It's GIANT baby!

Everett had his four month check-up today (shots are next week....boo.) and he is every bit the giant monster we thought he was. Here are the stats: He is 15 lbs (50th percentile, where Brian says he should always stay), his head is a little small at 41 cm (20th percentile, but that's where it's always been, so it's okay), and get this, he is in the 80th percentile for height (I forgot the exact measurement - will edit later)! So it's not just my imagination that his 3-6 month outfits seem to already be reaching their max from shoulder to toes. Yikes! He must be taking after me, right? ;)

We will be moving to....

Just for fun-sies, here is a visual representation:


I'm sure some of you figured it out immediately, but hey, I wanted to show off some of the things we are excited to live amongst again. Sorry I kept you all guessing for so long, we had to do a little talking first.
Brian will be working at Chequamegon Bay Engineering (the same firm he worked with as an intern in college). I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but I am keeping an open mind about possibly teaching, possibly starting a home daycare, possibly just working, or possibly staying home with the babe.

While we are not entirely thrilled about the lack of residents in our social/educational circle, we will make do. And we are excited about being back in a place where there are trees and water, family, and the puppies! This also means we won't have to travel for SIL's wedding this summer! Heehee. We are planning on renting something for a while and then, hopefully, buying a house! Anyway! That's all for today! Hope you are relieved of your stressful guessing. :)


Here are some pictures from yesterday:

Look ma! I have cloth on my bum!

Loving the toys!

New pictures of my gorgeous boy!

Just some general shots of Everett being awesome:

They just LOVE playing together! Brian mentioned the other day that he is fortunate to be able to spend so much time with Everett these couple of months unlike most dads who have to be at work all day.

This is what I walk in and see every night and it always makes me sigh with happiness. Sleeping baby!

This is his super duper excited face:
P.S. Look how HUGE he is in his bumbo!!!

Crossing my fingers!

I'm hoping that this is really the way life will be now and it's not just a fluke! For the past three nights, Everett has slept like a log. 8-9 hours straight! Saturday night (two days after I tried to eliminate the 2 am feeding), he woke up around 2-3 but I just gave him his nuk and he went back to sleep. He needed a diaper change around 5 and also went back to sleep. Sunday night, he slept for 9 hours straight - no nuk replacement, no diaper change. Last night, it was 8 hours then he was awake and happy, so he got to come into bed with us for another hour, during which time he went back to sleep! (All of this is sleep time for me, he's also sleeping 2-4 hours longer than that because he doesn't wake up during his 9:30-10:00 pm feeding!!!) I am sooooooo happy about this! He is pretty firmly into a four hour schedule now and loving it. His naps are getting longer, he's getting easier to read (yelling=change me now parents!, talking=pay attention to me), and he's just a bundle of fun and loves to laugh. Life is good with the babe...now if only the insurance company would behave and just pay the darn hospital bill already!!!

Oh Mondays...

If you're squeamish about the idea and process of feeding a baby what it's supposed to eat, do not continue reading. Here is an example of Beth on a Monday: Being the awesome and well-prepared mama that she is, not only did she forget to bring a drop-in or bottle to work today, she also forgot a lid for one of her medela bottles that came with the pump. Being a good day, she got around 7 oz, which turns into a bad day because the medela bottles hold only 5 oz each. Thus, she had to buy a water, pour it into a cup, fill the now empty water bottle with milk, and tote that around with her until she gets home. Wow. (Like how that had to be in third person because I am so ashamed? Nah, I'm resourceful!) In other squeamishness, Ev finally decided to test cloth diapers' ability to hold up against a poosplosion (no poo since we started with them last week!) twice this morning. So kind of him to do so as I was leaving for work, resulting in this scene: Beth all dressed and waving goodbye to Brian on the bathroom floor with a poopy diaper in the toilet and a baby in the tub. Heehee. He's such a good daddy and husby!

No job announcement yet, but...

