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[19 Mar 2010|10:44pm] |
We had a little family party for Sean on Wednesday. Robert's parents and our old neighbors were here. I made a big flag banner thing to hang across the living room and then hung up balloons all over. Sean was so excited. All day he kept saying, "Sean birthday!" with a big smile and sparkly eyes. He's not a big cake eater generally so I tried to make something I thought he might like a little bit. I made a pancake cake with layers of chocolate, whipped cream, and peaches. He ate tons of the ingredients while we were putting it together and then at the party he ate one bite of cake. I call it a success! hahaha
I really suck at taking birthday pictures. I didn't get any good ones at his first birthday and none at the family party this year either. Ugh. I have one more chance at his big party tomorrow.
Evidently flickr won't let me upload pics right now so you'll have to wait to see them.
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[07 Aug 2009|11:37pm] |
Today was a very momentous day! My baby boy got his very first haircut! Gone are the oh-so-sweet baby curls. :( I didn't want to do it, but it really was neccessary. His hair is really thick and was actually quite long. The curls were getting so tangled that it was difficult to comb his hair.
He did so well at the salon. He sat on my lap and looked at his favorite book. When that got boring I pulled out the bubbles and he was thrilled. The only part he wouldn't stand for was having the clippers around his ears so that part of the cut isn't as sharp as it could be. But I was happy enough with it even though I was also sad to see the curls go.
( Here's the before and after: )
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[04 Aug 2009|10:03pm] |
Sean is 16.5 months old now. He started walking last Friday. He's never even stood up without holding onto something and then all of a sudden on Friday he just up and starts walking on his own. Today he is running. He is something else! haha
He hollers through the house for Robert (Pappa!) to find out where he is. If Robert isn't home or doesn't answer he gets mad. Also, if I lose my patience with the dogs and tell them to go lay down he tries to mimic what I've said, in the same tone. Eeek!
New words he says: shoes, Kian (the neighbor boy), bubbles, diaper.
Whenever he sees something that is soft, like a teddy, a dog, a cat, etc. even if it is just a picture in a book, he squints his eyes a little, rubs his cheek with his hand, and says, "ohhhhhhh" trying to convey how soft it is. I love this. hehe
As for me, I've been struggling with some emotional things, but it's getting better. I've been to the doctor about a problem with my ears. It's not better so I'll be calling again tomorrow. All my various pains are still present although the SPD pain is getting a lot better. I think the stop in breastfeeding has helped that a lot. I start back to work in 6.5 weeks. :/
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| I've created a monster! |
[03 Jul 2009|10:57pm] |
I'm positive that aliens have taken my son and left a foul-tempered look-alike in his place. Seemingly overnight Sean has developed a powerful temper and a very strong sense of what he does and does not like. And what he does not like the most is to be told "no".
I have no doubt about where he got his temper. It wasn't from his placid father. *ahem*
He woke up at 6am this morning. I handed him his water bottle and turned to check the clock. His alphabet book was sitting in front of it so I moved it and that caught his attention. He wanted the book. I told him no, that it was too dark to see it and we would read it later. Then I closed my eyes and was trying to half sleep a little longer. But no, instead I got a bottle slammed down onto my head and a screaming banshee in my bed. I took the bottle away and told him not to do that. Then, stupidly, closed my eyes again only to be double slapped across the face. What the....???!!!!
He scratched the skin off of Robert's nose yesterday. He gave me a titty-twister today because I was changing his diaper and he didn't approve. Pinching is his new greatest joy. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=88.8) carrieb I'm so totally understanding the abuse you've been going through these last years. haha
Although he is still my little angel, he's certainly good at being devlish. I mean, look at the gleam in those eyes. Something painful happened about two seconds after that picture was taken. haha
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[01 Jul 2009|09:35pm] |
It's been hot, hot, hot here over the past week! I'm not complaining though, not much anyway. I do complain at night when I'm trying to sleep and am instead sweating and sticking to the bedding. Ugh. I will be much happier at this time next week when I get to endure hot temperatures with my choice of a sea or a pool to lounge in. haha
Sean is not breastfeeding at all anymore. Last Thursday he was pretty uninterested in the session before bedtime so on Friday night I decided that if he asked for it he could have it but otherwise I wouldn't offer. He didn't ask. And he hasn't asked since. I was a bit sad at first because I really wasn't ready to stop. I enjoyed the closeness with him and that little bit of special time we had together that was unlike anything he had with anyone else. But that's how it goes. And I am super happy that throughout the process of weaning it was fairly painless for him, and me. I only had to pump once for relief. I wanted it to be easy for him and it seems that it was.
