On his tummy!

With all the craziness and crying going on in our household... I was worried sick about bedtime tonight. We did our normal routine: bottle upstairs in his room (didn't finish it), rocked a little, and layed him down, walked out of the room. Kayson kicked and fussed just for about 5 minutes or so... I was thinking 'Wow - thought for sure this would be a lot worse!' So I went to check on him - HE'S ON HIS TUMMY! OMG - how did he get that way!?!? (besides the obvious!) I'm in shock and now have something else to worry about - making sure he's okay!!!

Either way, he got onto his tummy on his own!!

Emergency?

In a couple words - we've had an interesting couple of days.

Friday evening, Kayson didn't seem right - he'd been fighting a low grade fever off and on. I had marked it up to teeth and/or a cold. He didn't sleep well at all either on Friday night - up quite a bit crying hard. Saturday we tried to lay-low and relax. We did go visit the Reeds, while our house was being shown. Ryan hadn't met Kipton yet - they are all doing well. Kayson wasn't really himself then... was very tired and cranky. Saturday afternoon Kayson's temp had reached a whopping 102. I instantly gave him Motrin and we tried to relax. I called the Mercy Nurse to see if there was anything else we could do - basically just watch him. If we get concerned, we should just go with our instincts and take him in. By 7:15, he'd been snoozing off and on in between lots of crying and fussing... and his temp had reached 103. I looked at Ryan with tears and said we need to take him in. We headed to the emergency room.

They took all his vitals, including giving him another dose of Motrin, and we just watched him for awhile. At the time (around 8:15, his temp was 102.5). In between nurses checking on him and trying to snooze, they did a chest Xray, just in case... which came back looking great. They also checked to see if he had influenza and that came back negative. So - the doctor marked this up to the common cold/virus and we'll have to have this run it's course. That's a hard thing to do... We were there from around 8:15 til nearly 11:00. We all were exhausted. We need keep his temp down, and to do that we will alternate Motrin and Tylenol every 3 hours.

I've realized worrying about your own son/daughter is completely different than worrying about someone else that's still as important to you. When I saw that temp result of 103, I am not going to lie - I paniced a little. I instantly thought of the febrile seizures that could possibly happen with high fevers... I felt that it was important to take him in b/c Ryan and I were at a loss on what to do. Kayson is our son, ours - and we have to do what's best for him and hopefully we are doing the right thing at all times, or at least try to.

Today has been iffy - up and down for Kayson... his temp has stayed under control (which is wonderful), but those meltdowns seem to arrive about every hour! We are getting through it and we only hope that we get a GOOD SLEEP TONIGHT!

I promised it...

Awhile back I had told you all about Kayson going to his tummy real quick in the tub... it's slippery! Well, I finally got some pictures of naked Kayson... of course, I can't show them all on the internet! :) Here are a few of tonight. What a sweet little guy.

Naked baby - and splashing!


Getting dry and dressed!

Each night after we get home from daycare - Kayson needs some 'quiet time'. He typically takes about a 30 minute snooze - on his boppy, with his softy, and the paci. (Still the only 'nap' we are giving the paci). Again - what a sweet little thing. Look at those eyelashes. Awwww.

8 Months

Kayson is officially 8 months old... (as of yesterday). I would have posted something yesterday, but I was under the weather... sicker than a dog, actually. I'm doing better today - still a little weak (probably cuz I haven't ate anything since Monday) and just tired. So... here's the scoop on our wonderful son.

• Finally enjoying tummy time... it's been a long 3 or 4 months of not liking it at all, now I can say that Kayson doesn't mind it. He gets himself turned around and reaches for toys, etc... so now we've got to get those knees up and start movin!
• Does this funny sound when he's excited - it's like he's sucking in air.
• Thinks sneezes are so funny!
• Rubs his eyes and buries his head in your shoulder when he's tired... such a sweet feeling.
• Loves to watch Quincy play fetch... Kayson now grabs Quincy's tennis ball, and I am helping him throw it for Quincy. (and keeping it out of his mouth - YUK). Kayson just laughs and flaps his arms/hands!
• Quincy doesn't really let Kayson pet him, but Murphy does - We are trying to teach Kayson to be 'gentle' when he pets/grabs!
• Starting to use his fingers to pick up small items - like the Gerber Puffs! Excellent milestone!
• Does 'Head Butt' with Ryan... Ryan says "Head Butt" to Kayson and Kayson comes in and they bump heads together. Oh it's hilarious!
• Knows when we are at daycare - he gets so excited and is nearly trying to get out of his carseat before I have him unstrapped!