Brian sold his motorcycle!!!! And no, it's not because I forced him to sell it. He decided that since he never rides it anymore, it is just sad to let it sit and rust in the parking lot. So, he sold it. (And for more than he bought it for!) Yay! Unfortunately for me, this is not diaper supply money, but a revolving Brian fun fund. Thus, he gets to keep this money for some new toy - he's thinking a racing mountain bike or maybe some new skis. In other randomness of our lives, I now only have $170 left of dental insurance for the year. At least we got our money's worth, I guess!

ROOOOOOOOLLLLLLL!

That's right! Everett rolled! This morning I got an instant message from Brian while I was at work that said "HE ROLLED!!!!! HE ROLLED!!!! OMG HE ROLLED!!!!!" Everett then would not repeat the feat because his neck was tired and he wanted a nap. Then, I was on the floor this afternoon working on some diapers and put Ev down on his belly and out of the corner of my eye, I notice flip and he's on his back! Again, he would not repeat it. Poor kid is probably just trying to get on his back because he's tired of holding up his head and then we go and ruin all the hard work he just did by putting him back on his belly. We are super super excited to say the least. We've been practicing and demonstrating for weeks. Yes, we are those kind of parents. We've had two full days of cloth diapers now and are quickly deciding that we like prefolds the best. The pockets and all in ones leak every time. I guess practice makes perfect though...but we still might go buy some more prefolds in the meantime.

Coming up this weekend

We will (most likely) announce our job/moving decision. I know, the suspense is killing you, but just have some patience!
Brian emailed to tell me that Ever is having a great morning, including a giant poo. You know it's a good morning when you explode on your sleep sack. Everett had his first afternoon of cloth diapers yesterday (we put him back in disposables for the night, just to be on the safe side while we're starting out) and did great. We got two diaper covers in the mail yesterday, so I examined my cheap-o prefolds and decided they definitely weren't thick enough. Sooo, I added a couple layers of flannel down the middle fold and they seem to work all right with the covers. I'm hoping the covers will loosen a little bit though because when I took one off last night, poor babe had red marks on his giant thighs. He's well within the weight limit for the size, but those thighs are just too deliciously large apparently. Now it is definitely laundry afternoon with the bunch of dirty stuff we already had plus diapers. And grocery day. And we need to vacuum. Oh my!

New Pictures and a Video

As promised, and only one day late!

Mama and babe

Daddy and babe snoozing

Such a pretty boy!

The neat-o wearable blanket (no, not a snuggie!) that mama made

Oops! Pulled on those rings a little too hard.

Trying so hard to roll!

And lastly....I'm not sure how the sound came out in this, my speakers are flaking out on me. Everett learning about buttons by whacking his aquarium:

Twice the Noise!

I was notified that we need more recent pictures of Ev and then I noticed that this is, in fact, true. I'll get on that this afternoon once I get home and transcribe some minutes. In the meanwhile, I'll inform you about Everett's new discovery. He can make twice the amount of noise with the same amount of effort! He is so proud of himself. He now yells/talks/clamors on his exhales and then inhales with a screeching sort of sound. If we politely mention that his volume could be lowered, he laughs in our faces. Oh boy.

Proof

In case you were starting to wonder whether any of my genetic material passed on to the babe......

Aquariums and Letters

First off, I have to tell you about the newest Everett skill. Yesterday, I was sitting at the computer desk with the monitor next to me while Ev slept in his room. I heard him stirring a little bit but he was still sleeping. Then suddenly, I hear his aquarium start (fisher price ocean wonders aquarium - it plays music and has a light and moving fish with a start/stop button on the front). I was a bit confused. Then I hear a "whack!" and it's off again. "Whack!" and it's on, then off, then on, then off! I started laughing my butt off and called Brian to tell him about it. He's been doing it consistently for the past day now. He wakes up and whacks his aquarium on and off until he gets bored and yells. Now, he is not consciously touching the button to make this happen, but rather waving his arms around and hitting it. We think he is aware that swinging his arms makes something happen, but probably hasn't made the connection that it is the button that makes the fishie move. He is getting better with his arms/hands every day though. It's really neat that you can actually observe that after he sleeps, he has a better grasp on some skill (babies need sleep time to process what they are learning). If you put a toy near his hand, he will now consistently grasp it and put it in his mouth. He doesn't really reach for toys on his own yet, but that will come soon enough, I'm sure.
Second - Brian actually asked me to share a "rejection" letter from a company (not the one in Ill, still don't know about that job) because it was the nicest rejection either of us had ever read! Here's an excerpt: "...I appreciate your interest in [insert company name here]. Your qualifications are impressive and you interviewed well. However, I regret to say that after careful consideration, [company name] currently has no position available that will adequately utilize your expertise for our mutual benefit. I wish you success in your employment search. I am certain your prospective employer will benefit greatly from a staff member with your qualifications..." Nice, eh? We weren't even really considering this job (it was an on-campus interview) as a valid option, but despite being a "no thanks," it sure was a decent ego boost for Bri! I promise I will update when we know more about jobs/moving.

