Busy Bee

We had momma's doctor's appointment, a big playdate/mini BHS reunion and then a quick trip to Mimi's. I looked good through it all though!

Baby Switch-a-roo

Sarah is holding Luke. This is the best pic I have so far to illustrate Luke's Friar Tuck, male pattern baldness. Don't you love that ring of longer hair around the back? I swear there is no combover.

Elise, who is 7 months prego is holding Sarah's son Nathan. Nathan is just a few weeks older than Luke. Elise is having her first son in November- his two big sisters will be a big help.

This is Sarah's son Cody- he was the oldest playdate attendee and spent most of his time being chased by Braden.

What are all these babies doing here?

Sweet Braden hosted the playdate. He has lots of cool toys and even gave Luke some crib toys. Braden is pulling up on the table already. Luke has a lot of catching up to do!

Group Photo

Play date group picture. Braden gets tough with Luke. He was showing his 10 month dominance over Luke!

Braden is relocated for Luke's safety.

where are they taking him?

If Braden can't be by Luke he doesn't want in the picture.

Goodnight Moon or Stinkyface?

Luke and mom during some pre-nap story time. Luke is pondering which book to read next. I think the only way mom will make into the blog is to take really close self portraits. So no chance of a good picture of mom hitting the blog anytime soon.

I smell something funny...

Who me?

Speed Racer

Luke heard that mom got new running shoes, so he put on his racing socks. He thinks that with Buddy's help, he can beat mom in any race.

HEAD ON! and on, and on

In what is possibly my most passionate rant yet- I have to let everyone know how much I truly hate the "Head On" and "Active On" commercials that are all over TV right now. I first saw these commercials in the middle of the night while at the hospital having Luke. I thought they were just annoying late night commercials. However, they are now gracing the screen during many of my favorite shows and I cannot handle it. First of all, who names their product "Head On"? Obviously, their advertising is working though because I have the things memorized. "Head On" is applied directly to the forehead. I know that and hear it in my sleep. I am sure they will have "pimple on" next because I'm sure you bfreak out after rubbing "head on" all over your forehead.

And for the record, Luke slept 5 hours straight (thank you Miracle Blanket) and just finished up his 3 a.m. feeding. I was almost back to a comfortable slumber when Archie decided he had to go outside. Now, I might need some "Head On" applied directly to my forehead!

Baby Hannibal

Anyone for fava beans and chianti?

We jinxed ourselves on a walk today. When asked how Luke's nights have been going, we said they have gotten better. Luke disapproved of our optimism and decided he would teach us a lesson. He was Mr. Fussy this evening. So, we reverted back to the 5S's for soothing- swaddling and sucking being two of them -as you see here. This is Luke's new miracle blanket. Similar to a baby straight jacket. But, as the package says, swaddled babies sleep. Now he is out like a light. Bedtime for mom is soon to come-hopefully I won't have Silence of the Lambs nightmares.

Searching high and low

Has anyone seen Luke's Taggies blanket and Uglydoll? Archie and Mom are looking for them everywhere. Archie reports that they are not under the bed. He was offeneded that we suspect him of taking them.

Sweet Babies!

Aunt Marsha came to town this weekend to see Jaci's new additions- Presley and Jackson. Aren't they adorable? They cuddle up close to each other all the time. So sweet. Aunt Marsha reports that these two already take a paci also. Luke could learn a thing or two from the twins.

Weekend with PacMan

Pac-Man (Uncle Kevin) finally took the challenge and held me. I was a perfect angel. Notice the Nuk pacifier in my mouth. Tia's mission was to make sure I took a paci, and she succeeded. PacMan and Tia came to babysit me while mom and dad went to mom's high school reunion. PacMan's parents, Debra and Gary came to visit me also. Debra is a nurse, so she knows baby stuff! She held me until her arms fell asleep. Now she wants grandbabies like me.

Those leg lifts are hilarious mom!

Getting back in shape is quite the joke in the Byman house today.

To Crib or Not to Crib

Ahh, such an issue in our house right now. Luke did well night one. He slept on mom on night two. Night three was the crib all night long (of course up for feedings at the normal times). Night four was crib for 2/3 of the night and then Luke and mom slept in the glider from 4:30 to 7:30 this morning. Mom is less sore than she thought she would be. This weekend we are aiming for 100% crib usage. Altough, I have to admit, Luke feel asleep in the vibrating chair and that is where he is napping right now.

Ghetto Update

So it turns out this was a big deal. Customs, DEA, Homeland Security and local law enforcement were and are all involved. They are looking for a big drug trafficer. Apparently his father lives in our neighborhood and owns the two houses that were raided. No word on the druggie though- he is "on the run". We are going to get an update from some sheriff's officers tonight. I'll keep you all posted on our drama.

BUSTED!

