bath time

Gosh I feel like I haven't written in forever. I really just have not felt like it nor really had the time. Kale is growing so fast it is hard to believe that next monday he will be 9 months old. I had him 9 months ago. I really feel like I had him just yesterday. It's like I want to go back in time and enjoy everything all over again. I enjoy the age he is at now. I love how he interacts and laughs at some of the most random things, loves to rough house with daddy, and everything else he does; but, I feel like I didn't get to enjoy him as a little baby enough. It is true what everyone says enjoy it while you can because it will be gone in the blink of an eye. I feel like I just blinked and he was saying dada and mama and baba and ga and duh and all of these little cute words and now is on his way to becoming a little man. Now on to what I was going to blog about. I probably haven't given Kale a bath in about a week and a half. Not that he hasn't bathed :) haha. Daddy has just been the one to give the bath because his bath sometimes falls at the time when I am cooking dinner. Well the past two nights it has worked out where I have been the one to give him a bath. I LOVE to give Kale a bath. The kid LOVES the bath. I mean he would stay in there for hours if I let him. He reminds me of Jayden because when I get him out and start to get him dressed he cries. I think my baby likes to be naked! He has a bunch of toys in his bath now, most of them are ducks. He will play with one throw it down and grab another....he has to play with them all. The kid loves his toys now...bath toys or play time toys...he LOVES THEM!!! and has to touch everyone that is out for him. Well that night I gave him his bath he had played with all his ducks, jets, and trucks while I was washing his hair and bathing him. Well as soon as I put the wash cloth in his tub because I was finished with bathing him and just going to watch him play he went diving for it!!! It was so funny...well then he would sit there and say da in this weird voice and he would sit very straight and then he would start splashing and going nuts....water was going everywhere all in his face coming out of the bath tub....all over me....but I couldn't stop him he was having so much fun!!! He would stop say da in that weird voice and straighten up and start splashing again. I think I had to fill up his bath twice because of how much he was splashing! well because of all of his comotion he made bubbles and once he saw these he stopped splashing and wanted to grab them so fast. He kept trying to pick them up and grab them between his two fingers but he couldn't...so he would splash some more and try again. I love how interactive he is and it is so amazing to be able to be home with him and see him learn something new everyday! He is so amazing!!! The kid also loves the water facet!!! when I was refilling his bath he dived toward the water facet and was holding his arm underneath it and trying to grab the water. He was just too precious!!!

standing boy

Yesterday I was playing with Kale in the floor. My sister gave us this new toy that Jayden had grown out of. It is a little green chair and it has gadgets for him to play with. Well yesterday he was sitting in it playing with the gadgets and watching his t.v. show when what does he do? Stand up!!! He completely BLEW MY MIND!!! I so was not expecting that. He would fall back into his seat and stand right back up. It was soo awesome. I love seeing him overcome a milestone. It just makes me so proud...:) I am trying to enjoy them as much as I can...seeing how I am going to start school back in the spring (hopefully) and it will be Ryan with him during the day and Ryan who gets to see all these milestones...that makes me sad :(

my moving little boy

I haven't written in a while, but to be honest not too much has been going on. Kale is growing so fast. It makes me so sad. I am always telling Ryan I am ready to have another one; however, I am not. This weekend we went home to see the Kings of Leon concert, which just happened to be my very first concert. It was pretty awesome. I enjoyed it alot; however, I would have to say I think Ivy enjoyed it more :) She was jamming out the whole concert! Saturday morning we went over to my sisters new house to help move in. I was so exhausted I didn't do much but just sit around. I don't know what was wrong with me but I was worthless. Ryan sat Kale down on the floor and he got up on his hands and knees and took his first crawl step..:) He didn't go far but he did go somewhere. Mostly he just "humped" the air...meaning his hips moved back and forth. My sister said thats something they do right before they start crawling. SO EXCITING!!! I know he wants to move so bad!! I think he is just sick of tired of being still and wants to do his own thing...a.k.a. get into everything! I can already tell I am going to have my hands full with this little guy. When he is in the kitchen in his walker he has found the trash can and tries to grap the trashbag. I tell him NO very sternly and move him to the other side of the kitchen...what does he do...goes right back to the trash can. He is a little stubborn boy :) I will teach him though! The kid can move in his walker..in the kitchen he moves every where and steers that thing pretty dang good!

First two teeth

Well I must say that I was blessed with a good teether (knock on wood) , I definitely don't want to jinx myself. Maybe I should re-state that. I was blessed with a baby who cut his first two teeth with not too much trouble. I will say that Ryan and I have been blessed with probably the best little baby boy ever (again knock on wood). Everytime we go out we constantly get comments on his blue eyes (that's a given...he will definitely woo the girls with his piercing eyes) but we also almost ALWAYS get compliments on how well behaved and what a happy baby we have. A mom yesterday at pets mart was talking about how good he was being in his stroller and how most babies especially hers would start to fuss if the stroller wasn't moving but he was just sitting there looking around. Don't get me wrong my child has his moments just like any other; but, really all around Ryan and I were blessed with such a happy baby. Well about a week ago we noticed he was whining more than normal. Rarely ever does Kale just whine unless he is hungry or wants to move on to a new toy. Well he had started to just whine at times and nothing pleased him. I didn't know what was going on, but I didn't think about the possibility of him cutting a tooth. He wasn't ridiculously fussy at all. I had noticed that he had increased drool and was chewing on his toys ALOT so one day I just happened to stick my finger in his mouth to check out his gums and low and behold he had cut his first tooth. My hand grazed over his gums and in the front got caught on his first tooth :) I was such a happy mommy. I looked and there it was sticking out of the gum. Ryan and I were so happy and praised him on cutting his first tooth and what a big boy he was. Well I have always heard once they break through the gum it no longer hurts the baby; but he was still being fussy and acting like his gums were bothering him. My mom told me that teeth normally come in pairs so he was probably trying to cut another one. So when he acted like he was in pain I gave him some teething tablets, and at night I would give him tylenol to help him sleep through the night without waking up with his teeth bothering him. Well yesterday I checked his gums to see if another tooth had popped up and sure enough he has now cut his front two bottom teeth :)

Nap time in bed

Gosh, I have not blogged in what seems like FOREVER! Things have been kind of hectic in the Metty household! Ryan has an ORI going on, on base. They are getting a grade to see how well they could go in if something bad was happening in the world and be ready to deploy..He has been working twelve hour shifts for what seems like FOREVER getting them ready for this ORI. I will be so glad when it is over. Hopefully, there will not be anymore excercises for a while. I have been busy studying for my GACE test in October. I swear studying for this makes me really un-easy about starting back school. Studying and being a mommy and keeping the house clean and having dinner ready is hard work. Ryan said me going back to school would take a lot of effort from the both of us; but he knew we could do it. I know we can do it. I think I am just going to be a zombie once I start back. I mean I don't think I will be getting very much sleep. So that is pretty much what has been going on around our household now on to what I intended on blogging about.

Since Kale has been born I have always let him take naps in his bouncer. They have been short little cat naps, probably because I end up waking him up but he takes a fair share of naps during the day. Well yesterday he was fussing away. I put him in his bouncer to bounce him so he would take a nap and he still fussed. I ended up getting really annoyed because I could tell he was tired he just would not go to sleep in his bouncer. I started getting frusturated at him so I put him in his bed and decided I would let him whine a little bit in his bed and he could just take a nap in his bed. It ended up working out perfectly. I could do things around the house without being worried about waking him up. I had a little bit of me time I felt like where I could do what I wanted instead of just sitting beside him trying to be as quiet and as mouse. Not to mention he took a longer nap then he normally would. Right then and there I thought about it and decided that I was going to make him take naps in his bed from now on. It just makes sense because I mean even when he gets to be two I still want him to take at least one nap. I think that kids that age still need naps. Well at that age there is no way he can fit in his bouncer or at least I can't bounce him in it. Not to mention that I am sure during the terrible two stage he will be a little rebellious. Well when it is nap time it is nap time and if I teach him now that when I lay him down in his bed he needs to take a nap then as he gets older I can lay him down in his bed, he can fuss a little bit but eventually take a nap. And I don't think he will be growing out of his crib anytime soon :) Everything I thought of was a positive to laying him in his crib for naps. I did it this morning too and he whined for a few mintues and went right to sleep :) and he has been sleeping for about 30 minutes now maybe even a little more. I am definitely going to start doing this!!!

My Relationship with God

I had seen this blog on a friends blog (that sounds confusing.) And I started to read it. My friend had asked everyone who read her blog to pray for this family. I looked at the blog and started to read. This family, had two boys and the third one from what I read was born a little early. I didn't read the blog from the beginning, so I don't know if the baby was born premature or maybe the problems were going on and they had to induce. Needless to say the baby was born with heart and kidney problems. He lived for I think 4 weeks and then ended up going up to the Lord. This family had such a strong relationship with God. I have never seen a couple like them. Even in this hard situation they were praying to God for strength and thanking him for the time they got to spend with their son. I was just in awe and amazed with their relationship with God and their faith.

