The Calm Before the Storm

The Decisions City Leaders Make Really Don't Make Sense

2012-02-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

*Sigh* I already feel my IQ dropping...

Jersey Shore Spinoff

I'm not sure what kind of exposure the mayor is expecting for Jersey City, but we're frequently in the area with Marshall where they will be filming. The area has a lot of families and children and is on the border of the higher income section of Jersey City. I don't think watching Snookie and JWow act like idiots is what young children need to see. I'm sure the residents of the Newport area are having a fit about this.

I'm just happy we don't actually live in that area...

~AKO

A Difference of Opinion... I Guess

2012-02-10T22:34:00.006-05:00

I debated long and hard before writing this post but just felt that I needed to share some of my experience as the wife of a National Guard Soldier in response to a blog post written by the spouse of an Active Duty Army Soldier stationed up in Vermont.

At some point today, this blogger removed all of her family pictures, previous posts and comments from her blog but not before I had a chance to read her post.

In a nutshell, she expressed her opinion that members of the National Guard were not real soldiers and their spouses should not call themselves Army wives. WHAT??? If it is still available, you're more than welcome to read her post here.

My husband has been a member of various units of the Army Reserves and the Army National Guard for the past 20 years. I've only been a part of it for the past 7 years but in those 7 years, I can tell you that I've learned that ANG Soldiers can be just as busy as their Active Duty counterparts.

For anyone who isn't aware, I'm about to shed some light on the life of a National Guard Soldier and their family. To preface, before I met Freddy, I had no idea what the National Guard even did.

Let's first discuss their minimum requirements: 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year. That doesn't sound like a lot right? Wrong. What they don't tell you is that weekend is many times a 4 day weekend where they send them to a base in a different state, which means they don't come home at night. And 2 weeks a year? That is just their annual training if it is stateside. Since we've been together, at least 4 times, my husband's AIT has been 3 weeks or more and twice it was in Germany. As a matter of fact, I found out I was pregnant the day my husbad left for Germany in 2010 and went through 3 1/2 weeks of horrible morning sickness by myself. Their annual AIT doesn't include the additional 2 - 3 week training courses they take throughout the year. In 2009, we had plane tickets to leave on a Thursday for the wedding reception that my family was hosting for us in Michigan. The Friday before, Freddy found out that he had to report to Fort Drum for a class on Sunday for the week. He drove the 8 hours to Fort Drum so that he would have his car to drive the 12 hours to Michigan in order to be there for our reception. He arrived at my mom's house at 7:00am Saturday morning. Sometimes I think it might be easier to handle a year long deployment versus 2 weeks away, a few months home, 2 weeks away, a few months home, but you learn to deal with it.

Now let's discuss their 1st obligation: One thing this blogger stated was true. The National Guard are state militia. They are responsible for protecting the state they are assigned to. This means assisting during natural disasters. Natural what? Yes, natural disasters in which you cannot plan for. In 2006, while Freddy was away at drill, our area was hit with a huge monsoon type rain storm. On Sunday night, the last day of his drill, he called and informed me that his unit had been activated to assist during the storm and that he didn't know when he was going to be home. He was gone for an additional week before they were released. In that time I had to deal with our landlord and a contractor on my own because our ceiling had started leaking during the storm. Does everyone remember Hurricane Irene this past August? Well, I do! After the storm started, Freddy got the call telling him that he had to leave his wife and his then 10 month old baby alone and report to his unit. He had to drive during the storm into the city to get to his unit and was gone for 4 days.

The day Freddy left for the hurricane...

...and the day he got home.

Now let's discuss their 2nd, but more common obligation: With the unrest in the Middle East, more and more Guard and Reservists are being deployed multiple times and working alongside Active Duty personnel. In 2008, over 3,000 members of the New Jersey National Guard were deployed to Iraq. According to the same article, 49% of National Guard members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have returned with mental health problems. That is almost 29% higher than their Active Duty counterparts.

Now let's discuss my role as the spouse of a National Guard Soldier: Most Active Duty Army wives that I'm aquainted with are stay at home moms. Believe me, I find absolutely nothing wrong with this and, given the opportunity, would love to be a stay at home mom. The life of an Active Duty spouse pretty much prevents her from holding down a permanent full time job. Now, I cannot speak for all Guard spouses, but in my case we have to be a double income family. I have a full time, and very demanding, job with a company that I've worked for in some capcity for the past 10 years. I work in the IT field which requires that, in addition to my 9-10 hour work day, there are many times that I need to work in the evening, overnight or on weekends. So, when my husband is gone for his monthly drills, yearly AIT, and various training classes, not only do I need to maintain our house, manage our 4 cats, and keep up with a very busy little toddler, I also have a responsibility to my work and employer. Needless to say, when Freddy was gone for 6 weeks last September helping another National Guard unit mobilize for deployment, I was freaking exhausted! He also missed Marshall's first steps. Oh yeah, and I had to pretty much plan our son's 1st birthday party on my own. Freddy got home the week before just in time to enjoy the party :)

We spent our 3rd wedding anniversary unpacking...

I don't even think I can address the blogger's comments about the conduct of a military spouse. I think I've heard about some pretty bad behavior by both Active Duty and Guard spouses :)

We have been lucky in that Freddy has not been deployed since 2004, but I know it kills him to see his friends continue to deploy over and over when he is all rested and reay to go. While I don't envy the constant deployments that Active Duty spouses have to deal with, I do envy the community and support on base they have. We live about an hour away from the nearest military base. There is really no National Guard Army wife community with Freddy's unit so when he's gone, I don't really have anyone who understands what it's like. When Marshall is old enough to attend school, chances are he will be one of the few, if not the only, military kid in his class.

When I became the wife of a National Guard Soldier, I never thought any differently about Active Duty Soldiers. To me, they are all a part of the same Army. The label on everyone's uniform says "U.S. Army". My husband was not born here, but the one reason he chose to become a citizen of this country was so that he could vote. The next thing he did was join ROTC in college. I have never met anyone who is more proud to be a part of the U.S. Army than my husband. Whenever they ask for volunteers for missions or to assist other units, he is always one of the first to volunteer. All he wants to do is lead and teach new privates to be the best Soldiers they can be. He knows almost all of the codes, patches, insignias and lives by the Army code even when not in uniform. When we were sight seeing in Washington, D.C. and visited Arlington cemetary the first thing he did was make sure they had the military flags hanging in the correct order. If you can't consider him a soldier then I don't know what one is.

All branches and divisions of our military have different roles and responsibilities. That does not make them any less of a Soldier than anyone in any other branch.

I think what bothered me the most about the blogger's post is how uneducated her opinions were as well as the comments made by her husband. I'm all for free speech, but you need to be able to back up your arguments and opinions. We all know there is definitely a rivalry between branches and divisions, but there is still a level of respect they have for each other. Never once have I seen any Active Duty personnel treat my husband any less of a soldier just because he is a part of the Guard. I still see lower ranking Active Duty Soldiers salute him per regulation.

Regardless of what a few people might think, I am still very proud to be an Army wife and especially enjoy the online Military Spouse blogging community that I've found.

~AKO

New Obsessions

2012-02-09T22:06:00.005-05:00

Something that I wish I would have known about BEFORE Marshall was born???

I've recently been introduced to it and have found so many cute ideas for The Marsh! A few I think I'm still going to do since I still have a lot of his baby stuff. Some of my favorite finds so far...

Shadow Box with Marshall's Hospital Hat

Source: flickr.com via Amanda on Pinterest

A Picture of Marshall with a Clock Stopped at his Time of Birth

Source: blissimagesandbeyond.blogspot.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Yearly Picture with Marshall's Favorites Recorded

Source: thejoblingfamily.com via Amanda on Pinterest

If you're not already on Pinterest I highly recommend you join in the obsession!

~AKO

Ugh

2012-02-08T20:58:00.002-05:00

I really wish the sickness would leave my house! We were all sick over Christmas and New Year's. Then The Marsh had a bad case of croup a couple weeks ago. And now I'm sick again with a lovely sinus infection :(

I'll be super embarrassed if the zombie apocalypse starts at my house!

~AKO

Scentsy Baby Buddies!!!

2012-02-06T20:18:00.003-05:00

I had the opportunity to attend one of Scentsy's mini conventions last Thursday in Philadelphia. They use these mini conventions to announce the new items that will be available in the Spring/Summer line. Along with registration, the consultants receive a free product kit with some new items in it. One of the new items is the Scentsy Baby Buddy. This is a smaller version of the popular Scentsy Buddy. The Baby Buddy that was included in my kit was Baby Mollie the Monkey.

I decided to give Baby Mollie to Marshall and this was his reaction:

I think he likes her :)

The Scensy Baby Buddies will be available for purchase on March 1 through my website at https://amandaolvera.scentsy.com

~AKO

Rockin' the Halftime Show!

2012-02-05T21:50:00.002-05:00

For your viewing pleaure... The Marsh rockin' it out to Madonna's halftime show. It takes him awhile to get going but that kid's got some moves :)

~AKO

Blogger FAIL

2012-02-04T14:05:00.003-05:00

So... another unexpected hiatus from blogging :( Things have been crazy over the past 6 months... But in other news I've tagged 2012 as a year of change for me! So, over the next week or so I'll be reorganizing and redesigning my blog. But most importantly I'll be designating a few blog posts a week to updating what our family, and, more importantly, Marshall (aka The Marsh), have been up to since October when my blogging became quite infrequent.

The Marsh has been growing up right before our eyes so I want to make sure I document and share all of that with you. A few updates you can look forward to over the coming weeks:

1. Daddy comes home from his 6 week deployment!
2. Mommy gets a promotion!
3. The Marsh turns one!
4. Our 1st Halloween!
5. Marshall's 1st trip to the museum!
6. Marshall's 1st birthday party!
7. Our 2nd Thanksgiving!
8. Power Outages!
9. Road trip to Michigan!
10. Our 2nd Christmas!
11. Sickness and Disease :(
12. First words!
13. More sickness :(
14. Moving on up in Gymboree!
15. Extreme Couponing!
16. Back to the gym!
17. Mommy signed up to run a 5K!
18. Putties!
19. Scentsy success!
20. Life organization in 2012!

