For Real?

Just now I was reading an article about babies rolling over and I read this:

"...the average baby begins to roll at 7 or 8 months...."

and this:

"'Infants used to roll over from front to back at about 4 months,' Dr. Olson says. 'It currently seems more common to see this at 6 months There are no apparent consequences to this slight delay.' If babies aren't rolling over by 12 months, he says this should prompt some additional attention from the pediatrician."

(Here is the link to the article: Rolling, an Important Milestone)

My goodness! Peanut Butter Cup really is in a hurry to grow up! He rolled over from his tummy onto his back just a few days after he reached 3 months! And just over a month later he rolled from his back to his tummy (see previous post HE DID IT!). Next thing I know he's going to be walking. Slow down Little One, slow down.

Spring has arrived!

A friend of mine from college (Mikki) drove down last Thursday to spend a few days visiting with us (which is why I haven't posted anything recently). While she was here we were able to go out and spend some time with the horses. It was a beautiful day, so I was scurrying here and there taking pictures while Mikki was grooming and tacking Ice (our palomino Quarter Horse) and my husband held Peanut Butter Cup.

After Mikki finished with Ice I brought out my handsome boy, Titan (who'd worked himself into a frenzy while Ice was out of sight -- he was drenched with sweat), and worked with him for a while. Initially my goal was to get him out and groom him thoroughly, but after we came back and saw how worked up he'd gotten, I decided to see how he would do with being sprayed down (it's not his favorite thing -- the last time we did it last year he completely flipped out). He did pretty well, he was a bit nervous about it a few times, but I was eventually able to almost completely hose him down. When I was satisfied that he was cooled down sufficiently, I groomed him and spent some time on teaching him to ground tie (he doesn't understand the concept behind it just yet, ha ha).

Anyhow...back to my original purpose for this post! I wanted to share some pictures that I took while we were out there. I still wish I could have gotten all the snow that everyone else did (though we did get about an inch -- it was a historic 'snowstorm' for this area, ha ha), but since it isn't going to happen, I'm glad that spring has indeed arrived and is in full swing!

I know this isn't necessarily evidence of spring (though in some contexts it could be), but I couldn't resist adding this one to the bunch! My little Peanut Butter Cup showing off his new hat we got to keep the sun out of his eyes. :) I just think it's adorable.

Pictures of My Darlin'

I was able to clear off quite a bit of space on my hard drive the other day and after my camera battery had recharged I finished uploading the pictures of little Peanut Butter Cup from after he'd rolled over onto his tummy from his back for the first time. Now, several days later, I finally have a chance to upload a few pictures...that is unless the Wee One decides to wake up prematurely. :-)

Panda Bear (our insane cat that we will be finding a home for soon as he just doesn't really fit into our family and will probably do better elsewhere) is mad that my husband and I have Penny (our other cat) in the office with us -- with the door closed with him on the other side. So, why is Penny in here with us and Panda Bear not included, you might be wondering. Well, he attacked Penny, so we have them separated for a little while. However, he is mad now and (this is how smart he is) in order to get back at us he meows as loudly as possible at the bedroom door trying to wake up Peanut Butter Cup (tonight is the second time he's done it). The cat is vindictive and brilliant -- and he's been driving me nuts.

Anyhow, back to the pictures of my little Peanut Butter Cup...I just had to vent for a minute. The first few pictures were taken slightly earlier that afternoon...my husband and I were working on the yard so Peanut Butter Cup was in his jumper/play station thing in the shade while we worked (he was having so much fun! He LOVES to be outside). It was the perfect opportunity to take pictures because the lighting was perfect and I haven't quite figured out how to adjust the settings for indoor pictures to make them as good as I'd like (if anyone can give me any tips I'd be willing to give them a shot -- no pun intended. I've tried so many different combination of settings -- without much luck -- that I've been a little discouraged lately). The indoor pictures are of when he'd just rolled over. I just put the camera on auto at that point as I didn't want to miss the moment any more than I had already.

Here they are! Enjoy!

He loves to stick his tongue out currently! :-) 

So serious!

"Gotta jump!"

I wonder what he was thinking here.

I think here he was thinking about trying to roll back over onto his back again. :-)

Hope you enjoyed them! Have a good night everyone!

HE DID IT!

My little Peanut Butter Cup rolled from his back to his tummy by himself for the first time earlier this afternoon! He still got his arm stuck under himself, so I had to help him get it 'unstuck', but the whole rolling thing he did on his own. :-) Unfortunately he did it when I had my back turned (I was getting ready to feed him so I set him down on the bed...I saw him trying, but I didn't think he was going to get all the way over. Next thing I knew, he was on his tummy!) I'm so proud of him! It's bittersweet though;  the excitement I have for each new accomplishment he has is always mixed with thoughts of "Slow down! You're becoming less and less of my little baby. You don't have to grow up quite so fast." He's in too much of a rush to grow up and try new things however, so I just have to enjoy every precious moment of his adorable 'baby-ness' right now...while it lasts.

