First Sick-Visit to the Doctor

Poor guy, he is not feeling well today. He woke up this morning at 7:30 AM, gave me a quick smile, and then started fussing. This was my first clue. He is usually so happy in the mornings and barely ever fusses. Not only was he fussing, but it sounded kind of hoarse, coughed a couple of times, and sneezed. Oh dear.

I changed his diaper, left him in his PJs, and fed him a bottle. He was content to just sit with me after the bottle when usually he is ready to get moving on his activity mats. So, we read a book and chatted with Daddy. He seemed pretty interested in the book, so we read it a few more times. Then, he started crying again--it is a different cry than I have ever heard. It really looks like he is communicating that he feels awful. So, I gave him some Tylenol, the rest of his bottle, plus 2 more ounces. Then, we read some more and he seemed content.

His eyes grew heavy around 8:15 so I went to put him down for a nap. This is when he really got upset and it confirmed he wasn't feeling well. AFter 30 minutes of crying, coughing, sneezing, and getting chocked up, I got him down for a nap, called Mimi, and the called the doctor.

We are going in at 10. I will update the post with what I find out....

We are back home. O has a little head cold; nothing to worry about. I did get a good lesson in how to clear mucas from the nose! The doc recommended lying him with his head between my legs and his arms under them so that I can keep him still. Put a burp cloth on his chest and work fast. She recommended a big hug when its over. I tried it since it distinguishes "cleaning my nose" time from any other way that I hold him so that every time I go to wipe his nose he doesn't think I am coming to suction it. It was easy to do, but it did make Baby O pretty mad. The big hug at the end was good for both of us.

He is not running a fever, so the doc said all is good as long as he keeps eating. Little Man is napping now--hopefully, he will feel better this afternoon.

Comments Welcome

So...I have recently heard that there are lots of folks out there watching Baby Q grow up!! I have changed the settings for posting comments to no longer require a google email address. So...comment away! We would love to hear from all of you!

This Weekend: Lots of Standing, Sleeping, and time with Daddy!

O loves to stand up and look around. When holding him, he juts his head forward and tries to get himself to an upright position when he is ready for a change. I think all of this exercise wears him out, because he has been taking really good naps! Here are a few photos from the weekend...

Standing with some help from Daddy... Enjoying the awesome weather in the evening....

GQ charted a tennis match for one of our friend's son this weekend; here's O looking on....

Daddy's favourite toy to play with O...

Sleeping on mommy's side of the bed...

15 Weeks Old Today...Here's What I did this Week.

Monday...watched Dancing with the Stars with Mom.

Tuesday...did some tummy time and played with Cutter and Parker at Gymboree...

Tuesday Evening...played with my lightening bug that lights up and sings "Twinkle, twinkle"; it also has crinkly wings that I LOVE right now...

Thursday...watched the news. I like to sit now. Nevermind reclining...that's for lazy babies. I either want on my back so that I can kick my legs or I want to be sitting up and looking around...

Melanie's Photos

When Lanie and Miss H were here, Melanie came to the park to take some photos. Here is the slide show she posted on her website! O is 10 weeks old in these; Miss H is 7 years old! Enjoy:

http://melaniejohnsonphotography.com/hannaandowen/

Thank you for the memories, Melanie!

Sarah

Baptism

April 13, 2008 was a very special day for our family. Today, we baptised our baby boy and professed our commitment to raising him in faith. Baby N was baptised along with O. It was the sweetest ceremony I could ever have imagined. Both boys had precious outfits. O's had tiny crosses stitched into the collar. His shoes were handed down by Grammie; they were the shoes that Uncle Ben wore when he was baptised.

This was a very meaningful day for me. I was baptised 31 years ago by my Uncle Dean. A photograph from that day hung in our hallway when I was a child. Every time I caught a glimpse of that picture I was reminded that my parents committed to raising me as a child of God. If ever I was struggling with something in school, or thought my parents were being too hard on me, or doubted that God was there, that photograph reminded me His love and my parent's commitment to me. It meant a lot to me today to take a photograph of O with the Pastor that baptised him so that if ever he doubts our intentions or love for him, he too can be reminded that we are doing our best by him and that we love him completely. I will probably place that photograph outside of his bedroom, too!

