Cash's First Christmas

We started a few new traditions this year: 1. Prime Rib for Christmas dinner. 2. Christmas is for our family only. We will stay home and in our pj's all day. 3. Dad will make breakfast burritos.

Cash was blessed with lots of toys this year. Santa brought a jungle gym with a swing, a slide and a ball pit. Dad stayed up until 4am putting it together. We also got him a Baby's First Christmas ornament, bathtub toy holder, a recordable book titled I'll love you Forever and an elephant that blows balls out of his nose. Papa Tiger and NeeNaw got him a dinosaur he can ride on and push. Aunt Lil K got him an aquarium toy that you put fish in and a train that rides on a track. Aunt Big K got him a dog with a string he can pull and a blow up horse. Granny and Papa got him a keyboard, a leap frog musical book, a book called "the going to bed book", camo socks and boots and a toy cell phone. Santa put bubbles, pacifiers, a toy car, a candy cane and a sippy cup in his stocking! Lil J sent a Leap Frog fridge toy that he adores! Grandma and Grandpa Bliss got him a ball that rolls all by itself and does music and a set of sesame street books.

We are going to have to finish his play room tomorrow so we can put all his toys in there. There are too many to fit in the living room! On a sad not I took all his "baby" toys out he doesn't play with anymore. So sad :(

Sleep

For about 6 weeks Cash would wake up between 1-4 for a bottle. I went to the pediatrican for his 9 month check up and she told me to give him water when he wakes up. That very night he started sleeping through the night again. The past week he has stopped taking long naps. Now in the morning he will wake up at 8 and take a nap at 11 and sleep until 1l. Then he will be super tired in the afternoon but won't nap and won't go to sleep until 11. One night I had to put him in the car and drive around. It has driven me to my breaking point. Two nights in a row I have broke down and cried. Today I added a nap at 3 and he slept until 6. It's now 10pm and he is asleep. I guess it's back to the "sleep when he sleeps" thing we did when he was a newborn. Ugh. I an exhausted all the time. NOT tired, exhausted. I wake up at 5am, drive and hour, work 12.5 hours, drive and hour home and P doesn't understand why I'm so tired and don't want to stay up with Cash so he can go to sleep to work the next day. We constantly argue about who gets to sleep. I love that kid more than life itself but lack of sleep really leaves me with little patience. His lack of sleep makes him really whiney and all he wants you to do is hold him. Hopefully this is just a stage and once he is off the bottle things will be better.

Few and Far between

I don't think anyone reads this blog but I still feel the need to apologize for the few and far between posts. You see working 3 12 hour shifts with 2 hours of driving a day plus call and weekends is kicking my butt. I had the worst week ever and am thankful for the best husband ever. He stepped in and took care of Cash while I was at class, studying for a test I failed, got mad because I failed the test, worked the next 2 days then was on call this weekend and by Sunday I was very sick and thought I was going to die. He got my nyquil and ice cream and only griped a little. Cash is growing by leaps and bounds. He is standing by himself when he has something particularly interesting in his hands. The pediatrician sent a checklist of developmental milstones and if he is doing the things on the list. So far so good. He waves hi and bye bye and will repeat noises back and forth with you. He crawls so fast when he wants to go somewhere that he knows he isn't supposed to be going. Still no teeth though. He is walking around on everything but won't let go. He had a great Thanksgiving at granny and papa's house. He ate all kinds of stuff and LOVES pumpkin pie! He cried everytime I took it away. What can I say the kid knows good food when he tastes it. Getting ready for Christmas and just put up the tree after Cash went to sleep tonight. Don't know how long the ornaments will stay on but oh well. It's officially winter here in Texas. Temps in the 30's and 40's. Very cold. It even snowed a little this morning! I am ready after the scortching summer we had. Hopefully it will snow and Cash can enjoy it. It won't be his first snow as it was a blizzard the weekend after he was born. LOTS of snow and ice. First birthday pictures are this Friday. I am SO excited!

The poop fiasco.

So, I was a bad mom today.

Cash woke from his nap. I removed his diaper and put him in his crib. I like to let his bottom breathe every once in a while so I left his diaper off. I jumped in the shower. I was in for about 7 minutes. Before I even dried off I checked on him. He was sitting so quietly looking at something in his hands. I got closer and saw turds and then the poop on his hands and on his toys. I checked his mouth and sure enough poop in his mouth. I stripped his onesie off and threw him in the bathtub. Keep in mind I am naked and wet from the shower still. I cleaned his mouth and him then called posion control. Why poison control? I didn't know if it is dangerous to eat your own poop.

