Goodbye 2011

I cannot believe that 2011 is over. I remember last year thinking the first half would go so slowly because we were awaiting the arrival of our precious little boy. Well, it may have gone slow, but the past 9 months have absolutely FLOWN by.

This has been an amazing year. We welcomed Patrick James into the world in April, moved out of our house in 1 week, in with my parents, and started building our dream home.


I cannot believe how big he has gotten! This year, is definitely one that we will never forget, but I cannot wait to see what 2012 brings. I play on taking more time with family, having more patience, and hoping to take time, slow down, and enjoy life more, instead of wishing time would pass to get to the next big event (if that makes sense!) I hope everyone has a safe, and happy New Year!

Whirlwind Week

Merry Christmas! Ok, so a few days late, but who's counting? We are still recovering from Christmas, and I few we are going to need a vacation from our vacation! We have been running around like crazy people visiting family and going to different stores to pick out lighting fixtures, look at couches and buy appliances for our house.

Christmas was fantastic. Patrick is one spoiled boy, and we are very blessed to have family that loves him, and us, very much. He has a ton of toys, and I think enough clothing to last until at least next year! I think I am going to put most of his toys away and pull out one every few weeks or so so he doesn't get bored. Most are going into storage now, since we have no room with my parents! Just a few more months until I can take all of them out, but that's for a different post!

Patrick loved opening gifts, at first. Around half way through the day he started to cry when we put a new gift in front of him, and we soon realized that he was scared of the wrapping paper. I have to say I did laugh a few times because of this, and I may have put a few presents in front of him just to see him panic. I know, worst mom ever. In my defense, you would have laughed too! I need to get it on video!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I will try to post pictures soon!

Survived!

Well, we made it! Winter break is finally here! I must say I really need this break and time with little man. He is growing up so fast, it is breaking my heart.

School this year is .... interesting. I really do like my students (don't teachers HAVE to say that?!) There is one or two that REALLY test my patience, and sometimes they require me to drink, but I guess that comes with the territory. I just really wish parents would understand what teachers go through every day. They seriously have no idea. Some days I feel like more of a babysitter than a teacher. Then there are days when I am greeted by their smiling little faces and I remember why I chose this profession.

Hopefully this break will recharge me and I can return with more patience and ready to teach 22 9 and 10 year olds.

I can't wait to spend these 10 days with Patrick. I feel like I a missing so much while I am at work, even though I know he is in good hands. His face lights up when he sees the kids everyday, and he really does love it. I am blessed to have him in such a good daycare, but I still feel guilty everyday when I kiss him goodbye. I just keep telling myself that I am providing for my child and doing what is best for his future. It just helps me to not take for granted the time when I get home from work and the weekends. I cherish those times together. Love that little boy.

Over the next week or so I plan on resting, recharging and spending precious time with my family. And perhaps wrapping a few presents before Christmas!

First Sick Visit

In the 8 months since Patrick was born, he has only been to the Doctor for well visits! (I like to think this is due to me!). Well, today, our streak ended. Poor little guy had a cough yesterday, and coughed all through the night and had a runny nose. I still sent him to daycare and wanted to see how it would go.

I texted our babysitter around 12 and asked how he was doing. The verdict was a runny nose and nasty cough. I decided that was it..time to call our Doc. I couldn't get a hold of him after calling for an hour (they were at lunch) so Michael called and of course, got right through. Luckily with Michael's new job, he could get off and take little man to his appointment right away.

The Doc was concerned with how his cough was sounding so they ran a few tests, including two where they had to stick something up his nose - poor guy! At least Daddy was the bad guy and not me :) The test for strep came back negative, but they also tested him for the flu and pertussis. They aren't quite sure what is wrong. They put him on some antibiotics just in case it is the worst case scenario - pertussis. I hope it's not that, and I really have no idea where he would have gotten it since everyone around him is vaccinated.

I gave him his medicine around dinner time to make sure he didn't have a reaction, and maybe - just maybe, he will sleep a little better tonight (fingers crossed!)

Pray for my poor, sweet little boy! At least I get some extra cuddles this weekend!

Disabled? What?

So I came to my blog today to write an actual post for once and was shocked to see that it had been disabled...by GOOGLE. WTF? They said that I did not meet the minimum age requirement.

27? Really?

I have no idea what happened, but I had to pay $00.30 to fix the problem. I seriously almost had a nervous breakdown because I have used this blog for over 3 years now to document our deployment, our lives in general, my pregnancy and the birth of our son. I would have been so upset if all of a sudden it disappeared.

Every now and then I love looking back at my posts and seeing what our lives were like a year, or even two years ago. I think I like reading the deployment posts the best. I remember writing those and being so upset at the time, and it is amazing to think that we made it through that time.

I saw at one time that you are able to print your blog through different companies. Perhaps I should do that just in case Google thinks I am under the age of 13 at some point in the future. It would be interesting to look back on in 50 years, or for our children to look at, sort of like a journal of Mom and Dad's life. Something to look into it!

8 Months!

Really? I just cant get over it. Has it really been that long? It makes me so sad sometimes that he is growing up so fast. I just want to freeze these moments in time sometimes. I look at new born babies and I just can't believe that Patrick used to be that small! I remember looking at 9 months clothes and thinking how huge they were, and now they are getting small on him!

Here are some pictures for this month:



Dear Patrick,


Time is going way to fast! You are now 8 months old and growing up so fast. It seems like yesterday you loved laying in your swing, and now you don't fit into it! You would rather be crawling instead! This month you went from doing a funny army crawl to full out crawling across the floor. You are a pro now! You also wave to people and can pull yourself up to stand. Such a big man! You had your first Thanksgiving this past month, but didn't really think it was that special. Maybe next year when you can actually have some turkey!


We don't have an official weight this month, but I would say you are probably close to 18 1/2 pounds and around 27 inches. You are wearing 9 month clothes and even some 12 month, depending on the brand. You are in size 12 month pajamas and love your sleep sack. It keeps you warm and cozy at night. You wear size 3 diapers and size 2 shoes.

We are still nursing (yay!) and you probably eat around 24 ounces a day. You have breakfast in the morning, which consists of oatmeal and a fruit. Lunch and dinner are a mix of food. This month we added sweet potatoes and peas. You love both, of course. You are such a good eater and will eat anything we give you. I think this month we are going to let you try some actual pieces of food!

You still are not the best sleeper. You wake around 2 to 3 times a night. At least you eat and go right back to sleep, instead of waking up and deciding to play! I know this will eventually pass, so I am just trying to remind myself of this and enjoy those quiet nights we get together, just you and I.

Bath time is still a favorite. You started sitting up in the tub, splashing and playing with toys. You think the faucet in the tub is hilarious and try to grab the water coming out of it. You love the bouncer still, but love crawling around more now. You will go to anything that interests you and immediately shove it in your mouth. That could explain the cough you have now - we have to sanitize everything! You absolutely love Mickey Mouse. When his show comes on you squeal and get a huge smile on your face. It is so cute!

I cannot believe how big you are getting, and some days it makes me want to freeze in time so I don't miss anything about this age. I can't wait to see you have you first Christmas this month and look at the lights on the tree. I am so proud to be your Mom and can't wait to see what you do next.

Love,
Mommy