Discovery of the Week

I was trying to change Ethan's diaper this morning when all of a sudden he rolled over! FINALLY, he did it infront of me!!! I was pretty excited but at the same time, not too surprised since I knew he had been working on it this past few weeks. Plus he had 3 episodes of "Help, I've rolled over and I can't roll back" in the middle of the night last night. Now we just need to work on getting from tummy to back and he'll be set. Watch out, this boy is ready to be on the move!

Just For Laughs

A pretty funny conversation with the church nursery lady today in regards to feeding:

Nancy: Do you usually burp him half way throught the bottle?
Me: No, I do it at the end. Why?
Nancy: We weren't sure so we did it half way and he didn't like that at all.
Me: Oh no, you have to finish feeding him or else he'll freak out.
Nancy: Yeah he did...and he doesn't look like he misses any meals either.
Me: Nope he doesn't. (Chuckling and thinking "you're not the first person who said that about my chunky monkey")

Anyway, I think it went better at the nursery today - for me especially =0) I do have to mention a couple of other funny things that I noticed while we were there:

1) Compare to the other babies, Ethan doesn't not look like a baby. In fact, I don't think he ever has. He has always looked like a little man from day 1 (I think it's the hair).
2) Other babies sit quietly in the swing or look really content when they're held...not so much with this one.
3) Nancy brought up the fact that Ethan might be a lefty. Huh, so I guess I wasn't the only one who thought so. He prefers his left thumb, grabs the toys with his left hand and tries to roll over on his left side. Well Andy and Jenn thought you would be happy to know that =0)
4) He's the cutest kid in the nursery with the most beautiful brown eyes and has the widest range of expressions on his face!!!

Discovery of the Week

Contentment - what an amazing thing for Ethan to discover today! We were able to sit down AND hold him (for more than 5 mintues) without him complaining or wanting up. He was content to just be held and it was the strangest thing for both of us. Wasn't sure what has gotten into our child? And we wonder if this would last into the next day...but I'm having my doubts.

Ladies Night Out

Our small group took a break last night and had a separate guys' night/girls' night. The ladies went to the church for a potato bar and chili dinner, followed by a fun video and dessert. I had a good time meeting and talking to the other ladies from the church that I didn't know. Not to mention the fact that dinner was prepared for us and I didn't have to cook! The guys also had their own "Four Men and a Baby" night of pizza and video game =0) This entire month has been super crazy at work for Brian so I'm glad he had a chance to just hang out with the guys (and Ethan). Anyway, it was really refreshing for me to get away from the "mamma" responsibilities for a few hours, but I did feel bad to find out that Ethan was fussier than usual. I guess Brian said he kept waking up throughout the evening for whatever reason. Well, come to find out for myself (at midnight and 3 am) that our little guy was having a tummy ache from some "gas" issues. That would do it to you! I'm just glad he eventually got tired enough to forget the problem and fall asleep so I could go back to bed. So today will be spent catching up on sleep, but it's not like I want to go anywhere anyway...it's freezing cold AND snowing outside. Can you believe that, snow at the end of March?! What happened to Spring???

Mamma Wisdom of the Week

Apparently we found out, after Brian talked to his co-worker, that there's a weight limit of 22 lb on the infant car seat which Ethan is quickly approaching! I guess we would have known that if we read the label on the car seat itself, but we didn't...which would explain why my arms feel like they are about to fall off when I him up in it lately. Anyway, I can't believe we have to buy him another "big boy" convertible car seat already since this one only lasted us for like 5 months. That's crazy! I'm just really glad we went garage saleing last summer and got ourselves a deal on this set instead of paying $200 on a brand new one...thanks to my husband!!! What a smart, $ savvy and practical guy!

Only If I Could Crawl...

CSI:IA - "The Dryer"

Brian and I aren't apart overnight very often, but last night he had to stay in a town that was 2-1/2 hours away so he could attend a work-related breakfast this morning. Don't know what I was thinking but I decided to watch CSI right before bed and somehow spooked myself out. By the time I got in bed, I realized that I had forgotten a load of towels in the washer. So I got up, went downstairs (which I hate doing when I'm home alone) and put them in the dryer and ran upstairs. Apparently, I couldn't sleep and laid in bed long enough for the dryer to finish. And for whatever reason I started wondering, "Wouldn't it be freaky if the dryer somehow started up again...which could only mean someone has broken into my house and is now down in the laundry room. And what if there is a dead body in the dryer?!" Then my mind started racing with what I would actually do: Would I...

a) stay in bed and pretend to be sleeping?
b) bring Ethan into my room and lock the door?
c) go downstairs to check it out but risk getting myself killed?
d) call the police?