Not only that but I still have some fun updates to post about the summer when Marshall went on his first camping trip!

So there you have it! As the blog construction begins, please forgive any broken links or pictures that you might find!

~AKO

Poor Baby :(

2011-12-22T23:25:00.003-05:00

We get all the way to Michigan and then The Marsh wakes up on Monday with a fever and gunk leaking out of the corner of his eyes. What a way to start his vacation! He spent all day Monday coughing with a fever around 100. Everytime he woke up from a nap his poor little eyes were sealed shut from the gunk. Poor little guys was so tired all day.

So on Tuesday afternoon we took him into the Walk-in clinic to get checked out. Of course, he is all smiles even though he feels bad. The first thing he wants to do is push around the IVR cart.

He was so good when the doctor came in to examine him. He sat patiently while she listened to his back and checked his ears.

The prognosis: Double ear infection :(

So he is now on Amoxicilan for 10 days, which he apparently loves. When we prepare it in the syringe he grabs it and sucks it down himself. Makes it easy for us!

Day 2 of the antibiotics and we were feelig well enough to reorganize Grandma's cupboards!

And, of course, help mommy blog!

~AKO

Wordless Wednesday: Smile!

2011-12-21T09:33:00.000-05:00

~AKO

What a Month!

2011-12-20T11:42:00.001-05:00

So we've taken an unexpected hiatus from blogging. So much has been going on that has taken up our time. I haven't even been able to download pictures from my computer since October! We've had a homecoming, 1st birthday party, viruses, sinus infections, work drama, Thanksgiving, walking, power suges, frozen pipes, and hurricane baby!

We're in Michingan this week for the holidays so hopefully I will have some free time to get things organized so we can start posting again. Especially since Grandma is here to keep The Marsh occupied!

~AKO

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T22:29:00.001-04:00

~AKO

Day 29: What We've Been Up To

2011-10-18T23:00:00.004-04:00

First of all I have to give props to all of the full time single parents out there! I don't know how you do it. I'm on day 29 and am EXHAUSTED! Most nights I fall asleep with Marshall around 8:00 in the evening. It has been so long since I powered up my personal laptop that the battery was completely dead tonight.

The good thing is that we're in the last week of Freddy's little mini-deployment. I'm actually starting the beginnin stages of a sinus infection so I'm hoping it holds out until he returns next week. I've been sucking on cough drops all day and probably should by stock in Kleenex. I can't take anything like Nyquil because it will put me into a coma and then I won't hear Marshall if he wakes up in the middle of the night.

To make matters worse, poor Harley is having problems ith his back legs again. Back in 2008 when he was still a kitten, Harley had some problems with his back legs. It got to the point where he couldn't put any weight on them and the vet never figured out what the problem was. He tested negative for everything the neurologist could think of and then the issue seemed to resolve itself after he was put on steroid pills. Well, 3 years later and no episodes so the vet weaned him off the pills. After a month of no pills all of a sudden he is having problems again. So I've started giving him his pills in the hope that it will help him. If he doesn't show any improvement by next Wednesday, he'll probably have to go back into the vet.

Since I haven't shared any photos in a while I thought I would share my first video of the Marsh. To give a little background, Marshall LOVES the Fresh Beat Band. Nick Jr plays their videos between shows and before their On Demand programming. Whenever one of their songs comes on the TV, Marshall stops what he's doing and dances to the music.

~AKO

Day 15: Baby's First Evacuation

2011-10-04T21:06:00.003-04:00

This morning started off like any other day. I woke up around 5:30 and rushed through my shower and feeding the cats so I could be done before Marshall woke up. This morning he was good and I actually had to wake him up at 6:30 to get ready to go. We left around 6:45 and I dropped him off at daycare around 7:15. Arriving at work around 8:15, I had a new employee start yesterday so I spent my entire morning in a conference room with her training. We had just finished up for the day around noon when my boss peeked in the room and motioned for me to come into his office.

Well, it was my friend, Michelle on his phone. Apparently there was a small electrical fire at Marshall's daycare and they had to evacuate all of the kids. When they couldn't get in touch with me, they called Freddy. When he couldn't get in touch with me he called Michelle, who went over and picked up Marshall.

I spoke with the director of the daycare this evening and no one was hurt, but the location is going to be closed until they can make repairs. As an alternative they are moving the kids over to their other location, which is primarily for the older kids. The good news is that I still have someplace to take him. The bad thing is that my commute is going to suck more since I'll have to take the bus into Hoboken now :(

And to make matters worse I think I'm getting sick...

~AKO

Day 12: It's Almost Time!!!

2011-10-01T22:56:00.001-04:00

The Marsh was 11 months old yesterday! I can't believe he is almost a year old! He is turning into such a little man.

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

~AKO

Day 8: Grand Plans

2011-09-27T23:09:00.001-04:00

Have you ever noticed that your day starts off with the grandest of plans only to be thwarted by life? I had all of these things on my to do listt that I was going to get done today... Not a single item was checked off that list.

On top of it The Marsh has been having some nasty reactions to mosquito bites lately. The one on his arm took almost 2 weeks to go away and now he has one on his face. I am going to try some cortizone cream but if it isn't any better by Thursday we'll be making a trip to the doctor. He ran a fever this evening but the tylenol and a nice warm bath seemed to have brought it down some. He was a little cranky but not too bad. AND he's wheezing again. I am guessing he has seasonal asthma or seasonal allergies since he was fine all summer.

The mosquito bite...

Day 7: So Tired

2011-09-26T20:24:00.001-04:00

That's it...

I'm pretty sure 8:30 is NOT too early for bed!

AKO

Day 6: Falling Behind

2011-09-25T23:18:00.004-04:00

There was no Day 5 post yesterday because I fell asleep with the Marsh around 5pm and we both slept straight through until 2am!! I guess I was tired...

It really feels like I'm falling behind on everything. I have so many things to get done in the next 6 weeks that I don't even know how to get organized. It doesn't help that with Freddy gone I really can't get started on things during the week until after 8 or 9pm when the baby goes to sleep. I guess I'll get done what I get done...

In other news... Go Lions!! They won again today!

And... I'm thinking the baby gate might lose the battle soon...

~AKO

Day 4: If...

2011-09-23T10:11:00.001-04:00

I've seen this floating around and thought it might be fun.

Fill in the blanks...

•If I were to get pregnant again: We would be thrilled that Marshall was going to be a big brother and that our family would be complete.

•If I could have any job in the world I think I might like to be a stay at home mom. I would love to be able to spend time with Marshall all day instead of just a few hours in the morning and at night.

•If I had a day to myself I would probably sleep all day and relax!

•If I could get married all over again we definitely would have done something smaller outside of the city. My brother and sister-in-law got married in Key West and it was so relaxing not having to worry about all the pieces coming together.

•If I could live anywhere in the US I think I would love to live a little closer to my family... but not too close :)

•If Marshall would have been a girl he would have been named Olivia or Abigail.

•If I could have any talent in the world I would love to be more creative.

•If you met me in real life you would probably say wow! I can't believe she's in charge of a portfolio that generates over 500 million in revenue.

•If I could go back to school and get a different degree I would probably pursue a degree in music. I definitely have times where I miss being involved in an orchestra and performing.

•If money were not an object we would have a nice spacious condo in the Upper East Side of Manhattan... complete with parking for both our cars :)

•If I could meet one celebrity I think I would like to meet Tom Hanks. He has always been very interesting and down to earth to me.

•If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life it would definitely be Target. I can never get out of there for less than $150!

•If we get another pet I would definitely want a dog. I grew up with a dog, but we're just not home enough to have one right now.

•If I could go on a trip, RIGHT NOW, we'd go to Disney World!

•If I had to chose between a house cleaner and a personal chef, I would definitely pick a house cleaner. I need someone to help keep up with the dust and cat hair!

•If I had the option of plastic surgery I would definitely do something like a tummy tuck.

~AKO

Day 3: Who's Ready for Post Season???

2011-09-22T21:58:00.003-04:00

~AKO

Day 2: Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-21T21:43:00.002-04:00

~AKO

Day 1: Gymboree Fun!

2011-09-20T22:47:00.004-04:00

Freddy left today for a month long mission in California. He is helping another unit mobilize for deployment to Afghanistan. We've been lucky so far in that he hasn't had to be gone for more than the 2 - 3 weeks for his AT so this is going to be the longest that he is away since we've been together. Marshall is now old enough to realize that daddy did not come back this morning but doesn't understand why. It won't be long before I have to explain to him why daddy has to leave.

So, of course, everyone was acting up today since daddy was gone. On top of all that, I went to draw a bath for Marshall and we had no hot water! I improvised and was able to get some hot water from our Poland Spring dispenser but I hope it is back in the morning. There is nothing worse than having to take a cold shower!

Anyway, I wanted to make sure we were able to do at least one family thing before Freddy left. We were supposed to go to the zoo a couple weeks ago but got rained out. So, I signed us up for a preview class at our local Gymboree. I figured it might be a fun way for Marshall to socialize a bit more with kids his own age. Well, after some hesitation, he decided this might be fun.

We decided to enroll and attend the class weekly. I kind of wish I would have found this when Marshall was younger. What I did learn is that my son is a little bruiser! He was pushing and taking toys away from the other babies. I'm hoping this class will help teach him to share :)

AND if you notice in that last picture, The Marsh has 4 teeth coming in on the top.

~AKO

Putty Time!

2011-09-17T21:34:00.002-04:00

~AKO

Marshall's Super Fun New Game

2011-09-16T09:41:00.000-04:00

Needless to say the doors are now tied shut...

~AKO

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T09:40:00.001-04:00

~AKO

Results are Normal

2011-09-13T21:17:00.003-04:00

Last week we were finally able to get Marshall in for his sweat test. Since he had respiratory issues last Spring at such a young age, the Pulmonologist always sends babies in for a sweat test as a routine test to rule out cystic fibrosis as the cause.

The Marsh did pretty good sitting there getting the monitors and collection discs taped onto his arms. Once they were on, we had to wait around for 30 minutes to make sure enough sweat was collected.

Even though my mom said that he really didn't fit the profile for a positive result, it is still a little nerve-racking waiting for those results. The nurse finally called today and his results came back normal.