Who said the suburbs were boring, or safe? Early this evening, the residents of Silvercreek were greeted by SWAT and DEA officers serving warrants on what we call the "shooting and shooting related houses" in our neighborhood. Sadly, at this house, only two kids were home. What you can't see are the 17 officers in the house at the time the picture was taken. There was a shooting at one of these houses a few years ago. Since then, random thugs hang out in front of the shooting house. Our neighbors have seen guns in the thugs' waistbands. The shooting related house is owned by the same guy, but there is typically less action there. Each house has cameras on the outside and floodlights. There is always something going on at each house. It is sad that there are kids involved. All the residents of Silvercreek have been worried about these houses for a while and it looks like the calls to the sheriff have paid off. This is going to make for fun conversation at the HOA meeting tomorrow!

The SWAT guys past the Rippling Springs cheering section. After the second successful bust, rumor has it the SWAT team headed to the mistress' house around the corner. Where do we live?

The new Brazoria County DARE vehicle

You can't see but a SWAT officer is driving away in one of the hoodlum's Escalades. Interestingly, this is one of the few cars that has real license plates. None of the paper plate cars passed by us.

6 weeks old today

Just relaxing on my birthday! I noticed that Keegan was reading in his boppy a few days ago and it looked like fun. This is mom's new favorite book (for this week). It is really cute.

Sibling Rivalry

Typical older sibling, Archie discovered there were not near enough pictures of him on the blog so he jumped into this one.

Night One in the crib...

We all survived! Luke put himself to sleep with very little fussing. Yesterday was a paci acceptance day for him so he used it to fall asleep and let us replace it about every 10 minutes. I think he might prefer the new accomodations- food comes to him, there is more room in the bed than the bassinet and there are no weird dog noises in the middle of the night. But, I very clearly understand that last night was just one night and tonight could be a disaster. We are keeping our fingers crossed for two nights of crib sleep.

Moving on Up...

I am moving to my bedroom tonight. I am sick of sleeping in the same room with Lady and Archie. Tonight began with a nice relaxing bath where I could stretch out and flex my abs. This is the start of my new nighttime routine.

I thought I was supposed to have a restful evening of bathing and story time, what the hell is going on?

It finally ends up OK for the little guy, but the relaxing benefits were lost in the shuffle. He is now attempting to sleep in his crib. Mom and Dad are on standby to replace the paci and soothe at evenly timed intervals. We really hope this works.

Who is colic-y?

He looks comfy to me! Nana and Pappy came to visit Luke on Saturday. He was asleep when they got here and he slept the majority of the time they were here. Nana and Pappy think we rented a sleeping baby for the weekend. We think that Luke was being very good, or making us liars on the colic thing. Either way, it was an enjoyable weekend. Nana and Pappy babysat while Mom and Dad got to go to a pool party. It was a much needed break. Then, to make it even better, Nana handled the middle of the night feeding with a bottle so Mom and Dad had a few extra hours of uninterrupted sleep. It was wonderful. Then Luke slept most of Sunday. However, he is very much awake right now, so you will have to stay tuned until tomorrow for the final chapter of Luke's weekend sleep progress.

Say it ain't so

It appears that Luke's behavior in the evenings is (drumroll please) COLIC. While there is no dr. diagnosis yet, all the symptoms we read about are apparent. He fits the definition to a tee. And the frustration that Matt and I are experiencing is textbook as well. It is 3 hours of crying, at least 3 days a week for the past 3 weeks, not to mention many other stressful symptoms. While we are not at 3 weeks yet, it has been 2.5. If it is colic he is a compassionate colic-y baby and gives us at least one out of seven nights without crying, so far. While I have found no upside to colic, a positive is that it normally goes away at 4 months. Great, only 3 months to go...

He typically sleeps well during the day though. Today, he did not, but I am hoping that is abnormal. I think he just wanted to stay up with mom and figure out why that freak killed Jon Benet.

Another 3 hour nap...

And yes he is sleeping in the carseat on the kitchen floor. Whatever it takes.

Week 5

We can tell that Luke's brain is maturing. He follows mom and dad and the ceiling fan with his eyes. He is "talking" a lot (and no I don't mean grunting which he is also doing a lot of). He has even sort of smiled and giggled responsively. But, no improvement on sleeping. While he is fairly consistent with naps, he does not like to go down for good at night and really does not like to sleep in the bassinet. Even for naps he sleeps in the vibrating chair or the swing. The only place he likes to sleep at night is stomach down on mom's chest. We are trying to break this habit, but it is quite convenient, although kills mom's neck and back. (I am not sure if that quiet is worth the future chiropractic bill). Luke is the master of the "fussy period" that starts around 6pm and goes long- until about 9:30 when we finally soothe him to sleep. But, I understand from my 6000 infant and sleep books that this should all miraculously change right around week 6. So we will be waiting...