After the baptism, the Pastor and Assoc. Pastor carried Baby O and Baby N to introduce them to the church. When Baby N reached out to O while they were standing in the middle of one of the aisles, it brought tears to my eyes. I wish for the happiest life for both of these boys and hope that they will grow to be very close friends--the kind of friends that look out for one another, share joy in small things, and laugh daily--the kind of friends that I am blessed to have. When the preacher said that as teenagers she hopes that their every action is filled with grace, I have to admit that I chuckled. I am sure that there will be some moments that they will not be proud of (to say the least). But, I hope that they are together in those moments and that they keep each other safe.

Grandpa Texan, Grammie, Paw Paw Mc, and Uncle Ben (from Michigan) came to share in our commitment; O's English Grandma was there in spirit and sent him a very sweet note today. Some photographs from the day follow (thanks, Dad, for taking the pictures).

The Boys all dressed up for their special day.

Baby O with Pastor Kathleen.

Baby N just before his baptism.

Baby O just before his baptism (he was "talking" as I handed him to the Pastor).

The family blessing Baby O; Grammie is there behind Uncle Ben and Paw Paw Mc.

The boys being introduced to the church.

At the front of the church just before prayer.

Baby O in his Christening Shawl (traditional in England) sent to us from Justin & Wendy.

Shoes worn by Uncle Ben during his baptism.

The family in attendance (dressed down for tamales!).

He Rolled Over...Yay, Baby Q!

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First and foremost, we made it through the minor tornado that hit in our neighborhood last night with very little damage. Dona, I am uber impressed that you recognized our front entrance on the news and can't believe it made the news in Tennessee. There is a lot of damage to the houses around us: chimneys came off in whole and are in the backyard, air conditioning units are ripped from the base, one house lost an entire upstairs room, many had windows shatter, cooper was peeled back from roofs, mailboxes turned over, fences completely blown down, and port-a-potties were lifted from construction sights and dropped in front yards of occupied houses (ick). We were very lucky to have only minor roof damage. Melanie's family had a terrible scare (http://www.melaniejohnsonphotography.blogspot.com/) What a scary night for all.

On to exciting developments! O rolled over tonight for the first time. I was re-taking his three month scale picture (below--I like this one a lot better) and scrolling through them on the camera while O laid on the black blanket. I looked down and he was further over on his side than I had ever seen, so I snapped a photo (before). Within about 15 seconds, he was all the way over, and then tucked his legs and arms in (after). It was really cute. He stretched his neck to look around and lasted, oh, about 30 seconds there ;-)

Later, after his bath, he was laying on his back and went to roll over again. When he got far enough into that he knew what was happening, he started to cry so I helped him return to his back and he smiled at me. Not sure that he liked the idea of rolling over again when he was so tired after playing in the bathtub! At least, I hope that's it and and that he won't be too scared to do it again ;-)

Weekend at Grammie & Paw Paw Mc's

The bluebonnets are in bloom! Ever since I can remember, my mother has wanted photographs of us with the bluebonnets. So, a couple of weeks ago, she let me know they were in bloom in College Station. When Linz said she was going to College Station for the weekend, O and I decided to tag along for the roadtrip. This was O's first official, overnight stay included, roadtrip! All for a picture... Here's the little man asleep in the back seat of Linz's car!

I have a photo album for O that is squishy and made for teething. It contains pictures of O with all of the people of love him most. I was missing one of O with Grammie and Paw Paw Mc all in one photo!! So, they posed...
Grammie reading a bed time story. This is the book that Grammie bought for the little guy at my shower; we were building a baby Q library. We read it, and Goodnight Moon, every night.

Playing... showing off more like it. O showed his Grammie and PawPaw Mc that he can lift his head way up high. And, when on his back, he can grab his toys with both hands to get them to his mouth for more exploring!

