Milestones

I guess James got the memo that he is 1 year old and should transition from a baby into a toddler, because he has been working hard at hitting milestones! He is now officially walking! He is of course still unstable and falls down frequently, but he is determined to get it right. The only thing he hasn't figured out is how to stand himself up without pulling up on something. I am so excited for this new transition (is that naive of me to say that?) and can't wait to have more adventures with James.

Another milestone is transitioning out of bottles. This hasn't been as tricky as I thought it would be. He prefers straw cups, so that's his cup of choice and is what he drinks his milk out of. He drinks about 20-24 oz of whole milk, and water in between. Eating, however, is another story. He has a preference for orange foods, like squash, sweet potatoes, goldfish, Macaroni and Cheese, and cheese. (Is it obvious he is my child?!?) His really does NOT like anything green or cold. He rarely will eat meat. Sometimes I can sneak some meat into his sweet potatoes, but he's catching on and will spit out the meat and eat the potatoes! I'm often frustrated by his lack of appetite, and have to remind myself that he will eat when he's hungry and that he doesn't actually need to eat as much as I think. Of course as the typical mom, I am trying SO HARD to get him to eat a balanced meal. I sometimes feel like I spend most of my day trying to get him to eat good foods.

James has also decided that he wants only 1 nap a day, which I am NOT thrilled about. I do like how it's a longer chunk of time (except for now because I think he's teething), but I miss having that morning time to get ready and clean.

Chris and I are constantly amazed at how independent and energetic this boy is. I am not kidding when I say that he will literally not sit still. Ever. He is so spirited and funny though that I just have to sit back and watch him do his thing. I wish he was cuddly, but I have resorted myself to the fact that my next kid will have to be cuddly! Chris and I saw Harry Potter 7 last Saturday at the Gateway in Salt Lake, and we LOVED it. Maybe it was because we had waited so long to see it and took the time to finally get a babysitter (our first one ever!), but it made the night extra special. Anyway, at the movie there was a couple who brought their 3 month old daughter, and she sat there the entire time watching or sleeping. I have to admit that I was green with envy. James was NEVER like that, only rarely as a newborn. He was just a wriggly little guy from the get go! I hear he is just like Chris as a baby. Hopefully our next will take after me!

Well, thank goodness he is a good night sleeper. Is it pathetic that I'm ready for bed at 7 every night when James goes to sleep?

Future Decorator

I caught this adorable moment of James the other day. He is getting so strong and LOVES to push and pull things.

He did this nearly the entire day, and cried every time we had to leave it. Apparently he has a better eye for decorating than I do.

Birthday Letter

To My Darling Birthday Boy,
Today you are 1 year old! Your father and I cannot believe how lucky we are to have you in our lives. You have brought indescribable joy and happiness into our home with your sweet and curious spirit. We have enjoyed watching you grow and learn about the world around you, and look forward to what the next year will bring. You are our darling, beautiful boy and we love you so much. Here are some of our favorite things about you!
- Every time you take a bite of food, you say "yum!" It's gotten to the point that if we say "yum", you open your mouth and look for food!
- If I get down on all fours, you realize I'm coming to tickle you and you crawl and hide under the table for me to find you. You love being chased!
- You are just like your daddy in that you adore electronics! The only time I've ever seen you sit quietly is when you have a phone or remote in your hands.
- Our absolutely FAVORITE thing is your huffy face! You scrunch up your nose, pucker your lips, squint your eyes, and breathe heavily through your nose. It's hysterical and you know it's funny! You always have a glint in your eye because you know it makes us laugh!
- You love cereal, bananas, yogurt, and sweet potatoes. You're not the biggest fan of green beans and eggs though. You always give me the huffy face when I put some in your mouth!
- You wave hello and goodbye all the time, but your hand is turned inward so you're actually waving to yourself. :)
- You know how to roll a ball back and forth between you and Mommy.
- Sometimes we'll catch you laying down on your tummy, sucking on the carpet! Yuck!
- When you get really excited about something, you'll do the "happy crawl" with your arms flinging all over the place. When you know you're going somewhere you're not supposed to, you always look back to make sure we're watching!
- You love to read books and make sounds as if you're actually reading it. When we read the book together you always look up at me to make sure I'm making all the appropriate sounds!
- With all your 5 teeth, you get a kick out of biting Mom and Dad, and we have the scars to prove it!
- You are a FABULOUS night sleeper, and have been since a baby! Thank you!!
- When you are really hungry and see the food coming, you start sucking your lips and drinking air in anticipation!
- You say "Mama" and finally say "Dada"!
- We are worried about the time to remove your helmet, because you think you're invincible! You bang your head on everything and don't feel a thing. We are going to have to be so careful when your helmet comes off in 4 months!
- If we could, we'd make your laugh our ringtones! We could listen to it forever!
- You are more interested in the boxes and packaging than the toy itself. Good to know we just need to get you boxes for Christmas! :)

