Here's Your Update

Here’s the update I promised.  So, what have we been up to since the last time I wrote?  Well, Keller’s off to Kindergarten…okay, so it hasn’t been that long!

We had Keller baptized the middle of October and he was a perfect angel.  He didn’t cry once during the whole mass.  Not when they dumped water on his head and not even when Father Jerry paraded him down the aisle like he was dear Lord Baby Jesus himself.  Seriously, I was a little nervous.  I mean, he was holding him up in the air and all I was thinking was, “If Keller makes a move, his next move might be towards the floor.”  But I reminded myself we were in church and that would be a pretty mean Lord to hurt my baby in church at the hands of one of his own.

 

And then came the dreaded October 14^th.  The day mama had to go back to work.  You’ll be glad to know we all survived.  You were probably worried since I hadn’t written in so long.  It was a sad, sad, sad day, but it has gotten better.  I dreaded the day for weeks, months even, and when it finally came, I woke up and got ready for work and I was thinking, “This isn’t so bad.  I’m doing great.  Maybe this will be alright.”  So, I get ready and wake Dustin up (he stayed home with him and it was a Friday, so I only had one day to get through) to let him know I’m leaving and when Keller ate last, etc. and I feel myself getting a little emotional, but I suck it up because I know I’ll get no sympathy from Dustin.  Okay, ready to go.  Just need to give the little guy a kiss and I’m off.  And that’s when I lost it.  Oh, the tears.  They started flowing and they didn’t stop until I got to work.  I even pulled through McDonalds and got myself a little Frappe for my big day and as the guy asked me how I was and handed me my beverage, I answered “Good” through tear-stained cheeks.  Real convincing, Lindsay.  I composed myself in the parking lot at work, though I was on the verge of tears and knew this composure wouldn’t last long.  And it didn’t.  I got into work and cried as I told my co-workers how sad I was to be back.  I missed them and all, but I didn’t cry when I left them.  J  We’re almost up to 2 months and it has gotten easier…but I’m still trying to convince Dustin that my little boy needs me at home.  Clearly, I’m not doing a very good job.

 

How can I leave that sweet face?!



"Mom, are you really going to leave these sweet little chubby cheeks?"

Shortly after I went back to work, our Cardinals won the World Series.  Some of the most exciting baseball ever!  So that means the Cards won the World Series in the year Dustin & I were born (1982) and the year Keller was born.  Destiny.

Keller turned 3 months.

  

We celebrated our first Halloween.  Keller was a skunk, and hated it.  Marley was a hot dog and loved it.  Maya was a banana split, and she, like Keller, hated it.  We always sit in our driveway and hand out candy, and it was a pretty chilly evening here.  That, along with Keller’s crabbiness over being a skunk caused us to cut our evening short.  This led to us having an abundance of leftover Halloween candy.  Not to worry, it’s almost gone.  For some reason, my cravings came after I had the baby.  During my pregnancy I never really got cravings.  Now, I may eat an entire pan of brownies if left alone in a room with them.

And then he turned 4 months. 

The doctor gave us permission to move on to rice cereal and fruits and veggies.  So excited!  So we came home that night and gave it a go.  Not a big success, but I figure that’s to be expected when you’ve only known a liquid diet and there are suddenly flakes mixed in.  Tried again the next night…still not a fan. 





Night 1 - I don't think he likes it

This was taken a few days in by Aunt Emily.  I believe that's the face of a child that prefers liquids.

We have since moved on to some solids.  I am planning to make my own baby food, so we started by putting a little mashed banana in the rice cereal.  That was a little better.  We’ve also had avocado, which apparently is much better than rice cereal.  He ate it like it was the best thing he’s ever had…and at this point in his life, it probably is.

We had our first Thanksgiving, which was rather rushed being that I had to work on Friday.  We went back home and made our rounds, seeing as much family as we could fit into 24 hours.  Everyone was so excited to see Keller, as you can imagine.  And Dustin and I were there too.  :)

And that brings us (pretty much) up to date.



My Mom Rocks

I’m the type of person that always has to be up doing something (well, at least I was before baby) and there is no doubt I get that from my mother.  She came out last weekend for our annual Christmas shopping extravaganza and we shopped till we dropped.  Or, at least until Dustin had had enough father-son time.  (He called around 6:00 on Day 1 and couldn’t fathom that we weren’t done after 10 hours.  Seriously, honey, we’ve only just begun.)  So we shopped for 2 very full days and she bought me lots of great Christmas gifts and everything I picked up and considered buying for Keller she added to her shopping bag instead.  (And can I just say he is going to be one styling kid with his new baby Toms & baby Sperry’s.  Cutest things ever.  Let’s just hope he doesn’t have his dad’s Sperry allergy!)  She got us lunch and Starbucks everyday (which I’m really missing) and we reminisced about the good ol’ Christmas shopping days.  J

But what really makes her great is that even with all this shopping we did, she managed to be her usual busy-body self and decorate my house for Christmas, do a little dusting and vacuuming, do dishes and a bajillion loads of laundry (Yep, you read that right, a bajillion.  It’s a real number, look it up.), help take care of Keller & the four-legged children, and various other things that post-baby I just don’t get around to doing like I should.  And she even brought me out some dessert, which I don’t need but am eating it like I do.  And not to exclude Dustin, she made him some Chex mix.  She is so helpful and so willing to help and though I don’t tell her enough, I so appreciate everything she does for us.  Everyone should be so lucky to have a mom like mine.  Love you mama!

It's Been A While

Yeah, yeah – so it’s been a while.  I’m a slacker, what can I say?!?  In fact, it’s quite the opposite.  Who knew how much work it is working full-time and being a full-time parent?  Not I.  I get home from work and all I want to do is love on my sweet boy and make up for the time I’ve missed.  And so I do.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t get my house cleaned or laundry done and it certainly doesn’t get a Blog written. 

A few nights ago, after Keller had gone to bed, I cleaned my bathroom vanity and let me tell you, the sense of accomplishment I felt, you’d have thought I ran a marathon or parallel parked my car or something (I’ve never done either one and likely never will).  Nevermind that the floor and the toilet and the tub were all still in need of a cleaning.  That vanity was clean, damn it and it felt good!  This is what my life has become…excitement over a clean vanity.  I may have a dirty house, but I also have a very, very loved little boy and that’s WAY more important.  I’ll provide an update soon.  In the meantime, here's a pic of my little lovebug.