A Day in the Life

I don't get a lot of "what do you do all day" questions. But, let's assume you did ask me what I do all day. I'll tell you. In fact, here's a little day in the life:

4:00 a.m.  - My day starts. I get up, do quiet chores, personal things, and work.

4:00 - 6:00 a.m. - Thomas fusses. Depending on the time, I feed him, just hold him, put his pacifier back in, whatev.

5:00 - 6:30: Thomas wakes up for the day! Depending on the time, I nurse him or just change his diaper. Then we read or I'll take him to cuddle with Matt if Matt is still in bed.

6:30 - Out for our morning walk!! If it's cold out, I may wait a few hours but I like to go as early as I can while still being sensible.

7:30 - back home. I attend to personal things while Thomas plays beside me or in his bouncer. Lately, I can turn the Roomba on and he'll watch it for a good 15 minutes before he gets tired and ready to do something else. Thank you, Roomba!

8:00 - Read, play, work on crawling, some chores or work if I can. This morning, I cooked a butternut squash to make into baby food.

8:30 - nap number 1!! I work on whatever I can in the house or for money.

9:15 - Thomas is up. I change his diaper and his clothes so he's dressed for the day.

9:30 - feed Thomas, then play, read, I'll usually take a quick shower here while Thomas plays in the rock and play.

10:30 - play, read, work.

11:30 - Nap number 2! I work, try to eat something, whatever I can get done.

12:30 - Thomas is up by now. If he didn't sleep well in his first nap, this nap may go long. I just feed him when he wakes up.

1:00 - work on crawling, have a little naked dance party while getting his diaper changed, read, swing outside, terrorize Giselle.

2:30 - nap number 3 and final of the day. I work, maybe start supper if I've thought that far ahead.

3:30 - feed Thomas, play, read, chores, etc.

6:30 - feed THomas again, then work on feeding him baby good. Tonight, he's getting butternut squash for the first time.

6:45 - bath if it's bath day, read the advent verses if we haven't already, put him in his pajamas and maybe read him a bedtime book or something quiet.

7:00 - feed THomas again, wrap him up real tight because he still wants to be swaddled, and sing to him until he goes to sleep.

7:20 - have supper with Matt if we haven't already, work

8:00 p.m. - Ideally, go to bed. Tonight though, I've got WAY to much to do so I'll probably stay up a bit later.

10:30 p.m. - Thomas wakes up, so I go feed him, go back to bed.

1:30 a.m. - feed Thomas, go back to bed.

2:45 a.m. - pick up Thomas, rock him gently in my arms, and help him go back to sleep. I go back to bed.

3:30 a.m. - put Thomas's pacifier back in and turn his sound machine back on. Think about whether to go back to bed for thirty minutes or just stay up. Go back to bed....

I never, ever, ever thought that I'd be a stay-at-home-mom. Ever. But here I am. I never thought that I'd have the option to work full-time from home for money, either, but I've been doing it for over a year now. It ain't perfect and I have days that are less than ideal but for the most part, we're doing okay. Being able to stay home with Thomas for this first part of his life has been such a blessing. I'm exhausted, but I wouldn't do anything differently. Though, T-baby will likely start a Mother's Day Out program in the new year. I would like to work differently (in large blocks of time) and he needs to be around other babies. While every day is similar now, I'm sure it will be much different all too soon.

And.. he's awake. Back to work!

Seven months!

We made it to SEVEN months without a call to CPS!!! I consider that a HUGE accomplishment. It's not that we're bad parents, it's that we have no clue what we are doing. Thomas: we did it!!!

In his 6 month of life, T-baby has been crazy busy. He came back from San Diego, got his 6-month shots, learned how to sit up on his own, had his first Thanksgiving, started learning to use a sippy cup, loved and hated his high chair, and decided that sleep really is for the weak.

He weighs about 17 1/2 pounds, wears size 3 diapers, and 9-month (what!?) pants. He can still wear six month tops, but man, those 6-month pants are just too short. He's a tall one, my baby.

Now here's a bunch of pictures. No captions because I'm SSOOO busy!

San Diego: Being There

 So I had planned on a series of three posts about San Diego, but as I looked through my pictures and thought back to our time there I realized that every day but our first day (and second day, obviously) was a repeat of the day before it. Instead of three posts, there are two. This one will be long and FULL of pictures.