I almost feel like God directed me to their blog. Lately, I have not had the best relationship with God. I mean yes, I am a Christian however, I have not read my bible in a very long time. Also, when I came down here for college I tried finding a church that I liked and after trying a couple I just couldn't find one I liked so I just kind of gave up...Not cool!! About a month ago Ryan and I had run into a rocky point in our marriage I felt like we needed to start going back to church and just really needed the Lord to enter our life and help us heal our marriage...we needed to have a good Christian marriage and we had lost sight of that. We both decided we needed to start going to church; however, we didn't.

After reading this family's blog I started weeping. I wanted to have that faith, that relationship I used to have with God before I came to college. I talked to Ryan and we plan on starting back church. I think it is very important for Kale to be a child who knows God and grows up in church having a good relationship with the Lord.

I just really wanted to blog about this because it was heavy on my heart. I think God is always watching out for us and trying to send us signs guiding us back to him when we fall wayside.

2nd word

Well he is finally saying dada as of Saturday! Ryan doesn't have to be jealous and sad anymore haha! He says dada, now that he says it, more than mama but I don't mind that! He is still saying baba the most...which isn't a word...or Ryan thought maybe it meant dada..haha ovbiously not!

He also puts his pacy in his mouth now and I had the handle in my mouth holding it and carrying him and he grabbed it out of my mouth it was the cutest thing ever! I love my little boy!

Osh Kosh is going out of business!! I bought him sooo many clothes I spent $170 dollars between there and carters and got three of the giant bags stuffed full of stuff. Such cute things too! I was so excited!!! It is bad I love to shop for him as much as I love to shop for myself...not a good thing. Ryan told me not to go crazy. I think I might have just a little bit but the way I looked at it is it is saving us money in the long run. Osh Kosh has really good clothes and they normally are not cheap so getting them for that great price was a steal!!! I mean jeans for $4 regular like $20 you can't beat that!

I love this picture...it is such hard work to get my son to smile for the camera. He is such a happy baby..always laughing always smiling..as soon as I get him to smile and bring the camera up to my eye he turns it off...like ummm no I am not smiling for that thing...or he turns his head...It makes me sooo angry!!

He is changing so much lately...definitely developing more of a personality. I think I am pretty sure he is going to be a BIG talker like his mommy. The kid loves to talk...The past three mornings instead of crying when he wakes up, he talks to himself in his bed. It is the sweetest...cutest thing ever..I always wake up with a smile on my face. He has started to say baba...it's not a word but I think maybe we are getting close to dada...who knows...Ryan swears that baba means dada...?!?!? He wants him to be saying da-da so bad! I hope he does soon for Ryan's sake; but, it is kind of funny to see Ryan get so bent out of shape about him saying mama sometimes :) I am mean...I know !

I think I am definitely going to have my hands full with Kale as he gets older...he is already getting into things and he isn't even moving yet. We have a surround sound system on our t.v. stand and its on the bottom shelf...well Kale's favorite new thing to do is roll over there and bang on it. Also if I am eating in front of him or drinking he reaches for my glass, plate, whatever like that looks like a cool toy I will play with that. It's cute but I already tell him no sir!

His newest accomplishment: standing holding on to something. He still is very shaky; but it is so precious. I think soon he will be pulling up to stand all by himself, because he has an obsession with you helping him pull up to stand from sitting. We shall see...

Cry It Out nights 4 & 5

Well I think Kale is definitely getting the hang of putting himself to sleep. He hasn't been crying nearly as much as he started out doing. Last night he didn't really cry at all. He whined for a few minutes and then was asleep. I was really worried that last night he was going to have a hard time going to bed; because, he took a nap at about 6:30-7:00. However, he hadn't taken any good naps all day so I didn't want to wake him up; but, at seven if he wasn't up I planned on it. It was like he knew I wanted him to get up and he just woke right up. I am so proud of the progress he is making with putting himself to sleep. It seems he is such a better baby too since we have started putting him to bed at the same time every night and not letting him choose his bed time. He hardly ever whines anymore (knock on wood, I don't want to jinx myself) unless it is right before he is going to take a nap. He also isn't waking up as much in the middle of the night. He did wake up on night 4, but I have figured out what sometimes wakes him up....he has started to sleep on his stomach. I don't like it AT ALL; however, I was talking to my friend who is a nurse and she said her boys did it before Kale's age. She just let them she said that it doesn't hurt them especially once they know how to roll over which Kale definitely does. I still don't like it though. However the little stinker instead of rolling over will wake up...sometimes in the middle of the night stay on his belly...and push his chest off the mattress and just wait for me to come get him...I will bring him to our bed, pat his butt for a few minutes and he is OUT...he then goes back to his bed and sleeps for a while again. I really can't worry about the whole stomach thing anyways...last night Ryan went in there and moved him to his back and when I went in there at 5:30 because he woke up he was on his stomach and had done a complete 180. I remember my mom and dad telling me I was a HUGE wiggle worm when I was little and I think Kale takes after me. Anytime I wake up in the middle of the night I can hear him on the monitor moving around; and, it seems every time I go in there in the morning he has done a complete 180...his head is where his feet are supposed to be....such a stinker!!

Growing Boy

It is so amazing to watch Kale. I feel like he grows and learns a little bit each day. Since he has started sitting up each day I notice that his back is a little stronger. He doesn't fall back as much and can sit up for really long periods of time. He looks so BIG when he is sitting playing with his toys and watching the sprout channel in the mornings when I am getting things cleaned up! It makes me sad but at the same time I am such a proud mama. I love watching him explore, which he does all the time now. Yesterday he became amazed with the carpet. I had him laying on his blanket for tummy time and he was trying to grab the carpet and raking it, trying to pick it up...then when he was sitting later he was doing the same thing. The kid still is extremely infatuated with his feet. He is constantly grabbing at them and playing with them. Yesterday he did this while sitting up...he just kept playing with his feet. He has been SUCH a talker lately too and he is saying even more vowels...lately he has been saying what sounds like ba...it is so precious!! I love to hear him talk and I will provoke him and ask him questions like it says to do in the book and he just answers away like he knows exactly what I am saying. He also has definitely developed a personality...he loves peek a boo and anytime I walk in the room he smiles. He has his moments where he shows me his tude and times when he is so funny!

Cry it out nights 2 and 3

Things have been going a lot bettter, now when we lay him down it only takes him 5-10 minutes of crying before he puts himself to bed. We normally have to go in their twice and the past two nights I have been going in there and not made it worse!!! I think it gets easier and easier each night for me. However, he has not slept as good as the first night again yet. He has at least woken up once a night :( I am hoping he gets over this. I really just can't figure out why he gets up. Last night he got up at 1:44 and I tried to get him back to sleep, but he was just so restless!

Night 1 of cry it out

So last night was our first night of cry it out. I say it was our first night because it was the first time we have put Kale in his bed awake and made him go to sleep with no bouncer or mommy/daddy holding him. It was just as hard as I thought it would be for me and Ryan. I explained to Ryan that I wanted him to be the one to do it; because, I knew I would cave in. I am sure Kale knows what a softy his mommy is. I am horrible aren't I? So we read him a book, fed him a bottle and at 8:15 I kissed him goodnight and daddy took him in his room. At first he was quiet and was fine. Then he realized we weren't coming back to get him and the screaming came. Normally he has started off in a whine and then it leads to screaming. Not last night he started out with full blown whailing. After we laid him down Ryan waited for five minutes and then went in there to comfort him. He would actually calm down while Ryan was in there but with the strategy we are using you can only stay in there comforting for five minutes. So everytime Ryan left the whailing began again. It was so hard for me to hear I had to walk outside quite a few times. I just couldn't take it. At one point Ryan had to walk to the nieghbors house to get their dog, Duece, that we are watching for the weekend. The five minutes of letting him cry with no comfort was up while he was away so I had to go in there. I was right when I said I am not good for the job. I am stressed about hearing him cry and Kale is stressed about us letting him cry...so he did not calm down AT ALL for me. I really think I just made things worse. So, Ryan walked in the door went in there and Kale calmed down. Pretty much this process went on until 8:45, then Kale was asleep. It was way harder than I thought it was going to be :( however; I know the end result will be amazing. I caught a glimpse of it last night. I went to bed around 9:40 because I was just beat. I woke up this morning at 5:50 to Ryan's alarm and Kale had not woken up yet. We went back to sleep and then Ryan got up at 6 ish to start getting ready. I was sure Kale would be getting up at any minute to eat. Nope..Ryan left and I waited for that to wake him up because the boy usually has a 7th sense and is up as soon as daddy walks out the door. Nope..he stirred just a little but didn't start fussing so I didn't go in there. The kid slept until 8:30 no wake ups even for a bottle :)....It was a great first night. Hopefully they will all be like this and this wasn't some kind of fluke. So, so far this whole process is going well...Let's hope it keeps going this way!!!!

