Day 332

Today is my last day of summer.  =(  I'll miss lots of things about not working.  I'll miss this beautiful, perfect baby boy and spending all day with him.  I'll miss eating breakfast with him in the morning & watching Netflix.  I'll miss waking up to him on the monitor.  I'll miss seeing his sleepy face and wanting Mommy to hold him.  The list can go on all day.  I was calculating today.  Teachers work 180 days a year.  That's like 16 weeks off a year.  How can you not love a job that gives you 16 weeks off a year.  Sure- you're job may pay you more, but my job gives me a lot more time with my baby :)  I wouldn't have it any other way.  I have the best job there is & the best baby at home.  Pretty pefect if you ask me!

Today I am 4 months pregnant.  To celebrate- we went down to the lab to get my bloodwork done.  Yuck!  Tim & Ryan came with me so I didn't have to go by myself. 

Day 331

I have mentioned before, Ryan loves cars.  He will play with one of the cars all day and just stuff everything into it.  This car has a spoon, pack of crayons, glue, some Monopoly money, one of Elyse's doll's bottles, a comb, and the end of a package that Tim ripped off.  There might even be more.

At bath time, he will stick all of his toys into the cup I used to rinse him.  Take everything back otu and just put it back in again.  He is so cute.

Happy Birthday, Uncool Steven!

Day 330

Tonight, Tim & I were laying in bed for a while when I realized I didn't take a picture today!  So I asked him to go into Ryan's room & take a picture of him.  I told him he had to hurry up because it was already 11:52 and he only had 8 minutes left.  He thinks I'm crazy.  He opens the door and snaps a picture of Ryan.  Ryan just happens to be awake- holding onto the side of his crib!  What a weirdo.  He's supposed to be sleeping.  Maybe this is why he sleeps in every morning.  He's too busy waking up in the middle of the night to play.

After the picture was taken, Ryan started crying.  I picked up my baby and snuggled him for a minute to calm down, then laid him back into his crib to fall asleep.

Ignore my rats' nest.  I was in bed!

Does anyone notice how I post date almost every single entry?  It's hard to write in this thing every single day!

Day 329

Ryan was born with long hair.  & boy, were we happy he had hair!  It has grown so much over the past 13 months.  The original plan was to get it cut on his first birthday.  A few days before his first birthday, Tim & Elyse approached me and both said they didn't want Ryan to get a hair cut.  Okay- so we weren't going to get him a hair cut.  Plus, I don't think I was ready for it anyways.  The ends of his hair are what grew inside my belly!  I don't want to chop it off.

So anyways- I decided that today was the day.  Plus Great Clips is having a 2 week hair cut sale of $7.99.  We could all get our hair cut for $24. 

Before the hair cut.

Putting on his little apron thing.  What are these things called?

Getting ready for the first snip.

Okay- that wasn't too bad.

Bangs are cut.  & A little silly all on his forhead. 

I let Ryan eat a lollipop!  I'm such a freak about what he eats.

Now it's time to cut off the cute little curls =( The worst part of the hair cut.

All done.

So handsome.

I got a hair cut for the first time since October, she cut 3 inches off and it looks soo much better.  Bye bye split ends!

&&& I'm 17 weeks pregnant today.  I took my first belly picture with Ryan at 17 weeks so I did this baby too.

17w Ryan.

17w #2.

Day 328

Again, not looking! Haha.  He was looking at a toy I was dangling next to the camera.

Messy baby.  Ryan is eating again!  Yay! 

Day 327

Does anyone ever notice how Ryan is never looking at me in pictures?  It's pretty much impossible to take good pictures of a mobile baby.  Ryan is good at making eye contact and looks at me when I call his name.  Then he sees the camera and he somehow doesn't hear me calling his name anymore or sitting right in front of him waiting to take a picture.

I'm going to be honest, I never thought I would put my kid in one of these swim t-shirt things.  Whatever they are called.  But Ryan did look pretty cute.  Plus we were going to a water park today and I didn't want him to burn.  Tim, Ryan, and I went to the water park today with all the people from Summer Camp at my school.  I had been working there this summer part time.  Mostly 2 days a week, and I took off Elyse's last week so I could spend time with her.  Anyways, today was the last day of camp so we tagged along.  They have a little kiddie area, so we mostly stayed in there.  The water is like 8 inches deep so Ryan could crawl around.  I caught him trying to drink the water a few times.  Gross.  We also spent a little bit of time in the wave pool.  We sat at the beginning of it and I put Ryan in between my legs.  He just sat there and his little arms went flapping every time a wave came.  He loved it.  Every time we do something fun as a family of three, one of us always says "I wish Elyse was here."  It just isn't fair that she misses out on so much of our every day lives.  I am so glad that Tim & I will never have to share Ryan and all future children we have together.

After the water park, we came home for about an hour and then went to the swap meet.  I don't know what it is about the swap meet, but Tim & I love going.  We never buy anything really.  It's just fun to walk around and look at things and Ryan loves to be pushed around in his stroller looking too.

Day 326

Listening to his Christmas book from Elyse.

Being tickled on the floor.

More books.

Once when Tim & I were at the mall, he made the comment to me that mothers always look at other babies with a look on their face that says "My kid is cuter than your kid."  Of course I think my kid is cuter than your kid.  & as a mother, I hope you think your kid is cuter than my kid.

As I became a mother I realized that other moms can be so judgemental.  Admit it, everyone is.  I think there are certain things where it's okay to be a little judgemental.  However, some things are not.  I know not everyone agrees with me.  I've talked to lots of mommies since I've had Ryan.

So- I think it's funny when moms brag about not getting an epidural.  Really?  I had an epidural with Ryan.  I still was able to enjoy my labor and delivery with him.  I was just in a lot less pain than you were.  & Honestly, next time I'm going to ask for my epidural as I'm checking into the hospital.

Breastfeeding vs. Formula.  It was my choice to breast feed my son.  Am I a better mother because I chose not to feed him formula?  No.  Just because you nurse your child doesn't make you any better than a mother who choses not to. I DO think that every mom should at least TRY to nurse their baby.   If it doesn't work out, at least you tried.  I do see newborns drinking formula and I always wonder why their mother chose not to breast feed.  It's cheaper too.  If you can breast feed, do it!  If you can't, oh well.  I don't think not having enough time is an excuse though.  After I went back to work, I didn't have enough time to pump all the time.  But I did.  I pumped in the morning before work when I should have been getting ready- and was late to work at lot because of it.  I pumped during specials at school and recess even though I should have been grading papers.  I pumped before I went to bed when I should have been sleeping.  & I even pumped during the middle of the night when I should have been sleeping.  At 8 months I had to introduce formula to Ryan because I wasn't making enough milk to feed him.  & by 10 months I was pumping about 6 times a day and only making enough milk for one bottle- so I switched to formula. 

Baby weight?  Some moms brag about how huge their baby is.  My baby is small- he isn't even on the growth chart- but he's still perfect.

& there are sometimes, I'll admit when I see something and freak out a little bit.  Seeing babies facing forward in a car seat before they are a year old?  Yes- because it's not what's safest for your child.  Walkers?  Every handout from my doctor's office says "Walkers are not reccommended."  Pacifiers at 3 years old?  Lazy.  Bottles filled with juice for infants?  Not necessary.

I guess I should stop there, before any one reading it gets offended.  Just because I feel a certain way about issues doesn't mean I'll argue with a mom who thinks differently.  I find it incredibly annoying when other people give "advice" on what's best for your baby, when you could care less.