As I tried to go to sleep, I prayed for God's protection over all of us especially now with a baby in the house. I'm glad to say that the dryer didn't start up again and there wasn't anyone else in the house. I went to get the towels this morning and there was also no dead body. I know, my imagination can run kinda wild sometimes after watching stuff like that. Brian is gonna love hearing this story when he gets home! =0)

Discovery of the Week

This week Ethan found his highest, screechiest voice and kept using it over and over again. At first it was kinda cute to hear it every once in a while. But yesterday after about 15 minutes, we couldn't really take it anymore. He was giving Brian a headache and I think Kaika went and hid. Silly little guy, he even did it at the grocery store today and I just had to chuckle =0) Not only is he ready to roll over, crawl and walk, I think he's also ready to talk too!

Drive-Thru

Never have I appreciated the drive-thru concept until I had Ethan. It's so convenient and sure beats having to haul the car seat into the store just to get a few things, especially now that he's such a chunker. So today I went to Hy-Vee to get some grocery and finally decided to use their drive up system. I found out about it a while back but just never took advantage of it. Anyway, I LOVE IT...talking about making life easier! I did feel a little guilty, for like two seconds, since I'm still young and able but then I got over it. Now, only if I could order all my grocery online and then drive-thru and pick them up. That would be super awesome!!!

Side note: I never had so many elderly people stop to talk and look at the baby before. I guess I'm always out and about during "working hours" and everybody else is working, except all the older people and me. Anyway, it's kinda nice to be able to chat with them without being in a rush or worrying about time. I find it refreshing actually.

Cleaning

When both Brian and I were working full-time, we would clean the house on a needed basis just to get by. Usually when something bother one of us enough, then that person would do it. But now that I'm home all day I solely took on the cleaning responsibility which was fine with me. Until I realized that because I'm home more and Kaika's out of crate the whole day, the house got dirtier faster. All of a sudden the dirt, lint, dust bunnies, dog hair, seem to be more apparent so I found myself doing the same cleaning over and over again. I've said to myself quite often "Didn't I just clean that like yesterday and it's dirty again???" It has definitely been challenging to keep up with everything! Anyway, I'm starting to miss the maids that we had in India towards the end of our stay. Those ladies amazed me as they mopped our 2700 sq. ft. apartment on all fours with just a bucket and a towel EVERYDAY!

Fun Under One

On the agenda for today was "Fun Under One" meetup at a friend's house. Ethan and I met four other moms and kiddos there. It was fun to let the babies/kids play and interact with each other while the moms hang out and talk, too! Ethan, being the youngest, couldn't do much other than lying on the blanket and kinda play and I had him sit up every once in a while. But I think it was still good for him to be around other babies to socialize (and also getting a few tips on how to crawl ;0). Overall, I'm glad we went even though we had to leave early because of naptime. Here are a couple of pics from today:

New Toy

Lately Ethan has been extra squirmy I think because he's just ready to do something else other than lying on his back. So this weekend, we hit a couple of consignment shops in hope of finding him a exersaucer. No luck there, but we did find one that was posted on craigslist.com. It turned out that the couple who sold it to us go to our church! We didn't really know them, but I remembered meeting them once at an 80's prom party like a year ago. Along with that, Brian got to talking to the husband and also found himself a soccer partner to play with. What a small world!

Anyway, we got it home and I was super excited to put Ethan in it and see what he would do. Well, he wasn't sure about it at first and then ended up crying with frustration because he couldn't really reach the toys very well. He's also still working on holding his head up. Soon enough I think he's gonna love this!



A better exersaucer experience the next day =0)

Church Nursery

So last Sunday we got approached after church by the lady who's in charge of the nursery to let us know (for the second time now) that there IS a nursery and that we should really bring Ethan there. I politely thanked her but said that we weren't quite ready yet but we probably will soon. I guess he was being a distraction since he can't sit still. One of us usually would have to take him out of the sanctuary and walk him around. Anyway, today he did the same thing again so we decided that we just needed to bring him there even though I was still hesitant about it. I have to say that it was hard because I didn't get the warm and fuzzies from the lady for me to feel comfortable to leave him. So, the whole service I kept looking at the clock and was anxious for it to be over. Well, Ethan did fine but just looked super antsy (and was getting tired and hungry) when I went to get him.

Well, I hate to think that I've become one of those super-attached-no-one-else-can-take-care-of-my-kid kinda mom which...I don't think I am, but I have become attached to him more and more. I think when it comes down to it, it just depends on the person who's watching him. I mean we've been dropping him off at the Lyles' once a month just so Brian and I could go out on a date and I've been totally okay with that. But I guess we'll just have to get used to it because he'll probably be spending more and more time in there from now on.

