Everett's New Toy

Now that Everett is getting more social and pays a lot more attention to his surroundings, Daddy went out and bought him a new play mat. He loves playing in this thing and will spend a decent amount of time checking out all the colors and toys. When we first put him in it, he looked a little freaked and I think he was a little over-stimulated by all the colors at first but it's nice for me because I can set him in it for 30-45 minutes and get some stuff done around the house. He especially loves looking into the mirror and will spend most of the time checking himself out. Ha, typical male.

My Job

A lot of people have been asking and wondering what exactly my job is and what I do for work. I have a job that allows me to stay at home with Everett all the time; which I am SO grateful for. I work for Peak Development LLC and help the owner manage his two multi-use (commercial and residential) buildings in Gresham. I have an office set up in my home where I correspond to tenants and prospects through email. I'm on the clock during the day 5 days a week (and on call 24 hours a day for emergencies) and have to be available to show the properties to interested renters. My days are fairly not too busy so it allows me to spend a lot of time with Everett and care for him. Once I had him, I couldn't go back to work full time and put him in daycare and be away from him. Selfish me wanted only myself to take care of him and raise him. I was so fortunate to have been given this job opportunity to do so; and Dale and I have been graciously compensated for a large, beautiful 2 bedroom 2 bathroom townhome-style unit in one of the buildings. The owner is a great guy and I do really enjoy my job.

The Crossings at Gresham Station. (This is the building where we live.)



The Beranger (The other building located in Downtown Gresham)

Out with Newborn. In with 0-3 Months!

Today, I put away all of Everett's Newborn clothes. It was a little bittersweet. He is growing up so fast. Now that I look at them, the Newborns are SO tiny and when he was first born, I looked at the 0-3 month clothes that he had and thought that it would be forever before he actually fit into them. They looked so huge. He'll be 3 months in about a week. He's a bit small for his age so hopefully, he will wear this size for a little longer. He had so many Newborn clothes that I don't think he wore one piece no more than 3 or 4 times.

Like this cute, little outfit here, he wore once! (Note: They kind of look like high-waters.) But doesn't he look just so adorable in it?!













I went out last night and bought some 0-3 month clothes and washed them all today. I think he's in between sizes right now. They look a little big but the Newborn size is too little. His closet and dresser is a little bare now since putting all the clothes away. Can't wait to shop for his new, bigger clothes. I never knew you could get so much enjoyment out of buying baby clothes!

Crazy Hair

Dear Mom,

Have you noticed lately that my hair is getting out of control as the days go by? I mean, I look like a crazy person who stuck their finger in a light socket or something. I know you and Daddy think it's cute but I get a little embarrassed with all the comments I get from strangers when you take me out. No matter how much you matte it down and comb it down, it doesn't work so perhaps, you could be like Miles' mom and put some avocado hair product in it. Maybe that will help. You should ask her where she bought that and try it on me. You know, it's only gonna get longer and I'm too young to get a haircut yet so please, please do something about it. Also, it looks like I'm going bald on the back of my head. Am I too little to use Rogaine?

Love,
Everett

P.S. Just look at me. Look at my crazy hair, Mom!!!

Valentine's Day

I'm a very plain and simple kind of person in many aspects in my life and that's exactly how my Valentine's Day was; just perfect, if you ask me. As usual, Dale and I did not do anything extravagant. But-it was our first Valentine's Day being married. He actually had to work today but he was thoughtful enough to leave me a surprise this morning before he left.

I woke early and trudged downstairs half asleep to make Everett a bottle and I about peed my pants as the "I love you" balloon hung and swayed back and forth right by the bottom of the stairs. I usually don't expect to see things floating in my living room but nonetheless, it did put a smile on a face after I realized what it was. I also received a beautiful pot of my favorite flower, the orchid. Dale was brave enough to buy me another one in hopes that I will keep it alive, as I have killed all the others that he's gifted to me. I'll be making sure that I look up some directions on the internet on how to care for this tropical plant. I think there's a trick to it or something that I'm missing out on because not even all the TLC I gave to the others was enough for them to stay alive and endure.

Also laid out on the table next to the orchid was a cute Valentine's Day outfit for Everett. How cute is this?!



After Dale got home from work, we went and had dinner at my favorite restaurant, Pho Van in Portland. Pure deliciousness.

I have my wonderful husband and my beautiful son, Everett. Therefore, this Valentine's Day has been by far the best that I've had.


Happy Love Day, everyone!

{Off topic: Everett graduated from Swaddlers Newborn diapers to size 1 today!}

my husband

Hands down, I have the best, most wonderful husband any girl could ask for. I am so thankful to have met him 3 years ago. While he typically is a shy, unspoken, and reserved type of guy, he sure did have some nerve to contact me on my cell phone after selling it to me. One didn't know that hittin' on your customers was apart of his job description as a sales rep at AT&T. Well, for a shy guy, I don't know what got into him that day but I'm glad for whatever it was. :) The many reasons why I love him:

-he works so hard at his job to provide for his family.

-he has blessed me with a beautiful son. I don't think Everett would be as adorable if it wasn't for him getting his dad's cute, little nose.

-he knows exactly how to calm me when I'm down and need a lift-me-up.

-he has such a great sense-of-humor that enables me to have lots of laughter everyday.

-family is very important to him and he has created such a close bond with my side of the family.

-he will do anything to make me happy.