I was going to try to post a couple of pictures I took of him after he'd rolled onto his belly, but while I was uploading them to my computer I ran out of space on my hard drive with only nine pictures left to upload. Guess which pictures those were? If you guessed the ones I had just taken of him after he'd rolled over, you were correct. The irony. Then to add insult to injury, my camera battery died. So, I'm trying to make space on my hard drive so I can finish uploading them...after my camera battery recharges. Ha ha.

Some people are just rude....

Today I finally had a chance to call the health clinic on post to try to make an appointment for Peanut Butter Cup's 4-month well-baby appointment...I know, I know I'm late in getting to it considering the fact that he passed the four month mark over a week ago. I haven't had much of an opportunity to call recently...that and I'm not looking forward to explaining to his pediatrician why I have chosen to follow a delayed vaccination schedule (I've heard some negative stuff about this particular doctor :-( ).

Anyhow, so when I called to make the appointment this afternoon the guy making the appointments was rather unpleasant to deal with. It wasn't that he insulted me right to my face or anything he just wasn't very helpful. He asked for my last name, I gave it to him (and spelled it to boot!), then he asked for a 'last four'...this is where I got confused -- mine? My husband's (since he is the sponsor)? Or maybe my son's? I asked him for clarification and after about 10 seconds of silence he didn't even bother to respond and just moved on to another question. So much for him taking down the proper information. When he wasn't very clear on what information he wanted with another question (he asked for a first name without telling me who's name he wanted -- I know it probably should have been common sense that it was whomever the appointment was being made for, but after the last question I really wanted to make sure who's name he was asking for) I again asked for clarification. More silence.... Eventually he did actually respond to that question, but it seemed like it was begrudgingly. In the end he ended up making an appointment for April 8th, but after I got off the phone I started to wonder if he was confused as to when exactly my little Peanut Butter Cup was turning 4 months old (I told him it was on the 11th when he asked). It could just be that his assigned pediatrician doesn't have any openings until then, but my husband isn't happy with the idea of his appointment being delayed that long. Since he gets off work early tomorrow, he gets to call and deal with any cranky people that may be on the other end. :-) Hey, he offered. :-P

I just can't wait to leave this place and get back to Hawaii. In the meantime I'm praying that the appointment makers and pediatricians in Hawaii are more professional and courteous.

On a more pleasant note...Peanut Butter Cup had been jumping up and down in his play station/jumper thing for probably a good twenty minutes when out of the blue he stopped about fifteen minutes ago. I heard my husband chuckle and when I looked behind me I saw my little darling sound asleep in his jumper. For anyone who has had chicks before -- it was like when they run, run, run and just suddenly stop dead in their tracks and they are snoozing with their beaks resting on the ground. He's now awake again and sitting on my lap as his bedtime is in an hour and I don't want him napping when it is so close.

Well, I must go and get Peanut Butter Cup ready and settled down for bed now. Goodnight!

Freezer = Fun

In view of the fact that we will be moving to Hawaii and things tend to be a bit more expensive there, we finally broke down and got a chest freezer. We've been wanting one for a while now and I started researching and trying to find a good one for a decent price back when I was still pregnant. After much thought and lots of searching, we decided to wait for a while longer.

After we discovered that we would be moving back to Hawaii we decided it would be a good time to get one. With that in mind last Saturday, we went online and found one we really liked at our local Lowe's (I love that store! They give 10% military discount if you show the cashier your ID). We went down and picked it up that afternoon, but we didn't have time to go grocery shopping that day, so we had to wait until the next afternoon to actually put anything in it (boy was that exciting!). I love the fact that when we grocery shop now we don't have to think "Will all of this fit in the freezer when we get home?" And now my husband doesn't have to spend 10 minutes making everything fit after a trip to the store (he has some mad freezer organization skills :). I know I'm crazy for being so excited, but boy, I sure do love having a freezer!

Now for random tidbits of what's been happening around here lately....

My husband texted me yesterday afternoon to tell me that they would be flying by our house in a minute (don't worry he wasn't texting and flying -- it was his stick buddy's turn to fly, so my husband was in the back, ha ha). I jumped up right away 'cause I wasn't sure how close he meant by 'a minute'. Peanut Butter Cup and I hurried to the back yard and waited...a couple minutes later I got another text (my first thought was that he was going to tell me they'd gone the wrong way and wouldn't be coming by after all, and I was a bit disappointed, but then I actually READ the message, ha ha). The text said they'd be kind of far away, but I was just glad they were still coming by (after my initial thought and disappointment). Almost immediately I could hear the helicopters (there were four of them as they were flying formation) coming from a ways off. Another minute passed and then they came up over the hill in the pasture behind my house and flew right past. It was awesome! Even though I knew my husband wasn't flying at that point (because he was able to text me), it was still neat the see them all go by and know that my husband already had or would be doing the same thing that day as well. I pointed the helicopters out to Peanut Butter Cup and told him his daddy was up there, but obviously at 4 months old he didn't really understand and was too busy looking around at everything else anyhow. : )

