I-L-L! I-N-I!

My family came into town this past weekend and they came bearing enough Illinois gear for the next two years. It's all pretty cute and he'll be wearing it this Saturday to support his #22 Illinois football team. And since Illinois and the Chicago Bears are the same colors, he'll probably be wearing some outfits on Sundays too. Here is the little guy rocking some of his new gear. (That's a football wrist rattle on his arm)



With his uncle.

With his grandma.
For those of you not from Illinois, I-L-L, I-N-I is our school's cheer.

Just One of Those Days....

Once you have a child, it seems as though very few things gross you out. You can be puked on (or massive spit up. It's really the same thing), pooped on, peed on and it won't phase you. You'll notice a huge buger in his nose and you'll be dying to get it out, only to realize that his nostrils are too small and your fingers are too big. So you'll just have to wait for that thing to inch it's way out through sneezes. And just for the record, today I received the trifecta. Except that I got thrown up on twice. Yup. Twice. And I had to clean the carpet of puke, and we had to wash the couch cushions because of the poop. Fun times. That's why this post is aptly titled "Just One of Those Days." Did I also mention the meltdown he had before we left the house this morning? And the one in the car on our way home? Yup. Fun times.

Even though I am completely spent and told Wilson after that second episode of throw up that I had had it and he just had to take over for the rest of the night, I still really love being a parent. You realize that your child could do all these things and you're about to pull your hair out at the end of the day, you're covered in someone else's poop, pee and puke, but he smiles at you and everything's okay.

They say that a social smile is a baby's first real milestone and I can understand why. It's when you finally feel like your baby is responding to you and interacting with you for the first time. It's his way of showing emotion and love towards you and quite frankly, it's pretty amazing. It's like one smile and a flash of his one dimple (that he got from me) that makes much of the frustration from today disappear.

Parenthood is tough. There's no sugar coating it. It'll be the hardest thing I'll ever do in my entire life. But it sure is pretty amazing.

On a side note, before we had a baby, Wilson and I only did laundry once a week. And we usually only did one load of whites, one load of colors, and one load of linens. Now, with the addition of one child, whose clothes are very little, it seems as though our laundry demands have tripled! I really had no idea coming in that this little guy would have so much laundry to do.

And on another side note, kids are pretty amazing. Did you know that they can poop so that they get virtually no poop in their diaper, but it's all over their back? (This happened last week.) Or that they can poop sideways so that it shoots out the sides of their diaper? (This happened today.)

Two Months!

Anderson is 2 months old today! We went for his well-baby visit and got his stats:

Weight: 11 lbs 1oz (35th percentile)
Length: 22.5 inches (35th percentile)
Head Circumference: 37.5cm (10th percentile)

He's growing well and everything looks good. He's a little on the small side but he's very well proportioned. He's happy and healthy and that's all that really matters. He also got his first set of shots which he took very well. It did make him sleepy for most of the day, but if that's the only side effect, I can live with that.

So what is he like at 2 months?

• He loves being upright, either sitting or standing. Of course we help him. He's also fine chillin in his boppy. He actually hates being held like a baby unless he's tired and wants to go to sleep.
• He loves being on the changing pad. Which is weird because earlier, he would scream bloody murder if he touched that thing. You would think we were physically harming this child, but we were just changing his diaper.
  
• He's also really starting to like his baths!
• He loves clapping hands (we help with this) and singing songs.
  
• He loves playing "Tour de France" (bicycling his legs to help develop muscles)
• And of course, he smiles and laughs and coos. This is by far the best thing. I only happens a few times a day, but you live for this moments. We even have video of it!
  

This slide show didn't really turn out the way I wanted to, mainly because I realize that the 1 month picture is much tighter, thus making him actually look bigger than his 2 month. Oh well. I still think it's kinda cool. I'll do a better job next time at being more consistent.

Picture Me Rollin'

The masses has spoken and here are some recent pics of Anderson. He's been getting quite good a holding up his head so we decided to try him out in his Bumbo (an infant seat). Once we put him in there, we were instantly reminded of just how small he is still. It is a bit early for him to sit in it, but seriously, how cute is he in this?