Yay me!

Yes, I am fully aware that this is bragging and it has absolutely nothing to do with darling little E, but dang it, I want to show off!
For baby sister C's birthday, I decided to get all crafty. I had been working on this hat last October and never got around to making a flower for it until Sunday night (birthday today....yeah....it got there in time!!). Since I've been crocheting all year, this wasn't a huge accomplishment, but the princess skirt...

This I was proud of since I am still just learning the ropes of sewing. Hopefully little bro T will also enjoy his present, which I kindly bought off amazon instead of making myself. Now birthdays are done for a bit, back to making diapers!

Words We've Learned

Brian and I have always made up our own words....ah, the English language, how I love thee!...but since having a baby, there have been so many new words and phrases, I thought it only proper to document them in some way. What better way than a dictionary of my very own!

arf (ärf) v. to eat voraciously. [Everett completely arfed that bottle!]
bonk-a-babe (bŏngk-ŭ-bāb) n. A phrase used only by mother when plopping baby down onto changing table, bed, playmat, bouncer, or any other surface. [Bonk-a-babe!]
Ever-dance (ĕv'ər-dăns) n. What Brian and Everett do during the 30 Rock theme song. [It's time for the Ever-dance!]
Ever-fusser (ĕv'ər-fŭss'ər) n. A fussy baby named Everett. [Hello Ever-fusser!]
Ever-watcher (ĕv'ər-wŏch'ər) n. The name of our band on Rock Band 2, and any sitter of Everett. [We need to find an Ever-watcher for Thursday morning.]
Fuss-a-babe (fŭss-ŭ-bāb) n. A fussy baby. [Ever, don't be a fuss-a-babe!]
kicker (kĭk'ər) n. One who kicks violently in the tub. Also, Ever-kicker (ĕv'ər-kĭk'ər) specifies a kicker named Everett. [Look at this crazy kicker! Great...now my pants are wet...] (Okay, so we didn't make that one up but we use it a lot!)
moop (mōōp) n. One who is being pesky or mopey [Oh quit being such a moop!], excl. complaint. [Moop, moop, moop!]
nuk (nŏŏk) v. to plug up the baby with a pacifier/give pacifier to baby. [Would you please go nuk the baby?]
poosplosion (pōō-splō'zhən) n. a blow-out mess of baby poop, particularly the breastfed variety. [Holy cow! What a giant poosplosion!] poosplode v., poosploder n.
root (rōōt) v. Reflex baby has, turning head when hungry; What Brian does inthe kitchen, when hungry. [Are you rooting again!?]
roto-rooter (rō'tō-rōōt'ər) n. A VERY hungry baby who roots on anything and everything. [Oh boy, we have a roto-rooter on our hands!]
rouw (rou) n. A cat, especially those named Olivia and Mabel. Var. Liv-rouw and Mabel-rouw. [Would you please feed the rouws?]
wiggle fusser (wĭg'əl-fŭss'ər) n. An upset and kicking baby. Without the upset factor, it would just be wiggler (wĭg'lər). [Oh my wiggle fusser!]
zonk-a-babe (zôngk-ŭ-bāb) n. A baby who is sound asleep. [Ever is a zonk-a-babe right now.]

From this, you may gather that we call our babe "Ever" a lot. That wasn't the anticipated nickname, but hey!