What that means is that poor baby probably has seasonal allergies thanks to his mommy :( He had started wheezing the weekend of Hurricane Irene when the weather was damp and stopped when everything dried out so that pretty much confirmed my suspicions.

Looks like a lifetime of Benedryl for the Marsh...

~AKO

Signs

2011-09-06T13:27:00.000-04:00

We started to really talk about owning our own home again. In addition, our apartment is just too small for 2 adults, 1 baby, and 4 cat. We would like to have another baby so that Marshall isn't an only child and can't do that until we're in a house.

Well, I received this in the mail over the weekend...

Think someone is trying to tell us something :)

~AKO

Baby's Day Out

2011-09-04T19:57:00.005-04:00

Today we decided we needed to go out and purchase a couple of ~~Marshall containers~~ baby gates after spending most of last evening hauling him away from the television and out of the bathroom that is connected to the living room. We had a couple of firsts today.

First and foremost, Marshall rode in his big boy car seat for the first time. We were pretty much at the point where we were leaving his infant seat in the car and carrying him back and forth since he was just getting too darn heavy to haul around in it. After extensive researching (to the point where my husband was beginning to think we were never going to choose one) I finally decided on the Britax Boulevard 70 Convertible car seat. He seemed to be pretty comfy in the new chair but I can’t wait to be able to turn him around. It will be like a whole new world for him to be able to see out the front instead of the sides of the car.

Daddy getting The Marsh all set up in his new chair…

Ready to go!!

The 2nd first was Marshall’s first ride in a shopping cart! Since he was sitting up in highchairs with no problem we figured we give the shopping cart a go and leave the stroller at home. So we got him all set up with his floppy seat ready to take on Baby’s R Us. For the first 10 minutes or so he kept looking all around since he’d always come to the store in his car seat or stroller. He looked so small in that big shopping cart!

After a while he started to lean to the side so we’ll need to keep working on sitting up in the shopping cart. We also picked up a few extra things – new pacis, sippy cups, disposeable placemat, and some yummy fruit puffs.

The 3rd first was not so fun. After we were done buying a whole bunch of stuff we probably didn’t need from Baby’s R Us (I can never get out of there for less than $150!), we headed back to the car, got all of the stuff packed in the trunk, and The Marsh buckled into his car seat. Freddy started backing up when all of a sudden we came to an abrupt halt. Baby’s first fender bender :( We were going pretty slow so I can only imagine how fast the other guy was going because our car now looks like this…

And the other car looks like this. Do you see the little tiny scratch on his bumper???

He was trying to tell us that he could just pop that dent out of our bumper himself. Nice try buddy! We’re filing a claim!

So, once we got home The Marsh settled in and played with his new firetruck. Since he was pushing my mouse around on the floor the other day I figured it was time for his first real truck.

And he wasn’t too happy about this…

I’m sure once we get the gate set up around the television he will be even less happy!

~AKO

Future Homemaker?

2011-09-03T18:24:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week, when I picked up Marshall from daycare, I came in to find him "playing house" with one of the other babies. He was enjoying himself so much I felt bad gathering him up to go home.

Maybe I have a future chef on my hands :)

~AKO

"Hi Mom!"

2011-09-01T21:04:00.004-04:00

So one day a couple months ago, I heard The Marsh stirring on the baby monitor. I came in to this...

Now, whenever he wakes up, I come in to see him peeking over the crib railing. Won't be long before we're converting to the toddler bed :(

~AKO

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T12:00:00.000-04:00

~AKO

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

2011-08-29T12:29:00.003-04:00

I know... cheesy :) Anyway, it is about time to do some remodeling around here starting with that banner. All the photos in the banner are of Marshall when he was around 3 months old. Now that he's a big boy we need to do some updating. So, you may find some broken links or pictures while I get things updated so please be patient :)

BTW.... We came out of the hurricane fairly unscathed in our area.

~AKO

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-27T22:17:00.000-04:00

Seriously... first the earthquake on Tuesday and now a hurricane??? No one told me the rapture was coming early :) As of 9:30 this evening we're getting some pretty steady rain and a little wind here in Central Jersey. My house is about 5 miles from NYC so it is anyone's guess on the impact here. My office building is in downtown Manhattan, which had a mandatory evacuation today so we've prepared for the possibility of working from home for an extended period of time.

I was going to start posting this week about some of the stuff we've done over the past month but I'm not sure if I'll have power tomorrow or, if it does go out, how long we'll be without power. So my great return to blog-land may be delayed.

The Marsh had to take inventory of our hurricane supplies...

He finds our selection satisfactory.

My husband had to report for duty with National Guard around 8:00pm this evening so The Marsh and I are having our own little hurricane party with the putties. When I spoke to him they were bunking in the Armory and then heading out to the evacuation shelters in the morning.

Freddy getting ready to leave earlier this evening. Marshall is actually starting to recognize when we leave so he was not happy when Daddy walked out the door.

We'll return after the hurricane clean-up!!

~AKO

Soon to Return....

2011-08-23T20:51:00.001-04:00

I hope to be back posting regularly soon since we survived our East Coast earthquake today. Nothing like learning that your employees don't listen to instruction when told we have a designated meeting place and to not use the elevator during a building evacuation... But what can you do?

Marshall has been up to a lot over the past few weeks, including his first camping trip! He will be 10 months old next week. I can't believe he'll be a year old in 2 months!

Until our return... A shot of my sweet little angel... When he's asleep that is :)

So Behind

2011-07-18T20:12:00.001-04:00

Life has been crazy. That is really the only way to describe it. As a result I have had to focus my attention on other things. I haven't even been able to download pictures off my camera! I hope to get back to fun stuff like my blog soon!

AKO

Life Gets Away From Us All

2011-07-08T22:46:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how busy I've been lately. Way too many issues going on at the office, which means nothing but meetings for me. Which also means I end up working in the evening after the Marsh goes to bed since I still have deadlines I need to hit. Not too mention the disgusting weather we've been having just makes me tired all the time.

Even public transportation was working against me yesterday. I decided to take the ferry that leaves from Wall Street to Hoboken since I left the office a little late. The ride is normally about 15 minutes and I got on the 4:55 boat. I'm reading my Kindle as normal when I feel the boat start to turn. My first thought was "That was a quick ride." Well we weren't in Hoboken. Apparently, the boat actually lost power so we were about halfway to our destination drifting in the Hudson River. The boat captain was able to get us pretty close to a dock. Their plan was to unload us onto another ferry or get us off onto the dock. I'm talking breaking out the life jackets and everything. So we sat there for about 20 minutes getting our life jackets and lining up to jump onto the dock when the boat all of a sudden powered back up. I normally get into Hoboken around 5:10ish to catch the 5:15 Light Rail to Jersey City to pick up Marshall around 5:30. Well, I didn't get to Hoboken until almost 5:45. I had to run to catch the Light Rail and made it to daycare right at 6:00. Nothing like a little extra exercise in 100 degree heat with 100% humidity!

I think I need a mental health day!

So, before I go to bed and slip myself into a coma, I leave you with a great big "awwwwwwww"....

Btw.... Marshall is 8 months old as of 6/30. I can't believe he'll be a year old in 4 months!

~AKO

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T20:19:00.001-04:00

For Marshall's first 4th of July we decided to watch the Macy's show. We've got a great location in a park in Jersey City that overlooks the Hudson river. This will be my first time seeing the show live and my mom was able to come out too. I hope to get some good photos to share.

Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday!!!

Chillaxin'

2011-06-30T07:30:00.001-04:00

I wish I could say that the reason I have been so absent is because I am relaxing somewhere fun. Nope.... life has taken over my life these days...

But that's not keeping Marshall from sitting back and enjoying the ride!

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-19T10:56:00.000-04:00

~AKO

Never Clean

2011-06-17T10:35:00.002-04:00

Not only am I always picking up cat toys, but now that Marshall is crawling all over the place, I now have to put all his toys away every few hours. A playroom would be nice about now...

And yes...Marshall does tip over his toy bin and pulls out all of his toys on his own...

~AKO

Poor Abused Kitty

2011-06-16T16:58:00.001-04:00

Hadley was so abused during the two weeks that Freddy was gone he wouldn't let him out of his sight. According to Hadley he got no love... yes this is one abused kitty...

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-15T09:00:00.002-04:00

Good morning!!

~AKO

No Pictures Please!

2011-06-14T10:32:00.002-04:00

Ever the fast learner, Marshall now knows what the little white square on the top of my camera does. Whenever I lift up my camera I get faces like this...

~AKO

And He's On the Move

2011-06-12T10:27:00.001-04:00

Marshall has officially started the Army crawl. The cats are not amused :) He can now pretty much get wherever he wants now. I ordered a baby gate for the living room yesterday...

~AKO

Day 14: What??

2011-06-11T21:49:00.000-04:00

What is that we see??

Is it really true??

Is Daddy really coming home tomorrow??

Well it's a good thing I washed my ACUs!!!

~AKO

Day 7: Sick.... Again

2011-06-04T20:17:00.000-04:00

Yep... that's right. I'm sick again :( I've been doing so good about posting everyday that Freddy has been gone but yesterday just didn't happen. Thursday I woke u with a little bit of a scratchy throat, but I did't think too much of it. Well, by the end of the day my allergies were going crazy. I spent most of the day sneezing with watery eyes. Thursday night I had to work on a client implementation so I didn't get to bed until almost midnight.

Friday I woke up completely congested and with no voice. Luckily my conference call schedule was pretty light and I ended up logging off for the day by 4pm to take a quick nap before I had to pick up Marshall from daycare.

Needless to say Marshall and I fell asleep in our bed around 7:30 and we both slept straigt through until 6:30 this morning. After I fed him I had every intention of getting us up and ready so I could attend my WW meeting, but the next thing I knew it was 10:00! I guess I needed some sleep.

I'm hoping to get Marshall's 7 month post up tomorrow. I still have to edit his bear picture.

It's 8:00... too early for bed???

~AKO

Day 5: On the Wagon

2011-06-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

So you may have noticed that my weightloss banner has been reset back to 0. Well, doing Weight Watchers online was not working very well for me. I'm not sure why as I'm perfectly capable of following the program. I think it is just the thought of someone else with the power to record the magic number each week.

