The Best of 2009

Well, it has kinda become a Bio Girl tradition to do an end of the year "Best of Bio Girl" post. (see 2007 and 2008) So, before we head out to ring in the new decade (it really makes me feel old that it has been ten YEARS since the millennium...), I present you the best of 2009!

• I like to start with January and work my way through the year, but lets jump on ahead to May for this first bullet and say this is by far the best of 2009.
• And while I am jumping around to heart warming, real topics, let me go ahead and link to a general category from this year; Letters to Henry. I love writing these, and I know one day he will love reading them. I plan to make a book of them for his first birthday.
• So now that serious stuff is out of the way, here is a list of pregnancy cravings. With pictures and everything!
• I totally forgot about trying to make a return to a crying sales clerk!
• The cats...they are still around, and they are multiplying.
• A hypothetical snot bubble.
• I will try to not do this to my new iphone.
• The reason pregnant girls need to check the mirror.
• Good thing I didn't get a ticket to this since I had Henry 8 days later...
• And then Henry was born. My first post as a Mama.
• Remember when Henry made me watch Homeward Bound?
• I forgot about this peanut butter! I gotta pick some up now that I can eat it again...
• Back to another food post, but remember that time I thought Henry was bleeding...but turned out it was chocolate.
• I forgot I got stuck in a pair of pants...but I am still amazed I could even get them on!
• Not as light hearted, but still a good post about struggling with my post baby body.
• Followed up by my 5k! (which I walked...)
• Pictures of Henry's missing hair (it is totally coming back in now!)
• A debate over running...something I have managed to do twice I think.
• Henry's day with Carter
• Henry trying on some Halloween Clothes!
• Oh yeah...I turned 30.
• We grew our own pumpkin this year too!
• Then we had Henry's first Thanksgiving.
• And his first Christmas too!

So that's it. The best of Bio Girl 2009. Thanks for sticking around for another year. I will see you in 2010! (which I plan to call twenty-ten...sounds cooler.)

Christmas 2009

Here is a picture slideshow from our first Christmas with our sweet boy. It was a perfect holiday.

Christmas 2009 from Sarah on Vimeo.

Have Your Self a Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sintara

Quick Pics

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We still have one more to go, but so far we have had the perfect holiday. We have so many sweet pictures from this Christmas that I plan to make a slide show, but I wont get to that for a couple of days. For now I thought I would share two quick ones that I love.
Our sweet boy decided he might be alright with this Santa Guy after all! I was so amazed with how into his presents he was! I thought he was going to be too little to be interseted, but no. This boy understood that inside that paper are TOYS!! Or maybe he just thought, "they are letting me tear PAPER!!" Either way, we enjoyed watching him!
And a good family picture from Christmas Eve at my parents.

And Now we are out the door for Granddaddy and Grams house!! Lots and lots (and lots) more wonderful pictures to come on Monday or Tuesday. Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with their family. I know this will be our best yet.

Santa Baby

Henry went to meet Santa today. This picture is of a much higher quality, but alas I do not have a scanner so therefore resorted to the old take-a-picture-of-a-picture method. It makes it look all old school, like he was born in 1973, but that's okay. He has an old soul. Anyway, they took three pictures total. In the first, he was looking like, "What the hell Mom??" This is the second. A closer inspection of this Santa fella. You can't really tell it, but he has a good strong hold of Santa's beard in this picture. Exactly ten seconds later he turned to the camera and SCREAMED. That was picture three. Yeah. It was fun.

Bunting Take Two

Remember this little photo of Henry in his bunting that I blogged about when he was four weeks old??

Well, now that it's winter we pulled it out of the closet and put it in his car seat. It is just about the greatest thing since sliced bread. Look at him in it now!
Henry totally loves his bunting. It will be keeping him warm as a bug in a rug all winter. Seriously, this is the warmest thing in the history of blankets. I acutally want an adult sized one to put in my drivers seat so I can be as warm as Henry. He gets all the good stuff.

Thanks again Aunt Carole and Aunt Cheryl!

Updates

So here I sit, all alone in my little hotel room. There is nothing but crap on the TV and I am waiting on my dinner to get here (I ordered in...because it has been a long day and going someplace alone just wasn't even remotely appealing.) and it occurred to me that I sure do manage to find time to do lots of complaining about issues on here, but I never seem to find the time to give actual honest to god updates on these topics once things get better. I mean, it is sorta rude of me. I am all like, "HEEEEELLLLPPPP ME INTERNET FRIENDS!!!" And you come to my rescue again and again and all you hear back are crickets. Soooooo, lets talk.

