New Mexico

Finally back from our summer travels and settled back into our house...for now. We had a great time in New Mexico (as always!)visiting Becky, Frank and Bella, and even though it was sad to leave our friends again it was nice to get back into our normal daily routine. Again we were blessed with great weather for most of our trip. Not in the 100s like it was at home, although we did experience one mild hail storm while we were there.
How we spent our time was pretty laid back like usual. We did take a short trip to the lake and the park (Dez loved the swing!). Desmond and Bella got along great, but seemed to be on opposite schedules. Whenever one would go down for a nap the other would wake up. It became a game to see if we could get both kids down at the same time...we won once! Desmond loved all of Bella's old toys, especially the bouncy activity center. He liked it so much we ordered one as soon as we got home! Hopefully he will like it as much now as he did then. We stopped at the Big Texan in Amarillo, TX on our way home. I think it's kind of a creepy joint, but it was good to finally stop there since we pass it by every time. Picture link on the side.
We're getting ready to get back to work on our house: master bath update, front entry way re-tile, paint master bedroom, the list never ends! Now if my darling boy would sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time I would be able to begin one of these projects. Oh, and I suppose we better start Desmond proofing since it's only a matter of time before he starts cruising around...Oh my!! He's almost sitting up on his own and I think he's got another tooth or two working their way to the surface. Gosh, he's growing up too fast!

Trip to Michigan

Just got back a few days ago from our trip to Michigan. We initially went back to attend our 10 year high school reunion. Drew only stayed for 4 days and then had to travel to Canada for work. Dez and I stayed for 10 days! It was good to be back "home". The weather was delightful! I can hardly remember the last time we could be outside...it seems like we're always under some sort of heat advisory warning here.
During our trip Dez got to meet tons of friends and family including his great grandparents, great aunts & uncles, cousin's, and finally uncle Kevin and future aunt Savanna. He even got to go swimming in a real pool for the first time!
One more highlight...Desmond cut not just one, but two teeth while we were there!! I knew they were coming soon! Poor Grandma and Grandpa had to endure the cutting of the first tooth while Drew and I were off enjoying our high school reunion :)
Traveling wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Dez was asleep for most of the plane rides and kept fussing to a minimum. Pictures will be posted on the side bar shortly.

Time to start packing again...we leave for New Mexico in two days!!!

Meg's visit and new food!

Desmond's favorite aunt came to visit this past weekend so that Drew and I could have a well deserved night out. :) We went out to our favorite Irish pub, Sean Cummings, where our friend Elaine was celebrating her 30th birthday. We definitely had a good time!
Things were low key when Meghan was here but we did introduce some baby food to Dez. In the picture he's trying green beans. Since then he's had sweet peas and a piece of frozen mango (through a mesh feeder). He loved them all! Tomorrow we're trying squash!!!

Thank you for coming down to visit us, Meg!! We REALLY appreciated it!!

*Pictures from her visit are posted on the side*

4 month check up

Well, sorry to all of you parents out there that thought you had the perfect child. It has been confirmed by our pediatrician that we have "the most perfect kid". It's OK. You don't need to be ashamed or embarrassed...everyone thinks their children are the best. LOL, just kidding...but he seriously did say that!
Desmond will be 4 months old tomorrow! He got one shot at the doctors today and like usual he cried for a few moments and then was happy-go-lucky again :). He weighed in at 14 lbs 11 oz and 26 inches long! Still up in the 90th percentile. The doctor doesn't think he will be cutting a tooth until 6 months at the earliest but I respectfully disagree.
He told us that if we think he's ready we can start introducing baby food into his diet! That will be interesting!
After his appointment he had a date with Kinley Deterding. She made him drool...a lot!
The rest of the day went great! He was in a wonderful mood when we got home (hmm, maybe we should go to the doctor every day! NOT!)
One week until we're in Michigan!

Cloth diapering!!!

I know a lot of people are aware that we are now a cloth diapering household but I just wanted to give a quick shout out to how awesome I think it is! I had originally bought 2 cloth pocket diapers (bumGenius 3.0 one size) to "try out" before Desmond was born. Naturally he kept us so busy that I was never brave enough to actually use them until just recently. When I finally used them I realized that it was a breeze!! I immediately ordered 2 more bumGenius diapers and 2 Fuzzibunz diapers (recommended by Becky!) just to try out some more options before I fully committed. Both brands are great! I love the Fuzzibunz one size diaper for the daytime...they are slimmer fitting and a little softer. The bumGenius are a little bulkier but seem a little more absorbent and the velcro makes for a faster diaper change so we use those at night. Most people I tell usually say "What about poopy diapers? Isn't it gross?" Well...yes, but not any more than a disposable diaper. Simply shake it in the toilet to get rid of any excess and toss in a rinse cycle.
The initial investment in cloth diapers is expensive but well worth not wasting tons of money buying cases of disposables every week (or filling up a landfill with them either). We still supplement with disposables every now and then for traveling/going out or when I forget to do laundry (mainly because we don't have quite as many diapers as I would like yet *hint hint to anyone that asks what we still need* :)) Ok, that's all I have to say about that.
Going in tomorrow for our 4 month check up! And Aunt Meghan will be here tomorrow too!!!

Tired...

Things are going well on the home front. Going through a little rough phase at night. Dez will sleep well for 5-6 hours (close to "sleeping through the night") but after he wakes the first time he'll be up every 45min to an hour after that. So we're getting really poor quality sleep from 3-6am. This is making for a cranky baby and even crankier mommy. I know if he naps well during the day he'll sleep better during the night but we're having trouble getting him to nap in his crib and I don't think he sleeps as soundly in my arms or in his swing. Any suggestions out there for helping little ones nap or sleep better at night? My ears are open...but I'm not a fan of "crying it out"; it may work for some but I don't think it's for us.

I can hardly believe Dez will be 4 months old next week! That 1/3 of a year! He's getting really cute (yes, even cuter than before!). He's starting to find his voice and will sit there testing his vocal range. It looks like he's yelling at his toys. He's laughing so much more too. Counting down the days until we go to Michigan!

Vampire baby!!

Looks like we have our first tooth coming through! (that little white speck on the right) Doesn't look like a central incisor, which is normally what comes in first. Looks like either a lateral incisor or maybe even a cuspid. Either way I can't wait for it to finally push all the way through. Cute little snaggle-tooth! :)