So, starting this past Saturday, I started going back to the meetings. I really enjoy this group of people. I think it was the first time ever that I actually started conversations with other people. Of course one had her 10 month old daughter with her so of course I had to chat :)

So... here's to jumping back on the Weight Watchers wagon! As soon as I have a few free moments, I'll update the weightloss tab with my current information. My first little mini-goal is to lose the first 5 lbs. I figure if I lose 5 lbs a month that will be 30 lbs by the end of the year. That seems doable. Plus, my mom just lost 20 lbs on Weight Watchers so if she can do it then I can do it!

BTW... Marshall hit 7 months on Monday. I have pictures to share, which I'll get up as soon as I have a chance to edit them. He actually sat still so I could take his monthly picture with the bear :)

~AKO

Day 4: What I've Learned as a Mommy

2011-06-01T12:00:00.001-04:00

So I was thinking about the various things that I've learned about being a Mommy since Marshall was born in October. It is amazing how the smallest thing seems like a revelation to me :)

1. Not all first time mothers go late. Marshall was 2 weeks early.

2. They always say you'll know when you're in labor. Not true! For the first 6 hours that I was in labor I didn't have anything that felt worse than mentrual cramps so I thought I was having the Braxton Hicks contractions. 5 1/2 hours later Marshall was here!

3. During childbirth, you really don't care about anything else. I'm a fairly modest person and I didn't care who was in the room or where they were.

4. The best thing I did while we were in the hospital was have the nurse take Marshall to the nursery overnight. It allowed me to get some rest for a few more days before going home.

5. I should have stayed in the hospital for the extra day. We were so anxious to get home and start our lives as parents that we asked the doctor to discharge us a day early. It would have been one more day of people taking care of us and another night of uninterrupted sleep.

6. When they say make sure your hospital bag is packed at 35 weeks... Do It!! We were rushing around the night we went to the hospital and of course forgot things... like the camera!

7. Take everyone's advice and sleep when the baby sleeps!

8. Don't worry that your house is a little messy. I would try to clean something while Marshall was sleeping but just ended up more tired and irritable.

9. Babies are tough. I'm not saying they're indestructable but Marshall should have brain damage due to all the times I've bonked him on the head. Most of the time he looks at me and laughs.

10. A poopy diaper is way more comfortable than a wet diaper. Marshall starts getting antsy when he's even a little bit wet. But he'll sit in a poopy diaper for hours just as happy as a clam.

11. Sleeping through the night means sleeping until 5am.

12. Sleeping in on Saturdays means sleeping in until 7am :)

13. Television? What television? I don't think I've seen a full television program since October.

14. I'm always late for everything now and I'm ok with that. Even when we start gettig things together early, something alway pushes us back... like the need to change clothes after a spit up accident.

15. I never imagined that I wouldn't care about the fact that I have to rearrange everything to make sure Marshall is getting what he needs.

~AKO

Day 3: Keeping Busy

2011-05-31T21:50:00.000-04:00

The bad thing is that I miss my hubby :(

The good thing is that I've been all sorts of productive trying to stay busy so the time goes by fast.

On Sunday, Marshall and I cleaned the living room, dining room, and most of the kitchen. I still have some more organizing to do but I was happy with what was accomplished.

On Monday, we got up bright and early and headed off to Target to pick up some baby and cleaning supplies. Then we stopped at our local Stop & Shop so I could pick up some frozen dinners for my lunches and various grocery supplies. Baby and I got in a nappy in the afternoon as well. I even remembered to take out the trash last night :)

Today, after I got Marshall down for the night, I started my first lesson for Rosetta Stone. My employer has a contract with Rosetta Stone so I have access to it until October. I hope to get through most of the levels for Spanish by then.

BTW... Freddy called today. He was counting bullets. Our tax dollars at work, folks :)

~AKO

Day 2: Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

Please remember those who are serving and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

~AKO

Day 1: Operation Drop-Off

2011-05-29T08:46:00.000-04:00

We had to drop Freddy off this morning for the start of his Annual Training. He spent the last 2 days getting ready and packing all his stuff. It sucks that they felt reporting the day before Memorial Day was a good idea. If you know anything about government agencies, they normally take 4 day weekends around holidays and that includes the Army. So what they'll probably do is bus them all to their location this morning and then they'll sit around and do nothing until Tuesday. Your tax dollars at work, folks :)

Anyway, I'm just hoping I remember what night is trash night and which is recyling. Freddy normally takes care of that so hopefully our house won't be overrun by garbage when he gets back. The good thing is that Marshall is still too young to realize that Daddy is going to be gone for an extended period of time.

The hard thing about the National Guard is that there really isn't the same kind of community that the active members enjoy. The Guard and their families are usually spread out all over the state and don't really know each other. When Marshall starts school, he will most likely be the only kid in his class with a parent in the Guard so he won't have anyone to relate to when Daddy is gone.

I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there. At least baby will keep me busy and the time will go by quickly.

~AKO

Harder on Mama

2011-05-27T15:38:00.001-04:00

I never believed it before but vaccinations are definitely harder on mama than they are on baby. Marshall had his 6 month vaccinations today and of course just screamed as soon as the first needle went in. A minute after the nurse was done he was all smiles again but I felt horrible.

Now he is wiped out from the trauma we put him through.

Scentsy!

2011-05-25T22:03:00.000-04:00

A couple of months ago you may remember my post about a Scentsy giveaway. Well, I won that giveaway and really enjoyed the product. I enjoyed the product so much that I order some more room sprays (which work fantastically in the area that houses our litter boxes!!!), additional scents and another warmer. I got to thinking about the product itself and what a great idea it is that there is no open flame, especially with a baby and 4 cats. The last thing I need is someone knocking over a candle!

This past weekend I decided to start selling the product myself. I thought it was a great opportunity to start a little part-time business for myself to meet new people and earn a little extra money.

I would love for you to check out my personal website when you have a free moment. If you like what you see and wuld be interested in ordering some product for yourself or hosting a party just let me know.

https://amandaolvera.scentsy.us/Home

You can also "Like" my facebook page for updates on new products such as the warmer and scent of the month. Just click the "Like" button in the box over on the right hand side of my blog.

Of course this had to be my first warmer :)

~AKO

Meet the Great-Grandparents

2011-05-24T17:00:00.001-04:00

One of the things I was so happy we were able to do while in Michigan was introduce Marshall to his only set of Great Grandparents - my grandparents on my dad's side. Until this year, they living year round in Florida so I didn't know if they every would be able to meet him so I made sure we made some time to visit with them. Especially since he is their namesake.

~AKO

Handy Gadgets

2011-05-23T17:00:00.001-04:00

Awhile ago I mentioned my new smart phone. Well, I still don't know how to use 95% of its functionality. You would think, as an IT professional, that I would be more excited about all these new gadgets that are coming out these days. The truth is, I really don't care about most of them. So far I haven't felt the need to run out and spend $600 on the new iPad. Until it can prove to me that it will make my life easier, I can do without.

Well, there are a few things that I've found over the past few months have made my life a little easier. Even if it saves a few minutes of my time I consider it useful :)

1. The Kindle

So it took me a long time to jump on the eReader bandwagon. I just couldn't justify spending that kind of money on something when I could just pick up the book. Freddy got me one for Valentine's Day and now I don't know why it took me so long to get one! It has been so hard to find time to read, especially since Marshall was born. I used to read during my commute, but it became such a hassle to carry an additional book especially now that I have to lug a laptop back and forth to work. Before, I would hear about a book that I wanted to read but forget to write it down. Now I can just download it to my Kindle and read it when I'm ready. Not to mention eBooks are a few dollars cheaper than regular books. It is so much easier to try and read while I'm rocking Marshall to sleep as well. These days I have to make sure all of my time is used wisely :)

2. Beaba BabyCook

Everyone made fun of me for this one. Yes, I know you can still make your own babyfood with a regular food pocessor. But, I liked the fact that this little gadget is all in one. It steams, blends, defrosts, and heats food. With our limited amount of space, it is nice to not take up too much room. Just so everyone knows I still have to peel and cut the food!

3. Wireless Printer

Freddy got this for his birthday last year. I can print from the living room without having to email what I'm working on from my laptop to my desktop or the need to actually hook up the laptop to the printer. Very cool and time saving. Again... how did I get by with out this???

4. Nikon CoolPix

Don't get me wrong. I love my Nikon D3100 but I obviously can't lug it around everywhere we go. My Nikon CoolPix is small enough that I can keep it in my purse or bag and I have a camera on me at all times. You never know when Marshall is going to do something cute. Which is all the time!

5. Maclaren Trumph Stroller

Ok... I know this isn't a gadget. But it was super handy when I was travelling by myself with Marshall a couple weeks ago. The fact that you can fold and unfold it one handed while holding your infant paid for itself in about 2 minutes!

As I find more I'll definitely report my findings :)

~AKO

What I Did on My Vacation...

2011-05-22T10:01:00.000-04:00

~AKO

100 Truths About Me

2011-05-21T20:59:00.000-04:00

Work has been a bear. I sit in front of a computer all day and haven't even wanted to look at one when I get home. I am so behind on anything personal that involves getting online. Once I get Marshall home, changed, bathed, fed, and asleep - usually by 8:00am - I have been asleep not long after. You really start feeling old when you're asleep by 8:30!

My intent was to post som pictures from out trip to Michigan but now I'm starting to get a headache again. I'm guessing the air pressure again since it just got done raining... again. So, I'll try to post some over the next couple of days since Marshall was nothing but spoiled last week by my family.

In the meantime, I got this idea from Party of Five

100 truths about me...

001.Real name → Amanda
002. Nickname(s)→ Manda, Mandy
003. Zodiac sign → Cancer
004. Male or female → Female
005. Elementary → Sacred Heart Academy & Ganiard Elementary
006. Middle School → West Intermediate Junior High
007. High School → Mt. Pleasant High School
008. Hair color → Brown
009. Long/Short → Long
010. Loud or Quiet → Depends on my mood :)
011. Sweats or Jeans → Sweats... I wish I could wear them everywhere!
012. Phone or Camera → Both
013. Health freak → Semi
014. Drink or Smoke? → Drink socially
015. Do you have a crush on someone? --> Does my husband count :)
016. Eat or Drink → Do I have to pick one??
017. Piercings → Ears only
018. Tattoos → Nope

HAVE YOU EVER?
019. Been in an airplane → Yep
020. Been in a relationship → Yep
021. Been in a car accident → No
022. Been in a fistfight → No

FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → Ears when I was 10
024. First best friend → LeAnn... we met at the bus stop in Kindergarten
025. First award → I think an honor roll award or something like that
026. First crush → I'm sure it was someone in elementary school
028. First big vacation → Florida with my family. I remember we drove down in an RV but that's about it.

