4 Months: Our Boy Be Tall

Better late than never, I always say!
We had to do 3 shots at one time again. I cried about it 3 days before it even happened, just thinking about how bad I felt for my Sweetness. And when the moment actually came, there he was, charming the entire Pedi office with his smiles and coo's, admiring his handsome self in the mirror, kicking with glee, oh so trusting.........and out comes those mean ol' needles. My heart broke for him, but I think he handled it better than I did.

Child care has been a little dramatic and stressful for us over the past month, but we've finally found something that works.......for now. It's already difficult enough for me to stay up with Dillon all day and then work all night with no consistency in my sleep schedule, but then when I added staying up the entire next day with him as well, we had to make a change, quick! I never want to feel so close to death again. We were so fortunate to find Judy, a lady who lives on the way to Patrick's new job (Patrick got a new job!!!!), since we really really REALLY didn't want to send Dillon to a day care at such a young age, especially during respiratory season.
Our boy be tall. Real tall........Like off the growth chart tall, literally!!!! (Not that we expected any less, considering his father, uncle, and both his grandfathers, are all 6'3"-6'4".)

Weight: 17 lb 7 oz (90%)
Height: 27.5 in (>95%)
Head: 17.25 in (85%)

Here are a few of Dillon's milestones/personality traits blossoming this month:

1. He's moved on from only simple coo's to pronouncing M's and sometimes B's and lots of gurgles with experimental yelling.

2. He no longer wants to sleep-in with me. I try to coax him to on days that I work and he just cries from the boredom.......this is one sad momma.

3. I finally stopped being so obsessive over his stats. No more logging every pee diaper a day and every ounce he is consuming; just going with the flow.......and somehow he's still surviving.

4. We've made a slow transition to crib sleeping. It started with finally being triumphant in short pack-n-play naps (they are getting longer, the more he gets accustomed, but in the beginning he was only taking three 30 minute naps a day) without the special infant bed. I just made boundaries around him with blanket rolls (a NICU maneuver) in effort to trick him into thinking everything was the same. When we were successful at that for a few days, then we put our brave faces on and tried it for bed time. We waited until the weekend, prepared to lose sleep, but lo and behold, he slept for 12 straight hours and woke with the sunrise flashing that sweet dimple!
5. He's still a great traveler and he still HATES tummy time. I've had to be creative about getting him on positions to strengthen his back and arms. His pediatrician confirmed with me that because he is so big, he has to be THAT much stronger to do anything, so the fact that he is sitting in triad position is amazing.

6. He loves to be tickled, and thinks it's hilarious when Patrick scoots his feet across the living room floor and then runs at him with his arms stretched out like he's going to "get him".
7. Any time he's mad, I can get him to chill out by simply bringing him outside. 

Embracing My Crazy

A few weeks ago Patrick and I went to sleep watching Family Guy on Adult Swim, known to the day-time world as Cartoon Network. The next morning we hit the power button, got distracted, and didn't change the channel for a little while. We came to two realizations.

#1 Cartoon's these days are weird. 
They are nothing like they used to be. Must.....Find.....Looney Tunes DVD's.....and save them for our children.

#2 And so it begins our journey as clueless parents.
The strange looking characters were standing by a large aquarium and one of them said, "I just love animals. They make me feel so calm." This brought a question to my mind. Are fish "animals"?
From there, we did what modern day couple would do: turned to Google for an answer.

Then Patrick started spurting out a whole bunch of words I'd never heard in my life, to the point that I thought he was either making it all up, speaking a different language, or had a severe stroke. Still confused on the actual answer, we were sure about one thing: we are in big trouble when Dillon starts going to school.

To even further crush my ego, a couple of weeks ago we had a meeting with a lender to get pre-approved to buy a house (a goal we hope to meet in the next 6 months). I asked him one question and after a 15 minute long answer consisting of a plethora of facts so far over my head they might as well been in outer-space, I sent my Dad a telepathic message, thanking him for suggesting I become a nurse.

I obviously know nothing and must function in the real world by some sort of God's grace.
So, in the spirit of being clueless, or since one day my son is going to think I'm crazy anyway (because all mom's are crazy for one reason or another) and I might as well live up to it, or just because I can, I hollowed out a massive pumpkin (thanks to Nana for finding and delivering the massive squash to aid my mission) and put my baby in it.

I'm going to be completely honest; I don't think he was a fan. Actually, he was happy as a clam standing up, but after I karate chopped the back of his knees to get him squished into the clammy, slimy, weird smelling squash, he decide that wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. Cracking a smile was clearly out of the question, but at least he humored me long enough to snap a couple of non-screaming pictures after he realized he wasn't dying and definitely wasn't getting out........and then he decided to taste it, which brought on the water works again. I guess squash won't be our official first solid food to try!!!

Did I Do Something Wrong, Officer?

No one wants to end their night with the phrase, "Did I do something wrong, officer?" Nobody..........

Everyone knows Fall is one of my favorite times of year, and since I wont be getting to celebrate it this year at a Halloween party, I got my way in getting to spend our date-night evening carving pumpkins and drinking my favorite seasonal Shock Top: Honeycrisp Wheat, while Patrick serenaded our small group of friends by the candlelight on a patio in the cool autumn air, and Stuart cooked us dinner.

