Baby's First Snow

I was sitting here this morning feeling bummed because our snow pictures did not turn out. Then it occurred to me - the snow is still here!

Mommy's favorite!

Not too sure...

Hi Mommy!

Not Me Monday

My husband did not make macaroni and cheese and forget the cheese. I did not call him on this, and he did not respond with, "It's white cheddar cheese so you just can't see it."

We did not leave Micah playing under his baby gym while we made dinner. He did not roll off the gym mat and under the coffee table. We did not leave him there so we could take a picture.

I do not pick my son's nose.

While at work recently, Jamie did not find one of my nursing pads stuck to his shirt.

I did not look at my outfit twice this week and think, "Clinton and Stacy would kill me." Clinton and Stacy are not the stars of TLC's "What Not to Wear."

Micah is not wearing 9 month clothes. He does not start Kindermusik tomorrow. He is not growing up too fast.

I did not set my DVR two weeks in advance to record "19 Kids and Counting: A Duggar Special Delivery." I do not love this show. I have not seen every episode.

Mommyitis

Just a little update from us...all I seem to tell you about lately is what we're NOT doing ;-) I've gotten to spend a lot of time with friends lately, which has been so wonderful! I kind of fell off the map after I became a mommy, but now I'm starting to live back into some of the other roles that define me, including "friend." I had lunch last Sunday with three of my best girlfriends. We have five little boys between us...not a girl in sight! We wouldn't have it any other way, though!

Micah is such a joy right now! He's porking up on solids and rolling all over the place. He has not figured out how to roll from front to back yet, so he is constantly getting stuck and wanting to be rescued. He's very interested in what's happening around him. Jamie can't even talk to me while I'm nursing anymore because Micah will try to get into the conversation. He loves to stroll outside, and he loves to be carried around in the Baby Bjorn. I never thought I'd be into baby wearing, but it's a great way to keep him happy and close and also get things done around the house.

Micah is nursing six times a day, and three of those meals include solids. One of those is an attempted bottle. He will take anywhere from 1-3 ounces from the bottle. I know this isn't enough for a single feeding, so I did some online research and found that he's "reverse cycling." This means he's eating just enough to get by and then waiting for the next nursing to make up for it. Smart baby. We are sticking with it, though. I've also introduced a sippy cup, but right now we're just letting him play with it to figure out how it works.

Micah has come down with a case of Mommyitis. He makes it known that Mommy is his favorite, no matter whose feelings it hurts ;-) He hasn't done too well in the church nursery the last several weeks. We will keep at it though. This consistency thing is so hard. It really would be easier in the short run to just do what makes him happy. But I have an end goal in mind...

Not Me Monday

I did not have a two hour lunch with my girlfriends yesterday. I was not looking forward to this for weeks, and it was not the most I've gotten out without my baby since he was born.

I do not threaten several times a day to quit my job. Micah always naps when I want him to, so I have plenty of time to keep up the house, care for him and work.

My husband does not go around the house singing "Pants on the Ground." I do not think this is hysterical.

I do not check on Micah multiple times a night. I do not put my finger under his nose to make sure he is breathing. I do not sometimes wish we co-slept.

I do not have a sink full of assorted bottles rejected by my son. He does not demand the boob and will take milk however it is served. I do not fear that this will never, ever change.

I am not super excited that Dr. Cameron is returning to House at the end of the season. I did not learn this information from a House spoiler site. I do not have the time to read such things.

When Micah cries, he is not calmed when Jamie pretends to use him as a periscope. I do not quit whatever I'm doing to come witness this each and every time.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. I dig this gal. Granted, she's into "Not Me...Ever!" things like co-sleeping and breastfeeding for 5,976 years - but she's also into Jesus, and I like reading the daily musings of her family of six.

I do not sometimes put my baby down for naps simply because I need a break. I know how important sleep is to a growing infant, so I only put him down for naps when I know he really needs them.

I did not get jealous recently when friends were talking about going on a week long vacation sans children. After all, I can "vacate" for up to two hours at a time, and that's pretty awesome.

I did not zone out when my husband was talking about an upcoming race and then say "yes" after he asked me a question. I know exactly what he asked and what I said "yes" to.

I did not pretend to not hear my baby chatting on the monitor this morning. I did not hope that my husband would get him this time.

I did not go to the gym recently and then stop by Burger King for a cheeseburger on the way home.

I did not start talking to my husband about a second child. We agreed to wait three years, and I'm fully committed to that and would never change my mind. He also did not look at me and say, "You're crazy." Or something like that.

Do You Know Where Your Children Are?

Somebody alert Sarah Palin! There's a rogue child hanging out near our house, and it's really kinda creepy. The town of Winterville is in the process of expanding the park behind our neighborhood, and one of the additions is a walking trail. I'm super excited about this - Micah and I have already been strolling there twice this week. Well, today the whole family went, and we were followed by this rogue child carrying two pieces of rebar and a pellet gun. Every now and then, he would start shooting that gun. I was about to freak out! Jamie had just asked me, "Do you feel safe walking on this trail alone?" And I had said, "Oh, yes, very safe." We tried to lose this child, but to no avail. He stayed right with us for two loops around the trail. My eye was on that pellet gun the whole time. If he so much as waved it in Micah's direction, I was taking him down. Craziness. When we started to head back home, the child actually looked disappointed. This is the point where I want to launch into my "people need to control their children" lecture, but I'll refrain.

So I learned a valuable lesson last night: If I drink caffeine at dinner, the whole family will be awake most of the night. Now that Micah's stomach has recovered from last week, he has been sleeping 11+ hours at night. That is, until last night when he decided that 3am would be a good time to start his day. Jamie and I took turns trying to re-settle him to no avail. I knew it was my fault, so I felt bad...but not so bad that I didn't ask Jamie to take the 5:30-7am shift so that I could get a little sleep. We're all walking around like zombies today.

Maybe This Week Will Be Better Than The Last...

Last week was an emotional roller coaster for me. It started with Micah's 4 month doctor's appointment. We became overly concerned about his weight and decided to supplement with some formula, and the iron in the formula completed wrecked his stomach. He didn't want to eat much of anything for several days, and I was about to lose my mind. Nothing to me is more stressful than when my baby refuses to eat...Then, we found out that a friend of the family had delivered a stillborn baby at full term. We had jokingly referred to baby Caroline as Micah's girlfriend. Her family was so excited about her birth - they had even kept up their Christmas tree until her arrival because Santa had left her some presents. I was in a funk for days over that. They still need prayer as they try to rebuild their lives, so please remember the Bucks.

This week has started much better! Micah is on the mend, I celebrated by 30th birthday yesterday, and today I'm using some of my Christmas money to pay for help with housework :-) As I get older, the "gift" I really want is more quality time with my husband and son. Quality = not worrying about all the things still left on my to-do list. So, paying a friend to come clean my house is more exciting to me than a fancy piece of jewelry. Everyone asks how 30 feels. As Micah wipes his nose across my face while I type this, I feel very, very blessed. I have the family I always wanted, but I am a lot more aware of the fact that time is passing. Of course I always knew that, but something about 30 has reminded me that I'm not going to live forever.

So, in honor of not living forever, I did come up with a New Year's goal (yes, only one) that I hope will give my life more "eternal impact." This was a challenge set forth by our pastor last weekend.

I want to invest more in my relationships, specifically with my girlfriends.

Since Micah's birth, I've been really lax about that. I have some awesome women in my life, and I want those relationships to grow deeper and more authentic in 2010. I know this requires one main thing - TIME - so part of my goal is making the time to invest in these relationships.