hen. It is really cute and we have made sure that she isn't thinking of having one of her own. She said that she likes what she has with James because she can send him home. So we are safe in that area for a little while longer. After eating we all headed home. It was a busy day so James went to bed early.

While all of this has been going on Kevin's Aunt was in the hospital having complications with her cancer. So on the 17th we went to the hospital to see her. She was in a type of coma to where she really wasn't there. They had her on morphine to keep her comfortable and had already called in the family just in case she didn't make it. So we had this going on as well as all the other stuff.

On the 18th we went to Babies R Us to have pictures done. We were supposed to do it on the 17th, but decided to move it so we could get to the hospital before Kevin's aunt passed. We were supposed to have all the Grandparents, the Great Grandma (the only Great Grandparent still alive) Kevin, James and myself. Unfortunately with the Aunt situation Kevin's parents weren't able to make it. We went ahead and did my side since the Great Grandma is on my side and we will do Kevin's side when they are able to do it. The pictures turned out really good and at least we will have pictures of James and his Great Grandma together if something was to happen before she was able to get back up again.

On the morning of the 19th Kevin's Aunt passed away. It was sad, but was a relief. She was suffering so bad even with all the drugs that they were pumping into her to try and make her comfortable. She was a good church going woman so we know where she is right now and know that it is a much better place than here.

The 21st was James' dedication at Church and his party afterward. There were 3 other girls being dedicated that day as well so we had a full house. At 2pm was James' party. We had all sides of the family there. It was a good time, except for the fact that we all knew at 5pm the visitations started for Kevin's Aunt. Kevin went to the visitations while I stayed at the party. I felt like I needed to be in both places and I didn't know what to do. Kevin told me to stay at the party and he would go to the visitations so that way we would be represented at both places. So needless to say this was another very late night.

The 22nd was the funeral. It was a small and simple funeral. Very pretty and sweet. I am sure his Aunt would have approved. Since Kevin was a pall barrier he had to stay behind after the service to do his job. My MIL held James during the service and he fell asleep in her arms. I really think having him there helped her through it (it was her sister). After the funeral everyone went back to the church for a lunch that was prepared by the church. It was very nice and the food was really good. After all that we all came home and took a nap. We all needed one really bad.

On the 23th in the morning my Aunt and Grandma headed back to Texas. They left at 9am. They made it home safe and sound, so our lives are a little back to normal. At least not quite as busy.

The past few days I have been working on trying to get the hundreds of pictures from the digital camera to the computer. The I have to name and shrink them all to the sizes that I need. Plus I also have to get them downloaded to the different photo hosting services that I use. I also need to get some ordered from Costco. This is all so time consuming. I guess I will get it done one of these days.

The evening of the 26th James didn't sleep well at all. He was constantly waking up crying. So I got no sleep that night. I think it is his teeth plus growing pains. Poor little man can't get a break. It all seems to come at him all at once.

This afternoon James decided to spit up quite a bit. He normally never spits up. I just figured it was a bubble. This evening he has projectile vomited 5 times!!! This is nothing like him. He isn't running a temp. (under arm was 97 so that makes it actually 98) so that is a good thing, but I just wish I knew what was causing it. I know that he is teething, but he didn't do it with his last 2 that he got. The only thing different that I did was gave him some grape tylenol and he drank some water at my Mom's (she has a water softener that runs the water through salt to soften it). I an going to change him back to the cherry flavor and see if that helps. I really hope that he isn't getting sick. Needless to say he is sleeping in our bed this evening since he almost choked himself when he threw up in his bed. He is sleeping with Kevin right now. I hope he gets a good nights sleep he really needs it.

I am headed off to bed now so I can get some sleep. Good night.

Costume Decision Made

First off I would like to thank everyone who helped me by letting me know which one that they liked.

Well it was still a toss up for me and Kevin between the Cow and the Lion.