LASTS:
029. Last person you talked to → Freddy... I just sent him to Dunkin Donuts to get me some coffee :)
030. Last person you texted → Freddy
031. Last person you watched a movie with → Freddy
032. Last food you ate → Chicken Fingers
033. Last movie you watched → The Sound of Thunder
034. Last song you listened to→ Something latin at the street fair in my neighborhood
035. Last thing you bought → Dinner at Tommy's Diner
036. Last person you hugged → Marshall before he started his bedtime routine

FAVES:
037. Food → Totino's Pizza Rolls
038. Drinks → Diet Coke
039. Clothing → Jammies
040. Flower → Lilacs
042. Colors → Dark Blue
043. Movie→ Smokey and the Bandit
044. Subjects → Criminal Justice

IN 2010... I
045. kissed someone→ yep
046. celebrated Halloween→ nope... was in the hospital with Marshall
047. had your heart broken- no
048. went over the minutes/texts on your cell phone→ nope
049. someone questioned your sexual orientation→ Not that I'm aware of
050. came out of the closet→ no
051. got pregnant→ yeppers!
052. got someone else pregnant→ I wish Freddy could have been :)
053. done something you've regret→ I don't think so
054. broken a promise→ I hope not
055. hidden a secret → no
056. pretended to be happy → a few times
057. met someone who changed your life → Yes... Marshall!!
058. pretended to be sick → nope... Marshall made sure I didn't have to pretend :/
059. left the country→ No
060. tried something you normally wouldn't try and liked it→ No
061. cried over the silliest thing → Um... yeah :)
062. ran a mile → no one was chasing me so... nope
063. went to the beach with your best friend(s)→ No... I'm no much of a beach person
064. got into an argument with your friends→ all the time
065. hated someone→ Yes... but you probably don't want to get me started!
066. stayed single the whole year→ nope

CURRENTLY:
067. Eating → Nothing
068. Drinking → French Vanilla Coffee
069. I'm about to → Pobably go to bed
070. Listening to → The cats yipping at each other again
071. Plans for today → Didn't really have any but I managed to get the living room vacuumed
072. Waiting for → It to be 9:00 so I don't feel as bad going to bed so early

YOUR FUTURE:
073. Want kids?--> Probably one more
074. Want to get married? → Yes and planning to stay that way
075. Careers in mind → I'm currently a Project Manager but I would love to do something in Crinimal Justice

WHICH IS BETTER WITH A MAN
076. Lips or eyes → Eyes
077. Shorter or taller?→ Taller
078. Romantic or spontaneous → I think being spontaneous can be romantic
079. Nice stomach or nice arms → I guess it depends on your definition of "nice" :)
079. Chest or Bum? Not particular
080. Sensitive or loud → Sensitive, but not too sensitive
081. Hook-up or relationship → Relationship
082. Trouble-maker or hesitant? Depends on the situation

HAVE YOU EVER:
083. Lost glasses/contacts → Nope
084. Snuck out of your house → Nope
085. Held a gun/knife for self defense → No and hope to never have to
086 Killed somebody == No
087. Broken someone's heart → I don't think so... unless you count the stalker guy
088. Been arrested → No
089. Cried when someone died → Yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
090. Yourself → I try to but it's not always easy
091. Miracles → Not sure yet
092. Love at first sight → Not really
093. Heaven → Yes
094. Santa Clause → Always!!!
095. Sex on the first date→ I guess it would depend on the mood
096. Kiss on the first date → Sure

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now? → Nope... they're both here
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life? → Almost... a few more things need to happen first
099. Do you believe in God → Yes
100. Post as 100 truths and tag 20 people.

Hmmmm.... I guess I'm not all that interesting :) Well at least Marshall thinks I'm hiliarious.

~AKO

Jet Setting

2011-05-15T15:40:00.001-04:00

On our way home and we're already delayed 15 minutes in Cleveland. So far Marshall is in pretty good spirits flirting with anyone who will give him some attention. I have tons of pictures to go through for Marshall's big vacation. Wish us luck that we don't get too delayed!

On the Road Again...

2011-05-13T15:15:00.001-04:00

Baby Marshall has been all over Central Michigan this week visiting friends and family. It is exhausting being the life of the party all the time!

6 Months

2011-05-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

I'm a tad bit late with this post...over a week late!

Marshall was 6 months on April 30!

So what was Marshall up to in April? Well the month started out with an ER visit and croup :( All he wanted was to be held when we got home after spending the night in the ER. For those of you who have been following we think he is finally over this nasty cold he's had.

Marshall's first tooth popped through.

We started on solid foods this month. Marshall wasn't too sure about it at first but now he's eating Pears, Peas, and Sweet Potatos in addition to his rice cereal.

Marshall celebrated his 1st Easter.

He is sitting up with some support. We are not up on all fours yet but he is trying to get there.

Marshall is just an all around happy baby and everyone loves the Marsh.

He was 17lbs and 25in at his 6 month appointment and has graduated into his 6mth, 6-9mth, and 6-12mth clothes. I'm in the process of packing away his 3-6mth clothes. I can't believe my baby is already 6 months old!

~AKO

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T13:27:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day from Marshall and his family!

~AKO

First Flight

2011-05-07T16:39:00.001-04:00

Today is Baby Marshall's first time on an airplane. We're on our way to see my family in Michigan. We've made it to Cleveland and so far so good. Marshall slept the entire way from Newark. So far baby's first flight is going better than expected.

Almost Done... I Hope...

2011-05-02T21:09:00.001-04:00

We took Marshall to the pulmonary doctor on Friday and, as expected, they changed up his meds. Marshall also had some chest xrays done to check his lungs. He had a recheck with his normal pediatrician which went well. There was hardly any wheezing so she does not need to see him again unless he gets worse again. We have a recheck with the pulmonary doctor on Thursday and then I hope we're done with doctors for awhile.

Here's Marshall waiting patiently to have his xrays done. He's been such a good baby through all of this. And, as you can see, we don't go anywhere without Sophie :)

The Jury is Still Out on Peas

2011-04-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

~AKO

Yummy Pears!!!!

2011-04-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

~AKO

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-27T09:00:00.001-04:00

~AKO

Fascinating

2011-04-26T13:00:00.003-04:00

What exactly has Baby so fascinated you might ask?

It's Hadley going crazy with his toys. Marshall has recently become very interested in watching the cats.

You'll have to excuse the cat hair on the floor. We hadn't vacuumed yet :)

~AKO

More doctors...

2011-04-25T23:36:00.001-04:00

Marshall had his recheck today. The good news is that his ear infection is almost gone. The bad news is that we now have to go see a pulmonary doctor on Friday to take a look at his lungs. His doctor is concerned because the wheezing has been going on for so long.

But through it all he's still smiling!

AKO

Baby Milestones

2011-04-23T11:37:00.000-04:00

If you remember, the 2 weeks that we were absent from the online world, I had mentioned there were a number of baby milestones achieved. Baby Marshall was pretty busy during his 5th month of life... for those not keeping track that is the month of April 2011 :)

1. April 2 - We started adding some rice cereal to Marshall's bottles. He, of course, gulped it right down with no problem.

2. April 3 - Baby's first visit to the ER :( I posted about this earlier in the week. Even though his coughing was pretty bad, he was still all smiles for the nurses and the doctor.

3. April 4 - Marshall finally rolled from his back to his stomach! We wer visiting our friend Michelle and, of course, I didn't have my camera with me.

4. April 10 - Now here's some exciting stuff... I made my first batch of baby food. We made some yummy pears.

Now, I know I could have used my own food processor, but I liked the fact that the Babycook included a steamer, heater, defroster, and blender all in one machine. This way I didn't have to worry about paying attention to multiple things. I got a few comments that I wasn't really making my own food because I was using a "babyfood maker" but I still have to peel, chop/slice, and mix up the ingredients. So it is still some effort involved. This weekend we're going to try making some peas.

5. April 11 - We tried to feed Marshall some pears. Most of it ended up on his face :) I couldn't get Freddy to take some photos so we'll have to share some photos of Marshall and his baby food later.

6. April 13 - And now for the exciting baby milestone! Do you see it???

It's right there on the bottom. Marshall has his first tooth popping through! So far we haven't had any irritability yet, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. We have the Baby Orajel ready to go.

Those were all the happy things that happened over the past 2 weeks - except for the ER visit, of course. Yesterday we had another not so happy baby milestone. Since we had to take Marshall back into the doctor last Saturday because he was still wheezing and coughing, we had to bring him in for a recheck yesterday. Well, Marshall has his first ear infection. Of course, because he is such a happy baby, he hasn't been showing any signs of being sick or uncomfortable. But, looking back over the past few days, when I was giving him his bottle, he would rub his ear a little bit but I just took that as he was working out his fingers since he wants to grab everything these days.

So now, in addition to the Buterol and Xopenex he gets in the nebulizer 4 times a day, he is now on Amoxicilian for the ear infection. And we have to bring him back in on Monday for a recheck.

Poor baby is getting so used to the nebulizer that he sometimes even holds it himself.

And I've noticed the past 2 days he has been more clingy than normal and would only nap on his daddy.

Fingers crossed my baby gets better soon so he can enjoy his first plane ride next month!

~AKO

Jumping on the Bandwagon

2011-04-22T21:14:00.000-04:00

The Sophie Bandwagon that is!

Marshall loves him some Sophie!

~AKO

New Gadgets

2011-04-19T07:37:00.001-04:00

So I got this new fancy phone that I have no idea what it does. I am one of those people who really only use their phone to make and receive calls. Well this one has all sorts of apps available including a blogger one. I am writing this post using my phone to see what it looks like.

It makes me wonder when our lives will be so convenient that we can't even function for ourselves...

And for good measure... Marshall waiting patiently in his stroller yesterday while mommy got all her stuff together to go inside.

