Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Halloween
Either way, Bubeaner looks adorable!
Bubeaner wore his outfit, albeit reluctantly, during the stroll around the neighborhood. We stopped by to visit with our retiree neighbors, Mr. Jimmy and Mrs. Fleta. Do children have a six sense about who is a grandparent? Bubeaner showed off by walking around their home (holding hands) and smiling. He even showed off his growling face. The visit was cut a little short since Trick-or-Treaters started coming out.
The evening was beautiful and perfect for Trick or Treating. We (Dad, Momma, uncle Jeff and Bubeaner) took some chairs outside and waited for the Trick-or-Treaters while enjoying the full moon and great weather. We cut the candy-giving short because Bubeaner soon dozed off and gigantic mosquitos were feasting on us. Thankfully we'd had quite a few visitors and there was not much candy left over.
Today, aunt Pau headed south for uncle Ivan and Sarah's annual Halloween party. From there she plans on heading further south to visit cousins Elo & Moi and new baby Aaron. Momma had grand plans of sending boxes loaded with Bubeaner's baby clothes. And it started that way. But Momma is not ready yet to part with his baby items. Yes, it's silly. Yes, there are pictures to remember him wearing the different items. And yes, they are only silly clothes, but Momma is sentimental and can't totally let go. However, there is hope. We sent a small box and a large bag with some items. Maybe in a few weeks, we can revisit this again.
The world may never know!
We deliberated about ways to proactively eliminate any future snapping/aggressive incidents between Bevo and Bubeaner. We decided to move Bevo into the nursery. Our original plan never included dogs in the nursery. However, we hope this helps Bevo form a stronger bond with Bubeaner. So far, it appears to be working. Bevo is displaying more submissive behavior when Bubeaner is crawling around him.
Doesn't Sandy look adorable?
Friday, October 30, 2009
Halloween at Sally
We then headed off for a quick lunch with Dad. Bubeaner's appetite is back in full force. The boy can eat. He still loves his chicken. Beef is a little more difficult because he can't really chew it properly. That may not be a problem soon. We can see a little white on the top jaw. Dr. Z was right. Bubeaner also practiced a little on his coloring while we waited for lunch. He is getting better at holding the crayons properly. And more importantly, he is also not trying to eat them. Well, he's not trying to eat them all the time.
The messier the face, the better the snack.
Bubeaner has been spending a lot of time in his play area lately; Momma has needed the time to work on his Halloween costume. One of those times, he found a foam ball in his toy box. He crawled to the ballpit with it and dropped it in with the other balls. Realistically, we know it was probably a coincidence. But it was amazing watching him do it. First, it would mean he recognized similar items. And then, he put them in their place. Bito will be so happy! A place for everything and everything in its place!
They couldn't get to the dropped snacks.
RN Tammie was to have dinned with us today. We were distressed to find out she had an emergency appendectomy today! We are grateful that she is now OK and recovering from the surgery. Please remember her in your prayers for a quick recovery.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Halloween at Church
We are so happy that Bubeaner and cousin Nathaneal get to see each other every week. Right now the age difference (Nathaneal is 3) is a little noticeable, but soon we see them playing and getting in trouble together. And we are so thrilled that cousins Carlos Alfonso, Isabella and Ana Lucia (still in her Momma's belly) will be moving to the area next year. Family is a great blessing and being able to play and grow up together is an even greater one.
At church, Bubeaner has grown pretty comfortable with everyone in the group and with the layout of the room. Today, he did not even look for Momma at all, not even once. He spent the morning moving around from one grandmother to another. He loved getting all the attention. It does not hurt that they think every single thing he does is adorable. Bubeaner was wearing one of his Halloween outfits which made him even more irresistable.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Frigid Temperatures
I can at least eat the phone."
So instead we headed to the mall for some browsing. Bubeaner was not pleased with the change of plans. However, his displeasure may have steamed from being forced to go shopping again. He is after all his father's son. The frowns soon gave way to smiles when we joined aunt Pau at the nearby Halloween costume shop. Bubeaner loves his aunt Pauline.
