Holidays

We got our tree up and decorated tonight. I don't think I've ever had a tree up this soon. Not even officially Dec. A few more hours to go for that. The train is set up underneath. It will be fun for Bear's first Christmas. He sat and watched the train go round and round as Tom put ornaments on the tree. It's exciting to see kids at Christmas. It will be more and more fun as he gets older. It will be nice to have our house this year to start traditions like the train and putting the stockings and tree up. On a tiny bit of a side note: We got the tree because they had them at the grocery store for 10 dollars. We couldn't resist.

Late November Photos

I'm finally getting the photos uploaded. Bear is now eating solid foods so we got some of him eating and making a cute mess. Grandpa decided to have Bear try chocolate. He liked it. I have almost the exact same picture from being a baby with my dad.

Here's Bear and his first meeting of his great-grandad.

Here's Bear helping Dad do laundry and modeling his hat that Omi got him.

Hanging out with Great-Grandad Thanksgiving day just before we came home.
Reading the new Christmas catalog from Duluth when we got home Thanksgiving day. He liked Dad's hat so he got to wear it for a bit.

Four generations:

Turkey Day

So Bear got to meet his great-grandad this Thanksgiving. It was pretty neat getting to see four generations together. With me not being a teen mom I wasn't so sure the kid would get to have any great-grandparents. I'm glad he does. He actually has 3 on my side and 2 on Tom's. It's pretty fun to see my grandad play with my son. I'll get some pictures on here hopefully tomorrow so long as Bear lets me. The travelling hasn't done too well on his schedule. More tomorrow...

training

Just a quick word or two since I'm already up too late...We've been busy this week with grandparents who are babysitting/visiting. I'm still working this week and Tom is in SLC. More training. We'll be visiting my folks for Thanksgiving so we can see the house I grew up in again. It is on the market. Of course in this economic down turn it may be there awhile, but you never know. At least it is giving them time to work on the place in order to sell. And, "Off to bed" said Sleepyhead. I have work tomorrow. More later.

Doctor visit

Just a quick one tonight... Bear is now 17 pounds and is 27 inches long. We had the 4 month check today. Good healthy kid who is growing like a weed. He had another round of shots too. He is such a tough kid. He cries when he gets the shots, but stops not long after. By the time we had his clothes back on and a coat on he was done crying. Even to the point that we went out to eat across the street from the doctor's office. It is so nice that we can do that all within walking distance of the house. My boys are off to bed, Bear is already there and Tom is on his way. I think it's time for me to work on doing some dishes and getting some reading done.

Finally I make good on my promise of photos.

I'm realizing that the last time I posted I said I would put photos up the next day. Oops. Here they are. He's sitting un-assisted in the middle of Tom and I's bed. He's been drooling a lot lately. I'm thinking he may be working on some teeth. We'll see if they pop up soon.

Missing things is what happens when I go back to work. Thank goodness they let me have Bear with me on Monday mornings. We have not yet had to use daycare or a babysitter. This next week Tom is back in SLC so my parents are coming to visit and help me out with Bear. That will be his first time with anyone besides Tom and I. It will be interesting to see how everyone fairs.

It is finally acting like fall. Cold nights, sunny days, and snow on the mountains. So far still no snow down here in the valley. That's okay for driving back and forth to work. It makes the roads much nicer without the snow.

Mornings are pretty quiet around here. Bear is awake but just playing in his crib, and Buddy is asleep on the couch. Buddy thinks he's a person. I'm thinking Bear is just about asleep, but I'm staying away from the door in case he isn't. If he isn't he'll see me and want to get up and play. Not that I would mind terribly, just that he needs his naps. It's amazing that if a kid doesn't sleep during the day they don't sleep well at night either. Doesn't make sense to me. I don't know what has changed the last two nights, but Bear has decided his belly is empty at 3 a.m. again. Must be a growth spurt. All I know is it's kicking my butt. I'm not used to being up at that time of day anymore.

