Almost a sneeze

Today was a big day for Landrick (and Mommy)... a baby sitter (other than Nikki) stayed with Landrick for the very first time today for the entire day. The day went sooooooooo well!! Landrick's friend (aka babysitter) Susan was fabulous! I felt at ease all day knowing that she was at the house with the little man. I feel so very blessed that she is willing to baby sit on occasion for us. Still looking for someone to watch Landrick two days a week during the fall semester... but very glad to at least have an awesome person to watch him on occasion when Sam and I want to have a date night.

When I got home today from work I fed Landrick and as a treat let him take a little lap while holding him. Once he woke up we cuddled for a minute and then he got ready to sneeze. He crinkled his nose up and leaned his head back a little bit in a pre-sneeze motion and then... the sneeze when away! It was sooooo very funny because as an adult that happens all the time and it drives me mad... I now wonder if it aggravated little man when his sneeze went away before it was complete. Either way, it was cute.

This weekend Sam and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. Even though our technical anniversary is today, Sam's in Louisville (and will be all week); therefore, we thought we'd celebrate early by going to Natural Bridge on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and Landrick was a real trooper... he did so well!! We had a great time... it was a great day.

Just Bee Happy Being Bouncy

Yesterday when I got home from work I picked up Landrick and realized that Sam had dressed him in a winnie the pooh outfit that he'd never worn before... that outfit, unbeknownst to Sambo, has significant meaning to me, as it was one of two outfits that I saved from a yard sale of Nik's years ago... when a Mason baby was just a daydream. At the time Sam and I were trying to conceive but hadn't had any luck... it was the following October that we became pregnant for the first time, followed by the miscarriage in December. I can remember sitting in the to-be nursery and holding on to that outfit... wondering if I would ever be able to have a biological child. When I looked at Landrick in that outfit yesterday I made sure to give a shout out to God for giving me the chance to be that little man's momma. I feel so very lucky.

Btw - I looooove the outfit because, first of all - it's cute, and secondly because it's got tigger and pooh on it and little bees. It's so fitting for Landrick to wear it and look so cute because he love, love, loooooves to bounce. He's Mommy's happy little bouncing boy! I had to giggle this morning when he was in his bouncy seat (bouncing of course) and I finally read what the outfit said... Just Bee Happy Being Bouncy. Just perfect!

On a side note, but one that's consumed me all day, it seems to be getting harder and harder to leave the little man in the mornings. I thought it would perhaps get a little bit easier as time passed, but I think it has actually gotten harder (actually I know it has gotten harder). I'm consumed with thinking about all the things I may be missing out on while away from him... I know it's inevitable, but it's still hard to swallow at times. I am so very thankful that Sam is home with him, as I know it would be 100 times worse if he wasn't. I keep thinking about all of the fun things we could do if I were home during the day everyday. Sigh. Oh well. Perhaps this time next year I'll at least have some summer time available to spend with the little man... God only knows and I must trust in him. :)

One of those moments...

Landrick pooped on Sam yesterday while Sam was giving the little man a bath... what made it even funnier was the fact that we had just been talking about that type of 'situation' a few nights before with some friends of ours. I had to laugh out loud when I read the text message Sam sent telling me that Landrick had ribbon poo in the bathtub.... that he (Sam) had gagged... but then managed to clean it all up and continue with the bath. Oh, that's the type of moment that I'm quite sad I missed... mostly because I would have loved to see the look on Sam's face. ha!

I'm sitting here right now waiting for Sam to get home with some Boca burgers for lunch and watching Landrick play in a saucer. It's the first time that he's ever been in one and he loooooves it. Man... my little man is growing up...

We fed him organic winter squash today... and he loved that too! Not only does he looooooove his oatmeal but he really took to the squash well (a baby boy after his Momma's heart). It was the first 'non-cereal' food that he's had. It really wasn't even that messy of an experience, much to my delight. He didn't try to put his hands in it or grab the spoon. He just sat there with his hands out wide and his mouth wide open. I think it is safe to say that he's an eater...

He had his six month appointment yesterday and had only gained a little over a pound, which surprised me. The doctor wasn't too concerned but said we'd have to keep an eye on it. The little guy eats a lot, so hopefully his metabolism is just rockin. Apparently the nurse that measured his height last night was a little generous as well, because he only measured about a half-inch taller this time (which was right on the 'arch' that he was previously on before last month's appointment). I think we'll just chalk that one up to human inconsistencies.

This morning we went for a community bike ride. I pulled Landrick behind me in his little trailer and Poppy (my Dad) rode most of the way with me. We rode quite a bit with the group and then went on our own, as I did not want Landrick on any of the 'big' roads. It was really nice... it was fun to take time to show our support for a bike friendly city and spend a little family time... we were quite excited when Poppy joined Sam, Landrick and I too... a nice surprise.