"Picture Me Rollin'

And to add to the cuteness factor, here are some pics of the little angel sleeping.


The biggest development thus far is the little guy is starting to smile! A real, honest to goodness smile. Not the drowsy smile you get with newborns when they are about to sleep, or pass gas. But a real smile and laugh when they see your face. It really is so amazing and you completely forget how tired you are, or how frustrated you were last night because he wouldn't stay asleep for more than 30 min. It's these little moments that melt your heart and you fall in love with him all over again.

Happy Anniversary!

September 4 was our 3rd year Wedding Anniversary. I can't believe it's already been 3 years. And our lives have changed so much. We've both changed careers and am back to the same career we were at before. We've lost a dog and adopted a new one. And of course we had a baby boy.

To celebrate, we kept it pretty low key. We went to eat sushi since I haven't had it in about a year and was finally in the mood for some raw fish. Wilson's mom kindly watched Anderson while we celebrated with dinner by ourselves. Leaving Anderson with someone else for the first time was difficult for me. I've left him plenty of times with Wilson but it's different with anybody outside of us, even if it is family. It was really tough but I know I need to let go.

Marriage for both of us has been really great so far. Not to say it hasn't been work. We're always working on our relationship but I think that's why it's so great. We are very different people with different personalities, interests, thoughts, views, etc... But in the end we've found that these differences help us complement each other. And we've figured out what works for us. To borrow a quote used in one of my favorite blogs Metrodad (which is a hilarious blog about the trials and tribulations of a dad in NYC):

As the great American philosopher Rocky Balboa once said, "I got gaps; you got gaps; we fill each other's gaps."

And the winner is....

A few weeks ago, in a bout that lasted a mere 3 1/2 hours, Anderson defeated Wilson by way of TKO.

I had gone shopping and left Anderson with Wilson. I had been telling Wilson earlier that Anderson had gotten much more fussy in the past weeks but I don't think he really got it until he had to handle it/see it for himself. When I got home from my shopping trip, I came home to find a very frazzled father. I immediately took the baby and started soothing him as Wilson collapsed on the couch in utter defeat.

W: Is he always like this?
Me: At times yes, but not always.
W: This must be the worst you've seen.
Me: Oh no. I've seen him much worse.
W: Really?
Me: Yeah. You didn't last long though. Only 3 hours? That's nothing.
W: I don't know how you do it. You can't get anything done.

So who's the real winner here? ME! Ever since, that weekend, I've gotten a whole lot more respect. Before, Wilson had noted that he was doing most of the chores around the house and that I was hardly doing any of them during the day when I was home. I tried to explain to him that at best, I could get maybe one thing done - like one load of laundry or unload the dishwasher. He asked if I could try a little harder.... This is where I bit my tongue because I know my husband and I knew he wouldn't get it until he experienced it for himself. Now that he's taken care of Anderson by himself a few times, he knows that you really can't do anything else but take care of him. And those few times that you have to do something else, you want to eat, sleep or go to the bathroom.

Now, ever since that fateful day, I am now thanked profusely if I do anything during the day. If he comes home to a load of laundry folded, "Thank you for doing the laundry!" He also tries to finish his work as quickly as he can so that he can come home earlier to give me a break. And those dreams of me making a bilzion dollars so he could be a stay-at-home-dad? Squashed. He had asked me if I had the option to be a stay-at-home-mom, would I do it? I would. I asked him the question right back and he said no. He said that now that he has a glimpse of what it's like, as much as he loves his son more than anything, he doesn't not have the patience or temperament to do it. And he admitted that his respect for me and how I am with the baby has skyrocketed through the roof. He even said that my primary job is to take care of Anderson and anything on top of that is just gravy.

So yes, the real winner here is me.

And for the record, in all matches thus far between Wilson and Anderson, Anderson is undefeated! In matches between Anderson and me, I'd say we're about even. I've won a few, he's won a few.