Matt's conference started on Thursday so when he left early Thursday morning, Thomas and I left too! Well, after some snuggly time, that is. Our hotel was downtown and just a few blocks from San Diego Bay. T-baby and I strolled through the somewhat intimidating hotel lobby (everyone else in the lobby was in a business suit) and out the side doors, crossed the street, and joined the legions of walkers/runners of California. I've never seen so many active people in one place before without an organized event. It was crazy. And neat. I should have taken samples of sunscreen. I could just see the skin cancer forming.

Anyway.

We walked along the bay and down any open pier we came to. There were pelicans and seals!! 

The U.S.S. Midway is decommissioned and available for tour and viewing right downtown! We didn't tour it because it's pricey and not exactly stroller or baby-friendly, but I did look at it as much as I wanted from the outside. It's huge. It was an aircraft carrier from right after the end of WWII. It's so big that it can't get through the Panama Canal. Huge. 

Right beside the Midway is this statue. It's huge too. It is one of several statutes called the Unconditional Surrender. It was pretty neat discovering it. We were just strolling along and then BAM, there it was. It was so surprised at seeing it that I literally stopped walking.

Thomas slept.

To illustrate just how big the statue is, here's my shoe beside it. I should tell you that everyday but the first day, I wore tennis shoes instead of flip flops. Lesson learned. 

Just beyond the U.S. statue is a memorial to Bob Hope. They actually piped in lines from his performances. I sat by the memorial for awhile and listened. And laughed. It was pretty funny. I'm not sure if you can tell but the statues are of wounded soldiers with Bob Hope up on the platform. 

 Thomas slept.

I didn't see many overweight people in California. I decided that the reason for that is the benches. There are dividers on every single bench downtown. Basically, one cannot sit on a bench until one can fit on a bench. Obesity epidemic is solved. Also, the food is so expensive that one cannot afford much of it.... 

After we strolled away the morning, Thomas and I would go back to the hotel and cool off. We'd play in the room for awhile until I got cabin fever, then we'd go exploring again. 

 We'd sit by the pool for a couple of hours. They had these great covered areas with overhead fans and canvas walls. I just pulled the walls closed, turned on the fans, and read to T-baby. I've gotten to where I don't really care about reading in public (or singing in public, much to Matt's chagrin). Whatever it takes to keep Thomas happy.

On Saturday, one of the piers had a fresh fish market down it. Look. The fishing boat is right beside the stand. It doesn't get much fresher than that. 

This yacht/sailboat is one of the biggest in the world. I know it's hard to tell, so just take my word for it. And Matt's. He heard about it and told me where it was. I went and found it. I'm not good with estimating size so I won't even hazard a guess but it's reeeeeaaaalllllyyyyyy big. It may not be able to sail through the Panama Canal either.

One day, Matt was free for lunch so we went to the Gaslamp Quarter. Exactly what you'd think it is... We had a pretty good lunch but then we had dessert. Oh. my. goodness. Side note: our hotel was right beside a Cheesecake Factory. Two things: I had way too much cheesecake and the waitresses don't wear denim skirts with yellow vests. Bummer. 

 Thomas slept.

There is also a little shopping center close to the hotel - kind of like Perkins Rowe, actually, but smaller. There was an amazing paper shop there. I wish I had had hours to spend looking around. They had Rifle, Kate Spade, Emily Ley... It was amazing. I bought an Emily Ley planner, a card, and an anchor ornament for our Christmas tree. I could have spent way more but I didn't have much time.... The store wasn't really stroller friendly either.... 

The sun started setting about 4:30 there. As you can see, it was amazing. I made sure we were back in our room on the 36th floor for the sunset. 

 There you have it. San Diego: A city in two parts. I'd go back, but I don't think I'd want to live there. The weather was glorious. The food was just okay. The people didn't open doors for me and my stroller. Give me ol' Louisiana any day. With San Diego weather....

San Diego: Getting There and the Zoo

Earlier this month, we took a little vacation out to San Diego. Matt went to a surgery conference and Thomas and I relaxed in the hotel room and out about town. It was Thomas first flight and both Matt and I were a little bit  lot bit nervous. I read articles, asked around, and made myself cross-eyed thinking about how to make it as easy as possible. All in all, the trip wasn't awful. We were able to fly direct from New Orleans to San Diego so that helped. Thomas didn't really nap but we still had a good time. As you can see, he's learned a new way to take pictures. He gets that particular propensity from Marla.... 

We flew over the Rocky Mountains!! This small town girl had never seen them before and I near about gave myself a crick looking out the window so much. I felt like a dork but decided not to care.

We had breakfast our first day in SD at a place called Cafe 222. It was recommended by the hotel and by a local that we talked to on our way out. I had strawberry-topped waffles. They were great. Matt had stuffed french toast which was one of Bobby Flay's "Best Things I Ever Ate." They were good, but I could make them. Bobby Flay, come on over anytime and we'll cook.

