Noises

Christopher has started making this little clicking noise with his mouth. The video is a little dark but you can still see and hear just how adorable he is.

7 Months

On December 29th, 2008 I spent most of the day working. I work from home as a bookkeeper and I was frantic to get payroll done and all of the year end stuff done. I had a feeling that I would be very busy very soon.

At 4:23 AM on December 30th my cell phone rang. It was J. She asked "Are you awake?" Believe me at as soon as I heard her voice I was WIDE awake. I knew if she was calling me at 4:23AM that it was time. Time for our little man to be born. What an amazing day that was!

The past 7 month have continued to be amazing. Christopher is wonderful. He is getting to be such a big boy. He is trying to learn to crawl but the fact that he can't quite do it doesn't stop him. He just rolls and scoots wherever he wants to go. He says 'da,da,da' when he is happy and 'ma,ma,ma' when he is mad or hungry. He loves music even if I am the one singing it (Old McDonald is his favorite), he is quick to laugh and such a wonderful little man. Our life is a Joy!

Christopher and Daddy Playing

Update and Video

I know it has been a while. We are here in Wyoming. Still iving in our camp trailer but hoping soon to be moving into the Mobile Home we bought. People are are working on it right now, so maybe soon we can move in.

Christopher is growing up very fast. Look how cute he is!

Videos of Christopher

A couple of videos of Christopher doing what he does best. Looking Adorable!

Christopher

Here we are last weekend at one of the parks. Joe is behind the camera. We have been trying to make Saturday's a family fun day as much as possible while working around my bookkeeping schedule. Our typical Saturday has had us going early to the farmers market and going for a walk down town or to one of the parks or to both. Yesterday the weather was a little cold so we didn't walk as much as we have been. After our fun time out we come home and I work.

I just finished up working now and have very little little juice left on my laptop. We are going to a going away party today for my sister and her husband. They will be moving to Wyoming in the next couple of weeks. I'm not ready for them to leave yet. I have relied on having my sis around. I know we will follow them in a few months but even then we will still live a few hours apart (unlike the few minutes we are apart now). The party should be fun.

Routines

Things are going very good here. We are all getting into a routine with having Christopher. The girls are wonderful big sisters. They are very helpful. Things are pretty uneventful so I don't actually have much to report.

Christopher is growing like a weed. He is such a good baby. I finally got all of the w-2's and 1099's done for work. I am now just working on getting everything put together to go to the CPA. One of the big challenges with that is that the company I work for changed status mid-year. So I have to get everything put together for two companies instead of one. I have spent most of my weekends since the beginning of the year working and also about 5 hours during the week. I think that I will be working about 15-20 hours a week for the next 6 weeks. I'll admit that it is a little hard to juggle that with the baby but one good thing is that I can only work evenings and weekends due to the regular office person being in there during the day (we use a service that allows me to actually log on to the office computer from my computer it is a wonderful thing but only one of us can use the office computer at a time). During the times I can work either the girls or Joe or all are home. Built in babysitting!!

We have started the process of preparing for our move East. We need to get a couple of permits lined up and we need to arrange for power (can't get power until we get the permits). We will live in the trailer until we can get a modular or manufactured home put up. In order to live in the trailer we have to have a temporary home permit. I'll admit that the idea that our trailer is a temporary home is funny to me but those are the rules. In order to get the temporary home permit we also have to provide our plans for the foundation and structure of our permanent home. We kind of have something picked out but aren't sure so I ordered more info from a guy we met with last year. That should be here by Thursday. I'm hoping to be able to send our permit requests off my the middle of February. My sister and her husband and daughter will be leaving for Wyoming in the next few weeks. They bought 40 acres a few hours from us. It has been very nice living in the same town as my sister for the past three months. We haven't lived near each other for 18 years. I will miss her very much when she goes.

Christopher is beginning to fuss so I should sign off. We have been thinking of nicknames for him. I like Christopher and prefer no nickname but Joe wants a nickname. He usually calls him CJ but lately started calling him Siege (CJ but all ran together). I think I could like Siege...

Busy Week

Whew. This has been a full week.

Monday KiKi, LuLu, Christopher and I met up with J and her daughter. We met in Old Sac. Neat area. Lots of little Tourist Trap shops. We had lunch, walked around, bought candy, went to a train museum and then had a snack before our visiting time was done.

