Sunshine

We are supposed to have consistent sunshine for the next week! I hope the weather forecast is true. I am in need of as much Vitamin D as possible. Judah and I are planning on getting outside today with my mom. We're going for a walk later this afternoon. I'm not sure where to go exactly. Maybe we'll start at McCollum Park and head into Mill Creek Town Center.
With summer drawing nearer, I have to think about protecting my skin from sun damage. Even though I've sustained a few major sunburns in the past few years, I never really cared to put sunscreen on because my skin tans so easily and I just love having that summer glow. Until last year....I really damaged my skin in Hawaii by not wearing sunscreen. I had the worst sunburn of my life and I can still see the effects of it on my skin. I'm a little paranoid now and I'm going to try to be really careful about protecting my skin this summer. I was surprised when my mom and I went for a walk the other day. The sun was peeking through the clouds but not very strongly and it was around 65 degrees outside. I got home and noticed that my shoulders were looking red. I had gotten a little sunburn!
From now on I'm putting sunscreen on when I go out in the sun. Not only do I have to think about me, but I have to think about Judah's delicate skin as well.

This weekend is Tami's bachelorette party. It should be a lot of fun. Andrew is throwing David's bachelor party the same night, so we'll both be out having a good time. Judah is going to stay overnight at my parents'. It's a little treat to not have to worry about him for an evening, though I'll be thinking about him the whole time I'm sure.

Yesterday, Andrew let me have the evening to myself. He took Judah over to his parents' house and had dinner with his dad and brothers. I realized that even when I do finally get my alone time, I spend half the time wondering about Judah, missing him and feeling guilty for not being with him. It's so silly, but I suppose it comes with the territory. I spent almost an hour working on a photo album of Judah and it made me miss him all the more. What can I say? I love my son!

Busy Bee

Today was a very busy day!
Andrew had to work today at a trade show in Seattle. I was home alone with the Bean like any other week day. I wanted to get out of the house and was contemplating going for a walk since the weather was nice. I ended up going grocery shopping for the week and bought a ton of food. It should be enough for dinner every night this week and lunches as well.
Then when I got home, Andrew told me we were going to have our good friends the Huss family over after he came home. I was happy about that because it had been forever since we had all gotten together. I had seen Amber and Mya on a couple different occasions, but nonetheless it had been forever.
I also wanted to make Andrew a really good dinner since I haven't made dinner consistently in a while what with my sister in town and my back being messed up. I decided to make this summer tomato spaghetti. Even though it's not summer yet, the dish still worked out. It's loaded with ripe tomatoes and other delicious veggies in the sauce. I decided to add his favorite Italian sausage to the dish as well. I sauteed some zucchini and squash on the side and voila! It was done just as he walked in the house.
I wanted to make a dessert for Amber and Matt as well, so I threw together these PB & J Chocolate Bars. It ended up being something that you can't exactly "throw" together and took a little more effort than I was expecting, but they turned out great!
In the middle of all this I juggled feeding and entertaining Judah.
Then Amber and Matt came over and Judah got to hang out with Mya. He scared her with his crazy energy and loud noises, but then she actually started yelling back at him. It was hilarious to listen to them go back and forth. I can't wait for her to start crawling so she can not only defend herself against him, but run away from him if she so desires. Judah wanted to eat her up!
Judah got tired while our guests were over so I attempted to put him down to sleep. That was a joke because I didn't give him his usual bath. I decided to just wait until they left to try to put him down. He gets so worked up when anyone but Andrew and I are around.
He finally went down around 9:30 - much later than his usual 8pm bedtime.
Now I'm exhausted and my back is sore from all the things I did today. Did I mention that I also did about 3 loads of laundry - wash, dried and folded. Plus I cleaned the house so that our guests didn't think we were raising our child like cavemen.
Now both of my boys are sleeping peacefully. One upstairs in his crib and the other is snoring softly on the couch. I should join in the trend.

Wind Storm!

It's super windy tonight, as it has been for the last couple of days. The wind keeps scaring Judah in his sleep and waking him up. The poor guy!
My sister went home today. It was so great to have her home. I miss not having her around to just share life with. I'm not going to lie, I hope that one day she moves back up here. If not, well, I'll just be making many trips down to southern California.
I threw my back out somehow either last night or this morning. It hurts like hell....well, not so bad right now since I've had some ibuprofen and a few glasses of wine. I just don't know what I did to injure it and I'm hoping it feels better by the time Andrew has to go to work tomorrow.

I am very much looking forward to our trip to Hawaii. I am thinking about buying a bikini, actually. I keep getting catalogs in the mail and I just need to narrow my choices down and decide what to buy.

Also, if you are ever looking for a great Thai restaurant on the Ave, go to Thai Tom. It is soooo delicious. The absolute best Thai food I've ever eaten. It's a tiny little hole in the wall restaurant with barely any space, but the food is very delicious and I recommend that you try it.

Wedding Mania

Yesterday was my brother, Jacob and his fiance, Megan's engagement party. My mom and I put it together and it turned out to be a lot of fun! About 30 people showed up and it was a great time to celebrate the two of them, their engagement and upcoming marriage.
In 5 weeks, my brother-in-law, David will marry his sweetheart Tami. I'm so excited to have another sister officially. She has been a part of the family as long as I have, but now it will be official. Can't wait to see them get hitched next month!
My good friend Dena Wise is also getting married in June! I get to be in her wedding as one of her bridesmaids. She and I were good friends in jr. high and high school as we attended the same church.
And those are only a few of the couples who are getting married this year!