Today we have had a fabulous birthday day. We bought your big boy car seat, celebrated with a birthday cake, and opened presents! You received some bath toys, cars, and books. You got your first taste of whole milk, which you love! You even got to wear a "Birthday Boy" pin all day! You are such a lucky boy! Happy birthday son! We love you!

Holiday Happenings

Besides the week we were all sick, which I shall dub "The Week from Hell" (see previous post), life has been great! Chris is enjoying his job and is really good at it, and James has been learning new things by the day. We had some family in town for a week, and it was great for James to have some company! He even showed off for them by walking a few steps. It must not have clicked though because he hasn't done it since. I cannot believe that my little baby is turning 1 on Saturday! I will hold off on sharing his new conquests until his birthday post later. :)

One new adjustment has been his helmet. It's much bigger than his last one, and looks so huge on him! Fortunately, he can pull off the football player look. :) Here's a pic of the new plastic headpiece.



As of now, we are gearing up for Christmas! Thanksgiving was low-key, yet still delicious. We were still a little sick, so it was just Chris, James and I. I cooked my first turkey! Okay, so it was only half a turkey. Baby steps! It was so yummy, and we had stuffing, yams, potatoes, and rolls to go with it. Pumpkin pie and homemade whipped cream for desert of course! It was a wonderful day, and we watched Harry Potter 3 afterwards.

Saturday marked our 6 year anniversary! I cannot believe how fast time has flown by, and that we are even closer now than when we were married. It is fun to think back to those early days and think about how different and more mature we are now. One thing that I love about getting married young is that we get to see each other mature and grow into the person we need each other to be. Through the good and the bad, we know how to be there for one another, and I am so fortunate to be married to my best friend! We had plans to go out and see the Harry Potter movie to celebrate, but we canceled our babysitter and postponed it until next Saturday because James was still a little sick and didn't want to leave a sick baby with a babysitter for the first time. So, instead we had a Harry Potter movie marathon, and are all ready to go for the 7th movie next week! We can't wait! Is it absolutely terrible that Chris and I are leaving James on his birthday to go see the movie? We're waiting until he's asleep, I promise!

Well, the Christmas decorations are up (and still intact despite James's best efforts), Christmas music is playing non-stop, eggnog is in the fridge, and my favorite candy cane candle is burning. What could be better than Christmas?