Learning to go to sleep by yourself

I have been debating this whole cry it out thing. I have written quite a few blogs on it and we have tried it the past two nights. I have been really un-sure about it and it is really hard on me and daddy too! I had, had really un-sure feelings about it but know it is for the best. Today I wanted to read what to expect in the first year seeing how on Sunday Kale will be 6 months old and just see where he is at and what we can expect. While reading it I found a question asked by a mother about her child still not sleeping through the night. In the book the author said it was best to start letting them cry it out now because in the long run you will get better sleep. There are different ways to teach them to put themselves to sleep...there is the cold turkey way...or going in there every five minutes to soothe them when starting out and then increasing the intervals each night...this is the route we are going. There is also sitting in the room in a chair and each night moving the chair further and further back. However, we did not feel this was the best route to go with Kale because when you go in there alot of times it makes his crying worse; becase, you are in there but you are not getting him out of his crib. However, I don't think we should just let him scream his head off I want to atleast try to soothe him so this is why I chose the five minute way. It said not to give up on it for at least two weeks because this will confuse the baby. To give it two weeks to work but most parents see improvements from 4-7 days. I will blog on our process. It also said the different times that kids will have problems with sleep when they succeed in a milestone for instance standing, crawling, sitting because they want to practice this so it makes it hard for them to sleep. I do not want Kale to never be able to put himself to sleep. I don't want him to be two and us having to hold him to get him to sleep, or some other meaning I want him to have a bed time and us to put him in bed and him go to sleep on his own. This is probably the hardest thing I have ever done since he has been born. I really HATE to hear him cry. I have had to let Ryan do this whole thing because it stresses me out. I don't want to go in there stressed when Kale is already stressed about this because it will just add to his distress;however, I do hope to see improvement and soon because I really can't stand to hear him so upset. we have started the nightly routine which we pretty much have been doing since he has been born so I shouldn't say start; however, he gets his bath at 5...he normally gets his last bottle anywhere from 7-7:30 and before that bottle we read him a book. I really hope to see an improvement and I will blog about the process and hopefully later on the success!

Cry It Out

I hate hearing Kale cry. I am one of those moms who comes running when she hears his painful scream. I can't just let him cry. The way I look at it is he is a blessing. I mean so many things went wrong with my pregnancy. They tried to tell me I was having a tubal pregnancy and that this would affect me having a baby later on. I can still remember the pain of knowing that I had been pregnant but would not be able to have this baby. I was a mess. I cried for four days until I found out that my pregnancy hormone was doubling. Then had to wait (because of stupid Stacy who ovbiously did not care about me or my baby to get her crap together...or actually I had to get a new midwife and never see her again....to me she was the enemy..) Just all the things I went through Kale is a blessing. I know I don't have the best patience of any mother...sometimes I get really frustrated which I think every mother does whether they admit it or not. However, this little boy is my everything and I worked really hard to get him into this world and so hearing him cry just breaks my heart. My husband, however, does not feel the same way. I know I spoil him but I will tell everyone I think that you spoil your first child as a baby. You just don't know, you are learning. I am sure I run to him way too much and I am sure I might regret it when he gets a little bit older but you live and learn.

So...back to last night...Ryan had told me that he would watch Kale so I could go to bed early. He got home and started watching him. Kale and him took a nap and I got ready to go to the gym. My two little boogers slept from a little after 4 until 6:15 Ryan said. That could be one of the reasons it was so hard to get my tiny stinker to bed. He fell asleep around eight thirty. It was great!! Well I asked Ryan to move him to his bed and Ryan was looking on the internet and said he would in a little bit. I should have just moved him myself. However, I didn't. I went into the bedroom to go to sleep. I came in the living room to tell Ryan something and my little stinker was WIDE AWAKE. GRRR. Ryan said well if he was really going to go to sleep he would still be asleep (making up excuses for not moving him) YEAH RIGHT! So Ryan told me he had him and to go back to sleep. Well Ryan puts him in his bed awake..comes into our room and turns on the monitor....so much for letting me go to bed early..I get to hear my son scream in my ear and there is no sleeping through that. Ryan would let him cry for awhile go in there and try and calm him down, trying to calm him down by telling him shhh go sleep....it's ok....but not getting him out of his crib only made Kale cry that much harder...this went on for about 30 minutes...well then it was ten and time for him to eat again...if he was up which he never is but tonight was. I knew once he ate it would help calm him down and he would go right to sleep..I told Ryan it was time for him to eat but Ryan didn't want to feed him???!?!?!? excuse me?!?!??! He said he didn't want to get him out of his bed...I told him I didn't care if he got him out of his bed or not but that Kale needed to eat. Finally Ryan fixed Kale a bottle. After he fed him he went straight to sleep. However, ryan went to make sure the front door was locked and my husband is loud he does not think he is but he just does not know how to be quiet...he can't shut a door quiet...talk quietly...really anything..I love him to death but he just can't. well he somehow mangaes to slam the door or make the door make a loud noise while seeing if the front door was locked..well Kale's room is closest to the front door and it made him stir so he started crying again and continued to cry for five minutes and finally went to sleep. He actually slept decent until 4 woke up had a bottle and went back down till 7. I can't complain too much about that. I just wish he would sleep until 7 like he used to and not wake up at 4 and 5...but it is like someone told me we are on their schedule...they are in charge right now! Which is very true!

Some Serious Sleep Problems

So here for the past few weeks Kale has been having some major problems with his sleep schedule. During the day he still takes his naps just like he always has. However, at night time he goes to bed when he is supposed to 8:00-8:30; however, he has been waking up several times during the night. I mean this is worse than it was when I brought him home from the hospital. At first I chalked it up to teeth pain and thought it was waking him up in the middle of the night. I really do think that a few times in the past that is what it has been. However, it has not been like that lately. Last night I put him down at 8:30 about thirty minutes after I put him down he was screaming. I figured I would feed him because it was time for him to eat again and put him down again. That should have been the warning sign: MOMMY THIS IS GOING TO BE A BAD NIGHT...silly me didn't think anything of it. After I fed him and bounced him in his bouncer for about 5 minutes the kid was out again. I put him back in his bed and didn't hear a peep from him until probably about twelve he woke up screaming and I brought him into our room. It seemed like he was in pain because he wouldn't stop crying. I gave him some tylenol and he fell asleep in my bed. I let him sleep with me for a little bit, but the kid moves around like a little worm. He is definitely a wiggle worm. I couldn't take it anymore so I put him back in his bed. He slept but not soundly until about 4. He cried out and i went in there and he was sleeping on his tummy. I am still not comfortable with him sleeping on his tummy even though he is rolling over fine and everything. So I moved him to his back. BIG BIG BIG mistake. It woke him up and he started crying. I got him out of bed and fed him a bottle. After the bottle he was not tired. I think he thought it was time to get up and play...UMM NO! not time for mommy. He cooed and moved around and just was not sleepy what so ever. This went on for about an hour. Finally I was at my wits in he had been up for over an hour, and with him up that meant mommy was up. I put him in his bed and was going to let him cry it out. My mom told me around 6 months is when they start testing you. They had to let my brother cry it out in his crib and I wasn't going to let him think he was the boss. So he cried. The kid is definitely testing me out. He would whine and then stop like to see if I was coming. He would realize I wasn't coming and then cry again. After his whine didn't work he went to full out crying. I went in there put his passy in his mouth and turned on his mobile twice but I was not getting him out of that crib!!! Ryan got up for work and I guess heard him crying, he came in the room to see if I was sleeping through it or something and I told him I was just letting him cry. Of course it is kind of a lose lose situation for mommy because when he is in the bed playing he is keeping me up when he is crying in his bed he is keeping me up it is not like I can turn off the monitor. Ryan went in his room put his passy in his mouth and turned on his mobile. By this point I was beyond exhausted and fell asleep. Ryan came in and told me he was asleep. I could barely hold my eyes open to carry on a conversation with ryan. He said he was sorry he kept me up, and he would watch him tonight and let me go to bed early. I fell asleep for a few short minutes but not good sleep because ryan was in and out getting ready. I was finally ready to fall asleep as ryan was leaving.....well Kale had other plans...he is going through this thing where everytime daddy leaves for work he wakes up. I don't know if ryan is too loud or if kale has some 7th sense. As soon as the garage door shuts kale starts to whine...it is so weird. I listened today to see if Ryan was that loud and he isn't. I just don't get it...Most of the time I can get Kale to go back to sleep not today...awake at 6:40...Alot of people who have multiple kids are telling me this is a stage...that he is trying to show me who is boss but I am so ready for this stage to go away...My whole body hurts and I am exhausted...I can barely get my chores done during the day...but once I am up I am up so it's not like I can take a short nap...I am hoping this phase ends very soon!!!!

First Year of Marriage

On Sept. 2nd Ryan and I will have been married for a year. We made it through our first year!!!!