We lost track of time at the store, and Momma ended up buying Bubeaner his first ever happy meal. This is not our first choice for a healthy meal for our son. But it was late, Bubeaner was hungry and Momma had not left anything prepared at home. Bubeaner willingly sacrificed. He ate all of the chicken nuggets and a few fries too. He is doing so much better in his eating.
Bubeaner spent the rest of the afternoon in his play area where he made sure to get out every single one of his toys along with all the balls in the pool. But that is that area's purpose. Bubeaner can make as huge a mess as he wants. And, of course, he "helped" Dad put it all away by the end of the evening. We are working on him putting his toys away every time he leaves the play area. Right now he mainly sits and watches us, but as he gets older we hope cleaning up after playing becomes a habit.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday at Home
Momma and Bubeaner both greatly missed the walker today. It gave Bubeaner mobility and some independence and allowed Momma to get things done too. Bubeaner spent a large portion of the day in his play area. It's been great that we have that area, but he's not used to it yet. And Momma just does not feel comfortable letting him crawl around unsupervised while she is distracted packing and organizing.
I don't know what I am doing behind bars."
Thankfully, Bubeaner has been distracted by the new toy RN Tammie gave him: 100 soft plastic balls. We inflated his little pool and filled it with the balls. He loves playing with them so much he has not touched a single one of his other toys in the last 4 days.
We also learned a little more about Bubeaner's very eccletic musical tastes. He jammed to his new Bob Marley CD courtesy of uncle Jeff. He sang along to most songs, but he really got into singing (loudly) to "Redemption Song." And then he sang along to the best of Pavarotti. Bubeaner just loves music. Any type of music.
but it's a better shot of the pool and balls.
Dad discovered today that Bubeaner now know the difference between opposites especially "in", "out", "give" and "take". He is also getting pretty good at sharing. Suddenly, he realized other people might also be hungry or want what he has! And he is such a little helper during outfit changes. He has been helping for a while doing things like pushing his arms through the sleeves. But now he looks for the sleeve before I start putting it on and tries to get his arm in! He does the same thing with the straps in his high chair. He starts putting his arms through the straps on his own. Our baby boy is growing up so fast.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Adverturous Bubeaner
I did not touch it."
Oh, and this occurred minutes after Bubeaner spilled uncle Ivan's plant on the floor in the dining room. There is still dirt everywhere. Momma has been "trying" to kill that poor plant since she was entrusted with it a few years ago. Bubeaner may have succeed.
Then minutes after the walker incident he decided to climb into Sandy's empty bed. The problem came when Bubeaner tried to move into Bevo's bed while Bevo was still sleeping in it. Bevo did not appreciate it and actually snapped at him. He was immediately reprimanded and both Momma and Bubeaner sat on him. Usually he is pretty patient with him. We are hoping the swift reaction (and pack status reminder) will be enough to prevent future similar incidents.
Do you know Grandma's number?"
The scary part is that Momma was within arms reach every one of these times! Momma still don't know how he manages it. This boy is going to give Momma a head full of gray hairs! It is also worrysome to think about what it will mean when Bubeaner is a completely independent toddler.
We still made it to the doctor's office in the afternoon after all that excitement. After examining Bubeaner, Dr. Z informed us that he may have/getting over a cold, but that his ears, throat, nose and chest all looked fine. YAY! She also did not believe it was a reaction to the milk. However, she does believe that he is teething again because his jaw is swollen and sensitive to touch. Bubeaner is getting his molars! Momma felt silly because in retrospect it makes perfect sense. It is exactly what he did when he was teething the first time. It just never crossed our mind that he would be getting his molars NOW! Dr. Z recommended orajel, ice, tylenol/motrin, or pretty much whatever made him feel comfortable.