I don't have any stats on him, besides my Mom is always saying "how do you carry him, he's so big/heavy?!?!" About 3 weeks ago I weighed him on our scale, and he was about 25 pounds... We go for our 9 month check up the end of September, so I'll have more details then!

Kayson is truly such a joy to be around... he brings a smile to your face even after a bad day. We are so blessed!

Weekend & New Room

We had a nice weekend... it was wonderful having Ryan home, of course the weekend went too quickly!! Saturday night, Ryan & I enjoyed a night out with some friends for dinner - my parents came to watch Kayson for a couple hours. Sunday, Ryan & Kayson hung out while I did some errands... sometimes I feel Ryan doesn't get much alone time with Kayson, so this was perfect. I fought the crowds at the grocery store and Target! ha. Ryan took off for South Dakota again yesterday afternoon... hopes to be home mid week, if not Thursday. (Much better than Friday - how one day can make a difference!)

Today was back to work/daycare - Kayson has been moved to a different room at Koalaty Time. Much more of an adjustment for me, than Kayson! We were lucky enough to have wonderful teachers before (Becky & Nicole), so it's sometimes hard to think that anyone else could be that good and bond with Kayson. I think the room change will be fine, like I said - I don't think it even phased Kayson. His new teachers are Alisha & Becky (a different one), and Katie helped out today too. I was pleased - I think it'll be just fine... Alisha & Katie both said that Kayson was a good boy today.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend... Enjoy!

I pulled out Winnie the Pooh to play with - Kayson hugged on him and then tossed him around!

Look at those blue eyes! So sweet. The question is: will they stay blue?!

TGIF

Yes, simple as that - Thank god it's Friday. Ryan will be home tonight, I'm leaving a little early from work, and we get two full days together. Can't ask for anything else right now.

I've already had a busy morning (more than normal)... I took Kayson to daycare (just in case you were wondering - the night time is still not going well - he was up quite a bit)... then came back home to pick up Murphy to take him to the vet for a teeth cleaning. I couldn't take him there til 8ish, so I vacuumed real quick, then we headed out. I'm sure Quincy is beside himself at home - panting, barking, oh boy. Then on my way to work - I get on I235, up to speed (a little over maybe), and I catch up with a ton of traffic, going RIGHT at the speed limit. Well, I see a Des Moines police car ahead of us... It's funny, he was going RIGHT UNDER the speed limit, so then people think they can't pass him. Well, I got through some of the traffic, and I passed him - going the speed limit, not one MPH over... soon enough I see several other cars doing the same thing... it's was comical to me.

Anyway, it's Friday and I'm thrilled. The weather is suppose to be wonderful too!

1:00 am and Restless

Kayson was up last night around 1:00 am doing his groaning and moaning sounds... I have to worry a little - is this normal? Is he just being vocal? Does something hurt? Is he going through a growth-spurt? I'm confused... and tired! I let the moaning sounds go for about 5 minutes, then it got louder and louder... I figured I'd try to rock the little bugger - thinking to myself "he hates to be rocked, he's not a big cuddler." Well, I was wrong (first time of course)! - he let me rock him and he snuggled right in and death gripped his softy and we rocked. Ahhh it was sweet... even as he's tooting. :) Anywho, we rocked for about 15 minutes or so (knowing if I would have only rocked for 1 minute, it wouldn't have worked). He did lay right back down and slept good until about 4:00 am. Let the moaning start again...

He's obviously restless, and I'm not quite sure if there's a trick to this or not? Or we just wait it out?

I told Ryan this morning, I can't wait for him to hear this moaning and groaning noises that Kayson is making - it's so wierd! ha.

