Fathers

This is my Dad

He's a pretty important man in my life.

Here's some of the things that make him so great!

1. He would never let us call him Daddy. It was always DAD

\2. He is an avid hiker and has always stayed active.

3. He eats peanut butter nearly every day. Probably where I got my peanut butter eating habit.

4. He takes really good care of his cars. His 1994 Toyota truck is still going strong, and is still in really good condition.

5. He is more of the "Strong, Silent" type, but he has a way of getting a lot of respect. He can keep most anyone "in-line". Even the scouts (teenage boys).

6. He doesn't have any son's. But he loves his girls and wouldn't prefer it any other way.

7. He has taught my sisters and I to be self sufficient and independent. Yet I know I could go to him if I every had any issue/problem or needed some financial assistance.

8. He helped all my sisters and I get a college degree. Something that has such significant value that I become more and more aware each and every day.

9. He is always so caring and concerned whenever we struggle. And emotional, physical, or spiritual battle my sisters or I have to face, I know he loves and supports me and would take it away if he could.

10. I have a deep love and respect for him. He taught me what a man should be like. How to find a man to take good care of me and love and support and respect me. And now that I have my own son, how to raise a man to be.

Thanks Dad,

Happy Fathers Day and

I love you!

Of course I need to mention my Husband.

He is such a loving and compassionate Father. He has the opportunity that not many fathers have of being a part of the day in and day out care of a busy baby and very active toddler. I mean... he spends all day with him while I'm at work. From the moment he wakes up, the diaper changes, the feedings, the entertaining, the clothes changes, the outside walks, the baths, to the moment he falls asleep... he is there. He really understands the work that is put in for a parent that stays at home to raise children.

Watching them together truly lights up my world. They have such a special relationship. They both have infectious laughs, so when one is laughing, usually the other is too. Chris figures out ways to do things that I never think of, and they are usually the better way to do it :). He is very affectionate. He gives lots of kisses to Max (and Me). He gets so concerned when Max is sick or injured. He is a great man. He cares deeply for his son and is a fantastic Dad.

Happy Fathers Day dear!

Happy Graduation/30th Birthday/29th Birthday/5 Year Anniversary!

For our Graduation/30th Birthday/29th Birthday/5 Year Anniversary Celebration and last hurrah before Chris gets a job in the field he just graduated in and no longer works for Skywest...

We decided to go to Puerto Vallarta.

A vacation without Max.

Just the two of us.

I had a lot of anxiety about leaving Max for the first time. He has only ever slept in his crib. Would he be able to sleep at my mom's? Would he wake up multiple times at night for my poor mom? He would miss us. And I would miss him even more.

But we needed this.

So we set out. Flying standby is not my favorite, but we made it. It was a 3 hour flight which isn't too bad. When we got there, we were bombarded with people trying to sell us vacation packages in a run down airport where most everyone speaks only Spanish, we don't know what we are doing or where we are going, and everything is in Peso's. (How much am I spending? Did they even give me the right change?)

I felt extremely overwhelmed and stressed. I tried to put on a brave face, but I felt I was nearing a panic attack. I have never had one before, but I felt like I was about to lose it and have a screaming/crying fit.

Somehow I held it together until we arrived at the resort. When we finally got to our room I felt more settled and began to relax. Probably because our room looked like this:

And our view wasn't half bad either:

We got to spend some quality couple time together. This vacation was supposed to be just that... a vacation. To relax, to rejuvenate, to push the reset button. The resort was all inclusive so food, entertainment, and everything was included. We didn't venture out of the resort, and frankly I didn't have a big desire too.

The food was interesting. I am pretty picky, but I tried some things. I guess I am way to used to American Mexican food, because everything tasted just a little different. And I couldn't figure out if I really like it or not. I ate a lot of Caesar Salads and the virgin Pina Colada's were very tasty!

I'm glad Chris and I got to spend some quality time together being a couple, not parents, or a nurse, or a ramp agent. Just us alone together.

And if your wondering how Max did. He did just fine. I guess kids really are adaptable.

Momma

There are a lot of important women in my life.

But I want to give a big shout out to my momma!

Thanks for always being there for me Mom! You are an amazing cook, a good listener, a teacher, and one of my best friends. I love that you love to talk about Max as much as I do. You are a fabulous Grandma and have help me so much with him. Thanks for always listening to me, supporting me, giving me advice, being a shoulder to cry on, influencing me, and giving me unconditional love. You are the best, and I LOVE YOU!!

Happy Mothers Day!!

Silly Boy

Max does the funniest things sometimes.

For example, he broke into the cabinet (even though it was "baby proofed") and did this for a good 10-15 minutes and thought it was HILARIOUS!

He also likes to pick up objects that are much larger than himself



And I think I might have the next American Idol on my hands...

Silly Boy!

Why I Can't Get Enough!

 Max is like Chris.... he makes me laugh every day.

 He loves to smile

He loves to climb

 He still loves to eat tags and he loves to RUN!

He loves to be CUTE!

  

He loves to hide behind the curtains and have mommy find him!

He loves to grab the remote and miraculously turn on the Picture-in-Picture feature that I can't seem to turn off and have never been able to figure out!

He loves playing in front of the mirror

He loves hanging out with his mommy.

That's why I can't get enough!

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And to top it all off... he does silly things like put an orange cup in his mouth and run across the room, even though he can't see where he is going!

And he likes plastic bags

I definitely have a boy!

What I'm thinking about for the moment...

Just some random thoughts...