Mamma Wisdom of the Week

For the past two days, I would put Ethan in his car seat for nap time expecting him to be out by the time I get to wherever I'm going, but it hasn't really worked. He was either wide awake but semi-cranky because he's tired OR he took a catnap and was later semi-cranky because he's still tired. But then again, he might not need that nap anymore as he gets older. Who knows! Anyway, I decided that motherhood is like a guessing game of what to do next. I thought I got his routines down and then he changes on me which seems to happen like on a daily basis and can be frustrating at times. Definitely a learning and growing process for me to just "let go." There's also the whole making a decision on something for Ethan and expecting it to turn out a certain way. Then when it doesn't happen, I second guess myself wishing I had done it differently. That's hard too since I'm such an over analyzer!

New thing to try next week: start running errands while he's awake. So that by the time I'm done, I could get him home for a nap or he would eventually fall asleep in the car seat. I guess he's getting so big and so long too that I could imagine it's hard to sleep all scrunched up instead of stretching out in his crib.

Bath Time by Mamma

So tonight was the second time I attempted to bath Ethan by myself. It's quite a task holding him and soaping him at the same time without drowning the little guy. It doesn't help either that he's a kicker and splasher! I also tried to wash his hair and rinse with the whole big cup thing. That didn't work out so well. Water in the eyes, water in the ears. Anyway, I don't think he enjoyed his bath very much tonight and he let me know it too...by spraying me =0) But he didn't cry - what a trooper!

Cookie Day

My friend, Stacia is on spring break from school this week so Ethan and I went over to make cookies and just hang out. It was really nice for me to get out of the house (not to mention the fact that it was 70+ degrees) and getting some adult interactions. Ethan especially enjoyed the fact that he has something new to look at...new ceiling, new view from the windows, new living room floor to lie down on, new person to play with. She even got him giggling and squealing a few times =0) Anyway, I could tell that he had fun because he was super alert the whole time and was interested at everything.

So I came to the conclusion that he gets bored at our house which makes sense when I really think about it. I mean doing the same thing (almost) everyday in the same spot looking at the same thing - who wouldn't be bored right? I do go out and run errands with him and stuff but as far as when we're home, I think I really need to take Brian's sister's suggestion about rotating rooms. Hopefully the change of scenery throughout the house will do him good.

p.s. Thanks Stacia for a fun day at your place. We both had a great time!

Just For Laughs

This is for the grandparents who haven't seen Ethan for a while. He became such a jabberbox now - constantly talking nonstop! Anyway, this video was done in a hiddle location (me lifted up the bumper and holding the camera between the slats) so he wouldn't see me. Enjoy! By the way, sorry you really couldn't see his face but like I said, I had to be incognito.

Take Time

...to pamper our four-legged family member.

I think Kaika has been suffering from depression (not kidding) not only from the winter blues but ever since Ethan was born. I guess he has been getting the shaft and not as much attention as he once had. So we finally took him to the doggie park yesterday and he LOVED IT! I must say I haven't seen him this jolly in a long time!

Discovery of the Week

Yesterday was quite an exciting day here at the Billmans' household. Brian went in to get Ethan in the morning to find him crying not only because he was hungry but because he had rolled over onto his tummy and gotten stuck! I was pretty bummed when Brian told me about it since I was still in bed and missed it. But then Ethan did it again after he woke up from his nap (just for his Mamma). This time with a confused look on his face, "Hmm not quite sure how I got here and now how do I get back?" Anyway, we spent the rest of the day trying to make him show us his roll over tricks, but he just wouldn't do it. Hopefully we'll get to see it in action soon!

Side note: We used to put Ethan to sleep on his tummy 'cause that's how he slept best. But he was constantly leaking through his diaper and clothes so I finally had to put him on his back which stopped the problem. So yeah he's been a back sleeper since and started to figure out the whole roll over thing. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later with the crazy acrobatics he has been doing in his crib.

Mamma Wisdom of the Week

Ethan used to sleep in his carseat through loud noises at restaurants, at the movie theater, while I run errands, pretty much anywhere anytime really. However, lately he doesn't nap so well on-the-go anymore. Now it's just a wink here, a wink there so I never know if he ever really get enough sleep.