I will be the first to say the first year of marriage is tough. It has it's wonderful moments and it has a lot of rough patches, or at least that is how it was for Ryan and I. Which I can see why our first year had its rough patches. In the first year of marriage. We had a baby and Ryan had a major back surgery that is a lot to take in the first year not to mention the normal first year fights. I mean for the first couple months of Kale's life I had to raise him like I was a single mom plus take care of my husband who in the beginning couldn't even shower by himself. I got frustrated because as time went by taking care of a baby all by yourself definitely will put a lot of stress on you not to mention taking care of things around the house and having a husband who can't do anything. I am so glad Ryan and I made it through this first year!!! I feel like the rough parts do make you stronger!!

Ryan and I are both very bullheaded so when we fight we both want to win and neither one of us want to apologize. As time has gone on we have even gotten a little better at that, him more than me. It is hard to get an apology out of me. I don't know why I am like that. I think it is because guys can hurt girls with words more than girls can hurt guys, or maybe it is guys don't show it. So I try and hurt Ryan and then don't want to apologize. I don't know if that makes any sense what so ever but it makes sense to me.

However this has been an amazing year. It has helped me to realize that marriage is not easy. It takes work just like anything else but it is rewarding. I mean and when you really think about it ofcourse it takes work. Two people are joining their lives. Two people who were raised differently and do things differently. That has been another big thing for Ryan and I. Ryan and I both do things differently. Ryan likes clutter and just lays things places a bunch of gadgets everywhere. I HATE clutter. I can't think in clutter. So I put this clutter out of sight, half of it I have no clue what it is so I just put it in a random drawer, well when Ryan needs it I don't remember where I put it ;) ooops.... I do not shut my drawers. That is one of Ryan's pet peeves. So we have had little things like that to work through and some of them we still are but like I have said before good things take time. I wouldn't trade my husband for anything in the world. He is amazing and I love him more than anything and I am so happy that in a week we will be celebrating one year of marrige and I hope there are many more to come!!!

I guess the whole point of this blog was that marriage is tough and I have found that out this first year but the end result is so worth it. Ryan is worth it and the bad times make the good that much more special and make the bond between the two of you that much stronger!!

Sitting up with no support

Well I have been working with Kale for awhile on sitting up. He would sit like a gorilla, is what I like to refer to it as, and he couldn't do it for long. I kept working with him and then the other day I had seen people put their babies in their crib in the corner for support. Well I know Kale LOVES his mobile so I thought I would give it a try. I changed his diaper and put him in his crib. He loved sitting in his crib! It was so funny to watch him look around with a HUGE grin on his face. He watched his mobile and just looked around and was content in his crib for the longest time! Well then the next day I was sitting in the floor working with him again, like I always did everyday and he just sat up by himself. It was amazing and he did it for a while before falling back. Well I didn't expect him to sit up by himself so I did not put any pillows behind him. Well he fell back and I couldn't reach him in enough time. It scared him and he started to cry and it scared me. So for those instances when he thinks he is invincible and tries to turn too quickly or tries to look behind him...his back is not quite sturdy enough for that and he falls back I like to have the pillows to catch his fall because I don't want him to hurt his little head. I am so proud of him, but at the same time seeing my little baby sit up all by himself makes me feel a little sad. I mean he is growing up so fast and will be doing more and more and soon won't need me :( I won't be able to hold him like a little baby. He looks like a little man :) It is so cute watching him play with his toys all by himself in the floor! Now that he has accomplished sitting he wants to stand all the time. So I detect soon he will be standing or crawling!

Kale's First Word

I have not been able to write in FOREVER!!! And I have missed it so much, so much has happened in the past few months!!

Well it had been a very stressful day for me. Kale's teeth were bothering him really bad! We had just gotten back from Atlanta for Jayden's birthday; and, Kale had gotten really off schedule. The week before my parents had been in town helping my brother move in, and we had taken Kale over there and it had screwed up bed and bath time. Then we went to Atlanta he was still out of whack and did not sleep good in his pack and play. This called for a very angry boy when we arrived back home to Valdosta. A very angry boy who was VERY off schedule...plus the teeth hurting...I seriously thought I was going to pull my hair out. He had been whining all day and nothing I did calmed him...he didn't enjoy any of his toys. I had put him in his favorite toy his horse jumperoo....he loves that thing...well he was whining and all of a sudden I heard mama....:) At first I wasn't sure if I had heard right well then he said it again. I was on air. I didn't even care that he was whining I was sooo happy :) I immediately texted Ryan at work and told him the news. He never texted me back, so when he got home I told him and he didn't believe me...little stinker! Well Kale said it again when I was making dinner and he was in his bouncer in the living room. Ryan was on the couch so I said see and Ryan tried to say he didn't hear the M. I kmew he was just jealous but I waited. Well Ryan was holding Kale bouncing him on his lap because he was whining some more about his teeth and Kale said ma ma ma and there was no more denying it. Since then it seems any time he is crying or whining he says it. However, I don't hear it too much when he is happy haha I am waiting for that. Ryan I think is dissapointed he didn't say da da first and has been working with him like crazy.

Since he only says it when he whines I am ready for him to say da da so he can call daddy to help soothe him when he is sad. :) But I love that I was his first word.

I think since I am here with him all day, get up with him during the night, if he gets up with his teeth. And get up with him in the mornings I would be a little sad if he had said da da first, because mommy spends alot more time with her little man :)

Bye Bye held in place sleeping device

Well I have always bragged on how wonderfully Kale sleeps. I mean even before we was 3 months old the kid was sleeping through the night and sleeping until 9 or 10. He has always slept through the night since he was born when it comes to he has never been the type of baby who gets me up at 6 or 7 and doesn't go back down. He had always slept till 8. Well here lately he pretty much sleeps till 10, which is wonderful for me because I get to sleep in! Well once he got close to 3 months he had dropped his 4 or 5 in the morning feeding and didn't wake up until 7 to eat and then went back down until 9 or 10.

Well here lately he has not been sleeping until 7 or 8, he started waking up at 4 or 5. Well when I went in there every time he had worked himself out of his sleeping device and was laying all crazy like scrunched up at the top of his bed. So we finally threw it out. I talked to my mom and she said he probably didn't need it anymore anyways. Well last night he still didn't sleep good. I really think he is getting close to teething. The kid has started drooling like no other and loves, loves, loves chewing on his hands. He will stick his hand so far into his mouth to chew on it he gags him self...NO GOOD. I think I am going to put his teething ring in the freezer and let him start chewing on that, especially since he is doing so good with holding rattles and putting them in his mouth. I really do think he is starting to get the sensation of teething. I put my finger in his mouth to kind of feel around and he started chewing on my finger pretty hard too...and now he also will chew on the nipples to his bottle when we are feeding him. I don't really know, but we will see. I don't mind getting up to feed him but I don't get how he went from sleeping so good to sleeping and then going back to waking up at 4. I am almost looking forward to going to Atlanta next weekend because he sleeps so good in my parents room because of their loud fan. As long as its not blowing on him, the kid hates for fans to blow on him. I think we need to get him a fan like my parents have. It drowns out the noise and makes it so much easier for him to sleep I am sure. I know they soothed me to sleep while I was growing up.

So Kale already has a bank account :) Ryan's mom works at bank of america and has for forever. Well she opened him an account and she put money in it and so did one of Kale's great aunts. So he already has a good bit of money and it will only grow. I like that idea. I think it is wonderful and will be something for him when he gets older.

This weekend Carters and Oshkosh were having a sale. It was 50% off the whole store. My sister called us and sent us two other coupons where we could get 75% off our whole purchase. The coupon she gave us was for 25% off your total of 50$ or more. We decided we couldn't pass up this chance at such good deals and also Kale needed some six month clothes. He is not in them yet but the way he is growing it probably won't be too long. So we decided while this sale was going on we might as well get him some. so we packed up and headed to lake park. When we got there Kale started screaming. He had HORRIBLE gas!! And of course I had taken out his gas medicine and didn't have it. I had to hold him and rock him in my arms to soothe him. On the way down there Ryan had said he didn't want to spend too much money and I agreed. We were trying to run a tight budget until the next time he got paid. Well while I was holding Kale Ryan looked around. The man went nuts. I never thought he would be a freak clothes shopper for Kale. He was running around the store picking up pretty much everything he saw and throwing it on our stroller. Well after he looked I looked too because I wanted to get some stuff I liked too. Well needless to say we spent alot of money. We spent well over $100 just in carters alone and still had to go to oshkosh...haha oh well. It's ok if we spoil our little boy. It was funny though because Ryan couldn't blame this shopping expedenture on me. We then went to oshkosh and again spent a good bit but they didn't have as much for Kale's age as carters..We went way over budget but our little boy will be the best dressed little boy in town!!!!