Speaking of Peanut Butter Cup...this morning I realized that I am not the only one reading this blog, so I thought maybe I should explain why I call my son Peanut Butter Cup (no, that is not his real name in case anyone was thinking that). I'm still getting used to the whole blogging thing, and call me paranoid, but I haven't decided yet if I am or ever will be comfortable using my husband and son's real names. So that is why I call my son Peanut Butter Cup...I haven't thought of anything to call my husband yet, ha ha. Anyhow, that is the reason for the strange name. :-p Who knows, maybe one day I'll start using their real names. :-)

With that said, Peanut Butter Cup is still trying to learn how to roll from his back to his tummy...he can get it if he holds onto my finger with one hand and I counter-balance him, but then he gets stuck with the other arm trapped underneath him, ha ha. Oh, and he keeps trying to steal my bag of Chips Ahoy cookies whenever I'm not looking. He'll be standing on my lap (he doesn't sit down very often) and leaning over my arm and next thing I know I see him reaching for my cookies. :-/ He's pretty determined to eat and drink 'big people food'. He's been that way since he was just two months old and he's getting smarter everyday. You pretty much have to face away from him and hide that you are eating and drinking if he is around or he will get upset. If he perchance gets ahold of a water bottle, he will try to get it into his mouth any which way he can...that is, until you can pry it out of his fingers. I know lots of people start their babies on rice cereal and/or some baby food when they are four months old (and I know of a couple who's pediatrician's okayed it for their babies at 3 weeks :-O), but after everything I've read I would prefer to breastfeed him exclusively until he is at least six months old. So, I keep telling him that he only has a couple more months...I don't think he's listening though, he's too busy trying to see whatever I'm eating or drinking.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, by the way! I guess I'd better go for now. This post has taken a couple of hours to compose, with a few diaper changes and breaks to play with or comfort my little Peanut Butter Cup scattered in with the writing. I think I need to change his diaper again, so bye for now. :-)

We found out where we are heading next!!

This post is a little late in coming, but that's because I've been kind of busy and haven't had two free hands lately. I'm making up for it now though. = )

Anyhow....

We found out that we will be moving back to HAWAII!! We are pretty excited about that -- even though we know from experience that being stuck on an island isn't always our favorite thing. There are so just many benefits about going back there directly after my husband finishes up here, that they outweigh the disadvantages. One huge one being that he will be able to stick around for a while instead of deploying pretty soon after arriving like he would have had to do at our other options.

I'm definitely not looking forward to the long day of traveling and plane rides though as Peanut Butter Cup will be about 7 months old then and probably won't be too thrilled with being 'confined' on the planes. It will all work out though no matter what occurs -- and it's still at least 2 1/2 months away so I don't really need to be worrying about it right now.

Beach theme for the blog coming soon!! I'm not even a huge beach person (I prefer the mountains!), but somehow it just seems appropriate!

Oh, Peanut Butter Cup passed the 4 month mark last Thursday! Craziness! He's trying to figure out how to roll from his back to his tummy now, but he gets really frustrated and starts crying uncontrollably and then stops trying, so I think it will be a little while before he actually does it. Oh, and he blows raspberries all the time! It's adorable. :)

He fell asleep standing up in his jumper this morning. I tried to take pictures, but I haven't uploaded them yet, so I'm not sure how they turned out yet.

Well, I guess I should go for now so I can try to get a couple other things done before my little one wakes up and I only have one free hand again!

I have the most amazing husband ever!

So, there is this cookbook that I have been wanting for a while now, and I talked about it on occasion, but I wasn't expecting to get it for a while. However, much to my delight, Monday morning after my husband came home from PT he ordered it for me as a surprise and then told me after I woke up. I was so surprised and completely thrilled! I'm still very excited about it and can't wait for it to get here so I can drool over the pictures and dream about when I can start trying out the recipes. So, like I was saying, I have the most amazing husband ever! It was so unexpected and sweet. Oh how I adore my man!

Also on the way is The Time Traveler's Wife. I was able to find it used really cheap (but it is actually brand new still), which is how I like to shop for my books and movies. I've decided to read the book before I watch the movie, so hopefully I will have time to read it sometime after it gets here. We shall see though, it will probably take me a while since I will probably need to focus on sewing a lot more soon. Eventually I should be able to read it though.

Peanut Butter Cup is 16 weeks old now and laughs more and more each day. He's too cute! I can't believe he is nearly 4 months old -- where has the time gone?