Guys' Weekend Alone

This has been an extremely busy weekend for Momma and Bubeaner. We (women's church group) have our biggest fundraiser of the year this weekend. We have been running around like crazy since Thursday. Bubeaner, as always, was amazing.

Finally crying after 5+ hours organizing for the bazaar

Friday was an especially long day for him. We had to set up a year's worth of crafts in the main hall. We were running from 9a-2:30p. Bubeaner was in his playpen for the majority of the day. The grandmothers were thrilled to watch him entertain himself. It was a little too chaotic and busy around him to actually take a nap in there too. But he was fine once he was in his carseat with the privacy cover. And, it did not hurt that there was a surplus of grandmothers more than willing to walk him around in the stroller until he fell asleep. He was actually great throughout the day even through lunch. It was only towards the end of the day that he started getting fussy and crying. Bubeaner had many shoulders to cry on and complain. We are not completely convinced that he was not "enhancing" the theatrics a little.

A fussy Bubeaner being consoled by one of the grandmothers

Today was going to be too busy and hectic for Bubeaner to join Momma at the bazaar. So Bubeaner spent the day (from 7a-4p) with Dad. It's the first time they spend so much time alone. Both of them did a great job. There were no bloody noses, new bruises and both were fed and content. They were both still in their pajamas, but it was a relaxing day for them. They watched every single football game and game-day program available too. At one point, uncle Jeff joined them to watch the A&M game. It was their first guy's day alone. Dad looks forward to many more. And Momma does too.

A busy day = a worn out baby

There are two more days of work, but aunt Pau will be helping out tomorrow and will take Bubeaner on Monday for the couple of hours it will take us to clean up. We are very fortunate that aunt Pau can (and often does) help us out with Bubeaner. And, of course, Bubeaner absolutely adores his aunt. He recognizes her footsteps and time she comes to visit every day. As soon as he hears her steps he starts jumping and giggling in excitement.

Exhaustion

Why are there some days when there is nothing specific that gets done yet we end up EXHAUSTED. Today we just played, made lunch, re-painted some decorative items, and drove around in Coco after the AAA technician fixed her up. Not much by any standard, yet we were exhausted and ready for bed by 5p!

Bubeaner has lately enjoyed "biting" his crib.

We often wonder how Bubeaner can be so fearless. Now matter how often he falls down, he gets back up and tries to stand again. He reaches for things and sometimes falls a little short of his goal. Yet, he reaches out again. And lately, it is not unusual for him to sport a bruise or two. We are also pretty sure he has chipped two teeth. (Thankfully, aunt Lore let us know it did not show signs of having hit the nerve.) Yet, as worrysome as it is, we love that he is so fearless that
he does keep getting up, trying and continues being fearless. Because eventually, he gets it and he'll turn around and give us this beautiful wonderful smile.

We absolutely love his quirky smiles

Bubeaner had sushi today. Ok, not really. We did go to a sushi restaurant but Bubeaner had teriyaki chicken and some noodles. He was interested in what Dad and Momma were eating, but for now was satisfied with his own meal. We don't eat out as much as we used to, but it is wonderful that Bubeaner behaves so well in public.

"Yo, where's my food?"

"Mhmm, how do these things work?"

Play Time

We had plans for today. Actually, we had quite a few errands to run. However, Momma was silly and somehow (it's so silly, we are NOT mentioning how she did it) drained Coco's battery (the van...and yes Momma names her cars). So, Momma and Bubeaner were stuck at home. We took care of some items at home, but spent the rest of the day playing/learning.

"Hmm, which one tastes better?"

During our play time, Bubeaner surprised Momma by repeating the same thing he did last week. He was in his ballpit and grabbed one of the balls, climbed out and tried to put it in the crazy air ball toy (can't really remember the name). He knew that game used balls and that his ballpit had balls. Ok, so it may seem silly, but it's just a sign of how he's constantly learning. Watching him constantly changing is one of the best gifts of parenthood.

"Everything in its place
And a place for everything!"