Week from Hell

We are all still alive, and after the week we just had, that is saying something! On November 20, Saturday, towards the end of the day I started feeling a little nauseous. It started getting progressively worse, to the point where I told Chris I couldn't possibly make dinner without puking. I just kept thinking that I had to make it until James went to bed, then I could rest and probably feel better. After the quickest bath of James's life, he went to bed and I collapsed on my bed. Within an hour, I found myself curled up on my bathroom floor throwing up everything in my stomach. It got progressively worse and more violent, and I was just begging for mercy. After talking to my Dad on the phone and realizing I couldn't possibly keep any medicine in my body, he suggested we go to the urgent care. With my trusted bucket by my side (which was being filled every few minutes), we woke James up and Chris drove us to the nearest urgent care site. By this point I was dry heaving every few minutes. After getting settled in, the doctor finally gave me a shot, which made me sleepy but wasn't helping my nausea. I still couldn't drink anything, and my heart rate was high because I was so dehydrated. Since they were closing soon, they suggested to go to the ER to get an IV to rehydrate my body. So, after hours of torture and still no relief, we trekked over to the ER, where I finally found relief with an IV and more anti-nausea medicine (thank you Zofran!). While there, they kept needing me to do different tests that required me to stand. I told them I wasn't feeling stable enough, and proved my point by passing out a few times throughout the night every time I tried remaining vertical. Finally, by 2 in the morning I was hydrated and my nausea had gone. The doc had determined that it was probably food poisoning. Chris dropped James and I off and then went to the only 24 hour pharmacy down in Provo to get my prescriptions filled in case I got nauseous again. Poor thing didn't get to bed until 4 in the morning! He was so great at taking care of us.
Sunday I was starting to feel a little better, but then of course James and Chris got sick! Poor James was throwing up and going through diapers by the minute, and it was all Chris and I could do to take care of him. The only thing James lived on Sunday and Monday was Pedialyte. Monday was even worse! Thank goodness for anti-nausea medicine, or I never would have made it out alive. Chris had to work that day (fortunately he was able to do it from home though), and so I had to take care of a very sick little baby, even though I could hardly even stand. It took me about 2-3 days before I could even eat anything besides liquids, and I was so weak. I remember just sitting there crying, with James crying in my arms. Both of us feeling miserable. How pathetic! Finally by Tuesday I started to get my strength back, and James had quit throwing up. By this point, we were all pretty much normal except for a little weakness. The only person who was not 100% was James. I was probably changing over 20 disgusting diapers a day, and his poor little bottom was so red! He got a severe diaper rash that kept bleeding despite my best efforts. We finally found that Neosporin, Butt Paste, and Desitin helped. Friday, James suddenly got better and now we are all healthy. My house was looking and smelling like death for a while there, and yesterday I finally did a ton of washing and cleaning and am happy to be out of the war zone.
All in all, one of the worst weeks of my life. Nothing is worse than being violently ill, and not only having no one to take care of you, but having everyone around you sick as well! It was absolutely miserable and I would have rather gone through labor and delivery again than go through that night. Ugh - here's to hoping that was a "once in a lifetime" experience! If it ever happens again, I'm just going to wave my little white flag of surrender and beg for mercy.

Shakes and Waves

James has been learning how to wave. I think he's pretty cute.

Halloween!

We started off our Halloween week with about 3 inches of snow!! We were so excited and of course I had to dress James up in his new winter clothes and go for a walk!

Halloween - the one time a year I have an excuse to wear my favorite color! (Orange does NOT look good on me!) It's a time for costumes, candy, our traditional Beanie Weenies, and of course, Hocus Pocus. There's only one thing that can put a damper on this great holiday: a teething baby! Our poor little dragon is growing more teeth, and therefore his eating and sleep habits have been discarded. It all started on Friday, when I went to Snow Springs to show off my fire-breathing dragon. We were able to last through the 3rd grade costume parade, and then we had to head home. On the way home, James instantly fell asleep - which he NEVER does!! At home, I noticed that he was really warm, so I took his temperature and discovered he had a fever. After some Tylenol and another nap, we realized that he was probably teething (he also had a teething rash and red gums!) Since then, his sleep has been very unpredictable and he wakes up crying and more fussy then when he went to sleep. On Saturday, we dressed him back up and went to our church to go Trick or Treating, which was super fun but very crowded. We lasted only about twenty minutes! James was thoroughly unimpressed with the whole place, and since he hadn't been feeling good, we went home. Case in point: the picture below illustrates his mood the entire night.

Sunday was a beautiful day in which we went to church, watched scary movies (which was a major mistake! They keep coming back to haunt me when I'm trying to sleep!) and ate Beanie Weenies, a traditional DeBeikes Halloween dinner. Despite these pesky teeth, Halloween was not a total bust!


On other news, we got a second opinion on James's helmet. I have intentionally waited a while to post because I didn't want to come off so harshly. I needed time to cool off and put things into perspective. It has been 4 months with his helmet, which we were told would be enough time to reshape his head. It is still far from fixed, and this other doctor basically told us that he would have treated James very differently with a different type of helmet and supplemental stretches. Right away he came off as professional and very knowledgeable in this area. He explained things to us that our other doctor never even mentioned. Basically, we left feeling like the doctor we had chosen was obviously not proficient in his practice and wasn't aware of these other factors influencing James's head shape. If he had been, he would have done a different treatment plan and we would probably have different results right now. We felt completely taken advantage of because we had a small window of opportunity for growth, and we put our trust in a complete goof. We decided to call this old doctor and set up an appointment to meet with him and the owner, and we left that meeting feeling a little better. The owner and lead doctor of this practice said that a second helmet (James has grown out of his current one) with some modifications for an additional 4 months might still help reshape his head, even though at this age his growth is so slow. The best news is that they aren't charging us for this second helmet because they knew we were so displeased with their performance. Even though this isn't exactly the outcome we intended, this feels like our best and only option. It's either that or take away the helmet and hope his head reshapes on its own. Even with the helmet, we might not see lots of growth, but I know we'd regret not at least taking the chance.