Baby's 1st Trip to the ER

2011-04-18T12:00:00.002-04:00

I mentioned last week that there were a number of baby firsts that happened over the past couple of weeks. Well, April 3 was Marshall's 1st trip to the Emergency Room :(

The previous Saturday marked his last scheduled day on his Xopenex nebulizer treatment. That whole week he seemed to be getting better and we thought his nasty cold was behind us.

Well, Saturday night, that all changed. Freddy had left around 8:00pm to pick his mom up from the airport. She was returning from a 2 month trip to Ecuador so I wasn't expecting him back until after midnight. I put Marshall down to sleep around 9:00pm and everything was fine. I went to bed myself around 10:00.

At 12:35am Marshall started crying. In an effort to help him sleep through the night, when he wakes in the middle of the night, we first try to put his pacifier in his mouth and most nights he will go right back to sleep. This night was no different. Once I put the pacifier in his mouth, he did go back to sleep. However, once I got back into bed, I heard the telltale sound of croup.

Growing up, one of my most vivid memories was my brother and his problems with croup and asthma. I specifically remember visiting him in the hospital and seeing him in a plastc bubble. So I knew exactly what that barking cough meant. What I didn't know was how serious it was.

I spent the next half hour trying to calm Marshall down. By then, he was obviously not feeling well and would not stop crying. He wouldn't eat and wouldn't lay back down in his crib. The only thing that would keep him calm was laying on my shoulder, where he eventually fell asleep. I knew at the very least that the doctor's office was going to get a call first thing in the morning. But I didn't know for sure if this was something that could wait.

So I called my mom. Luckily, she and my sister were just getting back from the movies so she was still up. As we were talking through our options, Marshall started wheezing loud enough for my mom to hear him through the phone. At that point she said we should take him in.

Freddy got home just as I was leaving a message for the oncall nurse. We decided to give him a Xopenex treatment to see if it would help. Just as we were finishing up, the nurse called us back and, after hearing his symptoms, advised us to take him intothe Emergency Room.

Since it was now 1:30 in the morning and there was no traffic, we made the decision to take him to the hospital that his doctor is affiliated with. With traffic, it takes us about 30 - 45 minutes to get there. With no traffic, we were there in 20 minutes.

Marshall was obviously uncomfortable with his breathing and the horrible coughing, but through it all he was still smiling and flirting with the nurses. When we were finished with the Triage nurse, she took us into the Pediatrics area where the doctor did confirm that Marshall had croup.

Poor baby was so tired you could see it in his face. Everytime he tried to doze off he would cough and wake himself up.

In addition, he had to have another nebulize treatment, which he hates. It was the only time during the entire ordeal that he really cried.

Once he was done with the treatment, they had to observe him for 4 hours to make sure he didn't have any type of reaction and improvd. Yep... you heard that right... 4 hours! So, Marshall and I slept on the bed and Freddy slept in the chair. Needless to say, while Marshall slept like a baby, Freddy and I didn't get much sleep. I really only dozed because I kept checking to make sure that Marshall was ok. They finally let us go around 7:00 in the morning since he was showing some improvement.

I'd like to say that Marshall was all better after that. Well, he continued to have a nasty cough and wheezing so we ended up back in the doctor's office this past Saturday morning. He is back on the breathing treatments until they tell us to stop. She did prescribe another medicine to add in with the Xopenex twice a day. I have to say that since we started that he seems to be coughing less but only time will tell.

Now I feel bad because I have horrible seasonal allergies, bad sinuses, and post nasal drip. All, of which, are familial :( that I probably passed onto my baby. I'm really hoping that once our weather dries up that Marshall's sinuses and congestion also dry up.

~AKO

Scentsy Giveaway!

2011-04-17T22:27:00.000-04:00

I have SO many updates over the past two weeks but they'll have to wait until tomorrow because Julie over at Julie the Army Wife is having another awesome Scentsy giveaway.

She is giving away one Cherry Blossom Warmer and one bar of the newest Scentsy Scent Flutter. So head on over to her site and check it out! I won her last giveaway but have been lazy in buying a warmer to use my Shades of Green bar so it sits in my candle basket just waiting to be used. But I can tell you the air freshener has been amazing in the area where the kitty litter boxes are.

And I promise I'll be back to regular posting this week. I really have to take advantage of that post scheduler thingy so I don't look like I'm neglecting my poor blog!

~AKO

A Week Full of Firsts

2011-04-11T22:17:00.000-04:00

This past week was crazy busy, hence my absence from the online world. I didn't even have a chance to check my email. Of course, when I logged in yesterday I had over 400 emails. I really wish I would have had time to blog this past week since so much happened.

I'm still trying to find a few minutes to get my photos off my camera so I can properly write up my summary of the week of 4/2 - 4/9. I'll try to get everything together for tomorrow :)

Until then I hope everyone is enjoying this nice weather!

~AKO

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

Please ignore the unmade bed!

~AKO

Outtakes

2011-04-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

Now that Marshall has figured out how to move his body, it is getting increasingly harder to get a decent posed picture of him. We had quite a few outtakes for his 5 month photo before I gave up and just used the first lucky shot that I got.

The creepy bodyless hands and arms belong to Freddy :)

And the final product...

~AKO

5 Months

2011-04-01T23:14:00.000-04:00

What a week! My laptop battery actually died completely because I hadn't plugged it in or turned it on since Monday. I'm definitely looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow... until 7!

On to bigger news... Marshall turned 5 months old on Wednesday, 3/30. I can't believe that in another month he'll be half a year old!

So what has Marshall been up to this past month?

Well, he is pretty solid now with his head and shoulder control. He is still not a huge fan of tummy time, but he will now lay there for a few minutes before he starts to throw a fit.

But he still can't figure out how to roll from his back to his stomach. He is so close!

Marshall has turned into a DROOL MACHINE! He almost always has a steady stream of drool hanging out of his mouth. I think the only time he isn't drooling is when he's asleep.

Baby's 1st St. Patrick's Day! Everyone at day care loved his St. Patty's Day outfit.

We've discovered that our feet are awesome.

Most nights Marshall sleeps for a solid 8 - 9 hours, but there are still nights when he wakes up around 2 in the morning. Sometimes we can just put the pacifier back in his mouth and he'll go right back to sleep. Other times it takes an hour or 2 to get him back to sleep.

He is pretty much in 3 - 6 month clothes now. I've just started packing away his 3 month clothes. We're trying to get him to sit up on his own, but he usually face plants on the couch if we don't catch him. His is also a huge flirt and smiles at everyone. The girls at day care admitted they spoil him and hold him a lot because he's so good and adoreable.

Marshall is taking 2 - 3 naps per day and is eating 6oz of formula about 4 - 5 times per day. We're planning to try a little rice cereal this weekend so we'll see how that goes.

Happy 5 months, Marshall!

~AKO

Baby Time Link Up: Food

2011-03-28T20:15:00.000-04:00

The topic is FOOD over at Jansen Family Adventures. Go over and link up!

Marshall hits his 5 month mark next week so we haven't had any fun food adventures yet. He is still on formula, but the plan is to start him on rice cereal next weekend. We're going to try and make our own babyfood and it will either be wildly successful or a huge flop :)

Lately, Marshall has started turning his head away to whatever action is happening in the room, but still attached to the bottle. So, of course, Mom has to adjust and move the bottle with him. I think he inherited his father's short attention span.

I can't wait for Marshall to try his first foods and, of course, to document it for future entertainment.

He falls asleep while he's eating from his bottle all the time so I hope that won't carry over when we can start feeding him in his highchair.

~AKO

Fun in the Exersaucer!

2011-03-24T09:25:00.002-04:00

~AKO

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-23T09:00:00.002-04:00

~AKO

Feet!

2011-03-22T09:00:00.002-04:00

As I mentioned last night, Marshall has discovered his feet. Whenever he is laying on his back up go the feet. Sometimes when he's in his stroller he tries to pull up his feet with his hands. It won't be long before he's pulling off his socks and putting those toes in his mouth!

~AKO

Mommy & Marshall's Sick Day

2011-03-21T21:02:00.000-04:00

Today Marshall had his follow up with the doctor after three days on his breathing treatment. I decided to take a sick day today to spend the day with my baby. Once we got up and around this morning around 7am, I found out that giving an infant a nebulizer treatment by yourself is not easy. I set him up in his swing so I could catch a quick shower and some breakfast. Our doctor's appointment was not unil 1:15pm so we had plenty of time. When I got out of the shower, Marshall still looked a little under the weather.

But after a few rounds of "Stray Cat Strut" and his Elephant, Marshall was my happy baby again.

With clean clothes and breakfast behind us, we decided to have a little tummy time. I had taken Marshall to a playdate a few weeks ago and noticed how excited he got playing with toys that light up. I picked up a couple of new light up toys for him last night when I was at Target. Of course, I proved, once again, that I can never get out of Target for less than $150!

We played with our new snail toy and then with our new light up ball. Both make lots of sounds for baby. We're still trying to roll from our back to our stomach and still can't figure out how to get over that arm.

It doesn't take long to tire of tummy time, so we played in our Exersaucer next. Marshall has recently gotten extremely excited when put in his Exersaucer. He is really trying to stand on his legs so the Exersaucer lets him push up on his feet and bounce around. Not too mention it makes noise and lights up :)

Once we wore ourselves out playing in the Exersaucer, it was time for our mid-morning snack and diaper change. Marshall has recently discovered his feet so that, in combination with the fact that he always wants to try and roll over, makes diaper changing particularly challenging.

I knew he was starting to feel better when he ate his entire 6oz. He hasn't done that in one sitting in over a week. Once the bottle was gone it was time for a nappy.

Since we were going to have to leave for the doctor in about an hour, I was going to let him just sleep in my lap on the couch. But, of course, he startled himself awake and the only way I could get him back to sleep was to put him in his favorite position :)

Once he was back to sleep, I laid him down so I could get some cleaning done before we left. Harley climbed up on our bed and took a nap with him. Yes... we let Marshall nap in our bed sometimes when he's not feeling well. Don't judge :) I check on him like a crazy person.