-he is so open-minded and is always up for anything, at anytime.

-he shares many of the same values that I do in life.

-he is THE best father to our son and helps out immensely. I don't know if there is any other father out there that changes more diapers or feeds a baby than he does. And he does this after a long day at work and is so willing to give me a break in the evening and at night.

These are just a few reasons why I love this man so much. I'm definitely a very lucky gal!

2 Months {Everett's Milestones and Shots}

Everett turned 2 months last week but today, he had his 2 month shots. I think I squirmishly anticipated this day for a whole week. I had knots in my stomach all day and that empty, butterfly feeling from the moment I woke up this morning. Having your child in pain as got to be THE worse thing in the world. If anyone can think of anything worse, please, tell me. Dale had to work and could not be there with me so I took my brother, Billy with me for moral support. He was a lot of help and I thank him for taking the time to be there.

Once it was time for his three shots, I asked the nurse assistant if I had to hold him, as I did not want to. You would think any mother would but I did not want to be right there witnessing the pain he was about to go through so I asked her if I could just sit in the corner of the room. Everett was a trooper though. He screamed at the pokes and my eyes filled with tears each time but I held him and cuddled him right afterwards and gave him a bottle. He passed out before even finishing half the bottle and has been asleep ever since. I'm hoping that he won't develop a fever like some babies do. He's doing great so far and just like my husband reassured me, it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. My hearts not racing a million miles any longer but I'm already anticipating his next set of shots in 2 months. Call me an overprotective mother, what have you. :) Dale will be there next time; I'll make sure of that!

The shots that he received for today were:

-Diphtheria: Causes a thick covering in the back of the throat and can lead to breathing problems, paralysis, heart failure, and even death.

-Tetanus (Lockjaw): Causes painful tightening of the muscles, usually all over the body. Can also lead to the "locking" of the jaw so victim cannot open his mouth or swallow. Tetanus leads to death in up to 2 out of 10 cases.

-Pertussis (Whooping Cough): Causes coughing spells so bad that it is hard for infants to eat, drink, or breath. These spells can last for weeks and can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and death.

He weighed 11 lbs and 2 oz and measured 22.5 inches long and is in the 28 percentile. At his last visit, he was only in the 9 percentile. He is getting to be such a big boy and is gaining well, which is great progress. When he was first born, he struggled with low weight and slow weight gain which had his pediatrician a little concerned but it's all well on track now.

He is still passed out and I have left him in his car seat so he can get all the rest he needs to sleep off this rough day this little boy has had today.

{Article} Stay-at-home Mom

All stay-at-home moms need to read this. Well said!

(You'll need to click on the article image to get a bigger view)

Thumbsucker

Ladies and gentlemen, we haaave a thumbsucker. My little Everett is a thumbsucker. I feel like I'm calling him a bad name or something. ;) Thumbsucker! Earlier on, I was afraid that he'd get really stuck on the pacifier and at first, he was crazy about it but he rarely takes it now. He'll either stick his tongue out so I can't put it in or he'll spit it right back out so my fear of him using it all the time has diminished a little bit. For now, at least. He's been using the Soothie and I recently tried the Advent ones but he gagged so hard with it I kind of had to laugh. I really don't have a doubt in my mind that he's not going to be a thumbsucker. He's starting already. He doesn't quite have the coordination to find his thumb and keep it there for a long period of time but I've caught him several times. It's actually kind of pretty cute, I think.

Growing Up

Why do babies grow up so fast? Everett is only 2 months old but he has grown and developed so much. It's kind of saddening. I miss him being so tiny but yet, love the milestones that he has recently reached. I love:

-how he will give mommy and daddy a smile when we look/talk to him
-how he coos
-how he now grunts to push out a little toot or to take a little poo-poo
-how he now has the coordination to wrap his hands around his bottle
-how he will go longer periods of time in a content state
-how his eyes slowly scan moving objects and can keep focus

Dale had the day off today so we've had a great day hanging out; just the 3 musketeers. Here are some photos from today. Enjoy!

Standing up like a big boy


I've quit trying to figure out what's going on with his hair.


Tuckered out from hanging out

Silly Photo

This photo does nothing but crack me up. Good timing though. Everett decided to stick his tongue out and look up cross-eyed right when the photo was taken. He looks pretty cute but almost kind of weird too.

No TV for a week?! I think I'd die...

So it's 11pm, made a nice brew of Starbucks Sumatra, listening to the blaring TV (sometimes, I think my husband is close to deaf or needs to clean his ears out) and I got this wild hair up my butt to retire TV watching for a week. I came up with this idea because I realized today how much of the boob tube I watch. It's on ALL day long, whether I actually watch it or not. And lately, I've had this urge for more fulfillment in my life. I've been itching to feel some self-accomplishment. There's many ways I can do this: read a good book, scrapbook some of my family, wedding, and Everett photos, get my card stock out and make some cards, finish the scarfs I've started knitting, decorate my home--just to name a few. The thing that has prevented me from accomplishing these things is TV. I waste my day watching/not watching it. I don't watch it more than I do but I use it as more for white noise then anything but it's distracting. So-I think I'm going to ground myself from the TV for a week so I can get some things done that I want. And don't want, such as cleaning out the storage area that should've been done months ago. This no TV idea will also allow me to tune back in to KINK FM and listen up on all the new music I've missed lately. That, and also some more one-on-one playtime with Everett. First thing on the list is to finish the book below: