Monday, April 30, 2007

Me and The Little Man

Derek took this shot today. :)
 
Posted by Picasa

Sunday, April 29, 2007

I don't want to work....

...I want to bang on my drum all day... (that's a song lyric, I don't really want to bang on a drum. But, it's true that I don't want to work.)

Anyhooo....
Here's a quick run down of events since the last post.

Um, there was friday. It was friday. I taught school. Then, I got the boy. I love fridays.

On Saturday, we were busy. We went grocery shopping. We went for a walk. We went to this stupid Lewisville Family Fun Picnic. Derek made a prime rib (and it was delicious). I mowed the lawn. Derek and I watched "The Prestige". It was good. And that's all. Exciting, I know.

Today we went to church. Isaac had a meltdown. I heard him crying, but the number that flashed on the screen was not mine, so I just thought it was a different screamer. Then, a few minutes later (the crying had yet to subside), I felt a tap on my shoulder and someone whispered, "your baby's crying".... I went to get him and he was completely inconsolable. It was a traumatizing morning for him. We got him home and he took an EXTRA long nap. Poor fellow.

Tonight, I made my triumphant return to Junior High Youth Group. I was cast straight into the fire as we immediately began a rousing game of 8-squares (a high octane, extreme variation of 4-squares). It was a good time. Derek managed to get the boy off to bed without any glitches, so that was good, too.

And with that, another week begins. Bleh.

Some pictures:

This is the boy in his new, high tech umbrella stroller:

And this is the aforementioned primerib that Derek cooked up:

And this is a cute (pre-meltdown) pic of Isaac before church this morning:

There's more here.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

The Isaac Tree

Last spring, when we found out we were going to have a baby, we decided to replace the Bradford Pear tree that was lost in a tornado with a new tree - The Isaac Tree.

We shopped and shopped and finally settled on a King Crimson Maple tree. The dilemma was that it wouldn't get big and full and healthy looking for many many years. But, we liked and and weren't really interested in any dwarf trees, so we went for it.
We hauled it home and planted it in the place where the stupid Bradford Pear once stood.

Within weeks, all the leaves fell off and I thought it was a goner. It looked so sad and pathetic all through autumn and winter. Then, this spring, when all the other trees were getting buds and then leaves, the empty Isaac Tree just stayed empty. I thought for sure that it was dead.

Then, just the other day, I noticed that the buds were "hatching". And today, Derek told me to go look at it, and lo and behold, it was covered with leaves. Big, dark, healthy looking leaves. So, I grabbed the camera and ran out and snapped these pics of the King Crimson Isaac Tree.


Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Cuter 3 Month Pics

I took these pictures this morning. The boy was in an exceptionally good mood. He had his best night of sleep EVER. He slept from 7:30 until 6:00 am (except for a quick and sleepy feeding at 10:30). It was glorious!



Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Three Months

Sir Isaac T. (Newton) Lidbom the Baby is three months old today.
The time just flies by.

I tried to take a cute three month picture this morning, but he wasn't very cooperative. This evening was even worse. Not that he was bad. He just wasn't feeling very photogenic. Even the World's Cutest Boy needs a break from the paparazzi at some point.

Here's the best we could do:


So, onto month four we go....

Monday, April 23, 2007

Stay At Home Mom

So, today, after much deliberation, financial examination, self introspection and family prioritizing, I informed my school that I will not be coming back in the fall.

That's right, I'll be a Stay-At-Home Mom. I need to go shopping for some tapered (and elastic) jeans and some white sneakers. We also should have purchased a minivan instead of the Element.

I'm still a little bit torn over the decision. I had it made at Forbush. I had good classes, a room in the new (fancy) building and enough paper to last me for the next several years. But, I know that I will not regret staying home with the monster. I can always go back and teach. I can't get back the time with the boy. Besides, it's technically only a "One Year Leave". So, as of right now, I'm heading back in a year. :)

So, now the long drawn out countdown until summer (32 school days) just turned into a (seemingly) longer, more drawn out countdown until my next career change -- to a Stay At Home Mom.

The End.