So it was finally time to head out to the doctor's around noon. Under normal circumstances it only takes about 25 minutes to drive from Jersey City to Summit for Marshall's appointments. However, traffic in Jersey City is as obnoxious as driving in NYC and it will take 45 minutes to travel 10 miles so we always give ourselves an hour to get there. Of course, today, traffic was moving very nicely and we arrived at the doctor's office with almost 30 minutes to spare. So we hung out in the waiting room reading magazines. Well, I read magazines and Marshall took a nap.

Finally the moment of truth... They called us into the exam room to check on Marshall's progress. His oxygen was 98%. Although the doctor still heard some wheezing, she believes he's finally turned a corner for the better. He was all smiles for her. We still have to do the nebulizer three times a day this week but we shouldn't have to go back into see the doctor until Marshall's 6 month appointment in May.

Getting ready to blow this popsicle stand!

We got home around 3:00pm and found out that Daddy was leaving work early today to spend some time with Marshall. Once Daddy got home, Marshall was excited to play... After our dinner of course :)

It wasn't long before we were ready for bed.

Here's hoping the Spring weather helps our house to get over these nasty colds! Of course it was rainy and icky today :(

~AKO

Bronchiolitis

2011-03-19T22:02:00.000-04:00

That's what my poor baby has :( We had to take him back into the doctor this morning because he was still coughing and had started wheezing last night. He had to sit through two breathing treatments, which he was NOT happy about. He was so pathetic but finally calmed down and sat through the rest of the treatment.

So now, we have to give him saline drops about 10 minutes before he eats and give him the nebulizer treatment about every 4 hours for the next 3 days. Marshall does not enjoy anything around his nose so he usually ends up in a screaming fit while I try to get the saline drops in. We have to take him back to the doctor for a follow up on Monday so I'm hoping he reacts well to this treatment over the next day otherwise he has the nebulizer treatment for the next 9 days.

I am really hoping this isn't an indicator of things to come. I have really bad sinuses myself and my brother had bad asthma as a child. So fingers crossed that Marshall didn't inherit any of that.

~AKO

March Madness Baby!

2011-03-18T21:54:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have a bracket and so far round 1 isn't treating me too badly. We have a pool at work every year and this year 1st place is $300 and 2nd is $150 so any extra cash works for me :) We didn't do one last year but the year before I was in 2nd place until Michigan State University went to the Final Four and knocked me down to 4th place. Another reason to NOT be a Spartan fan!

We're slowly starting to feel better. Freddy and I are now just coughing to get the flem out (sorry for that graphic picture). Marshall hasn't had a fever in 2 days but he is still coughing. If he is still coughing tomorrow I'll probably call the doctor's office to see if there is anything else we can do for him since he wakes himself up every time he starts coughing.

Anyway, today was an awesome 75 degrees! So Marshall and I enjoye a nice walk home from daycare and sat on the front porch of our building for a bit and watched people go by. It is supposed to be in the 50s this weekend so I'm hoping we can enjoy the weather in between our errands.

I promise to have updated pictues of Marshall up this weekend :)

Happy weekend!

~AKO

Sick, Sick, Sick!

2011-03-15T20:40:00.000-04:00

Stay away from our germ infested house! Even some of the cats are sneezing! Freddy got a chest cold late last week. And then I got sick over the weekend. And then poor Marshall got sick on Sunday... complete with fever and croupy cough. He was up all Sunday night and the only thing that would calm him down were his tylenol drops. When I woke up on Monday I had already made the decision to work from home sinceI had no voice and was on my way to another lovely sinus infection. Marshall still had a bit of a fever so we call the doctor and they had us bring him in. The doctor confirmed his chest cold but he tested negative for a respiratory virus, which was good. The doctor thinks he just caught our cold, but since he had a fever he wasn't allowed to go back to day care until Wednesday.

Marshall was so pathetic on Monday. All he wanted to do was cuddle and slept all day on my shoulder. He was up again most of Monday night so Freddy took off today so that I could go into the office for work. The Baby Tylenol has been a life saver because it seems to help Marshall get some rest. When I got home I was greeted by a smiling, happy baby so I think the worst is behind us. He went to bed with no problem tonight so he is definitely feeling better. I'm looking forward to this weekend when it is supposed to be warm and we can take Marshall out and enjoy the outdoors.

~AKO

Crazy Week!

2011-03-12T18:07:00.000-05:00

Holy cow I can't believe how fast the past week flew by! It has been that long since I've even been online as well. Work has been crazy busy. My 2nd day back from leave and my boss gives me a project that has to be completed by the end of March to save the company over 1 million dollars. No pressure!!! So I've been working extra hours after Marshall goes to bed to get stuff done. On top of that I've been sick the last few days with sinus congestion. I've always had bad sinuses and seasonal allergies so when the weather bounces back and forth I usually get blessed with a lovely sinus infection. So not only am I working a gazillion hours, I'm also sick and so tired.

I had big plans this weekend too. Freddy has been gone for reserve duty since Thursday and doesn't get back until tomorrow. Since the weather was going to be in the mid-50's I was going to go out with Marshall to have some quality mommy/son time. But I'm just too tired to feel safe out with him alone let alone driving the car. I'm hesitant to take any nyquil because it will put me in a coma and I won't be able to hear the baby cry. Freddy has promised that I can take some nyquil tomorrow night and he'll be on baby duty so I can get some sleep.

I haven't even had any time to get recent pictures of Marshall off my camera!

Oh... and don't forget to turn your clocks ahead tomorrow :)

~AKO

Spring is in the Air!

2011-03-05T12:42:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it is already 62 degrees outside! We have windows open with cats enjoying the nice breeze. As soon as Marshall is up from his nap we may take a walk outside to enjoy the nice weather!

Hope it is warming up where you're at today in preparation for Sprin!

~AKO

4 Months

2011-03-04T21:51:00.001-05:00

Marshall is 4 months this week and had his 4 month appointment yesterday. He is now 14 lbs and 24 in long. I can't believe how fast he is growing.

Here are a few updates on what he's been up to the past month...

1. Lift his head and shoulders up when on him stomach.

2. Roll from his stomach to his back.
3. Almost roll from his back to his stomach. He still can't quite get over his arm.

4. Celebrated his first Valentine's Day.

5. Started following the cats with his eyes.
6. Quickly growing out of his 3 months clothes and wears mostly 3 - 6 month.
7. Thinks bathtime is OK now.

8. Can sit in the stroller without the car seat.
9. He's about half and half with sleeping through the night. Some nights he'll sleep straight through 8:30ish - 5:30/6:00am. Other nights he will wake up around 2ish for a diaper change.
10. He is always smiling and usually only cries when he needs something.

When I was trying to get his 4 month photo with his bear he refused to sit upright and decided he wanted to rest against the bear's leg.

At one point he slid himself down so that he was laying on th couch. He thought it was hilarious that mommy and daddy were acting like fools trying to get him to pose for the camera. While I was going through my photos, I realized that was almost the same position he was in for his 2 week photo. The only difference is he was screaming in the 2 week photo.

And this is what he thinks about Valentine's Day... My sentiments exactly :)

~AKO

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-02T21:08:00.000-05:00

~AKO

Mommyhood

2011-02-26T21:51:00.000-05:00

As Marshall approaches his 4 month old birthday next week, I've been thinking lately about everything that I do differently now that I'm a mommy.

1. First and foremost I get up much earlier than I ever did before. I've never been a morning person so when I have to drag my behind out of bed at 7:00am on a Saturday morning it is not easy.

2. I've always been a researcher, but now I spend just about every minute of free time that I have online reading about different types of baby supplies and which ones have the best reviews.

3. I've never been much of a napper, but now I take any kind of nap I can get.

4. Screaming kids in public places no longer bother me. As a matter of fact, half the time I don't even notice it anymore.

5. I can change a poopy diaper in no time flat!

6. I don't feel rediculous acting rediculous for my baby in public.

7. Oh the things I can do one handed!

8. I haven't seen a full television program in 4 months and don't even really have much of an interest in watching TV.

9. I feel the need to keep our apartment clean all the time, even though we can't seem to keep it that way :)

10. I tend to look at everyone's babies while I'm passing by and smile.

I love my little bubby...

~AKO

Ouch!

2011-02-24T20:55:00.000-05:00

Holy crap am I sore :( I calculated the numbers and I'm now walking almost 80 minutes per day since I started going back into the office on Tuesday. Wake up time is now 5:30am so I can shower and get everything together before Marshall wakes up around 6:30. We have to leave the house by 7:00 so I can have him at daycare by 7:20 so I can catch the 7:33 train into Hoboken so I can catch the 7:50 PATH train into NYC so I can get to the office by 8:30. How'd you like that sentence :) This is all so I can leave the office by 4:45 in order to pick Marshall up by 5:45ish. Anything after 6:00 and they start charging you for every 5 minutes you're late.

Anyway... back to the walking. Since there is no parking near the daycare, I've opted to walk Marshall over there, which is about a 15 minute walk. I should add that I have to walk up and down a pretty decent hill to get there. Then another 5 minutes from the daycare to the Light Rail station. Then another 5 minutes from the Light Rail station to the PATH train platform. Then another 10 - 15 from the PATH train at World Trade Center to the other side of the island to my office by the Brooklyn Bridge. That's not takin into account the stairs that I have to walk up and down to get in and out of the PATH stations. We are now on day 4 and my legs and ankles are on FIRE!

The positive is that it earns me 2 activity points every day :)

My recent absence from cyberland can be attributed to the fact that I've been alseep by 9:00pm every night. I hope I get used to getting up at 5:30 soon.

Here's Marshall waiting patiently in his swing while mom gets her crap together so we can leave the house on time the other morning.

~AKO

Growing Up

2011-02-20T22:27:00.000-05:00

"Growing Up" now has new meaning to me now that I'm a mother. My mother came out to visit for the weekend... well, she really came out to visit her grandbaby... and all she could say was how much Marshall had grown since the last time she saw him. Now I'm thinking, it has only been a month since she saw him last, but then I started looking at photos I had taken of him in early January. My baby is growing up too fast! I looked at a calendar and realized he will be 4 months old next week.

Hugs from Grandma!

What I have vowed to do is to have professional photos taken of our family often to make sure we document how quickly our family is growing. For Marshall's first year we are going to try to do it every 3 months. I've already scheduled his 6 month session for early May :) Here are his professional 3 month photos.