Last couple days, and Ryan

Well, Kayson and I have survived another few days without Ryan at home... now we just need to make it through the rest of the week. It's amazing how much I count on Ryan during the evenings... just the little things, especially now that Kayson is going through the lovely stage of 'separation anxiety'. Over the past week, I've noticed that a whiny cry comes out of Kayson whenever I leave the room. Wow - that's something to get use to!! I've noticed it more and more the past two evenings... since Ryan is gone - he's not here to distract Kayson with his funny noises and tickling. I've read that this separation anxiety stage is normal, and temporary. Can it only last 3 days?!?! ha. Doubt it.

Anyway, I believe Kayson is finally starting to feel more like himself. We had a rough night Monday night - up quite a bit in the middle of the night... makes for a tired Janelle! Tuesday was better - however, he still wasn't himself at daycare, according to Becky. Last night he seemed even more better (is that correct grammer?) - he ate pretty good, and played good too... and slept good. His new thing (or at least the last two nights) - he groans in the middle of the night... at the time, it's not funny, and I have a hell of time falling back to sleep, but now when I think about it, it's kind of funny. Just kind of. ha.

Have I said how much I miss Ryan?!?! Yep, going to say it again... I'm ready for it to be Friday afternoon.

A friend of mine had some random thoughts about parenthood on her blog earlier this week - and one of her statements was "she could never be a single parent, she admires all the single parents out there, and she's tired for them." I thought that fit my situation pretty well during some of these weeks when Ryan is travelling... I'm not going to lie, it's hard, but we/I do it - and just makes me even more thankful for Ryan when he's home. I'm very thankful that I'm not truely a 'single mom'. I have a great husband, who is a great Daddy.

Weekend & NO PACI

Saturday
We were woken by Kayson fairly early Saturday morning -- to dried vomit in his crib. Not a fun way to wake up! He got a bath (also had one Friday evening), then we started our day... we had a good day, did a few errands and just relaxed at home. We tried naps without his paci - and it was very successful! I am so proud of Kayson (and us)! The first nap - took about 15 minutes for him to 'settle' down, second nap, about 5 minutes. Wonderful! Then Saturday late afternoon, Mike & JeanAnn stopped by - we played, and sat outside for awhile. Kayson liked that. We had planned to go out for dinner - on our way to Cheddar's, Kayson vomitted all over (him, carseat, and mine & JeanAnn's hands). What a mess. We didn't make it to Cheddar's - went home, ordered pizza and did another bath! Kayson was the cleanest baby on the block! Unfortunately, he just wasn't feeling 'right'. I worried about him, but he slept well.

Sunday
We woke up to a crabby Kayson - but then the day got better... He took great naps (again, with no help from the paci), and we played hard. Didn't even leave the house! I was happy to get in a nice long nap while Kayson napped this morning. Thanks Daddy! Ryan left for South Dakota a little while ago... will be gone all week. I just hope the week goes fast, and Kayson feels good.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Momma & Kayson

Slowly liking being on his tummy!

Big boy!

Sitting to Tummy?

Ok... we've been working on getting Kayson to roll over for months... (still not doing it), and tonight we really worked on having him go from sitting to being on his tummy - reaching for toys, mostly the remote! Anyway, it was bath night tonight, which he absolutely loves, and he reached and reached for a few toys, and easy enough - he was on his tummy... laughing and splashing! Oh it was funny... I guess being in the water (and being slippery), makes it easier for him to get to his tummy! I didn't get pictures, and now I wish I would have!! (You could have seen his cute little butt)! :)

Looking forward to another weekend at home... Ryan starts travelling Sunday afternoon, gotta get every minute with him that we can!

Baby Reed

My best friend, Lacey and her wonderful husband, Justin were blessed with their second son yesterday (August 13) - Kipton Douglas, weighing in at 6 lbs 3 oz, 19 in long - born at 7:38 am. I was lucky enough to see Lacey, Justin and Kipton yesterday after work... Oh man, he is TINY! Or at least, I think he's tiny - can't even remember Kayson being that small (he was a pound bigger). Anyway, Kipton is a doll - looks a lot like his big brother, Corbin.

Just want to say congrats to the Reeds - another fantastic little boy for their family!