By the way I was told as long as it's your own poop you should be fine. You may barf but you should be ok. And the lady didn't think it was weird that my child had eaten his own poop.

Changes

We went to a co-workers wedding on Friday. It was a great party and Cash had a wonderful time. He was held and loved and got to stay up late. Everyone adored him. My boss danced and loved on him most of the night. Another co-worker commented about how good he was. He didn't cry or get fussy until he got hungry when we left. I was very proud of my big boy. Cash also took off walking with his push toy today and I actually got it on video. He will be walking in no time. One of his favorite things is when I get on my hands and knees and crawl to him. It make him go wild. He starts bouncing and smiling and gets very excited. It makes my heart swell. Big changes at P's work. He is no longer able to work 12 hour shifts so, he will now be working 30 hours per week and will no longer get a vacation. He probobly will no longer be the assistant manager either. This means he will probobly not get a raise either. The new owners no longer do 401k either. Real bummer all around. I will probobly have to start working 3-13hr shifts to make up for what he isn't able to work anymore. We will make sacrifices so that we will continue to have family time. We think that is really important for our relationship and for Cash. It's going to get hairy when I work weekends though. We are going to have to get baby sitters. Probobly P's mom and my sis Lil K. The only problem with that is that they are both so far away. Cash's halloween costume came in the other day. Lil J did such a great job! Cash has grown since we measured though and P's mom is going to have to alter it a bit. It's a unique funny and scary costume and I can't wait to take some pictures in it! We are going to do the Safe Spook at the local businesses in town since it is before dark and Cash can't eat the candy anyway.

A little update

Not much going on in our world. Just chasing Cash around and making sure he doesn't hit his head (too hard) on the floor. Making sure when he pulls up on something (because that's all he does now-a-days) that it doesn't fall and hit him in his head. And making sure he isn't eating something he shouldn't. He is 8 months old now and waves at things but not when you tell him "hi" or "bye bye". He has been on car trips to Waco to see my dad and step mom and to First Monday. He did great in the car each time and usually just falls right asleep. He doesn't like riding in the back when it's dark though and will scream his lungs out. He won't sleep in his crib for anything and I got some great advice from my 45 year old step sister: Don't worry about it and worry his baby hood away making him sleep in his crib. She said it won't hurt him by not sleeping in his crib. So guess what? I'm not going to try to make him sleep in there any more. When he is ready, he will sleep in his own bed. Until then, CUDDLE TIME! He is still fighting his sleep from time to time and has to be rocked. P has that duty. My back can't handle it since I had Cash. He is in some of his 12 month clothes and growing like a weed! Lil J is making his Halloween costume and shipping it from WA and I can't wait to post a picture of his costume!! Hopefully we will get to go Trick or Treating with cousin A but if not if will be local business Trick or Treating during the day time. I just want to show off his awesome costume anyway since he can't eat the candy. We are starting to give him table foods like bread and crackers and he loves it! He has began to eat chicken baby food but won't pick up food and put it his mouth yet. He just smushes it. Still no teeth, but I'm not worried. They will come, eventually. Just had to get up and get Cash before he put a screw in his mouth from the A/C vent. You gotta be on your toes at all time with that little guy! Well, I think that sums it up to this point. Gotta go make a bottle!

7 months 3 weeks

Since Cash started crawling then days later standing all he wants to do is stand, on everything. Toy baskets, shelves, fireplace hearth, speakers, wipes box, push toy, high chair, the couch, our legs...EVERYTHING! It's pretty funny to watch and nerve racking at the same time. He has hit his head so many times I have lost count. P and I are professionals at watching for concussions. I just had to stop typing because Cash tried to grab a baby gate leaning against the wall and it fell on his head and scared him. He is into everything all the time. Still no teeth. I swear the last 2 days he has been teething though because he has been SO grumpy. Screaming, cry, fight his sleep. He wants to be held all the time and doesn't even like his stroller. He is saying Mama and Dada but not really to either of us. We are practicing waving but he hasn't figured it out just yet. We are also teaching "NO" but he hasn't gotten that one yet either. He's not interested in his jumper of walker anymore and cries when we try to put him in it. He is 7 months and 3 weeks old and growing up way too fast for this Mama!