Look ma' I can use my hands!

Yesterday, while I was at work, Matt gave Scott a bottle and took this picture. At first when I received the picture as a message I thought "Aww, look! It is my little boy." Then I thought about it for a second, HOLY COW he is holding the bottle all by himself! What a big boy I have!

My blow out

I started a new job a few weeks ago. I work half a day on Wednesdays in a dental office down in Huntington Beach. In a perfect world I would be staying at home with Scott all day, every day...but I think this is the next best scenario. I am only working 4 hours a week (2-6pm), and my sister is able to babysit for me.

I got a call the other day from the office asking me to come early to work so that I can go to lunch with the office to celebrate the birthday of one of my co-workers. So, yesterday I left for work nice and early. However, I didn't get very far. After about a mile on the freeway I heard a loud "bang." I turned to see what it was, and saw that I was next to a semi-truck. I figured the sound came from the truck, after all...they always make big loud noises. So, I kept going, but cautiously...something wasn't right. A second or two later I heard a loud thundering sound, similar to those cars with the huge mufflers. I looked around again, and saw that a sports car was driving by. I figured that the noise must have been coming from that car, not mine. So I slowed down and waited for that car to pass me by, but instead of the sound drifting off into the distance it got louder. Ok, I can take a hint or two...so I pulled over.

Sure enough, I had completely popped a tire. The side wall of my passenger-side rear tire had blown out. This is where I heard the voice of my husband in my ears saying "We need to get you new tires, yours are starting to crack!"

So there I was, on the side of the road. I wish I could say that this was a first for me. Let me give you a little run down on my car history:

• I used to share the family cars with multiple drivers, and a lot of times got stuck without any gas...so I have run out of gas more times than I can count
• I have overheated a few times
• I can now count this as my 3rd flat tire
  
• I have been in a few fender-benders, but also 2 real accidents, one my fault, the other DEFINITELY not my fault
• I have actually fish-tailed in my family's 12-seat van, doing a complete 180°turn (but give me a break, I was 15 years old with my learner's permit...this wasn't last week or anything)
• And I once "threw a rod"...a slang term for basically punching a hole in the engine! That car died on the side of the road.
  

In total, I have personally been responsible for the death of 3 cars. But again, lets be fair, these are always old cars being shared by multiple drivers and never really treated very well.

So going back to me on the side of the freeway...I knew exactly what to do! Before I did anything I called Matt to let him know what was going on, and I called my office to let them know I wouldn't make it to the lunch...oh well.

I got right to work. Yes, I do know how to change a tire. And so I did, right there on the side of the freeway. No one stopped to help, but I did manage to get honked at once. Also, I learned a little something new. If your spare tire is stored underneath the car, the way to release it is inside the trunk. The carpeting had a little area that you could pull back, and use the torque wrench to turn the screw holding it on. It will then lower the tire on a cable allowing you access to the spare.

As I finished up the tire change, Matt pulled up. He was able to take my car to go get me new tires, and I took his car to get to work. I still managed to get to work 20 minutes before my first patient! Total time changing a tire: about 20 minutes.

And this is how I know I am a blogger, I was sitting there looking at my tire, I thought to myself...hmm, maybe I should take pictures so I can BLOG about this! HA! Yeah, I thought about it, but didn't do it. Maybe I can make a "how to" video about changing tires.

Hot-bod baby!

We are feeling hot hot hot! Temperatures so far this week have been reaching 100°, which just doesn't make sense...where are my "April showers?" The heat has brought on a new set of challenges that I am not use to. My little baby boy was born in December, and granted California winters are not that cold...we did get a bit chilly! All I had to do was put more layers on Scott. That was a piece of cake! Here is a picture of Scott layered: a onesie, a sleeper with hand covers, a sleeping "bag", a nice fuzzy blanket, and of course his little beanie. Looks cozy, doesn't he!?! Well, how does one keep their baby cool enough? I just strip him down to his diaper, turn all the lights off, and all the fans on...and when it is hot enough, blast the A/C. At one point I even wiped him down with a cool, wet washcloth. Here are a few pictures of Scott trying to stay cool.

Scott stays cool by playing in his excersaucer.

Mommy and Scott, just a cute picture showing off his blue eyes!

I had to put this next picture in because it shows how BIG my 4-month old is.

Scott stays cool by playing "Hop On Pop!"--except he was choking daddy

And last of all, Scott stays cool by letting it all hang out!