Then! We went to the ZOO!! We actually went to SD a day before the conference began so that we could spend a whole day at the zoo together. It did not disappoint!! Here are a few fun pictures.

A basilisk. I looked that that little lizard in the eye and didn't die!! Even Harry Potter didn't do that.  

Still sticking his tongue out.... 

SO pink! 

Eating the wildlife in style... 

"Stop, in the name of love before you break my heart!" 

PANDAS!!! 

Seriously, the zoo was great. The bear must have been trained to perform because when a crowed gathered in front of his cave, he'd come out and climb up on that branch. Once there, he'd go to town. He loved applause and would keep showing off as long as people clapped. When they stopped clapping, he went back to his cave.

Matt and I were exhausted when we finished, but we had a great time. Thomas did really well too. He stayed in his stroller most of the day but we let him get out and look up close to the animals several times. Now that I'm a mother, I pay more attention to how much effort business, especially family-oriented businesses, put towards babies and their parents. The SD Zoo did a pretty good job. There's room for improvement, but there always is...

The weather was perfect. I mean, it is California after all...

Next up! San Diego Part 2!

Happy Half-birthday, Thomas!

 Thomas! You have been in this world for SIX MONTHS! Gracious, time sure has flown past. So much has happened. You have changed everything. And YOU have changed. This month has been one new thing after another. You have a tooth, Thomas. A small, sharp little tooth. Your first one is on the bottom, slightly to the left. You rolled from your back to your front, but only once. You have no interest in crawling and you haven't quite mastered sitting. Your favorite position is standing. You have some strong little legs and use them to push up to a stand ALL the time. You love your jumper more than anything else right now. You've been to the beach again and out to Pensacola to see your Great Aunt Estelle again. You FLEW for the first time to San Diego. In fact, we celebrated your half-birthday in California!  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past month.

You and your Daddy at the San Diego Zoo! 

You like your Bumbo for about two seconds.  Here though, you were looking so sneaky but adorable. 

Your first Halloween! Trick or treated at Pap and YaYa's! You were actually an ewok, but we just used the bear costume for trick or treating. You kept trying to eat your spear.... 

I get a weird little bit of fun dressing you up like your daddy. Not going to lie, it makes me smile. 

Your favorite new expression: sticking out your tongue. I'm not sure how I feel about it.... 

It's beginning to look a lot like Halloween!

One of my favorite things about living in a neighborhood (as opposed to out in the country like how I grew up) is the decorating that occurs around major holidays. There are wreaths for football season (yes, that counts as a major holiday down here), American flags for the patriotic days, lights at Christmas, and pumpkins in the fall. Around the time the pumpkins and hay bales come out (small square hay bales, not the big round ones that are real hay bales), the gung-ho in our neighborhood decorate for Halloween. We do not. We are lazy. And poor. I didn't even buy a mum for our front porch.

Even though I haven't decorated anything in months, I do love seeing the fun houses when we go strolling around the neighborhood. There's nothing like the monster house from Shreveport  but these are cute too.

Bam! I'm done. A "post" not about Thomas! Whoops, I mentioned him anyway... I'm not sure that this actually qualifies as a post since there aren't a lot of words and absolutely none of my legendary wit, but still, I'm sharing. That has to count for something....

5 months!!

This month, I'm a week late. Get used to it....

This month was a tough one. You no longer sleep more than four hours at a time, rarely more than two. You nap three to four times a day for about twenty or thirty minutes. Your daddy and I are strongly considering changing your napping schedule to help you sleep at night. I'm not so sure that it will work (or that I want to deal with a cranky Thomas all day long). We shall see...

In happier news!

Your mouth found your feet! And everything else... You put everything you can get your little (strong) hands on into your mouth. My clothes, your clothes, my hair, your daddy's hair, all your toys, and your daddy's playstation remote. You sleep in your pack and play at night time - mostly swaddled, but we are working on transitioning you out of it...

You smile at everyone you meet, especially if they tell you that you are pretty.

You are in size 2 diapers, 3 month and 3-6 month clothes. Maybe about 15 pounds.

You and Giselle play together!! Well, she brings you her toys but you don't throw them. You pull her hair but she doesn't bite you. I call that playing! Or at least progress...


You got baptized a second time at our church here in Baton Rouge.

You went to the pumpkin patch and couldn't stop looking around long enough for a good picture...

You are still a joy, Thomas. Every. Single. Day.