Shopping Sites/Websites

I have been buying some fun baby gifts for friends and have found these fun sites. I wanted to share with y'all in case you have someone that you want to buy a gift for...

http://www.diapers.com

(under clothing and shoes, go to personalized gifts)

http://www.personalizationmall.com

(they have great gifts and run great specials all the time)

http://www.prettybabygifts.com

(pretty cool-- you can pick at the top "it's a boy", "it's a girl", "I'm on a budget".....)

http://www.landsend.com/pp/WheelsLaceBabyBlanket~44973_-1.html?bcc=y&action=order_more&sku_0=::BLU&CM_MERCH=IDX_00005__0000000284&origin=index

(this was one of my favorite baby gifts from Land's End. The blanket is so light weight and cozy)

please feel free to add to the list! I love resources like this... and I am always looking for new gift ideas!

xo

The Littlest Cowboy

It's 8:35 am....

...and I have already completed a workout DVD, put away laundry, taken Hank on a jog around the block, taken out the trash and recycling, started another load of wash, read the newspaper, played with Cal and set up 2 J. Hilburn appointments.

IT'S AMAZING THE ENERGY YOU HAVE WHEN YOUR KID SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT! Yup, that's right! Cal Baby went down at 10 (too late for my liking, but we did have date night, so it all got thrown off...), and we didn't hear a thing from him until 6:30 this morning! I woke up about to explode (heehee) so I went in to make sure he was still alive around 5:50, and sure enough, he was just snoring away!

I got up with him this morning-- usually Eddie takes him down and they have some male bonding time over the Today show so momma can sleep a little more. But this morning, I was full of energy (I am getting tired now!), so I brought him downstairs and we had a great time playing and now he is napping!

Hope today is as good as yesterday! :)

A GOOD day!

Today has been a really GOOD day in the Williamson house.

Two nights ago (Tuesday night), Cal woke up at 2:30 and I went in there to try to get him back to sleep and he was NOT having it. I tried relentlessly for 2 hours (I am soooo stubborn!), and then finally fed him. We were up for a total of 3 hours.

I was needing my sleep last night!

Cal ate at 9:00 and fell sound asleep while eating. I tried to wake him several times because you are supposed to put babies down awake so they will learn to go to sleep on their own (so I have heard...). Well, I couldn't wake him up, so I just put him in the crib sound asleep. At 12:15, he screamed, so I went in there, ready for a battle like the night before. I put the paci in and he was out again! He didn't say boo until 5:00. We are making progress! I fed him at 5 and he slept until about 7:30. I fed him again and he crashed until 9:30!

We played this morning after he got moving at 9:30 and then I had to run some errands so we loaded up the car. He sort of fell asleep in the car, but when I was carrying him in to the house in the rain, he woke up mad. We played when we got home and then I noticed some serious yawning. I knew he was well over due for a nap, so I decided that we were going to nap in the nursery (as opposed to the swing). It's a dreary rainy day, so it's perfect napping weather! I put him down and I watched him play on the video monitor and then he started crying. I gave him 10 minutes, went back in and flipped him to his tummy and put the paci in again. I walked out and within 3 minutes, he was sound asleep! He has been in his crib asleep for just over an hour now. YEEEEE HAW! I am hoping this will start to set the standard for sleeping in the house. He is going to outgrow that swing and I don't want to have a battle to get him to re-learn to nap in his crib!

Eddie and I are having dinner tonight at the Country Club with a bunch of other couples so it will be nice to have a night out. I feel like they are VERY few and far between, so this is a real treat! My Aunt will be keeping Cal for us. We are lucky to have family near by!

Just wanted to post an update!

xo

Sleeping update

No one reading this probably cares whether or not Cal slept through the night.... but I am updating this so that I can look back on this blog months from now and remember when it was that it finally happened.

Last night, he went down around 9:30, but he was super tired from all of the baptism activities of the day, so he had a mega nap that lasted until 8 (should have woken him up earlier, I know!).