Well, despite the depressing tone of this post, things are going really well! James has learned how to wave and he is starting to copy my movements a lot more. I can't believe he's just about 11 months! That means only one more month until his birthday!! That just seems crazy. Everyday I'm realizing that my baby is being slowly replaced with a toddler.

Looking forward to Thanksgiving! I'm cooking it myself this year! Yikes!

Baby Rhys!

I am an aunt again, and James has a new boy cousin! Rhys Riley Williams was born October 20th, at 18:18! 9 lbs 3 oz, 21 inches. Mal is just the PERFECT baby-making machine because she literally laughed this big boy out! Now how come my epidural didn't make me giggly?!? Rhys is so adorable and we can't wait to meet him! Congrats Chris, Mal, Ella and Eli!! Welcome to the family Baby Rhys!

On other news, we went to James's 4 month check-up for his helmet. From the get-go, we were told that 4 months was all it would take to have James's head reshaped. However, it has been 4 months and we are far from over! In fact, his head hasn't changed at all in over 2 months! I am more than frustrated and can't help but wonder if I should have trusted my instincts and gone with a different doctor who uses more modern measurement techniques (like scanning his head, instead of chasing James around with a plastic measuring device trying to measure his head by hand!!) Keep in mind, this is the same doctor who mistakenly put our helmet on a different baby and we had to get a recast of James's head and wait for a NEW helmet to arrive. Anyway, we are keeping him in this helmet for awhile longer. We are getting a second opinion on Monday, so we will see what the verdict will be from these different doctors. Who knows, maybe this doctor actually knows what he's doing (shocker!) and James's head is just being stubborn. One thing is for sure, though. His helmet makes for some funny bed head!


I have been dying for more people interaction, so I was excited to see that some girls from my church were having a Girl's Night. Our ward is HUGE so I haven't been able to consistently meet a lot of girls, so I decided to go! It was so fun just to be out and meet new people. I can't believe how much I miss talking to girls everyday! That's one thing I didn't realize I would miss so much about teaching! It's just not nearly as fun talking to an 11 month old. I am constantly chatting with him, and all I'm getting in return thus far are blank stares. I wonder how much he's taking in?

Have I mentioned how utterly excited I am that it's fall and finally starting to cool down here? I have loved our daily walks and showing James the colors of the leaves, which of course he tries to eat. I am so excited to cook my chili, make homemade cornbread, and then try out a new recipe I saw online for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. Can't it just stay fall year round?





What can I say? He's got attitude.



Happy Halloween!

RIP Suede

A few weeks ago we had to put Suede down. He was having major health problems and didn't want him to suffer. The first time I met Suede, I was woken up late at night by my parents placing a little brown ball of fur on my chest. I remember being SO excited just to get home from school everyday to get to play with our new puppy! I have many fond memories (and some other not so fond memories...) of this lovable dog! He has been living with my parents in Oregon, so I didn't get to see him that often, but it was a blast having James play with him last time we visited. I am so glad we got to see him one last time!

Miss you pup! See you in heaven!

Crowns, Cavities, and Crawling, Oh My!

Seeing how it has been a few weeks since my last post, I figured I'd better document what the DeBeikes family has been up to lately! James and I are now in a good routine everyday of eating, sleeping, walking, cleaning, and cooking. It's all very glamorous, I know. We are currently sharing 1 car, so most days Chris takes our Hyundai and James and I stay home, going for long walks around our complex. I am LOVING fall right now! It's been so nice to go outside and watch the leaves falling and all the Halloween decorations. Sometimes, it's the only thing that calms James! I think he is getting more teeth, which has been making him more clingy and fussy than normal. Taking walks always does the trick.