Yard Work

So, in the last few weeks, we've:

1. mulched the entire front yard natural areas (2 truckloads)
2. planted 54 petunias along the front walkway
3. planted new grass in the giant circle of dirt that used to be pompous grass*

And then, finally, for the first time this season, I mowed. Mowing used to be my job. Then, I got pregnant, so I got out of it for a little while (at the end of the summer when I was getting "more" pregnant. Then, we've been quite busy with the baby and all, so for a couple of mowings, we called in a pro. Then, Derek (feeling the hit on our bank account after calling in the pro) mowed last weekend. But, yesterday was my turn. It was just as I remembered. Like riding a bike.

Anyhow, I just wanted the post that I mowed the lawn yesterday.

*the pompous grass was obstructing our view from the driveway into the road and posed a serious safety hazard. Derek burned it down and then the Tacoma did the rest of the work. Please carefully consider any decision to put in pompous grass. I hate it.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Weekend Pictures

We took some pictures of the boy this morning. We can't help it.
 

 

 

 
Posted by Picasa

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Weekend Update

In the last couple of days, I haven't really had any blog-worthy events take place. But, the sum of all the events certainly is blog-worthy.

Let's see....
The monster has been sleeping a zillion times better. He eats, plays, gets fussy and lays down (on his belly, oh no!) and goes to sleep. Every now and then, he tosses and turns and mumbles, but then he goes back to sleep. He can access his hands pretty efficiently now, so that helps.

Last night, we went to a cookout at Steve, Lorena and Josiah's house. Isaac smiled when he saw his good friend Josiah. He had a rough time getting to sleep, but once he did, he was good for a couple of hours. When he woke up, he ate a big bottle and then talked at the Wii Bowling participants. He was very good. We got home at 10:30 and he was asleep in his car seat. I transferred him to bed and he slept until 5:30 this morning. Nice.
The cookout was lots of fun. The Nanny and her family were there too, so they just kept him yesterday until the cookout. I missed him a lot.
Lorena made some AWESOME cheesecake. She makes all the best treats (the Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Ball is still my favorite). She let me bring some home. When I finish this post, I'm going to eat some.

Stephen Mann came over this morning to work in the shop with Derek. His fiancee, Correne (not sure on that spelling) came over and we planted petunias in the front yard. She was very helpful.

Well, I do believe that is all the news from here. Now, of course, I'll post some pictures of the monster that we've snapped over the last couple of days.

We tried (one month before the recommended age) to put the boy in his "Johnny Jump Up". He needed some blankets wedged in the keep him upright, but he didn't hate it for the first time:

This is just a picture of Isaac chillin' with Derek before work yesterday:

We bought a mesh BabyBjorn for the boy that always wants to be carried. He prefers facing outward, so that he won't miss anything.


Here's a shot of Isaac in the tie-dye onesie that the Nanny's family made for him. This would be the best shot of the monster, if it weren't for the drool dripping off his chin:

Finally, here's a picture from last Saturday, when the NY family was here. We were out to eat at the Golden Corral and my mom was on monster-duty:

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Baby Cora

Doyle and Gretchen had their baby last night.
I'm excited for Isaac to have a friend.

That's all.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Spoke too soon

So, I wrote the last post and went to bed.
About a half hour later, the boy awakened and was ready to eat. I fed him and laid him back down and waited for him to doze off like I wrote in the post. And it never happened. Finally, after trying the bed, the bassinet, his stomach, his back, with a pacifier and without a pacifier, I wrapped him up and held him on the loveseat in the living room. Out he went. Maybe he does need to be held occasionally.
Now, an hour later, he's up and swinging, watching Baby Einstein.

And another day begins.

12 weeks

Where does the time go?

Isaac is 12 weeks old today.
It's hard to believe that it's been almost three months since I met the monster.
My body has almost fully returned to it's normal shape. Just a few more pounds to go. Well, actually, I take that back. I don't think the "shape" is the same. Just the size. I'll have to work on getting the shape part sorted out. I have been doing quite a few baby curls, baby presses and baby lunges.

