The One with All the Goop

So it's school vacation week over here, which can only mean one thing...

I'm sick.

It seriously happens almost every year during at least one vacation (we are two for two this year already).

I go nonstop and run myself ragged and the minute I slow down for 2.6 seconds, it all catches up to me and dumps sickness everywhere.

I started feeling crummy at the end of last week and I knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

Sore throat, fever, exhaustion, and a beautiful cough that could wake the dead.

By Sunday, I was almost in tears every time I swallowed my own spit.

When I woke up yesterday morning, I could barely open my left eye because it was filled with goopy gross crustiness.  My nose was a leaky faucet and I was coughing up some pretty disgusting stuff (hope you're not eating while you read this).

Yesterday, I ended up at the walk-in clinic (thanks, regular doctor, for being closed and making me pay a $50 copay).  Two and a half hours, two strep tests, one flu test, and one script for amoxicillin later and I am starting to feel a little better today.

Turns out it's not strep or the flu.  Probably just some awesome viral thing that I caught from one of the 25 germ-infested munchkins who have no control over where they send their spit and snot in my classroom.  I'm still finishing the antibiotic just in case.

But I haven't even gotten to the best part...

Obviously it couldn't just be me who got sick.

This morning, Liam woke up with the goopiest of goopy eyes.  Poor kid could barely see.

Luckily, we had his 9 month well-visit today so Dr. G was able to give us a prescription for some eye drops (which Liam obviously loves so very much...sarcasm font needed here).  The little guy is in great spirits considering the grossness and thankfully he didn't need any shots today.  But I do feel terrible for him.

My eyes may look like I went 10 rounds with Tyson but I am still eating like a champ!

So, that's how our vacation started.

Crossing my fingers that the rest of it is goop free.

The One with the Nine Month Update

Liam Michael you are

NINE MONTHS OLD!

  

You have shown us so much new stuff this month little man!  You are moving around like crazy and are keeping us quite busy!

What are your stats and what does the doctor say?

We don't go in to see Dr. G for two more weeks, but Mommy is thinking you are at least 25 pounds.  You seem to have gotten a lot taller too, so we are looking forward to seeing how much you have grown.  The blond hair and blue eyes are here to stay.  Everyone is always commenting on how much hair you have.  You are the envy of all the girls!

What are you eating?

You are still drinking four 8-ounce bottles of Similac Advance formula a day.  When we go to see Dr. G in two weeks, Mommy is going to see what he says about cutting down to three bottles a day.  You are eating two meals a day and usually have a third meal in the late afternoon.  Sometimes we skip that one depending on your nap schedule.  You are really loving all the different foods we have tried.  This month, you have tried cantaloupe, cauliflower, eggs, tomatoes, toast, egg noodles, meatloaf, chicken, hummus, quinoa, macaroni and sauce, and meatballs.  Mommy has found a lot of different ways to incorporate different foods into your diet.  You have had broccoli and cauliflower cheese bites, sweet potato quinoa patties, apple and cheddar balls, and will soon try pineapple and mango muffins.  You are still loving banana and blueberries and definitely prefer fruits to veggies.  You still have your 2-ounce snack bottle before bed and you love drinking water.

This is how the cool kids eat.

When do you sleep and eat?

Crib sleeping continues to be going very well.  You go down with very little issue and sleep through the night without problem.  You typically need a pacifier replacement or two throughout the night, but we consider that a big success.  You are rolling and moving around in your crib like crazy when you are awake, but usually settle yourself down without a problem.  You sleep with a Henry the Hippo lovey, a Taggies blanket, and Cecil (the Fisher Price Soothe and Glow Seahorse), which Mommy knows breaks all the "no sleeping with things" rules but they help to soothe you back to sleep when you wake up.

You wake up most mornings around 6:00 am, but did sleep the other morning until almost 7:00!  You have your first bottle in your room with Mommy and then you hang out in the kitchen with Nana while Mommy and Daddy get ready for work.  Mommy gives you some breakfast while she packs lunches and gets organized for the day.  You are usually ready for your first nap between 8:30 and 9:00.  You are still our cat napper and typically only do about 30 minutes.  Your second bottle is around 10:00 and you usually have some lunch with Nana around 11:30.  Mommy calls from school around noontime and you are typically getting ready for a nap around that time.  Sometimes Nana is able to get you to take a longer nap in the crib, but often you take half the nap in the crib and half in Nana's arms.  And sometimes, you take two shorter naps in the afternoon.  Your third bottle is sometime between 2:00 and 2:30 and you often go down for a nap again between 3:30 and 4:00.  You have your last bottle around 6:00 and you are asleep in your crib by 7:15 most nights.

What do your routines look like?

You still have a pretty strict bedtime routine.  It's bath in the little tub that we put in the big tub, lotion and jammies, little bottle, story, song, rocking, and then off to sleep in your crib.

For naps, we read a story, sing a song, rock a little, and then put you down in the crib.

What size clothes and diapers are you wearing?