During his naps, I have been reading like crazy. Not a surprise there, I know. I am seriously addicted to reading! I just finished reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer again, and WOW. That has got to be one of my favorite books. I forgot how captivating it is. I'm now on the prowl for another good book. Any recommendations?

It has been so much fun watching James grow everyday. He loves being upside down, thrown in the air, and is turning into a picky eater. He just doesn't like to eat much if it's not his bottle. I'm not letting him off that easy though and will keep at it. He is a pro at standing up on anything and cruising along furniture. He can stand on his own for about 3 seconds before falling, but he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to actually try walking on his own yet. He LOVES climbing up on anything though. His favorite thing to do is crawl on my leg and stand up. He just stands there, clinging to my leg. Of course, it's always when I'm trying to cook, which makes moving around a little difficult.

James is constantly chatting. He says "mama" all of the time, and that's about all I can understand. He even talks to his books. He adores sitting with a book in his lap, with his nose literally in the book. His nose touches the book and his fingers stroke the colors, my guess is that he's trying to get the pictures to move like some of his musical books. It's funny to watch. With everything he does and loves, though, it never lasts for more than a minute. It is exhausting, as I'm sure all mothers can attest to. He is quite the active child!

We went with an good friend to visit Snow Springs and to say hi to everyone, and I had such a great time. It was my first time going back since I quit in May, and it was great to see everyone again! The weirdest part was knowing that my classroom wasn't mine anymore! I peeked inside and felt a lot of sadness knowing that wasn't my personal space anymore. I even got to see some of my old students! This was their first time meeting James, so it was fun to watch their reactions towards him. All in all, it sure did make me miss teaching, but when I look at James and think about all we do together everyday, it doesn't ever make me regret my decision to stay home with him. I think my teaching experience will just make me a better mom and help me keep the right perspective.

My teeth have been putting up a ruckus lately, so I went to the dentist and found out that I have 6 cavities and a broken tooth in need of a crown. Ugh! Have I ever mentioned how much I despise going to the dentist? I mean, most people hate the dentist, but I REALLY hate the dentist. Maybe it's because I've always had bad teeth, so dentist = pain. I currently have a temporary crown in place, and go in next week to put in the permanent crown and complete the fillings. I can hardly contain my excitement...

Next week we also go in to have James's head re-evaluated. It's been almost 4 months, which they said should have been enough time fix his head shape. However, last month when we went for a check-up, James had had zero change from the month before. I still haven't seen too much recent change. His head is still very flat in the back, and when his hair is wet you can see how his hair line is still shifted over. Fortunately, it's not too noticeable when his hair is dry. My guess is that we still need to be in the helmet for at least another month or two. Boo!

Happy Halloween!

Proof James is our son

This reaction only occurs when James hears The Office theme song, which is quite frequently. If this doesn't prove James is my son, then I don't know what will.

Oregon!

Who knew that when I booked the flight to visit my family, it would end up being changed and extended about 7 times? Most of the times were intentional, however, at the end, the infamous San Francisco fog and aircraft mechanical problems kept me in Oregon even longer. I was in Oregon just about 3 weeks and loved every moment of it...almost. I could have done without the whole "we're going to have you board a plane at 5:15 am, finally put your infant to sleep, then kick you off the plane and have you fend for yourself with a teething and exhausted infant. Oh - and we are going to cancel all of your other possible flights as well" scenario.

One thing is for sure, it is quite the trip traveling with a helmet-equipped baby! It's remarkable how many people just sit and stare or "whisper" about it as if I'm not even there. Especially in a place like the airport! I would much prefer it if people would just come and ask me about it! My poor son is going to feel downright neglected when it comes off. I will be grateful just to be able to walk into a grocery store without feeling like I have a spotlight on my son! It's a good thing that MOST of the time I am a good sport about it.

Regardless, Medford was a blast and it was great getting together with the entire family! We were able to rent a house in Sunriver for a few days and enjoyed the crisp air, bike rides, great food, playing Mexican Train, and rafting. It was great being with the entire family (sans Chris and Cassandra's hubs Sam) for the first time in over a year! James loved all of the attention. In fact, since we have been home I've felt bad that he only has me all day.






After Sunriver, we enjoyed events such as...