I love all of us being able to be together. The girls get along very good. Christopher was wonderful. He is such a good baby. It was kind of fun for me to look at him and compare him with J. They have some similar features and he gets some of the same looks that she does. Most of the time I see Joe in him but sometimes he will do something and I'll think "that looks just like J". I have to admit that I had a small fear that Christopher would know that J was his bio mom when she held him and that he would like her better (yes, I know that is stupid but I want to make this blog honest about my feelings/thoughts and that is something that I thought). I think that KiKi really helped me with that silly thought. While we were waiting for J to arrive KiKi told me how lucky that Christopher is to have two mommy's who love him so much. KiKi is one smart 13 year old!

The rest of the week I have spent taking care of Christopher and trying to get bookkeeping work done. W-2's and 1099's and all the year end tax stuff is due. I have been working alot more than I had been and some days it is challenging. I'll be working on the computer while on speaker phone and nursing or holding Christopher. One day I swear that he didn't let me put him down for more than 5 minutes at a time! I managed to work 5 hours that day while holding him.

The breast feeding is going okay. I was hoping to have a little more milk than I do. And that Lact-Aid thing didn't work out so good for me. The idea of it is good but I swear that it hurt all the way to my back bone when he nursed on me with that thing. It was like he had to suck waaaaay too hard. So now I nurse him and we supplement with a bottle. He seems to be okay with going back and forth without any nipple confusion. I am hoping that my production will increase a little bit. We had some breast milk donated from a surro friend which lasted the first couple of weeks. That was so wonderful. And on Monday J gave me almost a full camping size cooler of milk. So we combine my milk, J's milk and formula now. He seems good with that mixture. But I'll tell you the kid will eat himself sick if I let him. The doctor said only 3 ounces at a time due to him having little spit up issues. Christopher thinks he is on a starvation diet when we stop at 3 ounces. One day I gave him a little extra and up it all came. I guess the doc knows what he is talking about.

Angel and Bear are doing good. We are hoping to see them in March. Both are staying busy right now and Angel says that married life is ok. They are actually going to be moving soon so that should be very fun for them.

Christopher

Our little man is so amazing. He is such a sweet little guy. J always said that he was 'mellow' and she is very right. He is so good natured.

Joe is still on cloud nine. He says he can't wait to get home from work each day to see him. He will just hold him for hours and stare at him. Joe said that he didn't know that he could love someone so fast. Right now they are lying on the couch together taking a nap.

KiKi and LuLu think that Christopher is amazing. They love holding him and picking out his clothes and even want to help with diaper changes.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love him. The fact that I was able to become a mommy again with the man that I love is huge. And it is all thanks to J. She is such an amazing woman to do this for us. Sometimes when I am holding Christopher I think about the sacrifice that J has made to allow me this. How can I ever thank her enough?

He's Here!

Our perfect little guy was born on Tuesday, December 30th at 12:21 PM.

J was incredible. Being there and experiencing his birth was so amazing. I tear up thinking about it.

He is beautiful. And as J has always said such a mellow baby. I'll update more later (the juice on my laptop is almost out). In the mean time please keep J in your thoughts and prayers. She is having some difficulties from the epidural.

J we love you!!

Ticker

Ticker says 12 days!

It is almost time for our little guy to be born. J had some contractions last night that kept her up but nothing going on this morning. I know that she is physically ready to be done. Tomorrow she has an OB appointment. KiKi, LuLu and I will go down for it. I can't believe how fast the time has went.
Joe and I are at the nervous/excited stage. Sometimes we just look at each other and say something dumb like "we are going to have a baby any day". We have been practicing how to make a 'bottle' using the Lact-Aid nursing trainer. Joe is better at it than I am. I have leakage issues. We also practiced diapering (on a scary looking cabbage patch doll) and using our baby wearing gear. I have a sling and a Moby wrap and Joe has a front pack. We put our little dogs in them and they work great for carrying them around.

So it could be any day now. Or it could be a few weeks still. I know that J is hoping for any day!

White Wedding

Angel is a married woman! The wedding went well. The weather was challenging and added an element of stress but for the most part everything was good. Angel was beautiful. The turn out was about half what we had planned for but actually more than we expected considering the weather. The DJ was a no-show which caused some tears early in the day. In the end all was well and my little girl is now a married woman. Not sure how I feel about that yet.

J and Baby are doing well. I know J wishes that he would pop on out but the doc says it will be a while still. Doc goes on vacation early January. We were hoping that Baby would be born prior to Doc leaving. Now we are not sure. I know babies come when they are ready but we are all ready. Shouldn't that count for something?

Still Concerned

The weather is still causing me issues for my wonderfully detailed plans. I think we have a new plan but won't really know for sure until tonight. One thing I know is that one way or another I'll make it up for the wedding.