Breast Feeding:
So the breast feeding issue is going much much better. The reasons for this are two fold. Number one. I totally and utterly have removed Caffeine from my diet. Not "mostly" or "almost totally" but COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY GONE. This means my morning coffee is gone (yes, I still had morning coffee *shame*) My sweet teas from McDonald's are gone. It is all gone. Except Chocolate. Okay, that isn't gone. Because who stops eating chocolate. Totally impossible. Anyway, this removal of all liquid caffeine has made a real difference. Like night and day. I am getting much more milk when I pump, and I no long feel like I am getting that deer in headlights look when he is done nursing.

Number two, I calmed the flip down and stopped being a crazy spaz of a first time mom that was all like, "My BABBBBEEEE my precious BABBBEEEEE is STARVING", because...well, come to find out he is really doing well. I realized this when Nick fed him a bottle and he drank the entire thing in less than three minutes. This kid can eat fast. I then managed to pump seven ounces in about three minutes as well. So....this showed me that just because he eats fast does not mean he is not eating enough. He always seems satisfied. Sometimes there is milk left that he decides not to eat. So, that is a sure sign he is full. My boy is happy and healthy and doing great. I am trying not to stress.

Dairy:
I totally forgot to tell you all, but I am back on dairy! Everything short of large glasses of milk and pieces of cheesecake, both of which I will be trying soon. We have eased back into it and he has handled it really really well. I think it helps that he is eating so many new things now, his body is just getting used to it.

Eating Veggies:
That reminds me, Henry totally eats veggies now. Like, he loves them. Especially green beans and carrots. He LOVES THEM. He gets a little mad when they are gone. Ignore the freak out over the sweet potatoes. Apparently he just isn't a fan. I had nightmares of him hating EVERYTHING, which clearly has not been the case. Thank God. Moving on.

Sleeping Habits:
Henry is sleeping much better. Much much better. I think this was another case of calm the flip down on my part. It was our fault that his sleep got so out of whack. We let him fall asleep in the living room too many times. That was a big part of the refusing to go to bed issue. That was resolved with seriously just one night of not taking him into the living room. We didn't let him cry, but we didn't take him out of his room either. We just went in there and rubbed his back, sang him songs, and told him good night. Three tries and he was out. The next night he went to bed without a peep. Funny how his issues seem to always turn out to be my fault. Welcome to parenthood.

As for the waking up in the night, it is hit or miss, but he only woke up once in the last five nights. When he does get up, he usually has a lot of gas, so I really think it is the new foods we are working into his diet. All in all, things are much better

Okay, I am sure I have lots of other topics I forgot to follow up on (feel free to ask questions in the comments if you think of any. I always forget what I blog about on here in the heat of the OH-MY-GAWD-IT'S-THE-END-OF-THE-WORLD moments.) I am sure there are other things...maybe even some which are non-Henry related. For now, I am going to eat my food that was just dropped off! Man, delivery is awesome.

Overnight

For the very first time since May 13th, I will spend the night without my boy. I am off to Tennessee for work tonight. I will be back late tomorrow, but it feels so strange to think of going someplace overnight without him. He has become such a huge part of my life, it is hard to think of even one night alone. He will be safe and sound at our house with his Papa. All will be fine. Still...feels so strange.

Christmas Party

Well it is officially the holidays. Our annual Friend Christmas Party was Saturday night! (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 has also been documented on a blog...I can't believe I have been blogging that long. Also, my hair was something special in 2007). Anyway, the party! It was at Boo and Chris's house and it was a huge success! They had a ton of food, we played some awesome Christmas games and everyone had an all around great time! Me and Nick enjoying the annual party, just the two of us.

Oh, but we did totally bring Henry. I mean, how could we be without our sweet boy at the Christmas Party?? Of course, he seems completely uninterested in the family portrait. Here is Henry with his Aunt Boo...a little more interested, but not really.

Hanging out with Aunt Candice and Uncle Awesome. Henry is fascinated by the dog toy Uncle Awesome is using to entertain him.

And now, some actual pictures of people without Henry in them. Here are Missy and Charing, looking adorable.

Ryan and Arielle, who just got engaged! We are all so excited!

Switching topics...what smooth transitions I have on this blog, here is the desert table! There was a food table, but I was finishing my third plate of food before I thought to photograph it, so it was sorta picked over. (WHHHHYYY Can't I loose these last seven pounds??)