He's climbing staircases now. But he doesn't do it on his hands and knees. No, no, my son does it on his hands and feet! haha He definitely has a strong sense of how he wants to do things and there's no persuading him otherwise. He's also very interested in using silverware and feeding Robert and I. He thinks it is especially fun to feed us his bottle of water. And if we forget, he is there to remind us to make the Ahhhhh sound when we're finished. hahaha One time he was sharing his water with me and I told him no thank you and that I was finished and I kind of turned my head away. Well he just leaned forward, grabbed my chin, turned my face back towards him, brushed the hair out of my face, and stuck the bottle in my mouth! Such a crack up!
Today I cleaned up the kiddie pool and filled it with some water. Normally I would just let him get in it naked, but I wanted him to try on his new sun protection swimsuit, plus I didn't want to slather on full-body sunscreen an hour before naptime. And because I'm lazy. Ha! He was a little dubious of the pool at first, he loves taking a bath so maybe it was the red color or the fact that it was outside that threw him off. But it didn't take long for him to enjoy it and then he didn't want to get out.
And look at those curls!!! His hair is actually really long it just coils up into these tight little spiral curls. hehe I think it's soooooo cute!
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[24 Jun 2009|09:23am] |
On Monday Sean had his 15 month healthy baby check-up. And he is healthy. In three months time he has grown 5 centimeters and is now 85cm (33.4") long! And he weighs 0.3 kilos more than he did three months ago, so currently 19.6 kilos (43 lbs). He did weigh over 21 kilos, and probably more, but the near stop on breastfeeding and the increased mobility have done their magic and he is slimming down. Just as I always knew in my little mommy heart. haha
Here he is with his nurse, Sister Karin.
The words that he says right now (that we have caught on to anyway):
juice
cheese
Jessie
goose
blomma (flower in swedish)
hi
bye bye
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[13 Jun 2009|03:23pm] |
Father's Day (the American/British one) is next weekend and so my neighbor and I spent the morning taking photos of our boys again. It was a whole lot trickier this year, they are so much more mobile! haha Here's what I ended up with for Robert:
( And here's last years for comparison: )
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[09 Jun 2009|09:13pm] |
Blah! What a lot of grey and cold we have these days! It's crazy to have to bundle up in a jacket, scarf, and hat just to spend some time outdoors in JUNE!! We are trying to find a good last-minute deal on a vacation somewhere sunny.
On Sunday Sean started walking with his wagon walker toy thing. At first he couldn't get into the standing position on his own but it didn't take long before he figured that out. I have a feeling he's going to be a runner. I don't mean athletically, I mean running to get away from Mommy and Daddy's reach. haha Already he crawls like a maniac "running" away from us and laughing the whole time. We are in for it! I'll be purchasing one of those backpack leashes for sure. haha
He said his first word yesterday. He said "juice". It's SOOOOOOOO cute I can't even stand it. I ask him to say it over and over. haha We don't even say it that much because we only drink juice on Sunday mornings, but I guess it made an impression on him. haha
Jessie is sure noticing Sean's increasing mobility. He chases her around the house non-stop and this is where she usually gives up and just lets him do what he wants:
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[24 May 2009|02:33pm] |
We've had a good weekend. It's just been quiet and spent at home, but nice nonetheless. The neighbor's man has been away so we've had her and her son over for dinner and tea a few times. And Sean and I have gone there to hang out and play as well.
The weaning is still going well. We're down from every three hours all day long to twice at night. He's feeling a bit sad about it this week and is extra clingy during naps and at night. That's okay though, I understand that it's hard for him. It's most difficult when he still decides he doesn't want to eat because he thinks he'll wait it out for the milk. But the milk doesn't happen and he gets cranky and hungry but still won't eat. So twice I've felt his stomach growling in the night and it makes me sad, but I don't give in.
Yesterday Robert gave Sean and the neighbor boy rides on the lawn mower. Once Sean got the ear protectors on he felt like he couldn't move his head, he would just move his eyes around, it was funny. They both really had fun.
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[18 May 2009|06:46pm] |
Sunday was a perfect day, weather-wise, for a trip to the zoo. We spent the whole afternoon there looking at all the animals. Then we came home and grilled steaks for dinner. Sean loved the zoo! He missed both his naps and was still just as happy as could be.
( Click for the pics )
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[16 May 2009|03:53pm] |
I am seriously like a whole new person today. It's crazy and good! The night weaning is going so well with Sean. I got five totally uninterrupted hours of sleep last night! I couldn't even believe it when I looked at the clock. I've not had that much sleep since before Sean was born!