All milestones have been reached

So as of yesterday all of our milestones have been reached. I know I have said before that we were not doing tummy time like we should. Kale just didn't like it and we didn't do it. Well after the weekend at my parents house I started working with him hard core because I didn't want to be the reason that my little baby was behind, because like it says in my book they can't learn to roll over and lift their heads if they aren't given the time to practice. So last week I worked with him everyday. I gave him tummy time about three times a day and would do it until he got angry; I didn't want him getting too upset. He had learned so quickly to hold up his chest. It's so funny because he went from one day not lifting his head hardly at all just being interested in eating his hands to pulling almost all of his chest off the floor. It just goes to show you they do it when THEY are ready not when you are ready for them too. Well then yesterday he was in a really good mood so I put him on his tummy. In my book it says to pick an optimal time. You don't want to put them on their tummies when they are hungry or tired because they won't get anything accomplished. Do it when they're happy, dry, and fed. So I have been following that advice. I had just got off the phone with my mom and put him on his tummy. I looked up to say something to Ryan and as I did, I almost missed it, the kid just rolled over like it was nothing. Like he could have done it for weeks. It took no effort and he rolled all the way over not just halfway. I was so excited I started screaming for Ryan to watch and I put him on his tummy again so that Ryan could see. I wasn't sure if he would do it again but I was hoping he would. He did. I videotaped it so my mom can see in case he decides not to do it the next time we're in atlanta. I was so proud of him though. We gave him praise and made him do it like four or five times and then stopped tummy time for a while because he had, had about enough. It is amazing to me how quickly he picked this up and it makes me wonder if we had been working with him like we should have from day one how quickly he would have been rolling over. Our kid is a very fast learner. He makes his mama proud!

That was the only milestone he had left to reach for his age. He just turned three months old two days ago so now really the only thing we have to work on this month is him putting weight on his legs when his feet are on a surface when you lift him up and we have to wait for him to actually laugh out loud. He squeals with delight but we have yet to hear his laugh that is something that I can't wait for. I am so proud of my little boy! And even though it doesn't matter if he develops on time it makes me feel good that he is even doing things that he might be doing at his age and doesn't have to be yet. I am glad that I am a stay-at-home mom right now and can actually work with him because now is the perfect time.

So last night it became official he is a mama's boy to the T. He was watching me as Ryan was holding him and kind of fussing so Ryan told me to leave the room. I guess because Kale was too focused on me. So I left and as soon as I did the little boy started to bawl. Ryan told me to stay gone and let him handle it. Kale would not stop crying so Ryan came and handed him to me. He immediately shut up all he wanted was his mama

11 weeks old

My little boy is growing up so fast. It is so sad! In a way I can't wait till he is crawling around and I love watching him grow and hit his milestones and do something new everyday;however, I wish I could hit pause on his growing and keep him this small for a little bit. He is so cuddly and loves his mommy to hold him and love on him. I want it to stay like that forever! This is him with Mr. Bear. Boy does the kid love Mr. Bear. He does get tired of talking to him after a while but who doesn't get tired of the same old thing. Kale will talk to Mr. Bear forever and smile at him and grab at him. It is so awesome. Mr. Bear's nose lights up and he will stare at it and Mr. Bear sings like 4 or 5 different songs. Kale loves him! This is at my parents house last weekend. We sat Kale in the bumbo. He loves sitting up! I think he will sit up kind of fast or at least it seems like he would but who knows.

Well Kale has reached all the milestones for this month except rolling over. He is getting REALLY close. I think he is starting to like tummy time a little more. Or at least he can stand it for a little bit longer than he used to. It's our fault that he isn't rolling over just because we really hadn't been working on tummy time with him as much as we needed to. However now we have kicked it into full gear. He is getting so close to rolling over, it won't be long AT ALL.

So yesterday I got so tickled. He is getting really close to saying mama. It really sounded like he said it yesterday. I told Ryan to listen and you could tell by the look on his face it sounds like he is saying it. Ryan wants him to say da da first; but, not to be ugly, I really just don't think that is going to happen. I mean I am here with him all day. It sounds like he is saying mama already but I will wait to say he is until it is a litle more apparent. He does it when he cries like mama come make me feel better like you always do. I can definitely say the kid is going to be a talker. He will talk your head off. The other night he did the cutest thing ever. He has a play phone that my sister gave him because he loved it so much while we were in Atlanta. I am not too worried the kid does not know his colors he can play with a pink phone. He loves it though. Well I was pretending different family members were calling to talk to him and I would put the phone up to his ear. When I did he would start cooing away into the phone. I did it for like every family memeber and he "talked" to them all. It was the cutest thing ever. I wish Ryan would have videoed it.

First spend the night trip with Kale

so Friday afternoon Ryan, Kale, and I headed to Valdosta after Ryan's doctor appointment which went well by the way. Everything looks like it is healing up correctly and the bone will soon start to grow over the screws and will be fused together. He started work today, and his back didn't bother him today, which was really good. Not to mention I am finally getting to sleep with my husband, he had been sleeping in the guest bedroom because that mattress is a little firmer and finally he is back in our bed. I feel like I have a husband again instead of a roommate haha :) Anyways we left for atlanta around 4:45 and Kale was good getting in his carseat, normally he fusses getting in. Some babies like their carseats and some don't. Kale is definitely the half that does not like it so much. He did so good the whole ride down there, he didn't fuss hardly at all except when he had a wet diaper and when he wanted to eat and he always gets fussy as he gets tired. He didn't really full blown start crying until right before we got there and he had just had enough of his carseat. I mean I get tired of being in the car so I am sure he does too. He was just really ready to get out.

We made really good time for having a baby in the car too. We got there in about 4 and a half hours, which was super good. We went inside and Jayden was so excited to see Kale. She pointed to his picture on the fridge and told me shh...that is what we tell her when Kale is sleeping. It was so cute. She immediately wanted to hold him and love on him. She loves katering to him, covering him up, wanting to put his passy in his mouth. Anything and everything she can do. We hung out with my parents for about an hour and then my mom watched Kale and Jayden so Ryan, Justin, Amber and I could go to McCrays, its a new bar in the square of Lawrenceville and I have wanted to go there since it opened but could not because I had kale in my belly.

It was nice to be able to hang out with my sister and Justin too. We have never really done anything just the four of us so it was good times. McCrays was a little pricey. I mean a 16 oz cup of beer was like 5$ and their menu was a little pricey too but Ryan didn't mind. He said we never get out and for me to get whatever I wanted and to have fun. We definitely did have a good time. We went home around 1 and I laid in the bed with my sister and Jayden and slept until the boys were ready to go to bed and then Ryan came and got me. In the room we sleep in at my parents it is kind of tiny and so Kale's pack and play couldn't fit in the room so he slept in my parents room. I kind of felt bad because I didn't want my mom to have to get up with him but I didn't know what to do. I didn't sleep in the next morning. I am so used to getting up with Kale I woke up and went in the room to check on him. My mom said he went to bed around 11:30 and slept until 8 woke up and ate and went back down until about 9:45 which is when I went in there. He probably would have slept later but I went to get into the bed and my parents have a water bed and I am sure the whole moving thing woke him up. Kale has been sleeping great we are really lucky. We put him down at about 11 and he sleeps till 7 wakes up, eats, and goes back down until 10. That is amazing, because he isn't even three months until next week. I mean we really could not ask for a better baby. The boy is wonderful!

Saturday we got to hang out with the family for a little bit and then had to get ready for Reba's wedding. We were running late, go figure but got there in time. Her wedding was so beautiful. It was definitely the most beautiful wedding I have ever seen pictures of or been to. She definitely was a beautiful bride as well. It was so nice seeing the old mellow crew. The people I had so many good memories with and hung out with for 3 years. It was like we had never been apart we just picked up right where we left off. We definitely had a good time however we got a hotel room because we didn't want to drive home after drinking and it was so hard because that was the first time I have ever left Kale over night. I kept thinking about him and talking about him. Everyone I am sure was like geeze can she talk about something other than her son, but no I can't he is my life and is so wonderful. I called my mom the next morning when we woke up and she said he had slept wonderfully again. We really are lucky because a lot of babies don't like new places and get freaked out and sleep horribly but he slept wonderful, just as good as he does at home. That also makes me feel better about taking him to the beach in a couple weeks at least I know I won't be sleep deprived. He also slept great in his pack and play which is another good thing.

At my parents house we put him in his bumbo because he loves to sit up on the couch its like he knows he is doing something that is a big boy thing and it just makes him feel so good. He loves the bumbo. He just smiles away when he is sitting in it. It makes him so happy.