They had just received their new shipment of the seasonal flu vaccine, so Bubeaner got his first flu vaccine since we were already there. Poor baby was not thrilled. He even gave RN Sandra his scrunchy "angry" look. This only made her laugh which did not amuse Bubeaner. Bubeaner and Momma played the Spanish version of Pat-A-Cake (Papas y papas para Mama...etc.) while we were waiting at the doctor's office. When Momma stopped singing, Bubeaner continued "patting" while saying "papa... mama....papa....mama"! Momma immediately whipped out the camera, but Bubeaner stopped doing it. Of course!
On a cold day, it's nice to have on a pair of wool socks.
He had a better evening after having some tylenol. Bubeaner is still not back up to his normal diet, but he ate much better tonight which was a relief.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Weekend Workers
The introduction of whole milk into his diet had been going great until this weekend. Bubeaner has been throwing up (not a lot, but enough to notice) and not wanting to eat. We all know how much our Bubeaner loves eating.
The only real change in his diet has been the increase in proportion of milk to formula (1/2 and 1/2). Strangely, Bubeaner continues to have a huge breakfast eating it without a problem. This is also the first meal where he has milk. Every meal afterwards is an issue.
We don't believe it's a "regular" reflux problem since it had been under control since his Nexium dose was doubled. And it looks like curdled milk, which his reflux usually does not. It's amazing the many things parents notice.
No, just complaining about the food.
Now there is a possibility it might be something else entirely. He has started pulling/messing with his left ear more this weekend. Maybe an ear infection? And it could be a reaction to the shots from last Monday, which the doctor said would take about a week to affect him. Needless to say, Dr. Z will be getting a call from us in the morning.
Thanks to aunt Pau he has quite a collection.
In good Bubeaner news, he is loving to crawl now that he moves faster. We tried telling him how much easier it would be if he followed the proper form. He had to learn on his own. This weekend he started trying to get the dogs to bark. He will look at the dogs and say "woof, woof." He has also been playing with them more. And they are loving the extra attention. His other new favorite word is "no". This is not a big surprise since it's the one he hears more lately. We really try to redirect his attention or use other words, but some times "no" is the fastest and most effective one.
Bubeaner also spent part of the weekend doing drive-by house hunting for aunt Pau. He really enjoyed it; he loves taking car naps. He will probably be enjoying more of those naps in the near future as the house hunting continues.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Friday Fun
Bubeaner has recently been biting more often. He tends to do it when he is bored. Most of the time they are little love bite, but every once in a while he really bites down hard. Friends mentioned that babies go through a biting phase. We hope it's a short-lived one; little teeth can really leave a mark.
They can't get to any of the dropped snacks.
Today we changed his napping schedule to allow for a pleasant visit to RN Tammie's new home. Bubeaner left bathed and in pajamas ready for dinner. He enjoyed playing in her play room. She has a large ballpit for her nephews. But he had the most fun feeding Miss Allie, Tammie's puppy. At one point Miss Allie did steal a cookie from Bubeaner's hand, but that only made Bubeaner laugh. He fell asleep taking the bottle from RN Tammie just like when he was in the NICU.
They shared in his cheerio snacks.
We got back home late. We put on Bubeaner's sleeper and transferred him to the crib with no problems. He slept all night without any fussing. We will continue doing this in the future especially now that the holiday season is approaching. Hopefully, it will continue to be successful.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Drummer Boy
And he traverses the room even more freely now too. Unfortunately, this time he also noticed the open door. He did stop to check if Momma was behind him, but he did not stop when Momma was not around! Bubeaner travelled all the way down the long hallway! Momma was hidding while keeping an eye on him, but he didn't know that! This boy is adventurous.
Momma was bad today. We stopped at a restaurant to eat after church group since we still needed to run some errands in a neighboring suburb. (A great Mexican restaurant find too!) Momma ordered tortilla soup for both of us. Bubeaner loved the chicken and avocado. He had a little issue when he had the broth. It appears there were jalapeno seed in the broth. He started crying hysterically and pulling his ears. Momma could not figure out what was wrong; eventually he settled down and enjoyed being cuddled by Momma. It wasn't until Momma started eating her (now cold) soup that she discovered the problem. Momma's learned a lesson: when in a new place TASTE the food first. Poor baby!