On another note, my sister is flying in to Seattle on Wednesday. I can't wait to see her. The last time I did was when I was stuck in a hospital bed before Judah was born. It will be great to go out and have some fun with her AND she gets to meet Judah for the first time!

Poor Judah caught my cold that I was fighting this last week. He's got a terrible runny nose and he refuses to let me use the nasal syringe on him. He absolutely hates it and if I manage to get it in his nose (which is next to impossible) he acts like I'm trying to hurt him and cries his eyes out. I decided it's easier to just wipe his nose. I'll have to buy some kleenex for his little nosey. I hope this virus passes quickly and that he is feeling better very soon.

I survived crying it out...

Last night was rough!
Judah went to bed without a fight at about 8:30, but them woke up at 11 pm crying. I couldn't believe he was hungry, but he was so upset and wouldn't stop crying so I fed him and put him back to bed. Then he woke again at 3 am crying....
Andrew went in to get him and tried to rock him back to sleep but Judah was not having it. I knew I couldn't go in there because I would lose it. This feels like it's been going on for an eternity and I am so done with waking up throughout the night. I felt like we should let him cry, and apparently Andrew did too because he came back in the bedroom, told me to stay in bed and said that we were going to let him cry.
And we did....he cried and cried and cried for about 45 minutes. It was really tough not to go in there, but I honestly feel like there is no other way to get him to fall back asleep on his own at this point. He's not hungry, it's a comfort thing. We've got to stop catering to his night wakings. He calmed down around 4:15 am and was quiet for about 15 minutes at which point Andrew and I decided it was safe to go ahead and fall asleep.
Then he started up again and cried for another half an hour until he finally was so tired that he conked out.
It was so hard not to go in there and comfort him and tell him it was going to be okay and pick him up and rock him. I just knew that it wouldn't do any good, that I would end up giving in and feeding him which he didn't need and I am trying so desperately to teach him that it's okay to sleep by himself for the night.
I thought for sure he would hate us both in the morning, but when he woke up at about 7:30 am (his usual wake up time) he was his happy little self. He was smiling and excited to see me. I was very relieved to see that I hadn't permanently damaged my child.
I don't know how many more times we are going to have to do this, but I'm hoping and praying not many. Obviously this is our last resort, as this has been going on almost every night since he was born. He is definitely old enough to be sleeping through the night without eating, but for some reason he hasn't caught on to that notion yet.
I just want to do the right thing for him and teach him that he can fall back to sleep on his own.
It's weird because he falls asleep on his own initially all the time for naps and at bedtime, but when it comes to the middle of the night, he gets so incredibly upset and can't for the life of him figure out how to go back to sleep without eating first.
FRUSTRATING!!!
I just hope we are doing the right thing and I wish I had all the answers.

funk

I'm in a funk today and I don't know why....
I'm frustrated and irritated at everything right now. It's stemming mostly from feeling like I suck as a parent. I don't know why it seems like everyone else's baby is sleeping except for mine. He just refuses to sleep through the night. The longest he will sleep is 4-5 hours at a time. Sometimes he wants to eat at midnight and it's ridiculous! I don't understand! Is he not getting enough to eat during the day and he therefore wants to eat at night?
I really don't think it has anything to do with teething or moving around either. When he wakes up, he wants to eat and gets sooo pissed if he doesn't get fed. There is no crying it out with him. It doesn't work. I am left feeling so frustrated about this situation. I wish I had all the answers. I feel like I'm just screwing up royally with him in this aspect. If he needs to eat, then fine, but why at 12 am? It's not like he can't fall asleep on his own either...he does it all the time for his naps and at bedtime. Both of which have improved drastically from a month ago....
Sometimes I want to rip my hair out because I feel like it's never going to improve and that he's always going to wake up and want to eat in the middle of the night. I know that's not true, but that's how it feels at the moment.
So I guess I do know why I'm upset....and it's spilling over into everything else.

Thankfully I have a sweet husband who does his best to help me get out of my funk....

Beautiful Day!

I am headed over to my mom's house to spend the day outside in her garden. I don't think it's going to be quite as warm as it was yesterday, but none the less, the sun is shining and that is all that matters to me.
Judah and I went to Mill Creek Town Center yesterday to walk around and enjoy the weather. He loved being outside too. I let him have bare feet since it really seemed too warm for him to be wearing shoes and socks. It was too cute!
Rachel's wedding on Friday was amazing. I didn't know I would be so emotional over her wedding day! She was so stunningly gorgeous - the most beautiful bride I've ever seen. Just breath taking! I felt so honored to be a part of her day and to stand by her side while she said her vows.
I have to say that I gave a pretty kick ass speech too. I made everyone cry, including many different men who told me so afterward. I blew the best men out of the water! They went up to Adam afterward and apologized for not giving a better speech. Pretty good for someone who gets realllly nervous talking in front of crowds!
I love my best friend and I am so happy for her. I can't wait to see her when she gets back from Cabo!

Well, my bean is awake from his nap so we are headed off to Grandma's house!