Growing Boy

I know I have talked about how fast Kale is growing but it really sank in today when I was packing up his premie and newborn clothes. It is hard to believe we brought him home and he was wearing premie clothes and now he is in 3 months. I was looking at the premie clothes in disbelief....thinking to myself did my son actually wear those? haha he is so big now it is hard to imagine him that small again. As I was packing his clothes away to make room in his closet, because this kid has a ton of clothes...I mean I think we could open up a baby clothing store :) Ryan was watching him and we hadn't opened up all of his toys yet because there are some that he is too young to play with right now. Well I was having Ryan open a set of toys and Ryan yelled for me to come in there and he said HURRY. I was scared Kale was hurt and came running and as soon as I rounded the corner I saw him putting his rattle up to his mouth. Ryan had put it up to his hand and he had grabbed it. He absolutely loved holding it too.. It was like he knew he had reached a milestone and was so proud of himself. He was just shaking away at the rattle and pulling it up to his mouth sucking all with a big smile on his face. It was the cutest thing ever and Ryan and I just stopped and watched him so proud of our little boy. He is doing pretty much everything he should be doing at this age according to our what to expect in the first year book. The only thing he hasn't quite yet accomplished is rolling over, which is kind of Ryan and I's fault because he absolutely HATES to be on his stomach. He HATES tummy time. I mean he screams and screams doesn't cry but it is a very pissed off scream when we put him on his tummy for tunmy time so we don't do it as much as we should. I mean it really isn't that big of a deal to me. My sister didn't do tummy time with Jayden that much because Jayden hated it and Jayden never crawled but started walking at a super early age. So, if Kale is like Jayden and just doesn't crawl that really isn't that big of a deal to me. Not every kid crawls. I mean ofcourse I would love to see my little boy crawl as I think it would be just the cutest thing in the world but it is not something that a child has to do. It is not something that is going to mess them up if they don't do is what I am trying to say. So we will see. We are trying to warm him up more and more to tummy time but the kid just doesn't like it. I mean if that is the only thing he is not doing is rolling over then I think he is just perfect and every child develops at their own rate. and Kale is doing everything else he should be doing at this age. He definitely has him vowels down, I really think he is going to be an early talker..and I KNOW he is going to be a talker like his mama and not quiet and reserved like his daddy. You can just tell he wants to talk so bad by the amount he coos. I mean the kid could write a book in coos.. HAHA :) he tells a bunch of stories :) I love it though. My mom says she thinks its because Ryan and I talk to him as much as we do. It said in the parenting book to talk to them like a normal adult and leave pauses for their responses. Ryan and I have been doing that since day 1 and now he responds to you during the pauses just in his own language :) I mean anytime he is awake one of us is always down on the floor beside him talking to him. He loves it and we love it. We have gotten tons of comments from people and doctors on how much he coos and they have never seen a baby at that age coo that much andalso on how alert he is for his age. So that is how I know he is definitely going to be a talker...haha but its ok I was and I will always be here for him to talk to. He loves his toys now though. We have this toy that sings to him and lights up Mr. Bear it is a toy that he can lay under or you can change it to where it looks at him while he is sitting up in his bouncer. The kid adores Mr. bear he smiles at him and talks a hundred miles a minute to him. That toy keeps the kid occupied for hours. It is awesome..it is something that will come in handy once Ryan goes back to work and I need to cook dinner, I can just bring Mr. Bear and Kale and his bouncer in the kitchen and be good to go. I like though that he enjoys his toys and keeps himself occupied that shows independence and that is something that Ryan and I both want to teach Kale at an early age. We don't want him to be the type of little boy who grows up and relies on me to do everything for him. He is going to need to be independent and support a family one day, so we want him to learn this at an early age.

He can follow objects now and it is so funny. Ryan will fluter his hands like a bird and move them all around and Kale will follow them with his eyes it is the cutest thing EVER. He also can bring his hands together which another thing he should be doing at this age. He is doing so good and growing so fast it is bitter sweet. Ryan and I have decided that once Kale is a little over a year we are going to try for kid #2. Hopefully it will be a girl because Ryan only wants two kids but I told him I HAD to have a little girl and we were going to keep having them until I got one. So hopefully baby #2 will be a girl. But how I look at it seriously is its all in God's will we will seriously try again one last time if baby #2 is not a girl but if baby 3 is still not a girl then I take it as God just doesn't think I should have one. Probably because he knows I am a shopper and would put us in serious debt shopping for a little girl.....there are so many cute dresses :) I even spend a lot with Kale. We are going to the beach in a couple weeks so I bought him 2 more bathing suits at old navy on Friday. They were on sale for $8 and you can't beat that and he needs more than just one bathing suit!! :) That was my reasoning..I mean we will be at the beach for a week.

First Mommy Boo Boo

So Kale has had a cold like I have written about before and he just can't seem to get over it...The PA the second time I took him to the doctor told me that they really didn't like to give little babies his age medicine and since he was already on medicine just showed me good ways to suck the boogies out of his nose and told me I was doing an awesome job and to keep up the good work. So friday night my parents were on their way down to visit and Kale was having a hard time falling asleep because his nose was stuffy. It always gets bad at night right before bed. So I decided I would suck the boogies out one last time to help him sleep better. Well we have been using saline drops which are in a little bottle that looks exactly like the swimmers ear drops that we got Kale not to long ago in case he splashed water in his ear now that he splashes around. Well without checking the lable I grabbed the bottle thinking it was the saline drops grabbed his booger sucker and went in there to suck his nose. I squirted the drops in his nose and he started screaming at the top of his lungs. I had no clue why he was screaming so bad, because we had been doing this for a week now and he doesn't necessarily like getting his nose cleaned out but he has never pitched that big of a fit. I immediately picked him up and started comforting him not noticing yet that I had put swimmers ear drops up his nose. As I was comforting him I looked down at the bottle and started freaking out. I immediately started crying and Ryan got on the phone with poision control because the swimmers ear drops is pretty much alcohol. I felt like such a horrible mother and kept asking myself how I could have been that dumb and made such a stupid mistake. Ryan was on the phone with poision control for a while and Kale had calmed down and fell asleep in my arms. Well because of his cold and the medicine he is on the toxologist told us to take him to the ER because it could cause respritory depression. I immediately started bawling my eyes out and rushing around to get everything together to take him to the ER I called my parents and told them what was going on. When we got to the ER we were pretty much seen immediately. My parents met us there and I was taken into one of the rooms. The doctor came in and was like we heard all about you, your the one who put swimmers ear drops in his nose right? I can tell you that, that made me feel great and I started to cry that much harder. He told me that it wasn't a big deal and that he didn't know why poision control had us come in here. Kale was acting absolutely fine alert in my arms and cooing away. This doctor couldn't get over how alert he was for his age either :) We have a very alert little boy what can I say. He told me they were going to hook him up to the monitors and monitor him for two hours because that was just procedure. So he was hooked up to the machine that monitored his heart rate, respirations and something else that I can't really remember. My mom came back in the room with me and Kale was just happy as could be. I think he thought we were on some kind of adventure it was 12 a.m. and he was bright eyed and didn't look like he was going to be going to sleep anytime soon. He was cooing away at my mom. I think he was telling her the story of what I had done to him. The doctor told me not to worry it was an honest mistake, but I still felt absolutely horrible. I mean I never thought I would be a mom to make that kind of mistake. I know all moms do at some point, but I just didn't think that I would be that kind of mom. I guess I wanted to be perfect. Well they monitored him for two hours and then the doctor came in and said he was absolutely fine so we got to take our little baby boy home. But BOY was it a scare. I will definitely hopefully never make a dumb mistake like that again. Kale went to sleep in the hospital around 12:40 and because he went to bed so late that night, which he normally NEVER does. He slept till 11:30 the next morning. I just wish he went to bed at his normal time and slept in like that everyday. It was a huge scare for me and Ryan and I really hope that nothing like that ever happens again. If something had gone wrong I would have never forgiven myself that little boy is my everything and I hated the fact that I had hurt him :(

Growing Boy

Before Kale was born we invested in a very expensive camera the rebel and Ryan has finally perfected taking pictures. He has taken some really good pictures lately!!

I look at my son and I get so sad because now I know what everyone always was talking about when they told me to enjoy every minute because they grow up quick. He is such a big boy now. He weighs 11 lbs and 15 oz. He has also grown two inches and he is doing so much now. He splashes in the bath. He knows to hit the water. He is starting to say his vowels and it sounds like he says no. It is so cute he did it when he was getting his shots and he also does it when I have to suction out his nose. I mean I am sure he is not saying no but it sure does sound like it is so cute. And the little booger is getting smart. He knows now that when I am going to suction his nose he starts to turn his head back and forth so I can't get into his nostrils. He is such a little booger. He also screams now. He does it when you are not listening to him talk and talking back and he also does it when he is mad. It is the cutest thing ever. I love it!!! But he is growing so fast. Soon enough he is going to be crawling around and saying mama first of course but it makes me so sad. He is growing up and he wants to be treated like a big boy. He no longer likes to be held like a little baby he likes to be held like he sitting up. He also loves it when I lay down and pull up my knees and lay him against my knees sitting up. He just coos away. He is a very vocal baby. He is always talking. He definitely gets that from his mommy. Last night he was fussy because I had to suction out his nose and most of the time he absolutely hates it, sometimes worse than other times. Last night was one of the times when he absolutely hated it and I think he just felt really bad last night. However he started crying really bad and Ryan was trying to calm him down so he took him into the bathroom and let him see himself in the mirror. It was like he was in aww.. It was so funny. He was seeing himself for the first time and was like woah who is that. Ryan loves to stare in the mirror and so does his brother. It is like they are obsessed with themselves. Still to this day it makes me laugh to see Ryan get out of the shower because he has to check himself out as he drys off. He stares into the mirror the whole time and does these weird faces. It is almost like he is thinking man I look good. Ryan's mom says that they get that from her. Well Kale is obsessed already with staring at himself in the mirror we have taken him in there quite a few times when he is crying hardcore and as soon as he sees himself he instantly stops it is hialrious. He will definitely be like his daddy. Gosh what am I going to do with two men in the house who love to stare at themselves haha :)

Mini-Breakdown

So the other day I had a mini-breakdown. I really haven't had a serious break down since Kale was born. However, with him being sick and me being emotional because "George" is in town I had my first one. It has been so hard because since Kale has been born I have been a single parent really. Ryan's back started bothering him right before Kale was born. I can remember the night it started I was having really bad braxton hicks and I started bawling my eyes out thinking I was going into labor and he was in so much pain and he said that he didn't know what he would do if I went into labor that he wouldn't be able to help out as much and I started freaking out.