A Moment of Thankfulness

I love finding new blogs. If I find a new blog in a blog I already read, I immediately open a new window to see what it is like. This sometimes leads to bad situations, like me crying at work because I followed a link to a blog about a baby who recently died. Since I'm at work (I know, I know, I'm a terrible worker!), I only skimmed the last few entries of the blog for a dear little girl named Gracie, but that was enough to make me wipe away tears and hope no one came into my little office area. Seriously, such a sad story - do not read it if you don't feel like crying. Why do I subject myself to such sad stories, you might ask. Besides keeping me human, these blogs and stories remind me to be grateful for what I have. As horrible as it is to admit, we do get frustrated with Ev sometimes. Example - someone spit out their nuk last night and fussed, only to kick and smile as soon as someone entered his room, resulting in me hearing Brian over the monitor, exasperated and somewhat scolding, "Baby! Go to sleep!" While it can be difficult to be happy and grateful in those moments, I am. Besides being eternally grateful for his health, I love who Ever is. I love that he is so pleasant that he immediately smiles just because someone comes into his room. This morning he decided to be awake for a while during our breakfast instead of his normal routine of eating and then going back to sleep. It was so fun to have him jabbering and cooing at me while I ate instead of sitting alone in the dark with an english muffin (yesterday was a rough morning...). He is just the happiest baby I've ever met and his demeanor makes me a happier person (no matter how much Brian will insist that I'm the angriest person alive). Interesting linguistic post to come soon.

They shouldn't be allowed to choke.

Babies, that is. It is just wrong that they can choke and scare the living daylights out of their mommies. Ugh! Ever woke up at around 3am for his feeding this morning, and when I got into his room, he was fussing and sucking on his fists. I picked him up and walked over to our la-z-boy, and he started choking (presumably on drool from sucking on his hands). So, I put him over my shoulder and pat his back to help him out. Well, he keeps choking! So then, of course, I go into panic mode, flip him onto my lap and whack his back (probably pretty hard...can't really remember anything but the panic) repeatedly until he finally takes a deep breath. When I sat him back up, I had drool all down my left arm. Seriously. I guess I'm glad I've taken infant CPR 3-4 times because instead of screaming for Brian, I managed to help him out myself, but geesh! It's always the same feeling when a baby is choking - utter panic. I remember my brother choking once (I think I was babysitting, don't kill me mom!) and the same feeling taking over. When they finally take a nice deep breath, you realize how fast you were breathing and nearly cry. Yuck. He had better not do that again for a very very long time!
Moving on now. I finished my first full week of half-days at work today. Result? I'm pooped! It's great though. Instead of sitting around in yoga pants all day, I get a shower, get dressed, get stuff done (and make a tiny bit of money!), then come home and still have some motivation to make lunch, sew, pick up the house, play rock band, etc. Ev's been sleepy today, but I figure he's making up for yesterday when he decided he didn't want anything to do with napping after about noon. His bedtime was later last night because I took him to something at church, so he was quite pleasant for Brian this morning. He got up at 8ish and played, then went back down till about 10, had a bottle and played until I came home and put him back down for a nap. Now he's still sleeping! (Don't worry, I keep checking to make sure he's okay!) We're thinking of going down to Indy this weekend to check out a museum or something because we haven't made weekend plans in....since....umm.....right. Well, that's about all for now. Have a nice weekend y'all!

New pictures

I realized it's been a while since I posted any good pictures. Check out Mr. Cheeks here!

And here are the two of us. Notice the difference in eye color...I've given up!
We've been busy lately. I am now back to work (part time) from 7:30-11:45 M-F and then Brian goes in to the lab around 12:30 until he's done (anywhere between 4:30 and 7). It's been interesting and I'm exhausted, but it's good for everyone. We're thinking about dropping my insurance though, since it will now likely use up my entire paycheck. Anyway! No news about jobs yet, I'll let you know when there is.

This one might need some explanation. We have been getting 30 Rock in our netflix and Brian and Ev have come up with a dance to the theme music. It cracks me up every time and they have fun too. Here's a brief example (he was tired, not as much fun) of the 30 Rock dance:


And here's some "talking":