~AKO

Back to Reality

2011-02-17T23:02:00.000-05:00

Has it been a week since I've been online? This week really got away from me. First and foremost, Marshall started day care on Monday.

He is such a little flirt that it did not take long to win the heart of his attendants. Ms. Ana and Ms. Becky have been so attentive with him and take the time to talk with all the parents when they pick up and drop off that it has really put my mind at ease that we made the right decision with the center we chose.

When we picked him up on his first day, this is how we found him. Snug as a little bug without a care in the world.

He even has his own crib and cubby hole.

In other, not so excitng news... I went back to work on Wednesday. I've been getting up around 6:00am everyday, which has been a hard adjustment. Especially when Marshall doesn't sleep through the night. I've been working from home, but when I have to start going into the office next week, 5:00am will be our wake up time, with Marshall getting up around 6:30am. It took 2 full days to get through all of my emails. My boss can't wait to send new projects my way. But he was considerate enough to wait until Tuesday to schedule a catch up meeting with me.

My mom is also in town this weekend since she can't go more than a month without seeing her grandbaby. She's been here since 9:00pm and hasn't let him out of her arms :)

~AKO

So Unfair...

2011-02-10T23:32:00.000-05:00

Why is it that when you've established yourself in your career and are making a salary that allows you to live comfortably, but not necessarily above your means, you still get screwed? I just finished up our taxes and, not only did we get screwed by New York State because of Freddy's unemployment and my short term disability payments, but we couldn't claim a child credit for Marshall because we make too much money. WHAT??? I hate to break it to Washington but no matter what your income babies are EXPENSIVE. We're at that annoying level, along with hundreds of other Americans, where we make too much money to qualify for various credits and discounts but we don't make enough money to not have to rely on credit for large purchases. Not to mention my insurance company didn't even give me the option to have state taxes withheld from my STD payments while I'm out on maternity leave. And since my job is still in NYC, I'm stuck paying NY taxes :(

Speaking of Marshall... he is still tying his hardest to roll from his back to his stomach. He gets so frustrated because he can't figure out how to do it.

This is how I felt while I was doing taxes :)

After he tried for almost 10 minutes and had himself in hysterics, I finally flipped him over. He quickly calmed down and watched TV for a few minutes before taking a little nap. Trying to roll over can really wear a guy out!

~AKO

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-09T21:20:00.000-05:00

I guess it's time for bibs :)

~AKO

Baby's First Outing

2011-02-05T21:44:00.000-05:00

Today we had some professional portraits done, which I'll share once we receive the CD. I may be biased but I believe I have the cutest baby on the planet :) I was actually impressed with how well Marshall did since he never got his early afternoon nap and was acting a bit cranky before we left the house. He even smiled in a lot of his shots. I know that being good with kids is part of their job, but the people taking the pictures were great with him.

Marshall has been outside of the house, but they were normally for a specific purpose, i.e. doctor's appointment, family gathering, etc. I don't really consider those situations to be an outing.

We had our portraits done at JC Penney, which was inside the Newport Mall in Jersey City. Once we were done, I had a few things to pick up so Marshall had his first outing at the mall.

This was how impressed he was with the mall in general. Once we were done with pictures, Marshall slept through the rest of the trip.

I think by the time we were done Freddy was wishing he could take a nap and be pushed around in the stroller.

~AKO

Scentsy Giveaway

2011-02-04T15:22:00.000-05:00

Julie over at Julie the Army Wife is giving away a couple of items from her Scentsy inventory. She is giving away 1 bar and 1 room spray in the February Scent of the Month which is call Shades of Green. She describes the scent as "The quintessential scent of grass and clover-green, sunny, and happy."

It sounds like something to remind you of Spring during these cold days we've all been having. I was browsing around her Scentsy site and there are quite a few things that I've added to my wish list.

If you're interested in checking it out, head on over to her site at Julie the Army Wife.

~AKO

It's Official

2011-02-03T21:29:00.000-05:00

Marshall is definitely rolling from his stomach to his back. The problem we have now is that he is doing it in his sleep.

I actually put him down so that his head was in the direction of the head of the crib. When I went in to check on him, he was sideways. One morning he was all the way in the front corner of the crib.

His cries prompted me to check in on him again to find that all he needed was his pacifier put back in his mouth. While I stood there for my standard 3 - 5 minutes to make sure he was officially back to sleep, he lifted his head and shoulders and rolled over on his back. All while sound aleep.

The problem that we have is that he can't roll back onto his stomach and he's always hated being put down on his back. So, about 10 minutes later, he started crying again. His paci had fallen out of his mouth, which semi woke him up. It was then he realized he was on his back which put him in a full scream. When I got to his crib he was frantically trying to roll back onto his stomach. Once I rolled him back over he was fine and went back to sleep.

I'm really hoping he learns to roll back onto his stomach soon because I envision many overnight wake-up calls because he can't get back on his stomach.

And I'm hoping C-Lo will soon stop glaring at me from above everytime I attend to the baby :)

~AKO

New Toy and Some Firsts

2011-02-02T21:21:00.000-05:00

We finally received and put together my glider and ottoman. It was one of those things that I thought we wouldn't need with the baby, not to mention we didn't have anywhere to put it. As I started having some soreness in my ankles, hips and back from rocking Marshall to sleep on my feet, we decided to give the glider a go. We spent Sunday rearraging our bedroom to make a space for it next to Marshall's crib. It now looks like Marshall actually has a little nursery to himself in the corner of our bedroom. It will be nice when we finally have our own house for him to have his own room.

Hadley, of course, felt he needed to try it out for approval.

Does it work, you ask? Well, Marshall and I did take a 3 hour nap in it this afternoon. I think it will make feedings a lot easier than trying to do them on the bed or couch.

Now for some Baby Firsts...

Monday evening, Marshall lifted his head and shoulders up an then rolled from his stomach onto his back. This was after he grabbed is pacifier and held onto it for a few minutes. After he was on his back he tried very hard to get back over on his stomach but it was not in the cards that night.

I've been thinking about putting his exersaucer together to see if he's ready for it since he's been moving his arms and legs a lot lately. That might be a project for this weekend :)

~AKO

Operation Baby Schedule: Day 1

2011-01-31T17:27:00.000-05:00

I am scheduled to return to work in 16 days. I can't believe how fast my leave has gone by. I have some mixed feelings about returning to work. On one hand, I want to stay home with my baby to watch him grow everyday. On the other hand, I'm eagar to return to work and continue on with my projects and duties. I spoke briefly with one of my co-managers a couple weeks ago and A LOT has changed over the past three months so there will definitely be some catch up required on my end.

In preparation for my return to work, we've started to really focus on getting somewhat on a schedule since he will be going to daycare. What I've been doing is just letting him wake up when he's ready as well as fall asleep for naps whenever he's ready. We started to try and actually put him down for naps at specific times. In addition, we moved him from his bassinet to his crib last night. Now only is he almost too long for the bassinet, but he'll be in a crib at his daycare so we wanted him to get used to sleeping in one.

Don't judge... he'll only sleep on his tummy. We've tried since we brought him home to get him to sleep on his back and he just lays there and screams.

Our day went something like this...

6:40am: Marshall woke up afteer sleeping straight through the night. He had gone to bed the night before around 9:00pm.

6:40-7:00am: Diaper change and feeding. Normally I would have tried to put him back to sleep and get some more sleep myself after he was done but we got up and started moving instead.

7:00-8:00am: We played in the living room and worked on head control.

8:00-8:25am: Spent some time walking around the apartment and looking at stuff.

8:25-10:30am: Put down for morning nap. Marshall actually fell asleep a few minutes after I laid him down.

10:30-11:00am: Diaper change and feeding.

11:00am-12:00pm: Had some quiet time in the swing. Marshall loves to stare at himself in the metallic dome that is above his head on the swing.

12:00-1:00pm: Marshall got tired of sitting in the swing so we walked around the apartment some more looking at stuff. We can't wait for warmer weather and then we'll be able to walk outside to look at lots of stuff.

1:00-1:45pm: Put down for afternoon nap. I would have like him to have slept for at least a full hours but I guess you take what you can get.

1:45 - 2:30pm: Diaper change and feeding.

2:30-3:45pm: Played some more. Marshall is starting to reach for things so we spent some time trying to hold onto some of his teething rings.

3:45-5:30pm: Put down for 2nd afternoon nap.

5:30-6:30pm: Diaper change and feeding.

6:30-7:45pm: Daddy spent some time playing with baby.

7:45pm: We started the process to try and get him down for the night, but he was pretty fussy and didn't fall asleep until almost 10:00pm. I finally had to turn all the lights off in the room and rock/walk him around the room before he fell asleep.

I would say not too bad for the first day. Of course, he woke up this morning as usual around 4:00am and didn't fall back to sleep until almost 6:00am. I had plans to get up myself around 7:00am but ended up sleeping right through the alarm :( His naps have been kind of sporadic today. After a week we'll see we're at.

~AKO

3 Months

2011-01-30T11:29:00.000-05:00

My baby is 3 months old today! I can't believe how fast time has flown by. Marshall is developing his personality more and more every day. He is definitely going to be a flirt as he gets older. His next doctor's appointment isn't until March 3 (4 months) so I don't have an official weight, but we're estimating he is around 15lbs now.

Happy 3 Month birthday! It won't be long before you can eat your birthday cupcakes. Daddy took care of this one so it didn't go to waste.

Marshall loves to smile at people and his favorite game is the diaper changing game. He smiles and giggles the entire time we're changing diapers. He has also started to look around and take in his surroundings. He stares at objects very intently and I think is starting to really recognize our faces.

All of his newborn clothes are officially packed away. We've already started to pack away some of his 0 - 3 month clothes.

He's still working on lifting his head and pushing up with his arms while on his tummy but head control is pretty good. Of course, he only tolerates about 5 - 10 minutes of tummy time before he starts to throw a fit.

We're pretty sure he's getting ready to cut some teeth since he won't stop chewing on his hands and has turned into a drool machine.

Finners are yummy!

Marshall also graduated from his bassinet to his crib today. We'll see how it goes tonight.

I've got his comparison photos at Marshall's Firsts.

~AKO

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