Still Wondering.......

Many days I look at them and think to myself, "Where did you little people come from???" It still amazes me every day that they live with me. Gosh, darn it, I love'em, though.

Do Other People Sleep?

As I've said many times before, my baby doesn't sleep. Naps are a challenge. And nighttime is absolutely miserable at my house. MISERABLE. G wakes up 2 or 3 or sometimes 4 times during the night. He cannot go back to sleep himself at all. He pukes when I let him cry. I've had enough. I have got to sleep. This is not normal. It's starting to make me a not very nice person during the day. I am the result of a person that hasn't slept since October. Please help. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Greatly, greatly appreciated. Email me if you don't want to write it on the comment section. I'm desperate. cheyannesmart@yahoo.com

Gunnar is 9 Months!

I have a little baby boy here that turned nine months old last week! Gunnar, you are now a baby-on-the-move! Weight: 20.5 lbs. Height: 27.25 in. Head: 88%

Biggest Highlight: CRAWLING!!!!!!!! You took off and haven't looked back. You also pulled up into a stance the day you turned nine months. You like to move!

Loves: swimming, rolling balls, toys that light up, gravel, tearing up magazines, pulling things off of shelves, being held, being entertained constantly!

I never in my life want to forget these precious, precious fat hands. I wish I could keep them in my pocket forever! Pudgy little fingers and wrists that are stuck on top of an arm. Love it!

First bruise-poor sweet boy. Finley somehow dumped you on your head and then you fell on the tile in the kitchen when you were crawling and bumped the exact same place. : (

Food: I love those red little lips! Some of the new things that have crossed those lips are: black beans, chicken pieces, roast pieces (I refuse to feed you meat baby food out of the jar-gag!), couscous, plain yogurt, cottage cheese, chunks of apples, pears, plums, blueberries, cheese, and pretty much whatever else we will feed you! You also love ice and pieces of popsicles-you cry for ours! We are trying to drink out of the sippy cup, but you still just pour it all over yourself.

I just had to take this picture of the back of your cute little body. That is my sweet 88% big baby head! I love little fat heads on my babies!

Clothes: Size 4 diapers, 12 mo., 12-18 mo clothing

Sleep: You just really don't prefer to sleep. I guess I can catch up on my sleep when you leave for college?!?

Teeth: You got your 2nd bottom tooth and 3rd top right tooth! I'm thinking you may be cutting another one because you were running a little fever today.

Funny Things: you are starting to shake your head "no" when you don't want something. It's so cute. You will shake no and push the bottle or whatever away. I guess you have a mind of your own!

Can and Cannot

I just got back from four days in Ruidoso at Ramma's cabins. There are a few things I can tell you. And some things I cannot.......

I can tell you that this water felt glorious and it was about 60 degrees every morning when I walked out of the cabin.

I cannot tell you that I missed the drought, heat, 100+temps, dead grass, wilted plants one little bit.

I can tell you that this girl learned to hula-hoop and is now a hula-hooping fool!

I cannot tell you why this girl picked the winning horse 4 out of 5 races and now can be classified as a child gambler.

But I can tell you that it might be a good idea to sneak her into your suitcase if you ever go to Vegas.

I can tell you that this bunch went on an extra long hike. So long that I got worried that a bear ate them.

I cannot tell you why I had a run in during a jigsaw puzzle putting together session with my niece (who's in purple in this photo) because she was hoarding the last puzzle piece.

I might or might not have pinned her to the ground and pried the last piece out of her hand?!?

I can tell you that next time we go to the races, we will listen to Finley.

I cannot tell you that I was ever as small as this jockey.

I can tell you that Slade was easy to spot while wearing his VBS tie-dyed shirt.

I cannot tell you whether or not he hit the deer (not pictured) he was looking at with his sling shot from the Thunderbird.

I can tell you that this kid will wake up every two hours at night, screaming for a bottle, so that his parents feel like zombies during the day while on vacation at the cabins.

I cannot tell you the number of rocks or river water he might have consumed while on this trip.

Purely Distraught

At the beginning of May, I heard some not-so-happy news through the grapevine. And after a short search for the truth, my greatest fear was confirmed. For reasons I will never be able to understand, my favorite Pediatrician in the whole wide world decided he was going to move to SOUTH CAROLINA!!!!!! What the &*%$!!! I can tell you that I had to get off the phone when this news was told to me and bawled. Just bawled. Therefore, I have cried off and on about this for the past two months.

Dr. Stripling (aka Dr. Steve) is one of the sweetest, kindest men I've ever met in my life. He was there the day Slade was born, Finley was born, and Gunnar was born, and we have seen him for the last 8 1/2 years. His only son was born two months before Slade, so we've compared notes all these years. Our sons even played basketball against each other this past spring, which is where I saw Dr. Steve in Nikes for the first time ever! He always wears dress pants at work.

