Update

So we thought maybe Bruin could be cold at night and that could be waking him up so last night we closed almost all of the heating vents but his and turned the heat up a few degrees and lo and behold he slept from 7:30pm to 5:15am and then back to sleep til 8am without a peep! Hopefully this was the answer!.. which actually makes me kind of sad because of all those nights we just let him cry in his room :( poor little guy was probably just cold! Mean mom and dad!

Also I've had a few people comment about how I must be a good swaddler to be doing it so long... nope! He was breaking out of my wrap jobs by the time he was a month or two old. That's when I got this awesome swaddling wrap that I would recommend to anyone who wants to swaddle. It is soo easy and stays put all night. There is a size large too for when they get bigger. Here is a pic. The brand is Kiddopotamus and you can find it at Target.

Scriptures Applied

This week was Bruin's 4 month well-baby check up and 2nd round of shots. It was also another week for me of mastitis... yes, again. I didn't want to have to pay for another office visit and I was contemplating showing Bruin's pediatrician (ha!) but luckily my doctor was willing to just call me in a prescription to Walgreens. So we brought out the glider chair and watched movies together the rest of the day.
As my mom and I were sitting in the waiting room at the pediatrician we were discussing the option of quitting breastfeeding but how all the problems have been in just the one side... She said it reminded her of the scripture in Matthew-
"And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee; for it is
profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole
body should be cast into hell."
So that's just what I've decided to do! I've heard of women doing it before.. so why not? Its better than quitting all together right? For Phil's sake I won't say any more but this will definitely be an experience for the journal!



Other news going on around here... At Bruin's appointment we were talking about his sleeping habits and swaddling and such.. (which by the way he said Bruin's flat spot was fine and I shouldn't be concerned!) and I told him how Bruin had been waking up lately 2 or 3 times a night crying and we didn't know why. He said that although it was fine to swaddle him up to around 6 months or so, maybe he was ready not to be "bound and gagged" as my parents refer to it :) (wrapped up tight with his pacifier in). So since Monday night we have very lightly wrapped him in his swaddle blanket so that he can easily break free and eventually not wrapping him at all and giving him a fuzzy light blanket to snuggle. After days and nights of crying I don't think its worked. He still wakes up the same amount but his little hands are ice cold and flailing around. This morning after I fed him around 4:30am he cried until 5 and then Phil finally just got up and swaddled him and he went right to sleep until 8. Ugghh! So I think I might just throw that out the door and keep swaddling him. Not sure why he's waking up but at least he's warm and snug and we don't have to hear him cry all the time!!

Bath time with dad

Videos for Phil's Family

I've tried really hard to send these videos to Phil's mom and dad through email but they keep coming back as being too large to fit in the mailbox. So I am posting them on here. Sorry for those of you who this popped up on your Google Reader and you don't really care to see them cuz its of someone's else's baby haha.




Holding my head up


Strong Casper Legs

Hair Scare and Grumpa Santa

The balding has begun. Everyone told me that after I had the baby I would lose insane amounts of hair... I am! Holy cow in the shower it comes out in clumps and I have to clean out my brush every few days. The only thing that comforts me is that the new hair that will grow in to replace it will be bleach/dye free. I am currently in the process of growing my real hair out so my roots are so ugly! But, since moving from Idaho and losing my favorite hairdresser Sierra, I have decided that I would like to see my natural hair for the first time in 10 years. I know it will be a long process and I will be quite sick of wearing my bangs up, hats, headbands, etc but worth it.



ANYWAYS... Monday night we helped my mom and dad with the ward YSA Christmas dinner. Wow was that yummy ham! Santa made an appearance at the dinner and Bruin got to take his first picture with him! I think he knew it was his grandpa cuz he didn't mind at all. We didn't get a good pic but at least its something for the scrapbook!



And since this HAS become a "baby blog" here some more pics.