The good news is that other than the few things that have to be purchase last minute (like food and flowers) we are ready. I also have a back up plan in case due to the weather my sister (who is a professional caterer) can't make it I can handle the food and decor on my own. It won't be nearly as nice but it will do. My biggest issue will the amount of room that I have for hauling all of my treasures up. Right now we plan to take my sisters truck which has a camper for protecting the decor items and my truck. However, if the weather/roads are too bad then my sister won't be able to go. We have a 4 wheel drive pickup so the roads will be okay but no camper shell. This means that alot of the nice decor stuff that we have won't be going with me. It will still be okay just not as 'fancy'. I'm still trying to remember my mantra. "I will not freak out"

Wedding Woes

Saturday the 20th is Wedding Day. I was feeling pretty prepared for my part of it. Small problem has now come up. The weather. It is currently snowing in Oregon. Where Angel lives the city has issued chains required. Where the wedding is it is currently snowing. It is still 6 days until the wedding but the weather report is not very promising. The temperatures are supposed to stay at or below freezing for the week. I am worrying about traveling up to the wedding. Angel and Ogre do not want to postpone the wedding (I don't blame them) but they know that many of the people they thought would be coming won't because of the weather. My sister may not be going due to the weather which means that I need to replan the trip. It will work out somehow. But today I'm feeling overwhelmed.

LuLu's Birthday!!

LuLu turns 12 today! Hard to believe that she could be that old. We will go out for dinner tonight and then back here for cake and ice cream. My sister, brother in law, niece, Joe's grandma and Joe's step grandpa will join us for cake and ice cream. We planned on having the 'party' in our house (travel trailer) but Joe's grandma suggested we just come into her house. Probably a good idea since 9 people in our little trailer would be rather tight.

Things are going well. I've been busy with wedding stuff, Christmas and settling in. J went to the doctor on Monday and she is doing good. The ultrasound estimated the baby's weight at 6 pounds 7 ounces. Wowzers. Hopefully he won't be a 10 pounder like Joe was.

Next Thursday KiKi, LuLu, my sister, niece and myself will drive back up to Oregon. Joe and my brother in law will come up after work on Friday. We do have alot to do to get ready for the wedding. This is a Do It Yourself wedding so I anticipate a busy couple of days. I started feeling myself stressing out over it yesterday but last night I found some peace in realizing that everything will work out just fine. Angel's wedding will be nice. There may be a few little hiccups but I am determined not to let it cause me a 'breakdown'. I am putting this here so I have it in writing that I will not freak out. I figure I need all the help I can get with keeping myself together. lol. My mantra "I will not freak out" is going through my head over and over.

I still need to pick up a couple of Christmas gifts but for the most part am ready. We won't put up a tree this year until a couple of days prior to Christmas because of our space issues. And for the first time it will be a fake tree. I'm glad that I have one given to me by my former mother in law. It will be perfect.

We have just about all of our baby stuff ready. I need to pick up just a few things that are not essentials. We might even have a name chosen. I'm not sure yet though since we can't seem to stick with any of our choices more than a few days. We should have one picked out at least by the time he leaves the hospital.

Travel trailer living has been good. We are very comfortable most of the time. It is good that KiKi and LuLu have a separate trailer. Most of the time we are all in our trailer but they do sleep in theirs and sometimes read or play their video games. Most homework is done in ours, all cooking and meals in ours, TV watching is in ours and the bathroom is in ours. So we all spend lots of time together. I love it. I take the girls to and from school too and I really love that. I feel very connected to them. It is so different than our life was in Oregon. I no longer go to work each day (which is very weird but I'm adapting to it). I do have a couple of minor complaints. The biggest is my lack of internet. I either have to sit outside in the yard to get internet or go into Joe's grandparents house (that is where I am right now). I have a router set up that I hoped would give me internet in the trailer but there is too much interference. I'm thinking of looking into getting a repeater but that will have to wait until after the wedding. My brain can't handle anything else right now. In the mean time I'll make do. Today I'm in the house baking LuLu's birthday cake. I'm also doing a load of laundry. Usually I go to the laundromat but Joe's Grandma asked me to do my laundry here instead of going to the laundromat. She says it is silly for me to go there when she has a perfectly fine washer and dryer. I love that woman!!

I'm still here!

I only have a minute but for those wondering we are alive and well.

The move was fun (cough, cough). We are mostly settled now. Living in two travel trailers is different than I imagined. In some ways better in others not so good. I have to admit that so far though I don't dislike it. Space is my biggest issue. Where to put things has been a challenge. I discovered we all have way too much clothing. This is a two fold issue. Storing it and washing it. We have to go to the laundromat so less stuff would be better. Or maybe disposable clothes would be the best. Wear once and throw away. I like that idea.