The previous pictures were from eBay and doing further research on the seller they didn't seem to reliable. So we have opted to get the costume from a reputable seller. We have decided to order the cow and lion, both from Tom Arma, so we know that they are top quality. Plus since the cow only goes up to 12 months, if it doesn't fit I can send it back. I know that Kevin really likes the cow, so depending on when Halloween is celebrated here and at my Mom's we just might be able to hit 2 different neighborhoods so he could wear each one.

I would like to dress James up in the Lion costume, me as Dorothy and Kevin as either the Scarecrow or Tin Man. Then with James as the cow, me as a milk maid and Kevin as a farmer. I thought it would be really cute to dress as a family especially while James is still little and he isn't completely embarrassed by us.

Hopefully these will be as cute on James as they are on the babies in the picture. I just love how the tail sticks up on both the cow and lion. I just can't wait for them to get here! Then Kevin and I can go shopping for our costumes.

A Bit of a Poll

HELP!! I am in a bit of a quandary. I am looking for a Halloween costume for James (currently 7 months old - will almost be 10 months on October 31st) and I have it narrowed down to 3. I think they are all equally as cute, so I am not sure which to get. This is where you all come in to help me make a decision. If you could please take a look and let me know which one you like best I would really appreciate it. I plan to have a few of his 9 month pictures in it as well so I don't want to regret my purchase. Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

*****PLEASE NOTE JAMES IS NOT THE BABY IN EACH PICTURE*****


COW.....




LION.......




DALMATIAN........

Sad Today

I have finally bit the bullet and have gathered up all the clothes that James has out grown. I have been washing them and making sure that they are as clean as can be one last time before putting them away in totes. Looking at the preemie, NB, 0-3 month, 3-6 month and some 6-9 month clothes has made me sad. I just can't believe how fast he has grown. It is simply amazing. I swear he changes over night.

I now need to figure out what type of system that I want to use for the clothes in each tote. I don't want to just throw all the clothes in them, just in case I need to find something or my friend that is pregnant again might be able to borrow. Guess I will work on that today after I get it all washed, folded and together, then see what I have and go from there.

It is so depressing to know that James will never fit into any of these clothes again, heck he is growing out of the clothes he is in as I type this, or so it seems. I do admit that I love to shop for new clothes, but it is still sad to have to put away the old ones.

On a lighter side I was able to find quite a few outfits at Target for $1.50 and $2.00. You just have to love prices like that. The child dresses better than his parents, but I just can't seem to find nice clothes in our sizes for prices like that.

Guess I should get back to work on folding all the little clothes. Sniff Sniff. :(

7 Month Pictures to the In-Laws

This afternoon we took James' 7 month pictures to my in-law's. I gave them to my Mother-in-law (MIL) and she just loved them all. We told her about wanting James and his Grandpa (FIL) to get a picture together with FIL in his military uniform. She thought that it was a great idea, so the seed has been planted. Now if FIL will actually do it is another story. I hope that he looks at it more for James than for anyone else. I don't see why he wouldn't want to do it for his Grandson, but then you just never know now do you.? I know that MIL asked FIL if he still fits into his uniform and he said that he thought he did, so that is a good sign. MIL said that she will have to see if she can find his uniform then we will go from there. With her wanting the picture done as well, I am sure that she will harass him until he gives in. It is so nice to have someone on your side that has power.

James seemed to have a really good time with his Grandparents this evening. I am glad that he seems to have outgrown a bit of the crying if I am not holding him. I used to be the only one that could hold or touch him and it got old really quick. Made going to the bathroom a bit difficult. :) He sat and played with his Grandma while I went and pumped some milk for him and when I came back he was as happy as he could be playing with her. I know that it makes her feel good too that he isn't crying at her and is actually interacting with her willingly and happily.

Time to do the nightly routine before heading off to bed. Good night.