How stinkin' adorable are these cookies my sister made? LOVE.

And now back to actual people! The hosts of the party. Thanks guys!!

Shawna and Alyssa hanging out

Laura, Abby and Gayla looking adorable

Oh, here's Henry again! Just in case you forgot about him. Sweet sweet boy in his Christmas Train outfit. ( Who may or may not have stayed awake at the party until midnight. But WHHHHHYY wont my baby sleep??)

Me and Charing

A cute one of Missy and Ashley

Aunt Candice and a very sleepy Henry

So I meant to have more of a transition to the games part of this post, but whatever. We played that Christmas game where you steal presents, we call it the White Elephant Game. And everyone brought something, and three people, THREE PEOPLE, brought a snuggie. Yes. And they were three of the first four presents opened. And even though there were THREE of them, they were still stolen like crazy and fought over, because EVERYONE wants a snuggie. Here are the three victors. Oh yes I am one of them. I am ruthless at that game. Also, my snuggie is awesome, but seems to be made of a rather flammable feeling material. I will not sit too close to the fireplace.

After the present game we broke out the whiteboard for some Christmas Pictionary. It should be written in stone that the larger the board for pictionary, the more fun it becomes. Nobody can resist writing on a white board. Except Charing.

And finally, here is a shot of my girls who are at the party every year. We were missing a couple of regulars, but we all had a great time! Boo and Chris, thanks for a great Friend Christmas. We loved it!!

Seven Months

Dear Henry,

I look at you everyday and am amazed already with how far you have come in these incredibly short seven months. From the tiny little innocent and helpless newborn to this curious, sweet-natured explorer. You are interested in everything. Anything you can get your hands on is a true adventure and experiment for you. How does it taste? Does it make noise? What if I drop it; will you then pick it up and give it back? Games are thrilling. Peak-a-boo is a favorite. You love your toys and are constantly amazed with the noises they make. Your Papa makes them all come to life, and you are so entertained. We love watching you play. Truly enjoying absolutely everything around you.

This past month you have started eating real food. We started out rough, with you absolutely hating sweet potatoes. We then took a step back and started out with more bland foods, mixing them with your rice cereal. I am now so proud to watch you eat carrots, squash, green beans and peas. We are adding new things all the time, and you are enjoying it all. You look like such a big boy sitting in your high chair. You have learned that when you are there, it is time to eat. You get so excited and peek around the corner to watch as I make your food. You now love everything about it!

We are officially in the middle of the holidays. This past month you had your very first Thanksgiving. We spent lots of time with all of your family. They so loved having you there. We were all so thankful for you. Our perfect new addition. Over the holiday weekend you made your very first trip to visit your family in South Carolina. You were such a good boy on the long car ride. You were sick, and you skipped all naps on the trip, but you were still so good. You amaze me with how easy you make things. Everyone in South Carolina loved you so.

I know each month I end my letters to you telling you how much I love you. I know as you get older this will get old to you. You will get tired of my kisses and my hugs and my constant reminding of how you fill my heart. For now, I love that you accept my loving easily. You cuddle in for hugs and kisses. You lay your head on my chest and sigh out of contentment and my heart melts. You have my heart my sweet boy. I will never stop telling you so. I love you more every single day. We are so lucky.

XOXO,

Mama

Sleeping Habits

Henry is not sleeping well. I have no idea what has happened to him. He used to be exhausted at his bed time, which is around nine. I know lots of people do seven or seven thirty, but nine works for us. I don't get home from work until 6:15, and I just need more time with him than an hour. I just do. (defensive a little??) Anyway, for his entire life he has slept easily. We can lay him down and he happily goes to sleep. Sometimes, on the more difficult nights, he needed to be rocked to sleep. Something I actually never mind because he is so stinkin' sweet I could just eat him up. So sometimes I rocked him to sleep, sometimes he fell asleep on his own, but he ALWAYS went to sleep. Until recently.

Recently he has decided he is no longer interested in sleep. He fights it and fights it. When he finally passes out, he sleeps for a couple of hours, then wakes up WIDE AWAKE. This leads to me nursing him to get him back to sleep around midnight. He then wakes up several times in the night. Most of the time he doesn't wake all the way up, just enough to stir, kick around, grunt and moan, wake us up, then fall back asleep. Usually at least once he wakes ALL THE WAY UP. This commonly requires nursing, and sometimes bringing him back to bed with us so the entire family can get some sleep.