Bruin loves to Christmas shop with me... :)




Typical sad face

Simplify

I was unloading the dishwasher the other day and I thought about the little things I've learned to do to simplify my life, and how there are probably plenty of things other people do that I don't know about! I am gonna list the things I do and then if any of you have somthing, please leave a comment and let me know so we can help simplify each others lives :)

Things I Do:

*When putting dirty silverware in the dishwasher bin I put the knives in one slot, the forks in another, etc. That way when I unload them I just grab the whole bundle and stick it in its spot instead of having to sort them one by one.

*I take the lid off of the PAM spray. No reason to keep it and always take it off/put it on, and it fits better in my cabinet!

*Buy hamburger in bulk. Then when I get home I separate it into a bunch of Ziplocs in 1 pound amounts. I flatten the hamburger in the ziploc so that defrosting it in the pan later is easy.

*If I'm cooking taco meat for dinner I make a little extra and then freeze it in a little ziploc. Later when I'm looking for something to eat I can just pull it out of the freezer, microwave, and bam- stick it in a tortilla with salsa and I have a quick yummy lunch. I've heard of people doing this when they make soup as well.

*I keep a bottle of OXY CLEAN by Bruins dirty hamper. Whenever he messes his clothes I take them off, spray them with OXY CLEAN and stick them in the hamper. I used to take out all his clothes and scrub them with blue DAWN before washing them (takes stains out like a charm) but it was so stinky and who has time for that every few days? Bruin squirts on his clothes often so this has been the best method for me to keep away stains.

*I bought a duo of those CLOROX wipes and keep one in the bathroom on the counter and one in the kitchen under the sink. Whenever I have a minute I just grab a wipe and wipe down the counters/sinks/toilet seat and throw it away. It keeps the room looking fresh between real cleanings.

*Clean the stovetop after every use. It hasn't hardened on yet so its easy to wipe up and takes 5 seconds. Then you don't have to scrub it later.

Ok those are the ones I can think of. What are your ways you've simplified?

Delighted

This video is for our families... and anyone else who wants to see him giggle

Tis the Seasons

Our Thanksgiving weekend started out on Wednesday morning as we drove with my parents to L.A. to spend Thanksgiving with our family AND friends. We had a FABULOUS turkey meal put on by my mom and dad at my grandma's house. My dad BBQ'd the turkey for several hours all morning and it was the best tasting turkey... (and I don't even really like turkey!) Phil said it made the best gravy as well.





That morning before we ate, Phil and I were able to drive down to Fullerton where some of our best friends, the Barneys, live. Phil went and played in a Turkey Bowl with Royce and AubRee's brothers and I stayed and chatted with AubRee and her mom (Bruin's future mother-in-law)... Yes, we have already betrothed the two of them. Bruin is almost as big as her already! haha what a chunk! That and Grace is such a petite little cutie.



The day after Thanksgiving we did not brave Black Friday, although Phil was really wanting to and looked at ads all evening. Instead we hung out with my Uncle Chris and his wife Linda and BBQ'd and hottubbed. Let me tell you what a treat it was to get in a hottub after a whole year of not being allowed to!! Woohoo! My mom watched Bruin while we soaked in heaven.
Afterwards we met up with Royce and AubRee again and went mini-golfing at this awesome Camelot place. I stunk it up, but Phil barely beat out Royce and AubRee in the end. AubRee was very impressive with her skills! Bruin just hung out on Phil's back the whole time.





He was such a good boy, until he got a little tired at the end which is understandable. He was tuckered out in the car and snored away most of the rest of the night.
Saturday we traveled home, stopping by my uncle's Christmas tree lot and picked up trees for all of us. We were sooo excited to get our first Christmas tree! Saturday night we went shopping for Christmas tree decorations and then last night Phil and I decorated it after Bruin went to sleep. It was so fun!







I love having a lit up tree in my living room, it makes me so happy! When we got up this morning with Bruin we got to come out to a shining tree and it made getting up at 6:45 less awful :)