Let me tell you, carving pumpkins in the dark with those damn intricate paper tracings that look all cool in the Halloween books (and you think is for kids but is really for experts with way more advanced knifes than the kit supplies you with) brings on a whole new skill level, or in Allison's case no skill level (haha, where did he go, George, where did he go???).

Never having attempted more than a mere Jack-O-Lantern, I struggled with the steep learning curve, and after a couple of severed casualties, was thanking the powers that be for toothpicks to repair my mistakes........well, toothpicks and the detrimental detail that carved pumpkins are mostly admired in the dark.  I hadn't carved a pumpkin in a few years, but as soon as I made it to the middle, the distinct smell of it's guts and the ooy-gooy slimy feel brought back fond memories. I obviously forgot how vigorous an activity carving can be and was thanking Mother Nature for the cool weather when I started breaking a sweat on my second piece of art. Not only was I breaking a sweat, but I was breaking my carving tools like they were made of decades old crayons!

Held hostage by too much fun, we stayed out too late and to make matters worse, got pulled over on the way home. Clueless to what I'd done wrong, I cringed, hoping our evening of laughter wasn't about to come to an abrupt "Happy Happy Sad" moment. As it turns out, I wasn't breaking the law per say.......we unknowingly had a spadoodle......remember that game? Well it's not such a fun game when you're sitting on the side of the road with patriotic lights in your rear view mirror. Letting us off with a warning, the officer also advised us to go straight home, especially since he "smelled alcohol".
Lets be clear here, shall we? I was appreciative of the "warning", but not too naive to know the real reason he pulled me over at 2 am, and to be honest, I was a little annoyed at the insult. Of course you smell alcohol, Dummy. You came to the passenger side window.......the opposite side of where the designated driver sits. Just dare me to get out and take a test. What does 2 beers in 6.5 hours calculate out to: a punch in the face????  

The next morning, it still felt amazing outside, but by the time I had my coffee and we got out the door to admire the Dallas Arboretum Pump Patch, it was already 2 pm and toasty.What could have happened between coffee and 2 pm, you ask? I have no idea. Absolutely no clue! If I had to guess, I suppose I would blame it on the same phenomenon that keeps me from writing as often these days.

The landscaping was gorgeous, a scarecrow's dream land, with cottages and flower gardens made from pumpkins. Pumpkins of all different colors, shapes, and sizes far and wide, mixed with beautiful plants resembling the shades of fall foliage. We tried diligently to get a good picture of Dillon amongst it all, but he basically turns into a rag doll once the sun hits his face. 

"Why is everyone staring at us?" Patrick asked.

"They're not staring at us, Dear. They're staring at Dillon. Don't you know by now that we are chopped liver?" I stopped counting all the aww's and how cute's and look at his hat's. I used to get compliments on my outfits or my tattoos, but now I just get compliments on my baby.......which I can only take half credit for. 

It wasn't until we were all tuckered out and ready to leave that my Mom realized she couldn't find her phone. Convinced she last had it in the pumpkin patch, we rushed back to the most crowded section of the entire park to shuffle through hay and filter through distracted bodies in a frenzy to locate her precious life line. Convinced we'd perfectly retraced our steps, but still empty handed, things were looking grim. And that's when we heard Patrick yelling from the sidewalk.

"Hey dummies!!! I found it in the stroller!"

WHEW! One weekend. Two close calls. Three tired adults and one sleep baby. That's a wrap. 

#dillonaday Weekly Roundup 19

#1 All the chicks at the garden were diggin' my style today.- October 19

#2 Ever wonder why my skin is so flawless? I get a few baths a day.....mostly by Callie. - October 20

#3 "I would flex, but I don't want to rip another tee!" Feeling happy and strong after a successful swim class and a refreshing bath.- October 21

#4 Growing like a weed. - October 22

#5 It's true; I'm in a pumpkin. I know I know.......I tried to tell Mom she was crazy, but I guess she doesn't speak baby babble. - October 23

#6 I figured it was about time I spiced things up and rolled over all on my own, but first I waited until Mom and Dad weren't looking, so I could surprise them with my trickery!! - October 24

#7 Showing Dad a good time on this fine Saturday night while Mom is out making the $$$. - October 25

#dillonaday Weekly Roundup 18

#1 I don't know why they won't me drive the tractor yet. I think I'd be pretty good at it. - October 12

#2 If you could read my shirt, it'd say,"Officer Cuite reporting for doodie." - October 13

#3 Taking care of business today; convincing a lender (with my dimple) that Mom and Dad can afford a house. - October 14

#4 Oops - October 15

#5 Oops- October 16

#6 Thanks for letting me and the puppies chill outside, Mom. We love it out here! - October 17

#7 Oops - October 18

#dillonaday Weekly Roundup 17

#1 Weekend football with Dad is utterly exhausting. - October 5

#2 This is a yoga pose?!? What a joke. It's so easy I could juggle my toys while doing it......watch this; I can even eat simultaneously. - October 6

#3 Oh, hey. Don't mind me; just playing with my toys. - October 7
#4 Oops - October 8

#5 This is the face I give Mom when she doesn't put enough milk in my bottle. Doesn't she know I'm STARVING?!?! - October 9

#6 I think I'll take a cat nap in this here cozy recliner. - October 10

#7 Napping outside at Nanny's while Mom and Dad cheer on the bears. - October 11