Laying on the couch watching Mickey Mouse with his giraffe named Aggie.

First trip to Layne's for some seriously good chicken strips--he doesn't know what he is missing!
On the way home, Linz got some news that meant we needed to get home. So, we detoured. My dad picked O and I up in my and Linz's hometown and drove us halfway to Dallas. Daddy Q met us and we had dinner and then went our separate ways. Here is Grandpa with his crazy order!!! He hardly ever eats Mexican and got carried away--they brought it on three plates. Hilarious.

Thanks for the lift, Papa! Linz, your family is in our thoughts and prayers! We love you so much!!

Three Months Old

Time is flying by! I cannot beleive it is time for another installment of the scale photograph! The lighting today was different than before, so I may re-take these and replace this post. But, you can see that my plan is working!! Baby Q is lifting his head up high AND kicking his feet in this one. The photo is small; but, his feet are out of focus becuase he was movin' and grovin' today!!

He is making so many faces and responding to voices, faces, and things around him. I have found so much joy in watching him discover new things, learn cause and effect, and to begin anticipating things. I sing the "itsy-bitsy spider" to him and tap his nose at the end, which makes wrinkle it. He starts smiling as soon as I start the song anticipating the end! It is so stinkin' cute! And...it distracts him for a moment when he isn't wanting a new diaper. For three months, I thought I would show the faces of my Punkadoo. So, here he is:

Smiling...this is definately my favorite face!! The Itsy-Bitsy Spider, "flying", bathtime, bottles, and seeing mom or dad first thing in the morning are all things that lead to this sweet face...


Listening and watching...This is his I am seeing something new and taking it in face...


Concentrating...This one is really funny and I am so glad that I captured it on film!! This is the face he makes when he is practicing something. In this photo, he is tracking his hand as he moves it around. He makes this face in the bathtub before splashing and also under his activity mat if there is a toy he wants in his hand (the latter is very new).


This is his quietly soothing myself face! His little thumb saves him a lot of tears. This little guy can put himself to sleep when he is tired. One afternoon I set him in his bed for a few moments so I could grab his book to read to him before a nap. When I came back he was laying just like in the photo below, very content. So, I stood and just watched him and he fell asleep in about five minutes. Now, if I am holding him and he won't go to sleep, I will just lay him down and sometimes that's what he needs.

Things that have happened in the last month:

* O has been sleeping through the night for 3 weeks now. He goes to bed between 7 and 8 pm and wakes between 6 and 8 am. Only twice as he awakened for a middle-of-the-night bottle.

* He talks...AloT. He says Ohh, Ahh, Unkkkkk, Agoo, and Maaaaa

* He holds his head up really well now. When I am carrying him around, he really looks around and takes everything in.

* At daycare, he enjoys watching the other two boys play!

April Fools Day!

So...Daddy Q is getting worried. This morning, we woke to find O had gotten himself out of bed, fed himself breakfast, and was keeping himself busy by reading a good book. ... April Fools ;0)

Here's O sitting in his new chair that Mom E and Baby N are loaning him. Don't worry Grammie, after we spoke, I read the instructions and he is ready for it--it is for babies that can hold up their head without support--that's our O (no April Fool's here)!


O likes his swing more and more every day. I thought this was a sweet expression. He was tired from Gymboree and sat there swinging and talking to me as I made dinner this afternoon. If I didn't talk back, or he couldn't see me, he would get louder and louder (still sounds like he is saying Uncle--guess he's ready for you, Ben). It was really funny.

This evening we went on our "almost-daily" walk with Mom E and Baby N. We sat in the driveway and let the boys have a little chat with each other. This was good for N, as Mom E thinks this was the worst day in his whole little life (he is getting a tooth and it HURTS). So, they consoled each other (O was a little off, too, because I woke him up to go to the Nanny this morning so I could get to work AND woke him again for Gymboree later in the day--bad Mommy.)