4-month update

Today Scott is 4 months old! I took him to the doctor this morning for his 4-month checkup, and here are his stats:

Weight: 16 pounds 8 ounces--90th percentile
Height: 26.25"--95th percentile
Head: 42cm--average
Vaccinations: 1-oral, 3-injections...pretty sad cry, but he recovered pretty quickly. Dose of Tylenol, and taking a nap.

We got the ok to start solids, which we will probably start when daddy gets back from New York.

Scott has such a sweet personality. He is a happy baby and he brings a sweet spirit into our home. Whenever people ask me if I like being a mom, I always answer that I am the luckiest mom in the world! How could I possibly ask for anything more? Scott brings so much joy into our lives with his wide open smile, his silly giggle, and his hugs and kisses!

He is a funny little guy, he loves to watch tv. If I have him on the floor facing away from the tv he will crane his neck around until he can see it. He plays with his toys. Right now he likes to stand in his excersaucer, he plays with his link-rings, a few stuffed animals, and he will chew on anything he can get his hands on. He loves the "little boy in the mirror." Scott will talk to him, smile at him, and laugh with him. On occasion they get into an argument, but I usually break it up before it gets out of hand. Scott loves his daddy. True, he loves me too, but when daddy gets home from work, it is all smiles and laughter! They just have a special relationship that makes my heart melt...is this mushy enough for ya? What can I say, life is great.

The picture above is one we took to send to Matt while he is in New York. We just woke up...We miss you daddy!

Breaking through

Viola! Just as expected, Scott's first 2 teeth have poked their white little tops through the gums yesterday. I can hardly believe the our little boy has teeth! I think it is truly the first development that makes me feel like he isn't an infant anymore. He may only be 4 months old (tomorrow), but he is such a big boy!Speaking of being a big boy...Scott is officially rolling over, but I haven't uploaded the video yet. Soon, but until then...here is a sneak peak as he leans into a roll.

Happy Easter!

Scott got to celebrate his first Easter yesterday! I've always enjoyed celebrating Easter, and now it has become even more special now that we have our little boy. In addition to recognizing and observing the purpose of Easter, we also carried out the usual traditions.

Matt and I took turns dyeing Easter eggs with Scott

If you look closely...you can see that Scott's onesie says "My dad is a geek."

Here is our little family, awww!

After we dyed our eggs it was time for bed. Since I knew we were going to be taking pictures the next morning I wanted to make sure that Scott was wearing cute pajamas. So I spent just a little too much time picking out which jammies he was going to wear to bed (of all things!), then we went to bed. Well, best laid plans....the next morning Scott had a couple diaper explosions that caused me to have to change his clothes anyway! Oh well, he looks cute in anything!

It was so exciting for Scott to get his Easter basket. It was pretty loaded with a lot of good stuff...including a few special treats for mommy and daddy, of course!

Oh boy! Look at all that good stuff!

Smile for the camera!

After finding Scott's Easter basket we had our Easter egg hunt. Daddy worked with the Easter bunny and hid the eggs, while mommy helped Scott look for the eggs. It was a great morning.

After church we went to Mike and Aracely's home for dinner...delicious! It was a simple evening where we were able to just sit back, enjoy the beautiful weather, and watch the kids go crazy for their Easter goodies!

And in the end, it was a great holiday. Scott had a pretty good day, especially considering he missed one of his naps. And last of all, here is our best, last minute attempt at an Easter baby "portrait." Like I said before...he is cute in anything!

My million dollar idea!

It is no secret that babies tend to fall asleep while riding in cars, and my little Scott is no exception. He does very well in the car, and usually will fall asleep even if he has just woken up from a nap. Inevitably, the car-ride is over and I now have a sleeping baby in a carseat. So, I carefully carry him inside the house and place him gently in a quiet place where I hope he will get a decent nap. Yeah right! Within minutes of the vibrations of the car stopping he is awake. So, here is my million dollar idea: I need a swing that I can attach my car seat to, this way I can just carry my sleeping baby inside the house and stick him in his swing with out waking him up. This way he can continue sleeping, he is happy, and I am happy :)

Well, apparantly Graco (and maybe other companies) is already on top of it. I guess necessity really is the mother of invention, because this is truly a necessity! Too bad I didn't think of it sooner. The funny thing is I really put the idea together in my head and when I described it to Matt he decided to see if the item already exsisted...and here it is. If my baby wasn't almost 4 months old, and if I didn't already have a swing, and if I knew about this sooner, I totally would have bought it! But, at this point, I am not sure if I am ready to spend $50 for a second swing that only is good for infant car seats. My baby is growing fast, and he may not be in an infant car seat for too much longer.