I LOVE that Max has finally learned how to put himself to sleep for naps... in his crib... for TWO HOURS. I used to be joyous with 45 minute naps and the only way I could get them to be 45 minute naps is if I held him and rocked him back to sleep if he were to wake up. But finally I talked to the pediatrician about his terrible napping habits, and the fact that I was giving into them because I was so desperate for him to sleep and he just told me that nap time is also mommy time... or daddy time. So to just put him in his crib about the same time every day. Give him some books or toys. Then walk away. He can decide if he wants to play, cry, or sleep. And I tell you... he used to cry a lot, but now he just cries for maybe 1 minute and then SLEEP! I hope this sticks as it hasn't been going on for too long. But I am SO HAPPY. He has never slept so long during the day. I love the new time to myself!

Max was only 25lb's and almost 32 inches at his "12 month" checkup. (He was actually 13.5 months) That means he has only gained 3lb's and about 3.5 inches since he was 6 months old! I have to say I was a little bit relieved that he isn't growing at such a massive rate any longer. It is nice that his 9 month onesies still fit and he has been wearing the same size pajama's since he was 7 months old. I am glad I don't have to go buy new clothes every 3 months any more!

I am super bummed that my automatic key chain lock for my car has stopped working. I replaced the battery in my old one and it rendered it useless. Wouldn't work anymore. SO now I have to lock my car doors with my KEY... (oh the humanity!) But it is hard to have such a luxury and then have it be taken away, so I have to get used to remembering to lock my door with my key now.

I hate feeling like I have no time. I guess I do, but I use it up playing with Max or trying to tackle the house work. Working full time, having a husband, a household, two cats, and having Max seems to take up most of my time. And the little time I do have, I usually spend it doing things for myself. So I feel like I'm a bad friend, a bad sister, and a bad daughter sometimes. I really love all you peeps out there. I just always feel like I never have enough time!

Chris and I have only spent money eating out twice this month. And that was last night and today. That has to be some kind of record for us. Not only have we been eating better, but we have been eating at home so much more since he was diagnosed with diabetes. It is nice to know that we eat a little healthier and are saving money! I have even lost about 5lb's! If I just exercised a little more that could be even more!

I want to use more coupons. I am not talking about crazy coupon people that can get a $1000 grocery bill down to $26.53. That seems like too much work... and NOT how I want to spend my free time. I am just talking about saving money on items I already buy. Like $3 off diapers since I am buying them at Costco anyway or $0.50 off Kraft singles because I refuse to buy the off brand (they taste weird) If anyone knows how to help me with this I am open to ideas!

My work is starting to get slow again. RSV season has died down and we don't have as many patients. While in a way I am relieved not only for the fact that there are less sick kids, but that it is a lot less busy and stressful at work. I don't feel like I'm drowning most my shifts which is nice. However, I don't like the stress it puts on me as the primary income for our household. If I don't work... and I don't use my vacation/sick/leave time... we don't have money. I am just hoping Chris finds a good job.

Chris GRADUATES in 9 days!!! Only 9 more days. Then he has the big task of finding an ENTRY LEVEL networking job which are apparently more difficult to find as most companies out there want experience networkers. And he has to bunker down and get ready for his certification exams. But I am so proud of him for all the hard work and dedication he has put into his schooling and the fantastic grades he has earned!

Well... Max just woke up from his 2.5 hours nap!!! So I got to go!

Febrile

Max is sick

AGAIN

So is Chris. I feel like the illnesses will just not go away.

It started out with Max getting fevers last Thursday-Saturday. They weren't too high 101 at the most. He also had a little bit of a runny nose. "Teething" we thought.. Then they went away. And all that was left was a runny nose and mild cough.

Then today they came back with a vengeance. He woke up at around 100.6. Not bad I thought, and gave him some Motrin. At noon they were 101.5, gave him some Tylenol. He was a little more fussy, and didn't want his bottle, but otherwise business as usual. Then he went up to 102.7. So I did Motrin again and got a little worried. His fever wouldn't break despite the medications. He went down to 100.4 after the Motrin (about 45 minutes after) then spiked up to 103.6 about 1.5 hours later.

So this is where being a nurse and being a mom gets hard. You would assume that being a nurse I would be like "stick a band aid on it and you'll be alright". Fevers are common and many virus's cause fevers. But this is MY CHILD. And with my knowledge I know that many virus's cause fevers and they just have to run their course. BUT I also know that many other things cause fevers, ear infections, UTI's, abscess's, bacterial infections, pneumonia, and God forbid MENINGITIS or SEPSIS! High fevers can even cause seizures in kids! So maybe being a nurse is to my disadvantage. Maybe if I was naive I wouldn't know the worst case scenario and just believe my baby is just a little sick (which is probably the case). Instead I'm fence sitting here trying to decide if he needs to see a doctor now, or can wait for his "12 month well child checkup" tomorrow.

As I put him to sleep tonight I just held him and rocked him. My normally active-always-on-the-go-never-really-cuddles-unless-he's-almost-asleep boy let me hold him, even though he was awake. As I rocked my feverish bottle refusing child, I sang to him. I sang (I actually hum) all his regular songs, then I started singing all the ones I sang to him all hours of the night when he would not sleep as a newborn. The ones I sang on the floor to him when he finally needed to learn to put himself to sleep in his crib, yet I felt too guilty to let him cry all alone. All those songs brought so many memories back.

I had a moment. I know he is only 13 months, but in the last 13 months I have experienced emotions I never even knew I was capable of. From the most unexplainable blissful joy to the most extreme frustration to the most intense urge to protect to the craziest anxiety to uncontrollable laughter and the deepest depression. Being a parent is hard (and I know it will only get harder). But as I held my little boy just wishing I could take his fever, discomfort, sadness, misery, and any horrible experience he EVER may come across away from him... I knew that being a parent is the most fantastic, amazing, and extremely sacred experience I have the honor of being a part of. In that peaceful moment, when he was finally able to calm and go to sleep, I was his Momma. One of the most important jobs in the world.