Road trip

Yesterday we took the 4 1/2 hour drive down to my great-grandfather's 100th birthday party. It was James' first road trip and I was a little nervous about how he would do. I couldn't believe that in 9 hours of riding in the car he only cried for about 10 minutes. We left at 8:30AM and he slept from the time we got on the highway until about 11:30. When he woke up we stopped for gas and took a few minutes to get him out of his seat to feed him so he could stretch out a little bit. Then he slept the rest of the way there. On the way back he slept until we got about 30 minutes away from home. Here is a picture to show you how happy he was.
One of the reasons we went was to get a 5 generation picture. My mom and grandfather are in the back row. In the front is me, James, and James' great-great-grandfather. We also have a 5 generation picture of me when I was a little older than James. At the time I had a great-great-grandmother. My picture was in the local paper and this one is going to be printed in the same paper later this week.

James did so well letting everyone hold him. He was interested in everything that was going on at the party. Here he is with my grandmother (his great-grandmother).

Here he is with my mom (his grandma).

I was so proud of my little guy yesterday. Today is a different story. The little whiner has been crying off and on since about 12:30. He has slept for less than 2 hours since 9AM.

Here is one more picture for you. I was unloading the groceries this afternoon and our littlest cat tried to hide in one of the grocery bags on the counter. He knows he was not supposed to be up there, that's why he was barely peeking out of the bag...hoping I couldn't see him.

No sleep!

Apparently once you turn 2 months old you no longer need any naps during the day...who knew? James is going through a phase where he doesn't want to sleep. Sometimes he will fall asleep right away like a little angel. Other times he will fall asleep for 15 minutes then he will wake up and be wide awake for hours. Then there are the times (mostly in the evenings) when he will whine and cry for 3+ hours at a time while blinking as slowly as he can and rubbing his eyes. We have been trying EVERYTHING to make him sleep. Nothing works on a regular basis, but different things work occasionally.



He enjoys walking around in his front carrier.



Sometimes James will lay in his crib for an hour or more staring at his fishy mobile (thanks Anne, Jane, and Heather!). Of course I have to go in every 5 minutes and wind it back up but at least he is happy.
=

James at 2 months old

* Smiles a lot (he started smiling at us around 6 weeks old)

* Spends at least 1-2 hours a day laying on the couch talking to the curtains

* Has a variety of different cries (and I'm learning what they all mean)

* Sleeps 3-4 hours at a time during the night

* Fights sleep during the day

* Loves his pacifier

* Enjoys being strapped into the front carrier and doing chores with Mommy or Daddy

* Has a dimple on his right cheek when he smiles!

* Is wearing mostly 3-6 month outfits because he is so tall

This isn't the best picture but it is the most recent one I have of him. It was taken on Mother's Day right before my camera batteries died!

James this week

Here are some random pictures that I took this week.

Tuesday was Rod's mom's birthday. I took this picture of James then printed "Happy Birthday Grandma" on it and we took it to her when we visited her at work. James enjoyed getting shown off to all of her coworkers.

Thursday I watched my nephew, Tyce. He and James sat next to each other on the couch so sweetly. I thought it was so cute how they were grabbing each other's hands.

James slept in his swing from 8:30PM-2:30AM one night this week. That's the first (and only) time he slept six hours at once. I am hoping it becomes a habit soon!

For James every day is crazy hair day! That piece on the right side of his head will not lay flat for anything. I've tried putting Rod's hair paste on it but that only works for about 5 minutes. He is still cute even with his funny hair!

And the Mommy of the Year Award goes to...

...someone who is not me!

James has started to babble a lot before he goes to sleep at night. I'm always worried that he will keep Rod awake so we have started putting him in his crib more at night. It used to be that he couldn't sleep in his nursery at all but now he seems to be able to sleep better there than in the pack 'n play next to my bed.

I put him to bed at 10:30 last night and brought the monitor into bed with me (like I usually do). At 3:15 I woke up to Rod messing with the monitor. I asked him if James was awake. He said, "he WAS but now he is asleep again". Apparently Rod got up to use the bathroom at 2:30 and heard James screaming. The poor little guy was all worked up and I never heard him. He normally sleeps exactly 3 hours at a time during the night so he had probably woken up about 1:30. In my sleep I had turned the monitor upside-down so the speaker was facing the mattress. It muffled the sound so I didn't hear a thing. I feel so horrible that I let my little baby cry his eyes out in the dark when all he wanted was a bottle.

Rod was so sweet to take care of him even though he had to get up early this morning. It would have been a nice break for me to get to sleep through that feeding but after I figured out what I had done, I spent the next hour thinking of "what ifs" and couldn't go back to sleep.

Oh well, James is no worse for the wear today and I know that I will make many more (and probably more long-lasting) mistakes with him but I still feel bad. Now that I've confessed my mistake to the world (or at least the 3 people who read my blog), maybe I can quit kicking myself!

Help me feel better and leave me a comment with your "not so proud" parenting moments.

For a daddy who misses his boy...

Rod is away on a business trip in Tennessee. I thought he would enjoy seeing some recent pictures and a video of James.











Sorry the video is sideways. I don't know how to change that in blogger.

Today is Rod's 29th birthday