Grrr!

Doesn't someone look well rested? Baby Luke had a 3 hour nap. If only you could see his momma today (no 3 hour nap today- more like 5 minutes)...

Play Time

Luke is really starting to get the hang of the play mat. He batted at the mirror and music flower today.

Calling all the ladies

We needed a shirt to say "Older Chicks Dig Me" because Luke has yet to meet a "chick" under the age of 3. Everybody is having boys...

Riddle me this Batman

Which came first the crying baby or Archie under the swing?

Veronica Turns 11

Make a wish! After a yummy meal at Cheesecake Factory, Veronica got a birthday sundae. Then we all went to Build A Bear to get her bear a new wardrobe. Then it was off to Benefit for a makeover.

Even Michael got dessert.

Audra, the make up artist, goes to work on Miss Veronica.

Viola! The finished makeover. She looks like a million bucks. And 30 years old. This was just for fun!

Tuckered out after his day at the beach yesterday, Luke slept through most of Veronica's birthday party.

Enjoying My Birthday

Luke did finally wake up to enjoy his birthday. Here he is is chilling during some tummy time. He was saving his energy for the big 4th of July party held on August 12.

Today I am One Month Old...

Luke is one month old today. Clearly he is excited to have reached this important stage in his development.

Size Comparisons

Luke and his manly stuffed animal. It is Moxy the Ugly. Luke really could not be bothered by Moxy today. He was busy sleeping away his first month birthday (no complaints from mom though).

Luke at one month vs. Big Dog Chair. The BDC will win. Luke has a while to grow before he is able to sit in the chair much less put up a fight!

My mom is out of control again- I am asleep for crying out loud and she puts this big dog chair in my face!

New Buddy Jett comes to Texas to visit

Mimi could not wait to get her hands on Jett.

Luke meets older buddy Jett. Jett flew all the way from Arizona (before the crazy terror threats). Jett is 4 weeks older than Luke. He already knows how to laugh and smile at his mom. Plus, he can really master a pacifier. Things we hope Luke will learn in the very near future. Please ignore Allison's hair. She has not had time to brush it (much less blow dry it) in 3 days. Good news though, I brushed and blew dry this morning!

One, and two, and three...

Luke takes part in morning aerobics while Mom gets ready for the day.

He's a Happy Boy

This is Luke's favorite place in our entire house. No matter how fussy or tired he is, he brightens up when you put him on the changing pad. Most of the time he looks at himself (and the lucky diaper changer) in the mirror. But sometimes, just for fun, he will face the other way. If he isn't careful he is going to start sleeping on the changing pad!

Pampers v. Huggies (you thought I was through ranting after Pottery Barn- ha!)

Not all diapers are created equal- another tidbit I did not know before I had a baby. We received lots of both kinds of diapers before Luke was born. He used up the Pampers first and have now moved on to Huggies. Only one problem, the Huggies do not seem to conform to our child...even though they say they are "baby fit". Clearly, weight is not the problem (Luke clocked in at 11 lbs today at the doctor). This can only lead me to believe that Luke's rear end is not that of a "baby fit" kind of baby. Whose baby are they using anyway? I thought I could make do though and use some of the Huggies so that I was not being wasteful- but that plan backfired. Luke and I both had to change our clothes multiple times yesterday due to blowouts. So it was off to the store for more Pampers this morning. No worries though, I am keeping the Huggies for emergencies and on the off chance Luke's rear end forms into a "baby fit" kind of rear end! In the meantime, I will save on Dreft expenses if I just buy Pampers.

To all the moms, is there something I don't know about this diaper fit issue? PLEASE, educate me!

28 Days

I am 4 weeks old today! Many milestones- First, I am wearing red, a new color for me. Second, I have almost mastered the aptly named "Soothie" pacifier. Third, I went to the doctor for a visit- I am 11.01 pounds (no comments please). I am 22 inches long. My head is 15 inches. (Percentiles omitted purposefully!) The doc detected a heart murmor but he thinks it is benign. We will check it again at the next visit. Like Mother like child with the heart, I guess.

This is not a cheese face either!

Who keeps letting my mother take my picture? I have been really good today hoping she will put the camera away. I am even falling for the 5 S's of soothing- well four of them anyway- the swaddle, swaying, shhishing and laying on my side! Surely that will make her stop!

This is not what they meant by Tummy Time

Two is a crowd in the Boppy!

World Traveler

Luke made a trek to Katy today to visit Keegan while their dads rode bikes. Matt and Angus had the touch! Both boys were sawing logs. They did not even need pacis. Who said newborns were fussy at night? Don't worry, matt had a beer too, you just can't see it!

Where's Waldo?

Keegan's play mat is a lot more colorful than mine is. I had fun playing on it, for like 45 seconds!