He slept until 4:15 and then wouldn't just fall back asleep. I tried to get him to sleep for about 30 minutes, and then I just went ahead and fed him and put him back in the crib where he slept until 8:30! woohoo! When he woke up at 8:30, he was flipped onto his back, laying sideways in the crib carrying on quite the conversation with his mobile. He is so sweet... I am sooooooooo in love with this little man!!!

Getting Baptized

Cal got baptized today, Sunday, January 17th. It was such a special day and one I will always remember. He was wonderful during the service and during the baptism too. I was such a proud momma and beaming the entire time. I just feel so BLESSED to have this amazing baby and family. There are a bunch of pictures (and a video) on the mobile me page, so check that out if you want to see more than this....




My mom, AKA Martha Stewart, made his outfit for the day. We were going to do a gown, but he is just such a boy that we had to put him in a romper. I really wanted to do a gown though and put the monogram on it and have all of our kids wear it. Oh well.... thankfully, I have an incredible mother who is willing to make more! She did such a great job and I don't think I could have picked out a better outfit in any store! It was PERFECT!

We are exhausted tonight after an action-packed weekend. Maybe Cal will sleep through the night tonight...???

PS-- for those wondering, my whole "not feeding him in the night" thing is working... he got up once last night at 4. I put the paci in and then brought him in with me at 5 and he slept until 7:45. I just have to cut out him waking up until morning.... I will post more on that later!

xo

Baptism Pre-Party

Cal got baptized this weekend, so we wanted to have a pre-party on Saturday afternoon. We had it over at my parents house, where there is a big side yard so the kids could run and run and run and play. It was a fun afternoon, and I think everyone had a great time! Thank goodness the weather cooperated! It has been sooooo cold here, and on Saturday, it was around 60 (then got colder as the day wore on....). Here are a few of the pictures from the day:

The guys watching the game on TV in front of the fire.

The kids running in the yard. They were obsessed with the Corn Hole we set up for the adults to play.

More running and running!

Miss T with Cal!

Cal with his mom and dad :)

4 MONTHS OLD!!!

On Saturday, the 16th, Cal turned FOUR months old! Hard to believe it's already been 4 months. Every parents says this, but it seriously feels like he has been in my life forever, and at the same time, 4 months sounds so short, but so old....does that make sense?? Having a 4 month old baby sounds so old, but so little too! Here is his 4 month shot:

It's Official....

I AM A STAY AT HOME MOM NOW!

I was taking the year off (after working in August and part of September), and then I was going to "re-evaluate" going back to work in the fall. Well, I met with the head master at my school and told him that there was no way I'd be able to leave my baby every day!

Let me back up and say that I have all the respect in the world for the women who do return to work, because I think it would be SUCH a challenge... but I am SO thankful that I am not returning. Working at a private school, the parents are demanding and they don't fully appreciate that when I am home it is "me" time for my family. They would expect a prompt reply to all emails, even if they came in at 9:00 at night. I don't think that that's fair to Cal or Eddie or me.

It feels like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and I am relived to not be returning. I will miss all of my colleagues and the kids and the atmosphere of school, but I wouldn't trade my time with my baby for anything. He's only little once!!!

So, here's hoping my J. Hilburn sales continue! So far, I am doing okay with it and I hope that continues to grow. It's fun, easy, and a way to still have interactions with adults.

To all of the other stay at home mommy's out there reading this.... YAYYYYYY!!!!

More Sleep Battles

Well, so much for hoping Cal would be sleeping through the night after our good night 2 nights ago.... we have not had luck since.

I am not feeding him in the night any more though... he wakes up and I go in there, put the paci in, and rub his back/face until he falls asleep again. I have not fed him in the night in 3 nights now (doesn't sound like a lot, but it feels like a lot to me!). Because I am not feeding him, he is waking up more often....

Last night, he went down around 9, was up at 12, 2, 4, and 5:45. At 5:45, I changed his diaper and fed him in bed with us and then he fell asleep until 7:45. He did this same thing the night before. I am hoping that he will learn that he won't get food when he wakes up, so he should just stay asleep, but so far, he is just waking up more often....

What do y'all think? Should I just feed him and have him only get up once or twice? Or should I stick to my guns and not feed him, since I know he can go the whole night without eating...