Well with Kale being sick he has been a lot more fussy and Ryan's back has been bothering him the past couple of days and so he hasn't been able to help well the other day I just lost it. I was so exhausted I just started crying. Ryan asked me what was wrong and I told him it was so hard and he said your mom told you it was going to be and I told him no, not being a mom or even a parent that is easy I never thought that being a mom would come so naturally for me. I know this sounds conceded but I am an awesome mom. I especially know I am when my son looks at me and the way he looks at me. It is not just me who sees it either everyone does. The doctor today was freaking out because Kale was just staring at me and he couldn't even check him out because Kale was just staring. He was like geeze he is definitely a mama's boy, he really loves you. I loved hearing that. He finally had to turn his head and hold it in place so he wouldn't turn his head. It was the cutest thing ever and just made me feel so good inside. I know I got way off subject, but what is hard is since Kale has been born really I have had to do everything by myself. I mean I am seriously like a single parent. I know what a single parent feels like and I can definitely tell you that it is tough work. I mean Ryan doesn't get up with Kale at all during the night I do. Even when he was little and not sleeping through the night. He is finally sleeping through the night and will sleep until 6 or 7 in the morning which is great and I am so proud of him. Sometimes though every mom needs a break or some her time. I don't get that. Just lately has Ryan actually been able to hold Kale and even then it is only sometimes. So it just got over whelming that day because he had stayed up the whole night before sick and I only had gotten two hours of sleep so I just lost it and started crying in Ryan's arms. I know he feels really bad but it just sucks. I really can't wait for his back to get better so I can have help and can have those breaks. After my breakdown he did let me go to the movies with two of my friends which was really nice. It was nice to be away for a little bit and have some me time and just enjoy myself. It has been so long. I am not trying to complain because my son is my everything. I never knew I could love something so much. He is the best thing ever. But everyone gets over whelmed and has just had it up to their ears and just needs a break. I am just glad I finally got one and since then I have felt so much better things haven't been as rough.

Kale's first sickness :(

Ryan and I have decided that we absolutely hate taking Kale to the dr. because it seems like everytime we do he gets a stuffy nose afterwards. Well this time it was bad. He went for his two month shots and a couple days later came down with a ridiculously stuffed up nose. He kept Ryan and I up the entire night because he couldn't sleep because he couldn't breathe out of his nose that great. I didn't mind him keeping me up, I just felt so bad for him because I was doing everything I could to make him feel better. We turned on the cool mist humidifier and I was suctioning out his nose, we were using saline drops. I was doing everything I could. I just had to wait until the morning to call the Dr. Well he woke up at like 10 that morning, he slept in late from not getting much sleep the night before. I immediately called Dr. Griners office and had to wait on the phone for 20 minutes. I finally hung up and then tried to call back and the line was busy. I got pretty frusturated because I mean how busy can you be? And the recorder says we are expierencing a high number of calls, I was like geeze how many people call a doctors office that early in the morning. Well I finally just decided to leave a message and wait for them to call me back. They called me back around 45 minutes after I left my message and I explained to them Kale's symptoms. They called me back and told me that Dr. Griner wanted to see him so we went in. Kale hasn't seen Dr. Griner since his two week check up. That Dr. must be one busy man because we have seen his PA's more than we have seen him. That is one thing that Ryan doesn't like about his office. Is the fact that we never see the Dr. we always see his assistants. Back to the subject though, they worked me in and I didn't have to wait that long before Kale was seen. Dr. Griner said everything looked good but that Kale was really congested and that he didn't like that so he put him on a antibotic and a cold medicine. He told me if he wasn't better in a couple days to call back up there. Well he hasn't gotten any better. So I called this morning and told the nurse and she called back and said that Dr. Griners PA John wanted to know if I was using the saline drops and the humidifier. I wanted to be like yes lady I am doing anything and everything I can to get my son better. SO after I told her yes, she said that he would like to see Kale. I went in immdiately because they go to lunch from 11:30-1:30 and I wanted to go ahead and get it taken care of and figure out what is wrong with my little boy. This PA was amazing I really loved him. He talked to me for like 30 minutes afterwards because he just retired from the military himself. Anyways, he showed me how to suction Kale's nose, which I know how to do and did tell me to leave the saline drops in for five minutes before I suction but he said other than that he looked and sounded great and that they don't like to give babies his age too much medicine so he wasn't going to prescribe him something else. I just really hope that Kale gets better. It sucks being a mother and seeing your child feeling so crummy and your doing everything you can do and they just feel misreable. I hate seeing Kale sick. It seriously is the worst feeling in the world. Last night he slept horribly again and so Ryan and I got zero sleep. Ryan stayed up with him until four a.m. and then I was up with him the rest I ended up just having to hold him in my arms and let him sleep.
We will see how tonight goes. I hope he gets to feeling better really soon!!!

New Puppy

Yesterday Ryan drove the three hour drive to pick up the newest addition to the Metty family. People think we are crazy for getting a puppy and having a 2 month old baby, but we are awesome parents and we can handle ANYTHING. And if it does end up driving us crazy it is our mistake and we will learn from it and know never again to get a puppy with a new baby but so far it really hasn't been too bad. His name is Winston, we named him after the teddy bear Ryan bought or should I say won me before he went over to Iraq when we first started dating. I carried that teddy bear everywhere with me and slept with it at night. It helped me deal with Ryan being away and made me feel like a piece of him was with me. Well after we got Lou, we left him with Lee for a weekend, BIG MISTAKE, seeing how he doesn't know what responsibility means, but that is another story well ofcourse Lee didn't keep a good eye on Lou and Lou decided that Winston was a toy and chewed him to shreds. I was heart broken when I came home and found Winston in a million pieces because that was the first thing Ryan had ever gotten me and he was important to me. So when we were thinking of names to name our little pup I thought of Winston and me and Ryan thought it was perfect.

We really got the puppy because since Kale has been born Lou has been a little depressed and jealous. Ryan used to give Lou tons and tons of attention and ofcourse now that Kale is here Kale is number one in Ryan's eyes and Lou took the backseat and Lou just does not like this. So he really hasn't been himself since Kale has been born. We thought that getting him a friend would kind of help him have something to play with and something that is showing him attention when we just can't.

Winston and Lou absolutely adore one another. Winston is constantly nibbling on lou's tail, ears, neck, whatever he can get his little puppy teeth on and Lou will put Winston's whole head in his mouth, but he doesn't bite. Lou is a completely different dog. It is so cute too because anything Lou does Winston wants to do too. It is absolutely adorable.

8 week check-up

Well today was Kale's eight week check up. We had decided earlier to keep him with Dr. Griner. I mean we don't know what the peds. are like on base, but I had heard that Dr. Griner is the best in town. And we definitely want the best for our little boy. His appointment was at 2:15 so we fed him and headed that way. The office was packed and with old people, which was kind of weird because I thought Dr. Griner was a peditrician. I don't know I guess maybe he shares the office with someone else I am not sure. There wasn't any where to sit when we first got there on the well side so while I was filling out some paper work Ryan sat on the sick side. I said something to him because I didn't want Kale to be on the sick side when he wasn't sick because that is just asking to get him sick. The nurse up front agreed with me so Ryan moved to the well side and we just had to sit apart which wasn't that big of a deal. When we got into the room about 15 minutes later they measured him and he is 23 inches. She then measured his head and said it looked really good. I am very proud of myself, I have done really good to make sure he doesn't get a flat head. I try and move him from side to side, especially it seems like he is favoring a side. We then had to take his clothes off and get him weighed. The little booger weighed 11 lbs and 6 oz. haha :) I knew he had grown alot but I didn't expect him to have grown that much. The doctor said he is in the 50th percentile for his weight and height...so he is JUST PERFECT!!! I asked her about his bowel movements because we were a little worried thinking that he might be constipated but the doctor said as long as his bowel movements are the consistency of paste or peanut butter than he is ok and he is. I told her about him straining and turning bright red right before he pooped and she said that is completely normal that her son does the same thing. That made me feel alot better she said if the consistency changed and we thought he was having trouble passing them we could give him a ounce of juice in water, that he was old enough now. I also asked her about his intake of formula and she said it was perfect. I knew it was, but my mom kept telling me she thought we were feeding him too much but the doctor said it is perfect and every baby is different and some will take more or less but we were doing good :) It felt good to know that I was right, sometimes when someone experienced tells you something you start to get insecure but I had already asked and they had told me that we were giving him what we should but my mom kept telling me it was too much and so I started to worry but she said if we were feeding him too much also that he would spit up and Kale hardly ever maybe once every blue moon spits up. After she got done checking him out the nurse came in shortly after that to give him his shots. I was so nervous. I didn't want to see my little boy in pain. She had to give him two in one leg and then one in the other leg. He SCREAMED in pain. I started to tear up. It broke my heart because he turned bright red almost purple, he was holding his breath. After she got done she told us to pick him up and hold him for a minute before putting him in his car seat because the last one she gave him would burn his leg for about a minute. He did so good, as soon as Ryan picked him up he immediately stopped crying. The nurse was shocked. She said she had never seen a baby quit crying that quickly. Most babies cried for at least one minute. She said he was a tough guy :) I was super proud of him but he did have the sniffles on the way out and he isntantly fell asleep. So far he has been pretty good we have been giving him tylenol every 4 hours and he has been sleeping a lot which they said would be normal if he wasn't fussy. He goes back July 1st for another round of shots! He is growing so fast and it is so amazing. It was funny also because when the nurse went to give his last shot she said I only have one more ok and he shook his head no...ofcourse it was coincedence but it was super cute and funny!! I am so thankful for having such a healthy amazing little boy!