Someone forgot to give Bubeaner the memo on Daylight Savings. We tried explaining we fall back an hour. And, in truth, we did expect him to stick to his original schedule. What we did not expect was for him to spring forward an hour. He is now waking up at 430a! This also threw off his nap schedule and thus his meal times too. Maybe we'll be back to our normal routine by next week. Bubeaner also took a big (emotional for Momma) step today.

"Turtles need kisses"

Last week, we noticed Bubeaner was less enthusiastic about nursing. Yet, today he decided he was completely done with it. It almost made Momma cry that Bubeaner was shedding the last vestige of babyhood. And then at bedtime, he did not really drink his bottle. The bottle may be next.

7 Years And Counting

Dad and Momma celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary today. We still can't believe it's been 7 years! We have been truly blessed. This year Dad and Momma won't be taking their annual trip to Santa Fe, but will take a little weekend away, sans Bubeaner, sometime in the future. It will be the first trip away without the Bubeaner! (We are preparing ourselves for this.)

Grooming starts with checking the collar.

Lately, Bubeaner has been more aware of our daily grooming habits. He wants to do what we do: brushing hair, brushing teeth, lotions, etc. And, of course, he is more helpful every day when we are getting him dressed and bathed. Momma and Dad are routine-oriented so it all tends to follow the same order day in and day out. Bubeaner now anticipates the steps and actually looks forward to it.

A beautiful coat requires daily brushing

What we had not noticed is how much attention he paid to our grooming of the dogs. This morning he started playing with and "grooming" her. He checked her collar, then brushed her starting at the head and ending with the body. We are thrilled that we got parts of it on film. He did use his own brush but we washed it afterwards. Overall, he was quite gentle with her, except at one point Bubeaner got really excited and hit her a little hard. Sandy was amazingly patient with him.

Bubeaner trying to get up on the chair too
in order to cuddle.

DISCLAIMER - MISSED OLDER POSTS

Click Below for the link to the Post:

• Friday Fun (10/23/09)
• Pumpkin Patch (10/11/09)
  
• Going Greek (10/10/09)
  
• Driving Duties (10/07/09)
  
• Another Tuesday (10/06/09)
  

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! Momma finally finished Bubeaner's costume. Bubeaner was supposed to be a bear. We have been mastering the bear growl and menacing face. He's actually pretty good at it now. He occassionally even throws in the "clawing" motion too. There was one little problem; Bubeaner looks like a monkey. A cute one, but he does not look like a little bear. Dad thought it was funny. He said Bubeaner looked like a shriner monkey; he even suggested we add cymbols to the costume. Dad is a funny man.

Monkey or Bear?
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.

"I am so NOT happy about wearing this crazy outfit."

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.

Dad and Bubeaner waiting for Trick-or-Treaters

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.

So, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?
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.

All the excitement was too much for the Bubeaner

Our first baby:
Doesn't Sandy look adorable?

Dad, Bubeaner and our pretty baby girl.

Halloween at Sally

Today we planned a trip to Dad's work. However, we needed to wait a little for the laundry to get done. We had a special request for Skeleton Bubeaner, and the outfit was dirty. Bubeaner loved spending some time with the Sally team. Above all, he loved seeing Dad during the day. It's been harder for him to not to see Dad during the day after Dad's surgery.

Bubeaner practicing his coloring technique.

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.

Snacking Bubeaner.
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!

Frustrated Dogs
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.

Halloween at Church

We started the day E A R L Y today at 530a. But it was a good thing since we had to get to church early. This is one of the last meetings before our big fundraiser, and we have tons of things to get done at the meeting. So we only cuddled in bed for a little while after his morning (and only) nursing time before getting ready and heading to pick up Tia Raquel and Nathaneal.

Bubeaner and Sandy watching the morning news

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.

"It's hard being a cute baby."

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.

Halloween outfits for the women's group at church

Frigid Temperatures

We planned on visiting the zoo today. All forecasts pointed to a nice "warm" day (at least warmer than the last few days). Momma and Bubeaner made the necessary preparations, packed the diaper bag, got the dogs ready for the groomers and left. We are not sure what the meteorologist were thinking but it was NOT 74 degrees outside. It was downright frigid.