You are wearing a few 9 months clothes, but are mostly in 12 month clothes.  You are wearing size 4 Pampers Cruisers during the day and size 4 Pampers Extra Dry Overnight diapers at night.

What are some things you love?

You are loving to explore your environment now that you are capable of moving more (details on that in a few).  You love to climb and roll around on the floor.  You would play with Max's toys all day long if Mommy and Daddy let you, but they are always going in your mouth.  You still love remotes, screens, and anything that lights up.  You like to rolled around in your highchair and still love to play on Mommy and Daddy's bed.  Anytime Max is around, you want to be close to him and you like to pet him and grab his fur.  Luckily, Max is pretty tolerant!

What are some things you don't love?

You are not a big fan of having your nose wiped, but do like the new NoseFrida booger sucker we got the other day.  The concept is gross, but it works so well!  You don't like it when something is taken away from you when you still want it.

What can you do?

Oh boy, it has been quite a month for your motor development!  You are now crawling around like crazy and you just love that you can move around so easily.  You had been doing a modified army crawl for a bit, but lifted that belly about a week and a half ago and nothing can stop you now!  You are able to push yourself to a sitting position from being on your belly, which makes it super interesting in your crib.  In fact, just last night, you rolled from your back to your stomach, sat yourself up and started to pull up on the side of the crib.  Speaking to pulling up, you are doing that all.the.time on everything you can.  You have pulled yourself up on your music table, the coffee table, the gate around the wood stove, and you are almost all the way up on your feet in your crib.  You are feeding yourself and you will sometimes use a spoon with help.  Your pincer grasp is really starting to develop and you can pick up smaller items easily.  You don't have any specific words yet, but understand the signs for water, eat, and all done.  You can also clap someone else's hands together and sometimes do high five.

How many teeth do you have?

You still have four teeth, but your two top middle teeth are right at the surface of your gums waiting to pop through.  When you have teeth about to pop, you tend to get a runny nose and one watery eye.  That is one way we always know that there are teeth about to come in.

What are some firsts from this month?

You started crawling, pulling yourself up, and opening drawers.  You ate lots of new foods and are enjoying making lots of messes.  You went to your first baby shower and continue to travel well in the car, unless it's dark out.  You took a bath in the little tub inside the big tub.  

What are some of your nicknames?

Swiper, Stinker, Pumpkin, Peanut

What are we looking forward to in the next month?

This month, we are looking forward to celebrating your first Valentine's Day with lots of love.  Mommy has a vacation coming up, so we are going to enjoy some time at home and maybe a day trip or two depending on the weather.

We had quite a bit of fun taking your pictures this month.  You were quite the wiggle worm and kept lunging for the camera!  And all of your pictures include some lovely head marks and bumps from your newfound movement and freedom.

 Complete with dirty laundry basket.

Mommy says this every month, but you really are the happiest and most fun baby and it is so enjoyable to watch you grow and change.

The One with I'm Alive

So this was going to be my first post in a month, but there's going to be two published posts today because my Mommy brain never told my fingers to press publish on Liam's 8 month update post.  So you get two for the price of one today.  You are one lucky reader!

We are all alive over here in Rhode Island.

Despite the runny noses (Hubs, Nana, and Liam) and the icepick migraines (yours truly) and the snow and freezing temps (the whole damn country!) and the teacher evaluation binder (thank you genius politicians), we are managing...

And that would be as far as I got with this post on Friday before one thing or another pulled my attention away.

So here I sit on Sunday night, watching a Sex and the City marathon in our bedroom because Hubs is watching that football game I don't care about in the living room, finally able to finish the post I started more than 48 hours ago.

The post was basically just to say that we are alive and (mostly) well.  Liam is rocking it out with the crawling and I'll post a lot more about him later this week when I do his 9 month post.  I need to get on the babyproofing ASAP as he is moving around like crazy.

 We have graduated to the baby tub in the big tub.  Mommy's back feels awesome about this.

  Someone thoroughly enjoyed his first taste of macaroni.

School continues to suck the life out of me, although I am desperately trying to remember that it is just a job and that I need to leave some of the nonsense of it in the four walls of the school building instead of bringing it home with me.

My latest stress revolves around childcare for the fall.  My mom agreed to watch Liam for the first year, but she is physically unable to do more than that as Liam becomes more mobile.  Every time I start to search for daycares in the area, I get a pit in my stomach.  I cannot even begin to imagine leaving him with someone else.  And then I stop searching.  But it has to be a legitimate priority for February vacation since I'm sure there are waiting lists for the places I'll be looking at.

I am mildy obsessed with the new nautical line that Old Navy is carrying.  I went in there last week to return something and came home with a bag full of stuff (and most of it was for me and not L, which is unheard of lately!).  The new Paddington line at babyGap is also to die for and I definitely ordered a few things for L the other day (with coupons and rewards...why yes I am justifying spending the money to myself).

Alright, I'm off to finish up a few things to start the week.  Heard we are supposed to get another storm mid-week around here.  Really hoping there isn't another snow day.  I'm going to be in school until July.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!