Ice Cream... and Yawning

Ryan says no to ice cream... I say yes! But I know that we shouldn't go get Dairy Queen Blizzards (Strawberry Cheesequake is my choice), simply because it won't look good on our already not so thin waist-lines!! Damn. That's just no fun... now is it!??!

In between thinking about a snack (DQ) and doing photography stuff online tonight, I've done a lot of yawning and rubbing my eyes. (Reminds me of Kayson at about 4:45 - his normal fussy, tired time). I got my hair cut (trimmed) tonight... that always makes me a little sleepy too - head massage and just getting so relaxed. Lacey is already on 'maternity leave', so Chantelle took care of me tonight, she did a great job. I'll update you on Baby Reed (who is suppose to arrive Thursday morning!)

Off to do some more yawning...

HOT, but smiles!

Man it was hot today.

This morning I took some photos of those cute twins that I photographed back in April. Now they are 6 months old and full of smiles. It was warm, but not too bad - it was cloudy and breezy at 10:00, so it wasn't too bad. This afternoon Ryan, Kayson & I ran errands, then my sister, Jill and her family stopped by for a visit. It was nice to see them and have them play with Kayson. They haven't seen him since the end of June!! Too long.

Check out Kayson's outfit for the hot day. ;) He was all smiles today.

He also thinks it's pretty funny to look and talk with the dogs...

Baseball or No Baseball?

Earlier in July, we were invited to attend an ICubs game with my hometown church - my parents and sisters' families come down, along with about 25 other members from the church. Ryan and I have gone before (they do this every year)... and when it was mentioned again this year, I was hesitant (knowing Kayson would want to go to bed around 7:30 - and just knowing he's on such a good routine and doesn't really like to be held much). But we went anyways... thinking it would be just fine, and knowing we wouldn't stay the entire game.

First, it was warm - extremely warm. We got to the game, got to our (tight) seats, and sat down with my family and some others... Kayson did pretty well, until about 20 minutes later -- he just didn't want to be held, didn't want a bottle, didn't really like the clapping, didn't want anything but to be walked around. Ryan did so, and that passed the time... he seemed happy, so we tried the sitting again... still not happy. I should have just went with my first instinct- to just stay home. BUT - we can now say it was his first baseball game, and we know not to try it again (at least until next year??)

It was a win for the ICubs so my family had a good time and they enjoyed the Friday night firework show (as my niece Lindsay said "the fireworks rocked!"), so that's what mattered!

Lots of stuff... plus pictures & video!

We had a wonderful weekend... I can actually say it didn't go by TOO fast, probably cuz we were up at 6 am both Saturday and Sunday mornings! It was pretty funny... Saturday morning as I was getting Kayson's bottle ready, Ryan comes down and says - "Do you suppose anyone else is up around here?" Funny.

Friday evening we got to see my parents - they haven't seen Kayson for about 3 weeks... and they both said how much he's changed for them. We did dinner, and they headed out when it was bedtime (for Kayson).

We were up early Saturday, so we got a lot accomplished. We had an Open House planned for Sunday (NO TAKERS!), so we did a lot of cleaning... laundry, dusting, putting away toys, scrubbing the kitchen floor, cleaning bathrooms... I was tired! BUT - we got a lot done by 11:00. Man, I use to sleep until 10:00 and lay on the couch til 11:00! Not anymore!! ha. We did dinner with Mike & JeanAnn as well.

Sunday we spent the afternoon with Blair & Martina... all of us, including the dogs! We cleared out of our house and invaded Blair & Martina's! We had a nice time... just relaxed and went for a nice long walk for ice cream. Kayson likes raspberry malts. ha. :) Blair & Martina are all moved into their home and it looks fantastic - perfect little house for them!

In the midst of all of the cleaning and running around... Kayson was a good boy like usual. Check out this little video of the cute new thing he does. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. He's also started to be very vocal, especially in the morning... We are really working on those "Ba-Ba's" to turn into "Ma-Ma" or "Da-Da". Check out the pictures below too - he's such a big boy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZzScGoIe6Y

Reaching for things... notice the baby butt crack!


Kayson & Daddy


Before bath - shirt off first!


Chews on anything!