Mother's Day and a post-Mother's Day surprise, of sorts... :)

Last year I can remember sitting in church and wanting to stand up when Pastor Daniel recognized all of the mothers... Sam and I were about 3 months pregnant at the time but only a handful of people knew. Although our precious baby was not born yet, I still considered myself a mother and wanted to stand:) This past Sunday, I proudly stood when Pastor Daniel asked all of the Mothers to stand and be recognized... it was perhaps one of the best parts of the day. I'd been waiting for that day for so long... and it was worth every second of the wait. I couldn't be more thankful for such an amazing gift... the opportunity to be a mother. I pray that I do not take it for granted and that I treat such a precious gift carefully. Although I know I will make mistakes, I hope I learn from them and always give motherhood my best effort.


On to Landrick news... he's super cute, but we already knew that, right? hehe
For some reason whenever people ask me about him I always respond by saying 'He's super cute'... what a random response... but it's kind of weird to respond to that question... I probably can't say 'He's the most awesome baby ever... sooo cute, sooo cuddly, amazing, smart, happy, sweet, etc'... the list would go on forever!
He helped me celebrate Mother's Day by getting up early and hanging out with me while I did some chores... then he surprised me with a necklace (which he untied the ribbon on the box) and a card (which he tried to eat and then got mad because I wouldn't let him eat it). He let me take a quick nap while he napped, played with a new toy with me, and then spent the evening at Meimaw and Poppy's helping Daddy catch a HUGE bass and playing. It was a great day... to say the least.
Yesterday, as gross as it is to talk about, I can say that I was finally able to understand what Nikki meant when she talked about how strictly 'breast milk' diapers were the best ones to change... I would always secretly think to myself 'how bad could they be - the ones right now aren't too bad'. Yeah, so I was certainly able to get a small grasp of 'how bad could they be' yesterday. When I got home from work Sam had just arrived home from the store and Landrick was hanging out in his car seat while Sam put the groceries away. I went over to pick him up and smelled something BAD. I immediately looked for signs of a blowout but didn't see anything. So, as any mother would do, I got a little closer 'sniff' of his bottom. Oh my word... I immediately went to his room and called for Sam. He was on the phone but I told him he could continue talking but that I was not going to experience this diaper change alone. Sam was standing in the doorway talking to a work friend when I pulled the diaper back (while not breathing through my nose) suddenly his conversation stopped, he gagged and I said ‘Umm… I think we should give Landrick a bath’. And that is exactly what we did.

Lip sucker...

So I just noticed for the first time today that Landrick has begun sucking on his bottom lip... it has to be one of the cutest things ever! I'll try to get a photo of him doing it tomorrow. It's really cute and kind of makes him look like a papaw of sorts.

After two weeks and 2.5 days without pooping he had a poopsplosion on Sam. I was talking to Sam on the phone and while in mid-sentence he goes 'Oh my Gosh.. I have to go.' Then he muttered something like 'Landrick, well, ummmm, he, ewwwww... its everwhere... no need to worry now...' He hung up the phone, I laughed outloud histerically and tried to call my sister to entertain her with the story as well. Couldn't reach her, but did reach Mom... we both had a good laugh. Later Sam called me back and told me that he'd taken Landrick outside to get the mail and before he even got back into the house there was poop up to his armpits. Good job baby boy! :)

This past weekend Morehead had a record-breaking flood... we were out of electricity and power for about a day.. luckily, Mom and Dad still had power and water for a while. When the power went out I had one thing on my mind... Landrick's frozen milk. There was no way I was going to let that stuff go bad... I have worked HARD since January to produce a milk supply for the little man (enough to fill an entire cooler) and was not about to let it melt! All is well now.. milk is safe... Mommy Amanda can rest easy about that.

The effects of the flood on Morehead/Rowan Co citizens is pretty heartbreaking... my minor inconvienence of no power or water pales in comparison to what many people are going through right now with the loss of property... it was a pretty crazy Sunday and Monday... but now people are slowly starting to put things back together.

On a funny note... I just realized that tomorrow is Wednesday. All evening I thought tomorrow was Thursday.. I even put the trash out (since it runs on Thursdays). Wow... I must be tired.

Ring Puller

So Landrick has figured out how to manuver his plastic rings and pull them off (one by one) of his bouncy seat. For the past several weeks he's almost been mezmorized by the ones hanging in the middle. He would kick his legs and then watch the rings swing. Earlier today he pulled of 'Mr. Bee' and three rings remained... earlier he pulled off one... then he pulled of the second (he couldn't reach the third)... I put the second one back off... and he just pulled it off again. He's a smart boy:)