At home Bubeaner learned how different items make different sounds. He was hesitant at first but soon got in the swing of things. He was banging away with the spoon and/or his hands. We may learn to regret this in the future, but it was fun playing along with him.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Rainy Wednesday
Most of the day was spent playing, reading and napping. Well, the napping was done by Bubeaner while Momma worked around the house still organizing things after the party weekend. But it was still a relaxing and slow day.
And to top the day off, Bubeaner "properly" crawled all day long. He did slip a little every once in a while probably because his little hands still get sweaty. But he's got the hang of crawling now. We also practice walking by holding on to Momma's fingers. He did a great job walking back and forth down the hallway, and it's a long hallway too.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday 10.20.09
We had a terrific surprise tonight when we popped in after breast pumping at 1am and John was having his tubes, etc. changed. We got to see and kiss him while he was uncovered. Pics being loaded now!
If Ruth continues to improve the insurance co. will send us home Tuesday evening.
It is CRITICAL that we avoid exposing John to illness, so please delay visiting Ruth if you are sick or caring for someone who is.
Monday, October 20, 2008 1:31 PM, CDT
Went through the evaluation notes with the neo-natalog
On the negative side a nurse transposed numbers and falsely told us John had gained weight. He is now 6 ounces lighter at 3 pounds 7 ounces.
Monday, October 20, 2008 6:42 PM, CDT
Saturday, October 17, 2009
HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!!!
Family and friends joined us to celebrate the first year of miracles and answer prayers in Bubeaner's life. We were blessed with wonderful weather despite the recent rains and cold weather. The children enjoyed the bounce house and cotton candy machine.
Bubeaner mingled amongst his new friends and cousins. We are not sure of everything he ate, but pretty much assume that if it was being consumed by someone near him, he tried it. Which might explain why he was not so excited about eating his birthday cupcake and cake. (He had a beautiful Pinocchio cake made by Bita.) Or he could have just been shy; he was taken aback when everyone formed a circle around him and sang Happy Birthday.
Bubeaner received many lovely presents. Although he did enjoy playing with the tissue paper much more. Thanks to our family and friends we also collected a basketfull of preemie clothing to donate to his old NICU. We can't think of a better way to end this wonderful year than by passing on some of the blessings to little ones just starting out their own special journeys.
Friday, October 16, 2009
UT - OU weekend
They immediately took to each other.
It was good to see old friends. And pretty interesting to see Dad and his college friend with their respective boys. They both had little clones! We fear for the trouble these two will get into when they are in college. Hopefully, it will not even be close to the adventures their fathers undertook.
Monday, October 12, 2009
State Fair And Other Fun
before the fun started
Momma was happy because she also got to spend the day with aunt Pau and her cousins Lina, Daniel, and Luis. Bubeaner really took to Lina probably because she would not put him down.
Fletcher's Corny Dog!

There were a lot of people around everywhere. Bubeaner enjoyed people watching. But he particularly like trying his first Fletcher's corny dog (the absolute BEST). We did make sure that he had some "nutritious" meal of beef tacos after he also had a taste of a corn on the cob, funnel cake, fried butter (surprisingly delicious), turkey leg and tornado fries. Don't worry he only had a bite of each unlike everyone else who probably gained about 5 pounds on that day alone.
Bubeaner was not impressed

Bubeaner did take his regular nap in his stroller. We just put on his cover to block out the view, and he slept soundly. The cousins were surprised. Once he woke up, he was ready for more people watching and eating not once fussing.
not even the Fair, rain, or even noisy kids
Dad and Momma snuck away later that night to the U2 concert. Bubeaner spent the night with aunt Pau. They had fun and Bubeaner did not even miss mom and dad.