"If I can't talk to my grandparents,
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.

"I know there is food somewhere in there."

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.

"Me likes me some nuggets."

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 at Home

Today Momma and Bubeaner spent the day at home. Momma was cleaning and packing Bubeaner's baby items for either cousin Aaron, storage or women's shelters It's emotional and cathartic. And as a bonus, we are finding all this new space in our master bedroom, guest bedroom, nursery and even kitchen cabinets. This will probably soon be filled with new toddler items. After all, Bubeaner did take over our breakfast room already.

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 am a poor, innocent baby.
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.

Crawling after one of the 100 balls in his pool.

Bubeaner is eating better, but he is still not back to normal. He refused to eat his scrambled egg yolks for breakfast eating two croissants instead. Lunch was great. He ate six quarter-size chicken nuggets, peas and mandarins. But he was back to not wanting to eat at dinner, except for the mandarins and goldfish. But this may have been more due to what was for dinner than lack of hunger. We actually got funny video of him making faces about eating the tuna. Bubeaner does not like tuna and he was not afraid to let it show. Maybe we should invest in acting classes to harness this dramatic ability.

This one is from yesterday,
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.

Adverturous Bubeaner

Bubeaner scared Momma half to death this afternoon. He learned how to climb out of the walker. Somehow he managed to push off the metal support bars with one foot and leaned over the opposite side. He was left doing a hand stand with both little legs up in the air! Thankfully, his belly got stuck on the tray so he did not fall head first. It was actually quite comical. At least it was comical once Momma had rescued Bubeaner and had caught her breath. The walker was put into storage.

"Yes? Umm, it was like that when I got here.
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.

"I am not talking without my counsel present.
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!

Goofing off at the doctors before his shot.
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.

Weekend Workers

This weekend was all about errands. We ran errands all day Saturday from taking Dad's car to the dealership to buying new curtains for the master bedroom. Bubeaner is an amazing baby. He dealt with all the jostling around without a problem.

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.

Having a quiet conversation with Dad.

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.

Practicing for Halloween?
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.

Bubeaner is wearing only Halloween outfits this week.
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.

Playing with Dad on the couch watching the game.

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.

Miscellaneous Recent Pics

Daddy takes/gets some good ones occasionally but hasn't had time to give some of these an adequate description. However some were just so cute we couldn't resist posting for your enjoyment...

Friday Fun

Bubeaner started noticing the pictures on the computer screen. Really noticing them. Today he saw the picture on the background (one of his). He looked at it then move the screen down to look behind it, then looked back at the screen. He did this several times sometimes actually patting the screen and then patting the back of the screen. We love seeing his brain figuring things out.

Bubeaner loves the new snack cup aunt Pau got for him.

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.

The dogs are really learning to dislike the baby gate.
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.

Bubeaner and Miss Allie.
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.

Drummer Boy

Wow! We had a long, long day away from home today starting with church group. Bubeaner is surprisingly comfortable with everyone and with the building too. He would walk (in his walker) over to several grandmothers and pull on their sleeves to get their attention! Thankfully, they were all thrilled to speak with him instead of being upset.

"Hmm, what is this strange new toy?"

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.

"Ahh, music to my ears."

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!

"Move over Neal Peart! I'm goood!"

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.

Rainy Wednesday

The rain is back. It was not supposed to get here until noon, but we woke up to the sound of rain on the roof. Dad, unfortunately, had to head to work. Bubeaner and Momma had some plans for the day, but decided to cancel them and enjoy a day at home.

Bubeaner continues to enjoy taking toys out of boxes

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.

But now, he is also enjoying putting them back inside the box.

Today Bubeaner started doing something interesting when playing with his books. He would point at the writing and babble. We assume he was imitating what Momma does when she reads to him. But it shows that he is seeing a corrollation between the black "stuff" on the book and the words Momma says. We are so proud of him.

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.