Being A Parent is fun but tough

Like I said Ryan's friend Banta in town for only a week. So since he has been in town Ryan has been trying to hang out with him a lot. We have had such a hectic week. People have been over at the house since Sunday, plus our beach trip. So, I think it is a lot for Kale to handle. Last night the Chavies, Amy, and Banta came over to eat dinner. I tried to put Kale down at about nine because he looked exhausted. Well he would fall asleep and wake up and was just fussy on and off he would get really worked up. I held him in my arms and he finally went to sleep and I put him in his bed and he fell asleep. I just felt so bad for him. I think all the people at the house has just been a little too much on him. I mean he is only 8 weeks old so that is a lot to deal with. Last night I told Ryan that was enough, I didn't want anymore people at the house I wanted us to have a family break because it was starting to take a toll on our son and he is the most important thing in our lives. He is number one. Ryan agreed with me. It is just tough being a parent it is so rewarding don't get me wrong. I love when he talks to me and he smiles and every little new movement or milestone he makes it just melts my heart. The way he looks at me I can tell he has so much love for us. However, sometimes you want to hang out with your friends you want some you time but as I thought about it last night this little boy is number one and I want what is best for him. He finally fell alseep for good probably around 11 and he slept until six this morning. ALL NIGHT. I was super proud of him and excited too, but I am still exhausted. I have not been going to bed early because I am a host and I don't want to just say sorry company I am going to bed and leave Ryan to be the host. Last night I was so glad when Amy and Krista said they were tired and left, because that meant with only the guys left here I could go to bed too and wouldn't feel rude. I mean I don't have to keep the guys company Ryan can do that. This morning though I was still exhausted doing all that we have done this week has taken a toll on my body so I know my poor son is probably exhausted as well. He hasn't been napping all that well today either. Like I said earlier he fights sleep. I held him in my arms and he finally went down hopefully he will get a good nap in. But it took forever for me to get him to sleep.

Well Ryan and I finally talked to Ivy today and I think I have talked about this in an earlier post but Ivy and I used to be super close and since Kale has been born we kind of drifted. I went to hang out with her the other night and she spoke two words to me and that was it. It was really akward, I mean having a bestfriend and things are akward just isn't good. Well we talked about it the other day and kind of semi-worked things out. I mean once I thought about it, it isn't only her fault that we haven't talked I mean I haven't been calling her either so I can't pin point all the problems on her. She had invited us the other night when we were trying to work things out on the internet, she invited us to go out to eat tonight mexican with her and some people. So today I texted her and asked if they were still going. I don't want her to put fourth effort and Ryan and I reject everything she asks us to do. I mean we already couldn't go out to dinner for her birthday, which I felt really bad about. So I asked her the times and everything and told her we would be there. However, now I am starting to second guess it. I mean why go out to eat when you are going to be miserable the whole time because your son is exhausted and just needs some rest. I mean he is number one in my life and his best interests should come first and if she is really my friend she will understand right? I just don't know what to do. Like I said with things being as weird as they have been I don't want to cancel. I just don't know though. I think I am going to see how Kale is when he wakes up from his nap and if he is good and seems happy then maybe we can go grab a bite to eat and then hit the road once we are done. I am not sure if they are going up there just to eat or to booze and then go to Cuz's which we definitely won't do!

This is when the whole parenting thing gets hard. If there is one thing that I have come to realize is your life changes. I mean this little being comes first and if your life doesn't completely change and your child is not number one then something is seriously wrong and you are not parenting like you should be. I don't mind the change but I guess my biggest thing is I don't want to lose friends in the process, but it is like Ryan said if people can't understand then they aren't your friends to begin with and I really can't agree more!

I know everything will also get a lot easier on me once Ryan heals up from his back surgery which has been a very long process. I mean he can't really get up with Kale and help out that much because of his back. So alot of times I feel like a single parent. While he gets all this sleep I am the one who has to get up with our son. When I am so stressed out and feel like I am going to scream I can't be like ok dad step in because he does as much as he can. Don't get me wrong he has been a big help this past week but he still like I said can only really help out when his back is feeling good, which is only sometimes and another thing is a lot of the time I don't ask him for help because I don't want him to mess up the whole healing process. We only have a couple more weeks of this and it will be better and I really can't wait. I know Ryan can't either because he hasn't been able to be the active parent that he wants to be since Kale has been born. So 9 weeks later probably or maybe ten I will know what it is like to have the full blown help of a husband and a father. However, I love spending time with Kale I like boding with him which we have definitely done because I am the one who spends a lot of time with him that part is really nice!

Beach Visit #2

Yesterday we decided to go to the beach again. Ryan's friend, Banta, who used to be stationed down here is in town visiting and we figured it was something we could all do. Kale was really good on the way down there and really only fussed or cried when he was wet or woke up from a nap ready to eat. I was really impressed with him :) We got there and he was really good the whole time we were on the beach..well except when Chavies got him out of his stroller. It was a little windy and if there is one thing my son doesn't like it is wind. He absolutely HATES it. He hates fans, where they blow air directly on him, or sometimes he just doesn't even want it to be on. So when Chavies got him out he started fussing but as soon as he put him back in his stroller he was fine. We were out there from about 12-5 and he didn't start getting fussy until about five and that was because the wind had picked up. I wanted to leave at about that time because wind and babies is bad. Wind= ear infections and I definitely don't want my little boy hurting from one of those. He fussed until we got to the truck. I fed him, burped him, put him in his carseat and he was good to go. We stopped and ate at a oyster bar and he slept the whole time and didn't wake up until we were walking out of the restaurant I was very thankful for that.

On the way home however he was just so tired. He didn't nap like he normally does and had really only taken 2 good naps that day and he normally takes a lot more. He was exhausted and really sick and tired of being in his carseat so when he wasn't sleeping he was fussing. We had to pull over at a gas station and feed him because he was screaming at the top of his lungs, just so upset and I knew he just wanted to get out of his carseat and get a break. His poor little eyes looked so weak from lack of sleep, but one thing I have learned about Kale in the past week is he fights sleep so bad. I hope that this is just a phase and passes but I am not too sure. I was telling Ryan about it on the way home and said when he got older he would probably scream at the top of his lungs when we put him to bed; but, oh well we are the parents and we are the boss so we tell him when it's time to go to sleep; he doesn't tell us. It is so funny to watch him fight his tiredness though. His eyes will start to get heavy and he won't be bright eyed like he normally is and he will start to take really long blinks but fights until he can get gis eyes to open. he struggles and you can tell it is so hard, and what is even funnier is his eyes will even roll into the back of his head and he still tries to fight to keep them open and sometimes I am really suprised and amazed by his stubborness because you will think he is about to go to sleep and you look back over and he is staring around as if he was never fighting sleep. haha he is one funny guy.

Ryan and I did decide on the way home that we probably have been overwhelming him with people over at the house and the beach and everything we have done this week so we are going to take it easy. He is a really big homebody right now and just loves being in his bouncer and just hanging out in his comfort zone. Too bad his bouncer doesn't buckle up in the truck like a carseat or they don't make vibrating carseats he would be in hog heaven. haha :)

When we got home he was sleeping and after being home for like fifteen minutes he woke up and I gave him a bath. He was such a happy baby and was talking away at me. I am sure he was thinking wooh it feels good to be home. After his bath I put him in his bouncer and he instantly fell asleep and he slept until 5 this morning, which is amazing :)

After he went to sleep Ryan let me go out with some friends, which was really nice. I love my little boy but it was nice to have a little break and be able to kick my feet up. I think every parent needs a break every now and again just to keep your sanity. :)