Cleaning Day

James decided to take a good nap for me this afternoon. I was able to accomplish quite a bit in those few hours. The laundry is now done, the floor is swept, dishes done, living room dusted and the bathroom cleaned. It was a full day for me and now I think that I need a nap myself. It is always nice when I am able to get things done and I feel like I have actually accomplished something in the process. It isn't a normal occurrence around here that I can actually feel like I have made progress in the house work. Normally it seems that once I have done something I turn my back and it is a mess again. I don't ask for a spotless house, I know that isn't tangible. I just want a somewhat organized home. You know a home that you don't have to hunt for an hour for something. I know that it probably isn't a reality for me, but I can hope and dream.

I Have Come to a Conclusion...

that James really doesn't like creamed spinach. I had purchased some jars of it, since I had to find organic spinach to make the baby food with and I figured that the jar food would last me until I got some made. Well James' first reaction was a face of disgust. He has had the same reaction before with foods the first few bites that he has ever had of them, so I figured that it would pass. After 5 days I am still getting the same face and after about 4 spoons full he is refusing to eat it. I can't really say that I blame him. It really stinks!! I don't think I could get it to my mouth without gagging. I guess I will have to try and see of he will eat the stuff that I made. I have learned a valuable lesson in this as well.....never buy a bunch of something that you are not sure someone will like. So I need to go back to Kroger and see if I can exchange it for something else since I have 1 opened jar and have about 6 more that I know he won't eat and I don't want to torment him with it. Granted I will keep trying to get him to eat it from time to time, but no since in keeping that much on hand.

Took 7 Month Pictures To My Mom

This evening after Kevin got home we went over to my Mom's to give her James' 7 month pictures. I know that she was chomping at the bit to get them, so I didn't want to make her wait any longer. I had the pictures arranged so that the military tribute ones were last - I know it was evil, but as they say I had to save the best for last. Anyway once she got to them I thought that she was going to cry. She said that they turned out better than she thought that they would. I told her that she has a 16x20 framed and matted coming her way as well. She was so happy. I figured that she would be.

Now the fun part comes in trying to talk Kevin's Dad into getting pictures taken with James in his uniform. Since he is still alive I want him in the picture, not just a picture of him. I just hope that he will do it for James if no one else.

Wish me luck.

7 Months Old!!

I can't believe it. My little man is 7 months old today!!! I know that I say this every month, but where has the time gone? He is doing so much on his own now. I can see him needing me less and less every day. He is growing up so quick and I just want him to stay little for just a little while longer. I am sure that every Mother feels this way and can relate to how I am feeling. I know that it isn't a realistic thought that he will stay this way forever, but I just wish time would slow down a bit.

Today we went to get James' 7 month pictures done. They turned out so good. I had some done in a normal outfit then had some in a camo onsie, I had brought pictures of his Grandpa and Great Grandpas on my side (all have passed on) of them in the Military. All 3 of them were in the Army. James was wearing the hat that my Dad used to wear while flying in the helicopters and we used one of my Dad's shirts as a prop. They turned out so well. The girls taking the pictures just fell in love with it. I have been wanting to do something in their memory and thought that this would be a good idea. So far all the people at Babies R Us who saw them LOVED them. I am sure that my side of the family will love them too. I can't wait to show them to my Mom, I think she is going to flip over them. I have to wait for the larger ones to come in so that will be another week before I get them, but at least I have the ones that are 8x10 and smaller.

Invitations in the Mail

They are done whooo hooo, they are finally done. I have them all addressed and out in the mail!!! Now comes waiting for everyone to let me know if they are coming or not. I am not too worried about the dedication itself. I am more worried about the party afterward. Our family has a bad tendency not to RSVP like invitations ask. They just assume that you know they are going to be there. Not to mention the fact that it is a pitch in lunch since all sides of the families are invited. So I really need to know what people are wanting to bring so I don't have everything the same. I have asked everyone to respond to me either by phone or email but the 14th, so we will see how it goes and how many people actually take the time to let me know that they are coming. I am sure that I will be sending out a mass email to a load of people wanting to know if they are going to be at the party. We are buying all the meat so we really need to get a definite number so that I can get all the food that we need.

UPDATE: So far I have only heard from 3 people. Maybe I will hear from more over the weekend or next week.

Here's to keeping my fingers crossed.