And today he ate an entire jar of food for lunch. He's only ever eaten half the jar before. And then he had a container of yoghurt for "dessert". Can you believe that? It's like feast or famine with him. haha He's going to eat us out of house and home now. Uh-oh.
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[14 May 2009|08:45pm] |
He can't quite get up on his own yet, but Sean is loving standing. He wants to do it all the time. He's so cute, he takes little steps back and forth seemingly trying it out. :) I've been working on cutting down the breastfeeding this week. I've started actually with night time because he nurses more often at night than during the day. So far he's had a few upsets but is doing well. He's also falling asleep without nursing which is something I thought would never happen but which has happened now for naps and night time three days in a row! Yay!
Do you remember that I wrote a formal complaint against the nurse who slapped me? Well, I got her side of the story in the mail today. Hers and two other doctors who felt compelled to write and stick up for their fellow workmate. And it made me physically sick. Sick and so furious. The lies they've conjured up are incredible. Oh and did you know that it's my fault she had to slap me. And she didn't slap me very hard anyway so it was nothing to get upset over, according to them anyway. Robert read over the papers when he got home and he got more angry than I've seen him in a very long time. He's now going to write a letter of his own.
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[02 May 2009|10:21pm] |
Sean and I met up with our play group buddies on Thursday. I think it's so fun to see how all the children have grown. We've been meeting about once a month since they were all born. They certainly play a lot more and interact with each other more now than previously. It's also good to be reminded that although they may not have the same issues with their babies as we have with Sean, they do all have something they worry over.
Friday was a holiday here and the weather was really fantastic so we went to the beach. We drove to a beach that Robert always went to as a child, called Sandö. It was pretty windy which, despite the sun, caused a chill. So we couldn't sit right on the beach, we had to sit among the rocks for shelter. But it was lovely! I took Sean down to the beach in his stroller so he could see the water and such. I scooped him up some dry sand in his bucket and let him play with it where we were sitting. He found shells in it and was really excited. haha Our plan was to stay for two hours but it was so nice that the time just flew by and we were there for four hours without even realizing it!
Today we stayed around home putzing about in the garden. I cleaned the house a bit. It was sorely needed! Sean got to be outside nearly the whole day. We rigged up a holder for our big umbrella so that he would have shade wherever he sat. He's discovered the flowers. Whenever he'd disturb them Robert would tell him no, no, no and I would laugh and tell him to pinch their heads off! He liked my idea better. haha
Caption: "Awww great....we're rednecks." hahaha
Tonight we grilled for the first time this year. Mmmmmm!! It was so, so good! Even Sean enjoyed some of it. With all the good-ness we've had over the past few days something had to give somewhere. It gave tonight when it took nearly three hours to get Sean to sleep. Ugh.
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[26 Apr 2009|09:47pm] |
Well, I got the herb garden finished today. It was hard work. Mostly because I decided that while I was digging in the area I would alter the entry area to our front walk way. So that mean digging up and lifting up huge, heavy stones. And of course, once I started I couldn't let it be, I HAD to finish it. But I'm so glad I did because it looks a hundred times better. No pictures yet though, you'll have to wait a few weeks until it's all sprouting up.
However I do have some pictures for you. I came across this beetle during my digging. He had been living in our compost dirt. I thought he was quite beautiful in that creepy bug sort of way. I borrowed my neighbor's "Bugs of Sweden" book to try to find out what kind he is, but I couldn't find a match. It was about an inch and a half long. Do any of you know what kind it is?
You can click the pics to see them larger.
eta: I've discovered that it is a carabus violaceus, or violet ground beetle. And who would have thought, but they eat slugs and snails! Welcome to my garden Mr. Beetle, cozy up and make yourself at home. haha
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[24 Apr 2009|10:05pm] |
Sean started saying "uh-oh!" a few days ago. It's really cute. He can also identify his eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, teeth, hair, feet, hands, and tummy. :) Makes me happy! hehe He understands so much these days, more than we think. It's interesting. We were in his room playing with toys and I asked him if he wanted to go take a bath. He looked at me, dropped his toys, crawled to the bathroom and sat there waiting for me while pulling at his clothes. hehe
He's been able to crawl properly for some time now, but has chosen not to the majority of the time. He prefers his army crawl position. Just in the past few days though he's been proper crawling more and more for longer distances. He's also pulling himself up into a standing positon and sitting up on his knees without support.
Even so, he was not going to crawl through that tunnel no matter how many times Robert showed him how easy it was. haha He did think it was hilarious to see Daddy that way though.