Latest update

We had two big milestones today. Bear laughed out loud and he sat by himself. He's been working on sitting. (He'd much rather be there than on his tummy.) I set him in the middle of Tom and I's bed at one point and he just sat all on his own. No help from Mom and no pillows supporting the bottom. Bear has a great laugh. He decided his dog was funny. Buddy was just hanging out in the living room not far from us doing his normal dog stuff. Scratching, playing with a toy, etc. All of a sudden Bear was giggling. I'm not sure why he thinks his dog is so funny but he does. Their realationship is fun to watch. Buddy loves to lick Bear. He thinks Bear is delicious. Although Buddy is very good, I do have to watch extra carefully now that Bear is grabbing and pulling hair. I know how much it can hurt when Bear gets ahold of me, and I think Buddy is a bit of a wimp when it comes to getting his hair pulled. Poor Buddy has whined a couple of times all ready as Bear got ahold and pulled. I tell Bear that he has to be gentle and make him let go. All the while telling Buddy he's being good. Someday Bear will start to connect that he is actually hurting the dog when he pulls. Problem is that I don't want to discourage him too much since he's just learning his motor skills. At the same time I don't want Buddy to have to resort to defending himself or end up not liking Bear. So far they seem to love each other, but we'll see if that continues.
I'll get some pictures on here tomorrow. For now it's off to bed to try to keep up with the kiddo.

Cold

So one more day of not going to work. Bear is feeling better, but I didn't think he needed a day at the shop. He is still a bit snotty, but the sneezes have become few and far between. Thank goodness. Suprisingly he's stayed in a pretty good mood. I know I don't stay that smiley while sick.

We have snow progressing down the mountain-side. Slowly the snowline will reach us. I hope it does soon. I love the first snow. Although I suppose we should let it wait until we get our leaves raked. I don't see why though. I love the first snow! I don't think I could ever live where there weren't four seasons. That's the majority of the fun. The change.

I'd better run and see if I can get my laundry and dishes done while Bear is asleep. Maybe I'll even get some cookies baked.

First Cold

So, I'm at home on a very rainy election day with Bear, who is sick. For being sick he is in a very good mood. It is just a minor cold. (Thanks Dad.) I'm just glad he waited until he's four months old to get sick. I don't know if I could have taken him getting sick when he's any littler. He's too little as it is. A person that small shouldn't be allowed to get colds. Poor kid doesn't even know how to blow his nose at this point. The suction bulb is not a fun way to do things. Bear doesn't like having things stuffed up his nose, and I don't particularly care for being the one stuffing things up his nose. I thought that he would be the one putting things up his nose and that it would come at a later date. You know, marbles, peas, and who knows what else. I must say though that I'm glad that hasn't come about yet.

Okay, I was talking about his cold though... It isn't bad, just a stuffy nose. I want to make sure he gets enough sleep and we can get the stuffy nose to clear. I don't want it to get any worse in other words. So far he's still smiley, but makes funny noises when he breathes. That and he sneezes lots. The nicest part has been that I was able to talk to his nurse yesterday. She called me for a completely different topic and asked how Bear was doing. When I said he had a bit of a cold she called me back with a recipe for a home-made saline solution to put in his nose. This is because the cold medicines have been over medicating kids, so they aren't recommending that parents give kids (especially infants) the o.t.c. cold medicine. I'm okay with that since I don't even particularly care for medicines for myself. I like to get better, but it's nice to do it without drugs if possible. So we are doing the saline solution, have a humidifier going in his room, when he's nursing I make sure to have the baby Vicks on my chest. I found his skin doesn't like having Vicks put on it so I put it on me so he still gets the effects of the medicine, but doesn't have to have it irritate his skin.

In re-reading what I've written I realize it isn't the medicine itself that is over-medicating. It's the dosage instructions on the label and/or parents where the fault lies. It isn't the medicine that is making a decision.

In talking about medicine though, I am going to run to the grocery store and see what they have for eucolyptus oil or something of the sort to put in his humidifier. I'd like to have more options for making the little guy feel better. We are going to have to bundle up though because of the rain. That is one bad thing about today... I can't run by myself and leave Bear here in bed since Tom is in Salt Lake for training. That's also why I'm not at work today. Thank goodness work is good about that sort of thing.

Update to Halloween

So I finally got the photos taken care of. It is a bit of a fiasco since my camera's software isn't on Tom's computer which is now the computer hooked to the internet. Anyway... the photos... This is Bear being licked by his dog. This is how we went trick-or-treating, minus the dog. Evidence below. Also below is Tom dressed as Harry Potter. He even went so far as to darken his eyebrows. (Not in this picture. I took this the night before so I didn't have to get up at 3:30 a.m. with him.)