In the last week, he's decided that he doesn't like to be held to go to sleep. As soon as he decides he's tired, he starts whining and crying. I lay him down in his bassinet, pop in a pacifier, pat his back a little, and leave him lying there staring at the side of the bassinet. I turn the monitor on and listen to him. He grunts and groans and coos a little, but before long, I don't hear him anymore. He's been consistently sleeping for a good 6 or 6.5 hour stretch at night and he's been taking 1.5 to 2 hour naps. He's like a different boy. I can't complain. Well, except that I miss holding the sleeping boy. Hopefully, someday, he'll let me hold him again while he sleeps.

Well, I am heading back to bed for another hour or so of sleep. But, I just wanted to talk about the changing world of Sir Isaac T.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

On Our Own Again

(sung to the tune of "On the road again"....)

My mom, Frankie and Jake left this morning, so it's just the three of us again.
It was a very productive weekend. The boy has started taking naps in his bassinet (vs. the bed or his papasan chair or with a human grownup). He also has been putting himself to sleep a little bit. That's been nice.

We also put in two truck loads of mulch and planted some herbs. Our yard looks a zillion times better.

Well, that's about it. I'll put some pics up soon.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Family Visit Update

My family has been here for two days now.

On Thursday, my mom stayed with Isaac while I went to school. He was very good for her, so she doesn't believe that he's ever fussy. He's got her snowed. When I got home from school, we went to the park. We took the ATS (All Terrain Stroller) down a bumpy path through the woods, and the boy LOVED it. He likes bumpy rides. I think that's why he likes the Element better than the Volvo or the Maxima.

Today, we took a big family trip to the mall. The boy only spent about 15 minutes in his stroller, before breaking into a scream festival. He spent the rest of the trip in the Baby Bjorn carrier. He even slept a bit.

The Children's Place was having a SWEET sale. There was all this great stuff for $4.99. We got some stuff for each of the upcoming sizes (3-6 months, 6-9 months and 12 months). Exciting.

Well, that's about all. Except for some pictures:

Jake says he "looks sad" in the picture. He was pretty unhappy during this photo shoot:

We took advantage of a pleasant post-feeding baby and snapped some superbaby pictures:

Me and Isaac at the park (at the plaaa-aaayground, ya know!):

The first trip on a slide:

The bumpy stroll:

Thursday, April 12, 2007

They're heeeeere....

My Mom, Frankie and Jake, that is.

They got in around 5 pm yesterday. They'll be here until Sunday morning.
My mom is on Isaac Detail today, while I toil away at school. I'm taking a personal day tomorrow, so I can hang with the the grandma, the great uncle, the uncle and the son.

The boy slept from 7:30 until 10:30 (when he had a change and a feeding) and then from 11ish until 5:30 this morning. Not too shabby. He did get a little fussy around 2 or 2:30, but I just put him in the bed with me (*** Gasp! ***).

Well, the 3rd period kids are strolling in...
Back to work!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Grandma Trip #3

My mom is coming again!
She hasn't seen Isaac T. since he wass 5 weeks old. He'll be 11 weeks old tomorrow.
He's so very different, I wonder if she'll even recognize him.

I started back to school. There are 41 days left in the year.

That's all.

TV Tunes

I found this awesome link on bbspot.com.

I could spend hours listening to the theme songs of old cartoons. But, I won't. Ok, maybe I will.

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Happy Easter

For our easter, we went to church, where the boy slept the entire time in the nursery.

We came home for a quick feeding and then headed back out to Derek's parents. On the way there, Isaac fell asleep again, and slept through lunch. He woke up and sat pleasantly at the table with us for awhile, before nodding back off to sleep in my lap for another hour or so. He woke up and ate and spent a little time playing with the relatives. Then, we headed out.

Right now, he's sprawled out on Derek's lap, enjoying his dinner.
One more day of "vacation" left....

Here's a shot of him just playing on the floor:

Saturday, April 7, 2007

A Pleasant Surprise

Today, right after Derek's mom came over to help with the boy, I heard the back door open. I looked through the kitchen, expecting to see Derek's dad, only to see Derek Lidbom himself standing there. He had changed his flight and come home a day earlier (probably because of my alluding to possibly putting the monster on ebay).

Anyhow, it was a big relief. The boy was glad to see him too. I was a little worried that there would be a little bit of relationship rebuilding necessary, but I was wrong.


We went to the mall today, and it appeared that Isaac actually enjoyed it. He was very alert the entire time (but for a small short nap) and received many compliments on his cuteness.