Now, as I post this, I know I am breaking all kind of parenting book rules. I know I should "sooth him" but not nurse him. I know I shouldn't actually get him out of the bed, but he is WIDE AWAKE. He doesn't even cry most of the time, he just yells. Like, "HEY YOU GUUUUUUYS??? DID YOU FORGET ABOUT MEEEE??? I LOVE YOU...AND I MISS YOU....AND I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEED YOU." Who can resist that?? I know I probably shouldn't take him back to bed with us, but lets be honest. Mama is tired. Mama has to work in the morning and these are the most effective answers.

When it started I thought it was a short term problem, but now it has lasted a few weeks. That kinda sounds like short term, but good lord it FEELS like long term. Usually when I get him up from bed in the night, he has a lot of gas...so I am thinking it is his digestive system that is waking him up. Could it be all the new food he is eating? I just don't know. What I do know is we are tired. All three of us. Do you all have any tips? Suggestions for how to get him back to sleeping peacefully all night?? Magic tricks that knock babies out from nine pm to seven thirty am without a peep? I need some help.

Run-On Paragraph of Crazy

I cannot believe it is fifteen days until Christmas. FIFTEEN DAYS. I have so much to do, and I just don't see where the time is going to come from. I have to address Christmas cards, decorate the rest of the house and finish the Christmas shopping...which I basically only started on Monday....DOOM. On top of that, my work is INSANE due to everyone wanting to squeeze their work into the first two weeks of the month so we can all enjoy the holidays. PLUS we are training our new bio guy Ryan who is actually Nicks best friend so that works out pretty cool. Still...training, and busy, and HOLIDAYS. Plus, I am going out of town for work next week. Yes. I am going on an overnight work trip. AWAY FROM HENRY. Lets not talk about how my heart breaks into a million pieces when I think about it. But we can talk about all the late night/early morning/middle of the day pumping I am doing to have enough milk for him while I am gone. I mean, I have enough guilt about LEAVING him alone in the wilderness (with his very caring and capable father) but I can't just all of a sudden make him drink formula too. So, I am pumping non-stop. On top of all of this, Henry's sleeping habits are all out of whack. The child, who since two months old has slept through the night, has decided that is no longer his style. He wakes up at least twice. AT LEAST. And sometimes we can sooth him back to sleep with sweet words and PLEASE-GOD-GO-BACK-TO-SLEEP soothing songs, but most of the time it takes nursing. So I am running on no sleep...and the crazy work....and the Christmas...and the pumping...and the out of town. So, yeah. I sorta have a lot on my plate. Hence the incredibly non-thought out run-on paragraph of a post. I would now attach a picture to make this worth reading, except I haven't taken any. And I would now go back and edit this...or delete it all together, but I am tired. And it took EFFORT (little, but still, effort none the less)So instead I am hitting publish and letting you all enjoy the crazy.

Sports Fan

Henry loves watching some Bengals Football!!

And he really enjoyed watching UK beat UNC last night too...

Football, Basketball, we love them both. Especially when our teams are winning!

The Future

So, While I was in South Carolina I was sitting around the breakfast table with my brother-in-law and we had the following conversation:

Chris: Can you believe it is almost 2010? (or something like that...I can't remember how the conversation started...could have involved Back to the Future. I was running on very little sleep)

Me: I know! Where are our flying cars?!?! (because I have deep thoughts like that when talking about the future.)

Chris: Sarah, they will NEVER give us flying cars. EVER. They have the technology...but people are too big of idiots.

Me: Hmmm...I see what you mean. Drunk drivers flying over my house...not a good idea.

Chris: Right.

Me: *flash of brilliance* Well, if they have the TECHNOLOGY, why don't they make flying buses! Then, like a bus driver could totally fly us all around to get us where we want to go! A FLYING BUS!! *beams with pride at idea. Thinking of patenting the rights...We will be BILLIONAIRES*

Chris: ...* Blank stare...waiting for me to catch on*

Me: *smiling at own brilliance*

Me: Oh...wait. That's totally a plane...

Chris: An actual Air Bus *doesn't even try to hide his amusement at me being a fool*

Me: Right. Never mind.* I really thought I was on to something here...*

So...welcome to the future everyone. We are TOTALLY flying around in giant buses. Not nearly as cool as they made it out to be in the movies.

So THAT'S Why I Feel so Terrible...

I have bronchitis. It really explains a lot. Excuse me while I go lay down for the next ten hours.