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[23 Apr 2009|10:31pm] |
This morning I was all set to go to a give-away "yard sale". A friend of mine is moving to another country and they need to get rid of a bunch of stuff so they decided to give it all away for free. And she has two boys. Score!
So I was up earlier than I have been in a long time. I was all ready to go. Sean was dressed. The dogs had been taken out. We were on our way. But I realized I couldn't hear the instructions being given by the navigation guy, and I could not figure out how to raise the volume. Irritation!
Then I realized that we needed to get gas. No problem. I pulled into the station and ran my bank card through the pump machine. No go. I ran it again. No go. It kept telling me that I didn't have enough money to cover the charge. I was frustrated and furious because I knew that I had money in that account. But I drove home to check for sure. Yes, there was money. Drove back to the station and decided I'd pay inside instead. They no longer accept cash for gasoline transactions. You have to pay by card and for some reason bank cards weren't working in the system today. Arghhhh! Our car was nearly empty, I didn't know if it would even make it to the next town, but I decided to try. We did make it, I took out money at the cash machine and then pulled into their gas station. Guess what? They don't accept cash either!! Since when do places not take cold hard cash!!! The good news is that my card did work in their machine, the bad news was that I didn't have much money left on it after making the withdrawl. Gah!
Anyhow, fourty-five minutes later than we should have been, we were finally on our way. Half way there I pulled over and figured out the volume on the navigator. Things were looking up!
It was such a beautiful, sunny day as well so it was a nice drive much of which was beside a gorgeous lake. We found my friend's house and whoooo-boy did we ever hit the jackpot! Lots of fun stuff for Sean to play with, some home deco stuff, some wine, a waffle maker, and quite a bit of beer. I knew Robert would forgive me for anything I brought home if I also brought him beer! hahaha And it was all free! I love me some free stuff!
She was accepting donations from anyone who felt like leaving one though and the proceeds are being given to the Turn On The Tap charity through Samaritans Purse, a very worthy organization. You can donate to them online if you would also like to be a part of bringing something as simple, yet as life changing, as clean water to communities that don't have it.
The second half of our day was less fun. Sean is still not feeling great. He's been getting inhaler treatments six times a day since Monday. This afternoon he seemed to take a turn for the worse and it made me nervous. I didn't want to end up like we did the last time so we headed to the hospital. Thankfully he wasn't as poorly as what I imagined. They did give him a nebulizer treatment for good measure though and sent us home to continue the inhaler treatments. I'm just thankful that he's doing well and that I'm not sleeping in a hospital cot tonight. haha
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[19 Apr 2009|08:03pm] |
Poor Sean has gotten a springtime cold. He came down with a fever and the sniffles last night. Turns out that a breastfeeding pillow is the perfect thing to keep him a bit elevated during the night. It surrounds him so that he can't just roll off like he does with a normal pillow. He seems to like it too so that's a bonus! hehe
Tonight I've been in bed since 6:30pm because he fusses and wakes up whenever I leave his side. I'd rather sit here and let him sleep than get up and try to do something that will only result in tears for him and frustration for me. I've got the laptop and a slew of un-watched movies to keep me company.
I think maybe my boobs are going on strike. Today my left boob just all of a sudden started hurting. Really bad. It's not hurting like the other one, this is a new and exciting kind of pain. haha I can't even describe it except that it is not a blocked duct because the milk is passing fine, it just kind of feels like the whole bottom half of my breast is bruised. And after it was already hurting Sean totally head-butted me in that boob which, suprisingly, did not help matters. Go figure.
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| A brief overview |
[13 Apr 2009|03:10am] |
This is about five minutes long. It's a brief overview of Sean's first year made up of photos and videos.
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| Happy Easter! |
[13 Apr 2009|02:01am] |
Today we celebrated Easter with the neighbors. They served a proper English Sunday roast with all the trimmings and it was delicious! I made a chocolate cake for dessert. It was very, very chocolatey! The weather was so lovely again today that we ate outside on their back deck.
Sean was so well behaved for the most part. He only had one nap today as well and yet he was a jolly little boy the whole evening. Except for when he thought he was hungry and so I nursed him. But he kept getting distracted and so we stopped. Then it was time for tea and cake so we all gathered around the table. Half way through my cake Sean remembered that he was hungry and kept trying to get my attention. He got it but I was ignoring him, making him wait until I was finished. So he bit me. And it suprised me and HURT all at the same time and so I hollered out. And I guess I yelled way louder than I realized because everyone made fun of me the rest of the night. haha But I'm telling you, IT HURT! haha
(Look, I've got bunny ears! haha)
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