Adjusting Well

Ty has been doing remarkably well with the helmet so far. We are on a schedule of taking it on & off and wearing it more & more as the days go on, so we can ease him into the 23 hours a day. I was dreading today. It really hasn't seemed to even bother him while wearing it during the day. However, today is the first day he was scheduled to nap in it and sleep at night with it. Scary. I mean, who would want to sleep with a hard plastic thing on your head? Not me. I just put him down for his morning nap. His first nap with his helmet. I left the room, came downstairs, and prepared to hear crying from the monitor. I prepared myself to go up & down the stairs over and over, comforting him and trying to get him to go to sleep. I went into my room where the monitor is and waited...

...waiting.....

waiting.....

and...silence

No red lights flashing across the monitor to indicate a very upset baby.

I headed upstairs to check out what was going on and this is what I found...
Sweet, sweet, sleeping baby. Now granted, I broke a lot of my rules for putting a baby down for a nap. I put a pillow in his bed AND I let him have his pacifier. Two BIG no no's for me. BUT I figure he deserves a little bit of a break from those rules for a while.

And for those of you wondering why he is in this helmet in the first place, take a look at Exhibit A:
No worries, Buddy! We're going to get that head round again. And I promise to try and make you as comfortable as possible in the process. Even if it means bending some rules.

Adjusting

Tomorrow morning my baby boy is getting a helmet. No, we're not starting him in football early so he can be the next star quarterback. He's getting a helmet to fix his flat head. According to the Special Head Doctor, because Ty was "such a big baby" yeah, tell me about it he was wedged quite tightly in utero. And he just happened to be wedged with his head stuck to the right. So after he was born he always favored laying his head on that side. That caused his head to become very flat just on that side and really his whole head to shift and be asymmetric. So he's getting a helmet that will help round out that melon, you know, in case he ever wants to have a buzz cut or shave his head completely. Actually there are many medical issues that can arise in the future by his head being so asymmetric. He will probably wear it for somewhere around 4 months and he must have it on 23 hours a day. Yep. 23 hours. So he will sleep in it, eat in it, poop in it well not really poop IN it, but you know what I mean. The next few nights should be interesting as he is learning to sleep with a hard plastic shell on his head. You know what the funniest thing about all of this is? I'm not stressed about it. I'm not upset that he has to wear it. I'm not even worried about what other people will think when they see him. I am sad. I'm sad that I won't be able to stroke his forehead with my cheek when I'm feeding him his bottle. Sad that I won't be able to press my face up against his so I can feel his warm head and smell that yummy smell. I have literally been drinking in every single second I can with him. So I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of adjusting going on in our household this week. Probably more so by me, than by him.

6 Months

Half of a year. How quickly that time can go by. One more stretch of time like that and my baby will be 1 year old. So. Not. Cool.

What he's up to:

He can sit up for a short amount of time without help.

He JUST learned to scoot himself across the floor. I'm in trouble now!

He laughs, laughs, laughs all the time, and especially at his "sissies" being silly.

He loves to eat his vegetables. He's had all of the Stage 1 veggies so far. No fruits just yet.

He can put in his own "paci" and he will pull it out & put it back in over and over.

He continues to be the most flexible, easy-going baby and we have loved every single second we have had with him.

Ty just so happens to share his 6 month birthday with his oldest sister's 7 year birthday. Happy Birthday MacKenzie! Pictures from that celebration to follow...

Ten on Tuesday

Ten on Tuesday is something I have been reading on a blog for a few weeks now and I decided rather than making lunches for tomorrow, emptying the dishwasher, folding a load of laundry, or going to bed, I would participate for the first time. Anything to put off things I actually NEED to be doing. Here goes:

1. If you could change anything about your physical appearance, what would it be?

I would want to be much taller. I feel like tall women have it so much easier in regards to weight gain. They have places to distribute. I do not.

2. Is there a habit in others that you find annoying?

Um, no. I don't find other people's habits annoying at all. Nope. Not one bit.

3. What is your favorite recipe using ground beef?

I use ground beef a lot. Why? Because it's cheap & easy. Love me some Hamburger Helper. GASP! But I think my favorite ground beef recipe would have to be Spaghetti.

4. What was your favorite book as a kid?

I loved the Bernstein Bears books.

