18 Weeks: More Firsts

I have been a bad blogger again. I have just been so exhausted since getting back that when I have a spare second I tend to veg out instead of blogging. We got back Sunday night during the Super Bowl, this girl accidentally booked the flight right in the middle of the game. I was able to catch some of the second quarter in the Dallas airport and got home just in time to catch the 4th quarter. It was a pretty exciting quarter! I was happy to see the Giants win, I like the Mannings. Brian picked us up from the airport and we headed over to the Jones's house to catch the end of the game. Brian Jones had made brisket and it was pretty delicuos! We also ran into one of Brian's buddies from FAOBC in the airport, so we brought him back to catch the end of the game with us.

Gimme that phone, Mom!

The flights went really well. I got LOTS of compliments on how good Mikey was and how cute he is! The flight from Raleigh to Dallas kind of sucked for me, I was stuck in a middle seat on a completely packed airplane. Mikey didn't want to sleep, there was just too much going on so he did have a few bouts of fussiness because he was so tired, but nothing that I couldn't solve with a paci and crinkle bear. He had a HUGE poop...really close to a blowout, on the plane. Of course it was right in the middle of some gnarley turbulence...that was a fun diaper change. The flight from Dallas to Lawton was short and uneventful. It was also pretty empty, so I had the entire row to myself. It was a welcome change from the previous flight.

Checkin' out what's outside

Upon returning to my house it was an absolute train wreck...I almost cried upon entering it. It also smelled like toilet water, YUCK! I don't know if the smell is gone now or if I have just adapted to it...but it was a rather unpleasant scent. I spent the better part of Monday cleaning, doing laundry, and putting stuff away...it was kind of exhausting.

We also had our big 4 month check up on Monday. Mikey is still growing like a little beast! He's still in the upper 90's percentile for everything. He weighed in at 17.5lbs...so not quite as big as my scale at home said, but still BIG. I had measured his length at home and he was 26.5 inches...they nurse said that he was only 25.9 inches, but Brian said he didn't stretch his legs all the way so it wasn't a very accurate measurement. The doctor said that he is a healthy boy and growing/developing well, she also said that he is adorable (true) and that she would babysit him! We told her to be careful what she offered! I really like this pediatrician, she's very nice and professional...much better than that jerk at the peds clinic on post. Mikey took his shots like a champ again, he cried a little bit more this time, but it was only for like 2 minutes, vs the 30 seconds he cried for last time. His temperature elevated a little bit, but not even a full degree so I didn't have to give him tylenol or anything. He wasn't grumpy, he acted like the same happy baby, the only change was a much longer nap than usual. My only real complaint about that office (its still part of the Reynolds Army Community Hospital system, just an off post office...much nicer)is the wait time. I've only been there twice, but last time I was almost an hour late for my appt...long story...and I was still there like ALL day. This time there was apparently a fire drill in the morning that somehow wiped out there entire system...so we sat in the waiting room (all by ourselves) an hour past our appointment time before anyone even asked what we were waiting for. They got us back and saw us pretty quickly...but they are 0 for 2 now. Hopefully his next appointment will be a little better with time. The biggest news was that we got the OK to start solids!!!

Tuesday, Harltey came over to play all day. Mikey was so excited to see her, he is so social and I love watching him interact with other babies. He REALLY wanted to put her feet in his mouth...but I had to interfere to keep each baby's foot in his/her own mouth. They had a lot of fun and both babies were really good. Mikey found Hartley eating solids to be nothing short of amazing. He just stared at her while she ate and then smiled and giggled when she had food all over her face. It was really sweet. She loved his hungry caterpillar toy and his jumper...she seemed generally pissed off at me when I tried to take her out of the jumper for any reason. While it they were both on their best behavior and totally cute together, I am in no rush to have a second child...it was exhausting with 2! I don't think I sat down until Brian got home.

Starting off the morning right

She was pretty excited about eating that star

He saw her eating the star and thought he should eat the sunshine

KC is a good babysitter

Hartley REALLY loved Mikey's Hungry Caterpillar

Hey Mikey, check out my feet!

Somebody is getting sleepy!

Wednesday, I resumed my running...I did 4.5 miles with the stoller...not a great pace, but not snailing it up either. I also resumed with my cooking, I made Basil Chicken and pasta. It was pretty good, but the recipe was lacking something. Brian added salt to his and said that it helped a lot, but I still think it was missing something. We also gave Mikey oatmeal for the first time! IT WAS PRECIOUS! He was excited about it and kept smiling, but didn't really get the concept of swallowing yet...so most of it ended up on his chin and chest.

more went onto his bib than into his tummy

MIKEY LAUGHED (legitimately) for the first time!! February 8, 2012. I was holding him at the dinner table and Daddy-O was sitting down making goofy faces. Mikey burst out into a full on laugh. I love all of these firsts!

Mikey experienced his first Carolina/Duke game...kinda. He fell asleep pretty quickly into the game, but we both wore our Carolina gear all day long. It was a pretty good game and looked like Carolina was going to run away with it in the second half, but some poor officiating helped Duke to catch back up. The end of the game was pretty brutal, Zeller knocked in a shot that wasn't going in bringing Duke within 1. When he was fouled a few seconds later he hit his first free throw and missed the second, leaving Carolina with a 2 point lead. Duke hit a 3 point buzzer beater to win the game. Pretty heartbreaking, but that is a rivalry game if I've ever seen one. Hopefully Carolina will win at Cameron...and Mikey will be awake for it.

He was pretty excited for the game

He loves those feet!

Thursday I was going to spin, but the instructer never showed up. I was pretty disappointed. I'm going to have to tweak this week's schedule a little to get all of my miles in, oh well. I'll be back on track next week. I gave Mikey some more oatmeal this morning and I think he finally figured out the swallowing thing. He is such a complete mess...sometimes before he would swallow he would plunge his fists into his mouth getting the oatmeal all over his hands and then everything he touched. Chloe thought she might try to get some from his little fingers, but changed her mind immediately when he tried to grab her. Once he figured out how to swallow he decided that he was a big boy and should feed himself. Whenever I put the spoon in front of his mouth he would grab it with both hands and plunge into his mouth as hard as he could. The boy loves to eat! I made Chicken Taco Soup for dinner (my weekly crock pot recipe) and it turned out great! Brian's friend from FAOBC came over and everyone seemed to like it. I think it is definitely a recipe that I'll be making again.

My new kicks!

Of course I forgot to take pictures of the food...but oh well! Enjoy the photos!