Anyway last night, I had a mom's group meeting to go to so Brian took care of Ethan. They ended up heading to the mall since Brian needed a haircut. (We hardly ever take Ethan out around his bedtime but figured that he would probably just fall asleep in his carseat). Apparently that wasn't the case because when they both got home around 9 pm, I found a wide eyed baby smiling at me. He didn't even look tired! I came to the conclusion that at this age he's a lot more alert visually so he now prefers to be awake to watch and "play" instead of sleeping. I guess the little guy doesn't want to miss a thing!

Side note: Because Ethan was up later than usual last night he actually slept through night without waking me up! Wow, that hasn't happened in like 2 weeks...AND I woke up refreshed for once! Definitely not complaining.

Good Idea, Bad Idea

So today I started a crocheting project I found out about through the mom's group that I joined. It's called Project Linus where you can show your love and support for seriously ill and traumatized children by making and sending them a homemade blanket. GOOD IDEA. Anyway, I was really excited about it so I ran to Walmart to get some materials. While in the yarn aisle I saw this boucle yarn which I thought was kinda neat looking so I bought it. BAD IDEA...VERY BAD IDEA. Come to find out it's the hardest yarn to ever crochet!!! I could hardly see where the loops are and where to put in my needles. It seriously took me 3 hours to do just two rows...given I unravelled the whole thing and redid it a few times. Yikes, I better get crocheting 'cause this afhgan is going to take a while to make and I have a deadline to meet =0(

Got Personality?

A few people asked me early on if I could tell Ethan's personalities yet...well I couldn't really then but I think I can kinda tell now. Some of these might be a typical baby thing but I guess I don't really know...

Here we go:

• He's definitely a cutie patootie!
  
• He's a happy kid - smiling and laughing a lot
  
• He's also a very active kid - kicking and squirming a lot, constantly moving and hardly ever sit still
  
• He likes to be held - but only if you're standing up and walking around
  
• He doesn't like to be messed with - like changing his diapers or clothes, washing his face or hands
  
• He seems like a tough kid - doesn't really cry easily (other than when he's hungry or tired)
  
• He's pretty expressive for a baby
  
• He's possibly a lefty - prefers his left thumb and started rolling over half way on his left side
  
• Brian thinks he's stubborn - just like his Mamma (I don't know about that)

Growing Boy

Ethan turns 4 months today!

He has been working on rolling over and got about half way for a while now

QCSAHP

I finally got around to joining the Quad Cities Stay At Home Parents group that a friend of mine told me about a while back. Anyway, today was my first meetup "Walk & Talk" at the mall and I thought it went really well. I met this lady with an 18 month old son and since it was just the two of us it was a lot easier to connect. She was super friendly and even invited me to another meetup that was happening afterwards at the Family Museum. I was hesitant at first since I knew it was more for toddlers to run around and play, but I went to check it out anyway. This one was a little harder to talk to the other moms since they are constantly running around trying to keep up with their kids, but I did managed to meet a few ladies. So far this has been a great opportunity for me to get out and also meet other people with kids. I also love the fact that it's super organized and that their calendars are packed with different activities to choose from. Can't wait to go to the next one!

GPS

Anyway, our trip this weekend really wouldn't have been as conveniently spontaneous if we didn't have a Garmin that Brian borrowed. Previously, I had said that I wouldn't buy one because I thought they were overrated. But now having used one, I realized how much smoother it made our trip. Forget the map or the phone book for that matter! You can look up restaurants (with phone numbers), gas stations, etc. on the fly. The best part about it is that it saved us from getting lost I don't know how many times because it re-routed us if we went the wrong way. We don't have to even print out ALL the directions from maps.google before leaving town and no more arguments because I can't read the map. I'm sold on it, we're definitely getting one!

Side note: I must say though that the Garmin did made me feel a little paranoid after having seen the movie "Eagle Eye"...you know to have this tracking device with you everywhere you go.

St. Louis

What a beautiful weekend! The weather turned out to be warmer than predicted and we all got a lil' taste of summer. Out came the shorts, t-shirts and flip flops and gone were the winter coats. Even Ethan didn't mind ditching the Bundle Me (fleece lining carseat for winter babies). He loved every minute spent outside in the warm breeze.

Anyway, we spent Saturday morning driving through this amazing 1,300+ acres park called Forest Park. This gigantic place had art museum, science center, history museum, greenhouse, zoo, a bike path and more and will you believe it - all for FREE! It was hard to take our pick since I wanted to do everything which was impossible so we decided to start out at the St. Louis Zoo. Of course we should have known better...Saturday + zoo = lots of kiddos. There were strollers EVERYWHERE it was pretty crazy! Overall, I think Ethan enjoyed his first zoo experience - saw a lot of animals, smelled some stinky dung, caught some warm rays.