A bug-eating contest....I declined to participate




Washing down the bugs with smores, roasted apples, and roasted banana deliciousness




Feeling like a kid again at the Science Museum



Channeling my inner child with a game of Bubble Bobble



Bowling, where I bowled the lowest score of my life




Visiting Ashland and Jacksonville




Shopping, shopping, and more shopping! You'd think I'd get sick of it!



Pedicures and lunch with the girls




Watching James and Suede become best friends



Getting back in touch with amazing friends and family




And best of all, Peter got his mission call to Campinas, Brazil!



All in all, this vacation was exactly what I needed! My batteries have been recharged, my wardrobe has improved, and I have come back with a few extra pounds (thereby making the newly bought clothes a tad too snug, yikes). I even managed to re-read the Eragon books and read Mockingjay (boo, that deserves a post all on it's own).

Since returning home, I have indulged in the typical "vacation after a vacation" rule and have enjoyed catching up on my recorded shows and finishing the Percy Jackson's series, which I HIGHLY recommend. What can I say, I am utterly addicted to reading! I suppose it's time, however, to get my house back in order and get back into cooking and eating right! Glad to be home, and begin planning my next vacation!

9 Months! Well, almost.

I took James to his 9 month check-up yesterday, even though he doesn't turn 9 months for another week and a half. We're going to be out of town soon and didn't want to wait. James is a very healthy boy weighing in at just under 20 lbs (40 percentile), and is 28.5 inches (66 percentile). The doc was surprised at how strong he was. We couldn't get him to sit still (story of my life) long enough to do anything! It was nice to see the doc struggling to put James's diaper back on. James will NOT lay down. He constantly turns. It was nice to see that I'm not the only one that gets frustrated with diaper changes! The visit went well, and I swear that James is going to feel completely ignored in public when his helmet comes off. EVERYDAY people stop and stare and come talk to us. We get lots of compliments on the "Y" sticker on his helmet too. In 2 months when the helmet comes off, James is going to wonder why he is suddenly not the most popular baby. I, for one, will be SO HAPPY to have the helmet gone!

This will probably be my last post for awhile. On Monday James and I will fly to Oregon to visit the fam for 16 days. I am actually very nervous about the flight because it's very early, James cannot sit still for longer than 30 seconds, he cannot sleep outside of the crib, and I will be ALL ALONE. Agh, I've been freaking out about it ever since we booked the flights. Once I am there though, it's going to be a blast! ALL of the fam will be together for the first time in a year, and we are going to Sunriver for a few days. Chris will be driving up to meet us a few days later. He is going to drive to CA first to visit his family, then drive up to OR. I cannot wait! Bring on the vacation!

Cabin Fever

Since Chris is out of town on a business trip, it has just been James and I for a few days. Perhaps this demonstrates how cooped up I've been with no adult to talk to, but I thought this video was absolutely hysterical. I put James in his pack and play for a minute while I started dinner, and then I noticed him playing with the mesh. What a fabulous end to an otherwise exhausting and trying day. I think James is going through some separation anxiety or something, because he cries unless I'm holding him. Maybe James just misses his Daddy.

Enjoy. With these funny faces and his poor helmet head, I sure do have one silly looking kid.

James Talking

2 days ago James suddenly realized that he has a voice and can make new sounds. Since then, this is what I've heard ALL day long!

Day At the Park

Saturday we had a blast! In the morning we got together with friends and went to a Farmer's Market where I bought fresh zucchini. This said zucchini has since been made into delicious zucchini bread. We also went to a tiny and very stinky petting zoo for the kids, but still managed to have a blast with the Spikers! Even though I was pretty sure that the pig was thinking about eating little Scotty.

Later that afternoon, Chris, James and I went a park and let James crawl around on the grass. It was a massive park and we had it all to ourselves! We got some cute pics of him and it was great just spending time outside. James has a love for pulling grass and can sit there forever completely entranced.










Yesterday he also learned how to do different tricks with his lips and tongue. He has been constantly sucking on his top lip and then twirling his tongue. I never would have thought that these tiny, unimportant things would suddenly become so exciting! I guess when it's your own baby, you think everything new that he discovers and does is the most fascinating and adorable thing ever. If it wasn't my child I would probably care less.

James has also become quite a babbler. The entire time at church today he kept making new sounds and has been making "dada" sounds like crazy. Of course, I can't understand why they couldn't have been "mama" sounds...

What a cute little family I have!