5. Did you work as a teenager and if so, where?

Yes, Victoria Secret. And it's what I attribute my horribly messy underwear drawer to. After leaving that job, I never wanted to fold another pair of panties again for the rest of my life.

6. Did you work while in college and if so, where?

No.

7. When you go to sleep do you like total darkness or semi? When you go to sleep do you need quiet or is some noise ok?

This is a big one. Total darkness. Noise, but only a constant humming of a fan or something like that. NO television on in the background. Oh and can we get the temperature of the room to that of a meat locker? That'd be great. I absolutely LOVE staying in hotels that have those huge A/C units under the windows that buzz all night long. Or maybe that's just in Motels...whatever.

8. When doing laundry, fabric softener or not?

No fabric softener. I know there are plenty of people out there who use it and I'm probably going to lose any shot I might have had at Downy ever sponsoring my blog, but whatever. I don't get it. It might smell nice, but there is no way it's actually making my clothes softer. Give me a break. That is just plain ole' marketing at its best.

9. Open toed or closed toed shoes?

Let's just put it this way. I have a flip flop tan on my feet. All. Year. Long.

10. Would you rather be blind or deaf?

I would have to say blind because music is such a huge part of my life. I can't imagine living life without music.

11. Dangle or stud earrings?

I tend to go for the dangle. I have studs too, but dangle is fun.

12. Bottled water or tap?

I drink the filtered water from my fridge. If I'm out I usually go with bottle.

13. What do you put on pancakes?

All American - Butter & Syrup. But I like to really taste the butter more than the syrup, so not a lot of syrup.

14. On a long trip would you rather drive or fly?

Fly, fly, fly. I cannot stand sitting in a car for a long period of time. Plus I really like airports and the people watching.

15. Do you prefer classic old movies or new?

I like both. Really.

Negotiations

Tonight before bed, I told the girls I would read them a few books. Reagan came home from the library with a stack of different books and there was one particular Christmas book we own that I wanted to read to them. They have been a little nit-picky at each other lately so I wanted to take this chance to try and get them to work together. I told them I would read the Christmas book and then they were to come to an agreement on what other book from the stack I would read. I gave them a timeline. I said, "You girls need to come to an agreement on which book you want, and when I am done sweeping the kitchen tell me which one you decided on. If, by that time, you have not reached an agreement nicely, I am not reading." Here's how the negotiation went:

MacKenzie: I wanna read this one.

Reagan: I already read that one 3 times in the car. I don't wanna read that one.

M: Oh really, you read it?

R: Yes, I read it. (It's important to note that Reagan does not know how to read.)

M: Whatever. I didn't read it & I have no idea what it's about, so I want this one.

R: No, I said I already read that one. I want this one.

Me (calling from the kitchen): Girls, you have to reach the agreement calmly & nicely.

M: MOM, Reagan's not agreeing on anything!

R: MacKenzie, let's AGREE on this one! Love that Reagan's version of "agreement" is agreeing on her choice. I have NO idea where she got that.

and so on & so on...

Do you want to know how it ended? Reagan gave in and said, "MacKenzie we can read the one you want." I went to sit down on the couch and start reading and MacKenzie chimed in, "No, Mom why don't you read the one Reagan wants. It's ok." So I praised them both for thinking of the other one before themselves and read the Christmas book and BOTH of the other books.

Busy Baking Elves

Busy Baking Elves we've been this morning.

Solving the Mystery

The Evidence:

(Found in Reagan's room on December 9th, 2009 at approx. 4:30 in the afternoon)

• Item #1: Elmer's Glue found on the floor directly below the window

• Item #2: Dollhouse bunk bed found wedged between two of the blinds

• Item #3: What the blinds did when the bunk bed was removed

• Item #4: Closer view of the blinds in question

• Item #5: Obvious drops of Elmer's glue located on the blinds in question

Conclusion: Subject broke blinds. Subject then proceeded to put glue where the blinds cracked. (S)he then wedged the dollhouse bunk bed between the blinds in order to hold up the broken piece until the glue dried.

Subject was charged and found guilty. She was sentenced with a timeout and some room time to think about the action taken. By the way, the guilty "subject" was not the occupant of the room.

The "Real" Santa

"Ok girls...here's the plan: You both look straight and smile pretty for the camera. I'll grab a big fistful of that snowy white beard and yank on it. We'll see if this guy is the REAL thing."

Snow Day