Just chillin' w/Daddy
Not a big fan of snakes
Darn it, no giraffe fights...have to go on Youtube for that one



Three hours later we left there tired, hungry and needed a place to sit down. So we thought what better place to have a picnic than at the famous Arch right by the Mississippi River. We got some sandwiches to go and headed downtown. Although it started to get cloudy and a little chilly, it was still nice to sit outside and relax. I know for sure Ethan was happy to stretch out on the blanket instead of sitting in his car seat. Poor little guy, he had to spend most of his naps in it and just kinda did a cat nap here and there 'cause he couldn't sleep very well. Can't really blame him, but he was such a trooper!

This is great, LOVE the warm weather!
Me at the St. Louis Arch!
Anyway, travelling with a little one isn't always easy in fact it created a lot of stress and uncertainty for me. Plus, it takes twice as long to go anywhere or do anything. But Brian had to remind me, "What are you going to do, stay home?" Of course not you can't stop living just because you have a baby. So I guess you just have to go with it and deal with what comes your way. Well, I must say not too bad for the first family vacation and we're anxious for the next trip already.

Carpe Diem

"Seize the day" or the weekend in our case as we're leaving for St. Louis tonight!!! Brian and I have been wanting to go somewhere all winter and last night we got talking again. We started doing some research and found several fun things to do in St. Louis which was somewhat close - about 4 1/2 hour drive. We didn't know for sure whether this was really going to work out since Brian had to check his work load and see how today was going to be. So the plan was for me to wait until 11 am and that's when he was going to let me know. Anyway, 11 o'clock rolled around and I got this text message from Brian (and BTW, we're not "texting" people) saying "Drop Kaika off and get pack'n." I was like "Ah no ways we're really doing it!" I was super exciting and was running around in 5 different directions not knowing what to do first. I guess I didn't really think we were going to go so I didn't want to get my hopes up. But yeah we're going and this is as spontaneous as we get!

Patience is a Virtue

But unfortunately it's not mine, especially when it comes to waiting. In fact, I have a very low tolerance and get super annoyed when I have to wait too long for anything.

Anyway, I've been sick now for 2 weeks and instead of getting better I'm getting worse. So today I decided to go to the doctor and see if I possibly have sinus infection. Never had it before but with the sinus pressure and sinus headaches I've been having I figured that's probably it. I got Ethan ready and headed to the convenient care by our house since we still don't have a family doctor (really need to look into that pronto). I walked in and there were only a few people so I thought this shouldn't take too long. Was I wrong! I don't know why I always forget this but convenient care ALWAYS take too long. They have too many patients and not enough doctors. So 30 minutes in the lobby area...not too bad. Another 45 minutes in the waiting room with me peeking my head out twice to see if I've been forgotten. Finally the doctor came in, looked at my ears, listened to my lungs and then prescribed me antibiotic. A total of 2 minutes spent and he didn't answer my question whether or not I have sinus infection. Nice, you gotta love doctors. I was pretty frustrated by then!

So while I was out I went to Walgreens to go get it filled. The guy there said it'll be 15 minutes so I decided to run an errand in the mean time. Surely an hour later it would be ready...of course not somehow the prescription got misplaced and hasn't been filled. So 10 more minutes of waiting in the parking lot and another 5 minutes to go through the drive-thru again. By then it was 2 pm, I was hungry and cranky more than ever. I hate to think that God is teaching me patience and grace through all this waiting and more.

Anyway, the miracle antibiotic worked super duper fast and now I'm not sick anymore!...j/k. My day did end well though as I saw Brian driving in to our garage way earlier than usual. We all got to go for a family walk and enjoy this warm weather. Even Kaika is a happy doggie!

Quote Worthy

"If I could go back and do it over again I would have stayed home with my daughter." -Kelli Hannah (my old co-worker)

Yesterday I was feeling very isolated and just discontent. Then I started doubting myself again about the whole staying at home thing and playing the "what if" game. (I guess it doesn't help either that I'm still feeling sick and Brian is pulling a 12-hour day). Then today I went shopping at Kohl's and bumped into an old co-worker of mine. It seemed that God had sent her to say the right thing at the right time to lift up my spirit because it was what I needed to hear!!! Anyway it was a great reaffirmation that what I'm doing is worthwhile and that I'm investing my time into Ethan's life.

Take Time

...to be a wife and not just a mom.

I spend most of my daytime as a mom so sometime it's hard to shift role as a wife when Brian comes home. So this weekend I made it a goal to focus on meeting his needs because every once in a while guys like to be pampered too (whether they would admit it or not!)