Joe started work on Wednesday. He loves it. It is a physical job and he comes home filthy (again, my laundry issue comes into play here) but he seems very happy. The girls are adjusting to school. Some days are better than others. LuLu had a project to build a volcano. Joe and her finished it this morning. It is wonderful. Tuesday she will do a speech on it and then cause it to erupt. Now that I no longer work full time I get to go to the volcano party. I can't wait.

J and Baby are doing great. I'm still inducing lactation. Wedding plans are right on target. I only have Internet sporadically so not sure when I will be posting here again. Stay tuned!

Yippee!

Joe got the job he wanted. It is certainly not anything near a 'glamorous' job. But he is very happy and so am I. He will start on November 16th so we have time to get settled. This just might all work out...

Food and Stuff

I haven't been making my weekly menu for about 2 weeks now. I thought that I would be doing myself a favor by being able to be spontaneous each day and just make a meal based on the time I had available. WRONG. This has been awful. I hate not knowing what I am making in advance. So last night I planned out the rest of the week for dinners. Breakfasts will be oatmeal, cereal or toast and eggs. All served with fruit (if I can make it stretch for the rest of the week). LuLu and KiKi are eating lunches at school this week. Not ever my first choice but it helps me for the week and they think it is a 'treat'. Joe is only working part days and I am not going into the office at all (except for an hour here and there) so we are eating whatever we find in the fridge for lunch. Here are my dinner plans.
Tonight: Pot roast with carrots and onions. Served with rice and salad
Tomorrow: Beef enchiladas (made with leftover beef, cheese, onions), Spanish rice, salad
Friday: Pork Chops, pasta and green beans

That's it. Saturday is our moving day.
I pretty much stopped buying groceries about 3 weeks ago. I have been just picking up the absolute essentials (milk, cheese, veggies, fruit) since then. I had a pretty full pantry and freezer that we have really emptied out. The trailer obviously doesn't have the storage space that I have been used to so my food stock ups had to be depleted. But I'll tell you a secret. I do have two large totes almost full of food that I'm going to keep at Joe's parents house. I figure I can 'shop' there each week in addition to the regular grocery store.

It is almost pumping time again. I pumped at 6:10 this morning. I'm trying to pump every 3-4 hours. I have my fenugreek tea brewing right now. Today I'm going to try to keep track of my water consumption too and see if that helps. Thanks Cyn for the tip about the lanolin. I'll try and find some of that (but probably not until I get relocated).

I got my bookkeeper duties done for the day so the rest of my day will be spent working on the house. WhooHoo. I forgot just how much fun that moving is.

Moving Right Along

Angel just left- again. She had came back for a few days but since she has to work tomorrow she went back to the city. I won't see her again until a couple of days before her wedding. I'm feeling sad but happy that she is stepping out on her own. And also happy that I was able to pass off lots of household items that she could use for her apartment. So much easier than packing it up and putting it in storage.

Lactation induction went better today. I still am not getting much milk but I am getting some. I have lots of hope that I will see improvement in a week or so. I am experiencing some cracked, ummm, 'parts' but I think that will get better soon. I know that pumping is not going to be anything like the actual nursing so it will be good if I can get my 'parts' toughened up. lol.

Another big day for packing and organizing. The walls are beginning to close in on the trailer with each load of stuff I take out there. What seemed like a semi-spacious area appears to be getting smaller and smaller. Putting my clothes in the closet I was beginning to wonder (as I was trying to shove a sweater in a drawer not meant for sweaters) what in the world were we thinking?

LuLu is feeling a little sad tonight. We won't be able to move our chickens. I thought we had a new home for them but that didn't pan out. I posted an ad on our freecycle and I'm hoping some very nice person wants them. These chickens are more like pets. And while they do give us great eggs their true purpose has been more of entertainment. One of the chickens (Bambi) even gets carried around. We got the chickens as freshly hatched babies with the assumption that they were all girls. We brought home 8. They were just little balls of feathers that looked like fur. A few months later we realized that one of our 8 was not a hen. LuLu was quite surprised the morning that she was out caring for them and 'Sara' started crowing. We renamed Sara Samuel. The 8 of them were a riot to watch. They talked all the time it was great. And then we lost one of our girls- very sad. When Samuel was about a year old he discovered just what a rooster was made to do. My poor little hens. He liked them so much that he rubbed the feathers off of 5 of them. Not a good thing. Then Samuel decided that he liked the girls so much that we couldn't go anywhere near them. Samuel now lives on a free range chicken ranch with about 80 hens to 'take care of'. A much better situation for Samuel.

Tomorrow will be another day of packing and pumping. I might try to throw in a little bookkeeping too.