SarahPowers and Jack came over tonight since they were in town for the Davis Cup. They came bearing gifts for the little man. He got a frog sippy cup, bowl, spoon and bib. And two new pacifiers that are total BLING. I think one of them says "Bling" on it. They have all kinds of jewels and sparkle. They were a little big for Isaac right now, but stay posted for when his little mouth grows and he doesn't gag on them. He'll be soooo cool.

Friday, April 6, 2007

The light at the end of the tunnel

I can see it!

Derek will be home in a day and a half.
This has been a VERY long week. I am quite exhausted.
Derek's mom is coming over tomorrow to help out, so that will be a relief AND it will help the day to go by faster.

The boy is high maintenance. I keep getting this feeling like I'm doing something wrong or that I'm a big wuss. Whenever I talk to other moms, they don't seem to have the same issues or understand my frustrations.

I'm very worried for how he's going to respond to Derek when he gets home. And to Jena when he returns to her place. He's become quite a Momma's Boy this week.

Ok, I'm done.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Another one down...

...three to go.

It wasn't the best day, but we survived.
The monster does NOT want to sleep during the day for more than 45 minutes. It's quite frustrating. When he gets up, he's grumpy and cries a lot. If he would just sleep longer, he'd be a happier boy.

Tonight got a little stressful because it was looking like he had no interest in going to sleep for the evening. He fought it pretty hard for about an hour, before resigning to slumberland.

We went to Target today, for a midday trip. Derek's mom met us there (unbeknownst to us). We picked up some socks, another Baby Einstein DVD (the best invention ever), and more big bottles because the boy is eating 5 or more ounces at every feeding. He picked up some other stuff too, but it is not blogworthy.

Well, I shall retire and see if I can catch some Z's before the boy is ready to eat once more.

New Record

Last night, I put the boy to bed at 7:30. Around 10:45, I managed to feed him in his sleep. I've tried before, but he shuts his lips really tight and there's no way to get any milk inside. Last night, he drank about 4 ounces and then slept straight through until 3:00 am. He was wiggling and squirming out of his little papasan chair, so I picked him up with me, where he slept (and wiggled and squirmed) until 5:00 am.

Exciting.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

At the Playground...

...ya know!

(um, that was a reference to some early 90's rap-pop music)

Anyhow, Isaac and I took his first trip to the park today. We met Margie, Benjamin, Josiah and Nathaniel there. It was a good time. Isaac mostly buried his head in my armpit in an attempt to shield himself from the sun. I did try the boy out in the swing and I'm not sure he knew how he felt about it.

We're back now, and Isaac is currently enjoying what I hope will be a nice long restful nap.

Some pictures:


Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Meeting Lucy.

Ok. So, Isaac has not yet really noticed our lovable canine, Lucy. He has heard (and cried) when she barks, but he seems to not see her. She can walk right up to him and he looks past her.

Well, today, Doyle and Gretchen came over with some Olive Garden for a nice lunchtime visit and the boy was screaming and crying (his usual). I was holding him facing outward, so he can take in the scenery. Suddenly, his eyes fixed on Lucy, who was eagerly awaiting a taste of my breadstick. She was going through her bag of tricks to see if any of them would score her some, and the boy starting laughing. I got her to speak (after much coaxing, because we've spent the last few months teaching her NOT to bark). He laughed even louder. It was so cute -- and a very relieving break from the crying.

So, that's the story of Isaac finally meeting Lucy.

Hanging in there...

That is what we are doing. And barely.

It has been rough going thus far.
The nights are a little rough, without the extra set of hands to take some of the load. Derek's parents came over last night and that was a huge help.

Things start off great. The boy gets up, eats, plays a little, takes a nap and all is well. Then we eat again, and play again, and then someone (and it's not me) doesn't want to take any more naps. So, the rest of the day is a scream festival. Yesterday, I almost put him on ebay. Ok, not really, but I didn't know what to do. Hopefully, today will be better. He's napping now, so we're on our usual schedule. We'll see....

Anyhow, Mrs. Coach Matthews took this shot of the boy and me at the softball game on friday night. This was a pre-meltdown picture so everything appears just peachy. :)



That is all for now...