I've trusted him with the most precious things in my life. I just feel sick about him leaving and I know that no doctor can ever take his place. And some of you probably think I'm acting crazy about this, but I cannot tell you how patient this man was when I was a brand new, paranoid mother with a new infant that puked all the time. He made me feel confident and I had such a piece of mind knowing that he was caring for my baby. There's no way to count the questions I've asked this man and I do think he is one of the smartest, best doctors in Lubbock.

So today was Gunnar's 9 month well check and I had to say goodbye for the last time. His last day in the office is Friday. He hugged me and I had to suck it up and not cry in his presence. He predicted today that I would have a son that was 6ft. and one 6'3. So I'm going to hold him to it and see if he's right! And then my eyes got all teared up when I was walking to the elevator. And yes, I cried a bit in the car. And look at the picture-Gunnar's even crying about him leaving!

So here's to you, Dr. Steve! Thanks for all the years you gave us! You are irreplaceable! Excuse me now-I have a good ol' cry to go take care of..........

My Three Smarts

I found a deal on LivingSocial.com (sorta like Groupon), so last week I ordered this on a 16 x 20 canvas for my living room mantle. I cannot wait to see what it looks like!

Minor Mishap & A Recipe

Gunnar did not have a good morning. The following photo is pitiful. Gunnar had a run-in with a blow dryer. The blow dryer won. Don't be alarmed. He's alright. You are looking at his inner thigh.

I feel so bad. His first real injury. I was trying to get ready this morning. I have a system. I sit on my bed, putting a big pillow on my knees, then putting a flat frame on top of the photo, and then my mirror so I can see what I'm doing. I do this so I can put on my makeup & blow dry/round brush my hair. I do this because 1.)my back always hurt when I was pregnant, so I like to sit down 2.)it's boring blow drying my hair in the bathroom and 3.)Gunnar screams if he's not sitting there beside me with toys. So the whole time I was working on my hair he was grabbing the mirror, my brush, the pillow, and climbing all over me trying to get on my lap. So I turned the blow dryer off and put it down to the side of my lap and I picked him up and sat him on me and you know the rest. He scream-cried and I knew something was wrong. I instantly thought my gosh-that must have burned him! I ran to the sink and put his leg and foot under the water, but I couldn't tell where it was burned. About twenty minutes later, the beauty in the pic appeared! UUUHHHGGGG! I feel terrible. Poor baby! I put some aloe vera on it. And he was mad but considering it was a burn, he did exceptionally well. He didn't really fuss any more about it. And you know how horrible a burn feels. I was thinking he's pretty tough! He hasn't complained about it any more really (complained as in, not fussing).

So there you have it. Bad morning. First injury. Sad Momma. Poor Dude. On the bright side, he's holding his bottle sometimes! Yay!!!

On another, brighter note, I made some delicious tilapia tacos tonight! So good and low calorie. I've been trying to incorporate more fish into my diet. These, I could eat at least three times per week. I will post the recipes at the bottom-you really should try them. Slade ate the meat and asked if it was chicken.

And I made some mango pico to go on the side. It was really yummy too. I think it could go with any fish, chicken, or chips, or I could just eat it plain.

Angela came over to eat with me and we finished off the whole bowl. Zero weight watchers points, btw!

And last but not least......You guess-which plate was Slade's and which was Finley's??? Gotta love boys that eat you out of house & home! And I have two of them now! Yikes! Here are the recipes.....

Tilapia Fish Tacos

2 tilapia fillets (I used fresh from the deli bc they were on sale)

cumin

season salt

chili powder

lemon or lime juice

olive oil

1 1/2 cups cole slaw (I bought broccoli-slaw and it was great)

corn tortillas (I wet these with water, wrapped them in a paper towel, and warmed them as opposed to dipping them in grease. It worked fine)

In your skillet, pour a little olive oil and squeeze some lemon or lime juice in and let it heat up. Rub your fillets with the cumin, season salt, and chili powder-however much you want to season it. Cut the fillet into chunks and pour into the skillet. Cook till fish looks flaky-this won't take long. Fill your tacos! I bet you love them!!!

Sauce for top of tacos

1/2 cup light sour cream

1/2 cup fat free or low fat Greek yogurt

1 to 3 tbls of chipolte sauce from a can of adobo chilies

cumin-a few shakes

Mix all this together. Put as much chipotle sauce according to how hot you want it. This is so good!!! This made about 4-5 tacos, depending on how much fish you put in each. Sorry I don't have exact measurements, but I made these up, taking bits and pieces from different recipes that I liked.

Mango Pico

1 tomato

1 mango

1/8 of a purple onion

1/4 of a seeded jalapeno

2 tbls cilantro

lime juice

Dice it all up and squeeze in some lime. This made a cereal bowl full of pico. I think it's better eaten immediately-it seems to get soggy if you store it. Enjoy!